Leona Maguire and Mary McKenna after the Irish girl's brilliant opening round in the Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play championships (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency; click on it to enlarge).

LEONA MAGUIRE STUNS HELEN HOLM FIELD

WITH DEBUT SIX-UNDER-PAR 69 AT TROON

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Leona Maguire, the new French Under-21 champion a couple of weeks ago
and last year's Irish women's amateur champion at the tender age of 13,
lived up to her star billing in the first round of the Helen Holm
Scottish women's open amateur golf stroke-play golf championship at
Troon on the Ayrshire coast today.
The 14-year-old twin from the Slieve Russell club in Co Cavan stunned a
star-studded field with a debut round of six-under-par 69 over the
testing Troon Portland links to open up a three-stroke advantage with
two rounds still to go at the weekend, one more over Portland on
Saturday followed by the final round over the Open championship links
at next-door Royal Troon.
Leona saw the Troon Portland links for the first time in her practice
round on Thursday and she gave a lot of the credit for piloting her
round a par-75 course with a southwest wind blowing in her face on the
inward journey to her uncle, Tony Maguire, who caddied for her both
days.
In Under-18 golf, girls are not allowed caddies but in open
tournaments, they can.
"I won the French Under-21 title a couple of weeks ago, so I am playing
well," said Leona. "I got to20five under par by going out in 33 with
birdies at the first, fifth and sixth and an eagle 3 at the ninth.
"The longest putts I holed all day were at the fifth and the ninth,
both from about 15ft.
"It wasn't quite so easy playing into the wind after the turn. I got
another birdie with a five-iron to about 6ft at the 13th got get to six
under par but I dropped my only shot at the 15th where we misjudged the
approach club and went through the back of the green.
"But I was able to get back to six under with a birdie at the 17th."
Another Irish legend, Vagliano Trophy and Curtis Cup captain Mary
McKenna from the Donabate club, Dublin, was among the first to
congratulate Leona after she had returned her memorable tournament and
course debut scorecard.
"Leona is terrific. In fact, Leona and her sister Lisa are both
terrific. I know they're only 14 and you don't want to ask too much of
them too soon but you would have to say they are bang in contention for
places in the GB&I women's team for the Vagliano Trophy match in
Hamburg in July," said Mary.
Leona leads by two from two lesser-known English players, Tilly Holder
(Woburn) and Kym Larratt (Kibworth, Leicestershire), on the 72 mark.
Although Niamh Kitching (Claremorris), playing immediately in front of
Leona Maguire, did not have a good day – she had a double bogey 7 on
her card and required 44 blows (six over par) to reach the turn on her
way to an 83, it was, on the whole, a good day for Ireland.
Leona's twin sister Lisa and Danielle McVeigh (Royal Co Down) are
sharing eighth place on 74, both having halves of 37 over a par 38-37
lay-out.
Former Irish women's champion Karen Delaney (Carlow) had the misfortune
to start her round with a quadruple bogey 9 at a 423yd hole which is
one of eight par-5s on the course and one of the easiest to birdie for
the top players.
Karen, not surprisingly perhaps, then bogeyed the second, third and
fourth to be seven over par standing on the fifth tee. She reached the
turn in 45 against the par of 38 and finished with

Scotland supporters too had reasons to be cheerful. Kylie Walker, fourth last year, made a solid start with a 73 to be joint fourth overnight. Kylie was out in two under par with no bogeys and birfdies at the seventh and ninth. She dropped a shot at her first hole into the wind, the 10th but was lucky, by her own admission, to drop only one shot with a bogey 6 at the 15th.

After driving into the burn and from there landing in a bush, from which she had to lift and drop under penalty, Kylie finished up holing a 60yd wedge shot over bushes for a 6.

"It could have been a lot more," said a relieved Kylie. "So I'm having to have a 73. I did get a 2 at the 16th with an eight-iron to around 15 to 20 feet and I holed a 15-footer for a birdie at the 17th."

Young Gillian Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey), Scottish Under-21 champion Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) and new Scottish universities champion Laura Murray (Alford) made the top 20 at the end of the first day - joint 16th to be precise - each hitting the level-par 75 mark on a day when the CSS was 77.

Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) came in late with a 76 which looked like being a few shots better when she reached the turn in 36.

Former multi-Scottish champion Anne Laing (Vale of Leven) showed she's no back number by any means with a 77, one shot ahead of Curtis Cupper Carly Booth (Comrie), who came home in 41, and Swiss women's open amateur champion Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) who took 41 shots for the "easier" outward half.

Kylie Walker's 73 and Kelsey MacDonald's 75 have put Scotland in second place on 148, only one shot behind France, on the first day of the team event.

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