Rachel loses in last eight

RACHEL CONNOR was beaten by American teenage golf prodigy Alexis Thompson in the quarter-finals of the Doherty Jones Championship in Florida.

The 18-year-old from Royton lost 4 & 3 to Thompson in the matchplay event at Coral Ridge, Fort Lauderdale.

It brought to an end a marvellous tournament for Connor, who failed to qualify for the matchplay knockout of the main competition 12 months ago.

This time she easily clinched one of the 32 places for the matchplay event and then defeated Laura Carson (5 & 3) and Sandra Changkija (1up) to set up a dream quarter-final clash with Thompson.

Thompson is the US Girls’ Champion and, at the age of 13 years and five months, last summer became the youngest-ever golfer to qualify for the US Women’s Open.

Connor’s three-week stint in Florida has been a fruitful one.

She also finished in 12th place in the Orange Blossom Tour’s South Atlantic Amateur Championship, an event won by Thompson by a massive 13-shot margin.