So after four magical days at Woburn, a fantastic Women’s British Open comes to a close. Hinako Shibuno lands a major at the very first time of asking. It bears repeating that she’s never played on the LPGA Tour before, nor even out of Japan. She’s a sensation. Commiserations to Lizette Salas, who came so close to a maiden major victory herself. Congratulations to Atthaya Thitikul, who won the Smyth Salver as low amateur ... and of course to the Smiling Cinderella, for a fairytale that will still be told many years from now. Thanks for reading!
-18: Shibuno
-17: Salas
-16: JY Ko
-15: Pressel
-14: Buhai
-12: Boutier
-11: Ciganda
-10: SH Park
-9: N Korda, Lee6
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It’s worth noting that Shibuno didn’t realise Woburn wasn’t a links course until she turned up this week. She had assumed the Women’s British Open, like its male counterpart, would take place at the seaside. In completely unrelated news, the man in the blue wig below, waving Nibbles the Comedy Duck in the air, is her manager.
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Shibuno talks to Sky through her interpreter. “I’m nervous even though I’ve won. I still feel like I’m going to vomit! I was nervous on the front nine, but on the back nine I was OK. I produced a lot of birdies. At the end I thought I was going to try but the tears didn’t come out. Obviously contending at a tournament like this is nerve-wracking, but I also felt that I was going to enjoy this moment as well. There were many Japanese spectators out there, and I heard them speak Japanese, so I felt like I was playing in Japan! Thank you!”
“With a score of 270, the AIG Women’s British Open champion is Hinako Shibuno!” Huge cheers as the champion golfer takes to the stage, trotting across the green to claim her prize in much the same endearing manner she jogs off to pick up her divots. Then, clearly not fluent in English, nevertheless makes a great fist of carefully reading out a thank-you speech. It’s beyond charming. She breaks down in giggles as she struggles to phonetically decode some nice words about the greenkeeping staff. Then she pauses dramatically after thanking the spectators. A final “thank you!” gets a huge laugh and the warmest round of applause. She is such an infectious character. A star is born!
But this is all about Hinako Shibuno, who came to this tournament as an unknown, and walks away a star! She could have crumbled after carelessly four-putting the 3rd green. However she dug in and for the second day in a row, battled through a sticky patch before ripping up the back nine. She played it in 31 shots today. She played it in 30 yesterday and on Thursday. She’s played the back nine in -18 this week! Which coincidentally is the total she finished with. Golf: a game of two halves, huh?
-18: Shibuno
-17: Salas
-16: JY Ko
-15: Pressel
-14: Buhai
-12: Boutier
-11: Ciganda
-10: SH Park
-9: N Korda, Lee6
Par for Ashleigh Buhai, who ends the week with a decent 70. She ends in fifth spot at -14, and despite her crushing disappointment warmly embraces the new champion. Wild scenes on the 18th as the 20-year-old Japanese debutant cavorts in glee, smiling the widest smile. But spare a thought for poor Lizette Salas, who shot a carpe-diem 65 today, her final birdie effort lipping out from four feet. You can see the world crumbling in her eyes as she’s informed of Shibuno’s birdie. It will hurt for a long time. But hers was a brilliant performance too. Second spot, her best finish at a major, and if it wasn’t for her, this final round wouldn’t have been the hugely entertaining rollercoaster it was. Hopefully her day is still to come.
HINAKO SHIBUNO WINS THE 2019 BRITISH OPEN! She rattles her putt straight at the hole. She’s not going to die wondering! Had it not hit the cup, that might have gone quite a long way past. But her ball smacks into the hole, jumps up a little, and then dunks into the hole. She’s won on her major-championship debut! On her LPGA Tour debut! On her first competitive outing outside Japan! This is a story for the ages! Smiling Cinderella will go to the ball!
-18: Shibuno
-17: Salas
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Hinako Shibuno strides up the fairway, basking in the applause, soaking up the love. She bows graciously in all directions. Meanwhile on the putting green, Lizette Salas keeps herself warmed up in a slightly agitated fashion. She must be in turmoil right now. Shibuno steps up, and ...
Buhai also looks exceptionally dejected, but she arrows her second into 18 to 12 feet nevertheless. Then it’s all down to Shibuno, who whips her approach straight at the flag, and smiles broadly, infectiously, as it travels towards the green. Her ball lands 15 feet shy of the hole. She’ll have that for birdie, and the 2019 British Open championship!
A disappointed Pressel lets her six-foot par putt slide by the right of the cup. That’ll cost her a few pennies. A bogey. She shot 66-67 over the weekend, and after a long period in the doldrums, the 2007 ANA Inspiration winner is back competing at the top table. She’s -15. Bogey for Park Sung-hyun too. She takes a ludicrous amount of time over a short par effort, to no benefit whatsoever. She ends with at 73, another no-show on a Sunday. She’s -10. Park having taken so long over that putt, I wonder how nervous Shibuno is getting back down the fairway?!
Salas fought hard to hold back the tears upon missing that putt. She knows how costly it could be. Especially as Shibuno has just creamed her drive down the last. Further up the hole, Pressel sent her second into 18, only to see it bound off the green and into the bunker back left. She can’t hole out, and her race is run. What a tilt she took at the prize, though.
... and misses it! It lips out on the right, and it’s just a par to finish. She smacks her lips in frustration, knowing that the miss could have cost her this tournament. A birdie would have put her one clear at the top; as it is, it’s still a 65, and she’s got a share. That’s kept Morgan Pressel in with a shout. And Hinako Shibuno will have a chance to steal it at the last, because she’s just very nearly birdied 17 from the fringe, her putt stopping just to the left of the cup. Par, and if she birdies 18 for the third time this week, she’ll be the British Open champion!
-17: Salas (F), Shibuno (17)
-16: JY Ko (F), Pressel (17)
-14: Buhai (17)
And so up to the 18th green. Ko Jin-young is on in regulation. But she’s a long way from the hole. She very nearly drains a 40-foot left-to-right curler over a ridge and into the cup. But it’s one turn short. The ANA Inspiration and Evian champion signs for a blemish-free 66. It’s not enough, though. No treble in the majors this year. Then Lizette Salas steps up to take her birdie putt ...
Morgan Pressell keeps her hopes alive with a scarcely believable up-and-down from thick rough to the left of 17. She remains at -16. It won’t be enough if Salas makes her birdie putt on 18, but right now, she’s still in the mix.
Hinako Shibuno very nearly bundles in her chip from the back of 16. It slips 18 inches past, and that’s a par. She remains in a share of the lead at -17 with Lizette Salas. Ashleigh Buhai can’t rake in her long par putt, and at -14 her chances are realistically gone. Especially because up on 18, Salas eases a world-class iron straight at the flag, her ball rolling softly towards the cup and stopping four feet shy. She’ll have that for birdie, a 64, and sole ownership of the lead at the business end of this tournament!
“Jesus, Morgan!” That’s Pressel’s response to pulling her tee shot at 17 into the thick rough on the left. Buhai’s internal monologue will no doubt be mining similar themes, as she gives up on her chip coming into 16. She reaches the green, but she’ll have a long, long putt for par. Meanwhile Salas splits 18 with a splendid drive. The world number one Ko follows her down the track.
Ko makes her par saver. That was an amazing scramble. Salas lags up from distance to save her par as well. Back on 16, Pressel knocks her second to six feet and makes birdie, simply refusing to go away. But a little bit of trouble afoot for Buhai, who might be dropping out of contention soon. She hits a tree down the right of 16 with her drive, then sends her second into rough on the other side of the hole. Shibuno - who stopped to munch some sweeties and share a laugh with a TV cameraman, giggling down the lens - fires her second over the flag and just off the back of the green. Not too far from the flag, it wouldn’t be a difficult up and down in normal circumstances. These aren’t normal circumstances.
-17: Salas (17), Shibuno (15)
-16: JY Ko (17), Pressel (16)
-15: Buhai (15)
Ko flips a sensational wedge out of the sand to six feet. Never mind the delicate skill, that took such nerve from there. Another monster drive by Shibuno, who batters her ball down the 16th. And up on 18, Charley Hull signs for a dismal 76 - she’s -5 - while Carlota Ciganda again plays the hole in farcical style. Yesterday she sent a huge slice into the bushes down the right, tried to play a ball that was never coming out, and ran up a double bogey. Today she sends a massive hook into the trees on the left, then sends her second into the hospitality suites on the right! A free drop, and she gets up and down for a par of the most amusing lunacy. A 70 today, and at -11 it’s another great showing in the majors.
Salas finds the green at the par-three 17th, but she’ll have a long two putts for par. Ko sends her tee shot into the sand on the right. She’s shortsided on a downslope. That’s going to be quite a poser. And if the pressure of scrambling par on the 71st hole of a major championship isn’t enough already, Shibuno sends two big shots straight down the par-five 15th, wedges to six feet, and rolls in the birdie putt to join Salas at -17!
Salas lines up her birdie putt expecting some right-to-left break. It doesn’t move. But that’s a par and she’s one hole closer to home. Ko can’t make her shorter birdie putt, prodding tentatively at her effort, which dribbles apologetically to the right. Meanwhile up on 18, a miserable end to a miserable day for Bronte Law. No bogeys for three days, then five on the outward nine this afternoon. A three-putt to close, and it’s a 78 that will take a little while to get over. Still, remember: it’s her rookie year on tour, and this experience, however painful, should stand her in good stead down the line. She ends the week at -3.
-17: Salas (16)
-16: JY Ko (16), Shibuno (14)
-15: Pressel (15), Buhai (14)
Salas and Ko send wonderfully controlled approaches into 16. Birdie attempts coming up. Back on 15, Pressel doesn’t really put the foot on the gas, seemingly happy to make a conservative, no-risk par. In the circumstances, is that enough?
Fuss-free pars for Shibuno and Buhai at the par-three 14th. Up on 15, Pressel launches a drive down the right of the track. And on 16, Salas and Ko crash gorgeous drives straight down the middle. Nobody’s giving an inch!
-17: Salas (15)
-16: JY Ko (15), Shibuno (14)
-15: Pressel (14), Buhai (13)
-12: Boutier (F)
A 71 in the end for Jeongeun Lee6. Having gone out in 32, she came back in 39. That miscalculation off the tee at the short par-four 12th killed her bid stone dead. She eds the week at -9. Meanwhile it’s just par for Ko on 15 ... but Lizette Salas sets her birdie putt off on the perfect line and at the perfect pace, the ball curling right to left the second it reaches the cup! Birdie, and she’s in the lead on her own again at -17!
Ko Jin-young looks like she might be the one to blink first. She pulls her second at the par-five 15th into a bunker 80 yards from the green. On Sky, Jamie Spence suggests she’ll do extremely well to simply find the putting surface from there. So of course she clips the long bunker shot to 20 feet. Quite the result. Salas will have a 20-foot birdie chance too, having played the hole in much less stressful a fashion. But Sung-hyun Park may be on edge. While Morgan Pressel was making birdie, she was three-putting. And taking her sweet time about it, too. Her group has been put on the clock as a result of the world number two’s slow play.
Hinako Shibuno joins the leaders by making her birdie putt! Nothing more than the second shot deserved. She walks off shining with happiness. She’s threatening to tear up the back nine at Woburn yet again! Ashleigh Buhai has a tricky little downhill dribbler, but she guides in her birdie too. Just as well, because the sheer quality of that approach-cum-escape rendered a par simply unacceptable. And it doesn’t stop, because Morgan Pressel rolls in a straight 20-footer for birdie on 14! This is becoming outrageously exciting.
-16: JY Ko (14), Salas (14), Shibuno (13)
-15: Pressel (14), Buhai (13)
It’s been 262 starts since Morgan Pressel last won a tournament. An 11-year-wait could come to an end today on the biggest stage. She curls in a 25-foot right-to-left birdie effort on 13 to move to -14. Coming up behind, the final pairing of Shibuno and Buhai pepper the flag. Buhai’s second in particular, after a poor tee shot, is magical, a high draw around trees on the left to six feet. Just outstanding. Shibuno’s elegant arrow to 12 feet looks positively bog-standard by comparison.
Ko’s birdie effort on 14 is never going in. A couple of feet past, but she calmly pars. The one Salas trickles down the green looks like dropping, though, before turning off to the left at the last. She throws her head back in despair. So close to taking the outright lead again! The winner is coming from this little group. But who will it be? We might need a sudden-death play-off to find out!
-16: JY Ko (14), Salas (14)
-15: Shibuno (12)
-14: Buhai (12)
-13: Pressel (12)
-12: Boutier (F), SH Park (12)
The standard of golf here is off the scale! Ko claps her tee shot at 14 to 12 feet, so Salas responds by sending hers to 10! Shibuno nearly makes her eagle putt, but the ball dies to the right at the last. A birdie will suffice, though, and her smile’s back as she closes on the leaders; she’s -15. And birdie for Buhai, who didn’t go for the green but wedged her second to three feet and cleaned up from there. This is a magnificent tournament.
Hinako Shibuno decides to go for it on 12. Straight for the pin, as well, leaving no margin for error. The Smiling Cinderella looks slightly concerned as her ball begins to descend as it crosses the water. Will it get over? Doesn’t look like it. No. But hold on! Yes! Just. One foot shorter, and she was wet. But her ball reaches the other side, then creeps onto the edge of the green! She’ll have a look at eagle from 20 feet or so! Meanwhile up on 13, Salas pars, but Ko makes her birdie. The major treble is on, as the ANA Inspiration and Evian champ hits the top at last!
-16: JY Ko (13), Salas (13)
-14: Shibuno (11)
-13: Pressel (12), Buhai (11)
-12: Boutier (F), SH Park (12)
-9: N Korda (F), Masson (17), Nordqvist (16), Lee6 (16), Ciganda (14)
Ko creams an iron from 180 yards straight at the flag on 13. That’s such a beautifully controlled shot. She’ll have a look at birdie, and a share of the lead, from six feet. Salas responds by sending a gentle draw around the tree in her way, and uses the slope of the green to gather her ball round to 20 feet. That’s superb from there. Meanwhile back on 12, Park Sung-hyun moves into credit for the first time today, taking two careful putts for her birdie. The eagle effort was never going in, but that’s got her moving in the right direction at last, with time running out. She’s -12.
Disappointing pars for Shibuno and Buhai on the par-five 11th. Shibuno had come up short with her third; Buhai will be more disappointed, having shoved a short birdie putt right. Park, stuck at -11, throws the dice at the risk-and-reward 12th, and is rewarded when she drives the green. She’ll take a look at eagle from 30 feet or so. Meanwhile Salas sends her drive at 13 into the semi-rough on the left. Trees compromise her route straight to the flag on the left, but she can aim for the right-hand side of the green, hoping the camber helps her out. Her playing partner Ko’s drive sails gracefully down the right-hand side of the fairway, the perfect place from which to attack the pin.
Morgan Pressel makes her move! The 2007 ANA Inspiration creams her second shot into the par-five 11th, and curls the 15-foot eagle putt she’s left with into the cup! Suddenly she’s right in the mix. And it really is anybody’s Open, because Ko sends her second at 12 to six feet and suddenly she’s just one off the lead!
-16: Salas (12)
-15: Ko (12)
-14: Shubuno (10)
-13: Pressel (11), Buhai (10)
A sublime round of 66 for Celine Boutier. She had a decent birdie chance at the last, having sent her second pin high to 20 feet, but she misread the break. Still, par, and she’s the new clubhouse leader at -12. It’s almost certainly not enough, unless the leading quartet have a collective breakdown, but it’s a magnificent effort nonetheless, a second top-ten finish in the majors this season. And precious points for the Solheim Cup!
-16: Salas (11)
-14: Ko (11), Shibuno (10)
-13: Buhai (10)
-12: Boutier (F)
What a shot by Ashleigh Buhai on 10! Her tee shot sails off to the left. She’s got to go over trees if she’s to reach the green. She whips her ball high into the air ... and lands it six feet from the flag! That’s quite sensational from there! She makes a very deserved birdie. There was a bit of pressure on her putt, too, because her playing partner Hinako Shibuno rattled in a 25-footer for birdie of her own from the fringe at the back! Just as well that hit the hole, because it was really travelling. She’s deserved a bit of luck with the flat stick today; she’s had none. The smile’s back. Meanwhile it’s all happening, because up on 11, Lizette Salas whips a lovely third to 12 feet, and in goes the putt for her seventh birdie of the day!
-16: Salas (11)
-14: JY Ko (11), Shibuno (10)
-13: Buhai (10)
-12: Boutier (17)
Celine Boutier threw away her best chance of a major this year at Charleston in the US Open. Leading going into the final round, she immediately double-bogeyed and never really recovered, the 25-year-old Parisian ending up in a tie for fifth. But she’s giving it one last big heave. She’s putting together a fantastic last round, with birdies at 2, 9, 11, 15, 16 and now 17 rocketing her up the standings to -12. A birdie up the last, and you just never know!
-15: Salas (10)
-14: JY Ko (10)
-13: Shibuno (9)
-12: Boutier (17), Buhai (9)
Atthaya Thitikul, the 16-year-old Thai, wins the Smyth Salver for low amateur! She finishes in style as well, sending her second at 18 to 15 feet and rattling in the birdie putt. A 73 to end with. She’s -4, six clear of 18-year-old Yuka Yasuda. The young Japanese amateur finished with 77 and ended up very respectably at +2. Congratulations to Atthaya!
Jeongeun Lee6’s problems intensify. She sends a hook into the woods down the left of 13, and she’s been put on the clock as well. That really might be it for the US Open champ. Back on 9, Ashleigh Buhai can’t get up and down from the bottom of a grassy bank, and she slips to -12. Par for Hinako Shibuno, who remains two back at -13.
The US Open champion Jeongeun Lee6’s race might be run. That careless tee shot on 12 leads to a double-bogey six. Not such a lucky number after all, sad to say. She’s -10. No woman has won the US Open and British Open in the same year, and that record looks like surviving 2019. Especially as Lizette Salas has just arrowed her second straight at the 10th flag, rolling in the 12-foot birdie putt to pull two clear at the top! Albeit only for a few seconds, because her playing partner Ko Jin-young had sent her approach even closer, and she makes birdie as well.
-15: Salas (10)
-14: JY Ko (10)
-13: Buhai (8), Shibuno (8)
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Park Sung-hyun has, unlike her very large and vocal following, been super-quiet today. But she rolls a 25-footer in for birdie at 9, and she turns in 36 strokes. She’s back where she started the day, at -11, just three off the pace currently set by Lizette Salas. A couple more birdies and she’s right in the thick of it.
The short par-four 12th is a real risk-or-reward affair. Take the drivable green on, or lay up in front of the water that guards the dancefloor? Jeonguen Lee6 plays it safe with iron ... but really smacks it, and sends her ball scampering into the briny! A terrible mistake, and one that could compromise her charge. Meanwhile a three-putt bogey for Hinako Shibuno from the fringe at the back of the par-three 8th. Smiling Cinderella isn’t living up to her name right now, but she was miserable when struggling on the front nine yesterday, too ... then came back in 30 shots. A lot of story yet to be told. “This tournament is phenomenal and has everything a fan could want,” writes Lucy Wesson. “Thank you for the last three days and for coverage of this amazing finish!” We aim to please, Lucy. You’ll be back for the Solheim Cup, right?
-14: Salas (9)
-13: JY Ko (9), Buhai (8), Shibuno (8)
Morgan Pressel tickles a treacherous downhill putt on 8 into the cup. A first birdie of the day for the 2007 ANA Inspiration champion. Up on 9, Lizette Salas sticks her second to four feet, and makes the putt for birdie and a share. Since the five-major era began in 2013, the USA have always had at least one major winner each calendar year. It’s up to Pressel or Salas to keep that run going.
-14: Salas (9), Shibuno (7)
-13: JY Ko (9), Buhai (7)
-12: Lee6 (11)
-11: Pressel (8)
Hinako Shibuno finds the green at the par-five 7th in two big lashes. She can really cream it. The long eagle putt stops three feet short, and that’s a birdie that gives her the outright lead again! The damage of that four-putt has now been completely repaired. Buhai laid up, didn’t wedge close, but nearly drained a long birdie putt. One turn short, and that’s par. Meanwhile up on 18, Nelly Korda signs for a 69 and takes the clubhouse lead at -9. It can’t be too long before she makes her major breakthrough. A fine run through the field that only ran out of steam on the back nine. The story of her week.
A final round of 69 for the PGA champion Hannah Green. Having nearly missed the cut, she’s done extremely well over the weekend to finish the week at -7. She shares the clubhouse lead with Lexi Thompson and Teresa Lu, the Thai ending her round in disappointing fashion: bogey, bogey. A 69, but it promised so much more.
Salas isn’t far away from stroking a 30-footer in for birdie from the back fringe of 8. A tap-in for par will suffice. She remains -13, as does Ko, who doesn’t give her right-to-left birdie curler from 12 feet any chance. Back on 7, another birdie effort passes by for Park Sung-hyun. She remains at -10, just three off the lead. But there’s no sense of her gaining any sort of forward momentum. She’s been very flat today, just as she was in France last Sunday.
Ko Jin-young is hoping to become only the seventh player in history to win three majors in the same calendar year. She’d be keeping some fairly illustrious company: Babe Zaharias, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Inbee Park, Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods are the only folk to have managed it before. She very nearly jumps into the outright lead, an inch or so away from stroking in a 30-foot eagle putt on 7. But a kick-in birdie gives her a share with Hinako Shibuno, who pars 6; Lizette Salas, who birdies 7; and Ashleigh Buhai, whose tee shot into 6 isn’t much cop, but is followed up with a 40-foot rake for birdie. Good luck predicting the winner of this one.
-13: Salas (7), JY Ko (7), Buhai (6), Shibuno (6)
-12: Lee6 (9)
-10: Pressel (6), SH Park (6)
But at least Georgia Hall signs off with a birdie! She sends her second at 18 pin high to 15 feet, and rattles in the putt. A final round of 73 and she ends the defence of her title at -3. That’s a fine performance by a player who came into this tournament out of form. And she’ll always have Lytham.
There’ll be no English winner this year, though. Bronte Law has dropped yet another shot, this time at 8. She’s clattered down the standings to -5. Meanwhile Charley Hull whistles her tee shot at 7 out of bounds, and runs up a double bogey that sends her down to -6.
Hinako Shibuno has suffered three lip-outs already. But now on 6, a 15-foot birdie effort looks like missing by an inch on the left, only to be snaffled by the edge of the hole for birdie. Such spirit! She regains sole ownership of the lead at -13. This is such an exciting tournament.
This is really cooking up now! At the Evian last week, Ko Jin-young started the final day four shots behind the leader. She began her round today four off the pace. Is she going to come through the field to win a second major in a week, and her third of the year? She sends her tee shot at 6 to eight feet, and strokes in a nerveless birdie putt. And with her playing partner Lizette Salas making an extremely careless and slightly nervous three-putt bogey, it’s suddenly a five-way tie at the top!
-12: Lee6 (8), JY Ko (6), Salas (6), Shibuno (4), Buhai (4)
-10: SH Park (5), Pressel (5)
No woman has ever won the US Open and the British Open in the same year. But records are there to be broken, and Jeongeun Lee6 has just drained a monster birdie effort across 8! The victor a couple of months ago at Charleston is now just a shot off the lead.
-13: Salas (5)
-12: Lee6 (8), Buhai (4), Shibuno (4)
Marina Alex, who turned in 34 after early birdies at 2 and 3, continues to climb the leaderboard. Birdies at 11 and 12 have risen her to -9. She’s alongside Nelly Korda, who slips back after bogey at 14. And news of Carlota Ciganda, who was going along so well before a farcical double-bogey on 18 yesterday evening. Bogeys today at 1 and 4, and she’s slipped off the pace. She’s -7, and major glory continues to elude the consistent Spaniard.
Shibuno hasn’t changed her gameplan in the wake of that four-putt double. She gives her 20-footer a good rattle. It lips out - her third of the round already - and rolls three feet past. No mistake this time, though, and she tucks away the par putt. But Buhai judges her right-to-left birdie putt from the fringe perfectly, and that’s a much-needed shift in momentum for the 30-year-old South African. Meanwhile birdie for Ko Jin-young at 5. It’s busy at the top.
-13: Salas (5)
-12: Shibuno (4), Buhai (4)
-11: Lee6 (7), JY Ko (5)
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A fine iron into 4 by Ashleigh Buhai. Pin high, ten feet away. If she can get her putter warmed up again, she can kick-start her stalled campaign. Her playing partner, and fellow former leader, Hinako Shibuno sends her second straight at the pin, though she’s a good 20 feet short. Meanwhile birdie for the US Open champ Jeongeun Lee6 at the par-five 7th, which she reached in two. She joins Buhai in third at -11.
That was a mixture of carelessness and inexperience from Hinako Shibuno. She’d benefited from a huge stroke of luck with her approach, shoved right and heading towards a bunker poking into the side of the green. But her ball skipped over the sand and came to rest on the dancefloor. She really went for the long birdie putt, which showed swashbuckling intent if nothing else. You know who else led from the front with swashbuckling intent? Jean van de Velde, that’s who. Unlike the hapless Frenchman, Shibuno has plenty of time to repair the damage. And at least the Smiling Cinderella is still living up to her name as she walks away from the scene of the crime, so she’s not allowing her head to drop yet.
Shibuno’s left herself a tricky downhill par putt. And it lips out on the right, the ball racing three feet past. She pulls the one coming back, and that’s a horrific four-putt double bogey. Her first serious mistake of the week. And suddenly Lizette Salas leads the British Open!
-13: Salas (4)
-12: Shibuno (3)
-11: Buhai (3)
-10: Korda (13), Lee6 (6), JY Ko (4), SH Park (3), Pressel (3)
One of the shots of the week on 4 by Lizette Salas. She lands her approach five feet from a flag tucked away on the right. And that’s her third birdie in the first four holes! What a start. And there’s a chance it’ll give her a share of the lead at -13, because on 3, Hinako Shibuno races a long birdie effort four feet past the hole. That’s missable.
Bounceback birdie for Nelly Korda at 12. She’s met at -10 by Park Sung-hyun, heading the other way. The world number two’s second into 3 snags on the bank to the left of the green. She faces a treacherous chip downhill towards the hole, and plays a clever flop into the thick rough, taking as much pace off the ball as possible before it springs onto the green. But it still rolls 20 feet past. As good as she could do, but she can’t make the one coming back and that’s a bogey. Is the super-popular South Korean suffering from final-round nerves yet again? She was all over the place at the Evian last Sunday. This is becoming an increasing problem for a player who has freely admitted to suffering from day-four jitters.
Bronte Law’s race looks run already. She’s followed up that opening-hole bogey with two more in short order, at 3 and now 5. She clatters down the standings to -6. Easy to forget this is her rookie year. This experience will stand her in good stead. English hopes appear slim, then, with Charley Hull also going backwards after a bogey-birdie-bogey start. She’s -8.
Oh Su-hyun parred her way home after the aforementioned birdie blitz. A fine final-day 66 and she ends the week at -6. Lexi Thompson meanwhile sent a tramliner into the hole on 18 for a valedictory birdie, and the 2014 ANA Inspiration champion is the new clubhouse leader at -7. A fine end to a difficult week for Lexi.
Shibuno lays up from the semi-rough on 2, then wedges to ten feet. It looks as though she’s read her right-to-left slider perfectly, but it lips out. She yelps in bemusement but is soon smiling again as per usual. Buhai’s approach meanwhile was superb, spun to six feet. But she can’t make the short birdie effort. Where’s the Buhai of the first two-and-a-half days? She needs to return quicksmart.
-14: Shibuno (2)
-12: Salas (3)
-11: SH Park (2), Buhai (2)
-10: Lee6 (5), JY Ko (3), Pressel (2)
-9: N Korda (11), Nordqvist (5)
Thanks John. That’s me back just in time to see Morgan Pressel miss a six-foot birdie opportunity on 2. She remains at -10. She’s joined there by Jeongeun Lee6, who follows birdie at 3 with another at 5. Park Sung-hyun has opened with a pair of pars, a long birdie effort on 2 stopping right on the lip. She stays at -11. But Nelly Korda’s is stumbling on the back nine yet again. Trouble off the tee at 11, and the resulting bogey sends her back to -9.
Charley Hull is having a wild start to her afternoon. She has had to lay up after whacking her tee shot on the third into the trees. Par is going to be problematic; the putt she has for a saver is fully 40 feet. It doesn’t go in. Bogey it is. Behind her, Shibuno’s drive on the second has taken her into some semi-rough. Work to do to make birdie on the par five. Buhai’s shot is far better, and on the fairway.
Anyway, that’s me done. Scott Murray is back in the chair to guide Shibuno - or AN Other - home to the final major of the year.
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Ko, on the second, has a birdie to play for but drifts her shot to the left of the hole. That’s two pars in a row. Buhai’s chance of par looks distant as her lie at the bunker is dreadful; she has to lean over and play with her feet out of the sand. The shot is OK, but she has 20 feet or so to make par. Shibuno collects her par having failed to get the ball up the hill for her putt; the saver shot is hit with confidence. Salas, meanwhile, has made another birdie and is now two shots off the lead at -12. She has second place to herself as Buhai’s putt falls short to go to -11.
Nelly Korda’s charge slows up with a par - rather than birdie - on the tenth. She has still made the jump from 18th to fifth. Shibuno’s shot to the first is good, but the bounce of the green means she has a tough shot for birdie. Still, Buhai is in worse trouble, playing from the edge of one bunker to landing straight in the sand of another.
Here comes Shibuno, with a Cheshire Cat smile, to the tee. Nobody is enjoying this weekend more than her. Ashleigh Buhai goes first, and how will she recover from losing that five-shot lead? She goes close to a bunker but ends up with a decent lie. Shibuno curtsies as she goes to address the ball, then collects herself, the smile withdrawn for a moment and her swing is true. It wasn’t the longest drive of the day but it is well positioned and safe. Charley Hull’s bunker shot at the second is OK, but leaves her with work to do to make a birdie, work to which she is more than equal. That’s a great shot.
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Pressel and Park take to the first tee as the penultimate pairing to go. Morgan Pressel goes first, and she punches a bouncer that bounds down the fairway. Sung Hyun Park’s power off the tee takes her way beyond her partner, and she has quite a loud support behind her. Salas starts her day with a birdie and with a confident ten-yard putt. Charley Hull’s confidence, meanwhile, may have been sapped again. Her second shot to the first fails to make it over the bunker and she may well be plugged.
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Ko takes her second to the first, and it is something of a pull, nowhere near as good as Salas, her playing partner. Charley Hull throws off the disappointment on the first with a confident drive. Bronte Law collects a par on the second up ahead. Nelly Korda is four off the lead and if she continues like this will have presented a significant target to aim at for those following her in.
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Lizette Salas steps up to the oche for her first drive. The applause for that is deserved. A beauty. Here goes Ko Jin-young, who swipes her drive into the fairway without much of a backwards glance. The younger Korda is on the ninth and her shot from the fairway almost holes out. She collects a fourth birdie in a row, and it might have been an eagle, that’s 31 for the front nine. Charley Hull’s putt on the first is a miss, and a bogey it is, just like Bronte Law. A disappointing start for them both. Ciganda, having been within 12 feet of birdie, gets a bogey on the second.
A third birdie in a row for Nelly Korda, this time at 8. She’s -9 and smiling broadly. Speaking of which, Hinako Shibuno tees off in 25 minutes. Right now, she’s on the driving range posing for selfies with fans, her range nameplate tucked under her arm. She’s either helping officials tidy up, or snaffling a souvenir. Whatever the reason, it’s extremely endearing. She’s unquestionably got star quality.
Speaking of unquestionable star quality, here comes John Brewin! He’ll be your guide while I take a quick break before everything gets very real. See you soon.
Law’s chip back up isn’t quite as explosive as she’d like. A weak effort that stops 15 feet short. She can’t make the putt and it’s her first bogey of the week. She slips back to -8. Who knows, the end of that run might act as a release. The mind does strange things. Meanwhile par for her playing partner Jing Yan who remains at -8. Back on the tee, Woburn member Charley Hull and Carlota Ciganda crack their opening drives down the fairway without too much fuss. And a tap-in birdie for Nelly Korda on 7, after two big hits and an eagle putt from 15 feet left one turn short. She’s -8.
Bronte Law takes to the 1st tee. A huge reception for one of England’s two big hopes. But the gallery soon falls silent as she pulls a nervy opening drive towards the trees on the left. She’s lucky that her ball nestles in the semi-rough after clipping some branches. But she’s got the best part of 200 yards still to go, and though her second shot is decent, she can’t spin it to a stop on the green from the rough, and it bounds over the back and down a bank. She’s not dropped a shot all week, a quite unbelievable run. Some work needs to be done here if that record’s to be maintained.
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Nelly Korda is mooching along nicely. Birdies at 1 and now 6. She’s -7, and making hay while the sun shines, because the closing holes been the problem for the big-hitting 21-year-old Floridian this week. Nine birdies this week on the first seven holes; on the last 11, just four plus six bogeys. The bizarro Shibuno.
Oh Su-hyun is putting something pretty special together. Her run of four consecutive birdies ended with par on 14. But no matter! She’s back on the horse again quickly enough, picking up her fifth stroke on the back nine at 15. She’s -6, and tearing it up since the turn. The sort of behaviour that we should probably describe as Shibunoesque, the leader having played the back nine in 30 strokes not once but twice this week.
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Maria Torres pars the last, and she signs for a wonderful final round of 67. She ends the week at -5. Shame she’s not able to put a British Open hole in one on her CV, having come so very close at 14 on Thursday. But it’s been a good week for the first Puerto Rican on the LPGA Tour. Torres is the very early clubhouse leader.
Two increasingly nervous teenage amateurs are fighting for the Smyth Salver. Yuka Yasuda, 18, makes back-to-back bogeys on 7 and 8. Then 16-year-old Atthaya Thitikul yips a short one on 2, before three-putting 3. Back-to-back bogeys for her as well. But make no mistake, these young women can play; the fact both are still under par for the week is testament to that. Yasuda is -2, Thitikul -3.
Taiwan’s Teresa Lu had a share of the 54-hole lead in this event back in 2015. But she fell away in the final round at Turnberry, collapsing to a 74, Inbee Park winning her only British Open instead. Round four is treating her much better today: birdies at 2, 4 and 5 have launched her up the standings to -7. About time for our first updated leaderboard of the day, I would say.
-14: Shibuno
-12: Buhai
-11: SH Park
-10: Pressel, JY Ko, Salas
-9: Ciganda, Hull, Law
-8: Yan, Lee6
-7: Lu (5), Alex (4), Nordqvist, Masson
Four birdies in a row for Oh Su-hyun! The latest at 13. She rises to -5. Her antics will give the chasing pack succour, even if scoring across the board isn’t quite as low as it’s been for the first three days.
Marina Alex nearly aced 8 on Friday, her 29th birthday. A birdie and a round of 70 wasn’t a bad consolation prize, though. A low round today, and she might just improve on her best result in a major, a tie for ninth in this event at Birkdale back in 2014. She’s made back-to-back birdies at 2 and 3, springing up the standings to -7. That’s currently a tie for 12th, and there’s a spring in her step.
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Another birdie for Oh Su-hyun, this time at 12. She’s -4 for both her round and the tournament overall. A hot streak, but Maria Torres has just gone one better. Another birdie for the Puerto Rican at 15, and she’s -5 for both her efforts today and the entire week.
The leading amateur will lift the Smyth Salver, a prize donated by eponymous former Ladies Golf Union president Moira. (That’s Moira Smyth, not Moira Salver. Or Moira Smyth-Salver.) Anyway, some pretty darn big names have won this thing in recent years: Michelle Wie, Amy Yang, Mel Reid, Anna Nordqvist, Danielle Kang, Lydia Ko and Georgia Hall. That’s some roll call. Today’s battle is between the only two amateurs to survive the cut, Yuka Yasuda of Japan and Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand. Yasuda started the day two shots back at -3, and having dropped a stroke at the opening hole, she’s just rolled in a couple of fine birdie putts, at 5 and 6. She’s -4, now just the one behind Thitikul, who has parred the 1st.
The wind’s beginning to swirl, setting the players one or two posers to solve. Though it’s yet to become too much for Oh Su-hyun. The 23-year-old Korean-born Aussie finished in a tie for 15th last year at Lytham, and is threatening another decent result this year. Birdies at 7, 10 and now 11 have brought her up to -3.
It all went wrong for the defending champion Georgia Hall on the 9th yesterday. She hooked her drive into a waist-high thicket, and a double-bogey was the almost inevitable consequence. Ever since then, with the knowledge that holding onto her title was now a pipe dream, her play’s gone a bit flat. She signed for a 74, and it’s three uneventful pars to start this morning. However, when the dust settles she’ll look back on this week with pride. Her 2019 form has been distinctly average by her own standards, but she’s managed to raise her game back to a level where a successful defence was a genuine possibility for the first two-and-a-half days. A week that will hopefully get her back on track. And hey, she’ll always have Lytham. She’s -4.
Having said all that, there’s evidence of some decent scoring out on the course right now. Maria Torres of Puerto Rico nearly made a hole-in-one on Thursday, inches away from slam-dunking a hybrid straight into the cup at 14. She’s on her game again today: birdies at 2, 4, 5, 11 and now 12, and she’s looking to finish strong at -4. China’s Xiyu Lin meanwhile was out in 33. A shot just gone at 13, but she’s going along nicely at -2. So ... taking advantage of calm early conditions, or a sign that we’re in for more of the same? We’ll find out soon enough.
The weather’s was the field’s friend during the first three days. Sunny and still, perfect conditions for low scoring. Woburn’s Marquess Course might play a little harder today, though, if the forecasts prove correct. The rain promised today hasn’t materialised yet, but the wind is up a little. Nothing dramatic, but enough to give the players pause. If it continues to pick up, it could become quite a test.
Shibuno’s golfing hero is Lexi Thompson. The passport-misplacing shenanigans of Monday took their toll on Thompson, who was mortified that her mistake led to a chain of events that eventually cost 40 players their first practice round. And so the 2014 ANA Inspiration champion has never really featured this week. Rounds of 71, 70 and 73 mean she was one of the earlier starters today. But she’s going along nicely. Birdies at 1 and now 5 whisk her up the leaderboard to -4.
Preamble
Marie Kondo is one of Japan’s most famous exports, but the renowned lifestyle guru has nothing on her compatriot Hinako Shibuno. Kondo is all about doing those things that “spark joy”; well, the 20-year-old Shibuno sparks joy wherever she goes. Known back home as Smiling Cinderella in honour of her infectious good cheer, she’s warmed Woburn this week with her constant crowd interaction, giving the punters thumbs up, posing for selfies with kids, handing out signed gloves. She runs around replacing divots. Oh, and the golf’s not half bad either. Yesterday, after hitting a rough patch mid-round, she came back in 30 strokes. She drives straight and long, approaches with unerring accuracy, and makes her fair share of putts. And so, she leads the British Open by two. She’s doing all this on her major-championship debut. It’s the first time she’s played competitively outside Japan!
Perhaps she’ll lift the trophy today. Perhaps this will be the day that finally overwhelms her. Or perhaps she’ll simply be overtaken by a storming round from Ashleigh Buhai, who was leading by five at one point yesterday ... or the world number one Ko Jin-young ... or the world number two Park Sung-hyun ... or Lizette Salas, a woman whose putt has won a Solheim Cup ... or Carlota Ciganda, hoping to win Spain’s first major ... or Morgan Pressel, hoping to win the USA’s first major this year ... or Bronte Law, yet to make a bogey this week ... or Charley Hull, playing on her home course. Whatever happens, we won’t be forgetting Hinako Shibuno, who has announced her talent to the world this week in style. It promises to be one heck of a fourth round. The joy-sparking begins here soon. It’s on!
This is what happened yesterday ... in Ewan Murray’s report form, and in live Hole-by-Hole blog form.
Here’s the very top of the leaderboard ...
-14: Shibuno
-12: Buhai
-11: SH Park
-10: Pressel, JY Ko, Salas
-9: Ciganda, Hull, Law
And here are today’s tee times ...
8.30 Felicity Johnson (Eng), Gerina Piller (US)
8.40 Annabel Dimmock (Eng), Mariajo Uribe (Col)
8.50 Charlotte Thomas (Eng), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (Eng)
9.00 Hur Mi-jung (Kor), Austin Ernst (US)
9.10 Linnea Strom (Swe), Sarah Schmelzel (US)
9.20 Sarah Kemp (Aus), Kim In-kyung (Kor)
9.30 Caroline Hedwall (Swe), Nicole Broch Larsen (Den)
9.40 Maria Torres (Pur), Lin Xiyu (Chn)
9.50 Momoko Ueda (Jpn), Cheyenne Knight (US)
10.05 Anne Van Dam (Ned), Azahara Munoz (Spa)
10.15 Su Oh (Aus), Jasmine Suwannapura (Tha)
10.25 Brittany Lang (US), Annie Park (US)
10.35 Angel Yin (US), Chun In Gee (Kor)
10.45 Brooke Henderson (Can), Megan Khang (US)
10.55 Lexi Thompson (US), Mirim Lee (Kor)
11.05 Yu Liu (Chn), Ayako Uehara (Jpn)
11.15 Karo Lampert (Ger), Minami Katsu (Jpn)
11.25 Pornanong Phatlum (Tha), Angela Stanford (US)
11.40 Danielle Kang (US), Olivia Cowan (Ger)
11.50 Ally Mcdonald (US), Yuka Yasuda -a- (Jpn)
12.00 Jessica Korda (US), Georgia Hall (Eng)
12.10 Kim Hyo-joo (Kor), Jenny Shin (Kor)
12.20 Teresa Lu (Tai), Hannah Green (Aus)
12.30 Nelly Korda (US), Marina Alex (US)
12.40 Minjee Lee (Aus), Jeongeun Lee (Kor)
12.50 Moriya Jutanugarn (Tha), Atthaya Thitikul -a- (Tha)
1.00 Kim Sei-young (Kor), Brittany Altomare (US)
1.15 Kristen Gillman (US), Celine Boutier (Fra)
1.25 Ariya Jutanugarn (Tha), Pavarisa Yoktuan (Tha)
1.35 Sakura Yokomine (Jpn), Caroline Masson (Ger)
1.45 Anna Nordqvist (Swe), Jeongeun Lee6 (Kor)
1.55 Jing Yan (Chn), Bronte Law (Eng)
2.05 Charley Hull (Eng), Carlota Ciganda (Spa)
2.15 Lizette Salas (US), Ko Jin-young (Kor)
2.25 Morgan Pressel (US), Park Sung-hyun (Kor)
2.35 Ashleigh Buhai (RSA), Hinako Shibuno (Jap)
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