A wet and windy final round at the Royal Cape Golf Club saw England’s Esme Hamilton secure her first title on the Ladies European Tour as the 26-year-old battled the elements to post a two-under-par 71 to win at 15-under.
Tied with Slovakia’s Pia Babnik heading into the final round, Hamilton started well with a couple of birdies on the front nine before a wayward drive saw Hamilton make a double-bogey at the ninth, opening the door for those following.
“It was probably my only poor drive of the day,” Hamilton said. “It’s such a tight golf course here that you can hit good drives but it can still end up slightly off. That one was not my best. But I put it behind me and moved on. I knew I had gone a couple up on the front nine and could do it again.”
A stellar back nine performance nudged Hamilton back into the lead as she made three birdies heading back to the clubhouse, winning by two strokes.
“It’s unreal!” Hamilton said. “I’m buzzing, really happy. I’m a bit lost for words. It’s something that I’ve dreamt about for a while. I’m going to make sure that I enjoy this because it’s a big one! I just played my own game out there and wanted to finish under par. I holed some good putts – steady golf was key.”
Hamilton was feeling the effects of being hunted down coming down the stretch.
“I started to feel a wee bit sick going down 18. I started to feel a little sick going down 16 too because I knew stuff could still happen. I just wanted to hit the green and two putt which I did. I don’t know what I was thinking and I still don’t now!” she added.
Dublin’s Anna Foster rallied well on the final day to also post a two-under-par 71 to finish in a tie for 15th at five-under.
Foster went one-under on the front nine after a hot start with a birdie at the first. Another birdie came at the par-4 10th before going bogey-birdie at 13 and 14.
Foster’s only mishap of the day came at the par-5 16th, where she made a bogey on a very scorable hole. A closing birdie at the par-4 18th was needed and Foster made sure she got it, as her T15 finish secured 52 points for her Order of Merit standings, where the 24-year-old now sits 56th on 98.12 points.
Down’s Olivia Mehaffey and Clare’s Aine Donegan both posted one-over-par final rounds, as the pair both finished T37 on even-par. Mehaffey’s T37 finish secured her first 15 points of the season.
England’s Cara Gainer finished in solo second on 12-under, as the 30-year-old posted a one-under-par final round. Babnik was one shot further back on 12-under par as the 22-year-old returned to her best this week.
American duo Anna Morgan and Brianna Navarrosa finished the week in a tie for fourth on nine-under par alongside Austria’s Emma Spitz. Morocco’s Maha Haddioui, Italy’s Alessandra Fanali and Canada’s Anna Huang were seventh on seven-under par.
The LET now heads to Mauritius for the MCB Ladies Classic on the 1st of May.
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