It went right to the wire between English woman Trish Johnson and the French girl Virginie Lagoutte-Clement.

Trish  won by just one shot over the 4 days of play, her first win since 2007, earning herself a tasty 41,250 euros. It was only her 6th start this year due to an elbow problem but this win assures her a place in the prestigious Evian Masters later this month.

The 44 year old English veteran of some 19 wins on the Ladies Tour, had some luck on her side as she hit a ball out of bounds from her drive on the 16th over a small wall, it landed on the path and bounced back into play. Great ball striking and some marvellous shots over the day, she holed a beauty out of a bunker which kept  her in front. Johnson slipped to second place behind the French woman on the 13th but fought back with 2 birdies on the 14th and 15th to regain the lead.  She pared 16 and 17 to take a 2 shot lead going down the 18th.

But there was nearly an upset as Lagoutte-Clement almost holed an eagle putt on the last which would have meant she would have tied for the lead but the ball just dribbled past the hole leaving Johnson a simple par on the 18th for victory.

There was a large crowd gathered round the 18th green to watch the climax and you could see Johnson was glad to get to the final hole as the other two in the group were so close on her heels it really could have gone either way.

A great end to the four days’ play and all the competitors agreed that Buenavista Golf Course was a fine course for the event to be played; the scenery and the condition of the course were World Class.

Well done Tenerife and to all involved.

The final results :-

1 274-14 Trish Johnson (ENG)

2 275-13 Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (FRA)

3 276-12 Anne-Lise Caudal (FRA)

4= 279-9  Lee-Anne Pace (SA)

4= 279-9 Anja Monke (GER)

4= 279-9 Veronica Zorzi (ITA)

Corriesande Lee, the girl Tenerife Magazine were following, ended up at +7 for the tournament and was placed 56th. I spoke with her afterwards and she said, “ I wish I had taken  a caddie for the last two days just for a little bit of help and reassurance on the greens. Anyway I’ll know for next time.” She earned her first ever professional cheque for 920 euro’s which will go some way towards paying her week’s expenses.

Trish Johnson

The Weather on the third day is super for golf; not too hot, about 21°c with a moderate wind blowing off the sea. The greens are running very fast today so I think we will see a lot of three putts and  a little frustration creeping in from the players.

England’s Melissa Reid is starting the day as leader of the field at -8, in second place is the French girl Virginie Lagoutte-Clement at -7. They both have a later tee time today at around 12.30 and the wind is picking up here on the course for the afternoon.

I should have had no fear in these ladies’ talent. Trish Johnson who was behind at the start of the day, has just walked off the course at the 18th with a blistering score of 66 with 7 birdies in her round today making her the new leader at -12. Trish is 3 shots ahead of the French girl Lagoutte-Clement who finished at -9 and Melissa Reid shot a level par round to keep her at -8.

Coriesande Lee, the “Rookie”who we are following, had a bad day yesterday carding a 4 over par. I spoke with her after the round and she said “I was just trying a bit too hard, I had made my first cut so I thought I would go for it, but my putting let me down. Anyway there’s always tomorrow and I feel there are birdies out there to be had. “

Today’s round for Trish Johnson was a remarkable round by any standard. The 44 year old veteran English woman, who tells me she’s an Arsenal supporter for her sins, carded 7 birdies and only one bogie on the way to her round of 66. Last week she was runner up in the Portuguese Open and is the winner of some 18 tournaments over her career. If I was a betting man Iknow who my money would be on for the final day tomorrow.

Photo by Poodle.eu

The question for many was what the weather would be like for the opening day of the Tenerife Ladies Open. As if like magic, the clouds cleared overnight and we woke up in Buenavista del Norte to the sun splitting the sky; a perfect start for the organisers, the Ladies Tour, the players and the spectators alike.

The first tee time on day one was 8.30am so that meant the players would be at the course around 7.30am to hit a few balls and limber up before play commenced. John Beckley MD of  Tenerife Magazine was asked at the cocktail party the night before if he would like to caddy for one of the Russian girls Anastasia Kostina, he jumped at the chance (I feel a story coming on)

So John had a job and I think he was more nervous about the golf than the player as on the day a few penalty strokes were imposed on the players as their amateur caddies had made infringement mistakes. On the day our boy came through and had a great experience inside the ropes of a professional golf tournament.

The first day scoring was just fantastic, with the leader in the clubhouse at -6. I played in the Pro Am the day before for Team Poodle and am amazed at the talent these ladies have shown as I found the greens very fast and undulating. If you landed the ball in the wrong spot on almost every green it could lead to an easy three putt and a bogie.

Melissa Reid from England and Ursula Wikstrom from Finland were the overnight clubhouse leaders at -6, with Reid having an eagle on the last to put the shine on a great day’s golf. There were four players tied at -5.Trish Johnston a somewhat veteran had a great day on -5.Last year’s defending champion Felicity Johnston had a one over 73, so still in the mix.

The “Rookie” player, Corrisande Lee, I played 18 with and interviewed earlier in the week for Tenerife Magazine is doing very well at -1 for the day and could be on course for her first ever pay cheque in the professional game, I have my fingers crossed for her, I can report she has started day two well.

Also in the field is a local girl, an amateur, from right here in Tenerife called Katia Reid. She was going well yesterday and at one stage got to -1 but dropped back to +8 for the day. More on her later as I am hoping to speak with her on her experience in the professional game. The projected cut is +3 which will reduce the field from 125 players to the top 60 for the weekend.

So that’s day one; a first class opening day with some great golf played. If anyone would like to come to Buenavista and watch the girls in action there is no charge for entry to this event and you can follow the players on the fairways. If you can’t make it follow proceedings online.

Photos from the Tenerife Ladies Open are on our Flickr Group.

Peaking at just the right time? Felicity Johnson will certainly be hoping so, sitting joint eighth after the first day of the Portugal Open, she is already looking forward to defending her first professional win, at last year’s Tenerife Ladies Open. That was at golf Costa Adeje, but from 1^st to 4^th July 124 professional and two amateurs will converge on Buenavista Golf on the rugged north west corner of Tenerife.

A lot has happened since that dramatic last round shoot out with Becky Brewerton of Wales last year. Felicity broke her opponent’s resistance with a five metre putt at the 17^th. hole and went on to win with a flourish. “That was hard winning my first pro event, it has made me mentally stronger and given me more confidence” said the 23 year old from Birmingham. As well as the trophy and the cheque  for 45,000 euros Felicity earned a three year exemption from qualifying for the Ladies European Tour events and a place in the prestigious Evian Nationals in France this July.

Ladies golf is on the rise, speaking to me from Portugal Felicity looked back on the sort of weather that drives most people to move to Tenerife. “At the Slovakian Open last month we had heavy thunder storms, that put us a day behind, and then in  Switzerland the rains came and cost us another day”
These clouds had a silver lining for avid Aston Villa fan Felicity “When it rained in Switzerland I was able to cram in three World Cup matches on television. I saw the shock win for Switzerland over Spain but it was strange, not much celebrating went on, just a few beeping car horns.”

Football might be a passion but while Felicity hopes England will still be involved in the later stages of South Africa 2010 she won’t be too upset at missing the live coverage next weekend. “If England have an afternoon game I will hopefully miss it as that would mean I am still going well in the Tenerife Ladies Open.”

Buenavista is a new course to tackle but at least there are a few days to get used to it. “I am flying home to Birmingham from Portugal for a brief family visit, then it’s on a plane to arrive in Tenerife on Monday morning. That gives me the official practice day on Tuesday (29 July) and then I’m taking part in the Pro Am tournament the next day.”

Felicity knows that keeping her crown will be tough. “There is a lot of strength in depth on the Ladies European Tour, only one player has won two events this year. I will have to look out for South Africa’s Lee-Ann Pace who won her first event in Switzerland, then there’s Anja Monke from Germany and Englands Trish Johnson; all of them are in good form. I’m confident though, I have been practising on my putting and have started doing athletic training to give me more movement so it will all help.”

FACT FILE

• Tenerife Ladies Open (9^th contest)
• Buenavista Golf, Buenavista del Norte
• www.tenerifeladiesopen.com
• Mon 28 June  – first official training
• Tues 29 June  – second official training
• Weds 30 June – Pro Am tournament
• Thurs  1^st July – First day of Open, starts at 8.30 am
• Fri   2^nd July -  Second day of Open, starts at 9 am
• Sat  3^rd July -  Third day of Open, from 9 am to 5 pm
• Sun   4^th July – Final day of Open, 8.30 am to 4.30 pm, Prize giving at 4.30 pm on 18^th green.

Tenerife Magazine will be covering the event with reports and photos.

Bleary eyed and clutching at the alarm clock, the lavish comforts of the Hotel Las Aquilas almost delayed me from my 5.45am start from Puerto de la Cruz to a golfing challenge at Buenavista Golf.

The dark and relative cold of Tenerife north was a rude awakening as I followed the coast road, but at least travelling up from my southern home the night before had saved a long early drive. It was the first game of the Tenerife Golf Circuit 2010 and as the sky became lighter the rain laden breeze was almost a gale as it came in off the north west corner.

This is the 4^th year of the Circuit run by the Golf Association, and it has grown steadily, this launch event was well oversubscribed and even whittled down to 160 players of several nationalities, it needed an early start to fit everyone in by the 3pm final tee off.

Mine was the second group out so it was bright enough to appreciate the imposing Teno mountain range and the course rolling down towards the wild breaking sea. With such a large field and a wet start drying out, it must have presented many challenges to the organisers, not that we saw much evidence, all the hard work was expertly marshalled by the association.

The greens for our tournament had been hollow tined, about two weeks before, so putting for us was tricky to say the least but I understand the management and green keepers position. The Ladies European Tour is here from 1 to 4 July for the Tenerife Ladies Open and the best professionals and rising amateurs in Europe will expect and get the best possible playing conditions.

I finished my game at around 12.30 so I had plenty of time to head back to the Hotel Las Aquilas in Puerto to have a swim and relax before the presentation of prizes at  around 9pm. Dinner at the hotel, matched its reputation and I was able to meet John Beckley from Sorted Sites who was blissfully unaware that he had a trophy to collect for coming third in his category.

To sum up the day my golf was not up to standard so no prizes for me this time, but I enjoyed  the experience,the golf, meeting old friends and making some new ones. I am looking forward to the next outing at the Las Americas Golf on June the 19th, here in the South, where I am sure the weather will be much kinder to us soft Scots.

Take a bow all the following winners.

Nearest to the flag on the 4^th hole was Liz Watson with 76 cm. The top senior player was Julio Rodanes Ovejas with 36 points, and the top scratch player was Jose Manuel Hernendez Martin with 30 points

Ladies Section

First Category

1st. Marlene Bananier with 31 points

2nd. Mª Teresa Domínguez Jerez with 28 points

3rd. Pamela Evans with 26 points

Second Category

1st Maria Castellano Cabrera with 39 points

2nd Beatriz Oreja with 36 points

3rd. Dulce Ramón Sosa with 30 points

Mens Section

First Category

1st. Jose Hernández Martín with 37 points

2nd. Rafael Socorro Alemán with 36 points

3rd. David Ian Pritchard with 32 points

Second Category:

1st. Said Tahar García with 39 points

2nd. Julio Rodanes Ovejas with 36 points

3rd. John Dale Beckley with 36 points

Third Category

1st. José Manuel Pérez Lema with 45 points

2nd.José Manuel Sosa Rodríguez with 37 points

3rd. Epifanio Jesús Hernandez Delgado with 36 points

There are 6 more matches to come at, Golf Las Américas, Golf del Sur, Golf Costa Adeje, Tecina Golf, Abama Golf and the grand final la grand final at Golf del Sur. The next event is at Golf Las Americas on 19 June.

Don’t miss out, everyone is welcome, for more information and to sign up go to www.isladegolf.com email to circuito@isladegolf.com or call Beatriz Cantero on 620038839

Title: Tenerife Ladies Golf Open
Location: Buenavista Golf
Link out: Click here
Description: Last years event at Golf Costa Adeje was wonderful, this should be at least as good. Prize money of 275.000 euros up for grabs and the best women players on the European Tour.
Start Date: 2010-07-01
End Date: 2010-07-04

For additional information about The Tenerife Ladies Open 2010 visit:

• The Tenerife Golf Association Website (Facebook, Flickr Twitter)
• Buenavista Golf Course – Official Website
• Tenerife Ladies Open - Official Website for Tenerife Ladies Open
• Tenerife Golf - (Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Youtube, Vimeo)
• Tenerife Tourism - Official Website for Tenerife Tourism
• Buenavista Golf Hotel – Official Website for Hotel

Should you prefer to stay in Puerto de la Cruz, you could also stay at the Hotel Las Aguilas.

Follow the Tenerife Ladies Golf Open with Tenerife Magazine

View Photos from the Tenerife Ladies Golf Open on our flickr Group

Golf Del Sur and Buenavista golf courses are holding seven sponsored golf days specifically for lady golfers throughout the golfing season.

The second of these was held on Saturday 13th February 2010 on Golf del Sur’s emerald greens. To fit in with the madness taking place in other parts of the island at this time of year, there was a special theme for the day – carnival.
With prizes being awarded to competitors who turned up in the most eye-catching fancy dress costumes, some golfers went out of their way to win. As a result there were some fabulous costumes on show which added a lot of fun to the ladies’ golf day.

Overall, around 60 competitors enjoyed 18 holes of stableford golf with a special green fee rate for the day. The competition was followed by a delicious dinner and a prize-giving ceremony which included a sponsored raffle with some fabulous prizes which meant most competitors didn’t go home empty handed.

For anyone interested in joining in the fun, the next golf day in the series will be held on March 13th at Golf Del Sur when all lady golfers are welcome .

Contact Golf Del Sur reception on 0034 922 738170 for more details and to register.

See more pictures from the day from tee-off to prize-giving here.