Feb5 KarriewinsAus

Karrie Webb captured her third Women’s Australian Open title, shooting an even-par 72 in the final round Sunday for a six-stroke win.

Webb, who began with a four-stroke lead over Wei Yun-jye of Taiwan, finished with a 10-under 278 total at Royal Sydney. Wei shot 74 to finish second at 4 under.

“Hopefully, it’s a good start to a good year,” Webb said. “Obviously, four days ago I would’ve been happy to sit in the clubhouse at 2-under, so it exceeded my expectations to finish at 10-under on a very good golf course.”

Paula Marti of Spain and Minea Blomqvist of Finland each shot 69 to finish tied for third at 2 under. Brittany Lincicome of the United States and Shin Ji-yai of South Korea also had 69s, finishing another shot back.

Katherine Hull of Australia shot a 7-under 65, the best round of the day, to move into ninth place.

Webb enjoyed the start to her season in her native Australia. “After the two-month layoff I had to get straight back into it and to play some very solid golf is very encouraging,” she said.

Laura Davies of Britain shot 77 to finish at 13 over, 23 shots behind Webb. American Natalie Gulbis had an 81 to finish at 14 over.

Webb, Davies and Gulbis are all scheduled to play next week at Royal Pines in the ANZ Australian Ladies Masters, which is co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour. Webb is a five-time Masters champion and Davies has won the event three times.

PICTURE: Australia’s Karrie Webb plays her approach shot into the 18th green on her way to winning the Australian Women’s Golf Open at Royal Sydney Golf Club in Sydney, Australia. By Mark Baker, Associated Press

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