Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Curtis Cup debutante Eilidh Briggs is about a 6-4 favourite to win the 100th staging of the Scottish women's amateur golf championship this week at Prestwick's ancient links, the birthplace of the Open championship from 1860 to 1870.
But it is one of the quirks of the World Amateur Golf Rankings - which run in 12-monthly cycles - that the Kilmacolm player is "only" the third best Scot after the most recent revision.
Aberdonian Gemma Dryburgh, a student at Tulane University, New Orleans, is the highest ranked female Scot in the world and, like Briggs, will be making her Curtis Cup debut against the Americans at St Louis, Missouri from June 6 to 8. But Dryburgh is still in America, and will be playing in the upcoming NCAA Division 1 women's team championship.
But the World No 2 in Scottish terms is in the field of 110, teeing off in the first stroke play qualifying round at Prestwick on Tuesday morning is Ayrshire-born and bred Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies) who finished second to England's Annabel Dimmock in the Helen Holm Scottish women's amateur stroke play at Troon last month.
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| Connie Jaffrey |
As one SLGA official, who shall remain nameless. said on the eve of the event: "Eilidh Briggs versus Connie Jaffrey would be a terrific final on Saturday."
She can say that again. They could probably sell admission tickets, standing-room only if that were how things workd out this week.
But golf - and possibly more so in girls/women's golf for some reason - things don't always work out the way they should.
Only 12 months ago in the championship hosted by Longniddry Golf Club, leading qualifier Jess Meek (Carnoustie Ladies) was beaten in the second round and No 2 seed Rachel Walker (Dumfries and Co) lost in the first round of the match-play.
Alyson McKechin (Elderslie) beat teenager Clara Young (North Berwick) in a downpour for last year's final.
Alyson is here again this week, keeping her plans to turn professional very close to her chest.
"I don't know if this will be may last Scottish ladies championship. This will be a decision I will make when the time is correct and aligned to my plans," she said.
"My big incentive this week is to follow the example of Anne Laing who was the last player to win this title two years in a row and she won for the second time here at Prestwick!"
Anne Laing, incidentally, is at Prestwick to play solely in the past champions' event staged in conjunction with the stroke play qualifying rounds. She will not take part in the championship proper.
Eilidh Briggs has been Scottish U18 girls champion but has yet to win the women's championship. She reached the final at Machrihanish in 2011.
"I'm looking forward to a good week with a good field and a traditional links course. Just hope the weather is kind
to us," said Stirling PE student Eilidh. "With regards to the Curtis Cup, I'm very excited about going over to the States for what will be an unbelievable experience."
Eilidh's big sister, Megan, won the "Scottish" at Southerness in 2009 and is also in the Prestwick field.
It was the youngest player in the field who won the very first Scottish women's amateur championship over the
Old Course, St Andrews in 1903 - 19-year-old Alexa Glover.
Could the 100th staging also be won by the youngest in the Prestwick field?
Not such a long stretch of coincidence for 14-year-old Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne), pictured left by Cal Carson Golf Agency, won the Scottish Under-14 girls title last year and only a few weeks ago became the youngest ever winner of the Aberdeenshire women's county championship.
Another leading Aberdeenshire contender should be Rachel Polson (Peterculter), just home from Florida Tech University. She lost to Clara Young in last year's semi-finals at Longniddry.
If you believe in pointers to players who are going to have a good run, put your money on Rachel. Last year she played badly in the Peterculter women's open immediately prior to the "Scottish" but then rose to the occasion in the national championship the following week.
Last weekend Polson again had, by her standards, a poor performance in the Peterculter event. History about to repeat itself?
Northern Counties will be hoping their new champion Alison Bartlett (Royal Dornoch), a senior international player, carries on where she left off in their recent county championship. Alison is also the Northern Counties secretary. It takes a bit of organising to run a competition, play in it - and win it, as Mrs Bartlett did.
From Angus the standard bearers should be Jess Meek, back home after her first year at the University of Missouri, St Andrews student Ailsa Summers and Heather Munro, one of a clutch of bright young Scottish prospects who will be enrolling at US colleges in August.
From Fyfe, expect US-bound Lauren Whyte to do well and Clara Young to keep the Lothians well to the fore.
The 32 leading players after the 36-hole stroke-playing opening to the championship will go into match-play on Thursday morning. The next 16 will contest the Clark Rosebowl match-play competition
LEADING TEE TIMES ON TUESDAY
08.00 Eilidh Briggs, Jessica Meek.
08.10 Ailsa Summers, Lauren Whyte.
08.20 Alyson McKechin, Megan Briggs, Gabrielle Macdonald.
08.30 Connie Jaffrey, Elaine Moffat, Clara Young.
08.40 Rachel Walker, Lesley Atkins, Hannah McCook.
08.50 Karen Marshall, Heather Munro, Sheena Wood.
09.00 Susan Wood, Kate McIntosh, Sammy Leslie.
09.10 Louise MacGregor, Noni Stephen, Emma Hale.
09.20 Lorna Bennett, Cara Thompson, Nichola Ferguson.
09.30 Rachel Polson, Hannah Scott.
09.40 STARTER'S TIME
09.50 Jordana Graham, Jennifer Saxton, Eilidh Watson.
10.00 Kimberley Beveridge, Alison Bartlett, Louise Fraser.
10.10 Gale Macpherson, Kirsten Blackwood, Rosalind Purdom.
