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| Solheim Cup prospect Carlota Ciganda from Spain |
World No.27 Carlota Ciganda from Spain will be looking to take the silverware at the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open this week and prevent Christel Boeljon from winning the title for the third straight year.
Ciganda finished third in the tournament last year at National Golf Club in Belek, Antalya after shooting a course record, seven-under 66 in the third round.
She is confident about her chances of going two places better and claiming her third LET tournament victory, especially after finishing second in an LPGA event in Texas a fortnight ago.
“I feel like I can do it but there are great players on tour, so it is not going to be easy! I just want to focus on my game and have fun out there,” said Ciganda, who has a strong chance of representing Europe at The Solheim Cup in Colorado this August, ranked second on the LET points list.
“I am playing good and I am looking forward to this month in Europe, playing Turkey, Holland and Germany! I like playing in Europe and can’t wait to see everyone on tour.”
She feels it will be difficult to record another 66 around the tight, tree-lined National Golf Club, adding: “I think you need to hit the ball straight! It’s narrow and not very long. Putting is important too: big greens!”
Other names to watch are Boeljon, who won the tournament in 2011 and 2012, Melissa Reid, who won the title in 2010 and the legendary Laura Davies. Lotta Wahlin won the inaugural tournament at National Golf Club in 2008 but has since retired.
Amateur golfers Aylin Ercel, Sena Ersoy and Begum Yilmaz from Turkey are also competing along with Jamila Jaxaliyeva from Kazakhstan. Also amongst the players in form are Gwladys Nocera, ranked fourth on the ISPS Handa Order of Merit, sixth ranked Beth Allen, ninth ranked Charley Hull, who finished fifth at National Golf Club last year as an amateur and the Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord, currently 10th on the Order of Merit after winning the South African Women’s Open three weeks ago.
Turkish Airlines Ladies Open by Numbers:
- The only hole-in-one during the 2012 tournament was recorded by Swedish golfer Pernilla Lindberg.
- Defending champion Christel Boeljon is the only player to have won the title twice, in consecutive years.
- Six countries will be represented in Antalya for the first time this year: Kazakhstan, Peru, Namibia, Colombia, Mexico and Latvia.
- England’s Charley Hull was 16 when she finished in fifth place in 2012.
- There are golfers in the field representing 30 different countries.
- Spain’s Carlota Ciganda holds the course record after her 7-under-par 66 during the third round in 2012.
- In 2012, Christel Boeljon of the Netherlands recorded a winning score of 285 (-7) after four rounds of 70, 73, 69 and 73.
- This tied the lowest winning score in the tournament’s four year history with Lotta Wahlin who shot rounds of 71, 71, 73 and 70 to win by 12 strokes on 285 (-7) in 2008. (Christel’s winning score in 2011 was five under 287 and in 2010 Melissa Reid won with a three under par 216 total although the event was only played over three rounds).
