Lesley Atkins leading Scot as

English have ups & downs

There was good and bad news for followers of England's fortunes on the first day of the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association Under-16 girls' 36-hole open stroke-play championship at windy Craigielaw Links, near Edinburgh.

The good news? Hayley Davis (Ferndown), winner of two Under-16 girls' events at the Hacienda del Alamo Women's Winter Festival in Spain in February, is continuing in excellent form.

She has set the first-round clubhouse target of 73, two-over-par and only one over the eventual CSS on a quite windy day which began with heavy rain. Hayley birdied the first, the long 11th and par-4 14th but dropped shots at the third, seventh, ninth, 13th and 18th in halves of 37 (two over par) and 36 (level).

Her golfing buddy, Hannah Turland (Tidworth Garrison) chased her up with a 74 which included a double-bogey 7 at the fourth.

Although she also bogeyed the fifth, ninth and 16th, Hannah did produce birdies at the short 10th and the 15th for halves of 39 (four over par) and 35 (one under).

The bad news? Jamie-Leigh Voss, the current English schoolgirls champion from Kirkby Muxloe, was taken ill on the course and retired after slumping to eight over par for only nine holes (she played the second nine first) and had to ferried to the nearest doctor by referee Gillian Kirkwood.

And later Haedi Beck (Felixstowe Ferry), one of the leading English players, was disqualified for failing to sign her scorecard which had added up to 81 with a triple bogey 8 at the fourth and a double bogey 6 at the 12th.
Scottish Under-14 girls champion Lesley Atkins (Minto), pictured above, is the big home hope, despite a four-putt green on her way to a 78, five shots off the pace but in a creditable joint fifth position.
Lesley birdied the long second and also the ninth but sandwiched three bogeys, at the third, fifth, and eighth between them in an outward half of one-over-par 36.

She had no birdies to compensate for a rash of bogeys after the turn, at the 11th, 12th, 16th and 17th, before she finished on a low note with a double bogey 7 at the long last hole for 42 home.
One behind Atkins is home-course player Gabrielle MacDonald with halves of 42 and 37 for 79.
Scotland could claim the best, most accurate shot of the day - Mhairi McKay (West Kilbride) had a hole in one at the third (132yd) on her way to an 81 (37-44).