Golf: Scottish trio secure LET cards

Laura Murray: Signed off with a 67. Picture: Greg Macvean

Macdonald, the 2010 Scottish Women’s champion from Nairn, finished joint-sixth in the 90-hole card scramble in Morocco, where it was also mission accomplished for Murray, who is attached to the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, and MacRae (Gleneagles Hotel) as they ended up joint-26th.

Murray had started with a 79 to find herself outside the top 100, but the 26-year-old signed off with a 67 – one of the best last-day scores on the Jack Nicklaus-designed Samanah course in Marrakech.

“It feels fantastic,” said Murray of becoming a Ladies European Tour card holder, having used the circuit’s Access Series this season to find her feet in the paid ranks.

“I had a tough first day so to finish on a total of plus one is pretty good. I had to hole a good putt yesterday just to make the cut to the final day, so to shoot five-under today is a bonus and I’m pretty excited for next year.”

CONNECT WITH THE SCOTSMAN

• Subscribe to our daily newsletter (requires registration) and get the latest news, sport and business headlines delivered to your inbox every morning

• You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google +

Murray, who had her coach and boyfriend Keil Beveridge on the bag, decided to adopt an aggressive approach for the final round. Needing to finish in the top 30 and ties to see her dream come true, that paid dividends with a decisive run of four successive birdies.

“I’ll take some time off over the next couple of weeks and then get back on it,” added the Alford woman, who won both the Scottish Championship and St Rule Trophy in 2012. “I want to make my mark and I’m not going to be there just to make cuts. I had a great year on the LET Access Series and the tour is developing so fast that it’s not that far off the standard of the main tour. I’m just looking forward to going out, making some scores and earning some money.”

Macdonald, who rounded off a polished performance with a 72 to finish on eight-under-par, would only have got nine starts this season with a category 9 card if it hadn’t been for three invitations, so is delighted that she will get more rolls at the dice next year.

“I’m really looking forward to starting next season knowing that I’ve got a full card,” said the 24-year-old, who was congratulated on her feat on Twitter by newly-crowned Rookie of the Year Amy Boulden. “I’ll be able to sort my schedule, know which events to choose from and take it from there.”

A different mentality is called for, according to Macdonald. “My frame of mind this year was making cuts, which probably isn’t the best approach,” she added. “So I’m trying to change that and go for top tens.”

Having catapulted herself up the leaderboard with a timely 67 on Saturday, MacRae finished off the job with a 75 to end up alongside Murray on one-over. “The harder the struggle the more satisfying when u make it,” wrote the 31-year-old, a former British Women’s Open Stroke-Play champion, on Twitter.

The trio’s success, which comes a month after their male counterparts came up empty-handed in the European Tour equivalent in Spain, means they will join Catriona Matthew, Kylie Walker, Vikki Laing, Sally Watson, Pamela Pretswell and Carly Booth as LET card holders next season.

After leading from the start, England’s Georgia Hall was pipped for top spot by Nanna Madsen after the Danish amateur closed with a sensational 63 to finish with a 17-under-par aggregate of 343.

SCOTSMAN TABLET AND IPHONE APPS

• Download your free 30-day trial for our iPad, Android and Kindle apps

• Keep up to date with all aspects of Scottish life with The Scotsman iPhone app, completely free to download and use