Annabel Dimmock wins Women’s Irish Open in story of resilience – The Irish Times

A story of redemption and more. Of resilience. Of fortitude. Annabel Dimmock, the 27-year-old Londoner who underwent career-saving surgery to remove a bone in her hand a year ago and had played only a limited schedule since her return, defeated Pauline Roussin Bouchard of France on the second playoff hole to win the KPMG Women’s Irish Open at the O’Meara Course.

That her mother Louise hails from Youghal in Co Cork probably gave Dimmock an edge in tapping into the support of the almost 9,000 spectators on the final day – especially as Leona Maguire’s bid was long over before the clash took place in the extra holes, with the Solheim Cup-bound Cavan player finishing joint 15th – but it was her own actions that ultimately earned her a second career LET title, albeit a special one given her comeback from injury.

Both Dimmock and Roussin Bouchard finished simultaneously on 19-under-par 273, one stroke ahead of Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom.

Roussin Bouchard, a former world number one amateur who uses martial arts as part of her fitness regime, shot a final-round 65 (with nine birdies) to join Dimmock, who posted a 70, to force a play-off spot.

In that head-to-head match, Dimmock emerged victorious, claiming her second career victory, following on from her success at the 2019 Jabra Open, when coincidentally, Roussin Bouchard, then a teenage amateur, finished second.

This time it was the second hole of sudden death that proved decisive. On the first playoff hole, Roussin Bouchard had hit a huge drive from 320 yards and she hit a half-shot to the flag that was poorly executed. For the second time of asking, she switched to a 3-wood and hit it left into the heavy rough. Dimmock coolly and calmly hit her driver some 310 yards down the fairway to gain a clear advantage.

All Roussin Boucard could do, with the ball above her feet in a bad lie in the rough, was try to get the ball to the green. She did that very well. But her pitch, with 50 yards to go to the pin, was skipped and rolled through the back. Dimmock found the putting surface safely and her two-putt par from 35 feet was enough to win after her French opponent’s pitch for par fell short.

Dimmock’s victory earned her a €60,000 payday and also provided a happy ending to the online documentary produced by the LET that followed her comeback from surgery. After being told by doctors that it would take two years to return to golf, Dimmock returned to play after eight months. And won in her eighth event.

“I’ve really worked hard to get myself back, and I’m proud of myself. You know, it’s not just me, it’s a lot of people, my team, my friends, my family, it takes a lot to get me back. It’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears,” Dimmock said.

Chiara Tamburlini, the 24-year-old Swiss debutant, also shot a round of 65 to finish fourth on a 17-under-par 275, enough to take her to the top of the LET Order of Merit.

Maguire’s cause was a lost one from the start, in terms of the title itself. Eventually, however, the putter behaved, albeit belatedly, on the home stretch – with four birdies in a five-hole series, including a hat-trick from the 15th – to allow her to find a route into the top 15 and gain some momentum for the Solheim Cup in less than two weeks. Maguire’s 68 for 282 was her best round of the tournament.

She said her putting was a legacy of the wind she had endured for two weeks in Scotland leading up to the tournament (she had an atypical 34 putts in Thursday’s opening round when she found 18 greens in regulation and another 34 in Saturday’s third round), so there was some relief that the short stick was becoming more obedient. She had just 29 putts in the final round.

“I felt like I had my game under control. I didn’t do a hole wrong again, 16 greens back in regulation and a couple of holes on the back-in. I hit some nice shots and I felt like the margins were very small this week. It was 10-under but it could easily have been 25-under but yeah, nice to finish with a bit of momentum,” said Maguire, who is taking a break from competitive golf after a four-week hiatus that began with the Olympics and is taking some time off, including the final Coldplay concert in Croke Park.

And for Dublin teenager Anna Abom there was also a memorable moment when she was part of the prize-giving as the leading amateur. A year ago that amateur trophy was presented to Sara Byrne, who a year later was the star of the British and Irish Curtis Cup winning team at Sunningdale.