Katie's progress

The 17-year-old Selby Golf Club member from Brayton has taken the game by storm, being selected for the England girls' team, called into the England elite squad, picked as a reserve for Yorkshire Ladies and achieving astonishing success in senior competitions as well as at junior level.

This week she was playing in the Northern Girls' Championship at Newcastle ahead of tackling the English Girls' Close Amateur at Harrogate next week.

In her first year Dobson reduced her handicap from 36 to 15, in her second year she got it down to ten and now she plays off only six.

She took up golf because her father Ken is a keen player at Selby GC, and now she is thriving in elite company on the course.

In April she reached the semi-finals of the Yorkshire Ladies Championship at Pannal, going to 4 and 3 to international player Sarah Naden.

After that performance she was called into the Yorkshire squad as a reserve and made it to standby as first reserve though she has yet to make her country senior debut.

She finished fourth behind Bridlington's Rachel Bell in the Yorkshire Girls Championship at Hull. Dobson carded rounds of 86 and 77.

Dobson, who is in her first year studying leisure and tourism at Selby College, got to the quarter-finals of the Northern Ladies Championship at Bolton and her score counted towards Yorkshire winning the nett score trophy.

At present her strong point is her driving and she is working to improve her putting.

Although she does not have a regular coach she receives expert guidance as a member of the Yorkshire girls' team from their coach, York professional Tony Mason, and twice a year attends coaching sessions at Leeds with the English elite squad. She has also been helped by Peter Cowan at Lindrick.

"I don't know why I have done so well. Golf seems to have come naturally to me," she says.

"I really enjoy playing and while coming up against international players has been daunting I have been able to cope with it.

"I have no special ambitions in view at present. I take each event as it comes. I know the Harrogate course and will get a practice round there before the English Girls' Close Amateur. I can't wait to play next week."

This is the first time she will have played in the championship because it requires low handicap. Last year, though, she played in the challenge competition allied to the championship at Kingsdown, Bath, and got to the quarter-finals.

JUSTIN Rose wasn't the only Open first-timer having the time of his life at windswept Royal Birkdale last weekend.

Robert Giles, from Howden in East Yorkshire, might not have scaled the heights the 17-year-old sensation from Hampshire, but he was thoroughly enjoying his first experience of playing in the world's greatest golf championship.

He qualified for the final two rounds by scoring 72 and 74, then took an 83 on the stormy Saturday and finished with a 78 on Sunday for a 207 total. Although this put him fourth from bottom at the final count he said that it didn't really matter where he finished such was the thrill of actually playing in the Open.

He started his golf career at Boothferry near Goole and played for Yorkshire boys' team before turning professional as an assistant at Boothferry. Once he got his PGA qualification he got a job at Killarney in Ireland and a couple of years ago moved to Warrenpoint, the club of Ronan Rafferty.

This year Giles is the leading money-winner on the Irish PGA tour, having beaten the likes of Eammon Darcy and Philip Walton.

KILNWICK Percy's July Medal was won by Denis Duggan, who fired a superb nett 63 to clip two shots off his handicap. Second on countback. Four others were tied on nett 66, countback going the way of Paul Evans, Andy Kendall, Paul Hawkett and Chris Smith. Terry Wood notched only two.The first ladies Am-Am was won by the home team of Carol Kilford, Anne Beharrell and Jean Forster.

ROUTE 66 was equalled by Knaresborough GC's John McVicar in lifting the club's Harpanoak Trophy.McVicar's second round of 68-2-66 matched his own course record and, together with a nett 70 from the first round, gave him a total of 136 to clinch a win by three strokes ahead of Mike Pennington (139). Junior captain Gavin Flannigan's third place on 140 aid stern competition was a fine achievement.

FULFORD GC ladies captain Joan Foster won the club's Jubilee Jug with a nett 73, one ahead of Margaret Burton. Eleanor Mason was a further shot behind in third.Judy Jones won the extra July medal first prize with a nett par 74 ahead of Ann Parker on 75 with Judy McHenry scoring 76.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.