Unbreakable Bond

Last Year's Playoff Competitors Lunke, Robbins, Stanford Will Be Grouped Together Again

By Ken Klavon, USGA

South Hadley, Mass. - For one indelible moment they were linked together, forging a bond that won't be erased from memory anytime soon.

	Sinking fast in the early part of the playoff, Kelly Robbins bounced back to cut Hilary Lunke’s lead to two strokes through 12 holes. (John Mummert/USGA)

They don't talk much except for the times they may run into one another on the LPGA Tour. A hello here, a hiya doin' there is the extent of the chit-chat that Hilary Lunke, Kelly Robbins and Angela Stanford share. But the three know they are forever connected as far as at least one Women's Open goes. And they'll be reconnected when the first round begins Thursday with one quick peek at the pairings.

"I haven't seen either since last year, but I think of it as a pleasant surprise," said the 34-year-old Robbins.

Moments after blurting it out, fate intervened. Robbins looked up on the practice putting green to see Stanford. They briefly reminisced, smiling and joking.

"It's something straight out of déjà vu," said Stanford. "It's fun. It'll bring us back to that place last year."

It wasn't intended to be that way. Traditionally the reigning Women's Open, British Open and Women's Amateur champions are grouped together through the first two rounds. But Virada Nirapathpongporn, who won the Amateur last year, decided to turn professional recently to throw a monkey-wrench into the pairing formula.

Instead of having Lunke, Annika Sorenstam and someone else, the USGA got creative instead.

"Since we didn't have an amateur champion, we wanted to have a little fun and have the three in the playoff from last year play together," said Tom Meeks, Senior Director of Rules and Competitions for the USGA. "It was reactionary. We weren't trying to stir up emotions or create controversy. I really hope they aren't offended."

And why should they be? It was only a year ago that the three were showcased in the Monday playoff that Lunke eventually won. But it was the way they got there that turned it into a dramatic finish.

If the fourth round was the sundae, then the Monday playoff had to be the cherry on top.

To rehash, Stanford electrified everyone with a must-make 20-foot putt in the fourth round to tie Robbins. That was for a share of second place. They needed help, desperate help, from Lunke who needed to at least two-putt from 15 feet in order for a playoff of some sort to materialize.

With Stanford on the green alongside her caddie and Robbins gazing from a tunnel, Lunke reluctantly obliged Robbins and Stanford's hopes. On to the playoff.

Robbins, modest and soft-spoken, admitted Monday from Orchards Golf Club that she never believed she'd be in a playoff.

"I really don't think I made a run," she said. "It's just that I played steady really, and the rest of them fell back and I caught them."

The empirical evidence would favor Robbins' assertion. Over the final three rounds, she played the par-71 course at 4 under. By comparison, it was marginally better than Lunke (1 under) and Stanford (even par).

A shocked Angela Stanford reacts to her 25-foot putt that she converted on the 18th hole during last year’s playoff. (John Mummert/USGA)

The playoff though, for Robbins anyway, became anticlimactic. She fell three strokes behind after the first three holes, knowing she'd have to grind it out. Robbins did get to within two strokes of Lunke after the 12^th hole, but a double bogey on No. 13 brought with it the proverbial fork: she was done.

Stanford had better luck, catching Lunke late, even if it was for only brief moment. Copycatting her miraculous putt to get into the playoff, Stanford drained a 25-footer from the front of the green. It again forced Lunke's hand, but this time she didn't falter.

Since the Open, none of the three has exactly been lighting it up. Lunke, the 14^th player in history to make the Women's Open her first career win, has struggled with a 75.45 scoring average that places her 131^st on the tour this season. It's equated to 110^th, or $25,430 in winnings, on the money list. One bright side, which will work in her favor this week, is that she is fifth in driving accuracy on the tour.

Still, a buzz could be heard when she arrived at the driving range Monday. She felt it as well.

"The reaction," said the 25-year-old Lunke, "you can't really prepare for. You try to visualize it beforehand, so I didn't feel uncomfortable. It is different. But the best way to go to a U.S. Open is as the defending champion."

In 12 starts, Robbins has no top-10 finishes, made $68,398 (80^th) and has a scoring average of 73.79. She ranks sixth in driving distance, averaging 277.5 yards off the tee.

Stanford, 26, with one career under her belt, has fared a bit better this year with $208,909 in winnings that positions her 26^th on the money list. She has two top-10 finishes in 12 events.

All three enter the week with their own varied expectations. For Lunke, she realizes her pathos will come from the pressure that accompanies all defending champions. She's trying to block it out.

"I'm trying not to do that, but it's very hard not to do," said Lunke.

"I don't have any expectations to go out and say, 'You must defend this.' I'm not saying, 'OK, you at least have to make the cut or finish in the top 20.' I'm trying to stay calm and at peace."

For Robbins, it's pretty much about steadying the ship.

"I've always enjoyed the Open," said Robbins. "It's a week we don't experience anywhere else.But it is just like any other week in that we play to play well. We try to win every week I assume."

And for Stanford, it's trying to forget about last year while at the same time applying the lessons she learned about herself by making the two clutch putts. In that, she's cognizant of her past Open experiences.

"For me, I took away that anything can happen," said Stanford. "It's not over until the last putt falls, that you're never out of it here.

"Granted last year was great, but no matter how spectacular one year was for me, I'm remembering my three previous cuts in the Open. I'm not coming in with the attitude that I'll automatically light it up."