Eilidh Briggs, left, and Gemma Dryburgh after today's Scottish girls championship final at Glenisla Golf Club, Alyth in Perthshire.
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Eilidh Brggs, 18-year-old Kilmacolm GC member from the Bridge of Weir, is the new Scottish Under-18 girls champion.
In a quality final of 18 holes of some very good golf at a very wet Glenisla GC course, Alyth in Perthshire, Eilidh, the No 1 seed, beat the No 2 qualifier, Aberdeen-born Gemma Dryburgh (Beaconsfield) by one hole.
Very heavy rain shortly after dawn flooded some of the greens, according to the Glenisla greenkeeper and it took a lot of hard work to get the course in playable condition for the 9am start.
Eilidh, winner of the Renfewshire women's county championship in the spring, was beaten in the final of the Scottish women's amateur championship by Vagliano Trophy player Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) at Machrihanish in May.
"Having played in that final helped me a lot," said Eilidh who is bound for Stirling University in the autumn. "I was a wee bit nervous on the first tee today but not nearly so nervous as I would have been if I had not had the experience from Machrihanish and that helped me settle quickly."
Gemma Dryburgh, an IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy student at Bradenton, Florida and about to step up to Tulane University, Louisiana next month, on the other hand, started slowly.
She bogeyed the first two holes - three to get down from an "iffy" lie at the edge of the first green and three putts on the second when the slowness of the sodden green caught her out and she found herself two down on the third tee.
Giving a scratch player of Briggs' capabilities two holes of a start left Gemma playing catch-up golf for the rest of the final and that she was only one down after 18, says a lot for the daughter of an Aberdeen oil executive's tenacity.
Briggs, pictured left putting at the ninth, went three up by chipping in for a birdie at the third but, from the seventh onwards, Dryburgh got a revival on the road. She won her first hole at the seventh.
After the next six holes in a row halved, the 14th, 15th and 16th were all birdied by one or other of the players. Gemma holed from 12ft for a 2 at the short 14th to be only one down. The 15th was halved in birdie 3s and then, after both girls had played tee shots close to the pin at the 135yd 16th, Gemma missed her putt but Eilidh holed hers from 4 or 5ft for a winning birdie 2 to go two up with two to play.
Dryburgh, pictured left playing to the ninth green, was not ready to throw in the towel. She won the 17th with a par to be one down - but for losing the first two holes, she would have been one up - but a half in 4s at the last ended a very good final in Briggs' favour.
Eilidh was roughly level par or one under for the round.
"I played solidly all week," said Eilidh. "Probably the best I played was in the semi-final against Rachel Walker when I didn't have a single bogey. I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens and that means your opponent has to get birdies to beat you."
Gemma, who reached the semi-finals of this championship at Eyemouth last year but was not rewarded with a Scottish girls international cap, is hoping that she will be named on Monday in the Scotland squad of eight for the Under-18s' internationals at Gullane in early August.
I think that can be taken as a "gimme." Dryburgh has improved tremendously over the past 12 months through playing regularly against top opposition on the US junior circuit. Her handicap in the States is +2. Here in the UK, her rating is one of a handicap.
Both finalists are 18 and will be too old to play in next year's Scottish girls championship to be held over Crail Golfing Society's Craighead links during the same week as the Open.
Result
FINAL - Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) bt Gemma Dryburgh (Beaconsfield) 1 hole.
MORE CAL CARSON AGENCY IMAGES FROM GLENISLA
Glenisla Golf Club officials with SLGA president Emma Wilson (extreme right) with (left to right) Gemma Bradbury (Beaconsfield), beaten finalist in the championship, new Scottish Under-18 girls champion Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) and Ansley Reid Salver winner Katie McGarva (Troon Ladies).
Eilidh Briggs lines up a putt on the ninth green at Glenisla in this morning's final. Labels: Girls
