Nairn Dunbar player now lying joint second

Kelsey beats Florida weather

with brilliant 69 in "The Sally"

Scottish Under-21 girls champion Kelsey MacDonald shot a brilliant round of three-under-par 69 to move into joint second place with one round to go in "The Sally" - South Atlantic Ladies amateur championship - at Oceanside Country Club, Ormond Beach in Florida.
While double and triple bogeys were rife in difficult, cool conditions - even tournament leader 14-year-old Alexis Thompson failed to break par for the first time, Stirling University student Kelsey, pictured right, had birdies at the third, fifth, sixth, 13th and 14th holes.
The Nairn Dunbar Golf Club member, whose ambition is to play in the 2012 Curtis Cup match in her home town of Nairn, dropped shots at two long holes, the seventh and the 17th in moving the the 223 mark alongside Canadian Kira Meixner from British Columbia who sagged to a 77.
Even though she had to settle for a 73, after great opening scores of 68 and 70, Alexis Thompson moved even farther ahead of the field, 12 shots clear to be precise on five-under-par 211, in one of the most lop-sided tournaments in the history of "The Sally."
Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen student Laura Murray from Alford, a Scotland international team-mate of Kelsey MacDonald, is in joint sixth place on 232 after struggling round in 80 blows. Laura had one birdie, at the fifth, but bogeys at the third, sixth, seveth, eighth, 10th, 12th, 15th, 16th and 18th.
US Curtis Cup captain Carol Semple Thompson who did splendidly with 74 and 73 in the first two rounds to start the day in third place, had a nightmare third round of 89 to drop down to joint ninth place on 236.
Carol is a senior category golfer who has won many times on the Orange Blossom Tour in Florida and in fact is the organiser of the opening tour event, last week's Harder Hall Invitational at Sebring.
Rachel Connor, daughter of Brian Connor, the Scots-born Manchester club pro, also toiled with an 87 (48-39) to be lying joint 14th on 239.
Stirling student Rachel Cassidy from Dublin had an 84 (41-44) - two double bogey 7s on the inward half - for a share of 16th place on 242.
Penicuik's Jane Turner (Robert Gordon University) is in joint 28th position after scoring an 84 for 249.
Harriet Beasley (Stirling University) from Woburn is in 30th place on 251 after an 88.
Stirling team-mates Holly Calbert from Lancaster and Rebecca Wilson from Monifieth are on 258 and 275 respectively. Holly had a third-round 85 and Rebeca a 95.

THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 216 (3 x 72)
Players from US unless stated
211 Alexis Thompson 68 70 73.
223 Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) 77 77 69, Kira Meixner (Can) 73 73 77.
227 Wendi Golden 73 75 79.
228 Jessica Yadloczky 76 76 76.
232 Rachel Carpenter 68 84 80, Laura Murray (Alford) 74 78 80.
233 Meghan Bolger 76 82 75.
235 Megan Chapman 74 78 83.
236 Carol Semple Thompson 74 73 89, Martha Leach 77 83 76.
238 Kristy McLaughlin 82 73 83, Angela Drane 81 77 80, Sara Zwartytnksi 76 81 86.
239 Rachel Connor (Manchester) 75 77 87, Asley Medders 79 76 84.
242 Rachel Cassidy (Dublin) 81 76 85, Maggie Weder 74 82 86.
Selected scores:
249 Jane Turner (Craigielaw) 78 87 84.
251 Harriet Beasley (Woburn) 81 82 88.
258 Holly Calvert (Lancaster) 88 85 85.
275 Rebecca Wilson (Monifieth) 90 90 95.