Girls' and Boys' Am

Ortengren continues form in Girls but leading boy knocked out by Sintes Navarro

The R&A

17 Aug 23

3 mins

Helen Briem showed why she is the highest-ranked player in the field with a convincing win at The R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship at Ganton today but leading qualifier Jack Murphy’s R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship campaign came to an end.

Briem, who is ranked tenth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), eased to a 5&4 win over Carla de Troia from France and the German was one of the first to take up her place in tomorrow’s round of 16. Murphy came up against an inspired Jose Antonio Sintes Navarro of Spain who raced to an early three-hole lead and never looked back as he secured a dominant 5&3 victory. The 94th Girls’ Amateur Championship and the 96th Boys’ Amateur Championship are being played simultaneously at the renowned Yorkshire venue Ganton and today saw the round of 64 being contested in both championships.

Briem and Ortengren lead the way

Helen Briem comfortably took her place in the round of 16 in the Girls Amateur Championship alongside her fellow top 20 player Meja Ortengren of Sweden (14th in WAGR) who took an early grip of her match against Germany’s Sophie Renner and never relinquished it as she ran out a 5&4 winner. Briem said, “I’m definitely pleased. It was very solid at the beginning and I played quite well so it was nice today. “At the beginning I played similarly to how I played in stroke play but towards the end I tried to see what would happen if I played more aggressively. “It was a kind of a mix of being aggressive and defensive. It depends on a few holes but you have to find the right mix and then you can do good things here.” Ortengren added, “It’s fun to play match play. It’s a different game but I love it. It’s always fun to have someone to test your game against. “I think I played pretty steadily today too. I didn’t play as well as yesterday but I’m just happy to make it through to tomorrow.”

Meja Ortengren - Sweden

"It’s fun to play match play. It’s a different game but I love it. It’s always fun to have someone to test your game against. I think I played pretty steadily today too.”

Belgian bliss for De Bock

Savannah De Bock of Belgium saw off Anna Canado Espinal of Spain with a 3&2 win to progress and Ida Lindqvist of Sweden and Francesca Fiorellini both enjoyed 5&4 victories over Marina Joyce Moreno and Tiphani Knight respectively. De Bock said, “I’m really happy. I was quite excited to play today. I think I played a good round today. My opponent was playing well. It was a nice match. I had a lot of fun and I am excited for tomorrow. “At the beginning I made a few strategic errors, driving in the bunkers and stuff, so that was not great but then my driving was really good. I think my putting was really good too so that helped a lot to sometimes make par to stay here and sometimes make birdie to win the hole. “I think I played some really good iron shots too. On hole number ten I put my six iron 30cm from the hole so that was nice. Overall, I’m really pleased with my game today.” In a good day for the Swedes, Nora Sundberg eliminated Rosie Bee Kim, from the Buckinghamshire by a 4&3 margin but her compatriot Josefin Widal was defeated 4&2 by Maggie Whitehead from Close House. In an all-England match, Nellie Ong ended the hopes of home favourite from Ganton, Amy Staveley, with a 4&2 win. Players from 13 different countries will be represented in tomorrow’s round of 16 which gets underway at 7am.

Sintes Navarro progresses at Murphy’s expense

Jose Antonio Sintes Navarro is looking to add to his three victories in his native Spain this season after taking his place in the Boys’ Amateur round of 16 with a 5&3 win over leading qualifier Jack Murphy from Ireland. Sintes Navarro said, “It’s the same today you know. I go there, I play my best golf, give my 100% and try to hit the lowest score possible. “I played very comfortably. I always go to the course to play my best golf and it doesn’t matter where the player who I play ranks.” The Young Spaniard was quickly joined in the next round by Murphy’s fellow Irishman John Doyle who secured a convincing 6&5 win over Sweden’s Neo Berg. The 16 year-old was part of Ireland’s victorious Boys’ Home Internationals team last week. Doyle said, “I feel good. I played really solidly all day. It’s good to get in early and get a bit of a rest before tomorrow. “I putted well and hit a lot of greens and won pretty early. “It gives me a lot of confidence. We won at the Homes (Boys’ Home Internationals) which we were delighted with and so I’m confident from that as well as this so I’m happy.” Welshman Willian Sandoz notched up an excellent 5&3 win over Freddie Surgey from Burhill. The 17-year-old was four-under-par for his first five holes and kept a firm grip on the match from there. “It was good. I was four up through five and four under through five. I think that just put him under pressure and from then on it was just par golf. “I worked on my putting last night and then all of a sudden today it just came together so it’s a lot better now. “I’m looking forward to it tomorrow. If I can play the same I should be doing pretty well.” Oscar Couilleau of France ended Bulgarian Hristo Yanakiev’s run with a comfortable 6&5 win while Leo Hirukawa Aaraas of Norway and Julius Lange of Germany both claimed 5&4 triumphs over Fionn Dobbin and Alexander Rowland. Ukraine's Lev Grinberg lost out 3&2 to Irishman Donnacha Cleary. For scoring from the later matches and the round of 16 draws for the Girls’ and Boys’ Amateur Championships please click here.

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