Greta Voelker, 2019 Neuchatel Ladies Championship (LETAS) champion - © LETAS

Sjoholm slightly passed the green, a delicate approach allowed him to save par. Voelker with a perfect face-off at the start followed by a solid approach to take the green in two c. Faced with a complicated chip, Voelker, helped by her father who carried his bag for the week, came out with two 4,5-meter putts, leaving Sjoholm to return his short putt to force a second play-off hole. The Swede, however, felt frustrated, giving Voelker her very first LETAS series victory on the Swiss circuit.

The duo, teamed up for the last lap, started the day with a (+2) lead for Voelker. Things quickly turned around when Sjoholm entered the race, registering back-to-back birdies at holes 3, 4 and 5 to reach the turn at (-2). Voelker got off to a good start, standing at (+1) for the round after nine holes. In the end, the University of Texas student kept her cool to stay at (+1) for the round, (+3) overall. Sjoholm found the returning nine more difficult, missing shots on holes at 11, 16 and 18, but the gap widened a bit later to tie the German at (+3) over the entire tournament.

Coming back on the tour, Voelker, transported by joy, paid tribute to his play partner:

“It was difficult playing against Annelie because I knew she was a great player and she was able to make crazy putts, and save some good birdies and parries. I was happy to have been able to hold on to it, to golf and not to think of others. "

Both players had the opportunity to take the win in the last game, showing understandable signs of nervousness and swerving off the fairway. Sjoholm got stuck in the rough, registering a bogey and just missing a long putt to make the par. Voelker found herself stranded in a bunker, but managed to get out of it before putting on a putt to join her playing partner at the top of the standings after 54 difficult holes on the Swiss course. Come to think of it, Voelker made pressure a key part of his day

“The chip was good, and the putt was obviously amazing! I was under a lot of pressure, so I was glad I was able to pull through. "

Elsewhere on the course, Welshwoman Chloe Williams completed a lap to forget, scoring 10 of 81, as she started the day with a share of second place. As for Swiss amateur Elena Moosmann, VP Bank Ladies Open champion a fortnight earlier, once again showed why she is one of the most prominent in the LETAS 2019 series by winning a most respectable final round with a final round of 73 for a tied sixth place.

The next event will see the players take on the Jabra Ladies Open - the first of two double-ranked events with the Ladies European Tour. Held in France from 23 to 25 May on the magnificent course of the Evian Resort, Voelker and his comrades will seek to prepare perfectly for Evian next week with a record endowment of € 150 and precious points to be won in view of the Race to LaLargue, which will define the results of the season.

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