Saturday, January 21, 2012

Golf News
At the Ladies European Tour’s Final Qualifying School for the 2012, La Manga Club, Spain

T29 Sharmila NICOLLET (IND) 68 70 80 75 75 +7

India's 20 yrs old pro Sharmila Nicollet has earned the Ladies European Tour card after a dramatic playoff ... She was leading after the first round but had a very poor third round ... She played steadily in the final 2 rounds to tied for 29th place ... She birdied her last hole to make it to a six woman playoff for the last 2 cards as the top 30 earn cards.

Here is report from the Ladies European Tour site -
However, it was further down the leader board where the drama unfolded at the end of the day after six players tied for 29th position on seven over par.

The six players headed back out to the seventh tee to begin a sudden death play-off for two places, to establish who would secure the last spots inside the top 30, eligible for category 8a membership of the LET.

The Spanish duo of Laura Cabanillas and Mireia Prat competed against India’s Sharmila Nicollet, England’s Hannah Burke, Germany’s Miriam Nagl and Scotland’s Carly Booth.

Cabanillas, an 11-year veteran of the tour, holed a 12-footer for birdie to take the 29th card available at the par-four seventh hole, while the remaining five players went to the eighth tee.

Booth fell short after driving into a fairway bunker and having to lay up on the par four, eventually taking a bogey five along with Nagl and both players were eliminated. Burke, Nicollet and Prat all had four and went to the par-five ninth tee.

The drama was completed when Nicollet, who co-led after the first round, two-putted for a birdie four from the right edge of the ninth green to earn the 30th card. The other two players could not match her score.

After holing a six-foot putt, her smile lit up the stunning venue and the 20-year-old from the south of Bangalore said: “I feel so excited. I played well under pressure and I mean, I didn’t hit the fairway the first two play-off holes and I made a recovery after that and in the end it was a great feeling. I’m so overwhelmed right now.”

Nicollet will be the only player from India with full playing rights on the Ladies European Tour this season and she was justifiably proud of her achievement.

“My goal was to get on the tour and this is my first time in Spain for the qualifier so I think it’s a big achievement for me. To be playing in Europe will be my next immediate goal. I hope to play all the tournaments and maybe move here because I have family in Paris and my dad stays there so maybe I will move there and play all the tournaments. I’m just so happy and excited. It’s been a long two weeks and it’s been a long wait and fingers crossed for the season.”

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