WELSH GIRLS MAKE TOP 30 AT THE HATTER CLASSIC

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Two Welsh girls, Kelly Miller (Daytona State), pictured right by Tom Ward, and Rachel Lewis (USC Upstate) finished joint 25th and joint 29th respectively in the Holiday Inn Express/Hatter Classic at Victoria Hills Golf Club, DeLand, Florida. The two-day tournament ended today.

Stetson College, nicknamed "The Hatters" and the hosts of this event , scored a double whammy with one of their students, Alex Buelow winning the individual title by the runaway margin of EIGHT strokes with rounds of 72, 71 and 72 for one-under-par 215 over a par-72 course of 6,070yd.

Kelly Miller had rounds of 85, 78 and 80 for 243.

Rachel Lewis, the Welsh girls champion from Cardiff, pictured left, scored 79, 80 and 85 for 244.
Stetson also won the team title by a comfortable margin. They totalled 897 while runners-up Dayton State Beach College finished on 924, a shot ahead of third-placed Jacksonville. USC Upstate (954) finished fifth of nine teams.

ROSIE DAVIES MAKES TOP 30 AT ONION CREEK

Rosie Davies, a sophomore student from London at Indiana University, finished T27 in a field of 75 players for the Challenge at Onion Creek, a two-day, 54-hole event which finished at Onion Creek Club, Austin, Texas today.
Rosie, pictured below right, lost a lot of ground with an opening score of 80 which she followed up with much better rounds of 72 and 74 for a total of 226 over a par-70 course of 5,808yd.

Gabrielle Dominguez (Texas Tech) was the individual winner with scores of 70, 69 and 73 for a two-over-par of 212.

Little bit of controversy on the second day in that two Augusta State University players, Natalie Willie a junior from Sweden, and Kirsty Rands, a senior from Surrey were both disqualified. Natalie had been in contention with opening scores of 70 and 73, Kirsty a bit further back with 81 and 77.

Too early for the Augusta State website to give us the inside story.

Texas Tech, having won the individual honours, also took the team title with a total of 874 - four ahead of joint runners-up Michigan and the University of Texas-San Antonio. Indiana (913) finished ninth of 13 teams.


LATER NEWS:
FROM THE AUGUSTA STATE UNIVERSITY WEBSITE

AUSTIN, Texas -- Augusta State was disqualified Tuesday afternoon following the final round of the Challenge at Onion Creek, hosted by Texas State University at Onion Creek Club. The tournament marked the end of the Lady Jaguars' Fall, 2011 schedule.
ASU, which stood in fifth place after 36 holes, was informed following its round of the disqualification. Two Lady Jaguars -- senior Kirsty Rands and junior Natalie Wille -- failed to sign their scorecards before turning them in to tournament officials and were disqualified. With only three counting scores, the Lady Jags were disqualified as well.

EDITOR'S COMMENT. What an amazing coincidence that the only two players in a field of 75 who did not sign their scorecards were both Augusta State University students, presumably playing in separate groups.

LUKE RICHARDSON JOINT FIFTH AT MIDLAND, TEXAS

Luke Richardson, from Essex, a sophomore student at Midland Community College, Texas, finished joint fifth in a field of 55 at this week's Midland CC Invitational college tournament at Midland, Texas. Luke had rounds of 76 and 68 (the lowest second-round score) for a total of level par 144 over a very long par-72 course of 7,380yd.
He finished only two shots behind the winner, Kyle Lucas (Western Texas) (73-69 for two-under 142).
Carnoustie's Chris Bell, a student at Odessa College Texas, finished 10th with rounds of 72 and 75 for 147.
One of Bell's Odessa team-mates, Stuart McKechnie, a Fauldhouse GC member, finished joint 13th on 150 with scores of 77 and 73.
Paul Lawrie's nephew Sean Lawrie, a freshman student at Midland CC, finished joint 35th with scores of 78 and 79 for 157.
Winner with a total of two-under-par 142 was Kyle Lucas (Western Texas University) (73-69 for 142).
Odessa won the team title with Midland runners-up and Western Texas third in a field of seven teams.

ANNIKA WINS $161,000 IN FIRST PRO EVENT FOR THREE YEARS

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) — Annika Sorenstam won the short iron competition in the Skills Challenge on Monday in her first professional competition in three years.
Sorenstam and team-mate Morgan Pressel earned $161,000 for finishing fourth in the four-team event won by Zach Johnson and Jerry Kelly. Sorenstam and Pressel became the first female team to participate in the Challenge.
"I'm very competitive so it's great to come out in this atmosphere again," said Sorenstam, who had her two children and parents at the event. "We're going to be more up close and personal with the players, which I love."
Sorenstam, who won a record 90 international titles, was playing in her first professional competition since the 2008 season-ending ADT Championships.
Sorenstam took the short iron competition by coming within 2 feet, 11 inches of the hole. Pressel and Nick Price both holed their bunker shot, and Pressel won in a play-off when she got within 1 1/2 feet of the hole.
Johnson and Kelly secured the victory in the final putts of the US PGA-sanctioned event, which will air on NBC on December 24 and 25.
Price had the best putt in the reverse scramble final - a 16-footer - but team-mate Mark O'Meara missed his 5-foot putt. Price then missed the same 5-footer as well.
Johnson and Kelly holed their 6-foot putts to trump defending champions Price and O'Meara, taking the top prize of $286,000. O'Meara and Price finished second with $185,000.
"It comes down to the reverse scramble, having to play the worst ball, playing well, and understanding the shots you have to make," Johnson said. "You're both going to have to make a putt. Just like the regular tour events it comes down to the greens."
Rocco Mediate and Nick Faldo won the long drive, mid-iron and trouble shot at The Breakers. But they lost to O'Meara and Price in the reverse scramble and finished in third to earn $168,000.