Karrie Webb claimed her 41st LPGA success and her second victory a month in posting a blistering final round and course record equaling nine-under par 63 for a 19-under par tally to capture the JTBC Founders Cup in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Queenslander stormed through the field but then had to wait some 90 minutes before confirmation of her success and a second triumph in a month after capturing a fifth Australian Open victory.
And just a few hours after Adam Scott let slip victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational Webb’s win comes good news for Australian golf.
Webb had been interviewed following her round but remarking: “I would say that will be just a little short (of winning)”.
But then the unthinkable happened and with victory virtually falling into Webb’s lap.
Webb managed birdied at the second and fifth holes and while she bogeyed the sixth, the champion Australian then uncapped the best golf of the week with eight birdies in 12 holes, including four straight from Nos. 13-16. That pushed her from 11 under and a handful of shots back of the lead to 19 under and leader-in-the-clubhouse status. Which led to a win.
Karrie Webbs wins JTBC Founders Cup after a sizzling final round 63 in Arizona.
“I definitely putted probably the best I have all week; I don’t feel like I putted all that great the first few rounds,” said Webb.
“I worked on a few things with my coach Ian Triggs last night, so I really got the ball rolling on the back nine. I stood on the tenth tee and I was like what’s it going to take to get to 20 under. So I had to shoot 29. And I shot 30.”
Among the first to congratulate Webb was American Stacy Lewis who shot a last day 66 to finish one shot behind at 18-under par.
“”I think the amazing part is that when you talk to her, when she talks about her golf game she seems very frustrated with it,” said Lewis.
“That’s the amazing part of it. So she gets it. She knows how to get it done. She knows when if she’s not hitting it as well, or she knows how to make a few putts and hang around. That’s what she did yesterday when we played together.”
Webb’s second success that earned her a $US 225,000 first prize cheque, could not be more timely with the women’s first major – the Kraft Nabisco – just a fortnight away.
And what makes Webb’s victory even more special, and perhaps a first in the annuals of professional golf, as her long-time coach, Ian Triggs had coached fellow Queenslander John Senden who won last week’s PGA Tour Valspar Championship.
It would mean a first on any Tour with Triggs having coached a winning male golfer on the PGA Tour and the very next week having coached a female golfer to success on the LPGA Tour.
Ian Triggs (left) and the coach to John Senden and Karrie Webb watching TV coverage moments before Senden is confirmed as 2014 Valspar Champion last week in Tampa Bay. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)
Triggs had been on hand last Sunday to witness Senden capture only his second PGA Tour but could not remain for the prize-giving ceremony as he was rushing to the airport so be present in Phoenix to work with Webb and four other players ‘Triggsy’ was looking after this past week.
While Webb was coming off a recent victory most observers would not have given the 39-year-old Ayr golfer a chance of a second victory in four years at the Desert Ridge course.
But also for a second time in the event, Webb overcame a six-stroke deficit in the final round to win as she had so brilliantly done in 2011 when she closed with a 66 for a one-stroke victory.
The Hall of Famer shut out her rivals in birding five of the last six holes including making a 20-footer on the 18th.
Webb brushed aside third-round leader, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko who parred the final three holes to finish a stroke back and end tied second with defending champion Stacy Lewis along with Azahara Munoz, Amy Yang and Mirim Lee.
And of note, ‘Triggsy’ is also the coach to Yang.
A month ago Webb captured a fifth Women’s Australian Open title posting a last day 4-under 68 to beat Chella Choi by one stroke.
Webb birdied the 18th hole to take the outright lead, then watched as Choi, who shot a course-record 62 on Saturday to take a share of the third-round lead, pushed a 10-foot putt wide of the hole at 18 to miss the chance for a playoff.
It was Webb’s 40th LPGA title and coming after Australian Open success in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2008.
The win had marked a remarkable change of fortune for the No. 8-ranked Australian, who was disqualified from last week’s Australian Ladies Masters after signing an incorrect scorecard. She had been the defending champion at the event.
KARRIE WEBB – FACT FILE
Born: Ayr, Queensland, Australia
Lives: Boynton Beach, Fla.
Birthdate: December 21, 1974 – currently 39 years, 3 months, and 2 days
Qualified for LPGA Tour: 2nd at 1995 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament
Turned Professional: October 1994
VICTORIES
– LPGA: 41ST career victory
– Moves into a tie for 10th with Babe Zaharias on the LPGA Tour Career Wins List
RACE TO THE CME GLOBE
– Earns 500 points toward the Race to the CME Globe standings and moves into first on the points list with 1,242 points
ROLEX RANKINGS
– With her win, Karrie is projected to move from 6th to 5th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings
MONEY
CAREER: With the $225,000 first-place check, Karrie remains second on the LPGA Career Money List with $18,687,694.75
SEASON: Karrie has earned $519,597 this season and is ranked first on the LPGA Tour Official Money List
TOURNAMENT SPECIFIC
– Karrie becomes the first two-time winner of the JTBC Founders Cup (won in 2011)
– Previous finishes at the JTBC Founders Cup: 2011 – Win, 2012 – T14, 2013 – T18
