LAUREN TAYLOR (ONLY 16) WINS BRITISH WOMEN'S TITLE

Golfer of the Week at the British women's open amateur championship - 16-year-Lauren Taylor, surprise winner of the title after a terrific last day in which she beat title-holder Kelly Tidy at the 20th and, in the final, Alexandra Bonetti (France), holder of the British girls title she won at Royal Belfast last August. Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

Lauren Taylor, 16-year-old Woburn junior member, became one of the youngest ever winners of the British women's open amateur championship on a sunny afternoon at the Royal Portrush links in Northern Ireland today.
Lauren squeezed through at the 20th in her morning semi-final against the defending champion Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale) and then surged into a five-hole lead after only six holes of the 18-hole final against Alexandra Bonetti from France, the 17-year-old Parisienne who won the British girls title the last time she was in Northern Ireland - at Royal Belfast GC last August. 

Taylor holed a 5ft putt at the first to go one up and then was conceded the second hole after the French girl uncharacteristically took three shots to get out of a bunker.

Taylor took a grip on the match when she won three holes in a row - the fourth, fifth and sixth to go five up. Bonetti lost a ball at the fourth, bogeyed the fifth and then Taylor birdied the short sixt.

The seventh hole was halved in birdie 4s and the eighth in par 4s. The ninth was halved in birdie 4s and then Taylor (pictured right in action in the final) birdied the par-5 10th to be an amazing six holes up.
Lauren eventually finished the final in style by chipping in from off the green at the 13th to win by 6 and 5. What a performance!
It wins her not only the handsome solid silver trophy, a place in the golfing record books, a voucher for the maximum amateur prize value of £500 - and exemption from pre-qualifying for the Ricoh Women's British Open at Carnoustie next month.

Full marks to the scouting staff at Baylor University, Texas. They got a commitment from her to join their women's golf team in August NEXT year ... and they signed her up BEFORE her marvellous week at Royal Portrush.
Lauren's brilliant form this week culminating in winning the tournament, one of the "majors" on the female amateur golfing calendar, came too late for her to be chosen for either of the GB and I match-play trophy teams who will be in action next week (Astor Trophy at Fairhaven GC) and the week after (Vagliano Trophy at Royal Porthcawl). She is not even in the GB and I squad of six for the first girls' match against the Continent of Europe, to be run in conjunction with the Vagliano Trophy.
To be fair to the selectors, Lauren, although an England girl international, did not have stronger claims, prior to this week in Northern Ireland, for inclusion in the GB and I girls team of six.
Maybe a lesson to be learned for the future that if the British women's amateur championship precedes events like the Astor Trophy and Vagliano Trophy in future years, a space should be reserved for the winner, should she not have been already selected.  As it is, GB and I go into battle over the next two weeks without the British Amateur champion in the line-ups. That doesn't seem right, does it?
Lauren and her dad are not the slightest bit upset about the situation. As Martin said: "Lauren is only 16. She has time on her side to make GB and I teams in the future."


RESULTS

Semi-finals

Alexandra Bonetti (France) bt Amy Boulden (Maesdu) 4 and 3.  

Lauren Taylor (Woburn ) bt Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale) at 20th.

Final

Taylor bt Bonetti 6 and 5.

KIWI KIDS SHOW WHY THEY ARE FAVOURITES TO WIN NEXT WEEK'S

ASTOR TROPHY

Tbe New Zealand trio of Cecilia Cho and Lydia Ko - World Ranked Nos 1 and 2 - and Emily Perry who won the International Team Trophy, staged in conjunction with the qualifying rounds of the British women's open amateur championship at Royal Portrush.
The Kiwis will start favourites to win next week's once-every-four-years Astor Trophy (formerly Commonwealth Tournament), beginning on Tuesday at Fairhaven Golf Club, Lytham St Annes and featuing NZ, Australia, Canada, South Africa and a Great Britain and Ireland team that does not have any Irish players in it.
GB won the tournament when it was last played four years ago in South Africa and also back in the early 1990s, the last time the Commonwealth event was last played in Britain, at Northumberland GC, near Newcastle to be precise.