(19 July 2009 – Castellon, Spain)
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Becky Brewerton had plenty of reasons to be excited following her runaway win at the Open de Espana Feminino (Ladies Spanish Open) Sunday.
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rnThe 26 year old fired rounds of 65, 69, 66 & 70 for an 18 under par total and a six shot win over a hot field on the Panoramica Golf and Country Club in Castellon. The win was significant, guaranteeing a start in next week’s rich Evian Masters (a US$3.5 million purse) and earning valuable Solheim Cup points, as players vie for the five automatic spots with just two further opportunities before the European team is announced.
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rnHeading into the final round with a five shot lead, Brewerton notched four birdies in her opening nine holes, to increase the margin by a further shot from playing partner Tania Elosegui who lost ground despite three birdies of her own. From then on it was simply a matter of Brewerton playing safe and avoiding and disastrous holes.
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rnThe scoring was hot during the final round with a handful of players putting low numbers on the board. Elosegui, currently No 3 on the Henderson Global Investors Money List, and Money List leader, Diana Luna, continued their hot form and were again challenging, but this time, for second place.
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rnBrewerton, winner of the 2007 Ladies English Open, stumbled at the par 3 12th hole when she “duffed” her tee shot into the water and made a double bogey. She then made another bogey at the 15th, but settled with two pars before closing out the tournament with a birdie on the final hole. I’m so, so happy. To have such a big lead at the start was nice because it was a little bit nervy at the end when the wind was gusting up. It was a brilliant week,” Brewerton said. “I played the front nine just superbly. I made good pars on 10 and 11 and then on 12 it was a shot out of nowhere; I absolutely duffed it straight into the water. I don’t know if it came from being a little bit tight or a little bit tentative with the club. I got on with it anyway, made five and didn’t lose my head.”
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rnAt the start of the week, Brewerton declared her hopes of making Europe’s Solheim Cup team, due to play at Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois from 17-23 August. “I said in my interviews after the first couple of rounds that it was an absolute must that I had to win here to get some Solheim points, to get into the Evian, to give myself a better chance of making that team and it paid off. I tried to stay like that all the way to the end. Even when I was a bit nervy I was really positive with my putts and that was the thing that got me my win,” she added.
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rn“I’ve got the opportunity to play in Evian next week as well now and I feel like I can have a good couple of weeks. Top 20 you get points so I’ll certainly be trying to do better than that. Fingers crossed I’ll be able to get some more.”
rnElosegui and Luna shared second place with leading Spanish player Anna Cabrera-Bello and rookie Breanne Alicia Loucks from Wales.
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rnAustralian Frances Bondad shot a final round 4 under par 68 to jump into a tie for 6th place. Her second top 10 finish for the year earned her 8,250 Euros – AUD $14,513.20 and she jumps to 30th place on the Money List. Karen Lunn and Dana Lacey shared 24th place at 5 under par and Nikki Garrett 29th.