Georgina from Essex has top 10 "Panther" finish

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Georgina Blackman (Western Kentucky), a sophomore from Essex, was the top Brit in the Panther Intercollegiate women's tournament which ended at Eagles Landing, Stockbridge, Georgia today.

Georgina, pictured right, had scores of 75, 72 and 75 for a total of 222 and seventh place in a field of 84 players.
She finished 11 shots behind the winner, Elon's Kelsey Badmaev who scored back-to-back victories and and also led Elon to victory for the second week in a row.
Kelsey's scores were 71, 72 and 68 for five-under-par 211 over a par-72, 6,033yd course. That final round of 68 enabled her to leapfrog over the third-round leader before the end of 72 holes.
Monifieth's Heather Munro, a second-year student at Elon, finished 15th on 226 with steady scores of 75, 75 and 76. She was also a member of the winning Elon University, North Carolina line-up last week.
Elon (887) won by 12 shots from Western Kentucky (899) with Western Michigan (904) third in a field of 15 teams.
Former Scottish U18 girls champion Lesley Atkins (Louisiana-Monre) finished 76th on 252 with scores of 86, 81 and 85.
Louisiana-Monroe (882) finished 14th in the team event.
 Milton Keynes student T30 finish in field of 104

Shamiso Hatchard (Bethune-Cookman), a freshman from Milton Keynes, finished T30 in a field of 104 at the Kingsmills Intercollegiate at Kingsmills Resort, Williamsburg, Virginia.

Shamiso, pictured right, had scores of 76, 76 and 84 for 236 - 19 strokes behind the winner by one shot, Sathika Ruenreong (Toledo) (71-73-73 for one-over 217).
Kirsty Beckwith (St John's University, New York) from Leeds finished T49 on 242 with rounds of 79, 76 and 87.
The weather must have been tough for most of the players over the final 18 holes as Olivia Jay (Radford) followed up earlier rounds of 79 and 86 with a 92 for 257 and 88th place.
Toledo (908) won the team title ahead of Pennsylvania (916) with William and Mary (923) third. Bethune-Cookman (942) came seventh, Radford (983) 17th and St John's, NY (1003) last of 19.
Think that St John's should get the talent scouts out quickly to field a new team for the 2016-2017 season!

TO VIEW ALL THE INDIVIDUAL SCORES

CLICK HERE
 

Chloe Ryan hopes to add "Helen Holm" to 

Cork Scratch Cup

Chloe Ryan took home Ireland's second scratch cup of the season at Cork Golf Club at the weekend
Ryan had ​two impressive rounds of 78 and 74 for 152 in very windy conditions.
She was followed  closely by local Claire Coughlan Ryan (Cork)​who  shot a steady pair of 76s for 152.​​ Chloe will look to continue this form going into  April as she will be competing in both the Scottish Helen Holm stroke-play at Troon and Welsh Open  Championships.
The  next scratch cup will take place in Royal County Down on the April 3. 
Information regarding the Scratch Cup Circuit can be found 
through the following link:
https://www.golfnet.ie/results/410/scratch-cup-circuit"

Champion Craig Howie sets Moray Old

Course record of 62

By BEN PHILIP

Records have fallen and champions have been crowned at the 94th Scottish students' championships at Moray Golf Club, Lossiemouth.

The men's event - which had been tight at the halfway stage - was rocked by a magnificent 62 from Stirling University's Craig Howie. Craig, pictured right, fired nine birdies and an eagle on his way to a course record nine-under-par round over Moray Old.

With Howie sitting at -10 the afternoon was a case of 'catch me if you can'  for the chasing pack, which included Lukas Michel (St Andrews) on -4 and Laird Shepherd from Stirling on -1.

The best score of the afternoon came from Sebastiano Galeppini (UHI) who shot a three-under-68 to advance up the leaderboard to sixth place.

No-one could ultimately get close to Howie, although Lukas Michel threatened for a spell on the front nine before stuttering slightly on his way to a +1 final round of 72, which matched Laird Shepherd's score and secured second place on a -3 total of 279, three shots clear of Shepherd in third place.

The Stirling team of Andrew Davidson, Mathias Eggenberger, Craig Howie and Chris MacLean also prevailed in the team stroke-play standings, finishing well clear of the field with a +5 combined total.

The women started the final day on the New Course and overnight leader Gemma Batty, pictured right, stretched away from the rest, thanks to the best round of the morning, a four under par 67, taking her to a 54 hole total of 6 under par.

Playing partners Lieve Van Veggel and Alexa Hammer (both St Andrews) managed to stay in touch, thanks to rounds of 69 and 71 respectively, giving them some hope ahead of the final round, which they commenced six strokes behind Batty.

The afternoon saw Batty hold her nerve to post a +1 final round and win the title for the second year in a row  with a very impressive -5 total of 287.

Jen Saxton (Stirling) carded a 3 over round of 78 which was enough to come through for second place ahead of Abertay's Nastja Banovec, who finished the week on a high with an outstanding 72 (-3) to grab third place on a countback ahead of Lieve Van Veggel from St Andrews.

Stirling University completed a famous day by prevailing in the women's team stroke-play with an imperious combined total of +1 over the eight counting rounds.

The focus of the week now turns to match-play, with the men's team event (foursomes and singles) starting at a quarter-final stage, i.e. line-up of eight teams, and a six- strong women's field playing 18 hole individual ties.

The match-play draws:

Men's teams

Stirling 1 v Stirling 3

UHI v Glasgow

St Andrews v Aberdeen

Stirling 2 v Strathclyde

Women's individuals

Gemma Batty: first-round bye

Marie Danielsson v Alexa Hammer

Chloe Goadby v Tara MacTaggart

Jen Saxton: first-round bye

For full team results:

Men's Team: http://bucs.intelligentgolf.co.uk/competition.php?compid=3498
 

Women's Team: http://bucs.intelligentgolf.co.uk/competition.php?compid=3503&preview=1

FROM GILLIAN PATON:

The event takes place on April 17 over the Montrose Broomfield course. First tee time is 12 noon. It is a team of fljr event, open to all men, women and juniors with a current handicap. 

The entry fee per team is £36. 

Prizes on the day include: various meal vouchers, signed sporting memorabilia from Paul Lawrie, Pamela Pretswell, Team Muirhead and others, also four-ball tee times for Monifieth, Forfar and Montrose Links. 

Top on-course prize of the day is a weekend for four in Stranraer, including a round of golf for four at Stranraer Golf Club, overnight accommodation at the North West Castle and another round of golf for four at Wigtownshire County Golf Club.

ORGANISER

GILLIAN PATON

Gemma Batty wins Scottish student women's 

title by nine strokes at Lossiemouth

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

English-born Stirling student Gemma Batty, whose ambition is to play for Scotland, ran away with the Scottish student women's championship at Lossieouth today. She was the defending champion.

A five-under-par total of 292 gave her victory by nine strokes from runner-up, Muckhart Golf Club member Jen Saxton (Stirling), with a tie for third place on 297 between Nastja Banovec (Abertay-Dundee) and Lieve Van Veggel (St Andrews).

FINAL TOTALS 

par 292

287 Gemma Batty (Stirling) 77 67 67 76

296 Jen Saxton (Stirling) 76 73 69 78

297 Nastja Banovec (Abertay Dundee) 79 73 73 72, Lieve Van Veggel (St Andrews) 78 70 69 80

298 Chloe Goadby (Stirling) 79 69 74 76

301 Marie Danielsson (St Andrews) 75 73 72 81

302 Sinead Sexton (Stirling) 77 72 74 79, Alexa Hammer (St Andrews) 75 71 71 85

312 Amy Chambers (St Andrews) 84 75 74 79

314 Tara Mactaggar (Stirling) 79 75 78 82 

322 Katie Reid (Abertay Dundee) 84 77 76 85 

Craig Howie wins Scottish student men's 

title after brilliant third-round 62

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Stirling's Craig Howie, winner of the Scottish U18 boys' match play title at Murcar Links in 2012, has scored another national win - again in the North/North-east of Scotland.

The Peebles man scored a seven-stroke victory in the Scottish student men's championship over 72 holes at the Moray Golf Club, Lossiemouth.

Highlight of Howie's performance for a 10-under-par aggregate of 272 was a brilliant third-round 62.

Runner-up on 279 was Lukas Michel (St Andrews) with Laird Shepherd (Stirling) third on 282.

Students from the Highlands and Islands University gave their best ever performance in the championships with Jack Harling from Banchory fifth on 286, Sebastiano Galeppini sixth on 289 and Riccardo Cellerino ninth on 291.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 282

272 Craig Howie (Stirling) 69 70 62 71

279 Lukas Michael (St Andrews) 69 68 70 72

282 Laird Shepherd (Stirling) 72 68 70 72

286 Greg Telfer (Glasgow) 71 67 75 73 

288 Jack Harling (Highlands and Islands) 73 72 68 75

289 Sebastiano Galeppini (H and I) 74 74 73 68

290 Chris MacLean (Stirling) 72 74 72 72

291 Chris Low (Abertay Dundee) 68 71 79 73, Riccardo Cellerino (H and I) 71 74 73 73, Craig Chalmers (Strathclyde) 75 73 70 73, Mathias Eggenberger (Stirling) 71 71 73 76 

292 Henry Tomlinson (Stirling) 76 70 75 71, Rob Paterson (Aberdeen) 74 77 70 71

293 Scott Macgregor (St Andrews) 76 71 72 74, James Wilson (Stirling) 74 70 75 74

294 Andrew Mulholland (Aberdeen) 80 68 72 74, Tom Beasley (St Andrews) 74 73 71 76

295 Andrew Davidson (Stirling) 75 72 74 74, Sean Walter (Strling) 74 73 73 75

297 Neil McConnochie (Strathclyde) 75 77 75 70

298 Craig Hughes (Strathclyde) 76 73 74 75, Peter Hasson (Glasgow) 73 71 78 76, Lewys Anderson (St Andrews) 74 71 76 77, Angus Carrick (Stirling) 74 72 74 78, Lewis West (Robert Gordon's) 72 69 84 73

299 Colin Edgar (Stirling) 73 74 76 76, Ross Brydon (Stirling) 73 77 72 77

300 Adam Mulhall (Stirling) 74 72 76 78, Mark Napier (Stirling) 73 69 79 79, Jack Forgan (Stirlign) 77 73 71 79.

 Royal Norwich appoint women as club 

  president and club captain

FROM THE ROYAL NORWICH GOLF CLUB WEBSITE

Royal Norwich Golf Club have led the way to dispelling inequality in golf, simultaneously appointing women as both their Club President and Club Captain this year. 

Backed by the Ladies Captain, Janet Clare, and female Junior Captain, Jasmine Campbell, this positive move demonstrates the Club’s un-paralleled commitment to increasing female participation in the game.
This move has come at a time when nationally the number of people who play golf once a month continues to slide (Sport England Active People Survey), particularly amongst the female population. Golf has historically been considered a gentleman’s game, something which Clubs have been working hard to overcome, with female only initiatives and national campaigns driven by England Golf.
Royal Norwich has a very successful Junior Scholarship programme, where girls make up over 30% of the overall members. The scholarship has produced a female England Schools Champion (Hope Neild) and successful current County player (Chloe Gibbs). Both of these girls played in the winning Gillieson Cup Team, which is Norfolk’s premier Ladies Team Competition.
Over the years the Scholarship has retained and grown the amount of female members. The Club invests a considerable amount of time and finances in the development of the Scholarship and the girls involved, some of whom then become members of the Ladies section. This is part of their overall strategy to grow the female membership of the club. Royal Norwich also hold Girls Golf Rocks sessions, a national initiative developed by England Golf to recruit new female entrants to the game.
Lauren Spray, the England Golf Women and Girls’ Participation Manager, commented: “This is very good news which helps to break down barriers and dispel perceptions about the game. Golf is a friendly, welcoming sport and a game for all. Congratulations to Royal Norwich and its officials.”
Royal Norwich’s appointments also coincide with the R&A and LGU’s recent decision to merge. An announcement was made in February 2015 that a potential merger between the LGU and The R&A was under consideration. Since then discussions have taken place between the respective Boards and the LGU’s shareholders - England Golf, Scottish Golf, the Golf Union of Wales and the Irish Ladies Golfing Union - and there has been unanimous support for the proposal.
Angela Loveday, who has been a member of Royal Norwich for almost 14 years, will be the first woman club captain in Norfolk, but her appointment will be quickly followed by at least two other county clubs which have women vice-captains.
“It’s the beginning of a wave,” said Angela. “The golf environment is changing so rapidly and these roles are becoming genderless, open to anyone on their merit.”
She went on: “Young people of both genders come together socially and in sport much more comfortably than they did in previous years. I applaud this and would like to develop this across our golf club.
“The inclusivity of family friendly golf with ladies, gents, mothers and fathers, grandparents and children having a good time together is part of our vision for the future.”
She has been on the club’s general committee for eight years, holding key roles including close involvement in the club’s planned relocation within the county. She has also held posts within the ladies’ section and on the county handicapping committee. Angela is a Level 1 coach and has helped the club professional with junior activities.
Incoming president Cherry Bishop has been a club member for 24 years and also holds a key role in the relocation project. She has been ladies' secretary and captain.
Junior captain Jasmine Campbell, who plays off four, has been the Norfolk girls’ champion for the last two years and is a past winner of the Abraham Trophy, which is awarded to England’s most improved girl golfer. She is a four handicapper.
Janet Clare has been a member at Royal Norwich for about 40 years and is taking on her second term as ladies’ captain. She has also been ladies’ president and the Norfolk county second team captain.
Phil Grice, General Manager said:
“We have appointed the best people for these roles regardless of sex, and it is a shame in some respect that this is considered ground breaking. It’s a sad reflection on the sport that we love. We hope that other Clubs whilst respecting their heritage also look forward with an open mind in terms of equality and developing our sport”.
This is an exciting time with Royal Norwich’s relocation to the current Weston Park Golf Club site well underway. Detailed planning work for the redesigned course at Weston Park has been managed by European Golf Design’s Ross McMurray. 

Emily Barnston from Feildon and Mawson Architects together with Richard Utting of Richard Utting Associates have also been working on the clubhouse design and additional facilities for golfers and their families.

If planning permission is granted it will take approximately two years to construct and “grow in” the new course at Weston Park. Until that point Royal Norwich will carry on playing 18 holes at the Hellesdon site. That means, even if there are no planning delays, it will continue to be the club’s home until at least the end of 2018

Heather Munro lying T50 with a round to go 

in Panther Intercollegiate

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Monifieth's Heather Munro is lying T50 in a field of 84 players with one round to go in the Panther Intercollegiate women's 54-hole tournament at Eagle's Landing Country Club, Creek Lake course, Stockbridge in Georgia.
Heather, a student at Elon University, has had a pair of 75s for a two-round tally of 150 over a par-72 course of 6,033yd.
She is eight strokes behind the leader, Martina Edberg (CSU Fullerton) 72-70 who leads by one from Heather's Elon team-mate, Kelsey Badmaev (72-70), a winner of her last tournament she played in.
Lesley Atkins (Louisiana-Monroe), a former Scottish U18 girls champion, has had scores of 86 and 81 for 167 and a T71 placing. 
The leading Brit in the field is Georgina Blackman (Western Kentucky), a second-year student from Essex. She has scored 75-72 for 147.
 

 Valerie Clancy (15) wins Munster Ladies title


Valerie Clancy, only 15, has won the Munster Ladies Championship, played in Waterville, Co Kerry over the past few days. 
Valerie Clancy, pictured, who is an Irish girls' U18 International and who represents Killarney Golf Club, won the weather-reduced Munster Ladies Championship at Waterville yesterday and was also crowned Munster girls champion which was also played for as part of the championships.
Below are the ILGU’s news link plus the scoring links showing the final results as both tournaments were reduced from 54 to 36 holes due to unplayable windy conditions.  
Valerie is also the reigning Mid-Leinster ladies champion, having won the title at the Royal Curragh Golf Club in 2015
 
LINKS TO NEWS OF MUNSTER LADIES CHAMPIONSHIP

https://www.golfnet.ie/news/ilgu/munster/1085/kerry-players-take-the-honours-at-waterville

https://www.golfnet.ie/results/242/munster-senior-open-championship-women-girls

http://ilgu.intelligentgolf.ie/competition.php?compid=143&preview=1

Gemma Clews receives the trophy from Delamere Forest GC lady captain Annette Young.

Gemma Clews wins Comboy Scratch 

Trophy for third year in a row 

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Gemma Clews, playing over her home course at Delamere Forest, Cheshire, has won the prestigious 36-hole Delamere Comboy Scratch Trophy for the third year in a row.
The +2 contender for a place in the GB and I Curtis Cup team for Dunlaoghaire GC, Ireland in June had rounds of 73 and 71 for 144 - three ahead of runner-up Hollie Muse (West Lancs).


LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Gemma Clews -2 73 + 71 = 144
Hollie Muse -3 73 + 74 = 147
Ebonie Lewis 2 74 + 76 = 150
GEORGIA PRICE 2 77 + 74 = 151
Bronwyn Davies 0 71 + 81 = 152
Olivia Lowe 1 76 + 78 = 154
Ashley CROFT 2 80 + 75 = 155
Lily May Humphreys 1 78 + 77 = 155
EMILY TOY -1 81 + 76 = 157
POPPY FINLAY -1 78 + 79 = 157
Angharad Evans JNR 3 77 + 80 = 157
Holly MORGAN -2 76 + 81 = 157
Rebecca Earl 1 75 + 82 = 157 157
JESSICA HALL 0 80 + 79 = 159
Alex Georgia Forrest 4 79 + 80 = 159
Melissa Wood 3 85 + 75 = 160
Natasha Slater -1 82 + 78 = 160
Louisa A Brunt 0 82 + 79 = 161
Emily Brennan 4 82 + 79 = 161
BRIONY BAYLES 5 86 + 76 = 162
SARAH COUSINS 2 84 + 78 = 162
Ainee O'Connor 3 81 + 81 = 162
Brandy Rook 3 81 + 82 = 163 163
Emily McBurney 5 79 + 84 = 163 



LEADING HANDICAP TOTALS
Caley McGinty 5 82 + 83 = 165
Nicole Stewart 4 81 + 84 = 165
G ALLMAN 2 79 + 86 = 165
Fern Clark 4 84 + 82 = 166
Angharad Basnett 4 82 + 84 = 166
Jessica Murray 5 86 + 81 = 167
Alexandra Giles 5 83 + 84 = 167
Caroline Elizabe Berry 2 87 + 83 = 170
Nicola Slater 4 86 + 84 = 170
F. BOUGEN 3 85 + 85 = 170
KATRINA GILLUM 1 84 + 86 = 170
Lauren Drake 5 81 + 89 = 170
Billie-Jo Smith 1 88 + 83 = 171
Sophie FAULKNER 5 87 + 84 = 171
Nicola George 5 83 + 88 = 171 171
Lucy Jamieson (j) 3 87 + 85 = 172
Caitlin WHITEHEAD 2 83 + 89 = 172
Victoria Turner 6 82 + 90 = 172