Swede Caroline Hedwall celebrated her call-up to Alison Nicholas’ European Solheim Cup team to face the United States at Killeen Castle, Ireland by overhauling a seven-shot deficit to capture the UNIQA Ladies Open at Golfclub Fohrenwald, near Vienna, Austria.

It was Ladies’ European Tour rookie Hedwall’s third win of the season, following earlier triumphs in Slovakia and Finland, making her the first player to win three LET tournaments as a rookie since Trish Johnson in 1987.

Overnight leader Kaisa Ruuttila of Finland began the day one shot ahead of France’s Caroline Alfonso, and the Finn soon built up a commanding four shot advantage after just six holes. However, jitters set in when Ruuttila bogeyed the 7^th hole, and added a double-bogey at the 9^th to give the chasing pack some encouragement.

And it was Hedwall who took best advantage of the faltering Finn, carding birdies on the 2^nd, 4^th and 8^th holes before a further gain at the 11^th. After driving the green at the par-4 12^th hole, the Swede rolled in a 15-footer for eagle to tie the lead with Alfonso and Italy’s Giulia Sergas, and moved ahead with a tap-in birdie at the 15^th – a lead she never relinquished as she came home a comfortable four shots clear as her nearest rivals fell apart, signing off on her win with a round of 64.