Left-hander Charlie Douglass defending champion at Broadstone next week

Top-class field for English

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amateur championship

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION

Hertfordshire’s Charlie Douglass will head a top-class field when she defends her title in the English women’s amateur championship at Broadstone, Dorset, next week from May 11-15.

The players include three members of the GB&I Curtis Cup team for next month’s biannual match against the USA. They are Hannah Barwood of Gloucestershire, Holly Clyburn of Lincolnshire and Rachel Jennings of Staffordshire, while Charlie Douglass, pictured left by Cal Carson Golf Agency at Troon Portland, is a reserve.

The local talent in the championship includes England girl international and Dorset champion, Hayley Davis, and fellow Ferndown member Georgia Hall, who is the English U13 champion. They are among five Dorset players in the field, alongside Sophie Keech (Lyme Regis), Harriet Legg (Ferndown) and Melissa McMahon (Yeovil).

Broadstone will be represented by 14-year-old Kyra Horlock, who was third in the 2009 English U13 championship and plays for Wiltshire in county golf. The youngest player in the field is 13-year-old Inci Mehmet, a six-handicapper from Royal Mid Surrey.

Altogether, almost one-third of the field hold handicaps of scratch or better and three competitors play off plus-three. They are former champion Emma Brown of Yorkshire, international Rachel Jennings, and English stroke-play champion Charlotte Wild of Cheshire. Broadstone previously hosted this championship in 1973 when the title was won by Mickey Walker who went on to enjoy a successful professional career and is a golf commentator on Sky TV.

Since then, the club has hosted two English stroke-play championships, in 1986 when it was won by Susan Shapcott of Gloucestershire and in 1998 when the winner was Emma Brown, playing then in her maiden name of Emma Duggleby.

The fine, heathland course will set a challenging test for the players. For this event the ladies’ course has been increased by 671 yards to 6161 yards. It has a par of 72 and a scratch score of 76.

All competitors will play 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying before the leading 32 players go forward to the match-play stages.

The final will take place on the morning of Saturday, May 15.

Championship reports and hole-by-hole scoring: www.englishwomensgolf.org
Lyndsey Hewison

Press & PR Officer