Anna Foster will carry Ireland’s hopes into the third round matches at the centenary R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship at Panmure tomorrow.
The Elm Park star dispatched Thalia Kirby from Stoke Park by 2&1 and will now face off against Burnham & Berrow’s Euphemie Rhodes who came through a close match against Aine Donegan from Lahinch with a one hole win.
Foster, who also came through her first round match 2&1 against Swiss player, Anouk Casty will be up against a confident player in the Englishwoman tomorrow.
“I got kind of stressed near the end and started three-putting and getting a bit nervous but I’m happy to have holed the last putt to win,” said Rhodes.
“I was three-up with five or six to play but you never know out there with the wind. It can take your ball anywhere so I’m just happy to be in. If you hit the green today it was important to just be happy with it and with a two-putt. I’m not looking too far ahead but I’m confident with my game.”
Former champion Emilie Paltrinieri will face the highest-ranked player in the field, Alessia Nobilio, in an all-Italian third round match.
Paltrinieri, who lifted the trophy at Royal St David’s in 2016 and defeated the 2017 champion Lily May Humphreys in this morning’s round, came through a tough match in blustery, windy conditions against another Italian, Carolina Melgrati, to secure her berth in tomorrow’s third round.
The German Girls’ Open champion was two up early in the match but, as is so often the case in match play, struggled to see off her opponent. Melgrati holed a 25ft putt on the 17th but Paltrinieri responded by holing a 15ft putt of her own to take the match down the last. A par on the 18th was enough to secure the win and a match against her friend Nobilio, who is ranked sixth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and will join her at UCLA next year.
Having led the qualifying, Nobilio maintained her rich vein of form against Spain’s Ana Amalia Pina Ortega and clinched the match in style, holing from 20ft on the 16th for a 4&2 win. Earlier Nobilio saw off Lisa Marie Schumacher of Germany by 3&2.
Pia Babnik emerged victorious over Rachel Gourley from Arcot Hall on the 22nd hole. The Slovenian will face Kirsty Rudgeley from Australia in the next round after she notched up a 2&1 win over Adela Cernousek from France.
Darcey Harry from the Vale Resort in Wales enjoyed a fine 3&2 triumph over Marloes van den Brink from the Netherlands.
Full scoring HERE
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