Davies wins 3rd ELPGA event of the year

England's Laura Davies secured her third victory of the 1999 Ladies European Tour (LET) Sunday after firing a three under par 70 in the final round of the £300,000 Compaq Open on the outskirts of Stockholm.

Leader since the opening round, Davies finished with a 15 under par 277 aggregate, four ahead of second placed Helen Alfredsson of Sweden. England's Alison Nicholas finished in third, her fifth top-three placing of the season, after posting a two under 71.

Davies' victory represented the 57th of her remarkable career and her 31st on the women's European circuit. It was also the second time she has won in Sweden this season following her eight shot victory in last month's Chrysler Open in Halmstad.

"I didn't want to give any hint of making a mistake today because there were so many good players behind me who can take advantage of that," said Davies.

"Alfie (Helen Alfredsson) got off to a good start, but I made a good two-putt at eight and a good up-and-down on 10. I didn't drop any shots and didn't give them any chances of catching me. I did that well today and finished off well."

The £45,000 winner's cheque allowed Davies to consolidate her position at the top of the moneylist to such an extent that she is unlikely to be caught over the remaining six European events.

Two ahead at the start of the day, Davies never appeared in danger of being caught as she toured the Osterakers GC with three birdies and no bogeys.

Alfredsson, playing the flight behind, closed the gap to two after birdieing two of the first three holes, but Davies countered the challenge with her own birdie at the sixth. And when Alfredsson dropped a shot at the tenth, her English rival increased her advantage with further birdies at the 11th and 13th.

"I can't remember ever having played as consistently as I've done for the last five or six tournaments," added the 35-year Davies. "Perhaps I'm not making quite as many putts as I'd like, but as a professional you always feel that way. Ever since the Evian my game's been very consistent. "Unfortunately, I don't have much time for celebration. It's off home tonight and then up to Brocket Hall next week for my own event. It should be a fun week."

Alfredsson, whose 70 was made up of five birdies and a pair of bogeys, was pleased to be showing signs of her old self after some up-and-down form over the past couple of months. "I'm happy with my game this week - more confident and not afraid to go for my shots," said the Swede after breaking into the top ten on the European moneylist.

"I probably needed to shoot six under today to have any chance of catching Laura (Davies) but I didn't make any putts and Laura just played too good."

Like Davies, Nicholas also had a blemish free card, touring the front half with nine consecutive pars before picking up birdies on the 11th and 13th for an inward 35. "It's been another good week's work - things are a little better and I'm putting better," said Nicholas, currently third on the LET moneylist. "I've now had three third place finishes and two seconds, so I'm getting close. If I keep knocking on the door I'm bound to win one soon."

England's Trish Johnson, second to Davies overnight, had a disappointing final round. The 1999 Ladies French Open champion posted a three over par 76 and dropped back into fourth place.

LET