Coulter into quarters at Girls Amateur; COVID isolation for Boys; Smith leads by five
Beth Coulter (Kirkistown Castle) Picture by Pat Cashman
Kirkistown Castle’s Beth Coulter beat leading qualifier Rachel Gourley to reach the quarter-finals of the R&A Girls Amateur Championship at Fulford.
The Irish international beat Woburn’s Roisin Scanlon, the youngest player in the field at 13, by 4&2 in the first round before making it to the last eight with a 2&1 win over Gourlay to set up a clash with England’s Ellen Yates on Friday.
"It was definitely a nice win over Rachel,” said Coulter (17), who won the Irish Girls Close, finished runner up in the irish Women’s Close and helped Ireland push England all the way in last week’s Women’s Home Internationals.
“Coming out playing the top seed, all the pressure was on her. I just wanted to come out and play solidly and winning the first hole was massive for me. It's a really tough hole and I felt from there I could keep the pressure on.
"I was three up through nine but Rachel came back and took me to the 17th -- it was a great match. The key for me is definitely keeping it in play on the fairway, as I struggled in the stroke-play being in a couple of bunkers and trees.
"It's the furthest I've been in this competition and hopefully I can push on. Back in 2018, it was three rounds of stroke play and it's now great to play knock-out here as it's a great match-play course with the bunkers, rough and trees."
Boosted by her Curtis Cup selection on Monday, Hannah Darling also eased into the last eight after beating Darcy Harry 6&5.
Darling (18) won the inaugural R&A Girls' U16 Amateur Championship at the Yorkshire venue in 2018, capitalising on a late Coulter mistake.
Maggie Whitehead, 15, recently crowned English Girls' Under-16 Open champion, also continued her form to reach the last-eight, defeating her compatriot Patience Rhodes by one hole.
Whitehead now meets Wales' Gracie Mayo, who beat Amelia Wan 2&1 in the last-16, while Ellen Yates capped her debut appearance in the championship by reaching the quarter-finals thanks to a one-hole triumph over fellow English player Olivia Lee.
Lottie Woad, who finished third in stroke playing qualifying, exited in a 5&3 defeat to Olivia Williams in the last-16.
An archive image of Deirdre Smith (Co.Louth) Picture: Golffile | Thos Caffrey
In the Boys Amateur Championship at Royal Cinque Ports, Athlone’s Charlie Kelly lost 2&1 to Austria’s Kaito Redl, Blainroe’s David Lally lost 5&4 to Michael Baines, Roscommon’s Cian O’Connor fell 2&1 to Harley Smith and Roganstown’s Sean Keeling lost by 1 hole to Scotland’s Oliver Mukherjee to end Irish interest. Scores
Several members of the Boys Home Internationals team were due to travel to Kent but one tested positive for COVID-19 and the other five were deemed close contacts with two of those since testing positive.
The remainder of the team is returning home but the three affected players have to remain in the UK for 10 days of isolation.
Meanwhile. overnight leader Deirdre Smith extended her lead to five shots in the Irish Senior Women's Amateur Open at Naas. Scores
The Co. Louth golfer shot a 75 to lead on four-over-par from Irish Senior Women's Close champion Carol Wickham., who carded a 76.
Grange's Sheena McIlroy matched Smith's 75 to move into a third-place on 10-over, one shot clear of Laura Webb.
Finland's Minna Kaarnalahti is the leading international player in fifth place on 13-over.
