Dutch golfer Christel Boeljon has successfully defended her title in the Turkish Open.

The 24-year-old from the town of Beverwijk kept her nerves under control in the final round on the Belek golf course and finished in 73 strokes. She took a total of 285 strokes to finish the course, 7 under par, three strokes fewer than her Finnish competitor Ursula Wikstrom who came second.

Christel Boeljon was leading by four strokes when she started on the 18th and final hole. At first it seemed she was coming apart under the pressure when she hit the ball into the water. However, she finished the final hole with just one bogey.

Boeljon went to study in the US in 2005, accepting a golf scholarship from Purdue University in Indiana. She played 24 rounds under par in her first 25 tournaments.

She turned professorial after returning from Purdue in 2009. Boeljon won her first tournament, the European Ladies Golf Cup, in 2009. She played her first major competition in the United States, the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship and finished 15th. Just a few weeks later she won the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open in Belek and came second at the Ladies Slovak Open, which put her in the lead of the Ladies European Tour money list.

(gsh/imm)

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide