Sammie prepares for title defence   Sammie Giles will defend her title when the English women’s open stroke play championship is played next week as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations at Bristol and Clifton Golf Club, Gloucestershire. Giles, from St Mellion in Cornwall (Image © Leaderboard Photography), will be eyeing a special double when the three-day championship gets underway on Tuesday, for she has already won the English women’s amateur championship this season. She’s also a past winner of the English mid-amateur title and will arrive at this event fresh from helping England to win the Women’s Home Internationals for the third year in succession. Fellow internationals who will tee up in the championship include Olivia Winning (Rotherham) who will seek her own double after claiming the Helen Holm Scottish open stroke play earlier this year – and went on to help England’s women become European team champions. Other members of the Home Internationals team heading to Bristol and Clifton are Gemma Clews (Delamere Forest) and Sophie Lamb (Clitheroe), while Bel Wardle (Prestbury), Emily Price (Cleobury Mortimer), Louise Brunt (Royal Birkdale) and Annabell Fuller (Roehampton) were in the girls’ team. Also in the field is last year’s runner up, Rochelle Morris (Woodsome Hall), who was a member of this year’s winning Curtis Cup team. The host club will be represented by Gloucestershire player Alex Saunders, alongside fellow county golfers Bethan Popel and Alex Giles of Long Ashton, Ebonie Lewis (Knowle), Charlie Hiatt (The Kendleshire), Claudia Ovens (Cotswold Hills) and girls’ champion Caley McGinty (Knowle). The players will face the challenge of Bristol and Clifton’s beautiful parkland course, which has a reputation as one of the best in the region. In the summer it plays firm and fast and features very quick greens. The full field will play 18 holes of stroke play on each of the first two days of the championship, Tuesday and Wednesday, 16 and 17 August. The leading 40 players and ties will go forward to play the final 36 holes on Thursday, 18 August. Click here for more information on the championship webpage including start times. Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 07825 752 193