Jill Thornhill ( Woodside, born 18 August 1942) is an English amateur golfer. Her biggest successes came after reaching 40. She won the 1983

British Ladies Amateur 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 th ...

, the 1986

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 ...

and the 1993

Women's Senior Amateur The Women's Senior Amateur, also known as the Ladies' Senior British Open Amateur Championship, is a golf tournament organised annually by The R&A. The championship is open to players aged 50 years and over, and was first played in 1981. In 2022 t ...

. 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 " ...

in 1984, 1986 and 1988.

Golf career

In 1960 Thornhill was not selected for the England team for the

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 ...

, but went on to reach 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 ...

, losing to

Ann Irvin Ann Leslie Irvin (born 11 April 1943) is an English amateur golfer. She won the British Ladies Amateur in 1973 and the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1967 and 1974. She was in four Curtis Cup teams, in 1962, 1968, 1970 and 1976. Amat ...

. In 1961, playing with future husband John Thornhill, they reached the final of the

Worplesdon Mixed Foursomes The Worplesdon Open Scratch Mixed Foursomes is an open mixed foursomes golf tournament contested annually at the Worplesdon Golf Club in Surrey since 1921. From its inception until the 1960s the event attracted many of the leading amateur golfer ...

, losing to Frances Smith and

Bruce Critchley Bruce Fishwick Critchley (born 9 December 1942) is a UK TV broadcaster and commentator who worked for the BBC in the 1980s and from the early 1990s was a member of Sky Sports golf broadcasting team until his retirement in the mid-2010s. Backgroun ...

. In 1962 Thornhill was a runner-up, with Ann Irvin, in the

Kayser Bondor Foursomes The Avia Foursomes was a women's foursomes golf tournament contested annually from 1958 to 1989. It was held at Sunningdale Golf Club in its first year but was then played at the Berkshire Golf Club near Ascot, Berkshire. The event consisted of 7 ...

. She reached the final of the 1964 French amateur match-play championship, losing to

Brigitte Varangot Brigitte Varangot (1 May 1940 – 12 October 2007) was a French amateur golfer. Early life Varangot was born in Biarritz in the French Basque Country and was a self-taught golfer, who did not take many lessons and did not practice a lot. Lally ...

. In 1965 she gained international honours, playing for winning England teams 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 the

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 pla ...

and for Great Britain and 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 ...

, the Continent of Europe winning for the first time. In 1970 Thornhill won the

Avia Foursomes The Avia Foursomes was a women's foursomes golf tournament contested annually from 1958 to 1989. It was held at Sunningdale Golf Club in its first year but was then played at the Berkshire Golf Club near Ascot, Berkshire. The event consisted of 7 ...

with Gillian Cheetham. In 1974 Thornhill lost to

in the final of the

. The following week she won the

Newmark International The Hovis International was a women's amateur 72-hole stroke-play event. It was held from 1964 to 1972. The event continued as the Newmark International. Some of the later events were open to professionals. Winners References {{Reflist Amateu ...

at Walton Heath, threes strokes ahead of

Anne Stant Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

. At the end of 1974 she and her husband reached the final of the

. They did even better the following year, winning the event for the first time. Thornhill won the 1983

with Jill Nicolson. Later in 1983 she won the

beating Regine Lautens, 4 and 2, in the final at

Silloth on Solway Silloth (sometimes known as Silloth-on-Solway) is a port town and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in the county of Cumberland, the town is an example of a Victorian seaside resort in the North of England ...

. She had narrowly beaten

Marie-Laure de Taya Marie-Laure de Lorenzi (born 21 January 1961, in Biarritz) is a French professional golfer. She is also known by her married name Marie-Laure Taya, and competed using that name until midway through 1989 when she reverted to her maiden name. De L ...

by one hole in the semi-finals, with an eagle-birdie finish. Thornhill made her

debut at

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for The ...

in 1984, the Americans winning by a single point. In 1985, again with Nicolson, they were runner-ups in the

. She was leading amateur at the 1985

Women's British Open The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a women's major golf championships, major championship in Professional golf tours#Women's tours, women's professional go ...

. In 1986 she won the

beating

Susan Shapcott Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

in the final. She also played in the Curtis Cup again, Great Britain and Ireland winning by 13 points to 5. In 1987 she was a runner-up in 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 tournament over 72 holes, it was discontinued by the R&A after the 2017 tournament won ...

, two strokes behind

Linda Bayman Linda Louise Denison-Pender Bayman (born 10 June 1948) is an English golfer. Personal life Bayman was born Linda Louise Denison-Pender to Louise (née Riviere) and Richard Ernest Denison-Pender in 1948. She married John Edward Bayman in 1973 and ...

. Thornhill made her final appearance in the Curtis Cup in 1988, Great Britain and Ireland retaining the cup at

Royal St George's The Royal St George's Golf Club located in Sandwich, Kent, England, is a golf club in the United Kingdom and one of the courses on The Open Championship rotation and is the only Open rota golf course to be located in South East England. It has ...

. In 1993 Thornhill won the

. She was runner-up the following year.

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1984, 1986 (winners), 1988 (winners) *

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1965, 1983 (winners), 1985 (winners), 1987 (winners) *

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 Fren ...

: (representing Great Britain & Ireland):

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

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 2007 it ...

(representing Great Britain): 1983, 1987 *

(representing England):

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

(winners),

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

(winners),

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

(representing England): 1965 (winners), 1974, 1982 (winners), 1983, 1984 (winners), 1985 (winners), 1986, 1987 (winners), 1988

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornhill, Jill English female golfers Amateur golfers 1942 births Living people