BIG GUNS JENNY MILNE AND CARA GRUBER MEET IN ELGIN SEMI-FINAL

Defending champion Jenny Milne, playing over her home course at Elgin, knocked out the top seed, Scotland senior international Alison Bartlett (Royal Dornoch) in today's quarter-finals of the Northern Counties women's golf championship. In a gale-force wind, Milne, who also won the title in 2007, beat Bartlett by 5 and 4 and will play three times former champion Cara Gruber (Royal Dornoch) in the first semi-final on Monday morning. When Cara won the Northern title 2008-2009-2010, she beat Jenny in the final of 2009. The other semi-final will between Stirling student Hannah McCook (Grantown on Spey), a Scotland girl international and winner recently of the British Students Tour's women's title, and the player who had to travel farthest to take part at Elgin, Reay youngster Eleanor Tunn. FIRST ROUND Alison Bartlett (Royal Dornoch) bt Annabel Brown (Nairn Dunbar) 6 and 4 Jenny Milne (Elgin) bt Mary Smith (Tain) 1 hole. Louise Marshall (Elgin) bt Christine McAndrew (Nairn Dunbar) 2 hole Cara Gruber (Royal Dornoch) bt Nia Morrison (Carrbridge) 7 and 6 June Nicol (Inverness) bt Shona Leese (Elgin) 1 hole. Hannah McCook (Grantown on Spey) bt Gillian Dowling (Inverness) 9 and 7 Lynne Fraser (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) bt Anne Ryan 2 and 1 Eleanor Tunn (Reay) bt Margot Barr (Gairloch) 6 and 5   QUARTER-FINALS Milne bt Bartlett 5 and 4 Gruber bt Marshall 6 and 5 McCook bt Nicol 4 and 2 Tunn bt Fraser 4 and 3   HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINALS Ella Simpson (Elgin) (15) bt Maureen Walker (Elgin) (18) 3 and 2 Linda Wheeler  (Forres) (16) bt Fiona Macdonald (Royal Dornoch) (20) 1 hole. Marion Kessack (Elgin) (30) bt Pat Morrison (Muir of Ord) (12) 3 and 1 Carrine Taylor (Elgin) (18)  bt Liz Ballantine  (Elgin) (18) 5 and 3  (handicaps in brackets) QUARTER-FINALS