Anne van Dam might have the most coveted swing in women’s professional golf. The Dutch player crushes it off the tee – she was the longest hitter on both the LET and the LPGA in 2019 – and the European Solheim Cupper has continued to pad her win column. Van Dam defended her title Sunday at the Ladies European Tour’s Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España. It’s her fifth title on that tour.
It was an impressive display of golf in the final round, particularly because van Dam had to overtake her Danish friend Nanna Koerstz Madsen to win her second title in this event. Interestingly, even Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez made an appearance in the gallery for the final round.
Madsen had a three-shot lead after three rounds at Aloha Golf Club in Marbella, Spain. She holed out for eagle at the par-4 ninth and was still two shots ahead at the start of the back nine. She was down to a one-shot lead on the 18th tee.
Andalucia Open de Espana: Leaderboard
Madsen made a double-bogey there after dumping her drive left in the water. It was her third double-bogey in a final-round 74.
Van Dam played to her length and placed her tee shot in the middle of the fairway with a 4-iron. She won with a seemingly easy par for a final-round 70 and a 13-under total. She said she didn’t expect to see Madsen’s final hole unfold the way it did.
“Nanna is a good friend of mine so I would have loved to beat her in a playoff, it would have been a better feeling for me,” van Dam told the Golf Channel. “That’s what it is. It’s golf, she took more risk off the tee hitting a driver. I’ve been hitting an iron there all week.”
Madsen tied for second with Aditi Ashok at 12 under.
Van Dam is the second player recent history to win back-to-back Spanish Open titles. Spaniard Azahara Munoz did it in 2016 and 2017.
The Ladies European Tour wraps up its regular season this week at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open, a new event on the schedule.
