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Smilla Soenderby comes from nine back to win Irish Open

Smilla Soenderby poses with the trophy in front of Dromoland Castle
Smilla Soenderby poses with the trophy in front of Dromoland Castle

Smilla Soenderby has won the KPMG Women's Irish Open after coming from nine shots behind on the final day at Dromoland Castle.

FINAL LEADERBOARD

Dane Soenderby beat Lisa Pettersson and Anna van Dam in a three-way play-off following a stunning round of 62 from the eventual champion.

Leona Maguire finished in a tie for 14th after a closing 71 that left her on eight-under-par.

Sara Byrne - four shots further back thanks to a 70 - was the leading amateur player.

Olivia Mehaffey had a disappointing final day with a 75 leaving her outside the top 50 on one-under.

Soenderby admitted that she was in disbelief after clinching her comeback victory from nine shots back.

"If you had told me that I would do that in the final round... when I started the day I would have left it I think. It's quite amazing," the 23-year-old told RTÉ Sport's Greg Allen.

Maguire was disappointed she couldn't sustain a bright opening: "Yeah I got off to a really good start, I played some really nice shots early on, it was nice to be three-under through six. I just didn't really kick on. I didn’t feel like I hit many bad shots it just wasn’t quite there and I never got any major momentum on the back nine.

"I knew I had to go low. I had to shoot a nine or ten-under to have any chance today so you had to go for everything. I didn’t come here to finish 20th, I didn’t come here to shoot level par. It was a case of going for everything.

"I’ve been very lucky with the crowds. It’s fantastic to see so many people out supporting women’s golf. I hope it was a really great experience for the amateurs playing this week, not just for me. Hopefully this event will keep getting bigger every year.

"There’s plenty of good golfers coming up through the ranks. Hopefully there’ll be even more in the next few years."

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