Germany’s Sophia Popov made history on Sunday by winning the first AIG Women’s Open to be staged at Royal Troon.
The world number 304 and overnight leader carded a final round three-under-par 68 to take her to seven-under overall as she claimed a two-shot victory over Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura.
The victory for Popov is all the more remarkable given just three weeks earlier she was a caddie for her close friend Anne van Dam at the LPGA Drive On Championship and the 27-year-old only qualified for the Women's Open two weeks ago.
Popov’s maiden major win at the iconic Ayrshire course is not the first time she has had success in Troon after she triumphed in a development tour event in May at Troon North Golf Club in Arizona.
That victory saw the 27-year-old receive $2,300 while her reward for winning the Women’s Open at Royal Troon is $675,000.
England’s Mel Reid (+9) and Jodi Ewart Shadoff (+9) along with Northern Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow (+9) were the leading Brits with Catriona Matthew (+13) the highest placed Scot on the leaderboard.
The tournament was played behind-closed-doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic and marked the first time in Royal Troon’s illustrious history that it had held the Women’s Open.
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