A CLOSING round of 67 helped Britain's Laura Davies to a 47th career victory as she retained her title in the English Women's Open at The Oxfordshire yesterday.
With an impressive 15-under-par aggregate of 273 Davies finished four strokes clear of Sweden's Helen Alfredsson with Laura Navarro from Spain in third place on 281.
Davies carded three birdies and an eagle on her way to a seventh worldwide win of the year but the £15,000 winner's cheque was not enough to overtake Alfredsson who leads the European money list.
"I hadn't holed a putt until that eagle at the seventh. It gave me a kick start. Now for the Solheim Cup. It is time to do battle and make sure that we enjoy it, win or lose," said Davies.
At the 447-yard seventh, Davies hit an eight-iron to eight feet for her three then picked up three birdies as she raced home in 33.
Alison Nicholas was the only one of the seven Solheim Cup players in the field who failed to finish below par.
Tracy Eakin from Laytown and Bettystown, the only Irish player in the field, birdied each of the last two holes for a closing round of 75 to finish on 300, her best performance since joining the Tour.
