Patricia Isabel Schmidt fired an excellent final round of 66 (-6) to win the 2023 Belgian Ladies Open by two shots at Naxhelet Golf Club.
Heading into the final day, the German sat three shots behind overnight leader Maria Hernandez on five-under-par after rounds of 71 (-1) and 68 (-4) on the first two days.
Schmidt didn’t get off to the best of starts with bogeys on the third and fifth holes, however, she soon turned around her fortune in Belgium.
Four consecutive birdies on holes six through nine put her a couple of shots off the lead and she was soon co-leader after back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13.
But it was her superb eagle on 14 which put the 27-year-old in pole position on 11-under-par, which was enough to seal her first title on the LET.
“I don’t really have any words to say right now! I was just so nervous on the last tee,” said the rookie, who earned her LET card through the LET Access Series last year. “I really felt like I was shaking when I had to line my putt.
“I wasn’t aware of my position at all. I saw the leaderboard out there once, but I didn’t see it clearly enough. I just saw the colours of a flag and thought it looked like a Spanish flag. The eagle on 14 was nice. I hit a really good drive and then only had an eight-iron in.
“My dad was caddying today. He was joining me for the first time ever since I started playing golf, because I was flying to Brussels and my dad had a week off, so he picked me up and took my bag with me. I guess it all kind of worked out!
“This win will give me a lot of trust and confidence. I came from LETAS last year and played quite well. Then I struggled at the beginning of this year and put myself under a lot of pressure, so I knew okay, I need to show that I belong here instead of just playing. This will help a lot to give me that confidence.”
Two players ended the day in a tie for second place with Germany’s Chiara Noja and Spain’s Maria Hernandez on nine-under-par.
It was a good final day for LET winner Noja, who produced a round of 68 (-4) with six birdies and two bogeys to move up the leaderboard.
“I explored a lot of the golf course,” said the 17-year-old. “I putted pretty decently all week. I think it was a pretty decent week, obviously not my A-game a lot of the time but I scrambled pretty nicely around the course, and I put together a good week.
“It was not meant to be today but Patricia played amazing golf and she really deserved that today. I wish I had holed that birdie putt on 18 though for outright second – that hurt.
“I seem to have a little thing about finishing second in Belgium. It’s my third year in a row, not at this tournament but I have done it twice on LET Access Series, so this has added to it. I’m looking forward to going into the next week.”
It wasn’t the final day overnight leader Hernandez would have hoped for, however, her 71 (-1) ensured she finished on nine-under-par in T2.
Germany’s Olivia Cowan had another good week on the LET with a final round of 68 (-4) to finish in outright fourth place on eight-under-par with Italy’s Clara Manzalini one shot further back in fifth.
Six players ended the tournament in a share of sixth place with France’s Agathe Sauzon, Switzerland’s Vanessa Knecht, Belgium’s Manon De Roey, France’s Charlotte Liautier, Spain’s Mireia Prat and India’s Diksha Dagar all on six-under-par.
In the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol, the top four players remain in the same order with Aditi Ashok leading followed by Linn Grant in second, Ana Peláez Trivino in third and Klara Davidson Spilkova in fourth.
Noja moves up to fifth place and now has 745.25 points, England’s Lily May Humphreys is sixth with 623.83 points while France’s Pauline Roussin is seventh with 588 points.
With 500 points for her win, Schmidt has gone from 84th to eighth place and now has 563.48 points to her name with Carlota Ciganda in ninth and Ashleigh Buhai in tenth.
