SWEDES LIVE UP TO PRE-TOURNAMENT FAVOURITES' TAG

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
By BETHAN CUTLER
Sweden entered the European Nations Cup as the pre-week favourites and they lived up to their billing today with a perfect nine under par 63 - the lowest round of the second day - in the Valencian Cup format.

The 2010 champions, Anna Nordqvist (pictured on the right of Sophie Gustafson, near left, and her partner took Team Sweden’s total to 13-under-par 131 at the halfway stage at La Sella Golf Resort in Alicante.

The home nation of Spain is their nearest challenger one stroke back after Azahara Muñoz and Maria Hernández carded a sensational 66.

Wales occupy third place two strokes further back at ten under after Becky Brewerton and Lydia Hall’s second round 66, with Germany in fourth spot on nine under par 135.

First-round leaders, Karen Lunn and Katherine Hull of Australia, recorded a 71 to move to eight under for the tournament in a tie for fifth alongside the French pair Karine Icher and Virginie Lagoutte-Clement, who shot 68.

Despite the cooler temperatures, it was hard not to cast the mind back 12 months to when Sweden combined on the Olazabal course for a brilliant 62 in the same format on Nordqvist and Gustafson’s tournament debut.

After combining for nine birdies, World number 19 Nordqvist felt that Sweden was heading in the right direction to defend their title.

She said: “We shot four under yesterday and nine under today so I guess we prefer this format. It was a good day. We hit a lot of shots close to the pin, I think eight birdies were within two metres so Sophie was really good with the putter and we kept firing at it, so we had a lot of birdie chances out there. You don’t have two chances on every green, so I think it puts a bit more pressure on every putt.”

Gustafson said: “We both played well today, better than yesterday. We seem to like this format better.”

The team went to the turn in five under 31 after making three straight birdies from the second, holing another at the sixth and they moved a stroke ahead of the field after Gustafson played a superb bunker shot to within three feet of the hole on the par-five ninth, allowing Nordqvist to covert the putt for birdie.

The team was on fire striking approach shots to five feet at the 11th and then to within a foot at both the 13th and 14th holes. They then two putted the par-five 18th for a closing birdie.

Team Spain mixed a bogey with seven birdies and Hernandez said: “We played pretty good both of us. I think we have an advantage because our games are very similar.”

Muñoz added: “We are just playing good and our games are pretty similar. Playing her ball is pretty much like playing my ball, so it’s really easy for us. We were hitting good shots into the greens and I made a few good putts.”

Wales also made a move and Brewerton praised her partner: “Lydia, she’s been the star of the show this week so far.

“I missed a couple of short putts, from not even two feet on the seventh and one on the par-three fourth, but between us we managed to hit great tee shots on all the holes on the back nine and put ourselves in a great position, because they are the tougher holes. Lydia’s putting was fantastic. Five under on the back nine is an unbelievable day.”

Australia is still in the hunt and hoping for a repeat of their superb first-round 65 in Saturday’s four-balls.

Lunn said: “We played okay and had a lot of chances. We got to nine under and had a couple of good chances on 14 and 15 but didn’t finish great. The wind was tough out there and it was colder so the ball wasn’t travelling as far.”

Hull added: “The putts didn’t drop today and we only had three birdies as opposed to nine so that was the difference. If you get a hot putter you can make a lot of birdies, you’ve just got to make the most of those chances.”

The Valencian Cup format is a variation on Greensomes, where each player tees off with one ball but the partners swap and play alternative balls until they have played the number of shots expected to reach the green in regulation. When they have played one shot on a par-three, two shots on a par-four or three shots on a par-five, they choose the best position and take alternate shots using one ball until completing the hole.
SECOND-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
131 Sweden (Anna Nordqvist and Sophie Gustafson) 68 63
132 Spain (Azahara Muñoz and Maria Hernández) 66 66
134 Wales (Becky Brewerton and Lydia Hall) 68 66
135 Germany (Anja Monke and Caroline Masson) 71 64

136 France (Karine Icher and Virginie Lagoutte-Clement) 68 68, Australia (Karen Lunn and Katherine Hull) 65 71
137 England (Laura Davies and Melissa Reid) 67 70

138 Finland (Jenni Kuosa and Ursula Wikstrom) 71 67

139 Ireland (Rebecca Coakley and Martina Gillen) 72 67, Netherlands (Christel Boeljon and Dewi-Claire Schreefel) 71 68

141 Scotland (Catriona Matthew and Vikki Laing) 69 72, Italy (Giulia Sergas and Veronica Zorzi) 67 74

142 Denmark (Iben Tinning and Malene Jorgensen) 71 71, Norway (Caroline Martens and Cecilie Lundgreen) 69 73

143 United States (Christina Kim and Brittany Lincicome) 70 73

145 Russia (Anastasia Kostina and Maria Verchenova) 74 71, Switzerland (Caroline Rominger and Frederique Seeholzer) 71 74

149 Austria (Nicole Gergely and Stefanie Michl) 77 72

SEVENTH TIME LUCKY FOR BRONTE LAW IN SCOTTISH U16s' OPEN

Play-off participants Chloe Williams (left) and the winner, Bronte Law (Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency).  By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com It was seventh time lucky for Manchester's Bronte Law in the SLGA Under-16 girls' open amateur stroke-play golf championship at Strathmore Golf Centre near Alyth, Perthshire today. The 16-year-old England girl international and +1 handicapper from Bramhall Golf Club, Cheshire (pictured on the second green of the play-off, who was playing in the event for the seventh year in a row, finally made it past the winning post - but only after a finish of high drama. Luck did not really come into the equation. Bronte won on merit. Law, who had finished third or tied third in this championship last year and the year before, birdied the 36th hole of the two-round tournament for a two-under-par 70 (34-36 against the par of 35-37) to force a play-off with the clubhouse leader, Welsh international Chloe Williams, a two-handicap member at Wrexham Golf Club, who shot 70 and 72 (37-35) for her two-under-par total of 142. The first hole of the sudden death play-off (the 16th) was halved in par 4s ... followed by a half in bogey 4s at the short 17th where Chloe had a very awkward stance in a greenside bunker and Bronte three-putted from the back edge of the green. Both girls almost reached the green with two wood shots at the par-5 18th. And it was Bronte who won the title for the first time with a pitch and putt birdie 4, holing a tricky, uphill four-footer for victory. Chloe, who had started the day with a two-stroke lead, was left empty-handed and in tears after taking three shots to get down for a par 5. "It's been seven years of hard graft for me to win this title. I've come close to winning it since I made my debut as a nine-year-old. Now I'm 16 and I've managed to do it in the last year I can play in the championship, " said a delighted Bronte. "I've won a fair number of competitions but I would place this as one of my best wins. I'm coming back to Scotland to play in the Helen Holm Scottish strokeplay at Troon later this month and later for the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews so I hope this is a good omen for me." That would be some hat-trick. Amber Ratcliffe, a scratch player at Norfolk's Royal Cromer Golf Club (pictured left by Cal Carson Golf Agency setting up a birdie at the par-5 18th) finished a close-up third, only one shot behind the play-off participants after rounds of 74 and 69 (34-35) for 143. A bogey at the 17th in her second round was a costly one although she did birdie the 18th. Fourth place went to Yorkshire's Ellie Goodall (Selby) thanks to a second-round, four-under-par 68 (33-35), an improvement of nine shots on her first score and the lowest round by anyone over the two days, which was quite a performance by a three-handicapper. She finished on 145. LAW, WILLIAMS, RATCLIFFE LIKELY TO HAVE IMPRESSED SELECTORS The Ladies Golf Union Selection Committee were out in force over the two days in Perthshire, casting their eye over the possible candidates for places in the Great Britain and Ireland team of six for the "Junior Vagliano Trophy" contest against the Continent of Europe at Royal Porthcawl in June. Put a tick against the names of Bronte Law, Chloe Williams and Amber Ratcliffe, the three players who finished under par for the 36 holes ... now the selectors need only three others! GREAT FINISH MAKES CLARA YOUNG TOP SCOT IN FIFTH PLACE Top Scot was North Berwick's Clara Young in fifth place on 148 with rounds of 75 and 73. A double bogey 6 at the ninth in an outward four-over-par 39 was the low point in her fortunes before she birdied the 11th, 12th and 14th in a great inward half of three under par 34. Clara plays off three. Kimberley Beveridge from Aboyne and Germany-based Rebecca McGeehan shared the honour of being the No 2 Scot in a quality field of close on 100. They finished joint sixth - three Scots in the top seven was not bad going! - on 149, both with rounds of 75 and 74. Kimberley plays off four of a handicap and Rebecca off two. ENGLAND'S AMBER RATCLIFFE, GEORGIA HALL, BRONTE LAW WIN INTERNATIONAL TEAM EVENT AT STRATHMORE GOLF CENTRE. England 1 - left to right: Amber Ratcliffe, Georgia Hall with trophy, and Amber Ratcliffe - won the international team trophy with a total of 285 - nine strokes ahead of runners-up Wales (Chloe Williams, Megan Lockett and Lottie Turner). Scotland 1 (Lesley Atkins, Rebecca McGeehan and Clara Young) finished third on 297 with Scotland 2 (Kimberley Beveridge, Tara MacTaggart and Lauren Whyte) fourth. Ellie Bryce (Strathaven), playing off 27, had the lowest net total of 128 (64-64) for the 36 holes. It was announced at the prizegiving that the SLGA Under-16 girls championship will be played again at Strathmore Golf Centre next year . Most of the leading prizewinners in the SLGA Under-16 girls' open amateur stroke-play championship. Ellie Bryce (Strathaven) who won the net aggregate championship was unable to stay on for the prizegiving. Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

INDIVIDUAL ROUND PRIZES

Under-12 years
Round 1 - net 71 off 15: Hazel Macgarvie (Troon Ladies).
Round 2 - net 61 off 19: Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne).

Under-14 years
Round 1 - scratch 76 by Emma Hale (Troon Ladies).
Round 1 - net 64 off 27: Ellie Bryce (Strathaven).
Round 2 - scratch 75 by Hannah Henderson (Ballyclare) (better last six holes).
Round 2 - net 64 off 27: Ellie Bryce (Strathaven).

Under-16 years
Round 1 - scratch 70 by Chloe Williams (Wrexham).
Round 1 - net 68 off 10: Jade Tomlinson (Normanton) (better inward half).
Round 2 - scratch 68 by Ellie Goodall (Selby).
Round 2 - net 67 off 9: Kelly McNulty (Whitley Bay) (better last six holes).

STRATHMORE PAR SCORECARD (Yardage: 5,656)
OUT: 5-4-4-3-4-3-4-4-4--35. IN: 4-4-5-3-5-4-4-3-5--37

LEADERS' SECOND-ROUND FIGURES
BRONTE LAW 70 (two under par)
OUT: 5-3-3-3-4-3-4-4-5--34. IN: 4-3-5-3-5-4-4-4-4--36

CHLOE WILLIAMS 72 (level par)
OUT: 4-5-4-3-5-3-5-4-4--37. IN: 4-4-4-3-5-4-4-3-4--35.

AMBER RATCLIFFE 69 (three under par)
OUT: 4-4-4-3-3-3-4-5-4--34. IN: 4-4-4-4-4-3-4-4-4--35.

ELLIE GOODALL 68 (four under par)
OUT: 5-4-3-3-4-2-4-4-4--33. IN: 3-4-3-3-4-5-5-3-5--35

CLARA YOUNG 73 (one over par)
OUT: 4-4-4-4-5-4-4-4-6--39. IN: 4-3-4-3-4-4-4-3-5--34

SLGA UNDER-16 GIRLS' FINAL TOTALS AT STRATHMORE

SLGA UNDER-16 GIRLS' OPEN AMATEUR STROKE-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP Strathmore Golf Centre, Alyth, Perthshire. FINAL TOTALS Par 144 (2x72). CSS 72 72. Yardage: 5,656. 142 Chloe Williams (Wrexham) 70 72, Bronte Law (Bramhall) 72 70 (Law won sudden-death play-off at third extra hole). 143 Amber Ratcliffe (Royal Cromer) 74 69. 145 Ellie Goodall (Selby) 77 68. 148 Clara Young (North Berwick) 75 73. 149 Kimberley Beveridge (Aboyne) 75 74, Rebecca McGeehan (Hummerbachaue) 75 74. 150 Georgia Hall (Ferndown) 76 74, Lianna Bailey (Notts Ladies) 77 73, Jade Downes (Boothferry) 76 74. 151 Heather Munro (Monifieth) 74 77, Nicola Haynes (Gosforth Park) 75 76, Kyra Horlock (Broadstone) 74 77.. 152 Lauren Whyte (St Regulus) 76 76, Olivia Winning (Rotherham) 78 74, Lottie Turner (Aberdovey) 76 76.. 153 Nia Greville (Ashburnham) 74 79, Jade Tomlinson (Normanton) 76 77, Emma Greenlees (Dumfries & Galloway) 76 77, Megan Lockett (Huddersfield) 77 76, Annabel Dimmock (Wentworth) 78 75, Nia Greville (Ashburnham) 74 79.. 154 Olivia Mehaffey (Royal Co Down Ladies) 78 76, Hannah Henderson (Ballyclare) 79 75, Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies) 77 77. 155 Kelly McNulty (Whitley Bay) 79 76, Emma Hale (Troon Ladies) 76 79, Dulcie Sverdloff (Thorpe Hall) 75 80, Charlotte Ann Barrow (Brokenhurst Manor) 75 80. 156 Lesley Atkins (Gullane Ladies) 76 80, Emma Harris (Peel Ladies) 78 78, Emily Mae Hall (Notts Ladies) 77 79, Annabel Bailey (Notts Ladies) 77 79, Eleanor Tunn (Reay) 77 79.. 157 India Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) 83 74, Samantha Jayne Taylor (Parklands Gosforth) 77 80. 158 Poppy Finlay (Vicars Cross) 84 74, Holly Morgan (Lees Hall) 81 77, Tegan Seivwright (Deeside) 80 78, Emily Slater (Woodhall Spa) 80 78.. 159 Rebecca Horner ((Woodham) 79 80, Tara MacTaggart (Minto) 81 78, Eloise Healey (West Lancashire) 80 79. 160 Paige Kemp (Boyce Hill) 77 83, Nicola Callander (Mill Green) 75 85. 161 Chloe Goadby (St Regulus) 82 79, Angharad Evans (St Pierre) 80 81. 162 Gabrielle Cowley (West Essex) 80 82, Emily Aird (Blairgowrie) 78 84. 164 Sophie Lamb (Clitheroe) 83 81, Katie McGarva (Troon Ladies) 84 80, Hannah Holden (Lightcliffe) 80 84. 165 Victoria Mallettt (Sutton Coldfield Ladies) 80 85. 166 Samantha Cowan (Cochrane Castle) 80 86, Lisa O'Shea (Shannon) 84 82. 167 Niamh Ward (Lurgan) 87 80, Rosie Everett (Craigielaw) 87 80. 168 Ciara Kelly (Hagley) 83 85, Eva O'Connor (Bothwell Castle) 85 83.. 169 Bethany Acey (Sandburn Hall) 86 83, Amelia Taylor (St Annes Old Links) 87 82. 170 Emma Dalgetty (Glencorse) 88 92, Hannah Smith (Silloth on Solway) 87 83, Danielle Ker (Roxburghe) 82 88, Eilidh Watson (Muckhart) 84 86.. 171 Katie Wright (Stranraer) 84 87, Victoria Craig (Clandeboye) 88 83, Claire Robertson (Carnoustie Ladies) 84 87. 172 Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne) 90 82, Harriet Richardson (Huddersfield) 85 87, Jessica Dalgetty (Glencorse) 86 86. 173 Sophie Maguire (St Regulus) 91 82, Hazel Macgarvie (Troon Ladies) 86 87, Laura Jane Barrow (Brokenhurst Manor) 89 84. 174 Katy Anne Langley (Gainsborough) 89 85, Jessica Bailey (Notts Ladies) 86 88.. 175 Megan Clarke (Cleckheaton) 90 85, Rheanna Thom (Alyth) 87 88, Claire Gadsby (Crieff) 87 88. 176 Olivia Borwick (McDonald Ellon) 94 82, Gemma McCarthy (Clonmel) 87 89, Kirsten Pryde (Deeside) 92 84.. 179 Tiffiny Wood (Glenbervie) 91 88. 181 Hannah Goodall (Selby) 94 87. 182 Ellie Bryce (Strathaven) 91 91, Leanne Wilson (Kelso) 94 88.. 183 Catherine Goodwin (Glenbervie) 86 97. 184 Molly Stewart (Murcar Links) 89 95, Katie-Jane Stanley (Manchester) 96 88, Kirsty Brodie (Strathmore) 94 90. 185 Kirsty Burgess (Silverknowes) 90 95, Kirsten Brown (Torrance House) 96 89. 187 Jennifer Allan (Glenbervie) 91 96, Emma Kennedy (Paisley) 96 91. 188 Alexandra Qayum (Ranfurly Castle) 94 94. 190 Nicole Yeats (Nigg Bay) 97 93. 192 Leanne Wilson (Kelso) 94 88. 195 Abbi Kidd (Lenzie) 99 96. 200 Rachel McClelland (Balmore) 100 100. INTERNATIONAL TEAM EVENT +Best two from three individual scores counted for daily team totals. 285 ENGLAND 1 (Georgia Hall, Bronte Law, Amber Ratcliffe) 146 139. 294 WALES (Megan Lockett, Lottie Turner, Chloe Williams) 146 148. 297 SCOTLAND 1 (Lesley Atkins, Rebecca McGeehan, Clara Young) 150 147. 301 SCOTLAND 2 (Kimberley Beveridge, Tara MacTaggart, Lauren Whyte) 151 150. 303 ENGLAND 2 (Emma Harris, Kyra Horlock, Olivia Winning) 152 151. 308 IRELAND 1 (Hannah Henderson, Olivia Mehaffey, Niamh Ward) 157 151. 336 IRELAND 2 (Victoria Craig, Gemma McCarthy, Lisa O'Shea) 171 165. NET AGGREGATE PRIZES 128 Ellie Bryce (Strathaven) (27) 64 64. 133 Jade Tomlinson (Normanton) (10) 66 67. 134 Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne) (19) 73 61. 135 Emma Greenlees (Dumfries and Galloway) (9) 67 68.

SUPERMAC KELSEY WINS BRITISH STUDENTS TITLE BY 17 SHOTS

By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com Scottish women's amateur champion Kelsey MacDonald, a student at Stirling University and a member of Nairn Dunbar Golf Club, added another title to her collection at West Lancashire Golf Club this week (Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday) when she won the British universities' women's stroke-play championship by the resounding margin of 17 strokes over four rounds. Runner-up was fellow-Scot Jane Turner, a Craigielaw Golf Club member  from Penicuik and a student at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. Jane was bidding to win the title for the third year in a row. Kelsey, pictured right, returning to form with two big events on the horizon - the Helen Holm Scottish open stroke-play at Troon later this month and a defence of her national title at Machrihanish next month, had rounds of 75, 70, 70 and 74 for 289. Jane scored 80, 78, 76 and 72 for 306. St Andrews student and Welsh international Gemma Bradbury finished third with 76, 74, 82 and 78 for 210. Rebecca Wilson (Stirling) from Monifieth finished fifth on 313 with team-mate Jordana Graham securing eighth palce on 321. David Booth (Stirling) finished third in the British universities men's stroke-play championship, also at West Lancashire Golf Club this week.  He scored 75, 73, 76 and 71 for 295, finished five shots behind the winner, Chris O'Neill (University of Wales-Newport) (77-69-74-70) and two behind runner-up Ben Stow (Plymouth). Graeme Robertson (Stirling) finished seventh on 303. LEADING MEN'S FINAL TOTALS 290 Chris O'Neil (UW-Newport) 77 69 74 70. 293 Ben Stow (Plymouth) 78 76 68 71. 295 David Booth (Stirling) 75 73 76 71. 301 Sam Maltby (Bournemouth) 79 75 75 72, Josh Bassitt (Northumbria) 78 75 72 76. 302 Daniel Beattie (Birmingham) 80 77 74 71. 303 Graeme Robertson (Stirling) 82 77 72 72. Other Scottish totals: 307 Fraser Moore (Stirling) 81 77 72 77. 309 Darren Timms (Stirling) 80 76 82 71. 310 Mike Howard (Stirling) 86 75 75 74, Andrew Wallace (Stirling) 80 78 75 77. 311 Alex Culverwell (Stirling) 83 82 73 73. 313 Philip Dirkx (St Andrews) 81 83 76 73, Steven Smith (Heriot Watt) 83 80 76 74, Kit Holmes (Stirling) 76 80 76 81. 317 Colin Thomson (Stirling) 82 78 81 76. 318 Sean Fotheringhame (St Andrews) 81 80 80 77. 320 Elliot Brown (St Andrews) 82 79 84 75. 321 Cole Sedgwick (St Andrews) 82 78 83 78. LEADING WOMEN'S FINAL TOTALS 289 Kelsey MacDonald (Stirling) 75 70 70 74. 306 Jane Turner (Robert Gordon U) 80 78 76 72. 310 Gemma Bradbury (St Andrews) 76 74 82 78. 312 Kerry Anne Haske (Bournemouth) 82 79 76 75. 313 Rebecca Wilson (Stirling) 80 81 77 75. 316 Nicola Rawlinson (Loughborough) 80 77 79 80. 317 Sian James (Birmingham) 80 81 81 75. 321 Jordana Graham (Stirling) 83 78 80 80. 322 Emma Hargreaves (Exetere) 79 80 83 80. 324 Charlotte Austwick (York) 87 79 81 77, Rebecca Gibbs (Kingston) 77 80 88 79. 325 Harriet Beasley (Stirling) 78 86 79 82. 326 Katie Burman (Birmingham) 80 81 87 78. 328 Lauren Spray (Birmingham) 83 85 82 78. 332 Charlotte Hope (Birmingham) 80 82 86 84. 333 Ashley Smith (St Andrews) 86 75 86 86. 334 Eilidh Mackay (Stirling) 87 78 82 87.

Banchory's Louise McGillivray in Carson-Newman title-winning picture

Louise McGillivray from Banchory is second from the right in the picture of the conference title-winning Carson-Newman College women's team.

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Banchory's Louise McGillivray, a freshman student at Carson-Newman College, Jefferseon City, Tennessee has a big incentive to hit her best form and gain selection for the college team of five over the next few weeks.
Carson-Newman won the South Atlantic Conference women's team championship at Rock Barn Golf and Spa, Conover, North Carolina this week and go on to the next stage of the national championship.
Louise played as an individual in the 54-hole event at Rock Barn and tied for 28th place on 260 with rounds of 85-87-88.
Carson-Newman (310) won the women's team title ahead of Newberry (323) and Lincoln Memorial (326) in a field of 10 teams.
The Carson-Newman men's team finished fifth of 10 in their South Atlantic Conference championship at the same venue.
Newberry (900) won the men's team title ahead of Tusculum (905) and Lincoln Memorial (918) with Carson-Newman (928) fifth.
Jamie Chapman from Sussex, a student at Lincoln Memorial, finished joint fourth on 222 (74-74-74) behind the two-stroke individual winner, Daniel Stanley (Newberry) (70-77-72).
Glasgow's Gavin Hay, a second-year student at Carson-Newman, tied for seventh place on 227 with scores of 76, 75 and 75.
Team-mate Liam Ashby from Dublin came ninth of 50 with scores of 78, 73 and 77 for 228
Lincoln Memorial's Luke Butler from Worcester made the top 20 with three rounds of 78 for 235 and a share of 18th place.
Tom Rennie from Aberdeen, a student at Brevard College, North Carolina, finished joint 42nd on 251 with rounds of 82, 85 and 84.

SEVENTH WIN IN UNITED STATES BY CHESHIRE'S LAURA JONES

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
Cheshire’s Laura Jones has added to her outstanding record on the US women’s college circuit with her seventh tournament victory.
Laura, from Royal Liverpool, was 12 shots clear of the field when she won the Quail Creek Classic in Oklahoma – just a week after scoring her sixth win.
She also led Oklahoma City University to a win in the team event and was subsequently named the Sooner Athletic Conference women’s golfer of the week.
Laura, who graduates in May, shot two-over par 74 in the first round and led by five shots. She was one of only two players to break 80 on a day of strong winds and tough conditions. She added a 75 in the second round and extended her lead to 12. Meanwhile the team came from nine shots back to win by 10.
Afterwards Laura said: "Being from England and playing the wind, I had an advantage because I was a little more used to it. I had some shots in my bag that the other girls didn't.”
Her coach Marty McCauley commented: “Laura's win this week is one of the most impressive individual efforts that I have ever witnessed. The two scores she shot in those conditions are simply unbelievable.”
Elsewhere, Jessica Schiele (Kenwick Park/Redlands Community College, Oklahoma) was joint runner-up in the Houston Baptist Intercollegiate at Sienna Plantation in Texas with scores of 75,77,75. The par 72 course measures 6158 yards.
Melissa Siviter (Enville/Belmont Abbey, North Carolina) continued her good form with a share of third place in the Agnes McAmis Memorial at Links Hill in Tennessee. She had a pair of 75s on the par 72, 5805-yard course and helped her college to victory in the team event.
Abbey Gittings (Walmley/Nova Southeastern, Florida) and Harriet Owers-Bradley (Wollaton Park/Yale) were in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Hoya Women's Invitational at Members Club at Four Streams in Maryland. Abbey, who recently won on the college circuit, shot 75, 80 on the par 72, 6125-yard course, while Harriet scored 79, 76. Nova Southeastern won the team event. Raffi Dyer (Hayling/Oregon University) was in the winning team at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate at Half Moon Bay, California. She had rounds of 75, 76, 73 on the par 72, 6028-yard course and tied for 10th place in the individual table.

Lyndsey Hewison
Press and PR Officer
English Women's Golf Association
Tel. 01603 507 416

Late entries accepted for Northern Counties LGA championship

Late entries are being accepted on 01381 621097 for the Northern Counties’ Ladies’ Golf Association County Championship at Fortrose and Rosemarkie Golf Club on on Saturday, April 23. Competitors will leave the tee in twos at eight-minute intervals and are from the host club unless stated.
Draw for the qualifying round is:
Abbreviations: E, Elgin; F, Forres; G, Gairloch; GOS, Grantown-on-Spey; I, Inverness MO, Muir of Ord; N, Nairn; ND, Nairn Dunbar; Ry, Reay; RD, Royal Dornoch; T, Tain.
9.0 M. Smith (T), A. Ryan (T); G. Dowling (N), A. Bartlett (RD); J. Milne (E), W. Ross (E); E. Mackay (ND), J. Vass (T).
9.32 E. Tunn (Ry), M. Vass (T); J. Nicol (I), L. Fraser; L. Coghill (RD), S. MacVicar (G); S. Mackenzie (E), D. Lloyd (RD).
10.04 M. Barr (G), C. Marshall (N); P. Morrison (MO), E. McTavish (E); D. McBride (RD), S. Macdonell (I); S. Hooker (MO), P. Moscatti (RD).
10.36 - J. Thornton, T. Weekes (RD); I. Wilson (F), K. Mackay; W. Murray (RD), F. Hunter (GOS).
11.0 E. Hutton (MO), M. Rennie (RD); S. Vickerman (GOS), L. Nixon; S. Duncan (RD), I. Croal (G); F.Macdonald (RD), C. Boyd (F);
11.32 S. Rowan (I), K. Lawson (RD); E. Hill (GOS), I. Hart (RD); P. Davis (F), J. Darroch; A. Harding (RD), D. McCaig (F).
12.04 P. Cronin (F), I. Wright (RD), S. McDonald (RD).