Kimberley Beveridge (Aboyne), Hannah McCook (Abernethy) and Rachel Polson (Peterculter), 3-1-2 in North of Scotland girls championship at Brechin. Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT FOR HANNAH McCOOK IN
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NORTH OF SCOTLAND GIRLS' CHAMPIONSHIP

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Scotland girl international Hannah McCook looked in past the Brechin golf course for a practice round on her way home from the girls home internationals in Northern Ireland the week before last ... a not inconsiderable detour to th east on her way home.
The move paid off today when the 17-year-old from Abernethy Golf Club at Nethy Bridge near Grantown on Spey won the North of Scotland girls title for the second year in a row.
Hannah made hay while the sun shone over the Brechin course with a two-over-par round of 74 to win the title by one shot from Rachel Polson (Peterculter) and Kimberley Beveridge (Aboyne) with another member of the Scotland girls’ team, Ailsa Summers (Carnoustie Ladies) in fourth place.
The field of more than 30 players was the biggest the championship has attracted for a number of years.
In the final analysis it was McCook’s figures over the last six holes that retained the title to add to the Northern Counties girls’ championship she won earlier this season when she was also runner-up in the Paul Lawrie Scottish schoolgirls championship.
Hannah covered holes 13 to 18 in one under par with a birdie 4 at the 16th for an inward half of 36.
Rachel Polson was one over par for the same stretch, having an eagle 3 at the 14th but bogeys at the 15th, 16th and 17th in 38 home.
Kimberley Beveridge, out in day’s best of 35, came home in 40, covering the last six in four over par with a double bogey at the 17th and bogeys at the 13th and 14th.
Elise Henderson (Dunning) won the Jean Law Trophy for the best net return of 69 off a handicap of 24. Fiona Sutherland (Deeside), also a 24-handicapper, had the same score but lost out on a comparison of the players’ last six holes.
SCRATCH TOTALS
Par 72
74 Hannah McCook (Abernethy)
75 Rachel Polson (Peterculter), Kimberley Beveridge (Aboyne).
78 Ailsa Summers (Carnoustie Ladies).
79 Jessica Meek (Carnoustie Ladies), Claire Prouse (Hazlehead).
80 Lauren Duncan (Aboyne), Heather Munro (Monifieth).
81 Sophie Alexander (Deeside), Megan Clyne (Deeside).
82 Elidh Watson (Muckhart).
83 Tegan Seivwright (Deeside).
84 Louise McGillivray (Banchory)
86 Annabelle Brown (Nairn Dunbar), Hannah Robb (Strathmore)..
88 Eleanor Tunn (Reay).
89 Olivia Borwick (McDonald Ellon).
90 Rheanna Thom (Alyth).
92 Becky Flaherty (Banchory).
93 Caroline Campbell (Aberdeen Ladies), Elise Henderson (Dunning), Fiona Sutherland (Deeside), Hannah Bycroft (Alford), Claire Gadsby (Crieff), Gail Wilson (Grange)..
94 Molly Stewart (Murcar Links).
95 Kirsten Pryde (Deeside).
97 Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne), Emma Read (Deeside).
100 Kirsty Brodie (Strathmore).
101 Shannon Mitchell (Ballater).
106 Rosalyn Hall (Alyth).
111 Amy Howes (Blairgowrie).


OVERALL HANDICAP – Elise Henderson (Dunning) (24) (best last six), Fiona Sutherland (Deeside) (24) 69; Caroline Campbell (Aberdeen Ladies) (23) 70.
Class 1 (0 to 6) - Jessica Meek (Carnoustie Ladies) (5) 74; Ailsa Summers (Carnoustie Ladies) (3) 78 (better inward half).
Class 2 (7 to 15) – Heather Munro (Monifieth) (7) (better inward half), Lauren Duncan (Aboyne) (7) 73.
Class 3 (16+) – Molly Stewart (Murcar Links) (23) 71; Becky Flaherty (Banchory) (19) 73.

North of Scotland girls' championship leading handicap prizewinners. Left to right: Fiona Sutherland (Deeside), Elise Henderson (Dunning) and Caroline Campbell (Aberdeen Ladies). Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

Two 17-year-olds contest US women's amateur final

FROM THE USGA WEBSITE
By BETH MURRISON
A pair of 17-year-olds, Danielle Kang of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Jessica Korda of Bradenton, Fla., will vie for the 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship after winning semifinal matches Saturday at the par-72, 6,559-yard Charlotte Country Club, North Carolina.
Kang advanced with a 1-up victory over 19-year-old Jennifer Kirby of Canada. Korda, a member of the victorious 2010 USA Curtis Cup Team, earned her spot in the final with a 4-and-3 win over Stephanie Sherlock, 23, of Canada.
In the first semi-final, Kang held a 3-up lead heading to the 16th tee and seemed to be in control of the match, but Kirby made back-to-back birdies to cut the deficit to 1 down.
It seemed like déjà vu for Kang, who held a 1-up lead after 16 holes over Sydnee Michaels of Temecula, Calif., in the quarterfinals Friday. But Michaels made a long birdie putt to win No. 17 and Kang three-putted No. 18, including a missed 4-footer for par, which allowed Michaels to square the match and force extra holes. Kang won the match on the first extra hole.
Holding a 1-up lead on No. 18 against Kirby, Kang hit her approach shot to 60 feet. She lagged her lengthy birdie putt to 3 feet, giving her a short par putt to win the match on the 18th hole for the second consecutive day.
“It did cross my mind,” said Kang about the previous day’s three-putt. “I told myself yesterday was yesterday. I was pretty confident in my putting today. I just told myself to be confident.”
After Kirby missed her 20-footer for birdie, Kang then calmly made her par putt to halve the hole and seal the victory.
It will be the first USGA championship final for Kang, an experienced USGA competitor who earned stroke-play medalist honors at the Women’s Amateur a year ago and at the U.S. Girls’ Junior last month. Kang, who also made the cut at the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont (Pa.) C.C., doesn’t plan to put any extra pressure on herself in the final.
“I didn’t set any limits before I came here,” said Kang, who graduated high school early and started her freshman year at Pepperdine University in January. “After the U.S. [Women’s] Open, I just told myself to go have some fun. I play golf because I love it, not because of stress. I don’t put a limit or expectations [on myself] anymore. Go play.”
Korda, who will also be playing in a USGA championship final for the first time, got off to a slow start against Sherlock, with a bogey on the first hole.
“I mostly need to get comfortable in my own little zone,” said Korda. “It just takes me a little while to get comfortable. Breathe, and just get used to being out there. Every day’s different. You don’t come out and the course isn’t the same every day.”
She got comfortable quickly, birdieing the second hole to square the match. Korda would take a 2-up lead after bogeys from Sherlock on the fourth and fifth holes and never trail again.
In her first five matches, Korda has only been extended past the 16th hole once, in her quarterfinal match against Lisa McCloskey of Houston, Texas, which went 20 holes. When told she was making things look easy, Korda laughed.
“I’m glad it looks like that,” said Korda, who is now the equivalent of 14 under par (with concessions) through five matches. “It’s tough. Each player’s different. It takes me a little while to figure my opponents out, and just trying to play my own game at the same time is just never easy. I’m glad it looks easy though.”
Like Kang, Korda is an experienced USGA competitor. In addition to the Curtis Cup Match, she was a quarter-finalist at the Women’s Amateur a year ago and has made the cut at two U.S. Women’s Open Championships. She also represented the USA in the Copa de las Americas event this past January in Argentina.
“I’ve been thinking about it all week,” said Korda when asked if she had given any thought to what winning the Women’s Amateur would mean to her. “But I have 36 holes tomorrow. Anything can happen. But it would mean a lot. The Curtis Cup and this is the highest you can go in amateur golf, so this would be amazing.”
Kirby and Sherlock are both Canadian Women’s Amateur champions, Kirby in 2009 and Sherlock in 2007. Although the two came up short in their bids to become the first Canadian to win the Women’s Amateur since 1978, they weren’t entirely disappointed.
“I’m quite pleased,” said Sherlock, who was playing in her third Women’s Amateur. “I’m playing better, finally. I’ve had a tough year. To come here to an important event and play well is huge. I’m excited. I’m looking forward to [LPGA Tour] Q-school this fall and we’ll go from there.
RESULTS
6,559-yard, par-72 Charlotte Country Club:
SEMI-FINALS
Danielle Kang, Thousand Oaks, Calif. (144) def. Jennifer Kirby, Canada (146), 1 hole.
Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla. (144) def. Stephanie Sherlock, Canada (146), 4 and 3

US DURAMED FUTURES TOUR
$100,000 GREATER RICHMOND CLASSIC
Richmond Country Club, Virginia
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72). Yardage: 6,278
T1 Jenny Shin (Torrance, Calif.) 71-67 - 138
T1 Danah Ford Bordner (Indianapolis, Ind.) 69-69 - 138
T1 Amelia Lewis (Jacksonville, Fla.) 68-70 - 138
T1 Jennifer Song (Ann Arbor, Mich.) 68-70 - 138
T1 Stephanie Na (Adelaide, Australia) 68-70 - 138
T1 Melissa Eaton-Jackson (Port Shepstone, South Africa) 67-71 - 138
T1 Reilley Rankin (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) 66-72 - 138
T8 Dori Carter (Valdosta, Ga.) 70-69 - 139
T8 Sarah Brown (Lopatcong, N.J.) 69-70 - 139
T10 Jenny Gleason (Clearwater, Fla.) 72-68 - 140
T10 Angela Oh (Maple Shade, N.J.) 72-68 - 140
T10 Whitney Myers (York, Pa.) 69-71 - 140
T10 Laura Crawford (Lancaster, S.C.) 69-71 - 140
14 Cindy LaCrosse (Tampa, Fla.) 72-69 - 141
Ashley Prange (Noblesville, Ind.) 70-71 - 141
Dewi Claire Schreefel (Diepenveen, Netherlands) 69-72 - 141
17 Eileen Vargas (Ibague, Colombia) 72-70 - 142
Wannasiri Sirisampant (Bangkok, Thailand) 70-72 - 142
Mo Martin (Altadena, Calif.) 70-72 - 142
Kristin Ingram (Pasadena, Calif.) 70-72 - 142
Kendall Dye (Edmond, Okla.) 73-69 - 142
Kylene Pulley (Kokomo, Ind.) 73-69 - 142
23 Sophia Sheridan (Guadalajara, Mexico) 74-69 - 143
Lisa Meldrum (Montreal, Quebec) 72-71 - 143
Kitty Hwang (Guayaquil, Ecuador) 72-71 - 143
Lauren Hunt (Little River, S.C.) 71-72 - 143
Whitney Wade (Glasgow, Ky.) 72-71 - 143
Blair Lamb (Flat Rock, N.C.) 71-72 - 143
Juli Erekson (Chicopee, Mass.) 71-72 - 143
Kathleen Ekey (Sharon Township, Ohio) 72-71 - 143
Inhong Lim (a) (Seoul, South Korea) 72-71 - 143
Paola Moreno (Cali, Colombia) 72-71 - 143
Christine Song (Fullerton, Calif.) 69-74 - 143
34 Sofie Andersson (Angelholm, Sweden) 72-72 - 144
Veronica Felibert (Caracas, Venezuela) 72-72 - 144
Min Seo Kwak (Seoul, South Korea) 70-74 - 144
Katie Kempter (Albuquerque, N.M.) 70-74 - 144
Lauren Doughtie (Suffolk, Va.) 69-75 - 144
Rachel Bailey (Faulconbridge, Australia) 73-71 - 144
40 Esther Choe (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 74-71 - 145
Caroline Westrup (Ahus, Sweden) 74-71 - 145
Hannah Jun (San Diego, Calif.) 74-71 - 145
Jessi Gebhardt (Chandler, Ariz.) 74-71 - 145
Lucy Nunn (Lawton, Okla.) 72-73 - 145
Hanna Kang (Seoul, South Korea) 72-73 - 145
Katie Miller (Jeannette, Pa.) 72-73 - 145
Selanee Henderson (Apple Valley, Calif.) 72-73 - 145
Erica Moston (Belmont, Calif.) 70-75 - 145
Nicole Jeray (Berwyn, Ill.) 72-73 - 145
Leanne Bowditch (Queensland, Australia) 73-72 - 145
Michelle Jarman (Wilmington, N.C.) 73-72 - 145
Ayaka Kaneko (Honolulu, Hawaii) 73-72 - 145
Carolina Llano (Medellin, Colombia) 73-72 - 145
Aimee Cho (Orlando, Fla.) 74-71 - 145
55 Nontaya Srisawang (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 76-70 - 146
Tracy Stanford (Midland, Texas) 78-68 - 146
Tzu-Chi Lin (Taichung, Taiwan) 72-74 - 146
Virada Nirapathpongporn (Bangkok, Thailand) 71-75 - 146
Lehua Wise (Kauai, Hawaii) 71-75 - 146
Valentine Derrey (a) (Neuilly Sur Seine, France) 71-75 - 146
Laura Bavaird (Grosse Ile, Mich.) 71-75 - 146
Jasi Acharya (Columbus, Mont.) 72-74 - 146
Tiffany Tavee (Tempe, Ariz.) 72-74 - 146
Bree Arthur (Brisbane, Australia) 73-73 - 146
Seul Ki Park (Northbrook, Ill.) 74-72 - 146
Dolores White (Lakeland, Fla.) 74-72 - 146
67 Tara Goedeken (Dodge City, Kan.) 77-70 - 147
Susan Nam (Edmonton, Alberta) 75-72 - 147
Jane Rah (Torrance, Calif.) 74-73 - 147
Nicole Smith (Riverside, Calif.) 74-73 - 147
Gerina Mendoza (Roswell, N.M.) 72-75 - 147
Tiffany Joh (San Diego, Calif.) 71-76 - 147
Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.) 72-75 - 147
Ryann O'Toole (San Clemente, Calif.) 70-77 - 147
Chelsea Curtis (New Seabury, Mass.) 73-74 - 147
MISSED THE CUT
Lili Alvarez (Durango, Mexico) 76-72 - 148
Lene Krog (Lier, Norway) 76-72 - 148
Briana Vega (Andover, Mass.) 75-73 - 148
Miriam Nagl (Berlin, Germany) 75-73 - 148
Yoora Kim (Seoul, South Korea) 73-75 - 148
Garrett Phillips (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 74-74 - 148
Taryn Durham (Glasgow, Ky.) 77-72 - 149
Lindsey Bergeon (Sarasota, Fla.) 75-74 - 149
Lori Atsedes (Ithaca, N.Y.) 75-74 - 149
Shasta Averyhardt (Flint, Mich.) 74-75 - 149
Malinda Johnson (Eau Claire, Wis.) 74-75 - 149
Jenny Suh (Fairfax, Va.) 74-75 - 149
Dawn Shockley (Estes Park, Colo.) 74-75 - 149
Danielle Downey (Spencerport, N.Y.) 71-78 - 149
Jodi Ewart (North Yorkshire, England) 72-77 - 149
Nannette Hill (Pelham, N.Y.) 76-74 - 150
Perry Swenson Livonius (Charlotte, N.C.) 77-73 - 150
Marlowe Boukis (Lutherville, Md.) 75-75 - 150
Kirby Dreher (Fort St. John, Canada) 75-75 - 150
Cathryn Bristow (Auckland, New Zealand) 78-72 - 150
Kelly Lagedrost (Brooksville, Fla.) 78-72 - 150
Lee Ann Walker (Southport, N.C.) 74-76 - 150
Rachel Larson (Longmont, Colo.) 74-76 - 150
Jenny Lee (Simi Valley, Calif.) 74-76 - 150
Janice Olivencia (Caguas, Puerto Rico) 76-75 - 151
Pornanong Phatlum (Chaiyaphum, Thailand) 76-75 - 151
Jessica Carafiello (Coral Springs, Fla.) 75-76 - 151
Elisa Serramia (Barcelona, Spain) 75-76 - 151
Anna Scott (Consett, England) 75-76 - 151
Emma Jandel (Dayton, Ohio) 72-79 - 151
Marina Choi (Los Angeles, Calif.) 74-77 - 151
Marcela Leon (Monterrey, Mexico) 77-75 - 152
Ai-Chen Kuo (Luzhou City, Taiwan) 76-76 - 152
Jennie Lee (Henderson, Nev.) 77-75 - 152
Jordan Hardy (Sylacauga, Ala.) 76-76 - 152
Pamela Ontiveros (Gomez Palacio, Mexico) 77-75 - 152
Mayule Tomimbang (Kissimmee, Fla.) 78-74 - 152
Jennifer Hong (Granger, Ind.) 75-77 - 152
Jackie Barenborg (Vero Beach, Fla.) 74-78 - 152
Kim Augusta (Rumford, R.I.) 76-77 - 153
Danielle Mills (Pointe-Claire, Quebec) 76-77 - 153
Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz.) 77-76 - 153
Jill Briles-Hinton (Richmond, Va.) 76-77 - 153
Libby Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.) 76-77 - 153
Carrie Riordan (Spring Valley, Ill.) 78-75 - 153
Christina Jones (Jensen Beach, Fla.) 76-78 - 154
Amanda Mathis (Picayune, Miss.) 78-76 - 154
Emma Calderone (Toronto, Ontario) 79-75 - 154
Heather Angell (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 79-75 - 154
Sam White (Potomac, Md.) 80-74 - 154
Jaclyn Burch (Melbourne, Fla.) 80-74 - 154
Gemma Webster (Glasgow, Scotland) 82-72 - 154
Kristen Simpson (Norfolk, Va.) 77-78 - 155
Haley Gildea (East Greenwich, R.I.) 77-78 - 155
Stacey Bieber (Winnipeg, Manitoba) 78-77 - 155
Amanda Costner (Claremore, Okla.) 79-76 - 155
Julia Potter (Granger, Ind.) 80-75 - 155
Sara Ovadia (Santa Barbara, Calif.) 78-78 - 156
Maria Laura Elvira (Buenos Aires, Argentina) 79-77 - 156
Susannah Aboff (Huntington, N.Y.) 79-78 - 157
Jessy Tang (Daytona Beach, Fla.) 79-78 - 157
Amanda Steinhagen (a) (Oak Hill, Va.) 82-75 - 157
Simone DeSouza (Trujillo, Peru) 77-81 - 158
Sofia Gorelik (Tandil, Argentina) 78-80 - 158
Natasha Krishna (Auckland, New Zealand) 79-79 - 158
Maggie Simons (Raleigh, N.C.) 82-79 - 161
Tatiana Gammicchia (a) (Khabarovsk, Russia) 83-80 - 163
Sara Hurwitch (Potomac Falls, Va.) WD
Angela Buzminski (Oshawa, Ontario) WDI