The quartet got off to a hot start and were -3 after one hole thanks to Simmermacher’s birdie and Hyun’s birdie-net-eagle.

Team Napoleaova gained momentum making the turn in 11-under and they continued their form on the back nine to be 10-under in their final nine holes and post a team total of 31-under which was enough to win by one stroke.

Captain Napoleaova said: “It was a super vibe for the day. On the first tee, Maggie did her thing. I don’t know what she did, but it immediately stopped raining, whatever mojo from Argentina, it worked.

“For the rest of the round, we really enjoyed and all of us played really good. We just pulled it off, it was such a lovely golf course and all things just worked the way they were supposed to.”

It was a first LET title for Fuenfstueck, who has been on a journey back from injury and has seen a recent upturn in form.

The German player explained: “I’m super pleased, when I saw the team at the draft, I thought all of us could make quite a lot of birdies and then we got John added to the team and he made a lot of birdies as well.

“I thought it was going to be a fun time and really relaxed out there and that’s exactly how it was. We were able to capitalise on it and it was a lot of fun today.”

While, it was also the first trophy for Simmermacher as a professional and she was delighted to win a Team event.

The Argentine commented: “It was great, I’m really excited for the team and we very much enjoyed the week. It’s great to be under Kristyna’s team, when I saw the team, I thought we were going to do good and it’s great that we actually won. I’m really happy.”

The clubhouse target set by TEAM NAPOLEAOVA on -31 is not going to be beaten.

Congrats to Kristyna, Laura, Maggie & John the @Aramco_Series Hong Kong team champions ???#RaiseOurGame | #BringTheEnergy pic.twitter.com/sqJoreGBfH

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) October 7, 2023

Team Cheenglab finished in second place on 30-under at Hong Kong Golf Club after the quartet of Trichat Cheenglab, Christine Wolf, Jana Melichova and amateur Arianna Lau also produced a second round of -21.

Rookie Cheenglab said: “I’m very happy to have Christine and Jana in the Team. We all made eagles today, which put us very close and I’m very proud of the team today and we very much enjoyed it.”

Team Iturrioz finished in third place on 29-under-par with Team Pettersson two shots further back in fourth and five teams ended the week in a tie for fifth place on 25-under-par.

In the Individual competition, two players are tied at the summit of the leaderboard after 36 holes in Hong Kong.

Korea’s Jin Young Ko and China’s Xiyu Lin both sit on 11-under having fired rounds of 70 and 66 respectively, today.

World No. 3 Ko led after the first round and had a solid day on the golf course carding a round of three-under which included five birdies and two bogeys.

“The round was very windy, it was hard to focus with the wind out there,” said the two-time major champion. “I played really well today, I made some good putts.

“I’m very happy to finish with three-under. I try to think about nothing on the golf course and just hit some balls and talk with my partners.”

Chinese star Lin had an excellent second day to tie for the lead rolling in birdies on holes two, three and four before dropping her only shot of the day on the fifth.

The 27-year-old then made another three birdies on the trot on 10, 11 and 12 before adding two more on 14 and 16 for her round of 66.

“My driver was a little bit better, I got off to a pretty hot start but then me and the whole team was a little bit slower afterward,” said Lin.

“When we made the turn, we said let’s get it going and we all had a really good back nine, so I’m happy.”

Dutch star Anne Van Dam sits in third place just one shot back on 10-under after she produced a round of 69 on day two.

“My mindset today was really good, obviously with the weather we didn’t quite know what was going to happen so I was prepared for everything and just taking it one shot at a time,” said the five-time LET winner.

Main image: LET

The post Team Napoleaova claim title as as Ko and Lin aim for Individual glory in Hong Kong appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Kristyna Napoleaova broke her Ladies European Tour duck with a playoff birdie to win the 2023 Amundi German Masters at Seddiner See Golf & Country Club.

The Czech star was elated to finally bag her first LET win, outlasting England’s Cara Gainer after the pair were locked at the top of the leaderboard on 14-under-par through 72 holes.

They headed back down the 18th for the playoff and it was Napoleaova who rolled in her birdie putt to triumph and become the fourth first-time winner on the LET in 2023.

“It was definitely dramatic, but I don’t think it was just the last hole I think it was pretty much the whole day,” said Napoleaova.

“There was a lot of scrambling and I’m proud we managed to get where we are now and I couldn’t have done it without my great team and caddie. It has been a really good week so far and I hope on the way home we may celebrate it later.”

Dubai’s Chiara Noja continued here sensational season with a T12, eight strokes back of the leaders.

“I was struggling the whole week off the tee and with the irons as you could probably see today,” Napoleaova explained. “But I think the putting was amazing the whole week. That was the main thing, even in the playoff, that got me there and to get the first win.”

Napoleaova was late to the game of golf starting in the summer of 2016 having been a former footballer for AC Sparta Prague when she was younger.

The newly crowned LET winner has also had battles off the golf course recently being diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis a few months ago and is amazed to have entered the winner’s circle on Tour.

She added: “I still can’t believe that not even seven years ago, I hadn’t held a golf club and now I’m on the Ladies European Tour and winning an event. It’s amazing and I can’t wait to do another one and especially next week being back home, so hopefully there’ll be a good crowd there.”

England’s Gainer ultimately finished in second after losing in the playoff, having produced a final round of 71 (-1) with three birdies and a double bogey on her scorecard.

Germany’s Sophie Hausmann fired the round of the day with an excellent bogey-free 64 (-8) to finish the tournament with a total of 11-under-par.

“It was fun, of course,” said Hausmann. “I played solid golf all week long and on this course we did see some low scoring and today was the day where I went low. I enjoyed it.

“You have a few friends coming out and you have the Germans cheering and it all comes together and you think let’s make one more and keep going. I had two girls especially who were following me for the last seven holes and they were really going. It was pretty cute and fun to watch, and I hope they will be out there one day.”

Hausmann finished in a tie for third place alongside India’s Diksha Dagar, who carded an even-par round on the final day.

England’s Alice Hewson ended the tournament in fifth place on 10-under-par after a fourth round of 69 .

Spain’s Carmen Alonso, France’s Celine Herbin and Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson finished in a tie for sixth place on eight-under-par and one shot further back was Italy’s Virginia Elena Carta alongside French duo Agathe Sauzon and Nastasia Nadaud.

In the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol, Ashok still leads the standings as she has done since the first event of the season but Spain’s Ana Peláez Trivino is now only 3.47 points behind.

Sweden’s Linn Grant is third with Czechia’s Klara Davidson Spilkova fourth and Germany’s Noja in fifth place.

The post Napoleaova takes the plaudits as Noja finishes T12 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
The Ladies European Tour heads to Beroun in the Czech Republic, with Dubai-based Kristyna Napoleaova flying the flag for the host nation in a 130-strong field at the Czech Ladies Open.

The 54-hole event begins on Friday, with prize money of €200,000 on offer at Royal Beroun Golf Club.

Napoleaova is one of 16 Czech players in the field, and the 26-year-old has had a great start to life on the LET, sitting fourth in the Rookie of the Year standings, a T2 finish at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International and T9 at the Joburg Ladies Open.

Another home favourite is Sara Kouskova, who won the 2021 Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge on the LET Access Series, and she turned professional a few weeks ago.

Among the big guns are three-time LET winner Meghan MacLaren from England, Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson, who is third in the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol, and Argentina’s Magdalena Simmermacher, who sits fifth in the rankings.

Germany’s Leonie Harm finished third at the 2021 edition of the tournament, just two strokes behind winner Atthaya Thitikul. And the 24-year-old will be hoping to find that form once again and add to her one top-10 finish so far this season.

Wales’ Becky Brewerton is also competing after her T6 at the Aramco Team Series – London.

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The post Ladies European Tour: Dubai-based Kristyna Napoleaova flies home flag in strong field at Czech Ladies Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.