Ireland’s Olivia Mehaffey is the latest player to make a major move up the PING Junior Soheim Ranking.
The 17 year-old from Royal Co. Down Ladies‘ reached the semi-final of last week’s Ladies‘ British Open Amateur Championship at Portstewart and it was a result which saw her climb into second place on the European Ranking and give her a great chance of clinching a place in the European team for the match at St. Leon-Rot Golf Club on September 14-15.
The top six players on the European Ranking at the end of the qualification process all earn places in Iben Tinning’s team and Mehaffey earned 40 points for her performance at Portstewart which catapulted her into a share of second place in the Ranking alongside Sweden’s Elin Esborn and Germany’s Leonie Harm.
Esborn collected ten points at Portstewart after advancing to the third round before losing to Mehaffey’s countrywoman Paula Grant.
Mehaffey’s great run at Portstewart came to an end when she lost by 5 & 4 to future Arizona State team-mate and former PING Junior Solheim Cup player Linnea Ström from Sweden.
“I think I’ll look back and I’ll be really happy,” said the Irish teenager who has won the Irish Girls Under 18, the Scottish Strokeplay and the Welsh Strokeplay titles already this year and plans to go to college in the States in the Fall of 2016. “Right now I am disappointed because I was so close. She (Ström) was at a different standard really.”
The top spot on the Ranking is currently held by France’s Agathe Laisne who moved into first place by reaching the final of this year’s French International Lady Juniors Championship at St. Cloud and then consolidated her position by finishing third behind Harm in the Allianz German Boys and Girls‘ Open at St. Leon-Rot Golf Club.
The Ladies‘ British Open Amateur Championship was the fourth qualifying event for this year’s PING Junior Solheim Cup. Next up is the European Girls’ Team Championship at Golf Resort Kaskada Brno, Czech Republic and the European Ladies’ Team Championship at Helsingør GC, Denmark (July 7-11) followed by the ANNIKA Invitational Europe at Bro-Bålsta GK, Sweden (August 4-6) before the qualification process is completed at the Girls’ British Open Championship at West Kilbride GC, Scotland, on August 10-14, 2015.
ABOUT THE PING JUNIOR SOLHEIM CUP
The PING Junior Solheim Cup 2015 is to be played at St. Leon-Rot Golf Club on September 14-15 immediately ahead of The Solheim Cup, which is staged at the same German golf club on September 18-20. It is the first time the same venue has been used for both matches.
The PING Junior Solheim Cup is a team match play competition between Europe and the United States, each team featuring the best 12 female golfers 18 years of age and younger.
The competition consist of 24 matches – six foursome matches, six fourball matches and 12 single matches.
The aim of the competition is to give juniors the opportunity to further their golfing careers by playing matchplay at a high level and also for the competitors to meet, learn and be inspired by the professional players playing in The Solheim Cup.
The 2015 event marks the eighth time the PING Junior Solheim Cup team will be contested with the US Team currently leading the series 4-2-1.
The PING Junior Solheim Cup was established by PING CEO and Chairman, John Solheim, back in 2002 and since has developed a deserved reputation for showcasing the talents of the world’s best female junior players with Azahara Munoz, Anna Nordqvist, Carlota Ciganda, Beatriz Recari, Melissa Reid, Charley Hull, Caroline Masson, Caroline Hedwall, Paula Creamer, Vicky Hurst, Brittany Lang, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel, Jessica Korda, and Lexi Thompson all playing in the match before graduating to The Solheim Cup.
For more information about the PING Junior Solheim Cup please visit www.solheimcup.com or contact Eva-Lotta Sternmarker at the Ladies European Tour by email on [email protected]
