LIZZIE PRIOR STILL AHEAD IN ENGLISH UNDER-15 GIRLS CH/SHIP

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATIONSurrey’s Lizzie Prior shot below par again today to keep her lead at the halfway stage of the English girls’ U15 championship at Mentmore, Buckinghamshire. The 14-year-old is three-under par for the tournament after adding a one-under 71 to her opening 70.She finished her second round in style, with a birdie on the 16th and an eagle three on the long 17th, where she chipped in from behind the green. Lizzie leads the qualifiers for the tomorrow’s final 36 holes and is two shots clear of the field. Her closest rival is Gabriella Cowley of Essex, who was satisfied with her level par 72, but disappointed that that she signed off with a bogey. Another Surrey player, Sana Tufail, is level par for the tournament, while Yorkshire’s Holly Morgan and Inci Mehmet, also from Surrey, are a further stroke back. Inci shot the low round of the day with a two-under par 70 which included four birdies. She dropped shots on just one hole, when she double bogeyed the sixth.  Ashleigh Greenham from Essex also shot up the leaderboard with a one-under par 71. She played immaculate golf with 13 straight pars before she had birdies on the 14th and 17th. Her only blip of the day was a bogey on the last. She now shares sixth place with Buckinghamshire girls champion Annabel Dimmock, on two-over par for 36 holes. One shot behind them is a group of three players: Aimee Ponte from Guernsey and Kyra Horlock and Sophie Keech, who both belong to Dorset clubs. Another Buckinghamshire player has also made the cut: Charlotte West of Harewood Downs has scored 76, 74 and shares 15th place. Meanwhile, Wiltshire’s Hannah Stradling had a hole-in-one during her first round and followed up with another eagle today, this time on the par four 14th. The final day promises to be extremely close with the first 10 players separated by just six shots, with two rounds to play. The top 36 players and ties made the cut, which fell at 15-over par, and 37 girls qualified.Click here for full scores