Jodi Ewart Shadoff ecstatic with second place finish at Women's British Open
Sunday 6 August 2017 21:18, UK
Jodi Ewart Shadoff was delighted with her blemish-free final round 64 that saw her finish in second place at the Ricoh Women's British Open at Kingsbarns.
The English player had trailed In-Kyung Kim by a full nine shots leading into Sunday's final round but lead the British contingent, which included Georgia Hall, to post her lowest round of the year so far.
Shadoff, who confirmed her place in next months Solheim Cup at Des Moines in Ioha, finished two shots behind Kim and is buoyed by her return to form after missing last week's cut at the Ladies Scottish Open.
"This week's been a great boost of confidence, and I'm excited to go to Solheim in a couple weeks and play there," said Shadoff.
"I missed the cut last week at The Scottish Open, so my confidence wasn't that high coming into this week. So it's been a huge shift of confidence for me, and I'm excited to go play match play, actually. I really love match play. I love being in a team environment."
The 29-year-old, who made five birdies in a row from the sixth, equalled the course record set by Michelle Wie earlier in the week and thrived on the momentum she built during her round as she edged towards contention for her first major victory raising her hopes of a title around the corner.
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"I didn't think starting the day that I would have a shot," Shadoff added. "In-Kyung was way ahead, and I just started out really strong. Holed a great putt on the first hole, which I think set the tone for the day for par. And then my putting was really on fire.
"I had a great stretch in the middle of the round to get me going. I knew coming down the stretch that I was somewhere in the vicinity of a win, and I just need to put myself into that position more often. That's what I've been doing, and hopefully, you know, in the next few weeks, I'll finally get a win."
Shadoff's compatriot Hall, who leads the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit this year, fired a final round 70 to finish in a tie for third and heads into her first Solheim Cup full of belief that she can "definitely compete with the best".
"I'm very happy really," said Hall. "Tied third is more than what I expected. It gives me loads (of confidence). Especially with Solheim, as well. I played with some of the players that will probably be on the team, on the American side, as well.
"Hopefully I can play well for Europe in a couple weeks' time. I can't wait to get out there. It will be the highlight of my career."
Charley Hull finished in a tie for 16th place at eight-under for the championship following a two-under par final round but was content with her showing around the links setting.
"I'm happy with the way I played this week and I feel like my game is in good condition, and I feel like I'm going to have a good few weeks coming up," said Hull, who will compete in her third Solheim Cup for Europe.
"I'm buzzing. I think it should be a good week. I'm looking forward to it. I think it should be fun back in America. I prefer playing it when it's in America, actually. The crowds are pretty big out there, so I enjoy it."
