Kelsey MacDonald runner-up after leading during final round

Proud dad Declan Maguire with his talented twin daughters, Leonna and Lisa (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency: you can enlarge it by clicking on it).

Ireland's Leona Maguire (only 14)

wins Helen Holm, twin Lisa jt 3rd

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Begorrah! The 14-year-old Maguire twins from the Slieve Russell club in Northern Ireland lived up to their star billing on their debut appearance in the 37th Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play golf championship at Troon.
Leona finished first, two shots ahead of Scottish Under-21 champion Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar), pictured right, with Lisa Maguire sharing third place with England's Emma Brown, another shot behind.
Leona, who also won the trophy for the best performance by an under 18-year-old - she is easily the youngest ever player to have won this prestigious tournament - led from start to finish after a brilliant opening round of six-under-par 69 at Troon Portland on Friday put her three shots clear of the field.

The lead shrank to one shot on Saturday when she slipped to a two-over 77, also over Portland, but, having settled herself with a brilliant approach shot to within 18in of the flagstick at the first, she finished in style by birdieing two of the last four holes for a closing two-under-par 73 over the demaning Royal Troon links today.
That gave her a six-under-par total of 219 and another title to add to the French Under-21 girls' championship she won a couple of weeks ago and the Irish women's amateur championship in which she beat sister Lisa in the final last year.
"I'm delighted. I'd never played either of the courses before I came to Troon a few days ago but I like links golf. The weather wasn't great but I loved the tournament. I think my putting was the best part of my game over the three days. I holed a few good ones," said Leona.
Stirling University student Kelsey MacDonald raised homes of a special "Homecoming" victory – only two Scots have won the "Helen Holm" since 1992 – but it was not to be.
Kelsey finished with a one-under-par 74 over Royal Troon for a total of four-under-par 221, two shots behind the winner after Leona Maguire doubled her one-stroke lead on the 18th tee by holing a 7ft birdie putt on the last green.
Kelsey's earlier birdies at the second and fourth had actually put her in the lead for a hole or two before Leona recovered from bogeys at the fourth and ninth with birdies at two long holes – the 11th and the 15th.
"I'm just a wee bit disappointed but finishing second is easily the best I have ever done in the Helen Holm, so I have to be pleased with that," said Kelsey whose ambition is to play in the Curtis Cup match in her home town of Nairn in 2012. She has run into form at the right time with the Scottish women's amateur championship coming up next month at Southerness.
The Maguire twins are fiercely competitive siblings and no doubt Lisa needed no bigger incentive to do well in the last round than to know that her sister was leading the field.

Sure enough, Lisa birdied four holes in closing with her third successive round of 74 for three-under-par 222. A bogey 6 at the 16th cost her a share of second place with Kelsey.
Emma Brown from Malton & Norton in Yorkshire, winner of the tournament in 2004 in her maiden name of Duggleby, birdied four of the last seven holes, including the 17th and 18th for a 75 which put her on the 222 mark alongside Lisa – a great performance from a player who retired far too early from international golf.
Fife champion Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) tied for seventh place on 224 with a last round of 75 which included double bogey 5s at two Royal Troon short holes – the Postage Stamp eighth and the 17th.
Scottish universities champion Laura Murray (Alford) was in the picture at two under par for the tournament after birdieing the 10th and 11th but she dropped back to a share of 10th place on 226 with a 77 after bogeying the 14th, 15th and 17th.
Wales, represented by youngsters Tara Davies and Rhian Wyn Thomas, came through to win the team title with a total of 449 which was two ahead of France and three in front of third-placed Scotland (Kelsey MacDonald and Kylie Walker).

Unfortunate for Ireland that one of their leading players, Niamh Kitching (Claremorris) who was Leona Maguire's nominated "partner" for Ireland in the team event. Niamh just wasn't herself over the first two rounds at Troon Portland failed to beat the 36-hole cut. That meant Ireland couldn't have a three-round team total.

But, all in all, it was a great tournament for Ireland. Apart from the Maguire girls, Danielle McVeigh (Royal Co Down), the former world universities women's champion in Thailand and a player with a lot of experience of playing on the US college circuit, showed the class that could win her Vagliano Trophy honours this summer by returning a 73 today.

That was the joint best score over the Royal Troon links on a day that started and finished with rain and was very much overcast in between except for a brief blink of sunshine.

But if the weather was dull, the play certainly wasn't. Lisa Ball (Matfen Hall) and Leona Maguire were the others who had 73s. Danielle's inward half earned her the best third-round score prize and that good Sunday round saw her earn the fifth three-round scratch prize on 223, ahead of former Welsh girls champion Tara Davies (Holyhead) who had a closing 75.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 225 (3 x 75). CSS 77 77 77
219 Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) 69 77 73.
221 Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) 75 72 74.
222 Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) 74 74 74, Emma Brown (Malton & Norton) 74 73 75.
223 Danielle McVeigh (Royal Co Down) 74 76 73, Tara Davies (Holyhead) 77 71 75.
224 Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) 76 73 75, Lucie Andre (Fra) 74 74 76.
225 Naomi Edwards (Ganton) 76 74 75.
226 Charlotte Wild (Mere) 74 78 74, Rhian Wyn Thomas (Vale of Glamorgan) 73 77 76, Laura Murray (Alford) 75 74 77.
227 Marion Ricordeau (Fra) 73 77 77, Anna Dahlberg-Soderstrom (Swe) 76 74 77, Hannah Barwood (Knowle) 78 72 77.
228 Lisa Ball (Matfen Hall) 81 74 73, Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) 73 80 75, Sanna Nuutinen (Fin 77 75 76.
229 Laura Collin (John O'Gaunt) 78 74 77, Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) 78 72 79.
230 Carly Booth (Comrie) 78 74 78.
231 Emelie Lundstrom (Swe) 78 77 76, Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) 73 81 77, Charlotte Dalton (Ladbrook Park) 76 75 80.
232 Perrine Delacour (Fra) 83 71 78.
233 Rosanna Crepiat (Fra) 78 78 77, Alexandra Bonetti (Fra) 76 73 84
234 Jane Turner (Craigielaw) 78 82 74, Marion Duvernay (Fra) 77 78 79, Laura Stempfle (Ger) 76 78 80, Sarah Attwood (Gog Magog) 79 74 81, Hannah Jenkins (Cradoc) 76 75 83.
235 Laura Chemarin (Fra) 74 81 80.
236 Louise Kristersson (Swe) 80 79 77, Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale) 79 79 78, Morgane Bazin de Jessey (Fra) 77 77 82, Tilly Holder (Woburn) 72 81 83, Samantha Birks (Wolstanton) 74 79 83, Corisande Lee (West Lancashire) 79 72 85.
237 Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) 82 78 77, Louise Larsson (Swe) 77 81 79, Tracey Boyes (Meon Valley) 79 76 82, Emilie Alonso (Fra) 76 78 83, Charlene Dubois (Fra) 76 78 83, Margot Ivanoff (Fra) 76 77 84.
238 Laura Castelain (Fra) 81 80 77, Charlie Douglass (Brocket Hall) 81 79 78, Aedin Murphy (Carlow) 82 78 78, Marion Kaddouche (Fra) 82 78 78.
239 Amy Boulden (Maesdu) 78 77 84.
240 Maiju Uusi-Simola (Fin) 83 78 79, Amanda Strang (Swe) 74 86 80, Sara Garbutt (Ganton) 77 80 83.
242 Anne Laing (Vale of Leven) 77 77 88, Kym Larratt (Kibworth) 72 79 91.
243 Cara Gruber (Royal Dornoch) 82 78 83, Lesley Hendry (Routenburn) 84 76 83.
244 Ann Ramsay (Kirriemuir) 81 78 85.
245 Mathilde Cassaignau (Fra) 82 78 85, Kimberley Crooks (Saltburn) 80 79 86.
246 Rachael Watton (Mortonhall) 82 79 85.
247 Hannah Grant (Enmore Park) 80 81 86, Anne Hakula (Fin) 78 80 89.
249 Clemence Abrahamian (Fra) 80 80 89, Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) 80 79 90.
250 Jill Meldrum (Dullatur) 83 78 89.

MISSED THE CUT
162 Joelie Van Baarle (Bel) 84 78, Angelika Hammar (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 (back injury): Rachel Connor (Manchester) 83 WD

INTERNATIONAL TEAM EVENT
449 WALES (T Davies 223, R Wyn Thomas 226).
451 FRANCE (L Andre 224, M Ricordeau 227).
452 SCOTLAND (K MacDonald 221, K Walker 231).
464 SWEDEN (A Dahlberg-Soderstrom 227, L Larsson 237).

DNQ IRELAND (Leona Maguire 219, N Kitching 83 80 DNQ ).
DNQ FINLAND (A Hakula 247, E Pentilla 86 77 DNQ- ).
W/D ENGLAND (H Barwood 227, R Connor 83 WD -).

*DNQ=did not qualify for last round.

W/D=withdrew.