17-year-old Anna Huang earned her third Ladies European Tour (LET) title with a one-shot victory at the Lalla Meryem Cup to surpass Lydia Ko as the youngest player to reach three wins on the circuit.
The Canadian started Saturday’s final round at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam six shots off the lead held by Australia’s Kelsey Bennett who fired a 65. But the gap at the top quickly faded as she alternated birdies and bogeys throughout the final round. Meanwhile, Huang’s comeback from six shots was almost immediate as she opened with a birdie then an eagle right after at the 2nd. Four successive birdies followed from holes 5 to 8, before she made her first and only bogey of the day at the 9th.
Huang drew level with Bennett at the turn, and the Australian’s once-commanding lead vanished with bogeys on the 12th and 16th holes before another dropped shot at the last capped a final-round 73. Huang’s composed run of pars on the back nine was interrupted only by a birdie at the 14th as her final-round 66 proved enough to secure a one-shot victory on 14 under.
“I’m honestly just so shocked right now,” Huang said. “I didn’t know where the leaderboard was at and I didn’t know where Kelsey [Bennett] was at. I was just trying to stay patient and make pars in the last few holes. But it ended up being the win for me.
“I got a little nervous on the back nine. I mean everyone would. But I just kept playing my own game. To get my third win on tour in only my second year is incredible. I’m just trying to enjoy the moment!”
“I started off really strong,” she continued. “All my putts were dropping and I was hitting it really close. The front nine was really solid. I was really focused out there.”
With her third LET title, Huang made history at just 17 years, 6 months and 24 days old, becoming the youngest player ever to win three times on tour. Lydia Ko previously held the record at 17 years, 10 months and 5 days in 2015. The Canadian’s previous victories came during her breakthrough debut season last year when she won back-to-back titles at the La Sella Open and the Lacoste Ladies Open de France to become the youngest player ever to win consecutively on tour. She is now also the only Canadian to claim multiple LET titles.
Just a shot back from Huang, Bennett finished in second on 13 under while third was shared between USA’s Anna Morgan and Italy’s Anna Zanusso on 10 under. Slovenia’s Pia Babnik rounded off the top 5 on 9 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the Ladies European Tour schedule is the Jabra Ladies Open de France taking place between 28th-30th May at Evian Resort Golf Club in France.