England’s Cara Gainer secured her first Ladies European Tour victory after defeating India’s Diksha Dagar in a playoff at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco.
Going into the final day, only two shots separated the top 10 players, making it a tight leaderboard at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.
Starting the final round in tied fifth place, Gainer produced six birdies en route to signing for a four-under par 69 and a 9-under total which was good enough to force a play-off with Dagar, who closed with a 67.
The 29-year-old from Berkshire kept her cool in overtime, birdieing the play-off hole, while Dagar could only make a bogey, to secure her first win on tour since turning professional in 2020.
“First tournament back of the year, you can’t really ask for any better,” said Gainer, whose previous best result was second at the 2022 Belgian Ladies Open. “I was aware when we started how many players were in with a shout, and I knew there were going to be some low scores. I thought if I had shot three or four under, I could be in with a chance.”
She added: “I missed makeable birdie putts on 11, 12, 13, and 14, so I was getting frustrated. Then I made a birdie on the par-five 15th, and from there I just kept racking them up, hitting really great iron shots into 16 and 17, with straight up-the-hill putts for birdies, so that was great.”
Gainer, who picked up a first prize of €67,500, has been a member at Castle Royle Golf Club in Maidenhead since she was a junior and has been an official ambassador for the club, which is part of The Club Company’s portfolio, for the past few seasons.
Daniel Hawkins, General Manager of Castle Royle by The Club Company, said: “We are extremely proud of Cara and her victory at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco over the weekend. Cara has been a member of Castle Royle since she was 14 and we are so pleased to be able to play a supporting role in her success, seeing her go from strength to strength as her career has progressed.
“We will continue to support Cara, as she supports us in our efforts to boost awareness and participation in both women’s and junior golf.”