The Canadian golfer Anna Huang has made headlines by securing her third title on the Ladies European Tour (LET) at the Lalla Meryem Cup held in Morocco. With an impressive final round of 66 (-7), Huang managed to surpass Australian golfer Kelsey Bennett, showcasing her immense talent on the Blue Course of the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat. Notably, Vanessa Knecht was the only Swiss player to qualify for the finals, representing her country on this prestigious stage.
At just 17 years old, Huang entered the final round trailing the leader by six strokes. However, her performance was nothing short of remarkable; after just eight holes, she had already reached seven under par. Although she faced a slight setback with a single bogey on the ninth hole, she rebounded well with a birdie on the back nine. Bennett struggled during the latter half of her round, which allowed Huang to claim a narrow victory with a total score of -14 after three rounds.
This latest win follows Huang's previous successes, including victories at the La Sella Open last September and the Lacoste Ladies Open de France shortly thereafter. With this triumph, she has become the youngest player in LET history to achieve three tournament victories, surpassing the previous record held by New Zealand's Lydia Ko, who was nearly ten months older during her third win in 2015.
Expressing her disbelief after the victory, Huang stated, "I am honestly totally shocked. I didn’t really know how the leaderboard looked or where Kelsey was. I just wanted to stay patient and play pars on the last holes. It’s incredible that it was enough for the win." She further elaborated on her strong start, noting, "The putts were falling, and I played the balls very close to the pin. The front nine were really solid for me."
At the 18th green, Huang was greeted by her fellow tour colleagues Shannon Tan from Singapore and Momoka Kobori from New Zealand. Tan particularly praised Huang, saying, "She is probably one of the best friends I’ve ever had. She helped me a lot during tough times last year." Behind Bennett, American Anna Morgan and Italian Anna Zanusso shared the third place with a score of -10, marking the best results of their LET careers.
The four Swiss professionals faced significant challenges during the tournament. Vanessa Knecht, along with Kim and Morgane Métraux, all started with a round of 79 or six over par, placing them at 113th on the daily leaderboard. However, in the second round, Knecht improved her score by ten strokes, needing only 26 putts instead of 36 for her 18 holes. This impressive performance allowed the Zurich native to climb the rankings significantly to 54th place. A par round in the third round ultimately brought her to a final position of 52nd.
Morgane Métraux also made strides, improving to 72 strokes in her second round but ultimately missed the cut, just like Tiffany Arafi, who recorded two rounds of 76. Meanwhile, Kim Métraux needed 78 strokes after her initial 79 in the second round. The 30-year-old from Western Switzerland recently announced her first pregnancy and is set to compete in her 120th event on the LET at the Jabra Ladies Open in Evian.
As reported by golf.ch.
