ELLIS KEENAN JT FIFTH IN MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE CHSHIP

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Ellis Keenan from Sunningdale, coming up to the end of her second US college year at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV), finished joint fifth in the Mountain West Conference Championship at Wigwam Resort Golf Club, Phoenix in Arizona.

Over a longish par-72 women's course of 6,408yd, Ellis, pictured right, led the field of 35 players with a four-under-par opening round of 68. But that was as good as it got for her. She followed it with rounds of 73 and 75 for a level par total of 216.

That was seven shots behind team-mate Therese Koelbaek from Denmark, the winner by four shots with rounds of 70, 71 and 68 for 209.

Surprisingly, and disappointingly for Therese and Ellis, UNLV did not win the team title, which suggests they did not have a supporting cast.

Texas Christian University won the day with a total of 865 - five shots ahead of runners-up UNLV in a field of seven teams.
UNLV won't have senior year student Kolbaek back after the summer holidays and Keenan will be expected to step up to be the team leader.
ATLANTIC SUN CHAMPIONSHIP

Sian Evans and Lauren Smith, both East Tennessee State University students, and Welsh girls champion Rachel Lewis (University of South Carolina Upstate) finished joint 15th, 35th and 40th respectively in a field of 50 players at the Atlantic Sun championship, hosted by Victoria Hills Golf Club at Deland, Florida.

Sian, the Kent county champion from Gillingham, had rounds of 75, 75 and 81 for a total of 15-over-par 231 over a par-72 course of 6,137yd.

Lauren, from Cramlington, scored 78, 86 and 77 for 241.

Rachel shot 84, 78 and 84 for 246.

Stetson University (894) won the team title ahead of Campbell University (906) with East Tennesssee State, Florida Gulf Coast and Kennesaw State sharing third place on 917. USC Upstate finished last of 10 with a total of 1002.

STEPHANIE GIVES G B AND I SELECTORS ANOTHER REMINDER

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
US-based Northern Ireland teenager Stephanie Meadow, joint fourth at the weekend in a quality field for the South East Conference Women's Championship in Alabama, is maintaining her impressive form on the US women's college circuit.

The Alabama University rookie's spring semester form has been excellent with victories in the Lady Puerto Rico Classic and the Sugarbowl Intercollegiate plus a third place finish at the Liz Murphy Collegiate Classic, a fourth in the LSU Classic - and now a tied fourth at Auburn University Club, Alabama with rounds of 71, 73 and 71 for a one-under-par total of 215 - five shots behind the winner, Eric Popson (tenneseee) who shot 66, 74 and 70 over a par-72 course of 6,364yd.

A reserve for last year's Great Britain and Ireland team for the Curtis Cup match in the States, Stephanie has an outstanding chance of being chosen to play in the Astor Trophy (formerly Commonwealth Tournament) agains Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa at Fairhaven GC, Lancashire in mid-June, followed within a few days by the Vagliano Trophy match against the Continent of Europe at Royal Porthcawl GC in South Wales.

It could be quite a month of June for Meadow as the British women's open amateur championship at the start of that month is being staged over her home course of Royal Portrush.
Stephanie, pictured above in action at the South East Conference Championship, is No 24 in the Women's World Amateur Rankings and No 6 in Europe.
She was Irish girls champion in 2006 and beaten finalist in the same event the following year.
She has lived in the United States for the past few years in a bid to hasten her development as an interntional-class golfer - a family move that has paid off handsomely.
She was a student at the Hank Hainey International Junior Golf Academy in South Carolina before enrolling at Alabama University last August.

LEADING INDIVIDUAL TOTALS AT THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP
Auburn University Club, Alabama.
Par 216 (3x72). Yardage 6,364.
210 Erica Popson (Tennessee) 66 74 70.
211 Marta Silva (Georgia) 70 74 67.
214 Cydney Clanton (Auburn) 69 72 73.
215 Stephanie Meadow (Alabama) 71 73 71, Emily Tubert (Arkansas) 69 72 74
60 players in the field.
LEADING TEAM TOTALS
864 Auburn.
875 Alabama.
887 Louisian State University.
12 teams in the field.

IRISH HOLD OFF RALLYING SCOTS TO WIN MARY McKENNA TROPHY

Mary McKenna, in white, with the Irish and Scottish teams at Craigielaw.

Scotland, despite a brave fightback in the singles, lost 6 1/2-5 1/2 to Ireland in the two-day senior women's amateur golf international match for the Mary McKenna Trophy at Craigielaw Golf Club today. The Irish built up a three-point lead in Sunday's four-ball foursomes when the Scots could muster only half a point from the four ties.
The home team took the singles 5-3 today with wins by Moira Thomson, Anne Ryan,
Lorna Bennett, Elaine Allison and Alison Bartlett but it was not enough to make up the leeway.
Ireland thus won for the second year in a row but Scotland still lead 6-5 overall since the match was started in the year 2000.

SCOTLAND 5 1/2, IRELAND 6 1/2


SUNDAY FOUR-BALL FOURSOMES (1/2-3 1/2)
Scottish names first
Lorna Bennett and Elaine Allison lost to Sheena McElroy and Phil O'Gorman 2 and 1
Heather Anderson and Anne Ryan lost to Niamh Giblin and Mairead MacNamara 4 and 3
Moira Thomson and May Hughes lost to Valerie Hassett and Violet McBride 3 and 2
Mary Smith and Allison Bartlett halved with Helen Jones and Pat Doran.


MONDAY SINGLES (5-3)
Thomson bt McNamara 2 and 1.
Hughes lost to McElroy 2 and 1.
Ryan bt McBride 1 hole.
Bennett bt Giblin 3 and 2.
Smith lost to Doran 2 and 1.
Allison bt O'Gorman 1 hole.
Bartlett bt Hassett 6 and 4,
Anderson lost to Jones 2 holes.

OVERALL SCOREBOARD OF MARY McKENNA TROPHY RESULTS

YEAR ..... VENUE .... WINNING TEAM2000 Royal Portrush Golf Club/ Ireland 1
2001 Gleneagles Golf Club/ Ireland 2
2002 Royal County Down Golf Club/ Ireland 3
2003 Old Prestwick Golf Club/ Scotland 1
2004 Hermitage Golf Club/ Scotland 2
2005 Gullane Golf Club/ Scotland 3
2006 No Match
2007 Southerness Golf Club/ Scotland 4
2008 St Margarets Golf Club/ Scotland 5
2009 Cruden Bay Golf Club/ Scotland 6
2010 Portmarnock Links Hotel and Golf Club/ Ireland 4
2011 Craigielaw Golf Club/ Ireland 5
2012 Templepatrick Golf Club

Helen Holm title-holder Danielle only a reserve for Ireland this year

Runner-up Nikki Foster and "Helen Holm" winner Danielle McVeigh pictured in front of the Troon scoreboard last year. Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Colin@scottishgolfview.com

It's an old saying in sport that "you're only as good as your last win" ... and the Irish Ladies Golf Union has underlined it with its nomination of players to have their scores counted for Ireland in the International Team Event for the Ladies Golf Club Troon Salver, run in conjunction with this weekend's 54-hole Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play championship at Troon.

Last year's "Helen Holm" was won by Danielle McVeigh (Royal County Down Ladies) and the International Team title was won for Ireland by Danielle and Leona Maguire.

But Danielle, the defending champion, no less, is only reserve for Ireland at Troon this year with Leona and Lisa Maguire being the international team pairing. Lisa is pictured on right, Leona on left.

How can that be? I hear you ask.

Quite simple, really, One of the 16-year-old twins (Leona) won the Portuguese women's open amateur championship at the end of January and the other (Lisa) won the Spanish women's open amateur title in early March.
Scotland's pairing will be Curtis Cup player and British women's amateur stroke-play champion Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle), a student at Glasgow University, and Stirling University student Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar), the Scottish women's amateur champion and winner last week by 17 strokes of the British universities' women's stroke-play title.

England's pair for the International Team Event will be Curtis Cup player Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) and British women's amateur champion Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale).

Wales will be represented by St Andrews University student Gemma Bradbury (Cottrell Park) and Amy Boulden (Maesdhu).

PLAYING FOR THEIR COUNTRIES IN "HELEN HOLM"

BELGIUM

Fanny Cnops

Chloe Leurquin 

ENGLAND

Holly Clyburn

Kelly Tidy

Reserve Nikki Foster

GERMANY

Valerie Sternebeck

Vicki Troelisch

Reserve Nina Holleder

IRELAND

Leona Maguire

Lisa Maguire

Reserve Danielle McVeigh

SCOTLAND

Kelsey MacDonald

Pamela Pretswell

Reserve Louise Kenney

SWEDEN

Louise Kristersson

Therese Larsson

WALES

Amy Boulden

Gemma Bradbury

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH LADIES GOLFING ASSOCIATION
Bothwell Castle’s Pamela Pretswell, the Women’s British Open Strokeplay Champion, and Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar), the Scottish Ladies’ Amateur Champion, aim to start the new season in style at the Helen Holm Scottish Open Strokeplay Championship at Troon from Friday to Sunday this coming weekend (April 22-24).
Pretswell is one of four backmarkers boasting a plus four handicap, and the 2010 Curtis Cup player is looking forward to the challenge.
“I have been busy at Glasgow University completing my Business and Management degree,” explained the 21-year-old, who hopes to graduate with honours this summer. “But I have also managed to spend some time in Portugal preparing for the season.”
“I’ve got a hectic golf schedule this summer and have made some slight changes to my swing and my putting over the winter so it will be good to test them out at the Helen Holm.”MacDonald had a terrific 2010 season. In addition to winning her first Scottish Amateur title, the 20-year-old also reached the final of the British Amateur, retained the Scottish Open Under-21 Scottish Open Strokeplay Championship and topped the 2010 Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association Order of Merit.
The Irish Maguire twins – Leona, who won the title in 2009, and Lisa – plus England’s Emma Brown are the other players with plus four handicaps in a field that has attracted entries from 11 countries.
Danielle McVeigh made it back-to-back wins for Ireland when she claimed the title last year, and she will be back to defend the crown. Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) was the best of the Scots in joint third place.
The 54-hole Championship takes place over three days. Following 18 holes over Troon Portland on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd April, the top 66 players and ties will qualify for the final round over Royal Troon on Sunday 24th April.

HOW BRONTE LAW GOT HER DISTINCTIVE FIRST NAME

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Bronte Law put her name up in lights by winning the SLGA Under-16 girls' open stroke-play title at Strathmore Golf Centre last Friday.
But her first name has always been distinctive and there's a beautiful little story about how her parents, Morven and Tim, came to pick "Bronte."
Morven explains:


Hi Colin

We took forever to agree on Bronte’s name! We were going to call her Harrison if she was a boy (Tim’s Mum’s maiden name). However we just couldn’t come up with a girl's name we could agree on.

Then the film Greencard came on around the Christmas before Bronte was born and I had forgotten the first time I had watched it, what a beautiful name I thought Andi McDowell's character had …. Bronte!

I suggested it to Tim and he said ”That’s the first name you have come up with that I like” and that was it, name sorted.

The strange thing was my mum then arrived with lots of books about the Bronte family and sketches of their house, etc, I had bought when I was a Girl Guide and I had visited Howarth.

I had forgotten the keen interest I had had about the Bronte family when I was younger and  how much I had loved reading Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.

So that just re-enforced the fact that we had picked the right name!

Kind regards

Morven Law 

Law Print and Packaging Management Ltd

Victoria House

19-21 Ack Lane East

Bramhall, Stockport

SK7 2BE

Scotland v Ireland Vets Match

The Scotland v Ireland Veterans match for the Mary McKenna Perpetual Trophy continues today at Craigielaw.  The singles teed off at 9:00am.

Moira Thomson v Mairead McNamara
May Hughes v Sheena McElroy
Anne Ryan v Violet McBride
Lorna Bennett v Niamh Giblin
Mary Smith v Pat Doran
Elaine Allison v Phil O'Gorman
Alison Bartlett v Valerie Hassett
Heather Anderson v Helen Jones

Scotland v Ireland Vets Match

The annual Veteran's match against Ireland for the Mary McKenna Perpetual Trophy is being played at Craigielaw yesterday and today.

Results after Sunday's fourball matches
Lorna Bennett and Elaine Allison lost to Sheena McElroy and Phil O'Gorman 2 and 1
Heather Anderson and Anne Ryan lost to Niamh Giblin and Mairead MacNamara 4 and 3
Moira Thomson and May Hughes lost to Valerie Hassett and Violet McBride 3 and 2
Mary Smith and Allison Bartlett halved with Helen Jones and Pat Doran

Here are the two teams in a relaxed mood before the first day's fourball matches.

Elaine Allison, Lorna Bennett,
Phil O'Gorman, Sheena McElroy

Mairead MacNamara, Ann Ryan,
Heather Anderson, Niamh Giblin

Moira Thomson, Violet McBride,
Valerie Hassett, May Hughes

Alison Bartlett,  Helen Jones,
Mary Smith, Pat Doran