‘Queen of Eagle’, Men’s Match is Beyond My Power

Six feet tall, massive figure and squared out shoulders, Laura Davis (40, UK) did not give in to her partner John Dally (6feet 1inch tall, US). Six feet tall and skinny, Huh Suk-ho (30, of Lee Dong-su Fashion, ASX) seemed much shorter and smaller.

But, the men’s match was far beyond her reach.

At the 46th Kolon Cup Korea Open Golf Match, held at Woo Jung Hills CC (Par 72), Chonan, Chungnam, on October 9, Davis, the sole woman player for the first time held a mixed golf match in Korea, was halted at 6-over par, with one birdie, five bogeys and one double bogey to finish ranking tied at 49th among the 70 players.

Dally, stuck together with her in the same group, finished at 7th , shooting five birdies, two bogeys, and two double bogeys, totaling a score of 1-over par. With a 3-over par score, Huh stayed tied at 22nd place.

Davis, reputed for a long flying ball in the woman’s match, could not do so easily this day, because of the formidable distance. It is quite different from a woman’s match, which is held at a 6400 yard course, here, it was 7042 yard course, making it tougher for her. Davis, who usually makes use of a 2-iron and a wood for teeing, took out her driver 11 times.

Teeing-off at the 10th hole, Davis bogeyed a par-3 13th hole, double-bogeyed on par-4 14th hole. At the par-3 16th hole, 226 yards long, she dropped the ball, teeing-off with an iron, 4.5 meter close to the hole, clapping hold of her first birdie. But, she double-bogeyed on par-4 17th and par-5 18th, and was stirred up. Named as ‘Queen of Eagle’, Davis only bogeyed three times on four par-5 holes without any birdie.

“I am deeply disappointed. The course setting was very difficult. My shot flew 20 to 30 yards shorter than the other players, I faced difficulty,” sighed Davis.

Daly, ‘a heretic of the field’, showed off his forte, the exciting long-ball, to the galleries, puffing up his chain smoke when he moved or waited for the tee shot. The tee-shot with iron and wood in turn, he shot up 320 yards long-ball with driver for the first time, but the ball crawled into the bushes, he putted three times to shrink by double bogey.

Except par-3 holes, Dally made use of his driver only 4 times, showing long-balls around 300 yards long. On the par-5, 510 yards, 5th hole, he sent the ball 310 yards with driver, brought on 2-on and 2 putt, having birdie.

“The location of the pin was too difficult to cut down the score. It was a mixed match but, there was no specific pressure of it,” said Dally.

Oh Tae-guen of Team Ashwars, recorded 2 victories of his Korean season so far, leaded by 5-under in the match.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com