HOLLY CLYBURN FINISHES FOURTH IN WOMEN'S DIXIE AMATEUR

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Holly Clyburn, joint runner-up in the event last year, finished fourth behind the same winner, Pauia Reto, in the Women's Dixie Amateur stroke-play championship at Heron Bay Golf Club, Coral Springs in Florida today.
The Curtis Cup player, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, and Woodhall Spa GC member from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire had rounds of 72, 73, 71 and 70 for a two-under-par total of 286 - exactly the same aggregate Holly had 12 months ago when she scored 72-72-72-70 and was beaten by one stroke.
Winner by five shots this year was the 21-year-old defending champion, Paula Reto, who is from Cape Town, South Africa but went to high school at Coral Springs and lives there when he she is not attending classes as a third-year student at Purdue University, Lafayette in Indiana.
She is the first player to win the Women's Dixie Amateur title two years in a row. The amazing aspect of Reto's back-to-back victories is that she did not take up golf until 2005. Prior to that her sporting interests centred on field hockey and track athletics in South Africa.
Paula's scoring was brilliant. She broke the par of 72 in every round with scores of 69, 67, 70 and 69 for a professional-class total of 13-under-par 275 - 10 shots lower than her winning aggregate in 2011 when she scored 72-69-70-74 for 285.
Runner-up on 280 was Thailand's teenage Moriya Jutanugarn with scores of 68, 75, 69 and 68.
The only other player to finish ahead of Holly Clyburn, who moves on this week to play in the first of the Orange Blossom Tour events - the Harder Hall Invitational - at Sebring, was American Jay Marie Green on 281 with scores of 71, 74, 67 and 70.
The only other British player in the quality field was last year's Roehampton Gold Cup winner, Rachel Drummond (Beaconsfield), who faded to a final placing of joint 28th after a bright start with a two-under-par 70. Subsequent rounds were 78-77-74 for a total of 11-over 299.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72). Yardage 6,350.
Players from US unless stated
275 Paula Reto (South Africa) 69 67 70 69.
280 Moriya Jutanugarn (Thailand) 68 75 69 68.
281 Jaye Marie Green 71 74 67 69
286 Holly Clyburn (England) 72 73 71 70.
288 Madison Opfer 72 72 72 72, Madrison Pressel 74 71 77 66.

Selected total
299 Rachel Drummond (England) 70 78 77 74

TO VIEW ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

CLICK HERE

Purdue student Paul Reto's impressive title defence over her "home" course at Coral Springs

FROM THE TOURNAMENT WEBSITE
CORAL SPRINGS, Florida — Paula Reto cruised to a five-shot win over Thai teenager Moriya Jutanugarn on Monday to successfully defend her Dixie Amateur title at Heron Bay Golf Club.
Reto, pictured right, shot 13-under 275 (69-67-70-69) while Jutanugarn went 68-75-69-68. Jaye Marie Green of Boca Raton, Florida, finished alone in third another shot back (71-74-67-69), while England's Holly Clyburn (72-73-71-70—286) was solo fourth.
Tied for fifth at even-par 288 were Madison Opfer of Plant City, Fla., and Madison Pressel of Boca Raton.
"I consider Heron Bay my home course, so that helped a lot," said Reto, who was born in South Africa but now makes her home in Coral Springs. "I just tried to stay focused and play my game; to play conservative, but good. "Normally, my strength is my long game," said the 21-year-old Reto, a junior at Purdue University who did not start golfing until 2005. "But this week it was my putting that made the difference. The greens here were great; the whole course was in great shape."
Paula Reto went 13-under par over four rounds at Heron Bay Golf Club in Coral Springs, Florida, to successfully defend her Dixie Amateur crown. Reto, who became the first back-to-back champion in women's Dixie history, said the win would give her increased confidence heading back into the collegiate season. "The Dixie is a lot bigger than most college tournaments, so it will be a big boost for me, especially this year with this field. There were a lot of great players here this week."
On Sunday, Diane Lang of Weston, Florida, solidified her reputation as one of the dominant senior golfers in the world, edging Lisa Schlesinger of Laytonsville, Md., by two shots to claim her third straight senior women's Dixie Amateur. Ivy Steinberg of Stouffville, Ont., finished third.
Lang, a three-time U.S. Senior Amateur champion, has won the title every year since the division was established in 2009.
Almost 100 top female amateur golfers from 21 U.S. states and nine other countries were entered in the Dixie Amateur, one of the most prestigious championships in the world.
While the men's Dixie Amateur has been played since 1924, the women's division was instituted in 2002. Since then, it has featured world-class fields and an impressive list of champions who went on to make their mark on the LPGA.
The inaugural women's champion, future LPGA winner Meaghan Francella, narrowly defeated Paula Creamer, now an LPGA superstar.
In 2007, the sensational Alexis Thompson won at the age of 12 before breaking onto the professional scene this year, becoming the youngest-ever to win on the LPGA and European women's tours at 16. (Her brother, Curtis, a freshman at Louisiana State University, won this year's men's Dixie Amateur on December 22).
That same year, two-time Dixie champion Angela Park (2003, 2005) was named the LPGA's rookie of the year.
The Dixie Amateur is organised, conducted, and hosted by ClubLink (www.clublink.ca), one of the world's largest multi-course owners.
For more information, including complete results, please visit http://www.dixieamateur.com/

Dixie Amateur Women's Champions
2011 Paula Reto

Recap of last year's leading final totals:
285 Paula Reto (S Africa) 72 69 70 74.
286 Holly Clyburn (England) 72 72 72 70, Ginger Howard (US) 72 70 74  70.
289 Victoria Tanco (Argentina) 79 71 70 69.
290 Madison Pressel (US) 73 77 70 70, Jaye Marie Green (US) 74 76 71 69.
   
2010 Paula Reto
2009 Lindy Duncan
2008 Candace Schepperle
2007 Alexis Thompson
2006 Vicky Hurst
2005 Angela Park
2004 Ashley Hoagland
2003 Angela Park
2002 Meaghan Francella

Dixie Amateur Senior Women's Champions
2011 Diane Lang
2010 Diane Lang
2009 Diane Lang