SCOTTISH WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
LOUISE KENNEY FINDS THE MISSING TOUCH
TO LEAD BY FOUR SHOTS AT PRESTWICK
Iowa State University student Louise Kenney today rediscovered the secret of scoring well when she least expected it - in the first qualifying round of the Scottish women's amateur championship with a strong westerly wind blowing over the ancient and awesome Prestwick links.
With the clubhouse awash with tears and tales of horror from out of bounds excursions, bottomless bunkers shored up with railway sleepers, and rough with a capital "R," 21-year-old Louise came sailing in with a two-under-par 73 (35-38).
The Pitreavie player, a former Scottish girls champion, was one of only seven players to break 80 over the club women's course extended for the tournament by more than 400yd to just under 6,000yd by the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association.
Louise led at the end of the first day by four shots from Curtis Cup first reserve, 23-year-old Lynn Kenny (Stirling University) from Dunblane.
"I played well all season on the American college circuit but just didn't get the scores I felt I deserved," she said later. "So there was no way I expected to score two under par over a course like this. With the wind, it was tough going at times but, for the first time in many months, everything fell into place for me.
"I birded the second, third, eighth and ninth and was two under par at the turn, having bogeyed the fifth and sixth. Then I got nine straight pars on the inward half. The only time I nearly dropped a shot coming home was at the 17th where I landed in the gorse with my second shot. But I hacked out on to the green and holed an 18ft putt for a par."
Lynn Kenny was also mildly surprised to return a 77, which was a very respectable score at two over par.
"I played sloppy golf out there but I scrambled well. It seemed to be a cross wind at every hole, going out and coming in, and I struggled to judge the strength of shots from about the 50 or 60yd range," said Lynn.
"It's the kind of course that I think you have to play a lot of times before you really know it and begin to play it well consistently. Most of the field, like me, have played one practice round before going straight in at the deep end."
Miss Kenny, with the Scottish veteran women's champion as her caddie - her mother, Cecilia, birdied the 13th and 16th to cancel out two of the bogeys she had at the fifth, ninth, 11th and 18th in halves of 39 and 38.
Kelsey Macdonald (Nairn Dunbar), the youngest and smallest competitor in the field, had a championship debut to remember with a 79 to share third place with the far more experienced Fiona Lockhart (St Regulus), Pam Mackay (Royal Dornoch) and Heather MacRae (Dunblane), just back from California where she plays for the San Diego State University team.
Arguably the most surprising score of the day - next to Louise Kenney's 73 - was a 14-over-par 89 by Curtis Cup reserve Clare Queen (Strathclyde University).
"I had three 7s on my cards, one triple bogey and three double bogeys in all. I have nightmare halves of 46 and 43. It was just one of those days when everything went wrong. I was out of bounds twice," said the former British girls match-play and stroke-play champion from Drumpellier..
The 32 players with the lowest 36-hole aggregates at the end of the second qualifying round will go forward to the match-play stages.
Golf scores and copy at end of message
SCOREBOARD AT 5PM
SCOTTISH WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Prestwick GC
First qualifying round
73 Louise Kenney (Pitreavie).
77 Lynn Kenny (Stirling Univ).
78 C Gruber (Royal Dornoch).
79 F Lockhart (St Regulus), P Mackay (Royal Dornoch), H MacRae (Dunblane New), K MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar).
80 S Bishop (Windyhill), K Brotherton (Tulliallan), A Laing (Vale of Leven).
81 S Wood (Aberdeen Ladies), A Lowe (Royal Birkdale), J Carthew (Ladybank), P Feggans (Doon Valley).
82 M Pow (Selkirk), C Taylor (Troon Ladies).
83 P Williamson (Baberton), K O'Sullivan (Cochrane Castle), E Ogilvy (Muckhart), F Finney (Great Hadham), C Wilson (Murcar).
84 T Laughland (Mortonhall), L Mackay (Royal Dornoch), N Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh), A F Ramsay (Kirriemuir).
85 K Caithness (St Regulus), K Milne (Dunfermline), A Shamash (Kirkcudbright), J Wilson (Strathaven).
86 F Hay (Deeside), D Pocock (Murcar), J Anderson (Hawick), L McLardy (Murcar), E Moffat (St Regulus), C Hargan (Prestonfield).
87 C McNeill (Cawder), K Blackwood (Glencorse), D Dewar (Monifieth), S Raitt (Forfar), L Walker (Nairn Dunbar), F Gilbert (Carnoustie Ladies).
88 H Anderson (Troon Ladies), F De Vries (St Rule), B Murphy (Prestonfield), J Harrison (Cruden Bay), J Flucker (Craigmillar Park), G Lockhart (Barassie), C MacDonald (Gullane).
89 C Queen (Strathclyde Univ), H Faulds (Douglas Park).
91 A Davies (Bothwell Castle), A Thompson (Loudoun Gowf), J Jenkins (Ralston), A Young (Torrance House), C Malcolm (Prestwick St Cuthbert)
92 S Wilson (Murcar), C Whyte (Windyhill), F Macgregor (Thornhill), R Brown (Lothianburn).
93 J Louden (Nairn), K Wells (Dumfries & Co), L Fraser (Kingsknowe), E Koehone (Loudoun Gowf).
95 K Ballantyne (Craigmillar Park).
96 L Terry (Cruden Bay), M Skinner (Gourock).
98 L Brabender (Greenock).
101 W Nicholson (Broomieknowe).
104 A Hanson (Glencorse).
TO LEAD BY FOUR SHOTS AT PRESTWICK
Iowa State University student Louise Kenney today rediscovered the secret of scoring well when she least expected it - in the first qualifying round of the Scottish women's amateur championship with a strong westerly wind blowing over the ancient and awesome Prestwick links.
With the clubhouse awash with tears and tales of horror from out of bounds excursions, bottomless bunkers shored up with railway sleepers, and rough with a capital "R," 21-year-old Louise came sailing in with a two-under-par 73 (35-38).
The Pitreavie player, a former Scottish girls champion, was one of only seven players to break 80 over the club women's course extended for the tournament by more than 400yd to just under 6,000yd by the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association.
Louise led at the end of the first day by four shots from Curtis Cup first reserve, 23-year-old Lynn Kenny (Stirling University) from Dunblane.
"I played well all season on the American college circuit but just didn't get the scores I felt I deserved," she said later. "So there was no way I expected to score two under par over a course like this. With the wind, it was tough going at times but, for the first time in many months, everything fell into place for me.
"I birded the second, third, eighth and ninth and was two under par at the turn, having bogeyed the fifth and sixth. Then I got nine straight pars on the inward half. The only time I nearly dropped a shot coming home was at the 17th where I landed in the gorse with my second shot. But I hacked out on to the green and holed an 18ft putt for a par."
Lynn Kenny was also mildly surprised to return a 77, which was a very respectable score at two over par.
"I played sloppy golf out there but I scrambled well. It seemed to be a cross wind at every hole, going out and coming in, and I struggled to judge the strength of shots from about the 50 or 60yd range," said Lynn.
"It's the kind of course that I think you have to play a lot of times before you really know it and begin to play it well consistently. Most of the field, like me, have played one practice round before going straight in at the deep end."
Miss Kenny, with the Scottish veteran women's champion as her caddie - her mother, Cecilia, birdied the 13th and 16th to cancel out two of the bogeys she had at the fifth, ninth, 11th and 18th in halves of 39 and 38.
Kelsey Macdonald (Nairn Dunbar), the youngest and smallest competitor in the field, had a championship debut to remember with a 79 to share third place with the far more experienced Fiona Lockhart (St Regulus), Pam Mackay (Royal Dornoch) and Heather MacRae (Dunblane), just back from California where she plays for the San Diego State University team.
Arguably the most surprising score of the day - next to Louise Kenney's 73 - was a 14-over-par 89 by Curtis Cup reserve Clare Queen (Strathclyde University).
"I had three 7s on my cards, one triple bogey and three double bogeys in all. I have nightmare halves of 46 and 43. It was just one of those days when everything went wrong. I was out of bounds twice," said the former British girls match-play and stroke-play champion from Drumpellier..
The 32 players with the lowest 36-hole aggregates at the end of the second qualifying round will go forward to the match-play stages.
Golf scores and copy at end of message
SCOREBOARD AT 5PM
SCOTTISH WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Prestwick GC
First qualifying round
73 Louise Kenney (Pitreavie).
77 Lynn Kenny (Stirling Univ).
78 C Gruber (Royal Dornoch).
79 F Lockhart (St Regulus), P Mackay (Royal Dornoch), H MacRae (Dunblane New), K MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar).
80 S Bishop (Windyhill), K Brotherton (Tulliallan), A Laing (Vale of Leven).
81 S Wood (Aberdeen Ladies), A Lowe (Royal Birkdale), J Carthew (Ladybank), P Feggans (Doon Valley).
82 M Pow (Selkirk), C Taylor (Troon Ladies).
83 P Williamson (Baberton), K O'Sullivan (Cochrane Castle), E Ogilvy (Muckhart), F Finney (Great Hadham), C Wilson (Murcar).
84 T Laughland (Mortonhall), L Mackay (Royal Dornoch), N Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh), A F Ramsay (Kirriemuir).
85 K Caithness (St Regulus), K Milne (Dunfermline), A Shamash (Kirkcudbright), J Wilson (Strathaven).
86 F Hay (Deeside), D Pocock (Murcar), J Anderson (Hawick), L McLardy (Murcar), E Moffat (St Regulus), C Hargan (Prestonfield).
87 C McNeill (Cawder), K Blackwood (Glencorse), D Dewar (Monifieth), S Raitt (Forfar), L Walker (Nairn Dunbar), F Gilbert (Carnoustie Ladies).
88 H Anderson (Troon Ladies), F De Vries (St Rule), B Murphy (Prestonfield), J Harrison (Cruden Bay), J Flucker (Craigmillar Park), G Lockhart (Barassie), C MacDonald (Gullane).
89 C Queen (Strathclyde Univ), H Faulds (Douglas Park).
91 A Davies (Bothwell Castle), A Thompson (Loudoun Gowf), J Jenkins (Ralston), A Young (Torrance House), C Malcolm (Prestwick St Cuthbert)
92 S Wilson (Murcar), C Whyte (Windyhill), F Macgregor (Thornhill), R Brown (Lothianburn).
93 J Louden (Nairn), K Wells (Dumfries & Co), L Fraser (Kingsknowe), E Koehone (Loudoun Gowf).
95 K Ballantyne (Craigmillar Park).
96 L Terry (Cruden Bay), M Skinner (Gourock).
98 L Brabender (Greenock).
101 W Nicholson (Broomieknowe).
104 A Hanson (Glencorse).
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