Overall handicap winner Fiona Fullerton (Huntly), Ness Open champion Laura Murray (Alford) and the Inverness GC ladies' captain (image by courtesy of Isobel McIntosh).

Laura Murray swoops with a 69
to win Ness Open again

Robert Gordon University student Laura Murray from Alford produced an excellent second-round 69 to win the Ness Open 36-hole SLGA Order of Merit women’s golf tournament at Inverness Golf Club today.
Scotland cap & R&A Bursar Laura, 19, trailed first-round leader Lesley Hendry (Routenburn) by four shots after an opening 76 but she swept to the front with her three-under-par figures in the second round.
Laura. a former Scottish schoolgirls champion, would have won even more convincingly but for a double bogey 6 at the 16th where she drove into trees and found a bunker with her recovery.
Earlier in the round she had birdied the first, fourth, sixth, 10th, 13th and 14th with a solitary bogey at the seventh in halves of 34 (two under par) and 35 (one under par).
Laura’s 145 total saw her home with two shots to spare from Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm), Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) and Lesley Hendry (Routenburn), all on 147. Megan was officially placed second and Kylie third by virtue of their second rounds, 72 and 73, to Lesley’s 75.
Miss Murray was winning the Ness Open for the second time in three years, having first won it in 2006.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72) CSS 73 73
145 Laura Murray (Alford) 76 69.
147 Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) 75 72, Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) 74 73, Lesley Hendry (Routenburn) 72 75.
148 Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) 76 72, Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) 73 75.
149 Cara Gruber (Royal Dornoch) 74 75.
154 Ann Ramsay (Kirriemuir) 77 77.
155 Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) 82 73.
156 Claire Macdonald (Gullane) 80 76.
157 Sammy Vass (Tain) 78 79.
160 Susan Jackson (Ladybank) 79 81, Fiona Fullerton (Huntly) 79 81.
162 Anne Ryan (Tain) 78 84.
164 Christine MacAndrew (Nairn Dunbar) 86 78, Mary Smith (Tain) 82 82, Ashleigh Wilton (Ladybank) 80 84.
165 Samantha Leslie (Murcar Links) 78 87.
166 Pam Mackay (Royal Dornoch) 83 83.
168 Julie Vass (Tain) 85 83.
169 Ashley Alston (Royal Montrose) 83 86.
171 Gillian Dowling (Inverness) 87 84.
174 Marian Howieson (Inverness) 86 88.
180 Kirsten MacCallum (McDonald Ellon) 91 89.
183 Donna MacKinnon (Durness) 90 93.
188 Rachael Bannerman (Strathpeffer) 95 93.
197 Megan Aird (Strathmore) 94 103.
199 Pat Ashe (Brora 102 97.
HANDICAP PRIZEWINNERS
Class 1 (0 to 7)
143 Lesley Hendry (Routenburn) 70 73.
147 Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) (4) 78 69.
149 Cara Gruber (Royal Dornoch) 74 75.
Class 2 (8 to 20)
138 Fiona Fullerton (Huntly) (11) 68 70.
143 Ashley Alston (Royal Montrose) (13) 70 73.

Gail (13) and Rebecca (17) Wilson, a pair of champions in the mist at Ballumbie Castle GC today.

WILSON SISTERS PULL OFF

ANGUS COUNTY DOUBLE

AT BALLUMBIE CASTLE

Sisters Rebecca and Gail Wilson from Monifieth pulled off a family double in the Angus women’s county golf championship at Ballumbie Castle Golf Club, Dundee today.
Rebecca, 17, pictured left by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), won the scratch championship for the first time, beating the No 2 seed and clubmate Jackie Brown by 5 and 4 in the final after knocking out the leading qualifier, Fiona Gilbert (Carnoustie) in the morning semi-finals.
Gail Wilson, 13, was taken to the 19th hole in her first two ties before recording a 6 and 5 win in the final against Joan Cowley (Scotscraig).
Weekend results:
First round - Fiona Gilbert (Carnoustie Ladies) beat Angela Campbell 3&2, Aileen Hunter (Monifieth) bt Heather Anderson (Downfield) 4 & 3, Rebecca Wilson (Monifieth) beat Sue McGregor (Edzell) 2&1, Louise Graham (Carnoustie) bt Dawn Dewar (Monifieth) 5&3, Shonagh Raitt (Forfar) bt Agnes Freeman (Panmure Barry) 4&3, Mary Summers (Panmure Barry) beat Susan Arbuckle 5&4, Fran Millar (Carnoustie Ladies) beat Julie Ganson (Arbroath) at the 19th, Jackie Brown (Monifieth) bt Chris Healey (Carnoustie) 3&2
Quarter-finals – Fiona Gilbert bt Aileen Hunter 3&2, Rebecca Wilson beat Louise Graham 4&3, Mary Summers bt Shonagh Raitt 6&5, Jackie Brown bt Fran Millar at 21st.
Semi-finals – R Wilson bt Gilbert 3 and 2, Brown bt M Summers 1 hole.
Final – R Wilson bt Brown 5 and 4.

HANDICAP
Quarter-finals – J Cowley (Scotscraig) bt H Munro (Monifieth) 1 hole, S Sneddon (Carnoustie) w.o. M Brown (Carnoustie) scr; G Wilson (Monifieth bt J Chalmers (Monifieth) at 19th, A Summers (Panmure Barry) bt A Rennie (Monifieth) 2 and 1.
Semi-finals – Cowley bt Sneddon 3 and 2, G Wilson bt A Summers at 19th.
Final – G Wilson bt Cowley 6 and 5.

Perth & Kinross county president Liz Miskimmin presents the championship trophy to Laura Walker (image by Dawn Butchart).

Laura Walker in top form to win
Perth & Kinross county title

Top seed Laura Walker (Muckhart) marked her debut in the Perth & Kinross women’s county golf championship by beating the holder, Alexandra Bushby (Strathmore) 8 and 6 in the final at Alyth Golf Club today.
It was not all plain sailing for the former Nairn-based Northern Counties star who won the Scottish girls match-play title in 2002 and moved south to take up a teaching post in Perthshire and joined Muckhart Golf Club.
Laura came back from three down to win at the 19th against Jacqueline Sneddon (Alyth) in the first round of the match-play, birdieing both the 18th and 19th in a grandstand finish.
Defending champion Alexandra Bushby beat Scotland cap Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder), her opponent in last year’s final, in the semi-finals but was simply swamped by a barrage of birdies from Laura Walker in the final.
Laura was three under par for the 12 holes play.
Two juniors, Ailie Burnett (Dunkeld) and Erin Millar (Pitlochry) contested the final of the handicap championship. Victory, by 2 and 1, went to 16-year-old Ailie over 14-year-old Erin.
Results:
First round - Laura Walker (Muckhart) bt Jacqueline Sneddon (Alyth) at 19th, Shona Leighton (Alyth) bt Norma Fleming (Alyth) 1 hole, Gillian Wallace (Glenisla) bt Jane Taylor (Strathmore) 4 and 2; Carol Muir (Craigie Hill) bt Gwen Lambie (Dunkeld) at 19th; Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) bt Fiona Ramsay (Crieff) 7 and 5; Janet Griffiths (Strathmore) bt J Yellowlees (Murrayshall) 5 and 4; Alexandra Bushby (Strathmore) Laura Campbell (Pitlochry) 5 and 4; Jillian Milne (Craigie Hill) bt Sandy Bushby (Strathmore) 5 and 4.
Quarter-finals -Walker bt Leighton 3 and 1, Wallace bt Muir 2 and 1, Ogilvy bt Griffiths 2 and 1, A Bushby bt Milne 5 and 3
Semi-finals – Walker bt Wallace 1 hole, A Bushby bt Ogivly 2 and 1.
Final – Walker bt A Bushby 8 and 6.
HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarter-finals - Janette Hamilton (Blairgowrie) bt Jan Kennedy (Blairgowrie) 5 and 4, Erin Millar (Pitlochry) bt Ann Duncan (Taymouth Castle) 4 and 3, Angela Crossland (Dunblane) bt Miriam Wilson (Dunblane) at 19th, Ailie Burnett (Dunkeld) bt Carol Lambie (Dunkeld) 3 and 2.
Semi-finals – Millar bt Hamilton 3 and 2, Burnett bt Crossland 2 and 1.
Final – Burnett bt Millar 2 and 1.

Lotta Wahlin wins by 12

strokes in Turkey, best

since Laura in 1995

FROM THE LADIES' EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
REPORT BY BETHAN CUTLER
Lotta Wahlin, a 24-year-old from Linkoping, Sweden carded rounds of 71, 71, 73 and 70 at the punishing par-73 National Golf Club course in Antalya, Turkey, to win by the Turkish Ladies Open by 12 shots on a total of seven-under-par 285 for the 72 holes.
Her winning margin was the second largest in the LET’s 30-year history since England’s Laura Davies won the 1995 Guardian Irish Holidays Open at St Margaret’s by 16 shots.
Another Swede, Johanna Westerberg (71), shared second with South African Stacy Lee Bregman (72) and Spaniard Paula Marti (74), who was eight shots back in outright second entering the final round.
Wahlin, the only player to finish below par for the tournament, led from start to finish and never faltered on a course featuring narrow fairways, numerous red pine trees and extremely hard greens.
She extended her lead each day and became the second Swedish first time winner in only three events on the fledgling 2008 Ladies European Tour schedule, after Emma Zackrisson won the Open de Espana at Panoramica Golf and Country Club three weeks ago.
“It’s fantastic. I’m so happy. I only understood I’d won on the 18th green because I didn’t think about it before,” said Wahlin, who won a non-official invitational event featuring 20 of the LET’s best players in Spain just a month ago.
“I was just enjoying it. I wanted to finish well. My goal for today was to shoot in the 60s so I had to make a birdie on the last but I didn’t. That was my only goal.”
Wahlin began the final round with an eight-stroke lead and went 10 strokes clear after two birdies and one bogey on her front nine. She birdied the par-5 12th to reach six-under-par with an 11-stroke lead, before dropping a shot at the par-four 13th hole.
A further birdie at the long 14th moved her back to six-under before she pulled 12 strokes clear with a birdie at the short 16th.
Despite having never previously led a Ladies European Tour event, Wahlin said: “I only felt nervous on the first tee. I just wanted to hit a good shot because my shot there yesterday was so bad. The four days have just been so good. I’ve been playing good golf and I had a good focus. Me and my caddie Andy Danewid have just been having so much fun and it’s fantastic. It’s the best moment in my career.”
Testament to her solid play was the fact that she entered just two bunkers over 72 holes, with one of those on the long fourth hole in the final round. Wahlin added that winning the invitational event in Spain had been a confidence boost:
“It was important because I knew that I can win. I finished with a 65 in the last round so I knew I could shoot a low round,” she said.
In taking the title and the €37,500 winner’s cheque Wahlin fulfilled one of her biggest dreams since she took up the game seriously four years ago. After she finished her schooling she worked as a secretary for a large computer firm for two years which only increased her appetite for golf.
She hated the job, and decided to choose full-time golf over studying, which appears to have paid off in her fourth season on the LET.
“I have been on tour for three years so I think it was time to win,” Wahlin reflected, before adding that she aims to keep on winning. “I have three wins to do this year so I’m going to keep on going,” she said.
The Ladies European Tour now takes a week’s break before the Deutsche Bank Ladies’ Swiss Open at Golf Gerre Losone from May 22-25. Wahlin will spend the lead up relaxing at home with friends.

+Picture above of Lotta Wahlin with the Turkish Ladies Open Trophy is by courtesy of the Ladies European Tour website (all rights reserved).
FINAL TOTALS
Par 292 (4 x 73)
285 Lotta Maria Wahlin (Swe) 71 71 73 70
297 Paula Marti (Spa) 73 77 73 74, Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa) 74 80 71 72, Johanna Westerberg (Swe) 80 72 74 71
298 Marianne Skarpnord (Nor) 79 72 74 73, Amy Yang (USA) 77 77 72 72
299 Lisa Hall 80 74 74 71, Trish Johnson 78 77 74 70
300 Stephanie Arricau (Fra) 78 73 78 71
301 Iben Tinning (Den) 77 76 75 73
302 Rachel Bell 76 77 74 75, Anna Rawson (Aus) 79 74 73 76, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 77 72 81 72
303 Laura Terebey (USA) 77 79 72 75, Emma Zackrisson (Swe) 75 74 81 73, Samantha Head 80 79 73 71
304 Joanne Morley 80 75 75 74, Becky Brewerton (Gbr) 77 80 77 70
305 Ana-Belen Sanchez (Spa) 74 76 79 76, Christine Hallstrom (Swe) 75 80 76 74, Ludivine Kreutz (Fra) 79 73 76 77, Martina Eberl (Ger) 79 77 74 75
306 Caroline Afonso (Fra) 80 76 77 73, Hanna Salonen (Fin) 77 79 74 76, Lill Saether (Nor) 80 76 77 73, Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha) 79 78 75 74, Cassandra Kirkland (Fra) 75 78 78 75
307 Martina Gillen 77 77 78 75, Dana Lacey (Aus) 78 79 78 72, Melissa Reid 77 76 78 76, Danielle Masters 77 80 76 74, Lara Tadiotto (Bel) 80 78 76 73
308 Lynn Kenny 77 76 81 74, Nikki Garrett (Aus) 78 76 74 80, Stefania Croce (Ita) 76 78 77 77, Anna Knutsson (Swe) 81 78 75 74
309 Jade Schaeffer (Fra) 74 78 80 77, Maria Verchenova (Rus) 81 71 78 79, Beatriz Recari (Spa) 82 77 76 74, Jehanne Jail (Fra) 79 77 76 77, Margherita Rigon (Ita) 75 78 81 75
310 Anja Monke (Ger) 74 82 81 73, Melodie Bourdy (Fra) 74 80 77 79, Yuki Sakurai (Jpn) 80 78 82 70
311 Anna-Lise Caudal (Fra) 74 81 79 77, Maria Boden (Swe) 77 77 81 76, Clare Queen 78 78 80 75
312 Kirsty S Taylor 79 76 85 72, Ana Larraneta (Spa) 76 83 78 75
314 Nuria Clau (Spa) 78 79 78 79, Vittoria Valvassori (Ita) 83 76 83 72, Karen-Margreth Juul (Den) 76 75 82 81, Maria Beautell (Spa) 79 79 78 78, Nathalie David (Fra) 80 78 79 77
315 Mianne Bagger (Den) 75 84 78 78, Anna Temple (USA) 80 78 80 77, Stefanie Michl (Aut) 81 76 80 78, Emma Lyons 77 80 81 77
316 Rebecca Coakley 81 77 82 76
318 Hazel Kavanagh 78 79 80 81, Zuzana Kamasova (Svk) 75 82 79 82
321 Natalie Booth 75 82 84 80
325 Julie Berton (Fra) 79 80 82 84

Walker v Bushby for
Perth & Kinross title

Defending champion Alexandra Bushby (Strathmore) repeated her 2007 Perth & Kinross county championship final win over Scotland international Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) but in the semi-final stage of this year's championship at Alyth Golf Club today.
Alexandra won by 2 and 1 and now plays the top seed and newcomer to the P&K ranks, Laura Walker, the former Scottish girls champion from Nairn Dunbar.
Now a teacher, working in the county and a Muckhart member, Walker beat No 5 qualifier Gillian Walace (Glenisla) by one hole.
In the handicap championship juniors Erin Millar (Pitlochry) and Allie Burnett (Dunkeld) made it through their semi-finals to meet in the final. Erin beat Janette Hamilton (Blairgowrie) 3 and 2 while Allie beat Angela Crossland (Dunblane) 2 and 1.

ANGUS TOP SEED FIONA TOPPLED
BY REBECCA WILSON IN SEMI-FINAL

Young Rebecca Wilson (Monfieth) toppled No 1 seed Fiona Gilbert (Carnoustie Ladies) in this morning's semi-finals of the Angus women's county championship at Ballumbie Castle Golf Club, Dundee.
Rebecca, the No 5 qualifier, won by 3 and 2.
The other semi-final was won by the No 2 qualifier, Jackie Brown (Monifieth). She beat Mary Summers (Panmure Barry), the No 11 qualifier, by one hole.
The first handicap semi-final saw J Cowley (Scotscraig), the top seed, beat Susan Sneddon (Carnoustie) by 3 and 2.

USGA introduces online process for
being reinstated as an amateur

It seems you can do just about everything these days "online" ... even start the process of being reinstated from the professional to the amateur ranks of golfers.
It's now possible in America. Stand by for it becoming the norm on this side of the Atlantic.
The following appears on the United States Golf Association website:

The United States Golf Association has launched an easy online process for individuals from various professional ranks who want to be reinstated as amateurs. Individuals can visit http://www.usga.org/ and click on the "Rules and Handicapping" menu bar at the top of the page, then choose "Amateur Status."
Before applying for reinstatement, all acts contrary to the Rules of Amateur Status must cease. For example, professional golfers in any organization, such as the PGA of America or the LPGA, must first resign their membership before applying for reinstatement. Playing professionals must no longer be active on any of the tours.
The routine time period for reinstatement is one year for an individual who was a professional for less than five years. The waiting period is routinely two years for those who have been a professional for more than five years. Longer waiting periods may be prescribed for anyone playing extensively for prize money.
"We find that professionals want to reinstate their amateur status for various reasons, whether they are unsuccessful in playing for prize money, making a career change, or for personal reasons," said Donna Mummert, USGA assistant director of Amateur Status and Rules of Golf. "We continue to see a high volume each year in the reinstatement process. It is wonderful to have so many returning to play golf for the spirit of competition as amateurs."
In addition to reducing the paperwork on the part of the individual filing, the online process that was developed and tested over the past 12 months aims to cut processing time in half and capture a tracking database of all applicants in the system.
Once a golfer submits a completed application, that information is shared with the golfer’s state and regional golf association for review. The USGA staff then processes the application and assigns a reinstatement date. A computer-generated reminder is automatically sent to the applicant’s e-mail address when his or her reinstatement date is nearing.
"The online process is a lot faster and easier for everyone involved, from the administrators to the individual golfer," said Jack Nance, executive director of the Carolinas Golf Association, one of the associations that helped the USGA in test marketing. "We have caught up to technology at just the right time because there has been a bigger response to reinstatement in the last several years."
Reinstated amateurs have comprised about half of the U.S. Mid-Amateur field (age 25 and older) and about one third of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur field in recent years.

LPGA Tour Scoreboard

MICHELOB ULTRA OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Kingsmill Golf & Spa Resort, Williamsburg, Virgina
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 213 (3 x 71)
199 Annika Sorenstam (Swe) 64 66 69
202 Jeong Jang (Kor) 67 66 69
203 Christina Kim 70 67 66
205 Maria Hjorth (Swe) 68 71 66
206 Jee Young Lee (Kor) 68 71 67, Ji-Young Oh (Kor) 69 69 68, Karen Stupples (Eng) 67 69 70, In-Bee Park (Kor) 67 72 67, Candie Kung (Tai) 66 74 66
207 Stacy Prammanasudh 66 72 69, Jimin Kang (Kor) 67 69 71, Lorena Ochoa (Mex) 65 68 74, Laura Diaz 70 69 68, Song-Hee Kim (Kor) 66 71 70, Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 71 71 65
208 Meena Lee (Kor) 67 68 73, Sophie Gustafson (Swe) 71 71 66, Allison Fouch 69 71 68, Hee Young Park (Kor) 66 72 70, Kris Tamulis 68 71 69
209 Teresa Lu (Tai) 70 70 69, Kristy McPherson 68 68 73, Pat Hurst 69 71 69, Katherine Hull (Aus) 70 69 70
210 Heather Young 70 71 69, Sun Young Yoo (Kor) 64 75 71, Na On Min (Jpn) 72 68 70, Karrie Webb (Aus) 70 71 69, Catriona Matthew (Sco) 69 70 71, Paula Creamer 71 69 70, Na Yeon Choi (Kor) 69 73 68, Louise Friberg (Swe) 69 69 72, Becky Morgan (Wal) 67 69 74, Helen Alfredsson (Swe) 67 73 70
211 Marisa Baena 69 73 69, Ya-Ni Tseng (Kor) 70 69 72, Beth Bader 68 70 73, Diana D'Alessio 65 72 74, Sandra Gal (Ger) 68 70 73, Marcy Hart 69 71 71
212 Laura Davies (Eng) 71 71 70, Sung Ah Yim (Kor) 69 71 72, Jamie Hullett 69 71 72, Juli Inkster 68 70 74, Michele Redman 72 70 70, Angela Stanford 69 70 73, Cristie Kerr 68 71 73
213 Natalie Gulbis 69 73 71, Hee-Won Han (Kor) 74 68 71, Mhairi McKay (Sco) 63 77 73, Katie Futcher 69 72 72, Sarah Kemp (Aus) 70 71 72, Meredith Duncan 68 68 77
214 Shi Hyun Ahn (Kor) 71 71 72, Kyeong Eun Bae (Kor) 69 73 72, Dina Ammaccapane 68 72 74
215 Johanna Head (Eng) 74 67 74, Sophie Giquel (Fra) 69 73 73, Emily Bastel 69 73 73, Russamee Gulyanamitta (Tha) 68 73 74, Danielle Downey 70 71 74, Janice Moodie (Sco) 66 73 76
216 In Kyung Kim (Kor) 72 70 74, Eun Hee Ji (Kor) 66 75 75, Alena Sharp 70 72 74, Lindsey Wright (Aus) 71 71 74, Nancy Scranton 72 70 74, Nicole Castrale 72 68 76
217 Soo-Yun Kang (Kor) 68 71 78, Carolina Llano (Col) 68 74 75, Brittany Lang 71 71 75
219 Leta Lindley 69 73 77

US college golf season over

for Roseanne Niven

Roseanne Niven (University of California-Berkeley) will be heading home to Scotland after her college failed to qualify for the NCAA championships at Albuquerque, New Mexico from May 20 to 23.
Roseanne from Crieff, a former Scottish girls champion, finished 85th in a field of 108 at the NCAA Division 1 women's West Regional championship at Lincoln Hills Golf Club, Sacramento in California at the weekend.
California-Berkeley failed to make the top eight teams who qualified for the grand final later this month, which climaxes the US college golf season. They finished in 12th place in a field of 21 teams.
Alison Walshe (Arizona), the Irish-born girl who will play for the United States in the Curtis Cup match over the Old Course at the end of the month, tied for individual honours on six-under-par 210 with Therese Koelbaek (UNLV) from Denmark.
Underlining the international dimensions of the US college circuits, Austrian Stefanie Endstrasser (Southern California) tied with Spaniard Azahara Munoz (Arizona State) for third place, only one shot behind.

Stacy Lewis (Arkansas), No 2 to Amanda Blumenherst in the US Curtis Cup team for St Andrews, had been expected to win the individual title but she finished seven shots off the pace on 217, four ahead of Sweden's Anna Nordqvist (Arizona State), beaten finalist in last year's British women's open amateur championship at Leeds but still to lodge an entry for next months' "British" at North Berwick.

England's Hannah Bews (Portland State) finished joint 56th on 228.

HOW THEY FINISHED
Individuals
Par 216 (3 x 72). 6338yd
210 Therese Koelbaek (UNLV) 69 68 73, Alison Walshe (Arizona) 68 73 69.
211 Stefanie Endstrasser (Southern California) 71 71 69, Azahara Munoz (Arizona State) 69 71 71.
Other scores:
214 Dewi-Claire Schreefel (Southern California) 71 70 73.
216 Belen Mozo (Southern California) 73 73 70.
217 Stacy Lewis (Arkansas) 69 76 72.
221 Anna Nordqvist (Arizona State) 77 70 74.
228 Hannah Bews (Portland State) 76 75 77 (jt 56th).
233 Roseanne Niven (California) 82 74 77 (85th.
Teams who qualified.
855 Southern California. 870 Arizona State. 879 UNLV. 880 Arizona. 882 Oklahoma State, Arkansas. 884 Tulsa. 892 UC Davis (beat Ohio State and Stanford in play-off for eighth place).

Danielle McVeigh, Ellie Givens

head for post-season action

Danielle McVeigh (Texas A&M) from Kilkeel, Northern Ireland and England's Ellie Givens (Denver) will be heading for the NCAA championships at Albuquerque, New Mexico from May 20 to 23 after their colleges finished in the top eight at the NCAA Division 1 women's Central Regional championship at the University of Texas golf course, Austin.

Danielle had rounds of 71, 78 and 72 to finish 19th in a field of 108 behind Spain's Maria Hernandez (Purdue) and South American Maria Jose Uribe (UCLA) who tied for first place individually on eight-under-par 208.

Valentine Derrey (Texas Christian) from Paris finished third on 210.

Ellie Givens, pictured above, winner of the English girls' championship last year, scored 74, 80 and 74 for a share of 45th place on 228.

But it was a sad end to the 2007-2008 US college golf season for Tara Delaney (Kent State) from Carlow, Northern Ireland. She played in the GB&I Curtis Cup team in Oregon two years ago but did not make it to the final eight for the 2008 match against the Americans at St Andrews - although she is heading for the Old Course as a spectator.

Tara had scores in the Central Regional championship of 78, 77 and 86 to finish joint 91st on 241.

In her final round, Tara had double bogeys at the second, third, fourth and 11th.

HOW THEY FINISHED

Individuals

Par 216 (3 x 72) 6301yd

208 Maria Hernandez (Purdue) 66 73 69, Maria Jose Uribe (UCLA) 65 73 70.

210 Valentine Derrey (Texas Christian) 67 70 73.

Other scores:

215 Caroline Westrup (Florida State) 70 73 72.

221 Danielle McVeigh (Texas A&M) 71 78 73 (19th).

228 Ellie Givens (Denver) 74 80 74 (jt 45th).

241 Tara Delaney (Kent State) 78 77 86 (jt 91st).

Teams who qualified

861 UCLA. 871 Purdue. 882 Denver. 884 Texas Christian. 885 Texas A&M. 886 Alabama. 899 Texas. 902 Louisiana State (beat Florida State in play-off for eighth place).

Scot will be in US action week before Curtis Cup

Krystle finishes joint fourth, now
for NCAA Championships

Krystle Caithness finished joint fourth in a field of 108 for the NCAA Division 1 women's East Regional college golf championship over the University of Georgia course - her home course in the States - at Athens, Georgia.
Krystle's effort clinched the University of Georgia's place in the end of the college season NCAA national championships at Albuquerque, New Mexico from May 20 to 23 - only a week before the 19-year-old from Cellardyke, Fife will be playing for Great Britain & Ireland against the United States at her other home course, the Old Course at St Andrews, from May 30 to June 1.
Krystle had rounds of 70, 73 and 74 for a one-over-par total over the 6,335yd, par-72 course. Starting at the 10th in her final round, the Fifer birdied the long 12th but had a double bogey 5 at the short 13th and dropped another shot at the 16th before she birdied the long 17th.
Then she had a bad run of bogeys over the first, second and third holes but finished on a high with birdies at the fifth and ninth.
She finished three shots behind the individual winner from Belgium, Benedicte Toumpsin (South Carolina) and two behind US Curtis Cup team ace Amanda Blumenherst (Duke), the top-ranked female player on the American college circuit, and Sara-Maude Juneau (Louisville).
Krystle's Curtis Cup team-mate, Jodi Ewart (New Mexico) will be heading home to Yorkshire as neither she nor her college qualified for the NCAA championships. New Mexico finished ninth, one shot behind the eight-placed Furman University, and only the top eight qualified.
Jodi had a disappointing tournament, finishing joint 36th with a total of 12-over-par 228, made up of scores of 76, 77 and 75.
Anna Scott (Georgia State) from Consett, Co Durham finished tied 17h on 223 with scores of 75, 75 and 73.
Olivia Jordan-Higgins (Charleston Southern) from the Channel Islands scored 75 81 and 79 for a share of 68th place on 235.
England's Laura Cutler (Jacksonville State) and Claire Starkie (Georgia State) finished joint 85th on 240, Laura with scores of 86, 79 and 75, Claire with 83, 77 and 80.
Another English player, Portia Abbot (Jacksonville State) from Wiltside finished in joint 98th place on 246 with scores of 82, 80 and 84.
Also on 246 was Rebecca Watson (Tennessee) from Edinburgh, the second Scot in the field, with scores of 85, 78 and 83 for 30-over-par 246. Rebecca's younger sister Sally is a member of the GB&I team to play the Americans.
Georgia (889) finished third behind Florida (883) and Duke (884) in the team event in which the top eight teams advanced to Albuquerque later this month.
HOW THEY FINISHED
Individuals
Par 216 (3 x 72) 6335yd
214 Benedicte Toumpsin (South Carolina) 68 70 76.
215 Amanda Blumenherst (Duke) 68 73 74, Sara-Maude Juneau (Louisville) 67 74 74.
217 Krystle Caithness (Georgia) 70 73 74, Cydney Clanton (Auburn) 70 75 72, Alexandra Phelps (New Mexico) 71 73 73.
Other scores:
223 Anna Scott (Georgia State) 75 75 73 (jt 17th).
228 Jodi Ewart (New Mexico) 76 77 75 (jt 36th).
235 Olivia Jordan-Higgins (Charleston Southern) 75 81 79 (jt 68th).
240 Laura Cutler (Jacksonville State) 86 79 75, Claire Starkie (Georgia State) 83 77 80 (jt 85th).
246 Rebecca Watson (Tennessee) 85 78 83, Portia Abbot (Jacksonville State) 82 80 84 (jt 98th).

Teams who qualified.
883 Florida. 884 Duke. 889 Georgia. 894 Auburn. 898 Virginia. 899 South Carolina, Wake Forest. 900 Furman.