PAMELA PRETSWELL FINISHES THIRD IN WINDY UKRAINE

Pamela Pretswell's hopes of back-to-back wins playing as an amateur on a developmental pro tour were blown away by a 30mph north-easterly wind at Kiev Golf Club in the Ukraine today. The 23-year-old Bothwell Castle GC member from Hamilton had a third and final round of five-over 77 - which was just about par in the conditions - for a final total of six-over 222 which earned her third place in the Golf Stream Women's Open, one of the Ladies European Tour's Access Series events. Pretswell had a double bogey 6 at the third and dropped another shot at the fourth but the real killer to her hopes was a string of five bogeys in six holes from the eighth to the 13th. But the only Scot in next month's GB and I line-up for the Curtis Cup match at Nairn came back off the ropes to birdie the short 17th and long 18th to grab third place which will help her consolidate second place in the LETAS Order of Merit - the top three at the at the end of the season will gain automatic promotion to the 2013 Ladies European Tour without having to go to Tour School. Winner by four strokes at Kiev was Russian Anastasia Kostina whose two-under-par last round of 70 for a four-stroke win with one-under 215 was a brilliant wind-taming example. She birdied four of the last six holes for an inward half of 32. Gemma Webster from Glasgow finished a creditable ninth on 231 with scores of 77-76-78. Pamela Feggans from Patna, Ayrshire tied for 10th place despite having three 7s on her final card in rounds of 75-74-84 for 233, She required 45 shots to cover the last nine holes. Carnoustie's Katy McNicoll did not cope with the North-east wind as well as might have been expected. She ran up an 11 at the par-5 13th and she also had two 7s in a closing effort of 86 (45-41) for a share of 22nd place on 236. The fifthScot who made the cut, Heather MacRae (Gleneagles) finished 27th on 237 with a final round of 78, her inward half of 41 including a 7 at the 13th. GOLF STREAM WOMEN'S OPEN Kiev Golf Club, Ukraine. LEADING FINAL TOTALS Par 216 (3x72) 215 Anastasia Kostina (Rus) 75 70 70. 219 Benedicte Toumpsin (Bel) 73 68 78. 222 Pamela Pretswell (Sco) 77 68 77 224 Viva Schlasberg (Swe) 71 75 78 226 Rachel Bell (Eng) 74 77 75. SELECTED TOTALS 231 Gemma Webster (Sco) 77 76 78 (9th). 233 Pamela Feggans (Sco) 75 74 84 (T10). 234 Sarah Jones (Wal) 79 78 77 (T13) 235 Danielle McVeigh (Ire) 80 78 77 (T15). 236 Katy McNicoll (Sco) 72 78 86 (T22). 237 Heather MacRae (Sco) 80 79 78 (27th).   ANASTASIA FIRST RUSSIAN TO WIN A   LADIES'EUROPEAN PRO TOURNAMENT    NEWS RELEASE BY THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR By BETHAN CUTLER, LET Media Manager Anastasia Kostina from Russia made history by winning the GolfStream Ladies Open at Kiev Golf Club today. It was the first ever women’s professional golf tournament to be staged in Ukraine. Kostina finished four strokes clear of overnight leader Bénédicte Toumpsin from Belgium by posting a magnificent final round of 70 in tough conditions including high winds of around 30km per hour. Scottish amateur Pamela Pretswell, who won the previous week in Sweden, ended the tournament in third position at six over par. First round leader Viva Schlasberg of Sweden finished fourth on eight over and was followed two strokes further back by England’s Rachel Bell. Kostina, pictured, started the final round four shots behind the overnight leader but was tied for the lead after Toumpsin dropped six shots in the first 12 holes. Kostina then took advantage of her opportunity with a fantastic finish, making four birdies in her last six holes, at the 13th, 15th, 17th and 18th. She said: “The key was to stay out of the rough today. It is very exciting for me because the last couple of years I have been struggling with my drives. “I was surprisingly calm all day. I was talking to myself: ‘When am I going to start getting nervous?’ Bénédicte doubled the tenth hole so I knew I got closer to her. And then I made a birdie and she made a bogey. And then the referee asked our score on 15 and then I realised I was up by two and then I made another birdie. I knew I was close; I just had to play my own game. I just tried to do the best I could with every shot. Surprisingly I wasn't nervous at all.” Kostina had three bogeys against one birdie on the outward nine, with her only birdie on par-three second, where she struck her three-wood to six feet. The momentum swung in her favour from the tough par-five 13th, after she hit her seven-iron to two metres picking up a shot. She then hit her wedge to three metres and rolled in the birdie putt at the par-four 15th. At the par-three 17th, she hit her wedge shot to three metres and made the putt, before finishing in style by sinking a four metre birdie putt at the par-five 18th. Kostina rated the championship golf course at Kiev Golf Club highly and she commented: “It's was of the toughest courses we played this season. It's in great shape and the greens were the best so far. They were not easy to read. It's a fair course, you just have to hit the shots; you can't hit it 50 yards left and still make a par. It punishes you for bad shots.” On account of her victory she will now receive an invitation to play in next week’s Deloitte Ladies Open in Holland as well as the Raiffeisenbank Prague Golf Masters on the Ladies European Tour and said that she was, “So, so excited!” Kostina will not only make history as the first woman professional to win in Ukraine but also as the first Russian winner on either the LET Access Series or main Ladies European Tour. Earlier in the week, she posted on Twitter: ‘So glad @LETAccess has a tournament in Kiev. Can’t wait till the day Russia is hosting a women's event!’ Her victory will undoubtedly inspire other Russian golfers to success and she added: “It's very exciting. I just talked to the Russian coach and she said it is very exciting for the young girls because we have been practicing together all winter and playing together and they know that they play with me; they know how I play. Sometimes they beat me. They know if I can do it then they can do it as well. I think it's good for Russian golf and for Ukrainian golf too, just to have an example.” The LET Access Series will now take a short break before the next event: the Ladies Norwegian Challenge which will take place at Losby Golf Club near Oslo from July 4-6.  ALL THE FINAL TOTALS Par 216 (3x72) 215 Anastasia Kostina (RUS) 75 70 70 219 Benedicte Toumpsin (BEL) 73 68 78 222 Pamela Pretswell (SCO) 77 68 77 224 Viva Schlasberg (SWE) 71 75 78 226 Rachel Bell (ENG) 74 77 75 228 Marion Ricordeau (FRA) 76 72 80 230 Mariana Macias Capuzzi (ESP) 76 74 80, Elina Nummenpaa (FIN) 73 75 82 231 Gemma Webster (SCO) 77 76 78 233 Chiari Brizzolari (ITA) 79 73 81, Eva Steinberger (AUT) 74 79 80, Pamela Feggans (SCO) 75 74 84 234 Ana Larraneta (ESP) 78 79 77, Sarah Jones (WAL) 79 78 77 235 Lien Willems (BEL) 75 84 76, Cecilie Lundgreen (NOR) 77 77 81, Mianne Bagger (DNK) 81 78 76, Julie Tvede (DNK) 81 78 76, Danielle McVeigh (IRL) 80 78 77, Sohvi Harkonen (FIN) 74 77 84, Isabella Ramsay (SWE) 78 79 78 236 Galina Rotmistrova (RUS) 74 84 78, Katy McNicoll (SCO) 72 78 86, Nalini Singh Siwach (IND) 79 79 78, Laurence Herman (BEL) 78 78 80, Marianne Andersson (SWE) 74 77 85 237 Heather MacRae (SCO) 80 79 78 238 Laura Sedda (ITA) 79 77 82 239 Melanie Maetzler (CHE) 76 81 82 240 Matia Maffiuletti (ITA) 81 75 84 243 Sandra Eggermont (NLD) 79 80 84