Temperature rises for start of match-play in Girls British championship

Anglo-Scot Martha KOs the third seed in first 

round of matchplay as the temperature rises

Martha Lewis, Surrey-born daughter of Scottish parents, pulled off the biggest form upset victory in the first round of the match-play stages of the Girls' British Open Amateur Championship at sunny West Kilbride where the morning forecast was for the temperature to rise to 18 degrees.
Martha, 62nd of the 64 qualifiers, knocked out the No 3 seed from Spain, Paz Marfa, by one hole after being two down with only a few holes to play.
Lewis, a member of St George's Hill Golf Club, Weybridge in Surrey, advanced to a last-32 match against the repeating Scottish U18 girls champion Fiona Liddell whose father Stephen has been a club pro in Germany for over 20 years.
Fiona, whose mother is German, was born in that country and is now playing as a member of the German international squad. She speaks German fluently.
Liddell had possibily the best figures of the first-round ties. She was six under par which she had to be to win a quality match by 2 and 1 against Agathe Laisne (France) who played fot the Continent of Europe in the Junior Vagliano Trophy match against GB and I at Malone Golf Club, Belfast back in June. 
Fiona was one up through eight and still held that narrow advantage after 12 and 14 holes.
Top seed Frida Kinhult  was a 4 and 2 winner of her opening tie against the 64th qualifier, Paula Neira (Spain).
Frida now plays one of the few English players in the last 32, Isobel Wardle (Prestbury), the 32nd qualifier 
Second seed Hazel MacGarvie (Troon Ladies), who had that wonderful round of nine-under-par 64 in the first qualifying round, beat fellow Scot Chloe Goadby (St Reguluis), whoseamily moved to Australia four years ago.
Chloe returned to Scotland to become a student at Stirling University and will make her Scotland international debut in the Women's Home Internationals at Royal Wimbledon Golf Club next month.
Hazel always had the edge in today's tie and won by 3 and 2.
Olivia Mehaffey (Royal Co Down Ladies), a GB and I women's international, lived dangerously in her first mfratch against Azelia Melchtry from Switzerland.
Mehaffey, the 21st qualifier, was two up in the middle of the round but had been pulled back to all square by the 18th tee.
Olivia was let off the hook when her opponent left her first putt from about 20yds some 10ft short of the hole and she missed the next one to run up a bogey 5 while Mehaffey had a cast-iron 4 to win by one hole.
Other Irish players did not enjoy the same fortune.  Niamh McSherry (Lurgan) lost in the first round by 4 and 3 to France's Charlotte Lafourcade while Junior Vagliano Trophy team player Annabel Wilson, also from Lurgan, actually played very well indeed to take one of the favourites for the title, Spain's Ana Pelaez, the No 7 qualifier, to the 18th green before admitting defeat.
Pelaez leads the Ping Junior Solheim Cup team qualifying points table after winning the recent Annika Sorenstam European An.
 Another player to make an early exit was Julie McCarthy from the Forrest Little Golf Club, Dublin. She went down by two holes to Leonie Harm (Germany) who now plays Beatrie Wallin (Sweden), conqueror of Aditi Ashok from Bangalore, India, winner of the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews earlier this summer,.
Harm won a thriller at the 20th 
Hazel MacGarvie (Troon Ladies) is the only Scottish-born player in the round of iehe last 32. Claire Robertson (Carnoustie Ladies) lost by 3 and 1 to Vanessa Knecht (Switzerland) and Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne), who played No 1 for Scotland in last week's girls' home internationals at Lanark, lost by two holes to the classy Swedish player, Elin Esborn.
McWilliam was one up for a long time in this match but missed a short putt at the 16th to be pulled back to all square. Esborn won tthe last two holes for victory.