HOLIDAY GOLF TRIP PAYING OFF FOR USA STUDENT

  Rachel Polson and her dad Alasdair after their mixed foursomes success at Brora. Picture by Robin Wilson

RACHEL POLSON'S DOUBLE WHAMMY 

VICTORIES IN THE NORTH
FROM ROBIN WILSON

With strong Helmsdale connections and holidaying this week in Helmsdale for  the start of Brora Golf Club's busy week of open events,  Rachel Polson, whose parents' home is in Peterculter, won  last Saturday’s pipe-opening competition, the Women's Clynelish 18 Hole Open.

Just turned 21, Polson has returned to her family home near Aberdeen for the summer break from America and is currently with her parents holidaying in Helmsdale.  
Rachel has just finished her third of a four year course studying Marketing at the Florida Institute of Technology where on her golf scholarship she has reduced her golf handicap to two playing in USA collegiate events,which has brought her to the attention of the Scottish Ladies Golf Association and she is now a member of the SLGA's overseas elite training squad.

Rachel's entry into the Brora event gave her a late afternoon starting time when, more accustomed to sunny Florida she did not cope too well with the falling temperature and oncoming rain and  struggled to a four over par 40 blows for Brora's outward stretch.  
Already in the clubhouse from playing in the better morning conditions was a gross card of 75 compiled  from two excellent halves of 37 and 38 by Wick's Deirdre MacAngus.

Turning for home with the helping wind on her back Polson birdied the par five 11^th hole and all but all but drove the green at the 273 yard twelfth to record her second birdie of the round - but better was to come. 
The 282 yard 14^th green was found from the tee and the resulting eagle 2 had her card back to level par after 14 holes.

Then the USA college student went from being four over par at one stage to one under with another birdie on the 16^th hole before all her good work was undone with a succession of poor shots at the difficult penultimate hole. 
She was till 60 yards short of the 17^th green and in a bunker after three,then required two more shots to arrive on the putting surface for a three over par triple bogey 7 to blight her card, following up on the final hole with a bogey four. 
Nevertheless she signed off with 74 to edge one ahead of MacAngus and win the scratch Nicol Bowl for the first time.

MacAngus slipped into first handicap place in the Silver Division with nett 67 after being pipped for the overall handicap trophy on a last nine hole count-back by Perthshire visitor Susan Ogg from Dunkeld and Birnham, while the two trophies confined to local members were won by Angela Grant with a nett card of 69 off 18.

Brora Women's Open Result
  CSS: Home 70, Visitors 71

SCRATCH
74 R Poslon (Peterculter).
75 D MacAngus (Wick).
81 L Beaney (Brora)
83 Y Blyth (Prestonfield)
HANDICAP
Silver Division – D MacAngus (Wick) (8) 67. A Grant (Brora) (18) 69. A Clarke (Brora) (16) 70. Bronze Division – A Darlington (Brora) (29) 71. A Sutherland (Brora) (26) 72. S Anderson (Brora) (27) 74.

Nicol Trophy R Polson.  
Hunter Trophy A Grant. 
Brora Salver A Grant. 
Brora Bowl S Ogg.

Twenty-four hours later it was the turn of the men to join the women for the Cairngorm Solar Panels mixed foursomes where one pairing made a successful defence of the scratch trophy and two other pairings returned to recapture previously won handicap trophies.

All on her own Peterculter's Rachael Polson scored  74 to win the previous day's women's open and should have equalled or even bettered this score with the help of her father Alasdair in the mixed event. 
After an outward 38 the Polsons partnership was comfortably defending the scratch Brora Salver, and still just three over par they arrived on the 15^th tee where Dad drove out of bounds to raise their inward count to 38. 
But their 76 won by three from local head greenkeeper James MacBeath and lady section secretary, Marlene Bokas.

Winners on the low handicap RM Street Shield in 2009 and 2012 local couple Michael MacKintosh and Lynda Mackay won the Shield for a third time with a nett score of 72.5 while from the higher group regular Clynelish Week visitors from Edinburgh, Derek and Corine Blyth of Prestonfield Golf Club, repeated their 2011 winning  of the AL Mackay Quaich with a nett 70.5.

Mixed Results
SCRATCH
A and R Polson (Peterculter) 76; J MacBeath and M Bokas (Brora) 79; L MacDonald (Brora) and R Bonnin (Marseilles) 80. 
HANDICAP
Class 1 – M MacKintosh and L Mackay (Brora), A Powell (Murcar Links) and D Powell (Brora) 72.5; C MacDonald (The Nairn) and J McAndrew (Pumphertson) 73. 
Class 2 – D and C Blyth (Prestonfield) 70.5; D Macrae (Inverness) and A Sutherland (Brora) 71; J Innes (Inverness) and H Proctor (Golspie) 72; T Dodds and A McCree (Brora) 73.

ENTRANCE FEE OF £25 COVERS GREEN FEES, TEAS, ETC

 UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS LADIES'

INVITATIONAL ON SEPTEMBER 6-7

By ZHANNA TARASKO
The University of St Andrews and the Ladies Golf Club take great pleasure in inviting British School and University girls to compete in our annual University of St Andrews Ladies Invitational (previously known as Scottish School Girls).

The tournament will take place over the Strathtyrum and Eden courses on September 6 and 7  and will be run as a stroke-play competition for golfers with a handicap of 12 and below and a Stableford competition for golfers with a handicap between 12.1 and 24, ensuring that girls of all standards will be competitive.

There will be an entrance fee of £25, which will cover two green fees, post-match teas on a Sunday, University guided tour and prizes.

We hope that this will be a fun and enlightening trip for all involved.

 

For more information and an application form, please email standrewsinvitational@gmail.com or visit our website http://ladiesgolfclub.wix.com/ladies-golf-club#!ladies-invitational-2014/c1qba.  

Please note that the closing date for entries is  August 26 and the number of players will be limited to 48. All late entries will be considered only under special circumstances.

 

In the meantime, do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions. (standrewsinvitational@gmail.com)

 

We look forward to welcoming you to St Andrews in September."

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DEBUTANTE LESLEY LLOYD GETS VITAL POINT IN THE SINGLES

Scotland vets team. Back row (left to right): Anne Ryan, Mary Smith, Sheena Wood, Kathleen Sutherland (vice captain), Fiona de Vries. 
Front Row (left to right): Lesley Lloyd, Alison Bartlett, Noreen Fenton (captain), Lorna Bennett, Alex Glennie.

SCOTLAND VETS MAKE WINNING 

START ON MERSEYSIDE

Scotland made a winning start to the three-day Veteran Ladies Golf Associaton match-play jamboree at Wallasey Golf Club, Merseyside.

They made up a 2-1 deficit on the morning foursomes by taking the singles 4-2 for a 5-4 victory over England Midlands.

New cap Lesley Lloyd was the afternoon star, says Gillian Kirkwood (who pops up everywhere!)

"One up playing the last, Lesley managed to secure the point which meant that we took the singles 4-2 after a 2-1 defeat in the morning foursomes," says Gillian (who did not take the slightly out of focus picture at the top of the page!)

In the other match, England North beat England South 6-3.

Details:

SCOTLAND 5, ENGLAND MIDLANDS 4

Foursomes (1-2)

Sheena Wood and Lesley Lloyd lost to Helen Lowe and Mary MacLaren 2 and 1.

Alison Bartlett and Alex Glennie bt Carol Gibbs and Julie Walter 3 and 2.

Mary Smith and Anne Ryan lost to Sue Spencer and Caron Harrison 1 hole.

Singles (4-2)

Fiona de Vries lost to Lowe 5 and 3.

Wood bt MacLaren 2 holes

Lloyd bt Carol Wild 1 hole

Glennie bt Cindy Ireland 2 and 1

Lorna Bennett lost to Harrison 6 and 5

Smith bt Spencer 4 and 3

OTHER RESULT
ENGLAND NORTH 6, ENGLAND SOUTH 3

SIXTH VICTORY IN LAST EIGHT YEARS OF TOURNAMENT

 MIGHTY MURCAR! Left to right: Pat Wilson, Susan Murray, Carol Wilson, Kathleen Thomson and Margaret Parkinson (ALCGA captain). Picture by Karen Stalker.
 
MURCAR LINKS WIN LYON FOURSOMES 

AT ABOYNE AFTER TIGHT SEMI-FINAL

Murcar Links today won the Aberdeenshire Ladies County Golf Association's Lyon Foursomes inter-club match-play double foursomes title at Aboyne Golf Club.

After squeezing past the host club at the third extra hole in the morning semi-finals, Murcar Links' team of mother and daughter Pat and Carol Wilson, Kathleen Thomson and Susan Murray  had a resounding seven-hole margin of victory over Banchory in the final.

It was Murcar Links' sixth victory in the last eight years of the tournament.

TODAY'S RESULTS

Semi-finals

Banchory 1 bt Aberdeen Ladies 1 by one hole

Gillian Mackenzie and Ann Smart 0, Sammy Leslie and Lauren Whyte 0.

Gail Christie and Tricia Halliwell 1, Fiona Seedhouse and Ellie Whyte 0.

Murcar Links 1 bt Aboyne 1 at  21st.

Carol Wilson and Kathleen Thomson 0, Zibby Brown and Georgette Hollingsworth 3

Pat Wilson and Susan Murray 3, Maureen Wilson and Heather Mackenzie 0.

Final

Murcar Links 1 bt Banchory 1 by seven holes.

C Wilson and Thomson 8, Mackenzie and Smart 0

P Wilson and Murray 0, Christie and Halliwell 1.

 AND FINALLY:  Murcar Links/Banchory - Gillian Mackenzie, Gail Christie, Tricia Halliwell, Susan Murray, Carol Wilson, Kathleen Thomson, Pat Wilson and Ann Smart. Another Karen Stalker picture. Doesn't she take a nice picture?

ST ANDREWS JUNIOR LADIES OPEN MATCH-PLAY

CARNOUSTIE'S CLAIRE ROBERTSON  

ONLY SCOT IN LAST EIGHT

Carnoustie's Claire Robertson is the only Scot through to the quarter-finals of the St Andrews Junior Ladies Open.

She beat another Scot, Hannah Robb (Scotscraig) 3 and 2 in the first round.

Aboyne's Kimberley Beveridge lost a titantic struggle against French girl Pauline Kuoch who won at the 23rd.

ST ANDREWS JUNIOR LADIES OPEN

Eden Course

SCRATCH

First round

Julie Nordin (Norway) bt Katie Wright (Stranraer) 4 and 3.

Ashley Croft (Stockbridge Manor) bt Hannah Scott (Broomieknowe) 1 hole

Lianna Bailey (Kirby Muxloe) bt Billie-Jo Smith (Woodhall Spa) 4 and 3.

Pauline Kuoch (France) bt Kimberley Beveridge (Aboyne) at 23rd.

Samantha Taylor (Tynemouth) bt Alison Muirhead (Vale) 1 hole

Claire Robertson (Carnoustie Ladies) bt Hannah Robb (Scotscraig) 3 and 2.

Roanne Tomlinson (Haydock Park) bt Rachael Goodwin (Harleyford) 2 and 1.

Martha Lewis (St George's Hill) bt Annabel Bailey (Kirby Muxloe) at 19th.

HANDICAP

Quarter-finals

Erin Goodfellow (Consett and Dist) (15) bt Andrea Walker (Glenbervie) (5) at 20th.

Jasmin Pnaisey (Handsworth) (12) bt Aimee Field (Hagley) (6) 2 and 1.

Molly Barker (Shifnal) (12) bt Zhanna Tarasko (St Rule) (3) 2 and 1.

Nicola Robertson (Stirling) (4) bt Freya Courtney (Dartford) (9) 2 and 1.