De Roey started second on the third and final round at the Thai Country Club golf course in Chachoengsao, near Bangkok, two strokes behind home player Patty Tavatanakit.
Thanks to an ultimate round in 66 strokes, De Roey moved into first place with a total of 203 strokes (13 under par). She beat Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson, second on 3 strokes. Tavatanakit shares third place with Scottish Kylie Henry at 5 strokes from De Roey.
The Ladies European Tour is considered the second most important circuit in women’s golf after the US LPGA Tour. It is 25 years ago (in 1997) that a Belgian could win a tournament at this level. Then Valérie Van Ryckeghem was the best in the Ladies Italian Open.
“This is a fantastic feeling. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, I’m very happy,” De Roey said to the organization. “I started this tournament well and was 2nd after the 2nd day.”
“I was pretty calm on the 3rd round and got off to a good start with a birdie on the 2nd hole. I stayed patient and got some good putts. I’m super happy with my round today. I gave myself chances for birdies. no drop shots done.”
Last year Manon De Roey defended the Belgian colors at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. There she was 46th.
De Roey, who turned pro in 2015, feels she is getting better every year. A few weeks ago she told Sportweekend that she would like to win a European Tour tournament. Last week in Madrid she already finished third and today that target has already been achieved.
Why does it work now? “I believe very hard in my game and I stayed very calm to get that first win. I was close to it last year, but it’s happening now.”
She also wants to finish in the top 5 of the European Tour (Race to Costa del Sol) this season, where she advanced from 9th to 3rd place behind the Swedish women Maja Stark and Gustavsson.
A third and final goal is to get a ticket for the LPGA Tour.
