MICHELE WINS THROUGH TO LAST 32 AFTER
OPPONENT STARTS WITH SIXTEEN CLUBS

Aberdeenshire women's county champion Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) won her way through to the last 32 of the Ladies British open amateur championship at rain-soaked Alwoodley golf course, Leeds today - after being TWO up after only one hole.
Michele went on to win by 6 and 5 with level par golf against Hannah Barwood from Bristol who discovered on the second tee that she had inadvertently 16 clubs – two too many – in her golf bag.
“We dried out all out my soaking wet clubs in the hotel room on Tuesday night and put them all in the golf bag to come to the course this morning, forgetting that the additional clubs I had used on the practice ground were now in the bag as well,” explained Hannah.
“It’s a pity but it happens and it’s a lesson as well to Hannah. Bigger players than Hannah have made the same mistake,” said her dad who spotted the mistake on the second tee.
Michele was seven up after six holes before losing the seventh and winning the eighth and halving the ninth to be one up at the turn.
Miss Thomson qualified in 14th position among the 64 who made it through to the match-play knock-out stages. They included Fife teenager Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) who came through an 11-way play-off for the last three places.
The play-off began at 8.45pm last night and was resumed at 5.45am this morning with only four players left, battling it out. One hole was enough to eliminate Jessica Potter from Canada.
The rain which began to fall early afternoon yesterday had still not gone off.
The greens were soaking up the excess water well but large puddles were beginning to form on the fairways.
"It's getting closer and closer to being unplayable out there," said Graham Thomson, after caddieing for daughter Michele. There is so much casual water on the fairways, it is getting hard to find a dry place to drop the ball."
Crieff teenager Roseanne Niven was the first Scot to lose on the third day of the championship. The University of California Berkeley student lost by 3 and 2 to the experienced former Irish champion, Deirdrie Smith (Co Louth).
Results:

FIRST ROUND

C Ciganda (Esp) bt K Coombes (Aus) 6 and 4.
C Afonso (Esp) bt D McVeigh (Royal Co Down) 2 and 1.

M Silva (Esp) bt T Karlsson (Swe) 4 and 3.
A Riguelle (Fra) bt T Luccioli (Bel) 2 and 1.

D-C Schreefel (Ned) bt D Becker (Ger) 3 and 1.
L Collin (John O'Gaunt) bt E Alonso (Fra) 2 and 1.

M Thomson (McDonald Ellon) bt H Barwood (Knowle) 6 and 5.
S Sherlock (Can) bt M Riordan (Tipperary) 4 and 3.

E Bennett (Aus) bt B Toupsin (Bel) 6 and 4.
D Smith (Co Louth) bt R Niven (Crieff) 3 and 2.

D Montgomery (Lambourne) bt P Lindberg (Swe) 2 and 1.
B Loucks (Wrexham) bt D Karlsson (Swe) at 20th.

C Boeljon (Ned) bt R Jennings (Izaak Walton) 2 and 1.
C Westrup (Swe) bt C Aitken (London) 3 and 2.

H Burke (Mid-Herts) bt L Murray (Alford) 3 and 1.
M Van der Graaff (Ned) bt M Reid (Chevin) 1 hole.

K Caithness (St Regulus) bt J Ewart (Catterick) 2 and 1.
V Derrey (Fra) bt H MacRae (Dunblane New) 3 and 2.

R Connor (Manchester) bt S Kirchmayr (Ger) 4 and 3.
T Delaney (Carlow) bt G Dunn (Peterborough Milton) 4 and 3.

J Wilson (Strathaven) bt M Bernard (Fra) 2 holes.
K Kinnerud (Swe) bt F Parker (Royal B irkdale) at 19th.