LATE FINISHER ROCHELLE MORRIS TAKES THE LEAD WITH FOUR-UNDER-PAR 70

Rochelle Morris

FROM COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Rochelle Morris, in the third last group to finish, shot a four-under-par 70 to lead the first qualifying round of the Girls' British Open amateur championship at windy Fairhaven Golf Club at Lytham St Annes.
Rochelle, an 18-year-old member at Woodsome Hall GC, Huddersfield, is making her debut in the championship. A scratch player, she won the Nick Faldo Series' European Championship girls' final at Lough Erne, Northern Island last year.
"I struck it really well and held it up well in the wind," said Rochelle who didn't feel she was a good enough player until this year to enter the Girls' British championship.
"Plus the fact that the tournament is a Fairhaven this year. I have played the course before the Fairhaven Junior Trophies tournament so I know my way around it."
You can say that again. Only two players out of 144 broke the par of 74  and Bethan Poppel (Long Ashton) was the clubhouse leader on 72 until Rochelle's late finish.
Morris  had five birdies and only one bogey in halves of 35.
"I birdied the short second with a five-iron to 12ft ... the seventh with a wedge to 7ft ... the long 11th, on with a drive and a three wood, two putts ... the 12th ... wedge to 3ft ... and the long 16th: on the green with a drive and three wood, two putts," she said.
EARLIER SUMMARY
A brilliant short game had helped Bethan Popel (Long Ashton) to lead the field from around 2.30pm until just after 8pm with a two-under-par 72
The Bristol teenager - she had her 18th birthday last month - was in trouble almost as much as any one of the host of players who could not break 80 in windy conditions, but the big difference was her ability to salvage par figures time and time again.
For instance, Bethan was in bunkers at the first, third and eighth but got up and down each time.
She missed several fairways by a large margin but contrived to save pars.
"My short game was brilliant today. I do practise it a lot and today that paid off," said Bethan who won the Under-18s' trophy at last week's English women's open amateur stroke-play in Sussex where she finished seventh overall.
She  has been Southwest Ladies champion twice, Gloucestershire county champion, North of England Under-16s title-winner and she led the girls' field by three strokes going into the final round of the Fairhaven Junior Trophies tournament earlier this year.
"I didn't win it by I did shoot four-under-par in one round over this course. I have played in the Junior Trophies tournament twice so I have gained a bit of local knowledge about it and that was useful today when I was in difficulties," said Bethan.
"I was only first reserve for the England girls international team last week. They won the Stroyan Cup so you cannot argue with that selection but it was a little bit of incentive for me to try to outscore those who were chosen ahead of me in today's qualifying round."
She birdied the short second  (167yd) with a six-iron and a 10ft putt, the par-4 sixth with a seven-iron approach and a 10ft putt, and two par-5s after the turn, the 11th and 16th. She dropped shots at the fourth and 14th.
"I was in a lot of bunkers and I missed a few fairways so I reckon I must have got up and down to save par about half a dozen times," said Bethan who has no desire to go to an American university - disappointing news for the 20 talent scouts from across the Atlantic who are here for this championship. To be fair to them, they are really looking for girls aged17 years who would enrol in the States NEXT August
Prior to Popel completing her round, Annabel Dimmock (Wentworth) and Eloise Healey (West Lancashire) had set the early pace with par 74s.
The championship got off to a windy start with the odd shower - conditions were certainly not easy for scoring.
Dimmock, who gained 3 1/2pt for the Stroyan Cup-winning England team in last week's Girls Home Internationals, birdied the long third, short 10th and long 16th in halves of 38 (two over) and 36 (two under). She dropped shots at the short second, fourth and sixth.
Healey had two birdie 2s on her card, at the second and 17th. In her halves of 35 (one under) and 39 (one over) she had bogeys at the short 10th and 12th.
Roberta Liti (Italy) joined the English pair on the 74 mark with halves of 37.
China's Jing Yan shot a creditable 75.
Clitheroe-based Hollie Muse, who only got into the field of 144 on Sunday as a replacement for a withdrawal, shot a 77, giving the West Lancashire club two junior members well up the scoreboard.
Spain's Celia Barquin, beaten in the quarter-finals of this championship at Tenby last year, started her campaign with a 78.
GB and I Vagliano Trophy player Gabriella Cowley (Brocket Hall), one of the home favourites for the title at Fairhaven this week, would have been disappointed with her 79 (40-39). 
Gabriella did not have a single birdie on her card. Must be a long time since that happened.
Northern Ireland's Olivia Mehaffey (Royal Co Down Ladies), who played in the Junior Vagliano Under-16 team at Chantilly in June, was also expected tp do better than an 81. A double bogey 5 at the short second put a damper on her day. She had halves of 42-39.
But stroke-play and match-play are two different forms of golf. It matters not what your stroke play scores over Monday and Tuesday are as long as the player is one of the 64 who advance to the one-on-one format.
Germany's Quirine Eijkenboom, who was signed up months ago by an American university, was another of the bigger names in the field who could not cope with the high winds, sometimes across the tree-lined fairways. She could do no better than a 12-over 86.
Eijkenboom got to the semi-finals of this championship at Tenby 12 months ago before losing to the eventual title-winner, Georgia Hall.

Scottish U18 girls champion Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies), the MVP at the Girls Home Internationals with 5pt out of six, was three under par after only four holes - birdies at the long first, long third and fourth, but that was as good as it got for the 16-year-old from Ayrshire.
She had a triple bogey 7 at the eighth and double bogeys at the 11th, 12th and 16th in halves of 38 and 45 for 83.
It was not a good day for the Scots, apart from a couple of creditable 77s by Tara Mactaggart (Minto) 38-39 and Heather Munro (Monifieth) 36-41, two members of the Scotland team at St Annes Old Links last week.
Heather stood on the 18th tee, needing a birdie at this par-5 hole for a par-matching 74. Instead, it cost her a double bogey 7.
Jaffrey's Scotland team-mate Clara Young (North Berwick) had an 86 (41-45) with double bogeys at the sixth and 18th. And a third member of the Scotland, Germany-based Fiona Liddell also had an 86Anglo-Scot Nicola Callander (Mill Green, Hertfordshire) retired, feeling increasingly unwell, retired after nine holes. Nicola has not had much luck since she won the Scottish Under-21 girls' open title at Blairgowrie last year.
An Italian girl was left in tears after she was disqualified for signing her scorecard on which one of the figures was wrong ... a 4 when she had actually taken a 5. A completely honest mistake but a timely reminder that players should check not only totals but also their scores for the individual totals which are filled in by one of their playing partners.

ALL THE FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 74 (36-38)

Leading 64 players after Round 2 will qualify for match-play stages

70 R Morris (Woodsome Hall)
72 B Popel (Long Ashton)  
74 A Dimmock (Wentworth), E Healey (West Lancs), R Liti (Ita)
75 M K Hansen (Den).
76 Jing Yan (China), C Williams (Wrexham), I Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) S Keech (Parkstone), S Lamb (Clitheroe), A Paelez (Spa), E Bridenne (Fra).
77 D Baillieux (Bel), M Wold (Nor), H Muse (West Lancs), A Coyle Diez (Elm Park), T Mactaggart (Minto), J Gregson (Knowle), K Warren (Wrag Barn), H Munro (Monifieth), A Dieguez (Spa), A Pasarin (Spa).
78 M Martin (Spa), E Goodall (Selby), C Barquin (Spa), E Genoux (Fra), C Aveling (Bel), E Suarez (Spa), E-M Hall (Notts Ladies), K Metraux (Swi), V Mallett (Sutton Coldfield), L Harm (Ger)
79 C Ricolfi (Ita), E Slater (Woodhall Spa), S Fuller (Roehampton), C Vidau (Spa), G Cowley (Brocket Hall), N Iturrios (Spa), A Wolf (Ger), P Zabarte (Spa), C De Corte (Bel), G I Voelker (Ger), O Cowan (Ger), S Sanchez (Spa), S Nordaas (Nor), A Ponte (Royal Guernsey), A Bailey (Notts Ladies).
80 M Lockett (Huddersfield), M Herraez (Spa), C Mertens (Ger), S Madden (West Essex), L Baileu (Notts Ladies), M Hedlund (Swe), Metrauz (Swi), C Schart (Ger)
81 M Finn (Swe), O Winning (Rotherham), F Friedrich (Ger), Y Sari (Tur), A Olarra (Spa), S Hausmann (Ger), O Mehaffey (Royal Co Down Ladies), E Royer (Chart Hills), E Van Dievoet (Bel), L S Trockel (Ger), M Alzueta (Spa)
82 C Mazzola (Ita), F Schmale (Ger), C Pilkington (Southport and Ainsdale), Chloe Caron (Fra), B Theron (S Africa), M Lauralie (Fra), C Pietri (Swi), A Hewson (Berkhamsted), I B Marcuelo (Spa), J Farrando (Fra), Y-B Reymond (Swi), C S Delgado (Spa), M Veysseyre (Fra), L Atkins (Gullane Ladies), O Jackson (Pannal), A Valenzuela (Swi), M P Samartin (Spa), J Finne-Ipsen (Den), J Lauer (Fra), P L Thomsen (Den)
83 L C Rosso (Ita), C Danielsson (Fra), C Jaffrey (Troon Ladies), E Hale (Troon Ladies), P Marfa (Spa), L M Gomez Ruiz (Spera), S Zee b (Ger), M Doyle (The Heath), E Harris (Peel).
84 J Tournant (Fra), G Anderson (Morpeth), C Mortigliengo (Ita), C Manche (Bel), R McGeehan (Ger), E Broze (Fra), A Rottluff (Ger), N Haynes (Gosforth Park), M Kruger (SAf), G Carpinelli (Swi), P Finlay (Vicars Cross), S Tufail (Abu Dhabi), C Finne-Ipsen (Den).
85 D Andersson (Swe), S Knebel (Ger), I Mejmet (Wentworth), C West (Harewood Downs), C Leathem (Styal), A M Hamm (Fra), M Schlender (Ger), P Jaeger (Ger)
86 C Young (North Berwick), F Liddell (Schloss Vornholz), L Kowohl (Ger), S Vik (Nor), A Laisne (Fra), Q Eijkenboom (Ger).
87 C Charrayre (Fra), F Kietzke (Ger), L Whyte (St Regulus), L Farrina (Ita), K Kohoutova (Cze), S Nilsson (Swe).
88 J Soo (Aus), E Prior (Burhill)
90 K Horlock (Broadstone), J Sewell (Shooters Hill).
91 C Louis (Bel).

92 C Chemin (Fra)
96 K Sehmi (Emirates)
Retired (after 9 holes): N Callander (Mill Green).
Disqualified - M Flori (Ita).