From the Scottish Golf Website
Hannah Darling’s hopes of claiming her first national women’s title remain very much alive after reaching the semi-finals of the 2021 Scottish Women’s Match Play Championship at Gullane.
Just six days after victory in the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews the 17-year-old Broomieknowe and Gullane member beat Ellen Caton (St Regulus) 5 & 4 in the first round and followed that up with a 4 & 3 victory over fellow GB & I Curtis Cup squad member Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne) in the afternoon.
Darling will now face 2019 runner-up Chloe Goadby in the semi-finals after the St Regulus player beat Rachel Foster (Prestwick St Nicholas) by one hole in their quarter final match. Earlier in the day she had needed to go all the way to the 23rd hole before getting the better of Auchterarder’s Penelope Brown so not unnaturally she was feeling a few aches and pains after her two games.
In the other half of the draw, 2015 champion East Lothian champion Tara Mactaggart (Minto) will face 2015 Scottish Women’s champion Clara Young (North Berwick) in the last four.
Mactaggart (Minto) reached the semi-final of the 2019 championship at Kilmarnock (Barassie) and now has a chance of going one better after a two year interlude caused by Covid-19. She beat Aboyne’s Carmen Griffiths by one hole in a tight match in the morning and then dispatched Luisa Gibson by 4 & 3 in the afternoon.
In the second flight competition for the Clark Rosebowl there is a chance that two Blairgowrie players will contest the final. Megan Ashley beat East Kilbride’s Susan Woodhouse 2 & 1 in their quarter final and will now come up against Isla McDonald-Obrien (Shrewsbury). Meanwhile Ashley’s Blairgowrie club-mate Katy Alexander will play Bishopbriggs’ Megan Docherty in the semi-finals after a 19th hole victory over Royal Troon’s Freya Russell.
