LYNN KENNY CANNOT BEAT THE BOGEY MAN
- FAILS TO SURVIVE THE CUT IN NORWAY

Lynn Kenny failed to survive the cut after 36 holes of the SAS Masters at Losby Golf Club, Oslo in Norway today.
The Archerfield Links tour pro had rounds of 77 and 81 for 158.
Lynn had halves of 42 and 39 in her Saturday round in which she had to endure a triple bogey at a short hole and three double bogeys. She did birdie the 13th and 16th but it was too little too late.
World-ranked Norwegian Suzann Pettersen would be a popular winner in her homeland and she is going the right way about it.
After a dazzling opening round of 64, Suzann was more conservative with a par-matching 72 but her eight-under-par tally of 136 gives her a five-shot lead over Germany's Anja Monke and Italy's Diana Luna going into Sunday's final round.
LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72)
136 S Pettersen (Nor) 64 72.
141 A Monke (Ger) 68 73, D Luna (Ita) 69 72.
142 N Garrett (Aus) 69 73.
144 G Nocera (Fra) 69 74, T Plucksataporn (Thai) 72 72.
MISSED THE CUT
153 E McKinnon (NZ) 77 76.
158 L Kenny (Archerfield Links) 77 81.

Irish Ladies Golf Union Press Release

AA INSURANCE IRISH LADIES
FOURSOMES CHAMPIONSHIPS
NORTHERN DISTRICT FINALS
KNOCK GOLF CLUB

Larne and Omagh will play in the All-Ireland Finals of the AA Insurance Senior and Junior Foursomes following victories over Shandon Park and Edenmore respectively in the Northern District Finals at Knock Golf Club today.
Roma English and Carol McMaw set the early pace for Larne when English holed a 20ft downhill putt at the 15th to go two up before closing out Julie Hall and Diane Conway at the 17th.
Jenny Young and Karen Simpson then levelled the tie overall with a 6 and 5 victory over Joyce Robinson and Sarah O’Neill.
The final match saw Gail McNabb and Barbara O’Neill hold on to a one-hole advantage through 14 holes before beating Diane Nickels and Debbie Sweeney on the home green.
Larne now join Wicklow (Midland) in the semi-finals of the AA INSURANCE Senior Foursomes at Athlone Golf Club from September 28 to 30.
In the Junior Foursomes, Omagh looked to have their match with Edenmore sewn up when at one match each overall, Judith Lyons and Patsy Harkin stood five up on the 13th tee.
However, the brave partnership of Stephanie Watson and Sally Cushnahan, undaunted by the challenge, won four consecutive holes to stand just one down on the 17th tee. Two solid pars saw both pairs down the 18th where Omagh’s up and down from 80yd out clinched victory.
Omagh now join Enniscorthy (Midland) in the semi-finals of the AA INSURANCE Junior Foursomes at Athlone Golf Club from September 28 to 30.
Details:
AA INSURANCE SENIOR FOURSOMES
LARNE 2, SHANDON PARK 1.
Roma English & Carol McMaw bt Julie Hall & Diane Dianne Conway 2 and 1.
Joyce Robinson & Sarah O’Neill lost to Jenny Young & Karen Simpson 6 and 5..
Gail McNabb & Barbara O’Neill bt Diane Nickels & Debbie Sweeney 1 hole.

AA INSURANCE JUNIOR FOURSOMES
EDENMORE 1, OMAGH 2.
Debbie McMaster & Claire Ussher lost to Anne Cullen & Grainne McCarron 3 and 2.
Caroline Watson & Gillian Murphy bt Dolores Duddy & Margaret Barton 7 and 6.
Stephanie Watson & Sally Cushnahan lost to Judith Lyons & Patsy Harkin 1 hole.

CHEERS FOR DOUBLE SCOTCH IN BELGIUM!

TEENAGE FOUR WIN TWO TEAM TROPHIES

Four Scottish golfing teenagers scored a magnificent double whammy in the Belgian Junior International Championship which ended at the Royal Golf Club of Belgium in Brussels today.
First, Kelsey MacDonald, a 16-year-old from Nairn, finished runner-up in the girls’ championship – and won the Girls’ International Team Trophy in partnership with Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm).
Then Andrew McLachlan (Bonnyton) and Aberdeen’s David Law (Hazlehead) won the Boys’ International Team Trophy. An history-making double in the tournament which has been running since 1979.
Kelsey, who lives just across the road from her home golf club, Nairn Dunbar and has a handicap of +2, had rounds of 75, 73, 72 and 73 for a total of 293. In her last one-over-par round, she birdied the 10th, 14th and 18th, double-bogeyed the 13th and dropped single shots at the first and 12.

KELSEY THIRD LAST YEAR
She finished nine shots behind the outstanding Italian 17-year-old Alessia Knight from Bologna who scored 72, 69, 72 and 71 for four-under-par 284. Alessia did not have a bogey in the last 23 holes of the tournament which meant Kelsey never got a chance to close the gap.
Miss MacDonald finished third in the same tournament last year when it as reduced to 54 holes when a round was washed out by rain.
Megan Briggs, beaten by Carly Booth in the final of the Scottish Under-18 girls match-play championship at Peterhead last month, had scores of 80, 75, 75 and 77 for 307. She finished tied 16th.
Kelsey and Megan’s combined scores gave them winning total of 600 in the girls’ international team trophy event. They finished two shots ahead of South Africa’s Kim Williams and Monique Smith with host nation Belgium third on 206.
Andrew McLachlan put together rounds of 77, 71, 72 and 72 for 292 which earned him joint fifth place behind individual boys’ title winner Kasper Sorensen (Denmark) (71-72-709-70 for five-under 283).

THREE BIRDIES

Andrew birdied the third, fourth and 18th and bogeyed the ninth, 10th and 17th in matching par with halves of 35 and 37.
David Law scored 77, 73, 72 and 71 for joint eighth place on 293. David had a roller-coaster round with birdies at the first, third, fifth, ninth, 14th and 18th and bogeys at the fourth, sixth, eighth, 12th and 13th in getting a one-under-par closing score
McLachlan and Law’s combined 72-hole totals gave Scotland first place in the boys’ team trophy with 585 – three shots ahead of Italy’s Giacomo Tonelli and Joon Kim. Denmark (590) and Ireland (593) fourth of the 11 competing nations.

LEADING BOYS' INDIVIDUAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
283 Kasper Sorensen (Den) 71 72 70 70.
284 Nicolai Aagaard (Den)70 74 70 70.
288 Olivier Rozner (Fra) 69 70 73 76.
Other totals:
282 Andrew McLachlan (Sco) 77 71 72 72 (jt 5th).
293 David Law (Sco) 77 73 72 71, Andrew Hogan (Ire) 73 73 77 70 (jt 8th).
300 Dara Lernihan (Ire) 77 73 76 74 (jt 24th).
LEADING BOYS' TEAM TOTALS
585 Scotland (Andrew McLachlan & David Law).
588 Italy (Giacomo Tonelli & Joon Kim.
590 Denmark.
593 Ireland (Andrew Hogan & Dara Lernihan) (4th of 11 teams).
LEADING GIRLS' INDIVIDUAL TOTALS
284 Alessia Knight (Ita) 72 69 72 71.
293 Kelsey MacDonald (Sco) 75 73 72 73.
295 Rebecca Huber (Swi) 76 72 73 74.
299 Lorena De Lope (Spa) 76 76 76 71.
300 Kim Williams (SAf) 75 71 76 78.
Other scores:
307 Megan Briggs (Sco) 80 75 75 77 (jt 16th).
318 Ciara Butler (Ire) 82 76 78 83 (jt 26th).
319 Lucy Simpson (Ire) 82 76 78 83 (28th).

LEADING GIRLS' TEAM TOTALS
600 Scotland (Kelsey MacDonald & Megan Briggs).
602 South Africa (Kim Williams & Monique Smith).
606 Belgium (V Gevers & L Gonzalez-Escallon).
Other placing:
637 Ireland (Ciara Butler & Lucy Simpson) (7th).

+IMAGES AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT ARE ANDREW McLACHLAN, DAVID LAW AND MEGAN BRIGGS, AND IN THE LEFT CENTRE OF THE PAGE, KELSEY MACDONALD

LPGA SCOREBOARD
SAFEWAY CLASSIC
Columbia Edgewater Country Club.
Par 72.
Players from US unless stated.

66 Ji-Young Oh (Kor), Sophie Gustafson (Swe)
67 Lorena Ochoa (Mex)
68 Angela Stanford, Leta Lindley
69 Jacqueline Yang (Chn), Sarah Lee, Christina Kim
70 Minea Blomqvist (Fin), Lindsey Wright (Aus), Joo Mi Kim (Kor), Heather Young, Karrie Webb (Aus), Beth Bader, Diana D'Alessio, Kyeong Eun Bae (Kor), Silvia Cavalleri (Ita), Mhairi McKay (Sco)
71 Natalie Gulbis, Mi-Hyun Kim (Kor), Dawn Coe-Jones, Lorie Kane (Can), Laura Diaz, A.J Eathorne (Can), Hye Jung Choi (Kor)
72 Giulia Sergas (Ita), Joanne Morley (Eng), Lisa Fernandes, Il Mi Chung (Kor), Patricia Meunier-Lebouc (Fra), Reilley Rankin, Wendy Ward, Brittany Lang, Katie Futcher, Kris Tamulis, Jane Park, Sherri Turner, Gloria Park (Kor), Se Ri Pak (Kor), Brooke Tull, Katherine Hull (Aus)
73 Kelli Kuehne, Meena Lee (Kor), Young Jo (Kor), Cristie Kerr, In-Bee Park (Kor), Tina Barrett, Michelle Ellis, Clarissa Childs, Jimin Kang (Kor), Paige Mackenzie, Jeong Jang (Kor), Sun Young Yoo (Kor), Shi Hyun Ahn (Kor), Jin Joo Hong (Kor), Becky Iverson, Liselotte Neumann (Swe), Lee Ann Walker-Cooper, Paula Creamer, Stephanie Louden, Erica Blasberg, Soo Young Moon (Kor)
74 Young Kim (Kor), In Kyung Kim (Kor), Angela Park, Siew-Ai Lim (Mal), Julieta Granada (Par), Miriam Nagl (Ger), Sung Ah Yim (Kor), Becky Morgan (Wal), Tiffany Joh, Na On Min (Jpn), Kristy McPherson, Song-Hee Kim (Kor), Michelle McGann, Ai Miyazato (Jpn), Teresa Lu (Tai), Meaghan Francella
75 Jill McGill, Juli Inkster, Jamie Hullett, Aree Song (Kor), Seon Hwa Lee (Kor), Yu Ping Lin (Tai), Soo-Yun Kang (Kor), Marcy Hart, Karen Stupples (Eng), Morgan Pressel, Na Ri Kim (Kor), Nancy Scranton, Sae-Hee Son (Kor), Amy Hung (Tha), Tracy Hanson, Danielle Downey, Aram Cho
76 Kelly Cap, Kim Williams, Charlotte Mayorkas, Dorothy Delasin, Virada Nirapathpongporn (Tha), Rachel Hetherington (Aus), Kate Golden, Carri Wood, Mikaela Parmlid (Swe), Allison Hanna-Williams, Kristi Albers
77 Laura Davies (Eng), Cindy Rarick, Brandie Burton, Pat Hurst, Dina Ammaccapane, Meredith Duncan, Veronica Zorzi (Ita), Alena Sharp, Christa Johnson, Moira Dunn, Birdie Kim (Kor), Nicole Castrale
78 Wendy Doolan (Aus), Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, Carin Koch (Swe), Eva Dahllof (Swe), Kim Hall
79 Grace Park (Kor), Michelle Wie, Won Lee (Kor), Meg Mallon
80 Sarah Lynn Sargent, Christi Cano, Charlotta Sorenstam (Swe), Irene Cho, Jin young Pak (Kor), Riko Higashio (Jpn)
81 Johanna Head (Eng), Jeanne Cho-Hunicke, Nina Reis (Swe), Heather Daly-Donofrio, Janice Moodie (Sco), Karine Icher (Fra)
82 Jenna Daniels, Jennifer Rosales (Phi), Nancy Lopez
83 Kim Saiki-Maloney

VIKKI LAING'S GOOD START TO GETTYSBURG

CHAMPIONSHIP - A TWO-UNDER-PAR 70

Musselburgh exile Vikki Laing was lying joint fourth in a field of 142 afer the first round the latest 54-hole tournament on the US Futures Tour, the Gettysburg ChAmpionship.
The Scot shot a two-under-par round of 70 over the 6,425yd The Links at Gettysburg course in Pennsylvania after reaching the turn in three-under 33, the joint best of the day, on a course playing long after three inches of rain earlier in the week.
With the fairways still saturated, lift-clean-and-place playing conditions were in operation.
Vikki Laing’s round featured three consecutive birdies on holes 3, 4 and 5, and on the back nine, one birdie and two three-putt bogeys. The pair of three-putts was partly due to misjudging the pace of the greens - they were surprisingly fast - and partly due to a lot of activity on wet greens for the last few days.
“The greens are speeding up as it dries out and they are in awesome shape,” said Laing, still seeking her first professional win since she left the amateur ranks after four seasons on the American women's college circuit as a student at the University of California-Berkeley. “They are receptive, but there are a lot of pitch marks out there.”
Vikki, pictured above on the 18th green of the Old Course, St Andrews, is three shots behind joint leaderes Violeta Retamoza from Mexico and Taylor Leon from Texas on 67.
Natasha Morgan, the South Wales amateur who has been spending her summer holidays from Lynn University at Boca Raton, Florida playing the No 2 US women's pro circuit, had a 74 to be in joint 35th place.
Not so good prospects of surviving the 36-hole cut for the two other Brits on the tour - Brenda McLarnon from Belfast and Polly Willett from London, both former US college students.
Brenda had a 79 for joint 114th place and Polly an 85 for joint 139th place.

LEADING SCORES
Par 72 (36-36). 6,425yd
67 Violeta Retamoza (Mex) 33-34, Taylor Leon (US) 35-32.
68 Seo-Jae Lee (SKor) 35-33.
70 Vikki Laing (Sco) 33-37, Marcela Leon (Mex) 36-34, Charlotte Campbell (US) 36-34.
Other scores:
74 Natasha Morgan (Wal) (am) 35-39 (jt 35th).
79 Brenda McLarnon (NIr) 41-38 (jt 114th).
85 Polly Willett (Eng) 42-43 (jt 139th).

English Ladies Golf Association Press Release

ALEX PETERS (13) SCORES DOUBLE WHAMMY
WIN AT NORTH OF ENGLAND UNDER-16s

Nottinghamshire’s Alex Peters swept the board for the girls at the North of England Under-16 championship at Heswall.
The 13-year-old from the English Ladies’ golf Association’s Select Midlands squad won both the Under-16 and Under-14 titles.
Alex, the Midlands ladies’ champion from Notts’ Ladies, was three-under par for the 72-hole tournament with a total of 293.
Pat Smillie, ELGA’s national junior coach, said: “It was a fantastic performance. She birdied the first and the last holes of her final round but she just played very consistently throughout the tournament.”
English Under-13 champion Hannah Turland (Tidworth Garrison) was third in the Under-14s. “This was a very good result for Hannah. It’s the first time she’s played in an England squad and she returned a very creditable score,” said Pat.
Overall, she paid tribute to the performance of the ELGA squad at the championship, which shows much promise for the future.
“We’ve got a lot of up and coming talent,” said Pat.
Squad scores:
293 Alex Peters (Notts Ladies) 71 75 74 73.
310 Hannah Turland (Tidworth Garrison) 79 79 75 77.
311 Helen Searle (West End) 79 79 77 76.
314 Kelly Tidy (Manchester) 78 78 79 79.
321 Heidi Baek (Felixstowe Ferry) 79 79 84 79.

Irish Ladies Golf Union Press Release

2007 SUZUKI SENIOR CUP ALL-IRELAND FINALS
MILLTOWN GOLF CLUB
August 31 and September 1

The five district champions, Carlow, Co Louth, Ennis, Galway and Royal Portrush, join this year’s back-door graduates, Laytown & Bettystown, Kilkenny and Roscommon, in the national quarter-finals of the 2007 Suzuki Senior Cup at Milltown Golf Club on Friday, August 31.
Current international Deirdre Smith leads 2002 champions and No 1 seeds Co Louth into battle against an unknown quantity in Roscommon who field Connacht champion Ailbhe Farrell and girl international Anne McCormack in their ranks.
Helen Jones once again leads second seeds Royal Portrush in a most interesting tie with a young Kilkenny side, ably led by double-1990s Irish champion Eileen Rose Power.
In the third quarter-final, past-international Wickham sisters Phil and Carol join a Laytown & Bettystown side who will fancy their chances against a Carlow team under-strength from the return of sisters Karen and Tara Delaney to college in the USA.
The last tie pits Connacht champions Galway, for whom girl international Sarah Faller will shine, face Southern champions Ennis, which sees the 2005 and 2006 Irish champion Tricia McDonnell make a welcome return to competitive golf.
All four quarter-finals will be played next Friday after which an open draw for the semi-final pairings will be made at the tournament dinner that evening.
Whatever the outcome of the first day’s play, Saturday is sure to see a feast of competitive golf for the ILGU’s blue-ribboned Senior Cup as the cream of elite club golf descend on Milltown for the weekend.
Play for the weekend is:
Friday, August 31:
11:30 Royal Portrush v Kilkenny.
12:20 Carlow v Laytown & Bettystown.
13:10 Galway v Ennis.
14:00 Co Louth v Roscommon.
Saturday, September 1
08:00 Semi-final 1 (draw for pairings to be made on Friday evening).
08:50 Semi-final 2.
14:00 Final
***Further details available from: Denise McCarthy Irish Ladies Golf Union 1 Clonskeagh Square Clonskeagh Road Dublin 14 Ireland.
Tel: +353 1 2696244

LYNN (77) DOWN THE FIELD IN SAS MASTERS

Lynn Kenny (Archerfield Links), the only Scot in the field, had a five-over-par 77 to be lying joint 78th at the end of the first round in this week's Ladies European Tour event, the SAS Masters at Oslo, Norway.
Lynn has no birdies in her round.
On the same score was Inverness-based New Zealander, Liz McKinnon.
Home country heroine Suzann Pettersen opened up a four-shot lead with a superb round of eight-under-par 64.
Her nearest rival is Germany's Anja Monke.

LEADERBOARD
Par 72
64 S Pettersen (Nor).
68 A Monke (Ger).
69 N Garrett (Aus), D Luna (Ita), G Nocera (Fra), J Schaeffer (Fra).
70 G Simpson (Eng), D Masters (Eng).
Other score:
77 L Kenny (Sco), E McKinnon (NZ).

HEATHER SIXTH BEHIND TITLE

WINNER MELISSA IN BRITISH

AMATEUR STROKE-PLAY

Dunblane’s Heather MacRae, spurred on by her omission from the Scotland team for next month’s women’s home internationals at Dunbar, finished a creditable sixth behind title-winner Melissa Reid from Derby in the British women’s open amateur golf championship at Conwy Golf Club, Caernarvonshire today (Friday).
Heather, pictured right, winner of this tournament at Nairn two years ago, was heading for fourth place when she reached the turn in her final round in 36 but she took 42 for the inward nine, including a triple bogey 7 at the 17th for a 78 and a total of six-over-par 302.
Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) was the next best Scot in 11th place – her best tournament performance for some time. A third round of three under par 71 enabled her to improve her position significantly and may give her the confidence boost she needs.
Teenager Jane Turner (Mortonhall) can be proud to have finished in the top 20 of a “British” tournament. She finished with her best round of the week, a level par 74, for 320.
Laura Murray (Alford) had three double bogeys and a quadruple bogey in compiling an 89 for 328 and joint 38th place.
European Young Masters girls champion Carly Booth (Comrie) damaged her wrist during a third-round 80 and was unable to go out again for the final round.
New British girls champion Henrietta Brockway (Yeovil) was not well enough to play today after being sick all night with suspected food poisoning.
Melissa Reid held off a strong late challenge from Germany-based professional’s daughter Florentyna Parker (Royal Birkdale) – her final round of 67 was the tournament’s lowest – by a stroke with a 73 for six-under-par 290.
Melissa, the leading amateur in the recent Women’s British Open, adds the British championship trophy to the silverware she has collected in Scotland this season – the Helen Holm Scottish women’s open stroke-play championship at Troon and the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews.

Miss Reid, 19, has unquestionably been the female amateur golfer of the season in Britain.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 296 (4 x 74)
290 M Reid (Chevin) 70 72 75 73.
291 F Parker (Royal Birkdale) 73 76 75 67.
293 E Cabrera (Spa) 75 73 69 76.
297 D-C Schreefel (Net) 75 74 73 75.
300 R Jennings (Izaak Walton) 71 76 74 79.
302 H MacRae (Dunblane New) 73 76 75 78.
303 E Lyons (West Surrey) 72 81 77 73, M Nivard (Net) 75 78 73 77.
304 N Edwards (Ganton) 72 76 77 79.
305 H Jenkins (Cradoc) 79 77 75 74.
316 K Walker (Buchanan Castle) 80 79 71 76, K Zaanen (Net) 74 78 76 78.
Other scores:
320 J Turner (Mortonhall) 80 77 79 74 (jt 20th).
328 L Murray (Alford) 79 80 80 89 (jt 38th).
Retired: C Booth (Comrie) 80 78 80 -, H Brockway (Yeovil) 80 76 - -.

ANDREW McLACHLAN MAY

HAVE BETTER WINNING

CHANCE THAN KELSEY

Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) has moved into second place in the girls' section but Andrew McLachlan from Bonnyton, in joint fourth position on the boys' leaderboard, possibly has a better chance of producing a victory for Scotland on the final day of the Belgian Junior International Championship at the Royal Golf Club of Belgium, Brussels.
That's because Kelsey, who had a par-matching third round for a tally of 222, is seven shots behind girls' leader Alessia Knight from Italy.
But McLachlan, picture right by courtesy of Tom Ward Images), who also had a 72 for 220, is only one shot behind triple joint leaders Lionel Weber (France), Manuel Trappel (Austria) and Daniel Lokke (Denmark).
Aberdonian David Law (Hazlehead) is sharing eighth place on 222 in a field of 90 after a 72 which included a double bogey at the fourth.
Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm), the other Scot in the girls' field of 60, had a 75 for 230 and a share of 15th place.

Leading third-round totals
BOYS (Par 216: 3 x 72)
219 L Weber (Fra) 75 72 72, M Trappel (Aut) 75 72 72, D Lokke (Den) 71 75 75.
220 A McLachlan (Sco) 77 71 72, K Turlan (Fra) 75 73 72.
Other scores:
222 D Law (Sco) 77 73 72 (jt 8th).
223 A Hogan (Ire) 73 73 77 (jt 12th).
226 D Lernihan (Ire) 77 73 76 (jt 21st).
GIRLS (Par 216: 3 x 72)
213 A Knight (Ita) 72 69 72.
220 K MacDonald (Sco) 75 72 72.
221 R Huber (Swi) 76 723 73.
222 K Williams (SAf) 75 71 76.
Other scores:
230 M Briggs (Sco) 80 75 75 (jt 15th).
236 L Simpson (Ire) 82 76 78, C Butler (Ire) 80 81 75 (jt 23rd).

British women's open amateur stroke-play championship

EMMA CABRERA JOINS MELISSA REID IN
LEAD WITH ONE ROUND TO GO

Spanish Vagliano Trophy player Emma Cabrera joined long-time leader Melissa Reid from Derby in the lead at five-under-par 217 with one round to go in the British women's open amateur championship at Conwy Golf Club, Caernarvonshire today.
Emma had a third-round, five-under-par 69, enabling her to make up six shots of Melissa who had a disappointing - for her - round of 75.
Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) had her best round for some time, a three-under-par 71
which pulled her up through the field to eight-over 230. But Heather MacRae (Dunblane) remained the leading Scot in a share of fifth place with a 75 for 224.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERS
Par 222 (3 x 74)
217 M Reid (Chevin) 70 72 75, E Cabrera (Spa) 75 73 69.
221 R Jennings (Izaak Walton) 71 76 74.
222 D-C Schreefel (Net) 75 74 73.
224 F Parker (Royal Birkdale) 73 76 75, H MacRae (Dunblane New) 73 76 75.
225 N Edwards (Ganton) 72 76 77.
226 M Nivard (Net) 75 78 73.
227 M Eikenaar (Net) 76 77 74.
228 K Zaanen (Net) 74 78 76.
230 K Walker (Buchanan Castle) 80 79 71, S James (Bristol & Clifton) 81 78 71, I Boineau (Fra) 79 76 75, D Andersen (Mex) 76 78 76, E Lyons (West Surrey) 72 81 77.
Other Scots scores:
236 J Turner (Mortonhall) 80 77 79.
239 L Murray (Alford) 79 80 80.
Retired: Carly Booth (Comrie) (wrist injury).
Withdrew: H Brockway (Yeovil) overnight sickness.

INAUGURAL MURCIA LADIES
OPEN TOUR
For Lady Professionals and Lady Amateurs (handicap limit 9)
January 8 to February 23, 2008

BY COLIN FARQUHARSON

It has long been my ambition to run a mini-tour for Lady Professionals and single-figure Lady Amateurs in the warmer climate of the Iberian Peninsula during the winter months of January-February and maybe into March.
Why? Because there are umpteen mini-tours for men but very few for girls/women outwith the Ladies European Tour. And I like organising golf competitions.
It was Vagliano Trophy and Curtis Cup captain Mary McKenna who made up my mind for me to do something about it.
In her post-Vagliano Trophy Press Conference, she said that there was only so much training and practice her LGU Elite Squad could do during the winter. What the players really needed, said Mary, were regular competitions to play in from the start of the year up to the time when the established women’s amateur tournaments like the Spanish women’s open, etc teed off.
That coincided with my long-held view that there were ample courses and warm-weather practice facilities in Spain and Portugal to keep a player’s game in tune during the winter but no opportunities for competitive play to put an edge on that game.
With the help of my good friend and fellow Scot, Billy Sim, pictured above, the Director of Golf at Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort in Murcia, Spain, there is a very good chance that I will be able to bring the MURCIA LADIES OPEN TOUR into being in the early part of 2008.
There are a lot of 't's' to be crossed and 'i's' to be dotted - the venues have still to be confirmed and may change - but I want to get the "word" and the dates out into the domain of female amateur and pro golf before individuals and Federations make their plans and bookings to go elsewhere at that time of the year.

To test the water in 2008, it will be a short, sharp schedule of little more than seven weeks with two 36-hole competitions per week, normally Tuesday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday, working on the presumption that competitors would fly in on a Sunday and fly home on a Sunday.
For the benefit of leading amateurs, the inaugural Murcia Ladies Open Tour will stop the week before the Spanish women's open amateur championship in southern Spain near the end of February.

NON PROFIT-MAKING CIRCUIT
This will be a non profit-making circuit, geared to the needs of the players. All entry monies will go out again in the form of cash prizes for professionals and vouchers for amateurs, with a minimal deduction to pay administration costs.
Tentative plans are to use the local Murcia golf news website, http://www.clubmurcia.com/, to pass on information and accept entries in advance so that we know how many competitors want to play in each event. That website already pinpoints accommodation available in the area of the events.
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort, to all intents and purposes, will be the headquarters of the Murcia Ladies Open Tour. Most of the events will be played there.
It is a five-star golf resort with a Dave Thomas-designed 18-hole course, a six-hole academy course, a big driving range and excellent putting, short game and bunker practice facilities.

Hacienda del Almo Golf Resort has its own website - http://www.hdagolf.com/
It is served by two international airports – Murcia and Alicante. Murcia is quite close, Alicante Airport is about an hour’s drive away.
Until we have a tour news website arrangement up and running, any queries from players and federations should be sent to Colin Farquharson at colin@scottishgolfview.com
Hopefully, next week we will be in a position to name the venues to be used in addition to Hacienda del Alamo.

In the meantime, the plan is for the Week 1 events to be as follows:

JANUARY

Tuesday-Wednesday, 8th & 9th: Hacienda Del Alamo (36 holes).
Friday-Saturday, 11th & 12th: Hacienda del Alamo (36 holes).
Entry fee per tournament: Professional £40; Amateur £25.
The value of five prizes for the best pro scores and five prizes for the best amateur scores will depend on the number of entries per event.

FINAL DAY OF BRITISH WOMEN'S

OPEN AMATEUR STROKE-PLAY

News from the Conwy course:

Carly Booth (Comrie) had to retire from the tournament after a third-round 80 because she had suffered a painful wrist injury.

Carly finished sixth in this championship last year.

Henrietta Brockway, the new British girls' champion from Yeovil, had to withdraw from the final two rounds. She was up all night being sick. Food poisoning suspected.

FOUR SCOTS ENTER NEXT WEEK'S
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

There are four Scottish entries for the European women's individual amateur golf championship which tees off at Golf National Club, 25 kilometres south-west of Paris next Wednesday (August 29.
They are Scottish women's champion Jenna Wilson (Strathaven), Claire-Marie Carlton (Stirling University), Gemma Webster (Hilton Park) and Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle).
The tournament is over 72 holes of stroke-play.

Here is how the entry of 147 breaks down into nationalities:

AUSTRALIA 2
AUSTRIA 4
BELGIUM 6
CZECH REPUBLIC 3
DENMARK 4
ENGLAND 9
Holly Aitchison, Rachel Bell, Elizabeth Bennett, Lauren Blease, Naomi Edwards, Rachel Jennings, Florentyna Parker, Mel Reid, Kerry Smith.
FRANCE 36
GERMANY 18
HUNGARY 1
ICELAND 1
IRELAND 1
Rachel Cassidy.
ITALY 9
LUXEMBOURG 1
NETHERLANDS 11
NORWAY 3
PORTUGAL 2
RUSSIA 3
SCOTLAND 4
Claire-Marie Carlton, Kylie Walker, Gemma Webster, Jenna Wilson.
SPAIN 14
SWEDEN 7
SWITZERLAND 2
WALES 6
Anna Carling, Tara Davies, Rebecca Harries, Sahra Hassan, Breanne Loucks, Rhian Wyn Thomas.

SIX SCOTTISH BOYS EARN PLACES IN NICK
FALDO GRAND FINAL AT CELTIC MANOR

Perth boy Ian Redford (King James), winner of the Scottish Under-16 boys championship earlier this summer, has landed himself another big golfing prize – a trip to play in the Nick Faldo Junior Series Grand Final at Celtic Manor from October 9 to 11.
Ian, with rounds of 74 and 77 for an aggregate of 151, won the Under-15 boys’ section of the Regional Final at The Roxburghe course, Kelso (on Thursday) by two stroke
Only the top two in the six sections earned places in the Grand Final and there were six Scottish qualifiers in all.
The others were:
Under-18 boys: Neil Henderson (Glen) and Andrew Wallace (Glenbervie).
Under-17 boys: Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) and Fraser McKenna (Balmore).
Under-16 boys: Nick Macandrew (Cullen).
No Scots came through the girls' section.
Six qualifiers is half the usual number of Scots in the field of 70 for the Grand Final over 54 holes of the Roman Road course than has been the case in the past. This is because for the first time the Regional Final for Scotland was combined with the North of England and played over 36 holes instead of 18.
Ian, son of a former Dundee and Rangers footballer, held off the challenge of boys from Howley Hall, South Staffordshire, Hallamshire and Woodhall Spa.
Glenbervie’s Andrew Wallace qualified as runner-up to Scottish schoolboys champion Neil Henderson in the Under-18 boys’ category. Andrew scored 71-74 for 145, one behind Neil (69-75).
Aberdeenshire's Adam Dunton from Ellon won the Under-17 boys' section with two good scores of 67 and 72 for 139. In fact Adam's first-round effort was so good that it was the best by anyone in the tournament and might well be a new amateur record for The Roxburghe course.
He finished five strokes ahead of the other qualifier, fellow Scot Fraser McKenna (Balmore) with 76 and 68 for 144.
Nick McAndrew earned the No 2 qualifying spot in the Under-16 boys with scores of 74 and 80 for 154, one shot behind section winner Steven Walther (Limpachtal) (If anyone can tell us where "Limpachtal" is, we would be very grateful. It is not listed as a GB&I golf club in the Golfer's Handbook).
Paul McPhee (King James IV), Scottish Under-14 boys’ champion last year, finished seventh in the Under-15 boys but deserves credit for having reached the regional final.
The same applies to: Jamie Mackay (Kilmarnock Barassie), Euan Brown (Kilmarnock Barassie), Michael Daily (Erskine), Scott Fraser (Royal Aberdeen), Alistair Lauder (Paisley), Kyle Godsman (Hopeman), Chris Robb (Inchmarlo), James Binning (Ranfurly Castle), John Henry (Clydebank & District), Jack Scott (Deeside), Gillian Simpson (Murrayfield), Jill Meldrum (Dullatur), Cara Easton (Dalmahoy) and Gillian Scanlan (Hamilton).

All the scores from The Roxburghe course, Kelso on Thursday:

UNDER-21 BOYS
Qualifiers
149 James Housby (Penrith) 74 75, Richard Smith (Hollinwell) 78 71.
Other scores:
151 James Smedley (Hallowes) 78 73.
152 Tom Usher (Baildon) 76 76.
154 Jamie Gardiner (Montrose Mercantile) 80 74.
158 Tom Hayes (West Byfleet) 78 80.
160 Jamie Mackay (Kilmarnock Barassie) 79 81.
UNDER-18 BOYS
Qualifiers
144 Neil Henderson (The Glen) 69 75.
145 Andrew Wallace (Glenbervie) 71 74.
Other scores:
146 James Maw (Abbeydale) 76 70.
151 Euan Brown (Kilmarnock Barassie) 76 75.
154 Michael Daily (Erskine) 76 78, Andrew Palmer (Chorley) 75 79.
155 James Coldwell (Knaresborough) 76 78.
164 Liam Adamson (Ganton) 83 81.
UNDER-17 BOYS
Qualifiers
139 Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 67 72.
144 Fraser McKenna (Balmore) 76 68.
Other scores:
148 Matthew Daley (Hainsworth Park) 73 75.
153 Scott Fraser (Royal Aberdeen) 76 77, Adam Grfeen (Wheatley) 78 75.
159 Nicky Maddison (City of Newcastle) 81 78.
161 Philip Collins (Middlesbrough) 79 82, Alistair Lauder (Paisley) 76 85.
UNDER-16 BOYS
Qualifiers:
153 Steven Walther (Limpachtal) 77 76.
154 Nick Macandrew (Cullen) 74 80.
Other scores:
155 Neil Mannion (Teesside) 79 76, David Woodhead (Brough) 77 78.
157 Gary Anderson(Flaxby Park) 76 81.
160 Kyle Godsman (Hopeman) 78 82, Chris Robb (Inchmarlo) 80 80.
171 James Binning (Ranfurly Castle) 90 81.
UNDER-15 BOYS
Qualifiers:
151 Ian Redford (King James VI) 74 77.
153 Gareth Johnston (Howley Hall) 71 82.
Other scores:
153 Samuel Benton (South Staffs) 76 77.
154 Edward Brady (Hallamshire) 74 80.
155 Nathan Kimsey (Woodhall Spa) 78 77.
156 John Henry (Clydebank & District) 77 79.
159 Paul McPhee (King James VI) 77 82.
No Return Jack Scott (Deeside) 80 NR.
GIRLS
Qualifiers:
150 Katie Barraclough (East Bierley) 76 74.
153 Charlotte Austwick (Pike Hills) 77 76.
Other scores:
155 Siobhan Richards (Ouston Hall) 75 80.
158 Gillian Simpson (Murrayfield) 81 77.
162 Jill Meldrum (Dullatur) 79 82.
175 Alexandra Stamper (Penrith) 83 92.
181 Cara Easton (Dalmahoy) 92 89, Gillian Scanlan (Hamilton) 92 89.

English Ladies Golf Association Press Release

ALEX PETERS LEADS BY FIVE IN NORTH OF
ENGLAND U-16 GIRLS' CHAMPIONSHIP

Nottinghamshire’s Alex Peters holds a five-shot lead in the girls’ section of the North of England Under-16 championship – and is challenging for the overall crown at Heswall Golf Club.
The 13-year-old from Notts’ Ladies is two-under par after scoring 71, 75 in the first two rounds. As well as leading both the girls’ Under-14 and Under16 events she is just three shots off the championship pace, set by the leading boy.
Alex plays in ELGA’s Select Midlands squad and is the Midland ladies’ champion.
“It’s fantastic to have someone so high up the leaderboard,” said Pat Smillie, the national junior coach for the English Ladies’ Golf Association.
Altogether five ELGA squad members have qualified for the final 36 holes of the championship. A total of 45 players have made the cut and only nine of them are girls.
England girl international Kelly Tidy (Manchester) recovered well from a nine on her first hole to return a four-over 78 and claim her place. “She showed great character to keep it together,” said Pat.
Also through are English Under-13 champion Hannah Turland (Tidworth Garrison), English Under-15 champion Heidi Baek (Felixstowe Ferry) and Yorkshire’s Helen Searle (West End).
Kent’s Sian Evans missed out by just one shot while Dorset’s Hayley Davis also missed the cut but was the only squad member to improve her score in the second round, which was played in very blustery conditions.
Squad scores:
146 Alex Peters (Notts Ladies) 71 75.
156 Kelly Tidy (Manchester) 78 78.
158 Heidi Baek (Felixstowe Ferry) 79 79, Helen Searle (West End) 79 79, Hannah Turland (Tidworth Garrison) 79 79.
160 Sian Evans (Faversham) 80 80.
163 Hayley Davis (Ferndown) 83 80.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HEATHER AFTER
AN EAGLE 2 AT THE LAST BUT
JENNA CRASHES OUT AT HALFWAY

Dunblane's Heather MacRae continues to spearhead the Scottish presence rather than challenge in the British women's open amateur stroke-play golf championship after a sunny but more blustery, windy second day at Conwy Golf Club, Caernarvonshire.
Heather is holding down a share of fourth place at the halfway stage thanks to a brilliant last shot of the day - on her 23rd birthday.
She holed a gap wedge approach shot at the 358yd 18th hole for an eagle 2, immediately after running up a double bogey 6 at the treacherous 17th. Having gone 17 holes without a single birdie, it was a great way for Miss MacRae to finish the day on one-over-par 149, even though it was a two-over-par 76, compared with a 73 on the opening day.
Heather won this title at Nairn two years ago but has not been selected for the Scotland team of eight for next month's women's home internationals at Dunbar.
To find the next Scot on the scoreboard after Miss MacRae, one has to go eight strokes down to teenager Jane Turner (Mortonhall) who is on 157 after an 80 and a 77. Like Heather, Jane had an eagle on her card, a 3 at the long 14th but only two holes later she marked up a triple bogey 7 at the 167th in an inward 40.
Carly Booth, the Comrie 15-year-old who finished sixth in this championship 12 months ago, had purple patch of four birdies, three of them a long holes, between the sixth and the 10th but she had had a double bogey 7 at the third. Carly finished on 78 (38-40) for 158.
Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) and Laura Murray (Alford) survived the cut with one stroke to spare on 159. Kylie had rounds of 80 and 79, Laura 79 and 80, including double bogeys at the 11th and 12th in an inward 41.
The most surprising Scottish non-qualifier was national champion Jenna Wilson (Strathaven). She missed the cut by four shots with a second-round 84 for 163. Jenna lost the plot on an inward 44 which had a double bogey 6 at the 12th, a double bogey 5 at the short 13th and a triple bogey 7 at the 17th.
Scotland team-mate Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) had little chance of beating the cut after a first-round 87 but she had a go with a nine-stroke improvement for a 78 which included a 9 at the par-5 ninth. Michele did birdie the 14th, 16th and 18th in an inward 36.
A third member of the Scotland team for Dunbar, Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder), failed to qualify for the final 36 holes. Like Michele, Emily had left herself too much ground to make up after an opening score of 87. She did even better than Miss Thomson today with a 76 (36-30).
Melissa Reid from Derby leads by five shots from Rachel Jennings (Izaak Walton) - 19 tomorrow - at the halfway stage with 70 and 72 for six-under-par 142.
The good news about Melissa, this year's winner of the Scottish open stroke-play title and the St Rule Trophy and also leading amateur in the Ricoh's Women's British Open, is that she is not turning pro until AFTER next year's Curtis Cup match over the Old Course, St Andrews.
Thank goodness! We'll need her.

LEADING QUALIFIERS
Par 148 (2 x 74)
142 M Reid (Chevin) 70 72.
147 R Jennings (Izaak Walton) 71 76.
148 N Edwards (Ganton) 72 76, E Cabrera (Spa) 75 73.
149 H MacRae (Dunblane) 73 76, F Parker (Royal Birkdale) 73 76, D-C Schreefel (Net) 75 74.
Other qualifiers included:
157 J Turner (Mortonhall) 80 77(37-40).
158 C Booth (Comrie) 80 78 (38-40)
159 K Walker (Buchanan Castle) 80 79 (41-38), L Murray (Alford) 79 80 (39-41).
Scottish non-qualifiers:
161 L Mackin (Majorca) 80 81 (41-40).
162 C MacDonald (Gullane) 81 81 (41-40), R Livingstone (Musselburgh Old) 77 85 (40-45.
163 E Ogilvy (Auchterarder) 87 76 (36-40), E Lowrey-Gold (Eaton) 80 83 (41-42), J Wilson (Strathaven) 79 84 (40-44).
165 G Webster (Hilton Park) 85 80 (40-40), M Thomson (McDonald Ellon) 87-78 (42-36).
166 E Fairnie (Dunbar) 89 77 (39-38).
184 A Bushby (Strathmore) 93 91 (47-44)

KELSEY LOSES SHARE OF CLUBHOUSE LEAD LATE IN DAY IN BELGIUM JUNIOR INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Two of the last players to finish on the second day relegated joint clubhouse leader Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) into a share of third place in the girls' section of the Belgian Junior International Championship at Royal Golf Club of Belgium, Brussels today.
Kelsey, who will be 17 in October, has had rounds of 75 and 73 for a 36-hole total of four-over-par 148, the same as Switzerland's Rebecca Huber.

Kelsey bogeyed the third but bounced back to birdie the sixth and eighth to be out in one-under-par 35. She bogeyed the 10th and 16th after the turn for 38 home.
Then late in the day 17-year-old Italian Alessia Knight came in with an excellent second round of three-under-par 69 for a tally of three-under-par 141. And 21-year-old South Africa Kim Williams posted a 71 for 146.
Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm), 18, improved by five shots with a second-round 75 for 155. Megan bogeyed the second and fourth but birdied the fifth to be out in one-over 37. She started the inward half with bogeys at the 10th and 11th but birdied the 13th before she had further back to back bogeys at the 14th and 15th. Megan notched her third birdie of the day at the 16th.
Andrew McLachlan (Bonnyton) is sharing 13th place in the boys' section after improving from an opening 77 to a 71 on the second day for 148. McLachlan, pictured above right, had an immaculate card of 17 pars plus one birdie at the eighth.
David Law (Hazlehead), pictured above left, also shaved a few shots off his first round with a 73 for 150 and joint 20th place. David birdied the fifth and ninth but had bogeys at the swixth, 12th and 17th in halves of 35 and 38.

SCOREBOARD

GIRLS

Par 144 (2 x 72)

141 A Knight (Ita) 72 69.

146 K Williams (SAf) 75 71.

148 K MacDonald (Sco) 75 72, R Huber (Swi) 76 72.

149 L Jansone (Lat) 75 74, V Gevers (Bel) 73 76.

Other scores:

155 M Briggs (Sco) 80 75.

158 L Simpson (Ire) 82 76.

161 C Butler (Ire) 80 81.

BOYS

139 O Rozner (Fra) 69 70.

141 D Huyizing (Net) 70 71.

143 G Seegmuller (Bel) 71 72, K Sorensen (Den) 71 72.

Other scores:

146 A Hogan (Ire) 73 73.

148 A McLachlan (Sco) 77 71.

150 D Law (Sco) 77 73, D Lernihan (Ire) 77 73.

GIRLS' SCORES FROM DEESIDE JUNIOR OPEN

Results from the Girls' Section of this week's Deeside Golf Club Junior Open

Haughton Course, Blue Tees.
Par 72. CSS 72
Scratch
80 Sophie Alexander.
82 Megan Clyne.
99 Seren Andersen, Vicki Powell.
Handicap
70 Sophie Alexander (10), Megan Clyne (12).
72 Seren Anderson (27).
73 Vicki Powell (26).
80 Kristen Pryde (35).
+All Deeside GC members.

SVLGA (MIDLAND DIVISION) Summer Stableford

SVLGA (MIDLAND DIVISION)
Summer Stableford – 22nd August – Aberdour

Jean Bald writes that the Midland Vets enjoyed a superb day in brilliant sunshine - what a change after
all the rain. Everyone enjoyed the course as well as the great views from both the Clubhouse
and the Course.

CSS 71 R/O

Summer Stableford – Jill Montgomery (Dunblane New) 37 points

Div. 1: J. Smith (Aberdour) 34 points
M. Macrae (Pitlochry) 33 points.

Div. 2 S. Erskine (Dunblane New) 35 points
E. Perry (Tillicoultry) 33 points (bih)
E. Wallace (Dunblane New) 33 points
A. Robertson (St. Rule) 32 points

English Ladies Golf Association Press Release

ALEX PETERS (13) LEADS NORTH OF ENGLAND
UNDER-16 GIRLS' CHAMPIONSHIP

Nottinghamshire 13-year-old Alex Peters shot a three-under par 71 to lead the girls’ event in the North of England Under-16s championship at Heswall, Cheshire today.
Alex, who plays in the English Ladies’ Golf Association’s Select Midlands squad, is three shots clear of the field. The Notts Ladies’ player was the 2006 English Under-13 champion and is the reigning Midland ladies’ champion,
Alex had an excellent day on the greens, requiring just 27 putts, as she notched up five birdies and also holed a couple of good 15-footers for impressive par saves. She had just one blot on her card, a double bogey 5 on the short fifth hole.
Nikki Timmins, who is overseeing the ELGA squad at the championship, said: “It was a brilliant score in difficult conditions. It was a lovely, bright day but there was a strong wind.
Other squad scores:
78 Kelly Tidy (Manchester).
79 Heidi Baek (Felixstowe Ferry), Helen Searle (West End), Hannah Turland (Tidworth Garrison).
80 Sian Evan (Faversham).
83 Hayley Davis (Ferndown).

HEATHER LEADS SCOTS IN BRITISH

STROKE-PLAY AFTER BEING LEFT

OUT OF HOME INTERNATIONALS

It was almost bound to happen, wasn't it? Heather MacRae, dropped from the Scotland line-up for the women's home internationals at Dunbar next month, was far and away the best Scot on the opening day of the British women's open amateur stroke-play golf championship at Conwy Golf Club, Caernarvonshire today.
The Dunblane player, pictured right, who celebrates her 24th birthday on Thursday, won this tournament two years ago at Nairn and won the Welsh women's open amateur stroke-play championship earlier this season. She was also a member of the Scotland squad for the European women's team championship in Italy earlier in the summer.

Heather's outward half of two-over-par 39 included a double bogey 5 at the short ninth but also a hat-trick of birdies from the third.
Her inward nine was a thing of beauty with birdies at the 10th, 12th, 14th and 15th and only one bogey, at the short 13th. Her three-under-par 34 inward half was one of the best of the day and put her only three shots behind leader Melissa Reid from Derby, the leading amateur in the Ricoh's Women's British Open and winner of the "Helen Holm" and St Rule Trophy tournaments in Scotland this season.
Heather MacRae apart, it was not a particularly good day for the Scots.

Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old), a reserve for Scotland, had a 77 (40-37), thanks to an eagle 3 at the 10th.
Scottish champion Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) had a 79 (38-41) with an eagle 3 at the ninth but a triple bogey 7 at the last and double bogey 6s at the fourth and 16th.
New Scotland cap Laura Murray (Alford) was also on the 79 mark with halves of 37 and 42. After birdieing the long fifth and eighth, she had double bogeys at the ninth and 11th and a triple bogey 7 at the 16th.
Carly Booth (Comrie) 38-42 and Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) 43-37 could do no better than 80 apiece, Carly bogeyed five of her last seven holes. Jane Turner (Mortonhall) came in late in the day, also with an 80 (39-40).

Claire MacDonald (Gullane) Ladies was another late finisher with an 81 (40-41).

Gemma Webster (Hilton Park) had halves of 40 and 45 for an 85.
Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon), who had strained a back muscle in taking something out of the boot of her card, had three 7s in halves of 43 and 44 for an 87.
Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder), beaten in this year's Scottish championship final, had an 11 at the par-4 17th, "only" 374yards, in returning an 87 (40-47). Clare-Marie Carlton (Stirling University) also had an 87 with halves of 43 and 44.
Emma Fairnie (Dunbar), just back from the World Student Games in Thailand, had an 89 with halves of 39 and 50.
Alexandra Bushby ran up an 11 at the par-3 13th (167yd) on her way to a 93.

END OF PLAY SCOREBOARD
Par 74
70 M Reid (Chevin).
71 R Jennings (Izaak Walton).
72 E Lyons (West Surrey), N Edwards (Ganton).
73 H MacRae (Dunblane New), F Parker (Royal Birkdale).
74 K Zaanen (Ned).
75 E Cabrera (Spa), M Nivard (Ned), D-C Schreefel (ND).
Other Scots' scores:
77 R Livingstone (Musselburgh Old).
79 J Wilson (Strathaven), L Murray (Alford).
80 K Walker (Buchanan Castle), C Booth (Comrie), E Lowrey-Gold (Eaton), L Mackin (Majorca), J Turner (Mortonhall).

81 C MacDonald (Gullane Ladies).

85 G Webster (Hilton Park).

87 M Thomson (McDonald Ellon), E Ogilvy (Auchterarder), C-M Carlton (Stirling University).
89 E Fairnie (Dunbar).

93 A Bushby (Strathmore).

Irish Ladies Golf Union Press Release

FLANAGANS LEINSTER GIRLS U-18 CHAMPIONSHIP
Old Conna Golf Club

LISA MAGUIRE BEATS TWIN SISTER
LEONA TO LIFT TITLE

Twelve-year-old Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) beat twin sister Leona by one hole to win the 2007 Flanagans Leinster Girls Championships at Old Conna Golf Club.
Lisa, fresh from her semi-final appearance at the Girls British Amateur and subsequent selection on the Great Britain and Ireland Junior team to play the Ladies Vagliano Team in October, was in devastating form all week.
Not only did she lead the qualifiers but she emerged as champion in yet another tournament for the under-18 years’ bracket.
Twin sister Leona, having dispatched Girls International Sarah Cunningham in the morning, matched Lisa all the way on the outward nine in the final but couldn’t maintain her momentum in the final stretch, losing the title on the home green.
Lisa’s victory secures the 2007 ILGU Girls Order of Merit title while Leona finished third behind Aedin Murphy (Carlow).
Darcey Carr (Mount Juliet) beat Sarah Fay (Westmanstown) in the final of the Flanagans Leinster Girls Trophy while Sarah Helly (Enniscrone) beat Erin Connolly (Co. Armagh) in the final of the Plate.
Results:
CHAMPIONSHIP
Final - Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) 1 hole.
Semi-Finals - Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Victoria Bradshaw (Bangor) 7 and 5, Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Sarah Cunningham (Ennis) 7 and 5.
PLATE
Final - Sarah Helly (Enniscrone) bt Erin Connolly (Co. Armagh) 5 and 4.
Semi-Finals - Erin Connolly (Co. Armagh) bt Sarah Louise Winter (Carnalea) 1 hole, Sarah Helly (Enniscrone) bt Emily Gavin (Castlewarden) 4 and 3.
TROPHY
Final - Darcey Carr (Mount Juliet) bt Sarah Fay (Westmanstown) 2 and 1.
Semi-Finals - Darcey Carr (Mount Juliet) bt Emma Dunne (Castlewarden) 1 hole, Sarah Fay (Westmanstown) bt Cliodhna McCarthy (Stackstown) 3 and 2.

KELSEY TOP SCOT IN BELGIUM AT END OF FIRST ROUND

Nairn Dunbar's Kelsey MacDonald (above, left) was the best placed of the four Scots in the field at the end of the first round of the Belgian Junior International Championship at Royal Golf Club of Belgium, near Brussels today.
Kelsey was in seventh place in the girls' section after a three-over-par 75. Her only birdie came at the first hole. She had bogeys at the sixth, eighth, 11th and 18th in halves of 37 and 38.
Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm), above, right, is sharing 28th place after an 80 which included an outward half of six-over-par 42. Megan never recovered from a double bogey 7 at the long first hole. She did get a birdie, at the 14th, in an inward 38.
David Law (Hazlehead) and Andrew McLachlan (Bonnyton) both returned five-over-par 72s to be joint 13th in the boys' category. David was out in one-over-par 37 with a bogey at the ninth his only deviation from par but it was a different story on the inward half. He had birdies at the 16th and 18th, a par at the 13th and the rest bogeys.
McLachlan had double bogeys at the ninth and 16th in his halves of 38 and 39. He did birdie the seventh and 14th.
LEADING SCORES
Boys (Par 72)
70 D Huizing (Ned).
72 T Dreher (Fra).
73 C Batut (Fra).
Other scores:
77 A McLachlan (Sco), D Law (Sco) (jt 13th).
Girls (Par 72)
72 A Knight (Ita).
73 V Geveres (Bel).
74 L Grillot (Fra), P Sanz (Spa), L Carulli (Ita).
Other scores:
75 K MacDonald (Sco) (7th).
80 M Briggs (Kilmacolm) (jt 28th).

English Ladies Golf Association Press Release

ENGLAND UNDER-16 GIRLS SHARE HONOURS
WITH SPAIN AT HESWALL
England’s girls halved 3-3 with Spain in the annual Under-16 international at Heswall, thanks to winning play from English Under-15 champion Heidi Baek and Midland ladies’ champion Alex Peters. They contributed to an overall England victory, with the combined girls’ and boys’ team beating their Spanish counterparts 8½-3½.
Meanwhile the two other members of the girls’ team, Sian Evans (Faversham) and Helen Searle (West End) both put on a sub-par singles display.
“It’s been a brilliant day,” said girls’ team captain Nikki Timmins. “The girls have been excellent and they’ve all played out of their skin.”
Heidi (Felixstowe Ferry) and Alex (Notts’ Ladies) scored their first point with a 4 and 2 win in the morning foursomes and carried that form into the singles.
Heidi, 13, demonstrated a sharp short game on her way to a 5 and 4 win. Alex, also 13, started with an eagle on the first and simply refused to allow her opponent into the match as she cruised to a 9 and 8 win. The only halved hole was the third where both girls chipped in for birdies.
Sian Evans, 15, and Helen Searle, 14, bounced back from a disappointing 6 and 5 foursomes defeat with good golf. “They both played very well in the afternoon and both were under par – but they came up against some tough opposition,” said Nikki.
Sian lost 5 and 3 when her opponent pitched in for an eagle 3 while Helen lost 4 and 2.
The England boys were: Adam Carson (Long Ashton), Tommy Fleetwood (Formby Hall), Tom Lewis (Mid Herts) and Chris Lloyd (the Kendleshire).
The match is the curtain raiser to the North of England Under-16s championship on the Cheshire course.

MARIA FROM COLOMBIA BEATS

AMANDA TO WIN US WOMEN'S

AMATEUR TITLE

FROM UNITED STATES GOLF

ASSOCIATION WEBSITE

Maria Uribe, 17, of Colombia, survived one of the most hard-fought finals in recent history to defeat Amanda Blumenherst, 20, of Scottsdale, Ariz., by hole and win the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at the 6,497-yard, par-72 Crooked Stick Golf Club, Carmel in Indiana.
“This is the salary that I get because of all the hard work,” Uribe said. “I haven’t won a tournament in the States, and I win this one. That’s great for me. I’ll take it.”
Uribe and Blumenherst were never separated by more than a one-hole margin in their 36-hole match. They were all square after the morning 18. Blumenherst finally gave Uribe the winning edge on the 193-yard, par-3 35th hole.
With the match all square, Blumenherst hit a 5-iron 18 feet short of the hole. Uribe followed with a towering 5-iron shot to 7 feet. With Uribe so close to the hole, Blumenherst said she believed she had to make her birdie putt. She rammed it six feet past the hole.
“I definitely got out of my game,” Blumenherst said. “I thought she was going to make it. I thought I needed to and I wanted it…I just hit it way too hard.”
Uribe missed the birdie putt. Blumenherst had to make her six-footer or risk going to the 36th tee one hole down. She missed. Uribe knocked in the short putt for a winning par and was one up with one hole to play.
Uribe made sure she avoided the water hazard down the right side of the fairway on the par-4 18th, but hooked her drive 35 yards into the left rough, a spot she had visited three times in this championship. She recovered with a 7-iron shot to the front of the green, 55 feet from the hole.
In the desperate position of having to win the 36th, Blumenherst drove into the fairway, then powered an 8-iron 150 yards toward the flagstick. Her ball hit 5 feet from the hole but trickled into the back fringe.
Uribe left her approach putt 5 feet short and Blumenherst then chipped to within a foot of the hole.
Uribe’s 5-footer was for the title. “It was in my hands to finish the tournament,” Uribe said. “I didn’t need her to miss any putt. I just needed to make that one. That is the best part of my game, the five-footers and four-footers.”
Uribe’s putt went in and she won the match, becoming the 12th foreign player to win the Women’s Amateur championship.
The new champion said she felt relief, “because it was over. And, I was just excited. You think that you are going to be so happy but you don’t realize what you have done. I think it’s going to take awhile.”
Blumenherst was philosophical, saying: “This just gives me more confidence in my game, saying, all right, a whole week of solid golf, one round after another…I started off slow, and I ended up being in the final group.”
The pair recorded 17 birdies, one eagle and only six bogeys in the 36-hole match. With the usual match-play concessions, Uribe was 7 under par for 36 holes and Blumenherst was 6 under. Blumenherst led during 13 holes of the match. Uribe led just four times but her most important 1-up lead was at the end.
Blumenherst, who spent much of her childhood in Indiana, enjoyed strong spectator support but the gallery generously applauded the good shots of both players. Hispanic members of Crooked Stick Golf Club’s grounds crew cheered loudly for Uribe.
Both players played for their respective countries at the 2006 Women’s World Amateur Team Championships. Colombia finished third and the USA was ninth.
Uribe is also the third consecutive international player to advance to the final. She follows Katharina Schallenberg of German in 2006 and Maru Martinez of Venezuela in 2005
The winner receives a golf medal and the custody of the Robert Cox Cup for the ensuing year as well as a 10-year exemption for the Women’s Amateur and a two-year exemption for the Women’s Open.
Story written by Rhonda Glenn, manager of communications for the USGA. Picture of winner with championship trophy from the USGA championship website.

Irish Ladies Golf Union Press Release

2007 MIELE IRELAND LADIES INTER-CLUB FOUR-BALL
SOUTH AND WEST REGIONAL FINALS
at Mallow Golf Club.

MALLOW AND MOUNTBELLEW THROUGH TO SEMI-FINALS

Mallow and Mountbellew are through to the All-Ireland semi-finals of the Miele Ireland Ladies Inter-club Four-ball following victories over Thurles and Birr in the South and West Regional Finals held at Mallow Golf Club today.
Mallow used home advantage to great effect when they proved much too strong for a Thurles side making their first appearance at this latter stage of the competition.
Mallow used their wealth of experience over their parkland course to overpower Thurles 3-1 and book their place in the semi-finals against either the K Club or Co. Armagh.
Meanwhile, in the Western Regional Final, Mountbellew extracted revenge for last year’s Regional Final defeat when they turned the tables on title-holders Birr.
Determined not to relive last year’s painful memories, Mountbellew found a purple patch of their own to win the top three matches and snuff out any hopes Birr had of reviving the fixture.
Both Mallow and Mountbellew now advance to the final four where they join The K Club and Co. Armagh who saw off the challenges of Dublin City and Letterkenny respectively last week.
The semi-final matches will be held at Mount Juliet on Saturday , September 15 with the All-Ireland Final taking place the following day.
Results:
Regional Finals
At Mallow Golf Club: South - Mallow 3, Thurles 1. West - Mountbellew 3½ ,Birr ½.
At Slieve Russell Hotel Golf & Country Club: East - The K Club 3, Dublin City 1. North - Co. Armagh 3, Letterkenny 1.

DOUBLE WHAMMIES BY LOUISE AND BERYL
IN COUNTY OPENING MEET AT HADDINGTON

Louise Macgregor (Falkirk) and Beryl Morris (Dunbar) scored double victories at the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association county open meeting at Haddington Golf Club today.
Louise won both the Silver Division's Challenge Cups for best scratch and best net scores. She had a gross 76 and a net 72.
Noreen Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh) was runner-up in the scratch and won the G M H Muirhead Tankard for a 77.
Lynn Joss (Newmachar) was second to Louise in the net returns with a 72 (better inward half) off 15 of a handicap.
Beryl Morris won the Nisbett Cup (best scratch) and the Challenge Cup (best net) in the Bronze Division. She had a gross score od 103 and a net score of 79 off 24.

SKIPPER ALFREDSSON PICKS FELLOW SWEDES
AS SOLHEIM CUP WILD CARDS

European team captain Helen Alfredsson has chosen fellow-Swedes, Maria Hjorth and Linda Wessberg, as two of her three wild card selections the Solheim Cup match against United States at Halmstadt Golf Club, Sweden from September 14 to 16.
Hjorth recently tied for second at the Women's British Open and currently leads the European money list. Wessberg, a winner at this year's Open de France, will be making her first Solheim Cup appearance in front of her home crowd.
"Maria has played really well recently, particularly at the HSBC Women's Matchplay and Women's British Open, which were two world-class events on testing golf courses," Alfredsson said.
"She's also the leading player on the money list and with her strength and experience we didn't even think of not having her in the team."
The other wild card went to another Scandinavian, Iben Tinning of Denmark, a five-time winner on the European Tour and a member of the last three Solheim Cup teams in 2002, '03 and '05.
"Iben is another strong player with plenty of experience and some solid recent form," Alfredsson said. "We've been impressed by Iben's short game in recent events and her ability to make important putts. We also really like her attitude and her mental strength.
"Linda has played really well over the past few weeks in the big tournaments and particularly on the longer courses. We've been impressed by her game and again, her mental strength, and are really excited to have her as one of the three rookies in the team."
Sweden dominates the team with four players. The two others are Annika Sorenstam and Sophie Gustafson.
Others on the team are LPGA champion Suzann Pettersen of Norway, Gwladys Nocera of France, Bettina Hauert of Germany, Catriona Matthew from North Berwick, Becky Brewerton (Wales) and the English pair of Trish Johnson and Laura Davies.
The other rookies are Hauert, the second German to represent Europe in Solheim Cup history, and Brewerton.

SCOTLAND TEAM NAMED FOR WOMEN'S HOME
INTERNATIONALS AT DUNBAR NEXT MONTH

Scotland team for the women's home internationals at Dunbar Golf Club from September 12 to 14 is:

CARLY BOOTH (Comrie), 15.
MEGAN BRIGGS (Kilmacolm), 18.
KELSEY MACDONALD (Nairn Dunbar), 16.
LAURA MURRAY (Alford), 19.
EMILY OGILVY (Muckhart), 23.
PAMELA PRETSWELL (Bothwell Castle), 18.
MICHELE THOMSON (McDonald Ellon), 19.
JENNA WILSON (Strathaven), 23.

Reserves:
1 Louise KENNEY (Pitreavie), 23.
2 Sara BISHOP (Cochrane Castle), 33.
3 Rachael LIVINGSTONE (Musselburgh Old), 19.

Non-playing captain:
JAYNE SMITH (Gullane Ladies)

Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) and Roseanne Niven (Crieff) were not available for selection due to commitments to their American universities.
Sally Watson (Elie & Earlsferry) was also unavailable due to her selection for the European team for the Ping Junior Solheim Cup match in Sweden.

Scottish champion Jenna Wilson is the only member of the Scotland team who has played in the women's home internationals previously although Emily Ogilvy and Michele Thomson did play for Scotland in the European women's team championship in Spain in July.

Four members of the Scotland team who retained the Stroyan Cup at the recent girls' home internationals have been chosen to make their debut at women's international level - Carly Booth, Megan Briggs, Kelsey MacDonald and Pamela Pretswell.

It must be one of the youngest teams fielded by Scotland in the women's home international. The average age is 18.8.
Scotland have not won the women's home internationals' title since they were champions in two successive years - 1990 at Hunstanton and 1991 at Aberdovey.

SALLY WATSON ONLY SCOT IN JUNIOR
SOLHEIM CUP TEAM

Sally Watson is the only Scot in the European team for the Junior Solheim Cup match against the United States in Sweden next month.
The 16-year-old from Elie and Earlsferry is one of captain Catrin Nilsmark's five wild-card selections and she will join the two English players who qualified from the rankings - Henrietta Brockway and Florentyna Parker - as the three Britons in the 12-strong team that will take on the Americans at Bastad Golf Club on September 10 and 11 in the build-up to the Solheim Cup match at Halmstad Golf Club from September 14 to 16.
The initial seven players on the European junior team were selected based on their performance in five qualifying events on the European Golf Association calendar.
The seven players who qualified automatically through this points process were:
Nicola Rössler – Germany.
Caroline Hedwall – Sweden.
Caroline Masson – Germany.
Audrey Goumard – France.
Florentyna Parker – England.
Charlotte Lorentzen – Denmark.
Henrietta Brockway – England
Team’s captain Catrin Nilsmark of Sweden chose the remaining five team members, based on their performance in junior and women’s amateur tournaments.
The captain’s picks were:
Marta Silva – Spain.
Carlota Ciganda – Spain.
Nathalie Månsson – Sweden.
Sara Monberg – Denmark.
Sally Watson – Scotland.

Carlota Ciganda, Marta Silva, Caroline Masson and Florentyna Parker will be experienced team members as they took part in the most recent PING Junior Solheim Cup in 2005.
Nicola Rössler, Caroline Hedwall, Audrey Goumard, Charlotte Lorentzen, Henrietta Brockway, Nathalie Månsson, Sara Monberg and Sally Watson will be team rookies and have shown outstanding results throughout the season.
Lorentzen and Monberg from Denmark finished third in the European Girls Team Championship 2007 and Monberg also finished tied for third (beaten semi-finalist) in the Girls British Open Championship.
Hedwall from Sweden finished seventh in the recent Scandinavian TPC Hosted by Annika on the Ladies European Tour and has won two Telia Tour events (The Telia Tour is the Swedish professional golf tour).
Together with Nathalie Månsson, Hedwall was part of the Swedish team that won the European Girls Team Championship earlier this year. Månsson was second in the Skandia Junior Open, which was a PING Junior Solheim Cup qualifying event that took place at Båstad GK.
She also won the Swedish match championship for juniors.
Ciganda is one of the best teenage female amateurs in the world. She represented Spain and won the European Team Championship. In addition, she finished eighth in the 2007 Open de Espana Feminino on the Ladies European Tour and played in the Women’s British Open in 2007.
Marta Silva has played steadily all year and is part of the Spanish National Team. She was the Portuguese International Champion in 2006.
Henrietta Brockway has just won the British girls' amateur championship, which was the final qualifying event. She has also participated in two LET events this season.
Parker won the French Junior Ladies Amateur Championship earlier this year and Audrey Goumard won the strokeplay in the European Girls Team Championship 2007.
Nicola Rössler finished second in the Spanish International Amateur Championship and Caroline Masson finished third in the same event and second in the European Nations Championship. Sally Watson played in the RICOH Women’s British Open in 2007 and was also the leading qualifier at the Girls British Open Championship 2007. Last year she was beaten finalist.
“I am pleased to see such a strong team of juniors playing for Europe,” said skipper Nilsmark, a former Solheim Cup player and Captain.
“I am looking forward to guiding them through their matches and to sharing my experience with the team. We have been waiting for two years to win back the trophy!”
Many Solheim Cup players, including members of the Ladies European Tour and Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour such as Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lang, Brittany Lincicome, Louise Stahle and Minea Blomqvist have previously played in the PING Junior Solheim Cup.
The United States team for the Junior Solheim Cup match is:
Sydney Burlison, Salinas, Calif.
Brianna Do, Lakewood, Calif.
Courtney Ellenbogen, Blacksburg, Va.
Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif.
Vicky Hurst, Melbourne, Fla.
Kimberly Kim, Pahoa, Hawaii.
Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Isabelle Lendl, Bradenton, Fla.
Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif.
Kristen Park, Buena Park, Calif.
Jane Rah, Torrance, Calif.
Allie White, Lancaster, Ohio

From this week's United States Futures Tour Newsletter

VIKKI LAING TURNS TO DRAWING, READING

There are thousands of ways to work on the mechanics of golf, but what do golf pros do when they want to improve their creativity on the golf course?
VIKKI LAING of Musselburgh, Scotland said she felt she needed to do something to get out of her swing-focused rut, so she recently took out her sketchpad and started drawing.
She also began reading the book, "Life Is So Good," about a 98-year-old man who learned to read when given the chance.
"My whole focus has been to be more creative because I've become too mechanical," said Vikki. "When you're working so hard trying to get better, you can get obsessed with it instead of just hitting the ball where you want it to go and finding creative ways to get it in the hole."

MHAIRI EARNS $24,500 FOR TOP 20 FINISH
BEHIND LORENA IN CANADIAN W/OPEN

Mhairi McKay had a $24,500 payday in the Canadian Women's Open, finishing joint 18th at the Royal Mayfair Golf & Country Club, Edmonton in Alberta.
The Scot had rounds of 72, 72, 65 and 71 for a total of 280 over the 6,505yd, par-71 course.
Ricoh Women's British Open champion Lorena Ochoa won the title by three strokes with a 16-under-par total.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
268 Lorena Ochoa (Mex) 70 65 64 69 ($337,500).
271 Paula Creamer 68 69 66 68 ($204,998).
274 Shi Hyun Ahn 67 67 74 66 ($148,711).
275 Brittany Lang 71 67 70 67, Laura Diaz 65 70 68 72 ($103,818 each).
276 Jeong Jang 67 71 70 68, Kimberley Hall 68 67 72 69, Ya-Ni Tseng 67 71 67 71 ($64,909 each).
277 Seon Haw Lee 70 72 71 64 ($49,944).
278 Angela Stanford 72 69 69 68, Suzann Pettersen 73 69 68 68, Alena Sharp 70 72 67 69 ($42,275 each).
Other total:
280 Mhairi McKay (Sco) 72 72 65 71 (jt 18th) ($24,500).

LPGA.com DOES A 'QUICK 18'
WITH JANICE MOODIE

1 Who would be in your dream foursome?
Tiger Woods, my mom, my husband and Mike Myers.

2 Name one thing you always keep stocked in your refrigerator?
Ken's Raspberry Vinaigrette.

3 If you could possess one super human power what would it be?
To fly.

4 What is your favorite store to shop in?
Target.

5 What is your favourite season?
Spring.

6 If your life was going to be made into a movie, who would you want to play the leading role?
Daryl Hanna.

7 What do you usually eat for breakfast before your round?
Oatmeal, toast, eggs.

8 What was your first job?
I was a bartender.

9 What is your favourite golf movie?
Caddy Shack.

10 What song would you sing if you had to sing Karaoke?
"Like a Virgin" by Madonna.

11 What would we find in your golf bag besides clubs?
Power Bars.

12 Which do you prefer? To cook, be cooked for, go out to eat, order take out?
Cook and be cooked for.

13 If you could be on a reality TV show, what would it be?
Big Brother.

14 Do you have any pet peeves?
Sleeping in an unmade bed.

15 What other sport would you like to be good at?
Surfing.

16 What beauty product can you not live without?
Oil of Olay SPF 15.

17 Peanut Butter. Crunchy or Creamy?
Crunchy.

18 What is your favourite way to stay in shape?
Elliptical machine.

A FEW DOLLARS MORE FOR VIKKI LAING

US-based Vikki Laing tied for 17th place and earned $708 in the Futures Tour's Hunters Oak Classic at Queenstown, Maryland today.
The Musselburgh player had rounds of 75, 72 and 72 for a three-over-par tally of 219 - 15 shots behind runaway winner Mollie Fankhauser from Columbus, Ohio.
Mollie won the top prize of $10,500 with 67, 67 and 70 for 12-under-par 204. She finished eight strokes ahead of Kristina Tucker from Sweden (71-71-70).

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
204 Mollie Fankhauster (Ohio) 67 67 70 ($10,500).
212 Kristina Tucker (Sweden) 71 71 70 ($7,500.
214 Janell Howland (Idaho) 70 72 72, Liz Janangelo (US) 70 71 73, Violeta Retamoza (Mexico) 70 70 74 ($4,091 each).
Other scores:
219 Vikki Laing (Sco) 75 72 72 (jt 17th) ($708).
223 Natasha Morgan (Wal) (am) 72 77 74 (jt 43rd).

AUSSIE MILLS WINS WALES LADIES CHAMPIONSHIP
AND BECKY BREWERTON BOOKS

SOLHEIM PLACE

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

Australia’s Joanne Mills fought through strong winds and drizzling rain to capture her second Ladies European Tour title at the S4C Wales Ladies Championship of Europe today. The 20-year Tour veteran posted rounds of 70, 68, 71 and a final round of 73 at Machynys Peninsula Golf Club in Llanelli to finish on a total of six-under-par 282, one stroke ahead of Germany’s Bettina Hauert and England’s Georgina Simpson. Mills, who has been in contention a number of times this season, won her previous LET title a decade ago at the 1997 German Open. The 37-year-old from Sydney was delighted to have won her second Tour title and a first prize of £52,500.
“I can’t believe it. It’s taken me ten years to have another win on the LET. I never thought it would take this long, but it has,” said Mills, who began the final round in a tie for the lead with Simpson and England’s Rebecca Hudson.
“I’ve played well all year and came close in Northern Ireland. I had a good chance in Portugal but I’m just so pleased to finally get it under my belt again.
“To tell you the truth I was nervous all day. From the very first tee shot to the last putt. I tried to grind my pars out, which I did and I had to get up and down a couple of times. I had a good few birdie chances but couldn’t seem to make them.
"Fortunately everyone was falling away and I just had to hold it together. I did that well enough. It came together at the end.”
Simpson, 31, from Gomersal in West Yorkshire, played with Mills in the final pairing and carded a final round 74 to record her career best finish in six years on the LET.
Meanwhile, Bettina Hauert’s 71 also earned her a place in next month’s European Solheim Cup Team. Five members of the 12-strong European team to take part in next month's Solheim Cup were revealed at the conclusion of the tournament, with three veterans and two debutantes taking part at Halmstad.
The five automatic qualifiers for the Solheim Cup in qualifying order are:
Gwladys Nocera of France.
England’s Trish Johnson.
Germany’s Bettina Hauert.
England’s Laura Davies.
Wales’ Becky Brewerton.
The two players who will be making their Solheim Cup debuts are Hauert, 25, and Brewerton, 24. Brewerton (pictured above) is the first Welsh player to represent Europe in the biennial transatlantic team match-play championship.
Becky was hugely relieved to have secured the fifth and final automatic spot as she missed the cut in the final qualifying tournament and was forced to sit out the weekend, hoping that she wouldn’t be overtaken by another player on the list.
“I will have a few glasses of champagne tonight. It has been so much for me this season, at the start of the season I was not even thinking about the Solheim Cup and then I played so well and to win the 'English' was so nice,” said Brewerton.
“Now it is good because I have got two weeks off and plus I know I am in the Solheim Cup team now, it is just relief. I have not got anything left to worry about.
“It is a massive honour to be the first Welsh player. I thought that would be Becky Morgan who deserves it so much, but I am just delighted to be in.
“I will have a few days off to let my mind rest and then have some really intensive practice before Denmark so I can get back to my best form for the Solheim.”
Hauert becomes the second German player to have represented Europe at The Solheim Cup, following in the footsteps of Elisabeth Esterl who was a member of the victorious European Team in 2003.
Bettina won her maiden LET victory at the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open and she said: “Seriously, I’ve been fighting for it. I’ve been struggling for the past couple of weeks and I’m just happy I’ve come back and I’ve shown that I’m strong under pressure.
“I mean, hello! Today was the last day to make the Solheim Cup team and I fought my way up there. I was 20th after the second round and then fifth and now tied for second. I think that’s a good jump and that proves that I’m strong under pressure.”
This year's team will be made up of the top five players in the Cup standings, the leading four players from the Rolex world rankings on Monday 20th September and three captain's picks, which European skipper Helen Alfredsson will announce on Tuesday at a Press conference in Stockholm.
The 2007 Solheim Cup takes place at the Halmstad Golfklubb in Sweden from 14-16 September 14 to 16.

The United States team will be finalised in one week, at the conclusion of the Safeway Classic presented by Pepsi in Portland, Oregon.

U.S. Solheim Cup point standings after the weekend Canadian Open are:

1 Paula Creamer 726.00 2 Cristie Kerr 706.00 3 Morgan Pressel 532.50 4 Juli Inkster 492.50 5 Stacy Prammanasudh 483.50 6 Pat Hurst 449.00 7 Natalie Gulbis 412.50 8 Brittany Lincicome 396.50 9 Angela Stanford 357.00 10 Sherri Steinhauer 324.50 11 Nicole Castrale 277.00 12 Brittany Lang 265.50 13 Laura Diaz 225.00 14 Christina Kim 223.00 15 Meaghan Francella 184.50

FINAL TOTALS

Par 288 (4 x 72)
282 Joanne Mills (Aus) 70 68 71 73
283 Bettina Hauert (Ger) 72 71 69 71, Georgina Simpson (Eng) 72 67 70 74
284 Iben Tinning (Den) 69 70 73 72, Amy Yang (Kor) 73 65 72 74
285 Rebecca Hudson (Eng) 70 65 74 76
286 Lisa Hall (Eng) 73 69 73 71, Virginie LagoutteClement (Fra) 73 70 70 73
287 Johanna Westerberg (Swe) 69 71 73 74
288 Kiran Matharu (Eng) 73 70 73 72, Maria Verchenova (Rus) 72 69 74 73
289 Lora Fairclough (Eng) 72 72 73 72, Linda Wessberg (Swe) 72 70 73 74, Kirsty S Taylor (Eng) 70 69 75 75, Sofia Renell (Swe) 72 69 73 75
290 Elizabeth McKinnon (Nzl) 75 69 77 69, Federica Piovano (Ita) 76 67 75 72, Amanda Moltke-Leth (Den) 68 72 73 77, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 70 68 74 78
291 Laura Terebey (USA) 74 70 76 71, Trish Johnson (Eng) 74 72 73 72, Laura Cabanillas (Spa) 74 70 74 73, Sophie Giquel (Fra) 75 71 72 73
292 Marina Arruti (Spa) 74 71 73 74, Karen Lunn (Aus) 73 70 74 75, Nikki Garrett (Aus) 73 71 73 75, Rebecca Coakley (Irl) 76 70 70 76, Louise Stahle (Swe) 73 68 74 77, Anna Tybring (Swe) 71 72 72 77
293 Lynn Brooky (Nzl) 72 68 78 75, Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den) 66 73 77 77
294 Ludivine Kreutz (Fra) 74 70 76 74, Helena Alterby (Swe) 77 69 72 76, Stefania Croce (Ita) 71 73 73 77
295 Anna Rawson (Aus) 77 70 78 70, Leah Hart (Aus) 71 73 79 72, Rachel Bell (Eng) (am) 76 69 78 72, Jehanne Jail (Fra) 77 70 76 72, Martina Gillen (Irl) 74 73 76 72, Diana Luna (Ita) 74 69 78 74, Sophie Walker (Eng) 72 71 75 77
296 Nathalie David Mila (Fra) 78 67 78 73, Asa Gottmo (Swe) 74 71 76 75, Nicole Gergely (Aut) 74 67 77 78
297 Stephanie Arricau (Fra) 75 72 77 73, Becky Morgan (Wal) 73 69 79 76, Maria Boden (Swe) 72 72 77 76
298 LeeAnne Pace (Rsa) 76 70 76 76, Marta Prieto (Spa) 75 72 75 76, Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha) 72 71 76 79
299 Sarah Heath (Eng) 75 70 80 74, Anna Knutsson (Swe) 75 72 77 75, Kirsty Taylor (Eng) 75 71 77 76, Louise Friberg (Swe) 74 69 79 77
300 Nienke Nijenhuis (NIrl) 74 73 80 73, Mianne Bagger (Den) 77 69 79 75, Ana Larraneta (Spa) 75 71 78 76, Stefanie Michl (Aut) 73 73 76 78, Laurette Maritz (Rsa) 78 67 75 80
301 Breanne Loucks (Am) (Wal) 73 73 78 77
302 Martina Eberl (Ger) 76 71 81 74, Eva Steinberger (Aut) 75 72 81 74, Virginie Auffret (Fra) 77 70 79 76, Isabella Maconi (Ita) 77 70 74 81
303 Rebecca Stevenson (Aus) 75 72 82 74, Lara Tadiotto (Bel) 76 68 78 81
304 Christine Hallstrom (Swe) 74 68 82 80
305 Rikke Rasmussen (Den) 75 72 82 76, Cherie Byrnes (Aus) 73 73 79 80
306 Anja Monke (Ger) 76 71 84 75, Carlie Butler (Aus) 77 69 83 77
309 Kris Lindstrom (USA) 75 72 83 79
Retired: Ashleigh Simon (Rsa) 72 71 Rtd

MARIAN RIORDAN GIVING UP

TEACHING JOB TO BECOME A GOLF PROFESSIONAL

FROM THE IRISH INDEPENDENT WEBSITE

By Neil Ahern

One of Ireland's top lady golfers, Marian Riordan, has announced she will make her last appearance as an amateur at the Home Internationals next month.
The 26 year-old, the runaway leader of this year's ILGU Order of Merit, has had a long tenure in the amateur game, but has hit the crest of the wave this year and decided to move to pastures new in search of a career in the game.
Riordan, pictured right, will be inducted into the three-year PGA course for professionals at The Belfry in Birmingham, where she will embark on one of the most exciting ventures of her life.
“It is exciting alright,” said the Tipperary player.
“I'm also a little apprehensive. I've thought about it over and over but everyone's been really positive towards me and I'm positive about it myself.”
The Tipperary player has been the most consistent performer in Irish golf this year, culminating in a runner-up spot at the Irish Close, a Lahinch Scratch Cup win and a sure bet for all of Ireland's International squads.
And now she feels it's time to move forward and take her game to a new level.
Although turning down a possible Curtis Cup place in the future, she is unwavering on her belief that she has made the right choice and will play for a card on the Ladies European Tour this year.
“I would really love to play the Curtis Cup, but for some reason I don't think I will regret it.
“I know if I wait around for the Curtis Cup and don't do something different with my game, I could regret that more than anything.”
Riordan will leave a full-time job as a teacher behind when she begins her three-year course and although the obscurity of professional golf is a far cry from her previous work, she sees things from a different angle.
“I think financially it is a big decision for me, but in terms of the bigger picture I take money out of the equation.
“When you do that, you think ‘will I regret not taking this opportunity in 10 years?' It's a dream, there's no doubt about it.”
“I've had my ups and downs over 10 years, but the sacrifices you make build you in this
game.”
The advice she has received from two opposite ends of the spectrum en route to her decision was invaluable.
She spoke to Eileen Rose Power, one of Ireland's best players never to have turned pro,
and one of Ireland's most successful tournament professionals, Rebecca Coakley, about her options before deciding on what was undoubtedly a massive decision.
“I played with Rebecca recently and I analysed her game closely. That made me think that I can do it. I know I need to sharpen up around the greens. I know I need to step up two more levels and that's what I want to achieve. Eileen Rose is one of Ireland's greatest golfers and was at a time one of the best in Europe.
“But she said that the (professional golf) lifestyle just wasn't for her and she still loved the amateur golf.
“I'm certainly going to miss it, as amateur golf has been a big part of my life for so long and I've met some of my best friends there. But I'm going to make a big effort not to lose touch.”
Once again, however, amateur golf will be at loss with a top player deciding to try her
luck in the professional ranks. One thing is for sure though, Marian Riordan will undoubtedly be terrifically supported throughout her career, whatever it is and wherever it takes her.

VIKKI LAING MAKES THE CUT WITH EASE

Vikki Laing from Musselburgh shot rounds of 75 and 72 for three-over-par 147 and made the cut with four shots to spare in the US Futures Tour's Hunters Oak Classic at Queenstown, Maryland.
Sharing 25th place, the Scot is 13 shots behind the five-stroke leader Mollie Fankhauser from Columbus, Ohio. Mollie has had a pair of 67s over the 6,339yd course.
South Wales amateur Natasha Morgan, a student at Lynn University, Boca Raton in Florida, also made it through to the final round with 72 and 77 for 149.
But Londoner Polly Willett (73-79) and Brenda McLarnon from Belfast (74-78) both failed by one shot on 152.
LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72)
134 M Fankhauser (US) 67 67.
139 A Young (US) 70 69.
140 V Retamoza (Mex) 70 70.
Other scores:
147 V Laing (Sco) 75 72 (jt 25th).
149 N Morgan (Wal) (am) 72 77 (jt 38th).
Missed cut
152 P Willett (Eng) 73 79, B McLarnon (NIr) 74 78.