R AND A FOUNDATION SCHOLARS TOURNAMENT SUMMARY AND LEADING TOTALS

Paula Grant and Louis Tomlinson, winners of the two sections of the RandA Foundation Scholars Tournament

 LOUIS AND PAULA ARE TOP OF 

THE CLASS AT ST ANDREWS 

NEWS RELEASE

The annual R&A Foundation Scholars Tournament drew to a close on Tuesday afternoon with Louis Tomlinson of Myerscough College, Preston winning the men’s division and Paula Grant of Ulster clinching her second consecutive women’s division victory in a play-off. 

Sixty student golfers took to the Eden Course for 36 holes on Monday followed by Tuesday’s 18 hole final on the Old Course. Tomlinson carded rounds of 67 and 69 on the first day of competition before delivering a 71 amidst blustery conditions on the Old Course. 

The Lancashire resident finished with a total score of 207 to win the title by a single shot. 

With the victory, Tomlinson earns a place on the European team that will face the United States at the Palmer Cup, set to take place in June at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey. 

“I didn’t expect to win but it had been in the back of my mind all day knowing that I wasn’t far away,” said Tomlinson. “I’ve been playing well for a while so I knew I had some momentum going, and the Palmer Cup is an added bonus.” 

Finishing in second place was Stirling’s Jack McDonald, who ended up at four-under-par with a total score of 208. Henry Tomlinson, also from Stirling, shared third place with Northumbria’s Andrew Wilson after both finished two strokes back at 209.

On the women’s side, Grant lipped out her putt on the 18^th green to find herself in a sudden-death play-off with Stirling’s Eilidh Briggs.

Back on the 18^th for the second play-off hole, Grant stuck her approach shot to five feet and rolled in her putt for birdie to successfully defend her title.

“This tournament has definitely been good to me,” said Grant, who played the Old Course for the first time when she won in 2013 as a first-year student. 

“I was just over the moon when I won it the first time, and I really wanted to come back here again and prove myself, and it feels unbelievable to have won it two years in a row.”

The 20-year-old followed up her 2013 victory with a win at the Irish Ladies Close Championship at Ballybunion in June. She will now be awarded a starting place in a Ladies European Tour event in 2014.

Grant and Briggs finished with total scores of 215, two shots ahead of the rest of the field at seven-under-par. 

Third place went to NUI Maynooth’s Sinead Sexton who finished with a total score of 217. 

The R&A Foundation Scholars Tournament takes place annually in St Andrews and features student golfers from universities across Europe. The participating students receive financial assistance from The R&A to enable them to continue to play competitive golf while completing their studies.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Men’s Division

1.  Louis Tomlinson, Myerscough   67  69  71  207 (-5)

2.  Jack McDonald, Stirling    69  65  74  208 (-4)

T3.  Henry Tomlinson, Stirling   66  73  70  209 (-3)

T3. Andrew Wilson, Northumbria  66  66  77  209 (-3)

Women’s Division

T1 (playoff winner) Paula Grant, Ulster   69  69  77  215 (-7)

T1 Eilidh Briggs, Stirling   72  68  75  215 (-7)

3.  Sinead Sexton, NUI Maynooth  69  73  75  217 (-5)

                        

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AND ALL THE FINAL TOTALS