Tuesday 21 July 2009

East v West Foursomes at Troon Portland

The annual foursomes match between the East and West Vets will take place this year at Troon Portland on Monday August 10th and the team to seize the Friendship Trophy back from the West Vets has been selected. Having noted the lack of something to play for, this trophy was kindly donated by Asp Robertson and she has been patiently waiting for it to grace the East Vets Trophy cupboard since its arrival on the scene. The match itself has been going for over thirty years but recent success has been denied us. This is all about to change and the team to do it (in alphabetical order) is as follows:

Clare Bowe (Gullane Ladies)
Ellice Cackett (Broomieknowe)
Sydena Cullen (Turnhouse)
Gilly Glen (Craigmillar Park)
Kate Johnston (Baberton)
Caroline Kinnaird (Glencorse)
Carol Macleod (Gullane Ladies)
Maureen McRobb (Kingsknowe)
Carole Ross (North Berwick)
Janet Wake (Merchants)

Reserves to be announced later.

The format is foursomes and all games are played off scratch. It'll be tough but our girls are up for it. Wish them luck.

Monday 20 July 2009

Spare a Thought


Who amongst us didn't feel for that pretty famous "vet" at the Open yesterday - Tom Watson. He was an icon to the "over fifties" right to that very last putt.

All the way round each of the four rounds, apparently unperturbed by the hype, the event, all these younger than young, new hopefuls, with their confidence, their energy, their flexibility- whatever happened to gangliness - and obvious skill, ever the gentleman, he quietly got on with his own game. If he thought to himself that if he heard the "fifty-nine going on sixty" "great for his age" etc etc, one more time he would definitely be making an alternative use of his four iron, parting someone's hair- it certainly did not show in his expression. But, with each of the four extra holes, despite the gentle smile, there was no hiding the pain behind his eyes, the slight hesitancy in his step and in his play, as his hopes were dashed slowly and torturously. What would he have given not to continue playing, not to watch the game which had excited audiences everywhere, quite simply disintegrate. He must have been in mental agony. Who amongst us, at whatever level we play this game, has not been just where he was, has not later re-run the whole nightmare over and over again, pin-pointing the moment in time when it all went wrong and used that time-worn phrase "if only" - but at least we didn't do it in front of the world.

Spare a thought for this golfer who smiled and behaved impeccably throughout and ask yourself - who was a winner?

Scottish Team for the European Senior Ladies Championship includes East Vets

The team to represent Scotland in the European Seniors Ladies Championship in Ireland this September includes two east vets - Moira Thomson (Gullane ladies) and Fiona Hunter (Baberton). First reserve is Noreen Fenton (Dunbar).Each country sends a team of six players - although last year this was subject to variation. Initially there are two rounds of strokeplay competition to determine which flight of the competition that country will play in - in groups of four - and thereafter each flight is subject to matchplay. one foursome and four singles to determine a winner, semifinalist and third or fourth.

The results will be posted by live scoring on the LGU website and hopefully fairly soon after by your truly.

Scottish team:
Heather Anderson (Alyth)
Lorna Bennett (Ladybank)
Fiona de Vries (St Rule)
Fiona Hunter (Baberton)
Mary Smith (Tain)
Moira Thomson (Gullane Ladies)
First reserve: Noreen Fenton (Dunbar)
Second reserve: Helen Faulds (Douglas Park)
Third reserve: Kathleen Sutherland (Royal Montrose)
Captain Pamela Williamson

Saturday 18 July 2009

East Vets in Scottish Team for Annual Jamboree

Two vets will represent the East Division in the Scottish team selected to play in the annual Jamboree at Bath in August 4 - 6. They are Moira Thomson (Gullane Ladies) who was runner-up in the recent Scottish Senior Ladies Championship at Kinross and Fiona Hunter (Baberton) Scottish Stroke-play Champion 2009. The team is as follows:

Heather Anderson (Alyth)
Lorna Bennett (Ladybank)
Fiona de Vries (St Rule)
Helen Faulds (Douglas Park)
Fiona Hunter (Baberton)
Mary Smith (Tain)
Moira Thomson (Gullane Ladies)
Reserve Alex Glennie (Kilmarnock Barassie)
Dr. Lynne Terry (Cruden Bay) Captain
Pamela Williamson (Baberton) Vice-captain

Friday 10 July 2009

Results from Duddingston for East Vets




Despite a respectable presence of East Vets at the Midlothian Centenary Celebrations at Duddingston, the prizelist was not avalanched by vet names.


However Pamela Williamson, Joan Marshall and Karen Marshall all of Baberton uplifted second prize with 137 points (the winners from Broomieknowe had 134 points). Very well done to them.


Fiona Hunter (Baberton) had nearest the pin in 3 at the 8th hole.
Fiona Verth (Gullane Ladies) won the Centenary Surprise
Ellice Cackett (Broomieknowe) was nearest the line on the 18th fairway.


A great day and enjoyed by all.

Success at Pitlochry and in the Morison Millar

Mary Davidson of Kingsknowe has had a successful appearance at Pitlochry in the Highland Women's Open. She was second in the Silver Handicap Division with a total of 143. This took her into the Matchplay stage where she first of all won against Catherine Simpson of Bridge of Allan by 4 and 3 in the first round. A tight game in the second round unfortunately resulted in a 2 and 1 defeat by Fiona Robertson of St Michael's.

Bad luck but still well done Mary!

However -Mary was at it again when she, partnered by Sheila Lyon in a Kingsknowe team including Louise Fraser and Sheila Halliday, won the Morison Millar last week at Lothianburn on Thursday 2nd July where the only sane place apparently to be in the soaring temperatures was half-way up a mountain. They had a marvellous total of 291 which just plucked the trophy from Baberton B and the homegrown team of Lothianburn (Ruth Brown, Christine Clement, E.Adair and V. Thomson.)

Great week for Mary and Sheila

Thursday 9 July 2009

Midlothian Centenary Celebrations

 
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Click to enlarge - but be careful

Midlothian Ladies' County Golf Association held their Centenary Tri-am at Duddingston Golf Club today 9th July and it was a fantastic day, weather-wise and because it was an organisational dream of a day - thanks going to, amongst others, two East Vets who were on the Centenary Committee, namely Karen Ballantyne and Mairi Pollock of Craigmillar Park. Trios of ladies went out all day from 8.50 to 5.30. a total of over 160 competitors. Many of these trios were purely East Vets and some were a "mixed age bag". All were smiling hugely and enjoying a great day in celebration of the Centenary.

Our picture at the top of this report shows our own Ethel Jack and Gillian Kirkwood, accompanied by their guest, that well-known raconteur, Helen Faulds, captain of the West Vets. The webmaster happened to knock into them as they approached the eighteenth hole and was able to take a few snaps.

Out of the entire field of roughly 160 ladies, a quarter were East Vets, but as most were in mixed teams, their performance in the field as a whole was not meaningful. They just enjoyed themselves. In each of the first six holes, the nett best ball counted of the three. This was just to get them going! In the second six holes, two better balls of the three counted - but in the last six holes, from the long Temple Hole until driving straight for Craigmillar Castle at the 18th, everyone had to mind their P's and Q's. Unworthy sevens and eights could not now be ditched in the rough or behind bushes - they were all counting. Ethel Jack, (in the Ethel Jack, Gillian Kirkwood and Helen Faulds(W-K R)trio) said that Gillian Kirkwood (referee) was very severe indeed, wouldn't let her off with a thing and penalised her right, left and centre. However as noted in the above photo, they emerged still smiling.

Results tomorrow.

Sunday 5 July 2009

Belated Results at Kinross

Here are the actual matchplay results at Kinross- apologies for the lateness but the sister ships at West vets and Midland Vets pretty well covered everything.

First Round:
FIONA HUNTER lost to Heather Anderson 7 and 5
Sheila Cuthbertson lost to Suzanne Cadden by 1 hole
Fiona de Vries lost to Helen Faulds 6 and 4
PAMELA WILLIAMSON lost to Alex Glennie 5 and 3
NOREEN FENTON beat Frances Neish 1 hole
Mary Smith beat Anna Telfer 4 and 3
Kathleen Sutherland lost to MOIRA THOMSON 2 and 1
Margaret Tough lost to Lorna Bennett 3 and 2

Second Round:
Heather Anderson beat Suzanne Cadden 3 and 2
Helen Faulds lost to Alex Glennis 2 and 1
NOREEN FENTON beat Mary Smith 2 holes
MOIRA THOMSON beat Lorna Bennett at the 20th

Semi-finals:
Heather Anderson beat Alex Glennie 6 and 4
MOIRA THOMSON beat NOREEN FENTON 3 and 2

Final:
Heather Anderson beat MOIRA THOMSON 5 and 3

Second Flight Competition results (for losers in the first round)
FIONA HUNTER beat Sheila Cuthbertson
Fiona de Vries beat PAMELA WILLIAMSON
Frances Neish lost to Anna Telfer
Kathleen Sutherland beat Margaret Tough

Second Flight Semi-finals:
Fiona de Vries beat FIONA HUNTER
Anna Telfer lost to Kathleen Sutherland

Second Flight Final:
Fiona de Vries lost to Kathleen Sutherland

Congratulations to Carol Fell on her magnificent, humorous and very full reporting for the West Vets, Where DO you find these sources
Carol

Saturday 4 July 2009

Some pictures of East Vets at Kinross



Click to enlarge

Moira Thomson beaten in the final at Kinross

Moira Thomson(Gullane ladies) failed to take the Scottish Senior ladies Championship 2009 at Kinross yesterday after an exciting match watched only by true stalwarts who braved the much promised about-turn in the weather.
Heather Anderson of Alyth, a previous winner of the Scottish Veteran Ladies Golf Championship (as is Moira) took on not only the consistently steady Moira, but a bevy of other ladies of proven record, a very worthy course, a complete kaleidoscope of weather and a guerilla war waged by resident clegs, to lift the trophy. A worthy champion indeed.Posted by Picasa
The final score of 5 and 3 for Heather did little justice to the great golf on view when over the first seven holes none were halved and at that point, she was only one up. Tit for tat.
Despite mistakes on both sides, with visits to dark forests and obliging bunkers, Heather, by virtue not only of great golf shots but an increasingly lethal putter, took control of the match and won four in concession from the ninth. A 20 foot racer secured the 11th - (pictured above) followed by a putt of similar length from off the green at the very slopey 12th, which was little short of a kamikaze dive into the hole. Moira must have thought, seeing it charge down the incline that she had a hope of getting one back, since it would surely have gone right off the green. Unfortunately for her, the pin got in the way! At that point Moira went 5 down.
However characteristically, she capitalised on unexpected errors by her opponent at the 13th and reduced that to four. Despite a beautiful iron to the long-short 14th by Moira, giving her an easy three, Heather produced a mouth-watering chip from beyond the back of the green, to stop right at the pin for a half.
Both drove nicely down the increasingly heavy, long 15th, Heather playing her second safely down the right but Moira finding the mid-fairway bunker with hers. Harbouring a huge lip, a recovery from this bunker, sufficient to reach the green was never on the cards but Moira came out very well. Her next found the back of the green but a necessary attacking putt, bearing in mind her dormie-down situation, left her too much to do, leaving Heather free to secure the match and the title.
Moira had a difficult half on the way to the final, beating Kathleen Sutherland, Lorna Bennett and Noreen Fenton - all previous winners of the Scottish Vets - Lorna Bennett also being the defending champion of the Scottish Seniors. Moira was runner-up in this competition in 2005 at Grantown-on-Spey. Next year it is at Fortrose and Rosemarkie. She'll be hoping to splat that old saying - twice the bridesmaid never the bride.

Wednesday 1 July 2009

Fiona Hunter wins Strokeplay

Fiona Hunter of Baberton successfully managed to add a good second score to her fantastic first round score of yesterday, to win the Scottish Senior ladies' Strokeplay Championship at Kinross today. With a score today of 80 this gave her a total of 153, one stroke clear of Lorna Bennett(Ladybank) Noreen Fenton (Dunbar) and Alex Glennie (Kilmarnock Barassie). Lorna Bennett was the runner-up having the best second day score of 74 to add to her 80 in round 1.

Playing a defensive game is not Fiona's favourite but aside from trying to score well, like all the other positively glowing ladies, she found the temperature, humidity and constant threat of thunderstorms a gruelling test. Well done Fiona. Pictures will follow when the webmaster has access to them.

East vets managed to have four ladies in the top sixteen who go forward to the matchplay event tomorrow, these being Fiona Hunter, Noreen Fenton, Moira Thomson and Pamela Williamson (Scottish Vets captain).

East vets leading scores today - please link to west vets or kirkwoodgolf for the full list

153 Fiona Hunter 73,80
154 Noreen Fenton 75,79
161 Moira Thomson 80,81
162 Pamela Williamson 79,83
167 Rita Dee85,82
170 Sue Penman 82,88
177 Karen Ballantyne 84,93
183 Lesley Johnstone 95,88

Matchplay tomorrow