Walton Heath junior Annabel Peaford completed a remarkable week by leading her team to the inaugural English Women’s Champion Club title at St Ives (Hunts) yesterday.
FORMAT: 36-hole team stroke play (best 2 out of 3 scores counting on each day)
The 14-year-old broke the course record on day one as the Surrey club won the inaugural championship by 14 shots from Yorkshire champions Ganton.
Four days earlier Peaford smashed the North Hants course record during a Justin Rose Daily Telegraph Qualifier thanks to a staggering nine-under-par effort.
At St Ives it also turned a remarkable weekend for the Peaford family as Annabel’s twin sister Emily broke the St Ives course record on day two yesterday, firing a stunning 67 (-5) to help her club record an emphatic victory.
And the sisters weren’t aware of Annabel’s course record on the Saturday until they arrived for the final day of action.
Emily continued: “It was strange. We didn’t realise it was the course record on Saturday, it was only when we got to the course on the second day.
“Nobody had told me, so afterwards when people said I had taken the record away from my sister, it was quite pleasing. She’s had a really good season and overtaken me, so it was nice to get back at her with that one!”
It turned into particularly extraordinary tournament because the course record was broken three times in total. After Annabel Peaford’s 70 (-2) on day one, Ganton’s Amy Staveley shot 69 (-3) on day two and then Emily broke it again just two hours later, with an eagle and four birdies on her way to 67 (-5).
Emily’s astonishing eagle included a stunning 257-yard drive on the par four, 13th hole, which finished just a foot from the pin.
She said: “I was excited because I knew I could try and drive it but on the first round I hit into a bush! The second day I was just thinking to get it to the green for a birdie or par and it ended up a foot away from the flag. It was amazing!
“I’ve never had a hole-in-one and I know quite a few who have, including my sister, so hopefully I’ll have one in the future!”
Meanwhile at North Hants, Emily had the golfing day of her life, including a sensational start.
She added: “I birdied the first three holes, before an eagle on the fourth and another birdie on the fifth. I was six-under through five but one bogey on seven brought me down to earth before a nice eagle on the 18th! I finished with 45 points to win it which, off scratch, I wasn’t expecting!
“One of the eagles was a par four, where I drove it over the back of the green and chipped in! There has obviously been some wind helping but I’ve definitely gained some distance in the last few months.”
Eighteen clubs represented each of their counties at the first annual Women’s Champion Club, with three players from each club playing 18 holes on each of Saturday and Sunday, and the two best scores from three players on each day counting.
Emily’s 74 and 67, along with sister Annabel’s pair of 70s across both days, helped them to a comfortable victory. In second place was Ganton’s Staveley, Sara Gilmore and Heather Butcher with Northamptonshire County’s Hattie Billson, Lila Bissett and Olivia Holioak Church in 3rd place.
The 2024 Women’s Champion Club competition takes place at Hessle Golf Club in Yorkshire (August 31–September 1).