Sensational final-round 65 gives Spanish 

rookie  Nuria first win in Morocco 

NEWS RELEASE FROM LET

From Bethan Cutler, LET Media Manager

Rabat, Morocco: Ladies European Tour Rookie Nuria Iturrios (pictured right by Tristan Jones of LET) from Spain won the Lalla Meryem Cup in only her second start as a professional.

The 20-year-old from Mallorca fired a sensational final round of seven-under-par 65 on the Blue Course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in torrential rain for a total of 277, 11-under-par, to end six strokes clear of overnight leader Florentyna Parker in the Moroccan capital of Rabat.

Two strokes behind going into the final round, Iturrios recorded the first of her eight birdies at the second hole to quickly move within one of the lead. Although a missed green cost her a bogey at the fourth, she immediately quickly recovered with a second birdie at the fifth and then picked up a third at the eighth to tie for the lead with Parker.

Iturrios gained a one stroke advantage with a birdie on the 10^th and it looked set to become a battle of the rookies as 17-year-old American Angel Yin birdied 12 and 13 to get within one stroke of the lead. 

However, after Yin dropped three shots in a row, it turned into a procession for Iturrios, who birdied 15 and made a final birdie on 18 with a seven metre putt.

“This is the best day of my life and my best achievement since finishing fourth in Lalla Aicha Tour School,” said Iturrios, who qualified for the Ladies European Tour in Morocco a little over four months ago and started her career with a tie for 24^th at the ISPS HANDA New Zealand Women’s Open in February.

She felt that the concurrent staging of the Lalla Meryem Cup and Trophée Hassan II on the men’s European Tour at the same venue was a fantastic innovation and added:

 “I really enjoyed playing at the same venue with my Spanish friends and colleagues on the European Tour.  I had a lot of fun.”

Parker, who played with Iturrios in the final round, had 17 straight pars and a bogey on 18 in a 73 to finish second on five-under-par. She said: “I played quite nicely and I had to save a few of those pars. I had a few chances so it wasn’t quite as boring as my scorecard suggests but then again the last was a bit of a shame.

" It doesn’t change anything but I was going for 18 straight pars. Nuria  played really well and she deserved to win. She played incredible. It was raining from start to finish and it was really hard out there, so to shoot seven under is incredible. She won it and I was just hanging on basically to my pars.”

Yin finished in solo third place a stroke further back after a final round of 70. Finland’s Noora Tamminen was outright fourth on two under par and Switzerland’s Albane Valezuela was the leading amateur in a tie for fifth with Emily Kristine Pedersen and Isabelle Boineau.

Belgium’s Chloe Leurquin finished in eighth place and England’s Liz Young was among the six players sharing ninth.

Another highlight of the final round was a hole in one from Sophie Walker, who used her 6-iron to ace the 15^th. 

FINAL TOTALS

	Nuria ITURRIOS		70	72	70	65	-11	277	€ 67,500.00
2	Florentyna PARKER		67	71	72	73	-5	283	€ 40,500.00
3	Angel YIN		70	75	69	70	-4	284	€ 27,000.00
4	Noora TAMMINEN		71	71	71	73	-2	286	€ 20,250.00
T5	Albane VALENZUELA		70	73	74	70	-1	287
T5	Emily Kristine PEDERSEN		71	75	70	71	-1	287	€ 15,075.00
T5	Isabelle BOINEAU		70	70	74	73	-1	287	€ 15,075.00
8	Chloe LEURQUIN		72	71	76	69	E	288	€ 12,600.00
T9	Lina BOQVIST		76	71	74	69	+2	290	€ 10,350.00
T9	Trish JOHNSON		73	73	72	72	+2	290	€ 10,350.00
T9	Nanna Koerstz MADSEN		73	72	71	74	+2	290	€ 10,350.00
T9	Maria PARRA		72	71	72	75	+2	290
T9	Krista BAKKER		69	73	72	76	+2	290	€ 10,350.00
T9	Liz YOUNG		68	72	72	78	+2	290	€ 10,350.00
15	Linda WESSBERG		74	71	72	74	+3	291	€ 9,000.00
T16	Mathilda CAPPELIEZ		74	74	73	71	+4	292
T16	Marta SANZ BARRIO		75	73	72	72	+4	292	€ 7,931.25
T16	Holly CLYBURN		74	73	73	72	+4	292	€ 7,931.25
T16	Beth ALLEN		74	76	72	70	+4	292	€ 7,931.25
T16	Lucie ANDRE		70	73	70	79	+4	292	€ 7,931.25
T21	Daisy NIELSEN		76	71	75	71	+5	293	€ 6,525.00
T21	Victoria LOVELADY		72	75	75	71	+5	293	€ 6,525.00
T21	Nicole BROCH LARSEN		73	72	74	74	+5	293	€ 6,525.00
T21	Aditi ASHOK		72	74	73	74	+5	293	€ 6,525.00
T21	Kelsey MACDONALD		71	75	73	74	+5	293	€ 6,525.00
T21	Maha HADDIOUI		72	74	73	74	+5	293	€ 6,525.00
T21	Camilla LENNARTH		75	74	74	70	+5	293	€ 6,525.00
T28	Linda HENRIKSSON		76	74	72	72	+6	294	€ 5,152.50
T28	Kanphanitnan MUANGKHUMSAKUL		72	73	74	75	+6	294	€ 5,152.50
T28	Marianne SKARPNORD		68	76	74	76	+6	294	€ 5,152.50
T28	Isi GABSA		73	72	70	79	+6	294	€ 5,152.50
T32	Lynn CARLSSON		73	72	75	75	+7	295	€ 4,387.50
T32	Ana MENENDEZ		70	76	74	75	+7	295	€ 4,387.50
T32	Gemma DRYBURGH		73	72	72	78	+7	295	€ 4,387.50
T32	Georgia HALL		75	73	69	78	+7	295	€ 4,387.50
T36	Mireia PRAT		75	73	72	76	+8	296	€ 3,780.00
T36	Sophie GIQUEL-BETTAN		76	73	72	75	+8	296	€ 3,780.00
T36	Johanna GUSTAVSSON		74	73	76	73	+8	296	€ 3,780.00
T36	Melissa REID		75	73	71	77	+8	296	€ 3,780.00
T36	Justine DREHER		70	73	75	78	+8	296	€ 3,780.00
T41	Caroline MARTENS		75	72	74	76	+9	297	€ 3,087.00
T41	Caroline AFONSO		73	74	76	74	+9	297	€ 3,087.00
T41	Tonje DAFFINRUD		72	74	77	74	+9	297	€ 3,087.00
T41	Gwladys NOCERA		73	69	75	80	+9	297	€ 3,087.00
T41	Miriam NAGL		73	76	76	72	+9	297	€ 3,087.00
T46	Stacey KEATING		74	74	72	78	+10	298	€ 2,655.00
T46	Rebecca ARTIS		74	76	75	73	+10	298	€ 2,655.00
T48	Oona VARTIAINEN		68	79	75	77	+11	299	€ 2,385.00
T48	Jessica BRADLEY		77	73	72	77	+11	299	€ 2,385.00
T48	Hannah BURKE		72	72	79	76	+11	299	€ 2,385.00
T48	Luna SOBRON		74	75	74	76	+11	299
T48	Malene JORGENSEN		77	71	77	74	+11	299	€ 2,385.00
T53	Pamela PRETSWELL		77	70	78	75	+12	300	€ 2,115.00
T53	Diana LUNA		75	75	75	75	+12	300	€ 2,115.00
T55	Valentine DERREY		76	71	74	80	+13	301	€ 1,755.00
T55	Olivia COWAN		72	74	75	80	+13	301	€ 1,755.00
T55	Xiang SUI		73	74	76	78	+13	301
T55	Leigh WHITTAKER		76	71	77	77	+13	301	€ 1,755.00
T55	Stacy Lee BREGMAN		74	74	76	77	+13	301	€ 1,755.00
T55	Ariane PROVOT		78	70	78	75	+13	301	€ 1,755.00
T55	Sophie WALKER		77	73	77	74	+13	301	€ 1,755.00
T62	Annabel DIMMOCK		73	73	77	80	+15	303	€ 1,440.00
T62	Nicole GARCIA		74	75	79	75	+15	303	€ 1,440.00
T62	Laura JANSONE		79	71	79	74	+15	303	€ 1,440.00
T65	Stefania CROCE		73	74	77	80	+16	304	€ 1,282.50
T65	Rosie DAVIES		78	72	74	80	+16	304	€ 1,282.50
T65	Elia FOLCH		72	75	78	79	+16	304	€ 1,282.50
T65	Louise STAHLE		77	70	78	79	+16	304	€ 1,282.50
T69	Ursula WIKSTROM		78	72	76	80	+18	306	€ 1,147.50
T69	Natalie WILLE		74	72	84	76	+18	306	€ 1,147.50
71	Whitney HILLIER		76	74	79	78	+19	307	€ 1,080.00