Loretto's Julie Yang (14) lying joint fourth

Hannah Burke leads Irish stroke-play by three shots

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE IRISH LADIES GOLF UNION

England’s Hannah Burke added a 72 to her opening 71 to lead the the 54-hole Irish women's open amateur stroke-play championship into Sunday's final 18 holes at Newlands Golf Club, Dublin.

Burke, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, from Hertfordshire and a US college circuit player as a student at Baylor University, Texas, leads in-form Australian Stacey Keating and England compatriot Nikki Foster (Pleasington) by three strokes after Foster fired a best of the afternoon 71.

Keating, the title-winner in 2007 and beaten in a three-way play-off for the St Rule Trophy over the Old Course, St Andrews last Sunday evening, shared the first-round lead but slumped to a 75 to drop back into a tie for second place with Foster who lost the Welsh women's open amateur title play-off against 14-year-old South Korean Julie Yang, a pupil at Loretto School, Musselburgh, and finished second in the "Helen Holm" at Troon at the end of April.

Repeating Welsh champion Tara Davies (Holyhead) and Julie Yang lie one shot further back while Justine Lee (Australia) and Germany's Leigh Whittaker are tied on two over par.

Sinead O’Sullivan (Galway) leads the Irish challenge after rounds of 77 and 76 while Deirdre Smith (Co. Louth) added a disappointing 79 to her opening 74 to join O’Sullivan on 153.

In the team event, Australia, winners of the team title at the St Rule Trophy tournament, lead Wales by four strokes while England are next best, one shot further back.

The top forty players who survived today’s 36 hole cut commence their final round at 8.30am on Sunday with the leaders teeing off at 11am.

Spectators are welcome to come along to what surely must be Hannah Burke’s finest hour, having lost last year’s championship after a marathon seven-hole play-off against Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell).

TWO-ROUND TOTALS

 Par 146 (2x73). CSS 76 75

143 Hannah Burke (ENG) 71 72

146 Nikki Foster (ENG) 75 71 Stacey Keating (AUS) 71 75

147 Tara Davies (WAL) 74 73 Julie Yang (SCO) 73 74

148 Justine Lee (AUS) 77 71, Leigh Whittaker (GER) 76 72

149 Ashley Ona (AUS) 74 75, Lauren Mackin (SCO) 72 77

150 Monique Smit (RSA) 77 73, Jessica Speechley (AUS) 77 73

151 Amy Boulden (WAL) 75 76

152 Nicola Roessler (GER) 77 75, Megan Briggs (SCO) 77 75, Gemma Bradbury (WAL) 72 80.

153 Sinead O'Sullivan (Galway) 77 76 Charlotte Ellis (ENG) 76 77 Kelly Tidy (ENG) 75 78, Louise Kenney (SCO) 75 78 Charlotte Wild (ENG) 75 78 Deirdre Smith (Co. Louth) 74 79

154 Mary Dowling (New Ross) 78 76

155 Paula Grant (Lisburn) 83 72 Emma Sheffield (ENG) 81 74 Laura Murray (SCO) 77 78

156 Roseanne Niven (SCO) 80 76

157 Hermione Fitzgerald (ENG) 80 77 Katherine O'Connor (WAL) 78 79 Charlene Reid (Royal Portrush) 76 81 Amy Farrell (Moate) 76 81 Gillian O'Leary (Cork) 75 82

158 Charlie Douglass (ENG) 77 81

159 Anna Carling (WAL) 82 77 Maura Diamond (Royal Portrush) 82 77 Karen Delaney (Carlow) 79 80 Karen O'Neill (Douglas) 79 80

161 Suzy Hayes (Hermitage) 84 77

162 Agnes Doherty (Ballyliffin) 83 79 Louise Mernagh (Woodenbridge) 82 80

163 Louise Coffey (Malone) 87 76 Sue Phillips (Woodbrook) 83 80 Claire Hargan (SCO) 80 83 Fiona Briggs (ENG) 80 83.

MISSED THE CUT

164 Shauna O'Brien (Clonmel) 85 79

165 Victoria Bradshaw (Bangor) 82 83

166 Jennifer Gannon (Co. Louth) 87 79 Lily Owens (Malahide) 86 80 Aedin Murphy (Carlow) 81 85 Sinead Benedetti (Roscommon) 81 85

167 Mary Leahy Browne (Kilkenny) 85 82 Samantha Birks (WAL) 82 85 Sarah Helly (Enniscrone) 81 86 Laura McCarthy (Muskerry) 81 86 Niamh O'Connor (Woodbrook) 80 87

169 Anne McCormack (Roscommon) 81 88 Caroline Murphy (Grange) 78 91

171 Caoimhe Quinn (Dungannon) 89 82

172 Maria Dunne (Skerries) 83 89

174 Alisa Theunis (LUX) 87 87 Sandra Atkinson (Woodbrook) 86 88 Verity Scott (ENG) 85 89

175 Jenna Birch (ENG) 88 87

176 Emma Murphy (Wexford) 89 87 Aoife Lowry (Tipperary) 87 89

177 Jessica Carty (Hollywood) 92 85

178 Kate Gallagher (Claremorris) 87 91

179 Barbara Cooney (L&Bettystown) 94 85

Withdrew: Ellie Robinson (ENG) 84 WD

DQ Holly Robinson (Co. Sligo) DQ

RTD Jenny Hennessy (Ennis) RTD

TEAM EVENT

 (Best two scores to count for team in each round)

291 AUSTRALIA: Justine Lee (77) 71 Stacey Keating 71 75 Ashley Ona 74 (75)

295 WALES: Amy Boulden (75) 76 Gemma Bradbury 72 (80) Tara Davies 74 73

296 ENGLAND: Hannah Burke 71 72 Charlie Douglass (77) (81) Charlotte Ellis 76 77

305 SCOTLAND: Megan Briggs 77 75, Louise Kenney 75 (78), Laura Murray (77) 78.

308 IRELAND: Mary Dowling (78) 76 Gillian O'Leary 75 (82) Charlene Reid 76 81