By Tony Webeck

Victorian Su Oh is within reach of her best season on the LPGA Tour after finishing in a tie for seventh at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey.

Just hours after countrywoman Minjee Lee lost in a playoff at the Korean LPGA’s Hana Financial Group Championship to record successive runner-up finishes, Oh was chasing a breakthrough LPGA Tour title at Seaview’s Bay Course.

Starting the third and final round four shots off the pace, consecutive birdies at the third and fourth holes saw Oh make a positive move up the leaderboard.

Two pars followed but back-to-back bogeys at seven and eight gave the 2016 Olympian too much ground to make up over the final nine holes.

She birdied both par-3s on the back nine to post 3-under 68 and a three-round total of 10-under, four shots adrift of 2019 ISPS HANDA Vic Open winner Celine Boutier.

Runner-up at the Cambia Portland Classic two weeks ago, Oh moved up six spots to be now 40th in the Race to CME Globe standings, her previous best finish coming two years ago when she finished the year in 33rd position.

If Oh’s top-10 finish was a continuation of recent good form Deyen Lawson’s top-30 result at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland was a rare ray of sunshine in what has been a difficult year.

Tied for fifth at the Limpopo Championship on the Challenge Tour in April, Lawson had missed 17 cuts in his previous 19 starts, withdrew at the D+D Real Czech Masters and finished tied for 32nd at the Cazoo Open.

But in bitterly cold conditions very reminiscent of those he would have experienced growing up in Geelong, Lawson revelled in the challenge of three of Scotland’s most famous links courses.

Starting the week with a round of 2-under 70 at Carnoustie, Lawson entered the final round at the Old Course at St Andrews just outside the top 10 but a back-nine of 3-over 39 saw him fall to a share of 27th, a birdie at the famous 18th hole providing slight consolation.

The Aussie who was in real contention for a win on Sunday was cricket legend Shane Warne.

Partnering again with Kiwi Ryan Fox in the pro-am section, the pair shot a blistering final round of 56 to finish tied at the top with Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey and partner Maeve Danaher, Hoey’s superior individual score breaking the tie.

Elsewhere in Europe Blake Windred earned a share of 10th at the Swiss Challenge on the Challenge Tour, Peter Fowler was tied for 11th at the Farmfoods European Senior Masters and Stephanie Kyriacou was tied for 34th at the Estrella Damm Ladies Open in Spain.

No Aussies made the cut at the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi but three have advanced to the Second Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School.

Veteran James Nitties, John Lyras and Justin Warren progressed to Second Stage to be conducted from October 12 with Final Stage to be held in Savanna, Georgia from November 4.

Results

PGA Tour

Sanderson Farms Championship

Country Club of Jackson Jackson, Mississippi

Winner Sam Burns          68-66-65-67—266           $US1.26m

MC        Lucas Herbert    69-74—143

MC        Cam Davis          72-74—146

MC        Brett Drewitt     75-72—147

European Tour

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Old Course St Andrews, Carnoustie & Kingsbarns, Scotland

Winner Danny Willett    67-69-66-68—270           €676,337

T27        Deyen Lawson   70-68-70-73—281           €35,198

T51        Brett Rankin      71-72-71-71—285           €16,528

T54        Ryan Fox             75-71-68-72—286           €14,344

58          Min Woo Lee     71-73-70-73—287           €13,350

MC        Bryden Macpherson      73-71-72—216

MC        Maverick Antcliff             68-78-72—218

MC        Josh Geary         70-78-73—221

MC        Scott Hend         69-72-80—221

MC        Travis Smyth      72-75-74—221

MC        Jason Scrivener 74-73-75—222

MC        Denzel Ieremia  76-75-72—223

MC        Dimitrios Papadatos       70-78-81—229

LPGA Tour

ShopRite LPGA Classic

Seaview (Bay Cse), Galloway, New Jersey

Winner Celine Boutier   66-70-63—199  $US262,500

T7          Su Oh    70-65-68—203  $40,437

T34        Katherine Kirk    69-71-68—208  $9,866

T44        Sarah Kemp       71-69-69—209  $7,123

T57        Hannah Green   69-69-73—211  $4,500

MC        Sarah Jane Smith             75-77—152

Korean LPGA Tour

Hana Financial Group Championship

Pochun Adonis Golf Country Club, Korea

Winner Song Ga Eun      68-68-65-68—269

Won on third hole of sudden death playoff

2            Minjee Lee         64-69-67-69—269

T5          Lydia Ko              70-65-68-68—271

Japan Golf Tour

Vantelin Tokai Classic

Miyoshi Country Club (West Cse), Aichi

Winner Chan Kim            64-68-69-69—270           ¥22m

T16        Dylan Perry        70-67-71-70—278           ¥1.672m

T54        Anthony Quayle              71-70-71-76—288           ¥268,400

MC        Todd Sinnott      72-73—145

MC        David Bransdon 76-71—147

Korean PGA Tour

Hyundai Marine & Marine Engineering Choi Kyung-ju Invitational

Ferrum Club, Yeoju, South Korea

Winner Hae-woo Ha       67-69-67-70—273           KRW200m

T6          Junseok Lee       67-64-76-72—279           KRW30,966,666

T22        Kevin Chun        70-70-74-71—285           KRW10,000,000

Ladies European Tour

Estrella Damm Ladies Open

Club De Golf Terramar, Spain

Winner Maja Stark          74-69-65—208  €37,500

T34        Stephanie Kyriacou         70-77-73—220  1,887

MC        Whitney Hillier  75-74—149

MC        Amy Walsh        80-76—156

Challenge Tour

Swiss Challenge

Golf Saint Apollinaire, Michelbach-Le-Haut, France

Winner Marcus Helligkilde          65-67-62-69—263           €32,000

T10        Blake Windred  66-67-69-68—270           €3,840

T47        Daniel Hillier      69-71-68-71—279           €848

Symetra Tour

Carolina Golf Classic

Forest Oaks Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina

Winner Sophia Schubert              68-64-70-68—270

Won on third hole of sudden death playoff

T11        Robyn Choi        71-66-70-67—274

MC        Stephanie Na     72-70—142

MC        Julienne Soo      75-68—143

MC        Julianne Alvarez              70-74—144

MC        Soo Jin Lee         75-74—149

Legends Tour

Farmfoods European Senior Masters

Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, England

Winner Markus Brier      70-66-75—211  €50,000

T11        Peter Fowler      74-73-71—218  €5,350

T35        Michael Long     74-77-74—225  €1,529

T47        Michael Campbell           75-79-74—228  €980