HAMPSHIRE'S Kerry Smith began her defence of the English Ladies' Closed Amateur Championship at Burnham & Berrow in Somerset today.
Kerry, 33, from Waterlooville GC, won the championship at her ninth attempt and went on to top ELGA's 2004 Order of Merit.
To keep her title she will have to beat a field which includes fellow internationals and proven winners - and she will have to see off a strong youth challenge.
Just over a quarter of the 83 competitors are under-18s and there are a host of other players in their late teens and early 20s.
The youngest is 14-year-old Nicola Dunn, a three-handicapper from Harrogate GC, who recently made news as overall winner at a Faldo Series regional event, beating male and female players up to seven years her senior.
All competitors play an 18-hole strokeplay qualifying round on each of the first two days of the championship. The lowest 32 scores qualify for the matchplay knockout stages.
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