A Fantastic Achievement.

Midlothian's Gabrielle Macdonald  (Craigielaw) today became the 100th Scottish Amateur Champion at Prestwick Golf Club where she defeated top seeded Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies) in an epic final that went to the 19th hole. She becomes the first Midlothian winner since around the 1930's.

Gabrielle entered the match stages of the tournament as 10th Qualifier and, on her way to the final, overcame top players including Clara Young, Ailsa Summers and Megan Briggs.

The final was closely contended and after losing the first, Gabrielle retaliated to go 2 up at the turn. Connie then played amazing golf to win the 10th, 11th and 12th to go 1 up. It was then nail biting stuff with both players falling victim to the treacherous rough over the next few challenging holes and eventually finishing the 18th all square.

Gabrielle finally emerged victorious on the 19th,Connie having missed the green with her approach shot.

Both girls played amazing golf on a course where the rough takes no prisoners and commiserations to Connie who played spectacular golf all week.

Well done Emily

Great performance by Emily Dalgetty at the Irish under 18s this week in Dublin. A final one over round of 74 in tough conditions saw her jump up the final placings and won her a prize for the best final round score out with the main prizewinners.

Squad Match v. Lanarkshire

Our annual match against Lanarkshire was held on a dreich, foggy and cold day at Harburn. The weather didn't manage to dampen the spirit of either team and some stunning golf was on display.
Congratulations to both teams not only for the excellent golf but for managing to find their way in the fog round a challenging course which was in excellent condition.

Midlothian emerged the winners by 3 matches to 2

Results were as follows:

Wendy Nicholson & Emily Dalgetty halved with Lesley Lloyd & May Hughes
Alison McBride & Kate McIntosh beat. Susan Wood & Susan McGrenaghan 1 up
Karen Marshall & Rachael Livingstone beat Jenny Potter & Emma Caddow 3&1
Hannah Scott & Jennifer Bryans beat. Fiona Scott & Ruth Rankin 6 &5
Eilidh Crawford & Emma Morrison lost to Erin Johnston & Emily Glencorse 2 up

Thanks to Harburn for their hospitality and to Lanarkshire Ladies whom we look forward to competing against, again, next year.

Photos courtesy of Jean Macintyre Lanarkshire

Squad match V Scottish Vets

 

Our girls were in good form and some excellent golf was played by both sides - Anne Ryan scoring a hole in one at the 12th.

Midlothian came out tops but all games were keenly contested.

Results are as follows:

Louise Fraser and Kate McIntosh bt. Mary Smith and Anne Ryan 2 & 1
Hannah Scott and Alison Mc Bride lost to Fiona deVries and Lesley Lloyd 7 & 5
Wendy Nicholson and  Eilidh Crawford beat Alex Glennie and May Hughes 3&2
Emily Dalgetty and Tracy Laughland beat Kathleen Webster and Ann Hanson 2&1

Thanks to Noreen Fenton for setting up the fixture - hopefully the first of many - and thanks to Baberton for their hospitality and courtesy of the course.

Squad match v. Borders

 On a breezy but almost Spring-like day our Squads held their annual friendly match against Borders Ladies Golfing Association at Newbattle Golf Club.
Border's team was somewhat depleted  but some good golf was played and enjoyed  by all who competed.

Main squad results (off scratch):

Louise Fraser & Kate McIntosh beat Fiona Ker & Sharon Paterson 2 & 1
Rachael Livingstone & Emily Dalgetty lost to Judith Anderson & Marnie Waddell 2&1

Junior results(off handicap):

Eilidh Crawford & Kirsty Burgess lost to Katie Darling & Julia Smith 5 &4
Ailsa Lamond and Lisa MacPherson beat Sophie Aitchison & Rebecca McDonald 5 & 4

The Borders Junior team was depleted by illness with only Rebecca representing Borders. However the girls had fun and congratulations to our Development girls for their outstanding performances.

The course, especially the greens was in excellent condition. Thanks to Newbattle for their hospitality and to all those who supported our girls.

Squads for 2014

We are pleased to announce the following Midlothian Squads for 2014:

Main Squad:
Kirsten Blackwood (Glencorse)
Eilidh Crawford (Harburn)
Emily Dalgetty (Glencorse)
Louise Fraser (Kingsknowe)
Fiona deVries (St Rule)
Rachael Livingstone (Craigmillar Park)
Gabrielle Macdonald (Craigielaw)
Karen Marshall (Baberton)
Alison McBride (Harburn)
Kate McIntosh (Broomieknowe)
Wendy Nicholson(Broomieknowe)
Hannah Scott (Broomieknowe)
+Rachael Watton (Mortonhall) USA based

Junior Squad incl. Development Squad
Sophie Aitchison (Murrayfield)
Kirsty Burgess (Silverknowes)
Eilidh Crawford (Harburn)
Emily Dalgetty (Glencorse)
Katie Darling (Ravelston)
Ailsa Lamond (Boat of Garten))
Megan Linton (Craigmillar Park)
Alex Massey (Elie & Earlsferry)
Anna Massey (Elie &Earlsferry)
Lisa MacPherson (Baberton)
Lauren Metcalfe (Murrayfield)
Emma Morrison (Craigmillar Park)
Carys Irvine (Swanston)
Kayleigh Singer (Dundas Parks)
Julia Smith (Murrayfield)
Emily Thain (Elie &Earlsferry)
Caitlin Turner (Baberton)
Emma Watson (Broomieknowe)

Scottish County Champions 2013!

Congratulations to Captain Sheila and the Midlothian team! Winners of the Scottish County Finals by the smallest of margins.

The story of Day 3
We started the day knowing that we needed an 8-1 win, at least, over Borders to put  us back in the frame. Then all we could do was hope for a 5-4 victory by Renfrewshire over Aberdeenshire.

Mid morning, things weren't looking good, as although Wendy and Rachael were on fire in their match, we were down in our other 2  matches. Gabrielle and Louise managed to dig deep and secure a win but, the thus far unbeaten duo of Emily and Kate struggled with their form and enabled Borders to deservedly win the 3rd match. By lunchtime we were 2-1 up but needed to win all 6 singles ties in the afternoon to be in with a chance.

Gabrielle took an early lead over Tara before Tara found her form to bring the match back to all square.
The 2nd match out between Rachael and Dani was a closely contested affair. Meanwhile Emily and Kate, reinvigorated after the morning and knowing what they had to do, just got better and better and secured clear early wins. No-one doubted that an on form Wendy would play her part which she did with a convincing 6 and 4 win. So we took an early 3-0 lead.

Gabrielle then pushed ahead and being up going down the last secured a clear win by holing a massive put on the 18th. Meanwhile Rachael suddenly seemed to be inspired and show us the golf that we knew she was capable of, to secure a 2 and 1 win over Danni Ker. So now it was 5-0.

Who better to rely on to perform when the pressure is on but Karen! One up going down the 18th and a stunning pitch from the right rough to the green and we knew it was in the bag!

An 8-1 win.

We had done all we could and now we could only sit back and wait for the Renfrewshire v Aberdeenshire matches to be completed.  Renfrewshire beat Aberdeenshire by 5 matches to 4  which meant that 3 Counties were level on match points.

The waiting until the count back was completed seemed endless. Then to add to our discomfort the organisers waited until all their carefully prepared speeches and thank yous were over before announcing the result!

Midlothian 4 match points - Aberdeenshire 4 match points - Renfrewshire 4 match points
Midlothian 17 game points - Aberdeenshire 17 game points (Renfrewshire 16 game points)
Game points excluding halved matches 16-16!
Holes played in winning matches -Midlothian 252 Aberdeenshire 253!!

What a great advertisement for County golf!

Well done girls - you thoroughly deserved it in the end for the way you stuck in there and fought to the bitter end. But commiserations to Aberdeenshire - you really deserve a share of the trophy.

Thanks to Stirling golf club for their hospitality and thanks to Dawn and Toni and all their helpers and referrees for an excellently organised event, and to all the County Players not only for their wonderful golf but for the impressive spirit in which the golf was played. 

Young Guns keep Midlothian hopes alive

Fantastic performances by the whole team, and Emily Dalgetty and Kate McIntosh in particular (they have both won 4 matches out of 4), resulted in a 5-4 victory over Renfrewshire today.  In true Midlothian style the girls put in a massive effort to keep us in with a fighting chance, depending on the Aberdeenshire - Renfrewshire result tomorrow. Also bringing up the rear in the singles this afternoon, the experienced and unflappable Wendy Nicholson and Karen Marshall secured the victory.

Morning foursomes
Gabrielle Macdonald and Louise Fraser lost to Alyson McKeckin and Katrina Milne 2 and 1
Emily Dalgetty and Kate McIntosh beat Megan Briggs and Carol Whyte 1 up
Wendy Nicholson and Rachael Livingstone halved with Donna Jackson and Liz Stewart

Singles
Gabrielle lost to Megan Briggs 2 down
Emily beat Katrina Milne 3 and 1
Kate beat Alyson McKechin 2 and 1
Louise lost to Gillian Kyle 5 and 4
Wendy beat Carol Whyte 4 and 3
Karen Marshall halved with Donna Jackson

Scottish County Finals Day 1

Well it wasn't quite the start we had hoped for today. We won the foursomes 2-1 against Aberdeenshire this morning, and needing three singles victories this afternoon, unfortunately we only managed two. But right to the end it could have gone either way and the girls as usual gave their all against very tough opposition. But as we know from previous experiences, anything can happen and there is still all to play for.  A win against Renfrewshire ( who beat Borders 7-2 today) is what's required to get us back in with a chance.

 Morning foursomes:
Gabrielle Macdonald and Louise Fraser bt Sammy Leslie and Shannon McWilliam 3 and 2
Emily Dalgetty and Kate McIntosh bt Donna Pocock and Kimberly Beveridge 3 and 2
Wendy Nicholson and Karen Marshall lost to Carol Wilson and Sara Mathieson 3 and 2

Afternoon Singles:
Gabrielle Macdonald lost to Sammy Leslie 2 and 1
Louise Fraser lost to Kimberly Beveridge 5 and 4
Emily Dalgetty bt Claire Prouse 5 and 3
Hannah Scott lost to Sara Mathieson 3 and 2
Rachael Livingstone lost to Shannon McWilliam 2 and 1
Kate McIntosh bt Carol Wilson 3 and 2

Congratulations Gabrielle

Congratulations to Gabrielle Macdonald who has been selected to represent Scotland in the Women's Home Internationals at Scotscraig Golf Club, Fife from 11 to 13 September.

County Finals

The team selected for the County Finals at Stirling is as follows:

Emily Dalgetty (Glencorse)
Louise Fraser (Kingsknowe)
Rachael Livingstone (Craigmillar Park)
Karen Marshall (Baberton)
Gabrielle MacDonald (Craigielaw)
Kate McIntosh (Broomieknowe)
Wendy Nicholson (Broomieknowe)
Hannah Scott (Broomieknowe)

1st.reserve Claire Hargan (St Regulus)
2nd.reserve Sal Shepherd ( Craigmillar Park)

The County Finals are being held at Stirling Golf Club on September 20 -22.
Our team would welcome your support and we wish them success.

Midlothian retain East Division County Trophy

Congratulations to the Midlothian team who drew with Fife today to retain the East Division County title. We halved both the foursomes and singles in a typical Midlothian Fife tussle.

Well done Captain Sheila and the team!

Foursomes
Rachael Watton and Kate McIntosh halved with Elaine Moffat and Lauren White
Jane Turner and Gabrielle Macdonald bt Fiona Hastie and Sam Munro 6/5
Rachael Livingstone and Emily Dalgetty lost to Karin Sharp and Lorna McKinlay by 1 hole

Singles 
Rachael Watton bt Lauren Whyte by 1 hole
Hannah Scott halved with Rachel Hanlon
Gabrielle Macdonald lost to Elaine Moffat 2/1
Rachael Livingstone lost to Fiona Hastie 5/4
 Louise Fraser halved with Sam Munro
Jane Turner bt Karin Sharp 5/4

Midlothian still on track!

What a day at Glenbervie. The team faced East Lothian after our neighbours had beaten Fife 8–1 yesterday. The morning foursomes were tight with three great matches which could have gone either way.  But in true Midothian style the girls put in some gutsy performances to take the foursomes 3-0. Could they keep it up in the afternoon? Yes they did, winning 5 out of 6 for an amazing 8-1 victory.

Some great golf was played but a relatively young team. Well done team - lets finish it tomorrow against Fife

Foursomes
Rachael Watton and Kate McIntosh bt Yasemin Sari and Clara Young 1 up
Rachael Livingstone and Emily Dalgetty bt Lesley Atkins and Keren Ward 2 and 1
Jane Turner and Gabrielle Macdonald bt Lesley Nicholson and Hilary Wardell 3 and 2

Singles
Rachael Watton lost to Yasemin Sari 3and 2
Jane Turner bt Clara Young 2and 1
Gabrielle Macdonald bt Hilary Wardell 6 and 5
Emily Dalgetty bt Leslry Atkins 3 and 1
Hannah Scott bt Keren Ward 2 and 1
Louise Fraser bt Lesley Nicholson 3 and 2

In the other match Stirling and Clackmannanshire beat Fife 5 - 4 ( foursomes 1.5 and 1.5; singles 3.5 - 2.5

Inter County Matches Day 1

Midlothian got off to a flying start at the East Division Inter County Matches at Glenbervie today beating Stirling and Clackmannanshire 8-1 (Foursomes 2-1 and singles 6-0)

Morning Foursomes
Rachael Watton and Kate 'McIntosh beat Louise Macgregor and Linda Allan 5 and 4
Rachael Livingstone and Emily Dalgetty beat Elaine Allison and Claire Capocci 3 and 1
Hannah Scott and Gabrielle Macdonald lost to Mhairi Hall and Karen Burns 4 and 2

Singles
Rachael Watton beat Louise MacGregor 6 and 4
Hannah Scott beat Laura Bisset 1 hole
Rachael Livingstone beat Mhairi Hall 3 and 2
Louise Fraser beat Elaine Allison 1 hole
Kate McIntosh beat Margo Gardner 4 and 2
Jane Turner beat Linda Allen 5 and 4

In the other match East Lothian beat Fife 8-1. (3-0 and 5-1)

Midlothian team for East Division County matches

The team for the East Division inter-county team championship at Glenbervie Golf Club from 24 -26th June  is:

Emily Dalgetty (Glencorse)
Louise Fraser (Kingsknowe)
Rachael Livingstone (Craigmillar Park)
Gabrielle McDonald (Craigielaw)
Kate McIntosh (Broomieknowe)
Hannah Scott (Broomieknowe)
Jane Turner (Craigielaw)
Rachael Watton (Mortonhall)

Reserves:
Karen Marshall (Baberton)
Wendy Nicholson (Broomieknowe)

Midlothian are the cuurent holders of the East of Scotland title and support for our team at Glenbervie would be much appreciated..
Foursomes matches are in the morning starting at 9am and afternoon singles start at 1.45pm

Midlothian v Lanarkshire

Our annual match against Lanarkshire was played on Sunday at Lanark G.C on a dry and sunny, although somewhat chilly, day. The course was in great condition and some excellent golf was on show. The game was played in a very friendly spirit and ended for the second year in a row with a 3-3 half.

Many thanks to Lanark for their warm hospitality.

Results were: 
Karen Marshall & Wendy Nicholson won 4 and 3
Jane Turner &  Emily Dalgetty won 2 up
Louise Fraser & Kate McIntosh lost 2 and 1
Kirsten Blackwood & Sal Shepherd lost 2 &1
Eilidh Crawford & Heather Laing won 2 up
Juniors. Jessica Dalgetty & Emma Morrison lost 5 and 4

Photos courtesy of Jean Macintyre (Lanarkshire)

County Finals

Congratulations to the Midlothian team on another great year, reaching the County Finals once again, and finishing as very credible runners up.  The team played some fantastic golf over the three days and put up a gutsy defence of our title.  But it didn't quite work out on the last day and we were beaten by a young, enthusiastic Angus team who played some amazing golf to be Sottish County Champions after a 104 year wait!  .

We have a fantastic team and girls, we are all proud of you . You have established yourselves as "the team to beat" and although we didn't quite get there this year - we will be back!

A huge thank you to VC Sheila and Secretary Hilary for all their hard work and support at Montrose and to our fantastic bunch of caddies and supporters - the best in the country!

The story in pictures .....

Midlothian are runners- up

Well it wasn't to be today. After halving the foursomess in the morning in the deciding match against Angus, things did not go our way in the afternoon singles. We were beaten by a fantastic young Angus team who played the most amazing golf this afternoon and thoroughly deserved their win, the first in 104 years! But our team were fantastic and gave their all. We were runners up in 2009 and 2010, winners in 2011 and runners up again in 2012 - quite an achievement. Congratulations to Angus and well done Midlothian on another great performance.

County Finals day 2 - still on track

A gutsy performance, in true Midlothian style today, has set up a final day decider with Angus.  We got off to a solid start this morning with Jane Turner and Hannah Scott wining their foursomes against Donna Jackson and Liz Stewart 4&3 and Claire Hargan and Gabrielle Macdonald beating Alyson McKechin and Gillian Kyle 2&1. Karen Marshall and Wendy Nicholson eventually succumed to the strong pairing of Megan Briggs and Linsey Stevenson 3&2.

A very quick afternoon turnaround, with players and caddies quickly downing soup and sandwiches in 10 mintes flat (due to the mens medal that had been in front!!) and off we went for a very cold and somewhat tense afternoon. Jane Turner, out first, was in a birdie blitz mood, beating Alyson McKechin 4&3. Kate McIntosh had a really tough draw coming up against an in-form Megan Briggs (loosing 6&5) and the others seemed very much in control early on.

But as the wind got up and the temperature chilled, Renfrewshire fought back.  However when things get tough, so do Midlothian, and great performances for halves by Louise Fraser and Claire Hargan with Linsey Stevenson and Carol Whyte, a fantastic comeback by Hannah Scott winning 17&18 to win her game with Donna Jackson and a brilliant anchor role by in-form Gabrielle Macdonald, winning 3&2, brought us home as 6-3 winners. Good luck tomorrow girls - we can do it!

Midlothian start well

Midlothian got off to a good start in defence of our Scottish County title in Montrose today.  We beat Dumfriesshire 7.5-1.5, winning the morning foursomes 3-0 and the singles 4.5 - 1.5.  Michaela (above) was ready for anything - sunshine and rain - and we got both! 

 Great start in the foursomes this morning winning all three matches.

Claire Hargan & Gabrielle Macdonald beat Diane McDonald & Lindsey Kirkwood 5 & 3







Karen Marshall & Wendy Nicholson beat Jordana Graham & Emma Greenlees 3 & 2







Jane Turner & Hannah Scott beat Rachel Walker & Katie McCracken 6 & 5






The girls kept the momentum going in the afternoon winning 4.5 points out of the possible 6.

Jane Turner beat Diane McDonald 5 & 3
Gabrielle Macdonald beat Katie Mccracken 6 & 5
Kate McIntosh beat Lindsey Kirkwood 3 & 2
Louise Fraser beat Emma Greenlees 3 & 2
Wendy Nicholson lost to Jordana Graham 2 & 1
Karen Marshall halved with Rachel Walker

Fantastic start girls.  In the other match, Angus beat Renfrewshire 5-4.