Carlota Ciganda came within a hair's breadth of her first LPGA victory. It happened at the Meijer LPGA Classic held in…

Carlota Ciganda came within a hair's breadth of her first LPGA victory. It was at the Meijer LPGA Classic, held at the Blythefield Country Club (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA), where a playoff against South Korean Sei Young Kim denied her the ultimate triumph.

The Spaniard played a magnificent tournament, reinforcing one idea: in 2016 she is steadily improving, definitively establishing herself on the main women's tour. Her rounds of 65, 69, 66, and 67 strokes for a total of -17 put her in a perfect position to win, but the South Korean player had other plans.

Both players went to a playoff, and Young Kim proved more accurate, sinking a fine birdie to secure a prestigious victory. Azahara Muñoz's eighth-place finish (-11) capped off a good week for Spanish golf on the LPGA Tour and, incidentally, served as a reminder that the road to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games is proceeding as planned.

Carlota Ciganda is relentlessly pursuing her first victory in the United States, and she's doing so with increasing consistency. Previously, the player from Ulzama had recorded six top-10 finishes in the US, most notably her memorable duel with Inbee Park at last year's Lorena Ochoa Invitational and her performance at the 2014 CME Group Tour Championship, which slipped through her fingers on the fourth playoff hole.

In addition to having the honor of having been Spanish champion in all categories – from junior to professional – the Navarrese woman boasts three titles on the Ladies European Tour, the last of them in the 2013 UniCredit Ladies German Open.

Good performances from Noemí Jiménez and Carlos Pigem

Continuing with women's golf, there are also positive vibes coming from the Ladies European Tour, which held the Tipsport Golf Masters in the Czech Republic. Noemí Jiménez finished tenth with -6 thanks to a final round of 66 strokes.

The Asian Tour returned, and it did so with smiles for Carlos Pigem and Javier Colomo at the Queens Cup in Thailand. Pigem, from Lleida, who briefly led, finished nineteenth (-5), while Colomo, from Cáceres, finished thirtieth (-2).

Likewise, good news has come from the Boras Ladies Open, of the LET Access Series, in which four Spanish women have made it into the Top 25: María Beautell (T11, +2), Virginia Espejo (T14, +3), Luna Sobrón (T14, +3) and Piti Martínez (T19, +4); and from the Open de La Pinetina, belonging to the Alps Tour calendar, in which Daniel Osorio (-8) has been ninth.

On the other hand, the Challenge caravan was passing through France this week for the Najeti Open, and there Jordi García Pinto and José Manuel Lara, both with +1 in 38th place, were the most outstanding Spaniards.

Meanwhile, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño – on the rise after his good performance last week – finished his run at the Nashville Golf Open, a Web.com tournament, with a score of -3.

WEEK OF JUNE 13-19, 2016

European and American Men's Circuits

US Open (June 16-19)

Oakmont CC (Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA)

Full results

Challenge Circuit

Najeti Open (June 16-19)

Aa Saint-Omer GC (Lumbres, France)

Full results

European Women's Tour

Tipsoport Golf Masters (June 17-19)

Golf Park Pilsen (Czech Republic)