CARLY BOOTH, NOW IN SPAIN, OUT TO SCORE BACK-TO-BACK WINS

CARLY BOOTH driving on in Spain for a second win in a week (Image by courtesy of the Ladies European Tour website).

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Colin@scottishgolfview.com

It's been a great and encouraging past few days for young Scottish golf professionals.

First Carly Booth from Comrie, Perthshire scored her first win as a pro in the Dinard Ladies Open in France at the weekend.

Then Aberdeen rookie David Law followed her example in Morocco's Dar Es Salam Open on Tuesday (Carly Booth's father Wally, by the way, apart from being a former Empire (Commonwealth) Games silver medallist as a wrestler,is an Aberdonian).

Carly, still only 19 but hitting the golf headlines since age of eight when she had 20 of a handicap, is bidding to make it two wins in a row in Spain this week when she plays in the Banesto Tour's event in Zaragoza.

This 54-hole tournament, teeing off  at Club de Golf La Peñaza tomorrow, is making its debut on the LET Access Series schedule and Booth is looking to make it two wins out in as many appearances on the Ladies European Tour's developmental circuit this month.

“I’m feeling confident and looking forward to it,” said Booth who flew back home to Scotland on Sunday. “After my win, I was only home for seven hours and then back to the airport but if I have two wins then I’ll definitely celebrate!”

When she got to Zaragoza in North-east Spain, Carly was surprised at the strength of the wind, even by Scottish standards. In fact the prevailing northerly wind in these parts has a name of its own - the Cierzo.

“It’s very, very, very windy, almost every day. I like the wind. I'm used to it being brought up in Scotland but this is extremely windy! And it’s quite cold but the course looks good.”

Booth is playing in these two developmenatal tour events to tune up her game for the 2012 Ladies European Tour, which resumes with the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open presented by EventScotland at Archerfield Links, East Lothian from May 3 to 5.

On the LET, she holds the first card in category 9B, for positions 31-50 from Qualifying School, which means that she will get into not all most of the tournaments.

She said: “I’m just playing in these two developmental events to fill the gap because I’ll have a pretty full schedule on the LET.”

Should she have a chance to challenge for the LET Access Series order of merit title, then she may step down to play in a few more of its events later in the season, but said: “It just depends how I do on the actual tour this year.”

Carly is among a strong field of 87 players from 21 different countries competing for a prize fund of €20,000. Booth is one of six Scots teeing it up at Zaragoza. The others are Katy McNicoll (Carnoustie), who finished joint third behind Booth in France at the weekend, Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle), Heather MacRae (Gleneagles), Pamela Feggans (Ayrshire) and Glasgow's Gemma Webster.

The par 72 Club de Golf La Peñaza was designed by F W Hawtree and opened in 1973. The greens were re-designed by I G D (Jose Maria Olazabal) in 1999.

The course’s main defence is the prevailing northerly wind, known as the ‘Cierzo’ which makes the course challenging to even elite players.