CARNOUSTIE'S AILSA SUMMERS LEADS ST RULE TROPHY BY THREE WITH A ROUND TO GO

 Tournament leader Ailsa Summers on the first tee at the Old Course

                Picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency

Carnoustie's Ailsa Summers had a stroke shaved off her overnight lead but still has a three-stroke advantage going into the final round over the Old Course, St Andrews in the prestigious 54-hole St Rule Trophy tournament.
The 19-year-old St Andrews student had a four-shot lead on Saturday night after setting a women's course record of eight-under-par 67 over the New Course.
The previous mark of 68 was set in 2003 by Swedish left-hander Karin Borjskog who went on to win the tournament.
Ailsa continued in fine form today when the St Rule Trophy format switched to the Old Course (women's par 76) for the last two rounds.
She shot a four-under-72 to be on the 12-under-par 139 mark after 36 holes.
Ailsa birdied the second, third, fourth and sixth on her way to a flawless four-under 34 to the turn. Birdies were not so freely available coming home, even though the westerly wind was mild by St Andrews standards.
She did birdie the 12th but it was her only sub-par figure after the turn ... and the Road Hole 17th, a par-5 for the ladies, cost her a 6, her only bogey of the round.
But Summers, with her dad Graham as her caddie, will know that a tournament triumph is by no means in the bag.
Her nearest challenger is, on paper, the best player in the field, France's Celine Boutier who is No 22 in the Women's World Amateur Rankings. Celine, beaten in the final of the British girls championship at Gullane two years ago, won the European women's individual amateur title last summer.
She has three shots to make up on Summers after rounds of 73 and 69 for nine-under 142.
Boutier, in fact, would have been even closer to the Scot as she bogeyed the 10th and double-bogeyed the short 11th - three shots dropped over two holes - after plundering five birdies from the Old Course's outward half which she reduced to 33 strokes.
The 10th-11th slips were quickly forgotten by the French ace as she birdied five of the last seven holes for two-under-par 36 home.
In third place on 143 is Belgium's Manon de Roey (72-71) with more Continental players in fourth and fifth place in the shape of Alexandra Bonetti (France), a former British girls champion, on 145 (74-71) and Laure Castelain (France) (72-74) on 146.
The next-best Brits after Ailsa Summer as the start-studded field goes into the final round on a pleasant, sunny day are Bethany Garton (Royal Lytham) and new English champion Sarah-Jane Boyd (Truro), winner of the British women's amateur stroke-play championship in Belfast last autumn.
They are both on 147 alongside another player from the very strong French squad, Manon Gidali, twice a winner on the US college circuit.
Bethany has had rounds of 74-73, Sarah-Jane 75-72.  
The Old Course women's record is 10-under-par 66, set by Germany's Denise Becker when she was runner-up (beaten by eight shots) in 2007 to England's Melissa Reid who set the St Rule Trophy tournament low record of 18-under-par 209 that year.        

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Round 1 - St Andrews New. Yardage 5,992:  Par 75. CSS 75
Round 2 - St Andrews Old. Yardage 6,153: Par  76. CSS 76
Par 151 (75+76). Weather: Mainly sunny and bright.
Light westerly wind (10 to 12mph)

SECOND ROUND COMPLETED

139 Ailsa Summers (Carnoustie Ladies) 67 72.
142 Celine Boutier (France) 73 69.
143 Manon de Roey (Belgium) 72 71.
145 Alexandra Bonetti (France) 74 71.
146 Laure Castelain (France) 72 74.

147 Bethany Garton (Royal Lytham) 74 73, Sarah-Jane Boyd (Truro) 75 72, Manon Gidali (France) 72 75.
148 Emma Goddard (Royal Liverpool) 75 73, Ami Storey (Close House) 71 77.
149 Sinead Sexton (Lahinch) 75 74, Gabrielle Macdonald (Craigielaw) 73 76, Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) 75 74.
150 Nicola Haynes (Gosforth Park) 76 74, Emma Taylor (Saunton) 75 75.
151 Emma Harris (Peel) 78 73, Samantha Fuller (Roehampton) 76 75, Lauren Whyte (St Regulus) 76 75.
153 Lucy Goddard (Mid-Herts) 75 78, Cla Tara Young (North Berwick) 75 78, India Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) 73 80, Brogan Townend (Pleasington) 76 77, Emilee Taylor (Holme Hall) 74 79.
154 Alison Knowles (Hickleton) 77 77, A Provot (France) 77 77, Marion Duvernay (France) 77 77, Joelle van Baarle (Belgium) 78 76, Alyson McKechin (Elderslie) 76 78.
155 Gemma Clews (Delamere Forest) 76 79, Bethany Lou Buchner (US) 79 76.
156 Lianna Bailey (Notts) 80 76, Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) 78 78, Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) 71 85.
157 Amy Farrell (Moate) 76 81, Rachel Woodcock (Woodhall Spa) 82 75, Iona Stephen (Ranfurly Castle) 74 83, Samantha Birks (Llandrindod Wells) 77 80, Jess Wilcox (Blankney) 78 79, Jane Turner (Craigielaw) 81 76.
158 Clara Teixeira (Brazil) 80 78, Gemma Bradbury (Cottrell Park) 76 82, Katie Reid (Monifieth) 77 81, Susan Jackson (Ladybank) 83 75, Charlotte Thompson (Channels) 78 80.
159 Rozalyn Adams (Addington Court) 81 78, Aedin Murphy (Carlow) 78 81, Heather Munro (Monifieth) 75 84, Jessica Meek (Carnoustie Ladies) 84 75, Gemma Batty (St Annes Old Links) 78 81.
160 Cara Thompson (Royal Dornoch) 81 79, Paula Grant (Lisburn) 78 82.
161 Bronwyn Davies (Trentham) 78 83. Lisa Ball (Matfen Hall) 81 80.
162 Kimberley Beveridge (Aboyne) 77 85.
165 Eilidh Watson (Muckhart) 81 84.
166 Lisa Warrilow (Lilleshall Hall) 83 83. 
170 Kathleen Griffith (Australia) 91 79
171 Ivane Helias (France) 87 84 
174 Nathalie Rodrigues da Silva (Brazil) 86 88. 
184 Ann Colligan (US) 96 88
 +Pictured below: Clara Young (North Berwick) driving at first
                             in her final round over the Old Course