Martine Pow (Selkirk), champion at Dunbar in 2006 and now leading qualifier in 2010 championship at Craigielaw (Cal Carson Golf Agency images).
MARTINE POW (45) EARNS TOP
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SEEDING AT SCOTTISH WOMEN’S
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CHAMPIONSHIP
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Four years after she won the title at Dunbar, 45-year-old Martine Pow from Selkirk is back in the limelight at the Scottish women’s amateur golf championship over the Craigielaw links.
On a hot, summer-like day when kinder pin placings produced a general improvement in the scoring, Martine shot a second-round, three-under-par 70 for a two-under qualifying aggregate of 144 – one shot ahead of joint overnight leader Laura Murray (Alford), 73 for 145, with another North-east player, teenager Sammy Leslie, the third best qualifier with a 72 for 148.
“Of all the 32 qualifiers, I am the one under the least pressure,” said Martine. “I am one of the selectors of the Scotland team so I know I’m not going to be in it. I can go out and enjoy myself.
“Can I win the title? It’s all a matter of fate. If it’s kind to me, yes, I can be champion again but if it’s not, then I won’t. I wouldn’t say it doesn’t matter to me because, of course, I am proud to have been champion but it’s not a matter of life or death for me,” said the health and safety officer whose home course is a heathland nine-holer.
“I’m as good a player as I was in 2006 when I beat Anne Laing in the final and changing back to my two-ball putter has made a huge difference to my game this week. I single-putted the first seven greens for that 70, so that shows how well I’m holing out.”
Laura Murray, probably playing in her last Scottish championship as she plans to turn pro, impressed playing partner Martine Pow with her driving – “She fairly gives it a whack off the tee.”
The Alford international, with her mother pulling her trolley, birdied three of the last six holes, two of them par-5s, on her way to a 72 to be the No 2 seed, in theory seeded to meet Pow in Saturday morning’s final.
For 18-year-old Sammy Leslie, who helps to finance her golfing trips by working as a part-time barmaid at her home club , Westhill, just outside Aberdeen, everything is coming up roses.
A week or two ago, she won the Aberdeenshire women’s county championship after being two down with two to play in the final. Now she has strung together rounds of 76 and 72 to be the third best qualifier on 148.
Leslie, a Scotland girl international, has kept any major disasters off her card over the 36 hole card-and-pencil test, which is probably the secret of her sustained improvement over the last few weeks.
The best score of the day was a four-under-par 69 by 26-year-old Dunfermline nursery school teacher Louise Kenney who went against convention by wearing a new pair of golf shoes for a competitive round – and felt more relaxed than she has ever done on a golf course.
“It’s the same kind of tennis-style trainers that Fred Couples wore in the Masters this year. They are terrific. They felt like I was playing golf in my slippers. I’m keeping them on for the rest of the championship,” said Louise who had a flawless round which was 12 shots better than the trauma of her Tuesday score of 81.
Also on the 150 mark were Germany-based professional’s daughter Rachael Taylor, who survived several volcanic-ash cancellation of several flights from Munich to Airport to make it to Scotland just before midnight on Monday.
Glasgow-born Rachael celebrated her 18th birthday (pictured above with a cake presented by SLGA officials) by holing some monster putts on her wayto a two-under-par 71, an eight-shot improvement which she put down to “a good night’s sleep for a change!”
A birdie-birdie-birdie finish doubled her haul of sub-par figures to six for the round.
And yet another teenager made it on 150 – Rachel Watton (Mortonhall) who had new Scottish boys champion Grant Forrest caddieing for her as she added a 74 to her opening 76.
Megan Briggs, the defending champion from Kilmacolm, made it through to the match-play safely enough with a 75 for 155, the same total as Scottish Under-21 champion Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) who required three shots to get out of a steep-sided bunker to run up a quadruple bogey 8 at the seventh on her way to a second-round 80.
It was also a trying day for East of Scotland girls champion Rachel Hanlon (St Andrews) who had shared the lead on 73 with Laura Murray overnight.
Rachel had an 82 for 155, enduring back-to-back double bogey 6s at the 14th and 15th in 43 shots for the inward half.
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Four years after she won the title at Dunbar, 45-year-old Martine Pow from Selkirk is back in the limelight at the Scottish women’s amateur golf championship over the Craigielaw links.
On a hot, summer-like day when kinder pin placings produced a general improvement in the scoring, Martine shot a second-round, three-under-par 70 for a two-under qualifying aggregate of 144 – one shot ahead of joint overnight leader Laura Murray (Alford), 73 for 145, with another North-east player, teenager Sammy Leslie, the third best qualifier with a 72 for 148.
“Of all the 32 qualifiers, I am the one under the least pressure,” said Martine. “I am one of the selectors of the Scotland team so I know I’m not going to be in it. I can go out and enjoy myself.
“Can I win the title? It’s all a matter of fate. If it’s kind to me, yes, I can be champion again but if it’s not, then I won’t. I wouldn’t say it doesn’t matter to me because, of course, I am proud to have been champion but it’s not a matter of life or death for me,” said the health and safety officer whose home course is a heathland nine-holer.
“I’m as good a player as I was in 2006 when I beat Anne Laing in the final and changing back to my two-ball putter has made a huge difference to my game this week. I single-putted the first seven greens for that 70, so that shows how well I’m holing out.”
Laura Murray, probably playing in her last Scottish championship as she plans to turn pro, impressed playing partner Martine Pow with her driving – “She fairly gives it a whack off the tee.”
The Alford international, with her mother pulling her trolley, birdied three of the last six holes, two of them par-5s, on her way to a 72 to be the No 2 seed, in theory seeded to meet Pow in Saturday morning’s final.
For 18-year-old Sammy Leslie, who helps to finance her golfing trips by working as a part-time barmaid at her home club , Westhill, just outside Aberdeen, everything is coming up roses.
A week or two ago, she won the Aberdeenshire women’s county championship after being two down with two to play in the final. Now she has strung together rounds of 76 and 72 to be the third best qualifier on 148.
Leslie, a Scotland girl international, has kept any major disasters off her card over the 36 hole card-and-pencil test, which is probably the secret of her sustained improvement over the last few weeks.
The best score of the day was a four-under-par 69 by 26-year-old Dunfermline nursery school teacher Louise Kenney who went against convention by wearing a new pair of golf shoes for a competitive round – and felt more relaxed than she has ever done on a golf course.
“It’s the same kind of tennis-style trainers that Fred Couples wore in the Masters this year. They are terrific. They felt like I was playing golf in my slippers. I’m keeping them on for the rest of the championship,” said Louise who had a flawless round which was 12 shots better than the trauma of her Tuesday score of 81.
Also on the 150 mark were Germany-based professional’s daughter Rachael Taylor, who survived several volcanic-ash cancellation of several flights from Munich to Airport to make it to Scotland just before midnight on Monday.
Glasgow-born Rachael celebrated her 18th birthday (pictured above with a cake presented by SLGA officials) by holing some monster putts on her wayto a two-under-par 71, an eight-shot improvement which she put down to “a good night’s sleep for a change!”
A birdie-birdie-birdie finish doubled her haul of sub-par figures to six for the round.
And yet another teenager made it on 150 – Rachel Watton (Mortonhall) who had new Scottish boys champion Grant Forrest caddieing for her as she added a 74 to her opening 76.
Megan Briggs, the defending champion from Kilmacolm, made it through to the match-play safely enough with a 75 for 155, the same total as Scottish Under-21 champion Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) who required three shots to get out of a steep-sided bunker to run up a quadruple bogey 8 at the seventh on her way to a second-round 80.
It was also a trying day for East of Scotland girls champion Rachel Hanlon (St Andrews) who had shared the lead on 73 with Laura Murray overnight.
Rachel had an 82 for 155, enduring back-to-back double bogey 6s at the 14th and 15th in 43 shots for the inward half.
But the St Regulus youngster soon forgot her Wednesday woes as she collected a load of trophies at the evening's stroke-play qualifying presentation of prizes in the clubhouse.
There was a play-off between the four players on 163 to produce the final two players for the match-play stages. Fiona Gilbert (Carnoustie) and Alyson McKechin (Elderslie) made it through at the first extra hole. Angus champion Ailsa Summers (Carnoustie) and Clara Young (North Berwick) were eliminated.
There was a play-off between the four players on 163 to produce the final two players for the match-play stages. Fiona Gilbert (Carnoustie) and Alyson McKechin (Elderslie) made it through at the first extra hole. Angus champion Ailsa Summers (Carnoustie) and Clara Young (North Berwick) were eliminated.
The action is now over for Ailsa and Clara. They go into the Clark Rosebowl ... and Ailsa could meet her mother Mary - many times Angus county champion, as Ailsa is, and a former beaten finalist in the British girls championship when it was played at Edzell a few years ago - in the second round if they win their first-round ties.
Labels: Amateur Ladies
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