Ladies Italian Open, queen Lucie Malchirand

Lucie Malchirand is the queen of the Ladies Italian Open. Historic triumph in Fubine Monferrato (Alessandria) for the 18-year-old Frenchwoman, the first amateur to establish herself in the history of the tournament, who returned to the Ladies European Tour calendar seven years after the last time. At the Margara Golf Club (par 72), in Piedmont, a birdie on the last hole was decisive for the player from Caronux-en-Provence, which allowed her, with a total of 209 (66 71 72, -7) strokes, to overtake the English Gabriella Cowley and the Finnish Ursula Wikstrom, both second with 210 (-6).

Lucie Malchirand, Ladies Italian Open

Two blue in the Top 10: Roberta Liti, seventh with 212 (-4), and the young amateur Carolina Melgrati, tenth with 213 (-3). While Giulia Molinaro and Alessia Nobilio respectively settled at 16 / o (214, -2) and 21 / o (215, -1). However, for the Italians, success in the home tournament continues to remain a taboo. Four second places but never before has a victory been achieved.

Leading from start to finish, when in the third and final round she seemed close to collapsing, Malchirand brought out all her talent and, with two birdies to close (one at 17 and another at 18), she made his contention by dedicating the success to his parents. "This victory is for them. For my dad, who followed me over all three days of competition, and for my mom. It is a special success that I will never forget."

She is the third French in history to triumph at the Ladies Italian Open after Ludivine Kreutz (2003) and Gwladys Nocera (2006), she only two weeks ago managed to win the 91st edition of the Portuguese International Amateur Championship in Portugal.

In Piedmont, however, the unimaginable success has arrived (the 13th signed by an amateur on the Ladies European Tour), alongside many big names of the maximum continental circuit, and now Malchirand's dream (her career as an amateur is excellent where she participated in the Women's Masters but also at the Junior Solheim Cup 2019) is to turn pro soon.

Piedmont crowns Malchirand, the new queen of the Ladies Italian Open at the Margara Golf Club. Where the next three editions of the Ladies Italian Open could take place - as wished by the president of the FIG Franco Chimenti - which, after a wait of 7 years, is back on the LET calendar and now aims to stay there for a long time, to offer a double show (in addition to the men's Italian Open), also in view of the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3fCdwYL