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Tuesday, June 10, 2008


CURTIS CUP SCOTS ON GLORY TRAIL
AGAIN AT NORTH BERWICK


Seven of the eight Great Britain & Ireland team, who lost 13-7 to the United States in the recent Curtis Cup match at St Andrews, will be in high-profile action again - hopefully - at this week's British women's open amateur golf championship over the North Berwick links on the Firth of Forth shoreline.
The odd one out is 16-year-old Sally Watson (Elie & Earlsferry) who had an overdue knee operation last week.
Carly Booth (Comrie), Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) and Scottish champion Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) will have their scores counting for "Scotland" in the international team event staged in conjunction with the stroke-play qualifying rounds.
England will also be represented by a Curtis Cup trio - Elizabeth Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor), Jodi Ewart (Catterick) and Florentyna Parker (Royal Birkdale).
The remaining GB&I player in the field, Breanne Loucks (Wrexham) makes up the Wales team with Curtis Cup reserve Sarah Hassan and Rhian Wyn Thomas.
The British open amateur title has been won by a Continental European for the last five years in a row and six of the past seven.
Spanish teenager Carlota Ciganda is not defending the championship she won at Leeds 12 months ago. Although she is bound for Arizona State University in January, Carlota is sitting "important examinations" this week, according to the Spanish Golf Federation Press Officer, Miguel Angel Caderot.
Krystle Caithness and Michele Thomson reached the quarter-finals last year with Michele giving champion-to-be Ciganda her hardest match of the tournament.
Caithness was an under-used three-time winner in the Curtis Cup while Thomson followed up her Scottish title win at Lossiemouth by winning the Munross Trophy 36-hole SLGA event at Montrose on Sunday.
So strong is the Continental opposition that Krystle and Michele will have done well if they can make it through to the weekend action - quarter-finals and semi-finals on Saturday plus the 18-hole final on Sunday.
Strathmore's Alexandra Bushby and Claire MacDonald (Gullane) answered a late call from the Ladies Golf Union to come off the waiting list and plug gaps that had developed by withdrawals or no-shows.
Young hopefuls in the maximum field of 144 include: Katy McNicoll (Carnoustie), whose brother Keir won the St Andrews Links Trophy at the weekend.
The leading 64 after the 36-hole qualifying test will go forward to the match-play stages.

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