Golf: Scots women ensure a title shootout against Ireland

For the second year in a row Scotland face a last-day title decider at the women's home amateur golf internationals at Whitchurch Golf Club, Cardiff.

The Scots beat England 5-4 yesterday and Ireland beat Wales 6-3, so it is going to be Scotland v Ireland for the Miller Trophy. Scotland have not been champions since 1991 at Aberdovey, while Ireland last won the Miller Trophy in 2004 at Royal Porthcawl. The Scots and the Irish are the only teams with 100 per cent win records after two days of match-play.

Scotland captain Lesley Nicholson said: "It wasn't as nail-biting a result as the score suggests because Pamela Pretswell and Megan Briggs, who both played very well, established big leads which we knew would give us the two points we needed to clinch it. The title is there for us to win. Ireland are not unbeatable. There is no reason why we cannot be champions."

A draw would be enough for Ireland because they have a total of 14 points from individual games won and halved, while Scotland's total in that column is 11. The Irish have won 11 out of 12 singles ties this week, while only three players have won all four games - Scotland's Pamela Pretswell and the 15-year-old Irish twins, Leona and Lisa Maguire. The Scotland v England top singles tie between Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) and Kelly Tidy was a replay of the Ladies' British Open amateur championship final at Ganton. It produced the same winner - Kelly Tidy, this time by 3 and 2. MacDonald was either one up or all square over the first seven holes but Tidy never looked back after going ahead for the first time by winning the eighth hole.

Scotland got one of the two singles wins they needed to be sure of overall victory when Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) won by 5 and 4 against English champion Hayley Davis. Charlie Douglass scored England's second win of the afternoon when she beat Rachael Watton by 8 and 7. The Mortonhall teenager never won a hole. and lost the first and third to be two down early on. Douglass hit a purple patch to win six holes in a row from the sixth to end the match on the 11th green.

England got another one back when Nikki Foster beat Alford's Laura Murray 7 and 5. Foster took the lead for the first time at the third, went two up at the sixth and three up with a birdie 4 at the long eighth.

Scotland won when Megan Briggs secured the fifth point by beating 14-year-old Charley Hull by 6 and 5. With the match all square after five holes, Briggs took command by winning the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and 11th holes, before halves at the 12th and 13th ended the match. England won their fourth singles tie with a 5 and 4 verdict for Hannah Barwood over Louise Kenney.