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Girls U16 Amateur

Landgraf on course to make French history

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The R&A
27 Apr 24
3 mins
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No French player has ever won the R&A Girls’ U16 Amateur Championship. That may be about to change if Louise Landgraf continues the form she’s shown over the first two rounds on the Berkshire Golf Club’s Red Course. The 15-year-old Thailand-based player added a four-under-par 69 to her opening 68 to move to nine-under-par 137 after 36 holes. She takes a five-shot lead over three players into the final round. Ireland’s Olivia Costello, English internationalist Charlotte Naughton and Lucy Lin of Cyprus share second place on four-under 142.  Landgraf isn’t a surprise leader. She’s the highest ranked player in the field at 134th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) courtesy of six wins in WAGR qualifying tournaments, including four last year. She warmed up for her first visit to the United Kingdom by finishing 17th alongside the professionals in the Terre Blanche Ladies Open on the LET Access Series Tour, and placed second in the French Under 21 Championship.  

Ominous

More ominous for the rest of the field is that she’s comfortable taking a lead into final rounds.  “I’ve been in this position a lot,” said Landgraf, whose mother is Thai but claims French citizenship from her father. “The level in Thailand is very high and I’ve had tournaments where I’ve been one or two shots ahead and I’ve won those. It’s still the same amount of pressure as any tournament. I’m just going to try my best and see what happens.”  Cold weather greeted competitors when Landgraf and Costello kicked off round two at 8am. The temperature of eight degrees Celsius came with a biting wind that meant players had to don three layers, bobble hats and neck warmers to combat the frigid conditions.  “The course was harder today because it was just very cold,” said Landgraf, who made six birdies in her round. “It sometimes meant playing one more club than I’d normally hit. My golf wasn’t as good as yesterday, but I’m happy to shoot four-under in this weather and keep the lead.”
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Olivia Costello is still in the mix heading into the final round.

Holed nothing 

Costello signed for a level-par 73 and then immediately headed to the practice putting green. She would be a few shots closer to Landgraf if she’d had better touch with the shortest club in the bag. “I played pretty well today but I holed absolutely nothing,” the Roscommon Golf Club member said. “The ball just wouldn’t drop for me. That’s the main difference between yesterday and today; a few more dropped for me yesterday.” The par-5 15th hole was a good example. Costello pulled her fairway wood second shot, and then hit a beautiful pitch to about ten feet to a green sloping away from her. However, her birdie putt shaved the hole and she walked off with a par. “That’s what it was like all day," she said. "Hopefully the work I’ve put in here on the practice green means the putts will drop tomorrow. There’s still 18 holes to go. I’ll try and stay patient, try to go low and we’ll see what happens.” 

28 degree difference

Like Phuket resident Landgraf, 14-year-old Lin is playing in the UK for the time. And like the Championship leader, the Cypriot experienced a massive temperature drop when she arrived at The Berkshire.  “It was 38 degrees at home when I left, so that’s a 28 degree difference and it’s just so cold,” said Lin, who belongs to Aphrodite Hills Golf Club and has a plus 4.7 Handicap Index. “I’m quite happy with my two rounds (69 and 73). I had eight birdies yesterday and that was really good. I’m happy with level par today in this weather.”   Naughton held second place on her own standing on the 18th tee. However, she three putted the par-3 hole to drop into a share of the lead. The member of Longhirst Golf Club in Northumberland posted a second consecutive two-under-par 71.  

Consistently good

“I’ve been consistently good the first two rounds, and I’m really happy with my game right now,” said Naughton, who is a member of the England Girls' Under 16 squad. “I’ve driven the ball nicely and holed out really well.”  Naughton first came to prominence when she won the 2022 English Girls’ Under 14 Open Championship. Last year she triumphed in the English Schools Golf Association National Under 16 Girls’ Championship and North of England U16 Girls Championship.  She added, “I’m excited for tomorrow. I think I can shoot low and if I do we’ll see what happens.”  She, Costello and Lin just have to get past Landgraf as she bids to become the first French winner of this prestigious title. View scoring from the R&A Girls' U16 Amateur Championship
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Girls U16 Amateur