Hampshire Rose falls to Bedfordshire ace who has made dramatic strides in last two years
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play
Luca Thompson’s remarkable rise through the amateur golf ranks shows no sign of stopping after the Pavenham Park player won the Hampshire Rose at North Hants GC last night.
The Bedfordshire golfer only took to the game in 2017 when she was 14 and within three years was down to scratch. Now the 19-year-old is off plus two and certainly marked her arrival as a serious contender for major honours this year with a two-shot victory at the weekend.
Luca is the daughter of Zac Thompson, the former coach of Ian Poulter, and used all her knowhow to finish level par. After opening with a three-under-par 70, she studied the honours board during lunch, noticing that both Georgia Hall and Charley Hull won the coveted title with scores of 144.
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That became “the score to beat” although in the end she matched it thanks to a superb finish. Three birdies in the final four holes eased her clear of Beaconsfield’s Ella Butteris and Perranporth’s Danielle Hardwick.
“It is my biggest win by far,” said Luca, who now hopes to gain her first WAGR recognition by doing well at Roehampton this Saturday. The two competitions are paired to create a 72-hole tournament that qualifies for ranking points. “It was pretty special and the whole experience has been great,” she added.
In both rounds she finished strongly. In the morning she drained a 50-footer at 17 and then recovered beautifully from driving into sand at the par five 18th. After splashing out she was left with 140 yards in and stuck it to 10 feet before claiming her fourth birdie of the round.
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Luca started the second round one clear of Suffolk champion Alice Barlow and thought she had played her way out of it with just fives holes to go. A bogey on 13 put her four over for her round but the recovery began in earnest at 15 where she sank a 30-footer for a two.
The next birdie was more conventional, finding the par five 16th with a couple of impressive blows and she just missed the eagle chance.
Another excellent long putt for eagle on 18 also went close, giving her a tap-in birdie and a round of 74.