LADIES' BRITISH AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP:STEPHANIE MEADOW kept the Irish flag flying yesterday in at Royal Portrush, being the only challenger from Ireland to survive the first day of matchplay.

Out of the competition in the morning first round went the Maguire twins, Emma O’Driscoll, Charlene Reid and Danielle McVeigh, with only Meadow and Victoria Bradshaw surviving the first shoot-out round.

After dumping French woman Laure Castelain by two holes, local member Meadow then knocked out the leading qualifier and Spanish Close champion, Camilla Hedberg, in extra time. At the 19th, Meadow rolled home a steel-nerved 25-foot putt for birdie to book her placed in the quarter-finals this morning against South African Kim Williams.

Meadow stormed off to be three up after four holes, but Hedberg hit back to win the seventh, eighth and ninth in birdie-par-eagle and square the argument. She then leaped two ahead with birdies at 11 and 12, but Meadow showed her resolve to again square the battle with winning pars at 13 and 16.

“I wasn’t too nervous over that putt on the first extra hole,” said Meadow, who was four under par when the match finished.”

It was Hedberg who ended the hopes of 64th qualifier O’Driscoll in the morning, while former Irish champion Deirdre Smith pulled off a surprise by beating Lisa Maguire one hole after the match was flat at the turn. Smith then lost in the afternoon.

Perrine Delacour, from Paris, beat Leona Maguire with a birdie at the second tie-hole, while McVeigh was shocked 2 and 1 by Lauren Taylor, also in the first round. Reid lost 5 and 3 to Canadian Ann-Catherine Tanquay.

Victoria Bradshaw did survive until the afternoon with a morning 3and 2 defeat of England’s Holly Clyburn, but then lost 2 and 1 to German Thea Hoffmeister.