SALLY SURVIVES 14-PLAYER
PLAY-OFF TO GAIN PLACE IN
RICOH WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN

Well done, Sally Watson! The 16-year-old from South Queensferry - the youngest of the seven Scots competing in today's Ricoh Women's British Open Final Qualifier over the New Course, St Andrews, survived a 2hr play-off featuring 14 players to claim her place alongside Annika Sorenstam and the rest of the stars of women's professional golf in the main event, starting over the Old Course on Thursday
Sally, 16, from South Queensferry but a resident student at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy at Bradenton, Florida, since last autumn, shot a two-over-par 74.
When she returned her score, she looked certain to be one of the 21 qualifiers from a field of 123.
But there were some good late scores and eventually it meant that there would be a play-off involving Sally and the 13 other players who had 74s. A play-off involving 14 players could take "forever" and this one lasted the best part of two hours to eliminate six players.
Sally played the first, the second and the 17th in coming through the play-off. But the play-off went on in fading light with the six who had been eliminated now fighting it out for four alternate places, i.e. reserves in case there are scratchings from Thursday's line-up.
Sally has had a hectic schedule this month. She missed the Scottish Under-18 girls' match-play championship - which she won two years ago - at Peterhead so that she could play in the first qualifier for the Women's British Open at The Berkshire Golf Club on July 16. Having won a place in the Final Qualifier.
She then flew back to the United States to play in the US girls' championship at Lakewood in Washington State last week. The fifth best qualifier, Sally went out in the round of the last 32. Last year she reached the last 16 of that event.
Sally's 74 over the New Course, reckoned by many to be more difficult a test than the Old Course, included birdies at the sixth, 10th and 14th. She had bogeys at the fourth, eighth, 1156h, 13th and 17th in halves of 37.
Lynn Kenny got closest of the other Scots to qualifying. She had a 76 (38-38), after bogeying the 11th, 13th and 16th. Earlier she had birdied the seventh and 10th in halves of 38.
Kathryn Imrie also let her chance slip with late bogeys at the 15th, 17th and 18th in finishing on 78 (41-37. A double bogey at the second was followed by further shots shed at the fourth, fifth and ninth. The Monifieth player did perk up with birdies at the long 10th and 12th but, looking for a nother sub-par figure to clinch a place, she instead slumped down the run-in.
Vagliano Trophy player Krystle Caithness, playing over one of her home courses, also had a 78 (40-38).
The blot on her scorecard was a double-bogey 5 at the short ninth She had not birdies.
Heather MacRae had highs and lows in an 80. The Dunblane amateur had birdies at the second, 12th and 16th but she also had a double bogey at the sixth and a quadruple bogey 8 at the 360yd 11th hole in halves of 40.
Louise Kenney from Pitreavie had a double bogey at the first and a triple bogey at the 11th which cancelled out her birdies at the 10th and 14th in halves of 42 and 41 for an 83.
Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder), beaten semi-finalist in the Scottish women's amateur championship, had a nightmare round of 87. Her halves of 45 and 42 included a triple bogey 7 at the first, a double bogey 7 at the fourth, a double bogey 7 at the eighth, a double bogey 6 at the 11th and a double bogey 6 at the 14th. She did squeeze in a birdie at the short 17th.
MELISSA FINDS TRUE SCOTTISH FORM
Vagliano Trophy player Melissa Reid (Chevin, Derby) recaptured her usual brilliant Scottish form that deserted her until the fourth and final session of the match against the Continent of Europe at Fairmont St Andrews.
Winner of only one match out of four for Great Britain & Ireland, Melissa today returned to being the player who won the Helen Holm Scottish stroke-play in record-breaking style and also the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews by a comfortable margin.
She led the qualifiers with a two-under-par 70.
Two more GB&I team members figured prominently. Rachel Bell from Yorkshire and Kerry Smith from Hampshire made it through with ease on 72.
Naomi Edwards (Ganton), who had some disappointing results in the Vagliano Trophy, was another who returned to the form she usually shows when she is in Scotland. A former winner of the St Rule Trophy, Naomi, the English women's champion, had a 73.
Several of the successful Continent of Europe took advantage of the exemption from the first Ricoh's Women's British Open qualifier - but only Anna Nordqvist, the Swedish player who was the MVP in the Vagliano Trophy match with four wins out of four, made it through to tee off on Thursday in the "real thing."

QUALIFIERS
Par 72

70 M Reid (Eng) (am).
71 L Kreutz (Fra).
72 R Bell (Eng) (am), S Head (Eng), He Yong Choi (Kor), K Smith (Eng) (am), I Tinning (Den), Sung Ah Yim (Kor).
73 D Ammaccapane (US), N Edwards (Eng) (am), T Calzavara (Ita), S Walker (Eng), R Stevenson (Aus).
74 (after play-off) D McVeigh (Ire) (am), M Eberl (Ger), M Rigon (Ita), A Nordqvist (Swe) (am), S Watson (Sco) (am), C Nilsmark (Swe), A Monke (Ger), B Recari (Spa).
NON-QUALIFIERS
74 (after play-off) L Cabanillas (Spa), K Lunn (Aus), A Hanna-Williams (US), L Hart (Aus), J Sweeney (US), J Schaeffer (Fra).
75 F Piovano (Ita), M Arruti (Spa), N David-Mila (Fra), M Bagger (Den), L Brooky (NZ), Z Kamasova (Slo), K Matharu (Eng), C Alonso (Spa), S Gal (Ger) (am).
76 P Lindberg (Swe) (am), K Takanashi (Jap), L Kenny (Sco), N Harvey (Can), U Wikstrom (Fin), F Johnson (Eng), S Heath (Eng), A Yang (Kor), Hee Young Park (Kor), H Brockway (Eng) (am).
77 L Hall (Wal) (am), C Coughlan (Ire), A Temple (US), K-M Juul (Den), R Yokomine (Jap), J Morley (Eng), L Sibille (Fra), E Steinberger (Aut), K Tamulis (US), M Prieto (Spa), D Luna (Ita), E Bennett (Eng) (am), S Sandolo (Ita).
78 E Cabrera (Spa) (am), K Futcher (US), S Hassan (Wal) (am), N Nijenhuis (Hol), G Simpson (Eng), J McGill (US), K Imrie (Sco), L Maritz (RSA), B Mullins-Lane (Aus) (am), E Ohlsson (Swe), K Caithness (Sco) (am).
79 C Aitken (Eng), F Luscher (Swi), D Masters (Eng), V Derrey (Fra) (am), N Booth (Eng), B Loucks (Wal) (am), L Tadotto (Bel), C Westrup (Swe) (am).
80 Ya-Ni Tseng (Tai), H MacRae (Sco), D Montgomery (Eng) (am), K S Taylor (Eng), I Maconi (Ita).
81 A Larraneta (Spa), M Blomqvist (Fin), H Fujishima (Jap), L Jean (Aus), H Aitchsion (Eng), S Michl (Aut).
82 L Terebey (US), J Park (US), E McKinnon (NZ), C Lundgreen (Nor).
83 L Kenney (Sco) (am).
84 E Esterl (Ger), T Plucksataporn (Thai).
85 F Seeholzer (Swi)
87 E Ogilvy (Sco), J Oliver (Eng).