Sammy Vass (Tain), Jane Turner (Craigielaw), Laura Murray (Alford) and Rebecca Wilson (Monifieth) pictured at PGA Golf de Catalunya.

Scottish girls tested at PGA

Golf de Catalunya

Some of Scotland’s brightest young golf stars visited PGA Golf de Catalunya near Barcelona, home of this year’s European Tour Qualifying School Finals, as part of their pre-season training.

The 12-strong Scottish girls squad, including Michele Thomson, 19, one of four young Scots selected to play in the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team, took on the Green Course, previously used to host the Spanish Open and Sarazen World Open, won by Thomas Björn, playing from the women’s professional tees.

Scottish Ladies Golf Association national coach Kevin Craggs said: “We wanted the girls to experience a challenging golf course and made them play from the lady professional tees to stretch them in preparation for the coming season.

“The girls responded very positively and loved the golf course and its condition – these were the best greens we played on during our trip to Spain. The practice facilities are outstanding, too, and we were able to spend time working on short game skills and putting drills, which are extremely beneficial to the girls’ games.”

PGA Golf de Catalunya is ranked among Europe’s best golf resorts and has two courses – Green and Red – both of which will be used for the European Tour Qualifying School Finals in November.

“We selected 12 girls on their performance over the past year, their potential and their commitment to all training activities,” said SLGA Chairman of Training Janet Wake.

“It is good for the girls to be playing courses of this standard – PGA Golf de Catalunya really is a great course and in a fantastic region of Spain.”

Juan del Río, CEO of PGA Golf de Catalunya, part of the PGA European Tour Courses group, said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the Scottish Girls’ squad. Everyone here was hugely impressed with the standard and quality of golf that the team displayed, and the professionalism with which they approached their training and coaching – there is no doubt that there are stars of the future in this squad.”