I arrived in Spain for the 2009 ladies pro-am all excited with the prospect of another great week, getting to see old friends, and of course meeting new ones.

This year Brian Knight was to be with us, as last year he was recovering from major surgery, so everyone was looking forward to seeing him very much. For me it was great to be back as I had 5 out of the six members of my team from last year, and one new player. We were keen to go one better this time, as we lost out by just 1 point last time!!

The pros this year were, Sarah Claridge, Sarah Burnell, Alison Gray, Lora Fairclough, Ashley Bergwerff, Tina Selstad, Emma Weeks and my self.

This year we had 9 teams of 7. Each one containing 6 amateurs and 1 professional.  For each of the three competition days we scored using stableford points with the best 4 scores per hole counting towards the team score, and as always there was a great competitive atmosphere!!

After a day of practice we played a Texas Scramble, where everyone had a chance to play with other people, and to get to play with another pro too... everyone really likes this day.

After a day of rest with some of the players enjoying a full day off, while others plays and practiced, all really looking forward to Monday morning when we would start the competition.

The first round leaders were my girls!! We had 167 points and were in the lead by 11 points. Adele had a great day with 44 points which really helped our cause, with Lin 35 and Sharon with 34, so a great day was had by all. In second place was Lora’s team with 154 points.

So we came to day 2 feeling good and started off with a team picture in our team shirts, and all of the teams together, which is always nice. Then it was off to the practice ground for some warm up shots, a must for anyone at any time and especially important before an important event.  We had a good session and then we were off and running over the Blue course, which is holes 1 to 9, the hardest 9 by far, and then holes 10 to 18, the Yellow nine. Again the group got stuck in and worked well, with Sharon having a great 39 points and Lin and Gail both having 32 points. Adele had been cut two shots but still made many great points for the team.  It was so exciting waiting to see all the scores go in at the end of day two, and I am very pleased to say we were still in the lead, but this time by 32 points from Alison Gray’s team from Norway. We were 331, then Alison’s team on 299, then Lora’s athletes on 295.  So it was a great day for the girls and well deserved a meeting in my room for a drop of champagne to celebrate !!

Day 3, we were off last as the leaders, but continued the good work, in lovely sunshine.  Adele was top again in our team with35 points, Alison with 34, and Sharon with 33, so the girls played well again.

The last days scores were, Lora’s team 169, my girls 162, and Alison team on 163 giving totals over the whole competition of Alison’s team in third place with 462 points, Lora’s team in second place with 464 points and my team first with 493 points … a lead of 29 points.

The difference between 2nd and 3rd was just 2 points. I know how that feels as my team lost by just 1 point last time, so I am very proud and pleased for them - well done girls, you are really great and every one played their part in the winning, as it is a team game!!

So a big thank you to, Lin, Sharon, Gail, Alison, Adele, and our new member Linda, you were all fab, and lets hope we can defend in 2010... bring it on!!

It goes without saying a big thank you to all the ladies who played in the pro-am.  It’s great for me to meet new ladies, and to see old friends too, without them the event would not go on, so thank you.  Also thanks to Tarleton, Brian Knight, and John Barnes the dynamic duo, who run the event with great style, thanks guys you know we all love you!!