Laura Eastwood (Yelverton) won the St. Andrews Under 23 tournament
06 August 2004

Girls Open Quaich Draw (pdf)
Girls Monthly Trophy (pdf)

Devon’s Laura Eastwood won the Junior Ladies’ Open at St Andrew’s in an all-England final against Lincolnshire’s Sophie Walker.

Laura, a former English girls’ champion, capped a low-scoring week with a 3/2 win on the Old Course to claim the Golf Monthly Salver. She said: I was really very pleased to win, Sophie is a good golfer and it was a good match.

This was the first time I’d played here, I just enjoyed it and it went my way.

The Yelverton player’s route to the final included an exciting first-round match on The Eden against Scotland’s Clare Queen. It ended only on the 22nd, where Laura drove the green and holed a 10-footer for an eagle two.

The action moved to a misty Old Course where Laura beat Naomi Edwards (Ganton) 2/1 in the quarter final. She followed-up with a 7/5 win over Scotland’s Claire McNeil to reach the final.

Laura’s win keeps the title firmly in English hands. It’s been held for the last two years by Ganton’s Rachel Bell, who bowed out in the semi-finals to Sophie, (Kenwick Park) the 2003 English strokeplay champion.

The tournament was a good event for English players with Faye Sanderson (Heworth) leading the 16 qualifiers for the matchplay stages with a one-under par 70 on the Strathtyrum course. She was knocked out in the quarter finals.

Laura, Faye, Naomi and Sophie were all members of the England team which finished fourth in the European Lady Juniors Team Championship at Royal Cinque Ports last month.

Laura Eastwood
(Yelverton)