The Swedish player has won the tournament that closed the season on the Ladies European Tour after defeating the Swiss Morgane Metraux, while the sensation of the week, the amateur Cayetana Fernandez, has finished in a magnificent fifth place
There was a lot to say about the Swedish duel for the Race to Costa del Sol in the preview of the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España, between Lynn Grant and Maja Stark. But even though the former emerged victorious, at the end it was another Nordic player, Caroline Hedwall, who stole the spotlight with a great victory after defeating Sweden’s Morgane Metraux in a playoff play-off after both finished tied on 274 strokes (-18).
Before that end, the winner of the Race to Costa del Sol, Linn Grant, rounded off a great round of 66 strokes (-8) for a total of 275 strokes (-17) . It forced her compatriot and the Swiss, who were behind, to make at least one more birdie than her. Both succeeded, so they were forced to a tachycardic playoff that took four holes to decide the winner.
This victory at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España is the seventh for the player born 33 years ago in the Swedish town of Täby and she hasn’t won a trophy since 2018.
“It’s an amazing feeling, it feels like I’ve been waiting for this win forever. I wasn’t sure I was going to get it, and it’s been a huge joy to get this win,” said the four-time European Team Solheim Cup player.
“It’s been a rollercoaster to be honest, I had an injury in 2014 which was really tough for me and I had a big dip in self-esteem. The 2018 win meant a lot to me.
Then it was tough during Covid-19, I didn’t want to travel so much, but now I’m kind of back to normal and I feel really good. My game is in the right place and it was amazing to finish the season by winning such a prestigious tournament,” said the Swedish player.
The best Spanish player of the tournament was the amateur Cayetana Fernández, the real sensation of the week for her top-level golf over the four days, although each of them was different. “The first two days I played very solid and the other two I played with grit, but in short, it was a hard-fought round, my performance exceeded my expectations and I’m very happy with the final result”, she summed up exultantly.
“Cata”, as her family and friends call her, was also the best amateur of the event, which makes her worthy of the first edition of the Celia Barquín Award, something that fills the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid player with pride: “I am very happy to win this award, the national team players always remember Celia in the Europeans we play, so I hope this award will be repeated many years from now”.
Although it is within the hypothesis, winning this tournament would have meant a dilemma for Cayetana, as it would have given her the Ladies European Tour card, but the Madrilenian has her feet firmly planted on the ground: “Winning would have been a dilemma, especially for my father, but I would have continued with my plans, which are going to college for four years and then turn professional. It would have been complicated to choose, but the most important thing is to stick to what you think from the beginning, even if circumstances change,” she concluded.