2013 Golf Chic (pdf version) - Ladies European Tour

Carlota shows herclass in the NetherlandsRising Spanish starlet CarlotaCiganda confirmed that herprodigious talent transferredfrom the amateur to theprofessional stage when sheclaimed her maiden LadiesEuropean Tour victory at the2012 Deloitte Ladies Open inthe Netherlands.The 22-year-old rookie professional fromPamplona began the final round of the54-hole tournament with a one stroke leadover Ursula Wikstrom and shot a final roundthree under 69 at Golfclub Broekpolder nearRotterdam to end two strokes clear of the Finnat nine under par.South African Lee-Anne Pace shot a finalround of 71 to finish outright third on fourunder with home hope Dewi Claire Schreefelthe leading Dutch player in a tie for fourthplace at three under par.The final round of the tournament wasdelayed due to heavy rainfall overnight andthrough the morning, but Carlota tamedthe cold and breezy conditions with herconfident play.She made her intentions clear with a birdie onthe par-four first hole then birdied the fifth tostay level with Ursula before pulling one clearat the turn. It was a tight contest after Carlotathree-putted the 11th but the final turningpoint came when Ursula bogeyed the parthree16th after failing to get up and downfrom a bunker, giving Carlota a two stroke leadwith two holes to play.Both players missed birdie chances on 17, butthen it was advantage to Carlota after theheavens opened just after she hit her secondshot to the green. Ursula made an excellentup and down from a bunker for birdie butCarlota rolled in her second putt for birdie,which was all she needed to seal the win.This was Carlota’s first victory on the LETbut her third title as a professional, aftershe won the Murcia Ladies Open on the 2011LET Access Series and the 2012 Spanishprofessional championship earlier in the year.It’s a very good feeling and I am very happybecause I played very good golf,” she said.“It’s very big because it’s my first win on theLadies European Tour so I’m very happy andhopefully I can win more.”Carlota did indeed collect another title, theChina Suzhou Taihu Open, which led to hersweeping up the ISPS Handa Order of Merittitle, Rolex Rookie of the Year and Players’Player of the Year Awards at the end of theseason, becoming the first player in LEThistory to win both rookie and order of merittitles in the same year since Laura Daviesin 1985.In 2013, the Deloitte Ladies Open is movingto The International, a prestigious new venuenear Amsterdam airport.Tournament director Liz Weima fromPromoter This is Golf commented: "The dateand location of the Deloitte Ladies Open in2013 give us the opportunity to continueto grow the tournament. The Internationalis a fantastic course and the players lookforward to spending the week there and inAmsterdam. In recent years, we have beenspoiled with great public interest thanks toour ambassador Christel Boeljon and goingto The International, partly due to the newlocation, will take this a step further.”The site of The International is one of thebest kept secrets of Amsterdam. The locationbetween Schiphol, the A9 and A10 providesexcellent accessibility. The course wasdesigned by former Ryder Cup Captain andMasters Champion Ian Woosnam and openedon 1st July 2012.“the brand new golf clubcould not wish for abetter start than to hostsuch a great event”Marcel Welling, owner and founder TheInternational, said: "We are delighted thatthe Deloitte Ladies Open is coming to TheInternational. The tournament has the lookand style befitting a venue such as TheInternational. The brand new golf club couldnot wish for a better start than to host such agreat event."The Deloitte Ladies Open is the largestwomen’s golf tournament in Benelux and in2013 the tournament will be played for the18th time on Dutch soil, on 24-26 May. Theprize money has increased in recent yearsto 250,000 euros, of which the winner earns37,500 euro.Christel Boeljon, who made historyby becoming the first Dutch player toparticipate in The Solheim Cup in 2011, is theambassador of the Deloitte Ladies Open, withthree victories on the Ladies European Touron her resume.3637