European Tour news

Brilliant 61 propels Robert Karlsson
into Italian Open halfway lead

Robert Karlsson surged into the halfway lead in the Italian Open championship in Milan, courtesy of a brilliant second round of 11-under-par 61, a course record, for a 15-under-par tally of 129.
The Sweden thought at one time he would be playing in the Players' Championship at Sawgrass this week but confusion over whether or not he was qualified to play in the American tournament, forced him to stick to his original schedule and play in Italy.
It was a decision that may well may much bigger returns for him in Europe than in the States.
He produced what will surely stand as one of the European Tour rounds of the year - two eagles, eight birdies, one bogey by the man who stands only at No 48 in the world rankings.
The Italian Open, of course, is not over yet by a long chalk - unless Karlsson goes out and does it again on Saturday. Karlsson is two strokes in front of Englishman Mark Foster and South African Hennie Otto, both of whom shot 66 today for 13-under 131.
Argentine Estanislao Goya (67), the current European Challenge Tour money-list leader, and Dane Anders Hansen (65) are two strokes further back.
The overnight joint leader Marco Ruiz of Paraguay (70) is in a large group at 10-under.
Karlsson admitted shooting a 59, which has never been done on the European Tour, had "crossed my mind." But the 2006 Ryder Cup player was still delighted to equal his career-best single-round score, giving him a chance of an eighth title.
"I was never really sure I would make [TPC] Sawgrass and I thought if I could play well here it would be for the best," Karlsson said.
"I'm in Ireland next week, so it's really good for travelling and maybe it's worked out for the best."
Karlsson, who had to wait seven years for his chance to play against the U.S. after narrowly missing out on the 1999 Ryder Cup team, has every chance of moving up from his current eighth position.
Even though he feels he is playing the best golf of his life, though, the Monte Carlo-based Swede is determined not to set either Nick Faldo's Valhalla team as a goal or winning a first major.
"I've found out you definitely can't chase results," said Karlsson. "So I'm focusing on improving all the time.
"The Ryder Cup or a major will then take care of itself."
Two-time major champion John Daly (73) qualified for the final two rounds, right on the cut-off of four-under par 140, the lowest qualifying mark for some time on the European Tour.
Marc Warren and Alastair Forsyth were the only Scots to make it through to the weekend action - Warren on nine-under-par 135 after a 70 and Forsyth on the limit of 140, thanks to a splendid 66.
Steven O'Hara and Stephen Gallagher both shot three-under-par 141 and failed by one shot.

ALL THE SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
129 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 68 61
131 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 65 66, Mark Foster 65 66
133 Anders Hansen (Den) 68 65, Estanislao Goya (Arg) 66 67
134 Christian Nilsson (Swe) 67 67, Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 70 64, Marco Ruiz (Par) 64 70, Phillip Archer 70 64, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 68 66, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 67, Bradley Dredge 69 65
135 Steve Webster 66 69, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 70 65, Marc Warren 65 70, Oliver Wilson 66 69, Sam Little 69 66, David Lynn 68 67, Ross McGowan 64 71
136 Marcel Siem (Ger) 70 66, Doug McGuigan 68 68, Ben Mason 68 68, Paul Broadhurst 69 67, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 67 69.
137 Paul Waring 70 67, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 66 71, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 71 66, Nick Dougherty 71 66, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 67 70, Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 69 68, Alexander Noren (Swe) 66 71, Lorenzo null Gagli (Ita) 71 66, Miles Tunnicliff 69 68, Gregory Havret (Fra) 70 67.
138 Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 68 70, Ulrich Van Den Berg (Rsa) 70 68, Gary Orr 69 69, Matthew Millar (Aus) 68 70, Marco Soffietti (Ita) 72 66, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 67 71, Mark Pilkington 74 64, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 71 67, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 66 72, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 68 70, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 67 71, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 68 70.
139 Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 66 73, David Frost (Rsa) 71 68, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 69 70, Lee Slattery 71 68, Scott Barr (Aus) 70 69, Federico Colombo (Ita) 69 70, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 67 72, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 69 70, Santiago Luna (Spa) 71 68, Richard Bland 68 71, Jan Are Larsen (Nor) 69 70, Renaud Guillard (Fra) 72 67, Nunzio Lombardi (Ita) 68 71, Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 67 72, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 66 73, James Kamte (Rsa) 69 70, Thomas Levet (Fra) 69 70
140 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 71 69, Claudio Vigano (Ita) 75 65, Martin Wiegele (Aut) 71 69, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 67 73, Peter Baker 69 71, David Park 70 70, John Daly (USA) 67 73, Gary Clark 71 69, Robert Rock 71 69, Pedro Linhart (Spa) 70 70, Stephen Dodd 72 68, Alastair Forsyth 74 66, Ian Garbutt 73 67
MISSED THE CUT
141 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 70 71, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 70 71, Juan Abbate (Arg) 70 71, Zane Scotland 72 69, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 69 72, Sion Bebb 70 71, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 69 72, Steven O'Hara 72 69, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 72 69, Anthony Wall 70 71, Lee S James 70 71, Stephen Gallacher 72 69
142 George Murray 69 73, Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 68 74, Kyron Sullivan 72 70, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 70 72, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 74 68, Iain Pyman 74 68, Christiano Terragni (Ita) 70 72, Peter Fowler (Aus) 72 70, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 72 70, Andrea Perrino (Ita) 70 72, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 71 71
143 Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 72 71, Garry Houston 71 72, Leif Westerberg (Swe) 74 69, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 70 73, Gary Lockerbie 71 72, Andrew McArthur 71 72, Antti Ahokas (Fin) 72 71, Alfredo Garcia (Spa) 71 72, Florian Praegant (Aut) 70 73, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 75 68, Philip Golding 73 70
144 Miguel Rodriguez (Arg) 75 69, Gregory Molteni (Ita) 72 72, Steve Alker (Nzl) 75 69, Liam Bond 72 72, Matthew Cort 73 71, Julio Zapata (Arg) 70 74, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 73 71, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 74 70
145 Joakim Backstrom (Swe) 71 74, Marco Crespi (Ita) 74 71, David Griffiths 74 71, Luis Claverie (Spa) 72 73, Robert Coles 71 74, Stuart Manley 78 67, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 72 73, Scott Drummond 77 68, Jim Payne 74 71, Andrea Zanini (Ita) 76 69, Benoit Teilleria (Fra) 75 70, Alessio Bruschi (Ita) 71 74
146 Raphael Eyraud (Fra) 73 73, Craig Lee 72 74, Paolo Terreni (Ita) 75 71, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 76 70, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 76 70, Tiago Cruz (Por) 75 71, David Drysdale 73 73, Sven Struver (Ger) 70 76, David Dixon 71 75, Markus Brier (Aut) 76 70, Michele Reale (Ita) 73 73
147 Alessandro Napoleoni (Ita) 73 74
148 Giorgio Grillo (Ita) 73 75, Richie Ramsay 73 75, Sam Walker 73 75, Ariel Canete (Arg) 72 76
149 Anton Haig (Rsa) 75 74, Nicola Maestroni (Ita) 76 73, Tom Whitehouse 75 74, Nino Bertasio (Ita) 76 73
150 Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 77 73
151 Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 78 73
156 Costantino Rocca (Ita) 79 77
157 Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 81 76

Paul O'Hara (70)
leading Scot in
Irish open amateur
stroke-play

Colville Park's Paul O'Hara, picture right by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), was the leading Scot at the end of the first round of the AIB-sponsored Irish men's open amateur stroke-play championship at Royal Dublin Golf Club today. Paul shot a two-under-par 70 to be two strokes behind Irishman Eoin Arthurs (Forrest Little).

Arthurs covered the opening nine in 31 strokes – four under par – aided by an eagle 3 on the second hole and birdies on the third and fifth. Birdies on the 13th and 14th holes were cancelled out by bogeys on the 12th and 18th for a level par homeward nine which was good enough to open up a two stroke lead on the field.

France’s Olivier Serres held the lead for most of the day after shooting a 70, having started in one of the first groups. He was later joined on that mark by four more players. Irish champion Shane Lowry (Esker Hills) recorded a solid opening round of 71.

FIRST ROUND

Par 72. CSS 75

68: E Arthurs (Forrest Little).

70: O Serres (France), P O'Hara (Scotland), A Kristiansen (Norway), B Hemstock (England), B Newsome (England).

71: S Lowry (Esker Hills), C Doran (Banbridge).

72: G Cambis (France), X Poncelet (France), N Kearney (Royal Dublin), D Lernihan (Castle), M Thistleton (England), M Durcan (Co Sligo), J Carvill (Warrenpoint).
73: J Roth (Denmark), M Oueld-Es-Cheikh (France), P Murray (Limerick), H Satama (Finland), J Mikkelsen (Norway), N Gorey (Lee Valley), P Figueiredo (Portugal), K McNicoll (Scotland), P Cutler (Portstewart), E Richardson (England), C Curley (Newlands), F Keenan (England), M Delay-Termoz (France), R Kellett (Scotland), J Fox (Portmarnock), F De Vries (Holland), E Kennedy (Rosapenna), J Brun (France).
74: R Carson (Scotland), R Cannon (L'town & B'town), R Durnin (L'town & B'town), L Cohen-Boyer (France), Z Gould (Wales), M Veijalainen (Finland), G Dear (Scotland), B Walton (The Island), J Lerchedahl (Denmark), A Levy (France), R Hooper (Wales).
75: J Guilllet (France), M Stewart (Scotland), S Malone (Australia), G Ozcan (Turkey),L Weber (France), L Eriksson (Finland), D Antonelli (France), T Pollari (Finland), J Smedley (England), F Rouilleaux (France), C Macaulay (Scotland), V Guillaume (France), J Lyons (Galway).
76: J Morris (Rosslare), R Zwahlen (France), F Illouz (France), M Hillson (Scotland), A Hogan (Newlands), C Perrot (France), N Henderson (Scotland), J Stalter (France), F Abadie (France), P McLean (Scotland), S Henry (Scotland), E O'Sullivan (The Island).
77: S Gautier (France), A McAllister (Portmarnock), O Sharpe (England), J Gallagher (Scotland), R McCarthy (The Island), G Yates (Scotland), R Leonard (Banbridge), A Knappe (Germany), P O'Hanlon (Curragh), M Hocaoglu (Turkey), N Grant (Knock), G Lawlor (City West), T Dreher (France), J Monaghan (The Island), Z Saltman (Scotland), S Brown (England), W Booth (Scotland).
78: E Mercadier (France), E Vieilledent (France), J Lando-Casanova (France), R McGee (Malone), L Tintera (Czech Republic), B Fennelly (The Royal Dublin), R Boal (Castle), M Lavelle (K Club), M Novy (Czech Republic), K McDonagh (Athlone), R McKnight (Scotland).
79: S McAllister (Scotland), D Bobrowski (France), S Webster (Castle), R Dupuis (France).
80: T Gornik (Slovenia), L Lennox (Moyola Park), K McAlpine (Scotland), E McAnoy (Knock), G Hall (Edenderry), A Gabella-Wenne (Sweden).
81: G Blainey (England).
82: N Peyrichou (France), T Linard (France), X Feyaerts (Belguim).
83: A Pierse (Tipperary), E Charmat (France).
84: K Turlan (France), M Sinclair (Knock), N Dean (England).
85: J Prince (England).
91: A Arnaudet (France).
Retired: M O'Sullivan (USA), E McCormack (Galway).

Irishman McElhinney wins £10,000 top prize

THREE SCOTS FINISH IN
TOP TEN AT EUROPRO
TOUR LONDON EVENT

Three Scots - Barry Hume, Jack Doherty and Graeme Brown - finished in the top 10 at the PGA Europro Tour 54-hole tournament which ended today at The Shire Golf Club, London.
Renfrew-based Hume, was joint second, a shot behind winner Irishman Brian McElhinney, pictured right, courtesy of the PGA EuroPro Tour, to have his best competitive week for ages and this should do the former Scottish amateur champion's morale and confidence a power of good.
He scored 73, 68 and 69 for a six-under-par tally of 210 and earned £3,067.
South Wales-based Doherty earned £1,200 for three consistent rounds - 72, 70 and 69 for 211, which gave him joint fifth place.
Graeme Brown from Montrose, now playing out of Dalmahoy, had one of the highest finishes of his pro career. The former Scottish amateur international who played on the US college circuit finished joint eighth on 212 with scores of 76, 69 and 67. He earned £850.
Back-to-back bogeys on 17 and 18 scuppered Brown’s victory chances, dropping him back to four under par after four consecutive birdies from the eighth put him in a very strong position.
Lothians man Elliot Saltman took something out of the tournament - £330 to be precise - which is more than his more highly-rated younger brother Lloyd did. He failed to survive the 36-hole cut by a pile of shots. Elliot strung together rounds of 7, 71 and 75 for a share of 25th place on 217.
Edinburgh-based Andy Oldcorn (King's Acre) earned £240 for scores of 74, 72 and 75 for a share of 41st place on 221.
Cowal's Lorne Kelly, beaten in a play-off in last week's PGA EuroPro Tour season opener, opened brightly with a 70 but sagged to subsequent rounds of 77 and 76 for jt 48th place of 223 and a pay cheque of £200.
Winner McElhinney, who won the European amateur championship at Nairn a few years back, scored 72, 69 and 68 to win the £10,000 top prize by one shot with a seven-under-par total of 209.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
209 Brian McElhinney (Ire) 72 69 68 (£10,000).
210 Barry Hume (Sco) 73 68 69, Alan Murray (Ire) 68 78 64, Aran Wainwright (Eng) 70 72 68 (£3,067 each).
211 Jack Doherty (Sco) 72 70 69, James Ruebotham (Eng) 68 75 68, Sean Doherty (Eng) 71 70 70 (£1,200 each).
212 Graeme Brown (Sco) 76 69 67, Anthony Tarchetti (Eng) 71 74 67, Philip Beever (Eng) 65 76 71 (£850 each).
Other Scots' scores:
217 Elliot Saltman 71 71 75 (jt 25th) (£330).
221 Andy Oldcorn 74 72 75 (jt 41st) (£240).
223 Lorne Kelly 70 77 76 (jt 48th) (£200).

Jeff Maggert's brother dies
in Colorado plane crash

Jeff Maggert has withdrawn from The Players Championship at Sawgrass.
His brother has died in a small plane crash in Colorado en route to his son's college graduation.
The Gilpin County (Colorado) Sheriff's office said one man died and a 23-year-old passenger was injured on Thursday afternoon when the single-engine plane crashed into a snowy mountain in Black Hawk, about 40 miles west of Denver.
The Aspen Daily News reported the 1965 Cessna 1982 was co-owned by Barry Maggert and Carroll Winkler, who said that Barry Maggert was flying the plane to Boulder for his son's graduation from the University of Colorado.
Maggert, the golfer's older brother, has 23-year-old twin sons, Lee and Bryant. Lee Maggert was to graduate Friday.

European Tour Scoreboard
ITALIAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Milan.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS (before end of play)
Par 144 (2 x 72)
129 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 68 61
131 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 65 66
133 Estanislao Goya (Arg) 66 67
134 Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 70 64, Marco Ruiz (Par) 64 70, Phillip Archer 70 64
135 Steve Webster 66 69, David Lynn 68 67, Ross McGowan 64 71
136 Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 67 69
137 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 67 70, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 66 71, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 71 66, Nick Dougherty 71 66, Lorenzo null Gagli (Ita) 71 66, Gregory Havret (Fra) 70 67
138 Mark Pilkington 74 64, Ulrich Van Den Berg (Rsa) 70 68, Gary Orr 69 69, Matthew Millar (Aus) 68 70, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 67 71
139 Renaud Guillard (Fra) 72 67, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 66 73, Nunzio Lombardi (Ita) 68 71, Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 67 72, Scott Barr (Aus) 70 69, Federico Colombo (Ita) 69 70, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 69 70, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 66 73, Thomas Levet (Fra) 69 70
140 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 71 69, Claudio Vigano (Ita) 75 65, Martin Wiegele (Aut) 71 69, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 67 73, Peter Baker 69 71, Gary Clark 71 69, Pedro Linhart (Spa) 70 70, Stephen Dodd 72 68, Ian Garbutt 73 67
141 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 70 71, Juan Abbate (Arg) 70 71, Zane Scotland (Gbr) 72 69
142 George Murray 69 73, Iain Pyman 74 68, Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 68 74, Kyron Sullivan 72 70, Peter Fowler (Aus) 72 70, Andrea Perrino (Ita) 70 72
143 Gary Lockerbie 71 72, Andrew McArthur 71 72, Leif Westerberg (Swe) 74 69, Florian Praegant (Aut) 70 73, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 75 68
144 Steve Alker (Nzl) 75 69, Liam Bond 72 72, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 74 70
145 Luis Claverie (Spa) 72 73, Robert Coles 71 74, Benoit Teilleria (Fra) 75 70, Scott Drummond 77 68, Andrea Zanini (Ita) 76 69
146 Raphael Eyraud (Fra) 73 73, Craig Lee 72 74, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 76 70, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 76 70, David Dixon 71 75
147 Alessandro Napoleoni (Ita) 73 74
148 Ariel Canete (Arg) 72 76
149 Tom Whitehouse 75 74, Nino Bertasio (Ita) 76 73
150 Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 77 73
151 Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 78 73
156 Costantino Rocca (Ita) 79 77
157 Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 81 76

Tartan Tour's WaterAird OOM 36-hole pro-am

Chris Doak (64) swoops to

conquer at Barassie

A brilliant final round of 64 enabled former Northern Open champion Chris Doak from Gourock to swoop to conquer in the Tartan Tour's WaterAid Order of Merit 36-hole pro-am at Kilmarnock Barassie Golf Club today.

Doak had opened the two-day event with a 69, which put him one off the pace being set by Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) and Cawder's Chris Kelly.

But Doak, picture right by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), showed them a clean pair of heels down the home straight to finish two shots ahead of the field on 11-under-par 133.

That earned him the top prize of £2,691.78.

McCreadie had a 67 for 135 to finish runner-up and collect £2,153.

David Orr (East Renfrewshire) came third on 137 with 69 and 68 for £1,615 and Euan Little (Co Tipperary) had his highest ever finish in a PGA Scottish Region event with a 69 and 72 for fourth place on 141, which earned him £1,209.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 144 (2 x 72)

133 Chris Doak (unatt) 69 64 (£2,691).

135 Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) 68 676 (£2,153).

137 David Orr (East Renfrewshire) 69 68 (£1,615).

141 Euan Little (Co Tipperary) 69 72 (£1,209).

142 Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie) 73 69, Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) 71 71, Chris Kelly (Cawder) 68 74 (£822 each).

143 Greig Hutcheon (Peterculter) 73 70, Callum Nicoll (Prestwick) 71 72, Dean Robertson (Mearns Castle) 71 72, Euan Cameron (Hamilton) 70 73, Mark King (Kingsfield) 69 74, James McKinnon (Irvine) 69 74 (£448 each).

144 Mark Barnard (Inchmarlo) 75 69, Stephen Gray (Hayston) 73 71, Samuel Cairns (Westerwood) 71 73 (£296 each).

146 Christoper Russell (RAW Golf Course Design) 75 71, Alan Lockhart (Ladybank) 73 73, Peter Mitchell (Hermitage) 73 73, Mark Loftus (Cowglen) 72 74 (£206 each).

147 Colin Gillies (Kingsfield) 74 73, Graham Fox (East Kilbride) 74 73, Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) 73 74, Derek Watters (Gourock) 72 75, Gordon Law (Uphall) 70 77 (£135 each).

148 Craig Everett (Caldwell) 74 74, Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs) 74 74, Stuart Pardoe (Nevada Bobs) 73 75, Stuart Morrison (Tain) 73 75 (£104 each).

149 Fraser Mann (Musselburgh) 78 71 (£90).
150 David McLure (Troon Municipal 80 70, Steven Duncan (Balbirnie Park) 78 72, Steven Taylor (Bothwell Castle) 75 75, Scott Catlin (Greenburn) 74 76, Stuart Robin (KImarnock Barassie) 73 77.

151 Garry Forrester (St Andrews Golf School) 75 76, Gary Dingwall (Royal Dornoch) 75 76, Stuart Kerr (Strathaven) 73 78.

152 Paul Wardell (Whitekirk) 78 74, Jamie Stevenson (Braehead) 77 75, Campbell Elliott (Haggs Castle) 77 75, Murray Urquhart (Inverness) 74 78.

153 Alan E Reid (West Lothian 78 75, Craig Ronald (Carluke) 77 76, Gareth Hardy (Dundonald Links) 77 76, Edward Thomson (Largs) 71 82.

157 Andrew Marshall (Houston GR) 81 76, David Fleming (Prestwick) 77 80, Gary McFarlane Clober ) 75 82.

161 Nick Reid (Deeside) 80 81.

HUME, ELLIOT SALTMAN IN

CONTENTION BUT LLOYD

SALTMAN MISSES CUT BY MILES
Former Scottish amateur champion Barry Hume from Renfrew put together his best professional round for some time to shoot up into contention after two rounds of the PGA EuroPro Tour event at The Shire Golf Club, London today.
At the other end of scoreboard, former Walker Cup man Lloyd Saltman missed the cut by six shots on 154 after a 76 that include four double bogeys.
Hume, pictured above, is on the three-under-par 141 mark after scores of 73 and 68, leaving him only one shot behind the three joint leaders, Jamie Harris, Adam Frayne and Dale Marmion.
Hume birdied the fifth, seventh and eighth to be out in three-under-par 33 and then continued his flawless progress with eight pars and a birdie at the 15th for 35 home.
“I played much the same as I did in the first round, really; I made some nice par putts and took advantage of my good shots,” said the 26 year-old Hume.
The fantastic weather at The Shire continued into the second day, but ball-control was tough with stronger winds than on Wednesday when a new course record of 65 was carded.
“The wind is a lot stronger today and that’s making the greens bouncier, but I played well and if I play the same way on Friday I’ll be there or thereabouts,” said Hume.
Elliot Saltman continued to show his younger brother Lloyd how to play the course. He repeated his opening 71 for two-under-par 142 and joint eighth position going into the final round. Saltman had an eagle 3 at the 475yd 13th and birdies at the second, sixth, 15th and 16th. In an up-and-down card, Elliot also bogeyed the first, fourth, 10th, 12th and 14th for halves of 36 and 35.
South Wales-based Scot Jack Doherty is in joint 13th place on 143 after scores of 143. He is two ahead of former Montrose player Graeme Brown who now has an attachment to Dalmahoy. Brown scored 76 and 69 for a share of 25th place).
Andrew Oldcorn (Kings Acre) had five birdies before a disastrous finish of double bogey, bogey for a 72 and 146, which put him in joint 32nd position.
Lorne Kelly from Cowal played alongside Hume but failed to capitalise on his opening round of 70. He added a 77, double bogeying the opening par-3 and recording seven further bogeys to drift back to joint 37th place on 147.
Kelly made the cut with one shot to spare.
Scots who didn't were headed by former Scottish boys champion Lee Harper (ARcherfield Links) and rookie pro Mark Kerr from Craigielaw.
Harper shot 74 and 78 for 152 while Kerr scored 79 and 73 for the same mark. Kerr had a mediocre outward half, almost entirely due to a triple bogey 6 at the short fourth. He came whistling home in 33 with four birdies but the damage had been done.
Saltman scored 78 and 76 for 154 to miss the cut by a mile. His four double bogeys in the second round came at the seventh, 12th, 15th and 18th. He did have an eagle 3 - at the 11th - and birdies at the sixth and eighth.
Murcar Links' Neil Mitchell was even worse than Saltman with scores of 75 and 81 for 12-over-par 156. Mitchell had eight bogeys in his first 15 holes in the second round and after a birdie at the long 16th he double-boged the 18th in halves of 41 and 40.
LEADERBOARD

Par 144 (2 x 72)
140 J Harris (Eng) 68 72, A Frayne (Eng) 68 72, D Marmion (Eng) 69 71.
141 B McElhinney (Ire) 72 69, B Hume (Sco) 73 68, P Beever (Eng) 65 76, S Doherty (Eng) 71 70.
142 A Wainwright (Eng) 70 72, D Brooks (Eng) 72 70, L Kennedy (Eng) 68 74, E Saltman (Sco) 71 71, C Roope (Eng) 69 73.
Other scores:
143 J Doherty (Sco) 72 71 (jt 13th).
145 G Brown (Sco) 76 69 (jt 25th).
146 A Oldcorn (Sco) 74 72 (jt 32nd).
147 L Kelly (Sco) 70 77 (jt 37th).
MISSED THE CUT (148 and better)
152 L Harper (Sco) 74 78, M Kerr (Sco) 79 73.
154 L Saltman (Sco) 78 76.
156 N Mitchell (Sco) 75 81.
Retired: C McCalman 79 -.

US PGA Tour Scoreboard

Garcia leads with 66

in Players'

Championship

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE

Sergio Garcia, the man who might have won the Open at Carnoustie last summer, found his long lost putting touch to take the lead after the first round at the Players Championship.
Spaniard Garcia, pictured right, has been extremely quiet since his play-off loss to Padraig Harrington at last year's Open, but you can't keep a good man down forever.
Taking advantage of idyllic morning conditions at the Sawgrass TPC, a course he says reminds him of Valderrama in his homeland, he gathered seven birdies in a six-under-par 66, heading Americans Kenny Perry and Paul Goydos by two strokes.

It was a day of two halves, with the morning starters enjoying great scoring conditions, while the afternoon half of the field had to cope with a stiff breeze.
Ian Poulter, who played early, was best of the British contingent on 69, while Lee Westwood shot a respectable 73 in the afternoon. But it was a disappointing day for the others, with Luke Donald on 75, Paul Casey 77, Brian Davis 77, Richard Johnson 77 and Justin Rose 78.

Irishman Padraig Harrington carded a 72.

Poulter, out in the first threesome of the day off the 10th tee, took good advantage of idyllic morning conditions. He made two straight bogeys soon after the turn, but could hardly complain about a score that gave him a share of the early clubhouse lead with Australian Steve Elkington and American Heath Slocum.
"I made a couple of bogeys, which was frustrating, but you're going to make a couple of mistakes around this course and the mistakes I made were just single bogeys, which is nice since I have been making double bogeys of late," said the 32-year-old from Buckinghamshire.
"I have been making an awful lot of bogeys lately. Last week I made 17 birdies and one eagle and shot two under par, which is insane."
World No 2 Phil Mickelson had a 70.

ALL THE FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72

66 Sergio Garcia (Spa).
68 Kenny Perry, Paul Goydos
69 Niclas Fasth (Swe), Ian Poulter (Eng), Todd Hamilton, Heath Slocum, Steve Elkington (Aus)
70 John Merrick, Angel Cabrera (Arg), Fred Couples, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Phil Mickelson, Anthony Kim, Ben Crane, Kevin Stadler, Brett Quigley, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Boo Weekley, Troy Matteson, D.J. Trahan, Nicholas Thompson
71 Chris DiMarco, Soren Hansen (Den), Jeff Quinney, Woody Austin, Stewart Cink, Tommy Armour III, Aaron Baddeley (Aus), J J Henry, Mike Weir (Can), Brett Wetterich, Scott Verplank, Briny Baird.
72 Brian Gay, Billy Mayfair, Daniel Chopra (Swe), Ernie Els (Rsa), Jose Coceres (Arg), Ken Duke, Stuart Appleby (Aus), Jesper Parnevik (Swe), Bernhard Langer (Ger), Rodney Pampling (Aus), Pat Perez, Alex Cejka (Ger), Kevin Na (Kor), Jeff Maggert, J.B. Holmes, Rich Beem, Brandt Snedeker, Johnson Wagner, Ryan Moore, Padraig Harrington (Irl)
73 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa), Tim Herron, Bart Bryant, Davis Love III, Tom Lehman, Kevin Sutherland, Nick O'Hern (Aus), Dustin Johnson, Chad Campbell, Michael Allen, Tim Petrovic, Retief Goosen (Rsa), Ryuji Imada (Jpn), Lee Westwood (Eng), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
74 Jeff Overton, Ben Curtis, Mathias Gronberg (Swe), Dean Wilson, Bo Van Pelt, Stephen Ames (Can), Jason Bohn, Jerry Kelly, Michael Campbell (Nzl), Joe Ogilvie, Steve Flesch, Cliff Kresge, Fred Funk, Brian Bateman, Charlie Wi (Kor), Mathew Goggin (Aus), Robert Allenby (Aus), Jim Furyk, Camilo Villegas (Col), Carl Pettersson (Swe), Rocco Mediate
75 Dudley Hart, Adam Scott (Aus), Greg Kraft, Tom Pernice Jnr, John Mallinger, Matthew Jones (Aus), Vijay Singh (Fij), Justin Leonard, Sean O'Hair, Luke Donald (Eng)
76 Nick Watney, Charley Hoffman, Zach Johnson, John Senden (Aus), Bubba Watson, Mark Wilson, Mark Calcavecchia, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), Bill Haas, Jonathan Byrd
77 Andres Romero (Arg), David Toms, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Stephen Leaney (Aus), Tim Wilkinson (Nzl), Steve Marino, Bob Estes, Shaun Micheel, Richard Johnson (Wal), Brian Davis (Eng), Steve Stricker, Charles Warren, Steve Lowery, Peter Lonard (Aus), Paul Casey (Eng), George McNeill, Tim Clark (Rsa), Richard Sterne (Rsa)
78 John Rollins, Nathan Green (Aus), Justin Rose (Eng), Vaughn Taylor, Mark Hensby (Aus), Matt Kuchar
79 Robert Garrigus, KJ Choi (Kor), Charles Howell III
80 Lucas Glover
81 Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn)
83 J.P. Hayes

Marc Warren (65) one off
the pace in Italian Open
John Daly bounced back from last week's missed cut in Spain and began the Italian Open in Milan today with a five-under-par-67.
The former US and British Open champion, now a lowly 609th in the world, shared the lead for a while, but finished the opening day in a tie for 14th place.
He said: "I moved the ball up in my stance and that was a good day."
Only once has he scored lower all year.
The 42-year-old underwent stomach surgery a month ago and added: "This is the healthiest I've been in more than a year - it was brutal with the pain and it's nice to have my swing back."
Marco Ruiz from Paraguay and England's Ross McGowan topped a day of generally low scoring by hitting the eight-under-par 64 mark.
Marc Warren from East Kilbride was one of three players only one behind on 65.
George Murray and Gary Orr came next on the Scottish hit parade with a pair of 69s.
Richie Ramsay, one of several European Challenge Tours who were able to get into this European Tour field because of the absence of the big guns, shot one-over-par 73.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
64 Marco Ruiz (Par), Ross McGowan
65 Hennie Otto (Rsa), Marc Warren, Mark Foster
66 Steve Webster, Estanislao Goya (Arg), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Oliver Wilson, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe), Alexander Noren (Swe), Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Gregory Bourdy (Fra)
67 Christian Nilsson (Swe), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), John Daly (USA), Gareth Paddison (Nzl), Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Edoardo Molinari (Ita).
68 Richard Bland, Henrik Nystrom (Swe), Mattias Eliasson (Swe), Anders Hansen (Den), Matthew Millar (Aus), Doug McGuigan, Ben Mason, Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Nunzio Lombardi (Ita), David Lynn, Robert Karlsson (Swe), Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Emanuele Canonica (Ita).
69 George Murray, Gary Orr, Jan Are Larsen (Nor), Peter Baker, Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg), Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Paul Broadhurst, Alexandre Rocha (Bra), Federico Colombo (Ita), Michael Jonzon (Swe), James Kamte (Rsa), Miles Tunnicliff, Sam Little, Thomas Levet (Fra), Bradley Dredge.
70 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Alvaro Velasco (Spa), Sion Bebb, David Park, Anthony Wall, Pedro Linhart (Spa), Scott Barr (Aus), Sven Struver (Ger), Christiano Terragni (Ita), Gregory Havret (Fra), Juan Abbate (Arg), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Ulrich Van Den Berg (Rsa), Shiv Kapur (Ind), Paul Waring, Marcel Siem (Ger), Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Julio Zapata (Arg), Andrew McLardy (Rsa), Lee S James, Phillip Archer, Florian Praegant (Aut), Andrea Perrino (Ita)
71 Robert Coles, David Frost (Rsa), Lee Slattery, Robert Rock, Andrew McArthur, Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Alfredo Garcia (Spa), Santiago Luna (Spa), Alessio Bruschi (Ita), Joakim Backstrom (Swe), Christian Cevaer (Fra), Martin Wiegele (Aut), Garry Houston, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Nick Dougherty, Gary Lockerbie, Gary Clark, David Dixon, Lorenzo null Gagli (Ita), Thomas Aiken (Rsa)
72 Patrik Sjoland (Swe), Liam Bond, Luis Claverie (Spa), Rafael Echenique (Arg), Steven O'Hara, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), Gregory Molteni (Ita), Stephen Dodd, Antti Ahokas (Fin), Peter Fowler (Aus), Craig Lee, Zane Scotland, Renaud Guillard (Fra), Kyron Sullivan, Marco Soffietti (Ita), Stephen Gallacher, Ariel Canete (Arg), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe)
73 Raphael Eyraud (Fra), Richie Ramsay, Matthew Cort, Giorgio Grillo (Ita), David Drysdale, Sam Walker, Alessandro Napoleoni (Ita), Michele Reale (Ita), Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa), Philip Golding, Ian Garbutt
74 Marco Crespi (Ita), Leif Westerberg (Swe), David Griffiths, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Jim Payne, Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Iain Pyman, Mark Pilkington, Alastair Forsyth.
75 Claudio Vigano (Ita), Miguel Rodriguez (Arg), Steve Alker (Nzl), Anton Haig (Rsa), Paolo Terreni (Ita), Tiago Cruz (Por), Tom Whitehouse, Benoit Teilleria (Fra), Klas Eriksson (Swe)
76 Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Nicola Maestroni (Ita), Markus Brier (Aut), Andrea Zanini (Ita), Nino Bertasio (Ita)
77 Peter Gustafsson (Swe), Scott Drummond.
78 Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Stuart Manley
79 Costantino Rocca (Ita)
81 Terry Pilkadaris (Aus)
Retired: Phillip Price, Alan McLean.

Immelman pulls out of Players' Championship

US Masters winner Trevor Immelman withdrew this morning from Players Championship because of an illness, leaving the US PGA Tour's flagship event without the last two major champions.
Officials did not have details on Immelman's illness, saying only he had already returned to Orlando.
Since winning the Masters by three shots over Tiger Woods, Immelman has had a tough time. He has failed to break par in his last two tournaments, missing the cut at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship and the Wachovia Championship.
Woods withdrew earlier because he is recovering from knee surgery.
Immelman was replaced by Dustin Johnson, a 23-year-old rookie.

ZACK SALTMAN HEADS QUALIFIERS
FOR NICK FALDO SCOTTISH FINAL

Craigielaw's Zack Saltman headed the 24 qualifiers for the Nick Faldo Junior Series' Scottish Final at The Roxburghe Golf Club on Friday, August 22.
Saltman, picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), had a 73 over Carnoustie and a 75 over The Carrick at Cameron House for a total of 148 to win the Under-21 boys' section by three shots. His total was also the lowest in any of the categories.
The winners of the age groups will go on to the Grand Final in the autumn at an English final yet to be announced.
The Scottish qualifying rounds were held at Carnoustie in April and The Carrick at Cameron House on Wednesday, this week.
Qualifiers and other scores:
UNDER-21 BOYS
148 Zack Saltman (Craigielaw) 73 75.
151 Jamie Mackay (Kilmarnock Barassie) 76 75.
154 Cameron Gray (West Kilbride) 79 75, Andrew Wallace (Glenbervie) 78 76.
Non-qualifiers
161 Gordon Stevenson (The Golf House) 79 82.
166 Finlay White (Crieff) 82 84.
171 Philip Neil (Craigielaw) 78 93.
172 Robbie King (Cardross) 91 81.
176 Tane Harmer (Scalm Park) 90 86.
UNDER-18 BOYS
149 Fraser McKenna (Balmore) 70 79.
153 Thomas Sharkey (Helkensburgh) 75 78, Jack Bradley (Paisley) 74 79.
155 Colin Thomson (East Renfrewshire) 80 75.
Non-qualifiers
155 Kyle McClung (Wigtownshire) 76 79.
156 Sam McLaren (King James VI) 82 74.
158 Alistair Lauder (Paisley) 80 78.
159 Sam Binning (Ranfurly Castle) 79 80, Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 76 83, Daniel Fitzpatrick (Greenock) 73 86.
160 Darryn Grant (Renfrew) 81 79, Alasdair Forsythe (Caldwell) 80 80.
161 Tom Spencer (Inchmarlo) 85 76, James Ross (Royal Burgess) 80 81, Andrew Abercrombie (Douglas Park) 79 82, Ian Allan (Hopeman) 77 84.
UNDER-17 BOYS
151 Kyle Godsman (Hopeman) 76 75.
152 Chris Robb (Inchmarlo) 77 75.
155 Matthew Reid (Downfield) 77 78.
159 Stuart Boyle (Harburn) 82 77.
Non-qualifiers
161 Gary Anderson (Flaxby Park) 79 82.
162 Richard Pickard (Loretto School) 80 82.
164 Fraser Clarke (West Hill) 84 80.
169 Jordan Mooney (Burntisland) 82 87.
UNDER-16 BOYS
156 Alan Tulleth (St Andrews) 80 76.
160 Conor O'Neil (Pollok) 81 79.
163 John Henry (Clydebank & District) 87 76, Jack Thorburn (Forrester Park) 85 78.
Non-qualifiers
166 Andrew Pillans (Kirkcaldy) 87 79, Philip Gordon (Paisley) 84 82, Jamie Lynch (Falkirk) 83 83.
167 Scott Gibson (Southerness) 83 84.
171 Ian Redford (King James VI) 84 87.
172 David Gallagher (Glasgow) 88 84.
177 Patrick O'Neil (Pollok 92 85.
UNDER-15 BOYS
161 Callum Stewart (Brora) 81 80.
164 Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) 85 79, Louis Gaughan (Bathgate) 79 85.
166 Liam Johnston (Dumfries & Co). 82 84.
Non-qualifiers
171 Shaun Connor (Ralston) 92 79, Ewan Scott (St Andrews) 91 80.
173 Graham Young (Williamwood) 87 86.
GIRLS
162 Gillian Monteith (Dunskey) 85 77.
167 Lesley Atkins (Minto) 83 84.
170 Mhairi Johnstone (Northern) 91 79.
183 Jordana Graham (Southerness) 93 90.

Note: There were only four girl competitors.

HUTCHEON THE FAVOURITE AS

SCOTTISH SENIORS' STROKE

PLAY HEADS NORTH

TO ELGIN GOLF CLUB

Monifieth ace Ian Hutcheon will be hoping to retain his title when the Scottish Seniors Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship gets underway (May 20 to 22) later this month, hosted at Elgin Golf Club.
Hutcheon, picture right by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), winner of the inaugural Seniors Order of Merit last year, is among a strong line-up contesting this year’s 54-hole tournament, the first counting event in the SGU Seniors Order of Merit for 2008.
The former Walker Cup player and winner of last year’s North of Scotland Seniors and the East of Scotland equivalent has won the national seniors title three times – at Glasgow Gailes in 2003, Alyth in 2004 and last year at Drumpellier, winning the tournament with a comfortable 4 shot cushion.
The plus two handicapper will line up with former champion Stephen Ellis, whose victory at Ranfurly Castle in 2006 marked the biggest win of his career. Title winner Gordon MacDonald (2005) and David Lane (2001/2002) will also be vying for the silverware.
The evergreen and most capped Scottish golfer Charlie Green, the only player to have held the stroke-play title over more than two consecutive years (from 1995-98) is a notable absentee from the line-up, which has been boosted by overseas entries from the US, United Arab Emirates, Sweden as well as competitors from Ireland and England.
SGU Events Manager Euan Mordaunt, organiser of the event at Scotland’s northern inland gem, said, “The Scottish Seniors Championship always attracts a good field, including many travelling from overseas to play in this prestigious event. There is a strong contingent of high calibre senior players in Scotland, which always provides stiff competition, with many players keen to add this title to their enviable CVs."
The event is played over three days - May 20-21-22 - and the 137 competitors in the field will play one round on each of the first two days over the 6,449 yard par 69 course, with only the top 40 players plus ties contesting the last 18 holes in Thursday’s final.

New format, amateur

maximum prize for

Douglas Philip Trophy

one-rounder at Deeside
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
A new format for the Douglas Philip Trophy tournament - first played at Hazlehead in 1957 - will offer the maximum amateur prize of a £500 voucher to the winner.
The tournament, switching from its traditional match-play ties, to an 18-hole stroke-play event, will be played at Deeside Golf Club on Sunday, July 27.
The original concept, devised by by the late Douglas McD Philip, an Aberdeen Football Club director, featured the champions and beaten finalists of the Aberdeen golf clubs of the time, Bon Accord, Caledonian, Northern, Royal Aberdeen, Deeside, Hazlehead, Murcar and Nigg Bay.
In the late 1950s through to the late 1980s and even into the 1990s, the Douglas Philip Trophy was one of the highlights of the Aberdeen domestic golfing season and the tournament, played over four successive evenings used to draw big galleries to Hazlehead.
But its popularity with the North-east public and the players themselves has waned steadily over the past decade or so. In an effort to give the tournament a much-need lift it was switched from from its "permanent" home at Hazlehead to Deeside Golf Club but even that did not have the required effect.
Not all the players were turning up for their ties, some not evening notifying the organisers of their unavailability.
Now, in 2008, comes a move designed to breathe new life into a dying competition. The Douglas Philip Trophy field is being widened to bring in representatives of ALL 56 member clubs of the North-east District of the Scottish Golf Union.
Each club will be invited to enter its champion from the previous year, failing that the beaten finalist or runner-up. There will be an entry fee of £20.
The field will be limited to 36 players in its first year on a first come, first served basis. A waiting list will apply once that figure has been reached.
The two men who are the "guardians" of the Douglas Philip Trophy are brothers in law Alastair Hutcheson, proprietor of the Cults Hotel and nephew of Douglas Philip, and Frank Coutts, professional at Deeside Golf Club.
"We need to do something to revive the Douglas Philip Trophy tournament. A few years back we moved it from its traditional home at Hazlehead to Deeside and made some other changes but we feel it is time for another overhaul," said Alastair, pictured above sitting in front of Frank.
"Apart from the £500 voucher first prize, we plan other novelties to make it an attractive tournament for the leading club players in the North-east," said Frank.
"For instance, any player, whether he wins or not, who has an eagle during his round will get his entry fee returned. If he gets two eagles, he will get another £20 on top of that. The player who has the most birdies on the day will be handsomely rewarded.
"That cannot be the trophy winner because under the R&A rules of amateur status he cannot win more than a voucher to the value of £500."
Some of the previous winners of the Douglas Philip Trophy include Sandy Pirie (1961-65-67-69-70-72-82), Jack Booth (1963), Harry Bannerman (1964), Ronnie Grant (1977-78-86) and Donald Jamieson (1996).
The 56 member clubs of the North-east District of the SGU, from whom the field for the new-look Douglas Philip Trophy, will be drawn are:

Aberdeen Petroleum Club, Aboyne, Alford, Auchenblae, Auchmill.
Ballater, Ballindalloch Castle, Balmoral, Banchory, Bon Accord, Braemar, Buckpool.
Caledonian, Craibstone, Cruden Bay, Cullen.
Deeside, Duff House Royal, Dufftown, Dunecht House.
East Aberdeenshire.
Fraserburgh, Fyvie.
Hazlehead, Huntly.
Inchmarlo, Insch, Inverallochy, Inverurie.
Keith, Kemnay, Kintore.
Longside, Lumphanan.
McDonald Ellon, Meldrum House, Murcar Links.
Newburgh on Ythan, Newmachar, Nigg Bay, Northern.
Oldmeldrum.
Pecten, Peterculter, Peterhead, Portlethen
Rosehearty, Royal Aberdeen, Royal Tarlair.
Spey Bay, Stonehaven, Strathlene.
Tarland,Torphins, Turriff.
Westhill.

McAlpine, Macaulay backmarkers at Royal Dublin

Nineteen Scots in quality

field for Irish open

amateur stroke-play

FROM THE IRISH GOLF UNION WEBSITE:
The AIB sponsored Irish amateur open stroke-play championship at Royal Dublin Golf Club on Friday, Saturday and Sunday has attracted a record 91 overseas players from 17 countries – Australia (1), Belgium (2), Czech Rep (1), Denmark (2), England (14), Finland (4), France (35), Germany (1), Holland (1), Norway (2), Portugal (1), Scotland (19), Slovenia (1), South Africa (1), Sweden (1), Turkey (2) and Wales (3).
The cut-off for the field of 120 fell at +1.5 with seven players on +1.5, decided by ballot, being included. In fact such is the quality of the entry that there are 33 +1 handicappers on the waiting list.
Lloyd Saltman, having turned professional following the Walker Cup in 2007, is unable to defend his title but his brother Zack is one of a very strong Scottish entry which also includes the lowest handicappers in the field Kevin McAlpine (+4.9), picture above by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), and Callum Macaulay (+4.8).
The other Scottish entries accepted are:
Robert Carson, Scott Henry, Brian Soutar, Keir McNicoll, Wallace Booth, John Gallagher, Michael Stewart, Ross Kellett, Jordan Findlay, Neil Henderson, Paul O'Hara, Gordon Yates, Philip McLean, Shaun McAllister, Zack Saltman, Robert McKnight and Gavin Dear.

A feature of this year’s event is the large entry from France following the decision of the French Golf Federation to nominate the Irish Amateur Open as an event to be targeted by their elite amateur golfers.
A total of 48 entries were received from the French Federation with 35 gaining entry to the field.
Included among the 29 Irish players in the field are six who qualify under a condition of the event which provides that any Irish entrant under the age of 21 on 1st January who having entered, and reached the match play stages of the West of Ireland Championship, gains a place in the field.
They are: Kelan McDonagh (Athlone), Steven Webster (Castle), James Monaghan (The Island), Michael Durcan (Co Sligo), Paul Cutler (Portstewart) and Brendan Walton (The Island).
Billy Andrews, General Manager AIB said: “We are delighted to be associated with the Irish Amateur Open - a championship that is now ranked amongst the leading Amateur Championships in the world. We are looking forward to what will certainly be an exciting and fantastic event on one of Ireland’s finest links at Royal Dublin”.
The Irish Amateur Open Championship was first played in 1892 and was held every year, with the exception of the War Years, up to 1959. Former champions in that era included Joe Carr (three times), Jimmy Bruen, Tom Craddock, Cecil Ewing, John Burke and Norman Drew.
The event was revived in 1995 when Padraig Harrington triumphed at Fota Island. Keith Nolan was the winner at the same venue in 1996 and ’97.
The event moved to Royal Dublin in 1998 where Michael Hoey was victorious. Gary Cullen won in 1999, Noel Fox in 2000 and 2003, Richard McEvoy (England) in 2001 and Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) in 2002.
The event was held at Carton House in 2004 and 2005 with Craig Smith (Wales) and Richie Ramsay (Scotland) the respective winners, while in 2006 Finland’s Annti Ahokas triumphed at Portmarnock before Lloyd Saltman’s victory when the Championship returned to Royal Dublin last year after a period of three years during which time major changes were carried out on the links by the highly respected course architect, Martin Hawtree.
You can see the draw by logging on to

http://www.gui.ie/download.asp?doc=iaodraw08.pdf

SCOTT BORROWMAN PLAYS

FOR EUROPE IN PALMER CUP

MATCH AT GLASGOW GAILES

Scottish youths champion Scott Borrowman (Stirling University), picture right by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), from Dollar is the only British-based player named in the Europe team to play the United States in the Palmer Cup students international match at Glasgow Gailes Golf Club on June 26 and 27.
All the rest are at college in the United States.
There are two Ulstermen in the team - Walker Cup player Johnnie Caldwell (South Alabama University) from Belfast and East Tennessee State University's Gareth Shaw from Lisburn.
Charlie Ford (Tennessee University) from Leicester is the only Englishman in the squad of eight.
The Americans lead the series 6-4 with one draw but have lost the last two contests in Europe.
Jonas Blixt, Jorge Campillo and Gareth Shaw played in last year's match at The Caves in the United States.
Europe team for Glasgow Gailes is:

Jonas Blixt (Florida State University & Sweden).
Scott Borrowman (Stirling University & Scotland).
Johnnie Caldwell (South Alabama University & Northern Ireland).
Jorge Campillo (Indiana University & Spain).
Jonas Enander Hedlin (Chartlotte University & Sweden).
Charlie Ford (Tennessee University & England).
Gareth Shaw (East Tennessee State University & Northern Ireland).
Tim Sluiter (Southern California University & the Netherlands).

Coach:
Marten Orlander (Sweden).

The United States team, named earlier, is;
Kevin Chappell (UCLA).
Derek Fathauer (Louisville).
Rickie Fowler (Oklahoma State).
Aaron Goldbert (San Diego State).
Chessson Hadley (Georgia Tech).
Billy Horschel (Florida).
Adam Mitchell (Georgia).
Michael Thompson (Alabama).

ST ANDREWS LINKS TROPHY ATTRACTS
TOP-CLASS ENTRY FOR JUNE 6 to 8

The St Andrews Links Trophy, which this year will be played over the Old Course and the Jubilee Course, has attracted one of the strongest fields in its 20-year history.
A total of 144 players with handicaps ranging from +6 to +2.3 will compete over two of the world’s best known links courses from Friday to Sunday, June 6 to 8 in an attempt to add their names to the list of distinguished winners of this prestigious stroke play competition.
In addition to world amateur No 1, Daniel Willet, and a large number of his English countrymen, almost half of the field will come from overseas. France has the largest number of foreign players with 13 but they are closely followed by the Netherlands with nine, South Africa with eight and seven from the United States.
To date, the only overseas winner has been Stuart Bouvier who was successful 12 months after Russell Claydon won the inaugural event in 1989.
One of the most interesting aspects of this year’s event will be determining whether an overseas player can end the 20-year dominance of the home nations.
The 144 players play one round on the Jubilee Course on June 6, one on the Old Course on the Saturday and the top 40 and ties play a further 36 holes over the Old Course on the Sunday.

SCOT HAMISH RITCHIE IS
NOMINATION FOR R&A
CAPTAIN FOR 2008-2009

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R&A
The Past Captains, having conferred together, are pleased to announce that they have nominated Hamish M J Ritchie as Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews for the year 2008-2009. He will assume the office of Captain at the traditional ‘Driving In’ ceremony, which will take place on the first tee of the Old Course on Thursday 18 September.
Hamish Ritchie joined The R&A in 1974 and served as a member of the General Committee from 1994-1998.
Born in Milngavie, near Glasgow, he was educated at Loretto, East Lothian and Christ Church, Oxford. He was an Oxford Blue, and held the captaincy of Oxford University Golf Club from 1964-1965. A member of the Oxford & Cambridge Golfing Society, he was Captain from 1994-1996. He became Captain of his home club, Denham Golf Club, in 1993 and was Chairman there from 2000-2004.
An insurance broker, Hamish Ritchie began his career with Hogg Robinson where he worked for sixteen years. He moved to Marsh Limited in 1981 and became Chairman of Marsh & McLennan Companies (UK) in 2000, a role he undertook until 2004.
Now retired and living in Buckinghamshire, Hamish is married to Carol. They have two adult children. He is a member of Rye Golf Club, Chechessee Creek Club and the Duke’s Golf Club and plays to a handicap of 11. He is also a member of the MCC.

US honour for Peter Latimer

Peter Latimer from Fife, a second-year student at Guilford College in the United States, has been named in the 2007-08 All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference golf team for the second year in a row.