Turnbull lone Aussie to secure LET card

Ladies European Tour | 2006 Ladies European Tour Q-School - Final Stage | Wrap | 26 Nov 2006

Ireland’s Claire Coughlan and England’s Samantha Head emerged as the joint winners of the Ladies European Tour’s Final Qualifying School for the 2007 season at La Cala Resort in Southern Spain.

Coughlan carded a final round 69 to Head’s 71 for a matching total of seven-under-par 281.

Head, 33, regained her playing privileges after originally joining the Tour in 1995, while Coughlan, 26, claimed her full Tour card at the first attempt.

West Australian Bree Turnbull finished the best of the down under brigade in equal 23rd and was the only one to secure a LET card for 2007. Dana Lacey closed the tournament in 36th place and Heidi McCulkin 40th. Melanie Holmes-Smith rounded out the Aussie contigent in a tie for 47th.

Stacy Lee Bregman of South Africa and England’s Kiran Matharu tied for third place on five-under-par to claim their full playing privileges for the 2007 season. Matharu qualified as the Tour’s second youngest member after Korea’s Amy Yang, at the age of 17 years and nine months. She carded a final round 71 for a total of 283 to Bregman’s 70. Stefanie Michl of Austria took the fifth card after finishing on three-under-par after a final round 73.

Curtis Cup player Coughlan, who started the day two shots behind Head, was three adrift of the lead at the turn, despite having eagled the par-five eighth hole in an outward half of 34. Head, who began the day at six-under-par, carded four birdies and one bogey for a front nine of 33 and she reached the turn at nine-under-par. However, she bogeyed the 10th hole, double bogeyed the 16th and birdied the 18th to come home in two-over 38.

Coughlan bogeyed the 10th and birdied the 16th and 18th holes for a back nine of 35, one-under-par, which drew her level with the more experienced Englishwoman.

“It just feels tremendous,” said Coughlan, from Little Island in Cork. “I’ve had my fiancé David on the bag and we’ve enjoyed ourselves this week. We didn’t have too many expectations. It’s a new experience so we just thought we’ll see what happens.”

Coughlan’s fiancé David Ryan is a golf professional at Cahir Park GC in Tipperary.

Head, who is a two-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, played most of her golf in Japan from 2003-2005 and lost her Ladies European Tour card which necessitated a return to Q School. She will head to LPGA Tour School in America next week, but was understandably delighted to regain her European playing privileges.

“It’s a relief because I never thought I would have to come back here,” said Head, who is the twin sister of LPGA Tour professional Johanna. “I’m really pleased I’ve come though because it’s been a great experience. It’s great to come back and play in this sort of thing because sometimes when you keep your card every year you get ahead of yourself. I think that some of the players who have kept their cards would struggle to get through Tour School if they had to come back here.”

Tied third placed Matharu was looking forward to her first full year competing as a professional in 2007 and she said: “I’m happy but I think that my best achievement so far was getting through the last round of Pre Qualifying School in Italy. I was 11 over and I had to shoot one-under to get through. I’m going to work a bit harder over the winter.”

Matharu is planning a three day trip to India in December, where she will meet a number of members of her family that she has never seen before and do some promotional activities. “I’ve never been so it should be interesting,” she said.

After 72 holes, exactly 28 players earned their full cards for the 2007 Ladies European Tour schedule, with five-over-par 293 being the cut off mark.

Source – LET