Riding her third straight under-par round of the week, followed by a quick one-hole play-off against Johanna Gustavsson, Isabelle Boineau walked away with the honours at the €50,000 Ladies Jabra Open, the LET Access Series event which doubles as the European Evian Championship qualifier.
Boineau made two birdies against a single bogey for a one-under final round to take her to seven-under for the week.
Gustavsson, from Sweden, shot the low round of the day with a five-under round of 66. In fact, she could have won the tournament outright had it not been for two closing bogeys that put her in the play-off against Boineau. Also shooting a final round of five-under was three-time LET and one-time LETAS winner Linda Wessberg, who moved up 48 spots to finish T15.
Only one extra hole was needed, and Boineau, who is a resident of Marseille, France, birdied the par 4 first en route to victory on home soil. Her scores for the week read as 67, 69 and 70 for a total of 206 while Gustavsson finished with 71, 69 and 66.
Already a winner last year at the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open, which led to a 48th place finish in the 2016 Evian Championship, the Frenchwoman has now qualified for a return to the fifth Major.
Gustavsson came into the Jabra tournament on the back of two missed cuts on the LET Access Series, at the VP Bank Ladies Open and Forget Foundation PGA Championship. This finish also punches her ticket for the €3,140,000 Evian Championship, slated to be held at the Evian Resort Course in Evian-les-Bains on September 14-17. (Coincidentally, both competitors in the play-off list Rory McIlroy as their favourite golfer).
Second round leader Natalia Escuriola made the turn at even-par with one birdie and one bogey. The back-nine wasn’t as favourable with two bogeys bringing in her worst card of the week with a two-over 73 to finish T3 with two others.
Defending champion Valentine Derrey (T11) narrowly missed out on a top-10 with a final round 73, while Mathilda Cappeliez finished as the leading amateur with a three-day total of three-over (75,70,71).
The Jabra Ladies Open is one of three qualifying opportunities for the Evian Championship. The second is the US Qualifier on the Symetra Tour (PHC Classic, 4-6 August), for two spots. The third is a Korean Qualifier, which has one available spot, to be decided over two tournaments to be held between June 26 and August 7.
Next week, the LETAS heads to Vihti, Finland for the €35,000 Evli Ladies Finnish Open between the 9-11 of June 2017.
