By Kent Gray
A cursory glance at the names beneath Minjee Lee on the front page of the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic leaderboard read like a who’s who of what might have been, tales that some were happy to articulate, others not at all.

While Frenchwoman Celine Boutier, clearly crestfallen at her playoff loss to Lee, escaped into the night without a word, Swede Caroline Hedwall and Scot Kylie Henry stuck about to add context to a dramatic Friday on The Faldo.

The leader by one heading into the final round, Hedwall eventually missed the playoff by the same margin after three front nine bogeys meant she was always playing catch-up down the floodlit stretch. She did so bravely but simply couldn’t will either of the birdie looks she had on the final two holes into the cup, including a great chance after a near repeat of her opening round slam dunk ace on 17.

The six-time LET winner eventually had to settle for T-3 alongside Laura Fuenfstueck (70) and fast-finishing defending champion Nuria Iturrioz (67) who were others to come close and finish yet so far.

“It wasn’t the start I wanted but I think I fought back very well and the last couple of holes I played really, really well, gave myself the opportunities but just didn’t make the putts in the end,” said Hedwall who signed for a 72 and a decent dollop of confidence to take into Saudi next week and beyond.

“Yeah, absolutely, I mean I feel well with my game, I’m playing solid. I just need to get that momentum I had the greens the first day [a 65] and I know I can score low.”

Henry was never really in ‘what might have been’ range after starting the final round so far back. But she was elated all the same with a course-record 63 to catapult herself from +3 to -6 and into the top-10. The highlight came at the par-3 8th where she summoned an 8-iron to a foot from the cup but her most impressive moment came afterwards when she spoke on behalf of all those with Moonlight narratives good, great and sad.

“I’m just so delighted to be playing tournaments,” Henry said. “I’m so grateful to everybody at the LET who is working doubly hard and all our sponsors who’ve got us back up and running through this pandemic. It’s made us all remember how much we love the game and we’re really appreciating the opportunity to be out here competing for a living.”

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Leader Caroline Hedwall has a criminology essay to submit before she joins the gaggle of big names eyeing the heist of the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic’s coveted Dallah Trophy.

By Kent Gray
It would be fitting if evidence for the paper Caroline Hedwall had to submit overnight as part of her criminology degree was sourced from a suspenseful, real-life thriller. That certainly shapes as the genre of Friday when the Swede gets back to her day job, albeit after hours, at the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic.

The 31-year-old, suddenly playing well after the mystery of eight missed cuts in her last nine starts, will take a one-stroke buffer over England’s Meghan MacLaren into the final round of the $285,000 LET Pro-Am at Emirates Golf Club.

With six LET titles on a résumé boasting 15 wins worldwide, and a 8 win-6 loss-1 half record in four Solheim Cup appearances, Hedwall is no stranger to winning, nor pressure. But the final round of the Moonlight, under The Faldo’s floodlights, is set up for a spine-tingling finish courtesy of a classy and tightly-packed leaderboard.

After a bogey-free second round 70 to move to -9, Hedwall will be out in the final three-ball alongside -8 MacLaren and -7 Minjee Lee. Lee’s presence, in particular, will likely give Hedwall the chills after the Aussie made Thursday’s biggest move with a 65. At No.9 in the world ranking, Lee owns the tag as the Moonlight’s highest-rated player and also has the experience of five LPGA Tour wins to bring to the 1st tee Friday.

The threesome immediately behind Hedwall and co., who will tee off five minutes ahead in group 1A in a quirk of the 5pm shotgun draw, won’t provide the 36-hole leader with much comfort either.

Also at -7 and just two strokes back is Laura Fuenfstueck (70). The German will be joined by former world No.1 Lydia Ko (70) and French Solheim Cupper Celine Boutier (71) who shared fifth place with the Kiwi star on -6. Ominously, the trio of Lee, Ko and Bouiter bring a total of 21 LPGA Tour and eight LET wins to Friday’s title fight.

Laura Fuenfstueck. Photo by Tristan Jones/LET

After a quick turnaround from her opening night 65 which included a slam dunk hole-in-one, Hedwall had to rise early for her ultimately flawless but slightly frustrating second round.

“I have been playing very steady, hitting a lot of greens and I’ve been good within two metres of the hole. Today I had a lot of putts that didn’t drop so maybe five-under would have been a fair score. But I’m in a good position for tomorrow and I am happy with my game,” said Hedwall who finished T-5 in Dubai last year.

“Today was so different. It was quite hot but … the turnaround was probably the hardest part, falling asleep yesterday and then having to be back up, I only had 6½ hours sleep. I have plenty of time to rest for tomorrow. I am going to try and get my energy up, relax and chill.”

That was until Hedwall remembered her homework assignment waiting back in the players’ hotel.

“I am actually studying criminology at the moment to try and get a degree. It is nice to have something to focus on when you are back in the room. It is stressful at times with 100 percent of the course completed remotely. I’ve been doing lots of essays and I have one to do tonight as the deadline is tomorrow.”

The only crime on Friday then? Perhaps that you forget to tune in on TV – Dubai Sports Channel in the UAE – to find out if Hedwall was the one, ahem, whodunit.

It won’t be a surprise if MacLaren, Lee or Ko spoil Hedwall’s wire-to-wire attempt mind you.

Ko finished with two birdies, including a chip-in from a hanging lie on the 16th, in her final three holes to keep herself in the tournament. But the Kiwi, who owns five LET titles to go with her 15 LPGA Tour wins, is having to learn how to putt the grainy Faldo greens at night on the job.

“Ah, yes, my putting stats definitely agreed to that,” said Ko when asked if she was struggling on the greens.

“I really had trouble with my distance control. It’s difficult because you see the dark and the light and I think your depth perception is a little off, even just with the length of the holes. I had one hole yesterday where I felt like I could get close to the green [off the tee] on the par-4 and today it felt like a par-5, it just shows you how different it is.

“But it’s fun, it’s a unique format and definitely an interesting factor about this tournament.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to learn a few things from today but in some ways, because it is dark, I think it eliminates some of the things you see and it makes you focus on the shot you want to hit. In some ways it really dials in your targets which is nice, especially on tricky driving holes.”

Switzerland’s Kim Metraux is solo 7th on -5 while defending champion Nuria Iturrioz isn’t out of it in a quartet a shot further back. But Friday shapes as a battle between the final two three-balls. The scene of the great Dallah Trophy heist has been set.

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There is no cut at the 54-hole Ladies European Tour Pro-Am, mercifully, but after her opening 10 holes on Wednesday evening the 31-year-old Swede must still have feared another ho-hum week was in the offing. There was nothing overly alarming about her bogey-free start but Hedwall was chugging along relative to German Laura Fuenfstueck, the clubhouse leader at -5, and others out in the evening wave.

But if this crazy old year has taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected. So it proved as the duel LET and LPGA Tour member produced a slam dunk hole-in-one on the 17th amid a late Faldo birdie fest to rocket to the first-round lead.

A stunning seven-under-par 65 – after picking up all seven shots to par in her final eight holes – will see Hedwall start Thursday’s second round with a two-stroke lead over Celine Boutier after the French Solheim Cupper returned a floodlit 67 to match Fuenfstueck’s daylight equivalent. Former world No.1 Lydia Ko mixed six birdies and an eagle with four bogeys in a 68 and lurks ominously in solo 4th, a shot ahead of four players on -3 including defending champion Nuria Iturrioz and Dubai-adopted Scot Alison Muirhead. Just 13 of the 56 players bettered par.

Starting the evening shotgun on the 6th, Hedwall went unnoticed by the TV cameras until she backed up a birdie on 16 with her pin-breaking ace on the 17th (her 12th hole) with a sweet six-iron struck exactly 162 yards. Indeed, it was so flush, Hedwall feared the worse.

“I heard how it hit the pin and then I thought it came off [the green] because something white flew off the flagstick. I thought my ball was in the bunker. I walked up and saw a ball in the bunker and remarked ‘there it is’ but my Pro-Am partner said that it was his ball. So I walked up to the hole to double-check and it was there,” said Hedwall. “I realised just after the hole-in-one that I’d won a [OMEGA] watch, which is cool.”

Hedwall went on to birdie the tricky 18th, added a birdie two on the 2nd and further gains on the 3rd and 5th. She has pedigree – six LET wins – if not recent form – she was 161st in the Race to Costa Del Sol standings and 159th in the world rankings heading into Dubai – to believe she can kick on this week even if the conditions are unusual.

“I made quite a nice few par putts on the front nine, which gave me momentum with my putting. Eventually, the longer ones fell in as well. It was a nice solid round of golf, I am really happy,” she said.

“Night golf is hard, particularly with my vision. I have to trust my caddy to see the ball for me. So it is tricky and hard to read the greens and [you must] be particularly careful seeing all the slopes and walk around the hole because it doesn’t come naturally when you stand behind it like you usually do.”

Fuenfstueck has played every event of this interrupted 2020 LET season and has eight top-10s in 32 career starts. A breakthrough win begs.

Laura Fuenfstueck.

“I came out to Dubai a bit early to practice on a few of the golf courses around here…there’s just so many nice ones so I just tried to prepare as well as I could. I’ve played as much golf as I could this year and although I still missed a few putts out there, I am really pleased with my day.”

The 25-year-old, like Kiwi Ko, will have to negotiate The Faldo’s LED lights in the second round but rather spookily predicted Hedwall’s pace-setting round and sees no reason why something similar can’t be achieved on Thursday.

“Perhaps there will be less wind and I think there is a low number out there so I am anticipating someone shooting as low as seven-under-par this afternoon,” said after her daylight round. “The greens are easier to read in the sun because you can tell the grain a bit more but maybe I will find out what it will be like tomorrow.”

Roll on the second round.

Lydia Ko lurks ominously but will need to negotiate The Faldo’s floodlights for the first time on Thursday.

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