Englands Hayley bows out of French U21 championship
Hayley, 17, (Ferndown) was playing in this event for the first time and was England’s sole survivor at this stage of the tournament.
She made a great start to her match, winning the first three holes, but was pegged back by the Irish girl who, although younger, is vastly more experienced. The 15-year old is already a GB&I international, helped Ireland win the European girls’ team championship last season and is also the reigning Scottish open strokeplay champion.
However, Hayley kept the fight going, helped by a chip-in for an eagle on the 15th – and she won high praise from Linda Bayman, the English Women’s Golf Association performance director.
“Hayley came here for experience and has moved up notches and notches this week. She gave an extremely polished performance and has huge potential. She can play all the shots and she’s got an absolutely beautiful putting stroke,” she said.
Hayley is an England girl international and last year won the 2009 Scottish U16 strokeplay championship and the Liphook Scratch Cup, while reaching the semi-finals of the English girls’ championship and the quarter-finals of the British girls. She is a member of the English Women’s Golf Association Performance squad.
Leona Maguire went on to win her semi-final again Lea Charpier of France 4/3. In the final she plays Tonje Daffinrud of Norway, who defeated Klara Spilkova (Cze) 1 up in her semi-final.
