Creamer Has Solid Weekend, Ko Make up Ground on Jutanugarn and more from Malaysia

Although Paula Creamer couldn’t build off her sizzling 64 on Saturday (she shot a 3-under-par 68 Sunday and finished eight shots back of the lead), she still had a very steady weekend, and locked up her third top-10 finish of the year – but her first since March.

“This has been a crazy year for me. It looks like I'm very far away from being good, but I'm really not that far away. I'm very close. I proved it yesterday, and today I played pretty solid,” said Creamer. “Overall, this is kind of what we've been looking for and hopefully I can continue to keep it going.”

Creamer can’t recall the last time she played five tournaments in a row, but given the recent work she’s put in with her coach, and how much she wants to keep working on her game, she’ll be in the field for the rest of the tournaments this season.

“I'm going to be playing all the tournaments till the end of the year. I need to do it; I need to get on the golf course and play and this is kind of what I wanted,” she stated, “I know if I keep continuing this, hopefully I can get a win under my belt by the end of the year.”

Creamer, long known as The Pink Panther, was happy to see so much pink in the crowds at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia as well, as the tournament is a robust supporter of breast cancer.

“That's why we all keep coming back. If it wasn't good, then I don't think you would see many players here, but Malaysia treats us well,” she said. “The golf course here is wonderful. It's tough and it's tricky when the wind starts to pick up. It's nice to see everybody in pink and especially for a great cause, promoting and supporting breast cancer.”

Lydia Ko beat Ariya Jutanugarn by nine shots this week, and that difference (Ko finished T12 while Jutanugarn was T43) meant Ko, already a four-time winner this year, leapfrogged Jutanugarn for the lead in the money list – by just $4,000 – and is a mere 50 points behind the five-time winner for the Race to the CME Globe.

“Ariya has been playing great and she's consistently putting herself in good positions and that's what I've been trying to do. I think we both have two events left. I think we're going to go to the very end. But whatever happens, I think it's a year and a season that I'm proud of,” said Ko. “I'm going to hope for a good finish the next two weeks.”

Even though Ko didn’t play well in South Korea last week – her T51 finish was her worst of the season – she felt like there were a lot of positives this week.

“I didn't really play well in Korea the couple weeks before, but it just shows that I can have the confidence and even though after an okay first day, I could still put myself back in the mix,” she explained. “I think there's still a lot of positive the out there. It was good to see those birdies and those putts.”

Ko also had a fine week with her local caddie, Guna Sargunan. She’ll have another new caddie on the bag next time she tees it up.

“It was a lot of fun working with Guna. I think a lot of people came out to not only watch me but to see him in action too,” said Ko with a smile. “It was really good, and obviously all the best to him when he goes back to his player.”

By her own admission, Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg (who finished tied for 33rd) had a ‘frustrating’ final round, and weekend overall. She had just come off chunking her tee shot on the par-3 15th into the water en route to a double-bogey.

But golf, as they say, is a funny game.

Two holes later, on the next par three, she grabbed a 7-iron, took a little off it, landed it a few feet short of the hole, and watched it trickle in for a hole-in-one, her sixth ace overall and third on the LPGA Tour. 

“When the ball was in the air, I kept yelling ‘Be Good! Be Good!’ because it looked good the whole way,” she said. “It landed maybe four or five feet short of pin and just trickled in.

Pernilla, whose best finish this year was a solo seventh at last week’s Blue Bay LPGA, said she was happy to know her Mom, back home in Sweden would be able to see her ace.

“My Mom texted me yesterday, and even though I didn’t play very good, she said she got to see me roll in a birdie putt on No.10. They showed that on TV yesterday, and hopefully they get to see this one today,” said Pernilla.

For three rounds at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, Suzann Pettersen was right there. And despite a final-round 5-under-par 66, she fell three shots back of eventual champion Shanshan Feng, but was the runner-up alone.

She said she had been playing quite well all week, but just made some ‘stupid mistakes’ which eventually cost her the tournament. Pettersen unfortunately knocked a shot in the water on the par-5 16th that derailed her chances at the title – as the bogey she made there put a blemish on otherwise bogey-free day.

She bounced back with back-to-back birdies on No’s 17 and 18 though, and classified this week as a good one.

“I always enjoy Asia,” said Pettersen, who finished at -14. “It’s been really good to me. I like coming here. The crowds are good and the courses are good.”

Although perhaps not quite the finishes the nine ‘Malaysian Angels’ wanted at the start of the week, as none finished under par, they were all-smiles at the conclusion of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.

Kelly Tan said the week was ‘pretty incredible’ and to be able to play in front of her family and friends was a great opportunity. Tan finished as the low hometown golfer. She was tied for 58th.

“It’s a really good feeling that I will cherish for the rest of my life,” she said of the experience this week. “I really appreciate (the fan) support coming out, and I’ll never forget my moment on the first tee on day one.”

Meanwhile, Ashley Lau finished 68th, and was the low amateur out of three fellow Malaysian youngsters who teed it up this week.

“I thought I would be more nervous than I am right now, and I’m not nervous at all to be honest,” admitted Lau. “I’m just really happy and excited with how I played.”

Lau said she practiced hard throughout the year for this moment and was playing well prior to the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, giving her a boost of confidence.

Not only that, but she played with Christina Kim the last two rounds, arguably one of the most personable golfers on the LPGA Tour.

“She helped me a lot, she taught me a lot on the course,” Lau said of Kim. “I really like her.  I really (liked) playing with her over the two days. I obviously didn't play well yesterday, and I didn't play well today and she didn't play well today. She still had a smiling face and we were still talking over the 18 holes.”