from Colin Farquharson
Claire claws her way back into contention
 Claire
Hunter clawed her way back into contention for one of the 30 player's
cards up for grabs in the Ladies' European Tour Qualifying School with
a one-under-par score of 72 in the second round at Grenoble, France on
Thursday.
The diminutive, 24-year-old Aberdonian, who has made the long trip from
her base at Eugene, Oregon, survived the first hurdle with a 36-hole tally
of one-over-par 147, which meant she was safely among the leading 90 players
and ties who qualified for today's (Fri) third round.
A total of 131 competitors from 25 different countries started the tournament.
Claire had conquered the European pro debut nerves which saw her take
40 to the turn in the first round. This time she went out in level par
37 with birdies at the second, sixth and seventh cancelling out bogeys
at the first, fifth and eighth.
Miss Hunter, with her younger brother Ryan caddieing, played very steadily
for the second nine with eight pars and a birdie at the 13th for her 72.
With a little bit of luck on the greens, Claire might well have had a
69 or 70.
In joint 37th place overnight, her next target is to make the top 50 and
ties at the end of the third-round play. Only they will go forward to
tomorrow's (Sat) final 18 holes
But there was no revival in the fortunes of fellow Scot Cathy Panton-Lewis,
one of the pioneers who helped to start the first British women's tour
in 1979. Cathy, playing out of The Berkshire Golf Club, had a 78 for 153.
Starting at the 10th, Cathy played her first nine holes in two-over 38
with a birdie at the 12th followed by bogeys at the 14th and 15th.
She then had a disastrous inward half of 40, featuring bogeys at the first,
second, eighth and ninth, the gloom relieved only temporarily with a birdie
at the sixth.
Cathy starts the third round in joint 77th place, needing to improve by
at least 27 places to make it through to the last round.
French amateur Gwladys Nocera and rookie pro Eleanor Pilgrim, the 1997
Welsh women's amateur champion who turned pro after being left out of
the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team for this year's match in the
United States, lead the big field jointly on nine-under-par 137.
A total of 98 players with 36-hole totals of eight-over-par 154 and better
beat the halfway cut. Current English women's amateur champion Kerry Knowles
and former Welsh women's amateur title-winner Kathryn Evans made it through
with nothing to spare.
SECOND ROUND SCOREBOARD
QUALIFIERS
137 G Nocera (Fra) 67 70, E Pilgrim (Wal) 69 68.
139 T Hyett (Aus) 72 67, V Uwland (Aus) 70 69.
141 H Svensson (Swe) 69 72, M Eberl (Ger) 72 69, S Dickens (Eng) 68 73,
Y Cassidy (Ire) 71 70, I Maconi (Ita) 72 69.
142 F Helmersson (Swe) 71 71, M Prieto (Spa) 70 72.
143 S Bennett (Eng) 68 75, J Westerberg (Swe) 71 72, J Krantz (Swe) 72
71. .
144 P Sowden (NZ) 72 72, S Parry (US), M Cosenza (Ita) 75 69, S Renell
(Swe) 74 70, L G Gomez (Spa) 70 74, E Smets (Bel) 73 71.
145 R Duncan (Aus) 74 71, T Schneeberger (Aut) 69 76, S Westling (Swe)
73 72, S Berglund (Swe) 73 72, K Mathiot (Fra) 67 78.
146 C Hanneman (Bra) 71 75, B Ormsby (NZ) 77 69, J Jail (Fra) 73 73, P
Koivuranta (Fin) 73 73, E Poburski (Ger) 74 72, J Lindbergh (Swe) 73 73,
R Stevenson ( (Aus) 74 72, K Wilson (NZ) 73 73, V Vignali (Spa) 71 75,
A de Goederen (Net) 73 73.
147 P Sota (Spa) 70 77, A Moltke-Leth (Den) 72 75, R Astrom (Swe) 72 75,
I Rosberg (Swe) 74 73, N Spurgeon (Eng) 73 74, C Kuld (Den) 73 74, M Blomqvist
(Swe) 73 74, C Hunter (Sco) 75 72, J Oliver (Eng) 76 71.
148 D Philbrick (US) 72 76, V Smith (SA) 76 72, R Hudson (Eng) 75 73,
A Tybring (Swe) 73 75.
149 A Johns (Eng) 78 71, O Rotmistrova (Rus) 71 78, M P de Silans (Fra)
74 75, E Zackrisson (Swe) 75 74, C Rasmussen (Den) 76 73, S Hunter (Eng)
72 77, C Grady (Ire) 77 72, K Fisher (Eng) 77 72, J Marchan (Arg) 72 77,
M Ducres (Fra) 74 75.
150 E Weeks (Eng) 79 71, R Rasmussen (Den) 75 75, L Ericsson (Swe) 71
79, N Reis (Swe) 76 74, P Fraysse (Fra) 80 70.
151 C Lipscombe (Eng) 75 76, S Kali (Arg) 78 73, E Bjarvall (Swe) 76 75.
152 C Elmer (Swe) 76 76, S Johansson (Swe) 75 77, V Roques (Fra) 79 73,
H Kavanagh (Ire) 77 75, H Beatty (Aus) 75 77, S Heath (Eng) 75 77, L Berg
(Nor) 73 79, A Cvitan (Swe) 74 78, N Parkinson (Aus) 77 75, M Ingaramo
(Arg) 75 77.
153 A Guelidi (Fra) 75 78, M Robbertze (SA) 78 75, C Lespinasse (Fra)
77 76, S Fischer (Aut) 77 76, J Whalley (Aus) 78 75, M Gundersrud (Nor)
76 77, M Holmblad (Swe) 79 74, S Murata (Jap) 78 75, K Gothman (Swe) 75
78, C Panton-Lewis (Sco) 75 78.
154 B Paruscio (Ita) 79 75, K Knowles (Eng) 74 80, K Evans (Wal) 74 80,
R Fowler (NZ) 74 80, C Trussoni (Ita) 77 77, G Andren (Swe) 80 74, A Milie
(Ita) 77 77, L Sibille (Fra) 78 76, L M Wright (Eng) 79 75, J Magnusson
(Swe) 76 78, C Berg (Swe) 76 78, B Dekker (Net) 78 76.
DID NOT QUALIFY
155 S Douglass (Aus) 76 79, N Ghilain (Bel) 79 76, S Gallagher (Eng) 74
81, M Martin (Spa) 75 80, N Duvalois (Net) 76 79, M Quattlebaum (US) 80
75, F Piovano (Ita) 78 77, Eun-Jeong Jung (Kor) 82 73.
156 E Perez (Spa) 78 78.
157 B Maliwan (Tha) 76 81, D Rushworth (Eng) 79 78, S Crochu (Fra) 76
81, M Bransdon (Aus) 78 79, G Zanardi (Ita) 79 78, Fumi Doi (Jap) 80 77,
S Roberts (Wal) 81 76.
158 A Haxhe (Bel) 78 80, V Heniau (Fra) 79 79.
159 J Bush (Ger) 80 79, C Viellard (Fra) 76 83, P Beliard (Fra) 73 86,
V Carruthers (Sco) 80 79.
160 L Walters (Eng) 82 78.
161 K Fries (Swe) 80 81, R Soderlund (Swe) 81 80.
162 N Soro (Ivory Coast) 82 80, C De Vos (Bel) 81 81.
164 C Bonnome (Fra) 83 81.
165 K Ross (Sco) 77 88.
170 S Imboden (Swi) 88 82.
176 M Estermann (Aut) 89 87.
177 P Myers (US) 89 88.
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