Jess Hall calmly stroked home a birdie putt on the final hole to head the leaderboard after day one of the English Women’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship.
Hall posted a fine level par round of 70 at Beau Desert Golf Club in Staffordshire to edge one shot clear of the chasing pack fronted by four players on +1.
West Kent’s Ellie Burdis, Lucia Masding from Knole Park, Emily McBurney from Royal Liverpool and Burhill’s Herry Ji can rest easy tonight knowing that they posted a good score in tricky conditions.
Hall, though, couldn’t be toppled and the six-foot birdie putt she holed on 18 across the slope allowed her to take a slender advantage into round two.
The golfer from Bishop Auckland has only recently returned from college in America where she graduated in Sports Event Planning at California State University.
And as she eyes a career in the professional ranks, Hall would love to sign off for the season with a win in this event.
Hall said: “This is my last tournament of the year and then I’ll try and go to LET Tour School in December and try and get my card. Very exciting!
“There’s still a long way to go. A couple of steady rounds and then I’ll go from there.”
Hall was the epitome of consistency on a day when the wind swirled around the trees on Cannock Chase and made it tricky for players to judge yardages. Two birdies, two bogeys and 14 pars was the sign of a player in control of her game.
“I said before that I went out that level par would be a great score around this tough golf course with the par being 70 so I’m happy,” added Hall.
Imogen Courtney from West Hill struck the first tee shot of the day against slate grey skies and a heavy drizzle.
By mid-morning, the skies had brightened but the breeze was proving difficult to handle as it gusted.
That, combined with heather-flanked fairways and large, sloping greens meant the players had their work cut out to get the better of a course that takes pride in being one of the best and toughest heathland courses in the country.
English Under 25 champion Hannah Screen and Italy’s Alessia Nobilio – the highest ranked player in the field – posted early rounds of 74.
However, they were both outdone by the third member of their group, Switzerland’s Vaness Knecht who took the clubhouse lead on +2.
By lunchtime it was clear that anything around par would be an excellent score and both Burdis and Masding carded rounds of 71 to make their intentions for the week clear.
For Burdis it was a job well done – especially as she was playing the course blind.
She said: “It was steady golf – you can’t win on the first day so it’s just positioning.
“I never usually play a practice round and I didn’t this week, so I’ll take it.”
It was also a special day for Morgan Thomas – one of three players in the field who got to play a national championship on her home track.
Thomas has been a member of Beau Desert since she was four and the 21-year-old relished the chance to play in front of friends and family and the many volunteers who gave up their time to help the competitors.
After a round of 74 kept her well in the hunt, she said: “I’m biased towards my own golf course – but it deserves to be out there and the name of Beau Desert to be recognised as a really good course to play.”
After Friday’s second round, the top 60 players and ties will go forward to play the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday.
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