Davies seeks record title

England’s Laura Davies will be one of the hot tips to collect a record 35th Ladies’ European Tour title at the Vediorbis French Open starting in Arras tomorrow.

The legendary 42-year-old bounced back from a dispiriting run of form in the United States with a second place behind France’s Gwladys Nocera in last week’s Swiss Open.

“I’ve come back to play in Europe to try to build some confidence and because I want to get some Solheim Cup points (she is fourth on the list) for next year’s match,” she said. “Last week was great.

“I’ve played so badly in America this year and it was just what I needed to get the confidence flowing again. It’s so nice to be thinking about winning again rather than about poor shots.

“Last week I could hardly have hit the ball any better and it was only my putting that let me down a little. But now I’m looking forward to having another go this week.”

Nocera, who heads both the Order of Merit and Solheim rankings, will be aiming to build on her first Tour victory.

The 31-year-old Solheim Cup player had finished runner-up four times but, now that she has her first win, many more could follow.