SCOTLAND v WALES
MORNING FOURSOMES RESULTS (SCOTLAND NAMES FIRST):
Kelsey MacDonald & Louise Kenney v Tara Davies & Rebecca Harries (A/S)
Martine Pow & Jane Turner lost to Amy Boulden & Gemma Bradbury
Pamela Pretswell & Laura Murray beat Lucy Gould & Kath O’Connor 7 and 5
SCOTLAND 1.5 WALES 1.5
IRELAND 2 ENGLAND 1
Scottish Champion Kelsey MacDonald put her side ahead overall quite early in the afternoon with a surprisingly big win over Amy Boulden.
Kelsey won by 6 and 5, losing only the first hole. She won the second, third, fourth, fifth, eighth, ninth and 12th to go six up and a half at the 13th ended the contest.
Scotland went 2 points ahead when Pamela Pretswell won on the 18th green against Gemma Bradbury who had the better of the outward half and was two up at one stage. But the Scot, who recently won the British Stroke-Play title, came on to her game on the inward half. The turning point really came when Pretswell won three holes in a row from the eighth to turn a one-hole deficit into a one-hole lead.
Bradbury did get back on terms with a 2 at the short 15th but Pretswell responded with a birdie to go back to one up at the 16th. Bradbury wasn’t finished yet. She birdied the 17th to square the match. It all boiled down to the par-5 18th which Pretswell won with a 5 to a 6 for a hard-earned one-hole victory.
Wales got their first singles point from the sixth tie with Becky Harries beating Louise Kenney 4 and 3. Harries laid the foundation of her victory by moving into a four-hole lead after only seven holes. Kenney came back at her by winning the eighth, 10th and 11th, narrowing the gap to only one hole.
But Harries birdied the 12th to double her lead again and further wins for her at the 13th and 15th sealed her victory.
With three ties to finish, Scotland led in all of them but, with memories of the dramatic downturn in their fortunes over the final hour’s play against Wales 12 months ago, none of their supporters was counting their chickens.
Teenage Scottish debutante Rachael Watton ensured that her side would gain at least a draw when she beat Sam Birks by 3 and 2. Birks had the edge over the first few holes but Watton settled to win holes five, six and seventh and, from one up at the turn, pulled away from her opponent on the inward half.
Laura Murray clinched victory for Scotland with a two-hole win over Welsh champion Tara Davies. Murray was two holes up after eight but Davies won the ninth and 10th.
Murray got her nose in front again with a birdie 3 at the 14th and went to up at the 16th. Davies kept her hopes alive by winning the 17th to be one down on the 18th tee but Murray clinched victory by winning the last with a par 5.
Megan Briggs put the icing on the cake for Scotland by beating Kath O’Connor 2 and 1 after being two down at the turn. The Scot won the 12th and the 13th with birdies and they halved the short 16th in birdie 2s before Briggs produced yet another birdie at the 17th for victory.
SINGLE MATCHES THIS AFTERNOON
Kelsey MacDonald beat Amy Boulden 6 and 5
Pamela Pretswell beat Gemma Bradbury 1Up
Laura Murray beat Tara Davies 2 Up
Megan Briggs beat Katherine O'Connor 2 and 1
Rachael Watton beat Samantha Birks 3 and 2
Louise Kenney lost to Becky Harries 4 and 3
SCOTLAND 6.5 WALES 2
IRELAND 8 ENGLAND 1
Ladies Golf News in Scotland, the West of Scotland and Renfrewshire