KirkwoodGolf

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

MEGHAN MACLAREN'S FIFTH WIN IN UNITED STATES

Meghan MacLaren was declared the winner of the JU Amelia Island Collegiate when the organisers called the players in from their third and final round at 11.40am local time at Amelia Golf Club, Fernandina Beach, Florida today, writes Colin Farquharson.
Heavy rain which flooded the greens, as opposed to the snow that KO'd the last round of the Converse College tournament in South Carolina, meant that the Amelia Island Collegiate tournament result reverted to the overnight 36-hole scores and positions.
So Meghan, pictured, the British women's open amateur stroke-play champion and a third-year student at Florida International University, was the winner by eight strokes with an 11-under-par total of 133 (64-69) over the par-72, 6029yd course. Her first round was a course record and the lowest round of her career.
It was Meghan's fifth Division 1 tournament victory in the States - three in her freshman year and now two in the 2014-15 college golf season.
Runner-up was Tiffany Chan (Daytona State College) (71-70 for 141). Before this midweek's re-rankings, Tiffany was No 14 in the WAGR while Meghan was world-ranked No 57.
MacLaren, chasing her FIRST GB and I team honour as a member of the squad of nine for the Vagliano Trophy match at Malone Golf Club, Belfast in June, actually led by nine strokes from Chan when play was abandoned. 
Meghan had dropped to eight under par for the tournament after six holes but Chan had gone back to +1.
But all these figures were non-counting when the third round was
wiped from the record books.
Florida International scored a double whammy in that they won the team title with their two-round total of 580, three ahead of North Florida an nine ahead of third-placed Daytona State College in a field of 15 teams.
Back to the individual event, and Megan Garland (Arkansas State), a fourth-year student from Goole, Yorkshire finished T9 on 146 (72-74).
Paige Kemp (Stetson Uni), who hails from Essex but her mother comes from Stirling, finished 17th on 149 (73-76). Paige is a freshman at Stetson.
Former North of Scotland girls champion Eilidh Watson, also a freshman at Stetson, finished T74 in a field of 81 players. She scored 86-82 for 168. Eilidh comes from Dollar.

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