Ai Miyazato and her caddie after the third round of the HSBC Women's Champions tournament at Singapore. Below, joint leader Juli Inkster in action. Both images by courtesy of Getty Images/HSBC Women's Champions.

Ai Miyazato eyes second win

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in as many weeks

By Lewine Mair, http://www.hsbcgolf.com/
Juli Inkster and Ai Miyazato, who are sharing the lead on seven under par going into the last round of the HSBC Women's Champions at Tannah Bay Resort's Garden Course, Singapore, could not make for a greater contrast.
Inkster is 49 and has been talking about this year being her last on tour. Miyazato, for her part, is 24 and is only now beginning to reach her potential. Where Inkster has bagged seven majors and a total of 31 LPGA titles, Miyazato notched her first LPGA win at the 2009 Evian. As for her second, that came in Thailand last week as she had a last-round 63 to seize the title from Suzann Pettersen.
Inkster says that if she could come out on top tomorrow, it would be “one of my best wins ever,” partly because she has not won since the 2006 Safeway tournament and partly because her game has been playing up over the last few years.
She was still at odds with her irons at the start of this week but, in practising yesterday evening, she realised that there was a touch of the bad workman blaming his tools. Once she moved the ball forward in her stance, everything fell into place.
Today, she was hitting all her shots well, with her only mistake one of letting a few putts get away.
Asked if she thought her greater experience would tell tomorrow, Inkster was quick to say that she feels like the underdog. “Ai,” she pointed out, “won last week so that experience has to be the more relevant.”
Miyazato, who describes Juli as one of her idols, is no less desperate to get her hands on the trophy. Since the Women’s HSBC Champions is viewed at Asia’s major, she knows that this title would go down well in her homeland.
It was Miyazato who came up with the shot of the day at Tanah Merah, one which detonated a roar to match that of any of the planes taking off at the adjacent Changi Airport. Having driven the green at the 269 yards 16th, she had a swirling putt of 15 meters for the eagle. Stroke perfect and head well down, she was soon breaking into a run as the ball chased towards the hole. “I was so happy,” she said.
If Inkster were to win and to carry on playing good golf throughout the season, she could well have a change of heart about retirement. After all, it was the struggles she was having with her swing which were telling her to call it a day. “It’s when you don’t want to go out there and hit balls that you know that it’s time,” she said.
After yesterday’s good play, the light was back in her eye – and her fans will be hoping that it stays there.
Both Inkster and Miyazato are well aware that they are not free of the pack. Momoko Ueda, Sun Young Yoo, Hee-Won Han and Hee Young Park are all lurking on five under par, with Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr and Yani Tseng one shot further back.
Meanwhile, Michelle Wie gave herself half a chance when she added a 69 to a Thursday 72 and a Friday 73. Where, on Thursday, Wie finished bogey, bogey, she signed off today with a couple of birdies. In other words, with all guns blazing.

Catriona Matthew had a 73 for 221 - 12 shots off the pace.

THIRD-ROUND TOTALS

Par 216 (3x72)

Players from United States unless stated otherwise
209 Ai Miyazato (Japan) 69 71 69, Juli Inkster 70 70 69
211 Sun Young Yoo (South Korea) 70 70 71, Momoko Ueda (Japan) 75 68 68, Hee-Won Han (South Korea) 73 67 71, Hee Young Park (South Korea) 68 74 69
212 Yani Tseng (Taiwan) 74 67 71, Cristie Kerr 68 73 71, Suzann Pettersen (Norway) 70 70 72
213 Vicky Hurst 73 71 69, Na Yeon Choi (South Korea) 73 69 71, In-Kyung Kim (South Korea) 70 72 71, Sakura Yokomine (Japan) 73 71 69, Angela Stanford 68 71 74
214 Lindsey Wright (Australia) 72 71 71, Karrie Webb (Australia) 70 72 72, Amy Yang 73 70 71, Song-Hee Kim (South Korea) 69 70 75, Maria Hjorth (Swe) 73 70 71, Inbee Park (South Korea) 72 73 69, Jee Young Lee (South Korea) 73 73 68, Michelle Wie 72 73 69, Jiyai Shin (South Korea) 71 71 72
215 Mika Miyazato (Japan) 73 72 70, Katherine Hull (Australia) 71 72 72
216 Anna Nordqvist (Sweden) 73 73 70, Brittany Lincicome 71 73 72, Hwa seon Lee (South Korea) 73 71 72, Shanshan Feng (China) 74 72 70
217 Sophie Gustafson (Sweden) 69 74 74
218 Chie Arimura (Japan) 74 74 70, Stacy Prammanasudh 73 71 74, Se Ri Pak (South Korea) 74 74 70, Eunjung Yi (South Korea) 72 74 72, Meaghan Francella 72 74 72, Kristy McPherson 70 77 71
219 Meena Lee (South Korea) 75 70 74, Nicole Castrale 77 74 68, Candie Kung (Taiwan) 71 76 72, Christina Kim 69 75 75, Kyeong Bae (South Korea) 73 76 70
220 Shinobu Moromizato (Japan) 74 72 74, Teresa Lu (Taiwan) 72 74 74, Morgan Pressel 74 73 73, Lorena Ochoa (Mexico) 68 79 73, Helen Alfredsson (Sweden) 78 70 72, Stacy Lewis 76 71 73
221 Catriona Matthew (Scotland) 73 75 73, Soo-Yun Kang (South Korea) 77 72 72
222 Angela Park (Brazil) 76 69 77
223 Natalie Gulbis 73 77 73, M.J. Hur (South Korea) 73 74 76
225 Jimin Kang (South Korea) 77 75 73, Eun Hee Ji (South Korea) 77 72 76, Brittany Lang 76 72 77
226 Pat Hurst 78 74 74, Bo-Bae Song (South Korea) 80 72 74, Sandra Gal (Germany) 73 77 76
227 Ji-Young Oh (South Korea) 74 77 76, Wendy Ward 75 77 75
229 Michele Redman 74 79 76
232 Amanda Blumenherst 77 76 79
245 Joey Poh (Singapore) 82 80 83

First-time leader Sarah Kemp has Big

Laura on her tail in NZ Women's Open

FROM THE STUFF.CO.NZ GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Sarah Kemp has never led into the final round of a professional golf tournament before, but the 24-year-old Australian is keenly awaiting the challenge in the final round of the women's New Zealand Open at Pegasus Golf Club, Christchurch tomorrow, even if she is being stalked by one of the legends of the game in England's Laura Davies.
After a day third round the field was almost brought to its knees by a strong winds, Kemp, pictured above, is six-under par on 210, after shooting a two-over 74 today. That leaves her one clear of Davies, who carded 71, with a further shot to Wales' Becky Brewerton.
Considering that American Diana D'Alessio led the field through two rounds at nine under, the strength of the wind, which grew as the day progressed, turned a pleasant morning stroll into a battle for survival. Only 16 players bettered par today, almost all with early morning starts.
Kemp is better equipped than most to handle coastal windy conditions, having learned her game at the New South Wales Golf Club but even she struggled in today's buffeting conditions.
"I didn't think I kept my focus at all well and didn't feel if I played well, but I hung in there for my two over," Kemp said.
Kemp found the wind affected her putting most.
"I would stand over the ball and it would start to shake. It was causing me to change my routine and I shouldn't have done that. I just have to stand over the ball and be confident."
Kemp had to be mentally strong to keep from being affected by the woes of her playing companions. Overnight leader D'Alessio dropped seven shots in six holes - between the 12th and 17th - in her round of 79 while South African Ashleigh Simon dropped eight shots between the 11th and 16th in her 78.
"I'm heading to the putting green for 20 minutes just to hear the ball dropping into the cup. It will be easy to wipe out today and concentrate on tomorrow," Kemp said.
Whereas tomorrow is new ground for Kemp, it is not the case for Davies, who is in good touch after three weeks in Australia and one in Thailand as preparation for this tournament.
"I started off well with four birdies and two three-putt bogeys, which was disappointing, and was cruising, but we turned into the wind on the eighth and it was a different ball game," Davies said.
"I was swinging pretty well to be honest, but just had to concentrate on making pars, but even that was difficult."
To show the magnitude of the wind, Davies hit an eight iron 211m through the green on the 18th, while on the 475m par-five 16th she hit driver, three iron, three iron compared with driver, four iron, sand iron the day before.
"Hopefully it will be a fine day tomorrow and the good crowds will be able to see players shooting birdies, not just surviving," she said.
Heading the New Zealand charge is Wellington's Sarah Nicholson and 12-year-old amateur Lydia Ko on one-under 215 and in a tie for 11th after rounds of 74 and 71 respectively. Cecilia Cho, the third New Zealander to survive the cut, shot a 76 and is tied for 44th.
Krystle Caithness had a 72 for 218 and fellow-Scot Lynn Kenny a 72 for 219.

ALL THE THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72). Players from Australia unless stated otherwise
210 Sarah Kemp 69 67 74
211 Laura Davies (Eng) 69 71 71
212 Becky Brewerton (Wal) 72 69 71
213 Marianne Skarpnord (Nor) 65 73 75, You-na Park (Kor) 73 69 71, Lorie Kane (Can) 73 66 74, Nina Reis (Swe) 72 70 71
214 Georgina Simpson (Eng) 78 69 67, Diana D'Alessio (USA) 67 68 79, Mina Harigae (USA) 73 73 68
215 Tamara Beckett 71 70 74, Linda Wessberg (Swe) 72 70 73, Hye youn Kim (Kor) 73 69 73, Lydia Ko (Nzl) 71 73 71, Stefanie Michl (Aut) 71 69 75, Caroline Rominger (Swi) 73 72 70, Iben Tinning (Den) 73 71 71, Bettina Hauert (Ger) 75 70 70, Cecilie Lundgreen (Nor) 71 73 71, Sarah Nicholson (Nzl) 71 70 74
216 Karen Lunn 76 71 69, Ashleigh Simon (Rsa) 68 70 78, Beth Allen (USA) 73 69 74, Florentyna Parker (Eng) 72 75 69, An-na Oh (Kor) 68 74 74, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 73 71 72
217 Becky Morgan (Wal) 73 74 70, Dewi Schreefel (USA) 69 72 76, Louise Stahle (Swe) 74 67 76, Alison Walshe (USA) 72 72 73
218 Taylor Leon (USA) 72 75 71, Hannah Ralph (Eng) 73 75 70, Pernilla Lindberg (Swe) 73 70 75, Christel Boeljon (Ned) 73 73 72, Krystle Caithness (Sco) 74 72 72, Kristie Smith 68 76 74
219 Hazel Kavanagh (Irl) 74 70 75, Lynn Kenny (Sco) 76 71 72, Rebecca Flood 71 71 77, Katie Futcher (USA) 72 71 76, Sarah Oh (Kor) 71 72 76, Leanne Bowditch 74 71 74, Emma Cabrera Bello (Spa) 74 73 72
220 Wendy Doolan 73 69 78, Kym Larratt (Eng) 72 74 74, Rebecca Coakley (Irl) 72 74 74, Lydia Hall (Wal) 76 70 74, Sophie Giquel (Fra) 71 72 77, Lee-Anne Pace (Rsa) 72 74 74, Cecilia Cho (Nzl) 73 71 76, Sarah-jane Smith 72 73 75, Mi-sun Cho (Kor) 74 71 75
221 Jane Park (USA) 76 69 76, Azahara Munoz (Spa) 71 73 77, Melissa Reid (Eng) 73 74 74, Rebecca Hudson (Eng) 73 75 73
222 Sophie Walker (Eng) 73 75 74, Katy Jarochowicz 76 71 75, Leah Hart 74 73 75, Bree Turnbull 71 73 78, Nicole Montgomery 77 71 74
223 Jessica Noh 72 76 75
224 Joanne Mills 75 69 80, Kate Combes 71 75 78, Elizabeth Bennett (Eng) 72 73 79
225 Danielle Bowers (Eng) 74 74 77
226 Caroline Afonso (Fra) 75 71 80

Irish find a way to give cash aid to THEIR

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aspiring male and female professionals

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FROM THE IRISH LADIES GOLF UNION WEBSITE
The Team Ireland Golf Trust this week announced grants totalling €217,000 to 17 aspiring male and female golfers who are pursuing their careers on professional golf tours.
Among the golfers receiving the top award of €20,000 are Alison Walshe, Tara Delaney and Martina Gillen.
Walshe, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, from Co Galway, who has a card on both the Ladies European Tour and LPGA in the United States, has decided to represent Ireland in the professional ranks after having competed as an amateur for the USA in the Curtis Cup match at St Andrews in 2008.
Delaney and Gillen will both play on the Ladies European Tour in 2010. Rebecca Coakley and Hazel Kavanagh will also receive grants of €15,000 to assist their campaigns on the Ladies European Tour and their efforts to qualify for the European Solheim Cup Team in 2011.
Irish golf enjoyed another very successful year in 2009. Team Ireland golfers made their mark with another series of successful performances on the major golf tours.
The Team Ireland Golf Trust, which is unique in Europe, plays an essential part in the development of professional golfers at the start of their tour careers, given the lack of commercial sponsorship.
The impact of these golfers in recent years is also a tribute to the excellent work of the ILGU and GUI in improving the standards of golf in Ireland. The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr Martin Cullen TD, welcomed the allocation of the grants:
"I welcome the great work the Golf Trust has done over the years to assist and encourage talented young golfers to make the transition from amateur to professional international status. Without the initial financial assistance given to them, many of our successful international golfers would not have reached the successes they have achieved.
"Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley and Shane Lowry are among those who have benefited from the Trust. Padraig was a grant recipient from the original Golf Trust for a number of years, at the time when he was an amateur, and he has often talked of what a great help these grants were to him in his early career.
"I wish the Golf Trust every success as they further develop the talent of our young golfers pursuing their professional careers and, adding significantly, to our country's golf tourism profile abroad."
As part of the Trust’s support package, all golfers can avail of the world-class facilities at the GUI’s National Academy at Carton House. The golfers on the Trust scheme also have free access to the network of service providers such as physiologists, sports psychologists, biomechanists, physiotherapists, and doctors offered by the Irish Sports Council to the athletes on the International Carding Scheme.
Alison Walshe, reacting to her award, commented; “I am thrilled to receive this generous grant from the Golf Trust. I’m starting to play an extensive LET schedule this week in New Zealand and am really honoured to do it as a member of Team Ireland. One of my chief goals is to represent our country in the 2011 Solheim Cup and this support will help tremendously.”
This is the eleventh year of the Trust, which has provided €2.5 million in financial support to golfers to date. The Trust, which is administered by the Irish Sport Council, aims to contribute to an increase in the presence of Irish golf professionals on the various international tours.
It is a partnership between state agencies and the various golf organisations. Financial backing for the Trust is provided by the Irish Sports Council, Fáilte Ireland and the PGA European Tour.
Trust Chairman Padraig O’Huiginn stated: “The Trust was established with a very specific goal in mind, increasing the number of Irish golfers competing and winning on the top tours and hence promoting Ireland, north and south, as a golf destination.
"The proof of the success of the scheme is the presence of many successful Irish golfers in international competition. This brings enormous benefits to the game at home, not least by highlighting Ireland as an important golf tourism destination.”
Established players on the main European Tour, who have benefited from the Trust, are Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley, Peter Lawrie, Damien McGrane, Gary Murphy, Michael Hoey, Gareth Maybin and Shane Lowry.
The Irish PGA, the Golfing Union of Ireland, and the Irish Ladies Golf Union, along with the state agencies are represented on the Team Ireland Golf Trust committee, which is chaired by Mr. O’Huiginn. John Treacy, CEO of the Irish Sports Council commented
“Irish golf is enjoying a period of unprecedented success. The Trust has played a major part in that success by providing support for top amateur players as they embark on careers as touring professionals”.
Team Ireland Golf Trust Grants 2010
Total €217,000
Jonathan Caldwell, Co Down (Challenge Tour) €15,000
Rebecca Coakley, Co Carlow (Ladies European Tour) €15,000
Tara Delaney, Co Carlow (Ladies European Tour) €20,000
Martina Gillen, Co Cavan (Ladies European Tour) €20,000
Hazel Kavanagh, Dublin (Ladies European Tour) €15,000
Niall Kearney, Dublin (Challenge Tour) €15,000
Richard Kilpatrick, Co Down (Alps Tour/Challenge Tour) €7,000
Brian McElhinney, Co Donegal (Europro Tour/Challenge Tour) €7,000
Michael McGeady, Co Donegal (Challenge Tour) €10,000
Colm Moriarty, Co Westmeath (Challenge Tour) €10,000
Paul O’Hanlon, Co Kildare (Europro Tour/Challenge Tour) €7,000
Peter O’Keeffe, Co Cork (Europro Tour/Challenge Tour) €7,000
Gareth Shaw, Co Antrim (Challenge Tour) €15,000
Simon Thornton, Co Down (European Tour) €20,000
Barrie Trainor, Co Down (Europro Tour/Challenge Tour) €7,000
Niall Turner, Co Cork (Europro Tour/Challenge Tour) €7,000
Alison Walshe, USA & Co Galway (Ladies European Tour) €20,000

Any comments? E-mail them to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Fifteen players from Britain and Ireland in

field for next week's Spanish amateur

Scotland (4), England (4), Wales (4) and Ireland (3) make up an entry of 15 players to the Spanish women's open amateur championship at Club de Golf Platja de Pals near Girona in North-east Spain next week.
Whereas the Portuguese women's open amateur championship on the Algarve a few weeks back was four rounds of stroke-play, the "Spanish" format is two rounds of stroke-play to produce 32 qualifiers for match-play.
The championship starts on Wednesday and finishes with an 18-hole final on the morning of Sunday, March 7.
Bidding for an Iberian double is Spain's Anna Arrese, a +3 player who won the Portuguese women's open amateur.
The GB&I entries with their handicaps are:
SCOTLAND
Kelsey MacDonald +2
Louise Kenney +1.8
Laura Murray +1.2
*Lauren Mackin 1.2

ENGLAND
Rachel Jennings +2.6
Hannah Barwood +2.3
Charlotte Ellis +1.6
Charlie Douglass +0.8

IRELAND
Danielle McVeigh +2.5
Aedin Murphy +0.3
Clara Butler 1.6

WALES
Katherine O'Connor +1.4
Amy Boulden 0.4
Tara Davies 1.0
Gemma Bradbury 1.1

*Lauren Mackin's mother has informed the Editor that her daughter is a "recreational golfer" who "would never be able to play for Scotland because she lives in Spain." Majorca-based Lauren played well in the Orange Blossom Tour in Florida last month. She is a former Balearic Isles girl champion.

Ladies Asian Tour Scoreboard
THAILAND LADIES OPEN
Vintage Club, Samutprakarn, Thailand
FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
211 Jung Lee Min (Kor) 71 69 71
213 Yu-Ling Hsien (Tpe) 74 69 70
214 Russamee Gulyanamitta (Tha) 72 73 69, Pornanong Phatlum (Tha) 74 70 70, Chang-Hee Lee (Kor) 70 71 73
215 Pei Tsai Ying (Tpe) 74 70 71, Hae Kim Jung (Kor) 73 71 71, Min Nam Ji (Kor) 67 75 73
217 Nontaya Srisawang (Tha) 76 71 70
218 Bo-Mi Suh (Kor) 78 70 70, Ha Choi Young (Kor) 72 75 71, Ornthana Chuenarrom (Tha) 73 73 72, Patcharachuta Kongkapan (Tha) 72 73 73, Tiffany Tavee (USA) 72 72 74
219 A-Ram Cho (Kor) 74 73 72, Tao Yang Li (Chn) 72 75 72, Ji Nam Min (Kor) 73 71 75
220 Hyun-Jin Park 2 (Kor) 73 75 72, Onnarin Sattayabanphot (Tha) 74 73 73, Tzu-Chi Lin (Tpe) 72 74 74
221 Virada Nirapatpongporn (Tha) 74 73 74, Hyun Byun Min (Kor) 76 70 75
222 Da Kim Na (Kor) 76 74 72, Mi Lee Rim (Kor) 74 73 75, Eun Lee Kyoung (Kor) 74 73 75
223 Tiranun Yoopan (Tha) 77 75 71, So Kim Young2 (Kor) 75 75 73, Jaruporn Palakawong (Tha) 72 75 76
224 Solar Lee (Kor) 78 75 71, Xiao Zhong Long (Chn) 78 74 72, Hye-Min Kim (Kor) 79 71 74
225 Hyun Kim Kyung (Kor) 74 77 74, Porani Chutichai (Tha) 71 78 76, I Chen Wen (Tpe) 73 76 76, Chie Sakai (Jpn) 77 71 77, Libby Smith (USA) 73 76 76, Praewnapa Phol-Uayporn (Tha) 74 74 77, Sahra Hassan (Wales) 75 73 77
226 Lidya Jaya Ivana Ina 73 76 77
227 Atsuko Sato (Jpn) 81 72 74, Mina Nakayama (Jpn) 74 77 76
228 Samantha Richdale (Can) 77 76 75, Ming Chen Yen (Tpe) 76 77 75, Wannasiri Sirisampant (Tha) 78 74 76, Emiko Tsuji (Jpn) 78 74 76, Tzu Kuo Chen (Tpe) 72 79 77, Janya Morakotphan (Tha) 75 75 78
229 Thidapa Suwannapura (Tha) 76 77 76, Bo Park Mi (Kor) 75 78 76, Min Kang Joo (Kor) 77 75 77, Momoe Kunimoto (Jpn) 79 72 78, Makoto Nagai (Jpn) 76 74 79, Kai Su Yun (Tpe) 72 75 82
230 Xiao Wei Rong (Chn) 78 75 77
234 Bo Lee Ri (Kor) 75 77 82
237 Miyuki Mitsuyama (Jpn) 75 78 84

Caithness and Kenny survive but Laing misses NZ Open cut

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
American Diana D'Alessio carded a second-round 68 to claim a one-shot lead on nine-under-par 135 after 36 holes of the New Zealand Women's Open at Pegasus Golf Club, Christchurch.
Australian Sarah Kemp is one shot adrift at the halfway stage following a 67.
A shot further back are South African Ashleigh Simon and overnight leader Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord, whose 73 was eight shots more than her outstanding first round.
Leading the British challenge is veteran Laura Davies with 69 and 71 for four-under-par 140.
Twelve-year-old Lydia Ko carded a 73 and stands at level par.
To survive the two-round cut, players had to score four-over par 148 or better.
Krystle Caithness (74-72: 146) and Lynn Kenny (76-71: 147) made it with a shot or two to spare but the third Scot in the field, Vikki Laing from Musselburgh, missed out by one shot with scores of 73 and 73 for 149.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
Players from Australia unless stated otherwise.
135 Diana D'Alessio (US) 67 68
136 Sarah Kemp 69 67
138 Marianne Skarpnord (Nor) 65 73, Ashleigh Simon (Rsa) 68 70
139 Lorie Kane (Can) 73 66
140 Stefanie Michl (Aut) 71 69, Laura Davies (Eng) 69 71
141 Tamara Beckett 71 70, Dewi Schreefel (USA) 69 72, Becky Brewerton (Wal) 72 69, Louise Stahle (Swe) 74 67, Sarah Nicholson (Nzl) 71 70
142 Linda Wessberg (Swe) 72 70, Wendy Doolan 73 69, You-na Park (Kor) 73 69, Hye youn Kim (Kor) 73 69, Beth Allen (USA) 73 69, Rebecca Flood 71 71, Nina Reis (Swe) 72 70, An-na Oh (Kor) 68 74
143 Sophie Giquel (Fra) 71 72, Pernilla Lindberg (Swe) 73 70, Sarah Oh (Kor) 71 72, Katie Futcher (USA) 72 71
144 Hazel Kavanagh (Irl) 74 70, Bree Turnbull 71 73, Cecilia Cho (Nzl) 73 71, Lydia Ko (Nzl) 71 73, Kristie Smith 68 76, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 73 71, Iben Tinning (Den) 73 71, Joanne Mills 75 69, Azahara Munoz (Spa) 71 73, Alison Walshe (USA) 72 72, Cecilie Lundgreen (Nor) 71 73
145 Caroline Rominger (Swi) 73 72, Jane Park (USA) 76 69, Bettina Hauert (Ger) 75 70, Elizabeth Bennett (Eng) 72 73, Sarah-Jane Smith 72 73, Leanne Bowditch 74 71, Mi-sun Cho (Kor) 74 71
146 Kym Larratt (Eng) 72 74, Kate Combes 71 75, Rebecca Coakley (Irl) 72 74, Lee-Anne Pace (Rsa) 72 74, Krystle Caithness (Scotland) 74 72, Caroline Afonso (Fra) 75 71, Lydia Hall (Wal) 76 70, Christel Boeljon (Ned) 73 73, Mina Harigae (US) 73 73
147 Karen Lunn 76 71, Taylor Leon (US) 72 75, Katy Jarochowicz 76 71, Melissa Reid (Eng) 73 74, Emma Cabrera Bello (Spa) 74 73, Georgina Simpson (Eng) 78 69, Leah Hart 74 73, Becky Morgan (Wal) 73 74, Lynn Kenny (Scotland) 76 71, Florentyna Parker (Eng) 72 75
148 Sophie Walker (Eng) 73 75, Hannah Ralph (Eng) 73 75, Jessica Noh 72 76, Nicole Montgomery 77 71, Danielle Bowers (Eng) 74 74, Rebecca Hudson (Eng) 73 75.

MISSED THE CUT
149 Virginine Lagoutte-Clement (Fra) 75 74, Vikki Laing (Scotland) 76 73, Rachel Bailey (Eng) 76 73, Hanee Song (Nzl) 75 74, Martina Eberl (Ger) 74 75, Ursula Wikstrom (Fin) 74 75, Cathryn Bristow (Nzl) 74 75, Lisa Wright (Nzl) 80 69
150 Vicky Hermina Thomas 73 77, Caroline Bon (Nzl) 78 72, Anna-Lise Caudal (Fra) 74 76
151 Frances Bondad 70 81, Tania Elosegui (Spa) 73 78, Nikki Garrett 77 74, Marjet Van Der Graaff (Ned) 72 79, Susan c Farron (Nzl) 75 76, Bree Arthur (Aut) 80 71, Melanie Bryden 74 77, Stacey Keating 75 76, Zoe Brake (Nzl) 71 80, Jessica Ji (Kor) 82 69, Stephanie Na 77 74
152 Felicity Johnson (Eng) 74 78, Stacy Tate (Nzl) 80 72, Hanna-Leena Salonen (Fin) 76 76, Jenni Kuosa (Fin) 76 76, Ju young Park (Kor) 72 80
153 Tandi Cuningham (Rsa) 75 78, Rebecca Green 81 72, Dana Lacey 79 74, Sunwoo Bea (Nzl) 76 77, Jody Fleming 76 77
154 Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin) 77 77, Polly Travica 75 79, Elizabeth McKinnon (NZ) 79 75, Jane Kim (Kor) 78 76, Carmen Alonso (Spa) 78 76
155 Charlotte Brooks (Nzl) 75 80, Laurette Maritz (Rsa) 79 76, Clare Choi 80 75, Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha) 73 82
156 Mianne Bagger (Den) 76 80, Karen l Pearce 76 80, Julie Greciet (Fra) 77 79, Catherine Knight (Nzl) 78 78
157 Verity Knight 84 73, Donna Southam 78 79, Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa) 77 80, Kasey Henshaw 77 80
158 Kerrin Starr (Nzl) 78 80, Wendy Hawkes (Nzl) 74 84
159 Helen Oh 78 81, Emily Perry (Nzl) 78 81, Sunny Park 79 80
160 Becky Walsh (Nzl) 82 78
162 Corinne Furnell 81 81, Karen Quinn 83 79
163 Ludivine Kreutz (Fra) 78 85
167 Rica Tse (Nzl) 78 89, Lynn Shaskey (Nzl) 87 80
168 Phillis Meti (Nzl) 80 88
170 Angela Hawkes (Nzl) 81 89
Retired: 89 Jesse Hamilton (Nzl)

Kam Cheema, from the Redlibbets Golf Club, Kent, winner of the Murcia Senior Ladies' Open title at the 3rd Hacienda del Alamo Women's & Girls Festival, receives her prize from Steve Haskins, the Hacienda del Alamo Golf Club captain.
Apologies to Kam for not displaying this picture at the time the scores were "posted," but this particular picture was not made available to the Editor.

Message from Kam to Tournament Controller Lee Harrington and his helpers:

"Thank you for all the hard work you put in to making this lovely tournament run smoothly, despite the unusually bad weather! As with last year, it was thoroughly enjoyable, well organised, couldn’t fault it and Lee looked after us all very well, much appreciated!

"The new format spread out over a longer period with a rest day in the middle was also a good idea, as was the Stableford format for us seniors."

+If you played at the 3rd Hacienda del Alamo Festival and want to make any comments, particularly suggestions as to how the week can be improved in 2011, please E-mail your observations to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Catriona Matthew trails by nine shots in HSBC Women's Champions

Inkster on heels of leaders at half-way stage

By LEWINE MAIR http://www.hsbcgolf.com/
Angela Stanford, who is lying on five under par with Song-Hee Kim going into the third round of the HSBC Women’s Champions, is not remotely surprised that the 49-year-old Juli Inkster is among those lurking just one shot off the lead at the Singapore venue.
“I don’t know Tiger Woods but I’ve always said that Juli is the most competitive player of them all,” said Stanford.
The Solheim Cup golfer noted that the 71 she tacked to her opening 68 featured two halves – 33 and 38 - which were every bit as different as the figures would suggest. There was a thoroughly disconcerting wind on the back nine and one which contributed to the bad decisions she made at the 14th and 18th. On each occasion, her shot to the green veered off course and she failed to get down in a chip and a putt.
“I’m disappointed,” she admitted. “If you have the opportunity to create a bit of space between you and the rest you should always take it. I didn’t.”
Kim had the homeward half Stanford would have wanted – namely, a one-under-par 35 for the 70 which lifted her to five under. This Korean has an ice-cool exterior but insists that her emotions will often come to the surface, if not quite to the same extent as those of a Christina Kim.
Inkster was not raving about her four-under tally. Not by any means. Having started with a couple of birdies, she signed off with two bogeys, partly because of the wind and partly because she is not yet on the best of terms with her new irons.
When, because of the new rules pertaining to grooves, she had to change her clubs, there were no shafts to match her old ones. “My three-quarter shots are going as far as full shots and I’ve got no idea how far I’m hitting the thing.” she complained.
At the 17th, she missed the green when she had nothing more than a nine-iron in hand while, when it came to the last, she miscued with a seven iron to leave herself with arguably the most unappetising chip that the hole has to offer.
Her ball ran past the flag and she duly missed the three-footer which would have seen her sitting alongside Stanford and Kim.
Asked for the secret to her golfing longevity, Inkster laughingly suggested that it could be “stupidity”. In fact, she loves what she does. Having started golf later than most and never having had anyone chasing her out to play or practise, she finds that the fun has stayed firmly in place.
A happily married mother of two, she says that her balanced lifestyle is probably another factor. “I don’t care over-much about my golf and I certainly don’t take it home with me any more.”
Last year, when she played in what was her eighth Solheim Cup, Inkster said it was her last. Stanford is just one player out here who is even now urging her to try for the team next year in Ireland.
Michelle Wie was dragged down by an early double-bogey in her second round and eventually signed off for the day at one over par for the tournament. That, though, paled into insignificance as against what happened to Lorena Ochoa. Having opened with a 68, the World No. 1 plummeted to a 79 in which her back nine took in three bogeys and a watery triple-bogey.
SCOREBOARD TO COME

David Patterson finishes 2nd in
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Pirate Invitational in Georgia

David Patterson from Liverpool, a 21-year-old third-year student at Armstrong Atlantic State University at Savannah, Georgia, finished second in his own college's open tournament, the Pirate Invitational at Southbridge Golf Club.
Over a par-72 course of 6,922yd, David, pictured right, had scores of 71 and 70 to finish one shot behind the winner, Ben Lasso (Queens University of Charleston) with scores of 73 and 67 for 140. The field had 54 players.
There were nine teams in the team event won by Flagler College with a total of 577, one ahead of Armstrong Atlantic State.
Meanwhile, in the St Edwards Invitational college competition at Grey Rock Golf Club, Austin, Texas, three English students at Western Texas College, Snyder in Texas, were among the field.
Elliot Groves, a sophomore student from Southampton, did best with a joint 21st place finish on 153 with scores of 78 and 75 over the par-761, 6,842yd course.
Nick Flynn, a freshman from Surrey, shared 38th place on 157 with a 78 and a 79.
James Price, a sophomore from Great Yarmouth, finished joint 52nd on 160 with scores of 77 and 83.
St Edwards University (597) won their own event, four shots ahead of Dallas Baptist with Arkansas-Fort Smth (603) third and Western Texas (610) fourth of 11 teams.

July 29 date for West Kilbride Under-21 girls' open

The West Kilbride Golf Club Under-21 girls open will this year be played on Thursday, July 29.
Keith Howie, one of the organisers, explained: "We were encouraged by a good entry last year despite a clash with St Andrews Girls Golf Week. This year we have moved to Thursday, July 29, which seems relatively clear.
The event has trophies for pre-handicap, handicap and scratch categories, presented in turn by County Girls Convenor June Kerr, local bakery The Kandy Bar and ex SLGA President Nancy Chisholm MBE.
The pre-handicap girls will play nine holes in an adaptation of Wee Wonders format and then will staff a marquee dispensing cakes and soft drinks while the main body of the field passes through.
Hoping to defend their titles will be
Pre handicap - Lindsay Montgomery (West Kilbride)
Handicap - Mirren Fraser (Powfoot)
Scratch - Emma Hale (Troon Ladies)

Entry forms from the Club or by email request to khnextlevel@aol.com

...

US COLLEGE CIRCUIT SUMMARY

Latimer joint second in Old

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North State Collegiate

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Scottish students had varying degrees of success in tournaments on the US college golf circuit this week.
Peter Latimer, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, from Markinch, a quarter-finalist at last year's Scottish amateur championship at Royal Troon and a senior-year student at Guilford College, Greensboro in North Carolina, finished joint second in a field of 71 for the Old North State Collegiate tournament at Old North State Club, New London in North Carolina.
Peter had rounds of 76 and 73 for a total of 149 over a long course of 7,102yd with a par of 72. He finished eight shots behind the runaway winner, Jason Garrett (Lenoir-Rhyne) who had rounds of 70 and 71 for 141. Cameron Fields (Pfeiffer) tied with Latimer for second place with scores of 76 and 73
Further down the field David McGregor, son of the former world-class swimmer Bobby McGregor, came joint 19th on 158 with scores of 74 and 84. David, from Helensburgh, is a sophomore (second year) student at Post University in New York State.

Other Post University students from Britain, Thomas Rees a freshman from Wales, and Lee Wanklyn, a senior from Berkshire, and Gavin Wilson, a sophomore from Ladybank, finished joint 43rd, joint 48th and joint 63rd respectively.

Rees shot 86 and 79 for 165; Wanklyn 84 and 82 for 166, and Wilson 87 and 86 for 173.
Peter Latimer's effort helped Guilford College win the team event by six shots from Lenoir-Rhyne and Pfeiffer. Post University finished seventh on nine teams, some 34 shots behind Guilford.
Scott Crichton from Dalgety Bay, a senior year student at Western New Mexico University, finished fourth in the CSUB Elco Invitational college event at Seven Oaks Country Club, Bakersfield in California.
Scott, runner-up in last year's Scottish youths championship, had rounds of 75, 70 and 70 for a total of 215 over the par-72 course of 7,079yd.
He finished six shots behind the winner, Kyle Morrison (California State) who scored 69, 69 and 71 for 209.

Morrison won by five shots from joint runners-up Jonathan Cockerill (CSU Stanislaus) and Patrick Vauer (Sonoma State).
One of Crichton's team-mates, junior year student Steven Maxwell from Glasgow, finished 26th in a field of 65 players. He had scores of 76, 72 and 79 for 227. Western New Mexico finished fourth of 12 teams.
Former Scotland boy international Stuart Ballingall from Norwich, a freshman student at Missouri University, tied for ninth place in a field of 75 players at the WSU Snowman Getaway college tournament at Whirlwind Golf Club, Chandler in Arizona.
Over a very long course of 7,334yd with a par of 72, Stuart had creditable scores of 74, 71 and 75 for 220. Ballingall, who won his very first US college event last autumn, finished nine shots behind the winner, Brett Iliff (Missouri-Kansas City) who scored 70, 71 and 70 for 211, to head the field by two shots. One of Iliff's team-mates, Alex Hogben from Manchester, finished joint 20th of 226 with scores of 77, 76 and 73.

Washington State (871) wont he team event ahead of Missouri (878) and Idaho (879) with UMKC third of 13 teams on 883.
Michael Stewart (East Tennessee State University), winner of the Scottish boys' match-play championship at Southerness in 2008, finished joint 32nd in a field of 75 at the Puerto Rico Classic college tournament at Rio Mar Golf Club, Rio Grande.
Stewart had rounds of 76, 70 and 71 for a total of 217 over a par-72 course of 6,902yd.
Kevin Tway (Oklahoma State) won with a 17-under-par total of 199 with great rounds of 65, 68 and 66, winning by three shots from Cody Gribble (Texas) (67-65-70).

Other East Tennessee State students in the field were Seamus Power from Waterford (jt 13th on 210 with scores of 68-74-68); Rhys Enoch from Cornwall (jt 53rd on 222 with 77-70-785) and Paul O'Kane from Castledawson, Northern Ireland (jt 59th with scores of 71-80-74 for 225).

Texas (822) won the team title ahead of Oklahoma State (828) and Clemson (843). East Tennessee State (859) finished eight in a field of 15 teams.

James Taverner (Southeastern Louisiana) finished joint 46th in the Mardis Gras Invitational at TPC of Louisiana, Avondale in Louisiana. James had rounds of 75, 72 and 84 over a par-72 course of 6,931yd, finishing 24 shots behind the six-stroke winner, Alex Ching (San Diego) with scores of 64, 75 and 69.

Alex Banham from Peterborough jt 12th in Florida

In the Jacksonville University Women's Classic at Hidden Hills Country Club in Florida, Alex Banham (Stetson University), a junior student from Peterborough, finished joint 12th in a field of 60 players with a pair of 78s for a total of 156 over the par-72, 6,003yd course.

She finished 12 shots behind the winner, Mitsuki Katahira (Daytona State) with scores of 73 and 71 for 144, to have two strokes to spare at the head of a field of 60 players.

Dayton State (596) won the team title ahead of Stetson (610) with Cincinnati (625) third of 11 teams.

San Diego (870) won the team title by three shots from North Carolina State.

Lorena Ochoa in action in Singapore (by courtesy of Getty Images/HSBC Women's Champions).

Four share lead on four-under 68 in heat of Singapore

By Lewine Mair, http://www.hsbcgolf.com/
Lorena Ochoa, Angela Stanford, Cristie Kerr and Hee Young Park all returned 68s to top a thrillingly-cluttered leaderboard at the end of the first day of the Women’s HSBC Champions in Singapore.
Each of the leaders felt differently about her four-under-par tally. Ochoa, who won here in 2008, was happy with the score but irritated with a series of miscued shots to the greens. Stanford was concerned about her shape of shot - left to right. “Usually for me that spells danger,” she said, before heading for the range.
Kerr, meantime, was conscious of the need to stick with “the boring golf” which made for her inward 31. “Boring golf is good golf,” she advised. “When I try to be too perfect, as I did at the start, it doesn’t work.”
Only Park had one of those days which left her with absolutely nothing to worry about. On Wednesday she amassed as many as nine birdies in the pro-am round, with her party winning the event by a little matter of 12 shots. Her gleeful partners advised, “Keep up the good work tomorrow” and she duly did, making only two birdies fewer. “I was so confident when I went to the first tee,” she said.
Having found Singapore too hot and the course too difficult last year, Park trained over the winter with this event in mind, spending long hours in the gym and on her course management. She was in the enviable position of never noticing the heat today, while she was always putting herself in “position A” on what everyone sees as a difficult course.
Though Park does not have an LPGA title under her belt, she has shown steady signs of improvement. Where, in 2008, her rookie season, she had four top ten finishes, she last year upped that tally to six.
Though heat was definitely a factor for most of the day, the later starters were troubled rather more by a playful wind which turned parasols inside-out and sent hats flying.
Michelle Wie, who attracted a large and admiring gallery for what was her first round on Singapore soil, missed each of the last two greens in these feisty conditions to finish bogey, bogey for a level-par 72. The Stanford student was frustrated but acknowledged that she had hit enough good shots over the day to escape with her confidence intact.
Christina Kim led the way at 8.40 this morning and started the tournament in style…Kim style. There was an emerald green back-to-front beret, a multi-coloured shirt and orange shorts. “It’s not what you wear but how you wear it,” she advised, cheerfully.
Unlike Ian Poulter, another clothes-conscious soul, Kim does not decide in advance she will wear on the different tournament days. In her case, everything depends on how she feels when she wakes up. Today, she was “thinking green”, though she went on to explain that there is always something green in the mix by way of marking her devotion to saving the planet.
As late as Wednesday evening, this larger-than-life figure was experimenting with a variety of shots – shots of gin, Cherry Heering, Benedictine and fresh pineapple - as she served Singapore Slings at the pro-am dinner at Raffles Hotel.
There was much the same extravagant mix on the course – high shots and low to fit every occasion. Though the Solheim Cup golfer’s putting cost her a couple of bogies early on, she hit back with three stunning birdies from the 12th and four in five holes on her way to an inward 33.
“I’m swinging so damn good right now that it’s scary,” she announced.

LPGA Tour Scoreboard
HSBC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS' TOURNAMENT
Tanah Mera Country Club, Tanah Bay Resort, Garden Course, Singapore

FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
Players from United States unless stated otherwise.
68 Lorena Ochoa (Mexico), Angela Stanford, Cristie Kerr, Hee Young Park (South Korea)
69 Ai Miyazato (Japan), Sophie Gustafson (Sweden), Song-Hee Kim (South Korea), Christina Kim
70 In-Kyung Kim (Kor), Sun Young Yoo (South Korea), Karrie Webb (Australia), Juli Inkster, Kristy McPherson, Suzann Pettersen (Norway)
71 Jiyai Shin (Kor), Brittany Lincicome, Candie Kung (Tai), Katherine Hull (Aus)
72 Lindsey Wright (Australia), Michelle Wie, Teresa Lu (Taiwan), Eunjung Yi (South Korea), Meaghan Francella, Inbee Park (South Korea)
73 Stacy Prammanasudh, Amy Yang, Vicky Hurst, Jee Young Lee (South Korea), M.J. Hur (South Korea), Sun-hwa Lee (South Korea), Kyeong Bae (South Korea), Mika Miyazato (Japan), Catriona Matthew (Scotland), Hee-Won Han (South Korea), Maria Hjorth (Sweden), Sandra Gal (Germany), Sakura Yokomine (Jpn), Na Yeon Choi (South Korea), Natalie Gulbis, Anna Nordqvist (Sweden)
74 Morgan Pressel, Michele Redman, Shinobu Moromizato (Japan), Yani Tseng (Taiwan), Chie Arimura (Japan), Ji-Young Oh (South Korea), Se Ri Pak (South Korea), Shanshan Feng (China)
75 Meena Lee (South Korea), Momoko Ueda (Japan), Wendy Ward
76 Angela Park (Brazil), Brittany Lang, Stacy Lewis
77 Jimin Kang (South Korea), Soo-Yun Kang (South Korea), Eun Hee Ji (Kor), Nicole Castrale, Amanda Blumenherst
78 Pat Hurst, Helen Alfredsson (Sweden)
80 Bo-Bae Song (South Korea)
82 Joey Poh (Singapore)

CATRIONA MATTHEW POST-ROUND INTERVIEW

Q. How did your round go today?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Yeah, I really actually played not too badly. Just didn't putt very well. I find these greens quite tricky. They are very grainy, so hope to master them tomorrow.

Q. You got off to a good start, though.
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Played pretty well today. I gave myself some chances, just one silly, bad hole, 10, for a double.
Just pulled my second shot into the bunker, and then kind of made a mess of it from there. But apart from that played well.

Q. So you're still quite close to everything coming together.
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Yeah.

Q. And how did the course play, seems like it was scoring well.
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Yeah, I think it's a quite tricky course. I find the greens quite difficult here. It's quite tricky actually.

Q. It's easier playing when you're not pregnant?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Yeah, I don't know how I did it last year.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports ...

Krystle Caithness leading Scot with a first-round 74

Skarpnord, out in 29, leads NZ Women's Open

A sensational front nine of seven-under 29 provided the foundation for a seven-under 65 by Norwegian golfer Marianne Skarpnord, who has a two-shot lead after the first round of the New Zealand Women's Open at Pegasus Town, near Christchurch, today.
The 24-year-old Skarpnord, winner of the British girls' open amateur championship in 2003, started spectacularly with eight successive threes, one of which was an eagle at the par-5 446m fifth hole. She was seven-under after seven and missed a 15-foot putt for birdie at the ninth that would have given her a record 28 for nine holes in an European Ladies Tour (LET) event.
A stiff north-easterly wind presented Skarpnord with a harder challenge on the more testing back nine and she put the 29 to the back of her mind and concentrated on every shot, playing the back nine in par 36 with her only bogey at the 12th which was offset by a birdie at the 15th.
Skarpnord is two shots to the good of American Diana D'Alessio, who birdied her last two holes to take second outright, a shot ahead of South African, Ashleigh Simon, Korean An-Na Oh, and West Australian Kristie Smith, who shot her 68 when the wind blew from the north-west in the morning.
On three-under 69 and tied for sixth were Dutchwoman Dewi-Claire Schreefel, multiple international winner, Laura Davies (England) and Australian Sarah Kemp, who tied for second last year.
The leading New Zealand trio after rounds of one-under 71 were Wellington professional, Sarah Nicholson, and amateurs, Zoe Brake (Whakatane) and 12-year-old Lydia Ko (Pupuke).
Skarpnord, in her seventh year as a professional after an amateur career which was highlighted by her victory in the 2003 British Girls Championship and being a member of the winning European Junior Solheim Cup the same year, had her best year on the LET Tour in 2009 when she won twice and had seven other top-10 finishes.
She was laid back after her 65 today, saying she holed a "couple of long putts, felt comfortable throughout and had a lot of fun with her new caddy".
"I didn't think about it (29) as the wind picked up for our last 12 to 13 holes and I had to focus on every shot. I was just trying to get the ball in the hole."
Skarpnord she intended doing nothing different in the second round.
"I'll forget what happened today and start all over again. I feel confident but I won't be thinking about holding my score together - I'll go out and have fun."
D'Alessio, winner of more than $US1.2 million on the LPGA Tour in America, never had a bogey. Starting off the back nine, she birdied 13 and 15 and went three-under after her third birdie at the fourth. She finished with a flourish with birdies at the eighth and ninth.
After tomorrow's second round, the field of 130 will be cut to the top 65 and ties.
FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72.
Players from Australia unless stated
65 Marianne Skarpnord (Norway)
67 Diana D'Alessio (US)
68 Ashleigh Simon (South Africa), An-na Oh (Kor), Kristie Smith
69 Dewi Schreefel (US), Laura Davies (England), Sarah Kemp
70 Frances Bondad
71 Tamara Beckett, Kate Combes, Bree Turnbull, Lydia Ko (Nzl), Sarah Oh (South Korea), Stefanie Michl (Austria), Azahara Munoz (Spain), Sophie Giquel (France), Rebecca Flood, Zoe Brake (Nzl), Cecilie Lundgreen (Norway), Sarah Nicholson (Nzl)
72 Taylor Leon (US), Linda Wessberg (Sweden), Kym Larratt (England), Rebecca Coakley (Ireland), Nina Reis (Sweden), Lee-Anne Pace (South Africa), Elizabeth Bennett (England), Sarah-Jane Smith, Becky Brewerton (Wales), Jessica Noh, Marjet Van Der Graaff (Netherlands), Katie Futcher (USA), Ju young Park (Kor), Florentyna Parker (England), Alison Walshe (Ireland/US)
73 Hannah Ralph (England), Tania Elosegui (Spain), Hye youn Kim (South Korea), Melissa Reid (England), Beth Allen (US), Rebecca Hudson (England), Gwladys Nocera (France), Caroline Rominger (Swi), Vicky Hermina Thomas, Becky Morgan (Wales), Christel Boeljon (Netherlands), Titiya Plucksataporn (Thailand), Mina Harigae (US), Wendy Doolan, Lorie Kane (Can), Cecilia Cho (Nzl), Iben Tinning (Den), Sophie Walker (England), You-na Park (South Korea), Pernilla Lindberg (Sweden)
74 Hazel Kavanagh (Ireland), Felicity Johnson (England), Martina Eberl (Germany), Danielle Bowers (England), Louise Stahle (Swe), Krystle Caithness (Scotland), Ursula Wikstrom (Fin), Emma Cabrera Bello (Spain), Leah Hart, Wendy Hawkes (Nzl), Anna-Lise Caudal (Fra), Melanie Bryden, Mi-sun Cho (South Korea), Leanne Bowditch, Cathryn Bristow (Nzl)
75 Polly Travica, Charlotte Brooks (Nzl), Tandi Cuningham (South Africa), Virginine Lagoutte-Clement (France), Caroline Afonso (France), Bettina Hauert (Germany), Susan c Farron (Nzl), Joanne Mills, Stacey Keating, Hanee Song (Nzl)
76 Karen Lunn, Mianne Bagger (Denmark), Karen Pearce, Katy Jarochowicz, Jenni Kuosa (Finland), Vikki Laing (Scotland), Rachel Bailey (England), Sunwoo Bea (Nzl), Jane Park (US), Hanna-Leena Salonen (Finland), Lydia Hall (Wales), Lynn Kenny (Scotland), Jody Fleming
77 Riikka Hakkarainen (Finland), Julie Greciet (France), Stacy Lee Bregman (South Africa), Nikki Garrett, Nicole Montgomery, Stephanie Na, Kasey Henshaw
78 Caroline Bon (Nzl), Kerryn Starr (Nzl), Emily Perry (Nzl), Rica Tse (Nzl), Donna Southam, Georgina Simpson (England), Helen Oh, Catherine Knight (Nzl), Ludivine Kreutz (France), Jane Kim (South Korea), Carmen Alonso (Spain)
79 Dana Lacey, Laurette Maritz (South Africa), Sunny Park, Elizabeth McKinnon (Nz.)
80 Stacy Tate (Nzl), Bree Arthur (Austria), Clare Choi, Phillis Meti (Nzl), Lisa Wright (Nzl)
81 Rebecca Green, Corinne Furnell, Angela Hawkes (Nzl)
82 Becky Walsh (Nzl), Jessica Ji (South Korea)
83 Karen Quinn
84 Verity Knight
87 Lynn Shaskey (Nzl)
89 Jesse Hamilton (Nzl)

Rosie Jones to captain US in 2011 Solheim Cup match in Ireland

Rosie Jones has been named by the LPGA to captain the United States in next year's Solheim Cup match against Europe at Killeen Castle in Ireland from September 23 to 25.
Jones is a 13-time winner on the LPGA Tour and has played in seven Solheim Cup matches, the last of which was at Crooked Stick in 2005 when she was unbeaten in three games.
The United States leads the series 8-3, including three victories in a row.

clubgolf coaches teaching West Lothian children at Polkemmet Country Park (image by Rob Eyton-Jones; click on it to enlarge).

Polkemmet junior initiative attracts 30 youngsters to golf

By ROB EYTON-JONES

A junior initiative which began at Polkemmet Golf Club just over a year ago designed to revitalise its junior set-up has succeeded in attracting 30 young players to the game.
The club, in Polkemmet Country Park near Whitburn, began by offering structured coaching through the national junior golf programme, clubgolf.
Emerging from Scotland’s successful bid to host the Ryder Cup, clubgolf is a partnership between the Scottish Golf Union, Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association, Professional Golfers’ Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland.
So popular have its twice weekly sessions become that its junior membership, devoid of a single child for the last three years, has now begun to flourish.
“In the three years I’ve been here we’ve not had any children taking out a normal junior membership so we wanted to do something to change that,” said Stuart Mungall, Polkemmet Country Park’s Service Co-ordinator.
“Over 30 children attend our coaching through the week and since we started our new junior membership in November we have attracted 10 new members. Considering we’ve just had two cold and wet months, that’s an excellent response and something which we can build on through the spring and summer.”
Polkemmet’s junior membership, for £80, includes both tuition and unlimited golf, even on its peak day, Sunday, when children get tees reserved for them for an hour in the afternoon.
During Sunday afternoon play on its 9-hole course, the children are accompanied by clubgolf Level 2 coach, Macrina Crawford, two Level 1 coaches and parent helpers.
Polkemmet is a perfect example of a club taking a modern outlook to the sport, making its facilities accessible to juniors and creating a structured coaching pathway.
In West Lothian last year almost 377 Primary 5 children were introduced to golf through clubgolf’s introductory game, firstclubgolf. With that figure set to increase in 2010 the region’s clubs will benefit if they are equipped to deliver successive stages of the programme.
“Polkemmet has really taken this on and run with it,” said Active Schools Co-ordinator, Paul Stark. Active Schools is responsible for training and supporting school staff in the firstclubgolf phase of the programme as well as building strong links between schools and clubs.
“They have created some excellent new opportunities for both the children and themselves. They are able to start teaching children with no experience which is perfect for those who haven’t yet played firstclubgolf at school. Other children are coming from across West Lothian for coaching because they don’t have a club programme near them yet.”
Polkemmet meanwhile is planning an Open Day in April to attract more children and has just been awarded a £500 discretionary grant from clubgolf partner, the Golf Foundation, to ensure it is fully prepared to deal with the demands of more juniors.
“If we are successful with the grant then it will allow us to keep junior memberships as low as possible as well as buy equipment and cover costs of coaching,” said Mungall.
“We have quite a unique situation here with a covered practice facility and a nine-hole course which is perfect for beginners. At many golf clubs children have to be 12 or 13 years old before they are allowed to join and play medals.
“Here, kids of eight, nine or ten years can play the course without getting harassed by an adult. With the coaching we have in place we will develop juniors so that they can have handicaps so they will be able to progress to a full course.”

Jack Hiluta from Chelmsford receives his first-place prize from a tournament organiser.

Jack Hiluta scores first win on US college circuit

FROM THE SOUTH ALABAMA UNIVERSITY WEBSITE
MOBILE, Alabama - University of South Alabama junior men's golfer Jack Hiluta from Chelmsford, England fired a 1-under-par 71 Tuesday - his third straight round of par or better this week - to earn his first career collegiate victory at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate hosted by the Jaguars at the Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course.
Hiluta made up three shots over the final 18 holes on Middle Tennessee's Kent Bulle, the leader after each of the first two days of the tournament, as the two shared medalist honors with a three-round total of 3-under-par 213.
Playing in the same group as Bulle, Hiluta made his move on the back nine of the par-72, 7,212-yard course. He recorded back-to-back birdie 3s on the 417-yard 10th and 398-yard 11th holes, and after a par he picked up another birdie at the par five 13th.
Hiluuta ended the 54-hole event with a bag of 11 birdies and 37 pars.
"Jack had a fantastic tournament. From the opening tee shot he was in complete control of his game," commented South Alabama University head coach Ben Hannan. "He had very few bogeys all week, and with the difficulty of the course and the conditions it was tremendous golf.
"As a team, we finished sixth in a very good field. The guys had a great round going through 16 holes, but unfortunately weren't able to close which let some teams get back ahead of us. All in all, I was very pleased since it was the first event of the spring. Certainly we have some positives to look at coming out of this, which we can build on moving forward as we get ready to compete in South Florida."
Gavin St John Frost, a junior student at Jacksonville University from Berkshire, finished joint 69th in the field of 102 players with rounds of 78, 76 and 77 for 231 - one shot ahead of team-mate, Ireland's Stephen Healey from Co Mayo, who scored 77, 78 and 77 for a share of 73rd place.
Mississippi held on to win the event with a 13-over-par 877 total, despite shooting a 301 on the final day, besting Illinois State by one stroke. Louisville (879) were third in a field of 18 teams.
+For more information about South Alabama University's golf programme, log on to http://www.usajaguars.com/.

Grant Carnie jt 25th, Mark Dickson jt 71st

at Hilton Head, South Carolina

University of South Carolina-Aiken students Grant Carnie, a senior from Ellon, Aberdeenshire, and Mark Dickson, a freshman from Gullane, finished joint 25th and joint 71st respectively in the field of 90 players at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate 36-hole tournament at Hilton Head, South Carolina this week.
Over a par-72 course of 6,828yd, Carnie, who reached the quarter-finals of last year's Scottish amateur championship by beating the seeded Gavin Dear, scored 78 and 72 for 150; Dickson 78 and 80 for 158.
Jackson Taylor (Davidson College) and Lee Bedford (Wake Forest University) tied for first place on 142. Both men scored 72 and 70.
Wake Forest (583) won the team title by one shot from Francis Martin College with Davidson College third on 589. South Carolina-Aiken finished tied sixth with a score of 606 in a field of 17 teams.

Sinead O'Sullivan, a hole in one, and joint second with one round to go on Kiawah Island.

Sinead O'Sullivan has a hole in one but last-round

bogeys drop her to 15th place on Kiawah Island

There was a host of British and Irish students in the massive field of 33 teams and 172 players for the Kiawah Island Classic college tournament over two courses, one of 6,000yd and the other 5,907yd.
Joint lowest scorers overall were Nina Muehl (East Tennessee State) (72-70-71) and Crystal Reeves (Oral Roberts University) (72-68-73), each with a three-under-par total of 213.
Sinead O'Sullivan from Galway, Ireland, representing East Tennessee State University, was the highest-placed finisher from this side of the Atlantic. Sinead was tied for second place on 142 after opening rounds of 71, which included a hole in one at the 149yd seventh, but she could not keep it up and a final round of 81 gave her a total of 223 and dropped her to 15th place.
Still, a great effort for two rounds - and 157 players finished behind her!. In her final round, O'Sullivan had a triple bogey 6 at the short sixth and a double bogey 6 at the 10th.
Olivia Jordan-Higgins (Charleston Southern) from the Channel Islands finished joint 25th on 226 with scores of 73, 75 and 78.
Lauren Blease (Florida International), a sophomore student from Kingston, Surrey, finished joint 47th on 230 with rounds of 76, 78 and 76. On the same mark was Laura Cutler (Jacksonville State), a junior student from Essex, with scores of 72, 78 and 80.
Clara Leathers (Middle Tennessee State) from Aylesbury finished joint 57th on 231 with scores of 75, 79 and 77.
Gemma Hardie (Central Arkansas), a sophomore student from Scunthopre, came joint 65th on 232 with scores of 75, 82 and 75.
Laura Holmes (Old Dominion), a senior year student from Ballina, Co Mayo, finished joint 117th on 242 with scores of 83, 77 and 82. On the same mark was Stacey Rodger (Missouri State) from West Hove, Sussex with scores of 81, 86 and 75.
Emma Gilmore (Old Dominion) from Ireland tied for 163rd place with score sof 88, 100 and 85 for 273.
Miami (892) won the team event, just ahead of Minnesota (893). East Tennessee State and Middle Tennessee State (both 898) tied for sixth place, which represented a good performance in a huge field of 33 teams.

Palacerigg juniors with the golf club’s new Explanar golf swing training aid. Image by Rob Eyton-Jones. Click on it to enlarge.

Palacerigg getting in the clubgolf swing of things

Palacerigg Golf Club, which received a £5,000 Awards for All lottery grant for its junior section, has invested the funds into equipment to assist with its coaching programme.
"With this award we have purchased some really great equipment,” said delighted junior convenor Frank Anderson.
“It includes a professional Explanar to compliment our “junior” version which was donated to us by North Lanarkshire Golf Development Group, eight 'TrueStrike' mats which are going to be a permanent feature at the practice area, 10 sets of junior clubs as well as 600 balls.
“It has also enabled us to send three coaches on their Level 1 coaching course, giving us a total now of 12 qualified volunteer coaches.
“All this equipment will allow us to enhance our coaching, making sure kids have the right clubs for their height, a good swing path with the Explanar and a perfect striking surface so they are getting the best possible start to their golfing careers.”
The club, finalists in last year’s Dunfermline Building Society Junior Club of the Year Awards, started its junior set-up two years ago and has transformed its membership from 7 to 60 through clubgolf coaching.
Emerging from Scotland’s successful bid to host the Ryder Cup, clubgolf is a partnership between the Scottish Golf Union, Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association, Professional Golfers’ Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland. clubgolf seeks to create the opportunity for every child in Scotland to experience golf by the time they are nine years old.
Working with the local schools, the club invites children to learn how to play golf under the guidance of qualified volunteer coaches.
This announcement coincides with the launch of the club’s dedicated junior web site, http://www.palaceriggjuniors.co.uk/ and its now annual Come and Try day which this year will be held on Sunday 11th April 2010 (there will be two free sessions between 10am and 12 noon and 1.00 to 3.00pm.
“Our Come and Try day has, in past years, allowed us to sign up 30 young potential golfers each year for coaching so let’s hope for the same this time,” said Frank.
“All equipment will be supplied or if you want you can bring your own. If you are nine years old or over and would like to book a session visit the ‘news’ section on our new web site and click on the link below to fill in the online consent form. We will contact you to confirm your place.”
Rob Eyton-Jones
clubgolf Media Manager
http://www.clubgolfscotland.com/

Ivan Lendl's golfing daughters

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tie for first place in Florida

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Sisters Isabelle and Marika, daughters of the former tennis ace Ivan Lendl and both students at the University of Florida, tied for victory in the Cental District Invitational women's college tournament at River Wilderness Golf Club, Parrish, Florida.

The Lendl family's home is a Bradenton, Florida.

The University of Florida scored a double whammy because, not surprisingly after the Lendl girls' efforts, they won the team title - their first of the season.

The Gators finished the event 29 strokes ahead of second placed Texas Christian University with a seven-under-par total of 857 (290-281-286). Purdue finished third, followed by host Michigan State (895) in fourth in a field of 15 teams.

Isabelle (74-67-71), pictured left, and Marika (72-70-70), pictured right, both totalled four-under-par 212 for the 54 holes, finishing four shots clear of the field of 75 players.

Isabelle, a freshman student who will be 19 on July 19, was named the tournament winner after she narrowly defeated Marika, a sophomore student, in a scorecard play-off, whichever golfer had a lower score in their final nine holes. Even the scorecard play-off was a tight race.

After making a bogey on 14 followed by a birdie on 15, Marika birdied the 18th to be one under par for the final nine holes.

Isabelle had a rough start to her back nine holes, making two consecutive bogeys, but responded by making three-straight birdies on 13, 14 and 15. At one-over par heading into her final hole, Isabelle made an eagle 2 at the par-4 18th hole to have a splendied inward half of three under par.

Nicola Race from Essex, a student a Missouri University, finished joint 44th with a total of 230, made up of rounds of 80, 80 and 70. She obviously got the measure of the course in the final round.

Missouri team-mate, Hannah Lovelock from Surrey had a total of 239 with rounds of 77, 82 and 80 for joint 69th position.

+Live scoring and official results are available at www.GatorZone.com or www.golfstat.com.

LPGA Tour event tees off in Singapore tomorrow

LPGA Tour player Amanda Blumenherst conducts a clinic for juniors at Tanah Merah (Courtesy of Gerry Images/HSBC Women's Champions). Click to enlarge.

Michelle Wie is a Catriona Matthew fan!

By Lewine Mair
That Lorena Ochoa is desperate to regain the HSBC Women’s Champions title she won in Singapore two years ago was evident from the moment she stepped off her plane from Thailand on Monday.
Where others arrived in their regular clothes, with Michelle Wie’s bright pink boots catching the eye of every photographer in town, Ochoa was ready for golf. Her first port of call was the practice ground at Tanah Merah.
As much as anything, she was anxious to recapture her rhythm after finishing in an anticlimactic share of 18th place behind Ai Miyazato in the Honda PTT. “I was a little frustrated that I couldn’t score better,” she admitted, before putting the blame fairly and squarely on her shots to the green.
Now, Ochoa is confident that her swing is in a better position and feels ready “to start making birdies.”
Ochoa’s companions for a first round which starts tomorrow at 10.19 are Miyazato and Jiyai Shin, the latter of whom is this week's defending champion. Though Ochoa has the utmost respect for both, she will not be watching either. “In my case, I’m never really thinking about other players. I just try to focus on my own game and make as many birdies as I can.”
Another key group will be 9.45 trio of Catriona Matthew, Yani Tseng and Michelle Wie.
For Matthew, the reigning Ricoh Women’s British Open champion, this will be the first time she has been in Wie’s group in over a year.
“It’s going to be interesting to play with Michelle again,” said Matthew, who has revelled in the heat of Thailand and Singapore after a winter of Scottish frost. “There will be a lot of people watching her but that’s not going to worry me. You maybe have to wait a couple of seconds for the crowds to quieten down but that’s about as far as it goes.”
The other thing which is never going to bother Matthew is if Wie’s drives go bounding past hers. The truth is, of course, that nothing bothers the Scot, with Tseng saying that she would love nothing more than to pick up something of Matthew’s body language. “My shoulders tend to go down when things are going wrong but Catriona always keeps her chin up,” said the Taiwanese golfer.
Wie is another of Matthew fan. “I so admire Catriona and the way she won the British only weeks after having a second baby,” said Wie. “She’s amazing. I look up to her a lot and, hopefully, I’ll learn from her.”
There are times when Wie would seem to favour university over golf and others when the golf matters more.
For the moment, though, it is golf first every time. “I’ve had an overload of studying in the last couple of months,” she explained cheerfully.
Overall, Wie is entirely happy with where she is on both fronts – happy that she turned professional when she did and happy that she is at Stanford.
“I couldn’t imagine life any other way. I made the right decisions at the right time.”

Sally Watson joint 10th after good first round

Joint 4th Jodi Ewart is leading

British/Irish player in Arizona

Yorkshire's Jodi Ewart, who will turn pro in a few months after completing four years at the University of New Mexico, finished the leading British/Irish student in this week's Arizona Wildcat Invitational women's college tournament over the Arizona National Golf Club course (par-71, 6166yd).

Jodi, pictured right, had two rounds of 72 to finish joint fourth on 144 behind the winner, Sweden's Caroline Hedwall (Oklahoma Stte) who won by five shots with two great rounds of 70 and 66 for six-under-par 136.

Caroline finished runner-up to Anna Nordqvist in the Ladies British open amateur championship at North Berwick two years ago.

South Queensferry's Sally Watson, a freshman student at Stanford University, California and a member of the GB&I short leet for the June Curtis Cup match (Jodi withdrew a week or two ago), finished joint 10th after sharing fourth place with a first-round 71.

The Scot had a 75 in the second and last round for 146.

Ellie Givens (Denver University) from Darlington finished joint 17th on 149 with scores of 73 and 76.

Ellie's Irish team-mate, Sarah Faller, from Galway had scores of 79 and 73 for 152 and a share of 34th place.

Former Ladies British open amateur stroke play champion Roseanne Niven (California Berkeley University) from Crieff scored 80 and 79 for 159 and joint 63rd place in a quality field of 93 players.

Arizona State (570) won the team title ahead of Arizona (588) with Stanford (595) third and California-Berkeley (599) fifth. New Mexico (610) came sixth.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Individuals

Par 142 (2x71) 6166yd

136 Caroline Hedwall (Oklahoma State) 70 66.

141 Juliana Murcia (Murcia State) 74 67, Alison Whitaker (Duke) 69 72.

Selected scores:

144 Jodi Ewart (New Mexico) 72 72 (jt 4th).

145 Carlota Ciganda (Arizona State) 71 74 (jt 7th).

146 Sally Watson (Stanford) 71 75 (jt 10th).

149 Ellie Givens (Denver) 73 76 (jt 17th).

152 Sarah Faller (Denver) 79 73 (jt 34th).

159 Roseanne Niven (California) 80 79 (jt 63rd).

Teams

570 Arizona State. 588 Arizona. 595 Stanford. 596 California. 599 Duke. 601 New Mexico. 602 Pepperdine. 605 Auburn. 607 Denver. 609 Oklahoma State. 616 Tennessee. A total of 16 teams took part.

Alyssa and Megan down the Texas field

Two freshmen English students at Newman University, Wichita in Kansas, Alyssa Balding from Northumberland and Megan Birdsey from Bedfordshire finished down the field in the Lady Rattler Round-up 18-hole college tournament at San Antonio, Texas.

Over a par-71 course of 5,810yd, Alyssa finished joint 43rd with a score of 87 while Megan tied for 50th place with a round of 90.

The event was jointly won by Melanie Thom (Tarleton State) and Whitney McAteer (Northeastern State) who both returned two-over-par 73s.

'Realistic' Catriona Matthew rules out
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trying to qualify for Open at St Andrews

FROM THE SCOTSMAN NEWSPAPER
By Mark Garrod
Supermum she may be, but Catriona Matthew draws the line at getting involved in a battle of the sexes.
The 40-year-old Scot's amazing victory at last year's Ricoh Women's British Open – just 11 weeks after giving birth to her second daughter Sophie – entitles her to try to qualify for the Open at St Andrews this July.
But Matthew has not given a moment's thought to the possibility of becoming the first woman to attempt it.
"I really don't see the point," said Matthew, from North Berwick but now in Singapore for the HSBC Women's Champions event. "You've got to be realistic – we can't hit it as far and can't compete distance-wise (with the male pros).
"I've always loved playing St Andrews (she was seventh in the 2007 Women's Open there), but I've not heard any talk of anybody wanting to do it. (The idea of) Women in the Open has kind of drifted away."Michelle Wie's performance at the US Tour's Sony Open six years ago – aged 14 she missed the cut by only one shot – led to a change in the rules for the Open from 2006. Now anybody finishing in the top five at any of the women's majors can enter regional qualifying, but not one player has tried yet.
Wie always seemed the likeliest to give it a go, but the more she tried in men's events the more she struggled and, for the time being at least, the 20-year-old has given up. Not that any top woman player would have given much consideration to it this year if they studied the Open Championship entry form.
The regional qualifying is at 16 courses around Britain on Monday, June 21 and the LPGA Championship, the second of their own majors, starts in New York three days later. There appears to have been a mistake made on the form in any case. It states that the top five in New York that week can enter a qualifier ... which has already taken place!
Those who think the men-only Royal and Ancient Club do not really want women playing the Open will point to this as evidence. Matthew is excited enough about the possibility of challenging for more major honours in the women's game. Her record last year was played one, won one.
Her defence of the Women's British Open starts at Royal Birkdale on July 20, but before that comes the Kraft Nabisco in California from April 1 to 4, the LPGA Championship and then the US Women's Open at Oakmont from July 8 to 11.
Her pregnancy and then the birth of Sophie last May prevented her playing those three last year and to win at Lytham so soon afterwards was one of the golfing stories of the year. So stunning, in fact, that many would like to have seen her a contender for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
"I thought a nomination would be the best I could do, but unfortunately not," says Matthew. "It's always tough to compare sports, but it was nice to be there."
The age of her two children – Katie is three – will mean a re- assessment of her career with husband-caddie Graeme in a few years, but for the time being it is all systems go. And she is still pinching herself that she now has one major under her belt.
"The plan after the birth was to go and play about 10 tournaments, just to get back in the swing of it, thinking that this year would be really starting again."
Her return came at the Evian Masters in France in July and after the drama of having to escape from a hotel blaze there (her husband suffered burns), the Women's Open was just a week later.
"The fire was one of those things that are always worse when you look back and think what could have happened," she said.
"At the time you just react and rush out. Then later you think 'My God, that could have been a lot worse'."
At Lytham her week could not have been any better. Her second-round 67 included back-to-back eagles, one of them a hole in one, and an inward 30 which stands as a record for any competition male or female on the famous links.
"It's been very busy since, but I would not change it for anything," she said.
The New Year brought an MBE and she is hoping to hear soon when the ceremony at Buckingham Palace will take place.
"When I was second at the Kraft Nabisco I was getting to the stage where you think you might never have a better chance to win a major," she said. "So to do it two years later in front of a British crowd was just incredible."
+The full article above appears in The Scotsman newspaper.

Jessica Schiele wins from Katie Mundy in Texas

English girls 1-2-4 and 10 in US college tournament

Jessica Schiele, a freshman Redlands Community College, Oklahoma student from Grimsby, finished first and Katie Mundy from Hampshire, a student at Western Texas College, finished first and second in yesterday's UMHB/Lady Cru Spring Invitational college tournament at Mill Creek golf course, Salado in Texas.
In all, there were four English-born students in the top 10 with Hollie Weatherburn (Western Texas), the Cumbrian champion, in fourth place and Kelly MacPhail (Redlands CC) from Manchester in 10th place in a field of 49 competitors.
Jess Schiele, a member at Kenwick Park Golf Club, Lincolnshire, lost to the eventual beaten finalist Elizabeth Mallett in last year's British girls championship at West Lancs Golf Club. She will be 19 on March 20.
To win her first US college tournament, Jess returned two scores of 76 for a total of 152 over the par-73, 5,873yd course (seems a high par for a shortish-course?).
Katie Mundy finished second for the second week in row with scores of 77 and 78 for 155. Team-mate Hollie Weatherburn came fourth with 80 and 81 for 161.
Kelly MacPhail scored 90 and 84 for 174.
Western Texas (654) won a team title for the second week in a row, thanks to the sterling efforts of Katie and Hollie.
Redlands CC (670) were runners-up in a field of nine teams.
LEADING INDIVIDUAL TOTALS
Par 146 (2x73). 5873yd.
152 Jessica Schiele (Redlands CC) 76 76.
155 Katie Mundy (Western Texas College) 77 78.
160 Sinae Montaya (Lubbock Christian Univ) 80 80.
161 Hollie Weatherburn (Wextern Texas College) 80 81.
Selected score:
174 Kelly MacPhail (Redlands CC) 80 84.
TEAM TOTALS
654 Western Texas College.
670 Redlands CC
Nine teams took part.

Europe finalises Junior Ryder

Cup selection criteria

The selection criteria for the European team at the Junior Ryder Cup, the competition which helped launch the careers of Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy and Suzann Pettersen among others, have been finalised ahead of the contest at The Gleneagles Hotel on September 27-28 this year.
The Junior Ryder Cup originated from an exhibition match between teams of boys and girls from Europe and the United States in 1995 before it was formally introduced in 1997. The match traditionally takes place just before The Ryder Cup and comprises six girls and six boys on each team.
Spaniard Garcia played in the first match in 1995 before qualifying for the full team four years later, while Northern Ireland’s McIlroy was part of the 2004 team and Pettersen, Norway’s top women’s professional, played in 1997 and 1999 before being part of five Solheim Cups.
For 2010, Europe’s selection criteria dictate that the team will feature three boys and three girls who were under 16 years on January 1, 2010, and three boys and three girls under 18 years on the same day.
The six under-16 players will be selected via the 2010 European Young Masters at Royal Balaton Golf Club, Hungary, from July 22-24 with the champion and runner-up from both the boys’ and the girls’ competition qualifying for the team. Two more competitors in the European Young Masters field will be selected by the captain, Gary Stangl, in the under-16s category.
All six under-18 players will be picked by a selection committee who will take into account performances in the European girls’ and boys’ team championships, national level junior championships and players’ standings in the European Amateur Golf Rankings (EAGR) and Ladies European Amateur Rankings (LEAR).
The complete European team will be announced following the European Young Masters on July 24.

Captain Lesley Nicholson tips
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Rachael Watton to step up

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FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Rising Lothians star Rachael Watton has been pinpointed as one of the players capable of forcing their way into the Scottish women's team this year.
Lesley Nicholson, who has been re-appointed as captain by the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association, believes the Mortonhall player, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, can be among those vying to fill the gaps left by the departure of Carly Booth and Kylie Walker to the professional ranks.
"Rachael has come on leaps and bounds," said Nicholson. "I have played with her a couple of times and she's a great striker of the ball."She also has a tidy short game which is a real benefit at the top level."
Nicholson, who has been appointed to lead the Scots in both the European team championship and the Home Internationals, is also hoping to see Jane Turner retain her place in the side.
"Jane really impressed us all on her debut in last year's Home Internationals," she added. "It can be a daunting experience when you are winning your first cap but she took it in her stride."
The Scots agonisingly missed out on a first success in the Home Internationals for 18 years as they lost to Wales on the final day at Irvine Bogside last September.
But Nicholson insisted: "It is only a matter of time until we get over that final hurdle again. The whole set-up has come on leaps and bounds since Kevin Craggs came on board as the Scottish national coach."


+The full article above appears in the Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.

HSBC Champions at Tanah Merah, Singapore

The Art of Golf: LPGA stars are dab hands

By Lewine Mair, working with www.HSBCGolf.com
Several top players were tangling with the Singapore orchids prior to this week’s $1,300,000 HSBC Champions at Tanah Merah. It was not that they had strayed off line in their early practice rounds. Rather that they had been invited to put the finishing touches to a Batik painting at a press conference at Raffles Hotel.
Michelle Wie, Lorena Ochoa, Jiyai Shin, Cristie Kerr and Ai Miyazato were asked to colour in an orchid apiece before the picture was prepared for display at the Pro-Am dinner. One way and another, it was an exercise in which the women’s attention to detail went a long way towards explaining how they have all worked their way into golf’s top ten. Meanwhile, the fact that Batik painting was originally practised as a form of meditation gave rise to the suggestion that it could only help the group to get into tournament mode.
Earlier, Guy Harvey-Samuel, the CEO of HSBC Singapore, and Giles Morgan, HSBC Head of Sponsorship, welcomed everyone to Singapore and said that the company took great pride in the way the golfers had turned out in force, with 54 of the top 55 ranked players ready to do battle. The sponsors expressed the wish to give competitors and fans alike the best possible week and, at the same time, to inspire the youth of Singapore. Currently, HSBC have 400 players on their youth programme on the island, with girls making up a healthy 30% of that figure.
“We are keen to see our young players maximising their potential,” said Harvey-Samuel, who spoke proudly of how the 16-year-old Joey Poh, who was the local qualifier last year and this, had come through the scheme. Poy dreams of turning professional when she has finished her education.
Michael Whan, the LPGA’s new commissioner, thanked HSBC for their continuing sponsorship and described himself as “Flat-out honoured" to be in Singapore for a tournament which has become universally known as “Asia’s major”. Whan stressed that he saw himself as a fan no less than a commissioner. “If you want to see great golf,” he advised the media-packed ballroom, “it’s going to start here on Thursday.”
Kerr, in an impromptu response to HSBC on behalf of the LPGA players, said that a variety of things had to be right for a tournament to be great “and HSBC have hit it on the head”.
Shin, last year’s winner at Tanah Merah, said she had “only good memories of Singapore.” All of which was hardly surprising in that she finished the tournament with a couple of exquisite 66s to win by two.
Ochoa, who came out on top in 2008, was similarly thrilled to be back. “This is a beautiful week, we love to be here,” she assured the audience.
Wie, whose first visit this is to Singapore, described Tanah Merah as “fantastic” and the competition as “fierce”.
In answer to a question on her progress, Wie said she had been happy with 2009, her first year, and was revelling in the weeks she was spending on tour. “The girls are cool people and great players. I’ve learned a lot. I felt I had a great year last year but hopefully I will do better this season.”
For the record, Wie won last year’s Lorena Ochoa Invitational and finished ninth on the season-ending money-list.
Yet if any player stole the show, it was Miyazato who has come to Singapore having bagged the season’s opening Honda tournament in Thailand.
The Japanese player’s eyes sparkled and cameras flashed as the crowd recognised her efforts with a special round of applause.
The least boastful of competitors, Miyazato wasted no time in pointing to her sister players at the top table and saying that much of her success was down to them.
“They give me lots of inspiration,” she said.

Aberdeeen Asset Management to be title sponsor of

Ladies Scottish Open at Archerfield Links in August

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
The Ladies Scottish Open, which will return to the calendar this year at Archerfield Links in August, has received a further boost with the news that Aberdeen Asset Management is to be its title sponsor.
The company supported the event, which is presented by Event Scotland, in 2008, the second of its two stagings at the Carrick on Loch Lomond, and chief executive Martin Gilbert, a keen golfer who partners Paul Lawrie in the Dunhill Links Championship each year, is excited about its switch to the East Lothian venue on 18-20 August.
"Aberdeen Asset Management remains committed to golf at all levels of the game and, as a company headquartered in Scotland, we are proud to support this prestigious Scottish event," he said.
"August is set to be a busy month for many of our Aberdeen ambassadors – Mhairi McKay will return to her native Scotland to compete in the Aberdeen Ladies Scottish Open, the Scottish amateur team will compete in the Home Internationals in Wales and Colin Montgomerie will also be making his Ryder Cup captain's picks at Gleneagles."
Andrew White, chief executive of the event promoters, WSM Sponsorship, added: "We are grateful to have the support of this truly Scottish business for the 2010 event."
+The full article above appears in The Scotsman newspaper.

DUNDEE STUDENT WINS BRONCO
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INVITATIONAL GOLF IN NEW MEXICO

Jordan McColl from Dundee, a first-year student at New Mexico Junior College, won the Bronco Invitational college golf tournament at the New Mexico Military Institute Golf Club, Roswell, New Mexico today.
McColl, pictured right, had rounds of 68, 72 and 69 for a seven-under-par total of 209 over the par-72, 6,652yd course.
He won by one shot from team-mates Zach Fullerton (69-69-72) and Doug Quinones (68-75-67) at the head of a field of 31 players.
Not surprisingly, New Mexico Junior College won the team event by 18 strokes from New Mexico Military Institute in a field of five teams.

English students down the field on Hawaii

English students Matthew Tweddell - whose grandfather won the British amateur title in the late 1920s - and Matthew de Moraes are both students at Hawaii Pacific University. Matthew is 6ft 2in and is a freshman student from Birmingham. Matthew is a junior (third year) student at HPU and comes from Woodford Green, London. He's a good deal shorter than Tweddell, standing 5ft 7in.
Not much between them, however, in their disappointing scores at the John Burns Intercollegiate tournament at Leilehua Golf Club, Wahiawa on Hawaii a couple of days agao. Over a 6,917yd, par-72 course, they tied for 70th place in a field of 84 players.
Tweddell scored 72, 76 and 79 for 227, De Moraes 76, 75 and 76 for the same total.
Winner was Andrea Pavan (Texas A&M) with very good scores of 70, 69 and 65 for 12-under-par 204. He won by two shots from Derek Ernst (UNLV) who had rounds of 68, 69 and 69.
Texas A&M and UNLV tied for the team title with identical totals of 836. No word of a play-off so we presume they shared the title.
Brigham Young and California, both 848, tied for third place and Hawaii Pacific were 14th in a field of 15 teams with a total of 905.
Hawaii would be a great place to get a golf scholarship but it doesn't seem to do much for their student golf teams. Hawaii University finished 13th, HPU 14th and BYU-Hawaii last of 15.
Well, you can't have everything!

Arlene McGarty wins students' Stableford at Troon Portland

Arlene McGarty (Strathclyde University) won the Scottish Universities Ladies Golf Association's Stableford 4 competition over the Troon Portland course on Sunday.
She had 39pt, one ahead of Welsh international Gemma Bradbury (St Andrews) and Suzie McInally (GCU). Gemma's better inward half earned her official second place.
INDIVIDUAL POINTS SCORES
Par 73. SSS 73. CSS N/A
39pt Arlene McGarty (Strathclyde).
38pt Gemma Bradbury (St Andrews), better inward half, Suzie McInally (GCU).
37pt Rebecca Wilson (Stirling), Emma Bisset (Aberdeen).
35pt Nadia Green (St Andrews), Aimee Wickman (Glasgow).
34pt Rona Agnew (GCU).
32pt Alison Brady (Glasgow), Megan Jones (St Andrews), Rachel Cassidy (St8irling).
341pt Eleanor Pike (St Andrews).
29pt Katie MacPherson (St Andrews).
16pt Fiona McKirdy (St Andrews).

TEAM STANDINGS AFTER STABLEFORD 4
242 Glasgow.
236 GCU.
197 St Andrews.
184 Edinburgh.
160 Strathclyde.
136 Dundee.
133 Stirling.
131 Aberdeen.

Laura Murray's attitude, worth ethic and personality impressed Paul Lawrie (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency, click to enlarge).

Laura Murray joins Paul Lawrie team for 2010

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Paul Lawrie has added Scotland women's amateur international Laura Murray from Alford to his Foundation team for 2010.
"Laura will wear our logo throughout the year on Glenmuir clothes provided for her. She will also receive Titleist balls and will be included in my team golf days where I play 18 holes four or five times a year with them," said the 1999 Open champion.
"I have been very impressed with Laura's attitude, work ethic and personality."
Already members of the Paul Lawrie Foundation team are David Law (Hazlehead), Scottish boys' and men's amateur champion, Tartan Tour pros Ross Cameron (McDonald Ellon) and Graeme Lornie (Kings Links) and Peterhead youth cap Philip McLean.
" I normally meet three of them at a time. We play 18 holes and have lunch. I pass on course management tips and which type of shots to play in certain situations. I try not to coach them as they all have their own coaches.
"Adam Hunter works on the short game with them all. They normally see Adam five or six times a year. We are currently trying to give them some funding but that's not confirmed at the moment."
Laura Murray, 21, is also a member of Murcar Links and Aboyne golf clubs. A former Robert Gordon University student, she is a full-time amateur who makes some pocket money, working as a swimming pool life guard at the Kippie Lodge Sports Club at Milltimber near Aberdeen.
Last week she almost became the first female to win a North-east Alliance competition. Her scratch 66 at Murcar Links was pipped by late finished Scott Larkin's 65.
"It's great that Paul Lawrie has made me a member of his team. That will be a big help to me. I am aiming to make this my last year as an amateur, playing in all the big tournaments and hopefully I'll be ready to have a go at the Ladies European Tour Qualifying School near the end of the year," said Laura.

Kelsey receives her prizes from Hacienda del Alamo Golf Club captain Steve Haskins

Kelsey's fantastic inward half of 29 sweeps

her through to Hacienda del Alamo title

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Scottish Under-21 champion Kelsey MacDonald underlined her claims for a place in this year's Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team with a fantastic last nine holes to win the Hacienda del Alamo Women's Open over 54 holes at the testing Dave Thomas-designed course in the Murcia region of south-east Spain.
The 19-year-old Nairn Dunbar member and Stirling University student started the final round in third place, seven shots behind leader Hayley Davis (Ferndown) and two shots behind second-placed Welsh cap Amy Boulden (Maesdu).
With nine holes to play, MacDonald, out in 39 to Davis's 38, was still in third place but now eight shots off the pace.
Said Kelsey later: "I was striking the ball well and hitting the greens, only to three putt at the first, fourth (par-5) and ninth (par-5).
Then Kelsey produced the birdie blitz of her young career - coming home in seven-under-par 29 with birdies at the 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 18th for a round of four-under-par 68 and a total of three-under-par 213.
Playing partner Hayley Davis, not surpisingly, just could not compete with that onslaught. She had no birdies on the back nine and bogeys at the 11th, 12th, 14th and 17th for 40 home and a 78 for 216.
That pushed her down to third place with a victory-to-remember for Kelsey MacDonald by one shot from Amy Boulden who finished with a 71 for 214.
Earlier in the Hacienda del Alamo Festival, Boulden and MacDonald tied for the best 36-hole final total in the Murcia Women's Open with the title going to the Welsh player because she had the lower second round.
But Kelsey had the last laugh.
"I knew at the turn that Hayley Davis was eight shots ahead of me and Amy Boulden seven shots ahead of me. It was very frustrating and I tried to work out what was wrong. I thought maybe I was too close to the ball when I was putting, so I moved further away from it - and the putts started to go in!" she said
"I lipped out at the 13th and the 17th and had to settle for pars - the rest were birdies. "Obvoiusly, I was gutted up to the ninth, thinking I had thrown away my chance of catching up. But I never give up and it just shows you how golf goes - and just delighted with my score."
Kelsey's next chance to impress the GB&I Curtis Cup selectors is the Spanish women's amateur championship the week after next. The team will be chosen on the Sunday, April 25 after the last round of the Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play championship at Troon Portland and Royal Troon.
The team of eight for the June 11-13 match against the Americans at Essex County Club, Boston, Massachusetts will probably be named on April 27 or 28.

Emily Taylor (Royal Lytham), Lancashire's youngest ever ladies county champion, stepped up an age group to win the Hacienda del Alamo Under-18 girls' open title over 54 holes. Earlier in the week Emily had won the Murcia Under-16 girls' open championship.

Emily had rounds of 74, 73 and 78 for a total of 225, to finish eight shots ahead of Ireland's Holly Robinson from Co Sligo. Holly scored 76, 77 and 84 and won the first handicap prize in this age group with a net 219 for the three rounds off a handicap of six.

Fourteen-year-old Amber Ratcliffe (Royal Cromer), runner-up to Emily Taylor In the Murcia Under-16 girls' event, won the Hacienda del Alamo Under-16 girls' open over three roudns with an impressive total of 228, made up of consistent scores of 74, 77 and 77.

Amber's 228 total gave her a winning margin in the scratch section of 20 shots over Megan MacLaren (Wellingborough) whose mother Mary won third prize in the HDA Ladies' Open handicap list.

Megan's scores were 80, 81 and 87 for 248, a shot ahead of young Alice Hewson (Berkhamsted) who won the first handicap prize in the Under-16s section with a net total of 225, one shot ahead of Holly Vizard (Pleasington). Alice plays off eight and Holly nine.

3rd Hacienda del Alamo Women's & Girls' Festival

Amber Ratcliffe (Royal Cromer), winner of the Hacienda del Alamo Under-16 girls' championship over 54 holes.

Emily Taylor (Royal Lytham), winner of the Hacienda del Alamo Under-18 girls' title after lifting the Murcia Under-16 girls' championship earlier in the Festival. Hacienda del Alamo Golf Club captain Steve Haskins made the presentations.

HACIENDA DEL ALAMO LADIES OPEN FINAL TOTALS

Par 216 (3x72). Dave Thomas course at Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort. 5,534 metres long

SCRATCH

213 Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar & Stirling Univ) 76 69 68.

214 Amy Boulden (Maesdu) 74 69 71

216 Hayley Davis (Ferndown) 66 72 78.

220 Hannah Barwood (Knowle) 70 75 75.

221 Charlotte Ellis (Minchinhampton) 71 75 75.

231 Danielle Anderson (Rochford Hundred) 77 75 79, Daisy Dyer (Chigwell) 75 76 80.

235 Mary MacLaren (Wellingborough) 77 78 80.

238 Becky Gee (Wellingborough) 79 77 82.

252 Dana Greenslade (Wentowrth) 84 84 84.

255 Jenna Birch (Royal Lytham) 83 87 85.

295 Ana Wright (Hacienda del Alamo) 94 99 102.

Retired: Charlie Douglass (Brocket Hall) 74 - -, Mirade Cronin (Bantry Bay) 100 - -.

Prizewinners: 1 Kelsey MacDonald, 2 Hayley Davis, 3 Hannah Barwood.

HANDICAP

214 Amy Boulden (scr) 74 69 71.

219 Danielle Anderson (4) 73 71 75, Hayley Davis (1) 67 73 79, Kelsey MacDonald (+2) 78 71 70. 223 Mary MacLaren (4) 73 74 76.
226 Hannah Barwood (+2) 72 77 77.
227 Charlotte Ellis (+2) 73 77 77.
228 Daisy Dyer (1) 74 75 79.
234 Dana Greenslade (6) 78 78 78.
235 Becky Gee (1) 78 76 81.
238 Ana Wright (19) 75 80 83.
249 Jenna Birch (2) 81 85 83.
Prizewinners: 1 Amy Boulden, 2 Danielle Anderson, 3 Mary MacLaren.

UNDER-18 GIRLS FINAL TOTALS
SCRATCH
225 Emily Taylor (Royal Lytham) 74 73 78.
237 Holly Robinson (Co Sligo) 76 77 84.
251 Georgia Gilling (Rochford Hundred) 85 82 84.
257 Lydia Johnston (Harleyford) 81 86 90.
259 Lucie Walker (Ormskirk) 84 84 91.
266 Shauna Brady (Co Sligo) 91 88 87.
Prizewinners: 1 Emily Taylor, 2 Georgia Gilling.

HANDICAP
219 Holly Robinson (6) 70 71 78.
222 Emily Taylor (1) 73 72 77.
236 Shauna Brady (10) 81 78 77, Georgia Gilling (5) 80 77 79.
239 Lydia Johnston (6) 75 80 84.
244 Lucie Walker (5) 79 79 86.
Prizewinners: 1 Holly Robinson, 2 Shauna Brady.

UNDER-16 GIRLS FINAL TOTALS
SCRATCH
228 Amber Ratcliffe (Royal Cromer) 74 77 77.
248 Megan MacLaren (Wellingborough) 80 81 87.
249 Alice Hewson (Berkhamsted) 81 83 85.
251 Emma Harris (Peel) 83 82 86.
253 Holly Vizard (Pleasington) 80 87 86.
254 Dulcie Sverdloff (Thorpe Hall) 78 88 88.
256 Gabriella Cowley (West Essex) 85 88 83.
259 Eadoin Cronin (Bantry) 91 86 82.
262 Charlotte Humphreys (Burnham & Berrow) 93 84 85.
277 Gemma McCarthy (Clonmel) 91 98 88, Amelia Taylor (St Annes Old Links) 88 91 98.
Retired: Katherine Carragher (John O'Gaunt) 93 84 - .
Prizewinners: 1 Amber Ratcliffe, 2 Megan MacLaren, 3 Emma Harris.

HANDICAP
219 Amber Ratcliffe (3) 71 74 74.
225 Alice Hewson (8) 73 75 77.
226 Holly Vizard (9) 71 78 77.
232 Gemma McCarthy (15) 76 83 73, Gabriella Cowley (8) 77 80 75.
236 Dulcie Sverdloff (6) 72 82 82.
238 Eaodin Cronin (7) 84 79 75.
239 Megan MacLaren (3) 77 7 84.
242 Emma Harris (3) 80 79 83.
244 Amelia Taylor (11) 77 80 87.
268 Charlotte Humphries (8) 85 76 77.
Prizewinners: 1 Alice Hewson, 2 Holly Vizard, 3 Gemma McCarthy.

US COLLEGE NEWS

Katie second, Hollie joint fourth in Arizona

Katie Mundy from Dunwood Manor Golf Club, Hampshire finished runner-up in the SNU Arizona Intercollegiate women's tournament at Francisco Grande Golf Resort, Casa Grande in Arizona.
Katie, a first-year student at Western College, Texas, has rounds of 77 and 70 for a three-over-par total of 147 over the 5,953yd (par-72) course) to finish two shots behind the winner in a field of 44 players, Nikki Stewart (Savannah College of Art Design) with 71 and 74 for 145.
Katie's team-mate, freshman student Hollie Weatherburn, the Cumbrian ladies' champion from Furness Golf Club, finished joint fourth with scores of 74 and 78 for 152.
Another Western Texas University English student, Lauren Smith, a sophomore student from Northumberland, came 32nd with a total of 169 (83-86).
Thanks to the efforts of Katie, Hollie and Lauren, Western Texas (615) won the title by eight shots from Savannah College of Art Design (623) with Victori (625) third of eight teams.
Katie Mundy is pictured by courtesy of Leaderboard Photography.

Elie boys and girls open tournament entry forms

Entry forms for the 58th Elie Sports Club open amateur tournament for boys and girls from Tuesday to Thursday, April 13 to 15, can be downloaded at http://www.golfhouseclub.co.uk/uploads/entry-form-2,3,-2010.doc
The tournament, played under a match-play format, is open to boys and girls in four age-group categories: Under-12s, Under-14s, Under-16s and Under-18s.

Ai Miyazatao in action (image by courtesy of Tom Ward Photography).

Miyazato pips Pettersen for Thailand prize

FROM THE PGA.COM WEBSITE
PATTAYA, Thailand -- Japanese star Ai Miyazato rallied to win the LPGA Tour's season-opening Honda PTT LPGA Thailand on Sunday, holing a 30-foot birdie chip on the final hole for a fabulous nine-under-par closing round of 63 and a one-stroke victory over Norway's Suzann Pettersen.
Miyazato, six strokes behind Pettersen after the third round, was six under in a six-hole stretch midway through the round, then birdied three of the last six holes to match the tournament record of 21 under par 267, set by Pettersen in October 2007.
"I didn't think of winning. I was just focused on my game and tried to do my best in the final round," Miyazato said. "It was my lucky day as no matter what I did was right. This victory is a good start of the season for me."
Pettersen finished with a 70 for 268 over Siam Country Club's Old Course. She had a chance to force a playoff on the par-5 18th, but missed a 23-foot eagle try.
"There's nothing I can do when Ai shoots 9 under," Pettersen said.
"I played pretty good golf and I don't waste much energy thinking of why I didn't win it. For me, it was a great start. ... Obviously, it's not a win. I had two bogeys this entire week, they both came today, but it's hard to play four rounds of no-bogey golf. What I've been doing this winter has been a good thing."
The 24-year-old Miyazato earned $195,000 for her second LPGA Tour title.
"I was trying to focus on every single shot and not trying to win or get a low score," Miyazato said. "Just every single shot, try to hit the fairway, hit the green and make some putts. It was really simple, but under the pressure it was really difficult to do. I did it well."
Miyazato, 10 under on her final 16 holes, also won the Evian Masters last year in France and has 15 victories on the Japanese tour.
"The Evian Masters gave me good experience," she said. "There were a lot of pressure packed situations today, but I controlled myself really well. This time, I felt like I was able to get the win with my style of golf."
Taiwan's Yani Tseng (69) was third, six strokes back at 15 under. Karrie Webb (67) and Cristie Kerr (70) followed at 13 under, and Laura Davies 65), Maria Hjorth (71), Momoko Ueda (72) and Song-Hee Kim (73) were 12 under.

Ricoh British Women's Open champion Catriona Matthew from North Berwick finished joint 16th on seven-under-par 281.
Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa, the winner last year, had a 72 to tie for 18th at 6 under, while Michelle Wie closed with a 69 to tie for 22nd at 5 under.
"Wish I could have made a few more putts. Hopefully I'll play better next week," said Wie, headed to Singapore for the HSBC Women's Champions.
Miyazato began her big mid-round run with a birdie on the par-4 sixth, then eagled the par-5 seventh and added birdies on Nos. 9-11 to cut Pettersen's lead to a stroke.
Pettersen dropped a stroke on the par-4 ninth with her first bogey of the tournament, but birdied the par-5 10th for the fourth straight day to push her advantage back to two strokes. Miyazato quickly countered, birdieing the 13th to again pull within one, and making another birdie on 15 to tie Pettersen at 20 under.
Pettersen fell back with a bogey on 16, missed a 6-foot birdie putt on 17, then settled for a birdie on 18 after missing her eagle try. In her 2007 victory, Pettersen beat Davies with an eagle on 18 after blowing a seven-stroke lead in the final round.
"Had my chances," Pettersen said. "I should have made the putt on 17. I played it exactly where I wanted it, but it broke a little bit more. I can't really control other players. I still shot 20 under par. I came close."
FINAL TOTALS

Par 288 (4x72)

267 Ai Miyazato (Jpn) 67 67 70 63
268 Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 66 64 68 70
273 Yani Tseng (Tai) 68 68 68 69
275 Karrie Webb (Aus) 69 69 70 67, Cristie Kerr 68 71 66 70
276 Momoko Ueda (Jpn) 70 65 69 72, Song-Hee Kim (Kor) 67 68 68 73, Maria Hjorth (Swe) 69 66 70 71, Laura Davies (Eng) 70 71 70 65
277 Amy Yang 70 72 65 70
278 In Kyung Kim (Kor) 70 71 67 70, Hee Young Park (Kor) 67 66 72 73
280 Na Yeon Choi (Kor) 71 71 69 69, M.J. Hur (Kor) 66 74 68 72, Hwa seon Lee (Kor) 70 70 70 70
281 Catriona Matthew (Sco) 70 68 70 73, Angela Stanford 68 72 71 70
282 Stacy Prammanasudh 72 68 70 72, Nontaya Srisawang (Tha) 69 69 73 71, Lorena Ochoa (Mex) 69 72 69 72, Amanda Blumenherst 71 74 68 69
283 Jiyai Shin (Kor) 71 74 69 69, Michelle Wie 72 68 74 69, Stacy Lewis 68 75 73 67, Kyeong Bae (Kor) 69 70 71 73
284 Sun Young Yoo (Kor) 70 73 71 70, Morgan Pressel 73 68 72 71, Brittany Lincicome 68 74 71 71
285 Pat Hurst 70 73 71 71
286 Aryia Jutanugarn (Tha) 72 74 72 68
287 Anna Nordqvist (Swe) 71 71 74 71
288 Se Ri Pak (Kor) 70 71 73 74, Eunjung Yi (Kor) 74 71 73 70, Brittany Lang 73 71 69 75, Katherine Hull (Aus) 70 71 73 74
289 Jee Young Lee (Kor) 78 70 68 73, Shinobu Moromizato (Jpn) 72 74 72 71
290 Mika Miyazato (Jpn) 74 74 71 71, Hee-Won Han (Kor) 72 73 75 70
291 Natalie Gulbis 74 72 70 75, Christina Kim 76 72 66 77, Candie Kung (Tai) 72 77 74 68
292 Meena Lee (Kor) 71 75 71 75, Kristy McPherson 75 72 72 73
293 Virada Nirapathpongporn (Tha) 75 73 74 71, Ji-Young Oh (Kor) 75 74 74 70
294 Eun Hee Ji (Kor) 73 74 74 73, Inbee Park (Kor) 71 77 73 73
295 Juli Inkster 72 77 71 75, Helen Alfredsson (Swe) 74 74 72 75
296 Lindsey Wright (Aus) 72 77 74 73, Russamee Gulyanamitta (Tha) 74 75 72 75
297 Sophie Gustafson (Swe) 74 78 72 73
298 Vicky Hurst 78 75 73 72, Meaghan Francella 74 76 70 78, Thipada Suwannapura (Tha) 77 72 74 75, Sandra Gal (Ger) 74 75 73 76
300 Wendy Ward 76 76 74 74
308 Maria Verchenova (Rus) 73 75 79 81

No Festival results available to us due to Internet fault

We regret that we are so far unable to bring you Saturday's final totals from the 3rd Hacienda del Alamo Women's & Girls' Festival.
This is because the Golf Resort's Internet connection has gone down.
Until it is restored, we are unable to bring you news of who has won the Hacienda del Alamo Women's Open and the Girls' Open categories.
Sorry!

[Late News (Monday): We hear that Kelsey Macdonald from Nairn won the tournament with a final round of 68... 39 out and 29 in.... well done Kelsey! No other scores so far. GK]