Germany's Anja Monke triumphed at Annika Sorenstam's farewell tournament on Sunday, shooting a final round of four-under-par 68 for a three-shot victory at the Dubai Ladies Masters, the season-ending event on the Ladies European Tour.
The 38-year-old Sorenstam signed off in joint seventh place after a final round of 71. In typical style, she rolled an eight-foot birdie putt into the cup on the 18th hole before a packed gallery of her golfing colleagues.
The 31-year-old Monke, from Hannover, finished with a 72-hole total of 275, 13-under-par, on the Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club.
Monke began the final round with a two-shot lead over Denmark's Iben Tinning and birdied the par four-second hole to move to ten-under-par. She was neck and neck with Veronica Zorzi after an early charge from the Italian but reeled off three birdies in a row from the 10th to establish a two-shot lead. After carding a solitary three-putt bogey on the 15th, she took a birdie at the next hole and was able to claim the tournament with two pars to finish. This was Monke's second win as a professional, following the Vediorbis Open de France Dames in late September, but her biggest as the event featured the joint third largest prize fund on the 2008 Ladies European Tour schedule.
This was Monke's second win as a professional, following the Vediorbis Open de France Dames in late September, but her biggest as the event featured the joint third largest prize fund on the 2008 Ladies European Tour schedule.
Zorzi, the two-time Vediorbis Open de France Dames champion, closed with a 69 for a 10-under total and finished in second. England's Laura Davies shot a last round of 69 to finish one shot back in third.