Laura Davies claimed a wire-to-wire win at the Senior LPGA Championship as she completed the Senior Grand Slam.

The 55-year-old began the day with a two-stroke lead at the French Lick Resort, but Helen Alfredsson and Silvia Cavalleri soon drew level amid brutal, gusty conditions at the Pete Dye course.

Related: Time to ditch the protocol and award Davies Hall of Fame status

But Davies, the four-time LPGA major winner, began to pull away from the field when she produced an exquisite up-and-down for bogey on the short par-4 11th – the same hole that her nearest competitor, Helen Alfredsson, double bogeyed in the group ahead.

The Englishwoman’s job wasn’t yet complete. At the par-3 16th, Davies pushed her tee shot towards the water hazard – fortunately for her, it caught a piece of dry land and was able to save par.

With a three-stroke lead coming down the final hole, Davies rolled in her putt for birdie to finish in sensational style, completing a consecutive senior major triumph after winning the inaugural US Senior Women’s Open in July.

“This was a real treat because I’ve never put three good rounds together on this course. With the wind today and the challenging layout, I think two under par was a really good score,” Davies said.

“It’s huge. It’s a golf course I didn’t think I’d ever win on – it wasn’t my kind of golf course. This feels like a really big victory for me.

“I got lucky on No. 11 and 16. But you need a bit of luck to win. I hit a lot of quality golf shots and when I hit a couple of poor ones I got away with it.”

Davies’ latest victory takes her professional win tally to 87 worldwide, but she remains two points away from making the LPGA Hall of Fame. Her two senior majors don’t count towards the required 27 points for Hall of Fame entry.

Alfredsson and Cavalleri finished four-strokes back in a tie for 2nd, while Trish Johnson – last year’s winner – claimed 6th place, with Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew a shot behind in 7th.

Alex Perry

Editor

Alex is a Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.

Handicap: 14

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