A promising amateur golfer from Whitby is preparing to take on some of the leading professionals in the women’s game.
Poppy Finlay, 18, has been invited to take part in the WPGA International Challenge event at Stoke-by-Nayland Hotel Golf and Spa, on the Suffolk/Essex border.
The competition – part of the Ladies European Tour Access Series – features an international field including Alison Nicholas, Europe’s winning captain at the 2011 Solheim Cup and a past US Open champion.
Poppy has been invited to compete along with 19 other golfers from the England Golf women’s order of merit.
The action gets under way on Thursday.
Poppy’s dad Craig said: “The idea is to give them an insight into what it would be like to turn professional and compete on the Tour.
“Poppy is really excited and has been training really hard. She wants to put on a good show.
“She is now 18 and would eventually like to turn professional.”
It has been a good year for the former Whitby High School student.
This year Poppy finished ninth in the girls’ order of merit in England and was 16th in the England Golf women’s order of merit.
In April she won the Faldo Series UK Girls Championship at West Lancs Golf Club, earning her the chance to fly to America next month to play in the Grand Final at The Greenbrier Golf Club in West Virginia.
Poppy first picked up a golf club at the age of 10 and is a member of Vicars Cross Golf Club in Chester.
She is also a member of the England Futures programme, which helps the country’s most talented young players manage their academic work while also progressing with their sporting skills.
The teenager will soon begin a four-year golf scholarship at the University of Mississippi and her ambition is to one day turn professional and earn a place on the Ladies European Tour.
