HERTFORDSHIRE’S England international Alice Hewson booked herself a place in this week’s AIG Women’s British Open at Woburn, after producing a last day charge to win the European Ladies’ Amateur Championship at Dorset’s Parkstone Golf Club.
Hewson, from Berkhamsted, started the final day just inside the top 20 after opening rounds of 72, 70 and 73.
But the 21-year-old stormed though the field with a six-under par 66 that included six birdies and two eagles.
That was enough to see her tie at the top of the leaderboard with Finland’s Krista Junkkari on seven-under.
The pair were still level after a three-hole play-off before the two-time Curtis Cup player won with a par at the second hole of sudden-death.
The new champion becomes just the fourth English player after Emma Duggleby (2000), Joanne Morley (1992) and most recently Bronte Law (2016) to lift the trophy.
The Clemson University player can now look forward to spending the next week in the company of the world’s best players as they compete for this year’s fifth women’s major at Woburn.
“This is incredible,” said the Berkhamsted player moments after holing the winning putt. “Going into today I just went out there and tried to get as low as I could. I was brave out there and it paid off.
“I was quite far out of it this morning. I played really solid earlier in the week without really getting anywhere but today I made a lot of eagles and birdies.
“As I said before, I just tried to be brave. I gave my putts a little extra and it worked.
“Playing in the Women’s British Open is going to be absolutely incredible,” added Alice who was the first Englishwoman to play a competitve round at Augusta, in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur, in April.
Hewson, who can’t wait to tee it up in the Women’s British Open against the best players from the LPGA and LET, said: “It’s going to be my first major and being so close to home will to make it even more special. I can’t wait to get started.
“I’d also like to pay tribute to Krista,” she added. “It was a really great play-off. She played absolutely great all week.
“She’s been there or thereabouts all week. She made four pars in the play-off at a time when she was probably just as nervous as me. She played really well.”
Further down the leaderboard Italy’s Caterina Don closed with a two-under par 70 to clinch third place, while Norway’s Franziska Sliper played the shot of the day when she holed out for an albatross on the sixth on her way to finishing fourth after posting a 68.
It was also a great week for Hewson’s England international team-mate Annabell Fuller, from Roehampton, while Western Australian Kirsten Rudgeley, finished tied-fifth.
She finished alongside Scotland’s Hannah Darling who fired a bogey-free 68 to lead after three rounds. Darling, who celebrated her 16th birthday last week, was bidding to become the first Scot to claim the European title,
Darling, the second youngest player in the 144-player field, said after her third round: “Obviously it’s a big tournament but it’s still the same golf course.
“There’s no pressure on me to be honest, I’m only 16, so I’m just going to enjoy it and see what happens in the end,” added the Broomieknowe member.
Her final round 77 left her in a six-way share of fifth alongside Sweden’s Linn Grant, Denmark’s Karen Fredgaard and Italy’s Virginia Bossi.
Rudgeley, the current Western Australian Amateur Champion, who made her debut in the Toyota Junior World Golf Cup in June, will play the English and British Girls, as well as the English Ladies Strokeplay while visiting the UK in her bid to improve her world ranking.
Kirsten has spent recent summers playing in England to broaden her experience.
For full scores from the European Ladies Amateur Championship can be found at the European Golf Association’s website here.
