Julia A. Greenhalgh (later Merrill, born 6 January 1941) was an English amateur golfer. She was runner-up in the 1978

Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship The Women's Amateur Championship, previously known as the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship, was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union. It is organised by The R&A, which merged with the Ladies' Golf Union in 2017. Until the dawn of the ...

. She won the

Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship was founded in 1969 by the Ladies' Golf Union (now merged into The R&A) of Great Britain. A stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in w ...

in 1974 and 1975 and the

English Women's Amateur Championship The English Women's Amateur Championship is the women's national amateur match play golf championship of England. It was first played in 1912 and is currently organised by England Golf. The English Women's Amateur Championship is contested thro ...

in 1966 and 1979. She played in the

Curtis Cup The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and " ...

five times, in 1964, 1970, 1974, 1976 and 1978.

Golf career

In 1957, Greenhalgh reached the semi-finals of the

Girls Amateur Championship The Girls Amateur Championship is a golf tournament held annually in the United Kingdom. Girls need to be under 18 on 1 January in the year of the championship. Until World War II the championship was organised by a series of magazines and always ...

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable ...

, losing to

Ruth Porter Ruth Porter (later Slark, 6 May 1939 – 15 September 2014) was an English amateur golfer. She had a successful junior career which included winning the 1956 Girls Amateur Championship and the 1958 British Girls' Stroke-play Championship. She w ...

. In 1959 at Woolaton Park, she reached the final but lost narrowly to

Sheila Vaughan Sheila Mary Vaughan (later Irving and Maher, 9 March 1942 – 23 April 2022) was an English amateur golfer. She had a successful junior career and won the Girls Amateur Championship in 1959. She had some success at the senior level in early 1960s ...

. In 1960 she won the

British Girls' Stroke-play Championship The British Youths Open Championship was a youths golf tournament that was played from 1954 to 1994. It was 72-hole stroke-play event for golfers under 22. From 1954 to 1962, it was organised by a committee led by Sam Bunton, a Glasgow architect, ...

at Ranfurly Castle, an under-21 event, a stroke ahead of the defending champion Diana Robb. In 1960, Greenhalgh made her debut for England in the

Women's Home Internationals The Women's Home Internationals were an amateur team golf championship for women contested between the four Home Nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, where Ireland was represented by the whole island of Ireland on an All-Ireland basi ...

and in 1961 played for Great Britain & Ireland in the

Vagliano Trophy The Vagliano Trophy is a biennial women's amateur golf tournament. It is co-organised by The R&A and the European Golf Association and is contested by teams representing "Great Britain and Ireland" and the "Continent of Europe". It is played in od ...

. She missed out on selection for the 1962

match but later in the year she reached the semi-finals of the

, losing 5 and 4, to

Marley Spearman Marley Joan Spearman ( Baker, later Harris, 11 January 1928 – 19 August 2011) She won the British Ladies Amateur in 1961 and 1962 and the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1964. She was in four Curtis Cup teams, in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 19 ...

. In 1963, she played In the

Commonwealth Trophy The Astor Trophy is a women's team golf tournament between teams of amateurs golfers from Great Britain and Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. It has been played every four years since 1959. From its foundation until 20 ...

in Australia. Great Britain won the event with Greenhalgh winning all her six matches. During the trip, she also reached the semi-finals of the

Australian Women's Amateur The Australian Women's Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of Australia. It was first played in 1894 and is organised by Golf Australia. Having traditionally been a match play event, it became a 72-hole stroke play event in 2021, ...

and won the New Zealand Amateur Championship. She was selected for the 1964

team despite having been dropped from the England team for the Home Internationals. In 1966 at Hayling Island, she won the

, beating Jean Holmes, 3 and 1, in the final. She was selected for the

team for the 1966 match in

Hot Springs, Virginia Hot Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 738. It is located about southwest of Warm Springs on U.S. Route 220. Hot Springs has several historic resorts, f ...

but later withdrew with an injured wrist, an injury that caused her to miss much of the next two years. Greenhalgh won the

two years in succession, in 1974 and 1975, and won the

Welsh Women's Open Stroke Play Championship The Welsh Women's Open Stroke Play Championship is the women's national amateur stroke play golf championship of Wales. It was first played in 1976 and is currently organised by Wales Golf Wales Golf is the national governing body of amateur ...

in 1977. In 1977, she led the qualifying for the

while in 1978 she reached the final, losing by one hole to

Edwina Kennedy Edwina Jane Kirkby (née Kennedy), born 10 June 1959, is a former Australian amateur golfer. In 1978, she was the first Australian to win the British Ladies Amateur and was a member of the winning 1978 Australian Espirito Santo Trophy team. Earl ...

. In 1979, she won the

for a second time, beating Sue Hedges in the final. Her wrist injury recurred in mid-1979 and marked an end to her appearances at the highest level. Greenhalgh was a regular player in international matches for Great Britain & Ireland and for England in the 1970s. Over her career, she played in five

matches, three times in America, and four

matches. As well as her

match in Australia in 1963, she also played in 1975. She played in the

Espirito Santo Trophy The Espirito Santo Trophy (World Women's Amateur Team Championships) is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for women organised by the International Golf Federation. The inaugural event was held in 1964. It was instituted by the Fre ...

in Spain in 1970, in the Dominican Republic in 1974 and in Fiji in 1978. She made her final appearance for England in the

1979 European Ladies' Team Championship The 1979 European Ladies' Team Championship took place 4–8 July at Hermitage Golf Club in Lucan, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It was the eleventh women's golf amateur European Ladies' Team Championship. Venue The hosting club was founded in ...

Personal life

Greenhalgh married Ambrose Robert Merrill (1924–2010) in 1985.

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain & Ireland):

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1978 *

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1961 (winners), 1965, 1975 (winners), 1977 (winners) *

(representing Great Britain & Ireland):

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – ...

(representing Great Britain): 1963 (winners), 1975 (winners) *

European Ladies' Team Championship The European Ladies' Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for women organised by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1959. It was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been pl ...

(representing England):

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

(winners),

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...

(winners),

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

(representing England): 1960 (winners), 1961, 1963 (winners), 1966 (winners), 1969, 1970 (winners), 1971 (winners), 1975 (winners), 1976 (winners), 1977 (winners), 1978 (winners) *

England–Scotland girls match The Girls Home Internationals was an amateur team golf championship for girls between the four Home Nations. Ireland was represented by the whole island of Ireland.The event was organised by The R&A. The inaugural event was held in 1969 and the ...

(representing England): 1957 (winners), 1958 (winners), 1959 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenhalgh, Julia English female golfers Amateur golfers 1941 births Living people