England’s Jodi Ewart held her overnight lead to claim a two stroke victory at the Ladies European Tour’s Final Qualifying School for the 2012 season.

A closing round of level par 73 on the South Course at La Manga Club in Spain gave the 24-year-old North Yorkshire woman an 11 under par aggregate total, with Swiss amateur Anais Maggetti at nine under and Spain’s Carlota Ciganda five strokes further back in third. 

However, it was further down the leader board where the drama unfolded at the end of the day after six players tied for 29th position on seven over par.

The six players headed back out to the seventh tee to begin a sudden death play-off for two places, to establish who would secure the last spots inside the top 30, eligible for category 8a membership of the LET.

The Spanish duo of Laura Cabanillas and Mireia Prat competed against India’s Sharmila Nicollet, England’s Hannah Burke, Germany’s Miriam Nagl and Scotland’s Carly Booth.

Cabanillas, an 11-year veteran of the tour, holed a 12-footer for birdie to take the 29th card available at the par-four seventh hole, while the remaining five players went to the eighth tee.

Booth fell short after driving into a fairway bunker and having to lay up on the par four, eventually taking a bogey five along with Nagl and both players were eliminated. Burke, Nicollet and Prat all had four and went to the par-five ninth tee.

The drama was completed when Nicollet, who co-led after the first round, two-putted for a birdie four from the right edge of the ninth green to earn the 30th card. The other two players could not match her score.

After holing a six-foot putt, her smile lit up the stunning venue and the 20-year-old from the south of Bangalore said: “I feel so excited. I played well under pressure and I mean, I didn’t hit the fairway the first two play-off holes and I made a recovery after that and in the end it was a great feeling. I’m so overwhelmed right now.”

Nicollet will be the only player from India with full playing rights on the Ladies European Tour this season and she was justifiably proud of her achievement.

“My goal was to get on the tour and this is my first time in Spain for the qualifier so I think it’s a big achievement for me. To be playing in Europe will be my next immediate goal. I hope to play all the tournaments and maybe move here because I have family in Paris and my dad stays there so maybe I will move there and play all the tournaments. I’m just so happy and excited. It’s been a long two weeks and it’s been a long wait and fingers crossed for the season.”

There was also delight for Cabanillas, who had her boyfriend, former European Tour player Manuel Quiros, acting as her caddie.

On her pressure putt on the first play-off hole, she said: “I had confidence because Manolo helped me with the line and it’s easier to putt like this. I worked very hard on the back nine because I was very nervous on the first one. I am very happy now.”

Top ranked Ewart was pleased to have capped a gruelling fortnight with the victory, having resisted the urge to look at the scoreboards all week.

“It feels good. I mean, fourth on the LPGA and now winning the LET: it’s a pretty good off-season if you ask me. It feels good and I’m really looking forward to this year.”

On her round, she explained: “It started off slowly and then I holed a putt on nine for birdie, so that kicked things off and then I shoved one in the water off 16 and had a double so I had no idea how far ahead I was just trying to make birdies coming in but it looks like par was good enough.

“I was a little bit nervous because I knew I was leading but I didn’t know how many shots ahead I was so if I’d known it would have set me back a bit. I think coming from yesterday, I kind of got away from my plan and it was all about me and the golf ball: that was the priority today.

“After I holed the putt on 14 I really relaxed and felt good. The putting  was slow on the front nine but I holed some coming in. I don’t know where that shot on 16 came from.”

Ewart plans to head home to Florida before beginning her season at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.

Second placed Maggetti, who now plans to turn professional, expects her first tournament start to be at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco in late March.

After making several appearances in professional tournaments over the last few years, Ciganda was delighted to be able to play a full schedule. She will first play in the Gold Coast RACV Australian Ladies Masters, beginning on 2nd February, before trying to qualify for the Australian Open and then heading to New Zealand.

 “I am very happy and I have the card so this year I have a schedule now and very happy to play in Europe. I was relaxed and just trying to play my game: just fairways and greens and if the putts went into the hole then it was fine otherwise just pars, so I played very well,” she said.

There are 15 nationalities represented by the top 30 qualifiers and the USA leads the way with eight players, followed by France with four, England and Spain with three each and two players from the Netherlands. Yu Yang Zhang is set to become the LET’s first Chinese representative. Of the top 30 qualifiers, 16 players will be rookies on the Ladies European Tour this year. 

Ladies European Tour - Final Qualifying School for the 2012 season - Final Results: 

1  EWART, Jodi (55) England 70 67 67 73 73 350 -11

2  MAGGETTI, Anais (am) (20) Switzerland 73 72 69 67 71 352 -9

3  CIGANDA, Carlota (83) Spain 72 67 76 69 73 357 -4

4  VAN DER GRAAFF, Marjet (61) Netherlands 71 68 72 74 73 358 -3

5  KIRCHMAYR, Stephanie (82) Germany 70 73 72 69 74 358 -3

6  EMANUELSSON, Elin (26) Sweden 68 76 73 74 70 361 Par

7  PALOMAR, Celine (39) France 73 70 74 71 74 362 1

8  YADLOCZKY, Jessica L (67) United States 71 73 76 67 75 362 1

9  BEAUTELL, Maria (54) Spain 80 68 69 73 73 363 2

10  HASSAN, Sahra (72) Wales 76 71 74 69 73 363 2

11  LAWRENCE, Liebelei E (48) Luxembourg 76 69 73 72 73 363 2

12  GIRAUD, Elena M (57) France 73 71 74 72 73 363 2

13  DYE, Kendall R (46) United States 72 73 73 71 74 363 2

14  ELLIS, Charlotte L (am) (8) England 73 72 71 72 75 363 2

15  LEE, Jennie Y (94) United States 73 69 77 69 75 363 2

16  BOWIE YOUNG, Heather (43) United States 70 68 75 78 73 364 3

17  LEWIS, Amelia (49) United States 73 71 75 71 74 364 3

18  VILATTE, Alexandra (am) (37) France 69 69 76 75 75 364 3

19  FRANCELLA, Meaghan (96) United States 75 69 76 73 72 365 4

20  CUNINGHAM, Tandi M (78) South Africa 72 69 81 71 72 365 4

21  WALKER, Sophie (88) England 75 70 77 69 74 365 4

22  NA, Stephanie (97) Australia 77 72 75 71 71 366 5

23  ZHANG, Yu Yang (41) China 71 74 73 75 73 366 5

24  DE VRIES, Chrisje (31) Netherlands 66 78 73 75 74 366 5

25  QUEEN, Clare (19) Scotland 70 70 74 75 77 366 5

26  CHOE, Esther (84) United States 74 71 78 73 71 367 6

27  SHOCKLEY, Dawn M (90) United States 82 70 74 69 72 367 6

28  DERREY, Valentine S (7) France 80 71 69 73 74 367 6

29  CABANILLAS, Laura (27) Spain 68 78 74 74 74 368 7 (play off)

30  NICOLLET, Sharmila (85) India 68 70 80 75 75 368 7 (play off)

31  BOOTH, Carly (42) Scotland 76 72 74 74 72 368 7

32  NAGL, Miriam S (14) Germany 71 75 78 71 73 368 7

33  BURKE, Hannah (21) England 70 73 79 73 73 368 7

34  PRAT, Mireia (am) (38) Spain 72 74 74 73 75 368 7

35  SMIT, Monique (am) (2) South Africa 74 72 76 74 73 369 8

36  ZWANCK, Adriana (12) Spain 74 75 74 72 74 369 8

37  KNOLL, Ashley R (100) United States 74 70 78 73 74 369 8

38  DOUGLASS, Charlie (52) England 72 74 80 70 74 370 9

39  GENUINI, Barbara (91) France 77 74 76 68 75 370 9

40  DJOS, Sara V (32) Sweden 72 74 74 74 76 370 9

41  BAGGER, Mianne (24) Denmark 73 73 73 78 74 371 10

42  GIVENS, Eleanor R (am) (53) England 71 71 79 74 76 371 10

43  OHLSSON, Maria J (5) Sweden 73 76 76 71 76 372 11

44  VERCHENOVA, Maria (29) Russian Federation 72 75 77 72 76 372 11

45  FREEMAN, Cara R (1) United States 73 75 70 76 78 372 11

46  SCOTT, Anna (16) England 72 72 78 71 79 372 11

47  VAN LEEUWEN, Kyra C (99) Netherlands 74 70 72 76 80 372 11

48  WHITAKER, Alison (70) Australia 77 73 74 73 76 373 12

49  MATTSON, Mary E (65) United States