Leicestershire ladies from Kibworth Golf Club win WPGA Lombard Trophy

Image of Trish Formoy (left) and Kym Larratt courtesy of Tony Marshall, Getty Images

Ladies European Tour player Kim Larratt and Trish Formoy, the school teacher who taught her the rudiments of French, had their rivals muttering the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of ‘zut alors’ during the WPGA Lombard Trophy’s final round.

The pair from Kibworth Golf Club in Leicestershire completed a wire-to-wire victory to become only the second winners of the women’s edition of Europe’s largest pro-am.
And they did so in fine style. Having established a two shot lead after their first negotiation of the Donald Steel-designed course at Pestana Vila Sol on Portugal’s Algarve, they doubled their advantage in the second and final round.
It all added up to a six-under-par score of 138 and a four shot victory over Nene Park pair, Suzanne Dickens and her amateur partner, Anne Curwen.
Not that Larratt, a PGA Assistant at Kibworth, and Formoy had things all their own way.
By the time the pairs completed the par three 13th, the three shot advantage the eventual winners boasted at the turn had been erased.

However, rather than be cowed by the threat from Dickens, the 2014 Women’s PGA Professional champion, and her amateur sidekick, Larratt and Formoy were inspired.
“We were comfortable at the turn,” Larratt explained. “Then Suzanne and Anne came out flying and we were level at one point. We needed to sort things out, which we did.
“Trish had a nett birdie at 14, I birdied the 15th and Trish had another nett birdie at 16. All of a sudden we were comfortable going down the last two holes.
“We got it going and kept it going, especially on the back nine. We were very solid after the 12th."
As well as winning the tournament, the experience gave Larratt the chance to reverse roles with Formoy.
“Trish taught me French,” she recalled. “Now it’s me trying to tell her what do on a golf course. Whenever she asked me what to do, I told her and she just did it. It was great.”
In addition to passing on her golfing knowledge Larratt is keen to encourage her peers and more female amateurs to get involved in the tournament.
“This is a fantastic tournament for both the professionals and the amateurs,” she said. “The qualifying tournament was great fun. Then coming here – why would you not play?
"We’ve been looked after superbly – we can’t thank Lombard and Coca Cola enough for including the ladies in this.”

Final positions: 1 Kibworth (-6); 2 Nene Park (-2); Bramshaw (L); 4 Ormskirk (+4); 5 Dinsdale Spa (+5); 6 Three Rivers (+6)
Full scores: CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE RESULTS