WATTON JUST OUTSIDE TOP 20 FINISH IN ARIZONA INVITATIONAL

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Scotland international Rachael Watton, a freshman student at Denver University, finished joint 21st in a starting field of 78 players at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational women's college golf tournament at Vistoso Golf Club, Tucson, Arizona today.
Rachael, 19, had rounds of 80, 73 and 74 for a final total of 11-over 227 - 23 shots behind the runaway winner, Arizona University's Vagliano Trophy player Manon Gidali from France.
Gidali, pictured below by Cal Carson Golf Agency, who played in the winning Continent of Europe team against GB and I at Royal Porthcawl last June, shot a course-record 66 in her second round, flanked by scores of 67 and 71 for a brilliant total of 12-under-par 204 which saw her finish seven shots clear of the field. Which was an astonishing performance by the French girl who was not due to enrol at Arizona University until the autumn but, a master stroke by the Arizona head coach, saw Gidali arrive for the spring semester with a terrific debut performance.

Watton had a quadruple bogey at the seventh - her first hole - in the final round, followed by bogeys at the ninth and 10th. Then she stepped a gear or even two to cover her last 14 holes in four under par with birdies at the 12th, 14th, 18th, second and fourth, with only one further shot dropped, at the first. That lifted her up the final standings by 13 places from her overnight position of joint 34th.
The Scot would have made the top 10 but for three disaster holes that cost her eight shots to par - a double bogey in the first round, another double bogey in the second, then that 7 at the par-3 seventh in her final round.
Stanford University's Sally Watson, orignally from South Queensferry, is having no luck at all. Not selected for the GB and I selection trial at Nairn next month after playing in the 2008 and 2010 Curtis Cup matches, Watson withdrew from the Tucson tournament after opening with a 77. No explanation was given in the Stanford website tournament report.
With three players in the leading four finishers, no surprise that Arizona University won the team title by a wide margin - 12 shots.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72). Yardage 6,321
204 Manon Gidali (Arizona) 67 66 71
211 Margarita Ramos (Arizona) 71 68 72.
213 Erynne Lee (UCLA) 71 72 70.
214 Isabelle Boineau (Arizona) 74 70 70.
Selected totals
227 Rachael Watton (Denver) 80 73 74 (T21)
237 Sarah Faller (Denver) 78 81 78 (46th).
Retired: Sally Watson (Stanford) 77 ret.

LEADING TEAM TOTALS
851 Arizona.
863 UCLA.
884 Arizona State.
905 Colorado.
908 Oregon State.
914 Denver.
923 Stanford.
14 teams took part.