Girls' and Boys' Am

Petitcolas and Heller leading qualifiers at the Girls’ and Boys' Amateurs

The R&A

13 Aug 24

3 mins

Manon Petitcolas will be the number one seed for the match play stage of the Girls’ Amateur Championship after winning the stroke play qualifying at Alwoodley.

Girls' Leaderboard

The 16-year-old from France added a three-under-par 69 to her opening 70 for a five-under aggregate and shared top spot with Sweden’s Ebba Lundqvist. Petitcolas took the medallist honours due to her better second round score.

Birdie blitz

Despite leaking a shot on the opening hole, Petitcolas, who is making her debut in the Championship, responded with purpose and four birdies in six holes from the 3^rd fortified her position in the upper reaches of the leaderboard. A fine approach into the par-5 18^th set up an eagle opportunity from distance but Petitcolas was more than happy to finish with a birdie as she passed the stroke play examination with flying colours.

Polished putter

“My putting was on fire,” said Petitcolas as she highlighted the area of her game that has aided her cause so far this week. “That has been the strongest part of my game. “My game has improved a lot this year and I’m proud of myself for getting through.” Lundqvist confirmed her passage through to the knockout phase with a steady one-under 71 that was illuminated by a nicely flighted tee-shot into the short 7^th and led to a birdie from five feet.

Swede success

The 18-year-old, who is also making her debut in the Championship, goes to the same Swedish school of sporting excellence which helped developed the likes of Ryder Cup star Ludvig Åberg and Solheim Cup player Maja Stark. “They have shown us what can be achieved,” said Lundqvist of those inspiring golfing figures. “It’s always up to yourself to make the best of the opportunity. There are so many good people involved in the school and that can only help me.”

Isla McDonald-O'Brien - England

“That’s the first job done and now the tournament re-starts. I love a bit of match play so I’m looking forward to getting going.”

Isla goes bogey-free

Shrewsbury’s Isla McDonald-O’Brien produced one of the best rounds of the day to progress comfortably. The 17-year-old, beaten in the semi-finals of the Girls’ Amateur last year, pieced together a neatly assembled, bogey-free four-under 68 for a three-under total. McDonald-O'Brien, who helped England to a first European Girls’ Team Championship victory in 19 years recently, worked hard to keep the blemishes off her card and holed a raking 25-footer for a battling par on the 17^th.

Job done

“I knew it was going straight in the back of the hole as soon as I hit it,” she said. “I was determined not to make a bogey. A bogey-free round here is not easy to do so I’m very happy. “That’s the first job done and now the tournament re-starts. I love a bit of match play so I’m looking forward to getting going.” France’s Sara Brentcheneff, the highest placed player on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), qualified with ease on a two-under total alongside Italy’s Guia Vittoria Acutis, who has already tasted victory in England this month having won the English Girls’ under-16 Championship at Tandridge. Scotland’s Grace Crawford, a past winner of The R&A’s Girls’ U16 Championship, progressed on one-over after a 71 while Spain’s Martina Navarro Navarro, the runner-up in last year’s Girls’ Amateur, set up another title tilt as she made the qualifying grade on six-over. The Girls' Amateur Champion this week gains exemptions into Final Qualifying for the AIG Women’s Open, The R&A Women’s Amateur Championship, the US Girls’ Junior Championship and, by tradition, an invitation to compete at the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship.

Hellberg shines at Moortown

At the Boys’ Amateur Championship at nearby Moortown, Denmark’s Mads Heller finished top of the stroke play standings with a three-under total. That was the same mark as Finland’s Leevi Hellberg but Heller claimed leading qualifier status thanks to a second-round 70 versus Hellberg’s 71.

Boys' Leaderboard

With outbreaks of rain making matters difficult for the later starters at Moortown, 17-year-old Dane Heller still shone to post three birdies in his one-under-par 70. Heller said, “It’s really good to be the top qualifier. It’s a hard course, you can see that with the scores with so few people under par so I’m really pleased. You have to hit so many quality shots to score well and plot your way round. I hit it very low off the tee and I hit 2-iron everywhere, a low stinger to keep it in play. I just missed out on the cut last year at Ganton so it’s great to do a lot better here.”

A winner of three amateur titles in his homeland this year, Heller just edged out Hellberg, 18, who finished in style with a glorious 28-feet birdie putt. It was an up-and-down round featuring five birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey from the Finn.

Mads Heller - Denmark

"You have to hit so many quality shots to score well and plot your way round. I hit it very low off the tee and I hit 2-iron everywhere, a low stinger to keep it in play. I just missed out on the cut last year so it’s great to do a lot better here.”

Nervous start

“I felt nervous today before the round,” said Hellberg. “I had so long a wait but when I got to the course and started my warm-up I just calmed down and played good. I trusted my game and played conservative to progress. I feel like I’m growing into the week. It was nice to finish with the birdie putt from the front of the green. I knew standing over it that it would be cool to get the applause from the crowd if I holed it.” Kayden Chang, 18, maintained his consistency to secure third place, the Netherlands player posting a two-under tally after rounds of 69 and 71. “The key to success was finding the widest parts of the fairway,” said Chang. “I started off with a birdie which gave me a good feeling. I just had a lot of fun today. It started raining for the last six holes so I am pleased to make the cut and then go as far as I can this week. I like match play golf but it can be unpredictable.” England’s Daniel Hayes, winner of the Carris Trophy this year, enjoyed two solid rounds for a one-under total as the 17-year-old eased into the knockout format. Scotland’s Dominic McGlinchey and Antoni Hawkins from Poland progressed on the same score. Early in the day, England’s Ayden Knight enjoyed a hole-in-one at the par-3 8^thon his way to a 71 and a qualifying place.

Steady golf

Hayes said, “I’m pleased with my two rounds on a tough course. It feels weird as you don’t have to win it over the first two days and I played steady golf. It’s very hard to get close to the pins and you have to land the ball short on the hard ground. It’s strategic golf. “There are some strong English names on the trophy, including Kris (Kim) last year, who is one of my best mates. Looking at what he has done this year with his golf inspires me.” Another Englishman, Finlay Rennie, 16, also progressed inside the top-ten. “After getting off the reserve list, the main objective was to make the top-64 for the week and see where it goes from there," he noted. "This is my first time playing in the Championship and the experience has been really good. “The R&A run it really, really well and I’d like to say a bit more like a Tour event than some of the events I’ve played in the past. My match play record isn’t too bad, I play a bit with Hertfordshire County Under-18s and I feel like my win ratio is decent. Hopefully I can do pretty well from tomorrow.” For the boys’ victor this week, exemptions are secured into Final Qualifying for The Open, The Amateur Championship and the US Junior Boys’ Championship. After 144 leading players from across the world started out at both championships, the top-64 match play stages commence from tomorrow at both Yorkshire venues.

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