Mary McKenna Perpetual Trophy Sails West

Slide show coming

Scotland, after their disastrous fourball result yesterday made a tremendous fightback, only to lose out on the last hole. They won five out of eight of the matches but they needed to win six!

From the word go they were out of the starting blocks at full pelt and at the ninth hole, the Irish management (Roma English) must have had some niggling doubts of cashing in on their overnight lead. All but one game at the turn was in Scotland's favour. But no one who has ever been involved with our Irish friends would ever count their chickens, which was just as well. Holes up became holes down. Our own Moira Thomson of Gullane was up at the turn against Mairead McNamara, who hit the ball much further off the tee, but a visit to the pond at the 13th - there was a lovely little chirpy reed warbler there - saw the game into reverse. But adversity is Moira's middle name and she dug in her heels to produce a two and one victory at the 17th - and the first point on the board. The early lead by May Hughes of the West over one of Ireland's strongest players, Sheena McElroy was also dealt a heart-breaking blow when she also visited that pond . Likewise this game finished at the 17th but sadly with a negative result.

The Irish fightback was demonstrated yet again when a mid-term lead by Lorna Bennett (Ladybank) of five holes - in part thanks to a class Hole in One at the sixth - was not an automatic ticket to a deckchair in the sun in a good vantage position whilst she watched her team-mates fighting their way round the remaining holes. Lorna's opponent, Niamh Giblin had no such ideas of lying down and giving up. She raised her game and took Lorna to the 16th.

The Russell dynasty in the form of Anne Ryan and her sister Mary Smith from Tain had equally close games which could have gone either way. Anne took Violet McBride from a losing position to a winning one with a successful putt on the eighteenth for a third point. Unfortunately Mary went from holes up to holes down in the face of an Irish attack in the form of Pat Doran - known as "Lighthouse Doran" and lost on the 17th - the hillock beside the 17th green was actually a great place to stand for spectators!

"Newey" Alison Bartlett from Highland was not in the slightest awed by her debut appearance and overpowered Irish stalwart Valerie Hassett with an assured 6 and 4 win. The other New Blood, Elaine Allison of Stirling, who at one point looked positively frozen in her skort when the sun disappeared and the wind changed, was one down at the 16th. Showing great composure, she converted a lovely long iron at the short 17th which only just slid off the back of the slopey green, into a safe par three. Her opponent Phil O'Gorman, failed to get a chip from the heavy greenside rough to roll near enough the pin. She required two putts. All to play for down the eighteenth. Whereas Phil kindly chose the tourist route down the rough, Elaine hit a lovely drive followed by a corker of a second almost pin-high, which with two putts and a resulting four gave her another great point for Scotland. Well done the New Bloods.

Poor Heather Anderson,with the weight of the match on her shoulders and just back from golfing success in South Africa, gamely stood on the 18th tee, one hole down against Irish dynamo Helen Jones. The latter had placed a lovely tee shot square in the middle of the 17th green. Helen converted a fairway drive into a birdie opportunity at the long 18th whereas Heather made rather heavy weather of her drive by sliding into the rough. She came out well enough but rather cut off her options of getting close to the pin with her third, when the ball stopped with a greenside bunker bang in the middle of her line. These greens did not permit the soft drop wedge shot she needed. Two down and Ireland had won the trophy for the second year running after one of the tightest games ever! Captain Pamela Williamson will have been exhausted, taking herself from one end of the course to the other, extolling her troops to greater things. Disappointed to have just lost at the last fence, she will have been proud of their efforts. Well done everyone.

Results Scotland first.
Moira Thomson beat Mairead McNamara 2/1
May Hughes lost to Sheena McElroy 2/1
Anne Ryan beat Violet McBride 1 hole
Lorna Bennett beat Niamh Giblin 3/2
Mary Smith lost to Pat Doran 2/1
Elaine Allison beat Phil O'Gorman 1 hole
Alison bartlett beat Valerie Hassett 6/4
Heather Anderson lost to Helen Jones two holes

Scotland 5 1/2 Ireland 6 1/2
There's always next year at Templepatrick in Ireland.