Scotland's day at St Rule Trophy: Clara wins

and so too do Shannon, Hannah and Eilidh 

 

JUST CHAMPION! That's how Clara Young from North Berwick is feeling after her narrow win at the St Rule Trophy tournament at St Andrews. Picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency.  

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

It was a great day for Scotland as the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews ended with Clara Young (North Berwick) winning the prestigious 54-hole, two-day tournament ... three Scots (Eilidh Briggs, Shannon McWilliam and Hannah McCook) winning the international team title ... and Shannon finishing third in the Under-18 competition.

 

GB and I Vagliano Trophy team selection Gemma Clews (Delamere Forest), with a four-stroke lead after two Saturday rounds over the New Course, looked the hot favourite to add this title to the Welsh open stroke play championship she won convincingly last month.

But a windy day over the Old Course saw her slide to a two-over-par 78 for 213 which placed her third behind Young and Aussie Montana Strauss.

Clara, only 18 when she won the Scottish women's amateur title at Monifieth in 2015, had rounds of 67, 72 and 71 for a 16-under-par title of 210.

Strauss, one of her playing partners in the final round, matched her stroke for stroke with a closing 71 over the Old Course to finish one behind on 211, having had scores of 68 and 72 over the New Course.

Young, a student at Missouri University, feels that playing on the US women's college circuit has made her a better player than when she won the Scottish title.

"I was in only two bunkers over the three rounds of the St Rule Trophy and three-putted only twice over the 54 holes," said Clara.

"Putting on a variety of greens in America has made me a better putter, better at judging the pace of the putting surfaces."

Scotland won the team title without having the champion in their team! Aboyne's Shannon McWilliam, Hannah McCook (Grantown on Spey) and Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) pipped England's Gemma Clews, India Clyburn and Sophie Lamb by one stroke  for the trophy with a total of 429.
Eilidh could not stay for the prizegiving so she missed out on being in the Cal Carson Golf Agency picture above of Shannon McWilliam and Hannah McCook with the team trophy.

And McWilliam, who had rounds of 74, 69 and 77 for a six-under-par total of 220 finished third behind British girls champion Isobel Wardle (Prestbury) in the Under-18 girls category. Shannon had the same total as an Australian but was placed third with a poorer final round.

+Picture of the leading prize winners, courtesy of Cal Carson Golf Agency, shows Bev Brown, the St Rule Club captain with, in front of her (left to right), Clara Young, Isobel Wardle  (winner of Under-18s' trophy) and Montana Strauss (runner-up to Clara Young)