Hung leads Final Qualifiers to Ricoh Women´s British Open

RICOH WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN FINAL QUALIFYING COMPETITIONCaldy Golf Club, The WirralPar 72 Yardage 6,347(a) denotes amateurQUALIFIERS FOR CHAMPIONSHIP*21 players with scores of 75 or better qualified69 Amy Hung (Taiwan)71 Miriam Nagl (Bra)72 Aiko Ueno (Jap), Bronte Law (Bramhall) (a).73 Charley Hull (Woburn) (a), Emily Taylor (Hillside) (a), Alexandra Peters (Notts Ladies) (a), Rebecca Codd (Ire), Stephanie Na (Aus)74 Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) (a), Stacy Lee Bregman (SAf), Danielle Montgomery (Aus)75 Jing Yan (China) (a), Charlotte Thompson (Channels) (a), Amy Boulden (Conwy) (a), Linda Wessberg (Swe),  Sophie Sando (Ita), Nikki Garrett (Aus), Tania Elosegui (Spain), Valentine Derrey (Fra), Rachel Bailey (Springwood)PLAY-OFF FOR FOUR ALTERNATES76 Heather MacRae (Gleneagles), Charlie Douglass (Brocket Hall), Becky Harries (Haverfordwest) (a), Nicole Whitmore (Woburn) (a), Jessica Yadloczky (US), Henrietta Zuel (Eng), Klara Spilkova (Cze), Sophie Walker (Eng), Louise Larsson (Swe), Anais Maggetti (Swi), Charlotte Ellis (Eng), Stefania Croce (Ita), Elizabeth Bennett (Eng)FAILED TO QUALIFY77 Chloe Williams (Wrexham) (a), Monja Maetzler (Swi) (a), Meaghan Francella (US), Charlotte Leathem (Styal) (a), Hannah Ralph (Cowdray Park), Lynn Kenny (Sco), Eleanor Givens (Eng), Ashleigh Simon (SAf), Rachel Bell (Eng), Minea Blomqvist (Fin), Veronica Zorzi (Ita), Hannah Burke (Eng), Holly Aitchison (Eng)78 Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) (a), Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale) (a), Lynnette Brooky (NZ), Viva Schlasberg (Swe), Caroline Westrup (Swe), Sahra Hassan (Wal), Connie Shen (SAf)79 Ashleigh Greenham (West Essex) (a), Bree Arthur (Aus), Clare Queen (Sco), Alena Sharp (Can), Esther Choe (US).80 Kimberley Crooks (Saltburn), Perrine Delacour (Fra) (a), Rachel Jennings (Eng), Charlotte Wild (Mere) (a), Caroline Afonso (Fra)82 Kylie Walker (Sco)84 Martina Migliori (Ita), Laure Sibille (Fra)Retired – Lisa Sorensen (Den), Marjet Van Der Graaff (Net)

Final Qualifying Report

Amy Hung from Taiwan, a seven-year LPGA Tour player who made a last minute decision to come over from America, led the 21 qualifiers at Caldy GC with a three-under-par 69 in the Final eliminator for the Ricoh Women’s British Open championship.Danielle Montgomery from Australia, in the last group to finish in fading light and with rain threatening posted one of the best scores of the day – a one-over-par 73 – that ensured she would be one of the precise number of qualifiers with scores of 75 or better to join the exempt field for the last Major of the women’s pro golf season at Royal Liverpool Golf Club’s Hoylake links. A play-off to decide who would earn the 1-2-3-4 alternate positions was held for the 13 players who finished on 76.Four of the five members of the victorious GB and I team from the Curtis Cup match at Nairn GC in June – all of them still amateurs – made it through: Bronte Law (Bramhall) with a 72, Charley Hull (Bramhall) with a 73, Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) 74 and Amy Boulden (Conwy) with a 75.The only Curtis Cup player in the field who failed to qualify was English amateur champion Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale). She had a 78, thus missing out by three shots.There were other good performances from young English amateurs.Emily Taylor (Hillside), 19, who played in the winning England team at Cork last week in the Home Internationals, made it through to the Main Event with a 73, the same as another teenager, Alexandra Peters (Notts LadiesAmy Hung made a last minute decision to come over from America for the Final Qualifier of the has been hampered with a sore back for the past year or two and long plane flights have been painful but, with the help of treatment from her trainer, she is on the road to recovery.She birdied the long fifth with a 14yd putt, the par-4 sixth with a 7yd putt and the short eighth with an eight-iron tee shot and a 10ft putt.Out in three-under-par 36, Amy three-putted the 11th but it’s a par-5 hole and she had managed to reach the green in two so that was a missed birdie chance rather than a bogey.”I dropped my only shot at the 15th where I three-putted from 10yd,” said Amy. “but I was able to get a fourth birdie of the round at the 16th where I used a nine-iron for my approach and then holed a five-yarder uphill.”The year 2007 was Hung’s best so far on the tour. The season she was fifth in the HSBC World Match-play and also recorded a career-low round of 63 in the Navistar LPGA Classic.”If I make it through to Hoylake, it will be my seventh British Open. I used a local caddie today and I must try and fix him up for later in the week now that it appears as if I am going to qualify.”Amy, who teed off just before 10am, was still leading by three shots from Japan’s Aiko Ueno and 17-year-old Bronte Law (Bramhall), a member of the victorious GB and I Curtis Cup team at Nairn last June at 4.30pm.Ueno birdied the first, 13th and 15th. She bogeyed the third, 12th and 16th in halves of 37.Law had birdies at the long 11th and 16th and bogeys at the short eighth and 12th in halves of 37 and 35.Then, around 5pm, Miriam Nagl (Brazil) came in with a one-under-par 71 to take over second place on her own.Miriam had an up and down round of five birdies and four bogeys. She birdied the fourth, long fifth, short eighth, long 11th and short 17th in halves of 35 and 36. Her bogeys came at the third, sixth, 10th and 18thDanielle Montgomery (Australia) was the decisive factor in deciding the cut-off point for the qualifiers and what was at stake in the play-off.Danielle had a 73 which included her in the exact number of 21 players with scores of 75 and better who qualified for the championship, starting on ThursdayA total of 13 players on the 76 mark had to play off for the four alternate (reserve places).Heather MacRae and Louise Larsson will be continuing their play-off to be either first or second alternate at 8am Tuesday. They played four halved holes before it became too black to see anything – and too wet to boot.Sophie Walker earned No 3 alternate position. That left Elizabeth Bennett, Jessica Yadloczky and Nicole Whitmore playing for the fourth alternate position.Then Whitmore was eliminated as the players elected to continue playing in the dark.It became too dark and Yadloczky was left as the No 4 alternate when Bennett said she would not come back as proposed at 8am Tuesday to continue the play-off.