News Archive 2010 - News - Bedfordshire Ladies County Golf Association

Welcome to the BLCGA News Archive 2010

	13.11.2010: HOLLY BREAKS INTO THE TOP 10 After a string of top 30 finishes in 2010, Holly travelled to India for the first time in her career hoping to go better. Holly carded 72-74 to make the cut comfortably in 17th place, but saved her best till last with a 1 under par 71 in the final round pushing her up the leader board into a coveted top 10 position. Well done Holly! Holly is back in action next week in the Murcia Ladies Open in La Manga, Spain.
	02.11.2010: WELCOME PRESIDENT MARGARET Margaret Watchorn took over the Presidency of BLCGA from Audrey Shuter at the AGM in November. Audrey had an extremely successful 3 year tenure, supporting all the teams from Juniors right through to Past Captains as often as she could. Congratulations on a job well done, and we all wish you good health. Click here for the executive changes.
	31.10.2011: CADDINGTON WIN HANDICAP LEAGUE The handicap shield has gone right to the wire. Beds & County finished their 10 matches on 15 points, leaving Caddington needing 2 points and 5 matches from their remaining 2 games. Caddington put out a very strong side against John O'Gaunt, with key players taking days off work to give the team the best possible chance. And it proved the right tactics. a 6-1 victory sealed the league title with a game to spare. Well done Caddington.
	31.10.2010: LEIGHTON BUZZARD WIN SCRATCH LEAGUE In the 2010 scratch League, Leighton Buzzard were undefeated and won the title before all the matches were complete. Well done!
	24.10.2010: LIZI'S 2ND PLACE HELPS TEAM TO VICTORY Lizi Sweetnam (Leighton Buzzard) finished her first semester with a 2nd place at The Commercial Bank & Trust/UAM Classic held at the Hurricane Golf Club in Benton, Arkansas. She was the leading Arkansas Tech player tying alongside teammate Megan Kelley on 186 for the 2 rounds with an 86/82 finish in difficult course conditions. Her team, Arkansas Tech University, also took their 12th tournament title in the last 10 seasons.
	15.10.2010: HOLLY COMES 5TH IN PARIS Holly secured 5th place in her 3rd event on the LET Access Series Tour to move up to 5th place in the order of merit. She shot rounds of 75, 71, 71 in the Trophee Preven at Golf de Bussy-Guermantes in Paris for a 1 over par total of 271. Holly is also currently lying 78th in the Order of Merit in the Ladies European Tour. Holly will be in action next in India in mid Novmber.
	10.10.2010: MEGAN PIPS LIZI IN US SHOOT OUT Megan Birdsey returned for her second year at Newman University, Wichita and qualified to represent the team in the first two tournaments of the semester. She was top scorer for Newman with a total 160 (80 + 80) at Ledgestone Golf Course, Missouri coming 20th in a field of 93. Then, at Lincoln East Golf Course, Oklahoma she scored 154 (75 + 79) and tied 24th from a field of 92. This resulted in a new school record of 615 and helped place Newman 7th place out of 18 teams. Representing Arkansas Tech, and also helping her team to a new school record was Lizi Sweetnam, who finished 47th on 159 (81 + 78). Both coaches delighted with the individual efforts and team performances. Megan will be back in action at the end of October in the Wichita State University Shocker Invitation.
	01.10.2010 SOPHIE IS SCHOOLS CHAMPION Sophie Hillier from John O'Gaunt has added another County Championship trophy to her burgeoning cabinet. A gross 78 at The Bedford bagged Sophie her first Schools title and the Forrester Salver. As Champion she is guaranteed a place in the County team for the SE Schools Championship next May in Suffolk. Click here for photos and the full report.
	23.09.2010 HEATHER DOES IT AGAIN Defending champion, Heather Nolan, from Beds & County won the Past Captain's Championship for the 2nd year running. Jane Firth from Aspley Guise took the Carol Rose Trophy with 37 points, and also just edged a very tightly contested Division 1. Click here for the full report.
	29.09.2010 THANK-YOU FROM SANDRA Sandra Gardner has asked me to post a thank-you on the website to the ladies of BLCGA for all their support and kindness since her accident. She has had cards, phone calls and many words of sympathy since breaking her ankle at the 4BBB meeting. She is climbing the walls not being able to play golf, and is already counting the days till she is back on the fairways.
	27.09.2010: TERRY AND DIANE TAKE AUDREY BRADLEY VASES It drizzled heavily all day, so scoring conditions were tough, but Terry Brown and Diane Hall from John O'Gaunt came through with 34 points to take the Autumn 4BBB Meeting prizes. The competition was played over 17 holes, as Sandra Gardner slipped on the 14th green and has broken her ankle in 3 places. We all wish her a speedy recovery. Sandra still managed to win Best Front 9 with partner Nikki Jackson. Click here for all the winners.
	26.09.2010: ELENA AND HEATHER'S FOURSOMES TRIUMPH The Sue Paterson Trophy proved very popular this year. A foursomes competition comprising one junior and one lady per pair, one from the silver division and one bronze attracted a field of 32 competitors. Elena Tizzard from Leighton Buzzard and Heather Nolan from Beds & County were the winners on yet another wet and drizzly day. Full report and all the winners to follow soon.
	25.09.2010: LIZI CONTINUES TO SHINE WITH TOUGHER COMPETITION Having transferred from Seminole State College in Oklahoma to Arkansas Tech University to complete her degree course, Lizi Sweetnam from Leighton Buzzard has made an encouraging start with her new team this semester. She was 3 shots off the lead hitting a 78 in the 1st round of the Harding Bison Fall Classic held at The River Oaks GC, Searcy in Arkansas. In the 2nd round she hit a 79 that included 3 birdies on the par 3s, maintaining her 3rd place in a field of 50 players, six shots behind the eventual winner. Arkansas Tech University finished 2nd out of 8 competing teams, with Lizi being the highest placed in the team.
	23.09.2010: ANGIE AND ETHNIE HAVE A JOLLY TIME On a very windy day a large field of 72 ladies played in the 4BBB Autumn Jolly at Bedfordshire Golf Club. The scores were close with the first three pairs on 40 points but the winners were Angie Tatum-Hume, Ladies Captain of Bedford & County Golf Club and her partner Ethnie Williams, Bedford & County.
	22.09.2010: IRENE WINS SENIORS 2000 The final of the Senior 2000 Trophy was played at Aspley Guise Golf Club on September 22nd. The two finalists, Irene Abri from Wyboston Lakes and Rita Greenlaw from Dunstable Downs, had played several rounds to reach the final. The eventual winner was Irene Abri (left)
	19.09.2010: YVETTE AND STEVE WIN THE COUNTY MIXED A small but elite field gathered at John O'Gaunt for the County Mixed foursomes championships. Wet and windy conditions meant the course played at its longest and toughest. Home pair, Yvette Bunker and Steve Barber took the title with a battling 170 gross, just pipping fellow John O'Gaunt pair Vicki Collin and George Billings. Full results shortly.
	06.09.2010: FIONA AND JUDITH WIN THE AUTUMN MEETINGS A highly successful day at The Bedford saw several sub-handicap rounds, including a very special gross 73 from Fiona Cooper. Fiona won the Autumn Silver Meeting and took the Antcliffe Bowl for the best combined Autumn and Spring gross scores. Meanwhile, in the Bronze Division, Judith Abraham overcame the pressure of playing her home course and romped home to take the title with 41 points. Click here for all the winners.
	26.08.2010: JOC RETAINS SENIORS TITLE The Seniors Championship was played on 26th August at Dunstable Downs on a dismal and very damp day. Joc Faris (Bedford & County GC) retained her title of Seniors Champion and won the Squires Cup, with a gross 84. The winner of the Bond Trophy (best nett by anyone over 65) was Helena Walkington (Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands GC) with a nett 70.
	19.08.2010: DOROTHY AND DIANE ARE FOURSOMES CHAMPIONS In a thrilling final at Dunstable Downs on 19th August, Dorothy Blackburn and Diane Green from Aspley Guise just edged out Rachel Hobbs and Jean Ward from Bedford & County 2&1. Well done to all the finalists.
	11.07.2010: SOPHIE IS JUNIOR COUNTY CHAMPION Sophie Hillier from John O'Gaunt continued her fine season by winning her first County Junior Championship. Playing in baking hot conditions at Mount Pleasant Golf Club, Sophie shot a very tidy 7 over par 80. Full results and report coming soon.
	04.07.2010: FUN TRIUMPH FOR FREYA Each year, CJO Maureen Dawson and her team of helpers organise a fun competition for girls with high handicaps or no handicaps. This year, Freya Daniels from Dunstable Downs shot an amazing 34 over 8 holes of Bedfordshire's Academy Course. Many adults reading this [including the editor!] would be very pleased with this excellent score. Click here for the full report, pictures and all the prize winners.
	05.07.2-010: JO AND JACKIE WIN 36 HOLE STABLEFORD Anyone who completes 36 holes during the current heatwave deserves a prize. Jo Evans and Jackie Levinson from Caddington managed to keep their cool with an excellent 80 points aggregate to win the Lannaway Pictures. Click here for all the prize winners.
	01.07.2010: HOLLY HAS 2ND CONSECUTIVE TOP 30 FINISH: Holly Aitchison from The Bedfordshire turned professional in January 2009, and we continue to follow her progress on the Ladies European Tour. Last week Holly posted her season's best finish in Portugal, claiming joint 28th spot. This week she has gone even better with a joint 25th place finish in Tenerife. Holly is now 88th in the European Money list. Nice one Holly, keep going!
	31.05.2010: TOP 12 FINISH FOR SAL AT ST. ANDREWS: Bedfordshire's Sal Shayler teed up against some of the top amateur golfers from the home nations in the 2010 St. Rule competition in St. Andrews. The field consisted of many plus handicappers and full time amateur golfers, but Firefighter Shayler proved that you can work full time and still compete at the very highest level. Her scores of 74 - 78 - 75 earned her joint 12th position and would all have counted towards Team England's total. Previous winners of this prestigious tournament include household names Annika Sorenstam, Catriona Matthew, Maria Hjorth and Mel Reid. [Editor's note: Sal, please don't turn pro before County Week.]
	08.05.2010: LAURA IS THE NEW COUNTY CHAMPION: John O'Gaunt's Laura Collin equalled the course record en route to winning the 2010 Ladies County Championship from Sally Shayler from Bedfordshire, reversing the final result of 2009. Despite the terrible weather, a sizeable crowd watched a thrilling final between the number 1 and 2 seeds. Click here for the full report and all the prize winners.
	08.05.2010: LYN WINS THE COUNTY CUP: The 4 qualifiers for the County Cup semi-finals, Lyn Allen, Sheila Fairey, Heather Nolan and Jill Brown had braved rain, winds and a trolley ban in qualification earlier in the year, and then faced almost the same for the finals. Lyn had the better of the all-Bedfordshire semi final while Heather pipped Jill in the 2nd semi. The final saw both girls producing some fine recovery shots and good golf, with Lyn winning on the 16th. Well done Lyn!
	01.05.2010: MICHELLE WINS SCRATCH LADDER: Michelle Fontayne-Geary from South Beds went one better than last year to take the 2010 Winter Scratch Ladder. In a carefully timed run-in, Michelle edged out Katherine Carragher from John O'Gaunt and took the top spot. Well done, Michelle.
	29.04.2010: MORE SILVERWARE FOR FIONA: Fiona Cooper (Sharnbrook Upper) continued her impressive early season form in winning the Bedfordshire Schools Girls County title and the Forrester Salver. Click here for the full report.
	26.04.2010: LIZI QUALIFIES FOR DAYTONA: Lizi Sweetnam from Leighton Buzzard finished 5th in the Region 2 NJCAA National Championship to qualify for the 4 round Championship final due to be held at the LPGA International course in Daytona Beach, Florida later in May. Click here for the full report
	19.04.2010: FIONA WINS PAST CAPTAINS SALVER: The first Junior event took place at the Bedford Golf Club on Sunday 19th April for the Past Captains Salver which allows competitors up to age 21. The conditions were windy and the greens very fast but despite this there were some excellent results. Elena Tizzard from Leighton Buzzard took 3rd place on countback from Lucy Mills from Wyboston, the runner up with 37 points was Louise Eddy from Leighton Buzzard but the overall winner of the Salver, with a super 38 points, was Fiona Cooper from Bedford & County.
	17.04.2010: HOLLY MAKES 3RD CONSECUTIVE CUT: Holly continued her excellent start to the 2010 season by making her third consecutive cut. Playing on both the Ladies European Tour and the LET Access Tour, Holly has played 3 events so far this season and has comfortably made the cut each time. She finished joint 22nd in the Dinard Ladies Open this weekend to consolidate her 47th place in the Moroccan Open and joint 4th place in the Le Riou Open in Nice. Holly now travels to Turkey for the Turish Ladies Open on 7th - 9th May. Well done Holly, keep it going.
	12.04.2010: CLAUDINE TAKES ON NEW ROLE: BLCGA is pleased to announce that Claudine Tate from Dunstable Downs, has kindly agreed to assist Shirley for the remainder of the year. Claudine will take over the role at the AGM. Shirley is continuing to manage the Knock Out Foursomes but other County Competitions will be handled by Claudine. Claudine can be reached by email here. Congratulations, Claudine and good luck in the new role!
	08.04.2010: SALLY AND BRIDIE ARE EAST REGION CHAMPS: With only 10 weeks to go to County Week, our established foursomes partnership of Sally Shayler and Bridie Quinn sent out a timely reminder to the other counties that they are a force to be reckoned with. Two solid rounds of 3 over par 75 were enough to beat the rest of the field by 4 shots. Nice one girls!
	09.04.2010: LIZI WINS IN KANSAS: In a playing programme that has been significantly affected by seasonally unusual weather conditions, Leighton's Lizi Sweetnam has emerged to win in her latest tournament in Kansas. She led from the start with an opening round of 76 at the Central Christian College Tournament at Turkey Creek GC in McPherson, Kansas. For the full story click here
	06.04.2010: MICHELLE CLINCHES TOP SPOT: In a keenly contested top of the table tussle between the big hitting of Katherine Carragher and the tight short game of Michelle Fontayne-Geary, Michelle edged out as victor and now heads the ladder going into the final month. Can she go one better than last year and win the title? Watch this space... For the full ladder and rules, click here
	31.03.2010: LYN SQUELCHES HER WAY TO VICTORY: 28 ladies entered the 2nd Division Spring Meeting at Bedfordshire Golf Club but due to heavy overnight rain, no trolleys were allowed on the course, so only 15 ladies played the 18 hole competition. Scoring was tough but home player, Lyn Allen, managed to tame the damp conditions to win the Janet Miller Trophy. Click here for the full results
	29.03.2010: TOUGH START FOR JUNIOR TEAM: The Junior girls had their first match of the season against tough opposition from Hertfordshire at Knebworth on 29th March. Despite some very close matches Hertfordshire lst team won 5 -1 and their 2nd team took the honours 2 -1. Bedfordshire's next opponents will be Norfolk over at Royal Norwich on 6th June.
	21.03.2010: HOLLY MAKES THE CUT IN HER FIRST EVENT IN 2010: Holly Aitchison's second season on the Ladies European Tour started last week in Morocco with a solid 5 over par performance, which easily made the cut and earned her a share of 47th place. Well done Holly. Holly plays in the new Access Series events this year, and is currently in France playing in the Terre Blanche Ladies Open.
	16.03.2010: MEGAN HELPS HER TEAM CLIMB UP THE LEAGUE: Megan Birdsey from Caddington is enjoying her first year at Newman University in Kansas. Megan recently played in the Texan A & M invitation at Tanglewood, Texas where she had a top 20 placement out of a field of 90 girls, helping Newman University to a 5th place out. This moves them up to 31st position out of the 118 teams in division 2.
	01.03.2010: LIZI ALREADY FEATURING IN US COLLEGIATE TOURNAMENTS: Lizi Sweetnam from Leighton Buzzard was among three English students who finished in the top 13 in a field of 64 players for the Red River Intercollegiate competition at Oak Hills Country Club in Oklahoma. High winds affected the scoring, with sophomore student Lizi posting a creditable 86 for 13th place. Lizi then went on to finish 12th at Eagle's Bluff in Texas, again in unseasonally bad weather. Nice to know you're getting the same stuff as we are back here!
	18.02.2010: EGU/EWGA MERGER TALKS MOVE FORWARD: A press release was issued detailing the latest developments in the merger process between the English Women's Golf Association and the English Golf Union, together with a joint statement from the Chief Executives of both organisations. Click here for more details.
	09.02.2010: PAVENHAM CLUB HOUSE RE-OPENS: Message from Pavenham county representative, Gwen Walpole: The members at Pavenham Park are delighted to announce that the new clubhouse is now open. It has been a long 10 months since the fire but worth the wait. The facilities are greatly improved. The changing rooms are larger and there is an upstairs function room with balconies overlooking the course.This winter has been particularly difficult with only a marquee to operate from and portaloos! so the ladies are especially delighted with our new premises. There is still some work to be done around the building but come the new golfing year we will be up and running in every way.
	30.01.2010: HOLLY GIVES LIVE INTERVIEW: If you missed Holly's live interview on BBC 3 Counties Radio on Saturday 30th January, you can replay it on BBC iPlayer by clicking here. The programme is 2 hours long and Holly's interview starts at appriximately 1 hour 34 minutes.
	01.01.2010: HOLLY RETAINS HER CARD: 2009-Holly made 4 cuts in her first season on the Ladies European Tour, but it was not quite enough for automatic retention of her tour card. Along with 166 other amateur and professional players from around the world, Holly went to Tour Qualifying School in La Manga in December. The top 30 players all received category 8 tour cards, with category 10 cards on offer to the next 20 finishers. With just 6 holes of the 4 rounds to go, Holly looked like she was heading for a category 10 card, but back to back birdies saw her climb up to joint 29th with 5 others. These 5 players came back on 22nd December for a sudden death play off, but unfortuntely Holly just missed out on one of the top places. She will be back on tour though in 2010 and all her mates in Bedfordshire wish her all the best. Click here for news from Holly.
	23.12.2009: AMERICAN AIRLINES OFFER PASSENGERS EXTRA CUSTOMER CARE SERVICES: Following a recent overnight flight from Chicago International to London Heathrow, American Airlines have introduced optional super, double thick ear muffs and waterproof shawls to all passengers for their comfort and sleep-easy long haul flights. This follows an incident where 2 English teenagers inadvertently caused havoc by staying awake talking all night and spilling water drinks. Bleary eyed passengers disembarked and staggered through customs after Megan and Lizi came home for Christmas, having come from Oklahoma and Kansas on internal flights, they stumbled upon each other in the Chicago International Airport complex and discovered that they were booked on the same flight. American Airlines are still recovering from the experience and have reset their computer booking systems to block any repeat occurrence!

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