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The Women's Amateur
Beth Coulter and Ingrid Lindblad head quarter-final lineup
16 Jun 23
3 mins
Leading stroke play qualifier Beth Coulter and women’s amateur world number one Ingrid Lindblad continued their title challenges by reaching the quarter-finals of The 120th Women’s Amateur Championship at Prince’s.
Making her fifth Women’s Amateur appearance, Coulter, 19, has maintained the form that saw the Irish player win the 36-hole stroke play qualifying by three shots while Lindblad is also shining in the glorious conditions on the Kent coast. Coulter is into the last eight for the first time after overcoming Lucy Lin, the talented 13-year-old from Cyprus, at the 19th in the last-32 before also coming through a close content with France’s Justine Fournand to win by two holes. Three birdies in the last seven holes helped Coulter defeat Fournand and set up a quarter-final with Sweden’s Elin Pudas Remler, who edged out Spaniard Andrea Revuelta in the last-16 at the 19th. “In match play it's never over until it's over,” said Coulter. “I've always held that value and I think it's so important because even when you get down it's important to not let it get away from you. I battled back a bit this morning when it got away from me and this afternoon I tried to keep my foot on the gas when I got up. I’m really happy. I love playing these championships and we'll see what I can do tomorrow.”Swede success
Lindblad only dropped one shot in her two matches on Friday to illustrate her form, winning high-quality contests. In the last-16, the Swede took on Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio – third on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) and runner-up in the Girls’ Amateur last year at Carnoustie – and highlighted a 4&3 victory with an eagle at the par-5 12th. Earlier, Lindblad was six-under-par in a morning meeting with Patience Rhodes, recent winner of the St Rule Trophy. Rhodes registered seven birdies of her own – there were 13 between the pair – but bogeys cost the English player as she lost out by two holes. Lindblad now faces an all-Swedish tie with Kajsa Arwefjall, who survived a comeback from Francesca Fiorellini to beat the Italian 3&1. “I was just trying to keep the ball in play, hitting the fairways and greens,” said Lindblad. “I played better in the morning than in the afternoon. On the front nine against Cayetana, it was back and forth but I felt I had more control on the back nine and hit it close on the 12th (for eagle). “We both played well and it was fun. The Swedish players seem to be working well on the links this week and we have a good national team.”
Beth Coulter - Ireland
"I battled back a bit this morning when it got away from me and this afternoon I tried to keep my foot on the gas when I got up. I’m really happy. I love playing these championships and we'll see what I can do tomorrow.”
Quarter-final hopes
Arwefjall added, “It’s feeling good on the course so I’m very happy to move onto the next round. I was playing really good, got to six up after nine holes, against Francesca. “I was feeling really confident but ended up going to the 17th. I won in the so that is all that matters. I just tried to play my own game but I made some bad bogeys this afternoon coming in.” Ten countries were represented among the last-16 players, including four from Sweden and one from Lithuania, namely Gile Bite Starkute. Catherine Rao from the USA was the first player to reach the last eight after defeating Sweden’s Nora Sundberg 3&2 and now faces an all-American reunion with her compatriot Annabelle Pancake. The pair met in the last-16 of the US Women’s Amateur last year, with Rao winning 4&3. “I really do like links golf,” said Rao. “Off the tee it's a little bit of a struggle but I've always been a good scrambler and even when I missed greens, I try to have fun, stay patient and hit some cool shots here and there.Exemptions
“I'm not going to make it in the sport if I don't have a positive attitude and just love what I'm doing out here so that is a really big focus for me. It's obviously a dream to win here. It would be absolutely amazing (to play in majors) but that's not something I really focus on from shot-to-shot.” Pancake defeated Hannah Darling in the last-32, ending the hopes of the leading Great Britain and Ireland player 2&1, before a one-hole victory against Paula Schulz-Hanssen from Germany. Wales’ Ffion Tynan advanced to the quarter-finals after reaching the last-16 of The Women’s Amateur in each of the past three years. The 20-year-old secured a 3&2 win against Dane Olivia Gronborg and then ousted Starkute 5&3. Tynan faces Chiara Horder tomorrow, following the German’s 2&1 triumph over Caitlin Peirce from Australia. The winner of the Championship gains entry to the AIG Women’s Open, the US Women’s Open, the Amundi Evian Championship, the Chevron Championship and, by tradition, will earn an invitation to compete at the Augusta National Women's Amateur.
Catherine Rao - USA
“I'm not going to make it in the sport if I don't have a positive attitude and just love what I'm doing out here so that is a really big focus for me. It's obviously a dream to win here."