Holpfer goes wire-to-wire in winning English Women's Am

COVENTRY, England (Aug. 23, 2018) – Austria’s Isabella Holpfer completed a remarkable wire-to-wire victory in the English Women’s Open Amateur when she finished 11 shots clear of the field at Coventry Golf Club.

The 17-year-old was 13-under par and dominated the championship from the word go. In the first round she shot 7-under 66 and was six clear of the field – and sending a very loud message to her rivals.

She marked time in Round 2, with an even-par score, but her challengers stayed five behind her. Then, in Thursday’s final 36 holes, she put her foot down with a plan “to make as many birdies as I could.”

She was 5 under in the morning and opened up a 10-shot lead. She followed up with a triumphant procession around the course in the afternoon, signing off with 1-under 72.

“This is pretty good!” she said. “This is my last tournament of the season and I’ve had a pretty good season so it’s nice to finish off with a win.”

Holpfer arrived at Coventry straight from the British Girls’ Championship, where she was runner-up, and the experience had both honed her and made her hungry for a win.

“I was in a pretty good mood from the British Girls. I was playing good and I came here prepared, already warmed up,” she commented.

This is one of her biggest wins and she adds it to the Irish Women’s Open, which she won as a 14-year-old, and the Slovenian ladies championship, earlier this season.

It is also helping her season’s ambition of improving her world ranking. “I had a bad season two years ago and I fell back in the world rankings to around 700th from the 200s.”

This week she discovered she had reached a personal high of 226th – and it will improve more after this win.

The runner-up on two-under par was Pasqualle Coffa of the Netherlands, followed by Ireland’s Jessica Ross, who took third place on level.

The leading English players, all at 1 over, were Georgia Price, Cara Gainer, and Lily May Humphreys, who played on the Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup squad earlier this summer.