KIRKWOOD GOLF EXCLUSIVE NEWS - Lauren Taylor to miss Gullane

NEW BRITISH CHAMPION LAUREN TAYLOR (16) MISSES TWO BIG GIRLS' EVENTS AT GULLANE TO PLAY IN US WOMEN'S AMATEUR

By COLIN FARQUHARSON (Colin@scottishgolfview.com)

 Rugby-based Lauren Taylor, 16-year-old surprise winner of the British women's open amateur championship at Royal Portrush GC, Northern Ireland earlier this month, has decided to play in the United States women's open amateur championship at Rhode Island Country Club in early August.

This means she will not be available to play for England in the Girls' Under-18 home internationals (August 3-5 at Gullane 2) followed by the British girls open amateur championship (August 8-12 at Gullane 1).

Her father-caddie Martin said: "Lauren, as winner of the British title, is exempt from playing in the sectional qualifying for the US 

championship

"It will be her first exposure to the elite Asian and US-based players, so we'll have to wait and see what happens over there. It was a very difficult decision to go to the US for the Women's Amateur and miss the U18 Homes and the GB girls, which is a shame as Lauren has enjoyed both these events in the past. Lauren is looking forward to the challenge and she hopes to do herself justice over there - fingers crossed. We all send our best wishes to the GB and I Junior and GB and I Women's teams at Royal Porthcawl to win and keep the winning streak going!"

+The Rhode Island Country Club course was designed by Dornoch-born Donald Ross.

Courtesy of Kirkwood Golf http://www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk/

GB & I HONOURS FOR CLARA ! WOW !!

UNDER-16 GIRLS’ MATCH AT ROYAL PORTHCAWL

For the first time, a six-a-side match for Under-16 years girls, representing Great Britain and Ireland on one side, and the Continent of Europe on the other, will be played in conjunction with the Vagliano Trophy fixture at Royal Porthcawl.The GB and I girls’ team, captained by Sue Turner, is:

GEORGIA HALL (Remedy Oak)
CHARLEY HULL (Woburn) 
BRONTE LAW (Bramhall)
AMBER RATCLIFFE (Royal Cromer)
CLARA YOUNG (North Berwick & Gullane )
CHLOE WILLIAMS (Wrexham)

Reserves
1 OLIVIA WINNING (Rotherham).
2 REBECCA McGEEHAN (Hummerbachaue, Germany)
3 HANNA HENDERSON (Ballyclare).
4 ELLIE GOODALL (Selby).

Charley Hull, 15, has this season won the Welsh women’s open amateur stroke-play title after playing with distinction on the Orange Blossom Tour for female amateurs in Florida in January. More recently, she reached the final of the English women’s close amateur championship before losing at the 19th to Lucy Williams.
Bronte Law beat Chloe Williams in a play-off for the SLGA Under-16 girls’ championship at Strathmore in April. Amber Ratcliffe finished third and Georgia Hall eighth in that early-season event.
Clara Young, at 14, is the youngest ever East Lothian women’s county champion.

PING Excitement to come at Gullane in 2011

British girls at Gullane is last qualifier for

Ping Junior Solheim Cup team

FROM THE EUROPEAN GOLF ASSOCIATION WEBSITE

Europe’s leading girl golfers will have a trip to Ireland on their minds when they tee up in next year's Girls’ British Open Amateur Championship, to be played Gullane Golf Club's No 1 course near Edinburgh from August 8-12.

The Girls’ British Open Amateur Championship is the last of seven counting events in which Europe’s top girls can qualify for an automatic place in the European team to face the Americans at the 2011 Ping Junior Solheim Cup, staged at Knightsbrook Hotel Spa & Golf Resort in Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland, on September 20-21.

The qualification process starts at the Spanish International Ladies’ Amateur Championship at Sherry Golf Jerez (March 2-6) and then takes in the Irish Under-18 Girls’ Championship at Knightsbrook Hotel Spa and Golf Resort (April 9-10), the French International Lady Junior Championship at St Cloud Golf Club (April 21-25), the European Girls’ Team Championship at Is Molas, Sardinia, Italy (July 5-9), the European Ladies’ Team Championship at GC Murhof, Austria (July 5-9) and the European Individual Championship at Noordwijkse, The Netherlands (July 20-23) before the qualification system culminates at the end of the Girls’ British Open Amateur Championship at Gullane when the leading six players from the official Points Table will earn an automatic place in the European side.

The six qualifiers will be joined by a further six Captain’s Picks in a European side bidding to wrest the trophy back from an American side which won the last match at Aurora Golf Club, Illinois, in 2009 to take a slender 3-2 lead in the series.

All 12 members of the European team must be 12-18 years old (born 1993 or later) and must not have reached their 18th birthday prior to January 1, 2011. Participants must be amateurs and not be members of a competitive collegiate golf programme. They must also be European citizens.

The PING Junior Solheim Cup always takes place immediately ahead of The Solheim Cup, this year due to be played at Killeen Castle from September 23-25, 2011.

British Girls - Day Three / British Boys - Day Two

Lesley fought a Titanic battle in Belfast but lost on the 23rd hole yo Laura Sedda of Italy on a day when the GB&I contingent was virtually wiped out apart from the15yo Maguire twins from Ireland.

Congrats to West Linton,Tantallon & Gullane member Fraser Thain who has navigated his way to the matchplay stages of the British Boys at Barassie  with a 153 total

British Girls - Day Two / Gullane Girls - Fun Day !

Lesley A had a 74 to qualify in 17th place for the matchplay stages of the British Girls. Unfortunately Rachael W didn't fare so well and has bowed out.

Meanwhile 8 Gullane Girls had even more fun with coaching Mark Bruce followed by Fun Foursomes on No 3 with GLGC Ladies - well done Charlotte & Nicky and Annabel & Sue who took the top prizes and also to Rachel, Tatania, Katherine, Lara ,Lauren and Anna  who all took part. Many thanks to the Ladies who gave up their time to organize and play with the girls - and to Marky Mark for coaching.

British Girls - Day One

Lesley and Rachael both shot +5 75s and are well in hunt for qualifying spots for the matchplay stages which include the top 64 players after 36 holes. Please see Kirkwood golf for review of the day or visit LGU website for full scores. Of course Julie Yang is up there with a 69 one behind the French leader.

More British girls - Julie Yang Watching ??

MISS JULIE FROM MUSSELBURGH VIA PHOENIX IS BRITISH 
TITLE FAVOURITE

COLIN FARQUHARSON OF KIRKWOOD GOLF REPORTING FROM ROYAL BELFAST GC

The talent-spotting golf coaches from American universities have arrived at Royal Belast Golf Club, overlooking the inlet of the irish Sea they call the Belfast Lough but a parkland rather than a links course.
The championship field of 144, many more would like to play but there's no room for them, will play two stroke play qualifying rounds on Monday and Tuesday to reduce the numbers to 64 qualifiers for the match-play stages which climax with an 18-hole final on Friday afternoon (1pm).
If the past is anything to go by, about 10 of the field, which represents the cream of the Under-18 years female golfing talent in Europe and beyond, will be playing on the American college circuit in the 2010-2011 season.
But if the truth be known the potential winners of the prestigious title are unlikely to be tempted by golf scholarships across the Atlantic.
The fact of the matter is that five players lift this tournament out of the realms of JUNIOR golf by their achievements in ADULT tournaments.
England have a pair of aces in Bolton’s Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale), who beat Scottish champion Kelsey MacDonald in the final of the British women’s open 
amateur championship at Ganton in June, and Hayley Davis (Ferndown), winner of the English women’s amateur championship this year.
Kelly, beaten twice (2007-2008) in the British girls’ final, could become only the third player in LGU history after Mickey Walker (1972) and Belen Mozo (2006) to win the British girls’ and women’s titles in the same season. 
Ireland also have two aces in their hand – and they both live under the same roof in Co Cavan. Twins Leona and Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) made GB and I golfing history by playing in this year’s Curtis Cup match at the age of 15. 
They will be arriving at Royal Belfast GC straight from playing in Sunday's final round of the Ladies European Tour’s Irish Women’s Open. But they will know the course better than most for their coach Andrew Ferguson, is the club pro and they visit him at Royal Belfast – three hours away from their base – on a regular basis.
Ferguson also coaches Gareth Maybin and Michael Hoey incidentally.
But, having said all that, the favourite to be crowned British girls open amateur champion in late afternoon on Friday must be 15-year-old Musselburgh-based Julie Yang, bidding to become the first South Korean to win the championship.
She arrived at Loretto School, near Edinburgh last September from Phoenix, Arizona with a golfing CV that included wins on the American junior circuit.
Why had she come to Scotland where golf can be very limited during the winter months?
According to her father, it was a move designed to make her a better all-round player with experience of European playing conditions. Almost as though he was ticking off the boxes as her career progresses.
Every golfing father - and I was no exception - thinks his daughter is the greatest. But Daddy Yang is confident Julie could be world No 1 (as a pro) by the time she is 20 and she has already left school to pursue that ambition.

Last week, Julie won the English women’s open amateur stroke-play championship 

Earlier this season she won the Welsh women’s open amateur stroke-play, the Paul Lawrie Scottish schoolgirls title, two or three Independent Schools Association tournaments in England. Then, after being pipped for the Germany women’s amateur stroke play title over the last few holes, she went out and added the Danish women’s open title to her impressive CV last month.
She practises morning, noon and night when she is not is playing in a tournament. Perhaps she is missing out on her childhood but she seems a happy enough youngster who just lives for golf.
“I like the course but I like all golf courses. I enjoy playing them all,” she said after yet another practice round.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------


THE BRITISH GIRLS AND GIRLS HOME INTERNATIONALS WILL BOTH BE AT GULLANE IN 2011 - THE HOME INTERNATIONALS BEING PLAYED ON NO.2 AUGUST 3RD TO 5TH and the BRITISH GIRLS BEING PLAYED ON NO 1 - AUGUST 8TH to 12TH 


GOOD LUCK LESLEY & RACHAEL !!