Staff WriterIn a week where English Senior Women’s champions were decided with the kind of drama that would make even the most hardened club pro wince, Sarah Naden (The Wilmslow) and Carol Simpson (Malton & Norton) both wrote their names into the annals of amateur golf at The Nottinghamshire Golf Club.
Naden, now reigning English Senior Women’s Amateur champion, navigated a final day gauntlet against Debbie Richards and Jackie Ewing to lift the Wendy Taylor Salver.
Not content with merely winning, she did it the hard way—losing her swing, fighting off nerves, and coming out the other side with the kind of grit you don’t see in a fairway bunker.
“It’s surreal to be champion. I think the key today was staying calm as I lost my swing and in the past I would’ve let that get to me, but I’ve worked hard over the winter on a process.
I knew that if I followed that process, I’d come through the other end and thankfully I did,” said Naden, speaking with the honesty of someone who’s stared down a triple bogey and lived to tell the tale.
She continued: “I carded two right on a couple of tricky holes and wasn’t sure if it’d be my day and my caddy reminded me to stick with the process and I hit a shot from out the trees to 15 feet, and that’s when I knew I was back on track!
I’m going to be celebrating this weekend by buying a house actually, so it’s going to be a very expensive one! But I’m sure there’ll be a couple of bottles of bubbly as well.”
Naden’s journey wasn’t straightforward. In the morning semi-finals, Jackie Ewing (Links) chipped in from the back of the par-4 3rd before Emma Brown (Malton & Norton) replied with a birdie on the par-5 4th.
Ewing never relinquished the lead after the 5th, rolling in a 20-foot birdie putt on 14. Brown fought back but Ewing held her nerve on the 18th to secure a place in the final.
Meanwhile, Naden held off Richards (Burhill) with a masterclass in recovery. Nearly in the ditch on the 1st, Naden salvaged a par, while Richards suffered a cruel bounce on the 8th.
Richards responded with an 18-foot birdie on 9, but Naden’s iron play was unshakeable, sealing a 5&4 win and booking her place in the showdown.
Despite gusty winds, the sun blazed down for the final and it was Naden who made the early running, 2-up through 6. Ewing, resilient as ever, pegged it back to all square at the turn.
The tenth saw Naden produce a miraculous recovery from the bushes for par, reclaiming the lead, only for Ewing to answer with a birdie on 12.
On the 15th, both players found the edge of the green, but Naden’s up-and-down for birdie proved the turning point, eventually clinching a 2&1 victory with a clinical tap-in on 17.
Over in the Over 60s bracket, Carol Simpson emerged as the Ann Howard Trophy winner after an ice-cold comeback over Kim Morris (Sundridge Park).
Simpson, who at one point trailed by two through 7 and seemed destined for the exit, clawed her way back.
Morris was given her birdie on 12, but Simpson’s par at 14 drew the contest level. A gimme birdie for Morris on 15 restored her advantage, only for Simpson to par 16 and turn the tide at the 17th as Morris found trouble in the trees.
The 18th saw both flirt with disaster—Simpson clinging to the rough, Morris finding the bunker—but a pair of pars handed Simpson the title, 1-up.
Reflecting on her triumph, Simpson said: “It was tough. I’d been down all the way round till the 17th where the tide turned. I dug deep and stayed patient. Kim played so steadily and I was thinking she had to make a mistake soon and eventually she did so I snuck in.
“My heart was in my mouth for my second shot on the 18th! The pond was in play but thankfully it clung onto the rough so I wedged it up, two-putted and it was just enough, so I’m over the moon! The champagne is on ice as we speak!
“People have probably been thinking why have I still got my jersey on when the sun is out, but when you’re playing well, you never change anything, so I kept it on and it kept me lucky!”
With the English Senior Women’s champions now decided, both Naden and Simpson have shown that experience, patience, and a stubborn refusal to quit are what separate champions from the also-rans.
If you’re wondering what it takes to be an English Senior Women’s champion, look no further than these two – nerves of steel, a bit of magic from the rough, and, crucially, never taking off the lucky jersey.
