Wednesday, January 18, 2012

EILIDH KNOCKED OUT OF THE JONES DOHERTY CHALLENGE CUP

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
The second round of the Jones-Doherty Challenge Cup was a bad one for GB and I Curtis Cup team contenders in this week's Orange Blossom Tour compeition at Coral Ridge Country Club, Lauderdale in Florida.
Eilidh Briggs
Woodhall Spa's Holly Clyburn, who played in the 2010 match against the Americans, lost at the 20th to Meghan Stasi, twice winner of the US women's mid-amateur title and beaten at the 19th by Kelsey MacDonald in the semi-finals of the 2010 British women's amateur championship at Ganton.
And Kelsey, desperate to make her Curtis Cup debut in her home town of Nairn in the June 8-10 match, lost heavily by 6 and 4 to Annie Dulman, an 18-year-old American whose name means nothing on this side of the Atlantic but who turned in a brilliant display against MacDonald.
Kelsey had a match-play tiger by the tail because her opponent was approximately six under par for the holes played!
In the quarter-finals Stasi will play the defending champion, 15-year-old Charley Hull (Woburn) from Kettering. Hull had a 3 and 2 win over E Gimpel in the second round. Hull, like Kelsey's conqueror, was six under par, this time for 16 holes.
The only other British player in the last eight is European women's universities champion and Stirling student Harriet Beasley (Woburn). She beat Daniela Lendl, one of Ivan Lendl's golfing daughters, by 2 and 1 and now plays American M Lui, surprise conqueror of Scottish girls champion Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm and Stirling Univerity).
Briggs lost by 4 and 3.
In the first flight competition for first-round losers, Jordana Graham (Southerness and Stirling University) beat M West by 2 and 1 to enter the quarter-finals but team-mate Rebecca Wilson (Grange, Monifieth) lost by one hole to J Carmichael.
Another Stirling student, Mhairi McKay (West Kilbride), who did not qualify for the championship match-play flight, is through to the semi-finals of the Second Flight. She had a one-hole win over D Proctor.
Results:
JONES-DOHERTY CHALLENGE CUP
Second round
Players from US unless stated
C Hull (Woburn) bt E Gimpel 3 and 2.
M Stasi bt H Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) at 20th
M Liu bt E Briggs (Stirling Univ and Kilmacolm) 4 and 3.
H Beasley (Stirling Univ and Woburn) bt D Lendl 2 and 1.
K Walsh bt P Nunez 4 and 3.
A Stewart bt L DeAntonio 4 and 3.
A Dulman bt K MacDonald (Stirling Univ and Nairn Dunbar) 6 and 4.
J M Green bt L Kanouse 3 and 2.

FIRST FLIGHT
First round
J Carmichael bt R Wilson (Stirling Univ and Grange, Monifieth) 1 hole.
J Graham (Stirling Univ and Southerness) bt M West 2 and 1.

SECOND FLIGHT
Second round
M McKay (Stirling Univ and West Kilbride) bt D Proctor 1 hole.