Valentine leads way

COACH Rick Valentine led Loretto School Golf Academy to a Team Trophy win in the World Hickory Open Championship over Gullane No 2 yesterday.

He joined forces with Timon Sitte and Andrew Minto to card 67, two shots fewer than the second-placed team comprising Gullane professional Alastair Good, one of his members, Colin Sinclair and Frenchman Patrice Raffenbech.

An all-Scottish trio of St Andrews New clubmates Ewan Glen and Alasdair McLeish and Hamish Steadman, of Royal Burgess, finished third on 72.

Australian professional Perry Somers, who was in the fourth-placed team along with Beth Freedman (Musselburgh) and Evlyn Raistrick (Kilspindie) leads the individual championship after the opening round, firing a seven-over par 78