England's Mel Reid ties for third at Women’s PGA Championship after final-round 66
England’s Mel Reid recorded her best finish in a major yesterday with a brilliant final-round 66 to leap up into a tie for third at the Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine.
Reid, the 31-year-old who is down in 325th in the world rankings, bogeyed two of the first three holes at the Ryder Cup layout in Minnesota but racked up eight birdies to shoot her way up the field from 23rd at the start of the day.
Reid’s six-under total was not enough for her to catch wire-to-wire winner Hannah Green, the Australian who made a brave up-and-down for a par at the last for a 72 to end on eight-under and beat Korean Park Sung-hyan by a shot. But the cheque for approximately £180,000 all but guarantees that the Derbyshire golfer - who finished in a tie for ninth at the 2015 Women’s British Open - will retain her card on the LPGA Tour following a poor first five months of the season.
Reid’s countrywoman Georgia Hall fired a 73 to come in a tie for 26th on one-over, while the next-placed Briton was Gemma Dryburgh, the 26-year-old from Aberdeen, who posted a 74 to finish on four-over in a tie for 43rd.
For Green this was a fairytale success. The 22-year-old was ranked 114th coming in and could only boast two previous LPGA Tour top 10s, but Green showed nerve way beyond her experience to hole a six-footer for the title on the 18th. “This is surreal,” Green said. “I am pretty much speechless. I’m glad I finished with that clutch putt as I was really nervous on the back nine. This means so much.”
On the European Tour, England’s Matt Fitzpatrick had the chance to a rectify a season in which he has boasted the form but not the silverware, yet he was denied in a play-off at the BMW International Open in Munich.
Andrea Pavan played a beautiful approach on the second extra hole to set up the winning birdie after Fitzpatrick, the world No 34, had enjoyed a bizarre stroke of luck on the first sudden-death hole.
Fitzpatrick's approach from 285 yards plugged on a downslope a matter of centimetres from the water hazard, but a sloppy pitch from the Yorkshireman allowed Pavan to survive with a par.
The pair returned to the par-five 18th and, after Pavan’s superb third from the rough to tap-in range, Fitzpatrick skewed his bunker shot and failed to convert the birdie attempt. Earlier Pavan had set the clubhouse target after a 66 and watched on as Fitzpatrick had an eagle putt to win on the 72nd hole, only to leave it short.
Matt Wallace, the defending champion, also needed to birdie the 18th to match Pavan but twice hit in the water, and in the event fared well to limit the damage to a bogey. The world No 24 was clearly displeased with his caddy, Dave McNeilly, and on reflection will not be proud of his outburst.
