PRETSWELL AND McNICOLL SHARING FIFTH PLACE IN SWEDEN

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
By BETHAN CUTLER, LET ManagerAnastasia Kostina from Russia took a narrow lead after he first round of the Kristianstad Åhus Ladies Open in Sweden.
She carded a three under par 69 at Kristianstad Golf Club and leads by one stroke from Melodie Bourdy of France while Swedish amateur Jenny Haglund and South African Ilska Verwey ended the day in joint third.
The tournament was off to a thunderous start, thanks to a
military exercise nearby and Lina Boqvists posted a hole in one on the third using a five-iron, which was a terrific achievement since the pin position was extremely difficult.“The ball drifted in a bit with the wind, landed at the present green and then it fell down to the hole and went in,” said a happy Lina after the round.
Kostina was equally delighted with her score and with the fact that she played in the morning, avoiding the afternoon’s rainfall
Haglund, was pleased to have ended at one under par, but finished in an unfortunate way.
“I was bogey free until the last hole but after a good strike my ball hit the green and bounced off resulting in a bogey,” Haglund said.
The competitors praised the course. Firstly, because the famous course is in fine condition but they also like the layout.
“The track is not very long but you must always use your head and think,” said Cecilie Lundgreen who was the best professional in the Pro Am along with Isabella Ramsay on Wednesday.
Hole 9 proved to be the toughest hole on the golf course. A par four, the hole is a dogleg left with out-of-bounds on the left that attracts a lot of balls resulting in many bogeys.
Friday’s second round gets under way at 08:00, after which there will be a cut to the leading 30 pros and ties, who will play the final round on Saturday.
SCOTSWATCH (by Colin Farquharson) 
Curtis Cup amateur Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) and Carnoustie's Katy McNicoll  are lying joint fifth on level par 72 after the first round.
The Scots are three shots behind leader Anastasia Kostina from Russia in a field of over 100 for the 54-hole event which is part of the Ladies European Tour's developmental circuit.
Ayrshire's Pamela Feggans is joint 87th on 81.

FIRST-ROUND LEADERS
Par 72
69 Anastasia Kostina (Russ)
70 Melodie Bourdy (Fra)
71 Jenny Haglund (Swe) (am),. Iliska Verwey (SAf).
72 Pamela Pretswell (Sco), Katy McNicoll (Sco), Fabvienne In-Albon (Swi), Catherine Orioff Madsen (Den), Linda Boqvist (Swe), Tamara Johns (Aus), Kelly Hutcherson (Eng), Louyise Kristersson (Swe), Antonella Cvitan (Swe), Laura Sedda (Ita).
SELECTED SCORES
78 Kirsty S Taylor (Eng) (T60)
80 Tracey Boys (Eng) (jT79)
81 Pamela Feggans (Sco) (T87)
83 Jaoanne Clingan (Eng) (T98)
84 Tara Delaney (Ire) (T104).

FIVE SHARE LEAD IN TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN AT BELEK

PERNILLA LINDBERG, in action in the Turkish sunshine today. Image by courtesy of the Ladies European Tour.

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
By BETHAN CUTLER, LET Media Manager
Christel Boeljon, Diana Luna, Pernilla Lindberg, Florentyna Parker and Charlotte Ellis all shot three under par 70s to share the lead after round one of the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open in Belek, Antalya, Turkey today.

Defending champion Boeljon, from the Netherlands, continued her love affair with the National Golf Club after mixing six birdies with three bogeys.

“It was a little rough around the edges I think but for a first round it’s good and I’m pleased with it,” said Boeljon, who won the Gold Coast RACV Australian Ladies Masters in February.

“The course is fairly tight and I’m a pretty straight player off the tee so I get the ball in a good position and then it’s just getting on the green and making a few putts. I think off the tee, it’s one of the strongest parts of my game, but today, it was so-so, could have been better, but I made plenty of birdies and a few bogeys but it’s a good score.”

Playing under sunny skies, Boeljon started at the 10^th and opened with four pars and two successive birdies, but a bogey on the par-four 17^th checked her progress. She bogeyed the par-three second after pulling her tee shot, but then carded four birdies against one bogey over the next four holes. 

Parker, the 2010 Dutch Ladies Open champion, also showed great resolve, coming back from a double bogey on her opening hole to share the lead.

The Royal Birkdale member found the pine trees on the par-four 10^th hole, but birdied the 16^th, first, third, sixth and ninth.

“I’d have taken level par after my first hole so I’ll take that,” said Parker, who tied for second in Scotland last week.

“I started with a double bogey so that was a bit slow and then one birdie on the back nine, which was my front nine. I got it going on the front nine with four birdies and played really well.”

Luna, Lindberg and Ellis each had four birdies against one bogey. Italian Luna started well with birdies on the first and fourth holes and her momentum only stalled momentarily with a three-putt on the 10^th hole before she birdied the 13^th and 18^th.

“I played very well and hit many shots around the pin, but not many putts dropped,” said Luna. “I was always around the pin with my approach shots. I hit 15 greens and one fairway I was putting from outside, so like 16. It was very good.”

Sweden’s Lindberg, who is leading the Ladies European Tour’s Solheim Cup standings after six top-10 finishes since late September, started on the back nine and set out with three birdies and one bogey before picking up a further shot at the par-five fourth hole.

“This is a tough golf course and it’s very tight. I kept the ball in play all day. We know everyone is going to be in the trees at some point this week. I only made one bogey out there so it was a good day,” Lindberg said.

England’s Charlotte Ellis, pictured left, was the only player of the later starters to make an impact and played under threatening skies.

Although competing in only her second Ladies European Tour event since qualifying in January, she reeled off four birdies on the back nine and showed maturity by scrambling an excellent par on the 18^th, a par four that plays to the green over water.  

“I struggle with really sweaty hands and so much so I actually used a rain glove the whole way round,” explained the 26-year-old from Cheltenham. “I just slipped and hit the trees that were either side of the tee there. I’ve left myself such a long way in, I thought to myself it was probably going to be a bogey so I just laid up and got on the green as close as I can but ended up fancying the putt and holed it from 12 feet for a par.”

Lucie Andre, Stacey Keating, Caroline Masson and Swiss rookie Anais Maggetti finished on two under with a further seven players on one under par.

Last week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open winner Carly Booth, English amateur star Charley Hull, Solheim Cup player Laura Davies and former European Money List winner Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa were among the 14 players just three shots behind the leaders on level par.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 73
70 Charlotte Ellis (ENG), Diana Luna (ITA), Florentyna Parker (ENG), Christel Boeljon (NLD), Pernilla Lindberg (SWE)

71 Anais Maggetti (CHE), Lucie Andre (FRA), Stacey Keating (AUS), Caroline Masson (GER)

72 Rebecca Hudson (ENG), Anne-Lise Caudal (FRA), Lindsey Wright (AUS), Carin Koch (SWE), Tania Elosegui (ESP), Danielle Montgomery (ENG), Minea Blomqvist (FIN)

73 Sophie Giquel-Bettan (FRA) , Sarah Kemp (AUS) , Carlota Ciganda (ESP) , Linda Wessberg (SWE) , Hannah Burke (ENG) , Henrietta Zuel (ENG) , Laura Davies (ENG) , Carly Booth (SCO) , Lee-Anne Pace (ZAF) , Bree Arthur (AUS) , Valentine Derrey (FRA) , Ursula Wikstrom (FIN) , Charley Hull (ENG) (amateur) , Joanna Klatten (FRA)

74 Dawn Shockley (USA)  , Holly Aitchison (ENG)  , Emma Cabrera-Bello (ESP)  , Alexandra Vilatte (FRA)  , Miriam Nagl (GER)  , Anja Monke (GER)  , Celine Palomar (FRA)  , Hannah Jun (USA)  , Cassandra Kirkland (FRA)  , Georgina Simpson (ENG)  , Karen Lunn (AUS)

75 Becky Morgan (WAL) , Sophie Walker (ENG) , Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (FRA) , Giulia Sergas (ITA) , Tara Davies (WAL) , Jenni Kuosa (FIN) , Vikki Laing (SCO) , Louise Larsson (SWE) , Esther Choe (USA) , Veronica Zorzi (ITA) , Trish Johnson (ENG) , Sahra Hassan (WAL)

76 Stacy Lee Bregman (SAf) , Caroline Martens (NOR) , Marianne Skarpnord (NOR) , Jessica Yadloczky (USA) , Melissa Reid (ENG) , Julie Greciet (FRA) , Marieke Nivard (NLD) , Malene Jorgensen (DNK) , Stefania Croce (ITA) , Julie Maisongrosse (FRA) , Laurette Maritz (SAf) , Line Vedel (DNK) , Lynnette Brooky (NZL) , Beth Allen (USA)

77 Nikki Garrett (AUS) , Jaclyn Sweeney (USA) , Lotta Wahlin (SWE) , Dewi Claire Schreefel (NLD) , Mikaela Parmlid (SWE) , Elisabeth Esterl (GER) , Becky Brewerton (WAL) , Connie Chen (SAf) , Caroline Afonso (FRA) , Felicity Johnson (ENG) , Margherita Rigon (ITA)

78 Louise Stahle (SWE), Liebelei Lawrence (LUX), Lucy Williams (ENG), Lisa Holm Sorensen (DNK), Stephanie Na (AUS), Ashleigh Simon (SAf), Benedicte Toumpsin (BEL), Lydia Hall (WAL), Chrisje De Vries (NLD), Frances Bondad (AUS), Kiran Matharu (ENG), Maria Verchenova (RUS), Laura Cabanillas (ESP)

79 Smriti Mehra (IND), Rachel Bailey (AUS), Marjet Van Der Graaff (NLD), Tandi Cuningham (ZAF), Kylie Walker (SCO), Mireia Prat (ESP), Klara Spilkova (CZE), Carmen Alonso (ESP)

80 Elena Giraud (FRA), Maria Hernandez (ESP), Elizabeth Bennett (ENG), Caroline Westrup (SWE), Caroline Rominger (CHE), Helen Alfredsson (SWE), Rachel Jennings (ENG), Danielle Mcveigh (IRL), Kym Larratt (ENG), Gwladys Nocera (FRA)

81 Steffi Kirchmayr (GER), Clare Queen (SCO), Nicole Gergely (AUT)

82 Maria Beautell (ESP), Lynn Kenny (SCO), Zuzana Kamasova (SVK), Rebecca Artis (AUS), Sophie Sandolo (ITA)

83 Titiya Plucksataporn (THA), Sharmila Nicollet (IND)

84 Martina Eberl-Ellis (GER), Nina Syvertsen Reis (SWE), Rebecca Codd (IRL), Yasemin Sari (TUR)

85 Eleanor Givens (ENG)

88 Barbara Genuini (FRA)

91 Sara Djos (SWE)

LGU ANNOUNCES PRESIDENT-ELECT AND NEW VICE-PRESIDENT

LADIES GOLF UNION

PRESS RELEASE

Brigid McCaw –President Elect

Mrs. McCaw will be the 25th President since the position was instigated in 1908 and will commence her two years in office in succession to Mrs. Jill Edwards MBE at the LGU’s Annual General Meeting in February 2013.
Having served as Chairman of the Ladies’ Golf Union in 2009/10, Brigid will bring a wealth of golf knowledge and experience to the role of President.

A member and past Captain of Royal County Down Ladies’ Golf Club, she has been involved in golf administration for a number of years at both club and National level. As a Trustee and Honorary Secretary of the club she has experience in various aspects of club administration while in a playing capacity she has represented the club on a number of occasions in District Inter-Club Teams.

A stint as the club’s Junior Convenor saw her bring home the Smurfit title on three occasions, an association with Junior Golf which she continued through District and National Level. Brigid has served as a junior selector at both District and National Levels while also captaining various successful girls’ national teams over the years. 
Brigid is a qualified R and A referee and has officiated at many major championships and international tournaments including the Curtis Cup, the Vagliano Trophy and the Ricoh Women’s British Open.
She served full terms on the executive committees of both District and ILGU Councils before joining the Executive of the LGU in 2006 where she served on the Rules and Regulations Committee before taking over as Chairman.
Brigid worked for many years as a production assistant for Ulster Television but since she retired has been kept fully occupied in golf administration. In anticipation of her term of office she said:
“I feel honoured to be invited to be President Elect of the LGU and I look forward to supporting the Board of Directors and the Management Team during my term of office. I particularly welcome the opportunity of working with the much valued players, officials, volunteers and supporters on whom a successful ladies’ golf operation depends.” 
Brigid lives in Newcastle, Northern Ireland with her husband Harry, a past Captain of both the Royal and Ancient and Royal County Down Golf Clubs. They have three children, Gordon, Anita and Kenneth, and five grandchildren. 

Mary Anderson – Vice President

The LGU has also invited Past Chairman Mary Anderson to become Honorary Vice President in recognition of the work she has done for ladies’ golf and her continued loyalty to, and support of, the organisation.

Mary, Chairman in 1991/92, will be actively involved in supporting the LGU on her appointment as a Vice President.  A well-known character in Irish golfing circles, she is a member of Woodbrook Golf Club in Bray, County Wicklow, and continues to play an active part in the club’s activities, both on and off the golf course.

Mary said “I am thrilled at the invitation to be a Vice President of the LGU, and mindful of the privilege bestowed on me. Over the years of my involvement in ladies’ golf, I have made many friends and had such happy times. I feel very fortunate to be awarded this honour.”

Mary - who lives in Shankill, County Dublin, Ireland with her daughter, also Mary - becomes a Vice President with immediate effect.

SERVICES TO SPORT AWARD FOR FIONA NORRIS

Fiona Norris, captain of the Scotland women's amateur golf team, received the Scottish Association of Local Sports Council's Services to Sport Award at the recent Hamilton Sports Council Awards  Evening held within the Banqueting Centre of South Lanarkshire Council in Hamilton.

NEWS FROM THE US COLLEGE REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

MEN'S NCAA Division 2 South/South-east Regional
Rock Barn Golf and Spa, Conover, North Carolina. Par 72. Yardage 7,064

Ben Taylor (Nova Southeastern) (71-70-70), pictured,  from Leatherhead finished joint second on 222 with J P Griffin (Georgia Southwestern) (68-72-71) and Taylor Smith (Georgia College) (69-72-70), one shot behind the winner, Matt Atkins (SC-Aiken) (70-70-70 for six-under 210
Gavin Hay (Carson-Newman) from Glasgow had a very good final round of 69, which included seven birdies and a double bogey 7 at the long 14th, for a final total of one-over 217. His middle round of 78 after an opening 70 let the Scot down. He had 13 birdies in all over the 54 holes.
Gavin finished T11 in the final of 108 players.
Paul McPhee (Lynn University) also had a good last round, also a 69, which contained four birdies. Two double bogey 6s in his earlier rounds dragged him. down. Paul finished T19 on 220 (76-75-69) alongside Adam Hedges (Belmont Abbey) from Bromley. Adam scored 72-70-78.
Mitch Farrer (Nova Southeastern) from West Sussex had rounds of 78-75-71 for 224 and a T44 finish.
Liam Ashby (Carson-Newman) from Dublin finished T63 on 227 with scores of79-74-74.
Daniel Young (Lynn University) from Perth shot 81-74-73 (pity about that first round) for 228 and a T70 finish.
Scott Lambert (UNC-Pembroke) from Matfen Hall, NE England, did not have one of his better tournaments. He finished T82 on 230 with scores of 78-77-75. But his college finished fourth and advance to the national championships.
In the team event it was Georgia College (869), Barry (870), Nova Southeastern and UNC Pembroke (876). The NCAA Div 2 championships are at the Cardinal Club, Louisville, Kentucky from May 15-19.

MEN'S NCAA Division 2 East/Atlantic Regional
Hershey Country Club, Pennsylvania. Par 71. Yardage 6,984

Different-class performance here by the winner, Paul Tighe, a junior year student at Wilmington University. Over a tough course that has staged Nationwide Tour pro events and in some very rough weather, Paul headed the field of 108 players by eight strokes with scores of 72-73-72.
Thomas Rees (Post) from Cardiff finished T12 on 231 with scores of 76-75-80.
Alastair Forsythe, pictured, from Glasgow and Phil Rutherford from Nuneaton, both students at Davis and Elkins College, West Virginia, finished T20 on 234. Forsythe, in his final year so this would have been his final event on the US college circuit, shot 81-76-77, while freshman Rutherford's scores were 77-76-82.
Ross Earnshaw (Post) from York finished T24 on 234 (77-77-81).
Christopher Young (Davis and Elkins), a sophomore student from Cardross) totalled 238 for a T35 finish with scores of 80-82-76.
Another Scot and another D and E student, Ciar Porciani from Ayrshire, shot 85-75-80 for a T47 finished on 240.
Wilmington won the team event ahead of Indiana and Concord with Post fourth and St Thomas Aquinas fifth. The first five advance to the NCAA Div 2 championships so Davis and Elkins, sixth in a field 20 teams, just missed out.