Heather MacRae will become the first woman in almost 80 years to play in the Scottish PGA Championship.
The Gullane assistant professional came through an 18-hole qualifying round at Downfield in Dundee to become the first female to compete in the Tartan Tour's flagship event since Meg Farquhar contested the 1933 championship at Lossiemouth.
MacRae, a former British women's amateur strokeplay champion, posted a two-over-par 75 to book her spot in the £55,000 event, which will be held at Gleneagles from June 25-28.
And the 25-year-old revealed it will be a real family affair in Perthshire with her big brother Andrew also set to tee-up in the national championship.
She said: "I'm absolutely delighted. This was the goal at the start of the year and to make it is a great feeling.
"My older brother is one of the professionals at Gleneagles and is already included in the field so it will be good for the two of us to be playing.
"I've been playing well recently and knew I had chance. I would've liked to have shot a low score but the conditions made it a battle but I came through it and that's all that matters."
Scottish PGA secretary Gordon Dewar added: "It's fantastic news that we will have Heather at our national championship. It will be something different and I'm sure it will add a new dimension to the event."
James Smallwood (Fereneze), Mark Barnard (Inchmarlo) and Peter McLachlan (West Kilbride) topped the qualifying standings with one-under 72s while former Amateur champion Gordon Sherry, making a return to the pro game after four years away from competitive golf, gave his comeback a boost when he qualified alongside MacRae in a share of 11th after a 75.
Aberdour's Antonia Ffinch, the other female hopeful in the field, failed in her qualifying quest after an 89.
20 May, 2009