The world's most talented amateur golfers compete this week at West Lancashire. By Harriet Shephard.
Image: R&A
This week the UK has gone straight from a huge female professional event into a huge female amateur event.
Just one day after the AIG Women's Open finished at Royal Troon, the R&A's Women's Amateur championships is kicking off at West Lancashire.
100 of the world's best female amateur players will comopete over the next four days on the North West club, held behind closed doors and with no spectators.
But just because we can't be there in person it doesn't mean we can't be involved.
The R&A will be posting regular updates on their social media (in fact they've already started) and below we've provided everything you need to know about the 2020 Women's Amateur championships.
Format
Held from August 25 to 29 at West Lancashire, the competition will feature 100 of the best golfers from across Europe.
The start was delayed from 7.30am until 9.30am today (August 25) due to rain and the next two days will be qualifying rounds played as three balls.
At the end of this the top 64 players will go through to the three matchplay rounds, followed by the quarter finals, semi finals and eventually the 18-hole final held from Friday August 29 at 1.15pm.
The Women's Amateur champion gets exemptions into the AIG Women’s Open and, traditionally, the US Women’s Open, The Evian Championship and Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship.
Basically, winning is a life-changing achievement.
Previous winners include Sweden's Anna Nordqvist (2008), 2018 Ricoh Women's British Open champion Georgia Hall (2013), France's Céline Boutier (2015) and Ireland's Leona Maguire (2017).
Defending champion
Emily Toy from Carlyon Bay Golf Club will be hoping to defend her Women’s Amateur title after the former R&A Scholar edged out Amelia Garvey at Royal County Down last year.
The 22-year-old said: “I’m really looking forward to playing at West Lancashire to defend the Women’s Amateur Championship title.
”Last year, I gained lots of great opportunities, including teeing it up in two Major championships. I’ve got the US Open to come in December and then Augusta next year. It’s amazing to have these opportunities.”
Ones to watch
Two of the world’s top 10 players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) are included in the field - Italian duo Alessia Nobilio (3) and Benedetta Moresco (9).
The highest ranked Englishwoman competing today is Lily May Humphreys at No.13 in the WAGR. The player from Stoke By Nayland Hotel, Club and Spa won the 2017 R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship and was also a Curtis Cup team member for Great Britain and Ireland in 2018.
Meanwhile, Ludlow player Emily Price defeated Humphreys to win the English Women’s Amateur Championship earlier this month, and West Lancashire home hopeful Hollie Muse will be looking to use her local knowledge to her advantage and build on her recent achievements.
Other key British players include Annabell Fuller, who won the English Women’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship last week 2018 and R&A Girls’ Under-16 Open champion Hannah Darling.
Scoring
You can follow the scores on the R&A's website www.randa.org.
Click HERE to go straight to the leaderboard.
2020 AIG Women's Open: Final highlights - READ MORE
