Yorkshire golf: Rotherham's Olivia Winning to start new year under Florida skies

Rotherham's Olivia Winning with the Helen Holm Scottish stroke play trophy.

ROTHERHAM'S Olivia Winning will head to the USA in January as the England women's squad get their 2017 campaign underway.

Winning and her team-mates will compete in Florida’s Orange Blossom Tour as part of a plan to increase their playing opportunities.

The full squad of Winning, Louisa Brunt, Gemma Clews, Sophie Lamb and Georgia Price will play in the Harder Hall Invitational from January 4-7.

The tournament is one of five events that make up the Orange Blossom Tour and past champions include Charley Hull, who won her first LPGA event on Sunday.

Hull was winner of the Orange Blossom Tour in in 2012.

Rebecca Hembrough, the England Golf Women’s performance manager, said: “We are always looking for ways to improve and do things better, particularly off the back of such a successful 2016 season.

“Increasing the number of playing opportunities for the English-based players is one way we’re doing this in 2017.

“We want to give the players greater experiences of high quality events in different environments, with the world class support of our national coach Steve Robinson.”

During the 2016 season the England women’s successes included the European team championship, the European amateur, the British stroke play championship, the Scottish stroke play, the Women’s Home Internationals – and a key contribution to the GB&I Curtis Cup victory, whose numbers included Woodsome Hall's Rochelle Morris.

Twenty-one-year-old Winning 21 lifted the Helen Holm Scottish stroke play title for the second time this year and was in England’s winning team at the European championships and the Home Internationals.