Surrey’s Roz Adams wins English senior stroke-play

 championship at Stockport


NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
Surrey’s Roz Adams won the English senior women’s stroke-play championship at Stockport with a superb closing round of level par 71 today.
Her score included an eagle and two birdies and she finished four shots ahead of her closest challenger, former champion Sue Dye of Cheshire.
Nottinghamshire’s Janet Melville, another past title-holder, was third and English senior champion Caroline Marron, from Cheshire, took fourth place. Norfolk’s Jo Ashmore was a further shot behind.
Roz has threatened to win a senior title on several occasions and victory, when it finally arrived, was very sweet. “It’s the pinnacle of everything,” she said.
“I have been so close, both in this and in the match-play championship but, having lost before, I knew what to do to win,” she said.
In fact she swept the board of prizes, also winning the trophy for the leading qualifier, for the best handicap score and, with Felicity Christine, retaining the County Team Trophy for Surrey.
The Christine Wills Salver for the best score by a player aged over 65 was won by England senior captain Sue Westall of Copt Heath.
Roz held a one-stroke lead going into the final round and, when she reached the turn in level par, she had extended her advantage to three. After a birdie on the 12th she was four shots ahead and maintained that margin until the short 16th.
There, the gap was narrowed to two when playing partner Sue Dye holed a birdie putt while Roz bogeyed the hole.
On the 17th, Roz reached the green in two, but well away from the hole, while Sue was comfortably within birdie range. In the event both players parred the hole, with Roz doing well to two-putt.
She played a magnificent shot onto the 18th green with a 29 degree rescue club. It soared past the guarding bunkers and settled on the right-hand side of the green. Two putts later and she was champion. Sue, meanwhile, tangled with two bunkers and finished with a disappointing double bogey.
Roz said: “I felt the pressure when Sue holed that birdie putt, especially when I caught myself on the 17th green thinking that I might three-putt and she might birdie the hole. But I wasn’t nervous, I just kept my focus.”
The final round was played in warm, sunny weather and the scores reflected the conditions. Sue Dye, despite her final hole, returned 74; Janet Melville and Jo Ashmore shot 75 and Caroline Marron returned 76.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71) CSS 74 73 73
224 Roz Adams (Addington Court Ladies') 77 76 71
228 Sue Dye (Delamere Forest) 77 77 74
229 Janet Melville (Sherwood Forest) 73 81 75
231 Caroline Marron (Bromborough) 76 79 76
232 Jo Ashmore (Barnham Broom) 76 81 75
233 Felicity Christine (Banstead Downs) 77 77 79
236 Debbie Richards (Burhill) 81 77 78
238 Laraine Hague (Rotherham) 82 77 79; Pat West (Spalding) 79 77 82
240 Irene Brien (Wentworth) 79 84 77; Judy Butler (Malton & Norton) 83 76 81
Lyndsey Hewison
Press and PR Officer