Kelsey MacDonald sharing second place with Emma Brown

Leona Maguire slips to 77 but still leads

weather-hit "Helen Holm" into last day

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Fourteen-year-old Irish golfing prodigy Leona Maguire slumped from a sublime six-under-par 69 in Friday's first round to a 77 in her second circuit before thunder and lightning forced a suspension of play for 1hr 20min from 3.50pm in the Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play golf championship at Troon Portland links today.
Leona posted a 36-hole tally of four-under-par 146, one ahead of Scottish Under-21 champion Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar), pictured above by Cal carson Golf Agency driving from the first tee today, and former Curtis Cup player Emma (Duggleby) Brown from Yorkshire's Malton & Norton club. Kelsey had a 72 (36-36) for 147, and Emma, who won this title in 2004 when her maiden name was Duggleby, had a 73.
No question that Emma's decision to retire from international golf three or four years ago was a trifle premature. She would still provide the backbone for any England or Great Britain & Ireland team. Emma had birdies at four of the par-5s on the outward journey – the first, second, sixth and ninth – and also birdied the par-4 17th in halves of 35 and 38.
Where Leona is, her identical twin Lisa – whose golfing CV is equally
impressive – is never far away and, sure enough, Lisa posted a pair of
74s to be sharing fourth place on 148 among those – just over half the
field – who were able to complete their second rounds before the
lightning-in-the-vicinity early warning box forced an immediate
suspension of play.
All the players still out on the course were ordered to take shelter in
greenkeepers' sheds until further notice or return to the safety of
the clubhouse if they were near enough.
Leona Maguire, the Irish women's amateur champion at the tender age of
13 – she beat her sister in last year's final – and winner of the
French Under-21 girls' title a couple of weeks ago, looked on course
for another super score when she birdied the fourth, fifth and sixth
and dropped a shot only at the seventh in reaching the turn in
two-under-par 36.
But, for once, the slip of a lass from the Slieve Russell club in
Northern Ireland, was flummoxed by a change in the wind direction to
the opposite of what it was on Friday – and she bogeyed the 10th, 11th,
12th and 14th and required 41 shots (four over par) to come home.
Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle), joint fourth in the event last year,
looked to have blown her chances of a repeat with a second-round 81 for
154. She bogeyed the second, third, fourth and 10th before running up a
double bogey 7 at the 12th and further bogeys at the 14th and 17th.
Birdies at the fi
fth and ninth repaired only some of the damage.
But Stirling University student Kelsey MacDonald was able to shoot a
three-under-par 72, thanks to birdies at the3 fifth, sixth, ninth and
11th and only one three-putt bogey at the eighth.
"I'm coming into form at the right time," said a chirpy Kelsey. "The
wind was coming the other way today, which made it awkward to get the
right club in your hands at the par-3s."
Play resumed after the 1hr 20min hiatus in a downpour. The best score
after the break was a four-under-par, six-birdie 71 (36-35) by the 2006
Welsh girls' champion Tara Davies, which lifted her up in joint fourth place on 148 alongside France's Spanish open amateur champion Lucie Andre and Lisa Maguire … and Wales into a share of the lead with France on 298 in the team event.
With Scotland (Kelsey MacDonald and Kylie Walker) a close-up third on
301, the stage is set for an exciting finish to that sideshow over
Royal Troon on Sunday.
The withdrawal of Rachel Connor, daughter of Manchester Golf Club's Scots-born pro, with a sore back, meant that England could not have a two-player final score. Hannah Barwood was the other English player whose scores were counting for a team.
Backing up Kelsey MacDonald in the top 16 are Scottish universities champion Laura Murray (Alford) (74-149), Fife champion Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) (76-73) and Swiss open amateur title -holder Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) (72-150).
A total of 66 players with 36 hole totals of 11-over-par 161 and better qualified for Sunday's final round which will tee off at 7.30am at Royal Troon.
The most notable failures to beat the cut were two leading Irish players, Niamh Kitching (Claremorris) (80-163) and 2007 native champion Karen Delaney (Carlow) (87-174).
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 150 (2 x 75). CSS 77 77
Play suspended at 3.50pm for 1hr 30min because of lightning.
146 Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) 69 77.
147 Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) 75 72, Emma Brown (Malton & Norton)
74 73.
148 Lucie Andre (Fra) 74 74, Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) 74 74, Tara
Davies (Holyhead) 77 71.
149 Alexandra Bonetti (Fra) 76 73, Laura Murray (Alford) 75 74, Louise
Kenney (Pitreavie) 76 73.
150 Marion Ricordeau (Fra) 73 77, Anna Dahlberg-Soderstrom (Swe) 76 74,
Hannah Barwood (Knowle) 78 72, Naomi Edwards (Ganton) 76 74, Pamela
Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) 78 72, Danielle McVeigh (Royal Co Down) 74
76, Rhian Wyn Thomas (Vale of Glamorgan) 73 77.
151 Hannah Jenkins 76 75, Charlotte Dalton (Ladbrook Park) 76 75,
Corisande Lee (West Lancashire) 79 72, Kym Larratt (Kibworth) 72 79.
152 Carly Booth (Comrie) 78 74, Charlotte Wild (Mere) 74 78, Laura
Collin (John O'Gaunt) 78 74, Sanna Nuutinen (Fin)
77 75.
153 Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) 73 80, Sarah Attwood (Gog Magog) 79
74, Tilly Holder (Woburn) 72 81, Margot Ivanoff (Fra) 76 77, Samantha
Birks (Wolstanton) 74 79.
154 Morgane Bazin de Jessey (Fra) 77 77, Emilie Alonso (Fra) 76 78,
Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) 73 81, Perrine Delacour (Fra) 83 71,
Charlene Dubois (Fra) 76 78, Laura Stempfle (Ger) 76 78, Anne Laing
(Vale of Leven) 77 77.
155 Emelie Lundstrom (Swe) 78 77, Laura Chemarin (Fra) 74 81, Marion
Duvernay (Fra) 77 78, Lisa Ball Matfen Hall) 81 74.1, Tracey.Boyes
(Meon Valley) 79 76, Amy Boulden (Maesdu) 78 77.//
156 Rosanna Crepiat (Fra) 78 78.
157 Sara Garbutt (Ganton) 77 80.
158 Louise Larsson (Swe) 77 81, Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale) 78 79, Anne Hakula (Fin) 78 80.
159 Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) 80 79, Louise Kristersson (Swe) 80 79,
Ann Ramsay (Kirriemuir) 81 78, Kimberley Crooks (Saltburn) 80 79.
160 Lesley Hendry (Routenburn) 84 76, Amanda Strang (Swe) 74 86, Charlie Douglass (Brocket Hall) 81 79, Clemence Abrahamian (Fra) 80 80, Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) 82 78, Jane Turner (Mortonhall) 78 82, Cara Gruber (Royal Dornoch) 82 78, Mathilde Cassagnau (Fra) 82 78, Marion Kaddouche (Fra) 82 78, Aedin Murphy (Carlow) 82 78,
161 Maiju Uusi-Simola (Fin) 83 78, Rachael Watton (Mortonhall) 82 79,
Jill Meldrum (Dullatur) 83 78, Laura Castelain (Fra) 81 80, Hannah Grant (Enmore Park) 80 81.
MISSED THE CUT
162 Joelie Van Baarle (Bel) 84 78, Angelika Haar (Swe) 81 81, Kelly Brotherton (Troon Welbeck) 86 76, Haedi Beck (Felixstowe Ferry) 82 80.
163 Emily Penttila (Fin) 86 77, Niamh Kitching (Claremorris) 83 80, Emma Sheffield (Newark) 80 83.
164 Sarah Lundy (Cookridge Hall) 80 84, Elaine Moffat (St Regulus) 81 83.
165 Samantha Leslie (Westhill) 82 83, Anna Carling (Vale of Glamorgan)
83 82.

166 Sarah Crowe (Tipperary) 84 82, Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh) 81 84.
166 Becky Harries (Haverfordwest) 84 82, Claire MacDonald (Gullane Ladies) 86 80.
167 Gillian Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey) 75 92.
168 Elaine Cuthill (Lanark) 81 87, Emma Fairnie (Dunbar) 83 85.
169 Sammy Vass (Tain) 79 90.
170 Annabel Niven (Crieff) 85 85, M Macpherson (Troon Ladies) 91 79.
172 Rachael McQueen (Troon Ladies) 85 87.
173 Ashleigh Wilton (Ladybank) 86 87.
174 Karen Delaney (Carlow) 87 87.
Withdrew: Rachel Connor (Manchester) 83 WD
INTERNATIONAL TEAM EVENT
(over three rounds)
298 FRANCE (148 L Andre 74 74. 150 M Ricordeau 73 77), WALES (148 T
Davies 77 71. 150 R Wynn Thomas 73 77).
301 SCOTLAND (147 K MacDonald 75 72. 154 K Walker 73 81).
308 SWEDEN (150 A Dahlberg-Soderstrom 76 74. 158 L Larsson 77 81).
309 IRELAND (146 Leona Maguire 69 77. 163 N Kitching 83 80).
321 FINLAND (158 A Hakula 78 80. 163 E Penttila 86 77).
W/D ENGLAND (150 H Barwood 78 72; Withdrew R Connor 83 -).

SUNDAY TEE TIMES OVER ROYAL TROON

7.30 Hannah Grant, Laura Castelain, Rachael Watton.

7.40 Jill Meldrum, Maiju U-Simola, A Strang.

7.50 Jane Turner, Clemence Abrahamanian, Charlie Douglass.

8.00 Megan Briggs, Aedin Murphy, Marion Kaddouche.

8.10 Mathilde Cassaignau, Cara Gruber, Lesley Hendry.

8.20 Eilidh Briggs, Kimberley Crooks, Louise Kristersson.

8.30 Ann Ramsay, Louise Larsson, Anne Hakula.

8.40 Kelly Tidy, Sara Garbutt, Rosanna Crepiat.

8.50 Laura Chemarin, Marion Duvernay, Amy Boulden.

9.0 Emelie Lundstrom, Tracey Boyes, Lisa Ball.

9.10 Kylie Walker, Laura Stempfle, Emilie Alonso.

9.20 Charlene Dubois, Anne Laing, Morgane Bazin de Jessey.

9.30 Perrine Delacour, Tilly Holder, Holly Clyburn.

9.40 Samantha Birks, Margot Ivanoff, Sarah Attwood.

9.50 Charlotte Wild, Sanna Nutinen, Carly Booth.

10.00 Laura Collin, Kym Larratt, Charlotte Dalton.

10.10 Hannah Jenkins, Corisande Lee, Marion Ricordeau.
10.20 Rhian Wyn Thomas, Danielle McVeigh, Anna Dahlberg-Soderstrom.
10.30 Naomi Edwards, Hannah Barwood, Pamela Pretswell.
10.40 Laura Murray, Louise Kenney, Alexandra Bonetti.
10.50 Lucie Andre, Lisa Maguire, Tara Davies.
11.00 Emma Brown, Kelsey MacDonald, Leona Maguire.