European PING Junior Solheim Cup Captain Gwladys Nocera was delighted to bring home the trophy after her side earned a resounding 15-9 victory over the United States team at La Zagaleta in Spain last week.
Now, the former European No.1 and 14-time LET winner has resumed her duties as the French Ladies’ National coach and is at the Lacoste Ladies Open France with the French Federation, helping Louise Uma Landgraf to prepare for the World Amateur Team Championships, due to take place at Abu Dhabi Golf Club next month.
Landgraf, aged 14 years and seven months, won the Terre Blanche Ladies Open on the LET Access Series in April, becoming the youngest ever winner of a professional women’s golf tournament.
Making her debut in the Lacoste Ladies Open de France, she was five-under-par and tied for the lead after 11 holes in the first round, but in the end, she signed for a level par opening round of 71.
“It’s really cool to get to play here. I’ve never played here before, so it’s an honour to get to play on this course, especially with Celine Boutier. I asked her for a photo, but I didn’t want to disturb her too much,” said Landgraf, who lives in Phuket, Thailand with her mother and father, who hails from Strasbourg.
When asked why she chose to represent France, she replied: “I want to play in the Solheim Cup when I’m older, in both of the events, and I’ll be able to play in the PING Junior Solheim Cup next year, so that’s my goal.”
Speaking about Landgraf, Nocera added: “I am sure she has everything needed to be part of the team. She will need to play in a few events in Europe over the summer. I think she will need to have a good look at her schedule for next year to make sure she plays some European events to get to know the other players and have a good cooperation, because she’s well ranked, but we don’t know how she is compared to the other players. She plays in Thailand and she plays in some junior tournaments in the U.S. She plays in a lot of tournaments compared to other players her age.
“In France, in a couple of years, we will have a lot of really good young players. We have a little gap right now where we don’t have so many. The Spanish always have lots of young guns and in Sweden and England too, I believe.”
Half of the victorious European PING Junior Solheim Cup team went on to earn a double victory when the mixed-gender European Junior Ryder Cup team secured a record 11-point victory over the United States at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, Italy, with a scoreline of 20 ½ – 9 ½, on the eve of the Ryder Cup.
The six players who represented Europe on both teams were Andrea Revuelta, Francesca Fiorellini, Nora Sundberg, Meja Örtengren, Helen Briem and Rocio Tejedo. The other six members of the PING Junior Solheim Cup team were Yana Beeli, Anna Canado, Josefin Widal, Savannah de Bock, Cloe Amion and Denisa Vodickova.
Speaking about her players, four-time European Solheim Cup side member Nocera added: “I’m very proud of the team. They were ready. They played so well during this season and last season. They are very strong players and it showed.”
