LADIES IRISH OPEN: THE SCOTS would refer to it as a sea haar but the Ladies European Tour (LET) might chose a less lyrical reference in describing the fog that enveloped Portmarnock Links, causing a three and a half hour delay to the final round of the AIB Ladies Irish Open.

The disruption came in two tranches, a half-hour hiatus in the morning followed by an enforced three-hour cessation before play restarted at 4.15pm. Visibility was reduced to less than 100 yards and it was only apparently when the tide changed and a breeze blew over the course that the fog dissipated.

For the 26-year-old Italian Diana Luna it proved to be a case of a Roman in the gloaming as she produced an imperious, four-under-the-card 68, to capture the title and a cheque for €75,000 that catapulted her to second in this season’s money list.

She coped admirably with the fractured day’s play and the pressure of entering the final round with a one-stroke lead and although several pursuers periodically threatened, Luna’s three birdies on the front nine kept a decent buffer. A four at the par-five 13th took her to 11 under par for the tournament and when Frenchwoman Gwladys Nocera bogeyed the 16th to fall four shots behind any lingering doubt about who’d win was largely resolved.

Luna’s smiling demeanour throughout the day underlined the confidence of a player at ease with her game and the surroundings, a fact endorsed by the statistic that her final 18 holes provided the only bogey-free round of the entire tournament.

The Monaco resident had only won once previously on the LET and that was the Tenerife Ladies Open in 1994 but her pedigree is better illustrated by 14 top-10 finishes, including a second place in Holland just a fortnight ago.

She admitted: “I am very happy with the way I played. I hit almost 18 greens and never had to chip the whole way around.”

Aside from Nocera (69), many anticipated that three-time Ladies Irish Open champion, Sweden’s Sofie Gustafson, would provide the most resolute challenge but two early bogeys scuppered any momentum. The two players ended up in a tie for second place along with German-born English resident Florentyna Parker (70).

Five Irish players made the cut – it was 60 and ties on Saturday – including amateur Danielle McVeigh, the same number failing to match or better the six-over-par mark that decided those that would play the final 18 holes. Among the casualties were the 14-year-old Maguire twins, Leona and Lisa, who missed out by two and four shots respectively. Marian Riordan, Claire Coughlan-Ryan and another amateur the 17-year-old Stephanie Meadows falling below the line.

Martina Gillen finished best of the Irish with a fighting 74 that included a card-wrecking triple bogey seven at the par-four eighth. A propensity to pull her irons left was to prove a significant handicap for most of the round. She did so with her second shot on seven, lost the ball and had to retrace her steps. That particular destructive swing was responsible for bogeys on the 14th and 18th: the latter one though was tinged with a little good fortune as she managed to get a free drop as her stance was bisected by an artificial path.

She demonstrated character despite fighting her swing, recording four birdies and absorbing a lesson or two from playing partners, Spain’s Tania Elosegui and Johanna Westerberg of Sweden. Gillen admitted: “It was nice playing with them. They have won the last two tournaments. There was a bit of pressure playing with two winners. It’s interesting to see where their strong points are and where I am lacking.

“From tee to green it’s fine. It’s just getting those simple birdie putts; you can’t just let them dribble by.”

Indeed at one point it seemed that she could potentially be playing alongside the winner in Elosegui as the Spaniard was seven under for her round – it included a hole-in-one at the par three 11th – but four bogeys and a double bogey in the last six holes put the kibosh on that ambition.

Carlow’s Tara Delaney (75) finished on five over par with Rebecca Coakley (74) on seven over, Hazel Kavanagh (75) eight with McVeigh (81) one shot further back.

The venue for next year’s AIB Ladies Irish Open has not yet been finalised but the suggestion is that it could move to Killeen Castle, the Jack Nicklaus-designed course that will host the 2011 Solheim Cup.