PAMELA PRETSWELL WINS PRO EVENT IN SWEDEN

Curtis Cup amateur Pamela Pretswell more than justified her decision not to play in this week's Scottish women's amateur championship at Tain by winning the Ljungbyheds Park Women's Open, a Ladies European Tour developmental circuit 54-hole event in Sweden today . The Hamilton-based, 22-year-old Bothwell Castle GC member is playing with and amongst female professionals on a regular basis with the objective of raising her game to the standard required to gain pass marks at the LET Qualifying School next January. Pamela, who will be playing for GB and I against the United States in next month's Curtis Cup match at The Nairn, failed to make it at this year's Q School. She shot rounds of 73, 72 and a great final score of four-under-par 67 for a one-under-par total of 212 and a two-stroke victory in Sweden. Swedish amateur Isabella Deilert (69-73-72) finished second on 214. Carnoustie's Kate McNicoll finished joint 31 on 10-over-par 223 with scores of 72-78-73. Ayrshire's Pamela Feggans totalled 226 for 38th place with scores of 74-76-77. It's been a good week for the selectors of the GB and I Curtis Cup team. On Thursday, Kelly Tidy, one of their team of eight, won the English women's amateur championship. Now Pretswell has endorsed her selection too. +The last Scottish female amateur to win a professional event was Gillian Stewart from Inverness. Soon after being left out of the GB and I team for a Curtis Cup match at Muirfield, Gillian turned pro and soon became a successful competitor on the forerunner of what is now the Ladies European Tour KIRKWOODGOLF SENT A MESSAGE OF CONGRATULATIONS ON BEHALF OF EVERYONE AT THE "SCOTTISH" AT TAIN. HERE IS PAMELA PRETSWELL'S REPLY: Thank you Colin, it has been a great couple of weeks in Sweden. Very happy. I have moved up to 2nd in the Order of merit which is a great bonus. Head to Kiev tomorrow for the next event then home for a few days before heading up north to meet Team GB&I I would have won just over €5000 if I had been a pro. Should be a good final tomorrow at Tain, hope the weather is ok - it has been very windy and cold in Sweden, feels just like home! Thanks, Pamela SCROLL DOWN FOR THE LETAS WEBSITE REPORT LJUNGBYHED PARKS WOMEN'S OPEN Ljungbyheds GC, Sweden LEADING FINAL TOTALS Par 213 (3x71) 212 Pamela Pretswell (Sco) (am) 73 72 67. 214 Isabella Deilert (Swe) (am) 69 73 72 216 Linnea Strom (Swe) (am) 77 71 68, Nanna Koertz Madsen (Den) 73 74 69. SELECTED TOTALS 219 Tara Delaney (Ire) 72 76 71 (T10) 222 Rachel Bell (Eng) 71 78 73, Anna Scott (En) 75 71 76 (T26) 223 Katy McNicoll (Sco) 72 78 73 (T31) 226 Pamela Feggans (Sco) 74 76 77 (38th).

Pamela first amateur winner on LETAS Tour

FROM THE LETAS WEBSITE
With her victory, Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle Golf Club) became the first amateur to win an event on the Ladies European Tour Access Series since the tour was launched in 2010.
She will now leap from 23^rd position to second place on the LETAS order of merit, from which the top three players will automatically qualify to play on the Ladies European Tour in 2013 at the end of the year.
All of the top four places were taken by amateur competitors. Sweden’s Isabella Deilbert was second on one over par after rounds of 69, 73 and 72, followed by fellow Swede Linnea Ström and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen two strokes further back in a share of third.  
Mary Mattson of the United States and Swedish duo Emma Nilsson and Anna Dahlberg Söderström ended in share of fifth place on four over par.
Because of her amateur status, Pretswell won’t earn the €5,062 first prize money. The first and second place prize money of €2,374 will be shared between Mattson and Dahlberg Söderström, the leading professionals.
The 2010 British Strokeplay champion Pretswell rated the victory as the highlight of her career.  
“It’s massive for me and definitely my biggest achievement,” she said after her win.
“I’m thinking about turning professional and will go back to Qualifying School in January if I don’t qualify through the Access Series.
“I’m really happy because I’ve been learning a lot on tour and I’m looking forward to the next tournament. I’ve really seen the importance of how good every shot must be and you’ve to play really well.”  
Pretswell represented Scotland and Great Britain in tennis from the age of five to 14 before turning to golf. She said: “I just got tired of playing tennis and wanted to try something different.”
She felt at home playing in cloudy and windy conditions in southern Sweden, which she considered similar to those in western Scotland and made a brilliant start with a pair of opening birdies. She then made a 15 foot birdie putt at the fourth to get to three under par for the round.
After holing a ten-footer for birdie at the eighth and making a good up and down at the ninth, she recorded an outward total of four under par 31.
A pair of birdies at the 10^th and 12^th was followed by bogeys on the closing two holes and a level par inward nine was good enough to secure the win.  
Pretswell said that there would be no time for celebrations as she was heading straight to Ukraine for the GolfStream Ladies Open taking place from May 22-24 at Kiev Golf Club.
She said: “I’m looking forward to playing in more Access Series events. I’ve learned from the other girls and it’s really rubbing off on me.”