Beth Allen wins Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open

The performance came on the heels of a victory at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France last month and with her prize winnings, the 34-year-old jumps €50,000 past Shanshan Feng into first for the Order of Merit.

“It means so much to me,” Allen said. “I love this Tour so it would be so special to win the Order of Merit. It’s also so, so special to win here because it’s the first ever professional ladies golf event in Abu Dhabi, so yeah overall it’s been such a great week.

“No one can take this away from me,” she added. “I’m the only person that can ever say they won the first ladies golf event here and that is so special. I’m so grateful that we’re here and I’m really excited to come back next year.”

Allen entered the day tied in third with Melissa Reid and behind leader Georgia Hall and second-placed Sarah Kemp. England’s Hall appeared to be in control before two bogeys in the final five holes derailed her as she settled for second at 18-under. Fellow Englishwomen Reid and Australian Kemp were a stroke behind.

Consistency has been key for Allen as she’s had the most top-10 finishes (seven) and birdies (206) for the 2016 season, while ranking third with an average stroke average of 69.15.

The world No79 ranked player, who made 66, 68 and 69 in the first three rounds this weekend, said of her finish: “I’ve been playing great golf all year, so I came into this weekend really confident. Today I just knew that I had to make a lot of birdies because everyone in the last few groups is so good. Georgia already had a 64 this week, so I knew it could be done and I knew I had to go low, especially being two back.

“Today I didn’t even know what score I was on sometimes which isn’t always the case. But I knew I had a lot of birdies and one bogey, but at the end 8-under was better than I thought so I was really happy.”