Laura Fünfstück held her nerve during the final round of the PIF London Championship to clinch a one-stroke victory at Centurion Club.
On a sunny day in Hertfordshire, it was a tightly contested final day with 10 players finishing within three shots of Fünfstück. The German star had a three-shot lead overnight but had a tricky start to the day as she was three-over after four holes.
However, she recovered well and produced a stunning back nine to leave her with a one-foot birdie to seal her maiden Ladies European Tour title with a score of 10-under-par.
“At the beginning of the day, I said I want to earn this today and I did on the back nine,” said Fünfstück, who picked up €192,000 in prize money. “I was so nervous, I had half a sausage for breakfast. I’m starving now. I’m so happy, I’m so pleased. That was fun.
“Hopefully, we’re just getting started. It’s massively kind of validating because everyone defines themselves if they’re a Tour winner or not. There are parts of me that I really backed myself and I can compete in a sense, but I wouldn’t go into tournaments backing myself to win.
“I know that I can be competitive enough to put myself in contention, so now getting it over the line having been close before, is me knowing I can do it and hopefully, I can back myself a bit more in the future.”
After her tricky start, the 30-year-old bounced back with a birdie on the seventh before dropping another shot on the ninth. The German then kicked into gear on the back nine rolling in birdies on 12 and 14 to put herself back into contention before she finished in style with birdies on 17 and 18 for her final round of 72.
Ecuador’s Daniela Darquea produced a round of 68 on the final day to finish in outright second, while five-time LET winner Anne Van Dam finished with a flourish carding an eagle on the last to end the week in solo third place on eight under.