KAREN FERGUSON - SNEDDEN IS THE 2021 SCOTTISH SENIORS CHAMPION

Karen Ferguson- Snedden
Photo Courtesy of Scottish Golf

From the SCOTTISH GOLF WEBSITE

Karen Ferguson-Snedden won the Scottish Senior Women’s Match Play Championship for the first time when she beat Iona McKean 2 & 1 in a tense final at a windswept Aberdour.

The Mortonhall player needed to go all the way to the 20th hole before beating East Renfrewshire’s Gillian Kyle in the semi-final and in the final she had to work almost as hard against an opponent who was frequently outgunned off the tee but never more than a hole behind before losing the 17th green.

McKean won the opening hole but lost the fourth to go back to all square. The Ladybank player regained the initiative with a win on the fifth and still held that slender advantage before Ferguson-Snedden won both the 12th and 13th. She went further ahead with another win on the 16th before closing out the match with a halve on the 17th.

“It was tough but I’m delighted,” admitted the new champion who had started the Match Play Championship as second seed after finishing runner-up to Elaine Moffat in the 36-hole Senior Women’s Stroke Play Championship.

“I’m also a bit surprised about how well I’ve done. “I was hoping to get into the match play and have a run but I didn’t really think I’d be able to get to the final and win. 

“Iona is pretty incredible,” she added. “I had a big length advantage off the tee but she doesn’t do a lot wrong, chips it close and sinks putts. Great credit to her. She was very tough to beat.”

Earlier in the day, McKean showed just how doughty a competitor she is by ending Moffat’s lengthy three-year reign as Senior Women’s Match Play champion when she came from two down after 11 holes to claim a 2 & 1 win. That reign had begun when Moffat took the title at Prestwick St Nicholas in 2018 and was extended the following year with a successful defence at Edzell. The 2020 championship was cancelled because of the Covid pandemic. 

Photograph courtesy of Scottish Golf

The concurrent net competition was won by Gullane’s Sarah Ledingham who beat Elaine MacGregor 4 & 2 in the final.

Earlier in the day, Ledingham reached the final with a two-hole victory over Comiston’s Jaci Moriarty while MacGregor beat Turnhouse’s Morag Wardrop on the 18th hole.  

“I was very surprised to get to the final,” Ledingham admitted after her victory over MacGregor. “I’ve had a fantastic week here at Aberdour. It’s my first time playing in the Scottish Seniors so I’m delighted to come here and become the net winner.

“I’ve met a lot of new people, I’ve met people I’ve known a long, long time, it’s been super and Aberdour’s been great.

Today was tough, it was very windy, very blustery. When we teed off at eight this morning it was very calm. It was like that for the first four or five holes but then the wind picked up and it became very tricky. The tees are all off the whites this week, and I’m not a particularly long hitter, so coming back into the wind from the 12th was quite hard work for me.

“I just kept my head down and got on with it.”

FINAL MATCHPLAY RESULTS

ELAINE MOFFAT STILL ON COURSE FOR THE TITLE AND RENFREWSHIRE'S GILLIAN KYLE PLAYS IMPRESSIVE GOLF

From the Scottish Golf Website 

RLCGA'S Gillian Kyle - East Renfrewshire
Photo Courtesy of Scottish Golf

Elaine Moffat remains on course to claim the Scottish Senior Women’s Match Play title for a third time in a row but only after surviving two tough matches on the opening day of this year’s Championship at Aberdour.

The senior international from the St Regulus club in St Andrews beat Lochend’s Mandy McBain 3&2 in the first round and then in the afternoon defeated fellow Fife senior county player Lorna McKinlay 2 & 1 although on both occasions she had to come from behind to make it into the next round.

The afternoon round against McKinlay proved particularly challenging. The two players were all square at the turn before Moffat won both 10th and the 13th. With the rain starting to fall McKinlay got one back at the 16th before the defending champion sealed victory on the 17th hole.

I found it difficult and I don’t mind admitting that,” said Moffat. “Both Mandy and Lorna played good, solid golf and made me work really hard. I was a wee bit erratic first thing this morning but managed to get it together and stick in after that. 

“This afternoon I played my friend Lorna which is always really difficult. She’s my foursomes buddy from Fife. We know each other’s games so well and it was an absolutely cracking match. I’m just happy to get through.”

Moffat’s next opponent in her bid to regain the title she won at Prestwick St Nicholas in 2018 and again at Edzell in 2019 is another Fifer in the shape of Iona McKean from Ladybank. McKean had to go to the 18th hole to beat Anne Hanson from Turnhouse by one hole in the opening round before reaching the last four with a more comfortable 4 & 3 victory over Dunblane New’s Claire Capocci.

In the other half of the draw, Mortonhall’s Karen Ferguson-Snedden showed just why she finished second behind Moffat in the Stroke Play Championship earlier in the week by beating Liz Keohone from Loudoun Gowf by 6&5 but then needed all her resolve to beat Barberton’s Karen Marshall in a tight quarter-final match in which only three holes changed hands before the number two seed won the 17th hole to seal a 2 & 1 victory.

Arguably the most impressive performance of the day came from East Renfrewshire’s Gillian Kyle who needed just 26 holes to beat Harburn’s Jennifer Bryans 5 & 4 and Baberton’s Wendy Nicholson 8 & 6 to move on to a semi-final clash against Ferguson-Snedden. That means the number two and three seeds will face each other for a place in the final.

“I’m sharing a house with Elaine so we’re hoping to face each other in the final. That’s the dream anyway but there’s a lot to do to get there,” said Kyle.

“I live in Glasgow so we’ve had restrictions. I’ve had to self-isolate because a friend had tested positive for Covid. I missed all my County matches and was feeling a bit sorry for myself so I’m very pleased to get this far.

“It’s great to get back to competing after such a long break,” she added. “You just feel so grateful to be able to get back playing at your club but this is another level and you really have to concentrate.”

Scottish Seniors Matchplay Results 
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The semi-finals of the concurrent net competition will also be played at Aberdour in the morning. Jaci Moriarty from Comiston Ladies will face Gullane’s Sarah Ledingham in the first match on the course with the winner of that contest playing either Wakefield’s Elaine MacGregor or Turnhouse’s Morag Wardrop in the final.

Net Competition Matchplay Results
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ELAINE MOFFAT WINS THE SCOTTISH SENIORS STROKEPLAY FOR THE SECOND TIME IN A ROW

Elaine Moffat has claimed the Scottish Senior Women’s Stroke Play title for a second time in a row.

Moffat, from the St Regulus club in St Andrews, won the stroke play event the last time the championship was staged, at Edzell in 2019, and now she has repeated that success with a battling three-shot victory over Mortonhall’s Karen Ferguson-Snedden in challenging conditions at Aberdour.

The Fife player carded a 75 for the second successive day and goes forward as the top seed for the match play stage of the championship, having also won that title at both Prestwick St Nicholas in 2018 and Edzell the following year

A total of 16 women qualified for the match play championship with Moffat and Ferguson-Snedden being joined by Gillian Kyle (East Renfrewshire) who finished third with a 77 and Anne Hanson (Turnhouse) and Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) who were tied fourth one shot further behind. 

The other qualifiers (in order) were: Elizabeth Stewart (Greenburn), Karen Marshall (Baberton), Aileen Baker (Crail), Lorna McKinlay (Dunnikier Park), Linda Allan (Glenbervie), Wendy Nicholson (Baberton), Claire Capocci (Dunblane New), Iona McKean (Ladybank) Jennifer Bryans (Harburn), Liz Keohone (Loudoun Gowf) and Mandy McBain (Lochend).

Jackie Brown (Monifieth) lost out for 16th place in a card countback but will go forward as the top seed for the net competition contested by the next 16 players with the best net scores.

The draw for the main match play competition saw Moffat paired against McBain and Ferguson-Snedden being pitted against Keohone. The other first round matches are Kyle v Bryans, Hanson v McKean, Wood v Capocci, Stewart v Nicholson, Marshall v Allan and Baker v McKinlay. 

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ELAINE MOFFAT, AILEEN BAKER AND RUTH HUNTER TIE AT THE TOP OF THE SCOTTISH SENIORS WOMENS OPEN AT ABERDOUR ON DAY 1

From the Scottish Golf Website

Elaine Moffat got the defence of her title off to a promising start by sharing the lead after the first round of the Scottish Senior Women’s Open at Aberdour.

Moffat, from the St Regulus Ladies club in St Andrews, carded a six over par 75 to go into the second round of stroke play tied with Crail’s Aileen Baker and Ruth Hunter from Lanark and her performance was all-the-more impressive because just two weeks ago she was injured by two dogs on the beach and struggled to walk for a while. 

“I’m a bit surprised to have a share of the lead because I didn’t get the prep I wanted,” admitted Moffat, who won both the stroke play and match play titles the last time this championship was played, at Edzell back in 2019. 

“Just over two weeks ago, I got hit by two dogs on the beach and injured my leg quite badly. I couldn’t walk for a good week or so. I went to the chiro and got realigned but that was my practice out the window. I had to adapt and re-think everything. 

“It hasn’t been ideal for any of us,” she added. “It has been a long time since we’ve competed at this sort of level so hasn’t been easy.

I felt a mixture of elation and absolutely nerves and I think a few of us felt a bit like that. We’re so excited but not used to being in this position after being out for so long.”

Moffat, Baker and Hunter topped a congested leaderboard with Karen Ferguson-Sneddon (Mortonhall) and Karen Marshall (Baberton) tied fourth on 76 and 2016 champion Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) and Gillian Kyle (East Renfrewshire) in a share of sixth place on 77.

A total of 13 players go into the final round of stroke play within four shots of the lead. Iona McKean (Ladybank), Lorna McKinlay (Dunnikier Park), Linda Allan (Glenbervie) and Susie Macleod all share eighth place 78 while Anne Hanson (Turnhouse) and Wendy Nicholson (Baberton) are on 79.

The second round of stroke play is staged tomorrow with the top 16 qualifiers progressing to the match play stage of the competition. There is also a separate match play competition for the next 16 net qualifiers

LEADERBOARD

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ELAINE MOFFAT GOES FOR 3 TIMES IN A ROW AT THE SCOTTISH SENIORS AT ABERDOUR

Elaine Moffat - Photo Courtesy of Scottish Golf

Elaine Moffat will be bidding to claim the silverware for a third time in a row when she tees up in the Scottish Senior Women’s Open at Aberdour on 22-25 June.

Moffat, from the St Regulus Ladies club in St Andrews, won the match play title at Prestwick St Nicholas in 2018 and then completed the double by claiming both the stroke play and match play trophies at Edzell the last time the championship was staged back in 2019.

The senior international will start as the firm favourite but will face strong competition from a field that also includes 2016 champion Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) and Alison Davidson (nee Rose) from Stirling who was the last Scot to win the Women’s Amateur Championship (1997) before Louise Duncan’s triumph at Kilmarnock (Barassie) last weekend. Davidson is the low handicapper in the field with a playing handicap of plus three.

Aberdour is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and its stunning parkland will provide an excellent test of golf for the field. The course measures 5,447-yards (Par 69) from the white tees and is unusual in that it starts with two par threes. The first and several other holes enjoy a panoramic view towards the Firth of Forth while the second is played along the edge of the shore.

DRAW SHEET

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