Staff WriterIf the sea-salted breeze of the Moray coast hadn’t already made your bones creak, the drama at Nairn during the Women’s Amateur Championship certainly would’ve.
After a day of grit, sand saves, and the kind of comebacks that leave your blood fizzing like a shaken Irn-Bru, Farah O’Keefe of the United States and Spain’s Paula Martin Sampedro have battled their way into tomorrow’s 36-hole Final of the 122nd Women’s Amateur Championship.
It’s America vs. Spain, youth vs. younger youth, and a clash between two of the sharpest amateurs in world golf. O’Keefe, the 20-year-old ranked No. 8 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), will attempt to go back-to-back for Team USA after Melanie Green’s victory last year at Portmarnock.
Martin Sampedro, all of 19 and WAGR® No. 12, is aiming to end Spain’s 16-year wait for a champion – the last being Azahara Muñoz in 2009, who, incidentally, now has a locker in nearly every continent.
But let’s rewind to today – or rather, let’s stagger through it like Claggett on the 18th green.
O’Keefe’s semi-final match against Canada’s Tillie Claggett had all the cinematic drama of a Rocky sequel — minus the punches, plus the putts.
Four-down with five to play? Most would’ve packed up their Pro V1s and hoped the R&A had some biscuits in the clubhouse. But not O’Keefe.
She clawed her way back as Claggett, who had earlier decapitated Anna Davis’s title hopes with an electric birdie-eagle-birdie opening, began to unravel in the Nairn mist.
Claggett, 270 rungs below O’Keefe in the WAGR® ladder, held firm until the 14th tee. But golf is cruel, and pressure is a devious companion.
Bogeys on 14, 16, and 17 cracked the Canadian’s armour. When her 10-footer to win on 18 caught the lip and turned its nose up, the match went to extra holes.
O’Keefe, seizing momentum like a politician in a photo op, buried a 12-footer for birdie on the 19th and let the comeback ride into legend.
“I’ve never seen a recovery like that on these links,” murmured one local. And yes, even Maureen Madill — the last woman to win the Women’s Amateur Championship at Nairn back in 1979 — looked like she needed a stiff dram by the finish.
On the other side of the draw, Martin Sampedro took a more clinical route, dispatching Italy’s Caterina Don with the poise of someone who folds their clothes before bed.
After besting fellow Spaniard Paula Francisco in the quarter-finals (then roping her in as an afternoon caddie), Martin Sampedro controlled her semi-final from the start.
Up early, the Spaniard produced bunker shots that wouldn’t look out of place in Seve’s scrapbook. A vital sand save at the 9th kept the gap intact, and another at the 10th added cushion.
By the time she fist-pumped an 18-foot birdie on 14, it was clear this wasn’t just about good golf — it was about intent. Don pushed with a birdie on 15, but Martin Sampedro shut the door with a 3&2 win.
O’Keefe’s earlier quarter-final had its own stress test. She was three-up on Marie Eline Madsen with five to play — then promptly hit a few potholes on the back nine.
Madsen, semi-finalist last year, clawed her way back and stood over a four-footer on 18 to force extra holes. It missed. O’Keefe exhaled. Just.
The final at Nairn promises fireworks — and not just from the weather. Whoever claims the Women’s Amateur Championship title tomorrow won’t just get a handsome trophy.
The winner will gain entry into a glittering suite of professional events including the AIG Women’s Open, The Amundi Evian Championship, the US Women’s Open, and the Chevron Championship. And, of course, there’s the holy grail: an invitation to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Not bad for a Sunday stroll by the sea.
Spectators are welcome to attend for free — just bring a coat, and maybe a thermos.
Coverage of the 36-hole Final tees off at 8.30 am, with live stream and highlights available on R&A TV and the R&A YouTube channel. Sky Sports will also carry broadcast coverage across the UK.
For live scoring and updates from The Women’s Amateur Championship, visit www.randa.org.
