Remember the name Stephanie Kyriacou. She could be a big deal. In fact, she already is.
Stephanie Kyriacou, a 19-year-old amateur from Sydney, Australia, won on the Ladies European Tour on Sunday, taking the Geoff King Motors Australian Ladies Classic Bonville by a dominant eight-shot margin.
🇦🇺🏆 Stephanie Kyriacou 🏆🇦🇺
Australian amateur @Stephkyriacou2 wins the Geoff King Motors Australian Ladies Classic Bonville by 8⃣ shots.
A star is born @BonvilleGolf 🌟#AusLadiesClassic pic.twitter.com/nlXNt6bvUt
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) February 23, 2020
In Sunday's final round, Kyriacou made a par at the first and then made six birdies in seven holes to turn in 6-under 29 and with an insurmountable nine-shot edge. She made two birdies and a bogey on the inward nine, mixed in with seven pars to close with a final-round 65 and her first win in a significant professional event on 22-under 266.
Among the other professional notables Kyriacou beat were Linnea Strom, Anne Van Dam, Leona Maguire, Aditi Ashok and Meghan MacLaren.
“I’m lost for words and still on cloud nine,” said Kyriacou. "I think everything was going my way today. I was pretty confident going into the last round. I did get off to a good start. The first hole wasn’t great again, but after that I bounced back and had five birdies in a row. After that, I played a bit more defensive, because I assumed I had a bit of a lead by then."
Kyriacou finally let herself start to think about the win as she got to the 72nd hole.
“On the last hole, I was thinking about what would happen, but I told myself to get a par and then worry about it," she said.
Kyriacou would have won AUD$36,000 with the win, but since she competed as an amateur golfer, she could not collect a paycheck. Instead, the winner's check went to Ayean Cho of South Korea, who contended to win the prior week's ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open on the LPGA Tour.
Now a Ladies European Tour winner, Kyriacou can turn pro and take LET and ALPG status with a multi-season exemption on both tours. However, she said she would discuss it with her father, and caddie this week, Nick, before choosing.
