Some of the competitors at Largs Golf Club on Sunday.

Ayrshire Girls' Spring Medal

Rachel Irvine, pictured right, playing over her home course, won the Ayrshire girls' spring medal at Largs Golf Club on Sunday, but only on the better inward half from Grace Mackie of Troon. Both returned net 75s, Rachel off 15, Grace off 17.
Nine girls competed in the 18-hole competition, while 13 pre-handicap girls played 10 holes from forward junior tees.
Results
Silver Division
1st Rachel Irvine (Largs) 90 (15) 75 bih
2nd Grace Mackie (Troon Ladies) 92 (17) 75.
Bronze Division
1st Hope Lyden (Skelmorlie) 115 (35) 80.
2nd Alexandra Brown (Turnberry) 115 (31) 84.

Pre-Handicap
10-11 years 12-13 years
1st Lindsay Scott (Troon Bentinck) ................ Megan McCaig (Barassie)
2nd Rachael Blair (Largs) ................................. Jemma Wylie (Barassie)
3rd Bethan Muir (Troon Bentinck) ................. Emma Paterson (Loudoun)

Dean Robertson out to
-
nurture Patrick
-
Spraggs' talent

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING
By DAVID CHRISTIE
Former European Tour professional Dean Robertson has vowed to dedicate his time to University of Stirling emerging star Patrick Spraggs.
Spraggs, a first year Sports Studies scholar at Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence, won the 2010 R&A Foundation Scholars Tournament - victory bringing with it a place on the European Team for the Palmer Cup match against the United States in Northern Ireland.
Robertson, the European team coach, watched Spraggs pull away from the rest of the field at St Andrews' Castle Course to win comfortably and was then looking on as the 19-year-old finished a creditable fourth at the British Universities and Colleges Sport Individual Strokeplay final over the Dundonald Links last week.
Spraggs is the only Scottish-based golfer to be named among the eight European students who will take on their American counterparts at Royal Portrush County Golf Club from June 24 to 26.
And Robertson, who along with his assistant Walle Danewid, coached the Europe Palmer Cup team to victory at Cherry Hills last year, is keen to help Spraggs flourish.
He said: "Having won on the European Tour and also played in the Walker Cup, I bring a lot of experience for the guys to tap into and my primary focus is Patrick. I've watched him twice now and his game is most impressive so I'm sure he is going to fit in well with our team.
"There is no doubt he has the talent, but now we need to nurture it so he can prevail on what will be the biggest platform for his game to date. The aim is for him, in terms of his golf, to arrive a boy and leave a man.
"Royal Portrush is one of the best and toughest links in the world and the players will require a lot of craft - it's not just about power. Many of the Americans we faced last year will still be eligible. They went on to play in the Walker Cup team which demolished Europe and I expect the USA team to be very strong."
At the BUCS event, a final-round 72 left Spraggs, supported by a Winning Students scholarship, to rue an earlier round of 81 - the only blot on his copybook in a 295 total over 72 holes.
His performance, combined with that of David Booth (9th), Alex Culverwell (14th) and Bobby Rushford (15th), ensured the University of Stirling ran away with the team title (pictured above).
Spraggs, from Westhorpe in Suffolk, said: "My second round was disappointing and so while I'm happy to have finished fourth, I'm a little frustrated as I feel I could have won it. But on the whole I'm playing well at the moment so I can't complain.
"I'm hitting more greens and using my head a bit more rather than going gung-ho. It is great for Stirling to win the team title. Everyone gets on really well and it is a great set-up so even practising is fun. The camaraderie helps us all to play better and win tournaments."
Other Stirling students' finishing positions at Dundonald Links:
Men - Colin Baird (18th), Colin Thomson (22nd), Andrew Wallace (25th), Fraser Moore (34th) and Graeme Robertson (36th).
Women - Rebecca Wilson (4th) and Harriet Beasley (12th).

+The winning University of Stirling team at Dundonald Links is pictured above (left to right):
David Booth, Patrick Spraggs, Alex Culverwell and Colin Baird (Colin stood in for Bobby Rushford who was unavailable at the time).

Linzi Allan just outside top 20 in Texas

Ayrshire girl Linzi Allan, a freshman student at Newman University, Wichita, Kansas, finished joint 21st in a field of 93 players at the Tarleton State Coca-Cola Classic tournament at the par-72 6,216yd championship course at Harbor Lakes in Granbury, Texas.
Linzi, pictured, had rounds of 77 - 79 for a total of 156, She finished nine shots behind the winner, Carla Cooper from Tarleton State, with rounds of 73-74 for 147.
Linzi will be in action this week for Newman University in the Heartland Conference Championship’s which takes place at Rose Creek GC, Edmond in Oklahoma.

Also competing at Harbor Lakes were England's Alyssa Balding and Megan Birdsey, team-mates of Linsi Allan at Newman University.

Alyssa, from Northumberland, had scores of 84 and 83 for a shared of 68th place on 167 while Megan, from Bedfordshire, had rounds of 87 and 85 for 172 and a share of 83rd place in the big field.

Midlothian's winning line-up (left to right): Rachael Watton, Kate McIntosh, Gabrielle Macdonald, Hannah Scott (reserve) and Gillian Simpson (image courtesy of Tracy Laughland).

MIDLOTHIAN GOLF GIRLS MAKE IT FIVE

IN A ROW AT CUTHBERTSON CUP

Midlothian Under-18 girls golf team have won the Cuthbertson Cup for the fifth year in a row. They beat Fife 3 1/2-1/2 in the final at Ratho Park while East Lothian beat Stirling & Clackmannan 2-0 in the play-off for third place in cold and wet conditions.
In the semi-finals, Midlothian beat Stirling & Clackmannan 4-0, and Fife had a 2 1/2-1 1/2 win over East Lothian.
Results:
Semi-finals
MIDLOTHIAN 4, STIRLING & CLACKMANNAN 0
Rachael Watton bt Alison Goodwin 5 and 4.
Gabrielle Macdonald bt Alexis Hutton 5 and 3.
Gillian Simpson bt Tiffiny Wood 5 and 3.
Kate McIntosh bt Nicole Underhill 4 and 2.

FIFE 2 1/2, EAST LOTHIAN 1 1/2
Rachael Hanlon halved with Keren Ward.
Samantha Munro lost to Clara Young 1 hole.
Lauren Whyte bt Catherine Small 8 and 7.
Shannen McGuire bt Jenny Sewell 3 and 2.

Final
MIDLOTHIAN 3 1/2, FIFE 1/2
Rachael Watton halved with Rachel Hanlon.
Gabrielle Macdonald beat Samantha Munro 5 and 4.
Gillian Simpson beat Lauren Whyte 3 and 2.
Kate McIntosh beat Shannen McGuire 5 and 3.

Third-place play-off

EAST LOTHIAN 2, STIRLING & CLACKMANNAN 0
Keren Ward & Clara Young bt Alison Goodwin & Tiffiny Wood 5 and 4.
Catherine Small & Jenny Sewell bt Alexis Hutton & Beth Donaghue 5 and 4.

Krystle's longest drive ....

Krystle Caithness is so determined to keep her date with Women's British Open champion Catriona Matthew at the Nations Cup in Spain this week she has become golf’s equivalent of Steve Martin – minus the planes!
For the Cupar-based 21-year-old Fifer, who learned to play golf over the Old Course, St Andrews, has taken to trains, boats and automobiles to represent Scotland for the first time as a professional.
Due to the widespread cancellation of flights throughout Europe, Krystle and caddy Scott Barry are currently working their way to the Alicante, Spain venue.
Starting out on Sunday, the 110sport golfer travelled by train to London from Edinburgh, then took a car on Monday to Dover for a ferry crossing to Dunkirk.
And from there it was back to four wheels again for the drive south.
"It's not everyday you get the opportunity to travel across Europe by different methods of transport. It's an adventure and an experience but one that I’ve been enjoying,” said Krystle.
“I’m desperate to represent Scotland – so much so that a volcano in Iceland isn’t going to stop me.”
Krystle represented Great Britain & Ireland as an amateur in the 2008 Curtis Cup match against the United States over the Old Course, St Andrews. She was also a regular member of the Scotland women's amateur team.

Manchester pair win Northern foursomes

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
Manchester’s Elaine Clark (a Scot!) teamed up with a new partner to win the Northern ladies’ foursomes for the second year in succession. This year, at Pontefract and District, Elaine paired with club colleague Jennifer Fallows, having previously partnered Karen Clayton.
The champions had a 2 and 1 win in the final over two of Yorkshire’s rising stars, Megan Lockett and Holly Morgan.The losing semi-finalists were the Pontefract ladies’ captain Lynn Peace and vice-captain Helen Roe; and another Yorkshire pair, Helen Searle and Charlotte Austwick. Results
Challenge Cups
Winners: Elaine Clark & Jennifer Fallows (Manchester)
Runners up: Megan Lockett and Holly Morgan (Huddersfield/ Lees Hall)
Semi-finalists: Helen Roe & Lynn Peace (Pontefract & District), Charlotte Austwick & Helen Searle (Pike Hills/West End).
Stableford event
34 pts Kath Hetherington & Sheila Stubbs (Pontefract); Trixie Stott-Johnson & Di Hunt (Royal Liverpool); Marilyn Chapman & Jill Ware (Low Laithes)
Four team event
74 pts Kath Hetherington & Shelia Stubbs (Pontefract), Christine Davison & Julie Ludwell (Pontefract).
66pts Christine Hamiliton & Christine Cole (Cleckheaton), Jean Waring & Olivia Hamilton (Ripon/Cleckheaton)
Lyndsey Hewison
Press & PR Officer

Helen Holm Scottish women's 'major' starts on Friday

Leona Maguire from the Slieve Russell Club, only 14 years of age at the time of last year's "Helen Holm" triumph at Troon. Twin sister Lisa was officially placed third (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency).

Continentals' conundrum: How to get to

Troon in time for Thursday practice

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

This weekend's Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play championship - the first major event of the domestic women's amateur golf season - could be severly affected if the volcanic ash grounding of flights all over Europe is not relaxed within the next 24 to 48 hours.

Thursday is the last day for practice. The tournament starts with one round over Troon Portland links on Friday.

The high-quality field includes 14 entries from France, 16 from Ireland, 2 from Norway, 6 from Sweden, 2 from Spain (including Majorca-based Scot Lauren Mackin) and one from Russia.

The Irish contingent should have no problems if they set off early enough to catch a ferry but remember the Ireland v Scotland senior women's international (due to be played on Sunday and today at Portmarnock) had to be postponed when the Scots team, their flight plans scrapped, could not get on any of the fully-booked ferries to Ireland.

The Scottish Ladies Golfing Association website is displaying the following message:
"The Helen Holm Scottish Open Stroke Play Championship 2010 will go ahead as planned despite the flight restrictions currently in place across much of Europe.
"There are likely to be significant changes to the published draw for both Friday 23 and Saturday 24 April. A revised draw will be published on this web-site at 3pm on Thursday 22 April.
"Alternatively, players who are unable to access the web-site should call the SLGA mobile after 3pm on Thursday 22 April for their revised times."

Claire Hargan, the SLG Tournament Director, commented this afternoon:

"As you would expect we have had some cancellations from quite a few of the European players due to their flights being cancelled and I expect there will be some more.
"I did speak to Rachel Taylor’s father (Rachel is a Germany-based Scotland girl international) this morning and he said that they were currently looking into options to try and make it from the South of Germany (i.e. they are considering driving to Belgium and then getting the ferry from there!).
The Ladies Golf Union's selection committee will meet at Troon on Sunday night to select the Great Britain & Ireland team of eight for the Curtis Cup match against the United States at Essex County Club, Massachusetts from June 11 to 13.
They will be out in force running an eye over candidates in the "Helen Holm" - although three members of the preliminary squad selected last autumn, Lucy Gould (Bargoed), Stephanie Meadow (Royal Portrush) and Sally Watson (Elie & Earlsferry Ladies), are students at American colleges.
Three other members of the squad have since turned professional - Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle), Carly Booth (Comrie) and Rhian Wyn Thomas (Vale of Glamorgan).
Last year's top 10 in'Helen Holm'

Par 225: First two rounds over Troon Portland (par 75), final round at Royal Troon (par 75)

219 Leona Maguire (Ireland) 69 77 73.

221 Kelsey MacDonald (Scotland) 75 72 74.

222 Lisa Maguire (Ireland) 74 74 74, Emma Brown (England) 74 73 75.

223 Danielle McVeigh (Ireland) 74 76 73, Tara Davies (Wales) 77 71 75.

224 Louise Kenney (Scotland) 76 73 75, Lucie Andre (France) 74 74 76.

225 Naomi Edwards (England) 76 74 75.

226 Charlotte Wild (England) 74 78 74, Rhian Wyn Thomas (Wales) 73 77 76, Laura Murray (Scotland) 75 74 77.

Left to right: Handicap champion Wilma Murray, Eilidh McTavish, scratch champion Cara Gruber and Alison Bartlett after today's presentation of trophies in the Moray clubhouse. Images courtesy of Dorothy Marshall.

Cara Gruber wins Northern

Counties title No 4 at Lossie

Royal Dornoch's Cara Gruber today won the Northern Counties women's championship for the third year in a row and the fourth time since her first victory in 2001.
She beat clubmate Alison Bartlett by 2 and 1 in a closely-contested final in which Gruber only really mastered her oponent over the last three holes.
The match was all square at the eighth before Gruber went two up with successes at the 10th and 11th.
Bartlett hit back to square the contest by winnin the 12th and 13th. After the 13th and 14th were halved, Cara made the decisive more by winnng the 15th and 16th and halving the 17th for a 2 and 1 victory.
A Royal Dornoch double was completed in the handicap final when Wilma Murray, who plays off 16, beat 15-year-old Elgin junior, Eilidh McTavish (Elgin) by one hole.
Eilidh, who had her handicap cut from 26 to 24 in heading the handicap match-play qualifiers, was two up at the eighth but then lost the ninth to a birdie from Wilma who also won the next holes to go one up.
They halved the 12th and 13th before young Eilidh won the 14th to bring it back to all square. A bad tee shot from Eilidh on the short 15th, where Wilma hit the green with hers - saw Murray go one up again.
It was still a ding-dong final with Murray winning the 16th and McTavish the 17th.
Murray, one up on the 18th tee, was able to halve the hole and win the handicap title by one hole.
Both handicap finalists were making their debuts in the Northern Counties championship and for Eilidh it was the first time she had ever played in a match-play competition.
Today's results:
SCRATCH CHAMPIONSHIP
Semi-finals
Cara Gruber (Royal Dornoch) bt Jenny Milne (Elgin) 8 and 6.
Alison Bartlett (Royal Dornoch) bt Mary Smith (Tain) 1 hole.
Final
Gruber bt Barlett 2 and 1.
HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP
Semi-finals
Eilidh McTavish (Elgin) (24) bt Sally Rowan (Inverness) (22) 2 holes.
Wilma Murray (Royal Dornoch) (16) bt Alison Burnett (Royal Dornoch) (21) 4 and 3.
Final
Murray bt McTavish 1 hole.

University golf

Good article on the state of university golf in Britain, written by Lewine Mair,  can be found on Global Golf Post at digital.globalgolfpost.com/globalgolfpost/20100419?sub_id=BApMIicq7HBub#pg19

Volcanic ash not stopping L E T players from getting

to the Nations Cup at Alicante, Spain this week

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Despite travel challenges due to the volcanic ash cloud across Europe, its full steam ahead for this week’s Comunitat Valenciana European Nations Cup at La Sella Resort in Dénia, Alicante, Spain.
With planes grounded, England’s Melissa Reid, who is due to compete with Karen Stupples, made the epic trek from the UK by car with Breanne Loucks from Wales. Her playing partner Becky Brewerton was already at her holiday home in Spain practising.
Golfers have been driving in from all around Europe, including Ursula Wikstrom, who drove all the way from Finland, a journey of several thousand miles
Dutch duo Christel Boeljon and Marjet van der Graaff set off from Holland by car over the weekend determined to arrive in time to defend their title. However it looks unlikely that Maria Verchenova will be able to travel from Moscow in Russia in time.
Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon are both flying in from the United States, while Sweden’s Sophie Gustafson and Anna Nordqvist will be coming from Jamaica, where Nordqvist won the Mojo6 tournament on Sunday. Their flights were delayed after Barcelona airport was closed, but it has since re-opened. Germany’s Sandra Gal was also heading the same way.
In a marathon effort, Australian Karen Lunn made it from Abu Dhabi, changing flights several times to ensure she would arrive to compete with Karrie Webb.
The players are all looking forward to representing their respective countries at the tournament, which will receive daily international television coverage.
Nightly highlights will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Sport TV in Portugal, ESS in Asia, Viasat Sport in Scandinavia, Golf+ in Spain and Fox Sports in Australia.
Additional highlights will be shown on The Golf Channel in America, Sport + in France and on a number of other channels in various countries throughout the world.