Swiss Chiara Tamburlini won the Lacoste Ladies Open de France with 206 (66 73 67, -7) strokes, beating Australian Kirsten Rudgeley (206 – 68 67 71, -7) with a par on the first play-off hole.
In the Ladies European Tour tournament now in its 34th edition and played at the Golf Barriere (par 71) in Deauville, France, Virginia Elena Carta offered a good performance for the second consecutive week, finishing fourth with 208 (67 72 69, -5 ), after having been in the running for success, as happened last week in the La Sella Open (seventh). On this occasion she never went below fourth place and ended her run with a score of 69 (-2, six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey) among the best partials of the round.
Behind the two protagonists the Belgian Manon De Roey, third with 207 (-6), long leader in the clubhouse, where she had arrived early at the end of a comeback from eighth place with a 66 (-5, seven birdies, two bogeys), lowest lap score of the day also achieved by two other athletes beyond the top ten.
Together with the Charter, the Finnish Noora Komulainen and the English Annabel Dimmock and in seventh position with 210 (-3) the French Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, the Spanish Nuria Iturrioz, the Australian Kelsey Bennett, the Welsh Chloe Williams and the English Thalia Martin. In 12th with 211 (-2) the Swede Johanna Gustavsson, who was defending the title.
It didn’t benefit much, but it certainly brought satisfaction to the South African Cara Gorlei, the “hole in one” who scored the first round on the 5th hole (par 3, 116 yards, 9 iron), her second of the season after that in the German Masters in May. In fact, it finished in last place (63rd) with 225 (+12).
Chiara Tamburlini (71, par, four birdies, four bogey) and Kirsten Rudgeley (67, -4, five birdies, one bogey) both overtook De Roey with the last birdie of the day on the 17th and 16th holes respectively.
Chiara Tamburlini, 24 years old from St. Gallen, after a good amateur career, turned professional in 2023 starting from LET Access where she achieved two successes (PGA Championship Gothenburg and Rose Ladies Open) and with third place in the order of merit she rose on the LET. She immediately stood out and before this second title, after the one in the Joburg Ladies Open, she was already at the top of the rankings. In addition to the successes, also six seasonal top tens. She was rewarded with a check for 56,250 euros out of a prize pool of 375,000 euros.
The only Italian to win the match was Veronica Zorzi (2005, 2006), who is also one of the three players who achieved the double with the common characteristic that for all of them it was consecutive: the New Zealander Lynnette Brooky (2002, 2003) and the Spanish Azahara Muñoz (2013, 2014). Only two stars have achieved the hat-trick: the French Marie-Laure De Lorenzi (1988, 1993 and 1995) and the English Trish Johnson (1996, 1999, 2010). Haunted tournament for Diana Luna, runner-up four times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2016), and same position for Federica Dassù (1993).
In the photo: Chiara Tamburlini (Credit Tristan Jones/LET)