Hard work pays off for Michele with Spanish win

Michele Thomson scored her second pro tournament win inside a couple of months when she finished four strokes clear of the field in the Augas Santas International Women's Open at Balneario Golf Resort at Lugo in Spain today, writes Colin Farquharson
The 27-year-old 2008 Curtis Cup player and Scottish women's amateur champion from Ellon, Aberdeenshire won the Paul Lawrie Ladies Open at Murcar Links in early March.
That was worth over £2,000 and now Michele has collected 5,634 euros for winning the LETAS event.
When asked what her "secret" this season was, Thomson replied
"There is no secret, just hard work on the practice ground.
"I played really well this week. Kept the ball in play and holed some
really good putts."
Over a tricky par-70 course, Thomson had rounds of 69, 69 and 66 for a six-under-par aggregate of 204.
She had a bogey-free final round with birdies at the third, seventh,
15th and 17th. She covered the last 25 holes of this 54-hole event in
five under par without dropping a shot. In all she had 11 birdies.
Four players, including long-time leader Luna Sobron, a Spanish amateur, tied for second place on 208. Sobron sagged to a 73 in the final round, allowing Thomson to make up seven strokes on her.
The top five in the LETAS Order of Merit at the end of the season are automatically promoted to the Ladies European Tour. Michele now tops  that table with 6,320 euros to her credit and is heading in the right direction to regain playing rights on the Ladies European Tour.

SCROLL DOWN PAST THE SCORES FOR THE LETAS WEBSITE REPORT AND A PICTURE OF MICHELE WITH THE TROPHY
 
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 210 (3x70)
204 Michele Thomson (Sco) 69 69 66
208 Natalia Escurios (Spa) (am) 70 69 69, Sanna Nuutinen (Fin) 72 67 69, Maria Palacios (Spa) 70 67 71, Luna Sobron (Spa) (am) 65 70 73.
SELECTED TOTALS
210 Abby Gittings (Eng) 75 66 69 (T6)
214 Annabel Dimmock (Eng) 72 71 71 (T16)
215 Kiran Matharu (Eng) 67 74 74 (T21)
219 Melissa Nicol (Eng) 73 72 74, Lucy Goddard (Eng) 71 75 73 (T36)
220 Anna Scott (Eng) 71 72 77 (T38)
223 Sarah Attwood (Eng) 73 73 77 (43rd)
223 Gabrielle Cowley (Eng) 72 72 83 (44th)

REPORT FROM LETAS WEBSITE

Scotland’s Michele Thomson, with a decisive final round of 66, claimed her first victory on the LET Access Series, in the Ribeira Sacra Patrimonio de la Humanidad International Ladies Open at OCA Augas Santas Balneario Golf Resort in Lugo, Spain.
The 27-year-old won by four shots from Finland’s Saana Nuutinen (69) and Spanish trio, Maria Palacios (71), Natalia Escuriola (69) and Luna Sobrón (73), who all tied for second position at two under par, 208.
Thomson played solidly throughout the final day in rainy conditions to be bogey-free, with birdies on the 3^rd, 7^th, 11^th and crucially on the tough par 17th, to finish at 6 under par for the tournament and seal her victory.
"I played really well, taking advantage of hitting the fairways and greens and my birdie chances as well and I think this has given me an advantage over my opponents, said Thomson.
"The first nine holes have been tougher than the back nine and I've been really focused on taking control of my round, especially trying to save par when missing greens, as on the 2nd hole, where my ball was next to a tree and I managed to save par."  
It was an emotional victory for the Scot who has battled back from injury. She commented, "I enjoyed the week here in Galicia and in the hotel, it has been fantastic and I feel very happy. I loved the tournament. This season I will focus on the LET Access Series and it is very important that I managed to win here in Spain."
The LET Access Series moves to Switzerland next week for the ASGI Ladies Open, which takes place from the 7 – 9 May at Gams-Werdenberg GC, near Zurich.