Denise takes the B Championship

-Denise Mitchell of Murrayfield won the Midlothian County Championship 'B' Championship at Prestonfield today on what was a lovely 'golfing'day apart from the need to rake for the extra jersey when the sun dipped behind the clouds.

In the semi-finals, following directly behind the main Championship, Denise played steadily against Jaci Moriarty of Lochend and there being few deviations from good solid golf, victory was achieved at the 17th hole. In the other semi-final, things all happened a bit faster and Isobel Halliday of Merchants, Vet Nouveaux - beg pardon - Vet Nouvelle, taking to vetlife like one of these circling mallards was to Duddingston Loch, finished up her game against Ann Brown of Deer Park with rather unseemly haste at the 14th hole. This gave us a Vets Final. Excellent.

Picking up Midlothian Vice-Captain, Mary Richardson (also Vet Nouvelle) as referee, they were off.

And what a match it was with only three holes being halved throughout. Nip and tuck the (w)hole way. Just getting into their stride, they halved the first followed by the short second. Then Denise took the long curving third with the nasty fairway bunkers strategically placed to catch the unwary. Now one up, she became two after taking the uncommonly similar long 4th.

The last hole to be halved in the match was the short 5th and then it was parry and riposte, parry and riposte ending up all square at the bunker-protected short ninth. Then Denise took four in a row. Such an attack would normally render an opponent bewildered and flapping but not Isobel, who returned to the fray gallantly, taking the 14th with the tricky green, the 15th where Denise had planted a peacock, primed to screech (in)appropriately at the top of Isobel's backswing, and then the long-short 16th where putts can be approaching the pin one minute and off the green the next. After all that Denise was now only one up.

By this time, Ref. Mary had long been secretly wishing anyone had actually managed to finish off the game to prevent the inevitable slog all the way up the long 17th. But for Denise it was well worth the trail as she took this hole and the title, by 2 and 1.

It's a shame there always has to be a winner and a loser. Great game ladies.