Fairhaven Trophies win for Lily May                                                  Humphreys (14) English U14 girls’ champion Lily May Humphreys has scored her biggest win to date with an eight-shot victory in the girls’ event at the Fairhaven Trophies. Lily May, from Channels in Essex, was one-under par in the 72-hole international championship for U18s at Fairhaven Golf Club, Lytham St Annes in Lancashire. The runner-up was Amelia Williamson (Royal Cromer) with Ireland’s Annabel Wilson in third place. The championship was played in challenging weather conditions with much rain and wind on the first and last days. “It was really special to win, it’s a really big tournament and I would never have thought I would win it,” said Lily May, who celebrated her 14th birthday last month and trains with an England Golf U16 regional squad. “I just wanted to do well, but when I saw where I was after the first round, I thought I could try and win it. I was really happy with the way I played, I thought I was consistent and that my strategy worked.” She opened with two-over 77 – three off the lead – and went on to play the remaining three rounds in three-under par: 75 73 74. She shared the lead after the second round and was one clear of the field after the third, when her score included a magical spell of birdie, par, birdie, eagle. Her plan was to stay out of the fairway bunkers and go for the greens whenever possible and her tee shots served her well. “You couldn’t go forward from the fairway bunkers, you had to take your punishment and it was a guaranteed bogey. The greenside bunkers weren’t so punishing,” added Lily May. Lily May played for England in last season’s U16 girls’ match against Switzerland and already this season she’s been third in the U16 spring championship at Hawkstone Park and had top tens in two prestigious scratch women’s scratch events. Her next big target is the English U16 girls’ open championship at The Nottinghamshire in July. She is also an Essex ambassador for Girls Golf Rocks, the campaign jointly run by England Golf and the Golf Foundation to attract more girls into golf. The newcomers receive coaching opportunities and are encouraged and mentored by girls from county squads. German players filled the first three places in the boys’ event at the Fairhaven Trophies but five English players were in the top 10: Dan O’Loughlin (Ruddington Grange), Oliver Clarke (Hillside), Toby Briggs (Dunston Hall), Harrison Ottley-Wood (Cotswold Hills) and Harry Goddard (Hanbury Manor). Click here for full scores Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 07825 752 193