 |
| Holly Clyburn reacts after sinking the winning putt on the 18th green |
England’s Holly Clyburn recorded her first victory on the Ladies European Tour at the Deloitte Ladies Open in Holland, with a superb three shot win over compatriot Charley Hull.
The 22-year-old rookie professional from Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire, playing in just her fourth LET event of the season, carded rounds of 71, 69 and 71 for a three round total of 211, eight-under-par, at The International in Amsterdam.
 |
The Curtis Cup winner used her links education to master the unseasonably cold and windy conditions earning a 37,500 euro winner’s cheque. Although temperatures dipped to 5C for the first two rounds, which was colder than Christmas Day in the region, they warmed to 10C for the final round with winds gusting at 20 miles per hour.
“I’m flabbergasted,” said Clyburn, who won an LET Access Series event in Spain shortly after turning professional last October. “I played great golf all week pretty much. I just relaxed, didn’t get nervous all day and kept in my own little bubble. I didn’t watch what the other girls were doing. I looked at the scoreboard when I could but there was only one way I was going and that was to get this.”
Clyburn started the final round a stroke behind the leader and bogeyed the second hole but then made birdie putts from 15 and 10 feet at the fifth and sixth holes respectively to take control of the tournament at seven-under. She then pulled further ahead by holing a 15 foot downhill putt on the 12th green.
She said: “It proves that I can win, makes me believe in myself and makes me think that I can go on to win bigger things.”
 |
| Charley Hull: the new leader of the ISPS Handa Order of Merit |
Hull underlined the quality of her play with her fourth second place finish in as many starts on the Ladies European Tour this season. The impressive result lifted the 17-year-old from Northamptonshire into first position on the ISPS Handa Order of Merit, while Clyburn moved up to eighth following her win.
Hull belted up the leader board with seven birdies in her first 11 holes and although she bogeyed the 15th and 18th, she made an incredible save after chipping from out of the rough onto the tricky par-three 17th green.
“I was playing really well today and was seven under through 11 holes,” Hull said. “I played really well in that wind and I’m hitting my new driver miles, an extra 30 yards with my new TaylorMade R1 driver so I’m absolutely loving it.”
Sweden’s Carin Koch moved up into third place with a two-under-par 71 to end four-under-par.
The 2012 champion Carlota Ciganda of Spain was only two shots off the lead with a hole to play but triple bogeyed the par-5 18th and dropped into a share of fourth at three-under with Australian Bree Arthur and overnight leader Camilla Lennarth of Sweden.
Christel Boeljon was the top Dutch player and finished in a tie for 12th position.
The Tour now moves to Munich for next week’s UniCredit Ladies German Open presented by Audi, starting on Thursday at Golfpark Gut Häusern.
