Round Up: Chloe Goadby and James Blyth claim Scottish Students titles

Chloe Goadby added the Scottish Students Championship to her impressive CV during a spell at Stirling after producing a polished last-day performance in challenging conditions at Moray Golf Club.

Two behind Penelope Brown (St Andrews) overnight at the Lossiemouth venue, Goadby swept into the lead with a four-under-par 67 on the New Course in the morning before closing with a one-over 76 on the Old Course.

She finished with a two-over 294 total, eight shots ahead of her closest challenger, Lorna McClymont (SRUC), as Brown had to settle for third spot on 11-over following closing efforts of 74 and 79.

Goadby’s win adds to her British title triumph at Crail in 2016 while she was also part of the Stirling team that that became the first international visitors to win a Division 1 NCAA event in the US in the Yale Intercollegiate the following year.

In the men’s title battle in what was the event’s 97th staging, halfway leader James Blyth (St Andrews) survived a nerve-wracking last round to claim the spoils by two shots from Alistair McNaughton (UHI).

Three ahead at the halfway stage, Blyth had increased that advantage by a further shot after a morning 73 on the Old Course before appearing to open the door for the chasing pack when he ran up a 
triple-bogey 8 at the second in the final circuit.

It was still all to play for after he took a double-bogey 6 at the 13th, but a solid run of five pars to finish got the job done, with McNaughton closing with scores of 72-73 to finish a shot ahead of Stirling duo Michael Lawrie and Robert Foley.

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Inverness youngster Rory Franssen narrowly missed out on recording a victory on the US college circuit.

The Missouri player finished second behind Charlie Hiller (Kansas) in the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in South Carolina.

Franssen, who went into the final round two behind Hiller, closed with a two-under-par 70 for a 10-under total at Awendaw in an event hosted by Hootie and The Blowfish Foundation.

He carded birdies at the ninth and 11th in a bogey-free effort but ended up three behind Hiller following his 69 that followed a brace of 67s.

Franssen’s fellow Scot and Missouri team-mate, Jamie Stewart, slipped from joint-seventh overnight to a share of a 16th after a 74 left him on two-under.

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Rory McIlroy’s home club of Holywood in Northern Ireland is sitting at the top of the leaderboard in the Links Golf Cup in East Lothian.

It has been put there by Kate Docherty after she amassed an impressive 80 points in the opening two circuits in the Stableford event.

She backed up a 39-point haul in round one on Gullane No 2 by going one better in the second circuit, which was split between North Berwick and Kilspindie, to lead by seven points.

Leading the chase in the popular amateur event are Rob Seabrook (Pyecombe), Stewart Shackleton (Keighley) and Phil Bedford (Little Lakes) all on 73.

Robert Blair (East Renfrewshire) is the leading Scot on 71 points, closely followed by Angus Cowe (Clydebank & District) and Jim Martin (Barassie).

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World No 2 Justin Rose has put his name to The Telegraph Junior Golf Championship and is paying for the sponsorship himself.

Rose, who won the event in 1997, said: “This is a nod to where I’ve come from and my journey.

“I’ve done lots of charitable stuff in the US, but this is my first way of trying to give back to golf in the UK and is really, really important to me.

“The championship is 35 years old and, as well as me, there have been some other winners who have gone on to big things, including Matt Fitzpatrick, Oliver Fisher, Melissa Reid and Jodi Ewart Shadoff while the likes of Tommy Fleetwood finished second.”