Magical Kenya Ladies Open report: What happened at Vipingo Ridge?
Esther Henseleit overcame a seven-shot deficit on the final day to win her first Ladies European Tour title in Kenya as she finished on 14-under, one shot ahead of Aditi Ashok.
This was a truly significant win though as not only does she now have a LET title but it also sees her with the Rookie of the Year award and crucially the season-long Order of Merit.
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The German becomes just the third player in LET history to with the Order of Merit in her rookie season, following in the footsteps of Dame Laura Davies and Carlota Ciganda.
Heading into the final week of the season she knew that anything less than a win would see her finish runner-up in the Order of Merit.
With four second place finishes recorded in 2019 she was on the cusp of victory and her breakthrough was perfectly timed.
Henseleit carded the lowest round of the week with her 8-under 64 on Sunday and this saw her reel in 54-hole leader Julia Engstrom who held a seven-shot lead after three rounds.
She immediately put the pressure on the overnight leader with birdies at five of her opening nine holes and didn’t let up coming down the stretch.
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Birdies at 11, 13 and 15 helped her to a three-shot lead and she parred the remaining holes. She walked off the 18th green knowing that only Ashok could deny her victory by holing her second shot on 18 which she was not able to do.
Engstrom was feeling a little under the weather and also struggled with her game throughout the final round. She missed several short putts and slumped to a closing 74.
The future is looking bright for Henseleit – she receives a seven-year exemption on the LET for her Order of Merit win and this will afford her the luxury of being able to handpick which events she plays both in Europe and on the LPGA Tour where she now also holds a card.
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