Jessica Ross is the European Mid-Amateur champion after a rollercoaster final-round at Portugal’s Quinta do Peru where she found herself squaring off against Aideen Walsh in a playoff.
The Clandeboye woman began the day in the penultimate group as she trailed Walsh and Frenchwomen Alexandra Farret and Pauline Stein by a single shot, but it was to be another day of extremely tough scoring and bogey-avoidance would prove crucial.
One bogey and one birdie in the opening nine holes was enough to see Ross leapfrog the leading trio and open up a three-stroke advantage at the turn, and when she carded a one-over back nine with bogeys on 11 and 16 with a birdie on 15, she’d be forgiven for thinking victory was all sewn up.
But Walsh had other ideas. After five bogeys on the front side, she steadied the ship with her first birdie of the day on the 11th and maintained her hot hand to card two more back-to-back on 13 and 14 to get back to +5 and she parred her way in setting up an all-Irish playoff for the gold medal.
When both players parred the first, the playoff was extended to the par-3 eighth and here, a mistake by Walsh opened the door and Ross would have six feet for par and the win. She held her nerve to roll the putt home, capping a remarkable turnaround after a first-round 78.
Lahinch’s Walsh can take solace from the way she battled back into contention after her poor start, and from the silver medal she collects.
Only one of the 34-players to make the cut managed to shoot level-par on the final day and that was Ballinrobe’s Shannon Burke who bogeyed each of her opening three holes and then kept a clean card thereafter with birdies on five, 12 and 13 to finish the week in a share of seventh, one ahead of Clodagh Coughlan who took solo ninth.
Ellen O’Gorman finished tied for 12th, while Aoife Kelly completed the Irish interest and finished tied for 25th.
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