Henderson in driver’s seat
Canadian hotshot Brooke Henderson was probably the only golfer happy that head honchos on the LPGA Tour decreed extra time to finish the New Zealand Women’s Open on Monday.
A brutal dose of Auckland spring weather at its worst wreaked havoc on what was supposed to be the MCKAYSON sponsored tournament’s final day at Windross Farm. Two major delays totalling nearly five hours caused by heavy rain squalls forced the decision late Sunday afternoon to come back on Monday and finish as a 72-hole event.
That created a logistical nightmare with Tour officials having to reschedule flights and accommodation for the 78 players still in the tournament. There were few happy faces about the south Auckland course at the end of a testing day for all concerned, though Henderson was the exception, with the 20-year-old second youngest major winner ever holding a four-shot lead through just six holes on the final round.
Had the event been shortened to a 54-hole affair, Spain’s Belen Mozo would have been declared the winner, as she led by a stroke from Henderson at the end of the third round.
There had been one last, illfated attempt to squeeze in some more play on Sunday when the players were hustled back on to the course at 4.53pm, with officials hoping to advance the final round as much as possible before darkness hit. But again Auckland’s inclement weather had the final say.
Severe blustery winds and more squalls forced the players to run for safety at 5.18pm, with signs sent blowing dangerously across the fairways and umbrellas turned inside out. Mozo was captured by TV cameras expressing her frustration, no doubt fuelled by the fact she had also dropped two shots on the round to fall four behind the hard-charging Henderson who birdied three of her first six holes.
Mozo was in a tie for second alongside American Brittany
Lincicome (two under through six) on 13 under, though they have a lot to do to have any hope of catching playing partner Henderson who birdied the par-5 2nd, the par-4 4th and par-5 5th to open the sizeable buffer.
Denmark’s Nicole Broch Larsen and China’s Jing Yan were tied for fourth on 12 under.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko made an early charge on Sunday with birdies at her first two holes, but was unable to sustain her move
and was one under for her round through 10 holes. That left her eight shots behind Henderson on nine under, in a tie for ninth.
The field had paused for a near two and a-half hour weather suspension between 10.05am and
12.30pm, and then another between
2.25pm and 4.53pm, which meant there was no chance to complete the round Sunday.
‘‘We are going to go to 72 holes,’’ decreed LPGA director of rules and competitions Bo Ream on
Sunday just ahead of the second resumption. ‘‘We want to get as much golf as we can done today.
‘‘We want to make sure it’s fair for all players. We want to get as much golf done as we can today so we have less to play first thing in the morning [on Monday].’’
Ream acknowledged the decision to go to the extra day was not universally welcomed by his players.
‘‘I think when you get to the end of the week everybody is looking to
move on to the next thing [but] the players want to play 72 holes, especially when that has been advertised in advance,’’ he said.
‘‘The reaction [from them] was probably mixed but it’s the right thing to do and they are going to appreciate that.’’
The LPGA official conceded there were major logistical issues with going into a fifth day, but the decision had included input from all parties, including sponsors and organisers.
‘‘There’s international flights, with players travelling all over the world. There is no event for us next week, so there is some flexibility there, but it is still a significant logistical issue and one the staff here on site are working through.’’
The field will resume early Monday to finish the event.