England teenager Martha Lewis has given her world ranking a boost with an overall win in the combined Critchley and Astor Salvers.
The Surrey 17-year-old had a six-under par total for the two events and beat Hampshire’s Kerry Smith by two shots.
This is the first time the prestigious scratch events have been paired, creating a 72-hole tournament which attracts world ranking points. The result has helped Lewis improve her ranking by almost 200 points.
In the Critchley Salver at Sunningdale, Lewis (St George’s Hill) was in a three-way tie on six under-par with Durham’s Jessica Hall (Bishop Auckland) and Yorkshire’s Rochelle Morris (Woodsome Hall). Hall won the salver by virtue of her second round of five-under par 69 on the Old Course.
In the Astor Salver at The Berkshire, the trophy was won by girl international Lily May Humphreys (Stoke by Nayland) on six-under par. Lewis, a fellow member of the England Golf girls’ squad, was level par for the two rounds and placed fourth.
Kerry Smith (Waterlooville) was fourth in the Critchley Salver on five-under and tied fifth in the Astor Salver on one-over.
Lewis’s success continues her good form of 2017, having been fourth in the Scottish U18 girls’ championship and runner-up in the Doral Publix tournament in Florida. She has previously represented England at U16 level.
Five tournaments, each attracting world ranking points, have been created by combining existing 36-hole scratch events. The timings and dates of the existing 36-hole events do not change, but a leaderboard shows overall results for the paired tournaments.
The other four events are:
Comboy Leveret, won by Lily May Humphreys, combined the Comboy Scratch at Delamere Forest, Cheshire and The Leveret at Formby Ladies’, Lancashire.
The Gold Rose, won by Amelia Williamson (Royal Cromer) combined the Roehampton Gold Cup at Roehampton, Surrey and the Hampshire Rose at North Hants, Hampshire.
Frilford Jackson, combines the Frilford Heath Scratch, Frilford Heath, Oxfordshire on 2 June; and Bridget Jackson Bowl, Handsworth, Warwickshire on 4 July.
Birkdale Putter, combines the Pleasington Putter, Pleasington, Lancashire on 12 July; and Royal Birkdale Scratch, Royal Birkdale, Lancashire, on 25 August.