Maria Tulley's luck changes at Montrose - first 

win as a pro

Maria Tulley from Eastbourne Downs made the long haul up to Scotland a trip to remember for the rest of her golfing life when she chalked up her first victory as a professional in the fog-curtailed Ladies Tartan Tour competiton at Montrose Links, writes Colin Farquharson.
She finished joint ninth last week in the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Ladies Open at Murcar Links and now she has headed a field of 29 with a par-matching 71 at the Angus venue.
"My luck is changing at last," said Maria whose rookie season last year was plagued by injuries and illness ... she was laid low by food poisoning in Turkey, hurt her back in a LETAS tournament and then suffered a crick in her neck which ruled her out of a Morocco event.
Tulley won the PGA in Scotland women's pro event top prize of £1,575 with birdies at the fourth and sixth, limiting her number of bogeys to two - at the first and the 15th in halves of 35-36.
Montrose Links, one of the oldest lay-outs in Scotland, can be a tough test, especially for erratic hitters who cannot stay out of the fairway-bordering whins at several holes but Maria hit it straight and true all the way.
Would she still have won if fog had not forced the cancellation of Monday's first round? That's a matter of conjecture but Maria herself has no doubt about the answer ... she is looking forward already to the next Ladies Tartan Tour event, at Deer Park Golf Club, Livingston on June 2 and 3.
Three players tied for second place, a stroke behind the winner on 72 - Jane Turner (West Linton), Lucy Goddard (Hanbury Manor) and Falkirk-based California-based American Beth Allen. They each earned £400.
Of the three Lucy has the most cause to look back in anger or regret that she let a first pro win slip out of her grasp.
After an eagle 2 at the fifth and birdies at the ninth, 13th and 15th, Goddard was at the head of the leaderboard but she bogeyed the short 16th, then had a double bogey 6 at the 17th ... three shots dropped over two holes, and she only lost out by one.
Ellon's Michele Thomson, the winner at Murcar Links last week, tied for fifth place with a 73 and earned £109, in comparison to the £2,000+ in the Paul Lawrie GC tournament. Michele birdied the fourth - and did not have another one as she covered the rest of her holes in three over par with bogeys at the 10th, 11th and 15th.
*Picture shows Maria Tulley receiving her cheque from Andy Boyd, chairman of the Montrose Links Trust, who made the presentation on behalf of the organising sponsors, the PGA in Scotland.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 71
71 Maria Tulley (Eastbourne Downs) 35-36 (£1,575)
72 Jane Turner (West Linton) 38-34, Lucy Goddard (Hanbury Manor) 34-38, Beth Allen (Falkirk) 36-36 (£400 each)
73 Laura Murray (Paul Lawrie GC) 37-36, Kiran Matharu (Cookridge Hall) 35-38, Heather MacRae (Gleneagles)
38-35, Michele Thomson (unatt) 35-38 (£109 each)
74 Jess Wilcox (Blankney) 37-37, Annabel Dimmock (Wentworth) 36-38 (£52 each)
75 Chloe Rogers (Celtic Manor) 36-39
76 Kelsey MacDonald (Carrick on Loch Lomond) 38-38, Rachel Drummond (Buckinghamshire) 39-37, Becky
Brewerton  (Wiltshire) 37-39
77 Gillian Paton (Royal Montrose) (am) 37-40, Nastja Banovec (Abertay-Dundee Univ) 38-39, Tracy Boyes (Corhampton) 40-37
78 Laura Harvey (Darlington) 39-39, Gemma Webster (Succession Group) 41-37
79 Gabriella Cowley (Hanbury Manor) 39-40, Sarah Attwood (Gog Magog) 40-39 Ailsa Bain (Gullane) 38-41
80 Alyson McKechin (Elderslie) 40-40, Jorden Ferrie (Hilton Park) 40-40
83 Kirstin Scott (Gleneagles) 38-45, Nichola Ferguson (American Golf) 41-42. Jamie-Lee Casling (Brickhampton Court) 43-40
84 Keely Chiericato (Manston) 41-43, Jenny Potter (Cawder) 41-43
ends