CAITHNESS, WEBSTER AND NIVEN:

SCOTS' FEMALE AMATEUR POWER

BASE IS IN UNITED STATES

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Three of the top four Scots in the final European Golf Association women's amateur golf rankings for 2007 are in the United States on golf scholarships.
Krystle Caithness (St Regulus), pictured right, the highest ranked Scot in 24th place, is a student at Georgia University.
Hilton Park member Gemma Webster, ranked No 54 in Europe, is at Ohio State University and captain of the Buckeyes' women's golf squad.

Gemma has had eight top-20 finishes in her last 13 US college tournaments, including three out of her last four events in the autumn season. That is impressive form indeed, given the strength of most of the fields in which she is competing.

Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon), who cut short a four-year course at Jacksonville State University, Alabama at this time last year, is ranked No 86. She is the only home-based Scot in the top 150 of the EGA women's amateur rankings.
Roseanne Niven (Crieff), a student at the University of California-Berkeley and ranked No 89, is the only other Scot to get a mention.
EUROPEAN TOP TEN
The top 10 in the EGA Rankings are:
1 Sandra Gal (Germany), 2 Anna Nordqvist (Sweden), 3 Carlota Ciganda (Spain), 4 Caroline Westrup (Sweden), 5 Melissa Reid (England), 6 Marjet Van der Graaff (Netherlands), 7 Dewi-Claire Schreefel (Netherlands), 8 Valentine Derrey (France), 9 Christel Boeljon (Netherlands), 10 Pernilla Lindberg (Sweden).
Sandra Gall and Melissa Reid have recently turned professional.