SLGA Tournament Officer Fiona Farquharson, at work on her laptop at last week's Scottish girls championship at Alyth GC, shows Clare-Marie Carlton how it's done (Cal Carson Golf Agency image, all rights reserved).

Clare-Marie Carlton joins SLGA

staff as tournament assistant

Scotland junior golf international Clare-Marie Carlton has completed her first week as tournament assistant on the staff of the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association.
The 21-year-old from Paisley and a member of Fereneze Golf Club had completed a four-year course at Stirling University and was keen to obtain a golf-related job.
It was her good luck that the SLGA were advertising for an assistant to help Tournament Officer Fiona Farquharson and she was chosen to fill the vacancy.
“It’s a great break for me and I aim to make the most of it. It will mean travelling round the country, helping to run SLGA tournaments but I should still be able to play in the Order of Merit 36-hole events at the weekends,” said Clare-Marie.
She has played for Scotland at Under-21 and girls’ internationals level and won the Scottish schoolgirls’ championship at Murrayshall, Perth in 2004.
Clare-Marie was runner-up to Louise Fleming in the Scottish Under-21 stroke-play championship at West Kilbride in 2005.
In 2003, at the age of 16, she became one of the youngest winners of the Renfrewshire county championship. She was beaten finalist in 2007.
Miss Carlton’s first week in her new job coincided with the Scottish Under-18 girls’ championship at Alyth Golf Club, Perthshire so Fiona Farquharson was able to start her assistant’s on-job training without delay.
The SLGA headquarters are in Perth and Clare-Marie intends to travel daily from her home in Paisley for the time being.

Michelle Wie only one shot off
the pace in LPGA Tour event

Michelle Wie shot her best round for many a long day - a 65 - to move to 12 under par for the LPGA Tour's State Farm Classic.
Christina Kim had a second-round 68 after opening with a 63.
She leads by one from Wie and three others. under for the tournament.
Wie, who has never won an LPGA tournament, is playing only part time this year after enrolling at Stanford University, Tiger Woods' alma mater.
“I've had two solid rounds but I'm still a shot behind. I need to go lower over the weekend,” said the 18-year-old from Hawaii.
“There's a lot of birdie opportunities out there today that I missed. So tomorrow and Sunday I just need to get the rest.”
SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Panther Creek Country Club, Springfield, Illinois.
Par 144 (2 x 72) 6608yd.
1. Christina Kim 63-68--131
2. Sherri Turner 66-66--132
2. Ji Young Oh 66-66--132
2. Yani Tseng 66-66--1322-12
2. Michelle Wie 67-65--132
6. Sun Young Yoo 64-69--133
7. Katie Futcher 70-64--134
7. Na Yeon Choi 67-67--134
9. Wendy Doolan 67-68--135
9. Jee Young Lee 65-70--135
9. Kyeong Bae 68-67--135
9. Stacy Prammanasudh 69-66--135
9. Eva Dahllof 68-67--135
OTHER SCORES
38. Becky Morgan 70-69--139
MISSED THE CUT
94. Mhairi McKay 71-72--143
100. Johanna Head 73-71--144
139. Nancy Lopez 76-78--154

Clare Queen in top 20 with one

round to go in Italian Open

FROM THE LADIES' EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
With additonal information from Colin Farquharson

Clare Queen will be rueing a triple bogey and a double bogey, both in her first-round 76, as she moves into Sunday's final round in joint 19th place at the BMW Ladies Italian Open in Tuscany.

The Scot, playing out of The Carrick at Cameron House, has climbed up the leaderboard with subsequent rounds of 71 and 70, her third round including four birdies, for a running total of 217.

Clare, picture right by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), starts the final day 11 shots behind Germany's Martina Eberl who shot a four-under-par 67 in tricky conditions to seize the third round lead.
The 26-year-old from Munich finished the day two ahead of the field on a total of seven-under-par 206. Overnight leader Gwladys Nocera from France shared second with Denmark’s Lisa-Holm Sorensen on five-under-par while first round leader Maria Hjorth from Sweden and Becky Brewerton from Wales were a shot further back in a share of fourth.
Hot and humid conditions, combined with a swirling wind at Argentario Golf and Spa Resort, tested Eberl’s persistence. “It was all about patience today,” said Eberl. “Today was a totally different golf course because the wind came from the other direction and I think it was a tougher wind.”
Last year’s Madrid Ladies Masters champion posted six birdies and two bogeys in total, with three birdies in her opening four holes. “I was very fortunate with my start. I just tried to stay calm. I didn’t hit the ball well but I somehow managed to stay on the green and I putted really well today,” she added.
“The wind is tricky because it swirls in the trees and you think it’s one way but then it’s downwind. It is rarely a straight wind so you always have to judge it a little bit and I think that’s what makes it tough.”
Nocera, the current European number one, struggled to find the correct yardage in the wind and shot a two-over 73. “I played well but with the wind I was too long, too short, too much left and too much right,” said the seven-time LET winner.
“It was a different wind again so it was hard to figure out how strong it was.”
As one of the most experienced players in the field, Nocera was looking forward to the challenge of trying to secure a third LET title this season. “I have nothing to lose. I’m playing well so I can shoot low tomorrow,” she said.
Sorensen, whose sole LET victory came in the 2005 Finnish Masters, shot a one-under 70 but also struggled with her distance control. “I hit it close to the pin at times but I also struggled with my length. I think the key was my short game and my putting,” said Sorensen.
Having been in contention on a number of occasions, Sorensen was keeping her emotions in check.
“I’m going to take it as it comes, just go out there and focus on the pars. I think a par is a good score,” she said.

SCOREBOARD

THIRD ROUND TOTALS

Par 213 (3 x 71)

206 M Eberl (Ger) 65 74 67.

208 L H Sorensen (Den) 68 70 70, G Nocera (Fra) 65 70 73.

209 B Brewerton (Wal) 66 71 72, M Hjorth (Swe) 64 73 72.

210 G Simpson (Eng) 70 69 71.

213 T Elosegui (Spa) 70 68 65, S Corce (Ita) 69 73 71, C Hallstrom (Swe) 70 71 72, L Fairclough (Eng) 70 70 73.

Other scores:

215 S Head Eng) 74 70 71 (jt 13th).

217 C Queen (The Carrick at Cameron House) 76 71 70 (jt 19th).

218 L Hall (Eng) 72 76 70 (jt 21st).

219 T Johnson (Eng) 71 71 77 (jt 31stl;

221 J Wilson (Strathaven) 74 75 72, K Matharu (Eng) 73 73 75 (jt 42nd).

222 N C Booth (Eng) 72 74 76 (jt 49th.

224 E Pilgrim (Wal) 72 78 74, R Coakley (Ire) 71 76 77 (jt 57th).

Stephanie Meadow's disappointing finish
in Betsy Rawls championship in USA

US-based Stephanie Meadow from Jordanstown, Northern Ireland finished 25th in a field of 77 players at the McDonald's Betsy Rawls girls' championship at White Manor Country Club, Malvern in Pennsylvania.
Stephanie scored 72, 78 and 78 for a 15-over-par total of 228 over the 6,186yd, par-71 course.
Irish girls champion in 2006 and beaten finalist last year, Miss Meadow had a triple bogey 7 at the 18th in her last round, having birdied the long sixth and short 14th prior to that.
Stephanie is a member of the Ireland team for next month's Girls Home Internationals at Panmure Golf Club.
She is a resident student at the International Junior Golf Academy on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
LEADING TOTALS
Par 213 (3 x 71)
212 Jessica Korda (Bradenton, Florida) 72 71 69.
213 Alison Lee (Valencia, California) 68 71 74.
217 Ginger Howard (Bradenton, Florida) 77 68 72.
Other total:
228 Stephanie Meadow (Jordanstown, Northern Ireland) 72 78 78.

Futures Tour event at Syracuse, New York State

Vikki (71) and Pamela (72) make solid start

while temperatures goes into the 90s

PRESS RELEASE FROM DURAMED FUTURES TOUR
SYRACUSE, N.Y., July 18, 2008 - Lisa Meldrum of Montreal, Quebec, paced the field with a bogey-free round of 5-under-par 66 in first-round play at the $90,000 Alliance Bank Golf Classic presented by BILL RAPP SUPERSTORE on Friday.
Meldrum fended off an afternoon flurry by Jin Young Pak (67) of Kang Leung, South Korea, Mo Martin (67) of Altadena, Calif., and Gerina Mendoza (67) of Roswell, N.M., who are one stroke back at 4-under par.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SCOTSWATCH: Vikki Laing is sharing 17th place on 71 and Pamela Feggans is joint 32nd on 72. Not a Scot but sure you would like to know that Brenda McLarnon from Belfast had a 75.
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Thirty-one players finished their first round on the 6,206-yard, par-71 lay-out at The Links at Erie Village at even par or better, battling a stifling heat that reached into the lower 90s throughout the day.
The afternoon trio of Pak, Martin and Mendoza threatened Meldrum's morning total, but she retained the lead throughout the day after scattering five birdies on her scorecard. Meldrum, a third-year Duramed FUTURES Tour pro, is pursuing her second professional victory after winning the CN Canadian Women's Open Championship in 2006.
"It was just a pretty solid round," Meldrum said. "I was just able to roll the ball a little bit better today and get some putts to drop."
The soft-spoken Meldrum converted a 30-foot putt to save par on her ninth hole after clipping the flagstick out of the bunker. She followed with another key par save on the 11th hole and attributed putting as a critical factor to getting her round off to a good start.
"The greens really liked me today, which was nice for a change," said Meldrum, who had 27 putts. "Hopefully they will like me tomorrow."
Meldrum said her season has been one of ups and downs, but recent results from The Duramed Championship (T17) in Mason, Ohio, and the CIGNA Golf Classic (T42) in Bloomfield, Conn., signify a reversal of fortune.
"I had a rough start to the season, but the last two events have been my best tournaments of the year," Meldrum said.
Pak, a 2005 Duramed FUTURES Tour winner, started out with four birdies in her first five holes. Mendoza carded her first bogey-free round of the year, posting back-to-back birdies on No. 6 and 7 on her back nine. Martin, the 2007 El Paso Golf Classic champion, registered five birdies and one bogey that came on the par-5, 17th hole.
Second-round play begins Saturday morning at 8 a.m. off the first and 10th tees. The leading group of Meldrum, Pak and Martin tee off at 2:30 p.m.
For real-time scoring and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.
Weather: A mix of sun and clouds with temperatures reaching 91 degrees and winds blowing southwest from 10-20 mph.

Duramed Futures Tour Scoreboard
$90,000 ALLIANCE BANK CLASSIC
The Links at Erie Village, Syracuse, New York State
FIRST ROUND
Par 71 (36-35). 6,206yd.
1 Lisa Meldrum (Montreal, Quebec) 34-32 - 66
2 Jin Young Pak (Kang Leung, South Korea) 31-36 - 67
2 Mo Martin (Altadena, Calif.) 33-34 - 67
2 Gerina Mendoza (Roswell, New Mexico) 33-34 - 67
5 Leah Whiting (Hilo, Hawaii) 33-35 - 68
5 Lisa Ferrero (Lodi, Calif.) 35-33 - 68
5 Lynn Valentine (East Lyme, Conn.) 35-33 - 68
8 Carling Coffing (Middletown, Ohio) 34-35 - 69
8 Courtney Erdman (Altadena, Calif.) 36-33 - 69
10 Rebecka Heinmert (San Jose, Calif.) 39-31 - 70
10 Chella Choi (Seoul, South Korea) 35-35 - 70
10 Song Yi Choi (Seoul, South Korea) 36-34 - 70
10 Kim Welch (Sacramento, Calif.) 38-32 - 70
10 LeAnna Wicks (Brighton, Mich.) 35-35 - 70
10 Haeji Kang (Seoul, South Korea) 35-35 - 70
10 Whitney Myers (York, Pa.) 38-32 - 70
17 Samantha Richdale (Kelowna, Br Columbia) 35-36 - 71
17 Noon Huachai (Bangkok, Thailand) 35-36 - 71
17 Stephanie George (Myerstown, Pa.) 35-36 - 71
17 Stacey Tate (Auckland, New Zealand) 37-34 - 71
17 Kelly Froelich (Raizeux, France) 36-35 - 71
17 Christi Cano (San Antonio, Texas) 37-34 - 71
17 Jenny Suh (Fairfax, Va.) 36-35 - 71
17 M. J. Hur (Seoul, South Korea) 36-35 - 71
17 Annie Young (Highland, Utah) 36-35 - 71
17 Christine Boucher (Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec) 35-36 - 71
17 Kylene Pulley (Kokomo, Ind.) 35-36 - 71
17 Vikki Laing (Musselburgh, Scotland) 36-35 - 71
17 Mandi McConnell (Grand Blanc, Mich.) 38-33 - 71
17 Moah Chang (Los Angeles, Calif.) 36-35 - 71
17 Ashley Grier (Hagerstown, Maryland) 35-36 - 71
32 Christine Cho (Kent, Wash.) 37-35 - 72
32 Nicole Jeray (Berwyn, Ill.) 37-35 - 72
32 Carol Green-Robertson (Tazewell, Va.) 36-36 - 72
32 Kim Augusta (Rumford, Rhode Island) 36-36 - 72
32 Jessica Steward (Mystic, Conn.) 37-35 - 72
32 Angela Buzminski (Oshawa, Ontario) 38-34 - 72
32 Cindy Lee-Pridgen (Sabah, Malaysia) 37-35 - 72
32 Kelly Lagedrost (Brooksville, Fla.) 34-38 - 72
32 Jennifer Ackerson (Dallas, Texas) 36-36 - 72
32 Alissa Kuczka (Phoenix, Ariz.) 38-34 - 72
32 Maru Martinez (Maracaibo, Venezuela) 37-35 - 72
32 Pamela Feggans (Patna, Scotland) 35-37 - 72
32 Andrea Werner (Evansville, Ind.) 36-36 - 72
32 Kellee Booth (McKinney, Texas) 38-34 - 72
32 Katrina Leckovic (Burnaby, Br Columbia) 37-35 - 72
32 Sohi Moon (Seoul, South Korea) 36-36 - 72
32 Whitney Wade (Glasgow, Kentucky) 38-34 - 72
32 Lindsey Edmunds (London, Alberta) 37-35 - 72
50 Stephanie Otteson (Wilson, N.C.) 40-33 - 73
50 Lorraine Ballerano (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 37-36 - 73
50 Michelle Jarman (Wilmington, N.C.) 38-35 - 73
50 Sofie Andersson (Angelholm, Sweden) 37-36 - 73
50 Sin Ah Ham (Torrance, Calif.) 36-37 - 73
50 Janell Howland (Boise, Idaho) 35-38 - 73
50 Lori Atsedes (Ithaca, N.Y.) 35-38 - 73
50 Misun Cho (Cheongju, South Korea) 35-38 - 73
50 Julia Huh (Pasadena, Md.) 38-35 - 73
50 Juli Erekson (Mapleton, Utah) 36-37 - 73
50 Katie Fraley (Brandenburg, Ky.) 36-37 - 73
50 Brandi Jackson (Greenville, S.C.) 37-36 - 73
50 Danah Ford (Indianapolis, Ind.) 36-37 - 73
50 Libby Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.) 37-36 - 73
50 Katie Allison (Little River, S.C.) 36-37 - 73
50 Megan Godfrey (Homewood, Ill.) 38-35 - 73
66 Jessica Carafiello (Coral Springs, Fla.) 36-38 - 74
66 Amanda Mathis (Opelousas, La.) 38-36 - 74
66 Jaclyn Burch (Satellite Beach, Fla.) 39-35 - 74
66 Hannah Yun (a) (Bradenton, Fla.) 37-37 - 74
66 Leah Wigger (Louisville, Ky.) 39-35 - 74
66 Amanda McCurdy (Little Rock, Ark.) 40-34 - 74
66 Kristina Tucker (Stockholm, Sweden) 38-36 - 74
66 Mindy Kim (Diamond Bar, Calif.) 39-35 - 74
66 Meghan Little (Sturgis, S.D.) 35-39 - 74
74 Jean Reynolds (Newnan, Ga.) 39-35 - 74
74 Jill Frantz (Iowa City, Iowa) 40-34 - 74
74 Sam White (Potomac, Md.) 40-34 - 74
74 Alejandra Shaw (Vina Del Mar, Chile) 38-36 - 74
74 Alexandra Braga (Los Angeles, Calif.) 40-34 - 74
74 Caroline Larsson (Stockholm, Sweden) 40-34 - 74
74 Sophia Sheridan (Guadalajara, Mexico) 39-35 - 74
74 Marcela Leon (Monterrey, Mexico) 35-39 - 74
74 Jessica Shepley (Oakville, Ontario) 36-38 - 74
74 Lauren Todd (Phoenix, Ariz.) 39-35 - 74
74 Taya Battistella (Portland, Ore.) 37-37 - 74
86 Sarah Olsen (Grosse Ile, Mich.) 39-36 - 75
86 Courtney Mahon (Lee's Summit, Mo.) 38-37 - 75
86 Ashley Knoll (The Woodlands, Texas) 40-35 - 75
86 Jillian Wyne (Calgary, Alberta) 35-40 - 75
86 Gina Umeck (Redlands, Calif.) 39-36 - 75
86 Jeehae Lee (Seoul, South Korea) 37-38 - 75
86 Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz.) 41-34 - 75
86 Tiffany Tavee (Tempe, Ariz.) 41-34 - 75
86 Devan Andersen (Guadalajara, Mexico) 38-37 - 75
86 Brenda McLarnon (Belfast, Ireland) 36-39 - 75
86 Sasha Medina (Ponce, Puerto Rico) 37-38 - 75
86 Morgan Olds (Stamford, Conn.) 37-38 - 75
86 Bridget Dwyer (Kailua, Hawaii) 37-38 - 75
86 Tanya Dergal (Durango, Mexico) 40-35 - 75
86 Anastasia Kostina (Nakhabino, Russia) 39-36 - 75
86 Jin Hyun Kim (Seoul, South Korea) 37-38 - 75
102 Y. J. Jin (Seoul, South Korea) 39-37 - 76
102 Molly Birmingham (Cornelius, N.C.) 41-35 - 76
102 Ulrika Ljungman-Smith (Stockholm, Sweden) 38-38 - 76
102 Bing Lim (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) 38-38 - 76
102 Briana Vega (Andover, Mass.) 40-36 - 76
102 Sunny Oh (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) 39-37 - 76
102 Jenny Hansen (Cairo, Neb.) 39-37 - 76
102 Ashley Prange (Noblesville, Ind.) 38-38 - 76
102 Manuela Tarazona (Buenos Aires, Argentina) 36-40 - 76
111 Kate Stepanek (Guilford, Conn.) 41-36 - 77
111 Catherine Matranga (Fort Worth, Texas) 37-40 - 77
111 Susan Choi (Natick, Mass.) 40-37 - 77
111 Kelly Schaub (Greeley, Colo.) 36-41 - 77
111 Haley Gildea (East Greenwich, R.I.) 38-39 - 77
111 Lili Alvarez (Durango, Mexico) 37-40 - 77
111 Cortney Reno (Grosse Ile, Mich.) 39-38 - 77
111 Kyla Jones (Nanuet, N.Y.) 41-36 - 77
111 Heather Angell (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 39-38 - 77
111 Melissa Eaton (Port Shepstone, South Africa) 38-39 - 77
121 Rachel Bailey (Faulconbridge, Australia) 38-40 - 78
121 Jutta Degerman (Helsinki, Finland) 40-38 - 78
121 Jenna Pearson (Wheaton, Ill.) 40-38 - 78
121 Eileen Vargas (Ibague, Colombia) 41-37 - 78
121 Shayna Miyajima (Maui, Hawaii) 42-36 - 78
126 Jessica Schneider (Elgin, Ill.) 42-37 - 79
127 Elin Andersson (Eskilstuna, Sweden) 41-39 - 80
127 Charlotte Campbell (Heathrow, Fla.) 42-38 - 80
129 Carmen Bandea (Atlanta, Ga.) 42-39 - 81
129 Yeon Joo Lee (Seoul, South Korea) 43-38 - 81
129 Mary Moan (New Haven, Conn.) 42-39 - 81
132 Esther Moon (Nashville, Tenn.) 39-43 - 82
132 Michelle Toth (Toronto, Ontario) 40-42 - 82
132 Lehua Wise (Kauai, Hawaii) 42-40 - 82
132 Sae Hee Son (Seoul, South Korea) 43-39 - 82
136 Kimberly Goedecke (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) 43-41 - 84
137 Angel Sze (a) (San Marino, Calif.) 44-42 - 86
--- Missed 18 Hole Cut ---
Brittany Siechen (a) (East Syracuse, N.Y.) 47-47 - 94
Disqualified
Vera Meixner (a) (Seeboden, Austria) DQ

Gwladys Nocera leads BMW

Ladies Italian Open

by two shots

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
By BETHAN CUTLER
European ladies No 1 pro golfer Gwladys Nocera from France shot a second round of one-under-par 70 to take a two stroke lead into the weekend at the BMW Ladies Italian Open at Tuscany.
Nocera, picture right by courtesty of Ladies European Tour website, who won the tournament in 2006, finished the day on seven-under-par ahead of three players on five-under.
Overnight leader Maria Hjorth carded a two-over 73 to share second with Spain’s Carmen Alonso, who had a 70 and Welsh Solheim Cup star Becky Brewerton, who shot 71.
Denmark’s Lisa Holm-Sorensen was fifth on four-under-par.
South Korea’s Amy Yang had her second hole-in-one in two months at the 168-yard 17th hole, where she hit her seven-iron. There was no prize for an ace at this particular hole - although had she holed out at the par-3 fifth hole then she would have won a BMW.
Yang also aced the 153-yard seventh hole in the third round of the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open in May using the same club, a lucky seven-iron.
Yang, winner of the 2006 ANZ Ladies Masters as an amateur, claimed her maiden professional victory at the HypoVereinsbank Ladies German Open, the week after her first hole-in-one, which could bode well for the 18-year-old heading into next week’s US$3.25 million Evian Masters in France.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2 x 71)

135 G Nocera (Fra) 65 70.
137 C Alonso (Spa) 67 70, M Hjorth (Swe) 64 73, B Brewerton (Wal) 66 71.
138 L H Sorensen (Den) 68 70.
139 I Tinning (Den) 68 71, M Eberl (Ger) 65 74, G Simpson (Eng) 70 69.
140 S Renell (Swe) 72 68, Caroline Afonso (Fra) 69 71, L Fairclough (Eng) 70 70, P Marti (Spa) 67 73.

141 C Hallstrom (Swe) 70 71.

142 S Croce (Ita) 69 73, T Johnson (Eng) 71 71.
Other totals:

144 S Head (Eng) 74 70.

146 K Matharu (Eng) 73 73, N C Booth (Eng) 72 74.

147 C Queen (The Carrick at Cameron House) 76 71, R Coakley (Ire) 71 76.

148 L Hall (Eng) 72 76.
149 J Wilson (Sco) 74 75.

150 E Pilgrim (Wal) 72 78.
MISSED THE CUT (Totals of 150 or better qualified)
151 L Kenny (Archerfield Links) 79 72, E Lyons (Eng) 73 78.

152 J Clingan (Eng) 78 74, M Gillen (Ire) 76 76.

154 R Bell (Eng) 79 75.

155 K S Taylor (Eng) 77 78, S Walker (Eng) 82 73, K Imrie (Sco) 78 77.

161 E McKinnon (NZ) 82 79.

Retired: D Masters (Eng) 81 Ret.

Begorrah! Lisa beats

twin sister Leona in

Irish girls' final

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
It could only happen in Ireland - the land of leprechauns and fairy tales!
On May 21, talented and almost identical 13-year-old twin sisters Leona and Lisa Maguire from the Slieve Russell club contested the final of the Irish WOMEN'S amateur golf championship at Westport. Leona won by 3 and 2. Pictured above (I think) Leona on left, Lisa on right.
Today, at Mullingar Golf Club, the Maguire twins met each other in the final of the Lancome Irish GIRLS' championship - and Lisa won this time by 4 and 3.
Mind you, only their mother can tell her daughters apart and they have a reputation for pretending that Leona is Lisa and vice versa in public. So maybe it was Leona that won again after all! Only kidding.
The Maguire twins are being tipped, even by non-Irish pundits, to be contenders for GB&I team places in the next Curtis Cup match, that's not at Nairn in 2012 but at Essex Country Club, Massachusetts in 2010 when they will be 15, one year younger than when Carly Booth made her debut in May-June as the youngest-ever GB&I Curtis Cup team player.

This year's GB&I team at the Old Course, St Andrews had an Irish captain, Mary McKenna, but not a single Irish player in the team of eight - and looked what happened to them at the hands/clubs of the Americans.
Tayside golfing fans - and the rest of Scotland for that matter if they want to make the journey -will get a chance to see for themselves how good the Maguire girls are when the Girls' home internationals are played at Panmure Golf Club, Carnoustie from August 5 to 7.
The Irish team, which also includes United States-based Stephanie Meadow, another great prospect, by the way, announced today, is:
Victoria Bradshaw (Bangor).
Sarah Cunningham (Ennis).
Patrice Delaney (Birr).
Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell).
Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell).
Stephanie Meadow (Royal Portrush).
Emma O'Driscoll (Ballybunion).
Sarah Louise Winter (Camalea).
Reserves:

Sarah Crowe (Tipperary), Tara Gribben (Warrenpoint), Sarah Helly (Enniscrone).
Team captain - Sinead Keane (The Curragh).

+The Scotland girls team for the home internationals will be named on Monday. Watch this space!

Here is the report on the Lancome Irish girls' championship from the ILGU website:

Ireland's golf history-making twins

Following her sister Leona's success in the (Irish) Women's Championship in Westport, Lisa triumphed over her sister to take the (Irish) Girls Championship in Mullingar Golf Club.
It is the first time in the history of Irish Golf that the Irish champions of both the Women's and Girls' events come from the same family, let alone twin sisters.

Lisa was fortunate to overcome Emma O'Driscoll at the 19th in her semi-final match while Leona had a more comfortable semi-final, playing top-class golf to triumph over Sarah Crowe.

Lisa took early advantage in the match against her sister, going one up with a par on the second hole. Lisa went on go two up with a birdie at the 10th. They both birdied the 12th before Lisa birdied the 14th to increase her lead to three holes. She then secured the match on the 15th green. Results:

ROUND 1 - Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Victoria Morris (Limerick) 8 and 6; Erin Connolly (Co Armagh) bt Laura Grant (Lisburn) 2 and 1; Sarah Murray (Co Louth) bt Amy Gaynor (Co Sligo) 1 hole; Victoria Bradshaw (Bangor) bt Sarah Helly (Enniscrone) 3 and 2; Sarah Crowe (Tipperary) bt Rachel Chambers (Dunfanaghy) 4 and 3; Bebhinne Jennings (Navan) bt Niamh O'Connor (Naas/Worplesdon) 2 holes; Ciara Pender (Ennis) bt Sarah Cunningham (Ennis) 5 and 4; Caroline Murphy (Grange) bt Agnes Doherty (Ballyliffin) 4 and 2; Emma O'Driscoll (Ballybunion) bt Jessica Boal (Larne) 5 and 3; Jill Pierse (Tipperary) bt Hannah O'Brien (Lahinch) 4 and 3; Tara Gribben (Warrenpoint) bt Edel Coyne (Youghal) 6 and 5; Amy Chambers (Dunfanaghy) bt Caoimhe Quinn (Dungannon) 2 and 1; Julie Coyne (Youghal) bt Laura McCarthy (Muskerry) 2 holes; Sarah Louise Winter (Carnalea) bt Carla Reynolds (Seapoint) 4 and 3; Julie O'Gara (Roscommon) bt Ciara Sharkey (Enniscorthy) 1 hole; Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Terri Byrne (Coollattin) 8 and 6.
ROUND 2 - Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Erin Connolly (Co. Armagh) 6 and 5; Victoria Bradshaw (Bangor) bt Sarah Murray (Co Louth) on 20th; Sarah Crowe (Tipperary) bt Bebhinne Jennings (Navan) 3 and 1; Ciara Pender (Ennis) bt Caroline Murphy (Grange) on 20th; Emma O'Driscoll (Ballybunion) bt Jill Pierse (Tipperary) 4 and 3; Tara Gribben (Warrenpoint) bt Amy Chambers (Dunfanaghy) 2 holes; Julie Coyne (Youghal) bt Sarah Louise Winter (Carnalea) 5 and 4; Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Julie O'Gara (Roscommon) 7 and 6.
QUARTER-FINALS - Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Victoria Bradshaw (Bangor) 3 and 2; Sarah Crowe (Tipperary) bt Ciara Pender (Ennis) 5 and 4; Emma O'Driscoll (Ballybunion) bt Tara Gribben (Warrenpoint) 2 and 1; Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Julie Coyne (Youghal) 6 and 5.
SEMI-FINALS - Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Sarah Crowe (Tipperary) 8 and 6; Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Emma O'Driscoll (Ballybunion) on 19th.
FINAL - Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) 4 and 3.

Carly's smile says it all. She's still standing as Scottish Under-18 girls' champion (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency, all rights reserved). You can enlarge the images by clicking on them.

Carly Booth champion girl

again - and she still has

two more years to go!

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Perthshire prodigy Carly Booth is Scottish Under-18 girls’ match-play champion for the second year in a row.
The 16-year-old Curtis Cup and Junior Ryder Cup player from Comrie retained her native junior title by beating Scottish schoolgirls champion and fellow Scotland international Kelsey MacDonald, 17-year-old Nairn Dunbar member, by 4 and 3 in the 18-hole final at Alyth Golf Club today.
Carly is young enough to play in the Scottish girls championship for two more years and could emulate the four titles in a row feat achieved by only one player in the tournament’s 48-year history, Vikki Laing (Musselburgh) between 1996 and 1999.

It might well be, of course, that Carly will become a professional before her 18th birthday. Although 18 is the minimum age to become a member of the Ladies European Tour, there is at least one precedent for an "under-age" players to be admitted.

Amy Yang was a 16-year-old amateur (16 years, 9 months, 18 days to be precise) when she won the 2006 ANZ Ladies Masters. She subsquently applied to the LET for special dispensation to turn pro and play on the ciruit.

Permission was granted and Amy became a tour pro and the LET's youngest member on October 10, 2006, by which time she was two months and a week or two past her 17th birthday.
Both Carly and Kelsey agreed they were not quite on song in the final. Apart from tiredness, wet conditions underfoot and overhead contributed to that. The greens had become much slower than either player likes. So they holed fewer putts of consequence than they did with regularity in the earlier rounds.
“I was very tired at the start of the week after the European girls’ team championship at Murcar Links, but felt stronger by midweek, only to have a cold and sore throat for the final,” said Carly.

“Neither of us played great golf in the final but obviously I am delighted to be Scottish girls champion for another year.”
Kelsey, who did not win a hole until the 12th, felt that landing in bunkers at the sixth, eighth, 10th and 11th made it difficult for her to put Carly under any pressure.
“I did win a couple of holes after the turn to get it back to three down but it was too late.”
Carly Booth, who had been a combined seven under par in winning her quarter-final and semi-final ties on Thursday, was an approximate two over par against Kelsey for the 15 holes the final lasted. Discounting a double-bogey 5 at the short 14th, Booth would have been level par.
Carly went one up at the fourth and doubled her lead at the eighth before stepping up a gear to produce winning birdies at the eighth, 10th and 11th. That gave her a commanding five-hole lead.
Kelsey won back the 12th and 14th before Carly holed a 10ft putt at the 15th for a 4 and 3 win. It was Carly’s fourth birdie in the space of eight holes.

*Having just returned from the R&A Junior Open at Hesketh where rounds were apt to take around 5hr 30min to 5hr 45min, what a pleasure to see the Scottish girls' championship final played and the prizegiving ceremony over ... all within THREE HOURS of the match starting at 9am. Terrific! Keep it up girls.

Result

Final – C Booth (Comrie) bt K MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) 4 and 3.

+Picture shows Kelsey MacDonald, Carly Booth and Isla Craigie (Torwoodlee) who won the Ansley Reid Salver on Thursday for the second time in three years.

Annabel Niven (Crieff), winner of a Regional Trophy for two very good scores at the windswept R&A Junior Open, receives her trophy from Mr Chris Hill. Image by courtesy of Andrew Bate, all rights reserved.

All the trophy winners at the 2008 R&A Junior Open

THE JUNIOR OPEN 2008
CHAMPION
Presented by The R&A
Club President Derek Holden
Moriya Jutanugarn
Thailand

The Junior Open 2008
Runner Up
Club President Derek Holden
Jordan Spieth
USA

THE JUNIOR OPEN 2008
Silver Category Trophy
Presented by The R&A
Lady Captain Joy Bury
Laura Christiaens
Belgium

THE JUNIOR OPEN 2008
Bronze Category Trophy
Presented by The R&A
Lady Captain Joy Bury
Huang Zhiying
China

THE JUNIOR OPEN 2008
Young Lady Golfer Trophy
Lady Captain Joy Bury
Mami Fukda
Japan

THE JUNIOR OPEN 2008
Under 14 Trophy
Club President Derek Holden
Frederik Hammer
Denmark


THE JUNIOR OPEN 2008
African Trophy
Presented by Halcrow
Mr Willie Dunbar
Ali Hichri
Tunisia

THE JUNIOR OPEN 2008
Asia –Pacific Trophy
Presented by Unisys
David Fox
Hwa-Sing Wang
Chinese Taipei

THE JUNIOR OPEN 2008
Nordic & Central EuropeanTrophy
Presented by
RBS
Chris Long
Annabel Niven
Scotland

THE JUNIOR OPEN 2008
Eastern European & Middle East Trophy
Presented by Lexus
Annick Suy
Laetitia Beck
Israel

THE JUNIOR OPEN 2008
North American & Caribbean Trophy
Presented by MMC
David Frediani/Angus McGougan
Daniela Ortiz
Mexico

THE JUNIOR OPEN 2008
Central & South American Trophy
Presented by Nikon
Barbara Faulkner
Andrea Novoa
El Salvador

THE JUNIOR OPEN 2008
Southern European Trophy
Presented by Rolex
Arnaud Labourd
Federica Maria Costantini
Italy

THE JUNIOR OPEN
Special Invitation Trophy
Presented by The R&A
Ignacio Rodriguez

Maguire twins are top seeds for
Irish girls close championship

PRESS RELEASED ISSUED BY IRISH LADIES GOLF UNION
Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) and sister Lisa finished, unsurprisingly, top of the qualifiers at the Lancome Irish girls close championship at Mullingar Golf Club.
Leona, continuing her strong form that saw Ireland finish eighth at the European girls team championships last week, finished five under par over the 5,946yd parkland terrain.
Twin sister Lisa was closest to the teenage sensation, eight shots back on 77 while Emma O’Driscoll (Ballybunion) and Caroline Murphy (Grange) were a further two shots adrift.
Leona went on to defeat Limerick’s Victoria Bradshaw while Lisa, the second match-play seed, will not complete her round until after 8pm.
Click www.ilgu.ie for an update on the results.
MATCH-PLAY RESULTS
Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) bt Victoria Morris (Limerick) 8 and 6.
Erin Connolly (Co Armagh) bt Laura Grant (Lisburn) 2 and 1.
Sarah Murray (Co Louth) bt Amy Gaynor (Co Sligo) 1 hole.
Victoria Bradshaw (Bangor) v Sarah Helly (Enniscrone).
Sarah Crowe (Tipperary) v Rachel Chambers (Dunfanaghy).
Niamh O'Connor (Naas/Worplesdon) v Bebainne Jennings (Navan).
Ciara Pender (Ennis) bt Sarah Cunningham (Ennis) 5 and 4.
Agnes Doherty (Ballyliffin) v Caroline Murphy (Grange).
Emma O'Driscoll (Ballybunion) v Jessica Boal (Larne).
Hannah O'Brien (Lahinch) v Jill Pierse (Tipperary).
Tara Gribben (Warrenpoint) v Edel Coyne (Youghal).
Amy Chambers (Dunfanaghy) v Caoimhe Quinn (Dungannon).
Laura McCarthy (Muskerry) v Julie Coyne (Youghal).
Sarah Louise Winter (Carnalea) v Carla Reynolds (Seapoint).
Ciara Sharkey (Enniscorthy) v Julie O'Gara (Roscommon).
Terri Byrne (Coollattin) v Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell).
*Patrice Delaney (Birr) is unavailable for the match-play stages due to an injury.
QUALIFIERS
69 Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell).
77 Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell).
79 Emma O'Driscoll (Ballybunion), Caroline Murphy (Grange).
80 Sarah Crowe (Tipperary).
81 Patrice Delaney (Birr), Caoimhe Quinn (Dungannon), Laura McCarthy (Muskerry).
82 Sarah Helly (Enniscrone), Sarah Murray (Co Louth), Carla Reynolds (Seapoint).
83 Tara Gribben (Warrenpoint).
84 Bebainne Jennings (Navan), Sarah Cunningham (Ennis).
85 Jill Pierse (Tipperary), Ciara Sharkey (Enniscorthy), Laura Grant (Lisburn).
86 Erin Connolly (Co Armagh), Julie O'Gara (Roscommon).
87 Hannah O'Brien (Lahinch), Ciara Pender (Ennis), Niamh O'Connor (Naas/Worplesdon), Edel Coyne (Youghal).
88 Sarah Louise Winter (Carnalea), Amy Gaynor (Co Sligo), Victoria Bradshaw (Bangor) Julie Coyne (Youghal).
89 Amy Chambers (Dunfanaghy).
90 Rachel Chambers (Dunfanaghy), Agnes Doherty (Ballyliffin), Jessica Boal (Larne), Terri Byrne (Coollattin).
91 Victoria Morris (Limerick).
NON-QUALIFIERS
91 Jenny Hennessy (Ennis), Hannah O'Connor (Loughrea) Jennifer Russell (Belvoir Park), Rebecca Mulholland (Kilkenny).
92 Kelsey Coey (Clandeboye), Carmel O'Connor (Westport), Emma Murphy (Wexford).
93 Aisling Hill (Roscommon), Anna Courtney (St Anne's), Emily McGuiness (Greenore).
94 Lauren Murray (Delgany), Michelle McCarthy (Clonmel).
96 Holly Robinson (Co. Sligo).
97 Emma Dunne (Castlewarden).
98 Katie Liston (Heritage).
99 Paula Grant (Lisburn).
100 Diane Hennessy (Ennis).
102 Sarah Fay (Westmanstown), Ashley Leacy (Enniscorthy), Olwen Jennings (Navan).
103 Shauna Brady (Co.Sligo), Olivia Mehoffey (Tandragee).
104 Sinead Henry-Bezy (Ashbourne).
105 Darcy Carr (Milltown)

Megan Brown in front of the scoreboard at Dunblane New where she had a hole in one and a holed second shot for an eagle (Image courtesy of Scottish Golf Union).

Fife girl (13) has ace and a holed

second shot in same round

A 13-year old girl from Fife enjoyed a spectacular round of golf, achieving a hole-in-one and a holed second shot for another eagle, both with her trusty seven-wood at Dunblane New Golf Club earlier this week.
Playing in the Dunfermline Building Society Junior Masters central regional final, Saline Golf Club’s Megan Brown holed her second shot from 150 yards at the par-4 fifth hole, then followed that up with a hole-in-one at 147-yard 11th hole, using the same Callaway 7-wood.
Megan, who has been playing golf since she was 10-years old, has been in a rich vein of form of late, having won the girls' prizes in both the Leven and Dunfermline Junior Opens this week. That form continued at Dunblane New where she racked up 35 Stableford points to clinch second place and secure a spot in the Dunfermline Building Society Junior Masters Final at Gleneagles in October.
A delighted Megan said: “I saw my second shot go in at the fifth after I hit a great seven wood from the middle of fairway. I used the same club for my tee shot at the 11th but it was only when I got up to the green and looked in the hole on the way past that I noticed my ball!”
“It wasn’t my best ever round but they were certainly the two best shots of my career.” she added.
The event is Scotland’s biggest participation junior golf championship for boys and girls under the age of 16, with the competition at Dunblane one of five regional finals across the country this summer organised by the Scotti

1 PATERSON, Callum Dunblane New 41pt

2 JEEN, Scott Milngavie 41pt.

3 BALFOUR, Greg Douglas Park 40pt.
4 GIBSON, Rory Mortonhall 40pt.

5 FITZSIMMONS, Sam Windyhill 39pt.
6 DONALDSON, Andrew Royal Aberdeen 39pt.

7 COOKE, Charles Milnathort 39pt
8 HOOD, Joshua Blairgowrie 38pt

9 ROY, Josh Auchterarder 37pt
18.0
18
F
37
10
FENTON, Ryan
St Michaels
21.0
21
F
36
11
EASTON, Allan
Strathmore
6.0
6
F
36
12
CARMICHAEL, Grant
Tillicoultry
19.0
19
F
35
13
ROBERTSON, Ruairidh
New Club St Andrews
10.0
10
F
35sh Golf Union.
Megan, who lives in Saline, Fife, will line up against eighty-two other young hopefuls on Sunday, October 12 at Gleneagles, home of the 2014 Ryder Cup, for the grand final.

TOP 13 QUALIFIED AT DUNBLANE NEW:

Mhairi Johnstone (Northern) and Carly Booth (Comrie) in action in their Scottish girls' championship semi-final at Alyth today (Cal Carson Golf Agency images, all rights reserved).

Isla Craigie wins Ansley Reid Salver at Alyth

Isla Craigie (Torwoodlee) beat Keren Ward (The Glen) by 2 and 1 in the final of the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association's Ansley Reid Salver competition, also staged alongwith the Scottish girls' championship at Alyth.
Thursday's results:

Semi-finals - Keren Ward (The Glen) bt Julie Vass (Tain) 1 hole, Isla Craigie (Torwoodlee) bt Ashley Alston (Royal Montrose) 6 and 4.
Final - Craigie bt Ward 2 and 1.

Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) and Gillian Scanlan (Hamilton) (above) in action in their semi-final at Alyth today. You can enlarge the images by clicking on them. Cal Carson Golf Agency images, all rights reserved.

It's the "Dream Final" at Alyth:

Carly Booth v Kelsey MacDonald

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Title-holder and Curtis Cup player Carly Booth from Comrie, the No 2 seed, will play Scottish schoolgirls champion Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar), the top qualifier, in the "dream final" of the Scottish Under-18 girls' championship at Alyth Golf Club, Perthshire tomorrow.
Sixteen-year-old Carly has a +3 rating, 17-year-old Kelsey plays off +2 and it has all the makings of a classic match between two talented teenagers.
After a day in which she played 42 holes to progress through the quarter and semi-finals, Kelsey admitted she was very tired but looking forward keenly, after a good night's rest, to playing her good friend and Scotland international team-mate.
MacDonald came back from two down to win at the 24th hole in the morning against Rebecca Wilson (Monifieth) and then lost the first three holes and was still three down after eight to Gillian Scanlan (Hamilton) in the afternoon.
Kelsey birdied the ninth and 10th to turn the tide in her favour but she did not lead until the 13th. Scanlan, who has almost certainly earned herself a first Scotland cap in the girls' home internationals at Panmure next month, was not finished yet. She squared the contest at the 16th but Kelsey raised her game one more time - a sign of her class - to birdie the short 17th and go on to win by one hole.
"I was about two or three under par in the morning and roughly level par in the semi-final," said Kelsey.
For her part, Carly was in the majestic form that won her the European Young Masters and other titles last summer. And when she is in that mood, the Perthshire prodigy is well nigh unbeatable at girls' level.
Booth was five under par in beating Rachael McQueen (Troon Ladies) by 7 and 5 in the morning quarter-finals and then two under par in recording a 7 and 6 semi-final win over Aberdeen's Mhairi Johnstone (Northern).
It will be Carly's third appearance in the final of this championship.
In 2005, at Tain, she lost by 2 and 1 to Sally Watson and last year, at Peterhead, Carly beat Megan Briggs by 2 and 1.
Friday's 18-hole final tees off at 9am. It should be well worth watching. A big gallery would draw the best out of both girls.
Thursday's results
Quarter-finals - K MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) bt R Wilson (Monifieth) at 24th, G Scanlan (Hamilton) bt J Meldrum (Dullatur) at 19th, M Johnstone (Northern) bt L Atkins (Minto) 2 holes, C Booth (Comrie) bt R McQueen (Troon Ladies) 7 and 5.
Semi-finals - MacDonald bt Scanlan 1 hole, Booth bt Johnstone 7 and 6.

Scottish girls' quarter-finals results

This morning's quarter-final results in the Scottish Under-18 championship at Alyth Golf Club were:

Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) bt Rebecca Wilson (Monifieth) at 24th.
Gillian Scanlan (Hamilton) bt Jill Meldrum (Dullatur) at 19th.
Mhairi Johnstone (Northern) bt Lesley Atkins (Minto) 2 holes.
Carly Booth (Comrie) bt Rachael McQueen (Troon Ladies) 7 and 5.

Stephanie Meadow in action in the United States.

Stephanie Meadow loses ground in

second round of "Betsy Rawls"

US-based Stephanie Meadow from Jordanstown, Northern Ireland, lost ground with a 78 in the second round of the McDonald's Betsy Rawls girls championship, organised by the American Junior Golf Association, at White Manor Country Club, Malvern in Pennsylvia.

With one round to go, Stephanie is in 16th place on 150. She had three 6s on her second-round scorecard, including a double bogey at the second.

SCOREBOARD

Par 142 (2 x 71)
1 Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif. 68-71--139 -3

2 Courtney Gunter, Matthews, North Carolina 75-66--141 -1 .

3 Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Florida 72-71--143 +1

4 Ginger Howard, Bradenton, Florida 77-68--145 +3

4 Kristina Wong, Bradenton, Florida 73-72--145 +3

4 Maria Piccio, Bradenton, Florida 72-73--145 +3

7 Danielle Kang, Oak Park, California 74-72--146 +4

8 Brittany Altomare, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts 75-72--147 +5

8 Jennifer Johnson, La Quinta, California 74-73--147 +5

8 Victoria Tanco, Bradenton, Florida 73-74--147 +5.

Other score:

16 Stephanie Meadow, Jordanstown, Northern Ireland 72-78--150 +8.

Moriya Jutanugarn with the championship trophy at Hesketh Golf Club. Image by courtesy of Andrew Bate (all rights reserved).

Thailand girl makes R&A Junior
Open history - she's the winner!

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
A stocky little 13-year-old Thailander - she has her 14th birthday before the end of the month - made a little bit of golfing history at windswept Hesketh Golf Club, Southport today.
Miss Moriya Jutanugarn became the first girl to win the R&A Junior Open, an international biennial golf championship for Under-16 year-olds. Close on 70 countries responded to invitations to send a boy and a girl to the event.
She speaks very little English but let her clubs do the talking as sheput together rounds of 72, 75 and 78 for a 54-hole total of nine-over-par 225 in a wind that increased in ferocity every day until it was blowing a gale at times today.
She came from five shots behind with nine holes to play, took the lead by birdieng the 17th, and won by one shot from 14-year-old Jordan Spieth from Dallas Texas, and 15-year-old Steven Lam from Hong Kong.
A scratch golfer who is the girls' champion of Thailand, Moriya, who comes from Bangkok, had never played in Europe before ... and had never played links golf before. But she coped remarkably well, never showing the slightness sign of emotion on the golf course.
Moriya, who started the final round one shot behind leader Steven Lam and one ahead of Jordan Spieth, looked as though the party was over for her when, after a birdie 2 at the short second, she bogeyed the fourth and fifth, then double-bogeyed the sixth before "salvaging" a triple bogey 8 at the eighth by holing a pitch shot after she had driven out of bounds.
With the wind at its worst around that point, Moriya also bogeyed the ninth to be out in 42.At that point, Lam looked every inch a winner. Out in 38, he had moved three shots ahead of Spieth who had had a triple bogey 7 at the third.
Then it all changed on the inward half.
Lam stumbled to a triple bogey 8 at the 13th ... Spieth bogeyed the 11th, 13th and 15th ... while Moriya birdied the 12th and had only one more bogey, at the 15th.
After 13 holes the Thailand girl had drawn level with Lam in the lead at nine over par.Her birdie at the 17th put her in the lead to stay. She had a comfortable par at the testing par 5 last where Lam could not get thebirdie he needed and Spieth did get a birdie but that only put him in a tie for second place.
"I had a great putt for a birdie that rimmed out at the 17th. It was that kind of day for me. Moriya was a little bit lucky to chip in for an 8. If she hadn't done that, we could have had a play-off. But she deserved it. She's a great little player," said Spieth.
Harry Whittle, who is 15 on Sunday, finished the leading British & Irish player in ninth position on 232 with scores of 76, 75 and 81.
Welshman Sam Dix came joint 12th on 236 with 75, 81 and 80.
Scotland's Paul McPhee from Perth, a close-up third at the start of the day, was blown away to an 88, after earlier rounds of 76 and 73, for a joint 14th place finish on 237.
Ireland's Daniel Murphy came 17th on 238 with scores of 78, 77 and 83.
English Under-14 girls champion Hannah Marie Turland (TidworthGarrison) came joint 28th on 249 with three scores in the 80s.
+For whatever reason, the galleries, certainly on the exciting last afternoon, were the biggest I have ever seen at an R&A Junior Open and I have now covered four of them since 2002.

Hannah claims scalp of Scotland
cap Sammy at Alyth before losing
at 20th to No 4 seed Jill Meldrum

Abernethy youngster Hannah McCook claimed the notable scalp of fellow-Northerner Sammy Vass from Tain in the first round of the match-play stages of the Scottish Under-18 girls golf championship at Alyth Golf Club today.
Sammy was a member of the Scotland quartet who finished a disappointing 17th of 19 in last week’s European girls’ team championship at Murcar Links.
Hannah required three more shots than her opponent in the qualifying stages but in head-to-head golf it was a different story and the photographer’s daughter won by 4 and 3 to set up a meeting with the No 4 seed, Jill Meldrum (Dullatur).
Meldrum cut down the giant-killing Miss McCook but it was quite a match which could have gone either way before Jill won at the 20th.
Samantha Leslie (Murcar Links), who qualified in 11th position, was beaten by another player from the Aberdeen area, Mhairi Johnstone (Northern). Mhairi won by 2 and 1.
Johnstone is through to the last eight. She beat Rachel Watton (Mortonhall,), the No 6 seed by one hole in the second round.
Top seeds Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) and defending champion Carly Booth (Comrie) made progress through to Thursday morning's quarter-finals with comfortable wins.
RESULTS:
First round – K MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) bt N Taylor (Thornton) 7 and 6, G Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey) bt G Dryburgh (Beaconsfield) 4 and 2, R Wilson (Monifieth) bt C Easton (Dalmahoy) 5 and 4, E Briggs (Kilmacolm) bt N Qayum (Ranfurly Castle) 7 and 6, G Scanlan (Hamilton) bt L Allan (Kilbirnie Place) 6 and 5, A McKechin (Elderslie) bt K McIntosh (Broomieknowe) 7 and 6, H McCook (Abernethy) bt S Vass (Tain) 4 and 3, J Meldrum (Dullatur) bt A Summers (Panmure Barry) 6 and 5.
L Atkins (Minto) bt L Stevenson (Elie & Earlsferry) 8 and 7, E Mackay (Nairn Dunbar) bt G MacDonald (Craigielaw) 3 and 1, M Johnstone (Northern) bt S Leslie (Murcar Links) 2 and 1, R Watton (Mortonhall) bt L McGillivray (Banchory) 4 and 3, G Simpson (Murrayfield) bt J Graham (Southerness) 2 and 1, R McQueen (Troon Ladies) bt F Fullerton (Huntly) 1 hole, E Muirhead (Pitlochry) bt S Alexander (Deeside) 3 and 2, C Booth (Comrie) bt A Smith (Monifieth) 4 and 3.
Second round - K MacDonald bt Monteith 3 and 2, Wilson bt Briggs 1 hole, Scanlan bt McKechin at 20th, Meldrum bt McCook at 20th, Atkins bt Mackay 4 and 3, Johnstone bt Watton 1 hole, McQueen bt Simpson 6 and 4, Booth bt Muirhead 6 and 5.

THURSDAY MORNING'S QUARTER-FINALS
8.45 K MacDonald v R Wilson.
8.55 G Scanlan v J Meldrum.
9.05 L Atkins v M Johnstone.
9.15 McQueen v Booth.

The afternoon semi-finals will tee off at 1.30 and 1.40pm.

Friday morning's 18-hole final will start at 9am.

Annabel Niven wins Nordic

and Central European

Trophy at R&A Junior Open

Pipped for the Silver Category Trophy - girls' scratch over two rounds - 16-year-old Annabel Niven is certainly not returning to Scotland empty-handed after a fine performance in the R&A Junior Open at Hesketh Golf Club, Southport.

The Crieff Golf Club member, who lives at the village of Tibbermore near Perth, won the Nordic & Central European Trophy - presented by RBS - decided on net scores by boys AND girls from the appropriate geographical region.

Annabel, 16, had net scores of 73 and 70 for a total of 143 - one shot ahead of Laura Christiaens (Belgium) with 69 and 74 for 144.

It was Laura who pipped Annabel, pictured above in action at Hesketh by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), by one shot for the Silver Category Trophy, decided on scratch scores over 36 holes.

Frazer Chips in With Masters Victory

at Torwoodlee

By ROSS DUNCAN
Scottish Golf Union
St Medans youngster Frazer Pomfret and Minto’s Tara McTaggart were today’s winners in the south regional final of the Dunfermline Building Society Junior Masters at Torwoodlee in the Borders.
14-year-old Pomfret, whose handicap has plummeted to 13 after some great scoring this season, accumulated an impressive 39 point haul over the Torwoodlee course to clinch first place and a place in the Gleneagles final. Frazer, from Port William near Newton Stewart, was a model of consistency, scoring twenty points going out and nineteen points coming home to win by a stroke from Peebles ace Daniel Flannery.

McTaggart made it a week to remember for Minto Golf Club following her team mate Lesley Atkins victory in the Scottish Girls U14s Championship. The 12-year-old stormed to a tally of 35 points, including an excellent inward half scratch score of 40, to win the girls section. Having just missed out on a place at Gleneagles last year, the Borders girl was delighted to go one better twelve months later.

“It’s great to win having come so close to a place in the final last year. With Lesley’s win at the Glen last week its exciting times for the girls at Minto Golf Club.” said a jubilant McTaggart.

Six-handicapper Flannery will make his second consecutive appearance in the Dunfermline Building Society Junior Masters final after his 38 point stableford score saw him clinch the runners-up spot. Having finished in 5th place in last week’s Scottish Boys U14s Championship, Flannery continued his good form to pip Jedburgh’s Garry Hogg by a shot.

Galashiels rising star Simon Fairbairn, cut to a handicap of two after winning the Peebles Boys Open with a scratch 66 on Sunday, played his way into the final with 37 points, the same score as Eyemouth youngster James Maltman, son of club professional Craig who claimed the fifth and final spot at Gleneagles courtesy of the better inward half.

Connor Hogg (Jedburgh) was the unlucky player in sixth place. The 19-handicapper raced to the turn in 23 points, but fell away on the closing holes to miss out by virtue of the countback.

Dunfermline Building Society’s Richard McLeod, speaking at the presentation of prizes, said:

“Torwoodlee has been an excellent venue for the Junior Masters south final and there is certainly some good young talent coming through in the Borders. Dunfermline Building Society is proud to support grass roots golf and we look forward to seeing these players developing over the next few years.”

To view the report on the SGU website click on the link below. Hole-by-hole scoring also available on the website:

http://www.scottishgolfunion.org/Index.cfm?action=newsDetail&newsid=976

Kelsey MacDonald top seed for Scottish
girls match-play championship

Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) relegated defending champion Carly Booth (Comrie) to the No 2 seed role by finishing ahead of her in the qualifying rounds to the Scottish Under-18 girls championship at Alyth Golf Club today.
Scottish schoolgirls champion Kelsey, who was also the top qualifier at the Scottish women's amateur championship at Lossiemouth in May, had rounds of 74 for 148 - three ahead of Carly who scored 73 and 78.
New Scottish Under-14 champion Lesley Atkins (Minto) kept up her good run of form with scores of 75 and 77 for 152 and third place.
QUALIFIERS
148 K MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) 74 74.
151 C Booth (Comrie) 73 78.
152 L Atkins (Minto) 75 77.
155 J Meldrum (Dullatur) 80 75.
157 G Scanlan (Hamilton) 79 78.
158 E Briggs (Kilmacolm) 76 82, J Graham (Southerness) 79 79, R Watton (Mortonhall) 81 77.
161 R Wilson (Monifieth) 82 79, R McQueen (Troon Ladies) 80 81, S Leslie (Murcar Links) 77 84.
162 A McKechin (Elderslie) 81 81, S Vass (Tain) 81 81, G MacDonald (Craigielaw) 80 82.
163 E Muirhead (Pitlochry) 79 84, G Dryburgh (Beaconsfield) 79 84, S Alexander (Deeside) 84 79, G Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey) 80 83.
165 E MacKay (Nairn Dunbar) 84 81, H McCook (Abernethy) 83 82, K McIntosh (Broomieknowe) 78 87.
166 M Johnstone (Northern) 87 79, F Fullerton (Huntly) 84 82.
167 N Qayum (Ranfurly Castle) 83 84, C Easton (Dalmahoy) 85 82, G Simpson (Murrayfield) 80 87.
168 L McGillivray (Banchory) 83 85, L Allan (Kilbirnie Place) 83 85.
169 A Summers (Panmure Barry) 88 81, L Stevenson (Elie & Earlsferry) 87 82.
172 N Taylor (Thornton) 86 85, A Smith (Monifieth) 88 83.

MATCH-PLAY DRAW
FIRST ROUND
8.30
K MacDonald v Taylor
Dryburgh v Monteith.
Wilson v Easton.
Qayum v Briggs.
Scanlan v Allan.
9.05
McIntosh v McKechin
Vass v McCook.
Summers v Meldrum
Atkins v Stevenson.
9.33
E MacKay v G MacDonald
Leslie v Johnstone
McGillivary vWatton.
Graham v Simpson
Fullerton v McQueen
Alexander v Muirhead
10.15
Smith v Booth.
Second-round ties at 1.30 until 2.54.

Ricoh British Women's Open Qualifying

Auchterarder's Emily Ogilvy was the only Scot to survive the Ricoh Women's British Open pre-qualifier over the Blue Course at The Berkshire on Monday.

English amateur Charlotte Ellis headed the field with a stunning six under par 66.
Elliss carded eight birdies and two bogeys in testing conditions to finish five shots ahead of fellow English competitors Danielle Montgomery, Rachel Connor and Naomi Edwards.
Henrietta Zuel – formerly Brockway – shared fifth place with Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg on level par 72.

“It’s the first time I’ve been able to play without pain since cracking a rib in May,” said a delighted Ellis. “I’ve been doing a lot of short game practice recently so it’s good to see it’s paying off.”
A total of 25 competitors who finished on 75 or better progress to the Final Qualifying event to be staged at The Berkshire on July 28th where the top 18 finishers will earn places in the Ricoh Women’s British Open which starts at Sunningdale on July 31st.


Qualifiers
66 – C. Ellis (Eng)
71 – N. Edwards (Eng), D. Montgomery (Eng), R. Connor (Eng)
72 – P. Lindberg (Swe), H. Zuel (Eng)
73 – A. Rossi (It), J. Morley (Eng), M. Rigon (It), K. Smith (Eng), C. Blaney (USA), S. Nicholson (NZ), H. Kavanagh (Ire)
74 – Z. Kamasova (Svk), L. Sibille (Fr), C. Lundgreen (Nor), C. Byrnes (Aus), J. Pritchard (Wal), R.W.Thomas (Wal), C. Coughlan-Ryan (Ire), A. Highgate (Wal), K. Takanashi (Jpn),
75 – C. Douglass (Eng), E. Ogilvy (Sco), S. Heath (Eng), J. Lundberg (Swe), E. Houtsma (USA), E. Lyons (Eng), C. Alonso (Sp).

Scottish non-qualifiers:
76 J Wilson.
77 R Niven (am).
79 J Turner.
80 H MacRae.
81 K Walker.

SCOTTISH VETERANS LGA (Northern Division)
Alford meeting (CSS 71)
Tony Moffat Clock - Scratch - Sheila Reid (Aberdeen Ladies) 82.
Silver Handicap - Chris Wilson Quaich - Helen Edon (Banchory) (13) 69.
Bronze Handicap - Chris Wilson Quaich - Pam Forrest (Deeside) (28) 70.
Tony Moffat Bowl - Mary Crawford (Murcar Links) (22) 74.

R&A Junior Open Scoreboard
Hesketh Golf Club, Southport, Lancashire.
FIRST ROUND
Boys (Par 72)
72 Meen-Whee Kim (Korea), Jordan Spieth (USA).
73 Robert De Biase (Venezuela), Matias Dominguez (Chile), Steven Lam (Hong Kong).
74 Manfred Reiche (Costa Rica), Scott Vincent (Zimbabwe).
75 Mando Iwansaga (Guam), Sam Dix (Wales).
76 Harry Whittle (England), Frederik Hammer (Denmark), Paul McPhee (Scotland), Peter Valasek (Slovakia).
78 Chung-Hsin Wang (Taipei), Tanapol Vattanapisit (Thailand), Kentaro Toyota (Japan), Daniel Murphy (Ireland).
79 Adrian Rios (Panama), Andy Yang (Canada).
80 Miguel Meyer (South Africa), Glen De Waal (Namibia). Sebastian Schwind (Germany), Ignacio Rodriguez (Spain).
81 Shehzad Hafiz (Cayman Islands), Raphael Higuet (Belgium), Cyril Suk (Czech Rep).
82 Asaf Cohen (Israel), Subhy Hakin (Lebanon), Filippo Zucchetti (Italy), Ivan Charles Butler (Bahamas).
83 Juan Miuel Heredia (Ecuador), Joaquin Lolas (Peru), Grzegorz Sielinksi (Poland), Jonathon Newnham (Jamaica), Khaled Attieh (Saudi Arabia), Amaury Castro (Flanders).
84 Liang Zheng (China), Jay Kumar Patel (Kenya).
85 Thomas Mantovanini (Brazil), Daniel Zuluaga Ocampo (Colombia).
86 Carlos Solis (Mexico), Thomas Boffejon (Switzerland).
87 Hussein Mahfouz (Egypt), Dhanika De Silva (Sri Lanka), Dayne Moore (Zambia).
89 Aljaz Brumen (Slovenia), Matthew Smith (Botsawna).
91 Ali Hichri (Tunisia).
92 Jeham Al Kuwari (Qatar), John Vereist-Micallef (Malta), Egeti Liiv (Estonia), Musawat Zahedee (Bangladesh)..
94 Morris Ntege (Uganda).
95 Miguel Angel Jimenez junior (Spain).
96 Jeremy Abel (Luxembourg), Thomas Lolas (Greece), Roberts Vanags (Latvia)..
97 Jabulane Mabaso (Swaziland).Vilde (Latvia),
99 Enrique Walsh (El Salvador).
100 Roberto Vassalli (Nicaragua).

Girls (Par 72)
70 Mami Fukuda (Japan).
72 Moriya Jutanugarn (Thailand).
73 Laura Christiaens (Belgium), Maria Yacaman (Colombia).
75 Laetitia Beck (Israel), Kristen Park (USA).
76 Federica Maria Costantini (Italy), Daniela Ortiz (Mexico), Katharina (Soehnlein (Germany).
77 Katerina Krasova (Czech Rep).
78 Johanne Svendsen (Denmark), Annabel Niven (Scotland).
79 Jisoo Keel (Canada).
80 Lavery Kumar (India), Amanda Chin (Malaysia), Manuela Carbajo Re (Argentina).
81 Gudrun Bra Bjorgvinsdottir (Iceland), Stephanie Ho (Hong Kong).
82 Lil Kuuli (Estonia), Maleena Awn (Sri Lanka), Emma Davies (Wales).
83 Erika Nordblad (Luxembourg).
84 Eliza Vilde (Latvia), Daryl Conroy (Ireland)..
85 Connie Chen (South Africa), Hannah Marie Turland (England), Huang Zhiying (China).
86 Maryke Short (Namibia).
87 Carina Cuculiza (Nicaragua), Rachel Chebukati (Kenya), Vittoria Marley (Jamaica).
90 Ana Paula Costa (Brazil).
93 Tajbin Nikita Sarker (Bangladesh).
100 Dina Abou El Ela (Egypt).
101 Christina Laoudikou (Greece).

Japanese girl could be trail

blazer in R&A Junior Open

A girl has never yet won the R&A Junior Open championship trophy – but this week could seen Japanese +2 player Mami Fukuda blazing a trail.
Very late on a long day in the so-slow first round of the biennial tournament for Under-16s at sometimes windy but always overcast Hesketh Golf Club, Southport, Mami came in with a splendid score of two-under-par 70 , bogeying only the ninth, and birdieing the 10th, 12th and 18th.
That was two shots better than the leading boys, Jordan Speith from Dallas, Texas and Meen-Whee Kim from Korea.
The trophy goes to the player with the lowest 54-hole aggregate, whether boy or girl. It has always been boys who have won it up to now.
Speith, a 14-year-old from Dallas,with a handicap of +4, lived up to his high rating.
“I never been in Britain before and the weather’s nothing to write home about,” said Jordan whose golfing CV includes a string of American Junior Golf Association victories.
Make a note of the name for a Walker Cup match in about four years time – and an ageing Tiger Woods may have to look to his laurels about eight to 10 years down the line.
Spieth shared the boys’ leadership on par 72 covering the last in four under par in a round that took more than 5 1/2hr to complete.
“I wasn’t going anywhere round about the turn,” said Jordan. “I had bogeyed the third and then I three-putted three holes in a row from the eighth to be four over par.
“Then it all seemed to turn my way when I holed a five-footer to save par at the 11th. I think that was the first five-footer I had holed all day.”
Then Young Master Spieth’s round took off.
He birdied the 12th from eight feet, just missed an eagle 3 at the 494yd 13th, and birdied the 15th, 16th and 18th for three-under-par 34 home .. which should have been 33 and a leading 71.
“I was going strong by the time I got to the 17th which is a par-5 of just over 500 yards. I felt I could get an eagle of a birdie with a big drive but I made a mess of it and drove into the rough – and the rough is just a hack out in some places on this course.
“The hole cost me a bogey, my first since the 10th. But, I guess, after the hole I was in, I have to be happy to get out of jail with a par round.”
Sharing the boys’ pole position with the American is Meen-Whee Kim from Korea. He had halves of 36 and after a birdie at the 17th, he bogeyed the last.
Best of British on a long, long day was Welsh youngster Sam Dix, playing out of Ham Manor. Sam had a 75, despite double bogey 6s at the sixth and the 14th in halves of 36 and 39.
He birdied the seventh, eighth, 15th and 18th.
Harry Whittle (Woburn) and Paul McPhee (King James VI), both past winners of the Scottish Under-14s title, are both on four-over 76.
McPhee had a bad run of four bogeys on the trot from the fifth and was six over par after further shots shed at the 10th and 12th but he did a mini-Jordan Speith home run with six pars and birdies at the long 13th and long 17th for 37 home.
Whittle ran up a double bogey 6 via the knee-high rough at the fifth, having bogeyed the second. He dropped more shots at the 14th and 16th but his only birdie of the round, a pitch and a putt 4 at the last, saw him finish with a smile on his face.
Ireland’s Daniel Murphy, another finisher after 8pm, could feel pleased with a 78 although he would not have been happy with taking 40 blows for the inward half, including a bogey 6 at the last.
Mami Fukuda’s 70 put her right at the top overall and two shots clear also of the joint second girl, Moriya Jutanugarn, a scratch player from Thailand.
Crieff’s Annabel Niven, picture above by Cal Carson Golf Agency, was the top British and Irish girl competitor. She had birdies at the 17th and 18th in returning a 78 (39-39), which was a creditable effort, considering she bogeyed the first five holes.
Emma Davies from Wales had an 82 which included an eagle at the last in 43 home.
Ireland’s Daryl Conroy, who plays off 11, had an 84 with halves of 40 and 44.
English Under-13 girls’ champion Hannah Marie Turland (Tidworth Garrison) had a nightmare 85 including a triple bogey 8 at the seventh, a double bogey 7 at the 17th and double bogey 6s at the fifth and 16th in halves of 42 and 43.

CARLY HOT FAVOURITE TO RETAIN GIRLS' TITLE

Curtis Cup player Carly Booth from Comrie will be a red hot favourite to retain the Scottish Under-18 girls match-play championship at the end of the next four days - qualifying rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday - at Alyth Golf Club.
Still only 16, Carly, who plays off +3, won the title at Peterhead last year when she shattered the course record with a brilliant score of 64 in the first qualifying round for the match-play stages.
Kilmacolm's Megan Briggs, whom Carly beat by 2 and 1 in the final, is too old to challenge this year but Megan's younger sister, Eilidh, who has three of a handicap is in the field of 81.
It should be Carly against Scotland team-mate Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) in the final at Alyth but that was also the case 12 months ago when Kelsey lost to Megan Briggs in the quarter-finals. But Kelsey (+2) is the only other plus-rated player in the field and, given the luck of the draw, should make it through to the final this time.
Sammy Vass (Tain), who plays off three and was a member of the Scotland girls team in the European championship at Murcar Links last week, reached the semi-finals last year before losing to Megan Briggs.
There is a "mystery" competitor - Elle Sandak, a two-handicapper entered from Concord Sydney.

A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK IN R&A JUNIOR OPEN

European Tour player Miguel Angel Jimenez gives his 13-year-old son of the same name a hug of encouragement before he teed off in the first round of the R&A Junior Open at Hesketh Golf Club today.
The boy is playing under the special invitation category. He has a handicap of 12.
Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved)

Nine-stroke win by Janet Collingham

in Midlands senior stroke-play

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
Nottinghamshire’s Janet Collingham continued her impressive debut year in seniors’ golf with a nine-stroke win in her latest event. The Sherwood Forest golfer returned a level par total to leave the field trailing in the 36-hole senior English women’s Midlands regional stroke-play tournament at Worksop.
Already this season Janet has won the English senior strokeplay title and been selected to represent England in the European senior ladies’ team championship. Now her sights are set on winning a fourth British title.
Janet defeated the professionals to win the women’s British Open in 1978, when it was run simultaneously with the British stroke-play – which she also won. Then in 1987 she added the British amateur championship to her roll of honour.
Now, she’s working towards the British seniors’ championship which will be played in September in Northern Ireland. “I would really like to do well in that,” she said. In the Worksop tournament Janet had rounds of one-under 73 and 75 – helped by nine one-putt greens as she made her way to the turn in the second round.
“I didn’t feel that I played well but I had a charmed life on the greens. It was a bit of a shock when I two-putted the 10th!” she laughed. “I just couldn’t believe it. I have been putting badly all year and had just changed a few things. I seemed to stand over the putts – and couldn’t miss.
“I was pleased because in the past, if I hadn’t struck the ball well, I would have been muttering away. This time I just thought that I couldn’t do anything about it and that I had to struggle on – which I did.”
The runner-up was Berkshire’s Gabi Heuchel, who won this event last year. The honours in Division B went to Bedfordshire’s Elaine James, who won all three regional seniors events in 2006.
Leading scores
148 Janet Collingham (Sherwood Forest) 73 75.
157 Gabi Heuchel (East Berkshire) 77 80.
162 Hilary Smyth (Pannal) 83 79.
163 Laraine Hague (Rotherham) 81 82.
165 Deborah Backhouse (Aldeburgh) 84 81; Jo Ashmore (Barnham Broom) 82 83.
168 Eppie Zandvoort (Eaton, Norwich) 83 85; Carol Wild (Notts Ladies) 85 83; Pat West (Spalding) 90 78; Sue Pidgeon (Wrekin) 84 84.
Division B
174 Elaine James (Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands) 89 85.
176 Helen Cole (The Chase) 87 89.
177 Elizabeth Holbrook (Spalding) 87 90.
179 Teresa Taylor (The Club at Mapledurham) 90 89; Lesley Floyd (Clevedon) 88 91.
180 Sue Wild (Betchworth Park) 89 91.
181 Margaret Brooks (Mickleover) 92 89.
183 Sylvia Peach (Hockley) 89 94.
184 Sheila Marshall (Haywards Heath) 94 90

Tournament winner Vicky Hurst (left) and Pamela Feggans at the weekend Futures Tour event. Image by courtesy of Dave Andrews (all rights reserved).

Fistful of dollars for Vikki Laing

but Pamela Feggans nosedives

Vikki Laing achieved her best finish of the US Futures Tour season so far with joint fourth behind runaway winner Vicky Hurst in the Cigna Classic at Gillette Ridge Golf Club, Bloomfield, Connecticut on Sunday.
Vikki, from Musselburgh, had scores of 72, 73 and 74 for a total of three-over-par 219 over the par-73, 6401yd course. She earned $4,895.
In contrast, Pamela Feggans from Patna, Ayrshire had a nightmare final round of 86 in which everything that could go wring in a swirling wind, did go wrong. She had put herself in the picture with a second-round 71 after opening with a 72 but "lost it" over the last round. Finishing joint 64th of the 70 qualifiers, she earned $530 when she had the chance to pick up at least three times that sum.
Rookie Vicky Hurst won for the fourth time this season on the Futures Tour, having eight shots to spare with a seven-under-par total of 209, made up of 68, 73 and 68. Her final round in the wind was a class act. Her cheque was for $11,200.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
209 Vicky Hurst (US) 68 73 68 ($11,200).
217 Natalie Sheary (US) (am) 71 75 71.
218 Song Yi Choi (SKor) 72 73 74 ($8,000).
219 Vikki Laing (Sco) 72 73 74, Mindy Kim (US) 71 73 75 ($4,895 each).
Other total:
235 Pamela Feggans (Sco) 77 71 86 ($530).

Annabel Niven from Crieff, pictured with the blue Scottish blazer, at this evening's opening ceremony of the R&A Junior Open at Hesketh Golf Club, Lancashire. Annabel, like all the 108 competitors from 68 countries, received personally from defending Open champion Padraig Harrington a competitor's badge. See the full preview by switching over to www.scottishgolfview.com (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency, all rights reserved).

Suzann Pettersen wins AIB Irish
Open by five strokes

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
By BETHAN CUTLER
World number three Suzann Pettersen secured a five shot victory at the AIB Irish Open, supported by Fáilte Ireland, today
The Norwegian shot a final round five-under-par 67 to finish on an 11-under-par 205 total after three rounds at Portmarnock Links in Dublin.
Marianne Skarpnord, also from Norway, was second on six-under-par, which was her career best finish in four seasons on the Ladies European Tour. Pettersen began the final round one stroke ahead of New Zealand’s Lynn Brooky but a birdie to the Kiwi’s bogey at the second hole extended her lead to three.
The 27-year-old from Oslo knocked in three birdies on her front nine, with another three on the back nine. She carded just one bogey, at the 341 yard par four 14th hole where she hit her second shot into the front greenside bunker.
Of her six birdies, four were on the par fives.“It was windy and challenging so I’m very happy with my performance,” said Pettersen, who collected a first prize of €67,500 for her ninth career title, following her recent victory at May’s Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open.
“The wind was different today which made the course play totally different. It made some of the holes a little harder and the other way round so the par fives were very reachable. I tried to be patient and get my score on the par fives.
“If a birdie drops here or there then that’s a bonus. Today I just tried to get the job done. I tried to get into double figures and I managed to stay there.”
Skarpnord got within one stroke of Pettersen after an eagle at the 460-yard par five 12th hole where she played her approach shot to within 18 inches of the cup. She birdied the third and fourth holes going out, but bogeyed the 17th and 18th for a closing 70.
“Suzann is a great player. She plays so well it’s difficult to beat her. I tried but I didn’t make it,” said Skarpnord. “I’m happy I was so close. It is great for us and great for golf in Norway.”
New Zealand’s Lynn Brooky shot a final round 73 for third place on four-under-par, which was her best finish of the season.
Spain’s Tania Elosegui, first round leader Federica Piovano from Italy and Germany’s Martina Eberl shared fourth on three-under-par.
US Solheim Cup star Morgan Pressel got the hang of the greens on the final day and shot six birdies for a 66. She shared seventh with Wales’ Becky Brewerton, Spain’s Emma-Cabrera Bello and Sweden’s Maria Hjorth, all on two-under.
Claire Coughlan-Ryan, who was paired with Pressel, was the best of the two Irish players who made the cut. She holed her second shot for eagle at the second hole and shot 74 for a share of 43rd place."I had a lovely day. Morgan is a lovely girl, great to play with," said Coughlan-Ryan, who will head straight to the UK for Ricoh Women's British Open Pre-Qualifying at The Berkshire Golf Club.

Ladies European Tour Scoreboard
AIB LADIES IRISH OPEN
Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links, Portmarnock, Co. Dublin
FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
205 Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 69 69 67
210 Marianne Skarpnord (Nor) 71 69 70
212 Lynn t Brooky (Nzl) 73 66 73
213 Tania Elosegui (Spa) 76 70 67, Martina Eberl (Ger) 70 72 71, Federica Piovano (Ita) 67 78 68
214 Morgan Pressel (USA) 77 71 66, Maria Hjorth (Swe) 70 72 72, Becky Brewerton 70 74 70, Emma Cabrera Bello (Spa) 72 71 71
215 Lisa Sorensen (Den) 72 74 69, Caroline Afonso (Fra) 75 72 68, Lisa Hall 73 71 71, Melissa Reid 74 73 68
216 Carmen Alonso (Spa) 72 70 74
217 Kirsty S Taylor 74 70 73, Krista Ursula Wikstrom (Fin) 77 70 70, Ana Larreneta (Spa) 71 76 70, Melodie Bourdy (Fra) 76 71 70
218 Kiran Matharu 73 70 75, Virginine Lagoutte-Clement (Fra) 80 68 70, Georgina Simpson 72 76 70, Dana Lacey (Aus) 74 69 75, Anna Tybring (Swe) 74 71 73, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 75 71 72, Eva Steinberger (Aut) 74 75 69
219 Christine Hallstrom (Swe) 73 77 69, Trish Johnson (USA) 74 70 75
220 Julie Tvede (Den) 73 71 76, Leah Hart (Aus) 74 72 74, Karen-Margreth Juul (Den) 75 75 70, Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa) 71 77 72, Marina Arruti (Spa) 72 77 71, Samantha Head 78 72 70
221 Felicity Johnson 71 78 72, Anja Monke (Ger) 72 75 74, Jade Schaeffer (Fra) 71 78 72, Joanne Mills (Aus) 77 73 71, Beatriz Recari (Spa) 76 72 73, Maria Boden (Swe) 74 74 73, Danielle Masters 75 71 75, Marjet Van Der Graaff (Ned) 74 76 71
222 Bettina Hauert (Ger) 76 71 75, Claire Coughlan 78 70 74, Eleanor Pilgrim 71 75 76, Clare Queen 75 68 79
223 Mianne Bagger (Den) 75 75 73, Martina Gillen 74 75 74, Lee-Anne Pace (USA) 78 72 73, Rebecca Hudson 76 73 74
224 Karen Lunn (Aus) 75 75 74, Julie Forbes 75 75 74, Marta Prieto (Spa) 77 71 76, Cecillia Ekelundh (Swe) 73 74 77, Emma Zackrisson (Swe) 77 73 74
225 Olof Jonsdottir (Ice) 73 77 75
227 Lynn Kenny 76 74 77, Nikki Garrett (Aus) 75 75 77, Sarah Nicholson (Nzl) 75 75 77
228 Anna Knutson (Swe) 76 74 78

LPGA Tour Scoreboard
JAMIE FARR OWENS CORNING CLASSIC
Highland Meadows GC, Sylvania, Ohio
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 213 (3 x 71)
195 Paula Creamer 60 65 70
199 Eun Hee Ji (Kor) 65 66 68
202 Rachel Hetherington (Aus) 68 67 67
203 Karrie Webb (Aus) 70 71 62, Shanshan Feng (Chn) 69 70 64
204 Alena Sharp 69 67 68, Brittany Lincicome 70 67 67, Kristy McPherson 74 66 64
205 Ji-Young Oh (Kor) 70 68 67, Momoko Ueda (Jpn) 68 70 67, Stacy Lewis 70 66 69, Katie Futcher 69 69 67, Hye Jung Choi (Kor) 67 68 70, Janice Moodie (Sco) 69 67 69
206 Jennifer Rosales (Phi) 70 67 69, Eunjung Yi (Kor) 69 70 67, Angela Stanford 69 70 67, Moira Dunn 67 70 69, Nicole Castrale 70 69 67
207 Karen Stupples (Eng) 70 68 69, Young Kim (Kor) 66 70 71, Jin Joo Hong (Kor) 70 69 68, Heather Daly-Donofrio 72 66 69, Katherine Hull (Aus) 69 68 70
208 Sherri Turner 71 69 68, Catriona Matthew (Sco) 68 70 70, Na Ri Kim (Kor) 68 72 68, Paige Mackenzie 72 66 70
209 Heather Young 70 68 71, Virada Nirapathpongporn (Tha) 69 70 70, Gloria Park (Kor) 65 73 71, Se Ri Pak (Kor) 68 69 72, Meena Lee (Kor) 69 69 71, Sarah Lee 70 70 69
210 Stacy Prammanasudh 69 70 71, Sun Young Yoo (Kor) 69 71 70, Yu Ping Lin (Tai) 70 71 69, Mikaela Parmlid (Swe) 68 72 70, Amy Yang 73 68 69, Charlotte Mayorkas 72 70 68, Diana D'Alessio 67 72 71
211 Giulia Sergas (Ita) 72 65 74, Sarah Jane Kenyon 70 70 71, Nancy Scranton 73 69 69
212 Hannah Jun 71 71 70, Brandie Burton 71 68 73, Anna Grzebien 72 69 71, Grace Park (Kor) 72 69 71, Mi-Hyun Kim (Kor) 69 70 73, Soo-Yun Kang (Kor) 69 70 73, Jimin Jeong 73 69 70, Eva Dahllof (Swe) 66 73 73, Laura Diaz 71 68 73
213 In Kyung Kim (Kor) 71 71 71, Kim Hall 71 71 71, Wendy Ward 68 73 72, Sandra Gal (Ger) 75 67 71, Michelle null Wie 70 72 71, Kyeong Eun Bae (Kor) 70 72 71, Kate Golden 71 71 71, Carin Koch (Swe) 71 71 71, Meaghan Francella 70 71 72, Mhairi McKay (Sco) 72 68 73, Sherri Steinhauer 71 69 73, Carolina Llano (Col) 68 74 71
214 Wendy Doolan (Aus) 69 72 73, Lorie Kane (Can) 69 72 73, Johanna Head (Eng) 72 68 74, Sophie Gustafson (Swe) 70 71 73, Kris Tschetter 72 70 72, Seo-Jae Lee 72 70 72
215 Reilley Rankin 71 68 76
216 Julieta Granada (Par) 73 68 75
217 Michelle Ellis 70 72 75, Sarah Lynn Sargent 71 71 75, Beth Bader 70 70 77, Allison Fouch 73 68 76
218 Marisa Baena 71 71 76

SCOTS GIRLS FINISH ON A WINNING NOTE
AS SWEDES COLLECT THREE EURO TITLES

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
If any team can end the week on a high with an official finish of 17th in a field of 19 teams, then Scotland did in the European girls’ team golf championship at Murcar Links on Saturday.
The Scots, whose start-of-the-week stroke-play total was so poor they failed to make either Flight 1 or 2 of the match-play, followed up their Friday win over Latvia by beating Iceland just as convincingly 4 ½- ½ on another day of high winds and rain.
Carly Booth (Comrie) and Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) started the ball rolling with a 4 and 3 win in the foursomes and Sammy Vass (Tain) and Rebecca Wilson (Monifieth) made it 2-0 by winning their foursome 4 and 3.
In the singles Booth (6 and 4) and MacDonald (5-4) were clear-cut winners while Wilson halved her tie.
Sweden, by beating England 4 ½- 1/2 in the final, took the European girls' team championship for the third year in a row.
It was a good week for Swedish amateur golf. On Saturday, they also won the European boys’ title in Slovenia and the European women’s team championship on home turf in Sweden.
England were handicapped in the girls’ final at Murcar Links after one of their players, Alex Peters, woke up on Saturday morning with a very stiff neck which ruled her out of the singles.
In the European women’s team championship at Stenungsund Golf Club, Sweden, Scotland won the seventh place play-0ff against Austria 4-1.
Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) and Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) won the only foursomes tie by 2 and 1.
Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) (4 and 3), Laura Murray (Alford) (2 holes) and Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) ( 2 holes) won the first three singles to extend the lead to a decisive 4-0 before Scottish champion Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) lost the last singles by 4 and 3.
Collated results:
EUROPEAN WOMEN’S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Stenungsund GC, Sweden.
Championship Flight
Final: Sweden 5 ½, Netherlands 1 ½.
3rd place: Spain 6, England 1.
5th place: Denmark 4, France 3.
7th place: Scotland 4, Austria 1.
Flight 2
9th place: Germany 4, Norway 1.
11th place: Wales 4, Switzerland 1.
13th place: Italy 3, Belgium 2.
15th place: Ireland 3, Finland 2.

EUROPEAN GIRLS’ TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Murcar Links, Aberdeen
Championship Flight

Final: Sweden 4 ½, England ½.
3rd place: Netherlands 4, Switzerland 1.
5th place: Denmark 4 ½, Germany ½.
7th place: Czech Republic 3, Ireland 2.
Flight 2
9th place: France 3 ½, Spain 1 ½.
11th place: Finland 3, Italy 2.
13th place: Belgium 4, Austria 1.
15th place: Norway 3, Wales 3.
Flight 3
17th place: Scotland 4 ½, Iceland 1 /2.
19th place: Latvia.

EUROPEAN BOYS’ TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Bled GC, Slovenia
Championship Flight
Final: Sweden 4 ½, Norway 2 ½.
3rd place: England 5, Portugal 0.
5th place: Denmark 3 ½, Italy 1 ½.
7th place: Ireland 4, Germany 1.
Flight 2
9th place: France 3 ½, Switzerland 1 ½.
11th place: Netherlands 3 ½, Scotland 1 ½.
13th place: Spain 3, Wales 3.
15th place: Belgium 3, Finland 2.
Flight 3:
17th place: Slovenia 5, Poland 0.
19th place Austria 3, Iceland 2.

Ladies European Tour Scoreboard
AIB LADIES IRISH OPEN
Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links, Portmarnock, Co. Dublin
Par 144 (2 x 72)
138 Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 69 69
139 Lynn t Brooky (Nzl) 73 66
140 Marianne Skarpnord (Nor) 71 69
142 Martina Eberl (Ger) 70 72, Maria Hjorth (Swe) 70 72, Carmen Alonso (Spa) 72 70
143 Kiran Matharu 73 70, Dana Lacey (Aus) 74 69, Clare Queen 75 68, Emma Cabrera Bello (Spa) 72 71
144 Julie Tvede (Den) 73 71, Kirsty S Taylor 74 70, Lisa Hall 73 71, Becky Brewerton 70 74, Trish Johnson 74 70
145 Anna Tybring (Swe) 74 71, Federica Piovano (Ita) 67 78
146 Lisa Sorensen (Den) 72 74, Leah Hart (Aus) 74 72, Lydia Hall 72 74, Tania Elosegui (Spa) 76 70, Danielle Mastergs 75 71, Eleanor Pilgrim 71 75, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 75 71
147 Caroline Afonso (Fra) 75 72, Krista Ursula Wikstrom (Fin) 77 70, Bettina Hauert (Ger) 76 71, Anja Monke (Ger) 72 75, Melissa Reid 74 73, Ana Larreneta (Spa) 71 76, Cecillia Ekelundh (Swe) 73 74, Melodie Bourdy (Fra) 76 71
148 Beatriz Recari (Spa) 76 72, Morgan Pressel (USA) 77 71, Maria Boden (Swe) 74 74, Virginine Lagoutte-Clement (Fra) 80 68, Georgina Simpson 72 76, Marta Prieto (Spa) 77 71, Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa) 71 77, Claire Coughlan 78 70
149 Felicity Johnson 71 78, Martina Gillen 74 75, Jade Schaeffer (Fra) 71 78, Marina Arruti (Spa) 72 77, Rebecca Hudson 76 73, Eva Steinberger (Aut) 74 75
150 Mianne Bagger (Den) 75 75, Karen Lunn (Aus) 75 75, Julie Forbes 75 75, Olof Jonsdottir (Ice) 73 77, Christine Hallstrom (Swe) 73 77, Nikki Garrett (Aus) 75 75, Lee-Anne Pace (USA) 78 72, Marjet Van Der Graaff (Ned) 74 76, Anna Knutson (Swe) 76 74, Joanne Mills (Aus) 77 73, Karen-Margreth Juul (Den) 75 75, Lynn Kenny 76 74, Emma Zackrisson (Swe) 77 73, Samantha Head 78 72, Sarah Nicholson (Nzl) 75 75
MISSED THE CUT
151 Rachel Bell 76 75, Paula Marti (Spa) 77 74, Nina Reis (Swe) 78 73, Sophie Sandolo (Ita) 72 79, Nicole Gergely (Aut) 79 72, Louise Stahle (Swe) 76 75, Lara Tadiotto (Bel) 72 79, Kaisa Ruuttila (Fin) 70 81, Iben Tinning (Den) 74 77, Nathalie David-Mila (Fra) 78 73, Henrietta Zuel 74 77, Amanda Moltke-Leth (Den) 73 78
152 Frances Bondad (Aus) 78 74, Cherie Byrnes (Aus) 73 79, Joanne Morley 74 78, Stefanie Michl (Aut) 77 75, Isabella Maconi (Ita) 78 74, Sofia Renell (Swe) 74 78, Jenna Wilson 74 78, Ana-Belen Sanchez (Spa) 78 74, Natascha Fink (Aut) 75 77, Jehanne Jail (Fra) 73 79, Ludivine Kreutz (Fra) 79 73, Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha) 80 72, Johanna Westerberg (Swe) 81 71
153 Anna Rossi (Ita) 78 75, Laurette Maritz (Rsa) 79 74, Julie Greciet (Fra) 78 75, Elisabeth Esterl (Ger) 72 81, Sophie Walker 76 77, Anne Hansen (Den) 80 73, Suzanne O'Brien 83 70, Margherita Rigon (Ita) 73 80
154 Stephanie Arricau (Fra) 78 76, Hazel Kavanagh 79 75, Laura Terebey (USA) 77 77, Anna-Lise Caudal (Fra) 80 74, Laura Cabanillas Gomez (Spa) 78 76, Stefania Croce (Ita) 80 74
155 Kate Combes (Aus) 81 74, Veronica Zorzi (Ita) 77 78
156 Lora Fairclough 80 76, Lotta Maria Wahlin (Swe) 76 80, Natalie Claire Booth 75 81, Kathryn Imrie 75 81, Itziar Elguezabal (Spa) 78 78
157 Elin Ohlsson (Swe) 75 82, Rebecca Coakley 78 79, Aedin Murphy 82 75, Bronwyn Mullins-Lane (Aus) 77 80
158 Rui Yokomine (Jpn) 78 80, Lill Saether (Nor) 80 78, Nora Angehrn (Swi) 74 84, Diana Luna (Ita) 80 78, Cassandra Kirkland (Fra) 81 77
159 Asa Gottmo (Swe) 83 76, Florence Luscher (Swi) 82 77
160 Joanne Clingan 82 78
162 Camille Fallay (Fra) 79 83
164 Katharina Schallenberg (Ger) 82 82
165 Mette Buus (Den) 79 86
167 Marian Riordan 83 84, Elizabeth McKinnon (Swe) 85 82

VIKKI AND PAMELA SURVIVE CUT
IN FUTURES TOUR EVENT

Vikki Laing and Pamela Feggans made the 36-hole cut comfortably in the Cigna Classic US Futures Tour event at Gillette Ridge Golf Club, Bloomfield, Connecticut.
Vikki went into the third and final round in joint ninth place after rounds of 72 and 73 for a one-over-par total of 145 over the 6,401yd, par-72 course.
Pamela pulled herself up out of the danger zone by following up a 77 with a one-under 71 for 148 and a joint 15th position. Brenda McLarnon from Belfast, however, was not one of the 70 players with totals of 10-over 154 who survive the cut. Brenda scored 77 and 80 for 157.
South Korean M J Hur led the field by three strokes with 68 and 73 for 139.
LEADING SCORES
139 M J Hur (South Korea) 68 73.
142 Tanya Dergal (Mexico) 74 68, Sin Ah Ham (US) 72 70.
143 Lisa Ferrero (US) 72 71, Brandi Jackson (US) 71 72, Kristina Tucker (Sweden) 69 74, Janell Howland (US) 68 75.
144 Mindy Kim (US) 71 73.
145 Vikki Laing (Scotland) 72 73, Song Yi Choi (South Korea) 71 74.
Other qualifier:
148 Pamela Feggans (Scotland) 77 71.
Non-qualifier
157 Brenda McLarnon (Northern Ireland) 77 80.