GORDON YATES BUT NO RICHIE

RAMSAY IN EUROPEAN TEAM

FOR PALMER CUP

FROM COLIN FARQUHARSON

Stirling University student Gordon Yates (pictured right) is the only Scot named in the European team to defend the Palmer Cup in the transatlantic students’ amateur international golf match against the United States at Caves Valley Golf Club, Maryland on June 7 and 8.
United States amateur champion Richie Ramsay (Royal Aberdeen & Stirling University) informed the Golf Coaches Association of America – who choose both teams – that he would not be available for selection.
The St Andrews Trophy 72-hole tournament starts on Friday, June 8. In the absence of confirmation from Ramsay, it is likely that he is opting to play at St Andrews rather than in America where he has recently spent several weeks around his participation in the Masters.
A spokeswoman for the St Andrews Links Trust said that no entry had been received from Richie Ramsay but the deadline was not until May 4.
Ramsay played in last year’s Palmer Cup match at Prestwick where the European students won 19 ½-4 1/2, the biggest winning margin by either side in the history of the series in which United States lead 5-4 with one drawn.
Dustin Roberts, director of communications for the Golf Coaches Association of America said today:
“Richie did inform us that he would be unable to participate in this year’s Palmer Cup. We contact potential players for the Palmer Cup well in advance of team selection, so it wasn’t an issue of an invitation being declined. We were aware of his unavailabity very early in the selection process and were able to adjust any plans accordingly.”
Apart from Gordon Yates, the only other British players in the European team of eight for the match are two East Tennessee State University students, Gareth Shaw from Lisburn, Northern Ireland and Edinburgh-born Walker Cup player Rhys Davies who was brought up in South Wales and is coming up to the end of his four-year scholarship in the States.
Davies, who will equal the Palmer Cup individual record of four appearances in June, has won 10 tournaments on the American college circuit and is No 4 in the R&A World Amateur Rankings..
Rhys played in the Palmer Cup match at Prestwick last year and so did Oscar Floren (Texas Tech & Sweden), Jorge Campillo (Indiana & Spain) and Mark Haastrup (Georgia State & Denmark) who retain their places in the 2007 line-up..
The European squad will be coached by Chris Van der Velde from the Netherlands.
The Americans will start favourites to regain the Palmer Cup this year. They have announced a team which contains five players from the top 17 of the R&A World Amateur Rankings.
The teams are:
EUROPE – Jonas Blixt (Florida State & Sweden), Jorge Campillo (Indiana & Spain), Rhys Davies (East Tennessee State & Wales), Oscar Floren (Texas Tech & Sweden), Mark Haastrup (Georgia State & Denmark), Pedrio Oriol (Arizona & Spain),Gareth Shaw (East Tennessee State & Northern Ireland), Gordon Yates (Stirling & Scotland).
UNITED STATES – Billy Horschel (Florida), Chris Kirk (Georgia), Jamie Lovemark (USC), Webb Simpson (Wake Forest), Jonathan Moore (Oklahoma State), Dustin Johnson (Coastal Carolina), Brian Harman (Georgia), Luke List (Vanderbilt).