WITH her final exam in geography now out of the way, Gabrielle MacDonald is looking to plot a course towards a successful defence of the Scottish Ladies' Amateur Championship at Monifieth this week.
MacDonald won the 100th national championship at Prestwick last season with a 19th-hole victory over Troon youngster Connie Jaffrey in a keenly fought matchplay final and the 22-year-old from Craigielaw is eager to put an injury-blighted start to the 2015 campaign behind her and build towards an assault on the Ladies European Tour's qualifying school at the end of next year.
"I've been injured and missed a few events," said MacDonald, who has just completed her studies at St Andrews University. "It's a wrist problem and I've had to have a couple of cortisone injections. Surgery was an option but, thankfully, it has been decided it is not necessary. I'm going to have a full year as an amateur golfer and then, hopefully, go to the tour school at the end of 2016."
While last year's runner-up Jaffrey is missing this week due to college commitments in the US, a number of other Scots who are based on the other side of the Atlantic have returned for the amateur showpiece. That posse includes Carnoustie's Jessica Meek, the Scottish Junior Open Strokeplay champion in 2013, and North Berwick's Clara Young, the beaten finalist in the Scottish Championship two years ago.
Shannon McWilliam, the 15-year-old from Aboyne who claimed an excellent second place finish in the Helen Holm Scottish Open Strokeplay Championship at the end of April, will be eager to make another impression on the big stage this week.
The format of the championship is two rounds of strokeplay qualifying with the top 32 progressing to the knock-out stages, before the 18-final takes place on Saturday. The players finishing 33rd to 48th after qualifying will contest the Clark Rosebowl.
As Minjee Lee became the latest teenager to win on the LPGA Tour, Scottish stalwart Catriona Matthew scored her best finish of the 2015 season with a share of eighth in the Kingsmill Championship in Virginia.
The tournament had spilled into a Monday finish after a weather-delay on Sunday and Lee, the 18-year-old rookie from Australia who led by four shots with just three holes to complete, put the finishing touches to a maiden victory as she signed off with a six-under 66 for a 15-under 269 to win by two from So Yeon Ryu of South Korea.
Matthew, the former Women's British Open champion from North Berwick, finished with a flourish and carded a 66 for an eight-under 276 which gave the 45-year-old her first top-10 of the campaign.
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