After her April victories at the Terre Blanche Ladies Open and May at the Forget Foundation PGA Championship in Sweden, Valentine Derrey is aiming for a pass of three in Bossey, Haute-Savoie. A regular LET player, the Frenchwoman also expresses her gratitude to Pitch & Play, promoter of this new French stage of the LETAS circuit. A welcome support, according to her, for European women's golf.
By Nathalie Vion

Valentine Derrey via Twitter - Photo: DR

Already winner on LET, n ° 7 in Europe in 2014

At the age of thirty, Valentine Derrey has already built a nice pedigree in golf. Seeing it evolve on the LETAS circuit for three days in Bossey (from Tuesday 15 to Thursday 17 August) is therefore a chance for the Haut-Savoyard public. The Parisienne established today near Biarritz usually plays on the Ladies European Tour, the first European division. She has already signed great seasons there. As in 2013 when she finished 10th in the Order of Merit.

Even more so in 2014 when she won a superb victory at the Turkish Open and finished the season in 7th place in the final standings. In addition to his 96 starts in total on the LET (including 12 top 10), Derrey has already battled in several major tournaments: Women's British Open, The Evian Championship and also, in 2016, a nice qualification for the US Open at CordeValle , in California.

Two victories over LETAS in three tournaments played

In 2017, with a LET calendar with very few dates, also with often distant trips (China, Australia), Valentine was not yet able to express herself at her real level. Today she is 78th in the Order of Merit… with only five tournaments contested! Rather than remaining inactive for too long periods of time, she therefore participates in LETAS tournaments. By putting the seriousness and the ardor that characterize it.

Result: 1st in the Terre Blanche Ladies Open on April 2, 1st in the Forget Foundation PGA Championship on May 26 in Sweden, and also 11 in the Jabra Ladies Open on June 3 in Évian. In three tournaments, the Frenchwoman placed 2nd in the LETAS ranking behind the Englishwoman Meghan MacLaren, who already has nine tournaments to her credit this season.

Come to Bossey "especially" to thank Pitch & Play

The Frenchwoman does not especially underestimate the importance of the second European division: “I come to LETAS tournaments to stay in competition mode. It is our job to play golf. Between the end of July when I played the Scottish Open and the next LET tournament, September 20 in Spain, we have nothing on the program ...

What do we do in these cases? !! Well… We take a Biarritz-Lyon flight or a Biarritz-Geneva and we come to play the first edition of the Bossey Ladies Championship! “Above all, I decided to come for the organizer, the Pitch & Play agency, which is making the effort to create a new women's tournament in France. And who also has the project to launch a new LET tournament in 2018, thus showing real support for women's golf! "

Five (or more) girls chasing Meghan MacLaren

We can count on Valentine Derrey to give everything during the three days of the Haut-Savoyard tournament. The par 71 signed Robert Trent Jones Jr is located under the Salève mountain, so on French territory, but a Swiss cuckoo flight from Geneva (15 km).

With three tournaments still on the program this season on LETAS (Bossey, then Stoke by Nayland / United Kingdom from September 28 to 30 and Santander / Spain from October 25 to 27), “Val” can mathematically catch up with Meghan Mac Laren for the title final. Since a victory brings 5000 points and Valentine is 2nd with 6434 points behind the English leader. Ditto for the English Charlotte Thompson, 3rd, the Austrian Nina Muehl, 4th, the French Lucie André, 5th and another Englishwoman, Emma Goddard, 6th, all grouped within more or less 8000 points of Meghan MacLaren. Beautiful challenge for all!

To know more : http://bossey-ladies-championship.com/