Scottish Under-21 girls stroke play at Nairn Dunbar

Kelsey MacDonald hot favourite with

three rounds over home course

As Tiger Woods and Tom Watson proved in last week’s Open, there is no such thing as a certainty in golf. But Scottish Under-21 girls champion Kelsey MacDonald defending the title over her home Nairn Dunbar course over the next two days certainly comes into the “hot favourite” category.
Kelsey, still only 18 although she has completed her first year at Stirling University, won the championship at Powfoot last year with a 54-hole total of 211 – one shot ahead of Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) and two in front of Krystle Caithness (St Regulus).
Pamela is now too old to be eligible to play while Krystle has moved on to the professional ranks.
Kelsey, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency, will be bidding to beat the jinx on defending champions in the Under-21s event. The last player to score repeat victories was Catriona (Matthew) Lambert some 20 years ago in 1988 and 1989.
MacDonald’s family home is just across the road from the first tee at Nairn Dunbar and she could play the course blindfold – and still have a good score. But she will not be counting her chickens.
There are plenty of qualifity players in the field who could contribute to an exciting last 18 holes on Friday when the leaders will go out at approximately 1pm.

Carly Booth, the runaway winner at Auchterarder in 2007, did not have the chance to defend the title at Powfoot last year because the SLGA sent her to the European Young Masters. Not that Carly was complaining because that led to the Comrie teenager's selection for the 2008 Junior Ryder Cup.

(This year's "absentees" at the European Young Masters in France are Angus women's and girls county champion Ailsa Summers from Carnoustie and Lesley Atkins (Minto), the Borders' youngest ever women's county champion).

Carly is back in the field this week and will be looking for an Auchterarder-type performance to boost her self-confidence which may have been dented with some recent disappointing results.

Then there's Roseanne Niven (Crieff), winner of the British stroke-play in Northern Ireland last August but still striving to get back to that level of performance although, unlike Carly, she did reach the match-play stages in the Ladies British Open at Harlech in June.

Katy McNicoll (Carnoustie) was an impressive winner of the North of Scotland title at Newmachar and since then she and Jane Turner (Craigielaw) have come through the pre-qualifier to get into the qualifying competition for the Ricoh's British Women's Open.

The tee times for the leading contenders today are:

9.12 and 13.57 - Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar), Rachael McQueen (Troon Ladies), Jane Turner (Craigielaw).

9.21 and 14.06 - Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm), Kate Whitmore (Sandiway, Laura Murray (Alford).

9.30 and 14.16 - Gillian Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey), Roseanne Niven (Crieff), Lucy Williams (Mid Herts)

9.30 and 14.24 - Susan Jackson (Ladybank), Carly Booth (Comrie), Katy McNicoll (Carnoustie Ladies).

There is no cut. The full field will play two rounds today and one tomorrow with the first tee time as late as 9am on Friday.