Cassandra Kirkland
France’s Cassandra Kirkland maintained her four shot overnight lead to win the Fourqueux Ladies Open, near Paris on Saturday.
Kirkland, who started the final round at seven under par, looked in complete control, recording birdies on the 5th and 6th holes to move to 9 under par. The Frenchwoman stalled slightly on the par 5 eighth hole, with a double bogey and a bogey on the 12th but she was soon back on track with a birdie on the par three 13th. Kirkland, who won the LET’s Sanya Ladies Open in China last October, played the remaining 5 holes in level par to win comfortably.
Spain’s Patricia Sanz Barrio continued her rich vein of form, with a final round of 69, to tie with England’s Charlotte Wild at three under par and to finish in second place. Sanz Barrio needed a par on the final hole to finish second on her own but hit her tee shot right of the 18th green and failed to chip and putt. Although the 22 year-old Spanish amateur may have felt disappointed, she won the GENERALI Ladies Tour Order of Merit title and an invitation to the Lacoste Ladies Open de France on the Ladies European Tour, in September at Chantaco Golf Club.
English rookie Charlotte Wild returned the best score of the day, with an impressive 5 under par, 67. Wild was bogey free on the front nine, picking up birdies on the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th holes to reach the turn in 4 under par. The Cheshire based golfer birdied the 10th and 12th holes to draw within three shots of the leader, Kirkland. Two bogeys in the final six holes halted the Englishwoman’s charge but she recorded her best performance since turning professional.
Italy’s Elisabetta Bertini and Bree Arthur from Australia finished in a tie for 4th place, with Germany’s Steffi Kirchmayr and Daniela Prorokova from the Czech Republic tied for 6th.
At the end of the season, the top five players on the 2013 Order of Merit will qualify for the 2014 LET season while the top 15 will qualify for the final stage of Lalla Aicha Tour School.
The LET Access Series moves on to Sweden for the Ingaro Ladies Open hosted by Elin Emanuelsson, from the 25 – 27 July.
