Emma’s English girls' championship lead grows to seven Hampshire’s Emma Allen is seven shots clear of the field in the English girls’ championship at Sheringham having played the first two rounds in nine-under par. The 18-year-old (image © Leaderboard Photography) went round in two-under 71 today, after scoring seven-under 66 in the first round. Meanwhile at nearby Royal Cromer, Lily May Humphreys of Essex moved into the lead in the U14 championship, where she is three-over par after 36 holes. Cloe Frankish of Kent is one-under par in the U16 championship and has extended her lead to five shots. Competitors were again tested by strong winds and Emma Allen (Meon Valley) said: “It was really windy today, conditions were harder and I just had to keep my head. The wind changed directions and it made clubbing quite difficult.” She had a couple of bogeys on the way out, but reached the turn in one-over and then came home in three-under.  “I made up some ground on the back nine,” she said. “I started hitting it a bit closer and I made some good pars, getting up and down a few times.” Tomorrow she’s planning to follow her game plan and “see what the wind brings!” Cornwall’s Emily Toy (Carlyon Bay) moved into a share of second place when she added level par 73 to her opening 71 to catch Lizzie Prior (Burhill). She’s used to playing in the wind and she placed her drives accurately to set up her score. “I’ve had two very solid rounds, I’m happy with both of them,” said Toy, who is a past winner of the Cornwall championship. Yesterday, she put together her first bogey-free round in competition while today she mixed four birdies with four bogeys. Prior, an England girl international, scored one-over 74 today in a round which included three birdies. At Royal Cromer, 13-year-old Lily May Humphreys (Channels) took a two-shot lead in the English U14 championship after adding 75 to her opening 76 for a three-over total. Today she started and finished in style, with an eagle three on the first where she holed a 40-footer, and a birdie three on the 18th. “I’ve been working on my short game and it’s paid off a lot and given me confidence,” said Humphreys, who is the Essex girls’ champion and the 2014 East Region U15 winner. “Tomorrow I’ll just go on doing what I’ve done for the last two days, I won’t think much about it and I’ll just try and do my best.” She’s been playing golf for just three years, enjoying the socialising and the opportunity for improvement: “No matter how well you play you can always improve and get better,” she said. Kent’s Cloe Frankish (Chart Hills) extended her lead in the English U16 championship to five shots after returning a level par round today which keeps her at one-under overall. However, she left the course today feeling frustrated after missing a number of putts in the strong winds. “I three-putted the fifth, 14th, 18th - they were all downwind putts and I hardly touched them, they just kept going and going. The wind was so strong today, conditions are really hard.” On the plus side, though, she had an eagle three on the long 10th and birdied both the 16th and short 17th where she almost holed-in-on but her ball lipped out. Her closest challengers are Ashley Croft (Stock Brook Manor) and Katie-Jane Stanley (Manchester), who are four over, while Olivia Hamilton (Cleckheaton & District) is two shots further back. The local challenge is led by Royal Cromer’s Amelia Williamson who is in a group on seven over. Tomorrow, the leading 18 players and ties will play the final round in the U14 championship. The leading 36 players and ties in both the English girls’ and U16 championships will play the final 36 holes in their respective events. Click here for the full scores from the English girls’ championship Click here for U16 and U14 scores Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 07825 752 193