The European Senior Women’s Team Championship 2021 are being held in Bulgaria from 31 August – 4 September. Current restriction on travel to Bulgaria don’t allow UK nationals to enter and sadly we are unable to send our Senior Women’s team to the event.
The Scottish Senior Men’s team however are heading to Slovakia and includes Scottish Senior Order of Merit leader Paul Moultrie from Royal Troon and team Captain Ronnie Clark (Erskine) winner of the 2018 Scottish Senior Men’s Open Championship, the same year he featured in the Concession Cup in Florida.
Ronnie Clark said: “After nearly 2 years of what has been difficult times for everyone, it’s great to be back competing in this event and we’re grateful to Scottish Golf for their support. We have a strong, experienced team whom I believe are more than capable of having an extremely successful week.”
Clare Queen, Head of Performance at Scottish Golf said: “Congratulations to the players on their selection, it’s a strong team with plenty of experience and we wish them well in Slovakia.”
A full team list for Scotland’s Senior Men’s Team can be found below:
After a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Curtis Cup will be contested this week at Conwy Golf Club in Wales.
This is the 41st edition of the biennial competition, which pits top female amateurs from the United States against their counterparts from Great Britain and Ireland. The Americans hold a 29-8-3 advantage and are coming off a dominating performance in 2018.
Three years ago at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, New York, the U.S. swept all eight singles matches en route to a 17-3 triumph.
GB&I, however, has won each of the last two competition on home soil, doing so in 2016 in Ireland and 2012 in Scotland.
This year’s event will begin tomorrow on Thursday, Aug. 26th The two teams will compete in foursomes and fourballs (three matches each session) each of the first two days and then eight singles matches on the last day
GB&I:
Hannah Darling (Scotland; No. 25 on World Amateur Golf Ranking)
The County Finals were last played in 2019 with none in 2020 due to Covid -- That year Ayrshire Ladies' County Golf Association became champions with Carnoustie's star - amateur Louise Duncan in the team -- Click here to read the full report then
Three County teams will fight it out to be the 2021 Scottish County Champions at the finals in Forres from Friday 27th August - Sunday 29th August.
West Division Winners D&A Photo courtesy of Lorraine Campbell
They are Dunbartonshire & Argyll, who are representing the West Division, Midlothian the East and Perth & Kinross the North.
There is no team from the South Division this year as they were unable to get their County Jamboree played.
Instead, Scottish Golf has invited Northern Counties to supply a team to keep the round robin format of the finals intact.
Order of Play (Friday to Sunday)
Day 1: D&A v Perth & Kinross - and - Midlothian v North
Day 2: Midlothian v D&A - and - North v Perth & Kinross
Day 3: Midlothian v Perth & Kinross - and - D&A v North
For those who knew Margot Stewart (Erskine) - she died on the 15th August at the age of 99 .
Margot was born in her parents house where she lived in all her days and died at home (not many people could have managed that) -- She was a real feisty lady in fact a bit of a legend.
She was also Past Secretary of Renfrewshire Ladies' County Golf Association(1989 - 1991) and treasurer for the West Vets for 5 years retiring in 1999
Many hockey players may remember Margot - She was a Scottish Internationalist (Centre Forward) and then a Scottish International and West District Selector in the 60's and 70's
As she got older and took up golf she started to get a lot of bother with her knees (as many hockey players do !) and when your webmaster met her at Erskine she would often ask me how my knees were !!
She used to meet the late Dorothea Hastings, Jean Brown and others every Friday for lunch regularly
She was a real character who loved her regular wee dram at the Golf Club and was able to drive down to the club until she was about 95 - Her car did get a few dents and scrapes !!
She finally got a taxi down to Erskine after that and it took many of of her friends at the club about 15 minutes to get her out the lounge as she would talk non stop to everyone on the way.
You just had to admire her determination and spirit !!
The Funeral is on Monday 30th and arrangements are in today’s Glasgow Herald - CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK —- >> GLASGOW HERALD
The Glasgow Golf Club who recently opened its doors to female members held the inaugural Robertson Rosebowl Family Foursomes at Killermont GC on Sunday.
Susan O'Neill (Milngavie) who is a new member was thrilled to win this new trophy donated by Colin Robertson in memory of his son Guy.
Susan was partnered by her son Ewan and Jemma Robertson (daughter of Guy) is pictured with them with the new trophy.
Fifteen girls participated for the Renfrewshire County Junior Campbell Clock Stableford competition over 18 holes at Whitecraigs Golf Club yesterday, 22nd August.
This was won by Ellen Bentley [Pollok] with 40 points, 2nd place was Jayla Kepler [Greenock] with 39 points and 3rd place was Lucie Barclay [Kilmacolm] with 38 points. (click on Ellen’s name and points to see her card)
Also played for today was the Junior County Championship trophy won by Orla Rooney [Cowglen]. with a fabulous gross score - click here of 75
We also had some girls participating in the 8 hole and PAR 3 with Brooke McMeekin [Whitecraigs] winning the 8 hole and Jazyln Sandhu [Whitecraigs] the PAR 3.
This year we also had some off the intermediate ladies participating (over 18) , Alison MacNab [Lochwinnoch] won this category with a great 36 points.
There were some nearest the pin and putting competitions and it was great to see so many players and family members wait for the prize giving.
Thanks to our volunteers and for Whitecraigs Golf Club for the courtesy off the course
Louise Duncan was delighted with the way she handled the increasing pressure and attention during the course of an unforgettable week at Carnoustie.
The 21-year-old Scot shot a level-par 72 on the final day to share in a tie for 10th and received a rapturous reception from her home crowd as she made her way over the Barry Burn to the 18th green.
The Women’s Amateur Champion now has more silverware for her collection having lifted the Smyth Salver – awarded to the leading amateur at the AIG Women’s Open.
It was a trophy lifted by newly-crowned Champion Anna Nordqvist in 2008 and Duncan’s performance has given her confidence she can take the increased expectations in her stride.
“I thought I handled it very well,” she said. “I thought I would crumble a wee bit but I seemed to hold my nerve out there and played well on the last day, which was ultimately my goal.
“It will maybe take a couple weeks to sink in. I feel over the moon with how I played and how I handled it.
“I had a great time, and yeah, really happy with how I played the past four days.
“It gives me a big confidence boost. I'll take this into my next few events and into next year as well.”
Duncan signalled her intent with a four-under 68 on the opening day at Carnoustie and, having comfortably made the cut, surged into Championship contention by repeating the trick on Saturday.
Resuming two shots adrift of the overnight leaders, a birdie at the first got her final round off to the perfect start before back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11, each greeted by hearty roars from the Scottish faithful, kept the fairytale dream alive.
The University of Stirling student could not make further inroads and bogeyed two of the testing final three holes but that did not stop her savouring the experience.
The Curtis Cup is next up from Thursday and, beyond that, Duncan admits she will now have to consider her options as she weighs up turning professional.
“I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen over the next year, year and a half or whatever,” she said.
“I’ve still got a couple years left at Uni and the amount of time I've been at Uni, I think I need a degree out of it.
“I don't really know what the plan is and I’ll have to sit down and have a wee think about it.
“[This week has been] outstanding, pretty surreal and yeah, just dead exciting.
“The 18th there, just the crowd cheering, I really appreciated the support. To have the fans behind me, it's been great.”
A Couple of photos from a fan - Courtesy of Susan Wood (Drumpellier) Scottish Girls -- Team Captain
Louise Duncan said she felt “mind-blown” after the 21-year-old West Kilbride amateur capped a week to remember with a top-10 finish behind Anna Nordqvist in the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie.
Playing against the pros for the first time in her career, Duncan had the home fans roaring as she started her final round with a birdie before going on to close with a level-par 72 for a seven-under 281 total.
The sensational effort earned the Women’s Amateur champion a tie for 10th, becoming the first Scot since Monifieth’s Kathryn Imrie in 1988 to claim the Smyth Salver as leading amateur and the first to do so since it became a major.
“I feel a bit mind-blown, as if it’s not happened yet,” admitted Duncan. “It will maybe take a couple of weeks to sink in. I feel over the moon about how I played and handled it. I had a great time and I am really happy how I played over the four days.
“I don’t know what the expectation was but it has definitely been exceeded. I couldn’t have written the week any better. I’m glad it’s not a fluke and I played well all four days.”
Duncan, who started the dayjusttwoshotsoffthelead after delighting the home fans with a stirring Saturday effort in the rain, received a huge cheer as she appeared on the first tee ahead of her 2.25pm tee time.
Playing alongside Swede Madalene Sagstrom in the third last group, the Scot calmed any nerves she may have had by safely finding the fairway with an iron, then raising an even bigger roar than the earlier one as she calmly rolled in an eightfooter for an opening birdie.
With Scottish Amateur champion Angus Carrick and Scottish Women’s Amateur runner-up Tara Mactaggart among those watching on, Duncan split the fairway with her drive at the second and wasn’t far away from making it a birdie-birdie start from around 15 feet.
Most players were taking an iron to lay up short of the two fairway bunkers at the third, but not Duncan. Oozing with confidence, she flew the trouble to leave herself with just a wedge. A bit heavy-handed with that, her putting touch was exquisite as a par-4 went down on the card.
That was repeated at the next, where a testing threefooter was confidently converted, before a 10-foot birdie chance went a-begging at the fifth after she’d taken dead aim at the flag on the back tier.
Duncan’s average driving distance heading into the final round had been 283 yards, bettered only by Lexi Thompson, while the Scot was tied for 22nd for fairways hit with an average of 67 per cent.
Duncan dropped her first shot of the day after being left off the tee at the ninth, then right behind a bunker with her approach,
But, not for the first time during the week, the Ayrshirewoman showed she’s made of stern stuff.
Only the second player to achieve the feat in the final round, she made a brilliant birdie from 15 feet at the 10th before making it back-toback gains with a two-putt 3 at the next, where the tee had been moved up to make the green driveable.
Four straight pars were followed by a bogey-4 at the 16th before she then dropped a shot at the last, but the rapturous reception for her at the end said it all. Scottish golf has a new star.
Ranfurly Castle played their final Greenlees Match last week in Division 2 and have ended up with a fantastic 47 points.
They now look pretty certain of winning the division and being promoted back to Division One next season. CLICK HERE FOR GREENLEES TOTALS (subject to updates)
It was a the day that Nancy MacGadie (pictured above ) decided to have her final game in the team after playing for them for SEVEN DECADES !! -- She had played in Division 1 since 1978 until 2019 until they were demoted to Division 2 .
Nancy's first match was in 1964 wasagainst Prestwick St Nicholas and her handicap at the time was 13
Her present Handicap is 15 and she managed to halve her final Greenlees match -- a fantastic finish to a long and wonderful time supporting her club team. -- True dedication and loyalty.
The current Ranfurly Castle team had a presentation for her after the match. Well done Nancy -- Enjoy your retirement -- You really deserve it
Its seems amazing how time flies when Nancy was recognised by the club for play in SIX DECADES - CLICK HERE
The Women's Amateur Champion Louise Duncan (Ayrshire LGGA and West Kilbride) excelled once more today with a round of 68 in the 3rd round of the Women's AIG Championship at Carnoustie to finish on 7 under -- 2 shots behind the leaders
IF YOU CLICK ON HER NAME ON THE LEADERBOARD AND THEN ON HIGHLIGHTS YOU WILL GET A 60 SECOND VIDEO OF HER HIGHLIGHTS TODAY AND AN INTERVIEW AT THE END OF HER ROUND
Videos when you click on highlights after clicking on Louise Duncan's name on the leaderboard
An ecstatic Louise Duncan revelled in the backing of the home crowd after her dream week at Carnoustie continued with another outstanding performance in round three.
The reigning Women’s Amateur Champion enhanced her chances of completing a remarkable double triumph by shooting a four-under 68 on Saturday.
At seven-under for the Championship, the 21-year-old trails leaders Anna Nordqvist and Nanna Koerstz Madsen by just two shots and will play in the third-last group in the final round.
“It’s not really sunk in, to be honest. I don’t really know what I’ve just done. I just really enjoyed it out there,” said Duncan after matching the opening-day score that thrust her into the limelight.
After surging into contention with the aid of five birdies, Duncan fired a stunning approach into the final hole and was afforded a rapturous reception as she crossed the Barry Burn.
“It was special. It doesn’t get much better than that, really,” she added.
“To come over that bridge, it was all very surreal and I loved every moment of it. It felt great, to have everyone supporting me and cheering me on like that is just phenomenal, and I couldn’t thank everyone enough
“My phone’s been going absolutely mental, along with my socials as well. It’s great to have all the support and have all of Scotland behind me.”
Another standout moment for Duncan came on the 15th, where she holed a lengthy birdie putt to the delight of the spectators gathered around the green.
“I’d missed a couple of relatively short ones the past two holes for birdies, so I felt like I was kind of due a long one,” she explained.
Duncan is firmly on course to claim the Smyth Salver after opening up a commanding lead over the two other amateurs to make the cut, Lauren Walsh and Annabell Fuller.
Yet an even bigger prize could yet come Duncan’s way on Sunday as she seeks to become the first amateur to win the AIG Women’s Open since Marta Figueras-Dotti at Royal Birkdale in 1982.
The youngster knows she will be nervous as she chases victory, but the events of the last three days provide her with increased belief.
“It gives me a bit of confidence, to know that I actually can go out there and play well on a big stage in front of quite a few folk,” she added.
“I wouldn’t say (I feel) pressure, but I’d definitely say nerves. I’ve spoken about it all week.
“They’re definitely there and they still are there. I don’t think they’ll go away tomorrow either. Just being able to handle it, taking a few deep breaths before every shot has really helped.”
The dream continues for Scotland's Louise Duncan(West Kilbride) despite not quite matching the heights of her opening-day 68 but remains in contention entering the weekend after a 2nd round of 73 to finish -3 after Day 2 at the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie.
Leading after the 2nd round on 7 under is American Mina Harigue and Georgia Hall the 2018 Ricoh British Champion who Louise played with in both rounds.
Georgia said she can see something of herself in the 21-year-old Scot.
"I think she's a lot like me,” she said. “Quite quiet, just lets her golf do the talking.
“She's a very natural golfer. She just goes up and hits it which I think is a lot like me, too. She's an amazing talent and it was really nice to play with her.”
Jan Macnab (Peggy Clark Trophy) Jennifer (RLCGA Champion) and Morag Cunningham (Irvine Trophy Winner)
Jennifer Rankine (Haggs Castle) and Julie Wilson (Williamwood) qualified for this year’s Championship Final, having beaten Alyson McGinnigle (Williamwood) and Denise Cowan (Ranfurly Castle) respectively in the semi-finals.
Julie started with a birdie at the first to go 1 up but Jennifer immediately hit back with an eagle at the second to square the match. The remainder of the first nine was very close with some near perfect golf and the match was all square at the turn (both players were -3 and -2 respectively).
Jennifer won holes 10 and 11 to go 2 up and with the next six holes being halved with scratch golf, Jennifer went on to win 2 and 1.
Well done to both finalists for producing an excellent game and a big “thank you” to those who came out to spectate and support this year’s final.
“In calm conditions, local ladies Ranfurly Castle's Morag Cunningham and Vicky Rennie (off 32 and 33 respectively) played the match in a very sporting manner, and it most certainly was a match of two halves.
Vicky was 3 up at the turn, but Morag fought back to win the next three holes in a row. Holes were fairly even after that until Morag won the 17th, to go 1 up, and held on to halve the 18th and win the match.
NB: At the 15th, Morag’s tee shot hit the cliff and returned to the back of the tee!!!
There were 112 entries in Kilmacolm's Open Day) yesterday (19th August) and in addition to some great golf, their guests raised over £510 for Beatson Cancer Charity.
Amateur Louise Duncan (West Kilbride) is playing in the AIG Women's Open over Carnoustie after qualifying by winning the 2021 British Women's Amateur Championship in June
She had a 68 - 4 under par and played the 18th beautifully from tee to green and two-putted for a closing par. A day to remember for the young Scot, who is in pole position for the Smyth Salver and only one behind the leaders.
Other Scots playing are Kylie Walker, Kelsey MacDonald, Gemma Dryburgh and Catriona Matthew
Louise Duncan was understandably elated after overcoming her nerves to shoot a fantastic 68 on day one of the AIG Women’s Open.
The Women’s Amateur Champion had acknowledged in the build-up to her major debut that she was feeling the pressure of competing on the biggest stage.
Yet Duncan looked totally at home on the famous Carnoustie links as she went round in four under to trail leaders Nelly Korda, Madelene Sagstrom and Sei Young Kim by just a single stroke.
“I played great,” said a smiling Duncan after her magnificent performance.
“I was happy to get it off the first and find the fairway … but I played steady all the way round, putted well and hit the ball really nice.
"It’s a bit surreal really, to be playing with the best players in the world and some really big names. It’s all a bit mad.
“I don’t really know how I managed to keep (my nerves) under control. I just tried to find the clubface really.”
The highlight of Duncan’s day came at the par-5 14th, where she followed back-to-back birdies by holing a 30-foot eagle putt to spark roars of delight from spectators.
“That was a great feeling. I wouldn’t have ever pictured that, to be fair, but it was brilliant, and to hear all the crowd, it’s a different experience to anything I’ve ever had,” added the 21-year-old Scot.
Her opening-day score matched the performance of illustrious playing partner and 2018 AIG Women’s Open Champion Georgia Hall, who provided a helping hand on Duncan’s big day.
“Playing with Georgia, she really settled me in there,” added Duncan. “She was lovely and chatted to me quite a bit. It definitely helped with the nerves.
“I think it was about the eighth hole when I started to calm down a wee bit, but it was great to play with Georgia. She was really lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
