Worldwide response to Frank Coutts' search for a new

Deeside GC assistant

Deeside Golf Club director of golf Frank Coutts reports a worldwide response to the story we carried on Scottishgolfview.com and Kirkwoodgolf.co.uk that he was looking for a new assistant to replace long-serving Nick Reid who leaves at the end of January with a view to playing the Tartan Tour full-time in 2009.
"I've had inquiries from Royal Canberra in Australia, South Africa, California as well as a few locally. I've had one girl interested in filling the post so far," said Frank who said he had a completely open mind on who got the job, a low-ish handicap and a knowledge of golf being the only essentials.
Coutts has not drawn up a short leet yet so there is still time to phone him at 01224 861041.
For readers not acquainted with Scottish geography, Deeside Golf Club's course is on the banks of the River Dee at the village of Bieldside, which is two or three miles to the west of Aberdeen.

Monty becomes honorary member at Dunning

Colin Montgomerie has accepted an honorary membership at Dunning Golf Club near his home in Perthshire.
"It's a great coup for Dunning Golf Club," said committee member Dugald Cantlay. "Colin lives at the east end of dunning, just a well-struck drive and four-iron from us."
Dunning Golf Club has a nine-hole course.

Paul Lawrie to attend SGU winter training session

Paul Lawrie continues to do more than his bit for junior and amateur golf in Scotland.
He will attend a winter training session at St Andrews next weekend.
Cardross player Scott Henry has been invited to join the party even though he recently turned professional.
The SGU squad is:
M Bookless (Sandyhills), S Borrowman (Dollar), G Campbell (Blairgowrie), J Gallagher (Swanston New), S Hendry (Cardross), R Kellett (Colville Park), D Law (Hazlehead), K McAlpine (Alyth), S McEwan (Barassie), P McLean (Peterhead), P O'Hara (Colville Park), G Paterson (St Andrews New), M Stewart (Troon Welbeck), G Yates (Hilton Park).

Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa

Springbok Aiken leaps ahead with a
course record 61 at Leopard Creek

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
South African Thomas Aiken fired a course record 61 to storm to the top of the leaderboard at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Golf Club, South Africa.
The 25 year old, who started the week with a double bogey 6 en route to a level par 72, made his mark in round two with a seven under par 65, before his sensational performance on day three moved him to 18 under par 198.
Aiken is one stroke clear of one of the three halfway leaders Len Mattiace – the American managing to cut the deficit with an eagle 3 at the par five 18th for a round of 66 and a 54-hole tally of 199.
The other two – England’s Robert Rock, who shot a 69 and Oskar Henningsson are locked on 14 under par 202 with Aiken`s compatriot Richard Sterne and David Lynn.
But the day belonged to Aiken, who broke the previous best score at the Leopard Creek Golf Club, set in 2003 when reigning US Masters champion Trevor Immelman shot a 63 at the Tour Championship.
The Johannesburg golfer fired eight birdies in his opening 13 holes, before he holed a 35 foot putt for birdie on the par four 17th and followed that up by chipping in for eagle on the par five 18th.
“It was a fantastic day,” he said. “I had a great day yesterday and just came out here trying to follow that 65 up and try and keep among the pack of the leaders.
“You know, it’s this funny old game called golf. You just plod along and all of a sudden, things start to happen and you get the ball rolling, sink a few putts and next thing you know you hit 11 under par.
“It was really hot which made the concentration a little difficult but I managed to keep it together and drink enough water, to keep the concentration levels up. It was just great.”
As for the record, Aiken, who finished 39th at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale earlier this year, had no idea of breaking it coming into the 18th.
He continued: “I had no idea what the record was. I heard a couple of mutters but nothing confirmed. I hit a good shot off the tee at the last, and I was on the fairway and I had a four iron to the green. Fortunately, I struck it well and that was that.”
As for his thoughts on the final round, Aiken added: “I’m just going to go out and play one shot at a time. You can’t think about scores, there’s no point. You need to go out and play the golf course as best you can.”
World Number Ten Lee Westwood endured a frustrating round with a bogey on the last seeing him drop back to ten under par 206 with a third round score of 70.
However, it was a good day for his countryman Lynn, who has had two top ten and one top 30 finish in his last three tournaments, and is now well placed to make a charge on the final day.
He said: “I hit my irons great today and then I putted well. I did struggle a bit with the driver. To be honest, I’ve not felt fantastic over the ball, but I just got into my routine and got into phases. The greens were pure.
“The course is great, it was very warm out there, but you have to keep going. There are still some guys out there so I might have a lot to catch up on, but still looking forward to it.”
COLIN FARQUHARSON'S SCOTSWATCH:
Glasgow-born, Canada-based Alan McLean and David Drysdale are sharing the honour of being the leading Scot. They are on 208, both scoring 66s today.
Andrew Coltart continues his steady comeback on the European Tour with a 69 for 209.
And Scottish amateur champion Callum Macaulay is also marking his pro debut with some down-the-middle play. He had a 71 for 212

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE THIRD-ROUND TOTALS

From reader Alasdair J Malcolm
Reference he Mickleson v Woods article.
(scroll down to read what Tiger Woods' caddie Steve Williams had to say about Phil Mickelson).

I have obviously not had as much interaction with the two players concerned as Mr Williams, but I can only relate my experiences of the two players attitude, particularly to golf fans, which I encountered during the 2004 Open Championship at Troon.
Whilst Mr Woods appeared aloof and seemed to actively avoid signing autographs and interacting with spectators, Mr Mickleson was entirely the opposite.
After round 3, Phil Mickelson spent a good 45 minutes or so at the walkway from the 18th green, signing autographs and chatting to many spectators who were gathered there.
Despite a number of promptings by his entourage, who were trying to get him to the press tent for his appointment with the media, Mr. Mickleson continued signing and chatting until he really had no option but to go to the press tent.
His whole demeanour and attitude towards the paying public on that occasion was a very positive one and attracted many favourable comments from the spectators he had taken the time to speak with.
Having only seen him on TV prior to that occasion, where I have to say he did not come across well, I can honestly say that he rose greatly in my estimation after my experience of him in 2004.
On the other hand, Mr Woods, who always comes across on the media as friendly and approachable, was, in reality, entirely the opposite.
From my experience of the two, I know which one I would rather be partnered with if I was looking for an enjoyable round of golf with a multiple major winner.
Alasdair J. Malcolm

Cambodian Open Scoreboard
Phokeethra CC, Siem Reap, Cambodia
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
198 Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 68 66 64
203 Anthony Kang (USA) 65 69 69, Corey Harris (USA) 69 65 69
205 Lam Chih-Bing (Sin) 73 65 67, Steven Tiley (Eng) 70 66 69, Chawalit Plaphol (Tha) 67 66 72
206 Prom Meesawat (Tha) 69 70 67, Rhys Davies (Wal) 64 75 67, Guido Van Der Valk (Ned) 71 67 68, Rory Hidayat (Ina) 66 71 69, JB Park (Kor) 68 67 71
207 Iain Steel (Mal) 74 65 68, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 70 69 68, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 68 70 69
208 Artemio Murakami (Phi) 71 70 67, Unho Park (Aus) 72 67 69, Mars Pucay (Phi) 70 67 71
209 Chang Tse-Peng (Tpe) 69 70 70, Baaz Mann (Ind) 72 65 72
210 Adam Groom (Aus) 73 70 67, Wisut Artjanawat (Tha) 73 68 69, Pijit Petchkasem (Tha) 71 70 69, Thammanoon Srirot (Tha) 69 72 69, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 69 72 69, Jason King (Aus) 69 71 70, Danny Chia (Mal) 71 68 71, Airil Rizman (Mal) 68 69 73
211 Anirban Lahiri (Ind) 70 73 68, Stephen Scahill (Nzl) 70 73 68, Will Yanagisawa (USA) 71 69 71, Sung Mao-Chang (Tpe) 71 68 72, Gavin Flint (Aus) 68 71 72
212 Mo Joong-Kyung (Kor) 71 72 69
213 Martin Rominger (Swi) 72 71 70, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 71 72 70, Thanyakorn Klongpa (Tha) 70 72 71, Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 69 73 71, Lin Wen-Hong (Tpe) 71 70 72, Marcus Both (Aus) 70 70 73
214 Bryan Saltus (USA) 72 72 70, Jerome Delariarte (Phi) 71 72 71, Anis Helmi Hassan (Mal) 71 71 72, Nakul Vijityuthasart (Tha) 72 69 73
215 Himmat Singh Rai (Ind) 74 70 71, Gary Simpson (Aus) 75 69 71, David Freeman (Hkg) 72 71 72, Shang Lei (Chn) 72 71 72, Sattaya Supupramai (Tha) 75 68 72, Harmeet Kahlon (Ind) 74 68 73, Ronnachai Jamnong (Tha) 72 69 74, Simon Dunn (Sco) 71 69 75
216 S Siva Chandhran (Mal) 74 70 72, Jakkapong Juntavara (Tha) 72 72 72, Kodai Ichihara (Jpn) 72 71 73, Scott Taylor (USA) 70 73 73, Kwanchai Tannin (Tha) 72 70 74, Atthaphon Prathumanee (Tha) 73 68 75, Richard Moir (Aus) 69 71 76, Choengchai Panpumpo (Tha) 73 67 76
217 Mardan Mamat (Sin) 70 68 79
219 Steven Tan (Mal) 74 70 75, Wu Ashun (Chn) 71 72 76, Kim Nam-Kang (Kor) 70 73 76, Nick Redfern (Eng) 74 69 76, Ross Bain (Sco) 72 70 77
220 Zaw Moe (Mya) 71 72 77
221 Jochen Lupprian (Ger) 70 73 78

Alfred Dunhill Championship Scoreboard
Leopard Creek GC, Mpumalanga, South Africa
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
198 Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 72 65 61
199 Len Mattiace (USA) 65 68 66
202 Robert Rock 66 67 69, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 69 64 69, David Lynn 68 68 66, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 68 66 68
203 Tyrone Mordt (Rsa) 68 67 68, John E Morgan 67 68 68
204 Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 68 69 67, Keith Horne (Rsa) 70 69 65
205 Garth Mulroy (Rsa) 68 69 68, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 66 71 68
206 Gary Lockerbie 68 71 67, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 68 67 71, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 70 67 69, Lee Westwood 66 70 70, Johan Edfors (Swe) 66 69 71
207 Damien McGrane 71 66 70, Robert Dinwiddie 69 70 68, David Dixon 70 70 67, Gareth Maybin 72 69 66, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 65 72 70, Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa) 70 67 70, Marc Cayeux (Zim) 68 67 72
208 Garry Houston 72 69 67, Alan McLean 68 74 66, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa) 67 70 71, Danny Willett 72 70 66, Tc Charamba (Zim) 70 68 70, George Coetzee (Rsa) 70 70 68, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 69 68 71, Michiel Bothma (Rsa) 69 71 68, Sam Walker 71 68 69, David Drysdale 71 71 66, Mark Murless (Rsa) 70 70 68, Trevor Fisher Jnr (Rsa) 72 70 66
209 Jonathan Caldwell 70 67 72, Jacques Blaauw (Rsa) 73 67 69, Chris Wood 69 70 70, Andrew Coltart 70 70 69, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 71 69 69
210 Neil Cheetham 68 69 73, Jean Hugo (Rsa) 73 69 68, David Horsey 72 70 68, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 71 69 70
211 Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 71 71 69, Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 69 69 73, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 69 69 73, Adilson Da Silva (Bra) 70 68 73, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 68 70 73, Deane Pappas (Rsa) 75 66 70, Ross McGowan 70 72 69
212 Callum Macaulay 72 69 71, Simon Dyson 71 71 70
213 Iain Pyman 71 69 73, Warren Abery (Rsa) 68 68 77, Estanislao Goya (Arg) 70 68 75, Branden Grace (Rsa) 70 69 74, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 68 74 71
214 Marcus Higley 71 70 73, Taco Remkes (Ned) 72 70 72, Bradford Vaughan (Rsa) 71 71 72
215 James Kingston (Rsa) 73 69 73
216 Jamie Little 72 69 75, Tyrone Van Aswegen (Rsa) 70 68 78, Albert Pistorius (Rsa) 71 71 74
217 Jake Roos (Rsa) 72 69 76
218 Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 71 71 76, Justin Walters (Rsa) 72 70 76, Seve Benson 68 74 76

Smail's pace is fast enough to lead by
one with round to go in Aussie Open

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
New Zealand's David Smail will take a one-shot lead into Sunday's final round of an intriguing Australian Open after posting a two-under-par round of 70 in difficult conditions at Royal Sydney.
Smail sits a stroke clear of Australian Andre Stolz, who scorched around the testing lay-out on his way to a six-under-par 66 to finish day three at 10 under par 206.
Stolz was on course-record pace through the first 15 holes, having taken the lead on the back of eight birdies, before blemishes at the 15th and 16th saw him settle for outright second, heading into day four.
Ewan Porter overcame the strengthening winds to sign for a level-par 72 and sits in a share of third place alongside second-round leader Stephen Dartnall, who battled to a three-over 75 to also trail the leader by three shots.
Steven Bowditch was the other big mover on the day, carding a superb 66 that was only soured by three late bogeys.
Bowditch is joined at seven under 209 by Robert Allenby, whose 71 included an eagle 3 at the par-five 13th, Rohan Blizard, who carded a 70, and Chris Gaunt whose bogey on the last completed a third-round 75.
Mathew Goggin, who also struggled to a three-over 75, is in a four-way tie for ninth alongside Andrew Bonhomme (69), Jason Norris (73) and Tim Wood who signed for a 66.
Australian Masters champion Rod Pampling has a tough job ahead of him at four under in a share of 17th with South African Tim Clark and Kiwi amateur Danny Lee, who both fired 69s on Saturday.
American veteran Paul Goydos is also at four under overall after signing for a respectable 70, while pre-tournament favourite Geoff Ogilvy is a further stroke back after also settling for two-under on the day.
The former US Open Champion had looked set to threaten the leaders turning in 32 before a costly double bogey at the par-five second halted his charge.
SCROLL DOWN FOR THE AUSSIE OPEN SCOREBOARD

Boo Weekley signs up to

play in Qatar Masters

PRESS RELEASE
US Ryder Cup star Boo Weekley will be aiming to become the first American winner of the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, Presented by Dolphin Energy when he tees up at Doha Golf Club from January 22-25, 2009.
The colourful star from Florida, a key player in Paul Azinger’s US victory over Europe in this year’s Ryder Cup, will make his Middle East debut at the $2.5 million tournament, organised in co-operation between the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), the Qatar Golf Association (QGA) and Commercialbank.
“Boo Weekley certainly brought something different to the Ryder Cup so we expect him to be a big favourite with the galleries in Qatar,” said QGA President Hassan Al Nuami.
“Although the tournament has been staged eleven times, it has never been won by an American player. But Boo has the talent and the game to win in Doha, although I am sure he knows it won’t be easy over a course we believe is the toughest on the ‘desert swing’.”
Thomas Brent Weekley may have hit the headlines for colourful admissions that he has wrestled alligators and been the loser in a fight with an orang-utan but he is also a world-class golfer with two US PGA Tour titles under his belt.
Currently ranked 40th in the world, Weekley - nicknamed after cartoon character Yogi Bear’s sidekick Boo Boo - claimed his first Tour victory at the Verizon Heritage in April 2007. His good form at the start of 2007 included two other top ten finishes, which helped him climb into the world’s top fifty players. The same year he teamed up with Heath Slocum at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup where they finished as runners-up.
This year, Weekley successfully defended his title at the Verizon Heritage but it was as a rookie at the Ryder Cup that he rose to world prominence with a final day 4&2 win over Oliver Wilson and the memorable sight of ‘riding’ his driver down the first fairway.
“The Ryder Cup was more than I dreamed of,” said Weekley. “As players, normally we are out there trying to beat each other each and every day. It was pretty neat that we all kind of came together and actually thrived off of one another - it was just an amazing experience.”
Growing up in Milton, Florida, Weekley didn’t watch much golf on television and while most successful pros intend to play tournament golf as long as they can, he can't wait to be home in Jay, Florida with wife Karyn and son Thomas.
"I want to play ten, twelve years, whatever it takes to get enough money in my bank and I'm done," he said. "I love the game, but I get tired of being away from my family. I get tired of being away from my friends. I love to play the game, but my heart is really with hunting and fishing."

Australian Open Championship Scoreboard
Royal Sydney Golf Club.
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72) Players from Australia unless stated
205 David Smail (Nzl) 67 68 70
206 Andre Stolz 69 71 66
208 Stephen Dartnell 65 68 75, Ewan Porter 65 71 72
209 Chris Gaunt 70 65 74, Robert Allenby 71 67 71, Steven Bowditch 72 71 66, Rohan Blizard 70 69 70
210 Jason Norris 72 65 73, Mathew Goggin 65 70 75, Andrew Bonhomme 69 72 69, Tim Wood 70 74 66
211 Adam Bland 71 69 71, Brendan Jones 70 71 70, Steven Conran 70 66 75, Mark Brown (USA) 67 72 72
212 Danny Lee (Nzl) 68 75 69, Rodney Pampling 67 71 74, Paul Goydos (USA) 71 71 70, Tim Clark (Rsa) 70 73 69, Simon Griffiths (Eng) 71 68 73, Matthew Jones 71 67 74, Stuart Bouvier 70 69 73
213 Leigh McKechnie 72 69 72, Michael Sim 72 67 74, Geoff Ogilvy 72 71 70, Terry Pilkadaris 70 70 73, Brad Lamb 72 71 70, Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 70 72 71, Craig Scott 69 72 72, Alistair Presnell 72 70 71, Kurt Barnes 71 70 72
214 John Senden 69 72 73, Anthony Summers 69 74 71, Richard Green 71 72 71, Bronson LaCassie 77 66 71, Cameron Percy 72 67 75, Ashley Hall 72 71 71
215 Richard Lee (Nzl) 74 69 72, Ryan Haller 72 70 73, Bradley Hughes 72 70 73, Brad Kennedy 73 70 72, Josh Geary (Nzl) 73 70 72
216 Brent McCullough 70 70 76, Stephen Allan 72 70 74, Peter Lonard 69 70 77
217 Brett Rumford 75 68 74, Scott Hend 71 73 73
218 Rick Kulacz 70 69 79, Ryan Hammond 75 67 76
219 Matthew Millar 74 69 76, Ben Burge 72 71 76, Darron Stiles (USA) 73 71 75, Anthony Brown 70 70 79, Andrew McKenzie 73 71 75, Eddie Barr 74 69 76, Adam Blyth 73 70 76
220 Chris Campbell 75 69 76, Troy Kennedy 68 76 76, Mahal Pearce (Nzl) 73 71 76
221 Jarrod Moseley 71 72 78, Jamie Arnold 72 72 77.
MISSED THE CUT
145 David Lutterus (Rsa) 76 69, Steve Jones (USA) 72 73, Won Joon Lee 74 71, Daniel Hyndman 74 71, Marc Leishman 73 72, Dae-hyun Kim (Kor) 75 70, Jens Nilsson (Swe) 71 74, Terry Price 77 68, Phil Tataurangi (Nzl) 75 70, Darren Beck 73 72, Scott Strange 71 74, Marcus Cain 71 74, Kane Webber (USA) 70 75, Jarrod Lyle 74 71, Tony Carolan 72 73, David McKenzie 74 71, Matthew Ecob 74 71, David Bransdon 71 74, Peter O'Malley 73 72
146 Andrew Tampion 76 70, Andrew Martin 74 72, Michael Brennan 75 71, Stephen Leaney 76 70, Nathan Green 73 73, Michael Long (Nzl) 72 74, Craig Parry 73 73, Wade Ormsby 72 74, Heath Reed 69 77, Peter Fowler 70 76, Stuart Appleby 73 73, Manny Villegas (Col) 77 69, Andrew Dodt 75 71, Michael McGrath 74 72, Wayne Perske 70 76, Peter Senior 72 74
147 Scott Laycock 74 73, Chris Downes 72 75, James H McLean (USA) 72 75, Paul Gow 76 71, Ki joon Song 75 72, Aron Price 74 73, Greg Chalmers 72 75, Daniel Beckmann 75 72, Adam Crawford 71 76, Bradley Lles (Nzl) 77 70, Matt Jager 74 73, Craig Spence 72 75, Scott Draper (Rsa) 74 73, Marcus Fraser 73 74, Tim Stewart 74 73
148 Aaron Townsend 74 74, Richie Gallichan 76 72, Steve Alker (Nzl) 75 73, Mitchell Brown 74 74, James Nitties 74 74
149 Rudi Bezuidenhout 71 78, Bret Guetz (USA) 77 72, Scott Arnold (Hkg) 74 75, Nick Flanagan 75 74, Darren Clarke (NIrl) 72 77, Matthew Griffen 76 73, Scott Barr 79 70, Michael Curtain 77 72, Paul Sheehan 75 74, Michael Foster 74 75
150 Alex Simpson 75 75, Julian Reynolds 76 74, Jared Consoli 73 77, Anders Kristiansen (Nor) 75 75, David Diaz 78 72, John Daly (USA) 78 72, Tom Prowse 74 76, Ben Wharton 75 75, Grant Moorhead (Nzl) 77 73
151 Daniel Nisbet 73 78
152 Grant Scott 77 75, Tristan Lambert 74 78, Kieran Pratt 74 78
153 Leigh Deagan 76 77, Clint Rice 74 79, Kim Felton 78 75
154 John Onions 76 78, Andrew Tschudin 76 78
155 Ashley Umbers 78 77, Dale Marmion (Eng) 78 77, Maxwell Mccardle (Rsa) 77 78, Simon Nash 78 77, Shaun Harmer 77 78
156 Steven Hassett 78 78, Jason Perry 76 80
157 Raffael Toperoso 79 78
158 Steven Jeffress 79 79
159 Brett Rankin 76 83
Withdrew: Michael Wright 80