What a cold and dreich start to the day!  It’s nearly May and the weather chilled the bones. Whilst the drizzle did stop the clouds and east wind remained.  The players started arriving and warming up on the range before checking into the lounge with good spirits and an eagerness to get started.

President Margaret Fergusson was our Starter today and, together with Captain, Isla McCrone, welcomed each match to the tee and then watched drive after drive struck well on the blind first hole.  All matches were on their way by 12.30pm and keenly contested throughout.  Each competitor fought hard for their match and the quality of the golf played today was excellent.

County Championship Morning Matches:

The top half of the draw saw top seed Louise Fraser (Kingsknowe) having a challenging match against talented junior Megan Fallon (Broomieknowe) who never did much wrong, and Megan eventually came out tops winning 2&1. Karen Ferguson-Snedden (Mortonhall) took on experienced home player Morag Wardrop (Turnhouse), with Morag putting up an excellent fight but the 2022 Scottish Senior Women’s Open Champion clinched the match 5&3. Turnhouse Team player, Linda Roberton (Lochend) and experienced squad member, Kate Rorke (Kingsknowe), had a great nip and tuck match with Kate emerging as winner 2&1. The final match in the top half of the draw was against Sarah Stichbury (Gullane) and Grace Cannon (Prestonfield) with Grace bringing in the win 4&2.

The bottom half of the draw saw reigning County Champion, Kate McIntosh (Broomieknowe) take on the seasoned Midlothian player, Karen Marshall (Baberton) with a lot of class on show from both but the putts didn’t drop for Karen and Kate finished the match 2&1. We observed a well contested match against Caroline Steedman (Murrayfield) and Hilary Laughland (Mortonhall)  where it could have gone either way but Hilary closed the match out winning 1up. Jennifer Bryans (Harburn) and Rachael Livingstone (Baberton) both demonstrated their skills as they made their way round the course with Jennifer eventually beating Rachael 3&2.  The final match saw the two Morrison sisters, Emma and Lucy (both Gullane) battle it out in an exciting match. The sisters had never played against each other and found it a challenging experience but the younger sister came out winner with a 3&2 result.

B Championship Morning Matches:

Our first match in the B Championship was between Margaret Parr (Merchants) and local player Yvonne Wilson (Turnhouse) with Margaret winning the match 7&6. Match 2 saw two Harburn players, Meg Laidler and Sheila McEwan battle it out to the 18th with Meg emerging as winner 1up. Fiona Findlay (Lochend) took on Muriel Gilligan (Swanston) winning her match 6&5. The final pairing was home player Susan Randall (Turnhouse) against Julie Robb (Baberton), with local knowledge securing a 5&4 win for Susan.

County Championship Afternoon Matches:

A very quick turnaround saw us back on the tee at 3.30pm where the experienced Karen Ferguson-Snedden had another tough match against youngster Megan Fallon (Broomieknowe) who fought a determined and very skilled match but eventually lost on the 16th, 3&2. Kate Rorke (Kingsknowe) was again on form closing off her match against Grace Cannon (Prestonfield) on the 15th, 5&3.  The match against Champ Kate McIntosh (Broomieknowe) and steady Hilary Laughland (Mortonhall) demonstrated some class golf but our current Champ managed to close out the match on the 15th, winning 4&3. The nail biting final match between experienced Jennifer Bryans (Harburn) and young Lucy Morrison (Gullane) went all the way to the 18th with Lucy 1up. Both had lengthy putts with Lucy leaving hers well short but her nerve held and she finished the match off sinking her putt and securing the win.

Many thanks to our co-opted Treasurer, Jane MacDonald (Merchants) for checking the players in this morning and to all the team at Turnhouse for their great hospitality. The course was once again presented well for the players.

Tomorrow is another day with players coming back refreshed and raring to go!  Who will emerge as our Champions??

We encourage spectators to come and enjoy some amazing golf from all. The matches kick off at 11am.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

County Championship 2023 Day 1 Round Up