From the LGU Website (Photo Courtesy of the LGU -- Click to enlarge)
Curtis Cup team player Pamela Pretswell(Bothwell) won the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship in an exciting finish at Tenby Golf Club, South Wales today.
It is her first domestic national title although she won the Switzerland Women’s Open Amateur Championship three years ago.
She is the fourth Scot in the past seven years to win the British stroke play title, following in the footsteps of compatriots Clare Queen (2004), Heather MacRae (2005) and Roseanne Niven (2008).
The tournament was reduced to three rounds after a 2hr 30min suspension of play from 9am to 11.30am while a violent thunder and lightning storm raged over the course.
The joint overnight leaders, Pamela Pretswell and Chrisje De Vries (Netherlands), did not set out for the third round until 12.30 which meant there would not have been enough daylight left for the field to play 36 holes on the final day.
Curtis Cup reserve and the 2008 Welsh girls champion, Amy Boulden (Maesdu), whose 17th birthday was earlier this month, moved up from third place, one off the pace, at the start of the round to take the lead with an outward 37 to Pamela Pretswell’s 39 and 45 by Chrisje De Vries.
Amy Boulden had birdied the first, bogeyed the fourth, birdied the short sixth and dropped another shot at the ninth.
Pamela had bogeyed the first, fourth, seventh and ninth but got two of the strokes back with birdies at the third and fifth.
Amy Boulden was still in the lead with two holes to play after bogeying the 11th, but birdieing the 13th and long 14th before she bogeyed the 16th.
Pamela was hanging on with a birdie at the 10th but bogeys at the 11th, 14th, 15th and 16th.
Then came a two-stroke swing in the Scot’s favour. While leader Boulden bogeyed the short 17th, Pamela was able to get a birdie 2. That put her in front by a shot and she doubled her winning margin to two shots by parring the last after Boulden had bogeyed it.
So Pamela, pipped for the Austrian women’s open amateur title three weeks ago, finished with a two-over-par total of 218, made up of rounds of 72, 74 and 72.
FINAL LEADERBOARD Par 216 (3x72)
218 Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) 72 74 72.
221 Amy Boulden (Maesdu) 68 79 74.
225 Line Vedel Hansen (Den) 76 72 77.
228 Lara Katzy (Ger) 71 81 76, Alexandrea Bonetti (Fra) 74 77 77.
229 Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) 78 76 75, Pia Halbig (Ger) 73 78 78, Bronte Law (Bramhall) 76 72 81.
230 Chrisje De Vries (Net) 68 78 84.
231 Ann Lindner (Ger) 75 78 78..
234 Julie Yang (Kings Acre) 75 81 78.
235 Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale) 75 82 78, Lauren Taylor (Woburn) 75 79 81, Heidi Baek (Felixstowe Ferry) 76 77 92.
236 Noemi Jimenez (Spa) 77 80 79, Gillian O’Leary (Cork) 70 86 80, Vicki Troeltsch (Ger) 78 76 82, Charlotte Ellis (Minchinhampton) 78 75 83.
237 Danielle McVeigh (Royal Co Down Ladies) 81 77 79.
238 Charley Hull (Woburn) 73 85 80, Elizabeth Mallett (Sutton Coldfield) 78 77 83.
239 Karlijn Zaanen (Netherlands) 76 83 80, Alexandra Peters (Notts Ladies) 82 75 82, Rachel Drummond (Beaconsfield) 80 77 82, Charlotte Wild (Mere) 76 78 85, Hayley Davis (Ferndown) 82 73 84
240 Nikki Foster (Pleasington) 77 78 85.
241 Tara Davies (Holyhead) 73 84 84, Gemma Bradbury (Cottrell Park) 72 83 86.
243 Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) 78 81 84, Samantha Birks (Wolstanton) 76 83 84.
To read more go to the Gillian Kirkwood Website