Ulster's easy win in opening U-18 match

Ulster, seeking to win the title for the first time, had a convincing 7 1/2-1 1/2 win over Connacht win on the opening day of the Under-18 girls' inter-provincial matches at Woodenbridge Golf Club, Co Wicklow today.
Meanwhile, Leinster and Munster drew 4 1/2-4 1/2.
Details:
LEINSTER 4½, MUNSTER 4½
Foursomes
Patrice Delaney & Carla Reynolds lost to Emma O’Driscoll & Laura McCarthy 2&1.
Sarah Murray & Anna Courtney halved with Eadaoin Cronin & Sinead Sexton.
Lauren Murray & Amy Farrell bt Julie Coyne & Jenny Hennessy 4&3.
Singles
Patrice Delaney bt Emma O’Driscoll 1 hole.
Carla Reynolds lost to Laura McCarthy 5&4.
Niamh O’Connor bt Michelle McCarthy 2&1.
Sarah Murray lost to Julie Coyne 2 holes.
Anna Courtney bt Edel Coyne 4 and 3.
Terri Byrne lost to Sinead Sexton 5&4.

ULSTER 7½, CONNACHT 1½
Foursomes
Sarah Louise Winter & Tara Gribben bt Sarah Helly & Daryl Conroy 3&2.
Megan Thompson & Kelsey Coey lost to Julie O’Gara & Aisling Hill 2&1.
Paula Grant & Erin Connolly bt Aoife McHale & Amy Gaynor 3&1.
Singles
Lisa Maguire bt Sarah Helly 2&1.
Sarah Louise Winter bt Daryl Conroy 3&2.
Tara Gribben bt Julie O’Gara 3&2.
Kelsey Coey halved Aoife McHale.
Paula Grant bt Amy Gaynor 4&3.
Erin Connolly bt Aishling Hill 5&3.
THURSDAY'S PROGRAMME
CONNACHT v MUNSTER 0
Foursomes
Sarah Helly & Amy Gaynor v Emma O'Driscoll & Laura McCarthy.
Daryl Conroy & Aoife McHale v Julie Coyne & Edel Coyne.
Julie O'Gara & Aishling Hill v Eadoiin Cronin & Sinead Sexton.
ULSTER v LEINSTER
Foursomes
Leona Maguire & Lisa Maguire v Patrice Delaney & Carla Reynolds.
Sarah Louise Winter & Tara Gribben v Sarah Murray & Anna Courtney.
Paula Grant & Erin Connolly v Lauren Murray & Amy Farrel.
FRIDAY'S PROGRAMME
MUNSTER v ULSTER
LEINSTER v CONNACHT

Liz Keohone topples Ayrshire

top seed Rachael McQueen

Top seed Rachael McQueen (Troon Ladies) was toppled in the quarter-finals of the Ayrshire women's county golf championship at Glasgow Gailes today.
She went down by 4 and 3 to the No 8 qualifier Liz Keohone (Loudoun) who will play 18-year-old nine-handicapper Hannah Gaunt (Troon) in the first semi-final.
Hannah, the No 4 seed, had a very good 19th hole win over fifth qualifier Ros Purdom (Prestwick St Nicholas) in the quarter-finals.
The other semi-final is Alex Glennie (Kilmarnock Barassie), the 2004 county champion, and Lesley Hendry (Routenburn), title-winner in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Alex is the No 3 seed and Lesley the No 2 seed.
Results:
First round
R McQueen (Troon Ladies) bt G Arnott (Kilbirnie) 3 and 2.
L Keohone (Loudoun Gowf) bt L Parry (Irvine) 5 and 4.
R Purdom (Prestwick St Nicholas) bt L Williamson (Kilmarnock Barassie) 3 and 2.
H Gaunt (Troon Ladies) bt B Beckett (Caprington) 3 and 2.
A Glennie (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt E Taylor (Troon Ladies) 3 and 2.
A Thompson (Loudoun Gowf) bt R Donaldson (Troon Ladies) 6 and 5.
G Smith (Ardeer) bt J West (Irvine) 5 and 4.
L Hendry (Routenburn) bt L Allan (West Kilbride) 2 holes.
Quarter-finals
Keohone bt McQueen 4 and 3.
Gaunt bt Purdom at 19th.
Glennie bt Thompson at 20th.
Hendry bt Smith 2 and 1.

Helen squeezes through at 19th

to earn semi-final against Kylie

The second, third and fourth seeds - Anna Telfer, Laura McGeachy and Nichola Ferguson - failed to make it through to the last four in the Dunbartonshire & Argyll women's county golf championship at Hayston Golf Club today (Wed).
One up on the 18th tee against Helen Faulds (Douglas Park) in the quarter-finals, Clober's Nichola Ferguson drove out of bounds and with her second shot found a bunker. At the 19th, Nichola had to chip out from behind a tree and Helen, pictured right, sank a 28ft putt for a place in this morning's semi-finals (9am and 9.10) against top seed and defending champion Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle).
The other semi-final features No 6 qualifier Kirstin Scott (Milngavie), conqueror by 2 and 1 of Laura McGeachy (Windyhill) against No 10 Fiona McLean (Hilton Park), who was a 2 and 1 winner over Anna Telfer (Milngavie).
The Bronze champion final between Morag Dunan (Milngavie) Kirkintilloch junior Jorden Ferrie will tee off at 9.20am.
Results:
First round - K Walker (Buchanan Castle) bt P Cawley (Cardross) 4 and 3, L McColl (Bearsden) bt S Tryon (Gleddoch) 5 and 4, H Faulds (Douglas Park) bt S Hay (Kirkintilloch) 5 and 4, N Ferguson (Clober) bt I Harvie (St Rule) 6 and 5, L McGeachy (Windyhill) bt L Moffat (Helensburgh) 1 hole, K Scott (Milngavie) bt B Robertson (Helensburgh) 7 and 6, F McLean (Hilton Park) bt L Campbell (Cardross) 2 holes, A Telfer (Milngavie) bt E Young (Balmore) 1 hole.

Quarter-finals - Walker bt McColl 6 and 5, Faulds bt Ferguson at 19th, Scott bt McGeachy 2 and 1, McLean bt Telfer 4 and 2.
BRONZE CHAMPIONSHIP
Semi-finals - M Dunan (Milngavie) bt M Charters (Hayston) 1 hole, J Ferrie (Kirkintilloch) bt A Byiers (Milngavie) 7 and 6.

Megan Briggs top seed as she bids

for Renfrewshire title four-timer

Scotland international Megan Briggs is bidding to win the Renfrewshire women's county golf championship for a fourth year in a row at Whitecraigs Golf Club this week.
The 19-year-old Kilmacolm player, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency at last September's Women's Home Internationals at Wrexham, made a good start by leading the 16 match-play qualifiers today in cold, raw and windy conditions with a round of 74, one more than the CSS.
Megan is seeded to meet the No 2 qualifier, Clare-Marie Carlton (Fereneze), the 2003 champion, in Friday's final. Clare-Marie had a 75.
Third best qualifier was Donna Jackson (Cochrane Castle) with a 76. Donna, a record 10 times county champion between 1989 and 2005, was the last player to win the Renfrewshire title four years in a row. She did it from 1989 to 1992.
Megan Briggs' 15-year-old sister Eilidh, whom she beat 4 and 3 in last year's final, qualified in fourth place with a 78. That puts the Briggs girls in the same half of the draw so a repeat of last year is impossible.
MATCH-PLAY QUALIFIERS
SSS 72. CSS 73 (field of 55 players)

74 Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm).

75 Clare-Marie Carlton (Fereneze).

76 Donna Jackson (Cochrane Castle).

78 Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm).

80 Gillian Kyle (East Renfrewshire), Alyson McKechin (Elderslie), Natasha Qayum (Ranfurly Castle).

81 Gillian McGinlay (Cochrane Castle), Carol White (Windyhill), Linda Stevenson (Whitecraigs).

82 Beth Paterson (Eastwood).

84 Linsey Stevenson (Elie & Earlsferry).

85 Linda McDougall (Greenock).

86 Jennifer Mack (Haggs Castle), Liz Stewart (Greenburn).

87 Eva Thomson (East Renfrewshire).

DRAW

Top half
9.15 M Briggs v E Thomson.

9.22 C Whyte v G McGinlay.

9.30 G Kyle v Linsey Stevenson.

9.37 L McDougall v E Briggs.

Lower half
9.45 D Jackson v J Mack.

9.52 B Paterson v A McKechin.

10.0 N Qayum v Linda Stevenson.

10.07 L Stewart v C-M Carlton.

Quarter-finals at 1.30, 1.37, 1.45 and 1.52.

Joy day for Meigle student in Colorado

Jacqueline Sneddon scores

first win in United States

Jacqueline Sneddon, a second-year student at Grand Canyon University, Arizona, has scored her first victory in the United States.
Jacqueline, from Meigle, Perthshire, kept her head after a triple bogey at the final hole in the 36-hole Maverick Invite women's college tournament at Redlands Mesa Golf Club at Grand Junction, Colorado cost her victory within the regulation distance.
That late, late slip meant Jacqueline had to go into a sudden-death play-off with Sadie Peavler (Mesa State College) who had led the Scot by eight shots with a first-round 69 over the par-72, 6452. They tied on 155 at the head of a field of 31 players, Jacqueline, pictured right, scoring 77 and 78 to Sadie's 69 and 86.
And the first hole of the play-off was the 18th hole which Miss Sneddon had messed up a few minutes earlier.
But Jacqeline made no mistake this time. She actually had a chance of a birdie but could not hole the putt although a par figure was good enough to beat her opponent and win the title.
Her previous best performance in a US women's college tournament was a joint second finish.
"It was really exciting to get a chance to play the last hole again and play it like I knew I could," said Jacqueline whose outstanding display enabled Grand Canyon to win the team title by three shots from Mesa State College in a field of six teams.
"We all played solid. It's great for our team to get a win under our belt going into our last tournament."
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72) 6452yd
155 Jacqueline Sneddon (Grand Canyon University) 77 78, Sadie Peavler (Mesa State College) 69 86.
157 Jennifer Lutz (Grand Canyon University) 77 78.
Field of 31 players.
LEADING TEAM TOTALS
648 Grand Canyon University.
651 Mesa State College.
696 Regis University.
Field of six teams.

Natasha Podmore off form for

West Conference championship

Natasha Podmore (San Francisco University) from Warrington finished joint 13th in a small field of 25 for the West Coast Conference women's college championship at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club, Vallejo in California.

Two courses were used, both par 72. The first two rounds were played over a 5974yd lay-out, the final round over a 6003 course.

For whatever reason, Natasha, pictured right, played well below her best. She had rounds of 76, 82 and 80 for 238. She had no birdies at all in her second and third rounds. The first hole cost her a double bogey 6 in both the first and second rounds.

Jayvie Agojo (Pepperdine) won by seven shots with a total of 221, made up of rounds of 72, 74 and 75.

Her nearest rivals were team-mate Kaitlin Droison with 77, 76 and 75, and Gonzaga University's Rachel Sibbit with 76, 77 and 75.

Pepperdine (905) won the team title ahead of San Francisco (923) in a field of only five teams.

Harper, Leeds make top 30 at Roswell

Odessa College, Texas team-mates Kris Harper from Carnoustie and Ross Leeds from Glenfarg finished joint 20th and joint 27th respectively in a field of 60 players for the NJCAA Region V Championship at Roswell, New Mexico (April 13-14).
Harper had scores of 73, 75 and 72 for a total of four-over-par 220 and Leeds scored 72, 77 and 72 for 221 over a par-72, 6652yd course.
Henrich Frylinck (Midland College) won by a shot with scores of 67, 71 and70 for 208.
Midland (847) won the team title by 13 shots from McLennan CC and Frank Phillips College. Odessa (881) came sixth in a field of nine.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72) 6652yd
208 Henrich Frylinck (Midland) 67 71 70.
209 Zach Fullerton (NMJC) 71 68 70.
Selected scores:
220 Kris Harper (Odessa) 73 75 72 (jt 20th).
221 Ross Leeds (Odessa) 72 77 72(jt 27th).
Field of 60 players.
LEADING TEAMS
847 Midland.
860 McLennan, Frank Phillips College.
Selected score:
881 Odessa (6th of 9).

Adam Lindsay makes top 10

at Brickyard Crossing

Banchory's Adam Lindsay, a student at Iowa Wesleyan College, followed up the sixth win on the US college golf circuit by finished joint ninth in a field of 75 players for the NAIA Classic at Brickyard Crossing Golf Club, Indianapolis (April 14).

Lindsay, coming up to the end of his four years in America, had scores of 72 and 74 for a total of 146 over the par-72, 6994yd course. Graeme Molloy from Glasgow, a student at Grand View College, Des Moines, came joint 32nd with 77 and 74 for 151.

Dusty Drenth (St Ambrose University) won with 72 and 68 for six-under-par 140.

Editor's note: If you have ever heard of a golf club with a worse sounding name than "Brickyard Crossing," please E-mail it to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Grant Carnie joint second at

Etowah Valley Country Club

Newburgh on Ythan GC member Grant Carnie from Ellon, Aberdeenshire - a student at Brevard College, North Carolina, finished joint second in the Independent Collegiate Invite one-round men's golf tournament at Etowah Valley Country Club, Etowah in North Carolina (on April 13).

Carnie returned a two-under-par 70 over the 6,796yd course to tie with team-mate Brett McGaughey, one shot behind the winner, Rylan Lanham (West Carolina) in a field of 86 players.

Carnie, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, is one of four Scots on the Brevard College golf roster.

Craig Galloway from Calder, West Lothian finished joint 34th on 77; Myles Johnston from Bo'ness shared 44th place on 78 and Aberdonian Tom Rennie, a member at Deeside GC, tied for 53rd place on 79.

Brevard College headed a field of 14 squads in the team event with a total of 291, three ahead of Barton College.

Neil Henderson best of Scots in

Palisades Classic at Charlotte

North Berwick's Neil Henderson, a student at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, finished joint 33rd in a field of 86 for the Palisades Collegiate Classic at Palisades Country Club, Charlotte in North Carolina (April 13-14).
Former Scottish boys cap Lewis Kirton (Louisville) from Oldmeldrum) tied for 45th place.
Baberton GC member Paul Ferrier, the 2007 Scottish boys champion and a student at Charlotte University, shared 53rd place.
Henderson, a former Scottish schoolboys title-holder and past Scottish junior champion of champions, had rounds of 72, 73 and 76 for an aggregate of 221 over the par-72, 6,797yd course.
Kirton scored 76, 70 and 80 for 226 while Ferrier had rounds of 79, 73 and 75 for 227.
Stephen Keane from Glasgow,a student at Belmont Abbey College, finished 83rd with scores of 80, 78 and 81 for 239.
Mike Van Sickle (Marquette University) won by two shots with scores of 69, 65 and 66 for 16-under-par 200.
LEADING TOTALS
Individuals
Par 216 (3 x 72). 6797yd
200 Mike Van Sickle (Marquette) 69 65 66.
202 Vincent Nadeau (VCU) 67 66 70.
Selected British & Irish scores:
216 Chris Carvill (Belmont Abbey College) 70 67 77 (jt 18th).
221 Neil Henderson (Old Dominion) 72 73 76 (jt 33rd).
226 Lewis Kirton(Louisville) 76 70 80 (jt 45th).
227 Paul Ferrier (Charlotte) 79 73 75 (jt 53rd).
239 Stephen Keane (Belmont Abbey College) 80 78 81 (83rd).
Field of 86 players.
Teams
836 VCU. 843 Louisville. 858 Marquette. 8968 Old Dominion. Field of 15 teams.

ends