Klara Spilkova Player Profile - 2022 Women's Irish Open Winner

KLARA Spilkova claimed the Women's Irish Open after a three-way play-off at Dromoland Castle in Clare. It was her first victory in five years.

The 27-year-old from the Czech Republic birdied the par-five 18th to defeat Nicole Broch Estrup and Ursula Wikstrom, both of whom made pars. The trio finished on 14 under par after a dramatic final day.

Home favourite Leona Maguire was one of four players to finish one shot back after a 68, including a birdie on 18 when she needed an eagle to make the play-off.

Denmark's Smilla Soenderby had an eagle putt that would have moved her to 15 under, but she three-putted and did not even get into the play-off.

Before claiming her first win in five years, Spilkova birdied the last to card a round of 67 while Wikstrom forced her way into the extra holes with four birdies in the final five holes.

Having made three straight birdies, Broch Estrup had a chance for another on 18 to take the outright lead, but saw her effort come up agonisingly short.

Home favourite Maguire started the day two off the pace after a scintillating 65 on Saturday saw her roar back into contention following a disappointing second round.

Maguire was unable to carry that momentum into the early stages of her final round though, with back-to-back bogeys in the opening two holes seeing her slip back.

However, the Solheim Cup star produced another brilliant back nine to give the crowd hope of a home victory, with four birdies through eight holes setting her up for an unlikely shot at the lead coming onto the 18th.

Maguire needed an eagle to reach 14 under, but could not chip in from just off the green and instead made birdie to finish in a share of fourth.

"I was just a little bit too far back after Friday," Maguire said.

Who is Klara Spilkova?

Spilkova was born in Prague on December 1994 and is a trailblazer - when she won the Lalla Meryem Cup in 2017 she became the first Czech winner on the LET Tour. She was once the youngest ever player on the LET Tour, at the age of 16. She has played on the LPGA Tour since 2019 and represented her country at the Tokyo Olympics. She enjoys skiing, skating, reading and listening to music.

She averages 242.33 yards from tee, hits 71.43% of fairways and finds 68.54% of fairways in regulation and averages 30 putts per round.