This blog has moved

This blog is now located at http://ercn86.gilliankirkwood.co.uk/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://ercn86.gilliankirkwood.co.uk/feeds/posts/default.

Website message

Dear Readers,

I'm doing some more work on the site tonight.
Apologies in advance if things go wrong!

Gill

Hannah Bews and Emma Taylor joint third and joint

fifth in the Women's Collegiate Championship

Hannah Bews from Dorset and Emma Taylor from Saunton, both coming up to the end of their fourth and final year at Bethune Cookman College, Daytona Beach in Florida, finished joint third and joint fifth respectively in the Women's Collegiate Championship over one round at Marietta, Georgia.
Over a par-71, 5807yd course, two players tied for the individual honours - Honesty Biggers (South Carolina State) and Nicole West (Hampton) with a pair of 76s.
Hannah Bews had a 79 and Emma an 80. A total of 45 players took part.
Hampton University (319) pipped Bethune Cookman (322) for the team title in a field of nine squads.

Midlothian women's county championship
Prestonfield Golf Club
MATCH-PLAY DRAW
(April 30)
FIRST ROUND
9am W Nicholson (Broomieknowe) qualifying total 154 (No 1 seed) v Linda Bain (Lochend) 174 (No 16).
9.07 Gillian Simpson (Murrayfield) 169 (No 9) v Kate McIntosh (Broomieknowe) 164 (No 8).
9.15 Karen Marshall (Baberton) 163 (No 5) v Hilary Laughland (Troon Ladies) 171 (No 12).
9.22 Claire MacDonald (Gullane Ladies) 171 (No 13) v Gabrielle Macdonald (Craigielaw) 158 (No 4).
9.30 Linda Caine (Dunbar) 158 (No 3) v Sal Shepherd (Craigmillar Park) 174 (No 14).
9.37 Claire Hargan (Mortonhall) 170 (No 11) v Kirsten Blackwood (Craigmillar Park) 164 (No 6).
9.45 Fiona Hunter (Baberton) 164 (No 7) v Louise Fraser (Kingsknowe) 169 (10).
9.52 Hannah Scott (Broomieknowe) 174 (15) v Noreen Fenton (Dunbar) 158 (No 2 seed).

East Lothian women's county championship
DUNBAR GOLF CLUB
(May 3)
FIRST ROUND
10am M Thomson (No 1 seed) v F Playfair (16).
10.07 A Marshall (9) v E Blair (8).
10.15 L Grieve (5) v A Archbold (12).
10.22 D Huish (13) v K Ward (4).
10.30 C Young (3) v B McIntosh (14).
10.37 D Young (11) v M L Renton (6).
10.45 J Herd (7) v J McNicoll (10)
10.52 B Biggart (15) v E Fairnie (No 2 seed).

Big-12 Conference runner-up
-

Hannah Burke honoured


NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
Hertfordshire’s Hannah Burke scooped a host of honours when she was runner-up in the Big 12 Conference women’s championship on the US college circuit.
Hannah, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, is a senior student at Baylor University, Texas and this was her 13th career top-five finish – a new college record. The 22-year-old from Mid Herts has had five top-fives this season alone.
She also shares the college record for 21 top-10 finishes – and for that achievement she was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team. She’s the first player from Baylor to win this recognition three times.
In the championship, at the Jimmie Austin OU club in Oklahoma, Hannah finished eight shots behind Oklahoma State’s Swedish player Caroline Hedwall. After a four-over 76 in the first opening round, Hannah shot two-under over the final 36 holes with back-to-back 71s.
Baylor head coach Sylvia Ferndon said: “I couldn’t be prouder of Hannah finishing second; she deserves it. She’s been a great leader.”
Lyndsey Hewison
Press & PR Officer

BIG-12 WOMEN'S CONFERENCE
Oklahoma venue
LEADING INDIVIDUAL TOTALS
Par 72. 6327yd
210 Caroline Hedwall (Oklahoma State) 70 67 73.
218 Hannah Burke (Baylor) 76 71 71.
Selected totals:
226 Nicola Race (Missouri) 78 76 72 (jt 15th). Nicola comes from Essex.
235 Hannah Lovelock (Missouri) 78 76 81 (jt 39th). Hannah comes from Surrey.
243 Ami Storey (Kansas State) 80 82 81. Ami comes from Ponteland, NE England.
LEADING TEAM TOTALS
896 Texas A & M.
897 Oklahoma State.
Selected totals:
917 Missouri (7th).
920 Baylor (9th of 12 teams).

Ladies' amateur golf has changed

-

for the better, says coach Craggs

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE

By MARTIN DEMPSTER

The latest staging of the Helen Holm Scottish Ladies' Open Stroke Play Championship at Troon provided conclusive proof the face of ladies' golf has been changed for good.
And, without wanting to cause any offence to the players who did their bit for the Scottish game over the years – Belle Robertson in particular springs to mind – it's certainly a change for the better.

My first real experience of women's amateur Golf came more than 20 years ago. I was a junior reporter on my local newspaper in Berwickshire and one of our readers, Gay Buchanan from Eyemouth – the sister of former Kenyan Open winner Craig Maltman – qualified to represent Scotland in the (now defunct] Ford Women's Home Internationals at Royal Lytham.

I went down to Lancashire to caddie for her and recall the journey well, due to the fact it took us a lot longer than it should have because we initially ended up in Stockport instead of Southport. George Will, who played in three Ryder Cups in the 1960s, captained the Scottish team that week and, to this day, it remains one of the many marvellous experiences golf has provided me over the years due mainly to the friendly nature of everyone involved.

All the players who took part in that event were – and I sincerely hope I don't upset anyone with this recollection – a fair bit older than me and, at the time, I didn't give it a thought.

Catriona Lambert, as she was at the time, was probably the first younger woman I really came across on a golf course yet even the current Ricoh Women's British Open champion would surely be surprised to see so many players under the age of 18 in the field for the Helen Holm event played over Troon Portland and, for the final day, Royal Troon.

Kevin Craggs, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency, the national coach of the Scottish Ladies Golf Association, believes the women's game is making great progress.

"It is becoming attractive to watch," he said, "and, while the cynics out there may have said in the past that it was a case of 'all gear and no idea', now it's 'all gear and a bloody good idea'."

That is definitely the case with the 15-year-old Maguire twins, Leona and Lisa, from Ireland. They played in a professional event at the age of 12 and Shane O'Grady, their coach, remarked at the time: "I've never coached anyone that good at that age. They are exceptionally good. They have the maturity of 17-year-old boys."

A year after finishing first and third, the Maguires tied for sixth on this occasion in the Helen Holm and look to have exciting futures ahead of them.

Scotland also has some promising young talent coming through, the likes of Kelsey MacDonald, Louise Kenney and Pamela Pretswell having good reason to be looking over their shoulders at the progress being made younger players such as Rachael Watton, Alyson McKechin, Gabrielle MacDonald, Ailsa Summers and Lesley Atkins.

Watch out for some of them being in the frame when the Curtis Cup comes to Nairn in 2012.

"For so long Scotland has prided itself on tradition but the wheel is finally turning," added Craggs, who has worked with the SLGA for the past four years and was delighted to see both Carly Booth and Kylie Walker show they had games that were good enough to earn Ladies European Tour cards this season.

"People still understand the values of tradition but they are also seeing the importance of progression and that's a big thing for me."

Strength and conditioning work as well as nutrition is also playing a far bigger role.

"The days of women's golf being a game where they tickled it up the middle and relied on being good pitch and putters to make their score are gone," said Craggs. "They are ball strikers who can shift the ball a fair distance off the tee."

Over the years we have often heard women golfers being criticised for lacking creativity with their shots but, on Sunday, we saw players showing wonderful imagination as they produced a variety of shots on an Open Championship course.

"I'm really excited about the direction women's golf is heading," continued Craggs, "and, when we were lucky enough to have Catriona Matthew with us on a training trip to Spain, she said a wonderful thing that was a compliment to the players. She told them that when she first went on the Tour she had to learn her apprenticeship but nowadays she believes the top amateurs have the tools to do well straight away in the professional game, something that's been proved by the likes of Anna Nordqvist."

Kenney left in shock as she misses the cut for Curtis Cup

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By Martin Dempster
While there was delight for two Scots as Sally Watson and Pamela Pretswell were named in the Great Britain & Ireland team, Louise Kenney admitted she was "shocked" not to have even been included among the four reserves for this year's Curtis Cup clash in America.
Watson, who is coming to the end of her freshman year at Stanford University in California, where Tiger Woods completed his education before turning professional, is the only survivor in captain Mary McKenna's team from the match over the Old Course at St Andrews two years ago. The 18-year-old, who lives in South Queensferry and is a member of Elie & Earlsferry Ladies' Golf Club, has just been named in the All-Pac-10 women's second team, having had a win and three other top-ten finishes on the US women's college circuit.
Watson led the Stanford team in stroke average and always looked a good bet to make the eight-strong GB&I line-up again despite missing the Helen Holm Scottish Open Stroke Play Championship at the weekend due to college commitments.
Kenney, who topped the Scottish Order of Merit last year and didn't finish outside the top ten in doing so, produced the strongest performance of three Scots in the field at Troon who were on the Curtis Cup short leet, yet her third-place finish appears to have been totally discounted by the selectors.
Instead, they've gone for Pretswell, who, by contrast, produced a poor performance in Ayrshire. In her junior honours year at Glasgow University, Pretswell, who will be 21 by the time the match comes around – it is being played Essex County Club at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts from 11-13 June – has played little competitive golf since last year's Women's Home Internationals at Irvine Bogside.
However, the selectors would appear to have been swayed by an impressive performance she produced to win the 2008 Swiss Women's Open Amateur Championship, the Bothwell Castle player coming from 11 shots behind on the final day to claim that title.
Nairn Dunbar's Kelsey MacDonald, who was in the GB&I training squad along with Kenney, Pretswell and Watson, has been named as the first reserve, leaving Kenney wondering exactly what she has done wrong to have been totally overlooked.
"I am shocked, to be honest," said the 27-year-old from Pitreavie. "I don't think I was being silly in thinking I had a chance of making the team and it is utter disbelief that I've not even made one of the four reserve spots. I've had so many texts from people saying how sorry they am for me and I'll just have to go out there and do what I did last year to try and prove the selectors wrong."
As expected, the 15-year-old Macguire twins, Leona and Lisa, have been included in the team, the Slieve Russell players having rubber-stamped their potential when they set an age record by making the GB&I team at the age of 14 in last year's Vagliano Trophy match against Europe.
They will now become the youngest GB&I representatives to play in a Curtis Cup, taking that record away from Scotland's Carly Booth, who had her 16th birthday just after the 2008 Curtis Cup match.
Completing a strong Irish contingent is Danielle McVeigh, the impressive Helen Holm winner, while England provides the three other members of the side, namely Hannah Barwood, Holly Clyburn and Rachel Jennings.
"It is a very good mix of experience and youth," said McKenna, who played in nine Curtis Cup matches between 1970 and 1986 and, in terms of winning individual and foursomes ties, is the most successful GB&I player in Curtis Cup history.
"They have all played overseas on in America at some time, so that's a big plus factor as well."

Linzi Allan named in the All-Heartland Conference Teams

Scot Linzi Allan is one of three Newman University, Wichita students named to the All-Heartland Conference teams. Linzi earned first team honours, while Alyssa Balding from Northumberland and Andrea Martires were named to the women's second team.
Allan was the only Jet to receive first team All-Heartland Conference honours. The freshman from Ayrshire had three top-10 finishes this season, including first place at the West Texas A&M Lady Buff Stampede. She ended the season with a sixth place finish at the Heartland Conference Tournament with rounds of 76 (+4) and 75 (+3), to finish seven over par.
Balding, a freshman from Northumberland, England, earned second team All-Heartland Conference honours’. After an up and down season, Balding finished strongly with a top-20 finish at the Heartland Conference Tournament. Her most impressive showing of the season was a sixth place finish at the Texas A&M-Commerce Spring Classic.

Ellie Givens finishes runner-up to US

Curtis Cup team selection Kim

Ellie Givens, the 2007 English girls champion from Darlington, played her part in a takeover by the University of Denver of the leading positions in the Sun Belt Conference women's tournament at The Shoals, Alabama last week (April 19 to 21).
Ellie, pictured, a junior (third-year) student, achieved her highest finish of the season in coming second to freshman team-mate Kimberly Kim who has been chosen to play for the United States in the Curtis Cup match against Great Britain & Ireland at Essex County Club, Massachusetts from June 11-13.
Kimberley, scoring her first win on the US women's college circuit, had rounds of 69, 75 and 71 for a one-under-par total of 215 over the par-72, 6123yd course.
She finished only a shot ahead of Ellie Givens who had rounds of 70, 74 and 72.
A third Denver player, Kelly Drack, finished third on 217 and their monopoly of the top-10 placings continued with Stephanie Sherlock finished fifth on 219 and Sarah Faller from Galway coming seven on 221 with scores of 71, 74 and 76.
This is the tournament - as we reported a day or two ago - in which Wales' Anna Carling (Arkansas State) tied for 13th place on 226 with scores of 78, 76 and 72.
Another British student, Clara Leathers (Middle Tennessee State) finished joint 27th in a field of 55 players with scores of 80, 75 and 76. Clara, a final year student, hails from Aylesbury.
Not surprising that Denver won the Sun Belt Conference title by a staggering 34 shots from Middle Tennessee State with Arkansas-Little Rock third in a field of 11 teams.
After the tournament, Ellie Givens, Sarah Faller and Anna Carling were among the players named to the Sun Belt Conference team.
It's not a team in the European sense of the word in that American post-tournament teams never play any matches. It is a selection of the players who are considered the best in the conference.
Ellie the highest-placed English student next to Jodi Ewart (University of New Mexico) in Golfweek's current American college women's rankings.
Jodi is seventh, Sally Watson 42nd, Ellie Givens 70th and Hannah Burke 94th. They are the only British students in the US women's college circuit top 100.
What a boost it would have been for the GB&I Curtis Cup team to have had Jodi Ewart in its line-up, but the Yorkshire girl is turning professional as soon as she is finished with university and before the Curtis Cup so that she can play on the Futures Tour right away.

Maguire twins help Loreto College Cavan complete

title hat-trick in Irish Schools Senior Cup

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE IRISH LADIES GOLF UNION
Loreto College Cavan's teenage stars Leona and Lisa Maguire and Co Cavan’s Rebecca Brady secured their third consecutive Irish Schools Senior Cup title, just moments after the twins were named on the GB&I Curtis Cup team, at Milltown Golf Club today.
With two scores to count from three, Loreto Cavan won the event by a margin of 27 Stableford points from Dublin's The Teresian School. The twins had just returned home late on Sunday evening from Scotland, following their joint sixth place finish, four shots behind winner Danielle McVeigh (Royal Co. Down Ladies), at the Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play championship at Troon Portland and Royal Troon.
Their impressive play earned them selection on this year’s Curtis Cup team alongside Danielle with Donabate legend Mary McKenna captaining the side.
“We’re delighted to have captured a third title” said Lisa afterwards. “We love playing in the Schools Championships and the condition of the greens here at Milltown far exceeded any course we have played in quite some time.”
Speaking at the Presentation of Prizes, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport Mary Hanafin TD commended the twins on their Curtis Cup selection and encouraged all schoolgirls to take up the game as it was a sport to be enjoyed for the rest of their lives.
Leona fired a best-of-the-day, one-under-par 37 points to win the Mary Nolan Cup with birdies at 1, 5, 9 and 17 while bogeys on 4, 7 and 13 prevented the perfect round.
Meanwhile sister Lisa birdied 1, 3, 14, 17 and 18 to sign for a level par 36 points.
Laurel Hill Coláiste, Limerick, emerged victorious in the Junior Cup with Chloe Ryan (Castletroy) returning a fine two over par 34 points off seven of a handicap while Scoil Christ Rí finished second, 7 points behind.
Other players returning impressive net scores were Shanen Brown and Mary Doyle (Scoil Christ Rí) with 42 points, while Amber Gleeson (Alexandra College) signed for 41 pts and Eimear Ryan (Laurel Hill Coláiste) returned 40 pts.
RESULTS
Senior Cup (2 from 3 scores to count)
73 pts Loreto College, Cavan – Rebecca Brady (13), Leona Maguire (37), Lisa Maguire (36)46 pts The Teresian School, Dublin - Ariana Coyle Diaz (22), Rachel McDonnell (10), Lauren Murray (24)
45 pts Sligo Grammar – Shauna Brady (17), Megan O’Hara (16), Holly Robinson (28).
43 pts Midleton College, Cork - Edel Coyne (17), Julie Coyne (26).
29 pts Coláiste Bríde, Enniscorthy – Nancy Dunphy (12), Raidin Murphy (17).
Best gross (Mary Nolan Cup):
37 pts Leona Maguire (Loreto College, Cavan).
Best net:
33pts Holly Robinson (Sligo Grammar)
Junior Cup (2 from 3 scores to count)
51 pts Laurel Hill Coláiste, Limerick – Anne Marie Byrne (17), Chloe Ryan (34), eimear Ryan (12)
44 pts Scoil Christ Rí, Portlaoise – Shannen Browne (23), Mary Doyle (21)
42 pts Alexandra College, Dublin – Darcey Carr (14), Aideen Cowhey (7), Amber Gleeson (28).
35 pts Victoria College, Belfast - Jessica Bamber (8), Jemma Hool (15), Tyne McGee [20]31 pts Mean Scoil Mhuire, Roscommon - Blaithin O'Brien (17), Orla Quinn (8), April Timothy (14).
Best Gross Individual:
28pts Amber Gleeson (Alexandra College).
Best Net Individual:
36pts Tyne McGee (Victoria College Belfast)

English enter combined boys/girls' teams at Fairhaven

The English Golf Union (EGU) and the English Women’s Golf Association (EWGA) are entering joint teams of two boys and a girl for the Nations Cup competition at the Fairhaven Trophies over the Lancashire course on 30th April – 2nd May.
Team One will comprise Oliver Carr (Heswall, Cheshire), Ben Taylor (Walton Heath, Surrey) and Emily Taylor (Royal Lytham & St Anne’s, Lancashire), while Team Two will be Matthew Fitzpatrick (Hallamshire, Yorkshire), Kieron Fowler (based in Spain) and Bronte Law (Bramhall, Cheshire).
Carr, 17, is a former Cheshire Junior Champion, who won the North of England Under 16 Championship last year as well as the Under 16 title at the Faldo Series Final in Rio de Janerio. He was also capped by England at Under 16 level in 2009 against Wales, Scotland and Ireland. He is now a member of the England Under 18 Squad.
Ben Taylor, 17, is also a member of the Under 18 Squad and helped Surrey retain the Boys County Championship last year. He finished fourth in the South of England Boys Championship and reached the last 16 of the British Boys. Ben represented the EGU in the triangular match in South Africa earlier this year.
Emily Taylor,15, no relation of Ben, has just won the Scottish Girls Under 16 Stroke Play Championship, helped by a course record 66 at Strathmore. She was also in the winning Nations Cup team.
In February, she won the Under 18 titles in the Hacienda Del Alamo Ladies Open and the Murcia Under 16 Open at the Hacienda del Alamo February Festival in Murcia, south-east Spain. Last year, she was the Lancashire Ladies’ Champion at the age of 14 and runner-up in the English Under 15 Girls’ Championship for the second successive year.
She is in the EWGA Under 18 Squad.
Fitzpatrick, 15, finished second to Oliver Carr in last year’s North of England Under 16 Championship and was third in the English Schools Under 16 Championship. Runner-up for the Yorkshire Under 16 title, he also finished second in the St Andrews Under 18 Open. A member of the England Under 16 Squad, he won the St Andrews Junior Open and the Wentworth Under 14 Scratch Open, both in 2008.
Fowler, 15, is Spanish-based and has enjoyed several junior successes there. He was tied fourth behind Carr and Fitzpatrick in last year’s North of England Under 16 Championship and is also a member of the England Under 16 Squad.
Bronte Law, 15, completed a string of victories in 2009, becoming English Under 18 Stroke Play Champion, North of England Under 16 Champion, in which she beat a mixed field by four strokes, North of England Schools’ Champion, Northern Girls’ Champion and Cheshire Girls’ Champion. In February she retained the Andalucia Junior European Open girls' title by an impressive ten-shot margin and she finished fourth in the Scottish Under 16 Stroke Play championship.
Like Emily Taylor, she is also in the EWGA Under 18 Squad.The Nations Cup is contested over the first two rounds of the 72-hole Fairhaven Trophies.-

LADIES GOLF UNION NEWS RELEASE

G B & I TEAM NAMED FOR CURTIS CUP

MATCH AT ESSEX COUNTY CLUB, USA

The Ladies’ Golf Union has chosen the following players to represent Great Britain & Ireland in the 36th Curtis Cup match against the United States at Essex County Club, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts from June 11 to 13, 2010.

HANNAH BARWOOD Knowle GC England Age 19
HOLLY CLYBURN Woodhall Spa GC England Age 19
RACHEL JENNINGS Izaak Walton GC England Age 21
LEONA MAGUIRE Slieve Russell GC Ireland Age 15
LISA MAGUIRE Slieve Russell GC Ireland Age 15
PAMELA PRETSWELL Bothwell Castle GC Scotland Age 20 (21 on May 6)
DANIELLE McVEIGH Royal Co. Down Ladies’ Ireland Age 22
SALLY WATSON Elie & Earlsferry Ladies’ GC Scotland Age 18

Reserves:
1. KELSEY MACDONALD Nairn Dunbar GC Scotland Age 19
2. STEPHANIE MEADOW Royal Portrush GC Ireland Age 18
3. CHARLIE DOUGLASS Brocket Hall GC England Age 21
4. AMY BOULDEN Maesdu Wales Age 16

Team Captain: MARY McKENNA (Donabate GC, Ireland).
Team Manager TEGWEN MATTHEWS (Wales).

Only Sally Watson, now a student at Stanford University, California, survives from the Great Britain & Ireland team who played the historic 2008 match over the Old Course, St Andrews.
Six of the players selected to contest this 2010 Curtis Cup match gained international experience as part of the GB&I team which lost narrowly in last year’s Vagliano Trophy match at Hamburg.
Rachel Jennings, Pamela Pretswell, Sally Watson, twins Leona and Lisa Maguire and Danielle McVeigh will look forward to representing GB & I in June. They will be joined by two players who will gain their first Great Britain & Ireland team honours and England’s Hannah Barwood and Holly Clyburn, both aged 19 will be new faces in the GB & I line up. Hannah, winner of the English Women’s Amateur Championship in 2008, was a quarter-finalist in this year’s Spanish Ladies’ Open Amateur Championship and the French Under-21 Open Amateur Championship. She also finished joint third in the Helen Holm Scottish Ladies’ Open Amateur Championship at Troon at the weekend.
Holly, the English Girls’ Champion in 2008, was runner-up in this year’s Under-21 event in the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in China, and has also won the Faldo Series Girls’ Championship in Brazil last autumn. She was also runner-up in the Dixie Women’s Amateur at the start of the year. Playing with Rachel Jennings, the 2006 English Girls’ Champion, Holly helped England to fourth place in the women’s event at the Spirit International in Texas last November.
Sally Watson has been competing in the United States for several years. She is coming to the end of her freshman year at Stanford University. Last week she was named to the All-Pac-10 women’s second team, having been a winner, in February, on the US women’s college circuit. She had four top-10 finishes and led the Stanford team in stroke average. She was a beaten finalist in the 2006 British Girls’ Championship, having come to the fore as a 13-year-old when she beat Carly Booth in the 2005 final of the Scottish Under-18 girls championship.
The other Scot in the Curtis Cup squad, Pamela Pretswell is in her junior honours year at Glasgow University and has played little competitive golf since last year’s Home International Matches at Irvine GC. Hamilton-based, Pamela won the 2008 Swiss Women’s Open Amateur Championship, coming from 11 shots in arrears on the final day to win the title.
Pamela did not switch to golf until 2003. Before that she had played tennis for Scotland and Great Britain, having taken part in a GB tennis demonstration on Wimbledon’s Centre Court when she was 12.
Danielle McVeigh’s victory in the ‘Helen Holm’ at Troon on Sunday was her second big win on a Scottish links within a year. She won the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Stroke Play title at Royal Aberdeen last autumn when she again came with a strong late run. She also won the Welsh Open Amateur Stroke Play title in 2009.
Danielle is a member of the Paddy Harrington Golf Scholarship programme at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth where she is a second year student, studying Business and Management. She played for two years on the US college circuit as a student at Texas A&M. McVeigh won the World Student Women’s title in Thailand in 2007.
The Maguire twins, Leona and Lisa, make their Curtis Cup debuts at the age of 15, having set an age record when they appeared at the age of 14 in the GB&I team for last summer’s Vagliano Trophy match.
They will become the youngest GB&I representatives to play in a Curtis Cup. Carly Booth set the age record when she had her 16th birthday on June 2, the day after the 2008 Curtis Cup match finished at St Andrews. The Maguire girls will not be 16 until November 30 so they have the edge by several months over Carly.
The youngest ever player to compete in the Curtis Cup was Michelle Wie who was 14 when she was a member of the United States team at Formby in 2004.
Leona retained the French Under-21 Girls’ Open title earlier this month. Lisa won both the Irish Open Amateur Stroke Play and the Irish Ladies’ (Close) Amateur Championship last year and had won the Helen Holm Scottish Ladies’ Open Amateur Stroke Play title in 2008. Leona beat Lisa in the final of the Irish Ladies’ (Close) Amateur Championship in 2008. The twins helped Ireland win the European Girls’ team title last year and both played for Europe in the Junior Solheim Cup match in America. They were also members of the European team for the Junior Ryder Cup of 2008. They are third year students at Loretto College, Cavan.
GB&I team captain Mary McKenna played in nine Curtis Cup matches between 1970 and 1986 and, in terms of winning individual and foursomes ties, is the most successful GB&I player in Curtis Cup history.
“I am delighted with the team and it is a very good mix of experience and youth. They have all played overseas on in America at some time, so that’s a big plus factor as well. I am looking forward to it,” said Mary McKenna today.
This will be the 36th Curtis Cup match. United States have won 25, Great Britain & Ireland seven, and there have been three drawn matches.
GB&I’s last Curtis Cup victory was at Killarney in 1996 when they won 11 ½-6 ½. They retained the trophy with a drawn match (9-9) at Chattanooga in 1994, having been the winners at Royal Liverpool in 1992.
United States have won the last six – Minikahda (1998), Ganton (2000), Fox Chapel (2002), Formby (2004), Bandon Dunes (2006) and St Andrews (2008).
This will be the first Curtis Cup match in the United States under the three-day format which was introduced at St Andrews in 2008.
Essex County Club was the home club of the Curtis sisters, Harriot and Margaret, and previously hosted the Curtis Cup match in 1938 and a large number of supporters will be making their way across the Atlantic to support the team.

Much to take heart from Troon for Lothians trio

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Lothians trio Jane Turner, Rachael Watton and Gabrielle MacDonald all came away from the Helen Holm Scottish Ladies Open Stroke Play Championship at Troon with a spring in their golf shoes.
While Northern Ireland's Danielle McVeigh lifted the title with a 54-hole aggregate of 215, Turner, Watton and MacDonald all achieved their individual targets. Maintaining the form that had earned a second success British Universities' title triumph in the build-up to the event, Turner shot rounds of 74, 72 and 74 to earn a share of ninth spot.
"My aim was to shoot three rounds under par and I'm happy to have done that," said the Craigielaw player. In the final round over Royal Troon, Turner was two-under after four, thanks to birdies at the second and fourth before hitting a "dreadful run" around the turn. She dropped shots at the sixth and seventh before running up a double-bogey – "it came out of nothing after I had driven into a bunker" – at the ninth.
But, coming back, she followed a birdie at the 14th with a superb eagle-3 at the next, where an 8-iron to six feet set up the opportunity.
Watton's closing 72, which earned her a share of 11th, was the second best round on the Open Championship course. It was a 12-stroke improvement on her closing round in the same event last year and underlined why the 17-year-old Mortonhall player is rated so highly by her coach, Spencer Henderson.
Out in two-over, Watton bagged five birdies coming home, the pick of them coming at the 17th, where she holed from 15 feet.
Playing in the event for the first time, fellow 17-year-old MacDonald closed with an equally fine 75 to finish on 230. For the third round running, she signed off with a bogey but the Trinity Academy pupil, who won the Scottish Junior Masters last year, was rightly proud of her effort alongside the top amateurs in Britain and Ireland.
"I've been doing quite a bit of work in the gym and also feel I've added a bit of distance thanks to the work I'm doing with my coach, Kevin Craggs," said MacDonald

HILLSON LEADS LOTHIANS AT EDWARD TROPHY
At nearby Glasgow Gailes, her clubmate, Mark Hillson, led the Lothians challenge in the Edward Trophy, a Scottish Order of Merit event. The former Lothians champion shot rounds of 69, 75, 67 and 76 to finish fifth behind Peterhead's Philip McLean, with Grant Forrest (287), Allyn Dick (293), Sean McGarvey (298) and Zander Culverwell (299) the other Lothians players to make the cut.•

CATRIONA AND KRYSTLE BEST OF BRITISH IN SPAIN
Catriona Matthew and her Scotland team-mate Krystle Caithness closed with a 70 to secure seventh spot in the European Nations Cup in Spain, where they finished ahead of Wales, England and Ireland.
Sweden lifted the title for the first time after beating Australia in a play-off.

United States Duramed Futures Tour Scoreboard
$110,000 HISTORIC BROWNSVILLE OPEN
Rancho Viejo Resort & Country Club, Texas
FINAL TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71) 6283yd.
1 Sophie Jang (Seoul, South Korea) 70-68-71 - 209 $15,400
T2 Pornanong Phatlum (Chaiyaphum, Thailand) 68-73-69 - 210 $9,419
TAngela Oh (Maple Shade, N.J.) 69-70-71 - 210 $9,419
T4 Nontaya Srisawang (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 73-70-68 - 211 $3,768
T4 Sarah-Jane Smith (Queensland, Australia) 72-71-68 - 211 $3,768
T4 Miriam Nagl (Berlin, Germany) 72-69-70 - 211 $3,768
T4 Mo Martin (Altadena, Calif.) 68-69-74 - 211 $3,768
T4 Kitty Hwang (Guayaquil, Ecuador) 70-67-74 - 211 $3,768
T9 Alison Walshe (Westford, Mass.) 73-71-68 - 212 $1,700
T9 Cindy LaCrosse (Tampa, Fla.) 72-72-68 - 212 $1,700
T9 Ashley Prange (Noblesville, Ind.) 70-73-69 - 212 $1,700
T9 Liz Janangelo (West Hartford, Conn.) 69-72-71 - 212 $1,700
T9 Christine Song (Fullerton, Calif.) 70-71-71 - 212 $1,700
T9 Ryann O'Toole (San Clemente, Calif.) 71-70-71 - 212 $1,700
T15 Marlowe Boukis (Lutherville, Md.) 72-74-67 - 213 $1,081
T15 Chelsea Curtis (New Seabury, Mass.) 71-72-70 - 213 $1,081
T15 Briana Vega (Andover, Mass.) 68-74-71 - 213 $1,081
T15 Rachel Connor (Manchester, England) 73-69-71 - 213 $1,081
T15 Esther Choe (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 72-69-72 - 213 $1,081
T15 Hannah Yun (Bradenton, Fla.) 72-69-72 - 213 $1,081
T21 Dewi Claire Schreefel (Diepenveen, Netherland)75-73-66 - 214 $912
T21 Tracy Stanford (Midland, Texas) 72-69-73 - 214 $912
T23 Amelia Lewis (Jacksonville, Fla.) 70-75-70 - 215 $860
Christine Cho (Kent, Wash.) 69-74-72 - 215 $860
Michaela Cavener (Ponca City, Okla.) 73-70-72 - 215 $860
Paola Moreno (Cali, Colombia) 71-72-72 - 215 $860
Tanya Dergal (Durango, Mexico) 67-75-73 - 215 $860
Shasta Averyhardt (Flint, Mich.) 73-69-73 - 215 $860

T29 Hannah Jun (San Diego, Calif.) 70-78-68 - 216 $791
Jane Rah (Torrance, Calif.) 72-74-70 - 216 $791
Leanne Bowditch (Queensland, Australia) 72-74-70 - 216 $791
Taryn Durham (Glasgow, Ky.) 74-72-70 - 216 $791
Eileen Vargas (Ibague, Colombia) 74-71-71 - 216 $791
Caroline Westrup (Ahus, Sweden) 76-69-71 - 216 $791
Jessica Shepley (Oakville, Ontario) 73-71-72 - 216 $791
Christina Jones (Jensen Beach, Fla.) 69-74-73 - 216 $791

T37 Tara Goedeken (Dodge City, Kan.) 69-77-71 - 217 $734
Kylene Pulley (Kokomo, Ind.) 70-76-71 - 217 $734
Sophia Sheridan (Guadalajara, Mexico) 71-75-71 - 217 $734
Susan Nam (Edmonton, Alberta) 75-71-71 - 217 $734
Rebecca Flood (Coonabarabran, Australia) 75-71-71 - 217 $734
Kathleen Ekey (Sharon Township, Ohio) 72-73-72 - 217 $734
Madeleine Holmblad (Stockholm, Sweden) 74-71-72 - 217 $734
Juli Erekson (Chicopee, Mass.) 72-71-74 - 217 $734

T45 Min Seo Kwak (Seoul, South Korea) 75-73-70 - 218 $698
Laura Bavaird (Grosse Ile, Mich.) 75-73-70 - 218 $698
Tiffany Tavee (Tempe, Ariz.) 72-74-72 - 218 $698
Lene Krog (Lier, Norway) 71-73-74 - 218 $698
Tiffany Joh (San Diego, Calif.) 70-72-76 - 218 $698

T50 Erica Moston (Belmont, Calif.) 74-73-72 - 219 $674
Lauren Hunt (Little River, S.C.) 72-74-73 - 219 $674
Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz.) 71-73-75 - 219 $674
Lehua Wise (Kauai, Hawaii) 70-73-76 - 219 $674

T54 Kay Hoey (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) 73-75-72 - 220 $656
Benedikte Grotvedt (Nesbru, Norway) 72-74-74 - 220 $656
Lori Atsedes (Ithaca, N.Y.) 71-75-74 - 220 $656
Seema Sadekar (Toronto, Ontario) 71-72-77 - 220 $656

T58 Heather Burgner (Lakeland, Fla.) 74-74-73 - 221 $623
Kelly Lagedrost (Brooksville, Fla.) 74-74-73 - 221 $623
Rachel Bailey (Faulconbridge, Australia) 73-74-74 - 221 $623
Janell Howland (Boise, Idaho) 72-75-74 - 221 $623
Lili Alvarez (Durango, Mexico) 77-70-74 - 221 $623
Tzu-Chi Lin (Taichung, Taiwan) 69-77-75 - 221 $623
Jennie Lee (Henderson, Nev.) 73-73-75 - 221 $623
Hwanhee Lee (Las Vegas, Nev.) 70-76-75 - 221 $623
Whitney Wade (Glasgow, Ky.) 74-72-75 - 221 $623
Nannette Hill (Pelham, N.Y.) 73-72-76 - 221 $623
Veronica Felibert (Caracas, Venezuela) 75-70-76 - 221 $623
Jenny Suh (Fairfax, Va.) 71-73-77 - 221 $623

T70 Whitney Myers (York, Pa.) 72-76-74 - 222 $599
Jenny Shin (Torrance, Calif.) 71-77-74 - 222 $599
Carling Coffing (Middletown, Ohio) 70-77-75 - 222 $599
Christi Cano (San Antonio, Texas) 67-73-82 - 222 $599

T74 Laura Crawford (Lancaster, S.C.) 76-72-75 - 223 $595
Y. J. Jin (Seoul, South Korea) 75-72-76 - 223 $595

76 Perry Swenson Livonius (Charlotte, N.C.) 73-72-79 - 224 $592

77 Jenny Lee (Simi Valley, Calif.) 74-73-80 - 227 $590

Ladies European Tour
EUROPEAN NATIONS CUP
La Sella Golf Resort, Alicante, Spain
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
267 Anna Nordqvist & Sophie Gustafson (Swe) 67 62 70 68 (Anna & Sophie wins at Third Playoff hole), Karrie Webb & Karen Lunn (Aus) 69 65 67 66
269 Giulia Sergas & Veronica Zorzi 68 66 68 67
272 Iben Tinning & Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den) 68 66 67 71
274 Gwladys Nocera & Jade Schaeffer (Fra) 67 69 66 72, Beth Daniel & Meg Mallon (USA) 67 71 65 71
275 Catriona Matthew & Krystle Caithness (Sco) 69 69 67 70
277 Tania Elosegui & Emma Cabrera Bello (Spa) 66 65 73 73
278 Maria Verchenova & Anastasia Kostina (Rus) 71 68 65 74, Becky Brewerton & Breanne Loucks (Wal) 69 70 66 73
279 Anja Monke & Bettina Hauert (Ger) 70 71 68 70
280 Karen Stupples & Melissa Reid (Eng) 71 69 69 71, Christel Boeljon & Marjet Van Der Graaff (Ned) 68 69 71 72
281 Stefanie Michl & Nicole Gergely (Aut) 66 72 70 73
283 Ursula Wikstrom & Jenni Kuosa (Fin) 73 69 69 72
287 Caroline Rominger & Frederique Seeholzer (Swi) 71 71 70 75
289 Rebecca Coakley & Hazel Kavanagh (Irl) 72 75 72 70, Cecilie Lundgreen & Caroline Martens larsen (Nor) 72 71 73 73

Debutante Nikki finishes runner-up in Helen Holm tournament

Leading prizewinners in the 2010 'Helen Holm,' left to right, Louise Kenney, Hannah Barwood, Nikki Foster, Charlotte Ellis, winner Danielle McVeigh, best Under-18 Lauren Taylor, Leona Maguire and Rachael Jennings (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency; click on it to enlarge).

Danielle swoops again to
win a title in Scotland as
Louise drops late shots
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
For the second time within a year, Maynooth University, Dublin student Danielle McVeigh has won a prestigious golf tournament over a Scottish links by being patient and making a winning effort over the closing holes.
The 22-year-old, 6ft 1in Royal Co Down Ladies Golf Club member did it at Royal Aberdeen last autumn in winning the British women's open amateur stroke-play championship. And she did it again in the first big women's amateur domestic event of the 2010 season - the 54-hole Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play championship at Troon.
Trailing in third place by three shots with only five holes to play over the testing Royal Troon championship links today, Danielle turned the leaderboard on its head by holing from off the green for a birdie 2 at the 14th and then followed that with an eagle 3 at 425yd 15th where she holed a 15ft putt after a splendidly struck drive and five-iron to to the green.
That saw her surge from eight under par for the tournament to 11 under at the same time as joint leader Louise Kenney from Dunfermline double bogeyed the short 14th in a bunker and dropped another shot at the 15th. McVeigh covered these two holes in five brilliant shots. Kenney required 11 shots. That's where the 2010 'Helen Holm' was won and lost.
"If you had told me before the tournament started that I would finish on seven under par, I would have taken it, gladly," said Louise Kenney later. "But, here I am, seven under par after 54 holes and I am bitterly disappointed that I have finished only joint third. I played only a couple of slack shots over the closing holes and I was really punished for them."
On the outward journey, Kenney had led by two shots from Foster and by five from McVeigh at one stage. A 2 at the short fifth put the Fifer at 12 under par - the peak of her scoring for the tournament. She bogeyed the eighth and ninth to fall back to 10 under with nine to play, allowing Foster to draw level, the pair being two shots ahead of McVeigh.
Nikki Foster, the 18-year-old Lancashire lass making her debut in the event, bogeyed the 14th and was overhauled by McVeigh's eagle at the 15th where she herself had a par 5. Foster then bogeyed the 17th and 18th.
For the record, Danielle, who says she will turn pro after completing her degree course at Maynooth - another year to go - had rounds of 70 and 71 over Troon Portland and then a 74 over Royal Troon for 10-under-par 215.
Foster finished runner-up on 217 with scores of 67, 71 and 79 for 217.
McVeigh said later:
"I am really delighted to have won the Helen Holm tournament. I played solidly throughout the three days - but you know I almost pulled out before I struck a ball on Friday," said Danielle.
"I went in to Glasgow to have a meal on the eve of the tournament and I was laid low by something like foodpoisoning. If I had had a later starting time on Friday, I would definitely not have made it. I hadn't slept a wink, I had been desperately sick and my stomach was so upset, I really felt like staying in bed for a week.
"But I did make it to the first tee ... and look what's happened! I felt a little bit better on Saturday and as right as rain today. I am so glad I didn't pull out. I've another year to do at university. After that I want to turn professional and join the other Irish girls on the Ladies European Tour."
Defending champion Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) and her 15-year-old twin Lisa finished joint sixth on 219 alongside Lauren Taylor (Woburn) who won the Best Under-18 award on a scorecard countback.
"It's disappointing but we are learning all the time. People forget that," said Leona.
McVeigh and Leona Maguire (pictured above right by Cal Carson Golf Agency) won the international team event for Ireland .
The GB&I Curtis Cup team will be named on Monday afternoon.
It is certain to include McVeigh and the Maguire twins.
FINAL TOTALS
First two rounds Troon Portland, third round Royal Troon.
Par 225 (3x75)
215 Danielle McVeigh (Royal Co Down Ladies) 70 71 74.
217 Nikki Foster (Pleasington) 67 71 79.
218 Hannah Barwood (Knowle) 74 71 73, Rachel Jennings (Izaak Walton) 72 72 74, Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) 67 71 80.
219 Lauren Taylor (Woburn) 75 71 73, Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell) 74 71 74, Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) 69 75 75.
220 Jane Turner (Craigielaw) 74 72 74, Charlotte Ellis (Minchinhampton) 76 69 75.
221 Rachael Watton(Mortonhall) 75 74 72.
222 Laura Murray (Alford) 75 74 73, Gillian O'Leary (Cork) 72 75 75, Emma Brown (Malton & Norton) 71 75 76.
224 Charlie Douglass (Brocket Hall) 78 76 70, Anjelika Hammar (Sweden) 76 71 77.
226 Gemma Bradbury (Cottrell Park) 76 72 78, Lucy Williams (Mid Herts) 70 77 79, Kelly Tidy (Royal Birkdale) 72 73 81.
227 Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) 79 74 74, Tara Davies (Holyhead) 77 74 76, Charlotte Dalton (Ladbrook Park) 74 76 77, Alyson McKechin (Eldereslie) 78 70 79, Lisa Ball (Matfen Hall) 75 75 77.
228 Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) 78 76 70, Charlotte Wild (Mere) 74 79 75, Jess Wilcox (Blankney) 77 74 77, Laura Collin (John O'Gaunt) 76 74 78, Sian James (Bristol & Clifton) 75 73 80.
229 Clare-Marie Carlton (Fereneze) 81 70 78.
230 Gabrielle MacDonald (Craigielaw) 76 79 75, Rachael McQueen (Troon Ladies) 76 76 78, Amy Boulden (Maesdu) 77 74 79.
231 Becky Harries (Haverfordwest) 78 76 77, Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) 75 77 79, Kelly Brotherton (Troon Welbeck) 75 76 80.
232 Emma Sheffield (Newark) 77 79 76, Susan Jackson (Ladybank) 77 79 76, Gillian Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey) 78 78 76, Sarah Cunningham (Ennis) 81 74 77, Samantha Birks (Wolstanton) 79 72 81, Aedin Murphy (Carlow) 77 73 82.
233 Victoria Bradshaw (Bangor) 76 80 77, Bethany Garton (Royal Lytham) 79 77 77, Rebecca Wilson (Grange) 77 78 78, Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) 75 76 82.
234 Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) 78 77 79, Naomi Edwards (Ganton) 73 76 85.
235 Rebecca Gee (Wellingborough) 81 75 79, Rachael Taylor (Hartl Golf Resort, Germany) 79 76 80.
236 Maura Diamond (Royal Portrush) 77 78 81.
237 Sarah Garbutt (Ganton) 77 81 79, Charlene Reid (Royal Portrush) 81 76 80, Louise Mernagh (Woodenbridge) 79 76 82.
238 Josephine Janson (Sweden) 79 79 80.
239 Anne Laing (Vale of Leven) 82 80 77, Ailsa Summers (Carnoustie Ladies) 83 79 77, Stephanie McEvoy (Old Fold Manor) 76 79 84.
243 Ciara Butler (Newlands) 84 80 79, Ann Ramsay (Kirriemuir) 80 80 83, Karen O'Neill (Douglas) 81 73 89.
244 Sarah Helly (Enniscrone) 82 77 85.
245 Rachel Hanlon (St Regulus) 79 81 85.
247 Lesley Atkins (Gullane) 82 82 83.
248 Samantha Leslie (Westhill) 86 81 81, Hannah Grant (Enmore Park) 80 76 92.
249 Bronwyn Davies (Trentham) 81 85 83, Lucy Simpson (Massereene) 80 81 88.
INTERNATIONAL TEAM EVENT



434 IRELAND (Danielle McVeigh 215, Leona Maguire 219).



445 ENGLAND (Hannah Barwood 218, Holly Clyburn 227, Hannah Barwood).



449 SCOTLAND (Louise Kenney 218, Pamela Pretswell 231).



457 WALES (Tara Davies 227, Amy Boulden 230).

Lorena Ochoa bows out ... she says she

is happy and at peace

By JOHN SUTCLIFFE of ESPN
MEXICO CITY -- Lorena Ochoa finally made official her retirement from professional golf after almost eight years in the LPGA and the past three as the No. 1 female player in the world.
In an emotional news conference Friday with no shortage of tears, Ochoa explained the reason that triggered this unexpected and surprising decision was her determination to assume her role in life off the golf course. She said that she will now undertake some personal projects with her husband -- Aeromexico chief executive Andres Conesa -- and will live a normal life away from the constant travel.
In a mix of emotions, Ochoa talked exclusively with ESPN about this moment. She was sad because of the parting, happy because of the way in which it's happening, excited about the new phase of her life.
"I've thought through this decision and I'm telling you sincerely … I'm at peace, and I've never been happier in my life because I've achieved everything I wanted to achieve," Ochoa said. "I started very young and with high dreams of becoming the best. … I've been No. 1 in the world for three years, and now, after one more year, I'm giving you this news. But it's very good news. It's a message of joy, of happiness. I feel satisfied, very peaceful."
Despite the emotional aspect of her departure and the mixed feelings of fans and the sports media over this decision, Ochoa wants everyone to know that she is happy, for she is leaving professional golf after fulfilling all her goals.
"We are all going through the same [emotions]," Ochoa said. "We get sad. I've heard that people are sorry they won't be seeing me play any more on weekends and that is true, we're all going through different emotions. But at the end of the day, what I want to convey is that this is good news, something that fills me with joy. It gives me great peace to have taken it with all my heart. I can't be happier and I want to pass on that joy."
Ochoa made history in Mexican sports by taking a sport like golf, usually reserved for the wealthy, to the general population. When the Guadalajara native began to shine in the LPGA, many fans and media outlets started turning their attention toward greens and fairways.
"I think the most beautiful thing that my career has given me, and of what I dare say I'm very proud of, is the impact that golf has had in this country," Ochoa said. "What was something unknown to all of us, including the media, is now a popular sport practiced by many children and adults. So I think that the impact that golf has had in this country, with the construction of new courses, well, it's been incredible. I am very happy to have been a part of building the road toward such a nice sport as golf [in Mexico], and I hope it continues forever because I will keep in touch with golf my entire life."
As for Ochoa's legacy on the golf course, her first major victory couldn't have been better. For the first time in history, St. Andrews -- the legendary course where golf was born -- allowed ladies to play. The first winner was a Mexican.
"St. Andrews is something very difficult to put into words," Ochoa explained of her victory in 2007. "There are many beautiful emotions, but the Sunday before the tournament I came to the 18th green with my brother Alejandro. It was getting dark, around 8 p.m. The 18th green could barely be seen in the dark, but the stands were empty and the course was clear. Talking with my brother, I told him to imagine Sunday's final round, walking to No. 18 with all the public, with all the gallery overflowing with emotion, and me getting the last putt to win the tournament, and that was just as it happened, just as we [foresaw] it.
" Much of it had to do with the fact that I had the courage to dream for it to become true. It was a gift from God because every shot I made was perfect. I enjoyed it very much despite the bad weather, and I won the tournament, the most special of my career."
And just as there were great victories, there were also some difficult near-misses throughout her career. The biggest of those was the U.S. Open, a tournament Ochoa was poised to win several times but always came up short.
However, she believes all those losses came with a purpose.
"It's not a thorn, honestly," Ochoa said. "Golf has given me so much and I've accomplished so much that I can't ask for more. I think there are people who are never really satisfied, but there's also a time for acceptance because I never imagined that I would achieve so much. So I can't ask for more. The opportunities that I had at the U.S. Open were also experiences that gave me the strength to become who I am today."
Ochoa will play her last tournament as an active LPGA player next week, when she tries to defend her title at the Tres Marias Championship in her native Mexico. The goodbye was part of another wish she was hoping to have fulfilled, saying farewell before her people.
Ochoa's Greatest Hits
Lorena Ochoa falls short of the 10-year playing requirement to be eligible for the Hall of Fame but retires with an accomplished résumé:
• 2 majors, 27 titles • $14.2 million in earnings • 4-time player of the year
"I'm happy to finish in Morelia before my fans and I look forward to entering this new phase in my career," Ochoa said. "I think I deserve it and I want to share it with everyone. I achieved everything I wanted and I'm happy. I will cry from Hole 1 on Thursday to Hole 18 on Sunday, and I think that's the beauty of it, that we'll all have the opportunity to enjoy it, to enjoy me playing, and for people to enjoy it, to live it. I think it will be something unforgettable."
Ochoa would, of course, like to win before stepping away, but said she doesn't want to think about that. Instead, she'd prefer to enjoy those four days.
"I do not want to press myself because the most important thing is to enjoy every moment, each step on the golf course each day," she said. "I will be there 100 percent, giving time to my fans because I have to, and mostly because I want to, to thank them for all these years."
At the news conference, Ochoa was accompanied by her entire family, all of her sponsors, her coach Rafael Alarcon, who dedicated some heartfelt words to his pupil, and hundreds of national and international media outlets. She took the opportunity to deny the rumor that her unexpected retirement was due to a pregnancy and made it very clear that she longs to be a mother, but in the future, because now she has many projects at hand with her husband.
Ochoa also noted that she'll continue playing golf to keep in shape and be able to participate in invitational tournaments, like her Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara. Plus, she said she'll participate in clinics and exhibitions, and will be working hard at her academy and her foundation.
Ochoa also expressed her gratitude for the great support she's always had, but especially from her fans.
"I'm so grateful to all the fans, to God for all he's given me, and to my family," she said. "I thank you with all my heart for the company you have given me all these years and I will keep on doing many things."
John Sutcliffe is a reporter for "SportsCenter," ESPN Radio Formula and covers golf for ESPNdeportes.com.

Damp start for last round of 'Helen Holm'

over Royal Troon links

The third and final round of the Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke play championship looked like being played in miserable conditions.
The first players, Westhill's Samantha Leslie and Bronwyn Davies (Trentham), set out at 7.30am in a steady drizzle with no sign of the sun being able to break through on a grey, overcast day.
The leading trio - Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) 138 (-12), Nikki Foster (Pleasington) 138 (-12) and Danielle McVeigh (Royal Co Down Ladies) 141 (-9), were due to set off together at 11.10am.
The second last threesomes at 11am were the defending champion, 15-year-old Leona Maguire (Slieve Russell) 144 (-6), Rachel Jennings (Izaak Walton) 144 (-6) and Charlotte Ellis (Minchinhampton) (145 (-5).
The Ladies Golf Union selection committee meet this evening to select the Great Britain & Ireland team of eight for the Curtis Cup match against the United States at Essex County Club, Massachusetts in mid-June.
It will be announced on Monday afternoon.

Phil, she will be 99 in August, at the Troon Ladies clubhouse

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Phil Wylie, the oldest surviving Curtis Cup player on either side of the Atlantic, pictured above at the Ladies Golf Club Troon clubhouse on Saturday (by Cal Carson Golf Agency).
She was not able to get out on to the course on the second day of the Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play championship but enjoyed sitting in the clubhouse with her carer, Marion McLarty, whose husband is a Royal Troon GC member.
"I'm feeling fine but the arthritis in my legs and ankles means I can't get around," said Phil who will be 99 years old in August.
"I enjoyed the past Curtis Cup players' evening at the last Curtis Cup at St Andrews in 2008 ... but I don't know if I'll make it to the next Curtis Cup in this country (Nairn in 2012)."
Of course you will, Phil.
She lives only a few doors down from the ladies' clubhouse at Troon, just across the road from the short 17th on the Royal Troon links.

US Duramed Futures Tour Scoreboard
$110,000 Historic Brownsville Open
Rancho Viejo Resort & Country Club
6283-yard, par 36-35 - 71.
SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71)
1 Kitty Hwang (Guayaquil, Ecuador) 70-67 - 137
Mo Martin (Altadena, Calif.) 68-69 - 137
3 Sophie Jang (Seoul, South Korea) 70-68 - 138
4 Angela Oh (Maple Shade, N.J.) 69-70 - 139
5 Christi Cano (San Antonio, Texas) 67-73 - 140
6 Ryann O'Toole (San Clemente, Calif.) 71-70 - 141
Hannah Yun (Bradenton, Fla.) 72-69 - 141
Miriam Nagl (Berlin, Germany) 72-69 - 141
Tracy Stanford (Midland, Texas) 72-69 - 141
Esther Choe (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 72-69 - 141
Christine Song (Fullerton, Calif.) 70-71 - 141
Liz Janangelo (West Hartford, Conn.) 69-72 - 141
Pornanong Phatlum (Chaiyaphum, Thailand) 68-73 - 141
14 Tiffany Joh (San Diego, Calif.) 70-72 - 142
Shasta Averyhardt (Flint, Mich.) 73-69 - 142
Rachel Connor (Manchester, England) 73-69 - 142
Briana Vega (Andover, Mass.) 68-74 - 142
Tanya Dergal (Durango, Mexico) 67-75 - 142
19 Seema Sadekar (Toronto, Ontario) 71-72 - 143
Juli Erekson (Chicopee, Mass.) 72-71 - 143
Chelsea Curtis (New Seabury, Mass.) 71-72 - 143
Paola Moreno (Cali, Colombia) 71-72 - 143
Sarah-Jane Smith (Queensland, Australia) 72-71 - 143
Lehua Wise (Kauai, Hawaii) 70-73 - 143
Michaela Cavener (Ponca City, Okla.) 73-70 - 143
Ashley Prange (Noblesville, Ind.) 70-73 - 143
Nontaya Srisawang (Chiang Mai, Thailand) 73-70 - 143
Christine Cho (Kent, Wash.) 69-74 - 143
Christina Jones (Jensen Beach, Fla.) 69-74 - 143
30 Cindy LaCrosse (Tampa, Fla.) 72-72 - 144
Jenny Suh (Fairfax, Va.) 71-73 - 144
Lene Krog (Lier, Norway) 71-73 - 144
Sara Brown (Tucson, Ariz.) 71-73 - 144
Alison Walshe (Westford, Mass.) 73-71 - 144
Jessica Shepley (Oakville, Ontario) 73-71 - 144
36 Caroline Westrup (Ahus, Sweden) 76-69 - 145
Veronica Felibert (Caracas, Venezuela) 75-70 - 145
Eileen Vargas (Ibague, Colombia) 74-71 - 145
Madeleine Holmblad (Stockholm, Sweden) 74-71 - 145
Kathleen Ekey (Sharon Township, Ohio) 72-73 - 145
Amelia Lewis (Jacksonville, Fla.) 70-75 - 145
Perry Swenson Livonius (Charlotte, N.C.) 73-72 - 145
Nannette Hill (Pelham, N.Y.) 73-72 - 145
44 Rebecca Flood (Coonabarabran, Australia) 75-71 - 146
Susan Nam (Edmonton, Alberta) 75-71 - 146
Whitney Wade (Glasgow, Ky.) 74-72 - 146
Taryn Durham (Glasgow, Ky.) 74-72 - 146
Leanne Bowditch (Queensland, Australia) 72-74 - 146
Lori Atsedes (Ithaca, N.Y.) 71-75 - 146
Sophia Sheridan (Guadalajara, Mexico) 71-75 - 146
Benedikte Grotvedt (Nesbru, Norway) 72-74 - 146
Jane Rah (Torrance, Calif.) 72-74 - 146
Tiffany Tavee (Tempe, Ariz.) 72-74 - 146
Lauren Hunt (Little River, S.C.) 72-74 - 146
Marlowe Boukis (Lutherville, Md.) 72-74 - 146
Kylene Pulley (Kokomo, Ind.) 70-76 - 146
Hwanhee Lee (Las Vegas, Nev.) 70-76 - 146
Jennie Lee (Henderson, Nev.) 73-73 - 146
Tara Goedeken (Dodge City, Kan.) 69-77 - 146
zu-Chi Lin (Taichung, Taiwan) 69-77 - 146
61 Lili Alvarez (Durango, Mexico) 77-70 - 147
Y. J. Jin (Seoul, South Korea) 75-72 - 147
Erica Moston (Belmont, Calif.) 74-73 - 147
Janell Howland (Boise, Idaho) 72-75 - 147
Amanda Costner (Claremore, Okla.) 70-77 - 147
Carling Coffing (Middletown, Ohio) 70-77 - 147
Rachel Bailey (Faulconbridge, Australia) 73-74 - 147
Jenny Lee (Simi Valley, Calif.) 74-73 - 147
69 Laura Crawford (Lancaster, S.C.) 76-72 - 148
Laura Bavaird (Grosse Ile, Mich.) 75-73 - 148
Min Seo Kwak (Seoul, South Korea) 75-73 - 148
Dewi Claire Schreefel (Diepenveen, Netherland 75-73 - 148
Kelly Lagedrost (Brooksville, Fla.) 74-74 - 148
Heather Burgner (Lakeland, Fla.) 74-74 - 148
Jenny Shin (Torrance, Calif.) 71-77 - 148
Hannah Jun (San Diego, Calif.) 70-78 - 148
Whitney Myers (York, Pa.) 72-76 - 148
Kay Hoey (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) 73-75 - 148
--- Missed 36 Hole Cut ---
Kirby Dreher (Fort St. John, Canada) 76-73 - 149
Elisa Serramia (Barcelona, Spain) 76-73 - 149
Angela Buzminski (Oshawa, Ontario) 76-73 - 149
Aimee Cho (Orlando, Fla.) 75-74 - 149
Jane Chin (Mission Viejo, Calif.) 77-72 - 149
Camila Mori (Santiago, Chile) 75-74 - 149
Danah Ford Bordner (Indianapolis, Ind.) 77-72 - 149
Mayule Tomimbang (Kissimmee, Fla.) 79-70 - 149
Lisa Ferrero (Lodi, Calif.) 74-75 - 149
Gerina Mendoza (Roswell, N.M.) 69-80 - 149
Carolina Llano (Medellin, Colombia) 76-74 - 150
Virada Nirapathpongporn (Bangkok, Thailand) 77-73 - 150
Jackie Barenborg (Vero Beach, Fla.) 75-75 - 150
Noon Huajai (Bangkok, Thailand) 77-73 - 150
Kim Augusta (Rumford, R.I.) 77-73 - 150
Libby Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.) 77-73 - 150
Bree Arthur (Brisbane, Australia) 75-75 - 150
Jennifer Ackerson (Dallas, Texas) 77-73 - 150
Jenny Gleason (Clearwater, Fla.) 74-76 - 150
Malinda Johnson (Eau Claire, Wis.) 72-78 - 150
Nicole Smith (Riverside, Calif.) 72-78 - 150
Sydney Cox (Edmond, Okla.) 72-78 - 150
Sae Hee Son (Seoul, South Korea) 77-74 - 151
Hanna Kang (Seoul, South Korea) 76-75 - 151
Kristen Simpson (Norfolk, Va.) 75-76 - 151
Blair Lamb (Flat Rock, N.C.) 75-76 - 151
Jessi Gebhardt (Chandler, Ariz.) 77-74 - 151
Danielle Mills (Pointe-Claire, Quebec) 75-76 - 151
Jennifer Bermingham (Long Beach, Calif.) 75-76 - 151
Katie Miller (Jeannette, Pa.) 70-81 - 151
Haley Gildea (East Greenwich, R.I.) 73-78 - 151
Caroline Larsson (Stockholm, Sweden) 73-78 - 151
Sara Ovadia (Santa Barbara, Calif.) 76-76 - 152
Lauren Doughtie (Suffolk, Va.) 76-76 - 152
Sofie Andersson (Angelholm, Sweden) 75-77 - 152
Maggie Simons (Raleigh, N.C.) 75-77 - 152
Sam White (Potomac, Md.) 78-74 - 152
Lindsey Bergeon (Sarasota, Fla.) 78-74 - 152
Jessica Carafiello (Coral Springs, Fla.) 74-78 - 152
Dawn Shockley (Estes Park, Colo.) 80-72 - 152
Ashley Medders (Alma, Ga.) 76-77 - 153
Simone DeSouza (Peru) 77-76 - 153
Devan Andersen (Guadalajara, Mexico) 77-76 - 153
Carmen Bandea (Atlanta, Ga.) 77-76 - 153
Ai-Chen Kuo (Taiwan) 75-78 - 153
Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.) 77-76 - 153
Ayaka Kaneko (Honolulu, Hawaii) 77-76 - 153
Kelly Froelich (Raizeux, France) 73-80 - 153
Jasi Acharya (Columbus, Mont.) 77-77 - 154
Marina Choi (Los Angeles, Calif.) 74-80 - 154
Julie Wells-Shenfield (Wilsonville, Ore.) 77-78 - 155
Mallory Blackwelder (Versailles, Ky.) 79-76 - 155
Carrie Riordan (Spring Valley, Ill.) 74-81 - 155
Selanee Henderson (Apple Valley, Calif.) 74-81 - 155
Adrienne White (Red Deer, Alberta) 74-81 - 155

Pamela Ontiveros (Gomez Palacio, Mexico) 77-79 - 156

Rachel Larson (Longmont, Colo.) 76-81 - 157

Dori Carter (Valdosta, Ga.) 77-81 - 158
Emma Calderone (Toronto, Ontario) 79-79 - 158
Kristina Langton (Ada, Mich.) 79-79 - 158

Amanda Mathis (Picayune, Miss.) 76-83 - 159
Ashley Grier (Hagerstown, Md.) 84-75 - 159

Sarah Olsen (Grosse Ile, Mich.) 77-83 - 160
Brandi Jackson (Greenville, S.C.) 82-78 - 160

Stacey Bieber (Winnipeg, Manitoba) 81-81 - 162

Susannah Aboff (Huntington, N.Y.) 80-83 - 163