Beth Allen equals course record in Abu Dhabi

05 November 2016 03:23

American Beth Allen equalled the course record in the final round to claim the inaugural Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open in Abu Dhabi.

Allen carded nine birdies and a solitary bogey in a closing 64 to at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club to finish 21 under par, three shots clear of England's overnight leader Georgia Hall.

The 34-year-old Californian claimed her second Ladies European Tour title in two months following her recent success at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France and moves ahead of China's Shanshan Feng at the top of the Order of Merit.

"This is really special," Allen said. "Obviously I've been playing really well and when I got done yesterday I felt really good and I knew I could do it, so I just tried to make as many birdies as I could today and I made nine. I'm so pleased."

Hall led by two shots after five birdies in her first 13 holes, but bogeyed the 14th and 16th while Allen made three straight birdies from the 15th.

" I played really well on the front nine and got to five under but one of my bogeys was a bad mistake," Hall said. "The other one wasn't bad, I was trying to carry the bunker and I hit my drive so low that it plugged it when it came down, so that was another bogey.

"Without them, I probably could have caught Beth but I had no idea what score she was on."

England's Mel Reid and Australia's Sarah Kemp finished in a tie for fourth on 17 under after rounds of 68 and 69 respectively.

Source: PA