Rookie Pamela Feggans shares fifth place


as Westerberg wins Portugal play-off

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Sweden’s Johanna Westerberg defeated Spaniard Tania Elosegui in a play-off to claim her maiden Ladies European Tour victory at the Portugal Ladies Open.
Westerberg holed a stunning bunker shot for birdie on the first sudden-death play-off hole, after finding the sand with both her first and second shots.
It was only the fifth birdie all day on the tough par-four 18th at Golden Eagle Residence and Golf and Westerberg admitted it was the shot of her life.
“To hole that to win: I couldn’t ask for more,” she said.
The 31-year-old Swede shot a five-under 67 to come from five shots back in equal 18th place entering the final round. After signing for her score, she watched Elosegui birdie the 18th for a round of 70, which tied her 54-hole total of three-under-par 213. Elosegui was forced to settle for second after recording her maiden victory at the ABN AMRO Ladies Open in the Netherlands a week previously. “That’s one way to win!” said Elosegui, almost in disbelief. With her second place, she jumped from fifth to second place on the European Solheim Cup standings. Westerberg became the fourth straight first-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, following Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord in Switzerland, Frenchwoman Jade Schaeffer in Germany and Elosegui in the Netherlands.
“It means a lot. It’s a fantastic feeling,” said the seventh season LET professional, who had twice been a runner-up, at the 2007 Finnair Masters and 2008 American Express Turkish Ladies Open.
“I left quite a few birdies out there but I played fantastically well on the back nine and I am so pleased to actually win,” she said.
Westerberg earned a first prize of €30,000 as well as 30 Solheim Cup points and a place in the Evian Masters. She thanked her caddie, who is also her fiancé, Swedish tennis star Joachim Johansson, otherwise known as “Pim-Pim”.“He has been helping me with lines and stuff so it’s been a big comfort to have him with me,” she said.
“Pim-Pim” plays off a handicap of three, but has been making several appearances as a caddie on the LET in recent months due to a shoulder injury.
The pair are perhaps the fittest couple in golf and Westerberg explained: “He’s a great comfort on the course and as he’s a top athlete himself he knows what it’s all about. He’s been there and done that.”
She added that he was a great help in pressurised situations.
Becky Brewerton from Wales (69) and Bettina Hauert from Germany (67) finished equal third on two-under-par.
Six players, including three LET rookies, shared fifth place on one-under-par 215. They were Jade Schaeffer, Denmark’s Iben Tinning, last year's event winner Frenchwoman Anne-Lise Caudal as well as first year players England’s Florentyna Parker, Scotland’s Pamela Feggans (pictured above) and Christel Boeljon from the Netherlands. They each earned 5,833 Euros, which is the Patna, Ayrshire player's biggest pay cheque yet as a tour pro, topping what she had earned in the past on the US Futures Tour. Pamela had rounds of 71, 73 and 71.
Vikki Laing from Musselburgh, a winner on the Futures Tour before she came through the LET Q School, has settled down nicely again on this side of the Atlantic after spending several years in the States, first as a student at the University of California-Berkeley and then a year on the LPGA Tour followed by a couple of the Futures Tour.
The former Curtis Cup player and past Scottish girls champion collected 1,950 Euros for a total of 221 for a share of 28th place but would surely have made the top 20, maybe top 10 if she had not had a 10 at the second hole in her second-round 77.
Fellow Scots Krystle Caithness, Lynn Kenny and Clare Queen missed the 36-hole cut.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
213 Johanna Westerberg (Swe) 74 72 67 (Johanna Westerberg won at the first play-off hole), Tania Elosegui (Spa) 73 70 70
214 Bettina Hauert (Ger) 73 74 67, Becky Brewerton 69 76 69
215 Iben Tinning (Den) 69 74 72, Jade Schaeffer (Fra) 74 71 70, Anna-Lise Caudal (Fra) 70 73 72, Pamela Feggans 71 73 71, Christel Boeljon (Ned) 72 71 72, Florentyna Parker 74 71 70 (5,833 Euros each).
216 Stefania Croce (Ita) 71 71 74, Nicole Gergely (Aut) 70 75 71, Paula Marti (Spa) 74 72 70
217 Lotta Maria Wahlin (Swe) 68 73 76, Lee-Anne Pace (USA) 72 73 72, Diana Luna (Ita) 71 73 73, Carmen Alonso (Spa) 69 75 73
218 Malene Jorgensen (Den) 73 74 71, Linda Wessberg (Swe) 74 74 70
219 Karen Lunn (Aus) 74 73 72, Lynnette Teresa Brooky (Nzl) 77 70 72, Rebecca Coakley 73 76 70, Christine Hallstrom (Swe) 75 71 73, Emma Zackrisson (Swe) 75 72 72, Cecillia Ekelundh (Swe) 71 76 72
220 Nina Reis (Swe) 71 75 74, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 72 73 75
221 Kirsty S Taylor 74 75 72, Vikki Laing (Sco) 71 77 73, Breanne Alicia Loucks 73 75 73, Beth Allen (USA) 70 77 74, Samantha Head 75 73 73, Ursula Wikstrom (Fin) 72 75 74 (1950 Euros each).
222 Felicity Johnson 73 73 76, Caroline Afonso (Fra) 69 77 76, Marianne Skarpnord (Nor) 70 76 76, Dana Lacey (Aus) 78 71 73, Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa) 77 72 73
223 Sophie Walker 75 74 74, Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin) 72 77 74, Veronica Zorzi (Ita) 72 76 75, Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha) 72 72 79
224 Nikki Garrett (Aus) 74 75 75, Jessica Ji (Kor) 71 76 77, Federica Piovano (Ita) 77 72 75
225 Joanne Mills (Aus) 76 72 77, Camille Fallay (Fra) 75 74 76
226 Jenni Kuosa (Fin) 77 72 77, Melodie Bourdy (Fra) 77 70 79, Emma Cabrera Bello (Spa) 77 68 81
230 Lara Tadiotto (Bel) 80 69 81
THOSE WHO MISSED THE CUT (149 or better) INCLUDED
151 Krystle Caithness 75 76, Lynn Kenny 74 77.
156 Clare Queen 76 80