Huddersfield’s Lily Hirst gained the English Ladies’s Open Stroke Play after a remaining spherical 70 noticed her seal a four-shot victory at Stoneham Golf Membership in Hampshire.
After opening rounds of 71 and 75 on Stoneham’s par-74 course, Hirst fired a gradual 74 within the morning, after which caught fireplace within the afternoon’s remaining spherical, with the 21-year-old touchdown a vital eagle-two on the driveable seventh gap, together with three different birdies to shoot a closing four-under 70 and safe a snug victory forward of nearest competitor Darcey Harry from Royal Porthcawl in Wales, who had been the one two gamers to complete beneath par for the event.
Hirst stated: “I’m speechless. I really feel like I’ve been dreaming of successful a event like this after I gained the Champion of Champions a number of years in the past. I shot level-par within the morning and I used to be just one again heading into the ultimate 18, so I believed I ought to assault every part and gap a number of extra putts as I left a number of brief within the morning. I knew I wanted to shoot low.
“The seventh is clearly driveable, and I hit a 5-wood and it bounced completely onto the inexperienced. I had a six-foot putt downhill, I acquired over it and as quickly as I regarded on the gap, I knew I used to be going to gap it. As quickly as I did gap it, I knew it was going to be an excellent day.”
Nearest challenger Harry meant enterprise on the morning of the ultimate day with three birdies on the opening three holes, whereas her fellow countrywoman Millie Cottrell loved one other eagle on the 4th after her wonderful three eagles – together with a hole-in-one – in 9 holes on day two. However whereas Cottrell couldn’t fairly reproduce the shape she confirmed on Wednesday, Harry discovered herself main heading into the afternoon’s remaining spherical.
Burnham & Berrow’s Davina Xanh turned up the warmth on a sunny day at Stoneham as she was three-under in her third spherical, and back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 within the remaining spherical, together with driving the inexperienced on the latter, noticed her come inside two of the lead. Nevertheless, her problem slipped away after she acquired into bother on 16, leaving her to complete on level-par general in third place. Austria’s Johanna Ebner was additionally competing on the high all through and regardless of three birdies on the entrance 9 within the remaining spherical, she dropped photographs after the flip to additionally end tied 4th.
Whereas the competitors threatened to have a tense end, in the end Hirst confirmed her mettle to remain effectively in entrance and see out a nice victory.
For all of the scores from the 2024 English Ladies’s Open Stroke Play, click on right here.
