England v Germany in final of

English women's mid-amateur

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
Gloucestershire’s Sian James will meet Germany’s Michele Holzwarth in the final of the English women’s open mid-amateur championship at Bristol and Clifton Golf Club on Sunday.
Sian, 21, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, who is playing on her home course, won a tight semi-final, beating her county colleague and foursomes partner, Charlotte Ellis, by one hole.
“It was a very good game, a real battle” said Sian, who is a leading university golfer and will be playing her first English championship final. “I knew that if I could get into the match-play I would stand a chance on my home course – and it’s great to be playing in a final at my own club.”
There was never more than one hole in the match between the two Gloucestershire players and it was Charlotte who held the early advantage. But every time the 2006 champion took a one-hole lead, Sian pulled her back to all square.
Crucially, Sian won the 14th with a birdie 3 to square the match and then took the lead for the first time with a par 4 on the 15th. Charlotte immediately struck back, holing a long putt on the 16th to again make the scoreline all square.
But Sian won the short 17th with a par to go one-up and clinched her place in the final when the 18th was halved in par.
Earlier in the day, Sian went to the 19th to beat Buckinghamshire’s Rachel Drummond in the quarter-finals. Charlotte Ellis, meanwhile, made short work of her morning match with sparkling play and a 6 and 5 win over Lincolnshire’s Jess Wilcox.
Michele Holzwarth’s two-up victory in her semi-final against Hampshire’s Raffi Dyer meant a rapid change of plan. She had to rearrange her flight home and accepted an invitation to stay overnight with the family of the club member who shouldered her bag for the semi-final.
Michele, 22, is a plus-two handicapper from Berlin. She’s just completed her third year at Fearleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and is a winner on the US college circuit. She saw this event on the European Golf Association calendar and said: “It fitted my schedule perfectly and I love the format of stroke-play and match-play. We don’t do that in Germany.”
Her semi-final match against Hampshire’s Raffi Dyer was excellent, with the players collecting five birdies and an eagle between them.
Raffi, who recently won the Critchley Salver at Sunningdale, won the third and fourth with birdies, and was up for most of the match. But Michele made her move towards the end of the round. She hit a spectacular drive over trees on to the green at the 288yd 15th to get back to all square, halved the 16th, and then won both the 17th and 18th with pars.
This will also be Michele’s first appearance in a national final and she said: “I am just going to come here and play 18 holes and see what happens.”
Her day had the perfect ending when she came off the golf course to discover that Germany had beaten Argentina in the World Cup!
Earlier in the day she beat Tara Watters, the runner-up in the English amateur championship, while Raffi beat Somerset’s Hannah Grant by one hole.
TODAY'S RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS
Michele Holzwarth (BGC Gatow, Germany) bt Tara Watters (Muswell Hill) 1 hole. 
Raffi Dyer (Hayling) bt Hannah Grant (Enmore Park) 1 hole.
Sian James (Bristol and Clifton) bt Rachel Drummond (Beaconsfield) 1 hole.
Charlotte Ellis (Minchinhampton) bt Jess Wilcox (Blankney) 6 and 5.
SEMI-FINALS
Michele Holzwarth bt Raffi Dyer 2 holes.
Sian James bt Charlotte Ellis 1 hole.

Lyndsey Hewison
Press and PR Officer
EWGA