WEATHER HITS PGA EUROPRO TOUR
EVENT AT COLLINGTREE PARK

Difficult to write a report on a tournament in which quite a few players have still to complete their second rounds because bad weather caused an early end to the second day's play.
That's the position in the PGA EuroPro Tour event at Collingtree Park.
Without all the second-round totals, it is impossible to be dogmatic about what the maximum figure is for the 36-hole cut.
It looks like those with 145 and better will make it through to the final round.
Freddy Valenti (Pryors Haynes) is the only Scot who has definitely qualified. He has had rounds of 75 and 69 for a level par tally of 144.
Alasdair Hay (three under par in the first round) and Callum Nicoll (one under par) are two who should make it but we'll have to wait and see.
Paul Doherty slumped from a first-round 70 to a second-round 76 and his 146 total looks vulnerable. If the computer projection is correct, the former Scottish boys' match-play champion will miss the cut by one stroke.
Tartan Tour regular Chris Kelly was four over par on the first day. He is one of those still to complete 36 holes.
Elliot Saltman, Paul Cormack and Neil Mitchell are certainly out of it.
Rookie Saltman has had a pair of 75s for 150, the same total as rookie Cormack who has scored 72 and 78.
Neil Mitchell from Murcar Links has scored 75 and 76 for 151.
Chris Farr (six over par first round) and Stephen Lamb (seven over par) have still to complete.
LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72)
135 Adam Frayne (St Mellion) 68 67, Russell Claydon (Gog Magog) 69 66.
137 Robert McGuirk (Princes) 70 67.
139 Mark Smith (Erewash Valley) 71 68, Darren Prosser (Stourbridge) 70 69.
Other completed scores:
144 Freddy Valenti (Pryors Haynes) 75 79.
PROJECTED CUT (145 and better to qualify)
146 Paul Doherty (Vale of Glamorgan) 75 76.
150 Elliot Saltman (Craigielaw) 75 75, Paul Cormack (Inchmalro) 72 78.
151 Neil Mitchell (Murcar Links) 75 76.

MICKELSON AND MICHELLE FAIL TO

FINISH: BOTH RETIRE WITH

WRIST INJURIES

Thursday's big golf news is not about who is playing but who is NOT playing.
Phil Mickelson has withdrawn from the Memorial Tournament halfway through the opening round because of a left wrist injury.
He was two over par after 11 holes when he came off the Muirfield Village club course. His hand was massaged between shots while he was on the course.
Meanwhile, Michelle Wie, pictured right, dropped out of the Ginn Tribute tournament at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina after 16 holes. She was 14 over par at the time, having had a 10 at one hole.
The 17-year-old from Hawaii played the round with supportive bandages on her wrists.
Wie had not played competitive golf since missing the cut at the US PGA Tour Sony Open men's tournament since then. She had been recovering from wrist injuries and going to school/college since then.

She started at the 10th hole with Janice Moodie and Alena Sharp as her playing partners. She was 14 over par and heading for the eighth tee, her 17th hole, when she was stopped by her Nike business manager Greg Nard. After a brief conversation, they called over an LPGA official and Michelle said she was "not playing any more."

Later Miss Wie said her retiral after 16 holes had nothing to do with the LPGA rule that bans non-tour members for a year if they shoot 88 or higher in one of its tournaments.

Wie was only two bogeys short of reaching that figure when, obviously on the advice/instructions of her manager, she quit.

"I had issues with my wrist. Shooting 88 is not what I think about," she said later at a Press conference.

Wie did not shake her wrist or show any sign of discomfort during the round. Last season, she grabbed her wrist on several occasions, even during press conferences.
"She wasn't holding her wrist," said playing partner Sharp. "I think she just had a bad day. If it was her wrist, why wait until the last two holes [to withdraw]?"
Wie's career, not to put too fine a point on it, is now at the crossroads. Perhaps it has been for sometime but this latest bizarre day means she has not broken par in an LPGA event since last July.

"I really felt sorry for Michelle out there," said Alena Sharp. "She did not look a happy girl at all."

Michelle said she still hopes to play in next week's LPGA major, the McDonald's LPGA championship.

MICKELSON STILL CONFIDENT ABOUT US OPEN

Back to Phil Mickelson - and he insisted later that the wrist injury would not keep him out of the US Open, starting on June 14.
He said: "I don't think it's anything serious. I'll take a couple of days off, see if I can ice it and get it ready for the US Open."
The American was two over par at the time, having suffered a double bogey at the par-three eighth hole and a bogey at the par-five 11th.
"I'll try to even play in Memphis next week if I can, but the Open is more what we're gearing up for," he confirmed.
Mickelson revealed that the wrist began hurting on Monday during a practice round at Oakmont.
He explained: "I was hitting a lot of chip shots out of the rough and I think that aggravated it.
"I hit some drivers (on the range) today and it started hurting a little bit, but nothing I thought I couldn't handle.
"I took four Advil, thought it's all right, and when I hit a wedge (on the second hole) it (the pain) shot up my arm.
"I kind of half-clubbed it around (after that). It just got worse. I couldn't grab the club and couldn't swing."

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

SAM TORRANCE HAS SON DANIEL

ON HIS BAG IN IRISH SENIORS'

TITLE DEFENCE

By STEVEN FRANKLIN

EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR PRESS OFFICER

Sam Torrance will have a new but familiar face on his bag tomorrow when he launches his defence of the AIB Irish Seniors Open, in association with Greenstar and Fáilte Ireland, at the PGA National Ireland golf course to the west of Dublin.
The former Ryder Cup Captain has chosen to break up his successful partnership with caddie Brian Dunlop and has turned instead to his own 18-year-old son Daniel, a one handicap golfer.
This father-and-son combination has dovetailed effectively in the past, most notably in winning the team competition in the 2003 dunhill links championship on the European Tour, and Torrance senior is cautiously optimistic of more good times to come.
“I haven’t really got into my stride yet this season, but I am feeling better with my swing and my son Daniel starts on my bag today, which is pretty exciting for the Torrance family. I am really looking forward to it,” confirmed the Scot, who won last year’s AIB Irish Seniors in a four-man play-off.
“I’ve tried to go through the do’s and don’ts with him, but he’s 18 so you have got to tell him a few times. He should be fine though, as he has played the dunhill links with me three or four times and knows exactly what goes on. He’s a very good player himself, so hopefully he will learn something and I might even learn something myself.”
The €450,000 tournament will be played over 54 holes on the Christy O’Connor junior-designed PGA National Ireland lay-out at Palmerstown House, County Kildare.
With Padraig Harrington having recently ended a 25-year home drought by winning the Irish Open, Eamonn Darcy and Denis O’Sullivan find themselves in the spotlight as the most likely candidates to become the first Irish winner of the AIB Irish Seniors Open, in association with Greenstar and Fáilte Ireland, since Joe McDermott back in 1998.

SCOTLAND v ENGLAND SCHOOLS
ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
The Scotland v England schools golf international will be played on Monday, September 10 as previously announced but it is now unlikely to be held at Fairmont St Andrews (formerly St Andrews Bay).
The organisers are looking for a venue where neighbouring hotel rates are not so high.
Next year’s Scottish schools championships will be played a week later than this year – on Monday, June 16 at Dullatur Golf Club, Cumbernauld.
This year's Scottish schools tournament is at Gullane on Monday, June 11.

LAWRIE, O'HARA & ORR
SHARE LEAD WITH SIX
OTHERS ON 65 IN CELTIC
MANOR WALES OPEN

Three Scots - Paul Lawrie, Steven O'Hara and Gary Orr - figure in a nine-way logjam on four-under-par 65 at the top of the leaderboard in the first round of the Celtic Manor Wales Open at the Newport venue.
For Lawrie, winner of the tournament in 2002, it was a welcome return to form with the Open at Carnoustie getting ever closer.
The Aberdonian, pictured right, had birdies at the fifth, seventh and two short holes, the 11th and 15th, and also the 18th He bogeyed the fourth for halves of 34 and 31.
By missing seven of his last nine halfway cuts Lawrie has dropped back outside the world's top 250 and has slumped to 132nd on the European Order of Merit. But the 1999 Open champion, no longer exempt for all the majors in America, said: "I was six under after 14 on Monday at Carnoustie (Paul was there on a company day), using a new putter and holed a good few eight to 10-footers with it today.
"I don't think I've actually been playing that poorly, but I haven't been knocking them in as I'd want to. But that's the game, isn't it? You don't always get what you think you should. I always enjoy coming here to Celtic Manor. The hotel is one of the nicest we stay in on Tour, I feel comfortable and I have had a good record."
As well as winning and setting a course record five years ago, he lost a play-off to Paul McGinley in 2001, albeit all on a different lay-out to the one being used this week. The bad weather was never likely to alter his good feelings about the venue that will stage the 2010 Ryder Cup.
Lawrie continued: "Obviously it's quite like back home for me. The weather is never that great, but I don't mind. I don't wake up wishing for it, but when it comes it doesn't bother me."
A 35-foot chip-in on the short 15th, his sixth, certainly helped his cause and his only mistake came when he three-putted the fourth. Lawrie is looking forward to returning to Carnoustie for the Open in just seven weeks, especially as his eight and 12-year-old sons will be watching him there this time.
He added: "It's been spoken about for quite a while now, so I am kind of wishing that it would happen so we can get on with it. You can't beat having an Open an hour from your house, sleeping in your own bed."
Steven O'Hara from Colville Park bogeyed his last hole or else he would have been the clear leader on 64. Steven started at the 10th and birdied the 15th before marking up an eagle 3 at the long 16th to cover his first nine holes in three-under-par 31. Then he birdied the first and third and was five under par with three to play. A bogey at the ninth, his last, took just a little bit of the shine off a fine round.
Gary Orr birdied the third, fourth, fifth and nine after a bogey at the second. He birdied the 11th on the second nine and compiled his 65 with halves of 32 and 33.
Alson on 65 are the in-form fortysomething Paul Broadhurst, Ricardo Gonzalez (Argentina), Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark), Brett Rumford (Austalia), Spaniard Jose Manuel Lara and New Zealander Steve Alker.
Another Scot, Alastair Forsyth, is only one shot behind on the 66 mark after halves of 33, while Stephen Gallacher is one of a crowd on 67.
Not all the Scots plundered the birdies and eagles. Former European Tour rookie of the year Marc Warren from East Kilbride required 43 shots to cover the first nine holes. He had a double bogey 6 at the fourth, a duble bogey 6 at the fifth and adouble bogey 5 at the short eighth. He came whistling home in 33 which represented eight pars and a birdie 2 at the short 15th.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 69
Players from GB&I unless stated.
65 Gary Orr, Steve Alker (NZ), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg), Steven O'Hara, Paul Broadhurst, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Brett Rumford (Aus), Paul Lawrie,
66 Joakim Haeggman (Swe), Christian Cevaer (Fra), Mattias Eliasson (Swe), James Kingston (SAf), Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Liam Bond, Michael Campbell (NZ), Oliver Wilson, Matthew Zions (Aus), Peter Lawrie, Alastair Forsyth, Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Bradley Dredge
67 Garry Houston, Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Phillip Price, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), David Lynn, Simon Khan, Robert Rock, Stephen Gallacher, James Heath, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa), Mark Foster, Richard Sterne (SAf).
68 David Carter, Andrew Tampion (Aus), David Griffiths, David Frost (SAf), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Edward Rush, Anton Haig (SAf), Shaun P Webster, Shiv Kapur (Ind), Kyron Sullivan, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Gary Murphy, Phillip Archer, David Bransdon (Aus), Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Thomas Levet (Fra).
69 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), Ross Fisher, Matthew Richardson, Sion Bebb, Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Martin Kaymer (Ger), Andrew Raitt, David Park, Simon Wakefield, Graeme Storm, Lee Slattery, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Alexander Noren (Swe), Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Terry Price (Aus), Simon Thornton, Gregory Havret (Fra), Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa), Andrew Coltart, Marcel Siem (Ger), Nick Dougherty, Julien Guerrier (Fra), Craig Smith, Alexandre Rocha (Bra), Sam Walker, Marcus Higley, Emanuele Canonica (Ita), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind).
70 Anders Hansen (Den), Benn Barham, Jean Van de Velde (Fra), Peter Hedblom (Swe), Oliver Fisher, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Peter Hanson (Swe), Gary Marks, Sam Little, Miles Tunnicliff, Manuel Quiros (Spa), Henrik Nystrom (Swe), Retief Goosen (SAf), Colin Montgomerie, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Richard McEvoy, Peter Senior (Aus), Lee S James.
71 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Christopher Hanell (Swe), Kenneth Ferrie, Robert Karlsson (Swe), Anthony Wall, Sandy Lyle, Ian Garbutt, Maarten Lafeber (Net), Darren Fichardt (SAf), Mardan Mamat (Sin), Gary Lockerbie, David Drysdale, Richard Finch, Tom Whitehouse, Taichi Teshima (Jpn), Ariel Canete (Arg), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Barry Lane.
72 Ben Evans, Damien McGrane, Christian Nilsson (Swe), Pelle Edberg (Swe), Rafael Echenique (Arg), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Gordon J Brand, Carl Suneson (Spa), Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Andrew Marshall, Matthew Millar (Aus), Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Jonathan Lomas
73 Richard Bland, Steve Webster, Peter Gustafsson (Swe), Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice), Simon Dyson, Gary Emerson, Mark Pilkington, Sven Struver (Ger), Jose Manuel Carriles (Spa), Wade Ormsby (Aus), Peter O'Malley (Aus).
74 Graeme McDowell, Luis Claverie (Spa), Scott Drummond, Santiago Luna (Spa), Carlos Rodiles (Spa).
75 Rhys Enoch, Francois Calmels (Fra).
76 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Marc Warren.
77 Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Mark Litton.
78 Gareth Davies, Llewellyn Matthews, Adrien Mork (Fra).

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

ROOKIE GEORGE MURRAY TOP

SCOT IN CHALLENGE TOUR

EVENT AT WORSLEY PARK

Rookie tour pro George Murray (pictured right) from Anstruther, a former Scottish amateur champion, was the top Scot in joint seventh place at the end of a day of low scoring in the European Challenge Tour event, the Oceanico Developments Pro-Am Challenge, at Marriott Worsley Park Hotel & Country Club, Greater Manchester today.
Late finisher Murray – he was out on the course for well over five hours, had a four-under-par 66. Starting at the 10th, he had birdies at the 12th, 14th, first, second and fifth and a solitary bogey at the 18th.
George could only par his last four holes when a birdie or two would have got him closer to the leader, Frenchman Michael Lorenzo-Vera who had a dream round of nine-under-par 61, made up of an eagle and seven birdies..
Another former Scottish amateur champion, Andrew McArthur from Windyhll, posted a three-under-par 67 to be in joint 16th place with birdies at the second, fifth, 12th, 15th and 17th and bogeys at the sixth and 11th in halves of 34 and 33.

Carnoustie’s Eric Ramsay and one time PGA champion Andrew Oldcorn from Edinburgh are in joint 27th place with a 68. Oldcorn had birdies at the first, fifth, 15th and 17th in halves of 33 and 35.
Ramsay started at the 10th and had birdies at the 10th, fourth, fifth and sixth against bogeys at the 16th and first in reversed halves of 35 and 33.
Former Northern Open champion Chris Doak had a 69 with birdies at the second, ninth, 13th and 16th. He bogeyed the first , a 15th and 18th in halves of 34 and 35.

Euan Little had a 72 (36-36) with only one birdie, at the 17th.
Jamie McLeary did well in a way to “escape” with a 72 after marking up a quadruple bogey 8 at the eighth. Out in 39, he came home in 33 with birdies at the 12th and 17th.

New Northern Open champion Murray Urquhart from Inverness had a three-over-par 73 with a birdie at the sixth but bogeys at the fourth, eighth, ninth and 18th in halves of 37 and 36.

West Linton-based Welshman Gareth Wright had a 67, thanks to an eagle 3 at the fifth and birdies at the sixth, 10th, 12th and 13th in halves of 33 and 34. Fifer Peter Whiteford's 71 had birdies at the fourth and 17th but bogeys at the seventh, eighth and 14th.

Aberdonian Scott Henderson ran up a double bogey 6 at the eight, then bogeys at the ninth, 10th and 18th in halves of 37 and 35 for a 72. He birdied the sixth, the short 11th and long 13th.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 70
61 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra).

64 Tim Dykes (Wal), Stuart Davis (Eng).
65 Pontus Ericsson (Swe), James H Williams (Wal), David Horsey (Eng) (am).
66 Gary Clark (Eng), Paul Dwyer (Eng), David Higgins (Ire), Ross McGowan (Eng), Klas Eriksson (Swe), Michiel Bothma (SAf), Paul Eagles (Eng), Neil Cheetham (Eng), George Murray (Sco) 32-34.
Other scores:
67 Andrew McArthur (Windyhill) 34-33, Gareth Wright (West Linton) 33-34.
68 Robert Dinwiddie (Eng), Andrew Oldcorn (Sco) 33-35, Eric Ramsay (Sco) 33-35.
69 Chris Doak (Sco) 34-35, Jack Doherty (Sco) 34-35.
71 Peter Whiteford (Sco) 36-35.
72 Euan Little (Sco) 36-36, Scott Henderson (King's Links) 37-35, Jamie McLeary (Sco) 39-33.
73 Murray Urquhart (Inverness) 37-36.

ST RULE TROPHY FIELD CHANGES

Latest changes to the field for this weekend's St Rule Trophy over the New and Old Courses, St Andrews are:
OUT
Rachel Connor (Manchester).
Fiona Lockhart (St Regulus).
Carolin Loehr (Germany)
IN
Elaine Cuthill (Lanark). Starting times: Sat - 12.50. Sun - 7am & 11.50am.
Clare-Marie Carlton (Fereneze). Starting times: Sat - 1pm. Sun - 8.10am & 1.10pm.
Ann Ramsay (Kirriemuir). Starting times: Sat - 10.10am. Sun - 9.40am & 2.40pm.

+We'll have the St Rule Trophy first round scores on this website on Saturday evening and the second and third round scores on Sunday evening. If we can find the time to put the second-round scores up on Sunday afternoon, will do so ... but no promises!

CHRISTINE IS HIGHLAND VETS'

CHAMPION AT INVERNESS

Christine McAndrew (Nairn Dunbar) has earned herself a place in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Veteran Ladies Golf Association championship at Blairgowrie in the autumn by winning the Highland veterans' title.
Christine, picture right by courtesy of Sheilah Ramsay, beat Winnie Ross by 2 and 1 in the final at Inverness Golf Club.
Results:
Semi-finals - Christine McAndrew (Nairn Dunbar) bt Mary Smith (Tain) 2 and 1; Winnie Ross (Elgin) bt Vivien Welsh (Elgin) at 19th.
Final - McAndrew bt Ross 2 and 1.

SCOTS DOWN THE FIELD IN VIRGINIA
AT NCAA DIVISION 1 CHAMPIONSHIP

Fraserburgh’s Jordan Findlay (East Tennessee State University) had a five-over-par 75 and Lewis Kirton (Louisville University) an 82 in the first round of the NCAA Division 1 men’s championship, the tournament that rings down the curtain on the American college golf season for 2006-2007, at the Golden Horseshoe course, Williamsburg in Virginia.
Former British boys champion Findlay, 19, ran up a quadruple bogey 8 at the 13th and got his only birdie at the 17th to be sharing 126th position.
Kirton, 18, pictured right, coming up to the end of his freshman year, had a nightmare inward half of 10-over-par 45, which included a quadruple bogey 7 at the short 12th, a double bogey 7 at the long 15th and a double bogey 67 at the 17th. He did birdie the sixth and 14th but was last of 156 in the individual standings at the end of the first day.
Rhys Davies, the Edinburgh-born Walker Cup player who was brought up in South Wales and is a team-mate of Findlay’s. was in joint 15th position with a 69 in which he bogeyed the second but birdied the sixth and 11th over the par-70-, 6,803yd course.
Davies, winner of 10 events in his four years on the American college circuit, is playing in his final event.
Rob Grube (Stanford) was the surprise leader with a six-under-par 64 in which he reached the turn in five-under-par 30.

LEADING SCORES
Par 70.
64 R Grube (Stanford).
66 T McKenna (Florida).
67 D Johnson (Coastal Carolina), Bronson LaCassie (Minnesota), Matthew Savage (Florida State), Cameron Tringale (Georgia Tech).
Other scores by British-Irish students:
69 R Davies (East Tennessee State), G Shaw (East Tennessee State) (jt 15th).
70 S Power (East Tennessee State) (jt 29th).
72 C McNamara (East Tennessee State) (jt 66th).
75 T Sherreard (Georgia State), J Findlay (East Tennessee State) (jt 126th).
82 L Kirton (Louisville) (156th).

LEADING TEAMS
275 Stanford.
277 Coastal Carolina.
278 Florida, Minnesota, Texas.
279 Charlotte.
280 East Tennessee State.
282 Georgia.

SCOTS WITH TEAR-JERKING TALES OF

WOE IN PGA EUROPRO TOUR EVENT

Englishman Jamie Elson was the first-round leader at the end of a long day in the PGA EuroPro Tour event which started at Collingtree Park Golf Club today.

Elson shot a five-under-par 67 to lead by one shot from compatriots Tom Haylock and Adam Frayne.

Best Scot in the big field was former Scottish boys' match-play champion Paul Doherty, pictured right, based in South Wales. Paul had a 70 (33-37) which should have been a 68 - he had a double bogey 7 at the last hole.

Callum Nicoll from Prestwick is on 71 (34-37) after being three-under-par on the eighth tee following biredies at the second, fourth and seventh.

There were some tear-jerking stories from the rest of the Scots.

Alastair MacKenzie (Liberton) had a scorecard which showed 17 pars and a double-bogey 7 at the fourth for a two-over-par 74.

Stephen Lamb (Broomieknowe) finished on 79 afteer taking 43 shots to reach the turn, including a double bogey 7 at the ninth.

Christopher Campbell, who made the long trip from Skibo Castle north of Inverness, must have wondered if his journey was really necessary after the first nine holes cost him 42. He finished on 80.

Freddy Valentine (Pryors Haines) handed in a 75 (40-35) which had a double bogey 7 at the nine.

Also on 75 were Elliot Saltman from Dalkeith and Aberdonian Neil Mitchell. Rookie Elliot was heading for a decent, sub-par score with two holes to play. Then he ran up a double-bogey 6 at the 17th and a double-bogey 7 at the long 18th in 40 shots from teh turn.

Mitchell, out in 35, was fiddling away until he took a triple bogey 8 at the 18th.

Former Scottish amateur champion Graham Gordon from Aberdeen retired from the tournament with playing a hole, according to the PGA EuroPro Tour website.

SCOREBOARD
Par 72

67 Jamie Elson (Eng).

68 Tom Haylock (The Hertfordshire), Adam Frayne (St Mellion).

69 Dean Barnes (Ferndown), James Bushby (The Shropshire), Alasdair Hay (Royal Winchester), Russell Clayton (Gog Magog)_, Guy Woodman (Stoke Park), Sandeep Grewal (Heswall).

Scots scores:

70 Paul Doherty (Vale of Glamorgan) 33-37 (jt 11th).

71 Callum Nicoll (Prestwick) 34-37 (jt 22nd).

72 Paul Cormack (Inchmarlo) 34-38 (jt 39th).

74 Alastair MacKenzie (Liberton) 38-36 (jt 74th).

75 Freddy Valenti (Pryors Haynes) 40-35, Elliot Saltman (Dalkeith) 35-40, Neil Mitchell (Aberdeen) 35-40 (jt 87th).
76 Lee Harper (Archerfield) 39-37, Chris Kelly (Cawder) 37-39 (jt 103rd).

78 Christopher Farr 37-41 (jt 138th).

79 Stephen Lamb (Broomieknowe) 43-36 (jt 14th).

80 Christopher Campbell (Carnegie Skibo Castle) 43-38 (jt 155th).

Retired: Graham Gordon (Aberdeen).

DRAGON TOUR CALLING SCOTS TOUR PROS
FRIDAY 5pm deadline for entries to next week's
tournament at Pyle & Kenfig, South Wales

Entries close at 5pm on Friday so there is still time for plenty of Scots tour pros - and amateurs - to enter the first event on the 2007 Dragon Tour, the South Wales Open at Pyle & Kenfig Golf Club, South Wales on Monday and Tuesday, June 4 and 5.
Former European Tour and current Challenge Tour player Stuart Manley, who won the last event of the 2006 season at Machynys, would seem to be a favourite. He will face stiff opposition from home-club favourite and last season’s Dragon Tour Order of Merit winner, Alex Smith, who is fresh from three top 10 finishes on the PGA EuroPro Tour.
English raider Ian Brown (Newent, Gloucs), who won the event at Aberdovey, again makes the trip over the River Severn, and is joined by other English hopefuls James Shield (The Oxfordshire), Spencer Vickery (The Kendleshire), Jon Sully (Rothley Park) and Ricki Winn, formerly of Essex, but now playing out of Machynys Peninsula.
Amateur Kevin Goude also makes the trip from Cambridgeshire.
The longest-distance traveller is Chris Gray, flying over from the La Manga Club in Spain.
“It’s going to be a very exciting season, with some great courses and fantastic players,” said Tour director Rhydian Thomas. “At the first event, our official magazine partner, Golf Punk, will be visiting to interview tour officials and golfers for a special 'Inside the Ropes' article, and they will be joined by a film crew from Setanta Golf, the new satellite channel, which will be filming parts of the event and also interviewing participants.”
The Dragon Tour, which also encompasses visits to Ireland and Scotland on its journey, for four events under the new Celtic Pro Tour, has 11 events in Wales from June to October.
Annual membership of the tour costs £175 for professionals, while the event entry fee on top of that is £99.
Amateur golfers with a scratch handicap or better can also enter events at a cost of £55, and don’t need to pay membership.
Prize money at each event will be at least £1,000 - £2,000 if the field rises as high as 96 pros - to the winner, with the top 25% in the field winning money also. A voucher will be available to the leading amateur.
Golfers wishing to enter the South Wales Open are asked to contact Rhydian Thomas on 07861 686568 or register online at the website at www.celticpro.com by 5pm Friday, June 1.
The Pyle & Kenfig event is quickly followed by the West Wales Open at the Gower Golf Club on June 11 and 12.

ABERDEEN PENNANT LEAGUE RESULTS

Ritson Smith Aberdeen Pennant League results from Tuesday night:

Auchmill 3 1/2, Bon Accord 2 1/2.

Deeside 4 1/2, Nigg Bay 1 1/2.

Stonehaven 5, Craibstone 1.

Scottish Golf Union Press Release

FOUR SCOTLAND BOYS NAMED

FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

IN JAPAN
Four young Scots hope to be a big hit in Japan, after being selected to represent Scotland in
the forthcoming World junior team championship, hosted at Chukyo Country Club, Toyota City next month.
In the line-up are James Byrne, pictured right, and Michael Stewart, both well seasoned on the international circuit, along with fellow national squad member Shaun McAllister.
Completing the quartet is the new Scottish boys' match-play champion Paul Ferrier.
Banchory’s James Byrne and Michael Stewart (Troon Wellbeck), who helped to steer Scotland to a runner up position in the European boys' championship last year – a result which qualified Scotland for this championship – have undoubtedly proven their appetite for overseas action and will be buoyed by their selection for the team.
Byrne was also a key figure in the boys quadrangular title win last year and has proven his recent form by winning his first SGU Junior Tour title at Newmachar last Saturday. Team mate Stewart makes a worthy compatriot as the top scoring Scot at this year’s quadrangular, and was an integral member in the victorious Under-16s Scottish boys' team - the first time Scotland had clinched the title in the event’s nine-year history.
The dynamic duo are also currently ranked in the top two in the SGU Boys Order of Merit.
They are joined by Craigielaw ace Shaun McAllister, who stormed to victory at last year’s Scottish boys' stroke-play championship at Alloa and was part of the successful boys' home international team who won the title for the first time in 11 years at Lossiemouth.
He has spent a significant part of his winter in New Zealand and Australia, honing his preparations for international competition.
Baberton’s Paul Ferrier, who cut his teeth at the weekend Skandia Junior Open in Sweden - his first taste of international action, will hope to replicate his winning form on display at the Scottish boys' match-play championship in Dunbar earlier this season, when the Lothian star won his first national title.
Commenting on the championship, SGU performance manager Stuart Turner said, “We have a strong team heading out to Japan and I am confident they will provide a strong challenge. Playing against some of the world’s best players will be a great experience for these boys and I am optimistic they will rise to the occasion.”
Byrne, who heads for the US later this year to commence a four-year golf scholarship at Arizona State University, said, “I am really looking forward to this event and it will be my first time in Japan. Playing alongside countries like Norway who defeated us last year at the Europeans, we really need to be at the top of our game. But it will be a great opportunity to jostle with the best and hopefully get a good finish.”
Fourteen countries will compete in the 16th staging of the 72-hole world boys' stroke-play event, which takes place from June 19 to 22. Current world champions, Norway – who narrowly beat Scotland to the European boys title last year - will start as hot prospects to retain title, with last year's runners-up Sweden also providing strong opposition.
Scotland will hope to improve on their 10th place finish, when they last competed in the event in 2001.
Scotland finished fourth in Japan in 1993, third in 1996, and ninth in 1999.

PADRAIG HARRINGTON CHOOSES SPECTACULAR CLONMEL LOCATION

FOR FIRST COURSE DESIGN

Recent Irish Open winner Padraig Harrington, pictured right, has chosen the spectacular location of The Marlbrook, Clonmel in Co. Tipperary to design his first golf course.
Set in the heart of the Golden Vale, The Marlbrook is a 500-acre 18th century parkland estate overlooking the picturesque River Suir.
This historic estate provides the majestic backdrop for what will be a stunning golf course that is set amongst some of the largest oak trees in Ireland.

Designed to appeal to golfers of all levels, Padraig's philosophy has been to integrate the golf course into the sylvan parkland of The Marlbrook resting near the foot of Slievenamon.

A state-of-the-art clubhouse with stunning views of the course and River Suir will be located overlooking the first tee and 18th green.
"I have been looking for the perfect location for my first golf course design and I found it at The Marlbrook. With its beautiful specimen trees and superb views of the River Suir, I knew we could create something special," said Padraig Harrington.

Director of Golf at The Marlbrook will be Kate MacCann who has previously worked for 15 years in the same role at Mount Juliet, Co. Kilkenny. A limited number of golf memberships are being released today.

Members will pay a refundable deposit of 15,000 Euros in addition to an annual subscription.

Central to The Marlbrook is Marlfield House which was built by Colonel John Bagwell in the late 1700s.

Opening in 2009, The Marlbrook hotel will be centred around this beautiful Georgian country house and will include 70 bedrooms, leisure facilities including the Padraig Harrington designed golf course, a magnificent ballroom and a private spa.

A stunning centre-piece feature of the property will be the 19th century Richard Turner-designed conservatory, acknowledged as one of his best existing works.

Well known hotelier Adriaan Bartels, former general manager of the Sheen Falls Lodge in Kenmare, Co. Kerry, has also joined the team as general manager of the hotel.

In addition, The Marlbrook will feature a number of privately owned homes on the estate, ranging in size from 2,100 sq ft to 2,600 sq ft which have been designed by renowned conservation architects, Murray O'Laoire.

A limited number of homes will be released later this year and enquiries are now being taken by Savills Hamilton Osborne King, Cork and Tom Pollard/Property Partners, Clonmel.

The Marlbrook was bought by the Clonmel-based Kent family in the early 1980s and will managed by John Kent.

"My family have known for a very long time that The Marlbrook is a special place. I think that it is only fitting that someone of Padraig's calibre will be crafting this beautiful piece of Irish countryside into his first golf course design," said John Kent.

BARWELL LAUNCHES GOLF INTERNATIONAL
MASTERS AT LA MANGA CLUB

Low handicappers frustrated with a lack of competitive golf in winter months can now look forward to the Golf International Masters.
Golfers, with a handicap of 12 or under, who find they are suffering from the winter blues can jet out to La Manga Club to enjoy competitive golf on one of the resort’s championship courses.
Departing on November 1, five-day packages are available from £435 per person including three rounds of golf on La Manga’s championship courses, bed-and-breakfast accommodation on the resort, welcome reception on arrival, a gala dinner, a driving-range card – entitling you to 10 free baskets – and a dozen Titleist ProV1 golf balls.
The main competition will be a 36-hole strokeplay tournament and the player with the lowest gross score will be crowned the 2007 Golf International Masters champion. There will also be handicap, longest-drive and nearest-the-pin prizes courtesy of Titleist and Footjoy.
Mike Laney, Barwell’s business development manager, said: “Barwell has a good record of hosting competitive events with a very fun and social backdrop and this should be no different.
“It’s a great chance for people to get out on the course in sunnier climes and should be an extremely enjoyable event for all concerned.”

§ For more information, call 020 8786 3010, email groups@barwell.co.uk or visit www.barwellevents.co.uk/golfintmstrs.asp.

SHIRE LADIES SWITCH FROM HAZLEHEAD TO KEMNAY

Due to financial issues, the Aberdeenshire Ladies County Golf Association Open Meeting arranged for Hazlehead on July 12 has been switched to Kemnay on the same date. Tee times are 9am - 1pm and the green fee will be £8.
ALCGA are indebted to Kemnay Golf Club for hosting this competition at such short notice and hope that members will support this event.

SCOTS OUT OF MONEY ON TAMSEL TOUR

Daniel Kirk (St Andrews) and Anthony Mackrell (Gary Mitchell Golf) finished out of the main money in the one-round Tamsel Tour competition at Frodsham Golf Club, Cheshire this evening.
Kirk had a two-over-par 72 and Mackrell a 75.
Englishman Matthew Ellis won by one stroke with a four-under-par 66.
LEADING SCORES
Par 70
66 M Ellis (Eng).
67 I Keenan (Royal Liverpool).
68 D Wardrop (Didsbury), D Walker (The Chase).
69 A Bradley (Doncaster).
70 Barry Taylor (Houghwood), J Cheetham (Worsley Park).
Scots scores:
72 D Kirk (St Andrews).
75 A Mackrell (Gary Mitchell Golf).

ends

LATE McKECHNIE SLIP MEANS HE HAS TO
SHARE WEST LOTHIAN FIRST PRIZE

Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills Golf Centre) missed a short putt on the last hole to bogey it and slip back into a tie with Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs Golf Range) on five-under-par 66 at the head of a field of 48 professionals for the marathon West Lothian Golf Club pro-am at Linlithgow this evening.
Both men earned just over £1,100 but for Paul that slip cost him a few hundred pounds (£s).
McKechnie and Arnott finished three shots clear of the field.
Stephen Gray (Hayston), one of the five men in joint third place on 69, led the MacLay Engineering amateur trio of Hugh Brogan (handicap 17), Gerry Donnelly (16) and Findlay MacIntyre (18) to victory in the team event with a 16 under par net score of 55.

LEADING PROFESSIONALS
Par 71
66 P McKechnie (Braid Hills), R Arnott (Bishopbriggs).
69 S Gray (Hayston), S Savage (Dalmuire), P Wardell (Whitekirk), S Cairns (Westerwood), J Stevenson (Braehead).
70 A Marshall (Houston GR), A Lockhart (Ladybank), G Law (Uphall).

TEAM EVENT
55 S Gray (Hayston) & MacLay Engineering: H Brogan (17), G Donnelly (16), F MacIntyre (18).

FORRESTER PARK FIFE ORDER OF MERIT STANDINGS

Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) and Brian Soutar (Leven Golfing Society) are tied for first place with 160pt apiece after five events of the 2007 Forrester Park Fife Order of Merit for the Mackay Bowl.
The curerent top 10 are:
1 Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) & Brian Soutar (Leven Golfing Society) 160pt each.
3 Colin Martin (Balbirnie Park) 140pt.
4 Kevin Blyth (Kirkcaldy), Gary Fotheringham (Canmore), Euan Malcolm (Dunfermline) & Colin Steffen (Dunnikier Park) 125pt each.
8 Mark Anderson (Leven Thistle), Rob Ford (Scotscraig), Ian McDonald (Canmore) 100pt each.

+The next counting events are this weekend's Scottish open amateur stroke-play championship at Royal Dornoch (June 1-3) and the Ladybank 36-hole Open on June 3.

MURIEL THOMSON WINS

SUNDERLAND AWARD FOR

ORPHANS WORK IN INDIA

Portlethen Golf Club professional Muriel Thomson, one of Scotland’s golfing pioneers, has been awarded the Toby Sunderland Award for her volunteer charitable work in orphans in India.
Muriel, pictured right, who became the first female head golf club professional in Scotland in April 1990 when she retired from a successful career as a tour pro, was presented with the prestigious award at the BMW PGA championship at Wentworth.
The award recognised her efforts in raising thousands of £s to send orphans to school in the Indian city of Chennai.

The award, presented annually by the famous Scottish golf rainwear manufacturer, Sunderland of Scotland, recognises outstanding charity work by PGA pros.

Moved by her experiences as a volunteer at the St Joseph’s Social Service Centre 15 months ago, the 52-year-old Portlethen professional has found the time and funds to provide 11 of the children with a full-time education at a nearby English speaking school, an after-school teacher to assist with their studies as well as providing 100 children at the centre with regular health checks.

FUND-RAISING EFFORTS

Thomson returned home determined her association didn’t come to an abrupt end and has raised the cash through a series of talks at golf clubs in the North-east and farther afield about the orphanage and her time there – she made a return visit earlier this year after the initial trip early in 2006.
Muriel has also introduced golf to the children at the school with the assistance of the Golf Foundation and the R&A.

“I had an amazing time and at the end of the month I felt I couldn’t just turn my back on these people,” said Muriel “I agreed to go back and to put one child, a little girl, through the English speaking school and to give her a lifeline out of the poverty level but that has increased to 11 already.

“I’ve been a PGA tour and club professional and had a good life but this makes you look at your whole life. It was a life-changing experience and makes you realise how lucky you are

“Lot of things give you a jolt and make you take stock of life. For me, I lived with them for a month and it gave me a right good shake up.I feel like I’ve only just started. There’s so much more that can be done.”

TRIPLET DAUGHTER OF "CHAPPER"

Aberdeen-born Muriel Thomson – she is a triplet and daughter of the late "Chapper" Thomson, a well-known golf administator in his day – was a Murcar Golf Club member during a successful amateur career when she gained Curtis Cup honours.

She gave up a possible career in banking to become a professional golfer in 1979 and won nine tournaments on the WPGA Tour as well as heading its Order of Merit in 1981 and 1983.
In early 1990, she decided she had had enough of playing golf out of a suitcase and was appointed its first professional by the fledgling Portlethen Golf Club, near Aberdeen.
“Winning this award is a great honour but, more important to me, it means I will be able to add another £1,000 to the fund for helping the kids in India.”

PRESS RELEASE

GO CORPORATE AND GET FREE ENTRY INTO MARRIOTT DALMAHOY PRO-AM

Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club is offering companies who join their “Corporate Gold” or “Corporate Silver Card” Memberships the opportunity to enter a complimentary Team into the Marriott Dalmahoy Pro-Am on Tuesday 25th September, 2007, worth £750
The Marriott Dalmahoy Pro-Am will precede the 2007 Charles Church Scottish Seniors Open, and will consist of Teams of 3 Amateur golfers being paired with a European Senior Tour Player.
Set in 1000 acres, in the shadow of the Pentland Hills, just seven miles from historic Edinburgh, the Marriott Dalmahoy & Country Club is the ideal destination for those who seek a truly outstanding leisure break coupled with some of the finest golfing in Scotland.
Host of many major tournaments, the two 18-Hole courses at Dalmahoy are set in wooded countryside with numerous lakes and streams. The West Course has tight fairways and small greens and a finish around the Gogar Burn that will test the nerve of all levels of golfer.
The internationally renowned East Course, host to the 1992 Solheim Cup and 2006 Scottish Senior Open, won by Sam Torrance, has recently been extensively upgraded and presents a greater challenge with manicured fairways, well positioned bunkers and large undulating greens.
This year's event will also see charismatic Italian Ryder Cup star, Costantino Rocca make his Scottish Senior Open debut.
In addition to the excellent golf there are many leisure activities available in this historic 215-bedroom hotel. The leisure Club boasts a Fitness & Aerobic Studio, a fully equipped gymnasium and a large swimming pool with steam room, sauna and solarium. There are also two tennis courts and other outdoor activities can be arranged locally.
The “Marriott Corporate Golf Membership” comprises of four different tiers of privileges, with each card entitling it’s holders to variety of features.
For more details on “Marriott Corporate Golf Memberships please contact Michelle Livingston on 0131 3358026 or email
mhrs.edigs.golf@marriotthotels.com
For further information on Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club please go to:
http://www.marriottdalmahoy.co.uk/

NESS OPEN PRIZEWINNERS AT INVERNESS

We now have the the list of prizewinners at Sunday's Ness Open 36-hole SLGA Order of Merit event at Inverness Golf Club.
It was not available when our Sunday report was compiled.
Here it is now.

SCRATCH (CSS 73 72)
143 Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) 72 71.
144 Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) 74 70.
146 Roseanne Niven (Crieff) 76 70 (better second round than Megan Briggs, Kilmacolm, 74-72).

HANDICAP

Class 1 (0-7)
140 Annabel Niven (Crieff) (7) 68 72.
146 Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) (scr) 74 72 (better second round).
146 Sammy Vass (Tain) (5) 72 74.

Class 2 (8-20)
148 Gemma Dryburgh (Beaconsfield) (18) 78 70.
150 Samantha Leslie (Westhill) (8) 78 72.

SCRATCH TROPHY WINNER - Michele Thomson (picture above by courtesy of Sheilah Ramsay).
HANDICAP TROPHY WINNER - Annabel Niven.

SALLY WATSON FINISHES JOINT 11th
AT SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

Sally Watson from South Queensferry finished joint11th in a field of 36 top juniors for the girls’ section of the Thunderbird Junior International tournament over 54 holes on the Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor course at Scottsdale, Arizona.
Sally, 15, a student at David Leadbetter Golf Academy, Bradenton in Florida, had rounds of 75, 73 and 72 for a five-over-par total of 221.
She finished 15 shots behind the runaway winner, Kimberly Kim, the Hawaiian who won the US women’s amateur title as a 14-year-old last summer. Kim had rounds of 67, 72 and 67 for a 10-ujnder-par total of 206. She won by eight shots from American runner-up Vicky Hunt.
Miss Watson had birdies at the sixth, eighth, 11th and 16th in her final round which also included bogeys at the ninth, 10th, 12th and 15.
Former tennis ace Ivan Lendl’s golf-playing daughters Marika and Isabelle finished on 223 and 227 respectively.
The boys’ event, also over three rounds, was won by Arnond Vongvanij from Bradenton, Florida. He scored 66, 67 and 75 for eight-under-par 208 and won by two shots.
Matthew Haines (Rochester & Cobham) was the highest-placed English finishers. He came joint 17th on220.
Jack Hiluta finished joint 24th on 222, British boys champion Matthew Nixon (Ashton under Lyne) 28th equal of 224 while Darren Wright (Rowlands Castle) totalled 237 in joint 38th position.

FINAL TOTALS
Boys Par 216 (3 x 72)
208 A Vongvanij (US) 66 67 75.#
210 P Francis (US) 71 71 68, B Cauley (US) 69 71 70.
English boys’ totals:
220 M Haines (Rochester & Cobham) 75 71 74 (jt 17th)
222 J Hiluta (Chelmsford) 72 72 78 (jt 24th).
224 Matthew Nixon (Ashton under Lyne) 75 72 77 (jt 28th).
237 Darren Wright (Rowlands Castle) 80 81 78 (jt 38th).
Girls Par 216 (3 x 72)
206 K Kim (Hawaii) 67 72 67.
214 V Hunt (US) 70 74 70.
Other scores
221 Sally Watson (Elie & Earlsferry) 75 73 73 (jt 11th).
223 M Lendl (US) 72 75 76 (jt 15th).
227 Isabelle Lendl (US) 78 75 74 (jt 20thy).

GREAT DANE HANSEN SQUEEZES INTO FIELD
FOR NEXT MONTH'S UNITED STATES OPEN

Dane Anders Hansen has qualified for next month's United States Open - by three hundredths of a point.
Hansen won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after a play-off with Justin Rose, and the new world rankings show he a prodigious climb up the table from 151st to 49th.
The top 50 earn places in the second major of the year, and the 36-year-old Dane will therefore make his US Open debut at Oakmont. He is also now exempt for the Open at Carnoustie in July.
Rose is up to a career-high 17th, just behind Paul Casey, while the only change in the top 10 sees Luke Donald move above Retief Goosen into ninth spot.
South African Rory Sabbatini improves only from 16th to 14th following his Colonial tournament success in Texas.
Sabbatini beat Jim Furyk and 49-year-old Bernhard Langer in a play-off. Furyk remains at third behind Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, while Langer moves back into the top 100 at 86th.

"CAUTIOUS" JUSTIN ROSE PULLS OUT OF
THIS WEEK'S US MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

Justin Rose, runner-up in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on Sunday, has pulled out of this week's Memorial Tournament on the US PGA Tour.
The 26-year-old Englishman is stressing that he has not suffered a recurrence of the back trouble which has limited him to just two tournaments since late February.
"I'm just trying to be a little bit more cautious. I don't believe there's a problem," said Rose, whose next appearance will now be the US Open at Oakmont, starting on June 14.
"I've taken advice from my fitness trainer, who is experienced with footballers at Arsenal. It's just a matter of getting myself a little bit stronger."
He added: "I have to give it some time fitness-wise in the gym to cope with a full playing schedule. I'm going to dedicate the next couple of weeks to really getting myself 100%."

PLAY-OFFS DRAMA IN NICK FALDO SERIES
AT THE CARRICK AT CAMERON HOUSE

John Henry, younger brother of Scott Henry, who defends the Scottish men’s open amateur stroke-play title at Royal Dornoch this weekend, survived a play-off at The Carrick at Cameron House today to qualify for the regional final at The Roxburghe Golf Club, Kelso on August 23 in the Nick Faldo Junior Series.
Henry, a member of Clydebank & District Golf Club, beat Jack Scott (Deeside) after they had tied on 157 for the last of four places in the Under-15 boys’ section.
Jamie Neilson (Dunbar) beat Jamie Mackay (Barassie) in a play-off for the last qualifying place in the Under-21 section.
And there was a three-way play-off for two places in the Under-16s. The contestants were all from the North-east - Nick MacAndrew (Cullen), Kyle Godsman (Hopeman) and Chris Robb from Inchmarlo, Banchory. They all tied on 156. Robb was the one eliminated.
The first Scottish round of the Nick Faldo Junior Series was played a month or two ago at Blairgowrie. The top four from each age group and the girls section, based on the aggregate totals from Blairgowrie and The Carrick at Cameron House, go forward to the regional final.
Today’s scores and qualifiers:

UNDER-21 – 74 T Hayes (West Byfleet). 75 J Housby (Penrith). 76 S Bordon (Carnwath). 78 A Culverwell (Dunbar). 79 J Gardiner (Montrose Mercantile), S Maxwell (Windyhill). 80 R Carson (Marriott Dalmahoy). 81 J Neilson (Dunbar). 82 J Mackay (Barassie). 83 J Clarke (Montrose Mercantile).
Qualifiers – 145 T Hayes. 149 J Housby. 150 A Culverwell. 155 J Neilson (beat J Mackay in play-off). Other totals: 157 J Gardiner, R Carson. 158 S Bordon, S Maxwell. 162 J Clarke.

UNDER-18 – 72 N Henderson (The Glen). 73 M Pennycott (Whiting Bay). 74 A Wallace (Glenbervie). 75 E Brown (Barassie). 76 F Fotheringham (Nairn), M Cunningham (Longniddry). 78 M Daily (Erskine), A Cappi (Loretto School). 87 S Barras (Helensburgh).
Qualifiers – 148 A Wallace. 149 E Brown. 150 N Henderson, M Daily. Other totals: 152 A Cappi. 153 F Fotheringham. 154 M Pennycott. 156 M Cunningham. 174 S Barras.

UNDER-17 – 74 A Lauder (Paisley). 75 S Fraser (Royal Aberdeen). 78 F McKenna (Balmore). 80 P Scanlan (Hamilton). 81 K McClung (Wigtownshire Co), M Dickson (Gullane), D Fitzpatrick (Greenock). 82 A Dunton (McDonald Ellon), R Penny (Portlethen). 84 J Hendrick (Pollock).
Qualifiers – 153 A Lauder, S Fraser. 154 F McKenna. 158 A Dunton. Other totals: 159 P Scanlan. 161 K McClung. 162 M Dickson. 164 J Hendrick. 170 R Penny. 171 D Fitzpatrick.

UNDER-16 – 75 N MacAndrew (Cullen). 77 J Binning (Ranfurly Castle), K Godsman (Hopeman). 78 D Law (Hazlehead. 79 L Smith (Brassie). 81 M Reid (Downfield). 82 C Robb (Inchmarlo). 86 F Clarke (Westhill). 88 R McKenna (Cathkin Braes), P Ramsay (Elgin). 90 J White (St Andrews New).
Qualifiers – 151 D Law (Hazlehead). 155 J Binning.. 156 N McAndrew, K Godsman (C Robb lost play-off). Other totals: 165 M Reid (Downfield). 167 J White. 169 R McKenna. 171 L Smith (Barassie). 173 F Clarke. 174 P Ramsay.

UNDER-15 – 76 P McPhee (King James VI). 77 J Scott (Deeside), J Henry (Clydebank & Dist). 78 A McLachlan (Eastwood). 80 I Redford (King James VI). 83 N Beattie (St Andrews). 85 J Thorburn (Forrester Park). 86 P O’Neil (Pollok). 88 C Stewart (Brora). 80 C O’Neil (Pollock).
Qualifiers – 154 P McPhee. 155 A McLachlan. 156 I Redford (King James VI). 157 J Henry (bt J Scott in play-off). Other totals: 165 N Beattie. 168 C Stewart. 173 J Thorburn. 180 P O'Neil. 181 C O'Neil.

GIRLS – 78 J Meldrum (Dullatur). 79 G Simpson (Baberton). 84 C Easton (Dalmahoy). 86 J Sneddon (Alyth). 88 G Scanlan (Hamilton).Qualifiers – 163 J Meldrum. 168 C Easton. 170 G Simpson 173 J Sneddon. Other total: 176 G Scanlan

FUTURES TOUR QUOTE FROM VIKKI LAING

This week's Duramed United States Futures Tour News Letter has the following as its "Quote of the Week:"

"It's real exciting, but I don't know if they're nice to anybody."

- Tour member Vikki Laing of Musselburgh when asked how she feels about this year's Women's British Open going to St Andrews and how she thinks the male membership will welcome women professionals into the R&A clubhouse.

+Vikki is lying 22nd on the Futures Tour money list this year with winnings of $6,640 from seven events.

SABBATINI BEATS FURYK, LANGER

IN CROWNE PLAZA PLAY-OFF

South African Rory Sabbatini from Zambia won the US PGA Tour's Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth in Texas on Sunday.
Sabbatini beat Jim Furyk and Bernhard Langer by holing a 15ft birdie putt at the first hole of the three-way play-off after they had tied on 266.

At 49, Langer was attempting to become the oldest winner in the tournament’s history. The German's last win in the United States was his 1993 Masters triumph, while his last victory on the European Tour came at the end of the 2002 season in the Volvo Masters.
"Even though I would have loved to have won, I'm very encouraged because this is the best I've played in a long time," Langer said. "There is a lot of stuff which goes through your mind when you are walking out there, but I had a lot of opportunities, which is encouraging.”

Put your money on Langer now to clean up when he has his 50th birthday and makes his debut on the US Champions (Seniors) Tour.

Picture of Sabbatini on left: What's with the "tartan" blazers? And have you seen a taller golf trophy than that?

FINAL TOTALS
Players from US unless stated.
266 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 65 68 66 67, Rory Sabbatini (SAf) 70 67 62 67, Jim Furyk 65 66 68 67 (Sabbatini won the play-off).
268 Pat Perez 66 67 69 66.
269 Nathan Green (Aus) 65 66 72 66, Tom Lehman 66 67 68 68.
270 Jerry Kelly 70 64 69 67, Kevin Na (Kor) 63 69 70 68, Harrison Frazer 68 67 69 66, Scott Verplank 70 66 63 71, D J Trahan 67 67 69 67.
271 Rodney Pampling (Aus) 67 69 70 65, Jeff Maggert 64 69 68 70, Tim Petrovic 70 68 67 66, Mark Hensby (Au) 69 67 68 67, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 70 66 68 67, Tim Clark (SAf) 65 64 74 68.
272 Anthony Kim 63 69 73 67, Justin Leonard 69 70 66 67, David Toms 70 68 68 66, Stewart Cink 67 69 66 70, Jason Bohn 68 66 70 68, Peter Lonard (Aus) 65 69 67 71.
273 Steve Stricker 67 71 68 67, Stephen Marino 69 68 71 65, John Rollins 69 68 67 69, KJ Choi (Kor) 67 70 69 67, Eric Axley 68 67 69 69.
274 Dean Wilson 68 67 71 68, Arron Oberholser 64 66 73 71, Lucas Glover 67 68 68 71, Ben Curtis 64 67 74 69, Cliff Kresge 69 67 70 68, Brandt Snedeker 66 70 67 71, Ryan Moore 71 66 66 71.
275 Jeff Quinney 65 72 68 70, Ted Purdy 64 71 72 68, Michael Putnam 69 65 70 71, Matt Kuchar 68 70 70 67 Stephen Leaney (Au) 68 68 70 69, Alex Cejka (Ger) 67 65 72 71, Chad Campbell 67 68 68 72, Douglas Labelle 67 70 69 69, Mark Brooks 67 71 70 67, Frank Lickliter II 65 71 69 70.
276 Joe Durant 67 72 68 69, Tim Herron 67 68 70 71, Billy Mayfair 71 67 71 67, Bo Van Pelt 68 71 67 70, Heath Slocum 70 65 72 69, Bob Tway 73 64 70 69.
277 Will MacKenzie 67 71 70 69, J J Henry 68 67 72 70, Brett Wetterich 66 69 71 71, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 74 65 70 68, Steve Elkington (Aus) 67 69 71 70, Stephen Ames (Can) 69 67 70 71.
278 Charles Warren 69 68 69 72, Mathew Goggin (Aus) 70 69 70 69, Davis Love III 69 68 72 69 279 Ryan Armour 67 68 74 70.
280 Steve Flesch 70 69 69 72, Tommy Armour III 71 68 71 70, Mark Wilson 68 71 70 71.
283 Richard S Johnson (Swe) 70 68 76 69, Duffy Waldorf 70 69 72 72, Brett Quigley 67 72 70 74, Matthew Every 69 66 75 73, Rocco Mediate 70 68 70 75.

285 Ryan Palmer 70 69 73 73.

TITLE-HOLDERS ALLOA, BRAEHEAD SERVE
UP CLACKMANNAN JUNIOR LEAGUE THRILLER

By HUGH HUNTER
The Clackmannanshire County Junior League started on Sunday with the usual inter-club matches. It is played six-a-side (three scratch matches and three handicap matches) on a home-and-away basis.
Title holders Alloa took on Braehead at Schawpark and the match proved to be a thriller, ending in a 3-3 draw with several close games.
At Dollar, the home team had a fairly easy win over Tillicoultry, after taking the first four ties.
The third match between Alva and Tulliallan did not take place unfortunately due to the present lack of junior players at Tulliallan. Hopefully this will be remedied during the season.

Alloa boys team pictured above right.
Back row (left to right): Grant Dowie, Andre Scotland, Bruce Macadam.
Front: Grant Ross, Grant McIntosh (reserve), Callum Graham, John Salmond.

Braehead boys team (well, five of them!) pictured right.
Back row: Ross Finlay, Scott Clark.
Front: Michael Barrett, Jamie Pollock, John Macpherson.
Darren Clark missing.

Details:
ALLOA 3, BRAEHEAD 3
(Alloa names first)
Andre Scotland lost to John McPherson 1 hole , Grant Dowie bt Scott Clark 2 and1 ; John Salmond bt Darren Clark 7 and 6 ; Brian McAdam lost to Michael Barrett 1 hole; Grant Ross bt Jamie Pollock 4 and 3 ; Callum Graham lost to Ross Finlay 2 and 1.

DOLLAR 4 ½, TILLICOULTRY 1 ½
(Dollar names first)
Steven Macpherson bt Callum Carberry 5 and 4; Gary Chalmers bt Scott Hunter 1 hole; Tom Hogarth bt Scott Baird 5 and 4; David Devlin bt Jonathan Imrie 7 and 6; Ben Smith lost to Steven Watson 2 and 1; Patrick Macdonald halved with David Kinnaird.

DENNIS WATSON SCORES FIRST WIN FOR 23
YEARS - AND IT'S THE US SENIORS TITLE!

Everything comes to he who waits ... and Zimbabwean Dennis Watson's 23-year wait for a victory (he won three times on the US PGA Tour in 1984) is over at last!
He won the US PGA Seniors Championship by two strokes over the Kiawah Island Ocean Course with a final round of 68 for 279.
One of the reasons for Watson's long no-win spell has been a series of injuries that would have broken the spirit of a lesser man.
Argentina's Eduardo Romero was runner-up and a second golfer from Zimbabwe, Nick Price, was third.
Mark James fell down the standings with a final round of 78 to finish joint 33rd on 295.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
279 Dennis Watson (Zimbabwe) 71 71 69 68.
281 Eduardo Romero (Arg) 68 70 71 72.
282 Nick Price (Zim) 71 70 70 71.
Other score:
295 Mark James (Eng) 74 71 72 78 (jt 33rd)

FIVE-YEAR WAIT FOR FIRST LPGA WIN
OVER FOR SOUTH KOREAN YOUNG KIM

FROM THE LPGA WEBSITE:
The road one takes to her first victory on the LPGA Tour is not always an easy one, but in the case of five-year veteran Young Kim, it was definitely worth the wait.
South Korea's Kim (68-64-68-68=268) claimed a three-stroke victory over fellow South Korean Mi Hyun Kim (68-67-66-70=271) and California's Paula Creamer (66-68-66-71=271) today at the LPGA Corning Classic in Corning, New York State, becoming the LPGA Tour's fifth Rolex First-Time Winner this season.
Kim's first victory was something that she had long waited for, but when the moment finally arrived, she was so overcome by emotion that she was blind to her fellow South Korean players who were sneaking up behind her with congratulatory showers of soda.
“I was crying at the time, so I couldn't see them,” Kim said. “If I saw them I will run out.”
However, running wasn't something Kim could do from M.H. Kim and playing partners Creamer and Beth Bader (65-66-69-72=272), who battled for the $195,000 winner's check all day long. Kim, Creamer and Bader entered Sunday's finale at the Corning Country Club in a three-way tie for the lead, with both Kim and Bader seeking their first wins on Tour.
M.H. Kim crossed the $7 million mark ($7,020,401) in career earnings with her runner-up paycheck.
Janice Moodie collected $14,725 for a joint 19th finish on 278.
Top British players were Laura Davies and Becky Morgan, sharing 11th place on 276.

LEADING TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
268 Young Kim (South Korea) 68 64 68 68 (£195,000).
271 Mi Hyun Kim (South Korea) 68 67 77 70, Paula Creamer (US) 66 68 66 71 ($102,000 each).
272 In-Kyung Kim (South Korea) 67 69 68 68, Beth Bader (US) 65, 66 69 72 ($60,269 each).
Other totals:
276 Laura Davies (Eng) 69 69 69 69, Becky Morgan (Wal) 69 66 70 71 ($21,514 each) (jt 11th).
278 Janice Moodie (Sco) 72 67 70, Johanna Head (Eng) 68 72 68 70 ($14,725 each) (jt 19th).

SALLY WATSON IMPROVES SCORE IN
ARIZONA BUT DROPS A PLACE

South Queensferry exile Sally Watson improved her first-round score by two shots with a 73 for 148 but actually dropped down one place to joint 13th in the 36-hole standings.
That gives an indication of how high the standard of play is in the Thunderbird Junior International golf tournament over the Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Sally, a student at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Florida, deviated from par only three times in her second round – bogeys at the first and fourth and a birdie at the the 11th.
Leading the field is the Hawaiian wondergirl golfer – no, not Michelle Wie – Kimberly Kim who, at the age of 14, beat Katharina Schallengberg (Germany) in the 36-hole final of the US women’s amateur championship last summer.
In this event Kimberly has cruised four shots clear with rounds of 67 and 72 for five-under-par 139. Her nearest challenger is Joanne Lee from San Carlos, California.
Former tennis ace Ivan Lendl has two golfing daughters in the field.
Marika Lendl is lying 10th equal on 147 (72-75) and Isabelle Lendl has shot 78 and 75 for 153 and a share of 28th place. Both are based at Bradenton, Florida as is Sally Watson.
In the Thunderbird Junior International boys’ event, also over 54 holes, Arnond Vonvanij, another competitor from Bradenton, Florida, has gone seven shots clear of the field with an 11-under-par tally of 133, made up of rounds of 66 and 67.
His closest rivals are Bud Vauley from Jacksonville, Florida (69-71) and Scott Langley (St Louis, Missouri) (67-71.
Professional’s son Kevin Tway, the 2005 US junior champion, is on 142 with scores of 72 and 69.
There are four English boys in the field. Best placed is Jack Hiluta from Chelmsford in joint 14th place on 144.
Matthew Haines (Rochester & Cobham) is 20th equal on 146 with scores of 75 and 71 while Matthew Nixon (Ashton-under-Lyne), winner of the British boys’ championship at Royal Aberdeen last summer, is joint 24th on 147 with scores of 75 and 72.
Darren Wright from Rowlands Castle is joint 41st on 161 with scores of 80 and 81.

SCOREBOARD
Boys. Par 144 (2 x 72)
Players from US unless stated.
133 Arnond Vongvanij 66 67.
140 Bud Cauley 69 71, Scott Langley 69 71.]
141 Kevin Tway 72 69, Wesley Graham 70 71, Peter Uihlein 71 70.
Other scores:
144 Jack Hiluta (Chelmsford) 72 72 (jt 14th).
146 Matthew Haines (Rochester & Cobham) 75 71 (jt 20th).
147 Matthew Nixon (Ashton-under-Lyne) 75 72 (jt 24th).
161 Darren Wright (Rowlands Castle) 80 80 (jt 41st).
Girls. Par 144 (2 x 72)
139 Kimberly Kim 67 72.
143 Joanne Lee 72 71.
144 Vicky Hurst 70 74.
Other scores:
147 Marika Lendl 72 75 (jt 10th).
148 Sally Watson (Elie & Earlsferry) 75 73 (jt 13th).
153 Isabelle Lendl 78 75 (jt 28th).

FEW DOLLARS MORE FOR SCOTT JAMIESON

Gareth Maybin from Ballyclare, Northern Ireland and Glasgow’s Scott Jamieson finished joint 15th and tied 48th respectively in the NGA Hooters Tour event, the Touchstone Energy Open which ended today (Sunday) at Brook Valley Country Club, Greenville in North Carolina.
Maybin had scores of 72, 69, 72 and 70 for a five-under-par total of 283 and boosted his earnings on the satellite tour this season by $2,714 to $30,863 from eight events in which he has made the cut each time.
Rookie pro Jamieson, who turned pro only last November after winning the Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit, had scores of 73, 71, 75 and 71 for a total of 290. His cash reward was $1,271 giving him a total of $12,508 from six events. He has missed only one cut.
At the top of the leaderboard, Tommy Biershenk from South Carolina scored his second Hooters Tour win in three weeks, worth $33,566, with a par figure at the first play-off hole against Martin Flores from Texas. Biershenk and Flores had tied on 14-under-par 274. Flores’ consolation reward amounted to $16,751.
LEADING TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
274 Tommy Biershenk (US) 72 65 69 68; Martin Flores (US) 69 67 68 70 (Biershenk won play-off at first hole).
Other scores:
283 Gareth Maybin (Ballyclare, NI) 72 69 72 70 (jt 15th).
290 Scott Jamieson (Glasgow) 73 71 75 71 (jt 48th).

PARRY WINS LATE PLAY-OFF FOR

WELSH OPEN AMATEUR

STROKE-PLAY TITLE

Yorkshireman John Parry added the Welsh men’s open amateur stroke-play championship to the Spanish open amateur title he won earlier this year when he beat Paul Waring (Bromborough) at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off this evening at Machynys Peninsula Golf & Country Club.
Parry from Harrogate and Waring tied on 11-under-par 277 in the more difficult Sunday weather conditions. Parry scored 67, 70, 70 and 70 while Waring had 68, 67, 72 and 70.
They finished seven shots cleared of the third-placed Welsh Walker Cup veteran Nigel Edwards (Whitchurch) who scored 69, 70, 72 and 73 for 284.
Halfway leader Neil Chaudhuri (The Leicestershire) with scores of 69 and 66 had to settle for rounds of 76 and 75 on Sunday and a fourth place finish on 286.
Bryan Fotheringham (Forres), chasing a recall to the Scotland home international line-up, finished 28th on 302 with scores of 69, 73, 82 and 78. He was the only Scot to survive the halfway cut.
Several players, principally Walker Cup man Gary Wolstenholme MBE (Kilworth Springs), did not go out for the fourth and final round because the weather was so wet and bad. Wolstenholme had been been on 217 with scores of 68, 70 and 79.

"Conditions were awful but the course was playable, so that is why most of us played on," said Bryan Fotheringham.
+Picture of John Parry with the championship trophy is reproduced by courtesy of Tom Ward.

FINAL TOTALS
277 J Parry (Harrogate) 67 70 70 70, P Waring (Bromborough) 68 67 72 70 (Parry beat Waring at first hole of play-off).
284 N Edwards (Whitchurch) 69 70 72 73.
286 N Chaudhuri (The Leicestershire) 69 66 76 75.
287 B Evans (Rye) 71 67 74 75, D Marmion (Delamere Forest) 71 65 80 71, J White (Saunton) 68 66 77 76.
288 G Evans (Northcliffre) 71 68 76 73.
289 O Farr (Ludlow) 70 71 71 77.
290 R Thomas (Aberdare) 74 72 71 73, L Matthews (Southerndown) 70 72 75 73.
291 R Enoch (Truro) 69 70 75 77.
Other scores:
302 B Fotheringham (Forres) 69 73 82 78.
MISSED CUT
147 C Heuchan (Southerness) 76 71.
152 Z Culverwell (Dunbar) 75 76, R Kellett (Colville Park) 75 76.
155 A Weir (Montrose Mercantile) 80 75.

CHRIS DOAK PULLS OFF TARTAN TOUR WEEKEND
DOUBLE AT PORTPATRICK AND BISHOPBRIGGS

Former Northern Open champion Chris Doak scored a double whammy on the Tartan Tour at the weekend.
On Saturday he equalled the professional course record of seven-under-par 63 in winning the Portpatrick Golf Club charity pro-am from Dean Robertson (64).
And on Sunday, Chris picked up another £856 prize figuring in a triple joint tie for first place in the Bishopbriggs pro-am.
The unattached Doak, Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) and Kenny Monaghan (Bothwell Castle) all hit the four-under-par 67 mark.
They finished a shot ahead of David Park (Wishaw), Bob Arnott (Bishopbriggs Golf Range), Dean Robertson (Czech Design), Sam Cairns (Westerwood) and Kenny Hutton (Downfield).
Craig Ronald (Carluke) lead three Bishopbriggs Golf Club members – Mark Liddell (5), Fraser Stewart (12) and Duncan McKellar (18) – to victory in the team event with a net score of 56. They won with a better net inward half of 26 than other home club trio led by Dean Robertson.
LEADING PRO SCORES
Par 71
67 C Doak (unatt), P McKechnie (Braid Hills), K Monaghan (Bothwell Castle).
68 D Park (Wishaw), R Arnott (Bishopbriggs GR), D Robertson (Czech Design), S Cairns (Westerwood), K Hutton (Downfield).
69 I Taylor (Drumpellier), T Mackrell (Gary Mitchell Golf), G Rankin (Drumpellier).

ends

HANSEN COMES OUT OF THE BLUE TO BEAT

ROSE IN PLAY-OFF FOR BMW PGA TITLE

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

Anders Hansen secured the 2007 BMW PGA Championship after an enthralling final day over the West Course at Wentworth Club, Surrey, ended with the Dane holing a 25 foot birdie putt in a sudden-death play-off against England’s Justin Rose.
That winning putt was worthy of any championship and made Hansen the worthiest of winners. As soon as he struck it there was never any doubt as to his ball’s final destination as it snaked down the green and broke perfectly from left to right before finding the middle of the cup.
In colloquial golfing parlance, Hansen ‘drained it’, and in doing so secured the first prize of €725,000 and made a quite incredible leap of 253 places on the European Tour Order of Merit, from 262nd to ninth position in one almighty swoop.
Indeed, the same could be said for his performance over the last two rounds of the four spectacular days of golf that made the 2007 BMW PGA Championship another memorable week the championship’s imposing history.
Level par after the first two days, not many observers would have tipped Hansen to lift a second BMW PGA Championship title (he won it for the first time in 2002), but an excellent five under par 67 on Saturday afternoon left him just five off the pace going into the last round.
As the heavens opened and conditions became strenuous over the West Course, Hansen kept his head down, maintained his cool and got the job done with a final round of three under par 69 for eight-under-par 280 that saw him overtake clubhouse leader Vijay Singh, with Rose, Miguel Angel Jiménez and Richard Sterne all coming down the stretch with a chance to catch or pass him.
In the end, Rose was the only man who could match Hansen’s eight under total, which he did in the most thrilling fashion with a sublime pitching wedge approach to the 18th green. Well aware that he needed to get up and down from 109 yards to force extra holes, the Englishman produced a majestic approach that checked 20ftt beyond the flag and spun back to with six inches of the hole.
He could not repeat that stroke of genius in the play-off though, and after Hansen holed out so magnificently at the first extra hole, Rose’s own birdie effort slid past the hole to leave the Dane celebrating his second victory in the European Tour’s flagship event.
“I think it means a lot more to me this time than the first time I won it,” smiled Hansen. “It’s just a fantastic feeling because I have put in so much hard work and effort recently.
“What means most to me is how I feel about myself and how I feel about my game and what I do, and right now it feels pretty good.
“I have say a great thank you to my caddie, John McClaren, for everything he has done for me this week. This is the first week that he’s been out with me and I don’t think that I could have won without him. He just seemed to understand how I was thinking and what was going on in my mind and my golf swing. In fact, I definitely couldn’t have done it without him.”
Rose was gracious in defeat. “I guess it is disappointing, you are that close, when you're obviously in a play-off, you come that close to winning a tournament and it was almost really weird,” said the Englishman.
“It was over so quickly. Anders rolled in the putt and I missed mine and that was it. That’s what sudden death's all about. All in all, it's hard not to be pleased about playing so well at home and playing so well at a tournament that I really do love and a tournament that I've come to watch many times as a kid. So to be right up there in the mix would have been a dream of mine back in the day.”
There can be little doubt that a player of Rose’s ability will have further opportunities to fulfil that dream in the near future, but for the moment it is Hansen who is living the dream after that wonderful sudden-death putt that secured the second BMW PGA Championship of his career.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72). Players from GB&I unless stated.
280 Anders Hansen (Den) 74 70 67 69, Justin Rose 66 70 73 71 (Hansen won play-off at first hole. Hansen wins £495,848, Rose £330,563)
281 Vijay Singh (Fiji) 73 72 70 66, Richard Sterne (SAf) 68 73 66 74 (£167,497 each)
282 Angel Cabrera (Arg) 70 66 76 70, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 70 68 72 72 (£115,136 each)
283 Luke Donald 71 72 71 69 (£89,252)
284 Henrik Stenson (Swe) 70 73 72 69, Thongchai Jaidee (Thai) 73 70 71 70, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 72 73 68 71, Richard Green (Aus) 73 73 67 71
285 Andres Romero (Arg) 70 72 75 68, Peter Lawrie 76 69 71 69, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 68 71 74 72, Lee Westwood 71 72 70 72, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 77 69 67 72, Paul Casey 73 67 72 73, Markus Brier (Aut) 73 68 70 74, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 70 70 78
286 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 72 72 72 70, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 68 71 74 73, Nick Dougherty 69 71 71 75, Paul Broadhurst 66 72 68 80
287 Ernie Els (SAf) 68 76 72 71, Brett Taylor 71 73 72 71, Simon Khan 67 75 73 72, Padraig Harrington 69 69 75 74, Fredrik Andersson (Swe) 69 72 72 74
288 Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 73 68 75 72
289 Martin Kaymer (Ger) 71 75 73 70, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 67 72 78 72, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 71 73 73 72, Marc Warren 70 75 72 72, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 71 72 73 73, Robert-Jan Derksen (Ned) 73 71 72 73, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 73 72 71 73, Colin Montgomerie 70 76 70 73, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 71 72 71 75 (33,978 Euros each).
290 Thomas Bjorn (Den) 74 70 73 73, Ross Fisher 70 67 69 84
291 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 70 75 75 71, Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa) 70 76 73 72, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 72 71 75 73, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 72 72 72 75, James Kingston (Rsa) 70 71 74 76, Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 77 68 70 76
292 Andrew Oldcorn 74 71 72 75 (21,315 Euros).
293 Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 72 70 77 74, Paul McGinley 74 69 76 74, Ariel Canete (Arg) 72 73 73 75, Oliver Wilson 70 71 76 75, Lee Slattery 69 71 76 77
294 Christopher Hanell (Swe) 72 72 74 76, Stephen Dodd 72 74 70 78
295 Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 76 70 76 73, Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 72 72 76 75, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 72 74 73 76, James Hepworth 71 72 75 77
297 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 72 70 78 77, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 68 75 76 78, Yang Yong-eun (Kor) 68 78 73 78, Matthew Millar (Aus) 69 69 79 80
298 Thomas Levet (Fra) 70 76 79 73, Miles Tunnicliff 71 73 75 79, Garry Houston 74 71 74 73, Richard Bland 71 71 76 80
300 Shiv Kapur (Ind) 67 71 81 81
301 Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 72 73 78 78, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 70 76 76 79
302 Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 74 72 77 79
303 Marcel Siem (Ger) 73 72 79 79, Louis Oosthuizen (SAf) 69 77 76 81
304 Brett Rumford (Aus) 77 69 81 77
306 Mark Foster 71 75 80 80, Johan Axgren (Swe) 75 71 77 83

MICHELE THOMSON WINS NESS OPEN
FOR FIRST TIME AT INVERNESS

Aberdeenshire county champion Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) followed up her semi-final appearance in the recent Scottish women’s amateur golf championship at Barassie, by winning the Ness Open SLGA Order of Merit 36-hole event for the first time in perfect golfing conditions at Inverness Golf Club today (Sunday).
Michele, 19, who has also held the North of Scotland women’s title for the past two years, had rounds of 72 and 71 for an aggregate of 143, one under par and two under the CSS aggregate for the two rounds.
Miss Thomson had eight birdies over the two rounds - at the fifth, 14th, 17th and 18th in her first round and at the second, fourth, 14th and 15th in the afternoon.
"I hit the ball well and kept it in play which is very important at Invernesss which can be quite a tricky course to score on if you are not on the fairway," said Michele.
Kelsey MacDonald, 16-year-old Nairn Dunbar player who missed the “Scottish” because of school studies, finished one shot behind Michele with scores of 74 and 70 for 144.
Roseanne Niven (Crieff), just back from her first five months at the University of California Berkleye, finished joint third with 16-year-old repeating Renfrewshire women’s county champion, Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm).
Roseanne had scores of 76 and 70 while Megan had 74 and 72.
Defending champion Laura Murray (Alford) finished seventh on 152 with a pair of 76s.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72). CSS 73 72
143 M Thomson (McDonald Ellon) 72 71.
144 K MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar0 74 70.
146 R Niven (Crieff) 76 70, M Briggs (Kilmacolm) 74 72.
148 C Gruber (Royal Dornoch) 77 71.
151 L Hendry (Routenburn) 76 75.
152 L Murray (Alford) 76 76.
154 E Fairnie (Dunbar) 80 74, K Harper (Inverness) 79 75, A Niven (Inverness) 75 79.
155 A Ramsay (Kirriemuir) 81 74.
156 J Carthew (Ladybank) 81 74, S Vass (Tain) 77 79.
158 A Ryan (Tain) 80 78, E Lowery-Gold (Eaton) 79 79.
160 J Turner (Mortonhall) 83 77, C McAndrew (Nairn Dunbar0 81 79.
163 K Walker (Buchanan Castle0 80 83, E Briggs (Kilmacolm) 78 85.
166 S Leslie (Westhill) 86 80.
167 M Howieson (Inverness) 85 82, S Jackson (Ladybank) 82 85.
168 S Wood (Drumpellier) 79 89.
179 T Fraser (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) 83 93.
182 F Fullerton (Huntly) 90 92.
184 G Dryburgh (Beaconsfield0 96 88.
185 J Vass (Tain) 95 90.
189 S MacDonell (Inverness) 96 93.
192 C MacLeaod (Nairn Dunbar) 94 98.
199 R Bannerman (Strathpeffer Spa) 99 100.

MASON WINS STOP-START-STOP
CHALLENGE EVENT IN MADRID

Englishman Ben Mason won the latest European Challenge Tour event, the weather-disrupted Open Mahou de Madrid at Casino Club de Golf Retamares.
Torrential rain, thunderstorms, flooding and thick fog - you name it and they had it in Madrid. No surprise that the tournament was eventually reduced to 54 holes. The surprise is that they managed even to complete as many as three rounds so bad was the weather and the effect it had on the Madrid course.
Mason birdied the 17th in his final round of 69 and that was to prove decisive. It gave him a total of eight-under-par 205 for the 6,575yd, par-71 course. His earlier rounds were 70 and 66.
He won by one shot from compatriot Tim Milford and Spaniard Alvaro Velasco.
Peter Whiteford and Jamie McLeary tied for 23rd place on 211. Whitefored scored 71, 65 and 75, McLeary 70, 67 and 74.
Carnoustie's Eric Ramsay had a disastrous third round of 78 (38-40) cluded a double bogey 6 at the fouorth and a double bogey 7 at the long 10th. His earlier rounds gave no hint that things would go wrong - 68 and 70. He tied for 56th place on three-over 216.
West Linton-based Welshman Gareth Wright and Aberdonian Scott Henderson failed to beat the cut. Wright had 67 and 77 for 144 while Henderson was out of sorts with an 81 and 77 for 158.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
205 Ben Mason (Eng0 70 66 69.
206 Alvarao Velasco (Spa) 70 68 68, Tim Milford (Eng0 72 64 70.
207 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 8 75 73, Jan-Are Larsen (Nor) 70 67 70.
Other scores:
211 Peter Whiteford (Sco) 71 65 75, Jamie McLeary (Sco) 70 67 74 (jt 23rd).
216 Eric Ramsay (Sco) 68 70 78 (jt 56th).
MISSED THE CUT
144 Gareth Wright (Wal) 67 77.
158 Scott Henderson (Sco) 81 77.

EUROPEAN TOUR CONSIDERS NAME CHANGE
AS IT PREPARES TO GO GLOBAL

The European Tour is considering a change of name as it looks to forge even closer ties with the rest of the world in battling the strength of the American circuit.
Europe's players already find themselves travelling to Australasia, Asia and the Middle East, but many of the tournaments at home and abroad now take place with weaker fields because of conflicting events in the United States.
"The idea of amalgamating with other tours to put on a really attractive schedule by whatever name we call it is one that we are in the final stages of refining," European Tour executive director George O'Grady said today at Wentworth.
"Certainly it won't be a world tour - that's far too grand a title for me to come up with. We're the European Tour and we're working with all our partners to make, I would say, a hugely strong alternative to the US PGA Tour. We will be administering it and there might be a name change, yes."

DUNCAN STEWART FROM FROM FLORIDA TO RETAIN NORTH DISTRICT TITLE AT TAIN

By ROBIN WILSON

Grantown on Spey's Duncan Stewart arrived home after four years as a student at Jacksonville College, Florida to celebrate his 23rd birthday last Thursday.
His last round of golf in America before setting out to defend the North District championship at Tain on Saturday was in a temperature of 28 degrees in Florida so it was no surprise that in a temperature of 20 degrees less his first round at Tain was a four over par 74 and three shots behind early pacemaker, Kevin Matheson (Royal Donoch).
Five years have passed since +3 handicapper Stewart last played at Tain but after re- familiarising himself with both the course and weather temperature he raised the heat of his own game to shoot a second round of four-under 66, one outside the course record, and retain the North District title by four shots from joint runners up Laurie Chancellor (Inverness) and George Paterson (Moray).
Stewart had to step back from his first putt of the second round when a field mouse ran across the first green. Three holes later he had his first of three outward half birdies for a first nine score of 32.
Duncan had to wait until the 15th to add to his birdie collection but immediately discarded it with his only misjudgment of the round, an underclubbling at the short 16th to take a bogey 4. His fifth and final birdie came from 12 feet on the final green for a an outstanding score when on the day the CSS rose by three in the first round and one in the second.
Inverness schoolteacher Chancellor and Moray greenkeeper Paterson had first and second identical rounds of 72 while Northern Open amateur winner James Gunn (Royal Dornoch) had a disappointing first round 77 but bounced back for fourth place with a level par 70, dropping three shots over the 15th and 16th holes in halves of 34 and 36.
The retaining champion's playing partner partner, left-hander Darren Hexley (Inverness), won the incorporated North District Youths' championship for a second time with rounds of 77 and 72 for 149.

+Picture above by courtesy of Robin Wilson shows Duncan Stewart (left) and Darren Hexley with their trophies.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
CSS 74 72
Championship Cup
140 D Stewart (Grantown on Spey) 74 66.
144 L Chancellor (Inverness) 72 72, G Paterson (Moray) 72 72.
145 J Gunn (Royal Dornoch) 75 70.
147 K. Matheson (Royal Dornoch) 71 76.
148 R A L Cameron (Inverness) 76 72.
149 D Hexley (Inverness) 77 72, D McIntosh (Nairn) 76 73, S Dingwall (Muir of Ord) 75 74, J S D Campbell (Grantown on Spey) 75 74.
150 D Thorburn (Thurso) 77 73, M Ferries (Tain) 75 75.

Youths Championship (Murray Watt Trophy)
149 D Hexley (Inverness) 77 72.
152 J Forbes (Inverness) 72 80.
154 K Godsman (Hopeman) 76 78.
155 M Murray (Brora) 78 77, M Isacs (Nairn Dunbar) 74 81.

HANDICAP
G Paterson (Moray) (1) 142, R A L Cameron (Inverness) (2) 144, D Hexley (Inverness) (2) 145.

CARLY STRUGGLES OVER LAST NINE TO
FINISH SIXTH IN SKANDIA GIRLS' OPEN

Comrie kid Carly Booth, 15 next month, finished best of the Scots who made it to the final day of the Skandia Junior Opens in Sweden on Sunday – but she would have been very disappointed with her joint sixth finish in the girls’ 54-hole event at Bastad Golf Club north of Malmo.
Carly started the final round in joint third position after two creditable rounds of 74.
The +2 handicap youngster then slumped to a closing nine-over-par 80, including an inward half of 42 in which she had threee double bogeys, for a total of 228.
The consolation for Miss Booth is that the event was a qualifier for the European Junior Solheim Cup team to play the United States over the same course from September 10 to 12 and even sixth place will earn her some points.
Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall outclassed the field to win the girls’ title by NINE strokes with scores of 74, 67 and 71 for one-under-par 212.
Nathalie Manson from near Stockholm was runner-up with 70, 76 and 75 for 221.
Guila Moninaro, the Italian girl, who was a member of the European Junior Ryder Cup team at Celtic Manor alongwith Carly Booth last autumn, finished on the same 15-over-par mark as the Scot. Guila scored 70, 81 and 77.
In the boys’ 54-hole competition at Falkenberg Golf Club, near Gothenburg, Paul Shields from Kirkhill Golf Club, Cambuslang finished joint 12th on four-over-par 220. He had rounds of 70, 76 and 74. Paul; had three birdies in his final round but also five bogeys.
Andrew Campbell (Dumbarton), the only other Scots boy to survive the 36-hole cut, had rounds of 82, 75 and 81 for joint 65th position on 238. Andrew had a triple bogey 78 at the third and a double bogey 67 at the 13th in his closing round.
Boys’ champion was Norway’s Anders Kristiansen with scores of 72, 70 and 69 for an impressive five-under-par total of 211. He won by a shot from Sweden’s Daniel Jennevret with 73, 70 and 69.
The top English boy was Andrew Johnston (North Middlesex) in joint fifth place on level par 216 with scores of 70, 72 and 74, despite a double bogey 7 at the first and a bogey 5 at the second. Andrew birdied the 17th and 18th in his final round.
SCOREBOARD
Boys: Falkenberg GC, Par 216 (3 x 72)
Leading final totals
211 Anders Kristiansen (Norway) 72 70 69.
212 Daniel Jennevret (Sweden) 73 70 69.
214 Daniel Lokke (Denmark) 73 73 68.
Other totals:
216 Andrew Johnston (North Middleseec 70 72 74 (jt 5th).
218 Henry Smart (Walton Heath) 80 72 66 (jt 9th).
220 Paul Shields (Kirkhill) 70 76 74 (jt 12th).
223 Billy Britton (Pedham Place) 73 75 75 (jt 20th).
238 Andrew Campbell (Dumbarton) 82 75 81 (jt 65th).
Missed cut
160 Paul Ferrier (Baberton) 79 81.
162 William Bremner (Edzell) 83 79.

Girls: Bastad GC, Par 213 (3 x 71)
Leading final totals
212 Caroline Hedwall (Sweden) 74 67 71.
221 Nathalie Manson (Sweden) 70 76 75.
225 Charlotte Lorentzen (Sweden) 70 72 77.
Other totals:
228 Carly Booth (Comrie) 74 74 80, G Molinaro (Italy) 70 81 77.

ends

ABERDEEN & DISTRICT JUNIOR PENNANT
LEAGUE RESULTS AND TABLES

Latest results in the Aberdeen & District Junior Pennant League, sponsored by Paul Lawrie Junior Golf Development:

Newmachar 6, Alford 0.
Hazlehead 6, Peterculter 0.
Murcar Links 4, Royal Aberdeen 2.
Northern 1 1/2, Cruden Bay 4 1/2.
Stonehaven 2, McDonald Ellon 4.
Kintore 6, Caledonian 0.
Westhill 6, Nigg Bay 0.
Newburgh 4, Inverurie 2.
Cruden Bay 1/2, Peterhead 5 1/2 (brought forward from June 3).
Newburgh 2 1/2, Westhill 3 1/2 (brought forward from June 17).

HOW THEY STAND

SECTION A
Hazlehead.......3-3-0-0-16-2-6pt
Inchmarlo ......2-2-0-0-9.5-2.4-4pt
Peterculter ....4-2-2-0-13-11-4pt
Oldmeldrum..2-1-1-0-7.5-4.5-2pt
Newmachar ...4-1-3-0-8-16-2pt
Alford .............4-0-4-0-0-24-0pt
SECTION B
Peterhead .....4-4-0-0-19.5-4.5-8pt
Murcar Links 4-3-1-0-16.5-7.5-6pt
Ryl Aberdeen 4-2-2-0-15.5-8.5-4pt
Cruden Bay ...5-1-3-1-9-21-3pt
Auchmill ........2-0-1-1-3-9-1pt
Northern ...... 3-0-3-0-2.5-15.5-0pt
SECTION C
Portlethen ...3-3-0-0-13.5-4.5-6pt
McD Ellon ... 4-3-1-0-16-8-6pt.
Deeside ....... 3-2-1-0-12.5-5.5-4pt
Stonehaven. 4-2-2-0-11.5-12.5-4pt.
Kintore ....... 4-1-3-0-11-13-2pt
Caledonian . 4-0-4-0-1.5-22.5-0pt
SECTION D
Westhill....... 4-3-0-1-18-6-7pt
Newburgh .. 3-2-0-0-10-8-4pt
Aboyne ...... 3-1-1-1-8-10-3pt
Inverurie ... 3-1-2-0-8.5-9.5-2pt
Banchory ... 1-0-1-0-2.5-3.5-0pt
Nigg Bay .... 2-0-2-0-1-11-0pt.

Semi-finals between four section winners on Sunday, July 15 (12.00).
Final at McDonald Ellon on Sunday, July 29 (12.00).

ROMERO LEADS FROM TWO ZIMBABWEANS
WITH ONE ROUND TO GO IN US SENIORS

Two Zimbabweans - Dennis Watson and Nick Price - who used to play junior golf together "back home" - will be in the final threesome off the tee in the last round of the US PGA Seniors' championship over the Kiawah Island Ocean Course today.
The third player in the group will be the tournament leader, Eduardo Romero from Argentina.
Romero is on seven-under-par 209, two shots clear of Price and Watson.
England's Mark James is 10 shots off the pace in joint eighth place.
LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3 x 72)
209 Eduardo Romero (Arg) 68 70 71.
211 Nick Price (Zim) 71 70 70, Dennis Watson (Zim) 71 71 69.
212 Joe Ozaki (Jap) 69 71 72.
Other scores:
217 Mark James (Eng) 74 71 72 (jt 8th).
224 Costantino Rocca (Ita) 74 74 76 (jt 54th).

DOAK EQUALS PORTPATRICK COURSE RECORD

Chris Doak equalled the professional course record of seven-under-par 63 in winning the £7,500 Portpatrick Golf Club charity pro-am on Saturday.
Dean Robertson (Czech Design) was runner-up with a 64 and there were two players in third place on 65 - Callum Nicoll (Prestwick) and Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs Golf Range).

SIMON YATES FINISHES JOINT EIGHTH IN
SK TELECOM OPEN IN SOUTH KOREA

Scots exile Simon Yates earned $14,424 for a joint eighth place finish in the SK Telecom Open at the BA Vista Country Club, Seoul in South Korea today.
Local hero Bae Sang-moon was on top of the world as he rolled to an emphatic six-stroke triumph, leadng from start to finish for his maiden success on the Asian Tour.
The Korean young gun fended off a late charge by Australian Aaron Baddeley and Kim Hyung-tae with a steady five-under-par 67 at the BA Vista Country Club.
Bae delivered a winning total of 17-under-par 271 and walked away with the top prize of US$129,171.
Baddeley, twice a winner on the US PGA Tour, enjoyed a bogey free 68 while Kim carded a 69 to claim joint second place. Australia’s Unho Park recorded his second top-five finish this season when he shot a 69 in tied fourth position together with Korean duo of Kang Kyung-nam and Choi Hyuk-jae who carded matching 70s. American David Oh shot a 71 for a 279 total also in joint fourth place.
Bae, who picked up the game at the age of nine, was thankful to have his mother Si Ok-hee on the bag this week as he fired six birdies against a lone bogey on the final day.
“I am extremely happy. I dedicate this win to my mother as she has been instrumental in my success today,” said the winner.
“This is the last time my mother will caddie for me as she is getting tired. My mom is 51-years-old. I am thankful to have her on the bag today as she helped calm my nerves,” admitted Bae.
“I was nervous when I got up this morning, thinking about the final round. But my mother told me to picture how I felt during the first round and that put me in the right frame of mind,” said Bae.
Playing in his third SK Telecom Open, Bae was delighted to reach his goal of earning full playing rights on the Asian Tour as his win comes with a two-year exemption.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72). Players from Korea unless stated.

271 Bae Sang-moon 64-69-71-67.
277 Aaron Baddeley (AUS) 71-67-71-68, Kim Hyung-tae 65-71-72-69
279 Choi Hyuk-jae 71-65-73-70, Unho Park (Aus) 67-70-73-69, Kang Kyung-nam 69-69-71-70, David Oh (US) 70-68-70-71
281 Jun Tae-hyun 65-76-73-67, Young Nam 69-69-73-70, Simon Yates (Sco) 68-72-69-72
282 Park No-seok 70-70-74-68, Mark Brown (NZ) 72-70-71-69, Park Boo-won 73-67-71-71
283 S.K. Ho 71-68-74-70, Kang Wook-soon 74-68-71-70, Kane Webber (Aus) 68-74-71-70, Bryan Saltus (US) 70-69-73-71, Kim Kyung-tae 69-72-70-72
284 Woo Chang-wan 73-70-73-68, Jung Ji-ho 67-71-74-72
285 Corey Harris (US) 73-71-71-70, Choi Sang-ho 67-73-75-70, Kwanchai Tannin (Tha) 72-71-72-70, Mo Joong-kyung 73-70-71-71, Kim Hye-dong 73-70-71-71, Kong Yong-joon 70-69-74-72, Han Min-kyu 72-68-72-73, Kang Sung-hoon 66-68-77-74, Park Jun-won 70-70-72-73.
Other Scots' final totals:
286 Ross Bain 73 70 72 71 (jt 30th) ($4,682).
287 Simon Dunn 69 70 73 75 (jt 36th) ($4,090).

JANICE EIGHT BEHIND LEADERS GOING INTO
FINAL ROUND OF CORNING CLASSIC

Janice Moodie goes into the final round of the LPGA Corning Classic at Corning, New York State in a tie for 17th place, eight strokes behind the three joint leaders.
Four of the top seven on the leaderboard are from Korea.
Janice has had scores of 69, 72 and 67 for eight-under-par 208.
The leading British player is Becky Morgan from Wales. She is sharing sixth place on 205 after scores of 69, 66 and 70.
Laura Davies is tied for 13th place on 207 with a hat-trick of 69s.
LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3 x 72)
206 Paula Creamer (US) 66 68 66, Beth Bader 65 66 69, Young Kim (Kor) 68 64 68.
201 Mi Hyun Kim (Kor) 68 67 66.
204 In-Kyung Kim (Kor) 67 69 68.
205 Na-On Min (Kor) 70 67 68, Becky Morgan (Wal) 69 66 70.
Other scores:
207 Laura Davies (Eng) 69 6969 (jt 13th).
208 Janice Moodie (Sco) 69 72 67 (jt 17th).
For a full scoreboard, log on to: www.lpgascoring.com/leaderboard.html
Labels: Pro Ladies

WEATHER IS THE ONLY WINNER SO FAR
IN CROWNE PLAZA INVITATIONAL

The third round of the weather-hit Crowne Plaza Invational at Colonial has still to be complete on Sunday morning. Each of the three days so far has seen a weather-forced stoppage. Another one on Sunday will cause the organisers major headaches.
There was a six-way logjam for the pole position before even more rain and loss of light ended the day's play early at the Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth in Texas on Saturday.
Scott Verplank shot five birdies in 13 holes late in the day to join fellow Americans Pat Perez, Kevin Na, Arron Oberholser, Ben Curtis and South African Rory Sabbatini in the lead.
They are all on nine under par, a shot ahead of five players including Jim Furyk and overnight leader Tim Clark.
Another group of five including Tom Lehman are a further shot adrift.
Verplank began his round with a birdie on the first and never looked back.
The veteran also picked up shots at the fourth, seventh, 10th and 11th to post a total score of 136 with five holes of his penultimate round to play.
Torrential rain had plagued the first two days at Colonial Country Club, suspending play on both days, and the pattern continued on Saturday.
Twenty-eight golfers had to complete their second rounds in the morning before the third round could start.
And after yet another day of periodic rainfall, the entire remaining field of 70 golfers will have to finish their third rounds this morning.

SALLY WATSON'S LATE BIRDIES LIFT
HER IN FIRST ROUND OF
THUNDERBIRD INTERNATIONAL

Florida-based Sally Watson, 15, from South Queensferry had a first-round score of three-over-par 75 in the girls' section of the Thunderbird Junior International tournament over the 6,271yd girls' Raptor course at Grayhawk Golf Club, Scottsdale in Arizona.
Sally, pictured right, bogeyed the third, fifth and sixth before she settled to birdie the long seventh and turn in two-over-par 38.
A double bogey 6 at the 10th and a bogey at the 12th knocked her back to five over, but she finished strongly with birdies at the 14th and 18th for 37 home.

That gave her a share of 12th place in the strong international field.
Kimberley Kim from Hawaii was the first-round leader by three shots with a 67.
In the boys' event, Jack Hiluta (Chelmsford) was the best of the four English Golf Union squad members over a course measuring 7,113yd.
Hiluta had a 72 to be six shots behind the pacemaker, Arnond Vongjanij, based at Bradenton, Florida where David Leadbetter has his IMG Golf Academy.
LEADERBOARD
Boys
66 A Vongvanij.
67 S Frankly.
Other scores:
72 Jack Hiluta (Chelmsford).
75 Matthew Haines (Rochester & Cobham), Matthew Nixon (Ashton under Lyne).
80 Darren Wright (Rowlands Castle).
Girls
67 Kimberly Kim.
70 Vicky Hurst, Ayaka Kaneko.
Other score:
75 Sally Watson (Sco) (jt 12th).

JAMIESON NEEDS GOOD FINAL ROUND
TO BOOST SIZE OF HOOTERS' CHEQUE

Scott Jamieson needs to produce a spectacular final round on Sunday if he is to pick up a sizeable cheque at the conclusion of the NGA Hooters Tour's Touchstone Energy Open at Brook Valley Country Club.
The Glasgow rookie pro has had rounds of 73, 71 and 75 for three-over-par 219 over a course that measures 6,821yd with a par of 72.
Jamieson birdied the sixth and 15th in his third round but also had a double-bogey 6 at the 14th. Double bogeys at this level of competition - and the standard is at least as good if not better than say the European Challenge Tour - are usual fatal to high-finish prospects.
Scott is sharing 55th place.
Gareth Maybin, the Ballyclare, Ulster player, who has made a lot of dollars from the Hooters Tour over the past two years, found, as he well know, that a par-72 in the third round cost him about 10 places in the standings.
Sharing the lead on 12-under-par 204 are Americans Martin Flores from Mansfield, Texas and Aaron Wright from Orlando, Florida.
Irishman Chris Devlin, now based at Birmingham, Alabama, is in third place, a shot behind the leaders.
LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3 x 72). 6,821yd.
204 Martin Flores (US) 69 67 68, Aaron Wright (US) 70 64 70.
205 Chris Devlin (Ire) 68 68 69.
Other scores:
213 Gareth Maybin (NIr) 72 69 72 (24th).
219 Scott Jamieson (Sco) 73 71 75 (jt 55th).
Maybin's earlier rounds were 72 and 69. He is in 24th place on 213.

SPENCER BUCHAN WINS BRANGAN CUP
IN PHOTO FINISH WITH KRIS NICOL

Spencer Buchan (Royal Aberdeen) pipped Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) for the Brangan Cup in the tightest of tight finishes to the Duff House Royal club's 36-hole men's open tournament today.
Both players finished on 133, and both players had rounds of 66 and 67. It went to a card comparison of the second rounds and the tie-breaker was eventually Spencer Buchan's better inward half.
Gary Thomson (Moray) was third on 136 with 70 and 66.
R Ord (Oldmeldrum) had the lowest net total of the day - 132 (63-69) off four of a handicap
LEADING SCRATCH
133 S J Buchan (Royal Aberdeen) 66 67 (better inward half), K Nicol (Fraserburgh) 66 67.
136 G Thomson (Moray) 70 66.
137 D Morrison (Duff House Royal) 70 67 (better inward half), B A Innes (Murcar Links) 66 71.
138 A Reith (Royal Aberdeen) 68 70 (better inward half).
LEADING HANDICAP
132 R Ord (Oldmeldrum) (4) 63 69.
135 S Stevens (Deeside) (3) 64 71.
137 B Elsby (Pitreavie) (5) 69 68.

+Our apologies to Spencer Buchan for getting his first name wrong in our first report.

RAIN-FOG-RAIN ... NO, IT'S NOT SCOTLAND,
IT'S MADRID AND THE STOP-START-STOP
CHALLENGE TOUR EVENT

It was another disastrous day weather-wise on the European Challenge Tour's Open Mahou de Madrid at the Casino Club de Golf Retamares.
The first day had been bad enough with flooding. The second day got off to a bad start with the first two hours lost because of thick fog. After play did start, the rains returned in the afternoon and play had to be suspended for another couple of hours.
The officials have decided to cut the event to 54 holes they could be pushed even to get three rounds completed.
Scot Peter Whiteford, for instance, has played only three holes in his second round. There cannot be an official 36-hole cut until every player has completed 36 holes.
But West Linton-based Welshman Gareth Wright and Scott Henderson will have packed their bags and left Madrid already. Gareth had a disastrous 10-stroke slump from 67 in the first round to 77 in the second for 144.
Henderson followed up his opening 81 with a 77 for 158.
The projected cut-off score is 141.
LEADERBOARD
Par 142 (2 x 71). 6,575yd.
134 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 69 65, Vicente Apron (Spa) 66 68.
135 Carlos Balmaseda (Spa) 66 69, Martin Maritz (SAf) 70 65.
Other scores:
137 Jamie McLeary (Sco) 70 67 (jt 15th).
138 Eric Ramsay (Sco) 68 70 (jt 22nd).
144 Gareth Wright (Wal) 67 77.
158 Scott Henderson (Sco) 81 77.
Still to complete two rounds: P Whiteford (Sco) 71 - .

BRYAN FOTHERINGHAM DROPS DOWN
TO 17th PLACE - EIGHT SHOTS BEHIND
LEADER IN WELSH STROKE-PLAY

Bryan Fotheringham from Forres, Scotland's leading hope in the Welsh men's open amateur stroke-play championship at Machynys Peninsula, dropped down to a share of 17th place at the halfway stage.
Bryan has had rounds of 69 and 73 for 142 - eight shots behind the leader, Jonathan White (Saunton) with 68 and 66.
Fotheringham was the only Scot to beat the cut at 146.
Overnight leader with a 67, John Parry (Harrogate) broke par in the second round again with a 70 but some players were shooting very low numbers and John has slipped down to fifth place on 137.

HALFWAY LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72). CSS 74 74
134 Jonathan White (Saunton) 68 66.
135 Neil Chaudhuri (The Leicestershire) 69 66, Paul Waring (Bromborough) 68 67.
136 Dale Marmion (Delamere Forest) 71 65.
137 John Parry (Harrogate) 67 70.
138 Ben Evans (Rye ) 71 67, Sam Matton (Bowood) 69 69, Gary Wolstenholme (Kilworth Springs) 68 70.
139 Gareth Evans (Northcliffe) 71 68, Rhys Enoch (Truro) 69 70, Nigel Edwards (Whitchurch) 69 70.
Other scores:
142 Bryan Fotheringham (Forres) 69 73 (jt 17th).
MISSED THE CUT (146)
147 Colin Heuchan (Southerness) 76 71.
151 Zander Culverwell (Dunbar) 75 76, Ross Kellett (Colville Park) 75 76.
155 Andrew Weir (Montrose Mercantile) 80 75.

BROADHURST SHARES LEAD AGAIN
- AND ATTACKS GOLF WRITERS FOR
NOT GIVING HIM PUBLICITY

Ross Fisher and Paul Broadhurst both finished with a hat-trick of birdies to be joint leaders entering the final round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth tomorrow.
Broadhurst used his Press Conference to attack the assembled golf writers for not giving his first-round share of the lead any prominence in their stories.
Making reference to what he called "The Justin Rose Show", the 41-year-old Broadhurst had matched the 26-year-old's opening 66, but then struggled to find his name in a headline anywhere on Friday morning.
"I went to the papers on Friday hoping to read about myself and I didn't," said the former Ryder Cup player, who now has a chance to win the European Tour's flagship event five years after his career was hanging by a thread.
"I got a couple of lines and it annoyed me a little bit. The fact that I am now sharing the lead with Ross Fisher will be in the Sunday papers, won't it?"
Fisher is the same age as Rose and, although he does not yet have the same high profile, that will change if he is the one to lift the first prize of almost £480,000.
While joint halfway leader Rose fell back into fifth place with a 73, Fisher had a rollercoaster ride of a 69 on the very course where he learnt to play the game.
South African ace Ernie Els, who lives on the Wentworth estate, has revealed that he plans to react to criticism of one of the holes he has re-designed.
Els was hired by the Surrey club to toughen up the famous West Course, but no end of players have thought during this week's championship that he went too far by bringing in water on both sides of the drive down the long 12th.
Els himself eagled the hole today with a brilliant three-iron to three feet, but he commented: "I think I will move the left side (of the ditch) back into the rough."
He added: "What I wanted to do is challenge the guys, but I've seen some shots and had a lot of comments. The rest of the course is standing up very well, though."
Els also eagled the fourth, which he has stretched to 552 yards, and had three birdies - but his card showed two bogeys, a double-bogey and a triple-bogey as well.
The triple came on the 396-yard seventh, where he was bunkered in two and four-putted.
Els is on level par 216, the same mark as Colin Montgomerie who had a 70.

THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72). Players from GB&I unless stated.
206 Paul Broadhurst 66 72 68, Ross Fisher 70 67 69.
207 Richard Sterne (SAf) 68 73 66, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 70 70.
209 Justin Rose 66 70 73.
210 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 70 68 72.
211 Anders Hansen (Den) 74 70 67, Markus Brier (Aut) 73 68 70, Nick Dougherty 69 71 71
212 Paul Casey 73 67 72, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 70 66 76
213 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 77 69 67, Richard Green (Aus) 73 73 67, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 72 73 68, Lee Westwood 71 72 70, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 72 72, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 68 71 74, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 68 71 74, Padraig Harrington 69 69 75
214 Peter O'Malley (Aus) 71 72 71, Thongchai Jaidee (Thai) 73 70 71, Luke Donald 71 72 71
215 Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 77 68 70, Vijay Singh (Fij) 73 72 70, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 70 73 72, Simon Khan 67 75 73, James Kingston (SAf) 70 71 74
216 Stephen Dodd 72 74 70, Colin Montgomerie 70 76 70, Peter Lawrie 76 69 71, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 73 72 71, Brett Taylor 71 73 72, Ernie Els (SAf) 68 76 72, Robert-Jan Derksen (Ned) 73 71 72, Christian Cevaer (Fra) 72 72 72, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 72 72 72, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 71 72 73, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 73 68 75, Lee Slattery 69 71 76
217 Andrew Oldcorn 74 71 72, Marc Warren 70 75 72, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 74 70 73, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 71 73 73, Andres Romero (Arg) 70 72 75, Oliver Wilson 70 71 76, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 67 72 78, Matthew Millar (Aus) 69 69 79
218 Ariel Canete (Arg) 72 73 73, Christopher Hanell (Swe) 72 72 74, James Hepworth 71 72 75, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 72 71 75, Richard Bland 71 71 76
219 Yang Yong-eun (Kor) 68 78 73, Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa) 70 76 73, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 72 74 73, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 71 75 73, Garry Houston 74 71 74, Miles Tunnicliff 71 73 75, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 68 75 76, Paul McGinley 74 69 76, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 72 70 77, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 67 71 81
220 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 70 75 75, Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 72 72 76, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 72 70 78
222 Rafael Echenique (Arg) 70 76 76, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 76 70 76, Louis Oosthuizen (SAf) 69 77 76
223 Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 74 72 77, Johan Axgren (Swe) 75 71 77, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 72 73 78
224 Marcel Siem (Ger) 73 72 79
225 Thomas Levet (Fra) 70 76 79
226 Mark Foster 71 75 80
227 Brett Rumford (Aus) 77 69 81

BYRNE WINS FOR FIRST TIME

ON LAST APPEARANCE ON

SGU JUNIOR TOUR

United States-bound James Byrne (Banchory) won his last competition on the Scottish Golf Union Junior Tour over the Newmachar Hawkshill course today.

Byrne, 18, pictured right, had very good rounds of 68 and 71 for a five-under-par total of 139. He won by four strokes from Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) 68-65 and Michael Main (Thornton) 76-67.

Highlight of Byrne’s first round was a purple patch of five birdies in seven holes from the 10th.

“It feels good to have finally managed to win on the Junior Tour on what will be my last event on it,” said Byrne who starts a four-year golf scholarship at Arizona State University in August.

“That’s the best I’ve ever hit it and if I had putted a bit better I could have scored a lot lower than 139.”

Byrne is a member of the Scotland side to play in Japan in July in the World boys’ team championship and there is an SGU Junior Tour event scheduled at that time.

LEADING SCORES

Par 144 (2 x 72). CSS 74 74

139 J Byrne (Banchory) 68 71.

143 M Main (Thornton) 76 67, M Stewart (Troon Welbeck) 68 75.

147 C Gaittens (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) 74 73, F Fotheringham (Nairn) 73 74, S Fraser (Royal Aberdeen) 76 71, B Sloan (Hamilton) 74 73.

148 S McLaren (King James VI) 73 75, E Brown (Kilmarnock Barassie) 76 72, K Smith (Kilmarnock Barassie) 75 73.

149 N Henderson (The Glen) 74 75.

150 M Dailly (Erskine) 75 75, C Baird (Bothwell Castle) 78 72.

151 C Thomson (East Renfrewshire) 72 79, D Law (Hazlehead) 73 78, A Wallace (Glenbervie) 77 74.

152 T Sharkey (Helensburgh) 77 75, M Bookless (Sandyhills) 77 75, D Currie (Kilmarnock Barassie) 75 77.

153 S Binning (Ranfurly Castle) 77 76, A Sweeney (Carnoustie) 73 80.

154 M Cunningham (Longniddry) 78 76.

155 D Young (Craigie Hill) 79 76, J Ross (Royal Burgess) 82 73.

156 T Blennerhassett (Dalmahoy) 77 79.

157 F Moore (Falkirk Tryst) 80 77, T Spencer (Inchmarlo) 77 80.

158 R Elder (Nairn Dunbar) 80 78, F McKenna (Balmore) 76 82.

159 S Boyle (Harburn) 84 75.

160 E McLaren (Dumfries & Galloway) 73 87.

161 G Reid (Newbattle) 79 82.

162 J Bradley (Paisley) 81 81.

163 C Gray (West Kilbride) 83 80.

164 J Anderson (Glenrothes) 81 83.

168 C Wyper (Hayston) 83 85.

169 G Stirling (Caldwell) 85 84.

170 S Connell (Inverness) 86 84.

TRISH JOHNSON WINS ITALIAN LADIES
OPEN - HER FIRST TITLE FOR THREE
YEARS - AT THE AGE OF 41

BY BETHAN CUTLER
From the Ladies European Tour website.
England’s Trish Johnson claimed her first title in three years on an exciting final day at the BMW Ladies Italian Open over the Sheraton Parco de Medici course in Rome today.
It was her 18th worldwide victory and her first since the 2004 Wales Ladies Open. Johnson’s final round six-under-par 66 took her to 15-under-par 273 in total, one stroke ahead of last week’s Deutsche Bank Ladies’ Swiss Open champion, Bettina Hauert of Germany, who had a course record 10-under-par 62 to finish on 14-under-par.
Australia’s Sarah Kemp carded a final round 68 and finished tied for third position with Frenchwoman Sophie Giquel (69) on 12-under.
Meanwhile, the overnight leader Stefania Croce of Italy had a final round 73 to share seventh position with Sweden’s Louise Friberg, Ireland’s Rebecca Coakley and Spain’s Carmen Alonso, on 11-under-par.Johnson predicted ahead of her final round that she would need a 66 to reach 15-under to win the tournament, but she had to fight to overcome Bettina Hauert, who leaped out of the pack with a 62, which lowered her career low round by four shots.
Hauert began the day tied for 24th place on four-under-par but came charging up the leaderboard and held a three-stroke advantage at the end of her round.She carded two birdies on her front nine, for an outward total of 33 and then played the back nine in eight-under-par 29, with four birdies and two eagles, to tie the Ladies European Tour’s record for the lowest nine holes in a tournament.
Beginning the day at nine under par, two shots adrift of the lead, Johnson fired three birdies and a bogey on her front nine to turn in 33, and then birdied the 12th and 14th holes to reach 13-under-par, just one stroke behind the leader.
However Trish dropped a shot at the par-3 15th hole when she pulled her eight-iron slightly into the bunker. She played an excellent bunker shot to three feet from the pin but her putt just lipped out.
She recovered with birdies at the 16th and 17th holes to draw level with the clubhouse leader.Then, needing to birdie the par-5 18th for victory, Johnson hit her 105-yard approach shot to three feet with a 52 degree wedge and rolled in the birdie putt.
“I was feeling quite sick actually at that stage. I tried not to think about anything and to just breathe. I use a ball marker that just says, “Relax!” because I’m not the best at that,” said the 41-year-old London-based Arsenal FC supporter Johnson.
“I said this morning that a 66 or 15-under-par would win it but Bettina had an excellent score and deserved to win. Something felt very good today and I have played very well all week.
“It feels fabulous. I’ve done a lot of work with my coach Scott Margets over the winter and I had a fabulous putting lesson with Christine Langford which has helped a lot.
“I had a dreadful year last year and I didn’t enjoy that. I just wanted to win again. I’ve never thought about quitting. I don’t think age has anything to do with it. You either want to win or you don’t.”
Johnson, who collected a first prize of €60,000, was invited by the event title sponsor BMW to attend the final round of the BMW PGA Championship at The Wentworth Club on Sunday, where she will present the male champion with the trophy and she said she was looking forward to it.
Trish also receives 40 Solheim Cup points’ as a result of her victory which bodes well for her chances of making her eighth appearance in the transatlantic encounter, which takes place in Sweden in September.
CLARE QUEEN JOINT 21st
Clare Queen finished just outside the top 20 in joint 21st place with rounds of 70, 68, 73 and 70 for 281. She earned 4,920 Euros. In her final round Clare, who represents The Carrick at Cameron House on the Ladies European Tour, had birdies at the seventh, eighth, 14th and 18th. She had bogeys at the fourth and 16th.
Over the four rounds Miss Queen had 14 birdies. A double bogey 7 at the eighth in her third round cost her a top-20 finish .
Picture of Trish Johnson with the trophy by courtesy of Ladies European Tour website.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
273 T Johnson (Eng) 68 70 69 66 (60,000 Euros).
274 B Hauert (Ger) 70 70 72 62 (40,600 Euros).
276 S Kemp (Aus) 68 68 72 68, S Giquel (Fra) 73 69 65 69 (24,800 Euros each).
277 I Tinning (Den) 69 73 70 65, F Piovano (Ita) 68 72 70 67 (15,480 Euros each).
Other scores:
278 R Coakley (Ire) 67 74 70 67 (jt 7th) (9,740 Euros).
281 C Queen (Carrick at Cameron House) 70 68 73 70 (jt 21st) (4,920 Euros).

CARLY MOVES UP INTO SHARE OF THIRD
IN SWEDISH GIRLS’ TOURNAMENT

Perthshire’s Carly Booth managed to get only one birdie in a second-round 74 but she still managed to moved up into a share of third place in the Skandia Junior Open girls’ tournament at Bastad Golf Club, Sweden today.
Carly, who has her 15th birthday next month, birdied the fourth in very steady halves of 36 and 38 for a three-over-par round, her second 74 of the competition.
On 148, she is seven shots behind the leader, Swedish girl Caroline Hedwall who had a superb second round of 67, covering the inward half in only 31 shots, for a two-round tally of one-under-par 141. She leads by five strokes from compatriot Nathalie Mansson.
Italy's Giula Molinaro, like Carly a member of the European Junior Ryder Cup team at Celtic Manor last autumn, dropped back down the field after an 81 - 11 shots more than her first round - to joint eighth place.
In the Skandia Junior Open boys’ competition at Falkenberg Golf Club, near Gothenburg, Paul Shields (Kirkhill) was lying ninth equal after rounds of 70 and 76 for 146. Paul had birdies at the first, seventh and 11th in his second round but seven bogeys cancelled them out.
Paul and Andrew Campbell (Dumbarton) were the only Scots boys to survive the 36-hole cut.
Andrew Campbell was on 157 with scores of 82 and 75 (36-39). Andrew had birdies at the third, fourth, 17th and 18th in his second round but a double bogey 6 at the 16th cost him the chance of matching the par of 72.
New Scottish boys’ match-play champion Paul Ferrier (Baberton) was eliminated on 160 after rounds of 78 and 81 (42-39). He had double bogeys at the second and 13th in his second round in which his only birdie came at the short 18th.
William Bremner (Edzell), beaten in the Scottish boys final at Dunbar in April, totalled 162 with scores of 83 and 79 (38-41). William had double bogeys at the second and 14th and birdies at the first, sixth and ninth.
English boy Andrew Johnston (North Middlesex) shares the lead with two Swedes on 142. Andrew has had rounds of 70 and 72.
SKANDIA JUNIOR OPEN LEADERBOARDS
Boys (at Falkenberg)
Par 144 (2 x 72)
Players from Sweden unless stated
142 A B Kristiansen 72 70, A Jacobsson 70 72, A Johnston (North Middlesex) 70 72.
143 M Larsson 75 68, D Jennevert 73 70, J Ahgren 72 71.
Other scores:
146 P Shields (Kirkhill) 70 76 (jt 9th).
148 B Britton (Pedham Place) 73 75 (jt 19th).
152 H Smart (Walton Heath) 80 72 (jt 38th).
157 A Campbell (Dumbarton) 82 75 (jt 61st)
MISSED CUT
160 P Ferrier (Baberton) 79 81.
162 W Bremner (Edzell) 83 79.
Girls (at Bastad)
141 C Hedwall 74 67.
146 N Mansson 70 76.
148 C Lorentzen 76 72, C Booth (Comrie) 74 74.
Other score:
151 G Molinaro (Italy) 70 81 (jt 8th).

NAOMI EDWARDS BEATS MELISSA
REID IN FINAL OF ENGLISH
WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP
Yorkshire’s Naomi Edwards made it third time lucky when she won the English women’s close amateur championship final at Littlestone Golf Club, Kent today.
The 23-year-old from Ganton had twice been runner-up in this championship and finally claimed the title when she beat Derbyshire’s Melissa Reid 2 and 1 in the 18-hole final. “It feels fantastic,” said Naomi.
“I’m so relieved! I knew it was going to be a tough match but you have to be positive,”added Naomi, who was one under par in the final.
She rates it as the biggest moment in her career, which has included playing in the Curtis Cup and previous victories in the English mid-amateur championship, the St Rule Trophy and the Welsh open stroke-play.
Naomi took charge early in the match and was three up after eight holes, helped by birdies on the par-5 fifth and seventh holes.
But Melissa began a fightback with a birdie three on the 12th where she holed a superb putt over a saddle in the green. She then narrowed the margin to one hole with a par on the 15th.
CLOSING HOLES DECISIVE
Naomi sealed the title over the tough closing holes. She was just short of the long 16th green in two and almost holed her long eagle putt, leaving the ball stone dead. Melissa’s approach to the green took a hard bounce right over the putting surface into thick rough by the next tee. Her delicate chip finished within 3ft of the hole but, in what she later blamed on a lapse in concentration, she missed the putt.
On the 173-yard 17th Melissa appeared to have the advantage. Her ball was about 20ft from the pin while Naomi’s eight-iron bounced straight through and down a steep bank at the back of the green.From there, and unable to see even the top of the pin, she played an exquisite shot with a lob wedge to within about 15ft.
Melissa’s birdie attempt lipped out and Naomi took her chance, ramming home the putt for a half – and the championship.
She puts her success down to her fresh focus on her golf. “I know where I want to be, where I want to go,” said Naomi, who is considering turning professional at the end of 2008.
Before the championship she also worked hard with ELGA coach Lawrence Farmer and came to the event with just one swing thought.
“I used it through the week and it worked. Sometimes I can get too many thoughts in my head!” she laughed.
Final - Naomi Edwards (Ganton) bt Melissa Edwards (Chevin) 2 and 1.

SAM TORRANCE MISSES CUT
BY ONE IN USA SENIOR PGA
CHAMPIONSHIP

Sam Torrance, Gordon Brand, Bill Longmuir, D J Russell and Tony Jacklin all missed the 36-hole cut in the US Senior PGA championship over the Ocean course at Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
Sam scored 76 and 77 for 153 - just one shot too many to qualify.
Eduardo Romero from the Argentine leads the field by two strokes with a six-under-par tally of 138.
Joe Ozaki (Japan) is next of 140 with seniors-debutant Nick Price third on 141.
Mark James is the only British player in with any sort of chance and he is seven shots off the pace on 145.
LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72)
138 Eduardo Romero (Arg) 68 70.
140 Joe Ozaki (Jap) 69 71.
141 Nick Price (Zim) 71 70.
Other scores:
145 Mark James (Eng) 74 71 (jt 9th).
1487 Costantino Rocca (Ita) 74 74 (jt 33rd).
Non-qualifiers included:
153 Sam Torrance (Sco) 76 77.
154 Gordon Brand (Eng) 78 76.
157 Bill Longmuir (Sco) 78 79.
163 D J Russell (Eng) 81 82.
169 T Jacklin (Eng) 84 85.

After three missed cuts and a withdrawal, Simon Dunn, who has Scottish blood in his veins, is enjoying his outing at the SK Telecom Open in Seoul, South Korea.
This is a "diary page," written by Simon for the Asian Tour website:

DUBAI-BORN SCOT ENJOYING LIFE ON
THE ASIAN PGA TOUR

By Simon Dunn
I played poorly in the past four events. I hurt my back before the GS Caltex Maekyung Open. I actually injured my back at the Pine Valley Beijing Open. I pulled a muscle on the lower back and it ruined it for me basically. It is fine now but it is one of those things. It does not affect my game at all now. I did some physiotherapy and it’s back to normal, no pain at all.
I was born in Dubai in 1979 and have been living there ever since. My father was Scottish and my mom is Malaysian. I’m Scottish by default, I guess. I studied Sports Management and graduated from the Campbell University in North Carolina.
I graduated in 2002 and turned professional in the beginning of 2003. This is my fifth year as a professional and I’m enjoying my golfing career. My father passed away but my mom lives in Edinburgh. I’m now staying in Dubai with my wife.
Dubai is nice. There are several sand golf courses there which are fun to play. It is getting warm now but a nice place to be in. It is in between Europe and Asia.
This is my first full season on the Asian Tour and I’m enjoying the ride. The last three four tournaments hurt my ranking but if I pick up the pace this week, then maybe I might put myself back into position for the re-rank.
I didn’t play too well today which was difficult but hope to pick up some valuable money for the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit. I was playing well the first two days but today I had to scramble. It was windy today at the BA Vista Country Club and difficult to control the ball.
When I’m not playing well, it is even harder to control the ball. One over today is not too bad but I hope to do better tomorrow.

My goal is to try and make sure that I make it into the top-60 on the UBS Order of Merit but I’ve left myself a lot of work to do. If I play well tomorrow, it will help towards that goal. I really want to finish in the top-60. In the second half of the year, I’ll find out really where I stand.

YATES JOINT FOURTH

AFTER THREE ROUNDS

IN SOUTH KOREA

Korea’s Bae Sang-moon was rock solid at the top of the pack as he opened up a four-stroke lead in the third round at the SK Telecom Open at Seoul, South Korea today.
Bae, who led since the opening day, solidified his position at the top of the leaderboard after a three-day total of 12-under-par 204 and took a commanding lead ahead of compatriot Kim Hyung-tae, who was even-par for the day, and American David Oh who shot a 70 in joint second place at the US$600,000 event.
Australia’s Aaron Baddeley, the winner of two PGA Tour titles, continued his rise when he carded a 71 in tied fourth spot alongside Choi Hyuk-jae who endured a slow 73 for a 209 total at the wind swept BA Vista Country Club.
Scottish exile Simon Yates, pictured above, enjoyed a bogey free round when he shot a 69 together with Kang Kyung-nam who stayed in the hunt after a 71 also in joint fourth place.
The 37-year-old Yates fired two birdies on the front nine and after a third birdie on the 10th hole, Yates, who is also an avid racing car driver, went on to par the remaining eight holes.
“It was very gusty out there. I stayed positive and it turned out well. The highlight for me was making no bogeys. I was putting solid out there. I hit it to three feet at the second hole and two- putted the par-5 third hole,” said Yates.
“I can’t afford to hit a wild shot here. I think seven under is not that far away from the leader. I have been playing well for a month now and hope to continue my run into the final round,” added Yates, who chalked up three top-10s this season on the Asian Tour that included a third place finish at the BMW Asian Open last month.
Three Scots in all made the halfway cut - Simon Dunn, who had a third-round 73 for 212 and joint 14th position and Ross Bain, who had a 72 for jt 38th place on 215.

A fourth Scot, Barry Hume from Glasgow, also plays the Asian Tour but no sign of his scores in recent events.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERS
Par 216 (3 x 72)

204 Bae Sang-moon (Kor) 64-69-71
208 Kim Hyung-tae (Kor) 65-71-72, David Oh (US) 70-68-70
209 Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 71-67-71, Choi Hyuk-jae (Kor) 71-65-73, Simon Yates (Sco) 68-72-69, Kang Kyung-nam (Kor) 69-69-71
210 Unho Park (Aus) 67-70-73.

Other scores:

212 Simon Dunn (Sco) 69 70 73 (jt 14th).

215 Ross Bain (Sco) 73 70 72 (jt 38th).

BARON FINISHES 42 OVER PAR IN
NCAA DIV 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Chris Baron from Oldmeldrum will be glad it’s all over – the NCAA Division 2 men’s golf championship at The Meadows Golf Club, Allendale, Michigan.
At the end of his freshman year at Belmont Abbey College, North Carolina, Chris encountered the toughest golf course in his life, with rock-hard fairways and “jungle-thick” rough if you missed them.
Baron finished 42 over par for the four rounds over the par-71, 6,992yd course.
He scored 76, 80, 87 and 83 for 326 and 97th place in a field of 105 players.
Christian Ries (Columbus State) won the individual title with rounds of 73, 71, 70 and 71 for one-over-par 285 – six shots clear of Hernan Borja (Barry) with 70, 73, 75 and 73.
Belmont Abbey College, with a 65-over-par total of 1201, finished joint sixth of 20 in the team event won by Barry University with 50-over-par 1186.

JANICE IN JT 44th PLACE BUT MHAIRI FAILS
TO BEAT THE CUT IN CORNING CLASSIC

Janice Moodie was in joint 44th position after two rounds of the LPGA Corning Classic at Corning, New York State.
Janice has had rounds of 69 and 72 for three-under-par 141 over the 6,188yd, par-72 course.
Mhairi McKay failed to make the cut at one-over-par 145 with scores of 71 and 74.
LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72). 6,188yd.
131 Beth Bader 65 66.
132 Young Kim (Kor) 68 64.
134 Paula Creamer 66 68.
135 Becky Morgan (Wal) 69 66, Mi Hyun Kim (Kor) 68 67.
Other scores:
138 Laura Davies (Eng) 69 69 (jt 18th).
140 Johanna Head (Eng) 68 73 (jt 38th).
141 Janice Moodie (Sco) 69 73.
Non-qualifiers included:
145 Mhairi McKay (Sco) 71 74.

JAMIESON MAKES CUT WITH STROKE TO
SPARE IN HOOTERS’ TOUR EVENT IN US

Scott Jamieson made the halfway cut with a stroke to spare in the NGA Hooters Tour’s Touchstone Energy Open at Brook Valley Country Club, Greenville in North Carolina.
The rookie pro from Glasgow had rounds of 73 and 71 – thanks to late birdies at the 14th and 15th, for a tally of level par 144 and joint 43rd position among the 64 qualifiers from a starting field of 168.
Ulsterman Gareth Maybin from Ballyclare qualified in joint 16th place with 72 and 69 for 141 – seven shots behind leader Aaron Wright from Orlando, with 70 and 64 for 10-under-par 134.
Wright leads by two from Irishman Chris Devlin, based in Birmingham, Alabama. Devlin has had a pair of 68s.
David Skinns from Lincoln and Colin Spiers of Dunkeld missed the cut at 145.
Skinns shot 73 and 77 for 150, Speirs 76 and 77 for 153.
First prize in the $200,000 satellite tour event is $33,566

LAIRD MISSES ONLY SECOND CUT THIS SEASON
ON UNITED STATES NATIONWIDE TOUR

Former Scottish youth champion Martin Laird from Glasgow missed only his second cut in 11 starts on the US Nationwide Tour this season with scores of 74 and 70 for level par 144 in the Melwood Prince George's County Open at The Country Club at Woodmore, Mitchelville in Maryland.
Martin, seventh in the No 2 tour's money list with $124,270 from 10 events, had a double bogey 6 in his first round and that was to come back to haunt him.
At the end of the day, Laird had missed the cut by two strokes, i.e. those with two-under-par 144 totals and better qualified.
Three players led on nine-under-par 135 - South African Jaco Van Zyl with 70 and 65, and Americans Patrick Sheehan (69-66) and Peter Tomasul (68-67).

BON ACCORD COME FROM BEHIND TO BEAT
MURCAR LINKS AND WIN MAITLAND SHIELD

Bon Accord scored a one-hole overall win over Murcar Links to win the City of Aberdeen foursomes for the Maitland Shield at East Aberdeenshire Golf Centre this evening.
Murcar Links, with a long history of success in foursomes events, looked set to have their named engraved on the Maitland Shield once again until Bon Accord turned the two-leg tie on its head over the last five holes.
Bon Accord’s Dave Grieve and Barrie Edmond finished five up on Murcar Links’ Anthony Bews and Neil McKinnon after a cluster of late wins.
In the second leg it was Murcar Links who had the dominant pairing but Bryan Innes and Terry Mathieson finished “only” four up on Graeme Somers and Matty Greig of Bon Accord – not enough to wipe out the five-hole lead established by the Bon Accord first string.

FINAL
Bon Accord beat Murcar Links by one hole.
D Grieve & B Edmond 5, A Bews & N McKinnon 0.
G V Somers & M Greig 0, B Innes & T Mathieson 4.

RAMSAY, ONLY ONE OVER PAR, FAILS TO

MAKE THE CUT IN THE CROWNE PLAZA

INVITATIONAL AT COLONIAL

Richie Ramsay was not going to make the halfway cut in the rain-delayed Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, this week's US PGA Tour event at the Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth in Texas.

They still have not completed the second round. Some 27 players have to g out first on Saturday morning to finish off their 36-hole totals. Only then will the halfway cut figure be finalised.

But the projected figure - and the computers are pretty good with their arithmetic - is that those with 36-hole totals of 139 (one under par) or better will make it.

Richie, playing 35 holes on Friday after only one hole on Thursday, scored a highly creditable 69 and 72 for a one-over-par aggregate of 141.

In his first round of one-under-par 69, Ramsay, the US amateur champion, had birdies at the third, sixth, 11th and 17th with bogeys at the ninth, 10th and 14th.

In his second round, the Royal Aberdeen member started at the 10th - and birdied it to move to two-under-par for the tournament. But that's as good as it got for Richie. He bogeyed the 12th to be one under par and then dropped another shot at the third and a final one at the fifth before parring the remainder for a 71.

Having played in two rounds of the Masters, this further outing on the US PGA Tour will have underlined for Richie, who is expected to turn pro after the Walker Cup match in September, just how high the standards are in America.

Tim Clark, with a bag of 14 birdies so far, is leading the "Colonial" field with rounds of 65 and 64 for 11-under-par 129.


ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

MOUL DIGS IN AT THE TOP OF
R&A WORLD AMATEUR RANKINGS

Brabazon Trophy winner Jamie Moul strengthened his position at the top of the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings with his success in the English amateur stroke-play championship. He has now been in the No 1 position for 15 consecutive weeks.
The top-ranked 20 are:
1 Jamie Moul (Eng).
2 Jamie Lovemark (US).
3 Billy Horschel (US).
4 Chris Kirk (US).
5 Rhys Davies (Wal).
6 Pablo Martin (Spa).
7 Lloyd Saltman (Sco).
8 Gary Wolstenholme (Eng).
9 Bronson LaCassie (Aus).
10 Webb Simpson (US).
11 Kyle Stanley (US).
12 Rory McIlroy (NIr).
13 Richie Ramsay (Sco).
14 John Parry (Eng).
15 Dustin Johnson (US).
16 Niklas Lemke (Swe).
17 Alan Wagner (Arg).
18 Rohan Blizard (Aus).
19 Gary Boyd (Eng).
20 Kevin Chappell (US).
Other Scots in top 150:
79 John Gallagher.
84 Paul O'Hara.
100 Keir McNicoll.
122 Duncan Stewart.
124 Scott Henry.
127 Craig Watson
130 Jonathan King.
142 Callum Macaulay.
143 Wallace Booth.

FIGHTING FOTHERHAM IN JOINT

SIXTH PLACE WITH 69 IN

WELSH OPEN STROKE PLAY

Bryan Fotheringham from Forres, fighting to regain his place in the Scotland men's home international team - if not a place in the side for the European men's team championship at Western Gailes in early July - had a battling round of 69 in the first round of the Welsh open amateur stroke-play championship at Machynys Peninsula today.

That put Bryan, pictured right, in joint sixth place behind John Parry (Harrogate). Winner of the Spanish open amateur title earlier this year, the Yorkshireman the first-round leader with a 67.

LEADERBOARD

CSS 74.

67 J Parry (Harrogate).

68 L Campbell (Rochester & Cobham), J Whitge (Saunton), P Waring (Bromborough), G Wolstenhome (Kilworth Springs).

69 L Thomas (Vale of Glamorgan), N Chaudhuri (The Leicestershire), B Fotheringham (Forres), N Edwards (Whitchurch), W Bowe (Workington), R Enoch (Truro), S Matton (Bowood).

70 J Freeman (Worksop), A Runcie (Abergele), L Matgthews (Southerndown), O Farr (Ludlow), M Cryer (Coventry), M Bicknell (Stoneham), M Davies (Kington).

Other scores:

75 Zander Culverwell (Dunbar) (jt 55th).

76 Colin Heuchan (Southerness) (jt 62nd).

80 Robert Carson (Marriott Dalmahoy), Andrew Weir (Montrose Mercantile) (jt 91st).

HENDERSON HORROR ROUND IN RAIN-DELAYED CHALLENGE TOUR EVENT

IN MADRID

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE:

Edoardo Molinari rediscovered his touch on the greens to putt himself onto the verge of European Challenge Tour history at the Open Mahou de Madrid.
The Italian, who has won twice on the 2007 Challenge Tour Schedule already this season to sit at the top of the Rankings, can secure instant promotion to the European Tour by winning at the Casino Club de Golf Retamares his weekend.
After play was wiped out due to flooding at the golf course on Thursday, Molinari got his first round underway this afternoon and shot to the top of the leaderboard with an opening six under par 65, joining Frenchman Nicolas Billot in a tie for first place.
“I played very well today,” said Molinari. “I hit the ball well and finally holed putts, which was a relief because I didn’t hole anything last week in Belgium.
“Today I made some important ones from around four and five metres. If I keep playing like this I know that another victory will come. It’s always difficult to win, but I will have a chance if I can putt like I did today.”
Billot put together seven birdies and just a single dropped shot to join Molinari in the lead, one stroke ahead of Spanish duo Vicente Apron and Carlos Balmaseda, Sweden’s Klas Eriksson and Argentina’s Julio Zapata.
Like Molinari, Billot attributed the success of his first round to his putting ability.
He said: I holed good putts today – everything from between two and three metres seemed to go in, which always makes a different to your round.”
The second round of the Open Mahou de Madrid will be tee off on Saturday morning, when a decision will be made on whether or not the tournament will have to be reduced to 54 holes in order to finish on Sunday afternoon.
Scott Henderson, pictured above, had a horrendous round of 81 in the rain-delayed first round.
The Aberdonian had a triple bogey 7 at the sixth, a double-bogey 5 at the ninth and a double-bogey 6 at the 18th in halves of 41 and 40. He is lying joint 148th in a field of 155 players.
But there was better news of Carnoustie's Eric Ramsay who had a 68 and Jamie McLeary a competent round of 70, one shot better than Peter Whiteford.
For some reason, it was only Henderson among the Scots who found the course very difficult.

LEADERBOARD
Par 71. 6,575yd.
65 Jean-Nicolas Billot (Fra), Edoardo Molinari (Ita).
66 Klas Eriksson (Swse), Julio Zapata (Arg)k Vicente Arpon (Spa), Carolos B almaseda (Spa).
Other scores:
67 Gareth Wright (Wal), James H Williams (Wal).
68 Eric Ramsay (Sco) (jt 15th).
70 Jamie McLeary (Sco) (jt 34th).
71 Peter Whiteford (Sco) (jt 51st).
81 Scott Henderson (Sco) (jt 148th).

ROSE AND CABRERA SHARE LEAD ON
BAD DAY FOR SCOTS AT WENTWORTH

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE:

Angel Cabrera earned himself the moniker of the ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ when he powered his way to victory in the BMW PGA Championship two years ago and the Argentine moved through the gears once again to take a share of the halfway lead with Justin Rose of England.
Cabrera made the fastest possible start to Friday’s second round on the West Course at Wentworth Club by holing his eight iron approach to the first green for a surprise eagle 2.
Five hours later and the South American was receiving the applause from the packed grandstand behind the 18th green after a closing birdie completed the best card of the day, a six under par 66 that equals the lowest score for the refined West Course.
Route 66 took Cabrera right to the top of the leaderboard on eight under par 136 alongside Rose, who added a 70 to his opening 66 to remain in a share of the lead.
A stroke behind on seven under par 137 is Wentworth Club-attached professional Ross Fisher, who staged his own grandstand finish by playing the last three holes in a birdie-eagle-birdie flurry for a five under par 67, and Marcus Fraser of Australia, who was round in 70.
HARRINGTON HOPES ALIVE
Padraig Harrington lies a further shot back on six under par, the Irishman keeping his hopes of an Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship double, and subsequent €1 million bonus, very much alive with a second 69.
Paul Broadhurst of England, the joint overnight leader, remained at six under after a level par 72 and also on that mark were Spain’s Miguel Angel Jiménez (68), third last year, Shiv Kapur of India (71) and Australian Matthew Millar (69).
“I was very lucky to win here two years ago. It meant an awful lot to me, but it’s in the past now, and I’m enjoying the chance of being in perfect position for the weekend after that 66. To make six under on a very tough course is very good," said Cabrera who had three 2s and no bogeys on his scorecard.
“Wentworth is great. I always love coming here and it seems to bring out the best in me. The West Course is very similar to a lot of courses we play in Argentina where driving is the key. You have to keep the ball in position off the tee."
Rose, who led at halfway three years ago, endured a mixed day in contrast to his superbly controlled 66 of Thursday, registering seven birdies – three in his last three holes - and five bogeys for a 70.
“The finish turned the day from a bad day into a good day,” he said. “That was a great way to finish and salvage the day.
“It’s a great start, and it’s nice to be in the hunt going into the weekend. It’s about jostling for position and trying to stay with the lead or as close to it as possible.”
For Harrington, it’s also about a €1 million bonus in addition to the €725,000 first prize and a wonderful eagle at the 17th, when he hit his hybrid approach to six feet of the pin and rolled in the putt, kept that huge windfall in his sights.
A BIT OF ENTERTAINMENT
“Generally I wouldn't have any inclination of how much money we are playing for on a given week, because you do not want to be focusing on it too much, thinking what a certain putt might be worth if you miss it. But this week there is a side bonus and I am very conscious of it. It’s actually providing me with entertainment, but I am not going to let it hang over me and distract me.”
Fisher, who briefly held the lead on the final day of the Dubai Desert Classic in February, showed once again that he has the mental strength to cope with the highs and the lows of the game.
The 26 year old Englishman started his second round with a double bogey 6 but responded immediately by picking up a shot with a birdie 2 at the par-3 second.
Further birdies followed at the fourth, seventh, eighth and 12th holes, either side of a bogey at the 10th, before his spectacular birdie-eagle-birdie finish.
“I guess I’m just very level-headed, very easy-going. I just enjoy playing golf and I’m a confident type of guy on the golf course,” explained Fisher.
“I feel really good in myself and with my game at the moment. To hear your coach say, 'You know, you're absolutely perfect. Your divots are perfect. You’re flushing it’, gives you so much confidence. And obviously the last two days have shown it and I’m not just here to make up the numbers and represent Wentworth Club. I’m here to win the tournament, which I firmly believe I can do.”
THE MAN FROM CORDOBA
Fisher and Rose, a regular visitor to this golfing paradise in Surrey, would certainly be popular winners come Sunday evening but Cabrera, who hails from Cordoba in Argentina, a colonial city with a strong automobile industry, has proven to be a tough man to overtake at the West Course.
It has not been a good tournament for the Scots in the field.
Only Andrew Oldcorn, Marc Warren, both on 145, and Colin Montgomerie (146) survived the cut which saw those with 146 or better qualifying for the weekend rounds.

SCOREBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72)
136 A Cabrera (Arg) 70 66, J Rose (Eng) 66 70.
137 R Fisher (Eng) 70 67, M Fraser (Aus) 67 70.
138 P Broadhurst (Eng) 66 72, P Harrington (Ire) 69 68, M A Jimenez (Spa) 70 69, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 67 71, M Millar (Aus) 69 69.
Other scores:
140 P Casey (Eng) 73 67 (jt 13th).
143 L Donald (Eng) 71 72, L Westwood (Eng) 71 72 (jt 27th).
144 E Els (SAfr) 68 76 (jt 36th).
145 A Oldcorn (Sco) 74 71, M Warren (Sco) 70 75, VJ Singh (Fiji) 73 72 (jt 49th).
146 C Montgomerie (Sco) 70 76, J M Olazabal (Spa) 70 76. (jt 60th).
MISSED THE CUT
148 A Forsyth (Sco) 71 77, I Poulter (Eng) 73 75.
149 P Lawrie (Sco) 74 75.
150 A Coltart (Sco) 76 74, S Gallacher (Sco) 76 74, C Lee (Sco) 76 75, G Orr (Sco) 72 78..
152 G Brand jun (Sco) 74 78, S Drummond (Sco) 77 75, S O'Hara (Sco) 78 74.
153 M Campbell (NZ) 78 75.
156 G Hutcheon (Sco) 84 72.
157 S Lyle (Sco) 73 84.

DOUBLE BOGEY KNOCKS BACK CLARE
IN BMW ITALIAN LADIES OPEN

A double bogey 7 at the long seventh knocked Clare Queen back to a share of 17th place in the third round of the BMW Italian Ladies Open over the Sheraton Golf Parco de Medici course in Rome today.
Clare had earlier moved one under par with a birdie at the fifth. Later she birdied the 16th and bogeyed the 18th in halves of 36 and 37 for a one-over-par 73 and a running total of five-under-par 211.
As she said before the round, Clare is still not holing the birdie chances she is setting up but a top-10 finish is still within her reach with a sub-par final round.
At the top of the leaderboard, a big gallery is assured for the Saturday finale with two Italians, veteran Stefania Croce and rookie Anna Rossi in first and second position after 54 holes.
Stefania, 39, from Bergamo, has only once won as a tour pro and that was 15 years ago in her rookie season of 1992. It was the Ford Ladies Classic.
Stefania had a third-round 69 for 11-under-par 205. Anna had a 69 for 206.
In third place on 207 are Becky Brewerton from Wales, Trish Johnson from England and Sophie Giquel of France.
LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3 x 72)
205 Stefania Croce (Italy) 72 64 68.
206 Anna Rossi (Italy) 69 68 69.
207 Sophie Giquel (Frfance) 73 69 65, Becky Brewerton (Wales) 69 71 67, Trish Johnson (England) 68 70 69.
Other score:
211 Clare Queen (Carrick at Cameron House) 70 68 73.

IT'S THE LIFE OF REILLY FOR HOME PRO
WINNER AT LOCHWINNOCH PRO-AM

Home-club professional Gerry Reilly had a £928 payday today when he won the £5,500 Lochwinnoch Golf Club pro-am by two strokes with a four-under-par round of 67.
Gerry had a roller-coaster round, which included an eagle at the fifth, birdies at the second and eighth and birdies at the second, eigth, 15th, 16th and 17th in halves of 35 (one under par) and 32 (three under).
Joint runners-up on 69 were Colin Gillies (Kingsfield), Jim McKinnon (Irvine) and Sam Cairns (Westerwood).
Brian Mason (Drumoig Driving Range) led the Lochwinnoch Golf Club Junior Team to victory with a net notal of 58. The team members were (handicaps in brackets): David Gray (9), Scott Gordon (15) and Martin White (18).
LEADING PROFESSIONALS
Par 71
67 Gerry Reilly (Lochwinnoch).
69 Colin Gillies (Kingsfield), Jim McKinnon (Irvine), Sam Cairns (Westerwood).
71 D Robertson (Czech Design), Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs GR), Craig Ronald (Carluke), Edward Thomson (Largs), Brian Mason (Drumoig DR).
72 C Doak (unatt).

WALKER BIRDIES 14th, 15th, 18th TO WIN
PGA EUROPRO TOUR EVENT AT
CARDRONA HOTEL, PEEBLES

Englisman Neil Walker clinched a dramatic one-shot victory on the final day of the latest PGA EuroPro Tour tournament.
Walker fired a birdie at the 18th hole for a 71 and a 12-under-par total of 204 to defeat compatriot Christopher Hanson and scoop £10,000 at the Macdonald Cardrona Hotel Golf and Country Club at Peebles.
At the start of the day, Walker, who finished second at Wensum Valley last month, was one shot ahead of Hanson but the lead frequently changed hands on a thrilling end to the competition.
Walker bogeyed three of the first five holes and that gave Hanson, who represents Crosland Heath club, Huddersfield, the upper hand as he had a three-shot advantage after 43 of the 54 holes.
A double-bogey 5 by Walker at the par 3 13th looked like it could prove costly but he responded in fantastic style by birdieing the 14th, 15th and 18 to snatch victory.
Hanson also signed off with a 71 for 205 and earned the £5,000 runner-up prize.
Matthew Ford (Marriott Tudor Park) finished third after a third-day 68 left him on 10-under 206. His cash prize was £2,500. He was left regretting one poor hole on Wednesday when he registered a triple bogey 7 at the third.
The South Wales-based Doherty brothers from Glasgow had their best payday for a while.
Former Scottish boys match-play champion Paul crammed six birdies into a closing round of 70 to finish joint sixth on 212. Paul birdied the 10th, 13th, 17th and 18th to climb up the leaderboard in dramatic fashion in the closing stages. He earned £1,100.
Older brother Jack finished 10th equal of 215 after a seven-birdie 67 which included bogeys at the 11th and 12th. Jack earned £725.
FINAL SCOREBOARD
Par 216 (3 x 72)
204 N Walker (Eng) 68 65 71 (£10,000).
205 C Hanson (Crosland Heath) 66 68 71 (£5,000).
206 M Ford (Marriott Tudor Park) 72 66 68 (£2,500).
How the Scots finished:
212 Paul Doherty (Vale of Glamorgan) 71 71 70 (jt 6th) (£1,100).
215 Jack Doherty (Vale of Glamorgan) 74 74 67 (jt 10th) (£715).
217 Callum Nicoll (Prestwick) 73 73 71, Chris Kelly (Cawder) 72 70 75 (jt 19th) (£401 each).
218 Mark Loftus (Cowglen) 73 72 72 (jt 24th) (£355).
219 Freddy Valenti (Pryors Hayes) 74 73 72 (jt 28th) (£311).
221 David Patrick (Mortonhall) 74 73 74 (jt 40th) (£250).
224 Christopher Campbell (Carnegie Club, Skibo Castle) 71 75 78, Graham Gordon (Aberdeen) 75 70 79 (jt 51st) (£200 each).
225 Thomas Higson (Eyemouth) (73 75 77 (jt 54th).
Retired: Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) 75 72 -.

SCOTS STROKE PLAY CHAMPION MELISSA REID IN ENGLISH

FINAL v NAOMI EDWARDS

Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play champion Melissa Reid, 19, from Chevin, Derby will play Yorkshire's Naomi Edwards (Ganton), 23, in the 18-hole final of the English women's amateur golf championship at Littlestone Golf Club, Kent tomorrow.

Both played for GB&I in last year's Curtis Cup match in the United States.

"Hopefully it will be third time lucky for me," said Naomi. "I've lost twice in the final."

She beat the top seed, English stroke-play champion Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor), by 3 and 1 in the first semi-final.

Melissa, pictured above, reached her first English final by beating Anna Scott (Consett & District) by two holes.

Miss Reid clinched victory with a grandstand finish in which she birdied three of the last four holes.

This was the six-foot Miss Scott's first competition of the year. A student at the University of Georgia State, she had been ruled out of the game with injury for the past seven months.

In the other semi-final, Naomi Edwards surged three holes up after only six holes but Liz Bennett promply fired back with three consecutive birdies to be all square by the turn.

There after it was nip-and-tuck. Naomi edged ahead with a birdie at the 13th but was pulled back on the next. She went ahead again at the 15th and crucially moved to two holes up with a fine birdie at the long 16th.
The 173yd 17th was the decisive hole. Naomi fired a five-iron to the heart of the green while Liz's tee shot finished on the steep face of a greenside bunker. It was all she could do to hack the ball into the sand. Her next shot also stayed in the trap and she conceded the hole and the match.

RESULTS:

QUARTER-FINALS

Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) bt Danielle Montgomery (Lambourne) 5 and 4.

Naomi Edwards (Ganton) bt Rachel Jennings (Izaak Walton) at 19th.

Anna Scott (Consett & District) bt Emma Lyons (West Surrey) 3 and 1.

Melissa Reid (Chevin) bt Claire Aitken (The London) 4 and 2.

SEMI-FINALS

Reid bt Scott 2 holes.

Edwards bt Bennett 3 and 1.

SHIELDS IS TOP SCOT IN SKANDIA
JUNIOR OPENS IN SWEDEN

Cambuslang teenager Paul Shields led the Scots challenge in the Skandia Junior Open at Falkenberg Golf Club, Sweden today.
In pleasant temperatures around the 20 degrees mark, with little or no wind, the Kirkhill Golf Club junior member shot a two-under-par 70 (34-36) to be joint fourth after the first round, only one shot behind the three joint leaders.
Shields had three birdies (the first, sixth and seventh) and one bogey in an outward two-under-par 34.
After the turn, Paul had two more birdies, at the 10th and 12th but cancelled them out with bogeys at the 11th and 14th.
Scottish boys’ match-play champion Paul Ferrier (Baberton) was back in joint 56th place with a 79 (39-40). He had a double bogey 6 at the 16th .
Andrew Campbell from Dumbarton was in joint 76th place in a field of 95 with an 82 (42-40). He had a triple bogey 6 at the last and a double bogey 6 at the second
William Bremner (Edzell) was sharing 82nd place with an 83 (41-42). He had double bogeys at the second, sixth and 16th.
In the Skandia Girls’ Open at Bastad Golf Club, 14-year-old Carly Booth from Comrie, Perthshire, the only British or Irish player in the field, had a three-over-par 74 (37-37) to be in joint sixth place in a field of 71.
Carly would have been a couple of shots closer to the joint leaders on 70 had she not run up a double-bogey 6 at the 16th
Earlier Miss Booth had birdied the third, 11th and 14th but dropped shots at the first, ninth and 10th.

LEADERBOARDS
BOYS
Par 72. Players from Sweden unless stated
69 Mark Jargren, Jens Dantorp, Mortan Emil Bergan.
70 Paul Shields (Kirkhill), Andrew Johnston (North Middlesex), Fredrik Kollevold, Alexander Jacobsson.
Other scores:
73 Billy Britton (Pedham Place) (jt 15th).
79 Paul Ferrier (Baberton) (jt 56th).
80 Henry Smart (Walton Heath) (jt 67th).
82 Andrew Campbell (Dumbarton) ()jt 76th).
83 William Bremner (Edzell) (jt 82nd).
GIRLS
Par 71.
70 Nathalie Mansson, Giulia Molinaro (Italy).
71 Amanda Strang.
72 Josephine Janson.
73 Therese Kolbaek.
74 Carly Booth (Comrie), Caroline Hedwall, Johanna Rodert, Alessia Knight.

FIFE GOLF ASSOCIATION SUMMER INTER-CLUB LEAGUES
Sponsored by Innes Johnston & Co, Solicitors & Estate Agents

Results:

DIVISION 1
Leven Thistle 3, Thornton 3.
Kirkcaldy 2, Burntisland GH 4.
Thornton 3.5, Burntisland GH 2.5.
Burntisland 3, Thornton 3.

HOW THEY STAND
(columns: played, won, halved, lost, for, against, points)
Thornton........... 3-1-0-2-8-7-4
Burntisland GH 3-1-2-1-8-7-3
Leven Thistle .. 1-0-0-1-3-3-1
Kirkcaldy.......... 1-0-1-0-2-4-0

DIVISION 2
Lundin 4, Pitreavie 2.
Dunnikier Park 4.5, Balbirnie Park 1.5.

HOW THEY STAND
Dunnikier Park 1-1-0-0-4-1-2
Lundin .............. 1-1-0-0-3-1-2
Balbirnie Park.. 1-0-1-0-1-4-0
Pitreavie .......... 1-0-1-0-1-3-0

DIVISION 3
Dunfermline 4, Drumoig 2.
Dunfermline 4, Drumoig 2.
Scotscraig 3, Drumoig 3.
Forrester Park 4, Dunfermline 2.

HOW THEY STAND
Forrester Park 1-1-0-0-4-2-2
Dunfermlin ...... 2-1-1-0-6-6-2
Scotscraig ........ 1-0-0-1-2-2-1
Drumoig .......... 2-0-1-1-4-6-1

DIVISION 4
Cowdenbeath 6, St Michaels 0.
Lochgelly 5.5, Leven GS 0.5.
Cowdenbeath 5, Leven GS 1.
St Michaels 4, Lochgelly 2.

HOW THEY STAND
Cowdenbeath 2-2-0-0-11-1-4
Lochgelly ...... 2-1-1-0-7-4-2
St Michaels .. 2-1-1-0-4-8-2
Leven G S .... 2-0-2-0-1-10-0
Scoonie .........0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Elmwood ......0-0-0-0-0-0-0

SCHWARTZEL WINS EUROPEAN TOUR
SHOT OF THE MONTH FOR APRIL

Charl Schwartzel’s stunning three iron approach to the 16th green in the final round of the Open de España at Centro Nacional de Golf, which paved the way for an eagle three that ultimately secured his second title on The European Tour, has been recognised as The European Tour Shot of the Month for April.
“There were some great tournaments and some wonderful golf played in April, so I am particularly delighted to have earned the panel’s vote for the Shot of the Month Award,” commented Schwartzel, whose previous European Tour victory came at the 2005 Dunhill Championship.
“I remember the shot clearly. I had the perfect yardage for my three iron and even though the shot was slightly into the wind, it felt the right club and I put a good swing on it. As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to be good.”
Carlos Rodiles of Spain, winner of The 2006 European Tour Qualifying School, received the runner-up vote for his own brilliant approach to the 16th at Centro Nacional de Golf. Third place went to Richard Sterne for his magnificent chip-in at the 72nd hole of the Volvo China Open at Shanghai Silport Golf Club.
The European Tour Shot of the Month Award is presented to the Tour Member for the shot judged to be the most outstanding played during each calendar month on The European Tour International Schedule. The winners so far this year are Retief Goosen of South Africa (January), Mikko Ilonen of Finland (February) and Anton Haig of South Africa (March). The winning shots from each month are entered towards The European Tour Shot of the Year.

JAMIESON IN DANGER OF MISSING OUT
ON HOOTERS TOUR PAY CHECK

Three late bogeys may have cost Glasgow’s Scott Jamieson a pay check this weekend in the NGA Hooters Tour’s Touchstone Energy Open at Brook Valley Counctry Club, Greenville in North Carolina.
Rookie Jamieson, who has done well on this US satellite circuit, bogeyed the 14th, 17th and 18th for a one-over-par 73 after birdieing three long holes, the second, sixth and 13th and also the par-4 ninth. He also had bogeys at two short holes, the third and eighth.
Jamieson is sharing 65th place with David Skinns from Lincoln – and only the leading 60 and ties in a huge field of 168 after 36 holes will qualify for the weekend’s 36 holes.
First prize is around $36,000.
Colin Speirs from Dunkeld needs an even bigger improvement than Jamieson if he is to survive after a double bogey 7 at the 13th in a 76 which put him in 116th place.
Ulsterman Gareth Maybin from Ballyclare, one of the leading players on the Hooters Tour over the past two years, is bang on the borderline in joint 44th place on par 72.
Joint leaders are Ben McClung – sounds like some Scottish forefathers there? – from Jacksonville, Florida and Matthew Borchert from Orlando on five-under-par 65.

HAS CHRIS ENOUGH BALLS TO

PLAY FINAL ROUND OF
AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP?

Chris Baron from Oldmeldrum, coming up to the end of his freshman year at Belmont Abbey College, North Carolina, is playing the toughest golf course he has ever experienced – and he’s got the scores to prove it!
Chis, pictured right, a low-handicap player who played for North-east boys' representative teams before leaving for the States last autumn, is competing in the NCAA Division 2 men’s championship over 72 holes at The Meadows Golf Club, Allendale in Michigan.
It’s a 6,992yd, par-71 course with, as one report has put it, “hard fairways and super-thick rough … so much so that lost balls have become an issue.”
The leading team, Barry University, are 38 over par with 890 for the three rounds so far. Chris’s college team, Belmont Abbey, are a combined 56 over par but are in ninth place of the 20 competing teams with a tally of 908.
Baron has himself scored 76, 80 and 87 for 30 over par 243 and he is in joint 93rd place in a field of 105 of the best NCAA Division 2 college golfers.
In his third round, Chris had two triple bogeys and three double bogeys – and a birdie at the fifth! He had a double-bogey 5 at the short seventh, a triple bogey 7 at the long eighth, a double bogey 6 at the 12th, a triple bogey 8 at the long 14th and a double bogey 6 at the 16 in halves of 42 and 45.

If he has enough balls left for the final round, he deserves a medal for going the distance!
The leader, Christian Ries (Columbus State University, is the only player under par with one round to go. He has scored 73, 71 and 70 for 214 – to lead by three from team-mate Andrew Georgiou (73-71-73).

RICHIE RAMSAY PARS FIRST HOLE - AND
THEN PLAY IS SUSPENDED AT COLONIAL

Richie Ramsay got a par 5 at the long first hole in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial - and then the weather closed in and play was suspended for the rest of the day at Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth Texas.
The US amateur champion from Royal Aberdeen was in the last group off the first tee at 2.30pm local time.
There were some low scores over the par-70 lay-out from those who did complete their rounds. Anthony Kim is the clubhouse leader at seven-under-par 63, one shot ahead of Ted Purdy and Jeff Maggert.
If you want to see all the scores, and the scorecards of those who have and have not completed their rounds, log on to the US PGA Tour's excellent website:
http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r021/

BON ACCORD v MURCAR IN FINAL OF MAITLAND
SHIELD AT EAST ABERDEENSHIRE GOLF CENTRE

Bon Accord will play Murcar in the final of the City of Aberdeen foursomes for the Maitland Shield at East Aberdeenshire Golf Centre on Friday evening.

Semi-finals results:

Bon Accord beat Royal Aberdeen by five holes.
D Grieve & B Edmond 6, F Clark, A Reith 0.
G V Somers & M Greig 0, E Laird & S Buchan 1.

Murcar beat Peterculter by 12 holes.
N McKinnon & A Bews 5, I Thomson & A Dingwall 0.
T Mathieson & B Innes 7, B Taylor, K Austen 0.

CHALLENGE TOUR FIRST DAY HALTED IN
MADRID BECAUSE OF STORMS, FLOODING

This week's European Challenge Tour event in Madrid, the Open Mahou de Madrid at the Casino Club de Golf Retamaros, may have to be reduced to 54 holes.
This follows an early suspension of play today in the first round because of thunder storms and flooding in parts of the course.
Four Scots are in the field - Peter Whiteford, Eric Ramsay, Scott Henderson, Jamie McLeary - plus West Linton-based Welshman Gareth Wright.

NORTHERN OPEN WINNER MURRAY
URQUHART MISSES CUT IN PGA
EUROPRO TOUR EVENT AT PEEBLES

Last week the winner of the Northern Open ... this week failure to beat the 36-hole cut in the PGA EuroPro Tour event at the Cardrona Hotel & Golf Resort, Peebles. That's how it's gone for Murray Urquhart from Inverness.

He had rounds of 75 and 78 for 153 and missed the cut (148 and better qualified for the final round) by a few shots.

Chris Kelly and Paul Doherty, in joint seventh position on 142, are the leading Scots, Kelly with scores of 72 and 70, Doherty with a pair of 71s.

Neil Walker from England, who had a hole in one at the 189yd ninth, leads at 11-under-par 133 with scores of 68 and 65. He is one shot ahead of compatriot Chris Hanson on 134 (66-68).

LEADING QUALIFIERS

Par 144 (2 x 72)
133 Neil Walker (Eng) 68 65.

134 Chris Hanson (Eng) 66 68.

138 Matthew Ford (Marriott Tudor Park) 72 66, Paul Maddy (Gog Magog) 72 66
141 Jeremy Kavanagh (Eng) 69 72, Jonathan Evans (Eng) 77 64.

Scots' scores:

142 Chris Kelly 72 70, Paul Doherty 71 71.
145 Graham Gordon 75 70.
146 Christopher Campbell 71 75, Callum Nicoll 73 73, Mark Loftus 73 73, .
147 Freddy Valenti 74 73, David Patrick 74 73, Paul McKechnie 75 72.
148 Thomas Higson (Eyemouth) 73 75, J Doherty 74 74.

MISSED THE CUT

149 Noel Henderson 72 77, Alan Lockhart 75 74, Neil Mitrchell 76 73, Alasdair Hay 76 73.
150 Craig Matheson 76 74, Elliot Saltman 76 74.
152 Paul Cormack 80 72, Stephen Lamb 77 75.
153 Ian Simpson 77 76, Graeme Brown 80 73, Murray Urquhart. 75 78.
156 Lee Harper 77 79.

161 C Farr 74 87.
164 David Roger 80 84.

Retired: Lee Vannet 76 -, Paul Gault 81 -, Alastair MacKenzie 80 -.

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

CLARE QUEEN ONLY TWO BEHIND IN BMW
LADIES ITALIAN OPEN IN ROME

Clare Queen goes into Friday's third round of the BMW Ladies Italian Open in Rome only two shots behind the triple joint leaders.
Clare, now in joint fifth position, has had rounds of 70 and 68 for six-under-par 138.
"It was steady stuff," said the Scot. "I'm hitting the ball really well but just not holing as many putts as I would like. In the first round I had a lot of chances and didn't take them. The way I'm playing I feel that I am going to make a few birdies over the weekend."
Former "Helen Holm" winner Karen-Margrethe Juul from Denmark, Australian Sarah Kemp and Italian veteran Stefania Croce are sharing the pole position on 136.
Stefania, who has only ever won one event as a pro - the Ford Ladies Classic in 1992 - said that her second-round 64 was the lowest she had ever scored in 15 years as a tour pro.
Clubhouses can be dangerous places if you don't watch where you are putting your feet - as Lisa Holm Sorensen found out to her regret. She fell down a set of stairs in the Sheraton Golf Parco de' Medici clubhouse before her second round. She started the round but eventually had to retire and go to hospital with a suspected broken wrist.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
136 Sarah Kemp (Aus) 68 68, Stefania Croce (Ita) 72 64, Karen-Margrethe Juul (Den) 64 72.
137 Anna Rossi (Ita) 69 68.
138 Clare Queen (Sco) 70 68, Tania Elosegui (Spa) 70 68, Trish Johnson (Eng) 68 70
139 Catrin Nilsmark (Swe) 69 70, Martina Eberl (Ger) 73 66, Rikke Rasmussen (Den) 67 72, Amy Yang (Kor) 69 70, Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (Fra) 68 71
140 Carmen Alonso (Spa) 70 70, Federica Piovano (Ita) 68 72, Bettina Hauert (Ger) 70 70, Nikki Garrett (Aus) 68 72, Becky Brewerton (Wal) 69 71, Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa) 66 74
141 Lotta Wahlin (Swe) 68 73, Ludivine Kreutz (Fra) 71 70, Beatriz Recari (Spa) 68 73, Natalie Claire Booth (Eng) 68 73, Johanna Westerberg (Swe) 68 73, Rebecca Coakley (Irl) 67 74
142 Sophie Giquel (Fra) 73 69, Rebecca Hudson (Eng) 72 70, Eleanor Pilgrim (Wal) 72 70, Mianne Bagger (Den) 74 68, Sara Beautell (Spa) 71 71, Jade Schaeffer (Fra) 71 71, Mette Buus (Den) 71 71, Kiran Matharu (Eng) 74 68, Eva Steinberger (Aut) 71 71, Laura Cabanillas (Spa) 75 67, Lara Tadiotto (Bel) 69 73, Louise Friberg (Swe) 67 75, Iben Tinning (Den) 69 73
143 Anna Temple (US) 73 70, Veronica Zorzi (Ita) 77 66, Stephanie Arricau (Fra) 75 68, Helena Alterby (Swe) 75 68, Sofia Renell (Swe) 71 72, Rebecca Stevenson (Aus) 73 70
144 Amanda Moltke-Leth (Den) 75 69, Anna Rawson (Aus) 73 71, Paula Marti (Spa) 77 67, Sophie Sandolo (Ita) 70 74, Frederique Seeholzer (Swi) 75 69, Leah Hart (Aus) 75 69, Lee-Anne Pace (Rsa) 74 70, Maria Boden (Swe) 72 72, Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin) 72 72, Diana Luna (Ita) 71 73, Margherita Rigon (Ita) 70 74, Joanne Mills (Aus) 73 71, Cassandra Kirkland (Fra) 70 74
145 Samantha Head (Eng) 71 74, Tullia Calzavara (Ita) 70 75, Marta Prieto (Spa) 75 70, Cherie Byrnes (Aus) 72 73, Karen Lunn (Aus) 75 70, Ursula Wikstrom (Fin) 74 71, Elisabeth Esterl (Ger) 74 71, Kirsty S Taylor (Eng) 70 75

MISSED THE CUT

146 Louise Stahle (Swe) 75 71, Maria Beautell (Spa) 69 77, Marina Arruti (Spa) 71 75, Ana Larraneta (Spa) 76 70, Ana B Sanchez (Spa) 78 68, Katharina Schallenberg (Am) (Ger) 71 75, Barbara Paruscio (Ita) 72 74, Nina Karlsson (Swe) 75 71
147 Natascha Fink (Aut) 75 72, Jehanne Jail (Fra) 76 71, Bree Turnbull (Aus) 73 74, Nicole Gergely (Aut) 74 73, Isabella Maconi (Ita) 73 74, Danielle Masters (Eng) 71 76
148 Georgina Simpson (Eng) 74 74, Kirsty Taylor (Eng) 77 71, Sophie Walker (Eng) 76 72, Virginie Auffret (Fra) 72 76, Asa Gottmo (Swe) 76 72
149 Jenni Kuosa (Fin) 74 75, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 79 70, Ellen Smets (Bel) 72 77, Marianna Causin (Am) (Ita) 74 75, Maria Verchenova (Rus) 73 76, Nathalie David-Mila (Fra) 76 73
150 Anja Monke (Ger) 76 74, Lynn Brooky (Nzl) 76 74, Nienke Nijenhuis (Ned) 75 75, Hanna-Leena Salonen (Fin) 76 74, Anna Tybring (Swe) 73 77, Elisa Serramia (Spa) 75 75, Laurette Maritz (Rsa) 75 75, Marlene Hedblom (Swe) 76 74
151 Anna Knutsson (Swe) 79 72, Liza Walters (Eng) 74 77, Alessandra Averna (Ita) 75 76, Felicity Johnson (Eng) 74 77, Carlie Butler (Aus) 78 73
152 Katharina Werdinig (Aut) 77 75, Kris Lindstrom (USA) 78 74, Kathryn Imrie (Sco) 77 75, Lill Kristin Saether (Nor) 80 72, Lisa Hall (Eng) 75 77, Stefanie Michl (Aut) 76 76
153 Nora Angehrn (Swi) 77 76, Vittoria Valvassori (Am) (Ita) 76 77, Anna Roscio (Am) (Ita) 78 75, Fany Schaeffer (Fra) 78 75, Sarah Heath (Eng) 79 74
154 Shani Waugh (Aus) 78 76, Denise Simon (Ger) 73 81, Claire Coughlan (Irl) 75 79
156 Annamaria Milie (Ita) 77 79, Jo Clingan (Eng) 77 79, Itziar Elguezabal (Spa) 76 80
157 Christine Hallstrom (Swe) 80 77, Anne Lise Caudal (Fra) 82 75
158 Fame More (Eng) 80 78
Ret: Elin Ohlsson (Swe), Lisa Jean (Aus) 76, Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den) 72, Cecilia Ekelundh (Swe)

BROADHURST AND ROSE SET THE
PACE WITH 66s IN BMW PGA
CHAMPIONSHIP AT WENTWORTH

England's Justin Rose and Paul Broadhurst were the two pacesetters at the start of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, both coming in with six-under-par rounds of 66. Broadhurst, the 41-year-old former Ryder Cup player who has not had a top-10 finish all season, was in the sixth group out and made the most of the ideal early conditions by picking up five birdies in the first eight holes.
Then, later in the day, Rose, pictured above, making his first appearance since coming fifth in the Masters last month and then suffering more back trouble, grabbed eight birdies to make it a tie at the top.
Broadhurst, who narrowly missed out on a return to the European Ryder Cup team last year after a 15-year gap last year, did bogey the ninth, but further birdies came on the 11th and long 17th.
They were one shot ahead of a group which included Essex's Simon Khan, runner-up to David Howell in the event 12 months ago, but perhaps still best known as the player fined a record £8,000 for slow play in Ireland two years ago.
Only two behind the leaders is the world number five Ernie Els, the man who has toughened up the West Course in the last two years and who lives alongside it.
Els actually started with a bogey after pulling his drive into the rough and he also double-bogeyed the 449-yard ninth, but his front nine also contained birdies at the second, fourth and fifth and then had five more birdies on the inward half.
The South African is a six-time winner of the World Match Play on the Wentworth lay-out, but never of the European Tour's flagship event.
Irish Open winner Padraig Harrington returned a tidy 69 to be only three shots off the pace.

Colin Montgomerie, over one of his favourite courses, came back to form with a two-under-par 70, one ahead of Alastair Forsyth.

Greig Hutcheon (Peterculter), who qualified to play in the PGA event as winner of the PGA Scottish Region Order of Merit, had a bad day. He is bottom of the scoreboard with a 12-over-par 84.

Par 72 (players from GB&I unless stated)
66 Justin Rose, Paul Broadhurst.
67 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Shiv Kapur (Ind), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Simon Khan.
68 Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Yong-eun Yang (Kor), Ernie Els (SAf), Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Richard Sterne (SAf), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind).
69 Lee Slattery, Matthew Millar (Aus), Nick Dougherty, Louis Oosthuizen (SAf), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Padraig Harrington.
70 Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Ross Fisher, James Kingston (SAf), Colin Montgomerie, Oliver Wilson, Rafael Echenique (Arg), Angel Cabrera (Arg), Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Marc Warren, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Andres Romero (Arg), Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Henrik Stenson (Swe), Thomas Levet (Fra)
71 Brett Taylor, Martin Kaymer (Ger), Graeme Storm, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra), Alastair Forsyth, Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Miles Tunnicliff, Richard Bland, Juan Parron (Spa), Christian Nilsson (Swe), Phillip Price, Sam Walker, James Hepworth, Luke Donald, Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Lee Westwood, Mark Foster, Peter O'Malley (Aus)
72 Gary Orr, Christopher Hanell (Swe), Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg), Peter Hedblom (Swe), Gary Marks, Robert Karlsson (Swe), Stephen Dodd, Niclas Fasth (Swe), Simon Thornton, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa), Christian Cevaer (Fra), Joakim Backstrom (Swe), Mattias Eliasson (Swe), Darren Clarke, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Ariel Canete (Arg), Emanuele Canonica (Ita), Cesar Monasterio (Arg)
73 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), Steven Jeppesen (Swe), David Park, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Peter Hanson (Swe), Vijay Singh (Fij), Robert Rock, Markus Brier (Aut), Terry Price (Aus), Sandy Lyle, Ian Garbutt, Bradley Dredge, Marcel Siem (Ger), Joakim Haeggman (Swe), Maarten Lafeber (Ned), David Lynn, Paul Casey, Phillip Archer, Ian Poulter, Richard Green (Aus).
74 Garry Houston, David Griffiths, Anders Hansen (Den), Graeme McDowell, Peter Gustafsson (Swe), Simon Wakefield, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Gary Murphy, Alexander Noren (Swe), Andrew Oldcorn, Richard Finch, Paul Lawrie, Thomas Bjorn (Den), Gordon Brand jun, Paul McGinley
75 Anthony Wall, Steve Webster, Johan Axgren (Swe), Kenneth Ferrie, Simon Dyson, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa)
76 Craig Lee, Damien McGrane, Retief Goosen (Rsa), Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Benn Barham, Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Andrew Coltart, John Bickerton, Peter Lawrie, Johan Edfors (Swe), Stephen Gallacher, Paul Wesselingh, Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Gregory Havret (Fra)
77 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Anton Haig (SAf), Kyron Sullivan, Jean Van de Velde (Fra), Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha), Scott Drummond, Mardan Mamat (Sin), Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Brett Rumford (Aus), Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Simon Edwards, Tom Whitehouse, Barry Lane
78 David Carter, Michael Campbell (NZ), Charl Schwartzel (SAf), Steven O'Hara.
79 Andrew Marshall, Darren Fichardt (SAf).
80 Jon Bevitt, Soren Hansen (Den), Gary Emerson.
81 Mark Pilkington, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra).
83 Richard O'Hanlon.
84 Greig Hutcheon.

IAN HUTCHEON WINS SCOTTISH

SENIORS' TITLE FOR THIRD

TIME BY THREE STROKES

When Ben Hogan won the 1953 Open at Carnoustie, he improved his score with every round. Ian Hutcheon did a “Ben Hogan” in reverse in winning the Scottish senior men’s open amateur stroke-play championship for a third time since 2003 at Drumpellier Golf Club today.
The Monifieth man, pictured right, one of the best Scottish amateurs of the second half of the 20th Century, had scores of 70, 73 and 76 over the par-71 lay-out for a six-over-par total 219 to win the over-55s’ title by three strokes from David Lane, the Berkshire player who won the same championship as far back as 2001 and 2002.
“Hutch” got one hand on the trophy with his first-round 70 which gave him a three-shot lead over the field. He increased that to five in the second round and then took his foot off the pedal in the final round.
Ian bogeyed the first, fourth, sixth, 11th, 14th and 16th before he had his first and only birdie at the day at the 17th.
A look at Hutcheon’s birdie count tells the story of the championship. He had five birdies in his first round, three in his second and only one in his third.
David Lane did follow the Ben Hogan style with 77, 74 and 72 for 222.
Joint third on 225 were two Scots, Jim Watt (Letham Grange) and George Paterson from Northern, one of three clubs based at Aberdeen’s municipal links. Watt birdied the 14th and 17th in his final round. For Paterson it was that proverbial “game of two halves.” George had a nightmare 43 (seven over par) to the turn and then pulled himself together to reel off eight pars and a birdie at the 17th in reducing the inward half to one-under-par 34.
The best round of the final day was a level par 71 from Royal Aberdeen’s John Johnston, who made his senior debut in helping Scotland win the over-55s’ home internationals title at Dunbar last autumn.
John had scores of 81, 76 and 71 for 228. After bogeys at the first, fifth and seventh, Johnston birdied the ninth to be out in two-over 32. Then a second birdie, at the 13th, put him only one over par. Then a bogey at the long 15th dropped back to two over par before he had the grandstand finish of the tournament, holing his second for an eagle 2 at the long 18th for 33 home and a par-matching 71.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 213 (3 x 71) CSS 74 74 74 (reduction only each round)

219 I C Hutcheon (Monifieth) 70 73 76.
223 D Lane (Goring & Streatley) 77 74 72.
225 J Watt (Letham Grange) 75 76 74, G Paterson (Northern) 73 75 77.
227 C Christy (Kilmacolm) 74 77 76, J Baldwin (Sunningdale) 74 78 75, R Smethurst (Crewe) 75 77 75, P Slater (Sandiway) 76 75 76.
228 J W Johnston (Royal Aberdeen) 81 76 71, J Kinloch (Cardross) 78 76 74.
229 I Taylor (Royal Burgess) 75 79 75, D McCart (Castlerock) 79 76 74, C W Green (Cardross) 80 74 75, G Rodaks (Moffat) 78 75 76.
230 B Humble (Kilspindie) 80 78 72, D Longmuir (Verulam) 79 75 76.
231 W Wallace (Strathaven) 80 77 74, S Ellis (Cowal) 77 79 75, G Thomson (Bearsden)78 76 77, I Stewart (Curragh) 81 72 78, R McLellan (Turnberry) 77 74 80.
232 I Broadfoot (Turnberry) 81 74 77, P Jones (Brombrough) 79 77 76, S Pond (Worksop) 80 74 78, M Temple (US) 79 74 79.
233 A Cameron (Gourock) 76 81 76.
234 I Cumming (Eastwood) 76 79 79, A Ferguson (Drumpellier) 77 81 76, H Moxon (Royal Cinque Ports) 78 79 77, I Mason (Royal Cinque Ports) 78 78 78, N Marsden (Moor Park) 76 80 78, G Steel (Moor Park) 75 77 82..
235 W Brady (Drumpellier) 79 76 80, W F Morton (Dunbar) 74 81 80, David Millar (St Andrews New) 76 82 77, D McLaughlan (Crow Wood) 79 77 79.
237 N Cameron (Porters Park) 79 76 82, J S Macdonald (Dunfermline) 78 80 79, R Stewart (Tulliallan) 83 73 81, R Young (Chestfield) 79 75 83.
238 R Gill (Gerrards Cross) 83 75 80, A Fiddes (Murcar Links) 79 79 80, L Gordon (Turnhouse) 81 77 80.
239 R Walker (Crewe) 77 81 81, J Paton (Kirkintilloch) 79 77 83, S Baker (Little Aston) 81 77 81.

240 G McGee (Erskine) 82 75 83.
241 A Waddington (Crewe) 74 83 84.

CARLY BOOTH CHASES JUNIOR

SOLHEIM CUP POINTS IN

SWEDEN THIS WEEKEND

Perthshire prospect Carly Booth, 15 years old next month, is the only British or Irish player in the field for the Skandia Junior Lady Open tournament over 54 holes at Bastad Golf Club, Sweden, beginning on Friday.
Last year Miss Booth, pictured right, played for Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup match at Celtic Manor.
The Skandia Junior Lady Open is a qualifier for places in the Ping Junior Solheim Cup team to play the United States girls at the same venue on September 11 and 12.
Scottish boys’ champion Paul Ferrier (Baberton), William Bremner (Edzell), Andrew Campbell (Dumbarton) and Paul Shields (Kirkhill) are competing in the Skandia Junior Open at Falkenberg Golf Club near Gothenburg, also over three rounds from Friday to Sunday inclusive.

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

SCOT CHRIS DOWN THE FIELD IN MICHIGAN

Aberdeenshire player Chris Baron, pictured right, from Oldmeldrum, a student at Belmont Abbey College, North Carolina, was sharing 76th place after rounds of 76 and 80 in the NCAA Division 2 men's championship at The Meadows Golf Club, Allendale in Michigan.

Chris had birdies at the fourth and 12th but a double-bogey 5 at the short seventh dragged him down.

The Scot is 15 strokes behind the leader, Jarin Todd (Sonoma State), who has scored 69 and 72 to lead by two from Hernan Boja (Barry University) with 70 and 73.

Barry (586) lead the team event from Florida Southern (591). Belmont Abbey College (608) are lying 13th of the 20 teams

SEVE PULLS OUT OF US SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

SEVE Ballesteros has withdrawn from this week's US Senior PGA Championship over the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island for "personal reasons."
The "personal reasons" may be that the Spaniard is at last acknowledging he just cannot play the game nowadays to the required standard to compete at this level.

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

MAITLAND SHIELD QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
FROM EAST ABERDEENSHIRE GOLF CENTRE

Quarter-final results on Wednesday evening from the City of Aberdeen club foursomes for the Maitland Shield, hosted for the first time by East Aberdeenshire Golf Centre, were:

Bon Accord beat Nigg Bay by one hole.
A Styles & A Doig 2, L Vitesse & I Welsh 2.
G V Somers & M Greig 3, N Slater & G Grimmer 0.

Royal Aberdeen beat Deeside by seven holes.
F Clark & A Reith 6, A Campbell & T Rennie 0.
E Laird & S Buchan 1, D Kerr,A B Hutchison 0.

Peterculter beat Hazlehead by two holes.
A Dingwall & I Thomson 0, I Still & K Duthie 1.
B Taylor & K Austen 3, G Cheyne & R Hyland 0.

Murcar beat Northern by 11 holes.
A Bews & N McKinnon 2, T Robertson & C McBain 0.
T Mathieson & B Innes 9, S Forsyth & B Rae 0.

+Semi-finals at East Aberdeenshire Golf Centre Thursday evening.

CLARE QUEEN JT 22nd AT END OF
FIRST ROUND IN BMW LADIES
ITALIAN OPEN
Karen-Margrethe Juul, the Danish player who won the Helen Holm Scottish stroke-play title at Troon in 1998, had ever lowest ever score as a professional - an eight-under-par 64 - to lead the BMW Ladies Italian Open at the Sheraton Golf Parco de Medici course by two shots from South African rookie Stacy Bregman.
Almost unbelievably, Karen did not have a practice round. Like many players, she found the Italian airline strikes made getting to the tournament an achievement in itself. Some, like Lora Fairclough from Lancashire abandoned the struggle to get to the venue in time.
Miss Juul flew to Nice and then drove eight hours in a hired car, arriving at her hotel at 10.30pm on Tuesday night ... and she had an early starting time!
"Maybe I should prepare this way more often for tournaments," she joked. "To be honest, I had played the course before, so I knew what to expect."
Clare Queen shot a two-under-par 70 to be lying joint 22nd at the end of the day. Clare had a very steady round. Only one bogey - at the first - and then everything pars and birdies after that. She birdied the fifth, 16th and 17th. Also on the 70 mark is England's Kristy S Taylor.
Kathryn Imrie from Monifieth did not have a good day. She finished with a 77 for a share of 104th place. Kathryn had a double bogey 7 at the third and bogeys at the fourth, fifth and 15th. She had no birdies.
SCOREBOARD
Par 72

AOL.rhsAd(); // write AOL RHS ad



pic_x=scale_factor*
pic_y=scale_factor*
//-->
May 23 - BWM Ladies Itailian Open
First round scores in the Ladies European Tour, BMW Ladies Italian Open, Sheraton Golf Parco de' Medici, Italy
(par 72)
64 Karen Margrethe Juul (Den)
66 Stacy Lee Bregman (SAf)
67 Louise Friberg (Swe), Rikke Rasmussen (Den), Rebecca Coakley (Ire)
68 Natalie Claire Booth (Eng), Johanna Westerberg (Swe), Federica Piovano (Ita), Virginie Lagoutte Clement (Fra), Nikki Garrett (Aus), Trish Johnson (Eng), Lotta Wahlin (Swe), Sarah Kemp (Aus), Beatriz Recari (Spa)
69 Lara Tadiotto (Bel), Amy Yang (Kor), Iben Tinning (Den), Becky Brewerton (Wal), Catrin Nilsmark (Swe), Anna Rossi (Ita), Maria Beautell (Spa)
70 Tania Elosegui (Spa), Bettina Hauert (Ger), Margherita Rigon (Ita), Kirsty S Taylor (Eng), Cassandra Kirkland (Fra), Tullia Calzavara (Ita), Clare Queen (Sco), Sophie Sandolo (Ita), Carmen Alonso (Spa)
71 Mette Buus (Den), Jade Schaeffer (Fra), Eva Steinberger (Aut), Marina Arruti (Spa), Danielle Masters (Eng), Diana Luna (Ita), Katharina Schallenberg (Am) (Ger), Samantha Head (Eng), Ludivine Kreutz (Fra), Sofia Renell (Swe), Sara Beautell (Spa)
72 Maria Boden (Swe), Virginie Auffret (Fra), Stefania Croce (Ita), Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin), Barbara Paruscio (Ita), Cherie Byrnes (Aus), Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den), Eleanor Pilgrim (Wal), Rebecca Hudson (Eng), Ellen Smets (Bel)
73 Maria Verchenova (Rus), Anna Tybring (Swe), Isabella Maconi (Ita), Rebecca Stevenson (Aus), Joanne Mills (Aus), Anna Temple (US), Sophie Giquel (Fra), Anna Rawson (Aus), Martina Eberl (Ger), Denise Simon (Ger), Bree Turnbull (Aus)
74 Marianna Causin (Am) (Ita), LeeAnne Pace (SAf), Nicole Gergely (Aut), Felicity Johnson (Eng), Kiran Matharu (Eng), Elisabeth Esterl (Ger), Jenni Kuosa (Fin), Georgina Simpson (Eng), Ursula Wikstrom (Fin), Mianne Bagger (Den), Liza Walters (Eng)
75 Claire Coughlan (Ire), Elisa Serramia (Spa), Laura Cabanillas (Spa), Laurette Maritz (Rsa), Lisa Hall (Eng), Nina Karlsson (Swe), Natascha Fink (Aut), Amanda MoltkeLeth (Den), Louise Stahle (Swe), Marta Prieto (Spa), Karen Lunn (Aus), Stephanie Arricau (Fra), Helena Alterby (Swe), Frederique Seeholzer (Swi), Leah Hart (Aus), Nienke Nijenhuis (Ned), Alessandra Averna (am) (Ita)
76 Itziar Elguezabal (Spa), Nathalie David Mila (Fra), Ana Larraneta (Spa), Marlene Hedblom (Swe), Asa Gottmo (Swe), Stefanie Michl (Aut), Lisa Jean (Aus), Anja Monke (Ger), Lynn Brooky (Nzl), Vittoria Valvassori (Am) (Ita), Jehanne Jail (Fra), HannaLeena Salonen (Fin), Sophie Walker (Eng)
77 Annamaria Milie (Ita), Katharina Werdinig (Aut), Kirsty Taylor (Eng), Veronica Zorzi (Ita), Paula Marti (Spa), Nora Angehrn (Swi), Kathryn Imrie (Sco), Jo Clingan (Eng)
78 Fany Schaeffer (Fra), Ana B Sanchez (Spa), Carlie Butler (Aus), Kris Lindstrom (US), Shani Waugh (Aus), Anna Roscio (Ita) (am).
79 Sarah Heath (Eng), Gwladys Nocera (Fra), Anna Knutsson (Swe)
80 Christine Hallstrom (Swe), Fame More (Eng), Lill Kristin Saether (Nor)
82 Anne Lise Caudal (Fra)
Ret: Cecilia Ekelundh (Swe), Elin Ohlsson (Swe)

DOHERTY AND CAMPBELL LEADING SCOTS
IN PGA EUROPRO TOUR CARDRONA EVENT

Former Scottish boys' match-play champion Paul Doherty and Christopher Campbell from the Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle were the leading Scottish player on the one-under-par 71 mark at the end of the first day's play in the PGA EuroPro Tour event which began at Cardona Hotel & Country Club, near Peebles today.
Doherty had birdies at the sixth, ninth, 13th and 18th but dropped shots at the seventh, 14th and 16th in halves of 35 and 36.
Late finisher Campbell was heading for a 69 after four birdies but then bogeyed the 16th and 18th for his 71.
Doherty and Campbell, in joint 11th position were both five shots off the cracking pace being set by 21-year-old Huddersfield player Christopher Hanson/
Chris Kelly and Neil Henderson (Glen) were joint 20th on the 72 mark. Henderson had a double bogey 6 at the 16th.
Mark Loftus (Cowglen) had a double bogey 5 at the short 11th in his 73.

SCOREBOARD
Par 71
66 C Hanson (Crosland Heath).
68 N Walker (Eng).
69 A Scallon (Eng), T Haylock (Eng), J Kavanagh (Eng).
Scots scores:
71 P Doherty, C Campbell.
72 C Kelly, N Henderson.
73 M Loftus, T Higson.
74 F Valenti, J Doherty, C Farr, D Patrick.
75 G Gordon, M Urquhart, A Lockhart,P McKechnite.
76 L Vannet, E Saltman, C Matheson, A Hay, N Mitchell.
77 L Harper, I Simpson, S Lamb.
80 D Roger, G Brown, P Cormack.
81 P Gault.

Scottish men's senior open amateur stroke-play championship

HUTCHEON LEADS BY FIVE AS

48 PLAYERS WITH 158 OR BETTER
QUALIFY FOR FINAL ROUND

A total of 48 players with 36-hole totals of 158 or better qualified for tomorrow's third and final round in the Scottish men's open amateur senior stroke-play championship at Drumpellier Golf Club.
Ian Hutcheon, pictured right, from Monifieth stayed on course for a third win. He had a 73 for 143 and increased his overnight lead of three strokes to five from George Paterson of the Aberdeen Links' municipal club, Northern. George scored 75 in his second round for 148.
Hutcheon was one of the early starters and he had birdies at the third, sixth and 17th but a double bogey 6 at the 18th and single bogeys at the second, eighth and ninth in halves of 37 and 36.
If Hutcheon has a serious rival over the last 18 holes, it can only be George Paterson because the five players in joint third place are eight strokes behind the leader on 151.
Two of the Scotland team who won last year's senior home internationals' title at Dunbar failed to survive the second-round cut. Gordon MacDonald (Callander) and Brian Grieve (King James VI), both of whom finished joint third behind Stephen Ellis 12 months ago, made their exit today, MacDonald on 161 and Grieve on 163.
For a time, in mid-afternoon, the projected cut was as low as 155 before the scores began to rise.
Royal Aberdeen's John Johnston wasn't going to make it if it stayed at 155. John finished with a triple bogey 7 for a 76 and a tally of 157, which in the end got him through with a shot to spare.
Johnston had an uninspired outward half of 40 with bogeys at the first, fourth, sixth and eighth. Then he lifted his game with birdies at the 12th and 13th only to crash heavily at the last.
QUALIFIERS
Par 142 (2 x 71)
143 I C Hutcheon (Monifeith) 70 73.
148 G Paterson (Northern) 73 75.
151 R McLellan (Turnberry) 77 74, C Christy (Kilmacolm) 74 77, P Slater (Sandiway) 76 75, J Watt (Letham Grange) 75 76, D Lane (Goring & Streatley) 77 74.
152 R Smethurst (Crewe) 75 77, G Steel (Moor Park) 75 77, J Baldwin (Sunningdale) 74 78.
153 I Stewart (The Curragh) 81 72, M Temple (US) 679 74, G Rodaks (Moffat) 78 75.
154 S Pond (Worksop) 80 74, C W Green (Cardross) 80 74, D Longmuir (Verulam) 79 75, R Young (Chestfield) 79 75, G Thomson (Bearsden) 78 76, J Kinloch (Cardross) 78 76, I Taylor (Royal Burgess) 75 79.
155 J Broadfoot (Turnberry) 81 74, N Cameron (Porters Park) 79 76, W Brady (Drumpellier) 79 76, D McCart (Castlerock) 79 76, I Cumming (Eastwood) 76 79, W F Morton (Dunbar) 74 81.
156 R Stewart (Tulliallan) 83 73, D McLaughlin (Crow Wood) 79 77, I Mason (Royal Cinque Ports) 78 78, N Marsden (Moor Park) 76 80, S Ellis (Cowal) 77 79, P Jones (Bromborough) 79 77, J Paton (Kirkintilloch) 79 77.
157 G McGee (Erskine) 82 75, J W Johnston (Royal Aberdeen) 81 76, A Waddington (Crewe) 74 83, A Cameron (Gourock) 76 81, H Moxon (Royal Cinque Ports) 78 79, W Wallace (Strathaven) 80 77.
158 S Baker (Little Aston) 81 77, B Humble (Kilspindie) 80 78, A Fiddes (Murcar Links) 79 79, J S Macdonald (Dunfermline) 78 80, R Walker (Crewe) 77 81, A Ferguson (Drumpellier) 77 81, D Millar (St Andrews New) 76 82, L Gordon (Turnhouse) 81 77, R Gill (Gerrards Cross) 83 75.
FAILED TO QUALIFY
159 N Swenson (US) 84 75, G Rees (Fleetwood) 83 76, D Millar (Berwick) 80 79, S Gaston (Rothesay) 79 80, I Dickson (Lundin) 78 81, A Elder (Kirkcaldy) 78 81, C Moir (Worksop) 79 80, W Millar (Dullatur) 80 79, B Edgar (Blackpool North Shore) 81 78.
160 A Wight (Glencorse) 86 74, R Paton (Nairn) 83 77, D Doodson (Temple) 83 77, W Kerr (Reddick) 82 78, B Hodgson (Penrith) 81 79, P Crompton (Eaton) 80 80, R Fulker (Kilmarnock Barassie) 77 83, K Bruce (Edzell) 76 84, P Saggers (Nairn) 80 80, J McArthur (St Andrews New) 81 79, A K Pirie (Hazlehead) 83 77, G Payne (Prestbury) 81 79.
161 T Bennett (Great Barr) 82 79, G MacDonald (Callander) 82 79, D Perrie (Paisley) 81 80, A Campbell (Kinross) 80 81, D Sergeant (Bishopbriggs) 79 82, A Laird (Deeside) 80 81.
162 M Jenkins (Duff House Royal) 86 76, J Kirwan (Bramhall) 84 78, G Broster (Hoylake) 83 79, J Wilson (Frilford Heath) 82 80, L Wallace (Melrose) 82 80, D Jamieson 81 81, H Milligan (Hamilton) 81 82.
163 K Howie (West Kilbride) 83 80, D Martin (Newbiggin) 83 80, B Grieve (King James VI) 80 83, B Methven (Royal Aberdeen) 78 85.
164 W Erskine (Kilsyth Lennox) 88 76, N Hilliard (Colchester) 87 77, D Anderson (Pumpherston) 85 798, P Tomisson Nairn) 84 80, C Halcrow (Windyhill) 85 79.
165 P Boyd (Ferenez) 86 79, J Thomas (Ravensworth) 83 82, M Douglas (Thornhill) 81 84.
166 A Ritchie (Bothwell Castle) 86 80, D Bunker (Nairn Dunbar) 83 83, F Urquhart (Inverness) 82 84, T Gray (Lanark) 82 84, E Hammond (Kirby Muxloe) 80 86, L Fowler (Royal Aberdeen) 79 87, H Brown (Lothianburn) 79 87.
167 C Roseweir (Strathaven) 89 78, S Bannerman (Glasgow) 85 82, F Sharp (Boat of Garten) 84 83, P Kinloch (Cardross) 83 84, M Toole (Brokenhurst Manor) 76 91, Derek Miller (Murrayfield) 83 84.
168 G Jenkinson (Catghkin Braes) 89 79, J McLean (Bathgate) 87 81, M Lironi (Cathkin Braes) 83 85, W Erwin (US) 83 85, R Lumsden) 81 87.
169 F Hutcheon (Monifieth) 84 85, D Martin (Ranfurly Castle) 81 88.
170 L Bushby (Strathmore) 92 78, B Christie (Bridge of Allan) 89 91, R Nelson (Bothwell Castle) 84 86, T McLean (US) 83 87.
171 D Bruce (Ravenspark) 80 82, G Fletcher (Kelso) 88 83, J Westwood (Moray) 85 86, J Cecchini (US) 85 86.
172 D Lindsay (Windyhill) 90 82, S Quinn (Stirling) 89 83, W Crosbie (Blairgowrie) 89 93, P Costello (Hirsel) 89 84, M Bund (US) 80 92.
174 G Edwards (Bromborough) 94 80, J Stevens (Hayston) 87 87, A Williamson (Bruntsfield Links) 86 88, B Highley (Buchanan Castle) 86 88.
176 J Wilson (Paisley) 92 84.
177 W Morgan (Wynyard) 91 86, D Albutt (Tain) 89 88.
185 G Adde (Sweden) 97 88.
Disqualified - D Smith (Stirling) 84 DQ.

CHAMPION DEANO SCORES FIRST WIN
OF TARTAN TOUR SEASON

Last year’s Scottish PGA champion Dean Robertson (Czech Design) scored his first win of the new Tartan Tour season with a four-under-par round of 67 in the Belhaven Best shotgun pro-am at Cardross Golf Club today.
Robertson picked up the £706 top prize with birdies at the second, third, fourth, sixth, ninth and 18th in halves of 32 (three under par) and 35 (one under). He had back to back bogeys at the seventh and eighth.
Mark King (Kingsfield) was runner-up on 68 with Alan Purdie (Kingsbarns) third on 69.
Stevie Gray (Hayston) led the Iris Mortgates amateur trio of Richard Nimmo (handicap 9), Thomas Cullen (11) and Stephen Hearns (13) to victory in the team event with a net score of 59.
LEADING PROFESSIONALS
Par 71
67 D Robertson (Czech Design).
68 M King (Kingsfield).
69 A Purdie (Kingsbarns).
70 J McKinnon (Irvine), F McLaughlan (Bothwell Castle), J Stevenson
(Braehead), E Thomson (Largs), E Cameron (Hamilton), C Doak (unatt).

Royal & Ancient Golf Club Press Release

MICHAEL LUNT (72) DIES SUDDENLY

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews regrets to announce that Michael Lunt, Captain of the Club, died suddenly on the night of Tuesday, May 22, aged 72.
Michael Stanley Randle Lunt, pictured above, joined The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in 1963 and subsequently served on The R&A’s Championship Committee and on the Rules of Golf Committee.
In May 2006 he was named Captain and drove himself into office on Thursday 21 September.Michael Lunt had a distinguished career in golf both as an administrator and as a player that started, aged 14, with four years of international representation for England boys.

AMATEUR AND ENGLISH CHAMPION
He won the Amateur Championship in 1963 at St Andrews and the English Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1966, a feat his father Stanley had achieved in 1934.
Between 1959 and 1965, Michael played in four Walker Cup matches and in his last appearance was a member of the 1965 side that gained a halved match against the United States at Five Farms, Maryland, the first time Great Britain and Ireland had gained any success on American soil since the matches began in 1922.
He played for England between 1956 and 1966 and was the non-playing captain from 1972-1975.
After being educated at Uppingham School, Michael Lunt was commissioned into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and served in Egypt from 1953-1955 before taking up a directorship in the Birmingham-based family textile business. This was followed by a time as Sales Manager for Slazenger and then, after 11 years as secretary–manager of Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club, he retired in 1998.
He is survived by his wife Vicki, his daughter Sophie, his son Jason and two grandchildren.

Next time you are in a golf buggy on a hilly course, or one along clifftops, just remember the following story on the wires today from California ... take more care!

GOLFER DIES WHEN BUGGY GOES OVER CLIFF

An American golfer died on Tuesday after his golf cart plunged 75 feet off a California cliff and crashed on to a road below.
Edwin Payne, 65, teed off with three friends on the second hole of the Pala Mesa Resort course about 50 miles north of San Diego at around 10 a.m. and then got into his cart.
The vehicle veered off the concrete pathway, traveled down a 25ft embankment and went over the edge of the cliff.
Payne, a recently retired real estate agent from Irvine, was ejected shortly before the cart hit the road beneath the cliff and died on impact.
No one else was involved in the crash.

"The New Number One in Spain"

HACIENDA DEL ALAMO

GOLF RESORT SPONSORS

THE GOLF CHANNEL

The leading new golf resort in Spain, Hacienda del Alamo, is to sponsor Europe’s golf channel GOLF TV.
It’s the first time an individual resort has ever secured such a deal. From tomorrow, for the next six months, all of the prime-time programming on the channel will carry the Murcia resort’s branding and logo along with a strong advertising presence
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort has been widely acclaimed as “the new number one in Spain”. Set in 550 hectares in Murcia, it boasts a fabulous Dave Thomas-designed championship golf course which, at 7,400yd, is the longest in Spain.
When completed the luxury resort will have close to 4,000 villas, 400 apartments, a five-star hotel and spa plus a second golf course. Last month it broke all records by selling 100 apartments worth a total of €27 million in just 10 days.
Announcing the tie-up with Golf TV, Hacienda del Alamo's Glasgow-born Director of Communications Chris Mann commented:
“We are delighted to be associating Hacienda del Alamo with The Golf Channel in this unique deal, which has only recently become possible due to a relaxation of television regulation. We have advertised with the channel before to great success and so the natural progression was to move to sponsorship.
"We believe that this campaign will significantly increase our awareness amongst the many golfers across Europe who wish to invest in property at a luxury golf resort like ours.”
To support its six-figure sponsorship deal, Hacienda del Alamo has commissioned a series of eight adverts from leading UK production company Equinox-TV which will begin airing tomorrow. The adverts carry the slogan “an investment to appreciate”.
Hacienda del Alamo's Director of Golf, Billy Sim, is also a Scot, from the North-east.

The Golf Channel
Was Europe’s first 24-hour golf channel when launched in November 2003. On Sky Digital Channel 423 it is distributed to 8.4 million homes and is now owned by JJB Sports, the UK’s largest sports retailer and a member of the FTSE 250. An estimated 1.1million golfers have tuned in to The Golf Channel which is available free-to-air and unencrypted so wider distribution and availability is possible.
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort is sponsoring prime time on The Golf Channel UK and will be aligned next to key programmes including:

+ Live LPGA Golf:
The UK home of the LPGA Tour with over 20 live events featuring the world’s best female golfers. Regularly draws large audiences and with a dedicated UK team based at the event, coverage is unsurpassed.

+Academy Live
Living room lessons by the best golf instructors in the world. At last count five of the world’s top six coaches regularly give lessons on air. Coaches include. Butch Harmon, Rick Smith, David Leadbetter, Dave Pelz, Jim Mclean & Jim Flick.

+Playing lessons from the pros
Top golf professionals allow cameras to follow them on the practice rounds where they proceed to give you their innermost thoughts on the game as well as course strategies. Great mix of players old & new, Phil Mickleson, Paul Casey, Nick Price, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Sam Torrance, Nick Faldo, Jim Furyk & Laura Davies amongst them.

+Top 10
An instant hit with viewers and new for 2007, Top 10 features a countdown of themed moments in golf. June includes Top 10 improbable winners & Top 10 memorable moments on tours. With player insight and expert commentary the shows always provides stimulus for debate.

+Golf Central
The UK’s only dedicated daily golf show with news, player’s views and highlights from every major tour. Hosted by the UK’s Tom Abbott, Golf Central is where everyone within the industry and those who love the game goes to in order to find out what’s happening in the world of golf.

CHRIS BARON SEVEN OFF PACE IN MICHIGAN

Oldmeldrum's Chris Baron was in joint 46th position at the end of the first round of the NCAA Division 2 men's golf championship at The Meadows Golf Club, Allendale in Michigan. Baron, a freshman student at Belmont Abbey College, North Carolina, had a five-over-par score of 76 over the 6,992yd course. He had one birdie, at the short 13th, and six bogeys to be seven shots behind the leader, Jarin Todd (Sonoma State University).
Belmont Abbey College were lying in joint 10th position of 20 teams.

TUESDAY NIGHT MAITLAND SHIELD RESULTS
FROM EAST ABERDEENSHIRE GOLF CENTRE


Peterculter beat Portlethen by two holes.
A Dingwall & D Egland 3, L Shand & K Horne 0.
B Taylor, K Austen 0, S Wallace & R Penny 1.

Hazlehead beat East Aberdeenshire by eight holes.
I Still & K Duthie 8, D Corkey & N Forbes 0.
R Hyland & G Cheyne 0, I Kynoch & S McIntosh 0.

Northern beat Auchmill by five holes.
C. McBain & T Robertson 5, B Nicholson & S Scott 0.
B Rae & S Forsyth 0, J Nicholson & L Taylor 0.

Murcar Links beat Newmachar by six holes.
A Bews & N McKinnon 5, J Wilson & E McIntosh 0.
T Mathieson & D Raitt 1, K Riley & C Simpson 0.

TARTAN TOUR'S TOP 20 MONEY-WINNERS

1 Murray Urquhart (Inverness) £8,339.72 (4).
2 David Patrick (Mortonhall) £7,939.48 (5).
3 Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) £7,572.43 (7).
4 Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs Golf Range) £4,260.58 (7).
5 David Orr (East Renfrewshire) £4,196.08 (5).
6 Stephen Gray (Hayston) £4,006.90 (10).
7 Greig Hutcheon (Peterculter) £3.820.85 (8).
8 Colin Gillies (Kingsfield) £3,407.53 (5).
9 Chris Kelly (Cawder) £3,262.35 (7).
10 Chris Doak (unatt) £3,247.62 (5).
11 Mark Loftus (Cowglen) £2,539.77 (8).
12 James McKinnon (Irvine) £2,506.64 (6).
13 Gary McFarlane (Clober) £2,431.43 (4).
14 Craig Lee (All Golf Swing Centre) £2,230.97 (8).
15 Samuel Cairns (Westerwood) £2,109.86 (7).
16 Callum Nicoll (Prestwick) £2,072.16 (8).
17 Dean Robertson (Czech Design) £1,971.00 (7).
18 Fraser McLaughlan (Bothwell Castle) £1,676.12 (9).
19 Euan Cameron (Hamilton) £1,662.61 (5).
20 Jamie Stevenson (Braehead) £1,592.56 (5).
+Figures in brackets are number of events played.

TWELVE-YEAR-OLD IN SEMI-FINALS OF
IRISH WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

Lisa Maguire (Slieve Russell), only 12 years of age and the twin sister of Leona who won the Scottish Under-16 girls' golf championship at Craigielaw in early April, is through to the semi-finals of the Lancome Irish women's amateur championship at Lahinch Golf Club.
In the semi-finals, Lisa will play Marian Riordan (Tipperary) while Karen Delaney (Carlow) meets Maura Morrin (The Curragh), conqueror of Karen's younger sister Tara in the quarter-finals.
+Switch over to our sister website, www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk, for all the day's Irish results.

NICK FALDO NAMES OLAZABAL, McGINLEY
AS VICE-CAPTAINS DESIGNATE FOR
RYDER CUP OF 2008 AT VALHALLA

European Ryder Cup Captain Nick Faldo has named José Maria Olazábal and Paul McGinley as his two vice-captains designate for the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla where Europe will seek a fourth consecutive victory in the biennial contest.
Spaniard Olazábal, 41, has played in seven Ryder Cup teams, having made his debut in 1987, and formed a record partnership with his fellow countryman Severiano Ballesteros, winning 11 of their 15 matches together and halving a two more.
In the 2006 Ryder Cup, Olazábal was unbeaten after teaming up with another Spaniard in Sergio Garcia at The K Club and winning both their matches, and then winning his singles tie as Europe claimed a record-equalling 18 ½ - 9 ½ victory.
Irishman McGinley, 40, has appeared in the last three European Ryder Cup teams and holed the winning putt in 2002 at The Belfry. He has been on the winning team on all three occasions.
Speaking ahead of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club, Faldo said: “I've decided to have two vice captains designate. Two guys that I feel I have good chemistry with. And one is mainly based and playing in America and one is mainly based and playing in Europe, and I know that was very important for me to have good eyes and ears close to the ground, good feedback so we can discuss things and we'll start opening up communication lines with the players later on. But to have two players of their character and playing stature, I think is very important for me."

Scottish senior open amateur stroke-play championship

IAN HUTCHEON LEADS BY THREE SHOTS WITH
A 73 IN FIRST ROUND AT DRUMPELLIER


So is it a case already of "Who's going to be second?" to Ian Hutcheon, the three-stroke leader after only one round of the Scottish senior men's open stroke-play championship at Drumpellier.
Hutcheon certainly knows what it takes to win his native over-55s' crown because he did it in 2003 and 2004.
Ian was the only man in the capacity field of 144 to get under the testing par of 71 with a 70.
He made his round with four birdies on the outward half, at the second, third, seventh and ninth. A couple of bogeys knocked him back to "only" two under par for the first nine.
A bogey at the 18th chipped a shot off his overnight lead.
George Paterson, from the Aberdeen Links club Northern, did well to return a 73 to be Hutcheon's nearest challenge at the end of the day.
Defending champion Stephen Ellis from Cowal could do no better than a 77 and even Gordon MacDonald, one of the driving forces behind the new SGU Seniors Circuit this summer, had to settle for an 82. Gordon is a former winner of this title and he has won the Spanish senior open championship for the past two years.
The big field is thinned out considerably after the second round. Only 44 and ties will progress.

ALL THE FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 71
70 I C Hutcheon (Monifieth).
73 G Paterson (Northern).
74 A Waddington (Crewe), C Christy (Kilmacolm), W F Morton (Dunbar), J Baldwin (Sunningdale).
75 J Watt (Letham Grange), R Smethurst (Crewe), G Steel (Moor Park), I Taylor (Royal Burgess).
76 I Cumming (Eastwood), N Marsden (Moor Park), M Toole (Brokenhurst Manor), A Cameron (Gourock), P Slater (Sandiway), D Millar (St Andrews New), K Bruce (Edzell).
77 D Lane (Goring & Streatley), R Walker (Crewe), A Ferguson (Drumpellier), S Ellis (Cowal), R McLellan (Turnberry), R Fulker (Kilmarnock Barassie).
78 B Methven (Royal Aberdeen), J Kinloch (Cardross), H Moxon (Royal Cinque Ports), A Elder (Kirkcaldy), I Dickson (Lundin), J S Macdonald (Dunfermline), G Thomson (Bearsden), G Rodaks (Moffat), I Mason (Royal Cinque Ports),
79 C Moir (Worksop), D McLaughlin (Crow Wood), W Brady (Drumpellier), D Longmuir (Verulam), M Temple (US), J Paton (Kirkintilloch), H Brown (Lothianburn), P Jones (Brombrough), I Hunter (Maidenhead), A Fiddes (Murcar Links), D Sergeant (Bishopbriggs), D McCart (Castlerock), R Young (Chesterfield), N Cameron (Porters Park), R Gaston (Rothesay), L Fowler (Royal Aberdeen).
----------------------------PROJECTED 36-HOLE CUT MARK ----------------------

80 P Saggers (Nairn), M Bund (US), A Laird (Deeside), S Pond (Worksop), C W Green (Cardross), W Millar (Dullatur), D Millar (Berwick), P Crompton (Eaton), W Wallace (Strathaven), A Campbell (Kinross), B Humble (Kilspindie), B Grieve (King James VI), E Hammond (Kirby Muzloe).
81 L Gordon (Turnhouse), G Payne (Prestbury), R Lumsden (Newcastle Utd), J Broadfoot (Turnberry), D Jamieson (Sene Valley), I Stewart (Curragh), J W Johnston (Royal Aberdeen), B Hodgson (Penrith), S Baker (Little Aston), J McArthur (St Andrews New), H Milligan (Hamilton), B Edgar (Blackpool North Shore), D Perrie (Paisley), D Martin (Ranfurly Castle), M Douglas (Thornhill),
82 T Gray (Lanark), S Sander (US), T Bennett (Great Barr), G MacDonald (Callander), G McGee (Erskine), F Urquhart (Inverness), W Kerr (Redditch), J Wilson (Frilford Heath), L Wallace (Melrose).
83 D Martin (Newbiggin), A K Pirie (Hazlehead), D Doodson (Temple), T McLean (US), R Gill (Gerrards Cross), G Broster (Hoylake), D Miller (Murrayfield), D Bunker (Nairn Dunbar), P Kinloch (Cardross), G Rees (Fleetwood), R Paton (Nairn), R Stewart (Tulliallan), J Thomas (Ravensworth), A Wright (Goring & Streatley), K Howie (West Kilbride).
84 D Smith (Stirling), N Swenson (US), J Kirwan (Bramhall), P Tomisson (Nairn), F Sharp (Boat of Garten), F Hutcheon Monifieth), R Nelson (Bothwell Castle).
85 C Halcrow (Windyhill), J Cecchini (US), M Lironi (Cathkin Braes), W Erwin (US), D Anderson (Pumpherston), S Bannerman (Glasgow), J Westwood (Moray),
86 A Ritchie (Bothwell Castle), P Boyd (Fereneze), M Shephard (Handsworth), B Highley (Buchanan Castle), M Jenkins (Duff House Royal), A Ritchie (Bothwell Castle), A Williamson (Bruntsfield Links.
87 J Noon (Leven), G Fletcher (Kelso), J Stevens (Hayston), N Hilliard (Colchester).
88 G Fletcher (Kelso), W Erskine (Kilsyth Lennox).
89 G Jenkinson (Cathkin Braes), B Christie (Bridge of Allan), D Albutt (Tain), P Costello (Hirsel), C Roseweir (Strathaven), W Crosbie (Blairgowrie), S Quinn (Stirling).
90 D Lindsay (Windyhill), D Bruce (Ravenspark), T Grant (Mill Green).
91 W Morgan (Wynyward), G Edwards (Bromborough).
92 J Wilson (Paisley), L Bushby (Strathmore).
94 G Edwards (Bromborough).
97 A Goran (Sweden).

KILLEEN CASTLE ESTATE POST TAKES RODDY
CARR BACK TO IRELAND AFTER 20 YEARS

Roddy Carr returns to Ireland to market and promote major new golfinitiatives

The Directors of Killeen Castle Estate, Ireland's finest new golf, hotel and residential development situated at Dunsany, Co. Meath, are delighted to announce they have secured the services of Roddy Carr.
A son of the legendary late Joe Carr, Roddy will market and promote:

1 Killeen Castle.
2 The Solheim Cup to be played on the Jack Nicklaus-designed course in 2011.
3 The staging of five Ladies Irish Opens, commencing next year.

Roddy has been in business for 20 years as a tourism consultant and golf events promoter in Spain with Severiano Ballesteros and international sportsmarketing and promoter with IMG, the world's leading sports, entertainment and media company, based in New York.
Recently Roddy represented Killeen Castle in the successful bid to bring the Solheim Cup to Ireland for an historic first time.
As part of that project he will be promoting, marketing and staging the Solheim Cup at Killeen Castle, in association with the Ladies European Tour and also reviving the Ladies Irish Open, commencing in 2008.
In addition, Carr will market and promote worldwide the overall development at Killeen Castle, which will set a new benchmark for levels of excellence, hospitality and golfing experience, and will be one of the finest golf, hotel and residential developments in the world.
Brian Wallace, on behalf of Killeen Castle, says: "We are delighted that a person of the stature of Roddy Carr has agreed to assist us with Killeen Castle and the Solheim Cup. He brings 25 years'international experience in the golf business as a player of distinction, events promoter and a respected sports marketing and tourism expert, having worked on similar major projects in the Far East, the Caribbean and throughout Europe."
Roddy Carr says: "It was the level of quality and attention to detail of the construction and the vision of excellence for the overall product at Killeen Castle that persuaded me to accept the task of marketing and promoting Killeen Castle.
"I have not come across this degree of commitment in pursuit of excellence in my 20 years working abroad in the business. It will be great for me and my wife Patty and young children to return to Ireland after so many years living abroad."
Championship course architect Jack Nicklaus says of his signature design ,which is scheduled to open for play in April, 2008: "I am proud to be part of what is happening at Killeen Castle. It is phenomenal, with the historic castle as a focal point and dramatic backdrop to the 18th hole. Killeen Castle is a wonderful facility to stage The Solheim Cup in 2011 or the Ryder Cup in the future."
The Killeen Castle Estate is situated in a 560 acres wooded development beside Dunsany and the village of Dunshaughlin in County Meath.
An agreement has been signed with Starwood Hotels and Resorts to manage the Luxury Collection hotel, which will be incorporated into the existing historical castle. It dates to 1181 when built by the de Lacy family.

MAITLAND SHIELD RESULTS FROM EAST
ABERDEENSHIRE GOLF CENTRE

Last night's opening results in the City of Aberdeen inter-club foursomes tournament for the Maitland Shield, being played for the first time at East Aberdeenshire Golf Centre, were:

Nigg Bay beat Westhill by six holes.
L Vitesse & I Welsh 4, S Green & A Hay 0.
G Grimmer & N Slater 2, C Munro, F Clarke 0.

Bon Accord beat Caledonian by five holes.
A Styles & A Doig 0, M Greig, G Somers 0.
B Edmond & D Grieve 5, S Finnie & D Mullen 0.

Deeside beat Craibstone by six holes.
A Campbell & D Kerr 3, A Ross & N Henderson 0.
A B Hutchison & T D Rennie 3, G Rennie & B Hardie 0.

Royal Aberdeen w.o. Stonehaven scr.

RICHIE RAMSAY'S HECTIC MONTH IN AMERICA
- ALL BECAUSE HE WON US AMATEUR TITLE

How's this for a golfing schedule?
Richie Ramsay left Aberdeen at 06.30 last Saturday for the United States and is not due to return until Friday/Saturday, June 25/16.
He is playing in this week's US PGA Tour event, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at the Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas.
Then, next week, it's another US PGA Tour event, the Morgan Stanley Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, Dublin, Ohio.
Finally, Richie, the current US amateur champion, will play in the US Open at Oakmont Country Club, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from June 14 to 17.
That will be followed by a private visit to New York also involving golf.
When the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club member returns to Scotland it will be to compete in the European amateur team championship at Western Gailes during the first full week in July.

Press Release from St Andrews Links Trust

GREAT FIELD (as usual) FOR

THE ST ANDREWS LINKS

TROPHY TOURNAMENT

Sponsored By Burberry

Lloyd Saltman and Jamie Moul, currently the ‘men in form’, lead a high-class international field of 144 players who will be competing for the St Andrews Links Trophy over the Old Course and Jubilee Course from June 8 to 10.
Saltman, pictured right, the winner of the Links Trophy in 2005, has started the season in sensational style by winning four consecutive tournaments including a recent two-shot win in the Irish Amateur Open Championship. In attempting to increase that tally and to add his name to the Links silverware for a second time, he will have to beat a field that includes 50 players of +3 handicap or better.
With Walker Cup selection in the minds of players from the four Home Countries, the St Andrews Links Trophy has again underlined its position as one of the strongest stroke play tournaments anywhere in the world.
Saltman’s victory two years ago saw him finish four strokes clear of Jamie Moul, the English international who has held the No 1 spot in the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings for 14 weeks. That position was underlined at the weekend with his joint win in the English open stroke-play championship at Forest of Arden.

ENGLISH CHALLENGE
Moul must be considered a contender for the Links Trophy but is only one of many top English players who will be competing at St Andrews. Others include John Parry, the newly crowned Spanish Amateur Champion, Gary Boyd who had a 100% record in the recent match against Spain, David Horsey, joint winner of the West of England Championship and Stephen Lewton, a double-winner earlier in the year in Australia.
Irish hopes for the title lie with 18-year-old Rory McIlroy, the backmarker at plus 5.1 and the current European title holder and Irish close champion.
The field includes 17 of the GB&I Walker Cup squad for the match at Royal County Down on September 8 and 9. Nigel Edwards, one of the squad, is already a three-time member of the team and is keen to play well at St Andrews to reinforce his claim for a fourth appearance in the match. Edwards is joined in the field by fellow Welsh Internationals Zac Gould and Llewellyn Matthews.
The St Andrews Links Trophy has always attracted a strong overseas entry although since Stuart Bouvier of Australia won the Trophy in 1990, its second year, the winners have all come from Scotland or England. This year, with a strong overseas entry from 13 countries the time might be right for a second foreign name on the Trophy.
South Africa has entered seven of its strongest players including Louis de Jager, winner of the South African Amateur, the Boland Open and the Gauteng North Open, plus Prinavin Nelson, the North West Open Amateur Champion.

SEVEN FROM AUSTRALIA
Australia also has seven players, one of whom, Rohan Blizard, the Australian Amateur Champion, also has the SBS International and the Tasmanian Open titles to his name.
Other overseas countries with strong entries include the U.S. with 10, Germany, seven and Portugal four.
The field of 144 will play one round on the Jubilee Course on Friday, June 8, one on the Old Course on Saturday, June 9 and the top 40 qualifiers and ties then play 36 holes over the Old Course on the Sunday.
The draw for the first two days can be viewed at http://www.standrews.org.uk/.

ELGIN WIN SENIOR NORTHERN COUNTIES CUP
FOR FIRST TIME WITH WIN OVER INVERNESS

By ROBIN WILSON

Brora Golf Club remain the only club to have won the B D Fraser Senior Northern Counties Cup twice after the 2004 winners, Inverness, lost in this year's final at Nairn Dunbar last week to first time winners, Elgin.
Tain and Strathpeffer Spa, Ross-shire’s only two clubs to have entered, were late withdrawals, having failed to muster a required four players. Strathpeffer’s withdrawal gave Elgin after a first-round win over Turriff a clear run through to the quarter-finals where they beat former winners Cruden Bay and then other former winners, Duff House Royal, in the semi-finals for a place in the final.
Holders Brora's hopes of a third win were ended by Duff House Royal in the second round and in the same round Royal Dornoch were ousted by a Cruden Bay second team.
The format is that both sets of foursomes play to the final green for a combined holes position and the final match was so tight that it came down to two crucial putts on the 18th green.
Both games were in an all-square position playing the final hole. Inverness’s first couple Fraser Urquhart and Gordon Fraser had a putt to remain level with Elgin’s Bryce Milne and Jimmy Innes but Gordon Fraser’s attempt from about eight feet slipped past to put the Elgin pair one up.
Arriving behind in the second pairing for Inverness were Jocky Thomson and Jim Elliot against Elgin’s Doug Porter and Jim Lumb. Thomson for Inverness found the green in regulation to guarantee a par-5 while Elgin missed to the right. Porter chipped up to about the same distance as Inverness had missed from and Lumb became their hero when he downed the putt to half the hole and lift the cup for the first time.

NCLGA OPEN DAY AT STRATHPEFFER

The Northern Counties Ladies Golf Association had an open county day at Strathpeffer Spa last week when association president Isobel McIntosh (Inverness) returned the best gross score, a 78, beating her age by eight shots.
The Silver Division Handicap results were Lorraine Nixon (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) (18) 61; Eilidh Syrjanen (Strathpeffer Spa) (13) 67; Maureen Ritchie (Muir of Ord) (17) 69.
Bronze Davison - Aline Drummond (Fortrose & Rosemarkie ) (22) 65.
The next NCLGA county open is a firstvisit to the Isle of Skye Golf Club at Sconsor.
Meanwhile a touring group of 21 Northern members from Orkney arrived on the mainland on Monday to play at Royal Dornoch, Muir of Ord, Grantown on Spey, Inverness and Invergordon during the week.

CHRIS KIRK PIPS RHYS DAVIES, PABLO
MARTIN FOR BEN HOGAN AWARD

Welsh Walker Cup player Rhys Davies, who will complete his four notable years at East Tennessee State University by leading the college squad into action in the season-ending NCAA Division 1 championship at the end of this month, has just failed to win the annual Ben Hogan Award.
The award, meant to acclaim the leading male player on the US college circuit, went to Chris Kirk (Georgia) at a formal banquet at the Colonial Country Club.
Pablo Martin (Oklahoma State), who is about to turn professional, having won a European Tour event recently as an amateur, and Edinburgh-born Davies, winner of 10 college individual titles over four years, were also on the short lee for the Ben Hogan Award.
Kirk won four events during the 2006-07 season but his college career total of seven is still three light of Rhys Davies' CV figure.
Kirk will remain an amateur until after this autumn's Walker Cup match at Royal County Down. He is presuming - quite rightly - that he will be in the American line-up.

JENNA WILSON LEADS TARTAN ARMY
OF 18 AT BRITISH WOMEN'S OPEN
AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

There will be 18 Scots travelling to Alwoodley, Leeds for the British women’s open amateur championship from June 12 to 16.
The Ladies Golf Union has announced that all entrants with handicaps of 0.8 or better have had their entries accepted.
The Scots are:
Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) +2.5.
Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) +2.4.
Carly Booth (Comrie) +2.3.
Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) +1.9.
Anne Laing (Vale of Leven) +1.3.
Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) +1.1.
Roseanne Niven (Crieff) +1.0.
Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) +1.0.
Gemma Webster (Hilton Park) +0.6.
Sally Watson (Elie & Earlsferry) +0.5.
Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh) +0.4.
Lauren Mackin (Majorca) 0.0.
Laura Murray (Alford) 0.1
Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) 0.2
Sara Bishop (Cochrane Castle) 0.4
Jane Turner (Mortonhall) 0.4
Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) 0.4.
Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) 0.5.

ON WAITING LIST
Emma Fairnie (Dunbar) 2.4.

DAVID HOWELL UNABLE TO DEFEND

BMW PGA TITLE THIS WEEK

AT WENTWORTH

Defending champion David Howell (pictured right) has been forced to withdraw from this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club due to injury.
The 31 year old Englishman, who was in imperious form when he won the title by five shots on the West Course 12 months ago, has been plagued by back problems for some time and although he attempted to be fit for his defence, it was not to be.
“Obviously I feel gutted,” he said. “It is my first big event of the year back in Britain on a course where I have won and just half a mile from where I live.
“It is not a nice situation but at the end of the day, I know that I have won this great title and I hope to have the chance to win it again. I would love to have gone out and defended it but if you are not fit, you are not fit.
“It was always touch and go but in the end I felt I couldn’t risk it. I hit 50 shots today, just as I did two days ago, to see how it felt. I decided if I was pain free I would play nine holes ON Tuesday and then the Pro-Am on Wednesday but unfortunately I wasn’t pain free.
“I have had scans on the SI joint (sacroiliac joint at the base of the spine) and it shows signs of strain. I wanted to give it a shot and I checked with the physio but we felt it was really too soon to play.
“At the end of the day it was a common sense decision. The scans had shown inflammation and I didn’t want to endanger my health for other big events later in the season. It was close, but not close enough.”
Seven players from the top 15 of the Official World Golf Ranking will lead the quest for the €725,000 first prize from the €4,350,000 prize fund in the BMW PGA Championship including current number 11, Padraig Harrington, who has the additional incentive of a €1 million bonus if he can complete back-to-back triumphs on The European Tour International Schedule following his emotional victory in the Irish Open at Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort last week.

INCHMARLO YOUNG PROFESSIONAL BARNARD
EQUALS WISHAW RECORD OF 62


Inchmarlo Golf Centre, Banchory young professional Mark Barnard spreadeagled the field in the qualifying round for the Wishaw Golf Club 36-hole pro-am today (Monday).
Mark equalled the professional course record of 62 with halves of 30 (five under par) and 32 (two under) which included an albatross 2 at the par-5, 480yd fourth hole.
“Mark used a driver and then holed his second shot with a rescue club, which would be the equivalent of a four-wood,” said Scottish PGA tournament director Michael MacDougall.
Barnard’s bogey-free round, which earned him £100, also included birdie 3s at the second, ninth, 13th and 15th.
Next best among the 29 qualifiers for the two-round pro-am at the same venue on June 2 and 3 was Eddie Thomson (Largs) with a 65.
The cut-off point for the qualifiers was 71. There were 10 players on that mark and a card countback was used to eliminate only one. The unlucky man was Campbell Elliott (Haggs Castle).
LEADING QUALIFIERS
Par 69
62 M Barnard (Inchmarlo).
65 E Thomson (Largs).
67 A Marshall (Houston GR), E Davie (Dunblane), D McLure (Troon Welbeck), R Clark (Dumfries & Co), S Savage (Dalmuir).
68 S Catlin (Greenburn), L Vannet (Carnoustie GL), S Gray (Hayston).
Limit score for qualifying: 71 Nine players on this mark go through. C Elliott (Haggs Castle) also had a 71 but lost out on a card play-off.

R&A'S WORLD RANKINGS TO DETERMINE
FIELD FOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
FOR THE FIRST TIME

The World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), a weekly performance table of the world’s top 1,200 players in men’s amateur golf, has been used for the first time to determine the field for the Amateur Championship that will be played this year at Royal Lytham & St Annes and St Annes Old Links from June 18-23.
Created by The R&A as the universal standard for entry into the Amateur Championship, the ranking is a weekly table of playing performance for the world's top amateur players in 450 ranking events and currently includes players from almost 50 countries.
National handicapping systems will no longer be used as the primary condition to identify the international starting field of 288 players in the Amateur. An established number of exempt players will be joined by the leading players that enter from those in the top 800 of the new R&A ranking.
The R&A first proposed the WAGR as a means of clarifying entry into its championships but an 18-month trial introduction has gone further, with the criteria now seen as a valid indicator of player rankings throughout the elite amateur game.
Director of The R&A, Mike Tate, said: “WAGR clearly identifies the top amateur players in the world based on current form and presents them with the opportunity to play in the Amateur Championship."
Dates and venues for all R&A championships and the Walker Cup this year are:
Boys' Home Internationals, Machynys Peninsula, August 7-9.
Seniors Open Amateur Championship, Nairn and Nairn Dunbar, August 8-10.
Boys' Amateur Championship, Royal Porthcawl, August 13-18.
British Mid-Amateur Championship, Alwoodley, August 15-19.
Jacques Leglise Trophy, Notts, August 31-September 1.
Walker Cup, Royal County Down, September 8.

+There is a whisper - and it is only a whisper - that the R&A are considering setting up world amateur rankings for WOMEN! Remember where you heard it first.

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

SAD SEVE TIES FOR LAST PLACE WITH TREVINO
ON UNITED STATES SENIORS TOUR' DEBUT

Seve Ballesteros began to get the hang of playing on the US Seniors Tour on Sunday - but by that time it was too little to late in the Regions Charity Classic over 54 holes in Alabama.
The Spaniard turned 50 years old last month and, with his worldwide tournament record, he was able to walk on to the Champions (Seniors) Tour in the States. This was his long-awaited debut at this level.
Seve sadly tied for last place with 67-year-old Lee Trevino. He scored 78, 81 and 73 for a 16-over-par total of 232.
Brad Bryant won the title at 12 under par 204 after a play-off with RW Eaks.

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

Scottish Golf Union Press Release

SCOTTISH SENIORS EMBARK ON
TITLE QUEST AT DRUMPELLIER

The Scottish Seniors Open Amateur Championship gets underway on Tuesday at Drumpellier Golf Course in Coatbridge. It is the first counting event in the inaugural SGU Seniors Order of Merit.
Boasting a strong line-up, including the usual contingent of international entries from Europe and the US vying for the seniors national crown, the draw includes a number of familiar names associated with the championship’s 29-year history.
Among the title hopefuls is current champion Stephen Ellis, whose victory at Ranfurly Castle last year marked the biggest win of his golfing career, and he will be hoping that history repeats itself as he embarks on his title defence.
Past champion from 2005, Gordon MacDonald will also be looking to clinch the event double, but this year will be unable to match fellow rival Ian Hutcheon’s record of winning the seniors crown two years in succession, after Hutcheon reigned victorious at Glasgow Gailes (03) and Alyth (04).
Another big name in the championship and one to watch is that of the legendary Charlie Green (Cardross), winner of the event no fewer than five times and most capped Scottish international. The 1962 Open silver medalist and five times Walker Cup competitor must be one of the most seasoned and successful players in the field.
Alongside Green is fellow cap Brian Grieve, a member of last year’s victorious seniors Home International team, who will also hope to challenge the title on the par 71 parkland course.
The seniors championship, hosted for the first time at Drumpellier, attracted more than 176 entries (from competitors aged 55 or over) with the one of the lowest ballots in the history of the event set at 5.2, and looks set to be one of the most hotly contested titles.
Wednesday's end-of-play cut after 36 holes will reduce the field to the top 40 players and ties for Thursday's third and final round.

A FEW DOLLARS MORE FOR CATRIONA

Catriona Matthew earned $9,415 for a joint 31st place finish in the Sybase Classic tournament at Upper Montlcair Country Club, Clifton in New Jersey on Sunday.
Catriona had rounds of 69, 78, 72 and 72 for a three-over-par total of 291 over the 6,433yd, par-72 course.
Mexico's Loreno Ochoa chalked up her 11th professional career win and her second on the LPGA Tour this season with scores of 68, 67, 67 and 68 for a total of 18-under-par 270.
She won by three shots from Sarah Lee whos cored 66, 69, 65 and 73.
Becky Morgan from Wales finished joint 52nd on 296 after scores of 72, 72, 77 and 75.

FIFE HANDICAP EVENTS 2007


1) FIFE HANDICAP SINGLES MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP (16 ENTRANTS)

DRAW FOR ROUND 1 to be played by June 21.

LEVEN THISTLE (Home Club) versus DUNFERMLINE (Away Club)

ST MICHAELS (Home Club) versus DRUMOIG (Away Club)

EARLSFERRY THISTLE (Home Club) versus LOCHGELLY (Away Club)

DUNNIKIER PARK (Home Club) versus ELMWOOD (Away Club)

LADYBANK (Home Club) versus LUNDIN (Away Club)

KIRKCALDY (Home Club) versus PITREAVIE (Away Club)

SCOTSCRAIG (Home Club) versus THORNTON (Away Club)

BALBIRNIE PARK (Home Club) versus HOLDER (Away Club)

The winner must report the result to David Moir by email or by fax no later than midnight on the Closing Date of that round but preferably as soon as the tie is played.

A new draw is made for each round.


2) FIFE HANDICAP FOURSOMES MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP (17 ENTRANTS)

DRAW FOR ROUND 1 to be played by June 7.

ELMWOOD (Home Club) versus HOLDERS (Away Club)

DRAW FOR ROUND 1 to be played by 28 JUNE 2007

WINNERS OF ROUND 1 (Home Club) versus DRUMOIG (Away Club)

PITREAVIE (Home Club) versus LADYBANK (Away Club)

LOCHGELLY (Home Club) versus BURNTISLAND GHC (Away Club)

THORNTON (Home Club) versus KIRKCALDY (Away Club)

EARLSFERRY THISTLE (Home Club) versus LUNDIN (Away Club)

BALBIRNIE PARK (Home Club) versus SCOTSCRAIG (Away Club)

ST MICHAELS (Home Club) versus LEVEN THISTLE (Away Club)

DUNFERMLINE (Home Club) versus DUNNIKIER PARK (Away Club)

The winner must report the result to David Moir by email or by fax no later than midnight on the Closing Date of that round but preferably as soon as the tie is played.

A new draw is made for each round.

ROYAL TROON TO HOST NEXT YEAR'S SENIOR BRITISH

OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

By STEVEN FRANKLIN
Press Officer, European Seniors Tour

Royal Troon Golf Club has been announced as the venue for next year's Senior Open Championship, continuing the championship’s close affiliation with The Open championship rotation.
One of the great links courses in Scotland, the Old Course at Royal Troon will host the 2008 Senior Open Championship from July 24-27 when the cream of international Senior golfing talent will compete for the replica Claret Jug.

Since the Open of 2004, the Royal Troon clubhouse has had a major "facelift," which has seen the main entrance switch from the opposite side of the clubhouse from the 18th green to the east end of the clubhouse (pictured above), facing the members' car park.

It will be the fourth consecutive year the over-50s' championship has been staged in Scotland and the first at Royal Troon. The Scottish sequence began at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in 2005, followed by the Westin Turnberry Resort in 2006 and Muirfield, which is staging this year’s Championship from July 26-29.
The visit to Royal Troon will also represent the seventh time that the championship has taken place on Ayrshire’s spectacular golfing coastline.
David Hill, Director of Championships for the R&A, said: “The R&A are delighted to announce that the Senior Open Championship will be played at Royal Troon Golf Club for the first time in 2008 and we thank the members and officials at Royal Troon for their support.
“Royal Troon is no stranger to holding major championships, having staged the Open championship on eight occasions, and we can be assured of another high quality golf tournament to remember.”
OPEN VENUE SINCE 1923
Arthur Havers was the first man to lift the Claret Jug at Royal Troon in 1923 and was followed by Bobby Locke (1950), Arnold Palmer (1962), Tom Weiskopf (1973), Tom Watson (1982), Mark Calcavecchia (1989), Justin Leonard (1997) and Todd Hamilton (2004).
Tickets for this year’s Senior Open Championship presented by Aberdeen Asset Management, which carries a prize fund of US$2 million, can be purchased in advance by visiting The European Tour Ticketing Operation at http://www.europeantourtickets.com/ or by calling the Ticket Hotline on 0800 023 2557.
An adult season ticket (which allows entry to the course on all four tournament days plus the practice day on Wednesday July 25) costs £50 if purchased before July 1. Any one-day ticket costs £15 and entry to the practice day is £10. After July 1 the charges are £60 for a season pass and £20 for any one-day ticket.
There is no entry charge for Under-16s, providing an adult accompanies them, and car parking is also free.
For further information about the 2007 Senior Open Championship, presented by Aberdeen Asset Management, and the latest news please visit: http://www.senioropengolf.com/

MARTIN LAIRD SEVENTH ON US NATIONWIDE
TOUR MONEY TABLE AFTER JT 20 FINISH

Martin Laird from Glasgow, a former Scottish youths champion, is lying seventh in the US Nationwide Tour money table after a joint 20th finish in the latest event, the BMW Charity Pro-am over 72 holes at The Cliffs Golf Club, South Carolina,
Laird, averaging drives of 309yd, had rounds of 67, 72, 71 and 69 for a seven-under-par total of 279.
Winner of a Nationwide Tour event a few weeks ago, Laird has amassed $124,270 so far this season.
Australian Nick Flanagan birdied the last three holes on Sunday in completing rounds of 68, 72, 66 and 65 for 15-under-par 271. It was his second Nationwide Tour win in a row. If he wins a third this season, he will automatically qualify to step up to the main US Tour. Flanagan has won $229,077 this year.
Welshman Richard Johnson finished third on Sunday with scores of 66, 69, 68 and 70 for 273, two shots behind the winner.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
271 Nick Flanagan (Aust) 68 72 66 65.
272 Nicholas Thompson (US) 72 658 68 64.
273 Marc Turnesa (US) 70 70 67 66, Richard Johnson (Wal) 66 v69 68 70.
Other totals:
279 Martin Laird (Sco) 67 72 71 69 (jt 20th).
280 Gary Christian (Eng) 71 70 69 70 (jt 24th).
283 Keith Nolan (Ire) 73 700 70 70 (jt 43rd).

VIKKI DOUBLES HER MONEY WITH JT THIRD
FINISH AT KANSAS CITY CHAMPIONSHIP

The improving Vikki Laing doubled her money from seven events on the US Futures Tour this season to $6,640 by finishing joint third on Sunday in the Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City Championship over a very tough 6,277yd, par-72 course at Leawood South Country Club.
Vikki, from Musselburgh but resident in America since her four years at the University of California Berkeley, earned $3,920 for scoring 71, 74 and 75 for a seven-over-par total of 220 over what was, by common consent, the toughest course the Futures Tour has visited this year – thick rough, narrow fairways, hard greens.
Former US Curtis Cup player Liz Janangelo from West Hartford beat former LPGA Tour player Emily Bastel from Ohio at the third extra hole of a play-off to take the $11,200 top prize after they had tied on four-over 217 at the end of three rounds.
Janangelo, who played for the US against GB&I at Formby in 2004, had rounds of 70, 71 and 76, was scoring her second win of the season. She tops the Futures Tour money table with $28,526. Bastel, a former LPGA Tour player, scored 70, 75 and 72. Her pay cheque was for $8,000.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 213 (3 x 71)
217 Liz Janangelo (Connecticut) 70 71 76, Emily Bastel (Ohio) 70 75 72 (Janangelo won play-off at third hole).
220 Vikki Laing (Musselburgh) 71 74 75, Rachel Bailey (Australia) 77 72 71, Allison Fouch (Michigan 74 75 71, Kim Augusta (Rhode Island) 70 74 76.

MASTER GOLFER ZACH WINS IN GEORGIA
AGAIN - AFTER A PLAY-OFF

US Masters champion Zach Johnson beat Japan's Ryuji Imada in a sudden-death play-off to claim victory in the AT&T Classic at Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia.
The 31-year-old birdied the first extra hole, the 18th, to take the title after third-round leader Imada had found the water.
Johnson, whose two previous titles - including the Masters - also came in Georgia, forced a play-off after storming into contention on the final day.
The American shot a five-under-par 67 to move to 15 under while Imada, who was two under for the day, needed to birdie the final hole to stay in contention.
Johnson's chance for victory came when Imada fired his second shot on the par-five 18th into the water hazard in front of the green.
"I admire (Imada's) courage in going for the shot," said Johnson. "I understand why he hit his shot. If it was a little bit right it may have carried on.
"We (then) thought about laying up but at the same time I had a perfect lie, perfect yardage. It was a really pretty routine shot."
Camilo Villegas, Matt Kuchar and Troy Matteson tied for third at 12 under.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72). Players from US unless stated.

273 Zach Johnson 71 66 69 67, Ryuji Imada (Jap) 67 67 69 70 (Johnson won play-off at first hole).
276 Matt Kuchar 70 72 64 70, Camilo Villegas (Col) 70 67 68 71, Troy Matteson 70 64 69 73
277 Bob Estes 71 69 67 70, Stephen Marino 67 71 69 70, Chris Tidland 71 67 71 68
278 Robert Gamez 70 69 71 68, Olin Browne 69 69 74 66, Jonathan Byrd 69 72 68 69, Briny Baird 69 71 70 68, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 70 69 71 68
279 Joe Ogilvie 68 70 69 72, Gavin Coles (Aus) 74 68 69 68
280 Billy Andrade 70 68 72 70, Lee Janzen 69 70 67 74, Kevin Sutherland 65 71 71 73, Parker McLachlin 70 72 72 66, Steve Elkington (Aus) 70 70 67 73
281 Brian Davis (Eng) 69 74 68 70, Craig Kanada 67 70 73 71, Tommy Armour III 67 71 70 73
282 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 69 70 70 73, John Merrick 70 73 73 66, Neal Lancaster 72 71 70 69, Darron Stiles 71 67 73 71, Stewart Cink 70 73 71 68, Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 72 70 72 68
283 Charles Warren 73 67 70 73, Tag Ridings 69 71 70 73, David Toms 71 68 74 70, J.P. Hayes 72 70 72 69, Bill Haas 69 72 72 70, John Cook 71 70 70 72, DJ Brigman 68 67 73 75, Bob Heintz 73 67 74 69, Franklin Langham 71 70 68 74
284 Kevin Na (Kor) 70 73 70 71, Tim Petrovic 73 68 71 72, Garrett Willis 71 71 72 70, Jason Bohn 69 72 69 74
285 Kent Jones 70 73 71 71, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 71 72 73 69, Dicky Pride 68 73 74 70, Daisuke Maruyama (Jap) 71 71 74 69, D.J. Trahan 70 71 70 74
286 Jerry Smith 71 72 68 75, Michael Allen 74 67 74 71, Paul Azinger 71 70 76 69, Paul Stankowski 70 72 76 68, Shaun Micheel 72 70 71 73, Jaco Van Zyl (SAf) 72 69 70 75, Glen Day 72 71 70 73, Bob May 67 73 70 76
287 J J Henry 74 69 73 71, Tom Johnson 73 70 74 70, Brian Gay 70 72 73 72, Dan Forsman 72 69 77 69, Michael Putnam 75 66 74 72
288 Steve Jones 71 70 70 77
289 Marco Dawson 72 70 76 71, Mark Hensby (Aus) 71 70 74 74, Steve Lowery 71 72 76 70
292 Duffy Waldorf 72 71 75 74, Grant Waite (NZ) 69 74 77 72, Ryan Armour 70 73 77 72
294 Hunter Mahan 74 69 78 73, Craig Bowden 71 72 78 73, Bob Burns 75 68 78 73
295 Eric Axley 72 69 75 79

Jonathan "Ace" King leading Scot at Forest of Arden

MOUL AND FRENCHMAN BECHU
SHARE BRABAZON TROPHY
AFTER TIE ON SEVEN-UNDER 281
England international Jamie Moul and Frenchman Romain Bechu finished joint winners of the Brabazon Trophy yesterday at Marriott Forest of Arden, the first time since 1995 that the title has been shared.
The pair ended on seven-under-par 281 with Moul closing with a 72 and Bechu with 67. They finished just a shot ahead of another Frenchman, Kenny Le Sager and four ahead of David Horsey and Sam Hutsby.
The win will boost Moul’s place at the top of the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings and should cement his selection for the GB&I Walker Cup team for the Royal County Down match against the United States in the autumn.
Moul put himself in the driving seat with a morning 67 one ahead of Le Sager. But he was unable to shake off the French connection as Bechu came surging through with a 67 of his own. “I’m delighted to have finished as joint winner but I should have scored better in the afternoon to have won outright,” said Moul.
“But I started badly with four bogeys in the first six holes and although I played nicely on the back nine I had chances on 12 and 16 but couldn’t convert them.”
He had another chance on the long 17th but chipped poorly. “I found out what the situation was on the 17th fairway, but that chip was about four inches short of where I wanted it,” he added. With Bechu having already set the target, Moul came to the 211yd 18th, needing a birdie 2 for an outright win ... but his 25ft putt rolled just wide.
“I would have like the chance of a play-ff to win the title on my own but I’m delighted to add the Brabazon to my list of successes.”
Bechu, the reigning French amateur champion from Biarritz, was equally pleased,especially with his morning 67.
“That is the first time I’ve ever had a bogey-free round,” he said. “I have been coming back after being away from the game for three years as I was sick. Being nine under for the day got me to the title.”
There were four Frenchman in the leading 12 positions at the end of the tournament.
Horsey, who went into the final day at the top of the leader board, suffered with a morning 75 that dropped him back to eighth place. But he bounced back with a closing 70 for 285 alongside teenager Hutsby, who won the George Henriques Salver for the leading GB&I under-20 player.
Another to celebrate was Glasgow Golf Club member Jonathan King who holed his five-iron tee shot at the last in the third round for his first ever hole-in-one (See Tom Ward Photography image above).That helped Jonathan to finish as the leading Scot on 293.
Pre-tournament favourite Lloyd Saltman from Craigielaw failed to make it five 72-hole open tournament victories in a row, having already won the Scottish Champion of Champions' tournament at Leven, the Craigmillar Park Open in Edinburgh, the Lytham Trophy and the Irish open amateur stroke-play championship. After starting with a 77, Lloyd finished on 296 - 15 shots behind the joint winners.

Full details of all the results, daily news reports and photos of the event can be found Championships Section of the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org.

FINAL TOTALS

Par 288 (4 x 72). CSS 76 75 73 74.
281 R Bechu (France) 71 75 68 67, J Moule (Stoke by Nayland) 72 70 67 72 (no play-off, title shared).
282 K Le Sager (France) 74 71 65 72.
285 D Horsey (Styal) 70 70 75 70, S Hutsby (Liphook) 71 71 70 73.
286 F De Vries (Netherlands) 73 73 71 69, R Kilpatrick (Banbridge) 73 68 71 74.
287 A Kaleka (France) 76 69 72 70.
288 B Parker (Royal Birkdale) 73 77 72 66, R Enoch (Truro) 71 72 69 76.
289 S Piaget (Switzerland) 72 77 69 71, J Freeman (Worksop) 76 67 73 73, C Scotto (France) 71 71 71 72 75.
290 A Johnston (North Middlesex) 74 72 75 69, A Bernadet (France) 71 74 74 71.
291 B Grace (South Africa) 75 723 73 71, J Parry (Harrogate) 75 74 70 72, G Blainey (Berarwood Lakes) 76 72 70 73, J Caldwell (Clandeboye) 71 77 70 73.
202 M Thistleton (Hayling) 77 73 71 71, S Uzzell (Hornsea) 74 75 71 72.
293 M Haines (Rochester & Cobham) 78 70 73 72, J King (Glasgow) 77 73 70 73, G Wolstenholme (Kilworth Springs0 71 76 73 73, G Evans (Northcliffe) 74 73 72 74, N Edwards (Whitchurch) 74 73 71 75.
294 S Lewton (Woburn) 74 76 73 71, C Wood (Long Ashton) 73 76 74 71, K McNicoll (Carnoustie) 72 75 76 71, I Urquizu (Spain) 75 74 71 74.
295 J Abbott (Fynn Valley) 76 74 72 73, N Kearney (Royal Dublin) 79 71 71 74.
296 G Boyd (Cherwell Edge) 75 74 74 73, L Saltman (Craigielaw) 77 73 71 75, S Haywood (Rothereham) 72 75 74 75, S Benson (Wentworth) 76 71 74 75, B Westgate (Perranporth) 76 72 72 76, L Matthews (Southerndown) 74 73 73 76.
297 E Dubois (France) 76 73 76 72.
298 J-J Wolff (France) 74 75 75 74. S Grant (Birr) 73 77 73 75, S Foster (Coventry Hearsall) 72 75 76 75.
299 B Hebert (France) 73 73 74 79, J Robinson (Southport & Ainsdale) 73 76 69 81.
302 L Garcia del Moral (Spain) 73 75 69 75.
304 P Cutler (Portstewart) 73 76 80 75, A Hodkinson (Hallowes) 74 76 77 77. R Neil-Jones (Rochester & Cobham) 73 77 70 84.

JAMIESON BOOSTS ROOKIE PRO EARNINGS TO $11,237

Scott Jamieson boosted his rookie professional season earnings to $11,237 on the NGA Hooters Tour with a cheque for $900 for a 72nd place finish in the Chesdin Realty Open at Lake Chesdin Golf Club, Chesterfield, Virginia today (Sunday).
Jamieson, who played four years on the American college circuit as a student at Augusta State University, hasa played in five events and missed one cut on this US satellite tour since turning pro last November.
Scott had rounds of 76, 69, 79 and 74 for a total of 10 over par 298.
Ulsterman Gareth Maybin from Ballyclare finished joint third on 275 with scores of 66, 70, 69 and 70 and earned $10,007. David Skinns from Lincoln picked up $2,080 for finishing tied 27th on 283 with scores of 71, 73 69 and 70.
The top prize of $36,168 was won by Nick Rousey from Pensacola, Florida. He had rounds of 65, 65, 68 and 69 for 21-under-par 267. He won by seven strokes from Steve Gilley (Georgia).

Scottishgolfview.com is indebted to Hugh Hunter for supplying the above picture of the Clackmannanshire team who lost to Fife at Thornton today. If you have any golf team pictures you want displayed, e-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com.

SCOTTISH AREA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

Results in today's first sectional ties in the Scottish Golf Union men's area team championship were:
GROUP A
Lanarkshire 6, Renfrewshire 3.
South 9, Ayrshire 0.

GROUP B
Fife 5, Clackmannanshire 4.
North-east 6 1/2, Argyll & Bute 2 1/2.

GROUP C
Lothians 7 1/2, North 1 1/2
Stirlshire 4, Glasgow 5.

GROUP D
Dumbartonshire 5, Borders 4.
Perth & Kinross 5 1/2, Angus 3 1/2.

First home winner in Irish Open for nearly 30 years

HARRINGTON PLAY-OFF VICTORY PUTS
HIM UP TO 11th IN WORLD RANKINGS

Padraig Harrington ended 29 years without an Irishman winning the Irish Open at Adare Manor today - but he had to beat Welshman Bradley Dredge at the first hole of a play-off before he could claim the title and the 416,660 Euros first prize.
Harrington finished with a 71 for five-under-par 283. Dredge put together a great final round of 68 (after a great third round of 69) to tie on 283.
The Irishman's victory sees him climb one place in the Official World Golf Rankings to 11th.
Marc Warren from East Kilbride was the highest placed Scottish finisher in a share of 12th place. Marc finished off with a 71 for 293 and won 35,611 Euros.
Sandy Lyle and Alastair Forsyth were bracketed together in 21st place on 294.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
283 Padraig Harrington (Ire) 73 68 71 71, Bradley Dredge (Wal) 75 71 69 68 (Harrington won play-off).
287 Simon Wakefield (Eng) 70 72 73 72.
290 Simon Dyson (Eng) 68 78 75 69, Peter Hanson (Swe) 68 78 73 71, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 74 72 72 72, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 74 74 73 72.
Scots' scores:
293 Marc Warren 76 73 73 71 (jt 12th).
294 Sandy Lyle 72 74 76 72, Alastair Forsyth 72 72 74 76 (jt 21st).
297 Stephen Gallagher 76 73 77 71 (jt 37th).
304 Gary Orr 76 75 79 74 (jt 67th).

CLARE QUEEN WINS 7,577 EUROS FOR Jt

13th PLACE IN LADIES' SWISS OPEN

Clare Queen (Carrick at Cameron House) earned herself Euros 7,577 for a joint 13th place finish in the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open at Golf Gerre Losone, Switzerland today.Clare had rounds of 73, 71, 76 and 70 for two-over-par 290.

In her final round she birdied the third, fourth and eighth and dropped only one shot at the fourth.

After her birdie at the eighth, the Scot, pictured right, covered the remaining 10 holes in level par with a regulation figure at each.

Kathryn Imrie finished a shot behind her compatriot on three-over 291 with scores of 76, 73, 698 and 73. Kathryn's patchy last round had birdies at the eighth, 11th and 15th but a double bogey at the ninth and single bogeys at the third and fifth.

At the top of the leaderboard there was a three-way play-off for the title at the first prize of 45,018 Euros.

It was won by 24-year-old German Bettina Hauert who thus scored her maiden professional win. She birdied the last seven holes she played, the 16th, 17th and 18th, in the regulation fourth round to return a 72 and then a birdie at each of the four play-off holes, all of them halved except the last one.

The other play-off contestants were Paula Martin (Spain), who had birdied the 17th and 18th to get into the play-off, and Anna Rawson (Australia) who birdied the 18th to tie on 285.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

285 Bettina Hauert (Germany) 68 73 72 72, Paula Marti (Spain) 73 73 69 70, Anna Rawson (Australia) 72 72 69 72 (Hauert won play-off at fourth extra hole).

286 Lisa Holm Sorensen (Denmark) 74 71 71 70.

287 Trish Johnson (England) 74 73 71 69, Eleanor Pilgrim (Wales) 68 75 70 74.

Other totals:

290 Clare Queen (Carrick at Cameron House) 73 71 76 70.

291 Kathryn Imrie (Monifieth) 76 73 69 73.

292 Liz McKinnon (NZ) 70 73 76 73.

HOME WINNER IN CHALLENGE TOUR EVENT
AT ROYAL WATERLOO, BELGIUM

From MICHAEL GIBBONS
Press Officer, European Challenge Tour

TELENET TROPHY at ROYAL WATERLOO GOLF CLUB, BELGIUM
FOUR-ROUND TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72). 6,968yd.

271 Nicolas Vanhootegem (Bel ) 68 65 68 70;
275 Felipe Aguilar (Chi ) 66 72 69 68;
277 Robert Coles (Eng ) 70 71 72 64;
278 Didier De Vooght (Bel ) 65 66 72 75;
279 Anthony Snobeck (Fra ) 71 72 67 69;
280 Inder Van Weerelt (Ned ) 72 68 70 70; Peter Baker (Eng ) 70 68 71 71;
281 Christophe Brazillier (Fra ) 71 72 70 68; Edoardo Molinari (Ita ) 72 70 67 72; Stuart Davis (Eng ) 71 69 70 71; Miguel Rodriguez (Arg ) 72 68 71 70; Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel ) 65 70 72 74;
282 Thomas Nielsen (Den ) 73 70 70 69; Anthony Tarchetti (Eng ) 70 69 68 75; Magnus A Carlsson (Swe ) 67 70 73 72; Mikael Lundberg (Swe ) 67 74 69 72;
283 Iain Pyman (Eng ) 75 69 69 70; Alvaro Velasco (Esp ) 68 70 72 73; Toni Karjalainen (Fin ) 72 68 73 70; Jerome Theunis (Bel ) 67 72 75 69; Julio Zapata (Arg ) 72 72 68 71; Anders Schmidt Hansen (Den ) 72 72 70 69; Niki Zitny (Aut ) 71 72 68 72;
284 Roope Kakko (Fin ) 70 70 75 69; Ross Mcgowan (Eng ) 71 71 70 72; John E Morgan (Eng ) 72 69 73 70;
285 Van Phillips (Eng ) 74 70 70 71; Jean Hugo (Rsa ) 72 70 73 70; Wil Besseling (Ned ) 70 73 74 68; Jean-Nicolas Billot (Fra ) 70 71 72 72; Peter Whiteford (Sco ) 76 67 74 68; Robin Swane (Ned ) 68 73 73 71;
286 Fredrik Widmark (Swe ) 71 71 74 70; Raphaël Eyraud (Fra ) 71 73 71 71; Stuart Little (Eng ) 71 72 72 71; Denny Lucas (Eng ) 67 76 73 70; Gary Clark (Eng ) 69 71 73 73; Olivier David (Fra ) 71 72 71 72; Julien Grillon (Fra ) 72 68 72 74 ; Scott Henderson (Sco ) 70 73 72 71;
287 Wilhelm Schauman (Swe ) 73 69 71 74; Magnus Persson (Swe ) 69 73 72 73; Andrea Maestroni (Ita ) 72 69 75 71;
288 Klas Eriksson (Swe ) 74 69 70 75; Julien Xanthopoulos (Fra ) 72 71 75 70 ; Bertrand Coathalem (Fra ) 71 70 74 73; Rafael Gomez (Arg ) 70 73 71 74; Carlos De Corral (Esp ) 71 73 71 73; Tobias Dier (Ger ) 69 73 73 73; Kevin Harper (Eng ) 72 72 75 69 ;Gareth Paddison (Nzl ) 72 70 70 76;
289 Manuel Merizalde (Col ) 71 72 73 73; Christian Reimbold (Ger ) 72 67 77 73;
290 Arnaud Langenaeken (Bel ) 75 69 69 77; Christian Aronsen (Nor ) 69 74 71 76; Jacob Okello (Ken ) 75 69 73 73; Eric Ramsay (Sco ) 71 73 72 74; Alvaro Salto (Esp ) 71 70 72 77;
291 Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe ) 70 71 77 73; Lars Brovold (Nor ) 69 73 77 72 ; Raphaël De Sousa (Sui ) 71 71 72 77; Xavier Feyaerts (Am) (Bel ) 72 71 72 76;
292 Euan Little (Sco ) 73 69 75 75; 2
293 Pontus Ericsson (Swe ) 72 72 75 74; Paolo Terreni (Ita ) 75 66 77 75;
294 Mickael Dieu (Fra ) 73 70 78 73; Mikko Korhonen (Fin ) 77 67 77 73;
295 Gustavo Rojas (Arg ) 74 70 75 76; Manoel Willems (Bel ) 73 70 75 77; Julien Foret (Fra ) 69 74 76 76;
298 Jose Luis Adarraga Gomez (Esp ) 74 68 76 80;
299 Benjamin Miarka (Ger ) 69 75 79 76;

RUSSELL KNOX GRABS TWO EAGLES

IN HIS LAST ROUND ON US COLLEGE

CIRCUIT AFTER FOUR YEARS

Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay had a disappointing end to his four years on the American college golf circuit as a student at the University of Mississippi.
Callum finished joint 90th in a field of 141 for the NCAA Division 1 men’s East Regional qualifying tournament for the NCAA championship grand final at the end of the month.
Macaulay had rounds of 79 72 and 69 for a total of 230. He had a double bogey 7 at the ninth in his final round and a guadruple bogey 8 at the 14th.
Mississippi needed to finish in the top 10 to prolong the Scot's US college golf season b y qualifying for the NCAA championships. But they finished 17th of 27.
Russell Knox (Jacksonville University), pictured right, was the leading British player in joint 23rd place. A final round of 68 after scores of 74 and 78 boosted him 50 places in the final standings with a total of 220.
Knox, like Macaulay, playing his last round of college golf in the States had an eagle 2 at the fourth and an eagle 3 at the long 18th in halves of 33 and 35.
Duncan Stewart (Jacksonville University) had erratic rounds of 82, 71 and 81 for a share of 105th place on 234. Stewart had a triple bogey 6 at the short sixth in his final round, a double bogey 6 at the 10th and then, to cap it all, a triple bogey 8 at the long 18th.
Billy Horschel (Florida) and Brendan Todd (Georgia) tied at the top of the leaderboard on 210 over the par-72, 7,017yd course at the Golf Club of Georgia, Alpharetta.

Englishmen Tom Sherreard (Georgia State) and Daniel Willett (Jacksonville State) finished tied 56th and 78th respectively. Sherreard shot 71, 76 and 78 for 225, Willett 78, 77 and 73 for 229.

LEADING TEAM TOTALS

855 Georgia.

867 Florida, Auburn, Georgia Tech.

Other total:

903 Mississippi (17th of 27).

LEADING INDIVIDUAL TOTALS

210 Billy Horschel (Florida) 73 69 68, Brendon Todd (Georgia) 70 69 71.

Other totals:

220 Russell Knox (Jacksonville) 74 78 68 (jt 23rd).

225 Tom Sherreard (Georgia State) 71 76 78 (jt 56th).

228 Daniel Willett (Jacksonville State) 78 77 73 (jt 78th).

230 Callum Macaulay (Mississippi) 79 72 79 (jt 90th).

234 Duncan Stewart (Jacksonville) 81 71 81 (jt 105th).

BRABAZON TROPHY THIRD-ROUND UPDATE

WORLD NUMBER ONE AMATEUR JAMIE MOUL TAKES
UP RUNNING IN THIRD ROUND OF BRABAZON TROPHY

Jamie Moul, No 1 in the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings, takes a one-shot lead into the fourth and final round of the Brabazon Trophy after an eventful morning at Forest of Arden that produced a course record and a hole-in-one.
The 22 year old from Suffolk shot 67 to lead on 209, seven under par, one clear of Frenchman Kenny Le Sager, whose third round 65 was a course record.
Sharing third spot on 212 are Richard Kilpatrick from Ireland after a 71, England boy cap Sam Hutsby, who returned 70, and Rhys Enoch, the Cornish-based Welsh lad, with 69.
But the French are handily placed with four players in the top 10, led by Le Sager.
Much kinder conditions after two days of strong winds and heavy showers brought a torrent of low scores with 21 of the 48-strong field beating par compared to only 18 on the first two days.
Le Sager led the way with seven birdies in his bogey-free 65, three coming in the final three holes.
He was out in 33 and remarked: “The front nine has been hitting me over the first two rounds so I just had to take advantage today. When I got to the turn three under I was happy and didn’t want the opposite to happen on the back nine.”
Le Sager set the target on six under but Moul was behind until the back nine which he covered in 32 strokes, edging ahead with his sixth birdie at the 516-yard 17th.
But it wasn’t a good morning for overnight leader David Horsey. The Cheshire golfer’s hopes went downhill from the time he three-putted the second.
Further bogeys followed at the third, sixth and eighth for an outward 39 and his fortunes got little better on the homeward stretch which he covered in level par for 75.
It dropped him back to eighth, six strokes behind his England team-mate Moul.
The highlight of the third round was a hole-in-one by Glasgow's Jonathan King who sank his tee shot at the 211-yard 18th. It was his first ever ‘ace’ and helped him to a round of 70 for 220.

DEATH OF ORIGINAL AUSSIE TRAIL-BLAZER
NORMAN VON NIDA AT AGE OF 93

Former Australian Open champion Norman Von Nida, who won more than 80 titles worldwide and was a trail-blazer for Australian golf, died today. He was 93.
"The Von," as he was known to his friends, family and those in the golfing fraternity, had been suffering from ill health in the past two months and died at a Gold Coast nursing home, his family said.
Von Nida won three Australian Opens and four Australian PGA championships. He won Australian Open titles in 1950, 1952 and 1953 and finished second three times.
He was one of the first star Australian golfers to go overseas, winning the Philippine Islands Open in 1938 and later competing in Europe for the first time in 1946, where he finished second on the Order of Merit.
He returned to Australia in 1947 and won seven tournaments and topped the Order of Merit.
Von Nida was born in Sydney and grew up in Brisbane, turning professional in 1933, after attracting attention by winning the Queensland amateur title at the age of 18.
SHORT TEMPERED
Von Nida was renowned for his short temper. At an Australian tournament in 1948, he became involved in an argument with US Ryder Cup player Henry Ransom that resulted in police having to pull them apart. He was also known to hurl his putter into the bushes after missing putts and breaking or losing them mid-round.
Von Nida was presented with a life membership of the Australasian PGA Tour in December 2005 and Australia's second-tier circuit for developing players is named in his honour.
"It is a recognition that has been a long time coming," former US PGA champion Wayne Grady, who was chairman of the Australasian tour, said at the time. "Every professional golfer in Australia has benefited from the contribution Norma made to the professional game here."
He was still playing golf in his early 1990s, despite being legally blind and used iridescent yellow paint on top of his clubs and playing with yellow golf balls.
"All I've got to do is swing the club and allow someone to tell me where it went," Von Nida said. "I can tell by the feel of the club contacting the ball, relatively in what direction it's gone and how far it's gone."
In 1998, Nick Faldo sought Von Nida's putting advice on the practice green at Royal Adelaide during the Australian Open. Faldo went from a first-round 77 to a second-round 69 after Von Nida's advice.
"He said the grip pressure in my left hand was too tight, and gave me a little putting lesson as well," Faldo said at the time.
Ian Triggs, a long-time Australian coach who works with LPGA star Karrie Webb, said Von Nida was a great storyteller,
"He was a grand old guy, so kind to so many people," said Triggs. "Everyone loved his stories and how he told them."
Von Nida is survived by his daughter, Keiri, her husband and four grandchildren.

CARL MASON WINS FOUR-WAY PLAY-OFF
FOR ITALIAN SENIORS OPEN TITLE

From Steven Franklin
Press Officer, European Seniors Tour

England’s Carl Mason made a brilliant attempt to register his 15th European Seniors Tour victory at the Sharp Italian Seniors Open, but eventually lost out to New Zealand’s Simon Owen in a four-man play-off at the magnificent Circolo Golf Venezia.
Mason, nine strokes off the pace overnight, stormed through the field with a final round of seven under par 65 to finish the tournament in Venice on eight under 208, alongside Owen (73), Tony Allen of England (71) and John Benda of the United States (74).
The quartet returned to the 18th where Owen struck the decisive blow with a majestic wedge to two feet that set up a winning birdie.
Mason and Allen, both of whom had missed the green with their approaches, could do no better than a par 4, while Benda two putted for his 4 to hand Owen the €30,000 (£20,458) first prize.
“When you go into a play-off situation you do not know what is going to happen, but it was always in the back of my mind that I have a great play-off record. I won the Tunisian Seniors Open in a play-off, I won the German Open on The European Tour in a play-off, and I’ve won a couple of events back home in a play-off. So that at least was a positive vibe,” explained Owen, who was one over for his final round.
“I had struggled today to be honest, but to get into this position so early in the season, especially when I have been working on a little swing change, is thrilling. This will give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.”
Prestwick's Ross Drummond, making his third European Seniors Tour appearance, finished on seven under par 209 after closing in 70, two better than England’s Bob Cameron in sixth place.
Sam Torrance closed with a 73 for a jt 12th finish on 213.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
208 Simon Owen (Nzl) 70 65 73, Carl Mason (Eng) 70 73 65, John Benda (USA) 71 63 74, Tony Allen (Eng) 71 66 71 (Owen won sudden-death play-off).
209 Ross Drummond (Sco) 70 69 70
211 Bob Cameron (Eng) 67 75 69
212 Bruce Heuchan (Can) 73 69 70, Bobby Lincoln (SAf) 74 70 68, Horacio Carbonetti (Arg ) 70 71 71, José Rivero (Esp) 71 69 72, Nick Job (Eng) 70 69 73
213 Stewart Ginn (Aus) 70 72 71, Sam Torrance (Sco) 70 70 73
214 David J Russell (Eng) 72 70 72, Gordon J Brand (Eng) 72 70 72
215 David Merriman (Aus) 71 74 70, Giuseppe Cali (Ita) 71 72 72
216 John Chillas (Sco) 75 70 71
217 John Mashego (SAf) 72 73 72, Doug Johnson (US) 72 70 75, Jerry Bruner (US) 72 74 71, Gavan Levenson (SAf) 72 71 74, Adan Sowa (Arg) 72 73 72
218 Costantino Rocca (Ita) 72 72 74, Jean Pierre Sallat (Fra) 73 71 74, Delroy Cambridge (Jam) 74 71 73, Ronald Stelten (USA) 73 71 74, Bill Longmuir (Sco) 71 73 74
219 Terry Gale (Aus) 74 73 72, Jim Rhodes (Eng) 71 77 71, David Good (Aus) 74 73 72
220 Tommy Horton (Eng) 76 71 73, Pete Oakley (US) 75 75 70, Kevin Spurgeon (Eng) 72 73 75, Jimmy Heggarty (Nir) 74 73 73, Peter Teravainen (US) 73 73 74
221 Glenn Ralph (Eng) 72 74 75, Denis O'Sullivan (Ire) 76 72 73
222 Guillermo Encina (Chi) 74 73 75, Ray Carrasco (US) 72 72 78
223 Bob Larratt (Eng ) 75 77 71, Tony Charnley (Eng) 70 73 80, Emilio Rodriguez (Esp) 74 76 73, Denis Durnian (Eng) 73 75 75, Baldovino Dassu (Ita) 75 74 74, Angel Fernandez (Chi) 76 76 71, Gery Watine (Fra) 74 73 76, Jim Lapsley (Nzl) 72 75 76
224 Ian Mosey (Eng) 75 71 78, Luis Carbonetti (Arg) 79 70 75, Terry Dill (US) 77 74 73
225 Maurice Bembridge (Eng) 78 74 73, Manuel Piñero (Spa) 72 78 75, Tim Rastall (Eng) 78 72 75
226 Martin Gray (Sco) 74 78 74, Bertus Smit (SAf) 75 74 77, Martin Poxon (Eng) 73 73 80, Steve Martin (Sco) 76 80 70
227 Bob Lendzion (USA) 77 76 74
228 Philippe Dugeny (Fra) 71 80 77
229 Mike Miller (Sco) 77 76 76
231 Bill Hardwick (Can) 79 79 73, Noel Ratcliffe (Aus) 76 71 84, Gary Wintz (US) 80 76 75, Mike Ferguson (Aus) 74 77 80
232 Adriano Mori (Ita) 76 73 83, Antonio Garrido (Esp) 78 77 77
237 Neville Clarke (RSA) 74 88 75
239 Romolo Napoleoni (Ita) 85 79 75, Alberto Croce (Ita) 77 84 78
240 Stefano Betti (Ita) 78 82 80
W/d Eddie Polland (NIr ) 80


_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

FINDLAY FIGURES IN BIRDIE BLITZ
AND HE’S HEADING FOR NCAA
GRAND FINALE IN VIRGINIA

Fraserburgh teenager Jordan Findlay will play in the NCAA Division 1 championships – the season-ending high spot of the American college golf season at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club, Williamsburg in Virginia.
Findlay, pictured right, and the rest of the East Tennessee State University won their place in the grand finale from May 30 to June 2 with a birdie blitz in a play-off against the five-man teams of Wake Forest University and Oregon State University in the NCAA Division 1 West Regional qualifying tournament.
Only the leading 10 teams go forward from a field of 27 colleges. East Tennessee State, Wake Forest and Oregon State tied for the last two places on 839. In blistering hot temperatures on the Arizona desert course – the thermometer touched 99 degrees at its peak – the five players from each team had to play a sudden-death play-off.
Four of East Tennessee State’s squad – Jordan Findlay, Welsh Walker Cup player Rhys Davies and Irishmen Cian McNamara and Seamus Power – all birdied the first play-off hole to ensure their college team gained ninth place. Wake Forest won the 10th.
It was a great finish to a tournament in which Findlay did not do well over the regulation 54 holes. He had rounds of 76, 77 and 76 – including one triple bogey and three double bogeys – for a total of 13-over-par 229 over a 7,057yd, par-72 course which was playing short in the heat.
Jordan finished joint 131st in the field of 141 players but that was all forgotten as he added his play-off birdie to book the team’s trip to Virginia.
Edinburgh-botn Rhys Davies scored 70, 67 and 68 to gain joint 14th place on four-under-par 205, seven shots behind the winner, Benjamin Alvarado (Arizona State) with 67, 65 and 66 for 198.Augusta State’s Wallace Booth from Comrie finished tied 23rd on 207 with three rounds of 69.
This is Davies' last few weeks of his four years at East Tennessee State University, during which time he has won 10 individual tournaments and provided the backbone of the college golf team. He will be missed.

INDIVIDUAL SCOREBOARD
198 Benjamin Alvarado (Arizona State) 67 65 66.
201 Kevin Chappell (UCLA) 66 68 67, Jon Curran (Vanderbilt0 71 65 65, Jamie Lovemark (Southern California) 69 63 69.
Other scores:
205 Rhys Davies (East Tenneessee State) 70 67 68 (jt 14th).
207 Wallace Booth (Augusta State) 69 69 69, Gareth Shaw (East Tennessee State) 70 70 67 (jt 23rd).
212 Seamus Power (East Tennessee State) 69 66 77 (jt 53rd).
216 Cian McNamara (East Tennessee State) 69 74 73 (jt 81st).
229 Jordan Findlay (East Tennessee State) 76 77 76 (jt 131st).

TEAM TOTALS
820 South Carolina.
822 UCLA.
824 Southern California, Arizona State.
Other qualifiers:
839 (after play-off) East Tennessee State, Wake Forest.

JENNA, QUEEN OF SCOTS, WANTS TO

BECOME A TOUR PRO RATHER THAN

DEFEND TITLE AT LOSSIEMOUTH

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

New Scottish women's amateur champion Jenna Wilson, 22, from Strathaven will be delighted if she can't defend the title at Moray Golf Club, Lossiemouth next May.

That doesn't mean she is not thrilled to bits to follow in the footsteps of legendary players such as Helen Holm, Jessie Valentine, Belle Robertson and Janette Wright and put her own name alongside them in the golfing history books.

"I wouldn't have missed this past week at Barassie for anything ... being the No 1 qualifier and winning my way through to the final and then beating Emily Ogilvy 2 and 1 ... but I see my future as a tournament professional," said Jenna who was introduced to golf by her grandfather 11 years ago.

"So I hope to do well in the British women's amateur championship at Alwoodley next month but the target is to go back to the Ladies European Tour Qualifying School - and this time win my players' card for next season. I failed last year but I am determined to make it at the second attempt.

"Karyn Dallas, my coach, has been working hard with me and I think I'm still improving."

Championship runner-up Emily Ogilvy, 23, has not ruled out the possibility of going with Jenna Wilson - and Heather MacRae, beaten semi-finalist for the second year in a row - to the LET Qualifying School near the end of the year.

"I'm going to play full-time amateur golf throughout the summer. If I have a very good season, and this has been a good start, reaching the final of the Perth & Kinross county championship and then the final of the Scottish championship, then I will probably have a go at becoming a tour pro. This would be the right time for me to do it, but only if I think I am good enough a golfer," said Dunning-based Emily.

Round-up of Scots men and women tour pros in America

VIKKI LAING SHOWING SIGNS OF TURNING
THE CORNER IN HER TOUR PRO CAREER

Vikki Laing, the one-time wonder girl golfer from Musselburgh whose brilliant amateur career did not transfer with her to the professional ranks, may be turning the corner at last.
Based in America since she spent four years at the University of California, Berkeley, the 26-year-old’s form on the United States Futures Tour has taken an upsurge in the month of May. She is starting to make 36-hole cuts on a regular basis and, more important, achieve top-10 finishes.
In the weekend $80,000 Mercedes-Benz Women’s Championship of Kansas City, Vikki scored 71 and 74 for three-over-par 145 to be lying in joint third place, four shots off the pace, going into the final round.
“I’ve three-putted three times in both rounds but still took only 28 putts in the second round,” said Vikki who won the Scottish Under-18 girls title four years in a row in the 1990s and also the Scottish Under-21 title before gaining Curtis Cup honours.
“I had one of those days when I got up and down from everywhere. The whole thing at this tournament is the rough. This is the toughest course by par we’ve played this season but it’s fair. The rough is going to punish you if you’re in there but the greens are pure.

LEADERBOARD
141 Liz Janangelo (Connecticutt) 70 71.
144 Kim Augusta (Rhode Island) 70 74.
145 Vikki Laing (Musselburgh) 71 74, Emily Bastel (Ohio) 70 75, Sin Ah Ham (California) 76 69, Jana Peterkova (Czech Rep0 75 70, Ji Min Jeong (Korea) 71 74.
MISSED CUT (at 157)
164 Brenda McLarnon (Belfast) 85 79.
166 Natasha Morgan (South Wales) (am) 85 81.


JAMIESON SAGS IN HOOTERS TOUR THIRD ROUND

Scott Jamieson from Glasgow killed off his prospects of a sizeable cheque in the NGA Hooters Tour’s Chesden Realty Open at Lake Chesden Golf Club, Chesterfield, Virginia with a third-round 79.
Jamieson, who turned pro in November after winning the Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit, is on eight over par 224, having had earlier rounds of 76 and 69. Scott is 26 strokes behind the five-shot leader Nick Rousey (Pensacola, Florida) who has scored 65, 65 and 68 for 18-under-par 198.
With one round to go, Ulsterman Gareth Maybin from Ballyclare is in third place on 205 with 66, 70 and 69. Maybin has been one of the biggest money-winners on the Hooters Tour over the past two years. He was formerly a leading player on the US college circuit.
David Skinns, another former US golf student from Lincoln, is sharing 25th place with 71, 73 and 69 for 213.
Steven Tiley from Lincoln is on 217 with scores of 73, 72 and 72.
Long-time Edinburgh exile David Kirkpatrick, now a resident of Lakeland, Florida, and Colin Speirs from Dunkeld failed to beat the 145 cut.
Kirkparick scored a pair of 73s for 146 to miss out by one while Speirs had 75 and 76 for 153.
SCOREBOARD
198 Nick Rousey (Florida) 65 65 68.
203 Ryan Blaum (Florida) 68 66 69.
205 Gareth Maybin (Ballyclare) 66 70 69.
Other scores:
213 David Skinns (Lincoln) 71 73 69.
217 Steven Tiley (Canterbury) 73 72 72.
224 Scott Jamieson (Glasgow) 76 69 79.
Scots non-qualifiers
146 David Kirkpatrick 73 73.
153 Colin Speirs 75 76.

LAIRD TRAILS IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Former Scottish youths champion Martin Laird from Glasgow was lying joint 27th going into the final round of the Nationwide Tour event, the BMW Charity Pro-am, at The Cliffs, South Carolina.
Laird had rounds of 67, 72 and 71 for four-under-par 210. He was seven shots behind American leader Richard Johnson who had scored 66, 69 and 68 for 203.

LPGA TOUR SCOREBOARD FROM THE
SYBASE CLASSIC

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Upper Montclair Country Club
Par 144 (2 x 72)
Players from US unless stated.
135 Lorena Ochoa (Mex) 68 67, Sarah Lee 66 69
137 Jane Park 69 68
139 Juli Inkster 71 68, Young Jo (Kor) 72 67, Brittany Lincicome 68 71, Sherri Steinhauer 70 69
140 Se Ri Pak (Kor) 68 72, Brittany Lang 70 70, Laura Davies (Eng) 71 69
141 Karrie Webb (Aus) 71 70, Angela Park 68 73, Hye Jung Choi (Kor) 68 73
142 Kate Golden 70 72, In Kyung Kim (Kor) 70 72, Morgan Pressel 71 71, Reilley Rankin 71 71, Nicole Castrale 70 72
143 Wendy Doolan (Aus) 72 71, Young Kim (Kor) 72 71, Nina Reis (Swe) 72 71, In-Bee Park (Kor) 70 73, Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 73 70, Dorothy Delasin 72 71, Stephanie Louden 71 72, Jimin Kang (Kor) 74 69, Natalie Gulbis 70 73, Rachel Hetherington (Aus) 70 73
144 Na On Min (Jpn) 71 73, Meena Lee (Kor) 70 74, Becky Morgan (Wal) 72 72, 145 Young-A Yang (Kor) 70 75, Jill McGill 74 71, Il Mi Chung (Kor) 70 75, Nancy Scranton 73 72, Christina Kim 73 72, Mi-Hyun Kim (Kor) 74 71, Meaghan Francella 69 76, Birdie Kim (Kor) 72 73
146 Sarah Lynn Sargent 78 68, Patricia Meunier-Lebouc (Fra) 74 72, Na Ri Kim (Kor) 73 73, Charlotte Mayorkas 71 75, Helen Alfredsson (Swe) 73 73, Ashli Bunch 76 70, Karine Icher (Fra) 71 75, Aree Song (Kor) 73 73, Beth Daniel 73 73, Eva Dahllof (Swe) 74 72, Paige Mackenzie 72 74, Allison Hanna-Williams 74 72
147 Christi Cano 73 74, Lisa Fernandes 72 75, Catriona Matthew (Sco) 69 78, Lorie Kane (Can) 72 75, Kristy McPherson 72 75, Diana D'Alessio 71 76, Kelly Robbins 72 75, Lee Ann Walker-Cooper 70 77, Dina Ammaccapane 75 72, Seon Hwa Lee (Kor) 71 76, Carri Wood 72 75, Kyeong Eun Bae (Kor) 74 73, Brooke Tull 72 75
148 Joo Mi Kim (Kor) 73 75, Giulia Sergas (Ita) 77 71, Jeanne Cho-Hunicke 79 69, Sun Young Yoo (Kor) 71 77, Beth Bader 76 72, Song-Hee Kim (Kor) 73 75, Leta Lindley 77 71, Won Joon Lee (Aus) 70 78, Erica Blasberg 73 75, Karin Sjodin (Swe) 74 74
MISSED THE CUT
149 Irene Cho 73 76, Maggie Will 79 70, Soo-Yun Kang (Kor) 71 78, Alena Sharp 74 75, Wendy Ward 76 73, Danielle Downey 75 74
150 Linda Wessberg (Swe) 72 78, Kim Saiki-Maloney 72 78, Meredith Ward 71 79, Kim Williams 81 69, Joanne Morley (Eng) 74 76, Julieta Granada (Par) 74 76, Vicki Goetze-Ackerman 77 73, Teresa Lu (Tai) 73 77, Mikaela Parmlid (Swe) 72 78, Angela Jerman 72 78, Amy Hung (Tha) 76 74, Moira Dunn 74 76, A.J Eathorne (Can) 75 75, 151 Heather Young 75 76, Candie Kung (Tai) 74 77, Tina Barrett 75 76, Meredith Duncan 74 77, Sherri Turner 74 77, Ji-Young Oh (Kor) 73 78, Clarissa Childs 72 79, Dawn Coe-Jones 77 74, Maru Martinez (Ve) 76 75, Christa Johnson 71 80, Mhairi McKay (Sco) 76 75, Jeong Jang (Kor) 71 80, Katherine Hull (Aus) 74 77
152 Minea Blomqvist (Fin) 77 75, Jamie Hullett 78 74, Siew-Ai Lim (Mal) 75 77, Kris Tamulis 78 74, Meg Mallon 82 70, Tracy Hanson 72 80, Angela Stanford 74 78, Briana Vega 74 78
153 Charlotta Sorenstam (Swe) 76 77, Yu Ping Lin (Tai) 72 81, Su A Kim 76 77, Sae-Hee Son (Kor) 74 79, Kim Hall 76 77, Marcy Hart 76 77
154 Cindy Rarick 76 78, Sung Ah Yim (Kor) 74 80, Michelle McGann 79 75, Kristina Tucker (Swe) 76 78, Katie Futcher 74 80
155 Beth Bauer 77 78, Mollie Fankhauser 78 77, Patricia Frohna-Post 78 77
156 Kelly Cap 73 83, Cindy Pasechnik 79 77
158 Kelli Kuehne 80 78, Beth Allen 77 81, Natalie Tucker 79 79, Sarah Huarte 79 79
160 Jenna Daniels 79 81
165 Riko Higsashio (Jap) 84 81

US PGA TOUR SCOREBOARD FROM
AT&T CLASSIC IN GEORGIA

The TPC at Sugarloaf, Georgia.
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72). Players from US unless stated
203 Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 67 67 69, Troy Matteson 70 64 69
205 Camilo Villegas (Col) 70 67 68
206 Zach Johnson 71 66 69, Lee Janzen 69 70 67, Matt Kuchar 70 72 64
207 Stephen Marino 67 71 69, Bob Estes 71 69 67, Joe Ogilvie 68 70 69, Kevin Sutherland 65 71 71, Steve Elkington (Aus) 70 70 67
208 DJ Brigman 68 67 73, Tommy Armour III 67 71 70
209 Chris Tidland 71 67 71, Rory Sabbatini (SAf) 69 70 70, Franklin Langham 71 70 68, Jonathan Byrd 69 72 68
210 Robert Gamez 70 69 71, Charles Warren 73 67 70, Tag Ridings 69 71 70, Bob May 67 73 70, Billy Andrade 70 68 72, Craig Kanada 67 70 73, Briny Baird 69 71 70, Jason Bohn 69 72 69, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 70 69 71
211 Jerry Smith 71 72 68, Brian Davis (Eng) 69 74 68, John Cook 71 70 70, Darron Stiles 71 67 73, Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa) 72 69 70, Gavin Coles (Aus) 74 68 69, D.J. Trahan 70 71 70, Steve Jones 71 70 70
212 Tim Petrovic 73 68 71, Olin Browne 69 69 74
213 Kevin Na (Kor) 70 73 70, Bill Haas 69 72 72, Shaun Micheel 72 70 71, Neal Lancaster 72 71 70, David Toms 71 68 74, Glen Day 72 71 70
214 Kent Jones 70 73 71, J.P. Hayes 72 70 72, Garrett Willis 71 71 72, Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 72 70 72, Stewart Cink 70 73 71, Bob Heintz 73 67 74, Parker McLachlin 70 72 72
215 Michael Allen 74 67 74, Brian Gay 70 72 73, Mark Hensby (Aus) 71 70 74, Michael Putnam 75 66 74, Dicky Pride 68 73 74
216 Richard S Johnson (Swe) 71 72 73, J J Henry 74 69 73, John Merrick 70 73 73, Eric Axley 72 69 75, Daisuke Maruyama (Jap) 71 71 74
217 Tom Johnson 73 70 74, Paul Azinger 71 70 76
218 Marco Dawson 72 70 76, Paul Stankowski 70 72 76, Duffy Waldorf 72 71 75, Dan Forsman 72 69 77
219 Steve Lowery 71 72 76
220 Grant Waite (NZ) 69 74 77, Ryan Armour 70 73 77
221 Hunter Mahan 74 69 78, Craig Bowden 71 72 78, Bob Burns 75 68 78

McNICOLL, SALTMAN AND KING BEAT
BRABAZON TROPHY HALFWAY CUT
BUT THEY ARE SOME WAY BEHIND

Carnoustie's Keir McNicoll, Lloyd Saltman (Craigielaw) and Glasgow's Jonathan King were the only Scots to survive the halfway cut on 150 or better in the English amateur stroke-play championship for the Brabazon Trophy at the Marriott Forest of Arden.
Englishman David Horsey leads by one shot on four-under-par 140 after a pair of 70s.
He is only one stroke ahead of Irish international Richard Kilpatrick. The main Irish hope had expected to be young Rory McIlroy from Belfast. But he failed to beat the cut with a 36-hole total of 153.
Despite another difficult day with a strong wind and frequent heavy showers, Horsey, a 22 year old from Cheshire, felt conditions were marginally easier than on Friday.
“When I teed off I was looking for an even better score, possibly a 68, and I was close to it,” he said. “But I lipped out for eagle at 17 and dropped a shot at the last after finding sand.
“If you are playing well, even in these conditions, there is no reason why you can’t get birdies. I’m happy where I am. I don’t mind being a front-runner, it’s better than being somewhere else.”
Kilpatrick was in the last match out and benefited from easier conditions as the wind dropped and his 68 included five birdies.
In joint third spot on 142 are Horsey’s England team-mate Jamie Moul, who added a 70 to his opening 72, and Sam Hutsby, last year’s England boy captain, with a second 71.
“I felt it was a little easier because some tees had been moved forward,” said Moul, “I also gave myself more opportunities although I didn’t putt as well today.”
However, he did run in three birdies, one at the treacherous 476-yard ninth which has proved so dangerous to many. “I picked up some shots on the field there, didn’t I?” he quipped.
Hutsby also birdied the ninth and picked up another shot at the long 12th in his third successive 71 including the qualifying round.
“Shooting 71 is getting a bit boring,“ he joked. “But I’m happy with that although I got a bit sloppy on the back nine. It’s going to be a confidence boost for me what ever happens tomorrow.”
But the round of the day if not the week belonged to James Freeman, who went round in an amazing 67 with an eagle and five birdies for 143.
The eagle came at the 516-yard 17th where he fired a five-wood 229 yards to 15 feet and holed for three. But he built his score with a front nine of 33 with four birdies.
“I just played a shot at a time and swung freely,” he said. “I kept giving myself chances and took them while I also holed some good putts.”
Freeman, now playing out of Worksop, finished runner-up in this year’s Sunningdale Foursomes alongside Robert Steele and confirmed he’d had a decent start to the season but not a great one.
He shares fifth place with Rhys Enoch, the Welsh international from Cornwall, and Frenchman Cedric Scotto, who would have been just a shot off the pace but he lost a ball off the 18th tee and holed a good 12-footer for a double-bogey five and 71.
Until Horsey and Freeman took a hand the leaderboard took on a distinct Gaelic look as three Frenchmen headed the field with Adrien Bernadet and Kenny Le Sager on 145 with Romain Bechu one shot behind.
Bechu was later joined by England boy cap Andrew Johnston, whose carded a 72 despite a double-bogey six at the first hole.
“It wasn’t good to start with a double bogey when I three-putted after being in a bunker but I played pretty steady and managed four birdies,” he remarked.
“Despite the weather I enjoyed it. You’ve just got to battle and it’s a good test of golf,” admitted the 18 year old from Middlesex.
The cut came at six over par 150 with 48 players surviving for the final two rounds.
Scotland’s Lloyd Saltman and England cap Stephen Lewton made it on the limit but among those who didn’t were Irish teenager Rory McIlroy on 153.

BRABAZON TROPHY HALFWAY SCOREBOARD

Par 144 (2 x 72). CSS 76 75.

140 D Horsey (Styal) 70 70.
141 R Kilpatrick (Banbridge) 73 68.
142 J Moul (Stoke by Nayland) 72 70, S Hutsby (Liphook) 71 71.
143 J Freeman (Worksop) 76 67, C Scotto (France) 72 71, R Enoch (Truro) 71 72.
145 A Kaleka (France) 76 69, K Le Sager (France) 74 71, A Bernadet (France) 71 74.
146 A Johnston (North Middlesex) 74 72, B Hebert (France) 73 73, F De Vries (Netherlands) 73 73, R Bechu (France) 71 75.
147 S Benson (Wentworth) 76 71, B Grace (South Africa) 75 72, L Matthews (Southerndown) 74 73, G Evans (Northcliffe) 74 73, N Edwards (Whitchurch) 74 73, K McNicoll (Carnoustie) 72 75, S Haywood (Rotherham) 72 75, S Foster (Coventry Hearsall) 72 75, G Wolstenholme (Kilworth Springs) 71 76.
148 M Haines (Rochester & Cobham) 78 70, B Westgate (Ben Perranporth) 76 72, G Blainey (Bearwood Lakes) 76 72, L Garcia del Moral (Spain) 73 75, J Caldwell (Clandeboye) 71 77.
149 E Dubois (France) 76 73, J Parry (Harrogate) 75 74, G Boyd (Cherwell Edge) 75 74, I Urquizu (Spain) 75 74, J-J Wolff (France) 74 75, S Uzzell (Hornsea) 74 75, C Wood (Long Ashton) 73 76, J Robinson (Southport & Ainsdale) 73 76, P Cutler (Portstewart) 73 76, S Piaget (Switzerland) 72 77.
150 N Kearney (Royal Dublin) 79 71, M Thistleton (Hayling) 77 73, L Saltman (Craigielaw) 77 73, J King (Glasgow) 77 73, J Abbott (Fynn Valley) 76 74, A Hodkinson (Hallowes) 74 76, S Lewton (Woburn) 74 76, B Parker (Royal Birkdale) 73 77, R Neil-Jones (Rochester & Cobham) 73 77, S Grant (Birr) 73 77.
MISSED THE CUT
151 P Nelson (South Africa) 80 71, R Smith (Notts) 79 72, M Evans (Rotherham) 78 73, M Hocaoglu (Turkey) 78 73, D Marmion (Delamere Forest) 78 73, J Pernaa (Finland) 78 73, W Shucksmith (Alwoodley) 77 74, A MacGregor (Killiow) 77 74, J Allen (Germany) 77 74, R Heritage (Shirley) 77 74, S O'Brien (US) 75 76, B Etchart (Spain) 75 76, R H Nielsen (Denmark) 75 76.
152 A Hogan (Newlands) 79 73, E Richardson (Rye) 78 74, O Sharpe (Minchinhampton) 78 74, T Fleetwood (Formby Hall) 78 74, M Baldwin (Royal Birkdale) 77 75, S Brown (Wentworth) 76 76, K McAlpine (Alyth) 76 76, D Renwick (Worthing) 76 76, J Barnes (Ashford) 74 78.
153 A Thorsen (Norway) 79 74, M Cryer (Coventry) 79 74, R McIlroy (Holywood) 78 75, W Bowe (Workington) 78 75, M Young (Brokenhurst Manor) 76 77, A Wainwright (Gainsborough) 76 77, S Ward (Co Louth) 76 77, D Wright (Rowlands Castle) 73 80.
154 D Lloyd (Spalding) 83 71, S Gross (Germany) 81 73, M Bell (Shanklin & Sandown) 81 73, S Hindle (Ellesmere) 79 75, S Lowry (Esker Hills) 78 76, L Collins (Mendip Spring) 78 76, D Coupland (Boston) 78 76, B Evans (Rye) 77 77, L Nemecz (Austria) 74 80, R Schneider (France) 70 84.
155 F-R Rouilleaux (France) 83 72, C Hinton (The Oxfordshire) 80 75, S Archibald (Blackmoor) 80 75, A Best (Cleveland) 79 76, N Day (Henbury) 79 76, P Baunsoe (Denmark) 79 76, C P Barberan (Spain) 79 76, R Black (Sherwood Forest) 78 77, H Sayin (Turkey) 78 77, J Shufflebotham (Prestatyn) 78 77, M Bey (France) 77 78, J Pye (Preston) 76 79, S Young (Workington) 76 79, M Nixon (Ashton under Lyne) 76 79, S Kindstedt (Finland) 74 81.
156 A Rosado (Portugal) 82 74, D Rickwood (Bishops Stortford) 79 77, S McGlynn (Blackburn) 79 77, G Berlin (Spain) 79 77, V Dubuisson (France) 79 77, D Whitnell (Five Lakes) 77 79, Z Gould (Vale of Glamorgan) 77 79, R Hillas (Northcliffe) 77 79.
157 P Figueiredo (Portugal) 80 77, S Crockett (Addington Palace) 78 79, C Pfau (Austria) 73 84. 158 S Rojas (Switzerland) 81 77, B Rushford (Grangemouth) 81 77, A Sagar (Keighley) 80 78. G Vincente (Spain) 79 79, T Lawson (Ellesborough) 79 79, C Berardo (France) 79 79.
159 G Campbell (Blairgowrie) 83 76, D Curtis (Fleetwood) 81 78, W Nicolson (Coventry) 81 78, R Prophet (Shifnal) 80 79, M Blake (Garon Park) 78 81, T Adcock (The Nevill) 75 84.
160 T Hesketh (Oakdale) 82 78, A Windsor (Ferndown) 82 78, M Dobias (Switzerland) 81 79, J Winer (Woolston Manor) 81 79, D Coop (Chesterfield) 80 80, C Corry (Sandy Lodge) 79 81.
161 M Bird (Northants Co) 84 77, R Thomas (Aberdare) 82 79, C Geraghty (St Annes Old Links) 82 79, S Clarke (Kidderminster) 79 82, N Connolly (Delepre) 78 83, C Edwards (Bath) 77 84.
162 J Buckley (Harrogate) 81 81, L Cornford (East Sussex National) 81 81.
163 M Pearson (Little Aston) 84 79.
164 M Larusson (Iceland) 83 81, R Kirwan (Kenilworth) 83 81, S Lane (The Worcestershire) 81 83.
165 R Brown (Worksop) 82 83, B Wilkins (Fynn Valley) 82 83.
166 M Novy (Czech Rep) 83 83.
168 S Henry (Cardross) 87 81.
170 M Jones (Buckinghamshire) 87 83.
171 D Van Den Dungen (Netherlands) 89 82.
Retired: S S Mar (Iceland).

ANGUS TEAM FOR CRUDEN BAY JAMBOREE

Angus have named their team for the Northern Division women's inter-county team championship at Cruden Bay from June 23 to 25.
It is:
Heather Anderson (Downfield).
Dawn Dewar (Monifieth).
Fiona Gilbert (Carnoustie).
Frances Millar (Carnoustie).
Shonagh Raitt (Forfar).
Ann Ramsay (Kirriemuir).
Mary Summers (Panmure Barry).
Kathleen Sutherland (Royal Montrose).
Reserves:
Elaine Easton (Brechin).
Aileen Hunter (Monifieth).
*Katy McNicoll (Carnoustie) and Rebecca Wilson were not available for selection.

SLGA NAME TEAMS FOR THREE STROKE-PLAY EVENTS

The following Scotland teams were named by the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association after the championship concluded at Kilmarnock Barassie today:

St Rule Trophy, St Andrews, June 2-3: 1 Krystle Caithness, 2 Heather MacRae, 3 Jenna Wilson. Reserves: 1 Emily Ogilvy, 2 Michele Thomson.

Ladies British open amateur championship - Alwoodley, Leeds, June 12-16: 1 Krystle Caithness, 2 Heather MacRae, 3 Jenna Wilson. Reserves: 1 Sally Watson, 2 Carly Booth, 3 Emily Ogilvy.

Irish women's open amateur championship - Clandeboye, June 30-July 1: 1 Claire Hargan, 2 Elaine Moffat. Reserve: 1 Sara Bishop.

PADDY HARRINGTON LEADS IRISH OPEN
BY THREE STROKES GOING INTO
SUNDAY'S FINAL ROUND

Begorrah - an Irishman winning the Irish Open? Well, it looks like happening for the first time since the Old King died because Padraig Harrington leads by three shots going into the final round of the European Tour event at Adare Manor, Limerick.
Harrington has had rounds of 73, 68 and 71 in sometimes wild weather to be four under par on 212 and clear of Bradley Dredge and Simon Wakefield.
Leading Scot, six behind Harrington, is Alastair Forsyth. But what about veteran Sandy Lyle?
Is he doing well - for his age - on 222, the second best placed Scot in the field.

THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
212 Padraig Harrington 73 68 71
215 Bradley Dredge 75 71 69, Simon Wakefield 70 72 73
216 Richard Green (Aus) 71 73 72, Louis Oosthuizen (SAf) 69 74 73
217 Damien McGrane 75 72 70, Andres Romero (Arg) 68 74 75
218 Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 74 72 72, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 71 74 73, Alastair Forsyth 72 72 74, Joakim Backstrom (Swe) 71 71 76
219 Peter Hanson (Swe) 68 78 73, Gary Murphy 74 72 73, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 76 70 73, Phillip Price 72 73 74, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 69 74 76
220 YE Yang (Kor) 72 77 71, Lee Westwood 71 77 72, Andrew Marshall 76 72 72
221 Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 77 71 73, Simon Dyson 68 78 75, David Higgins 75 70 76, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 72 72 77, James Heath 74 70 77, Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 68 75 78
222 Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 75 75 72, Marc Warren 76 73 73, Oliver Wilson 73 75 74, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 74 74 74, Sandy Lyle 72 74 76, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 73 72 77
223 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 75 75 73, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 75 74 74, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 75 73 75, James Kingston (SAf) 69 78 76, David Lynn 72 75 76, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 72 74 77
224 Brett Rumford (Aus) 80 71 73, David Park 72 78 74, Edward Rush 77 73 74, John Bickerton 75 74 75, Alexander Noren (Swe) 74 75 75, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 76 72 76, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 74 73 77
225 Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 76 75 74, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 75 76 74, Mark Foster 73 77 75, Richard Sterne (SAf) 71 79 75, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 72 78 75, Mark Pilkington 73 76 76, Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 74 74 77, Paul McGinley 72 76 77, Graeme McDowell 74 74 77, Ariel Canete (Arg) 72 75 78
226 Chris Gane 76 75 75, Stephen Gallacher 76 73 77, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 74 75 77, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 79 69 78, Sven Struver (Ger) 73 74 79
227 Simon Khan 71 79 77, Thomas Levet (Fra) 74 76 77, Steven O'Hara 73 76 78, Pat Murray (am) 76 72 79, Soren Hansen (Den) 73 72 82
228 Gary Lockerbie 76 75 77, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 74 77 77, Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 70 81 77
229 Matthew Zions (Aus) 71 78 80, Kenneth Ferrie 74 75 80
230 Shiv Kapur (Ind) 77 74 79, Gary Orr 76 75 79, Christopher Hanell (Swe) 74 77 79, Matthew Richardson 79 72 79
231 Peter Hedblom (Swe) 75 74 82
Disq: Sam Little

KATHRYN IMRIE'S THIRD-ROUND 69 PUTS
HER ONLY FIVE SHOTS BEHIND LEADERS
IN SWITZERLAND

Monifieth's Kathryn Imrie had one of the best third rounds of the day - a three-under-par 69 - in the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open at Golf Gerre Losone in Switzerland.
Kathryn is on two-over-par 218 --five shots off the foursome setting the pace.
Clare Queen and Inverness-based New Zealander Liz McKinnon both had third-round 76s.
Miss Queen is on 220, one shot behind Liz.
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
213 Anna Rawson (Aus) 72 72 69, Eleanor Pilgrim (Wal) 68 75 70, Lora Fairclough (Eng) 69 73 71, Bettina Hauert (Ger) 68 73 72.
215 Paula Marti (Spa) 73 73 69.
216 Kirsty Taylor (Eng) 73 75 68, Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den) 74 71 71, Johanna Westerberg (Swe) 75 70 71.
217 Ursula Wikstrom (Fin) 70 74 73, Federica Piovano (Ita) 69 72 76.
218 Kathryn Imrie (Sco) 76 73 69, Laura Cabanillas (Spa) 71 77 70, Elin Ohlsson (Swe) 74 74 70, Trish Johnson (Eng) 74 73 71, Katharina Schallenberg (Ger) (am) 73 72 73, Nikki Garrett (Aus) 68 77 73, Nienke Nijenhuis (Ned) 74 70 74.
219 Rebecca Coakley (Irl) 75 74 70, Stefanie Michl (Aut) 73 76 70, Carlie Butler (Aus) 76 72 71, Lotta Wahlin (Swe) 72 75 72, Maria Boden (Swe) 72 75 72, Anne Lise Caudal (Fra) 75 72 72, Veronica Zorzi (Ita) 72 75 72, Sarah Kemp (Aus) 71 75 73, Mianne Bagger (Den) 75 71 73, Stefania Croce (Ita) 73 72 74, Caroline Rominger (Am) (Swi) 73 72 74, Elizabeth McKinnon (NZ) 70 73 76, Frederique Seeholzer (Swi) 68 74 77.
220 Tullia Calzavara (Ita) 77 72 71, Rebecca Stevenson (Aus) 73 74 73, Marina Arruti (Spa) 71 76 73, Helena Alterby (Swe) 73 73 74, Beatriz Recari (Spa) 72 73 75, Sophie Sandolo (Ita) 72 72 76, Becky Brewerton (Wal) 71 73 76, Clare Queen (Sco) 73 71 76, Elisabeth Esterl (Ger) 69 75 76.
221 Kris Lindstrom (US) 73 76 72, Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin) 74 74 73, Louise Stahle (Swe) 72 75 74, Anna Rossi (Ita) 76 71 74, Mette Buus (Den) 75 72 74, Lisa Hall (Eng) 76 71 74, Felicity Johnson (Eng) 71 75 75, Shani Waugh (Aus) 70 73 78.
222 Fame More (Eng) 75 74 73, Anja Monke (Ger) 74 73 75, Lisa Jean (Aus) 72 74 76, Isabella Maconi (Ita) 73 72 77, Asa Gottmo (Swe) 71 73 78, Karen Lunn (Aus) 71 73 78.
223 Natalie Claire Booth (Eng) 73 76 74, Danielle Masters (Eng) 78 71 74, Eva Steinberger (Aut) 73 76 74, Amanda Moltke-Leth (Den) 76 73 74, Natascha Fink (Aut) 74 75 74, Samantha Head (Eng) 74 74 75, Amy Yang (Kor) 73 74 76, Louise Friberg (Swe) 72 75 76, Marta Prieto (Spa) 76 71 76, Diana Luna (Ita) 69 78 76, Margherita Rigon (Ita) 72 75 76, Ana Larraneta (Spa) 72 74 77.
225 Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 73 75 77.
227 Cherie Byrnes (Aus) 73 76 78, Sarah Heath (Eng) 73 74 80.

SCOTS MEET THEIR WATERLOO IN THIRD
ROUND OF EURO CHALLENGE TOUR EVENT

From Michael Gibbons, Challenge Tour Press Officer

Scotland’s European Challenge Tour contingent endured another day of disappointment at the Telenet Trophy.
Scott Henderson and Eric Ramsay posted the best scores of the four remaining Scots in the field at the Royal Waterloo Golf Club, the pair shooting level par 72 to remain at one under and level par respectively after round three.
Euan Little and Peter Whiteford had a day to forget after Little’s 75 saw him join Whiteford on one over par.
Home hero Nicolas Vnahootegem leads the way on 15 under par, closely pursued by his countryman Didier De Vooght, who is two strokes back on 13 under.

THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72). 6,968yd.
201 Nicolas Vanhootegem (Bel) 68 65 68;
203 Didier De Vooght (Bel) 65 66 72;
207 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 66 72 69; Anthony Tarchetti (Eng) 70 69 68; Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 65 70 72;
209 Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 72 70 67; Peter Baker (Eng) 70 68 71;
210 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 67 70 73; Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 67 74 69; Stuart Davis (Eng) 71 69 70; Alvaro Velasco (Esp) 68 70 72; Inder Van Weerelt (Ned) 72 68 70; Anthony Snobeck (Fra) 71 72 67;
211 Miguel Rodriguez (Arg) 72 68 71; Niki Zitny (Aut) 71 72 68;
212 Julien Grillon (Fra) 72 68 72; Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 72 70 70; Ross Mcgowan (Eng) 71 71 70; Julio Zapata (Arg) 72 72 68 ;
213 Jean-Nicolas Billot (Fra) 70 71 72; Klas Eriksson (Swe) 74 69 70; Christophe Brazillier (Fra) 71 72 70; Thomas Nielsen (Den) 73 70 70; Robert Coles (Eng) 70 71 72; Iain Pyman (Eng) 75 69 69; Toni Karjalainen (Fin) 72 68 73; Arnaud Langenaeken (Bel) 75 69 69; Gary Clark (Eng) 69 71 73; Wilhelm Schauman (Swe) 73 69 71; Alvaro Salto (Esp) 71 70 72;
214 Van Phillips (Eng) 74 70 70; Magnus Persson (Swe) 69 73 72; Rafael Gomez (Arg) 70 73 71; Christian Aronsen (Nor) 69 74 71; John E Morgan (Eng) 72 69 73; Olivier David (Fra) 71 72 71; Anders Schmidt Hansen (Den) 72 72 70 ; Jerome Theunis (Bel) 67 72 75; Raphaël De Sousa (Sui) 71 71 72; Robin Swane (Ned) 68 73 73;
215 Bertrand Coathalem (Fra) 71 70 74; Scott Henderson (Sco) 70 73 72; Stuart Little (Eng) 71 72 72; Carlos De Corral (Esp) 71 73 71; Raphaël Eyraud (Fra) 71 73 71; Roope Kakko (Fin) 70 70 75; Jean Hugo (Rsa) 72 70 73; Tobias Dier (Ger) 69 73 73; Xavier Feyaerts (Am) (Bel) 72 71 72;
216 Manuel Merizalde (Col) 71 72 73; Andrea Maestroni (Ita) 72 69 75; Denny Lucas (Eng) 67 76 73; Christian Reimbold (Ger) 72 67 77; Eric Ramsay (Sco) 71 73 72; Fredrik Widmark (Swe) 71 71 74; 217 Jacob Okello (Ken) 75 69 73; Euan Little (Sco) 73 69 75; 217 Peter Whiteford (Sco) 76 67 74; Wil Besseling (Ned) 70 73 74 ;
218 Julien Xanthopoulos (Fra) 72 71 75; Jose Luis Adarraga Gomez (Esp) 74 68 76; Manoel Willems (Bel) 73 70 75; Paolo Terreni (Ita) 75 66 77; Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe) 70 71 77;
219 Pontus Ericsson (Swe) 72 72 75; Julien Foret (Fra) 69 74 76; Gustavo Rojas (Arg) 74 70 75; Lars Brovold (Nor) 69 73 77; Kevin Harper (Eng) 72 72 75 ;
221 Mikko Korhonen (Fin) 77 67 77; Mickael Dieu (Fra) 73 70 78;
223 Benjamin Miarka (Ger) 69 75 79;

By Steven Franklin
Press Officer, European Seniors Tour

Sam Torrance’s bid to retain the Sharp Italian Seniors Open title suffered a blow today due to an unlikely side-effect of the Scot’s attempts to give up smoking.
Torrance, famous for his penchant for large cigars, quit the habit three weeks ago and has been furiously chewing Nicotine gum ever since.
However, in the early hours of Saturday morning he was woken by toothache and had to visit a dentist on the Venetian island of Lido before his second round.
He returned to Circolo Golf Venezia and carded a second consecutive round of two under par 70 on a day when many others were shooting the lights out.
Unheralded American John Benda made the most of the perfect scoring conditions by firing a new course record of nine-under-par 63 and, at 10-under-par 134 for 36 holes, will take a one stroke lead into Sunday’s final round as he chases his first European Seniors Tour victory.
New Zealander Simon Owen shot 65 and is second on nine under par, but Torrance, back on four under, still believes he can make up the gap on the leaders and win the title for a second year in a row.
“If I can shoot 63 tomorrow then John will have to shoot 69 – I just have to do it,” he said. “It was frustrating today. I had a terrible night because of my teeth and had to have a filling sorted out this morning. It’s all because of the amount of gum I have been chewing these past three weeks.”
Of course, Sam Torrance is not the only Scot competing on the seniors tour. Let's not forget rookie Ross Drummond. He shot 70 and 69 for 139 to be one ahead of Sam and sharing fourth place with Nick Job.
Second round scores and totals
Par 144 (2 x 72)
134 John Benda (US) 71 63.
135 Simon Owen (NZ) 70 65.
137 Tony Allen (Eng) 71 66.
139 Nick Job (Eng) 70 69, Ross Drummond (Sco) 70 69
140 José Rivero (Esp) 71 69, Sam Torrance (Sco) 70 70
141 Horacio Carbonetti (Arg) 70 71
142 Gordon J Brand (Eng) 72 70, Bob Cameron (Eng) 67 75, Stewart Ginn (Aus) 70 72, David J Russell (Eng) 72 70, Bruce Heuchan (Can) 73 69, Doug Johnson (US) 72 70
143 Carl Mason (Eng) 70 73, Tony Charnley (Eng) 70 73, Gavan Levenson (SAf) 72 71, Giuseppe Cali (Ita) 71 72
144 Ronald Stelten (USA) 73 71, Bobby Lincoln (RSA) 74 70, Costantino Rocca (Ita) 72 72, Jean Pierre Sallat (Fra) 73 71, Ray Carrasco (US) 72 72, Bill Longmuir (Sco) 71 73
145 David Merriman (Aus) 71 74, Kevin Spurgeon (Eng) 72 73, Adan Sowa (Arg) 72 73, John Mashego (RSA) 72 73, Delroy Cambridge (Jam) 74 71, John Chillas (Sco) 75 70
146 Martin Poxon (Eng) 73 73, Jerry Bruner (US) 72 74, Ian Mosey (Eng) 75 71, Glenn Ralph (Eng) 72 74, Peter Teravainen (US) 73 73
147 David Good (Aus) 74 73, Noel Ratcliffe (Aus) 76 71, Terry Gale (Aus) 74 73, Guillermo Encina (Chi) 74 73, Jimmy Heggarty (NIr) 74 73, Gery Watine (Fra) 74 73, Jim Lapsley (Nzl) 72 75, Tommy Horton (Eng) 76 71
148 Denis Durnian (Eng) 73 75, Jim Rhodes (Eng) 71 77, Denis O'sullivan (Irl) 76 72
149 Adriano Mori (Ita) 76 73, Bertus Smit (SAf) 75 74, Luis Carbonetti (Arg) 79 70, Baldovino Dassu (Ita) 75 74
150 Manuel Piñero (Spa) 72 78, Emilio Rodriguez (Spa) 74 76, Tim Rastall (Eng) 78 72
150 Pete Oakley (US) 75 75
151 Mike Ferguson (Aus) 74 77, Terry Dill (US) 77 74, Philippe Dugeny (Fra) 71 80
152 Bob Larratt (Eng) 75 77, Martin Gray (Sco) 74 78, Maurice Bembridge (Eng) 78 74, Angel Fernandez (Chi) 76 76
153 Bob Lendzion (US) 77 76, Mike Miller (Sco) 77 76
155 Antonio Garrido (Esp) 78 77
156 Gary Wintz (US) 80 76, Steve Martin (Sco) 76 80
158 Bill Hardwick (Can) 79 79
160 Stefano Betti (Ita) 78 82
161 Alberto Croce (Ita) 77 84
162 Neville Clarke (Rsa) 74 88
164 Romolo Napoleoni (Ita) 85 79
Ret’d Eddie Polland (NIr) 80

JENNA WILSON WINS SCOTTISH WOMEN’S AMATEUR TITLE

Top seed Jenna Wilson from Strathaven won the Scottish women’s amateur golf championship for the first time at Kilmarnock Barassie today (Saturday).
In very windy and often wet conditions, the 22-year-old Scotland international beat Emily Ogilvy, a 23-year-old uncapped Auchterarder player, by 2 and 1 in the 18-hole final.
It was fitting that Emily gave Jenna her hardest game of the championship. Miss Wilson had not had to play the last four holes since the qualifying rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday but there was no way she was going to reproduce the sub-par golf that had swept her through the earlier ties.
“In many ways, these were the toughest conditions of the week – and apart from Tuesday, it’s been either wet or windy or both every day,” said Jenna.
“I stay focused right from the start of the championship and it’s a nice feeling to be Scottish champion. I’ve been once to the Ladies European Tour Qualifying School and I will be going back there again later in the year.
“Becoming a tour pro is my future.”
Emily, who played four years on the American circuit as a student at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, boosted her confidence with a three-under-par 72 to lead the first qualifying round.
“That gave me the confidence to win my way through to the final. I only wish I had been able to putt as well in the final as I did on Tuesday. I just couldn’t hole any puts at all. But I enjoyed the whole week tremendously. To get to the final was almost beyond my wildest dreams."
The first two holes were exchanged before Jenna got her first birdie downwind at the long fifth. But Miss Ogilvy wasn’t phased by that. She promptly squared the match with a birdie 2 at the short sixth.
Miss Wilson then won the seventh and the eighth with par figures to be two up at the turn in roughly par or one-over par figures.
A birdie 3 at the 10th put Jenna seemingly in the driving seat with a three-hole lead. But give Emily credit for hanging on in there against an opponent with much more experience of top-level amateur play.
Miss Ogilvy, from Dunning in Perthshire, was able to win back the 11th and 13th with par 4s as heavy rain swept the course.
When Jenna Wilson ran up a double-bogey in deep rough at the short 14th, Emily was able to square the match with a bogey 4.
Jenna took it all in her stride. Now facing playing the last four holes for the first time since Wednesday, she won the 15th and 16th with par figures – Emily missing a three-footer for a half at the 16th.
A half in 5 at the 17th gave Jenna a 2 and 1 victory in roughly three over par figures and the coveted title.
The pace of play was admirable. The 17 holes were completed in 3hr 10min.
Result:
Final – Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) bt Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) 2 and 1.

Scottish women's amateur championship at Kilmarnock Barassie

SLGA president Ethel Jack, chairman Margaret MacNaughtan, finalists Jenna Wilson and Emily Ogilvy and match referee Gillian Kirkwood on the first tee at Kilmarnock Barassie this morning.

JENNA WILSON BEATS EMILY OGILVY 2 and 1

IN FINAL TO WIN FIRST SCOTTISH TITLE

Top seed Jenna Wilson from Strathaven drew first blood in the final of the Scottish women's amateur championship on a windy but so far dry morning at Kilmarnock Barassie. There had been wild winds and heavy rain overnight.

Jenna won the first hole with a par 5.

Emma won the second hole to square the match.

Third hole halved.

Jenna won the seventh and eighth to go two up.

The ninth was halved, leaving Jenna Wilson two up at the turn.

Jenna birdied the 10 to go three up.

Emily won back the 11th to be two down.

The 12th was halved in par 5s.

Emily won the 13th with a par 4 to be only one down.

Emily won the short 14th with a par 3 to square the match.

Jenna regained lead with a par 4 at the 15th

Jenna went two up with a par 5 at the 16th.

A half in par 5s at the 17th meant Jenna had won the match 2 and 1.

.

VIKKI ONE OFF THE PACE IN KANSAS CITY

Musselburgh exile Vikki Laing continued her improved run of form on the United States Futures Tour with one-under-par 71 in the first round of the $80,000 Mercedes Benz of Kansas City Championship at the Leawood South Country Club.
Vikki had an undistinguished outward half of two-over-par 38 over the 6,277, par-71 course before finding her touch with an inward two-under-par 33.
She is in joint fifth place, one shot behind the four joint leaders, Kim Augusta (Rhode Island), Brandi Jackson (South Carolina), Liz Janangelo (Connecticutt) and Emily Bastel (Ohio).
Natasha Morgan, from South Wales, a student at Lynn University, Boca Raton, Florida, had an 85 (41-44).


CALLUM IMPROVES AT ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA

Callum Macaulay from Tulliallan, in the last week or two of his four years’ golf scholarship at Mississippi University, is on the seven-over-par 151 mark and lying 64th equal with one round to go in the NCAA Division 1 men’s East Regional championship at the Golf Club of Georgia’s Lakeside course in Alpharetta.
Callum has had rounds of 79 and 72. He birdied the ninth, 14th, 15th and 18th in his second round but had bogeys at the third, sixth, 12th and 17th.
Jacksonville University’s two Scots, Russell Knox from Inverness and Duncan Stewart from Grantown on Spey are on 152 and 153 respectively.
Knox has scored 74 and 78 while Stewart has had 82 and 71.
Cameron Tringale (Georgia Tech) leads by two shots with 67 and 70 for four-under-par 137.

European Challenge Tour event at Royal Waterloo

EAGLE HAS LANDED FOR BRILLIANT WHITEFORD
FINISH AS THREE SCOTS SURVIVE CUT

From Michael Gibbons, Challenge Tour Press Officer

Peter Whiteford produced a brilliant eagle three on the last hole to complete an outstanding second round of five under par 67 and join Euan Little and Scott Henderson for a weekend in Waterloo after surviving the cut of the European Challenge Tour’s Telenet Trophy.
Whiteford started the day on four over but found his form at the Royal Waterloo Golf Club to ensure he would be around for the final two days.
Standing on the last tee at one over and needing at least a birdie to survive the level par cut mark. The Kirkcaldy man smashed a great drive down the middle before finding the green with a three wood to 15 feet before rolling home the tricky downhill putt.
Little produced his own fine second round of three under par 69 to comfortably make the weekend, while Henderson fired a 73 to qualify on one under.

SECOND ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72)
131 Didier De Vooght (Bel) 65 66;
133 Nicolas Vanhootegem (Bel) 68 65;
135 Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 65 70;
137 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 67 70;
138 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 66 72; Alvaro Velasco (Esp) 68 70; Peter Baker (Eng) 70 68;
139 Anthony Tarchetti (Eng) 70 69; Christian Reimbold (Ger) 72 67; Jerome Theunis (Bel) 67 72.
140 Stuart Davis (Eng) 71 69; Toni Karjalainen (Fin) 72 68; Miguel Rodriguez (Arg) 72 68; Inder Van Weerelt (Ned) 72 68; Roope Kakko (Fin) 70 70; Julien Grillon (Fra) 72 68; Gary Clark (Eng) 69 71.
141 Bertrand Coathalem (Fra) 71 70; Jean-Nicolas Billot (Fra) 70 71; Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe) 70 71; Robert Coles (Eng) 70 71; Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 67 74; John E Morgan (Eng) 72 69; Alvaro Salto (Esp) 71 70; Paolo Terreni (Ita) 75 66; Andrea Maestroni (Ita) 72 69; Robin Swane (Ned) 68 73.
142 Jose Luis Adarraga Gomez (Esp) 74 68; Ross Mcgowan (Eng) 71 71; Wilhelm Schauman (Swe) 73 69; Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 72 70; Fredrik Widmark (Swe) 71 71; Jean Hugo (Rsa) 72 70; Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 72 70; Magnus Persson (Swe) 69 73; Tobias Dier (Ger) 69 73; Lars Brovold (Nor) 69 73; Euan Little (Sco) 73 69; Raphaël De Sousa (Sui) 71 71;
143 Stuart Little (Eng) 71 72; Julien Foret (Fra) 69 74; Julien Xanthopoulos (Fra) 72 71; Rafael Gomez (Arg) 70 73; Peter Whiteford (Sco) 76 67; Denny Lucas (Eng) 67 76; Olivier David (Fra) 71 72; Niki Zitny (Aut) 71 72; Christophe Brazillier (Fra) 71 72; Anthony Snobeck (Fra) 71 72; Klas Eriksson (Swe) 74 69; Scott Henderson (Sco) 70 73; Wil Besseling (Ned) 70 73; Manuel Merizalde (Col) 71 72; Manoel Willems (Bel) 73 70; Christian Aronsen (Nor) 69 74; Mickael Dieu (Fra) 73 70; Thomas Nielsen (Den) 73 70; Xavier Feyaerts (Am) (Bel) 72 71;
144 Van Phillips (Eng) 74 70; Eric Ramsay (Sco) 71 73; Gustavo Rojas (Arg) 74 70; Iain Pyman (Eng) 75 69; Jacob Okello (Ken) 75 69; Raphaël Eyraud (Fra) 71 73 ;Arnaud Langenaeken (Bel) 75 69; Mikko Korhonen (Fin) 77 67 ; Carlos De Corral (Esp) 71 73; Julio Zapata (Arg) 72 72; Benjamin Miarka (Ger) 69 75; Pontus Ericsson (Swe) 72 72; Kevin Harper (Eng) 72 72; Anders Schmidt Hansen (Den) 72 72;
145 Tim Dykes (Wal) 73 72; John Wade (Aus) 74 71; Ben Mason (Eng) 72 73 ; Jamie Mcleary (Sco) 75 70; George Murray (Sco) 71 74 ; Stuart Cage (Eng) 72 73; Marcel aremza (Ger) 73 72; Kalle Edberg (Swe) 73 72; Gareth Wright (Wal) 75 70; Cédric Menut (Fra) 73 72; Benoit Teilleria (Fra) 72 73; Rodolfo Gonzalez (Arg) 73 72 ;James H Williams (Wal) 78 67; Hernan Rey (Arg) 72 73; Andrew Butterfield (Eng) 72 73; Oskar Bergman (Swe) 78 67; Leif Westerberg (Swe) 74 71 ; Jamie Donaldson (Wal) 73 73; Alessio Bruschi (Ita) 70 76; David Dixon (Eng) 73 73 ; Jamie Little (Eng) 73 73; Matthew King (Eng) 76 70; Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 72 74; Johan Sköld (Swe) 72 74; Tim Milford (Eng) 73 73; Paul Nilbrink (Nor) 75 71 ; Sebastian Fernandez (Arg) 71 75 ; Stephen Browne (Irl) 72 74; Jordi Garcia Del Moral (Esp) 74 72; Richard Treis (Ger) 73 73; Carlos Balmaseda (Esp) 73 73 ; Stuart Manley (Wal) 72 74 ;
147 Cenydd Mills (Wal) 74 73; Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 75 72 ;François Calmels (Fra) 73 74; Kariem Baraka (Ger) 73 74; Philip Rowe (Eng) 74 73; Fabien Marty (Fra) 74 73; ; Pierre Relecom (Am) (Bel) 74 73; Guillaume Watremez (Am) (Bel) 73 74;
148 Francois Nicolas (Bel) 74 74; Robert Dinwiddie (Eng) 72 76; Julien Clément (Sui) 77 71; Manuel Kempe (Ger) 77 71; Matteo Del Podio (Ita) 77 71; Joost Luiten (Ned) 77 71; Paul Dwyer (Eng) 72 76; Simon Nash (Aus) 76 72 ;
149 Gary Birch Jr (Ger) 73 76; Carlos Cardeza (Arg) 74 75; Daniel De Leon (Mex) 72 77; Jorge Benedetti (Col) 75 74; Adrien Mörk (Fra) 72 77; Martin Maritz (Rsa) 72 77; ;Morten Hedegaard (Den) 73 76; Christoffer Lange (Den) 70 79; Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 73 76; Daniel Denison (Eng) 72 77; Julien Van Hauwe (Fra) 79 70 ;
150 Niels Kraay (Ned) 74 76; Andrew Mcarthur (Sco) 76 74; Laurent Richard (Bel) 73 77; Gerald Gresse (Bel) 73 77 ;
151 Michael Mcgeady (Irl) 73 78; Julien Millet (Fra) 77 74;
152 Ally Mellor (Eng) 73 79; Per Barth (Swe) 73 79 ; Marco Crespi (Ita) 74 78;
153 Marc Farry (Fra) 76 77; Peter Kaensche (Nor) 82 71 ;Frank Dhondt (Bel) 77 76;
154 David Jonsson (Swe) 73 81; Emilio Dominguez (Arg) 73 81; Thibault Werbrouck (Bel) 77 77;
155 Gilles Monville (Bel) 80 75; Christian Kallberg (Am) (Bel) 79 76;
156 Quentin De Valensart (Bel) 76 80; Rutger Dhondt (Am) (Bel) 75 81;
157 David Mackinnon (Eng) 76 81;
159 Gael Seegmuller (Am) (Bel) 77 82;
161 Daniel Barbetti (Arg) 86 75;
Ivó Giner (Esp) 75 Retd

SALTMAN OPENING 77 IN BRABAZON TROPHY,
McNICOLL LEADS SCOTS CHALLENGE ON 72

Is Lloyd Saltman's remarkable run of four 72-hole tournament wins in a row about to end? That's the question after the Craigielaw player shot an opening, five-over-par 77 in the Eglish men's open amateur stroke-play championship for the Brabazon Trophy at Forest of Arden, Warwickshire today (Friday).
The answer is not necessarily because Lloyd looked out of the hunt at the halfway stage of last weekend's Irish open amateur stroke-play championship which, of course, he came through to win, thanks to a course record on the Sunday morning.
Saltman, winner of the Brabazon Trophy two years ago, is the only Scot to have won this title in the past 29 years.
The leading Scot at the end of the first round is Keir McNicoll from Carnoustie.
Keir, winner of the East of Scotland Open at Lundin last summer, had a par 72 - two behind the pacemakers, David Horsey (Styal), first off the tee at 7.30am and Frenchman Romain Sneider.
It was not a particularly good day for the Scottish challengers.
Scottish match-play champion Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) had a 76 - one better than Jonathan King (Glasgow), winner of the West of Scotland Open at Cawder last weekend, and Lloyd Saltman.
Former Scottish match-play champion Glenn Campbell from Blairgowrie had a nightmare 83 - but even worse was Scott Henry (Cardross) with a 15-over-par 87.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD

Par 72
70 David Horsey (Styal), Romain Sneider (Fra).
71 Sam Hutsby (Liphook), Rhys Enoch (Truro), Gary Wolstenholme (Kilworth Springs), Jonathan Caldwell (Clandeboye), Romain Bechu (Fra), Adrien Bernadet (Fra).
72 Jamie Moul (Stoke by Nayland), Sam Haywood (Rotherham), Cedric Scotto (Fra), Sam Foster (Coventry Hearsall), Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie), Sandro Piaget (Swi).
Other scores:
74 Nigel Edwards (Whitchurch).
76 Kevin McAlpine (Alyth).
77 Jonathan King (Glasgow), Lloyd Saltman (Craigielaw).
78 Rory McIlroy (Holywood).
83 Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie).
87 Scott Henry (Cardross).

INVERNESS-BASED KIWI LIZ IS IN CONTENTION
AFTER 36 HOLES OF LADIES' SWISS OPEN

Inverness-based New Zealander Liz McKinnon is enjoyed her best performance on the Ladies European Tour.
Liz has shot rounds of 70 and 73 to be lying joint fifth on 143 after 36 holes of the Deutsche Bank Swiss Ladies Open.
Clare Queen (Carrick at Cameron House) and Kathryn Imrie both qualified but Lynn Kenny did not.
Clare has had rounds of 73 and 71 to be joint eighth on 144.
Kathryn Imrie scored 76 and 73 to be joint 57th on 149.
Lynn Kenny missed the cut by a big margin. She was on 155 after rounds of 77 and 78.
Germany's Bettina Hauert and Italy's Federica Piovano are joint leaders on three-under-par 141.

LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72)
141 Bettina Hauert (Ger) 68 73, Federica Piovano (Ita) 69 72.
142 Frederique Seeholzer (Swi) 68 74, Lora Fairclough (Eng) 69 73.
143 Liz McKinnon (NZ) 70 73, Shani Waugh (Aus) 70 73, Eleanor Pilgrim (Wal) 68 75.
Scots qualifiers:
144 Clare Queen (Carrick at Cameron House) 73 71 (jt 8th).
149 Kathryn Imrie 76 73.
Scots non-qualifier:
155 Lynn Kenny 77 78.

HARRINGTON LEADS AT HALFWAY IN
IRISH OPEN ADARE MANOR
Scores and totals in the second round of the European Tour Irish Open, Adare Manor, Adare, Ireland
(Gbr & Irl unless stated, Par 72)
141 Padraig Harrington 73 68.
142 Simon Wakefield 70 72, Andres Romero (Arg) 68 74, Joakim Backstrom (Swe) 71 71.
143 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 69 74, Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 68 75, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 69 74
144 Richard Green (Aus) 71 73, James Heath 74 70
145 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 71 74, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 73 72, David Higgins 75 70, Soren Hansen (Den) 73 72
146 Sandy Lyle 72 74, Simon Dyson 68 78, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 74 72, Bradley Dredge 75 71, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 72 74, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 76 70
147 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 74 73, Damien McGrane 75 72, Sven Struver (Ger) 73 74, Ariel Canete (Arg) 72 75
148 Graeme McDowell 74 74, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 77 71, Andrew Marshall 76 72, Pat Murray (am) 76 72, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 79 69, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 74 74, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 76 72, Oliver Wilson 73 75, Lee Westwood 71 77, Paul McGinley 72 76, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 75 73
149 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 74 75, YE Yang (Kor) 72 77, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 75 74, Marc Warren 76 73, Stephen Gallacher 76 73, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 75 74, Alexander Noren (Swe) 74 75, Kenneth Ferrie 74 75
150 Thomas Levet (Fra) 74 76, Simon Khan 71 79, Christian Cevaer (Fra) 75 75, Edward Rush 77 73, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 75 75, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 72 78
151 Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 75 76, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 76 75, Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 70 81, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 77 74, Brett Rumford (Aus) 80 71, Matthew Richardson 79 72, Sam Little 80 71, Christopher Hanell (Swe) 74 77, Gary Orr 76 75, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 74 77

MISSED THE CUT

152 Wade Ormsby (Aus) 78 74, Ross Fisher 73 79, Graeme Storm 78 74, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 74 78, Lee Slattery 74 78, Anthony Wall 77 75
153 Philip Walton 78 75, Benn Barham 75 78, Richard Bland 73 80, Paul Lawrie 77 76, Michael Campbell (Nzl) 77 76, Markus Brier (Aut) 75 78
154 Cesar Monasterio (Arg) 78 76, Tom Whitehouse 75 79, Johan Axgren (Swe) 78 76, Santiago Luna (Spa) 79 75, James Hepworth 77 77, Andrew Coltart 77 77, Johan Edfors (Swe) 74 80
155 David Drysdale 74 81, Andrew Raitt 77 78, Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 76 79, Juan Parron (Spa) 75 80, Stephen Dodd 75 80
156 Jeev Milka Singh (Ind) 74 82, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 80 76, Shaun Webster 78 78, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 77 79, Nick Dougherty 75 81
157 Matthew Millar (Aus) 79 78, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 86 71, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 75 82
158 Gareth Davies 82 76, Andrew Oldcorn 74 84, Gary Emerson 81 77, Peter Martin 78 80, Andrew Tampion (Aus) 78 80, Marcel Siem (Ger) 79 79, David Carter 78 80, Peter Lawrie 76 82
159 Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 83 76, Terry Price (Aus) 83 76
168 David Mortimer 88 80
169 Damian Mooney 92 77
Withdrawn: Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Notah Begay (USA)
Rtd: Anton Haig (Rsa), Ian Woosnam, David Griffiths

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK

MAKES FOR

SCOTTISH FINALIST

EMILY FROM DUNNING!

Last Sunday, Emily Ogilvy from Dunning, an Auchterarder Golf Club member, lost in the final of the Perth & Kinross women's county championship.

Tomorrow morning at Kilmarnock Barassie, the same Emily, the No 6 qualifier, will play top seed Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) in the 18-hole final of the 104th Scottish women's amateur golf championship.
So what's made the difference in a week for 23-year-old Emily?
"I think getting a three-under-par 72 on Tuesday in the first qualifying round really boosted my confidence and I've just taken it from there. I've had my bad moments but I like the course and I am on a roll, there's no doubt about it," said Miss Ogivly whose mum has travelled down to the Ayrshire venue.
For both 22-year-old Jenna, a Scotland international, and 23-year-old uncapped Emily Ogilvy it’s a first time in the national final.
“I won’t lose any sleep worrying about it. I’m playing well and I’m looking forward to it. I don’t suffer from nerves,” said Jenna, confident without being cocksure..
But Emily, who played four years on the American college golf circuit while a student at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, says she will be nervous – “very nervous, in fact!”
Jenna has been the most impressive performer all week and will start red-hot favourite. She was three under par in beating title-holder Martine Pow (Selkirk) by 7 and 6 in the morning quarter-finals and again three under par in beating the No 5 seed Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) by 5 and 4 even though the conditions suddenly deteriorated in mid-afternoon to a half-gale and lashing rain.
Miss Wilson has not had to play the last four holes since the match-play stages started.
"Jenna played very well but there was no excuse for me being six over par for the last five holes of the match. It just suddenly went all wrong for me. I had to take two penalty drops, I missed two putts of about 2 1/2 feet and I lost a ball. I had been playing so well until the semi-final. I lost in the semi-final last year," said Heather.
Emily Ogilvy, who has almost certainly earned herself a first Scotland honour in the team for the women's home internationals in September, cut the giant-killing Australian-born Edwina Lowery-Gold from Norwich - shock conqueror of Krystle Caithness - down to size in the quarter-finals by 3 and 1 and then produced a birdie at the 20th hole to win a cliff-hanger against 19-year-old Aberdeenshire county champion Michele Thomson from Ellon.
Emily was three up after five but big-hitting Michele clawed her way back to all square after 15 only to make a mess of the 17th and be one down playing the 18th.
Michele bravely holed a 5ft putt for par to square the contest on the 18th green but could not match Emily’s three-iron, nine-iron and 10ft putt for a birdie 3 at the 376yd second extra hole.
The final will tee off at 9am.

Results:

SEMI-FINALS

Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) bt Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) 5 and 4.

Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) bt Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) at 20th.

CLARK ROSEBOWL FINAL

Wendy Nicholson (Broomieknowe) bt Pamela Williamson (Baberton) 2 and 1.

MURRAY URQUHART FROM INVERNESS WINS
NORTHERN OPEN AT SKIBO CASTLE


NORTHERN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Carnegie Links, Skibo Castle.
Par 284 (4 x 71)
FINAL TOTALS
282 - M Urquhart (Inverness) 67 65 74 76.
283 - D Patrick (Mortonhall) 73 67 71 72.
284 - J Gunn (Royal Dornoch) (am) 70 66 75 73, P McKechnie (Braid Hills) 71 68 67 78.
285 - D Orr (East Renfrewshire) 71 71 69 74, C Kelly (Cawder) 67 69 73 76, C Doak (Unattached) 65 68 73 79.
286 - F McLaughlan (Bothwell Castle) 69 72 73 72, A Lockhart (Ladybank) 70 70 72 80 74, J Stevenson (Braehead) 74 68 70 74 , J McKinnon (Irvine) 70 69 72 75, C Gillies (Kingsfield) 69 67 74 76.
287 - C Nicoll (Prestwick) 72 73 71 71, M Loftus (Cowglen) 69 71 71 76.
288 - S Gray (Hayston) 69 72 70 77, A Webster (Edzell) 72 71 68 77.
289 - G Duncan (Westin Turnberry) 71 72 72 74, C Everett (Caldwell) 69 68 77 75, R Gray (Torrance House) 70 66 76 77, C Lee (All Golf Swing Centre) 71 70 70 78, G McFarlane (Clober) 68 73 70 78, G Hutcheon (Peterculter) 71 70 69 79.
290 - P Wardell (Whitekirk) 71 75 72 72, L Vannet (Carnoustie) 70 73 73 74, C Campbell (Carnegie Club) 76 70 66 78291 - G Law (Uphall) 74 68 69 80.
292 - G Collinson (Esporta Dougalston) 71 74 71 76, S Cairns (Westerwood) 72 71 72 77, E Cameron (Hamilton) 73 70 71 78, A Lockhart (Ladybank) 70 70 72 80, R Arnott (Bishopbriggs Golf Range) 73 69 68 82.
293 - K Monaghan (Bothwell Castle) 73 70 74 76, S Morrison (Glenbervie) 76 70 71 76, D Robertson (Czech Designs) 76 68 70 79294 - A Cooper (Newmachar) 72 73 78 71, D Thomson (Carnegie Club) 75 68 70 81.
295 - B Mason (Drumoig Driving Range) 79 66 75 75, A Marshall (Houston Golf Range) 75 70 73 78.
296 - G Lornie (Aspire) 72 73 72 79297 - R Cameron (McDonald) 70 69 78 80, G McInnes (Murcar) 71 74 72 80 298 - E Thomson (Largs) 74 72 73 79, K Hutton (Downfield) 73 71 72 82299 - M Barnard (Unattached) 71 71 76 81300 - I Hanna (Strathclyde Park) 72 74 75 79, S Rettie (Royal Troon) 73 73 73 81301 - K Campbell (Machrihanish) 72 73 73 83303- C Mathieson (Falkirk Tryst) 74 71 78 80, G Harvey (Bearsden Golf Range) 75 71 75 82, P Hubner (Eastwood) 75 70 75 83308 - S Catlin (Greenburn) 71 75 79 83ends

JENNA THROUGH TO FIRST FINAL BUT
EMILY AND MICHELE STILL FIGHTING
IT OUT IN SECOND SEMI-FINAL

Top seed Jenna Wilson from Strathaven is through to the final of the Scottish women's amateur championship for the first time at Kilmarnock Barassie.
Whom she will meet in Saturday morning's 18-hole final was still in doubt at the time of writing.
Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) and Michele Thomson went into extra holes after 19-year-old Michele squared the contest at the 18th.
Earlier Jenna had played superlative golf in wind and rain -- three under par - in beating Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) by 5 and 4.

Results:
SEMI-FINALS
Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) bt Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) 5 and 4.
Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) v Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) - all square after 18, playing extra holes.

SCOTS PICK UP SMALL PAY PACKETS ON
PGA EUROPRO TOUR AT WATERFORD

Jack Doherty finished the top Scot in the PGA EuroPro Tour event at Faithlegg House, Waterford in Ireland. He had scores of 70, 71 and 73 for two-under-par 214 but that earned him only £395 for a share of 21st position.
Graham Gordon had 72, 68 and 75 for 215 and a cheque for £340.
Elliot Saltman picked up £250 for a total of 218 with scores of 72, 72 and 74.
Englishman Graeme Clark won the £12,000 first prize with a 13-under-par total of 203. He had rounds of 67, 66 and 70 to win by three strokes from Welshman Mark Laskey. Mark earned £5,500 for scores of 66, 73 and 67.

LEADING TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
203 G Clark (Eng) 67 66 70.
206 M Laskey (Wal) 66 73 67.
207 J Kelly (Eng) 68 68 71.
Scots' scores:
214 J Doherty 70 71 73.
215 G Gordon 72 68 75.
218 E Saltman 72 72 74.

TORRANCE AND DRUMMOND SHARE SECOND
PLACE IN ITALIAN SENIORS OPEN

BY STEVEN FRANKLIN
Press Office, European Seniors Tour

Sam Torrance upstaged Costantino Rocca on his playing partner’s European Seniors Tour debut at the Sharp Italian Seniors Open, with the Scot carding a two under par 70 to take a share of second place while the Italian was round in 72.
Englishman Bob Cameron, who tied sixth in Turkey last weekend, continued his good form with a bogey-free 67 that leaves him three strokes clear after Friday’s first round.
It was the first time that Cameron had broken par in ten rounds at the shot-maker’s paradise of Circolo Golf Venezia, on the island of Lido.

In contrast, Torrance has a fine record here and won last year’s event with an 11 under par total.

However, he was less consistent on Friday with an eagle three at the sixth proving the difference on a card that also featured four birdies and four bogeys.

“My alignment has been wrong, but a friend helped me with that the other day. I had been dropping it on the inside and getting the odd block, which is really destructive. That’s absolutely gone now, so that’s fantastic and obviously I’m well placed at the moment,” said Torrance.
Rocca, the only Italian to have played in The Ryder Cup and the man who memorably beat Tiger Woods 4 & 2 to help Europe seal victory at Valderrama in 1997, could not produce similar heroics on his Seniors debut in front of an expectant home crowd, coming home in level par 72.
However, the 1996 PGA Championship winner did produce a moment to savour at the 18th when, stuck tight behind some bushes off the tee, he punched a low draw onto the green and holed a long putt for birdie.
“I think it was nearly the 17 yarder I had at the British Open,” said Rocca in reference to the putt he holed to force a play-off with John Daly at St Andrews in 1995.
“But I’m thinking that if I can make that kind of shot from behind the bushes then I can hole this putt. It was an emotional day, like my first day at school, and maybe I will be more relaxed tomorrow.”

ITALIAN SENIORS OPEN
Circolo Golf Venezia, Lido (par 72)

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD

67 Bob Cameron (Eng)
70 Stewart Ginn (Aus), Tony Charnley (Eng), Carl Mason (Eng), Nick Job (Eng), Ross Drummond (Sco), Simon Owen (Nzl), Horacio Carbonetti (Arg), Sam Torrance (Sco)
71 Jim Rhodes (Eng), José Rivero (Esp), David Merriman (Aus), Giuseppe Cali (Ita), Philippe Dugeny (Fra), Bill Longmuir (Sco), Tony Allen (Eng), John Benda (USA)
72 Glenn Ralph (Eng), Kevin Spurgeon (Eng), Jerry Bruner (USA), Manuel Piñero (Esp), Jim Lapsley (Nzl), Doug Johnson (USA), John Mashego (RSA), David J Russell (Eng)
72, Gordon J Brand (Eng), Adan Sowa (Arg), Ray Carrasco (USA), Gavan Levenson (RSA), Costantino Rocca (Ita)
73 Martin Poxon (Eng), Denis Durnian (Eng), Jean Pierre Sallat (Fra), Ronald Stelten (USA), Peter Teravainen (USA), Bruce Heuchan (Can)
74 Guillermo Encina (Chi), Gery Watine (Fra), Neville Clarke (RSA), Emilio Rodriguez (Esp), David Good (Aus), Jimmy Heggarty (NIr), Bobby Lincoln (RSA), Mike Ferguson (Aus), Delroy Cambridge (Jam), Martin Gray (Sco), Terry Gale (Aus)
75 John Chillas (Sco), Baldovino Dassu (Ita), Ian Mosey (Eng), Pete Oakley (USA), Bertus Smit (RSA), Bob Larratt (Eng)
76 Adriano Mori (Ita), Tommy Horton (Eng), Angel Fernandez (Chi), Noel Ratcliffe (Aus), Denis O'Sullivan (Irl), Steve Martin (Sco)
77 Bob Lendzion (USA), Terry Dill (USA), Alberto Croce (Ita), Mike Miller (Sco)
78 Tim Rastall (Eng), Stefano Betti (Ita), Antonio Garrido (Esp), Maurice Bembridge (Eng)
79 Luis Carbonetti (Arg), Bill Hardwick (Can)
80 Gary Wintz (USA), Eddie Polland (NIr)
85 Romolo Napoleoni (Ita)

NIKE SIGN UP LAST YEAR'S BRITISH AMATEUR CHAMPION

Nike Golf is delighted to announce the signing of talented French youngster, Julien Guerrier, who recently turned professional ranked as the No.1 amateur in France, following his No.3 amateur ranking in Europe at the end of 2006.
The 21 year old from La Rochelle, France, has signed a multi-year agreement and will represent Nike Golf in clubs, ball, footwear, glove, bag, apparel, headwear and accessories.
Guerrier claimed victory at last year’s British Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s, being only the second French player in 111 years to do so, and also played in the 2006 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
So far in 2007 he has played in the US Masters and, whilst still an amateur, won the Alps Tour Open CDG Developpement.
“We are delighted that Julien has agreed to join our ever expanding stable of players on the European Tour,” said Robin Murray, Nike Golf’s European Tour sports marketing manager. “He is a young and exciting talent and embodies everything about the game that we love at Nike Golf.”
Julien’s current Nike arsenal includes the Nike SasQuatch 460 Tour driver, Nike SasQuatch fairway wood and Nike Forged Blades.
He also plays the Nike One Platinum ball, the winner of 20 global Tour victories in 2006. “It is an exciting time for me to start my professional golf career with a global sports brand like Nike Golf,” said Guerrier.
“To be part of a young team of players that includes Oliver Fisher, Ashleigh Simon and Michelle Wie is an incredible boost of confidence for me to take into the rest of this season.

Scottish women's amateur championship at Barassie

IT'S WILSON v MacRAE and OGILVY
v THOMSON IN THE SEMI-FINALS

This afternoon's semi-finals in the 104th staging of the Scottish women's amateur championship at Kilmarnock Barassie will feature:
Top seed Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) versus the No 5 qualifier Heather MacRae (Dunblane New)
and
No 6 qualifier Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) against the No 2 seed Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon).

Top seed Jenna Wilson from Strathaven ended the title defence of Martine Pow (Selkirk) in the quarter-finals on a morning that started off very wet and windy but cleared to be bright and sunny before lunchtime.
Jenna did not lose a hole and was three under par in beating Martine in under three hours.
Jenna, pictured above, has yet to play the last four holes in the match-play stages of the championship this week. This morning she did not have to play the last six.
Jenna's only bogey came at the second which was halved. She birdied the fifth, eighth, 11th and 12th.
For Martine, it was her last ever appearance in the championship.
"I had my 42nd birthday this week and now's the time to bow out and let the youngsters take over. I'm satisfied with what I achieved in tournament golf," said the British mid-amateur champion ... a title she will not be defending.
"I just don't have the time to play and to practise enough to hold my own at this level of golf. And it's better to step down than to struggle to keep up with the full-time amateurs, etc."
Heather MacRae, again striking the ball well and hitting the par-5s with iron seconds, was a 2 and 1 winner over the 1998 champion, 39-year-old Elaine Moffat from the St Regulus Club, St Andrews.
Heather was one up after nine holes but was pulled back to square when Elaine birdied the 10th.
Heather countered with a birdie to regain the lead at the 12th and the enthralling contest continued to see-saw one way and the other. Miss Moffat squared the match at the 13th. After a series of halves, Heather finished the stronger, winning the 16th with a par (one up) and the 17th with a birdie.
Heather lost in the semi-finals to Martine Pow at Dunbar 12 months ago.
Emily Ogilvy beat the surprise packet of the match-play stages, 18-year-old Brisbane-born daughter of an Edinburgh man, Edwina Lowery-Gold who lives in Norwich.
Emily won by 3 and 1 against Edwina who yesterday knocked out the No 3 seed Megan Briggs and then claimed the scalp of British international Krystle Caithness for the second time in nine months or so.
"I won but I thought I played terribly this morning," said 23-year Emily who had a three-under-par 72 in the first qualifying round and then a 10 at a short hole in the second round.
"I just couldn't putt at all.
Despite that honest assessment, Miss Ogilvy, who played four years on the American college circuit while a student at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, went one up at the 11th and two up at the 14th with par figures. Edwina held her at bay with a couple of halves before Emily won the long 17th with a par for a 3 and 1 victory.
Michele Thomson was level par approximately in beating the experienced Claire Hargan from Mortonhall by 2 and 1.
Michele birdied the first, second and fifth but lost the third and fourth. Many holes were halved in this match as Miss Hargan, winner of the Midlothian county title five years in a row, hung on to the bootlace of her younger and stronger opponent.
Claire unexpectedly three-putted the 11th to fall two down but she won back the 14th with a par to be one down on the 15th tee. Two tense halves followed before Miss Thomson used her strength to birdie the long 17th for the match.
The Clark Rosebowl final will be between two Lothians players - Wendy Nicholson (Broomieknowe) and Pamela Williamson (Baberton).

RESULTS
CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINALS
Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) bt Martine Pow (Selkirk) 7 and 6.
Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) bt Elaine Moffat (St Regulus) 2 and 1.
Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) bt Edwina Lowery-Gold (Eaton) 3 and 1.
Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) bt Claire Hargan (Mortonhall) 2 and 1.

CLARK ROSEBOWL SEMI-FINALS
Wendy Nicholson (Broomieknowe) bt Lesley Williamson (Kilmarnock Barassie) 4 and 3.
Pamela Williamson (Baberton) bt Liz Keohone (Loudoun Gowf) 5 and 4.

SCOTTISH WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
QUARTER-FINALS at KILMARNOCK BARASSIE

Latest news from the course:

Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) seven up with seven to play against Martine Pow (Selkirk).

JET-LAGGED CALLUM SLIPS SEVEN OVER
PAR ON RETURN TO US COLLEGE CIRCUIT

Walker Cup team squad player Callum Macaulay’s decision to fly over from the United States to play in the Irish open amateur stroke-play golf championship last weekend seems to have left the Tulliallan player a bit jet-lagged.
Callum played well below his usual form to return a seven-over-par 79 in the first round of the NCAA Division 1 men’s East Regional championship over the Golf Club of Georgia’s 7,017yd Lakeside course.
That left him in joint 108th position in a field of 141 players with two rounds to go and with very little chance of qualifying for the season-ending grand finale of the American college golf circuit – the NCAA championship.
Callum had a double bogey 5 at the short third and reached the turn in six-over 42. He did birdie two of the inward holes – the short 13th and the long 18th – but a 79 was well over his expectations.
Jacksonville University’s Russell Knox from Inverness and Grantown on Spey’s Duncan Stewart had contrasting fortunes. Russell shot a 74 to be in joint 35th place and Stewart a nightmare 82 to be sharing 126th place at the end of the first day.
Knox would have matched par but for a double bogey 5 at the short 17th. He did birdie the fifth and the 15th.
Stewart had a triple bogey 6 at the short sixth and a double bogey 6s at the eighth and 14th in halves of 40 and 42.
Two Georgia Tech University players, Cameron Tringale and Chesson Hadley lead the classy field with 67 and 68 respectively.

Ritson Smith Aberdeen & District Pennant League

RITSON SMITH ABERDEEN PENNANT LEAGUE RESULTS


THURSDAY, MAY 17

EAST ABERDEENSHIRE 1 ½, PORTLETHEN 4 1/2

David Corkey & Neil Forbes bt Gary Esson & Barry McDonald 3 and 2.
Dean Jackson & Paul Bowman lost to Lewis Shand & Stephen Cook 5 and 3.
Ryan Moar & Stephen Hepburn lost to Ryan Penny & Stephen Wallace 4 and 3.
Les Singer & Donald Emslie lost to Donald Smith & Neil Fraser 7 and 5.
Anand Shah & Bill Yeoman halved with Paul Morrison & Keith Tate.
Ian Kynoch & Stuart McIntosh lost to Ian Craig & Keith Horne 4 and 2.

NEWMACHAR 6, CALEDONIAN 0.

NORTHERN 4, MURCAR LINKS 2

ROYAL ABERDEEN 6, PETERCULTER 0

Allan Reith & Francis Clark jun bt George McAndrew & Andrew Dingwall 4 and 3.
Ewan Laird & Steven Buchan bt Ali Polson & John Kennedy 5 and 4.
Doug Purdie & Mike Wilson bt Simon Bragg & Steven Patterson 7 and 5.
Mike Black & Iain Middleton bt Gary Wright & Ian Thomson 4 and 3.
Michael Clark & Willie Park bt Chris Graham & Ian Leslie 5 and 4.
John Johnston & Scott Fraser bt Kenny Austin & Duncan McLean 7 and 6.

TUESDAY, MAY 15

BON ACCORD 3 ½, DEESIDE 2 ½

CRAIBSTONE 1, HAZLEHEAD 5.

D Andrew & A Carle lost to M Lynch & I Still 2 and 1.
B Hardy & S Rennie lost to R Hyland & C Law 4 and 3.
R Goldie & M Carle lost to D Law & G Cheyne 3 and 2.
K Bedborough & M Dalgarno lost to P Stewart & McDonald 2 and 1.
S Kelly & P Henderson bt L Prouse & R Massie 2 and 1.
F Taylor & D Brown lost to C Flint & D Ogston 7 and 5.

NIGG BAY 4 ½, WESTHILL 1 ½.

STONEHAVEN 4, AUCHMILL 2

TUESDAY, MAY 8

BON-ACCORD 4 ½, CRAIBSTONE 1 ½

KEVIN SUTHERLAND LEADS AT&T CLASSIC
WITH SEVEN-UNDER-PAR 65 OPENER

American with a Scottish-sounding name - Kevin Sutherland, leads the US PGA Tour's AT&T Classic at Sugarloaf, Georgia with a seven-under-par first round of 65.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72. Players from USA unless stated.
65 Kevin Sutherland
67 Stephen Marino, Ryuji Imada (Jpn), Craig Kanada, Bob May, Tommy Armour III
68 DJ Brigman, Joe Ogilvie, Dicky Pride, Mark Brooks
69 Brian Davis (Eng), Rory Sabbatini (Rsa), Steve Flesch, Tag Ridings, Lee Janzen, Bill Haas, Grant Waite (Nzl), Olin Browne, Briny Baird, Jonathan Byrd, Jason Bohn
70 Gary Hallberg, Charley Hoffman, Paul Stankowski, Bart Bryant, Brian Gay, Kris Cox, Brett Quigley, Henrik Stenson (Swe), Jason Gore, Robert Gamez, Kent Jones, John Merrick, Vance Veazey, Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar, Jeff Brehaut, Parker McLachlin, Steve Elkington (Aus), Brian Bateman, Billy Andrade, Kevin Na (Kor), Arjun Atwal (Ind), Ryan Armour, Camilo Villegas (Col), Troy Matteson, Johnson Wagner, D.J. Trahan
71 Paul Azinger, Mark Hensby (Aus), David Toms, Daisuke Maruyama (Jpn), Jerry Smith, Bob Estes, Chris Tidland, Daniel Chopra (Swe), B.J Staten, Boo Weekley, Craig Bowden, Michael Sim (Aus), Zach Johnson, Jason Dufner, Steve Lowery, Darron Stiles, Garrett Willis, Steve Jones, Kenny Perry, Richard S Johnson (Swe), John Cook, Robert Damron, Cameron Beckman, Franklin Langham
72 David Branshaw, Marco Dawson, Vaughn Taylor, J.P. Hayes, Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa), Harrison Frazar, Mathias Gronberg (Swe), Charles Howell III, Justin Bolli, Duffy Waldorf, Shaun Micheel, Phil Tataurangi (Nzl), Eric Axley, Neal Lancaster, Alex Cejka (Ger), Dan Forsman, Len Mattiace, Glen Day
73 Tom Johnson, Scott Dunlap, Jeff Gove, Gabriel Hjertstedt (Swe), Heath Slocum, Niclas Fasth (Swe), Tim Petrovic, Bob Heintz, Charles Warren, Chris DiMarco, Brent Geiberger, Bob Tway, Peter Lonard (Aus), Charlie Wi (Kor), Dennis Paulson, Tim Clark (Rsa)
74 Paul Gow (Aus), Chris Couch, Steven Bowditch (Aus), Steve Wheatcroft, Hank Kuehne, Ryan Palmer, Ray Floyd, Bryce Molder, Gary Owen, Chris Stroud, Gavin Coles (Aus), Angel Cabrera (Arg), Scott Gump, Steve Allan (Aus), Hunter Mahan, Michael Allen, Chip Deason, J J Henry, Kevin Stadler, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), Kyle Reifers, Rich Barcelo
75 Brendon De Jonge, Chris Riley, Joey Sindelar, Michael Putnam, Jim Rutledge (Can), Bob Burns, Bubba Dickerson, John Huston, Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn)
76 Tom Byrum, George McNeill, Jarrod Lyle (Aus), Andy Choi (Kor), Mathew Goggin (Aus), Rich Beem, Scott Gutschewski, Carlos Franco (Par), Jason Schultz, Larry Nelson
77 John Daly, Will MacKenzie, Craig Lile (Rsa)
78 Matt Hendrix, Tripp Isenhour, J.L. Lewis, Sonny Skinner
79 Robert Floyd
81 Edward Loar
86 Michael Boyd

INVERNESS-BASED LIZ OPENS SWISS
ACCOUNT WITH THREE-UNDER-PAR 69

Inverness-based Liz McKinnon had her best round on the Ladies European Tour for many months when she shot a three-under-par 69 on the first day of the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open at Golf Gerere Losone in Switzerland.
Clare Queen had the best score of the Scots - a one-over-par 73.
FIRST-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
68 Eleanor Pilgrim (Wal), Nikki Garrett (Aus), Bettina Hauert (Ger), Frederique Seeholzer (Swi)
69 Lora Fairclough (Eng), Federica Piovano (Ita), Diana Luna (Ita), Elisabeth Esterl (Ger)
70 Shani Waugh (Aus), Elizabeth McKinnon (Nzl), Ursula Wikstrom (Fin)
71 Sarah Kemp (Aus), Becky Brewerton (Wal), Felicity Johnson (Eng), Marina Arruti (Spa), Karen Lunn (Aus), Laura Cabanillas (Spa), Asa Gottmo (Swe)
72 Maria Boden (Swe), Lotta Wahlin (Swe), Louise Friberg (Swe), Louise Stahle (Swe), Sophie Sandolo (Ita), Anna Rawson (Aus), Lee-Anne Pace (Rsa), Margherita Rigon (Ita), Beatriz Recari (Spa), Lisa Jean (Aus), Veronica Zorzi (Ita), Ana Larraneta (Spa)
73 Jo Clingan (Eng), Sarah Heath (Eng), Fany Schaeffer (Fra), Clare Queen (Sco), Tania Elosegui (Spa), Paula Marti (Spa), Kirsty Taylor (Eng), Stefania Croce (Ita), Amy Yang (Kor), Natalie Claire Booth (Eng), Bree Turnbull (Aus), Stefanie Michl (Aut), Kris Lindstrom (USA), Elisa Serramia (Spa), Cherie Byrnes (Aus), Gwladys Nocera (Fra), Isabella Maconi (Ita), Martina Eberl (Ger), Katharina Schallenberg (Am) (Ger), Rebecca Stevenson (Aus), Helena Alterby (Swe), Eva Steinberger (Aut), Caroline Rominger (Am) (Swi)
74 Lill Kristin Saether (Nor), Trish Johnson (Eng), Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin), Laurette Maritz (Rsa), Samantha Head (Eng), Anja Monke (Ger), Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den), HannaLeena Salonen (Fin), Elin Ohlsson (Swe), Jenni Kuosa (Fin), Ellen Smets (Bel), Nienke Nijenhuis (Ned), Natascha Fink (Aut), Sophie Giquel (Fra), Georgina Simpson (Eng)
75 Anna Knutsson (Swe), Anne Lise Caudal (Fra), Mianne Bagger (Den), Rebecca Hudson (Eng), Stephanie Arricau (Fra), Jade Schaeffer (Fra), Fame More (Eng), Kiran Matharu (Eng), Iben Tinning (Den), Rebecca Coakley (Irl), Lara Tadiotto (Bel), Johanna Westerberg (Swe), Mette Buus (Den), Julie Tvede (Den)
76 Carlie Butler (Aus), Anna Rossi (Ita), Virginie Auffret (Fra), Ana B Sanchez (Spa), Joanne Mills (Aus), Karen-Margrethe Juul (Den), Denise Simon (Ger), Claire Coughlan (Irl), Kathryn Imrie (Sco), Nora Angehrn (Swi), Ludivine Kreutz (Fra), Marta Prieto (Spa), Marlene Hedblom (Swe), Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (Fra), Amanda MoltkeLeth (Den), Lisa Hall (Eng), Kirsty S Taylor (Eng), Maria Verchenova (Rus)
77 Tullia Calzavara (Ita), Ashleigh Simon (Rsa), Leah Hart (Aus), Lynn Kenny (Sco), Jehanne Jail (Fra), Florence Luscher (Swi), Sophie Walker (Eng)
78 Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa), Nicole Gergely (Aut), Nathalie DavidMila (Fra), Danielle Masters (Eng), Cecilia Ekelundh (Swe), Anna Temple (USA), Christine Hallstrom (Swe), Lynn Brooky (Nzl), Liza Walters (Eng), Fanny Vuignier (Am) (Swi)
79 Sofia Renell (Swe), Anna Tybring (Swe)
81 Sara Beautell (Spa), Carmen Alonso (Spa), Anais Maggetti (Am) (Swi), Catrin Nilsmark (Swe)
82 Rikke Rasmussen (Den), Barbara Paruscio (Ita)
Ret: Cassandra Kirkland (Fra)

FORSYTH AND SANDY LYLE LEADING SCOTS
IN FIRST ROUND OF IRISH OPEN

Four players,including Englishman Simon Dyson shared the lead on four-under-par 68 at the end of the first round of the European Tour's Irish Open championship at Adare Manor, Limerick.
Leading Scots on 72 are Alastair Forsyth and Sandy Lyle. Paul Lawrie's miserable run of form continued with a 77.
FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72. Players from GB&I unless stated.
68 Peter Hanson (Swe), Simon Dyson, Andres Romero (Arg), Peter Gustafsson (Swe)
69 James Kingston (Rsa), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Christian Nilsson (Swe)
70 Simon Wakefield, Alexandre Rocha (Bra)
71 Lee Westwood, Matthew Zions (Aus), Richard Sterne (Rsa), Richard Green (Aus), Simon Khan, Francesco Molinari (Ita), Joakim Backstrom (Swe)
72 Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Paul McGinley, Phillip Price, Michael Jonzon (Swe), Alastair Forsyth, Taichi Teshima (Jpn), David Lynn, David Park, Sandy Lyle, YE Yang (Kor), Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Ariel Canete (Arg)
73 Richard Bland, Oliver Wilson, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Mark Pilkington, John Dwyer, Richard Finch, Mark Foster, Steven O'Hara, Ross Fisher, Padraig Harrington, Sven Struver (Ger), Soren Hansen (Den), Carlos Rodiles (Spa)
74 Martin Kaymer (Ger), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Alexander Noren (Swe), Lee Slattery, Johan Edfors (Swe), Kenneth Ferrie, Gary Murphy, Gregory Havret (Fra), Mardan Mamat (Sin), Mattias Eliasson (Swe), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Graeme McDowell, Thomas Levet (Fra), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Anton Haig (Rsa), David Drysdale, James Heath, Christopher Hanell (Swe), Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Andrew Oldcorn.
75 Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Nick Dougherty, Stephen Dodd, Markus Brier (Aut), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Robert-Jan Derksen (Ned), John Bickerton, Barry Lane, Kyron Sullivan, Tom Whitehouse, Emanuele Canonica (Ita), Bradley Dredge, Damien McGrane, Christian Cevaer (Fra), Peter Hedblom (Swe), Benn Barham, Rafael Echenique (Arg), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), David Higgins, Juan Parron (Spa), David Griffiths
76 Jyoti Randhawa (Ind), Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Peter Lawrie, Gary Lockerbie, Noel Fox, Oliver Fisher, Chris Gane, Andrew Marshall, Marc Warren, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Stephen Gallacher, Gary Orr, Jean van de Velde (Fra), Pat Murray (am).
77 Peter O'Malley (Aus), James Hepworth, Andrew Coltart, Anthony Wall, Paul Lawrie, Michael Campbell (Nzl), Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra), Lee James, Henrik Nystrom (Swe), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Simon Thornton, Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Ian Woosnam, Andrew Raitt, Shiv Kapur (Ind), Edward Rush
78 Andrew Tampion (Aus), Shaun Webster, David Carter, Julien Guerrier (Fra), Garry Houston, Pelle Edberg (Swe), Robert Rock, Marcus Higley, Robert Giles, Cesar Monasterio (Arg), Johan Axgren (Swe), Philip Walton, Graeme Storm, Peter Martin, Wade Ormsby (Aus)
79 Marcel Siem (Ger), Phillip Archer, Paul Broadhurst, Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Darren Fichardt (Rsa), Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Matthew Millar (Aus), Matthew Richardson, Santiago Luna (Spa), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa)
80 Michael Hoey, Sam Walker, Leslie Walker, Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Brett Rumford (Aus), Gregory Bourdy (Rsa), Sam Little
81 Scott Drummond, Notah Begay (USA), Gary Emerson
82 Ian Garbutt, Gareth Davies
83 Patrik Sjoland (Swe), Terry Price (Aus)
86 Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg)
88 David Mortimer

European Challenge Tour event in Belgium

HENDERSON TOP SCOT AT ROYAL WATERLOO

By MICHAEL GIBBONS
Press Officer, European Challenge Tour

Aberdeen’s Scott Henderson leads the Scottish charge at the European Challenge Tour’s Telenet Trophy at the Royal Waterloo Golf Club in Belgium, just a couple of miles from the scene of Napoleon Boneparte’s famous defeat in the Battle of Waterloo.
Henderson carded a creditable two under par 70 to lie five shots behind the leading Belgian pair of Nicolas Colsaerts and Didier De Vooght in a first round. His scorecard contained four birdies and two bogeys.
George Murray, the 2004 Scottish amateur champion from Anstruther - he finished seventh at last week’s A.G.F. Allianz Golf Open de Toulouse - opened his week with a one under par 71, the same score as Carnoustie’s Eric Ramsay.
Euan Little is the next best Scot in the field on one over, with Jamie McLeary three over and Andrew McArthur and Peter Whiteford on four over.

LEGAL EAGLES WIN ABERDEEN TRADES FOURSOMES

The Lawyers - the "Legal Eagles" - have won the Aberdeen Trades Foursomes tournament at Hazlehead. They beat the Bankers by four holes in the final.
Details:

Lawyers beat Bankers by four holes.
Bill Barclay & Jim Christie 0, Gregor Stewart & George Connon 0
Duncan Kerr & Donald Macandrew 4, Barry Gibson & Evan Duffus 0

GORDON, JACK DOHERTY AND ELLIOT
SALTMAN SURVIVE IRISH CUT

Three Scots - Aberdonian Graham Gordon, Glasgow-born Jack Doherty and Elliot Saltman from Dalkeith - survived the 36-hole cut in the PGA EuroPro Tour event at Faithlegg House Golf Club, near Waterford in Ireland.
Former Scottish amateur champion Gordon had rounds of 72 and 68 and goes into the final round in a share of 18th place on four-under-par 140.
Doherty has shot 70 and 71 to be joint 26th on 141.
Rookie pro Saltman, oldest of the three talented brothers from the Craigielaw club, made it with nothing to spare in joint 50th position on level par 144, made up of a pair of 72s.
Graeme Brown (Montrose) missed out by one shot with 73 and 72 for 145.
Anglo-Scot Alasdair Hay (Royal Winchester) had 76 and 71 for 147 while Jack Doherty's younger brother, Paul, a one-time winner of the Scottish boys' match-play title, had 73 and 75 for 148.
Leading the chase for first prize are three Englishmen - Graeme Clark on 11-under-par 133, Martin Le Mesurier on 135 and Jason Kelly on 136.
LEADERBOARD
133 Graeme Clark (Eng).
135 Martin Le Mesurier (Eng) 69 66.
136 Jason Kelly (Eng) 68 68.
Scots qualifiers:
140 Graham Gordon 72 69.
141 Jack Doherty 70 71.
144 Elliot Saltman 72 72.
Scots who missed cut:
145 Graeme Brown 73 72.
147 Alasdair Hay 76 71.
148 Paul Doherty 73 75.

WIZARD FROM OZ EDWINA BEATS NO 3 SEED MEGAN,
THEN KOs KRYSTLE AT 20TH TO REACH LAST EIGHT


In golfing terms, lightning struck twice for Krystle Caithness in the Scottish women's amateur championship at Kilmarnock Barassie.
Last summer, the St Regulus player, then 17 and favourite for the Scottish Under-18 girls' match-play title at Peebles lost to an unheralded, Australian-born girl called Edwina Lowery-Gold.
Today, in the second round of the match-play stages over the Ayrshire links, their paths crossed again .... the British international team player with a +3 handicap against Edwina who has been unable to improve her three-handicap since they last played many months ago.
It should have been a easy task for Miss Caithness. Instead she was beaten at the 20th hole in what must rank as one of the shock results of this or any other Scottish championship for many a long day.
Krystle, who was two holes up after seven and still one up with the 17th and 18th to play, was pulled back to square at the 17th. The nail-biting 18th was halved ... so too was the 19th ... and then Krystle, one of the favourites for the title she will not be able to contest for the next four years after going to the University of Georgia in the autumn, drove into a bush on the left at the 20th and there was no escape for that.
Krystle, of course, was a member of the Britain women’s team who won the Commonwealth Tournament in South Africa last week.
The Caithness camp were making no excuses at all but there is no doubt that Krystle has not been well since she came home from South Africa at the weekend. With tired-looking rounds of 77 and 81, she qualified in 14th place for the match-play stages – mind you, Edwina squeezed through 30th of the 32 who advanced. Her qualifying rounds were 80 and 86.
“I’m in a state of shock,” said Edwina. “I beat Krystle in the Scottish girls championship at Peebles last summer but I don’t think that had any bearing on today’s results. My handicap has not improved at all in the months since then. I thought I played better in the morning first round when I beat Megan Briggs (the third seed) by 2 and 1.”
Brisbane-born Miss Lowery-Gold is the daughter of an Edinburgh man. The family moved from Australia to England three years ago and she is a member of Eaton Golf Club, Norwich.
Now the surprise packet of the championship meets Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) in this morning’s quarter-finals.
Top seed Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) was first into the last eight, a good hour ahead of anyone else after being Claire MacDonald (Gullane Ladies) 6 and 4. Jenna plays defending champion Martine Pow (Selkirk) who, at the age of 42, says this will be her last big tournament.
“I am going to retire satisfied with what I have achieved in golf.”
Welsh women’s open stroke-play champion Heather MacRae (Dunblane) will meet the 1998 Scottish title-winner, Elaine Moffat (St Regulus).
Nineteen-year-old Aberdeenshire champion Michele Thomson from Ellon ended the Anne Laing run of appearing in the last six “Scottish” finals. Michele won by 4 and 3 with two-under-par figures despite a double bogey at one hole against a player who was champion in 1996, 2003 and 2004.
“What a great sport she is,” said Michele.
Michele now plays the very experienced Claire Hargan (Mortonhall) who won at the 19th against Prestwick St Nicholas player Rosalind Purdom.

SCROLL DOWN FOR ALL THURSDAY'S RESULTS AT BARASSIE




Elaine Moffat, a St Regulus, St Andrews team-mate of Krystle Caithness, reckons that a move from Edinburgh to work for Fife Council has worked wonders for her golf.
“I’m able to play a lot more golf than I have done for ages and it shows in my game,” said the 39-year-old after beating Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old), the No 4 seed, by one hole.
Rachael made a bad start and was three down after six holes but fought her way back into the match to be only one down playing the last.
Miss Moffat then used here experience to play for the half that would clinch a place in the quarter-finals.
Elaine now plays Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) who was roughly level par in beating Monifieth’s Dawn Dewar, a Stirling University student, by 2 and 1.
Heather’s striking of the ball was impressive and she got home at most of the par-5s with an iron for her second shots. Dawn was one up after seven holes but Miss MacRae won the eighth, ninth and 12th and held on to her advantage.
Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) was two up after four holes against former Scotland international Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) who several times cut the lead to one but could not get back on terms. Emily clinched the match with a birdie at the long 17th.

McKECHNIE, DOAK, URQUHART SHARE NORTHERN
OPEN LEAD WITH ONE ROUND TO GO AT SKIBO


THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 213 (3 x 71)
Third round scores, * denotes amateur206 - P McKechnie (Braid Hills) 71 68 67, C Doak (Unattached) 65 68 73, M Urquhart (Inverness) 67 65 74 209 - C Kelly (Cawder) 67 69 73210 - R Arnott (Bishopbriggs Golf Range) 73 69 68, G Hutcheon (Peterculter) 71 70 69, C Gillies (Kingsfield) 69 67 74211 - A Webster (Edzell) 72 71 68, G Law (Uphall) 74 68 69, J Stevenson (Braehead) 74 68 70, G McFarlane (Clober) 68 73 70, C Lee (All Golf Swing Centre) 71 70 70, S Gray (Hayston) 69 72 70, D Orr (East Renfrewshire) 71 71 69, D Patrick (Mortonhall) 73 67 71, M Loftus (Cowglen) 69 71 71, J McKinnon (Irvine) 70 69 72, *J Gunn (Royal Dornoch) 70 66 75212 - C Campbell (Carnegie Club) 76 70 66, A Lockhart (Ladybank) 70 70 72, R Gray (Torrance House) 70 66 76213 - D Thomson (Carnegie Club) 75 68 70214 - D Robertson (Czech Designs) 76 68 70, F McLaughlan (Bothwell Castle) 69 72 73, C Everett (Caldwell) 69 68 77215 - G Duncan (Westin Turnberry) 71 72 72, S Cairns (Westerwood) 72 71 72216 - C Nicoll (Prestwick) 72 73 71, G Collinson (Esporta Dougalston) 71 74 71, K Hutton (Downfield) 73 71 72, L Vannet (Carnoustie) 70 73 73217 - S Morrison (Glenbervie) 76 70 71, G McInnes (Murcar) 71 74 72, G Lornie (Aspire) 72 73 72, R Cameron (McDonald) 70 69 78 218 - P Wardell (Whitekirk) 71 75 72, K Campbell (Machrihanish) 72 73 73, A Marshall (Houston Golf Range) 75 70 73, M Barnard (Unattached) 71 71 76219 - E Thomson (Largs) 74 72 73, S Rettie (Royal Troon) 73 73 73220 - B Mason (Drumoig Driving Range) 79 66 75, P Hubner (Eastwood) 75 70 75221 - I Hanna (Strathclyde Park) 72 74 75, G Harvey (Bearsden Golf Range) 75 71 75223 - A Cooper (Newmachar) 72 73 78, C Mathieson (Falkirk Tryst) 74 71 78225 - S Catlin (Greenburn) 71 75 79

Scottish women's championship match-play

JENNA IN A HURRY IS THE FIRST TO REACH
QUARTER-FINALS AT BARASSIE

Top seed Jenna Walker from Strathaven was the first to reach the quarter-finals of the Scottish women's amateur championship at Kilmarnock Barassie this afternoon.
Jenna, 22, was three under par in beating Claire MacDonald (Gullane Ladies) by 6 and 4 in as second-round tie of about three hours' duration.
Miss Wilson, who had been one under par in a morning 5 and 4 win over Laura McLardy (Murcar Links), finished off the match against Claire in the grand manner with an eagle at the 12th and birdies at the 13th and 14th.
"I'm playing solid," said Jenna "and I've got past my bogey round - the second. The last two years I've lost in the second round of this championship. Now to try and beat my best ever performance which was reaching the quarter-finals in 2002 when I was only 17."
Martine Pow, the 42-year-old defending champion from Selkirk, had to settle for a 2 and 1 win over 16-year-old Rebecca Wilson despite winning four holes in a row from the sixth.
Rebecca won back the 13th and 15th to be only one down playing the 16th which was halved.
A birdie 4 at the 17th won a place in the last eight for Miss Pow who says this will be her last big tournament.
"I've got Health and Safety exams coming up in three weeks in connection with my job at our family scaffolding business," said Martine. "I'm happy with what I've achieved in golf and I feel now is the time to bow out and let the youngsters get on with it. I'm not going to defend the British mid-amateur title I won at Nairn last year."
Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) was roughly level par in beating Stirling University student Dawn Dewar (Monifieth) by 2 and 1. Dawn, playing irons off the tee, conceding a big advantage to Heather in length off the tee but she still led by one hole after seven.
Heather squared at the eighth and then took the ninth with a 4 to a 5 to lead for the first time.
A birdie at the long 12th, where she was home with an iron second, increased Miss MacRae's advantage to two holes.
Dawn came back to reduce the advantage to one but Heather clinched victory by winning the long 17th with an iron second to within 12ft of the flag.
Miss MacRae will not play former Scottish champion Elaine Moffat (St Regulus) who edged out the No 4 seed, 19-year-old Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old). Elaine was three up after six holes but needed that lead in the end because Rachael came back at her by winning the eighth and the 11th.
Miss Moffat went two up again at the 13th but lost the 17th after a bad drive.



SECOND ROUND

Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) bt Claire MacDonald (Gullane Ladies) 6 and 4.
Martine Pow (Selkirk) bt Rebecca Wilson (Monifieth) 2 and 1.
Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) bt Dawn Dewar (Monifieth) 2 and 1.
Elaine Moffat (St Regulus) bt Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old) 1 hole.
Edwina Lowery-Gold (Eaton) bt Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) at 20th.
Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) bt Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) 2 and 1.
Claire Hargan (Mortonhall) bt Rosalind Purdom (Prestwick St Nicholas) at 19th.
Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) bt Anne Laing (Vale of Leven) 4 and 3.

Scroll down for the earlier results at Kilmarnock Barassie today.

CLARK ROSEBOWL - QUARTER-FINALS
Lesley Williamson bt Jill Harrison 1 hole.,
Wendy Nicholson bt Gillian Kyle 3 and 2.
Liz Keohone bt Sarah Herd at 20th.
Pamela Williamson bt Cara Easton 4 and 3.

FRIDAY MATCHES
CHAMPIONSHIP
8.30 Jenna Wilson v Martine Pow.
8.40 Heather MacRae v Elaine Moffat.
8.50 Edwina Lowery-Gold v Emily Ogilvy.
9.00 Claire Hargan v Michele Thomson.
+Semi-finals at 1.30 and 1.50.
CLARK ROSEBOWL
9.20 Lesley Williamson v Lesley Nicholson.
9.30 Liz Keohone v Pamela Williamson.
Final at 2.10

ROCCA MAKES SENIORS DEBUT ALONGSIDE
TORRANCE IN ITALIAN OVER-50s OPEN

Costantino Rocca, Italy's most successful golfer, will begin his career on the European Seniors Tour on Friday when he tees up alongside former Ryder Cup team-mate Sam Torrance in the Sharp Italian Seniors Open.
There can be few more appropriate starting points for the latest chapter in Rocca's successful golfing story than in Italy and the wonderful shot-maker's course at the historic Circolo Golf Venezia, where Torrance will be defending the title.
Rocca, 50 in December last year, is a true stalwart of European golf, having graduated through the Challenge Tour before going on to win five times on the European Tour and play in three consecutive Ryder Cups (1993, '95 and '97).
To date he remains the only Italian to have featured in the biennial contests against the United States and is fondly remembered for his crucial singles win, by 4 and 2, over Tiger Woods at Club de Golf Valderrama, which helped Europe win the 1997 Ryder Cup.
Two years earlier, at Oak Hill Country Club in New York, Rocca won both his foursomes matches playing with Torrance.
Rocca's greatest individual success came in 1996 when he won the PGA championship at Wentworth Club, which helped to erase some of the disappointment felt at losing a play-off to John Daly in the 1995 Open Championship at St Andrews.
VERY SPECIAL
"For any Italian golfer to play on home soil is very special and it will be no different for me in Venice. I was not fortunate enough to win the Italian Open on the European Tour in my career so maybe I can put that right with a Seniors victory in Italy," said Rocca.
"After 15 years on Tour, and not having that much time off, I stopped playing in October and started again in April. I felt I needed the time to relax and to prepare for the next part of my career and this break has helped me a lot mentally.
"However, I will not be relaxed when I play tournament golf again; I will be trying as hard as I ever did on the European Tour. When you get on a golf course with the idea of winning, nothing changes in your mind. The desire to win is just as strong."
Last year, Torrance closed with a faultless five under par 67 to secure the title by four strokes from Ireland's Eamonn Darcy, who finished runner-up for the second consecutive year, having lost a play-off to Gery Watine of France in 2005.
Darcy is not able to avenge those two narrow defeats as a shoulder injury has forced him to withdraw from this week's event.

Scottish women's amateur championship match-play

AUSSIE 'UNKNOWN' TOPPLES NO. 3
SEED MEGAN BRIGGS AT BARASSIE

Megan Briggs, the 17-year-old Renfrewshire women's champion for the past two years, suffered an unexpected early exit from the match-play stages of the Scottish women's amateur championship at Kilmarnock Barassie Golf Club today.

As the No 3 qualifier, Megan was expected to get at least as far as the quarter-finals, perhaps the semi-finals, but she was ousted in the first round by a relatively unknown player from south of the Border, Edwina Lowery-Gold who won by 2 and 1.

Although Edwina, 18, is entered from Eaton Golf Club, Norwich, she is actually Australian-born, Brisbane to be precise but her father hailed from Edinburgh originally. The Lowery-Gold family moved from Australia to England three years ago and Edwina, through her father's country of birth, opted to play for Scotland - if she were good enough - and in the Scottish championships.

She made her debut at Peebles in the Scottish Under-18 girls' match-play championship last summer and knocked out the favourite, Krystle Caithness (St Regulus)

And golf being the funny game that is is .... Edwina will cross swords with Krystle again in the second round at Barassie.

In a match that augurs well for the future of Scottish women's golf, 16-year-old Rebecca Wilson from Monifieth edged out 15-year-old Annable Niven (Crieff) at the 20th hole in the first round.
Both youngsters played well and it was a pity that one had to lose. Rebecca was two down after two holes but fought back to level it and it was nip and tuck after that. Miss Wilson, the Angus girls' champion, finally won a place in the second round - a match against defending champion Martine Pow (Selkirk) - with a par at the second extra hole.

Top seed Jenna Wilson from Strathaven advanced to last 32 with a 5 and 4 win over Laura McLardy (Murcar Links) who came through a play-off last night to claim the very last spot in the match-play draw.
Jenna was one under par for the holes played.
"It was most enjoyable but I was outclassed," said Laura.
Another Laura and another Aberdeenshire team player, Laura Murray from Alford, lost by 3 and 2 to Claire MacDonald (Gullane Ladies) who will play Jenna Wilson in this afternoon's second round.
Title-holder Martine Pow (Selkirk) was too strong for Heather Anderson, beating the Downfield player by 4 and 2.
Welsh women's open stroke-play champion Heather MacRae was trailing 14-year-old Jill Meldrum (Dullatur), the youngest of the qualifiers, after 12 holes and then stepped up a gear to win the the 15th, 16th and 17th for the match. Heather birdied the 16th and the 17th and now plays Dawn Dewar, the Monifieth and Stirling University playere who qaualified in 12th position.
Dawn had her best win for some time, beating Scotland cap Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) by 3 and 1.
Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) birdied the short hole that cost her a 10 in the second qualifying round. She beat Mortonhall teenager Jane Turner by 5 and 4.
No 2 seed Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) had two eagles during her 7 and 6 win over fellow Aberdeenshire team player Carol Wilson (Murcar Links). Now Michele, the Aberdeenshire women's champion, meets Anne Laing (Vale of Leven), who has played in the last six finals of the Scottish championship and eight in all since the 1990s when she beat Alison Davidson in the final at Royal Dornoch.

Results:

FIRST ROUND
J Wilson (Strathaven) bt L McLardy (Murcar Links) 5 and 4.
C MacDonald (Gullane Ladies) bt L Murray (Alford) 3 and 2.
M Pow (Selkirk) bt H Anderson (Downfield) 4 and 2.
R Wilson (Monifieth) bt A Niven (Crieff) at 20th.
H MacRae (Dunblane New) bt J Meldrum (Dullatur) 3 and 1.
D Dewar (Monifieth) bt K Walker (Buchanan Castle) 3 and 1.
E Moffat (St Regulus) bt A Thompson (Loudoun Gowf) 4 and 3.
R Livingstone (Musselburgh Old) bt F Gilbert (Carnoustie Ladies) 4 and 3.

E Lowrey-Gold (Eaton) bt M Briggs (Kilmacolm) 2 and 1.
K Caithness (St Regulus) bt R McQueen (Troon Bentinck Ladies) 2 and 1.
S Wood (Hazlehead) bt A F Ramsay (Kirriemuir) 4 and 3.
E Ogilvy (Auchterarder) bt J Turner (Mortonhall) 5 and 4.
R Purdom (Prestwick St Nicholas) bt A Bushby (Strathmore) 1 hole.
C Hargan (Mortonhall) bt S Bishop (Cochrane Castle) 1 hole.
A Laing (Vale of Leven) bt J Carthew (Ladybank) 2 and 1.
M Thomson (McDonald Ellon) bt C Wilson (Murcar Links) 7 and 6.

CLARK ROSEBOWL
FIRST ROUND
L Williamson (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt M Easton (Dalmahoy) 5 and 4.
J Harrison (Cruden Bay) bt M Rae (Kilmarnock Barassie) 4 and 3.
W Nicholson (Broomieknowe) bt G Scanlan (Hamilton) 7 and 6.

G Kyle (East Renfrewshire) bt G McGinlay (Cochrane Castle) 3 and 2.

S Herd (Dunblane New) bt L Terry (Cruden Bay) 5 and 3.

L Keohone (Loudoun Gowf) bt K Marshall (Baberton) 2 and 1.

C Easton (Dalmahoy) bt L McGeachy (Windyhill) 4 and 2.

ABERDEEN TRADES FOURSOMES RESULTS
FROM HAZLEHEAD

QUARTER-FINALS

Bankers beat Aberdeen Telephones by 12 holes.
Colin Grant & Gregor Stewart 4, Donald Smith & Gregor Davidson 0
Barry Gibson & Evan Duffus 8, Peter Coutts & Willie Smith 0

Royal Mail beat Insurance by nine holes.
Kevin Duthie & Ross McKen 4, John Moore & Alan Ross 0
Tony Robertson & Scott Spiers 5, Nick Henderson & Donald Love 0

Lawyers beat Elmar UK by 17 holes.
Bill Barclay & Jim Christie 7, Gary Lyon & Kenny Coull 0
Donald Macandrew & Duncan Kerr 10, Allan Strath & Keith Selbie 0

Surveyors beat Teachers by three holes.
Colin Kerr & Graeme Nisbet 0, Richard Anderson & Jimmy Lamont 1
Gordon MacDonald & David MacLeod 4, Ian Brunton & Mike Wilson 0

SEMI-FINALS

Bankers beat Royal Mail by seven holes.
Gregor Stewart & Colin Grant 0, Kevin Duthie & Ross McKen 3
Barry Gibson & Evan Duffus 10, Tony Robertson & Scott Spiers 0

Lawyers beat Surveyors by six holes.
Bill Barclay & Jim Christie 2, Graeme Nisbet & John Broadley 0
Duncan Kerr & Donald Macandrew 4, Colin Kerr & Grant Hendry 0

MURRAY URQUHART LEADS NORTHERN OPEN

LEADING HALFWAY TOTALS
Par 142 (2 x 71)

132 - M Urquhart (Inverness) 67 65.

133 - C Doak (Unattached) 65 68.

136 - R Gray (Torrance House) 70 66, J Gunn (Royal Dornoch) (am) 70 66, C
Gillies (Kingsfield) 69 67, C Kelly (Cawder) 67 69.

137 - C Everett (Caldwell) 69 68.

139 - P McKechnie (Braid Hills) 71 68, R Cameron (McDonald) 70 69.

140 - D Patrick (Mortonhall) 73 67, A Lockhart (Ladybank) 70 70, M Loftus
(Cowglen) 69 71.

141 - D Orr (East Renfrewshire) 71 71, C Lee (All Golf Swing Centre) 71 70,
F McLaughlan (Bothwell Castle) 69 72, S Gray (Hayston) 69 72, G Hutcheon
(Peterculter) 71 70, G McFarlane (Clober) 68 73.

142 - J Stevenson (Braehead) 74 68, G Law (Uphall) 74 68, M Barnard
(Unattached) 71 71, R Arnott (Bishopbriggs Golf Range) 73 69.

143 - D Thomson (Carnegie Club) 75 68, G Duncan (Westin Turnberry) 71 72, L
Vannet (Carnoustie) 70 73, A Webster (Edzell) 72 71, S Cairns (Westerwood)
72 71.

144 - D Robertson (Czech Designs) 76 68, K Hutton (Downfield) 73 71.

145 - B Mason (Drumoig Driving Range) 79 66, A Marshall (Houston Golf Range)
75 70, P Hubner (Eastwood) 75 70, C Mathieson (Falkirk Tryst) 74 71, A
Cooper (Newmachar) 72 73, G Collinson (Esporta Dougalston) 71 74, K Campbell
(Machrihanish) 72 73.

JENNA AND EMILY WIN TROPHIES IN QUALIFYING ROUNDS AT BARASSIE

Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) and Auchterarder's Emily Ogilvy both received more than one trophy at the traditional Scottish Ladies Golfing Association prizegiving evening at the conclusion of the 36-hole qualifying rounds.
Here is a list of who won what:

TUESDAY: FIRST ROUND

BEDDOWS MEMORIAL TROPHY (lowest gross score in first qualifying round)
Winner - Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) 72.
Runner-up - Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) 75 (better last six).
Third - Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) 75 (better inward half).
Fourth - Jocelyn Carthew (Ladybank) 75.

ST ANDREWS QUAICH (lowest net score in first round)
Winner - Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) (scr) 72.
Runner-up - Rachael McQueen (Troon Bentinck Ladies) (4) 73.
Third - Ann Ramwsay (Kirriemuir) (2) 74 (bih).

EGLINTON QUAICH (lowest gross score in team event in first round)
Winners - ST REGULUS (Krystle Caithness 77 & Elaine Moffat 78) 155.

BABY QUAICH (lowest individual gross score in Eglinton Quaich)
Winner - Krystle Caithness 77.

GRAINGER CUP (lowest aggregate net score by team in first round)
Winners - MONIFIETH (Aileen Hunter & Rebecca Wilson) 158 (bih).

WEDNESDAY - SECOND ROUND

GLOVER 21ST ANNIVERSARY CUP (lowest gross score in second round)
Winner - Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) 76.
Runner-up - Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) 78 (better last six).
Third - Laura Murray (Alford) 78 (better inward half).
Fourth - Alexandra Bushby (Strathmore) 78 (better inward half).

LYON SALVER (best net score in second round)
Winner - Dawn Dewar (Monifieth (5) 73 (better last three).
Runner-up - Rebecca Wilson (Monifieth) (5) 73.
Third - Alexandra Bushby (Strathmore) (4) 74.

MARGARET SCOULER-BUCHANAN CUP (Aggregate gross)
Winner - Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) 75 76 - 151.

McINNES SHAW CUP (Aggregate net)
Winner - Rebecca Wilson (Monifieth) 74 73 - 147.

ST RULE SALVER (Best gross aggregate from an Under-21)
Winner - Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) 75 78 - 153.

NPFA CUP (Lowst net score in medal rounds)
Winner - Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) (scr) 72.

McROBERT THISTLE CUP (Lowest scratch score in qualifying rounds)
Winner - Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) 72.

DUNLOP HILL TROPHY (Best second-round score by a past champion)
Winner - Martine Pow (Selkirk) 78.

JACK'S THE LAD FOR SCOTS IN IRELAND

South Wales-based Jack Doherty was the best of the Scots in the first round of the PGA EuroPro Tour event at Faithlegg House Hotel & Golf Club, near Waterford in Ireland.
Dohcerty shot a two-under-par 70 to be in joint 19th place behind Welshman leader Mark Laskey who had a 66.
Aberdonian Graham Gordon and Elliot Saltman from Dalkeith were bracketed in 44th position with par-matching 72s. Both players had five birdies but lots of bogeys as well.
Jack Doherty's younger brother Paul, a former Scottish boys' match-play champion, and Graeme Brown from Montrose are joint 58th on 73.Brown had double bogeys at the sixth and 18th while Dohwerety had a triple bogey 7 at the 12 in an inward half of 41.
Anglo-Scot Alasdair Hay (Royal Winchester) was in joint 98th position with a 76.

LEADERBOARD

Par 72

66 Mark Laskey (Wal).

67 Graeme Clark (Eng), Xavier Guzman (Terramar).

68 Mark Prue (Hillside), David James (Bridgnorth), Joe Templer (Henley), Sandeep Grewal (Heswall), Adam Frayne (St Mellion), Jason Kelly (Wentworth).

Scots scores:

70 Jack Doherty 33-37 (jt 19th).

72 Graham Gordon 34-38, Elliot Saltman (jt 44th).

73 Paul Doherty 32-41, Graeme Brown 35-38 (jt 58th).

76 Alasdair Hay (jt 98th).

JENNA SWINGING IN THE RAIN TO BE
TOP QUALIFIER AT BARASSIE

Strathaven’s Jenna Wilson stopped short of singing in the rain but she was certainly swinging very well in the non-stop drizzle that put a damper on the second qualifying round of the Scottish women’s amateur golf championship at Kilmarnock Barassie.
Jenna, a 22-year-old full-time amateur, had, by two strokes, the lowest score of the day – a one-over-par 76 – for a one-over par total of 151 to be the No 1 seed in the draw.
“I don’t mind the actual playing in wet conditions like that but the biggest problem is trying to keep the grips of your clubs dry when it’s non-stop rain like that. If they get too wet you’re in trouble” said Jenna who did not let the depressing conditions get to her.
She finished two shots ahead of a crop of talented teenagers in the top 10.
Michele Thomson, the Ellon 19-year-old who is the Aberdeenshire women’s champion, had a 78 to be the No 2 qualifier – two shots ahead of 17-year-old Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm), who recently retained the Renfrewshire women’s county title. Megan had a 79.
Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old), 19, had a 79 for 156 to be alongside the overnight leader Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder), who ran up a 10 at a short hole in slipping from a 72 to an 84, and one of the favourites, Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) who had an 80.
Krystle Caithness (St Regulus), 18-year-old British women’s international, did not relish the rain after a week in the dry warmth of South Africa, and she had an 81 for 158.
The 32 players who qualified for the match-play had totals of 167 or better with one exception – home course player Lesley Williamson had that total but as eliminated in a three-way play-off for the last two spots in the draw.
Overnight leader Emily Ogilvy did not win the top qualifying honour but anyone who can run up a 10 at a short hole, as Emily did in her second-round 84 – and finish with a big grin deserves a medal of some description for being the best of sports.
The 23-year-old Auchterarder member qualified with ease in No 6 spot on 156 and to Emily that was far more important at the end of the day than a one-hole disaster at the 155yard third.
“I hit my first tee shot into the burn. Took a drop under penalty and the ball hit a wall and finished back in the turn. Then I hit another ball into the water before I finally made it to the green,” said the former US college circuit player.
“It was more a laugh than a crisis although I obviously wasn’t trying to hit the ball into the water. I never lost my temper, never lost my head and I was quite proud to birdie the next hole!”
In thoroughly unpleasant conditions of non-stop drizzle, it was a good day for Angus, Perth & Kinross and Fife players who are well represented in the match-play stages.
Alongside Emily Ogilvy on the 156 mark – five shots behind leading qualifier Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) – was Heather MacRae from Dunblane New. Heather did not play to her best form in the conditions and settled for an 80.
Rebecca Wilson from Monifieth, only 16 and with her dad as caddie, shot a 78 to be the eighth best qualifier on 157. Only Jenna Wilson, with a 76, had a lower score than Rebecca.
Alexandra Bushby (Strathmore), winner of the Perth & Kinross title at Kinross on Sunday, also had a 78 to qualify on 157, the same mark as Ann Ramsay from Kirriemuir with an 81.
Dawn Dewar (Monifieth) and the Fife trio of Elaine Moffat (St Regulus), Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) and Jo Carthew (Ladybank) all got through with lots to spare on 158.
Krystle is having to adapt from the warmth and dryness of South Africa last week to the cool temperatures and wetness of Ayrshire and too much should not be read into her second-round 81.
Annabel Niven from Crieff is the second youngest of the 32 qualifiers at the age of 15. She had an 83 for 165, the same total as 14-year-old Jill Meldrum (Dullatur).
Fiona Gilbert (Carnoustie) made it through on the same mark.
Murcar Links clubmates Laura McLardy and Carol Wilson survived a three-way play-off to
claim the last two of the 32 places in the match-play stages.
They finished the 36-hole qualifying rest on 167, the same score as home course player Lesley Williamson, who graduated from Aberdeen University a year or two ago.
Carol won the first play-off hole with a birdie 4, leaving the other two to go on to the second where Laura eliminated Lesley with a 5 to a 6.
Miss McLardy has earned herself a crack at the leading qualifier Jenna Wilson. Laura required 86 (10 more than Jenna) for her second circuit but she will give it a go.
Carol’s first-round match is against the new Aberdeenshire champion from McDonald Ellon, Michele Thomson. Carol had an 84 today while Michele had a 78 for the second-best qualifying total of 153.
Michele was five over par after 10 holes in the horrible wet conditions but got a first birdie at the 12th and then finished on a high with a hat-trick of birdies at the last three holes for one-under-par 37 home.
Laura Murray (Alford), with her mum Mary caddieing for the first time, qualified with ease, improving by four shots for a 78 and 160. Laura looked on her way out of the championship when she was four over par after six holes, even though she had birdied the fourth and fifth, but she steadied up after her second double bogey at the sixth and covered the remaining holes in one under par with birdies at the 12th and 17th and only one further bogey, at the 15th.
Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) is no stranger to the match-play stages of a “Scottish” and she qualified quietly again with an 84 for 164.

FINAL QUALIFYING TOTALS FROM BARASSIE

Murcar Links players Carol Wilson and Laura McLardy came through a three-way play-off on 167 for the last two places in the match-play draw. Also on 167 but eliminated at the second hole of the play-off was home course player and Aberdeen University graduate Lesley Williamson.
Carol had a birdie at the first hole of the play-off. Laura advanced with a 5 to Lesley's 6 at the second hole.

SCOTTISH WOMEN’S (CLOSE) AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Kilmarnock Barassie Golf Club.
QUALIFIERS FOR MATCH-PLAY
Par 150 (2 x 75). CSS 77 77.
151 J Wilson (Strathaven) 75 76.
153 M Thomson (McDonald Ellon) 75 78.
155 M Briggs (Kilmacolm) 76 79.
156 R Livingstone (Musselburgh Old) 77 79, E Ogilvy (Auchterarder) 72 84, H MacRae (Dunblane New) 76 80.
157 R Wilson (Monifieth) 79 78, A Bushby (Strathmore) 79 78, M Pow (Selkirk) 79 78, A F Ramsay (Kirriemuir) 76 81, S Bishop (Cochrane Castle) 76 81.
158 D Dewar (Monifieth) 80 78, E Moffat (St Regulus) 78 80, K Caithness (St Regulus) 77 81, J Carthew (Ladybank) 75 83.
159 C MacDonald (Gullane) 79 80.
160 L Murray (Alford) 82 78, A Laing (Vale of Leven) 81 79, R McQueen (Troon Bentinck Ladies) 77 83.
162 A Thompson (Loudoun Gowf) 79 83.
163 K Walker (Buchanan Castle) 77 86.
164 S Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) 80 84.
165 C Hargan (Mortonhall) 86 79, A Niven (Crieff) 82 83, H Anderson (Downfield) 82 83, J Meldrum (Dullatur) 81 84, J Turner (Mortonhall) 81 84, R Purdom (Prestwick St Nicholas) 81 84, F Gilbert (Carnoustie Ladies) 79 86.
166 E Lowrey-Gold (Eaton) 80 86.
167 (after play-off) C Wilson (Murcar Links) 83 84, L McLardy (Murcar Links) 81 86.
NON-QUALIFIERS
167 (after play-off) L Williamson (Kilmarnock Barassie) 85 82.
168 F De Vries (St Rule) 87 81.
169 P Williamson (Baberton) 85 84.
170 S Herd (Dunblane New) 88 82, G Kyle (East Renfrewshire) 84 86, W Nicholson (Broomieknowe) 82 88, K Marshall (Baberton) 82 88.
172 F Macgregor (Thornhill_) 89 83.
174 L McGeachy (Windyhill) 89 85, M Rae (Kilmarnock Barassie) 89 85, J Harrison (Cruden Bay) 87 87, C Easton (Dalmahoy) 86 88, L Keohone (Loudoun Gowf) 85 89.
175 G Scanlan (Hamilton) 89 86, G McGinlay (Cochrane Castle) 88 87, L Terry (Cruden Bay) 87 88.
176 E Briggs (Kilmacolm) 88 88.
177 M Easton (Dalmahoy) 91 86, C Taylor (Royal Dornoch) 90 87.
178 A Hunter (Monifieth) 87 91, J Sneddon (Alyth) 86 92, R Dunsmujir (Cruden Bay) 85 93.
179 L Fraser (Kingsknowe) 85 94.
181 A McGinnigle (Cochrane Castle) 93 88, S Adams (Loudoun Gowf) 91 90.
182 B Waugh (Moor Hall) 93 89.
184 S Ireland (Prestonfield) 97 87, S Leslie (Westhill) 84 100.
185 B Paterson (Eastwood) 93 92.
187 R Archibald (Merchants of Edinburgh) 101 86.
193 L McDougall (Greenock) 95 98.
194 R McIntyre (Windyhill) 97 97.
200 W MacCallum (Falkirk) 100 100, N Qayum (Ranfurly Castle) 99 101.
203 L Mathie (Cochrane Castle) 95 108.
206 C King (Windyhill) 103 103.
NRs D Moncrieff (Lochend) 96 NR, G Lockhart (Kilmarnock Barassie) 90 NR, C Gruber (Royal Dornoch) 85 NR.

DRAW FOR CHAMPIONSHIP
8.30 Jenna Wilson v Laura McLardy.
8.38 Laura Murray v Claire MacDonald.
8.46 Martine Pow v Heather Anderson.
8.54 Annabel Niven v Rebecca Wilson.
9.02 Heather MacRae v Jill Meldrum.
9.10 Kylie Walker v Dawn Dewar.
9.18 Elaine Moffat v Audrey Thompson.
9.26 Fiona Gilbert v Rachael Livingstone.
9.34 Megan Briggs v Edwina Lowrey-Gold.
9.42 Rachael McQueen v Krystle Caithness.
9.50 Ann F Ramsay v Sheena Wood.
9.58 Jane Turner v Emily Ogilvy.
10.06 Alexandra Bushby v Rosalind Purdom.
10.14 Claire Hargan v Sara Bishop.
10.22 Jocely n Carthew v Anne Laing.
10.30 Carol Wilson v Michele Thomson.
Second round at 10min intervals from 1.40pm onwards.

CLARK ROSEBOWL
10.46 Lesley Williamson v Mandy Easton.
10.54 Jill Harrison v Margaret Rae.
11.02 Wendy Nicholson v Gillian Scanlan.
11.10 Gillian McGinlay v Gillian Kyle.
11.18 Sarah Herd v Lynne Terry.
11.26 Liz Keohone v Karen Marshall.
11.34 Laura McGeachy v Cara Easton.
11.42 Eilidh Briggs v Pamela Williamson.
Quarter-finals at 10min intervals from 3.10pm.

RITSON SMITH ABERDEEN PENNANT LEAGUE RESULTS

Played Tuesday night:

Craibstone 1, Hazlehead 5.
Nigg Bay 4 1/2, Westhill 1 1/2.

If you have any information about the two other Pennant League games on Tuesday night
Bon Accord v Deeside
Stonehaven v Auchmill

Please E-mail colin@scottishgolfview.com

SHIRE, NORTHERN COUNTIES and
P&K TEAMS FOR CRUDEN BAY

Aberdeenshire, Northern Counties and title-holders Perth & Kinross have named their teams for the Northern Division inter-county women’s team golf championship at Cruden Bay from June 23 to 25.
Angus, the other county involved, have yet to announce their selection.
Sara Thomson (Murcar Links), semi-finalist in the recent Aberdeenshire county championship at Newmachar, gains her first county honour.
Scotland international curler Eve Muirhead (Pitlochry), Jacqueline Sneddon (Alyth) and Gwen Lambie (Dunkeld & Birnham) play for P&K in the divisional championship for the first time although Gwen was in the team who contested the Scottish county finals at The Hirsel last autumn.
Teams:
ABERDEENSHIRE – Jill Harrison (Cruden Bay), Laura McLardy (Murcar Links), Laura Murray (Alford), Donna Pocock (Murcar Links), Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon), Sara Thomson (Murcar Links), Carol Wilson (Murcar Links), Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies), capt.
Reserves: Jill Murray (Cruden Bay), Marivi Millership (Deeside), Samantha Leslie (Westhill).
NORTHERN COUNTIES – Kerri Harper (Inverness), Ashton Ingram (Fort William), Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar), Donna MacLeod (Inverness), Eileen Manson (Thurso), Jenny Milne (Elgin), Mary Smith (Tain),Laura Walker (Nairn Dunbar).
Reserves: Marion Howieson (Inverness), Eilidh Mackay (Nairn Dunbar), Sammy Vass (Tain).
PERTH & KINROSS – Alexandra Bushby (Strathmore), Gwen Lambie (Dunkeld & Birnam), Eve Muirhead (Pitlochry), Roseanne Niven (Crieff), Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder), Fiona Ramsay (Crieff), Jacqueline Sneddon (Alyth), Jane Yellowlees (Murrayshall).
Reserves: Sal Shepherd (Blairgowrie), Annabel Niven (Crieff).

CHRIS DOAK LEADS BY TWO SHOTS IN
NORTHERN OPEN AT SKIBO CASTLE

Northern Open “specialist” Chris Doak, with a fine round of six-under-par 65, opened up a two-shot lead at the end of the first round of this week’s 72-hole tournament at Skibo Castle.
Leading first-round scores (Par 71)
65 Chris Doak (unatt).
67 Murray Urquhart (Inverness), Chris Kelly (Cawder).
68 Gary McFarlane (Clober).
69 Stephen Gray (Hayston), Craig Everett (Caldwell), Colin Gillies (Kingsfield), Fraser McLaughlan (Bothwell Castle), Mark Loftus (Cowglen).
70 Steven Taylor (Bothwell Castle), Ross Cameron (McDonald Ellon), James Gunn (Royal Dornoch) (am), Jim McKinnon (Irvine), Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), Lee Vannet (Carnoustie Golf Links), Ricky Gray (Torrance House).
*Our apologies for not getting the Northern Open scores up your screen last night. There have been problems with the PGA's national website network but, thanks to Hugh Malcolm's help, we can now bring you the first-round leading scores and, hopefully, we will be able to bring you the leading halfway totals this evening.


TAMSEL TOUR NEWS

Steve Parry (Bolton) won this week’s Tamsel Tour 36-hole event at Helsby Golf Club. He had rounds of 71 and an incredible 61 for a totgal of 132 for a four-stroke victory.
LEADING TOTALS
132 Steve Parry (Bolton) 71 61.
136 David Walker (The Chase) 67 69, David Wilcock (Dean Wood) 70 66.
137 Paul Wesselingh (Kedleston Park) 69 67.
138 Matt Moore (Forest of Arden) 71 67.
139 Stuart Andrew (Clitheroe) 69 70, James Harper (Seaton Carew) 70 69.
Scots’ scores:
147 Daniel Kirk (St Andrews) 75 71.
147 Thomas Higson (Eyemouth) 74 73.

Scottish women's (closed) amateur championship

TEE TIMES FOR SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND
AT BARASSIE

8.30 Caroline King, Rachael Archibald.
8.39 Winifred MacCallum, Natasha Qayum, Ruth McIntyre.
8.48 Suzanne Ireland, Diane Moncrieff, Linda McDougall.
8.57 Lindsay Mathie, Alyson McGinnigle, Bobbi Waugh.

9.06 Beth Paterson, Mandy Easton, Sheila Adams.
9.15 Charlie Taylor, Gillian Lockhart, Laura McGeachy.
9.24 Gillian Scanlan, Fiona Macgregor, Margaret Rae.
9.33 Sarah Herd, Eilidh Briggs, Gillian McGinlay.
9.42 Jill Harrison, Fiona De Vries, LynneTerry.
9.51 STARTER'S TIME

10.0 Aileen Hunter, Jacqueline Sneddon, Claire Hargan.
10.09 Cara Easton, Louise Fraser, Cara Gruber.
10.18 Lesley Willilamson, Pamela Williamson, Rosaleen Dunsmuir.
10.27 Liz Keohone, Samantha Leslie, Gillian Kyle.

10.36 Carol Wilson, Wendy Nicholson,Lauray Murray.
10.45 Annabel Niven, Karen Marshall, Heather Anderson.
10.54 Anne Laing, Laura McLardy, Jill Meldrum.

11.03 Jane Turner, Rosalind Purdom, Dawn Dewar.
11.12 Edwina Lowrey-Gold, Shenna Wood, Rebecca Wilson.
11.21 STARTER'S TIME.

11.30 Claire MacDonald, Audrey Thompsonk, Fiona Gilbert.
11.39 Alexandra Bushby, Martine Pow, Elaine Moffat.
11.48 Rachael Livingstone, Krystle Caithness, Kylie Walker.
11.57 Rachael McQueen, Ann Framsay, Megan Briggs.

12.06 Heather MacRae, Sara Bishop, Jocelyn Carthew.
12.15 Jenna Wilson, Michele Thomson, Emily Ogilvy.

PIZZA GIRL EMILY LEADS SCOTTISH
FIELD AT BARASSIE WITH A 72

From delivering pizzas and caddieing at Little Rock, Arkansas to leading the field in the first qualifying round of the Scottish women’s amateur golf championship at Kilmarnock Barassie.
That’s the never a dull moment life of 23-year-old Emily Ogilvy (pictured right) from Auchterarder.
Emily shot a three-under-par 72 to put three shots between her and the rest of the field with one more qualifying round to go on Wednesday before the 32 leaders get down to the nitty gritty of the match-play stages.
“I went back to Central Arkansas University to complete my four-year course in December and the weather is so nice out there I didn’t want to come home to the depths of winter in Scotland,” said Miss Ogilvy.
“So I stayed on and paid the bills by taking two jobs – one as a pizza delivery girl and the other as a caddie at a golf course in Little Rock.”
Emily bogeyed the third and fourth before catching fire and covering the nine holes from the fifth to 13th in five under par with six birdies and a bogey.
“You might not believe it but my driving was bad, really bad. It was a good thing my iron shots were really good and I putted well,” she said.
THREESOME ON 75
Sharing second place on level par 75 are Jo Carthew from Ladybank, Michele Thomson, the big-hitting 19-year-old Aberdeenshire women’s county champion from Ellon, and Scotland international Jenna Wilson (Strathaven).
Jo was two after par after only four holes but birdieed the shot sixth and hadf an eagle 3 at the eighth to get out in 37.
Jenna did not have a birdie until the 12th but highlighted her card with an eagle 3 at the 17th in 37 home.
Michele bounced back from a double-bogey 6 at the second to birdied the fifth, eighth, 13th and 17th in halves of 38 aned 37.
Seventeen-year-old Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm), who recently retained the Renfrewshire women’s county championship, Sara Bishop (Cochrane Castle), Welsh women’s open stroke-play champion Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) and Ann Ramsay (Kirriemuir) are on 76
Sara had the best finish of the day – eagle-birdie-birdie (3-4-3).
Heather MacRae, a finalist at Dunbar 12 months ago, felt that the two strong features of her game this season – her driving and putting – left her down today. She had bogeys at the first and ninth in a humdrum outward half and it was the 10th before wedged to 2ft for her first birdie of the round.
TEE SHOT INTO WATER
Having broken the ice, Heather birdied the 11th as well before dropping a shot by going in the water off the tee at the 13th. But she did two-putt for a birdie at the 17th, her 8ft putt for an eagle 3 hanging on the lip of the hole but not dropping. Then she finished on a low with a three-putt at the 18th.l
Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) was a member of the five-strong Britain team who won the Commonwealth tournament in South Africa last week.
She ran up a quadruple, lost-ball bogey 9 at the eighth and a double-bogey 6 in a gorse bush at the 11th. All in all the 18-year-old did well to finish in 77, considering she did not feel 100 per cent, understandably, after making the transition from South Africa’s warmer climate to the cool May temperatures of Bonnie Scotland.
Title-holder Martine Pow (Selkirk), whose 42nd birthday it was, was not celebrating a disappointing round of 79 but it was two shots better than the player she beat in last year’s final, Anne Laing (Vale of Leven).
Anne has played in the last five finals of this championship and seven in all since 1996. This could be the end of her era.
Laura Murray, the 2005 Scottish schoolgirls champion from Alford, would like to start an era but lost-ball double-bogeys at both the 16th and 17th knocked her back to an 82. But she hasn’t given up hope of making the 32 qualifiers for the match-play stages.
And that really is what the first two days are all about in this championship.
If you qualify, who remembers what you scored to get into the match-play?

END OF FIRST DAY'S PLAY SCOREBOARD

SCOTTISH WOMEN’S AMATEUR (CLOSE) CHAMPIONSHIP
Kilmarnock Barassie Golf Club
First qualifying round
Par 75 (37-38). 6,215yd
72 E Ogilvy (Auchterarder) 37-35.
75 J Carthew (Ladybank) 37-38, M Thomson (McDonald Ellon) 38-37, J Wilson (Strathaven) 38-37.
76 H MacRae (Dunblane New) 39-37, S Bishop (Cochrane Castle) 41-35, A F Ramsay (Kirriemuir) 39-37, M Briggs (Kilmacolm) 39-37.
77 R McQueen (Troon Bentinck Ladies) 41-36, K Caithness (St Regulus) 40-37, R Livingstone (Musselburgh Old) 38-39, K Walker (Buchanan Castle) 40-37.
78 E Moffat (St Regulus).
79 R Wilson (Monifieth), F Gilbert (Carnoustie Ladies), M Pow (Selkirk), A Bushby (Strathmore), A Thompson (Loudoun Gowf), C MacDonald (Gullane).
80 S Wood (Aberdeen Ladies), E Lowrey-Gold (Eaton), D Dewar (Monifieth).
81 R Purdom (Prestwick St Nicholas), J Turner (Mortonhall), A Laing (Vale of Leven), L McLardy (Murcar Links), J Meldrum (Dullatur).
82 H Anderson (Downfield), L Murray (Alford), W Nicholson (Broomieknowe), K Marshall (Baberton), A Niven (Crieff).
83 C Wilson (Murcar Links).
84 G Kyle (East Renfrewshire), S Leslie (Westhill).
85 L Williamson (Kilmarnock Barassie), R Dunsmuir (Cruden Bay), L Fraser (Kingsknowe), L Keohone (Loudoun Gowf), C Gruber (Royal Dornoch), P Willliamson (Baberton).
86 C Hargan (Mortonhall), J Sneddon (Alyth), C Easton (Dalmahoy).
87 L Terry (Cruden Bay), J Harrison (Cruden Bay), A Hunter (Monifieth), F De Vries (St Rule).
88 E Briggs (Kilmacolm), G McGinlay (Cochrane Castle), S Herd (Dunblane New).
89 M Rae (Kilmarnock Barassie), L McGeachy (Windyhill), F Macgregor (Thornhill), G Scanlan (Hamilton).
90 C Taylor (Royal Dornoch), G Lockhart (Kilmarnock Barassie)
91 M Easton (Dalmahoy), S Adams (Loudoun Gowf).
93 A McGinnigle (Cochrane Castle), B Paterson (Eastwood), B Waugh (Moor Hall).
95 L Mathie (Cochrane Castle).
96 L McDougall (Greenock), D McIntyre (Windyhill).
97 S Ireland (Prestonfield), R McIntyre (Windyhill).
99 N Qayum (Ranfurly Castle).
101 R Archibald (Merchants of Edinburgh).
103 C King (Windyhill).
104 A Anderson (Loudoun Gowf).
+The leading 32 players at the end of the second qualifying round will go forward to the championship match-play stages.
LEADING SCORECARDS
Par
OUT: 5-4-4-3-5-3-4-5-4-37.
IN: 4-4-5-4-3-4-5-5-4-38.

EMILY OGILVY 72
OUT: 5-4-5-4-4-3-3-4-5-37.
IN: 3-4-4-3-3-4-5-5-4-35.

JO CARTHEW 75
OUT: 6-4-4-4-5-2-4-3-5-37.
IN: 4-5-4-5-3-4-5-4-4-38.

MICHELE THOMSON 75
OUT: 5-4-6-3-4-3-5-4-4-38.
IN: 5-4-5-3-3-4-5-4-4-37.

JENNA WILSON 75
OUT: 5-5-4-3-5-3-4-5-4-38.
IN: 4-4-4-4-4-4-5-3-4-37.

HEATHER MACRAE 76
OUT: 6-4-4-3-5-3-4-5-5-39.
IN: 3-3-5-5-3-4-5-4-5-37.

SARA BISHOP 76
OUT: 5-4-5-4-4-4-5-4-6-41.
IN: 4-4-4-4-4-5-3-4-3-35

ANN RAMSAY 76
OUT: 5-5-5-3-4-4-4-4-5-39.
IN: 4-4-6-4-3-4-4-5-3-37.

MEGAN BRIGGS 76
OUT: 5-05-4-4-4-3-4-5-5-39.
IN: 4-3-5-4-3-5-4-5-4-37.

KRYSTLE CAITHNESS 77:
OUT: 5-4-3-4-4-3-4-9-4-40.
IN: 3-6-5-4-2-4-4-5-4-37.

RACHAEL McQUEEN 77
OUT: 5-5-4-5-4-3-5-4-6-41.
IN: 3-4-4-3-3-5-6-5-3-36.

RACHAEL LIVINGSTONE 77
OUT: 4-4-6-4-4-3-4-5-4-38.
IN: 4-4-5-4-3-5-6-3-5-39.

KYLIE WALKER 77:
OUT: 5-6-5-5-4-3-4-4-4-40.
IN: 4-5-4-4-3-4-5-4-4-37.

PAMELA NOW IN ST RULE TROPHY FIELD

News from the St Rule Club that Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) has been drafted into the field for the St Rule Trophy early next month. The new Lanarkshire county champion takes the place of Roz Adams (Addington Court) who has withdraw.

SAMMY'S 76 IS THE LOWEST SCORE SO
FAR FROM THE LGU TEES
AT LOCH NESS COURSE, INVERNESS

Sammy Vass, the 15-year-old Tain Golf Club top prospect, has returned the lowest score recorded from the LGU tees at the Loch Ness Course, Inverness in winning the Northern Counties' girls competition for the McDermott Trophy.
She returned a card for a 76 over a 5,387yd course which has a ladies' par of 71 and an SSS of 70.
Neil Hampton, Golf & Marketing Manager commented:
"The course was changed to the new lay-out in August 2005 and we have only been playing on it since then. Unfortunately the old lay-out was very tough and resulted in almost all of the lady members playing elsewhere and very few coming to visit."
"Sammy's score is the best that we have had over the new lay-out but I am hesitant to label it as a course record, given that we have had so little female play over the course so far."
"The changes we made have certainly attracted a lot of new members and scores have improved dramatically but once again the number of ladies playing has not really increased yet - apart from on our nine-hole course which has proved very popular with everyone."
"I am trying hard to change people's perception of Loch Ness Golf Course and lose the "monster" tag (from the playing sense) and I will be writing to Sammy to congratulate her on her excellent score and encourage her to return and shoot an even lower round."

TAMSEL TOUR EVENT LEADERS

David Walker (The Chase) was the halfway leader in the Tamsel Tour event which began at Helsby Golf Club on Monday with a 67.

LEADING SCORES

67 David Walker (The Chase).

69 Paul Wesselingh (Kedleston Park), Barry Taylor (Houghwood), Garry Donnison (Stocksfield), David Mansell (Silkestone), Stuart Andrew (Clitheroe).

Scots' scores:

74 Thomas Higson (Eyemouth).

75 Daniel Kirk (St Andrews).

NAIRN GOLF CLUB FIRST TO RETAIN MORAY &

NAIRN LEAGUE TROPHY IN 30 YEARS

REPORT FROM ROBIN WILSON

After an initial scare from their near neighbours, Nairn Dunbar, The Nairn Golf Club went on to become the first club in thirty years to make a successful defence of the G. R. Thomson Shield when the Moray and Nairn League games were played over their home course last weekend.

Neil Howitt was in the last game on the course on Thursday night against Willie Barron and needed only a half on the final hole for Nairn to take full points but he missed a five-foot putt for Barron to win one up and tie the result at four games each.

The Dunbar Club built on their success against the Holders to go on and win their next two games beating Forres and Elgin and giving themselves a chance of ending a lean spell having not won the league since 1982.

A defeat for Nairn Dunbar from Moray on Sunday put a win beyond them,(they eventually finished in third place) and it put the Lossie club into a one point lead over the home side who since their opening game against Dunbar had not dropped another point with wins over Elgin and Forres thus setting up a cliffhanger with Moray in the final match on Sunday afternoon.

It went well for the home side in the opening game when last years team captain, Robert Smith put Ian Geddes to an early bath and Nairn went on to win three of the first four games. Moray's Kevin Thomson then closed the gap beating Neil Howitt 2&1 but teenager Fraser Fotheringham secured a vital fourth game for Nairn and the final point came from this year's team Captain Alex Scott and Bruce Thomson who halved their matches against Moray's Robbie Sheils and Gary Thomson. Scott a final birdie four for his half point against Sheils and Gary Thomson getting his birdie at the last for his half point with his namesake.

THIS MORNING'S E-MAIL POSTBAG

Hi Colin
Enjoyed your article (preview of Scottish women's championship) which I totally agree with. Why can Scottish Counties, SLGA, West Vets, Scottish Vets etc etc --- not sit round a table and make sure that events do not clash, because every year we seem to have a total shambles?
It is very disappointing and a lot of the events are missing some of the key players .
WHY --OH WHY !!
Cheers Carol Fell ---
Webmaster www.rlcga.com and www.westscotlandladiesgolf.com

Hi Colin

Couldn't agree with you more on the issue of changing the date for the 'Scottish'.
Long gone are the days (notwithstanding Ms Pow!) when the Scottish was dominated by the over 30's.
Like it or not, the SLGA is going to have to find a solution if the event is not to suffer a loss of prestige as a result of a sizeable number of key players being unable to play because of exams or inter-collegiate events.

Jenny Louden

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

ABERDEEN TRADES FOURSOMES RESULTS

Monday evening's results in the Aberdeen Trades Foursomes at Hazlehead were:

SECOND ROUND

Royal Mail beat Tulloch Recruitment by six holes
Kevin Duthie & Ross McKen 3, John Hewitt & Terry Allan 0
Tony Robertson & Scott Spiers 3, Andrew Massie & Mark McDonald 0

Insurance beat Morrison Construction by one hole
Alan Ross & John Moore 0, Paul Henderson & Peter Wadsworth 0
Nick Henderson & Fred Chalmers 1, Stephen Clement & Gary Mennie 0

Lawyers beat Fish Trade by 10 holes
Bill Barclay & Jim Christie 7, Francis Clark & Michael Clark 0
Donald Macandrew & Duncan Kerr 3, Mike Pocock & Darren Ross 0

Elmar UK beat Bakers by seven holes
Gary Lyon & Kenny Coull 3, Stephen Scott & Gary Geddes 0
Allan Strath & Keith Selbie 4, Sandy Anderson & Kenny Milne 0

Surveyors beat Petrofac Brownfield by one hole
Colin Kerr & Graeme Nisbet 0, Jack Douglas & Ali Fiddes 3
Gordon MacDonald & David MacLeod 4, George Paterson & Willie Donald 0

Teachers beat Greenkeepers by three holes
Richard Anderson & Jimmy Lamont 0, Kevin Peace & Neil Sadler 1
Mike Wilson & Ian Brunton 4, Ross McRae & George Mitchell 0

Tuesday night's quarter- finals:
Aberdeen Telephones v Bankers
Royal Mail v Insurance
Lawyers v Elmar UK
Surveyors v Teachers

STAND BY FOR THE MOST OPEN OF
SCOTTISH WOMEN'S AMATEUR
CHAMPIONSHIPS AT BARASSIE



Says COLIN FARQUHARSON

The 104th Scottish women's amateur golf championship, which tees off at Kilmarnock Barassie Golf Club on Tuesday, could be one of the most open for many years, open in the sense that any one of a dozen players could be holding that magnificent trophy aloft at the conclusion of Saturday's 18-hole final.
The pity is that it could and should be a much stronger field than the 70-odd who will be in action in two qualifying rounds over Tuesday and Wednesday to produce 32 qualifiers for the championship match-play and 16 qualifiers for the Clark Rosebowl.
The fact of the matter is that in third week of May, this year and every year, a galaxy of young Scots stars are not free to enter the championship because of American college or Scottish schools commitments.
For instance, only four of the Scotland squad of eight who slammed England, Ireland and Wales to win last summer’s British girls’ international team championship are in the field.
A year or two ago, the R&A moved the dates of the British men’s amateur championship so that those at college in America could play in it. There is a strong case to be made out for the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association also shifting the dates of their premier championship to a later date.
Had they been able to do so this year, then the Scottish Under-18 match-play champion, Roseanne Niven, a student at the University of California Berkeley, Gemma Webster (Ohio State University) and talented youngsters Sally Watson and Carly Booth, both at academies in the States, would have been home in time to compete for their national title.
A switch to say June would also avoid the present clash with Scottish school examinations which this week rule out 16-year-old Kesley MacDonald – like Roseanne, Sally and Carly, a member of the winning Scotland girls team of 2006 – and Pamela Pretswell, recent teenager winner of the Lanarkshire women’s county title.
CROWDED CALENDAR
The SLGA powers-that-be will say, of course, that there is no room for manoeuvre these days because the golfing calendar is so crowded in June-July-August. But, as the R&A proved, where there's a will, there's a way.
Scottish Under-21 champion Krystle Caithness, pictured above, who helped Britain to win the Commonwealth Tournament in South Africa last week for the first time since 1991, has not been able to play in the “Scottish” since 2004 because of exams.
And this will be the Cellardyke 18-year-old’s last chance to become Scottish women’s champion until 2012. Krystle starts a four-year golf scholarship at Georgia University in the autumn.
Hopefully, this will be the most “open” of Scottish match-play championships in contrast to recent years when Anne Laing has played in every final since 2002 and two before that even.
Martine Pow, who celebrates her 42nd birthday on Tuesday, beat Anne in last year’s final at Dunbar. Both are in the field again this week and they will have something to say about the hope and expectation that “the old order changeth.”
Krystle reached the match-play stages in 2003 when she was only 14. She is entitled to start joint favourite with a “new,” relaxed Heather MacRae who won the Welsh women’s open stroke-play a couple of weekends ago, a couple of years after her triumph in the British women’s stroke-play at Nairn.
And third favourite could well be Jenna Wilson (Strathaven), a +2 player like Krystle and Heather, and certainly capable of winning her way through to Saturday's final.
UP-AND-COMING TEENAGERS
Regrettable though it is that Sally Watson, Carly Booth and Roseanne Niven are not playing this week, there are enough up-and-coming teenagers to spice up the proceedings.
From the North-east there are two young scratch players, Michele Thomson, the new Aberdeenshire women’s champion, and Laura Murray, whom she beat in that final. Michele lost in the second round of the match-play to Heather MacRae 12 months ago at Dunbar. For Laura, a student at Robert Gordon University, this is her "Scottish" debut. She did win the Scottish schoolgirls championship at St Andrews Bay in 2005.
Then there’s Megan Briggs from Kilmacolm, winner of the Renfrewshire women’s county title two years in a row. And Jane Turner from Mortonhall is getting better every season.
There has been some mild criticism of the SLGA in recent years for failing to keep up with the fact that female amateur players - just like their male counterparts - hit the ball a good deal farther than they did 30 or 40 years ago ... and that the "Scottish" should always been contested over a course of more than 6,000 yards. This has not always been the case.
So hats off to the organisers for stretching the Barassie ladies' course to 6,215yd with a par of 75 to this championship. Yellow tees are being used at the second, sixth, ninth and 10th and a white tee at the fourth. At the 13th, the tee-ing area will be 10 yards behind the Red LGU tee and five yards in front of the Yellow Tee at the 14th.
TOO SHORT FOR PAR-5s
Having said, the true ladies' par of the course is probably round 72 because there is no way in this day and age and at this level of golf that holes of 360 yards (the fifth), 387 yards (the 12th) and 394 yards (the 17th) should be classed as par-5s.
But Barassie can be a long slog and the weather is forecast to deteriorate towards the end of the week.
There has already been water damage on the 18th fairway. The last hole of the nine-hole course will be used instead.

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

ENGLAND AMATEURS TOO STRONG
FOR SPAIN WITH 16-8 VICTORY
AT ROYAL ASHDOWN FOREST

England gained revenge for the drubbing they suffered in Madrid two years ago when they beat Spain 16-8 at Royal Ashdown Forest in East Sussex at the weekend.
Beginning the second and final day just a point ahead, England dropped only half a point in the foursomes which meant they required just 2½ points for outright victory. They were supplied in the top three matches by Gary Wolstenholme, Jamie Moul and John Parry with the vital point.
Not that the day was without its problems, especially after lunch. The afternoon didn’t start well with heavy rain flooding several greens, delaying the start by 15 minutes. Even when it did get underway the rain returned and, with only the Wolstenholme/Vicente match on the course, play was suspended for a further half an hour.
There was a danger that the singles might have to be abandoned, but fortunately the weather improved, the water drained swiftly away and the match resumed only for Wolstenholme to underline his value to England by romping away with the top contest.
After winning the opening five holes against Gonzalo Vicente, the England veteran comfortably completed a 6 and 5 victory. Moul was in sparkling form, running in six front-nine birdies to be out in 30 strokes and thereby five-up. He also won the 10th but was content to cross the winning line five holes ahead for his fourth win in as many matches.
Despite falling behind at the second hole, Parry showed his mettle with an eagle 3 at the fifth to draw level and after taking the lead for the first time at the long eighth, another eagle-three at the tenth saw the Yorkshireman two-up. In the end it was fitting that Parry, this year's Spanish Amateur champion, should see England home with a birdie-three at the 15th. It completed a successful couple of days for Parry who dropped only half a point in his four outings.
Gary Boyd also enjoyed a happy match and took a 100 per cent record into his match with Lluis Garcia del Moral, the conqueror of Wolstenholme 24 hours earlier. The two youngsters were locked in a superb battle in which Boyd led three times by a single hole only for the Spaniard to battle back, including a 45-foot chip-in for eagle at the long 12th.
Boyd made few mistakes but one at the par four 17th looked like proving costly as del Moral edged in front for the first time. But despite finding his ball on a down slope at the back of the 18th green, Boyd chipped in for a birdie-three which del Moral couldn’t match so the pair finished up with a sporting half.
Further victories came from David Horsey and Paul Waring, both sporting 100 per cent records, as England completed a successful weekend.

Scottish Golf Union Press Release

FOUR BOYS HEAD FOR SKANDIA JUNIOR OPEN

Scottish Boys Champion Paul Ferrier is among the team of four selected to represent Scotland at the forthcoming Skandia Junior Open in Sweden later this month.
Fellow Boys finalist William Bremner (Edzell) joins the Baberton ace along with Dumbarton’s Andrew Campbell and Paul Shields (Kirkhill).

The four Scottish standard bearers were selected based on their current form and good performances at the Boys Championship, the first SGU major of the season held last month at Dunbar. Commenting on the team selection, SGU National Junior Coach Spencer Henderson said, “All of the boys have earned their place in the team and this event boasts a strong international field and will give them valuable experience playing at a higher level.”

For Andrew Campbell, selection to the Skandia Open marks a return to national representation, having last competed for Scotland two years ago at the McGregor Trophy. Campbell made it to the semi finals of the Scottish Boys Championship, but was ousted from the tournament by the current Baberton Boys Champion, Ferrier – who went on to secure the first national title of his career.

Edzell player Bremner, current Angus Boys Champion who heads for a US based golf scholarship later this summer, has proven his pedigree as a worthy compatriot, whilst sole national squad member within the team Paul Shields completes the quartet. Shields will hope to build on his early season success after securing the first SGU Junior Tour event of the year, hosted at Kingsbarns.

In preparation for the championship, which represents their first competitive outing as a team, the group recently benefited from a SGU training weekend held in St Andrews earlier this month. The training camp gave them the chance to train and play alongside U18 national squad members as well as provide the four players with a useful team building opportunity. The young players were also joined by US Amateur Champion Richie Ramsay and recently turned professional George Murray, who gave the group advice on tournament preparation.

With much sought after places up for grabs in the European Boys Championship and Home International teams later this season, the players will hope that strong performances at this event will prove their appetite for overseas action and place them in contention to represent their country again.

The Junior Open will also provide similar course conditions to the European Boys Championship held in Denmark this year, which the Scots will hope to master during the 54 hole tournament.

The Skandia Junior Open takes place from 25 – 27 May and is hosted at Falkenbergs Golf Club, near Gothenberg. The Scots will hope to be among the leading 48 players and ties to make the cut after the first two rounds, to go on to contest the final round.

NORWEGIAN WINS LPGA TOUR EVENT
AFTER PLAY-OFF AGAINST KOREAN
Norwegian Suzann Pettersen won the weekend US LPGA Tour'S Michelob event at Kingsmills after a play-off against Korean Jee Young Lee.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4 x 71
274 Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 66 72 68 68 (Won at the third play-off hole), Jee Young Lee (Kor) 68 71 63 72.
277 Sarah Lee 63 68 72 74.
278 Paula Creamer 70 69 67 72, Stacy Prammanasudh 67 70 73 68.
279 Ai Miyazato (Jpn) 69 71 66 73.
280 Seon Hwa Lee (Kor) 73 69 65 73, Becky Morgan (Wal) 68 65 74 73, Sherri Steinhauer 70 68 70 72.
281 Carin Koch (Swe) 67 69 70 75, Morgan Pressel 67 72 68 74, Karrie Webb (Aus) 68 73 68 72, Se Ri Pak (Kor) 70 71 70 70, Amy Hung (Tha) 67 68 74 72, Angela Stanford 69 70 75 67, Siew-Ai Lim (Mal) 66 72 71 72.
282 Juli Inkster 68 73 68 73, Young Kim (Kor) 73 69 68 72, Angela Park 69 70 70 73.
283 Natalie Gulbis 67 70 73 73, Sun Young Yoo (Kor) 71 71 70 71, Lorena Ochoa (Mex) 70 69 71 73.
284 Mi-Hyun Kim (Kor) 64 75 70 75, Jimin Kang (Kor) 71 65 75 73, Mhairi McKay (Sco) 72 67 73 72, Christina Kim 68 71 71 74, Dorothy Delasin 69 68 74 73, Candie Kung (Tai) 70 70 73 71.
285 Johanna Head (Eng) 69 72 70 74, Young-A Yang (Kor) 73 67 70 75, Sung Ah Yim (Kor) 68 75 70 72, Meena Lee (Kor) 68 70 68 79, Brittany Lincicome 66 71 72 76, Kristy McPherson 74 68 70 73, Katherine Hull (Aus) 68 73 70 74.
286 Aree Song (Kor) 69 73 72 72, Il Mi Chung (Kor) 70 73 69 74, Cristie Kerr 69 69 72 76, Wendy Ward 73 69 69 75, Liselotte Neumann (Swe) 71 72 73 70.
287 Gloria Park (Kor) 68 71 74 74, Julieta Granada (Par) 70 68 74 75.
288 Jennifer Rosales (Phi) 73 68 69 78, Nicole Perrot (Chi) 70 70 72 76, Michele Redman 70 72 72 74, Nina Reis (Swe) 68 73 73 74, Brittany Lang 70 73 73 72, Leta Lindley 71 71 70 76.
289 Maru Martinez (Ven) 70 73 71 75, Catriona Matthew (Sco) 69 71 74 75, Birdie Kim (Kor) 65 72 74 78.
290 Joo Mi Kim (Kor) 73 70 69 78, Mikaela Parmlid (Swe) 69 72 74 75, Jin Joo Hong (Kor) 73 68 78 71, Alena Sharp 73 68 72 77, Silvia Cavalleri (Ita) 72 68 75 75, Sophie Gustafson (Swe) 71 67 75 77.
291 Marisa Baena 73 70 75 73, Irene Cho 69 73 70 79292 Brandie Burton 69 74 71 78, Christa Johnson 70 73 76 73.
293 In Kyung Kim (Kor) 69 68 79 77, Tracy Hanson 71 72 69 81, Lorie Kane (Can) 68 72 74 79, Reilley Rankin 70 72 75 76, Diana D'Alessio 72 69 70 82.
294 Sherri Turner 70 73 75 76, Charlotte Mayorkas 69 74 78 73, Dina Ammaccapane 71 72 76 75.
295 Minea Blomqvist (Fin) 72 70 71 82, Jamie Hullett 70 69 74 82, Song-Hee Kim (Kor) 72 68 77 78, Kelly Robbins 74 69 74 78, Laura Davies (Eng) 65 74 79 77, Hye Jung Choi (Kor) 72 69 75 79.
296 Barb Mucha 73 70 75 78.
302 Moira Dunn 73 70 81 78.

MICKELSON WINS PLAYERS' CHAMPIONSHIP
FROM GARCIA, OLAZABAL

Phil Mickelson achieved an emphatic two-stroke victory in the US Players Championship, keeping his nerve over the final round at Sawgrass TPC.
In just his third tournament since switching coaches to Butch Harmon, Mickelson hardly hit a bad shot in a three-under-par 69 in perfect conditions.
He took the lead at the 10th hole on Sunday and was never seriously troubled down the stretch. A bogey at the final hole was the only blemish on his card as he finished at 11-under 277.
Mickelson, picture above by courtesy of USGA, collected £816,156 for his first victory at this event, his 31st on the US Tour, and he improved to second on the world rankings behind Tiger Woods.
Third-round leader Sean O'Hair was Mickelson's only challenger, but his hopes drowned at the infamous par-3 17th, where he put two balls into the water surrounding the island green.
O'Hair bogeyed the last to shoot 76 and fall all the way to 11th, as Sergio Garcia claimed second after a six-under 66, with fellow Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal (67) and American Stewart Cink (66) another shot back in a tie for third.
Luke Donald, the only British player within striking distance at the start of the day, never got up any momentum and he shot 74 to finish equal 16th at three-under 285.
Ian Poulter (69) was two shots further back, with Irishman Padraig Harrington (70) equal 52nd on two-over 290.
Meanwhile, Woods finally produced the sort of form that had eluded him all week, shooting a five-under 67.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
Players from US unless stated.
277 Phil Mickelson 67 72 69 69.
279 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 73 73 67 66.
280 Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 78 66 69 67, Stewart Cink 74 69 71 66.
281 Jose Coceres (Arg) 73 70 68 70.
282 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 77 68 71 66, Adam Scott (Aus) 74 71 70 67, Jeff Quinney 71 74 64 73, J.P. Hayes 71 73 68 70, Peter Lonard (Aus) 69 72 68 73.
283 Sean O'Hair 72 69 66 76.
284 Mathew Goggin (Aus) 72 71 71 70, Chris DiMarco 68 74 69 73, Brandt Snedeker 72 74 68 70, Steve Elkington (Aus) 73 71 70 70.
285 Nathan Green (Aus) 71 69 74 71, J.B. Holmes 76 72 69 68, Zach Johnson 73 73 70 69, Ted Purdy 74 73 67 71, Luke Donald (Eng) 74 72 65 74, Jonathan Byrd 74 71 71 69, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 74 71 71 69.
286 Kirk Triplett 75 68 73 70, KJ Choi (Kor) 71 74 70 71, Tom Lehman 70 73 73 70, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 72 76 66 72, Jason Gore 70 74 72 70
287 Jerry Kelly 73 73 69 72, Retief Goosen (SAf) 71 74 71 71, Steve Lowery 78 66 71 72, Cliff Kresge 72 72 69 74, Tom Pernice jun 74 68 72 73, Joe Durant 76 71 69 71, Jim Furyk 71 72 74 70, Ian Poulter (Eng) 75 71 72 69, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 70 71 70 76.
288 Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 72 72 67 77, Tiger Woods 75 73 73 67, Ernie Els (Rsa) 73 73 72 70, Mike Weir (Can) 75 72 72 69, Ken Duke 76 72 70 70, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 74 71 67 76, Frank Lickliter II 77 72 69 70.
289 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 67 79 71 72, Rodney Pampling (Aus) 70 71 80 68, Heath Slocum 78 71 69 71, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 74 71 76 68, Vijay Singh (Fij) 74 71 70 74, Boo Weekley 74 73 71 71, Rocco Mediate 72 71 77 69, Scott Verplank 72 77 68 72
290 Steve Stricker 72 75 70 73, Tim Herron 77 71 73 69, John Senden (Aus) 73 74 71 72, Harrison Frazar 74 71 73 72, Brett Wetterich 74 75 71 70, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 76 70 74 70.
291 Kenny Perry 73 75 73 70, Bernhard Langer (Ger) 72 77 73 69, John Rollins 76 71 68 76, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 74 75 69 73, Rich Beem 71 73 74 73, Kevin Sutherland 73 71 74 73.
292 Arron Oberholser 73 73 79 67, Paul Azinger 78 71 70 73, David Toms 77 72 73 70, John Mallinger 73 74 72 73
293 Joey Sindelar 74 75 72 72, Ryuji Imada (Jap) 77 71 75 70, Tim Clark (Rsa) 73 72 67 81, Ryan Moore 78 69 75 71
294 Bill Haas 76 73 73 72, Corey Pavin 75 72 71 76, Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 75 73 74 72
295 Charley Hoffman 75 69 76 75, Ryan Palmer 77 72 71 75, Davis Love III 77 71 73 74, Todd Hamilton 75 73 76 71.
298 Charles Howell III 73 74 75 76.

BAPTISM OF FIRE FOR GREG WATSON
AGAINST NORTH-EAST AT MURCAR
LINKS ON SUNDAY

An experienced Argyll & Bute six-man team travel to Murcar Links Golf Club, just north of Aberdeen to play the North-east in one of the opening 2007 Scottish Golf Union area team championship ties.
Greg Watson of Dunaverty faces a baptism of fire in his six-man team debut against a formidable North-east team.
Led by team manager John Gilchrist, the A & B team selected is:
Graham Bolton (Bute)
George McMillan (Machrihanish)
George Reynolds (Rothesay)
Chris Timms (Rothesay)
Greg Watson (Dunaverty)
Bobby Willan (Machrihanish)
Non-travelling reserve:
Gordon Lundie (Millport)

The full programme of ties for Sunday is:
GROUP A
Lanarkshire v Renfrewshire.
South v Ayrshire.
GROUP B
Fife v Clackmannanshire.
North-east v Argyll & Bute (at Murcar Links).
GROUP C
Lothians v North (at Mortonhall).
Stirlingshire v Glasgow.
GROUP D
Dumbartonshire v Borders
Perth & Kinross v Angus (at Crieff).

IF YOU HAVE ANY DISTRICT TEAM NEWS
YOU WOULD LIKE DISPLAYED
ON SCOTTISHGOLFVIEW.COM,
YOU CAN E-MAIL IT TO
colin@scottishgolfview.com

JAMIESON BLOWS TWO-SHOT

LEAD ON HOOTERS TOUR

IN PENNSYLVANIA

Scott Jamieson blew up in spectacular style when within sight of his first win as a rookie tour pro in the NGA Hooters Tour's Quicksilver Classic at Midway, Pennsylvania today (Sunday).
The Glasgow player, who turned pro last November after winning the Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit, led the US satellite tour event by two shots after rounds of 69, 64 and 68 for a 15-under-par tally of 201.
Favourite for the $33,566 first prize, Jamieson, pictured right, recovered in his final round from bogeys at the third and sixth with birdies at the seventh and 10th. Then it all came apart at the seams for the 23-year-old who spent four years on the American college circuit while on a golf scholarship at Augusta State University.
Scott bogeyed the 11th, crashed to a triple bogey 7 at the 12th and then, with his confidence shattered, he bogeyed the 14th, 15th and 17th for a horrendous inward half of six-over-par 42 ... simply suicide in tournament pro golf.
Jamieson finished with a 79 for an eight-under-par total of 280 - still a good effort but a tragedy compared with his position at the start of the final day.
He had 19 birdies over his first three superlarive rounds. Scott could muster only two birdies in the final round. He collected around $5,000 for a joint eighth finish. Let's remember Scott is a rookie. He's on a learning curve. This sweet-bitter performance will give him vital experience.
David Skinns from Lincoln slipped past the faltering Jamieson into joint fifth place on 279 even though he had a final one-over-par round of 73.
Even the title-holder, Ulsterman Gareth Maybin from Ballyclare had a bad final round of 77 for 284 and joint 17th place.
Colin Speirs from Dunkeld, like Jamieson, Skinns and Maybin, a graduate from the American college circuit, made a NGA Hooters Tour cut for the first time this season and then had a worse closing round than Jamieson - an 81 for 293 which saw him plummet from 20th to joint 51st place.
The $33,566 first prize went to Tommy Biershenk from South Carolina. He shot 66, 68, 73 and 68 for a 13-under-par total of 275. That was matched by Martin Flores from Texas with 68, 65, 72 and 70.
Biershenk won the sudden-death play-off at the second hole when Flores went out of bounds.

FINAL TOTALS
275 Tommy Biershenk (US) 66 68 73 68, Martin Flores (US) 68 65 72 70 (Biershenk won play-off at second extra hole.
278 Justin Walters (US) 71 71 72 64, Casey Wittenberg (US) 68 72 65 73, Martin Catalioto (US) 69 68 66 75.
Other scores included:
279 David Skinns (Lincoln) 70 67 69 73 (jt 5th).
280 Scott Jamieson (Glasgow) 69 64 68 79 (jt 8th).
284 Gareth Maybin (Ballyclare) 68 70 69 77 (jt 17th).
293 Colin Speirs (Dunkeld) 71 73 68 81 (jt 51st).

REBECCA HUDSON LETS VICTORY SLIP
OUT OF HER GRASP IN FINAL ROUND
OF SPANISH WOMEN'S OPEN
Rebecca Hudson, pictured right, allowed victory in the Spanish Women's Open to slip from her grasp at the Mediterraneo Golf Club, Castellon today.
Leader after the first round and then back in the pole position after 54 holes, the Doncaster player had a weak final round of one-over-par 73 for 276. That allowed the Australian Nikki Garrett to win back the lead - and with it overall victory for the second tournament in a row - with a 70 for for 13-under-par 275.

Garrett was a stroke behind Hudson with three holes to play but the positions were dramatically reversed after the 154-yard par-3 16th where Rebecca made a disastrous error off the tee. Having played solidly all day, Hudson hit her six-iron tee shot into the water protecting the front of the green and was forced to take a drop. She then chipped on and two-putted for a double-bogey 5.
Kathryn Imrie, the only Scot to make the final day, closed with a creditable 7o for one-over-par 289.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
275 Nikki Garrett (Aus) 68 65 72 70.
276 Rebecca Hudson (Eng) 65 69 69 73.
277 Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 66 68 71 72.
278 Louise Friberg (Swe) 68 71 73 66.
279 Laurette Maritz (SAf) 72 70 66 71.
280 Kirsty Taylor (Eng) 66 70 70 74.
281 Cherie Byrnes (Aus) 72 70 70 69.
283 Iben Tinning (Den) 70 71 75 67, Sarah Kemp (Aus) 70 71 73 69, Carlota Ciganda (Spa) (am) 69 75 67 72.
284 Joanne Mills (Aus) 75 71 71 67, Cassandra Kirkland (Fra) 71 73 71 69, Laura Cabanillas (Spa) 70 73 70 71, Veronica Zorzi (Ita) 73 68 71 72, Danielle Masters (Eng) 67 71 73 73.
285 Fany Schaeffer (Fra) 69 72 75 69, Elisabeth Esterl (Ger) 73 73 70 69, Maria Boden (Swe) 72 74 69 70, Bettina Hauert (Ger) 71 74 68 72.
286 Amy Yang (Kor) 69 71 74 72, Sophie Giquel (Fra) 73 72 68 73.
287 Stephanie Arricau (Fra) 74 71 72 70, Lara Tadiotto (Bel) 70 73 75 69, Lora Fairclough (Eng) 72 73 74 68, Rebecca Coakley (Irl) 74 70 70 73.
288 Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha) 70 75 72 71, Elin Ohlsson (Swe) 68 73 77 70, Helena Alterby (Swe) 70 74 72 72, Samantha Head (Eng) 74 73 69 72.
289 Anna Rawson (Aus) 71 75 71 72, Kathryn Imrie (Sco) 73 74 72 70, Beatriz Recari (Spa) 70 72 74 73, Kiran Matharu (Eng) 72 71 73 73, Eleanor Pilgrim (Wal) 71 72 72 74, Georgina Simpson (Eng) 73 73 74 69.
290 Tullia Calzavara (Ita) 71 72 74 73, Sophie Sandolo (Ita) 75 71 72 72.
291 Fame More (Eng) 73 69 75 74, Margherita Rigon (Ita) 73 74 71 73, Amanda Moltke-Leth (Den) 70 76 73 72, Eva Steinberger (Aut) 71 70 74 76, Lisa Jean (Aus) 71 76 73 71, Anne Lise Caudal (Fra) 74 73 74 70, Karen-Margrethe Juul (Den) 76 71 75 69, Stacy Lee Bregman (SAf) 74 73 75 69.
292 Lee-Anne Pace (SAf) 72 73 73 74, Suzanne Dickens (Eng) 73 73 74 72, Federica Piovano (Ita) 71 70 80 71, Shani Waugh (Aus) 76 71 76 69, Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin) 77 70 77 68.
293 Lynn Brooky (NZ) 69 76 74 74, Paula Marti (Spa) 71 71 77 74, Martina Eberl (Ger) 70 75 75 73, Mianne Bagger (Den) 73 74 74 72, Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (Fra) 73 74 75 71, Kirsty S Taylor (Eng) 74 70 79 70.
294 Isabella Maconi (Ita) 73 73 75 73, Ellen Smets (Bel) 69 75 77 73.
295 Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den) 71 75 73 76.
296 Johanna Westerberg (Swe) 71 72 76 77, Sara Beautell (Spa) 75 72 75 74.
298 Elisa Serramia (Spa) 73 73 76 76.
299 Anna Tybring (Swe) 71 76 72 80, Ana B Sanchez (Spa) 70 75 77 77.
300 Claire Coughlan (Irl) 73 73 82 72

WESTWOOD SCORES FIRST EURO
TOUR WIN FOR FOUR YEARS IN
OPEN DE ANDALUCIA

Four years is a long time to go without a win at the top level of professional golf ... but Lee Westwood says he never doubted his ability to win again by breaking his long no-success spell in the Valle Romano Open de Andalucia on Spain's Costa del Sol.
The Englishman survived a nail-biting finish to card a final-round 67 at Aloha Golf Club for a 20-under-par total of 268, two shots ahead of compatriot Phillip Archer (65) and Sweden's Fredrik Andersson (66).
Westwood said: "It's great to win again, although it looked like it might be a lot easier than I made it in the end. I never really thought about going so long without a win. I've still been playing pretty well and I knew that winning is fickle, sometimes you just don't get across the line first."
The world No. 63 looked set for an easy stroll to his 17th European Tour victory after racing to the turn in 31 and leading by five with just eight holes to play.
But three dropped shots in the next five holes, coupled with eagles on the 16th from Archer and Andersson, saw the Ryder Cup star's lead cut to just one shot.
The 34-year-old responded with a birdie on the 16th to edge two clear and eventually holed from 40ft for par on the 18th to ensure he took the winner's cheque for £113,612.
"Winning was very important, it wouldn't have felt good coming off with second or third after getting in such a good position," he said.
"I won so often in the late 90s that if I had a spell where I didn't win, people were always going to highlight it and get on my case about it. But I was never going to get on my own case."

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
Players from GB&I unless stated.
268 Lee Westwood 72 64 65 67 (£113,612)
270 Phillip Archer 69 70 66 65, Fredrik Andersson (Swe) 69 71 64 66 (£59,214 each)
272 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 67 67 69 69, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 69 68 66 69 (£31,494 each)
273 Thomas Bjorn (Den) 71 69 66 67 (£23,859)
274 Chris Gane 67 71 68 68, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 67 68 67 72
276 David Lynn 70 71 68 67, Gareth Davies 69 71 68 68, Robert Rock 70 73 65 68, Matthew Zions (Aus) 65 70 70 71
277 Garry Houston 71 67 72 67, Jamie Donaldson 70 69 70 68, Soren Hansen (Den) 70 68 70 69, Sam Walker 69 69 70 69, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 69 66 72 70
278 Richard McEvoy 69 68 73 68, Paul Broadhurst 70 70 70 68, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 66 73 70 69, David Higgins 69 68 70 71, Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 67 71 69 71
279 Johan Axgren (Swe) 74 68 69 68
280 Shaun Webster 74 67 70 69, Oliver Fisher 70 69 71 70, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 72 69 68 71, Carl Suneson (Spa) 69 68 71 72, David Griffiths 68 72 68 72, Steve Jones (US) 69 67 71 73, Alvaro Salto (Spa) 70 69 68 73
281 Sven Struver (Ger) 71 71 71 68, Gary Lockerbie 67 72 70 72, Santiago Luna (Spa) 72 69 68 72
282 Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice) 73 68 70 71, Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa) 73 71 68 70, Scott Strange (Aus) 72 71 69 70, Notah Begay (US) 71 70 71 70, Thomas Levet (Fra) 74 66 70 72, Andrew Butterfield 70 73 67 72
283 Rafael Echenique (Arg) 73 71 68 71, Philip Golding 74 69 69 71, Ian Garbutt 72 70 71 70, Sam Little 71 69 74 69
284 James Hepworth 72 68 71 73, Paul McGinley 71 72 68 73, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 71 71 71, Sion Bebb 70 74 70 70, James Heath 75 67 72 70, Carlos Aguilar (Spa) 76 67 72 69, Simon Dyson 70 74 77 73
285 Wade Ormsby (Aus) 73 70 69 73, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 72 71 69 73, Marcus Higley 70 71 69 75, Peter Fowler (Aus) 73 71 70 71
286 Juan Parron (Spa) 72 71 70 73, YE Yang (Kor) 74 69 70 73, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 72 69 72 73, Anthony Wall 72 72 71 71
287 Sebastian Fernandez (Arg) 70 70 72 75, Pedro Linhart (Spa) 72 70 71 74, Damien McGrane 72 70 73 72, Adrien Mork (Fra) 71 73 72 71, Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 73 70 74 70
288 Eduardo de la Riva (Spa) 68 73 70 77, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 69 73 72 74, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 68 73 74 73
289 Martin Maritz (SAf) 72 72 70 75, Carlos Balmaseda (Spa) 71 71 73 74, Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 72 72 73 72, Daniel Quiros (Spa) 72 72 74 71, Diego Borrego (Spa) 73 71 74 71
290 Gary Emerson 71 72 73 74, Jorge Benedetti (Col) 71 73 74 72
291 Matthew Millar (Aus) 68 73 72 78

SALTMAN COMPLETES WONDER
FOUR-TIMER WITH IRISH
WIN INCLUDING RECORD 66

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Amateur golf's man of the moment Lloyd Saltman completed a spectacular fourth win in a row in 72-hole open tournaments in horrible conditions over the Royal Dublin course at Bull Island today.
He had a roller-coaster final day before winning the Irish men's amateur open stroke-play championship with a three-over-par total of 291.
Over the past five weeks, the 21-year-old Walker Cup and Open silver medallist star from Craigielaw had won the Scottish champion of champions' tournament at Leven, then the Craigmillar Park Open at Edinburgh followed by the "big one" of the Lytham Trophy last weekend.
He won them all by making every post a winning one. In the Irish championship, Lloyd showed he could come from behind to win.
He climbed out of 18th position in the pack in the third round on Sunday morning in awful weather with a simply magnificent round of six-under-par 66, three under the new record set by fellow-Scot Ross Kellett in Saturday's second round.
That hoisted Lloyd two shots clear of the field and then it was a case of holding on to what he had as the weather closed in once again. A four-over-par 76 in the final round was good enough for him to win the prestigious title by two shots.
Lloyd was in fact six-over-par for the first nine holes of his fourth round but, Saltman being the class, in-form player he is, dug deep to come home in two-under par in very difficult conditions. He birdied the 11th, got an eagle at the par-5 14th and then a clinching birdie at the 17th.
The Lytham Trophy victory pushed Saltman up to seventh place in the R&A world amateur rankings. This latest win could put the Scot even nearer the No 1 spot held by Royal Aberdeen's Richie Ramsay for so long last year.
Richard Kilpatrick (Banbridge) finished runner-up after also recording a final round of 76 which too featured two birdies and an eagle on the closing nine but bogeys on the two closing holes ended the Ulsterman’s title hopes.
A closing 71 propelled East of Scotland Open champion Keir McNicoll from Carnoustie to third place on 296, two strokes ahead Belfast wonder boy Rory McIlroy and Pedro Figueiredo (Portugal).
US amateur champion Richie Ramsay looked as if he might repeat his victory in this event of two years ago when he shared the lead after 36 holes.
But Richie toiled to a 79 and 77 on Sunday for a final total of 301 - the same as former Scottish match-play champion Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie). They finished joint 12th.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)

291 L Saltman (Craigielaw) 72 77 66 76.
293 R Kilpatrick (Banbridge) 74 71 72 76.
296 K McNicoll (Carnoustie) 72 78 75 71.
298 P Figueiredo (Portugal) 74 75 69 80, R McIlroy (Holywood) 73 74 75 76.
299 N Kearney (Royal Dublin) 77 75 70 77, K Le Sager (France) 75 75 71 78, P Murray (Limerick) 75 72 77 75, C Doran (Banbridge) 74 77 69 79, R McCarthy (The Island) 74 72 76 77.
300 M Veijalainen (Finland) 76 74 73 77.
301 S Lowry (UCD/Esker Hills) 79 72 73 77, M Thistleton (England) 79 71 73 78, Z Gould (Wales) 76 73 73 79, G Campbell (Blairgowrie) 74 76 76 75, R Ramsay (Royal Aberdeen) 73 72 79 77.
302 E Richardson (England) 76 73 77 76.
303 J Caldwell (Clandeboye) 74 74 73 82, J Morris (Rosslare) 73 79 75 76, J Granberg (Finland) 72 75 77 79, R Enoch (Wales) 72 73 77 81.
304 D Lernihan (Castle/UCD) 78 72 78 76, X Poncelet (France) 76 76 73 79, C Macaulay (Tulliallan) 76 75 75 78.
305 D Morgan (Mullingar) 79 72 73 81, N Grant (Knock) 75 73 78 79, P O'Hara (Colville Park) 74 75 76 80.
306 S McEwan (Caprington) 79 73 77 77, N Edwards (Wales) 74 77 72 83.
307 J McGinn (Laytown & Bettystown) 77 75 77 78, A Hogan (Newlands/UCD) 77 74 76 80, R Bechu (France) 74 75 79 79.
309 R Thuillier (France) 75 75 78 81, B Fotheringham (Forres) 75 75 71 88, L Lennox (Moyola Park) 74 78 76 81.
310 A Runcie (Wales) 78 72 78 82, D Leathem (Lisburn) 77 73 77 83, S Henry (Cardross) 76 73 83 78.
311 P Cutler (Portstewart) 75 74 80 82.314: R Kellett (Colville Park) 80 69 77 88, M Armitage (England) 78 72 82 82, M Novy (Czech Republic) 71 78 78 87.
315 C Geraghty (England) 74 78 79 84, B Walton (The Island/UCD) 74 76 79 86.
316 R Zwahlen (France) 73 77 80 86.
318 R McKnight (Barassie) 75 76 82 85.

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

ALEXANDRA BUSHBY WINS

P&K TITLE FOR FIRST TIME

WITH WIN OVER EMILY

Strathmore’s Alexandra Bushby, a former North of Scotland women’s title-winner, won the Perth & Kinross women’s county golf championship for the first time after a very good final at Kinross Golf Club today.
Miss Bushby, the No 4 qualifier, beat Emily Ogilby (Auchterarder), the second seed by two holes in a classic contest.
Both finalists had three birdies. Alexandra (pictured right) was two up at the turn but, after the 11th was halved in birdies, Emily got one hole back with a birdie at the 15th. Miss Bushby maintained her narrow lead to the last where she was conceded a birdie and the match.
Jillian Milne (Craigie Hill) was unable to defend the title she won last year because she is expecting a baby in two weeks.

Weekend results:
First round – Jacqueline Sneddon (Alyth) bt C Turner (Alyth) 7 and 6, G Lambie (Dunkeld & Birnam) 3 and 1. A Niven bt J Griffiths (Crieff) 4 and 3, A Bushby (Strahmore) bt D Butchart (Strathmore) 6 and 5, J Yellowlees (Murrayshall) bt G Wallace (Glenisla) 1 hole, E Napper (Craigie Hill) bt M Begbie (Alyth) 4 and 3, S Shepherd (Blairgowrie) bt L Fertacz (Dunkeld & Birnam) 4 and 3, E Ogilvy (Auchterarder) bt N Morrison (Dunblane) 5 and 4.
Quarter-finals – Lambie bt Sneddon 2 and 1, Bushby bt Niven 6 and 5, Yellowlees bt Napper 4 and 3, Ogilvy bt Shepherd 6 and 5.
Semi-finals – Bushby bt Lambie 3 and 2, Ogilvy bt Yellowlees 4 and 3.
Final – Bushby bt Ogilvy 2 holes.
HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarter-finals – G Pennycook (Alyth) (13) bt A Smith (Kinross) (15) 2 and 1, L Murray (Kinross) (12) bt C Peebles (Alyth) (21) 3 and 2, M Walker (Alyth) (25) bt Jillian Sneddon (Alyth) (25) 1 hole, Jennifer Sneddon (Alyth) (19) bt S Crystal (Taymouth) (19) 3 and 2.
Semi-finals – Pennycook bt Murray2 and 1, Walker bt Jennifer Sneddon) 1 hole.
Final Walker bt Pennycook at 19th.

ABERDEEN & DISTRICT JUNIOR PENNANT
LEAGUE LATEST RESULTS

More results from the Aberdeen & District Junior Pennant League, sponsored by Paul Lawrie Junior Golf Development:

Oldmeldrum 6, Newmachar 0.
Peterculter 2 1/2, Inchmarlo 3 1/2.
Peterhead 4 1/2, Royal Aberdeen 1 1/2.
Cruden Bay 1, Murcar 5.
Stonehaven 4, Kintore 2,
McDonald Ellon 5 1/2, Caledonian 1/2.
Poretlethen 4, Deeside 2.
Inverurie 6, Aboyne 0.
Northern 1 1/2, Cruden Bay 4 1/2

HOW THEY STAND
SECTION A
Inchmarlo 4pt, Peterculter, Hazlehead, Oldmeldrum 2, Newmachar, Alford 0.
SECTION B
Peterhead 4pt, Cruden Bay 3, Royal Aberdeen, Murcar Links 2, Auchmill 1, Northern 0.
SECTION C
Ellon, Portlethen 4pt, Deeside, Stonehaven 2, Kintore, Caledonian 0.
SECTION D
Westhill 4pt, Inverurie, Aboyne 2, Banchory, Newburgh, Nigg Bay.

+Craibstone will not be playing matches in this season's league.

FORTHCOMING DATES
Semi-finals on Sunday, July 15 (tee off 12.00).
Final on Sunday, July 29 at McDonald Ellon.

JONATHAN KING WINS WEST OF
SCOTLAND OPEN AT CAWDER
WITH A SUNDAY SURGE

Glasgow's Jonathan King, joint sixth at the halfway stage, came with a Sunday surge to win the McKinnon Wood West of Scotland Open men's championship at Cawder Golf Club today.
King added rounds of 66 and 68 over the par-70 Cawder course for a final total of six-under-par 274.
He won by two shots from three players who shared second place - halfway leader Scott Borrowman (Dollar), Mathew Clark (Kilmacolm) who had been second with 36 holes to go and leader with four holes to play, andAndrew Lynch (Glenbervie).
Borrowman finished with rounds of 69 and 74 for four-under 276. He bogeyed the 15th in his last round but birdied the short 16th from 5ft. A hooked tee shot at the last cost him a bogey and also clear second place behind King.
Clark was leading the field until he ran up a triple bogey 7 with a lost ball at the dogleg 15th. He then finished with three 3s, including a birdie at the 17th.
Lynch climbed up the leaderboard with scores of 66 and 69 on Sunday.
+Picture of Jonathan King with the McKinnon Wood West of Scotland Open trophy by courtesy of Paul Byrne.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4 x 70)
274 J King (Glasgow) 66 74 66 68.
276 S Borrowman (Dollar) 67 66 69 74, M Clark (Kilmacolm) 69 66 68 73, A Lynch (Glenbervie) 72 69 66 69.
277 A Dick (Shotts) 72 72 65 68, Stephen Clark (Haggs Castle) 77 71 70 70.
279 Craig Harper (Lenzie) 745 69 71 756, Brian Souter (Leven GS) 68 70 71 70.
280 D Dale (Cawder) 72 72 69 67.
281 K Smyth (Windyhill) 74 71 68 68.

282 J Byrne (Banchory) 74 67 72 69, C Watson (East Renfrewshire) 71 70 72 69, L Miller (Cawder) 73 68 71 70.
284 M Kerr (Craigielaw) 74 70 71 69.
285 M Williams (Hayston) 72 73 70 70, G Dear (Murrayshall) 71 75 67 72 S Mann (Carnoustie) 73 70 67 75
286 E Polson (Inverness) 66 77 76 67, S Machin (Cowglen) 73 70 72 71.
287 J Mathers (Haggs Castle) 72 72 75 68, Z Culverwell (Dunbar) 73 68 75 71, G Paterson (St Andrews New) 70 72 72 73.
288 J White (Lundin) 73 73 72 70.
289 R Taylor (Downfield) 72 77 72 68, K Hamilton (Whitecraigs) 72 75 69 73, T Mathieson (Murcar Links) 75 70 71 73, G Yates (Hilton Park) 71 69 73 76, G Gorrie (Glasgow) 72 66 73 78.
290 C Peddie (Hayston) 76 73 70 71, D Booth (Rotherham) 71 70 75 74.
291 S Neilson (Dunbar) 77 72 71 71, B Smith (Hamilton) 75 70 72 74.
293 B Moore (Largs) 69 72 81 71, D Martin (Alyth) 75 72 73 73.
294 S Robertson (Sandyhills) 73 72 77 72, J Laurie (Cowglen) 73 73 73 75.
295 R McKenzie (Easter Moffat) 75 69 74 77.
296 R Graham (Hayston) 77 72 72 75.
301 G Wood (Crow Wood) 78 70 84 79.
303 D Elder (Carnoustie) 73 76 77 77.
NR G Miller (Cawder) 72 73 73 NR.

Aberdeenshire girls' medal prizewinners (left to right): Michele Thomson, Laura Murray, Kirstin Seam, Samantha Leslie, Kirsten MacCallum.

LAURA MURRAY TURNS TABLE ON COUNTY CHAMPION MICHELE

THOMSON IN SHIRE GIRLS' MEDAL AT ABOYNE

Seven days after losing to Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) in the final of the Aberdeenshire women’s county golf championship at Newmachar, Alford’s Laura Murray outstripped her teenage rival and fellow scratch player by eight shots in the Aberdeenshire girls’ medal competition at Aboyne today.
Laura, 18, who is also a member at Aboyne, shot a two-under-par 70 in drizzling rain with birdies at the seventh, ninth and 12th in halves of 34 and 36. Her only bogey cam at the third.
Michele had halves of 39 for a 78. Both girls are competing in the Scottish women’s amateur championship at Barassie, starting on Tuesday. So too is Samantha Leslie (Westhill) matched Miss Thomson’s 78.

Leading scores (Par 72, CSS 71)
Scratch – 70 L Murray (Alford). 78 M Thomson (McDonald Ellon), S Leslie (Westhill) (Daily Telegraph qualifier). 83 N Lamond (McDonald Ellon). 85 S Alexander (Deeside). 86 C Prouse (Hazlehead) 87 L Duncan (Aboyne). 88 M Clyne (Deeside). 89 S Beattie (Hazlehead), P Hazley (Ballater).
Handicap – Silver Division – S Alexander (Deeside) (17) 68; S Leslie (Westhill) (9) 69; L Murray (Alford) (scr) 70; M Clyne (Deeside) (17), N Lamond (McDonald Ellon (12) 71; C Prouse (Hazlehead) (13) 73; R Polson (Peterculter) (17) 74; L Duncan (Aboyne) (12) 75. Bronze Division – K Seam (Torphins) (22) 69; K MacCallum (McDonald Ellon) (36) 74; C Geddes (Northern) (23) 81.

SALTMAN SMASHES ROYAL DUBLIN
RECORD TO LEAD BY TWO IN
IRISH OPEN STROKE-PLAY

Lloyd Saltman was poised to make it four in a row when he shaved three shots off the Royal Dublin Golf Club course set with a brilliant score of six-under-par 66 in the third round of the Irish men's open amateur stroke-play championship today.
With one round to go the Craigielaw star had shot two strokes clear on 215.
US amateur champion Richie Ramsay (Royal Aberdeen), winner of the Irish title in 205 and joint halfway leader this weekend, had a sad 79 in the third round and slumped back to 224.
Saltman has won three 72-hole opens over the past five weeks, starting with the Scottish champion of champions' tournament at Leven, followed by the Craigmillar Park Open in Edinburgh and, last weekend, the big one - the Lytham Trophy.
In each of the previous three, the Scot made all the running. This weekend he has underlined that he can also win from behind. You can't keep a good man down. And, at the moment, they don't got any better than Lloyd Saltman.

THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)

215 L Saltman (Scotland) 72 77 66.
217: R Kilpatrick (Banbridge) 74 71 72.
218: P Figueiredo (Portugal) 74 75 69.
220: C Doran (Banbridge) 74 77 69.
221: K Le Sager (France) 75 75 71, B Fotheringham (Scotland) 75 75 71, J Caldwell (Clandeboye) 74 74 73.
222: N Kearney (Royal Dublin) 77 75 70, Z Gould (Wales) 76 73 73, R McCarthy (The Island) 74 72 76, R McIlroy (Holywood) 73 74 75, R Enoch (Wales) 72 73 77.
223: M Thistleton (England) 79 71 73, M Veijalainen (Finland) 76 74 73, N Edwards (Wales) 74 77 72.
224: D Morgan (Mullingar) 79 72 73, S Lowry (UCD/Esker Hills) 79 72 73, P Murray (Limerick) 75 72 77, R Ramsay (Scotland) 73 72 79, J Granberg (Finland) 72 75 77.
225: X Poncelet (France) 76 76 73, P O'Hara (Scotland) 74 75 76, K McNicoll (Scotland) 72 78 75.
226: R Kellett (Scotland) 80 69 77, C Macaulay (Scotland) 76 75 75, E Richardson (England) 76 73 77, N Grant (Knock) 75 73 78, G Campbell (Scotland) 74 76 76.
227: A Hogan (Newlands/UCD) 77 74 76, D Leathem (Lisburn) 77 73 77, J Morris (Rosslare) 73 79 75, M Novy (Czech Republic) 71 78 78.
228: A Runcie (Wales) 78 72 78, D Lernihan (Castle/UCD) 78 72 78, R Thuillier (France) 75 75 78, L Lennox (Moyola Park) 74 78 76, R Bechu (France) 74 75 79.
229: S McEwan (Scotland) 79 73 77, J McGinn (Laytown & Bettystown) 77 75 77, P Cutler (Portstewart) 75 74 80, B Walton (The Island/UCD) 74 76 79.
230: R Zwahlen (France) 73 77 80.
231: C Geraghty (England) 74 78 79.
232: M Armitage (England) 78 72 82, S Henry (Scotland) 76 73 83.
233: R McKnight (Scotland) 75 76 82.

GEORGE MURRAY FADES IN FINAL
ROUND OF CHALLENGE TOUR
EVENT AT TOULOUSE

By MICHAEL GIBBONS
Press Officer, European Challenge Tour.

George Murray’s bid for a maiden professional victory at the European Challenge Tour’s A.G.F. Allianz Golf Open de Toulouse disintegrated with a disappointing final round performance at the Golf de Toulouse-Seilh today.
The 2004 Scottish Amateur champion from Anstruehr began the final round in a tie for second place, just one off the lead, but never fully recovered from bogeys at the first and fourth holes as he stumbled to a last round of one-over-par 73 to finish on nine under for the tournament and a tie for seventh place.
Murray’s nine under total was a full eight strokes behind winner Joost Luiten of Holland, who produced a marvellous final round of eight under par 64 to pip overnight leader Nicolas Vanhootegem of Belgium to victory by one stroke on 17-under-par 271.
Andrew McArthur, the only other Scot to survive the halfway cut had, like Murray, a disappointing final round as he faded to a five over 77 to finish the week on two under 286.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72). 6,924yd.
271 Joost Luiten (Ned ) 70 71 66 64.
272 Nicolas Vanhootegem (Bel ) 71 65 69 67.
277 Gareth Paddison (Nzl ) 70 67 69 71.
278 Magnus Persson (Swe ) 73 67 68 70, Jan-Are Larsen (Nor ) 70 70 67 71; Jamie Little (Eng ) 69 73 67 69.
279 Van Phillips (Eng ) 66 72 71 70; Peter Kaensche (Nor ) 70 70 68 71; Michael Hoey (Nir ) 64 74 69 72, George Murray (Sco ) 67 70 69 73, Leif Westerberg (Swe ) 67 73 68 71;
280 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra ) 69 74 67 70; Christian Reimbold (Ger ) 64 71 71 74; Kalle Edberg (Swe ) 68 72 67 73;
281 Oliver Whiteley (Eng ) 70 73 68 70; Sébastien Delagrange (Fra ) 66 75 70 70; André Bossert (Sui ) 67 69 70 75; Jeppe Huldahl (Den ) 72 71 66 72; Michiel Bothma (Rsa ) 69 66 72 74; Gareth Wright (Wal ) 68 70 72 71;
282 Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Esp ) 71 69 72 70; Julien Guerrier (Fra ) 71 67 74 70; Daniel De Leon (Mex ) 73 69 71 69; Iain Pyman (Eng ) 71 71 69 72; Peter Baker (Eng ) 70 73 68 72; Nicolas Joakimides (Fra ) 70 71 71 71;
284 Raphaël De Sousa (Sui ) 69 73 67 75; Julien Quesne (Fra ) 69 72 69 74; Colm Moriarty (Irl ) 71 67 70 76; Rodolfo Gonzalez (Arg ) 66 73 72 73; John Wade (Aus ) 68 71 72 73; Antti Ahokas (Fin ) 72 69 71 72; Pontus Ericsson (Swe ) 70 70 70 74;
285 Jean Marc De Polo (Fra ) 68 71 73 73; Kieran Staunton (Eng ) 70 71 68 76; Paul Dwyer (Eng ) 68 73 68 76; Juan Abbate (Arg ) 72 70 74 69; Edouard Dubois (Am) (Fra ) 70 72 72 71;
286 Kevin Harper (Eng ) 72 69 70 75; Emilien Chamaulte (Fra ) 74 69 71 72; Bruno-Teva Lecuona (Fra ) 70 69 74 73; Andrew McArthur (Sco ) 70 71 68 77; Stephen Browne (Irl ) 69 70 72 75; Stuart Davis (Eng ) 70 70 72 74; Adam Gee (Eng ) 69 69 73 75;
287 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe ) 70 71 74 72; Anders Schmidt Hansen (Den ) 71 71 70 75; Felipe Aguilar (Chi ) 72 71 68 76; Robert Dinwiddie (Eng ) 67 73 74 73; Neil Walker (Eng ) 72 69 71 75; Benoit Teilleria (Fra ) 71 72 69 75;
288 Julien Xanthopoulos (Fra ) 73 70 72 73;
289 Inder Van Weerelt (Ned ) 70 72 73 74; Charles-Edouard Russo (Fra ) 71 72 72 74; Michael McGeady (Irl ) 71 71 72 75; Raphaël Pellicioli (Fra ) 73 70 69 77; Arnaud Gabellon (Fra ) 70 70 75 74; Nicola Maestroni (Ita ) 68 74 73 74;
290 Kasper Linnet Jorgensen (Den ) 71 68 81 70; Andrea Maestroni (Ita ) 73 68 72 77; ; Paul Nilbrink (Nor ) 71 70 70 79; Didier De Vooght (Bel ) 72 70 73 75;
291 Benjamin Miarka (Ger ) 70 73 74 74; Dominique Nouailhac (Fra ) 72 70 73 76;
292 Thomas Feyrsinger (Aut ) 74 69 71 78; Mikko Korhonen (Fin ) 70 68 77 77; Anthony Snobeck (Fra ) 71 71 76 76;
294 Robert Coles (Eng ) 69 73 72 80;
295 Toni Karjalainen (Fin ) 69 73 76 77;
300 Jacob Okello (Ken ) 68 72 84 76;

JOB BEATS POXON IN TURKISH
TITLE PLAY-OFF AFTER
LAST-DAY BLUES FOR SCOTS

By STEVEN FRANKLIN
Press Officer, European Seniors Tour

England's Nick Job defeated compatriot Martin Poxon at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off in Turkey to capture he Gloria Classic on the European Seniors Tour today.Job had produced a spectacular birdie-eagle finish to force extra holes at the Gloria Golf Resort, Belek with the pair locked on 10- under-par 206 for the regulation 54 holes.
But similar fireworks were not required in the play-off as Poxon conceded defeat after twice finding water on the pair's return to the par-five 18th for the sudden-death shoot-out..The players shook hands in the middle of the fairway and Job, whose ball was just off the green in two, enjoyed a long celebratory walk to collect a winner's cheque for £33,232) and his fourth European Seniors Tour title.Job had carded rounds of 71-67-68 to finish on 206 alongside Poxon, who went 70-66-70.One stroke further back in a share of third place were Delroy Cambridge of Jamaica, Luis Carbonetti of Argentina and Stewart Ginn of Australia.England's Bob Cameron was sixth on eight under par 208, with Scotland's Sam Torrance back on three under. Sam disappointingly could do no better than 75 in his third round.
Sharing the top Scots' honour on 211 were Ross Drummond and Bill Longmuir, who shot 73 and 72 at the last time of asking.
"It is very important to get a win in the bank so early in the season and secure another two year exemption. Poor old Poxy - he played nicely this week - but obviously I am very happy," said 57 year old Job, whose last win came in Scotland almost two years ago. "I am a much better with pressure than I used to be. I suppose it's an age thing, but certainly all the work in the gym has helped. My action is much improved as a result and mentally I feel stronger because you feel as though you are committed."
FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72).
206 Nick Job 71 67 68, Martin Poxon (Eng) 70 66 70 (Job bt Poxon at first hole of play-off).
207 Luis Carbonetti (Arg) 70 69 68, Delroy Cambridge (Jam) 67 70 70, Stewart Ginn (Aus) 67 70 70208 Bob Cameron (Eng) 69 71 68.
209 Giuseppe Cali (Ita) 71 69 69, Tony Johnstone (Zim) 67 72 70, Doug Johnson (US) 70 66 73.
210 Horacio Carbonetti (Arg) 68 73 69, Jim Rhodes (Eng) 73 67 70, Terry Gale (Aus) 69 69 72, Juan Quiros (Esp) 70 69 71.
211 Ross Drummond (Sco) 71 67 73, Bill Longmuir (Sco) 71 68 72, José Rivero (Spa) 69 69 73.
212 Adan Sowa (Arg) 69 72 71, Pete Oakley (USA) 71 66 75213 Gordon J Brand (Eng) 70 72 71, Angel Fernandez (Chi) 71 72 70, Kevin Spurgeon (Eng) 75 68 70, Sam Torrance (Sco) 69 69 75.
214 John Benda (USA) 74 68 72, John Chillas (Sco) 69 74 71, Guillermo Encina (Chi) 70 71 73, Bob Larratt (Eng) 71 74 69, Bobby Lincoln (SAf) 68 74 72, Ian Mosey (Eng) 73 72 69, Glenn Ralph (Eng) 74 68 72.
215 Eamonn Darcy (Ire) 69 74 72, Gavan Levenson (SAf) 73 71 71, David Merriman (Aus) 73 70 72, Andrew Murray (Eng) 70 71 74, Emilio Rodriguez (Spa) 71 71 73, David J Russell (Eng) 72 73 70.
216 John Mashego (SAf) 70 73 70, Carl Mason (Eng) 73 68 75, Denis O'Sullivan (Ire) 71 73 72.
217 Martin Gray (Sco) 70 74 73, Bob Lendzion (US) 71 71 75.
218 Jerry Bruner (US) 72 74 72, David Creamer (Eng) 71 74 73, David Good (Aus) 72 74 72, Noel Ratcliffe (Aus) 77 69 72.
219 Philippe Dugeny (Fra) 76 71 72, Tommy Horton (Eng) 75 71 73, Bill McColl (Sco) 72 69 78, Simon Owen (NZ) 73 75 71, Manuel Piñero (Spa) 75 72 72.
220 Gery Watine (Fra) 73 76 71, Peter Teravainen (US) 71 74 75, Tony Charnley (Eng) 73 74 73, Bruce Heuchan (Can) 72 73 75.
221 Bill Malley (US) 76 70 75, Steve Martin (Sco) 73 72 76.
223 Tony Allen (Eng) 75 75 73, Denis Durnian (Eng) 73 77 73
.224 Jim Lapsley (NZ) 73 72 79, Jean Pierre Sallat (Fra) 74 76 74.
225 Bertus Smit (SAf) 81 75 69, Mike Ferguson (Aus) 77 68 80.
226 Eddie Polland (NIr) 75 72 79, Jimmy Heggarty (NIr) 77 74 75.
227 Ray Carrasco (US) 74 77 76.
228 Mike Miller (Sco) 78 77 73.
229 Victor Garcia (Spa) 74 77 78.
232 Nigel Burch (Eng) 80 76 76, Tim Rastall (Eng) 79 74 79, Alberto Croce (Ita) 75 79 78, Malcolm Gregson (Eng) 79 74 79.
233 Maurice Bembridge (Eng) 78 77 78, Antonio Garrido (Spa) 76 75 82.
267 Remzi Irier (Tur) 92 85 90.

THEY THINK IT’S ALL OVER – WELL IT
IS FOR GEMMA WEBSTER

The American college golf season ended for Gemma Webster – and a lot of others – at the weekend when they failed to make it through to the NCAA championship finals.
Gemma, a student at Ohio State University, finished joint 67th in a field of 107 for the NCAA Division 1 women’s Central Regional tournament at the University of Michigan’s course at Ann Arbor.
She had rounds of 75, 84 and 76 for a total of 235 -27 shots behind the winner, Jacqui Concolino (Vanderbilt) who shot 67, 68 and 73 for five-under 208.
Belen Mozo, (South Carolina), the Spanish player who won both the British girls’ and women’s open titles last summer, finished joint fourth on 213 with scores of 70, 72 and 71.
Ireland international Tara Delaney (Kent State) came joint 24th with 75, 74 and 77 for 226.
Her sister Karen, also a Kent State student, scored 82, 77 and 80 for 239 and a share of 81st place.
England’s two Baylor University, Texas players, Hannah Burke and Sian Reddick, finished joint 46th and 97th respectively. Hannah had rounds of 77,77 and 74 for 229 while Sian Reddick scorfed 83, 81 and 85 for 249.
Southern California (869), Georgia (880) and Texas Christian (883) headed the eight colleges whose teams qualified for the NCAA championship finals.

JODI EWART’S LATE DOUBLE BOGEY – BUT
SHE’S GOING TO THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP

Jodi Ewart from Yorkshire, a student a the University of New Mexico, ran up a double bogey 6 at her very last holes after birdies at the third, seventh and 13th had her gunning for a top three or four place in the women’s West Regional championship at Estrada at Snow Canyon golf course, St George in Utah.
Freshman Jodi had rounds of 71, 75 and 72 to finish joint seventh on 218 over the 6,234yd, par-71 course.
Ireland’ Dawn-Marie Conaty (Memphis) had a triple bogey and two double bogeys in requiring 47 shots for the first nine holes in her closing round of 88. She had earlier scored 82 and 79. She finished on 249 and 93rd place.
It was a Swedish 1-2 at the top of the leaderboard with Pernilla Lindberg (Oklahoma State) winning with a total of 206, made up of 68, 68 and 70. Runner-up was her compatriot, Anna Nordqvist, a former winner of the British girls’ title, with 72, 74 and 67 for 213.
Oklahoma State (874), Stanford (874) and Arizona State (876) headed the eight teams found for the NCAA championship finals. They included New Mexico which means that the season has not ended yet for Jodi Ewart. She has a chance to cap what has been an excellent first year on the US college circuit.
The University of California did not make the top eight so the college golf season is over for Scottish Under-18 match-play champion Roseanne Niven from Crieff who has been five months at the college.
Roseanne did not complete her second round. She scored 84 in her first and third rounds.

DANIELLE DROPS OUT OF LOUISIANA TOP TEN

Ireland’s Danielle McVeigh (Memphis) finished joint 25th in a field of 108 for the women’s East Regional championship at the University Club, Baton Rouge in Louisiana.
Danielle had rounds of 69, 71 and 77 for 217, dropping from joint 10th after 36 holes.
Sydnee Michaels (UCLA) won the individual title with 66, 68 and 69 for 13-under-par 203, despite a brilliant final round of 63 by US Curtis Cup player Amanda Blumenherst (Duke) wo tied for second place on 206.
Duke (844), UCLA (846) and Wake Forest (858) headed the NCAA championship qualifiers.

TIGER WOODS IS OUT OF IT - BUT

LUKE DONALD HAS A CHANCE IN

PLAYERS' CHAMPIONSHIP

Tiger Woods is not going to win the US Players Championship at Sawgrass TPC, Ponte Vedra - but Luke Donald just might!

The English Ryder Cup player, pictured right, returned an almost flawless seven-under-par 65 to jump to within four strokes of American leader Sean O'Hair after the third round.
Tiger Woods surrendered any faint chance of winning with an uninspired 73, and had nothing to say to the media after signing for a five-over 221 total.
Donald, a 29-year-old from High Wycombe who was a leading player on the American college circuit for four years, will have a chance to become just the second British player to win the prestigious event, joining 1987 champion Sandy Lyle.

But he will have to come from equal fifth place with group including Swede Carl Petterson. O'Hair birdied the final three holes to take the lead with a six-under 66 in ideal scoring conditions.
O'Hair posted a nine-under 207 total, one stroke ahead of fellow American Phil Mickelson, who made a tap-in birdie at the last for 69.
Another American, Jeff Quinney, had the day's best round, a 63, to move within two strokes with Australian Peter Lonard, whose 68 included a rare albatross at the par-five second, where he holed a five-iron from 229 yards.
Donald started the day a distant seven strokes behind the halfway leader, knowing he needed something special to jump into contention, and he made an ideal start with a 25-foot birdie at the par-four first.
"The key to my round was the birdie at the first. Anytime you start like that it gives you a boost," said Donald, who added seven more. His only bogey came at the par-four 10th, where he sank an eight-footer to avoid dropping two shots.
"My first two rounds I felt just a little bit off," he said. "Today was a lot better. I hit a lot more fairways, a lot more greens. It was easy golf today and I putted very well, didn't leave too much out there. I wasn't in great shape [starting the day] but I knew, if I had a good round, I could get myself back into position."
Sergio Garcia, a team-mate of Donald's on last year's victorious European Ryder Cup team, also had a great round going until he made a mess of the par-four 18th, pulling a six-iron second shot into the water for a double bogey.
At least Garcia was on the edge of contention, unlike Ian Poulter (72) and Padraig Harrington (74), who slipped 11 and 13 strokes respectively behind O'Hair.

Hooters Tour victory within Scot's grasp

JAMIESON NOW LEADS BY

TWO IN US CHASE FOR

$33,500 PRIZE

Scott Jamieson maybe a rookie tour pro but he seems to be revelling in being in contention for his first professional victory and a $33,500 first prize.
Today, the Cathkin Braes Golf Club, Glasgow member fired a four-under par 68 in the third round of the NGA Hooters Tour's Quicksilver Classic over the 7,083yd, par-72yard course at Quicksilver Golf Club, Midway in Pennsylvania.
Jamieson, who turned pro last November after topping the Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit, is now clear of the field at 15-under par 201 with one round to play.
The former Augusta State University team player for four years on the US college circuit holds a two-stroke lead over Martin Catalioto (Hilton Head, South Carolina). Catalioto, a Clemson University grad, fired a six-under par 66 today to move from seven-under par at the start of the day to 13-under par 203.
2003 US Amateur runner-up Casey Wittenberg (Memphis, Tennessee) and second round co-leader Martin Flores (Mansfield, Texas) are tied for third place at 11-under par 205. Wittenberg matched the low round of the day with 65, while Flores had an even par 72.
The total purse for the Quicksilver Classic is $200,000 with $33,566 going to the winner.
David Skinns from Lincoln is in fifth place on 206 with scores of 70, 67 and 69.
Last year's winner, Gareth Maybin from Ballyclare, Northern Ireland, starts the final round in joint seventh place with scores of 68, 70 and 69 for 207.
Colin Speirs from Dunkeld is sharing 20th place on four-under-par 212 with rounds of 71, 73 and 68.

LEADING SCORES
201 Scott Jamieson (Sco) 69 64 68.
203 Martin Catalioto (US) 69 68 66.
205 Casey Wittenberg (US) 68 72 65, Martin Flores (US) 68 65 62.
206 David Skinns (Eng) 70 67 69.
Other scores:
207 Gareth Maybin (NIr) 68 70 69 (jt 7th).
212 Colin Speirs (Sco) 71 73 68.

REBECCA HUDSON REGAINS LEAD IN
SPANISH WOMEN'S OPEN
First-round leader Rebecca Hudson from Doncaster regained the third-round advantage over the Spanish Women's Open field at Castellon ith a 69 for 13-under-par 203. She leads by two shots from France's Gwladys Nocera and the deposed leader, Australian Nikki Garrett.
Kathryn Imrie, the only Scot to make the cut, is on 219.

THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72). Players from GB&I unless stated.
203 Rebecca Hudson 65 69 69.
205 Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 66 68 71, Nikki Garrett (Aus) 68 65 72.
206 Kirsty Taylor 66 70 70.
208 Laurette Maritz (SAf) 72 70 66.
211 Carlota Ciganda (Spa) (am) 69 75 67, Danielle Masters 67 71 73.
212 Cherie Byrnes (Aus) 72 70 70, Veronica Zorzi (Ita) 73 68 71, Louise Friberg (Swe) 68 71 73.
213 Bettina Hauert (Ger) 71 74 68, Sophie Giquel (Fra) 73 72 68, Laura Cabanillas (Spa) 70 73 70.
214 Rebecca Coakley 74 70 70, Sarah Kemp (Aus) 70 71 73, Amy Yang (Kor) 69 71 74.
215 Maria Boden (Swe) 72 74 69, Cassandra Kirkland (Fra) 71 73 71, Eleanor Pilgrim 71 72 72, Eva Steinberger (Aut) 71 70 74.
216 Samantha Head 74 73 69, Elisabeth Esterl (Ger) 73 73 70, Helena Alterby (Swe) 70 74 72, Kiran Matharu 72 71 73, Beatriz Recari (Spa) 70 72 74, Iben Tinning (Den) 70 71 75, Fany Schaeffer (Fra) 69 72 75.
217 Anna Rawson (Aus) 71 75 71, Joanne Mills (Aus) 75 71 71, Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha) 70 75 72, Stephanie Arricau (Fra) 74 71 72, Tullia Calzavara (Ita) 71 72 74, Fame More 73 69 75.
218 Margherita Rigon (Ita) 73 74 71, Sophie Sandolo (Ita) 75 71 72, Lee-Anne Pace (SAf) 72 73 73, Lara Tadiotto (Bel) 70 73 75, Elin Ohlsson (Swe) 68 73 77.
219 Kathryn Imrie 73 74 72, Anna Tybring (Swe) 71 76 72, Amanda Moltke-Leth (Den) 70 76 73, Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den) 71 75 73, Lora Fairclough 72 73 74, Lynn Brooky (NZ) 69 76 74, Johanna Westerberg (Swe) 71 72 76, Paula Marti (Spa) 71 71 77.
220 Lisa Jean (Aus) 71 76 73, Georgina Simpson 73 73 74, Suzanne Dickens 73 73 74, Martina Eberl (Ger) 70 75 75.
221 Anne Lise Caudal (Fra) 74 73 74, Mianne Bagger (Den) 73 74 74, Isabella Maconi (Ita) 73 73 75, Ellen Smets (Bel) 69 75 77, Federica Piovano (Ita) 71 70 80.
222 Karen-Margrethe Juul (Den) 76 71 75, Stacy Lee Bregman (SAf) 74 73 75, Sara Beautell (Spa) 75 72 75, Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (Fra) 73 74 75, Elisa Serramia (Spa) 73 73 76, Ana B Sanchez (Spa) 70 75 77.
223 Shani Waugh (Aus) 76 71 76, Kirsty S Taylor 74 70 79.
224 Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin) 77 70 77.
228 Claire Coughlan 73 73 82.

LEE WESTWOOD CLIMBS INTO SPANISH LEAD WITH A 65

FOR 15-UNDER-PAR 201

Lee Westwood has strung together two of the best rounds for many a long day - a record 64 on Friday and a 65 today - to climb into a one-shot lead with one round to play in the European Tour's Valle Romano Open de Andalucia at Aloha Golf Club on Spain's Costa del Sol.
The English Ryder Cup player, pictured right, leads on 15-under-par 201 by one shot from the rising Spanish star with the name that causes consternation to scoreboard operators - Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 216 (3 x 72).
Players from GB&I unless stated.
201 Lee Westwood 72 64 65.
202 Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 67 68 67.
203 Michael Jonzon (Swe) 69 68 66, Louis Oosthuizen (SAf) 67 67 69.
204 Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 71 64.
205 Matthew Zions (Aus) 65 70 70, Phillip Archer 69 70 66.
206 Chris Gane 67 71 68, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 71 69 66.
207 Alvaro Salto (Spa) 70 69 68, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 69 66 72, Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 67 71 69, David Higgins 69 68 70, Steve Jones (US) 69 67 71
208 Carl Suneson (Spa) 69 68 71, Sam Walker 69 69 70, Robert Rock 70 73 65, Gareth Davies 69 71 68, David Griffiths 68 72 68, Soren Hansen (Den) 70 68 70
209 Gary Lockerbie 67 72 70, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 72 69 68, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 66 73 70, Jamie Donaldson 70 69 70, Santiago Luna (Spa) 72 69 68, David Lynn 70 71 68
210 Garry Houston 71 67 72, Andrew Butterfield 70 73 67, Marcus Higley 70 71 69, Richard McEvoy 69 68 73, Oliver Fisher 70 69 71, Thomas Levet (Fra) 74 66 70, Paul Broadhurst 70 70 70
211 Shaun P Webster 74 67 70, Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice) 73 68 70, Eduardo De La Riva (Spa) 68 73 70, James Hepworth 72 68 71, Paul McGinley 71 72 68, Johan Axgren (Swe) 74 68 69
212 Sebastian Fernandez (Arg) 70 70 72, Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa) 73 71 68, Scott Strange (Aus) 72 71 69, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 72 71 69, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 73 71 68, Notah Begay III (US) 71 70 71, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 73 70 69, Philip Golding 74 69 69
213 Juan Parron (Spa) 72 71 70, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 72 69 72, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 71 71, Pedro Linhart (Spa) 72 70 71, Sven Struver (Ger) 71 71 71, Yong-eun Yang (Kor) 74 69 70, Matthew Millar (Aus) 68 73 72, Ian Garbutt 72 70 71
214 James Heath 75 67 72, Sion Bebb 70 74 70, Sam Little 71 69 74, Peter Fowler (Aus) 73 71 70, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 69 73 72, Martin Maritz (SAf) 72 72 70.
215 Anthony Wall 72 72 71, Carlos Aguilar (Spa) 76 67 72, Damien McGrane 72 70 73, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 68 73 74, Carlos Balmaseda (Spa) 71 71 73.
216 Adrien Mork (Fra) 71 73 72, Gary Emerson 71 72 73
217 Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 72 72 73, Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 73 70 74
218 Daniel Quiros (Spa) 72 72 74, Diego Borrego (Spa) 73 71 74, Jorge Benedetti (Col) 71 73 74
221 Simon Dyson 70 74 77.

RAMSAY SHARING LEAD IN IRELAND
WHERE PAR SCORING IS A STRUGGLE

United States amateur golf champion Richie Ramsay has been bemoaning the fact that he has been playing better than his scores have suggested this year.
Today, his second-round par 72 represented very good golf indeed in continuing rough weather for the Irish men's open amateur stroke play championship at Royal Dublin Golf Club's Bull Island course.
Ramsay won this Irish title in 2005 to signal the fact that he was on his way to the top of the amateur tree - he held the world No 1 ranking for six months after his American success.
Going into Sunday's final round, Ramsay shares the lead with Irishman Richard Kilpatrick from Banbridge and Welshman Rhys Enoch on one-over-par 145 - a score that tells the story of how tough it's been to sustain par golf over 36 holes on this course and in Ireland's May weather.
Irish wonder boy Rory McIlroy from Holywood, Belfast, beaten in a play-off for this title last year, is lurking on 147 after a second-round 147 and don't rule out the man in form, Lloyd Saltman from Craigielaw, even though he has slipped back with a 77 for 149.
In winning the Scottish champion of champions, the Craigmillar Park Open and last weekend's Lytham Trophy, Saltman proved he was a front runner par excellence. But he has also won in the past coming from behind and this might be one of those occasions.
On the same 149 bracket as Lloyd are fellow Scots Scott Henry (Cardross) and the Colville Park, Motherwell pair of Ross Kellett and Paul O'Hara. Kellett set a new record for the brutal Royal Dublin course with a three-under-par 69 today. Great effort by the young Scot!
Scottish non-qualifiers were Philip McLean (Peterhead), Zack Saltman and Shaun McAllister of Craigielaw, and Scottish match-play champion Kevin McAlpine (Alyth)

QUALIFIERS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
145 R Kilpatrick (Banbridge) 74 71, R Ramsay (Royal Aberdeen) 73 72, R Enoch (Wales) 72 73.
146 R McCarthy (The Island) 74 7.
147 P Murray (Limerick) 75 72, R McIlroy (Holywood) 73 74, J Granberg (Finland) 72 75.
148 N Grant (Knock) 75 73, J Caldwell (Clandeboye) 74 74.
149 R Kellett (Colville Park) 80 69, E Richardson (England) 76 73, S Henry (Scotland) 76 73, Z Gould (Wales) 76 73, P Cutler (Portstewart) 75 74, R Bechu (France) 74 75, P Figueiredo (Portugal) 74 75, P O'Hara (Colville Park) 74 75, L Saltman (Craigielaw) 72 77, M Novy (Czech Republic) 71 78.
150 M Thistleton (England) 79 71, D Lernihan (Castle/UCD) 78 72, M Armitage (England) 78 72, A Runcie (Wales) 78 72, D Leathem (Lisburn) 77 73, M Veijalainen (Finland) 76 74, K Le Sager (France) 75 75, B Fotheringham (Forres) 75 75, R Thuillier (France) 75 75, B Walton (The Island/UCD) 74 76, G Campbell (Blairgowrie) 74 76, R Zwahlen (France) 73 77, K McNicoll (Carnoustie) 72 78.
151 S Lowry (UCD/Esker Hills) 79 72, D Morgan (Mullingar) 79 72, A Hogan (Newlands/UCD) 77 74, C Macaulay (Tulliallan) 76 75, R McKnight (Barassie) 75 76, C Doran (Banbridge) 74 77, N Edwards (Wales) 74 77.
152 S McEwan (Caprington) 79 73, J McGinn (Laytown & Bettystown) 77 75, N Kearney (Royal Dublin) 77 75, X Poncelet (France) 76 76, L Lennox (Moyola Park) 74 78, C Geraghty (England) 74 78, J Morris (Rosslare) 73 79
MISSED THE CUT
153 G Carew (Edenderry) 81 72, C Cousins (Wales) 80 73, M Gaynor (US) 77 76, P McLean (Peterhead) 77 76, J Carvill (Warrenpoint) 77 76, B Evans (England) 76 77.
154 T Sistonen (Finland) 81 73, B Norton (US) 79 75, M Sinclair (Knock) 78 76, G O'Neill (Jersey) 78 76, R Thomas (Wales) 77 77, L Allen (England) 76 78, S McAllister (Craigielaw) 74 80.
155 S Grant (Birr) 82 73, P O'Hanlon (Curragh) 82 73, M Barbosa (US) 81 74, W Rieder (Austria) 79 76, S Ward (Co Louth) 78 77, J Lyons (Galway) 78 77, B Westgate (England) 77 78, B Grace (South Africa) 76 79, G Cambis (France) 76 79, K McAlpine (Alyth) 73 82.
156 E O'Connell (The Fox Club) 80 76, M McCoy (US) 80 76, J Smedley (England) 79 77, G Lawlor (Citywest) 77 79, A McCloy (Ballymena) 76 80, Z Saltman (Craigielaw) 76 80.
157 R Boal (Scrabo) 84 73, M O'Sullivan (Stow Acres) 81 76, S Kindsted (Finland) 80 77, A Rosado (Portugal) 77 80.
158 N Catesson (France) 83 75, C Vance (England) 80 78, S Doherty (Malone) 79 79, T Ortner (Austria) 78 80, J Savolampi (Finland) 77 81.
159 W McCully (Donaghadee) 86 73, M Salminen (Finland) 82 77, J Dale (England) 81 78, E McAnoy (Knock) 79 80, A Ross (Canada) 77 82.
160 N Henriques (Portugal) 80 80, B Jones (England) 80 80.
161 R Merchant (Wales) 89 72, A Fadel (US) 86 75, A Gabella Wenne (Sweden) 85 76, B Kosmin (France) 85 76, E Saxel (England) 83 78, J Pernaa (Finland) 79 82, J Guillet (France) 79 82.
162 C Mivis (Belgium) 83 79, T Halpen (Canada) 81 81, S Archibald (England) 81 81.
163 C Scotto (France) 86 77, J Vickery (Wales) 83 80, E Mercadier (France) 81 82, L Matthews (Wales) 80 83, R McNamara (Headfort) 78 85.
164 P Nelson (South Africa) 82 82.
166 K Hammer (US) 84 82, N Kirchner (Austria) 83 83, J Haglund (Finland) 80 86.
167 T Wyatt (US) 87 80.
168 R Leonard (Banbridge) 81 87.
169 S O'Brien (US) 82 87.
171 C Levitte (France) 90 81, J Shufflebotham (Wales) 89 82.
172 N Tyry (Finland) 88 84.
174 T McGowan (Strandhill) 88 86.
179 R Maunder (England) 93 86.
NR R Cannon (L'town & B'town) 77 NR
DQ: E O'Sullivan (The Island) 78 DQ

GWEN PUTTS OUT THE TOP SEED IN
P&K COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

Gwen Lambie (Dunkeld & Birnham) “putted like a demon” to knocked out the No 1 seed, Jacqueline Sneddon (Alyth) in this afternoon’s quarter-finals of the Perth & Kinross women’s county golf championship at Kinross Golf Club.
Gwen, the No 9 qualifier, toppled Jacqueline by 2 and 1 with her putting making the decisive difference. In Sunday morning’s semi-finals Gwen will play Alexandra Bushby (Strathmore), a 4 and 3 winner over 15-year-old Annabel Niven (Crieff) in the quarter-finals.
The other semi-final will feature twice champion Jane Yellowlees (Murrayshall) against the No 2 seed, Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder).
Janye beat Emma Napper (Craigie Hill) 4 and 3 in the quarter-finals while Emily had a 6 and 5 win over Blairgowrie’s Sal Shepherd.

Saturday’s results:
First round – Jacqueline Sneddon bt C Turner (Alyth) 7 and 6, G Lambie bt C Dunbar (Aberfeldy) 3 and 1, A Niven (Crieff) bt J Griffiths (Crieff) 4 and 3, A Bushby (Strathmore) bt D Butchart (Strathmore) 6 and 5, J Yellowlees (Murrayshall) bt G Wallace (Glenisla) 1 hole, E Napper (Craigie Hill) bt M Begbie (Alyth) 4 and 3, S Shepherd (Blairgowrie) bt L Fertacz (Dunkeld & Birnam) 4 and 3, E Ogilvy (Auchtarder) bt N Morrison (Dunblane) 5 and 4.
Quarter-finals – Lambie bt Sneddon 2 and 1, Bushby bt Niven 6 and 5, Yellowlees bt Napper 4 and 3, Ogilvy bt Shepherd 6 and 5.
HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarter-finals – G Pennycook (Alyth) (13) bt A Smith (Kinross) (15) 2 and 1, L Murray (Kinross) (12) bt C Peelbes (Alyth) (21) 3 and 2, M Walker (Alyth) (25) bt Jillian Sneddon (Alyth) (23) 2 and 1, Jennifer Sneddon (Alyth) (19) bt S Crystal (Taynouth) (12).

ends

ROOKIE MURRAY IN WITH A VICTORY
CHANCE ON CHALLENGE TOUR

By MICHAEL GIBBONS
Press Officer, European Challenge Tour

Rookie tour pro George Murray from Anstruther is in with a fighting chance of a breakthrough victory in the European Challenge Tour event, the Toulouse Open, in France on Sunday.
Murray, a former Scottish amateur champion, has put together rounds of 67, 70 and 69 for a 10-under-par tally of 206 which puts him in a four-way tie for second place, just one shot behind the Belgian leader, Nicolas Vanhootegem.
George had birdies at the first, sixth, seventh and 18th and only one bogey, at the eighth, in his third-round 69 today when he coped very well with the kind of pressure he has not faced before the pro ranks.
The Fifer's birdie 2 at the 207yd home hole enabled him to join Christian Reimbold (Germany), Gareth Paddison (New Zealand) and Andre Bossert (Switzerland) in second place.
The only other Scottish qualifier for the last 36 holes, Andrew McArthur, another former Scottish amateur champion, is back in a share of 15th place on 209 after scores of 70, 71 and 68. McArthur actually played better than Murray today with a bogey-free round which had birdies at the seventh, 11th, 16th and 17th.

THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72). 6924yd.
205 Nicolas Vanhootegem (Bel) 71 65 69.
206 Christian Reimbold (Ger) 64 71 71, Gareth Paddison (NZ) 70 67 69, André Bossert (Swi) 67 69 70, George Murray (Sco) 67 70 69.
207 Jan-Are Larsen (Nor) 70 70 67, Michael Hoey (NIr) 64 74 69, Joost Luiten (Net) 70 71 66, Kalle Edberg (Swe) 68 72 67, Michiel Bothma (SAf) 69 66 72; Peter Kaensche (Nor) 70 70 68.
208 Magnus Persson (Swe) 73 67 68; Colm Moriarty (Ire 71 67 70, Leif Westerberg (Swe) 67 73 68.
209 Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 72 71 66, Andrew McArthur (Sco) 70 71 68, Kieran Staunton (Eng) 70 71 68, Van Phillips (Eng) 66 72 71, Jamie Little (Eng) 69 73 67, Raphaël De Sousa (Swi) 69 73 67, Paul Dwyer (Eng) 68 73 68.
210 Pontus Ericsson (Swe) 70 70 70; Julien Quesne (Fra) 69 72 69; Gareth Wright (Wal) 68 70 72, Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 69 74 67.
211 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 72 71 68, John Wade (Aus) 68 71 72, Sébastien Delagrange (Fra) 66 75 70, Peter Baker (Eng) 70 73 68, Adam Gee (Eng) 69 69 73, Paul Nilbrink (Nor) 71 70 70, Rodolfo Gonzalez (Arg) 66 73 72, Oliver Whiteley (Eng) 70 73 68, Stephen Browne (Ire) 69 70 72, Iain Pyman (Eng) 71 71 69, Kevin Harper (Eng) 72 69 70.
212 Nicolas Joakimides (Fra) 70 71 71, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa) 71 69 72, Jean Marc De Polo (Fra) 68 71 73; Neil Walker (Eng) 72 69 71; Stuart Davis (Eng) 70 70 72, Julien Guerrier (Fra) 71 67 74; Benoit Teilleria (Fra) 71 72 69; Antti Ahokas (Fin) 72 69 71, Anders Schmidt Hansen (Den) 71 71 70; Raphaël Pellicioli (Fra) 73 70 69.
213 Bruno-Teva Lecuona (Fra) 70 69 74, Andrea Maestroni (Ita) 73 68 72, Daniel De Leon (Mex) 73 69 71.
214 Thomas Feyrsinger (Aut) 74 69 71, Robert Coles (Eng) 69 73 72, Robert Dinwiddie (Eng) 67 73 74, Emilien Chamaulte (Fra) 74 69 71, Michael Mcgeady (Ire) 71 71 72; Edouard Dubois (Fra) (am) 70 72 72.
215 Inder Van Weerelt (Ned) 70 72 73; Dominique Nouailhac (Fra) 72 70 73, Nicola Maestroni (Ita) 68 74 73, Arnaud Gabellon (Fra) 70 70 75, Charles-Edouard Russo (Fra) 71 72 72, Mikko Korhonen (Fin) 70 68 77, Didier De Vooght (Bel) 72 70 73, Julien Xanthopoulos (Fra) 73 70 72, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 70 71 74.
216 Juan Abbate (Arg) 72 70 74.
217 Benjamin Miarka (Ger) 70 73 74.
218 Toni Karjalainen (Fin) 69 73 76; Anthony Snobeck (Fra) 71 71 76.
220 Kasper Linnet Jorgensen (Den) 71 68 81.
224 Jacob Okello (Ken) 68 72 84.

FOUR SCOTS IN CONTENTION FOR
SENIORS VICTORY IN TURKEY

By STEVEN FRANKLIN
Press Officer, European Seniors Tour

Four Scots will go into Sunday's final round with a strong chance of winning the Gloria Classic in Turkey, the second event on the 2007 European Seniors Tour Schedule.
Sam Torrance and Ross Drummond spearhead the Tartan challenge at Gloria Golf Resort, Belek, two strokes behind joint leaders Martin Poxon of England and Doug Johnson of the United States.
Poxon and Johnson both carded six under par 66s during today's second round and top the leaderboard with an eight-under-par totals of 136.
A stroke further back are former Senior Open champion Pete Oakley of the United States, also round in 66, Delroy Cambridge of Jamaica (70) and Australian Stewart Ginn (70), followed on six under par by a strong group that includes Torrance and Drummond.
Torrance birdied two of the closing three holes for a second consecutive 69 while Drummond, playing in only his second European Seniors Tour event, reeled off a six-birdie 67.
Bill Longmuir is the next best placed Scot after rounds of 71 and 68 left him on five under par, two better than Bill McColl (72-69).
However, Aberdonian John Chillas, tied sixth after a first round 69, dropped out of contention with a 74, as did Ladybank's Martin Gray.
Drummond, whose most successful season on The European Tour was chronicled in the best-selling golf book 'Four Iron in the Soul', said: "It's early days for me on the Seniors Tour but I am happy with my game so far. The standard is very good out here. I played very solidly on Friday but was lying 22nd, so there were a lot of scores under par.
"Fortunately today I managed to make some birdies and that has got me up in contention. Par or one under doesn't get the job done out here, so I know I will have to go low tomorrow."
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
New Course, Gloria Golf Resort, Belek.
Par 144 (2 x 72).
136 Doug Johnson (US) 70 66, Martin Poxon (Eng) 70 66.
137 Pete Oakley (US) 71 66, Stewart Ginn (Aus) 67 70, Delroy Cambridge (Jam) 67 70.
138 José Rivero (Spa) 69 69, Sam Torrance (Sco) 69 69, Terry Gale (Aus) 69 69, Nick Job (Eng) 71 67, Ross Drummond (Sco) 71 67.
139 Bill Longmuir (Sco) 71 68, Luis Carbonetti (Arg) 70 69, Juan Quiros (Spa) 70 69, Tony Johnstone (Zim) 67 72.
140 Jim Rhodes (Eng) 73 67, Giuseppe Cali (Ita) 71 69, Bob Cameron (Eng) 69 71.
141 Carl Mason (Eng) 73 68, Bill McColl (Sco) 72 69, Andrew Murray (Eng) 70 71, Adan Sowa (Arg) 69 72, Guillermo Encina (Chi) 70 71, Horacio Carbonetti (Arg) 68 73.
142 Glenn Ralph (Eng) 74 68, John Benda (US) 74 68, Emilio Rodriguez (Spa) 71 71, Bob Lendzion (US) 71 71, Bobby Lincoln (RSA) 68 74, Gordon J Brand (Eng) 70 72.
143 Kevin Spurgeon (Eng) 75 68, David Merriman (Aus) 73 70, John Chillas (Sco) 69 74, John Mashego (SAf) 70 73, Angel Fernandez (Chi) 71 72, Eamonn Darcy (Ire) 69 74.
144 Gavan Levenson (SAf) 73 71, Denis O'Sullivan (Ire) 71 73, Martin Gray (Sco) 70 74.
145 Mike Ferguson (Aus) 77 68, Jim Lapsley (NZ) 73 72, Ian Mosey (Eng) 73 72, Steve Martin (Sco) 73 72, Bruce Heuchan (Can) 72 73, David J Russell (Eng) 72 73, David Creamer (Eng) 71 74, Bob Larratt (Eng) 71 74, Peter Teravainen (US) 71 74.
146 Noel Ratcliffe (Aus) 77 69, Bill Malley (US) 76 70, Tommy Horton (Eng) 75 71, David Good (Aus) 72 74, Jerry Bruner (US) 72 74.
147 Philippe Dugeny (Fra) 76 71, Eddie Polland (NIr) 75 72, Manuel Piñero (Spa) 75 72, Tony Charnley (Eng) 73 74.
148 Simon Owen (NZ) 73 75149 Gery Watine (Fra) 73 76.
150 Tony Allen (Eng) 75 75, Jean Pierre Sallat (Fra) 74 76, Denis Durnian (Eng) 73 77.
151 Jimmy Heggarty (NIr) 77 74, Antonio Garrido (Spa) 76 75, Ray Carrasco (US) 74 77, Victor Garcia (Spa) 74 77.
153 Tim Rastall (Eng) 79 74, Malcolm Gregson (Eng) 79 74.
154 Alberto Croce (Ita) 75 79.
155 Maurice Bembridge (Eng) 78 77, Mike Miller (Sco) 78 77.
156 Bertus Smit (SAf) 81 75, Nigel Burch (Eng) 80 76.
177 Remzi Irier (Tur) 92 85.

HILLSON ENDS YOUNG ROSS RUN
IN LOTHIANS FINAL

Mark Hillson (Craigielaw) ended the great glory run of 17-year-old James Ross (Royal Burgess) - but only in the final of the Lothians' men's amateur championship over the Bruntsfield Links this afternoon.
Ross, who qualified for the match-play stages only in 30th place, claimed some notable scalps on his way to this morning's semi-finals.
In there he beat the No 5 seed, Craig Elliot (Carrickvale) at the 20th - Ross having also won at the 20th in the quarter-finals.
In the other semi-final, Hillson, the No 11 qualifier, beat John Hall (Royal Musselburgh), the No 15 qualifier by 4 and 2.
In the final, Ross kept his end up but was eventually worn down by Hillson who won the prestigious title by 2 and 1.
Today's results
Semi-finals
J Ross (Royal Burgess) bt C Elliot (Carrickvale) at 20th.,
M D R Hillson (Craigielaw) bt J Hall (Royal Musselburgh) 4 and 2.
Final
Hillson bt Ross 2 and 1.

MHAIRI McKAY IN TOP 20 IN BIG-MONEY
LPGA TOUR EVENT IN VIRGINIA

Mhairi McKay had a second-round 67 (four under par) to be sharing 19th place with Laura Davies (74) after two rounds of the $2,200,000 Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill Resort & Spa, Williamsburg in Virginia.
Catriona Matthew had a 71 for a share of 32nd place on 140.
Johanna Head made it through in joint 40th place on 141 after a 72.
But the best placed British player is Becky Morgan from Wales. Becky is in second place, two shots behind pacemaker Sarah Lee, after rounds of 68 and 65 for nine-under-par 133.
Janice Moodie missed the cut with 72 and 74 for 146.
LEADERBOARD
Par 142 (2 x 71)
131 Sarah Lee (US) 63 68.
133 Becky Morgan (Wal) 68 65.
135 Amy Hung (Kor) 67 68.
Other qualifiers:
139 Laura Davies (Eng) 65 74, Mhairi McKay (Sco) 72 67 (jt 19th).
140 Catriona Matthew (Sco) 69 71 (jt 32nd).
141 Johanna Head (Eng) 69 72 (jt 40th).
Non-qualifier:
146 Janice Moodie (Sco) 72 74.

ROSEANNE RETIRES AFTER NINE HOLES IN UTAH

Roseanne Niven, the Scottish Under-18 match-play girls champion from Crieff, retired after completing nine holes of her second round in the NCAA Division 1 women's West Regional Championship at Entrada at Snow Canyon golf course, St George in Utah.
From her scores, it was evident the Scot, who has been a golf scholarship student at the University of California Berkeley, was far from well. She had scored an 84 in the first round over the 6,234yd, par-71 course and then, starting her second round at the 10th, took as many as 48 shots (12 over par) to complete nine holes.
Sweden's Pernilla Lindberg (Oklahoma State) is leading the event by five shots with one round to play. Pernilla has scored a pair of 68s for six-under-par 136.
Yorkshire girl Jodi Ewart (New Mexico) has scored 71 and 75 for 146 to be sharing ninth place with the former British girls' open champion, Anna Nordqvist (Arizona State) with 72 and 74.
Ireland's Dawn-Marie Conaty (Memphis) is back in a share of 75th place on 161 with scores of 82 and 79.

MICHIGAN NIGHTMARE RUN FOR GEMMA

Glasgow's Gemma Webster, who had had a first-round 75, had a nightmare three double bogeys in seven holes during a second-round 84 in the NCAA Division 1 women's Central Regional championship at the University of Michigan course, Ann Arbor.
Gemma's 36-hole tally of 159 put her in a share of 82nd place on 159 with Ireland's Karen Delaney (Kent State) (82-77).
Jacqui Concolino (Vanderbilt) leads by one shot with one round to play after scores of 67 and 68 for seven-under-par 135.
Spain's Belen Mozo (Southern California), winner of both the British women's and British girls' open titles last summer, is sharing fifth place with 68 and 74 for 142.
Ireland's Curtis Cup player Tara Delaney is joint 27th on 149 with 75 and 74.
England's two players at Baylor University, Texas - Hannah Burke and Sian Reddick - are not having a tournament to remember at the end of a college season in which they have done well.
Hannah has had a pair of 77s for 154 and a share of 65th place; Sian has scored 83 and 81 for 164 and joint 98th place in a field of 107.

DANIELLE SHARING 10TH PLACE IN LOUISIANA

Ireland's Danielle McVeigh (Texas A&M) is sharing 10th place with one round to go in the NCAA Division 2 women's East Regional championship at University Club, Baton Rouge in Louisiana.
Danielle has scored 69 and 71 for 140 - six shots behind leader Sydnee Michaels (UCLA) (66-68).
Portia Abbott (Jacksonville State) from Wiltshire has scored 79 and 71 for 150 and a share of 70th place in a field of 108.

GREAT SCOTT! JAMIESON SHARING LEAD IN
CHASE FOR US PRIZE OF $33,500

Glasgow's Scott Jamieson is taking to life as rookie pro on the NGA Hooters Tour in America like the proverbial duck to water.
Last year's Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit winner, who turned pro in November, is sharing the halfway lead in the Quicksilver Classic at Quicksilver Golf Club, Midway in Pennsylvania.
Scott has had rounds of 69 and 64 over a longish course at 7,083yd with a par of 72 for an 11-under-par tally of 133, matched only by Martin Flores from Texas with scores of 68 and 65.
Jamieson had an outward half of six-under-par 30 in his second round, birdieing the second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth. He continued his hot streak after the turn with birdies at the 12th, 13th and 17th before he dropped his only shot of the round - in front of the clubhouse on the 18th green.
From the ninth hole in his first round, Great Scott had 13 birdies and no bogeys in 27 consecutive holes.
Is this the new Colin Montgomerie we've been waiting for?
First prize is $33,500.
David Skinns, like Jamieson, played four years on the American college circuit and it showed with him too as he climbed into a share of fourth place on 137 with scores of 70 and 67.
And, completing a trio of former US college players, Ulsterman Gareth Maybin, who won this title 12 months ago, is not all that far back in 11th place with 68 and 70 for 138.
The standard is high on this US satellite tour. You had to shoot level par to make the cut and Colin Speirs (Dunkeld) - who also played on the American college circuit - made it with nothing to spare with scores of 71 and 73.
Not so lucky or not so skilful were former Scotland amateur cap from Edinburgh, David Kirkpatrick, a long-time resident of Lakeland, Florida, and South Carolina based Joel Hendry, the twice Scottish youths champion from Elgin.
Kirkpatrick scored a pair of 73s for 146 while Hendry had 72 and 75 for 147.
The starting field was a massive 168 players - all playing huge Hooters Tour membership fees as well as tournament entry fees. That's why the prize funds are so lucrative for up-and-comers like Scott Jamieson.
LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72). 7,083yd
133 Scott Jamieson (Sco) 69 64, Martin Flores (Tex) 68 65.
134 Tommy Biershenk (South Caroliina) 66 68.
Other scores:
137 David Skinns (Eng) 70 67 (jt 4th).
138 Gareth Maybin (NIr) 68 70.
144 Colin Spiers (Sco) 71 73.
MISSED CUT AT 144
146 David Kirkpatrick (Sco) 73 73.
147 Joel Hendry (Sco) 72 75.

ABERDEEN TRADES FOURSOMES RESULTS

Last night's results from Hazlehead:

FIRST ROUND

Surveyors w.o. MacLean Electrical scr.

Petrofac Brownfield beat North East Electrical Industries by 18 holes.
Jack Douglas & Ally Fiddes 12, Chris Ackers & Ricky James 0
George Paterson & Willie Donald 6, Derek Sword & Bill Smith 0

Teachers beat Garage Traders by eight holes
.Richard Anderson & Jimmy Lamont 5, Dave Mullen & Graham Bridges 0
Mike Wilson & Ian Brunton 3, Gary Anderson & Craig Malcolm 0

Greenkeepers beat Press by nine holes.
Ross McRae & George Mitchell 1, Roy Pirie & Dean Gardiner 0
Kevin Peace & Robert Hardie 8, Jim Christie & Stuart Campbell 0

SECOND ROUND

Aberdeen Telephones beat Corn Trade by three holes.
Donald Smith & Gregor Davidson 7, Ken Cooper & Greg Davidson-Gall 0
Peter Coutts & Ally Haining 0, Sandy Howie & George Manson 4

Bankers beat Police by four holes.
Colin Grant & Gregor Stewart 3, Brian Ritchie & Jordan Calder 0
Barry Gibson & Evan Duffus 1, Ronnie Yule & Euan Duthie 0.

Next week's programme:

MONDAY EVENING
SECOND ROUND
Tulloch Recruitment v Royal Mail
Morrison Construction v Insurance
Fish Trade v Lawyers
Bakers v Elmar UK
Surveyors v Petrofac Brownfield
Teachers v Greenkeepers

TUESDAY EVENING
Four quarter-final ties.

WEDNESDAY EVENING
Two semi-final ties.

THURSDAY EVENING
Final match.

MICKELSON LEADS BY TWO: TIGER
WOODS TRAILS BY NINE SHOTS
IN US PLAYERS' CHAMPIONSHIP

Phil Mickelson is the halfway leader in the US PGA Tour's Players' Championship at Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida.
He has had rounds of 67 and 72 for a five-under-par total of 139.
No doubt his new coach, Butch Harmon, will be claiming a bit of credit for putting "Leftie" back on the straight and narrow with his drives.
Tiger Woods made the cut on 148 (75-73) but nine shots is a lot to make up over 36 holes at this level - even for a man like the Tiger.
Colin Montgomerie missed out by one shot with scores of 76 and 74 for 150.
Paul Casey (76-78 for 154) will also be on the sidelines for the remainder of the tournament.
But Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington are still in there pitching. They are all on the 146 mark.
HALFWAY QUALIFIERS
Par 144 (2 x 72). Players from US unless stated.
139 Phil Mickelson 67 72
140 Nathan Green (Aus) 71 69
141 Rodney Pampling (Aus) 70 71, Sean O'Hair 72 69, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 70 71, Peter Lonard (Aus) 69 72
142 Chris DiMarco 68 74, Tom Pernice Jnr. 74 68
143 Kirk Triplett 75 68, Mathew Goggin (Aus) 72 71, Jim Furyk 71 72, Jose Coceres (Arg) 73 70, Stewart Cink 74 69, Tom Lehman 70 73, Rocco Mediate 72 71
144 Charley Hoffman 75 69, J.P. Hayes 71 73, Steve Lowery 78 66, Kevin Sutherland 73 71, Cliff Kresge 72 72, Steve Elkington (Aus) 73 71, Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 72 72, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 78 66, Rich Beem 71 73, Jason Gore 70 74
145 Adam Scott (Aus) 74 71, Retief Goosen (SAf) 71 74, Jeff Quinney 71 74, Harrison Frazar 74 71, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 74 71, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 77 68, Vijay Singh (Fij) 74 71, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 74 71, KJ Choi (Kor) 71 74, Jonathan Byrd 74 71, Tim Clark (SAf) 73 72, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 74 71
146 Jerry Kelly 73 73, Rory Sabbatini (SA) 67 79, Arron Oberholser 73 73, Zach Johnson 73 73, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 73 73, Ernie Els (Rsa) 73 73, Ian Poulter (Eng) 75 71, Luke Donald (Eng) 74 72, Brandt Snedeker 72 74, Padraig Harrington (Ire) 76 70
147 Steve Stricker 72 75, John Senden (Aus) 73 74, Ted Purdy 74 73, John Mallinger 73 74, Charles Howell III 73 74, Joe Durant 76 71, John Rollins 76 71, Mike Weir (Can) 75 72, Corey Pavin 75 72, Boo Weekley 74 73, Ryan Moore 78 69
148 Tiger Woods 75 73, Tim Herron 77 71, Davis Love III 77 71, Todd Hamilton 75 73, Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 75 73, Kenny Perry 73 75, J.B. Holmes 76 72, Ken Duke 76 72, Ryuji Imada (Jap) 77 71, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 72 76
149 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 72 77, Joey Sindelar 74 75, Charl Schwartzel (SAf) 74 75, Paul Azinger 78 71, David Toms 77 72, Heath Slocum 78 71, Bill Haas 76 73, Ryan Palmer 77 72, Brett Wetterich 74 75, Scott Verplank 72 77, Frank Lickliter II 77 72
MISSED THE CUT
150 Kent Jones 80 70, Bart Bryant 76 74, Jeff Gove 79 71, Brian Gay 80 70, Colin Montgomerie (Sco) 76 74, Stephen Leaney (Aus) 77 73, Mark Wilson 79 71, Hunter Mahan 78 72, Justin Leonard 78 72, J J Henry 76 74, Brett Quigley 78 72, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 76 74, Shaun Micheel 75 75, Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn) 76 74, D.J. Trahan 76 74
151 Brian Davis (Eng) 71 80, Vaughn Taylor 75 76, Craig Perks (Nzl) 75 76, Steve Flesch 79 72, Eric Axley 75 76, Woody Austin 81 70, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 76 75, Dean Wilson 75 76, Jeff Maggert 80 71, Bob Estes 82 69, Shane Bertsch 73 78
152 Charles Warren 78 74, Joe Ogilvie 79 73, Billy Mayfair 78 74, Chris Couch 77 75, Bubba Watson 77 75, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 78 74, Trevor Immelman (SAf) 80 72, Robert Allenby (Aus) 74 78, Bo Van Pelt 77 75, Briny Baird 78 74, Douglas Labelle 77 75, Bobby Wadkins 77 75
153 Will MacKenzie 74 79, David Branshaw 82 71, Camilo Villegas (Col) 80 73, Troy Matteson 75 78, Fred Funk 80 73, Jesper Parnevik (Swe) 76 77
154 Paul Casey (Eng) 76 78, Billy Andrade 81 73, Michael Campbell (NZ) 75 79, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 78 76, Ben Curtis 76 78
155 Nick Watney 75 80, Pat Perez 77 78, Jeff Sluman 75 80, Greg Owen (Eng) 77 78, Jason Bohn 76 79
156 Mark Calcavecchia 82 74, Lucas Glover 79 77, Olin Browne 81 75, Stephen Ames (Can) 77 79
157 Chad Campbell 79 78, Paul Goydos 80 77
159 Stephen Marino 81 78
160 Robert Garrigus 85 75
161 Anthony Kim 78 83.

LOTHIANS CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
At Bruntsfield Links
SECOND ROUND
J Ross (Royal Burgess) bt T Poyser (Marriott Dalmahoy) 4 and 3.
G C Turner (West Linton) bt A G Culverwell (Dunbar) 2 and 1.
C Elliot (Carrickvale) bt G Fraser (Kingsknowe) 3 and 2.
R Anderson (Duddingston) bt A M Anderson (Bruntsfield Links) 1 hole.
S Armstrong (Turnhouse) bt S Walker (West Linton) 2 and 1.
M D R Hillson (Craigielaw) bt M A White (Haddington) 4 and 3.
J Hall (Royal Musselburgh) bt E C Shannly (Linlithgow) 1 hole.
S Corrigan (Greenburn) bt D W H Hunter (Marriott Dalmahoy) 1 hole.
QUARTER-FINALS
J Ross (Royal Burgess) bt G C Turner (West Linton) 3 and 2.
C Elliot (Carrickvale) bt R Anderson (Duddingston) 2 and 1.
M D R Hillson (Craigielaw) bt S Armstrong (Turnhouse) 1 hole.
J Hall (Royal Musselburgh) bt S Corrigan (Greenburn) at 20th.
SEMI-FINALS (Saturday, May 12)
Ross v Elliott
Hillson v Hall
FINAL (Saturday, May 12)
Ross or Elliott v Hillson or Hall.

COMMONWEALTH CHAMPIONS BRITAIN
BEATEN BY SPRINGBOKS

ON FINAL DAY

Great Britain, having already clinched the Commonwealth Tournament title on Thursday, lost their 100 per cent record in their final match at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club.
After beating Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the British team lost 5 ½-1/2 to South Africa.
Australia beat New Zealand 5-2 in the other Friday match.
Britain topped the table with 3pt out of four.
Australia, South Africa and New Zealand each had 2pt. Australia, winners of the competition, played every four years, in 1995, 1999 and 2003, were the official runners-up to Britain.
The Aussies’ individual games-won tally of 16 ½ put them ahead of South Africa (14 ½) and Canada (10 ½).
New Zealand came bottom of the table with one point.
Ladies Golf Union chief executive Lesley Burn said from her St Andrews headquarters:
“Whoopee, what a fantastic win and what a stgart to the LGU’s most ex citing year yet! It is 16 years since we last won the Commonwealth Tournament and this victory underlines the talent that now exists in the British Isles.
“I am a great believer that success breeds success, so we can no look forward with confidence to the Vagliano Trophy later this year.”

Image above, by courtesy of Jeremy Campion, shows the tournament winners (left to right): Melissa Reid, Breanne Loucks, skipper Sue Turner, Naomi Edwards, Krystle Caithness and Kerry Smith.
It was almost inevitable that the British team, on a high when Thursday’s events conspired to make them champions even on their rest day, would suffer some sort of reaction on the final day.
South Africa had a much bigger incentive to finish with a victory and they at last found the form that had made them one of the favourites following their triumph in the women’s world amateur team championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy, also on home turf, earlier in the year.
The South Africans shared the foursomes with Britain and then cut the champions down to size in the singles by winning four of the five ties.
Krystle Caithness, the only Scot in the British squad, lost by 1 hole to Gina Switala.
The only British player not to lose in the final set of singles was Kerry Smith from the Waterlooville club, Hampshire. Kerry halved with Kelli Shean.
That meant that Miss Smith topped the individual British table with seven wins and a halved match – 7 1/2pt out of eight.
The other GB tallies were:
Naomi Edwards (six wins, two losses) 6pt.
Melissa Reid (four wins, one halved match, three losses): 4 1/2pt.
Breanne Loucks (four wins, one halved match, three losses) 4 1/2pt
Krystle Caithness (two wins, two losses) 2pt.

Friday results:
GREAT BRITAIN 1 ½, SOUTH AFRICA 5 ½
Foursomes: K Smith & N Edwards bt K Shean & I Verwey 1 hole; B Loucks & M Reid lost to G Switala & A Simon 1 hole (1-1).
Singles: Loucks lost to B Strauss 3 and 2, K Caithness lost to Switala 1 hole, Edwards lost to Verwey 2 and 1, Smith halved with Shean;l Reid lost to Simon 2 and 1 ( 1/2 -4 ½).
NEW ZEALAND 2, AUSTRALIA 5
Foursomes: T Clelland & P Smith lost to F Bondad & H Oh 6 and 4; Da Som Lee & Yeon Song Kim bt E Bennett & S Na 1 hole (1-1).
Singles – L Eruera lost to S Park 3 and 2, Smith lost to Na 4 and 2, Kim bt Oh 5 and 3, Lee lost to Bondad 1 hole, Clelland lost to Bennett 5 and 3 (1-4).
FINAL TABLE
1 Great Britain 3 pt (19)
2 Australia 2pt (16 ½).
3 South Africa 2pt (14 ½).
4 Canada 2pt (10 ½).
5 New Zealand 1pt (9 ½).
+Figures in brackets are individual games won.

ALISON DAVIDSON WINS STIRLING & CLACKMANNAN COUNTY TITLE

FOR FIFTH TIME SINCE 1990

Former Curtis Cup player and past Scottish champion Alison Davidson, now 39, won the Stirling & Clackmannan women’s county golf championship for a fifth time over a 17-year span at Alloa Golf Club this evening.
Mrs Davidson, a Stirling Golf Club member, never lost a hole in beating first-time finalist Margaret Tough (Falkirk) by 5 and 4 with level par figures.
Margaret put up stout resistance to halve the first five holes before her opponent went one up at the sixth, and two up at the ninth.
Mrs Davidson then wrapped up the title by winning the 11th, 12th and 14th holes.
This was Alison’s seventh county final. She had previously won the title in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 2005. She was beaten in the finals of 2002 and 2003.
A mother of two, Mrs Davidson averages, if she is lucky, one round of golf a week nowadays.
Result:
Final – A Davidson (Stirling) bt M Tough (Falkirk) 5 and 4.

EUAN CAMERON (64) WINS AT CAMBUSLANG

Euan Cameron (Hamilton) won the top individual pro prize of £879 in today's Special Olympics Cambuslang pro-am.
Euan had a score of six-under-par 64 - three shots ahead of Callum Nicoll (Prestwick) and Craig Ronald (Carluke) in joint second place. They each earned £651.
Top 10 totals:
64 E Cameron (Hamilton) £879.
67 C Ronald (Carluke), C Nicoll (Prestwick). £615 each.
68 R Gray (Torrance House), P McKechnie (Braid Hills), G Hutcheon (Peterculter), R Arnott (Bishopbriggs). £301 each.
69 S Savage (Dalmuir), G Collinson (Esporta Dougalston), S Gray (Hayston), D Robertson (Czech Design), C Lee (All Golf Swing Centre). £152 each.

HOME WIN FOR McELHINNEY IN EUROPRO
TOUR EVENT IN IRELAND

Irishman Brian McElhinney has won the first ever PGA EuroPro Tour event to be staged in his home country. He hit a round of 68 to finish on two-under at the Roganstown Golf and Country Club, Dublin to collect the £10,000 top prize.
A member of the North West Golf Club in Fahan, Co Donegal and a former European individual amateur champion, Brian had earlier scored totals of 71 and 72 and finished one shot ahead of three players.
After the first day McElhinney was tied 27th but four birdies in his final eight holes saw him come from nowhere to clinch the title.
Robert Steele and Christopher Hanson had been at the top of the leaderboard at the start of the last day but scores of 74 and 75 respectively proved costly.
Elsewhere, Englishman Mark Prue, who represents the Hillside Golf Club, produced one of the finest rounds of the week as he hit a four-under 67 to end his tournament in style.
His round included six birdies and two bogeys and helped him restore some pride after a disappointing second day effort on Thursday of five-over that effectively ended his chances of winning.
But the 67 today saw Prue end on level par to finish in tied fifth position and earn him £1,125 in prize money.
Mark Laskey (Brocket Hall) and Glyn Bateman (Royal Eastbourne) had both been inside the top ten after Day One but scores of 80 and 81 respectively on Thursday saw them dramatically fall down the leaderboard.
Bateman recovered well to hit one-under but the tournament ended in poor fashion for Laskey as a final day 76 saw him end far further down the field than he would have hoped for.
Graham Gordon from Aberdeen finished the top Scot on four-over-par 217 in joint 24th place, ahead of Paul Cormack (Inchmarlo) on 219 in jt 34th place.
Graham earned £355, Paul £275.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 213 (3 x 71)
211 B McElhinney (Ire) 71 72 68 (£10,000).
212 J Templer (Eng) 71 74 67, A Smith (Wal) 71 73 68, R Steele (Eng) 69 69 74 (£3,066 each).
Other scores:
217 G Gordon (Sco) 75 72 70 (jt 24th: £355).
219 P Cormack (Sco) 74 75 70 (jt 34th: £275).
222 P Doherty (Sco) 74 75 73 (jt 44th: £225).

ONLY TWO SCOTS BEAT CHALLENGE
TOUR CUT IN FRANCE

Only two Scots - George Murray and Andrew McArthur - and West-Linton based Welshman Gareth Wright survived the halfway cut at one-under-par 143 in the European Challenge Tour's Toulouse Open over the 6,924yd, par-72 course at Seilh.
Rookie Murray from Anstruther, 23, maintained his challenge with a 70 for seven-under-par 137 to be in joint fifth position. The former Scottish amateur champion started well - birdies at the third and fifth - sagged a bit in the middle with bogeys at the 11th and 13th, but then picked up momentum again to birdie the long 14th and short 15th.
Andrew McArthur, another past Scottish champion, had a 71 for 141 and a share of 30th place.. After a uninspired outward half, the Windyhill man was three under par for the last eight holes with birdies at the 11th, 12th and 17th.
Gareth Wright had a 70 for 138 to be in joint seventh position.
Scott Henderson missed out on 145 after a second-round 70 that included a triple bogey 7 at the second. Birdies at the fifth, eighth and 14th were cancelled out by three bogeys.
Peter Whiteford had a 72 for 146. He had as many birdies as any of the leaders - six in all - but he squandered too many shots - four single bogeys and a double at the 18th.
Former Walker Cup man David Patrick hardly looked like the man who won the Callaway Challenge on the Tartan Tour last week. The Edinburgh player had a 76 for 151 with halves of 33 and 43 in his second round. He had an eagle and two birdies in the first seven holes and then two double bogeys on the way home.

LEADING TWO-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
135 M Bothma (SAf) 69 66, C Reimbold (Ger) 64 71.
136 A Bossert (Swi) 67 69, N Vanhootegem (Bel) 71 65.
137 G Paddison (NZ) 70 67, G Murray (Sco) 67 70.
Other scores:
138 G Wright (Al) 68 70.
141 A McArthur (Sco) 70 71.
Non-qualifiers included:
145 S Henderson (Sco) 70 75.
146 P Whiteford (Sco) 74 72.
151 D Patrick (Sco) 75 76.

KATHRYN QUALIFIES BUT LYNN KENNY
MISSES CUT BY 12 SHOTS IN SPAIN

Kathryn Imrie made it with nothing to spare but Lynn Kenny went crashing out of the Spanish Women's Open at the 36-hole stage at Mediterraneo Country Club, Castellon.
Kathryn had rounds of 73 and 74 for 147, dead on the cut-off mark.
Lynn Kenny had rounds of 75 and 84 (42-42) for 159 - 12 shots over the limit.
Inverness-based New Zealander Liz McKinnon also failed to qualify for the final round. She scored 76 and 79 for 155.
Australian Nikki Garrett leads by one shot with an 11-under-par tally of 133 (68-65).
Her closest challengers are Doncaster's Rebecca Hudson and Gwladys Nocera (France), both on 134.
Rebecca has scored 65 and 69, Gwlaldys 66 and 68.
SCOREBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72).
133 Nikki Garrett (Aus) 68 65.
134 Rebecca Hudson (Eng) 65 69, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 66 68.
136 Kirsty Taylor (Eng) 66 70.
138 Danielle Masters (Eng) 67 71.
139 Louise Friberg (Swe) 68 71.
Other qualifiers included:
147 Kathryn Imrie (Sco) 73 74.
Non-qualifiers included:
155 Liz McKinnon (NZ) 76 79.
159 Lynn Kenny (Archerfield Links) 75 84.

NO SCOTS LEFT IN SECOND HALF OF

EUROPEAN TOUR EVENT IN SPAIN

All four Scots - Euan Little (145), Scott Drummond (146), David Drysdale (148) and Andrew Oldcorn (152) - missed the cut figure of 144 at the halfway stage of the Valle Romano Open de Andalucia at Aloha Golf Club on Spain's Costa del Sol.

South African youngster Louis Oosthuizen left several well-known names in the shade, seizing the lead with a second-round 67 for a 10-under tally of 134.
Playing partner Steve Jones (67), the 1996 US Open champion, bogeyed the last to fall two strokes behind the 24-year-old pacesetter.
Lee Westwood was also two adrift of Oosthuizen after breaking the Aloha course record with a 64.
Oosthuizen was one ahead of last week's Italian Open winner Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano of Spain (68), first-round leader Matthew Zions of Australia (70) and Frenchman Francois Delamontagne (66).
The leader, though, was not overly impressed with his own form.
"I hit the ball really badly today but I kept recovering well and I made some crucial putts that kept up my momentum," he said.
Jones, who moved into contention by holing his second shot at the par-4 15th, was full of praise for the South African.
"He was bombing it, I was just trying to keep up with him," said the American. "He's going to be the one to catch this weekend, the way he's playing."
SUCCESSIVE WINS
Despite spending much of his time running the tournament he is promoting, Fernandez-Castano was on track for successive wins.
Tour rookie Zions woke up with a sore throat and was shivering badly at the start of his round. But he drank lots of water before a last-hole birdie gave him a big boost.
Westwood changed his putter, his grip and his fortunes on the greens dramatically as he lowered the Aloha record by one stroke with eight birdies.
The 2000 European No 1 had despaired after a dreadful start to the season with his putter.
Switching from a belly-putter to a normal model and deploying his left hand below his right, Westwood at last found his form on the greens.
"I'd brought out five putters in anticipation because of the way things have been going," he said.
"This one I used for the US Masters first round and vowed I'd never use it again but it suits the greens here. I putted cack-handed and I've not done that for a long, long time."

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72). Players from GB&I unless stated.

134 Louis Oosthuizen (SAf) 67 67
135 Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 69 66, Matthew Zions (Aus) 65 70, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 67 68
136 Lee Westwood 72 64, Steve Jones (US) 69 67
137 Carl Suneson (Spa) 69 68, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 69 68, Richard McEvoy 69 68, David Higgins 69 68
138 Chris Gane 67 71, Garry Houston 71 67, Sam Walker 69 69, Soren Hansen (Den) 70 68, Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 67 71
139 Gary Lockerbie 67 72, Alvaro Salto (Spa) 70 69, Jamie Donaldson 70 69, Phillip Archer 69 70, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 66 73, Oliver Fisher 70 69
140 Sebastian Fernandez (Arg) 70 70, David Griffiths 68 72, Gareth Davies 69 71, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 71, Paul Broadhurst 70 70, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 71 69, James Hepworth 72 68, Sam Little 71 69, Thomas Levet (Fra) 74 66
141 Shaun P Webster 74 67, Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice) 73 68, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 68 73, David Lynn 70 71, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 72 69, Marcus Higley 70 71, Matthew Millar (Aus) 68 73, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 72 69, Notah Begay III (USA) 71 70, Eduardo De La Riva (Spa) 68 73, Santiago Luna (Spa) 72 69
142 Damien McGrane 72 70, Carlos Balmaseda (Spa) 71 71, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 71, Johan Axgren (Swe) 74 68, Pedro Linhart (Spa) 72 70, Sven Struver (Ger) 71 71, James Heath 75 67, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 69 73, Ian Garbutt 72 70
143 Juan Parron (Spa) 72 71, Andrew Butterfield 70 73, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 72 71, Scott Strange (Aus) 72 71, Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 73 70, Gary Emerson 71 72, Robert Rock 70 73, Carlos Aguilar (Spa) 76 67, Yong-eun Yang (Kor) 74 69, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 73 70, Paul McGinley 71 72, Philip Golding 74 69
144 Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 72 72, Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa) 73 71, Sion Bebb 70 74, Diego Borrego (Spa) 73 71, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 73 71, Simon Dyson 70 74, Anthony Wall 72 72, Adrien Mork (Fra) 71 73, Daniel Quiros (Spa) 72 72, Peter Fowler (Aus) 73 71, Jorge Benedetti (Col) 71 73, Martin Maritz (Rsa) 72 72
MISSED CUT
145 Joakim Backstrom (Swe) 70 75, Steve Alker (NZ) 73 72, Benn Barham 69 76, Simon Nash (Aus) 71 74, Andrew Raitt 72 73, Euan Little 72 73, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 70 75, Manuel Merizalde (Col) 72 73, Phil Worthington 75 70, Ariel Canete (Arg) 73 72, Miles Tunnicliff 73 72
146 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 70 76, Warren Bennett 76 70, Jose Manuel Carriles (Spa) 72 74, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 73 73, Scott Drummond 77 69, Francois Calmels (Fra) 76 70, Kenneth Ferrie 69 77
147 Francis Valera (Spa) 74 73, Andrew Tampion (Aus) 75 72, Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 74 73, Jean Hugo (SAf) 72 75, Tomas Jesus Munoz (Spa) 72 75, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 71 76, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 74 73, Taichi Teshima (Jpn) 74 73, David Bransdon (Aus) 74 73, Simon Hurd 73 74, Cesar Monasterio (Arg) 74 73
148 Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 75 73, David Drysdale 74 74, Lee S James 71 77, Jose Luis Adarraga Gomez (Spa) 73 75, Keith Horne (Rsa) 78 70, Edward Rush 72 76, Fredrik Widmark (Swe) 74 74
149 Rafael Gomez (Arg) 78 71, Tim Milford 75 74, Augustin Domingo (Spa) 76 73, Thomas Nielsen (Den) 76 73, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 76 73, Jonathan Lomas 75 74
150 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 73 77, Raphael Eyraud (Fra) 72 78, Denny Lucas 70 80, Matthew Richardson 76 74, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 77 73, Gabriel Canizares (Spa) 75 75, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 73 77, Carlos Quevedo (Spa) 76 74, Stuart Little 75 75, Manuel Quiros (Spa) 76 74
151 Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 78 73, David Dixon 75 76
152 Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 75 77, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 79 73, Ivo Giner (Spa) 75 77, Andrew Oldcorn 76 76, Terry Price (Aus) 73 79, Carlos De Corral (Spa) 79 73
153 Raul Quiros (Spa) 78 75, Vicente Blazquez (Spa) 79 74, Mickael Dieu (Fra) 78 75
154 Jamie Spence 68 86
155 Francisco Cea (Spa) 76 79
156 Luis Claverie (Spa) 80 76
159 Andres Jimenez (Spa) 86 73

ROSEANNE'S FORM SLUMPS IN UTAH

Scottish Under-18 girls' match-play champion Roseanne Niven's recent upsurge of form has nosedived in the NCAA Division 1 West Regional championship at Entrada at Snow Canyon Golf Club, St George in Utah.
A student at the University of California Berkeley for five months, Roseanne had a first-round, 13-over-par 84 to be lying joint 105th in the field of 108 behind leader Pernilla Lindberg (Oklahoma State).
The Swedish player set the pace with a fine round of three-under-par 678 over the 6,274yd, par-71 course.
Jodi Ewart (New Mexico) from Catterick was lying in joint sixth place after a 71.
Ireland's Dawn-Marie Conaty (Memphis) had an 82 to be sharing 69th place.
LATER NEWS: Starting at the 10th hole in her second round, Roseanne covered her first nine holes in 12-over-par 48, including two triple bogeys and two double bogeys.

GEMMA AND TARA BEST OF GB&I
PLAYERS UP MICHIGAN WAY

British and Irish players did not have a particularly good first day in the NCAA Division 1 women's Central Regional championship over the University of Michigan's Par-71 course (6,116yd) at Ann Arbor.
Ireland international Tara Delaney (Kent State) and Scotland cap Gemma Webster (Ohio State) did best of the bunch - and they were back in a share of 31st place in a field of 107 on the four-over-par 75 mark.
Tara had halves of 40 and 35, Gemma, also starting at the 10th, bogeyed the 12th, 15th, 16th and 17th and then parred holes one to nine.
England's Hannah Burke and Sian Reddick, both students at Baylor University, Texas, had rounds of 77 and 83 respectively. Hannah was in a share of 56th place. She had a double bogey 5 at the short 12th and no birdies.
Tara Delaney's sister Karen at an 82.
Jacqui Concolino (Vanderbilt) led the field with a 67.
The three players on 68 included Belen Mozo (Southern California), the Spaniard who won both the British girls and women's open amateur titles in Northern Ireland last summer.
Southern California (283) lead the team event from Texas Christian and Indiana, both on 289.

CZECH MATE AS SCOTS FLOOD TOP

TWENTY IN IRISH STROKE-PLAY

AT ROYAL DUBLIN

Unheralded Continental player Marek Novy from the Czech Republic carded a one under par 71 to lead the field on day one of the AIB sponsored Irish Amateur Open at Royal Dublin Golf Club.
The 22-year-old shot four birdies and dropped only three shots in difficult conditions as high winds and rain swept across the Bull Island.Novy leads by one stroke from a group of four who shot level par rounds including Scottish Walker Cup hopefuls Lloyd Saltman and Keir McNicholl, Rhys Enoch from Wales and Finn Joonas Granberg.
All in all it was a good day for the Scots in the field with plenty of them in the top 20.
On 73 and in joint sixth position was US amateur champion Richie Ramsay (Royal Aberdeen), pictured, a former winner of the Irish event, and Kevin McAlpine (Alyth), the reigning Scottish amateur match-play champion.
Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie, a past Scottish champion was on 74 alongside Paul O'Hara (Colville Park) and youngster Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw), one shot ahead of Bryan Fotheringham from Forres and Robert McKnight of Kilmarnock Barassie.
Lloyd Saltman's younger brother Zack, Callum Macaulay (Tulliallan), just flown back from the University of Missippi, and Scott Henry (Cardross) were on 76.
Scottish youth cap Philip McLean from Peterhead was on 77.
Steven McEwan (Caprington) had a 79.

FIRST-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Players from Ireland unless stated.
71 M Novy (Czech Rep).
72 R Enoch (Wal), J Granberg (Fin), L Saltman (Sco), K McNicoll (Sco).
73 R Zwahlen (Fra), K McAlpine (Sco), J Morris, R Ramsay (Sco), R McIlroy.
74 L Lennox, R McCarthy, N Edwards (Wa), P Figueiredo (Porl), R Bechu (Fra), R Kilpatrick, J Caldwell, B Walton, P O'Hara (Sco), C Geraghty (Eng), S McAllister (Sco), G Campbell (Sco), C Doran.
75 N Grant, P Cutler, K Le Sager (Fra), R Thuillier (Fra), B Fotheringham (Sco), P Murray, R McKnight (Sco).
76 C Macaulay (Sco), S Henry (Sco, G Cambis (Fra), Z Gould (Wal), B Evans (Eng), X Poncelet (Fra), E Richardson (Eng), Z Saltman (Sco), M Veijalainen (Fin), B Grace (SAf), L Allen (Eng), A McCloy.
77 R Thomas (Wal), A Hogan, D Leathem, A Rosado (Por), R Cannon, J Carvill, J Savolampi (Fin), A Ross (Can), G Lawlor, J McGinn, M Gaynor (US), P McLean (Sco), N Kearney, B Westgate (Eng).
78 G O'Neill (Jer), E O'Sullivan, M Armitage (Eng), A Runcie (Wal), M Sinclair, R McNamara, T Ortner (Aut), S Ward, D Lernihan, J Lyons.
79 B Norton (US), S McEwan (Sco), S Doherty, J Smedley (Eng), E McAnoy, J Pernaa (Fin), S Lowry, J Guillet (Fra), M Thistleton (Eng), D Morgan, W Rieder (Aut).
80 C Cousins (Wal), S Kindsted (Fin), N Henriques (Por), B Jones (Eng), J Haglund (Fin), M McCoy (US), E O'Connell, L Matthews (Wal), R Kellett (Sco), C Vance (Eng).
81 M O'Sullivan, R Leonard, S Archibald (Eng, T Sistonen (Fin, G Carey, E Mercadier (Fra), M Barbosa (US), J Dale (Eng), T Halpen (Can).
82 S O'Brien (US), M Salminen (Fin), S Grant, P Nelson (SAf), P O'Hanlon.
83 N Catesson (Fra), J Vickery (Wal), E Saxel (Eng), N Kirchner (Aut), C Mivis (Bel).
84 K Hammer (US), R Boal.
85 A G Wenne (Swe), B Kosmin (Fra).
86 C Scotto (Fra), A Fadel (US), W McCully.
87 T Wyatt (US).
88 T McGowan, N Tyry (Fin).
89 J Shufflebotham (Wal), R Merchant (Wal).
90 C Levitte (Fra).
93 R Maunder (Eng)

SAM PLAYS IT AGAIN - BACK

IN ACTION WITH A

BOGEY-FREE 69 IN TURKEY

By STEVEN FRANKLIN

Press Officer, European Seniors Tour

Sam Torrance made a classy return to European Seniors Tour action at the Gloria Classic in Turkey today after battling back from a career-threatening injury.

Torrance, No. 1 on the over-50s' Order of Merit in each of the previous two years, is not fully recovered from a serious hand injury but still managed to negotiate the New Course at Gloria Golf Resort, Belek without dropping a shot.

Sam's three-under-par 69, matched by Aberdonian John Chillas, saw the two Scots finish the day in joint sixth place, two shots off the pace.Tony Johnstone of Zimbabwe, a former winner of the PGA Championship at Wentworth Club, Stewart Ginn of Australia, a Senior Major winner on the US Champions Tour, and Delroy Cambridge of Jamaica share the lead after rounds of 67.

For Torrance it was only his second competitive outing since November last year when he was first struck down by a painful index finger on his right hand.

He missed the opening event of the 2007 European Seniors Tour in Barbados, but after successfully completing 18 holes in Turkey he was feeling much happier about the future.The former Ryder Cup Captain, who picked up his shots at the second, third and 18th holes, said: "My hand is not great but it's on the mend. I was told six weeks ago it was arthritis, then I was told two weeks ago that no way was it arthritis.

"I was put in touch with a guy from New Zealand and he has done a lot of manipulation work from my finger up my forearm, bending it out and stretching it. It's 70 per cent better and in addition he has given me some herbal medication to take.

"I can no longer do my waggle (at address), but these are the things you have to put up with when you are an old man. Three months ago I really wasn't that sure whether I would play again.

"I didn't want to let that out, but now I know I will be able to and I am delighted to be back. I played really solid today and only missed one green."
Chillas was "flying" in the early holes with a string of birdies at the second, third, fourth and fifth. He dropped his first shot at the ninth to be out in 34 and bogeyed the 13th but finished on a high with his fifth birdie of the day at the 18th.

Martin Gray, joint 13th on 70, birdied the ninth, 12th and 18th, shedding a stroke only at the 10th.

Ross Drummond and Bill Longmuir are two of the bunch in joint 22nd place on 71.

Ross deviated from par at only three holes - the first and 18th which he birdied and the fifth which he bogeyed.

Bill birdied the second, seventh, 16th and 18th, bogeying the fourth, 12th and 14th.

Steve Martin, a rookie on the Seniors Tour, having gained his player's card at the Portugal Q School late last year, had to settle for a 73. In fact it looked like being a 75 until he got a brilliant eagle 3 at the long last hole. Earlier the Dundee man had bogeyed the first, 11th and 13th.

Bill McColl was also on 73 but after 10 holes he was in contention to lead at the end of the day. The Anglo-Scot birdied the first, second, sixth, ninth and 10th and only a bogey at the eighth had knocked him back to four under par for the day. Then came a horrendous run of bogeys on the inward half when he didn't look the same player at all.

McColl bogeyed the 11th, 12th, 13th, 15 and 17th.

Mike Miller signed for a 78 after a mediocre outward half of 42 with five bogeys and no birdies. He continued to bogey his way round until birdies at the 16th and 18th brightened the day for the Glasgow man.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Gloria Golf Resort New Course (6,772yd), Belek. Par 72
67 Stewart Ginn (Aus), Tony Johnstone (Zim), Delroy Cambridge (Jam)68 Horacio Carbonetti (Arg), Bobby Lincoln (SAf).
69 Eamonn Darcy (Ire), Adan Sowa (Arg), Terry Gale (Aus), Bob Cameron (Eng), José Rivero (Esp), Sam Torrance (Sco), John Chillas (Sco).
70 Doug Johnson (US), Luis Carbonetti (Arg), Gordon J Brand (Eng), Juan Quiros (Esp), Andrew Murray (Eng), Guillermo Encina (Chi), Martin Gray (Sco), Martin Poxon (Eng), John Mashego (SAf).
71 Angel Fernandez (Chi), Pete Oakley (US), Bob Lendzion (US), Bob Larratt (Eng), Bill Longmuir (Sco), Denis O'Sullivan (Ire), Peter Teravainen (US), Giuseppe Cali (Ita), Ross Drummond (Sco), Nick Job (Eng), Emilio Rodriguez (Esp), David Creamer (Eng).
72 David J Russell (Eng), Jerry Bruner (USA), Bruce Heuchan (Can), Bill McColl (Sco), David Good (Aus).
73 Steve Martin (Sco), Ian Mosey (Eng), Simon Owen (NZ), Denis Durnian (Eng), Gavan Levenson (SAf), Carl Mason (Eng), Jim Rhodes (Eng), Gery Watine (Fra), David Merriman (Aus), Tony Charnley (Eng), Jim Lapsley (NZ).
74 Ray Carrasco (US), John Benda (US), Jean Pierre Sallat (Fra), Victor Garcia (Spa), Glenn Ralph (Eng).
75 Kevin Spurgeon (Eng), Tommy Horton (Eng), Manuel Piñero (Esp), Eddie Polland (NIr), Tony Allen (Eng), Alberto Croce (Ita).
76 Philippe Dugeny (Fra), Antonio Garrido (Esp), Bill Malley (US).
77 Jimmy Heggarty (NIr), Mike Ferguson (Aus), Noel Ratcliffe (Aus).
78 Mike Miller (Sco), Maurice Bembridge (Eng).
79 Malcolm Gregson (Eng), Tim Rastall (Eng).
80 Nigel Burch (Eng).
81 Bertus Smit (SAf).
92 Remzi Irier (Tur).

BON ACCORD BEAT CRAIBSTONE IN OPENING
RITSON SMITH ABERDEEN PENNANT TIE

That Ritson Smith Aberdeen Pennant League result we were looking for from Tuesday night turned out to be:
Bon Accord 4 1/2, Craibstone 1 1/2.
Thanks to Craibstone Golf Club for passing on the information.
This is the only tie played this week because Thursday's Caledonian v Northern match was postponed because the King's Links were closed because they were waterlogged.
Next week's matches:
TUESDAY (May 15)
Bon Accord v Deeside.
Craibstone v Hazlehead.
Nigg Bay v Westhill.
Stonehaven v Auchmill.
THURSDAY (May 17)
East Aberdeenshire v Portlethen.
Newmachar v Caledonian.
Northern v Murcar Links.
Royal Aberdeen v Peterculter.

Scottishgolfview.com would be delighted to display the results on the same night as the ties are played or the following morning if possible.
We need the home clubs' co-operation to run a Ritson Smith Aberdeen Pennant League results and news service.
The results can be E-mailed to colin@scottishgolfview.com or, next week, phoned to 07843 446411 because Colin Farquharson will be down at Barassie, reporting on the Scottish women's amateur championship.

CLACKMANNAN COUNTY'S NEW

BOY MATCH-PLAY CHAMPIONS

By HUGH HUNTER

New boy match-play champions were crowned at the conclusion of the 2007 events. The premier event was for the Ponton shield and the resultant senior boy match-play champion was Scott Clark of Braehead with a surprisingly easy victory over the stroke-play champion Grant Dowie (Alloa).
Scott, a fifth year student at Alloa Academy, established a two-hole lead by the seventh, and gradually increased it with confident play to close out Grant by 6 and 5 and deny him the chance of doing the double.
Both Scott and Grant had comfortable wins in their semi-finals although Scott lost two out of the first three holes before fighting back against Gary Elliot (Alva).
In the junior final for the Anderson Trophy, Lawrence Allan (Alva) once again produced an amazing performance to take the title on the last green from Gary Chalmers (Dollar).
In a close match, which was square at the 10th and square again after 16 holes, the 12-year-old Alva star finished with two pars to edge out Gary again and add the match-play title to the stroke-play title which he won recently. And he still has another six years in boys’ golf!!
In the semi-finals at Tillicoultry, Lawrence got the better of his fellow Alva golfer Daniel Ashe, while Gary was awarded his tie after his opponent failed to turn up at his allotted tee time.
The final of the handicap event between William Nelson and Martin Hall looked as if it would finish early with William moving into a three-hole lead by the ninth. However, Martin fought back reducing the lead, but ran out of holes eventually, and left William as the Jubilee trophy winner.
In their semi-finals, Martin reversed a one-hole deficit at the turn, while William took until the last few holes to overcome 10-year-old Brian Macadam who must have found the hills of Tillicoultry golf course a bit of an ordeal on the second circuit.
The support of this event by Mr Kenneth Thomson of Thomson printers from Alloa is much appreciated by the players and Clackmannan County Golf Union.

Caption for Hugh Hunter's picture above. Front row (left to right): Lawrence Allan, Scott Clark, William Nelson. Back row: Mr Kenneth Thomson (Alloa Printers), Gary Chalmers, Martin Hall and Grant Dowie.

FULL RESULTS

PONTON SHIELD
Semi-finals – S Clark (Braehead) bt G Elliot (Alva) 4 and 3, G Dowie (Alloa) bt S McPherson (Dollar) 7 and 6.
Final – Clark bt Dowie 6 and 5.

ANDERSON TROPHY
Semi-finals – L Allan (Alva) bt D Ashe (Alva) 5 and 4, G Chalmers (Dollar) w.o. J Pollock (Braehead) scr.
Final – Allan bt Calmers 2 holes.

JUBILEE TROPHY
Semi-finals – W Nelson (Alloa) (23) bt B McAdam (Alloa) (26) 4 and 2, M Hall (Alva) (16) bt N. Forbes (Alva) (14) 2 and 1.
Final – Nelson bt Hall 2 and 1.

Now that the boys’ championships have been decided, the boys will turn their attention to the boys’ league matches, starting soon between the county clubs. At the same time, the selectors will be choosing four boys to represent Clackmannanshire in the national boys’ area team championship to be held at Forres Golf Club on June 10.
It’s now almost 30 years since Clackmannanshire won this title when it was played at Alloa Golf Club in 1978.

EMPHATIC WIN FOR BRAEHEAD OVER TILLICOULTRY IN CLACKMANNAN FOURSOMES

By HUGH HUNTER

The 2007 Clackmannan county club foursomes tournament ended with an emphatic win for Braehead Golf Club over Tillicoultry Golf Club at the rain-soaked Tulliallan course this evening.
The tournament uses a traditional scoring system whereby three couples play against each other over 18 holes, the result is decided by the aggregate of holes up and down. Braehead’s top couple of team captain Ross Benvie, partnered by Scott McChristie, quickly established a two-hole lead by the seventh. Although pulled back to a single hole by the 11th, the duo struck back with wins at 12 and 13, eventually finishing four holes up.
Although Tillicoultry made a slight rally in the last two games at the 11th and 12th holes, the result became clear well before the end and Braehead finished 16 holes up.
Their path to the final started with a shock win against the holders, Tulliallian over their home course, followed by a semi-final win against Alloa by seven holes.
Tillicoultry’s route to the final involved only a semi-final win against Dollar (who had beaten Alva in the first round) by 11 holes. Interestingly, the semi-final match found two former Wee County Scottish boy champions on opposite sides -- John Gullen for Tillicoultry and Bobby Watson for Dollar.

Caption for Hugh Hunter's picture above. Front row (left to right): Mike Rust, captain Ross Benvie with trophy, Scott McChristie. Back row: David Finlayson, James Muir and Scott Moffat.

Results:
SEMI-FINALS
Braehead beat Alloa by seven holes
Scott Moffat & Mike Russell 0, Ian Ross & James Aitken 0.
David Finlayson & James Muir 7, Phil Dempsey & Andre Scotland 0.
Ross Benvie & Scott McChristie 0, Craig O’Connor & Ian Guthrie 0.
Tillicoultry beat Dollar by 11 holes.
Andrew McPherson & Jim Malcolm 0, Dareren Hulston & Gary Smith 0.
John Gullen & Ross Jamieson 8, Vic Allan & Mark Inglis 0.
Colin Johnson & Gary Kinnaird 3, Craig Downie & Bobby Watson 0.
FINAL
Braehead beat Tillicoultry by 16 holes
Benvie & McChristie 4, Malcolm & McPherson 0.
Finlayson & Muir 4, Gullen & Jamieson 0.
Moffat & Rust 8, Kinnaird & Johnson 0.

MONTY HAS A 76 BUT HE'S ONLY
ONE BEHIND TIGER WOODS IN
PLAYERS' CHAMPIONSHIP

Colin Montgomerie could do no better than a four-over-par 76 in the first round of the US Players' Championship at Sawgrass. Mind you, Tiger Woods, beset by putting problems, was only one better.
Setting a hot pace on 67 were Phil Mickelson and South African Rory Sabbatini.

SCOREBOARD
Par 72 (players from US unless stated)
67 Phil Mickelson, Rory Sabbatini (SAf).
68 Chris DiMarco.
69 Peter Lonard (Aus).
70 Rodney Pampling (Aus), Tom Lehman, Carl Pettersson (Swe), Jason Gore
71 Brian Davis (Eng), Retief Goosen (SAf), Jeff Quinney, J.P. Hayes, Nathan Green (Aus), Jim Furyk, KJ Choi (Kor), Rich Beem.
72 Bernhard Langer (Ger), Steve Stricker, Cliff Kresge, Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Sean O'Hair, Mathew Goggin (Aus), Scott Verplank, Rocco Mediate, Brandt Snedeker, Henrik Stenson (Swe).
73 Jerry Kelly, Arron Oberholser, Zach Johnson, John Senden (Aus), Kevin Sutherland, John Mallinger, Steve Elkington (Aus), Charles Howell III, Kenny Perry, Sergio Garcia (Spa), Jose Coceres (Arg), Ernie Els (SAf), Tim Clark (SAf), Shane Bertsch.
74 Joey Sindelar, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Harrison Frazar, Will MacKenzie, Daniel Chopra (Swe), Vijay Singh (Fij), Boo Weekley, Stuart Appleby (Aus), Adam Scott (Aus), Charl Schwartzel (SAf), Ted Purdy, Stewart Cink, Tom Pernice jun, Robert Allenby (Aus), Luke Donald (Eng), Brett Wetterich, Jonathan Byrd.
75 Nick Watney, Kirk Triplett, Charley Hoffman, Tiger Woods, Vaughn Taylor, Mathias Gronberg (Swe), Todd Hamilton, Dean Wilson, Shaun Micheel, Mike Weir (Can), Craig Perks (NZ), Michael Campbell (NZ), Eric Axley, Jeff Sluman, Ian Poulter (Eng), Corey Pavin, Troy Matteson.
76 Bart Bryant, Ben Curtis, Nick O'Hern (Aus), Joe Durant, Bill Haas, Ken Duke, Jesper Parnevik (Swe), Jason Bohn, Colin Montgomerie (Sco), Paul Casey (Eng), John Rollins, J.B. Holmes, J J Henry, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), Shigeki Maruyama (Jap), D.J. Trahan, Padraig Harrington (Ire).
77 Pat Perez, Tim Herron, Davis Love III, David Toms, Stephen Leaney (Aus), Chris Couch, Bubba Watson, Greg Owen (Eng), Robert Karlsson (Swe), Ryan Palmer, Bo Van Pelt, Ryuji Imada (Jap), Douglas Labelle, Bobby Wadkins, Frank Lickliter II, Stephen Ames (Can).
78 Charles Warren, Paul Azinger, Billy Mayfair, Steve Lowery, Heath Slocum, Hunter Mahan, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Anthony Kim, Richard S Johnson (Swe), Justin Leonard, Brett Quigley, Niclas Fasth (Swe), Briny Baird, Ryan Moore.
79 Chad Campbell, Jeff Gove, Lucas Glover, Joe Ogilvie, Steve Flesch, Mark Wilson
80 Kent Jones, Jeff Maggert, Trevor Immelman (SAf), Paul Goydos, Brian Gay, Camilo Villegas (Col), Fred Funk.
81 Billy Andrade, Stephen Marino, Woody Austin, Olin Browne
82 Bob Estes, David Branshaw, Mark Calcavecchia
85 Robert Garrigus.
Withdrawn: Daisuke Maruyama (Jap).

GREAT SCOTT! JAMIESON UNDER PAR AGAIN
ON HOOTERS' TOUR QUICKSILVER CLASSIC

Scott Jamieson continues his good form as a rookie tour pro on the NGA Hooters Tour with a first-round, three-under-par 69 at the Quicksilver Classic at Quicksilver Golf Club, Midway in Pennsylvania.
That put the Glasgow man in a share of 11th place in the huge field at the end of the day.
Ulsterman Gareth Maybin from Ballyclare, winner of this title 12 months ago, made an even better start with a 68 to be in joint fourth place.
David Skinns from Lincoln had a 70 and Colin Spiers from Dunkeld a 71 to be lying joint 35th.
Joel Hendry, the twice former Scottish youths champion from Elgin, is in joint 57th place after a par-matching 72.
Scots exile David Kirkpatrick from Edinburgh but a resident of Lakeland, Florida for at least a decade, had an uninspired one-over-par 73 to be sharing 81st place. To be among the leading 60 and ties who will beat the 36-hole cut on the NGA Hooters Tour you normally have to score at worst par over 36 holes.
FIRST-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
66 Tommy Biershenk (South Carolina), Tim Ailes (Ohio).
67 James Vargas (Miami).
Other scores:
68 Gareth Maybin (NIre) (jt 4th).
69 Scott Jamieson (Sco) (jt 11th).
70 David Skinns (Eng).
71 Colin Spiers (Sco) (jt 35th).
72 Joel Hendry (Sco) (jt 57th).
73 David Kirkpatrick (Sco) (jt 81st).
81 Andrew Bravant (Eng) (jt 160th).

ABERDEEN PENNANT LEAGUE TIE RAINED OFF

Tonight's Caledonian v Northern Ritson Smith Aberdeen Pennant League match was postponed because the King's Links course was closed after 24 hours of rain.
The Pennant League for 2007 started on Tuesday night with Bon Accord playing Craibstone. If anyone knows the result of that tie, we would be grateful if they could E-mail it to: colin@scottishgolfview.com
We would like to display the Pennant League results nightly as they are played but we need the co-operation of the home clubs.
The next scheduled round of matches is on Tuesday (May 15):
Bon Accord v Deeside.
Craibstone v Hazlehead.
Nigg Bay v Westhill.
Stonehaven v Auchmill.

JACQUELINE SNEDDON IS TOP QUALIFIER AGAIN
FOR PERTH & KINROSS MATCH-PLAY STAGES

Alyth’s Jacqueline Sneddon topped the 16 qualifiers for the match-play stages of the Perth & Kinross women’s county championship at Kinross today for the second year in a row.
On a day of non-stop rain, when the greens had to be repeatedly swept clear of excess water and the course played very long with no run on the ball, Jacqueline’s score of 82 was matched by Emily Ogilvy (Auchterarder) but the Alyth player was declared the top seed of a card countback.
The match-play starts over the same course at 9.28 on Saturday morning with the quarter-finals teeing off from 2.0. The semi-finals and final will be played on Sunday.
All three members of the Sneddon family who played in the qualifying round won their way through to the match-play. Apart from daughter Jacqueline, mother Jennifer and sister Jillian made it through in the handicap championship and could meet in the semi-finals.
QUALIFIERS
82 Jacqueline Sneddon (Alyth), E Ogilvy (Auchterarder).
84 J Yellowlees (Murrayshall), A Bushby (Strathmore).
86 A Niven (Crieff), E Napper (Craigie Hill).
87 L Fertacz (Dunkeld & Birnam), C Dunbar (Aberfeldy), G Lambie (Dunkeld & Birnham).
90 S Shephered (Blairgowrie).
91 M Begbie (Alyth), J Griffiths (Crieff), D Butchart (Strathmore), G Wallace (Glenisla), N Morrison (Dunblane).
92 C Turner (Alyth).
AUTOMATIC DRAW
Jacqueline Sneddon v Turner, Lambie v Dunbar, Niven v Griffiths,. Butchart v Bushby, Yellowlees v Wallace, Begbie v Napper, Fertacz v Shepherd, Morrison v Ogilvy.
HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP
A Smith (Kinross) (15) v G Pennycook (Alyth) (13), L Murray (Kinross) (12) v C Peebles (Alyth) (21), M Walker (Alyth) (25) v Jillian Sneddon (Alyth) (23), Jennifer Sneddon (Alyth) (19) v S Crystal (Taymouth) (19).

TONIGHT'S RESULTS FROM ABERDEEN TRADES FOURSOMES

At Hazlehead.

Morrison Construction w.o. Aberdeen Motor Trade scr.

Insurance beat Sparrows Offshore by 11 holes.
Alastair Martin & Donald Love 5, Jim Henderson & Stuart Watt 0
Nick Henderson & Alan Ross 6, Brian Smith & Pat McCrory 0

Fish Trade beat Production Services Network by five holes
Francis Clark & Colin Fraser 1, Chris Flint & Andy Powell 0
Mike Pocock & Darren Ross 4, Alan Sheldrick & Bill Riley 0

Lawyers beat Agricola by 20 holes.
Bill Barclay & Jim Christie 9, John Wallace & Ray Sutherland 0
Duncan Kerr & Donald Macandrew 11, Russell Hooper & Dave Miller 0

Bakers beat Lumsden Security by one hole.
Stephen Scott & Gary Geddes 3, Cammy McBain & Frank McBeath 0
Kenny Milne & Stuart Milne 0, Neil Forbes & Fred Lawson 2

Elmar UK beat Meat Trade by four holes.
Gary Lyon & Kenny Coull 2, John Simmers & Donny Adam 0
Allan Strath & Kevin Selbie 2, Evan Leslie & Bruce Fraser 0

AUSSIE ZIONS LEADS EUROPEAN TOUR
EVENT AT ANDALUCIA, SPAIN

Matthew Zions, a 28-year-old Denver, Colorado-based Australian, who came through all three stages of the European Tour Qualifying School last year, was the surprise leader on seven-under-par 65 at the end of the first round of the Valle Romano Open de Andalucia at Aloha Golf Club on Span's Costa del Sol today.
He led by one shot from American-based Spaniard, Alejandro Canizares.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72. Players from GB&I unless stated.
65 Matthew Zions (Aus).
66 Alejandro Canizares (Spa).
67 Louis Oosthuizen (SAf), Joakim Haeggman (Swe), Gary Lockerbie, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa), Chris Gane.
68 David Griffiths, Matthew Millar (Aus), Eduardo de la Riva (Spa), Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Jamie Spence.
69 Richard McEvoy, Steve Jones (US), Michael Jonzon (Swe), Kenneth Ferrie, Phillip Archer, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Benn Barham, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Gareth Davies, Sam Walker, Carl Suneson (Spa), David Higgins.
70 Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Alvaro Salto (Spa), Denny Lucas, Robert Rock, Andrew Butterfield, Sion Bebb, Jamie Donaldson, Soren Hansen (Den), Oliver Fisher, Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Paul Broadhurst, Simon Dyson, David Lynn, Marcus Higley, Joakim Backstrom (Swe), Sebastian Fernandez (Arg)
71 Gary Emerson, Carlos Balmaseda (Spa), Sam Little, Lee James, Sven Struver (Ger), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Notah Begay (USA), Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Terry Pilkadaris (Aus), Simon Nash, Paul McGinley, Adrien Mork (Fra), Garry Houston, Jorge Berendt (Arg).
72 Martin Maritz (SAf), Alvaro Velasco (Spa), Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe), James Hepworth, Pedro Linhart (Spa), Andrew Raitt, Jean Hugo (SAf), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Anthony Wall, Damien McGrane, Santiago Luna (Spa), Edward Rush, Tomas Jesus Munoz (Spa), Raphael Eyraud (Fra), Jose Manuel Carriles (Spa), Euan Little, Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Lee Westwood, Juan Parron (Spa), Ian Garbutt, Manuel Merizalde (Col), Daniel Quiros (Spa), Scott Strange (US).
73 Rafael Echenique (Arg), Jose Luis Adarraga Gomez (Spa), Ariel Canete (Arg), Terry Price (Aus), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Peter Fowler (Aus), Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Wade Ormsby (Aus), Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice), Miles Tunnicliff, Simon Hurd, Steve Alker (NZ), Peter Gustafsson (Swe), Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa), Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Diego Borrego (Spa).
74 Fredrik Widmark (Swe), Philip Golding, YE Yang (Kor), Francis Valera (Spa), David Bransdon (Aus), David Drysdale, Shaun Webster, Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Thomas Levet (Fra), Taichi Teshima (Jpn), Cesar Monasterio (Arg), Johan Axgren (Swe), Henrik Nystrom (Swe).
75 Ivo Giner (Spa), Tim Milford, Carlos Del Moral (Spa), Stuart Little, James Heath, Miguel Angel Martin (Spa), Andrew Tampion (Aus), Jonathan Lomas, Alexandre Rocha (Bra), Phil Worthington, David Dixon, Gabriel Canizares (Spa).
76 Agustin Domingo (Spa), Francisco Cea (Spa), Pelle Edberg (Swe), Carlos Quevedo (Spa), Matthew Richardson, Francois Calmels (Fra), Thomas Nielsen (Den), Warren Bennett, Manuel Quiros (Spa), Andrew Oldcorn, Carlos Aguilar (Spa).
77 Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), Scott Drummond
78 Mickael Dieu (Fra), Raul Quiros (Spa), Mattias Eliasson (Swe), Hernan Rey (Arg), Lee Slattery, Rafael Gomez (Arg), Keith Horne (SAf).
79 Vicente Blazquez (Spa), Patrik Sjoland (Swe), Carlos De Corral (Spa)
80 Luis Claverie (Spa).
86 Andres Jimenez (Spa).

QUALIFIERS FOR LGU MEDAL GRAND FINAL AT CRIEFF

Leading scores in the Ladies Golf Union Medal North area final at Monifieth today were:

Silver Division – Caroline Barclay (Milnathort) (15) 73; Ann B Ramsay (Kirriemuir) (10) better inward half, Lynne Fotheringham (Grange) (4) 74; Ruth Mitchell (Murcar Links) (15) 75 (bih).
Bronze Division – Judy Proudfoot (Taymouth Castle) (26) 66; Angie Isbister (Montrose Caledonia) (22) 69; Anne Geddes (Arbroath Artisans) (34) 70; Sheila Walton (Kintore) (23) 72.
Mrs Ramsay is unable to attend the Grand Final at Crieff on Sunday, June 3, which means the qualifiers are: Barclay, Fotheringham, Mitchell, Proudfoot, Isbister and Geddes.

NORTHERN VETS BEAT MIDLANDS

AT GLENISLA

Northern beat Midland 5-2 in a veteran women's inter-area golf match to win the Patrick Rosebowl at the third attempt at Glenisla Golf Club, Alyth today at Glenisla.
Details (Northern names first):.
K Sutherland (Royal Montrose ) bt F De Vries (St Regulus) 4 and 3, H Anderson (Downfield ) lost to L Bennett (Ladybank) 6 and 5, L Terry (Cruden Bay ) bt M Tough (Falkirk) 2 and 1, F Neish (Murcar Links) bt E Wilson (Elie & Earlsferry) 5 and 4, A Smart (Banchory) bt A Chisholm (Dunfermline) 3 and 2, R Dunsmuir (Cruden Bay) bt K Keir (Elie & Earlsferry) 3 and 2, P Wilson (Murcar Links ) lost to I Harvey (St Regulus) 3 and 2.

BRITAIN'S GOLF GIRLS WIN COMMONWEALTH
TITLE AFTER SOUTH AFRICA, AUSTRALIA
LOSE TO TOURNAMENT UNDERDOGS

Great Britain's female amateur golf squad today won the Commonwealth Tournament for the first time since 1991 - when they were miles away from the course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club.
Britain still have to play host nation South Africa on Friday's final programme but Thursday's results meant that Sue Turner's team, with three wins out of three over Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, cannot be overtaken at the top of the league table, whatever happens in the final session of play.
Today, the underdogs bit back. New Zealand, whipped by the Brits on Wednesday, beat South Africa 4-3 and Canada, thrashed 7-0 by Britain on Monday, shocked Australia by beating them 4-3.
Britain have 3pt, and their nearest challengers, Canada with 2pt, have completed their programme of four matches. Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have 1pt apiece. They are playing for runner-up place on Friday.
British skipper Sue Turner said: “We may be out of reach at the top of the table because no other team can catch us, but we are determined to win all of our four matches before we celebrate our victory.”
The British team - Scotland's Krystle Caithness, Breanne Loucks from Wales, and England's Melissa Reid, Kerry Smith and Naomi Edwards, were playing with lion cubs and on a shopping spree, when news filtered through of the shock defeats for their only challengers, South Africa and Australia.
The last British team to win the tournament, played every four years, comprised of two Scots, Catriona Lambert (Matthew), Elaine Farquharson, two English players, Julie Hall and Linzi Fletcher, and Vicki Thomas from Wales. They won in 1991 over the Northumberland Golf Club course.
Today's results:
Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club - Third day - New Zealand 4, South Africa 3; Canada 4, Australia 3.

GRAHAM GORDON LEADING SCOT

IN PGA EUROPRO TOUR EVENT

AFTER DAY OF TOUGH CONDITIONS

Conditions were so tough for the second round of the Oceanico Group Irish Classic, this week's PGA EuroPr0 Tour event at Roganstown Golf Club, that the projected 36-hole cut figure rose steadily during the day until it reached 150.
Everyone with 151 or worse failed to make it through to Friday's final round.
That meant that Aberdonian Graham Gordon, the former Scottish amateur champion, qualified after all. An early finisher, it had looked has if his total of 147 (75-72) would be on the wrong side of the cut.
But as events transpired Gordon (pictured right) finished the second day as the leading Scot in the field!
Paul Cormack and Paul Doherty were the only two compatriots who joined him among the qualifiers. They were both on 149 and both with rounds of 74 and 75.
Graham Brown, Elliot Saltman and Freddy Valenti were sidelined on 151 and, surprisingly enough, so too was Christopher Campbell who was the joint top Scot with Paul Cormack at the end of Day 1. The Skibo Castle man slumped to a second-round 78 for 152.
SCOREBOARD
138 C Hanson (Eng) 66 72, R Steeele (Eng) 69 69.
139 G Clark (Eng) 70 69, N Fox (Ire) 66 73.
141 J Ruebotham (Eng) 70 71.
Other qualifiers included:
147 G Gordon (Sco) 75 72.
149 P Cormack (Sco) 74 75, P Doherty (Sco) 74 75.
SCOTS WHO MISSED CUT
151 G Brown 75 76, E Saltman 79 72, F Valenti 78 73.
152 C Campbell 74 78.
154 N Mitchell 75 79.
156 J Doherty 81 75.
157 A Mackenzie 78 79.
159 L Harper 78 81.

NORTH-EAST BLOOD McLEAN AGAINST ARGYLL & BUTE

Peterhead's Philip McLean, a Scotland youth international, will make his debut for the North-east men's six-strong team in the first of the Scottish area championship ties at Murcar Links a week on Sunday against Argyll & Bute.
Team is:
Gary Esson (Portlethen), Mark Halliday (Royal Aberdeen), Bryan Innes (Murcar Links), Terry Mathieson (Murcar Links), Philip McLean (Peterhead), Laurie Phillips (Cruden Bay).
Reserve: Alan Reith (Deeside).

FOUR SHARE VICTORY IN SCOTTISH WATERAID 54-HOLE PRO-AM
AT FAIRMONT ST ANDREWS

It could hardly have been closer at the top of the final scoreboard in the Scottish Wateraid 54-hole Order of Merit pro-am over the Torrance course at Fairmont St Andrews (formerly St Andrews Bay).
It was a logjam on three-under-par 213 with four players tied for the top spot and no play-off according to the rules of the SPGA competition.
The four men who each earned £1,756 were former PGA Cup player Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs), pictured right, Stephen Gray (Hayston), Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) and Gary McFarlane (Clober).
McFarlane had shared the lead with Greig Hutcheon (Peterculter with one round to go but could do no better than a closing score of 71 for 213.
Robert Arnott made up the most ground with a 67, Gray a 68 and McKechnie a 69.
Hutcheon slipped back to joint fifth place, only one shot behind, on 214 with a closing 72. Alson o 214 was Sam Cairns (Westerwood).
TOP FINAL PLACINGS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
213 Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs) 73 73 67, Stephen Gray (Hayston) 74 71 69, Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) 73 71 69, Gary McFarlane (Clober0 72 70 71.
214 Sam Cairns (Westerwood) 73 71 70, Greig Hutcheon (Peterculter) 71 71 72.
215 Chris Doak (unatt) 77 68 70.
216 Graham Rankine (Drumpellier) 76 71 69, Jim McKinnon (Irvine) 74 72 70, Fraser Mann (Musselburgh) 76 68 72, Mark Loftus (Cowglen) 73 70 73.

KATHRYN IMRIE ON 73 AS REBECCA SETS
PACE WITH 65 AT SPANISH LADIES OPEN

Doncaster's Rebecca Hudson was back at her best with a seven-under-par 65 to lead the Ladies Spanish Open by one shot at the end of the first round at Campo Mediterraneo in Castellon.
Rebecca started at the 10th and covered her first nine holes in 30, only one above the Ladies European Tour record low for nine holes.
Kathryn Imrie was the best of the two Scots in the field. She scored a 73 with birdies at the sixth, eighth, 13th and 17th to be sharing 49th place on 73.
Lynn Kenny had a 75 with no birdies and Liz McKinnon a 76, again with no birdies.
Clare Queen is not in the field for this one.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72 (Players from GB&I unless stated).
65 Rebecca Hudson.
66 Kirsty Taylor, Gwladys Nocera (Fra).
67 Danielle Masters.
68 Louise Friberg (Swe), Nikki Garrett (Aus), Elin Ohlsson (Swe)
69 Asa Gottmo (Swe), Amy Yang (Kor), Fany Schaeffer (Fra), Carlota Ciganda (Spa) (am), Ellen Smets (Bel), Lynn Brooky (NZ).
70 Amanda Moltke-Leth (Den), Sarah Kemp (Aus), Iben Tinning (Den), Martina Eberl (Ger), Beatriz Recari (Spa), Laura Cabanillas (Spa), Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha), Helena Alterby (Swe), Ana B Sanchez (Spa), Lara Tadiotto (Bel).
71 Paula Marti (Spa), Bettina Hauert (Ger), Anna Rawson (Aus), Cassandra Kirkland (Fra), Lisa Jean (Aus), Anna Tybring (Swe), Johanna Westerberg (Swe), Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den), Eva Steinberger (Aut), Eleanor Pilgrim, Federica Piovano (Ita), Tullia Calzavara (Ita).
72 Maria Boden (Swe), Lee-Anne Pace (SAf), Lora Fairclough, Becky Brewerton, Lisa Hall, Cherie Byrnes (Aus), Natascha Fink (Aut), Julie Tvede (Den), Laurette Maritz (Rsa), Kiran Matharu
73 Christine Hallstrom (Swe), Georgina Simpson, Sophie Giquel (Fra), Jehanne Jail (Fra), Elisabeth Esterl (Ger), Elisa Serramia (Spa), Fame More, Anja Monke (Ger), Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (Fra), Rebecca Stevenson (Aus), Kathryn Imrie, Claire Coughlan, Karen Lunn (Aus), Veronica Zorzi (Ita), Suzanne Dickens, Isabella Maconi (Ita), Mianne Bagger (Den), Margherita Rigon (Ita), Denise Simon (Ger).
74 Hanna-Leena Salonen (Fin), Lill Kristin Saether (Nor), Jo Clingan, Stacy Lee Bregman (Rsa), Anne Lise Caudal (Fra), Samantha Head, Marlene Hedblom (Swe), Kirsty S Taylor, Stephanie Arricau (Fra), Leah Hart (Aus), Rebecca Coakley, Tania Elosegui (Spa), Cecilia Ekelundh (Swe), Ana Larraneta (Spa), Sofia Renell (Swe), Rikke Rasmussen (Den), Mette Buus (Den).
75 Martina Gillen, Lynn Kenny, Joanne Mills (Aus), Sophie Sandolo (Ita), Virginie Auffret (Fra), Ludivine Kreutz (Fra), Kris Lindstrom (US), Emma Cabrera (Spa) (am), Anna Knutsson (Swe), Sara Beautell (Spa).
76 Carlie Butler (Aus), Elizabeth McKinnon (NZ), Stefania Croce (Ita), Karen-Margrethe Juul (Den), Trish Johnson, Nicole Gergely (Aut), Sarah Heath, Jade Schaeffer (Fra), Marta Prieto (Spa), Shani Waugh (Aus), Bree Turnbull (Aus), Anna Rossi (Ita)
77 Nienke Nijenhuis (Ned), Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin), Marina Arruti (Spa), Vanessa Vignali (Spa)
78 Felicity Johnson, Jenni Kuosa (Fin), Stefanie Michl (Aut), Nuria Clau (Spa), Katie Bakken (US).
79 Nora Angehrn (Swi), Lotta Wahlin (Swe), Anna Temple (US), Carmen Alonso (Spa), Emma Zackrisson (Swe), Natalie Claire Booth, Maria Angeles Jimenez (Spa).
80 Nathalie David-Mila (Fra)
81 Cecilie Lundgreen (Nor), Sophie Hunter.
82 Frederique Seeholzer (Swi), Maria Beautell (Spa).
89 Maria Blomqvist (Swe).

GEORGE MURRAY STARTS
WITH A 67 IN CHALLENGE
TOUR EVENT IN FRANCE
From MICHAEL GIBBONS
Press Officer, European Challenge Tour
An explosive finish of an eagle and two birdies in his closing three holes saw former Scottish amateur champion George Murray leap into contention in joint sixth place at the European Challenge Tour’s A.G.F. Allianz Golf Open de Toulouse today.
The 23-year-old from Anstruther, who started his round on the back nine, covered his closing three holes at the Golf de Toulouse-Seilh in four under par after a spectacular eagle 2 at the par-4 seventh hole was supplemented by consecutive birdies to help Murray to a five-under-par 67 which included a double bogey at the fourth.
In all, Murray, pictured right, had an eagle and five birdies.
That left the Fifer just three shots off the pace set by Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey and Christian Reimbold of Germany. Hoey won the British amateur championship at Prestwick in 2001; Reimbold was beaten in the previous year's final of that event.
Murray leads the Scottish challenge, with former European Tour Rookie of the Year Scott Henderson of Aberdeen and Glasgow’s Andrew McArthur, like Murray a former Scottish amateur title-holder, on two under after a pair of opening 70s.
Scott Henderson started with a double-bogey 6. He birdied the seventh and 10th before bogeying the 11th. The Aberdonian finished strongly with birdies at the 13th, 15th and 16th.
McArthur birdied the fifth, seventh and eight for a sparkling first nine of 33. But he bogeyed the 10th and 13th and had to birdie the 14th to get back to two under par.
Peter Whiteford had a disappointing 74 with included a double bogey 7 at the long 11th. He birdied the second and eighth but dropped single shots at the fourth and 18th.
Edinburgh's former Walker Cup player David Patrick soon lost the form that won him the Callaway Challenge on the Tartan Tour a week or so ago. Patrick had double bogeys at two short holes, the sixth and the 18th as well as single shots dropped at the second and 16th. Birdies at the fifth, seventh and 15th could not repair all the damaged as he stumpled to a 75.
Next to Murray, the leading Scottish-based player was Welshman Gareth Wright, son of the West Linton club professional. Gareth birdied the sixth, ninth, 13th, 14th and 17th with only one bogey, at the 12th.
LEADERBOARD
6,924yd. Par 72
64 Michael Hoey (NIr), Christian Reimbold (Ger).
66 Van Phillips (Eng), Rodolfo Gonzalez(Arg), Sebastian Delagrange (Fra).
67 George Murray (Sco), Robert Dinwiddie (Eng), Andre Bossert (Swi), Johan Skold (Swe), Leif Westerberg (Swe).
68 Kalle Edberg (Swe), Gareth Wright (Wal), Paul Dwyer (Eng), Nicola Maestroni (Ita), John Wade (Aus), Jacob Okello (Ken), Jean Marc De Polo (Fra).
69 Robert Coles (Eng), Stephen Browne (Ire), Marc Farry (Fra), Raphaël De Sousa (Swi), Julien Quesne (Fra), Adam Gee (Eng), Jamie Little (Eng), Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Jacques Thalamy (Fra), Kalle Brink (Swe), Toni Karjalainen (Fin), Michiel Bothma (SAf).
70 Nicolas Joakimides (Fra), Peter Kaensche (Nor), Scott Henderson (Sco), Christoffer Lange (Den), Bruno-Teva Lecuona (Fra), Benjamin Miarka (Ger), Mikko Korhonen (Fin), Joost Luiten (Net), Pontus Ericsson (Swe), Carlos Cardeza (Arg), Kieran Staunton (Eng), Stuart Davis (Eng), Bertrand Coathalem (Fra), Andrew McArthur (Sco), Fabien Marty (Fra), Wilhelm Schauman (Swe), Oskar Bergman (Swe); Magnus A Carlsson (Swe); Jan-Are Larsen (Nor), Oliver Whiteley (Eng), Arnaud Gabellon (Fra), Gareth Paddison (NZ), Peter Baker (Eng), Inder Van Weerelt (Net), Edouard Dubois (Fra) (am).
71 Pierre-Henry Brunel (Fra), Laurent Richard (Bel), Christophe Brazillier (Fra), Samuel Tanfin (Fra), Simon Robinson (Eng), Anders Schmedt Hansen (Den), Kasper Linnet Jorgensen (Den), Frédéric Schoettel (Fra), Colm Moriarty (Ire), Liam Bond (Wal), Richard Treis (Ger), Charles-Edouard Russo (Fra), Anthony Snobeck (Fra), Iain Pyman (Eng), Julien Guerrier (Fra); Paul Nilbrink (Nor), Gary Clark (Eng), Ghislain Rosier (Fra), Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Michael McGeady (Ire), Mikael Lundberg (Swe), Benoit Teilleria (Fra), Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa), Nicolas Vanhootegem (Bel).
72 Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Didier De Vooght (Bel), Wil Besseling (Net), Dominique Nouailhac (Fra), Juan Abbate (Arg), Jeppe Huldahl (Den), Daniel Barbetti (Arg), Eric Chaudouet (Fra), Antti Ahokas (Fin), Jean-Nicolas Billot (Fra), Marco Crespi (Ita); Neil Walker (Eng), Kevin Harper (Eng).
73 Roope Kakko (Fin);Julien Van Hauwe (Fra); James H Williams (Wal); Ben Willman (Eng); Ben Mason (Eng); Tuomas Tuovinen (Fin); Raphaël Pellicioli (Fra); Daniel De Leon (Mex); Per Barth (Swe); Julien Millet (Fra); Andrea Maestroni (Ita); Julien Xanthopoulos (Fra); Manuel Kempe (Ger); Magnus Persson (Swe); Frédéric Cupillard Fra); Klas Eriksson (Swe).
74 Niki Zitny (Aut); Cédric Menut (Fra); Martin Wiegele (Aut); Jacques Chevalier (Fra); Julien Grillon (Fra); Thomas Feyrsinger (Aut); Jerome Theunis (Bel); Lasse Jensen (Den); Ally Mellor (Eng); Morten Hedegaard (Den); Michael Hill (Fra), Zane Scotland (Eng); Emilien Chamaulte (Fra); Daniel Denison (Eng); Robin Swane (Ned), Peter Whiteford (Sco).
75 John E Morgan (Eng); Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe); Thomas Fournier (Fra); Paul Hendriksen (Eng), David Patrick (Sco), Thomas Rouyer (Fra), Jean-Charles Thoreux (Fra); Olivier David (Fra); Benjamin Hebert (Fra) (am).
76 Stuart Cage (Eng); Charles Dubois (Fra); Jd Yvet (Fra), Ross McGowan (Eng), Kariem Baraka (Ger); Anthony Pailler (Fra) (am).
77 Laurent Pargade (Fra), Stuart Manley (Wal), Julien Foret (Fra), Benoit Bozio (Fra); Alessio Bruschi (Ita), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut); Ilya Goroneskoul (Fra); Robert Mcguirk (Eng); Alan Bihan (Fra), Renaud Guillard (Fra).
78 Matthew King (Eng).
79 Miguel Rodriguez (Arg).
80 Philip Rowe (Eng), Lionel Alexandre (Fra), Stephane Piget (Fra), Anthony Grenier (Fra).
86 Jeremy Kirkland (Fra).

STIRLING UNIVERSITY GOLFERS ARE TOP
OF THE CLASS IN BRITISH FINALS

Stirling University golf teams won both the BUSA Championship final and the BUSA Trophy final at the British Universities Sports Association match-play finals at Royal Liverpool Golf Club this week.
In the championship semi-finals at Hoylake, Exeter beat St Andrews 5-4 and Stirling beat Dundee 8 ½-1/2. Stirling beat Exeter 5 ½-3 ½ in the final to win the championship for the third year in succession.
The Stirling University second team beat University of Highlands and Islands 5-4 to win the BUSA Trophy.
The winning teams were:

Stirling University first team: Gordon Yates, Gavin Dear, Scott Borrowman, Bobby Rushford, Paul Betty, James White, David Booth.
Stirling University second team: Rory Doran, Evan Bryceland, Craig Haugh, Bradley Brooke, Byron Campbell, Matt Dargie.

“The wins are on the back of Stirling’s triumphs in the Scottish universities championships and the winter team trophy competition,” said Raleigh Gowrie, the Stirling sports performance manager.
“This proves that the University of Stirling is the strongest institution for golf in Britain.”
Stirling University head coach Gordon Niven said: “The students have performed consistently well throughout this season. It’s good that they can take this form into the final stages of events and produce the golf that is required to win tournaments. Hopefully, their form can continue through to the British universities individual championship next month.”
Twelve Stirling University golfers have qualified for the 54-strong field for the BUSA individual championship at De Vere Slaley Hall Golf Club from June 13 to 15.
They include Gordon Yates (sports studies), who represented the R&A in the Manual Prado Cup tournament in Peru recently, Gavin Dear (international managerment studies), who finished third in the Craigmillar Park Open last month, and David Booth (sports studies), winner of the BUSA regional order of merit (Scotland).

R&A PRESS RELEASE

SELECTION TARGET FOR GB&I BOYS

Notts Golf Club at the end of August is the target for boys aiming to cap a successful season by being selected for the GB&I team to compete against the Continent of Europe in the Jacques Leglise Trophy.
For many years GB&I had an unyielding grip on the trophy but the 19½ - 4½ win for Europe at Marianske Lazne in 2006 showed that they are now a force to be reckoned with.
Over the next few months, contenders for the GB&I team will be expected to compete in most of the major boys events and while a few names have already been ‘pencilled in’, the way is still open for relatively unknown boys to play their way into contention.
Jeff Toye, Chairman of the Boys Selection Committee said: “We will be naming the team after the Boys Championship therefore there is everything to play for in the events before that. There are only three of last year’s team still available for selection so we will be picking at least six players who have not previously played for GB&I.
“Even at this early stage of the season, there have been several outstanding performances and at the Lytham Trophy, no fewer than four boys who are eligible for selection, made the cut –a superb achievement that points to a stronger GB&I team this year.”
“From a selection point of view, the Boys Home Internationals and European Boys Team Championship in Denmark will be top of our list as all potential candidates are likely to be in their respective national teams.”
Events at which selectors have been and will be present: -
Scottish Boys - Dunbar.
Peter McEvoy Trophy - Copt Heath.
Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters - Nizels.
European Boys Team Championship - Denmark.
Scottish Boys Open Strokeplay - Cardrona.
English Boys Open Strokeplay - Saunton.
Welsh Boys Championship - Nefyn & District.
Boys Home Internationals - Machynys Peninsula.
Boys Championship - Royal Porthcawl
Selection Committee: -
Jeff Toye – Chairman
Richard Cusack
Mark Heames
Jim Miller
Brian Roake

TIGHT FINISH ON CARDS IN

SCOTTISH WATERAID

ORDER OF MERIT PRO-AM

It promises to be a tight finish later today in the 54-hole Scottish Wateraid Order of Merit pro-am over the Torrance course at Fairmont St Andrews.
Gary McFarlane (Clober) and Peterculter's Greig Hutcheon (pictured right) are locked together in the lead at two-under-par 142.
Gary has had rounds o f 72 and 70, Greig a pair of 71s.
They are one stroke ahead of Mark Loftus (Cowglen) who has scored 73 and 70.
Then, on 144, come Fraser Mann (Musselburgh), Sam Cairns and Paul McKechnie.

The total prize fund is £16,000 so keen competition for the top four-figure cheques.

The top 10 with one round to go are:

142 Gary McFarlane (Clober) 72 70, Greig Hutcheon (Peterculter) 71 71.
143 Mark Loftus (Cowglen) 73 70.

144 Fraser Mann (Musselburgh) 76 68, Sam Cairns (Westerwood) 73 71, Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) 73 71.

145 Chris Doak (unatt) 77 68, Chris Kelly (Cawder) 75 70, Stephen Gray (Hayston) 74 71, Lee Vannet (Carnoustie Golf Links).

+ Our apologies for being unable to display the scores last night but the Scottish PGA is having problems with its national computer network so we had to wait until this morning to contact Tournament Director Hugh Malcolm at Fairmont St Andrews. He will supply Scottishgolfview.com with the top final totals at the end of play today - so look out for them on Scottishgolfview.com in the early evening.

DAVID HARRISON TO BE NEXT
CAPTAIN OF ROYAL & ANCIENT
GOLF CLUB

David J Harrison has been nominated as Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews for the year 2007-2008 and will assume office at the traditional driving in ceremony during the club's autumn meeting in September.
David Harrison joined the R&A in 1981 and from 2003-2006 was Chairman of the General Committee. He has also served on the Rules and Championship Committees and was a member of The R&A Training Panel for more than 10 years.
He is a qualified Rules official and on many occasions has acted as a referee at the Open Championship and at other major golf events.
In addition to his committee work at the R&A, David Harrison has spent over 30 years in golf administration, particularly at the English Golf Union where he was President in 1992. He has also held the positions of Joint Chairman of the International Golf Federation, President of the Association of Golf Club Secretaries and Chairman of the Championship Committee of The European Golf Association.
He won an England Boys’ cap in 1954, a Youths’ cap the following year, represented the RAF from 1957-1958 and was an Oxford Blue from 1959 – 1961. He played for Hampshire from 1955-1980 and was county champion a record six times.
He has been President of the Hampshire PGA since 1982 and is President of the Hampshire Schools Golf Association. He is an honorary member of Stoneham and Alresford golf clubs and plays to a handicap of five.

ABERDEEN TRADES FOURSOMES RESULTS

The Aberdeen Trades foursomes began at Hazlehead this evening with the following results:

Aberdeen Telephones beat Chartered Accountants by five holes.
Donald Smith & Gregor Davidson 4 v Julie Henderson & Martin Duncan 0
Peter Coutts & Ally Haining 1 v Iain McPherson & Graham Shiels 0

Corn Trade beat Plumbing & Heating Engineers by one hole.
Ken Cooper & Greg Davidson-Gall 3 v Ian Welch & Gary Lappin 0
Sandy Howie & George Manson 0 v Colin Philip & Gary Reid 2

Bankers beat Banchory Contractors by six holes.
Colin Grant & Gary Walker 0 v Nick Sangster & Brian Bell 1
Barry Gibson & Evan Duffus 7 v Richard Barron & Neil Walker 0

Grampian Police beat Licensed Trade by 15 holes.
Brian Ritchie & Jordan Calder 9 v Ian Donald & Stuart Clark 0
Ronnie Yule & Euan Duthie 6 v Stuart Paterson & Philip Adam 0

Tulloch Recruitment beat Aberdeen University by three holes.
Kevin Daglish & Mark McDonald 1 v Stewart Finnie & Dave McKay 0
John Hewitt & Andrew Massie 2 v Scott Sinclair & Ken Gunnyeon 0

Royal Mail beat Baker Hughes by two holes
Kevin Duthie & Ross McKen 2 v Alan Middleton & John Strachan 0
Tony Robertson & Scott Spiers 0 v Dave Stuart & Roddy Grant 0

HAT-TRICK FOR HELEN, DOUBLE
FOR DOUGLAS PARK
Helen Faulds completed a hat-trick and Douglas Park Golf Club a title double on the last day of the West of Scotland veteran women's championship at Renfrew Golf Club today.
Douglas Park member Helen won the scratch title for the third year in a row, beating Jennifer Mack (Haggs Castle) 5 and 4 in the final.
In the Bronze championship final, there was another success for Douglas Park when Maureen Rennie beat Mary Irving (Ranfurly Castle) 4 and 3.

ALISON DAVIDSON THROUGH
TO SEVENTH STIRLING &
CLACKMANNAN FINAL

Former Scottish champion and past Curtis Cup star Alison Davidson is through to her seventh final of the Stirling & Clackmannan women’s county championship.
The Stirling Golf Club member, who will be 39 next month, recaptured some of her old form to be five under par in winning her semi-final this evening by 6 and 5 against clubmate Elaine Allison.
Now No 2 seed Mrs Davidson, a mother of two who plays golf only once a week on average these days, will play Margaret Tough (Falkirk) in Friday’s final (5.30pm).
Margaret, the No. 4 qualifier, also played very well to be level par in beating the top seed, 18-year-old clubmate Louise MacGregor by 5 and 4.
Margaret Tough is in the final for the first time. Mrs Davidson won the title in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 2005. She was beaten in the finals of 2002 and 2003.

Results:
Semi-finals – M Tough (Falkirk) bt L MacGregor (Falkirk) 5 and 4, A Davidson (Stirling) bt E Allison (Stirling) 6 and 5.

CAMPBELL COMES IN LATE
TO SHARE SCOTS HONOURS
WITH THE TWO PAULS

Skibo Castle's Christopher Campbell (pictured right) came in late in the day with a three-over-par 74 to join Paul Cormack from Inchmarlo, Banchory and South Wales-based Paul Doherty as the leading Scots on three-over-par 74 on the opening day of the second PGA EuroPr0 Tour event of the year - the Oceanico Group Irish Classic at Roganstown Golf Club today.
Irishman Noel Fox and Englishman Christopher Hanson shared the lead with a five-under-par 66.
Campbell, playing out of the Carnegie Club, had birdies at the fifth, 10th and 14th but a double-bogey 6 at the sixth, a treacherous short hole that ruined many a scorecard.
Paul Cormack had an eagle 3 at the fifth but no birdies, only bogeys at the first, third, eighth, ninth and 15th.
Former Scottish boys’ match-play champion Doherty had birdies at the fifth, 14th and 17th but marred his card with a triple bogey 6 at the short sixth.
Aberdonian Neil Mitchell had a 75 which was a mixed bag of birdies at the fourth, fifth and sixth but bogeys at the second, third, ninth, 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th in halves of 35 and 40.
Graeme Brown from Montrose also had a 75, despite double b0geys at the short ninth and long 10th. He had birdies at the second and 15th.
A second Aberdonian, Graham Gordon, the former Scottish amateur champion, also finished on 75 after a dreadful start of bogey-bogey-double bogey. Out in 40, Graham birdied the 10th and 11th but dropped a shot at the 15th
Rookie pro Elliot Saltman (Craigielaw), who did well in his last out, got a reminder that playing golf for a living is not always as easy as picking apples off a tree. He finished on 79, taking 41 shots for the inward half, including a double bogey 6 at the 15th and a bogey at the 18th.
Alastair Mackenzie (Liberton) had a 78 which had a triple bogey 6 at the short sixth and a double bogey 6 at the 16th. He did birdie the 14th, 17th and 18th in halves of 40 and 38.
Lee Harper, the former Scottish boys match-play champion from Musselburgh, now attached to Archerfield Links, also hit the seven-over 78 mark with halves of 36 and 42. He had a horrendous inward half - a triple bogey 8 at the long 10th and a triple bogey 7 at the 15th, brightened only by a birdie 4 at the long 18th.
Paul Doherty’s older brother Jack did not enjoy himself in returning an 81 which included a double bogey 5 at the short sixth and a double bogey 7 at the lonth 10th.
Welshman Alex Smith had a hole in one at the 187yd 17th with a seven-iron on his way to matching the par of 71, which put him in joint 15th place.
LEADING SCORES
Par 71
66 N Fox (Team Ireland), C Hanson (Crosland Heath).
67 G Bateman (Royal Eastbourne).
68 L Walker (Dundalk), A Scallon (Eng).
69 M Dearden (Wales), D Sugrue (Ireland), M Cort (England), R Harris (Blankney), R Steele (Kenilworth), H Santos (Portugal), M Laskey (Brocket Hall), M Searle (Woodbury Park).
Scots’ scores:
74 P Cormack (Inchmarlo), P Doherty (Vale of Glamorgan), C Campbell (Carnegie Skibo).
75 N Mitchell (Murcar Links), G Brown (Montrose), G Gordon (Newmachar).
78 A Mackenzie (Liberton), L Harper (Archerfield Links), F Valenti (Pryors Haynes).
79 E Saltman (Craigielaw).
81 J Doherty (Vale of Glamorgan).

BRAND LOOKING FOR TURKISH DELIGHT
AS NEW EURO SENIORS CIRCUIT TEES
OFF WITH GLORIA CLASSIC AT BELEK

Gordon J Brand, the English former Ryder Cup player, tees up in the €325,000 Gloria Classic on Friday with his sights firmly set on blazing a trail into the European Seniors Tour record books.
Brand is in the middle of a remarkable run of form that has seen him win three of the last four events and another success at Gloria Golf Resort in Belek, Turkey, this week would put him alongside Tommy Horton as the only other golfer to have triumphed in three consecutive European Seniors Tour tournaments.
Horton, the most successful player in the history of the Tour, won the final three events of the 1997 season and now, a decade later, Brand is threatening to match that achievement after capturing the last tournament of 2006 - the Arcapita Seniors Tour Championship - and the first one of 2007 - the DGM Barbados Open.
Standing in Brand’s way is a strong field that has gathered in Turkey for the second outing of 2007 and the start of a seven-week tournament stretch that will take in the UK, Ireland, Continental Europe and the United States for the US Senior PGA Championship.
A total of 29 of the leading 30 players on the 2006 Order of Merit are in action, led by reigning No 1 Sam Torrance of Scotland and Carl Mason of England, who between them won five of the last seven events in 2006, plus a wide range of rookie players including Ross Drummond of Scotland, Andrew Murray of England and 2006 Qualifying School winner David Merriman of Australia.

ROOM FOR HANDICAP PLAYERS

ON NEW SCOTTISH SENIORS

AMATEUR CIRCUIT

The new Scottish men's open amateur circuit this summer is not just for the elite over-55 golfers - anyone with a handicap of 12 or under will be able to enter the events at Stirling (June 28-29), Nairn Dunbar (July 19-20), Hamilton (July 26-27) and Monifieth (August 2-3).
Former Scottish seniors champion Gordon MacDonald (Callander), pictured right, Scottish seniors champion in 2005 and winner of the Spanish Open seniors title for the past two years, is one of the leading lights in the SGU-backed drive to launch a mini-seniors tour.
"We are disappointed in the number of entries so far. Anything new takes time to establish itself but there are very few entries from players other than the ones you would expect from the low-handicap international team contenders," said Gordon.
"I want to stress that there are seven scratch prizes and seven HANDICAP prizes at each of the four two-round stroke tournaments. The maximum handicap is 12.4 and I want to squash the idea that this circuit is only for the top-notchers with low handicaps.
"We've got three age groups - 55 to 59, 60 to 64 and over 65, so there is something for everybody at these tournaments. We also want to encourage those who are over-50, and technically not senior golfers till they have their 55th birthdays, to come along and join us."
Former Walker Cup player Sandy Pirie (Hazlehead) was one active senior golfer who felt there was a danger of overcrowding the new circuit's field by letting in those aged over 50 but under 55.
"This has not happened," said Gordon MacDonald. "We have had very few entries from those in that age category."
There will be an Order of Merit point scheme linking all four events and the top 30 players will compete in a special one-round tournament over Blairgowrie Lansdowne on August 30.
Anyone who is any doubt about how to enter any or all of the four Scottish senior open amateur circuit tournaments can get more information from the Scottish Golf Union website (http://www.scottishgolfunion.org/) or from their club secretaries.

+++Scottishgolfview.com is planning to display the scores at the end of each day's play from the four tournaments on the new Scottish men's senior circuit. We will, of course, also be reporting on the British seniors open amateur championship (Nairn & Nairn Dunbar, August 8-10) as well as the Scottish equivalent at Drumpellier later this month (May 22 to 24).

10,000 DAILY CROWD LIMIT ON

WALKER CUP MATCH AT

ROYAL COUNTY DOWN

By MARK GARROD, Press Association

Demand is certain to exceed supply after the decision to put a crowd limit of 10,000 on Britain and Ireland's attempt to regain the Walker Cup - the amateur equivalent of the Ryder Cup - at Royal County Down Golf Club, about 40 miles south of Belfast on September 8 and 9.
The figure is only a third of the daily attendance at last year's Ryder Cup near Dublin.
Royal and Ancient Club championship director David Hill said: "If we could accommodate more people safely we would do so, but moving crowds around on this course is particularly difficult and we have to be mindful of that.
"The golf fraternity understands that the Walker Cup is very different to the Ryder Cup and we think that giving every club in Ireland an allocation of tickets is the fairest thing to do. There will be allocations for the United Kingdom and America as well."
Unlike the Ryder Cup, the crowd will be allowed to walk on the fairways behind matches - four foursomes followed by eight singles on each of the two days.
The United States won by a single point in Chicago two years ago, but Britain and Ireland were successful at Porthcawl in 1995 (Tiger Woods was part of the American line-up that year), Nairn in 1999, Sea Island in Georgia two years later and then again at Ganton in 2003.
The demand for the tickets will be huge, especially since the home team is almost certain to include Northern Ireland teenager Rory McIlroy, pictured above, the reigning European amateur champion from Holywood Golf Club, near Belfast.

Team captain Colin Dalgleish said: "To have somebody of his extraordinary talent definitely ramps up the interest."
Dalgleish gave a broad hint that six players - McIlroy, United States amateur championship winner Richie Ramsay, fellow Scot Lloyd Saltman, Welsh pair Rhys Davies and Nigel Edwards and England's Jamie Moul - are likely to be in the 10-man line-up.

FOUR SCOTS IN FIELD FOR

HOOTERS TOUR'S

QUICKSILVER CLASSIC

Six players from Scotland, England and Northern Ireland are among a field of 168 for the NGA Hooters Tour event later this week, the $200,000 Quicksilver Classic at Quicksilver Golf Club, Midway in Pennsylvania.

There are four Scots - rookie pro Scott Jamieson, pictured right, from Glasgow, who is doing rather well on the US satellite circuit, Joel Hendry from Elgin but resident at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Colin Speirs from Dunkeld and long-term Lakeland, Florida resident David Kirkpatrick, orginally from the Edinburgh area.

Then's there Ulsterman Gareth Maybin from Ballyclare, one of the most successful competitors from outwith the United States on the Hooters Tour over the last couple of seasons, and another former US college circuit player, David Skinns from Lincoln.

When the tournament starts, you will get daily news on this website.

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

WEST VETS FINALISTS AT RENFREW

Defending champion Helen Faulds (Douglas Park) is through to Wednesday morning's final of the West of Scotland veterans' championship at Renfrew Golf Club.
She beat Sheila Shaw (Lochwinnoch) and then Anna Telfer (Milngavie) to earn a match against Jennifer Mack (Haggs Castle) for the title.
Mrs Mack beat leading qualifier Janice Patgerson (Drumpellier) in the morning and Pat Hutton (Lanark) in the semi-finals.
Mary Irving (Ranfurly Castle) will play Maureen Rennie (Douglas Park) in the final of the Bronze championship.

Today's (Tuesday) results:
Quarter-finals - Jennifer Mack (Haggs Castle) bt Janice Patgerson (Drumpellier) at 19th, Pat Hutton (Lanark) w.o. Heaher Anderson (Caldwell) scr, Anna Telfer (Milngavie) bt Fiona Roger (Ranfurly Castle) 2 and 1, Helen Falds (Douglas Park) bt Sheila Shaw (Lochwinnoch) 2 and 1.
Semi-finals - Mack bt Hutton 2 and 1, Faulds bt Telfer 6 and 5.

VANNET AND HUTCHEON SHARE LEAD
IN SCOTTISH WATERAID PRO-AM

Lee Vannet (Carnoustie Golf Links) and Greig Hutcheon (Peterculter) shared the lead on one-under-par 71 at the end of the first round of the Scottish Wateraid Order of Merit 54-hole pro-am over the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews today.
Gary McFarlen (Clober) was lying third on 72.
SCOREBOARD
71 L Vannet (Carnoustie), G Hutcheon (Peterculter).
72 G McFarlane (Clober).
73 M Loftus (Cowglen), R Arnott (Bishopbriggs), P McKechnie (Braid Hills), S Cairns (Westerwood).
74 J McKinnon (Irvine), S Catlin (Greenburn), S Gray (Hayston).
75 M Barnard (unatt), P Wardell (Whitekirk), C Kelly (Cawder), G Law (Uphall).
76 R Cameron (McDonald Ellon), G Rankin (Drumpellier), F Mann (Musselburgh), K Hutton (Downfield).
77 C Ronald (Carluke),S Morrison (Glenbervie), S Savage (Dalmuir), C Nicoll (Prestwick), A Purdie (Kingsbarns), C Doak (unatt).
78 G Harvey (Bearsden), E Thomnson (North Gailes), C Gillies (Kingsfield), A Coopere (Newmachar), C Matheson (Falkirk Tryst).
79 I Pender (unatt), C Lee (All Golf Swing Centre), C Russell (Dunbar), A Mackrell (Gary Mitchell Golf), S Moir (Aboyne), N Huguet (Musselburgh).
80 G McInnes (Murcar Links), D Robertson (Czech Design), J Erskine (Portpatrick Dunskey), A Lockhart (Ladybank).
81 A Crerar (King James VI), R Gray (Torrance House), E Cameron (Hamilton).
82 D McLure (Troon Welbeck), J Stevenson (Braehead), C Everett (Caldwell), K Monaghan (Bothwell Castle), M King (Kingsfield).
83 P Arthur (Aberdour).
86 M Urquhart (Inverness).

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO DAVID
INGLIS? WONDER BOY'S CAREER
HAS NOSEDIVED AS A PRO

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

If any Scottish amateur had looked a gilt-edged prospect to make it - and make it big - in the pro ranks it was David Inglis from Glencorse.
In the year 2000, he beat David Skinns in the 36-hole final of the British boys championship at Hillside.
In 2003, David (pictured right) was a member of the successful GB&I team in the Walker Cup match at Ganton. He played in all four sessions and lost only one tie.
Inglis by then had gone to the University of Tulsa on a four-year scholarship and was a success on the American circuit.
David, as expected, turned pro in America ... and his golfing career has nosedived ever since.
Married to an American girl and resident in West Palm Beach, Florida, David made a brief return to Scotland last year to play in the Scottish Challenge at Murcar Links. He made little or no impact.
Things have gone from bad to worse this year as David pursues his pro career on one of America's better known satellite circuits, the Gateway Tour.
January started off not too badly with finishes of joint 11th, joint 30th and tied 19th in his first three events. His earnings were $2,285, $1,305 and $1718 - just about enough to pay the rent.
Then came five cuts missed in a row - no money coming in for over a month.
David broke the dismal spell in the mid-March Gateway Tour event in which he tied for 24th place with earnings of $1,277.
Since then another five cuts in a row have been missed.
Perhaps not surprisingly, David Inglis withdrew from this week's Gateway Tour event.
Total earnings for the first five months of 2007 amount to $6,584 give or take a buck. A far cry from the lucrative career predicted for the red-haired Scot on the US PGA or even the European Tour.
He is, of course, still a young man. There is plenty of time to turn his fortunes around. Didn't Ian Woosnam, for instance, go to SEVEN Final Qualifying Schools before he won a card to play the European Tour? But that was then and this is now.
What's gone wrong with David Inglis? If he knew the answer himself, he would not be in such a dire position in which he must be seriously considering he has chosen the wrong profession.
ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

SALTMAN BREAKS INTO R&A

WORLD TOP TEN AMATEUR

RANKINGS FOR FIRST TIME

Lytham Trophy winner Lloyd Saltman has broken into the top 10 of today's updated R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings for the first time on the back of his weekend victory in the prestigious English 72-hole stroke-play tournament.
Saltman, pictured right, winner of the Scottish Champion of Champions at Leven and then the Craigmillar Park Open in Edinburgh in successive weekends prior to his all-the-way Lytham Trophy success, was 16th in the rankings last week.
Now he is officially the ninth best male amateur golf in the world - in fact some would say in effect he is really a lot higher than that.
Englishman Jamie Moul, who has been No 1 in the rankings for 13 weeks in a row, finished down the Lytham Trophy field behind Saltman. So too did Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and England's Gary Wolstenholme who are also still ahead in Lloyd in the sixth and seventh spots in the rankings.
Spaniard Pablo Martin, an American college student and winner of a recent European Tour event, is ranked No 2 behind Moul. Martin will turn pro after the NCAA championships at the end of this month.
Edinburgh-born Welsh Walker Cup playere Rhys Davies, another on the American college circuit, is ranked No 3.
US amateur champion Richie Ramsay (Royal Aberdeen), long-time No 1 in the world after his victory last autumn at Hazeltine, has dropped four places this week to No 12.
There are no other Scots in the world's top 50, according to the R&A rankings.
Scott Henry (Cardross) has improved from 77th to 64th while Paul O'Hara (Colville Park) has gone down from 55th to 76th, both on the strength of their Lytham Trophy performances.
Scottish amateur match-play champion Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) has dropped from No 56 to 83 while John Gallagher (Swanston) has come into the top 100 from 106th place to 93rd.
LEADING RANKINGS
1 Jamie Moul (Eng) 1092.11.
2 Pablo Martin (Spa) 1068.97.
3 Rhys Davies (Wal) 1068.85.
4 Billy Horschel (US) 1061.40.
5 Jamie Lovemark (US) 1054.00.
6 Rory McIlroy (Ire) 1049.09.
7 Gary Wolstenholme (Eng) 1034.43.
8 Chris Kirk (US) 1022.41.
9 Lloyd Saltman (Sco) 1015.00.
10 Bronson LaCassie (Aus) 1003.23.
11 Webb Simpson (US) 1003.17.
12 Richie Ramsay (Sco) 1002.27.
13 Niklas Lemke (Swe) 990.00.
14 John Parry (Eng) 987.88.
15 Kyle Stanley (US) 982.93.
16 Dustin Johnson (US) 980.00.
17 Jonathan Moore (US) 980.00.
18 Alan Wagner (Arg) 958.82.
19 Nigel Edwards (Wal) 953.66
20 Rohan Blizard (Aus) 949.35.
Other Scots in top 100:
64 Scott Henry.
76 Paul O'Hara.
83 Kevin McAlpine.
93 John Gallagher.

LESLEY FROM GOLSPIE IS PGA’S
FEMALE ASSISTANT
PROFESSIONAL OF YEAR

Golspie-born Lesley Mackay, 29, collected one of the star awards at today’s Professional Golfers’ Association graduation ceremony at The Belfry headquarters in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.
Lesley, a former Scotland amateur international player, shrugged off a career-threatening wrist injury to come out of the PGA’s three-year foundation degree course as the Female Assistant Professional of the Year, sponsored by the Ladies European Tour.
Lesley, who started her pro career under the wing of Karyn Dallas at Kirriemuir Golf Club, is now based at Glasgow’s World of Golf.
She received a £1,000 cheque and became the first recipient of the Beverly Lewis Trophy, named in honour of the PGA’s first female captain.
Acushnet Europe managing director Gary Miller said: “We are constantly impressed by the quality of young men and women coming through the ranks of the PGA training programme. As we strive to grow and develop the game of golf and make it more accessible, it is reassuring to see that the high standard of PGA graduates, reflected in another outstanding crop of Titleist assistants of the year, is being maintained. The future of golf is in good shape, judging by these young professionals.”
Michael Langford from Lincolnshire’s Kenwick Park Golf Club collected the prestigious Whitecombe Cox Trophy and a cheque for £3,500 as the Titleist Assistant of the year.

+Picture shows (left to right): Lesley Mackay, Beverly Lewis and Alison Nicholas.

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

YOUNG EILIDH IN FORM AT HAGGS CASTLE

Eilidh Briggs, 14-year-old Kilmacolm Golf Club junior member, led the Silver Division section with a net 71 off six in the West Division final of the Ladies Golf Union Medal at Haggs Castle Golf Club today (Tuesday). The CSS was 74 (+1).
The eight qualifiers for the Grand Final at Crieff Golf Club on Sunday, June 3 were:
Silver Division – Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) (6) 71; Christine Whitelaw (Largs) (11) 72; Elaine Whyte (Windyhill) (12) 73; Pat McWhirter (Westerwood) (15) 75 (bih).
Bronze Division – Susan Campbell (Whitecraigs) (24) 63; Vivien Howe (Ranfurly Castle) (20) 69; Margaret McDevitt (Gourock) (22) (bih), Patricia Brown (Ralston) (21) 73 (bih).

KELLY BEATS EMMA IN

FINAL OF EAST LOTHIAN
CHAMPIONSHIP

Former Scottish girls’ match-play champion Kelly Brotherton (Craigielaw) added the East Lothian women’s county title to her collection at North Berwick Golf Club today.
The 21-year-old, pictured left of the two on right, a student at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, first beat another past Scottish girls title-winner, Mrs Moira Thomson (North Berwick) by one hole in the semi-final before beating Emma Fairnie (Dunbar), pictured far right, by 3 and 1 in the final.
It was the second year in a row that Emma had suffered defeat in the final.
She had beaten the leading qualifier and former Scottish champion Mrs Jayne Smith (Gullane Ladies) by 4 and 3 in the morning semi-finals.
In a contest between two long-hitting players, Emma had the edge over the opening holes in the final and was one up on Kelly after seven holes. But Miss Brotherton, a former Tulliallan Golf Club member, had got into her stride by the turn and was two holes to the good after 13 holes.
Emma got a bad lie at the 14th but lost it anyway to a birdie to go three down.
Miss Fairnie kept her hopes alive by winning the 16th but Kelly clinched her victory with a birdie 4 at the 17th.
The Handicap Quaich final was won by Ros Thoresen (North Berwick) who beat Lynda Jeffrey (Dunbar) by 3 and 2.
Today's results:
Semi-finals – E Fairnie (Dunbar) bt J Smith (Gullane Ladies) 4 and 3, K Brotherton (Craigielaw) bt M Thomson (North Berwick) 1 hole.
Final – Brotherton bt Fairnie 3 and 1.
HANDICAP QUAICH
Final – R Thoresen (North Berwick) bt L Jeffrey (Dunbar) 3 and 2.

Commonwealth Tournament news from South Africa

KERRY THE HEROINE AS BRITAIN BEAT
THE AUSSIES FOR SECOND VICTORY

Britain's amateur golfing girls are on course to win the Five Nations Commonwealth Tournament in South Africa for the first time since 1991 after a second-day win over Australia at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club.
The British team followed up a 7-0 whitewash win over Canada on the first day by grinding out 4-3 win over the Aussies who had also started with a victory, 5 1/2-1 1/2 over hosts South Africa.
It was 1-1 at lunchtime after the foursomes were shared. Then it looked as if the Australians were gaining the upperhand when they bounced back from losing the top singles (Breanne Loucks beating Helen Oh 3 and 2) to lead 3-2 with wins by Stephanie Na by 3 and 2 over Krystle Caithness from Fife and by Frances Bondad by 6 and 4 over Naomi Edwards.
But the very experienced Kerry Smith, a chef at Waterlooville Golf Club, Hampshire, landed the match-winning victory after Engish compatriot Melissa Reid from Derby, recent impressive winner of the Helen Holm Scottish women's open title for the second year in a row, had levelled the overall scoreline at 3-3 by beating Emma Bennett 4 and 2.
Everything rest for Britain on Kerry's shoulders and she was equal to the task, beating Sunny Park on the last green by one hole.
It's an all-play-all league table format which ends on Friday with the team having the most points being declared the champions. Britain with two wins from two matches head the table from Australia and Canada (one win apiece) and the pointless New Zealand and South Africa.
On Wednesday, Britain play the Kiwis and then have the day off on Thursday before coming back into the fray on Friday to complete their programme with a match against South Africa.
"The team are hyper after that great win," said the Ladies Golf Union's Scottish chairman, Janet Brown from the Borders. "But Sue Turner, the skipper, will have got them all calmed down again in time for Wednesday's match against New Zealand. Every member of the team deserves praise but I would give Kerry Smith a special mention for winning the vital match at the end of the day."
Canada beat New Zealand 4-3 in the other match.

Tuesday results:
GREAT BRITAIN 4, AUSTRALIA 3
Foursomes: Kerry Smith & Naomi Edwards bt Frances Bondad & Helen Oh 1 hole; Breanne Loucks & Melissa Reid lost to Emma Bennett & Stephanie Na 3 and 2 (1-1).
Singles: Loucks bt Oh 3 and 2, Krystle Caithness lost to Na 3 and 2, Edards lost to Bondad 6 and 4, Smith bt Sunny Park 1 hole, Reid bt Bennett 4 and 2 (3-2).
CANADA 4, NEW ZEALAND 3
Foursomes: Maude Aimee LeBlanc & Sue Kim bt Tammy Clelland & Penny Smith 1 hole; Mary Ann Lapointe & Meaghan Leblanc bt Da Som Lee & Yeon Song Kim 5 and 4 (2-0).
Singles: Lapointe bt Larissa Eruera 6 and 5, Lindsay Knowlton lost to Kim 2 holes, Meaghan Leblanc lost to Clelland 1 hole, Sue Kim lost to Lee 1 hole, Maude Aimee Leblanc bt Smith 4 and 3 (2-3).
HOW THEY STAND
Great Britain 2 wins, Australia 1 win, Canada 1 win, New Zealand 0 wins, South Africa 0 wins.
WEDNESDAY MATCHES
Canada v South Africa, Great Britain v New Zealand.

ends

FORTROSE & ROSEMARKIE MISS OUT ON THIS
YEAR'S NORTHERN COUNTIES SENIOR CUP

By ROBIN WILSON

Fortrose & Rosemarkie Golf Club, winners of the Northern Counties Cup at Royal Aberdeen last September, are a surprise omission from the draw for the senior version of the three-day competition, getting underway at Nairn Dunbar on Wednesday of next week.
The host club provide two of the 24 teams competing and they will be aiming to deny Brora a third win of the B D Fraser Cup. As holders, the Brora first team have received a bye into the second round.
Brora's first-choice four have remained the same for the past four years - Jim Miller, Ronnie Sim, Robin Wilson and Ian Hamilton - but it is only this week that Hamilton declared himself fit to play at Dunbar, following a long lay-off with a shoulder injury from a fall on the Royal Dornoch course last November.
With home advantage Nairn Dunbar should be favourites with their first-team line-up of the current North District senior champion Hugh Clunas, John Ellon, David Bunker and Douglas Brodie, to repeat their win at Elgin in 2005.
Inverness were fortunate in receiving a bye into round two but then could have the daunting task of meeting the home club in their first game if Nairn Dunbar gets past Murcar Links in their opener. The Inverness first team are the familiar names of Jocky Thomson, Fraser Urquhart, Gordon Fraser and Jim Elliot. Elliot for Bob McAdam is the only change from when the other three won at Cruden Bay in 2004.
The Nairn second team and Torvean get the first round underway on Wednesday morning and the full draw is:
First Round (Wednesday, 8am) - Nairn 2 v Torvean, Nairn 1 v Forres, Brora 2 v Cruden Bay 1, Elgin 1 v Turriff, Deeside v Tain, Elgin 2 v Royal Dornoch, Nairn Dunbar 1 v Murcar Links, Peterhead v Nairn Dunbar 2.
Round 2 – Brora 1 v Nairn 1 or Torvean, Duff House Royal 1 v Nairn 1 or Forres, Inverness 2 v Brora 2 or Cruden Bay 1, Strathpeffer v Elgin 1 or Turriff, Moray v Deeside or Tain, Cruden Bay 2 v Elgin 2 or Royal Dornoch, Inverness 1 v Nairn Dunbar 1 or Murcar Links, Duff House Royal 2 v Peterhead or Nairn Dunbar 2.

MORAY AND NAIRN LEAGUE

The Moray and Nairn Golf League matches for the G R Thomson Trophy get underway on Thursday over the Nairn golf course where the host club have home advantage in defending the G R Thomson Shield, beginning with a match against neighbouring Nairn Dunbar.
The league matches continue until Sunday in the following order of play:
Friday: 5pm Elgin v Moray.
Saturday: 10.0am Forres v Nairn Dunbar. 10.50 Elgin v Nairn. 2pm Moray v Forres. 2.50 Nairn Dunbar v Elgin.
Sunday 10.00am Nairn v Forres. 10.50am Nairn Dunbar v Moray. 2.00pm Forres v Elgin. 2.50pm Moray v Nairn.



The Dornoch Firth Golf League club matchs have for a second year been hit with a withdrawal and the hosts, Invergordon will only be joined by Brora, Tain and Royal Dornoch this weekend. Golspie withdrew from the league last year and Alness were invited to join but they also are unable to raise a scratch team.

Royal Dornoch the holders for the past two years have posted a team of seven minus their leading two players, Jimmy Gunn and Kevin Matheson, as this week they are in South Korea representing their club in the World Club Team Championships being played over the Nine Bridges Resort Golf Club. This event is by invitation only to clubs within the World's Top 100 rated courses. It is Matheson's second visit to Nine Bridges, in 2002 he acompanied club mate Chris Mailley to the event.
The order of play at Invergordon beginning on Saturday afternoon is; Invergordon v Royal Dornoch. Tain v Brora. Sunday morning, Invergordon v Tain and Brora v Royal Dornoch. Sunday afternoon, Invergordon v Brora and Tain v Royal Dornoch.


End

Lesley Mackay is Female Assistant Pro of the Year

PGA TITLEIST ASSISTANT OF THE

YEAR PRESS RELEASE

Michael Langford collects trophy

and cheque for £3,500

Former US Women's Open champion Alison Nicholas led the congratulations at the PGA's graduation ceremony at the Belfry today.

Michael Langford, from Lincolnshire's Kenwick Park Golf Club collected the prestigious Whitcombe Cox Trophy and a cheque for £3,500 as the Titleist Assistant of the Year from Acushnet Europe managing director Gary Miller.

Langford, who has already become head pro at the Scunthorpe club, narrowly beat off Doonbeg's Liam Duggan, who pocketed a cheque for £2,500, and the Belfry's Jonathan Watts, who received £1,500.

The trio graduated along with 250 of their fellow young professionals, who have all successfully come through the PGA's three-year foundation degree.

Acushnet's Miller said: "We are constantly impressed by the quality of young men and women coming through the ranks of the PGA training programme."

As we strive to grow and develop the game of golf, and make it more accessible, it's reassuring to see that the high standard of PGA graduates, reflected in another outstanding crop of Titleist Assistants of the Year, is being maintained. The future of golf is in good shape, judging by these young professionals."

Former Scotland international Lesley Mackay shrugged off a career-threatening wrist injury to come out on top in the Female Assistant of the Year, sponsored by the Ladies European Tour.

Mackay, based at Glasgow's World of Golf, collected £1,000 and became the first recipient of the Beverly Lewis Trophy, named in honour of the PGA's first female captain.

Bath's Ben Lloyd (Cumberwell Park) capped an excellent year as he came top of the second year assistant, winning £1,000 in the process, just edging out runner-up Richard King (Whitchurch, Cardiff) and third-placed Phillip Kenyon (Hillside, Southport).

Once-promising footballer Daniel Malcolm has found his niche in golf after being named Rookie Assistant of the Year, winning £1,000 in the process.

The Springwater professional beat runner-up Ben Waller (Kendal) and Craig Jones (Celtic Manor).

Above pictures shows (left to right) Liam Duggan, Gary Miller, managing director of Acushnet Europe, PGA Titleist Assistant of the Year Michael Langford, Alison Nicholas MBE and Jonathan Watts .

JUSTIN ROSE TARGETS BMW PGA
CHAMPIONSHIP AT WENTWORTH

Justin Rose has put the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club in Surrey, from May 24-27, on his 2007 schedule.
Rose, winner of three tournaments on the European Tour International Schedule including this season’s MasterCard Masters in Australia, joins an elite field which includes English compatriot David Howell, the defending champion, and seven of the current top 15 players in the world – Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh and Henrik Stenson.
Rose, who came within a whisker of winning the Masters at Augusta National last month, said: “I’m returning to Britain to receive treatment for a back condition and I called George O’Grady, the Tour’s Chief Executive, to let him know that I planned to enter the BMW PGA Championship.
“I am feeling very positive that my back injury will continue to improve at the same rate so that I am able to play. I was delighted to win again on the European Tour this season and like everyone, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to win the BMW PGA Championship as all the players know that this is our flagship event.
“It will be good to play the West Course again at Wentworth and I’ve been told about the changes made by Ernie Els so I know it will be a challenging examination especially with such a great field of players lined up.
“I’ve been climbing the World Rankings this season and winning the BMW PGA Championship would lift me close to the top 10, which is obviously a target with the US Open and Open Championship also on the agenda in the next two months or so.”
Rose enjoyed a superb amateur career, culminating in his tied fourth place finish in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in 1998 just a few days before turning professional, aged just 17. He won four times worldwide in 2002, including the Dunhill Championship and the British Masters on The European Tour International Schedule.
He went on to play in the winning Great Britain and Ireland side in the 2003 Seve Trophy, during the same season that he finished in a share of fifth place in the US Open Championship. In 2004, he came close to winning the PGA Championship when he led at the halfway stage after rounds of 67 and 66, before Scotland’s Scott Drummond moved through to win with a closing 64.
The 2007 BMW PGA Championship will boast one of the strongest international fields on The European Tour Schedule, with many of the world’s best players in action. All four days will be broadcast live on BBC Television.

Tickets to the 2007 BMW PGA Championship can be purchased online at www.europeantourtickets.com or by telephoning +44 (0) 800 023 2557. For Hospitality packages, please call The European Tour Hospitality Department on +44 (0) 1344 840483.

Become a golf pro and see the world

SEVEN YEARS TO GET FROM BANCHORY

TO CANARY ISLANDS

VIA GERMANY,

ALGARVE AND EGYPT

By MURDO McCORQUODALE

I was Head Pro at Inchmarlo Golf Centre, Banchory between 1995 and 2000 after doing my apprenticeship with Doug Smart at Banchory Golf Club and then Dean Vannet at Peterculter.
In 1999 I met a Spanish lass called Ana who was studying in Aberdeen. I often visited her and her family in Spain and this gave me a real desire to move to warmer climes (That's Murdo, Ana and baby Alba pictured above).
I wrote a letter to Derek Brown from Valderrama who had worked with my father as a pro at Gleneagles and he advised me to learn German if I planned to work abroad. It just so happened that an old buddy from Elgin called Derek McKenzie was a pro in Cologne and so I called him up to see if he knew of any vacancies.
Luckily, his club required a teaching pro for spring 2000 and so, with absolutely no experience of German, I bade farewell to friends and family and headed for Cologne.
The day I left my family in Inverness it was snowing all over Britain, roads were blocked and the radio spoke only of ‘Mad Cow Disease’ and blizzards.

A combination of road closures and a strike by Dutch fishermen caused our ferry to sit in limbo for 36 hours. It meant it took me five days to arrive to Germany and so I was two days late starting my new job. Fortunately the head pro saw the funny side.
Ana joined me in Germany and within a few months we had a basic grasp of the language and eventually I was giving lessons without using English at all. We had two fantastic seasons in the Rhine Valley where the warm climate and beautiful scenery really took us by surprise. But we had achieved our goal and it was time to move south.
I was offered a job on the Algarve by a contact in Germany and although not Spain it seemed to be the next best thing. The Algarve is stunning - the golf courses are very good, the beaches are breathtaking and the fresh fish, fruit and vegetables are superior to northern Europe but it is a very difficult place to make a living – especially as a golf pro.
We also discovered that the Germans had been driven elsewhere by inflated prices that only the ‘new rich’ (Irish and southern English) could afford. This was a problem for the golf academy as German-speaking golfers are the best clients in that they have the mentality that to become golfers they must have lots of lessons (great for us!!).
Ana was working as a beautician, we had made great friends in Portugal and had just got married and purchased a home on the Spanish side of the border but we both felt our future was not here and so my buddy Derek came to the rescue again!
I was offered a job with Derek at a fantastic resort called Somabay (www.somabay.com) on Egypt’s Red Sea Riviera where the Gary Player course and golf academy were the best I’d ever seen.
Ana was working in the biggest spa in the world and I was teaching every day to Swiss, German and Austrian pupils so we were both busy but also had time to enjoy the beauty of Egypt. The people were the most welcoming I’d come across since leaving Scotland and the country’s history made our experience there a special one.
We took up scuba diving, windsurfing and wakeboarding and had free time in the afternoons to enjoy all the activities on offer and so our two years in Egypt were unforgettable to say the least.

When Ana found out she was pregnant we decided we had to leave Egypt and try to find a job in Spain where we could finally settle down. So, last June we left Somabay with many tears and headed to Alicante where Ana wanted to have the baby (near mama).
Alba was born in August and she is the best thing that has ever happened in our lives.
Recently, I finally got a job in Spain, on the Canary Island of Fuerteventura and this appears, even though it is early days yet, to be the ideal spot for us. I am Director of golf/head pro at Las Playitas Grande Resort (http://www.playitas.net/) and my job is to open the golf academy and eventually the 18-hole course here.
At the moment we have six academy holes open which are top quality. We also have three other 18-hole courses within a 30min drive so Fuerteventura could become a top golf holiday destination in the future. Here’s hoping!
Seven years on and, looking back,we’ve been very lucky with the friends we’ve made and the cultures and languages we’ve learned about but we did it and we still have very close links with our friends and families back home, and, of course,I still get to see the Rangers wherever I am!!!

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com

Great to hear that Murdo has gone from strength to strength. I'm not suprised - he's a great lad, always friendly and helpful. As the teaching pro at Inchmarlo he set James (Byrne) off on his golfing career. I remember his first lesson as if it was yesterday! Please give him our best wishes.

Paul and James Byrne

BRITAIN AND AUSTRALIA SHARE FOURSOMES ON
DAY 2 OF COMMONWEALTH TOURNAMENT

Britain and Australia, the two winning teams from the opening day of the Commonwealth tournament in South Africa, shared the morning foursomes on their Day 2 encounter at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club.
Karry Smith and Naomi Edwards beat Frances Bondad and Helen Oh by one hole but Curtis Cup players Breanne Loucks and Melissa Reid lost by 3 and 2 to Emma Bennett and Stephanie Na.
Krystle Caithness, for the second day in a row, will not come into action until the singles in which she will play Stephanie Na in the second match.
Canada, thrashed 7-0 by Britain yesterday, won both foursomes from New Zealand who did not play on the opening day.

STEWART, KNOX END US COLLEGE CAREERS ON A HIGH NOTE

Highlanders Duncan Stewart from Grantown on Spey and Russell Knox from Inverness have ended their United States collegiate golf careers on a high note.
They were both selected for the all-Atlantic Sun Conference golf team for the second year in a row. The team never plays any matches but is selected by the golf coaches of all the colleges that play in the conference and is an indication of the recognised best players.
Stewart (pictured far right) and Knox (right) spent four years on golf scholarships at Jacksonville University, Florida. They finished their American careers as Nos 1 and 2 on the university team’s all-time scoring average table.
Stewart won eight tournaments on the US college circuit, including the Atlantic Sun Conference individual champion in 2005 and again in 2006.
Knox won three tournaments.
The Scots helped the Jacksonville University team – the Dolphins – to win four team titles during the 2006-20076 college season. That was the most in the university’s golf programme history.
“These two student-athletes raised the bar for the Jacksonville University program and, I am sure, they will be successful in their future endeavours,” said Jacksonville University head golf coach Jim Taketa.

GLASGOW GOLF UNION SENIORS' TITLE
FOR RALSTON'S GORDON FULLER

Gordon Fuller of Ralston Golf Club is the new Glasgow Golf Union seniors’ champion. He beat a big field by three strokes with a par-matching round of 71 at Glasgow Gailes Golf Club. The CSS was 72.

LEADING SCORES
SCRATCH
71 Gordon Fuller (Ralston).
74 Gordon Thomson (Glasgow).
76 Ian Weir (Bishopbriggs).
77 Alastair Connell (Glasgow), David Sergeant (Bishopbriggs), William Gemmell (Glasgow).
78 Ian Wallace (Glasgow), John Semple (Haggs Castle).
79 James McNally (Williamwood).
80 Mark Lironi (Cathkin Braes).
81 Gordon Cosh (Cowglen), Alexander Turpie (Glasgow).
82 Lindsay Renfrew (Glasgow), Andrew Kellock (Ralston).
83 D McLucas (Ralston), G Sinclair (Bishopbriggs), Stewart Bannerman (Glasgow).
85 John Vallance (Haggs Castle), John A S Douglas (Ralston).
86 Ian Aitchison (Ralton), John Baxter (Cowglen), Kenneth McIntyre (Glasgow).
87 John Greene (Cowglen), George Elton (Sandyhills).
88 Peter G Lockhart (Cowglen).
89 Thomas\ Andrews (Haggs Castsle), W Gordon McLean (FRalston).
HANDICAP
Division 1
70 Gordon Fuller (Ralston) (1).
71 Alastair Connell (Glasgow) (6), Ian Weir (Bishopbriggs) (5).
72 Ian Wallace (6), John Semple (Haggs Castle), Gordon Thomson (2).
73 Alexander Turpie (Glasgow) (8), William Gemmell (Glasgow) (4).
74 David Sergeant (Bishopbriggs) (3), Alistair St Clair (Glasgow) (5).
76 Mark Lironi (Cathkin Braes) (4), G Sinclair (Bishopbriggs) (7), James McNally (Williamwood) (3).

Division 2
70 D McLucas (Ralston) (13).
71 Fraser Spalding (Haggs Castle) (9).
73 Lindsay Renfrew (Glasgow) (9).
75 John Greene (Cowglen) (12), Peter G Lockhart (Cowglen) (13).
76 W Gordon McLean (Ralston) (13), John Baxter (Cowglen) (10).
78 Edward J Robertson (Sandyhills) (13), George Elton (Sandyhills) (9), David Reading (Pollok)(13).
78 Peter Mitchell (Linn Park) (11).

Division 3
67 Andrew Kellock (Ralston) (15).
70 John Vallance (Haggs Castle).
74 Thomas Andrews (Haggs Castle) (15), William McIntyre (Cathkin Braes) (16).
75 James Mitchell (Glasgow) (15), Joseph Pearson (Ralston) (15).
76 Harry Reid (Ralston) (17), Archibald McFarlne (Pollok (16).
77 Charles Oliphant (Bishopbriggs) (15), John Scott (Williamwood) (16).
78 Robert Miller (Bishopbriggs) (14), Martin McSherry (Cawder) (16).
79 Thomas A Gilchrist (Haggs Castle) (14).

Division 4
73 Alex Dunlop (Glasgow) (19).
74 Joseph Baird (Ralston) (21).
75 Ian Ferguson (Haggs Castle) (18), Norman Macleod (Glasgow) (21).
76 Richard McAneney (Ralston) (18), Thomas Dougan (Glasgow) (22).
77 Michael A C Thom (Glasgow) (21), Stephen Doohan (Victoria) (1`8).
78 John Cairns (Sandyhills) (27).

BORDERS B CHAMPIONSHIP FINALIST SARAH PLAYED 13 HOLES WITH BROKEN ANKLE

Can you imagine playing 13 holes with a broken ankle! It's painful just even thinking about it.
But that's what Border Ladies County Golf Association vice-captain Sarah Bolton did in the final of the county's B championship at The Roxburghe, Kelso last Sunday.
Her husband Bob tells the story.
"Sarah fell over on the path to the fifth tee during the final. Thinking she had just twisted her ankle, she played on. She managed to keep going right to the 17th green where she finally lost by 2 and 1 to her Hirsel clubmate Corinne Campbell.
"Sarah was never behind in the match until the 16th when the pain just became too much for the adrenalin to keep it at bay. Later, we discovered she had broken her ankle!"

+Picture, courtesy of Border Ladies County Golf Association, shows Sarah on left and Corinne on right - presumably BEFORE the final!

ends

A THANK YOU MESSAGE FROM RENTON LAIDLAW

The support and encouragement I have received over the last few weeks after the drama which followed the first of my three operations has been absolutely remarkable. To all my friends and colleagues who wrote, emailed, telephoned or passed on get well messages, my grateful thanks. Knowing so many people around the world were pulling for me was a great encouragement. The consultants warned me the recovery process, of necessity, would be a long one and I am not expected to be fully fit before July at the earliest.
I am back home at Sunningdale, however, and have had a good check-up report from the surgeon.The heart pacemaker installed in the second operation is also working well.
I am beginning to move about again and looking forward to getting back to normal in due course. Once again many thanks to everyone who sent messages of support.

Renton

ALVA YOUNGSTERS DOMINATE AT DOLLAR
IN CLACKMANNASHIRE BOYS' EVENTS

By HUGH HUNTER

Five Alva youngsters reached the semi-final stages in the three events over a windy and showery Dollar course on Monday evening, emphasising the strength of junior golf at the smallest club in Clackmannanshire
In the senior boys’ event, it was Gary Elliot who scraped through at the 18th against Andrew Borek. In the junior event, county junior champion Lawrence Allan held a lead of two holes at the turn, and upped his game to close out John Salmond on the 14th green with some skilful golf. Daniel Ashe had a much easier passage with a 6 and 5 win after being five up at the turn against Grant Ross. Finally, in the handicap section, Martin Hall and Neil Forbes also had fairly easy wins.
County boys champion Grant Dowie stayed on course for a double when he defeated Andre Scotland on the 17th with a birdie. Comeback of the evening just had to belong to 10-year-old Brian McAdam with a last-hole win against R Hunter of Alva after being three down at the turn. His win no doubt made up for big brother Bruce’s loss at the 19th.
The event now moves to Tillicoultry for the semi-finals on Wednesday with the finals at Tulliallan on Thursday.
RESULTS
SENIOR BOYS
Quarter-finals – G Elliot (Alva) bt A Borek (Braehead) 2 holes, S Clark (Braehead) bt B McAdam (Alloa) at 19th, G Dowie (Alloa) bt A Scotland (Alloa) 3 and 2, S McPherson (Dollar) beat C Carberry (Tillicoultry) 4 and 3.
JUNIOR BOYS
Quarter-finals – L Allan (Alva) bt J Salmond (Alloa) 5 and 4, D Ashe (Alva) bt G Ross (Alloa) 6 and 5, G Chalmers (Dollar) beat A Ashe (Alva) 2 and 1, J Pollock (Braehead) w.o.S Nicol (Braehead) scr.
HANDICAP (SENIORS AND JUNIORS)
Quarter-finals – M Hall (Alva) bt J Ferguson (Alva) 8 and 7, N Forbes (Alva) bt S Thomson (Alva) 5 and 4, B McAdam (Alloa) bt R Hunter (Alva) 1 hole, W Nelson (Alloa) bt C Macdonald (Alva) 2 holes.

EMMA MUST BEAT TOP SEED

JAYNE TO GET BACK TO

EAST LOTHIAN FINAL

Borders youngster Emma Fairnie, now a member at Dunbar Golf Club, is on the trail of repeating last year’s appearance in the final of the East Lothian women’s county golf championship.
At North Berwick Golf Club today, Emma, who lost at the last stage to Fiona Prior 12 months ago, reached the last four with wins over Linda Grieve (Musselburgh) and Diane Huish (North Berwick).
Miss Fairnie, pictured right, the No 4 qualifier, will now play the No 1 seed, former Scottish champion Jayne Smith (Gullane Ladies) for a place in the final.
Jane beat Elinor Blair (North Berwick) and Joan Henderson (North Berwick) today.
Tuesday’s second semi-final will feature a clash between the Scottish girls’ champions of 1968 (Moira Thomson of North Berwick) and 2003 (Kelly Brotherton, now playing out of Craigielaw).
More recently Moira has won the Scottish veteran women’s title at Blairgowrie.
Kelly, the No 7 qualifier, ousted the No 2 seed, Mary Lou Renton (Gifford) by 3 and 2 in the quarter-finals while Mrs Thomson had a 6 and 5 win over the No 3 seed, Susan Penman (Gullane Ladies) to reach the semi-finals.
Today's results:
First round – J Smith (Gullane Ladies) bt E Blair (North Berwick) 2 and 1, J Henderson (North Berwick) bt K Ward (Glen) 1 hole, D Huish (North Berwick) bt A Chainey (North Berwick) 4 and 3, E Fairnie (Dunbar) bt L Grieve (Musselburgh)5 and 4, S Penman (Gullane Ladies) bt V McKenzie (Longniddry) 8 and 6, M Thomson (North Berwick) bt J Herd (Musselburgh) 23 and 1, K Brotherton (Craigielaw) bt L Fortune (Kilspindie) 6 and 5, M L Renton (Gifford) bt E Black (Haddington) 5 and 4.
Quarter-finals – Smith bt Henderson 4 and 2, Fairnie bt Huish 5 and 4, Thomson bt Penman 6 and 5, Brotherton bt Renton 3 and 2.

LOUISE (18) ON COURSE FOR STIRLING FINAL
AGAINST CURTIS CUP STAR ALISON

Birthday girl Louise MacGregor (Falkirk) – she was 18 on Sunday – is on course for a place in the final against former Curtis Cup star Alison Davidson (Stirling) in the Stirling & Clackmannan women’s county golf championship at Alloa Golf Club.
Top seed Louise beat Claire Capocci (Bridge of Allan) by 5 and 4 with one-over-par figures in the quarter-finals tonight.
On Wednesday, Miss MacGregor will play Margaret Tough (Falkirk), the fourth-best qualifier, for a place in the final. Margaret won her quarter-final by one hole over Stella Mitchell (Dunbracken Ladies).
The other midweek semi-final will be between Alison Davidson, the No 2 qualifier, who was level par in winning by 5 and 4 over senior tour professional John Chillas’s wife, Tricia, a Stirling member) and Elaine Allison (Stirling), the No 3 seed. Elaine won her quarter-final tie by 2 and 1 over the defending champion Linda Allan (Falkirk Tryst).
This evening's results:
Quarter-finals – L MacGregor (Falkirk) bt C Capocci (Bridge of Allan) 5 and 4, M Tough (Falkirk) bt S Mitchell (Dunbracken Ladies) 1 hole, E Aliison (Stirling) bt L Allan (Falkirk Tryst) 2 and 1, A Davidson (Stirling) bt T Chillas (Stirling) 5 and 4.

GREG McBAIN (handicap now +4)

TO TURN PRO AS ROYAL

DORNOCH ASSISTANT

NORTH CLUB NEWS FROM ROBIN WILSON

Royal Dornoch Golf Club professional Andrew Skinner’s search for a new young assistant ended on his doorstep when he took on Highland College student Greg McBain.
Aberdonian McBain (23), pictured right, will complete his golf management degree course at the Highland College in Dornoch within the next two weeks but before signing his professional forms he is leading the Highland College team in the British universities championships at Hoylake this week.
Greg ended his amateur career with the lowest gross score, a level par 70, in the Burghfield tournament last Saturday.
McBain, who spent a couple of successful years at a junior college in the United States, was a member of Newmachar Golf Club, where he played team golf for the North-east. After Saturday's round of 70, his handicap dropped to +4.
ROYAL DORNOCH PAIR OFF TO
SOUTH KOREA
Royal Dornoch club champions Jimmy Gunn and Kevin Matheson have only been named as reserves in the club team travelling to Invergordon this weekend to make a defence of the Dornoch Firth League Targe.
Jimmy and Kevin left last weekend to represent the club in the World Club Championships at the Nine Bridges Golf Resort in South Korea.
It is not expected they will return in time to play any games at Invergordon. This is Kevin’s second trip to Nine Bridges where a selection of the world’s top 100 clubs/courses are invited to send their champions to compete on an annual basis. Kevin and Chris Mailley were in South Korea in 2002.
The Royal Dornoch team for Invergordon is: Bert Nicholson, Alex MacDonald, Chris Mailley, John Shepherd, Daniel Holden, Colin Murray and Brian Urquhart.
Representing Royal Dornoch in the Senior Northern Counties cup at Nairn Dunbar next week are:
Roly Bluck, Bert Nicholson, Alan Ramsay and Grant Shannon. Their opponents in round one are the Elgin second string.

Commonwealth Tournament at Johannesburg

KRYSTLE MAKES IMPRESSIVE DEBUT
AS BRITAIN CLOBBER
CANADIANS 7-0 ON DAY ONE

Britain could not have made a better start to the Five Nations Commonwealth Tournament for women’s amateur teams over the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club’s East championship course today.
They slammed Canada 7-0, beating them 2-0 in the foursomes and 5-0 in the singles.
On the second day of this all-play-all league format, the British
play Australia who beat the very highly-rated host country, South Africa, 5 ½-1 ½ .
The Brits – four English players, one Welsh and one Scot (Krystle Caithness from Cellardyke, Fife) make up this week’s squad -have not won this prestigious tournament, played every four years, since 1991 at Northumberland Golf Club.
The Aussies, on the other hand, have been Commonwealth champions on the last three occasions – 1995-1999-2003.
Krystle Caithness, pictured above in the recent Helen Holm Scottish tournament, a member of the St Regulus, St Andrews club, had to wait until the afternoon before skipper Sue Turner brought her into the line-up to make her debut at British international level.
And quite an impressive debut it was because the 18-year-old Scot, who starts a four-year golf scholarship at the University of Georgia in the autumn, beat Sue Kim of Canada by 2 and 2.
In a tight match of some quality, both players reached the turn in an approximate par 37. The Canadian birdied the first to take an early lead but a par at the short second was good enough for the Scot to square the match.
Krystle went one up at the fourth with a birdie but bogeyed the next two holes.
Kim squared with a par at the fifth but could only match her opponent’s 6 at the par-5 sixth. Caithness edged ahead again with a birdie 4 at the long eight but Kim countered with a birdie of here own at the ninth to level matters.
After the first three holes of the inward half were halved, the Canadian was the first to crack. She bogeyed the 13th and 14th, which allowed Krystle to go two up at a vital stage with back-to-back pars.
The Scot closed out her opponent with halves in pars at the 15th, 16th and 17th. Krystle was level par for the holes played.
Welsh Curtis Cup player Breanne Loucks from Wrexham was two under par in winning by 4 and 3 against Maude Aimee LeBlanc.
Naomi Edwards from Ganton was three over par in beating Lindsay Knowlton by one hole.
Kerry Smith, out in five-over-par 42, was five over par in winning by 3 and 1 against Meaghan Leblanc. The Canadian, four up after six holes, bogeyed the eighth and ninth to be out in 39 and two up.
Then Leblanc bogeyed four holes in a row from 11th to slip one down. Smith birdied the 15th to go two up and finished the match at the 17th with a par.
Melissa Reid (Chevin, Derby), who recently retained the Helen Holm Scottish open amateur stroke-play title with impressively low figures, was four under par in beating Maryann Lapointe by 6 and 4. Melissa, out in one-under-par 36 and three up, finished off her opponent by birdieing the 12th, 13th and 14th.

RESULTS

GREAT BRITAIN 7, CANADA 0
Foursomes: K Smith & N Edwards bt M A LeBlanc & L Knowlton 2 and 1;
B Loucks & M Reid bt M Lapointe & M Leblanc 4 and 2 (2-0).
Singles – Loucks bt M A LeBlalnc 4 and 3, K Caithness bt S Kim 2 and 1, Edwards bt Knowlton 1 hole, Smith bt M Leblanc 3 and 1, M Reid bt Lapointe 6 and 4 (5-0).

AUSTRALIA 5 ½, SOUTH AFRICA 1 ½,
Foursomes: F Bondad & H Oh bt G Switala & I Verwey 2 and 1;
E Bennett & S Na bt K Shean & A Simon 3 and 2 (2-0).
Singles: Oh bt B Strauss 4 and 3, Na bt Switala 7 and 6, Bondad bt Verwey 4 and 3, S Park lost to Shean 4 and 3, Bennett halved with Simon (3 1/2-1 ½).

Tuesday matches:
Great Britain v Australia, Canada v New Zealand.
Wednesday:
Canada v South Africa, Great Britain v New Zealand.
Thursday:
South Africa v New Zealand, Canada v Australia.
Friday (final day):
Australia v New Zealand, Great Britain v South Africa.

STARS COME OUT FOR BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
AT WENTWORTH LATER THIS MONTH

A world-class international field is set to challenge for the €725,000 first prize from a record €4,350,000 prize fund in the 2007 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club, Surrey from May 24-27.
Seven of the top 15 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, representing five different countries, will bid to win a highly prized title on the European Tour International Schedule over the outstanding West Course.
In all, 18 winners from the current season are taking part while 11 of last year’s successful European Ryder Cup team and captain Ian Woosnam have confirmed their participation.
South Africa’s Ernie Els, ranked fifth in the world, heads the OWGR list with Henrik Stenson of Sweden (sixth), Vijay Singh of Fiji (seventh), South Africa’s Retief Goosen (ninth), Luke Donald of England (10th), Padraig Harrington of Ireland (11th) and England’s Paul Casey (13th).
Also in attendance will be last year’s Ryder Cup winners, Casey, Darren Clarke, Donald, Harrington, David Howell, Robert Karlsson, Paul McGinley, Colin Montgomerie, José Maria Olazábal, Stenson and Lee Westwood.
Montgomerie, the winner in 1998, 1999 and 2000, will be attempting to claim a record-equalling fourth title while Olazábal is bidding to add to his 1994 success and Woosnam to his two wins in 1988 and 1997.
David Howell, who played in Europe’s last two Ryder Cup victories, defends the title he won by five shots from fellow countryman, Simon Kahn, 12 months ago.

WINNING SPANIARD SAYS DON'T PUT YOUR
MONEY ON ME TO WIN THIS WEEK!

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño gave himself the perfect fillip for this week's Valle Romano Open de Andalucia at Aloha Golf Club on the Costa del Sol by claiming his third European Tour title with a sensational victory in the Telecom Italia Open on Sunday.
Fernandez-Castaño beat Austrian Markus Brier at the second hole of a sudden-death play-off at Castello di Tolscinasco, but before backers rush to put their hard earned cash on the affable 26 year old completing a notable back-to-back success, he had words of caution for his many supporters.
"Every time I have won a tournament, the following week I have played terribly so I would keep your money in your pocket," joked the Spaniard who added the Italian title to that of the 2005 KLM Open and the 2006 BMW Asian Open.

TIGER WOODS CHALKS UP 57th WIN ON
US PGA TOUR - BY TWO STROKES

Hold that Tiger! Well, it seems that nobody could in the US PGA Tour's Wachovia Championship which ended at Quail Hollow, Charlotte in North Carolina on Sunday.
Tiger, who had his problems over the so difficult last few holes, won in the end by two shots with a three-under-par-69 in testing, very windy conditions. It must have been windy all over the world on Sunday!
Woods finished at 13-under 275 for his 57th career victory on the US PGA Tour, and his third victory in six starts this year.
Steve Stricker (69) pulled his second shot into the creek at the brutal par-four 18th, but salvaged a bogey to finish second on 11-under.
Phil Mickelson (70) sneaked into a tie for third place with Rory Sabbatini (74) at nine-under when several other contenders made a mess of the last.
Woods started the day a stroke behind overnight leader Sabbatini, but took command by picking up four shots in a brilliant three-hole stretch from the par-five seventh.
That gave him the cushion to withstand a double bogey 5 at the par-three 13th.
And what about first-round leader Padraig Harrington? Have a look at the final totals and see how far the Irishman plummeted over the last 54 holes.

ALL THE FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72). Players from US unless stated.
275 Tiger Woods 70 68 68 69
277 Steve Stricker 72 70 66 69
279 Phil Mickelson 70 71 68 70, Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 70 71 64 74
280 Anthony Kim 72 69 69 70, Stewart Cink 70 71 69 70
281 Vijay Singh (Fij) 67 71 69 74, Arron Oberholser 69 69 69 74, Ken Duke 70 70 68 73
283 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 70 73 71 69, Brett Quigley 70 74 69 70, John Senden (Aus) 72 70 69 72, Billy Mayfair 73 71 67 72
284 Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 68 74 68 74, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 71 71 70 72
285 Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 70 72 71 72, Rodney Pampling (Aus) 71 70 71 73, J J Henry 72 73 69 71, Robert Garrigus 72 73 67 73, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 70 73 71 71, Briny Baird 72 73 70 70
286 Joey Sindelar 69 72 70 75, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 68 73 71 74
287 Nick Watney 72 71 74 70, Adam Scott (Aus) 73 69 73 72, Ted Purdy 70 69 74 74, J.P. Hayes 75 72 69 71, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 72 73 69 73, Kevin Sutherland 75 69 71 72, Heath Slocum 68 77 71 71, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 71 72 72 72, KJ Choi (Kor) 70 74 69 74, Mike Weir (Can) 73 71 70 73
288 Lucas Glover 75 72 68 73, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 75 69 69 75, Parker McLachlin 71 75 69 73, Nathan Green (Aus) 70 76 71 71, Stephen Marino 74 71 70 73, J.B. Holmes 69 74 71 74, Mathew Goggin (Aus) 70 73 72 73, Robert Allenby (Aus) 70 76 69 73, Ernie Els (SAf) 71 74 73 70
289 Jerry Kelly 69 73 70 77, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 72 74 72 71, Davis Love III 74 72 67 76, Woody Austin 71 74 72 72, Ben Curtis 70 75 74 70, Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 71 75 71 72, Boo Weekley 72 75 69 73, Camilo Villegas (Col) 69 76 72 72, Padraig Harrington (Ire) 66 75 79 69
290 Jeff Maggert 68 74 77 71, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 70 73 75 72, Jason Bohn 67 72 73 78, Charles Howell III 78 69 74 69
291 Charlie Wi (Kor) 74 68 75 74, Dean Wilson 72 75 72 72, John Rollins 70 76 73 72, Cameron Beckman 75 72 72 72, Michael Putnam 72 70 76 73
292 Charles Warren 70 73 76 73, Jeff Gove 74 69 72 77, Bo Van Pelt 77 70 75 70, Lee Westwood (Eng) 72 74 74 72, Stephen Ames (Can) 69 73 74 76, Mark Wilson 76 70 71 75
293 Steve Flesch 70 74 71 78, Jeff Sluman 71 76 73 73
294 Billy Andrade 73 74 72 75, Brian Davis (Eng) 72 75 72 75, Robert Gamez 75 71 73 75, Chris DiMarco 74 71 73 76, Todd Demsey 72 75 72 75, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 72 74 72 76
295 Bob Tway 72 75 71 77, Ryan Moore 74 72 74 75
296 Gavin Coles (Aus) 76 71 72 77, Cliff Kresge 75 72 77 72
297 Stephen Leaney (Aus) 75 70 75 77, Craig Kanada 73 73 77 74, Tripp Isenhour 75 72 77 73
299 David Berganio jun 69 76 71 83, Shigeki Maruyama (Jap) 73 74 78 74
301 Zach Johnson 71 75 75 80

RELAX AND ENJOY IT - THAT'S THE SECRET
OF HEATHER MACRAE'S NEW SUCCESS

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Photo Courtesy and Copyright TOM WARD

Heather MacRae's weekend success in the Welsh women's open amateur stroke-play championship at Newport has give her confidence a great boost with the Scottish championship due to start at Kilmarnock Barassie next week.
Heather, of course, has won the British women's open amateur title (at Nairn) and the Scottish girls' match-play title (at Glenbervie) - but she has never won the Scottish women's championship.
Miss MacRae played for Great Britain & Ireland in the Vagliano Trophy match in France in 2005 and she was a Curtis Cup team reserve last year.
What's the secret of Heather's good early form this year - she was lying third in the "Helen Holm" with one round to go at Royal Troon and made all the running to follow in the footsteps of Scots such as Catriona Lambert (Matthew), Anne Walker and Vikki Laing in winning the Welsh open title.
Could it be because she has adopted a new approach to tournaments this year?
Instead of going out and "busting a gut" to birdie every hole, she is relaxing and letting it happen, rather than trying to make it happen. Sounds easy but we all know that nothing is easy in golf.
Here's what Heather had to say after her Newport triumph:
"It was down to all-round steady play. I am hitting the ball really well just now and my short game has come on a lot. Yes, I am just trying to relax a lot more and enjoy it, so far so good.
"I have been working really hard over the winter, practising at Gleneagles a lot. They have great facilities, even through the winter, and its only 10 minutes up the road for me.
"I've been for a few lessons with Stuart Wilson at Gleneagles too so that's obviously working too. Let's hope it continues."

GRANT DOWIE (ALLOA)

WINS CLACKMANNAN

SENIOR BOYS'

CHAMPIONSHIP

By HUGH HUNTER

The 2007 Clackmannan County boys' golf championships were contested over Braehead Golf course in windy and showery conditions on Sunday. Over 50 boys competed in the two age group divisions (14 years and under; 15 – 17).
With 19 competitors, Alva provided the largest entry, and it was pleasing to the organisers and spectators to see all the boys smartly turned out.

In the senior boys' category, it was always going to be a contest between the present “Big Three” of Wee County boys' golf - Grant Dowie (Alloa), Andrew Borek (Braehead) and Andre Scotland (Alloa).

Grant posted a level par 35 on the outward nine to give him a six-shot advantage over the others, but they could not take advantage of Grant’s slip-ups on the homeward nine when he dropped seven shots to par, and they had to be content with second and third spots.

PRIZEWINNERS

SCRATCH

1 Grant Dowie (Alloa) 77.

2 Andrew Broek (Braehead) 79.

3 Andre Scotland (Alloa) 81.

HANDICAP

1 Callum Carberry (Tillicoultry) (9) 74.

2 Scott Clark (Braehead) (9) 74.

3 Bruce McAdam (Alloa) (11) 75.

FULL SCOREBOARD

77 G Dowie (Alloa).

79 A Borek (Braehead).

81 A Scotland (Alloa).

83 C Carberry (Tillicoultry), S Clark (Braehead).

85 S McPherson (Braehead).

86 B McAdam (Alloa).

87 G Elliot (Alva).

89 J Ferguson (Alva).

92 R Hunter(Alva).

93 N Forbes (Alva).

94 S Thomson (Alva).

In the Junior category there was a large entry, and two classy players, Lawrence Allan (Alva) and Gary Chalmers (Dollar), dominated the event.

Gary, with steady play, held a comfortable lead over Lawrence until the 425yd par-4 18th where it all went wrong with a disastrous triple bogey 7.

Twelve-year-old Lawrence countered with a magnificent birdie 3 (the only one in the field) to snatch the title by one shot.

Top handicap prize went to local Steven Nicol with an unbelievable net 54 which will no doubt be dealt with by the handicap committee.

Finally, all credit to 10-year-old Angus Boyd (Alloa) -- undaunted by playing from the medal tees and showing great perseverance, he returned a card of 110 when many others threw in the towel during their round.

PRIZEWINNERS
SCRATCH
1 Lawrence Allan (Alva) 76.
2 Gary Chalmers (Dollar) 77.
3 Daniel Ashe (Alva) 78.
HANDICAP
1 Steven Nicol (Braehead) (31) 54.

2 Jamie Pollock (Braehead) (17) 64.

3 Grant Ross (Alloa) (17) 67.
FULL SCOREBOARD
76 L Allan (Alva).
77 G Chalmers (Dollar).
78 D Ashe (Alva).

81 J Pollock Braehead), J Salmond (Alloa).
82 A Ashe (Alva).

84 G Ross (Alloa).

85 M Hall (Alva), S Nicol (Braehead).

86 J Macpherson (Braehead).

88 K Ross (Tillicoultry), D Young (Alva).

90 W Nelson (Alloa).

91 B Hamilton (Alva).

92 C Macdonald (Alva).

93 C Boyd (Alloa), R Kennedy (Alva).

94 C Watson (Alloa).

96 G McIntosh (Alloa), S Buchanan (Alva).

97 C Graham (Alloa), B McAdam (Alloa), J Gardner (Alva), R Brown (Tillicoultry).

109 R Walker (Alva).

110 A Boyd (Alloa).

The top eight boys in each category qualify for the match-play titles, and a handicap title is contested by the top four handicap scores in each category.
*Hugh Hunter's picture shows the leading prizewinners: Left to right, Brian McAdam,Grant Dowie, Lawrence Allan and Gary Chalmers (Brian McAdam stood in to accept the prize when his older brother Bruce could not stay to collect it).

VIKKI FINISHES JT 23rd IN EL PASO CLASSIC

Vikki Laing finished joint 23rd in the El Passo Classic at the Underwood Complex in Texas with steady rounds of 75, 72 and 72 for a total of 219. She earned $649.
Lisa D Mickey is one of the very best golf writers around these days. You might like to read her report on the tournament from the Duramed Futures Tour website:

Mo Martin Holds On For First Pro Title in El Paso

EL PASO, Texas, May 6, 2007 – Last year, the winner of the El Paso Golf Classic won in a nine-hole playoff. This year, champion Mo Martin bounced back from a Saturday morning trip to the hospital and outlasted both a hard-charging Swede and the fast-sinking sun today for her first professional win. Playing on the Duramed FUTURES Tour in her second season, the former UCLA collegian carded rounds of 69-71-67 to win the $80,000 event at 207 (-9), beating Caroline Larsson on the 18th hole by one shot. Larsson finished the week with rounds of 70-68-70 for second at 208 (-8).
“I was on my toes and I had to play my best,” said Martin, of Altadena, Calif., who earned $11,200 for her victory. “And right now, I can’t wipe the smile off my face.”
Martin and Larsson started their tug-of-war for the trophy during the first round on the Sunrise Course at Underwood Golf Complex, located on the U.S. Army’s Fort Bliss base. Martin grabbed the lead on Friday and was trailed by Larsson and Mexico’s Violeta Retamoza. Fierce gusts kicked up on Saturday, suspending play because of high wind for the first time in the Tour’s history. That forced 97 players to return to the course on Sunday to finish – or in Martin’s case, to start – the second round before playing the final round.
That’s when Martin knew her stars were lining up. She came down with a gastro-intestinal infection on Friday night and spent the entire night sleeping on a bed of towels on her housing host’s bathroom floor. Early Saturday morning, at the advice of a physician relative, she went to a local hospital and was hooked up to an IV for two hours. Her goal was to replenish the fluids she had lost throughout the night on Friday and to be ready for her Saturday afternoon tee time. When play was suspended before her round ever started, Martin went home for another day of R&R..
“I had Pedialyte, water, chicken broth and I snuck three saltine crackers on Saturday,” said Martin. “I felt tons better today, but I tried to be smart about my warm-up time this morning. I mostly putted and chipped and tried to get ready to play 36 holes.”
Even before the stomach ailment set in, Martin played in the Thursday pro-am with four local attorneys. One of the lawyers pulled a trick on Martin that gave her the feeling that he had read her mind. And two holes later in the pro-am, he told the Californian that she was going to win this week.
“I thought, ‘Yeah, I’d be the outside pick for sure, especially since my best finish before this was a tie for 13th,’” laughed Martin, who was a member of UCLA’s 2004 NCAA Championship team.
But it got her thinking -- even in the throes of illness and in the wooziness of recovery. Martin was playing well and now she was thinking about winning. Her mother, along with her 95-year-old grandfather, Lincoln Martin, had made the trip from California to El Paso to watch her play, and for some reason, things just felt right this week. But there was plenty of work to do.
Canada’s Salimah Mussani and Larsson got hot in the second round and grabbed the lead at 138 (-6). Mussani blistered the course with a seven-under-par score of 65 that included two eagles in her round, while Larsson fired a four-under 68 to keep hanging on. Martin shadowed them two shots back at 140 (-4).
“My putter worked really well and I used good course management,” said Larsson, a rookie from Danderyd, Sweden, who played collegiately at Florida State University. “And even though I only hit eight greens in regulation [in the second round], I had 21 putts today.”
The day’s first 18 holes, followed by a three-hour break until her tee time in the final group, was difficult for Mussani, who has Lupus. The temperature also dropped dramatically, which affected the Canadian’s circulation in her hands.
“I fought hard all day and I had my chances, but it wasn’t an ideal situation for me,” said Mussani of Burlington, Ontario, who carded a one-over-par 73 and tied for third with Song Yi Choi (69) of Seoul, Korea at 211 (-5).
Mussani ended up with a front-row seat to the best head-to-head match between two players all season. Larsson led by a shot after four holes, then Martin led by one after six holes, then Larsson and Martin were tied after seven holes, and the nip-and-tuck continued all the way to the 18th green.
Two shots ahead of any player in the field, Martin and Larsson were all square after 12 holes. It appeared that Martin might have committed a costly error on the par-five 14th hole when the Californian went for the green in two and landed in a bunker. But Martin pulled out her trusty 58-degree wedge and chipped – not taking any sand -- to four feet for birdie on top of Larsson’s own birdie.
“I just kept going and Caroline and I just kept making birdies,” said Martin.
Again, on the 16th hole, the two players landed their approach shots in nearly identical spots on the green. Martin putted first and burned the edge of the hole, giving Larsson a good view of the line and a chance to birdie with two holes to play. But Larsson missed the chance and the two moved to the 17th hole, still all square.
This time, with a gallery following in near-darkness, Martin and Larsson took their swings on the par-three 17th hole. Larsson missed the green to the back right and nearly chipped in for birdie, settling for par. Martin landed on the left fringe, putted from off the green and then rammed in a 12-foot par-saving putt to stay tied with Larsson as they headed to the 18th tee.
“It really did feel like match play and I was trying to make birdies to beat Mo,” said Larsson, a former member of the Swedish National Team. “At the same time, we were both trying to finish before dark.”
Still bruised from her Saturday IV treatment, Martin said she “had a clear target in mind” on the 18th tee. Her drive landed in perfect position, while Larsson’s drive sailed into a right fairway bunker. The Swede used a 7-wood out of the bunker and landed on the back of the green, 50 feet from the hole. Two putts later, she had a par and could only watch. Martin’s approach from 119 yards with a knock-down 9-iron landed within 1½ feet from the hole.
As they walked down the 18th fairway, Mussani, who won her first Tour title last season, smiled and asked the Californian if she was “in a good place?” Martin responded that she was in a “happy place.” And Martin stroked in her final birdie putt, squeezing out the last hint of daylight to win. Standing greenside was her grandfather and mother, the attorney with the Thursday prediction and Martin’s UCLA college pal, Gina Umeck.
“I feel it too,” said Umeck, of Redlands, Calif., as she pounded on her former teammate with glee.
Martin’s win moved her from 31st place on the money list to fifth, and converted her from a second-year, wannabe-winner to the sixth season champion in as many events. And between her second and final rounds, Martin received a text message from another former Bruin teammate, Charlotte Mayorkas.
Mayorkas, who earned her 2007 LPGA Tour card by finishing second on the Duramed FUTURES Tour’s 2006 money list, sent a message to Martin that said, “Don’t step on that plane until you have the trophy.”
Good advice, Charlotte. Your old teammate was listening.
For scores and more information, visit www.duramedfuturestour.com.
Weather: Mostly cloudy, changing to mostly sunny with a high temperature of 73 degrees with wind around 22 mph and gusts up to 31 mph.

KOREAN WINS LPGA TOUR PLAY-OFF

Korea's Mi Hyun Kim beat American veteran Juli Inkster in a sudden death play-off to win the LPGA's SemGroup Championship at Cedar Ridge Country Club, Broken Arrow in Oklahoma.
The Korean had scores of 71, 68 and 71 to Jul's scores of 71, 70 and 69. The difference between winning and finishing second was substantial. Mi Hyun Kim collected $210,000, Juli Inkster $127,000.
Catriona Matthew and Laura Davies tied for 55th place on 220. Catriona scored 75, 71 and 74; Laura 74, 73 and 73. They both earned $3,832.
Janice Moodie scored 76, 70 and 76 to fill joint 68th place on 222. She won $2,863.
Mhairi McKay missed the 36-hole cut with a pair of 76s for 152.

MARTIN LAIRD SEVENTH ON NATIONWIDE
MONEY TABLE AFTER JT 27th FINISH

Martin Laird from Glasgow, a former Scottish youths champion, is lying seventh with earnings of $116,698 in the US Nationwide Tour this season.
Laird, a tournament winner a couple of weeks ago, shot rounds of 66, 67, 72 and 67 for an eight-under-par total of 272 in the latest event, the Fort Smith Classic at Hardscrabble Country Club in Arkansas - but finished only joint 27th.
That's how high the standard of scoring is on America's No 2 pro tour.
Irishman Keith Nolan finished on the same 272 mark with scores of 72, 61, 70 and 69.
The Fort Smith Classic was won by American Jay Williamson with a 16-under-par total of 264 for the par-70 circuit. Jay shot 69, 66, 66 and 63.

NOT A HAPPY DAY FOR SCOTS AS NIKKI
GARRETT WINS TENERIFE LADIES OPEN
Australian Nikki Garrett won the Tenerife Ladies Open by two shots from England’s Trish Johnson and Spain’s Tania Elosegui.
Nikki had a final round of 72 for 287 – two ahead of the joint runners-up.
The three Scots in the field did not have a happy final day.
Kathryn Imrie closed with a 77 for 299 after running up a double bogey 6 at the 15th.
Clare Queen finished on 297 with a 78. She bogeyed five of her last six holes.
Lynn Kenny finished at the bottom of the heap on 311 with a nightmare round of 84 which include a quadruple bogey 8 at the first and a triple bogey 8 at the long fifth. She had started at the 10th and was out in 40.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
287 Nikki Garrett (Aus) 69 75 71 72
289 Trish Johnson (Eng) 71 70 77 71, Tania Elosegui (Spa) 71 75 71 72
290 Ana Larraneta (Spa) 72 73 71 74, Becky Brewerton (Wal) 71 71 73 75
291 Stefania Croce (Ita) 73 71 77 70, Ana B Sanchez (Spa) 67 73 76 75
292 Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha) 69 76 72 75, Sophie Sandolo (Ita) 70 77 68 77
293 Paula Marti (Spa) 75 70 76 72
294 Rebecca Hudson (Eng) 71 76 74 73, Eleanor Pilgrim (Wal) 74 73 73 74, Amanda Moltke-Leth (Den) 72 75 73 74, Karen-Margrethe Juul (Den) 72 74 74 74, Martina Eberl (Ger) 70 72 76 76
295 Danielle Masters (Eng) 71 71 79 74, Nicole Gergely (Aut) 73 73 74 75, Lotta Wahlin (Swe) 71 75 73 76, Lisa Jean (Aus) 71 71 75 78, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 71 76 70 78, Sophie Walker (Eng) 71 73 72 79
296 Karen Lunn (Aus) 71 73 76 76, Kirsty Taylor (Eng) 73 74 72 77, Cecilia Ekelundh (Swe) 68 77 74 77
297 Federica Piovano (Ita) 68 76 78 75, Joanne Mills (Aus) 69 74 76 78, Clare Queen (Sco) 75 69 75 78
298 Stephanie Arricau (Fra) 75 74 74 75, Nienke Nijenhuis (Ned) 72 72 75 79
299 Lisa Hall (Eng) 70 79 72 78, Kathryn Imrie (Sco) 72 76 74 77, Rebecca Coakley (Irl) 73 75 75 76, Virginie Auffret (Fra) 71 73 74 81
300 Sofia Renell (Swe) 69 73 79 79, Jenni Kuosa (Fin)72 73 76 79, Laurette Maritz (Rsa) 73 73 78 76, Ludivine Kreutz (Fra) 71 74 79 76, Mette Buus (Den) 72 75 78 75, Lara Tadiotto (Bel) 78 70 77 75, Kirsty S Taylor (Eng) 74 75 78 73
301 Diana Luna (Ita) 72 73 75 81, Lynn Brooky (Nzl) 73 72 77 79, Bettina Hauert (Ger) 74 70 80 77, Ursula Wikstrom (Fin)76 72 77 76, Kiran Matharu (Eng) 71 72 82 76
302 Helena Alterby (Swe) 72 75 75 80, Laura Cabanillas (Spa) 75 72 77 78, Ellen Smets (Bel) 69 74 81 78, Frederique Seeholzer (SWI) 75 72 79 76, Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin)73 76 78 75
303 Anna Rossi (Ita) 77 71 77 78
304 Margherita Rigon (Ita) 76 71 73 84
307 Rikke Rasmussen (Den) 72 74 78 83, Fame More (Eng) 76 73 78 80, Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den) 75 73 81 78
308 Natascha Fink (Aut) 77 72 80 79
310 Carmen Alonso (Spa) 75 74 85 76.
311 Lynn Kenny (Sco) 76 72 79 84

DOUGHERTY LETS WINNING CHANCE SLIP
IN ITALIAN OPEN FINAL ROUND
England's Nick Dougherty let another victory chance slip through his hands with a poorish final round inward half to finish joint third in the weather-shortened, 54-hole Telecom Italian Open at Castello di Tolcinasco, Milna.
Victory went in the end to Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano who beat the Austrian, Markus Brier, at the second hole of a sudden death play-off after they had tied on 16-under-par 200, Gonzala after a final round 65 and Markus with a 68.
In contrast, Dougherty closed with a 70 for 201.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72). Players from GB&I unless stated
200 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 67 68 65, Markus Brier (Aut) 63 69 68 (Fernandez-Castano won play-off at second extra hole. Fernandez-Castano wins £193,163, Brier £128,770)
201 Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 68 64, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 67 69 65, Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 67 68 66, Nick Dougherty 67 64 70 (£55,052 each).
202 Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 66 71 65, Marcus Fraser 68 66 68, Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 70 64 68
203 Simon Khan 68 69 66, Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice) 67 67 69, James Heath 65 69 69
204 Mark Foster 72 68 64, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 70 69 65, Oliver Fisher 69 69 66, Phillip Archer 69 68 67, Oliver Wilson 68 68 68, Maarten Lafeber (Net) 69 66 69, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 69 65 70
205 Gary Lockerbie 73 65 67, Garry Houston 66 70 69, Alastair Forsyth 68 67 70, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 65 67 73, Joakim Backstrom (Swe) 62 70 73
206 Ian Garbutt 68 71 67, Mark Pilkington 71 68 67, Peter Lawrie 68 70 68, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 69 65 72
207 Anthony Wall 68 72 67, Soren Hansen (Den) 69 70 68, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 70 69 68, Kyron Sullivan 70 67 70, Brett Rumford (Aus) 66 71 70, Charl Schwartzel (SAf) 67 69 71, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 66 67 74
208 David Drysdale 70 70 68, Gareth Davies 69 71 68, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 70 69 69, David Park 71 68 69, Sven Struver (Ger) 68 70 70, Gregory Havret (Fra) 67 71 70, Tom Lehman (US) 70 68 70, Steven O'Hara 69 68 71, Kenneth Ferrie 68 69 71, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 67 67 74
209 Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 71 69 69, Sam Little 71 69 69, Benn Barham 69 70 70, Gary Murphy 71 68 70, Richard Finch 66 73 70, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 72 67 70, Bradley Dredge 71 68 70, Paul Broadhurst 68 70 71, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 71 66 72
210 Andrew Tampion (Aus) 68 72 70, Anders Hansen (Den) 66 74 70, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 71 69 70, Robert Rock 71 68 71
211 Alessio Bruschi (Ita) 72 68 71, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 74 66 71, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 73 67 71, Duffy Waldorf (US) 67 72 72, Steve Jones (US) 70 69 72
212 Michele Reale (Ita) 71 68 73, Cesar Monasterio (Arg) 69 70 73, Steve Alker (NZ) 70 69 73, Juan Parron (Spa) 67 71 74.
213 Jose Manuel Carriles (Spa) 70 70 73.
216 Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 70 68 78.

Another brilliant performance by Craigielaw 21-year-old

SALTMAN MAKES ALL THE

RUNNING TO WIN LYTHAM

TROPHY BY THREE SHOTS

Walker Cup man Lloyd Saltman, still only 21, added another great victory to an already impressive amateur golfing CV when he won the prestigious Lytham Trophy by three shots at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club today.
Saltman, pictured right, led from start to finish to add this win to his early-season Scottish double triumph in the Champion of Champions at Leven and then the Craigmillar Park Open in Edinburgh.
Lloyd put together rounds of 65, 67, 74 and 73 for a total of 279 against a CSS of 74, 75, 75 and 77. That he could not break 70 over this tough Open championship course in today’s gale-force winds were to be expected but he held his game together to finish three strokes ahead of Welsh Walker Cup veteran Nigel Edwards and the brilliant teenager Rory McIlroy from Holywood, Belfast.
The next best Scot after Saltman was Scott Henry (Cardross) in 16th position on 293. He was followed by Banchory teenager James Byrne who slipped back to a share of 19th position on 295 with Richie Ramsay (Royal Aberdeen).

ALL THE FINAL TOTALS
279 L Saltman (Craigielaw) 65 67 74 73.
282 N Edwards (Whitchurch, Cardiff) 69 71 71 71, R McIlroy (Holywood, Belfast) 67 68 73 74.
285 B Parker (Gut Waldhof) 70 69 72 74.
286 B Grace (George GC) 69 73 70 74.
287 D Whitenell (Five Lakes) 70 73 72 72, M Cryer (Coventry) 71 72 69 75.
288 A Kaleka (Golf Marcilly) 72 70 74 72, K Kromer (Gutenhof) 72 69 72 75, G Wolstenholme (Kilworth Springs) 69 70 73 76.
289 A Johnston (North Middlesex 71 75 72 71.
292 M Baldwin (Royal Birkdale) 745 72 74 72, G Boyd (Cherwell Edge) 73 72 73 74, L Matthews (Southerndown) 71 73 72 76, L Goddard (Hendon) 73 69 71 79.
293 S Henry (Cardross) 74 72 73 74.
294 J Parry (Harrogate) 73 73 75 73, J Moul (Stoke by Nayland) 75 70 75 74.
295 E Dubois (Bordeaux-Lac) 70 76 73 73, J Byrne (Banchroy) 73 70 77 75, R Ramsay (Royal Aberdeen) 70 74 75 76, V Dubuisson (St Nom la Bretche) 73 73 73 76, J Abbott (Fynn Valley) 70 72 75 78.
296 K Le Sager (Ormesson) 68 77 76 75.
287 P Waring (Bromborough) 69 71 81 76.
298 S Uzzel (Hornsea) 72 74 77 75, S Hutsby (Liphook) 71 74 77 76, S McEwan (Caprington) 71 74 75 78.
300 V Guillame (St Cyprien) 75 71 79 75, T Lawson (Ellesborough) 70 76 78 76, S Einhaus (Germany) 69 75 75 81.
303 G Campbell (Blairgowrie) 69 77 78 79, F Schulte (Germany) 74 72 68 68, R Kind (Haagsche) 71 73 79 80.
304 M Kramer (Germany) 71 75 84 74, M Nixon (Ashton under Lyne) 70 73 82 79, N Chaudhuri (Leicestershire) 72 74 79 79.
306 G Dear (Murrayshall) 73 73 82 78, L Campbell (Rochester & Cobham Park).

LOUISE SCORES FIRST WIN ON 18TH BIRTHDAY AT ALLOA

Louise MacGregor (Falkirk), the top qualifier for the match-play stages of the Stirling & Clackmannan women’s county golf championship at Alloa Golf Club, celebrated her 18th birthday by beating Rose Graham (Stirling) by 6 and 4 in the first round this evening.
Former Curtis Cup player and past Scottish champion Alison Davidson (Stirling), the No 2 seed, also cleared her first hurdle by beating Elizabeth Graham (Glenbervie) 4 and 3.

This evening's results:
First round – L MacGregor (Falkirk) bt R Graham (Stirling) 6 and 4, C Capocci (Bridge of Allan) bt E Sneddon (Tillicoultry) 3 and 1, S Mitchell (Dunbracken Ladies) bt L Thacker (Braehead) 3 and 2, M Tough (Falkirk) bt S McLean (Falkirk Tryst) 3 and 2, E Allison (Stirling) bt S Copland (Falkirk Tryst) 6 and 5, L Allan (Falkirk Tryst) bt L Fleming (Glenbervie) 3 and 2, T Chillas (Stirling) bt Dr S Hartley (Braehead) 5 and 4, A Davidson (Stirling) bt E Goodwin (Glenbervie) 4 and 3.

PHILLIPA THWARTS JUDITH BID FOR EIGHTH BORDERS COUNTY TITLE

Judith Anderson’s bid to win the Borders women’s county golf championship for a record eighth time was foiled in the final today (Sunday) by Phillipa Costello (Hirsel).
Judith, the No 2 seed from the Hawick club, was beaten on the last green, by two holes, by No 4 seed Phillipa.
Costello bt top qualifier Sharon Lees by two holes in the first semi-final while Judith Anderson beat Gillian Oliver (St Boswell) 6 and 5 in the other tie.

Details:

Semi-finals – Phillipa Costello (Hirsel) bt Sharon Lees (Kelso) 2 holes, Judith Anderson (Hawick) bt Gillian Oliver (St Boswell) 6 and 5.
Final – Costello bt Anderson 2 holes.

LYNNE REGAINS ANGUS TITLE AT PANMURE BARRY

Angus prizewinners with their President

L to R: Mary Faulkner, Ailsa Summers, Nancy Duncan (President),
Lynne Fotheringham, Fiona Gilbert

Lynne Fotheringham from Grange Golf Club, Monifieth won the Angus women’s county golf championship for the second time in three years on a horrendously windy day for the semi-finals and final at Panmure Barry today (Sunday).
Lynne, playing in her third final in four years, previously won the championship at Arbroath in 2004.
In a very closely fought final, Fotheringham beat Carnoustie’s Fiona Gilbert by 2 and 1 in a wind so strong that it made a difference of four or five clubs playing into it.
Lynne had earlier won her semi-final by 6 and 5 over the leading qualifier for the match-play stages, Heather Anderson from Downfield. Fiona edged out Scottish veterans’ champion Kathleen Sutherland (Royal Montrose) by 2 and 1.
Fotheringham had the upperhand in the first half of the final but let things slip a little by three-putting the short 11th were Fiona was able to square the match.
The turning point came at the par-5 14th when, after a 300yd-plus drive, Fiona took four from the4 edge of the green, giving a one-hole advantage back to Lynne.
After halving in pars at the 16th, Lynnt took the 17t5h for the match with a great up and down from 10 yards short of the green.
In the handicap match-play final, 13-year-old Ailsa Summers from Panmure Barry, playing off 18, triumphed over 14-handicapper Mary Faulkner (Royal Montrose) by 5 and 4.

ANGUS WOMEN’S CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
Panmure Barry.
Semi-finals – Lynne Fotheringham (Grange) bt Heather Anderson (Downfield) 6 and 5, Fiona Gilbert (Carnoustie) bt Kathleen Sutherland (Royal Montrose) 2 and 1.
Final – Fotheringham bt Gilbert 2 and 1.
HANDICAP
Semi-finals – Ailsa Summers (Panmure Barry) (18) bt Fiona Blair (Monifieth) (5) 8 and 6, Mary Faulkner (Royal Montrose) (14) bt Anne Hutcheson (Panmure Barry) (17) 5 and 4.

MOFFAT MEMBERS SCORE AT HOME

Moffat Golf Club, the hosts for the LGU Medal South Area Final competition today (Sunday) provided the winners of both the Silver and Bronze Divisions on a day of wind and rain..
The four qualifiers, who included the Moffat ladies’ captain, Bernice Williams, go forward to the Grand Final at Crieff Golf Club on Sunday, June 3.
Qualifiers (SS 68, CSS 71:
Silver – Bernice Williams (Moffat) (18) 71; Frances Frlconer (Melrose) (7) 77.
Bronze – Linda Jack (Moffat) (19) 75; Christine Duncan (Melrose) (22) 79 (better inward half).

HAILSTORM WIPES OUT WEST WOMEN’S SECOND ROUND, LESLEY WINS TITLE

A freak hailstorm in the midst of gale-force winds forced the cancellation of the second round of the scheduled 36-hole West of Scotland women’s amateur stroke-play championship at Drumpellier Golf Club today (Sunday).
Ayrshire county champion Lesley Hendry was declared the winner with a first-round 77,five over the standard scratch but a good score in such awful May weather.
Lesley had a stroke to spare from Elaine Cuthill (Lanark) with Liz Keohone (Loudoun) and Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle), the new Lanarkshire women’s champion both on the 79 mark.
Lanarkshire (Elaine Cuthill, Pamela Pretswell and Susan Wood) won the team event with ease with a total of 238.
Kirsten Scott (Windyhill) won the handicap prize with a net 73 off 13, despite incurring a two-stroke penalty for inadvertently starting at the wrong hole.

WEST OF SCOTLAND WOMEN’S AMATEUR STROKE-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
Drumpellier GC. Second round cancelled because of bad weather.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS (CSS 72).
77 Lesley Hendry (Routenburn).
78 Elaine Cuthill (Lanark).
79 Liz Keohone (Loudoun), Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle).
81 Susan Wood (Drumpellier), Alex Glennie (Kilmarnock Barassie).
83 Judy Galbraith (Cowal), Sara Harman (Williamwood), Lesley Williamson (Kilmarnock Barassie), Ruth Rankin (Lanark), Audrey Thompson (Loudoun).
84 Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm), Jennifer Mack (Haggs Castle), May Hughes (Lanark).
HANDICAP – Kirsten Scott (Windyhill) (13) 73.

THIRD TIME LUCKY FOR MICHELE THOMSON
IN ABERDEENSHIRE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

It was third time lucky for 19-year-old Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) in the Aberdeenshire women’s county golf championship over the Hawkshill course at Newmachar Golf Club today.
She beat 18-year-old scratch player Laura Murray (Alford), the leading qualifier, by 4 and 2 in a final played in high winds.
Michele, who quit Jacksonville State University, Alabama at the Christmas break after six months, has already won the North of Scotland women’s championship two years in a row but she had not got past the semi-final stages in her two previous attempts to win the Aberdeenshire title.
Michele, the No 3 seed, birdied the fourth and eighth on her way to a three-hole lead at the turn.
Robert Gordon’s University student Laura, winner of the Scottish schoolgirls title in 2005, won back the 12th but lost the 13th and they also exchanged the 14th and 15th holes before Michele clinched the title with a third birdie at the 16th.
One of the performances of the championship was that of another RGU student, Sara Thomson, Murcar Links. A seven-handicap player, Sara qualified in the No 2 position and reach the semi-finals before losing to the eventual champion.
Sara, better known as a hockey player, opted to play in the county championship instead of turning out in a Scottish District Hockey Cup final. After this showing, Sara will perhaps concentrate more on golf!
Match-play results:
First round – L Murray (Alford) bt C Neish (Kintore) 3 and 2, M Millership (Deeside) bt J Harrison (Cruden Bay) 1 hole, L McLardy (Murcar Links) bt F Hay (Deeside) 3 and 2, S Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) bt L Terry (Cruden Bay) 3 and 2, M Thomson (McDonald Ellon) bt D McKinnon (McDonald Ellon) 6 and 5, J Murray (Cruden Bay) bt G Melvin (Hazlehead) 2 and 1, C Wilson (Murcar Links) bt D Pocock (Murcar Links) 2 and 1, S Thomson (Murcar Links) bt S Leslie (Westhill) 2 holes.
Quarter-finals – L Murray bt Millership 4 and 3, Wood bt McLardy at 21st, M Thomson bt J Murray 8 and 6, S Thomson bt Wilson at 19th.
Semi-finals – L Murray bt Wood 6 and 5, M Thomson bt S Thomson 3 and 1.
Final – M Thomson bt L Murray 4 and 2.

Two-shot victory in Welsh open amateur stroke-play

HEATHER MACRAE FOLLOWS IN FOOTSTEPS
OF CATRIONA, ANNE AND VIKKI

Dunblane’s Heather MacRae added her name to the list of Scottish winners of the Welsh women’s open amateur stroke-play golf championship at Newport Golf Club today (Sunday).
[Photo right Courtesy and Copyright Tom Ward]
Heather, 23, recaptured the form that won her the British stroke-play title at Nairn in 2005, with rounds of 70, 75 and 74 for a total of 219 – three shots ahead of runner-up Bronwyn Mullins-Lane (Harefield Place).
Two Manchester club players, Kelly Tidy and Rachel Connor, daughter of the Scots-born professional, finished third and fourth on 223 and 225 respectively.
Heather made all the running in the 54-hole event to follow in the footsteps of compatriot winners Catriona Lambert (1992), Anne Walker (1999) and Vikki Laing (2001-2002-2003).
Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) was the next best Scot this weekend with rounds of 79, 75 and 77 to share 13th place on 231.
Clare-Marie Carlton (Stirling University) was joint 23rd on 238 with scores of 80, 80 and 78.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72). CSS 75 75 75
219 Heather MacRae (Dunblane) 70 75 74.
222 Bronwyn Mullins-Lane (Harefield Place) 75 75 72.
223 Kelly Tidy (Manchester) 75 75 73.
225 Rachel Connor (Manchester) 76 75 74.
227 Sahra Hassan (Vale of Glamorgan) 75 74 78.
228 Holly Aitchison (Bedfordshire) 76 73 79, Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) 75 77 76.
229 Hannah Barwood (Knowle) 76 77 76, Tracey Boyes (Meon Valley) 75 78 76.
230 Tara Davies (Holyhead) 81 74 75, Jenny Pease (Braintree) 80 76 74, Danielle Montgomery (The Lambourne) 80 75 75.
231 Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) 79 75 77, Lydia Hall (Royal Portcawl) 80 73 78, Eleanor Givens (Blackwell Grange) 74 76 81.
Other Scottish scores:
238 Clare-Marie Carlton (Stirling Univ) 80 80 78 (jt 23rd).
245 Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old) 80 82 83 (44th).
248 Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) 85 86 77 ( 45th).

CLAIRE TAKES MIDLOTHIAN TITLE FOR FIFTH TIME

Claire Hargan and Tracy Laughland
after the prizegiving at Newbattle

Claire Hargan (Mortonhall) won the Midlothian Championship for the fifth consecutive time at windswept Newbatte this afternoon, when she beat her club-mate Tracy Laughland by 7&6 in the final.
Claire started with a cast-iron par four and was quickly four up after a birdie at the second and pars at the next two. Tracy won the fifth but Claire won the honour back immediately with a birdie at the sixth, and pars at the next three saw the reigning champion out in one-under 35 and six up.
Tracy won the tenth after a rare putting lapse from Claire, but a par 3 at the eleventh and a bogey 5 at twelve were sufficient to give Claire the title once again.
In the morning semifinals, Tracy beat the top qualifier, Belinda Murphy (also Mortonhall) by 3&2 and Claire beat Claire Macdonald (Gullane Ladies) by 2&1.
The B Championship final for handicaps 13 and above was a ding-dong battle between thirteen-year-old Kate Macintosh (Broomieknowe) and Denise Turnbull (Uphall). All square after thirteen, Kate won the next three to take the title. In the morning semifinals, Kate beat another youngster, Gabrielle Macdonald from Prestonfield, on the eighteenth and Denise beat Helen Warnock (Harburn).

IT'S LAURA MURRAY v MICHELE THOMSON
FOR THE ABERDEENSHIRE CHAMPIONSHIP

Youngsters Laura Murray (Alford) and Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) will meet in the final of the Aberdeenshire women's county championship over the windswept Newmachar Hawkshill course this afternoon.
Laura, the leading qualifier who became a scratch player earlier in the week, beat Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies), a former Scotland cap and several times county champion, by 6 and 5 in the first semi-final this morning.
Michele, North of Scotland women's champion for the past two years, beat the No 2 qualifier, Sara Thomson (Murcar Links), by 3 and 1.
Laura was Scottish schoolgirls champion in 2005. Neither Laura or Michele has ever won the Aberdeenshire title. Laura lost in the final in 2005.
Results:
Semi-finals
Laura Murray (Alford) bt Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) 6 and 5.
Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) bt Sara Thomson (Murcar Links) 3 and 1.

KOREA'S KIM KYUNG-TAE WINS ASIAN
TOUR EVENT BY FIVE STROKES
Seoul, May 6: Asia heralded a new rising star when Korea's Kim Kyung-tae coasted to an emphatic five-stroke victory in the US$600,000 GS Caltex Maekyung Open today, just five months after turning professional.
The 20-year-old Kim trailed by one overnight but steamrolled past China's Liang Wen-chong with a final round of five-under-par 67 at Nam Seoul Country Club to secure his maiden Asian Tour victory in only his second start in the region.
With a winning total of 18-under-par 270, Kim, a double gold medal winner in the Asian Games in Doha last December before he turned professional, earned a cheque of US$129,032. It was his second victory in successive weeks following his triumph in a domestic event last weekend.
Liang, who had led since the first day, failed to keep up pace on the back nine as he settled for second place with a closing 73. Korean amateur Danny Lee Jin-myung, who is only 16 and lives in New Zealand, grabbed third place on 279 after closing with a 65 while another amateur, Kim Bi-o, veteran Choi Gwang-soo and Lee Seung-ho shared fourth place on 282.
Scottish exile Ross Bain collected $4,387 for a share of 39th place with scores of 69, 74, 74 and 74 for three-over-par 291.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Players from Korea unless stated.
270 Kim Kyung-tae 70-66-67-67
275 Liang Wen-chong (China) 64-71-67-73
279 Lee Jin-myung (am) 70-73-71-65
282 Kim Bi-o (am) 72-69-75-66, Lee Seong-Ho 72-71-71-68, Choi Gwang-soo 70-76-67-69
284 Yoo Jong-gu 68-73-74-69, Mitchell Brown (Aus) 66-73-74-71, Kang Kyung-nam 73-67-73-71, Richard Lee (NZ) 68-75-71-70, Anthony Kang (US) 75-69-68-72.
285 Kim Chang-yoon 76-70-71-68, Unho Park (Aus) 74-69-73-69, Choi Sang-ho 71-73-72-69, Hong Soon-sang 76-72-66-71
286 Craig Smith (Wal) 73-69-76-68, David Oh (US) 72-71-74-69, Jin Park 76-71-70-69, Bae Sang-moon 71-72-71-72, Choi Joon-woo 71-73-70-72, Lee Won-joon (AUS) 76-67-66-77
287 Mardan Mamat (Singapore) 70-73-75-69, Shin Yong-jin 70-69-74-74, Kim Jong-duk 75-70-68-74.
Other score:
291 Ross Bain (Sco) 69 74 74 74 (jt 39th).

TIGER'S BOGEY-BOGEY FINISHES LEAVES
SABBATINI THE ONE-SHOT LEADER
IN WACHOVIA CHAMPIONSHIP

So maybe the pressure does get to Tiger Woods now and again ... but in the Wachovia Championship?
The great man bogeyed the last two holes (and he had to hole a seven-footer at the last!) in the third round at Quail Hollow Country Club, Charlotte in North Carolina for a 68 and a 54-hole tally of 10-under-par 206, which puts him one shot behind the leader, Rory Sabbatini.
The South African, driving the ball around the 297yd mark and averaging 1.6putts per green, broke the course record with a bogey-free 64 for 11-under-par 205.
Sharing second place with Tiger are Vijay Singh (69) and Arron Oberholser (69).
One-time tournament leader Paddy Harrington is in free fall, currently in a share of 74th place.
The Irishman's rounds have been 66, 75 and 79 for a running or should that be a plummeting total of 220.
THIRD-ROUND LEADERS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
205 Rory Sabbatini (SAf) 70 71 64.
206 Tiger Woods (US) 70 68 68, Vijay Singh (Fiji) 67 71 69, Arron Oberholser (US) 69 69 69.
Other scores:
209 Phil Mickelson(US) 70 71 69 (7th).
212 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 71 71 70 (jt 14th).
214 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 70 73 71 (jt 26th).
219 Brian Davis (Eng) 72 75 72 (jt 63rd).
220 Padraig Harrington 66 75 79 (jt 74th).

TWO-OVER-PAR 72 AND MARTIN LAIRD
DROPS FROM JOINT NINTH TO JOINT
38th IN FORT SMITH CLASSIC

So low is the scoring in this week's US Nationwide Tour - the Fort Smith Classic at Hardscrabble Country Club in Arkansas - that Martin Laird dropped like a stone from joint ninth overnight to joint 38th at the end of the third round.
All because he had a two-over-par round of 72 after earlier efforts of 66 and 67.
The Scot from Glasgow birdied the sixth but shed shots at the seventh, 12th and 14th.
He is now on five-under-par 205, 10 shots behind the leader, Justin Bolli with 69, 63 and 63 for 195.
Ron Whittaker and Canadian John Mills are joint second on 198.
Looks like Martin is not going to add many dollars to his impressive total so far this season.

HEATHER BLOOMING
AGAIN - LEADS BY
FOUR IN WALES

Former British women’s open amateur stroke-play champion Heather MacRae from Dunblane recaptured that Nairn links form of 2005 to sweep four shots clear of the field in the Welsh women’s open amateur stroke-play championship at Newport Golf Club today.
Heather, pictured right, 23, a Curtis Cup reserve last year strung together rounds of 70 and 75 for 145, compared with the par of 72 and a CSS of 75 for both rounds.
Last Sunday, Miss MacRae started the final round of the Helen Holm Scottish women’s open amateur stroke-play in third place but faded out of contention in the wind.
Seven days later, Heather finds herself again in the final pairing going out for the last round – but the odds are she will last the course this time. The Welsh field is not nearly as strong in depth as the “Helen Holm” was.
Portuguese Open winner earlier this season, Holly Aitchison (Bedfordshire) and Sahra Hassan (Vale of Glamorgan) are Heather’s closest challengers on 149.
Next best Scot after Heather is her “sparring partner,” Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) in joint 14th position on 154 with scores of 79 and 75.
There is no cut in this event. Everyone who played today’s 36 holes will play the final 18 holes.
SCOREBOARD
Par 72. CSS 75 75
145 Heather MacRae (Dunblane) 70 75.
149 Holly Aitchison (Bedfordshire) 76 73, Sahra Hassan (Vale of Glamorgan) 75 74.
150 Kelly Tidy (Manchester) 75 75, Bronwyn Mullins-Lane (Harefield Place) 75 75, Eleanor Givens (Blackwell Grange) 74 76.
151 Rachel Connor (Manchester) 75 75, Becky Harries (Haverfordwest) 74 77.
152 Liz Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) 75 77.153 Lydia Hall (Royal Porthcawl) 80 73, Hannah Barwood (Knowle) 76 77, Tracey Boyes (Meon Valley) 75 78, Rachel Jennings (Izaak Walton) 75 78.
154 Stephanie Evans (Vale of Llangollen) 81 73, Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) 79 75, Sarah Tyson (The London) 71 83.
155 Tara Davies (Holyhead) 81 74, Danielle Montgomery (The Lambourne) 80 75, Lisa Barton (Coventry) 80 75.
156 Sarah Attwood (Gog Magog) 81 75, Sophie Stubbs (Shifnal) 81 75, Jenny Pease (Braintree) 80 76, Laura Jones (Royal Liverpool) 79 77.
157 Edwina Lowrey-Gold (Eaton) 80 77, Lisa Ball (Matfen Hall) 77 80, Jacqueline Dittrich (Hubbelrath) 76 81.
158 Laura Collin (John O’Gaunt) 82 76.
159 Beth Davies (Mold) 83 76, Anna Carling (Vale of Glamorgan) 81 78, Charlie Douglass (Brockett Hall) 79 80.
160 Kate Whitmore (Sandiway) 84 76, Clare-Marie Carlton (Stirling University) 80 80, Laura Harvey (Richmond0 77 83.
161 Sian James (Brfistol & Clifton) 81 80, Rhian Wyn Thomas (Vale of Glamorgan) 76 85.
162 Rachael Lewis (Newport) 82 80, Lucy Gouold (Bargoed) 80 82, Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old) 80 82.
163 Katherine O'Connor (Tadmarton Heath) 84 79, Amy Skoulding (Kings Lynn) 84 79, Amy Rees (Southerndown) 83 80.
164 Kerry-Anne Haskell (Broadstone) 87 77, Jo Nicolson (Wrexham) 85 79, Denise Richards (Bargoed) 82 82.
165 Kelly Miller (Penrhos) 88 77, Stephanie Farrar (Sandiway) 83 82, Hayley Boulden (Llandudno Maesdu) 83 82, Hannah Jenkins (Cradoc) 80 85.
167 Helen White (Worfield) 84 83, Hannah Coles (Maxstoke Park) 82 85.
169 Samantha Colecliffe (Rhuddlan) 83 86.
170 Laura King (Ruthin Pwllglas) 83 87.
171 Kylie Walker (Buchanan CAstle) 85 86.
178 Laura Jane Roberts (Holyhead) 89 89.
Withdrew: Gemma Easton (Bargoed) 91 -.

Three Scots in top 10 at Lytham Trophy halfway stage

SALTMAN STILL SETTING

PACE: BANCHORY'S

BYRNE NEXT BEST SCOT

Bang-in-form Lloyd Saltman continues to make every post a potential winning one in the Lytham Trophy at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, Lancashire.
The Craigielaw man maintained his overnight lead with a 67 for a halfway total of 132 – 17 shots under the combined CSS of 74 and 75.
But Saltman is by no means home and dry yet. On his tail, albeit three shots adrift, is another of the best young players in Europe, teenager Rory McIlroy from Holywood, near Belfast.
McIlroy, the European individual amateur champion last year, had a 68 for 135.
To find the next best placed Scot after Saltman you have to go down to joint 12th place to find Banchory teenager James Byrne, pictured above, holding his own in admirable fashion against the best in the land – and the Continent.
James, bound for Arizona State University in the autumn, had a 70, one of the better second round,s for 143.
Richie Ramsay, the United States amateur champion from Royal Aberdeen, was not firing on anything like all cylinders for a second-round 74 and a 36-hole tally of 144.
Other Scots among the leading 40 players and ties who made the cut with tallies of 146 and better were Steven McEwan (Caprington), Scott Henry (Cardross), Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) and Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie).
ALL THE QUALIFIERS
CSS 74 75.
132 Lloyd Saltman (Craigielaw) 65 67.
135 Rory McIlroy (Holywood) 67 68.
139 Ben Parker (Gut Waldhof) 70 68, Gary Wolstenholme (Kilworth Springs0 69 70.
140 Nigel Edwards (Whitchurch, Cardiff) 69 71, Paul Waring (Bromborough) 69 71.
141 Kajetan Kromer (Gutenhof) 72 69.
142 Luke Goddard (Hendon) 73 69, Alexandre Kaleka (Golf Marcilly)_ 72 70, Jamie Abbott (Fynn Valley) 70 72, Branden Grace (George GC) 69 72.
143 James Byrne (Banchory) 73 70, Matthew Cryer (Coventry) 71 72, Matthew Nixon (Ashton under Lyne) 70 73, Dale Whitnell (Five Lakes) 70 73.
144 Llewellyn Matthews (Southerndown) 71 73, Richard Kind (Haagsche) 71 73, Richie Ramsay (Royal Abedeen) 70 74, Sean Einhaus (Germany).
145 Jamie Moul (Stoke by Nayland) 75 70, Francois Illouz (Morfontaine) 75 70, Gary Boyd (Cherwell Edge), Lloyd Campbell (Rochester & Cobham Park), Sam Hutsby (Liphook), Steven McEwan (Capringston), Kenny Le Sager (Ormesson) 68 77.
146 Vaita Guillame (St Cyprien) 75 71, Matthew Baldwin (Royal Birkdale) 74 72, Scott Henry (Cardross) 74 72, Frederik Schulte (Germany) 74 72, Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) 73 73, Victor Dubuisson (St Nom la Breteche) 73 73, John Parry (Harrogate) 73 73, John Kemp (John O’Gaunt) 72 74, Neil Chaudhuri (Leicestershire) 72 74, Steven Uzzell (Hornsea) 72 74, Andrew Johnston (North Middlesex) 71 75, Max Kramer (Germany) 71 75, Tom Lawson (Ellesborough) 70 76, Edouard Dubois (Bordeaux Lac) 70 76, Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie) 69 77.

SCOTS NON-QUALIFIERS

147 Mark Kerr (Crfaigielaw) 74 73, Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) 71 76, Jonathan King (Glasgow) 69 78.

148 Paul O'Hara (Colville Park) 75 73, Bryan Fotheringham (Forres) 75 73, Scott Mann (Carnoustie) 784 74.

149 Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw) 77 72.

150 Ross Kellett (Colville Park) 74 76.

152 James White (Leven Thistle) 74 78.

153 Philip McLean (Peterhead) 78 75.

156 Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie).

158 Allyn Dick (Shotts) 79 79.

160 James White jun (Lundin) 79 81.

161 Euan McIntosh (Newmachar) 78 83.

CURRY IS HOT STUFF ON SCOTTISH GOLF
UNION JUNIOR TOUR DEBUT

Kilmarnock Barassie member David Curry was called in off the reserve list to make his debut on the Scottish Golf Union Junior Tour at MacDonald Cardona today (Saturday ) – and he headed the field of 39 by two strokes.
David was one of the few who came to terms with the parched, fast-running Peebles course and returned scores of 70 and 73 against the par of 72 and CSS of 73 for a total of 143
Runners-up on 145 were Scotland boys’ cap Mark Bookless (Sandyhills) and Scott Fraser (Royal Aberdeen). Mark had scores of 71 and 74, Scott 74 and 71.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72). CSS 73 73.
143 D Curry (Kilmarnock Barassie) 70 73.
145 M Bookless (Sandyhills) 71 74, S Fraser (Royal Aberdeen) 71 74.
146 F Fotheringham (Nairn) 72 74.
147 N Henderson (Glen) 73 74.
148 T Spencer (Inchmarlo) 73 75.
149 C Gray (West Kilbride) 74 75.
150 F McKenna (Balmore) 78 72, C Wyper (Hayston) 75 75.
151 S Binning (Ranfurly Castle) 74 77.
152 P Ferrier (Baberton) 75 77, M Main (Thornton) 77 75, J Meechan (Dullatur) 77 756, T Sharkey (Helensburgh) 77 75.
153 M Daily (Erskine) 82 71.
154 D Law (Hazlehead) 81 73.
155 E McLaren (Dumfries & Galloway) 76 79.


ends

JUDITH THROUGH TO LAST FOUR OF BORDERS
CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE ROXBURGHE

Hawick’s Judith Anderson, chasing an eighth Border Ladies County Golf Association championship, is through to the semi-finals of the tournament at The Roxburghe Golf Club, Kelso.
Judith, the No 2 seed, now plays Gillian Oliver (St Boswell). In the other semi-final, Sharon Lees (Kelso), the No 1 qualifier, will play Phillipa Costello (Hirsel).
Results:
First round – Sharon Lees (Kelso) bt Ailsa Mitchell (Hawick) 4 and 2, Anne Dods (Torwoodlee) w.o. Dorothy Elliot (Minto) scr, Lesley Atkins (Minto) bt Lynn Douglas (Hawick) 2 holes, Phillipa Costello (Hirsel) bt Sheila Cuthbertson (Peebles) 12 hole, Kirsty Inkpen (Duns) bt Isla Craigie (Torwoodlee) at 19th, Gillian Oliver (St Boswell) bt Julie Birdsall (Roxburghe) 4 and 3, Liz Campbell (Torwoodlee) bt Wendy Wells (Peebles) 7 and 6, Judith Anderson (Hawick) bt Pauline Hogg (Jedburgh) 6 and 5.
Quarter-finals – Lees bt Dods 2 and 1, Costello bt Atkins 4 and 3, Oliver bt Inkpen 4 and 3, Anderson bt Campbell 4 and 3.

FOUR TOP SEEDS MAKE IT THROUGH TO
ABERDEENSHIRE SEMI-FINALS

The four top seeds in the Aberdeenshire women’s county golf champion – leading qualifier Laura Murray (Alford), Sara Thomson (Murcar Links), Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) and Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) – have all won their way through to Sunday morning’s semi-finals over the Newmachar Hawkshill course.
Sara Thomson and Sheena Wood had to go into extra holes to clinch their places in the last four.
Sara, the No 2 seed, was all square with clubmate Carol Wilson after 18 holes. At the first extra hole, Sara holed a 30ft birdie putt for victory and now plays namesake, Michele Thomson, for a place in the final.
Sheena Wood, several times winner of the title over the years, squared her quarter-final against Laura McLardy (Murcar Links) with a birdie 3 at the 18th. Then the 19th was halved in birdies with Laura pitching in from 50yd. Sheena finally prevailed at the 21st to earn a tie against the top seed, Laura Murray (Alford).

Results:
First round – L Murray (Alford) bt C Neish (Kintore) 3 and 2, M Millership (Deeside) bt J Harrison (Cruden Bay) 1 hole, L McLardy (Murcar Links) bt F Hay (Deeside) 3 and 2, S Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) bt L Terry (Cruden Bay) 3 and 2, M Thomson (McDonald Ellon) bt D McKinnon (McDonald Ellon), J Murray (Cruden Bay) bt G Melvin (Hazlehead) 2 and 1, C Wilson (Murcar Links) bt D Pocock (Murcar Links) 2 and 1, S Thomson (Murcar Links) bt S Leslie (Westhill) 2 holes.
Quarter-finals – L Murray bt Millership 4 and 3, Wood bt McLardy at 21st, M Thomson bt J Murray 8 and 6, S Thomson bt C Wilson at 19th.

CLARE QUEEN FOUR SHOTS BEHIND
LEADERS AFTER WINDY DAY
IN TENERIFE LADIES OPEN
Clare Queen (Carrick at Cameron House), pictured right, will start the final round of the Tenerife Ladies Open in joint 14th position, four shots off the pace.
High winds for today's third round saw a fair turnaround on the leaderboard with Spain's Ana Sanchez, who had a 76 for level par 216, dropping down to a triple tie for fourth place.
New leaders are Sophie Sandolo (Italy), who had a brilliant round of 68, Nikki Garrett (Australia), 71, and Becky Brewerton (Wales) who had a 71.
They are all on one-under-par 215.
England's Trish Johnson, second-placed overnight, was blown away to a 77 for 218 and a share of 11th place.
Clare Queen's third-round 75 saw her actually gain ground with a 54-hole tally of three-over 219.
Kathryn Imrie also played well for a 74 and is sharing 34th place on 222.
Lynn Kenny (Archerfield Links) did not enjoy the wind and return a 79 for 227, which dropped her to a share of 54th place.
LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3 x 72)
215 Sophie Sandolo (Ita) 70 77 68, Nikki Garrett (Aus) 68 75 71, Becky Brewerton (Wal) 71 71 73.
216 Ana Larraneta (Spa) 72 73 71, Sophie Walker (Eng) 71 73 72, Ana Sanchez (Spa) 67 73 76.
Other scores:
218 Trish Johnson (Eng) 71 70 77 (jt 11th).
219 Clare Queen (Carrick at Cameron House) 75 69 75 (jt 14th).
222 Kathryn Imrie (Sco) 72 76 74 (jt 34th).
227 Lynn Kenny (Archerfield Lniks) 76 72 79 (jt 54th).

ANDREW McLARDY LEADS AS ITALIAN
OPEN IS CUT TO THREE ROUNDS - AND
PAUL LAWRIE MISSES CUT BY EIGHT

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

Andrew McLardy, a Zimbabwean with Scottish parents will take a one shot lead into the third and final round of the Telecom Italia Open after the weather-affected tournament near Milan was finally cut to 54 holes.
The 33 year old McLardy carded an excellent second round 65 for a 14 under par total of 130 to lead England’s Nick Dougherty by a shot with Joakim Bäckström, Markus Brier and Alvaro Quiros sharing third on 12 under par 132.
Now McLardy, whose best European Tour finish came in this season’s Joburg Open where he finished second, will only face one further round in search of his maiden title after the decision was made to cut the event to 54 holes with the third round only being completed on Sunday.
It was an understandable outcome after a horrendous week of weather to the south of Milan played havoc with arrangements and gave the European Tour’s on-site meteorologist Craig Mroczka one of his most testing weeks on Tour for several seasons.
Hour after hour had been lost to either the threat of thunder and lightning or the abundance of water on the golf course. Wednesday’s Pro-Am was slashed to nine holes, almost nine hours fell by the wayside on Friday and almost three and a half hours were lost on Saturday in two separate interruptions, leaving Tournament Director José Maria Zamora with little option.
The Spaniard’s decision was backed by Donato di Ponziano, chairman of the Organising Committee of the Telecom Italia Open who said: “We totally agree with the decision made by The European Tour to stage the 2007 Telecom Italia Open over 54 holes and we fully support the position.
“The weather forecast presented to us for this afternoon and tomorrow is so volatile that our main concern, apart from guaranteeing the Telecom Italia Open the best winner possible in difficult circumstances, was also to maximise our exposure of this important international event to all concerned parties; including our sponsors and their clients, the worldwide television audience and all the spectators who will be here in person.
“We remember what happened in 2004 when we had to finish the tournament on Monday morning which was unsatisfactory to all parties and we wanted to avoid that eventuality occurring again.”
McLardy will have one eye on picking up the £193,163 first prize but admitted the most stress he is feeling at the moment is caused by the birth of his first child, scheduled to be born by Caesarean section on May 24.
“I think about it a lot. This isn’t really pressure compared to the baby coming and you just want it healthy with its hearing and eyesight and everything,” he said. “But so far all the scans have been good and we know it is a little girl.”
However, if he plays the way he did in the latter half of his second round he will have little to worry about, the Zimbabwean player cruising home in spectacular six under par figures of 30 after birdies at the tenth, 11th, 12th 14th, 15th and 18th holes.
While McLardy will be keen to triumph for the first time, his nearest challenger Dougherty will be equally keen to bag his second European Tour title and end a run of what ‘might have beens’ he has suffered this season.
On numerous occasions the 24 year old – whose 25th birthday by a remarkable coincidence is on the day McLardy’s baby is due – has had a chance to follow up his 2005 success in Singapore, most notably in Singapore again where he finished fourth, and last week in the Open de Espana where he finished eighth.
“I have had plenty of opportunities to win this year and I just haven’t and so I am really going to try and not pay too much attention to what is going on out there, just going to focus on my own game and make a load of birdies and see what happens,” said Dougherty, who had eight birdies in a flawless 64 to move to 13 under par 131.
“I really believe that is what the great players do and that is what I have to do. I keep putting myself in position and I am just not finishing it off. I am not doing anything wrong but maybe I will try and get a little bit more enjoyment in going out and trying to play great golf out there and trying to make as many birdies as possible. Maybe that will be a better attitude than going out there trying to steal the trophy.”
The 36-hole cut eventually dispensed with those with totals of 141 and over. Gary Orr was on 141 but Paul Lawrie's bad run of form continues. He improved in the second round to match the par of 72 but still missed the cut by nine shots with 149.
LEADING QUALIFIERS FOR FINAL ROUND
Par 144 (2 x 72).
130 Andrew McLardy (SAf) 65 65.
131 Nick Dougherty (Eng) 67 64.
132 Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 65 67, Joakim Backstrom (Swe) 62 70, Markus Brier (Aut) 63 69.
Other qualifiers included:
135 Alastair Forsyth (Sco) 68 67 (jt 14th).
137 Steven O'Hara (Sco) 69 68 (jt 39th).
138 T Lehman (US) 70 68.
140 David Drysdale (Sco) 70 70 (jt 53rd).
NON-QUALIFIERS INCLUDED:
141 Gary Orr 73 68.
144 Andrew Coltart 71 73, Simon Wakefield 71 73
145 S Lyle 74 71.
149 Paul Lawrie 77 72.

SCOTS OFF THE PACE IN LPGA EVENT

Catriona Matthew had a 75 and Janice Moodie and Mhairi McKays a pair of 76s in the first round of the SemGroup Championship, this week's LPGA Tour event at Cedar Ridge Country Club, Broken Arrow in Oklahoma.
American Nicole Castrale leads with a 67 by one shot from Brandie Burton, Angela Stanford and Sweden's Karin Sjodin.
World No 1 Lorena Ochoa is sharing 12th place on 70.
Laura Davies had a 74 to be joint 73rd.
Catriona Matthew is joint 94th and Janice and Mhairi are joint 114th.

CHINA-KOREA TWO-HORSE RACE FOR
ASIAN TOURNAMENT TITLE

China's Liang Wen-chong stayed firmly on track to lift a second title of the season when he retained his overnight one-shot lead after the third round of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open today.
The 28-year-old Liang, who has led since the opening day at Nam Seoul Country Club, carded a five-under-par 67 for a three-day score of 14-under-par 202 in the US$600,000 Asian Tour event.
Hot on Liang's heels is talented Korean youngster Kim Kyung-tae, who made it a two-horse race for the Maekyung title after matching Liang's round with a blistering back nine performance.
Korean-born Australian Lee Won-joon, playing in his rookie season on the Asian Tour, carded the day's joint best round of 66 for third place, thanks to six birdies. However, the 21-year-old is seven shots behind leader Liang.
A further three strokes back in fourth place was American Anthony Kang, who carded a 68 for a 212 total.
Scots exile Ross Bain had a 71 to be sharing 28th place on 217.
LEADING THIRD-ROUND TOTALS

202 Liang Wen-chong (CHN) 64-71-67.
203 Kim Kyung-tae (KOR) 70-66-67.
209 Lee Won-joon (AUS) 76-67-66.
212 Anthony Kang (USA) 75-69-68.
213 Hwang In-choon (KOR) 74-71-68, Kim Jong-duk (KOR) 75-70-68, Choi Gwang-soo (KOR) 70-76-67, Mitchell Brown (AUS) 66-73-74, Kang Kyung-nam (KOR) 73-67-73, Shin Yong-jin (KOR) 70-69-74.
214 Choi Joon-woo (KOR) 71-73-70, Bae Sang-moon (KOR) 71-72-71, Lee Jin-Myung [A] (KOR) 70-73-71, Richard Lee (NZ) 68-75-71, Hong Soon-sang (KOR) 76-72-66, Lee Seong-ho (KOR) 72-71-71, Roy Moon (US) 72-69-73
215 Suk Jong-yul (KOR) 71-72-72, Yoo Jong-gu (KOR) 68-73-74, Lee Gun-hee (KOR) 69-70-76.
216 Choi Sang-ho (KOR) 71-73-72, Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 71-73-72, Mang Dong-sub [A] (KOR) 74-72-70, Marcus Both (AUS) 73-74-69, Unho Park (AUS) 74-69-73, Kim Bi-o [A] (KOR) 72-69-75, Gavin Flint (AUS) 73-69-74.
Other scores included:
217 Ross Bain (Sco) 69 74 71.

LAIRD IN LINE FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE

Former Scottish youths champion Martin Laird contines to prosper on the Nationwide Tour, America's No 2 pro golf circuit. A winner a few weeks ago, Laird was lying joint ninth at the halfway stage of the latest event, the Fort Smith Classic at the quaintly-named Hardscrabble Country Club, Fort Smith in Arkansas.
The Glasgow-born Scot had a bogey-free round of 67 - birdies at the 11th, 12th and 18th - for a 36-hole tally of 11-under-par 133.
On the same mark is Irishman Keith Nolan who had a superb second-round 61 (30-31).
American Craig Lile leads with 65 and 64 for 11-under-par 129.

HARRINGTON'S CATASTROPHIC FINISH
OPENS THE DOOR TO TIGER, VIJAY
AND ARRON WHO?

Padraig Harrington plummeted from the overnight lead down to a share of joint seventh place in the US PGA Tour's Wachovia Championship at Charlotte when he bogeyed the short 17th and then ran up a triple bogey 7 at the last hole for a 75 and a halfway total of three-under-par 141.
That opened the door for three new joint leaders on 141 - Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and the unknown Arron (is that really how he spells his first name?) Oberholser (or his second name for that matter).
Padraig had a round which included more comebacks than Frank Sinatra.
Harrington started like a dog - bogey at the first, bogey at the second, bogey at the fourth. Then he got the sleep out of his eyes and brain and birdied the fifth and sixth. Then Paddy fell off his perch again with bogeys at the eighth and ninth to be out in three-over-par 39.
Then Harrington started flying again - back to back birdies at the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th. Now he's looking good to keep the lead .... only for that catastrophic spilling of four strokes to par over the last two holes to knock the feet from under him.
Luke Donald and Ian Poulter failed to qualify on 148 and John Daly had one of those days when he threw the towel in early, finishing in 84. The Englishmen missed the cut by one. Big Bad John missed it by 14.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72). Players from US unless stated.
138 Arron Oberholser 69 69, Vijay Singh (Fij) 67 71, Tiger Woods 70 68
139 Ted Purdy 70 69, Jason Bohn 67 72
140 Ken Duke 70 70
141 Phil Mickelson 70 71, Rory Sabbatini (SAf) 70 71, Rodney Pampling (Aus) 71 70, Anthony Kim 72 69, Joey Sindelar 69 72, Stewart Cink 70 71, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 68 73, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 66 75
142 Jerry Kelly 69 73, Steve Stricker 72 70, Adam Scott (Aus) 73 69, John Senden (Aus) 72 70, Michael Putnam 72 70, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 70 72, Charlie Wi (Kor) 74 68, Jeff Maggert 68 74, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 71 71, Trevor Immelman (SAf) 68 74, Stephen Ames (Can) 69 73
143 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 70 73, Charles Warren 70 73, Nick Watney 72 71, Jeff Gove 74 69, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 71 72, J.B. Holmes 69 74, Mathew Goggin (Aus) 70 73, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 70 73, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 70 73
144 Brett Quigley 70 74, Billy Mayfair 73 71, Steve Flesch 70 74, KJ Choi (Kor) 70 74, Mike Weir (Can) 73 71, Kevin Sutherland 75 69, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 75 69
145 Robert Garrigus 72 73, Chris DiMarco 74 71, David Berganio Jnr. 69 76, Woody Austin 71 74, Ben Curtis 70 75, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 72 73, Stephen Leaney (Aus) 75 70, Heath Slocum 68 77, J J Henry 72 73, Stephen Marino 74 71, Ernie Els (SAf) 71 74, Camilo Villegas (Col) 69 76, Briny Baird 72 73
146 Robert Gamez 75 71, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 72 74, Zach Johnson 71 75, Davis Love III 74 72, Bubba Watson 71 75, Parker McLachlin 71 75, Mark Wilson 76 70, Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 71 75, Nathan Green (Aus) 70 76, John Rollins 70 76, Robert Allenby (Aus) 70 76, Craig Kanada 73 73, Lee Westwood (Eng) 72 74, Ryan Moore 74 72, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 72 74
147 Brian Davis (Eng) 72 75, Jeff Sluman 71 76, Lucas Glover 75 72, J.P. Hayes 75 72, Todd Demsey 72 75, Gavin Coles (Aus) 76 71, Cliff Kresge 75 72, Bob Tway 72 75, Charles Howell III 78 69, Dean Wilson 72 75, Billy Andrade 73 74, Cameron Beckman 75 72, Boo Weekley 72 75, Bo Van Pelt 77 70, Tripp Isenhour 75 72, Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn) 73 74

MISSED CUT

148 Kirk Triplett 74 74, Vaughn Taylor 73 75, Ian Poulter (Eng) 78 70, Luke Donald (Eng) 73 75, Jason Gore 74 74
149 Pat Perez 72 77, J.L. Lewis 76 73, Hunter Mahan 73 76, Kevin Stadler 79 70, Joe Durant 73 76, George McNeill 78 71, Glen Day 76 73, Brandt Snedeker 75 74, Jonathan Byrd 77 72, Johnson Wagner 74 75
150 Brendon De Jonge 71 79, Charley Hoffman 71 79, David Branshaw 75 75, Joe Ogilvie 81 69, Will MacKenzie 76 74, Chad Campbell 75 75, Jim Furyk 71 79, Kyle Reifers 80 70, Troy Matteson 76 74, Rocco Mediate 77 73, D.J. Trahan 76 74
151 Tim Herron 73 78, John Cook 73 78, Shaun Micheel 74 77, Eric Axley 79 72, Ryan Armour 78 73, Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 77 74, John Mallinger 75 76
152 Robert Dinwiddie (Eng) 78 74, Tim Petrovic 78 74, Corey Pavin 74 78, Daisuke Maruyama (Jap) 79 73, Brett Wetterich 75 77
153 Brad Faxon 76 77, Jason Dufner 75 78, Rich Beem 73 80, Tom Pernice jun 78 75, Peter Lonard (Aus) 73 80
154 Ryan Palmer 77 77, Scott Verplank 74 80
155 Justin Leonard 74 81, Bill Haas 78 77, Steve Lowery 78 77, Tommy Gainey 74 81.
156 Kent Jones 79 77, Craig Perks (NZ) 80 76, Douglas Labelle 80 76.
157 Greg Owen (Eng) 78 79
158 Bill McDonald 79 79, Paul Stankowski 78 80
159 Steve Isley 80 79, Kelly Mitchum 78 81
161 John Daly 74 87
162 Todd Hamilton 81 81
163 Jeff Quinney 83 80
164 Ron Philo jun 82 82

VIKKI'S 75 IN EL PASO CLASSIC

Vikki Laing from Musselburgh, who finished joint seventh in the last event, was lying in joint 40th position with a three-over-par 75 in the United States Futures Tour's El Paso Classic at the Underwood Golf Complex in Tecas.
Vikki had halves of 38 and 37 to be six shots behind leader Mo Martin from California whose 69 was made up of 33 and 36 halves.
Brenda McLarnon from Belfast had a 78 (36-42).

LOUISE EDGES OUT ALISON TO TAKE
STIRLING & CLACKMANNAN TOP SEEDING

Falkirk teenager Louise MacGregor – she has her 18th birthday on Sunday – edged out former Curtis Cup star Alison Davidson (Stirling) to take the No 1 seed position in the Stirling & Clackmannan women’s county golf championship qualifying round at Alloa Golf Club this evening (Friday).
Louise and Alison both hit the 75 mark – three overe the CSS but only two over par. In the card countback, Louise had the better inward half.
County captain Elaine Allison (Stirling) was the third best of the 16 qualifiers for the match-play stages with a 76.
Dr Sheila Hartley (Braehead), secretary of the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association, qualified in 10th position with an 82, the same score as defending champion Linda Allan (Falkirk Tryst)
QUALIFIERS
75 Louise MacGregor (Falkirk), Alison Davidson (Stirling).
76 Elaine Allison (Stirling).
77 Margaret Tough (Falkirk), Lynn Thacker (Braehead), Lynn Fleming (Glenbervie).
80 Tricia Chillas (Stirling), Claire Capocci (Breidge of Allan).
82 Evelyn Sneddon (Tillicoultry), Dr Sheila Hartley (Braehead), Linda Allan (Falkirk Tryst), Stella Mitchell (Dunbracken), Shona McLean (Falkirk Tryst), Sylvia Copland (Falkirk Tryust).
83 Elizabeth Goodwin (Glenbervie).
84 Rose Graham (Stirling).
AUTOMATIC DRAW
Sunday – First round (4.15pm) – MacGregor v Graham, Sneddon v Capocci, Thacker v Mitchell, McLean v Tough, Allison v Copland, Allan v Fleming, Chillas v Hartley, Goodwin v Davidson.
Monday – Quarter-finals at 5pm.
Wednesday – Semi-finals at 5.30 and 5.45.
Friday –Final at 5.30pm.

TOP MARKS FOR STUDENT

LAURA MURRAY IN SHIRE

QUALIFYING ROUND

Robert Gordon’s University student Laura Murray was top of the class at the Aberdeenshire women’s county golf championship qualifying round over the Newmachar Hawkshill course last night. The 18-year-old from Alford, who lowered her handicap to scratch during the week with a 68 at Aboyne, led the 16 qualifiers for the county match-play stages with a 74, one over par but two under the CSS for the competition.
Laura, pictured right, won the North of Scotland girls title at Kirriemuir and the Ness Open at Inverness last year. Miss Murray won the Scottish schoolgirls’ title at St Andrews Bay in 2005, the year she reached the final of the Aberdeenshire county championship.
She had two shots to spare over a surprise No 2 seed for the championship, another student, Sara Thomson (Murcar Links), who is a talented hockey player. QUALIFIERS
Par 73. CSS 74
74 L Murray (Alford).
76 S Thomson (Murcar Links).
79 M Thomson (McDonald Ellon), S Wood (Aberdeen Ladies).
80 L McLardy (Murcar Links).
81 G Melvin (Hazlehead).
82 D Pocock (Murcar Links), J Harrison (Cruden Bay).
83 N Millership (Deeside).
84 C Wilson (Murcar Links), J Murray (Cruden Bay).
85 F Hay (Deeside), L Terry (Cruden Bay).
88 D McKinnon (McDonald Ellon).
89 S Leslie (Westhill).
90 C Neish (Kintore).
AUTOMATIC DRAW
Saturday: First round (10am, 7min intervals) – L Murray v Neish, Millership v Harrison, McLardy v Hay, Terry v Wood, M Thomson v McKinnon, J Murray v Melvin, Pocock v Wilson, Leslie v S Thomson.
Quarter-finals at 2.30.
Sunday – Semi-finals at 10.0 & 10.10. Final 2.30pm

SALTMAN KEEPS IT GOING - LEADS

LYTHAM TROPHY WITH

SIX-UNDER-PAR 65
Lloyd Saltman's fantastic run of form continued at Royal Lytham & St Annes today when he led a star-studded field at the end of the first round of the prestigious Lytham Trophy.

The Craigielaw player, already winner of two 72-hole events in the past three or four weeks - the Scottish champion of champions at Leven and the Craigmillar Park Open in Edinburgh, set the pace with a terrific round of six-under-par 65, and nine under the CSS of 74.

Lloyd leads by two shots from the brilliant young player from Belfast, Rory McIlroy, the European individual champion.

Two more Scots, former national champion Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie) and Jonathan King (Glasgow)., were among the pack in fourth place on 69.
Richie Ramsay, the US amateur champion, is back in a share of 12th place after a satisfactorily solid start of one-under-par 71.

LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 71. CSS 74.
65 L Saltman (Craigielaw).
67 R McIlroy (Holywood).
68 K Le Sager (Ormesson).
69 N Edwards (Whitchurch, Cardiff), G Wolstenholme (Kilworth Springs), B Grace (George), G Campbell (Blairgowrie), B Evans (Rye), J King (Glasgow), S Einhaus (Germany).
70 M Nixon (Ashton under Lynbe), B Parker (Gut Waldhof), J Abbott (Fynn Valley), R Thomas (Aberdare), R Ramsay (Royal Aberdeen), T Lawson (Ellesborough), D Whitenll (Five Lakes), E Dubois (Bordeaux-Lac).

71 M Cryer (Coventry), S Hutsby (Liphook), L Goddard (Hendon), A Friestad (Stavanger), S Ward (Co Louth), Z Gould (Vale of Glamorgan), L Matthews (Southerndown), S McEwan (Caprington), S Stuart (St Annes Old Links), A Gabella-Wenne (Bossey), A Johnston (N Middlesex), M Kramer (Germany), R Kind (Haagsche), K McAlpine (Alyth).

72 I Winstanley (Formby), L Campbell (Rochester ( Copbham), J Kemp (John O'Gaunt), NM Chaudhuri (Leicesterhisre), C Lewis (Prenton), D Antonelli (St Etienne), S Uzzeli (Hornsea), A Kaleka (Golf Marcilly), K Kromer (Gutenhof), S Van Duyn (Houtrak).

Other Scots scores:

73 J Byrne (Banchroy).

74 M Kerr (Craigielaw), R Kellett (Colville Park), J White (Leven Th), R McKnight (Barassie), S Henry (Cardross), S Mann (Carnoustie).

75 P O'Hara (Colville Park), B Fotheringham (Forres).

77 K McNicoll (Carnoustie), S McAllister (Craigielaw).

78 P McLean (Peterhead), E McIntosh (Newmachar), A Dick (Shotts).

CLARE QUEEN BOUNCES BACK WITH 69
AS THREE SCOTS SURVIVE HALFWAY CUT
Clare Queen bounced back from a disappointing opening round of 75 to return a three-under-par 69 for a 36-hole tally of level par 142 in the Tenerife Ladies Open today.
Clare birdied the fourth, fifth, 12th, 14th and 17th. The only blot on her scorecard was a double bogey 7 at the long seventh in halves of 36 and 33.
Clare - and the other two Scots in the field, Lynn Kenny and Kathryn Imrie - all survived the 36-hole cut which fell at 149, ie. 150 failed to make it.
Lynn Kenny had a 72 for 148 with birdies at the first, 10th and 17th. She bogeyed the ninth, 14th and 16th in two halves of 36.
Kathryn Imrie, after a level par 72 in the first round, could not buy a birdie in the second round and was five over par with three holes to play but was able to get a birdie at last at the 17th to finish with a 76, also for 148.
Liz McKinnon, the Inverness-based Kiwi , missed the cut with a two-round total of 151. She had scores of 77 and 74.
Trish Johnson moved into the clubhouse lead with rounds of 71 and 70 for a three-under-par total of 141 but was overtaken late in the day by the first-round leader, Spain's Ana B Sanchez, who had a 73 for 140.
TWO-ROUND LEADING TOTALS
140 Ana B Sanchez (Spa) 67 73.
141 Trish Johnson(Eng) 71 70.
142 Danielle Masters (Eng) 71 71, Sofia Renell (Swe) 69 73, Lisa Jean (Aus) 71 71, Becky Brewerton (Wal) 71 71, Martina Eberl (Ger) 70 72.
143 Kiran Matharu (Eng) 71 72, Joanne Mills (Aus) 69 74, Ellen Smets (Bel) 69 74.
Other qualifiers:
144 Clare Queen (The Carrick at Cameron House) 75 69.
148 Lynn Kenny (Sco) 76 72, Kathryn Imrie (Sco) 72 76.
Non-qualifiers included:
151 Liz McKinnon (NZ) 77 74.

LOFTUS AND McFARLANE CLICKETY-CLICK
IN TEDDY BEAR PRO-AM AT TURNBERRY

Mark Loftus (Cowglen) and Gary McFarlane (Milngavie) shared the individual honours on three-under-par 66 over the Ailsa course in today’s (Friday’s) Teddy Bear Foundation Invitational pro-am on a gloriously sunny day at Westin Turnberry Resort in south Ayrshire.
They had a shot to spare from David Orr (East Renfrewshire) in a field of 43 pros. There was no prize money in this charity event. All the professionals received £200 for taking part.
Joint fifth on 69 was former Ryder Cup player Paul Way from Hildon Golf Centre.
Five pros tied in the team event with net scores of 12-under-par 126.
Scoreboard:
INDIVIDUAL PROS
66 G McFarlane (Milngavie), M Loftus (Cowglen).
67 D Orr (East Renfrewshire).
68 S Kerr (Strathaven), C Nicoll (Prestwick).
69 C Elliott (Haggs Castle), P Way (Hildon Golf Centre), S Rettie (Royal Troon.
LEADING TEAMS
126 – C Brown (Westin Turnberry) & Immobilario, C Nicoll (Prestwick) & The Retrievers, S Orr (Cranfield Golf Academy) & M D Construction, S Kerr (Strathavewn) & Teddy Bear Ladies, S Bayne (Archerfield) & Studio Sixty.

HARGAN CHASING FIFTH MIDLOTHIAN
TITLE WIN IN A ROW AT NEWBATTLE

Mortonhall’s Claire Hargan is still on course to capture the Midlothian women’s county golf championship for the fifth year in a row.
In this year’s event at Newbattle Golf Club, Dalkeith, Claire swept into the last four today (Friday) with two smooth wins in which she did have to play the last three or four holes.
In Sunday’s second semi-final, Claire, who qualified in the No 3 position, will meet the No 2 seed, Claire MacDonald (Gullane Ladies).
The first semi-final will be an all-Mortonhall match between the top qualifier, Belinda Murphy, who lost at the 19th to Claire Hargan in last year’s final, and Tracy Laughland, the No 4 seed.

Results:
First round – B Murphy (Mortonhall) bt G Glen (Craigmillar Park) 3 and 1, N Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh) bt F De Vries (St Rule) 1 hole; K Marshall (Baberton) bt S Ireland (Prestonfield) 5 and 4, T Laughlan (Mortonhall) w.o. A Edwards (Liberton) scr, F Hunter (Baberton) bt W Nicholson (Broomieknowe) 5 and 4, A McGarty (Harburn) bt R Brown (Lothianburn) 1 hole, C MacDonald (Gullane Ladies) bt M Polloock (Craigmillar Park) 7 and 6.
Quarter-finals – Murphy bt Fenton 3 and 2, Laughland bt Marshall 2 and 1, Hargan vt Hunter 4 and 3, MacDonald bt McGarty 3 and 2.

TOP THREE HAVE TO PULL OUT OF EAST
LOTHIAN COUNTY MATCH-PLAY

None of the top four finishers in the qualifying round of the East Lothian women’s county champion are North Berwick figured was available due to work commitments for the two-day match-play stages which start on Monday.
Former professionals Lesley Nicholson (74) and Hilary Wardell (77) as well as county title-holder Fiona Prior (75) all have to withdraw their names from the draw.
That left former Scottish champion Jayne Smith (Gullane), captain of this year’s Scotland team, for the women’s home internationals at Dunbar, to head the 16 qualifiers with a 77.
QUALIFIERS
77 J Smith (Gullane).
80 M L Renton (Gifford).
81 S Penman (Gullane), E Fairnie (Dunbar), D Huish (North Berwick).
82 M Thomson (North Bewick), K Brotherton (Craigielaw).
83 K Ward (Glen).
84 J Henderson (North Berwick), L Fortune (Kilspindie).
85 J Hered (Musselburgh).
86 A Chainey (North Berwick).
878 L Grieve (Musselburgh).
88 V MacKenzie (Longniddry).
89 E Black (Haddington).
90 E Blair (North Berwick).

AUTOMATIC DRAW
Monday – 10am – First round – Smith v Blair, Henderson v Ward, Huish v Chainey, Grieve v Fairnie, Penman v MacKenzie, Herd v Thomson, Brotherton v Fortune, Black v Renton. 2.30 – Quarter-finals.

Handicap Quaich draw
Monday – 11am – Quarter-finals – L Jeffrey v K McKenziew, G Andrew v I Gray, E Guy v R Thoresen, P Savin v W Thummanond.

HARVEY FINISHES JOINT SECOND IN
PGA SENIOR CLUB PRO CHAMPIONSHIP

A calamitous finish by Garry Harvey cost him a slight winning chance and saw him finish joint second in the PGA Senior Club professional championship at Northamptonshire County Golf Club today.
A former British boys’ champion from Perth, Harvey, now playing out of Bearsden Golf Range, bogeyed the 10th and then had double bogeys at the 14th and 16th before birdieing the last for 39 home and a 74 for a 54-hole final total of six-over-par 216.
That tied him for second place with Richard Green (Bramhall) who shot a closing 69.
They each earned £3,050.
Winner of the £4,750 first prize by five shots was Vienna-based Englishman Donald Stirling who had a closing round of 73 for one-over-par 211.
Bill McColl (Thorpe Hall) was the next best Scot after Harvey in joint seventh place with a 70 for 218 and a cheque for £1,675.
Kemnay club pro Ronnie McDonald, like Harvey, took 39 shots for the inward nine, including a double bogey 5 at the short 15th, in carding a 75 for 224 and a share of 18th place. His financial reward was £480 but Ronnie just made the leading 20 who qualified for the PGA Seniors championship at Stoke by Nayland from September 6 to 9.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 210 (3 x 70)
211 D Stirling (Wien-Sussenbrunn) 69 69 73.
216 R Green (Bramhall) 75 72 69, G Harvey (Bearsden) 76 66 74.
217 G Townhill (Brough) 72 70 75.
218 R Masters (Baildon) 72 73 73, P Dawson (St Cloud) 75 70 73.
219 P Barber (Didsbury) 78 71 70, B McColl (Thorpe Hall) 76 73 70.
Other Scots scores:
223 M White (Penfold Park) 77 74 71.
224 R McDonald (Kemnay) 75 74 75.
226 B Lockie (North Gailes) 77 74 75.
228 R Webster (retired) 75 77 76.
237 D Craik sen (Frilford Heath) 80 74 83.

CELTIC PRO TOUR MAKE NEW MEMBERSHIP OFFERS

The Celtic Pro Tour has announced new membership offers for its 2007 season.
Professionals who join the Tour before May 9 will have their details published in the Official Handbook, which will be sent to clubs and sponsors of the Tour, as well as the media. An entry on the Official Tour Website will also be available to all members.
“We are well aware that golfers on the Tour need to find their own sponsors. In offering this new handbook entry and web presence, we are providing them with further opportunities to provide coverage for the people who financially support them, by listing their sponsors names and details,” said Rhydian Thomas, Celtic Pro Tour’s chief executive officer and tournament director.
Annual membership to the Tour costs £175, and each professional entering a competition will pay a separate individual event entry which is priced at £99 for each of the 15 events. Amateur golfers with a scratch handicap or better can also enter events at a cost of £55.
Another opportunity is on offer within this new membership period, as the Celtic Pro Tour has joined with SkyCaddie, as the Official Range Finder of the Tour. Anyone joining before the May 9th date, can purchase one of the SkyCaddie range of products at a specially reduced rate, exclusive only to Celtic Pro Tour members.
Pro Golfers wishing to take up these offers are asked to contact chief executive officer Rhydian Thomas on 07861 686568 or register online at www.celticpro.co.uk/shop by May 9th. Alternatively, cheques can be sent to the Celtic Pro Tour office at 15, Druids Close, Treorchy, RCT, South Wales, CF42 6LJ. Please make cheques payable to Celtic Golf Tours Ltd.
The Celtic Tour's first event is on June 4 and 5 at Pyle & Kenfig GC, South Wales.
The Celtic Tour/Thistle Tour's 36-hole events in Scotland are:
September 10-11 Montrose Links.
October 1-2 Murcar Links

COURSE WATERLOGGED, ITALIAN OPEN PLAY SUSPENDED

Play in the second round of the Italian Open today was suspended at 8.20am because the Castello di Tolcinaso course, Milan was waterlogged.
There will be no play before 5pm at the earliest.
LATER NEWS: Play resumed at 5.15pm with preferred lies in operation.

ABERDEEN JUNIOR PENNANT LEAGUE RESULTS

Aberdeen Junior Pennant League results this season:

Newmachar 1 1/2, Peterculter 4 1/2.
Hazlehead 4 1/2, Oldmeldrum 1 1/2.
Inchmarlo 6, Alford 0.
Royal Aberdeen 6, Northern 0.
Peterhead 3 1/2, Murcar 2 1/2.
Auchmill 3, Cruden Bay 3.
Deeside 6, Stonehaven 0.
Kintore 1, Ellon 5.
Caledonian 1/2, Portlethen 5 1/2.
Westhill 5 1/2, Inverurie 1/2.
Aboyne 5, Nigg Bay 1.

MARTIN LAIRD CARRIES ON GOOD WORK
ON US NATIONWIDE TOUR

Former Scottish youths champion Martin Laird continued his good form on the Nationwide Tour - the No 2 US men's pro circuit - with a four-under-par round of 66 to be sharing 12th place at the end of the first day in the Fort Smith Classic at Hardscrabble Country Club, Fort Smith in Arkansas.
Laird had a phenemenal start of six birdies in the first eight holes. He birdied the first four, bogeyed the fifth and then birdied the sixth and eight to be out in five-under-par 30.
Another birdie at the 11th got him as low as six under paqr but he bogeyed the 13th and 18th for 36 home and a 66.
Leader with a seven-under 63 was American Scott Gutswchewski.

ROSS BAIN DROPS BACK

WITH A 74 IN

SOUTH KOREA OPEN

Scottish exile Ross Bain dropped back in the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in South Korea today with a second-round 74 for a halfway total of one-under-par 143.

China's Liang Wen-chong battled to a one-under-par 71 to retain his overnight lead at nine-under-par 135 at Nam Seoul Country Club.

Liang is being chased by Korean prospect Kim Kyung-tae, last year's Asian Games double gold medallist, who charged into contention with a fine 66 to lie one stroke behind in the US$600,000 Asian Tour event.
Australian rookie Mitchell Brown added a 73 to his opening 66 to share third place with local stalwarts Shin Yong-jin and Lee Gung-hee on 139,.

LEADING QUALIFIERS

Par 144 (2 x 72)

135 Liang Wen-chong (Chi) 64 71.
136 Kim Kyung-tae (Kor) 70 66.
139 Shin Yong-jin (Kor) 70 69, Mitchell Brown (Aus) 66 73, Lee Gun-hee (Kor) 69 70.
140 Kang Kyung-nam (Kor) 73 67.
141 Roy Moon (US) 72 69, Kim Bi-o (Kor) (am) 72 69, Yoo Jong-gu (Kor) 68 73.
142 Gavin Flint (AUS) 73 69, Lu Wei-chih (Tpe) 70 72, Craig Smith (Wal) 73 69.
143 Lee Jin-myung (Kor) (am) 70 73, Lee Seong-ho (Kor) 72 71, Ross Bain (Sco) 69 74, Eddie Lee (NZ) 70 73, Suk Jong-yul (Kor) 71 72, Bae Sang-moon (Kor) 71 72, Unho Park (Aus) 74 69, Lee Won-joon (Aus) 76 67, David Oh (US) 72 71, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 70 73, Richard Lee (NZ) 68 75.
144 Tony Lascuna (Phi) 72 72, Choi Joon-woo (Kor) 71 73, Choi Sang-ho (Kor) 71 73, Scott Hend (Aus) 72 72, Anthony Kang (US) 75 69, Jeong Yeon-jin (Kor) (am) 72-72, Iain Steel (Mas) 72 72, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 71 73, Park No-seok (Kor) 72 72.

JIMENEZ AND WESTWOOD FOR IRISH OPEN

Miguel Angel Jiménez and Lee Westwood, two of the European Tour’s most prolific champions over the past decade, have confirmed their participation in the Irish Open at Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, Co Limerick, from May 17-20.
Westwood will be competing in the first European Tour event on Irish soil since the 2006 Ryder Cup at The K Club, where he further embellished his magnificent record, remaining unbeaten in all five matches for the second successive time.

JERSEY SENIORS CLASSIC ANNOUNCES
RECORD PRIZE FUND
When Sam Torrance and his European Seniors Tour colleagues converge on La Moye Golf Club for the 2007 Jersey Seniors Classic from June 8-10 they will be competing for a share of a tournament record prize fund.
Increased commercial support for the event means that the Seniors Tour professionals will be competing for a purse of £140,000 - 16.6 per cent more than in 2006 – when the 2007 Jersey Seniors Classic is played over 54 holes on the picturesque links at La Moye.
It is the second significant new development following the announcement, made last month, that this year’s tournament would benefit from worldwide TV coverage.
The TV highlights package will showcase the island to golf enthusiasts across the globe and the deal was secured thanks to a powerful partnership between the European Seniors Tour, Geoff Irvine, tournament promoters WSM Sponsorship and The States of Jersey Government, through the Jersey Economic Development Department and Jersey Tourism.
This impressive line-up has now been further strengthened by the addition of European Business Jets, the AIM listed private jets operator, as a Partner Sponsor of this year’s tournament.

HARRINGTON CLICKETY-CLICKS IN FIRST ROUND OF WACHOVIA CHAMPIONSHIP

Padraig Harrison led by one shot with a six-undere-par opening round of 66 in the Wachovia Championship at Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte in North Carolina.
FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72. Players from US unless stated
66 Padraig Harrington (Ire).
67 Vijay Singh (Fij), Jason Bohn.
68 Jeff Maggert, Trevor Immelman (SAf), Heath Slocum, Carl Pettersson (Swe)
69 Jerry Kelly, J.B. Holmes, Arron Oberholser, Joey Sindelar, David Berganio jun, Camilo Villegas (Col), Stephen Ames (Can).
70 Tiger Woods, Ben Curtis, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Nathan Green (Aus), Brett Quigley, Ken Duke, Ryuji Imada (Jap), Bernhard Langer (Ger), Charles Warren, Rory Sabbatini (SAf), Steve Flesch, Ted Purdy, Stewart Cink, Phil Mickelson, John Rollins, Robert Allenby (Aus), Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), Mathew Goggin (Aus), KJ Choi (Kor).
71 Brendon De Jonge, Rodney Pampling (Aus), Charley Hoffman, Zach Johnson, Jeff Sluman, Woody Austin, Bubba Watson, Parker McLachlin, Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Robert Karlsson (Swe), Sergio Garcia (Spa), Jim Furyk, Ernie Els (SAf).
72 Nick Watney, Robert Garrigus, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Dean Wilson, Boo Weekley, Briny Baird, Henrik Stenson (Swe), Steve Stricker, Brian Davis (Eng), Pat Perez, Retief Goosen (SAf), John Senden (Aus), Todd Demsey, Michael Putnam, Bob Tway, J J Henry, Anthony Kim, Lee Westwood (Eng).
73 Vaughn Taylor, Adam Scott (Aus), Tim Herron, Billy Mayfair, Peter Lonard (Aus), Hunter Mahan, Billy Andrade, Joe Durant, John Cook, Mike Weir (Can), Rich Beem, Luke Donald (Eng), Craig Kanada, Shigeki Maruyama (Jap).
74 Kirk Triplett, Jeff Gove, John Daly, Justin Leonard, Shaun Micheel, Jason Gore, David Howell (Eng), Chris DiMarco, Davis Love III, Charlie Wi (Kor), Stephen Marino, Corey Pavin, Scott Verplank, Johnson Wagner, Tommy Gainey, Ryan Moore.
75 David Branshaw, J.P. Hayes, Kevin Sutherland, Stephen Leaney (Aus), John Mallinger, Nick O'Hern (Aus), Chad Campbell, Sean O'Hair, Frank Lickliter II, Stuart Appleby (Aus), Robert Gamez, Jason Dufner, Lucas Glover, Cliff Kresge, Cameron Beckman, Brett Wetterich, Tripp Isenhour, Brandt Snedeker.
76 Gavin Coles (Aus), J.L. Lewis, Darren Clarke (NIre), Mark Wilson, Brad Faxon, Will MacKenzie, Glen Day, Troy Matteson, D.J. Trahan.
77 Kenny Perry, Ryan Palmer, Bo Van Pelt, Mathias Gronberg (Swe), Jonathan Byrd, Rocco Mediate.
78 Paul Stankowski, Robert Dinwiddie (Eng), Steve Lowery, Tom Pernice jun, Greg Owen (Eng), Charles Howell III, George McNeill, Richard S Johnson (Swe), Bill Haas, Tim Petrovic, Ian Poulter (Eng), Ryan Armour, Kelly Mitchum.
79 Kent Jones, Bill McDonald, Kevin Stadler, Eric Axley, Daisuke Maruyama (Jap), Jesper Parnevik (Swe).
80 Craig Perks (NZ), Kyle Reifers, Steve Isley, Douglas Labelle
81 Joe Ogilvie, Todd Hamilton.
82 Ron Philo jun.
83 Jeff Quinney.

ELLIOT SALTMAN COLLECTS

FIRST PAY CHEQUE FOR

£1,866 ON EUROPRO TOUR

Elliot Saltman's professional career is off and running after he shot a final round of four-under-par 68 to tie for third place in the PGA EuroPro Tour's Wensum Valley International Open near Norwich today.
The Craigielaw rookie pro collected £1,866 - not a fortune but enough to give Elliot the encouragement and confidence he needs at this stage of his new career.
Elliot , pictured right, had looked "down among the dead men" after rounds of 73 and 73 but he looked a different, more positive player in the third session and finished on two-under-par 214.
Irishman Colm Moriarity (Glasson Golf Hotel) did not quite run away with the £10,000 first prize as had looked like happening after rounds of 68 and 70 gave him a commanding lead going into the final day.
Moriarity's plundering of birdies stopped and he had to settle for a par 72 and a six-under-par total of 210.
That gave Colm a two-shot victory from one-time Walker Cup place contender, Englishman Neil Walker. Neil scored 74, 69 and 69 to win £5,000 for claiming the runner-up spot.
Jay Scott, the relatively unknown Scot - no home town listed, fell like a stone down the leaderboard with a closing round of 81 after 73 and 72 in the first two rounds. With a total of 226, Jay finished 46th and went home with a cheque for £220, barely enough to pay his hotel and petrol money.
The only other Scot to make the final day, Stephen Lamb (Broomieknowe) had an even worse day that Jay - an horrific 83 for 231 to earn £202.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
210 Colm Moriarty (Ire) 68 70 72.
212 Neil Walker (Eng) 74 69 69.
214 Elliot Saltman (Craigielaw) 73 73 68, Andrew Willey (Ramsdale Park) 74 73 67, Michael Searle (Woodbury Park) 73 73 68.
Other Scots:
226 Jay Scott 73 72 81.
231 Stephen Lamb (Broomieknowe) 72 76 83.

LAWRIE STILL STRUGGLING TO GET A
DECENT SCORE ON EUROPEAN TOUR

Paul Lawrie's run of poor scores continued in the first round of the Telecom Italian Open at Castello di Tolcinasco, Milan today.
The 1999 Open champion from Aberdeen starts the second round with only a handful of players behind him on the scoring table. Paul had a five-over-par 77 which included two double bogeys and a triple bogey in an outward 42. But for birdies at the first and ninth, Lawrie would have just about recorded his highest ever nine-hole total on the European Tour.
The course was not all that difficult, judging by some of the other scores. Joak Backstrom (Sweden), for instance, shot a 10-under-par 62 and that gave him only a one-stroke lead from Markus Brier (Austria).

FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72. Players from GB&I unless stated; (x) denotes amateur.
62 Joakim Backstrom (Swe)
63 Markus Brier (Aut)
64 Taichi Teshima (Jap).
65 James Heath, Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Andrew McLardy (SAf).
66 Anders Hansen (Den), Garry Houston, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), David Griffiths, Richard Finch, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Brett Rumford (Aus).
67 Nick Dougherty, Henrik Nystrom (Swe), Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Juan Parron (Spa), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa), Charl Schwartzel (SAf), Francesco Molinari (Ita), Duffy Waldorf (US), Gregory Havret (Fra), Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice).
68 Paul Broadhurst, Patrik Sjoland (Swe), Peter Lawrie, Anthony Wall, Tom Whitehouse, Simon Khan, Kenneth Ferrie, Steve Webster, Andrew Raitt, Andrew Tampion (Aus), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Alastair Forsyth, Oliver Wilson, Ian Garbutt, Sven Struver (Ger).
69 Gareth Davies, Cesar Monasterio (Arg), Phillip Archer, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Martin Kaymer (Ger), Soren Hansen (Den), Oliver Fisher, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Erol Simsek (Ger), Benn Barham, Andrew Marshall, Steven O'Hara, Mattias Eliasson (Swe).
70 Steve Alker (NZ), Steve Jones, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra), Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Emanuele Canonica (Ita), David Drysdale, Jose Manuel Carriles (Spa), Alexandre Rocha (Bra), Tom Lehman (US), Richard McEvoy, David Carter, Lee Slattery, Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Kyron Sullivan, Miles Tunnicliff, Pelle Edberg (Swe).
71 Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Barry Lane, Bradley Dredge, David Park, Jamie Spence, Carl Suneson (Spa), Michele Reale (Ita), David Higgins, Wade Ormsby (Aus), Sam Little, Simon Wakefield, Gary Murphy, Terry Price (Aus), Marcel Siem (Ger), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind), Andrew Coltart, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Peter Hanson (Swe), Rafael Echenique (Arg), Robert Rock, Stuart Little, Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Mark Pilkington, Luis Claverie (Spa), Massimo Scarpa (Ita).
72 Mark Foster, Paul McGinley, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Shaun Webster, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Alessio Bruschi (Ita), David Lynn, Lee James, Nicola Maestroni (Ita), Philip Golding
73 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Ariel Canete (Arg), Gary Lockerbie, Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Gary Orr, Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Notah Begay (US), Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa), David Bransdon (Aus), Sion Bebb, (x) Marco Guerisoli (Ita).
74 Warren Bennett, Jean Van de Velde (Fra), Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Emmanuele Lattanzi (Ita), Peter Baker, Andrea Maestroni (Ita), Jonathan Lomas, Marcus Higley, Phillip Price, Matthew Zions (Aus), James Hepworth, Costantino Rocca (Ita), Marco Crespi (Ita), Sandy Lyle, (x) Andrea Pavan (Ita), Gary Emerson, Christian Nilsson (Swe), Matthew Richardson.
75 Christian Cevaer (Fra), Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), (x) Benedetto Pastore (Ita), Alexander Noren (Swe).
76 Darren Fichardt (SAf), Marc Warren, Adrien Mork (Fra), Edward Rush.
77 Louis Oosthuizen (SAf), Paul Lawrie, Sam Walker, Santiago Luna (Spa), Francois Calmels (Fra), (x) Nunzio Lombardi (Ita), Matthew Millar, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), (x) Cristiano Terragni (Ita).
78 Manuel Quiros (Spa), Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Richard Bland
81 Paolo Terreni (Ita)
83 (x) Giacomo Tonelli (Ita)
(x) denotes amateurs

KATHRYN ONLY SCOT TO MATCH PAR
IN TENERIFE LADIES OPEN
Kathryn Imrie from Monifieth was the only Scots-based player to match the par of 72 in the first round of the Tenerife Ladies Open at Golf de Sur today.
The 39-year-old one-time winner on the LPGA circuit, but now back to play the Ladies European Tour full-time, birdied the second, fourth and sixth but then sagged with bogeys at the eighth, 12th and 17th to finish five shots behind Ana Sanchez (Spain), leader by one with a five-under 67.
On a day of low scoring, Clare Queen and Lynn Kenny were left trailing with rounds of 75 and 76 respectively. Clare had a double bogey 7 at the long fifth. Birdies at the fourth, seventh and 17th could not repair all the damage done elsewhere with bogeys.
Lynn could muster only one birdie, at the sixth.
Inverness-based New Zealander Liz McKinnon started with a triple-bogey 7 on her way to an outward half of 42. She needed birdies at the 10th, 12th and 17th to salvage a 77.

LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72
67 A Sanchez (Spa).
68 C Ekelundh (Swe), F Piovano (Ita).
69 T Plucksataporn (Thai), S Renell (Swe), N Garrett (Aus), J Mills (Aus), E Smets (Bel).
70 L Hall (Eng), S Sandolo (Ita), M Eberl (Ger).
71 S Walker (Eng), M Arruti (Spa), V Auffret (Fra), G Nocera (Fra), T Elosegui (Spa), A TGemple (US), R Hudson (Eng), L Kreutz (Fra), E Cabreera (Spa) (am), D Mastrs (Eng), K Matharu (Eng), L Wahlin (Swe), L Jean (Aus), B Brewerton (Wal).
Other scores:
72 K Imrie (Sco).
75 C Queen (Sco).
76 L Kenny (Sco).
77 L McKinnon (NZ).

PATRICK BIRDIES LAST TO

WIN CALLAWAY CHALLENGE
AT CRAIGIELAW

Former Walker Cup player David Patrick from Edinburgh scored his first win on the Tartan Tour at Craigielaw today.
The Mortonhall man, pictured right, joint third overnight, swept past the faltering leaders with a second-round 69 for a total of nine-under-par 135 to win the £1,347 in the Callaway Challenge by one stroke.
Patrick, who has played the Challenge Tour, birdied the first and third before bogeying the sixth to turn in one-under-par 34.
A third birdie at the 11th put him on course for victory until he bogeyed the 16th. After a par at the penultimate hole, David birdied the last which, as events transpired, avoided a four-way play-off with David Orr (East Renfrewshire), Mark King (Kingsfield) and first-round leader Andrew Oldcorn (Kings Acre).
They finished joint second, one shot behind on 136 and each earned £1,077.
Oldcorn suffered a 10-shot slump in the course of two rounds. After an opening 64, Andrew was still level par for the day when he turned in 35 with birdies at the first and ninth but he then shed shots at the 10th, 12th, 15th and 16th.
Like Patrick, Oldcorn birdied the 18th, but for him it was to share second place.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
137 D Patrick (Mortonhall) 68 69.
138 D Orr (East Renfrewshire) 70 68, M King (Kingsfield) 68 70, A Oldcorn (Kings Acre) 64 74.
139 R Arnott (Bishopbriggs) 71 68.
140 S Gray (Hayston) 72 68, P McKechnie (Braid Hills) 71 69, M Loftus (Cowglen) 70 70.
142 A Lockhart (Ladybank) 69 72, C Campbell (Carnegie Skibo) 69 72.
142 A Forrow (Whitecraigs)73 69, J Hedberg (Swe) 73 69, C Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) 71 71, G Collinson (Esporta Dougalston) 71 71, M Urquhart (Inverness) 70, C Nicoll (Prestwick) 68 74, S Clydesdale (Brucefields) 66 76.
143 J Porteous (Craigielaw) 74 69, J Cliff (Murrayfield) 72 71.

GARY GLITTERS … 35 YEARS ON IN
PGA SENIOR CLUB PROS' EVENT

It’s 35 years since Garry Harvey played in back-to-back British boys’ championship finals – losing the first but winning the second – but the Perth-born professional at Bearsden Driving Range has not forgotten how to turn on the style on occasion.
Garry will go into Friday’s third and final round of the PGA Senior Club professional championship at Northampton in joint second place, four shots behind Vienna-based Englishman Donald Stirling.
Harvey put together a brilliant round today of four-under-par 66 – easily the lowest round by anyone so far in the tournament – to improve by 10 shots on his first-day nightmare (one triple bogey and two doubles) for a two-round tally of two-over-par 142.
Harvey had a bogey-free round with birdies at the third, eighth, 15th and 18th.
Other Scots to qualify include Bill McColl (Thorpe Hall) and Ronnie McDonald (Kemnay) on 149. McColl had six bogeys but three birdies in a second-round 73 while McDonald had a double bogey 6 at the 14th after birdies at the third and 13th.
Bill Lockie (North Gailes) (151), Robert Webster (retired (152) and Derek Craik senior (Frilford Heath) (154) were other Scots to beat the cut at 154.

LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
138 D Stirling (Wien-Sussenbrunn) 69 69.
142 G Townhill (Brough) 72 70, G Harvey (Bearsden) 76 66.
143 M McLean (Chesterfield) 71 72.
145 P Dawson (St Cloud) 75 70, R Masters (Baildon) 72 73.
146 J Hudsopn (Rivenhall Oaks) 70 76.
Other Scots qualifiers:
149 B McColl (Thorpe Hall) 76 73, R McDonald (Kemnay) 75 74.
151 M White (Penfold Park) 77 74, B Lockie (North Gailes) 77 74.
152 R Webster (retired) 75 77.
154 D Craik sen (Frilford Heath) 80 74.
Scottish non-qualifiers:
155 G Laing (North Wilts) 78 77, J McTGear (Mar Hall) 81 74.
156 I Collins (Stirling) 80 76.
157 K Revie (Ballymena) 80 77.
158 K Stevely (3D Golf) 82 76, S Wilson (Trentham ) 80 78., I Clark (Hagley) 82 76.
160 H Arnott (Chesfield Downs) 78 82.
161 B Jenkins (Westhampton) 82 79.
179 D MacDonald (Hazelwood) 90 89.
Scots who retired – R Bowman (Elderslie) 82 -, R Watkins (Solent Meads) 76 – , G Cant (Longhirst Hall) 84 -.

The Way they Were ... in 1985

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? ABERDEENSHIRE LAST
FOUR OF 22 YEARS AGO
AT BALGOWNIE
The Aberdeenshire women's county championship begins on Friday with the qualifying round at Newmachar Golf Club.
Our "Way they Were" picture is a flashback to the same championship in 1985 when it was hosted by Aberdeen Ladies and played over the Balgownie links.
Pamela Wright, second left, from Aboyne, then 20, beat 17-year-old Elaine Farquharson (Deeside), second from right, by one hole in the final.
Beaten semi-finalists Julie Forbes (Aboyne), end left, and Margaret Joss (Ballater), end right, are also pictured along with the Aberdeenshire county captain of the day, Anna Rae (Murcar).
Where are they now?
Julie Forbes turned professional and played on the Ladies European Tour for a spell. Last heard of living in Ireland.
Pamela Wright turned professional and was the Rookie of the Year on the LPGA Tour in America three or four years later. She later dropped out of the tour with a shoulder injury that would plague her for the rest of her career. Last heard of coaching in Phoenix, Arizona.
Elaine Farquharson went on to win the Scottish girls match-play championship in 1985 and the Scottish women's title in 1990. She turned professional for 18 months after her second Curtis Cup appearance in 1992. It was not the life for her and she has since made a career as a solicitor, specialising in planning and environmental law, with Paull and Williamsons in Aberdeen. Reinstated as an amateur, she plays golf only socially now but still has scratch or one of a handicap.

SCOTS IN THE US MONEY TABLES

Glasgow's Martin Laird, a recent winner on America's No 2 men's pro circuit, is lying seventh in the Nationwide Tour money table with $112,970 from eight events.
Aberdeen-born Michael Sim is 177th on the US PGA Tour list with $76,860 from two events. Sim, who emigrated to Australia with his parents when he was seven, has only recently returned to action after having to rest for months after a stress fracture was discovered in his lower back. He has dual British and Australian nationality.

RHYS DAVIES MAKES SHORT LEET OF

THREE FOR THE BEN HOGAN AWARD

Edinburgh-born Welsh Walker Cup playere Rhys Davies (East Tennessee State University), Spaniard Pablo Martin (Oklahoma State) and Chris Kirk (Georgia University) had been named as the three finalists for The Ben Hogan Award.

They have been invited to attend the "Hogan" banquet at Colonial Country Club on Monday, May 21 when the winner will be announced.

The most prestigious award in US men’s college golf, The Hogan is presented annually to the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or junior college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the last 12 months.
A two-time PING First-Team All-America selection, Davies has claimed medalist honors three times this season – the Bank of Tennessee at The Ridges, the Seminole Intercollegiate and the General Jim Hackler Championship. In addition, the senior has recorded four other top-five finishes during his senior campaign.
Davies won the Scratch Players Championship this past summer and posted a 4-0 record to lead Europe to a record-setting victory at the Palmer Cup. He was recently named his conference’s player of the year for the third-straight time and to his fourth Palmer Cup. The Bucs’ all-time leader in victories with 10, Davies holds virtually every ETSU record.

ROSS BAIN JOINT FIFTH AFTER ONE
ROUND IN ASIAN TOUR EVENT

Chinese star Liang Wen-chong celebrated a return to Korea by grabbing the first round lead in the GS Caltex Maekyung Open with a blistering eight-under-par 64 today.
Liang, who has not played in the Land of Morning Calm since 2003, wielded his putter like a magic wand at Nam Seoul Country Club to snare one eagle, eight birdies and two bogeys and leads the US$600,000 Asian Tour event by two shots from Australian rookie Mitchell Brown.
New Zealand's Richard Lee and Korea's Yu Jong-goo shared third place with matching 68s, followed by Scottish exile Ross Bain and another local stalwart, Lee Gun-hee, a further stroke back.
The Maekyung Open is the 13th leg of this season's Asian Tour, which is offering a record US$28 million in total prize money through the staging of 29 events.

LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72
64 Liang Wen-chong (Chi).
66 Mitchell Brown (Aus).
68 Richard Lee (NZ), Yoo Jong-Gu (Kor).
69 Lee Gun-Hee (Kor), Ross Bain (Sco).
70 Mardan Mamat (Sin), Ashley Hall (Aus), Lee In-Woo (Kor), Lee Jin-myung (Kor) (am), Choi Gwang-soo (KOR), Shin Yong-jin (Kor), Kim Kyung-tae (KOR), Lu Wei-Chih (Tpe)
71 Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha Lu Wen-teh (Tpe), Choi Jin-ho (Kor),hoi Joon-woo (Kor), Suk Jong-Yul (Kor), Choi Sang-ho (Kor Bae Sang-moon (Kor), Park Jun-won (Kor).

R&A PRESS RELEASE

ABRIDGE AND MERE ADDED TO REGIONAL
OPEN QUALIFYING FOR 2009

Abridge Golf & Country Club and Mere Golf & Country Club are named as new additions to the list of 16 clubs that will host Regional Qualifying for the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry.
The other 14 are:
Berwick-upon-Tweed (Goswick), Coventry, Effingham, Enville, Ferndown, Musselburgh, Lindrick, Old Fold Manor, Pannal, Pleasington, Rochester & Cobham Park, Royal Ashdown Forest, Royal Dublin and The Gog Magog.
Though both clubs have quite differing histories, each, in its own era was designed by Open champions – Abridge by Henry Cotton in 1962 and Mere almost 30 years earlier jointly by five times champion James Braid and George Duncan, the winner in 1920.
At Mere, the course was created out of 150 acres of Cheshire parkland that has a history dating back to the 12 century and includes a mention in the Doomsday Book. Since its construction, it has hosted several professional championships and with the injection of many millions into its redevelopment has become one of the most renowned golf and business facilities in the North West.
Abridge was born out of the post-war boom for golf and after the first practical step towards inauguration in 1959, the club was quickly established on farmland in the North East suburbs of London.
The course was opened for play in 1964 and Regional Qualifying in 2009 will mark 45 years of continued growth into one of Essex’s finest country clubs.

LADIES GOLF UNION FIND

NEW SPONSOR FOR

WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN

Edinburgh-based Lewine Mair writes in today's "Daily Telegraph:"

In an exciting coup for the Ladies' Golf Union, Ricoh will sponsor the Women's British Open. Ricoh have taken over from Weetabix in time for this year's historic event at St Andrews, which is the first time the women professionals have played the Open links course.
Lesley Burn, pictured right, the chief executive officer of the LGU, said: "Ricoh have joined us at a fantastic time. The profile of the Women's Open continues to rise and, with the backing of such a successful company, the future is even brighter."
'Kirk' Katsumi Yoshida, the chief marketing officer of Ricoh, who specialise in digital office solutions, explained that the reason he opted for a women's event is that women golfers in his part of the world are the more admired.
"The women's game is stronger than the men's and more popular," he said.
The Japanese men's tour is struggling, while the television viewing figures for women's golf in Japan are 50 per cent higher, save when it comes to the men's majors.
Where 15 years ago Asian parents yearned for their daughters to become concert pianists, they now favour golf as there is more room at the top. Japanese and Korean women practise for up to eight hours a day, while Ay Miyazato is seen as the equivalent of a Tiger Woods.
Michelle Wie, Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer will be among those doing duty at St Andrews from Aug 2-5.
Scotland will have a strong contender in Catriona Matthew who, earlier this year, came close to winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Matthew said: "Winning an Open at St Andrews would be a dream come true."
Like Annika Sorenstam, Matthew is a former winner of the St Rule Trophy, an amateur strokeplay championship played annually over the Old Course and the New.
Creamer was the first American to fly over for some practice. She arrived a fortnight ago and fitted in four rounds over the course which, at 6,638 yards, is 641 yards shorter than the version played by Woods and the rest in the 2005 Open. She was introduced to Hell Bunker and the Swilken and, once she had holed out at the 13th, to pop singer Justin Timberlake who was lining up his putt on the other side of that double green.

BOB CHARLES SAYS USGA AND
R&A HAVE THEIR HEADS
BURIED IN THE SAND

Sir Bob Charles, the 71-year-old winner of the 1963 Open championship at Royal Lytham, has been quoted in a New Zealand newspaper as saying that technological advancements are taking the game out of reach as fairways get longer.
The Kiwi left-hander said the United States Golf Association and Royal and Ancient Golf Club "have their heads buried in the sand".
"It's sad that so many of the great courses of the past have become obsolete because they are too short to hold a major championship," he said.
The Old Course, St Andrews – Sir Bob's favourite course to play on – had shifted tees further and further back. "It's sad what they're doing to classical golf courses," Sir Bob said.
A self-proclaimed traditionalist, Sir Bob said the game of golf had changed "dramatically" in the last 20 years, he said.
"The finesse and ball control that Ben Hogan had and to a lesser degree, Jack Nicklaus had, doesn't enter into the game any more. It's all about power and length off the tee."
He said that now, golf ball performance was maximised by young, strong players and few could get the full benefit of new technologies in the industry.
"They've got to draw a line and rein in the performance of the golf ball before it goes too far."
Tiger Woods was the "modern icon of the game", but did not have the same ball control as other golfing "greats", he said.
Sir Bob provided the names of Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Woods among his top five players.
Hogan was the greatest ball striker he had ever played while Nicklaus was a true competitor that he could only beat by playing a better short game, he said.
Sir Bob, who has finished building a house at Clearwater, near Christchurch but returns often to his Oxford, New Zealand farm, said he hoped to play in another 12 overseas events this year.
"I'm not competitive any more but I still love to play," he said.
"I'm in pretty good shape, physically, so I may as well continue to do something that I love doing."
Sir Bob said the six United States-based events and six European events would also allow him to spend time with his children and grandchildren in London and Florida.

PETER WHITEFORD WINS TAMSEL TOUR
EVENT BY FIVE STROKES

Fifer Peter Whiteford (Wellsgreen) was an impressive five-shot winner of the £2,000 first prize in the Tamsel Tour 36-hole event at Withington Golf Club, Didsbury near Manchester today.
Whiteford had rounds of 66 and 67 for an 11-under-par total of 133.
Whiteford, whose older brother Stewart won the 1996 Scottish boys' match-play title, has made some appearances on the European Challenge Tour this year.
Runner-up to Peter was PGA Cup player Paul Wesselingh who was bidding to become the first man to win three Tamsel Tour events in a row. Paul had 68 and 70 for 138.
The only other entries from Scotland, apart from Whiteford, in the field of 80 were Danny Kirk and David Pyott, both entered from St Andrews.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
133 P Whiteford (Wellsgreen) 66 67.
138 P Wesselingh (Kedleston Park) 68 70.
139 M Hancock (Stand) 68 71.
140 A Bradley (Doncaster) 70 70.
141 D Walker (The Chase) 70 71, G Donnison (Stocksfield) 72 69, S Davis (Kedleston Park) 74 67, S Parry (Bolton) 68 73.
143 D Smith (Swinton Park) 69 74, G Cox (Warrington) 75 68, A Wainwright (Wakefield) 75 68.
144 G Hamerton (Pike Fold) 698 75, J Ashworth (Fulford) 71 73, Joe Senior (Heysham) 72 72, J Farmer (Wychwood Park) 73 71.]
145 D James (Bridgnorth) 73 72, M Morris (Forest of Arden) 73 72.
146 D McKinnon (Didsbury) 71 75, S Dixon (Maltacourt) 75 71.
147 M Ellis (Golf Psychology Services) 71 76, Michael Kanski (Hesketh) 73 74, A Lambert (Bellmont Lodge) 75 72.
148 J Harper (Seaton Carew) 74 74, M Longshaw (Haigh Hall) 77 71.
149 H Proos (Dunscar) 72 77, A Shaw (Withington) 73 76, S Eaton (Nelson) 73 776, J Salt (Nefyn) 75 74, N Harris (Whitefield) 75 74, S Andrew (Clitheroe) 77 72.
150 D Mansell (Silkstone) 71 79, D Wilcock (Dean Wood) 74 76, I Simpson (Fulford) 75 75.
151 L Corcoran (Moreton Hills) 77 74, J Fox (Portmarnock) 77 74, D Berry (hazzardgolf. net) 77 74, M Hempstock (Doncaster) 78 73.

Other scores:
152 D Kirk (St Andrews) 77 75.
162 D Pyott (St Andrfews) 84 78.

Aberdonian who became America's most prolific golf course creator

Click on the image to increase its size and also the words so that you can read them.

WEDNESDAY WOE FOR SCOTS ON PGA
EUROPRO TOUR EVENT AT NORWICH

Irish eyes might have been smiling - Colm Moriarty shot a 70 to extend his overnight lead to five strokes - but Wednesday was a day of woe for the majority of the Scots in the field for this week's PGA EuroPro Tour event, the Wensum Valley International Open at Wensum Valley Golf Club, Norwich.
Moriarty is the only competitor that has not struggled during the opening two rounds as many players have found the windy conditions and hard, dry course tough to handle.
.Only three Scots had scores of 149 or better to qualify for the third and final round.
They were Jay Taylor in joint sixth place on 145 with scores of 73 and 72 despite a double bogey 6 at the ninth, Elliot Saltman from Dalkeith in a share of 11th place on 146 with a pair of 73s, in which he had a great four under par run from the 13th, having been five over par for the round after nine holes.
Stephen Lamb from Broomieknowe is the only other Scot still playing after scores of 72 and 76 for 148.
Paul Doherty (151), Graham Gordon (152), Jack Doherty (154), Paul Cormack (154), Alasdair Hay (156), Christopher Farr (159), Graeme Brown (159) and Neil Mitchell (160) all failed to make it.
First prize is £10,000 but it looks a question of "Who's going to be second?" to Irishman Moriarity.
SCOREBOARD
144 (2 X 72)
138 C Moriarty (Glasson Golf Hotel, Ire) 68 70.
143 N Walker (Eng) 74 69.
144 D Ley (Eng) 71` 73, C Hanson (Crosland Heath) 70 74, GV Clark (Eng0 70 74.
Other qualifiers:
145 J Taylor (Sco) 73 71 (jt 6th).
146 E Saltman (Sco) 73 73 (jt 11th).
148 S Lamb (Broomieknowe) 72 76.
DID NOT QUALIFY
151 P Doherty (Vale of Glamorgan) 77 74.
152 G Gordon (Aberdeen) 73 79.
154 J Doherty (Vale of Glamorgan) 78 76, P Cormack (Inchmarlo) 79 75.
156 A Hay (Royal Winchester) 78 78.
159 C Farr 79 80, G Brown (Montrose) 81 78.
160 N Mitchell (Murcar Links) 81 79.
And Stephen La

OLDCORN TURNS CLOCK BACK WITH A 64 IN FIRST ROUND

AT CRAIGIELAW

Andrew Oldcorn, pictured right, almost spreadeagled the field with a splendid round of seven-under-par 64 at Craigielaw in the first round of the 36-hole Callaway Challenge in bright and latterly breezy conditions today.
Winner of the PGA championship at Wentworth in 2001, Oldcorn finished 198th in the European Tour Order of Merit last year when he missed 16 cuts in 24 competitions.
But at Craigielaw, it was the “old” Oldcorn with a bag of eight birdies – at the second, fourth, fifth, ninth, 11th, 15th, 16th and 18th in halves of 31 (four under par) and 33 (three under). The Kings Acre man’s only bogey came at the 10th.
Had it not been for a very good 66 by young Steven Clydesdale (Brucefields), Oldcorn would have left the field trailing by four shots in the £13,000 event.
But Clydesdale was able to hang on to Andrew’s bootlaces with a 66, which also included an outward half of 31 but “only” six birdies, at the fourth, sixth, seventh, ninth, 10th and 13th. Steven was only one behind Oldcorn until he bogeyed the 16th.

First-round leaders
Par 72
64 A Oldcorn (Kings Acre).]
66 S Clydesdale (Brucefields).
68 D Patrick (Mortonhall), C Russell (Dunb ar0, A Mackenzie (Liberton), M King (Kingsfield), C Nicoll (Prestwick).
69 J McGhee (Turnhouse), C Campbell (Carnegie Club Skibo), D Robertson (Czech Design), A Lockhart (Ladybank).
70 P Malone (Braid Hills), R Cameron (McDonald Ellon), M Loftus (Cowglen), M Urquhart (Inverness), D Orr (East Rendfrewshire), J Sharp (Pro Golf Experience).

JILL (14) YOUNGEST EVER WINNER OF
DUNBARTONSHIRE & ARGYLL TITLE

Dullatur Golf Club 14-year-old junior member Jill Meldrum today (Wed) became the youngest ever winner of the county title in the 98-year-history of the Dunbartonshire & Argyll women’s county golf association.
In the final at Milngavie Golf Club, Jill, winner of the Scottish Under-14 girls’ title at Deeside last summer, beat Scotland senior international Anna Telfer, the host club's ladies' captain, by 4 and 3.
Jill, pictured right, had been the No 1 seed while Anna was the third-best qualifier.
In the morning semi-finals, Jill won by 6 and 5 over Babs Robertson (Helensburgh) while Anna beat the No 2 seed, Helen Faulds (Douglas Park), another over-50s Scotland team player, with a birdie at the 18th.
Eleanor Starling (Balmore), the No 1 seed, beat No 2 qualifier Denise Harrow (Hilton Park) by 5 and 4 in the final of the Bronze Division championship.
Results:
SCRATCH – Semi-finals – J Meldrum (Dullatur) bt B Robertson (Helensburgh) 6 and 5, A Telfer (Milngavie) bt H Faulds (Douglas Park) 1 hole. Final – Meldrum bt Telfer 4 and 3.
BRONZE DIVISION – Final – E Starling (Balmore) bt D Harrow (Hilton Park) 5 and 4.

RONNIE AND ROBERT TOP SCOTS

IN PGA SENIOR CLUB PROS’

CHAMPIONSHIP

Kemnay Golf Club professional Ronnie McDonald and Robert Webster, now retired, headed the Scottish challenge in the first round of the 54-hole PGA Senior Club professional championship at Northamptonshire County Golf Club today.
Both hit the five-over-par 75 mark to be sharing 10th place, six shots behind leader Donald Stirling.
Ronnie, pictured right, had no birdies on his scorecard which had a double-bogey 6 at the fifth and single shots dropped at the 11th, 12th and 18th.
Robert did have a birdie, at the eighth, and was only one over par with six holes to play but tired a little and bogeyed the 13th, 14th, 16th and 18th.
Former British boys champion Garry Harvey from Perth had a 76 which included a little bit of everything. He finished in grand style with an eagle 3 at the 507yd 18th and had a birdie 2 at the short 15th. But he also had a triple bogey 7 at the 17th, and a pair of double bogey 6s at the first and 11th
The field will be cut to the leading 40 players and ties after the second round. The winner will receive £4,750 from a total prizefund of £35,000 and also be exempt from qualifying for the Scottish Seniors Open at Dalmahoy. The top 20 finishers will be exempt from qualifying for September's PGA seniors championship at Stoke by Nayland.

LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 70
69 D Stirling (Wien-Sussenbrunn).
70 J Hudson (Rivenhall Oaks).
72 A Roach (West Midlands), R Masters (Baildon), A Hall (Radlett).
73 S Parker (Peinerhof).
74 A Reynolds (FRoyal Cinque Ports), John Lower (Wollaton Park), Andrew Bownes (North Warwickshire).
Scottish scores:
75 R McDonald (Kemnay), R Webster (retired) (jt 10th)).
76 G Harvey (Bearsden), R Watkins (Solent Meads), W McColl (Thorpe Hall) (jt 14th).
77 B Lockie (North Gailes), M White (Penfold Park) (jt 18th).
78 H Arnott (Chesfield Downs), G Laing (North Wilts) (jt 23rd).
80 D Craik sen (Frilford Heath), K Revie (Ballymena), S Wilson (Trentham), I Collins (Stirling) (jt 34th).
81 J McTear (Mar Hall) (jt 40th).
82 B Jenkins (Westhampton), R Bowman (Elderslie), I Clark (Hagley), K Stevely (3D Golf) (jt 44th).
84 G Cant (Longhirst Hall) (jt 56th).
90 D MacDonald (Hazelwood) 66th).
Retired – R Tattersall (Bedford & Co).

JAMIESON’S STEADY START TO

PRO CAREER ON US

SATELLITE CIRCUIT

Glasgow’s Scott Jamieson has earned close on $5,000 from his first three outings on the NGA Hooters Tour in the United States.
Scott, 23, pictured right, turned professional late last year after topping the Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit in his final season as an amateur.
He missed the cut in his second competition but finished joint 22nd on his debut and again in the weekend event, the Savannah Lakes Resort Classic at Monticello Golf Club, McCormick in South Carolina.
His pay check after rounds of 67, 75, 69 and 71 for a seven-under-par total of 281 was $2,065.
American Mike Connell won the top prize of £33,566 with scorfes of 70, 67, 70 and 64 for 17-under 271.
Ulsterman Gareth Maybin from Ballyclare collected $6,790 for joint fifth place on 276 (72-33-70-68).
Edinburgh exile David Kirkpatrick, based at Lakeland, Florida for several years, tied for 35th place on 285 (70-74-71-70) and earned $1,449.

LYNN UNIVERSITY TEAM STRUGGLING WITHOUT
KATY McNICOLL IN REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP


Lynn University golf team at Boca Raton, Florida is missing Katy McNicoll, the Carnoustie girl who had to have a knee operation earlier this year and won't play again until late summer at the earliest.
Lynn University are lying last of six with a team total of 625 behind joint leaders Florida Southern and Rollins College (both 611).
One of Katy's team-mates, Natash Morgan from South Wales, is not doing so badly, however. She is in fifth place on 149 with scores of 74 and 75 and is five shots off the pace being set by Maria Garcia Austt (Nova Southerastern) (71-73) with one round to go in the NCAA Division Women's South Regional Championship at The Club at Eaglebrooke, Lakeland in Florida.
The course is a par-72 measuring 6,260yd.
Get well soon, Katy!

STEPHEN LAMB LEADING SCOT IN PGA
EUROPRO TOUR EVENT AT NORWICH

Stephen Lamb from Broomieknowe was the best placed Scot in joint ninth place at the end of the first round in the PGA EuroPro Tour 54-hole event, the Wensum Valley International Open, at Wensum Valley Golf Club, Norwich.
Stephen had a par-matching round of 72 to be four shots behind leader, Irishman Colm Moriarty, playing out of Glasson Golf Hotel.
Elliot Saltman (Craigielaw), Graham Gordon (Newmachar) and Jay Taylor (unattached) were the next best Scots on 73.
FIRST-ROUND LEADERS
Par 72
68 Colm Moriarty (Ire).
70 Christopher Hanson (Crosland Heath), Graeme Clark (Eng), Patrick Devine (The Island, Ire)).
71 Tim Butler (Donnington), Daryl Ley (Eng), James Ruebotham (Welwyn Garden City), Simon Robinson (The Wynyard).
Scots' scores:
72 Stephen Lamb (Broomieknowe) (jt 9th).
73 Elliot Saltman (Craigielaw), Graham Gordon (Newmachar), Jay Taylor (jt 16th).
77 Paul Doherty (Vale of Glamorgan) (jt 79th).
78 Alasdair Hay (Royal Winchester), Jack Doherty (Vale of Glamorgan).
79 Paul Cormack (Inchmarlo), Christopher Farr (jt 121st).
81 Neil Mitchell (Murcar Links), Graeme Brown (Montrose) (jt 139th).
Retired: Graham Rankin (Drumpellier).

PETER WHITEFORD LEADS TAMSEL
TOUR EVENT WITH A 66

Fifer Peter Whiteford, playing out of Wellsgreen, leads the latest Tamsel Tour 36-hole event at a venue near Manchester with a first-round score of 66.
He has a two-shot advantage over Steve Parry from Bolton.

LEADERBOARD
66 Peter Whiteford (Wellsgreen).
68 Steve Parry (Bolton), Mark Hancock (Stand/M&J Motors), Paul Wesselingh (Kedleston Park).
69 David Smith (Swinton Park), Grant Hamerton (Brookfield).
70 Andrew Bradley (Doncaster), David Walker (The Chase).
71 David McKinnon (Didsbury), Jamie Ashworth (Fulford), David Mansell (Silkstone), Matthew Ellis (Golf Psychology Services).
72 Joe Senior (Heysham), Gary Donnison (Stocksfield), Harry Proos (Dunscar).
73 John Cheetham (Marriott Worsley Park), Andrew Shaw (Withington), Jon Farmer (Wychwood Park), Simon Eaton (Nelson), Andy Town (Hollins Hall), David James (Bridgnorth),
Joe Ferguson (Kidderminster), Matt Morris (Forest of Arden), Steven Rowley (Chirk), Michael Kanski (Hesketh).

JOHN LAURIE WINS THRILLING FINALE TO GLASGOW GOLF

UNION MATCH-PLAY

Cowglen’s John Laurie, pictured right receiving the trophy from president Gus Lamond, played 40 holes over the semi-finals and final before winning the Glasgow Golf Union’s match-play championship for the first time at Cawder Golf Club.
In the semi-final, Laurie won at the 20th against Cawder favourite Neil Macrae in an exciting game which could have gone either way.
The other last-four tie also went to the 20th before Matthew Dargie of the host club beat defending champion Graeme Gorrie (Glasgow) who had been three down with four holes to play.
In the Laurie v Dargie final, John held the upper hand on the outward half but his younger opponent came storming home in 32 shots to be square after 18 holes. Both men were round in 70.
Matthew’s rally ended with a pulled approach at the second extra hole, the ball slipping agonisingly out of bounds, thus handing the title to the more experienced John Laurie.
John is now looking to make it a double later in the summer when the Glasgow Golf Union stroke-play championship is played at his home club, Cowglen, on Sunday, July 22. This event will also be the Glasgow qualifier for the Scottish club championship, the final of which takes place at Glenbervie on September 30.
In the Glasgow Golf Union spring meeting, Graeme Gorrie and Neil Macrae tied on 139 in summer-like conditions. Neil’s second-round 67 was the best of the day and won him the competition on a card comparison with Graeme.
Gorrie was the automatic top seed as the title-holder, which meant that Macrae was the No 2 seed.
GLASGOW GOLF UNION SPRING MEETING
Cawder Golf Club
139 Neil Macrae (Cawder) 72 67, Graham Gorrie (Glasgow) 70 69.
141 John Laurie (Cowglen) 70 71.
142 Matthew Dargie (Cawder) 74 68, Keith McNair (Glasgow) 69 73.
143 Mark Bookless (Sandyhills) 75 68.
144 Chris Wedgeworth (Cowglen) 72 72.
145 Norman Kelly (Glasgow) 75 70, Lindsay Miller (Cawder) 75 70.
146 Thomas Magee (Sandyhills) 75 70, Stephen Machin (Cowglen) 72 74.
147 Steven Robertson (Sandyhills) 78 69, John Mathers (Haggs Castle) 74 73.
148 John W McDonald (Cowglen) 73 75.
149 Alex McKay (Williamwood) 73 76, Frank Drum (Cowglen) 72 77.
150 Gordon Sangster (Cathkin Braes) 80 70, Graeme McDougall (Bishopbriggs) 80 70.
GLASGOW GOLF UNION MATCH-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
Cawder Golf Club
First round – G Gorrie (Glasgow) bt G McDougall (Bishopbriggs) 3and 1, L Miller (Cawder) bt T Magee (Sandyhills) 5 and 4, M Dargie (Cawder) bt A McKay (Williamwood) 6 and 5, K McNair (Glasgow) bt J W McDonald (Cowglen) 4 and 3, N Macrae (Cawder) bt G Sangster (Cathkin Braes) at 20th, S Machin (Cowglen) bt N Kelly (Glasgow) 7 and 6, J Laurie (Cowglen) bt F Drum (Cowglen) 4 and 3, S Robertson (Sandyhills) bt C Wedgeworth) 4 and 3.
Quarter-finals – Gorrie bt Miller 4 and 3, Dargie bt McNair 1 hole, Macrae bt Machin 1 hole, Laurie bt Robertson 1 hole.
Semi-finals – Dargie bt Gorrie at 20th, Laurie bt Macrae at 20th.
Final – Laurie bt Dargie at 20th.

CARNOUSTIE WILL BE "TOUGH BUT

FAIR" FOR OPEN THIS TIME, says
R&A CHIEF PETER DAWSON

R&A chief executive Peter Dawson, pictured right, told a Press Conference at Carnoustie today that the course for this year's Open would be "tough but fair," although no R&A person has ever admitted that the 1999 Carnoustie track was beastly unfair.
"We are not seeking carnage," said Aberdeen-born Peter Dawson. "We are seeking an arena where the players can display their skills to the best effect."
Having said that, Carnoustie is a true monster of a course, if only in its length.
At 7,421 yards the course will play 60 yards longer than last time. That makes it the longest in Open history - just 24 yards shorter than Augusta was for the Masters a month ago and only 140 yards less than the major record set by Medinah for last year's US PGA championship.
"Carnoustie deserves its reputation as the toughest course we use," added Dawson and Martin Kippax, chairman of the championship committee, stated: "The players understand what Carnoustie is. Everybody knows what a severe test it is."
What is likely to reduce the number of criticisms come July is that the forecast of a hot summer and less than average rainfall should reduce the amount of rough.
In 1999 it was some of the fiercest ever seen, with the 156-strong field finishing the week an amazing 3,746 over par.
Jean Van de Velde's closing triple bogey 7 - the drama for which the championship is most remembered rather than, regrettably, Paul Lawrie's terrific come-from-behind winning effort - meant that the winning score of six over par for 72 holes was the highest in the Open since 1947 and the highest in any major since 1963.
Not surprisingly, Paul Lawrie did not mind one little bit. He was the one who capitalised on Van de Velde's self-destruction, winning a play-off which also featured American Justin Leonard.
But Tiger Woods shot 10 over par and yet still finished as high as 10th, while Sergio Garcia, who a month later was to run Woods so close at the US PGA, had rounds of 89 and 83 to crash out on 30 over par at the halfway stage.
And not many people remember that first-round leader Rod Pampling with a 71 plummeted out of the championship only 18 holes later with and 86.

KRYSTLE MAKES BRITISH
INTERNATIONAL DEBUT
IN COMMONWEALTH
TOURNEY IN S AFRICA

The Great Britain team of Krystle Caithness (St Regulus), Breanne Loucks (Wrexham), Melissa Reid (Chevin), Kerry Smith (Waterlooville) and Naomi Edwards (Ganton) have flown to South Africa for the Commonwealth tournament at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club.
It is a first GB cap for Krystle, the Scottish Under-21 and Under-18 stroke-play champion and winner of the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews last year.
Krystle, pictured right, finished the weekend’s Helen Holm Scottish women’s open amateur stroke-play championship with a very good round of two-under-par 73 over the Royal Troon championship links in a cold, easterly cross-wind which boosted the CSS to 77 (two over the par). No one did better than 73. In fact, only the French girl, who finished third, Audrey Decharne, equalled it.

And Scotland finished runners-up to England in the international team event, thanks to the combined scores of Krystle and Jenna Wilson (Strathaven).
The Commonwealth tournament is a five-a-side round-robin team match-play event, staged every four years, It will start next Monday and finish on the Friday.Each match consists of two foursomes in the morning and five singles in the afternoon.
As there are five competing countries – Great Britain, South Africa, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – each team will have one rest day.The team with the most points at the end of the week win the trophy.
South Africa, inspired by young Ashleigh Simon, winner of the South African Women’s Open (for a second time) against a field of professionals earlier this year, will be very hard to beat.
Earlier this year, Ashleigh starred in the South African team that won the women’s world amateur team championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy at Stellenbosch Golf Club.
Only Naomi Edwards of the British team did not play in that tournament so four of the other five have recent experience of playing conditions in South Africa.
Sue Turner is the Great Britain team captain and she is convinced that she has a potential team of trophy-winners under her charge.
Australia have won the last three Commonwealth tournaments – in 2003, 1999 and 1995.
The last Great Britain team to take the title – in 1991 - included two Scots in the five-strong line-up – Curtis Cup players Elaine Farquharson and Catriona Matthew - and their team-mates, also Curtis Cup players, were England’s Linzi Fletcher and Julie Hall, and Wales’ Vicki Thomas.
Elaine and Catriona, were and still are great friends who never lost a foursomes match as partners throughout their amateur career. In the Commonwealth tournament of 1991, the Scots pair won all their alternate-shot ties that week in 1991 at the Northumberland Golf Club course in the middle of the Newcastle racecourse.
Liz Boatman, the winning GB captain, said at the time: "With only 7pt at stake in each match, it was a very big advantage to have one point of a start every day, as it were, so well did Catriona and Elaine dovetail in all four foursomes matches."

CLACKMANNANSHIRE COUNTY NEWS

From Hugh Hunter

With the county golf season up and running, the diary is pretty full for the next two weeks. The six county clubs will be contesting the Clackmannanshire fours title at Tullialllan with the semi-finals and finals on Tuesday and Thursday, May 8 and 10.
Each club is represented by three couples and the individual matches are all keenly contested so they should be good value for any spectators and supporters.
On thbe Sunday prior to this, it's the turn of the young county hopefuls when they contest the Clackmannanshire boys' championship, also over the Tulliallan course. County officials will be keen to see any potential golfing talent, expecially in the lower age groups.
Boys will also be trying to qualify for their match-play titles, held over Dollar, Tillicoultry and Tulliallan.
SENIORS' CHAMPIONSHIP
Top Wee County senior player Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) is the only Clackmannanshire entry in the Scottish seniors' championship at Drumpellier, Lanarkshire from May 22 to 24.
The title is decided over three rounds - with a cut aftrer two - and Bob will be hoping for a good performance to set himself up for the new, prestigious Scottish seniors' circuit to be held in mid-summer.
The Scottish seniors' championship is very popular, attracting a large entry from the home countries. This year is no exception and the entry numberrs 176 with a handicap ballot of 5.2.
As well as the top home players, there is a contingent of eight from America and one lone Swede.
Lowest handicap in the field belongs to Ian Hutcheon, a former top international for many years. He is playing off +1.7.

LONDON GOLF SHOW HAILED

AS A GREAT SUCCESS

Manufacturers who exhibited at the London Golf Show were overwhelmed by the number of people who tried out their clubs on the 32-bay indoor range.
Cleveland were delighted by the number of visitors who took advantage of the custom-fitting service made available through the Tour trailer which made its first visit to the London Golf Show.
Ben Davis, marketing manager for UK and northern Europe, said: “It has been a very successful show. The tour van goes out to our demo days at clubs and ranges across the country, but people were very impressed that they could trial and buy clubs and have them custom-fitted just as our tour pros do.”
Having David Howell – their top European player – as the biggest name in the game to visit the show brought the crowds flocking to the Cleveland stand on Friday and they remained all weekend.
Howell, pictured above, was very impressed. He said: “The show’s great. I had a chance to look around and it’s really interactive. It’s great to see so many smiling faces. There are loads of gadgets and new clubs for people to try out. It’s fantastic.”
Davis added: “David’s visit was a big crowd puller – but we have been busy all day long on all four days.”
Cleveland’s experience was repeated for Callaway and Wilson Staff, with the former’s square driver attracting a lot of interest, while the latter claimed to have sold more clubs than any of the other exhibitors.
Wilson’s Andy Clift said: “We have shifted lots of sets of our Di7 irons and the DH6 hybrids have been extremely popular. I think it has been shown that we have sold more sets than anyone else. It has been a phenomenal show for us.”
Callaway’s Cameron de Buck was another happy exhibitor. “The interest in our products has been fantastic,” he said.
It was a similar story for Yonex whose bays were full from the moment the public were allowed in at 10am each morning, to the close of the show every day.

Dunbartonshire & Argyll women's county championship

INJURY TO KAREN PUTS DAMPER ON
MILNGAVIE MATCH-PLAY TIES

An injury to Karen Maxwell, the No 4 seed from the host club, Milngavie, took the shine off an excellent day’s match-play in glorious weather when the Dunbartonshire & Argyll women’s county golf championship continued today.
Karen went over her ankle and had to retire from her first-round tie against the 13th qualifier, Margaret Kinvig (Vale of Leven). By the end of the day Karen was on crutches after receiving treatment.
Jill Meldrum, the 14-year-old top qualifier from Dullatur, continued her progress to the last four with good wins over Margaret Stirling (Cardross) and Jill Foggo (Milngavie).
On Wednesday morning, Jill, the Scottish Under-14 girls champion, will play Babs Robertson (Helensburgh), the No 5 qualifier, while the other semi-final will feature the No 2 seed, Helen Faulds (Douglas Park) against another Scotland senior team player, Anna Telfer (Milngavie).

Details:
First round - J Meldrum (Dullatur) bt M Stirling (Cardross) 3 and 2, J Foggo (Milngavie) bt K MacAulay (Milngavie) 3 and 2, B Robertson (Helensburgh) bt L McColl (Bearsden) 1 hole, M Kinvig (Vale of Leven) w.o. K Maxwell (Milngavie) retired.
A Telfer (Milngavie) bt A Struthers (Buchanan Castle) 6 and 5, L McGeachy (Windyhill) bt A Sinclair (Hilton Park) 2 holes, E Young (Balmore) bt I Harvey (St Rule) 1 hole, H Faulds (Douglas Park) bt L Johnston (Windyhill) 8 and 7.
Quarter-finals – Meldrum bt Foggo 2 and 1, Robertson bt Kinvig 4 and 2, Telfer bt MGeachy 3 and 1, Faulds bt Young 5 and 4.

RACHAEL LOWERS NEWBATTLE RECORD BUT MISSES MIDLOTHIAN

MATCH-PLAY STAGES

The Newbattle Golf Club women's course record, first set by golf-writer-to-be Elspeth Burnside in 1977, was first equalled and then shaved by a shot a few hours later on a gloriously sunny day for the qualifying rounds of the Midlothian women’s county championship today.
Belinda Murphy (Mortonhall) equalled Elspeth’s mark of 70 with her morning round and, in the afternoon, 19-year-old Scotland girl international Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old) lowered the record to 69 – three under par – and below the CCS of 71 (am) and 72 (pm).
Rachael, pictured above, had a 77 in the morning but would have qualified easily with an aggregate of 146. Unfortunately, she cannot take part in the match-play stages on Friday and Sunday because she has entered the Welsh women’s open stroke-play championship at Newport at the weekend. But her second-round effort, in which she was six under par after 11 holes and shot seven birdies in all, will stand as a new course record.
Belinda Murphy’s second round was a 71 which gave her the No 1 qualifier spot with an aggregate of 141 – one stroke ahead of Claire MacDonald (Gullane Ladies) 71-71, and four ahead of former Scotland cap Claire Hargan (Mortonhall) who had 74 and 71 for 145 and the third seed berth.
Last year’s Miss Hargan won the Midlothian title for the fourth year in a row, beating clubmate Belinda Murphy at the nineteenth.

+Diane Martin (Gifford), who became a tour professional, also equalled Elspeth's record of 70.

QUALIFIERS
Par 144 (2 x 72). CSS 71 72

141 Belinda Murphy (Mortonhall) 70 71.
142 Claire MacDonald (Gullane Ladies) 71 71.
145 Claire Hargan (Mortonhall) 74 71.
149 Tracy Laughland (Mortonhall)72 77 (better last 9), Karen Marshall (Baberton) 72 77.
150 Wendy Nicholson (Broomieknowe) 74 76.
151 Ruth Brown (Lothianburn) 74 77.
152 Fiona DeVries (St Rule) 75 77.
153 Noreen Fenton (Mertchants of Edinburgh) 75 78.
159 Arlene McGarty (Harburn) 82 77, Fiona Hunter (Baberton) 81 78.
163 Suzanne Ireland (Prestonfield) 81 82.
164 Amanda Edwards (Liberton) 83 81, Linda Caine (Merchants of Edinburgh) 82 82, Mairi Pollock (Craigmillar Park) 80 84.
181 Gilly Glen (Craigmillar Park) 94 87.
AUTOMATIC DRAW
Friday – First round (9am) – Murphy v Glen, Fenton v DeVries, Marshall v Ireland, Edwards v Laughland, Hargan v Caine, Hunter v Nicholson, Brown v McGarty, Pollock v MacDonald. Quarter-finals at 2pm.
Sunday – Semi-finals and finals.

SENIORS TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL
GOING BACK TO THE ALGARVE

The European Seniors Tour has announced that the popular golfing destination of the Portuguese Algarve will again host this year’s Qualifying School, from which 14 players will earn their cards for the 2008 season.
Quinta de Cima in Tavira and Pinheiros Altos Golf Club at Quinta do Lago are the venues for the Stage One Qualifiers on November 15 and 16, 2007, before the 72-hole Final Stage, won last year by Australia’s David Merriman, returns to the Pinta Course, Pestana Golf Resort, Carvoeiro, from November 19-22.
The par 72 championship course at Quinta de Cima made its debut as a Qualifying School venue last year and proved to be a stiff test, while Pinheiros Altos is being used for the third time, although over a revised lay-out.
Nine new holes have been constructed and they will be introduced alongwith nine holes of the existing course to form a composite course.Details of how to enter the 2007 European Seniors Tour Qualifying School will be available shortly.

RUNNER-UP LUKE DONALD NOW 10th
IN WORLD RANKINGS

Luke Donald's second-place finish in the Byron Nelson Championship in Texas has got him into the top 10 of the world rankings. He takes over the 10th position from Padraig Harrington who drops down to 11th.
Ian Poulter, who finished joint third at the weekend, moves up to 24th.
Phil Mickelson is back up to third ahead of Adam Scott.
South African Charl Schwartzel improves from 57th to 40th with his Spanish Open victory. With the top 50 in a week's time being invited to the Players Championship in Florida - golf's unofficial fifth major - he can go ahead and book his flights.
Darren Clarke, who missed his fourth successive cut in Madrid, is down to 75th, but he gets into the Players field from his 125th-place finish on the US Tour last season.
Colin Montgomerie is the highest-ranked Scot at 32nd.

VIJAY SINGH COMING OVER FOR BMW
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Vijay Singh, winner of two US PGA championships, will be seeking a unique transatlantic 'double' next month after confirming hisparticipation in the BMW PGA championship at Wentworth Club, Surrey from May 24-27.
No player has previously claimed both titles but the 44-year=old Fijian has the chance to add the BMW PGA Cchampionship on European soil, having already captured the United States version in 1998 and again in 2004.
Singh, winner of 12 titles on the European Tour International Schedule and an honorary member of the European Tour, is excited at the prospect of facing the new challenges of the West Course for the first time since the refinements were made to the famous Harry Colt design by Wentworth Club under the scrutiny and control of Ernie Els.