Jane looking for short-game improvement
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to pay off in 'Helen Holm' this weekend
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FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Lothians star Jane Turner feared the early part of her season might have been a wash-out due to the fact her practice base was flooded for so long over the winter.
But the 20-year-old, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, is confident she's back on track after winning the British Universities Championship for the second year running. Turner, a member of Craigielaw, retained her title last week at Dundonald Links, where rounds of 76, 74, 75 and 74 gave her a one-shot victory.
It has given her timely boost ahead of the Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play championship, starting at Troon tomorrow and Turner is delighted to have a win under her belt already after a difficult winter.
A second year graphic design student at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, she works on her game with Stephen Murray at the Aspire Golf Centre but that was hit particularly bad by the weather at the end of last year.
"It was under four foot of water in November and was closed for a long time, which meant that I didn't have access to the facilities I needed," said Turner.
"I have been pretty much been playing catch-up since this side of Christmas but, thankfully, I am now at the point where I'm happy about the things Stephen and I are working on.
"I feel there's a big difference in my pitching and putting in particular as a result of the stuff we've been doing from 100 yards and in."
While the SLGA are expecting some withdrawals due to the disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud, the 'Helen Holm' is still likely to boast the strongest ladies' field of the season so far. For some, it will be the last chance to stake their claim for involvement in the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team that is due to be announced on Monday and Turner is certainly relishing her latest trip to Ayrshire.
"Last year, I finished just inside the top twenty and I'm hoping for better than that this time," she added. "I feel I'm a better player than I was a year ago and hopefully I can cut out the one bad round that I tend to have on Troon Portland (it stages the first two rounds before the action switches to Royal Troon for the third and final round on Sunday).
"The fact the Curtis Cup team is being announced after the event is exciting but I'm not in the preliminary squad for that so I think that would be a long shot for me this year. I'll still be playing amateur golf when the next one comes around at Nairn (in 2012] so hopefully I can be in with a shout for that match."
One definite target for Turner this year is to retain her place in the Scottish women's side after being in the team that was pipped for the Home International title by Wales at Irvine last September.
"Out of the eight who played there, six are still amateurs (Carly Booth and Kylie Walker are the odd ones out after they turned professional) and I certainly want to try and hold on to my place," said Turner.
"I also aim to push for a Scotland team place in the European Team Championship, having been a reserve for that last year. So hopefully I can produce some strong performances over the coming weeks."
While events like the 'Helen Holm' – she'll be joined at Troon by Craigielaw clubmate Gabrielle MacDonald as well as Mortonhall's Rachael Watton and Gullane's Lesley Atkins – are the main focus for Turner these days, she will never lose sight of her golfing roots.
"I came through the Midlothian County Ladies and they are really good with juniors," she reflected."It's a really good county and I was delighted to see Midlothian had won the Cuthbertson Cup for the fifth year in a row. I played in three of those winning teams."
+The full article above appears in the Edinburgh Evening News newspaper today.