CHLOE WILLIAMS' SOLID START AT SOTOGRANDE

Only the Welsh of the four home countries are supporting the Nations Cup women's tournament at Sotogrande this week.
Scotland, England and Ireland lady amateurs conspicuous by their absence.

Chloe Williams, pictured left,  from Wrexham, who played for GB and I in the Astor Trophy defence in Australia last month, shot 78 for third place at the end of the first round in what must have been testing conditions.
Luna Sobron, a beaten finalist in a past British women's open amateur championship, leads the field with a three-over-par 75.

No men's first round scores until Thursday.
 
WOMEN'S FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72
75 Luna Sobron (Spain)
77 Deloi Weber (Netherlands)
78 Chloe Williams (Wales), Anyssia Herbaut (France)

SELECTED SCORES
80 Olivia Cowan (T6)
83 Bethan Morris (Wales) (T17)
92 Lauren Hillier (Wales) (31st)
Field of 31

NORTH BERWICK STUDENT'S TOP 10 FINISH AT KIAWAH ISLAND

Chris Low from North Berwick, a final-year student at Georgia Southwestern University, did best of the four Scots in this week's Newberry College Invitational tournament at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, writes Colin Farquharson
Chris had rounds of 72, 78 and 77 for an aggregate of 227, which earned him joint eighth place in a field of 89 players.
He finished nine shots behind the winner over a 6,682yd course with a par of 72.
Cameron Buist (Belmont Abbey Collge), a second-year student from
Dunblane, finished joint 21st on 233 with improving scores of 81,79 and 73.
John Scott (King University), a final-year student from Glasgow, and
Fraser Johnston (Georgia Southwestern), a second-year student from Port Seton, tied for 65th place on 246. Scott had three rounds of 82 while Johnston scored 82, 83 and 81. 
Nicholas Ward (Georgia Southwestern), a second-year student from Eastbourne) actually finished ahead of the four Scots.
 He produced a highly commendable fourth place in such a big field with rounds of 71, 73 and 78 for 222, only four shots behind the winner by one stroke, Sebastian Andersen (Mount Olive) (72-70-76 for two-over 218)
Georgia Southwestern finished second in the team event, only two behind the winners, Limestone College, in a field of 18. King Uniersity finished ninth and Belmont College 12th

 LYDIA KO (17) PLANS TO RETIRE AT 30 AND BE A 

PYSCHOLOGIST!

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Only 17, top-ranked Lydia Ko says she’s already planning to retire from golf by the time she’s 30, and become a psychologist.

Ko, pictured, makes her second start at No. 1 in Thursday’s first round of the Women’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne along with Karrie Webb and Australia’s Su Oh, an 18-year-old who won the Australian Ladies Masters last week in her second start as a professional.
The South Korean-born Ko says she will soon start an on-line psychology degree to prepare for life after golf.
“My plan is to retire when I’m 30 so I’m not just going to go to the beach and hang out for the rest of my life,” Ko said today.
“There’s always a second career that comes along with it and I’m trying to build up towards it and, because I’m playing a sport, psychology links well with it.”
Ko finished second in the LPGA’s 2015 tour opener in Florida on Jauuary 31 to become the youngest player of either gender to become world No. 1, breaking the record set by Tiger Woods by almost four years.
Ko, who moved to New Zealand from South Korea when she was six, travels from her Florida base with her mother, Tina. Her older sister, Sura, has an architecture degree.
“My mom will get me off my iPad and phone and tell me to work hard and look at the text books,” Ko said.
In her second year as a pro, Ko said she wasn’t putting too much pressure on herself to win a major this year.
“Last year I had two top-10 finishes (in majors) which was better than the year before when I had one,” Ko said. “I’m looking for more consistency in playing majors and then one day that will give me a chance to be around the lead.”
Webb won the Women’s Open at Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne last year for her record fifth title. South Korea’s Chella Choi was second, a stroke back.
“It makes you feel old when your rookie year was before these players were born, but when we’re competing against each other I don’t see age as a difference,” Webb said. “We all have the same goal.”
Following her 40th birthday celebrations in December, Webb said she hit the gym hard in the off-season, and hopes to compete for Australia at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next year.
“I could get away with it when I was younger,” Webb said. “I have to be a bit more diligent now and my body tells me that.”
Also playing on the Royal Melbourne composite course beginning Thursday are South Korean players Na Yeon Choi, who beat Ko in the season opener, and So Yeon Ryu and Kyu Jung Baek, and No. 4-ranked Shanshan Feng of China.

BRONTE LAW IS GOLFWEEK PLAYER OF WEEK

Bronte Law has been named College Player of the Week by GolfWeek. Here is how they announced it:

UCLA sophomore Bronte Law won the individual title at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge on February 10 for the third US collegiate title of her career.

Law, of Bramhall Golf Club, Cheshire,  opened with 3-under 68 to take a share of the lead with three other players. Rounds of 69-71 followed, allowing Law to win wire-to-wire. In the final round, Law was 2 over after 11, but made two birdies coming in to get back to even par and to 5 under for the tournament.
Law won by two shots over Baylor’s Hayley Davis, a fellow Englishwoman, and become the third Bruin to win the individual title at the Northrop Grumman.

Bronte,  a GB and Ireland international player in the Curtis Cup, Astor Trophy and Vagliano Trophy matches. is ranked No. 4 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings.
 

      BRONTE LAW
     Picture by Tracy Wilcox