Sun September 05 2010

Tara Watters is top seed in English mid-amateur championship

01 July 2010 

Middlesex golfer Tara Watters leads the qualifiers for the matchplay stages of the English women’s open mid-amateur championship at Bristol & Clifton Golf Club.

Tara, from Muswell Hill, enjoys the big stage. In May she was runner-up, for the second time, in the English amateur championship.

“I do like big championships, I like the challenge,” she said after returning a three-over par total for the 36-hole qualifying. “I always seem to come second so it’s great to be first for a change. But there’s nowhere safe in the matchplay draw! There will be lots of good girls lower down who just had a bad day.”

Tara qualified one shot ahead of her playing partner, the England international Charlotte Ellis of Gloucestershire.

“Playing with Charlotte was really good , there was nothing much between us and  it was almost like matchplay. It certainly kept the momentum going,” said Tara.

Her game plan was to keep the ball straight and it worked. “As long as you keep it out of the bunkers and keep straight you’re fine. I made a mess of one of the easiest par fives but, apart from that, I was steady and played consistently.”

Defending champion Katie Mundy reached the knockout stages with a pair of 79s and the host club’s Sian James also made it through, despite a disappointing 84 in the first round. She came back with a fighting 76 which included an eagle and a birdie and qualified in 22nd place.

Tara’s afternoon 73 equalled the low round of the day. Lincolnshire’s Jess Schiele set the one-over par standard in her morning round and it was also matched by Charlotte Ellis in the afternoon. Another Lincolnshire player, Jess Wilcox, had a second round 74.

 

Top seed Tara reaches English mid-amateur quarter finals

02 July 2010

Top seed Tara Watters of Middlesex has played her way safely into the quarter finals of the English women’s open mid-amateur championship at Bristol & Clifton.

Among those joining her in the last eight is Sian James, from the host club, who gave the local members much to cheer about with sub-par scores in both her matches today.

Tara defeated Kent’s Jerry Lawrence in the first round before going on to beat Warwickshire’s Charlotte Dalton 4/3. “I wasn’t very happy when I saw I was playing Charlotte, I’ve played her before and she’s really good, “ said Tara. “But I think it made me more focussed and I got off to a good start, winning three of the first four holes, and I kept my lead.

“After about five holes we both upped our game and played really well. It was a very good match and I think I was level or one-under when it finished.” Now she meets Michele Holzwarth of Germany.

Sian James was four under par in both of her games, first beating Emilee Taylor of Lincolnshire on the 13th and then knocking out Devon’s Rosie Davies on the 15th after trading birdies for much of the match.

“I played really solid and I had my putting boots on,” said Sian, who last week reached the last 16 in the British amateur championship.

“Rosie and I had a great game. I birdied the fourth, fifth and sixth, she birdied seven and we halved eight in birdies. I managed to be three up at the turn but Rosie birdied the 11th to get back to two.

“The 12th was a turning point. I hit a tree and had to take a drop, Rosie was almost on the green in two – it’s a par five – and putted up close. Then I chipped in and we ended up halving the hole in birdies! It was quite a save for me and I won the next two holes with par before halving the 15th with another par.”

Sian will meet Buckinghamshire’s Rachel Drummond in the quarter finals.

A second Gloucestershire player is also in the last eight. England international and past champion Charlotte Ellis beat Staffordshire’s Melissa Siviter in the first round and went on to knock out Lincolnshire’s Jessica Schiele. Earlier in the day, Jessica knocked out the defending champion, Katie Mundy of Hampshire, in a close match which ended on the last green. Charlotte, who won this title in 2006, now faces another Lincolnshire player, Jessica Wilcox of Blankney.

The other quarter final will be between Hampshire’s Raffi Dyer, who recently won the Critchley Salver at Sunningdale, and Somerset’s Hannah Grant.

Quarter finals
Tara Watters (Muswell Hill) v Michele Holzwarth (Germany)
Hannah Grant (Enmore Park) v Raffi Dyer (Hayling)
Rachel Drummond (Beaconsfield) v Sian James (Bristol & Clifton)
Jessica Wilcox (Blankney) v Charlotte Ellis (Minchinhampton) 

 

Unfortunately Tara lost on the 18th to Michele Holzwarth.

 
 

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