CRAIGIELAW PAIR LEAD SCOTS IN BELFAST

By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com Gabrielle Macdonald and Jane Turner headed the 12 Scots at the end of the first round of the 72-hole British women's open amateur stroke-play golf championship at Shandon Park Golf Club, Belfast today. Gabrielle shot a three-over-par 75 and Jane a 76 to be six and seven shots respectively behind the surprise leader, 20-year-old Cornwall county champion Sarah-Jane Boyd whose three-under 69 featured by far the best inward half of the day - five-under-par 30. By comparison, Macdonald came home in 37. Her only birdies came at the seventh and 16th. If Turner can keep double bogeys off her card in the second round she will improve by four shots for starters. She had two double bogeys, making heavy weather of the outward half with 42 to the turn but coming home in one of the better inward halves, 34. Jessica Meek (Carnoustie Ladies) and Nairn Dunbar's Kelsey MacDonald both returned 78s. Meek opened brightly with a birdie at the second but it was a false dawn. She had seven bogeys after that.wb Kelsey took 41 blows to the turn. Kilmacolm's Eilidh Briggs was even worse on the tougher first nine on this woodland course where the wet and lush fairways give virtually no run at all. The LGU composite course (a fair number of men's tees) was playing every inch of its 6,265yd Eilidh was 46 to the turn but she battled on and finished strongly with an inward half of one-under-par 34 for a round of 80. Alyson McKechin (Elderslie) was the third-best Scot on the day with a 77 which included a double bogey 5 at the short eighth on her way to the turn in 41. She came back in 36 with the hel of birdies ath second, sixth and 16th. Clara Young (North Berwick) had an double bogey 5 at the short fifth on her way to an outward half of five-over 42. She managed to break 80 with 37 home for a birdie-less 79. Scottish champion Laura Murray needed 45 shots for the outward half but she came home in 37 for 82 BRITISH WOMEN'S OPEN AMATEUR STROKE-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP Shandon Park GC, Belfast FIRST ROUND Par 72. SS 76 CSS 66 69 Sarah-Jane Boyd (Truro) 70 Amy Boulden (Conwy) 71 Bronte Law (Bramhall). 72 Laura Grant (Lisburn). 74 Alexandra Peters (Notts Ladies), Amber Ratcliffe (Royal Cromer), Sophie Madden (West Essex) 75 Charlotte Thompson (Channels), Becky Harries (Haverfordwest), Gabrielle Macdonald (Craigielaw) 76 Mary Dowling (New Ross), Emily Taylor (Hillside), Shelby Smart (Knowle), Maria Dunne (Skerries), Amy Farrell (Moate), Jing Yan (China), Jane Turner (Craigielaw), Paula Grant (Lisburn) 77 Bethan Popel (Long Ashton), Noora Tamminem (Finland), Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale), Alyson McKechin (Elderslie), Gillian O'Leary (Cork),  Sinead Sexton (Lahinch), Daisy Dyer (Chigwell) 78 Alice Spani-Molella (Royal Mid-Surrey), Jessica Meek (Carnoustie Ladies), Deirdre Smith (Co Louth), Jean O'Driscoll (Muskerry), Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar), Katie Bradbury (Cottrell Park) 79 Nicole Whitmore (Woburn), Kelsey Coey (Clandeboye), Clara Young (North Berwick). 80 Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm). 81 Kerry Smith (Waterlooville), 82 Noelle Beijer (Net), Charlie Field (Bishops Stotford), Louise Mernagh (Woodenbridge), Iona Stephen (Ranfurly Castle), Gillian Brooks (Woking), Olivia Mehaffey (Royal Co Down), Olivia Winning (Rotherham), Charlotte Austwick (Fulford), Laura Murray (Alford). 83 Ailsa Summers (Carnoustie Ladies), Jenny Young (Shandon Park), Jessica Carty (Holywood), Lena Weichselgartner (Ger) 85 Samantha Giles (St Mellion), Hannah McCook (Grantown on Spey), Zoe Allen (Lurgan), Jacqueline Sneddon (Alyth), Gemma Bradbury (Cottrell Park). 86 Anna Courtney (St Anne's) 87 Bhavi Shah (Kenya), Anja Lundberg (Ger), Sara Rees-Evans (Penrhos), Sarah Winter (Royal Belfast). 88 Elizabeth Richards (Hagley) 91 Sheila Quigley (Camberley Heath). NR Helen McCarthy (Shandon Park). +The leading 40 and ties at the end of Thursday's second round will qualify for Friday's third and fourth rounds. INTERNATIONAL TEAM EVENT after one round (best two scores count daily) 145 WALES (A Boulden 70, B Harries 75, G Bradbury 85) 147 ENGLAND (E Taylor 76, B Lawr 71 (C Hull, the third member of the England team withdrew from the tournament before it started). 156 SCOTLAND (J Turner 76, E Briggs 80, L Murray 82)