JENNA BIRCH HAS WON TWICE ON US COLLEGE CIRCUIT

                          
                              JENNA BIRCH .. Twice a winner in America

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
I owe an apology to Jenna Birch from Fleetwood, now in her junior (third) year at Armstrong Atlantic University, Savannah in the state of Georgia.
Jenna has slipped under the net we use to trawl the Golfstat college results so her successful exploits on the US college golf scene have not figured on Kirkwoodgolf so far.
But we are going to change all that, starting with Jenna picking out the highlights of her time in America so far:

"I only played last semester as I was red-shirted by the NCAA the first year for playing in the Faldo Series Grand Final, but last year I won the Newberry Invitational, and then made it to Nationals in Louisville Kentucky. 

"So that was definitely the highlight, as it was the first semester I played and also being the first women golfer for my college ever to make it to Regionals, and then to Nationals.

"The Nationals was an amazing time, as it was the Spring Festival where numerous D2 sports are all competing for Nationals in the same city. 

"I was the only golfer as I travelled with my college men's and women's tennis team, who both won the national titles. So it was an amazing trip. 

"I have had a great year so far in the 2012-2013 college season. I finished second at the Wendy's CSU Fall Invitational, shooting 68, 74, 75.

"Then I won last week at the Flagler Fall Slam tournament, shooting 75 and 70. Now we go to play our final tournament this fall (autumn). 

"I have also been voted the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week for the last two weeks."

JENNA BIRCH

Thanks, Jenna, for giving us the rundown on your golfing achievements. Well done, indeed!

If anybody else wants to keep track on Jenna, log on to www.armstrongpirates.com

We certainly will now that we know where Jenna is.
EDITOR

 MORE INFO ON JENNA BIRCH
Jenna,  a member at Royal Lytham and St Annes GC, won the U18 trophy at the 2009 Scottish U21 open stroke play. She was in the winning Lancashire team at 2009 County Finals and was runner up in the Faldo series Grand Final in Brazil in 2008. She was a regular on the British amateur scene before going to the USA.
 

CATRIONA MATTHEW SEEKS TO REPEAT VICTORY DOWN MEXICO WAY

FROM THE LPGA TOUR.COM WEBSITE
The second to last event of the 2012 season tees off this week in Mexico at the Guadalajara Country Club where tournament host and 27-time winner on the LPGA Tour Lorena Ochoa makes her first appearance since 2010.
The fifth annual Lorena Ochoa Invitational presented by Banamex and Jalisco highlights a star-studded field of 36 players vying for a $150,000 first-place prize from its $1 million purse.
Scotland’s Catriona Matthew looks to defend her title for a fifth LPGA career victory following a powerful performance at last year’s event where she won by four strokes from Anna Nordqvist and I.K. Kim.
The 18-year veteran from North Berwick enters the week after adding her fifth straight top-10 finish to her résumé this season at the Sunrise LPGA Championship presented by Audi. 
The field also consists of six of the top-10 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings including No. 1 Yani Tseng, No. 2 Stacy Lewis and No. 4 Inbee Park.
Lewis is coming off her fifth-career LPGA victory at the Mizuno Classic where she came from a seven-stroke deficit to defeat second-round leader and JLPGA member Bo-Mee Lee. 
Lewis strengthened her lead in the Rolex Player of the Year race to 214 points^, giving her a 58pt lead over Park, who leads the 2012 Official Money list with more than $2.1 million.
Tseng also had strong performances throughout the Asia swing with back-to-back third place finishes in Korea and Taiwan, finishing with a fourth-place finish in Japan.

DOLORES BROWN IN TOP 15 IN FLORIDA

Dolores Brown from Royal Cinque Ports GC, Kent, a freshman student at McNeese State University, Lake Charles, Louisiana, is lying  T14 in a field of 46 players at the Holiday Inn Express collegiate tournament at Victoria Hills Golf Club, DeLand in Florida.
Dolores, pictured, has had rounds of 76 and 82 for 158 over a par-72 course of 6,070yd.
Leading by five strokes is Sammi Smith (Stetson) with 70-74 for 144.
Daytona State are leading the team event with Stetson University second.
This tournament is scheduled to finish today (Tuesday). We will bring you the final scores when we can.   

SAM STRACHAN TAKES YEAR OFF
GOLF TO HAVE WRIST SURGERY

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
If, like me, you have been wondering why Sam Strachan, pictured, from Inverallochy/Cairnbulg in the North-east of Scotland has not been figuring in the Huntingdon College (Montgomery, Alabama) golf team over the first half of the 2012-2013 season,
Sam's dad John has kindly provided the solution:    

"Sam is not playing college golf this year as he is waiting for surgery on his wrist.

"Last season he played with a lot of pain and still is so he decided if he wanted to pursue a career in golf after college he would need to get his wrist 100% so decided to sit out this year.

"He is continuing in the US with his degree as the lure of the North-east weather has not tempted him home

"Sam has had MRI scans and Xrays and the doctors are waiting for final results to see what the way forward will be. It looks like tendinitis or nerves so surgery might be needed."

 

JOHN STRACHAN 

 

Editor: Apologies to the Strachan family for inadvertently deleting this article and picture from the website earlier today.

 

LINK TO LIVE SCORING FROM US COLLEGE EVENT ON HAWAII

Scottish amateur champion Grant Forrest (San Diego), Scott Gibson and Rhys Pugh (East Tennessee State) are playing in the Warrior Wave Intercollegiate at Princeville, Hawaii this week.
To see how they are faring over a par-72, 7,223yd course

CLICK HERE

THREE SHARE LEAD ON FIVE-UNDER 67 IN ARIZONA WOMEN'S OPEN

Italy's Guilia Molinaro, pictured,  is one of three players sharing the lead on five-under-par 67 at the end of the first round of the Cactus Tour's Arizona Women's Open at Foothills Golf Club near Phoenix.

ALL THE FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72. Yardage 6,377

67 Guilia Molinaro, Margarita Ramos, McKenzie Jackson
68 Caitlin McClearly, Kim Lorenzana.
69 Beth Bader, Jordan Ontiveros, Therese Koelbaek.
70 Hillary Packard, Shania Berger (amateur))
71 Brittany Johnston, Cheyenne Woods, Jane Rah, Julie Schutler, Kayla Mortellaro, Maiya Tanaka     
72 Brittany Benvenuto, Elene Robles, Emma Jandel, Emma Jandel, Jennifer Tucker, Joy Trotter, Kali Quick, Meghan Gehan, Michele Chun (amateur), Sara Brown.
72 Taylor Karle.
73 Alena Sharp, Brittany McKee (am), Emily Talley,
74 Allie Jordan, Candra Sumedhatip, Diana Hong  Jackie Kazarian, Karinn Dickinson (am), Kate  Machado, Kelsey Kipp, Kristin Walla, Monet Flores (am), Monia Villarreal, Paola Pavon, Selanee Henderson.

75 Cindy Lee-Pridgen, Kaitlin Drolson, Lindsay Aho, Maria Hernandez.
76 Brittany Penny, Christy Yun, Kasey Claussen, Melissa Mabanta, Sadena Parks
77 Daeun Song (amateur), Jasi  Acharya, Lucy Davies, Sara Hurwitch.
78 Jessica Berve
79 Christina Stockton, Kylee Duede (amateur)
80 Melissa Yeazell
81 Jessica Payne (amateur)
82 Jessica Hauser, Meghan Hardin
83 Armana Christianson (amateur)
85 Alana Johnson.
87 Emilie Smith (amateur)
DQ Meggan Bunker, Elizabeth Livingston, Erica Dechowitz (amateur)