Davies loses to Nilsmark on last hole

Laura Davies saw her chances of a record third Evian Masters victory slip away in Saturday's final round after missing a six foot eagle putt at the last.

Davies, two ahead overnight, could only manage a final day 72 in ideal conditions on the French course and had to settle for second place on seven under par 281, two shots behind Swedish winner Catrin Nilsmark.

Nilsmark, who finished second to Davies in 1995, gained her revenge thanks to an early barrage of birdies and a 68 for a nine under par 279 total to earn her a tour record first prize of £100,800.

But she had to survive an edgy finish because after being seven under for the day through 13, she then dropped shots at the 14th, 16th and the 115-yard 17th where she clipped a wedge tee shot 30 yards short of the hole.

Davies, who not only missed the eagle putt to tie at the last but also one from 18 inches for birdie, admitted she was "devastated".

"It was all about making that eagle putt and I blew it," said the 35-year- old former world number one, who won the title in 1995 and 1996.

"But I don't feel I threw it away.

"Anyone that shoots 68 in a final round deserves to win, and Catrin was just superb over the first 13 holes."

While Davies collected £68,040, 1997 US Open champion Alison Nicholas claimed third place after a final day best round of 67, finishing on six under par 282, while Lora Fairclough was a further shot adrift in fourth place.

For Nilsmark, it made her a winner on both sides of the Atlantic this year as she also won the Los Angeles Open in February, while it was a second European title to go alongside the 1994 Ford Classic.

"I felt really good through the first 13 but it was getting a bit close at the end," said the Florida-based 31-year-old.

"I made a couple of bad swings near the end, but it's great to have won."

Final collated scores and totals (Gbr & Irl unless stated)

279 C Nilsmark (Swe) 69 70 72 68

281 L Davies 69 72 68 72

282 A Nicholas 75 68 72 67

283 L Fairclough 74 67 72 70<285 J Moodie 73 73 69 70

287 F Muraguchi (Jpn) 72 73 72 70, L Brooky (Nzl) 74 71 70 72

288 K Marshall 73 73 72 70, H Kobayashi (Jpn) 77 71 73 69, C Koch (Swe) 72 73 73 70, C Sorenstam (Swe) 70 71 75 72, L Philo 72 70 73 73

289 P Meunier-Lebouc (Fra) 76 73 72 68, T Fischer (Ger) 72 77 72 68, E Esterl (Ger) 69 76 75 69, T Johnson 69 74 76 70, J Geddes (USA) 74 73 71 71

290 L Hackney 75 77 69 69, M Hjorth (Swe) 71 80 68 71, L Kreutz (Fra) 72 71 74 73, H Alfredsson (Swe) 73 72 72 73

291 C Matthew 78 73 73 67, L Lambert (Aus) 73 77 69 72, F Dassu (Ita) 73 72 72 74, J Morley 71 72 73 75

292 K Pearce (Aus) 76 74 73 69, S Waugh (Aus) 77 72 72 71, K Taylor 73 77 70 72, S Cavalleri (Ita) 72 71 74 75

293 S Gustafson (Swe) 68 77 76 72, S Mendiburu (Fra) 74 74 73 72, S Head 74 71 75 73, R Carriedo (Spa) 73 72 73 75

294 I Tinning (Den) 77 72 77 68, S Dallongeville (Fra) 76 71 76 71, J Head 78 70 73 74, M Baena (Col) 78 73 70 73

295 M Lunn (Aus) 73 71 77 74, H Dobson 74 79 67 75, S Gronberg (Swe) 77 70 73 75

296 A Alcott (USA) 76 72 77 71, L Maritz (Rsa) 70 80 74 72, A Gottmo (Swe) 76 75 72 73, J Forbes 74 73 74 75

297 C Hall 72 74 74 78, M Sutton 71 72 76 78

298 P Sterner (Swe) 73 79 74 72, J Leary (Aus) 75 76 75 72

299 D Barnard 78 71 77 72, D Reid 74 75 72 78, M McKay 75 74 72 78

302 M Murray 78 77 73 74, W Dicks 74 77 77 75, M Hedblom (Swe) 75 79 70 78

303 E Knuth (Spa) 77 81 76 69, C Dibnah (Aus) 78 72 78 75, K Orum (Den) 76 77 74 76

304 S Prosser 80 76 75 73, R Lautens (Swi) 75 78 77 74, M-L de Lorenzi (Fra) 77 77 74 76, V van Ryckgehem (Bel) 78 77 71 78, K Lunn (Aus) 76 77 72 79

305 A-M Knight (Aus) 76 76 77 76

306 H Wadsworth 74 76 77 79

307 J Mills (Aus) 78 79 73 77

310 K Poppmeier (Aut) 79 74 79 78