Heidi, Lauren runaway leaders in English girls’ championship

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Suffolk’s Heidi Baek (pictured) and Woburn’s Lauren Taylor, who have both scored six-under par for 36 holes, are the runaway leaders of the English girls’ championship at Seacroft, Lincolnshire. The event is sponsored by sports scholarship consultancy, firstpointusa.com
The teenagers are six shots clear of the field and will be paired together for tomorrow’s final two rounds. The top 40 players and ties - a total of 42 girls - made the 36 hole cut, which fell at 161, 15-over par.
Heidi (Felixstowe Ferry) shot two-under 71 in the second round to catch Lauren, who added a level par 73 to her opening 67.
Conditions today were testing, with a tricky cross wind and Heidi remarked: “It was quite hard, especially on the back nine. The wind kept changing so you couldn’t get used to it but I just kept it going .”
Heidi, 16, who enjoys the scoring opportunities offered by the course, reached the turn at level par and was two-under on the back nine. She had two bogeys during the round and four birdies, including a consecutive run of three from the ninth.
The closest challenger to the leaders is Warwickshire’s Elizabeth Mallett (Sutton Coldfield Ladies'), who won last year’s English U15 title – and who celebrated her 16th birthday just eight days ago. She moved up the leaderboard into third place with a one-under par 72, but described her round as frustrating.
“I had a dodgy spell around the 10th and 11th, but I got it back with three birdies – and then I gave a shot back on the 17th. I felt I could have scored better, but I stuck in there and did the best I could,” said Elizabeth.
Hampshire’s Georgina Mundy (Dunwood Manor) and Northamptonshire’s Meghan MacLaren (Wellingborough) continued their steady progress and were joined in fourth place on one-over par by Alex Peters (Notts Ladies) who scored a second round 71. “I started and finished the back nine with bogeys but I also had four birdies in five holes. It was just a case of down the middle, on the green, sink the putt,” she said.
Lancashire’s Brogan Townend (Pleasington) also equalled the day’s low score with 71, helped by a purple patch on the 12th and 13th where she scored birdie, eagle. County colleague Emily Taylor (Royal Lytham and St Annes) was also on good form with a level par round, but was annoyed with herself for dropping three shots over the closing holes. Her playing partner Charlotte Thompson (Channels) could tell a similar story: she also returned a level par score, despite bogeys on 17 and 18.

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Dorset’s Georgia Hall  scored level par 73 to keep her grip on the lead at the halfway stage of the English girls’ U15 championship at Market Rasen, Lincolnshire.
It keeps her at five-under par for the tournament and four shots ahead of Cheshire’s Bronte Law, who also returned a second round 73.
Georgia’s round included the highlight of two eagles in three holes, both par fives. She reduced the ninth to a three-wood, four-iron and a 10ft putt; and followed up on the 11th with a six-iron, four-iron and then holed a full shot with her 52-degree wedge.
“I was up and down apart from that and I finished on level par, but I’ll take that score – and the lead,” said Georgia, who won last year’s English U13 title.
Bronte Law is looking forward to challenging for that lead over tomorrow’s final 36 holes. “Tomorrow should be good,” said the 15-year-old from Bramhall.
She described her second round as steady, after a “rough” start when she had a double bogey on the second. “I managed to keep going and birdied the 8th and 9th which got me back to level. Then I had another birdie on the 10 and only dropped one on the way in.
“I played steady golf, just fairways and greens, but I didn’t hole many putts,” added Bronte.
Emma Harris, of Peel Ladies on the Isle of Man, beat par with a one-under 72. The 15-year-old had a very tidy card, with two birdies and just one bogey, and is level par after two rounds.
There’s a five shot gap to the next player, Ellie Goodall of Selby, who has scored 77, 74 and is on five-over par.
The leading 36 players and ties – a total of 37 girls - made the 36-hole cut which fell at 166.

Nottinghamshire’s Emily Lyle shot the low score of the English U13 championship at Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, with a three-over par 76 in the second round.
The 13-year-old moved seven places up the leaderboard into third spot and, at the halfway stage of the championship, is just two shots behind the joint leaders. Samantha Fuller (Roehampton) and Sophie Madden (West Essex) have led throughout the event with identical scores of 77, 81.
But Emily (Rufford Park) heads a host of tightly bunched challengers. One shot behind her is Amelia Daniel (Royal North Devon) while another big mover, Emma Allen (Meon Valley) is a further stroke back. Emma scored a second round 78 to move from joint 10th place to fifth.
They’re closely followed by Fay Carpenter (Knighton Heath), Alice Hewson (Bekhamsted) and Ella Ofstedahl (Mill Green).
Another low scorer of the second round was Cheshire’s Rian Moores (Sandiway) who had four birdies in her four-over par 77. She currently shares ninth place with Annabel Bailey (Notts Ladies’).
The leading 18 players made the 36-hole cut, which fell at 176, and will play tomorrow’s final round of the 54-hole championship.