The final round of the VP Bank Swiss Open came to a close on Saturday with England’s Alice Hewson defending her title, winning by a margin of five strokes at 13-under-par.
It was a valiant effort by Kildare’s Lauren Walsh as the 24-year-old finished in a share of second place on eight-under.
Walsh had been swinging well all weekend, but a slow start to the final round is not what Walsh needed as she started the day two strokes behind Hewson.
Walsh began the front nine with a bogey on the par-4 first hole and finished with another on the par-4 ninth.
Walsh didn’t show her true form until the par-5 16th as she made her first and much needed birdie.
The 16th and 17th holes had been the most scorable holes of the week as players made use of the back-to-back par-5s and Walsh did exactly that.
Walsh made a plucky eagle on the 17th, before making par on the 18th to finish her final round one-under-par, taking her to eight-under for the week.
A courageous effort by Walsh was no match for now two-time VP Bank Swiss Open winner Alice Hewson as the 28-year-old kept her nerve to see out the victory.
Hewson extended her lead early with two birdies on the front nine before a slight error on the par-4 13th saw a bogey on Hewson’s scorecard.
Hewson could not have asked for a better finish to seal the deal as the now three-time LET winner made a hattrick of birdies on the final three holes to post a four-under par final round.
“It’s an absolute dream come true”, said Hewson. “I tried to keep my expectations down this week. I wanted to put in a good effort for the title defense so to come away winning again, I couldn’t ask for anymore.”
The 28-year-old explained that there’s a lot of opportunities out there. She continued: “If you just play sensibly, it’s ok. I think I hit 17 greens again today, so gave myself lots of opportunities and converted a couple early on, which was really nice.”
There was a four-year gap between her first win at the 2020 Investec South African Women’s Open, and her second win here in Switzerland last year.
Reflecting on how it feels compared to her last win here, she said: “Last year, it was a bit of a relief to know that I could get it over the line again. Then this year, I think it’s just been building as I’ve been playing really solid golf.”
Hewson now jumps 15 places to eighth in the LET Order of Merit on 1,177.77 points.
Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini and Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjall tied with Walsh to share T2 at eight-under.
One shot further back included Cork’s Sara Byrne, who celebrated her first top-5 finish as a professional, and England’s Amy Taylor, on seven-under par.
Making five birdies with three of them coming on the front nine, Byrne must take great confidence in posting a final round of four-under.
Byrne’s T5 finish sees the 24-year-old jump up to 60th in the Order of Merit standings, a spot she will have to hold if she aims to tee off at the Tour Finals.
Armagh’s Annabel Wilson posted an even-par final round to see her finish tied for 33rd at two-under.
The LET heads straight from Switzerland to Spain next week for the La Sella Open, taking place at La Sella Golf Resort, 18th – 21st September.
Leave a comment