Double joy for Sweden as Sophie and Anna win titles

Dubai : There was double joy for Sweden yesterday as Sophie Gustafson and Anna Nordqvist picked up the Ladies European Tour's Money List and Rookie of the Year titles, respectively, as the Dubai Ladies Masters brought the 2009 season to a close yesterday.

A six-under-282 four day total took Gustafson to 14th, and though her title rival Catriona Matthew took home more cash following her 12th place finish, it wasn't enough to derail the Swede's hopes of a fourth Order of Merit title. Sophie totaled 281,315 euros from her four LET events.

Close contest

Meanwhile, Nordqvist shot an even-par-72 on the final day to take her four-day total to 11-under-277. Her score ensured a tied-fourth finish alongside Virginie Lagoutte-Clement, Laura Davies and Tania Elosegui.

Victory in the Ladies European Tour's rookie race was imminent, and with Parker stumbling in Dubai, the title was Nordqvist's for the taking. "I had a really good year. I feel like I have a lot of things to work on," said Nordqvist, 22, who accumulated 100,966 euros from her six events on the LET.

"I have just started working on my fitness a little bit more. I have a lot of good people around me, so I'm just going to stick with my coaches."