Australian Kelsey Bennett put the exclamation point on an outstanding rookie season with her best finish of the year at the LET Access Series season finale.
Bennett, Minjee Lee and Jason Scrivener all logged top-10 finishes in a quiet week for golf globally, Bennett’s tie for fourth at the Santander Golf Tour-Zaragoza the pick of them.
It was Bennett’s fourth consecutive top-10 finish and sixth of the season, the 23-year-old from Mollymook on the New South Wales South Coast ending the year sixth in the LET Access Series Rookie of the Year standings.
In finishing 14th on the LET Access Series Order of Merit, Bennett is now exempt into final stage of Ladies European Tour Qualifying School in Morocco from December 16-20.
A week after edging her in a playoff at the BMW Ladies Championship, there was little that Minjee Lee could do stop Alison Lee at the Ladies European Tour Aramco Team Series event at Riyadh Golf Club.
By starting the 54-hole tournament with consecutive rounds of 11-under par 61, Lee smashed the LET 36-hole scoring record on her way to an eight-stroke victory.
With two wins and a runner-up in her previous four starts, world No.4 Minjee Lee continued her phenomenal run of form with a tie for sixth.
It was a welcome return to form for Scrivener at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in Qatar.
Without a top-10 anywhere since the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January, Scrivener’s 5-under 67 in the final round was one of the best rounds of the day and saw him climb 12 spots into a tie for ninth.
Results
LPGA Tour
Maybank Championship
Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1 Celine Boutier 70-64-69-64—267 $US450,000
Won in sudden-death playoff
T11 Lydia Ko (NZ) 68-71-65-70—274 $54,591
T17 Hannah Green 64-70-72-71—277 $37,450
T34 Sarah Kemp 69-74-67-70—280 $18,900
T34 Grace Kim 65-72-73-70—280 $18,900
59 Stephanie Kyriacou 70-71-74-73—288 $8,132
DP World Tour
Commercial Bank Qatar Masters
Doha GC, Doha, Qatar
1 Sami Valimaki 67-67-67-69—270 €603,208.88
Won in sudden-death playoff
T9 Jason Scrivener 70-69-69-67—275 €64,697.11
T16 Daniel Hillier (NZ) 65-65-74-73—277 €46,056.77
Ladies European Tour
Aramco Team Series Presented by PIF – Riyadh
Riyadh Golf Club, Saudi Arabia
1 Alison Lee 61-61-65—187 $US71,094
T6 Minjee Lee 63-70-67—200 $13,981.82
T35 Kirsten Rudgeley 69-72-67—208 $3,720.59
Legends Tour
Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open
San Domenico Golf, Italy
1 James Kingston 69-70-61—200
T23 Michael Long (NZ) 73-66-70—209
T31 Michael Campbell (NZ) 67-71-73—211
T37 Peter Fowler 71-70-71—212
LET Access Series
Santander Golf Tour – ZARAGOZA
Real Club de Golf La Penaza, Spain
1 Elena Moosmann 67-70-70—207 €6,400
T4 Kelsey Bennett 69-73-70—212 €1,252
T37 Amy Walsh 71-75-73—219 €344
MC Kristalle Blum 75-78—153
MC Victoria Fricot 80-75—155
Photo: Gambito Golf/LETAS