MIDLOTHIAN PIP ABERDEENSHIRE FOR TITLE ON LONG COUNTBACK

      MIDLOTHIAN, Scottish county champions 2013
 Picture by courtesy of Mary Richardson.

Back row: Zandra Mathieson (Vice Captain), Louise Fraser, Kate McIntosh, Hannah Scott, Emily Dalgetty, Sheila Stuart (Captain)

Front: Karen Marshall, Wendy Nicholson, Gabrielle Macdonald, Rachael Livingstone

 

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Midlothian have regained the Scottish women's county team championship they lost to Angus last year.
Midlothian, Aberdeenshire and Renfrewshire all finished the three-day programme at Stirling Golf Club with two wins and one defeat. Borders, the fourth team, lost all three of their matches.
The first stage of the tie-breaking countback still had Midlothian and Aberdeenshire, who lost their 100 per cent record in a 5-4 defeat by Renfrewshire today, level at 17-10 in a games won-lost comparison. Renfrewshire had a 16-ll record.
From there the countback went to holes-up totals in games won, not halved.
That again failed to separate Midlothian and Aberdeenshire who last won the title at Powfoot in 1986.
The final tie-breaker was a count of the total number of holes played by the respective teams, with victory going to Midlothian who played 252 holes, one fewer than Aberdeenshire.
Personal opinion (of an Aberdonian): If it was that close, could we not have had joint champions?
If you can have stars in what was essentially a team championship, then young Emily Dalgetty and Kate McIntosh certainly lit up the Midlothian title-winning performance with five wins out of six apiece.
Only one other player in the tournament, Katrina Milne, a former Fife county player making a county comeback as a Renfrewshire player after years of an absence, scored five wins out of six.
Aberdeenshire's leading points earners were county champion Sammy Leslie and former county champion Sara Mathieson, each with 4pt out of six.
Tops for Renfrewshire was the aforementioned Katrina Milne, followed by Scottish champion Alyson McKechin with 4 1/2pt out of six and past champion Megan Briggs with 4pt from six.
Danni Ker was best for Borders with two wins.

SUNDAY RESULTS

MIDLOTHIAN 8, BORDERS 1

FOURSOMES (2-1)
Emily Dalgetty and Kate McIntosh lost to Tara Mactaggart and Danni Ker 4 and 3.
Wendy Nicholson and Rachael Livingstone bt Sharon Patterson and Gillian Oliver 7 and 6.
Gabrielle Macdonald and Louise Fraser bt Isla Craigie and Julie Birdsall 2 and 1.

SINGLES (6-0)
Macdonald bt Mactaggart 2 holes.
Livingstone bt Ker 2 and 1.
Dalgetty bt Oliver 7 and 6.
McIntosh bt Birdsall 5 and 4.
Nicholson bt Leanne Wilson 6 and 4.
Karen Marshall bt Craigie 1 hole

RENFREWSHIRE 5, ABERDEENSHIRE 4

FOURSOMES (2-1)
Megan Briggs and Carol Whyte lost to Sammy Leslie and Shannon McWilliam 2 and 1.
Donna Jackson and Liz Stewart bt Carol Wilson and Sara Mathieson 3 and 2.
Alyson McKechin and Katrina Milne bt Sheena Wood and Donna Pocock 2 and 1.
SINGLES (3-3)
Briggs bt Leslie 6 and 4.
McKechin halved with Wilson.
Milne bt Kimberley Beveridge 2 holes.
Jackson lost to Wood 1 hole.
Whyte halved with McWilliam
Gillian Kyle lost to Mathieson 3 and 2.

HOW THEY FINISHED
1 Midlothian 4pt 17-10 in games won-lost
+Midlothian won title by having played the least number of holes,252 to Aberdeenshire's 253.
2 Aberdeenshire 4pt 17-10 in games won-lost
3 Renfrewshire 4pt 16-11 in games won-lost.
4 Borders 0pt.