Golf: Jane Turner tames Tain wind to lead by two

CRAIGELAW’s Jane Turner spreadeagled the field with a two-over-par 75 and only five players broke 80 as a half-gale blowing in from the north-west played havoc with the scoring in the first qualifying round of the 98th Scottish Women’s Championship at Tain.

The clubhouse was awash with horror stories of players’ experiences in what Nairn Dunbar’s 2010 champion Kelsey MacDonald described as “absolutely brutal weather for golf”.

Turner (75), MacDonald (77), Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) (78), Ailsa Summers (Carnoustie Ladies) (79) and Alford’s Laura Murray (79) fill the first five places overnight on a day when every player deserved a medal.

It was not only very windy, it was also very cold. It was sunny most of the day but the temperatures never rose to double figures and there were two showers of hailstones at different times of the day.

“The trouble with the wind,” said MacDonald, whose effort has her tucked in behind Turner in second place in the chase for 32 places in the match-play draw, “was that it was mostly blowing across the fairways and that made it very difficult to get pars and very easy to get bogeys, double bogeys and even higher.” Indeed 10s and 11s at single holes became commnplace as the wild wind maintained its tempo and coldness to the bitter end.

On her splendid effort, Turner said: “Holing a 20ft putt across the first green for a birdie certainly helped my attitude. I drove it well but mainly I just played really steady golf, making mistakes as was to be expected, but making the best of it and getting on with it.”