Golf Digest: Tara Delaney from Carlow, a student at Kent State University in the US, won the Leitrim Cup as leading qualifier in the Lancome Irish Ladies Close Championship at Lahinch yesterday.
With her beautiful grooved swing, she had a final round of four-under-par 70, which is one outside the course record established last month by Dublin teacher Marian Riordan from Tipperary, who finished seventh in the qualifiers.
The young Carlow girl had a round of 80 in the morning which she improved by 10 strokes in the afternoon sunshine aided by seven birdies.
Second was another international, Sinead O'Sullivan from Galway with one shot more.
In third place came 12-year-old Lisa Maguire who improved her afternoon round also by 10 strokes. The youngster was three under par playing the sixth in the afternoon and was beaten by the record score in the scratch trophy on the same course last month.
US TOUR: US Masters champion Zach Johnson and Ryuji Imada were tied for the lead with just two holes to play in the AT&T Classic at Sugarloaf GC, Georgia.
The pair were on 14-under-par with Troy Matteson one shot back on 13 under. Sharing the clubhouse lead were Chris Tidland, Stephen Marino and Bob Estes on 11-under-par 277.
CHALLENGE TOUR: Nicolas Vanhootegem became the toast of Belgium by triumphing at the Telenet Trophy at Royal Waterloo Golf Club. The 34 year old delighted the home crowd with a three shot victory that secured him the first prize of €20,800, and elevated him to fourth position on the Challenge Tour Rankings.
Maintaining the excellent form that took him to second place in Toulouse last week, Vanhootegem closed out his hugely impressive victory, the third Challenge Tour win of his career, with a fourth round of two under par 70 for a 17 under 271 aggregate - four strokes clear of Chile's Felipe Aguilar.
LET TOUR: Bettina Hauert won a three-way play-off against Australia's Anna Rawson and Spain's Paula Marti in dramatic fashion at the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open.
Hauert, 24, posted a final round 72, with three birdies on the final three holes to reach three-under-par 285 in total.
She then birdied the par-five 447-yard 18th hole at Golf Gerre Losone four more times to become a first time Tour winner and won a first prize of €78,750.
At the fourth extra hole, Marti found trouble off the tee and was forced to lay up in front of the water protecting the front of the green. However she hit her third shot to five feet. Hauert was on in two and missed her eagle putt. Marti, the more experienced player, then missed her birdie putt and Hauert holed her birdie putt from four feet.
Rebecca Coakley finished on 290 after a final round of 71.
