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Paula Creamer needs some help if she's going to play in this week's Women's British Open
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Paula Creamer finds herself in an unusual position for a 10-time LPGA winner and former U.S. Women’s Open champion: On the outside looking in to play in a major championship.
The 31-year-old, ranked 115th in the Race to the CME Globe with just just one top-25 finish to her credit in 14 starts this season, is currently the first alternate at this week’s Ricoh Women’s British Open, a championship she has played in the last 13 years. To compete at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, where she finished in third place when the English course last held the event in 2009, she’ll need somebody to withdraw in the next two days.
Creamer tried to earn a spot in the field on Monday during Final Qualifying, where 120 players were gunning for 17 spots at St. Anne’s Old Links. She entered the qualifier having finished in a tie for 35th with a closing 66 the day before at the Aberdeen Investments Ladies' Scottish Open. Creamer shot a 69 on Monday, which got her into a 12-woman playoff for the final seven qualifying spots.
On the first two playoff holes, Creamer missed birdie putts from six and eight feet. On the fourth playoff hole, she failed to get up and down for par, losing the final Open spot to Canada’s Brittany Marchand.
A year ago, Creamer also played in the Final Qualifying, shooting a 68 that put in her a tie for second and into the tournament.
Another major winner from the U.S., Morgan Pressel, also played in the qualifier. The former Kraft Nabisco champ shot a 71 to miss the playoff by two spots.
Here are the scores for those who advanced through qualifying:
62, Linn Grant (a)
66, Cloe Frankish
67, Rachael Goodall
68, Tonje Daffinrud, Laetitia Beck, Inci Mehmet, Robynn Ree, Ursula Wikstrom, Frida Kinhult (a), Haeji Kang
69, Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras, Tiffany Joh, Hollie Muse (a), Lydia Hall, Sideri Vanova, Ludovica Farina (a) and Brittany Marchand