SOPHIE LAMB FINISHES T10 AT THE 

SALLY,  SOPHIE OLLEY WINS FIRST 

FLIGHT

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Seventeen-year-old Sophie Lamb, a member of Clitheroe Golf Club, Lancashire, finished a creditable tied 10th on her debut on the Florida Orange Blossom ladies' amateur tour in The Sally (South Atlantic Ladies Amateur Championship) at Oceanside Country Club, Ormond Beach.

In sometimes tough conditions - most unlike Florida in January - Sophie, pictured right, put together rounds of 78, 76, 74 and 75 for an aggregate of 303 over the par-72 course.
Lamb played very well again, driving well and hitting 14 greens in regulation but just could not get the pace of the large sloping greens and was 5 over after 12 holes. 
By this point she had already had 4 three-putts (she had the same in the third round) but she rallied with four straight pars before closing with birdies at 17 and 18 for her 75.

"The conditions were still breezy but the sun came out for the first time in the week which was enjoyed by all. Bill and Carol Chapin  watched Sophie play and  say they loved having her stay and want her back next year to stay with them and I think we shall accept their kind invitation," said Sophie's father Phil.
She finished 17 shots behind the winner by 10, 16-year-old Florida High School pupil, Sierra Brooks who led by nine shots after a third-round 69.
Brooks' closing round of 74 saw Nelly Korda, younger sister of LPGA Tour player Jessica Korda and winner of last week's Harder Hall Invitational, cut the winning margin to four. Nelly signed off with a 69 for second place on 290.
Lori Beth Adams finished third on 293.
Hally Leadbetter, Florida-based daughter of renowned coach David Leadbetter, finished T30 on 316.

Sophie Olley, pictured left, from Leeds, a student at Embry Riddle University, Florida, won the First Flight category by five strokes.
Sophie had a very good, par-matching last round of 72, six shots better than any of her previous rounds, for a total of 313.
Another Embry Riddle University student, Hannah Robb, a member of Scotscraig Golf Club, Fife - the family home is at St Michaels, which is not far over the Tay Bridge i on the way from Dundee to Leuchars and St Andews, finished sixth in the Second Flight.

Hannah, pictured right, signed off with an 82 for 344 - 18 shots behind Kelsey Zeng, the Second Flight winner by 11 strokes after finishing with a one-under-par 71, 19 better than her opening round of 90!


Sally Championship Flight
Winner: Sierra Brooks 72-71-69-74--286
2nd Nelly Korda 73-74-74-69--290
3rd Lori Beth Adams 76-71-74-72--293
4 Ashley Holder 76-72-75-72--295
5 Alex Milan 74-74-74-74--296
6 Luiza Altmann 76-77-71-73--297
7 Bethany Wu 75-75-74-74--298
8 Louise Oxner 74-73-78-74--299
9 Hannah Pietila 78-75-80-67--300
T10 Rinko Mitsunaga 82-75-74-72--303
T10 Sophie Lamb (England) 78-76-74-75--303
T10 Meghan Stasi 77-75-75-76--303
13 Kennedy Bodfield 73-79-77-75--304
14 Eva Gilly 77-70-83-75--305
T15 Emmie Pietila 77-77-76-76--306
T15 Morgane Metraux 81-71-76-78--306
17 Courtney Zeng 79-76-78-74--307
18 Katie Mitchell 69-77-85-77--308
19 Scotland Preston 80-76-77-76--309
20 Christina Paulsen 80-75-77-78--310
T21 Claire Hodges 79-74-82-76--311
T21 Gabriela Coello 82-74-76-79--311
T21 Gabriella DiMarco 80-74-82-75--311
24 Emma Albrecht 77-82-77-76--312
T25 Camilla Vik 83-75-83-72--313
T25 Dree Fausnaugh 82-78-80-73--313
27 Catarina Agerbak 81-79-82-72--314
T28 Katie Petrino 79-79-80-77--315
T28 Shannon Gramley 81-77-78-79--315
T30 Hally Leadbetter 84-76-82-74--316
T30 Selin Timur 81-77-80-78--316
32 Kim Metraux 78-81-80-78--317
T33 Gina Clark 81-78-81-83--323
T33 Martha Leach 79-78-81-85--323
35 Tara Joy Connelly 81-75-86-82--324
36 Mariana Ocano 82-78-92-76--328

Sally First Flight
Winner Sophie Olley (England) 84-78-79-72--313
2nd Minami Levonowich 87-82-74-75--318
T3rd Anna Young 79-83-81-76--319
T3rd Riley Rennell 80-87-77-75--319
5 Haley Andreas 83-79-80-81--323
T6 Claire Albrecht 82-79-83-80--324
T6 Linda McMillan 83-79-88-74--324
8 Alyssa Gaudio 84-80-81-82--327
9 Gigi Higgins 80-84-85-80--329
10 Anna Lesher 81-87-79-85--332
T11 Georgia Oboh 87-80-82-84--333
T11 Sue McMurdy 83-86-82-82--333
13 Ashley Rose 83-87-84-81--335
14 Ashley Malinchak 89-82-88-89--348
15 Elle Nachmann 85-84-WD--WD 

Sally Second Flight
Winner Kelsey Zeng 90-87-78-71--326
2nd Sandra Jackson 88-88-80-81--337
3rd Rachel Carpenter 86-86-86-83--341
4 Janie Carpenter 86-85-90-81--342
5 Debbie Friede 93-88-80-82--343
6 Hannah Robb (Scotland) 85-89-88-82--344
7 Angie Coleman 93-82-85-85--345
8 Suzanne Kenkel 90-95-84-79--348
9 Sarah Greene 89-92-83-85--349
10 Fatima Carriles 84-88-90-89--351
11 Anastasia Mashevsky 105-89-92-86--372

Rockefeller Flight
Winner: Elizabeth Haines 80 84 82 79 325
2nd Janice Roberts Wilson 82-82-80-82--326
3rd Reggie Parker 83-80-81-83--327
4 Barbara Pagana 83-83-80-83--329
5 Mo Sheehan 86-83-81-83--333
6 Carol Turnage 87-87-81-79--334
7 Laura Carson 81-82-84-92--339
8 Dianne Yelovich 86-81-88-85--340
T9 Beatriz Arenas 84-80-95-86--345
T9 Rosa Maria Paiz Toriello 85-82-87-91--345
T11 Annie Pietila 88-87-93-82--350
T11 Nancy Jackson 94-82-88-86--350
T11 Susan Beaupied 91-85-95-79--350
14 Linda Evers 91-88-95-82--356
15 Ginny Zanca 93-89-89-87--358
16 Karen Smith 95-95-95-91--376
17 Jolena Bryant 91-94-WD--WD

                           SIERRA BROOKS, 16-year-old winner of "The Sally"

SUMMARY FROM GOLFWEEK.COM

By Julie Williams

Saturday, January 17, 2015

ORMOND BEACH. – Driving into Oceanside Country Club on Saturday morning, nine-shot lead in hand, the names of past South Atlantic Amateur (The Sally) champions staked into the ground stuck out to Sierra Brooks. Maybe it was just the first time she had allowed herself to notice them.
Brooks, a 16-year-old from Sorrento, Florida., became the next name to join the prestigious list, but not as easily as you might expect, given the size of the cushion. Sentimentality drove Brooks’ chaser Nelly Korda even harder. Korda, also 16, was trying to win the title big sister Jessica Korda, now a three-time LPGA winner, took home in 2010.

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Brooks’ day easily could have got out of hand, and it’s a testament to her calm demeanour that it didn’t. She put her opening tee shot in a deep bunker to start the morning, and left it in. Brooks blasted out on the second try and collected herself even though Korda immediately gained ground. By the time the final group had made the turn, Brooks only led by four, having started the day nine strokes clear of the field.
Brooks’ change in demeanour from the first tee to the ninth green was barely noticeable, but dad Brett, a former college player at North Florida who tried the mini-tours for three years, was keenly aware of an unusual tensity.
All along, Brett had planned to caddie for his daughter on Saturday. Because Sierra had played so well through 54 holes, however, Brett decided to start Saturday in the gallery instead.
“I don’t think anybody else saw it,” Brett said after the round, referring to the unrest on Sierra’s face as her lead shrank. Dads know best, and often can provide a calming influence. Sierra agreed to Brett picking up the bag at the turn – rather, taking over push-cart duties – and immediately made birdie at the 11th to start a swing in the other direction.
It’s an odd position, maintaining a big lead with a feisty chaser at your heels.
“You’re protecting versus going out and attacking and firing away,” Brett said.
Sierra attributed the slow start to forcing her game. When her dad stepped in, she was able to take a step back. She went 1 under on the back nine, and held her ground to win by four.
“I really tried to play smart, placing the ball,” Sierra said.
 Placement is key around Oceanside, where wind gusts from the west – off of the Atlantic Ocean – mean some shots call for an added club or three.
For Korda, a shot at winning meant she had to force. The 16-year-old, who bears a strong resemblance to her sister, felt good about the way she executed in the final round. Had her putts kept falling on the back nine, Brooks’ winning margin might have been much smaller.
“I went after every pin and I was aggressive,” Korda said.
Korda entered the Sally days after winning the Harder Hall. She began the final round of that tournament three shots down and put on a similar chase.
“I pulled it off there,” said. Korda who won by three last week.
Jessica Korda’s name is one displayed at the entrance to Oceanside. Her picture is on the wall of champions just outside the women’s locker room, too. Nelly looked at it Saturday afternoon and tried to remember what she was doing the day Jessica won. It’s foggy.
Nelly first played the Sally in 2011 as a 12-year-old. She finished 12th that year, and her improvement since is marked. She’s a seasoned veteran of a U.S. Women’s Open now (she qualified in 2013), and also owns the Harder Hall trophy, of course. The Harder Hall is something Jessica never won.
As for Brooks, the name that most stands out to her among the past Sally champions is 2011 winner Jaye Marie Green, who completed her LPGA rookie season in 2014. 
Green was a senior in high school when Brooks was in eighth grade and just coming onto the scene. Green carried Brooks’ bag for a match during Brooks’ AJGA Wyndham Cup debut in 2012.
“I would think of this as the biggest event I’ve won, this being an amateur event,” Brooks said on Saturday.
Down the road, decisions await. Brooks committed to play for the University of Florida at the age of 14, but has since reconsidered. It was with a “heavy heart” that Sierra withdrew her verbal commitment, Brett said.
A herd of college coaches followed her at various points of the Sally, and this time, Sierra will consider all of her options.
“She’s learned a lot, especially over this past year,” Brett said, showing pride at his daughter’s maturity in making a tough decision.
Sierra has never been one to fold in the face of adversity.