FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play / 4 rounds of matchplay
There was a meeting of old friends at Frinton where Clacton’s Katy Yates retained the Essex Ladies Championship in brilliant style, winning eight holes in a row to beat Colchester’s Charley Hatley.
The two finalists have been friends for more than a decade having gone to school together (Clacton County High) but Yates showed no mercy after going ahead at the fourth and powering to an 8&7 success.
Yates, who reached the last 16 of the English Amateur last year, reached the knockout stages as the top seed on the Friday when the windy conditions really affected the scores.
However the 21-year-old was pleased to see blustery weather continue into the weekend.
“It was windy but that is how I wanted it to be,” said Yates. “I kept it low around there and it kind of worked.
“At the time I didn’t think I had played that well but looking back I realised I actually played some pretty good stuff.”
Having won the first, lost her ball at the second and then halved the third, Yates was relentless in her pursuit of glory, birdieing seven, 10 and 11 on her way to sealing the title with seven to play.
However it was a different story in the morning. In the semi-finals against Ciara Rushmer (Boyce Hill), the reigning champion was three down thru eight.
Yates added: “I just couldn’t get going.”
When she did eventually click into top gear, the birdies started to flow, winning nine, 11 and 12 to level the match.
Another birdie came at 17, securing a 2&1 victory which took her into the Essex final for the fourth time.