Championships - Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship 2006
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Ball Spotters at Royal County Down Golf Club
13.06.2006
Coughlan cuts Azahara's lead to one.
Tuesday 20.00Spanish teenager Azahara Munoz seemingly spreadeagled the field with a brilliant score of six-under-par 69 in the first qualifying round of the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship at Royal County Down Golf Club, Newcastle in Northern Ireland today.
But Claire Coughlan, the 25-year-old former Irish champion from Cork, came in late in the day with a splendid 70 to slash the Spanish girl's lead.
Azahara, an 18-year-old from Marbella, who flew home from her first year at Arizona State University at the end of May, surprised even herself with her low score over an extended links course of 6,538yd with a par of 75.
"I don't get the chance to play links course very many times but every time I do I seem to play well," said Azahara wh6.o won the British girls' open title at Lanark two years ago.
"I didn't drive as well today but I didn't miss the fairways by much and the ball sits up like on a tee in the short rough anyway."
Miss Munoz, who is ranked eighth on the American women's college circuit, had an eagle 3 at the 444yd 13th and birdies at the first, third, fifth, 10th, 11th and 15th
She bogeyed the fifth, seventh and 17th in halves of 35 (two under par) and 34 (four under par).
Curtis Cup player Claire Coughland started at the 10th and was two over par after only three holes with bogeys at the 10th and 12th. But she got her game rolling with birdies at the 15tth, 16th and 18th to cover her first nine holes in one-under 37.
Then an eagle 3 at the 496yd par-5 first hole really lifted Claire's score into the exceptional category and she went on to birdied the third, seventh and ninth for four-under 33 for her second nine. The only blemish was a bogey at the fifth.
On the 72 mark are France's Jade Schaeffer, the 20-year-old European individual amateur champion from Strasbourg, and Caroline Westrup from Sweden, who plays for Florida State on the American college circuit and is ranked in the top 20.
Jade, starting at the first - this is the first two-tee start the Ladies Golf Union has ever used - birdied the third, fourth and ninth with only one shot dropped, at the eighth, in an outward half of two-under-par 35.
Miss Schaeffer birdied the 12th, 13th and 16th and shed shots at the 11th and 14th in a one-under 37 for her 72.
Jade's European title victory on Madeira last year earned her exemption from pre-qualifying for the Weetabix Women's British Open at Royal Lytham this summer.
Miss Westrup still managed a 72 despite a double bogey 6 at the fifth. She had had an eagle 3 at the third and birdies at the first, ninth, 13th, 15th and 18 with bogeys at the eighth and 10th in halves of 36.
Tara Delaney, winner of the Irish women's open amateur stroke-play championship for the past two years, was one of the leading British and Irish players with a 73.
Miss Delaney, who was Irish girls champion in 2004, dropped a shot at her first hole (the 10th) but settled to birdied three long holes, the 12th, 13th and 15th and got a fourth birdie at the 16th.
Apart from the 10th, Tara dropped shots at the short 14th and the 17th to cover her first nine in one-under-par 37.
After that, she birdied the long third and the eighth and dropped only one further shot, at the second, to add a one-under-par 36.
Tara is a student at Kent State University, Ohio and is the highest ranked British or Irish player on the United States women's college golf circuit.
Alongside her on the 73 mark were Belen Mozo (Spain), Anna Nordqvist (Sweden), the current British girls' open champion, and Mikaela Backstedt (Sweden).
Tuesday 14.00
France's, Jade Schaeffer, the 20-year-old European individual amateur champion from Strasbourg, took over the clubhouse lead from Ireland's Tara Delaney by returning a three-under-par 72 before 2pm.
Jade, starting at the first - this is the first two-tee start the Ladies' Golf Union has ever used - birdied the third, fourth and ninth with only one shot dropped, at the eighth, in an outward half of two-under-par 35.
Miss Schaeffer birdied the 12th, 13th and 16th and shed shots at the 11th and 14th in a one-under 37 for her 72.
Jade's European title victory on Madeira last year earned her exemption from pre-qualifying for the Weetabix Women's British Open at Royal Lytham this summer.
Tara Delaney, winner of the Irish women's open amateur stroke-play championship for the past two years, started at the 10th in compiling her 73.
Miss Delaney, who was Irish girls champion in 2004, dropped a shot at her first hole but settled to birdied three long holes, the 12th, 13th and 15th and got a fourth birdie at the 16th.
Apart from the 10th, Tara dropped shots at the short 14th and the 17th to cover her first nine in one-under-par 37.
After that, she birdied the long third and the eighth and dropped only one further shot, at the second, to add a one-under-par 36.
Tara is a student at Kent State University, Ohio and is the highest ranked British or Irish player on the United States women's college golf circuit.
Will the Continental domination of the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship continue this week at Royal County Down Golf Club, Newcastle, a few miles down the coastline from Belfast?
Over the last six years only Rebecca Hudson from Doncaster - now a professional - has held the overseas "invaders" at bay.
She won the prestigious title in 2000 and 2002. But look at the victory roll for the other years - Sweden's Louise Stahle (also a tour professional now) in 2004 and 2005; and Spain's Elisa Serramia and Maria Preto in 2001 and 2003.
If anything, the task is even tougher for the Scots, English, Welsh and Irish in the field this year.
For them there is the added pressure of trying to impress the Great Britain & Ireland selectors who, on Saturday afternoon after the 18-hole final, will name the squad of eight to be led into Curtis Cup battle again by Ada O'Sullivan at Bandon Dunes, Oregon in late July.
On top of that the Spanish officials think their "hand" contains at least four aces - Carlota Ciganda, Maria Hernandez, Azahara Munoz and Belen Mozo. Ciganda, who has a handicap of +4.5, made a successful defence of the Spanish women's international amateur championship earlier this year.
Munoz, winner of the British girls' open championship at Lanark at couple of years ago, is now playing the American college circuit as a student at Arizona State. She was ranked eighth at the end of the 2005-2006 season.
Ranked "only" 46th in the United States, Dewi-Claire Schreefel from the Netherlands - a student at the University of Southern Californica, none the less won the big one of the USA women's college season, the NCAA Division 1 championship.
Sandra Gal from Germany finished fourth in that championship and has since qualified to play in the US Women's Open.
A vital factor in the home players' favour may well be the course itself.
The Royal County Down links, whether the wind blows or not - and it almost certainly will - could quite easily stage an Open championship.
Tournament director Susan Simpson, using some of the men's tees, has prepared a course of exceptional length to provide a fair but very demanding test.
At 6,538 yards, with a par of 75, this week's course is longer than that used for last week's LPGA major at Maryland (6,486yd) and longer than Royal Lytham will be for the Weetabix Women's British Open (6,480yd).
"A lot depends on which direction the wind blows," said Susan. "At one of the holes, it might be difficult for the players to reach the fairway. The fairways are hard and fiery. It's a true links test and I hear that some of the overseas challengers have never ever played links golf - let alone one as tough and as long as Royal County Down."
Heather Nolan (Shannon) and Anna Scott (Consett) have withdrawn. Their places have gone to two Australians, Christine Armanasco and Jody Fleming.
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