Women’s County Champion of Champions joy for Bedfordshire champion
Luca Thompson’s first round on the iconic Bracken course at Woodhall Spa turned into something special and set up a thrilling victory in the Women’s County Champion of Champions yesterday.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play
The Bedfordshire champion had a dream day on the greens as her opening 69 set up a two-shot win over Suffolk’s Alice Barlow.
With high winds ensuring the second round would be a huge test of the field’s golfing skill, scores inevitably shot up and a 79 was enough for the Pavenham Park player to take victory – her third major win of the year.
“That first round is right up in terms of my best ever rounds,” admitted the 20-year-old, who also won the Hampshire Rose in April.
“I’ve had plenty of under par rounds but not many in the 60s. Thankfully when I found sand I was able to get up and down but my putting was key. I was holing them from everywhere.”
Thompson led by three at halfway from Barlow and both players struggled on the front nine coming home before the six-time Suffolk champion made it interesting by birdieing 13 and 14 but Thompson played the last six holes in just one over to keep her playing partner at arm’s length.
Earlier in the day the would-be champion enjoyed a dream day on the greens, setting the tone by holing out from 40 feet at the second. That after she blocked her drive wide right but managed to get it back in play impressively and, bizarrely, would play the hole in the identical fashion in the afternoon, also getting herself a vital birdie.
At the par five fourth she only had an eight iron in for her second and almost holed her eagle putt before dropping her only shot of the round at the next where a poor chip cost her dear.
From there on in her short game was on point and she registered another birdie at the 14th as holed out from six feet after pitching it in tight from 70 yards.
There would also be a terrific final flourish as she birdied the tough closing hole, draining a 25-footer.
In the afternoon it turned into survival of the fittest as Thompson turned in 41 while Barlow went out in 43.
It opened things up for the rest headed by Essex champion Katy Yates while Berkshire’s Isabella Kent, a brilliant winner of the girls event from a day earlier, was also now in the hunt until the leader managed to steady the ship coming down the stretch.
A critical birdie at 10 – Thompson pulled off a brilliant recovery after snap-hooking her drive – gave her a bit of breathing space but then she bogeyed 11 and 12 while Barlow birdied 13 and almost eagled 14 to cut the gap to three.
That became two as Thompson also bogeyed 15 and Barlow then missed from four feet for birdie at 17, which would have set up a grandstand finish.
The Bedfordshire player stayed rock solid down the last to close on four over while Yates was four back in third and Kent a further shot adrift on nine over.
The previous day the East Berkshire junior won the girls title by four shots from Essex’s Ciara Rushmer. A stunning second-round 71 saw her overhaul joint first round leaders Ixie Akpan (Hertfordshire) and Leah Ribano (Northamptonshire).
Meanwhile former Curtis Cup star Emma Brown (Yorkshire) was too good for the rest in the Senior Women’s event, which was played across two days, finishing yesterday.
The Malton & Norton stalwart posted a seven over par total (76, 75) which left her eight ahead of Lancashire’s Sharon Eales (Royal Birkdale). The wife of former European Tour player Paul recorded the lowest round of the weekend (73) to surge through the field yesterday.