US COLLEGE NEWS

Nicola Race helps Missouri start

with a win on debut appearance

Missouri University's women's talent spotters knew what they were doing when they persuaded Essex-born Nicola Race to transfer from Redlands Community College for the new 2009-2010 college golf season.

Missouri had not won a team title since 2007 but, with junior year student Nicola in the team, as well as another English-born player, sophomore Hannah Lovelock from Surrey, they made their seasonal debut a winning one in the Chip-N-Club Invitational at Lincoln, Nebraska this week.

Missouri had no players in the leading five but a good grouping saw them win the team title with a total of 878, 11 shots ahead of hosts Nebraska with Kansas (895) third of 14 teams.

Nicola, pictured above, finished tied 22nd in a field of 83 players with rounds of 79, 73 and 75 for 227 over the 6,214yd, par-72 course at Wilderness Ridge.

Perhaps a little bit nervous in her first round at a higher level than she has previously played in the States, Nicola had no birdies in her opening 79. In the next round, she shot a 73 with three birdies and one double bogey. And in her final round, Race had a 75 which included another double bogey but, underlining her rising confidence, she birdied two of her last four holes, the 15th and 18th.

When she cuts out the double bogeys, Nicola, a prolific individual winner for her last college, will be challenging for the No 1 position on the Missouri women's team.

Lovelock scored 79, 75 and 76 for 230 and a share of 30th place in a field of 83 but her score counted for the Missouri team victory.

The individual honours went to the US girls champion Amy Anderson (North Dakota) with scores of 69, 72 and 69 for six-under-par 210 and a three-stroke winning margin . In US sport terms, Amy is 2 and 0 in the opening weeks of the US women's college golf season.