Kamasova First Slovak LET Winner in Agadir

Martin Gillen of Team Ireland battled the front nine in 42 strokes at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco, after a bogey on the fourth and then a quadruple on the par four 5th, making the turn in five over par then picking up two birdies on the homeward to finish the day carding a 75 and +9 overall - collecting a valuabale cheque for €2,535.

Zuzana Kamasova became the first player from the Slovak Republic to win a Ladies' European Tour title as she triumphed by two shots in Morocco on Sunday with a final round of 76 at Golf du Soleil in Agadir proved enough to see off her closest challengers, French amateur Alexandra Bonetti (66), Germany’s Caroline Masson (71) and Kiran Matharu from England (74).

Kamasova said: “I am just super happy. It really means the world to me because golf is super new in Slovakia. Altogether we have 6000 golfers so it is not even viewed as a sport until now unfortunately. For me to win a tournament might actually move the sport in Slovakia forward.”

The 32-year-old led by four strokes starting the final round and bogeyed the first two holes of the day, but responded with birdies on the third and sixth holes.

She dropped a shot on the par-four eighth with a three-putt bogey but saved par on the ninth, holing a testing 12 footer, for an outward total of one over 38 to remain four clear of Kemp at the turn.

She had to take an unplayable drop on the 10th, resulting in a double bogey six but holed a chip on the 11th to stay two clear of Masson, but the pair were tied after Kamasova bogeyed the 12th, 13th and 15th.

Kamasova regained her lead when she holed a 25 foot birdie putt at the 16th and closed with two successive pars to seal the title, with a back-nine total of three over 38.

“I wasn’t quite sure I would be able to finish it off as I did and I’m just glad I did it,” said Kamasova, who has played on Tour for five years and posted one previous top ten finish, at the 2008 Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open in China. 

“After yesterday’s round I couldn’t quite believe what I put myself into and I had a hard time sleeping, I had a hard time eating; everything was sort of strange and once I got to the course everybody was really positive and cheering for me. I just said, just keep on doing what you are doing and whatever happens, happens.

“I was playing here on an invitation without a tour card meaning that my next start was in Portugal because I would get an invitation for that. The following one would be Slovakia. I guess when you win you get into everything so it is totally different. I am going to start playing and have a full card and know where I’m going to play next week, which is great. I have never been able to do that.”

When asked why everything had suddenly clicked, she burst into tears and said: “It had to. The last two years have been really tough for me so I’m so grateful things are just happening.”

She goes straight in at second on the Henderson Money List with her first prize earnings of €48,750.

Wales' Becky Brewerton signed off with a 68 and shared fifth with Australian Sarah Kemp, who had a 75.

Results

Final Round Underway at Lalla Meryem

Zuzana Kamasova 

The fourth and final round of the Lalla Meryem Cup is under way at Golf du Soleil in Agadir, Morocco.

Slovakia’s Zuzana Kamasova started on six under par with a four stroke lead over Sarah Kemp and Kiran Matharu but opened with two bogeys to lead by two over Australian Sarah Kemp and Frenchwoman Anne-Lise Caudal early in the round. Kamasova then birdied the third to open up a three shot lead.

Florentyna Parker, the 2010 ABN AMRO Ladies Open champion, birdied the first, eagled the third and birdied the sixth to be four under for the day after six holes.

With cooler conditions and no breeze, scoring is looking much lower today and a new women’s course record could be on the cards. Golf du Soleil is the venue where Frenchman Adrien Mörk carded the first official 59 in the history of the European, Challenge Senior Tours, when it was set up as a par-71 rather than a par-72.

Meanwhile Becky Brewerton had three birdies in her first five holes after commenting on Twitter: “A bit cooler here today, a bit of rain in the air but no breeze. Will have to go really low to be in with a shout!”

Zuzana Kamasova Extends Morocco Lead

Zuzana Kamasova

Martina Gillen of Team Ireland slipped back down the leader board on day three of the the Lalla Meryem Cup after dropping six shots on Saturday, including a double bogey on the 11th, to finish in share of 23rd place on 6 over par.

  

Zuzana Kamasova of Slovakia took a commanding four stroke lead on the third day in Morocco,  bidding to become the first Slovakian to triumph on the Ladies European Tour, posting four birdies against three bogeys in a superb display of skills and nerve at Golf du Soleil in Agadir.

The 32-year-old’s round of 71 gave her a 54-hole aggregate of six under par and placed her four clear of Australian Sarah Kemp and Kiran Matharu of England.

Slovakia’s sole representative on the Ladies European Tour since 2006, Kamasova effectively lost her card last year and is playing on an invitation this week.

She said: “I’m going to stick to what I’ve been doing. I’m really enjoying myself out there and I would like to do that tomorrow. I just take it one shot at a time; I’m enjoying it; I’ve never been in that position; it’s great and I have nothing to lose.”

Her career best finish was a tie for ninth at the 2008 Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open in China and when asked what a victory would mean to her, she replied: “I’m just taking it as it comes, trying not to think about it.”

She spent the first two months of the year skiing at home near Gray Bear Golf Club in Talé, after an accident in the New Year put an end to her snowboarding.

Matharu is also targeting a maiden victory. The 22-year-old from Leeds is tied for second after a second successive round of 70, which included three birdies and one bogey.

She was striking the ball well and said: “Today I played a lot more solid. I seem to be getting better every day and hopefully the putting will be better tomorrow.”

Kemp, 26, from Sydney, felt that she scrambled for her 71, but her score was helped by an eagle on the par-four 12th hole, when she holed a five-iron approach from 145 metres into the wind and she said: “I think I hit it a bit fat and got lucky.”

In contrast to her playing partner Kamasova, joint overnight leader Anne-Lise Caudal endured a difficult day, but her good friend and compatriot Thomas Levet of France showed his support by following her progress from outside the ropes around the back nine. She was out in 40 after a double-bogey on the par-four ninth, but was back in one-over for a round of 76 and outright fourth place.

“Today was a bad day. I played badly, shot four over and the wind was the opposite direction to the first two days so it was a bit strange in the beginning. I didn’t hit the ball well,” said the 26-year-old from near Biarritz.

Morocco’s sole representative in the field Maha Haddioui, who is playing on her home course, struggled in the calmer conditions. She carded 77 to slip back into a tie for 31st place and said: “It was a bad day and nothing worked.”

The fourth and final round will be played from two tees on Sunday with the leading trio starting at 10.55am. After the round the winner will be taken to the nearby Golf du Palais Royal, where they will attend a joint prize giving ceremony with the champion of the Trophée Hassan II on the men’s PGA European Tour. 

Martina Gillen Shows The Irish Way

Martina Gillen kept  all the Irish hopes alive as the only player of the four competitors to make the cut with a one over par second round 73 that ensure a weekend stay at the Lalla Meryem Trophy with the three other Irish players missing out.

Rebecca Codd finished with a second of 77 to end the day on +14.

Tara Delaney was a shot further adrift after signing for  84.

Hazel Kavanagh in her first event of 2011 carding an opening  round of 84in her first event of the season. 


Caroline Masson was in the clubhouse on a two under par total as the second round of the Lalla Meryem Cup was underway on another stifling day in Morocco.

Overnight leader Kristie Smith of Australia headed out on the Golf du Soleil course at 1.10pm after a scorching opening five under par 67 yesterday morning. She started the day with a two stroke lead over three players but was three car of Masson without registering a second round score. Klara Spilkova found the going tougher and dropped off the leader board while Frenchwoman Anne-Lise Caudal, also tied for second overnight, double bogeyed the par-four 11th which she played as her second hole.

Masson found the conditions tougher in her second round as she played through a howling, two or three club wind.

“It was tough. It was really windy, probably as windy as yesterday in the morning but we played in the afternoon, so it was calm yesterday afternoon. It wasn’t easy,” she said. “It was gusting a little bit so it comes and goes. It’s always hard to pick the right club and hit the right shots.”

The 22-year-old from Gladbeck dropped a shot at the first but birdied the second and fifth to get to four under par. She took a double bogey six at the par-four ninth slipping back to two under.

The second year professional, who posted four top-10s in her rookie season on tour including a season-best tie for third at the Open de France, completed her round of 73 with a back nine of 35, level par. She carded two birdies at the 13th and 14th, followed by bogeys on the 15th and 17th. At two under she was one clear of Australian Sarah Kemp, who had a 72.

“It was okay. I think I started with a bogey again and then I fought back and then I doubled nine, so it wasn’t going all well but I fought back and the last holes I was struggling a bit. I finished with one over which is an okay round,” Masson said.

Germany’s Anja Monke, the 2010 champion, retired after nine holes in the second round due to illness after she was seen by a doctor on the course.


LET Tournament information

Gillen Leads Irish Challenge in Morocco

Kristie Smith

Martina Gillen of Team Ireland was the best of four Irish players in the opening round of the Lalla Meryem Cup in Agadir, with a double bogey on the15th the only major problem, in her one under par round of 71, to hold a share of 5th place after round one - and trailing the leader by four shots.

 

Tara Delaney signed for a round 76 after carding a triple and double bogey on Thursday for a 4 over par total.

Rebecca Codd returned to action and suffered a tougher day signing a round that included 11 bogeys for a nine over par round of 81.

Hazel Kavanagh was three shots further adrift signing for 84 in her first tournament of the season. 

Recent Pegasus New Zealand Women’s Open champion Kristie Smith continued her fine run of form with a five under par 67 on the opening day of the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco.

West Australian Smith, 22, is looking to capture a second consecutive title on the Ladies European Tour this week after her maiden LET win a month ago.

She carded six birdies and one bogey to hold the early clubhouse lead by two strokes at Golf du Soleil in Agadir and the course lived up to its name on a day of blazing sunshine.

Playing in temperatures of 36-37 degrees centigrade and in a hot breeze coming off the Sahara desert, Smith started with a bogey on the 10th after she caught a flier out of the rough and failed to get up and down, but she moved into a share of the lead with Frenchwoman Anne-Lise Caudal after posting back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15.

Smith picked up four more birdies on the front nine thanks to a hot putter. She holed a 20-footer from off the green at the par-five third, another from 50 feet down a slope on the par-four fifth and holed putts from six and 20 feet at the seventh and eighth holes respectively.

“I don’t think anyone was expecting the wind to be up like it was this morning and it’s hot as well. It’s definitely difficult out there and five under was a pretty good round. I got off to a pretty rough start, bogeyed the first but hung in there and made quite a few good putts,” Smith said.

She admitted that it helped having her boyfriend Geoff Collington on the bag, as he produces the official yardage books for the Ladies European Tour. 

Smith said: “I’ve been here since Wednesday so I’ve been out there helping him and it’s different because you get to see kind of different angles on the golf course and some places where you don’t want to be.”

She said that she felt a low score was possible, as Frenchman Adrien Mörk shot 59 at Golf du Soleil in the second round of the 2006 Tikida Hotels Agadir Moroccan Classic on the European Challenge Tour, when the course was playing as a par 71, rather than a par-72 this week.

“For a longer hitter, definitely, because we can get to all the par-fives in two, especially when there is no wind. This morning I got to three of the four in the wind so longer hitters, you knock ‘em on in two and you can make a couple of eagles if you get the putts rolling. There is a low score: Geoff and I said that to each other when we came out here. There are definitely going to be some low scores if the wind doesn’t get up.”

Frenchwoman Caudal, the 2008 Portugal Ladies Open champion is also gunning for her second LET title and made a strong start with five birdies and two bogeys in her opening round.

She was pleased, despite the fact that she only hit one fairway. “It was really good today. It’s funny because I didn’t hit really well the ball. The driving, I hit only one fairway, so the fairways are really tricky and with this wind it is not easy to keep the ball on the fairway. I just tried to be patient and I hit the irons really well today so I’m pretty happy,” said Caudal.

Maha Haddioui, the only Moroccan in the field, playing on an invitation at her home golf course, opened with a two-over 74 and felt she coped well in the conditions.

“This is very windy compared to what we’re used to. Usually there is a little breeze in the afternoon but we don’t get this much wind. This is the wind coming from the Sahara but we usually don’t get that. On most of the holes it was really tough because usually the wind comes the other way: it comes from the sea. It was difficult,” said the 22-year-old professional, who hit her first golf balls on the range at Golf du Soleil aged 13 and lives only 300 metres from the course.

“It made me look at the course in another way because the problem we sometimes have with the course we know well is to play the shots automatically without really thinking about each and every shot. It pushed me into thinking of every shot individually and in a different way than I usually do.”

Other players in the hunt include Australian Sarah Kemp on three-under-par after 12 holes and a stroke further back are the German pair of Caroline Masson and Anja Monke, the champion at Mohammédia last year.

Leaderboard

Lacoste Lalla Ladies Tour Clinic in Agadir

An official sponsor of the Trophée Hassan II for the last two years, Lacoste has extended its relationship with the tournament this year and for the first time, has also become an official sponsor of the Lalla Meryem Cup.

This new sponsorship of the Lalla Meryem Cup fits perfectly with the sporting logic of Lacoste, a brand which, from the start, had its roots in women’s golf.

The 17th edition of the Lalla Meryem Cup is taking place at Golf du Soleil in Agadir from 31 March to 3 April.

The simultaneous nature of these two events means that the Trophée Hassan II and the Lalla Meryem Cup are marking a global first because only in Morocco are two major events on the men’s PGA European Tour and the Ladies European Tour taking place during the same week and in the same town.

On the Pro Am day at the Lalla Meryem Cup, on Wednesday 30 March, Lacoste organised a golf clinic on the practice range at Golf du Soleil hosted by Thomas Levet accompanied by Anne-Lise Caudal and Tania Elosegui.

This exhibition allowed children from the local academies from Golf d’Agadir to benefit from the display and also to participate through a question and answer session.

New Chapter in 2011 Lalla Meryem Cup

A new chapter in the history of the Trophée Hassan II and the Lalla Meryem Cup will be written this week, when the two events are played simultaneously in the Moroccan city of Agadir from March 31 to April 3.

Officials from the Ladies European Tour, PGA European Tour and Association Trophée Hassan II, organiser of both the Trophée Hassan II and the Lalla Meryem Cup, attended a press conference at Golf du Soleil on Wednesday and explained why, for the first time in European golf history, this international resort will host both the Ladies European Tour and European Tour events in the same city in the same week.

Mustapha Zine (pictured centre) explained how the Association contributes to the development of national golf and that this year the Kingdom of Morocco aims to promote Agadir as a premium golf destination.

The Ladies European Tour professionals will compete in their first full field event of the season at Golf du Soleil, while in The Trophée Hassan II, which has a Pro Am format, the male pros will compete on two outstanding venues, the unique Golf du Palais Royal, designed by Robert Trent Jones Snr and considered by many to be one of the finest courses in the world, and the superb new course at Golf de L’Ocean.

Why on three courses? “You must have courses of quality in golf as it is international. We have two for the men and one for the ladies. We have two courses for The Trophée Hassan II because of its Alliance format and they will play one day on the Golf du Palais Royal followed by a day on L’Ocean. This will show them the region and the best of golf in Agadir,” explained Zine, through translation. “We wanted to have both tournaments during the same week as in Morocco we are striving for equality between men and women.”

Mohamed Chalbi, also a Vice President of the delegates, added that it was a unique organisation: “Not many tournaments have this format and it is very convivial with a host of celebrities including actors from cinema, film producers, rugby stars, people from culture and plenty of others. The uniqueness of the tournament is thanks to the combination of the sport and people.”

Speaking in French, Scott Kelly, Marketing Director of the PGA European Tour, said: “Two tournaments, men’s and women’s on the same week in the same town: it’s just like the Olympics!

“It’s always a pleasure to rediscover the sunshine and we consider it an exceptional occasion to be able to reunite with The Association Trophée Hassan II and the Ladies European Tour.”

Cyprien Comoy, Director of Operations for the Ladies European Tour, added that it was a privilege for the LET to be playing in a new country. 

“Last year The Association Trophée Hassan II made a large decision to transform the Lalla Meryem Cup into a full field LET event and this year, with 50 per cent more Solheim Cup points available for European players finishing in the top 10, it has become a very important event on our schedule. We are very happy to be back in the sun and can all look forward to an exceptional tournament.”

Kristie Smith Seeking Moroccan Delight

Kristie Smith winner 2011 Pegasus NZ Women's Open

Kristie Smith will look to capture a second consecutive title on the Ladies European Tour this week when she tees up at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco, which starts this week.

Smith captured her maiden Ladies European Tour victory at the Pegasus New Zealand Women’s Open in Christchurch a month ago and is looking forward to the challenge posed by Golf de Soleil in Agadir.

“The win was a huge boost in confidence of course in many areas,” said the 22-year-old West Australian. “My game is really strong at the moment. Obviously I'm still always working on improving things as all professional golfers do. My goal for the Lalla Meryem Cup is to play well and have another strong finish before getting a month off back home in Australia.”

“I'm just so happy and relieved to have the win under my belt so early on in the season too. It sets me up for the rest of the year and gives me the chance to plan ahead.”

Kristie’s victory in New Zealand was her third win as a professional after she won the ActewAGL Royal Canberra Ladies Classic in January 2010 and then the Daytona Beach Invitational on the Duramed Futures Tour a couple of months later.

She finished second to Maria Hernandez at the 2010 Allianz Ladies Slovak Open, tied for fourth at the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open, and shared 11th in Portugal last June, but struggled in the latter part of the season. 

The second year LET professional put her improved form down to lots of hard work on her game and physical condition.

“My coach and I have definitely resolved a few technical issues in my swing which has given me a lot more confidence with it. I'm back using my old putter which I won with before and now again in New Zealand. I'm putting it the best I ever have!” she said. “Apart from that, nothing has really changed. I'm still working hard in the gym with my trainers both in the US and in Australia when I'm back at home. We have found the weak spots in my body which we've been able to concentrate on in getting stronger to improve my golf swing, which has given me a lot more strength and further distance.

“My priority this season is to not burn out like last year. I'm going to try and not play as much early on like I did last year and work out a schedule that suits my game and also the person I am.”

Smith will be looking to claim top spot from Melissa Reid on the Ladies European Tour’s 2011 Henderson Money List this week after the Englishwoman took the lead with strong results in Australia and New Zealand. With Reid out at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the door will be wide open for Smith to claim the €48,750 first prize.