ABERDEEN GRAMMAR SCHOOL WIN FINAL AT DEESIDE

Left to right - Anthony Harkins; Lewis Allan; Cameron Howe; Ben Cassie; Gavin Kinnear; Ross McKendrick. REPORT BY DEREK JOHNSTONE Aberdeen Grammar School claimed the Paul Lawrie Foundation sponsored Aberdeen Schools’ League Trophy for the fourth time in eight years with a 2-1 win over St Machar Academy at Deeside Golf Club.   The match was as tight as the result suggests, with all three pairings going down the last. Anthony Harkins partnered by Gavin Kinnear set the foundation to the victory with a narrow victory over Chris Somers and Mark Rimmer.  The Grammar pairing seemed to be cruising to victory when they reached the turn in 2 under par and 5 up.  However, a birdie at the 11th from Chris, rejuvenated the St Machar pairing and by the 15th found themselves only one down.  However, Anthony and Gavin held their nerve and par golf was sufficient to maintain their one-hole advantage. The second tie proved to be a tense affair before the St Machar pairing of Andrew and Adam McKenzie scraped through by 2 holes against Cameron Howe and Ross McKendrick. Never behind and two up through 9, the McKenzie brothers could not shake off their dogged opponents.  The Grammar pairing finally cut the deficit to one hole with a Cameron Howe par at the 17th.  However, the brothers were not to be denied and victory was secured when Andrew was the only player to make par at the last. In the final tie, the Grammar pairing of Ben Cassie and Lewis Allan got off to a flyer winning four of the first five holes.  However their opponents, Chelsie Angelo and Aidan Page, showed great determination chipping away at the Grammar advantage until they were only one down standing on the last tee.  A tense and nervy last hole ensued as the large crowd relayed the news that should Chelsie and Aidan square their match, the trophy would go to St Machar under the holes-up format by one hole (2 to 1).  However it was not to be and a bogey five was enough for a two-hole Grammar success. Match Result: St Machar Academy 1, Aberdeen Grammar School 2 C Somers and M Rimmer lost to A Harkins and G Kinnear 1 hole. Andrew McKenzie and Adam McKenzie bt C Howe and R McKendrick 2 holes C Angelo and A Page lost to B Cassie and L Allan 2 holes

MIDLOTHIAN COMPLETE FIRST HALF OF LAST SEASON'S TITLES DOUBLE

MIDLOTHIAN TEAM IMAGE BY COURTESY OF MARY RICHARDSON Midlothian women's golf team are on course to repeat last season's divisional and national championship double victory. They retained the East Division title at Turnhouse GC today, recording three wins out of three against Fife, East Lothian and Stirling and Clackmannan. They signed off with a comprehensive 7 1/2-1 1/2 win over East Lothian who at one time dominated the division. International Jane Turner (Craigielaw) was Midlothian's leading points provider with 4 1/2 out of a possible 6. Wendy Nicholson came next with four. Three of the four teams who will contest the Scottish county finals at Montrose Links in September are now known - Midlothian, Renfrewshire and Angus. The South Division jamboree will complete the field.   EAST DIVISION WOMEN'S INTER-COUNTY TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP Turnhouse GC Day 3   EAST LOTHIAN 1 1/2, MIDLOTHIAN 7 1/2   FOURSOMES (0-3) Lesley Nicholson and Clara Young lost to Jane Turner and  Hannah Scott 5&4 Mary Lou Renton and Lesley Atkins lost to Claire Hargan and Louise Fraser 4 and 3 Lindsay Garden and Susan Penman lost to Karen Marshall and Wendy Nicholson 3 and 2   SINGLES (1 1/2-4 1/2) Young lost to Turner 1 hole Atkins halved with Rachael Watton Nicholson bt Kate McIntosh 1 hole Penman lost to Scott 6 and 4 Jane Herd lost to Fraser 5 and 4  Barbara Biggart lost to Hargan 6 and 4   FIFE 8, STIRLING and CLACKMANNAN 1 FOURSOMES (3-0) Fiona Hastie and Susan Jackson bt Louise MacGregor and Mhairi Hall 4 and 2 Elaine Moffat and Lauren Whyte bt Linda Allan and Elaine Allison 2 and 1, Karin Sharp and Lorna McKinlay bt Claire Cappoci and Laura Bissett 2 and 1 SINGLES (5-1) Jackson bt MacGregor 2 and 1 Moffat bt Hall 2 holes Rachael Hanlon lost to Claire Capocci 2 and 1 Lorna Bennett bt Allan 3 and 2 McKinlay bt Bissett 3 and 2 Hastie bt Jennifer Bryans 2 and 1 HOW THEY FINISHED  1.     Midlothian 6 points 2.     Fife 4 points 3.     East Lothian 2 points 4.     Stirling and Clackmannan 0 points

SUE DYE LEADS ENGLISH SENIORS BY TWO AT SHIFNAL

NEWS RELEASE FROM ENGLAND GOLF
Past champion Sue Dye of Cheshire took the lead in the English senior women’s stroke play championship at Shifnal, Shropshire, after shooting two-over par 74 today.
Sue, who won this title in 2007, adds the score to her opening 76 and holds a two-shot lead going into tomorrow’s final round. The top 36 players and ties go forward to play the last round with a total of 37 competitors qualifying.
Sue’s closest challengers are Janet Melville of Nottinghamshire, also a past champion and senior international, together with Derbyshire’s Lindsey Shaw, who equalled the day’s low score with her 74.
Two shots further back are Amanda Mayne of Somerset, who was the joint first round leader, and Jackie Barraclough of Yorkshire.
The second round was played in ideal golfing conditions which produced a host of scores in the 70s, although players also recounted bad luck stories of tangling with the trees – costing one competitor two lost balls.
Sue had no such problems, but was well aware of the dangers: “This is a lovely course, but it’s not easy, if you tweak a shot you can be in the trees.
“I had a good round and I’ll take it - but I left three putts out there,” she added, as she reported missed birdie chances. However, Sue also enjoyed good fortune on the short 17th where she had a birdie two, avenging herself on yesterday’s four-putt. It was her second birdie of the day, following a four on the long sixth.
Lindsey Shaw, a multiple past winner of the Derbyshire county championship, moved herself into contention with her 74. She started slowly, with three bogeys in the first five holes, but played the remainder of the course in one-under par with 12 pars and a birdie on the ninth.
The three-handicapper, who began playing senior events after her 50th birthday last year, had never played the course before yesterday’s first round – and is enjoying the challenge. 
This is a very good course for this event, it’s long enough, but not too long, the greens are fairly testing and it demands you play a variety of shots. I’ve used every club in my bag today.”
She’s tied with Janet Melville, the 2008 champion, who was also three over after five holes but came back to fashion a 76. “It was a struggle, I was all over the place!” said the normally very steady player. “But I ended up with a 76 and if you’d offered me that after five holes I would have taken it.”
Among the day’s other low scorers was former English senior champion, Christine Watson of Buckinghamshire, who is returning to competitive golf after a three-year break to attend to family commitments.
She was delighted with her 75, which moves her into a share of ninth place. She describes her comeback as “enjoyable but tough” – and has already won the second flight at the English senior championship earlier this season.
Among the players who suffered misfortunes were Katharine Russell of Sussex who was on course for a very low score before knocking up a nine on the 18th – and still finished with a 78 in eighth place.
Meanwhile, first round co-leader Caron Harrison of Nottinghamshire, safely made the cut after adding an 86 to her opening round 74.
Two Shropshire players successfully qualified for the final round: county captain Ros Moor (Bridgnorth) and county senior champion Sue Pidgeon (Wrekin).

Qualifying scores
Par 72, CSS 74 74
150 Sue Dye (Delamere Forest) 76 74
152 Janet Melville (Sherwood Forest) 76 76, Lindsey Shaw (Chevin) 78 74
154 Amanda Mayne (Saltford) 74 80, Jackie Barraclough (East Bierley) 77 77
155 Gillian Mellor (Prestbury) 79 76, Jeannie O'Keeffe (Hankley Common) 79 76
156 Katherine Russell (Royal Ashdown Forest) 78 78
157 Christine Watson (Beaconsfield) 82 75, Carolyn Kirk (Ganton) 76 81, Barbara Woodham (Cobtree Manor Park) 76 81
158 Barbara Laird (Sandiway) 81 77, Felicity Christine (Woking Ladies') 77 81, Lulu Housman (Highgate) 83 75, Gill Snelson (Branston) 81 77
159 Ruth Lindley (Hartlepool) 77 82, Jo Rumsey (Rochford Hundred) 82 77
160 Caroline Berry (Bromborough) 81 79, Carol Cass (Broadstone) 80 80, Caron Harrison (Sherwood Forest) 74 86
161 Roz Adams (Addington Court Ladies') 77 84, Amanda Ryan (Caldy) 80 81, Pat West (Spalding), 78 83
162 Irene Brien (Wentworth) 82 80
163 Gillian Curley (Northamptonshire County) 83 80
164 Jo Ashmore (Barnham Broom) 84 80, Eppie Zandvoort (Eaton,Norwich)  80 84 165 Ros Moor (Bridgnorth) 84 81, Sue Pidgeon (Wrekin) 85 80
166 Olwen Simpson (Filton) 82 84, Liz Moverley (Copt Heath) 81 85, Cecilia Lyon (Prestbury) 80 86
167 Debbie Richards (Burhill) 85 82, Laraine Hague (Rotherham) 84 83, Andrea Stockdale (Mapperley Ladies’) 83 84, Angela Duck (Northamptonshire County) 84 83  Teresa Taylor (The Club at Mapledurham) 87 80

Lyndsey Hewison
Press Officer
England Golf
lyndsey.hewison@ntlworld.com
07825 752 193

INTERVIEW WITH CARLY BOOTH

         CARLY BOOTH ... LPGA Tour bid next year?

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR

By BETHAN CUTLER

 

Interview with Carly Booth ahead of the Raiffeisenbank Prague Golf Masters at The Albatross Golf Resort:

You are known as a long hitter. Do you feel this course will suit you?

CARLY: Yes, I think it’s definitely a driver’s course. It’s pretty wide open and I think if you do hit it that little bit further it brings the par fives into play for hitting the green in two so I think it’s a good course that’s suited for me and I’m looking forward to this week. 

Can you reach all the par fives in two shots?

CARLY: Playing it yesterday, I managed to hit them all but it wasn’t that windy. I know from last year that the wind gets up here and especially hole 10 can be out of reach. 

What do you think about this golf course and the condition?

CARLY: It’s beautiful. The conditions are awesome and the greens are rolling just wonderfully. It’s in even better condition than last year, so it’s looking great.

What are your goals for this season now that you’re leading the order of merit?

CARLY: It’s overwhelming to be honest! I think now I’ve re-set my goals to try and stay there, so just keep playing the way I’m playing and hopefully I can continue leading the money list. 

I read that you wanted to win two tournaments before you were 20. When did you set this goal?

CARLY: I won the Scottish and it gave me that boost of confidence that I could go out there and win another. I set my goal to get another one before I turned 20 so I had four or five events to do that. I did it in the last chance I had so it was pretty special. 

Carly, you didn’t make it through qualifying school but now you have won two tournaments. What was the turning point?

CARLY: At the start of the year I went to play in my first Access Series event because we had a month off after Morocco and there were no tournaments. I decided to just go play two Access events and the first one I played, I won it. I think that just gave me a boost of confidence.

I was practising in Dubai for a month at the start of the year and my golf was coming along very nicely. I was feeling pretty happy with my game so it was just about taking it into the tournament rounds.

I then played the Scottish and it was just like, yeah, my game is finally coming together. I just tried to enjoy it more this year. I felt like last year I was maybe putting too much pressure on myself to perform and my golf didn’t perform to where it should be. Again, I found new love, so I think that’s helped too. 

Do you still sometimes practise on the Comrie course your father built for you when you were small?

 

CARLY: When I’m home, I do but I haven’t been home since the Sunday of the Scottish so it will be eight weeks but when I’m home it’s nice to go out there and practise. Go out there at any time of the day, wearing whatever I want. It’s so my own and I can play my music really loud. It’s nice to have that. 

I think that’s where I benefited a lot when I was younger, being able to achieve what I did when I was that age, with having the golf course in my garden.

When did you father build the course?

CARLY: I was probably about five years old when he started. We have 100 acres so we have sheep and cows. My older brother got into golf when he was about nine years old. When Wallace started to like the game my dad decided to make a hole for him to practise at outside the house. That one hole became three holes and then became five and then nine and now 15, so, again with me, I liked golf too when I was that age and it became a hobby for my dad. I think he loved making the golf course.

How often do you play that course?

CARLY: Because I’m hardly home, hardly ever nowadays, if I’m honest. I’m also attached to Gleneagles so when I’m home I tend to go there. Even when I’m home I’m not there for very long so I tend to arrange games with friends on different courses in Scotland so I’m always on the move.

You were an international gymnast, so how does it help being so strong and flexible?

CARLY: It’s definitely helped my golf game, especially with my distance and with my dad being a sportsman he wanted all of us to try every sport when we were young. I was a swimmer also and I nearly swam for Scotland.

Sport was a very big thing in our family. I’m so happy that I went to gymnastics and spent six years doing that. It was definitely not going to be a career path but it was something that I’m so grateful for. 

Why golf? 

CARLY: I think I was a little bit too tall for gymnastics and I think with my brother wanting to take golf as a career path. I got my first handicap when I was eight and I started to achieve more. I was standing out more at golf because there were very few girls that played it in my area and there were so many good gymnasts.

 As well, when you’re a gymnast, your career ends at 25 and with golf it can last a lifetime and plus there’s money in golf as well.

I read some articles that you might be thinking about going to the LPGA?

CARLY: I’ve always said that I wanted to find my feet first on the Ladies European Tour before going out there. I think it’s quite difficult to juggle both but now that I have a few years' exemption on this tour it does give me the chance to go out there and not feel the pressure to try and keep my card on this tour. Maybe I’m going to go and try next year. 

  

What are you going to do for your (20th) birthday?

CARLY: I’ve no idea. I’m playing the Pro Am and going to the Pro Am dinner so I’m going to celebrate when I go home I think, because I haven’t even celebrated for winning in Scotland! Spend some time with the family and maybe go out with some friends. 

You won in Switzerland last week. Your caddie (and boyfriend) was a European Tour player. What was the biggest help from him?

CARLY: To be honest, it was such a crazy week. We’ve only been together three or four months. We’ve only played golf together practising once, so it was the first time he’d seen me in a tournament round. And it was his first experience ever of caddying. 

Everything seemed to be my week because I got my first hole in one. I finally got to play with Laura Davies. I’ve been dying to play with Laura since I turned pro and I won the tournament, so I think he was definitely my lucky charm for the week. 

How did you celebrate your win in Switzerland?

CARLY: I jumped five feet in the air three times. No back flips. I think I’m getting too old for that now.

Do the wins give you a boost financially?

CARLY: It’s opened some doors. Think about how expensive a tour caddie would be for the year and all those little things. It’s definitely a huge weight off my shoulders and I feel I can benefit more throughout the year now.

RENFREWSHIRE WIN WEST TITLE WITH THREE WINS OUT OF THREE AT CARDROSS

Renfrewshire clinched their appearance in September's Scottish county finals at Montrose Links with a 6 1/2-2 1/2 win over Ayrshire on the last day of the West Division women's inter-county team championship at Cardross.

Renfrewshire had already beaten Dunbartonshire and Argyll, and Lanarkshire.

On paper, Renfrewshire's final match was still in the balance at 1 1/2pts each after the morning foursomes, but their outstanding depth of talent in the singles saw them take the afternoon session by a commanding 5-1 margin.

Scottish girls champion Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) and Alyson McKechin (Elderslie) were the joint MVPs of the tournament, the Renfrewshire pair each winning six out of six points.

Not far behind them were Megan Briggs and Linsey Stevenson with 4 1//2pt apiece.

Lanarkshire finished runners-up, beating Dunbartonshire and Argyll 6-3 in the day's other match after making a clean sweep of the three morning foursomes.

WEST DIVISION WOMEN'S INTER-COUNTY TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Cardross GC

Final Day

DUNBARTONSHIRE and ARGYLL 3, LANARKSHIRE 6

FOURSOMES (0-3)

Nicholas Ferguson and Jill Meldrum lost to Emma Caddow and Fiona Norris 3 and 1.

Anne Laing and Jorden Ferrie lost to May Hughes and Lesley Lloyd 2 and 1.

Sheena McDonald and Lynn McColl lost to Susan McGrenaghan and Susan Wood 3 and 2.

SINGLES (3-3)

Meldrum lost to Caddow 3 and 1,

Lorraince Campbell bt Norris 2 and 1.

Ferguson lost to Wood 5 and 4.

Laura McGeachy haolved with McGrenaghan.

McDonald bt Ruth Rankin 6 and 5.

Laing halved with Loyd.

RENFREWSHIRE 6 1/2, AYRSHIRE 2 1/2

FOURSOMES (1 1/2-1 1/2)

Alyson McKechin and Eilidh Briggs bt Connie Jaffrey and Audrey Thompson 6 and 5.

Megan Briggs and Linsey Stevenson halved with Lesley Hendry and Jenny Linklater.

Donna Jackson and Liz Stewart lost to Linzi Allan and Catherine Malcolm 3 and 2.

SINGLES (5-1) 

McKechin bt Rachael McQueen 5 and 4

Jackson lost to Hendry 3 and 2.

Stevenson bt Jaffrey 6 and 5.

Eilidh Briggs bt Mhairi McKay 2 holes.

Gillian Kyle bt Allan 2 and 1

Megan Briggs bt Malcolm 7 and 6.

US Curtis Cup team player leads in Public Links championship

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE

Lisa McCloskey, one of the beaten United States team in the 37th Curtis Cup match at The Nairn GC recently,is one of the favourites for this week's US women's amateur public links championship at Neshanic Valley, New Jersey.

CLICK BELOW FOR SCOREBOARD
• U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links (Rd. 2)

McCloskey, 20, shot 70-67 to lead the stroke-play at 7-under 137, one stroke ahead of Nebraska’s Steffi Neisen. Her second-round 67 was a tournament low. “You can make a lot of birdies on this course,” said McCloskey, who had three straight in the middle of her round. “I thought there would be a 62 yesterday.”
McCloskey, runner-up at this event in 2010, finished the year No. 7 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings. “My putting carried me through the last two days,” she said.
That’s a rarity for the streaky player, and a good sign for the week.
US Curtis Cup team-mate Emily Tubert shot 73-70 for 143 to be T13.
Scotland's Curtis Cup player of 2008 and 2010, Sally Watson (Stanford) is T20 with 70-74 for 144.