Amy Taylor‘s wish came true at the Ladies Italian Open as the 23-year-old secured a one shot victory to land her maiden Ladies European Tour (LET) title.
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Leading by one on seven-under par before the start of play, Taylor produced a confident performance firing a final round 69 (-3) at Golf Nazionale to pip Spain’s Maria Hernandez to the famous trophy.
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“I have no words at the moment!” she said after the victory. “I can’t really believe it. Earlier this week I went to the [Trevi] fountain in Rome and I did throw a coin in and wish that I would win! I didn’t tell anyone, but it came true! So Rome really is a magical place and I’m so grateful to win here.”
Playing alongside Tiffany Arafi and Pia Babnik, Taylor got off to a wonderful start making birdies on the 3rd and 4th holes.
“I felt a bit nervous before I started,” she said. “But once I got on the golf course it was just another round and I felt good. Luckily I got off to a good start. I had a couple of three putts which wasn’t ideal but had a few tap-in birdies which really helped me.”
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As Alessandra Fanali and Maria Hernandez led a charge elsewhere, the Englishwoman carded two more birdies at the 7th and 8th to go out in 32 and hold a four-shot lead.
Dropped shots at the 11th and 13th soon made things a slightly nervy affair as her lead was reduced to two, but Taylor quickly bounced back with birdies at the 14th and 16th to leave her needing just a bogey on the last to secure the victory.
“I had no clue on the scores,” Taylor said. “I knew I had two putts for it when I was on the 18th green. Harry [Ewing] my caddie said, ‘just tap it down there’, and I hit it three-foot past! So he might have aged a bit because of me today, but I’m just happy I was able to hole the one coming back. I still won so it’s ok!”
With the victory, Taylor joins the winner’s category and cements her LET status for the next three years.
She said: “I’ve been feeling close for a while but haven’t quite had the results to show for it. I had them on the [LET] Access Series, but not here. So it’s cool to know I wasn’t making it up!”
In solo second finished the before-mentioned Hernandez. The Spaniard came close to a second LET title – and first since 2010 – thanks to a final round 67 (-5) which included an incredible chip-in eagle on the par-5 18th.
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France’s Camille Chevalier also produced her best again firing a 66 (-6) to finish in a tie for third on seven-under par alongside Singapore’s Shannon Tan and Italian amateur Francesca Fiorellini.
