Olivia Mehaffey left to carry Irish hopes

Olivia Mehaffey carries Irish hopes into the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship semi-finals at Portstewart this morning – after world number one Leona Maguire suffered a shock last 16 defeat in round three.

The 17-year-old Royal County Down star faces Sweden’s Linnea Strom this morning for a place in the 18-hole final where she would face Celine Boutier of France or Belgium’s Charlotte De Corte for the title and a place in the British women’s Open alongside the world’s leading professionals..

De Corte also ended the hopes of another Irish hopeful – Lisburn’s Paula Grant – at the quarter-final stage with a 3&2 victory, while the shock of day came in the morning when Maguire’s impressive run was halted with a 3&1 defeat at the hands of Joanna Charlton.