QUADRUPLE BOGEY KILLS HOLLIE MUSE TITLE HOPES

FROM COLIN FARQUHARSON

West Lancashire's Hollie Muse had a disastrous quadruple bogey 7 at the third hole of her final round - with a bogey either side! - to kill her hopes of a late challenge for victory in the JU Amelia Island Collegiate tournament at Amelia National Golf Club, Fernandina Beach in Florida today (Tuesday).
Hollie, joint leader after an opening round of three-under-par 69, followed that up with scores of 73 and 75 for a sixth place finish on one-over 217. She did have four birdies in her final round.

One slot behind her in seventh place in a field of 81 was another English player, Georgia State freshman Chloe Howard from Plymouth. Chloe had scores of 72, 76 and 70.

GolfStat shows Sydney Shrader (North Florida) (73-68-71) and Isabell Ekstrom (Campbell University) (69-72-71) tied for first place on 212 but does not elaborate on whether there was a play-off or not.

Same goes for the team title. Campbell University of North Carolina and Daytona State College both finished on 878, one stroke ahead of North Florida in a field of 15 teams.
But was there a play-off or did they share the title? Would love to tell you .. but GolfStat never does.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

HOLLIE MUSE DROPS TO T4 IN FLORIDA

Hollie Muse (West Lancashire Golf Club) has helped Daytona State College to lead the team title race in the JU Amelia Island Collegiate but she herself has dropped out of a share of the individual lead to joint fourth in a field of 81 competitors with a round to go at Amelia National Golf Club, Fernandina Beach, Florida.

Hollie has had rounds of 69 and 73 for a two-under tally of 142 over a par-72 course of 6,029yd. She had six birdies in her opening round but only two in Round 2.

Ayelen Irizas from North Carolina's Campbell University leads with 69-71 for 140 but anyone of eight or so players, including Hollie, could still win it, so closely bunched are the leaders.

Daytona State (579) lead the team event by three from Campbell with North Florida (587) third of 15 teams.

HOLLIE MUSE JOINT FIRST ROUND LEADER IN FLORIDA

West Lancashire Golf Club member Hollie Muse (pictured left) , a student at Daytona State College, was sharing the first round lead with a three-under 69 over a par 72 course of 6,029yd in the JU Amelia Island Collegiate tournament at Amelia Golf Club, Fernandina Beach, Florida.

Two Campbell University students, Iskabell Ekstrom and Ayelen Irizar also had 69s.

There are 81 players in the field.

MEHAFFEY SCORES FIRST USA WIN IN TRIPLE TIE

Curtis Cup player Olivia Mehaffey has scored her first win on the United States women's college golf circuit, albeit in the absence of a play-off she had to share the honour with two players, Kaitlyn Papp (Texas) and Lilia Vu (UCLA).

The trio finished on one-under par 212 at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge at Palos Verdes Golf Club, California. There was a field of 96.

Olivia, a student at Arizona State University from Northern Ireland, had rounds of 68, 71 and 73. Remember her opening round included her third competitive hole in one. She birdied the 12th and 18th in her final round, which proved final in the final analysis

Kaitlyn scored 69, 71 and 72 while Lilia came with a strong late run in compiling scores of 75, 69 and 68, birdieing the 15th and 16th

Leona and Lisa Maguire, both students at Duke University, finished T18 and T41 respectively. Leona scored 75, 69 and 77 for 221 while Lisa shot 74, 76 and 76.

Elizabeth Prior (UNLV) finished T47 on 227 with scores of 73, 81 and 73

Former Scottish U18 girls champion Fiona Liddell (Baylor) finished T74 with rounds of 79, 76 and 79

Leading team totals:

867 UCLA

871 Alabama

876 Stanford

883 Arizona

884 Arizona State

Also:

893 Duke (8th of 18)

INVERNESS STUDENT IONA ROSKA JOINT 31 IN BIG TEXAS FIELD

Iona Roska from Inverness, a student at Cameron University, Oklahoma, finished joint 31st in a field of 90 players at the weekend's Rattler Invitational women's college golf tournament at Dominion Country Club, San Antonio, Texas.

She had scores of 81 and 79 for a total of 160, 16 strokes behind the winner, Johany Rivera (St Edwards), who scores 73-71 to win by two shots.

ENGLISH STUDENT ELLA FINISHES FOURTH IN TEXAS STATE INVITATIONAL

Emma Svensson from Halmstad, Sweden, a third-year student at Central Arkansas University, won the Texas State Invitational women's college tournament by a single stroke at Plum Creek golf course, Kyle in Texas

Over a par-71 course of 6,059yd, Emma had rounds of 76, 68 and 67 for a two-under total of 211.

Central Arksansas also provided the runner-I[. Geraldine Wong with scores of 69, 74 and 69 for 212.

Kaity Cummings (Houston Baptist) (71-73-70) finished third on 214, a stroke ahead of fourth-placed Ella Ofstedahl (Georgia Southern), a sophomore student from Bedfordshire. Ella had rounds of 72, 69 and 74.

Farther down the field of 90 players was Belfast's Becky McGeehan (UTSA) with scores of 78, 76 and 75 for 229 and a share of 31st place.

Central Arkansas's 1-2 in the individual event helped them to win the team title by nine strokes from UTSA (Texas-San Antonio) with Houston Baptist (884) third in a field of 17 teams.

INDIA SLUMPS IN FINAL ROUND OF LADY PUERTO RICO CLASSIC

Former Scottish Under-21 girls champion India Clyburn slumped to a 78 in the final round and finished joint ninth in a field of 66 at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic college tournament aty Rio Mar Country Club, Rio Grande.

Clyburn, from Cleethorpes and a student at North Carolina State University, was in the mix after a pair of 73s in a high-scoring tournament but she was unable to mount a challenge on the final day.

She had a double bogey 5 at the short 16th and seven bogeys which birdies at the fifth and 13th could not cancel out.

Clyburn, younger sister of LET player Holly, finished eight strokes behind the winner, all-the-way leader Maria Fassi (Arkansas University) who finished a three-over-par 216 with rounds of 68, 75 and 73. She won by gthree strokes from celia Arozamena (Iowa State) (74-74-74 for 219).

Arkansas (882) won the team title by 10 strokes from Iowa State with Kent State (897) third and North Carolina State (904) fourth in a field of 11 teams.

OLIVIA LEADS BY ONE IN CALIFORNIA

Curtis Cup player Olivia Mehaffey (pictured above) from Belfast leads the field of 96 players into the third and final round of the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge women's USA college golf tournament at Palos Verdes Golf Club, California.

Olivia, who had a hole in one in a first-round 68, followed that with a 71 for a three-under-par tally of 139 over the par-71, 6017yd course.

The Arizona State student leads by one shot from Kaitlyn Papp (Texas University) (69-71) and Patty Tavatanakit (UCLA) (71-69).

The Maguire twins, students at Duke University are joint ninth and 42nd respectively.

Leona has scored 75-69 for 144, Lisa 74-76 for 150.

Former Scottish U18 girls champion Fiona Liddell (Baylor) is sharing 64th place on 155 with scores of 79 and 76.

Alabama and UCLA are sharing the lead on 576, only one shot ahead of third-placed Arizona.

LEADING SCORES

Par 142 (2x71). 6,017yd.

139 O Mehaffey (Arizona State) 68 71.

140 K Papp (Texas) 69 71, P Tavatanakit (UCLA) 71 69.

SELECTED SCORES

144 Leona Maguire (Duke) 75 69 (T9).

150 Lisa Maguire (Duke) 74 76 (T42).

154 E Prior (UNLV) 73 81 (T60).

155 F Liddell (Baylor) 79 76

LADY PUERTO RICO CLASSIC SECOND ROUND

India Clyburn's repeat 73 good enough to share third place

 It must have been a bad weather day for the second round of the Lady Puerto Rico Classic at Rio Mar Country Club's Ocean Course at Rio Grande. Tournament leader Maria Fassi (Arkansas University) followed up her opening round of 68 with a 75 but 143 was still a good enough 36-hole tally to retain a two-stroke lead from Celia Arozamena (Iowa State) 74-71 for 145.

India Clyburn (North Carolina State) from Cleethorpes improved from T9 overnight to T3 despite another one-over-par 73 for a two-round total of 146, the same as Carley Cox (East Carolina) 75-71.

OLIVIA MEHAFFEY HAS A HOLE IN ONE

Olivia Mehaffey

Northern Ireland's Olivia Mehaffey had a hole in one on her way  to a three-under-par 68 and the first-round lead in the NorthropGrumman Regional Challenge college tournament at Palos Verde Golf Club, Palos Verdes Estates, California on Sunday.

The Curtis Cup player aced the 200yd second hole. She also birdied the third, fourth, seventh and ninth in an outward half of five-under 31.
She also birdied the 16th but bogeyed the fifth, eighth, 12th and 17th.
This was Olivia's 4th Hole in One

Olivia leads by one from three players: Kaitlyn Papp (Texas), Kristen Gillman (Alabama) and Gurleen Kaur (Baylor)

Other placings by British/Irish players:

73 Elizabeth Prior (UNLV) (T19)
74 Lisa Maguire (Duke) (T31)
75 Leona Maguire (Duke) (T39)
79 Fiona Liddell (Baylor) (T75)

LADY PUERTO RICO CLASSIC: INDIA SHARING NINTH PLACE

India Clyburn from Cleethorpes, a student at North Carolina State University, is in joint ninth position at the end of the first round of the 54-hole Lady Puerto Rico Classic.

She shot a two-over par 73 over the Ocean Course at Rio Mar Country Club, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, recovering well from a double bogey 6 at the second to cover her remaining holes in two under par, birdieing two par-5 holes, the third and ll. Clyburn, younger sister of LET player Holly Clyburn, is five shots behind the leader by three, Maria Fassi (Arkansas) who birdied the second, third, fifth, seventh and 16th, offset by bogeys at the first and 17th, on her way to a three-under 68.

 Arkansas University have three players in the leading eight after 18 holes and, not surprisingly, lead the team event by eight strokes from Kent State (292) with Iowa State (296) in third place. ends

 TO VIEW ALL THE FIRST-ROUND SCORES CLICK HERE

CLARA YOUNG FINISHES T3 IN FLORIDA COLLEGE TOURNEY

North Berwick's Clara Young, Scottish women's amateur champion at Monifieth in 2015 and beaten by Connie Jaffrey in last year's final at Royal Aberdeen, finished joint third today (Saturday) in the Florida State Match-up US women's college tournament at Don Veller Seminole course, Tallahassee, Florida.

Clara, a student at the University of Missouri, had scores of 69, 72 and 68 for a seven-under-par total of 209. 

She birdied four par-5 holes, the fourth, ninth, 10th and 15th, in a bogey-free final round.

Clara finished three strokes behind the winner, Ainhoa Olarra (South Carolina) who had scores of 66, 69 and 71 for 10-under 206.

Team-mate Emma Allen from Southampton finished joint 12th on 215 with scores of 71, 70 and 74.

Duke’s Leona Maguire Breaks WAGR All-Time Ranking Mark

DURHAM, N.C. – With Duke University senior Leona Maguire’s No. 1 listing in the Women's WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKING™ system Wednesday, Jan. 31, the Blue Devil standout has been at the top spot for 131 weeks, which breaks the previous record of 130 by Lydia Ko. 

Maguire, a native of Cavan, Ireland, has been No. 1 in the WAGR for 79 straight weeks from August 2016 to January 31.  She was also No. 1 for 52 weeks from May 2015 to May 2016. 

The WAGR ranks the top female amateur golfers in the world on the basis of their average performance in counting events over a rolling cycle of the previous 104 weeks.  Over the past three years, a Duke golfer has ranked No. 1 in the ranking in all but five weeks over a span of 156 weeks.  

Duke also features Virginia Elena Carta (18), Gina Kim (57) and Ana Belac (92) in the top 100 of the current rankings.

The WAGR for women was introduced by the R&A, the governing body of the sport of golf outside the United States and Mexico, in February of 2011.  The rankings are updated each Wednesday. 

Maguire and the Blue Devils will kick off their 2018 collegiate season Feb. 11-13 at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif.

Duke WGOLF: Maguire Earns Amateur of the Year Accolade

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke University women’s golfer Leona Maguire added another honour to her resume Monday as the senior was named the 2017 Global Golf Post Female Amateur of the Year.

A native of Cavan, Ireland, Maguire is coming off yet another banner year in the links. She was the recipient of the Mark H. McCormack Medal for the third consecutive year as the top golfer in the women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking. Maguire won the 2017 Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship with a 3 and 2 match play victory over Ainhoa Olarra. Over the summer, she also competed in the British Open Amateur and placed eighth in stroke play qualifying. Maguire represented Great Britain & Ireland in the Vagliano Trophy, played in the U.S. Women’s Open and LPGA Marathon Classic.

In the 2017 British Open, Maguire fired rounds of 69, 71, 70 and 75 for a three-under-par, 285, to finish tied 49th.

Maguire turned in one of the best individual seasons in collegiate golf in 2016-17 as she earned her second ANNIKA and WGCA National Player of the Year honors. She collected the second-lowest stroke average in NCAA history with a 70.29 ledger. Maguire was selected the Edith Cummings Munson Golf Award recipient, WGCA First Team All-America, ACC Player of the Year, All-ACC and CoSIDA Academic All-America.

At the NCAA Championship this past May, Maguire finished runner-up individually for the second time in three years.

Maguire has opened the 2017-18 collegiate campaign in impressive fashion with a 69.18 stroke average to go along with two victories and four top nine finishes. She helped lead Duke to three team wins in four events.

Duke will be off until Feb. 11-13 when the Blue Devils compete in the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, California.

ISOBEL WARDLE COMMITS TO UCLA IN 2018

Isobel Wardle (Pictured above) , beaten finalist in the 2016 British girls open amateur championship and later English girls' and women's stroke-play champion, has signed up to go to the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) next year.

FIONA FADES IN FINAL ROUND IN MEXICO

  From Colin Farquharson

Former Scottish Under-18 girls champion Fiona Liddell, a student at Baylor University, Texas, had a disappointing last day in the Battle at the Beach women's college golf tournament at San Jose del Cabo in Mexico.

After opening with two rounds of one-under-par 70, Fiona, whose mother is German and whose father is a Scottish-born club pro in Germany, slumped to a final round of five-over-par 76 over a 6,229yd course.

Her three-over-par total of 216 saw her drop from T6 overnight to joint 18th in the final standings of a field of 84 players.

Liddell finished 11 shots behind the individual winner, Lilia Vu (UCLA) who had rounds of 69, 69 and 67 for a total of 205 and a one-stroke win from Jennifer Kupcho (67-70-69) of Wake Forrest.

Baylor suffered a similar slump to that of Fiona Liddell. In fourth position with one round to go, Baylor (871) finished T7 in a field of 14 teams behind title winners UCLA (839), Oklahoma (842) and Texas (848). 

FIONA LIDDELL MOVES UP TO T6 PLACE DOWN MEXICO WAY

Fiona Liddell

Battle at the Beach Day Two Results and Statistics 

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, Mexico – Baylor University, Texas women’s golf team climbed two spots into fourth place after shooting 1-over-par 285 in Saturday’s second round of the Battle at the Beach at Club Campestre San Jose. BU has a 36-hole total of 7-over 575, which is 13 shots back of the lead entering Sunday’s final round.
Baylor (+7) trails only No. 31 Oklahoma (-6), No. 13 Texas (-1) and No. 1 UCLA (-1). The Lady Bears lead No. 38 Auburn (+12), No. 22 Houston (+12), No. 21 Virginia (+13), No. 20 Wake Forest (+18), No. 25 Vanderbilt (+21), Mississippi State (+24), No. 24 North Carolina (+26), TCU (+27), No. 36 Ohio State (+31) and Tulane (+32).
Sophomore Fiona Liddell, a past winner of the Scottish U18 girls' championship, carded her second consecutive round of 1-under-par 70 to move into a tie for sixth place in the 84-player field at 2-under 140. Freshman Diane Baillieux shot 3-over 74 and is alone in 10th place at even-par 142. Amy Lee improved by eight strokes with a 3-under 68 to move into a tie for 17th place at 2-over 144, and Maria Vesga posted the final counting score at 2-over 73 to tie for 42nd place at 7-over 149.
Giovana Maymon improved by eight strokes with a 5-over 77 and is in 80th place at 20-over 162. Freshman Jordan Shackelford and sophomore Cheerie Tan are both playing as individuals. Shackled is in 79th place at 19-over 161 after shooting 10-over 81 on Saturday, and Tan shot 2-over 73 in the second round but is disqualified for an unsigned first-round scorecard. Tan would be tied for 17th place at 2-over 144 had she not been disqualified.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor ranks third in the 14-team field in par-5 scoring at 10-under 4.75, eighth in par-4 scoring at 24-over 4.27 and 10th in par-3 scoring at 13-over 3.26.
• Baylor’s 26 birdies are tied for fourth-most in the tournament, and BU’s 107 pars are tied for eighth in the field.
• Fiona Liddell, whose father is a Germany-based Scottish golf club pro, is tied for fourth in the 84-player field in par-3 scoring at 1-under 2.90, tied for seventh in par-5 scoring at 3-under 4.62 and tied for 13th in par-4 scoring at 2-over 4.11.
• Liddell made an eagle on the 476-yard, par-5 13th hole, which was the only eagle made during the entire second round and one of just three eagles in the tournament.
• Amy Lee is tied for 11th in par-3 scoring at even-par 3.00 and tied for ninth with seven birdies.
• Diane Baillieux is tied for second in par-5 scoring at 4-under 4.50, tied for 13th in par-4 scoring at 2-over 4.11 and tied for ninth with seven birdies.
STAT OF THE DAY
8 – the number of strokes both Amy Lee and Giovana Maymon improved from first round to second round. Lee shot 5-over 76 in the first round and 3-under 68 in the second round, while Maymon shot 14-over 85 in the first round and 6-over 77 in the second round.
WHAT'S NEXT
Sunday’s final round is scheduled for an 8:30 a.m. CST shotgun start. Baylor players are paired with golfers from the top three teams in the standings, Oklahoma, Texas and UCLA. Liddell will tee off from No. 1, Baillieux from No. 2, Lee from No. 3, Vesga from No. 4 and Maymon from No. 5. Tan and Shackelford will begin from the 18th tee. Live scoring is available at www.birdiefire.com. Follow @BaylorWGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates throughout the season.

NATALIE JONES, BOBBY JONES SCHOLARSHIP TRIP WINNER LOOKS BACK

By Colin Farquharson

St Andrews graduate Natalie Jones, after a year-long study trip to Emory University, Atlanta as winner of a Bobby Jones Scholarship, reports:
"My update is that I am currently living in San Francisco where I am working in a tech start-up in Sales Enablement which essentially means I do everything the sales people don't want to do!

"Yesterday I was working on European Data law, next week I am creating case studies and analysing stats for the team!

"The end of my Bobby Jones year was absolutely incredible with a week at the Masters and then the incredible opportunity to play Augusta. After my round, I played the par-3 nine times until it got dark and I ran out of balls!

"Life out here is very healthy and adventurous. I was out in San Diego last week, Yosemite a few weeks before and I am running a trail half-marathon in a few weeks that finishes over the Golden Gate Bridge."

Natalie Jones, a native of York, studied Modern History at St Andrews University and graduated with a 2:1.

"The Bobby Jones Scholarship was an incredible opportunity to travel and study abroad and I feel very fortunate to have been selected," said Natalie.

Over recent years Natalie has been involved with a myriad of paid and voluntary positions within sport which have all helped her to realise her passion for inspiring people to engage with sports.

Natalie grew her experience, working at a number of golf events as a Ladies Golf Union website updater, including the Ricoh Women's British Open, the Vagliano Trophy and the Curtis Cup. She also worked at the Dunhill Links Championship and the Open.

Getty Images' leading golf photographer Dave Cannon says: "Natalie's an absolute sweetheart and has got natural ability with the media. Got it from the word go, she was full of life when working with her at the Dunhill Links."

Natalie has a golfing handicap of 12 and is a keen member of the University Ladies' Golf Club and the Athletics Club.

Alongside her many other commitments, Natalie also set up a wellness initiative to promote 'real' and 'honest' conversation and women in sport.

'My time at St Andrews has given me so much more than simply my history degree', said Natalie.

 'I feel extremely grateful to have had opportunities to learn from leading academics, work at national and international sporting events and change the way sport is thought about within the University and the wider world.

"Going to Emory allowed me to further my skills so that I could follow my passion, a passion which I discovered during my time at St Andrews!'

MORE ABOUT THE BOBBY JONES SCHOLARSHIPS
The Robert T Jones Scholarships (also known as Bobby Jones scholarships) support students for one year of study at Emory University in Atlanta. They are among the most valuable and prestigious available to students at St Andrews and cover all mandatory costs. They are available to students who are completing their final year of undergraduate study and can be awarded only to British nationals.

Southern California win East Lake Women's Cup

Southern California University beat top seeded Stanford University 3-2 in the final of the East Lake Cup women's match-play tournament at East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia..
GB and I international Olivia Mehaffey helped Arizona State University win the third-place play-off 3-2 against Northwestern.
Mehaffey beat Stephanie Lau 3 and 2 after going two up for the first time in the match at the 14th, quickly followed by winning the 15th to be three up.

CONNIE AND NIAMH HELP KANSAS STATE WIN AT DALLAS

Scottish women's amateur champion Connie Jaffrey from Kilwinning and Niamh McSherry from Lurgan, Northern Ireland helped Kansas State University win the team title at the SMU Trinity Forest Invitational women's college tournament at Trinity Forest Golf Club, Dallas, Texas.
They headed leaders Houston over the final round to finish with a total of 893 - two ahead of Houston with Tennessee (910) third. Missouri (913) finished T6, UNLV (Nevada-Las Vegas) (927) 12th and UTSA (Texas-San Antonio) (935) last of 13 teams.
Jaffrey, with rounds of 74, 76 and 73 for a total of 223 over a par-72 course of 6,372yd, finished T8 in the individual standings eight shots behind the winner and Kansas State freshman team-mate, Reid Isaac (72-69-74 for 215).
McSherry had three rounds of 75 for a T13 finish on 225.
Jaffrey moved up eight spots on the final day
Freshman McSherry recorded her best finish so far, Her tie for 34th place at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational which was also won by Kansas State.
Former Scottish women's champion Clara Young from North Berwick, a student at the University of Missouri, scored 70, 75 and 82 for 227 and an 18th place finish.
Elizabeth Prior (UNLV) from Surrey, a winner last time out, finished T30 on 231 with scores of 79, 75 and 77.
Emma Allen (Missouri) from Southampton scored 83, 76 and 77 for a T45 finished on 236.
Becky McGeehan (UTSA) scored 79, 80 and 80 for a total of 239 and a T56 placing in a field of 69 players.

TOP 20 FINISH BY PAIGE KEMP

Stetson University's Paige Kemp, whose mother comes from Stirling, and Dollar's Perth and Kinross county player Eilidh Watson finished T16 and T56 respectively in a field of 74 players at the University of Southern Florida Intercollegiate at Lutz, Florida.
Paige had rounds of 79, 78 and 75 for a 232 total over a par 71 course of 6,145 yards.
Eilidh shot 81, 89 and 80 for 250.
Tilda Larsson (Barry) was the individual winner with rounds of 75, 73 and 74 for 222. Stetson's Carolin Schart finished second with a 224 total from scores of 75, 73 and 76.
Georgetown (918) won the team title ahead of Barry (924) with Stetson (937) T6 in a field of 14 teams