June 2004 Archive

Wednesday 30th June 2004

From Colin Farquharson
East Division Inter-county Championship
FIFE RETAIN EAST DIVISIONAL TITLE
Fife booked themselves a place in the Scottish women's county finals - at Nairn Dunbar Golf Club from September 17 to 19 - for the second year in a row by retaining the East Division women's county team championship at Mortonhall Golf Club today (Wed).
Fife finished with an impressive 100 per cent record, following up 8 1/2-1/2 wins over both Stirling & Clackmannan and East Lothian with a 7-2 victory over Midlothian. Fife took the foursomes 3-0 and four of the singles through Louise Kenney (Pitreavie), Fiona Lockhart (St Regulus), Elaine Moffat (St Regulus) and Katrina Milne (Kirkcaldy).
Milne, Lockhart and Moffat were the top performers in the three-day event, each winning six games out of six.
Midlothian were runners-up and Stirling & Clackmannan drew 4 1/2-4 1/2 with East Lothian in the match between past champions but, on this occasion, fighting to avoid the wooden spoon.
Stirling & Clackmannan finished third.
Today's details:
MIDLOTHIAN 2, FIFE 7
Foursomes: C Hargan & B Murphy lost to L Kenney & K Milne 1 hole; F De Vries & K Marshall lost to F Lockhart & E Moffat 2 and 1; K Blackwood & C MacDonald lost to K Caithness & D Ford 2 and 1 (0-3).
Singles: Hargan lost to Kenney 5 and 4, T Laughland beat Caithness 1 hole, Murphy lost to Lockhart 3 and 2, Blackwood beat L Bennett 1 hole, MacDonald lost to Moffat 1 hole, L Fraser lost to Milne 4 and 3 (2-4).
STIRLING & CLACKMANNAN 4 1/2, EAST LOTHIAN 4 1/2
Foursomes: L Kenny & H MacRae beat K Brotherton & S Penman 6 and 5; K Mathieson & L Aitken lost to J Smith & L Anderson 3 and 2; S Mitchell & F McArthur lost to F Hindshaw & S McEwan 6 and 5 (1-2).
Singles: N Melville halved with M Thomson, Kenny lost to Brotherton 5 and 3, Mathieson beat S McMaster 1 hole, L Aitken beat Hindshaw 4 and 3, C Kenny lost to Smith 3 and 1, MacRae beat McEwan 1 hole (3 1/2-2 1/2).
Final placings 1 Fife, 2 Midlothian, 3 Stirling & Clackmannan, 4 East Lothian.

From Colin Farquharson
West Division Inter-county Championship
D AND A WIN WEST DIVISIONAL TITLE
Dunbartonshire & Argyll won the West Division women's county team championship on a rain-hit third and final day at Milngavie Golf Club. Play in the morning foursomes was suspended because of flooding. After consultation with the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association headquarters at Perth, it was decided that the foursomes would not be resumed when the course became playable again after lunchtime. Instead, the positions in the morning ties at the moment of suspension were recorded as the results. This meant that Dunbartonshire & Argyll carried over a 2 1/2- 1/2 foursomes lead into the singles against Lanarkshire and they went on for an overall 6 1/2-2 1/2 win which sends Dunbartonshire & Argyll to the Scottish county finals at Nairn Dunbar in September.
Defending champions Ayrshire completed their fall from grace by losing 5 1/2-3 1/2 to Renfrewshire. Ayrshire thus lost all three matches.
Today's details: LANARKSHIRE 2 1/2, DUNBARTONSHIRE & ARGYLL 6 1/2
Foursomes: Clare Queen & Alexandrea Young were all square after five holes against Anne Laing & Sara Bishop. Susan Wood & Elaine Cuthill were two down after four holes to Lois Connell & Helen Faulds. May Hughes and Jenna Wilson were three down after three holes to Kylie Wallker & Claire McNeil. (1/2 - 2 1/2).
Singles: L Lloyd lost to Laing 6 and 5, Queen lost to Bishop 4 and 3, Wilson halved with Walker, S Wood halved with G Webster, Cuthill lost to Connell 4 and 3, Young beat L Ruane 1 hole (2-4).
AYRSHIRE 3 1/2, RENFREWSHIRE 5 1/2
Foursomes: Pamela Feggans & Lesley Hendry were one up after six holes against Jennifer Jenkins & Gillian McGinlay. Catherine Malcolm & Debbie Watt were three up after six holes against Karen Fitzgerald & Kate O'Sullivan. Charlie Taylor & Alex Glennie were three down after five holes against Clare-Marie Carlton & Addi Shamash. (2-1).
Singles: Feggans beat Fitzgerald 1 hole, Watt lost to Carlton 5 and 3, Malcolm halved with O'Sullivan, Glennie lost to D Jackson 3 and 2, Hendry lost to L Robertson 1 hole, Taylor lost to Shamash 2 and 1 (1 1/2-4 1/2).
Final placings - 1 Dunbartonshire & Argyll, 2 Lanarkshire, 3 Renfrewshire, 4 Ayrshire

LGU Press Release
LADIES’ BRITISH OPEN MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Sarah Walton, the 2003 champion, is one of many top players entered for the Ladies British Mid-Amateur Championship to be played at Hunstanton Golf Club from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th JULY 2004.
Sarah, from Accrington and District, was a surprise winner last year at Royal Liverpool after tying on 229 with Danish player Stinne Thorsen and will have to carefully negotiate the exposed links at Hunstanton if she is to make a successful defence.
However on the way to that elusive second British title she will have to overcome the challenge from almost 100 players including several from the Continent and further afield.
Other players who might be expected to do well are Elizabeth McKinnon, a former New Zealand Junior Champion and a finalist in this year’s Portuguese Amateur and the 2002 Ladies’ British Senior’s Champion, Ros Page who landed that title at Longniddry.
Hunstanton Golf Club is set on the shores of the Wash and boasts of a history that goes back to 1891. It was extended some years later from 9 to 18 holes at the additional cost of £25.
Its last three holes are particularly challenging where the testing par three 16th is followed by the tough par four 17th before the last which demands an accurate drive into a shallow valley and then a long second shot to the exposed and elevated 18th green.
Competitors play 18 holes on each of the first two days and the 40 lowest scores and ties qualify for the final 18 holes on Sunday 4th June.

Lanarkshire Website now linked
Apologies to Lanarkshire for taking so long to get the link changed in the index on the left. They have a super new website... have a look.. and well done Lanarkshire!

From Colin Farquharson
IN-FORM FELICITY WINS BRIDGET JACKSON BOWL
Felicity Johnson, 17-year-old Harborne player, equalled Trish Johnson's 19-year-old women's course record of 65 in winning the Bridget Jackson Bowl open tournament at Handsworth Golf Club. Felicity, recent winner of the Lawon Trophy Under-18 award at the St Rule Trophy Open at St Andrews, had rounds of 65 and 72 for a 36-hole total of 137, seven shots under the CSS of 72.
Felicity won by four shots from Welsh international Jo Nicolson (Wrexham) with Curtis Cup player Shelley McKevitt, the British open amateur stroke-play champion from Reading, in third place on 142.
LEADING TOTALS
137 F Johnson (Harborne) 65 72.
141 J Nicolson (Wrexham) 73 68. 142 S McKevitt (Reading) 72 70.
143 C Dowling (Copt Heath) 67 76. 144 M Reid (Chevin) 69 75.
145 A Marshall (Burghley Park) 73 72, H Batt (Ashford) 70 75.
146 L Ball (Matfen Hall) 77 69, R Youngman (Oundle) 75 71.
148 S Birks (Wolstanton) 76 72.
149 S Garbutt (Ganton) 72 77. 150 J Hodge (Knowle) 76 75.
151 S Dye (Delamere) 77 74, E Lyons (West Surrey) 77 74, T Atkin (Leamington & Co) 75 76, N Booth (Highcliffe Castle) 74 77, S Walker (Kenwick Park) 74 77, E Sheffield (Newark) 70 81.
152 R Wood (Glossop &Dist) 77 75, S Hinton (Bridgnorth) 76 76.
153 N Edwards (Ganton) 76 77, B Loucks(Wrexham) 74 79.
155 J Ewart (Catterick) 83 72, V Saunders (Cambridge Meridien) 76 78.
156 C Smith (Hallowes) 78 78, V Willdigg (Astbury) 78 68, B McCormck (Ealing) 74 82, C Durbin (Chipping Sodbury) 72 84.
157 L Occleshaw (Landsdown) 78 78.
158 L Davies (Peterborough Milton) 81 77, M Smith (Hallowes) 76 82.
159 S Spencer (Whittington Heath) 81 78.
160 C Howells (Moor Hall) 80 80.
161 M Button (Nuneaton) 84 77.
163 C Hailstone (Griffin) 82 81.
164 B Dowell (Enmore Park) 85 79.
165 H Grant (Enmore Park) 82 83, J Phipps (Gog Magog) 80 85.
167 S Stubbs (Shifnal) 89 78, A Goodman (Notts Ladies) 88 79.
169 D Eaglefield (The Craythorne) 85 84, C Stubbs (Shifnal) 84 85.
170 F Thompson (Ellesborough) 88 82, A M Deeley (Handsworth) 86 84.
172 H Coles (Maxstoke Park) 89 83. 174 L Nicholls (Ingestre Park) 86 88. 175 R Jennings (Izaak Walton) 86 89.
180 E Stodart (Rugby) 94 86.

West of Scotland Girls'
The Jean McCulloch Foursomes were played at West Kilbride on Sunday. Unfortunately there were only 5 competitors due to other events and holidays starting. Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) played with two partners to allow everyone to play and came first and second with partners Carol McMillan and her sister Eilidh. Only 14 holes were played due to very wet weather.
Result
1. Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) and Carol McMillan(Airdrie) nett 57
2. Megan and Eilidh Briggs ( Ranfurly Castle) nett 58.5
3. Nichola Ferguson (Clober) and Lisa Byrne (Helensburgh) nett 62.5

Tuesday 29th June 2004

East Division Inter-County Championship
RAMPANT FIFE ON BRINK OF CLEAN SWEEP TITLE DEFENCE
Title-holders Fife scored their second 8 1/2-1/2 victory of the week, following up their comfortable win over Stirling & Clackmannan with an equally one-sided victory over East Lothian in the East Division women's inter-county team championship at Mortonhall Golf Club today (Tuesday).
In the other match, Stirling & Clackmannan regained some of their lost pride after Monday's drubbing by holding Midlothian to a 4 1/2-4 1/2 draw.
Tomorrow's final matches will pit Fife against Midlothian, the only two undefeated teams, with the title and a place in the Scottish county finals at Nairn Dunbar in September at stake.
Katrina Milne, Fiona Lockhart, Krystel Caithness and Elaine Moffat were all double winners for Fife against East Lothian, winning their singles ties as well as their morning foursomes.
East Lothian's half-point came from Scottish girl champion Kelly Brotherton's halved singles tie against Scotland international Louise Kenney.
Midlothian and Stirling & Clackmannan shared the foursomes and the singles with Midlothian's tail-gunners, Tracy Laughland and Belinda Murphy both winning to tie the day's scoreline.
Details:
EAST LOTHIAN 1/2, FIFE 8 1/2
Foursomes: K Brotherton & S Penman lost to L Kenney & K Milne 1 hole; J Smith & L Anderson lost to F Lockhart & E Moffat 2 and 1; S McMaster & S McEwan lost to K Caithness & D Ford 4 and 3 (0-3).
Singles: Brotherton halved with Kenney, Smith lost to Caithness 6 and 5, Mcmaster lost to Lockhart 5 and 4, F Hindshaw lost to L Bennett 2 and 1, M Thomson lost to Moffat 2 and 1, Anderson lost to Milne 5 and 3 (1/2-5 1/2).
STIRLING & CLACKMANNAN 4 1/2, MIDLOTHIAN 4 1/2
Foursomes: L Kenny & H MacRae halved with C Hargan & B Murphy; K Mathieson & L Aitken lost to K Blackwood & C MacDonald 4 and 2; S Mitchell & F McArthur beat F De Vries & K Marshall 1 hole (1 1/2-1 1/2).
Singles: MacRae halved with Hargan, Mitchell halved with MacDonald, Kenny beat L Fraser 4 and 3, N Melville beat Marshall 2 and 1, Mathieson lost to T Laughland 3 and 2, McArthur lost to Murphy 5 and 3 (3-3).

West Division Inter-County Championship
D & A v LANARKSHIRE TITLE DECIDER AT MILNGAVIE
It will be Dunbartonshire & Argyll v Lanarkshire for the title on the final day of the West Division women's inter-county team golf championship programme at Milngavie Golf Club.
Both teams have two wins out of two to their credit while defending champions Ayrshire and Renfrewshire are pointless.
Dunbartonshire & Argyll welcomed back Curtis Cup player and three times Scottish champion Anne Laing to their line-up - she did not play on the first day - and celebrated with a 5 1/2-3 1/2 win over Renfrewshire to follow up their 8-1 thrashing of Ayrshire on Monday. Renfrewshire did well to share the foursomes but were outgunned 4-2 in the singles.
Miss Laing had a 100 per cent record, winning the top foursomes in partnership with county champion Sara Bishop and then beating Renfrewshire champion Karen Fitzgerald 6 and 5 in the No 1 singles tie.
Lanarkshire followed up their first-day 6-3 win over Renfrewshire by beating Ayrshire 7-2, leading 2-1 after the foursomes and taking the singles 5-1. Curtis Cup reserve Claire Queen, Alexandra Young and Jenna Wilson, the Scottish Under-21 champion, all won for Lanarkshire in the morning and afternoon.
Yesterday's results:
DUNBARTONSHIRE & ARGYLL 5 1/2, RENFREWSHIRE 3 1/2
Foursomes: A Laing & S Bishop beat D Jackson & G McGinlay 6 and 5; K Walker & C McNeil halved with C-M Carlton & A Shamash; G Webster & L Ruane lost to K Fitzgerald & K O'Sullivan 3 and 1 (1 1/2-1 1/2).
Singles: Laing beat Fitzgerald 6 and 5, Walker beat O'Sullivan 3 and 2, Webster lost to Shamash 4 and 3, L Connell lost to Jackson 2 and 1, Ruane beat L Robertson 1 hole, Bishop beat Carlton 1 hole (4-2).
LANARKSHIRE 7, AYRSHIRE 2
Foursomes: C Queen & A Young beat P Feggans & G Lockhart 5 and 3; F Prior & E Cuthill lost to C Malcolm & D Watt 2 and 1; M Hughes & J Wilson beat C Taylor & L Hendry 2 and 1 (2-1).
Singles: Wilson beat Watt 1 hole, L Lloyd beat A Glennie 4 and 2, Cuthill, lost to Malcolm 2 holes, S Wood beat Taylor 5 and 3, Young beat Hendry 1 hole, Queen beat Lockhart 8 and 7 (5-1).

South Division Inter-county Championship
Borders booked their usual place in the Scottish county finals at Nairn Dunbar in September by winning the South Division women's inter-county team championship at Dumfries and County Golf Club. Borders beat Galloway 8 1/2-1/2 and Dumfries-shire 8-1. Dumfries-shire had beaten Galloway 5 1/2-3 1/2 in the opening-day match.

West Girls Golfing Association medal
on 28th June 2004 at Cawder Golf Club SS 72 CSS 72
Silver: 1st Handicap Fiona Williamson (9) Gross 81 - net 72, 2nd Handicap Lauren Makin (20) Gross 94 - net 74
Scratch Fiona Williamson 81
Bronze: 1st Handicap Eilidh Briggs (28) Gross 93 - net 65, 2nd Handicap Kathy Cathejo Gross 102 - net 76

Monday 28th June 2004

East Division Inter-County Championship
EAST CHAMPIONS FIFE MADE CONFIDENT START
Fife made a confident start to their defence of the East Division women's inter-county team golf championship when they whipped Stirling & Clackmannan 8 1/2-1/2 on the first day at Mortonhall Golf Club, Edinburgh.
Stirling & Clackmannan were Scottish champions in 2001 and 2002 but even with Scotland caps Lynn Kenny and Heather MacRae in their line-up they were no match for the Fifers who swept the foursomes 3-0.
Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) beat international team-mate Lynn Kenny by 2 and 1 in the top singles title. Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) got Stirling & Clackmannan's half-point in a square match with Krystle Caithness (St Regulus), the Scottish Under-16 girls' champion.
Fife's singles winners were Kenney, Fiona Lockhart, Lorna Bennett, Elaine Moffat and Katrina Milne.
In the other match, Midlothian edged a 5-4 win over East Lothian after taking a 2-1 lead from the foursomes. Wins for Claire Hargan, Belinda Murphy and Claire MacDonald in the singles gave Midlothian the additional points they needed for a winning lead.
Details:
FIFE 8 1/2, STIRLING & CLACKMANNAN 1/2
Foursomes: Louise Kenney & Katrina Milne beat Lynn Kenny & Cecilia Kenny 4 and 2; Fiona Lockhart & Elaine Moffat beat Katie Mathieson & Heather MacRae 5 and 4; Krystle Caithness & Dororthy Ford beat Fiona McArthur & Stella Mitchell 1 hole (3-0).
Singles: Louise Kenney beat Lynn Kenny 2 and 1, Krystle Caithness halved with MacRae, Lockhart beat Mitchell 1 hole, Lorna Bennett beat Nicola Melville 2 and 1, Moffat beat Laura Aitken 3 and 2, Milne beat McArthur 5 and 3 (5 1/2-1/2).
EAST LOTHIAN 4, MIDLOTHIAN 5
Foursomes: Kelly Brotherton & Fiona Hindshaw lost to Claire Hargan & Belinda Murphy 3 and 1; Jayne Smith & Lindsey Anderson beat Tracy Laughland & Karen Marshall 3 and 2; Moira Thomson & Shonagh McEwan lost to Kirsten Blackwood & Claire MacDonald 3 and 1 (1-2).
Singles: Brotherthon lost to Hargan 1 hole, Smith lost to Murphy 2 holes, Sharon McMaster beat Louise Fraser 2 and 1, McEwan lost to MacDonald 2 holes, Thomson beat Fiona De Vries 3 and 2, Anderson beat Laughland 2 and 1 (3-3).

West Division Inter-County Championship
D & A WHIP TITLE-HOLDERS AYRSHIRE
TITLE-holders Ayrshire were crushed 8-1 by Dunbartonshire & Argyll on the first day of the West Division women's inter-county golf team championship at Milngavie Golf Club yesterday (Monday).
Ayrshire's only winners were Scotland international Pamela Feggans and Gillian Lockhart in the foursomes. They had a good one-hole win over Sara Bishop and Helen Faulds. After that it was one-way traffic in favour of Dunbartonshire & Argyll even without the services of Scottish champion and Curtis Cup player Anne Laing.
D&A's players who made a 6-0 clean sweep of the singles were Sara Bishop, Kylie Walker, Claire McNeil, Lois Connell, Gemma Webster and Louisa Ruane.
Lanarkshire beat Renfrewshire 6-3 in the other match on the opning programme. Lanarkshire took the foursomes 2-1 and singles wins by Jenna Wilson, Susan Wood, Alexandra Young and Clare Queen clinched it for Lanarkshire.
Details:
LANARKSHIRE 6, RENFREWSHIRE 3
Foursomes: May Hughes & Jenna Wilson beat Karen Fitzgerald & Kate O'Sullivan 2 and 1; Fiona Prior & Elaine Cuthill beat Jennifer Jenkins & Addi Shamash 4 and 3; Clare Queen & Alexandra Young lost to Clare-Marie Carlton & Donna Jackson 1 hole (2-1).
Singles: Wilson beat Fitzgerald 6 and 5, Lesley Lloyd lost to O'Sullivan 2 and 1, Prior lost to Carlton 2 holes, Susan Wood beat Shamash 1 hole, Young beat Jackson 3 and 1, Queen beat Jenkins 2 and 1.
AYRSHIRE 1, DUNBARTONSHIRE & ARGYLL 8
Foursomes: Pamela Feggans & Gillian Lockhart beat Sara Bishop & Helen Faulds 1 hole; Alex Glennie & Lesley Hendry lost to Kylie Walker & Claire McNeil 2 and 1; Catherine Malcolm & Debbie Watt lost to Gemma Webster & Louisa Ruane 2 and 1 (1-2). Singles: Feggans lost to Bishop 1 hole, Glennie lost to Walker 6 and 5, Malcolm lost to McNeil 5 and 4, Charlie Taylor lost to Lois Connell 1 hole, Lesley Williamson lost to Webster 8 and 7, Hendry lost to Ruane 2 and 1 (0-6).

North Division Inter-County Championship
NORTHERN COUNTIES REACH FINALS AGAIN
SCOTTISH champions Northern Counties retained the Northern Division women's inter-county title at Monifieth yesterday (Monday) and so booked a place in this year's Scottish women's county finals on home territory at Nairn Dunbar Golf Club in September.
Northern Counties took a 3-0 stranglehold on their last-day title decider with Aberdeenshire by making a clean sweep of the morning foursomes.
But Aberdeenshire found their form by winning four of the singles but Northern Counties just made it with a 5-4 victory.
Northern Counties needed only two more points after lunch to ensure victory - and that was all they got. New Zealander Liz McKinnon (Nairn), all square after 13 holes, finished strongly to beat Julie Henderson (Inverurie) 3 and 2 while Cara Gruber (Royal Dornoch), one down to Aberdeenshire champion Sjavon Wilson (Murcar) after 14 holes, won the 15th, 16th and 17th for a 2 and 1 victory.
In the other match, Perth & Kinross avoided the wooden spoon by beating Angus 6-3 after winning the foursomes 3-0
Details:
NORTHERN COUNTIES 5, ABERDEENSHIRE 4
Foursomes: Cara Gruber & Pam Mackay beat Sjavon Wilson & Sheena Wood 1 hole; Liz McKinnon & Jenny Milne beat Donna Pocock & Jill Harrison 3 and 2; Lesley Mackay & Kerri Harper beat Laura McLardy & Linda Urquhart 3 and 2 (3-0).
Singles: McKinnon beat Julie Henderson 3 and 2, Gruber beat S Wilson 2 and 1, L Mackay lost to Wood 5 and 4, Milne lost to Harrison 4 and 3, P Mackay lost to Urquhart 1 hole, Harper lost to Pocock 4 and 3 (2-4).
ANGUS 3, PERTH & KINROSS 6
Foursomes: Dawan Dewar, Shonagh Raitt lost to Emily Ogilvy & Jill Milne 2 holes; Lynne Fotheringham & Susan Arbuckle lost to Jane Yellowlees & Fiona Ramsay 3 and 2; Alexandra Bushby & Ann Ramsay lost to Dawn Butchart & Avril Ker 4 and 3 (0-3).
Singles: Raitt beat Yellowlees 1 hole, A Ramsay beat Ker 4 and 3, Dewar lost to Roseanne Niven 2 and 1, Jackie Brown beat Ogilvy 4 and 3, Lynne Fenton lost to F Ramsay 1 hole, Fotheringham lost to Butchart 4 and 3 (3-3).
FINAL POINTS
Northern Counties 2 1/2pt, Aberdeenshire 2, Perth & Kinross 1, Angus 1/2.

NATALIE WINS PLEASINGTON PUTTER
Natalie Haywood from Rotherham won the Pleasington Putter women's open tournament at the Blackburn course on Sunday. She had rounds of 73 and 72 for an aggregate of 145 (the CSS was 75 and 75).
The defending champion, Julie Ross (Whitley Bay) was runner-up, two shots behind after scores of 72 and 75 for 147.
Sara Garbutt (Ganton) took third place on 149 with scores of 76 and 73.
The best net aggregate was achieved by four-handicap Bingley St Ives member, Helen Butterfield who had net rounds of 78 and 69 for 147.

South Division Inter-County Championship
Yesterday (Sunday) Borders beat Galloway 3-0 in the morning foursomes and in the afternoon singles Borders beat Galloway 5 and a half to a half. Final result Borders 8.5, Galloway 0.5

It's a Watson take-over at Murrayfield
Congratulations to sisters Sally and Rebecca Watson who completed a unique double today. Sally (aged 12) won the Murrayfield Ladies Club Championship by 5&4 and sister Rebecca (aged 15), not to be outdone, won the Murrayfield Junior Club Championship by 7&6.

South v East Girls
South of Scotland Girls played East of Scotland Girls in a six a-side match at Lochmaben on Saturday. The weather was not all that great but the girls had a good time and Lochmaben is a lovely spot. Result was a win for South by 3.5 to 2.5
Alison Tait (12) beat Rebecca Watson (10) 7 & 5
Gillian Monteath (12) halved with Louise MacGregor (10)
Alison Williamson (19) lost to Arlene McGarty (14) 3& 2
Amy Ford (20) beat Rebecca Hyde (18) 2 & 1
Megan Handley (24) lost to Cara Easton (21) 1 hole
Emma McDowall (27) beat Samantha Lamb (26) 2 & 1

Futures Tour
Heather Stirling added a third round 73 to finish on 220 and tie for 36th place in the FUTURES Golf Tour's $70,000 GMAC FUTURES Golf Classic at the 6154-yard, par 36-35 - 71 Blue Fox Run Golf Course yesterday. The tournament was won by Nicole Perrot (Vina del Mar, Chile) on 209 (69-72-68). The winner got $9,800, Heather took home $355.

Sunday 27th June 2004

British Ladies Open Amateur Championship
LOUISE BECOMES FIRST SWEDE TO WIN BRITISH TITLE
[Picture right shows winner Louise Stahle (Sweden), LGU Executive Chairman Jan Bennett and runner-up Anna Highgate (Southerndown) before the start of the final today.
Photo Courtesy and Copyright © Tom Ward]
Louise Stahle, a 19-year-old from Barseback Golf & Country Club, has become the first Swedish player in the 111-year history of the Ladies' British open amateur golf championship to win the title.
She beat Curtis Cup player, 21-year-old Anna Highgate (Southerndown) by 4 and 2 in the 18-hole final over the Gullane No 1 course, East Lothian this afternoon.
Miss Stahle, who won the St Rule Trophy 36-hole tournament at St Andrews last weekend, was roughly two or three under par in the final after being three-under-par in beating Sophie Walker (Kenwick Park) 3 and 2 in morning semi-finals.
Miss Highgate had been three over the card in knocking out the defending champion, 19-year-old Elisa Serramia from Barcelona at the 20th hole in her semi-final.
Louise, who will be enrolling at Arizona State University in the autumn, was never behind after winning the second hole with a par 4 after her opponent hooked her approach shot into the thick rough on the bank above the green.
Miss Stahle, the long, straighter hitter and a dead-eye putter, surged into a three-hole lead with back-to-back birdies at the long third and short fourth. Anna Highgate, who had been complaining about back pains, produced an eagle 3 at the fifth to score her first success of the final.
Louise, with twice Gullane junior champion Alistair Smeaton as her caddie all week, hit back with yet another birdie at the sixth and a par for the Swede was good enough to put her four up after seven holes.
There was a five-minute hold-up in play between the seventh green and eighth tee while Miss Highgate had two "chilling patches" applied to her lower back by championship secretary Susan Simpson.
The patches must have had a bit of magic in them because the Anna birdied three of the next four holes, winning the eighth with a 3, halving the 10th in birdie 4s and winning the long 11th with a 4, where Louise drove into a fairway bunker and took two shots to extricate herself.
With her lead cut to two holes, Miss Stahle was able to get back in the groove with winning pars at the 12th and 13th.
Miss Highgate, four down with four to play after a half in par at the 14th, birdied the long 15th to cut the deficit to three but bogeyed the next to lose by 4 and 2.
Later Anna said:
"I was one under par for the front nine - and three down. So I couldn't really do much about that. Louise played so really well.
"I felt my back when I hit a shot out of the rough at the second hole. But was so much better after I had the patches put on before we went on the eighth tee. And I also took painkillers.
"Then I had a bit of a run after that, birdieing the eighth, the 10th and the 11th and winning two of them to get back to two down.
"I'm disappointed to lose the final but it was to very good play by Louise and, looking at the whole week, I'm pleased with the way I played. Each day was a sort of bonus.
"Will I be back for next year's championship? I don't know yet. We'll see."
New champion Louise Stahle said:
"It's a terrific feeling to have made history in Swedish sport by becoming the first golfer from my country to win the British women's open amateur championship. I played well all week and to be three under par in both the semi-final and the final was more than I could have hoped for.
"I came to Scotland playing well about 10 to 14 days ago. I won a 36-hole event open Sweden to professionals by four shots with a seven under par total just before we left.
So that gave me a lot of confidence for coming over. Then I won the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews with some good figures over the closing holes of the Old Course.
"That was another boost so I came into the British with a lot of confidence.
I got a new set of clubs recently and they've been working well. I drove pretty long and straight all week but I think the biggest plus in my game was that I putted well every day.
I hardly had a three-putt and I took almost all the chances that came my way.
"My local caddie, Alistair, was such a big help as well over a course he obviously knew a lot more about than I did.
"I'm not think about turning professional for a while. I'm going to Arizona State University in the autumn for four years and that's all I'm looking forward to."

North County Matches
ABERDEENSHIRE-NORTHERN COUNTIES TITLE DECIDER
Scottish champions Northern Counties, winners of the divisional title 12 months ago, meet Aberdeenshire at Monifieth on Monday in the title-deciding match of the Northern Division women's county team golf championship.
Aberdeenshire followed up their Saturday 5-4 win over Perth & Kinross by beating Angus 5-4 to be the only team with a 100 per cent record after two days' play.
Northern Counties were held to a 4 1/2-4 1/2 draw by host county Angus on Saturday but scored a convincing 7-2 win over Perth & Kinross yesterday (Sunday).
Details:SATURDAY
PERTH & KINROSS 4, ABERDEENSHIRE 5
Foursomes: J Yellowlees, R Niven beat S Wood, S Wilson 1 hole; E Ogilvy, D Butchart lost to J Harrison, D Pocock 2 and 1; C Booth, J Milne lost to L Urquhart, C Wilson 1 hole (1-2)
Singles: Niven beat S Wilson 4 and 3, A Ker lost to Wood 8 and 6, F Ramsay lost to L McLardy 7 and 5, Ogilvy beat C Wilson 3 and 2, Milne beat Urquhart 2 and 1, Butchart lost to Harrison 4 and 3 (3-3).
NORTHERN COUNTIES 4 1/2, ANGUS 4 1/2
Foursomes: L Mackay, A Scott lost to D Dewar, S Raitt 1 hole; L McKinnon, J Milne beat J Brown, L Fenton 4 and 3; C Gruber, P Mackay halved with A Bushby, A Ramsay (1 1/2-1 1/2.
Singles: L Mackay lost to Dewar 5 and 4, McKinnon beat Ramsay 5 and 4, Gruber beat Fenton 3 and 2, Milne beat S Arbuckle 8 and 7, K Harper lost to Raitt 3 and 2, Scott lost to L Fotheringham (3-3).
SUNDAY
PERTH & KINROSS 2, NORTHERN COUNTIES 7
Foursomes: Yellowlees, Niven beat L Mackay, Scott 2 and 1; Ogilvy, Jill Milne lost to McKinnon, Jenny Milne 1 hole; Booth, Butchart conceded to Gruber, P Mackay five up (1-2).
Singles: Ogilvy lost to McKinnon 7 and 5, Yellowlees lost to Gruber 5 and 3, Niven lost to L Mackay 2 and 1, Ker lost to P mackay 4 and 2, Ramsay lost to P Maclennan 3 and 1, Jill Milne beat Jenny Milne 1 hole (1-5).
ANGUS 4, ABERDEENSHIRE 5
Foursomes: Dewar, Raitt lost to S Wilson, Wood 4 and 3; Bushby, Ramsay halved with Pocock, Harrison; Fenton, Brown lost to Urquhart, McLardy 2 and 1 (1/2-2 1/2).
Singles: Dewar beat S Wilson 4 and 3, Raitt lost to Wood 5 and 4, Bushby halved with Pocock, Brown lost to J Henderson 6 and 5, Fotheringham beat C Wilson 4 and 3, Ramsay beat Harrison 2 and 1 (3 1/2-2 1 1/2).
How they stand
Aberdeenshire 2pt, Northern Counties 1 1/2, Angus 1/2, Perth & Kinross 0.
Monday's final matchess:
Northern Counties v Aberdeenshire, Angus v Perth & Kinross.

South County Matches
DUMFRIES-SHIRE MAKE WINNING START
Dumfries-shire beat Galloway by a 2pt margin in the opening match of the South Division women's inter-county team championship at Dumfries & County Golf Club on Saturday.
Details:DUMFRIES-SHIRE 5 1/2, GALLOWAY 3 1/2
Foursomes: D McDonald, K Wells beat S McMurtrie, C Meldrum 2 and 1; F McGregor, T Lilley halved with J Brydson, G Robson; P Beattie, E Mauchlin beat P Maghill, S Martin 2 and 1 (2 1/2- 1/2).
Singles: McDonald beat McMurtrie 4 and 3, Wells lost to Meldrum 1 hole, F McGregor lost to Robson 2 and 1, Lilley lost to Brydson 3 and 1, Beattie beat Martin 7 and 6, M McGregor beat F Fingland 5 and 4 (3-3).

Janice Moodie Trophy - Windyhill
The Janice Moodie Open will take place at Windyhill G.C. on Wednesday 21st July and they still have some spaces left....There are three age categories which are 10 - 14; 15 - 17 and 18 - 21.
The entry fee is £5 and this should be sent to Celia White - 98 Hillfoot Drive, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 3QG along with the NAME, address, age, handicap and club. Entries can also go directly to Windyhill Golf Club (ladies section).

Nicola wins two Club championships
Nicola Melville not only won the Stirling Ladies Championship today, beating Elaine Allison, the defending champion by 2 & 1, she also won the Bridge of Allan Ladies Championship for the second time last month beating Claire Copocci by 4 & 3.

Futures Tour
Heather Stirling (Bridge of Allan) is still hanging in there at the FUTURES Golf Tour's $70,000 GMAC FUTURES Golf Classic at the 6154-yard, par 36-35 - 71 Blue Fox Run Golf Course. However her two round total of 147 (75, 72) is 10 shots behind leader Stephanie George (Myerstown, PA) on 137 (67.70)
Another Scot Linzi Morton (Tulliallan) who regularly competes in th Futures Tour is home this week and came to support the girls at the British at Gullane. Nice to see you Linzi!

North Inter-Counties
TITLE HOLDERS NORTHERN COUNTIES HELD BY ANGUS IN OPENER AT MONIFIETH
Title-holders Northern Counties were held to a 4 1/2-4 1/2 draw by Angus on the opening day of the Northern Division women's county team championship at rain-soaked Monifieth (on Saturday).
The foursomes were shared 1 1/2-1 1/2 and each side had three wins in the singles - Liz McKinnon, Cara Gruber and Jenny Milne for Northern Counties, while Dawn Dewar, Shonagh Raitt and Lynne Fotheringham won for Angus.
In the other match, Aberdeenshire beat Perth & Kinross 5-4. Carly Booth, making her county debut for Perth & Kinross at the age of 12 and partnered by Jillian Milne, lost in the foursomes by one hole to Linda Urquhart and Carol Wilson.
Aberdeenshire took the foursomes 2-1 and the singles were tied at 3-3. Roseanne Niven, Emily Ogilvy and Jillian Milne were winners in the afternoon for Perth & Kinross. Sheena Wood, Laura McLardy and Jill Harrison won their singles ties for Aberdeenshire who play Angus on Sunday while Northern Counties tackle Perth & Kinross.
First-day results:
PERTH & KINROSS 4, ABERDEENSHIRE 5
Foursomes: J Yellowlees, R Niven beat S Wood, S Wilson 1 hole; E Ogilvy, D Butchart lost to J Harrison, D Pocock 2 and 1; C Booth, J Milne lost to L Urquhart, C Wilson 1 hole (1-2)
Singles: Niven beat S Wilson 4 and 3, A Ker lost to Wood 8 and 6, F Ramsay lost to L McLardy 7 and 5, Ogilvy beat C Wilson 3 and 2, Milne beat Urquhart 2 and 1, Butchart lost to Harrison 4 and 3 (3-3).
NORTHERN COUNTIES 4 1/2, ANGUS 4 1/2
Foursomes: L Mackay, A Scott lost to D Dewar, S Raitt 1 hole; L McKinnon, J Milne beat J Brown, L Fenton 4 and 3; C Gruber, P Mackay halved with A Bushby, A Ramsay (1 1/2-1 1/2.
Singles: L Mackay lost to Dewar 5 and 4, McKinnon beat Ramsay 5 and 4, Gruber beat Fenton 3 and 2, Milne beat S Arbuckle 8 and 7, K Harper lost to Raitt 3 and 2, Scott lost to L Fotheringham (3-3).
Rest of programme:
Sunday: Northern Counties v Perth & Kinross, Aberdeenshire v Angus.
Monday: Northern Counties v Aberdeenshire, Angus v Perth & Kinross.

Lunch-time News
British Open Amateur Championship
WELSH GIRL KOs TITLE-HOLDER IN SEMI-FINALS AT GULLANE
Welsh international and Curtis Cup player Anna Highgate produced a great performance to reach this afternoon's 18-hole final of the British women's open amateur golf championship over the Gullane No 1 course, East Lothian.
Anna, 21-year-old Southerndown GC member, toppled the defending champion, 19-year-old Elisa Serramia from Barcelona, at the 20th hole.
Anna, two up with three holes to play, was rocked by a last-gap fightback from the Spaniard who birdied the 16th and 18th to take the semi-final into extra holes.
But Miss Highgate, the 14th qualifier, won through at the 20th with a par 4 after the Spaniard fluffed a chip.
Anna, the first Welsh player to reach the final since Becky Morgan in 1996, will meet Louise Stahle (Sweden) in the final.
Stahle, a 19-year-old from Barseback and winner of the St Rule Trophy tournament at St Andrews last week, became the first Swedish player to reach the final for many years. She beat Sophie Walker, the 19-year-old Loughborough University student and Kenwick Park Golf Club member, with a sub-par display for a 3 and 2 victory in the first semi-final.
Anna Highgate, a member of the Great Britian & Ireland Curtis Cup team at Formby, knocked out the defending champion, Elisa Serramia (Spain) at the 20th hole in the second semi-final.
Louise Stahle, who starts a four-year golf scholarship at Arizona University in the autumn, won the first hole with a birdie against Sophie and a par at the second was enough to increase her lead to two holes.
Miss Walker, the 29th qualifier, produced a birdie 4 at the long fifth to halve the deficit but then bogeyed the sixth to fall two behind again. Out in one-under-par 35 and two up, the Swedish player birdied the long 10th to increase her lead to three. The 11th was halved in birdies, the first of a sequence of six halved holes which ended the tie on the 16th green.
Louise Stahle was three under par and Sophie Walker level for the holes played.
In the second semi-final, Anna Highgate, the 14th qualifier, went one down to Elisa Serramia, the 23rd qualifier, with a double-bogey 6 at the second after a hooked drive but bounced back with winning pars at the fourth and sixth to be one up before she bogeyed the short ninth to be all square at the turn.
Anna got her first birdie of the match at the long 10th to regaint he lead but Elisa eagled the 11th to square the contest and a par at the next was enough to put the Spaniard one up for the first time since the second hole.
Miss Highgate then won three holes in a row with par-par-birdie figures from the 13th to the 15th to be two up with three to play.
The defending champion then finished strongly with a birdie 2 at the 16th and a conceded birdie 3 at the 18th after a fine approach shot to within 2 1/2ft of the flagstick to square the game and take the second semi-final into extra holes.
After the 19th was halved in par 4s, Miss Highgate won a place in the final with a par 4 at the second where Miss Serramia was just short of the putting surface in two and fluffed her chip, taking another three shots for a bogey 5.
Anna was an approximate three over par for the holes played

Saturday 26th June 2004

British Open Amateur Championship
TWO BRITS IN LAST FOUR AT GULLANE
Two British players are through to Sunday morning's semi-finals of the Ladies' British women's open amateur golf championship over the Gullane No 1 course, East Lothian in Scotland ... and Sophie Walker (Kenwick Park) could meet Anna Highgate (Southerndown) in the 18-hole afternoon final.
First Sophie, a 19-year-old Loughborough University student, must beat Sweden's Louis Stahle and Curtis Cup player Anna must KO the rampant defending champion, 19-year-old Elisa Serramia from Barcelona.
Miss Walker, making her debut in the championship, played brilliant golf in weather that was almost as bad as the wind and rain that virtually wiped out two days' play earlier in the week and forced the Ladies Golf Union organisers to add a day on to the progreamme.
"I like playing in the wind and rain. My opponent (Lisa Jean) comes from Australia so I thought she wouldn't have much experience of playing in conditions like that," said Sophie who was one under par in beating Lisa Jean by 5 and 4.
"That's the best I've struck the ball for a long time, certainly this year. I've not played all that much this season because I've been studying for exams at university. I think the rest from golf has done me good."
Sophie had birdies at the third, fifth, 10th and 12th. A slender one up at the turn, Miss Walker won four of the five holes played on the inward half, peppering the flag with sweetly-hit irons through the rain.
Anna Highgate, 21, won her quarter-final by 3 and 1 against Spain's Carolina Andrade.
"I can't believe I'm made it through to the last four of the British champion. I'm ecstatic," said the Welsh girl. "It was pretty horrible out there all afternoon but I tried to stay focused no matter how wet it got."
Anna birdied the third and the ninth on her way to a one-hole lead at the turn and then she set off for hom with a birdie 4 at the 10th and an eagle 3 at the 11th to surge three up. Miss Highgate's eagle was made up of a drive, four-iron and a 6ft putt through the pouring rain at this 465yd hole.
Miss Andrade won back the 14th but Anna closed her out by winning the 17th.
Elisa Serramia, whom Miss Highgate faces in the second semi-final on Sunday morning, did not lose a hole in beating the No 2 qualifier, Laura Eastwood (Yelverton) by 5 and 4. The Barcelona teenager, who is bound for the University of California in the autumn if she passes the SAT entrance test, birdied the first and also won the second to go two up right away.
Miss Eastwood hung on in there with seven successive holes halved for the remainder of the outward half. Then Elisa, who thinks she is just about the same player she was when she won the British title at Lindrick last year, took a grip on the match by winning the 10th, 11th and 13th with pars.
Louise Stahle, Sofie Walker's semi-final opponent, comes from Barseback, Sweden, where last year's Solheim Cup match was played. The 19-year-old beat a field of Swedish female professionals in a tournament before she came to Scotland and won the St Rule Trophy 36-hole event at St Andrews last weekend by four shots.
Miss Stahle, who will enrol at Arizona State University in the autumn, was one over par in beating compatriot Sofie Andersson. Louise put herself in the driving seat early on by winning the first, third, sixth and seventh to be three up at the turn. Sofie kept plugging away, winning back the 11th and 13th, but Louise, who had been in several bunkers after the turn, won the 14th and the 15th, where she played a great recovery from sand to win the hole and the match by 4 and 3.

Friday 25th June 2004

British Open Amateur Championship
IT'S A SCOTS SHUT-OUT IN BRITAIN AT GULLANE
ALL nine Scots who qualified for the match-play stages of the British women's open amateur golf championship came a cropper at either the first or second hurdle as glorious sunshine returned to the Gullane No 1 links yesterday (Friday).
American college student Louise Kenney, a member of Pitreavie Golf Club, Dunfermline, was the only one still standing as the Flowers of Scotland were cut down by the opposition in the morning first round.
But 21-year-old Louise, a 4 and 2 morning winner over Kristina Rothengatter (Germany), had a Swedish tiger by the tail in the second round and was walloped 6 and 4 by Karin Sjodin, a 20-year-old Oklahoma State University student from Gothenburg and runner-up in the American women's college championship in May.
Karin, whose 8 and 7 victory in the morning over Faye Sanderson (Heworth) was the biggest of the first round, carried on against Miss Kenney where she had left off in the morning. By the turn, Louise was trailing by three holes and the tie ended on 14th green. The powerful Swede birdied all four par-5 holes that were played.
All in all, it was not a particularly good day for the standing of women's amateur golf in Great Britain & Ireland. Only five representatives figure in this morning's round of the last 16 - recent Curtis Cup team members Claire Coughlan (Cork) and Anna Highgate (Southerndown), Kerry Smith, a former Curtis Cup player from Waterlooville where she is the club chef, Sophie Walker (Kenwick Park) and Laura Jane Eastwood (Yelverton).
Both US Curtis Cup players in the field, Annie Thurman (Oklahoma State) and Sarah Huarte (University of California), made their exit in the early evening sunshine. Huarte lost to a birdie at the 19th by the 19-year-old defending champion from Barcelona, Elisa Serramia.
In the black morning for Scots, Royal Dornoch's Lesley Mackay went down by 2 and 1 to Sofie Andersson (Sweden) after being all square at the turn.
Jo Carthew (Ladybank) also lost on the 17th green to Stephanie Kirchmayr (Germany), having been one up after nine holes.
Stirling University student Dawn Dewar (Monifieth) was three down at the turn to Anna Roscio (Italy) and could not halt the slide. She eventually lost by 4 and 3.
Krystle Caithness (St Regulus), only 15 years old and making her debut in the championship, was all square after nine holes against Joanna Klatten, a French girl who then won five holes in a row from the 10th to eliminate the Scot by a 5 and 4 margin.
The Scottish disaster story continued with Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) crumbling from a two-hole lead at the turn to a 2 and 1 defeat by Lisa Jean, the Australian who won the Munross Trophy 36-hole open event at Montrose a fortnight ago.
Heather's San Diego State University team-mate, Jenna Wilson from Strathaven, also lost from a potentially winning position at the turn. Jenna, had a birdie 2 at the fourth and an eagle 2 at the seventh, where she holed a full approach shot, but that only put her one up after nine holes against Kiran Matharu (Sandmoor). The English girl gained the upperhand on the inward half and won on the last green.
See LGU website for full results

Kennedy Salver - Thursday, 24th June
The morning round of the West Division Junior Inter-County Matches at Largs Golf Club, was played in very heavy rain making conditions extremely difficult. Nevertheless, the girls coped and played really well with many of the games having close finishes. Renfrewshire won against Dunbartonshire & Argyll by 4 matches to 1, while Lanarkshire defeated Ayrshire 3 - 2.
Because of the unpleasant weather conditions and casual water around, the afternoon games were reduced to 12 holes. In the 3rd/4th play-off D & A defeated Ayrshire by 3 matches to 1 with one halved. Renfrewshire, the holders of the Kennedy Salver, lost out this year to Lanarkshire in the final, Lanarkshire winning by 4 matches to 1 - Congratulations! and well done to all the girls taking part. Hope you've dried out!

Thursday 24th June 2004

British Open Amateur Championship, Gullane
POW MAKES IT EIGHT SCOTS IN BRITISH MATCH-PLAY AFTER PLAY-OFF DRAMA
Selkirk safety officer Martine Pow flirted with danger before surviving a 2hr play-off to join eight other Scots in the first round of the match-play stages of the weather-hit British women's open amateur golf championship over the Gullane No 1 course yesterday (Thursday).
Stirling University student Lynn Kenny, the former Scottish champion who was also involved in the play-off between 14 players to decide which seven would qualify, was eliminated at the third extra hole with a three-putt bogey 5.
Martine, like Lynn also three-putted the second extra hole, which meant the two Scots had to play another hole with Germany's Stephanie Doering and Azahara Munoz (Spain) with only two places in the match-play draw to be filled.
Miss Pow, 39-year-old semi-finalist in the Scottish women's championship for the past two years and employed in the family scaffolding firm, got a solid par-4 and so too did Munoz. Doering ran up an 8 to join Kenny on the sidelines.
Some 50 players were out on the course when the Ladies Golf Union organisers decided at 10am yesterday (Thursday) morning that the return of Wednesday's wind and rain meant that conditions were too bad to continue for the second day in a row. It was decided that the 64 qualifiers for the match-play would be decided on the first-round scores.
Curtis Cup player and three times Scottish champion Anne Laing (Vale of Leven) would have been a certain qualifier with a 76 but, before the cancellation announcement, she had withdrawn from the tournament with a badly swollen ankle and foot, caused by an insect bite on the last day of the match against the United States, which suddenly turned septic and flared up on Wednesday evening. She was advised by a local doctor that to continue in the championship would risk spreading the infection through her body.
With Miss Laing out of the equation and former Curtis Cup player Sarah Jones (Pennard), who had had a first-round 77, also pulling out with a sore wrist, that meant the play-off for the final seven places in the match-play draw would be contested by the remaining 14 players on the 77 mark.
Those who went through after the 2hr, sudden-death play-off up the first hole, back down the 18th and up the first again, shedding players along the way, were Martine Pow, Azahara Munoz (Spain), Denise Simon (Germany), Carmen Alonso (Spain), Anne-Sophie Le Nallio (France), Lucie Gendronneau (France), Faye Sanderson (Heworth).
Eliminated were Lynn Kenny, Stephanie Doering (Germany), Anne-Catrin Schmitt (Germany), Felicity Johnson (Harborne), Marie Allen (Moor Park), Sarah Kemp (Australia) and Mireille Scalabre (France).
Apart from Martine Pow, the Scots still in the championship are Lesley Mackay (Royal Dornoch), Krystle Caithness (St Regulus), Pamela Feggans (Doon Valley), Louise Kenney (Pitreavie), Dawn Dewar (Stirling University), Jocelyn Carthrew (Ladybank), Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) and Jenna Wilson (Strathaven).
Pamela Feggans will meet defending champion Elisa Serramia from Barcelona in the first round.
The decision to dispense with the second qualifying round deprived some well-known players of the chance to recover from disappointing first-day scores.
Curtis Cup players Emma Duggleby (Malton & Norton) and Shelley McKevitt (Reading) as well as reserve Clare Queen (Drumpellier) and Irish champion Deirdre Smith (Co Louth) were on the 78 mark - one shot away from participating in the play-off.
BRITISH WOMEN'S AMATEUR GOLF DRAW
British women's open amateur championship first-round match-play draw at Gullane No 1 course.
FRIDAY MORNING
First quarter
C Boucher (Can) v A Munoz (Spa), K Jarochowicz (Aus) v E Brown (West Wilts), B Mozo (Spain) v L H Diggle (Celtic Manor), K Quinn (Aus) v L Stahle (Swe), S Andersson (Swe) v L Mackay (Royal Dornoch), S Kirchmayr (Ger) v J Carthew (Ladybank), A Roscio (Ita) v D Dewar (Stirling Univ), J Ross (Whitley Bay) v C Coughlan (Cork).
Second quarter
S Gal (Ger) v D Simon (Ger), M Hernandez (Spa) v M Bazin de Jessey (Fra), J Wilson (Strathaven) v K Matharu (Sandmoor), H MacRae (Dunblane New) v L Jean (Aus), D Andersen (Mex) v R Vilatte (Fra), J Klatten (Fra) v K Caithness (St Regulus), S Walker (Kenwick Park) v E Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor), C Alonso (Spa) v M Gillen (Beaverstown).
Third quarter
L Knowlton (Can) v L Gendronneau (Fra), S J Kenyon (Aus) v N Garrett (Aus), L Ball (Matfen Hall) v H Brockway (Yeovil), V Valvasson (Ita) v A Highgate (Southerndown), A Thurman (US) v K Hanwell (Northampton), L Matthews (Can) v J Hodge (Knowle), K Philips (Creigiau) v C Andrade (Spa), A-S Le Nalio (Fra) v V Drouin (Can).
Fourth quarter
K Sjodin (Swe) v F Sanderson (Heworth), K Rothengatter (Ger) v L Kenney (Pitreavie), E Serramia (Spa) v P Feggans (Doon Valley), I Tusquets (Spa) v S Huarte (US), R Bell (Ganton) v B Recari (Spa), F More (Chesterfield) v K Smith (Waterlooville), J Luciuk (Can) v T Delaney (Carlow), M Pow (Selkirk) v L J Eastwood (Yelverton).

British Open Amateur Championship, Gullane
PLAY ABANDONED AGAIN IN BRITISH WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP
The second qualifying round of the British women's open amateur golf championship at Gullane was abandoned at 10.15am this morning (THURSDAY).
Play had started at 7am but conditions steadily deteriorated into a repetition of Wednesday's high winds and rain which forced a 24hr postponement of the second qualifying round.
The semi-finals and final have already been rearranged for Sunday instead of Saturday but there was no further room for manoeuvre as far as the Ladies Golf Union organisers are concerned.
The 64 qualifiers for the match-play stages will be decided on the first qualifying round alone. There were 58 players with scores of 76 or better on Tuesday with a further 15 on 77. Championship secretary Susan Simpson said the LGU executive had still to decide whether to do a card countback or have a play-off for the last six places in the match-play draw should the weather improve sufficiently later in the day.

British Open Amateur Championship, Gullane
FLY BITE KOs SCOTTISH CHAMPION'S BID FOR BRITISH TITLE AT GULLANE
Curtis Cup Scot Anne Laing pulled out of the British women's open amateur golf championship at Gullane yesterday (Thursday) without playing a shot in the delayed second qualifying round.
A bite, presumably by a horse fly on her left ankle during the Curtis Cup match at Formby (June 12-13), flared up overnight (Wed-Thu) and, on doctor's advice, the three times Scottish champion scratched from the championship.
She had scored a three-over-par 76 in Tuesday's first round and was almost certain to be among the 64 qualifiers for the match-play stages after the completion of the second round.
"I got bitten on the final day at Formby. I thought it was a thorn in the rough at the time it happened. It had obviously been a horse fly or a cleg. It did swell up like a bite but I thought it it had gone over the days since then," said 29-year-old Anne, a member at the Vale of Leven Golf Club, Alexandria and an Aberdour-based lecturer at Elmwood College, Cupar.
"The skin around the bite was still itchy but I thought it was sunburn because I got a bit of that too at Formby then yesterday (Wednesday) it began to get really itchy and the ankle really started to swell up. This morning it's kind of blistered and not very nice to look at.
"It's become infected and it's spread into my foot which is also swollen. So I have to get anti-biotics. The lady doctor who treated me is a member here at Gullane Golf Club. She advised me not to continue in the British tournament. She said that if I did the infection could get worse.
"The ankle and the foot are getting really stiff as well and I'm finding it difficult to put weight on it. I am managing to limp around but it would have been impossible to walk 18 holes today. It's sad because I wanted to do really well in the championship, especially because it's being held in Scotland, but my health's more important."
Miss Laing has said she will never turn professional because she is "not a good enough player to make a living at it." In the recent Curtis Cup she gained three points out of a possible four, and included two foursomes victories over Michelle Wie on her debut against the United States.
Anne retained the Scottish women's amateur title at Prestwick last month, having won the Centenary championship over the Old Course last year. She won the title for the first time at Royal Dornoch in 1996. She also won the inaugural British women's mid-amateur title in 2002.

Wednesday 23rd June 2004

British Open Amateur Championship, Gullane
BRITISH WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP WILL NOW FINISH ON SUNDAY (Final at 1:00pm)
High winds and torrential rain forced a cancellation of today's (WEDNESDAY) play in the second qualifying round in the British women's open amateur golf championship over the Gullane No 1 course, East Lothian.
The tournament had been scheduled to end on Saturday. It will now spill over into Sunday with the semi-finals in the morning and the 18-hole final in the afternoon.
It will be the first Sunday finish in the championship since 1996 at Hoylake where the semi-finals and final were delayed by 24hr because of gale-force winds.
Ten players, including Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team members Emma Duggleby (Malton & Norton) and Claire Coughlan (Cork) had begun their rounds when play was suspended at 7.45am today (Wed).
At 10 am, the Ladies Golf Union organising officials, having learned that the no significant improvement in the weather was forecast, decided to cancel further play for the day which meant that the second qualifying round would re-start for all 142 players in the field from the first tee this morning.
Former British title-holder Emma Duggleby said she was "relieved and delighted" when they were told to mark their balls where they lay and to return to the clubhouse. In the event, the strokes she and the other nine players took before the suspension will not count.
Great Britain & Ireland team-mate Claire Coughlan from Cork, who had already lost a ball in the thick rough before play was halted, said: "That's just about as bad out there as anything I've ever played. It was terrible. I had a problem in getting the putter back to the ball."
On the higher, exposed part of the Gullane links, the North wind blowing in off the Firth of Forth made conditions unplayable. The balls were not remaining stationary on the greens and the players had difficulty in retaining their balance as they were buffeted by the wind and lashed by the rain.
"All the players are happy with the decision, including those from North America and the Continent. If any of them reach the semi-finals, they will be able to play on Sunday," said Susan Simpson, the championship secretary.
"We did consider scrubbing the second round completely and deciding the 64 qualifiers for the match-play stages on the first-round scores but we didn't feel that was the fairest decision and discarded that idea in favour of putting the whole programme back a day."

MICHELLE JUST FAILS TO QUALIFY FOR US MEN'S PUBLIC LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP
Michelle Wie shot a two-under-par 36-hole aggregate of 142 to finish tied for third place in a qualifying round at Hersey, Pennsylvania for the United States MEN'S Public Amateur Links championship.
The first two in the tournament join qualifiers from other venues to make up a field of 64 players for the Publix championship which is decided on match-play at a Minnesota venue. The winner of the championship - Michelle became the youngest player - then 13 years - to win an adult USGA championship when she won the US WOMEN'S Public Amateur Links title.
The winner of the men's US Men's Public Amateur Links championship is invited to join the field for the following year's US Masters tournament at Augusta National, Georgia. That had been Michelle's goal in entering the men's event in which she was the only female entrant.
The Hawaiian ninth-grader will now switch her focus to the US Women's Open, to be held July 1 to 4 in Massachusetts.
Wie finished the first round tied for fourth at one-under-par 71 and then shot another 71 in the afternoon to tie for third place on 142.
She missed a couple of 6ft birdie putts on the fifth and sixth holes but birdied the seventh from 4ft. She failed to convert birdie putts on the eighth and ninth.
Michelle missed the cut by only one shot at the US PGA Tour's Sony Open in January after a second-round 68.
She has finished in the top 20 in three LPGA events this year.

Tuesday 22nd June 2004

British Open Amateur Championship, Gullane.
Intrepid reporter Colin Farquharson writes:-
SCOTTISH Under-16 girls champion Krystle Caithness, pictured right, moved up to the big league in the British women's open amateur golf championship over the Gullane No 1 course on Tuesday - and played a stormer!
Krystle, 15-year-old junior member of St Andrews women's club St Regulus, shared the honour top Scot on one-over-par 74 with fellow Fifers Jo Carthew (Ladybank) and Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) as well as Jenna Wilson (Strathaven).
But what added distinction to young Krystle's effort was the fact that she was out at the tail-end of the field and had to contend with a cool wind and cloudy skies, compared with the bright sunshine and hardly a breeze at all which the first half of the field had enjoyed.
"I enjoyed it a lot ... especially holing a 10ft putt to finish with a birdie," said an excited Krystle whose dad Jim caddied for her.
Miss Caithness had also started with a birdie, hitting her approach to within 6ft of the stick and holing the putt. She drove into Gullane's infamous knee-night rough at the second to drop a shot and one other bogey on the outward half - a 5 at the seventh where she went through the back with her approach.
Out in one-over 37, Krystle improved to level par with a driver and a five-wood on to the par-5, 465yd 11th and two-putts for a birdie 4. Then she shed shots in the wind which made the difficult holes much more testing for the second half of the field.
Krystle bogeyed the 14th and 17th but then finished in champion style with a birdie.
Jo Carthew, one of the first off the tee in the glorious early morning sunshine, did well to finish only one over after running up a double-bogey 6 at the second where she pulled her tee shot into the high grass that borders most of the fairways.
San Diego State student Jenna Wilson had a worse start with a bogey 5, double-bogey 6 and a bogey 6 at the first three holes but she recovered with five birdies over the next eight holes.
Louise Kenney, a student at Iowa State, was one under par after birdieing the 11th but bogeyed the 15th and 18th for 34 back and a 74.
Three times Scottish champion Anne Laing, three under par after six holes, later slumped to a three-over 76 - and then admitted she had "made a mess of it."
Only the leading 64 after Wednesday's second qualifying round will go forward to the match-play stages later in the week.
At the top of the leaderboard it was Canada Day with two representatives in the top three and three in the leading nine, including Christine Boucher, a 21-year-old from Quebec, who eagled the 462yd 10th on her way to a four-under-par 69.
Christine led by a shot from playing partner Laura Jane Eastwood, the 20-year-old Devon county champion who admitted she was inspired to her best score of the year by the Canadian's quality play, and another Canadian, Lindsay Knowlton, 22, from Toronto.
Last year's Irish champion, Martina Gillen (Beaverstown) was on her own in fourth place on 71.
Honest Anne Laing, the 29-year-old Scottish champion of the past two years from the Vale of Leven club, Alexandria, said after her 76: "I don't mind admitting. I just made a mess of it over the closing holes. I had a great start with birdies at the third, fifth and sixth and even bunkering my drive to drop a shot at the seventh didn't knock me back. But the wind really got up in our faces after the turn and I found it affected my putting most of all.
"I bogeyed five holes in a row, from the 13th to the 17th, and it would have been six on the trot but for getting up and down from a bunker to save par at the last."
BRITISH WOMEN'S OPEN AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Gullane No 1 course, East Lothian.
FIRST ROUND (Par 73; CSS 74)
69 C Boucher (Canada).
70 L Knowlton (Canada), L J Eastwood (Yelverton).
71 M Gillen (Beaverstown).
72 V Drouin (Canada), C Coughlan (Cork), S Andersson (Sweden), K Sjodin (Sweden), S Gal (Germany).
73 R Bell (Ganton), L Jean (Australia), D Andersen (Netherlands), S Huarte (US), L Stahle (Sweden), K Smith (Waterlooville), A Highgate (Southerndown), B Mozo (Spain), A Thurman (US).
74 J Carthew (Ladybank), J Hodge (Knowle), A Roscio (Italy), L Kenney (Pitreavie), J Wilson (Strathaven), L Ball (Matfen Hall), K Philips (Creigau), M Bazin de Jessey (France), E Serramia (Spain), N Garrett (Australia), J Luciuk (Canada), S Walker (Kenwick Park), K Caithness (St Regulus).
75 E Brown (West Wilts), T Delaney (Carlow), E Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor), C Andrade (Spain), S J Huarte (US), M Hernandez (Spain), K Jarochowicz (Australia), K Rothengatter (Germany).
76 H Brockway (Yeovil), D Dewar (Stirling Univ), P Fegggans (Doon Valley), L H Diggle (Celtic Manor), K Hanwell (Northampton), I Tusquets (Spain), J Klatten (France), L Mackay (Royal Dornoch), H MacRae (Dunblane New), K Matharu (Sandmoor), J Ross (Whitley Bay), V Valvassori (Italy), A Laing (Vale of Leven), F More (Chesterfield), S Kirchmayr (Germany), L Matthews (Canada), B Recari (Spain), K Quinn (Australia), R Vilatte (France).
77 F Sanderson (Heworth), M Allen (Moor Park), M Pow (Selkirk), M Scalabre (France). S Doring (Germany), D Simon (Germany), C Alonso (Spain), S Jones (Pennard), L Kenny (Stirling Univ), A-C Schmitt (Germany), A Munoz (Spain), A-S Le Nalio (France), L Gendronneau (France), F Johnson (Harborne), S Kemp (Australia).
78 S Brodie (Delamere Forest), L Davis (Conwy), D Smith (Co Louth), J Nicolson (Wrexham), E Steinberger (Austria), N Edwards (Ganton), E Duggleby (Malton & Norton), T Elosegui (Spain), S Garbutt (Ganton), S Evans (Vale of Llangollen), G Garbaccio (Italy), C Dury (NZ), C Queen (Drumpellier), M Sapin (France), S McKevitt (Reading), A Marshall (Toft), K Walker (Buchanan Castle), R Adams (Addington Court).
79 L Anderson (Gullane), A Bickerton (Canada), K Combes (Australia), L Liguori (Italy), J Schaeffer (France), A Gala Marco (Spain), A Vilatte (France), D Karisson (Sweden), K Leckovic (Canada).
80 K Heywood (Crompton & Royton), A Decharne (France), P Mackay (Royal Dornoch), J Berton (France), C Kirkland (France), R Lomas (Hallowes), A Riguelle (France), M Smith (Hallowes), G O'Leary (Cork), D Roseberry (Durham City), C Smith (Hallowes), E Ogilvy (Muckhart).
81 A-L Caudal (France), P Odefey (Germany), Eom Ji Park (Canada), B Mullins (Australia), A Shamash (Kirkcudbright), M Dunne (Skerries), T Watters (Muswell Hill), E King (West Essex).
82 C Court (Goodwood), C Hargan (Prestonfield), C Gruber (Royal Dornoch), K Werdinig (Austria), V Saunders (Cambridge Meridian), K Froelich (France), E McKinnon (Nairn), B Loucks (Wrexham), L Fleming (The Roxburghe), B Murphy (Prestonfield), L Barton (Coventry).
83 G Colavito (Italy), T Mangan (Ennis), T Boyes (Meon Valley), S-J Eaves (Cosby).
84 K Delaney (Carlow).
85 R Youngman (Oundle).
86 E Cuthill (Lanark).
87 K McKenna (Tynemouth).
88 D Stolarik (US).
89 F Haremza (Germany).
92 E Sheffield (Newark).
94 L Cole (US).

Morison Millar at Craigmillar Park, Edinburgh, Thursday 1st July
Here is the Draw

Ayrshire Girls Team
The following girls have been selected to play for the Ayrshire Girls' Team in the West Inter-County matches to be played at Largs Golf Club on Thursday, 24th June:- Morag MacPherson (Barassie), Vickie Smith (Barassie), Carys McGhee (Barassie), Sarah Hutton (Troon Bentinck), Gillian Arnott (Kilbirnie), Lynsey Weadon (Barassie).

SCOTTISH BOYS CHAMPION HEADS EUROPEAN BOYS TEAM
BP Scottish Boys Champion Scott Henry will lead the Scotland charge for the European Boys Team title next month (6 - 10 July) at Kymen Golf Club, Finland.
 Henry has emerged as a promising talent this year, winning the Boys title at Southerness in April, leading the SGU Junior Tour, and guiding Dumbartonshire to victory in the BP Scottish Boys Area Team Championship, himself lifting the Niagara Cup as leading individual in the event.
 The 17-year-old won his first Boys' international cap at the beginning of the year when he was selected for the Boys Quadrangular. He has since played in the Swedbank Open and was promoted to the Youths international team for their clash against Ireland.
 Paul O'Hara is the only surviving member from last year's European Boys team who finished seventh in the Czech Republic. He will be joined by Scottish Under 16 Stroke Play Champion David Addison, Jordan Findlay, Robert McKnight and Garry Wood.
 The team will be looking to improve on last year's performance and replicate Scottish success four years ago. The side in 2000, which included Walker Cup star David Inglis, were crowned champions in the Netherlands after defeating Ireland in the final.
 A total of 24 teams will line up for the five day championship. The event will consist of two phases - 36 holes of stroke play qualifying over the first two days, followed by three days of match play within two flights, the top flight consisting of eight teams.
The full team details are as follows:
David Addison (Kilmarnock Barassie)
Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh)
Scott Henry (Cardross)
Robert McKnight (Kilmarnock Barassie)
Paul O'Hara (Colville Park)
Garry Wood (Crow Wood)

Scottish Executive Lends Backing to Golf Sector  
Allan Wilson Deputy Minister for the Environment and Rural Development has today (Tuesday 22 June) confirmed the Scottish Executive's continued backing of the environmental golf sector by announcing a further £90,000 funding over the coming year.
 At a conference held by the Scottish Golf Environment Group (SGEG), and supported by the Scottish Golf Union, the R&A, Scottish Natural Heritage, Allan Wilson backed the role of Scotland's golf courses in the conservation of our natural and cultural heritage.
 SGEG have been carrying out a range of important strategic projects to benefit golf clubs and the environmental sector as a whole. 
 With considerable funding from the Scottish Executive over the last 18 months, SGEG has undertaken research and produced guidance into issues such as the impacts of climate change on golf courses, energy efficiency and waste management, and are considered as one of the world's leading national projects on such matters. 
 The Minister announced a further sum of funding over the next twelve months to the group for the continuation of this work.
 At the 'Sustainability in Golf Conference', held at Westerwood Hotel and Golf Resort, Cumbernauld, keynote speaker Mr Wilson MSP, discussed the golf sectors' approach in relation to how Scotland as a whole needs to embrace sustainable development. 
 He emphasised the need for all sectors of society to adapt to climate change, minimise waste and energy consumption, conserve biodiversity and communicate and exchange information on these and other environmental issues.
 At the conference, SGEG reviewed the work the golf sector and individual golf facilities have been undertaking over the past three years, presenting findings of more recent research into issues such as climate change, biodiversity and waste management.
 The conference also acknowledged four of Scotland's courses as the 'Best in Europe' for their care of the environment. Presented with an Environmental Excellence Award from SGEG, the courses lead the way internationally in the environmental management and development of their golf course.
 Many other courses across Scotland and throughout Europe are now working towards this standard. 
 Scotland is world famous as the home of golf, and it houses some of the most beautiful and natural golf courses in the world. It is important that these features and golf's relationship with the environment are conserved.
Colin Wood, Chairman of SGEG said: "Scotland's golf facilities contribute to the conservation of Scotland's environment. 
"A number of courses across the country are leading the way in this, not only nationally, but also internationally.
"Golf's governing bodies and various professional associations are fully supportive of this work, highlighting the fact that the sector as a whole is committed to improving its environmental performance.
"We are delighted to report back such strong progress and provide the opportunity for people to make suggestions on work which should be undertaken in the future."
Hamish Grey, Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Golf Union Limited (SGU) said:  "The SGU, alongside our partner organisations, is proud to lead such an innovative initiative, as we have done since 1996. 
"SGEG continues to deliver practical benefits to our member golf clubs on the ground, as well as coordinate and disseminate valuable research and guidance. 
"Scottish golf and the quality of our golf courses are better as a result of this work.  We view environmental best practice as an important component of achieving high quality golf courses."

Lanarkshire Website
A new website has been made for Lanarkshire Ladies County Golf Association. The new address is www.llcga.co.uk
[I'll change the links in the index on the left when I get more time next week! -Gill]

Monday 21st June 2004

ANNE IS HOPING FOR CURTIS CUP FORM TO BOOST BRITISH BID
From COLIN FARQUHARSON
Scottish champion Anne Laing is hoping she can reproduce the form that made her a Curtis Cup star at Formby when the British women's open amateur golf championship tees off at Gullane with a 36-hole qualifying test on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Only four Scots - Cathy Panton (1976), Belle Robertson (1981), Catriona Lambert (1993) and Alison Rose (1997) - have won the British title in the past 40 years and it is probably tougher for a home player to win it now, given the increasing strength and depth of the Continental challenge.
But 29-year-old Vale of Leven member Anne, a career amateur golfer who is a lecturer at Elmwood College, Cupar, has received a terrific boost to her confidence with her three wins out of four ties against the Americans a couple of weeks ago.
"I have to say I shocked even myself by how well I played in the Curtis Cup. I didn't expect it and I didn't think I'd be played in all four sessions of play. To win three out of four ties was way beyond my wildest dreams. My short game was great and that was the secret," said Anne after completing her final practice round in glorious sunshine at Gullane today (Monday).
"The greens weren't that big at Formby and if you could hit the centre of the green then you were usually not far away from the stick. We knew the course so well by the time the match was played that we were all very comfortable with it.
"It was quite an experience to play against Michelle Wie not once but twice. Loads of memories from that. think I came out of the Curtis Cup - even though we lost 10-8 - on a bigger 'high' and probably more emotionally and physically 'tired' than I thought so that when I went to the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews this past weekend, I wasn't quite as focused on that event as I should have been and it showed in my scores.
"This British championship has been in mind since the Curtis Cup and though I've not got a very good record in this event, I am ready to play and hoping I can click back into my Formby form."
The year Anne scored the first of her three Scottish women's championship victories - 1996 - she failed to qualify for the match-play stages of the "British" in which she admits her record has not improved considerably since then.
"I did reach the last 16 last year at Lindrick before I lost to Fame More. You know I'm not one to make wild predictions about how things will work out this week at Gullane. I will set out first to qualify and then to make steady progress through the match-play.
"The rough is quite high in bits so I think whoever wins the title at the end of this week will be a straight hitter, somebody who thinks their way rough the golf course, hitting the ball to the positions where you should be with your drives and so on. And, of course, a good short game on a links course is a must as well.
"I'm looking forward to the British championship as much as I was looking forward to the Curtis Cup. There are certain golf courses that you feel comfortable on. And I do feel quite comfortable on Gullane."
Scottish girls match-play champion Kelly Brotherton (Tulliallan) withdrew from the tournament on Monday afternoon which did not leave enough time for a replacement to be called in.
Kelly told Ladies Golf Union officials she was not playing well enough. She did not play in the second and last round of the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews on Sunday.
In contrast, Scottish Under-16 girls' open champion Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) was delighted to be told at the weekend that she was off the reserve list and into the field for the championship due to withdrawals.
And Emily Ogilvy (Muckhart) was also called up from the reserve list into the tournament by
championship secretary Susan Simpson on Monday morning.
Elisa Serramia, the Barcelona teenager who won the Ladies' British open amateur championship at Lindrick 12 months ago, heads a formidable overseas challenge for the title at Gullane this week.
There are 10 Spanish competitors in all but the most strongly represented nation outwith the British Isles is France with 15 entrants.
Canada have sent over a squad of eight players and there are eight Australians in the field of 144.
The in-form player going into the two qualifying rounds which will decide the 64 players to go forward to the match-play stages is Louise Stahle, a 19-year-old Swede from Barseback, who won the prestigious St Rule Trophy by four shots over 36 holes at St Andrews on Sunday.
Louise is one of two plus-four handicap players in the field at Gullane - Spain's Tania Elosegui is the other - and her form run began before she arrived in this country for the St Rule Trophy.
Competing in an open professional event in Sweden just before she left for Scotland, Louise shot six or seven under par and won the 36-hole event with something to spare.
Miss Stahle is bound for Arizona State University in the autumn and she would like nothing better than to enrol as the Ladies' British Open Amateur champion.
Eight players who took part in the recent Curtis Cup match at Formby are in the field at Gullane. From the Great Britain & Ireland team there are Emma Duggleby, a previous winner of the "British " title and also a beaten finalist, Scottish champion Anne Laing, Claire Coughlan, Anna Highgate, Fame More and Shelley McKevitt. Missing are Danielle Masters, who has turned professional, and Nicola Timmins, a maths teacher in Kent, who has not entered.
Only two of the United States team of eight stayed on in this country after the Formby match - Annie Thurman, the most succesful of the American players, and Sarah Huarte, the winner of the NCAA Division 1 title in May. Both played in the St Rule Trophy and Annie finished joint second.
The players were warned at the Monday evening competitors' meeting that slow play would be penalised. With the rough grass more than knee-high in places and lost-ball stories likely to be commonplace, there could be quite a few players "on the clock" before the qualifying rounds are completed.

Sarah succeeds Carly as champion
In the absence of Carly Booth who was unable to defend the title - one of three women's club championships she won last season - Sarah Herd, aged 17, beat Sally Kettlewell, aged 15, by 4 and 3 in the final of the Dunblane New Golf Club's women's championship. Sally lost to Carly in last year's final.

Midlothian Junior Golfers
Three Junior Girls have been members of the MCLGA County Squad for 2003-2004. Amanda Edwards (Liberton), Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old) and Jane Turner (Glencorse). Jane Turner is first reserve for the Midlothian County Team.
All three Girls have won their Ladies Club Championships - Amanda for the third year in a row; Rachael and Jane both for the first time. [Amanda and Jane's win have alreay been reported. Rachael won yesterday at Musselburgh Old Course by 4 and 2.]

ELGA Press Release
Dannielle Masters set to turn pro, following playing for her country in the Curtis Cup.
Danni the 21 year old from Tudor Park, Kent has stated she will turn professional the moment she hits her first ball at the English Open on the Chart Hills course near Biddenden.
Having recently made the headlines when more than 8,000 spectators watched at the Curtis Cup, Formby as Annie Thurman (USA) went two up on Danni with two to play in the last of the singles. Danni smiled to the last green under immense pressure as they closed the play. This is not the first time Danni has played at this level as she holed the winning putt in the Vagliano Championship 2003.
Having reached the final stages of last years Tour School Danni will attempt to qualify for the European and US pro tour circuits, ultimately she would like to join the United States School in December.
Danni said “I would not be in this position without ELGA’s structured support and the funding that has been available to me from Sport England. I would like to thank them all for the years of encouragement and the opportunities they have given me”.
All at the English Ladies’ Golf Association wish Danni the very best on the professional circuit and we look forward to following her progress for years to come.

Sunday 20th June 2004

SWEDISH REPEAT IN ST RULE TROPHY
Louise Stahle, pictured right, a 19-year-old from Barseback, Sweden - last year's Solheim Cup venue, forged clear of the field over the last nine holes of the Old Course, St Andrews yesterday (Sunday), to win the St Rule Trophy women's open 36-hole tournament by four shots.
Miss Stahle had been tied for the overnight lead after a four-under-par 71 over the New Course and she had easily the best score over the Old Course - a six-under-par 70 for a 10-under-par total of 141.
She won by four shots from United States Curtis Cup star Annie Thurman (71, 74) and Australian Nikki Garret (74, 71).
Louise, who begins a four-year golf scholarship at Arizona State University in the autumn, is the fourth Swede to capture the title in the tournament's 21-year history and she follows in the footsteps of compatriots Annika Sorenstam (1990), Maria Hjorth (1995) and last year's winner, Karin Borjeskog.
Katrina Milne (Dunfermline), 76-72, and Martine Pow (Selkirk), 74-74, were the top Scots in joint seventh place on 148. Also on that mark was 17-year-old Felicity Johnson (Harborne), pictured left, winner of the Lawson Trophy for the best performance (71-77) by an under-18 year old.
Sweden (288) won the international team event from Australia (292) and Ireland (295).
Stahle did not arrive early enough to practise over the Old Course inward half - and yet she put daylight between herself and the field by birdieing the 10th and 11th, followed by an eagle at the 13th and a birdie at the 14th - a purple patch of five under par for five holes in a row.
She covered the inward half in five-under 33 for her 70.
"My caddie Jeremy Short - he comes from Seattle but he lives in St Andrews - was very good over the two rounds but he was brilliant when it came to the holes I'd never seen. He put the right clubs in my hand every time, told me the line and all I had to do was hit the ball," said Louise who headed off to the British women's open amateur championship, which begins at Gullane on Tuesday.
SCOREBOARD
ST RULE TROPHY WOMEN'S OPEN TOURNAMENT
New Course & Old Course, St Andrews (Par 75-76, CSS 75-75)
FINAL TOTALS
141 L Stahle (Sweden) 71 70.
145 N Garret (Australia) 74 71, A Thurman (US) 71 74.
146 K Jarochowicz (Australia) 72 74.
147 K Sjodin (Sweden) 71 76, M Morrin (The Curragh) 76 71.
148 K Milne (Dunfermline) 76 72, F Johnson (Harborne) 71 77, S Gal (Germany) 73 75, M Pow (Selkirk) 74 74, M Gillen (Beaverstown) 73 75, E Steinberger (Austria) 73 75.
149 F Lockhart (St Regulus) 71 78.
150 B Mullins (Australia) 75 75, R Bell (Ganton) 74 76, S Kemp (Australia) 77 73.
151 S Evans (Vale of Llangollen) 78 73, L Kenney (Pitreavie) 74 77, L Knowlton (Canada) 75 76.
152 L Jean (Australia) 73 79, T Mangan (Ennis) 77 75, K Leckovic (Canada) 74 78.
153 D Smith (Co Louth) 74 79, L McKinnon (Nairn) 77 76, L Mackay (Royal Dornoch) 77 76, S Huarte (US) 78 75, C Dury (NZ) 75 78.
154 S Kirchmayr (Germany) 76 78, C Boucher (Canada) 76 78.
155 M Dunne (Skerries) 79 76, K Combes (Australia) 79 76, S Andersson (Sweden) 78 77.
156 L Kenny (Stirling Univ) 76 80.
157 G O'Leary (Cork) 80 77, J Nicolson (Wrexham) 82 75, L Harvey (Richmond) 80 77, O Briggs (Delamere Forest) 80 77, M Riordan (Tipperary) 81 76, P Mackay (Royal Dornoch) 81 76, T Delaney (Carlow) 80 77, S Doring (Germany) 77 80, A Bickerton (Canada) 79 78.
158 K Caithness (St Regulus) 83 75, J Luciuk (Canada) 75 83.
159 J Wilson (Strathaven) 83 76, L Ball (Matfen Hall) 81 78, H MacRae (Dunblane New) 77 82.
160 A Shamash (Kirkcudbright) 77 83, E Moffat (St Regulus) 79 81, V Drovin (Canada) 78 82.
161 L Walker (Nairn Dunbar) 83 78, D Dewar (Stirling Univ) 80 81.
162 H Brockway (Yeovil) 88 74, L Fleming (The Roxburghe) 82 80, C Booth (Auchterarder) 82 80, A Laing (Vale of Leven) 80 82.
163 C Gruber (Royal Dornoch) 80 83.
164 Eom Ji Park (Canada) 80 84.
165 L Barton (Coventry) 82 83.
166 R Niven (Crieff) 85 81, L Fraser (Kingsknowe) 86 80, C Queen (Drumpellier) 79 87.
168 S Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) 86 82.
169 S Lam (Canada) 85 84.
170 E Cuthill (Lanark) 91 79.
171 J Little (Canada) 83 88.
172 E King (West Essex) 87 85.
178 K Marshall (Baberton) 89 89.
Retired C Lee (West Lancs) 85 Ret, K Delaney (Carlow) 86 Ret, S Keane (The Curragh) 76 Ret, K Brotherton (Tulliallan) 82 Ret.
TEAM EVENT
288 Sweden. 292 Australia. 295 Ireland. 298 England, United States. 302 Germany. 308 Wales. 310 Scotland. 312 Canada.