Carly Booth leading amateur and top Scot

Hudson shoots a final 64

in wind and rain to

catch leader Reid

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
By BETHAN CUTLER
England’s Rebecca Hudson captured her second title in the space of three weeks with a final round 64 at the weather-interrupted Ladies English Open today.
Hudson came from four shots behind the overnight leader Melissa Reid, also from England, to capture the title by a stroke on a wet and windy day at The Oxfordshire Golf Club in Thame.
The 29-year-old from Doncaster, pictured holding aloft the trophy, fired eight birdies, with four on the front nine and four on the back, for a 10-under-par 206 total and a first prize of €24,750.
With no tournament scheduled on the Ladies European Tour the previous week, Hudson’s win followed her recent triumph at the Tenerife Ladies Open, played in contrasting sunny and dry conditions. It was her third win on the LET after a maiden tour title in Hungary in 2006.
“Back to back wins, I can’t believe it,” said an emotional Hudson. “To win in your home country is just fantastic. It’s just wonderful. To have two English players at the top is something special as well.
“At the beginning of the day I knew that someone would have to shoot low to catch Mel but I didn’t think this would happen. I hit some good golf shots and played the golf course the way I wanted to.”
As in Tenerife, Hudson employed her good friend and fellow Tour professional Kirsty Fisher as her caddie for the final round. She added: “Me and Kirsty lined up the putts well; we worked well together. We didn’t fight the wind, we worked with it.”
Hudson was presented with her trophy by Sir Michael Parkinson, the president of the golf club.
Playing in the final pairing, one group behind Hudson, Reid fired a final round 69 and finished on a nine-under-par total. She missed a 10 foot birdie putt to catch Hudson on the par-five 17th and then had to settle for a regulation par at the last hole after pulling her approach shot into the rough. Her chip stopped two feet short of the hole.
Reid, the tour’s leading rookie player, said: “To be honest, I can’t take anything away from Rebecca’s 64. In these conditions it was phenomenal. She won the tournament. I’m pretty gutted right now but I’ve got to stay patient and maybe the win will come pretty soon.
"I still made a couple of mistakes, which I want to erase. I’m learning all the time and this was a great challenge in all the conditions.”
Australia’s Joanne Mills took outright third on six-under-par after a bogey-free 66 while Spain’s Marina Arruti was fourth on five-under-par. Denmark’s Iben Tinning and Austria’s Natascha Fink shared fifth on four-under, while Wales’ Brewerton, who won last year at Chart Hills, tied for seventh with England’s Lora Fairclough.
COLIN FARQUHARSON'S TAILPIECE.
Sixteen-year-old Comrie amateur Carly Booth must have been a very contented young lady as she flew from London to Aberdeen this evening to join up with the rest of the Scotland squad for this coming week's European girls' team championship over the Murcar Links.
Carly, one of several amateurs invited to play by the Ladies European Tour, finished as the leading amateur and the top Scot in the final placings, having professionals Kathryn Imrie, Lynn Kenny and Julie Forbes behind her.
Carly had rounds of 70, 77 and 74 for a total of five-over-par 221, which earned her joint 29th place and will send her into battle for Scotland with her confidence sky-high. Had she been a professional - which she can't become until her 18th birthday - she would have earned 1,683 Euros in this tournament.
Kathryn Imrie did pick up 1510 Euros for rounds of 73, 75 and 74 for a total of 222, the same total as Lynn Kenny who scored 71, 77 and 74. They finished joint 31st.
Jenna Wilson finished jt 37th on 223 with scores of 74, 73 and 76 for a pay-out of 1287 Euros.
Aboyne exile, now Ireland-based Julie Forbes scored 73, 75 and 78 for a total of 226 and a cheque for 825 Euros. Julie came joint 46th.