MUNICH, GERMANY France’s Jade Schaeffer won the HypoVereinsbank Ladies German Open, presented by Audi, on Sunday, for her first Ladies European Tour victory.
The 22-year-old from Strasbourg, who recently moved to Paris, beat Spain’s Paula Marti with a birdie at the first extra hole of a sudden death playoff.
Both players totalled 13-under 275 after four rounds at Golfpark Gut Häusern near Munich. Schaeffer closed with a five-under 67 to set the mark, before Marti matched her total with a final round of 73.
After a thrilling battle, Schaeffer won by sinking a one metre putt on the par-five 18th hole, earning €45,000. She pumped her fist several times before bursting into streams of tears.
It was her first cut made this year on the LET, following a career best finish of third at the 2007 Ladies Open de Portugal.
“I have a good feeling in Germany and in Holland,” said Schaeffer, the younger sister of former LET professional Fany.
“My objective for this year was to win a tournament and play the British Open and the Evian Masters. I think now it’s good.”
She opened with rounds of 66, 72 and 70, before boosting herself up the leader board with six birdies in her first eight holes on Sunday.
After bogeys on holes nine and ten, she caught Marti and Germany’s Martina Eberl on 13-under with a birdie at the 12th hole, finishing with six straight pars.
Having finished as the leader in the clubhouse, she went to work on the practise putting green and called her boyfriend, Challenge Tour player Francois Calmels, whose words of encouragement helped to spur her on to win.
She explained: “My boyfriend told me, “You’re fun; you’re happy, it’s good. You played good and today you will win. Come on Jade: you can.”
Marti, who started the final round with a one-stroke advantage on 14-under-par, maintained her lead for most of the day but missed multiple birdie chances.
She was forced to settle for second, with Eberl and Melissa Reid from England finishing one shot back in third.
England's Trish Johnson made a run for the title, finishing with a 70 for outright fifth on 11-under.
Marianne Skarpnord, a first-time winner in Switzerland seven days earlier, continued her run of form, finishing with a 68 to tie for sixth with Spain’s Emma Cabrera-Bello (69) and halfway leader Johanna Westerberg of Sweden (72) on 10-under-par.
England’s Sophie Walker (67) finished a shot further back in ninth place, with Spaniard Tania Elosegui (71) and Germans Anja Monke (70) and Katharina Schallenberg (71) sharing 10th place.
The LET circuit continues with the ABN AMRO Ladies Open in the Netherlands, from June 5-7 at Eindhovensche Golf.
