" 14 year old Bethan Popel yesterday won the West of England Amateur Open Championship for the Harper Salver at Bath Golf club by a very narrow margin from 15 year old Shelby Smart of Knowle Golf Club and Tara Watters from Muswell Hill.  They each played some excellent golf scoring a magnificent total of 149 but Bethan went up a gear in the 2nd round scoring 2 under gross to take the title from her other competitors.
 
Bethan, a member of Long Ashton golf Club has played in the Harper Salver since 2007 when as a 10 year old she showed great promise winning Best Nett scoring well under her then handicap of 13.  Since then she has reduced her handicap to 4 and is currently training with the Under 18 England squad.

Thanks must as always go to Diney Costeloe for her great generosity in sponsoring the Harper Salver and also to the Gloucestershire County Ladies' Golf Association for their contribution.  Their support is very much appreciated.

The weather conditions were very good for the majority of the day and this was reflected in the good scores.  We had entrants this year from as far away as Jersey and the Isle of Man so it would be lovely to see more local girls playing next year.  It was certainly encouraging though to see the top 2 places going to Gloucester girls although we are very proud to have them as players in the Bristol & District Alliance teams.
 
The Best Nett was won by Abigail Moyes a young girl from Tiverton Golf Club who until recently had not even thought to enter this competition.  With a little encouragement she did enter and played the course to Par, 7 shots under her handicap of 7 in the morning round and 3 under in the afternoon.  We look forward to seeing her again next year when I am sure she will be a major contender to win the Harper Salver.
 
My thanks also to everyone at Bath Golf Club for their great hospitality in holding the championship and also to Magdalene Ashman-Marr and her fantastic team of helpers.  They all do such a fantastic job ball spotting although I think much of the time is taken in watching and enjoying the incredible golf !.
 
As this is my last year of organising this wonderful Championship I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the girls and their parents for their support.  Also without the help of the Alliance Committee it would not be possible to run the event so smoothly.
 
Well done all the girls who played, I hope you all enjoyed the day and will be looking forward to entering again next year.
 
Alison Dodkin
Championship Secretary

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