Chevalier delighted to win Rookie of the Year

Dubai - Camille, who won the Hero Women's Indian Open, participated in nine tournaments on the Tour and earned 64,002 euros

Camille Chevalier may have finished eight over for the tournament at the Omega Dubai Ladies Classic but the 66th spot was just about enough for the Frenchwoman to wrap the Rookie of the Year title.
Chevalier, who won the Hero Women's Indian Open, participated in nine tournaments on the Tour and earned 64,002 euros.  
Her other best finish this season was tied eighth at the Evian Qualifier-Letas Jabra Ladies Open.
In winning the Rookie of the Year, the 24-year-old from Marseille joined a host of names like India's Aditi Ashok, Denmark's Emily Kristine Pedersen, Wales' Amy Boulden and England's Charley Hull, to name a new, who have won the award.
"Well, I'm very excited. It means that I reached some of my goals, and I'm very happy with how I improved this year, and I'm very excited to see what 2018 has for me," Chevalier said after winning the accolade.
Sweden's Jenny Haglund, Chevalier's main threat before the tournament started, had missed the cut and that allowed Spaniard Luna Sobron to jump up a spot and finish second with 32,362 euros.
"I had a great rookie year. It was really awesome. I played really good golf. At the end of the year, I played good golf. At the beginning of the year, it was quite hard, but that's okay. It was a great year and I learned so many, and I'm so excited for next year," she added.
Talking about her first year on the Tour, she said: "I think the Tour is real fun. People here are really nice, and it just feels like a big family, and the atmosphere is really fun. I didn't expect that. I expect that people are going to be just like LPGA has. I heard kind of like, not very nice to each other. But here, people are super nice to each other. So, it's really cool. I'm very happy to be here and I'm very honoured to be part of this tour.
Looking forward to next season, Chevalier said: "My goals are to win other tournaments and to be even better in the ranking."
Chevalier finished 10th on the Order of Merit, which was won by England's Georgia Hall.
Chevalier pointed out that her putting was a big factor in her first season. "My putting was very good in the year, not this week, but this year," Chevalier said.
"And next year, I have to get stronger, hitter, and also, I need to hit my long irons and hybrids on the green more, hit more greens, basically, with my long irons, get on the green more often," she added.
james@khaleejtimes.com