Surrey’s Annabell Fuller won the English Women’s Open Amateur Stroke Play title after shooting six under par for four rounds at Burnham and Berrow Golf Club in Somerset.
Scores of 71, 68, 73 and 70 saw the 18-year-old from Roehampton Golf Club finish three shots clear of nearest challenger Emma Allen. Allen finished four-over in her final round and three-under par for the week.
Fuller performed to a high standard in wet and windy conditions on the Somerset coast, including today’s 36-hole finale to the 72-hole stroke play event. Despite the challenging weather, she avoided big scores on her card, holed clutch putts and was deservedly left holding silverware after a testing day on the links.
“It’s amazing, I can’t express how amazing it feels,” said Fuller. “You come up here and you never really know what will happen. Only one person wins out of 120, so it’s a great achievement.”
After a difficult start this morning, which saw three bogeys on the first three holes, Fuller showed grit and determination to bounce back with an eagle on the fourth and birdies at five and seven. Fuller’s closest competitor, Stoneham Golf Club’s Allen, held a three-shot lead heading into the final round, however Fuller got off to a flying start over the final 18, going four-under through the front nine to turn the deficit into a lead.
“My approach heading into the final round changed slightly,” said Fuller. “I tried to make sure that in the beginning I didn’t drop any shots, the front nine is a lot easier as it’s down wind. I tried to make a couple of birdies which thankfully I did and that got me rolling on to the back nine.”
A bogey finish on the 18th wasn’t enough to spoil the party for the member of the England Women’s Overseas squad who believes the win is hard to top so far in her fledgling career. “It’s definitely one of my best wins, I mean the English Women’s Open is such a huge title,” she said.
With torrential downpours on Wednesday, Fuller was one of only four players in the field who finished under par for the week. The others were Allen (-3), England and Essex player Lily May Humphreys and Gloucestershire’s Caley McGinty (both -1).
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