EURO GIRLS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

KELSEY STORMS BACK FROM NIGHTMARE

AS SCOTS GIRLS QUALIFY FOR TOP FLIGHT

Nairn Dunbar junior member Kelsey MacDonald bounced back from a nightmare 85 in the first qualifying round to improve by 11 shots today in the European girls’ team golf championship at Esbjerg Golf Club, Denmark.

Kelsey birdied the first, third, fifth and ninth in a superlative 33 to the turn. Which was just as well because the 15-year-old Northern Counties women’s champion still has to come to terms with the second nine which cost her 41 shots in the second round.

But a 74 was still a fine effort and, within the context of the Scottish team effort, was beaten only by a 72 from Comrie’s Carly Booth.

Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) was as steady as ever with a 75 and she and Carly Booth had the lowest Scottish aggregate (147) for the 36-hole stroke-play test.

Roseanne Niven (Crieff) weighed in with a 76, so it was a very good “grouping” by the Scots – all four scores ranging from 72 to 76.

Scotland (445) qualified in fifth place behind Spain (427) and will play Denmark, fourth with 444, in the first round of the championship flight match-play.

It should be a very tight match. The winners will meet either Spain of eighth qualifiers Netherlands in the semi-finals.

England, Wales and Ireland all failed to make the top eight qualifiers.

LEADERBOARD

TOP FLIGHT QUALIFIERS

427 Spain.

432 Sweden.

440 Germany.

444 Denmark.

445 Scotland.

449 Belgium, France.

452 Netherlands.

Draw: Spain v Netherlands, Scotland v Denmark, Germany v Belgium, France v Sweden.

SCOTLAND SCORES

147 Krystle Caithness 72 75, Carly Booth 75 72.

153 Roseanne Niven 77 76.

159 Kelsey MacDonald 85 74.

OTHER TEAM SCORES:

455 Norway.

457 England.

458 Italy.

459 Sweden.

470 Wales.

476 Finland.

477 Czech Republic.

479 Ireland.

485 Iceland.

487 Latvia.