Gardner into last 32 in Women's Amateur at Nairn
Havanna Torstensson from Sweden is into the last-32 of The 122ndWomen’s Amateur Championship at Nairn. Picture: The R&A.
Rebekah Gardner was the lone Irish survivor on day one of the 122nd Women’s Amateur Championship at Nairn.
As Beth Coulter lost 5&4 to Norway’s Silje Torvund Ohma, Gardner beat Sweden’s Josefina Tidal by two holes to set up a last 32 clash with India’s Mannat Brar.
“Yeah, definitely it was tight coming down the stretch,” Gardner said “But I got off to a nice start and got up a few holes and got kind of a lead going, and then she came back, which I expected her to do, so I just kind of had to dig in and stick to my game plan and stay present, and thankfully got it over the line.
“Definitely in match play, anything can happen, so it's just all about staying present and focusing on my game, and in big championships like this, anything can happen, so it's just all in the last few holes.”
After winning the Ulster Women’s Stroke Play two weeks ago, the Clandeboye and University of Miami talent is feeling confident.
“Yeah, it was nice,” she said. “I had my college season and I played well there, so I've been playing solid. So yeah, just keeping that momentum going and taking it one round at a time.
“I'm in my second year (in college). I just finished my second year, and the first year was difficult, but I learned so much from that and the experiences, and yeah, it's definitely -- I'm in a great environment with a great team to develop, so yeah.
On a sun-soaked day on the Moray coast, Havanna Torstensson, the reigning R&A Girls’ Amateur Champion, edged out Curtis Cup star Patience Rhodes 2&1 in a closely fought tussle to reach the last-32.
The 17-year-old Swede is currently 613th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) and had her work cut out against an English opponent who sits inside the top-30 on the global pecking order and was part of Catriona Matthew’s victorious team over the USA at Sunningdale last year.
But Torstensson showed her match play prowess and shook off some early nerves to earn one of the best wins of her career. In a nip-and-tuck match, Torstensson, who has struggled to find her form so far in 2025, took charge on the back nine.
The Junior Solheim Cup player inched ahead on the 12th with a bogey as both players found themselves in trouble and she doubled her advantage on the next hole. The 14thwas halved in birdies as Torstensson stood firm and staved off Rhodes’ menacing advances.
There have been three Swedish winners of The Women’s Amateur Championship and the good omen for Torstensson is that those previous successes were achieved on Scottish soil.
In the opening tie of the day, the number one seed Jasmine Koo delivered an emphatic statement of intent as the American powered to a 7&5 victory over Judy Joo of South Korea.
Joo had emerged from an exhausting seven-hole play-off to secure her place in the knockout stages, but Koo won the opening six holes to stamp her authority on affairs. In a display of poise and polish, Koo made two birdies and 11 pars in the 13 holes it took her to overcome Joo.
India’s Brar, who has qualified for the match play stages for the first time in three Women’s Amateur Championship appearances, showed her fondness for the format with an impressive 5&4 win over Uma Bergner of Germany. Brar, who reached the semi-finals of last year’s Girls’ Amateur at Alwoodley, birdied her opening three holes to set herself on the way to a classy victory.
USA Curtis Cup player Catherine Park, the highest-ranked player in the field at number seven on WAGR®, eased to a 5&3 victory over Germany’s Paula Schulz-Hanssen while Australia’s Jasmine Roberts, who tied fourth in the Women’s Asia-Pacific Amateur championship earlier this year, surged to a 7&6 win over England’s Sophia Fullbrook.
Scotland’s Hannah Darling, a two-time semi-finalist and the highest-ranked Great Britain and Ireland player competing at Nairn, holed out from a bunker on the 16th to beat Sweden’s Alice Johansson 4&2. The last-32 and last-16 ties take place at Nairn tomorrow.
The Championship, founded in 1893, boasts an impressive list of former winners, including McCormack Medal winner Leona Maguire and major champions Georgia Hall and Anna Nordqvist.
The winner of this year’s Championship gains entry to the AIG Women’s Open, The Amundi Evian Championship, the US Women’s Open, the Chevron Championship and, by tradition, will earn an invitation to compete at the Augusta National Women's Amateur.
