Vikki Laing shot five birdies in a row in an outward half of 31 on her way to a four-way tie for a second place finish in the Women's NSW Open at Oatlands Golf Club in Sydney.
The Musselburgh player had rounds of 71, 68 and 67 for a 10-under-par aggregate of 206 to finish one stroke behind the winner, Holly Clyburn from Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire.
Clyburn shot 69, 66 and 70 for 11-under total of 205. One of the three players who shared second place with Laing was Austria's Christine Wolf, with scores of 72, 70 and 64. That last round was the lowest of the tournament.
Laing's purple patch came with five birdies in a row over the third, fourth, fifth, six and seventh. Her only bogey came at the 11th but she did notch her sixth birdie of the round at the 12th in halves of 31-36.
Try as she might for a closing birdie that would have forced a play-off with Clyburn, Laing had to settle for pars over the last six holes.
"This is my best finish since I was second in the Victoria Open last year. My game is coming along. I changed coaches at the beginning of the year; I'm now working with Kevin Craggs and enjoying it," said Laing.
"I think I have had five birdies in a row before but I'm not too sure. It's not something I follow but I'm happy when it happens. I'm just excited that my game and consistency are improving. It's always good to be in contention with a chance to win over the final round.
"I have just got to keep putting myself in those positions and if I can keep shooting 67 on a Sunday, I will be happy."
Michele Thomson from Ellon also had a great last round. She scored 76, 67 and 68 for a T14 finish on five-under 211. Like Laing, a former Curtis Cup player, Thomson birdied the first, fourth, eight, 10th and 11th in halves of 34. Her only bogey came at the seventh.
Carly Booth finished T42 on 219 (73-70-76)
Holly Clyburn held her nerve and holed a three-foot par putt to secure victory. She had finished in a tie for second at the Oates Victorian Open in early February, before being in contention at the RACV Ladies Masters.
Clyburn withdrew after the first round last week in New Zealand due to a hip injury. She rested for six days leading into this week and thanked her physio for aiding her dramatic turnaround.
"I wouldn't have gotten through this week without him," the 24-year-old said after this win. "It means a lot, I have been knocking on the door for a few months now, I have been working hard and did not have any expectations this week after last week, so yeah, it has just been great and a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. "I am very happy, I cant wait to see my parents and celebrate with them."
Her celebrations won't be immediate with the family, as she won't be back in England for another three weeks as she heads to China on Monday for another tournament. But she does have some friends here she will celebrate with before flying out.
NSW's Nikki Garrett (70) finished outright sixth at 9-under-par, while Victorian Stacey Keating (66), South Australian Tamie Durdin (68) and NSW's amateur Shelley Shin (69) shared seventh a further shot back.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
par 216 (3x72)
205 Holly Clyburn (England) 69 66 70
206 Christine Wolf (Austria) 72 70 64, Vikki Laing (Scotland) 71 68 67, Fabienne In-Albon (Switzerland) 69 68 69, Rebecca Artis (Australia) 67 71 68
SELECTED SCORES
211 Michele Thomson (Scotland) 76 67 68 (T14)
219 Carly Booth (Scotland) 73 70 76 (T42).
ends
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