Coronation Foursomes winners
Karina Matson, Janet Brown (LGU Chairman), and Elspeth Adair.

LOTHIANBURN MOTHER & DAUGHTER WIN
LGU'S CORONATION FOURSOMES

Lothianburn Golf Club members mother and daughter Elspeth Adair and Karina Matson and won the Ladies Golf Union's Peugeot Coronation foursomes grand final over the Duke's Course, St Andrews on a day of wet conditions earlier this week.
Supported by their caddieing husbands, Karina, who plays off 18, and 19-handicapper Elspeth totalled 32 Stableford points to win by a single point from two English partnerships - Wendy Hurst and Sue Wilson from Sandiway and Susie Lee and Claire Kukielka (Wisley).
Over 1300 golf clubs took part in the preliminary stages with qualifying competitions which progressed into area finals. Karina and Elspeth qualified for the Grand Final by winning the Murrayfield area final.
Making their victory all the more praiseworthy is the fact that Karina has been playing competitively for only two years, during which time she has taken her handicap down steadily.
The added bonus for them is that they will be invited to compete in the pro-am preceding next year's Ricoh Women's British Open at Sunningdale Golf Club, Berkshire.
Only three Scottish pairings reached the final. The other two tied for seventh place with 27pts - Patricia Sykes and Sigrid Harley (Royal Montrose) and Lynn Forsyth and Pamela Buttar (Paisley).
GRAND FINAL TOTALS
+Handicaps in brackets.
32pt Karina Matson (18) & Elspeth Adair (19) of Lothianburn.
32pt Wendy Hurst (25) & Sue Wilson (12) of Sandiway; Susie Lee (13) & Claire Kukielka (15) of Wisley.
30pt Nikki Hodge (6) & Caroline Phillips (15) of Tehidy Park; Jane Wincer (22) & Sharon DAvey (16) of Stowmarket.
29pt Jane Webb (22) & Nicola Archere (25) of Dewstow.
27pt Lynn Forsyth (13) & Pamela Buttar (19) of Paisley; Patricia Sykes (20) & Sigrid Harley (25) of Royal Montrose; Valerie Oliver (18) & Denise McKenzie (24) of Wanstead.
17pt Anthea Oglethorpe (10) & Sheila Swindlehurst (28) of Lancaster.
16pt Margaret Pearce (24) & Patricia Hogg (15) of Seaton Carew; June McFarlane (17) & Jackie Rowe (15) of Cotgrave.

KRYSTLE PAYS PRICE FOR SLOW START
IN SECOND US COLLEGE TOURNAMENT

Vagliano Trophy player Krystle Caithness (St Regulus), now a freshman student at the University of Georgia, could not make up the ground she lost with a moderate start in finishing joint 45th in her second tournament on the United States women's college circuit.
Caithness, 18, from Cellardyke, Fife, pictured right in her Georgia team shirt, had rounds of 79, 74 and 73 for a total of 226 over the par-73, New Mexico University course of 6,351yd at Albuquerque in the Margaret Branch NCAA Preview.
She had three double bogeys over her first two rounds but had two birdies and two bogeys in her par-matching final round. The Scot had eight birdies in all over the 54 holes.
Jodi Ewart (New Mexico University), from Catterick) tied for 15th place with rounds of 74, 71 and 72 for 217. That represented quite a comeback because Jodi was four over par after only 13 holes of the tournament, having bogeyed the eighth and 11th and double-bogeyed the 13th.

The Yorkshire girl then covered the remaining 41 holes in six under par with nine birdies and three bogeys).
Dutch girl Dewi-Claire Schreefel (Southern California) won the individual title with a 15-under-par total of 204, made up of rounds of 68, 69 and 67.
She finished four shots ahead of the top-ranked Amanda Blumenherst (Duke University) who is likely to be the star player in the US Curtis Cup team over the Old Course, St Andrews next May.

It was a field of the vast majority of the leading players on the US women's college circuit, including Belen Mozo and Azahara Munoz, past winners of the British girls' title and, in Mozo's case, also the British women's open amateur championship two years ago.

Swedish ace Anna Nordqvist, yet another past British girls champion, finished joint eighth. Anna lost to Carlota Ciganda in this year's British women's championship final at Alwoodley, Leeds.

LEADING INDIVIDUAL TOTALS
Par 219 (3 x 73)
204 D-C Schreefel (Southern California) 68 69 67.
208 A Blumenherst (Duke) 73 68 67.
Other totals:
212 A Munoz (Arizona State) 72 70 70 (5th).
214 P Lindberg (Oklahoma State) 678 72 72, A Nordqvist (Arizona State) 74 71 69 (jt 8th).
215 B Mozo (Southern California) 75 71 69 (jt 11th).
217 J Ewart (New Mexico) 74 71 72 (jt 15th).
226 K Caithness (Georgia) 69 74 73 (jt 45th).

LEADING TEAM TOTALS

860 Duke.

861 Southern California.

870 UCLA.

874 Arizona State.

Other totals:

888 New Mexico (jt 8th).

892 Georgia (jt 10th).

ends

AUSTRIAN EVENT CUT TO THREE ROUNDS
AFTER BIG RAIN DELAYS ON DAY ONE

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

Ladies European Tour rookie Sarah Nicholson of New Zealand took the overnight lead following the first day’s play at a rain-beaten UNIQA Ladies Golf Open presented by Raiffeisen.
The 22-year-old shot a five-under 67 to take a two stroke clubhouse lead at Golfclub Föhrenwald in Wiener Neustadt, Vienna.
She has played in only five European events so far this season with a best finish of tied 28th in Northern Ireland. Sweden’s Elin Ohlsson was the next best placed player on three-under-par. Nicholson was one of a handful of players to have completed a full first round before first round play was suspended for the day at 6.40pm due to darkness. Heavy rainfall caused tournament officials to suspend play by more than five-and-a-half hours at 8.50am.
The first ten groups – playing off two tees – managed less than an hours’ play before the first round was halted as rain continued to batter the course.After several green inspections, officials finally allowed play to resume at 2.30pm.
The first round play will now be completed on Friday morning from 8am, with some time to spare in case of any further weather delays. The event will be reduced from 72 holes to 54 holes, with the cut taking place after the conclusion of the second round on Saturday to the leading 60 players and ties.
The final round remains scheduled for Sunday.

LEADERS IN CLUBHOUSE
Par 72
67 Sarah Nicholson (Nzl)
69 Elin Ohlsson (Swe)
70 Lill Kristin Saether (Nor), Lee-Anne Pace (Rsa), Natalie Claire Booth (Eng)
72 Par Frederique Seeholzer (Swi)
73 Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha), Sarah Heath (Eng)
74 Nora Angehrn (Swi), Hanna-Leena Salonen (Fin)
75 Sandra Carlborg (Swe), Antonella Cvitan (Swe)
76 Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa), Anne-Lise Caudal (Fra), Suzanne Dickens (Eng)
77 Karin Borjeskog (Swe), Elisabeth Esterl (Ger), Tullia Calzavara (Ita), Martina Hochwimmer (Aut)
78 Julie Berton (Fra), Melodie Bourdy (Fra), Jo Clingan (Eng)
79 Kaisa Ruuttila (Fin), Annamaria Milie (Ita)
80 Kelly Hutcherson (Eng), Mette Buus (Den)
83 Patricia Beliard (Fra), Nuria Clau (Spa), Carmen Alonso (Spa)
84 Emma Weeks (Eng)
85 Itziar Elguezabal (Spa).

THREE NEW CAPS IN SCOTLAND TEAM

FOR SENIOR MEN'S HOME

INTERNATIONALS NEXT WEEK

There are three new caps in the Scotland team for next week’s, Tuesday to Thursday, senior men’s home amateur internationals at Caldy Golf Club, Cheshire – John Fraser, Jim Watt and Gordon Brown.
Fraser is a former Newtonmore shinty star who became a North-east District representative golfer when his teaching profession took him to Aberdeen. He has since moved to Edinburgh and is a member of the Royal Burgess club.
John has come to the fore in the inaugural over-55s Scottish circuit this year.
Gordon Brown is a Vale of Leven member who had a short spell as a senior tour professional when he reached the necessary age of 50, fulfilling a long-held ambition before being reinstated as an amateur in 2005. Brown was the leading Scot in this year’s British senior open amateur championship at Nairn. He had the lowest final round of 67 to finish joint seventh.
Jim Watt (Letham Grange), too, has done well on the new Scottish seniors circuit.
Brown finished second, Fraser third and Watt fifth behind skipper Ian Hutcheon (Monifieth) in the final Order of Merit.
The unlucky ones who have not been selected – there are only seven places in the team – are George Paterson (Northern) who was fourth in the final table and Patrick Tomisson (Nairn) who came sixth. Tomisson finished joint 11th over his home course in the British seniors championship.
Fraser, Watt and Brown oust Gordon MacDonald (Callander), Alan Ferguson (Drumpellier) and Brian Grieve (King James VI) compared with the Scotland team who won the seniors’ home internationals’ title at Dunbar Golf Club 12 months ago.
Compared with the Scotland squad of six who were beaten 3-2 by Ireland in the final of the European senior men’s team championship in Slovenia during the summer, MacDonald and Grieve have been left out.
The team for Caldy GC is:
I C Hutcheon (Monifieth), capt., G Brown (Vale of Leven), S Ellis (Cowal), J Fraser (Royal Burgess), J W Johnston (Royal Aberdeen), D McCart (Castlerock), J Watt (Letham Grange).

ELGA Press Release

ENGLAND NAME FOUR FOR THE SPIRIT INTERNATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIP AT HOUSTON NEXT MONTH

English ladies’ champion Naomi Edwards and fellow international Liz Bennett will team up with men internationals Gary Boyd and John Parry to represent England in the Spirit International Championship in Texas next month.
The Spirit is a biennial event being played at Whispering Pines, north of Houston, on October 24th - 27th. It will feature 24 countries from six continents, each represented by two men and two women.
In the 2005 competition England’s Sophie Walker and Felicity Johnson won the gold medal in the women’s event and, with Oliver Fisher and Jamie Moul, also took the international team gold.
Naomi Edwards (Ganton) and Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) were in England’s winning Home Internationals team and are also GB & I internationals. Naomi played in the 2006 Curtis Cup.
Boyd (Cherwell Edge) won the 2006 Asian Pacific title and helped England win the Home Internationals, while Parry (Harrogate), a Walker Cup player, is the Spanish Amateur and Welsh Open Stroke Play champion.
Lyndsey HewisonPress & PR Officer
Visit the ELGA web site at www.englishladiesgolf.org

++ Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) and Emily Ogilvie (Auchterarder) are the SLGA selections. The Scottish Golf Union has yet to nominate two representatives.

ANNA SCOTT AND CLAIRE STARKEY

FINISH IN TOP-20 IN MYRTLE

BEACH CLASSIC

Six British and Irish girls played in the same AMERICAN college tournament this week – the Myrtle Beach Classic at Grand Dunes Resort Golf Club, Myrtle Beach in SoutH Carolina.
The highest-placed finisher was Anna Scott, pictured right, from Consett, Co Durham, a student at Georgia State University. Anna had rounds of 75 and 72 for three-over-par 147 and a share of 11th place in a field of 84.
Team-mate Claire Starkey from Skipton, West Yorkshire finished joint 19th on 149 with rounds of 72 and 77.
Irish international Sinead O’Sullivan (East Tennessee State University) from Galway came joint 41st on 155 with scores of 76 and 79.
Channel Islander Olivia Higgins (Charleston Southern University) had a pair of 78s for 156 and joint 45th place alongside Lucy Gould (East Tennessee State) with scores of 80 and 76 and Laura Holmes (Old Dominion University) from County Mayo, Ireland with 81 and 75.
Abby Bools (East Carolina University) won a three-way play-off against Amber Litman (also East Carolina) and Iliska Verwey (Georgia State) for the individual title after they had tied on 142 over the par-72, 6,136yd course.
Anna Scott and Claire Starkey’s top-20 performances helped Georgia State (579) to finish only one shot behind team winners East Carolina.
East Tennessee State (604) finished ninth of the 15 college teams.

WIRRAL STUDENT JOINT FOURTH IN GRENELEFE INVITE

Alex Evans from Wirral, a senior year student at Webber International College, came joint fourth in the Grenelefe Invite tournament at Greneleft Resort, Haines City in Florida over a par-72, 6,802yd course.

Alex had rounds of 74, 72 and 77 for 223 - seven shots behind the winner, team-mate Matthew Bransby with socres of 71, 74 and 71 for 215.

Other Webber International students in the field included Craig Isabel from Stanford-Le-Hope. He shared eighth place on 224 witgh 74, 75 and 75.

Also Andrew Hay from Westhill, Aberdeen who shared 42nd place on 224 with 80, 80 and 84, and Iain Stoddart from West Lothian with 79, 84 and 84 for 47th place in a field of 53.

Webber International (893) won the team event from Brevard Community College (899) with Shorter College (905) third of eight teams.