After a day of shock results at windswept Eyemouth, Kate McIntosh (Broomieknowe), 25th of the 32 qualifiers, will play the No 3 seed, Lesley Atkins (Gullane), in an all-Lothians 18-hole final of the Scottish girls’ championship tomorrow morning.
McIntosh toppled the No 1 seed and hot favourite Rachael Watton (Craigielaw) by 3 and 1 in the quarter-finals and then, with the wind increasing in intensity, Kate KO’d the No 4 seed, Gemma Dryburgh from Aberdeen via Florida, where she is a student at the IMG David Leadbetter Golf Academy.
Gemma could not manage a single par on the outward half in the so difficult conditions for the semi-finals and McIntosh was five up at the turn. She went on to win 6 and 5.
Lesley Atkins, a pupil a Loretto School, Musselburgh and originally a member of Minto Golf Club when she was the youngest-ever Borders women's county champion, upset the form book in the morning with a 5 and 3 win over the No 2 seed and Renfrewshire women’s county champion Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm).
In the afternoon, Atkins was roughly seven over par for the outward half into the gale but had a lead of two holes over the No 3 seed, Gabrielle MacDonald (Craigielaw). MacDonald rallied in the closing stages from three to one down by winning the 15th and 16th but she four-putted to lose the 17th and the match 2 and 1.
All four semi-finalists are young enough to compete again in next year’s championship which is unusual – McIntosh is 16, Atkins 15, MacDonald 17 and Dryburgh 17.
The Ansley Reid Salver second-tier match-play competition - Kate McIntosh won it last year, incidentally - was won this year by Rachel Hanlon (St Regulus), the East of Scotland girls champion who was expected to qualify for the main event but didn’t. She beat Hannah Scott (Broomieknowe) 3 and 2 in the final.
Afternoon results:
CHAMPIONSHIP
Semi-finals
Kate McIntosh (Broomieknowe) bt Gemma Dryburgh (IMG Academies) 6 and 5.
Lesley Atkins (Gullane) bt Gabrielle MacDonald (Craigielaw) 2 and 1.
ANSLEY REID SALVER
Final
Rachel Hanlon (St Regulus) bt Hannah Scott (Broomieknowe) 3 and 2.
Thanks go to Colin Farquharson for the report and results
Ladies Golf News in Scotland, the West of Scotland and Renfrewshire
