There have already been two stops on the 2021 LET Access Series calendar and two different winners. The Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge was won by Sara Kouskova, a twenty-one-year-old Czech amateur.
Kouskova’s win made Czech history as she became the first ever Czech player to win a LETAS event and the first Czech amateur to win on a professional event.
As the number one Czech amateur, there were a lot of expectations on Kouskova from everyone including herself. She said: “My goal was to finish in top-15, I would have been happy with that.”
And she did. Kouskova had a phenomenal triumph at home with a career-best score 64 in her first round, followed with two more rounds under par and leaving the rest of the field seven shots behind.
“It was a nice day on the golf course, even though I started with a bogey on the third. Then I caught the momentum on then sixth which I birdied, as well as the seventh. But I still had no idea what was coming,” she explained.
On the par-three sixth, Kouskova was not far from a hole-in-one. The ball landed behind the pin and with the help of some breaks, it passed very close to the hole, and she only had a tap-in for birdie left. “My shots into the green were so good that day which I confirmed on the par-four 15th which I holed out for eagle,” she said.
However, that eagle was not the end of Kouskova’s exceptional round, as she attacked the flag on the following par-three 16th for another tap-in birdie. She said: “I was not even that nervous. Maybe because there were not many spectators in the first round, I could really just focus on my game, and I stayed calm. I even had two birdie chances on the final two holes and finished the round with two easy pars.”
The Czech star had another great round on the second day of play with a five-under-par 67 despite making a double bogey on the 15th hole.
“My iron game was solid yet again and I made a lot of putts, although they were a little longer than in the first round,” said Kouskova about her second round. “I guess I must have picked out the putts from day one, because I had a four-putt on 15 in the second round!”
Kouskova entered the final day of play leading by seven strokes and no one was able to chase her down during the last round. She maintained her seven-shot lead after firing one-under-par 71 and won the first LETAS event of the season with a total score of -14.
“It was such a great feeling to win, especially at home here in the Czech Republic. To experience all of it with my family and friends by my side was unforgettable,” said Kouskova, who had the support of her parents and close friends on the golf course.
“I was a little nervous, mainly at the beginning of the round. It got better as I played more holes, but then had another weak moment on number ten where I four-putted for double bogey. After that it was only getting better, though.”
And her three-day long dominance on the course culminated with an emotional win, surrounded by her closest friends who finished their rounds moments before Sara.
She added: “I am so grateful to my parents and friends who have been with me the whole time, not only during this tournament.”
The Czech Golf Team member has had a rising career with plenty of great finishes in her homeland and abroad. After 15 years of falling in love with golf, she finally secured her first professional title while still being an amateur.
“My dad was playing golf when I was little and when I turned five, I finally went with him,” she said. “Soon after I was attending a tiny golf academy and, in the fall of 2005, I won my first tournament on a chip & putt course. I will never forget the moment.”
“I plan to play the LPGA Q-school this August and will graduate from university next May. A professional career is definitely something I have been working for, it is my dream. It was nice to taste the professional victory here, I will definitely hold on to that.”
And she will never forget her win at the 2021 Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge.
