PRO FROM ELLON WINS PAUL LAWRIE EVENT BY FOUR SHOTS

MICHELE THOMSON BEATS CARDRONA 

RECORD WITH 66 AND WINS £2,500

Ellon's Michele Thomson set a new women's course record of seven-under-par 66 at Macdonald Cardrona golf course near Peebles - and won the £2,500 first prize in the Paul Lawrie Ladies Tartan Tour 36-hole event which finished today.

Michele, who won the Scottish women's amateur championship at Lossiemouth in 2008 and also played for GB and I in the Curtis Cup match that year over the Old Course, St Andrews, had an eagle 3 at the long sixth and birdies at the long first, eighth, short 11th, long 12th and 13th and the par-4 18th in halves of 33 (three under par) and 33 (four under par).
Her only bogey came at the second. 
Scoring her first win on the Paul Lawrie Tour, it was her best round since she turned pro, improving by 11 shots from her first-round 77 which had left her trailing overnight leader Laura Murray from Alford by four shots.
But Thomson swept into the lead in the second round and a three-under-par aggregate of 143 saw her win by four shots from Murray (74 for 147) who earned £1,250.
Jane Turner (Craigielaw) had the second-best score of the day, a one-under 72 and that pushed her up into third place on 149 for a financial reward of £750.
+The next tournament on the Paul Lawrie Ladies Tartan Tour is the last on the five-event 2014 schedule. It is the 36-hole Tour Championship at Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel's courses, near Edinburgh Airport. The dates are September 10 and 11. 

LEADING TOTALS AND PRIZEMONEY
Par 146 (2x73) Players from Scotland unless stated otherwise
143 MicheleThomson 77 66 (£2,500)
147 Laura Murray 73 74 (£1,250)
149 Jane Turner 77 72 (£750)
151 Emilee Taylor (Eng) 77 74, Kiran Matharu (Eng) 75 76 (£425 each)
152 Katy McNicoll 77 75,. Gemma Webster 77 75 (£200 each).
155 Lisa Shervill (Eng) 74 81 (£100).
156 Helen Searle (Eng) 85 73 (£75), Alyson McKechin (am) 78 78 (£75 amateur voucher)
157 Charlotte Austwick (am) 77 80
162 Ailsa Bain 84 78
164 Kimberley Crooks (Eng) 87 77
166 Jess Wilcox 80 86
169 Jorden Ferrie 84 85, Kirstin Scott 82 87
170 Laura Harvey (Eng) 87 83
177 Rebecca Tully (Eng) 89 88

EDITOR'S NOTE: No one on the Macdonald Hotel golf pro staff could remember what the ladies' course record was. The feeling was that no lady amateur had ever scored under par but this is without verification. This was probably the first ever ladies pro tournament at the venue.