Ellie Gower shot a final round 67 to overcome a six-shot deficit to win the Super Bock Ladies Open on the LET Access Series (LETAS).
The Englishwoman, 24, finished on nine-under-par overall to pip compatriot Billie-Jo Smith (71) by two strokes at Vidago Palace Golf and earn a winners’ cheque of €8,000.
Overnight leader Lorna Mcclymont (76) finished in solo third place on five-under-par while Czech amateur Anna Ludvova (67) and Norway’s Silje Torvund Ohma (73) came another shot behind in a tie for fourth position.
This is Gower’s second victory on the LETAS after her debut triumph at the 2024 Calatayud Ladies Open.
“It means a lot,” she said. “I’m very happy to have won. I was quite a few shots back starting the day, so I didn’t really know anything out there like what the scores were or anything.
“It’s really nice to win. My mom and dad are here, that’s very special to have them be here, my boyfriend is on the bag as well so it’s really nice.
“When I had my win in Calatayud, I was like, oh, is this just a fluke? Since then I haven’t really done loads, so getting another win tells me I can do it again. This win will give me a lot more confidence.
“It’s hard to win. It’s hard to do well. Each week, the girls are really good and the competition is really tough. I’ve had quite a few good rounds, and I’ve kept myself in good positions after two days then I seem to always struggle on the last day. So I’m glad today is different from that.”
Beginning the day at three-under-par in the third-to-last group, Gower got off to a hot start with birdies on holes 3, 4 and 8 to make the turn in a tie for the lead at six-under-par with three other players.
Despite a bogey on hole 10, Gower picked herself up to birdie the par-4 13th and 14th holes back-to-back before holing a 15-footer for eagle on the par-5 17th hole to pull clear by four shots.
The London-born golfer three-putted for bogey on the closing par-3 18th hole, but had enough of a margin to clinch her second LETAS win.
“I holed quite a few key putts today, which I think helped,” she said. “I made one bogey on 10, but I didn’t really let that affect me. Then I made two birdies in a row (on 13 and 14) then I eagled 17.
“I was a little bit nervous on that tee shot because the wind was off the left, so anything kind of a little bit right was not great. I hit a good tee shot, and then the wind was helping. I only had a nine-iron in, which was nice.
“My boyfriend was doing live scoring, and then when I finished I said to him, how have I done? And he said I think you need to get some of your Portuguese out because I think we might have won.
“I had no idea where I was. I knew I was probably doing well, but I didn’t know that I was winning. I don’t like to look too much (at the leaderboard) because I feel like it can put a bit more pressure on me.
Gower’s boyfriend John Wilding, who is PGA Professional golfer at St Andrew’s, was also on the bag when she won in Calatayud two years ago.
“My parents weren’t here when I won a couple years ago, so to have that is really special,” she said. “Then my boyfriend John caddying as well. He was a lot of help, very calm which I think I needed.”
With her win, Gower will climb into the Top 20 of the LETAS Order of Merit (OOM) standings. The top seven golfers will earn their LET cards for the 2027 season will those inside the top 30 will be exempted from the first stage of Q-School.
“I’m not gonna lie, I don’t really want to do two weeks at Q-School, so knowing that now I’ve only got to do it one week, and if I do well again, who knows what will happen?”
Further down the leaderboard, Denmark’s Sarah Skovgaard Bils (70) and Switzerland’s Tiffany Arafi (75) will share sixth place at three-under-par overall.
English pair Thalia Martin (68) and Bel Wardle (72) are another shot back in a tie for eighth.
The quarter of Spain’s Ana Pina Ortega (69), Ireland’s Beth Coulter (69), Germany’s Chiara Horder (70) and Sweden’s Emelie Borggren (73) finished in a tie for 10th place at one-under-par for the tournament.
At even-par come Scotland’s Laura Beveridge (71) and South Korea’s Ayeon Yang (77) in a tie for 14th while Germany’s Lisa Marie Schumacher (73), Finland’s Katri Bakker (73) and Sweden’s Johanna Sjursen (78) are another stroke back ina. Tie for 16th.
Spain’s Alicia Fajardo Monzon (73) and Australia’s Hannah Reeves (74) round out the top 20 at two-over-par overall.
Portugal’s Sofia Barroso Sa shot a final round 79 to finish as the best local player in a tie for 47th at 10-over-par overall.
The LETAS season resumes in two weeks at the November 12-14 Santander Golf Tour – Girona event which is the penultimate tournament of the season.
Keep up with all the action on the LETAS on our socials – @LETAccess on Instagram and X and LET Access Series on Facebook.
