(21 June 2010 – Losone, Switzerland)
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South Africa&aposs Lee-Anne Pace claimed her maiden Ladies European Tour title with victory at the €525,000 Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open on Sunday. The tournament was shortened to three rounds after a wet start to the week and Pace posted rounds of 69, 67 and 68 to reach 12-under par, one shot better than Scotland’s Vikki Laing. England’s Georgina Simpson was outright third at 10-under while the Aussie pair of Kristie Smith and Frances Bondad tied for 4th with Frenchwoman Virginie Lagoutte-Clement at 9-under.
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In cool conditions, the final day started with Simpson atop the leaderboard at 10-under, Smith at 9-under, Laing and Pace at 8-under and Bondad at 7-under. Both Pace and Bondad got off to flying starts with three birdies each on the front nine. Pace added a bogey while Laing had played the front nine in 2-under and they were all tied for the lead at the turn at 10-under par with Simpson who had made 9 straight pars. Unfortunately for Smith, a run of three bogeys from the 6th hole left her three behind and consigned to playing catch-up.
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rnBondad hit the lead early on the back nine, only to quickly be joined by Laing and Pace at 11-under. The young Australian suffered a disappointing three bogeys of her own from the 13th hole to fall out of contention, leaving Pace, Laing and Simpson to fight it out. Simpson couldn’t make a birdie and played the first 15 holes in 15 pars. So, with three holes to play, Laing and Pace were at 11-under with Simpson at 10-under.
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rnSimpson found her first non-par of the day on the 16th, unfortunately for her a bogey, and then Laing made a bogey at the 17th hole. This left Pace, playing in the group in front with a one shot lead coming up the last. She proceeded to make birdie there for a two shot cushion. Laing couldn’t find the eagle she needed to tie and Pace had her first title. Afterwards she said, “I can’t stop smiling. My lips hurt, my cheeks hurt, but it’s awesome. This is huge for me. This means everything.” The tournament is the third largest in terms of prizemoney on the LET and by virtue of a winner cheque for €78,750.00, Pace moved up 27 spots to 2nd on the Henderson Money List, and secured a spot in both the Evian Masters and Ricoh Women’s British Open.
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rnFor Smith and Bondad, they both had chances to figure in the finish but both had runs of three straight bogeys during their final rounds. However, much to their credit both ladies responded well; Smith finishing her round with three birdies at the 11, 13th and 15th holes, while Bondad birdied the 18th to secure her best finish in an LET event.
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rnApart from Smith and Bondad, Dana Lacey-Johnson completed her best week of the year with a tie for 14th, while Rebecca Flood and Rebecca Coakley (both T32) and Kate Combes and Lynnette Brooky (both T39) all had solid weeks. Jo Mills also made the cut but finished well back.
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The players move to Portugal this week for the €200,000 Ladies Open of Portugal.
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Photos courtesy of LET.
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