LAURA WALKER BEATS EMILY OGILVY IN
TOP-QUALITY NORTH OF SCOTLAND
WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Nairn Dunbar’s Laura Walker won the North of Scotland women’s amateur golf championship after a thrilling final against Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) over the Moray Golf Club’s Old Course at Lossiemouth today.
Laura, pictured right, the No 6 qualifier, beat Emily, the fourth seed, with a birdie at the 20th hole of quality match. Both players covered the first 18 holes in an approximate two-under-par 74.
All square at the turn, after Emily had cancelled out Laura’s early two-hole lead , Laura regained the lead with an eagle 2 at the 10th only for Emily to level matters again with a birdie 4 at the 11th.
Miss Ogilvy took the lead for the first time with a par at the 12th but was pulled back to square again by Laura’s birdie 3 at the next.
Emily bogeyed the 16th to go one down again but squared the match with a birdie 4 at the 17th. The 18th and the 19th were halved in par 4s before Laura won the 20th and the title with a birdie 4.

Later Laura revealed that she was playing with a putter borrowed from ... EMILY OGILVY!

"I had been putting like a donkey all season and borrowed her spare putter before the North of Scotland championship - and then holed everything," explained Laura.
It must rank as Miss Walker's best win since she beat Gemma Webster in the final of the Scottish girls five years ago. Miss Ogilvy reached the final of the Scottish women's championship at Barassie in May and is now considered an international class player.
Laura, who spent some years at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock at the same time as Emily Ogilvy, has recently completed her training as a teacher and will start work at a school in Dumfrieshire after the summer holidays.
In the morning semi-finals, Miss Ogilvy beat the No 1 qualifier, Kerri Harper (Inverness) at the 21st while Laura was a 4 and 2 winner over Perth & Kinross county champion Alexandra Bushby (Strathmore).
In the all-Aberdeenshire handicap championship final, Lynne Terry (Cruden Bay), playing off five of a handicap, beat six-handicapper Ann Smart (Banchory) by one hole.

Details:

SCRATCH – Semi-finals – E Ogilvy (Auchterarder) bt K Harper (Inverness) at 21st, L Walker (Nairn Dunbar) bt A Bushby (Strathmore) 4 and 2. Final – Walker bt Ogilvy at 20th.
HANDICAP – Semi-finals – A Smart (Banchory) (6) bt P McGunnigle (Banchory) (11) 3 and 2, L Terry (Cruden Bay) (5) bt J Petrie (Panmure Barry) (9) 2 and 1. Final – Terry bt Smart 1 hole.

SCORING IN THE FINAL

1 - Laura one up with a par 4.

2 - Hole halved in birdie 4s.

3 - Hole halved in par 5s.

4 - Laura two up with a par 3.

5 - Emily wins hole with par 4 to a double bogey 6 to be only one down.

6 - Emily wins with birdie 2 to square the match.

7 - Hole halved in birdie 4s.

8 - Hole halved in par 5s.

9 - Hole halved in par 4s for match to be all square at the turn.

OUT - (approximate) Emily 37 (one under par), Laura 38 (level par)

10 - Laura wins hole with eagle 2 to go one up.

11 - Emily squares match with birdie 4.

12 - Emily wins hole with par 4 to go one up.

13 - Laura wins hole with birdie 3 to square match.

14 - Hole halved in birdie 4s.

15 - Hole halved in bogey 4s.

16 - Laura wins hole with par 4 to go one up.

17 - Emily birdies hole to square match.

18 - Hole halved in par 4s and match still all square

IN - (approximate) Emily 37 (one under par), Laura 36 (two under par).

19 - Hole halved in par 4s.

20 - Laura wins hole and the match with a birdie 4.

+Thanks to Northern Counties captain Mairi Orr for the details of the final and for her assistance throughout the three days.