Rhodes sisters gearing up for final

Mimi and Patience Rhodes will be competing for more than just the sizeable honour of winning the Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Championship title on Friday, or, indeed, of the equally gargantuan bragging rights in their sibling rivalry.

They will both be playing for their grandmother, Susan, whose darks days in her battle with cancer have been afforded so many rays of light by her pride and joy in seeing them become the first sisters to tee it up against each other in the 34-year history of the event. The Somerset duo now have the chance to take Susan’s pleasure to another level.

“We want to do this for her,” Mimi said. “She has terminal cancer and has really been going through it. But when we both made it here for these finals she was so happy. She loves golf and is a big reason why we play this sport. Imagine if we could finish first and second? My gran would be in tears for sure.”

That delicious possibility is eminently feasible in what promises to be an intriguing final round. After 36 holes, Mimi is sharing the lead on eight-over alongside Aberdeenshire’s Carmen Griffiths, but on a crammed leaderboard there are five others within three of the lead.