ISPS Handa Portugal Open on Ladies European Tour comes to a conclusion
ISPS Handa Portugal Open on the Ladies European Tour culminated this week at the Campo Real Resort and Spa, some 35 kms north of Lisbon. The final round turned out to be a demanding day for the players as the field battered the strong windy conditions on
the course until the half way mark.
South African Ashleigh Simon, who had been performing well through out the weekend, finally recorded her second win on the tour on Sunday, when she overpowered the seasoned Frenchwoman Gwladys Nocera by a three-shot lead. Simon posted a final round score
of three-under, 69 to claim the title while Nocera had to settle down for the outright second place with her aggregate score of 13-under, 203. Simon finished off the tournament with her total of 16-under, 200.
Nocera, who shattered the course record on the first day of the tournament and had been the overnight leader in the final round, failed to read the unpredictable sweeping winds which rendered most of her shots wayward. Her final round and the opening nine
in particular, proved to be a nightmare for the ten-time LET winner. The player stumbled with four bogeys after starting off the day with an overnight lead of one shot. However, she recovered quickly to card birdies on last three holes on the opening nine
and called it a day with one-under, 71.
“I started off not really good; it was really windy and I put a ball in the water with the second shot on number one; I took a bogey on number two. I put another ball in the water on eight, so that was way too many mistakes and I didn’t make a single putt
so I gave away so many things and Ashleigh played really well. I’m happy to finish second but if I want to win I have to not make mistakes,” the 35-year-old Nocera, who has won ten times on the tour, was later talking to the media.
Simon recorded her first professional win in 2007 when she won the Catalonia Ladies Masters in Spain, just after turning professional at the age of 18. She has started off the season this year on a strong note by finishing for seventh at last month’s Lalla
Meryem Cup in Morocco.
“It’s been four years since my last win and this one feels very special because I’ve been working for a long time. It shows that all the work is starting to pay off now and I hope it can continue,” Simon said after collecting her winner’s share of €30,000
out of the total purse of €200,000.
Last week’s winner on the tour, Christel Boeljon remained in contention through out the final round with her consistent performance and finished outright third for nine-under, 207. Boeljon won the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open last week in Antalya Turkey.
LET now moves to its next tournament on the calendar, the UniCredit Ladies German Open Presented By Audi. The event will be staged in the German city of Munich at the Golfpark Gut Häusern.
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