England 's Rebecca Hudson came from a shot behind to claim her first Ladies' European Tour title at the OTP Bank Ladies Central European Open in Tata , Hungary .
Hudson , 27, from Doncaster, shot rounds of 66, 65 and 70 to finish on twelve-under par 201 after 54 holes, two shots ahead of Germany 's Anja Monke. England 's Lora Fairclough and Finland 's Riikka Hakkarainen, the Tenerife Ladies Open champion, tied for third on nine-under-par.
Hudson arrived at the Old Lake Country Club in good spirits after carding a career-low 62 at the same venue last year, but this time she left positively beaming, with winnings of 24,750 euros. That took her from sixth to fourth in the New Star Money List, just behind the 66-time winner Laura Davies.
“It's unbelievable. I can't explain how happy I am and how good it feels,” said Hudson . “To win on the Ladies European Tour and to always be known as a Tour winner, I could never explain how happy I am at this moment.”
In her fourth year as a professional, Hudson became the first British winner since Kirsty Taylor's win at Wales in 2005. After a glittering amateur career, many had expected the two-time British Amateur Champion to come out and dominate the golf scene from the moment she turned professional in 2002, but Hudson, who has quietened some of her critics, was quick to point out that it can take time to settle into life as a touring professional.
“I think I was expected to come out in my first year and do this but honestly there's such a difference between the amateur game and the professional,” said the three-time Curtis Cup player.
“I mean as an amateur you go out and play for your team and your country and that's great. But you come out here and you play for yourself. The golf out here, the standard is fantastic.”
Hudson had practised the art of winning this winter as she claimed the Acer South African Open and the Nedbank Women's South African Golf Tour's Order of Merit in January.
After the winter warm up, she returned to Europe and recorded four top tens in eight starts, followed by this, her breakthrough victory on the European Tour.
The result was hardly in doubt after Monke, the overnight leader, bogeyed holes three and four in the third round. Hudson , playing in the same group, quickly grabbed the outright lead by default and then birdied the par-four seventh leaving her short approach stone dead. She carded her second bogey of the week at the ninth when she flew the green and failed to get up and down from the trap, making the turn in level par 35 with a one stroke advantage.
On the back nine, she picked up another shot at the 11 th when she pitched to ten feet and holed the putt. After six solid pars, Hudson arrived on the 18 th tee with a two shot lead but after a nerve-wracking wait on the tee, there was a close shave when she pulled her drive straight left and it hit the trees. With some considerable luck, it bounced straight back onto the middle of the fairway and Hudson then expertly threaded a three-wood through a narrow gap in the trees. She pitched to three feet and holed the putt for the victory.
“I swung straight across the ball and pulled it straight left through the trees and how it finished on the fairway I don't know,” she admitted. “All I could do was hit it on the fairway and hopefully chip and putt. That's what I was aiming to do.
“The 18 th is not one that you want to sit on for ten minutes thinking I've got to get it on the fairway.”
Hudson 's season's earnings have already more than doubled her previous best of last year, when she earned just over €33,000. She has won over 80,000 euros in nine starts and her win earns her an automatic exemption into the forthcoming Evian Masters.
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