Olympian targets mid-amateur golf title
17th August 2013Olympic medallist Chloe Rogers will aim for her first major golf title when she plays Charlotte Thomas in tomorrow’s final of the English women’s open mid-amateur championship at John O’Gaunt, Bedfordshire.
Chloe, 28, helped the Team GB women’s hockey team win a bronze medal at London 2012. This year, she’s re-charging her batteries and concentrating on her other sporting love of golf.
“It’s very exciting,” she said, after she defeated Devon’s Emma Tayler 5/4 in their semi-final. “I’ve never been in a major golf final before and I’m so pleased to have got so far.”
Charlotte Thomas is equally excited by tomorrow’s prospect, having beaten Cornwall’s Sammie Giles 2/1, to tee up her second tilt at a national title in the space of just over a week. She’s come here straight from the English women’s open stroke play where she was runner-up, losing only in a play-off.
The 20-year-old, who is based in Singapore, is a seasoned golfing campaigner. She won the inaugural Annika Invitational in China in 2011 and last year marked her debut appearance for the University of Washington in Seattle with a victory on the US women’s college circuit
If today’s semi-finals are a guide, tomorrow’s final should be excellent. Chloe’s putting was first class, while Charlotte had five birdies in her round.
Chloe’s putting skills were highlighted by the five holes from the 7th to the 11th, where she one-putted each green. The Braintree golfer accumulated three birdies in that stretch, including back-to-backs on the 10th and 11th, and took her score from two up to five up.
“I had a really good day with the putter and it helped to give me momentum,” said Chloe, who lost only one hole during the match – to a birdie on the sixth.
In the day’s other semi-final, Sammie Giles led the way over the opening holes, getting to two up at one stage and impressing spectators with the quality of her short game.
She was still one-up after nine and on the homeward holes she reeled off par after par – but slipped back as Charlotte got the measure of the putts and hit the birdie trail.
Charlotte hit a superb shot into the heart of the difficult par three 10th and holed the putt to get back to all square. Another birdie on the 11th put her in the lead for the first time and she got to two-up with yet another birdie on the par five 13th.
A bogey on 15 reduced the advantage to one hole, but Charlotte closed out the match when she holed an excellent birdie putt on the tricky 17th green.
Earlier in the day, she had won a low-scoring quarter final against Chelsea Masters of Sussex. Between them they had nine birdies in the 16 holes that the match lasted.
In the other quarter finals, Sammie Giles romped through her match, winning 8/6; Chloe Rogers defeated second seed Melissa Nicol in a game which included five birdies and an eagle; and Emma Tayler was never behind in her clash with Jessica Gregory of Kent.
Today’s results
Quarter finals
Charlotte Thomas (Singapore) beat Chelsea Masters (Highwoods, Bexhill) 3/2
Samantha Giles (St Mellion) beat Charlotte Priddle (Moor Hall) 8/7
Chloe Rogers (Braintree) beat Melissa Nicol (Moor Hall) 1 up
Emma Tayler (Saunton) beat Jessica Gregory (Sittingbourne & Milton Regis) 2/1
Semi-finals
Thomas beat Giles 2/1
Rogers beat Tayler 5/4