KOIVISTO READY TO DEFEND TITLE AT JABRA LADIES OPEN

Finland’s Tiia Koivisto is feeling confident ahead this week’s Jabra Ladies Open as she gets set to defend her title in France.

Evian Resort Golf Club plays host to the seventh event of the 2023 Ladies European Tour (LET) schedule and the €300,000 tournament will see 132 competitors tee it up between 11-13 May over 54 holes.

A place at The Amundi Evian Championship 2023 is added incentive for the field with the winner of the tournament securing qualification into Continental Europe’s only Major.

It was a dream week for Koivisto in 2022 as the Finish star defeated Whitney Hillier in a playoff to land her maiden LET title.

Koivisto said: “It felt amazing to get the win. I was only the fourth player from Finland to get the win on the LET so it felt pretty special.

“I had Sanna (Nuutinen) on the bag so it helped a lot – just to talk about different things with her and nothing really too much about the playoff.”

With the LET back at the picturesque Evian Resort after a seven week break in the schedule, Koivisto is now relishing the chance to defend her title.

She continued: “I’m feeling well. We had two months without a tournament so I got a good rest and then practiced hard. I’ve been working on a bit of everything, I felt I was a bit rusty at the beginning of the season, I’ve been working hard on everything and now I feel good.

“It’s a tough course with tough tee shots so I like it a lot. Of course the views are beautiful and you really don’t get a flat lie anywhere. It really tests your game.

“I’m prepared. I’m feeling pretty good with my game so I feel like I can defend my title, but we’ll see!”

Koivisto gets her title defence underway on Thursday at 8:45am as she tees up alongside fellow Jabra Ladies Open winner Pia Babnik (2021), and Germany’s Chiara Noja.

Joining Koivisto and Babnik as previous winners is England’s Annabel Dimmock who is eyeing a return to form at the site of her solo LET victory in 2021.