Sammie and Rochelle share championship lead Cornwall’s Sammie Giles and Yorkshire’s Rochelle Morris share the lead at the halfway stage of the English women’s stroke play championship at St Annes Old Links in Lancashire. After two days of battling the winds they are both one-over par and a shot ahead of Hong Kong’s Michelle Cheung – who favoured a trip to England to escape the heat of home! Devon’s Jess Bradley is in fourth place, a further shot back. Wednesday's  wind came off the land and, according to the club’s head professional, Dan Webster, the direction makes scoring very difficult. But tomorrow’s forecast promises some sunshine and the opportunity for the players to go low. Giles (St Mellion), a past winner of the English mid-amateur title, has put together two very tidy rounds, scoring one-over yesterday and level par 72 today. Over the 36 holes she’s had two birdies, three bogeys and 31 pars. “I’ve played two ‘nearly’ rounds,” she laughed. “I keep saying ‘that nearly went in’ but I’m pretty happy. I’m getting so close that they have to drop - and the greens are so lovely.” Morris (Woodsome Hall) is reaping the benefits of a new set of irons and a new putting style for this season and is consistently appearing at the top of major leaderboards, and was runner-up at the English women’s amateur.  “The wind is tough but I’ve hit some good irons which have saved me, got up and down a couple of times and holed the putts,” she said. Morris (image © Leaderboard Photography) had three birdies in her round, including one on the 14th, where she hit her approach to 6ft and which got her back to level par. However the 18th cost her a bogey after her second shot finished in the rough.  “It was a bit disappointing, but it can’t be helped,” she commented. Michelle Cheung is making her both her first trip to England and her first outing on a links course. “I’ve watched it on TV,” she said. “It’s really windy but you learn to keep the ball low.” She’s enjoyed the putting, remarking: “The greens are really so nice and smooth, so good.” Cheung has made a very good links debut, with rounds of 74 and level par 72 today. One of her highlights today was a par three on the challenging ninth, a narrow hole which threads between dunes and which preys on her mind over the opening holes! She had a run of three birdies from the fifth, holing 10-footers on each, and reached the turn in one-under. She had a solitary bogey on the back nine, on the 15th. Cheung is a past winner of the Hong Kong ladies’ championship and had a top 20 finish in this year’s Hong Kong Ladies’ Open on the Asian Tour. “It was the first time we hosted it and it was a lot of fun,” she remarked. Lancashire’s Bethany Garton (Royal Lytham & St Annes) had the best score of Wednesday with one-under par 71 – which improved on her first round by eight shots and moved her 40 places up the leaderboard into a share of eighth place. She spent last evening working on her putting and it paid off.  “My game felt good yesterday but I didn’t hole anything. Today (Wednesday) I was just more steady,” said the 21-year-old. She had a perfect start when her shot into the first green finished close enough for a tap-in birdie. She also birdied the seventh and dropped her only shot of the round on the 17th. After today’s round the field was cut to the leading 36 players and ties. A total of  40 players qualified for tomorrow’s final 36 holes. Click here for full scores. Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 07825 752 193