SCOTTISH WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
SALLY (13) SHARES LEAD WITH CLARE
IN WINTER CHILL AT CRUDEN BAY
South Queensferry youngster Sally Watson is the shock joint leader on one-over-par 75 with Clare Queen from Drumpellier at the end of the first qualifying round in the Scottish women's amateur championship on another bitterly cold, windy day at the Cruden Bay links.
"The temperature out there was nothing short of Baltic," said defending champion Anne Laing's caddie and father David after his daughter had been happy enough to finish with an adventurous 78.
But when you are only 13 going on 14, as Miss Watson is, you don't feel the cold and, without being too cocky about the whole thing, she wasn't really surprised to have such a good score on her debut in the 91st staging of the native championship.
"I hadn't seen the course until I practised over it but I could see there's quite a few birdie chances out there. I knew if I didn't make any serious mistakes, I could get round in reasonable figures," said Sally whose dad Graham Watson caddied for her.
"Yes, dad was a big help. It's good to be able to turn to someone for a second opinion about what club I should take to hit the green or which way a putt will break," said the self-assured - and quite mature for her age - Miss Watson who made her debut for Scotland's Under-18 girls team last August and has a handicap of three.
Remember the name. Scotland has two or three outstanding female golf prospects just entering their teens. Sally is definitely one of them.
The Watson family have a second home at Elie across the Forth in Fife and Sally is a member at Elie and Earlsferry Ladies Golf Club.
"I was a little bit excited at the start and was two over par after six holes but then I hit a good drive at the seventh and punched a gap wedge close enough to hole the putt for a birdie 3 at the seventh. That settled me," said Sally who got back to level par with a pitch-and-putt birdie at the next.
"I dropped a shot at the 10th where I took at nine-iron for the 110yd for my approach to the green and it was way short in the cross wind," said the girl who, despite her tender years, gave the impression she knew exactly what she was doing out on the links.
Then Sally birdied the 14th with a 7ft putt and also the 213yd, par-4 15th where she drove the green, not visible from the tee, and two-putted for a 3.
"I was one under par with three holes to play and then spoiled it with a double bogey 5 at the short 16th," she said. "The wind was in my face on the tee and I got a tough lie in the rough on the slope to the right of the green. I had to go down the shaft to play my recovery and took three shots to get on.
"The nerves came back after that down the last two holes but I was able to par them both for a 75."
British amateur stroke-play champion Clare Queen, beaten by Anne Laing in last year's final at Prestwick, felt she had played "pretty solidly" for her 75 with halves of 39 and 36 after bogeying the first and second.
"Last year, I had to come through a play-off to get into the match-play stages so I feel as though I am definitely ahead of the game at the moment," said the 22-year-old full-time, +2 amateur who intends going to the Ladies European Tour Qualifying School at the end of the year.
Anne Laing, out in 40 and home in 38, had a triple bogey 8 at the sixth, where she put her third shot in the burn and then compounded the sin by three-putting, and a double-bogey at the short 16th - "and I had to single putt to get a 5," she exclaimed later!
Martine Pow (Selkirk), semi-finalist last year - which led to her first cap in the home internationals, packed four birdies into her round of 76 (37-39) which tucked her in behind the joint leaders.
The best four cards were:
PAR
OUT 4 4 4 3 5 5 4 4 5 38
IN 4 3 4 5 4 4 3 5 4 36
SALLY WATSON
OUT 4 5 4 3 5 6 3 3 5 38
IN 5 3 4 5 3 3 5 5 4 37
CLARE QUEEN
OUT 5 5 4 3 5 5 4 3 5 39
IN 5 2 4 5 4 3 4 5 4 36
MARTINE POW
OUT 5 4 3 3 5 6 3 3 5 37
IN 5 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 5 39
The 32 players with the lowest 36-hole aggregates after Wednesday's second round will go forward to the match-play stages.
One player has retired - Rosemary Donaldson (Troon Ladies) who fell in the burn at the sixth after hurting her back at an earlier hole. If her bad luck was running in threes, perhaps she did the best thing!
ends.
IN WINTER CHILL AT CRUDEN BAY
South Queensferry youngster Sally Watson is the shock joint leader on one-over-par 75 with Clare Queen from Drumpellier at the end of the first qualifying round in the Scottish women's amateur championship on another bitterly cold, windy day at the Cruden Bay links.
"The temperature out there was nothing short of Baltic," said defending champion Anne Laing's caddie and father David after his daughter had been happy enough to finish with an adventurous 78.
But when you are only 13 going on 14, as Miss Watson is, you don't feel the cold and, without being too cocky about the whole thing, she wasn't really surprised to have such a good score on her debut in the 91st staging of the native championship.
"I hadn't seen the course until I practised over it but I could see there's quite a few birdie chances out there. I knew if I didn't make any serious mistakes, I could get round in reasonable figures," said Sally whose dad Graham Watson caddied for her.
"Yes, dad was a big help. It's good to be able to turn to someone for a second opinion about what club I should take to hit the green or which way a putt will break," said the self-assured - and quite mature for her age - Miss Watson who made her debut for Scotland's Under-18 girls team last August and has a handicap of three.
Remember the name. Scotland has two or three outstanding female golf prospects just entering their teens. Sally is definitely one of them.
The Watson family have a second home at Elie across the Forth in Fife and Sally is a member at Elie and Earlsferry Ladies Golf Club.
"I was a little bit excited at the start and was two over par after six holes but then I hit a good drive at the seventh and punched a gap wedge close enough to hole the putt for a birdie 3 at the seventh. That settled me," said Sally who got back to level par with a pitch-and-putt birdie at the next.
"I dropped a shot at the 10th where I took at nine-iron for the 110yd for my approach to the green and it was way short in the cross wind," said the girl who, despite her tender years, gave the impression she knew exactly what she was doing out on the links.
Then Sally birdied the 14th with a 7ft putt and also the 213yd, par-4 15th where she drove the green, not visible from the tee, and two-putted for a 3.
"I was one under par with three holes to play and then spoiled it with a double bogey 5 at the short 16th," she said. "The wind was in my face on the tee and I got a tough lie in the rough on the slope to the right of the green. I had to go down the shaft to play my recovery and took three shots to get on.
"The nerves came back after that down the last two holes but I was able to par them both for a 75."
British amateur stroke-play champion Clare Queen, beaten by Anne Laing in last year's final at Prestwick, felt she had played "pretty solidly" for her 75 with halves of 39 and 36 after bogeying the first and second.
"Last year, I had to come through a play-off to get into the match-play stages so I feel as though I am definitely ahead of the game at the moment," said the 22-year-old full-time, +2 amateur who intends going to the Ladies European Tour Qualifying School at the end of the year.
Anne Laing, out in 40 and home in 38, had a triple bogey 8 at the sixth, where she put her third shot in the burn and then compounded the sin by three-putting, and a double-bogey at the short 16th - "and I had to single putt to get a 5," she exclaimed later!
Martine Pow (Selkirk), semi-finalist last year - which led to her first cap in the home internationals, packed four birdies into her round of 76 (37-39) which tucked her in behind the joint leaders.
The best four cards were:
PAR
OUT 4 4 4 3 5 5 4 4 5 38
IN 4 3 4 5 4 4 3 5 4 36
SALLY WATSON
OUT 4 5 4 3 5 6 3 3 5 38
IN 5 3 4 5 3 3 5 5 4 37
CLARE QUEEN
OUT 5 5 4 3 5 5 4 3 5 39
IN 5 2 4 5 4 3 4 5 4 36
MARTINE POW
OUT 5 4 3 3 5 6 3 3 5 37
IN 5 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 5 39
The 32 players with the lowest 36-hole aggregates after Wednesday's second round will go forward to the match-play stages.
One player has retired - Rosemary Donaldson (Troon Ladies) who fell in the burn at the sixth after hurting her back at an earlier hole. If her bad luck was running in threes, perhaps she did the best thing!
ends.
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | 7:29:00 pm
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