KirkwoodGolf: ENGLISH MID-AMATEUR CHSHIP

Friday, August 18, 2006

ENGLISH MID-AMATEUR CHSHIP

CHARLOTE ELLIS WINS ENGLISH MID-AMATEUR
CHAMPIONSHIP - AT THE AGE OF 20

Local heroine Charlotte Ellis won the English women's open mid-amateur championship at Cotswold Hills Golf Club - in her home county of Gloucestershire today.
Scores of local supporters watched as the Gloucestershire county player defeated English stroke-play champion Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) by 3 and 2 in the final.
"I'm all hugged out!" laughed the much-congratulated champion, who plays at Minchinhampton, which is less than 20 miles away.
This is the biggest win of Charlotte's career, after her success earlier this season in the South-West championship. She puts both wins down to her work in the gym to improve her strength and stamina and to her efforts to improve her short game.
"My strength has always been my long game and I knew my short game was letting me down. I always believed if I could sort it out I would be unbeatable," she said. And so it proved. Gloucestershire county captain Jenny May added: "Charlotte's play has improved impressively and it was a delight to watch her."
Charlotte, 20, took up golf only in 2000 and recently has done much of her practice alongside her boyfriend, Neil Dean, a plus-one handicapper who caddied for her in the final.
The match began steadily with the players halving the first four holes. Charlotte then won the next three, helped by two birdies, before losing the ninth to reach the turn at two-up.
Charlotte was pulled back to one-up on the 12th but went two-up again after she won the par five 14th, where her eagle beat Liz's birdie. The players halved the short 15th in par before Charlotte won the 16th with a par five which secured her victory.
"It feels fantastic," she said.
Charlotte's next big date is to represent Gloucestershire in the finals of the English county championship at Copt Heath from September 6-8.
She played in this event last year when Gloucestershire were runners-up to Yorkshire and is looking forward to pairing up again with her partner, England girl international Hannah Barwood of Knowle.
+The age parameters for the Engish women's mid-amateur championship is between the years of 18 and 50. The minimum age in most mid-amateur tournaments is 25.