Lorna McClymont once again showed she has gears few others possess as she stormed to the Welsh Open Stroke Play title at Prestatyn today.
FORMAT: 54-hole stroke play
The 22-year-old has been the dominant force in student golf this season and also narrowly missed out on capturing the Scottish Open Stroke Play (Helen Holm) at Royal Troon two weeks ago when a late flurry of bogeys denied her the title.
There would be no such problems in Wales this afternoon as she went bogey free to see off the challenge of her international teammate Jen Saxton (Dunfermline) by two shots. The duo played all three rounds together – plus a practice round having also stayed together for the duration of the trip.
McClymont, who shot a 13-under 60 at Montrose in September in an R&A Student Series event, came surging through the field in the final two rounds. For her final 31 holes she was 14 under par.
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“Yeah that was pretty nice,” said the Milngavie player.
“After what happened at Troon it was definitely on my mind so I am pretty happy.
“I will keep working hard and take just one step at a time.”
McClymont is also the current Irish Open champion and it has been quite a start to the season for the University of Stirling star, who won both major student events – The BUCS Series and R&A Student Series.
However after 23 holes she was well off the early pace, set by Bishop Auckland’s Jessica Hall. The Durham player opened with a 68 (-6) and was two under for her first four holes yesterday.
In contrast McClymont, who was named in the internationals squad for the Arnold Palmer Cup last week, had a triple bogey seven at 16 on her way to an opening 73 and then yesterday bogeyed the third and the fifth to drop back to level par for the tournament.
However a brilliant five iron at the par three sixth – she stuck her tee shot to a foot – kick-started a charge up the leaderboard.
She got up and down at the par five next for another birdie and then went into overdrive at the start of the back nine, birdieing the 10, 13 and 14th and eagling the 12th having holed out from ten feet on the par five.
Her second-round 68 left her one back of Saxton and alongside Hall and Ireland’s Jessica Ross while four other players were within three shots of the lead.
The two Scots were paired together in the final group and both reached the turn today in three under but things turned McClymont’s way at the start of the back nine as she racked up three birdies in a row while her playing partner could only par 10, 11 and 12.
McClymont added: “The tenth did feel like a bit of a turning point.”
Saxton, who won the Rule Trophy last May, did get back to within a shot thanks to a birdie on 13 but the soon-to-be-champion kept firing at the flags, hitting the 14 flush before knocking in a three-footer to get yo seven under for her round.
With the Dunfermline player then bogeying the next the gap widened to three although the runner-up birdied 17 to leave herself one ahead of Hall, who closed out with a four-under 70.