22-year-old New South Wales golfer, Nikki Garrett, confirmed her position as the 2006 Ryder Cup of Wales Rookie of the Year on the Ladies European Tour when she fought off a late challenge by her closest rival, Spain s Tania Elosegui Mayor, at the Dubai Ladies Masters on the weekend. Ahead by 22,000 in the race to be the leading first season player, with just the Dubai event to play, Garrett started the tournament slowly, making the 36 hole cut at 4 over par. Elosegui Mayor on the other hand was sitting on five under par in 3rd place, and nine ahead of Garrett. The young Australian however put the title beyond doubt with a powerful finish, and her final round saw her reel off five birdies in her last eight holes for a round of 66 to eventually win the coveted debutante honours by more than 25,000. For Garrett her 10th place finish in Dubai was her sixth top ten of the season, the best of which were two 3rd place finishes at the Wales Ladies Championship of Europe and the SAS Masters in Norway. She finished in 12th place on the LET New Star Final Order of Merit, with 99,445.05. Speaking after returning from the United Arab Emirates this morning, Garrett was on a high but said the Rookie of the Year was more a bonus, than a focus. I hadn t set the rookie award as a goal in my first year. I just wanted to concentrate on playing my best golf to see how I went against the best players on the LET. It was a major learning year, and winning the Rookie of the Year is a huge bonus. Having said that, I was obviously aware that Tania could catch me at the final event and when she started strongly last week, I did take notice. Fortunately I worked the course out on the weekend, and was very happy with my finish. Highlighting the strength of Australia s emerging female golfers is that four of the top ten in the Ladies European Tour s Rookie of the Year race were Australian. Sarah Kemp was 3rd, Leah Hart 6th and Anna Rawson 7th. All four will be back playing in Europe in 2007 and will begin their seasons at the MFS Women’s Australian Open at Royal Sydney in February. In the meantime Garrett and Kemp are scheduled to play several of the ALPG Tour s Club Car Series of events, prior to Christmas. Courtesy Australian Ladies Professional Golf For Further Information Contact: Sandra Lonergan Media Co-Ordinator Australian Ladies Professional Golf 0427 023 140
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