Chiericato and Martindale frustrated by bogey blues

Keely Chiericato and Marie Martindale were left to reflect on what might have been after sharing pole position at the end of the penultimate event in the OCEANTEE WPGA Series.

Both women were on two-under during their negotiation of the superbly presented Cathedral course at Salisbury and South Wilts Golf Club but bogeys towards the end of their respective rounds proved costly.

Chiericato (above), who represents Manston Golf Centre, Kent, recorded successive bogeys at the 15^th and 16^th holes en route to posting a level par total of 73.

And Hampstead Golf Club’s Martindale missed out on outright victory when a short putt on the par-four 17^th refused to drop.

Similarly, Ormskirk Golf Club’s Ali Gray, the winner of this event in 2018, bogeyed the par-three 18^th to miss out on a share of first place.

Chiericato’s frustration at victory eluding her was tempered by the nine-and-a-half points she earned for finishing tied-first boosting her chances of winning the Order of Merit for the second year running.

She now leads Maria Tulley by a quarter of a point and is six-and-a-quarter clear of Martindale (above) who lies third.

All of which heralds a tense finale to the OCEANTEE WPGA Series when the last event is staged at Wrotham Heath Golf Club, Kent, in a fortnight’s time.

Chiericato finished tied first with Catherine Panton-Lewis at the venue last year and won the Order of Merit as a result.

“I think that made the difference between myself and Anna Smith,” she recalled. “It’s obviously a good memory and I’ll look forward to getting back there in September - hopefully I can get the job done.

“As for today, I’m licking my wounds a little bit. It could have been a bit better coming in but I’ll take the result.”

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