Laura Murray keeps her cool to win Scottish amateur title

LAURA Murray from Alford, a 23-year-old part-time swimming pool lifeguard, was certainly not out out of her depth in the final – her first – of the 98th Scottish women’s amateur golf champion over the Old Tom Morris-designed links at Tain in Ross-shire.

The No.2 seed shot four birdies – three of them in the last six holes – to beat the leading qualifier for the match-play stages, 22-year-old Jane Turner (Craigielaw) from Penicuik, by two holes.

It was a treat to watch. Murray was an approximate one or two under par for the round; Turner, also playing in the national final for the first time, was one over par. Murray said later: “My coach, Keil Beveridge, told me to go out and treat the final as though I was playing a bounce game against Jane, whom I know well – and I did just that. I was totally relaxed and really enjoyed myself.”

Turner was philosophical about losing in her first Scottish final. “If you had told me last weekend that I would come to Tain, being the leading qualifier, reach the final and go all the way to the 18th green, I would have said: ‘Yes, I’ll take it’,” she said.

Murray was never behind in the final after taking the lead for the first time at the fifth. Turner squared the match at the seventh but lost the eighth and ninth to be two down at the turn. Turner started the inward half well with wins at the tenth and 11th to square the game for a second time. Murray came out of a bunker within a foot of the hole to halve the 12th and it seemed as if she would go one down for the first time. Back-to-back birdie 4s at the 13th and 14th put Murray two up again. She lost the 15th with one of her few bogeys but was not seriously threatened in halving the 16th and 17th.

Then, at the final hole, Murray pulled out a magnificent approach shot to within a foot of the hole for a “gimme” birdie 3. Turner, sportingly, conceded the putt and the match.