It’s already been a great season for Louise Kenney – and it could get even better this month if she can help Scotland gain success in the Espirito Santo Trophy  (the women’s world team championship) in Argentina. 

With Kelsey MacDonald and Sally Watson as her two team mates, the 28-year-old is confident that the tartan trio can make a real mark – and maybe even emulate the Scottish team that won the equivalent men’s event, the Eisenhower Trophy, two years ago? 

“I don’t see any reason why we can’t do really well,” said Louise. “This year has been so good for Scottish women’s golf. We won the Home International for the first time since 1991 and took a bronze medal at the European Championships. 

“We’ve proved we can take on the very best in Europe, so why not the world?” 

On a personal note, this season’s team success has been a long time coming for Louise. “I played in four girls’ home internationals, a couple of European under-21s and this year in La Manga was my third Europeans. Winning the Home Internationals was the first time I’d been in a winning team and it was great.” 

Kelsey was also in the Home International side, and she has had a brilliant season. She beat Louise in the final of the Scottish Amateur Championship in May and that was the springboard to reaching the final of the British Amateur and retaining the Scottish Open Under-21 Strokeplay title.  

Sally has also enjoyed an outstanding season, winning events on the US College circuit and competing in her second Curtis Cup. And she is only 19. The Elie youngster has just started her second year at Stanford University in California. 

For Louise, preparing for Argentina has not been easy – but she confirms the theory that women are terrific at multi-tasking. Following a spell as a part-time nursery teacher, she has just returned to full-time employment as a primary teacher at North Queensferry School. 

“The head teacher is very sympathetic and I often fit in practice and sessions in the gym around my school time,” she said. “My coach, Spencer Henderson (he is also her boyfriend) has been in Turkey, but I have also been working with Neil Marr at Meldrum House. He works along the same lines.” 

Lesley Nicholson, the former European Tour professional who has led the side for the past few seasons, will be captain of the Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association’s line-up in Argentina and she is understandably upbeat.  

“There is absolutely no reason why we can’t win the title “This has been a super year for Scotland’s amateur women and I think we will do really well. It is a very good team.” 

Lesley and her team will spend a week in Argentina before the start of the tournament on October 20. There are four rounds of strokeplay with the two best scores counting each day.  The Eisenhower Trophy takes place the following week. 

Both events take place over two courses – the Olivos and Buenos Aries – and Lesley has done her homework. “I’ve checked out the courses and I know they are going to have very tricky, sloping greens,” she said. “But I think the conditions should suit our team and it really would be the icing on the cake if we could do really well. 

It is only the past few years that Scotland has competed as an individual nation.  But the best result in Great Britain and Ireland days came at Marine Drive in Vancouver in 1992. With Scotland’s Catriona Matthew finishing second in the individual event, the side finished team runners-up to Spain. Who beat Catriona in the individual section? None other than Annika Sorenstam.

EB

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