Catriona Matthew duly regained her Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Ladies Open title in imperious fashion in the sweeping East Lothian winds at Archerfield.
The 44-year-old from nearby North Berwick shot a final-round 70 to finish with an eight-under aggregate of 208, two ahead of fast-finishing Englishwoman Hannah Burke on six-under.
They were the only two in the field who finished the championship under par in brutally tough winds gusting to 30mph and beyond.
The title is her second Scottish Ladies title after her 10-shot win, also at Archerfield, in 2011 and her 11th career win in all.
“Just as special as the first one,” said the champion. “I think everyone expected me to win this week and especially with a three-shot lead in the final round, but it was pretty tough out there today and I needed to work pretty hard.
“I thought that par would be about okay and I certainly didn’t expect to see anyone shoot 68 in those conditions, so all credit to Hannah. But I thought if I could get a birdie or two on the easier holes downwind that would do the job.”
Matthew opened up on the field on Saturday morning, shooting a best-of-the-week five-under 67 which gave her that three-shot cushion.
It was swiftly doubled on the front nine on Sunday when with the rest of the field toiling in what was at least a four-club wind, the local girl birdieing both the two par fives.
At the 484-yard second she was greenside in two and nearly chipped in for eagle, and at the sixth, right into the teeth of the wind, she played it in textbook fashion chipping to six feet and holing for her four.
Things came a little unstuck at the ninth when she was plugged in a bunker off the tee but escaped with a bogey, but there seemed little terrors ahead on what is effectively Catriona’s home course these days.
Burke’s eagle on 11 and birdie on 12 briefly cut the lead to just two and threatened some interest, but Matthew responded with huge birdie putts outside 30 feet at both 14 and 15 playing toughest on the back nine into the wind to take her clear again.
“I hadn’t really holed that many putts this week but those two long ones came along at just the right time.”
A double bogey at the 16th and Burke’s birdie at the last reduced the gap to two, but those were all Matthew needed with solid pars on the last two holes to maintain her two-stroke advantage and claim the 32,500 euro (£27,000) first prize, and her home title is the first she’s won twice.
“I do make my own goals at the start of the season, and those were to win if I could and to contend in all the majors, which I feel I’ve done,” she said, having lost a sudden-death play-off to Inbee Park in the LPGA Championship earlier this year.
It was a good championship for other home hopes as Carly Booth finished with a third successive 73 but a finish of tied fourth in her first cut made since the Turkish Ladies Open in May.
“My confidence had taken a bit of a battering recently so this has been a good weekend to start moving forward again,” she said.
“I enter tournaments to win so to get one before the end of the year would be awesome, but it’s great just to feel good about my game again.”
Rookie pro Pamela Pretswell finished with a 74 to also claim a share of fourth and gain a significant boost towards retaining her playing rights for next year.
Heather MacRae, who endured a nightmare back nine of Saturday when she dropped seven strokes in six holes, recovered for a two-under 70 to claim a share of sixth place.