After a seven week break in the 2023 Ladies European Tour (LET) season, our rookies were back in action as we headed to France for the Jabra Ladies Open.
With an abundance of first year graduates in the field at Evian Resort Golf Club, Czechia’s Sara Kouskova started brightest on round one when she carded six birdies to open with a 70 (-1) and sit T5.
A shorter set-up on day two then saw several rookies soar up the leaderboard in France.
After beginning her week with a disappointing 77 (+6), Switzerland’s Elena Colombo posted a magnificent 66 (-5) to ease into the cutline and set the standard in the morning.
The low score of the day was then matched by Italy’s Alessandra Fanali, who powered through neck pain on Friday to rocket into solo sixth.
Following the first two days of action, 15 rookies made the cut in France which stood at +6. Alongside the trio mentioned, this included Clara Manzalini, Alexandra Forsterling, Kirsten Rudgeley, Emma Spitz, Trichat Cheenglab, April Angurasaranee, Nastasia Nadaud, Wenyung Key, Ana Dawson, Louise Duncan, Lauren Holmey and Vanessa Knecht.
On a thrilling final day, Fanali then pushed Anne van Dam and Linn Grant all the way before the super Swede finished strongest to land her fifth LET victory.
After contending with the pair all day, a final round 69 (-2) eventually saw Fanali finish T4 on five-under-par and end the tournament as rookie of the week.
The Italian said: “I was pretty good the first seven holes. But then I missed a short putt for birdie on the 9th and that kind of upset me a little bit. Thankfully I had a nice birdie on 18 which counted a lot to me. Overall I’m very happy about my week.
“My neck was hurting a lot. I couldn’t really swing it full so I was having to hit a lot of punch shots both days. But it worked so it was okay! Now I’ll get some rest before Florida. We’ll see how it goes but I’m very excited for the next tournament.”
Elsewhere, Australia’s Rudgeley posted a second consecutive day under-par to finish T13 on level par. Thailand’s Angurasaranee, Austria’s Spitz, and Germany’s Forsterling all ended the week one shot further back in T17.
Following her best placed finish of the season and third top-10 of 2023, Fanali now leads the Rookie of the Year standings with 361.28 points. Angurasaranee drops down to second on 346.33 points.
Next up for our rookies is the second Aramco Team Series event of the season in Florida. Action takes place from West Palm Beach between 19-21 May.
