East of Scotland Championship at Luffness on Sunday 27th Sept

The 2015 East of Scotland Championship hosted by East Lothian was played at Luffness New Golf Club.The competition was well supported by all the Counties involved (Fife, Midlothian, East Lothian and Stirling and Clackmannanshire) with the result that many hopeful competitors were unfortunately balloted out. There were 48 competitors and everyone played in glorious sunshine with no wind, very unusual for a Links Course. 

We now have the East of Scotland champion , Hannah Scott.   She won with an excellent scratch score of 70 - a new Ladies course record at Luffness New, beating the previous record of 75, held by Keren Ward (East Lothian) in the 2013 ELLCGA Spring Meeting. Very well done Hannah. Brilliant golf.

Hannah also helped our Midlothian team to win the County team cup with a score of 219. 

Our team consisted of Hannah Scott, Gabrielle Macdonald, Karen Marshall and Wendy Nicholson. Very well done to you all. 

 A big thank you to the East Lothian for organising this event this year. 

Results: CSS 73

Scratch

1 Hannah Scott, Broomieknowe (Midlothian)       70

2 Elaine Moffat, St Regulus (Fife)                        72

3 Susan Jackson, Ladybank (Fife)                        73

Handicap

1 Karen Burns, Bathgate (S&C) (6)                      68

2 Karen Ferguson, Liberton (Midlothian) (4)        71

3 Susan Penman (GLGC) (East Lothian)(6)           73 (b.i.h.)

Our Hannah with the EOS Championship Trophy

Our winning team of Hannah Scott, Gabrielle Macdonald, Karen Marshall and Wendy Nicholson with an amazing 219

Final Day at Stranraer

Amazingly although cooler today and overcast we managed to stay dry until around the 12th and then it became a not nice afternoon especially as we lost today by 3.5 to 5.5.

We won 2 out of the three foursomes matches in the morning but the singles though very hard fought were lost 1.5 to 4.

                                 Our foursomes teams. Great two wins out of three.

Great buzz on the final day singles in more seasonal weather than the first two days of beautiful sunshine.

 

 

 

What an exciting afternoon of singles. They were a strong team to beat but the girls certainly gave it there best shot. We lost the first two matches and won the third so only had to win two out of three to regain the trophy.

Wendy was 5 down at the 5th.. 2 lost balls and 3 birdies . But then came the great Wendy fight back to end up one down by the 15th. she was still only one down going down the 16th but great putting by Claire won the match for Angus. So two matches left and we needed them both.

Karen Marshall had a birdie two at the 15th to go 1 up in her match against Jemma Chalmers. Unfortunately a slightly miss aimed drive at the 16th put it back to A/S. An amazing putt by Angus on the 17th sadly put us one down and that was the end of our chances to win. But Karen's magic hands and a fantastic shot out of the bunker onto the green, to be shot of the day,  meant a halved match.

Hannah our backstop again, was 1 down going up the 18th and managed to half the last hole to end up just one down after a very exciting match.

Kate earns the title of 'woman of the match' as she won 5 out of her 6 matches. She is very attached to her new driver. Not surprising as she  was hitting it over 250yds!

So a great final day played in the best of spirits. Thank you team for your wonderful efforts.

Many congratulations to Angus for their win today.

The second day at Stranraer playing against Ayrshire

What another magnificent day with wall to wall sunshine. Better than over there in Heidleberg!!

Our Happy team below did us proud by winning 7.5 to 1.5. Some tense matches but we really have such a tenacious team that even when you think the tables have turned they manage to fight back.

We were out again at 09.30 and although there was a lot of dew on the ground the sun soon dried the course out.

Kate and Wendy led out our foursomes and romped round the course winning hole after hole to finish 6/5

Karen and Hannah followed but never quite got totally in the groove. They were one down going up the 18th which meant  a bit of nail biting but an excellent shot to the green and good put let them half the match .

Gabrielle and Louise were going really well in the first few holes to take them to 4 up by the 5th. They maintained this lead until the 10th when their opponents really started to put on the pressure. Again down to the wire with a win on the 18th.

Pressure on now to see what our singles players could achieve on a glorious afternoon.

Kate seems to have a tiger in her tank this week. She played briliantly to win 5/3.
Karen Marshall found her form again in the afternoon and was soon 4 up. Pressure from her opponent meant she ended up going up the 18th to win us another point.
Alison had a shaky start playing with water in the first few holes . She was 4 down coming down the 14th and won the next four holes to half the match. Brilliant come back.
Karen Ferguson was up for most of her round only having a hiccough towards the last few holes and ending up halving the match on the 18th.
Wendy was on great form this afternoon against a formidable opponent going three up at the 15th then winning the 16th . Winning the match 4 and 2.
Hannah was our backstop this afternoon and coped really well with that pressure. She was up from hole one and completed a great match on the 16th to win 3 and 2.

Overall another great day with lots of smiles on faces. A huge thank you to all our caddies who are doing a great job looking after the players.

Kate's shot of the day today was unfortunately her provisional when she hit it close to the pin with her drive on the 5th!

Another shot was a carefully thrown banana skin which may take some time to come down from where it is hanging in the trees!

Hope the forecast is wrong tomorrow but know our team will fight every inch of the way to bring home the trophy.

The first day of the finals at Stranraer

So far so good with the weather. Not quite as warm as yesterday but certainly warm enough for most to end up in shirt sleeves again.

A Hug to see them on their way

There was some really great golf played today by both teams resulting in some pretty tense matches but our brilliant team won out against Dumfriesshire winning 7 matches to 2.

Gabrielle Macdonald and Louise Fraser led our team out in the foursomes winning 1 up. Followed by Karen Marshall and Alison McBride who although having some great holes lost on the 17th. Kate McIntosh and Wendy Nicholson ended the foursomes with a fantastic win of 6/5.

Gabrielle led us out in the afternoon after an incredibly quick turnaround. She was playing Diane Macdonald who was really on amazing form. She had 2 birdies and an eagle in the first 3 holes.Gabrielle managed to fight back but lost eventually on the 16th.

Our Kate followed and she was on fire. Her new driver was working wonderfully to bring her to an incredible win on the 12th.

Hannah also played a great match and she shared the shot of the day. She won 4&3

Karen Ferguson settled down after a bit of a shaky start and really came too when she struck the pin on the short par 3 at the 6th. That was just the boost she needed to set her on her way to victory. It wasn't the best finish as her opponent sent two balls into the wilderness on the 17th and not finding them conceded the match as Karen was 2 up at this point and on the fairway.
  
Alison was hitting the ball beutifully this afternoon but so was her opponent until Alison went up at the 11th Then 2 up then 1 up and then an amazing up and down on the 15th par 3 to stay 1 up. A win at the next and a birdie to win the match on the 17th.

Louise was a real anchorman today and had us biting our nails around the 14th and 15th when she went from 3 up to 1 up. But Louise never gives up and sank a great putt on the 17th to win.

Shots of the day go to Hannah who eagled the par4 fourth hole. Just one bounce on the green and in it went.
Karen Marshall hit the most incredible shot out from in the trees in really thick rough to land right in the middle of the fairway. Most I feel would have definately declared it unplayable!
Then Karen Ferguson with her shot into the shot 6th to nearly get her first hole in one.

Here's to another day of the same tomorrow.

Here we are in Stranraer on our practice round.

This is the amazing 5th Hole  

 

 

 

Lets hope the beautiful weather continues tomorrow. Good luck to our girls tomorrow

Winter Foursomes

The draw for the Winter Foursomes can now be found under Draws.

Junior Championship

We are so glad that the weather yesterday is not like today as apart from a heavy shower the weather was perfect for golf at Murrayfield. The course looked in great condition for the competition and thanks to the club for the use of their course..

We had a great lineup of players with one or two missing due to other commitments.

Some good scores returned and the new Champion is Megan Linton with a gross 82 with the best last 6 holes.

Our President handing the Trophy to our new Junior Champion Megan Linton

The best net was won by Hannah Darling with a net 70 ie 82 - 12 =70

Tracy and best net scoring Hannah Darling

Well done and thanks so much to all those who took part. Some huge potential for our future Midlothian squads.

All the juniors who took part in the Championship at Murrayfield 2015

CSS 71

Ladies Home Internationals

Scotland put in a fantastic performance in the Home Internationals at Royal Wimbledon GC this week.  They started slowly with a loss to Ireland 2.5 - 6.5 on the first day. Then on day two, having lost the foursomes 1-2 against England a truly inspired performance saw them take 5 of the 6 singles games to record an historic victory over the title holders.  This included wins for both Gabrielle Macdonald and Kate McIntosh in true Midlothian County style!

With Ireland having drawn with Wales the competition was wide open.  If we could beat Wales, and depending on the Ireland v England result, the title could go to Scotland.  Were we dreaming?  Well out ahead England came back fighting and defeated Ireland.  Just like county days we were totting up the count-back points! A win would secure us the title. But despite a fantastic effort by Kate in particular, who turned her game around to win on the 18th and a sterling effort by Gabrielle, we came up just short, loosing to Wales 4-5. So we went from the possibility of winning the championship to being fourth in the space of the last few holes - just one game (a couple of putts!) short.  What a cruel but wonderful and exciting game golf is! 

All the team performed really well and the team spirit was excellent. It was the best performance by a Scotland team for many years.  And as my time as SLGA Performance Director comes to an end and we move forward in to a new era in Scottish Golf, it was particularly pleasing to have two Midlothian County players in the Scotland team doing their county and their country proud. Hopefully they will take that form and experience forward to the Country Finals in Stranraer where I will be performing my last SLGA duties and will of course be totally neutral!! 

Mary Richardson

The Final of the Scottish County Matches at Stranraer 18th to 20th Sept

Stranraer here we come and raring to go.

We have the winning team from Scotscraig Jamboree representing out County at this final in Stranraer.

Gabrielle Macdonald (Craigielaw)
Kate McIntosh (Broomieknowe)
Karen Marshall (Baberton)
Louise Fraser Kingsknowe)
Alison McBride Harburn)
Hannah Scott (Broomieknowe)
Wendy Nicholson (Broomieknowe)
Karen Ferguson (Liberton)

And reserve Kirsten Blackwood (Glencorse)

Please do come and join us and cheer the team on. If you can't make it and want to follow the scores you can use this link to keep a track of the scores

http://www.golfbox.dk/livescoring/tour/?language=2057#/competition/338759/roundrobin

I am sure you will join with me in wishing them every success next week

 

. Gabrielle Macdonald and Kate McIntosh at the Home Internationals

Two of our great Midlothian team playing for Scotland at the Home Internationals at Wimbledon this week. Some close matches yeasterday against Ireland but lost overall. 

Playing England today and we wish them all the very best.

Today was a win for Scotland 6-3 and singles wins for both our players with Gabrielle  just losing out on the foursomes.

Unfortunately we lost to Wales on the last day . Kate again won her singles and Gabrielle just missed out in both her matches.

They both did us proud very well done Gabrielle and Kate

Junior Championship

Times for Sunday

 

 

 

2.00    Megan Linton

           Carys Irvine

           Hannah Darling

2.10    Emily Rigg

           Samantha MacGregor

           Caitlin Turner

2.20    Lauren Reid

           Jessica Walker

           Lisa Macpherson

2.30    Abby Steedman

           Georgia Ledingham

Please be on the 1st tee 10 minutes before your start time

Race to Dunbar

 No winners from yesterday at Race to Dunbar but Megan Linton from Craigmillar Park won both the handicap and scratch orders of merit. Very well done Megan.

 

Midlothian Juniors who took part in the Race to Dunbar

Also on Saturday Lauren Reid won the under 16 order of merit and Lisa Macpherson won the under 16 flag competition.

Fantastic day for the final of the Champion of Champions

There was quite a crowd gathered to watch this final at the Burgess this afternoon in glorious sunshine. The , Karen Marshall and Karen Ferguson had played all the other Champions of the various clubs across Midlothian to compete in this prestigious event. Well done to them both for reaching the final.

Some great golf was played by both players despite the bunkers catching them both out in the first half.

Karen Marshall had some brilliant shots into the green and Karen Ferguson just missed and went into the greenside bunkers on a couple of occasions causing the loss of the holes.

Karen Marshall won through on the 14th green to become the new Champion of Champions. Well done Karen.

The match was played very professionally and with some exciting golf.

New Champion of Champions Karen Marshall for the third time

Well refereed by Janet Wake. The only decisions she had to make though were who was to play first.

Winner and runner up Karen Ferguson

Champion of Champions

The final of the Champion of Champions will take place at 12 noon on Sunday, 6th September at the Royal Burgess Golf Club between Karen Ferguson and Karen Marshall.  Spectators are very welcome.

You will be able to access the Burgess from Mayfield Rd and from Queensferry Rd but probably best to avoid Davidsons Mains. This is due to the Glasgow to Edinburgh cycle race.

Gibson Cup

The Gibson Cup is an exciting two day open foursomes event over the Braids. Please contact Zandra on her e mail if you wish to take part this year. It is the weekend of the 3rd and 4th October.

Don't forget also the East of Scotland at Luffness the 27th Sept. Application on East of Scotland website

Autumn Meeting - Results

Best Net Overall

Best Nett Overall                      Karen Marshall           71 – 2 – 69

(& McIntyre Trophy)             

2nd Best Nett                            Jennifer Bryans:         75 – 5 = 70

Bronze Division

1^st Handicap                             Denise Christie:          97 – 5 = 72                        

Scratch                                     Sandra Wilkes:           92

Silver Division

1^st Handicap                              Kate Johnston:           83 – 12 = 71

2^nd Handicap                             Gill Petrie:                 79 – 7 = 72

Scratch

1^st Scratch                                 Louise Fraser             70

(& Lady Ford Cup)

2^nd Scratch                                Hilary Laughland       75

There were 6 Twos

East of Scotland Girls at Gifford

Midlothian girls had a clean sweep of the handicap prizes at the East of Scotland girls Autumn meeting at Gifford yesterday. 

 

 Jessica Walker (Mortonhall)was the overall winner with a 93- 29 net 64

Under 14's Carys Irvine (Craigielaw)     81-14 net 67

Under 16's Samantha MacGregor  (Broomieknowe) 91-17 net 74

Under 18's Katie Darling (Ravelston) 87-12 net 75

 

Well done to all our girls. Great show by you all.