Sheena Wood uses a putter at the 18th ..... and Carly puts on her shorts when the sun comes out.

Kelsey MacDonald watches a (one-handed?) shot by curling champion Eve Muirhead.

Sammy Vass in action at the sixth, watched by her aunt, Ann Ryan, extreme left, Kelsey MacDonald and Sammy's mother Magi. Images by courtesy of Robin Wilson. Click on them to enlarge.

Northern Counties

loosen P & K

grip on North

Division title

Perth & Kinross's grip on the North Division women's inter-county title was loosened at Royal Dornoch yesterday when they lost their opening match 5 1/2-3 1/2 to Northern Counties.
In the other tie, Angus beat Aberdeenshire 5-4.
Northern Counties had a 2-1 edge over P&K from the morning foursomes and got a vital point from the top singles when Kelsey MacDonald, the Scottish Under-21 champion from Nairn Dunbar, beat Curtis Cup teenager Carly Booth (Comrie) by 4 and 3.
Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) and Laura Walker (Muckhart) won their ties for P&K to level the scoreline at 3-3 but Northern Counties prevailed when Sammy Vass (Tain) and Alison Bartlett (Royal Dornoch) won the fourth and fifth singles and Mary Smith (Tain) halved the last match with P&K's Fiona Ramsay.
Aberdeenshire, lacking the services of their county champion, Sara Mathieson, who is on honeymoon following her wedding to Kings Acre assistant professional Terry Mathieson, trailed Angus 2-1 after the morning foursomes and then split the singles 3-3.
Ailsa Summers (Carnoustie Ladies), the teenager who holds both the Angus women's and girls county championships, beat Scotland cap Laura Murray (Alford) 5 and 4 in the top singles.

Results on Day 1 at Royal Dornoch:
NORTHERN COUNTIES 5 1/2, PERTH & KINROSS 3 1/2
Foursomes - Sammy Vass & Kelsey MacDonald lost to Emily Ogilvie & Carly Booth 4 and 3; Cara Gruber & Pam Mackay bt Eve Muirhead & Laura Walker 2 and 1; Alison Bartlett & Mary Smith bt Annabel Niven & Alex Bushby 5 and 4 (2-1).
Singles - MacDonald bt Booth 4 and 3, Gruber lost to Ogilvie 1 hole, Mackay lost to Walker 1 hole, Vass bt Bushby 1 hole, Bartlett bt Jane Yellowlees 3 and 2, Smith halved with Fiona Ramsay (3 1/2-2 1/2).
ANGUS 5, ABERDEENSHIRE 4
Foursomes - Ann Ramsay & Katy McNicoll lost to Laura Murray & Carol Wilson 6 and 5; Rebecca Wilson & Ailsa Summers bt Donna Pocock & Sheena Wood 2 holes; Fiona Gilbert & Fiona Blear bt Laura McLardy & Gill Murray 5 and 3 (2-1).
Singles - Summers bt Murray 5 and 4, McNicoll lost to C Wilson 2 and 1, Gilbert lost to Wood 5 and 4, Ramsay bt Mhairi Johnstone 5 and 4, R Wilson bt Sammy Leslie 4 and 3, Shonagh Raitt lost to Pocock 2 and 1 (3-3).

+Action pictures by courtesy of Robin Wilson: Carly Booth (left) and Cara Gruber (right) come out well from bunkers.