Well, that wasn’t a bad way to end the Women and Girls’ Golf Week campaign.
A British winner of the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham? To shamefully pilfer the words of the great Henry Longhurst here in 1969: “Oh, what a corker.”
And this was a corker of a day as the female game revelled in its very own duel in the sun. Georgia Hall, the calm, composed and clinical 22-year-old from Bournemouth, claimed the biggest victory of her blossoming career and became just the fifth British woman to win a major title.
Just like oor ain Catriona Matthew here in 2009, Hall conquered at Lytham. A three-putt bogey from distance on the last didn’t matter. By that stage, she had the kind of comfortable cushion you’d get in a Bedouin tent.
A closing five-under 67 for a 17-under 271 gave her a two-shot win over the vibrant, cheery Thai, Pornanong Phatlum. It had been a wonderful advert for the women’s game as Hall became the first player to win the British Girls’ Amateur title, the British Women’s Amateur crown and the Women’s British Open
She joins a decorated list of champions on Lytham’s shimmering roll of honour too.
“I got a text from Tom Lehman the night before the final round,” said Hall of the 1996 Open champion at Lytham. “He said, ‘Go Georgia, I’m rooting for you’. It’s nice to be able to call him a friend now.”
One shot behind Phatlum heading into the final day, Hall served notice of her intentions with a birdie putt of 15-feet on the first.
That sparked an absorbing spell of golf as the duo embarked on something resembling a matchplay tussle at the head of affairs with seven birdies between them on the opening six holes.
It swiftly became a two-horse race with other contenders, most notably So Yeon Ryu, slithering backwards during the early exchanges.
Having been four-over after four, the fact Ryu still finished third on 13-under, after a spirited, seven-birdie 70, spoke volumes for the quality of her salvage operation.
It was all about Hall and Phatlum, though. And they were both playing like champions. There could be only one, of course.
Phatlum, with her pink ball, her yellow shirt and her 10-pin bowling-themed shorts, was as colourful as a Dulux paint palette and the leading pair exchanged birdies aplenty in a captivating contest which began to unravel over Lytham’s closing stretch.
Hall struck a telling blow on the 16th with a birdie putt of 20-feet to inch into the lead on her own for the first time in the week.
Could Phatlum counter? No she couldn’t. Bunkered off the 17th tee, the 28-year-old missed a long putt for par but the damage was compounded when she failed to make her short putt for a bogey. The two shots leaked there gave Hall a commanding three stroke lead to take to the 18th tee.
A canny drive and an approach into the heart of the green eased any nerves. The most pleasing three-putt of her young life got the job done.
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