SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIP DOWN TO LAST EIGHT
LAURA MURRAY (Alford)
MEGAN BRIGGS (Kilmacolm)
Megan v Louise quarter-final is repeat
of last year's title showdown
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Alford’s Laura Murray, Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) and Jane Turner (Craigielaw), a student at Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University, give the North and North-east a three-pronged interest in Friday morning's quarter-finals of the 97th Scottish women’s amateur golf championship at the Craigielaw links on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth.
The trio are in the lower half of the draw and, in fact, Laura and Turner cross swords in the last match on the tee.
Paul Lawrie Foundation team member Murray was two under par for her 5 and 3 morning win over Carnoustie’s Fiona Gilbert and again two under the card in winning by 4 and 3 against Rachael McQueen (Troon Ladies) in the second round.
Laura feels her mother Mary is playing a key role in pulling her clubs.
“She would admit that she’s not the greatest of golfers so there’s not much she can help me in that respect out on the course but what she is doing is keeping me calm, keeping me relaxed – and she feeds me well out there!” said the 21-year-old No 2 seed.
“It was just as sunny as it has been almost every day since we arrived in the Lothians but there was a bit more of a wind for the start of the match-play and I like playing in the wind.
“I’m still belting the ball as hard as I can off the tee but today, over the two matches, I felt I putted well, which makes a big difference on these so tricky greens.”
Jane Turner, a 20-year-old student on a graphic design course at RGU, won by 6 and 5 against Gillian Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey) and then by one hole in a tight match against the No 7 qualifier from Ladybank, Susan Jackson.
“I was very disappointed with how I played in the qualifying rounds,” said Jane, “so I gave myself a good talking to, a kind of pep talk to myself and I did go out for the match-play with a different attitude.
“It seemed to work and it needed to in my afternoon match against Susan Jackson. I was one up going into the 12th and I was one down coming off the 14th after two or three loose shots when the concentration just slipped a bit.
“But I almost drove the green for a pitch and putt birdie at the 15th (336yd) and then played a No 9 iron downwind for my second at the long 16th (420yd) to set up back to back birdies. That did the trick. I went from ond down to one up and held that lead through halves over the last two holes.”
Stirling University student Kelsey MacDonald had a 2 and 1 win over Northern Counties team-mate and champion Cara Gruber before KOing the No 3 seed and the new Aberdeenshire champion, Sammy Leslie from Westhill by 4 and 3.
“I’ve come on to a good game here at Craigielaw and I was three under par against Cara and one under against Sammy, two very useful opponents, so I’m really looking forward to playing Rachael Watton from Mortonhall, the No 6 seed, in the quarter-finals,” said Kelsey who had edged into a one-hole lead after eight holes against Leslie before stepping up a gear around the turn to improve her advantage to four holes after 12.
Strathclyde law student Megan Briggs and Dunfermline nursery teacher Louise Kenney will replay last year’s final this morning in one sense although both say that last year’s result, when Megan won the title with a 4 and 3 victory, has no bearing at all on who will be the winner this time round.
Briggs, who has already retained the West of Scotland women’s title this season, snuffed out the challenge of 18-year-old Germany-based professional’s daughter Rachael Taylor by 6 and 5 in the second round, having lost the first hole to a birdie 3 and then won six of the next seven holes to be five up on the ninth tee.
Meanwhile,Kenney booked her place in the round of the last eight with a 4 and 2 win over 18-year-old Sammy Vass from Tain although she felt the course “bit me back” after her superb 69 on Wednesday.
“I had a lot of bad lies and was in quite a few bunkers. I played steady but it wasn’t another 69,” said Louise. “I felt I didn’t do myself justice in last year’s final against Megan Briggs. So this is a chance to prove that.”
Martine Pow, the 45-year-old from Selkirk, is another former national champion in the last eight. The No 1 seed, Martine scraped through at the 19th hole – which she birdied after driving the green at this 291yd hole – against the No 32 qualifier, Alyson McKechin (Elderslie).
But Pow, who did not take up golf until she was 25 – “I used to play hockey” – and was not capped for Scotland until she was 39, got back to the top form of her qualifying-rounds form to win by 7 and 6 in the afternoon against Karen Marshall (Baberton).
Martine has a “tough of the track” image but a heart of gold. Title-winner at Dunbar in 2006, she still refers to the “good players in the field,” as though she did not consider herself one of them – and she is pulling her own clubs. Why? “You can get too much advice sometimes.”
Pow’s next opponent, Clare-Marie Carlton (Fereneze), a 23-year-old from Paisley, is engaged to marry European Challenge Tour professional Callum Macaulay on February 25 next year.
“I’ve played a lot of golf with Callum and I am certainly a better player than I was before I met him. His last words before he set off for Italy were to believe in myself this week,” said Clare-Marie who won a ding-dong struggle with Susan Wood (Drumpellier) by two holes, the only time either player was ever more than one up.
Turner, Briggs, Murray and Kenney all played in last year's quarter-finals at Southerness (Carol Wilson, Elaine Moffat, Lesley Atkins and Kylie Walker were the other four).
In the 2009 semi-finals, Briggs beat Turner at the 19th while Kenney beat Moffat 5 and 4.
It will be interesting to see how tomorrow's matches work out compared with what has gone before.
THURSDAY'S SCOREBOARD
FIRST ROUND
Martine Pow (Selkirk) bt Alyson McKechin (Elderslie) at 19th.
Karen Marshall (Baberton) bt Elaine Moffat (St Regulus) at 19th.
Clare-Marie Carlton (Fereneze( bt Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) 2 holes.
Susan Wood (Drumpellier) bt Ann F Ramsay (Kirriemuir) 2 and 1.
Rachael Taylor (Hartl Golf Resort, Germany) bt Jemma Chalmers (Monifieth) 5 and 4.
Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) bt Jacqueline Sneddon (Alyth) 4 and 3.
Sammy Vass (Tain) bt Claire MacDonald (Gullane) 1 hol.e
Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) bt Kate McIntosh (Broomieknowe) 5 and 3.
Sammy Leslie (Westhill) bt Elaine Cuthill (Lanark) 1 hole.
Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) bt Cara Gruber (Royal Dornoch) 2 and 1.
Wendy Nicholson (Broomieknowe) bt Laura Walker (Muckhart) 4 and 2.
Rachael Watton (Mortonhall) bt Sheila Cuthbertson (Peebles) 7 and 5.
Susan Jackson (Ladybank) bt Noreen Fenton (Dunbar) 2 and 1.
Jane Turner (Craigielaw) bt Gillian Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey) 6 and 5.
Rachel McQueen (Troon Ladies) bt Rachel Hanlon (St Regulus) 2 and 1.
Laura Murray (Alford) bt Fiona Gilbert (Carnoustie) 5 and 3.
SECOND ROUND
Pow bt Marshall 7 and 6.
Carlton bt Wood 2 holes.
Briggs bt Taylor 6 and 5.
Kenney bt Vass 4 and 2.
K MacDonald bt Leslie 4 and 3.
Watton bt Nicholson 3 and 2.
Turner bt Jackson 1 hole.
Murray bt McQueen 4 and 3.
CLARK ROSEBOWL
FIRST ROUND
Ailsa Summers (Carnoustie Ladies) bt Suzanne Ireland (Prestonfield) 8 and 7.
Jill Harrison (Cruden Bay) bt Mary Summers (Carnoustie Ladies) 3 and 1.
Gabrielle MacDonald (Craigielaw) bt Linda Bain (Lochend) 5 and 4.
Carol Wilson (Murcar Links) bt Natasha Qayum (Ranfurly Castle) 2 and 1.
Ailsa Bain (Peebles) bt Louise Fraser (Kingsknowe) 3 and 2.
Jessica Meek (Carnoustie Ladies) bt Linda Caine (Dunbar) at 19th.
Kirsten Blackwood (Craigmillar Park) bt Jill McNicoll (Glenbervie) at 20th.
Clara Young (North Berwick) bt Linda Dyball (Pitreavie) 2 and 1.
QUARTER-FINALS
Ailsa Summers bt Harrison 5 and 4.
Gabrielle MacDonald bt Wilson 5 and 4.
Jessica Meek bt Ailsa Bain 3 and 2.
Clara Young bt Blackwood 1 hole.
of last year's title showdown
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Alford’s Laura Murray, Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) and Jane Turner (Craigielaw), a student at Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University, give the North and North-east a three-pronged interest in Friday morning's quarter-finals of the 97th Scottish women’s amateur golf championship at the Craigielaw links on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth.
The trio are in the lower half of the draw and, in fact, Laura and Turner cross swords in the last match on the tee.
Paul Lawrie Foundation team member Murray was two under par for her 5 and 3 morning win over Carnoustie’s Fiona Gilbert and again two under the card in winning by 4 and 3 against Rachael McQueen (Troon Ladies) in the second round.
Laura feels her mother Mary is playing a key role in pulling her clubs.
“She would admit that she’s not the greatest of golfers so there’s not much she can help me in that respect out on the course but what she is doing is keeping me calm, keeping me relaxed – and she feeds me well out there!” said the 21-year-old No 2 seed.
“It was just as sunny as it has been almost every day since we arrived in the Lothians but there was a bit more of a wind for the start of the match-play and I like playing in the wind.
“I’m still belting the ball as hard as I can off the tee but today, over the two matches, I felt I putted well, which makes a big difference on these so tricky greens.”
Jane Turner, a 20-year-old student on a graphic design course at RGU, won by 6 and 5 against Gillian Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey) and then by one hole in a tight match against the No 7 qualifier from Ladybank, Susan Jackson.
“I was very disappointed with how I played in the qualifying rounds,” said Jane, “so I gave myself a good talking to, a kind of pep talk to myself and I did go out for the match-play with a different attitude.
“It seemed to work and it needed to in my afternoon match against Susan Jackson. I was one up going into the 12th and I was one down coming off the 14th after two or three loose shots when the concentration just slipped a bit.
“But I almost drove the green for a pitch and putt birdie at the 15th (336yd) and then played a No 9 iron downwind for my second at the long 16th (420yd) to set up back to back birdies. That did the trick. I went from ond down to one up and held that lead through halves over the last two holes.”
Stirling University student Kelsey MacDonald had a 2 and 1 win over Northern Counties team-mate and champion Cara Gruber before KOing the No 3 seed and the new Aberdeenshire champion, Sammy Leslie from Westhill by 4 and 3.
“I’ve come on to a good game here at Craigielaw and I was three under par against Cara and one under against Sammy, two very useful opponents, so I’m really looking forward to playing Rachael Watton from Mortonhall, the No 6 seed, in the quarter-finals,” said Kelsey who had edged into a one-hole lead after eight holes against Leslie before stepping up a gear around the turn to improve her advantage to four holes after 12.
Strathclyde law student Megan Briggs and Dunfermline nursery teacher Louise Kenney will replay last year’s final this morning in one sense although both say that last year’s result, when Megan won the title with a 4 and 3 victory, has no bearing at all on who will be the winner this time round.
Briggs, who has already retained the West of Scotland women’s title this season, snuffed out the challenge of 18-year-old Germany-based professional’s daughter Rachael Taylor by 6 and 5 in the second round, having lost the first hole to a birdie 3 and then won six of the next seven holes to be five up on the ninth tee.
Meanwhile,Kenney booked her place in the round of the last eight with a 4 and 2 win over 18-year-old Sammy Vass from Tain although she felt the course “bit me back” after her superb 69 on Wednesday.
“I had a lot of bad lies and was in quite a few bunkers. I played steady but it wasn’t another 69,” said Louise. “I felt I didn’t do myself justice in last year’s final against Megan Briggs. So this is a chance to prove that.”
Martine Pow, the 45-year-old from Selkirk, is another former national champion in the last eight. The No 1 seed, Martine scraped through at the 19th hole – which she birdied after driving the green at this 291yd hole – against the No 32 qualifier, Alyson McKechin (Elderslie).
But Pow, who did not take up golf until she was 25 – “I used to play hockey” – and was not capped for Scotland until she was 39, got back to the top form of her qualifying-rounds form to win by 7 and 6 in the afternoon against Karen Marshall (Baberton).
Martine has a “tough of the track” image but a heart of gold. Title-winner at Dunbar in 2006, she still refers to the “good players in the field,” as though she did not consider herself one of them – and she is pulling her own clubs. Why? “You can get too much advice sometimes.”
Pow’s next opponent, Clare-Marie Carlton (Fereneze), a 23-year-old from Paisley, is engaged to marry European Challenge Tour professional Callum Macaulay on February 25 next year.
“I’ve played a lot of golf with Callum and I am certainly a better player than I was before I met him. His last words before he set off for Italy were to believe in myself this week,” said Clare-Marie who won a ding-dong struggle with Susan Wood (Drumpellier) by two holes, the only time either player was ever more than one up.
Turner, Briggs, Murray and Kenney all played in last year's quarter-finals at Southerness (Carol Wilson, Elaine Moffat, Lesley Atkins and Kylie Walker were the other four).
In the 2009 semi-finals, Briggs beat Turner at the 19th while Kenney beat Moffat 5 and 4.
It will be interesting to see how tomorrow's matches work out compared with what has gone before.
THURSDAY'S SCOREBOARD
FIRST ROUND
Martine Pow (Selkirk) bt Alyson McKechin (Elderslie) at 19th.
Karen Marshall (Baberton) bt Elaine Moffat (St Regulus) at 19th.
Clare-Marie Carlton (Fereneze( bt Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) 2 holes.
Susan Wood (Drumpellier) bt Ann F Ramsay (Kirriemuir) 2 and 1.
Rachael Taylor (Hartl Golf Resort, Germany) bt Jemma Chalmers (Monifieth) 5 and 4.
Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) bt Jacqueline Sneddon (Alyth) 4 and 3.
Sammy Vass (Tain) bt Claire MacDonald (Gullane) 1 hol.e
Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) bt Kate McIntosh (Broomieknowe) 5 and 3.
Sammy Leslie (Westhill) bt Elaine Cuthill (Lanark) 1 hole.
Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) bt Cara Gruber (Royal Dornoch) 2 and 1.
Wendy Nicholson (Broomieknowe) bt Laura Walker (Muckhart) 4 and 2.
Rachael Watton (Mortonhall) bt Sheila Cuthbertson (Peebles) 7 and 5.
Susan Jackson (Ladybank) bt Noreen Fenton (Dunbar) 2 and 1.
Jane Turner (Craigielaw) bt Gillian Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey) 6 and 5.
Rachel McQueen (Troon Ladies) bt Rachel Hanlon (St Regulus) 2 and 1.
Laura Murray (Alford) bt Fiona Gilbert (Carnoustie) 5 and 3.
SECOND ROUND
Pow bt Marshall 7 and 6.
Carlton bt Wood 2 holes.
Briggs bt Taylor 6 and 5.
Kenney bt Vass 4 and 2.
K MacDonald bt Leslie 4 and 3.
Watton bt Nicholson 3 and 2.
Turner bt Jackson 1 hole.
Murray bt McQueen 4 and 3.
CLARK ROSEBOWL
FIRST ROUND
Ailsa Summers (Carnoustie Ladies) bt Suzanne Ireland (Prestonfield) 8 and 7.
Jill Harrison (Cruden Bay) bt Mary Summers (Carnoustie Ladies) 3 and 1.
Gabrielle MacDonald (Craigielaw) bt Linda Bain (Lochend) 5 and 4.
Carol Wilson (Murcar Links) bt Natasha Qayum (Ranfurly Castle) 2 and 1.
Ailsa Bain (Peebles) bt Louise Fraser (Kingsknowe) 3 and 2.
Jessica Meek (Carnoustie Ladies) bt Linda Caine (Dunbar) at 19th.
Kirsten Blackwood (Craigmillar Park) bt Jill McNicoll (Glenbervie) at 20th.
Clara Young (North Berwick) bt Linda Dyball (Pitreavie) 2 and 1.
QUARTER-FINALS
Ailsa Summers bt Harrison 5 and 4.
Gabrielle MacDonald bt Wilson 5 and 4.
Jessica Meek bt Ailsa Bain 3 and 2.
Clara Young bt Blackwood 1 hole.
Labels: Amateur Ladies
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