PRETSWELL PULL-OUT IS MAJOR BLOW TO SCOTS HOPES AT CARNOUSTIE

By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com Scotland's hopes of providing a home winner of next week's British women's open amateur golf championship at Carnoustie have been dealt a body blow with the withdrawal of Curtis Cup Scot Pamela Pretswell The 23-year-old from Hamilton, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency in action in the Curtis Cup singles, said today: "I unfortunately picked up a vomiting bug on the Monday night at Nairn before the Curtis Cup match began. "I had to stay in bed on the Tuesday and only played nine holes on the Wednesday. I have sadly not yet really fully recovered from this bug. It has not been nice at all. I have only just started eating full meals again. I hardly ate during the Curtis Cup, which was not exactly the best preparation. "So I am really disappointed that I do not feel I am well enough again yet to play in the 'British.' I was especially looking forward to this year as it is at Carnoustie - one of my favourite courses after playing it in the Ricoh Women's British Open there last year." The last Scottish player to win the Ladies British open amateur championship was Alison (Rose) Davidson in 1997 when the event was played at a Scottish venue - Cruden Bay. Alison from Stirling beat fellow Scot Mhairi McKay by 4 and 3 in the final. The only Scot to have reached the final since then is Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) who lost to Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale) by 2 and 1 in the 2010 championship match at Ganton, Yorkshire.  The other seven members of the winning GB and I team at Nairn will be in the highest quality field of 144 - new English champion Kelly Tidy, Leona Maguire, who earlier this week won the Irish close women's amateur championship for a second time, Stephanie Meadow, who was beaten finalist at Co Lough, Amy Boulden, Holly Clyburn, Bronte Law and Charley Hull. Charley Hull, only 16, is the highest World Ranked player in the field. She is No 5. The defending champion, Lauren Taylor (Woburn) from Rugby is now 17. Twelve months ago at Royal Portrush, Lauren became the youngest ever winner of the title, first contested in 1893. Lauren later was voted the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. It all went sour for Lauren when she turned up for the Curtis Cup trial at Nairn in March, nursing a shoulder/neck injury which had put her on the sidelines for two or three weeks.  Ironically, it had been caused by playing too much golf! She was unable to play in the trial and, despite her assurances that she would be 100 per cent fit by the June 8-10 match against the Americans - which she was - the LGU Selection Panei decided that Taylor's fitness was too big a risk and did not even name her as a reserve. To find the last time a GB and I team went into a Curtis Cup match without a reigning British champion who was eligible to play, you would have to go back to Emma Dugglebey in the 1990s. So Lauren Taylor will certainly not lack motivation when she tees it up at Carnoustie next week. She has a point to prove.