Another week of the Ladies European Tour (LET) season is complete with the conclusion of the Lacoste Ladies Open de France.
Golf Barriere in Deauville was the venue of the French Open for the second year running and it was Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson who claimed her maiden LET title.
There were 25 rookies teeing it up in France and it was Czechia’s Sara Kouskova who got off to the best start.
The 2022 LETAS Order of Merit winner produced an opening round of 67 (-4) to be two shots behind co-leaders Laura Fuenfstueck, Liz Young and Annabel Dimmock.
Kouskova was followed closely by Norway’s Renate Grimstad and Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley, who were one shot further back in a tie for tenth place.
At the end of the second round, it was Austria’s Emma Spitz who was the best-placed of the first-year graduates.
Spitz produced a round of 69 (-2) on day one and then a 67 (-4) on day two to be six-under-par and sit in outright sixth place.
Snapping at her heels was Germany’s Patricia Isabel Schmidt in T7 with Sara Kjellker one shot further back in T10.
A total of 19 rookies made it through to the final day of action in France hoping to climb further up the leaderboard.
On Sunday, it was Sweden’s Kjellker who pushed on carding a round of 66 (-5) which included four birdies, an eagle and only one bogey.
The Swede equalled her best-ever finish on the LET ending the week in a tie for fourth place and finishing as top rookie.
Kjellker said: “I stayed very patient all week and tried to just play smart golf. My caddy was a great help with that!
“It’s been a very fun couple of weeks. We all know golf goes up and down, but I’m really enjoying the path I’m on right now and loving the life of pro golf.”
In the 2023 Rookie of the Year standings, Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab continues to lead the way with 1,338.22 points after clinching her maiden LET title at the Big Green Egg Open.
Germany’s Alexandra Försterling sits in second place with 991.82 points after she secured her first LET victory in Switzerland a couple of weeks ago.
Kjellker is now in third place having accumulated 781.50 points from 15 events with Thailand’s April Angurasaranee in fourth and Germany’s Schmidt in fifth.
Next up for our rookies is a trip to Hong Kong. Follow all the action on @LETGolf on Instagram and Twitter and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #RaiseOurGame.
