Gordon Dewar, secretary of the Scottish PGA, presents the PGA Scottish Region Four-ball Match-play Championship Trophy to Strathaven Golf Club professional Stuart Kerr, who along with Tom Eckford of Ranfurly Castle, were the first winners of this national competition. The semi-final and final were played over the King's Course, Gleneagles.

Gordon Dewar (right), PGA Scottish Region Secretary, presents Robert Jamieson, captain of Strathaven Golf Club,with a plaque in recognition of the club's Centenary Year .

Lothian golf clubs break ranks
over subscriptions

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Golf clubs in the Lothians are breaking ranks in Scotland after agreeing to a change in the way subscriptions are calculated.
The decision to remove "house members" from the members taken into consideration when calculating the subscription clubs pay the Lothians Golf Association was unanimously approved at last night's annual meeting at Newbattle.
The move follows recent licensing changes which have effectively allowed some golf clubs to become "open houses," the most notable in the Lothians being Duddingston and Swanston.
"This is a case of the Lothians breaking ranks," Jim Thomson, the retiring Lothians president, told the meeting after a vote was taken. "It requires Scotland as a whole to look into this and, in fairness, the Scottish Golf Union has indicated it will be undertaking a review on the matter."
However, a proposal that the Lothians Golf Association should investigate an income-based subscription system instead of being numerical received no support from clubs and will not be pursued.
Partly due to an expected decrease in sponsorship caused by the credit crunch, clubs were informed that the per capita figure paid by every member to the Lothians as part of their annual subscription would likely be rising to £1.15 – up 20p – in 2009.
With DM Hall having ended its sponsorship after more than 30 years, there will be no Lothians Men's Order of Merit next year.
But the Ian Macniven Memorial Trophy, an 18-hole stroke-play event for players aged between 35 and 54 and with a handicap of eight or less, will be played for the first time in September at a venue to be confirmed.
At the meeting, Ken Wood, who has been a member at Haddington for more than 50 years, succeeded Thomson as president, with Liberton's Denys Flaherty stepping up to be his right-hand man.
Wood is the first Haddington member to hold the post and his appointment makes it a notable double for the East Lothian club after Keith Nicholson was selected to take over from Scott Knowles as the new Lothians team captain.

Well, is Newmachar Hawkshill too long for your
average NE Alliance member?
Not at all, says Harry Roulston (Stonehaven)

Colin Farquharson writes: In Wednesday's North-east Alliance, apart from young Chris Robb's brilliant three-under-par 69, Newmachar's Hawkshill course was the real "winner." Only around a dozen players broke 80 and there were 40 No Returns from a field of 105.
If you scroll down to my report, I tagged on some comments about Hawkshill, off the back tees, perhaps being too long for your average Alliance member at 6,700yd or so (Scottish women's amateur champion Michele Thomson said it was way too long for her - and she is a long hitter). I invited Alliance members to E-mail their views on the subject.
Here are the first ones:

Colin:
I don't like any of your suggestions to tackle the so-called "problem" of 40 NRs at Newmachar.
Certainly, the course was difficult and playing very long and the wind was awkward but so what? I play regularly in the Alliance because I enjoy playing tough courses off the back tees.
I also expect to have adverse weather conditions most of the time -- it's winter in the North-east of Scotland, for goodness sake.
What I don't want is to move to forward tees or play "second best" courses like Swailend, though I understand that course is just about as tough as the big course.
It is surprising that 40 golfers paid their money and then didn't submit a card but that's their problem, not a problem for the Alliance or the 60-plus others who did complete their rounds.
Leave things as they are, I say. The Alliance remains a most enjoyable "golf club" to be a member of and it would be silly and unfair to reduce the quality of what is on offer because some folk aren't prepared to stick in enough to get their ball all the way round.
Slow play is another matter, however, and that is becoming a problem. I think most Alliance members would welcome action being taken against the worst offenders, if they can be identified.
Harry Roulston
Stonehaven.

Colin:
No, I don't think Hawkshill is too difficult for the average player and no matter where you play, the odd few are going to go at their snail's pace, irrespective of the degree of difficulty of any course they are on.
We all know the slowcoaches and the later tee times should be reserved for them where they will have little or no impact on the majority of the field and if they finish in the dark they only have themselves to blame.
You may think this is a selfish attitude but, despite reapeated pleas from Ron Menzies and yourself about slow play and the impact it has on the late starters, do the slowcoaches speed up? Do they hell! So make up your own mind as to who are the selfish ones.
They need to remember it's the NE Alliance we are playing in. We are playing for fun and the weekly bragging rights with our mates, not the Tour Q school where our future depends on it.
A. J. Smith

Colin:
Just read the bit on the website about Newmacher being tough. I played in the Newmachar 36- hole Open in July and it was much, much tougher then than on Wednesday. I enjoyed it very much as it's a brilliant course to play from the back tees in the winter.
I can understand some complaints but if you hit it straight, 99% of the time you can actually have a good score. I had a 96 but I was never out of the trees so I didn't give myself a chance.
We are living in the Tiger era where, because of technology, the ball is going further and further and that means longer courses.
If Alliance members can't handle that fact, maybe they shouldn't be playing. As for slow play ther'es nothing that can be done about it unless there's a marshall with every match but this is the North-east Alliance not the European Tour.
We're at Portlethen on Wednesday - providing the snow shifts and we have a playable course. The Portlethen course is known for 5 hr rounds so it's a good thing it's a two-tee start. Maybe it would be good to have a two-tee start every week at this time of the year because of of the lack of daylight hours, providing the two tees are close together.
Iain Taylor
Stonehaven

Monty moves into Hong Kong Open
picture with a vintage 65

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ASIAN TOUR
Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol nailed his second straight four-under-par 66 and was joined by South African Louis Oosthuizen, England’s Oliver Wilson and Oliver Fisher at the top of the pack at the UBS Hong Kong Open today.
Chawalit struck five birdies against a lone bogey in the second round at the Hong Kong Golf Club for an eight-under-par 132 total. He was matched by Oosthuizen who enjoyed a bogey free 62, Wilson who fired a 66 alongside Fisher who improved with a 65.
Colin Montgomerie and Sweden’s Johan Edfors were a stroke back when the duo shot matching 65s in joint fifth place. Australia’s Marcus Fraser also leaped to a tie for fifth spot after a 66 together with Richard Sterne of South Africa who posted a 69 and Italian Francesco Molinari who carded a 67.
India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, who virtually sealed the 2008 Asian Tour’s Order of Merit after his win in Singapore last week, blasted a 63 to lie in joint 10th place together with Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang who recorded a 69 for a 134 total. China’s Liang Wen-chong endured a slow 71 and was in the mix in 13th spot after a 135 total.
Chawalit, who is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, relied on his accurate drives to steer him through to the top of the pack in the US$2.5 million event.
“I tried to not use my driver. I did not play too aggressive. I wanted to make sure that I could be on the green so I could have a chance at making those birdies,” said the Chonburi-based player. Chawalit was pleased to have turned his game around this week since his top-10 finish at the Worldwide Selangor Masters in August.
“I have not been having a good run on the Asian Tour so this is definitely turning out to be a great week. There is a lot of pressure to perform but I will try my best for a strong finish,” added Chawalit.
Starting on the back nine, Oosthuizen, 26, was four under after nine holes before three straight birdies coupled with a final birdie on the seventh hole placed him in prime position heading into the weekend rounds.
“It was good. I don't want to say it could have been more, but I played well. I hit 17 greens in regulation, and I made some putts,” said Oosthuizen, with three wins on the local circuit.
Ryder Cup star Wilson, who teed off on the back nine, endured a bogey on the final hole before closing in with a 66.
“I was really happy with yesterday, four under, but today I was a little disappointed bogeying the last hole. I played pretty steady holing some putts, which is the important thing,” said Wilson.
Fisher improved with a 65 and was in the mix at the top of the field.
“I just played really solid today. I hit the ball well and hit a lot of greens and took my chances. It was good. I'm in a good position going into the weekend and just go out there and enjoy it and have good time,” said Fisher.
Montgomerie, with a record 31 wins in Europe, was pleased with his 65 while a stroke back was Singh who conquered the greens at the Hong Kong Golf Club this week.
“The putting came together. Yesterday I hit the ball exactly the same but couldn't hole too many putts. But I’m really excited. I worked on it yesterday and got a little bit of feel on the greens. I went out there and holed some big putts, and I think that was the reason I shot a 63 today,” said Singh, who was the 2006 Asian Tour’s Order of Merit winner.
“I am mentally very tired, but after this round, I think that I start thinking about other things and as the weekend comes, I think the mental tiredness is going to go. I think I've got to start thinking about good things and hopefully have a good week again,” he added.
Local amateur Jason Hak Shun Yat emerged as the second youngest player to make the cut on the Asian Tour at 14 years and 304 days. He fired two straight 70s and was in a tie for 61st place. Chinese Taipei’s Lo Shih-kai was the youngest player to have ever made the weekend rounds at 14 years and 275 days back in 2003.
Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain was also in a tie for 61st place after a 69.
LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 140 (2 x 70)
132 Oliver Wilson 66 66, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 70 62, Chawalit Plaphol (Tha) 66 66, Oliver Fisher 67 65
133 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 66 67, Colin Montgomerie 68 65, Johan Edfors (Swe) 68 65, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 66, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 64 69
134 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 71 63, Rory McIlroy 70 64, Wen-Tang Lin (Tai) 65 69
135 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 69 66, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 64 71
136 John Daly (USA) 68 68, Bernhard Langer (Ger) 69 67, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 68 68, Iain Steel (Mal) 68 68, Angelo Que (Phi) 68 68, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 70 66, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 69 67
137 Frankie Minoza (Phi) 65 72, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 69 68, David Frost (Rsa) 69 68, Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor) 70 67, Wen Teh Lu (Tpe) 68 69, Peter Hanson (Swe) 67 70, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 69 68, Artemio-hiromasa Murakami (Phi) 67 70, Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe) 66 71, Darren Beck (Aus) 68 69, David Gleeson (Aus) 72 65, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 70 67, Martin Rominger (Swi) 71 66, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 70 67, Tony Carolan (Aus) 70 67, David Dixon 68 69
138 Gareth Maybin 71 67, Jamie Donaldson 75 63, Scott Drummond 68 70, Wook-Soon Kang (Kor) 69 69, Chinarat Phadungsil (Tha) 67 71, David Bransdon (Aus) 70 68, Gavin Flint (Aus) 68 70, David Lynn 71 67
139 Wei Chih Lu (Tha) 70 69, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 67 72, Graeme McDowell 71 68, Anders Hansen (Den) 71 68, Scott Strange (Aus) 71 68, Ben Leong (Mal) 69 70, Unho Park (Aus) 71 68, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 69 70, Taichiro Kiyota (Jpn) 72 67, Taco Remkes (Ned) 69 70, Paul Lawrie 69 70, Phillip Archer 72 67, Jong Yul Suk (Kor) 70 69, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 71 68, Bradley Dredge 69 70
140 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 70 70, Zaw Moe (Kor) 72 68, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 70 70, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 71 69, Anthony Kang (USA) 70 70, Anthony Wall 72 68, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 70 70, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 71 69, Shun yat jason Hak (Hkg) 70 70, Joong Kyung Mo (Kor) 69 71, Sattaya Supupramai (Tha) 71 69, Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 70 70, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 71 69, Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 71 69, David Horsey 70 70, Paul Waring 72 68, Mark Brown (USA) 70 70, Marcus Both (Aus) 68 72, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 71 69, Jean Van de velde (Fra) 73 67, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 71 69, Paul McGinley 71 69
MISSED THE CUT
141 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 69 72, Young-Woo Nam (Kor) 69 72, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 72 69, Mars Pucay (Phi) 72 69, Chris Rodgers 68 73, Scott Hend (Aus) 70 71, Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 68 73, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 68 73, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 70 71
142 Nick Faldo 72 70, Simon Dyson 71 71, Simon Khan 74 68, Paul Broadhurst 72 70, Lee Slattery 70 72, Sung Lee (Kor) 75 67, Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa) 71 71, Rick Kulacz (Aus) 67 75, Keith Horne (Rsa) 73 69, Richard Lee (Can) 76 66
143 Inn-choon Hwang (Kor) 68 75, Airil Rizman (Mal) 70 73, Phillip Price 71 72, Chih-bing Lam (Sin) 72 71, Scott Barr (Aus) 71 72, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 74 69, Sam Little 71 72, Gregory Havret (Fra) 72 71
144 Robert Rock 73 71, Stephen Scahill (Nzl) 73 71, Markus Brier (Aut) 71 73, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 73 71, Simon Griffiths 70 74, Simon Hurd 72 72
145 Gary Simpson (Aus) 71 74, Steve Webster 74 71, Amandeep Johl (Ind) 70 75, Marcel Siem (Ger) 74 71, Mark Foster 72 73, Simon Wakefield 74 71
146 Yasin Ali 70 76, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 72 74, Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn) 72 74, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 78 68, Keng-chi Lin (Tai) 71 75
147 Prom Meesawat (Tha) 74 73, Roderick De Lacy Staunton (Hkg) 70 77, Jovick Lee (Hkg) 79 68, Adam Groom (Aus) 74 73
148 Daniel Chopra (Swe) 71 77, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 72 76, Matthew McBain (Aus) 75 73, Steven Lam (Hkg) 74 74, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 74 74, Miles Tunnicliff 73 75, David Freeman (Hkg) 74 74
149 Thammanoon Srirot (Tha) 74 75, Adam Blyth (Aus) 73 76
150 Digvijay Singh (Ind) 73 77
151 Paul Riley 76 75
157 Derek Fung (Hkg) 78 79
161 James Stewart 78 83