East Anglian pair lead English senior

stroke-play championship

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLFING ASSOCIATION
East Anglians Paula Parker and Jo Ashmore both shot 78 to share the first-round lead in the English senior women’s stroke=play championship at Royal Ashdown Forest, Sussex.
Paula, from Cambs & Hunts, is playing in the event for the first time. She set the standard when she came home in one-under par – after giving herself a talking-to at the turn.“I got so fed up of three-putting on the front nine that I threw caution to the wind and attacked.”
“I’m very pleased,” said Paula, who will celebrate her 55th birthday on Saturday. “I started off a bit nervously and I was a bit grumpy after the first nine. But then it all came together.”
Before long, Norfolk’s Jo Ashmore matched her five-over par score, also helped by a good back nine. Her homeward half of one-over included two birdies, on the 10th and the 16th, where she chipped in.
“I had a nervy start,” said Jo, who was four-over after four. “But then I settled down and struck the ball really well. This is a lovely course, but it’s challenging and the shots to the green are always longer than you think.”
The leaders are a shot clear of Northumberland’s Ally Hansen and Northamptonshire’s Gillian Curley. English senior champion Chris Quinn and fellow international Sue Dye are in a group a further stroke behind. Defending champion Janet Melville shares ninth place on 81.
Cheshire’s Luci Foster holds a two-shot lead in Division B, after she returned an 81 from a round of contrasting halves.
The Bramhall player reached the turn in one-over par 37 but then had a wobbly spell between the 12th and 16th where she dropped eight shots. However, she stopped the rot with a birdie, par, finish.
“The wheels really came off for a while, but I got it back again,” said Luci, who felt that overall she enjoyed some good breaks.
“I love this course but it’s very tricky and I’ve had the rub of the green, I’ve been lucky,” added Luci, who plays for Cheshire seniors.
After the second round, the top half of the field and ties, in both divisions, will go forward to play the final round on Thursday.
Leading scores
Par 73 CSS 76
Championship division
78 Paula Parker (Abbotsley), Jo Ashmore (Barnham Broom)
79 Ally Hansen (Alnmouth), Gillian Curley (Northants County)
80 Elaine Elliott (Whitley Bay), Sue Dye (Delamere Forest), Chris Quinn (Hockley), Sue Westall (Copt Heath)
81 Rozalyn Adams (Addington Court), Felicity Coulter (Banstead Downs), Janet Melville (Sherwood Forest), Andrea Stockdale (Mapperley Ladies)
Division B
81 Luci Foster (Bramhall)
83 Kate Rowe (West Sussex)
84 Sue McKeon (Gerrards Cross)
86 Dee Wood (Crane Valley), Sue Timberlake (Edgbaston), Judy McCairns (Oxford Ladies)
87 Jane Bennett (Lee On The Solent), Lynn Griffiths (Reading), Eppie Zandvoort (Eaton, Norwich)
88 Jane Shergold (Blackmoor)
Full hole-by-hole scores: www.englishwomensgolf.org
Lyndsey Hewison
Press & PR Officer