By Matt Smith
There was a surprise winner at the Czech Ladies Open as amateur Jana Melichova swept the pros aside to claim top spot in her home competition at Royal Beroun Golf Club.

After rounds of 68 and 65 on the first two days, the 24-year-old produced a final round of 69 to seal a one-stroke victory.

[parone_video_player campaign=”284″ defaultlang=”en” feed=”51-all-videos”/]

The former Old Dominion University student shot a blistering front nine on Sunday to open up a four-shot lead. But Melichova had some trouble just a few holes later carding three consecutive bogeys.

However, another birdie on 17 proved to be crucial as she reached a total of 14-under to become the second Czech winner on the LET.

“It’s a dream come true,” Melichova began. “I always planned to play LET and I always wanted to win a title and I succeeded today, I’m incredibly happy.

“I was mainly nervous, but I think I handled that stress really well. I was really happy with my game and everything was perfect. Even the three bogeys in a row didn’t get me down because I had people here and they were cheering for me, so I just wanted to make more birdies.

“I seemed calm but it’s tough out there, there were so many thoughts going through my mind so it’s hard to stay calm and patient.

“My dad likes to plant a lot of fruit and vegetables, and today he brought strawberries with me so after every birdie I was rewarded.”

The final standings of the 2022 #CzechLadiesOpen ?

A magical win for Jana Melichova, as well as career-best finishes on the LET for @lauuragr and Elena Hualde ?#RaiseOurGame

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) June 26, 2022

Two players finished in a tie for second place with Czechia’s Klara Spilkova and Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup on 13-under.

It was a great finish to the week for Spilkova, who became the first Czech winner on the LET back in 2017.

Spilkova carded a final 70 (-2) which included four birdies and two bogeys to be runner-up alongside Broch Estrup.

“I feel a bit up and down, but I feel very happy and grateful for what I have done and how it all unfolded for me this week,” Spilkova said.

“It was really nice to play in front of the home crowd, there have been a lot of people everyday so I really appreciate their support. There was a lot of good energy through the week.

“I was pleased with how I stayed patient and believed in myself, I stayed solid and today I wish I made more putts but it is how it is, and that’s golf.

“It’s an amazing thing Jana has done today, she should enjoy the moment because this doesn’t happen very often. I’ve been on tour for 12 years and for her to be in a situation like this is very magical.”

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The moment Jana Melichova wins the #CzechLadiesOpen in front of her home crowd ?

What a special moment for the 24-year-old ? #RaiseOurGame pic.twitter.com/i9Qr6uRWkn

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) June 26, 2022

Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson continued her excellent form this season with a fourth-place finish after a final round of 66 (-6).

Despite bogeys on the second and sixth holes, the Swede soon rolled in three birdies consecutively on holes seven through to nine and added a further five birdies on the back nine.

“Today I had a bit of a rocky start,” Gustavsson admitted. “I had a few bogeys early on and I wasn’t happy about that. Then I started playing better and hit a few lovely shots close to the pin and had a lot of tap ins for birdie on the back nine, so that was nice.

“I feel good, I’m looking forward to playing in the Majors soon and my game feels good now.

“My dad was with me on the bag this week so that was great to have him here with me, it’s also nice to have Emma (Nilsson) here as well because I haven’t seen her much this year.

“I felt very good about my putting this week, which has been a bit of a thing for me this year – so the was good.

“It’s nice to get some more points on the Race to Costa Del Sol and to close the gap at the top a bit as well, that’s a bonus. It’s great to see so many Swedes up there as well.”

In the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol, Swedes Linn Grant and Maja Stark are still first and second in the rankings with 1,969.39 and 1,752.50 points, respectively.

While Gustavsson remains third but has closed the gap to the top and now has 1,687.83 points to her name.

Belgium’s Manon De Roey, Argentina’s Magdalena Simmermacher and England’s Meghan MacLaren are still fourth, fifth and sixth.

South African Lee-Anne Pace sits seventh, with Finland’s Tiia Koivisto eighth, Australian Whitney Hillier in ninth and England’s Georgia Hall completes the top 10.

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The post Amateur Jana Melichova claims stunning win on Ladies European Tour at Czech Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
The Czech Ladies Open is set for an intriguing final day as Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup and Austrian amateur Emma Spitz are tied at the top on 12-under-par.

Heavy overnight rain continued on Saturday and led to a three-hour delay to proceedings and some soggy conditions.

But once action got under way, the Danish overnight leader continued her impressive form this week carding a bogey-free 67 (-5) to remain at the top of the leaderboard.

“I feel like I played a bit more solid yesterday, but I feel things have gone my way on both days,” said Broch Estrup.

“I just hung on to the red line on 18 behind the green, and you just have to take those things in golf. I hope to play with a bit more confidence tomorrow and try to play with the mindset of trying to achieve good shots rather than avoid hitting bad shots.

“I feel like I stayed patient today and focusing on hitting the good shots even though I could feel my body tensing up and I wasn’t swinging as free as I would like. I was hanging in there and I’m really happy to get it done in five-under.”

The Dane is in contention for the final day, and it is a position she hasn’t been in for a while, but the 2015 Helsingborg Open champion is hoping to take it in her stride.

She added: “It’s super nice to be competing at the top of leaderboards again and it’s been a while since I’ve been here.

“I’m trying to tell myself that it’s good that I’m feeling this way and it’s because I’m in a good position and that’s where I want to be. I would like to feel a bit calmer, but hopefully I can get there some day again.”

.@broch_nicole rips it ?#RaiseOurGame | #CzechLadiesOpen pic.twitter.com/faWSTyiVJA

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) June 25, 2022

Austria’s Spitz replicated her first round producing another 66 to put her alongside Broch Estrup at Royal Beroun Golf Club.

A bogey on the first didn’t deter the amateur, who is ranked seventh in the world, and she soon rolled in seven birdies to reach 12-under.

“I was nervous on the first green, I didn’t really know how they were going to roll after the rain and if it was going to be much slower so I left it way short and three-putted which wasn’t a great start, but I told myself I could make a lot of birdies coming in and it worked out fine,” said the former UCLA student.

“I’ve played on the LET Access Series before and been near the lead, but this is different, the level is a lot higher, but I’ll just play my own game and see what happens tomorrow.

“I knew coming in that if I played well, I could play with the top players here. I’ve played against a lot of the players in amateur golf so that’s nice, but it’s always nice to see your name at the top of the leaderboard.

“It’s going to be fun playing with Nicole tomorrow, she’s a great player and it’s going to be cool to see how she plays.”

Two Czech players are tied for third place with amateur Jana Melichova and LET winner Klara Spilkova just one stroke behind the leaders on 11-under-par.

6⃣5⃣

There's been some great low scores in Beroun today, with home favourites Klara Spilkova and Jana Melichova among those to catch the eye in Prague #RaiseOurGame | #CzechLadiesOpen

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) June 25, 2022

Spanish pair Luna Sobron Galmes and Paz Marfa Sans sit in a tie for fifth place on seven-under-par after they both produced second rounds of 69 (-3).

Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson, Czech amateur Patricie Mackova, who celebrated her 21st birthday, and Spain’s Elia Folch are in a share of seventh on six-under-par.

Three players sit in T10 after 36 holes as Wales’ Becky Morgan, France’s Emma Grechi and Czech’s Sara Kouskova all have a total of five-under-par.

Dubai’s Czech star Kristyna Napoleaova is tied for 43rd.

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The post Ladies European Tour: Broch Estrup and Spitz face final-round showdown in Czech Ladies Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.