SWEET 77 FOR GEORGIA HALL TO LEAD ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP

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Curtis Cup reserve Georgia Hall of Dorset defied brutal scoring conditions to shoot two-over 77 and take the first-round lead in the English women’s amateur championship at Royal Birkdale. The event is sponsored by Tourism Ireland
She’s being chased by five players who all scored 78: Curtis Cup player Kelly Tidy of the host club, Melissa Nicol of Warwickshire, Helen Searle of Yorkshire, Shelby Smart of Gloucestershire and Rachael Goodall of Cheshire.
It was a day when woolly hats were de rigueur and bad luck stories abounded of lost balls, of penalty shots and balls blown out of bounds. Georgia, 16, (Remedy Oak) avoided such difficulties but had no hesitation in describing the conditions as: “Really, really tough.”
Her game plan was steady play: “I just tried to play fairways, greens and two-putt for pars,” she said. She went better with birdies on the sixth and 13th and an eagle on the long 17th, where she holed a 35-footer for a three.
It helped her to a two-over total and she remarked: “I would have taken it on the first tee and overall I’m happy with it, but I made some silly mistakes and left a few out there.”
Her playing partner, Rachael Goodall (Heswall), is a member of the chasing pack having returned 78.
“The wind had turned round from the practice day and it was tough trying to rework all the clubbing,” she remarked. She succeeded, however, in setting up three birdies although, like Georgia, she felt she could have improved her overall score.
Kelly Tidy, who knows the weather at Royal Birkdale better than any of the other players, confirmed that this was a tough wind, even for these links. She played well, apart from one mis-club on the ninth, where her ball carried the green and was lost – costing her three shots.
Helen Searle (Huddersfield) is another member of the second-placed group and remarked: “It was very, very hard out there. My score feels like four-under and I’m really pleased with it. I came off 18 with a bogey six and it feels like a par!”
Shelby Smart (Knowle) described the winds as “brutal” as she told of an up-and-down round which included two eagles and a triple bogey on the last, when the wind whipped her ball out of bounds. “It was a bad end but overall I was pleased, I played some of my best-ever golf,” said the Gloucestershire champion.
By contrast, Melissa Nicol (Moor Hall) had a dream finish to her round, with birdies on both the 17th and 18th. She had an excellent front nine, dropping just one shot on the ninth, before mixing three birdies with three bogeys and a double on the way home.
All competitors play another 18 holes tomorrow before the field is cut to the leading 36 players and ties for the final 36 holes on Thursday.

LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 75 CSS 79 reduction only
77 Georgia Hall (Remedy Oak)
78 Melissa Nicol (Moor Hall), Helen Searle (Huddersfield), Shelby Smart (Knowle), Rachael Goodall (Heswall), Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale)
79 Stacey Rodger (West Hove), Rebecca Wood (Hallamshire), Alex Peters (Notts Ladies)*, Ellie Robinson (Wilton), Emma Brown (Malton & Norton), Hannah Barwood (Knowle)
80 Dulcie Sverdloff (Garon Park), Jessica Bradley (Tiverton), Emily Taylor (Royal Lytham St Annes), Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa).

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*The English women's amateur (closed) championship has become a four-round stroke-play event from this year onwards.

PICTURE OF GEORGIA HALL BY CAL CARSON GOLF AGENCY