England’s Alice Hewson produced a composed final round on Saturday at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open, to defend her title and land her third Ladies European Tour (LET) title.
Starting the day with a two-shot advantage at Golfpark Holzhäusern, Hewson held her nerve with a round of 67 (-4) to once again triumph in Switzerland, and finish five shots clear ahead of the rest of the field.
A total of five birdies – including three back-to-back on the last three holes – and a dropped shot, was enough for the English player.
“It’s an absolute dream come true”, said Hewson. “I tried to keep my expectations down this week. I wanted to put in a good effort for the title defence so to come away winning again, I couldn’t ask for anymore.
“I didn’t see a single leaderboard out there today. There was one off the back of 16, which you can see when you come around 10 as well, and I intentionally didn’t look at it, because it doesn’t really change how I’m trying to play the golf course.”
The 28-year-old explained that there’s a lot of opportunities out there. She continued: “If you just play sensibly, it’s ok. I think I hit 17 greens again today, so gave myself lots of opportunities and converted a couple early on, which was really nice.”
There was a four-year gap between her first win at the 2020 Investec South African Women’s Open, and her second win here in Switzerland last year.
Reflecting on how it feels compared to her last win here, she said: “Last year, it was a bit of a relief to know that I could get it over the line again. Then this year, I think it’s just been building as I’ve been playing really solid golf. I’ve had quite a few top 10’s in the last few weeks [at the PIF London Championship and Hills Open], so to come in here and get the job done, it’s good.”
The three-time LET winner now jumps 15 places to eighth in the LET Order of Merit on 1,177.77 points.
Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini, Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjall, and Ireland’s Lauren Walsh, all finished in a tie for second place on eight-under par.
Tamburlini – who was grouped with Swiss amateur Axelle Martin – had a solid final round, dropping her only shot of the day on the 8th hole. A total of five birdies kept the pressure firmly on Hewson throughout the day.
“It was a lot of fun”, she said. “Honestly, I had chills walking down 18, seeing how many people are here, supporting all the Swiss players today. I think that’s really special. I think Swiss golf has come a long way to have a crowd like this here on a Saturday afternoon, and I’m just really happy to be here today and to have played some good golf.
“I know I’m probably going to come up too short, but I gave it a good run and climbed up the leaderboard from the first round, so really happy with my performance.”
Tamburlini credited the work that VP Bank do to promote this tournament. She added: “This event has been great. VP Bank really promotes it a lot, all the banners out here have been here for about a month. They do a lot on Instagram and LinkedIn, and they do a good job. I think that’s really cool.”
Arwefjall carded round of the day (-6), highlighted by three birdies on the bounce on holes 13, 14, and 15.
“It was super fun”, said the Swede. “I feel like I’ve been playing well the whole week. The putts just haven’t dropped and today, I was giving myself a lot of opportunities.”
This also marks the rookie’s best finish on the LET.
“I feel like I started out strong this season, like three top 10’s in the few tournaments, so that was very nice to know that I actually can play good on this tour. So, I’m happy. I’ve had a little bit of a struggle recently, but maybe this is my comeback.”
Walsh started the day two shots off the pace. Despite a shaky front nine, the Irish player was able to card a birdie on 16, followed by an eagle on 17, to bring her up the leaderboard late on.
One shot further back included England’s Amy Taylor and Ireland’s Sara Byrne, on seven-under par.
It was a stacked leaderboard on the final day with a total of 10 players in a tie for seventh place. Players included America’s Brianna Navarrosa, Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom, England’s Esme Hamilton, Canada’s Anna Huang, Spain’s Harang Lee and Nuria Iturrioz, Germany’s Carolin Kauffmann and Celina Sattelkau, Wales’ Lydia Hall, and Australia’s Sarah Kemp.
Navarrosa finished her week in style with a run of four consecutive birdies on the closing stretch, signing off with a final-round of 66 (-5).
“I would say I started off slow. I did come back and make birdies on the two-par fives which helped a lot. I think when those streak of birdies happened, I just blocked out and played. I think I definitely left a lot out there the past two days, so being able to make them today was really nice”, said the rookie.
Reflecting on her week, Navarrosa added: “The whole week here has been great, I’m staying with my friends Amelia [Garvey] and Ginnie [Ding], so it’s really nice to have them out here, and to be back in Europe as well.”
On her season so far, she said: “Overall, the season has been great. It was annoying to miss the cut in Houston on home soil. It was a bit tough after but just moving forward and looking at what’s up next. I’m not satisfied, but I’m happy.”
Martin finished as the best amateur, as she shared a group with compatriot Tamburlini. At only 17-years-old, she finished in T17 alongside six other players.
In the LET Order of Merit, England’s Mimi Rhodes continues to lead with 1,960.49 points. Just behind her is Singapore’s Shannon Tan on 1,641.95, followed by Czechia’s Sara Kouskova on 1,566.83 in third place.
Tamburlini now jumps to sixth place on 1,363.08, with her T2 finish in Switzerland.
The LET heads straight from Switzerland to Spain next week for the La Sella Open, taking place at La Sella Golf Resort, 18th – 21st September.
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