- 26-year-old Matilda Castren secures first LET victory
- Atthaya Thitikul leads the 2021 Race to Costa del Sol
Finland’s Matilda Castren shot a final round of 68 to win the 2021 Gant Ladies Open by three strokes and claim her first LET title.
The 26-year-old rounded off an excellent week, which saw her card rounds of 71, 69 and 68 to triumph with a score of five-under-par at Aura Golf.
Castren said: “I am so happy about this! I could not be happier. It was what I came here for, and it is unbelievable that I pulled it off.”
In her final round, the Finn made one bogey and rolled in four birdies birdies – including back-to-back on 16 and 17 – to seal victory surrounded by family.
“I hit the ball a little bit better today, so I had a few more birdie opportunities but I didn’t putt as well as I hoped, and I missed a couple of shorter ones. It was a little bit frustrating, but I really tried to stay patient and believe that they will drop eventually, and they did on the right holes. It is always nice to finish well,” she explained.
“It was awesome to see that many people here and great to see the little kids too. A lot of people came to watch such as my relatives and family members – people who I have not seen in a couple of years.”
After winning the 2021 LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship June, Castren needed to secure a victory on the LET to become a member of the Tour and be eligible to be considered for the 2021 European Solheim Cup Team.
She added: “It was my goal for this week to become a member of the LET by winning. I could not be happier to make it happen and I’m just very thrilled. It has been my dream since I was little girl to be at the Solheim Cup. It is one of my goals that I knew might be possible in the future. Everything has happened really quickly this year and to be able to be considered is such an honour. Hopefully it will happen, and I will be able to represent Finland and Team Europe.”
India’s Tvesa Malik and Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom finished three strokes behind the winner on two-under-par after they carded rounds of 68 and 69, respectively.
Three players were tied for fourth place on one-under-par including Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord and India’s Diksha Dagar.
Spanish golfer Carmen Alonso finished seventh, while Finland’s Kiira Riihijarvi was eighth with England’s Alice Hewson, Argentina’s Magdalena Simmermacher and France’s Emma Grechi – who made a hole-in-one on the par-three seventh on the final day – all tied for ninth place.
In the 2021 Race to Costa del Sol, Thitikul still leads the way in the standings with 1272.50 points while Sanna Nuutinen is second with 1016.42 and Stephanie Kyriacou is in third place.
