SUE DYE WINS ENGLISH SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP AT YORK

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
Cheshire’s Sue Dye won the English senior championship for the second time at York Golf Club – sealing the victory with back to back birdies.
She beat Nottinghamshire’s Janet Melville by 4 and 2 – helped by a putter which turned red hot as the final progressed.
Sue holed from about 20ft for a birdie on the 15th to go three up with three to play. Then she settled matters on the 16th where she rolled in a huge putt of around 60ft for a birdie three.
“It’s great,” said Sue, who last won this title in 2008. “And it’s rather sweet because I didn’t have a good year last year.”
She arrived at York with few expectations. Sue didn’t play through the winter, had a lesson in February and said, bluntly: “I was awful.”
But she worked on the practice ground and the putting green and was encouraged when she finally got on to the course. However, she’d only played one full round before the championship – and a few holes on another occasion when she was rained off.
She started the championship with an 80 in the first round of qualifying and steadily improved as the week progressed – although she was dissatisfied with her putting in the early stages.
However her touch on the green got better and better and in her semi-final against Surrey’s Roz Adams she holed some crucial putts. “That gave me confidence,” she said.
The final started with advantage to Janet Melville who was one-under par after three and two up. But Sue won the fourth to reduce the deficit and pulled off a couple of fighting halves before stroking in a downhill birdie putt on the short 7th to get back to all square.
“From then on I felt I was on top,” she said afterwards. The players halved the next two holes in par and both reached the turn in one-over 38. Over the next few holes both finalists visited the trees but Sue moved into the lead with a birdie on the par five 10th and went further ahead with a par on 11.
She lost the 12th to a par but was again two-up when Janet conceded the 13th after tangling with trees and a bunker. The 14th was halved in par before Sue secured the title with two consecutive birdies.
She said: “On the 15th I told myself to hit the putt down the line and not be afraid of the outcome. On the 16th I just wanted to finish things off and I told myself to get it close, in the bucket – and it just dropped in!”
Meanwhile the all-Yorkshire final of Flight Two was won by Pat Wrightson of Huddersfield who beat Carolyn Kirk (Ganton) by two holes.
Both are former England senior internationals and they play in the Yorkshire vets team. “I’ve known Carolyn for years and we had a good friendly match,” said Pat. “It’s always good to win and this has been a super week.”
*Picture of Sue Dye with the trophy by courtesy of the English Women's Golf Association.

ResultsChampionship
Semi-Finals
Janet Melville (Sherwood Forest) bt Barbara Laird (Sandiway) at 20th
Sue Dye (Delamere Forest) bt Roz Adams (Addington Court Ladies) 2 and 1.
Final
Dye beat Melville 4 and 2.


Flight Two
Semi finals
Carolyn Kirk (Ganton) beat Irene Brien (Wentworth) at 22nd
Pat Wrightson (Huddersfield) beat Fiona Anderson (Formby Ladies) 4 and 3
FinalWrightson beat Kirk 2 holes.


Lyndsey Hewison
EWGA Press and PR Officer

Tel. 01603 507 416
Email: lyndsey.hewison@ntlworld.com