Championships - Girls' British Open Amateur Championship 2008
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14.08.2008
All set for exciting final day at Monifieth. Spectators Welcome. Play starts 8.30am
1700hrs updateManchester's Kelly Tidy, a beaten finalist in the British girls open amateur championship last year, staged a great fightback to reach the last four at Monifieth Links today.
Also through to Friday morning's semi-finals are the No 1 seed, Laura Gonzalez-Escallon from Belgium, Israel's Laetitia Beck, the No 5 qualifier, and Mandy Goyos from Spain, 58th of the 64 qualifiers for the match-play stages. Royal Birkdale member Kelly, the sixth seed, beat Sophia Popov (Germany) on the last green after being three down on the fifth tee - Sophia having birdied the first and fourth.
"I was three down for most of the way it seemed," said Kelly later. "I think we halved every hole from the fifth to the 11th which is where I got a hole back with a par."
Tidy, still only 16, began to play really well under pressure. She won the short 13th with a cast-iron 3 while Popov was short.
Then Tidy birdied the 15th with a 12ft putt to square the exciting contest. On a roll, she then birdied the 16th with a seven-wood, an eight-iron and a 4ft putt to lead for the first time.
The England girl international had a chance to win the tie on the 17th green but missed a 4ft putt. Then Tidy played a great long iron second on to the green at 513yd 18th while Popov required three shots to get on.
Tidy rolled her putt close and was conceded victory.
In the second semi-final, Kelly will play Mandy Goyos from La Coruna, Spain.Many was the biggest winner of the last four, achieving a 7 and 6 result against Charlotte Lorentzen (Denmark) who had knocked out the No 2 seed Ana Fernandez de Mesa (Spain) in the morning quarter-finals.
Mandy, whose father is Colombian and her mother Belgian, took a grip on the quarter-final by winning five of the first seven holes.
The first semi-final will feature Laura Gonzalez-Escallon from Brussels and beaten the 16-year-old Florida-based Israeli women's champion Laetitia Beck who is a member at the Caesarea golf club which has only nine holes and is the only golf club in the country.
Laura was two under par in the 4 and 3 morning win over Scottish international curler Eve Muirhead and she was two under par again in winning by 4 and 2 in the afternoon against Sweden's Louise Larsson.
"I reached the quarter-finals in this championship last year, which I think was my best ever golfing achievement. Now I have bettered that," said Gonzalez-Escallon who was only one up at the turn but doubled that advantage at the 10th.
Laetitia Beck beat Johanna Tillstrom of Sweden by 3 and 2 after winning the second and third but losing the fifth.
"I missed a short putt at the ninth and was lucky to get a half at the 10th but a birdie at the 13th was very important for me," said Beck who is a residential student at the IMG David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Florida alongwith Curtis Cup Scot Sally Watson.
Morning update
Top seed Laura Gonzalez-Escallon from the Royal Waterloo club, Belgium, ended the good run of Great Britain Winter Olympics curling squad member Eve Muirhead (Pitlochry) in the round of the last 16 this morning at Monifieth.
With the flooded Ashludie Burn subsiding enough to allow access to the sixth and seventh holes over one of the low-level brides, an 18-hole course was in operation for the first time in the match-play stages.
Laura was the first player to reach the quarter-finals, beating Eve by a 4 and 3 margin, having been two up at the turn.
Gonzalez-Escallon was roughly two under par and never trailed after taking the lead with a par 4 at the third.
Muirhead did square the contest at the short fifth but her opponent climbed into the driving seat with birdies at the the seventh (15ft putt) and eighth (5ft putt) to be two up at the turn.
A par at the 10th was good enough to see the Belgian player increase her lead to three holes and she got her third winning birdie of the round at the 12th.
Muirhead won back the 13th where Gonzalez-Escallon was short with her approach but the Scot missed a 5ft putt to lose the 14th and a half ended the match on the 15th green.
"Laura hit the ball really well and she hits it a mile off the tee," said Eve. "I didn't get any birdies today, compared with quite a few in the first two rounds but I didn't play all that badly. To be the only Scot in the last 16 was more than I hoped for at the start of the championship so I've enjoyed myself."
In the quarter-finals, Laura Gonzalez-Escallon will meet Louise Larsson, the No 56 qualifier from Sweden. Louise beat the No 8 seed, 14-year-old Alexandra Peters (Notts Ladies) by 3 and 2.
Louise was one up at the turn and doubled that lead by the 15th.
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