CLARA YOUNG REGAINS EAST LOTHIAN TITLE

   

            
  Clara Young and Dianne Brown

Clara Young  (North Berwick) today  regained the East Lothian women's county championship she first won as a record-setting 15-year-old. She beat Jane Herd (Musselburgh) by 7 and 5 in the final, never having had to play from the 14th onwards in any of her match-play ties at Luffness New Golf Club.
Clara was level par for the first seven holes against Jane, at the end of which she had a commanding lead of six holes.

RESULTS
 
Semi-finals - Jane Herd (Musselburgh) bt Mary-Lou Watkins (Gullane) 7 and 6, Clara Young (North Berwick) bt Sue Penman

(Gullane) 7 and 6.

Final - Young bt Herd 7 and 5.

HANDICAP FINAL 

Dianne Brown (Renaissance) bt Anne Blundell (Musselburgh) 3 and 1.

THE FULL REPORT FROM EAST LOTHIAN
LCGA CAPTAIN DAWN YOUNG:

The  second day’s play of ELLCGA Championships started in superb weather with sun and a gentle breeze. The course was again in fabulous condition with superb true greens getting speedier by the hour!

In the first semi final, Mary-Lou Watkins (Gullane), not firing her usual game, received no mercy from Jane Herd (Musselburgh) who seemed to do very little wrong. The match concluded on the 12^th with Herd winning 7 and 6. In the second semi a similar story was unfolding and Sue Penman (Gullane) lost on the 13^th to Clara Young (North Berwick) 7 and 5.

The Handicap Quaich Final was taking place at the same time as the semi’s and this was a tight affair between Anne Blundell (Musselburgh) and Dianne Brown (Rennaisance). Blundell fought hard to keep Brown at bay but Brown was too steady. The match ended on the 17^th with Brown clinching a 3 and 1 victory.

After a tasty lunch, the finalists Jane Herd and Clara Young prepared for battle as the wind started to stiffen. The good weather produced a healthy crowd of spectators who would be rewarded with some great golf to watch.

Young was level par after seven holes to take a commanding lead of six up. A lost ball for Young down the left side of the  eighth saw her sprint back up the hill to play 3 off the tee. With Herd sitting nicely positioned on the green in 2 the hole was conceded to take the score back to five up. 

Herd lost the  ninth due to a wayward tee shot but halved the par 3 10^th and won the 11^th by holing a good 15ft putt to get back to five down. 

A bunkered tee shot saw Herd lose the 12^th to go back to six down. Young nailed her tee shot on the 301 yd, par 4, 13^th to sit on the back edge of the green and Herd was unfortunate to find sand with a good drive and would take 3 to find the green. 

The match was conceded when Young putted down the green dead to the hole for her first birdie of the round and clinch a 7 and 5 victory. Young’s record of not playing holes 14 to 18 during the match play stages was still intact.

All matches were played in a good friendly spirit and some excellent golf was displayed throughout the 2 match play days.

The day came to a close with an open air prize giving and a presentation of an engraved decanter to Luffness New Golf Club from ELLCGA in gratitude of a unique occasion.