CLASSY MAGUIRE MARCHES ON TO SEMI-FINALS

OF LADIES’ BRITISH OPEN AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

R and A NEWS RELEASE

Pyle and Kenfig, Wales: Leona Maguire has reached the semi-finals of the matchplay stage in the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship after another excellent display of golf on the South Wales coast today.

The Irish Olympian produced a flawless performance during

this morning’s third round, comfortably beating Beatrice

Wallin 7 and 6 to set up a quarter-final encounter against

Paula Grant, who reached the last eight after a one-hole win

over Olivia Mehaffey in a match between two players based


in Northern Ireland.

Maguire started the contest in electric fashion after picking up

two holes early on and thereafter remained in front for the

duration of the match despite Grant’s best efforts. The match

was closed out on the 16^th hole and Maguire, who currently

leads the women’s WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKING™,

advanced to Saturday morning's semi-finals with a 4 and 2


 win.

Spain’s Ainhoa Olarra needed the first extra hole to claim a win in her third- round match against Denmark’s Line Toft Hansen this morning, before the Spaniard subsequently eased into the semi-finals after defeating Italian Alessandra Fanali 4 and 2.

Olarra will face Stina Resen in tomorrow morning’s second semi-final. Resen was taken to sudden death in both her third round and quarter- final matches, winning against My Leander on the second extra hole before overcoming Marta Perez Sanmartin on the first extra hole this evening.

It took four extra holes to separate the quarter-final between Finland’s Anna Backman and Anastasia Mickan of Germany. The pair traded holes during a see-saw encounter but remained deadlocked at all-square after finishing the 18^th hole.

However, a birdie on the 22^nd hole by Backman eventually sealed the win and paved the way for the Finnish youngster to set up a semi-final clash with Maguire.

In the morning’s third round, Linnea Strom, who was runner-up in the 2015 Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship, bowed out after losing to Sanmartin.

The semi-finals of the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship will be played tomorrow starting at 08.30 and 08.40am, followed by the 18-hole final in the afternoon.

Key Quotes:

Leona Maguire

“I played really nicely this morning with a lot of birdies and then carried it through to this afternoon’s match. Paula has been playing really well all week so I knew it was going to be a very tough match. I got off to a good start and we traded birdies for a while so I was glad to get the win in the end.

“You can be a bit more aggressive in match play and take on a few more shots than you normally would in stroke play. It’s nice to make as many birdies as you can. My competitive edge comes out a bit more in match play.

“Obviously to win the championship would be great as it’s one of the biggest amateur events but I’ll just take one match at a time. I’ll go out there tomorrow and play as well as I can.”

Ainhoa Olarra

“I feel good. Today was tough with the wind but I am feeling confident. It would be a dream to get to the final so I have to play well to get there.

“There are really good players here and I know many of them from playing tournaments in the United States. The level is always really high at this championship.”

Anna Backman

“I am very happy and relieved with the result this afternoon. I’m glad it’s over, it was very tough. I have a really difficult match tomorrow but I am feeling confident.”

SATURDAY MORNING SEMI-FINALS

08.30 Leona Maguire (Ireland) v Anna Backman (Finland)

08.40 Ainhoa Olarra (Spain) v Stina Resen (Norway)

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RESULTS COLLATED FROM TODAY