British Open champ Mo Martin grinds to 7th place finish
7/21/2014Mo Martin did her best to keep it all together during the Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning and O-I.
Admittedly, it was tough to do coming off winning the Women's British Open.
Martin grinded her way through the four days of competition and finished in a five-way tie for seventh place at 10-under 274, which was five shots in back of 17-year-old winner Lydia Ko, who finished 15-under 269.
Martin still walked away with $32,044 for her Top-10 finish.
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"Emotional, mental, physical," said Martin, of the types of fatigue she dealt with throughout her time at the Marathon Classic. "I think I can sleep for about a week right now.
"I'm going to go get some good relaxation in now and then I'll be right back at it."
Martin began the final round on Sunday at Highland Meadows Golf Club three shots behind Lee-Ann Pace and Laura Diaz, who started the day at 11-under par through three rounds.
It was clear to her that she would need to follow up a third round score of 67 on the par-71 course with another strong round in order to even have a chance at contending for a second championship in two weeks.
That's certainly what the California native had in mind when she set out to play the final round. Her intentions were clear. Her focus was to keep her mind on the day as best as possible.
"I just wanted to make a few birdies coming in and I definitely had some opportunities the last three holes," Martin said. "Unfortunately, I left them all on the edge. I hit two good putts before 18. I just didn't have enough birdies drop today."
Martin came up with only three birdies on the day. She birdied holes 3, 4, and 13. She nailed back-to-back birdie putts on a pair of par-4 holes (No. 3 and 4) to get out to a fast start, finishing 2-under on the front nine.
However, her intentions to make a move up the leaderboard on the back nine didn't quite materialize how she had hoped.
Avoiding trouble during the first nine holes, Martin suffered a bogey on the 12th hole, but came right back to record a birdie on 13.
She finished out the remainder of the course without recording another birdie or bogey. Martin had a chance for a birdie on 18, but her birdie try from about seven feet was just off the mark.
Despite not making a serious threat at the leaders, she walked off hole No. 18 in a good frame of mind.
Martin gave it her all during a week in which she arrived later than she would normally show up to play in a tournament. The late arrival to Toledo after playing in the Women's British Open didn't allow her much time to rest or practice like normal before a tournament.
The week after becoming a major champion didn't allow for Martin to experience her normal routine heading into an LPGA event.
"There was definitely a quick turnaround," she said. "I think the biggest thing was just being tired. "But I think I did a really good job of focusing on this week and getting prepared on what I needed to do and play this golf course."
It just wasn't enough to walk away with a victory for the second straight week.
Contact Donald Emmons at: demmons@theblade.com, 419-724-6302 or on Twitter @DemmonsBlade.