FCLGA Centenary Lunch

Fife County Ladies line-up
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Fife County Ladies Golf Association started its centenary celebrations today (Sun 1st Feb) with a lunch at the Dean Park Hotel, Kirkcaldy. The event was attended by 134 past & present members of FCLGA, the Provost of Fife and representatives from SLGA, Midlothian, East Lothian and Stirling & Clackmannanshire.
The day started with a champagne reception and a chance to reminisce over an extensive display of old photographs. Guests then moved through to the Dining Room where the top tables were introduced by Master of Ceremonies, President Margaret Steele. Prior to lunch the past Champions were introduced by the Captain, Joan Blyth.
Grace was said by Vice-President, Beverley Brown. Following a delicious lunch, guests were upstanding to toast the Queen and Fife County. The loyal toast was proposed by the Provost of Fife, Councillor Frances Melville, a former Fife team member. The Vice-Captain, Christine Steedman, proposed a toast to Fife County and wished the Association continued prosperity in the next 100years.

Fife County Champions

Following a short interval, the guest speakers took to the floor with an array of interesting speeches. Joan Lawrence, Marigold Speir, Lorna Bennett, Elaine Moffat and Dale Reid all entertained with lots of stories and recollections from past county experiences, raising much fun and laughter.
The Vote of Thanks was proposed by Jean Bald. The day was concluded by Mrs Margaret Rodgers, President of Midlothian, who proposed a vote of thanks on behalf of the guests.
For more information and photographs please visit the FCLGA web-site, www.fclga.ik.com.

Gemma joint 7th as Ohio State lose to Michigan State

Gemma Webster, senior co-captain of the Ohio State University women's golf team, finished joint seventh with a round of eight-over-par 80 in the Fort Myers Challenge one-day match against Michigan State at Renaissance Country Club, Fort Myers in Florida.
Michigan State won the aggregate honours 306 to 310 and provided the individual winner - Laura Kueny with a one-under-par 71 over the 6,362yd course.

Clare Queen makes 2009 debut in ANZ Ladies Masters

Clare Queen will make her seasonal debut in this coming week's ANZ Ladies Masters at Royal Pines Resort, Australia from Thursday to Sunday (February 5 to 8).
She joins fellow Scot Lynn Kenny in the big field, Lynn having missed the cut in the weekend New Zealand Women's Open at Christchurch.
Like Scotland, Wales will have two representatives in the field - Becky Brewerton and Lydia Hall.
England has one of the biggest representations - 12 players:
Laura Davies Trish Johnson
Kirsty Fisher Kiran Matharu
Lisa Hall Melissa Reid
Samantha Head Georgina Smpson
Rebecca Hudson Kristy S Taylor
Felicity Johnson Sophie Walker

Jonathan Shelbourne (left) and Andrew Shinie greet LGU Head of Golf Operations Susan Simpson at Inchmarlo Golf Centre, Banchory.

LGU Head of Golf Operations

runs the rule over Inchmarlo

with an eye to the future

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Carnoustie-born Susan Simpson, the Ladies Golf Union's Head of Golf Operations based at its St Andrews headquarters, was a welcome visitor at Inchmarlo Golf Centre near Banchory, Aberdeenshire late in the 2008 season.

Susan is pictured above with former helicopter pilot Jonathan Shelbourne (left), founder and owner of the popular Centre which has a driving range with 30 covered bays, two courses (18 hole & nine-hole), TWO clubhouses, one of which is reserved for members, and an excellent restaurant which caters for non-golfing visitors, and club secretary and events manager Andrew Shinie (right).

Inchmarlo staged a very successful Scottish women's county championship finals in 2008, providing not only a golf course but also onsite villa accommodation for the teams, an extra dimension which few clubs or golf centres can offer. The Paul Lawrie Scottish schools championships were also hosted by Inchmarlo last summer.

So Susan Simpson, who had never been to the Inchmarlo centre before, came to the North-east to see for herself what it had to offer ... and she went away impressed. Don't be surprised if Inchmarlo is invited to stage an event under the auspices of the Ladies Golf Union in the not-too-distant future.

"It's most encouraging when one of the Ladies Golf Union's top officials pays you a visit," said Andrew. "It will also give us the incentive to tighten up one or two holes on The Laird's Course so that it really can be a test for the best off the back tees."

Head greenkeeper at Inchmarlo Golf Centre is Janice Florence (pictured above) who learned her trade at Royal Aberdeen among other places. Is Janice the only female head greenkeeper in Scotland, maybe England as well?

We don't know of another but if you do, be sure to E-mail Colin@scottishgolfview.com
If you want to read more about what Inchmarlo Golf Centre has to offer, log on to its website

http://www.inchmarlo.com/

Kylie Walker finishes 13th

behind French 1-2 in

Portugal open amateur

Six bogeys in the last round killed Kylie Walker's hopes of at least matching last year's seventh place finish in the Portuguese women's open amateur golf championship. The Buchanan Castle player signed off the rain-abbreviated tournament at Quinta do Peru Golf Club, near Lisbon - the second day's play was washed out - with a 76 after earlier rounds of 76 and 77.
Her 13-over-par total for the 54-hole tournament put her in 13th place behind French winner Rosanna Crepiat who had scores of 74, 72 and 71 for one-over-par 217.
Kylie did birdie the fourth and short 17th on the last day but bogeyed the first, third, sixth, eighth, 13th and 14th.
In a prestigious overseas championship, once won by the late Marjory (Fowler) Ferguson, Walker was the only Scot in the field of 70, a disappointing representation given that the GB&I selectors said that any players making a show in the early-season tournaments would have a chance of breaking into the Vagliano Trophy squad which has been depleted by players such as Scottish champion Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon), Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) and their 2008 Curtis Cup team-mates, Florentyna Parker (Royal Birkdale), Elizabeth Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor), Breanne Loucks (Wrexham) as well as 2006 Curtis Cup player Tara Delaney (Carlow), turning professinal.
Wales and Ireland entered five players apiece and the Welsh did provide the leading non-Continental player, Rhian Wyn Thomas from Vale of Glamorgan, joint 10th overall on 228. Also on the 228 mark was Mandy Goyos, whose mother is Lancashire-born and her father Spanish.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
217 Rosanna Crepiat (Fra) 74 72 71 (35-36).
218 Lucie Andre (Fra) 72 72 74 (38-36).
222 Lara Katzy (Ger) 71 76 75.
224 Ines Diaz-Negrete (Spa) 74 75 75.
225 Marion Duvernay (Fra) 78 71 76, Anna Arrese (Spa) 76 74 75.
226 Adriana Zwanck (Spa) 78 76 72, Marion Ricordeau (Fra) 76 77 73.

227 Laura Stempfl (Ger) 77 77 73.

228 Rocio Sanchez (Spa) 78 74 76, Mandy Goyos (Spa) 77 77 74, Rhian Wyn Thomas (Wal) 77 75 76 (jt 10th).
229 Kylie Walker (Sco) 76 77 76 (39-37) (13th).
230 Laura Chemarin (Fra) 79 76 75.

232 Antonia Scherer (Ger) 72 82 73.

233 Jana Niedballa (Ger) 78 76 79.

234 Cristina Turegano Mate (Spa) 76 77 81.

235 Vicki Troeltach (Ger) 82 77 77, Katherine O'Connor (Wal) 80 76 79 (jt 19th).
236 Hannah Jenkins (Wal) 83 76 77 (23rd).

237 Karolin Lampert (Ger) 82 78 77, Sara Vanzonhoven (Bel) 78 82 77, Nina Holleder (Ger) 78 81 78, Nicola Roessler (Ger) 75 84 78.

238 Sophia Popov (Ger) 85 76 77, Natilia Escuriola Martinez (Spa) 80 80 78, Mireia Prat (Spa) 80 78 79, Ariane Provot (Fra) 76 82 80, Ana Santos Melo (Por) 76 80 82, Tara Davies (Wal) 80 80 78 (42-36) (jt 28th).

Selected totals:
247 Niamh Kitching (Ire) 80 80 87 (44-43) (41st).
MISSED THE CUT (162 or better)
163 Amy Boulden (Wal) 87 76.
165 Rachel Drummond (Eng) 82 83.
167 Anna McCormack (Ire) 84 83.
169 Victoria Bradshaw) 85 84.
174 Sarah Crowe (Ire) 90 84.
179 Aoife Lowry (Ire) 97 82.

Lynn Kenny fails to beat 36-hole cut at Christchurch

Nocera wins NZ Women's

Open by six shots as wind

blows her rivals away

FROM THE TOURNAMENT WEBSITE
The strong southerly wind which struck the Clearwater course, Christchurch midway through the final round of the $150,000 New Zealand Women’s Open golf championship caused carnage among the leading players today.
What was shaping as a tight finish with the top seven players separated by no more than four shots suddenly turned into a one-horse race as only Frenchwoman Gwladys Nocera withstood the buffeting wind and sharp drop in temperature.
When the wind swept the course, the final threesome was playing the eighth hole and overnight leader, Sarah Oh, from New South Wales, still held a one-shot advantage over Nocera with world No. 26, Katherine Hull, from Queensland, three shots off the lead.
But the dramatic swing in the weather completely changed the complexion of the championship. At the end of the 54 holes, Nocera, after a three-under 69, stood alone at eight-under par 208 and the champion by six shots from a group of four.
Hull was in that quartet at two-under 214 as were fellow Australians, Nikki Garrett and Sarah Kemp, and Korean professional Bobea Park, who spent most of her amateur career in Auckland.
The biggest casualty of the weather was 20-year-old Oh, who had been composed and confident for 45 holes then lost the plot when she lost the lead to Nocera for the first time after the Frenchwoman had her fifth birdie on the 10th.
Oh was par for the day through 11 holes before bogeying the 12th. That preceded three successive double-bogeys and a bogey at 17, which resulted in a back nine of eight-over 44 and a round of eight-over 80, which dropped her back to a share of sixth on 215.
Nocera was perhaps the only player who welcomed the wind. ``I like the wind, I enjoy it blowing because it pushes me to play even better. Sometimes I play too easy and make stupid mistakes and it (wind) makes me concentrate.’’
Nocera said she had played really well, especially on the greens, to be five-under through 11 holes. ``When the wind came I tried hard not to make mistakes. I knew I was going to make bogeys and so was everybody else – it didn’t really matter as long as I didn’t make more than bogeys.’’
Nocera said she was conscious not to ground the club behind the ball on the greens and was forced at times to remove her visor and glasses before putting. For Nocera, winner of last year’s European Tour order of merit, it was her first win Down Under’ after playing the Australian tournaments for the last seven years and she pledged to return next year to defend her crown.
Auckland 14-year-old Cecilia Cho had the honour of not only being the leading amateur but also the leading New Zealander. She was one-under after 10m but despite a faltering finish, which included three double-bogeys, she managed a 79 to be tied for 14th, a shot ahead of Wellington professional Sarah Nicholson and Northland amateur Caroline Bon.
Nearly 5400 paying spectators attended the three-day championship, which pleased promoter Bob Tuohy, who has the rights along with New Zealand Golf to run the tournament for another two years.

THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT GWLADYS NOCERA
European Number 1, Gwladys Nocera graduated from New Mexico State University and holds a degree in international business.
As a top-class golfer, Gwladys could be considered a late developer. She did not turn professional until she was 27 - six years ago - and after a modest start to her career, she made a dramatic improvement in 2005 when she finished fourth on the LET OOM, forcing her way into the Solheim Cup where she beat Cristie Kerr in her singles match on debut.
Nocera, 33, has only been a professional for six years but over the last three years she has finished in the top three on the LET’s Star Moneylist.
She enjoyed a stunning 2008 season with five wins and 12 top-10 finishes. Her wins came at the Scottish Open, ABN AMRO Open, SAS Open, Goteberg Masters and Madrid Masters, one of the richest on the LET Tour.This brought her to 10 career wins in six years.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS IN NEW ZEALAND
Par 216 (3 x 72)
Players from Australia unless stated
208 Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 71 68 69.
214 Bobea Park (SKo) 73 67 74, Katherine Hull 65 73 76, Nikki Garrett 72 71 71, Sarah Kemp 73 67 74.
215 Mollie Fankhauser (US) 70 75 70, Sarah Oh 68 67 80.
216 Lee-Anne Pace (SAf) 70 72 74.
217 Martina Eberl (Ger) 71 73 73.
219 Joanne Mills 74 74 71.
220 Sarah-Jane Smith 73 73 74, Vicky Thomas 72 74 74, Wendy Doolan 71 72 77.
Selected scores:
222 Becky Morgan (Wal) 72 78 72, Johanna Westerberg (Swe) 71 73 78, Julie Tvede (Den) 73 72 77 (jt 16th).
223 Becky Brewerton (Wal) 73 76 74, Jade Schaeffer (Fra) 762 74 77, Melodie Bourdy (Fra) 72 78 73 (jt 22nd).
225 Kiran Matharu (Eng) 74 79 72, Lydia Hall (Wal) 73 76 76 (jt 32nd).
226 Trish Johnson (Eng) 71 75 80.
227 Danielle Montgomery (Eng) 75 75 77, Laura Davies (Eng) 77 76 74.
228 Felicity Johnson(Eng) 77 73 76, Anne-Lise Caudal (Fra) 71 73 74.
230 Anna Knutsson (Swe) 76 76 78.

+Only players with 36-hole totals of 156 or better qualified for the final round. Lynn Kenny (83-79=162) was one of those who missed the cut.

Pass marks for first NZ Women's Open - Bob Tuohy

The inaugural New Zealand women's golf tournament has been given a pass mark by tournament director, Bob Tuohy, but there are no guarantees the tournament will be back at Clearwater next year.
Tuohy said he is keen to bring the tournament back to Clearwater because the course has the infrastructure needed to run a major tournament, and the other bonus is that the players have enjoyed it.
The tournament attracted 5370 spectators over the three days.
Unlike the New Zealand PGA men's tournament, to be played next month at the course, which is free to Christchurch City Council ratepayers, spectators had to pay at the women's open.
"For year one that was a great performance," said Tuohy after the tournament ended yesterday.
The tournament was without a naming rights sponsor this year and if the organisers can attract one that could dictate where it is held.
Tuohy said when Clearwater was chosen at the inaugural venue it had very little opposition. "We travelled the country looking at venues and the only other one in the mix was Wairakei. At the end of the day it was the Christchurch City Council who put their hands up to support the tournament."
Tuohy has a contract to run the tournament for three years and said he faces a challenge over the next two to get it on a firm footing.
Prizemoney this year was $150,000 but next year it has to be a minimum of $175,000 and in the third year $200,000.
"The major sponsor this year was New Zealand Golf but its commitment will reduce over each of the next two years. That's where we come in. We have to underwrite the difference. We have to be patient and we hope the tournament has a good future. We would be happy to be back here because it has all we need for a tournament a good practice range, accommodation on site, three phase power which can cost $20,000 to install, broadband, proximity to an international airport and a club that is happy to have the tournament here.
"In Australia it can cost $200,000 to rent a course for a tournament," said Tuohy.