Madelene Sagstrom came from four strokes behind the overnight leader Céline Boutier to claim a two stroke victory in the LET’s Final Stage Lalla Aicha Tour School.
Céline Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom came from four strokes behind the overnight leader Céline Boutier of France to claim a two stroke victory in the Ladies European Tour’s Final Stage Lalla Aicha Tour School for 2017 in Morocco.
Sagstrom carded a four-under-par 68 in beautiful conditions at Samanah Golf Club on Wednesday for a five day, 90-hole score of 343, 17-under-par, to win by two shots over Valdis Thora Jonsdottir of Iceland.
Boutier, who had either led outright or held a share of the lead for the first four rounds, ended with a 75 to tie for third place on 14-under-par with Karolin Lampert of Germany, Agathe Sauzon of France and Australian teenager Celina Yuan.
Exactly 30 players qualified for Category 8 Membership of the LET, with the mark falling at two-under-par. Players who finished in positions 31-66 are entitled to LET Membership in Category 9b.
There are 14 different countries represented amongst the players that finished in the top 30 places and 24 nationalities among the top 66.
Of the players who finished in joint third place, Celina Yuan, who has just finished high school and will turn 18 on 6th January, said:
“I wasn’t expecting to get anywhere near the top 10. I wasn’t happy with how I played on the last day, but a top 10 is good enough for me. I hope to make all the cuts in 2017 and play well enough to be happy!”
After a disappointing final round, Céline Boutier said: “My game was off a bit and I missed a couple of putts. Right now, it’s tough, because I played well all week. My goal was to get my card and I got it, so I’m looking forward to next year.”
Amandeep Drall ended in a tie for seventh with Stefania Avanzo and continued the trend of an increasing Indian presence on the Ladies European Tour.
She said:
“It feels great to play great golf for all five days. I wasn’t really expecting to play such good golf. I was expecting a decent two-under every day or something, but two good rounds at the beginning of the week really set me off in a good direction, so I continued it through the last few rounds.
“I think Indian golf is going great and we’re moving in the right direction. I think the Indian players have great talent, so we just need to get out there and hone our skills and show it to the world. I think it’s great that a lot of Indian girls are coming out on tour.”
Madelene Stavnar, 16, finished ninth and made history as the youngest Norwegian to qualify for the LET, while Alexandra Bonetti from France finished 10th.
The Brits to qualify were Lauren Horsford, Inci Mehmet, Gabriella Cowley and Lauren Taylor.
Meghan MacLaren, Bethan Popel, Kiran Matharu, Charlotte Thompson, Elizabeth Mallet, Lucy Goddard, Jessica Bradley and Chloe Williams earned category 09b membership for the 2017 season.
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