Asia-Pacific Duo Ousted at Women's Amateur

Kent, England: The Asia-Pacific region’s hopes of providing the winner of The Women’s Amateur Championship for just the third time in its 120-year history were extinguished in the southeast English coast sunshine on Friday.

After the exit of Malaysian Jeneath Wong in the Round of 32 in the morning, Australian Caitlin Peirce’s run was ended in the afternoon Round of 16.

Royal Adelaide Golf Club’s Peirce saw off the challenge of Italian Benedetta Moresco 2&1 in the last 32 to earn a clash with German Chiara Horder for a place in the quarter-finals at Prince’s Golf Club.

Although the Australian was two-up through two holes, her opponent won the next three holes to move ahead. It was a lead she never relinquished, progressing with a 2&1 success.

Earlier in the day, Wong was eliminated 4&3 by Justine Fournand of France.

“I didn't have enough birdies. I just kind of played par, so that didn’t really help. My opponent had a lot of birdies and an eagle but I played pretty well. It just wasn’t enough today,” said Wong, who recently finished a successful freshman season at Pepperdine University.

Since its inauguration in 1893, the only two players from the Asia-Pacific whose names have been inscribed on The Women's Amateur trophy are Australian Edwina Kennedy in 1978 and New Zealand’s Marnie McGuire in 1986.

Among the favourites to join them on the roll of honour this year are leading stroke play qualifier Beth Coulter and the world’s leading women’s amateur golfer Ingrid Lindblad.

Coulter, 19, who is making her fifth appearance in The Women’s Amateur, has maintained the form that saw the Irish player lead the 36-hole stroke play qualifying by three shots while Lindblad continues to shine.

Coulter reached the last eight for the first time after overcoming Lucy Lin, the 13-year-old from Cyprus, at the first extra hole of their last-32 encounter, before also coming through a close contest with France’s Fournand to win by two holes.

Three birdies in the last seven holes helped Coulter defeat Fournand and set up a quarter-final with Sweden’s Elin Pudas Remler, who edged out Spaniard Andrea Revuelta in the last-16 at the 19th hole.

Lindblad underlined her status as the world’s leading women’s amateur by only dropping one shot on the way to winning two high-quality contests. In the last-16, the Swede took on Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio – third in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and runner-up in the R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship at Carnoustie last year – with an eagle at the par-five 12th the highlight of a 4&3 victory.

Earlier, Lindblad was six-under-par in a morning meeting with Patience Rhodes, recent winner of the St Rule Trophy. Rhodes registered seven birdies of her own – there were 13 between the pair – but bogeys cost the English player as she lost out by two holes. Lindblad now faces an all-Sweden tie with Kajsa Arwefjall, who survived a comeback from Francesca Fiorellini to beat the Italian 3&1.

Ten countries were represented among the last-16 players, including four from Sweden and one from Lithuania, namely Gile Bite Starkute.

Catherine Rao was the first player to reach the last eight after defeating Sweden’s Nora Sundberg 3&2 and now faces an all-American reunion with her compatriot Annabelle Pancake. The pair met in the last-16 of the US Women’s Amateur last year, with Rao winning 4&3.

Pancake defeated Hannah Darling 2&1 in the last-32, ending the hopes of the leading Great Britain and Ireland player, before a one-hole victory against Paula Schulz-Hanssen from Germany.

Wales’ Ffion Tynan advanced to the quarter-finals to continue a run of reaching the last-16 of The Women’s Amateur in each of the past three years. The 20-year-old secured a 3&2 win against Dane Olivia Gronborg and then ousted Starkute 5&3. Tynan faces Peirce’s conqueror Horder on Saturday.