Heather MacRae image by courtesy of Getty Images (Matt Lewis).

Heather blooming in Cardiff - 'Mission accomplished'

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE PGA
Gullane's Heather MacRae admitted it was a case of mission accomplished the Ryder Cup Wales 2010 WPGA One Day Series at Cardiff this week.
MacRae, of the Gullane club, pipped Huddersfield’s Alexandra Keighley on countback after both finished the day on seven under par. ( is this right ? )
But for MacRae, the day meant she will now qualify for the Ladies European Tour’s £300,000 S4C Wales Ladies Championship of Europe at Conwy GC from August 12-15.
And she admitted that, with one careful eye on her finances, the pressure was on for her to do well and not waste the opportunity.
“It’s a long way to come and I took the train down the day before the event,” she said.
“That costs a lot but it was the best way of getting there and back.
“I wanted to qualify for the Wales Ladies Championship so I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to do well.
“It wasn’t just a case of turning up, I knew I had to perform. And it went as I wanted so it was mission accomplished. I achieved my goal so I was happy.
“I have been looking for a sponsor so that I’m not under so much pressure to win money from these events.
“But I’ve been so busy that I’ve put all that in my mum’s hands for the moment.
“I birdied the 17th and little did I know at the time that it would be the crucial hole.”
Keighley, who was joint second in the first event at Dunham Forest last month, admitted that a disappointing end to her round cost dear.
She said: “I’ve been playing very consistently this season and I was happy to keep it together and finish joint top.
“But it was unfortunate on countback as I finished bogey-birdie-par and Heather was par-birdie-par.
“In the end I made six birdies, but there were also three bogeys in there after I made some stupid shots.
“The One Day Series has gone well for me so far. These are the only events I’m playing this year as I’m too busy working to do anything else.
“I won’t play the next event as it’s in Kent, so my next appearance will be at Harpenden Common.”
Rob Holt, Chief Executive of Ryder Cup Wales, said: “As a result of The Ryder Cup coming to Wales, we are working with partners such as Golf Development Wales, to encourage under-represented groups to the game.
“The growth of the sport amongst women and girls is on the up and this is, in part, due to The Ryder Cup effect and the schemes across Wales that have been developed by capitalising on the opportunities associated with this prestigious event.
“We look forward to welcoming some of the WPGA players to our S4C Wales Ladies Championship of Europe event in August at Conwy Golf Club.”

SCOREBOARD
RYDER CUP WALES 2010 WPGA ONE-DAY SERIES 
Cardiff Golf Club
Par 70
70 Heather MacRae (Gullane), Alexandra Keighley (Huddersfield) (MacRae won tie-breaking countback).
71 Suzanne Dickens (Thorpe Wood).
72 Laura Harvey (Darlington)
73 Joanne Pritchard (Caerleon).
74 Sara Forster (Chesterfield), Catherine Panton-Lewis (The Berkshire), Kerry Knowles (Wentworth), Lucy Clarke (Chelmsford).
75 Emma Brown Upavon

The leading four professionals in each of the seven one-day series events have won points towards the Ryder Cup Wales 2010 WPGA Order of Merit which has prize money of £1,000.

WPGA ORDER OF MERIT
after two events
1 Alexandra Keighley (Huddersfield) 12.50
2 Karen Heywood (Crompton and Royton) 10.00
3 Heather MacRae (Gullane) 8.00
4 Sally Ann Hinton (Bridgnorth) 4.50
5 Suzanne Dickens (Thorpe Wood) 3.00
6 Laura Harvey Darlington 1.33 2
T7 Joanne Oliver Knebworth 0.33
T7 Rachel Bailey Branston 0.33