British Boys' and Girls': A great day for Texans and Swedes

August 18, 2023 | by Royal & Ancient

Alex Papayoanou (Royal and Ancient)

The quarterfinals are set. Meja Ortengren continues to impress as Houston native Alex Papayoanou slays a Spanish giant

Meja Ortengren maintained her excellent form to reach the quarter-finals of The R&A Girls’ Amateur Championship while Alex Papayoanou notched up an impressive win to advance in the Boys’ Amateur at Ganton today.

Ortengren won both her matches to join Helen Briem in the Girls’ Amateur quarter-finals along with her fellow Swede Havanna Torstensson and Spanish trio Balma Davalos Guaita, Martina Navarro Navarro and Rocio Tejedo. England’s Isla McDonald-O’Brien and Sophia Fullbrook complete the line-up.

Papayoanou led the way into the Boys’ Amateur quarter-finals after eliminating the fancied Spanish player Jose Antonio Sintes Navarro. The Texan was joined by Michele Ferrero of Italy, Oscar Couilleau and Hugo Le Goff of France, Vaclav Svub from the Czech Republic, home hope Kris Kim, Spain’s Marcel Fonseca, and Oscar Bach of Norway.

The 94th Girls’ Amateur Championship and the 96th Boys’ Amateur Championship are being played simultaneously at the renowned Yorkshire venue Ganton and today saw the rounds of 16 and eight being contested in both championships. The quarter-finals and semi-finals take place tomorrow.

The Boys' Amateur

Papayoanou was up against it in the early stages of his Boys’ Amateur round of eight match with Sintes Navarro and was four down at the turn.

A missed short putt by the young Spaniard at the 10th and a hooked drive into the gorse at the 11th offered the Houston native a way back into the match, and he grasped the opportunity to turn things around, winning three holes in a row from the 13th. The 18-year-old completed the comeback to win by 2&1.

Svub continued his impressive run deep into the championship with a 2&1 triumph over Oliver Toyer from St Neots. The young Czech was four up on the back nine but held off a comeback from his English opponent to progress to the quarter-finals.

Kim has reached the last eight for the second consecutive year after a 3&2 win over Erik Sabelstrom Holmberg. The 15-year-old from Walton Heath was three down after six holes but showed grit and determination to claw his way back into the match and overturn the deficit.

Ferrero edged a close all-Italian affair at the 20th hole against Giovanni Daniele Binaghi and Frenchman Couilleau secured a 1-up win over Spain’s Alvaro Pastor Roman. Bach ended Irish hopes with a win at the 21st hole against Donnacha Cleary.

We have our first quarter-finalist of the Boys' Amateur Championship 👏🤩

Congratulations Alex Papayoanou 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/EJ7BcV3N7r
— The R&A (@RandA) August 18, 2023

The Girls’ Amateur

Meja Ortengren faced her friend and fellow Swede Nora Sundberg in her round of eight match and took a grip of the match in the early stages by moving to a three-hole lead.

The 18-year-old Trophee Esmond champion stuck to her game plan of finding fairways from the tee and secured a comfortable 5&4 win.

Davalos Guaita made the most of her putter to come out on top by 4&3 in her match against Laura Nepper from France and secure her place in the quarter-finals.

Briem demonstrated her mental toughness to come from behind in her tie against her friend and fellow German Marie Agnes Fischer, just as she had done in her round of 16 match against Nishna Patel from India earlier in the day. The 18-year-old stepped up a gear on the back nine once again to take control of the match and eased to a 5&4 victory.

Torstensson came through an all-Swedish clash with Matilda Bjorkman by 3&2 and Tejedo claimed the honours in the all-Spanish duel with Andrea Revuelta with a dominant 6&4 win.

Navarro Navarro ended the hopes of 14-year-old Lauren Crump, from Hill Valley, defeating her by 4&3 while home hopes will centre on Isla McDonald-O’Brien after her one-hole victory over Anastasia Hekkonen from Finland and Sophia Fullbrook who won 2&1 against her fellow English player Maggie Whitehead.

About the British Boys Amateur

British Boys' and Girls': A great day for Texans and Swedes

256 players compete in the Championship which is match play and concludes with a 36 hole Final. Age Qualification - Under the age of 18.

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