It's Green for Go for Amber (still only

14) at Hacienda del Alamo Festival

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Royal Cromer Golf Club junior member Amber Ratcliffe will be making her third appearance at the Hacienda del Alamo February Festival in a couple of months' time - and she's still only 14 years old!

Since she played in the 2nd Festival in February this year, Amber has won the Norolk schools championship with a gross one-over-par score. Then she won the English schools Under-16 girls championship at Northants County Golf Club with a brilliant opening round of eight-under-par 67 which smashed the course record by four shots, followed by a one-over-par second round.

Amber also played in the Norfolk county ladies championship for the first time and finished runner-up - and she was still only 13 years of age at the time.

She made her Norfolk county ladies debut at County Week, winning three out of four singles matches.

Amber, pictured above in action at the 2nd Hacienda del Alamo Festival, also won her county Under-16 championship and was selected the EWGA Select Midland Squad. Amber also played for England against Wales in a schools international and won her singles match, helping England to win the match overall.

Last, but certainly not least, because it is a barometer of her golfing progress - Amber has reduced her handicap to 2.6.

In the 3rd Hacienda del Alamo February Festival, Amber has entered the Murcia Under-16 Girls Open over 36 holes on the Monday-Tuesday, February 15-16, but she will step up to take on the Ladies in the Hacienda del Alamo Ladies Open over 54 holes on the Thursday-Friday-Saturday, February 18-19-20.

Even younger than Amber Ratcliffe is another entrant this week from High Ongar, Essex. She's Gabriella Cowley who had her 13th birthday on March 10. She is a member at Chelmsford Golf Club and has a handicap of 6.

Gabriella is to play in the Under-16 Girls Open over 54 holes from February 18 to 20.

There will be scratch and handicap sections in all the events.

We are still crying out for entries from seniors (over 50 years) and lady professionals.

The Lanark-based company Glenmuir, whose sweaters the European Ryder Cup team will be wearing in next year's match at Celtic Manor, is also providing prizes for the third year in a row at the Festival. Hacienda del Alamo Properties are also providing valuable support.

You can download an entry form and more details about the events by clicking on the appropriate wording at the top of the left hand column of the Home Page of this website.

Entries don't close until mid-January but we would like to know if YOU are coming or not!

If you want details about how much it costs to rent accommodation at the five-star Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort during the Festival, send an E-mail to John Green of Hacienda Del Alamo Properties at johngreen@hdagolfproperties.com
The cost per head obviously comes down dramatically if you are prepared to share the accommodation. That's why it makes sense to organise a group of your golfing friends to go with you to the five-star golf resort where the clubhouse is magnificent, the practice facilities brilliant and the Dave Thomas-designed course will bring the best out of you.

FESTIVAL ENTRIES RECEIVED SO FAR

Mary MacLaren: Murcia Ladies Open & Hacienda del Alamo Ladies Open.

Meghan MacLaren: Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.
Hannah Turland: Pairs with Hayley Davis, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.
Alice Hewson: Pairs with Dominic Hewson, Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.
Sally Watkins: Pairs with Jessica Bradley, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open
Charlie Douglass: Pairs with Holly Clyburn, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.
Hayley Davis: Pairs with Hannah Turland, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.
Georgia Gilling: HDA U-18 Girls Open.
Daisy Dyer: Pairs with Simon Brierley, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.
Nicola Callander: Pairs with Ella Ofstedahl & Murcia U-16 Girls Open.
Ella Ofstedahl: Pairs with Nicola Callander.
Holly Clyburn: Pairs with Charlie Douglass & Murcia Ladies Open.
Lucie Walker: Murcia U-18 Girls Open & HDA U-18 Girls Open.
Hannah Barwood: Pairs with Amy Boulden, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.
Jessica Bradley: Pairs with Sally Watkins, Murcia U-18 Girls Open & HDA U-18 Girls Open.
Emma Harris: Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.
Emily Taylor: Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-18 Girls Open.
Amy Boulden: Pairs with Hannah Barwood, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA U-18 Girls Open.
Dulcie Sverdloff: Pairs with Aaron Sverdloff, Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.
Aaron Sverdloff: Pairs with Dulcie Sverdloff.
Kelsey MacDonald: Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.
Linda Marr: Murcia Ladies Open (Seniors) & HDA Ladies Open (Seniors).
Linda Wilson: Murcia Ladies Open (Seniors) & HDA Ladies Open (Seniors).
Gillian Gardiner: Murcia Ladies Open (Seniors) & HDA Ladies Open (Seniors).
Audrey Lee: Murcia Ladies Open (Seniors) & HDA Ladies Open (Seniors).
Becky Gee: Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.
Hollie Vizard: HDA U-16 Girls Open.
Charlotte Humphries: HDA U-16 Girls Open.
Katherine Carragher: Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.
Danielle Anderson: HDA Ladies Open.
Amelia Taylor: Pairs with Jenna Birch, Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA U-16 Girls Open.
Jenna Birch: Pairs with Amelia Taylor, Murcia Ladies Open & HDA Ladies Open.
Gabriella Cowley: HDA U-16 Girls Open.
Amber Ratcliffe: Murcia U-16 Girls Open & HDA Ladies Open.

Kam Cheema: Pairs with Paul Cooper & HDA Ladies Open (Seniors).

Volvo offers discounts on new cars to EWGA members

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
Volvo are offering EWGA members special discounts on new cars as part of their sponsorship package with the association. The Volvo Privilege Price Plan is being extended to all EWGA members. It offers discounts ranging from £250 to £1,750 on a range of cars and includes free-of-charge metallic paint.
EWGA members can obtain full details of the scheme from Volvo Car UK by calling 0800 400 430 and can take advantage of the offer by taking their current handicap certificate to any UK Volvo dealer.
Volvo has partnered EWGA to sponsor competitions for club golfers: the EWGA Medals, the Australian Spoons stableford foursomes tournament and the Rose Spoon awards. The company also joined the sponsors of the 2009 PING Fourball Better-ball Tournament of England, which is run by EWGA.
Volvo is keen to create a relationship with women amateur golfers at club level and to welcoming more of them on to future Volvo Masters Amateur Tour events.
These are open to golfers of all ages and handicaps and take place all over the UK.Next year, the top two players at the EWGA Medal Finals and the winning pair at the PING Tournament will qualify for the 2010 UK final of the Volvo Masters Amateur Tour.
EWGA chief executive Jim Robinson said: “We are delighted to be working with Volvo for the benefit of our members.”
For more information on Volvo cars visit: www.volvocars.co.ukFor more information on the Volvo Masters Amateur Tour visit: www.vmatour.com
Lyndsey Hewison
Press & PR Officer

OCEANICO WORLD KIDS GOLF

JULY 26th — 30th, 2010

ALGARVE, PORTUGAL

Following last year’s hugely successful competition Oceanico Group would like to invite all aspiring young golfers to take part in the Oceanico World Kids Golf Championship 2010.
The tournament will be held from the 26th — 30th July, 2010 on Oceanico’s world class golf courses in the Algarve region of Portugal.
Amendoeira Golf Resort will serve as the headquarters for the event, and with on site facilities comprising of two fantastic golf courses, an incredible clubhouse, an array of sports facilities and luxury accommodation, this event could not be more fun, well organized and relaxing for our golfing families.
The competition is open for boys and girls age 7 to 18 years old
For more information click here.

Belles of the (Golf) Ball in Dubai

FLOWERS OF SCOTLAND ... blooming in Dubai. Vikki Laing (left) and Krystle Caithness all dressed up the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters pre-tournament dinner. Image by courtey of Ladies Golf Union Head of Golf Operations Susan Simpson who is out there as a Rules Referee. Some people have all the luck!

Catriona Matthew deserving winner of

top sportscotland Sports Award

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE

By MARTIN DEMPSTER

I don't know who they were, but the judges for the sportscotland Scottish Sports Awards deserve a huge pat on the back for recognising golf in a way that doesn't happen very often when it comes to these sort of things.

Catriona Matthew won the top award, David Law scooped the prize for amateur performance of the year, the Open got the vote for best sporting event in 2009 and Colin Montgomerie was honoured with a lifetime achievement award.

In an era when you sometimes feel as though football is the only sport people care about, this was all very refreshing and I only wish the results had been known before a conversation I had in the middle of last week.

There I was singing Matthew's praises in the wake of her magnificent win in the Women's British Open earlier this year, yet was struggling to convince a fellow golf journalist that her achievements in 2010 were greater than those of Andy Murray.

Don't get me wrong. I believe Murray has done a splendid job for Scottish sport over the last few years and exciting times lie ahead, there's no doubting that. It really does bug me, though, that Murray merits having a BBC Scotland journalist following him all around the world yet our golfers are often overlooked when they do something of note.

For once, golf got the plaudits it richly deserved and, in the case of Catriona Matthew, her award simply couldn't have gone to a more deserving recipient.

+Editor's note: My vote goes to Martin Dempster as Scotland's golf writer of the year!

The Dubai Challenge Match line-up with Catriona Matthew third from the right (image by courtesy of the Ladies European Tour website; click on it to enlarge).

Nordqvist and Gustafson win Omega Dubai Ladies

Masters Match with a birdie at the final hole

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
The players with Mohamed Juma Buamaim, vice chairman and CEO of golf in DUBAi, before the start of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters Match, sponsored by Jumeirah Golf Estates
DUBAI — Anna Nordqvist and Sophie Gustafson birdied the closing hole to win the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters Challenge Match, sponsored by Jumeirah Golf Estates, at Emirates Golf Club’s par-3 course on Monday.
The Swedish duo, leading by one shot going into the final round of a greensomes format competition, kept up their dominance to see off the challenge of their nearest rivals In-Kyung Kim (US) and Anja Monke (Germany), who also picked up a shot on the final hole.
The star US pairing of Michelle Wie and Christina Kim finished on level par, one stroke ahead of England’s four-time major winner Laura Davies and the 2009 British Open champion Catriona Matthew.
New Swedish sensation Nordqvist, who has became an instant celebrity after her stunning win in the 2009 LPGA Championship in only her fifth start on the tour, provided a glimpse of her precocious talent when she drilled her tee shot close to the pin, agonisingly missing out on a hole-in-one feat by just two inches.
“It was a great fun,” Christina said, echoing the feelings of fellow professionals. “I think it’s a great concept and it should be played more often ahead of the main tournaments where it’s a serious business. I think the fans also love watching us play in a relaxed atmosphere,” she said.
“It was a dream for me to play in Dubai and I thank golf in DUBAi for inviting me to play here. I would love to come back here next year. The (Majlis) course is great and the hospitality simply excellent,” said Christina, who is one of the most exciting players on the LPGA Tour because of her animated and vocal style of play.
The eight players, who featured in the Challenge Match, were selected the basis of their rankings and, of course, for their star value on the tour," said Mohamed Juma Buamaim, vice-chairman of golf in DUBAi, the promoters and organisers of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters.
"The intention behind organising this fun-filled event is try and encourage more and more golf fans to come to the Emirates Golf Club and cheer the leading professional lady golfers who would be competing in the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, he Buamaim, who praised the players for vitaully putting on a clinic in wedge play.
About the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, starting on Wednesday, he said: “All the fans will have easy access to the course as there is no entry fee. We have made elaborate arrangements to ensure that fans enjoy the proceedings on all four days of the tournament. A giant TV screen will be installed in the 'public village' for them to catch up the live action," he said.
"Different food and beverage outlets, charity putt competitions and free golf clinics will further add to the carnival-like atmosphere at the village," Buamaim said, adding: "We thank Jumeirah Golf Estates for sponsoring the Challenge Match."
'golf in DUBAi' is backed by Omega as the title sponsor and Dubal (Dubai Aluminium) as the sponsor while BMW, CNN, Emirates Airline, Emirates NBD, Gulf News, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Jumeirah Group, MasterCard and wasl are co-sponsors of the event in its drive to showcase the emirate's vibrant golfing scene to a worldwide audience.
The Challenge match results:
1. Sophie Gustafson (Sweden) and Anna Nordqvist (Sweden) — three under par
2. In Kyung Kim (US) and Anja Monke (Germany) — two under
3. Michelle Wie (US) and Christina Kim (US) — Level par
4. Laura Davies (England) and Catriona Matthew (Scotland) — one over