GOLD COAST, Australia (AFP) — South Korean golfer Shin Hyun-Ju missed an easy putt at the final hole to hand English veteran Lisa Hall the Australian Ladies Masters golf title at Royal Pines here on Sunday.
Shin did not make a mistake until her last putt from less than a metre (yard) and it proved costly as she let slip the chance to force a play-off against the 40-year-old Hall.
Hall carded a six-under par 66 to finish the rain-shortened 54-hole tournament at 13-under 203.
"I think it was always going to be a day where it came down to the end," said Florida-based Hall, who had just two bogeys over the entire three days of competition.
"It was going to take a low score so in that respect I wasn't surprised.
"I had time to mark my scorecard so seeing her (Shin) miss was like 'I won!' It was cool."
It was the second consecutive weekend that a South Korean golfer was beaten in a pressure situation after Shin Ji-Yai lost to Australian Karrie Webb at the second playoff hole at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Shin Hyun-Ju, ranked number 45 in the world, had showed plenty of composure up to Sunday's final hole playing alongside Australian pair Webb and Tamie Durdin in windy conditions.
Until her botched putt, Shin had played with control in her first outing at Royal Pines after sharing the overnight lead at eight-under with Webb and Durdin.
"I am a little disappointed because I played really well in three days and I never missed a short putt, but there was pressure," said Shin, who broke down following the heart-breaking loss.
"It was a bad stroke (on the 18th green)."
Webb looked set to win her seventh Ladies Masters title when she sunk a monster eagle putt on the par-five third to take the outright lead at 10-under.
But Webb's grip on the title loosened following bogeys on the sixth, eighth and tenth holes, and she finished fifth.
Hall's countrywoman Felicity Johnson carded a 65, the lowest round of the tournament, to tie for third with Swede Louise Stahle.
Durdin crumbled in the final round, shedding four shots in her opening five holes to plummet out of contention.
Another player to fade was Taiwanese Tseng Ya-Ni, who started the day at seven-under but carded a 79.
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