Azahara Muñoz wins Open de France by a single stroke

Spanish golfer Azahara Muñoz has added the Open de France to her list of LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour (LET) victories after a tense finish at the Chantaco Golf Club Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Aquitaine late Sunday.

Azahara, number 33 in the world in the most recent LPGA ranking, beat off competition from France’s Gwladys Nocera and Valentine Derrey to take the title by a single stroke after carding a final round of 65, giving up just a single bogey on the 17th.

Muñoz, who is afforded direct entry to LPGA tournaments through the money list, was also a member of the European team that defeated the USA 18-10 to win the Solheim Cup at the Colorado Golf Club in August, alongside Spanish rookies Carlota Ciganda and Beatriz Recari. Ciganda finished in eight place in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, six strokes behind Muñoz.

The 25-year-old from Málaga hit five birdies on the front nine and managed par on the 18th to assure victory. “From the start I was playing really well and at the end, the advantage I’d managed to build up helped me. I’m very happy,” Muñoz told the LET website.

The Open de France is Muñoz’s third professional title and her second on the European Circuit after the Madrid Masters she won in 2009. Last year in on the US LPGA Tour she won the Sybase Match Play tournament at the Hamilton Farm Golf Club in New Jersey.