Chiara Tamburlini (-7) claimed victory this Saturday at the Lacoste Ladies Open. The Swiss player achieved her second win of the season in Deauville on the Ladies European Tour following her success at the Joburg Ladies Open. Her victory allows her to consolidate and extend her lead at the top of the Order of Merit.
A birdie on the first playoff hole contained the rebellion of Kirsten Rudgeley (-7) who started with a four-stroke disadvantage and gradually reduced it to force a tie. The Australian flirted with victory last week at La Sella and forced the Swiss player to bring out her best level. A birdie on the first playoff hole tipped the balance.
Annabel Dimmock, Tamburlini’s main rival for the first 36 holes, signed off with a modest round of one over par and fell short of competing for a tournament that ended on Saturday as the players set off for the Asian tour starting next week in Shenzhen.
The Swiss player, following her victory, extends her lead at the top of the Order of Merit and widens the gap to almost four hundred points. Manon de Roey, her immediate pursuer, finished third in Deauville and prevented the Swiss player from taking an almost definitive lead for the rest of the season. Only five events remain. Wins grant 500 points so the fight is still very much open. It’s her rookie season and she’s on track for the annual win.
Once again, one of our own makes it into the tournament’s top ten. Nuria Iturrioz finished the tournament among the top ten and with this result, she enters the top 50 of the year. After a modest start to the season, Nuria is approaching the final stretch of the season in her best form of the year. Since the end of June, she has accumulated four top tens, six top 25s and has made eight consecutive cuts. This Saturday, with a round of 67 strokes, she placed seventh in the tournament.
Among the rest of the Spanish players, Paz Marfá (-1)‘s fifteenth place stands out, although she needed to score more points to get closer to the top 70 of the year. She is currently ranked 140th of the year and we’ll see if she has any more opportunities to play in the upcoming tournaments. Luna Sobron (PAR) finished within the top twenty-five in another tournament, making it fifteen throughout the season. Great consistency from the Balearic player.
The young German Helem Briem, fresh champion of La Sella just a few days ago, finished in France within the top thirty of the tournament. Not a bad hangover after her first victory on the LET.
