(31 May 2010 – Brezno, Slovakia)
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Australia&aposs Kristie Smith came agonisingly close to recording her first win on the Ladies European Tour; however her efforts were thwarted by a last hole birdie from Spain’s Maria Hernandez Munoz. Heading to the final tee, Munoz and Smith were tied at 7-under par which Munoz birdied to Smith’s par, giving Munoz her first professional victory in only her second start on the LET. England’s Laura Davies continued her good form, finishing in outright third, just two shots behind Munoz.
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rnThe cream certainly rose to the top in a tournament where there were numerous weather delays. On a course that measured over 6,800 yards, the longer hitting players featured at the top of the leaderboard. After three rounds, England’s Melissa Reid held a one shot lead at 8-under par from Smith, with Hernandez a further shot back in third. Reid quickly fell out of contention with a quadruple bogey on the par-3 7th hole where she dunked two balls in the water. She eventually posted a final round of 7-over par 79 to finish in a tie for 8th.
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rnThroughout the final round the lead changed hands a number of times and a number of players were in the mix at some stage. Gwladys Nocera reached 6-under through the turn to be just one shot off the lead, however four bogeys on the back nine consigned her to a tie for 5th. Davies reached 5-under par through 16 holes to also be in the hunt should the leaders falter. However, it was left to Smith and Munoz in the final group to fight it out.
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rnSmith made the turn two shots off the pace but quickly made up ground with a birdie on the 11th hole. She would then take the outright lead after a two-shot swing on the 13th. Both players then made regulation pars on holes 14 through 16. Munoz joined Smith in the lead when she hit a superb 7-iron to 5-feet to birdie the par-3 17th. It then came down to the par-5 18th hole with the players tied. Unfortunately for Smith she hit a poor drive behind a tree and had to hit a wedge for a lay up. Hernandez struck her drive perfectly, leaving herself a 5-wood to the green which she knocked to 25-feet. Smith couldn’t get up-and-down from the fairway and Hernandez had two putts to win.
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rnHernandez, who turned professional after finishing college in America midway through 2009, was named the 2009 NCAA Player of the Year after recording 13 victories while at Purdue University. She had been playing on the Duramed FUTURES Tour and had made only one of four cuts. To that end, she was extremely pleased after some doubts about her career choice. She commented, “It means so much. I was playing good but I wasn’t scoring well the whole year. I was struggling a lot with my putter but this week after the second round my putter started working and it means everything because I was a little bit down thinking, ‘Oh, maybe I cannot make it as a professional,’ but that’s all I needed. I had to finish strong and I was lucky, I made a couple of birdies coming in to win the tournament.”
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rnSmith was philosophical about her week saying, “I’m a little bit bummed obviously not to win but I’ve had a really good year so far and to come second over here is a nice little confidence boost once again. I played okay today, nothing really special. I played pretty average on the front nine and came back home in two under so to shoot level par was okay. I was a bit nervous going out into the round and I held it together pretty well I think.” In the cold and wet conditions, it was an even better performance than on paper, considering the back pain she continues to play with.
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rnIt was an especially good week for the ALPG contingent with all players making the cut for the first time this season. Nikki Garrett was the next best performed ALPG Member, finishing in a tie for 16th at 2-over par. Rebecca Flood played solidly through the tough conditions to post a Top-20 at 3-over par. Lynnette Brooky and Karen Lunn both finished a shot further back in a tie for 23rd while Frances Bondad (T54), Rebecca Coakley (T58), Dana Lacey-Johnson (T61), Kate Combes (67th) and Joanne Mills (68th) all made the weekend payday.
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rnThe LET moves to The Netherlands this week for the €250,000 ABN AMRO Ladies Open in Rotterdam.
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Photos courtesy of LET.