Current Victorian Amateur Champion Su-Hyun Oh from Metropolitan and Kingston Heath’s Grace Lennon have qualified for the match play rounds of the 2013 British Ladies Amateur being played in Wales.
Oh fired rounds of 71 and 70 for a total of 143 to lead the 64 qualifiers that will now head into the knock-out match play rounds. Lennon returned rounds of 79 and 74 to qualify in 61st position.
Click here…> for all qualifying round scores for the 2013 British Ladies Amateur
Click here…> for the The Ladies Golf Union – Tournaments Information Centre with links through to the match play draw and results.
Both girls are part of a traveling team of six Victorian girls who have had the opportunity through Golf Victoria and the Victorian Golf Foundation to play a world class event at Machynys Peninsula Golf & Country Club, near Llanelli in South Wales.
Of the other Victorians in the field, Woodlands’ teenager Julienne Soo just missed the match play rounds finishing in 66th on 153 with rounds of 77 and 76. Victorian Women’s Team Captain Jo Charlton from Metropolitan returned rounds of 79 and 75 for 154 and a tie for 69th; Bianca Ling from Kingswood had 82 and 78 for 160 to finish 113th while Metropolitan’s Grace Daniel finished in 120th on 163 with rounds of 82 and 81.
The players have been accompanied by GV High Performance Manager John Anderson who relayed this first-hand account of the qualifying rounds including the weather and course challenges that were confronted:
Grace Lennon and Jo Charlton both had the (early) afternoon (Day 1) and early morning (Day 2) tee times. Grace and Jo were slightly disappointed with their first round performances as it was well below their own expectations. Jo fought hard on the back nine of Round 1 to shoot level par and finish with (+7) 79 while Grace lost momentum on the 11th after she made double bogey.
A re-focus on their fundamentals saw them play exceptionally well on day two. Playing in the hardest conditions of the tournament that prevailed until late afternoon, Grace birdied the last for a (+2) 74 while Jo also made a sneaky birdie to finish at +3 for the day (+10 total).
Ultimately, Grace would qualify in 61st position and Jo would miss out. However, if the morning conditions had continued throughout the day, Jo would have surely qualified. Both players dug deep and it’s a pity both were not lucky enough to qualify.
Bianca Ling and Grace Daniel were both disappointed with their first rounds of 82. Bianca started with six straight bogeys, four of them the result of three putts. She did well to hold on for the remainder of the round and played much better today after a chat over Skype the previous evening with Australian professional Karen Lunn. The vastly experienced Lunn has been assisting the team in their preparations for the Championship given her knowledge of the course from previous participation in the Women’s Welsh Open.
Julienne Soo struggled early in her first round but fought back shooting 1-under on the back nine. A great fight back which although was played in slightly easier conditions proved that she is very calm under pressure. A 3pm tee time in the second round was always going to prove difficult. I followed Julienne on this final day and I have to say the way she carried herself was nothing short of exceptional. She shot 1-over on the front nine including a double bogey and then the conditions changed.
The wind turned into a four club wind with rain coming in sideways. Nevertheless, she stayed completely composed well beyond her current age of 16. After making par on 10, Julienne made three bogeys in a row – none of which were really the result of poor decision making but more so of the conditions and climate that she was in. She fought hard, holing big par saves on 15 and 17 and unfortunately finished just outside the cut at 66th position.
In the British Women’s Amateur, the top 64 is decided on count back (as of two years ago) and this proved exceptionally disappointing for Julienne. In my opinion, Julienne showed that not only does she have plenty of potential but contains a level of class which is prevalent in many successful professional golfers, and she is only 16. Although disappointed I am sure we will see Julienne continue to perform in major international events in the future.
Su Oh played great through round 1 in the toughest conditions of the day with Jo Charlton and Grace Lennon. Su shot 1-under over the front nine and finished with level par on the back nine, barely hitting a fairway. A great round in a 2 ½ club wind and was only beaten by the girls teeing off in the late afternoon who played in wind equaling less than a club – almost perfect conditions. This saw the cut line of 64 drop dramatically which would later have an impact on the Vics.
Su then followed this up with a second round of two-under 70 – pure class and will go against a lot of history if she is to go on and win the event. However to be crowned as the medalist is a big credit to her and the hard work she has dedicated to the game. Su has proudly represented Golf Victoria and is a great ambassador. Time will tell but hopefully we can get both remaining Vics deep into the tournament.
Overall, it is quite a surreal feeling as some of the players are ecstatic and some are utterly disappointed in missing out by less than a shot. However, the way the whole team has carried themselves is nothing short of exceptional and are 100% behind our remaining two players.
In closing, the impressive point was made three times by the German, Italian and French national coach/manager that the Victorians are all ‘very calm, friendly and well mannered’ on and off the golf course which is always great news when they are representing golf in our State.
The girls are very grateful to Golf Victoria and the Victorian Golf Foundation to be here this week and have been exceptionally supportive of each other this week.