Anne van Dam has once again turned her relationship with Spain into a permanent idyll after winning the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino for the second consecutive time, where Azahara Muñoz, from Malaga, who finally finished fourth, has once again put in a remarkable performance in a tournament that she has also won twice.
The brave Dutch golfer reedited the glory achieved in 2018 based on a tenacious and aggressive game that was particularly evident in a final of competition as exciting as it was uncertain.
Next to her, until the last shot, the Danish Nanna Madsen fought hard to avoid a fate that seems written in advance when the player from the Netherlands comes to Spain. The Nordic golfer, leader at the beginning of the last day and leader throughout many holes of it, had everything in her face when she scored a seemingly decisive birdie on the 16th hole, commanding again alone the table with a very narrow margin for the reaction of her rivals.
However, already on the 18th, with the tension at its peak, with a one-stroke lead over Anne Van Dam, the Danish Nanna Madsen sent the ball into the water from the tee, a decisive error that put the victory on a platter to a player who completed the entire second round with 9 consecutive pars that are nevertheless well worth a second consecutive victory.
The first hours of the decisive day were spent between multiple attempts to acquire the maximum protagonism. India’s Aditi Ashok tried first, who snatched the lead from Nanna Madsen thanks to three consecutive birdies between holes 2 and 4 that revolutionized the early stages of the final stretch of the tournament, benefited by a double bogey by the Dane on hole 3 that set off all the alarms.
This apparent symptom of weakness of the Nordic player to face maximum pressure, reproduced later on the 18th hole, seemed at that moment a simple anecdote since a birdie on the 7th hole and, above all, a spectacular eagle on the 9th allowed the Nordic player to return to the longed-for first position.
Anne Van Dam was already swarming there, in expectation, maneuvering with effort to reedit the triumph achieved in 2018. The Dutchwoman scratched birdies to the course at the beginning and at the end of her first round, a good declaration of winning intentions but at that moment insufficient since Nanna Madsen was still holding a two-stroke lead when the star parties began to manage the last nine holes.
The placid situation turned however into dark clouds when on the 13th hole, a relatively straightforward par 3, the Dane sent the ball into the bushes at the edge of the fairway, a faulty position that generated a disturbing double bogey on her scorecard. Anne Van Dam, almost unwittingly, found herself in a tie at the top of the leaderboard before the 18th hole passed its watery sentence in her favor.
Among the Spaniards, Azahara Muñoz was once again the most inspired representative, well seconded from her fourth place by the tenth reached by a solid Nuria Iturrios. It took the Malaga player six holes to move her scoreboard, a stretch of excessive lack of success in the framework of an objectively outstanding performance.
The Malaga-born player, supported by her fans, went through her best moment between holes 9 and 12, when three almost consecutive birdies brought out the enthusiasm of her numerous followers, establishing Azahara Muñoz among the best in a tournament that has been debated in recent years between the Malaga-born player -winner in 2016 and 2017- and Anne Van Dam (2018 and 2019), a player who when she arrives in Spain makes everything she plays her own.
FINAL RANKING
1.- Anne Van Dam (Hol), 275 (68+69+68+68+70)
2.- Aditi Ashok (Ind), 276 (70+67+69+70)
+.- Nanna Koertz Madsen (Din), 276 (71+66+65+74)
4.- Azahara Muñoz (Esp), 279 (71+70+67+71)
10.- Nuria Iturrios (Esp), 282 (70+74+70+68)
AROUND THE GREEN
Anne Van Dam, a player established in the elite
Consolidated as one of the best European and world players, Dutch Anne Van Dam has forged much of the best of her career in Spain, where her results have been excellent. Special mention for her triumph at the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open achieved in September 2018, prelude to her second victory in our country at the Open de España Femenino, just two months later.
The Dutch golfer, who happens to be the player who reaches more meters on average from the tee within the LET, has returned to reedit laurels in 2019, a year in which she has also increased her record with the triumph in the Solheim Cup as a member of the European team.
Spanish women give battle in the last day
Azahara Muñoz from Malaga was the best Spaniard with a final round of -1, finally classified fourth ahead of a solid Nuria Iturrioz, tied tenth with a total of -6. Behind, after a great weekend, finished Beatriz Recari and Luna Sobrón, both in 20th place, while Noemí Jiménez, from Malaga, was the best Spanish player, María Parra and Fátima Fernández Cano (32nd), Carmen Alonso and Harang Lee (39th), María Hernández (45th) and Marta Sanz Barrio (55th) completed the performance of the Spanish players in this Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España Femenino.
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