By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Eight Scots in the leading 20 of the Senior British women’s open amateur stroke-play golf championship at the end of a storm-lashed day at West Kilbride was a good effort on the part of the home brigade.
Winds of up to 50mph … lashing rain … a hailstorm … it was all there in North Ayrshire. But the over-50 female golfers are made of stern stuff.
Portaloos out on the course were blown over (fortunately no one in them at the time).
A scoreboard came crashing down when the support legs simply sheered off due to the force of the wind.
Umbrellas were either blown to bits or last seen heading for Northern Ireland.
The clubhouse was awash with horror stories from happenings out on the course. The Canadian who finished second in the Irish seniors open last week required 97 shots to get round, including an 11 at the third and an 8 at the 10th.
Yet there was never any suggestion that the Ladies Golf Union would show some mercy and call the players in. The course was never flooded and remained open. The balls were never oscillating despite the gale. Let the show go on.
And from a field of 90 players there nil No Returns and only one retirement.
Well done, girls!
At the end of day that was more like January than mid-September, Kilmacolm exile Maureen Richmond (Royal Liverpool), pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency, and another former Curtis Cup player, Bev New from Somerset were the only two players to break 80.
They go into the second of three rounds sharing the pole position on six-over-par 78, one over the CSS (Reduction only).
Dr Richmond, a GP at Wallasey, is better remembered as Mo Walker, the teenager who won Curtis Cup and Vagliano Trophy honours, the British Girls Championship and three Scottish girls titles – and then, at the age of 19 entered medicine, virtually ringing down the curtain on what could have been a fabulous golf career.
“I only play in one big event a year – this one,” said 55-year-old Maureen. “I just can’t take time off from being a GP.
“How did I get it round in 78? In weather as bad as this you just have to get your head down and make the best of it. No point in feeling sorry for yourself. Just get on with it. And it helped that I am still pretty long off the tee.”
The other Scots who did well were Tain’s Anne Ryan, joint 10th with an 82, Heather Anderson (Blairgowrie), Jane Finnie (Troon Ladies) and May Hughes (Lanark), joint 12th on 83, and Lorna Bennett (Ladybank), Mary Smith (Tain), Fiona Anderson (Formby Ladies) and Fiona De Vries (St Rule), sharing 19th position.
SENIOR BRITISH WOMEN’S OPEN LEADING SCORES
AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
West Kilbride Golf Club, North Ayrshire
FIRST ROUND (end of play scores)
Par 72. Yardage: 5,849
78 Maureen Richmond (Royal Liverpool), Bev New (Lansdown).
80 Helen Jones (Strabane), Marilyn Henderson (Castlerock).
81 Ruth Lindley (Hartlepool), Vicki Thomas (Carmarthen), Sheena McElroy (Grange), Janet Melville (Sherwood Forest), Pat Doran (Donabate).
82 Anne Ryan (Tain), Caroline Marron (Bromborough).
Other Scots:
83 Heather Anderson (Blairgowrie), Jane Finnie (Troon Ladies), May Hughes (Lanark
84 Lorna Bennett (Ladybank), Mary Smith (Tain), Fiona Anderson (Formby Ladies), Fiona De Vries (St Rule),Alison Bartlett (Royal Dornoch).
86 Noreen Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh), Lynne Terry (Cruden Bay),
87 Catherine Garrett (West Kilbride),
88 Margaret Tough (Falkirk)
89 Janice Paterson (Drumpellier).
90 Anna Telfer (Milngavie), Jennifer Mack (Haggs Castle).
91 Alex Glennie (Kilmarnock Barassie).
92 Karen Ballantyne (Craigmillar Park)
93 Christine McAndrew (Nairn Dunbar), Lorraine Campbell (Cardross),
94 Helen Faulds (Douglas Park).
96 Ruth Brown (Lothianburn)
Retired: Pamela Willamson (Baberton).
+Field cut to leading 40 and ties after Round 2.
To read more go to the LGU Website
Click on the small thumbnail to see some photos from today's play
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| The 2010 Ladies British Senior Open Championship |
Here was the weather in West Kilbride today
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