A birdie, birdie finish sealed a five-shot victory for Aileen Greenfield in the English Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship at St Enodoc in Cornwall.

Greenfield, from Pyecombe in Sussex, came from a shot behind to beat Jackie Foster (Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire), ahead of a three-way tie for third place.

The new champion who finished on 10-over par, has been very close to this title before, notably getting into a play-off in 2015 when she made her debut in senior ranks. The following year she was again runner-up.

This time there were no mistakes and she adds the title to the English Senior Women’s Amateur which she won last year and she commented: “I’m over the moon, absolutely over the moon.”

She trailed Foster, a two-times winner, by a stroke going into today’s final round and after two holes had dropped three further back. At the turn, Foster was still three shots clear, but it all changed on the back nine. 

Greenfield came home in two-under par, with three birdies in the last four holes, while Foster struggled back in six-over.

“I didn’t look at the scoreboard, I was playing with Jackie but I hadn’t a clue about the scores, I’d just have got too excited otherwise,” said Greenfield.

“It was just a game of patience. The front nine was playing a lot harder than the back and I got though those holes trying to do no worse than a bogey and then I hoped to get the birdies later on.”

Third place was shared by Julie Wheeldon (Wakefield, Yorkshire), former champion Lulu Housman (Wyke Green, Middlesex) and Australia’s Sue Wooster.

St Enodoc’s Caroline Hume-Kendall finished in a tie for 19^th place.

Click here for final scores.

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