ABERDEENSHIRE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

Aberdeenshire prizewinners and officials. Left to right: county vicecaptain Ellie Whyte, Ros Dunsmuir, Sammy Leslie, Sara Thomson, Carol Wilson, Lynne Terry, county captain Fiona Hay and president Joan Rennie (This image and the one below of Sammy Leslie, left, and Sara Thomson, by courtesy of Karen Stalker). Click to enlarge.

Sara Thomson beats Sammy

Leslie in great Peterhead

final despite wind

Aberdeen exile Sara Thomson returned from Edinburgh to win the Aberdeenshire women's county golf championship for the first time at windswept Peterhead today.
In the final, former Murcar Links player now a Royal Musselburgh member, Sara, 23, beat 17-year-old Sammy Leslie (Westhill) by one hole in a great match in very testing conditions on the exposed links.
After a match-play programme of upset form results, all four semi-finalists had a chance of winning the title for the first time.
Leslie, the No 8 qualifier, knocked out the top seed, Lynne Terry (Cruden Bay) by 2 and 1 in the first round. Thomson eliminated the four times champion and No 2 seed Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies), at the 19th, also in the first round.

Defending champion Donna Pocock (Murcar Links) was beaten in the first round by Aboyne youngster Lauren Duncan.
Thomson, 15th of the 16 qualifiers for the match-play ended the great run of veteran Ros Dunsmuir (Cruden Bay) but only by one hole in the semi-finals in which Leslie beat Carol Wilson (Murcar Links), the No 5 seed, by 4 and 3.
Leslie held the edge in the final for most of the way, winning the fourth and the eighth but being pulled back to a one-hole advantage at the turn.
Thomson finally squared the match at at the 14th and went one up at the next but Leslie levelled it again by winning the 16th. After a half at the 17th, Thomson won the 18th with a birdie to take the title after a classic match-play contest.
Sara's fiance is former North-east District player Terry Mathieson who moved south to work at Kings Acre Golf Centre, near Edinburgh when Sara from Aberdeen to Edinburgh so that she could work as a graduate chartered surveyor for a company called Jones Lang LaSalle.

Terry has since turned professional.

A proficient hockey player, Sara reached the Aberdeenshire semi-final at Newmachar two years ago and again at Deeside last year. Third time lucky!
ALL THE MATCH-PLAY RESULTS
First round - Lynne Terry (Cruden Bay) bt Catriona Ross (Northern) 2 and 1, Sammy Leslie (Westhill) bt Karen Stalker (Fraserburgh) 9 and 7, Carol Wilson (Murcar Links) bt Mhairi Johnstone (Northern) 2 and 1, Lauren Duncan (Aboyne) bt Donna Pocock (Murcar Links) 2 and 1, Ros Dunsmuir (Murcar Links) bt Jill Harrison (Cruden Bay) 1 hole, Laura McLardy (Murcar Links) bt Elizabeth Brown (Aboyne) 3 and 2, Gill Murray (Cruden Bay) bt Linda Urquhart (Banchory) 6 and 4, Sara Thomson (Royal Musselburgh) bt Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) at 19th.
Quarter-finals - Leslie bt Terry 4 and 3, Wilson bt Duncan 2 and 1, Dunsmuir bt McLardy 3 and 2, Thomson bt Murray 5 and 3.
Semi-finals - Leslie bt Wilson 4 and 3, Thomson bt Dunsmuir 1 hole.
Final - Thomson bt Leslie 1 hole.