A first Ladies European Tour title was Australia's Kristie Smith's reward after she overhauled Italian Giulia Sergas to win the New Zealand Women's Open.
Smith's four-under-par final round of 68 saw her finish with a 12-under total of 276.Two bogeys and a triple bogey in her first three holes saw Sergas - penalised a stroke for slow play on Saturday - get off to a poor start and she surrendered a four-stroke lead at start of play after shooting a disappointing 76.
Joint second with Sergas was American Tiffany Joh who made up five places on the final day after a round of 70.
Former Australian amateur champion Smith said: "My goal this year was to win on the LET Tour and it's nice to do it early."
England's Laura Davies, the defending champion, finished with a 77 and eight strokes off the lead after briefly leading the standings on the final day before a triple bogey on the fourth hit her hopes.
