Clarkie’s Clan member Ellie Gower secured her first professional win at the 2024 Calatayud Ladies Open.
She beat out fellow compatriot Billie-Jo Smith in a play-off at the end of a very close day of play where she shot a 68 (-4) round in regulation play. Her round included two birdies on holes 16 and 17 which secured her place in the play-off.
She took victory with one try on the difficult par three ninth hole.
Discussing her first win she said, “It means so much. I’ve never won before, and I’ve never been in a play-off so, it means a lot. It’s crazy. It just makes all the hard work worthwhile.
“I was shocked when I found out it was a play off. At the beginning of the day, the leading score was nine under, so I didn’t really expect 10 under to be winning it.
“I had no idea that Billie-Jo was on 10 under too. So, it was a bit of a shock, a good shock.”
The win takes Ellie from 51st to 13th on the Order of Merit, guaranteeing her spot at Final Let Qualifying.
“Skipping pre-qualifying was one of my main goals coming into this week. I’m happy that I managed to do that.
“Before the playoff started, I was happy whether I won or not. My boyfriend said to me that it was ok to achieve one of my goals already.
“Just to have someone here who has helped me so much. I probably wouldn’t have won without him. He really helped me and calmed me down.
“He said forget about what score you are one and just play one shot at a time. That’s what I did, I’m so proud of us.”
John Clark Motor Group is incredibly proud to support Ellie on her journey and can’t wait to see what the 2025 season brings for her!
