England international Hannah Burke (pictured) has won the 2010 Irish women's open strokeplay championship by five strokes - a year after she lost a marathon play-off for the title on the seventh extra hole.
"It's awesome," said Hannah, from Mid-Herts, who had a final round 71 at Newlands, Dublin, to finish on five-under par for the 54-hole event - and five shots clear of Australia's Justine Lee.
"I think I've been due a win for a while. I finished second here last year, then I was second in the English strokeplay and I've spent my last year at Baylor University, Texas, and finished second a couple of times there. Now I've managed to win!"
The 22-year-old held or shared the lead throughout the tournament and started the final round three shots clear of the field.
She was two-under for the first six holes of the third round, despite the teeming Irish rain which delayed her tee-off time by 90 minutes. So heavy were the showers that play was suspended on two separate occasions while greenkeepers worked tirelessly to clear the flooding greens.
Hannah got to the turn four strokes ahead of the field and was never going to be caught after she birdied 15, 17 and 18.
"I played extremely well in the conditions today," said Hannah. "It rained the whole day, apart from the last 45 minutes, and we had a couple of stops while they squeegeed the greens. We had about a six or seven hour round, on and off the golf course. But it was a great experience for me - it was brilliant."
Hannah will play a full summer of English and British events before returning to Baylor to complete her degree. Then, later in the year, she's hoping to win her place on the US Duramed Futures Tour.
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