Spain win gold medals in Italy, England finish third

SCOTLAND BEAT AUSTRIA TO FINISH

11th IN EUROPEAN WOMEN'S

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Scotland beat Austria in their final match to finish 11th of the 16 competing countries in the European women's team championship at Castelconturbia Golf Club, Italy today.
Spain, the favourites with their strength in depth line-up, beat Sweden 5 1/2-1 1/2 in the final to win the gold medals.
England beat Germany 4-3 to win the third-placed bronze medals.
Wales finished on a high with a 5-0 win over Belgium to earn seventh place ranking in the championship flight
Ireland lost 3-2 to France to finish 10th.
Scotland change their foursomes pairing, pairing Emily Ogilvy with Rachael Livingstone – and the move worked. They won by 6 and 4.
In the singles, Jenna Wilson lost the top tie by one hole but Michele Thomson (one-hole), pictured above, and Roseanne Niven (4 and 3) put the Scots back on the winning course. Heather MacRae halved the final singles.
Today's results and final placings:

CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT

Final - SPAIN 5 1/2, SWEDEN 1 1/2.

Foursomes: C Ciganda & A Munoz bt K Kinnerud & P Lindberg 6 and 5; E Cabrera & B Mozo lost to A Nordqvist & C Westrup 3 and 1 (1-1).
Singles: A Munoz bt Nordqvist 2 and 1, Moxo bt C Lennarth 3 and 2, A Felgueroso bt Lindberg 5 and 4, Cambrera halved with Kinnerud, Ciganda bt Westrup 4 and 3 (4 ½- ½ )

3rd place: ENGLAND 4, GERMANY 3
Foursomes: N Edwards & K Smith lost to S Kirchmayr & D Becker 1 hole; M Reid & J Ewart bt S Gal & T Hoffmeister 7 and 6 (1-1).
Singles: Ewart beat K Schallenberg 4 and 3, Smith lost to Gal 4 and 3,. F Parker lost to Becker 1 hole,. R Bell bt Kichmayr 3 and 2, Reid bt S Doering 2 and 1 (3-2).

5th place: ITALY 3 ½, FINLAND 1 ½.

7th place: WALES 5, BELGIUM 0.
Foursome: E Guery & V Gevers lost to J Nicholson & L Hall 3 and 1 (1-0).
Singles: B Loucks bt T Luccioli 6 and 5, S Hassan bt B Toumpsin 3 and 1, T Davies bt L G-Escallan 7 and 5, B Harries bt L Herman 2 holes (4-0).

SECOND FLIGHT

9th place: FRANCE 3, IRELAND 2
Foursome: M Bazin de Jessey & V Derrey bt D Smith & M Morrin 4 and 3 (1-0).
Singles: C Afonso bt T Delaney 2 and 1, A De Charne lost to M Riordan 3 and 2, E Giraud bt K Delaney at 19thy, A Vilatte lost to D McVeigh 2 holes (2-2).

11th place: SCOTLAND 3 ½, AUSTRIA 1 ½
Foursome: R Livingstone & E Ogilvy bt N Muehl & C Wolf 6 and 4 (1-0).
Singles: J Wilson lost to M Hochwimmer 1 hole, M Thomson bt S Poelder 1 hole, R Niven bt C Gugler 4 and 3, H MacRae halved with S Endstrasser (2 ½-1 ½)

13th place: NETHERLANDS 5, SLOVENIA 0.

15th place: SWITZERLAND 3, NORWAY 2.

Sweden beat Netherlands in European girls' team final

SCOTLAND GIRLS FINISH WITH A WIN IN NORWAY

Scotland beat Austria 2-1 in their final match of a disappointing campaign in the European girls’ team golf championship at Oslo Golf Club, Norway.
The Scots failed to qualify for the championship match-play flight earlier in the week and ended with 13th place out of 19 countries in the final rankling.
The championship was disrupted by heavy rain and thunderstorms throughout – the singles ties on one afternoon were reduced to only nine holes after 90min playing time was lost in the morning due to bad weather.
The weather continued to make an impact on the final day. The threat of more severe storms prompted the organisers to cut the matches to one foursomes and two singles.
The ploy paid off when they were successful in getting the girls round in the dry and before the rain started again, soon after play finished.
Carly Booth (Comrie) and Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) lost the only foursome today by 3 and 2 but Scotland won the match overall, thanks to victories in the two singles by Sally Watson (Elie & Earlsferry), by a resounding 8 and 7, and Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) by 4 and 3.
Sweden beat Netherland 2-1 in the final to win the gold medals.
England were shocked 3-0 by the Czech Republic, who had also beaten Scotland on Thursday, and finished 10th.
Ireland lost 2 1/2- 1/2 to Italy and were placed 12th.
Wales, who did not have a match on the last day were ranked last of the 19 teams.
Next year's European girls' championship will be hosted by Murcar Links Golf Club, Aberdeen.
Results
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
Final – Sweden 2, Netherlands 1.
3rd place – Denmark 2, Germany 1.
5th place – Spain 2 ½, France ½.
7th place – Belgium 2 ½, Norway ½.

SECOND FLIGHT
9th place – CZECH REPUBLIC 3, ENGLAND 0.
Foursome (1-0): Bartonova & Jantova bt Givens & Barwood 1 hole.
Singles (2-0): Kordea bt Connor 1 hole, Ruzikova bt Tidy 5 and 4.

11th place – ITALY 2 1/2, IRELAND 1/2
Foursome (1-0): L Maguire & L Maguire lost to Carulli & Brizzolari 4 and 2.
Singles (1/2-2 1/2): Snelling lost to Molinaro 9 and 7, Breadshaw halved with Knight.

13th place – SCOTLAND 2, AUSTRIA 1
Foursome (1-0): Wolte & Kotnik bt C Booth & K MacDonald 3 and 2.
Singles (0-2): Pilcher lost to S Watson 8 and 7; Wolf lost to K Caithness 4 and 3.
15th place – Finland 2 ½, Iceland ½.

THIRD FLIGHT
17th place – Portugal 2, Switzerland 1.
19 place – Wales (no match on Saturday).
Match for 11th and 12th place

MHAIRI AND KATHRYN MISS OHIO CUT

Mhairi McKay and Kathryn Imrie missed the 36-hole cut in the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic at Highland Meadows Golf Club, Sylvania in Ohio.
Mhairi scored 77 and 70 for 147 - three shots too many - while Kathryn had 75 and 77 for 151.
Janice Moodie is still there in joint 27th place on 141 with scores of 69 and 72. One shot ahead of her is Laura Davies with 71 and 69 to be joint 14th on 140.
Se Ri Pak leads at 11-under-par 131 (63-68), five shots ahead of Jin Young Pak (67-69).

Tain Golf Club's 2007 season championship cup winners. Back row (left to right): Brian Waddell, Stuart Smith. Front row (left to right): Julie Vass, lady captain Fiona Brand, Mary Smith, Munro Ferries, club captain Ian Innes, Dennis Albutt.

SAMMY AND JULIE VASS CARRY ON THE FAMILY
TRADITION AT TAIN GOLF CLUB

By ROBIN WILSON
It was not so much a family at war but a family domination of the women’s club championships at Tain last week and in the men’s scratch final Munro Ferries gained revenge for his defeat of 12 months ago at the hands of James Macleod.
At any time through the golfing season any one of the three Tain siblings, Mary Smith, Anne Ryan and Maggie Vass, are making golf news and now Maggie’s teenage daughters, Sammy (15) and Julie (13) are sharing part of the stage with their mother and Aunts.
Last week the three sisters were joined in the semi finals of the scratch championship by Sammy but it was Mary, the eldest sister, who prevailed once again. While Anne and Maggie were the dominant players in the 1980s and early 1990s, Mary only emerged as a first time winner in 1999 after her family had grown up.
She won again in 2000 and 2002 but had to concede to Audrey Murray over the next two years before recapturing the title in 2005 and retaining ever since, this year with a win in the final over young niece Sammy.
It was Sammy’s first time in the final, having beaten her auntie Anne in the semi final but Mary’s golf, just one above par, was too good for the youngster when the tie ended on the 16th green.
JULIE'S FIRST-TIME TRIUMPH
Sammy had, in a previous year, won the handicap championship and this year it was the turn of her younger sister, Julie, to triumph for the first time in this section by beating Claire Ross after 16 holes.
In the last 10 finals of the men’s scratch championship Munro Ferries and James Macleod have shared six wins between them but now Ferries has gone ahead with four wins. He beat the defending champion at the second extra hole.
James Macleod, who is the son of head greenkeeper Ian Macleod, had previous wins in 2001 and 2003. In last year's final, coming at the end of his golf scholarship in America, his golf was too hot for Ferries and he won easily after 13 holes.
After a return to America but this time working at golf clubs, mainly as a caddie, he has not played so much and his golf was not so sharp before coming up against an in-form Ferries who had led the qualifiers into the match-play stages setting a new course record of 64 in the process.
While both players began well by exchanging birdies on the first two holes the inclement weather of wind and rain spoiled play and par figures were sufficient to take holes. MacLeod won both the outward short holes with par but the first sign of trouble with his driver, that was to prove his downfall, showed through at the ninth hole with a visit to the bushes to hold just a one-hole lead at the turn for home.
Although he regained his two-hole advantage at the 10th, trouble on the 12th and 13th brought the game back level and with an excellent birdie 3 at the 14th, Ferries went ahead again for the first time since his birdie on the first hole.
BIRDIE PUTT OF 20FT
The lead was held until the 16th where Macleod rolled in a 20ft putt for birdie and then driver trouble showed again in the holder’s game at the 18th. From the rough he was able to salvage a half in 4 to continue the game to the 19th tee.
The first extra hole was halved but from another wayward drive at the second extra hole Macleod could only recover sideways to the fairway and after three years Ferries was champion once more.
Brian Waddell, Dennis Albutt, and Stuart Smith were three first time champions in the men’s other finals. Waddell beat Hamish Skinner to win the handicap cup, Albutt became the senior scratch champion with a last hole win over the defending champion
James Cunningham and Kenny Anderson lost his grip on the senior handicap cup to Stuart Smith who also won on the final green.
Tain Golf Club’s junior policy is also making winners outside the club. Last Saturday at Golspie 13-year-old Andrew Bell returned the lowest net handicap scores in the Millicent Bowl competition. With a handicap of 17, he had net rounds of 71 and 66 for 137 but unfortunately was not able to take home the Bowl as it is confined to Sutherland club members.

VIKKI IN TOP 20 IN CONNECTICUT

Vikki Laing had a one-over-par 73 (36-37) in the first round of the Cigna Classic, this week's $80,000 event on the United States Futures Tour, over the Arnold Palmer-designed course - 6,402yd off the lady pro tees - at Gillette Ridge Golf Club, Bloomfield, Connecticut.
The Musselburgh exile will start the second round in joint 19th place.
Mollie Fankhauser from Columbus, Ohio leads the field by three strokes with a five-under 67 (33-34).
South Wales amateur Natasha Morgana, a student at Lynn University, Boca Raton in Florida, had a 78 (40-38) to be lying in joint 72nd position; Polly Willett from London had a 79 (42-37) for a share of 82nd place, and Brenda McLarnon from Belfast is back in joint 116th place after an 83 (40-43).

LEADERBOARD
Players from US unless stated
Par 72 (36-36)
67 Mollie Fankhauser 36-34.
70 Jana Peterkova (Czech Rep) 36-34, Taylor Leon 36-34, Danah Ford 35-35, Ji Min Jeong (Korea) 36-34.
Other scores:
73 Vikki Laing (Sco) 36-37 (jt 19th).
78 Natasha Morgan (Wal) (am) 40-38 (jt 72nd).
79 Polly Willett (London) 42-37 (jt 82nd).
83 Brenda McLarnon (Belfast) 40-43 (jt 116th).