Chloe Goadby and Jen Saxton cruise through Scottish Women's qualifying

Defending champion Chloe Goadby and St Rule Trophy winner Jen Saxton both progressed comfortably to the knockout stage in the Scottish Women’s Championship at Trump International outside Aberdeen.

Goadby, who landed the Scottish Golf title at Gullane 12 months ago, and Saxton, who has often fared well in this event, carded matching rounds of 73 and 76 to finish on five-over in the 36-hole stroke-play qualifying.

St Regulus member Goadby, who was at Augusta National earlier in the year to watch boyfriend Laird Shepherd play in The Masters, carded four birdies in her morning effort but just one in the afternoon while Dunfermline’s Saxton had four birdies in both her circuits.

They also included two double-bogey 6s at the eighth, having already run up a triple-bogey 7 at the fifth in the afternoon, but it was still mission accomplished.

St Regulus Ladies member Chloe Goadby is the defending champion in the Scottish Women's Championship at Trump International. Picture: Scottish Golf

Jasmine MacKintosh, who plays her golf a few miles along the coast at Murcar Links, led the 16 qualifiers after finishing on four-over with rounds of 71-76.

The former Stephen Gallacher Foundation Vase winner made six birdies in her one-under par opening effort before a more colourful afternoon card contained three birdies, two double-bogeys and four bogeys.

Others to progress included Blairgowrie duo Megan Ashley and Katy Alexander, Midlothian champion Kate McIntosh and last weekend’s Scottish Junior Masters winner Freya Russell.

Milngavie’s Lorna McClymont, who won the Irish Women’s Open earlier in the year, found herself on the back foot after starting with a quadruple-bogey 9. That led to her opening with a 79, which she followed with a 76, but, on 11-under, she just squeezed through to the match-play stage.

Still in the amateur ranks, Australian-based Scot Connor McKinney holds a two-shot lead after the opening round of the St Andrews Links Trophy.

McKinney, who hails from Fife but has lived in Australia for more than six years, carded five birdies in a row from the second hole and nine in total as he opened with an eight-under 64 on the Jubilee Course.

Englishman Will Hopkins ended the day as his nearest challenger, with Blairgowrie’s Connor Graham, runner-up in this year’s Lytham Trophy, sitting handily-placed following a bogey-free 68. Former Scottish champion George Burns (Williamwood) is one further back.

On the DP World Tour, Dundee-based Frenchman Victor Perez is two shots off the lead at the halfway stage in the Porsche European Open as he bids to make it back-to-back wins.

The new Dutch Open champion sits second behind Englishman Jordan Smith after rounds of 69-71 at Green Eagle in Hamburg.

Scott Jamieson (two-over) and Connor Syme (four-under) were the only Scots to make the cut in an event that saw Richie Ramsay, Ewen Ferguson, David Drysdale and Grant Forrest all withdraw due either an injury or a personal reason.

After a tough couple of days, the cut-off mark was four-over, with Scottish No 1 Bob MacIntyre suffering a rare missed cut following rounds of 74-78.

It means the Oban man can no longer qualify for the upcoming US Open, with Ramsay now facing a sweat to see if he’ll stay in the top 10 in a European Qualifying Series for the season’s third major at Brookline.

Also in the paid ranks, Renaissance Club-based Stuart McLaren finished with two birdies in the last three holes to finish joint-fourth in the Ignis Sports Management Championship in Telford - his best effort on the PGA EuroPro Tour.