Surrey's Hannah Lovelock, now a first-year student at the University of Missouri, who was lying second after the first and second rounds of the Johnie Imes Invitational before finishing 23rd (image by leaderboardphotography).

Steph Gough from Aylesbury has found

her feet quickly on American scene

Ellesborough Golf Club member Steph Gough from Aylesbury, an 18-year-old freshman student at Middle Tennessee State University, has made a very good start on the American women's college circuit.

She finished seventh on her debut in the Gamecock Classic in early September .... joint sixth in the Cincinnati Fall Classic in mid-September ... and joint 14th in a strong field of 90 players for the Johnie Imes Invitational women's college tournament at The Club at Old Hawthorn, Columbia, Missouri, which finished on Tuesday this week.

Steph scored 76, 77 and 75 for a total of 228 over the par-72, 6204yd course.

The winner by four shots was Julia Potter (Missouri) with 67-70-72 for 209.

Middle Tennessee State came eighth of 18 in the team event won by Mississippi.

The form of Steph Gough and another new recruit, Karisa Akin from Kentucky, has Middle Tennessee State coach Chris Adams feeling very optimistic about the rest of the college season.

"Steph and Karisa are years ahead in regard to their maturity as freshmen. They are playing with loads of confience and they don't look back or think twice about anything. The way they are playing makes our team better as a whole."

Steph Gough won the Buckinghamshire junior championship this year. And Steph is a useful person to have around at party time - she plays the saxophone and the clarinet!
She has another player from Aylesbury, Clara Leathers, a past Bucks county champion, as a team-mate at Middle Tennessee State University.
Clara is in her third year. She didn't play so well in this last tournament, the Johnie Imes Invitational, scoring 78, 79 and 84 for 241 and a share of 51st player. But she has loads of experience on the US college scene and coach Adams is expecting her to come good before not too long.

A third English player in the Johnie Imes Invitational was girl international Hannah Lovelock from the Hindhead club, Surrey. Hannah, an 18-year-old first-year student at the University of Missouri, had a great first round of 68 - a career low - in which she had five birdies in the space of nine holes. That put her in second place behind team-mate Julie Potter.

In the second round, Hannah had four more birdies in recording a par-matching 72. That kept her in second place before it all came apart at the seams for her in a third-round 90 in which she had no birdies but three double bogeys and a 9 at the par-5 15th in halves of 41-49.

Hannah dropped from second to a final placing of 23rd on 230 but she had shown her potential to become one of the leading Missouri team players over the next four years.