Hertfordshire’s Gabriella Cowley teed off the second season of the Rose Ladies Series with a one-shot victory on a tough day for scoring at West Lancashire Golf Club.
Cowley, who is attached to Hanbury Manor, was the only player to finish under par as she pipped Gemma Clews and Michele Thomson to the title, and the £10,000 first prize.
The winner’s cheque was double the amount she picked up for winning the fifth event of the inaugural Series last year, when Cowley held off Charley Hull to win at the JCB Country Club.
Three birdies in four holes got her to the turn in two under par, and although Cowley dropped three shots coming up, she birdied both the par-fives on the back nine and a par at the last capped a superb 71.
Clews birdied the last to card a 72 along with Thomson, who made four consecutive birdies early on, but was unable to maintain that form as she played the remaining 13 holes in three over.
The Rose Ladies Series will be hosting events at Woburn, Brokenhurst Manor and The Berkshire over the next three weeks, giving UK-based players opportunities for some tournament practice ahead of the start of the Ladies European Tour season in mid-May. The 10-tournament series will then return in August as part of a busy stretch of British-based golf. Four tournaments in six days will be held from August 2-7, starting with back-to-back events in Lancashire at Hillside and Royal Birkdale.