BRONTE NARROWLY BEATEN, BUT MEGHAN WINS IN FRANCE

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England faced disappointment and triumph on the last day of the French Lady Junior Championship at St Cloud, near Paris.
Bronte Law, pictured right by courtesy of Leaderboard Photography, was narrowly defeated in her bid to win the title, but Meghan MacLaren scored a resounding victory in the second flight Cartier Trophy. Bronte, the top seed from Bramhall, Cheshire, lost by hole to Celine Boutier of France in a 36-hole final which was peppered with birdies. The French player, supported by a crowd of about 100 spectators, crucially birdied the par-five 35th hole to go one up and held on to win when the last was halved in par. For most of the match Bronte held the advantage. The 17-year-old, selected to make her Curtis Cup debut for GB and I at Nairn from June 8-10, was three up after eight and didn’t lose a hole until the ninth, where she was beaten by a birdie.
On the second nine the players traded birdies, but Bronte was always at least two up and that was the score after 18 holes. Boutier struck immediately after lunch, winning the 19th, but Bronte hit back with a birdie at the 21st to again be two up.
However, Boutier whittled away at the deficit and was all-square after the 26th, before winning the 27th to move ahead in the match for the first time. Bronte twice birdied holes to pull her opponent back to all-square but Boutier made the critical move with her birdie on the par five 35th hole.
Both girls were below par for the match, with just one shot separating their scores.

Meanwhile, Meghan MacLaren (Wellingborough), pictured left by courtesy of Leaderboard Photography, also beat par as she dominated her 36-hole final against Clara Baena of Spain, winning by 7 and 5.
Meghan, an England girl international, made a quick start, winning the 3rd, 6th, 7th 8th and 9th to be five up at the turn and that was also her score at the halfway stage.
After lunch she maintained the momentum and birdied the 19th to get to six-up. She lost the next hole but birdied the 21st and 24th to move to seven up. Her opponent won back two of the next four holes, but Meghan produced a run of three consecutive pars which closed out the match and gave her the title on the 31st hole.
Meghan enjoyed a fantastic run through the Cartier Trophy and was only once taken as far as the 16th hole.
Overall, the championship was a huge success for the England squad. Meghan MacLaren, together with Georgia Hall (Remedy Oak) and Emily Taylor (Royal Lytham and St Annes), won the Vilmorin Cup, the nations’ team competition. The combination of Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa), Bronte Law and Lauren Taylor (Woburn) were third. Bronte led the way as top qualifier for the championship matchplay and was joined in the knockout stages by Georgia, Emily, Holly, Lauren and Elizabeth Mallett (Sutton Coldfield Ladies’).
Georgia reached the semi-finals after an all-England quarter final against Holly Clyburn. Emily reached the second round, while Lauren and Elizabeth both bowed out in the first round.
Performance Director Linda Bayman commented: “It’s been a great week. The girls all seemed to step up a gear, they putted well and played more aggressively. All the Continental countries were taking note of our players.”