GEMMA CLEWS HEADING FOR ANOTHER BIG WIN IN ST RULE TROPHY AT ST ANDREWS

Cheshire golfer Gemma Clews (Delamere Forest) is heading for a big-margin victory in the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews.

Winner of the Welsh women's open amateur stroke play title by five shots last month, 22-year-old Gemma leads the St Rule Trophy field by four strokes after rounds of 65 and 70 for a 15-under-par tally of 135 at the New Course today (Saturday).

Sunday's final 18 holes will be over the Old Course but the way Clews is playing, it is definitely a case of "who's going to be second!"

Clews, shaping as a potential match-winner for Great Britain and Ireland in the forthcoming Vagliano Trophy match against the Continent in Italy, had a one eagle, 17 birdies, one double bogey and two bogeys over today's 36 holes. Eleven of these birdies came in her 10-under-par first round in which her halves were 34 and 31.

Second time round, her nine-hole scores were 37 and 33.

Clews leads by four from 2016 Curtis Cup player Rochelle Morris (Woodsome Hall) from Huddersfield and Clara Young (North Berwick), a student at the University of Missouri and winner of the Scottish women's amateur title at Monifieth in 2015 when she was only 18.

Morris, 21, has had two steady rounds of 69 and 70 for 11`-under-par 139 while Young has had scores of 67 and 72 for the same tally.

Olivia Jackson (Pannal) had a hole in one at the par-3 17th in her second-round 67, which was 11 shots better than her morning round. She is on 145.

Late in the day, St Andrews local Chloe Goadby (St Regulus Ladies) covered the last 10 holes in five under par with birdies at the ninth, 10th, 12th, 13th and 18th for a 71 and a share of second place on 139.

Scoreboard

ST RULE TROPHY TOURNAMENT
St Andrews
Rounds 1 and 2 over New Course; Round 3 over Old Course

SECOND-ROUND SCORES
Par 150 (2x75) SSS 75. CSS 7474
135 G Clews (Delamere Forest) 65 70
139 R Morris (Woodsome Hall) 69 70, C Young (North Berwick) 67 72, C Goadby (St Reglus) 68 71.
140 M Strauss (Australia) 68 72.
141 O Kline (Australia) 69 72, I Wardle (Prestbury) 74 67.
142 H McCook (Grantown on Spey) 75 67, S Lamb (Clitheroe) 71 71, D Russell (Australia) 71 71.
143 A Bailey (Kirby Muxloe) 75 69, S McWilliam (Aboyne) 74 69, J Saxton (Muckhart) 73 70, D Sverdloff (Orsett) 69 74, I Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) 71 72.
145 H Morgan (Hallamshire) 73 72, O Jackson (Pannal) 78 67.
147 O Winning (Rotherham) 73 74, G Coughlin (St Annes Old Links) 73 74, L Brunt (Royal Birkdale) 76 71.
148 E Briggs (Kilmacolm) 72 76, E Berlin (Sweden) 76 72, L Bailey (Kirby Muxloe) 73 75
149 G Paton (Royal Montrose) 78 71, J Bailey (Kirby Muxloe) 77 72, K Gillum (Lilleshall Hall) 76 73, B Garton (Royal Lytham) 77 72, T Hughes (USA) 76 73, N Slater (Woodsome Hall) 72 77.
150 E Healey (West Lancs) 77 73, M Molle (France) 75 75, R Kay (Australia) 74 76, P Grant (Lisburn) 79 71.
151 B Bayles (Bishop Auckland) 77 74, K Beveridge (Aboyne) 76 75, R Ferguson (Tynemouth) 75 76, E Adams (Australia) 75 76.
152 E Smith (Australia) 78 74, B-J Smith (Woodhall Spa) 75 77, G Batty (Moffat) 77 75, K-J Stanley (Manchester) 75 77, T Mactaggart (Minto) 73 79, C Taylor (Nairn) 75 77
153 M Wood (Woodsome Hall) 76 77, G Price (Bude & N Cornwall).
154 S Burke (Ballinrobe) 74 80, C Casey (Hermitage) 73 81, C Whitehead (Kendal) 79 75.
155 A O'Connor (Sundridge Park) 83 72, K Andrew (Clitheroe) 79 76.
156 L Downs (Romanby) 74 82.
157 E Hale (Troon Ladies) 82 75, E Goodall (Selby) 74 83.
158 M Doyle (The Heath, Ireland) 80 78, J Mackintosh (Hazlehead) 76 82
159 E Slater (Gog Magog) 79 80.
161 E Ofstedahl (Woburn) 88 73.