Royal St David's superb

setting for what could

be best of 'British'

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE LADIES GOLF UNION
The 106th staging of the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship over the classic Royal St David’s Golf Club links at Harlech in North Wales promises to be one of the best in the series which began at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1893 and produced the first of a hat-trick of wins by England’s Lady Margaret Scott.
No chance this year of any player making a successful defence of the coveted title at next month’s championship which will open with two stroke-play qualifying rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 9 and 10, producing 64 qualifiers for the match-play stages which climax with the semi-finals and an 18-hole final on Saturday, June 13.
Last year’s winner at North Berwick, Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist has turned professional and will be playing on the Ladies’ European Tour when the capacity field of 144 with handicaps of three and under is assembling under the shadow of Harlech Castle, one of the most scenic seaside venues in Wales.
There is one competitor who does have her name on the Championship Cup already. She’s Carlota Ciganda from Pamplona, Spain, who will celebrate her 19th birthday on June 1.
Carlota, pictured above with the championship trophy by Cal Carson Golf Agency, beat Anna Nordqvist in the 2007 championship final at Alwoodley, Leeds but decided not to defend the title last year so that she could take part in a qualifying competition for the United States women’s amateur championship.
Those who maintain there are no “favourites” in match-play golf – particularly female match-play golf, are probably right but Ciganda has a golfing CV which suggests she has a very good chance indeed of chalking up a fifth triumph for Spain in the last eight years, following in the divot marks of Marta Prieto (Ladybank, 2001), Elisa Serramia (Lindrick, 2003), Belen Mozo (Royal Co Down, 2006) and Carlota Ciganda herself (Alwoodley, 2007).
Carlota has been a student at Arizona State University only since January but is already ranked No 1 on the American women’s college circuit.
Incidentally, three of the top 10 (No 4 Azahara Munoz (Spain) and No 8 Jodi Ewart (England), six of the top 20 and 11 of the top 40 from the US college rankings will be in the field at Royal St David’s.
It really is a field of worldwide international quality with 17 countries, outwith Great Britain & Ireland, being represented in the list of entries. Germany (12), Netherlands (11), France (9), Spain (8) and Sweden (7) top the Continental challenge numerically while Canada (6), United States (4) and Australia (4) head the overseas element.
There will be two sets of twin in action – the Hedwalls from Sweden and the Maguires from Co Cavan, Northern Ireland who will be making their debuts in the championship.
Caroline and Jacqueline Hedwall from Barseback were 20 on May 13. They are both at college in the United States, Caroline at Oklahoma State University (she is ranked No 12 in the USA) and Jacqueline (a much better player than her No 112 ranking suggests) at Louisiania State University.
In last year’s “British” at North Berwick, the Hedwalls won their way through to a semi-final “Family at War” situation. Caroline beat her twin 4 and 3 and went to lose to Anna Nordqvist by 3 and 2 in an all-Swedish final.
In the other semi-final last year, Nordqvist beat Scotland’s Roseanne Niven from Perth by 2 and 1, Roseanne having beaten the new NCAA women’s champion, Azahara Munoz, by one hole in the quarter-finals.
Roseanne went on to beat compatriot Kylie Walker in a play-off for the Ladies’ British open amateur stroke play championship in Northern Ireland later in the summer. Niven is a student at the University of California-Berkeley.
Leona and Lisa Maguire from the Slieve Russell club will not be 15 until November 30 but already they are in the Ladies Golf Union’s squad for the GB&I v Continent of Europe match for the Vagliano Trophy in Hamburg on July 24-25.
Leona beat Lisa in last year’s Irish women’s closed amateur championship final and has won everything she has played in this year – the French Under-21s championship, the Helen Holm Scottish women’s amateur stroke-play championship at Troon and the Woodenbridge Scratch Cup. Lisa is never far behind her – she was joint third in the “Helen Holm” – and both played for Europe in last year’s Junior Ryder Cup match in America.
Northern Ireland has another in-form contender, former world universities champion Danielle McVeigh (Royal County Down) who spent two years on the US college circuit. She finished close on the Maguires’ heels in the “Helen Holm” at the end of April and then followed that up with victory in the Welsh women’s open stroke-play at Royal Porthcawl.
The Maguires are not the youngest in the field for Harlech.
That honour belongs to Charley Hull, a three-handicapper from Kettering Golf Club, Northamptonshire. Charley, had her 13th birthday on March 20. She first began to make a name for herself outside Kettering when she won the Ladies’ Golf Union Health Perception event a few years back.
This will be the sixth Ladies’ British open amateur championship at Royal St David’s Golf Club. The previous winners were:

1926 Cecil Leitch (England).
1949 Frances Stephens (England).
1960 Barbara McIntire (United States).
1967 Elizabeth Chadwick (England).
1987 Janet Collingham (England).

CLUB & COURSE HISTORY
Harlech is a fascinating combination of history, mountain views, bracing see breezes and the home of Royal St. David's Gold Club. The youngest of what might be called Britain's senior clubs, Royal St. David's was founded in 1894 at the very end of the first great golfing boom, when the sport at last ceased to be an almost exclusively Scottish pastime.Having heard of the pre-eminence of St Andrews , and conscious that the English had a St George's at Sandwich, founding fathers, The Hon. Harold Finch-Hatton, fourth son of the Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham, and William Henry More, then Crown Agent for Wales, thought the name of St. David's seemed logical and appropriate for this new Welsh initiative.
It turned out to be an inspired piece of what would today be known as 'branding,' and helped enormously to launch Harlech upon the golfing world at large.
Royal St. David's is indeed royal. Edward VII gave the club his patronage and the Duke of Windsor (Edward VIII) , while he was Prince of Wales, captained the club in 1934.
Under the stern gaze of Harlech's mighty castle, Royal St. David's links course occupies the dune land between the rugged hillside and the Irish Sea with the majestic Snowdonian Mountains adding a dramatic backdrop. The view seaward from the 16th tee, affords magnificent vistas of the Llyn peninsular across Tremadog Bay.
The course is noted for a succession of long, testing par-4s plus five short holes, which vary in length and direction, with large, true greens a feature.

QUOTES:
“Wales has been put well and truly on the golfing map by Ryder Cup Wales in 2010. In the meantime, we are looking forward in great anticipation to the Ladies’ British Open Championship in June. Our course is in excellent condition and will test the ladies’ golfing skills.”
David Reidford, Captain, Royal St David’s Golf Club.

“Royal St David’s is the kind of links course that will produce a true and worthy champion. It has always done so in the past. You have to be a straight hitter and the judgement of the second shots is so important here. There are some big greens and it is not enough just to hit them, you have to get your shot up to the flag or you can have some long putts indeed. Like all links courses, wind is an important factor here. It’s marvellous for the club to host such a
championship with such an excellent entry.”
Bridget Jackson MBE, Chairman of the Ladies’ Committee, Vice-President of Royal St David’s Golf Club & Vice President of The Ladies’ Golf Union. (Bridget was beaten at the 37th in the 1964 Ladies British open amateur championship final at Princes by America’s Carol Sorenson).

“I love links golf and it doesn’t get much purer than here at Royal St David’s. It’s a great course, one of my favourites.”
Sir Bob Charles (New Zealand), Open champion, 1961.

“It is no exaggeration to say that Royal St David’s is one of the finest golf courses in the world.”
Bernard Gallacher, Ryder Cup captain, 1993 & 1995.