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Italy’s Alessia Nobilio was in superb form as she cruised to an emphatic victory at the 90th Portuguese International Ladies Amateur Championship at Montado.
The 19-year-old world No. 4 was one shot out of the lead held by Denmark’s Smilla Tarning Sønderby after an opening 67 but then moved out in front with a 69 before completing the job with another 69 the following day.
With an 11-under-par total, Nobilio finished eight shots ahead of her compatriot Matilde Innocenti Angelini and Spain’s Carla Tejedo. She also helped an Italian team also featuring Carolina Melgrati and Francesca Fiorellini claim a four-shot win in the concurrent Nations Cup competition.
“It’s an amazing feeling and I’m very happy to win,” said Nobilio, who will take up a golf scholarship at the University of California Los Angeles this September. “It’s good to know hard work is rewarded. It was a great week. I played well from day one.”
Further down the leaderboard Sønderby added a 74 and a 73 to her opening 66 to finish tied fourth alongside Spain’s Marta García-Llorca and fellow Dane Natacha Høst Husted. England’s Lily May Humphreys recovered from first-round 76 to card a 69 and a 70 and finish in a share of eighth place alongside Melgrati and Germany’s Paula Schulz-Hanßen on 1-under 215.
Scotland’s Hazel MacGarvie also bounced back from a first round 76 to post a 71 and a 69 and finish one shot further back in a share of 11th place alongside Liechtenstein’s Isabel Laulhé and Dutch pair Lauren Holmey and Anouk Sohier.
Another Scot, Louise Duncan, equalled the best round of the last day with a 68 to move up into a share of 15th place alongside compatriot Shannon McWilliam and Germany’s Paula Kirner.
Euan McIntosh, the 2018 Scottish Amateur champion, can look forward to a new life on the Staysure Tour after securing a full card at the European senior circuit’s Final Q-School at the Pestana Golf Resort in Portugal.
The Scottish international led the field by one shot after opening rounds of 68 and 66 but then dropped back into a share of third place with a 71 before sealing a share of second place behind New Zealand’s Michael Long with a 4-under-par 67 in the final round.
McIntosh had made previous attempts to secure a tour card at both the PGA Tour Champions and Staysure Tour Q-Schools so he knew exactly what to expect in Portugal.
“Tour schools are horrendous,” he said. “It’s been tough but it’s been enjoyable.
“I’ve done it a few times now and you get used to it a little bit. You’ve got to try to win the tournament but it’s not easy. Something is going to happen where it’s not going your way, but you’ve just got to try to keep as much within yourself as possible.
“It’s an old cliché, but you hit a drive, and then the next shot is the next shot, and then the next is the next. You’ve just got to keep going.”
McIntosh turned pro in the early 1990s before electing to return to the amateur ranks in 2015 in order to get ready for a tilt at the senior circuit and he sees that decision as a vital part of his success at Pestana.
“For the last three years, I’ve played a lot of high-end amateur events with guys that are going to be winning European Tour events,” he said. “It’s been a really good grounding, these guys have been amazing. They’ve pushed me on to get my golf to the level it’s at now. Without their help, and their competitiveness, I wouldn’t be here right now.
“The strange thing is, I’m sad in a way to be leaving the amateur ranks. I’ve got a lot of friends, because I play for Scotland, but now I’m not going to be doing that ever again. It’s great, but there’s a bit of sadness there.”
McIntosh became the oldest winner of the Scottish Amateur in three decades in 2018 when, at age 49, he beat teenager Jamie Stewart, 3 and 2, in the final over the Rosemount course at Blairgowrie. There was a 31-year age gap between the pair.
England’s Ben Schmidt saw his hopes of completing an Australian double dashed when he lost out to Nathan Barbieri at the Avondale Amateur at Avondale Golf Club in Sydney.
Schmidt, a 17-year-old from Barnsley who won the previous week’s New South Wales Amateur, started the final round tied for the lead with Barbieri after opening rounds of 67, 66 and 69 but a closing 69 left him stranded three shots behind his fast-finishing Australian rival on 13-under 271.
However, his second-place finish capped a successful month for England Golf’s touring party Down Under with Charlotte Heath winning the Australian Women’s Amateur and finishing tied sixth at the Avondale Women’s Amateur, Emily Toy claiming medallist honours during the match-play qualifier at Australian Women's Amateur and Schmidt beating Callum Farr in an all-English final of the New South Wales event.
Ben Jones also had a successful trip, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Amateur and finishing seventh at the Australian Master of the Amateurs, while Charlie Strickland continued his recovery from ill health by also reaching the last four of the Australian Amateur.
Elsewhere, another English team, made up of “A” squad members, beat Ireland in the final of the annual Octagonal Match at Costa Ballena in Spain.
“It’s been our best start to the year in a long time,” said England Golf head of performance Nigel Edwards. “It’s great to see so many good scores and wins.
“I’ve no doubt success breeds success and these results will only motivate others to kick on.”
Another group of England Golf players has the chance to do that when they take part in the traditional South African Spring Swing which starts with this week’s African Amateur Championship at Leopard Creek. Jake Bolton, Sam Bairstow, Joe Long and Robin Williams form the official English party for the trip but they also will be joined at various times by compatriots Joe Harvey, Monty Scowsill, James Biggs, Ben Firth and others.
Bolton, 21, is hoping that the English representatives can build on his country’s fast start to the season.
“When you see other English players do well on the world stage it just makes you want to add to the success story,” he said. “I know the four lads going to South Africa are desperate to do well and hopefully get their hands on more silverware.
“This will be my first time in South Africa, but we have some experience on the team with Joe having played over there a couple of times. Robin was born in South Africa and I know he’s looking forward to competing and Sam makes up a strong four.”
This year’s African Amateur Stroke Play has attracted an impressive international field also including Ireland’s Matthew McLean, Robert Brazill, Keith Egan, Rowan Lester, Tom McKibbin, Tiarnon McLarnon, James Sugrue and Caolan Rafferty; Scotland’s Lewis Irvine, Stuart Easton, Stephen Roger, James Wilson, Connor Wilson and Darren Howie; Frenchmen Aurélien Douce, Elliot Anger, Martin Couvra, Hugo Archer, Lucas Abrial, Tom Vaillant and Nicolas Muller; and Welshman Oliver Brown.
The Scots will be bidding to retain a trophy won last year by Euan Walker and also continue a legacy of success that has also seen Michael Stewart, Brian Soutar, Daniel Young, Craig Ross and Liam Johnston all record victories in South Africa in recent years.
Sweden’s Gustav Andersson was the top European performer at the Major Champions Invitational at Lookout Mountain Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona.
Andersson, from Bokskogen, who won the Stenson Sunesson Junior Challenge at Barsebäck last summer and then was tied third in the individual event at the subsequent European Boys’ Team Championship in France, shot rounds of 71, 65 and 69 to finish in second place in the boys’ event a single shot behind Japan’s Yuki Moriyama on 11-under 205.
Ruben Lindsay, the 2019 Scottish Boys’ champion from Ayr Belleisle, was tied for 10th place with rounds of 76, 67 and 72.
American Zoe Campos closed with a 67 to secure a two-shot victory ahead of compatriot Taylor Roberts and Australia’s June Song in the concurrent girls’ event and also help Team Lopez complete a five-shot win ahead of Team Stenson in the mixed-team event.
With an 11-under 205 total, Campos finished seven shots ahead of the leading Europeans, England’s Rosie Belsham and Sweden’s Louise Rydqvist, who were tied for fifth place alongside Argentina’s Agustina Zeballos on 212. Belsham improved each day with rounds of 73, 71 and 68 while Rydqvist started with two rounds of 71 before firing a closing 70.
Another English international, Jess Baker, held the lead with an opening 67 but then posted a 75 before recovering with a 71 to finish tied for eighth place alongside Sweden’s Ester Fägersten, American Ashley Menne and Siqin Yu from China on 3-under 213.
Tournament host Sir Nick Faldo confirmed the Major Champions Invitational will be staged again in 2021.
“We are already planning for next year’s event and it’s going to be bigger and better than before,” said the six-time major champion.
Swedish amateur Filip Lundell can look forward to a season competing on the MENA Tour after claiming medallist honours at the second of the circuit’s two 2020 Q-Schools at the Ayla Golf Club in Jordan.
The Grand Canyon University graduate carded rounds of 70, 68 and 71 to share first place with former Scottish and Irish amateur internationals Ryan Lumsden and Paul McBride and then beat them with an eagle on the first hole of a sudden-death play-off.
World No. 672 Lundell is the second successive amateur to top the leaderboard at the MENA Tour’s Q-School 2 after England’s Williams did the same thing 12 months ago.
England’s David Hague and Germany’s Julian Ballmann were the other amateurs who earned their cards at Q-School 2 together with a large group of former amateur internationals including Scotland’s Calum Fyfe and Sam Locke; England’s Tom Sloman, David Langley, Ben Hutchinson, Sean Towndrow and Gian-Marco Petrozzi; and France’s Sébastien Gros and Augustin Holé. The 2019 Irish Open Amateur champion, James Newton, was also among the 35 players to secure their playing privileges.
China’s Ziang Xu was the sole amateur to earn a card at the first of the two Q-Schools at Ayla. The other qualifiers at that event included England’s Nathan Kimsey, Billy Hemstock, Bailey Gill, Alfie Plant, Mitch Waite and Josh McMahon; Ireland’s Conor Purcell; and Gaelen Trew from Wales. The event was won by Miguel Jiménez Jr, the 24-year-old son of Spanish Ryder Cup player Miguel Ángel Jiménez.
The first event on this year’s MENA Tour is this week’s Journey to Jordan 1 event at Ayla.
Two of Britain’s leading amateurs have announced they have turned professional.
Current Yorkshire county champion Hague, from Malton & Norton, made the switch after earning a tour card at the second of the MENA Tour’s Q-Schools in Jordan and will make his first pro start at this week’s event at Ayla.
He will be joined in the pro ranks by 2018 English Women’s Amateur champion Georgina Blackman, who made the cut at the recent Ladies European Tour Q-School at La Manga. The 23-year-old left-hander from Essex will play the LET Access Series and a limited number of events on the LET this season.
Last week I reported that Germany’s Leonie Harm had earned an LET playing card after finishing tied 20th at the tour’s Q-School, but in fact only the top 20 secured their playing privileges and Harm missed out in a play-off for the last card. Apologies for the error.
E-MAIL COLIN