England's Rhodes holds nerve to claim maiden LET victory
Women's NSW Open: Final leaderboard-17 M Rhodes (Eng); -15 K Rudgeley (Aus), A Fanali (Ita); -14 S Kouskova (Cze); -11 K Metraux (Swi), B Fernandez (Spa), M Folke (Swe), N Iturrioz (Spa)Selected others: -7 D Harry (Wal), A Foster (Ire); -6 C Gainer (Eng); -3 K Henry (Sco), A Fuller (Eng); -2 H Screen (Eng), L Walsh (Ire)
England's Mimi Rhodes held her nerve to claim her first Ladies European Tour victory at the Women's NSW Open in Australia.The 23-year-old rookie led by one heading into the final round in Wollongong and produced a composed final day to beat Australia's Kirsten Rudgeley and Italy's Alessandra Fanali by two shots.Competing in just her fourth event as a full LET member, Rhodes went bogey free on Sunday, carding a two-under 69 to finish on 17 under."I'm honestly still in shock, but I'm so happy," she said. "I've worked really hard for this."Victory came a week after Rhodes missed the cut at the Australian Women's Classic in Coffs Harbour.After heading down the New South Wales coast to Wollongong, she fired a course record on Friday, hitting a nine-under 62 to take a share of the lead with Sara Kouskova.During Saturday's round of 68, Rhodes gained the outright lead and did not relinquish it on the final day.After birdies at the second and fourth holes, Rhodes carded 14 straight pars as Rudgeley and Fanali put the pressure on.Home favourite Rudgeley had five birdies en route to a three-under 68 while Fanali's third birdie of the day on the par-3 17th put her one off the lead.But the Italian pulled her tee shot on the closing par-five 18th, forcing her to take a penalty drop, allowing Rhodes the comfort of two-putting to secure victory."I had a difficult week last week - I went through a swing change and it obviously worked," added Rhodes, who said she would celebrate with family and friends in Sydney."I was fine on the front nine but when it started to get tight, I got a bit stressed. I kept breathing and tried to remain focused. It's difficult in those situations but I'm just really glad I got it done."
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