BRITISH WOMEN'S MID-AM CHAMPIONSHIP

SCOTTISH CHAMPION MARTINE POW

LEADS THE FIELD AT NAIRN

 

Scottish champion Martine Pow from Selkirk showed her class and strength in leading the field at the end of the first round in the British women’s open mid-amateur golf championship at Nairn today.

The 40-year-old Selkirk player matched the demanding par of 72 to lead by two shots from Jo Nicolson (Wrexham), winner of the over-25s event two years ago.

Two of Martine’s four birdies came at par-5 hole s- the second and the 10^th – and she also birdied the eighth and 17^th, dropping shots at the first, sixth, 11^th and 13^th in halves of 36.

Fiona Lockhart (St Regulus), champion of Scotland last year at Cruden Bay, is in fifth place after a 76 which included a potentially disastrous outward half of 42 (six over par). Fiona had a double bogey 6 at the fifth and also dropped shots at the third, sixth, seventh and eighth.

But Miss Lockhart was a different player in covering the inward half in two-under-par 34. She banished the blues with back-to-back birdies at the 10^th and 11^th before bogeying the 12^th and 14^th and then finishing on a high with birdies at the 15^th and 18^th.

Claire Hargan (Mortonhall) shares sixth place after a 76 which, like Fiona, included an outward half of 42. Claire had double bogeys at the first, fifth and seventh before getting into her stride with birdies at the 10^th, 11^th, 13^th and 15^th.

But she too turned over a new leaf after the turn with birdies at the 10^th, 11^th, 13^th and 15^th.

The 54-hole tournament ends on Sunday.

SCOREBOARD

72 M Pow (Selkirk).

74 J Nicolson (Wrexham).

75 B Lane (Aus), L Barton (Coventry).

76 F Lockhart (St Regulus).

77 C Hargan (Mortonhall), M Kaamalahti (Fin).

78 B Murphy (Mortonhall).

79 C Gruber (Royal Dornoch), R Lomas (Hallowes), C Charnock (SAfr), M Mann (Broadstone)

80 T Selvaratnam (Sri Lanka).

81 M Weder (US), S Krueger (US), J O’Keeffe (Eng).

82 J Carthew (Ladybank).

83 C McAndrew (Nairn Dunbar), C Spada (US), S Lundy (Cookridge Hall), D Backhouse (Aldeburgh).

84 C Marron (Bromborough), L Mortensen (Gullane Ladies), T Olenius (Fin), C MacDonald (Gullane Ladies), M Skowronski (US), K Lobb (Northants Co), J Brook (Croham Hurst).

85 G Dowling (Inverness), S Bishop (Windyhill), S Murray (Brechin), K Charles (Burnham & Berrow).

87 M Summers (Panmure Barry), K Russell (Royal Ashdown Forest), E Blackmon (US).

Other Scots scores:

89 P Bennett (Reading).

93 L Graham (Carnoustie Ladies).

95 E Easton (Brechin).