(21 September 2009 – Arras, France)
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Austria&aposs Nicole Gergely not only became the ninth first time winner in season 2009 but also became the first ever Austrian to win on the LET after capturing the Randstad Open de France Dames on Sunday. Gergely fired a superb final round of 5-under par 67 to reach 13-under for the tournament, clinching victory by two shots from Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom. In third place on 10-under par were the experienced Becky Brewerton (Wales) and last year’s winner Anja Monke (Germany).
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rnGergely started the day tied with both Wikstrom and Brewerton at 8-under par, three shots behind South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace. ALPG Member Rebecca Coakley started tied with Monke in second place at 9-under and it was always going to be an intriguing day with so many players in the mix.
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rnPace remained in the lead through nine holes at 11-under but struck disaster on the back nine with three bogeys from the 14th hole to eventually post a 2-over par 74 and slip down to a tie for 5th. Coakley had made a bright start with a birdie on the 4th but gave that back at the 6th. She eventually fell from contention with back-to-back bogeys on 15 and 16. She recovered a shot at the 17th to finish in a tie for 7th, her best finish since her T7 at the 2007 BMW Italian Ladies Open. Monke was struggling to make birdies and was always off the pace, sitting on 10-under for most of the day to eventually finish on that score in third. Wikstrom had joined Pace in the lead halfway through the final round but fell back with a bogey on the 10th hole. She could only post one more birdie, on the 15th, which was good enough to get her into the runner-up spot, her equal best finish in 5 years on tour.
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rnIn the end it came down to Brewerton and Gergely, with Gergely staving off the challenge with no bogeys apart from one on the second hole. She recorded three more bogeys early on the back nine to reach the 13-under mark. She was under pressure though, with Brewerton notching four birdies in five holes from the 11th hole to get to 12-under par. In the end she required a birdie on the par-5 18th, but found trouble off the tee and recorded a double bogey to fall to a tie for 3rd.
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rnAfter play, Gergely said, “It’s awesome. I can’t believe it. It was always a dream. I struggled a bit the first few. I had a bogey on the second but then birdie on four, five really helped. I just hit it really good today.”
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rnApart from Rebecca Coakley finishing in a tie for 7th, Joanne Mills was the next best performed ALPG Member. For the second week in a row, Mills bounced back from a disappointing opening round just to make the cut. After an opening round of 77, Mills posted rounds of 68 and 69 on Friday and Saturday. A final round 72 saw her finish in a tie for 23rd at 2-under par. Karen Lunn slipped down the leaderboard after a final round 77 to finish at 1-over par in a tie for 29th. Bronwyn Mullins-Lane (T35), Lynnette Brooky (T50), and Frances Bondad (T62) also made the cut but finished out of contention.
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rnThe LET continues this week with the €300,000 Tenerife Ladies Open with ALPG being represented by Frances Bondad, Lynnette Brooky, Rebecca Coakley, Dana Lacey, Karen Lunn, Joanne Mills and Bronwyn Mullins-Lane.
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Photo by Tristan Jones – Rebecca Coakley