Irish players didn’t threaten at the business end of the inaugural Women’s Irish Challenge but five players made the cut and four finished inside the top-25 at Malahide Golf Club as Frenchwoman Anne-Charlotte Mora eased to victory.
Elm Park amateur Emma Fleming and professional Olivia Mehaffey were the best of the bunch in a share of 16th place on two-over while Lahinch amateur Áine Donegan and Woburn amateur Róisín Scanlon were two shots further back in 24th.
Fleming was pleasantly surprised to snatch a top-20 finish after a horrendous start on Wednesday left her five over after as many holes. But she rallied to shoot a round of 74 and back it up with successive 72s.
“Coming into the week I was struggling a good bit with my game. I had to find a couple of quick fixes which wasn’t ideal coming into wind you never want to be unsure over where the ball is about to start and finish but I was happy with how I hit it towards the end, my driver saved me a lot.
“I struggled with putting, missed a good few today, could have been a good bit better. Missed a short one for birdie and stuff like that but happy enough.”
Fleming has impressed in her two starts in professional events especially after she made the cut at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open and ahead of her World Amateur Team Championships debut for Ireland in October she has developed an aggressive mindset.
“This year has taught me a lot. It has taught me to be a bit more aggressive I’m struggling with my putting and that stops you going low but that’s something I can work on over the winter. Playing in these events always helps you learn where your game is good and bad.”
Alongside Fleming was Mehaffey who would have hoped for much better after opening with a 68 but rounds of 76 and 74 saw her fade away over the last 36 holes.
Donegan is in the swangsong of her amateur career and had taken a month away from the game, her longest period without competitive golf in eight years. It told as she opened with a 78 but a gutsy 71 saw her make the cut and she closed with another 71 for a four-over total.
“It wasn’t a great start on Wednesday! I was a bit rusty it’s probably the longest in about eight years that I have gone without playing a tournament. I was definitely rusty and just home from a holiday. I’m happy, I played solid the last two days and it was good to get three rounds under my belt.
“I was really happy with how I played yesterday because I knew I was on the cut line. Today I had nothing to play for so it was tough with a tight course and extremely windy coming towards the end of summer. I was really happy to be under par so that’s a really good score.”
Donegan will round off her amateur career with Senior Cup action for Lahinch on Saturday before her final appearance in an Irish jersey in Singapore at the World Amateur Team Championships in October.
Alongside Donegan was Scottish Girls champion Scanlon who closed with a 73 while Canice Screene shared 40th place on eight-over after a 75.
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