Born in Portrush, polished in USA

Monday 2 July 2012

Stephanie Meadow may have continued Northern Ireland's golfing glory run at the weekend, but the 20-year-old will be the first to admit she is very much a product of the USA.

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Three weeks after securing the winning point in the Curtis Cup at Nairn, Meadow again made hay in Scotland on Saturday as the Royal Portrush member beat Spain's Rocio Sanchez Lobato 4 & 3 in the final of the Women's British Open Amateur Championship at Carnoustie.

With Portrush's Alan Dunbar capturing the men's Amateur Championship the previous weekend, Meadow's win completed a memorable double-whammy for the town, but this latest success story has its roots on the other side of the Atlantic, not just across the Irish Sea.Her parents clearly saw her vast potential and decided to up sticks and move to the US five years ago, so that Meadow could attend the International Junior Golf Academy at Hilton Head Island.Having benefited hugely from the expertise of Hank Haney, former coach to Tiger Woods, and Gary Gilchrist, who helped Yani Tseng reach the pinnacle of the women's game, Meadow will forever be grateful for the opportunities that she has had."I wouldn't be sitting here now if it wasn't for my parents deciding to move there," said Meadow, who was always in command of the final against Lobato, having won three of the first four holes. "I have learned so much. In the time I was at the Academy I had three or four coaches, like Hank and Gary. I've seen it all, really, and to have that kind of help has been huge for me."Meadow, who is currently studying for an accountancy degree at the University of Alabama, was heading back to the States yesterday but will return to the UK in September to take up an invitation to compete in the Women's British Open at Hoylake."The people in the US continue to be quite intrigued by the success of Northern Irish golfers," added Meadow, whose next big event will be August's US Amateur Championship in Cleveland.Meanwhile, Bothwell Castle's Pamela Pretswell, a Curtis Cup team-mate of Meadow, has decided to turn professional.The 23-year-old has spent most of the present campaign competing on the Ladies' European Tour's Access Series and became the first amateur to win on the developmental circuit back in May.That has given her a real chance of earning promotion to the main Tour and Pretswell has opted to take the pro plunge now and pursue those ambitions.

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Born in Portrush, polished in USA

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