Williams books Women’s Open place after winning Hankley qualifier

Wales’ Chloe Williams sealed her return to major championship golf after she lead a group of 11 players to come through Final Qualifying to secure their place in the AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath later this week

Williams, who has yet to record a top-10 finish on the Ladies European Tour this season, fired an impressive five-under-par 67 at the Surrey venue, helped by an eagle at the par-5 13th, to finish a stroke ahead of French player Emma Grechi and America’s Gina Kim. Irish amateur Anna Foster also progressed in a four-player group at three-under-par.

Williams, 28, said: “I’ve played Hankley a couple of times, so I know the course. It was a really, really good day. A couple of breaks went my way, but I was hitting the ball well and I stayed patient and took my chances. I played in the Women’s Open at Carnoustie in 2021 and hopefully that experience will help me this week.”

Late in the day, four players – Mi Hyang Lee, Hayley Davis, Kelsey Bennett and the world’s top ranked amateur, Ingrid Lindblad – came through a 13-way sudden-death play-off, after they had all finished at two-under-par.

After darkness fell, the final place will be decided tomorrow morning between amateur Savannah De Bock from Belgium and Canada’s Maddie Szeryk.
The AIG Women’s Open is being held at Walton Heath from August 9-13, with tickets on sale via aigwomensopen.com.

Who qualified for the AIG Women’s Open

Hankley Common qualifiers for the AIG Women’s Open

Chloe Williams, Wales      -5
Emma Grechi, France       -4
Gina Kim, USA                   -4
Anna Foster, Ire                 -3
Kylie Henry, Scot               -3
Daniela Darquea, Ecu       -3
Wie-ling Hsu, Chi Taipei  -3
Mi Hyang Lee, Korea        -2
Hayley Davis, Eng             -2
Ingrid Lindblad, Swe        -2
Kelsey Bennett, Aus          -2

The post Williams books Women’s Open place after winning Hankley qualifier appeared first on Golf News.