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Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Scottish Under-18 girls' championship


Carly Booth with her scorecard of one eagle and seven birdies at Peterhead today.

CARLY SHOWS HER CLASS WITH A 64 AND
LEADS QUALIFIERS AT PETERHEAD BY SIX


FROM COLIN FARQUHARSON

Carly Booth, arguably the most exciting teenage prospect in Scottish amateur golf, shot a memorable nine-under-par round of 64 on her way to leading the qualifiers by six strokes for the match-play stages of the Scottish Under-18 girls’ match-play championship over Peterhead Golf Club’s Craigewan links today.
The 15-year-old Perthshire prodigy from Comrie, having earlier played the way Michele Wie used to play, was, understandably, very disappointed to return “only” a level par 73 in the second round for a nine-under-par total of 137.
“I think the difference between the two rounds was that I tired in the afternoon and when I get tired, I make mistakes,” said Carly who played for Scotland in the European girls’ team championship from Tuesday to Saturday in Oslo last week.
“I struck the ball well for a 64 and I holed a lot of putts – I had only 25 putts in the morning, the longest being about 30ft for my first birdie at the third. Obviously I knew I had an exceptionally score going, the lowest I’ve ever had competitively, but I just told myself to keep calm, not to get excited – and I didn’t.”
Carly’s +3 handicap is now on its way towards becoming +4, an exceptional rating for one so young. But Miss Booth is an exceptional talent who has found her form again on her return from an unhappy few months at a Florida Golf Academy.
She stays she has older brother Wallace who, incidentally leads the Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit after victories in the Tennant Cup and Cameron Corbett Vase, to thank for that.
“Changes were made to my swing in America which didn’t work for me. Wallace has got me back to my natural swing and it’s made all the difference,” said Carly.
She is bidding to become the first player since Musselburgh’s Vikki Laing in 1998 to win both the Scottish Under-18 and Under-21 open championship in the same year.
Carly won the latter stroke-play title by nine strokes at Auchterarder little more than a fortnight ago. She was Scottish Under-16 champion and a Junior Ryder Cup player last year. .
In her brilliant, flawless nine-under-par 64 over the Peterhead ladies’ course lengthened by the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association from 5390 yd to 5,555yd with the use of some men’s tees for the championship, Carly had an eagle 3 (drive, seven-wood, 7ft putt) at the par-5, 396yd fifth hole and birdies at the third, eighth, ninth, 12th 14th, 17th and 18th in halves of 32 (five under par) and 32 (four under par).
Unusual for a low-scoring card, she had no 2s at the par-3s and she did not have a 5 either.
Her figures were:
OUT: 4 3 3 4 3 3 4 4 4 – 32.
IN: 3 4 3 4 4 4 3 3 4 – 32.
Although Carly’s score cannot be recognised as a new Peterhead ladies’ course record it is worth noting that this record stands at 68, set by 18 times Peterhead club champion Lorraine Chapman in 1996.
So Miss Booth’s round does deserve the tag of being the finest round ever played by a female golfer over the Peterhead links … and by a 15 year old at that!
As Margaret MacNaughtan, the SLGA chairman, summed it up: “It was an awesome round.”
Second best qualifier was East of Scotland girls champion Jane Turner (Mortonhall) with scores of 71 and 72 for three-under-par 143.
Renfrewshire women’s county champion Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm), earned the No 3 seed position in the draw and, like Jane, also bettered Carly Booth’s second-round score with a two-under-par 71, despite a double bogey 6 at the 13th, for 146.
Roseanne Niven (Crieff), a student at the University of California Berkeley, was unable to defend the championship she won at Peebles last year. She is sitting a college examination "online" via the Internet this week.

QUALIFIERS FOR MATCH-PLAY
Par 146 (2 x 73). CSS 73 73
CHAMPIONSHIP
137
C Booth (Comrie) 64 73.
143 J Turner (Mortonhall) 71 72.
146 M Briggs (Kilmacolm) 75 71.
148 P Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) 74 74.
150 L Hunter (Dalmahoy) 78 72.
152 K MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) 78 74, S Vass (Tain) 78 74.
154 R Watson (Elie & Earlsferry Ladies) 71 83.
156 L MacCallum (McDonald Ellon) 81 75, S Leslie (Westhill) 79 77. G Simpson (Murrayfield) 83 73.
157 E Muirhead (Pitlochry) 80 77, E Briggs (Kilmacolm) 79 78.
159 G Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey) 79 80, J Sneddon (Alyth) 79 80.
162 R Wilson (Monifieth) 84 78, I Craigie (Torwoodlee) 82 80.
163 A Niven (Crieff) 81 82.
164 R McQueen (Troon Bentinck Ladies) 79 85, E MacKay (Nairn Dunbar) 86 78, J Graham (Southerness) 81 83.
167 J Meldrum (Dullatur) 81 86, G Scanlan (Hamilton) 83 84, R Watton (Mortonhall) 83 84.
169 M Johnstone (Northern) 79 90, R McIntyre (Eden) 82 87, L McGillivray (Oldmeldrum) 82 87.
170 L Meldrum (Dullatur) 88 82.
172 M Aird (Strathmore) 91 81.
174 C Easton (Dalmahoy) 92 82.
175 A Mitchell (Hawick) 86 89, N Qayum (Ranfurly Castle) 87 88.
Upper half of draw
8.30 C Booth v A Mitchell.
8.37 I Craigie v R Wilson.
8.44 G Simpson v J Meldrum.
8.51 R McIntyre v R Watson.
8.58 L Hunter v L Meldrum.
9.05 R McQueen v E Muirhead.
9.12 E Briggs v J Graham.
9.19 M Aird v P Pretswell.
Lower half of draw
9.26 M Briggs v C Easton.
9.33 E MacKay v G Monteith.
9.40 S Leslie v R Watton.
9.47 M Johnstone v K MacDonald.
9.54 S Vass v L McGillivray.
10.01 G Scanlan v L MacCallum.
10.08 J Sneddon v A Niven.
10.15 N Qayum v J Turner.
Second-round ties at 1.0, 1.12, 1.24, 1.36, 1.48, 20., 2.12 and 2.24.
Thursday's quarter-finals at 8.45, 8.55, 9.05, 9.15; semi-finals at 1.30 and 1.40.
Friday's 18-hole final at 9am.

ANSLEY REID SALVER
QUALIFIERS
176
A McKechin (Elderslie) 89 87.
179 A Smith (Monifieth) 93 86.
183 H Gaunt (Troon Bentinck Ladies) 100 83.
185 F Fullerton (Huntly) 92 93.
188 L Duncan (Aboyne) 94 94, G MacDonald (Prestonfield) 98 90.
189 J Vass (Tain) 94 95.
190 H Peebles (Monifieth) 93 97, N Lamond (McDonald Ellon) 97 93.
191 K Moss (Monifieth) 95 96.
197 C Geddes (Northern) 98 99.
204 K MacCallum (McDonald Ellon) 100 104.
237 E Aird (Strathmore) 125 112.
282 O Borwick (McDonald Ellon) 146 136.
Upper half of draw
A McKechin first-round bye.
10.36 H Peebles v N Lamond.
10.43 G MacDonald v K MacCallum.
10.50 E Aird v F Fullerton.
Lower half of draw
10.57 H Gaunt v O Borwick.
11.04 C Geddes v L Duncan.
11.11 J Vass v K Moss.
A Smith first-round bye.
Quarter-finals start at 2.45, 2.55, 30.5 and 3.15.
Thursday's semi-finals start at 9.30 and 9.40; final at 1.50pm.

Withdrew: R Niven (Crieff), L Whyte (Aberdeen Ladies), C Tait (St Regulus), S Lamb (Glencorse).

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