IT'S BLUMENHERST v URIBE FOR UNITED STATES
WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP


Top ranked US college player and certain to be in the American Curtis Cup team at the Old Course, St Andrews, next year, Amanda Blumenherst will play Maria Jose Uribe of Colombia in the 36-hole final of the US women's amateur championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club
In the semi-finals, Blumenherst beat defending champion Kimberly Kim while Uribe accounted for Ha-Na Jang from South Korea.
Blumenherst, 20, dominated the front nine against Kim, building a four-hole lead at the turn thanks to three birdies. The Duke junior didn’t slow down on back nine, posting four consecutive birdies on Nos. 10-13.
Kim, still only 15, managed four consecutive birdies of her own between the 11th and the 14th to extend the match to the 15th hole. Blumenherst won 5 and 3.
Blumenherst has had considerable help from her uncle Bill, who is making his caddying debut. She has relied heavily on the PGA teaching pro’s ability to read greens and help her maneouvre around the course. Because both are feel putters, it’s easy to agree on the lines.
Bill Blumenherst won the 1991 Indiana PGA State Open and is head pro at Autumn Ridge Golf Club.
Jang was one down with two to play in an always close semi-final against South American Uribe.
Jang thought she had the advantage on the 17th green until Uribe rolled in a triple-breaking 55-footer for birdie to win 2 and 1. Jang immediately put her towel over her head and started to cry.
Uribe is a UCLA freshman who is going to make a big impact on the US college season now that she has found her feet.

RESULTS IN 2007 US WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

SEMI-FINALS
Maria Jose Uribe bt Ha Na Jang 2 and 1
Amanda Blumenherst bt Kimberly Kim 5 and 3

QUARTER-FINALS
Maria Jose Uribe bt Mina Harigae 5 and 4
Ha Na Jang bt Alexis Thompson 5 and 4
Amanda Blumenherst bt Jennie Lee 5 and 4
Kimberly Kim bt Jennifer Song at 21st.

THIRD ROUND
Mina Harigae def. Vicky Hurst 1 hole.
Maria Jose Uribe def. Emma Jandel 2 holes.
Alexis Thompson def. Lizette Salas 5 and 4
Ha Na Jang def. Tiffany Joh at 20th.
Jennie Lee def. Sara-Maude Juneau 6 and 5
Amanda Blumenherst def. Marci Turner 6 and 5
Jennifer Song bt Nicole Smith 2 holes.
Kimberly Kim def. Alison Walshe 2 and 1.

CATRIONA FINISHES WITH A BOGEY BUT A 66
GIVES HER SHARE OF LEAD IN SWEDE

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

Catriona Matthew produced the round of the tournament – a six-under 66 - to take a share of the lead after the third day’s play at the Scandinavian TPC Hosted by Annika at the Barseback Golf & Country Club in Sweden.
The 37-year-old from North Berwick mixed four birdies, two bogeys and two eagles to join American Brittany Lincicome on five-under-par 211.
Louise Stahle, from nearby Lund, picked up three shots to take third place on four-under, one shot clear of Norwegian Suzann Pettersen who carded four birdies and two to move to three-under-par.
Second round leader Laura Diaz of the United States dropped three shots as she slipped to two-under 214.She is joined in fifth position by three Swedes: Maria Hjorth , Sophie Gustafson and teenage amateur Caroline Hedwall, who posted scores of 69, 70 and 72 respectively.
Matthew’s best round of the year would have been even better if an 18-foot putt to save par on the final hole hadn’t rolled an inch past the cup. She was desperately close to the first albatross of her career on the par-5 12th, after her approach with a seven iron landed a foot from the hole. She then recorded her second eagle on the back nine, at the par-five 16th and having gone out in 34, she came home in 32, four-under-par.
Despite the disappointment of ending on a bogey, Matthew said she was delighted with her round.“I played really well today. I hit a lot of greens and obviously two eagles on the back nine helped my score a bit so I’m pleased with how I played,” said Matthew, who is playing in only her third LET event of the year after becoming a mum in December.
“I played well the first two days, just had a couple runs of bad holes but I was pleased with the way I was hitting the ball.
“I knew if I could do it for 18 holes I’d be okay – I managed to do it for 17 today.”
It was a difficult round for host Annika Sörenstam, whose hopes of defending her title have all-but disappeared. The Swede, who is on course for her first season without a trophy since 1993, posted a score of 74 to move to four-over-par - nine shots behind the leaders.
“This is the toughest time I’ve ever had on the golf course,” she said.“It is a big test for me.“My caddie thinks it will take a while before I am getting better. But I am impatient.
“I feel there’s a wind against me.”
There was thunder and lightening in the air as the last few players concluded their rounds at Barsebäck, But it didn’t stop Stahle from finishing in style, with birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to move within one shot of the leaders as she looks for her maiden LET title.
“It was a great day,” said the 22-year-old, who had brother Peder caddying for her.“I had pretty much the same day as yesterday but I just made a few more putts.
“I went out and had fun with my brother. We were really pumped up and it was nice with the crowds. A lot of my friends were out there.”
It was not such a good day for Diaz, one of just five Americans in the field. The 32-year-old got off to a shaky start, bogeying the first hole after scuffing a chip less than five feet on her approach to the green. A further four bogeys and two birdies followed, however she is well placed just three shots behind the leaders. Matthew and Lincicome will tee off at 12.51pm in the final pairing on Sunday.
LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3 x 72)
211 C Matthew (Sco) 71 74 66, B Lincicome (US) 71 69 71.
212 L Stahle (Swe) 69 74 69.
213 S Pettersen (Nor) 75 68 70.
214 M Hjorth (Swe) 70 75 69, S Gustafsson (Swe) 71 73 70, C Hedwall #Swe) (am) 70 72 72, L Diaz (US) 69 70 75.
Other score:
220 A Sorenstam (Swe) 71 75 74.

LAURA MURRAY JOINT 13TH FINISH IN FINLAND

Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen student Laura Murray, a member of Alford Golf Club, finished joint 13th in the Finnish women's amateur international golf championship at Helsinki Golf Club today (Saturday).
Laura had rounds of 75, 76 and 77 for a total of 228. She had double bogey 7s at the long fifth and 11th in her final round, which knocked her out of the top 10.
Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old) failed by two shots to qualify for the final round. She scored 82 and 73 for 155.
Norway's Rosa Svahn won the title by five shots with scores of 72, 66 and 71 for four-under-par 209 over the par-71 course.
LEADING TOTALS
Par 213 (3 x 71)
209 Rpsa Svahn (Nor) 72 66 71.
214 Marjet Van der Graaf (Net) 69 73 72.
215 Carmen Perez-Narbon (Spa) 72 73 73.
Scots scores:
228 Laura Murray (Alford) 75 76 77.
Did not qualify:
155 Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old) 82 73.

English Ladies Golf Association Press Release

CHARLOTTE ELLIS DEFENDS ENGLISH MID-AM TITLE

Gloucestershire’s Charlotte Ellis will defend her title in the English open mid-amateur championship which starts on Tuesday at Sherwood Forest Golf Club in Nottinghamshire.
Charlotte, 21, from Minchinhampton, heads a full field for the event. Her challengers will include players from English Ladies’ Golf Association squads and a strong contingent from the host county, Nottinghamshire.
Five members of the county first team are playing, including Nottinghamshire champion, Emma Sheffield from Newark.
Former British champion Janet Collingham will be playing on home ground at Sherwood Forest. Janet, who also won the British strokeplay title, played international golf for 15 years.
Other Nottinghamshire county players are Maria Betts (Rufford Park), Liz Savage (Newark), Emma Seton (Cotgrave Place), and Kimberley Vardy (Retford) who has represented the second team.
Two players from ELGA’s performance squad will tee up in the event: Rachel Jennings, the 2006 English girls’ champion, comes from Izaak Walton in Staffordshire, while Jo Hodge plays at Knowle in Gloucestershire. Both were England girl internationals.
Another contender is Claire Aitken from The London who has won four prestigious scratch events this season. They are the Frilford Heath Scratch Salver, the Critchley Salver, the Roehampton Gold Cup and the Hampshire Rose.
Scotland is well represented with four players: Emma Fairnie (Dunbar), Claire Hargan (Morton Hall), Claire MacDonald (Gullane Ladies) and England-based Edwina Lowrey-Gold (Eaton).
The ladies’ course has been lengthened by 337 yard for this event. It measures 5962 yards, has a par of 71 and a scratch score rating on 75.
All 64 competitors will play 36 holes of strokeplay qualifying on Tuesday, August 14. The leading 32 players will go forward to the matchplay stages. The final will be played on the morning of Friday, August 17.
There will be online scoring throughout the championship on the ELGA website: www.englishladiesgolf.org

English Ladies Golf Association Press Release

ENGLAND NAME TEAM FOR BRITISH STROKE-PLAY

International Melissa Reid, winner of the amateur salver at the Women’s British Open, is in England’s Nations Cup team for the British stroke-play championship at Conwy, Wales from August 22-24.
Melissa, 19, from Chevin in Derbyshire, will be joined by Kerry Smith from Waterlooville in Hampshire. Kerry also played all four rounds of the British Open.
The Nations Cup team is completed by their fellow GB & I international, Liz Bennett from Brokenhurst Manor in Hampshire. All three players were in the Vagliano Trophy team.
Visit the ELGA web site at www.englishladiesgolf.org

VIKKI LAING (68) IN SECOND PLACE

WHEN RAIN ENDS PLAY EARLY

ON FUTURES TOUR EVENT

Rookie Taylor Leon picked the first round of the $80,000 Betty Puskar Golf Classic to card her career-low score of 65 in the rain-delayed tournament at Morgantown, West Virginia.
That seven-under-par total gave her a three-shot lead ahead of Vikki Laing of Musselburgh, D’Rae Ward of Weatherford, Texas and college-bound amateur Jessica Yadloczky of Casselberry, Fla., all at four-under-par 68.
But Leon will have to wait a little longer to get started in Saturday’s second round as 72 players were forced to return to The Pines Country Club for a 7:15 a.m. restart Saturday to complete the opening 18. The second round will begin Saturday at 9:30 a.m local time.
Duramed FUTURES Tour officials initially suspended the first round for unplayable conditions on Friday at 3:50 p.m., hoping to return to the course as heavy rains passed through the area. But with 3 ½ inches of rain soaking the course within the last week, considerable standing water made a restart impossible today. The course received more than a half-inch of rain today.
“We still have standing water on the greens, too much casual water and no way for players to get relief,” said Christy Barks, the Tour’s director of tournament operations. “The bunkers are starting to drain, but the fairways just need more time.”
Players will not be paired by score, but will remain in their first-round pairings for the second round. A flip-flop format will be used, with first-round morning tee times becoming second-round afternoon tee times, and vice versa.
“It’s too bad we had to suspend,” said two-time 2007 winner Liz Janangelo of West Hartford, Conn., currently fourth on the Futures Tour’s money list. “I had a flow going out there.”
Janangelo is at four-under par after 12 holes, while Kris Tamulis of Naples, Fla., Kellee Booth of McKinney, Texas and Tiffany Tavee of Gilbert, Ariz., all had moved to three under when play was suspended.
But with the good fortune of being among the morning tee times that all completed the first round, Leon got off to her hot start before the rains came. And the rookie admits that her ability to go low quickly in this week’s 16th annual event was aided by the thought of something said to her during a pro-am earlier in the week.
It was a harmless comment by an amateur in her pro-am group, but it must have fired up the Texan when the gentleman observed that, as the current 23rd-ranked player, she “probably didn’t have time to move into the top five on the Tour’s money list before the season is over to get one of the 2008 LPGA Tour cards.”
“It made me kind of mad,” said Leon, of Dallas, who completed two years at the University of Georgia before turning professional this spring and winning her first pro title in her second event on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. “Of course I have a chance and I’m going to try my hardest to get there.”
Leon took advantage of the wet greens and carded eight birdies and one bogey en route to her seven-under-par 65. She hit 15 greens in regulation, missed only one fairway and rolled in 26 putts on a day that was as solid as it was wet.
“Where you hit it today was where it stuck,” she said. “I felt real confident going for the flagsticks.”
Vikki Laing, pictured above, was the first player to jump onto the leaderboard with her 68. She started on the back nine and bogeyed the 14th when she misfired on her approach-shot yardage and club selection.
But the former collegian from the University of California-Berkeley got it right on the par-4 348-yard 15th hole. She hit driver, then had 91 yards to the hole. The Scot holed out from the fairway for an eagle 2 with her 52-degree wedge, then birdied holes 17 and 18 before making the turn.
“My whole focus this week was to be more creative because I’ve become too mechanical,” said Laing. “I did a pretty good job of it today and I stayed patient.”

LATER NEWS ... LATER NEWS ... LATER NEWS.

When the first round was completed Saturday morning, Vikki Laing was pushed down to a share of third place.

HOW THEY STAND

65 Taylor Leon (Dallas, Texas) 31-34.

67 Liz Janangelo (West Hartford, Conn) 33-35.

68 D'Rae Ward (Weatherford, Texas) 33-35, Vikki Laing (Musselburgh) 34-34, Jessica Yadloczky (Casselberry, Florida) (am), Kellee Booth (McKinney, Texas) 33-35, Kelly Lagedrost (Brooksville, Florida) 35-33.

Other scores:

74 Natasha Morgan (South Wales) 35-39.

76 Polly Willett (London) 36-40.

LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR SCOREBOARD

TPC SCANDINAVIAN

139 Laura Diaz (USA) 69 70
140 Brittany Lincicome (USA) 71 69
142 Caroline Hedwall (Swe) (am) 70 72, Jade Schaeffer (Fra) 70 72, Paula Marti (Spa) 73 69
143 Louise Stahle (Swe) 69 74, Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 75 68
144 Sophie Gustafson (Swe) 71 73, Minea Blomqvist (Fin) 68 76
145 Maria Hjorth (Swe) 70 75, Catriona Matthew (Sco) 71 74, Nina Reis (Swe) 74 71, Laura Cabanillas (Spa) 75 70
146 Lisa Hall (Eng) 73 73, Virginie LagoutteClement (Fra) 75 71, Iben Tinning (Den) 76 70, Annika Sorenstam (Swe) 71 75, Amy Yang (Kor) 75 71, Anna Tybring (Swe) 73 73, Elisabeth Esterl (Ger) 74 72, Mianne Bagger (Den) 74 72, Lill Kristin Saether (Nor) 72 74, Pernilla Lindberg (Am) (Swe) 73 73
147 Liselotte Neumann (Swe) 73 74, Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin) 77 70, Amanda MoltkeLeth (Den) 77 70, Trish Johnson (Eng) 74 73, Kirsty Taylor (Eng) 76 71
148 Anna Nordqvist (Swe) (am) 72 76, Linda Wessberg (Swe) 71 77, Federica Piovano (Ita) 76 72, Laurette Maritz (Rsa) 77 71, Ludivine Kreutz (Fra) 73 75, Fame More (Eng) 76 72, Bettina Hauert (Ger) 75 73, Lara Tadiotto (Bel) 77 71, Veronica Zorzi (Ita) 76 72, Tania Elosegui (Spa) 78 70, Karen Lunn (Aus) 72 76
149 Anna Rossi (Ita) 76 73, Caroline Westrup (Am) (Swe) 77 72, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 74 75, YaNi Tseng (Tpe) 75 74, Felicity Johnson (Eng) 76 73, Stacy Prammanasudh (USA) 72 77, Leah Hart (Aus) 74 75, Mikaela Parmlid (Swe) 75 74, Johanna Westerberg (Swe) 75 74, Rebecca Hudson (Eng) 73 76, Georgina Simpson (Eng) 73 76, Marina Arruti (Spa) 76 73, Maria Boden (Swe) 74 75, Anja Monke (Ger) 76 73, Nienke Nijenhuis (NIrl) 73 76, Christine Hallstrom (Swe) 75 74, MargherIta Rigon (Ita) 78 71, Stefania Croce (Ita) 75 74, Kiran Matharu (Eng) 75 74
150 Ashleigh Simon (Rsa) 75 75, Catrin Nilsmark (Swe) 73 77, Samantha Head (Eng) 77 73, ClaIrl Coughlan (Irl) 76 74, Carin Koch (Swe) 71 79, Lynn Brooky (Nzl) 75 75, Sophie Giquel (Fra) 74 76, Lotta Wahlin (Swe) 71 79, Shani Waugh (Aus) 73 77
MISSED THE CUT
151 Sophie Walker (Eng) 73 78, Ursula Wikstrom (Fin) 76 75, Sarah Kemp (Aus) 77 74, Eva Steinberger (Aut) 75 76, Martina Eberl (Ger) 83 68, Nikki Garrett (Aus) 75 76, Becky Brewerton (Wal) 80 71, Louise Friberg (Swe) 75 76, Sarah Heath (Eng) 76 75, Joanne Mills (Aus) 78 73, Helena Alterby (Swe) 75 76, Sophie Sandolo (Ita) 78 73
152 Karin Sjodin (Swe) 76 76, Anna Rawson (Aus) 76 76, Clare Queen (Sco) 76 76, Rebecca Coakley (Irl) 78 74, Jacqueline HedWall (Am) (Swe) 73 79, Stacy Lee Bregman (SA) 75 77, Hiroko Fujishima (Jpn) 74 78, Lisa Jean (Aus) 78 74
153 Cassandra Kirkland (Fra) 77 76, AnneLise Caudal (Fra) 77 76, Rebecca Stevenson (Aus) 78 75, Sara BeAutell (Spa) 73 80, Natascha Fink (Aut) 80 73, Sofia Renell (Swe) 78 75, Cherie Byrnes (Aus) 76 77, IsaBella Maconi (Ita) 78 75, Carmen Alonso (Spa) 80 73
154 Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den) 78 76, Nathalie DavidMila (Fra) 75 79, Diana Luna (Ita) 78 76, Asa Gottmo (Swe) 78 76, Beatriz Recari (Spa) 76 78
155 Anna Knutsson (Swe) 78 77, Anna Temple (USA) 78 77, Kathryn Imrie (Sco) 80 75, Tullia Calzavara (Ita) 79 76
156 Stefanie Michl (Aut) 79 77, Kirsty S Taylor (Eng) 84 72, Marta Prieto (Spa) 80 76, Karin Kinnerud (Am) (Swe) 77 79, Charlotta Sorenstam (Swe) 78 78, Danielle Masters (Eng) 75 81, Jenni Kuosa (Fin) 81 75
157 Elin Ohlsson (Swe) 78 79, Ellen Smets (Bel) 77 80, Ana B Sanchez (Spa) 84 73, Liza Walters (Eng) 80 77
158 Eleanor Pilgrim (Wal) 77 81, Kris Lindstrom (USA) 83 75, Fany Schaeffer (Fra) 80 78, Elisa Serramia (Spa) 78 80
159 Jehanne Jail (Fra) 81 78
160 Nina Karlsson (Swe) 78 82, Nora Angehrn (Swi) 79 81, Stephanie Arricau (Fra) 78 82
161 Cecilia Ekelundh (Swe) 81 80, Carlie Butler (Aus) 83 78
163 Ana Larraneta (Spa) 80 83, Mette Buus (Den) 80 83
164 KarenMargrethe Juul (Den) 83 81
166 Denise Simon (Ger) 84 82
171Maria Blomqvist (Swe) 84 87
RTD Lora Fairclough (Eng) 80

LAURA AND RACHAEL IN LEADING 21 OF
FINNISH INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Laura Murray (Alford) and Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old) were lying 10th and 21st respectively after the second round of the Finnish women's amateur international stroke-play golf championship at Helsinki Golf Club.
Laura has had rounds of 75 and 76 for 151 over the par-71 course. Rachael improved from an 82 to a second-round 73 for 155.
Norway's Rosa Svahn leads with 72 and 66 for four-under-par 138.

Scotland girls team and officials with the Stroyan Cup, won for the second year in a row. Image by Tom Ward. Click on it to see an enlargement.

SCOTLAND GIRLS RETAIN HOME

INTERNATIONALS' TITLE

Congratulations to the Scotland girls on a job well done at Southerndown Golf Club, South Wales over the last three days. They duly clinched the girls' home internationals title and the Stroyan Cup for the second year in a row - and just as impressively as they did in Northern Ireland 12 months ago.

As expected they beat the pointless Wales comfortably, 8 1/2-1/2 to finish the three-day programme with three wins out of three.
Ireland upset England 5-4 in the other match to finish runners-up.
Details:
SCOTLAND 8 1/2, WALES 1/2
Foursomes: K Caithness, S Watson bt L J Roberts, J Bradbury 8 and 7; M Briggs, C Booth halved with A Rees, K O'Connor; P Pretswell, J Turner bt A Carling, K Millere 1 hole (2 1/2- 1/2).
Singles: Booth bt B Davies 2 and 1, Watson bt H Boulden 5 and 4, Niven bt Carling 6 and 4, MacDonald bt Roberts 7 and 6, Pretswell bt O'Connor 2 and 1, Caithness bt Rees 5 and 4 (6-0).
IRELAND 5, ENGLAND 4
Foursomes: Lisa & Leona Maguire halved with E Givens, H Barwood; S Cunningham, A Murphy lost to R Connor, K Mundy 3 and 2; V Bradshaw, S Meadow bt K Tidy, H Clyburn 2 and 1 (1 1/2-1 1/2).
Singles: Meadow bt Barwood 1 hole, Bradshaw lost to Tidy 2 and 1, Lisa Maguire halved with Mundy, Murphy lost to R Dywer 5 and 3, Leona Maguire bt Clyburn 2 holes, Cunningham bt Connor 3 and 2 (3 1/2-2 1/2).

NORTH OF SCOTLAND GIRLS GOLF CANCELLED.

The North of Scotland girls' golf championship, due to be hosted by Thurso Golf Club on Sunday, August 19, has been cancelled because of lack entries.
"The entry of five players does not warrant the championship played. We apologise to those girls who were looking forward to the event and we also apologise to Thurso Golf Club who had so willingly given the courtesy of the course," said Mairi Orr, chairman of the Northern Counties Ladies Golf Association.

LADIES' EUROPEAN TOUR SCOREBOARD

TPC SCANDINAVIAN, HOSTED BY ANNIKA SORENSTAM

Par 72
68 Minea Blomqvist (Fin)
69 Laura Diaz (USA), Louise Stahle (Swe)
70 Jade Schaeffer (Fra), Maria Hjorth (Swe), Caroline Hedwall (Swe) (am).
71 Annika Sorenstam (Swe), Brittany Lincicome (USA), Carin Koch (Swe), Lotta Wahlin (Swe), Sophie Gustafson (Swe), Linda Wessberg (Swe), Catriona Matthew (Sco)
72 Lill Kristin Saether (Nor), Karen Lunn (Aus), Anna Nordqvist (Swe) (am), Stacy Prammanasudh (USA)
73 Paula Marti (Spa), Anna Tybring (Swe), Shani Waugh (Aus), Pernilla Lindberg (Am) (Swe), Sophie Walker (Eng), Lisa Hall (Eng), Liselotte Neumann (Swe), Catrin Nilsmark (Swe), Georgina Simpson (Eng), Rebecca Hudson (Eng), Ludivine Kreutz (Fra), Sara Beautell (Spa), Nienke Nijenhuis (Ned), Jacqueline Hedwall (Swe) (am).
74 Hiroko Fujishima (Jpn), Trish Johnson (Eng), Sophie Giquel (Fra), Elisabeth Esterl (Ger), Mianne BagGer (Den), Gwladys Nocera (Fra), Nina Reis (Swe), Leah Hart (Aus), Maria Boden (Swe).
75 Christine Hallstrom (Swe), Nikki Garrett (Aus), Suzann Pettersen (Nor), Bettina Hauert (Ger), Amy Yang (Kor), Louise Friberg (Swe), Lynn Brooky (Nzl), Stefania Croce (Ita), Kiran Matharu (Eng), Danielle Masters (Eng), Laura Cabanillas (Spa), Helena Alterby (Swe), Ya-Ni Tseng (Tpe), Ashleigh Simon (Rsa), Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (Fra), Johanna Westerberg (Swe), Mikaela Parmlid (Swe), Eva Steinberger (Aut), Nathalie David-Mila (Fra), Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa).
76 Fame More (Eng), Cherie Byrnes (Aus), Kirsty Taylor (Eng), Veronica Zorzi (Ita), Sarah Heath (Eng), Beatriz Recari (Spa), Anna Rossi (Ita), Felicity Johnson (Eng), Karin Sjodin (Swe), Ursula Wikstrom (Fin), Federica Piovano (Ita), Anna Rawson (Aus), Iben Tinning (Den), Marina Arruti (Spa), Clare Queen (Sco), Anja Monke (Ger), Claire Coughlan (Irl)
77 Karin Kinnerud (Swe) (am), Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin), Amanda Moltke-Leth (Den), Lara Tadiotto (Bel), Anne-Lise Caudal (Fra), Caroline Westrup (Am) (Swe), Cassandra Kirkland (Fra), Eleanor Pilgrim (Wal), Ellen Smets (Bel), Laurette Maritz (Rsa), Sarah Kemp (Aus), Samantha Head (Eng)
78 Anna Temple (USA), MargherIta Rigon (Ita), Diana Luna (Ita), Charlotta Sorenstam (Swe), Asa Gottmo (Swe), Isabella Maconi (Ita), Stephanie Arricau (Fra), Tania Elosegui (Spa), Joanne Mills (Aus), Elisa Serramia (Spa), Sophie Sandolo (Ita), Lisa Jean (Aus), Anna Knutsson (Swe), Nina Karlsson (Swe), Elin Ohlsson (Swe), Rebecca Stevenson (Aus), Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den), Rebecca Coakley (Irl), Sofia Renell (Swe)
79 Nora Angehrn (Swe), Tullia Calzavara (Ita), Stefanie Michl (Aut)
80 Becky Brewerton (Wal), Fany Schaeffer (Fra), Mette Buus (Den), Carmen Alonso (Spa), Kathryn Imrie (Sco), Liza Walters (Eng), Ana Larraneta (Spa), Marta Prieto (Spa), Natascha Fink (Aut), Lora Fairclough (Eng).
81 Cecilia Ekelundh (Swe), Jehanne Jail (Fra), Jenni Kuosa (Fin).
83 Carlie Butler (Aus), Karen-Margrethe Juul (Den), Martina Eberl (Ger), Kris Lindstrom (USA).
84 Denise Simon (Ger), Ana B Sanchez (Spa), Maria Blomqvist (Swe), Kirsty S Taylor (Eng).

ALEXIS THOMPSON (age 12)

YOUNGEST QUARTER-FINALIST
IN 106 YEARS OF US WOMEN'S

AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

FROM THE UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION

WEBSITE

Twelve-year-old Alexis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla., won two matches Thursday to become the youngest quarter-finalist in the 106-year history of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at the 6,580-yard, par-72 Crooked Stick Golf Club.
Thompson defeated Lizette Salas, 18, of Azusa, Calif., in the afternoon’s third-round match, 5 and 4, to advance to Friday’s quarter-final round. In the morning, she defeated the championship’s other 12-year-old, Pearl Jin of San Gabriel, Calif., 5 and 4. Thompson (picture above from USGA website) was four under par in the morning match and two under par in the afternoon, with the usual match-play concessions.
“Definitely, I’m really happy with the way I’m hitting it right now,” said Thompson. “I’m just really happy I made it this far.”
Jennie Lee gets to face fellow 2006 USA Curtis Cupper Amanda Blumenherst in Friday's quarterfinals at the Women's Amateur. (Steven Gibbons/USGA)
Amanda Blumenhurst, 20, of Scottsdale, Ariz., who also advanced to the quarter-finals, was stunned by Thompson’s achievement. “I have a 12-year-old sister and I can’t imagine her playing in the state championship, let alone the Women’s Amateur,” Blumenhurst said. “I think it’s great.”
Another quarter-finalist, Mina Harigae, 17, of Monterey, Calif., said, “I feel old. I see 12-year-olds everywhere.”
Thompson faces Ha Na Jang, 15, of Korea in the quarterfinals.
Blumenhurst, a member of the winning 2006 USA Curtis Cup team, defeated Marci Turner, 21, of Tompkinsville, Ky., 6 and 5, in the third round. She faces Jennie Lee, 20, of Henderson, Nev., her teammate at Duke University.
“Jennie and I play together three times a week,” Blumenhurst said. “You just have to play the course. I have a lot of friends in this championship and it’s another aspect of match play you have to face.”
Harigae, the 2007 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion, defeated Vicky Hurst, 17, of Melbourne, Fla., in the third round, 1 up. She won the match with a four-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole.
“I can’t believe I pulled it off,” Harigae said. “I hit a 7-iron and it had a nice fade to four feet. That’s going down in my history book.”
Harigae faces Maria Uribe, 17, of Columbia in the quarterfinals. While she has never played against Uribe, she knows her. “She’s passionate,” said Harigae. “She’s like me. We’re very emotional.”
Uribe defeated Emma Jandel, 19, of Dayton, Ohio, 1 up.
Defending champion Kimberly Kim, 15, of Hilo, Hawaii, survived a tough second-round match against Japanese star Rikako Morita, 17. Morita was 1 up going into the 18th hole when she hit her tee shot into a water hazard. Kim hit her drive deep into the left rough, about three feet from going out of bounds, then laced a 196-yard 4-iron shot to within 25 feet of the hole. She squared the match with a par 4 to Morita’s 5, then won on the 20th hole when she made a 6-foot birdie putt.
“That was so cool,” said Kim of her approach shot. “That was amazing. I wasn’t aiming for the green. I was aiming left and pushed it.”
Morita plans to turn professional if she qualifies for the Japan LPGA tour in October.
In the third round, Kim defeated Alison Walshe, 22, of Westford, Mass., 4 and 3. “My competitor was not easier,” Kim said, “but I played better my last nine.”
Of her role as the defending champion Kim said: “This year it’s harder. My first match was so hard, it was like the finals. My comfort level is never high. I never want to be a cocky person. I don’t want to be a cocky golfer because golf will show you.”
Kim faces Jennifer Song, 17, of Korea in Friday’s quarterfinal round. The Women’s Amateur concludes with a 36-hole final on Sunday.
***Story written by Rhonda Glenn, manager of communications for the USGA. E-mail her with comments or questions at rglenn@usga.org.

RESULTS

SECOND ROUND

Upper Bracket
Vicky Hurst, Melbourne, Fla. def. Kristina Wong, Vestal, N.Y., 5 and 4
Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif. def. Rebecca Kim, Tigard, Ore., 4 and 3
Maria Jose Uribe, Colombia def. Candace Schepperle, Birmingham, Ala., 2 and 1
Emma Jandel, Dayton, Ohio def. Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif., 21 holes
Lizette Salas, Azusa, Calif. def. Kira Meixner, Canada, 19 holes
Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. def. Pearl Jin, San Gabriel, Calif., 5 and 4
Ha Na Jang, Korea def. Mi Jung Hur, Korea, 6 and 5
Tiffany Joh, San Diego, Calif. def. Andrea Messer, Largo, Fla., 6 and 5
Lower Bracket
Jennie Lee, Henderson, Nev. def. Margaret Shirley, Roswell, Ga., 3 and 1
Sara-Maude Juneau, Canada def. Jane Rah, Torrance, Calif., 1 up
Amanda Blumenherst, Scottsdale, Ariz def. Jenny Suh, Fairfax, Va., 5 and 4
Marci Turner, Tompkinsville, Ky. def. Mallory Blackwelder, Versailles, Ky., 1 up
Jennifer Song, Korea def. Michelle Shin, Cape Coral, Fla., 1 up
Nicole Smith, Riverside, Calif. def. Shanshan Feng, Hilton Head Island, S.C., 1 up
Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii def. Rikako Morita, Japan, 20 holes
Alison Walshe, Westford, Mass. def. Catherine O'Donnell, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., 6 and 5

THIRD ROUND

Upper Bracket
Harigae def. Hurst, 1 up
Uribe def. Jandel, 2 up
Thompson def. Salas, 5 and 4
Jang def. Joh, 20 holes
Lower Bracket
Lee def. Juneau, 6 and 5
Blumenherst def. Turner, 6 and 5
Song def. Smith, 2 up
Kim def. Walshe, 4 and 3

Sally Watson in action at Southerndown. Picture courtesy of Tom Ward. Click on the image to see an enlargement.

SCOTS GIRLS SET TO RETAIN HOME
INTERNATIONALS TITLE

Scotland took a huge step towards retaining the girls' home internationals golf title with a crushing 7-2 win over arch-rivals England on the second day at Southerndown Golf Club, South Wales.
In the other match, Ireland beat Wales 7 1/2-1 1/2.Scotland, the only team with two wins out of two, finish their programme by playing Wales.
The Under-18 Scots girls took a 2-1 lead in the foursomes with Krystle Caithness and Sally Watson 4 and 2 winners of the top tie. Carly Booth and Megan Briggs, and Kelsey MacDonald and Roseanne Niven figured in square games.
The Scots showed their class in the singles with wins by Carly Booth (4 and 2), Sally Watson (2 and 1), Megan Briggs (3 and 2), Pamela Pretswell (2 and 1) and halved games for Roseanne Niven, who had been three down at the turn, and Krystle Caithness, who was one down on the 16th tee.
Details:
ENGLAND 1 1/2, SCOTLAND 7 1/2
England names first.
Foursomes: E Givens, H Barwood lost to K Caithness, S Watson 4 and 2; K Tidy, R Dyer halved with C Booth, M Briggs; R Connor, K Mundy halved with K MacDonald, R Niven (1-2).
Singles: Givens lost to Booth 4 and 2, Tidy lost to Watson 2 and 1, Douglass lost to Briggs 3 and 2, Clyburn lost to Pretswell 2 and 1, Connor lost to Niven 1 hole, Barwood halved with Caithness (1/2 -5 1/2).
Other result:
WALES 1 1/2, IRELAND 7 1/2
Foursomes: 1 1/2-1 1/2.
Singles: 0-6.

WEARY SCOTS SEE TITLE HOPES GO SOUTH
IN ROYAL CROMER FINALE

Scotland's veteran women's golfers lost their two-year grip on the Miller Stirling Trophy on the final day of the Veteran Ladies Golfing Association's area championship at Royal Cromer Golf Club, Norfolk.
After drawing their matches on the first two days, the Scots, skippered by Pat Hutton, needed to beat England South and hope that Midlands and North drew the other match.
It was not to be. South edged a 5-4 win over the Scots and North beat Midlands 8-1 to take the title.
"I couldn't have asked for a bigger effort from my team but I think they were just drained by their efforts in the European senior women's team championship last week. I don't think they had anything left to give in the final session," said Mrs Hutton.
The Scots won the morning foursomes 2 1/2-1/2 against South but lost the singles 4 1/2-1 1/2. Only Lorna Bennett (Ladybank) managed a 2 and 1 win while Heather Anderson (Downfield) secured a square game.
Details:

SCOTLAND 4, ENGLAND SOUTH 5
Foursomes: K Sutherland, F De Vries bt S Ellis, J Ballard 4 and 3, L Bennett, N Fenton bt C Caldwell, I Brien 3 and 2; P Williamson, H Faulds halved with J O'Keefe, R Watters (2 1/2-1/2).
Singles: Sutherland lost to Ellis 5 and 3, M Thomson lost to Brien 3 and 2, Anderson hlaved with O'Keefe, H Faulds lost to S Stradling 1 hole, Bennett bt P Butler 2 and 1, Fenton lost to C C Wheelhouse 5 and 3 (1 1/2-4 1/2).
Other match:
ENGLAND NORTH 8, ENGLAND MIDLANDS 1.

LAURA LETS LEADING CHANCE SLIP
IN FINNISH WOMEN'S AMATEUR

Robert Gordon University student Laura Murray dropped three shots over the last three holes to fall back into a tie for 13th place at the end of the first round of the Finnish women's amateur international championship for the IBM Cup at Helsinki Golf Club today.
Alford-based Laura was up with the leaders when she reached the turn in level par 35, despite a hat-trick of bogeys from the fifth to the seventh. She balanced these blemishes with birdies at the first, fourth and ninth.
But the inward half cost Miss Murray 40 shots - a double bogey 6 at the 11 and a double bogey 7 at the long 17th as well as another shot dropped at the 16th. He only birdie on the way home was at the long 12th.
Laura will start the second round sixth shots behind pacemaker Marjet Van der Graaf. The Netherlands girl highlighted her two-under-par 69 with an eagle 3 at the 12th.
Rachael Livingstone (Old Musselburgh) did not have a single birdie in her 11-over 82 which left her sharing 27th place in a field of 36. She finished 5-6-6 against the card of 3-4-5.

First round scores
Par 71
69 M Van der Graaf (Ned).
71 A Felgueroso (Spa), S Westerlund (Swe).
72 C Perez-Narbon (Spa), R Svahn (Nor).
Other scores:
75 L Murray (Sco).
82 R Livingstone (Sco).

DeVere Ladies Scottish Open

SCOTLAND VETS DRAW AGAIN IN ENGLAND.

Scotland followed up their opening day draw against England North by drawing 4 ½-4 ½ with England Midlands in the Veteran Ladies Golf Association area team golf championship at Royal Cromer Golf Club, Norfolk.
The foursomes were shared 1 ½-1 ½ and the singles session ended 3-3 after wins for the Scots by Kathleen Sutherland (Royal Montrose), Helen Faulds (Douglas Park) and Noreen Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh).
England North beat England South 7-2 in the other match which means that Scotland, if they are to retain the Miller Stirling trophy, must beat South in their final match and hope that the North v Midlands ends in a draw.

Details:
ENGLAND MIDLANDS 4 ½, SCOTLAND 4 ½
Foursomes: D Parker, A Stockdale halvd with P Williamson, H Faulds; B Belcher, D Backhouse lost to L Bennett, N Fenton 2 and 1; P West, P Walker bt M Thomson, H Anderson 2 and 1 (1 ½-1 ½).
Singles: S Westall lost to K Sutherland 7 and 5, Belcher bt F De Vries 1 hole, P Walker bt Anderson 2 holes; Parker lost to Faulds 7 and 6, A Booth lost to Fenton 3 and 2, West bt Williamson 3 and 2 (3-3).

Other result:
ENGLAND S0UTH 2, ENGLAND NORTH 7.

How they stand
Midlands 1 ½, North 1 ½, Scotland 1, South 0.

Final matches
Scotland v South, Midlands v North.

Carly Booth lining up a putt at Southerndown. Picture by courtesy of Tom Ward. Click on the image for an enlargement.

SCOTS GIRLS' GOOD START TO TITLE DEFENCE

Scotland play England tomorrow in what is very likely to be the title decider in the girls' home golf internationals at Southerndown Golf Club, South Wales.
Both countries looked a cut above the opposition in scoring big wins on a windy opening day.
Scotland, the defending champions, beat Ireland 7 1/2-1 1/2 after the Irish had held their own in the foursomes. Scotland won all six singles.
England whitewashed Wales 9-0, winning all three foursomes and six singles.
Biggest winners for Scotland in the singles were 16-year-old Sally Watson (Elie & Earlsferry), 6 and 5 over Victoria Bradshaw, and 18-year-ld Krystle Caithness, 5 and 4 over Stephanie Meadow.
Details:
SCOTLAND 7 1/2, IRELAND 1 1/2
Foursomes - K Caithness, S Watson bt S Cunningham, A Murphy 4 and 3; C Booth, M Briggs halved with V Bradshaw, S Meadow; K MacDonald, R Niven lost to Lisa Maguire, Leona Maguire 1 hole (1 1/2-1 1/2).
Singles - Booth bt K Gallagher 4 and 3, Watson bt Bradshaw 6 and 5, Niven bt Lisa Maguire 2 and 1, P Pretswell bt L Mernagh 1 hole, Briggs bt Leona Maguire 1 hole, Caithness bt Meadow 5 and 4 (6-0).
ENGLAND 9, WALES 0
Foursomes: C Douglass, H Barwood bt B Davies, A Rees 4 and 3; R Connor, K Mundy bt A Carling, G Bradbury 2 and 1; K Tidy, H Clyburn bt L Roberts, H Boulden 4 and 2 (3-0).
Singles: E Givens bt Davies 4 and 2, Barwood bt Roberts 1 hole, R Dyer bt Carling 4 and 2, Clyburn bt Bradbury 3 and 2, Connor bt K Miller 2 and 1, Tidy bt K O'Connor 3 and 2 (6-0).

Thursday matches: Scotland v England, Wales v Ireland.

SCHALLENBERG AND MUNOZ QUALIFY FOR
MATCH-PLAY IN US WOMEN'S AMATEUR

Europeans Katharina Schallenberg from Germany and Spain's Azahara Munoz figured among the 64 qualifiers for the match-play stages of the United States women's amateur championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club, Carmel in Indiana onTuesday.
Top-ranked amateur Stacy Lewis and high school junior Kristina Wong shared the leading qualifier honours.
Lewis, the individual NCAA Division I champion, and Wong, 32nd in the Golfweek/Titleist junior rankings, both posted rounds of 70-69 for a five-under 139 total.
Lewis knows she now has to deal with the unofficial USGA medalist (leading qualifier) jinx.
“The medalist hasn’t had that much success,” said Lewis, a semi-finalist last year. “I was just playing for par and I got the putter rolling.”
Wong was equally thrilled: “Being medalist would be cool but I couldn’t get too hung up on it,” she said.
Lewis and Wong finished one stroke ahead of three 17-year-olds from Korea: So Yeon Ryu, Mi Jung Hur and Jennifer Song, who tied for low amateur at the 2007 US Women’s Open.
Only players with 36-hole totals of six-over-par 150 and better made it through to the match-play stages - tying the lowest cut in the 112-year history of the event.
Defending champion Kimberly Kim flirted with missing the cut, but rebounded with a three-under-par 33 on her back nine to easily secure a match-play berth.
Golfweek’s top-ranked collegiate Amanda Blumenhurst also advanced after opening with a four-over 40 on the front nine Monday.
All four of last year’s semi-finalists qualified: Lewis, Kim, Germany's Katharina Schallenberg (who lost in the final to Kimberly Kim) and Lindy Duncan.
Notables failing to qualify included 2007 U.S. Girls' Junior champion Kristen Park, 2006 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur champion Meghan Bolger, three-time USA Curtis Cupper and 1998 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur champion Virginia Grimes and two-time USGA Senior Women's Amateur champion Diane Lang.
MATCH-PLAY QUALIFIERS
Crooked Stick GC, Carmel, Indiana.
Par 144 (2 x 72). 6,497yd.
139 Kristina Wong 70 69, Stacy Lewis 70 69.
140 Jennifer Song 67 73, So Yeon Rhy 71 69, Mi Jung Hur 68 72.
141 Jenny Suh 71 70, Maria Jose Uribe 69 72, Rikako Morita 71 70.
142 Marci Turner 70 72, Alison Walshe 71 71, Jennifer Ackerson 69 73.
143 Tiffany Joh 69 74, Alexis Thompson 72 71.
144 Dolores White 71 73, Mina Harigate 72 72, Taylore Karle 72 72, Shanshan Feng 69 75.
145 Nicole Smith 72 73, Pearl Jin 75 70, Lauren Hunt 71 74, Jane Rah 73 72.
146 Mallory Blackwelder 72 74, Victoria Park 74 72, Candace Schepperle 67 79, Amanda Blumenherst 75 71, Kimberly Kim 73 73, Ha Na Jang 73 73, Tiffany Lua 70 76, Catherine O'Donnell 69 77.
147 Lisa McCloskey 71 76, Vicky Hurst 72 75, Jennie Lee 74 73, Michelle Shin 70 77, Kira Meixner 74 73, Mari Chun 71 76, Katharina Schallenberg (Germany) 76 71.
148 Ayaka Kaneko 71 77, Kristin Ingram 71 77, Lindy Duncan 72 76.
149 Emma Jandel 72 77, Becca Huffer 74 75, Tanya Wadhwa 76 73, Andrea Messer 76 73, Ashley Tait 76 73, Tamasin Clelland 71 78, Courtney Ellenbogen 74 75, Rebecca Kim 76 73, Kristie Smith 74 75, Sara-Maude Juneau 79 70, Sydney Burlison 73 76.
150 Azahara Munoz (Spain) 76 74, Katie Miller 73 77, Brianno Do 75 75, Sydnee Michaels
77 73, Lee Lopez 74 76, Amanda Costner 75 75, Blair Lamb 77 73, Kylene Pulley 81 69, Evan Jensen 73 77.

NORTH GIRLS' ENTRY DEADLINE EXTENDED

The deadline for entries to the North of Scotland Under-18 girls' golf championship at Thurso Golf Club on Sunday, August 19 has been extended because of the disappointing low number received so far.
The 18-hole competition is open to girls in the golfing counties of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Northern Counties and Perth & Kinross. Entry fee is £6.

SCOTS VETERANS RALLY TO SALVAGE A DRAW

Defending champions Scotland showed a lot of grit and determination to salvage a 4 ½-4 ½ draw with England North on the opening day of the Veteran Ladies Golf Association inter-area golf team championship at Royal Cromer Golf Club, Norfolk today.

Skipper Pat Hutton's team trailed by 2pt at lunchtime after taking only half-a-point from the three games but they came storming back into the picture in the six singles.

Victories by Kathleen Sutherland (Royal Montrose), Helen Faulds (Douglas Park), Pamela Williamson (Baberton) and Lorna Bennett (Ladybank) enabled the rallying Scots to take the singles 4-2 and cancel out their morning deficit.

"It was a good performance to get a draw from the position we were in," said Pat Hutton.

Incidentally, the England North line-up included former Scottish women's amateur champion and international team captain Fiona Anderson who has been based on Merseyside for a number of years.

Noreen Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh), partnering Lorna Bennett, had a hole in one at the 17^th in their foursome against Hilary Smythe and Elaine Elliot.

It was the third ace of Noreen's golfing career. It squared the match but Noreen and Lorna lost the 18^th to go down by one hole.

In the other match in the four-cornered contest, England Midlands beat England South 5 ½-3 ½.

Scotland play the Midlands tomorrow.

Details:

ENGLAND NORTH 4 ½, SCOTLAND 4 ½

England North names first

Foursomes: S Dye, P Wrightson halved with K Sutherland, F De Vries; F Anderson, B Laird bt M Thomson, H Anderson 2 and 1; H Smyth, E Elliott bt L Bennett, N Fenton 1 hole (2 1/2-1 ½).

Singles: Dye lost to Sutherland 4 and 3, Wrightosn lost to H Faulds 1 hole, Smythe lost to P Williamson 2 and 1; Laird bt De Vries 4 and 3, J ~Rogers lost to Bennett 4 and 3; R Linley bt Thomson 1 hole (2-4).

Other result:

ENGLAND MIDLANDS 5 ½, ENGLAND SOUTH 3 ½.

STRONG SCOTLAND GIRLS' LINE-UP START
TITLE DEFENCE AGAINST IRELAND

On paper, Scotland's Under-18s line-up in the girls' home international matches at Southerndown Golf Club, South Wales looks just about as strong as last year when they dominated the three days of match-play and were impressive winners of the title.
It is an indication of the quality of the Scots line-up that their lead-off pair in tomorrow morning's foursomes against Ireland is made up of Vagliano Trophy player Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) and Sally Watson (Elie & Earlsferry) who played all four days of the Ricoh Women's British Open at St Andrews.
Scotland's second pairing brings together again Carly Booth (Comrie) and Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) who contested the recent Scottish Under-18 girls' match-play final at Peterhead.
Carly won that title and the Scottish Under-21 stroke-play before completing a magnificent treble in winning the European Young Masters' girls championship in France.
Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) and Roseanne Niven (Crieff), two girls who have had their share of honours over the last two or three years, complete the Scots foursomes line-up and go in against the talented Irish twins, Lisa and Leona Maguire.

Opening foursomes ties:
SCOTLAND v IRELAND
Krystle Caithness & Sally WAtrson v Sarah Cunningham & Aedin Murphy; Carly Booth & Megan Briggs v Victoria Bradshaw & Stephanie Meadow; Kelsey MacDonald & Roseanne Niven v Lisa and Leona Maguire.
ENGLAND v WALES
Charlie Douglass & Hannah Barwood v Beth Davies & Amy Rees, Rachel Connor & Katie Mundy v Anna Carling & Gemma Bradbury; Kelly Tidy & Holly Clyburn v Laura Jane Roberts & Hayley Boulden.

Murcar Links team (in blue) with Aberdeen Ladies after the trophy presentation at Balgownie (image courtesy of Karen Stalker, secretary of Aberdeenshire Ladies CGA).

MURCAR LINKS WIN LYON FOURSOMES

Murcar Links ended Aberdeen Ladies’ bid to complete a hat-trick of Lyon Inter-club Foursomes Trophy triumphs by beating them by 16 holes in the final of the double foursomes tournament at Balgownie today.
Murcar Links, represented by Laura McLardy, Carol Wilson, Donna Pocock and Frances Neish, scored some big-margin wins over the two days, including a 24-hole win over Dunecht House in the morning semi-finals.
Murcar Links last won the Lyon Trophy three years ago.
Aberdeen Ladies had to draft in a reserve, Sophie Fil, for the indisposed Ellie Whyte, in the semi-final and final
In the last stage, Laura McLardy and Carol Wilson finished six holes up on Sheena Wood and Sophie Fil while Donna Pocock and Francis Neish beat Carol Whicher and Lesley Hardie by 10 holes.

Results:

SEMI-FINALS

Aberdeen Ladies bt Kemnay by 13 holes (S Wood, S Fil 14, J Whitehead, S Taylor 0; C Whicher, L Hardie 0, Y Moir, C Gordon 1).
Murcar Links bt Dunecht House by 24 holes (L McLardy, C Wilson 12, A Anderson, M Chalmers 0; D Pocock, F Neish 12, P Morton, S Leheny 0).

FINAL
Murcar Links bt Aberdeen Ladies by 16 holes (McLardy, Wilson 6, Wood, Fil 0; Pocock, Neish 10, Whicher, Hardie 0).

Ladies Golf Union Press Release

THE GIRLS’ HOME INTERNATIONAL MATCHES

Scotland will be hoping for a successful defence of the Stroyan Cup, awarded to the winning team in the Girls’ Home International Matches, when the series is played at Southerndown Golf Club, South Wales for the next three days.
In lifting the trophy last year at Portstewart for the first time in eight years, Scotland broke England’s domination that gave them the series eight times in ten years.
Now, with a side that includes Carly Booth, the newly crowned European Young Masters Champion and 16-year old Sally Watson who qualified for and played 72 holes in the Ricoh Women’s British Open Championship, the Scots have their sights set firmly on retaining the trophy.

Teams:

ENGLAND
Julie Brown, Captain

Hannah Barwood, Knowle
Holly Clyburn, Kenwick Park
Rachel Connor, Manchester
Charlie Douglass, Brocket Hall
Raphaela Dyer, Hayling Island
Eleanor Givens, Blackwell Grange
Katie Mundy, Dunwood Manor
Kelly Tidy, Manchester

IRELAND
Rose Doyle, Captain
Anita McCaw, Manager

Victoria Bradshaw, Bangor
Sarah Cunningham, Ennis
Kate Gallagher, Claremorris
Leona Maguire, Slieve Russell
Lisa Maguire, Slieve Russell
Stephanie Meadow, Royal Portrush
Louise Mernagh, Woodenbridge
Aedin Murphy, Carlow

SCOTLAND
Elaine Moffat, Captain
Karen Marshall, Manager

Carly Booth, Comrie
Megan Briggs, Kilmalcom
Krystle Caithness, St Regulus
Kelsey MacDonald, Nairn
Roseanne Niven, Crieff
Pamela Pretswell, Bothwell Castle
Jane Turner, Mortonhall
Sally Watson, Elie & Earlsferry Ladies

WALES
Jill Evans, Captain
Hannah James, Manager

Hayley Boulden, Llandudno (Maesdu)
Gemma Bradbury, Cottrell Park
Anna Carling, Vale of Glamorgan
Beth Davies, Mold
Kelly Miller, Penrhos
Katherine O'Connor, Tadmarton Heath
Amy Rees, Southerndown
Laura Jane Roberts, Holyhead

ABERDEEN LADIES WILL MEET MURCAR
LINKS IN FINAL AT BALGOWNIE

Aberdeen Ladies had to make a change to their team of four this morning before their semi-final against Kemnay in the Lyon Inter-Club Foursomes Trophy tournament at Balgownie.
Ellie Whyte, who had played two matches yesterday fell ill overnight and Sophie Fil had to stand in for her.
Aberdeen Ladies, the defending champions, beat Kemnay by 13 holes under the double foursomes format.
It will be a repeat of last year's final - Aberdeen Ladies v Murcar Links - following Murcar Links' 24-hole victory of Dunecht Hous.


Results:

SEMI-FINALS

Aberdeen Ladies bt Kemnay by 13 holes (S Wood., S Fil 14, J Whitehead, S Taylor 0; C Whicher, L Hardie 0, Y Moir, C Gordon) 1).
Murcar Links bt Dunecht House by 24 holes (L McLardy, C Wilson 12, A Anderson, M Chalmers 0; D Pocock, F Neish 12, P Morton, S Leheny 0).

STRONG UNITED STATES TEAM FOR
JUNIOR SOLHEIM CUP MATCH

Three USGA champions are among the 12 junior golfers that have been named to the 2007 United States team for the Ping Junior Solheim Cup match against Europe.
This year's event will be played at Bastad Golf Club, Sweden four days before the Solheim Cup at nearby Halmstad Golf Club.
The initial 10 players on the American team were selected based on a combination of the American Junior Golf Association's Polo Golf Rankings and the Golfweek/Titleist Junior Rankings as of July 20.
The team’s captain, Donna Andrews, a six-time winner on the LPGA Tour and two-time U.S. Solheim Cup Team member, chose the remaining two players.
Eight members, including six from California, are from the West: Sydney Burlison of Salinas, Brianna Do of Lakewood, Mina Harigae of Monterey, Tiffany Lua of Rowland Heights, Kristen Park of Buena Park, and Jane Rah of Torrance.
Hawaii natives Kimberly Kim of Pahoa, and Stephanie Kono of Honolulu, make up the remaining two West Coast residents.
Harigae won this year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, while Park won this year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior. Kim won last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Two players from Florida are also in the US line-up for Sweden - Vicky Hurst of Melbourne, and Isabelle Lendl of Bradenton, will both be making their first appearance.Rounding out the team are the two captain’s picks, Ellenbogen and White.
Ellenbogen, 15, won her first AJGA invitational title at the Rolex Tournament of Champions in July and also captured the Mizuno Junior at Chateau Elan in April. White, 17, has two top-five finishes in AJGA invitational events in 2007, including second place at the McDonald’s Betsy Rawls Girls Championship and a tie for fifth place at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship.

LYON FOURSOMES FINAL REPEAT
IS ON THE CARDS AT BALGOWNIE

A repeat of last year’s Lyon Inter-Club Foursomes final is on the cards at Balgownie on Tuesday afternoon after title-holders Aberdeen Ladies, playing on their home course, and beaten finalists Murcar Links reached the semi-finals.
Aberdeen Ladies, represented by the same quartet – Sheena Wood and Ellie Whyte, and Carol Whicher and Lesley Hardie beat Deeside by a combined 11-hole margin before eliminating the Aberdeen Ladies 2 team by four holes, thanks to a seven-up performance by Carol and Leslie in the second-string contest.
Murcar Links are also fielding an unchanged team and Laura McLardy, Carol Wilson, Donna Pocock and Frances Neish showed no mercy in beating Banchory by 20 holes and their own Murcar Links 2 team by 17 holes.
The semi-final line-up is Aberdeen Ladies v Kemnay and Murcar Links 1 v Dunecht House.
Results:
FIRST ROUND
Aberdeen Ladies 1 bt Deeside by 11 holes (S Wood, E Whyte 1, F Hay, M Millership 0; C Whicher, L Hardie 10, F Reiss, M Parkinson 0).
Aberdeen Ladies 2 bt Cruden Bay by one hole (S Fil, F Seedhouse 5, C Middleton, M Kay 0; J Wheeler, C Kyle 0, K Stalker, M Miller 4).
Westhill bt Ballater by two holes (L Wilson, S Leslie 0, H Backhouse, L Backhouse 0; J Lees, F Ramage 2, R Roy, A Horne 0).
Kemnay bt Newburgh by two holes (J Whitehead, S Taylor 1, L Carnie, R Dunsmuir 0; Y Moir, C Gordon 1, K Esslemont, J Murray 0).
Murcar Links 1 bt Banchory by 20 holes (L McLardy, C Wilson 9, G Christie, H Edon 0; D Pocock, F Neish 11, M Clapperton, E Cook 0).
Murcar Links 2 bt Stonehaven by 14 holes (S Thomson, K Thomson 9, F Lamont, J Morrison 0; P Wilson, M Robinson 5, C Duncan, W Lawrence 0).
Dunecht House bt Inchmarlo by three holes (A Anderson, M Chalmers 0, A Harper, T Halliwell 4, P Morton, S Leheny 7, K Leiper, B Lilley 0).
Hazlehead bt Aboyne at 19th (G Melvin, L Thomson 0, E Brown, M Burgess 3; L McPherson, B Rivollier 3, M Wilson, E Watson 0).
QUARTER-FINALS
Aberdeen Ladies 1 bt Aberdeen Ladies 2 by four holes (Wood, Whyte 0, Fil, Seedhouse 3; Whicher, Hardie 7, Wheeler, Kyle 0).
Kemnay bt Westhill by two holes (J Whitehead, S Taylor 0, L Wilson, S Leslie 2; Y Moir, C Gordon 4, J Lees, F Ramage 0).
Murcar Links 1 bt Murcar Links 2 by 17 holes (McLardy, C Wilson 9, S Thomson, K Thomson 0; Pocock, Neish 8, P Wilson, Robinson 0).
Dunecht House bt Hazlehead by three holes (Anderson, Chalmers 0, Melvin, Thomson 0; Morton, Leheny 3, McPherson, Rivollier 0).

SCOTT BORROWMAN GETS LATE CALL TO

WORLD STUDENT GOLF IN THAILAND

Scottish youths champion Scott Borrowman (Stirling University) has received a late call into the Great Britain golf squad for the World University Games golf tournament in Thailand next week.
Borrowman takes the place of the new English amateur champion Daniel Willett (Rotherham & Jacksonville State University) whose selection for the GB&I Walker Cup team means he will be required to stay in this country to take part in the build-up for the match against the Americans at Royal County Down in early September.
Scott, pictured right, a member of Dollar Golf Club, joins fellow-Scots Gavin Dear, also Stirling University, and Emma Fairnie (Edinburgh University) in a squad of seven who will be managed by Raleigh Gowrie of Stirling University.
The World University Games golf tournament will be played over four days - August 14 to 17 - some distance away from the central Games venue of Bangkok.

Veteran Ladies Golf Association Jamboree

SKIPPER PAT HUTTON

AIMING TO BOW OUT
WITH SUCCESSFUL

TITLE DEFENCE

Pat Hutton skippers Scotland for the last time in the Veteran Ladies Golf Association jamboree at Royal Cromer Golf Club, Norfolk over the next three days.
"We are defending the Miller Stirling Trophy and I am hoping to bow out on a successful note," said Pat, pictured right, who was a very successful Lanark and county team player in her day and, more recently, chairman of the SLGA.
The Scots open their campaign with a match against England North tomorrow.
The two other teams in the four-cornered, all-play-all contest are England South and England Midlands.
The Northern Division provide two of the squad of eight - Heather Anderson (Downfield) and Kathleen Sutherland (Royal Montrose) - Midlands two, Lorna Bennett (Ladybank) and Fiona De Vries (St Rule).
East have three representatives in the line-up - Noreen Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh), Moira Thomson (North Berwick) and Pamela Williamson (Baberton).
The eight member of the team is Helen Faulds (Douglas Park) who played well for the Scotland in the recent European senior women's team championship in Sweden where the Scots finished a highly creditable fourth after making the championship match-play flight.

A FEW DOLLARS MORE FOR VIKKI LAING

Musselburgh exile Vikki Laing finished joint 64th of the 70 qualifiers for the final round of the United States Futures Tor's USI championship at Beaver Meadow, Concorn in New Hampshire yesterday.
Vikki had deteriorating rounds of 74, 75 and 77 for 10-over-par 226 and earned $465.
The only other British qualifier, South Wales amateur Natasha Morgan - a student at Lynn University, Boca Raton on Floriday - finished last with 72, 76 and 81 for 229.
South Korean Ji Min Jeong won the $10,500 top prize with a seven-under-par total of 209. She scored 70, 69 and 70 to win by three strokes from Tiffany Tavee from Arizona.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
209 Ji Min Jeong (SKor) 70 69 70 ($10,500).
212 Tiffany Tavee (US) 74 70 68 ($7,500).
214 Sara-Jane Kenyon (Aus) 68 73 73, Jenny Gleason (US) 68 71 75 ($4,597 each).
Other totals:
226 Vikki Laing (Sco) 74 75 77 ($465) (jt 64th).
229 Natasha Morgan (Wal) (am) 72 76 81 (70th).

VALERIE MELVIN WINS RICCARTON

ROSEBOWL WITH A 69 AFTER RAIN

WASHES OUT SECOND ROUND

Florida-based Valerie Melvin, beaten by Catriona Matthew in the final of the 1994 Scottish women’s amateur championship at Gullane, won the rain-shortened Riccarton Rosebowl SLGA Order of Merit tournament at Hamilton Golf Club today (Sunday).
Valerie, who finished joint runner-up in the recent British women’s open amateur championship, had very good first round of three-under-par 69 before the rain set in and washing out the second round.
Valerie, picture right by courtesy of Tom Ward, was declared the winner of the trophy over 18 holes by one shot from Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder), who has something in common with Miss Melvin – she too has lost in the final of a “Scottish,” this year’s event at Barassie where she was beaten by Jenna Wilson.
Emily had a 70 – two ahead of Fiona Norris, former GB&I team manager and a member of the Hamilton club.
Jenna Wilson, winner of the recent Mackie Bowl at Gullane for the second year in a row, just managed to obtain fourth place ahead of Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle). Both players returned a 73. Jenna had the better last nine.
Scratch player Emily Ogilvy had the best net return of 70 on a countback against Valerie Melvin, who plays off +1 at Reunion Golf Club, Florida. Emily had the better inward half.
There were actually three players with net 70s, the third being young Ashleigh Wilson, who plays off four at Ladybank. Valerie had a better inward half than four-handicapper Ashleigh who did win the first junior prize
LEADING SCORES
Par 72 CSS 72.
SCRATCH
69 V Melvin (Florida.
70 E Ogilvy (Auchterarder).
72 F Norris (Hamilton).
73 J Wilson (Strathaven), K Walker (Buchanan Castle).
74 A Wilton (Ladybank).
75 L Hendry (Routenburn), M Thomson (McDonald Ellon).
76 R Rankin (Lanark), L Kenney (Dunfermline).
77 C Hargan (Mortonhall), A Devine (Hamilton).
78 E Lowrey-Gold (Eaton), J Carthew (Ladybank), F Lockhart (St Regulus), C-M Carlton (Stirling Univ).
79 E Fairnie (Dunbar).
80 E Cuthill (Lanark).
81 L Rolland (Dunfermline), S Leslie (Westhill), G Scanlan (Hamilton).
84 A Ramsay (Kirriemuir).]
85 J Allan (Hamilton), E Briggs (Kilmacolm).
91 N Qayum (Kilmacolm).
LEADING HANDICAP

E Ogilvy (Auchterarder) (scr) (better last nine), V Melvin (+1) (better last nine), A Wilton (Ladybank) (4) 70.

R Rankin (Lanark) (5), F Norris (1) 71.

A Devine (Hamilton) (5) 72.

L Hendry (2) 73.

K Walker (Buchanan Castle) (+1) 74.

E Lowrey-Gold (Easton) (2), M Thomson (McDonald Ellon) (+1), J Allan (Hamilton) (9), L Rolland (Dunfermline) (5), S Leslie (Westhill) (5), J Wilson (Strathaven) (+3), G Scanlan (Hamilton) (5) 76.

LORENA OCHOA WINS FIRST MAJOR

BY FOUR SHOTS AT ST ANDREWS

World No 1 Lorena Ochoa impressively claimed her first major title - almost certainly the first of many - with a closing round of 74 in the Ricoh Women's British Open at St Andrews today.
In the first women's professional event to be held over the Old Course, the 25-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico finished on five under par 287 and won by four shots from Sweden's Maria Hjorth and South Korean Jee-Young Lee.
Six ahead at the start of the final round, Ochoa made three birdies in first nine holes and her lead was never threatened.
Her only minor scare was at the par-5 17th where she hit her second into an almost unplayable lie in the Road Hole bunker and had to play out sideways, but she eventually salvaged a bogey 6.

(The image above of Lorena sitting on the Swilken Bridge with the trophy is from the Ladies European Tour website).
BEST OF BRITISH
North Berwick's Catriona Matthew, level par for the day, was the best of the British players in a tie for seventh on two over par. She bounced back from a third-round 80 with a par 73 which looked like being a 71 or a 72 until the last few holes.
Another Scot, Mhairi McKay, had a day to remember. She had eight birdies in a six under par 67 - equalling the professional course record set by Ochoa in round one - and bolted up the leaderboard into joint 11th place on three over. Mhairi held the women's amateur course record, set in a St Rule Trophy tournament, until Denise Becker (Germany) lowered it in June this year. Mhairi, now 32, said: "I'm really proud of the way I played today.
"It's been terrific to have the British Open at St Andrews for a first time and today should take me a long way to retaining my full card on next year's LPGA Tour." The money counts towards her total earnings in the States.
MELISSA LEADING AMATEUR
Melissa Reid, the gifted teenager from Chevin in Derbyshire, shot a final-round 72 and won the Smyth Salver for the leading amateur on four over par. In a way this was a remarkable treble for Curtis Cup and Vagliano Trophy player Melissa. On her last two visits North of the Border this year, she won the "Helen Holm" Scottish open stroke-play at Troon, followed by the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews.

Melissa felt she could have done even better. “I hit the ball really well all week, and I played really, really steady. I can’t complain - but I left a few putts out there.
“I three-putted the last three holes of the third round. The conditions then were really bad but I hit it probably the best I did all week and I was gutted about the putting.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant but I thought I had a chance of winning and if my putter had been on I would have been a contender.”
Melissa signed off with a one-under par 72, which reflected her steady play with two birdies and one bogey. “You’d always take shooting under par in a major,” she said. It gave her a four-over par total for the event.

AVAILABLE FOR CURTIS CUP 2008
Despite her success, which follows a top ten finish in the Ladies European Tour's English Open, she is determined to stick to her plan to stay amateur until the end of 2008.

This is great news for the victory prospects of the GB&I team in next year's Curtis Cup match ... over the Old Course.

A final word of praise for the third Scot to play all four rounds of this historic Women's British Open - 16 year old Sally Watson from South Queensferry via the David Leadbetter Golf Academy at Bradenton, Florida where she has been a resident student since last autumn.
Sally finished joint 50th on 12-over-par 304, signing off with a par-matching 73 - her second 73 of the tournament.
Miss Watson had to come through two qualifying events - a 2hr play-off in the second one at the start of the week - to claim her place among the world-class elite of women's golf.
Then she finishes ahead of several very good players, including from the amateur ranks, Anna Nordqvist (Sweden) who has played in the finals of the last two British women's open amateur championships, and English women's champion, Naomi Edwards (Ganton), winner of the St Rule Trophy last year.
Well done, Sally!
LEADING TOTALS
Par 292 (4 x 73). Money won listed in Euros.
287 L Ochoa (Mex) 67 73 73 74 (160,000).
291 Jee Young Lee (SKor) 72 73 75 71, M Hjorth (Swe) 75 73 72 71 (85,000 each).
292 R Rankin (US) 73 74 71 71 (55,000).
293 Eun Hee Ji (SKor) 73 71 77 72, Se Ri Pak (SKor) 73 73 75 72 (42,000 each).
294 Miki Saiki (Jap) 76 70 81 67, P Creamer (US) 73 75 74 72, C Matthew (Sco) 73 68 80 73, L Wessberg (Swe) 74 73 72 75 (30,500 each)).
295 M McKay (Sco) 75 74 79 67, Y Fudoh (Jap) 74 69 81 71, In-Bee Park (SKor) 69 79 76 71, Na On Min (SKor) 72 75 75 73, B Lincicome (US) 71 76 75 73.
296 B Brewerton (Wal) 74 75 74 73, A Sorenstam (Swe) 72 71 77 76, K Icher (Fra) 72 71 77 76, G Park (SKor) 74 75 71 71 (14,041 each), M Reid (Eng) (am) 73 75 76 72.
Other totals:
299 K Webb (Aus) 77 73 74 75 (jt 28th) (9,100).
300 T Johnson (Eng) 75 75 77 73 (jt 33rd) (7,016).
301 R Hudson (Eng) 70 73 82 76, K Stupples (Eng) 75 72 78 76 (5,250 each), K Smith (Eng) (am) 77 74 80 70 (jt 42nd).
304 S Watson (Sco) (am) 78 73 80 73 (jt 50th).
306 A Nordqvist (Swe) (am) 76 75 84 71 (jt 58th).
312 N Edwards (Eng) (am) 74 77 86 75 (69th).

SAMMY VASS (15) PIPS TRACY LAUGHLAND
FOR ROYAL DORNOCH OPEN TOP PRIZE

By ROBIN WILSON

Fifteen year old Sammy Vass (Tain) won her first adult open competition when a two over par 78 from the five-handicapper beat a quality field at Royal Dornoch.
Included in the line-up were local club champion and course record holder Cara Gruber, Tracy Laughland (Mortonhall), Northern Counties champion Jenny Milne (Elgin) and Surrey county player Julia Brooks (Croham Hurst).
But, with a three-birdie inward half of 39 to match her outward count, Sammy won by a shot from Tracy Laughland who is a member at Dornoch.
Tracy won the confined silver medal but squandered the outright win with a 7-5-7 finish for 42 home.

LEADING SCORES
(CSS 79 reduction only).
SCRATCH
78 S Vass (Tain).
79 T Laughland (Mortonhall).
82 J Milne (Elgin).
HANDICAP
Silver Division: M Wardrop (Niddry Castle) (12) 73; J Brook (Croham Hurst) (6) 79; C Ramsey (Royal Dornoch) (14), W Ross (Elgin) (6), J Chalmers (Monifieth) (16) 81; S Cooper (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) (16), M Barr (Gairloch) (10) 82.
Bronze Division: M Weir (Bothwell Castle) (21), M Surgrue (Royal Dornoch) (21) 80; J Harvie (Bothwell Castle) (26) 81; K McFleat (Lochcarron) (22) 83.
Senior: M Ross (Royal Dornoch) (17) 83.
Silver Medal (confined): T Laughland (Mortonhall) 79.

VIKKI JUST MAKES THE NEW HAMPSHIRE CUT

Musselburgh exile Vikki Laing made the 36-hole cut with nothing to spare in the United States Futures Tour's $75,000 USI championship over the Beaver Meadows course at Concord, New Hampshire.
Vikki had rounds of 74 and 75 over the 6,260yd, par-72 course for a five-over-par tally of 149, the limit mark for qualifiers for the final round.
The Scot, in joint 62nd place, is 10 shots behind joint leaders Ji Min Jeong (South Korea) and American Jenny Gleason from Florida.
They are a shot ahead of Allison Fouch from Michigan.
South Wales amateur Natasha Morgan, a student at Lynn University, Boca Raton in Florida, qualified a shot ahead of Vikki Laing on 148 with scores of 72 and 76.
Brenda McLarnon from Belfast and Londoner Polly Willett missed the cut with tallies of 157 and 159 respectively.
After the sweltering humidity of temperatures way up in the 90s for the first round, there was a slight cooling off at a peak of 89 degrees on Saturday.
LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72). 6,260yd.
139 Ji Min Jeong (SKor) 70 69, J Gleason (US) 68 71.
140 A Fouch (US) 68 72.
Other scores:
148 N Morgan (Wal) (am) 72 76.
149 V Laing (Sco) 74 75.
Non-qualifiers:
157 B McLarnon (NIr) 80 77.
159 P Willett (Eng) 81 78.