Clare Queen seals her Tour card as Booth falls short

CLARE Queen ended a bad year on a high as she secured one of the 30 cards up for grabs in the Ladies' European Tour Qualifying School but fellow Scot Carly Booth is facing a season of limited starts in 2011 after she missed out at La Manga.

Queen, a 27-year-old from Glasgow, closed with a two-under-par 71 on the Murcia resort's South Course to finish in a tie for 16th in the five-round test on 368, four less than Booth, the only other Scot to make it to the last round, after she signed off with a 73.

"I played amazing today. I was really solid from tee to green and that's just what I needed," said Queen, a former British Girls' champion. "I didn't put myself under any pressure and it was quite an enjoyable round. I'm really relieved."

A top-50 player in both in 2007 and 2008, Queen found herself back at the Qualifying School after finishing 155th on the LET money-list this year, having made the cut only twice in 14 events.

"I feel like I've now finished on a high and I can put it behind me, the bad golf from earlier in the year," she added. "I feel like my game is coming back now and I'm definitely looking forward to next year. I'm going to work hard over the next few months.

"I'm probably going to go to Australia. I've got friends out there so I'm going to go and stay there for a few months. I don't think I'll get into the Australian events but at least I can work on my game for the winter. You can't do much at home, so that's the plan. I'll try to qualify for the Australian Open otherwise Morocco will be the first event."

Booth, who turned professional after earning her card 12 months ago, had to settle for a lesser category this time around after giving herself too much to do after following two opening 75s with a 78.

Sweden's Caroline Hedwall fired a flawless final round of 65 to lead the 30 qualifiers, the 21-year-old finishing on a total of 15 under-par 346, nine shots clear of American Jaclyn Sweeney.

"It feels good. I was really relaxed going into today and I played really well. It felt solid," said Hedwall, who turned professional at the end of October. "It's the third time I've shot eight under so it ties my best score. I still missed a few putts.

"I hit all the greens and had a fair birdie chance on almost every hole. It felt like it was pretty easy today, probably because there was no wind at all."