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Senior Sue Spencer extends her  championship lead   Staffordshire’s Sue Spencer takes a three-shot lead into tomorrow’s final round of the English senior women’s stroke- play championship at Burnham Beeches in Buckinghamshire. She was one ahead after the first round, when she carded one-under 72, and today she extended her lead with a solid 76 for a two-over total – despite the twin challenges of nerves and a long delay for lightning. Her closest rival is Yorkshire’s Karen Jobling (Richmond), who was runner up in the English senior women’s amateur in May and is right in contention again. One shot behind her is Hertfordshire’s Jackie Foster (Bishops Stortford), who scored level par 73 today and moved 14 spots up the leaderboard into third place. Spencer, from Whittington Heath (pictured above, image © Leaderboard Photography), has been playing in English senior events for just two years and was in uncharted territory today: “I’ve never been in this situation before and I was a bit nervous, but I started birdie, birdie, which settled me a bit,” she said. But in the early afternoon the players had to leave the course for almost 90 minutes as thunder and lightning passed over. Spencer was one over for the round and on the 14th when the hooters sounded, but when she returned to the course she bogeyed both that hole and the 15th. “I felt I lost a bit of rhythm, but having said that I finished par, par, par. I was very pleased with the round and how I handled it all,” she remarked. Jobling’s aim this week was simply to qualify for the final round, but having done that with ease, she will now be “going for it” tomorrow. Today she added 75 to her opening 76 for a five-over total, settling her nerves with a piece of good fortune on the first hole. “My first drive went in the rough but I ran a five iron through a gap on to the green and made par. That steadied me, then I birdied the next two and started to relax,” she said. After that, she kept playing steadily, making some important saves when required and finished with the bonus of a birdie on the last. Jackie Foster (pictured left) had the best round of the day with her level par 73 and is six-over for the championship. “I’m really chuffed,” she said after balancing three birdies with three dropped shots. “I hit the ball more where I wanted to and chipped and putted well.” (Image © Leaderboard Photography) Caroline Berry (Bromborough) and Katherine Russell (Royal Ashdown Forest) played in the same group today and are both sharing fourth place on eight-over after 36 holes, although they arrived there by rather different routes. “I was Steady Eddie, fairways and greens,” said Berry, who returned 76. “It took me six holes to get a par, shockingly inconsistent!” said Russell, who ended up with 77 which included four birdies. They are joined in fourth place by Cath Rawthore, the English senior women’s amateur champion, and by Lindsey Shaw (Chevin) who was one off the lead after the first round, but slipped back today after struggling on the greens on the outward half. Also in the top ten are former champion Chris Quinn (Hockley) who shares ninth place with Amanda Mayne (Saltford) and last year’s runner-up Aileen Greenfield (Pyecombe), who both scored two over 75 today. After today’s round the field was cut to the leading 45 player and ties who go forward to play tomorrow’s final round. A total of 46 players made the cut, which fell on 24-over par. Click here for full scores Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 07825 752 193

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Canadian Brooke Mackenzie Henderson is 

proud her forefathers were Scottish

Brooke Henderson of Canada is congratulated by her sister/caddie Brittany after making a birdie putt on the ninth hole during the first round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship

Photo Credit: 2016 Getty Images

  By Ward Clayton 

 With a few additional words by Colin Farquharson

1

Four years ago on Monday, Brooke Henderson made her first mark in professional golf. At age 14, she won on the Canadian Women’s Tour to become the youngest known winner of a professional golf event. 

In winning the 36-hole event near Montreal, she was two days younger than Lydia Ko when she won in Australia earlier in 2012.  Cut to last week in suburban Seattle where Henderson, now 18, had the week of a lifetime to beat Ko, 19, on the first play-off hole of the KPMG LPGA Championship.
 At Sahalee Country Club, the Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada native made an ace in the first round (the prize car went to older sister/caddie Brittany), holed a 90ft momentum-changing eagle putt on the 11th hole in the final round, canned a 40-footer for birdie on the 17th, sank a 12-foot par putt on the final green and then stuck a 7-iron to 3 feet on the play-off hole to make birdie and earn her first major championship.

At 18 years, 9 months and 2 days, Henderson (pictured left) was just more than 4 months older than Ko when the New Zealander with a South Korean background won the Evian Championship last fall to become the youngest major winner.
Adding to the age qualification, third place last week went to Thailand’s 20-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn, who was going for a fourth consecutive LPGA victory. The first three places and their final-round scores included an 18-year-old firing 65, a 19-year-old shooting 67 and a 20-year-old with a 66. Henderson became the youngest winner this season where the average age of LPGA winners over 16 tournaments is 21.
Taking the age factor even further with Henderson goes back to her home country, Canada. She is only the second Canadian to win a women’s major championship, following Sandra Post, who was 20 when she beat Kathy Whitworth, the defending champion, at the 1968 LPGA Championship.
Post also won a play-off, beating Whitworth 68-75 in an 18-hole play-off at Pleasant Valley in Sutton, Massachusetts.
Post, now 68 years old, sent good wishes to Henderson before last week’s event from her golf academy near Toronto. The only victory that might supercede Henderson’s victory came at the 2003 Masters when Canadian left-hander Mike Weir won on the first hole of a play-off. Henderson was aged 5 years then.
“Yeah, it will be a big story in Canada,” Henderson said on Sunday. “The last couple of days the support from Canada has been really incredible. Walking down the fairway, they were yelling my name. But last time they were just yelling Go Canada. And that was kind of a surreal feeling. I can't really put words to it. But I’d like to say that I am the Canadian face to women’s golf. And I'd like to say I'm a good athlete for Canada.”
Colin Farquharson writes: Brooke Henderson likes to use her middle name which is Mackenzie because she is proud of her Scottish ancestry. She is descended from a Scots couple who emigrated to Canada near the end of the 19th Century.

KPMG LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71)
278 Brooke M Henderson 67 73 73 65  (won play-off) $525,000.00    
278 Lydia Ko 71 70 70 67                                              $321,675.00    
279 Ariya Jutanugarn 70 75 68 66                                 $233,352.00    
282 Hee Young Park 70 74 72 66                                 $148,230.00    
282 So Yeon Ryu 72 70 73 67                                      $148,230.00    
282 Mirim Lee 71 69 73 69                                          $148,230.00    
SELECTED TOTALS
286 Catriona Matthew 76 67 71 72 (T12)        $56,179.00    
287 Charley Hull 73 74 72 68 (16th)                 $48,255.00    
288 Jodi Ewart Shadoff 72 75 70 71 (T17)         $42,197.00    
295 Becky Morgan 75 73 75 72 (T50)                $11,095.00    
296 Felicity Johnson 75 73 74 74 (T58)              $ 8,912.00    

MISSED CUT (149 and better qualified)
150 Laura Davies 77 73
150 Melissa Reid 72 78
153 Holly Clyburn 77 76

P and K women's tee times at Murrayshall on Monday, June 20

Draw for the Perth and Kinross Ladies County Golf Association competition at Murrayshall Hotel golf courses, near Perth on Monday, June 20 is:

                                

                                 9.30     Shona Leighton  Linda Mailer  Mary Miller

                                    9.39      Michell Mackay  Liz Milligan  Hilary Cunningham     

         9.48      Alison Walker  Alison Houston  Shona Deans

                                    9.57      Gillian Pemberton  Judy Proudfoot   Susan Ogg

 

                                    10.06    Lenore Kyle   Sue Robertson   Helen Wynd

                                    10.15    Eilidl Wynd   Judith Clowe   Elspeth Kent

                                    10.24    Margaret Macrea  Cathy McNab   Kathleen McKay

                                    10.33    Sally Fenner   Helen Payne   Muriel McPherson

                                    10.42    Dorothy Christie  Helen Lang   Susan McDougall

                                   10.51     Catherine Monks   Anita Collins   Helen Dalgleish

 

                                    11.00     Val Purdie   Sylvia Mitchell   Michela Abel

                                    11.09     Angela Crossland    Marion Forbes   Marianne Carruthers

                                    11.18     Pat Hebner   Joyce Thom   Irene Moncur

                                    11.27     Morag Brydson   Jean McEwen   Helen Ewan

                                    11.36     Margaret  Watkins  Sheena McNaughton  Val Saville  

                                    11.45      Avril Hendry   Miggi Mackie   Lynn Sharpe

                                    

 EVENING TIME

                                    5.45        Carol Lambie   Megan Ashley   Gwen Lambie

 

                           

EAST VETS RETAIN THE ELISE DUNCAN TROPHY

West Team

East  Team

The Scratch S.V.L.G.A. West team played the East at West Kilbride (yesterday 14th June) for the Elise Duncan Trophy. The weather was fantastic and the course was in excellent condition,but the West team succumbed to the wonderful putting of the East team who were coached by Anne Brownie the East Captain who had been down at West Kilbride the week before.
Anne Brownie playing against Patricia Davidson was not even put off by a large branch falling off a tree at the first tee - she had to stop mid swing and managed to regroup and send her drive down the middle of the fairway.
The matches were all very close and the result of the match was not determined until the last game on the course finished May Hughes against Jane Herd which resulted in a draw so the East won 5 / 4.
Results
West names first.
Gillian Kyle (East Renfrewshire) lost  to Anne Hanson (Glencorse) 3 and 2.
Carol Whyte (Milngavie) lost to Jennifer Bryans (Harburn) 2 and 1.
Lesley Lloyd ( Hayston) lost to Sue Penman (Gullane) 3 and 2
Liz Stewart (Greenburn) halved with Lesley Johnston (Gullane )
Jane Finnie (Troon) bt Karen Ballantyne (Craigmillar Park) 1 hole
Ros Purdom (Prestwick St Nicholas) bt Anne Henderson (Gullane) 5 and 4.
May Hughes (Lanark ) halved with Jane Herd (Gullane)
Patricia Davidson (Erskine) lost to Anne Brownie (Gullane) 3 and 2.
Robina Gilbertson ( Prestwick St Nicholas) bt Hazel Saunders (Gullane) 2 and 1.

Match Result:  West. 4 -  East. 5
Well done the East who retain the Trophy and we look forward to a rematch next year

CLICK HERE TO SEE SOME MORE PHOTOS

Thanks go to West Vets Captain Marion Stewart for the photographs and report

FORMER USGA PRESIDENT JUDY BELL HONOURED WITH BOB JONES AWARD

PITTSBURGH – Judy Bell, the first female president of the United States Golf Association and a beloved member of the golf community, received the Bob Jones Award – the USGA’s highest honour –on Tuesday evening at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh. 

Bell’s selection represents the latest accolade in a long and distinguished life in golf that has spanned more than six decades.

“It is simply a humbling experience to be selected for this honor,” Bell said. “When I first started with the game at seven years old, I never could have imagined it would lead to all of this or open so many doors. That’s why I’ve always been so committed to making sure others had the same opportunities I had. This is a wonderful sport, and it should be enjoyed by all.”

Presented annually since 1955, the award recognizes the principles that Jones – a winner of nine USGA championships –demonstrated throughout his life: spirit, personal character and respect for the game. 

Bell, who served as USGA president in 1996 and 1997, used her platform to push for more youth and diversity programs, introducing more people to the game. She established the “For the Good of the Game” grants program, which dedicated more than $65 million to local and national initiatives devoted to improving communities through golf. She was also instrumental in the USGA Foundation’s leadership and fellowship program, which helped showcase viable careers in golf.

“The stars must have been aligned for the two female presidents to be on the stage together,” said Diana Murphy, USGA president. “Judy is an inspiration to so many and my opportunity to serve in this role is living proof of her great work and encouragement.  

"Throughout her life, Judy’s tireless efforts to bring more people into the game have brought about so many beginner programs, stronger golf communities and smarter golf leaders. That is an incredible legacy.”

Bell competed in 38 USGA championships and was a member of the victorious 1960 and 1962 United States Curtis Cup Teams. She also advanced to the U.S. Women’s Amateur quarterfinals three times and to the semi-final round of the 1950 U.S. Girls’ Junior. She captained the USA Curtis Cup Teams in 1986 and 1988. Bell was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001.

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Bell joins some of the game’s seminal figures in winning the Jones Award, including: Francis Ouimet (1955), Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1957), Arnold Palmer (1971), Jack Nicklaus (1975), President George H.W. Bush (2008), Annika Sorenstam (2012) and Payne Stewart (2014).