Nocera breaks European 72-hole record, wins in Sweden

text size

GOTEBORG, Sweden (AP) -- Gwladys Nocera broke Laura Davies' record for the lowest 72-hole score on the Ladies European Tour with a 29-under 259 total at the Goteborg Masters on Sunday.

France's Nocera closed with a 6-under 66 on the Lycke Golf Club course on Sweden's west coast that features several tricky seaside holes.

Davies set the previous LET record with a 25-under 267 when she won the 1995 Irish Open. The four-time major champion from England tied for 10th at 275.

After two-putting for par on the 18th, Nocera's French colleagues stormed onto the green and soaked her in celebratory champagne.

"It's funny because on the fairway, I said to my caddie Raf, 'It would be fun to have champagne today because it's my fourth one,'" the 33-year-old Nocera said. "It feels good. I really didn't think I could shoot that low when I came here. It's probably much better than I expected."

Nina Reis eagled three holes and broke the course record that Nocera tied in the second round with a 61 that moved the Swede from 16th to second with a 270 total.

Reis tied the record for the LET's all-time lowest round set by England's Kirsty Taylor at the 2005 Wales Ladies Open.

Reis admitted she had 59 on her mind when standing on the 18th tee.

"I thought about it, but I also thought that I just wanted to make par and have a good tournament," Reis said. "That was the most important thing.

"I was a little bit shaky, but I just wanted to hit a good shot, and I thought, 'If I hit the bunker, I will just chip out.' That was what happened."

On the 18th, Reis hit her driver into the sand trap and, as she tried to chip it out, the ball hit the edge -- just landing on the grass.

Reis had previously posted three eagles and equaled an LPGA Tour record in a round at the 2006 Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore.

Nocera, who also broke the 54-hole record Saturday, had seven birdies and one bogey en route to her fourth win of the season. Her earlier tournament wins came in Scotland, the Netherlands and Norway.

Ranked second in Europe behind Helen Alfredsson of Sweden, Nocera has won nine tournaments on the European tour since 2006.

Alfredsson co-designed the Lycke course but didn't make the cut.