SOME time on Saturday afternoon Annika Sorenstam eagled the sixth hole at Woburn and moved to within two shots of Emilee Klein in the British Open championship. It was to be the closest anyone got all weekend.
For Klein there was to be no decline, much less a fall, and she went on to win her second successive tournament, taking away £80,000 this week to add to the £50,000 she won in Boston.
Klein, who plays with the absolute minimum of fuss, compiled a final round of 72, one under par, for a total of 277, 15 under. She won by seven shots from Amy Alcott and Penny Hammel, with Jane Geddes, Lisa Hackney and Alison Nicholas a further stroke behind on 285. The margin, while substantial, is not a record. Not only did Karen Lunn win by eight in 1993, Ayako Okamoto of Japan won by 11 in 1984.
Yesterday Klein was never less than four ahead. Hammel closed to that at one stage, when the winner was 15 under, and Nicholas did so when the respective margins were 14-10.
But it was little wonder that Klein, who was drenched in champagne on the final green, was able to say afterwards "There was not a moment of real worry. Even with a six shot lead you don't know how the others are going to play, and I didn't play my all time best golf. But whenever I made a mistake I recovered immediately, and now it is just a wonderful feeling."
Maria Hjorth, playing in only her fifth professional tournament, began the day as the nearest challenger, playing alongside Klein and six shots behind. When she holed a putt of some 25 feet at the first, it began to look as if a challenge could come from this most unexpected of quarters, but almost immediately such hopes diminished.
A tee shot to 10 feet at the short second looked good, but her first putt was hit far too hard and her second far too quickly, and both missed. Hjorth, apparently, means deer" in Swedish, and this one quickly ran away and hid in the woods a homeward half of 43, five over par, meant she finished 12 shots behind the winner.
Alison Nicholas and Lisa Hackney, at seven under, were the leading Europeans, but Nicholas, like her Solheim Cup partner, Laura Davies, will be relieved when the championship moves on from Woburn. "I felt claustrophobic with all these trees," she, said.
"I've lost the freedom in my swing and all my old faults have come back. And you can have the most awful luck round here. My partner, Karrib Webb really, played quite well but nothing went for her and she took 74.
"The course is like an alleyway. It's nice to have wide open spaces just now and again, but here there are no now and agains."
Davies finished as she had begun, in some disarray. Although she had a three under par 70, she could only par the last hole, a par five which had been brought forward by 37 yards, to measure only 477 yards. Davies found herself deep in the trees again, had to back out sideways, and the relatively simple birdie chance the hole represents to someone with her power was gone.
She confessed "I stand on that tee and I'm wondering whether I'll finish up out of bounds left or in the trees on the right. There's nothing wrong with this place, and it's got a great atmosphere, it's just that I can't play it.
On Saturday I felt like throwing up after I'd signed my card. That was as miserable as I've ever been coming off a golf course.
There was a record attendance over the four days of 48,940, "around 1,500 more than last year, despite a drop over the weekend, caused perhaps by having a runaway leader who was not a European.
. Irish amateur champion Barbara Hackett from Castletroy already assured of winning the Smyth Salver for being the leading amateur, shot a final round of 78 to finish at four over on 296.
It was a commendable finish considering, it included a quadruple bogey eight, at the 12th.
"I am pleased with that round despite the eight. At least I managed to hang in there over the last few holes" she said.
It has been a marvellous experience for Hackett who played alongside Scotland's Dale Reid winner of 21 Tour titles, on Saturday, and American Beth Daniel yesterday. I learned a lot from that. Playing this week has shown me that I can compete with the top players and I may consider joining the Tour. I will certainly think about it," said Hackett.
