Leading prizewinners at the Scottish Under-21 girls' open stroke-play championship with host club ladies' captain Margaret Morrin at Powfoot (Image by courtesy of Mrs Pat Wilson).

Kelsey keeps nerve to win Scottish Under-21 title

Like number seven buses that come in bunches after not appearing at all, Kelsey MacDonald is enjoying a Scottish title bonanza.

A few weeks ago she claimed her first ever national title, the Scottish schoolgirls championship at Banchory. Then, last week, she almost won the Scottish Under-18 match-play title, losing in the final to Carly Booth at Alyth.

And today Kelsey made it two out of three by capturing the Scottish Under-21 girls' open amateur stroke-play championship at Powfoot Golf Club on the shores of the Solway Firth.

Nairn Dunbar’s Kelsey, who won’t be 19 until October, had three fine sub-par rounds of 70, 70 and 71 against the women’s par of 74 for an 11-under-par total of 211.
She led at the end of the first round, was headed by Scottish universities title-holder Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) at the end of the second round but kept her nerve and her touch to prevail by one shot from Pamela after the third and final round.
Pamela had shot a seven-under 67 to surge to the front after 36 holes but she could manage “only” a par 74 at the last time of asking and that left the door open for MacDonald’s more consistent level of scoring to win the day.
In the final analysis, Kelsey had to get down in two from the back of the green for a par 4 at the last to avoid a play-off. She did it by holing a 10ft putt.
It was a great win for MacDonald who beat a field that included two Curtis Cup players, Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) and Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) and a host of other players with very low handicaps.
Krystle, the Under-21 champion at Stirling two years ago, revived memories of that phenomenal week of scoring with an eight-under-par 66 in the second round at Powfoot. Had she been able to finish with another round of that class, she would have regained the title but it proved beyond her. A closing 73 for 213 gave her a creditable third-place finish.
Up and coming English player Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) had a 68 in her middle round on her way to fourth place on 217.