Golf is a hard sport to win at

but with your dad on your

bag, it's a lot of fun, says

Sally Watson (16)

REPRODUCED FROM THE TIMES ONLINE WEBSITE
Interview by HELEN STEWART

Graham Watson, 50, the founder and executive director of the Scottish Institute of Sport Foundation, and his daughter Sally, who at 16 has been picked for the GB and Ireland Curtis Cup team, love to spend time together on the golf course. Picture of Sally by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved).

SALLY WATSON:
Dad's never been a scratch golfer, but he has a great insight into the competitive psyche. He knows me inside out. He's been very successful in his field, corporate finance, so he must have some insight into how things work.
It was when we lived in San Francisco and he coached our basketball team that he really got into sports for all. That's what made him start the foundation, I think, when he saw how positive community games could be.
With him being so busy, it should have felt like Dad wasn't around, but it was the opposite. I remember him working in New York, then catching the red-eye home so he could watch us play on Saturday mornings. He never missed a game that involved me and my big sister, Rebecca.
Mum was at home, the best thing she could have done for us despite the fact it meant stopping her own career. My parents have sacrificed a lot so we could achieve our dreams, even holidays. The whole family is geared towards taking us to tournaments to give us the opportunity to succeed. Rebecca is doing great at business school in America on a golf scholarship. Maybe that's the kind of thing I'll do too.
Whenever he can, I get Dad to caddy for me and he's always happy to. It has to be someone you really trust, who knows your game and your emotions and can spot the signs of stress. The point of having them there is to help you relax and Dad is better than anyone at that.
Five hours on the course is a lot of time to get negative and feel the pressure, but Dad keeps me laughing.
We crowd-watch and we see how Mum is doing. She gets so into it that it makes me smile to see the intensity on her face. Dad's better at taking a step back and seeing things from a different perspective. He finds a little something to say, we focus on the shot and move on.
Golf is a hard sport to win, but with your dad on your bag it's a lot of fun. Really, what 16-year-old girl can say they'd want to hang around with their dad for that length of time?
I know they miss me and my sister because we're both in America, but despite the distance we are close. We talk every day, sometimes a quick call to say I love them, sometimes a long call to tell them everything I'm thinking.
It's a different relationship than if I was coming in from school in Edinburgh and running upstairs to do homework, but I think it's better for it. If you're away from your parents at this age, it really makes you appreciate what you've got.

GRAHAM WATSON
My wife, Maggie, and the girls used to spend summers at our cottage in Elie, and I commuted from work in Edinburgh, so when they were younger Rebecca and Sally had sporting activities morning, noon and night.
In many respects Elie's an unusual place, there's an 18-hole and a 9-hole golf course, tennis courts and, of course, the lure of diving off the pier. There'd be a golf lesson at 9am, tennis at 11am, then more playing in the afternoons.
All the children there are really active, they love it. Maggie and I thought it was important to give our girls the chance to try everything. Not to mention the fact that by night-time they were exhausted, which is no bad thing for a parent.
Having a big sister made Sally want to stretch herself. It's hard to predict excellence, but we saw she enjoyed competing. My daughters are very different, Rebecca has an easy-going, caring personality. Not to say she's not competitive and strong, because she is, but you wouldn't necessarily see it at first glance.
Without that personality and with a younger sister like Sal, she could have become disillusioned with her own considerable achievements. Thankfully, it's not in her to be like that, and Rebecca is her sister's number one supporter.
Sally has always been competitive and determined, she's the type to set herself a task and go to every possible length to achieve it. She gives 150% every time. At one golf event for youngsters, for example, Sal won every age group in her time and held plenty of course records, but still looked at the photo of the time Rebecca competed in the same group and won and said, “That's the year she beat me, that was tragic.”
We tease her about it, but that's the person she is, highly focused. You don't get into the Curtis Cup team without that ability.
She is very strong mentally. I've learnt a lot about the winning mentality through my work with the foundation, and I'd say she's got a world-class athlete's mind, but her great strength is that she hasn't changed.
Despite all the attention and being educated in America, she still enjoys it. We had friends over the other day and their young son came in, talking about golf. Sal just said, “Do you want to go and play?” and off they went to play nine holes, just the same as any normal kid in this place would be.
If she keeps that down-to-earth level-headedness she'll be fine. And I'll be there, carrying her clubs for her.

LPGA Tour Scoreboard
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
135 Lorena Ochoa (Mex) 68 67
137 Teresa Lu (Tai) 68 69, Sophie Gustafson (Swe) 69 68
138 Na Yeon Choi (Kor) 70 68, Hye Jung Choi (Kor) 70 68
139 Brittany Lang 68 71
140 Annika Sorenstam (Swe) 67 73, Catriona Matthew (Sco) 68 72, Kristy McPherson 71 69
141 Lindsey Wright (Aus) 70 71, Taylor Leon 72 69, Ai Miyazato (Jpn) 69 72, Momoko Ueda (Jpn) 73 68, Morgan Pressel 70 71, Christina Kim 69 72, Helen Alfredsson (Swe) 70 71
142 Stacy Prammanasudh 71 71, Wendy Ward 71 71, Song-Hee Kim (Kor) 67 75, Pat Hurst 68 74, Sherri Turner 73 69, Jimin Kang (Kor) 73 69, Eunjung Yi (Kor) 70 72, Kyeong Eun Bae (Kor) 72 70, Becky Morgan (Wal) 70 72, Carolina Llano (Col) 68 74
143 Minea Blomqvist (Fin) 71 72, Ya-Ni Tseng (Kor) 71 72, Na On Min (Jpn) 70 73, Sandra Gal (Ger) 72 71, Nicole Castrale 71 72
144 Young-A Yang (Kor) 73 71, Sun Young Yoo (Kor) 75 69, Irene Cho 74 70, Brandie Burton 71 73, Michele Redman 71 73, Diana D'Alessio 72 72, Dorothy Delasin 72 72, Ji-Young Oh (Kor) 73 71, Sung Ah Yim (Kor) 71 73, Rachel Hetherington (Aus) 67 77, Ashleigh Simon (Rsa) 72 72, Sarah Jane Kenyon 70 74, Tracy Hanson 70 74, Hwa seon Lee (Kor) 70 74
145 Jamie Hullett 72 73, Cristie Kerr 69 76, In-Bee Park (Kor) 72 73, Katie Futcher 71 74, Jee Young Lee (Kor) 73 72, Michelle Ellis 73 72, Mikaela Parmlid (Swe) 70 75, Carri Wood 73 72, Emily Bastel 74 71, Wendy Doolan (Aus) 71 74, Jin Joo Hong (Kor) 73 72, Ashli Bunch 71 74, Virada Nirapathpongporn (Tha) 73 72, Eva Dahllof (Swe) 73 72, Erica Blasberg 73 72, Leah Marie Wigger 70 75
146 Giulia Sergas (Ita) 72 74, Shi Hyun Ahn (Kor) 69 77, Karrie Webb (Aus) 76 70, Jane Park 73 73, Meena Lee (Kor) 73 73, Jean Bartholomew 72 74, Angela Park 74 72, Mollie Fankhauser 72 74, Natalie Gulbis 73 73, Soo-Yun Kang (Kor) 70 76, Amy Hung (Tha) 72 74, Allison Hanna-Williams 74 72
MISSED THE CUT
147 Jackie Gallagher-Smith 73 74, Onnarin Sattayabanphot (Tha) 75 72, In Kyung Kim (Kor) 71 76, Silvia Cavalleri (Ita) 75 72, Alena Sharp 73 74, Nancy Scranton 73 74, Heather Daly-Donofrio 73 74, Julieta Granada (Par) 74 73
148 Cindy Rarick 69 79, Jill McGill 73 75, Liz Janangelo 72 76, Russamee Gulyanamitta (Tha) 74 74, Liselotte Neumann (Swe) 74 74, Dina Ammaccapane 72 76, Meaghan Francella 73 75, Meg Mallon 74 74, Shanshan Feng (Chn) 75 73
149 Jennifer Rosales (Phi) 72 77, Becky Lucidi 78 71, Anna Grzebien 73 76, Meredith Duncan 76 73, Leta Lindley 69 80, Vicki Goetze-Ackerman 73 76, Sophie Giquel (Fra) 72 77, Allison Fouch 76 73, Sarah Kemp (Aus) 73 76, Katherine Hull (Aus) 75 74
150 Nicole Perrot (Chi) 75 75, Gloria Park (Kor) 72 78, Carin Koch (Swe) 75 75, Yu Ping Lin (Tai) 76 74, Kim Hall 75 75
151 Beth Bader 76 75, Candie Kung (Tai) 74 77, Becky Iverson 70 81, Candy Hannemann 74 77, Michelle McGann 76 75, Lisa Strom (Gbr) 73 78, Paige Mackenzie 75 76, Sherri Steinhauer 75 76, Danielle Downey 76 75, Hee Young Park (Kor) 76 75
152 Hannah Jun 74 78, Jimin Jeong 78 74, Nina Reis (Swe) 72 80, Reilley Rankin 76 76, Audra Burks 74 78, Karin Sjodin (Swe) 76 76, Marcy Hart 74 78
153 Simi Mehra (Ind) 75 78, Kelli Kuehne 82 71, Anna Rawson (Aus) 69 84, Lee Ann Walker-Cooper 79 74
154 Maggie Will 77 77, Kris Tschetter 75 79, Janice Moodie (Sco) 76 78
155 Kate Golden 77 78, Seol-An Jeon (Kor) 81 74, Siew-Ai Lim (Mal) 76 79, Kris Tamulis 75 80, Karine Icher (Fra) 75 80
158 Hilary Lunke 79 79
168 Danielle Ammaccapane 84 84

VIKKI, PAMELA MAKE CUT BUT
WELL BEHIND FUTURES LEADER

Scots Vikki Laing from Musselburgh and Pamela Feggans from Patna, Ayrshire both made the 36-hole cut in the US Futures Tour event, the Mercedes Benz of Kansas City women's championship.
Vikki has scored 79 and 73 for a seven-over-par tally of 149 over the par-71, 6274yd lay-out at Leawood South Country Club. She birdied the long sixth, the short 13th and par-4 15th but, with bogeys at the second, third, 12th, 16th and 18th, made too many errors to challenge 18-year-old leader Mindy Kim from Calidornia (68-69 for 137).
Pamela made the cut with one shot to spare with rounds of 79 and 73 for 152. Pamela dropped four shots after the turn with a double bogey at the 14th and bogeys at the 11th and 17th. Fortunately, she had earlier birdied the long first and short second.
LEADERBOARD
Par 142 (2 x 71)
137 Mandy Kim (US) 68 69.
139 M J Hur (SKo) 72 67.
141 Andrea VanderLende (US) 69 72.
142 Jin Young Pak (SKo) 74 68, Misun Cho (SKo) 72 70, Courtney Mahon (US) 72 70.
144 Jessica Shipley (Can) 74 70, Cindy Figg-Currier (US) 75 69, Christi Cano (US) 74 70.
Other scores:
149 Vikki Laing (Sco) 76 73 (jt 29th).
152 Pamela Feggans (Sco) 79 73 (jt 58th).
MISSED THE CUT (153 or better)
157 Brenda McLarnon (NIr) 80 77.

Lisa Maguire leads at end of first
qualifying round in Irish
women's close championship

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE IRISH LADIES GOLF UNION
Twin teen sensation Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) fired an impressive five-under-par 69 to lead the field by three strokes after the first qualifyinground of the Lancôme Irish Women’s Close Championship at Westport Golf Club today.
Maguire started somewhat nervously with a bogey, par, birdie and double bogey before steadying the ship with a run of three birdies and a par to be out one under. On the back nine Maguire hit devastating form with a combination of four birdies and five pars to finish her round at five under par.
Maura Morrin (The Curragh) lies three shots adrift on 72 with an unblemished card which included birdies on the first and 15th holes.
Following closely behind is Irish International and past runner-up Tara Delaney (Carlow) on 74 and one shot further adrift is 13-year-old Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell), Lisa's twin sister.
Tomorrow sees the completion of the qualifying after which the leading 32 players will go into the championship draw. The match-play stages start on Monday and conclude on Wednesday.
Those in position 33 through to 48 qualify for the Ita Wallace Trophy.
SCOREBOARD
FIRST ROUND (Par 74. CSS 77)
69 Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell)
72 Maura Morrin (The Curragh)
74 Tara Delaney (Carlow)
75 Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell)
76 Ciara Butler (Newlands), Gemma Hegarty (Greencastle), Mary Dowling (New Ross).
77 Sarah Gallagher (Claremorris), Sarah Crowe (Tipperary), Naoimh McMahon (Shannon), Ann Marie Dalton (Coollattin), Vicki Power (Dundalk), Dawn Marie Conaty (Ashbourne).
78 Una Marsden (Tullamore), Emma O'Driscoll (Ballybunion), Carla Reynolds (Seapoint).
79 Darragh McGowan (Ballybofey & Stranorlar), Anne McCormack (Roscommon), Jennifer Gannon (Co Louth), Helen Jones (Strabane).
80 Gillian O'Leary (Cork), Sarah Faller (Galway), Deirdre Smith (Co Louth), Sarah Helly (Enniscrone), Niamh Kitching (Claremorris).
81 Suzanne Corcoran (Portumna), Ann Geoghegan (Athlone), Caoimhe Quinn (Dungannon).
82 Julie O'Gara (Roscommon), Carmel O'Connor (Westport), Karen O'Neill (Douglas), Trish Doyle (Kanturk).
83 Sarah Carty (The Island), Fiona Moclair (Ballinasloe), Orla Barry (Galway), Sinead Keane (The Curragh).
85 Maria Dunne (Skerries), Violet McBride (Belvoir Park), Catherine Tucker (Limerick), Hannah O'Brien (Lahinch).
86 Fiona McComb (Ballycastle) Laura McCarthy (Muskerry) Olivia Conroy (Co. Longford)
87 Aoife McHale (Castlebar), Sue Phillips (Woodbrook), Ailish Thompson (Douglas), Karen Delaney (Carlow), Tara Gribben (Warrenpoint).
88 Shauna McVeigh (Royal Co Down Ladies)
89 Laura Boylan (Skerries), Doireann Carney (Galway), Marie Sudway (Glasson), Maria Cahill (Abbeyleix).
90 Lynda Maher (Charleville), Vivienne Houston (City of Derry).
91 Linda Toomey (Limerick).
92 Susan McGann O'Brien (Tuam)
93 Mary Mather (Cill Dara) Mai McCann (Narin & Portnoo).
95 Margaret Corcoran (Bray).
96 Breda Farrell (Ballinasloe).
99 Maura Rafferty (Co Sligo), Theresa Delahunty (Rathdowney).

Hannah Barwood (17) beats Curtis

Cup player Florentyna Parker

to take English title at Ganton

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION

Gloucestershire’s Hannah Barwood became one of the youngest winners of the English women’s close amateur championship when she beat Lancashire’s Florentyna Parker 2 and 1 in the final at Ganton, Yorkshire today.

“This is huge for me,” said 17-year-old Hannah. “I can’t believe it and I don’t think it will sink in for about two days!”

She continues a recent trend of teenage winners of the English championship, following Felicity Johnson, who was 18 when she took the title in 2005, and Kiran Matharu who was also 17 in 2006.

Both are now professionals on the Ladies European Tour.

Hannah, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), who plays at Knowle Golf Club, had to defeat two Curtis Cup team members in two days during her title campaign at Ganton.

She faced Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) in the quarter-finals before moving on to play Florentyna Parker in a closely-fought final.

“I thought I could win and my coach said I was capable – but believing it is one thing and doing it is another,” said Hannah. “Anything can happen in match-play.”

She started a little tentatively and lost the first hole of the final after going into a fairway bunker. It was the first time she had been down in the match-play stages of the championship and, as she said: “It was a new experience. I’ve been in finals before but nothing like this so I was a bit edgy to begin with.”

Florentyna birdied the third, with a delicate chip and putt, to move to two up. But the Royal Birkdale player found trouble behind the next green and also lost the seventh after her second shot finished in a greenside bunker.

However, Florentyna moved back into the lead with a textbook par on the short 10th. Hannah’s tee shot had finished in short fluffy rough beside a bunker and although she chipped well, the putt slid past the hole.

The Gloucestershire player came straight back, though, with an excellent putt for a birdie 3 on the 11th which squared the match. She then moved into the lead for the first time with a steady par on the 12th, where Florentyna dropped a shot after driving into the trees on the right.

“When I went one up I told myself to hold on to it. I really like the last few holes and I knew I could play them well,” said Hannah, whose father, Nick, caddied for her.

Florentyna, meanwhile, was fighting hard – and never more so than on the 16th. She was still one down and her tee shot finished in deep, deep rough on the left of the hole and she had to take a penalty drop.

From there, with trees and a bunker between her and the putting surface, she played a superb shot into the heart of the green with a 19 degree rescue club. But it was to no avail when Hannah holed for a birdie 3 and a two-hole lead.

On the par-3 17th, Hannah displayed rock-solid nerves with an excellent two-putt across the sloping green. It gave her a half on the hole – and the title.

Now, Hannah is setting her sights on a championship double. “I’m still only 17 so I’ll be playing in the English girls’ – I’ll have to try and take that as well!” She is also the English schools’ champion and a past winner of the English girls’ Under-15 title.
Lyndsey Hewison

Press & PR Officer
Visit the EGWA web site at http://www.englishladiesgolf.org/

Jo Carthew plays her part in birdie festival

Four of the best. Semi-finalists Kylie Walker (left) and Laura Murray (right) flank new champion Michele Thomson and runner-up Jocelyn Carthew (Cal Carson Golf Agency image, all rights reserved). Click on the images to enlarge them.

Michele Thomson wins

quality championship final

- now for Curtis Cup

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Michele Thomson from Ellon, Aberdeenshire endorsed her Curtis Cup team selection by winning the Scottish women's amateur championship for the first time after an 18-hole final with golf that matched the glorious sunshine at Lossiemouth on the Moray Firth today.

In a final, packed with birdies and played at an old-fashioned pace – 17 holes completed in just over three hours, 20-year-old Michele beat another first-time finalist, Jocelyn Carthew, a 30-year-old Ladybank Golf Club, Fife member, by 2 and 1.

Michele, a +1 player at McDonald Ellon Golf Club, a seasoned international and a full-time amateur who has been playing competitively this year since the Orange Blossom Tour in Florida in January, entered the final as hot favourite to beat Jo, an uncapped one-handicapper who had never progressed past the second round of the national championship before and a player who works for a living.

But Carthew let the big gallery – and her more highly-rated opponent - know she wasn't just there to make up the numbers when she won the first two holes with birdies and then halved the third with her third birdie in a row.

Thomson, the longer-hitter, then rolled up her sleeves and won the next four holes with a par-birdie-birdie-birdie burst that saw her jump from two down to two up.

Carthew came back off the ropes to win the eighth with a great putt for a birdie but turned two down again when Thomson holed a 15ft birdie putt at the ninth.

Out in five-under-par 33 to Carthew's two-under 36 and two holes to the good, Thomson had by no means subdued underdog Jo. The pair of them produced nine birdies between them in a high-class outward half.

Carthew won the 10^th with a birdie, lost the 11^th to a birdie and then got back to one down again when Thomson had her first bogey of the day.

This was the low point, quality-wise in the match, the 13^th being halved in bogeys.

Normal service was resumed with a half in birdie 4s at the long 14^th before Thomson regained a two-hole lead when Carthew three-putted.

The writing was on the wall for the elegant Ladybank player then. Two down with three to play, she could only halve the 16^th and 17^th, leaving Thomson a worthy 2 and 1 winner.

Thomson was five under par at the finish and Carthew two under par … proof that it was a quality final with 13 birdies in all.

"I can hardly wait for the Curtis Cup to come along now at the end of the month," said Michele who phoned her oil executive dad who was en route from Brunei to Singapore as soon as she could after the last putt dropped.

"The best thing I took out of this week is that I can play under pressure. I came to Lossiemouth under pressure, as a Curtis Cup pick, to do well ... and I did. In the semi-final against Laura Murray I was four down after seven holes and I trailed in others, including this final, so that gives me confidence for the Curtis Cup.

"I would like to thank my coach Neil Marr for making me able to produce the shots I have to win in pressure situations."

Glasgow-born Jo Carthew, who lives in Kirkcaldy and works in Cupar, was also full of praise for her coach, Ladybank club professional Sandy Smith.

"Sandy has worked with me on my game for more than a year, just a general tighening up process. He has made a big difference to my play," said Glasgow-born Jo, daughter of the former Crow Wood professional Oliver Carthew.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the week. I thought I played better in every round and I couldn't complain about being beaten by Michele's five-under-par figures in the final. I was two under par myself so, even though I lost, I did enjoy competing in a Scottish final in front of a big gallery."

+Picture above of Michele Thomson with the Scottish championship trophy is the copyright of Gillian Kirkwood (all rights reserved).

HOW THEY SCORED IN THE FINAL

Hole 1: Carthew wins with birdie 3. Carthew one up.

Hole 2: Carthew wins with birdie 4. Carthew two up.

Hole 3: Halved in birdie 4s.

Hole 4: Thomson wins with par 3. Carthew one up.

Hole 5: Thomson wins with birdie 3. All square.

Hole 6: Thomson wins with birdie 2. Thomson one up.

Hole 7: Thomson wins with birdie 4. Thomson two up.

Hole 8: Carthew wins with birdie 4. Thomson one up.

Hole 9: Thomson with wins birdie 3. Thomson two up.

Thomson out in five-under-par 33. Carthew out in two-under-par 36.

Hole 10: Carthew wins with birdie 3. Thomson one up.

Hole 11: Thomson with with birdie 4. Thomson two up.

Hole 12: Carthew wins with par 4. Thomson one up.

Hole 13: Halved in bogey 5s.

Hole 14: Halved in birdie 4s.

Hole 15: Thomson wins with par 3. Thomson two up.

Hole 16 Halved in par 4s.

Hole 17: Halved in par 5s. Thomson wins by 2 and 1.

Thomson five under par for 17 holes. Carthew two under par for 17 holes.

BARWOOD v PARKER ENGLISH FINAL

Hannah Barwood and Florentyna Parker reach English championship final

Teenagers Hannah Barwood from Gloucestershire and Florentyna Parker from Lancashire will meet in tomorrow's final of the English Women's Close Amateur Championship at Ganton, Yorkshire.

Hannah, 17, claimed her place after scoring a convincing win over Curtis Cup team member Liz Bennett and then defeating her county colleague Charlotte Ellis – with the help of a hole-in one. It was her fifth in competition and her second this season, following an ace in last month's Helen Holm Scottish open strokeplay championship.

This time, Hannah used a six-iron for her shot to the 144-yard 5th and watched as it took one bounce and vanished into the hole. It took her to 2up but she still had a fight on her hands.

Charlotte, who was suffering from a torn muscle, had pulled her back to all square by the eighth. The two players then fought a close battle on the back nine before Hannah made a decisive move, winning the 15th, 16th and 17th to reach the final on only her second appearance in the championship.

Hannah, who is the English schools champion and was the U21 winner at the recent Welsh strokeplay championship, said: "I am ecstatic. I just can't wait."

Earlier in the day she was three-under par when she defeated Liz Bennett. Now, in the final, she faces the challenge of playing another Curtis Cup team member.

Florentyna Parker, 18, claimed her place in the final with a one-up win over the Yorkshire favourite and two-times champion, Emma Brown (nee Duggleby) from nearby Malton & Norton.

"It was a very tight, good match," said Florentyna, who will also be playing in her first English final. "I am looking forward to the final."

She took a quick lead in her semi-final and was th ree up after four holes and never dropped behind in a match in which she scored three birdies. However, Emma fought hard and twice pulled her opponent back to all square.

Crucially Florentyna took a one-hole lead with a birdie on the 13th and she held on to that advantage as the players halved the remaining five holes of the round.

Florentyna was the 2007 French lady junior champion and a member of last year's winning European team in the junior Solheim Cup.

Emma's defeat ended Yorkshire's hopes of a home winner but she said: "What with one thing and another I haven't played much golf since the beginning of March. So, to get to the semi-finals here and in the Yorkshire championship last week isn't bad. We had a good match, especially on the back nine, and Florentyna played well."

Results
Quarter-finals:
Charlotte Ellis (Minchinhampton) beat Sarah Walton (Clitheroe) 4/2.
Hannah Barwood (Knowle) beat Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) 4/3
Emma Brown (Malton & Norton) beat Rachel Connor (Manchester) 6/5.
Florentyna Parker (Royal Birkdale) beat Jenny Pease (Braintree) 2/1.

Semi-finals:
Barwood beat Ellis 3/1.
Parker beat Brown 1 up.

Full details: www.englishwomensgolf.org

---

JOCELYN CARTHEW BIDDING TO
COMPLETE LADYBANK DOUBLE
AFTER SUSAN'S VICTORY
IN CLARK ROSEBOWL FINAL

Jocelyn Carthew has put her home club Ladybank in the golfing spotlight by reaching Saturday morning's 18-hole final of the Scottish women's amateur championship over the Moray Golf Club Old Course links at Lossiemouth.
There was a trophy boost for a Ladybank club player when 18-year-old Susan Jackson beat Heather Anderson (Downfield) 4 and 3 in the final of the championship week's No2 competition, the Clark Rosebowl. Susan was three up after eight holes (Picture right of Susan Jackson with the Clark Rosebowl was taken by Gillian Kirkwood who retains the copyright).
Now Jocelyn or "Jo" - she doesn't mind which one you use - a 30-year-old Glasgwegian, who lives in Kirkcaldy and works in a stable-construction business in Cupar, will be pulling out all the stops to put her own name in the record books alongside legends like Jessie Valentine by beating 20-year-old Michele Thomson, a full-time amateur golfer from Ellon, Aberdeenshire and one of four Scots in the GB&I team to play the United States in the Curtis Cup match over the Old Course, St Andrews at the end of the month.
"I'm playing well. I just have to do it one more time. I was two or three under par in beating Kylie Walker in the semi-final, so that kind of form must give me a chance," said Jocelyn, who did not take up golf until the age of 16 even though her dad Oliver was professional at Crow Wood Golf Club.
Although Thomson had to claw her way back from four down after eight holes before prevailing over Aberdeenshire rival Laura Murray (Alford) at the 20th hole in the other semi-final, Michele will start the clear favourite for the title.
Thomson, who lost in the semi-finals last year, is the 10th seed and her opponent was 25th of the 32 qualifiers for the match-play stages at Lossiemouth
Long-hitting power player Michele has +1 of a handicap; Jocelyn, a more delicate touch player, has one of a handicap and has never got past the second round of the "Scottish" before. She has never won the Fife county championship and never been picked for Scotland. Michele is a seasoned international who has stepped up to Great Britain & Ireland level.
But Carthew is playing well above her expectations this week.
She started the penultimate day of the 94th national championship by winning 2 and 1 against 16-year-old Sammy Vass (Tain), who claimed the scalp of the No 1 seed, Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) in the first round.
Then Carthew beat the No 5 seed, Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) by 3 and 1 to reach the final for the first time.
Kylie Walker had to go to the 22nd hole in morning quarter-finals to take the measure of Craigielaw teenager Jane Turner.
Whether that sapped her energy or not, Kylie birdied the 10th to get back to all square with Jocelyn – and then sagged.
Walker lost the 11th, 12th and 13th and there was no way back for her after that.
Against Thomson, Robert Gordon University student Laura Murray had a fantastic start. She birdied the first five holes and seven of the first eight holes to be four up and firmly in the driving seat.
"Laura was playing brilliantly at that stage. I just had to make sure I kept my head up and play the best I could to turn the match my way," said Michele.
And turn her way it did. She won the ninth with a par, the 11th with a birdie, the 16th with a par and the 17th with a par. Murray's flow of birdies had dried up just when she needed some more.
But Laura did stage wonderful 40yd bunker shot under severe pressure to halve the 18th in bogeys but her luck ran out when she was in another bunker off the tee at the 20th and ran up a bogey 6 which ended her best ever run in the championship.
"Pity my father is in Dubai and can't make it time. He has helped me so much to get me where I am," said Michele.
"But there's still a hard match in the final to come. So I'm not counting my chickens yet."
Friday results:

CHAMPIONSHIP

QUARTER-FINALS

J Carthew (Ladybank) bt S Vass (Tain) 2 and 1.

K Walker (Buchanan Castle) bt J Turner (Mortonhall) at 22nd.

L Murray (Alford) bt C-M Carlton (Fereneze) 2 and 1.

M Thomson (McDonald Ellon) bt L Kenney (Pitreavie) 3 and 2.

SEMI-FINALS

Carthew bt Walker 3 and 1.

Thomson bt Murray at 20th.

CLARK ROSEBOWL
SEMI-FINALS

H Anderson (Downfield) bt B Murphy (Mortonhall) at 20^th.

S Jackson (Ladybank) bt T Laughland (Mortonhall) 2 holes.

FINAL

Jackson bt Anderson 4 and 3.

SHOCKS IN ENGLISH WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP

Title-holder Naomi Edwards and top seed Rachel Jennings tumbled out of the English Women's Close Amateur Championship when they were both beaten in the first round.
But Florentyna Parker – who makes her Curtis Cup debut later this month – produced a magical shot to survive a marathon battle and move into the quarter finals.
The first upset of the day was provided by Lancashire's Sarah Walton (Clitheroe) who claimed the 32nd and final place for the matchplay only after a play-off.
Sarah, who won the British mid-amateur championship in 2003, defeated the top qualifier, Staffordshire's Rachel Jennings (Izaak Walton) on the final green. She had a simple attitude to the match: "I'm 31-years-old and I'm here for fun. I had nothing to lose and I just played steady golf," she said.
She went on to beat former England international Lisa Hall (Matfen Hall), again on the 18th.
Essex champion Jenny Pease (Braintree) claimed another big scalp when she defeated the defending champion and Ganton player, Naomi Edwards.
Jenny was up throughout the match and said afterwards: "I am chuffed to bits." Naomi commented on the end of her hopes of retaining her title: "It just wasn't meant to be."
However, Florentyna Parker (Royal Birkdale) staged a remarkable comeback against Yorkshire's talented 17-year-old, Ellie Robinson (Middlesborough).
Florentyna was five down after seven and three down with three to play. But experience, coupled with a magical chip, took her through to the quarter finals. She finally won on the 20th, where her approach to the green finished so close to a bunker that she had no stance and was forced to play the shot left-handed with a sand wedge. She managed a miraculous u p and down and revealed afterwards that she practises the technique.
Hampshire's Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor), who will also play in the Curtis Cup team, moved into the quarter-finals with a confident performance against Bedfordshire's Holly Aitchison. "I thought I played well," said Holly "but Liz was just awesome, she kept making birdies and it was hard to keep up."
Liz was three-under par when the match finished and notably birdied the very long par fours, 7 and 15.
Now she meets Gloucestershire's Hannah Barwood who needed just 24 holes to dispose of her two opponents. The 17-year-old from Knowle won both her games by the margin of 7/6 and said afterwards: "I played steady golf. I plotted my way round the course and didn't make many mistakes."
Her Gloucestershire colleague, Charlotte Ellis (Minchinhampton), is also safely through – despite suffering from the effects of a torn muscle under her arm. She had comfortable wins against 14-year-old Jamie-Leigh Voss (Kirby Muxloe) and Ganton's Sara Garbutt and said afterwards: "It hurts when I breathe – so I just held my breath!".
Yorkshire's Emma Brown (Malton and Norton), who has twice held this title, won two tight matches on the 18th. She beat another former champion, Kerry Smith (Waterlooville) and then England girls international Charlie Douglass (Brocket Hall).
Results
First round
Sarah Walton (Clitheroe) beat Rachel Jennings (Izaak Walton) 1 up. Lisa Ball (Matfen Hall) beat Sarah Attwood (Gog Magog) 2/1. Sara Garbutt (Ganton) beat Lucinda Mileham (Aldwickbury Park) 1 up. Charlotte Ellis (Minchinhampton) beat Jamie-Leigh Voss (Kirby Muxloe) 4/3. Claire Aitken (Mid-Kent) beat Nikki Dunn (Harrogate) 3/2. Hannah Barwood (Knowle) beat Charlotte Dalton (Ladbrook Park) 7/6. Holly Aitchison (Bedfordshire) beat Kym Larratt (Kibworth) 3/2. Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) beat Tilly Hol der (Magnolia Park) 5/4. Rachel Connor (Manchester) beat Sian James (Bristol & Clifton) 3/2. Kate Whitmore (Sandiway) beat Hermione Fitzgerald (Links) 3/1. Emma Brown (Malton & Norton) beat Kerry Smith (Waterlooville) 1 up. Charlie Douglass (Brocket Hall) beat Charlotte Wild (Mere) 2/1. Florentyna Paker (Royal Birkdale) beat Ellis Keenan (Sunningdale) 3/2. Ellie Robinson (Middlesborough) beat Anne Wheble (Dartford) 4/2. Faye Sanderson (Heworth) beat Emilee Taylor (Gainsborough) 1 up. Jenny Pease (Braintree) beat Naomi Edwards (Ganton) 3/2.
Second round:
Walton beat Ball 2 up. Ellis beat Garbutt 5/4. Barwood beat Aitken 7/6. Bennett beat Aitchison 4/3. Connor beat Whitmore 2/1. Brown beat Douglass 1 up. Parker beat Robinson on 20th. Pease beat Sanderson 2/1.

Full scores: www.englishwomensgolf.org

---

Lyndsey Hewison
Press & PR Officer

Tel. 01603 507 416
Email: lyndsey.hewison@ntlworld.com

Visit our web site at www.englishwomensgolf.org

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Editors Notes

On the 31 December 2007 the English Ladies' Golf Association, an unincorporated body, was dissolved and the property, contracts, assets (including intellectual property rights and goodwill) and liabilities of the Association were transferred to a Company Limited by Guarantee, registration number 6431498, known as the English Women's Golf
Association.

The English Women's Golf Association is the governing body for female amateur golf in England.

EWGA represents over 127,000 members in more than 1780 golf clubs, trains the country's elite golfers, runs a full rota of national championships as well as events for handicap golfers, and actively encourages new golfers.

EWGA has formed the England Golf Partnership with the English Golf Union and the Professionals Golfers' Association. Their Whole Sport Plan, supported by Sport England, aims to make England the world's leading golf nation by 2020.

The association also has a charity, The ELGA Trust, which supports schemes to introduce girls to golf and helps promising players.

KYLIE WALKER WINS AT 22nd HOLE

LATER NEWS FROM SCOTTISH WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

 

Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) bt Jane Turner (Mortonhall) at 22nd hole.

 

CLARK ROSEBOWL RESULTS

SEMI-FINALS

H Anderson (Downfield) bt B Murphy (Mortonhall) at 20th.

S Jackson (Ladybank) bt T Laughland (Mortonhall) 2 holes.

Scottish women's amateur championship results

HOW THEY FARED IN QUARTER-FINALS

 

Match 1

JOCELYN CARTHEW (Ladybank) bt SAMMY VASS (Tain) 2 and 1.

Vass one up after 11 holes.

Carthew won the second, Vass the fourth. All square at turn. Vass won the 11th.

Carthew won the 12th and 13th with birdies to go one up.

Vass birdied 14tyh to be all square again.

Carthew won short 15th with 3 to go one one up.

Carthew won 17th with par 5 to win match 2 and 1.

 

 

March 2

KYLIE WALKER (Buchanan Castle) and JANE TURNER (Craigielaw) all square after 20 holes (playing on).

Kylie Walker and Jane Turner all square after 10 holes.

First six holes halved. Walker conceded seventh but won the eighth to square. Turner won the ninth with birdie to be one up at turn. Walker won 10th with birdie to be all square.

In the tightest of ties, the remaining eight holes on the inward half were halved, including birdies at the 14th and 17th.

Turner, putting for the match, lipped out with a birdie putt from about 8ft beyond the hole on the 18th green.

The first two extra holes were halved.

 

Match 3

LAURA MURRAY (Alford) bt CLARE-MARIE CARLTON (Fereneze) 3 and 1.

Murray one up at the turn3

Murray won the first and third to go two up. Carlton won back the fourrh but lost the sixth.Carlton won the eighth to be only one down.

Murray went two up with a par at the 10th but Carlton birdied the 11th to cut her deficit to one hole again.

Carlton lost a ball at the 13th to go down down and Murray went three up with a birdie 4 at the 14th.

Carlton fought back with a birdie at the 16th to be two down with two to play.

Murray clinched a 3 and 1 victory by winning the 17th.

 

Match 4

MICHELE THOMSON (McDonald Ellon) bt LOUISE KENNEY (Pitreavie) 3 and 2.

Thomson one up at the turn.

Thomson won first three holes but lost the fifth and sixth.

Thomson won the eighth to regain two-hole advantage but Kenney won the ninth.

Thomson birdied the 10th to go two up but lost to 11th to a birdie from Kenney.

Kenney conceded the 12th to go two down again.

Thomson birdied the 14th to go three up with four to play.

The 16th hole was halved to leave Thomson winner by 3 and 2.

More results from "Scottish" at Lossiemouth

CLARK ROSEBOWL

 

FIRST ROUND

 

B Murphy (Mortonhall) bt A Ryan (Tain) 3 and 2.

A McGinnigle (Cochrane Castle) bt J Harrison (Cruden Bay) 1 hole.

H Anderson (Downfield) bt S Leslie (Murcar Links) 3 and 2.

L Terry (Cruden Bay) bt H Faulds (Douglas Park) 1 hole.

T Laughland (Mortonhall) bt E Gillespie (Lochend) 5 and 4.

M Smith (Tain) bt L Stewart (Greenburn) 3 and 2.

C Wilson (Murcar Links) bt A Brownie (Lothianburn) 5 and 4.

S Jackson (Ladybank) bt H Laughland (Mortonhall) 5 and 3.

 

QUARTER-FINALS

Murphy bt McGinnigle 1 hole.

Anderson bt Terry at 20th.

T Laughland bt Smith 1 hole.

Jackson bt Wilson 2 holes.

LORNA LETS CURTIS CUPPER MICHELE OFF HOOKE

Scottish seniors champion Lorna Bennett from Ladybank almost pulled off the second shock of the day as the 94^th Scottish women's amateur golf championship entered its match-play stages over the Moray club's Old Course links at Lossiemouth today.

In the morning 16-year-old Sammy Vass from Tain, the last of the 32 qualifiers – she had to survive a six-way play-off – toppled one of her best golfing chums, Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar), the 17-year-old top seed, by two holes.

In the afternoon second round ties, Lorna jumped into a three-hole lead after only four holes on Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon), the only one in the Lossie field of the four Scots who will do duty for Great Britain & Ireland in the Curtis Cup match over the Old Course, St Andrews at the end of the month.

Michele hit back after losing the second, third and fourth to a par-eagle-birdie burst by Lorna to win the seventh, eighth and ninth and be square at the turn with successes at four holes

Bennett was not finished yet. She won the 10^th with a par when her much longer-hitting opponent was bunkered but Michele bounced back with a tie-squaring birdie at the 11^th.

The Fifer, a Scotland player and girls team captain in her day, showed no signs of tiring as the sun came out to raise the temperature. Bennett won the 13^th and 14^th to go two up with five to play … and we know what they all say about that position!

"I never thought about two up with five to play never wins, actually, but I did lose the 15^th to a birdie and then I three-putted to lose the 17^th, which meant we were all square going down the last," said Lorna.

"Sadly, for me, I took three to get down from the edge of the 18^th green for a bogey 5 while Michele holed her second putt from about seven feet for a winning par 4 and that was that.

"But I really enjoyed myself, beating Claire Hargan by 5 and 4 in the morning and then giving Michele a good game. In a way I was glad for Scotland with the Curtis Cup match coming up, that Michele was able to win in the end. Maybe it will do her a lot of good, especially if she went on to become champion."

Two Fifers did reach the last eight – Jocelyn Carthew from Ladybank and Louise Kenney, the No 2 seed from Pitreavie.

Jocelyn beat Margaret Tough (Falkirk) by 4 and 3 and then Karen Marshall (Baberton) by 3 and 1. She now plays the giant-killing Sammhy Vass.

Louise Kenney was a 5 and 4 winner in the first round against Laura McLardy (Murcar Links) and then came through a tough tie against Claire MacDonald (Gullane) by 2 and 1.

"I was three up after five holes with a couple of birdies. Then we halved seven holes in a row before I went four up at the 13^th. Claire came back at me by winning the 14^th with a birdie and then the 15^th to cut my lead to two," said Louise.

"We halved the 16^th in par and the 17^th in birdie 4s to finish the match. I really like the Lossiemouth links. I was about one or two under par in the afternoon and I think I am playing as well if not better than when I reached the semi-finals at Dunbar a couple of years ago. Here's hoping anyway!"

Louise Kenney now plays Curtis Cupper Michele Thomson.

Sammy (16) from Tain is

Lossie giant-killer

You couldn't make up a better, little girl makes good story! But this one is true and it all enfolded on another day which ended in glorious sunshine at Lossiemouth.

Sixteen-year-old championship debutante Sammy Vass from Tain had the kind of day in the 94^th Scottish women's amateur golf tournament she will remember for the rest of her life..

Having squeezed into the 32 match-play qualifiers on Wednesday night by surviving a six-player play-off for the last two places, she began her day of days by toppling her 17-year-old golfing buddy, Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) who just happened to be the No 1 seed!

In an amazing match of quality, played by two youngsters at almost break-neck speed by modern standards – 2hr 40min for 18 holes – Kelsey had seven birdies but lost by two holes to Sammy who had "only" four birdies but more winning par figures.

Then Sammy, whose mother Magi was a Scottish junior international in her day, went out again in the afternoon and played almost just well. She reached the last eight at the first attempt by chalking up a 3 and 2 win over former Scottish universities champion Ann Ramsay from Kirriemuir but now living and working in Paisley. Again the pace of the tie was bordering on sprinting – they completed the 16 holes in well under three hours.

This time Sammy Vass (picture above by Cal Carson Golf Agency, all rights reserved) had six birdies against an eagle and three birdies from her opponent.

"This has been the best day of my golfing life. I've never played so well over two rounds. Pity I had to beat Kelsey because we're good pals and she would beat me most days. She's a +2 player and I've got a handicap of three," said Sammy.

And just to round off a eventual day, Sammy, by special arrangement, sat her Higher English examination under strict supervision within the Moray clubhouse just after 5pm.

Kelsey MacDonald and Samantha Leslie (Murcar Links) were two other teenagers in the field who sat Higher English at different days during the day.

Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon), the only one in the Lossie field of the four Scots chosen to play in the Curtis Cup match over the Old Course, St Andrews at the end of month, reached the last eight after being three down after four holes and two down with five to play against Scottish seniors champion Lorna Bennett (Ladybank). Thomson holed an eight-footer on the last green to win by one hole when Bennett took three from the edge.

Michele now plays the No 2 seed Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) for a place in the semi-finals.

Michele's Aberdeenshire rival Laura Murray from Alford had an eagle and six pars in winning by 4 and 3 over Kilmacolm teenager Megan Briggs.

Escape of the day was performed by Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle). In the morning first round, she was four down with five holes to play against Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder), last year's beaten finalist. Kylie won all five for a one-hole victory and celebrated her reprieve by firing five-under-par figures at six times Angus champion Mary Summers (Panmure Barry) in recording a 3 and 2 win to enter the quarter-finals

THURSDAY RESULTS

FIRST ROUND MATCH-PLAY

S Vass (Tain) bt K MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) 2 holes.

A F Ramsay (Kirriemuir) bt S Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) 2 holes.

K Marshall (Baberton) bt L Hendry (Routenburn) 1 hole.

J Carthew (Ladybank) bt M Tough (Falkirk) 4 and 3.

K Walker (Buchanan Castle) bt E Ogilvy (Auchterarder) 1 hole.

M Summers (Panmure Barry) bt R Livingstone ( Musselburgh Old) 2 and 1.

J Turner (Craigielaw) bt C Gruber (Royal Dornoch) 2 and 1.

M Pow (Selkirk) bt E Fairnie (Dunbar) 3 and 2.

C-M Carlton (Fereneze) bt D Pocock (Murcar Links) 7 and 5.

D Jackson (Cochrane Castle) bt E Moffat (St Regulus) at 19^th.<