Chance to see Europe's female stars

of future at Murcar Links this week

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY SCOTTISH LADIES GOLFING ASSOCIATION

It is hard to predict which team from the star-studded field is going to win the European girls' team championship, which takes place this coming week from Tuesday to Saturday, July 8 to 12 at Murcar Links Golf Club, just horth of Aberdeen.

Make no mistake, “girls” in the title does not mean that this is a lesser tournament than the European Ladies Team Championship which is taking place at the same time at Stenungsund GC, Sweden.

There is very little difference, if any, in the standard of girls' and ladies' golf nowadays. The old adage of age and experience beating youthful enthusiasm is no longer true. Now fearless, attacking golf wins tournaments, and the European youngsters are afraid of no one, with no golf course too difficult for them.
Nineteen countries have signed up to take part in the 2008 girls' European tournament, and many of them have chosen their best team for this event. It’s going to be a treat to watch, and the SLGA would urge you to go along to Murcar Links and enjoy this feast of female golf.
The youngest ever GB&I player in the Curtis Cup, 16-year-old Carly Booth from Comrie in Perthshire leads Scotland’s team into the fray.

Carly, a past U-18 and U-21 Scottish champion, won the European Young Masters individual girls' event in France last year.
Kelsey Macdonald (Nairn Dunbar), top qualifier in the recent Scottish Ladies’ Championship at Lossiemouth and the current Scottish schoolgirls’ champion, along with Sammy Vass (Tain) and Rebecca Wilson (Monifieth), both members of the Scottish National Ladies B Squad, make up the team, captained by past Scottish champion, Elaine Moffat.
With home advantage, and home support, they should go far.
England and Ireland are both fielding their national ladies’ champions. Seventeen-year-old Hannah Barwood from Knowle in Cheshire, winner of the English Ladies Championship at Ganton in May, is joined by Rachel Connor (Manchester), Alex Peters (Notts’ Ladies) and Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale) to make up a formidable English team.
The 13-year-old Maguire twins, Lisa and Leona, from the Slieve Russell Club in Ireland, who played each other in the final of the Irish Ladies Close Championship at Westport in May… Leona won… are competing in their second European girls' championship.
Victoria Bradshaw (Bangor), a full Irish international and Sarah Cunningham (Ennis), make up the Irish team.
The Welsh team of Amy Boulden, Natasha Gobey, Kelly Miller and Katherine O'Connor will be trying hard.
Last year’s results in Oslo were very disappointing, with none of the GB&I teams qualifying for the top flight. England came out best in 10th place, Ireland were 12th, Scotland 13th.and Wales 19th, so there is room for improvement but the four GB&I teams will have their work cut out to compete with a very strong European presence.
Last year's winners Sweden, are fielding a completely different team this year, but that does not mean that they are a pushover. The names of Josephine Janson, Louise Larsson, Amanda Strang and Johanna Tillstrom may not be familiar but their country’s expertise at producing winners is extraordinary.
2007 runners-up, Netherlands, have three of their four girls returning, namely Caroline Karsten, Maaike Naafs and Karlijin Zaanen.
Spain, always a strong side in any European event, field Marta Silva, who finished 5th equal in the LET Tenerife Open two weeks ago in their team.
Italy, who prepared for this event by bringing a squad to the Scottish Under 16 Championships at Craigielaw in April, have the winner of that tournament, Laura Sedda, along with 2006 Junior Ryder Cup star, Guila Molinaro, in the blue team.
France, who took their Girls and Ladies teams to the Irish Stroke Play at Westport last weekend are fielding their national champion, Emilie Alonso, along with Audrey Goumard, the top qualifier in Oslo last year.
Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Germany also cannot be discounted. Spectators are encouraged to go along to watch some of the present and future stars of female European amateur golf in action at Murcar Links.
2008 Teams
AUSTRIA
Captain: Christa Piber.
Team: Lisa Folk, Anja Purgouer, Sarah Schober, Marina Stutz.
BELGIUM
Captain: Lauren Van Gerven.
Team: Laura Charlier, Joelle Van Baarle, Lauren Van Gerven, Sara Vanzonhoven.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Captain: Martina Dornikova.
Team: Emily Curry-Bartonova, Katerina Ruzickova, Klara Spilkova, Karolina Vlckova. DENMARK
Captain: Annika Östberg.
Team: Nicole B Larson, Charlotte Lorentzen, Daisy Neilsen, Mai Schodt.
ENGLAND
Captain: Julie Brown.
Team: Hannah Barwood, Rachel Connor, Alexandra Peters, Kelly Tidy.
FINLAND
Captain: Nina Isaksson
Team: Jenny Haggblom, Anne Hakula, Sofia Hoglund, Sanna Nuutinen.
FRANCE
Captain: Maïtena Delamontagne.
Team: Emilie Alonso, Alexandra Bonetti, Rosanna Crepiat, Audrey Goumard.
GERMANY
Captain: Miriam Hiller.
Team: Sophia Popov, Nicola Rossler, Victoria Scherer, Marie Tschida.
ICELAND
Captain: Steinunn Eggertsdottir.
Team: Signy Arnorsdottir, Ingunn Gunnarsdottir, Olafi þorunn Kristinnsdottir, Eyglo Myrra Oskarsdottir.
IRELAND
Captain: Sinead Keane.
Team: Victoria Bradshaw, Sarah Cunningham, Leona Maguire, Lisa Maguire.
ITALY
Captain: Alessandra Salvi.
Team: Chiara Brizzolari, Alessia Knight, Giulia Molinaro, Laura Sedda.
LATVIA
Captain: Laura Kupla.
Team: Linda Dobele, Krista Puisite, Mara Puisite, Eliza Vilde.
NETHERLANDS
Captain: Floris van Imhoff.
Team: Karin Jansen, Caroline Karsten, Maaike Naafs, Karlijin Zaanen.
NORWAY
Captain: Lise Bjornstad.
Team: Tonje Daffinrud, Michaela Gunhildred, Solveig Helgeson, Karianne Hillaas.
SCOTLAND
Captain: Elaine Moffat.
Team: Carly Booth, Kelsey MacDonald, Sammy Vass, Rebecca Wilson.
SPAIN
Captain: Sonia Cólogan.
Team: Anna Arrese, Ana Fernandez de Mesa, Elia Folch, Marta Silva.
SWEDEN
Captain: Louise Permelin.
Team: Josephine Janson, Louise Larsson, Amanda Strang, Johanna Tillstrom.
SWITZERLAND
Captain: Annette Weber.
Team: Rebecca Huber, Anais Maggetti, Sherlyn Popelka, Fanny Vuignier.
WALES
Captain: Jill Evans.
Team: Amy Boulden, Natasha Gobey, Kelly Miller, Katherine O'Connor.
FORMAT OF TOURNAMENT
Two rounds of stroke play on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the best three scratch scores counting each day for each team.
Teams are then seeded on their aggregate score over the two days and put in an automatic draw into two flights of eight teams and a third flight of three teams for the match-play stages.
From Thursday to Saturday teams play two foursomes and three singles matches each day against other teams within their flight, with the winners going through to semi-finals and final, and the losers playing each other for the lesser places.
At the end of the tournament the teams are ranked in order from 1 to 19.
Last year 19 teams took part at Oslo Golf Club, Norway. The weather was awful throughout the tournament, with frequent evacuations for thunderstorms and rain delays. Matches were curtailed and the format was reduced to one foursome and two singles on the final day to get the players round before heavy rain again flooded the course.
Sweden beat Netherlands 2-1 in the final.

Order of Merit 2007
1 Sweden, 2 Netherlands, 3 Denmark, 4 Germany, 5 Spain, 6 France, 7 Belgium, 8 Norway 9 Czech Republic, 10 England 11 Italy 12 Ireland 13 Scotland, 14 Austria, 15 Finland, 16 Iceland 17 Portugal 18 Switzerland 19 Wales.
The course from the ladies’ tees is 5607 yds, 5127 metres, par 72, SSS 73 Course rating is 73.5 and slope is 139.
The SLGA is running the tournament in conjunction with the European Golf Association. Address: The Den, 2 Dundee Road, Perth PH2 7DW Phone: +44 1738 442357 Fax: +44 1738 442380 There is a dedicated website http://www.eurogirlsgolftc.co.uk/

Email: info@eurogirlsgolftc.co.uk