Kimberley Crooks, Yorkshire county player, now a rookie on Ladies European Tour (image by courtesy of Tom Ward Photography).

Tracey Boyes, hoping to recruit members for the XLtec Pro Tour (lady pros' section) on the LET Access Tour (image by courtesy of Leaderboard Photography).

English girls Tracey Boyes and Kimberley Crooks

ready to play in XLtec Pro Tour's ladies' events

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Although it is hoped that there will be strong Scottish support for the lady professionals' section of the XLtec Tour which has the first of its scheduled six, two-day 36-hole stroke-play events at Whitekirk Golf Club, near North Berwick next Thursday and Friday (March 25-26), it should be stressed that entries from any nationality will be accepted.

Membership of the Ladies European Tour or Women's Professional Golf Association is not mandatory but the player must have professional golfer status.

At some point in the future, lady amateurs with low handicaps, who may be thinking of turning professional and want to measure their skills against the pros, may be accepted but not for the moment.

Two English-based players who have expressed a strong interest in the XLtec Tour are Tracey Boyes, 28, from Southampton and Kimberley Crooks, 19, from Middlesborough, both of them are Ladies European Tour rookies..

Tracey Boyes says in an E-mail:

"I will not be able to attend the first one at Whitekirk, because I am playing in the LET Access Series but I will be able to do the others. I will tell the other girls that i know about the tournaments. Hope this will help."

Tracey is a rookie pro and a member of the LET Tour.

Her club as an amateur was Meon Valley and she was the 2009 Hampshire champion. Tracey reached the semi-finals of the 2009 English amateur championship and of the English mid-amateur championship. She was also runner-up in the Critchley Salver.
Kimberley Crooks says in her E-mail:

"I am very interested in playing in the XLtec lady pro events. Unfortunatly I am not able to play in next week's tournament but will be playing in the rest of them."

Kimberley's home club was Saltburn and she was a member of the winning Yorkshire county team.

Former British girls champion Clare Queen from Drumpellier, now representing The Carrick at Loch Lomond on the Ladies European Tour circuit, says she will play on the XLtec Tour - but cannot manage next week's curtain-raiser at Whitekird.

Katy McNicoll (Carnoustie) has turned pro since winning the North of Scotland women's amateur championship at Newmachar last summer. She has returned to Florida - where she spent four years at Lynn University (as did her brother Keith, also a former Scotland cap and now a rookie pro - but says she will definitely be coming home to play on the XLtec Tour.

"I'll miss the first one at Whitekirk but I'll definitely be a starter at the remainder. A ladies' pro tour in Scotland is just what we need," says Katy whose father Dave, a professional footballer with Dunfermline Athletic until a knee injury ending his playing career, owns the Carnoustie Golf Shop.

To get the lady pro section started, we need at least five entries at Whitekirk. That doesn't seem too many to ask for .... but we do not have a single official entry so far.

So, please, fill in the form below and get your name down for Whitekirk:

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XLTEC PRO TOUR (Ladies’ Section)

TOURNAMENTS 2010

March 25 & 26: Whitekirk, nr North Berwick.

April 28 & 29: Hilton Park, Glasgow
May 25 & 26: Dalmahoy (Edinburgh).
July 28 & 29: Westerwood (Glasgow)
September 28 & 29: Spey Valley, Aviemore.
October 6 & 7: Dundonald Links, Ayrshire.
TOURNAMENT DETAILS
+ All events will be 36 holes’ stroke-play over two consecutive days.
+Entry fee for lady professionals will be £50 per event, all of which will go directly to the ladies’ prize fund. Payable on first day of each event. Entries from any lady professional or assistant accepted, any nationality.
+There will be a £10 adminstration fee per tournament, payable by the player alongwith the entry fee.
+The one-off fee to join the Tour is £40 and the cheque, made payable to 110sport Management Ltd should be sent to Chris Turner without delay at the address listed below.
+The prize funds for the lady professionals section will depend on how many players enter per venue. A minimum of five players must enter for an event to be held. Donations are being received from companies and individuals, which are expected to add between £300 and £400 to each venue's prize fund. All the money received in entry fees will go into the prize fund alongwith the donations. For example, if 20 entries were received for any competition at £50 each, added to a sixth of the donations' total, that would provide a prize fund of approximately £1,300-£1,400 for that particular venue.

+The XLTec Pro Tour men will be playing at the same venues. Lady pros will play off the red LGU tees and are not competing against the men.
CONTACTS
Alan Tait 07734 207119
Nigel Scott-Smith 07939 015556
Chris Turner (110sport) 07889 355856
E-mail: c.turner@110sport.com
Colin Farquharson 01224 869782
E-mail: Calcarsongolf@scottishgolfview.com

TOUR MEMBERSHIP & ENTRY FORM

NAME ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…

ADDRESS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

CLUB/ATTACHMENT ………………………………………………………………………………………

MOBILE PHONE NUMBER …………………………………………………………………………………

E-MAIL ADDRESS …………………………………………………………………………………………..

I enclose £40 joining fee to the XLtec Pro Tour, payable to 110sport Management Limited.

*I would/would not like to play in the first event at Whitekirk GC on March 25/26.
*I would/would not like to play in the second event at Hilton Park GC on April 28/29

*I would/would not like to play in the third event at Dalmahoy on May 25/25.

*Delete as appropriate.

SIGNATURE .....................................................................................................

Please send joining fee cheque and entry form as soon as possible to:

FAO Chris Turner, XLtec Pro Golf Tour, c/o 110sport Management Ltd, First Floor, Pavilion 1, Castlecraig Business Park, Players Road, Stirling, FK7 7SH