It would be stretching it to say that the last time a Scot won the Helen Holm Scottish Open Strokeplay Championship, they etched the winner’s name onto the roll of honour with a feather quill but the 16 year wait goes on, writes Nick Rodger.
The Scots contingent made a good stab at bringing the Helen Holm back home for the first time since 2002, with six finishing in the top 10 after a tough day on the robust championship links at Royal Troon, but in the end it was England’s Lily May Humphreys who took the prize and the plaudits as she underlined her considerable potential with a one shot victory over Chloe Goadby of St Andrews.
The 16-year-old, who won last year’s English Amateur Championship, posted a nicely assembled four-under 68 for a nine-under 207 and a slender triumph over an international field. Goadby also finished with a 68 while Aboyne’s Shannon McWilliam, who shared the overnight lead, slipped back into fourth with a 73 for 211.
McWilliam, who may have done just enough to merit a call up to the GB&I side for June’s Curtis Cup after her third top-five in this event in four years, saw her challenge falter with a brace of damaging double-bogeys at the sixth and 11th.
Humphreys, meanwhile, produced a telling thrust towards the end of her front nine which bolstered her assault on the title.
After a double-bogey on the fifth, Humphreys trundled in a raking birdie putt of some 30-feet on the seventh which provided the catalyst for a profitable push as she picked up five birdies in seven holes to up the ante.
“After the fifth, I needed something to get me going and that 30-footer settled me down,” said Humphreys, who should be included in the Curtis Cup when the team gets announced later this week. “This means a lot. My win in the English Amateur was big but I think, against an international field, this is probably a bigger achievement.”
Goadby was content with her runners-up finish while McWilliam was left to rue those pesky double-bogeys. “Two holes cost me,” said McWilliam, who remained coy about her Curtis Cup hopes. “We’ll just wait and see.”
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