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Three English amateurs win full LET cards
16 January 2009
Three English amateurs earned full cards for the 2009 Ladies European Tour after they finished in the top 30 at qualifying school in La Manga, Spain.
They are Bedfordshire’s Holly Aitchison, who was 20th; Lancashire’s Florentyna Parker, 21st; and Kent’s Claire Aitken, 26th. They are among nine amateurs who earned full cards in the Tour’s category 8a.
Hampshire’s Liz Bennett finished 35th and will be offered tour membership in category 10b. Players in this category may not compete every week. However, the tour points out that one such player last season made 21 starts from 29 tournaments.
Holly Aitchison returned a final round of one-over 74 which included one birdie and two bogeys, one of them on the 18th. She was three-over par for the tournament, as was Florentyna Parker who had two bogeys and one double in her final round 77.
Claire Aitken had two birdies – one on the 17th – and a bogey in her steady 74. Liz Bennett was level par after she birdied the 12th but dropped a shot on each of the 13th, 14th and 16th to finish on 76 and seven-over in total.
Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, the 2008 British amateur champion, won the event with a four-round total of 279, 13-under-par after rounds of 75, 69, 67 and 68.
English amateur scores
(Par=292 4x73)
295 Holly Aitchison (Bedfordshire) 76 75 70 74; Florentyna Parker (Royal Birkdale) 76 71 71 77
296 Claire Aitken (Mid-Kent) 74 73 75 74
299 Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) 75 73 75 76
Full details: www.ladieseuropeantour.com
Four English amateurs make cut at LET qualifying
15 January 2009
Four English amateurs have earned the chance to play on the 2009 Ladies European Tour after surviving the 54-hole cut at final Qualifying School in La Manga, Spain.
They are the Curtis Cup players Liz Bennett of Hampshire and Florentyna Parker of Lancashire; former Portuguese champion Holly Aitchison of Bedfordshire and the 2007 English mid-amateur champion, Claire Aitken of Kent.
They are among 55 players, including 15 amateurs, who made the cut mark of seven-over par 226 – and they still have much to play for. At the end of today’s final round the top 30 players will achieve a much higher ranking which will guarantee their entry into most of the tournaments on the schedule.
All four English amateurs were in the top 30 after three rounds with Florentyna Parker leading the way. She was one under par after 54 holes and shared 12th place.
Holly Aitchison returned an impressive three-under 70 in the third round which included four birdies and just one bogey. It moved her up from 49th place to 20th.
Claire Aitken had a disappointing double bogey five on the 17th but, thanks to very steady scoring in the rest of the round, returned a 75 and was lying 25th. One shot further back in 29th place was Liz Bennett, England’s number one amateur, who played a gutsy back nine. She was four over par after 11 holes of the third round but had three birdies and just one more bogey on the way home for a 75.
Among those who missed the cut were Kym Larratt of Leicestershire and Tilly Holder of Woburn.
The tournament leader is Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist on eight-under par 211.
English amateur scores
(Par = 219, 3x73)
218 Florentyna Parker (Royal Birkdale) 76 71 71
221 Holly Aitchison (Bedfordshire)
222 Claire Aitken (Mid-Kent) 74 73 75
223 - Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) 75 73 75,
Missed the cut:-
231 Kym Larratt (Kibworth) 77 74 80; Tilly Holder (Woburn) 75 78 78
Full details: www.ladieseuropeantour.com
Florentyna makes her move at LET qualifying
14 January 2009
England international Florentyna Parker shot up the leaderboard at the Ladies European Tour qualifying school with a second round score of two-under par 71.
It propelled the Lancashire player up 27 places into a share of 15th spot, where she joins Kent’s Claire Aitken, who continued her steady progress with a level par 73.
England’s number one amateur Liz Bennett also returned a 73 in a round which included four birdies and four bogeys. The Hampshire player is one shot back in a tie for 25th place.
After today’s third round the field will be cut to the leading 50 players and ties and three other English amateurs will be looking for good scores to move them away from the danger zone.
Bedfordshire’s Holly Aitchison and Leicestershire’s Kym Larratt are currently tied 49th on five over par, while Woburn’s Tilly Holder is 62nd on seven over.
The field is led by American Beth Allen who is five-under par.
English amateur scores
(Par=146 2x73)
147 Florentyna Parker (Royal Birkdale) 76 71; Claire Aitken (Mid-Kent) 74, 73
148 Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) 75, 73
151 Holly Aitchison (Bedfordshire) 76 75; Kym Larratt (Kibworth) 77, 74
153 Tilly Holder (Woburn) 75, 78
Full details: www.ladieseuropeantour.com
Claire Aitken leads English amateurs at Tour school
13 January 2009
Kent’s Claire Aitken led the English amateur challenge on the first day of the Ladies European Tour final qualifying school at La Manga.
She shot a one-over par 74, which included three birdies and an eagle, to share 18th place. Claire, 22, is a past English mid-amateur champion.
The six England amateurs in the field were grouped tightly with only three shots separating them.
One stroke behind Claire were England’s number one amateur Liz Bennett from Hampshire and Buckinghamshire’s Tilly Holder. They were in a group sharing 26th place.
Bedfordshire’s Holly Aitchison, a former Portuguese champion, and Curtis Cup player Florentyna Parker from Lancashire, were a further shot back and in 42nd place.
Leicestershire’s Kym Larratt was yet another stroke behind and is in a group in 56th place.
The first round lead was set by South Korea’s Jessica Ji who returned a four-under 69.
After 54 holes the field of 95 will be cut to the top 50 players and ties for Thursday’s final round. All players making the last day will be given a place on the Ladies European Tour. The leading 30 will receive a higher category of membership offering the opportunity to play in most of the events on the 2009 LET calendar.
English amateur scores
(Par 73)
74 Claire Aitken (Mid-Kent)
75 Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor); Tilly Holder (Woburn)
76 Holly Aitchison (Bedfordshire); Florentyna Parker (Royal Birkdale)
77 Kym Larratt (Kibworth)
Full details: ladieseuropeantour.com
Six English amateurs at LET final qualifying
12 January 2009
England’s number one amateur Liz Bennett made it comfortably through to the final stage of qualifying for the 2009 Ladies European Tour, which starts today at La Manga, Spain.
Liz, from Hampshire, was one of six English amateurs to qualify for the final stage. She shared 20th place at pre-qualifying, also at La Manga, and today tees up in the same group as fellow England international and Curtis Cup player, Florentyna Parker. The Lancashire player went through in 51st place.
Also in the final field are past English mid-amateur Claire Aitken of Kent and former Portuguese champion, Holly Aitchison of Bedfordshire, who shared 24th place. Both players were in England’s 2007 Home International team.
Leicestershire’s Kym Larratt, who played at the 2008 English County Finals, also reached final qualifying with room to spare. She tied 48th.
Woburn’s Tilly Holder shot a final round 74 to lift herself a vital four places up the leaderboard and qualify on the mark, in a share of 63rd place.
A total of 68 players progressed to the final stage where they join 27 others who were already exempt. A cut will be made after Wednesday’s third round with the top 50 and ties going forward to Thursday’s last round.
All players making the last day will be given a place on the Ladies European Tour. The leading 30 will receive a higher category of membership offering the opportunity to play in most of the events on the 2009 LET calendar.
English amateur pre-qualifying scores
(Par=288, 4x 72)
295 Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) 77 75 72 71
296 Claire Aitken (Mid-Kent) 73 78 71 74; Holly Aitchison (Bedfordshire) 75 73 75 73
303 Kym Larratt (Kibworth) 76 77 78 72
304 Florentyna Parker (Royal Birkdale) 79 78 73 74
306 Tilly Holder (Woburn) 77 77 78 74
Failed to qualify:
312 Corisande Lee (West Lancs) 77 82 77 76
313 Hannah Ralph (Cowdray Park) 80 77 79 77
314 Hannah Grant (Enmore Park) 83 82 74 75; Naomi Edwards (Ganton) 87 74 81 72; Tracey Boyes (Meon Valley) 80 79 77 78
Full details: www.ladieseuropeantour.com
England amateur stars bid for Tour cards
January 7 2009
Three of England’s top amateur stars are among 105 players who today begin their attempt to qualify for the 2009 Ladies European Tour.
Liz Bennett, the England number one from Brockenhurst Manor, Hampshire; Naomi Edwards from Ganton, Yorkshire, and Florentyna Parker of Royal Birkdale, Lancashire, are teeing-up in the pre-qualifying school at La Manga.
All three are England internationals, have played in Curtis Cup teams and have amassed a host of individual honours.
They’re among 105 players from 32 countries who are contesting the 72-hole first stage of qualifying. After Saturday’s final round the leading 62 players will join 28 others who are already exempt to make a field of 90 players and ties at next week’s final qualifying.
This second stage will also be played at La Manga, from Monday 12th – Thursday 15th January. The top 30 players will win cards offering them the opportunity to play in most LET tournaments while the next 20 will be offered limited playing opportunities.
Altogether, England is fielding 20 players at qualifying school. They are a mix of amateurs and professionals and all but four have to go through the pre-qualifying stage.
The other amateurs bidding for their cards are Holly Aitchison (Bedfordshire) and Claire Aitken (Mid-Kent) who were both in England’s 2007 Home International team; Tracey Boyes (Meon Valley), Hannah Grant (Enmore park), Kym Larratt (Kibworth), Cori Lee (West Lancs) and Hannah Ralph (Cowdray Park).
Full details: ladieseuropeantour.com
