(10 October 2011 – Castiglione, Sicily, Italy)
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The vivacious Christina Kim showed that she is not just a personality as she outplayed the rest of the field on a cold and blustery final day at Il Picciolo Golf Club to collect lift her maiden Ladies European Tour trophy at the Sicilian Ladies Italian Open. Second place went to Giulia Sergas, while Stefania Croce and Gwladys Nocera shared third place.
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rnKim closed with a final round of 2-under par 70 in temperatures of around 11 degrees Celsius against the backdrop of a snow-capped Mount Etna. She was one of only five players under par for the day, finishing four strokes clear of Sergas.
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rn“It was a really difficult day today and the golf course was showing all of its teeth with the rain, the wind, the thunder, the volcano, everything. It’s just such an incredible feeling right now,” Kim said.
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rn“I’m just so happy and the last two holes were proving to be very difficult for me but thankfully I came out on top and I’m just so grateful. I had an incredible caddie with me this week in Raf Armand and everything has been perfect.”
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rnThe Californian began the final round a stroke behind Nocera but had wiped out the deficit by the time dangerous weather conditions forced a 40 minute delay at 12:35pm with the leaders on the 3rd hole.
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rnAfter play resumed, Nocera bogeyed the 4th hole giving Kim a one stroke advantage. She then bogeyed the seventh hole but a run of three birdies from the ninth saw Kim go two clear and she moved five ahead of the field after picking up shots at the 13th and 15th holes.
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rnNocera was keeping pace in second but a double-bogey at the 339-yard 17th followed by a bogey at the last proved costly. The Frenchwoman slipped back into a tie for third place Croce at two under par.
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rnKim bogeyed the last two holes to walk away with the €30,000 first prize and her third career victory following two wins on the LPGA Tour in 2004 and 2005. She was able to share the moment with her Kiwi boyfriend, Duncan French, who was caddying for Nocera, while her caddie Armand is Nocera’s former long-term bagman.
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rnAs a member of both the US LPGA and Ladies European Tour, Kim has been making regular appearances in Europe and she said: “I’ve wanted to win so badly here on the LET. Although the LPGA is my first tour this is like a second home for me and the competition is incredible here every week.”
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rn“Look at where we play: this week we are in Sicily, yesterday I was at Castelmola which dates back to like, 900 BC or something. The ruins are incredible. It’s everything: the food, the people, the players, the play is fantastic: incredible competition every week and you get to meet a wide variety of people be it the players, the officials, the people associated with the tournament. You meet so many people from so many different federations. It never hurts to broaden your world.”
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rnThe Italian galleries, who posed for multiple pictures with Kim, were delighted that two of their own earned a podium finish after Sergas and Croce both ended with rounds of 73.
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rn“It feels great. It is wonderful because everybody is beside you and you don’t find that in any other tournament,” said Sergas. “Everybody is cheering for you and congratulating you and they are happy no matter what, even if I didn’t win.”
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rnThe best of the Australian contingent was Stacey Keating who continued an impressive rookie season, finishing in a tie for 10th at 1-over par. It was the fifth time this season that she has finished in the Top-10 and she now sits 50th on the money list with €40,931.52 in season earnings. Karen Lunn also continued her consistently good performances this season finishing in a tie for 13th just one shot behind Keating.