- Amy Taylor fires final round 69 (-3) to win by one at Golf Nazionale
- 23-year-old Englishwoman lands maiden Ladies European Tour (LET) title
Amy Taylor‘s wish came true at the Ladies Italian Open as the 23-year-old secured a one shot victory to land her maiden Ladies European Tour (LET) title.
Leading by one on seven-under par before the start of play, Taylor produced a confident performance firing a final round 69 (-3) at Golf Nazionale to pip Spain’s Maria Hernandez to the famous trophy.
“I have no words at the moment!” she said after the victory. “I can’t really believe it. Earlier this week I went to the [Trevi] fountain in Rome and I did throw a coin in and wish that I would win! I didn’t tell anyone, but it came true! So Rome really is a magical place and I’m so grateful to win here.”
Playing alongside Tiffany Arafi and Pia Babnik, Taylor got off to a wonderful start making birdies on the 3rd and 4th holes.
“I felt a bit nervous before I started,” she said. “But once I got on the golf course it was just another round and I felt good. Luckily I got off to a good start. I had a couple of three putts which wasn’t ideal but had a few tap-in birdies which really helped me.”
As Alessandra Fanali and Maria Hernandez led a charge elsewhere, the Englishwoman carded two more birdies at the 7th and 8th to go out in 32 and hold a four-shot lead.
Dropped shots at the 11th and 13th soon made things a slightly nervy affair as her lead was reduced to two, but Taylor quickly bounced back with birdies at the 14th and 16th to leave her needing just a bogey on the last to secure the victory.
“I had no clue on the scores,” Taylor said. “I knew I had two putts for it when I was on the 18th green. Harry [Ewing] my caddie said, ‘just tap it down there’, and I hit it three-foot past! So he might have aged a bit because of me today, but I’m just happy I was able to hole the one coming back. I still won so it’s ok!“
With the victory, Taylor joins the winner’s category and cements her LET status for the next three years.
She said: “I’ve been feeling close for a while but haven’t quite had the results to show for it. I had them on the [LET] Access Series, but not here. So it’s cool to know I wasn’t making it up!”
In solo second finished the before-mentioned Hernandez. The Spaniard came close to a second LET title – and first since 2010 – thanks to a final round 67 (-5) which included an incredible chip-in eagle on the par-5 18th.
France’s Camille Chevalier also produced her best again firing a 66 (-6) to finish in a tie for third on seven-under par alongside Singapore’s Shannon Tan and Italian amateur Francesca Fiorellini.
Five players ended the week in a tie for sixth, a group which included Babnik, Fanali – who fired a final round 67 (-5) – Emma Spitz, Kirsten Rudgeley, and Diksha Dagar.
In the LET Order of Merit, Taylor jumps 118 places to 21st in the standings after collecting 500.00 points. Compatriot Bronte Law still leads the way on 1273.60 points.
Next up on the LET is a trip to the Prague for the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open. Follow all the action throughout on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #RaiseOurGame
