ANOTHER TITLE, ANOTHER TROPHY FOR PEERLESS PEDERSEN

     

       Emily Pedersen (Denmark) with the British women's open amateur championship trophy 
                                            Picture by Gillian Kirkwood

GREAT DANE EMILY PEDERSEN IS 

NEW BRITISH CHAMPION 

Emily Pedersen from Copenhagen is the new British women's open amateur champion. She beat Belgium's Leslie Cloots by 3 and 1 in the final at Royal St George's Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent this afternoon.
Cloots won the first, fifth and 14th. Pedersen won the fourth, sixth - all square at the turn -  10th, 12th, 15th and 17th.
Emily, a junior Solheim Cup player before she played for the winning Continent of Europe team in the Vagliano Trophy, won the European women's individual amateur championship last year. 
She is also a winner of the Spanish women's amateur international title.
Emily is ranked No 26 in the world.
She beat Curtis Cup Scot Gemma Dryburgh by two holes in the third round.
Antwerp's Cloots, a student at North Carolina University, is ranked No 448 in the world but she was the No 2 qualifier for the match-play stages of this week's British championship.Pedersen's title triumph brings to an end a run of four British players in a row claiming the British title - Kelly Tidy (2010 at Ganton), Lauren Taylor (2011 at Royal Portrush), Stephanie Meadow (2012 at Carnoustie) and Georgia Hall (2013 at Machynys Peninsula).
Emily has also earned herself an exemption from pre-qualifying for the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Lancashire from July 10 to 13.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES!
Twelve months ago, Emily Pedersen lost to Eilidh Briggs in the first round of the match-play at Machynys Peninsula while Leslie Cloots lost in the second round. 


 HERE'S HOW THE FINAL WENT


1st hole. Cloots won. Cloots one up
4th hole. Pedersen won. All square
5th hole. Cloots won. Cloots one up
6th hole. Pedersen won. All square
10th hole  Pedersen won with birdie. Pedersen one up
12th hole  Pedersen won with birdie. Pedersen two up
14th hole. Cloots won with birdie. Pedersen one up. 
15th hole. Pedersen won with chip-in eagle 3. Pedersen two up
17th hole. Pedersen won with concession. Pedersen three up

Emily Pedersen wins the final by 3 and 1 

A QUALITY FINAL THAT WAS

A TREAT TO WATCH

SAYS GILLIAN KIRKWOOD 
The live scoring on the LGU website does not give you any notion of the standard of play and low scoring which we were treated to this afternoon at Royal St George's.
Leslie Cloots (Belgium) had been one up in the first half on two occasions but Emily Pedersen (Denmark) clawed her back to all square and that was the score after nine.  
Pedersen won the 10th with a birdie 3, they halved the 11th in par 3s, Pedersen won the 12th with a birdie to go 2 up.  
They halved the 13th in par 4s, and then Cloots won the long 14th with a 12ft single putt for a birdie 4 to be only one down. 
Both had cracking drives down the par 5 15th. This is a famous "risk and reward" hole with cross bunkers just in front of the green. 
Pedersen to go first and she carried the bunkers with a fairway wood but her ball rolled off the green to the right.  
Cloots put her iron shot into the heart of the green.  Pedersen chipped in to the hole for an eagle 3 and Cloots was left with a 20ft putt for a half which she missed.... Back to two down.
Pedersen put her tee shot at the short par 3 16th to two feet.  Cloots was in a bunker and came out to 6ft.  Cloots holed and Pedersen missed - Pedersen 2up with two to play.
Pedersen drove up the middle at the par 5 17th, Cloots was in the rough down the left.  Cloots could only put it to 20 yards short of the green from a heavy lie.  
Pedersen put her second onto the green pin-high.  Cloots pitched on 6ft past the hole, Pedersen putted to less than 3ft and marked it.  Cloots missed her putt and conceded the hole and the match to her Danish opponent.
It was great to watch, played in a very good spirit and at a decent pace.