Spain can hail another home champion on the Ladies European Tour (LET) tonight after Nuria Iturrioz clinched her fourth title in dramatic style with a playoff victory at the inagural La Sella Open.
Trailing by four shots prior to the final round, the Spaniard had the back-nine of her life as she carded one eagle and three birdies to post a 67 (-5) and take Germany’s Laura Fuenfstueck to sudden death.
After the pair both birdied the par-5 18th to tie once again, it was back up to the closing hole where Fuenfstuek found trouble down the left to eventually fall to a bogey.
The mishap would give Iturrioz two putts for the victory as she rolled in the second one from close range to seal the deal and lift title number four on the LET – her first since 2019.
“I’m very happy, all I can say is Vamos!” the Spanish said. “It’s been an amazing week. I’m happy to win in Spain. The support has been amazing. I hope this tournament lasts for a while because I love this course. I don’t know how the phone is now going to be!”
wins the La Sella Open on the second playoff hole
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) July 23, 2023#RaiseOurGame | #LaSellaOpen pic.twitter.com/zZ5dKhYepH
Iturrioz faced an uphill battle from the off when she bogeyed the challenging par-4 1st hole.
The 27-year-old immediately bounced back with a birdie on the par-5 2nd before she was forced to play catch up again with a dropped shot on the 4th – one which saw her trail by five shots with 14 holes remaining.
“Starting today with a bogey I couldn’t imagine this,” Iturrioz said. “But we fought for it, together with my caddie. I always try to push.”
After a clutch birdie on the 7th helped the home favourite regain composure, the par-5 12th hole proved the turning point as Iturrioz dialled one in to five-feet for eagle.
Thanks to one of the shots of the tournament, we soon had a battle on our hands. Kjellker and Fuenfstueck tied at the top on 10-under par with England’s Cara Gainer one adrift after chipping in for eagle on the same hole.
Iturrioz said: “The walk from 11 to 12 is a bit long. So I was talking with my caddie to go for it more, to trust in what I was doing. So I turned to the driver and hit a 5-iron into the pin which helped me make an easy eagle. From there I was like, ok, I’m happy, let’s do what I do.”
.@nuriaitu coming this close to an albatross
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) July 23, 2023#RaiseOurGame | #LaSellaOpen pic.twitter.com/YWwIrUcjk6
The Englishwoman would soon join the pair with a birdie on the par-5 18th to take the clubhouse lead, before Iturrioz went one better birdying the 17th and 18th to move to 11-under par.
With the leader from rounds one and two Kjellker falling out of contention, it was then left to Fuenfstuek to force the matter who obliged in style as she also birdied the closing hole to force the playoff with Iturrioz.
But with the Spaniard clinching victory on the second playoff hole, Iturrioz becomes her nation’s second LET winner of the season and takes home the 150,000 cash prize.
“It’s been tough the past two years, so this is a really really good win,” she said. “I want to now focus on the LET. Now I’ll go home and celebrate with my family. I’ll help my family with whatever they need!”
With Fuenfstueck and Gainer taking solo second and third respectively, Czechia’s Kristyna Napoleaova finished outright fourth on nine-under par after battling through another day of illness to shoot a round of 70 (-2).
Gainer said: “I certainly wasn’t expecting to come from so far behind. I’m really happy with how I played. It was a bit of a grind towards the end. I got a bit tired in the heat but it was the same for everyone and I’m really happy with six-under par.”
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) July 23, 2023
#RaiseOurGame | #LaSellaOpen pic.twitter.com/u6g2QN2Vb8
Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab, Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, and Germany’s Alexandra Forsterling finished in a tie for fifth on either-under par.
One worse than the trio was France’s Anne-Charlotte Mora in solo eighth, with Kjellker, Germany’s Olivia Cowan, and home favourite Carmen Alonso rounding off the top-10 in T9 on six-under par.
In the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol, Spain’s Ana Peláez Triviño still leads the way ahead of India’s Aditi Ashok, Czechia’s Klara Davidson Spilkova and Sweden’s Linn Grant.
Gainer moves to seventh thanks to a stellar final day in Spain, while Iturrioz jumps to 11th on 868.88 points after claiming 500.00 points for her home victory.
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