Weaver's magical moment

Lindsey Weaver was satisfied with the reaction to her magical par save at Royal Troon’s 12th hole on Saturday, even though it would have surely generated enormous roars in normal circumstances.

This week’s AIG Women’s Open is being played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning only a small number of people got a close-up view of Weaver’s extraordinary four at the 12th.

The American, who has gained plenty of attention this week by foregoing a caddie and pulling her own bag on a trolley, initially failed to make clean contact from a grassy bank to the left of the green, but then chipped in from a perilous position to salvage a stunning four.

“There were a lot of people around trying to find my ball, so they clapped, so that suffices,” said Weaver, who remains firmly in contention at one over – five behind leader Sophia Popov - following a third-round 71.

“It would be nice, obviously, to have spectators here this week, but we’re just lucky to be over here and to be playing, so I think that’s awesome in itself.

“I haven’t really made a name for myself on the LPGA thus far, so I’m not really used to having crowds around anyway. It just feels kind of like back to junior golf and college golf where no one was around and watching. So that’s kind of how I see it.”

Weaver will surely enjoy discussing her heroics at the 12th with her fiancé, Zach Wright, who is also a professional golfer and playing on the Korn Ferry Tour this week.

“It’s just nice to have someone there to support you and who can relate so well,” added Weaver, who revealed she and Wright played together every day when they were in lockdown earlier this year.

“Yesterday on his commute to the golf course, which is about 45 minutes, he would watch on YouTube and see me; he said he saw me play, which is nice.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two’s competitive instincts have often come to the fore when they have taken to the course together.

“We used to play against each other in high school all the time and I would always beat him, but since we got back together, he always beats me,” said Weaver.

“But I say that it’s never really fair because we always play par-5s from about the same length and he hits it like 320 (yards).

“We go back and forth a lot; we are always playing games, like putting games and chipping games and short-game stuff.”

Weaver may not beat her fiancé on the course too often these days, but she can still remind Wright of a previous competition between the pair.

“We would play in like inter-club tournaments against each other, and we had the state championship in Arizona and I did beat him,” she added. “That still irritates him to this day.”