McVeigh impresses in New Mexico

Irish golfer Danielle McVeigh made her mark among the best young women players in America as she scored a top-15 finish at the NCAA Women's Golf Championship in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

McVeigh, a sophomore at Texas A&M University, tied for 15th in US collegiate golf’s national championships after posting rounds of 73, 74, 75 and 73 for a seven-over-par 295 at the par-72, 6424-yard University of New Mexico Championship course.

The Kilkeel, Co Down golfer’s effort as the second woman home on her team helped Texas A&M tie for sixth place at the weekend, the Aggies’ second-highest finish at the NCAA Women's Golf Championship, and the best since its fifth-place showing in the inaugural event in 1982.

With fellow second year Ashley Freeman tying for eighth place, A&M compiled a team score of 295, 299, 299, 298 for a 39-over 1,191 to break the school record at the tournament by 20 strokes.

Southern California (1,168) won the title by six shots over UCLA (1,174), while three-time defending champion Duke (1,180) finished third and Purdue (1,188) placed fourth. Arizona State (1,189) edged A&M and Denver (1,191) by just two shots for fifth place.

Arizona State's Azahara Munoz (69-72-73-73=287) defeated UCLA's Tiffany Joh (74-69-72-72=287) in a play-off to capture individual honours.

"We knew we needed the play well but I really didn't feel any pressure," McVeigh said. "I knew my team-mates would pull their weight and that allowed me to just go out and have fun."

"It's good to place in the top six but we won't be happy until we're number one," McVeigh said. "This was a great boost to our confidence and with most of this team back next year, we have a great chance to improve."

This weekend it is the turn of the men to compete for national glory as the 111th Men’s NCAA Division I Championships get under way on the Kampen course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Four Irishmen will tee off, all representing East Tennessee State University after the final five-man team selections saw Dubliner David Rawluk omitted by Charlotte, Ballynahinch’s Gavin Reid miss out for the favourites Southern California and Cathal O’Malley from Mayo sit out from the Alabama at Birmingham quintet.

That leaves Lisburn’s Gareth Shaw, Limerickman Cian McNamara, West Waterford’s Seamus Power and Simon Doherty of Belfast, with Cornwall’s Rhys Enoch rounding out the Anglo-Irish team.

Both Shaw, the Atlantic Sun Conference champion this year, and McNamara have played in the past three NCAAs, and both players are coming off impressive efforts during the third and final round at the qualifying NCAA East Regionals. McNamara finished that round with a team-best four-under 67, while Shaw, currently the nation’s 12th-ranked player, tied for eighth after a closing 69.

ETSU’s Buccaneers, ranked 16th in the US, have a best-placed finish of third at the NCAAs in 1996 to live up to.

Looking beyond the NCAAs there was further recognition for Shaw this week when he and SunBelt Conference champion Johnny Caldwell of Belfast were named in a 16-man preliminary Great Britain & Ireland squad for this August's St Andrews Trophy against the Continent of Europe at Kingsbarns.

The nine-man team picked to compete at Kingsbarns is likely to provide the foundation for the 2009 Walker Cup team to take on the USA at Merion, Pennsylvania.

Caldwell, who is set to graduate from South Alabama this summer, was on the 2007 Walker Cup team, while Shaw will have ETSU team-mate Enoch alongside him at the squad get-together in Scotland on June 9-10.

Both Caldwell and Shaw were also picked for the European side to meet their US collegial counterparts in the annual Ryder Cup-style Palmer Cup competition at Glasgow GC’s Gailes Links at the end of June.