Anne-Lise Caudal defeated Laura Davies with a birdie at the second extra hole of a sudden-death play-off to capture the UniCredit Ladies German Open on the outskirts of Munich on Sunday.
On a glorious final day of sunshine, which brought record number of spectators to Golfpark Gut Häusern, both players started the day two strokes behind a trio of leaders and carded matching final rounds of five under par 67 to finish on 13 under par 275 after four rounds of regulation play.
After heading back to the tee at the 519 yard / 475 metre par-five 18th both players made pars on the at their first extra hole.
At the second time of asking, Davies' birdie putt from four metres fell just short and low of the hole, clearing the way for Caudal to roll in her birdie putt from around three metres and secure the double first prize of €52,500 and an Audi A5 cabriolet car.
"I can't believe it yet. It was an amazing week this week after a tough first round, plus two: a lot of emotion right now," said Caudal, who claimed her second Ladies European Tour title following the 2008 Portugal Ladies Open.
This was her second play-off experience after she was defeated by Rebecca Hudson at the Tenerife Ladies Open, the week after her victory in 2008 and she explained how she kept her composure by focusing on her breathing.
"I was pretty confident with my wedge. I had a wedge in my hand to hit to the pin and I just breathed a lot and tried to calm down because my heart was pretty fast. I just breathed and believed in what I'm doing," she said.
Davies was disappointed, but was magnanimous in defeat.
"It's a cruel playoff to lose really, because not only do you lose the money, you lose the sub prize of a car which is very unusual on the European Tour so for whoever wins this tournament, it's a really special win. It's like a double hit, but Anne-Lise deserves it," said Davies.
England's Rebecca Hudson finished in third place at 11 under after a final round of 71, while Bree Arthur, Trish Johnson and Felicity Johnson, who shot the week's low-round of 64, were two strokes further back at nine under.
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