The pressure was intense for Azahara Muñoz on several different fronts in the Andalucía Costa del Sol Spanish Open de Espàña at Royal Guadalmina. In the first place, she was competing on a course where she had learned to play the game and at a club that had bestowed honorary membership on her.
Many of the spectators lining the fairways were fellow club members who had watched her grow up and had proudly followed her many successes, first as a young amateur, then on the Ladies European Tour, and later across the Atlantic on the LPGA Tour. In short, her familiarity with the course, and crowd support, was expected to give her an edge over the other competitors.
Then she had the pressure of being the defending champion, in 2016 having become the first Spaniard to win the Spanish Ladies Open when it was also played in Marbella, at Aloha Golf.
Added to the that was the presence of the Tour’s top stars, including former champions, winners of other LET events, dual Grand Slam titleholder Suzann Pettersen and Carlota Ciganda, the highest world-ranked player in the field who had won every Spanish Championship in the amateur and professional categories and was desperate to win her home Open for the first time to complete her trophy cabinet.
Coming into the tournament, 29-year-old Azahara (born in nearby San Pedro de Alcántara) had not been experiencing one of her better seasons, and had been disappointed earlier this summer to not gain a place in Europe’s Solheim Cup team against the Americans.
In the end, however, at Guadalmina she found the right combination of determination, level-headedness, natural talent, local knowledge and, no doubt, a touch of mojo to delight the galleries and retain her title.
It doesn’t get much better than that. Well, maybe winning a highly coveted first major. But there is plenty of time for that. In the meantime, Azahara will be able to enjoy the personal satisfaction of adding Spanish women’s golf’s most prestigious title to numerous others she has won at the club since the age of nine.
After carding rounds of 68-64-67-69 for a 19-under total at Royal Guadalmina, she finished two strokes ahead of Ciganda and Lee-Anne Pace, as fellow Costa del Sol star Miguel Ángel Jimthatis
As discreetly as possiblñ is, "ossible in Spain to numerous others she has won at the club since the age of nine. et. -.rénez discreetly watched on from the galleries. As discreetly as possible, that is, when fans are clamouring for your autograph or a selfie.
Later, Azahara said, “I couldn’t be any happier, defending my title on my home course and where I grew up. It’s been an amazing week and all the fans were here supporting me, so I’m happy I did it for them. I’ve been playing so well all week and today I didn’t play my best, especially on the back nine, but shooting an eight-under always helps. Today on the back nine, I made some amazing up and downs, so that was definitely the key.”
She began the final round tied for the lead with Ciganda and bogeyed the third hole, but gained the outright lead when her Spanish rival and friend double bogeyed the fourth. Azahara then made three straight birdies from the fifth to gain a four-stroke lead, before carding a second bogey at the 12th. She recovered a stroke at the long 14th, making a birdie putt of 10 metres and then a final birdie on the par-5 17th, before safely parring the 18th (which South African Pace in the group ahead and Ciganda both eagled).
The main move of the day came from 2013 champion Pace with a 67, while Georgia Hall (playing with Muñoz and Ciganda in the final threesome) slipped back to fourth place. After two bogeys early in the round the young Englishwoman recovered with an eagle on the seventh and a birdie on the eighth. Another pair of bogeys on the 12th and 14th were followed by four birdies in her last five holes for a round of 69.
Still seeking her first LET win but third in the order of merit, Hall said, “I had quite a poor weekend really and didn’t play that well, but fourth’s fourth. I wanted to try and win this week really and I putted quite well but I was in between clubs here and there. My putting has been good this week apart from yesterday but my pitching has been my weakness, so I’ll work on that for the next event.”
At the beginning of the week, Muñoz had promised to jump into the club’s pool if she won and she duly delivered, bombing into the water after the prize giving ceremony.
Another Spanish player, Natalia Escuriola Martinez, finished fifth, followed by Meghan MacLaren sixth, and Suzann Pettersen (who was just overcoming a back injury) tied for seventh with Justine Dreher, Nicole Garcia, Camilla Lennarth and rising amateur star Frida Kinhult.
