Friday 1 October 2010

Third day at the Senior Home Interntionals

Scotland unfortunately were unable to take a point from Ireland on the third and final day of the Senior Home Internationals. In an effort to promote the Second Coming into her team, Captain Pamela Williamson completely altered the pairings but to no avail. At number one position, she joined together an old winning partnership of Fiona de Vries and Lorna Bennett, who took on new Irish cap Mairead MacNamara and very long-hitting Niamh Giblin. They lost 4 and 3. The second pairing was the combination of the two sisters from Tain, Mary Smith and Anne Ryan. They won against Pat Doran and Helen Jones on the eighteenth. The third couple were Heather Anderson and Noreen Fenton who were not tight enough initially against Sheena McElroy and Phil O'Gorman and then failed to counter the rush of birdies and good pars from both, whose putters were red hot. At the short eighth, the Scots tee-shot was six inches from the hole and surely could not be blamed for thinking they would get a hole back especially as the opposition's tee-shot was about forty feet away. Their hopes were dashed when the ball fell into the hole for a half in two.

In the afternoon singles, knowing that four out of five of the games had to come Scotland's way to make a likely second place, things started quite well. This however did not last, although Fiona de Vries, who had played in all six games, was too much for Violet McBride and brought in an early point. Mary Smith did likewise against Mairead MacNamara. But that was to be it. Moira Thomson (pictured left against the backdrop of the North Sea) held on to her usual steady game till the ninth where she missed an unlikely putt for her but this then allowed her opponent, Pat Doran, a foot in the door. As Moira began to appear a little less purposeful, Pat's game conversely looked increasingly more secure. It's a fact of life or golf than when that happens, there is very little luck to be had. The two remaining games with Lorna Bennett (playing Helen Jones) and Anne Ryan (playing Sheena mcElroy) were hard fought to the last but both finished on the seventeenth with points to Ireland.

Having recently come home from Berlin as worthy champions, Scotland were relegated to fourth place in the Home Internationals. England had won all their games with a healthy margin and indeed were very worthy winners.

Results
England 3 points
Ireland 1 1/2 points
Wales 1 point
Scotland 1/2 point

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