Portmarnock, Ireland: Singapore’s Aloysa Atienza will face the stiffest challenge of her career today when she takes on England’s Lottie Woad in the Round of 64 at The 121st Women’s Amateur Championship.
Atienza returned rounds of 75 and 82 in the 36-hole stroke play segment at Portmarnock to finish in a share of 64th place on the cut off mark at 13-over.
She then won a play-off among six players to qualify for the match play section. As the 64th and last seed, she will have the dubious honour of taking on World Amateur Golf Ranking number one Woad, who was the leading qualifier.
It’s a daunting prospect for Atienza, but one that is sure to be an experience she’ll remember against the player who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April.
Woad was also a member of the European Golf Association team that defeated the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation line-up at last year’s Solheim Cup-style Patsy Hankins Trophy at La Manga in Spain.
Atienza was one of four Asia-Pacific players to progress to the match play phase in Ireland.
Also through are Japan’s Aisa Saito (76-76, tied 30th) and Chinese Taipei duo Hsu Huai-chien (76-77, tied 36th) and Liao Hsin-chun (74-81, tied 45th).
While Saito takes on American Bentley Cotton, Liao is up against Northern Ireland’s Annabel Wilson and Hsu squares off with Constance Fouillet of France.
There was disappointment for Rianne Malixi of the Philippines (79-79), Indian Mannat Brar (81-79) and Singaporean Inez Ng (80-80), all of whom were eliminated after stroke play.
Also bowing out was Chinese Taipei’s Wu Chun-wei (85-81). The winner of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in Thailand in February struggled to come to terms with the testing conditions.
Woad, meanwhile, carded a six-under-par round of 66 to move to nine-under for the stroke play qualifying rounds, five ahead of her nearest challenger, Meja Ortengren from Sweden.
In calm but chilly conditions at the historic links north of Dublin, the 20-year-old bounced back from a bogey at the first by playing a 100-yard approach to the second to tap-in range for a birdie. Woad holed out from 15 feet for a birdie three at the fourth and followed up with another birdie at the par-three seventh.
She kept up the momentum with consecutive birdies on the ninth and 10th. Another two birdies in three holes from the 13th crowned an excellent round for the 2022 R&A Girls’ Amateur Champion.
This is the Florida State University student’s second appearance in The Women’s Amateur Championship and maintains the excellent form which saw her notch up one win and eight top eight finishes on the college circuit this season.
Ortengren’s eventful three-under 69 took her to second place. The 19-year-old from Stockholm produced four birdies in six holes from the third with two bogeys sandwiched in between on the fourth and sixth.
The 2023 R&A Girls’ Amateur semi-finalist bounced back from a dropped shot at the 14th with a birdie at the next and then holed a fine putt for a closing birdie at the last.
Spain’s Julia Lopez Ramirez finished in a tie for third on one-over alongside her compatriot Paula Martin Sampedro and American Farah O’Keefe.
Sara Byrne finished as the leading Irish qualifier in a tie for ninth position on four-over and she was joined by the 2022 Women’s Amateur Champion Jess Baker, who qualified in 11th position on five-over.
