OTTAWA, Ont. – It was a foggy morning at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Ottawa, but when the skies cleared up and second round play got underway, there was nothing nebulous about Italy’s performance as Alessia Nobilio and Caterina Don both fired rounds of 6-under 66 to give Italy an 11-stroke advantage atop the team leaderboard at the 2018 World Junior Girls Championship.

Italy is now at 17 under for the championship, followed by Team USA in second place at 6 under and Thailand in third at 4 under. Rounding out the top five are France and Sweden, who share fourth place at 1 under par. France was the second-lowest scoring team today, with an aggregate second round score of 5 under par (139).

Nobilio, a 17 year-old Milan native, carded a second-straight 66 on Wednesday to take a comfortable seven-shot lead at 12 under par. A trio of golfers trail in second place with a tournament score of 132 (-5). American Brooke Seay and Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul both shot 1-under 71, while Italy’s Don, also 17, fired a sizzling 6-under score to match her teammate’s low round of the day. 

Italian coach Enrico Trentin could not have been more pleased with his players’ efforts today. 

“It was really a great day, with Alessia and Caterina both shooting minus six. We were really solid from tee to green,” said the caretaker of the Italian squad, who is just coming off a terrific performance at the World Amateur Team Championships in Ireland, finishing in 6th place. 

“We had a great practice this morning and we really tried to understand the greens. Because they are so fast, it’s important to understand where to hit the second or third shots and be in a good position to putt for birdie,” reported Trentin. 

It was a dominant performance across the board today for Italy, as both individual and team leaderboards are paced by the tricoloured flag on the eve of third round. 

Canada One, featuring Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame Ile Perrot, Qué., Ellie Szeryk of London, Ont., and Tiffany Kong from Vancouver, B.C., dropped one spot to 7th place with a performance of 2 over today. Emily Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Sarah Beqaj (Toronto, Ont.) and Lauren Kim (Surrey, B.C.) who make up Canada Two, trail behind at 22 over par in 17th place. Dao is the top Canadian in the individual competition with an overall score of even par, good for T8.  

Team Canada is looking for its first medal since capturing bronze at the first ever World Junior Girls in 2014.

The World Junior Girls Championship is conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario and supported by the R&A and the International Golf Federation. Recognized as an ‘A’ ranked event by the World Amateur Golf Rankings, the World Junior Girls Championship is in its fifth edition.

Full results and tournament information can be found here.  

Admission to the competition is free. Additional information regarding the fifth annual World Junior Girls Championship can be found on the competition’s website.

NOTE TO MEDIA: A selection of images from the first round of the World Junior Girls Championship can be downloaded here. When making use of the images, please credit (Golf Canada/ Golf Ontario).

2018 WORLD JUNIOR GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP – TOP 20 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

1. Alessia Nobilio, Italy, *66-66-132 -12

2. Caterina Don, Italy, *73-66-139 -5

2. Brooke Seay, United States, *68-71-139 -5

2. Atthaya Thitikul, Thailand, *68-71-139 -5

5. Ingrid Lindblad, Sweden, *71-71-142 -2

6. Zoe  Campos, United States, *70-73-143 -1

6. Mathilde Delavallade, France, *74-69-143 -1

8. Ho-Yu An, Chinese Taipei, *72-72-144 E

8. Céleste Dao, Canada 1, *73-71-144 E

8. Candice Mahe, France, *74-70-144 E

11. Marina Escobar, Spain, *74-71-145 +1

11. Yu Ping Huang, Chinese Taipei, *71-74-145 +1

11. Elena Moosmann, Switzerland, *72-73-145 +1

11. Kultida Pramphun, Thailand, *70-75-145 +1

11. Maja Stark, Sweden, *75-70-145 +1

16. Michaela Morard, United States, *73-73-146 +2

16. Annabel Wilson, Ireland, *73-73-146 +2

18. Jie Ming Yang , China, *77-70-147 +3

19. Sophie Bert, Belgium, *74-74-148 +4

19. Kan Bunnabodee, Thailand, *73-75-148 +4

2018 WORLD JUNIOR GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP – TEAM RESULTS

1   Italy           139-132–271 -17 

2   United States   138-144–282 -6  

3   Thailand        138-146–284 -4  

T4  France          148-139–287 -1  

T4  Sweden          146-141–287 -1  

6   Chinese Taipei  143-146–289 +1  

7   Canada 1        146-146–292 +4  

8   Switzerland     148-146–294 +6  

T9  Denmark         145-151–296 +8  

T9  Ireland         147-149–296 +8  

T11 England         152-146–298 +10 

T11 Spain           154-144–298 +10 

13  Czech Republic  151-149–300 +12 

14  China           150-151–301 +13 

T15 Belgium         154-149–303 +15 

T15 Mexico          154-149–303 +15 

17  Canada 2        159-151–310 +22 

18  Scotland        158-153–311 +23 

19  Colombia        160-164–324 +36 

ABOUT THE WORLD JUNIOR GIRLS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
The World Junior Girls Golf Championship is an annual event conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario. The international competition features three-player teams of 18-and-under athletes. As host country, Canada will field two of the tournament’s 20 teams competing over 72 holes for both individual and team honours. The event receives funding from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport; Ottawa Tourism; the Golf Canada Foundation (Women’s Golf Fund); Sport Canada; the R&A; and Levelwear. Admission and parking for the World Junior Girls Golf Championship is free. For more information, visit www.worldjuniorgirls.com.

GOLF ONTARIO
Golf Ontario is Ontario’s Provincial Sport Organization focused on enhancing participation, elevating performance and supporting the passion of golfers in Ontario. With over 100,000 individual members and 450 member clubs, Golf Ontario is one of the largest golf associations in the world. From rating courses and keeping the integral rules of the game intact, to growing the game at the grassroots level and hosting the best amateur tournaments in Canada, Golf Ontario is a passionate group dedicated to shaping lives through golf.

GOLF CANADA
Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation and governing body for golf in Canada representing 319,000 golfers and 1,400 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada’s mission is to grow participation, excellence and passion in the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. By investing in the growth of the sport and introducing more participants of all ages to the game, our goal is to be relevant to and respected by all Canadian golf enthusiasts from coast to coast. For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit www.golfcanada.ca.

For more information:

Tyler Costigan
Manager, Content & Community
Golf Canada
(t) 1-800-263-0009 x 315
(e) tcostigan@golfcanada.ca