Abbie Teasdale edged Nellie Ong on the fourth play-off hole to win the English Women’s Open Strokeplay Championship at Manchester Golf Club.
Seventeen-year-old Nellie Ong led by three going into the final round of the English Women's Open Strokeplay Championship, in a drama-filled day where the lead switched hands a number of times, following a four-under front-nine from Abbie Teasdale and five birdies from Ong.
Ong birdied the 15th but a double-bogey on 16 meant Teasdale was ahead before a bogey on the 18th from the Australian meant they would go to a play-off.
With over 100 spectators following, and many cheering on Teasdale at her home course in England, it looked as if Ong was going to seal victory on the first play-off hole as she had a seven-foot putt for the win. However, she left it short.
Ong (Eaton, Norwich) then hit the bunker off the tee on the par-5 second but a stunning shot to a couple of feet put pressure on Teasdale. The Royal Fremantle golfer sunk a 10-footer for birdie to halve the hole and take it down the 17th, where pars again meant that as the darkness crept in, they would go down 18.
Ong’s wayward tee shot left her a tough shot out of the rough and despite a great 15-foot putt, it narrowly missed to open the door for Teasdale, who calmly rolled in a three-footer for her second victory of the summer, after picking up the English Women’s Under 25 Championship at Woburn in July.
Megan Dennis (Woburn) fired five birdies in a stellar final round to catapult her to third place overall, just two shots back.
Jessica Hall (Bishop Auckland) was fourth on countback after two steady rounds of -2 on the final day. Esme Hamilton (Notts Ladies) produced six birdies in her final round to help her to a fifth-place finish, while Switzerland’s Romaine Masserey (Montreux) and Nicola Slater (Woodsome Hall) played some solid golf to finish sixth and seventh respectively.
West Kent’s Ellie Burdis shot a final round four-under-par, including four birdies in six holes to move to eighth while Ava Bates (Wentworth) and Cherry Marley (The Oaks) completed the top-10.
English Women's Open Strokeplay Championship - Final day, first round
In the first 18 holes of the day, Teasdale stormed into a two-shot lead as she landed four birdies on the front-nine but a treble on the 10th saw her slip down the board. A steady Ong navigated the tricky final few holes to birdie the 18th and hold a three-shot lead going into the afternoon’s 18.
Jess Hall was four-under through 14 and mounting a charge but two bogeys saw her slip at the end, while Esme Hamilton’s -1 saw her tied third at the halfway stage.
Scotland’s Megan Ashley birdied five of seven holes through 6-12 as she produced an impressive -2 for the morning, while five birdies from Nicola Slater were cancelled out after a tough back-nine.
Elsewhere, Ireland’s Aideen Walsh (Lahinch) birdied five of the six par-5s to finish with a round of -4, while fellow countrywoman Clodagh Coughlan (Douglas) was five-under through 16 before a triple-bogey and bogey prevented her from sitting in the top-five.
Madeleine Smith (Norwood Park) shot six birdies in her morning round to finish -2, while Alice Barlow (Bury St Edmunds) produced one of the rounds of the afternoon with -4.
View the final leaderboard by clicking here.
The 2024 Amateur Women’s Open Stroke Play takes place at Stoneham Golf Club, Hampshire from June 18-20.