SENIOR BRITISH WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP

EASY FOR THE MIGHTY QUINN AT DUMFRIES

Hampshire player Christine Quinn won the weather-affected Senior British women's open amateur golf championship for the first time at Dumfries & County Golf Club today.
Christine, picture by kind permission of LGU photographer Tom Ward, spreadeagled the field with an opening round of 71 in Wednesday's windy conditions. It was the only sub-par round of the championship. Despite being one of the 27 players who had to halt their second finish when the course became waterlogged on Wednesday afternoon and resume it this morning, she was able to keep her concentration and clinch an easy six-stroke win with rounds of 75 and 78 for an aggregate of eight-over-par 224.
She had six birdies in her first round (which also included a triple-bogey 7), one in her second and no birdies at all in her closing round but no one made a charge at her position over the final 36 holes.
Christine - or "Chris" as she prefers - is well used to winning titles. The Hockley Golf Club member said afterwards: "I am thrilled to bits, stunned. I just can't get the grin off my face!" She added: "It's nice to bring something home to England."
Chris, 53, has shot to the top in seniors' golf. She's already won the English seniors' championship twice, has been a key member of England's winning teams in the senior home internationals and helped England win the silver medal in this season's European senior women's team championship.
"No-one came at me at all and at one time I had a nine-shot lead," said Chris. "It was lovely in one way but it made me just a little bit too defensive."
Afterwards she returned to her digs with the trophy for an unexpected presentation - when her landlady gave her a bottle of champagne.
"The whole thing has just been so special. I never really dreamed I would win the British seniors' championship," she said.
England were runners-up to Sweden in the team competition, beaten by just one shot.
Viveca Hoff (Sweden) was runner-up for the second year in a row.
Top Scot was former Scottish women's amateur champion Fiona Anderson from Blairgowrie, now living in Lancashire and a member of Formby Ladies. Fiona finished joint seventh with scores of 79, 79 and 77 for 235. She bogeyed her last four holes in her final round. But for that she would have finished third or fourth.
Fiona De Vries finished with one of the better scores of the third round – a 77 which lifted her up to joint 11th place with a total of 238. Fiona’s earlier scores were 79 and 82.
Moira Thomson (North Berwick) was the leading Scot until the final round in which she ran up two triple bogey 7s – the first at the 11th and the second at the 18th in an inward card of 44 for an 83. She had earlier rounds of 77 and 79.

FINAL TOTALS (Par 72, CSS 71 75 73)
224 C Quinn (Hockley) 71 75 78.
230 V Hogg (Swe) 73 79 78.
231 R Adams (Addington Court) 77 76 78.
232 A Murdoch (Can) 75 80 77.
233 V Thomas (Carmarthen) 80 77 76, C Birke (Swe) 74 78 81.
235 C Watson (Beaconsfield) 80 79 76, F Anderson (Formby Ladies) 79 79 77.
236 S Dye (Delamere Forest) 79 84 73.
237 J Doleman (Rushcliffe) 77 82 78.
238 A Hermanson (Swe) 80 84 74, R Waller (Kendal) 77 84 77, F De Vries (St Rule) 79 82 77.
239 M Thomson (North Berwick) 77 79 83.
240 H Faulds (Douglas Park) 80 81 79, S Westall (Copt Heath) 77 82 81.
242 P Hutton (Lanark) 80 83 79.
243 H Smyth (Pannal) 84 81 78.
244 L Foster (Bramhall) 77 80 87.
245 J O’Connor (Newport) 86 80 79, V Hassett (Ennis) 81 82 82.
246 A Wood (Furness) 79 81 86.
247 D Williams (Can) 82 87 78, R Lindley (Hartlepool) 87 82 78, L Hague (Rotherham) 82 86 79.
249 M Henderson (Ger) 81 86 82, P West (Spalding) 82 85 82.
250 H Joyce (Longt Ashton) 85 85 80, G Etcheverry (Spa) 82 85 83.
251 I Brien (Wentworth) 79 90 82, J Kellenberger (Camberley Heath) 80 89 92, G Ekman (Swe) 81 85 85.
252 A-C Sveningson (Swe) 80 89 83.
253 C Kirk (Ganton) 80 89 84, G Curley (Northants Co) 83 85 85.
254 S Pidgeon (Wrekin) 85 81 88.
255 C Liverside (Sandiway) 81 89 85, C McAndrew (Nairn Dunbar) 84 84 87.
256 J Paterson (Drumpellier) 84 86 86, C Howell (Woburn) 78 90 88.
257 R English Larne) 85 85 87.
260 R Farrow (St Neots) 84 86 90.

Age-group winners
50-54 years – Vicki Thomas (Carmarthen).
55-59 years – Christina Birke (Sweden).
60-64 years – Sue Westall (Copt Heath).
65+ years – Rosemary Farrow (St Neots).