REPORT BY SANDRA LITTLEJOHN
Thursday morning proved itself to be a much brighter day weather-wise for the 16 qualifiers in the first round of the Championship.
East Renfrewshire Golf Club was much drier underfoot with the greens retaining their excellent quality from the day before.
Championship (Round 1 - Morning)
Game 1 - played between Donna Jackson (Cochrane Castle) and Jennifer Mack (Haggs Castle). The match was played in good spirit and although Jennifer was 1 up most of the game, Donna pulled it back to all square at the 12th and went on to win 3 and 2.
Game 2 - played between Heather Mushet (Elderslie) and Gillian McGinlay (Cochrane Castle). There wasn’t much between the two players over the first 9 holes with Gillian being 2 up on the turn. Gillian eventually closed the game out 5 and 4.
Game 3 - played between Jennifer Rankine (Haggs Castle) and Liz Stewart (Greenburn). Jennifer took an early lead and was pegged back to only 1 up at the 8th. However, Jennifer birdied 9th, 10th, 13th and 14th to win the match 5 and 4.
Game 4 - saw two Ranfurly Castle ladies contest one another in this first round match with Denise Cowan comfortably beating Fiona Roger 7 and 6.
Game 5 - played between Gillian Kyle (East Renfrewshire) and Anne Judge (Ranfurly Castle). Defending champion Gillian lost the first but rallied and was 3 up after 8 holes. Anne had good pars at the 9th and 10th to peg Gillian back to 1 up. Gillian, however, won the next 4 holes to finish the victor 4 and 3.
Game 6 - played between Carol Fell (Ranfurly Castle) and Carol Whyte (Milngavie) in what was a very friendly and good natured game. Carol Fell, perfectly on line with her shot, hit the marker post at the 5th which sadly ricocheted 20 yards backwards. Carol Whyte, running out overall winner by 7 and 6, played solidly and putted well throughout the game.
Game 7 - played between Shirley Back (Gleddoch) and Jan Macnab (Ranfurly Castle). Shirley started poorly with Jan playing steady and scoring remained tight for most of the game. Shirley eventually ran out the winner on the 17th green with a 3 and 1 score-line.
Game 8 - played between June Lockhart (Gleddoch) and Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm). Having missed last year’s championship through injury, Eilidh is back with a bang and although June played well she eventually lost 6 and 5.
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| Top - L to R - Gillian, Donna, Jennifer and Denise Bottom - L-R Carol, Gillian, Shirley and Eilidh |
The weather remained bright for the afternoon session and the games went as follows:
Championship (Round 2 - Afternoon)
Game 1 - played between Cochrane Castle pair Donna Jackson and Gillian McGinlay. It was a well contested match with both players playing to par. Donna had a couple of birdies to give her the edge and went on to win 4 and 3.
Game 2 - played between Jennifer Rankine (Haggs Castle) and Denise Cowan (Ranfurly Castle). This match went to the 18th with Jennifer finishing 1 up. It was a tightly fought match with some excellent golf by both players.
Game 3 - played between Gillian Kyle (East Renfrewshire) and Carol Whyte (Milngavie). Gillian started well with a birdie at 4 to go 1 up. The scoring was good with Gillian being 3 up on the turn. Carol had a good up and down par at the 12th. Gillian eventually went on to win 4 and 3 birding the 13th and 15th.
Game 4 - played between Shirley Back (Gleddoch) and Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm). Eilidh streaked into a good lead but Shirley stuck-in and the game eventually finished on the 16th.
Irvine Trophy
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| Top - L - R --- Tracy and Linda Bottom - L - R --- Anita and Elizabeth |
The 4 qualifiers for the first round of the newly established Irvine Trophy joined the fray for the afternoon session and the results were as follows:
Game 1 - played between Tracy Masterton (Milngavie) and Linda Ellery (East Renfrewshire). Neither player started well but they both soon settled down to a very competitive match with Linda, the home player, winning 3 and 2.
Game 2 - played between Elizabeth Russell (Ralston) and Anita McMillan (Erskine). It was a very competitive game with Elizabeth running out the victor winning 4 and 3.
Friday morning sees a Championship Semi-Final between:
Game 1 (09:30) Donna Jackson (Cochrane Castle) v Jennifer Rankine (Haggs Castle)
Game 2 (09:37) Gillian Kyle (East Renfrewshire) v Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm)
Championship Final will tee off at 1400 hours
The Irvine Trophy Final will be contested between:
Final (0950) Linda Ellery (East Renfrewshire) v Elizabeth Russell (Ralston)
Note: To date, Donna Jackson has won the RLCGA Championship 11 times.
