Lamb wins junior title at Formby (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Lamb wins junior title at Formby

1:10pm Friday 13th July 2012 in Golf By Gary York

CLITHEROE teenager Sophie Lamb has become Lancashire Junior champion for the first time after taming very tough conditions at Formby Ladies Golf Club.

The 14-year-old, a Westholme School student, took the honours after two excellent rounds on the Lancashire coast.

Gross scores of 74 and 72 gave Lamb a two-shot victory over 12-year-old Hollie Muse of West Lancashire and Pleasington’s Hollie Vizard, who claimed third place.

A total of 23 girls took part in the championship, including county players Brogan Townend, Gemma Batty and Elizabeth Stebbings.

The weather at Formby was good, but the course proved difficult as the rough was much longer than usual.

Any shot off the fairway was punished and the greens were tight, but it did not stop Lamb posting 72 in the afternoon, which proved the best score of the day.

A regular county junior and senior ‘B’ team player, Lamb finished 14th in this year’s Scottish Girls U16 Championships and won the Northern County Foursomes at Hesketh with her partner Christine Stokes.

She is a member of the England Girls ‘Birdie’ squad and has been the Clitheroe Junior Knockout champion for the last two years.

Lancashire Ladies captain Val Moran said: “It was a pleasure to see some exceptional golf from our youngsters and the scores proved this.

“Congratulations to all the winners and especially to our 2012 junior champion Sophie Lamb.”

Emily Shea (Fairhaven) won the nett aggregate prize and Stebbings (Wilpshire) is the Daily Telegraph Young Golfer of the Year qualifier.

The subsididiary 18 hole stableford competitions winner was Thiri Naing (West Lancashire) with 39 points.

In the other junior categories, the U12 winner was Manchester’s Beth Greenhalgh.