The 2019 ANNIKA Invitational Europe concluded just as it started, with Lily May Humphreys securing her first ANNIKA Invitational title in wire-to-wire fashion. The 17-year-old from England played a steady final round, shooting 3-under-par with five birdies and two bogeys.
After starting the day with a three-stroke lead, Humphreys described her shrinking margin after Anne Normann’s 4-under-par 32 on the front nine: “When Anne made three birdies in a row to get within one, the back nine became a bit edgy, but it was a fun day.”
The 8th ANNIKA Invitational Europe boasts a field featuring the best female junior golfers in Europe. The 79-player field represents 23 different countries and includes five of the top-100 girls in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. With her win, Humphreys will receive a Ladies European Tour exemption into the La Reserva de Sotogrande Invitational hosted by Annika as well as coveted PING Junior Solheim Cup points.
Normann, hailing from Denmark, put up a great fight throughout the tournament. After her fifth birdie of the day on No. 10, she found herself tied with Humphreys atop the leaderboard with eight holes to play. Despite the charge, Humphreys made two birdies coming in to seal the deal, with Normann finishing second at 11-under-par 208.
Pia Babnik of Slovenia shot the round of the tournament on Thursday, a bogey-free, 7-under-par 66, vaulting her into third place with an 8-under-par 211 total. Babnik and Normann will join Humphreys, earning exemptions into the 2020 ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex.
“We enjoyed another wonderful week at the ANNIKA Invitational Europe and I can’t thank the Swedish Golf Federation and Vasatorps Golf Club for their hospitality,” said Annika. “A big congratulations to Lily May on the win and I look forward to following the future successes of all the players.”
Click here for final results.