Karen Stupples secured a one stroke victory at the S4C Wales Ladies Championship of Europe on Sunday.

The 36-year-old from Deal (pictured) finished with rounds of 69, 71, 66 and 70 at Royal St. David’s Golf Club in Harlech, North Wales to finish 12-under-par ahead of South Korea’s Amy Yang.

It was Stupples’ first win since the 2004 Women’s British Open at Sunningdale and her third title in 11 years as a professional.

Stupples has missed seven of 14 cuts this year on the US based LPGA Tour. Her troubles started in March, when she had surgery to remove her appendix and took four weeks off from golf.

“It’s been quite a traumatic year, physically and mentally,” she said. She also had ongoing problems with the veins in her legs, which restricted the amount of time she could spend practising.

Stupples bogeyed the 16th and 18th but did just enough to hang on to the win and the £52,500 first prize.

“I tried to let it go on the last few holes there but fortunately I managed to hold on with all the nails I had,” said Stupples.

Having missed out on a wildcard pick for this month’s Solheim Cup, Stupples said she felt a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders.

“I was very, very disappointed at not being in The Solheim Cup. It was always a big goal of mine to be on there and I think to be perfectly honest, I tried too hard to get in.

“I went (to Wales) free of the burden of trying to be selected or trying to prove how good I am or what form I’m in and I think the real Karen Stupples showed up this week.”