Cinderella story as Shibuno storms home
IT MIGhT not have been the sporting fable the large crowd had hoped to witness, but the Smiling Cinderella had everyone believing in fairytales following perhaps the most remarkable victory in the history of the AIG Women’s British Open.
What an apt nickname it proved to be for 20- year- old hinako Shibuno from Japan, who was not only playing in her first major but competing in her first tournament of any kind outside of her homeland.
Out in the final group, she was taking selfies with the crowd as she made her way to the first hole. Needing a birdie on the 18th to win the title, she was high-fiving the gallery as she made her way to the tee.
Waiting to play her approach to the green, she broke out into a fit of giggles. With the crowd getting ever closer behind her, she wasted no time in striking a seven iron to 20ft and started acknowledging the applause with a series of bows. So much for the inscrutable Japanese.
By this stage, she’d won over the crowd so completely that when the birdie putt to win — struck too hard — almost broke the back of the hole but thankfully fell below ground, the roar could not have been louder if Woburn’s own Charley hull had struck it.
Indeed, you might have to go back to when Mr Lu from Taiwan charmed the Birkdale galleries way back in 1972 to find the last player from the Far east who engaged with a British crowd in quite this manner.
Japan provided the first Asian winner of a major in 1977 when hisako higuchi won the LPGA Championship.
During the long 42-year wait for another, they have watched on enviously as the mighty Koreans have taken over the women’s game.
Now, that golf- obsessed nation has a superstar of its own and you can be sure the reaction to this victory will be every bit as febrile as the one in Ireland following Shane Lowry’s success in the male version last month.
Shibuno came home in 31 shots — including five birdies — for a 68 and a one-shot triumph over the game Californian Lizette Salas, who shot a marvellous 65 but will spend the long flight home rueing the short 8ft birdie putt she missed on the final green.
World No 1 Ko Jin-young from Korea made a tremendous bid to pull off her third major success of the season, before settling for third place.
While all this excitement was going on, the three english women who had raised such hopes over the first two days all came back down to earth.
After playing 54 holes without a bogey, Bronte Law had five in the first nine holes alone, on her way to an awful 78 that saw her tumble to joint 35th place alongside defending champion Georgia hall, who had fallen away on Saturday, and concluded with a 73.
As for home favourite hull, she never did herself justice either, shooting 76 — including four bogeys and a double bogey — to finish tied 24th.
Meanwhile, at the prize presentation, Shibuno gave the winner’s speech in her fractured english — and yes, she had another fit of the giggles as she tried to read the notes prepared for her and thank the Woburn greenkeepers.
It was about the only thing she stumbled over all week.