German-born Briton Florentyna Parker hopes to give herself the perfect 21st birthday present on Sunday with a strong result at the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open.
Her preparations for the third largest tournament on the 2010 Ladies European Tour schedule could not have gone any better after she earned her maiden professional victory at the ABN AMRO Ladies Open in the Netherlands almost a fortnight ago.
Leading a Ladies European Tour event for the first time after the second round on Saturday, the 20-year-old Hamburg resident retained her two stroke lead to seal her first win, in just her second season on Tour.
This week, the blossoming talent heads to Golf Gerre Losone hoping to build on that performance, which took her to fourth position on the LET’s Henderson Money List.
“I can’t wait to be leading again; that was a really great feeling,” Parker admitted. “I feel a lot more confident but I can’t expect to win every tournament. I just want to enjoy it now and see what happens. If you play nice shots, keep it in play and make a few putts you’re always going to have a chance.
“I just want to play consistent and make some birdies. I missed the cut last year in Losone but I really like the course. Hopefully I’ll do a bit better this year. Last year I played some of my best golf but I just didn’t hole a putt and that shows you how important putting is and it doesn’t matter how good you hit it.”
Since the start of 2010, Parker has enjoyed two other top ten finishes, tying for sixth at both the Lalla Meryem Cup and the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open. She lies in ninth on The 2011 European Solheim Cup Team standings and would love to be considered for a place at Killeen Castle in Ireland next year, having represented her continent at The PING Junior Solheim Cup in 2005 and 2007.
Captain Alison Nicholas will be on hand in Switzerland to survey the proceedings and Parker said: “I think after my win they might be watching a bit closer now but I hope to confirm my win in the next few weeks to show that it wasn’t just me being lucky and hopefully play well.”
German talent Anja Monke |
Germany’s top golfer Anja Monke boosts the field further along with Welsh star Becky Brewerton, Australian rookie Kristie Smith, who was a runner-up in Slovakia and the Swedish pair of Linda Wessberg and Carin Koch.
The 2007 champion Bettina Hauert of Germany will be looking to get back in the winner’s circle after a three year hiatus while Italian Sophie Sandolo, who started the season without a playing category, will be another one to watch after two top ten finishes, including fifth place in Holland.
The eight Swiss players in the field are Caroline Rominger, Frederique Seeholzer, Nora Angehrn, Rebecca Huber, Florence Luscher and amateurs Anais Maggetti, Valeria Martinoli and Sherlyn Popelka, all of whom are likely to receive strong home support.