(15 June 2009 – Rio Maior, Portugal)
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Spain&aposs Tania Elosegui who secured her first professional victory at last week&aposs ABN AMRO Ladies Open came agonisingly close to going back-to-back. However, a holed bunker shot by Sweden’s Johanna Westerberg on the first playoff hole put paid to that notion and she became the 4th first-time winner in as many events on the LET this season. In third place, just one shot out of the playoff were the pair of Germany’s Bettina Hauert and Becky Brewerton from Wales.
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rnAt the course just north of Lisbon, the weather over the first two days was just plain hot, but the players were greeted on the final day by cooler temperatures and patches of rain. Sweden’s Lotta Wahlin held a one shot lead over Italy’s Stefania Croce with a host of players within five shots of the lead. One of which was Westerberg who needed a tournament best 5-under 67 to reach the 3-under mark to get into the playoff. She posted three birdies on each nine with her sole bogey coming at the 4th hole.
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rnWesterberg finished well ahead of the leaders but Wahlin (76) and Croce (74) struggled, and were both out of contention by the time they played the final holes to finish tied 14th and tied 11th respectively. Elosegui, meanwhile, had birdied the last hole to reach the playoff number, with no other players matching this score.
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rnBoth players went back to the 18th where it looked like Elosegui was in the box seat after Westerberg found the fairway bunker off the tee. The Spaniard would have been even more confident when her opponent found another bunker with her second while she was safely on the green in two. However, Westerberg then holed out from the greenside trap and Elosegui couldn’t sink her birdie putt, leaving a very happy Swede to say, “To hole that to win; I couldn’t ask for more.”
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rnIt is 31-year-old Westerberg’s seventh season on tour where she has twice finished runner-up. Her maiden victory earned her €30,000.00, 30 Solheim Cup points and a start in the Evian Masters. Afterwards she thanked her caddy (and fiancée) Joachim Johannson who is a professional tennis player himself. She said, “He’s a great comfort on the course and as he’s a top athlete himself, he knows what it’s all about.” Otherwise known as Pim-Pim, Johannsson once held the world record for most aces in a match (51), against Andre Agassi, which was recently beaten by Ivo Karlovic (55) in his loss to Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt in the French Open two weeks ago.
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rnAgain, no ALPG players were able to figure prominently in the finish, however Karen Lunn, Rebecca Coakley and Lynn Brooky were able to post solid final rounds in difficult conditions to all finish in a tie for 20th at 3-over par total 219. Dana Lacey (T34), Nikki Garrett (T43) and Joanne Mills (T46) all made the cut but finished well out of contention.
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rnThe LET has a week off this week with play set to resume in Ireland on the 26th of June. The players will assemble at the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links, in Portmarnock, Co. Dublin for the €500,000.00 AIB Ladies Irish Open.