KATY-COME-LATELY MAKES UP FOR LOST TIME WITH £2,225 HAUL FROM
TWO DAYS' PLAY ON PAUL LAWRIE TOUR

 Katy McNicoll, sporting her Royal and Awesome shorts, tees off at the first hole at Deeside today. Picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

 

Katy McNicoll was not able to make her debut on the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Scottish Ladies Open Tour until this week - but she has certainly not taken long to make her mark.

On Monday, she won the £1,000 top prize in the Saltire Energy Classic 1 at Trump International.

And today, she led the way home again in the Saltire Energy Classic 2 at Deeside Golf Club, becoming the first player in the four events so far to return a sub-par score ... a one-under 69 over the Bieldside course which is less than a mile from Paul Lawrie's family home and at the club of which he is an honorary member.

Not only did 24-year-old Katy lift the £850 first prize, she also won the Saltire Energy Championship which rewarded the best aggregates from the Trump-Deeside scores.

McNicoll won the £375 bonus with a 143 aggregate, making a total haul of £2,225 for the two days' golf. Nice work if you can get it!    

First back in the clubhouse at Deeside, Katy's 69 stood unchallenged by anyone in the disappointingly small field of 22 - there were 36 competitors at Trump International on Monday -  and eventually won her the £850 first prize by a four-stroke margin from Pamela Feggans (Doon Valley) whose 73 represented a good score by a player still recovering from a broken toe, an April 1 mishap which has certainly been no joke, keeping her out of golf for most of last monthy

"I think it's more mental than physical now. It's not really painful but 

I get tired and start to feel it over the last few holes. It happened again today but it's getting better," said Pamela who earned £550 for her gritty display.

First off the tee, Katy failed to win the Arnold Clark Aberdeen £20,000 Kia on offer for a hole in one at the 154yd first. In fact, that was one of her few bogey holes. She took three to get down from the edge of the putting surface.

But after that the in-form Carnoustie player - she finished third in a LETAS event in Spain at the end of last week and won her biggest Euros pay-out - soon slipped back into the groove which saw her win at Trump International despite losing two balls over the early holes.

Katy had never even seen the Trump course and her only acquaintance with the Deeside course was as caddie for her professional brother Keir in the Paul Lawrie Invitational last autumn.

 "Maybe I should dispense with playing practice rounds because I seem to get on well enough without them," said Katy with a laugh.

"I drove the ball well at Trump and I drove it again nicely here at Deeside. So I was never in trouble and that makes it a lot easier to score. 

"I'm off to Sweden next for two more LETAS events and I'.m going there full of confidence thanks to these performances on the Paul Lawrie Tour.

"And I will be spreading the word about the Tour over next, trying to persuade more foreign players to support it. The bigger fields we can attract, the bigger the prize funds so we all benefit."

Katy won the £375 first prize in the 36-hole aggregate tournament with a total of 143 - nine shots ahead of Carnoustie teenage amateur Jess Meek who has been the revelation of the first four events on this fledgling Tour for lady pros and single-figure handicap amateurs.

After top-three finishes at Dalmahoy, Ratho Park and Trump International, Jess - she prefers that to "Jessica" - was disappointed with a joint sixth finish at Deeside with a 76, which underlines her expectations now, even in a field of professional opposition.

Meek came closest to winning the Kia car for a hole in one at the first. Her five-iron tee shot into the win came to rest about three feet short of the flagstick and she holed the putt for a birdie 2.

"That was my best shot and my best hole all day," said the 18-year-old who is off to the University of Missouri in August, which means she will not be available to play for Scotland in the Women's Home Internationals at Scotscraig from September 11 to 13.  

"I played 18 holes at Trump International with the same ball on Monday and here I go and lose one in a water hazard at Deeside."

Lisa Ball (Matfen Hall) from the North-east of England maintained the consistently good showing by amateurs on the PLGC SLOT by finishing third at Deeside with a 74 which earned her a £400 prize voucher.

West Kilbride-based, English-born pro Lisa Shervill (2 do sport) and Heather MacRae (Gleneagles Hotel) sparked each other off over the inward half to tie for fourth place and win £325 each. Lisa, who is off soon to America in a bid to qualify for the US Womenh's Open, came home in 35 for a 75, while Heather's 33 for the back nine was the best by anyone.

Heather, with Tartan Tour pro Chris Kelly as her caddie, drove the green at the 277yd hole and downed the putt for an eagle 2.
 Some twenty minutes earlier Gemma Webster had done exactly the same thing on her way to an 80.

Martine Pow, former Scottish women's amateur champion who turned pro simply to play on the Paul Lawrie Tour, had her best finish yet. She scored a 76 to tie for sixth place with Jess Meek and pro Julie Forbes who works in the Murcar Links pro's shop of her brother Gary after spending several years in Ireland.

"I'm getting the hang of it. Playing with the pros made me nervous at first but I'm beginning to settle," said Martine who runs a scaffolding business in Selkirk.

Pity for Martine that the PLGC SLOT now takes a break until early July when there will be four events squeezed into a couple of weeks.

The Angus double-header is next on the agenda - Downfield GC (Duhndee) on July 3 and Carnoustie Burnside on July 3, followed by the Perthshire double-header: Blairgowrie Rosemoount (July11) and Alyth (July 12).   

SCOREBOARD

Par 70 (36-34)

69 Katy McNicoll (Carnoustie) 35-34 (£850)

73 Pamela Feggans (Doon Valley) 39-34 (£550)

74 Lisa Ball (Matfen Hall) (am) 38-36 (£400 value voucher)

75 Lisa Shervill (2 do sport) 40-35, Heather MacRae (Gleneagles Hotel) 42-33 (£325 each)

76 Jess Meek (Carnoustie Ladies) (am) 40-36 (£163 value voucher), Martine Pow (Selkirk) 38-38 (£163), Julie Forbes (Murcar Links) 38-38 (£163)

77 Laura Murray (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) 39-38, Heather Stirling (Dairsie) 39-38 (£75 each)

79 Michele Thomson (Ellon) 40-39 (£60)

80 Gemma Webster (Elie Sports Club) 42-38 (£50)

81 Nichola Ferguson (Milngavie) (am) 41-40, Meg Seivwright (Keith) (am) 41-40.

83 Laura Harvey (Yorkshire) 43-40, Karyn Burns (Glasgow Golf Centre) 42-41, Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) (am) 43-40

84 Daisy Dyer (Chigwell) 44-40

85 Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne) (am) 45-40, Kimberley Beveridge (Aboyne) 43-42.

87 Kelly Guthrie (Oldmeldrum) (am) 43-44

NR Cara Thompson (Royal Dornoch) (am)

SALTIRE ENERGY CHAMPIONSHIP

LEADING AGGREGATE SCORES:

 Trump International and Deeside

143 Katy McNicoll (Carnoustie) 74 69 (£375).

152 Jess Meek (Carnoustie Ladies) (am) 76 76 (£275 voucher value)

154 Heather MacRae (Gleneagles Hotel) 79 75 (£225).

155 Heather Stirling (Dairsie) 78 77, Lisa Shervill (2 do sport) 80 75 (£97 each).

156 Pamela Feggans (Doon Valley) 83 73  (£70)

158 Laura Murray (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) 81 77 (£50) Lisa Ball (Matfen Hall) (am) 84-74 (£50 voucher value). 

163 Martine Pow (Selkirk) 87 76.

164 Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne) (am) 79 85.

165 Gemma Webster (Elie SC) 85 80, Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) (am) 82 83.

166 Michele Thomson (Ellon) 87 79.

169 Nicholas Ferguson (Milngavie) (am) 88 81.

171 Daisy Dyer (Chigwell) 87 84.

172 Laura Harvey (Yorkshire) 89 83.

176 Karyn Burns (Glasgow Golf Centre) 93 83.

177 Kimberley Beveridge (Aboyne) 92 85.

178 Meg Seivwright (Keith) 97 81.

194 Kelly Guthrie (Oldmeldrum) 107 87.