Maria Parra from Spain has booked her place in a Ladies European Tour event next year after winning the European Ladies Amateur Championship in Austria.
Parra finished on 15 under par after four rounds at Golf Club Murhof, two strokes ahead of Indian Aditi Ashok and four strokes ahead of third placed Matilda Castren from Finland.
“It has been a great honour to be able to play in this tournament and even more to win,” said Parra, 18, from Sotogrande.
“Murhof Golf club was one of the best courses I’ve ever played and the course was in perfect condition. I want to thank the EGA for having made this tournament possible. It’s been a great week because I realised a dream. I played very well for four days, which is not easy to get four rounds under par in a row.”
The LET has a new strategy to create a development pathway from entry level to the heights of professional golf by providing an inspirational vision to aspire through richer amateur golf integration, members’ education and services. This is at the core of the organisation’s commitment to developing sport, seeking to build foundations for success on the world stage. Mike Round, LET Director of Development and Membership, said: “We work in partnership with the EGA to make it possible for elite amateurs to play in professional events. This provides them with wonderful opportunity to experience what it’s like to be part of a top level event and test their skills against Europe’s best players”.
Parra is currently eighth on the European PING Junior Solheim Cup ranking and she added: “At the beginning of this year, I made my goal to play in the PING Junior Solheim Cup so to be able to play it this year would be a great opportunity for me and would fulfil one of my dreams.”
Currently studying in her final year at Escuela Nacional Blume in Madrid, Parra hopes to turn professional after finishing her studies. She said: “To have the opportunity to play a tournament on the LET is amazing because it will be a great experience. To share a tournament with the best professional women golfers in Europe will give me great satisfaction as I hope someday to be playing in the championship as a professional with them.”
