TROON, Scotland: Former Coonabarabran and Tamworth junior golf star Rebecca Artis has rallied to win the Ladies Scottish Open, shooting a 6-under 66 yesterday in windy and rainy conditions for a two-stroke victory over Norway’s Suzann Pettersen.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On a great day for Aussie golfers, Jason Day birdied his last three holes to win the Canadian Open and Breanna Elliott won the Fuccillo Kia Championship in Albany, New York.
It was green-haired and nose-ringed Elliott’s first win on the secondary Symetra Tour .
Artis didn’t need any colourful attachments, other than her husband and caddie, former Tamworth golfer Geoff Artis, to blaze a brilliant final round.
Artis shot a six-under-par 66 – the lowest round of the tournament – in blustery, drizzly conditions at Dundonald Links in North Ayrshire to finish on six under par and two shots ahead of Pettersen, the world No.7.
England’s Holly Clyburn ended two shots further back in third ahead of Klara Spilkova and New Zealand world No.2 Lydia Ko.
Artis’s victory in the Women’s British Open lead-up event is her second on the European Tour.
She won the Helsingborg Open in Sweden two years ago in similar conditions when she came from five strokes behind Caroline Hedwall with a final round of 69.
“Sometimes you fight all your life to try to get that first win and sometimes the second win is maybe even harder,” the 26-year-old said.
“I’ve been playing some really consistent golf since the start of the year, putting myself in contention week in, week out.
“I knew that with the conditions the way they were predicted to be today, that if I went out and played some solid golf, then I wouldn’t be far away.
“I’ve got my coaches over here from Australia, Gary and Luke Edwin. Whenever they’re around I feel like I go to a new confidence level with my overall game.”
Artis had already qualified for the Women’s British Open and her parents, who are flying from Australia to watch her play, will have a pleasant surprise when they land in the United Kingdom.
Her victory came a day after her husband Geoff, who is also her caddie, celebrated his 31st birthday.
Victoria’s Stacey Keating was the next-best Australian, shooting a final-round 73 to finish in a tie for eighth – nine strokes behind Artis.
In Ontario, Day birdied his last three holes to win the Canadian Open.
Day’s fast finish in a final-round four-under-par 68 gave him a 72-hole hole total of 17 under for the championship, enough to win by one shot from American Bubba Watson.
The world No.9’s second victory on the US PGA Tour this year, after he won the Farmers Insurance Open in February, came just six days after Day fell one shot short of making the British Open playoff at St Andrews.
It was the 27-year-old’s ninth professional win and fourth on the lucrative US PGA Tour.
In Albany, New York, Elliott won the Fuccillo Kia Championship by a stroke for her first Symetra Tour title.
Elliott closed with a 2-under 69 to finish at 13-under 200 at Capital Hills yesterday.
She earned $US15,000 ($A20,395) and a 2015 Kia Optima LX.
“My new Kia, this is amazing,” said Elliott, sporting green hair and a nose ring.
“I’ve been driving a rental all year and this car is definitely the cherry on top.”
She jumped from 78th to 23rd on the money list with $US20,722. The top 10 at the end of the season will earn 2016 LPGA Tour cards.
“This is so sweet. I am so stoked and this is just unbelievable,” Elliott said.
