Lisa Maguire, from Slieve Russell Golf Club, Co Cavan, was on course to succeed her 13-year-old twin sister Leona as Scottish Under-16 girls open stroke-play golf champion - until she hit double trouble over the closing holes of the 36-hole tournament over the testing Craigielaw Golf Club links, East Lothian today.
Lisa, who was well up with the leaders after a par-matching 71 in the first round, looked mighty impressive as she reached the turn in her second round in one-under-par 34.
Her only dropped shot on the outward half was a bogey 4 at the short third. Either side of that, Lisa had birdied the long second and the long fourth.
With seven holes to play, Miss Maguire, whose sister was unable to defend the title because of a back injury, was in with a great chance at one under par for the tournament.
Then Lisa's title bid came unstuck with six shots shed to par over five holes in a row. She ran up a double bogey 6 at the 12th ... had a bogey 5 at the 14th ... slipped to another double bogey 6 at the 15th ... and then bogeyed the par-4 16th.
Pars at the 17th and 18th got her home in 42 shots, a complete contrast to her outward half.
Lisa's 76 for 147 earned her fifth place behind the first ever Italian winner of the championship, Laura Sedda from Vicenza.
Laura had looked a class act on Thursday when she had a two-under-par 69 to lead the big field by one shot. But the Italian wobbled a bit with a second-round 76 for 145. It looked like being a tie at the top of the leaderboard when Sedda bogeyed the 17th but she birdied the last hole to win the title by one shot from two English youngsters, Heidi Baek (Felixstowe Ferry) and Hannah Turland (Tidworth Garrison) plus Wales' Amy Boulden (Maesdu), all on 146.
Emma O'Driscoll (Ballybunion) gave Ireland two top-seven finishers with scores of 78 and 71 for 149. That 71 was the best score by anyone in the second round.
INTERNATIONAL TEAM TOTALS
(Best two from three scores to count in each round).
292 England 140 152 (H Baek 70 76, A Peters 72 78, H Turland 70 76).
294 Italy 145 149 (L Sedda 69 76, A Antoniutti 76 74, E Sticca 77 75).
296 Ireland (1) 149 147 (Lisa Maguire 71 76, E O'Driscoll 78 71, L McCarthy 82 80).
305 Wales (1) 151 154 (A Bouldon 73 73, E Davies 78 81).
311 Scotland (2) 151 160 (A Niven 75 80, R Watton 80 80, G Scanlan 76 87).
319 Scotland (1) 158 161 (L Atkins 81 80, J Meldrum 77 81, E Briggs 86 87).
320 Ireland (2) 159 161 (S Helly 79 80, P Delaney 80 81).
338 Wales (2) 165 173 (C Williams 76 85, R Lewis 89 88).
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