British women's open amateur championship

Jane survives car crash
and will play at
North Berwick

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

at North Berwick

Teenage golf international Jane Turner stepped out of a bad car crash this week with one thought in mind … "Nothing's going to stop me playing in the British women's amateur championship!"

The tournament, the flagship of the Ladies Golf Union amateur circuit, tees off at North Berwick Golf Club tomorrow.

Jane, an 18-year-old +1 player at Craigielaw Golf Club, lives at Penicuick which is not all that far away as the golf ball flies from the championship venue.

Jane wrote off her Ford Focus in a head-on collision with a council refuse collection lorry in a narrow lane in Penicuik a couple of days ago.

"I drove round a bend in the lane and hit the lorry head on. I didn't have time to scream or feel frightened. Suddenly, the lorry was there in my way and 'bang' I was into it," said Jane.

"I was lucky to escape with no broken bones but I've got bruises and scratches everywhere. Fortunately I was wearing the seat belt and that saved me from going through the shattered windscreen. But the belt has left purple bruises right across my lower stomach and my chest.

"My shoulder was awfully sore and I thought it was dislocated but apparently that was also caused by the seat belt taking the full force of my body thrown against it. I've got bruises and scratches on my knees where they came in contact with the car as I was thrown forward."

Jane's doctor advised her not to play a practice round over the North Berwick links but to get as much rest before she teed it up in the first of two qualifying rounds on Wednesday and Thursday.

"It's not often I get a major golf championship almost on my doorstep and I've been looking forward to this week for ages. I was in New Zealand for a couple of months golf in mid-winter and even down there I was thinking about the 'British' at North Berwick," said Jane.

"Even if I had had a broken leg, I would still have have wanted to play. I know it's going to be tough and possibly my golf swing won't be 100 per cent but I'm going to take pain-killers to help me get through it."

So whose fault was the accident?

"Nobody's really. It's a narrow lane and the council workmen have their job to do. It was just dead unlucky that they were just round a bend. Obviously I wasn't expecting the lorry to be there," said Jane.