FRENCH TEAM-MATES SOAKED WINNER BARBARA TO THE SKIN ...
BUT SHE THOUGHT IT WAS WORTH IT TO WIN THE 'HELEN HOLM'

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
The French sporting custom seems these days to involve almost drowning their golfing winners. We've seen it with Thomas Levet and others on the men's European Tour ... and it happened at the conclusion of the Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play at Troon on Sunday.
Winner Barbara Genuini's compatriots - and there were a record number of 22 French entries - were waiting for her when she came out of the recorders' van, and proceeded to empty countless bottles of water over her head (see picture left by Cal Carson Golf Agency).
Barbara, who is 24, took it all in good spirit but she was soaked to the skin through her sweater and had to borrow a dry one to put on for the presentation of the trophy (pictured below).
So why did France send so many competitors over for this year's "Helen Holm?"
Coach Karine Mathiot explained to Kirkwoodgolf:
"We have a very good crop of young girl golfers coming through but many of them know no other way to play golf but to hit a high shot into a holding green where the ball will stop quickly.
"We feel that their golf education has to include playing Scottish links where you have to play a different game of golf entirely, dropping the ball short and bouncing the ball up to the hole.
"Our aim is to make our girl golfers more complete players, more experienced in coping with varying conditions overseas."
Last word from Barbara Genuini, a petite, blone mademoiselle with a bubbling personality.
"Does winning the Helen Holm get me into the Scottish Sporting Hall of Fame?" she asked with a mischievous smile.