SPLENDID TROPHY AND £1,200 CHEQUE AWAITS LADY PRO WINNER

PAUL LAWRIE LADIES' OPEN TOUR COMPLETES FIRST SEASON THIS WEEK WITH CHAMPIONSHIP OVER TWO DAYS AT MARRIOTT DALMAHOY

Paul Lawrie and Stewart Spence, pictured at The Marcliffe Hotel, 
Aberdeen today with the splendid new trophy which will be awarded for the winner of the Tour Championship on Friday. 
                    Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

The Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Scottish Ladies Open Tour comes to the end of its first season this week with an 18-hole event at Craigielaw Golf Club, East Lothian on Wednesday followed by the only 36-hole, two-day tournament on its schedule - the Tour Championship at Marriott Dalmahoy's East and West Courses on Thursday and Friday.
Paul Lawrie, Aberdeen hotelier Stewart Spence and Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management - partners in the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre project - have had an impressive new trophy made for the Tour Championship winner.
In hard cash terms, the winner will receive £1,200 for heading the field at the end of 36 holes.
 That is unless she is one of the amateurs in the field, in which case she would receive the trophy plus a prize voucher worth £500, the maximum value permitted under the R&A's Rules of Amateur Status.
Also at stake in the Tour Championship are the top prizes in the Order of Merit. Double the usual points are being awarded in the final event so there could be some surprises in the final placings.
The professional winner of the Order of Merit will receive from the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre management free flights and accommodation at the Ladies European Tour Qualifying School in Morocco in December.  
The value of that prize will be at least £1,000, again generously donated by Messrs Lawrie, Spence and Gilbert.
Former Scottish amateur champion and past Curtis Cup player Heather Stirling is leading the table ahead of Katy McNicoll, Lisa Shervill and Laura Murray.
The leading amateur in the PLGC Ladies Tour Order of Merit will receive a free stay at self-catering accommodation at Gleneagles Village, again restricted by the Rules of Amateur Status to the value of £500. The top amateur in the table at the moment is Jess Meek who has become a student at the University of Missouri since she bettered the pros in several of the opening competitions.
The14-event schedule has seen events staged at Trump International, Deeside, Carnoustie Burnside, Deeside, Fairmont Torrance, The Duke's, Haggs Castle, Drumpellier, Alyth and Blairgowrie Rosemount after the opening events at Marriott Dalmahoy and Ratho Park.
The Royal & Ancient is a supporter and one of the sponsors of the tour which is designed to help lady professionals raise their game ot the standard required to play on the Ladies European Tour and also to give low handicap female amateurs the opportunity to judge whether they are good enough players to contemplate turning professional.
Spectators will be made very welcome at the Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel golf courses on Thursday and Friday. The first-round tee times range from 9.30 to 10.30am. There is no admission charge nor car parking fees.
Among the professionals on view will be Katy McNicoll, Heather MacRae, Heather Stirling, Laura Murray, Kiran Matharu, Michele Thomson, Lisa Shervill, Gemma Webster, Abbey Gittings, Vikki Laing, Martine Pow, Jane Turner and Pamela Feggans.

Abbey Gittings, pictured right, is an interesting entry from South of the Border - Walmley, Warwickshire to be precise.  Abbey completed four very successful years on the US women's college circuit as a student at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale.
Now Abbey has her sights set on making it through the LET Qualifying School at the end of the year. What a pity that more English lady pros like Abbey have not taken advantage of the opportunities provided by the Paul Lawrie Tour at far less a cost than getting to the Scandinavian venues on the LETAS Tour.
Late entries from female professionals and amateurs with single-figure handicaps are being accepted by Tour Director Nicola Melville (0781 6353434), pictured below.