Wind and incessant rain made for tough scoring conditions in the opening round of the AIG Irish Women’s & Girls’ Amateur Close Championship at Enniscrone, and all 81 competitors finished over-par.
Romford’s Zoe McLean-Tattan, Katie Poots of Knock, Hannah Lee-McNamara of Royal Portrush, and Ballybunion’s Emma O’Driscoll ended the day in a four-way tie for the lead at +1, one shot ahead of defending champion Anna Dawson, Shannon Burke and Rebekah Gardner.
McLean-Tattan played the final seven holes in four-under with the highlight coming on the par-5 14th where she made an eagle and set the clubhouse target, but she was outdone by Poots who holed-out her second shot for an albatross on 14 but dropped shots on two of her final four holes.
Lee-McNamara and O’Driscoll had fewer fireworks in their rounds, but all four can be more than happy with how they handled the testing conditions.
Molly O’Hara (+3), Anna Abom (+4), Clodagh Coughlan, Isobel Byrne, Jade Harty, Ella Cantwell, and Andrea Dunican (+5), and Aideen Walsh and Eva Branks (+6) round out the top 16 who are on course to qualify for the knockout stages to compete for the overall title of Irish Women’s Amateur Close champion, with Olivia Costello, albeit one shot adrift, among the big names on the outside looking in.
After 36 holes of strokeplay, the leading 16 players advance, with the 16 highest of those aged under-18 who haven’t placed in the top 16, going on to compete for the Irish Girls’ Amateur Close Championship.
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