The Jabra Ladies Open saw the first playoff of the 2021 Ladies European Tour (LET) season and it was the youngest member of the LET, Pia Babnik, who came out on top.
Evian Resort Golf Club played host to the third event of the calendar and there was a tense battle at the top of the leaderboard.
Defending champion Annabel Dimmock, who won the tournament in 2019, started her title defence in style with an opening day 67.
With five birdies on her card and a one-shot lead, the 24-year-old laid down a marker that she had big hopes of retaining her title.
Day two saw Germany’s Olivia Cowan move to the top of the leaderboard alongside Dimmock, as she shot a round of 69.
Consecutive birdies on her final two holes meant she claimed the clubhouse lead before Dimmock carded a solid round of 70 to leave the duo as co-leaders.
On the final day, the lead changed hands many times with Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen and Slovenia’s Babnik both throwing their name into the mix.
It was a rocky start for Babnik, who made double bogeys on the first two holes, but the 17-year-old quickly recovered to roll in consecutive birdies on holes four and five.
Three more birdies on the back nine including back-to-back on the last two holes put the 2019 European PING Junior Solheim Cup player in a commanding position.
Despite bogeys on 13 and 14, Dimmock remained in contention for the win and a birdie on the English star forced a playoff.
On the first extra hole it was the Babnik who triumphed to secure her maiden LET title in her 12th start on Tour and she jumped to the top of the Race to Costa del Sol rankings.
Speaking after her win, Babnik said: “I feel amazing! I enjoyed the whole week here and I’m really glad it turned out like this. I dreamt about this for a long time, I work really hard and I’m really happy it paid off. I’ve been wishing this for a while.”
