It was very much a family affair in the Northumberland Ladies County Championship where England international Charlotte Naughton beat older sister Zara to retain the title last night.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play qualifier / 3 rounds of matchplay
Last year the 15-year-old became the youngest ever winner of the event, beating her sibling rival in the semi-finals on her way to making history.
This time the Ponteland duo, who qualified for matchplay stages in first and second, met in the final at Hexham with Charlotte closing things out at the last to cap a memorable month. Earlier in May she was part of the England U-16s side who enjoyed a rare win over their Spanish counterparts.
Last year the 15-year-old also won the England U-14s but admitted that tackling her sister in the final just added to the sense of occasion.
Charlotte said: “We halved 17 for me to stay one up but I was getting nervous by that point and my hands were shaking over my bogey putt.
“Things are going well generally and I was also delighted to get a wildcard for the St Rule next week (June 3-4). That’s going to be a tremendous experience for me.”
Charlotte batled back from two down in the final and a crucial par putt on the 10th proved a turning point.
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“I hit a tree with my tee shot and I ended up needing to hole out from 20 feet. Thankfully I did because I don’t think I would have come back from three down.
“Also I holed loads of putts on the back nine so that really helped.”
The reigning champion won three holes in a row, starting at 12th, where Zara found trouble after sending one into woodland.
At the next the match was back to all square as the leader missed the green with her approach and then just failed to get up and down.
Charlotte went ahead on 14, knocking in a fast-breaking 12-footer to put the pressure on her playing partner, who missed her par putt to fall behind for the first time.
And at the next Charlotte was again indebted to her short stick for getting her out of trouble. After finding thick rough with her drive, she laid up and then pitched to 20 feet before rolling in a critical par effort to stay ahead.
The next two holes were also halved although the champion had a decent chance to close things out on 17 but she made no mistake at the last. Her “biggest drive of the day” set up a regulation par which was enough for the hole after her sister found trouble off the tee and then conceded after missing her par putt.
Between them the pair also managed a clean sweep of all the available trophies. Zara won the lowest round in qualifying prize (73) while Charlotte, having qualified for the matchplay stages in first, won the stroke play prize, the junior championship and the best nett awards.