English women's (closed) amateur championship

Rachel Jennings leads

qualifiers at Broadstone

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
Curtis Cup team selection Rachel Jennings shot three-under 69 to lead the qualifiers for the match-play stages of the English women's amateur (closed) championship at Broadstone, Dorset today.
The top seed, from Staffordshire, pictured left, was four-under par for the 36-hole stroke-play qualifying. She finished one stroke ahead of Lancashire’s Kelly Tidy who also returned 69 in the second round. Rachel, 21, had four birdies and an eagle in her round and said: “I felt I was doing everything well. I’ve made a lot of changes with England coach Steve Robinson and my game is coming along.”
Kelly, who has also been working hard on her game, started with a birdie and reached the turn at three under. She dropped only one shot, on the 14th but quickly got it back on the 16th.
“I putted really well and made it easy for myself on the greens,” she said.
Hayley Davis, the Dorset champion and England girl international from Ferndown, also beat par with two-under 70 and qualified in fifth place, just behind Rachel Drummond of Buckinghamshire and overnight leader Nikki Foster of Lancashire.
Hayley is one of five local players to reach the knock-out stages, alongside Melissa McMahon (Yeovil), English U13 champion Georgia Hall (Ferndown), Wiltshire champion Kyra Horlock, who plays at Broadstone, and Sophie Keech (Lyme Regis) who celebrated her 14th birthday at the start of this month.
Thurday's match-play draw includes one all-Dorset match: Hayley Davis v Sophie Keech. Meanwhile, Kyra Horlock has drawn Curtis Cup player Hannah Barwood from Gloucestershire. England’s third Curtis Cup player, Holly Clyburn, also made her way safely into the match-play stages, as did defending champion Charlie Douglass and English stroke-play champion Charlotte Wild.
The leading 32 players qualified for the match-play draw and three competitors had to play-off for the last two places. Natalie Lowe and Harriet Key successfully made it through on the third extra hole where Emma Sheffield was eliminated after tangling with a bunker.
QUALIFIERS

Par 144 (2x 72) CSS 76.
140 Rachel Jennings (Izaak Walton) 71 69
142 Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale) 73 69
145 Rachel Drummond (Beaconsfield) 73 72, Nikki Foster (Pleasington) 70 75
146 Hayley Davis (Ferndown) 76 70, Hannah Barwood (Knowle) 71 75
150 Tara Watters (Muswell Hill) 76 74
151 Charlotte Ellis (Minchinhampton) 78 73, Charlie Douglass (Brocket Hall)
152 Hannah Grant (Enmore Park) 78 74, Danielle Gibb (Rochester & Cobham Park) 77 75, Lisa Ball (Matfen Hall) 77 75, Daisy Dyer (Chigwell) 75 77
153 Raffi Dyer (Hayling) 78 75, Lauren Blease (Coombe Hill) 77 7, Tilly Magill (Woburn) 74 79, Melissa McMahon (Yeovil) 72 81, Charlotte Wild (Mere) 72 81
154 Charlotte Dalton (Ladbrook Park) 79 75, Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) 78 76
156 Julia Brook (Croham Hurst) 80 76, Steph McEvoy (Old Fold Manor) 78 78, Georgia Hall (Ferndown) 78 78157 Jane Binning (Frilford Heath) 80 77, Kimberley Bradbury (Cavendish) 78 79, Nikki Dunn (Harrogate) 78 79
158 Kyra Horlock (Broadstone) 79 79159 Sophie Keech (Lyme Regis) 82 77, Hermione FitzGerald (Royal Worlington) 78 81
160 Rachael Goodall (Heswall) 83 77
161 Harriet Key (South Herts) 85 76, Natalie Lowe (Prestbury) 82 79, Emma Sheffield (Newark).
*Emma Sheffield was eliminated in a three-way play-off for the last two match-play places.

Round one draw

Rachel Jennings v Natalie Lowe
Melissa McMahon v Tilly Magill
Charlie Douglass v Jane Binning
Kimberley Bradbury v Charlotte Ellis
Hayley Davis v Sophie Keech
Julia Brook v Lisa Ball
Daisy Dyer v Holly Clyburn
Hermione FitzGerald v Nikki Foster
Rachel Drummond v Rachael Goodall
Charlotte Dalton v Raffi Dyer
Danielle Gibb v Steph McEvoy
Kyra Horlock v Hannah Barwood
Tara Watters v Nikki Dunn
Georgia Hall v Hannah Grant
Lauren Blease v Charlotte Wild
Harriet Key v Kelly Tidy
Full details and hole-by-hole scoring: www.englishwomensgolf.org
Lyndsey Hewison
Press & PR Officer