Haikou, China – Sunday, 10th March 2013 – World No.8 Suzann Pettersen of Norway came from two shots behind Korea’s Inbee Park to claim a one stroke victory at the Mission Hills World Ladies Championship in China.
Pettersen fired a bogey-free six under 66 on the Sandbelt Trails Course on a hot and sunny final day at Mission Hills Haikou in tropical Hainan.
The 31-year-old from Oslo finished a shot clear of Park with a 72-hole total of 18 under par. “I felt like there was a 64 out there today and I got off to a good start. My goal was to get it to 20 under par. I said if I get beat at 20, I can live with it. I know Inbee is in there and if she just gets one look at a putt, it’s in, so I had to bring my best and the putter was hot today,” Pettersen said. “I’m very happy with how the game is and I’m just very happy to see the work that the China Golf Association does with the kids and how they grow the game.”
Pettersen saved her best golf of the week until the final day and she said: “I knew it would take the best to get this trophy but I was really keen on winning this tournament and it sets me up for a good start for this new year.”
Park fell behind early in the round and rallied with four birdies in five holes around the turn, however the 24-year-old World No.4 from Seoul stalled with a bogey on 15 which gave Pettersen a two stroke advantage.
Although Park birdied the par-5 18th, after hitting her second shot into a bunker short of the green, she couldn’t close the gap.
Pettersen chipped from the side of the 18th green and took two putts to claim her 16th worldwide tournament victory and her sixth Ladies European Tour title.
She added: “I’ve been really enjoying myself here and I feel comfortable. I like coming back and playing on the European Tour.”
The Korean pair of Park and Na-Heul Kim won the team event running concurrently, with a five stroke victory over Norway, followed by Thailand five shots further behind.
Mission Hills World Ladies Championship
Sandbelt Trails Course, Mission Hills Haikou Resort, Hainan, China
7-10 March 2013
Individual Strokeplay Event Final Scores:
270 – Suzann Pettersen (NOR) 70 67 67 66
271 – Inbee Park (KOR) 68 65 69 69
277 – Shanshan Feng (CHN) 70 69 72 66
278 – Soo Jin Yang (KOR) 69 69 68 72, Bo-Mi Suh (KOR) 68 69 72 69
279 – Veronica Zorzi (ITA) 70 67 72 70
