Cirencester Sport

Minchinhampton golf ace to join Ladies European Tour

By Danny Hall

8:20pm Wednesday 25th January 2012

CHARLOTTE ELLIS intends to finish qualifying as a dental nurse in 2012 as well as playing on the lucrative Ladies European Golf Tour. Ellis, 26, has worked at her father Robin’s dental practice in Stow-on-the-Wold while building a reputation as one of England’s top amateur golfers.

And she is going to complete her studies in dentistry as ‘something to fall back on’.

The Minchinhampton (New) Golf Club member earned her Tour Card with a top-ten finish at the La Manga qualifying tournament in Spain last week.

She came through nine rounds of brutal competition in joint ninth spot behind the winner, fellow England star Jodi Ewart, from more than 200 original starters. She was the second best amateur in the field and one of only three English players to make the grade.

Her two over par aggregate score in the final 90-hole qualifying competition placed her within the top 30, who all win their full playing rights for the coming season.

But her mind will be focused on secretarial duties for the next month or so as she tries to attract sponsorship and endorsements for her assault on the Tour. She expects her first professional tournament to be the Lalla Meryem Cup in Agadir, Morocco at the end of March.

Charlotte told the Standard: “I have filled out the forms to accept my Tour card which presumably means I have turned professional. Now I have to write nicely to various people asking for backing.”

Any potential benefactor should get in touch with Charlotte Ellis, c/o Minchinhampton (New) GC.

They would be investing in one of the most consistent female golfers on the amateur circuit over the last two seasons.

She topped the national Order of Merit in 2010 and last year won the Scottish Open Strokeplay Championship as well as starring for England in their rare win at the Home Internationals.

Again, it was her consistency – rounds of 73, 72, 71, 72 and 75 – that helped her post a magnificent top ten finish in La Manga, despite being low on confidence before the event.

“I was unable to shake off the flu for the two weeks before Spain,” she said. “I felt my preparation had been stunted and I was getting panicy.

“The day before qualifying started, my caddy Neil said there was some anxiety in my swing and it was lacking in width. We made some adjustments and it all worked well from then on.”

Ellis was up with the leaders from day one and helped to keep her nerves in check by not looking at the leaderboard.

“I just tried to pace myself and treat par as my best friend,” she said.

“I knew there was only one group behind me on the final day, so I had to be doing well.”

The only minor hiccup came on the 14th hole of the final round when she four-putted from the fringe of the green. She was in fifth place at the time but it resulted in her worst round of the week (75).

“I shouted ‘Charlotte, what the hell are you doing’, but I was able to forget about it quickly.”

Stiff and exhausted since returning from Spain, Charlotte managed just a small family celebration on Sunday night with mum Jackie and dad Robin at the Colesbourne Inn between Cirencester and Cheltenham.

Sunday also saw her gaining some major inspiration from the Men’s European Tour result in South Africa.

“I watched Brendan Grace beat Ernie Els and Retief Goosen in a play-off for the Volvo Golf Champions event which gave him back-to-back wins in his first season on the Tour.

“It shows it can be done, though realistically, I would like to get a top ten finish and take it from there.”

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