|
from Colin Farquharson
Webster v Walker in Scottish girls final
Scotland girls hockey team member Gemma Webster, who had also long jumped
for her country, is in line for international status in a third sport
- golf - after continuing her giant-killing performances to reach the
final of the BP Scottish girls championship at Powfoot Golf Club after
another hot and sunny day on the Solway Firth coastline.
Now Gemma, a 16-year-old member of Hilton Park Golf Club, Milngavie, meets
18-year-old Laura Walker (Nairn Dunbar) for the title for which she was
a rank outsider at the beginning of the week.
But after conjuring up a hole in one in her first big upset win over Sharon
Main (Moray) and then toppling the favourite and No 1 seed, Jena Wilson
(Strathaven), Gemma showed no signs of returning to the "normal"
form of a nine-handicapper on Thursday.
She beat Kerri Harper (Inverness) by 3 and 2 in the morning quarter-finals
with an astonishing performance which included five gross birdies in the
space of seven holes, and then polished off strong title tip, Clare-Marie
Carlton (Fereneze), by 2 and 1 in the semi-finals.
On paper, Laura Walker, who has four of a handicap, hits the ball a mile
and has been toughened up by spending the last year on the American junior
college golf circuit, should beat Gemma with something to spare after
eliminating the No 2 seed, Dawn Dewar (Monifieth) by 2 and 1 in the other
semi-final.
But Miss Webster keeps rising to the occasion to confound the pundits.
Can she do it one last time? Don't bet against it!
Here are brief reports of first the semi-finals and then the morning quarter-finals:
SEMI-FINALS
GEMMA WEBSTER beat CLARE-MARIE CARLTON by 2 and 1.
Gemma's glory run looked to be grinding to a halt when she was three down
after six holes to birdies at the third and fifth by Clare-Marie who also
won the sixth with a par.
Although Miss Webster came up with a birdie of her own to win the ninth,
she fell back to three down at the 10th, where Miss Carlton produced her
third birdie of the round.
At that point the odds were very much in Clare-Marie's favour. Then she
uncharacteristically drove into the high gorse bushes that line the 11th
fairway and lost the ball.
With hindsight, that was the turning point of the semi-final. Gemma also
won the short 12th with a par and suddenly was only one down. That became
all square when Clare-Marie had to play three off the tee at the 13th
and finished up three-putting the hole to lose it to a double-bogey 6!
Level with five to play, Gemma was back in the game with a vengeance and
her keen competitive edge came to the fore again with wins at the 15th
and the 17th (which she birdied) to win by 2 and 1 a match she looked
like losing for so long.
LAURA WALKER beat DAWN DEWAR by 2 and 1.
It was a match which lurged from the brilliance of birdies to the disappointment
of bogeys but there was never a dull moment when these two big-hitting
and talented teenagers locked horns.
The first was halved in bogey 5s before Laura went one up with a birdie
at the second. Then came another half in bogey 6s followed by a half in
birdie 3s at the fourth and a conventional half in par 4s at the fifth.
Then Laura was in trouble and conceded the sixth to level the game again.
Dawn should have holed a shortish putt at the third but missed it to let
her opponent off the hook with a half.
Two holes later Miss Walker was two up and in the driving seat. She won
the eighth with a par 4 and the ninth with a birdie 4.
After a half in bogey 6s at the 10th, came the first of Dawn's so-costly
driving errors. She lost two balls in the prickly gorse bushes to the
right of the 11th fairway to slump three down. Then came a half in par
3s at the short 12th before Dawn lost another ball off the tee, this time
in the left gorse bushes, to go four down at the 13th.
Miss Dewar, give her her due, did not go out of the championship quietly.
She hit a cracking drive down the middle of the 14th to win that and the
next with par figures.
Laura was now reduced to two up with three to play. If Dawn could have
won the next, it could have been an interesting finish but she could only
halve the 16th in bogey 5s and then they matched each other's birdie 3s
at the 17th to leave Miss Walker the winner of an absorbing contest by
2 and 1.
QUARTER-FINAL REPORTS
GEMMA WEBSTER beat KERRI HARPER 3 and 2.
Kerri was the first to draw blood with a birdie (her only one of the round)
to win the second hole. After a half at the third, Gemma then a magnificent
run of scoring that would not have been out of place at the Open!
Gemma birdied the fourth to square the match; birdied the fifth to go
one up and also knocked her approach in close to birdie the sixth and
move two ahead.
Kerri Harper bounced back to win the sevn with a par to be only one down.
After a half at the eight, the Gemma Webster birdie train was back on
the rails again. She birdied the ninth to turn for home with a two-hole
lead and then got the fifth and last of her birdies at the 10th to go
three up.
Gemma had birdied five out of seven holes in a row from the fourth. Truly
astonishing scoring.
A par at the 12th put Miss Webster four up before Kerri mounted a late
revival, winning the 13th and 14th with pars to be only two down playing
the 15th which was half. Gemma finished the match with a winning par at
the 16th to be three up with two to play.
CLARE-MARIE CARLTON beat ROWENA HAY at the 19th.
Rowena struck her first drive out of bounds of the right and her second
ball to the left to lose the first hole. But Miss Hay came straight back
to win the second before Clare-Marie birdie the third to regain a one-hole
advantage.
It was Rowena's turn to produce a birdie at the sixth to square the match.
The nip-and-tuck pattern of the tie continue with Clare-Marie winning
the eighth with a par and Rowena taking the ninth with a birdie to be
all square at the turn.
Miss Carlton went in front for the fourth time with a par at the 11th
and then followed four halves in a row before Rowena won the 16th with
a par to be all square again.
Clare-Marie edged ahead again at the next but Rowena, despite suffering
badly from hay fever, was able to win the 18th to square the match.
Sadly, first-tee history repeatedly itself for Miss Hay. She drove out
of bounds at the 19th to lose the hole and an absorbing match.
LAURA WALKER beat KATE O'SULLIVAN 2 and 1.
Kate was twice one up in the early stages, winning the second with a par,
only to lose the third to a birdie from Laura. And the pattern was repeated
with Kate winning the fourth, where her big-hitting opponent lost a ball,
but being pulled back to level at the sixth.
Laura got her second birdie of the outward half, at the eighth, to lead
for the first time but Miss O'Sullivan countered with her first and only
birdie to win the ninth and turn for home all square.
Laura led again with a par at the 12th and, after four straight halves,
Miss Walker won the match by 2 and 1 by taking the 17th.
DAWN DEWAR beat LESLEY HENDRY at 19th
Dawn struck early by winning the first and, after the second hole was
halved in birdies, Lesley also birdied the third to square the match.
Then a par at the fourth was good enough to see Miss Hendry go one up.
The next five holes were halved until Dawn birdied the 10th to square
the contest.
Then Miss Dewar had some adventures in a bush at the 11th and lost the
hole to a double bogey 6 to go one down although she quickly got back
on terms with a par at the 12th.
Lesley then won the 13th with a bogey and the 14th with a par to surge
two up with four to play.
Dawn responded to the pressure by birdieing the 15th and then parring
the 16th and 17th to win three holes in a row and go from one down to
one up.
But Miss Dewar drove out of bounds to lose the 18th and it was into extra
holes.
Dawn had the longest drive of the day up the 19th but finished up having
to hole from 6ft for a par 4. Meanwhle, Lesley had hit the green with
her approach but some distance away from the flag. She putted up 5ft past
the hole and failed to hole the second putt to lose the hole and the match.
But she had done very well indeed to take the No 2 seed to the 19th.
FIFE GIRL CHAMPION WINS ANSLEY REID SALVER
FIFE girls golf champion Lesley Rolland from Saline added another trophy
to her collection when she won the Ansley Reid Salver.
This scratch match-play competition is the No 2 event in the BP Scottish
girls golf championship programme, being contested by the leading 16 girls
who did not qualify for the championship match-play.
In the final, 17-year-old, Lesley, who plays off 12 at Dunfermline Golf
Club, beat Gillian Mullen (Paisley) by 4 and 3.
Lesley lost only one hole, the second, after she had won the first. Miss
Rolland went one up again at the 10th and then polished off her opponent
by taking the 14th and 15th for victory.
Gillian Mullen had knocked out the holder of the trophy, Lynne Smith (Strathaven)
by 4 and 3 in the first round.
In the semi-finals Miss Mullen beat Hannah Harvey (St Leonards) by 3 and
1 while Miss Rolland had a similar margin of victory over Susan Dickie
(Lochmaben).
SCOTTISH GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP _ Powfoot
Quarter-finals
G Webster (Hilton Park) beat K Harper (Inverness) 3 and 2.
C-M Carlton (Fereneze) beat R Hay (Nairn Dunbar) at 19th.
L Walker (Nairn Dunbar) beat K O'Sullivan (Cochrane Castle) 2 and 1.
D Dewar (Monifieth) beat L Hendry (Routenburn) at 19th.
Semi-finals B
Webster beat Carlton 2 and 1.
Walker v Dewar 2 and 1.
ANSLEY REID SALVER
First round
B Copland (Scotscraig) beat C McLoughlin (Kilspindie) 1 hole.
G Mullen (Paisley) beat Lynne Smith (Strathaven) 4 and 3.
R Clark (Dumfries & Co) beat S Horsburgh (Dunbar) 3 and 2.
H Harvey (St Leonards) beat G Barraclough (Hilton Park) 1 hole.
L Rolland (Dunfermline) beat K Walker (Buchanan Castle) 6 and 5.
G Davidson (Saline) beat J Turner (Glencorse) 2 and 1.
K Fortune (Haddington) beat A Stewart (Ballumbie Castle) 2 and 1.
S Dickie (Lochmaben) beat M Briggs (Ranfurly Castle) 4 and 3.
Quarter-finals
Mullen beat Copland 5 and 4.
Harvey beat Clark 2 and 1.
Rolland beat Davidson 3 and 1.
Dickie beat Fortune 4 and 3.
Semi-finals
Mullen beat Harvey 3 and 1.
Rolland beat Dickie 3 and 1.
Final
Rolland beat Mullen 4 and 3.
|
