97th SCOTTISH WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

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Joint leader Laura Murray, driving from the second tee, and Martine Pow, in third place overnight.

Laura Murray and Rachel Hanlon share

lead on 73 in first qualifying round

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Golf has become a man's game as far as Laura Murray is concerned. Playing with male partners on a regular basis has changed the 21-year-old Alford international's play-safe style ... and made her a better player.

So said likeable Laura after sharing the lead with St Andrews teenager Rachel Hanlon (pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency), at the end of the first qualifying round of the 97th Scottish women’s amateur golf championship on a perfect day for golf - warm, bright and almost windless - over the tricky Craigielaw links today.
“I play every Wednesday in the winter North-east Alliance with guys like David Law and Philip McLean (on the winning area team at Kinross on Sunday) and I have regular outings with Paul Lawrie and the rest of his Foundation team. Paul had us all at Deeside last week, for instance,” said Laura.
“It has definitely made me more aggressive, more male-like than lady-like on a golf course. In the old days I would have played safe off the tee with a three wood or even an iron but here at Craigielaw, I used my driver whenever I could – and the fact that my four birdies were all at par-5s speaks for itself.”
Murray, coached by Kevin Craggs and encouraged and motivated by 1999 Open champion Lawrie, intends going to the Ladies European Tour Qualifying School at the end of this amateur season. She can expect quite a few texts from Paul this week.
Laura and 18-year-old Elmwood College, Cupar student Rachel Hanlon, the East of Scotland girls champion, were the only players in a field of close on 70 who were able to match the par of 73 on an extended women’s course (6,001yd compared with 5,371yd from the LGU tees) in which the tough pin placements on the undulating greens came in for mild criticism, even from those who did comparatively well.
Where the flags were placed had nothing to do with the organising Scottish Ladies Golfing Association officials by the way – not yet, anyway!
Murray had halves of 38 (three over par) and 35 (three under) while Hanlon, who wants to use her Her Performance Golf Studies to become a golf coach, did it the other way round, 35 out, 38 in.
“My short game was pretty good,” said championship debutante Hanlon, who is well used to bump-and-run tactics developed on her home course at St Andrews.
She started well with a birdie 3 at the first – where the treacherous green, sloping away from the players claimed many victims – and staged a grandstand finish with birdie 4s at the 16th and 18th.
One shot behind the joint pacemakers is 45-year-old Martine Pow from Selkirk, the 2006 champion at Dunbar.
“It’s much the same here at Craigielaw as it was down at Dunbar, so I’m in my element,” said Martine who is a Scotland international team selector. She had halves of 36 and 38.
Curtis Cup first reserve and Stirling student Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) was quite happy to come away with a two-over-par 75 on a day when she felt “you could rake up a helluva score” with testing pin placements on very hard, tricky greens.
“I knew I had to be patient – and I’m still working on that aspect of my game - although there were a few holes when I got bad breaks. But, to be fair, I also had some good breaks. It’s same for everyone. That’s links golf,” she said.
New Aberdeenshire champion Sammy Leslie from Westhill did very well to return a 76 after running up a quadruple bogey 7 at the short third.
The 18-year-old, who helps to make golfing ends meet by working part-time behind the bar at her golf club, showed she was made of the right stuff by bouncing right back with a birdie 4 at the fourth.
But it was Leslie’s grandstand finish that turned a so-so round into one she could be proud of. Sammy birdied the 12th, the 15th, the 16th and the 18th in coming home in two-under-par 36.
Leslie was one of seven players on the 76 mark, the others being Gillian Monteigh (Portpatrick Dunskey, Rachael Watton (Mortonhall), Susan Jackson (Lady bank), Jane Turner (Craigielaw), Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder and Clare-Marie Carlton (Fereneze).

Rachael Watton, 18 years old next month, did amazingly well to salvage a 76 from the ruins of a triple bogey 7 at the very first hole in which she bunkered her approach and then went through the back of the green with her recovery.

Birdies at the ninth, 10th and 13th steadied the ship.

"Playing with players of the class of Laura Murray and Louise Kenney inspired me to playbetter than I otherwise might after standing four over par on the fourth tee," said Rachael.

Jane Turner, playing over her home course - although not the one over which she plays her medal competitions - had a double bogey 6 at the ninth and was one of those who though the pin positions - particularly for so early in the championship week - were "really tough."

But Jane did birdie two of the last three holes to leave the course in a confident frame of mind.

Rachael Taylor eventually made it to Edinburgh around midnight last night after umpteen cancelled flights at Munich Airport because of the volcanic ash from Iceland.

The Scottish professional's daughter, based in Germany with her family since 1992, celebrateds her 18th birthday tomorrow - and a 79 for starters without a practice round since February when she had her only game over the course was quite commendable for someone short on sleep and with her nerve ends a bit frayed.

"I'm counting this as my practice round. I am sure I can do better on Wednsday. My goal is to be one of the four girls chosen for the European Under-18 team championships in July," said Glasgow-born Rachael who stands 6ft in her bare feet.

Dunfermline schoolteacher Louise Kenney (Pitreavie), like Kelsey MacDonald aggrieve d not to make the GB&I squad of eight for the United States next month, ran up a triple bogey 8 on the 12th in a nightmare inward half of 43 on her way to an 81.
Defending champion and Strathclyde University law student Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) did one better than that without achieving a single birdie in two halves of 40 – but she is far from downhearted about her prospects of retaining the title.
“I struck the ball really well but I had a few three putts,” she said.

Honest endeavour medal of the day must go to Fiona Farquharson who, for the past few years, has organised this championship. Late last year she retired so that she could play competitive seniors golf after her 50th birthday.

Today, Fiona, who has been ladies champion of the King James VI club, Perth on umpteen occasions, returned a score of 103. Her inward half of 59 included a 13 at the par-5 16th where she required a few shots to get out of a bunker.

In fact, bunkers were Mrs Farquharson's downfall.

"Every time I landed in one, my ball seemed to be hard up against the face of the bunker. Quite a few times I had to play out sideways," said Fiona.

But is she quitting after being 31 over par for 18 holes? Not a bit of it.

"No way. I am going out again for the second qualifying round," she said, confident of improving her score..
Well done, Fiona, a very capable player whose handicap has gone up to 10 during her years of very little competitive golf while on the SLGA staff.

+There are 32 players at 82 or better after the first qualifying round. Forecast of qualifying mark for the match-play stages? 82 x 2 +1 = 165. Let's see if the old "magic" formula works out!

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