CLAIRE COUGHLAN TIES WITH SAMANTHA
HEAD FOR VICTORY IN LET Q SCHOOL

Irish Curtis Cup player Claire Coughlan, 26, from Cork, entered as an amateur, tied with England’s 33-year-old experienced tour pro Samantha Head for first place in the Ladies European Tour Final Qualifying School at La Cala Golf Resort, near Marbella on Spain’s Costa del Sol today.
Lynn Kenny, who lost her card after two years on the circuit, promptly won it back with a great run under pressure on the last day. She covered her last 12 holes in one under par to clinch a place.
(Scroll down for the story of Lynn’s last round).
Coughlan, whose 27th birthday will come along in March, carded a final round 69 to Head’s 71 for a matching total of seven-under-par 281.
Claire’s compatriot and Curtis Cup team-mate, Martina Gillen also made it – the two amateurs both played eight rounds in all, starting with the Stage 1 eliminator in Italy – to secure full playing rights for the 2007 Ladies European Tour.
Coughlan repeated her third-round 69 with birdies at the fourth, 16th and 18th after an eagle 3 at the eighth had given her the confidence boost she needed for the closing stages of probably the most important round of golf in her career.
Martina Gillen from Beaverstown left her best until last with a two-under-par 70 to share 27th place with England’s Sophie Hunter. They won the last two full cards on offer – Nos 27 and 28.
VITAL BIRDIE AT 18th
Gillen had a lot to do at the start of the round – and she did it, turning in three under-par before a roller-coaster run of bogey at the 11th, birdie at the 12th and bogeys at the 14th and 17th.
She needed a birdie at the last to join the card-winners and, to her great credit, she got a 4 at the par-5 18th.
“It just feels tremendous,” said Coughlan, from Little Island in Cork. “I’ve had my fiancé David on the bag and we’ve enjoyed ourselves this week. We didn’t have too many expectations. It’s a new experience so we just thought we’ll see what happens.”
Coughlan’s fiancé David Ryan is a professional at Cahir Park Golf Club, Tipperary.
Gillen, too, was most pleased to secure a tour card at the third attempt.Samantha Head, 33, from Bedford regained her playing privileges after originally joining the Tour in 1995. She has been based in Florida.
MATHARU MAKES IT
Stacy Lee Bregman of South Africa, like Coughlan and Gillen, entered as an amateur, and English women’s amateur champion Kiran Matharu, who turned pro immediately after the Curtis Cup, tied for third place on five-under-par 283.
Matharu qualified as the Tour’s second youngest member after Korea’s Amy Yang, at the age of 17 years and nine months. She carded a final round 71 for a total of 283 to Bregman’s 70. Stefanie Michl of Austria took the fifth card after finishing on three-under-par after a final round 73.
Tied third placed Matharu is looking forward to her first full year competing as a professional in 2007 and she said: “I’m happy but I think that my best achievement so far was getting through the last round of Pre Qualifying School in Italy. I was 11 over and I had to shoot one-under to get through. I’m going to work a bit harder over the winter.”
Matharu is planning a three-day trip to India in December, when she will meet a number of members of her family that she has never seen before and do some promotional activities. “I’ve never been so it should be interesting,” she said.
After 72 holes, exactly 28 players earned their full cards for the 2007 Ladies European Tour schedule, with five-over-par 293 being the cut off mark.
The remainder who made the last day gained conditional status, i.e. if there is room in any given tournament, they will be able to play, depending on their finishing position at La Cala.