Sophie's six-birdie surge into Florida last eight

Clitheroe's 17-year-old rising star Sophie Lamb won by 3 and 2 over Elle Nachmann in her first tie of the Jones-Doherty Challenge Cup Orange Blossom Tour match-play event at Coral Ridge Country Club, Fort Lauderdale.
It was a quality match that produced EIGHT birdies - six of them by Sophie - in a day of mid-20s temperatures.
Sophie's dad Phil reports:
"Elle meant business from the off as she birdied the first two holes to be  two up on the third tee. 
"Sophie then hit top form with birdies at 4, 5, 7 and 8 to turn two up. Two more birdies on the back nine - the result of some accurate iron shots - nine saw her close out the match on the 16th green. 
"Sophie said it was the best she has played since arriving in Florida and she really enjoyed the match. 
"Tomorrow she plays another local player, Jamie Freedman, in the quarter-finals. Jamie beat Georgia Oboh today."
Thanks, Phil whose wife Carina is caddieing for their daughter at Coral Ridge.

SECOND-ROUND RESULTS
Qualifying number in brackets
Samantha Smollen (1) bt Casey Weidenfield (17) 2 and 1.
Julie Carmichael (8) bt Mika Liu (9) 6 and 4.

Sophie Lamb (4) bt Elle Nachmann (13) 3 and 2. 
Jamie Freedman (12) bt Georgia Oboh (5) 4 and 3

Julia Matzat (18) bt Carly Ray Goldstein (2) 5 and 4.
Tara Joy Connelly (7) bt Erica Stoner (10) 4 and 3.

Rinko Mitzunaga (3) bt Danielle Proctor (19) 6 and 4.
Gina Clark (6) bt Alexa Pano (11) 9 and 8.

Seb Ruhl first man to be appointed vice-captain of 

 Europe's Ping Junior Solheim Cup team

NEWS RELEASE

Sebastian Rühl has become the first man to be handed a senior captaincy role in the PING Junior Solheim Cup.

The 31-year-old German national girls’ coach, has been selected as Iben Tinning’s vice-captain for the European Team at this year’s match at St. Leon-Rot near Heidelberg. 

He plans to use his experience and his knowledge of this year’s venue to help the European Team defeat their American rivals for the first time since 2007.

Since the age of nine Sebastian wanted nothing more than to teach golf for a living. He started his apprenticeship straight from school under former German national coach Oliver Heuler and has subsequently built a reputation as one of Europe’s leading coaches.

“It’s a great honour to be asked to be Vice Captain of the European Team at this year’s PING Junior Solheim Cup,” he said.

“I was asked just before Christmas and it was the best present I could have had.

“I’ve always wanted to coach at the highest level. It was a dream come true to be asked to coach the German national girls’ squad and this gives me the chance to use my skills on a major international stage.

“I’m really looking forward to work with Iben and the rest of the team,“ he added. “I’m sure there will be some talk about me being the first man to have this sort of role in a women’s team but to me that’s irrelevant. It’s no different to what I do with the German girls’ squad.

“All our focus will be on winning the trophy and I have been around the European game long enough to know we have more than enough good players to achieve that goal.”

Four-time Solheim Cup player and six-time LET winner Tinning was delighted Rühl accepted the job as Vice Captain and believes they can form a very successful partnership.

“I know Sebastian works hard and is very dedicated,“ she said. “We’ve already had several useful chats. He knows most of the girls who will be challenging for places in the team and he’s based at St. Leon-Rot so his local knowledge will be useful too.  

“It’s clear we’re both on the same wavelength,“ added the Captain. “We both want to win and there’s no reason why we can’t do it. Back in my days we tended to be a bit in awe of the Americans and that gave them a bit of an edge. 

"We still respect them. We know they will pick a strong side, but we’ve also got a lot of great players and it’s our job to send them out in the right frame of mind.”

The 2015 event marks the eighth time the PING Junior Solheim Cup team will be contested with the US Team currently leading the series 4-2-1.

Coach Seb Ruhl (centre, facing camera) at work with the German girls' national squad.

CHLOE WILLIAMS TIED THIRD IN AUSSIE 

MATCH-PLAY QUALIFYING.

Wrexham's Chloe Williams tied for third place on one-under-par 147 in the 36-hole qualifying eliminator for the Australian women's amateur championship at Sydney.
Chloe (pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency) scored 75 and 71 for 146 - three shots behind the top seed, South Korean So-young Lee (72-71 for 143).
Chloe's GB and I Astor Trophy team-mate, Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies) had scores of 74 and 79 for six-over 153 and was T25.
Innerleithen-born Karis Davidson did not have a good tournament. She shot 78-80 for 158 (T43)

LEADING AGGREGATES
Par 147 (73 + 74)
143 So-young Lee (South Korea) 72 71
144 Eun Jeong Seong (S Korea) 72 72
146 Elizabeth Elmassion 75 71, Chloe Williams (Wales) 75 71

SELECTED SCORES
149 Bertine Strauss (S Africa) 77 72, Shelly Shin74 75 (T7)
153 Connie Jaffrey (Scotland) 74 79 (T25)
DID NOT QUALIFY FOR MATCH-PLAY
158 Karis Davidson (Scotland/Australia) 78 80 (T43)

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

SOUTH KOREANS TOP TWO MATCH-PLAY QUALIFIERS

SUMMARY FROM AUSTRALIA GOLF WEBSITE 
 

South Korean duo So-Young Lee and Eun Jeong Seong have secured the top two seeds for the women’s Australian Amateur Championship match-play phase.
Only 11 of the 32 who advanced to tomorrow’s second phase are from Australia, but Sydneysider Elizabeth Elmassian threw down the gauntlet to the South Koreans with a three-under 71 at The Lakes today to surge into third.
And with the match-play back at her home course, The Australian, she’s well placed to keep the title on home shores.
Mandurah’s Hayley Bettencourt also fired a quality 71 today to surge into a tie for seventh, but Concord’s Shelly Shin reached that mark with a relatively flat 75.
At the other end of the top 32, Kiwi Wenyung Keh edged Japan’s Minami Katsu in a two-woman play-off for the final match-play berth with a par on the second hole. They had both totalled 154.
Seong appeared to have the medallist honours sewn up until bogeys on the 8^th and 9^th, her closing holes, today.
“I was happy … but didn’t finish very good,” Seong said.
“Still happy to be in matchplay, I like matchplay,” said the finalist of the 2014 US Public Links Championship, an event played in the same format as this week’s tournament.

JONES-DOHERTY CHALLENGE CUP
Coral Ridge Country Club, Fort Lauderdal

WEDNESDAY SECOND-ROUND MATCHES
Samantha Smolen v Weidenfeild (won first round tie 2 and 1_)
Julie Carmichal v Liu (won first round tie 9 and 7)
 Sophie Lamb v Elle Nachmann (first-round win by 5 and 4.)
Georgia Oboh v Freedman (4 and 3)
 
Carly Ray Goldstein v Matzat (3 and 1)
Tara Joy Connelly v Stonner (6 and 5) 
Rinko Mitsunaga v Proctor (1 hole)
Gina Clark v Alexa Pano (1 hole)