Keir McNicoll first Scot to be

+6 player at end of a season

The Scottish Golf Union has confirmed that Carnoustie's Keir McNicoll is the first player in the national handicap audit to be a +6 player at the end of the year.
"We had have +5 players in the audit before and they may have reached +6 during the season. However, Keir is the first player to reach +6 at the year end when we ask for the handicap audit information," said former Scottish women's amateur champion Fiona Hastie, Golf Administrator on the SGU staff.
McNicoll won the St Andrews Links Trophy and the Leven Gold Medal in what was a busy and successful season. The national handicap audit shows he played 93 competitive stroke-play rounds in 2008 and that does not include match-play ties.
He returned 30 scores under 70, the lowest of which were 61 and 62 at Carnoustie Burnside. He had a 66 over the Carnoustie championship course.
McNicoll flies out with the SGU Elite Squad to Portugal on Saturday for warm weather practice.
Later he will fly out to Florida for a winter check-up from his swing coach Bill Davis at Jupiter Hills, Florida. McNicoll played the US college circuit as a student at Lynn University, Boca Raton, Florida - where his sister Katy is still a student.
Keir, who is 24, has been a member of the past two GB&I preliminary Walker Cup squads without making the final team. Perhaps it will be third time lucky in 2009 when the match against the United States is at Merion Golf Club, Ardmore in Pennsylvania.
Before that McNicoll will be competing in America at the Jones Cup Invitational, contested by Walker Cup-class amateurs and held annually over the Ocean Forest Golf Club course at Sea Island, Georgia. Next year's dates are February 6 to 8.

England send Haines and Goddard
to two Argentine tournaments

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION
Matt Haines and Luke Goddard will attempt to regain the trophy and maintain England’s fine record in the event when they represent the EGU in the Juan Carlos Tailhade Cup at the Los Lagartos Country Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 27th - 30th November.
The pair will also compete in the Argentine Amateur Championship at the Jack Nicklaus designed Golf Club Nordelta from December 2 to 7.
Haines, 18, from Kent is a former boy cap who made his full England debut in the victory over France at Frilford Heath in May. The former McEvoy and Carris Trophy winner extended his winning run in 2008 by collecting the Lytham Trophy. This year, he also represented England in the European Men’s Team Championship and the Home Internationals and GB&I in the St Andrews Trophy.
Goddard, 20, from Middlesex, gained a first full England cap in September’s Home Internationals and was in the England team at the World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy in Australia last month.
The former boy international, who preceded Haines as McEvoy Trophy winner, has had a string of top-ten finishes this season including victory in the South of England Stroke Play Championship, runner-up in the Lagonda Trophy and a quarter finalist in the English Amateur. He also finished third in the PING/EGU Order of Merit.
England have a fine record in the Tailhade Cup, a 72-hole stroke-play event where the aggregate score of both players’ scores count. England triumphs came in 2000 with Nick Dougherty and Gary Wolstenholme, in 2001 by Zane Scotland and David Skinns, in 2003 with Gary Lockerbie and Michael Skelton, while Seve Benson and Ed Richardson triumphed in 2006.
A year ago, Sam Hutsby and Chris Wood finished runners-up.
The Argentine Amateur Championship has a 36-hole stroke play qualifying competition with the leading 64 players going forward to the match-play stages, culminating in a 36-hole final.

Woosnam seals his place in golfing history

By PAUL SYMES, European Tour Press Officer
In winning his maiden European Senior Tour Order of Merit, Ian Woosnam wrote another chapter of history in an already remarkable career by becoming the first former European Tour Order of Merit winner to be crowned the Senior Tour Number One.
The John Jacobs Trophy, given to the player who tops the Senior Tour money list, now sits proudly alongside the Welshman’s two Harry Vardon Trophy victories of 1987 and 1990, his 1991 Masters Tournament win, his 2006 Ryder Cup winning Captaincy and OBE.
It is an accomplishment which Woosnam ranks up there with all of the rest of his feats, having battled health problems including ME to return to competitive golf in style this year.
He said: “It’s another one for the record books. It’s always special to do something for the very first time. I don’t think I will be the only one to do it, as there will be guys who have won the European Tour Order of Merit who will join the Senior Tour and hopefully win the Order of Merit here as well.
“But it’s special to be the first – it’s nice to do it. This ranks alongside the rest of my achievements in my career. It will go on the mantelpiece with the rest of them.
“John Jacobs has always been a great supporter of golf, so it’s extra special to win the John Jacobs Trophy. Particularly in my younger days I had a few lessons off him, and thank heaven he didn’t mess about with my swing too much!”
Woosnam undoubtedly enjoyed a fine rookie Senior Tour season, winning both the Parkridge Polish Seniors Championship and the Russian Seniors Open, as well as finishing runner up on three occasions, including finishing second to Bernhard Langer at the Casa Serena Open in the Czech Republic to continue his affinity with the old Eastern Bloc countries.
Those performances helped the Welshman succeed Carl Mason as the Number One Senior Tour player with earnings of €320,119, finishing €62,376 ahead of Englishman Gordon J Brand in the Order of Merit.
Certainly his maiden Senior Tour title in Poland in May was something which Woosnam will always cherish, with his final round course record 63 at Krakow Valley Golf and Country Club ending an 11 year run without a strokeplay victory.
“To win the first title was a bit like getting a monkey off my back as although I won the World Matchplay in 2001, I’d not won a strokeplay title since the PGA Championship in 1997,” said the former World Number One.
“What a wonderful tournament it was in Poland that week. To win my first tournament, as a senior and it be sponsored by my own sponsor Parkridge, in Poland where they do so much business – you really couldn’t ask for more than that.
“Russia was really hard work, but I play well on certain style golf courses and that was one of them. Then Casa Serena was another modern golf course which suited my style of play. When I feel comfortable and my confidence is high it doesn’t matter where I’m playing, because I feel I can do well.
“Last year I hadn’t played for pretty much eight months, and then I went to America after the first Senior Tour event in Barbados and played there. It took me quite a while to get back into the swing of things again.

"As I got through the year and started swinging better, and felt more comfortable on the European golf courses, I started scoring better. Then once I got the first win I felt more confident, and after that I just felt I could win every tournament.
“I always thought I could do well this year – it just depended on my health. I would still say I’m nowhere near 100 per cent – I’m probably around 75 per cent. I still don’t feel well in the mornings and I get really tired. To be away for two weeks in a row is draining, so it’s great on the Senior Tour just being away for five days at a time. It really suits me as I get home every weekend. Being away in America really takes it out of me, but I feel comfortable on the Senior Tour.”
Having secured his maiden Order of Merit crown, Woosnam’s thoughts have already turned to next season when he will try to defend the John Jacobs Trophy.
“What I want to do now is win a Major,” he said. “It would be great to win The Senior Open Championship next year.”

Picture caption: Ian Woosnam with the John Jacobs and Harry Vardon Trophies (credit: Getty Images)

.

Karlsson named Golfer of the

Month for October

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY EUROPEAN TOUR
Robert Karlsson has won The European Tour Golfer of the Month Award for October after becoming the first Swede to win the Harry Vardon Trophy.
Karlsson, who also won the award for September, sealed his place in history as The European Tour Number One at the end of an outstanding month during which he won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after a play-off and finished joint third in the Portugal Masters.
Karlsson’s win at St Andrews was his second victory in consecutive appearances following his triumph in the Mercedes-Benz Championship the previous month and put him in pole position in the race to be Number One. Karlsson then cemented his place at the top with his impressive performance at Oceânico Victoria Golf Club in Portugal two weeks later and was crowned Number One at the end of the Volvo Masters. His two victories, allied to top tens in three of the Major Championships and 12 top ten finishes in total through the season, helped the 39 year old win €2,732,747.
He also took his victory tally on The European Tour to nine, strengthening his position as Sweden’s most prolific champion.
“This is by far my greatest achievement in golf – I never thought I would be in this position so it’s just incredible,” said Karlsson after finishing European Number One.
“The Order of Merit is based over the whole season and the last three events before the Volvo Masters – where I finished first, first and third – were so important. I went from fifth or sixth on the Order of Merit to the top and managed to stay there.
“I would say the last three and a half years, since I played well at the end of 2005, I've obviously taken it up to a new level and now I have won the Order of Merit and it's fantastic.”
The award was voted for by a panel of golfing journalists from newspapers, magazines, television and radio who considered all the outstanding performances of an exceptional month for European Tour Members who recorded 12 victories around the world.

2008 Final US PGA Tour Money Table
(totals in dollars, number of events in brackets)
1 Vijay Singh (Fij) 6,601,094 (23).
2 Tiger Woods (US) 5,775,000 (6).
3 Phil Mickelson (US) 5,188,875 (21).
4 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 4,858,224 (19).
5 Kenny Perry (US) 4,663,794 (26).
6 Anthony Kim (US) 4,656,265 (22).
7 Camilo Villegas (Col) 4,422,641 (22).
8 Padraig Harrington (Ire) 4,313,551 (15).
9 Stewart Cink (US) 3,979,301 (23).
10 Justin Leonard (US) 3,943,542 (25).
11 Robert Allenby (Aus) 3,606,700 (28).
12 Jim Furyk (US) 3,455,714 (26).
Selected totals
57 Lee Westwood (Eng) 1,550,880 (10).
65 Ian Poulter (Eng) 1,488,214 (15).
67 Luke Donald 1,456,650 (11).
95 Paul Casey (Eng) 1,156,414 (16).
96 Brian Davis (Eng) 1,151,558 (34).
99 Justin Rose (Eng) 1,047,854.
125 Martin Laird (Sco) 852,752 (29).
===========================
182 Kenneth Ferrie (Eng) 288,772 (25).
187 Michael Sim (Sco) 269,864 (7).

US Nationwide Tour Scoreboard
NATIONWIDE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas
FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4 x 71)
267 Matt Bettencourt 68 67 63 69
268 Jeff Klauk 65 69 69 65
269 Colt Knost 67 66 71 65, Bryce Molder 67 67 64 71
270 Peter Tomasulo 68 70 63 69
271 Garrett Osborn 66 65 71 69
272 Oskar Bergman 73 66 67 66, Marc Leishman 67 67 68 70
273 D.J. Brigman 69 69 67 68, Scott Gutschewski 70 67 67 69
274 David Branshaw 70 67 69 68, Brendon De Jonge 69 69 67 69, Kyle Reifers 72 64 65 73, Webb Simpson 70 73 67 64, Darron Stiles 64 67 70 73
275 Josh Broadaway 74 67 68 66, Gavin Coles 68 69 68 70, Spencer Levin 66 69 69 71, Aron Price 70 70 70 65, Alex Prugh 71 67 70 67
276 Hunter Haas 68 66 70 72, Bill Lunde 67 71 69 69, David Mathis 71 69 69 67, Fran Quinn 71 68 68 69
277 Greg Chalmers 69 72 69 67, Won Joon Lee 71 70 69 67, Bob May 70 68 71 68, Daniel Summerhays 71 70 66 70, Casey Wittenberg 71 64 70 72
278 Jarrod Lyle 69 71 71 67
279 Arjun Atwal 71 71 71 66, Matthew Every 68 70 70 71, Greg Owen 68 70 69 72, Scott Piercy 69 67 70 73, Vance Veazey 74 69 67 69
280 D.A. Points 72 68 70 70
281 Ricky Barnes 69 71 70 71, Chad Ginn 71 72 68 70, Justin Hicks 74 69 69 69, Ryan Hietala 69 71 68 73, Brendon Todd 73 68 70 70
282 Skip Kendall 70 74 68 70, Chris Smith 74 71 65 72, Chris Tidland 71 72 69 70, Matt Weibring 71 68 69 74
283 Chris M. Anderson 71 71 68 73, Kris Blanks 70 71 71 71, Jeff Brehaut 70 72 68 73, Rick Price 68 73 68 74
284 Bryan Decorso 68 71 74 71, Michael Putnam 71 72 71 70
286 Garth Mulroy 75 69 70 72
287 Bubba Dickerson 72 72 71 72
288 Scott Dunlap 74 76 69 69, J.J. Killeen 77 70 70 71, Chris Nallen 71 71 71 75, Roger Tambellini 73 74 70 71
291 Joe Daley 74 72 72 73

Sergio Garcia beats Oliver Wilson
in play-off, becomes World No 2

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
New World No. 2 Sergio Garcia edged out Ryder Cup team-mate Oliver Wilson in a play-off to win a thrilling HSBC Champions in Shanghai today.
Spaniard Garcia carded a final round of four-under-par 68 to join overnight leader Wilson at the top of the leaderboard after the Englishman shot a fourth round of 70 on the fifth day at Sheshan International Golf Club.
In the play-off, Garcia birdied the second extra hole to claim his second win in three weeks after triumphing at the Castello Masters on his home course at the end of October.
With this latest win, Garcia also reaches the highest position of his career in the world rankings, demoting American Phil Mickelson, while the Euro 647,016 first prize sends the 28-year old-top of the Race to Dubai.
Ryder Cup rookie Wilson from Mansfield, who earned his trip to Valhalla even through he has yet to win a title, notched his fifth runner-up finish of 2008.
"It feels great," said Garcia after claiming his eighth European Tour victory.
"I am so proud, to win and become World No. 2, it's been a great week for me."
SAS Masters winner Peter Hanson shot a six under par 66 to share third place alongside former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, who birdied the final hole for a second consecutive 70, at 13 under.
Sweden's Henrik Stenson (71) finished fifth at 11 under, with South Africa's Charl Schwartzel (70) and Australian Adam Scott (70) a further shot off the pace.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
274 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 66 68 72 68, Oliver Wilson 67 68 69 70 (Garcia won sudden-death play-off at second hole).
275 Peter Hanson (Swe) 69 70 70 66, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 70 65 70 70
277 Henrik Stenson (Swe) 65 69 72 71
278 Adam Scott (Aus) 66 71 71 70, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 69 72 67 70
279 Phil Mickelson (USA) 66 70 70 73, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 68 70 71 70
280 Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 70 67 73 70
281 Paul Casey 71 70 68 72, Peter Lawrie 68 72 73 68, Padraig Harrington 69 70 74 68
283 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 69 73 71 70, Ian Poulter 68 73 74 68
284 Damien McGrane 68 71 72 73, Graeme McDowell 71 65 76 72, Wen-Tang Lin (Tai) 69 71 75 69, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 74 70 71 69
285 Martin Kaymer (Ger) 73 70 73 69, Camilo Villegas (Col) 73 72 73 67, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 71 69 71 74, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 69 69 74 73
286 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 71 74 73 68, David Dixon 74 72 71 69, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 71 69 72 74, Marc Cayeux (Zim) 67 70 78 71
287 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 70 71 74 72, Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 70 72 73 72, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 72 72 74 69
288 Andrew Bonhomme (Aus) 73 69 71 75, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 73 76 72 67
289 Ashun Wu (Chn) 73 71 70 75, Scott Strange (Aus) 69 68 77 75
290 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 70 73 76 71, KJ Choi (Kor) 71 74 73 72
291 Soren Hansen (Den) 71 70 71 79, Richard Finch 71 72 74 74, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 78 72 70 71, Thomas Levet (Fra) 68 75 75 73
292 Rick Kulacz (Aus) 73 76 72 71, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 72 76 72 72
293 James Kingston (Rsa) 73 71 75 74, Ross Fisher 69 74 76 74, David Horsey 75 71 73 74, Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn) 71 74 75 73, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 73 73 74 73
294 Scott Hend (Aus) 76 75 70 73, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 73 74 74 73, Ben Leong (Mal) 69 72 79 74
295 Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 68 73 79 75, John Bickerton 77 71 74 73
296 Mark Brown (USA) 71 74 78 73
297 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 75 75 78, Jean Hugo (Rsa) 73 70 76 78
298 Wei-Huang Wu (Tpe) 73 78 73 74, David Gleeson (Aus) 76 73 72 77
299 David Howell 79 74 73 73, Darren Clarke 72 71 77 79
300 Inn-choon Hwang (Kor) 77 77 71 75, Gregory Havret (Fra) 76 70 77 77
301 Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 75 77 74 75, Lei Shang (Tpe) 71 72 80 78, Wen Teh Lu (Tpe) 73 75 75 78
302 Sang-moon Bae (Kor) 73 70 86 73
303 Alastair Forsyth 73 78 77 75, Joong Kyung Mo (Kor) 72 78 79 74
306 Hao Yuan (Chn) 75 76 82 73, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 76 72 76 82
307 Chao Li (Chn) 76 79 81 71
308 James Kamte (Rsa) 77 73 76 82
309 Bryan Saltus (USA) 78 75 76 80, Angelo Que (Phi) 74 79 81 75
315 Kangchun Wu (Chn) 77 80 78 80
322 Shaun Norris (Rsa) 88 77 76 81