"Helen Holm"second-round report and scores

Sweden's Linda Lundqvist (world rank 872)

shares lead with Olivia Mehaffey (ranked No 9)

By COLIN FARQUHARSON 
with player quotes from Iona Scott of Scottish Golf
Much colder and windier conditions on Day 2 of the Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke play championship made scoring a bit more difficult (CSS 80 compared with a CSS of 79 yesterday) than Day 1 with overnight leader Olivia Mehaffey (Royal Co Down Ladies) slipping back from a five-under 67 on Friday to a two-over 74 at Troon Portland.

That gave the 18-year-old defending champion from Northern Ireland, ranked No. 9 female amateur in the world, a 36-hole tally of three-under 141, a mark which was equalled late in the day by Sweden's Linda Lundqvist with rounds of 69 and 72.

Linda's world ranking is No. 872 and her handicap is +1.5, compared with Mehaffey's +4.5

In fact, Lundqvist should have gone into Sunday's final round over the Royal Troon championship links with a one-shot lead but she bogeyed the 18th.
 The 19-year-old from Sweden said: “I am very pleased as it is my second time in Scotland and I’m not used to this wind. I did not expect to be leading going into the final round, so I am very happy.”
 Mehaffey, who will enrol at Arizona State University in August, said:

“I got off to a bad start with two bogeys and I was a wee bit shaken up coming away with a bogey on one of the easier holes but then I made some really good pars out there and a couple of birdies. So I felt in control even though I had a couple of bad shots and still managed to get  pars out of it, and that’s what it was about today.

“To put yourself into contention after two rounds is all you have to do and so I’m looking forward to tomorrow. If it blows, it will just make it more exciting.”

The joint leaders are two shots clear of  Belfast Queens University student Jessica Ross (70-73 for 143) who had six birdies over the first 13 holes but bogeyed the 17th and double-bogeyed the 18th.

Anna Bailey (Kirby Muxloe), one of the very early starters, is lying tied fourth on 144 with a pair of 72s, alongside Ireland's Maria Dunne whose second-round 73 saw her run up  double bogey 7 at the long 15th and also a bogey 5 at the 18th. 

Leading Scot is 16 year old Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne) who led with only six holes to play in this tournament last year before finishing third. This time round she is tied 10th on 147 (72-75) alongside Abertay Dundee University student Nastja Banovec from Slovenia (73-74).

McWilliam was going well after birdies at the 10th and 11th but, into the stiff breeze over the closing holes, she bogeyed the 14th, 15th and 18th.

Meghan MacLaren (Wellingborough), winner of a USA college conference title - her eighth win in America over the past four years - earlier in the week, slumped to a 79 for 151. 

Meghan had a triple bogey 7 at the sixth  and six bogeys. Her only two birdies came at the fourth and 17th.

The wind was into the players' faces for most of the inward half so they had to make their score on the front nine. 

At the end of the day a total of 68 players with tallies of 162 and better qualified for the final round on Sunday over the testing Royal Troon links. 
The most notable non-qualifier was young Sophie Lamb (Clitheroe). Sophie and Rochelle Morris (Woodsome Hall), are well placed in the LGU Order of Merit table to gain the two automatic selection places for the Curtis Cup match in June - provided the table positions remain the same AFTER the "Helen Holm," the last counting event before the GB and I team for Dun Laoghaire in June is named at 2pm next Thursday. 
Sophie, who tied for eighth place in last year's "Helen Holm," missed the cut at Troon out by one stroke with 80-83 for 163. 
Rochelle made cut the OK.
Ireland are leading the international team event after two rounds, having won this title last year.
Wales are out of the running as N Greville missed the cut.

TWO-ROUND TEAM TOTALS
(one round to go)
291 IRELAND (O Mehaffey and C Ryan)
300 ENGLAND ( M MacLaren and I Mehmet)
302 SCOTLAND (C Goadby and S McWilliam)
321 WALES (C Williams and N Greville).

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SECOND ROUND SCORES 

par 144 (2x72): SSS 77, CSS 79 (Rd 1), 80 reduction only (Rd 2)

141 O Mehaffey (Royal Co Down Ladies) 67 74, L Lundqvist (Swe) 69 72.

143 J Ross (Queens Univ) 70 73
144 A Bailey (Kirby Muxloe) 72 72, M Dunne (Skerries) 71 73

145 B Popel (Long Ashton) 74 71, O Winning (Rotherham) 73 72

146 P Grant (Lisburn) 70 76, B Garton (Royal Lytham) 74 72

147 N Banovec (Slovenia) 73 74, S McWilliam (Aboyne) 72 75.

148 M Lockett (Huddersfield) 76 72, H Muse (W Lancs) 75 73 

149 I Mehmet (Royal Mid Surrey) 70 79, E Esborn (Swe) 70 79.

150 J Farrell (Cardross) 72 78, C Ryan (Castletroy) 73 77, C Frankish (Chart Hills) 71 79, L Horsford (Wimbledon Park) 75 75, L Brunt (Royal Birkdale) 73 77.

151 M MacLaren (Wellingborough) 72 79 

152 G Clews (Delamere Forest) 79 73

153 G Coughlin (St Annes Old Links) 77 76, K Brodie (Strathmore) 77 76, E Briggs (Kilmacolm) 73 80, H Macgarvie (Troon Ladies) 78 75, P Finlay (Vicars Cross) 76 77.

154 T Mactaggart (Minto) 78 76,  F Moork (Swe) 75 79, S Giles (St Mellion) 76 78, E Healey (W Lncs) 77 77, C Williams (Wrexham) 75 79.

155 K Wright (Stranraer) 79 76, K Gillum (Lilleshall) 76 79, J Free (Gullane) 77 78, S Nilsson (Swe) 79 76, A Summers (Carnoustie Ladies) 76 79, L Bailey (Kirby Muxloe) 75 80, C Goadby (St Regulus) 76 79.

156 K McIntosh (Broomieknowe) 76 80.

157 J Rankine (Haggs Castle) 81 76, G Batty (Moffat) 77 80, S Fuller (Roehampton) 74 83, G Macdonald (Craigielaw) 80 77

158 R Taylor (Laytown and Bettystown) 82 76, F McCann (Royal Cinque Ports) 80 78, A Murphy (Carlow) 75 83; R Morris (Woodsome Hall) 82 76, H Morgan (Hallamshire) 80 78.

159 A Barnes (West Sussex) 85 74

160 J Saxton (Muckhart) 79 81, E Hale (Troon Ladies) 79 81, S Burke (Ballinrobe) 79 81, I Wardle (Prestbury) 79 81, E Slater (Ely City) 79 81

161 B-J Smith (Woodhall Spa) 83 78, G Lewis (Llanishen) 80 81, J Cope (Weston-super-Mare) 79 82, R Barton (Carden Park) 77 84, J Mackintosh (Hazlehead) 76 85, R Thompson (Cork) 83 78, H McCook (Grantown on Spey) 82 79

162 J Guest (Gog Magog) 82 80, M Doyle (The Heath) 82 80, M Lawrence (Rochester and Cobham) 81 81, O Bugnard (Fra) 79 83.

MISSED THE CUT

163 K Griffin (USA) 84 79, S Lamb (Clitheroe) 83 80.

164 K-J Stanley (Manchester) 83 81, J Bowers (Prestbury) 79 85, T Husavora (Slovakia) 81 83, A B Magnusdottir (Ice) 77 87, I Posledni (Cze) 87 77

165 B Bjornsdottir (Ice) 86 79, G Paton (Royal Montrose) 83 82 L Klimentova (Slovakia) 81 84, N Slater (Furness) 82 83.

166 N Callander (Welwyn GC) 84 82

167 N Greville (Ashburnham) 82 85

168 G Macpherson (Loudoun Gowf) 84 84, V Craig (Royal Belfast) 81 87

169 L Morrison (Garforth) 79 90

170 S Leslie (Kemnay) 83 87, C Taylor (Nairn) 86 84.

171 K Ferguson-Sneddon (Liberton) 82 89

173 G Allman (Stanmore) 85 88, C Robertson (Carnoustie Ladies) 79 94.

175 J Graham (Southerness) 84 91

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