England’s Felicity and Sophie win The Spirit
16 October
2005
England’s Felicity Johnson and Sophie Walker
are world-beaters – with a double victory in
the “Olympics” of amateur golf, The Spirit
International Amateur Championship at Whispering Pines,
Texas.
They beat top amateur teams from 23 other nations
to win the women’s championship by two strokes.
And, with England men Oliver Fisher and Jamie Moul,
they scored an eight-shot triumph in the international
team event.
Their success seals a sensational year for the English
Ladies’ Golf Association whose players have
already won gold and silver medals in European Team
Championships and scored a hat trick of wins in this
season’s Home International matches for ladies,
seniors and girls. England players also made a crucial
contribution to GB&I’s Vagliano Trophy win
over Europe.
Felicity, the 18-year-old English champion from Harborne,
and Sophie, a 21-year-old international from Kenwick
Park, led from the front in The Spirit, which describes
itself as the Olympics of amateur golf.
The England pair shot to top of the women’s
leaderboard in the first round and stayed there throughout
the 72-hole betterball championship
However, they secured the title only after holding
off a late and fierce challenge from South Africa,
who had five birdies in the last nine holes of the
final round.
England responded with four birdies of their own
on those holes. These included one from Sophie on
the 17th to match their rivals and maintain a one-shot
advantage, and another from Felicity on the 18th which
moved them two shots clear.
England finished the 72-hole tournament on 19-under
par (65, 68, 68, 68) South Africa were runners-up
on 17-under, followed by Australia on 15-under and
the USA on 14-under.
In the international event, England took the lead
after the second day. They finished on 43-under par,
helped by a superb final round 63, nine-under-par,
from Fisher and Moul. South Africa and the USA were
joint runners-up on 35-under.
In the men’s event Fisher and Moul were runners-up
on 24-under, four behind the winners Germany.
England keep firm grip on lead in The Spirit
15 October
2005
England’s Felicity Johnson and Sophie Walker
have kept a firm grip on the top of two leaderboards
in the Spirit International Amateur Championship –
with just one round to go.
Felicity (Harborne), the 18-year-old English champion,
and Sophie (Kenwick Park), a 21-year-old international,
are two shots clear in the women’s event at
Whispering Pines in Texas.
Their 54-hole betterball total is 15-under par, two
shots ahead of their closest rivals, South Africa
and the USA. The English players added a third round
68 to their opening scores of 65, 68.
England are also holding on to their lead at the
top of the international leaderboard. The mixed team
of Felicity, Sophie, Oliver Fisher and Jamie Moul
are 30-under par, one ahead of South Africa and three
in font of the USA.
Meanwhile, Fisher and Moul have climbed to fourth
place in the men’s table with their third round
66, six-under-par. Their 54-hole total is 15-under
par, five shots behind the current leaders, Germany.
The 72-hole tournament is being contested by top
amateur teams from 24 nations.
England lead two events in The Spirit
14 October
2005
England’s Felicity Johnson and Sophie Walker
are leading two events at the halfway stage of the
Spirit International Amateur Championship at Whispering
Pines, Texas.
They share first place on the women’s leaderboard
with Sweden with a betterball score of 11-under par
after 36 holes. The two nations are three shots ahead
of their nearest rival, South Africa.
Sophie, a 21-year-old international from Kenwick
Park, had five birdies in yesterday’s round
while Felicity, the 18-year-old English champion from
Harborne, had two. However, the girls also had to
score a triple-bogey seven on the 18th – their
ninth hole – and they finished the day with
a four-under 68 to add to their opening 65.
Their play has also helped put the mixed England
team at the top of the international leaderboard.
The quartet of Felicity, Sophie, Walker Cup player
Oliver Fisher and international Jamie Moul, are 20-under
par and lead South Africa by two shots.
The England men’s team is nine-under par after
36 holes and moved up the leaderboard in the second
round to take a share of eighth place.
The 72-hole tournament is being contested by top
amateur teams from 24 nations.
England’s Felicity and Sophie lead Spirit
International Championship
13 October
2005
England’s Felicity Johnson and Sophie Walker
are leading the women’s team leaderboard after
the first round of the Spirit International Amateur
Championship in Texas.
Their scores have also helped put the mixed England
team in a tie for second place on the international
leaderboard.
Felicity, the 18-year-old English champion, and Sophie,
her 21-year-old fellow international, carded a betterball
score of 65, seven-under par, to lead Australia and
Sweden by a stroke in the women’s event.
Sophie, from Kenwick Park in Lincolnshire, had four
birdies in the first eight holes while Felicity, from
Harborne in Warwickshire, contributed three birdies
on the 1st, 6th and 17th holes.
Their fellow England team members, Walker Cup player
Oliver Fisher and international Jamie Moul, returned
a betterball score of four-under par to tie for 11th
place in the men’s table.
The team’s 11-under par total gives them a
share of second place in the international table after
the first round, level with Australia and two behind
leaders South Africa.
The 72-hole tournament is being contested by top
amateur teams from 24 nations.
Felicity Johnson and Sophie Walker head for Texas
12 October
2005
English champion Felicity Johnson and fellow international
Sophie Walker are representing England in this week's
Spirit International Amateur Championship at Whispering
Pines Golf Club in Texas .
They are playing in a mixed England team, alongside
17-year-old Walker Cup player Oliver Fisher and international
Jamie Moul, 20.
The quartet are competing against top amateurs from
23 other nations in the biannual event. The 72-hole
best ball tournament includes five separate competitions
for teams and individuals and continues until Saturday,
October 15.
Felicity, 18, (Harborne) became one of the youngest-ever
English champions when she beat 21-year-old Sophie
( Kenwick Park ) in a sudden death play-off for the
title in May.
Both players were in England 's winning Home International
team and helped England win the silver medal in the
European Ladies' Team Championships. They were also
part of the victorious GB&I Vagliano Trophy team
which beat the Continent of Europe.
Felicity and Sophie are both members of ELGA's elite
squads, which are part of the association's Sport
England, lottery-funded World Class training programme.
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