By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Sheena Wood leads the field at the halfway stage of the Scottish senior women's stroke-play championship at Fortrose and Rosemarkie.
The Aberdeeen Ladies GC member shot a first round of four-over-par 75 which was good enough to put her in the pole position, a stroke ahead of Fiona de Vries (St Rule and two ahead of joint third placed Dawn Young (North Berwick) and Alex Glennie (Kilmarnock Barassie).
Tain sisters Anne Ryan and Mary Smith, who would know the course better than most, are lying fifth and sixth with scores of 78 and 79 respectively.
Nobody found the course easy. County class player Meg Sievwright (Buckpool), took an 11 at the par-3 fifth hole and required 54 shots for the front nine before she finished in 96.
De Vries had a triple bogey 7 at the second and a double bogey 6 at the 12th in compiling a 76.
Leader Wood had only one birdie, at the 14th, but she avoided major disasters, although bogeying five holes, including the last two when pars would have given her a three-shot lead.
Martine Pow (Selkirk) did not enter this year after winning both the stroke-play and match-play titles 12 months ago on her debut when she beat Wood in the match-play final. Without Pow in the field, Sheena has a chance to be the third double title-winner in a row by the end of the week.
SCOTTISH SENIOR WOMEN'S AMATEUR STROKE-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
Fortrose and Rosemarkie GC
LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 71 SSS 72 CSS 72
75 S Wood (Aberdeen Ladies)
76 F de Vries (St Rule).
77 D Young (North Berwick), A Glennie (Kilmarnock Barassie)
78 A Ryan (Tain).
79 M Smith (Tain).
80 S MacVicar (Nairn), E Whyte (Aberdeen Ladies), L Grieve (Musselburgh).
81 F Ford (Murrayfield), C McAndrew (Nairn Dunbar).
82 E Coghill (Royal Dornoch), L McKinlay (Dunnikier Park), A Rose (Royal Dornoch), A Ford (Ullapool), L Dyball (Pitreavie).
83 K Ballantyne (Craigmillar Park), K Sutherland (Royal Montrose), A Hanson (Glencorse), M M Ferguson (Murrayfield).
84 J Paterson (Drumpellier), M Hughes (Lanark), C King (Clober).
85 L Terry (Cruden Bay), M Wardrop (Turnhouse), J Bryans (Harburn)
