TEENAGER KELSEY TOP SCOT AS SWEDEN’S
CAROLINE HEDWALL SHOWS HER CLASS

Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall, whose +6 handicap makes her, on paper at least, the highest-rated female amateur golfer in Europe if not the world, showed her class by rising to the top of the international field with a nine-under-par tally of 141 after two rounds of the 54-hole Helen Holm Scottish women’s open amateur stroke-play championship at Troon Portland today (Sat).
The leading Scot is 17-year-old Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) in joint 16th place on 147 with scores of 71 and 76.
In wet and windy conditions, Caroline Hedwall, from Barseback, added a three-under-par 72 to her first-day 69 for 141 with only Sunday’s round over the testing Royal Troon links to come.
Breathing down her neck on 142 are compatriot Louise Larsson from Karlstad, Mayte Vizcarrondo, the only Spanish player in the field, and England’s Lisa Ball from Matfen Hall.
Larsson has shot 72-70 so far while Vizcarrondo and Ball both have a pair of 71s to their credit.
Overnight leader Sahra Hassan (Vale of Glamorgan), second reserve for the GB&I Curtis Cup team, slipped back with a 76, eight shots worse than her brilliant, bogey-free Friday round), to be on six-under-par 144.
Also on that mark is Breanne Loucks (Wrexham), one of the two current Curtis Cup selections in the field. Breanne has shot two 72s for 144.
The other player who will be teeing it up against the Americans over the Old Course, St Andrews at the end of May, Michele Thomson from McDonald Ellon, Aberdeenshire, had a nightmare 87 – 10 shots worse than her opening round – and her 36-hole total of 164 saw her miss the cut by six strokes.
The Welsh pair of Hassan and Loucks are leading the international team event.

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Troon Portland
Par 150 (2 x 75). CSS 75 75,
.
141 C Hedwall (Swe) 69 72.
142 L Larsson (Swe) 72 70, M Vizcarrondo (Spa) 71 71, L Ball (Matfen Hall) 71 71.
143 K Larratt (Kibworth) 72 71
144 B Loucks (Wrexham) 72 72, S Hassan (Vale of Glamorgan) 68 76, B Genuini (Fra) 74 70.
145 L Andre (Fra) 73 72, L Stempfle (Ger) 69 76, E Nummenpaa (Fin) 76 69, H Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) 74 71, C Ellis (Minchinhampton) 74 71, M Enarsson (Swe) 71 74.
146 N Kitching (Claremorris) 70 76.
147 K MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) 71 76, S Attwood (Gog Magog) 73 74.
148 S Garbutt (Ganton) 74 74, S Birks (Wolstanton) 74 74, C MacDonald (Gullane) 74 74, S Harju (Fin) 74 74, L Murray (Alford) 75 73, P Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) 76 72.
149 D Smith (Co Louth) 75 74, J Hedwall (Swe) 75 74, H Barwood (Knowle) 73 76, K Walker (Buchanan Castle) 76 73, S Nuutinen (Fin) 74 75, T Davies (Holyhead) 75 74, L Collin (John O’Gaunt) 75 74.
150 K Crooks (Saltburn) 77 73, C-M Carlton (Fereneze) 75 75, R Livingstone (Musselburgh) 76 74, N Muhl (Aut) 74 76.
151 S Hoglund (Fin) 75 76, A Ramsay (Kirriemuir) 75 76.
152 L Van Gerven (Bel) 74 78, H Aitchison (Bedfordshire) 76 76, A Provot (Fra) 76 76, C Herbin (Fra) 75 77, J Turner (Craigielaw) 71 81.
153 M Dunne (Skerries) 74 79, A Laing (Vale of Leven) 76 77, K Brotherton (Forrester Park) 81 72, C Hargan (Mortonhall) 79 74.
154 M Ricordeau (Fra) 74 80, L Hendry (Routenburn) 74 80, L Grillot (Fra) 79 75, L Charpier (Fra) 77 77, D Holmqvist (Swe) 77 77, J Carthew (Ladybank) 76 78.
155 A Bushby (Strathmore) 79 76, L Chemarin (Fra) 77 78, E Moffat (St Regulus) 81 74, L Henrikson (Fin) 80 75, M Briggs (Kilmacolm) 80 75.
156 A Goumard (Fra) 81 75, A Decharne (Fra) 78 78, E Alonso (Fra) 77 79, I Boineau (Fra) 79 77, R Crepiat (Fra) 78 78, M Uusi-Simola (Fin) 77 79.
157 C Abrahamian (Fra) 77 80, M Dupas (Fra) 79 78, H Grant (Enmore Park) 80 77.
158 E Fairnie (Dunbar) 83 75, J Van Baarle (Bel) 77 81, T Boyes (Meon Valley) 82 76, A Korkeila (Fin) 76 82, S James (Bristol & Clifton) 76 82,
MISSED THE CUT
159 R McQueen (Troon Ladies) 75 84, K Rands (Burhill) 80 79, A Riguelle (Fra) 81 78, S Jackson (Ladybank) 81 78, B Harries (Haverfordwest) 78 81.
160 J Haggblom (Fin) 80 80, S Vass (Tain) 79 81, L Kenney (Pitreavie) 78 82, C Julien (Fra) 78 82.
161 A Bonetti (Fra) 82 79, A Hakula (Fin) 84 77.
162 N Tamminen (Fin) 81 81, M Ivanoff (Fra) 82 80.
163 A Vilatte (Fra) 89 74, I Lescudier (Fra) 82 81, R W Thomas (Vale of Glamorgan) 77 86, M Kotnik (Aut) 80 83, C Gruber (Royal Dornoch) 83 80.
164 M Thomson (McDonald Ellon) 77 87.
166 L Harvey (Richmond) 79 87.
168 P Desurmont (Fra) 88 80.
169 G Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey) 84 85.
170 L Barton (Coventry) 83 87.
Retired – C Douglass (Brocket Hall) 78 - .

INTERNATIONAL TEAM EVENT
How they stand
288 WALES (S Hassan 68 76 – 144; B Loucks 72 74 – 144).
290 SWEDEN ( C Hedwall 69 72 – 141; J Hedwall 75 74 – 149).
295 IRELAND (N Kitching 70 76 – 146; D Smith 75 74 – 149).
307 ENGLAND (H Barwood 73 76 – 149; S James 76 82 – 158).
312 FRANCE ( A Goumard 81 75 – 156; I Boineau 79 77 – 156), SCOTLAND (P Pretswell 76 72 – 148; M Thomson 77 87 – 164)

Royal approval for Tain Golf Club

Excitement was high at Tain Golf Club this week HRH The Earl of Wessex stopped of at the club on a day long visit to Milton, Tain and Balintore in Easter Ross.

The Prince was given a rousing welcome by young piper Calum Ross from Tain Royal Academy. President Mr Forbie Urquhart escorted the royal party into the clubhouse for a buffet lunch with invited guests including the Convener of The Highland Council, Councillor Sandy Park, officials from the golf club, and the newly appointed Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Director for Scotland, Barry Fisher who was congratulated on his recent appointment. Also present were local Duke of Edinburgh Award Officer Liz Whiteford and Development Officer Isobel Gray who have both been involved with the Award in Ross and Cromarty for 15 and 9 years respectively.

Prince Edward was escorted outside by clubgolf’s Highland Regional Manager, Willie MacKay and Tain Golf Club’s Head Coach, Mike Sangster to watch young golfers taking part in a variety of Clubgolf activities.

Emerging out of Scotland’s successful bid to host the Ryder Cup, the national junior golf programme, clubgolf, is a partnership between the Scottish Golf Union, the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association, the Professional Golfers' Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland.

Willie MacKay said: “Tain Golf Club was one of the first clubs to sign up to clubgolf and to host a Stage 1 programme back in 2004 and has built up a very strong junior section. Juniors that started as primary pupils are now knocking on the doors of area and regional squads and last year Sammy Vass gained her Scottish Cap after getting selected to play for Scotland.

“The golf clubs commitment to the programme and the numbers of children they have introduced to golf is quite remarkable so it was very fitting for the club to host the royal visit.”

Mike Sangster is one of only six PGA Level 2 coaches in the UK. Along with four other Level 1 coaches at Tain he introduces the juniors who progress from the primary school game of firstclubgolf to Stage 1 coaching.

Said Mike: “Now that Tain Golf Club has appointed a full-time PGA Professional in Stuart Morrison, who is also a Scottish Golf Unions Academy Regional Coach, the player development pathway for juniors is complete from beginner all the way through to elite player.”

As Mike explained about clubgolf’s success to the guests, HRH watched a demonstration by primary pupils playing with firstclubgolf equipment.

The Prince then went on to meet more young budding golfers who demonstrated putting and chipping from the clubgolf stage 1 coaching programme before watching the stage 2 coaching sessions taking place from the new artificial mats and the newly installed triple bay practice nets. Stuart Morrison also showed how video analysis and computer software can be used to “fine-tune” swing techniques.

Tain juniors have their own two hole mini course that they progress to from the junior practice area where under adult supervision they learn how to play the game safely. Once they can go round the 2 holes twice within a score of 21 they can progress on the specially made nine junior tees on the 18 holes course where they play 1,2,3,4,5 and 15,16,17,18 for a 9 hole score. The bronze, silver , gold sections within the juniors is working well as the juniors gain promotion by virtue of their scores, their behaviour and their commitment to coaching nights.

As well as young golfers, HRH the Earl of Wessex chatted with several Intermediate Ladies Members who were introduced to the sport when dropping their children off for clubgolf coaching.

They had originally enquired about getting some lessons so they could join their children and play a few holes on the junior tees. This has grown beyond everyone’s expectations with now over 40 “ladies intermediate members” who pay half the full fee but only play half the full golf course.

This demonstrates that Tain Golf Club is growing the game of golf both as part of the national junior programme called clubgolf but are also now growing the game of adult golf as well.

Midland Vets results

From Jean Bald....

Hi Gill
Well here we are off again on a new Golfing Season.
81 Midland Vets had an enjoyable day at Pitfirrane, where the winner
of the Captain's Prize was Marcia Ritchie (Elie & Earlsferry) with a net 73.

SVLGA Midland Divn. – SPRING MEETING
24TH April, at Dunfermline

(CSS 75 – reduction only) 81 players

Allan Cup/Captain’s Prize - M. Ritchie (Elie & Earlsferry) 87-14=73 bih

1st Scratch: L. Bennett (Ladybank) 75
2nd Scratch M. Tough (Falkirk) 80

Div. 1 1st B. Brown (St. Rule) 86-11=75 bih
2nd F. Campbell (Stirling) 87-12=75
3rd L. McGraw (Auchterarder) 88-12=76

Div. 2 1st M. Ritchie (Elie & Earlsferry) 87-14=73bih
2nd A. More (Kirkcaldy) 86-13=73
3rd R. Fraser (Kirkcaldy) 94-19=75

Div 3. D. Reid (Tillicoultry) 97-22=75
P. Kelly (Dunblane New) 100-23=77

LPGA Tour Scoreboard
STANFORD INTERNATIONAL PRO-AM
Miller Course
Par 140 (2 x 70)
139 Paula Creamer 68 71
140 Momoko Ueda (Jpn) 68 72, Meena Lee (Kor) 69 71
141 Grace Park (Kor) 72 69, Kyeong Eun Bae (Kor) 69 72, Juli Inkster 70 71, Cristie Kerr 69 72, Dorothy Delasin 71 70, Christina Kim 70 71
142 Giulia Sergas (Ita) 74 68, Sun Young Yoo (Kor) 73 69, Mollie Fankhauser 70 72, Karrie Webb (Aus) 73 69
143 Jee Young Lee (Kor) 76 67, Hee-Won Han (Kor) 71 72, Maria Hjorth (Swe) 70 73
144 Eun Hee Ji (Kor) 75 69
145 Mikaela Parmlid (Swe) 75 70, Silvia Cavalleri (Ita) 73 72, Meg Mallon 74 71, Allison Fouch 73 72, Pat Hurst 73 72
146 Sung Ah Yim (Kor) 72 74, Louise Friberg (Swe) 75 71, Jane Park 73 73, Jimin Jeong 73 73, Laura Diaz 73 73, Erica Blasberg 76 70
147 Linda Wessberg (Swe) 71 76, Soo-Yun Kang (Kor) 73 74, Jin Joo Hong (Kor) 76 71, Brandie Burton 74 73, Karine Icher (Fra) 75 72
148 Patricia Meunier-Lebouc (Fra) 74 74, Kate Golden 75 73, In Kyung Kim (Kor) 74 74, Becky Morgan (Wal) 75 73, Amy Hung (Tha) 75 73, Su A Kim 75 73
MISSED THE CUT
149 Beth Bader 71 78, Karin Sjodin (Swe) 80 69, Carolina Llano (Col) 69 80, Miriam Nagl (Ger) 73 76, Becky Iverson 75 74
150 Shi Hyun Ahn (Kor) 70 80
151 Nicole Perrot (Chi) 75 76, Lorie Kane (Kor) 77 74, Katherine Hull (Aus) 79 72
152 Marisa Baena 76 76
153 Laura Davies (Eng) 75 78, Candy Hannemann 82 71
155 Jan Stephenson 74 81
157 Seo-Jae Lee 82 75
160 Brittany Lincicome 80 80
172 Nancy Lopez 91 81
Soffer Course
134 Young Kim (Kor) 67 67
135 Annika Sorenstam (Swe) 68 67
139 Angela Stanford 69 70
141 Mi-Hyun Kim (Kor) 69 72, Lindsey Wright (Aus) 70 71
142 In-Bee Park (Kor) 71 71, Mhairi McKay (Sco) 71 71, Hwa seon Lee (Kor) 74 68, Hee Young Park (Kor) 69 73, Leta Lindley 69 73
143 Ji-Young Oh (Kor) 72 71, Rachel Hetherington (Aus) 70 73, Teresa Lu (Tai) 71 72, Alena Sharp 72 71, Angela Park 71 72
144 Ai Miyazato (Jpn) 70 74, Birdie Kim (Kor) 70 74, Nicole Castrale 72 72, Helen Alfredsson (Swe) 72 72
145 Taylor Leon 71 74, Ya-Ni Tseng (Kor) 68 77, Jimin Kang (Kor) 71 74, Catriona Matthew (Sco) 74 71, Moira Dunn 72 73, Brittany Lang 71 74
146 Stacy Prammanasudh 71 75, Karen Stupples (Eng) 72 74, Emily Bastel 73 73, Diana D'Alessio 73 73, Candie Kung (Tai) 68 78, Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 70 76, Julieta Granada (Par) 70 76
147 Sarah Lee 71 76, Charlotte Mayorkas 72 75, Wendy Ward 74 73
148 Natalie Gulbis 75 73, Carri Wood 75 73
MISSED THE CUT
149 Kelli Kuehne 74 75, Morgan Pressel 75 74, Michele Redman 75 74, Kim Hall 72 77, Jeong Jang (Kor) 73 76
150 Wendy Doolan (Aus) 75 75, Reilley Rankin 71 79, Janice Moodie (Sco) 69 81, Hye Jung Choi (Kor) 78 72
151 Jennifer Rosales (Phi) 72 79, Nancy Scranton 76 75
152 Liselotte Neumann (Swe) 74 78, Heather Daly-Donofrio 79 73
154 Jackie Gallagher-Smith 75 79
155 Il Mi Chung (Kor) 78 77, Meaghan Francella 73 82
156 Na On Min (Jpn) 73 83
160 Heather Young 80 80
174 Violeta Retamoza (Mex) 85 89

VIKKI, PAMELA IN LOW 70S IN
FUTURES TOUR EVENT

Scots Vikki Laing from Musselburgh and Pamela Feggans from Patna, Ayrshire were lying joint 22nd and tied 38th respectively in a field of 144 at the end of the first round of the Jalapeno Classic, this weekend's event on the US Duramed Futures Tour at Palm View course, McAllen in Texas.
Vikki returned a one-over-par 71 over the 6375yd course wit halves of 36 and 35. Pamela scored 34 and 38 for a par-matching 72.
Brenda McLarnon from Belfast is back in a share of 57th place on 73 (34-39) while Londoner Polly Willett had a 78 to be in joint 130th position after halves of 38 and 40.
The lead, on five-under-67, was shared by Vicky Hurst (Florida), after an eagle 3 for at the last for an inward 32, Eunjung Yi from California (33-34), Nari Kim from South Korea (33-34) and Bridget Dwyer (Hawaii) (34-33).

LEADERBOARD
Par 72
67 Eunjung Yi (California) 33-34, Nari Kim (SKor) 33-34, Vicky Hurst (Florida) 35-32, Bidget Dwyer (Hawaii) 34-33.
68 Ashley Prange (Indianapolis) 36-32, Rebecka Heinmert (California) 35-33.
Other scores:
71 Vikki Laing (Sco) 36-35 (jt 22nd).
72 Pamela Feggans (Sco) 34-38 (jt 38th).
73 Brenda McLarnon (NIre) 34-39 (jt 57th).
78 Polly Willett (Eng) 38-40 (jt 130th).
Field of 144

Curtis Cup reserve Sahra
Hassan sets early pace
in Helen Holm with 68

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Curtis Cup reserve Sahra Hassan from South Wales, first-round leader in the Helen Holm Scottish women’s open amateur stroke-play championship over the Troon Portland links today, will be kicking herself she did not hit this kind of form BEFORE the GB&I international selection committee named their team of eight to play the Americans over the Old Course, St Andrews at the end of May.
The 20-year-old former Welsh girls champion from Bridgend and a member at Vale of Glamorgan Golf Club shot a bogey-free round of seven-under-par 68, which represented very good golf indeed in squally conditions of wind, rain – and the coldness of a Scottish spring.
A member of the GB&I team who were walloped by the Continent of Europe at St Andrews Bay last summer, and recently named second reserve for the Curtis Cup match, Sahra (image above by courtesy of Cal Carson Golf Agency, all rights reserved), plundered Troon Portland’s par-5s which have become two-shotters with the advance in ball and club technology which the late Helen Holm would have revelled in.
Miss Hassan had eagle 3s at the par-5 sixth and 15th and birdie 4s at the long second and long 18th. Her only birdie at a par-4 came at the seventh in halves 34 out (four under par) and 34 back (three under par).
The 54-hole event, the first major tournament of the European women’s amateur calendar – a designated event for European Golf Association ranking points, will see another round over Troon Portland on Saturday before the final 18 holes over the brutal (if the wind blows) Royal Troon Open championship links on Sunday.
Hassan will start the second round with Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall, whose +6 handicap makes her one of the world’s highest-rated female amateur players, and Laura Stempfle from Hamburg breathing down her neck on 69.
Best of the Scots in the big international field were youngsters Jane Turner (Craigielaw) and Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) in joint fifth place on four-under 71.
Curtis Cup selections Breanne Loucks from Wrexham and Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) scored 72 and 77 respectively.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD

Troon Portland. Par 75, CSS 75

68 S Hassan (Vale of Glamorgan).
69 C Hedwall (Swe), L Stempfle (Ger).
70 N Kitching (Claremorris).
71 M Vizcarrondo (Spa), J Turner (Craigielaw), L Ball (Matfen Hall), M Enarsson (Swe), K MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar).
72 K Larratt (Kibworth), L Andre (Fra), B Loucks (Wrexham), L Larsson (Swe).
73 S Attwood (Gog Magog), H Barwood (Knowle).
74 S Garbutt (Ganton), S Nuutinen (Fin), S Birks (Wolstanton), C MacDonald (Gullane), H Clyburn (Woodhall Spa), C Ellis (Minchinhampton, S Harju (Fin), N Muhl (Aut), M Ricordeau (Fra), L Van Gerven (Bel), M Dunne (Skerries), L Hendry (Routenburn) B Genuini (Fra).
75 A Ramsay (Kirriemuir), C-M Carlton (Fereneze), L Murray (Alford), T Davies (Holyhead), L Collin (John O’Gaunt), D Smith (Co Louth), S Hoglund (Fin), J Hedwall (Swe), R McQueen (Troon Ladies), C Herbin (Fra).
76 E Nummenpaa (Fin), J Carthew (Ladybank), R Livingstone (Musselburgh), S James (Bristol & Clifton), P Prestwell (Bothwell Castle), H Aitchison (Bedfordshire), A Provot (Fra), A Laing (Vale of Leven), A Korkella (Fin), K Walker (Buchanan Castle).
77 K Crooks (Saltburn), M Uusi-Simola (Fin), E Alonso (Fra), R W Thomas (Vale of Glamorgan), J Van Baarte (Bel), C Abrahamian (Fra), L Charpier (Fra), D Holmqvist (Swe), M Thomson (McDonald Ellon), L Chemarin (Fra).
78 C Julien (Fra), B Harries (Haverfordwest), A Decharne (Fra), L Kenney (Pitreavie), R Crepiat (Fra), C Douglass (Brocket Hall).
79 L Harvey (Richmond), C Hargan (Mortonhall), I Boineau (Fra), S Vass (Tain), A Bushby (Strathmore), L Grillot (Fra), M Dupas (Fra).
80 H Grant (Enmore Park), L Henrikson (Fin), M Briggs (Kilmacolm), J Haggblom (Fin), K Rands (Burhill), M Kotnik (Aut).
81 E Moffat (St Regulus), S Jackson (Ladybank), K Brotherton (Forrester Park), A Goumard (Fra), N Tamminen (Fin), A Riguelle (Fra)..
82 H Jenkins (Cradoc), A Bonetti (Fra), I Lescudier (Fra), T Boyes (Meon Valley), M Ivanoff (Fra).
83 C Gruber (Royal Dornoch), E Fairnie (Dunbar), L Barton (Coventry).
84 G Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey), A Hakula (Fin).
88 P Desurmont (Fra).
89 A Vilatte (Fra).

England name Holly, Naomi and

Rachel for Welsh team event

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
England will be represented by Bedfordshire’s Holly Aitchison, Yorkshire’s Naomi Edwards and Staffordshire’s Rachel Jennings in the Nations Cup event at the Welsh 54-hole open stroke-play championship.
The reserve is Gloucestershire’s Sian James.
All four players are members of the English Women’s Golf Association’s Performance Squad. The championship will take place at Pyle & Kenfig Golf Club on May 3 and 4.
Holly Aitchison, 21, is a member of Bedfordshire Golf Club. She won the 2007 Portuguese amateur championship and was top amateur in the Portuguese Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour.
Naomi Edwards, 24, plays at Ganton Golf Club. She is the current English champion and both an England and GB&I international. She played in the 2006 Curtis Cup team.
Rachel Jennings, 19, plays at Izaak Walton Golf Club. She is the 2008 French lady junior champion and was the 2006 English girls’ champion. She was the top scorer in England’s winning team at last season’s Home Internationals.
Sian James, 19, is a member at Bristol & Clifton Golf Club. She was a semi-finalist in the 2007 English mid-amateur championship and a reserve for the Home International matches of 2006. She also twice won the south-west girls’ championship.

Hannah is youngest Wiltshire champion

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
Hannah Turland has become the youngest-ever Wiltshire county champion – at the age of 13. Hannah, who is the English girls’ Under-13 champion, was also top qualifier for the match-play stages. She scored 71, 75 (CSS 72) and was eight shots clear of the field at Hamptworth.She won the title when she defeated Jo Horrocks (Hamptworth) at the 37th in the final.
Hannah, who plays at Tidworth Garrison, is a member of the English Women’s Golf Association Select South West squad.

Hannah Bews (first left) and the winning Portland State University team

Hannah Bews wins Big Sky

Conference championship

PRESS RELEASED ISSUED BY ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
Dorset’s Hannah Bews has won her first tournament on the US women’s college circuit with a two-stroke victory in her conference championship.

The 20-year-old, pictured right, becomes the third English player to win a 2008 conference title, alongside English stroke-play champion Jodi Ewart from Yorkshire and Laura Cutler from Essex.

Hannah, who plays at Broadstone, is a second year student at Portland State University, Oregon, and her play in the championship also helped her college to win the Big Sky Conference team title.

After her win, at Foothills Golf Club, Hannah phoned her family at home in Ringwood, Hampshire, to find them following live scoring on a computer. It told them that she’d birdied the last hole for a two-stroke win in both the individual and team titles.

The deciding shot was a 140-yard, downwind approach which Hannah played to within a foot of the hole.

Her final round of level par 72 was a career best and during the tournament she posted nine birdies over three days and finished at four-over par with 73-75-72=220.

“We all played really good golf," said Hannah. "We've been working toward it all season and just waiting for something like this to happen.”

Hannah is a former county schools champion and has represented England in a schools’ international. She is a past member of an English Women’s Golf Association regional training squad.

Lyndsey Hewison

EWGA Press & PR Officer

Visit the EGWA web site at http://www.englishladiesgolf.org/

Corrected dates for 2009 Hacienda del Alamo

Women's Winter

Golf Festival

Apologies for putting up the wrong dates in February 2009 in my early release of details for the Hacienda del Alamo Women's Winter Festival.

The Festival will still start on a Wednesday with a free practice round and finish the following Tuesday but the actual February 2009 dates were out of kilter.

HERE IS THE AMENDED LIST OF DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Wednesday, February 11 is the practice day.
First 36-holer is Thursday-Friday, February 12-13.
Pro-am is Saturday, February 14.
Foursomes is Sunday, February 15.
Second 36-holer is Monday-Tuesday, February 16-17.

Colin Farquharson

Festival Organiser

++Any queries, please feel free to E-mail me at Colin@scottishgolfview.com

ENGLISH TRIO

HONOURED

BY OHIO

VALLEY

CONFERENCE

Andrea Downer (first right)

Laura Cutler (second right)

Portia Abbot (far right)

Three English girls have figured prominently in the 2008 All-Ohio Valley Conference women's college golf awards which were made at the OVC Championships at Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
They are Laura Culter from Essex and Portia Abbot from Wiltshire, both students at Jacksonville State University, Alabama, and Andrea Downer from Surrey, a student at Murray State University in western Kentucky.
Portia Abbot was selected for the All-OVC First Team. It is not a team that ever plays any matches but it is the American way of honouring the coaches' view of the best players from all the women's golf teams in the Conference.
Sophomore Andrea Downer was named to the All-OVC Second Team. It is the second straight season she has gained honours. She won the Sea Trail Intercollegiate tournament last September.
Laura Cutler shared OVC Freshman of the Year honours.

Ellis Keenan wins Hampshire Rose

by five shots, thanks to a 67

Press Release issued by English Women's Golf Association

Sunningdale’s Ellis Keenan has won the 2008 Hampshire Rose at North Hants by five shots – helped by a sparkling second round of six-under par 67.
Ellis was three shots off the pace at the halfway stage but she overtook her rivals with her afternoon 67, which included five birdies and an eagle at the 17th, for an inward nine of 30.
Her 36-hole total was four-under par 142.
The runner-up was Hampshire’s Raffi Dyer, a member of the English Women’s Golf Association Under-18 Squad.
Kirsty Rands was third and Hermione Fitzgerald, who had the second best round of the day, a 70, took fourth place.
Twelve-year-old Charley Hull from Kettering and Woburn Golf Clubs tied for seventh place with Katherine Shepherd, a past winner, and Jo Hodge.
LEADING SCORES
Par 146 (2 x 73). SSS 73. CSS: am 74, pm 73
142 Ellis Keenan (Sunningdale) 75 67.
147 Raffi Dyer (Hayling) 75 72.
148 Kirsty Rands (Burhill) 72 76.
149 Hermione Fitzgerald (Newmarket Links) 79 70, Jamie Casling (Brickhampton Court) 77 72, Daisy Dyer (Chigwell) 72 77.
152 Katherine Shepherd (Guildford Ladies) 78 74, Jo Hodge (Knowle) 76 76, Charley Hull (Kettering) 74 78.
153 Hannah Ralph (Cowdray Park) 80 73.

'HELEN HOLM' PRESSURE ON CURTIS
CUP PAIR, MICHELE AND BREANNE

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Every British and Irish player in the field will be pulling out all the stops to finish ahead of Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) and Breanne Loucks (Wrexham) in the Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur golf championship over Troon Portland and the Royal Troon links over the next three days (Friday to Sunday).
Nothing personal ... but Michele and Breanne are the only members in the interational field of the eight-strong GB&I team for the Curtis Cup match against the Americans over the Old Course, St Andrews at the end of May.
Michele and Breanne have both played well during the "close season" in foreign fields, so there is no reason for them to approach the first big event of the domestic women's amateur season with any degree of trepidation at all.
More pressure for 19-year-old Michele is that she and another youngster, Glasgow University student Pamela Pretswell, will have their scores counting for "Scotland" in the international team event which runs in conjunction with the 54-hole individual championship.
Mhairi McKay (1992), Lesley Nicholson (1999) and Heather Stirling (2002) are Scotland's only winners of the prestigious individual title over the past two decades but Heather MacRae and Jenna Wilson did win the team trophy for Scotland a couple of years ago.
English match-play champion Naomi Edwards (Ganton), who was a contender for a place in the Curtis Cup team, has withdrawn as have Sarah Faller (Galway), Rachel Connor (Manchester), Hermione Fitzgerald (Newmarket) and Corisande Lee (West Lancashire).
With so many high-class Continental players in the field, it is almost anybody's guess who will step up late Sunday afternoon to receive the trophy, a mounted golf club once used by the late, great Helen Holm, whom this tournament commemorates.
But one player they all have to beat is Sweden's Caroline Hedwall whose handicap of +6 makes her, on paper, the highest-rated female amateur golfer in Europe and probably the world.

GLENMUIR’S NEW HI-COOL® SHIRTS
DELIVER PERFORMANCE AND COMFORT

Glenmuir’s new Hi-Cool ® men’s and ladies’ shirts offer golfers the best of both worlds - outstanding performance combined with exceptional comfort.
The Lanark-based company, one of Europe’s leading golf apparel brands, has introduced three new shirts to its Men’s Performance Series andfive to its Ladies’ Collection, all offering the soft-handle feel not found with all-synthetic fabrics such as polyester or nylon.
All are manufactured from soft, stylish and lightweight 70% cotton 30%polyester jersey and feature the renowned Hi-Cool ® Moisture ManagementSystem, which delivers extra stretch performance while drawing moisture away from the body to provide exceptional quick-drying properties.
With an athletic fit and modern design, the Hi-Cool® shirts signal Glenmuir’s intention to play a key role in the growth of the golfperformance wear market and provide customers with the very latest in sportsfabric technology.
Marketing Director, Andy Bough, said: “Research has shown us that increasing numbers of golfers are looking for modern clothing that will keep them cool on the course, allow freedom of movement and deliver outstanding performance.
“We have reacted to that with our largest-ever range of performance wear and we believe this has established us as a major player in that market. The reaction from retailers and golfers has been fantastic.”
The Men’s Hi-Cool ® Zip, Hi-Cool ® Mock and Hi-Cool ® Panel, with the prestigious Glenmuir 1891 logo embroidered on the right sleeve, are available for a suggested retail price of £33.50 each and come in sizes S-XXL.
The Hi-Cool ® Zip has contrast textured side and sleeve panels, a zip neck, and is available in three colours, light blue/white, black/citrus, andwhite/navy.
The Hi-Cool ® Mock features a mock collar and raglan sleeves, with contrast textured panels at the front underarm and has three colour schemes -white/light blue, citrus/black, and navy/white.
The Hi-Cool ® Panel has contrast textured panels to the side and over arm,with a concealed button neck and anti-curl collar. Light blue/white,black/citrus and navy/white versions are available.
The new Ladies’ Performance Shirts – Lilly, Megan, Izzy, Jane and Cara come in a shaped fit to maximise fabric performance and comfort.
The designs, in sizes XS-XL, include cool and contemporary colours with contrast panels and patterns and all feature the Glenmuir woven label on the left side seam.
Suggested retail price for Lilly and Megan is £34.65 each, while Izzy, Jane and Cara are £32.55 each.

ELLIE GIVENS' LATE SLIPS COST HER
TOP-THREE FINISH IN ALABAMA

Darlington's Ellie Givens, a 19-year-old first-year student at the University of Denver, let a golden chance of a top-three finish slip through her fingers over the last few holes of the Women's Sun Belt Conference college championship at The Shoals Golf Club, Muscle Shoals in Alabama (Wednesday, USA time).
After opening rounds of 75 and 73, including seven birdies, Ellie was lying in joint fourth place, five shots behind the leader, team-mate Stephanie Sherlock, with one round to go.
But she slumped to a closing 79 over the par-72, 6064yd course for an 11-over-par total of 227 and ninth place, still a creditable finish for a freshman in a quality field of 54 players, but not nearly as high as it looked like being.
Ellie had a double bogey 6 at the fifth in her first round, and a triple bogey 7 at the same hole in her second round, which an eagle 3 at the ninth could not quite cancel out.
In the final round, Ellie started well with a birdie 4 at the long fourth but her troubles started to pile up at the short sixth which cost her a double bogey 5.
At the par-5 12th, she ran up up a triple bogey 8 and dropped further shots at the 14th, 17th and 18th for a sad inward half of six-over-par 42.
Ellie, last year's English Under-18 girls' champion, did finish the tournament with a smile when team-mate Stephanie Sherlock won the individual title by 10 strokes with scores of 70, 73 and 65 for eight-under-208 and the Denver University team won the team title by 42 shots with a total of 872 from Arkansas-Little Rock (914) and South Alabama (917) in a field of 11 squads.
Denver will now go forward to the West regional championship and hopefully the NCAA women's championship after that.
Shirley Harvey (South Alabama) from Ballyclare, Northern Ireland, slipped from joint 10th to joint 15th in the final standings on 231 with a final round of 79 after earlier efforts of 74 and 78.
Claire Leathers (Middle Tennessee State) from Aylesbury finished joint 29th on 239 with scores of 76, 83 and 77.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72) 6064yd.
Individuals
208 Stephanie Sherlock (Denver) 70 73 65.
218 Paula Hurtado (Florida International) 71 77 70.
219 Elin Andersson (South Alabama) 74 73 72.
Other totals:
227 Ellie Givens (Denver) 75 73 79 (jt 9th).
231 Shirley Harvey (South Alabama) 74 78 79 (jt 15th).
236 Clara Leathers (Middle Tennessee State) 76 83 77 (jt 29th of 54).
Teams
872 Denver.
914 Arkansas-Little Rock
917 South Alabama.
11 teams took part.

ROSEANNE'S LATE SLIPS COST HER

GOOD FINISH IN CALIFORNIA

California-Berkeley University student Roseanne Niven from Crieff dropped from joint 26th to a final place of tied 36th in a final of 50 for the Women's Pac-10 Conference college golf championship at Palos Verdes Golf Club, California.

Over a par-71 course of 6,060yd, 19-year-old Roseanne had scores of 79, 78 and 73 for a total of 230 - 18 shots behind the winner Paola Moreno (Southern California).

Roseanne had two double-bogey 6s in her opening round but was heading for a very good score on the final day - and a possible top-20 finish in a quality field - when she birdied the eighth and was still one under par with four to play.

A bogey at the 15th was cancelled out by a birdie at the long 16th but then the Scot dropped three shots over the last two holes - a bogey at the 17th and a double bogey 6 at the last. She was out in 34 and home in 39.
California-Berkeley (908) tied for fourth place in the team event behind runaway winners Southern California in a field of 10 teams.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72). 6060yd
212 Paola Moreno (Southern California) 70 75 67.
216 Anna Nordqvist (Arizona State) 74 70 72.
217 Tiffany Joh (UCLA) 69 73 75, Belen Mozo (Southern California) 71 71 75, Dewi-Claire Schreefel (Southern California) 71 74 73.
Other scores:
219 Azahara Munoz (Arizona State) 72 71 76 (7th).
220 Stephanie Endstrasser (Southern California) 73 73 74 (8th).
223 Pia Halbig (California) 74 76 73 (jt 10th).
230 Roseanne Niven (California) 79 78 73 (jt 36th).
LEADING TEAM FINAL TOTALS
860 Southern California.
886 UCLA.
891 Arizona State.
908 Arizona, California.
913 Stanford.

The news you've all been waiting to hear ...

The 2nd HACIENDA DEL ALAMO
WOMEN’S WINTER GOLF FESTIVAL

February 11 to 17, 2009

FOUR TOURNAMENTS

OVER SIX DAYS

Open to lady professionals and

Silver Division lady amateurs

To be played at the five-star Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort, Murcia

in sunny South-east Spain

PROGRAMME

Wednesday, February 11: Free practice round over championship course.

1: Thursday-Friday, February 12-13: MURCIA LADIES OPEN (36 holes stroke-play)

2: Saturday, February 14: HACIENDA DEL ALAMO Pro-am (lady pros & teams of three amateurs, male or female, over 18 holes.

3: Sunday, February 15: COSTA CALIDA PAIRS competition (first nine holes alternate shot, second nine holes better ball).

4: Monday-Tuesday, February 16-17: HACIENDA DEL ALAMO LADIES OPEN (36 holes stroke-play).

FIVE-STAR PRACTICE FACILITIES
The object of the Festival is to give players a chance to combine practice with competition at a time of the year when they are unlikely to be able to do so at home.

Hacienda del Alamo has five-star practice facilities: two big practice putting greens, big chipping/pitching green, bunker practice facility, 36-bay two-tier driving range, six-hole Academy course.
You can arrive early and practise …. And you can stay on and practise even more.

HOW TO ENTER
Entry forms are available by E-mailing Festival Director COLIN FARQUHARSON (Colin@scottishgolfview.com) or downloading them by clicking on the appropriate words at the top of the left hand column of your screen.
There are separate entry fees for each event but you do not have to play in them all.
Regular information updates on the 2009 Hacienda del Alamo WW Festival will appear regularly on this website.

When you are booking your flights, remember that Murcia Airport is less than 30min away from Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort while Alicante Airport is more than 75min away from the resort.

HOW TO RENT A VILLA
Quotes for rental of villas at Hacienda del Alamo (the more players who share a villa, the cheaper it becomes) are available from SUE GARDINER of HM Rentals by E-mailing her at sue@hmrental.com

Log on to her website for details at: www.hmrental.com

SWING IN THE SPANISH SUN IN MID-FEBRUARY NEXT YEAR

Picture of Susan Wood with the Lanarkshire county championship trophy by courtesy of county secretary Jean Macintyre.

SUSAN WOOD LANARK COUNTY CHAMPION
FOR FIRST TIME WITH WIN OVER LESLEY

Drumpellier's Susan Wood won the Lanarkshire women's county golf championship for the first time with a 3 and 2 victory over Lesley Lloyd (Hayston) in the final at Lanark Golf Club today.
Lloyd, the No 5 qualifier, toppled the No 1 seed Angela Devine (Hamilton) by 3 and 1 in the morning semi-fnals while Wood, the No 7 qualifier, beat Janice Paterson (Drumpellier), seeded sixth, by 5 and 4.
The more experienced Lloyd, county champion in 1997 and playing in the final for a sixth time, took an early two-hole lead over Wood in the final but could not hold on to it. Wood gradually mastered her opponent and won the title on 16th green.

Results:
Semi-finals
L Lloyd (Hayston) bt A Devine (Hamilton) 3 and 1.
S Wood (Drumpellier) bt J Paterson (Drumpellier) 5 and 4.
Final
Wood bt Lloyd 3 and 2.

Dargie and Pretswell win students'

titles at Lossiemouth

Matthew Dargie (Stirling) and Glasgow’s Pamela Pretswell won the men’s and women’s individual titles respectively at the Scottish universities golf championship over the Moray Old and New course at Lossiemouth.
Pamela won the women’s title by five strokes from Megan Briggs (Strathclyde) with scores of 80, 73, 74 and 76 for a total of 303.
It was much tighter in the men’s championship with Stirling’s Mathew Dargie finishing just a shot ahead of three players – James Gill (St Andrews), Paul Better (Stirling) and Andrew McLaren (St Andrews).
Dargie totalled 70, 72, 72 and 75 for total of 289.
+Competitions were played March 30 to April 1. Results only now to hand.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
CSS: 72-72-74-74 (Moray New first two rounds; Moray Old last two rounds).
289 Mathew Dargie (Stirling) 70 72 72 75.
290 James Gill (St Andrews) 73 71 72 74, Paul Betty 76 66 75 73, Andrew McLaren (St Andrews) 71 71 74 74.
291 James White (Stirling) 73 69 73 76.
292 John Duff (Aberdeen) 76 70 71 75.
293 Michael Dailly (Stirling) 70 70 78 75.
296 Chris Harkins (Glasgow) 80 70 70 76, Gavin Dear (Stirling) 78 71 67 80.
297 Steven Hume (Abertay Dundee) 74 72 74 77.
298 Steve Pointin (St Andrews) 73 78 73 74, Malcolm Murray (Highlands & Islands) 72 74 73 79.
299 Adrian Styles (Robert Gordon) 71 70 80 78.
300 David Morrison (Highlands & Islands) 74 74 78 74.
301 John Godward (Aberdeen) 77 75 70 69, Michael Gray (St Andrews) 73 76 73 79, Andrew Wallace (Stirling) 73 73 78 77.
302 David Booth (Stirling) 77 78 72 75.
304 Andrew Cooper (Machrie) 76 78 73 77, Nick Feinberg (St Andrews) 77 71 82 74, Neil Gordon (Aberdeen) 76 71 71 86.
306 Craig McLaughlin (Strathclyde) 78 68 73 77, Gordon Stevenson (St Andrews) 70 73 75 88.
310 Cameron Gray (St Andrews) 77 78 76 79, Graeme McDougall (Strathclyde) 79 71 77 83.
311 Paul Robinson (Strathclyde) 77 78 80 76, Phillipo Okan (StAndrews) 76 76 79 80, Fraser Campbell (Strathclyde) 74 78 79 80, Stuart Cramb (Dundee) 71 80 75 85, Gordon Yates (Stirling) 75 74 80 82.
312 James Collier (Abertay Dundee) 79 77 80 76, Peter Renwick (Highlands & Islands) 75 74 83 80, Mark McCormick (Strathclyde) 75 76 78 83.
313 Euan Brown (Strathclyde) 80 77 75 81.
315 Andrew Hepburn (Robert Gordon) 79 78 73 85, Stuart Leslie (Aberdeen) 74 81 77 83.
317 Jonny Watt (Stirling) 75 76 79 87.
320 Blair McKay (Aberdeen) 76 78 84 82.

WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
CSS 77-70-72-77 (Moray Old-Moray New-Moray New-Moray Old).
303 Pamela Pretswell (Glasgow) 80 73 74 76.
308 Megan Briggs (Strathclyde) 80 77 75 76.
309 Laura Murray (Robert Gordon) 79 76 74 80.
315 Morag Macpherson (St Andrews) 79 74 80 82.
317 Samantha Leslie (SLGA Guest) 81 73 79 84.
327 Stephanie Farrar (Stirling) 82 81 80 84.
328 Gillian Monteith (Strathclyde) 84 80 79 85.
330 Rachel Cassidy (Stirling) 84 79 80 87.
331 Emma Fairnie (Edinburgh) 87 74 79 91.
337 Jennifer Linklater (St Andrews) 82 86 82 87.
MISSED CUT
169 Stephanie Crolla (Heriot Watt) 90 79.
171 Holly Calvert (Stirling) 91 80.
172 Faye Haffey (Edinburgh) 91 81.
186 Rebecca Hyde (Edinburgh) 98 88.
180 Nadia Green (St Andrews) 100 89.
196 Nicola Robinson (Edinburgh) 103 93.

WHI skipper Lesley
Nicholson is glad to
give something back

FROM THE SCOTLAND.SPORT.COM WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Lesley Nicholson, back in the amateur game after seeing her dream of tasting glory in the paid ranks end in disappointment, is hoping to use her experience to help Scotland land a top title this year.
The Haddington player, who played in the 2000 Curtis Cup before turning professional, has been appointed as captain for the Women's Home Internationals, to be held at Wrexham in September. "It's obviously a different role than I am used to but i t will be good to give something back, so to speak, and the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association certainly have a talented pool of players at their disposal at the moment," she admitted.
Nicholson, pictured above, enjoyed an outstanding amateur career, the highlight of which was probably her victory in the Helen Holm Scottish Open Stroke-play Championship in 1999.
She emerged at the same time Longniddry's Hilary Monaghan was making her mark on the Scottish circuit and the pair really seemed to spark one another.
Unfortunately, Nicholson joined the paid ranks at a time when the Ladies' European Tour had a limited tournament schedule and she was unable to make enough money to justify making that her long-term career.
"The fact of the matter is that I played better golf as an amateur than I did as a professional," she reflected. "If I had played to my potential then things might have worked out differently but that's the way of the world.
"It was unfortunate, I suppose, that there weren't an awful lot of tournaments at that time – the LET is certainly much more healthy at the moment – but I still enjoyed my short spell in the paid ranks."
Now working as an active schools' co-ordinator in the Tranent area, Nicholson has attended a couple of SLGA training get-togethers in recent weeks and is impressed by what she has seen.
In a few weeks' time, four Scottish players – Carly Booth, Krystle Caithness, Sally Watson and Michele Thomson – will tee it up in the Curtis Cup at St Andrews.
Whether or not that quartet will be available for the Home Internationals remains to be seen, but Nicholson said: "There is a big pool of talent in Scottish ladies' golf at the moment and that is very exciting for everyone involved in the SLGA.
"A number of players look as though they have very bright futures ahead of them and I got to know a few of them when I helped Jane Ford out when the Home Internationals were held at Dunbar last year.
"I'll be going to a few of the big tournaments this season just to watch players before the team is picked and, having been there and done it, I am hoping that I can use my experience to help get the best out of the players."
As for her own game, Nicholson is off a handicap of one at the moment but admits she doesn't have the same thirst for competitive golf as she did as a teenager.
"I've not played much at all since I was re-instated," she said. "I might enter some of the biggest tournaments this season, though that's not my main priority at the moment. One day I might get my appetite for competitive golf back and, if I do, then it will be a case of full on or not at all."

Alex and Ann Peters win Mothers & Daughters
open scratch foursomes
at Royal Mid Surrey

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
Nottinghamshire 14-year-old Alex Peters teamed up with her mother Ann to claim their first victory in the Mothers and Daughters 27-hole open scratch foursomes at Royal Mid Surrey in Richmond.
Alex, from the English Women’s Golf Association Under-18 Squad, became one of the youngest winners of this traditional event since it was first played in 1932. She adds it to a host of other titles which include the Midlands’ ladies and the 2006 English Under-13 girls’ championships.
The scratch golfer and her five-handicap mother ended the winning run of seasoned competitors, Liz Boatman from Royal Worlington and her daughter Alex Howe from Royal County Down.
The five-times winners had to settle for third place on this occasion. The runners-up included another 14-year-old. Charlotte Griffith, an eight- handicap from Walton Heath, played with her mother Christine, a former professional. They coped well in the increasingly windy conditions in the afternoon nine holes and nearly caught the leaders – but the Peters claimed a one-shot victory.
Picture above of Ann and Alex Peters, by courtesy of the English Women's Golf Association (all rights reserved).
FINAL TOTALS
118 A & A Peters (Notts Ladies) 77 41.
119 C & C Griffith (Walton Heath) 80 39.
120 E Boatman & A Howe (Royal Worlington/Royal County Down) 77 43.
122 J Wise & K Haynes (Luffenham Heath) 81 41.
123 L & L Hitchcock (Chigwell) 80 43, W & K Laud (Thurlestone/Worplesdon) 83 40.
125 G & H Beasley (Woburn) 80 45, I & R Long (Sundridge Park) 82 43, L & C Bayman (The Berkshire) 84, 41.
126 J Thornhill & C Weeks (Walton Heath) 83, 43 J Fallows & K McGawley (Manchester) 85, 41.
127 J & G Kinnear (Copthorne) 84 43, S & B Thomas (West Hill/Foxhills) 85 42.
128 J & K Tenniswood (West Hill/Wentworth) 82 46, E & L Barrow (Brockenhurst Manor) 85 43, P Petch & S Knollys (Sunningdale) 85 43, B & C Cummins (Parkstone ) 85 43, P Huntley & S Webb (Frilford Heath) 88 40.
129 A Laughland & R Jenner (Rye) 86 43, V Dolton & D Holt (Basingstoke) 88 41, J Jackson & A Kelly (Huntercombe/Cirencester) 90, 39.

Winning Scotland team in Dublin with the Mary McKenna Perpetual Trophy.

SCOTS VETERANS RETAIN MARY McKENNA
PERPETUAL TROPHY - BUT IT WAS CLOSE!
Scotland retained the Mary McKenna Perpetual Trophy by a 1pt (6 1/2-5 1/2)margin over their Irish veteran women rivals in a thrilling finish to the annual two-day match at St Margaret's Golf Club, Dublin.
The opening-day programme of four four-ball ties produced a 2-2 scoreline and set the stage for the second-day card of eight singles which would decide if they trophy stayed in Ireland or returned to Scotland..
The weather was cold and windy at the start of the singles and Scottish fortunes seemed to be blowing away early on with the Irish ahead in several matches.
By noon the sun struggled through and the Scotland fightback commenced with five of the eight singles going to the 18th.
Kathleen Sutherland beat Mary McKenna by one hole in the No 1 singles tie
Margaret Tough birdied the 17th and 18th holes to square her match against Mary Madden.
Pamela Williamson was a 2 and 1 winner over Eileen MacMullen.
Fiona de Vries won on the 18th green against Pamela Morgan.
Fiona Hunter won the 18th to square her game with Marilyn Henderson and that result retained the trophy for Scotland.
Lorna Bennett clawed back an early deficit to square her match and halved the remaining holes sinking a tricky par putt to secure the half-point aganst Violet McBride.
(Lorna's match had let Fiona Hunter's match play through on the eighth, hence the apparent change in the order).

IRELAND 5 1/2, SCOTLAND 6 1/2
Sunday Four-balls (2-2)
(Irish names first)
Mary Madden & Carmel Cahill lost to Heather Anderson & Margaret Tough 4 and 2.
Valerie Hassett & Pamela Morgan lost to Lorna Bennett & Fiona de Vries 3 and 2.
Marilyn Henderson & Nano Brennan beat Helen Faulds & Fiona Hunter 2 and 1.
Sheena O'Brien-Kenney & Violet McBride beat Pamela Williamson & Kathleen Sutherland 1 hole.
Monday Singles (3 1/2-4 1/2)
Mary McKenna lost to Kathleen Sutherland 1 hole..
Mary Madden halved with Margaret Tough.
Eileen MacMullen lost to Pamela Williamson 2 and 1.
Sheena O'Brien-Kenney beat Helen Faulds 3 and 2.
Pamela Morgan lost to Fiona De Vries 1 hole.
Violet McBride halved with Lorna Bennett.
Marilyn Henderson halved with Fiona Hunter.
Valerie Hassett beat Heather Anderson 7 and 6.

SCOTLAND'S THREE FOR WELSH STROKE-PLAY

Laura Murray (Alford), Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) and Jane Turner (Craigielaw) will be Scotland's representatives in the team event of the Welsh women's open amateur stroke-play championship over 54 holes at Pyle & Kenfig Golf Club on May 3 and 4.
Laura is the second leading Aberdeenshire player to miss her county championship at Deeside Golf Club that weekend. The other is title-holder and Curtis Cup selection Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon).

FORMER CHAMPION LESLEY

PLAYS TOP SEED ANGELA

DEVINE AT LANARK
Hayston's Lesley Lloyd, pictured left, is the only former title-winner through to Wednesday morning's semi-finals of the Lanarkshire women's county golf championship at Lanark Golf Club.
No. 5 qualifier Lesley, champion in 1997 and beaten finalist in four other years, will play the No 1 seed Angela Devine (Hamilton) in the first semi-final at 9.30am.
Mrs Devine had two big wins on her way to the last four.
Janice Paterson (Drumpellier), beaten in the 2000 final, will play Drumpellier clubmate Susan Wood in the other semi-final. Janice qualified in sixth place, Susan as No 7. Susan Wood toppled the No 2 seed Elaine Cuthill (Lanark) by two holes in the quarter-finals.
Results:
First round
A Devine (Hamilton) bt J Wiles (Drumpellier) 7 and 6.
C Maxton (Hamilton bt M Reid (Lanark) 3 and 1.
L Loyd (Hayston) bt J McPherson (East Kilbride) 7 and 5.
P Hutton (Lanark) bt R Wilson (Carluke) 4 and 3.
M Hughes (Lanark) bt M Scott (Bishopbriggs) 7 and 6.
J Paterson (Drumpellier) bt C McCall (Strathaven) 4 and 3.
S Wood (Drumpellier) bt P Milligan (Hamilton) 7 and 6.
E Cuthill (Lanark) bt E Morris (Hamilton) 6 and 5.
Quarter-finals
Devine bt Maxton 8 and 6.
Lloyd bt Hutton 3 and 1.
Peterson bt Hughes 2 and 1.
Wood bt Cuthill 2 holes.

R&A Press Release

DEADLINE FOR CHEAPER 2009

OPEN TICKETS APPROACHES

Time is running out for spectators to take advantage of discounted season tickets for The Open Championship, at Royal Birkdale from Sunday 13 to Sunday 20 July.
Until the end of April, £200 buys a season ticket which gives entry for the eight days of practice and Championship play, a saving of £115 on the full price daily tickets.
“The R&A's policy has always been to make The Open Championship affordable to all spectators,” said David Hill, The R&A’s Director of Championships.
“As ever, it will be possible for spectators to pay at the gates, but until the end of this month we are offering an excellent discount on our season tickets, which allows access to Royal Birkdale for the entire week of the Championship."
During the four days of the Championship a daily ticket will cost £55, with concession tickets available. Children under the age of 16 will again be admitted free-of-charge, either by applying to The R&A in advance or if accompanied by a responsible adult on the day.
Birkdale’s 18th is one of the most dramatic holes on The Open rota, and for those who want the best possible view of this demanding finish there are a limited number of tickets left for the reserved grandstand by the green. 18th Green Reserved Grandstand tickets are priced at £230 each for the week and must be used in conjunction with a ticket permitting course access.
Ticket applications should be directed in writing to: Ticket Office, The R&A, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 9JD; by telephone on: +44 (0) 1334 460010 or through online purchasing at http://www.opengolf.com/.

A true story that will tug your heart strings

From Russia, With Love: Golfers
Help Find Missing Brother
FROM THE US DURAMED FUTURES TOUR WEEKLY NEWS LETTER
Sisters Anastasia and Maria Kostina never imagined how they would impact the lives of one family when they arrived in Lafayette, La., last year without a place to stay during tournament week.
They were rookies on the 2007 Duramed FUTURES Tour and they were the only Russian golf professionals competing in America. All they needed was a host family for the week.
Phone calls were made and the next thing the sisters knew, they were staring across the dinner table at a Russian boy with a Southern (America) accent. The boy, Misha Mann, now 7, had been adopted by an American family in Lafayette and his new connection with the Russian house guests would begin a journey that will forever link the lives of three families -- spanning from Lafayette to Siberia to Moscow.
And all because a golf tournament came to town.
Lafayette residents Sandy and David Mann had not signed up to host players during the Tour’s Louisiana Pelican Classic, but when they heard the Russian players needed a place to call home for the week, they jumped at the chance. They saw it as an opportunity for their adopted son to learn about his homeland and to meet other Russians.
It was an instant connection. The child clung to the sisters and thumped his chest, telling his mother, “But mama, these are my people.” The Kostina sisters cooked his favorite Russian soup and Misha ate six bowls of the familiar treat. His mom froze the rest in portions that he would take to school.
“He literally climbs us,” said second-year professional Anastasia Kostina of Nakhabino, Russia. “And he ran and jumped on me and knocked me on my butt on the driving range.”
But last year’s initial connection between the Kostina sisters and the Mann family turned into a much deeper family bond stemming from a discovery that was made when Sandy and her husband traveled to Russia to pick up the three-year-old boy from a Siberian orphanage.
In examining his papers, they learned that Misha had a brother still in Russia. The two boys had been separated when Misha was three and Evgeniy was just over four years old. They were placed in different orphanages and never told what happened to each other. Evgeniy was begging for food when the orphanage found him.
“When we went to get Misha, they wouldn’t tell us anything about his brother,” said Sandy. “It was a dead end. I was like, ‘Lord, you’re going to have to show me where this child is.’ I just wanted to know that he was OK.”
And then the Duramed FuturesTour came to Lafayette and with it came two young pros who could help the Mann family find answers to their questions and solve a puzzle half a world away. The Kostina sisters listened to the story, read Misha’s birth certificate and called home to the Moscow area to ask their father, Alexander Kostin, if he could help.
Kostin began making phone calls. He called the orphanages in Siberia and he found the phone number for Evgeniy’s foster mother, Vera. In three days, he was able to bridge a gap that the Mann family had struggled with for 2½ years.
“It was just incredible,” said Sandy. “We had searched and searched for this child and I had explored all my avenues, then along came these two golfers. Russia is a country with almost 142 million people and only three professional women golfers and two of them ended up in my house in Louisiana. What are the chances of that happening?”
But the story doesn’t end there.
Kostin, who has never met the Mann family, hired someone in Siberia to set up a computer at Vera and Evgeniy’s home. He also had Skype installed – a software program which allows users to make free calls over the Internet to other Skype users. With a special camera, users can also see each other on the computer screen.
Back in Louisiana, the Mann family also installed Skype and they hired an English tutor twice a week to help teach English to Evgeniy. And then they dialed up Siberia.
“They put the two boys on the phone together,” said Maria Kostina, also a second-year member of the Duramed Futures Tour. “Evgeniy said ‘I love you’ in Russian to Misha. At the same time, Misha said, ‘I love you’ in English to Evgeniy. Neither understood what each other had said. But Evgeniy remembered his younger brother even though Misha didn’t know about Evgeniy.”
Later, while riding in the car, Misha began to put it all together. He asked his mom if the Russian boy he had been talking to over the Internet was his brother. That’s when he learned about his missing link.
Now, the two families talk every morning before Misha goes to school. The boys hold up pictures of things to each other and listen to each other’s music. Evgeniy sent Misha items using the Russian alphabet.
Last week, when the Kostina sisters returned to the Mann family’s home for the Louisiana Pelican Classic for the second year, they participated in the phone calls to Siberia with the two families and helped translate. Even when the Kostinas are on the road playing tournament golf, they have three-way phone calls, translating for Sandy with Misha’s “babushka” (grandmother) at the orphanage.
“Golf is a lot more than just golf,” said Maria, who gave her favorite Russian National Team shirt to Misha. “It can change lives. It can bring people together.”
“We have made friends for life because a golf tournament brought us here,” added Anastasia. “This has all been pretty unbelievable.”
To assist the orphanage where Misha once lived, the Manns now communicate with Misha’s babushka to buy toys and to bring Christmas cheer to the children there. With the help of the Kostina sisters, the Manns communicate with the caregiver and wire money to Russia.
Babushka buys food, vitamins, supplies and toys for the children and sends photos of the children with the items they have received. In two years and using a hot chocolate stand in their front yard around Christmas, the Manns have raised $21,000 from family and friends to send to Siberia.
They are now having a playground built at the Siberian orphanage for the children who once played with their son.
This week, Vera (Evgeniy’s foster-mom), along with a translator, will travel 48 hours by train to the Russian embassy in Siberia to apply for travel visas. The Manns had their Louisiana senators and congressmen write letters to the embassy requesting that Vera and Evgeniy be allowed to travel to Louisiana this summer. The goal is for the two brothers to be reunited.
And of course, if the visas are approved, the bridge will continue. Vera will call the Kostina sister’s father in Moscow and he will call his daughters in the United States and the Kostina sisters will call Sandy in Louisiana, who will tell Misha that his brother is coming.
“It was fate that brought us all together,” said Sandy, who also has a daughter. “It’s a real relationship that we have with those girls, not just a host family situation anymore. It’s been a gentle process and all the pieces are finally coming together. The Kostinas really are our bridge and we are forever linked.”
All because a golf tournament came to town.

Visa problems rule Catriona

out of Ladies Scottish Open

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE

By MIKE AITKEN
Catriona Matthew, Scotland's leading woman golfer, is set to miss the second staging of the revived Ladies Scottish Open at the Carrick on Loch Lomond next month because of complications surrounding a US work visa.
Since becoming a member of the LPGA in 1995 and basing her career in the States, the North Berwick golfer has been granted two temporary work permits by the US authorities to play in that part of the world.

The second permit expires this month and government regulations prohibit issuing a third.

Instead, Matthew has applied for a green card, the permanent resident document which enables foreigners to work and live in America.

However, the bureaucratic process grinds slowly and Matthew has not yet received the new permit.The reason this will likely prevent her travelling to Scotland for the Ladies Scottish Open sponsored by Aberdeen Asset from 1-3 May is because she can't take the chance of missing out on key LPGA tournaments such as the next major, the McDonald's LPGA, in early June.

"Catriona is really disappointed," said her manager, Brian Marchbank of 110sport, yesterday. "She wants to play at the Carrick. But the timing of this situation is horrible and we can't take the chance."

CURTIS CUP SELECTION MICHELE UNABLE TO
DEFEND ABERDEENSHIRE TITLE

Aberdeenshire women's champion Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) will be unable to defend the county title in this year's championship, to be held at Deeside Golf Club from Friday to Sunday, May 2 to 4.
Michele will be taking part in an extended practice session (May 1 to 4) by the Great Britain & Ireland squad over the Old Course, St Andrews in preparation for the Curtis Cup match against the United States at the end of May.

Futures Tour officials saves Pamela
Feggans from costly mistake

FROM THE US DURAMED FUTURES TOUR NEWSLETTER
There are plenty of double greens in Scotland, particularly at St. Andrews, so Pamela Feggans of Patna, Ayrshire, thought she knew what to do when her approach shot to the ninth green came to rest on the 18th green at The Wetlands during the first round of the Louisiana Pelican Classic last Friday.
Fortunately, Duramed Futures Tour rules official Kelly Wergin hustled over to the ninth green and stopped Feggans before she attempted to putt.
The Wetlands course features an adjoining green on holes 9 and 18, and Feggans’ approach shot rolled over a line to the 18th. The Futures Tour does not allow putting from a wrong green during tournament play as a safety precaution, Wergin said.
If Feggans had made the stroke from the wrong place, she would have incurred a two-stroke penalty.
“At home, you just play it even if you end up on a wrong green,” said Feggans, a rookie who played collegiately at Florida Southern College. “This time, I’m glad I didn’t putt it. It would have cost me two shots.”
Wergin instructed Feggans to take relief off the green. No additional strokes were incurred. Feggans dropped off the green and chipped from the fringe. Her chip rolled down the sloping downhill ninth green and slam-dunked into the hole for an eagle and a share of the first-round lead.
“It was a big turn-around,” said Feggans. “My mom was watching real-time scoring at home on the Website and rang my dad at work and told him I had just made a ‘double birdie’ on the ninth hole. He asked her if she meant an ‘eagle’ and she said, ‘I dunno, it has two circles on the number.’”
After a good ruling and a sweet stroke, indeed it did. And Feggans went on to post her best finish as a professional with a tie for seventh at 211 (-5).

ANGELA SIMPLY DEVINE ON

INWARD HALF AT LANARK

TO LEAD QUALIFIERS

It was a golf game of two halves for Hamilton five-handicapper Angela Devine today in the qualifying round of the Lanarkshire women's county championship at Lanark.
Angela reached the turn in 45 blows - seven over par - and looked as though she might not break 90. But everything changed on the inward half. She came romping home in two-under-par 34 for a 79 - five over the Lanark standard scratch - which earned her the lofty status of No 1 seed for the match-play draw.
Angela, pictured right, who had four birdies in her round, topped the 16 qualifiers by one stroke from two Lanark players, Elaine Cuthill and May Hughes. On a countback, the No 2 seed berth went to Elaine by virtue of the better last three holes.
Glasgow University student Pamela Pretswell was unable to defend the title as she has important lectures this week.
QUALIFIERS
79 Angela Devine (Hamilton).
80 Elaine Cuthill (Lanark), May Hughes (Lanark).
83 Pat Hutton (Lanark), Lesley Lloyd (Hayston), Janice Paterson (Drumpellier), Susan Wood (Drumpellier).
87 Margaret Reid (Lanark).
89 Christine Maxton (Hamilton).
92 Pat Milligan (Hamilton).
95 Carol McCall (Strathaven), Jillian McPherson (East Kilbride).
96 Ray Wilson (Carluke).
97 Margaret Scott (Bishopbriggs), Elaine Morris (Hamilton).
100 Jennifer Wiles (Drumpellier).
Draw:
9.30am Devine v Wiles, Maxton v Reid, Lloyd v McPherson, Wilson v Hutton.
9.56 Hughes v Scott, McCall v Paterson, Wood v Milligan, Morris v Cuthill.

SCOTS SENIORS WIN SINGLES AND MARY
McKENNA TROPHY - DUBLIN REPORT

News from veterans' captain Lynne Terry that Scotland took the Monday singles by a one-point margin (4 1/2-3 1/2) from Ireland to win the Mary McKenna Perpetual Trophy match between the senior ladies of the countries, 6 1/2-5 1/2.
Lynne was phoning on a crackling line from the St Margaret's Golf Club, Dublin so maybe we had better wait until Mary McKenna herself confirms that scoreline when she sends the Monday results to Kirkwoodgolf.co.uk

AUSTRALIAN OPEN AMATEUR FINALS

To see who won the 36-hole Australian men's and women's open amateur championship finals, switch over to www.scottishgolfview.com

Double bogeys knock back Anna Scott
to joint seventh at Williamsburg

Anna Scott from Consett, Co Durham - a student at Georgia State University - finished joint seventh on nine-over-par 225 in the Colonial Athletic Association Women's Championship over the Golden Horseshoe Course (par-72, 6150yd) at Williamsburg, Virginia.
Anna had a double bogey 6 at the sixth and also bogeyed the 17th and 18th in her closing round of 76. She had one last-day birdie, at the 13th.
She had one double bogey in her first round and two doubles in her second round.
Georgia State team-mate Claire Starkey from Skipton, West Yorkshire had scores of 76, 77 and 84 for a total of 237 to finish 24th in a field of 50 players.
Another Georgia State player, Cathrine Madsen won the individual honours with five-under-par 211 (70-69-72) but Georgia State (881) finished runners-up in the team event to North Carolina-Wilmington (879).
LEADING TOTALS
Individuals
Par 216 (3 x 72) 6150yd
211 Cathrine Madsen (Georgia State) 70 69 72.
212 Ashley Tait (North Carolina-Wilmington) 69 73 70.
218 Emily Klein (North Carolina-Wilmington) 71 79 68.
Other totals:
225 Anna Scott (Georgia State) 72 77 76 (jt 7th).
237 Claire Starkie (Georgia State) 76 77 84 (24th of 50).
Teams
879 North Carolina-Wilmington.
881 Georgia State.
914 William & Mary College.
10 Teams took part.

Pamela Feggans joint seventh
in Louisiana Pelican Classic

Pamela Feggans shot five-under-par 211 with scores of 67, 71 and 73 but so high is the standard of play on the US Duramed Futures Tour that this enabled the Ayrshire girl from the village of Patna to finish no higher than joint seventh.
Pamela's pay cheque at the end of the weekend action in the Louisiana Pelican Classic at The Wetlands amounted to $1,986.
Vikki Laing from Musselburgh put together rounds of 75, 71 and 73 for a share of 43rd place on 219 (three over par). She earned $522.

PRESS RELEASE FROM FUTURES TOUR:
South Korean rookie M.J. Hur forced a play-off with a birdie on the 18th hole and outlasted Vicky Hurst on the ensuing green to claim a title at the third annual Louisiana Pelican Classic on Sunday.
Hur, a product of Seoul, South Korea, caught fire on the back nine with three consecutive birdies and the 18-year old earned her first professional win to the tune of an $11,900 paycheck. She made up a four-stroke deficit to Hurst with 27 putts and scored six birdies on the day.
It was reminiscent of the season-opening Bright House Networks Open in Lakeland, Fla., when Sunny Oh of Manhattan Beach, Calif., clipped runner-up Kim Welch of Sacramento, Calif., in a play-off.
Hur made birdie on her last hole to pull even with Hurst at 10-under par 206 for the tournament and ended regulation at four-under-par 68 for the day. In the play-off, Hurst's second shot on the par-4 18th hole landed two feet off the top of the fringe and set her up with a downhill putt.
Hur faced an uphill putt and left it short on a chance for birdie but was able to salvage par. Hurst left her par putt just inches wide of the cup and Hur claimed the win.
"My putting was really good and part of the reason I had the score today," Hur said. "I wasn't nervous in the play-off but I was nervous on 17 and 18. I didn't have any feelings at the time."
It was a career-low round of 68 for Hur, who was a member of the Korea National Team in 2006. She promised to buy her father a new belt and some shoes with her new-found earnings.
Hur was able to make a critical par with the help of her favorite club on the 17th hole to prevent Hurst from clinching the win.
"I was really nervous at the time and I tried to get my practice rhythm," Hur said. "I feel really happy because the eight-iron is my lucky club. I really like that club."
Fellow South Korean and former Duramed FUTURES Tour alum, Song-Hee Kim gave Hur her personal yardage book two weeks before coming to Lafayette. Kim, now on the LPGA Tour, won the first edition of the Louisiana Pelican Classic in 2006 by one stroke.
"She has really good course management skills," Hur said of Kim. "I have my dream and I want to go to the LPGA Tour."
Hur and Hurst met in the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship last year and Hur said that Hurst gave her all she could handle.
"She (Hurst) has a really good driver shot," Hur said. "She's so long."
Hurst, of Melbourne, Fla., made bogey on her first hole, but offset it with a birdie in front of the crowd at nine. She was steady on the back with nine pars, but no birdies after coming off a tournament-record eight-under par 64 in second-round play on Saturday.
For the 2007 AJGA Rolex Player of the Year, it was still just her third tournament since turning pro and she improved on an 11th-place performance at the AMERICAN SYSTEMS Invitational just two weeks ago in Daytona Beach.
"I wasn't playing as good as Saturday," Hurst said. "I was a little nervous, but now that I've experienced being in this position, maybe it will be a little easier now."
Onnarin Sattayabanphot, Leanna Wicks and Kelly Lagedrost each fired rounds of 67 (-5) and helped themselves in the final standings, moving up to third, fourth and a tie for fifth, respectively.
Nari Kim of Seoul, South Korea, the first-day leader at the AMERICAN SYSTEMS Invitational, closed her tournament with a flurry, finishing in a tie for fifth and carding a round of 4-under par to finish with a 210 (-6) for the event.
The Duramed FUTURES Tour continues its Southern Swing next week in McAllen, Texas, for the Jalapeno Golf Classic at the Palm View Golf Course.
For real-time scoring and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.
Weather: Mostly sunny with a high temperature of 83 degrees and winds blowing S at 8-10 mph.
LOUISIANA PELICAN CLASSIC
The Wetlands, Lafayette, Louisiana
Par 216 (3 x 72) 6421yd
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
206 M J Hur (SKor) 67 71 68 ($11,900), Vicky Hurst (Florida) 70 64 72 ($8,500). Hur won play-off at first extra hole.
207 Onnarin Sattayanbanphot (Thai) 69 71 67 ($6,056).
209 LeAnna Wicks (Michigan) 69 73 67 ($4,217).
210 Kelly Lagendrost (Florida) 73 70 67, Nari Kim (SKor) 72 70 68 ($2,963 each).
211 Pamela Feggans (Scotland) 67 71 73, Caroline Larsson (Sweden) 72 70 69 ($1,986 each).
Other score:
219 Vikki Laing (Scotland) 75 71 73 (jt 43rd) ($522).

IRELAND 2, SCOTLAND 2 AT END OF

FIRST DAY IN DUBLIN

The Mary McKenna Perpetual Trophy senior women's amateur golf match is finely poised after the first day's play at St Margaret's Golf & Country Club, Dublin.

Ireland and Scotland shared the honours in the four four-ball ties to be tied at 2-2 with eight singles to decide the outcome on Monday.

Sunday's conditions were difficult for the players - cold, wind and rain.

FIRST DAY RESULTS

IRELAND 2, SCOTLAND 2

Irish names first:

FOUR-BALLS

Mary Madden & Carmel Cahill lost to Heather Anderson & Margaret Tough 4 and 2.

Valerie Hassett & Pamela Morgan lost to Lorna Bennett & Fiona de Vries 3 and 2.

Marilyn Henderson & Nano Brennan bt Helen Faulds & Fiona Hunter 2 and 1.

Sheena O'Brien-Kenney & Violet McBride bt Pamela Williamson & Kathleen Sutherland 1 hole.

MONDAY'S SINGLES:

Mary McKenna v Kathleen Sutherland.

Mary Madden v Margaret Tough.

Eileen MacMullen v Pamela Williamson.

Sheena O'Brien-Kenney v Helen Faulds.

Pam Morgan v Fiona De Vries.

Violet McBride v Lorna Bennett.

Marlyn Henderson v Fiona Hunter.

Valerie Hassett v Heather Anderson.

HARRIET MAKES TOP 20 IN IVY LEAGUE
WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP

Harriet Owers-Bradley (Yale) finished 18th on 20-over-par 236 in the Ivy League Women's Championship at Atlantic City Country Club's par-72, 6,143yd course.
Harriet, from Nottingham, scored 74, 82 and 80, to finish 29 shots behind Susannah Abott (Princeton). Susannah outclassed the field to win by 11 shots with an 11-under-par total of 65, 70 and 72 for 207.
Harvard (890) won the team title from Columbia (900) with Princeton (901) third and Yale (928) fourth in the seven-cornered contest.

TRIPLE BOGEY COSTS GEMMA TOP FIVE
FINISH IN LADY BUCKEYE EVENT

A triple bogey 7 at the 16th hole cost Glasgow's Gemma Webster, a student at Ohio State University, a top-five finish in the Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational over the par-72, 6228yd Ohio State Scarlet course at Columbus, Ohio.
Gemma finished with rounds of 76, 73 and 78 for seventh place on 227 in a field of 72 players. She had two double bogeys in her first round. In her final round Miss Webster birdied the long fourth but dropped shots at the second, sixth, seventh and 11th as well as the very costly 16th.
But she was the second-highest Ohio State University finisher in their own tournament.
Sara Brown (Michigan State) was the individual winner with scores of 70, 73 and 73 for 216.
Ireland international Tara Delaney, a student at Kent State, finished sixth on 225 with scores of 80, 75 and 70.
Ohio State (913) finished second to Kent State (885) in the team event contested by 12 teams.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Individuals
Par 216 (3 x 72) 6228yd
216 Sara Brown (Michigan State) 70 73 73.
218 Carling Coffing (Ohio State) 67 77 74.
219 Kira Meixner (Kent State) 72 75 72.
Other scores:
225 Tara Delaney (Kent State) 80 75 70 (6th).
227 Gemma Webster (Ohio State) 76 73 78 (7th).
Teams
885 Kent State. 913 Ohio State. 917 Michigan State. 12 teams took part.

KRYSTLE'S JOINT SEVENTH FINISH

IN TENNESSEE AS US CURTIS CUP

PLAYER WINS CHAMPIONSHIP

Krystle Caithness, one of the four Scots in the GB&I Curtis Cup team to play the United States over the Old Course, St Andrews, at the end of next month, finished joint seventh in a field of 58 playeres for the South-eastern Conference Championship at Tennessee National Golf Club, Loudoun in Tennessee today (Sunday).
The 19-year-old from Cellardyke, Fife, a first-year student at Georgia University, had rounds of 71, 75 and 75 for a total of five-over-par 221.
She finished seven shots behind one of the United States team for St Andrews - Stacy Lewis (Arkansas), winner by one shot with scores of 69, 73 and 72 for two-under 214.
Krystle, Cal Carson Golf Agency image above, all rights reserved, had birdies at the third and 14th in her final round but had too many bogeys - at the fourth, ninth, 10th, 15th and 18th - to mount a last-day challenge.
Fellow Scot Rebecca Watson (Tennessee), whose younger sister Sally is the GB&I Curtis Cup line-up, finished joint 49th with scores of 78, 83 and 80 for 242.

Belgium's Benedicte Toumpsin (South Carolina) finished third on 216 behind Stacy Lewis and runner-up Hannah Yun (Florida) (215).
Georgia (903) finished third of 12 in the team event won by Florida (874) with Arkansas (891) third.
LEADING INDIVIDUAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
214 Stacy Lewis (Arkansas) 69 73 72.
215 Hannah Yun (Florida) 73 70 72.
216 Benedicte Toumpsin (South Carolina) 72 72 72.
219 Dori Carter (Mississippi) 71 74 74, Margaret Shirley (Auburn) 74 75 70.
220 Tiffany Chudy (Florida) 72 72 76.
Other scores:
221 Krystle Caithness (Georgia) 71 75 75 (jt 7th).
242 Rebecca Watson (Tennessee) 69 83 80.
LEADING TEAM TOTALS
874 Florida. 891 Arkansas. 903 Georgia. 910 Auburn. 915 South Carolina. 12 teams took part.

FIONA WINS FIFE TITLE FOR

THIRD TIME AFTER

MARATHON FINAL

Former Scottish champion Fiona Hastie (St Regulus) won the Fife women's county championship for the third time in four years after a nail-biting finish to the final against Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) over the Jubilee Course, St Andrews today (Sunday).
Fiona won the county title in 2005 and 2007 and the Scottish championship at Cruden Bay in 2005 in her maiden name of Lockhart.
In the match-play stages on Saturday, Mrs Hastie, the ninth qualifier, claimed the scalp of top seed Susan Jackson (Ladybank) in the quarter-final, winning by 5 and 4.
Fiona had only to play 10 holes in her morning semi-final today against Katrina Milne (Cochrane Castle) who retired injured after 10 holes.
In the other semi-final Louise Kenney (Pitreavie), the No 3 seed, won by 2 and 1 against former Scottish champion Elaine Moffat (St Regulus).
It was a classic match-play final. There was never more than a hole in it either way. A marathon match came to an end at the short 23rd which Mrs Hastie birdied.

In the above picture by courtesy of Dorothy Ford, Fiona Hastie is on the left.
Today's results (scroll down to read Saturday's results):
Semi-finals
Hastie bt Milne (retired after 10 holes), Kenney bt Moffat 2 and 1.
Final
Hastie bt Kenney at 23rd.

Lorena Ochoa makes if four wins
in a row - and six this season

More Mexican magic from Lorena Ochoa as she wins for the fourth tournament in a row and the sixth time in all this season.
Lorena is not only winning, she is shooting very low figures into the bargain. To win the Ginn Open today by three strokes at the Ginn Reunion Resort in Orlando, Florida, she totalled 19-under-par 269, scoring 68, 67, 65 and 69.
Even by Tiger Woods' standards that is phenomenal golf.
Janice Moodie finished joint 24th on 284 with four rounds of 71.
Mhairi McKay came joint 75th on 294 with 68, 75, 76 and 75.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
269 Lorena Ochoa 68 67 65 69.
272 Yani Tseng 68 64 69 71.
277 Suzann Pettersen 68 66 72 71, Teresa Lu 67 69 69 72.
Other scores:
280 Karen Stupples 70 69 71 70 (jt 8th).
284 Janice Moodie 71 71 71 71 (jt 24th).
287 Annika Sorenstam 70 73 72 72, Laura Davies 70 74 73 70 (jt 44th).
288 Becky Morgan 71 72 72 73 (jt 51st).
294 Mhairi McKay 68 75 76 75 (jt 75th).

Swede Emma scores first
win on Ladies Euro Tour

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
By BETHAN CUTLER
Sweden’s Emma Zackrisson secured her first win on the Ladies European Tour today in her first LET event of the year at the Open de Espana Femenino in Castellon.
Zackrisson, who led after the second and third rounds, posted a final round of 71 to finish on a four-round total of seven-under-par 281.
After three days of strong winds at Panoramica Golf and Country Club, the 29-year-old Swede began the day with a four-stroke cushion and finished four ahead of three players. The defending champion Nikki Garrett (69) and Joanne Mills (71) from Australia tied for second with Italian Diana Luna (69), on three-under-par 285.
Zackrisson’s victory was unexpected as she had never previously led an LET event but she played like an unfazed veteran in the final round, through rain, sunshine and weather delays. After a heavy downpour in the morning, the sun shone on the Swede for the first nine holes as she posted nine steady pars. She remained on six-under-par with a two-stroke lead over Mills when play was suspended for an hour and 19 minutes due to inclement weather at 1.56pm.
After thunder, lightning and more heavy downpours, affording her a half-time lunch break, Zackrisson approached the back nine.
A bogey at the par-4 13thwas her only mistake all day, but she compensated with a sensational birdie at the par-4 15th, where she holed a 12 metres putt from off the front of the green.
After a heart-stopping moment at the 17th, when her approach shot to the green almost found the water hazard, Zackrisson signed off with a final hole birdie to take the €41,250 first prize.
“This win means everything to me,” said Zackrisson, who returned to LET Qualifying School in October after five years on Tour. “I was thinking about quitting after this year because I’ve been having a really hard time out there for the last three years. This has changed that I think!” Zackrisson finished last year ranked 101st on the New Star Money List and after only one event played in 2008, she is now ranked second in Europe.
“I did not expect this coming in. This was so unexpected and I’m so, so happy,” she said. “I played so well and it felt so easy for me, really. Everything just worked. I’d been struggling for so long and finally it all came together. It’s unbelievable.
“I couldn’t relax until after the tee shot on 18. That’s when I finally thought maybe I could make this. You never know what is going to happen.”
Colin Farquharson writes: Clare Queen's late bogeys at the 16th and 17th in a final round of 74 for 293 cost her the best part of 1,000 Euros. She finished in joint 30th place instead of the joint 18th place a couple of pars at the holes in question would have given her.
Earlier Miss Queen (The Carrick at Cameron House) had birdied the ninth, 11th, 13th and 15th. She earned 2,763 Euros.
Lynn Kenny (Archerfield Links) also bogeyed the 16th and 17th but birdied the 18th for a closing 72 - her best round of the four - to finished joint 38th on 2985 and earn 1,932 Euros.
Inverness-based New Zealander Liz McKinnon found her form too late, scoring a one-under-par 71 in the final round. Had Liz scored 71 in each of the four rounds she would have finished second instead of her actual joint 55th on 299.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
281 Emma Zackrisson (Swe) 72 67 71 71 (Euros 41,250).
285 Nikki Garrett (Aus) 75 70 71 69, Diana Luna (Ita) 75 72 69 69, Joan Mills (Aus) 74 73 67 71 (Euros 20,670 each).
286 Veronica Zorzi Ita) 72 68 74 72 (Euros 11,660).
287 Katharina Schallenberg (Ger) 71 74 73 69, Martina Eerl (Ger) 70 77 70 70, Rebecca Hudson (Eng) 68 73 75 71, Lill Kristin Saether (Nor) 75 72 67 73 (Euros 7,727 each).
Other scores:
291 Georgina Simpson (Eng) 76 71 73 71, Lora Faitclough Eng) 74 68 77 72, Samantha Head (Eng) 71 71 76 73 (Euros 3,427 each) (jt 18th)
292 Felicity Johnson (Eng) 74 75 68 75 (Euros 2,970) (jt 26th).
293 Clare Queen (The Carrick at Cameron House) 74 72 73 74 (Euros 2,763) (jt 30th).
294 Danielle Masters (Eng) 75 74 72 73, Natalie Claire Booth (Eng0 73 73 74 74 (Euros 2,475) (jt 32nd).
295 Lynn Kenny (Archerfield Links) 76 74 73 72, Fame More (Eng) 79 69 74 73 (Euros 1,932 each) (jt 38th).
296 Kirsty Taylor (Eng) 74 76 74 72 (Euros 1,485) (jt 46th).
297 Trish Johnson (Eng) 70 77 75 75 (Euros 1,292) (jt 51st).
298 Rebecca Coakley (Ire)( 74 75 76 73 (Euros 1,182) (jt 55th).
299 Liz McKinnon (NZ) 74 74 80 71 (jt 55th).
Retired - Eleanor Pilgrim (Wal) 73 76 75 -.

Dani Montgomery wins Roehampton Gold Cup
by four strokes

By CAROLINE SCALLON
The 82nd Roehampton Gold Cup took place in south-west London on Saturday when a field of 61 players took to the golf course on a very cold, overcast day. A crisp north-easterly wind made the going tough.
The rain just about held off, but winter clothing was the order of the day. The competition standard scratch score rose to 75 for both rounds (par 72).
The Gold Cup was won by Danielle Montgomery, picture right by courtesy of Caroline Scallon, all rights reserved, a professional attached to The Lambourne Club in Buckinghamshire, with a two-round total of 146 (71-75).
She won the £1,000 first prize by four shots from fellow professionals Laura Eastwood (Tavistock) (77-73) and Sarah Heath (Telford Golf & Spa Hotel) (73-77).
The leading amateur was fourth-placed Emilee Taylor from Gainsborough with a total of 151, made up of rounds of 78 and 72. Her reward was a trophy and £400 of John Lewis vouchers.
Dani Montgomery, 23, was born at Southampton and at the age of 12 she and her family moved to Perth, Western Australia.
Returning to England in 2006, she based herself at Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, and became a member of the ELGA squad, representing England in the Home Internationals. In 2007 she came seventh in the ELGA order of merit.
Dani currently plays on the Australian and Asian Tours. She hopes to qualify for the Ladies European Tour and in the meantime is off to America to try to qualify for the US Women's Open. But not before heading to Australia for a fashion shoot!
This was Dani’s second visit to Roehampton and she said that she found the course in great shape and the greens the best since playing in Australia.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72). CSS for amateurs 75 75.
146 D Montgomery (Lambourne) (p) 71 75.
150 L Eastwood (Tavistock) (p) 77 73, S Heath (Telford) (p) 73 77.
151 E Taylor (Gainsborough) (am) 79 71.
153 S Dickens (Thorpe Wood) (p) 73 75, T Holder (Oxford Ladies) (am) 77 76, H Jenkins (Cradoc) (am) 76 77.
154 H Ralph (Cowdray Park) (am) 79 75.
155 K Hutcherson (Porters Park) (p) 76 79.
156 S James (Brstol & Clifton) (am) 83 73, T Boyes (Meon Valley) am) 83 74, T Lovey (p) 78 78. 157 L Diggle (Celtic Manor) (p) 81 76, C Panton-Lewis (Sunningdale Ladies) 80 77, K Rands (Burhill) (am) 79 78, K Fisher (Pinheiros Altos) (p) 77 80, S Attwood (Gog Magog) (am) 77 80, K Knowles (Wentworth) (p) 75 82.
158 Samantha Lovell (Stock Brook Manor) am) 78 80.
159 Sarah-Jane Eaves (The Belfry) (am) 85 74, Kim Morris (Sundridge Park) (am) 81 78, Emma Weeks (Bramshaw) (p) 80 79.
160 Caroline Grady (Dunston Hall) (p) 81 79, Charlotte Hope (Wrotham Heath) (am) 76 84.
161 Vanessa Bell (Clevedon) p) 84 77, Alison Johns (Woodhall Spa) (p) 83 78, Rhian Wyn-Thomas (Vale of Glamorgan) (am) 83 78, Alexandra Keighley (Huddersfield) (p) 81 80.
162 Georgina Hunt (Lewes) (am) 85 77, Joanne Oliver (Langley Park) (p) 82 80.
163 Susan Moon (unatt) (p) 84 79, Jenny Ellis (Notts Ladies) (am) 78 85.
164 Laura Collin (John O'Gaunt) (am) 81 83, Jo Pritchard (Pontypool) (p) 81 83, Harriet Key (South Herts) (am) 80 84.
165 Samantha Round (Tadmarton Heath) (am) 85 80, Lauren Blease (Coombe Hill) (am) 80 85.
166 Jo Hodge (Knowle) (am) 87 79, Rachel Drummond (Beaconsfield) (am) 85 81, Leah Occleshaw (Lansdown) (am) 85 81.
167 Anna Carling (Vale of Glamorgan) (am) 86 81, Elizabeth Over (Forest Pines) (am) 85 82, Tana Churchill (am) 83 84, Melanie Buxton (Canford Magna) (am) 81 86.
169 Lucy Goddard (Mid Herts) (am) 87 82, Gemma Hardie (Forest Pines) am) 85 84, Charlotte Field (Harpenden) (am) 84 85, Fiona Howard (Muswell Hill) (am) 84 85.
170 Georgia Hall (am) 82 88.
171 Hannah Moul (Chelmsford) (am) 88 83, Lucinda Mileham (Aldwickbury Park) (am) 86 85.
172 Esther Strous (Brockett Hall) (p) 86 86.
176 Rachel Ray (am) 87 81.
177 Anne Koychev (Ealing) (am) 90 87.
181 Kenzie McLaren (Wentworth) (am) 92 81.
182 Jenna Kinnear (Belvoir Park) am) 97 81.
180 Emma Carberry (Highwoods) am) 87 93.

2008 Greenless Trophy matches start next week

By CAROL FELL
Next week sees the start of the 2008 West of Scotland Greenlees matches when Largs have a home game against Haggs Castle in the first of the Division 3 matches.
Fiona Roger (Ranfurly Castle) has taken over the running of the Greenlees League from Willeen McCallum (Whitecraigs).
Willeen has run the League for a considerable number of years, and a huge debt of gratitude is due to her, from all participating clubs, for the efficient and friendly way she has carried out the task.
We wish her a happy, stress-free golfing season.
In previous seasons you saw a link on the Renfrewshire Website for the Divisional Totals. However, from now on the main links will be found on the The West of Scotland Ladies Golf News website
In addition to the results you will also find a link to the match dates for all three divisions, a full list of results as they are played and also the full divisional totals.

Lorena Ochoa heading for
another LPGA Tour win

Lorena Ochoa is on schedule for yet another win on the LPGA Tour. The Mexican female equivalent of Tiger Woods has scored 68, 67 and 65 for a 16-under-par tally of 200 and leads the Ginn Open by one shot with one round to go at the Ginn Union Resort, Orlando in Florida.
LEADING SCORES
Par 216 (3 x 72) 6505yd
200 L Ochoa 68 67 65.
201 Yani Tseng 68 64 69.
205 T Lu 67 69 69.
206 C Koch 67 69 70, S Pettersen 68 66 72.
Other scores:
210 K Stupples 70 69 71 (jt 9th).
213 J Moodie 71 71 71 (jt 28th).
215 B Morgan 71 72 72, A Sorenstam 70 73 72 (jt 41st).
217 L Davies 70 74 73 (jt 56th).
219 M McKay 68 75 76.

ANNA SCOTT DROPS AFTER BAD
START AND FINISH IN VIRGINIA

Anna Scott (Georgia State) from Co Durham dropped down to a quadruple tie for fourth place on 149 with a second-round 77 in the Colonial Athletic Association Women's Championship over the par-72, 6150yd Golden Horseshoe course at Williamsburg, Virginia.
Anna, out in 41, had a dreadful start with bogeys at the first three holes followed by a double bogey at the fourth. She rallied with birdies at the fifth, 10th and 14th - bogey at the eighth - but subsided again to a double bogey 7 at the long 18th for 36 home.
Team-mate Claire Starkie from Skipton, West Yorkshire is sharing 10th place on 153 in a field of 50 players with scores of 76 and 77 for 153.
A third Georgia State player, Cathrine Madsen, leads at five-under-par 139 with 70 and 69 and Georgia State also enjoy a one-stroke lead from North Carolina-Wilmington in the teame vent.
LEADING SECOND-ROUND SCORES
Par 144 (2 x 72) 6180yd.
139 Cathrine Madsen (Georgia State) 70 69.
142 Ashley Tait (North Carolina-Wilmington) 69 73.
149 four players tied, including Anna Scott (Georgia State) 72 77.
Other score:
153 Claire Starkie (Georgia State) 76 77.

GEMMA SHARING FIFTH PLACE
IN LADY BUCKEYE TOURNAMENT

Gemma Webster (Ohio State) was sharing fifth place in a field of 72 with one round to go in the Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational college tournament over the Ohio State Scarlett Course (par-72, 6228yd) at Columbus, Ohio.
The Glasgow player has had rounds of 76 and 73 for a 149 tally. Her opening round including double bogey 6s at the 11th and 18th but she avoided them in a more consistent second round.
Gemma birdied the long fourth and nine and dropped shots at the first, eighth and 123th.
Tara Delaney (Kent State) is sharing 14th place on 155 with scores of 80 and 75.
Sara Brown (Michigan State) is leading with 70 and 73 for 143.

LEADING SCORES
Par 144 (2 x 72)
143 Sara Brown (Michigan State) 70 73.
144 Carling Coffing (Ohio State) 67 77.
147 Kira Meixner (Kent State) 72 75.
148 Sara Lester (Penn State) 73 75.
149 Gemma Webster (Ohio State) 76 73, Kirby Dreher (Kent State) 75 74.
Other score:
155 Tara Delaney (Kent State) 80 75 (jt 14th).
LEADING TEAMS
593 Kent State.
603 Ohio State.
607 Northwestern.
613 Michigan State.
12 Teams are taking part.

PAMELA FEGGANS SHARING SECOND
PLACE ON US FUTURES TOUR

Pamela Feggans from Patna, Ayrshire dropped down to a share of second place after the second round of the US Futures Tour's $85,000 Louisiana Pelican Classic at The Wetlands Golf Club, Lafayette, Louisiana.
The Scot, joint first-round leader with a five-under-par 67 over the 6,421yd course, again broke par with a 71 for 138 but that was not good enough to hold at bay the in-form rookie pro teenager from Florida, Vicky Hurst.
Vicky has shot rounds of 70 and 64 for 134. Her eight-under-par second round was a tournament record.
Vikki Laing from Musselburgh survived the 36-hole on 149 cut with ease on 146 with rounds of 75 and 71 to share 40th place.
Londoner Polly Willett missed out with 78 and 77 for 155.

SECOND-ROUND LEADERS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
Players from US unless stated
134 Vicky Hurst 70 64.
138 Pamela Feggans (Sco) 67 71, M J Hur (SKor) 67 71.
140 Kristina Tucker (Swe) 73 67, Onnarin Sattayabanphot (Thai) 69 71, Jin Young Pak (SKor) 69 71.
Other scores:
146 Vikki Laing (Sco) 75 71 (jt 40th).
Missed cut
155 Polly Willett (Eng) 78 77.