Clare Queen looking on bright side

SHE HAS TO WIN AT LEAST 3,000 EUROS IN FINAL EVENT
TO AVOID TOUR SCHOOL RETURN ... BUT SAYS THIS SEASON
COULD BE THE BEST THING THAT'S HAPPENED TO HER!

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Unless she can win a minimum of 3,000 Euros in the final event of the Ladies European Tour season - the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters from December 9 to 12, Clare Queen will have to go back to the Tour School at La Manga to regain her player's card for the 2010 season.
Next week's Dubai pro-am is a non-counter for the money table, so Clare's current position of 98th with earnings of 12,773 Euros from 17 events is not going to be affected by that.
In theory the top 80 players in the money table at the end of the season retain their playing rights.
But there are nine players currently in the top 80 who have not competed in six events this season - almost all of them LPGA Tour players - and so that means it will be the leading 89 in the LET money table AFTER the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters who will be "safe."
The player is Queen's sights has to be Maria Verchenova who occupies the 89th place with earnings of 15,534 Euros. Get above Maria by the time the last putt drops in Dubai and Clare - as well as other Scots such as Pamela Feggans (93rd with 14,408 Euros) and Michele Thomson (107th with 8,771 Euros) - will be laughing.
Not that Queen is down in the dumps at all after a season which, to the neutral observer, would have seemed to be a disappointing one for the former British girls champion (2001) and British women's amateur stroke-play champion (2004) who played for Great Britain & Ireland in the Vagliano Trophy matches of 2003 and 2005.
The Scot from Drumpellier, who plays out of The Carrick at Loch Lomond, is 26 and coming up to the end of her fourth season as a professional. No one would dispute that Clare had the talent as an amateur which suggested she would follow in the footsteps of Catriona Matthew, Janice Moodie and Mhairi McKay and be a fixture on the LPGA Tour by her 27th birthday late next April.
But that has not happened ... so far.
However, Clare is one of those optimists who sees the glass as half full rather than half empty and she is already looking forward to the 2010 season!
"It's been a funny year for me. I started off really well with a top 10 finish in Australia and hoped that I would continue that form when we returned to Europe in May," says Queen.
"I'ts been frustrating as I never managed to get any momentum going and lost a bit of confidence. "Ironically my long game has been better than ever and I have struck the ball consistently well all year but I have struggled a bit with my short game and therefore my scoring hasn't been good.
"The last couple of months have been much better though and I'm feeling good going into Dubai. I know I need a solid week out there but my game is in good shape so there's no reason why I can't do it.
"I think in the long run this year could be the best thing that's happened to me as I've learned a lot about my game and myself and I know what I need to improve on. Once I have secured my card for next year I can look forward to 2010."
The Scots who have no worries about retaining their place on the LET in 2010 are Krystle Caithness, who has had a very good rookie year. The Fifer, who now lives in Cupar, has won 44,761 Euros from 14 events and is a comfortable 38th in the money table.
Vikki Laing from Musselburgh, on her first year on the European Tour, has found a consistency and with it, perhaps, a degree of confidence which she lacked in the United States.
Vikki is 59th in the table with 26,401 Euros from 16 events.
Lynn Kenny from Dunblane is 78th with earnings of 17,163 Euros from 17 events.
Ayrshire's Pamela Feggans has not done so well on her first year in Europe as Krystle and Vikki but a good performance in Dubai would lift her into the safety zone. Pamela, who is on the reserve list for a place in the is in 93rd position with earnings of 14,408 Euros - a couple of thousand Euros would do the trick with something to spare.
Former Scottish amateur champion and past Curtis Cup player Michele Thomson has played in only seven LET events in her rookie year. This is partly because she did not gain a high enough category of membership at last year's Tour School. At the same time, the Ellon player has not played at all for several months.