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Alessandra Fanali finished 9th with 278 (70 70 69 69, -10) strokes in the KPMG Women's Irish Open, the Ladies European Tour tournament which was won by Smilla Tarning Soenderby with 272 (71 67 72 62, -16 ). The Dane beat the Swedish Lisa Pettersson (69 68 67 68) and the Dutch Anne Van Dam (69 66 66 71) on the first hole of the playoffs, with whom she had finished the tournament tied.
KPMG Women's Irish Open, results
On the course of Dromoland Castle Golf Club (par 72) in Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare in Ireland, Australian Kirsten Rudgeley ranks fourth with 273 (-15) and fifth with 274 (-14) English Annabel Dimmock and Swedish Sara Kjellker.
Only seventh with 275 (-13) the Indian Diksha Dagar, leader after the first two days. Smilla Tarning Soenderby, 23 years old from Fredericia, was the absolute protagonist of the final day thanks to an amazing lap in 62 (-10), the result of eleven birdies and only one bogey.
Soenderby just last year, in her first year on the LET, finished 4th in the KPMG Women's Irish Open, a placement that allowed her to finish her rookie season 9th in the Rookie of the Year rankings . For her the first victory on the circuit, after several cuts and a 3rd place in the Helsingborg Open.
A good comeback also by the blue Alessandra Fanali who, with the last two laps in 69 (-3), recovered 10 positions over the weekend. The other Italians in the race, Virginia Elena Carta, 95th with 149 (+5) and Clara Manzalini, 105th with 151 (+7), did not pass the cut.
For the winner a check for 60,000 on a prize pool of 400,000. The Ladies European Tour or LET is the professional circuit for women's golfers based in England and taking place in Europe, as well as in Australia, South Africa and Dubai.
History
Created in 1979, this tournament series has found it difficult to establish itself alongside the popular North American LPGA women's tour. In 2006, LET organized 21 competitions with prizes worth around €10 million in total.
The two most important tournaments, the Masters in France and the Women's British Open in England, were held together with the American LPGA. With few exceptions, the 90 most successful players in the previous year receive a card for the following season based on merit order, that is, ranked by earnings.
All other professional golfers have to participate in a series of tournaments to qualify and reach one of the top 30 places there.