Another great performance by Murrayshall man in Florida

Gavin Dear wins Dixie title by
two shots

Perth international golfer Gavin Dear has become the first Scottish winner of the Dixie men's amateur championship in the 78 years of the prestigious Florida festive period tournament at Heron Bay Golf Club, Coral Springs.
Dear (pictured right by Tom Ward Photography), who won the Eisenhower Trophy men's world amateur team title with Wallace Booth and Callum Macaulay in Australia in October, had two shots to spare in the end after carrying a five-stroke lead into the last of the four rounds.
The Murrayshall Golf Club member was able to hold on for victory despite shooting a two-over-par 74 for a 15-under-par total of 273.

"Hold on" does not, perhaps, give the true picture because Gavin had seen his lead shrink to two shots after 10 holes when his nearest rival and playing partner, Vaughn Snyder, birdied the ninth and 10th.

But Dear responded to the pressure in fine style and, with the help of some birdies, pulled away again from the field to be four strokes clear with two holes to play. He deliberately took no chances at the 17th and 18th, being content to bogey both, safe in the knowledge that he had enough shots in hand.
His earlier rounds were 70, 62 and 67.
Vaughn Snyder finished runner-up with a 71 for 275.
Tournament director Jeff Hunt said this year's field was three times stronger than last year. Dear, scoring the biggest individual win of his career, might just about rise into the top 50 of the R&A World Amateur Rankings on the back of his victory over a field of mainly American college circuit players.
He is currently ranked No 59.

Later, Gavin Dear E-mailed the following comments to Scottishgolfview.com

"The scoring was much higher on the final day, as the whole course was playing in a strong cross wind. The greenkeepers double-rolled the greens, making them much quicker than the previous three days, and also very treacherous.

"I started off with two pars, bogeyed the third, but birdied four and five. I then four-putted the seventh for a double bogey. I also bogeyed the ninth to go out in 38. My playing partner Vaughn Snyder holed two very good putts on 9 and 10 to birdie both and get to within two shots of me.

"I managed to birdie 13 and 14 to extend my lead to four shots. I then bogeyed the 15th but birdied the 16th, restoring my four-shot lead. I then just avoided the water on both the 17th and 18th, playing very safe and finished with two bogeys for a 74 to win by two shots

"I was delighted to win obviously, but also to play well on the back nine, hitting the correct shots at the right time and making a few putts along the way."
Previous winners of the Dixie men's amateur championship include Frank Stranahan, Lanny Wadkins, Andy Bean, Hal Sutton and Jesper Parnevik.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
par 288 (4 x 72)
273 Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) 70 62 67 74.
275 Vaughn Snyder (Ohio State Univ) 69 65 70 71.
276 Brinson Paolini (Princess Anne CC) 66 70 72 78, Romain Wattell (Bussy-Guermantes, France) 72 69 78 67.
277 Brady Exber (Las Vegas) 69 66 74 68.
278 Peter Uihlein (Oklahoma State Univ) 69 67 74 68.
279 Brandon Detweiler (North Carolina State Univ) 72 68 69 70, David Chung (Stanford Univ) 70 67 73 69, Julian Suri (Bartram Trail High School) 70 71 69 69.
280 Byeong-Hun An (Bradenton Academy) 71 63 72 74, Mu Hu (Florida Univ) 72 66 69 73, Will Wilcox (Clayton State Univ) 72 68 68 72, Michael Herbert (Circle Christian School) 75 63 72 70, Brooks Kopka (Florida State Univ) 70 71 69 70, J C Home (North Florida Univ) 73 64 75 68.

US PGA Tour takes its first hit - Ginn

sur Mer Classic disappears off calendar

The US PGA Tour's view that they could ride out the global economic crisis without taking any big hits is beginning to look just a little bit like whistling in the dark.
Today came the news tha the Ginn sur Mer Classic, has gone by the boards.
The $4.6 million Fall Series event, staged in the penultimate week of the season since its inception in 2007, has been written off with three years remaining on its sponsorship deal.
The Fall Series line-up has come down from seven events to five, although a new tournament is still being considered.
The beleagured Ginn Company is still, in theory, sponsoring several events across the LPGA and Champions (Seniors) Tour but these are also in doubt.
Ginn, a Florida-based real-estate development firm, at one point sponsored four big-money events on the US PGA, Champions and LPGA circuits. The company last fall bought its way out of its multi-year contract for a second LPGA tournament, the Ginn Tribute hosted by Annika Sorenstam, in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
It was unclear whether Ginn effectively bought its way out of its US PGA Tour contract, although since sponsorship pacts with the organization are close to iron-clad, that seems the most likely scenario.
"We don't have any comment on Ginn as we are still in discussions with its representatives," said US PGA Tour communications chief Ty Votaw.
A Ginn spokesman declined comment and said he hadn't spoken with company executives about the decision to pull the plug on the Ginn sur Mer, and would not speculate on the future of the LPGA and Champions tournaments, which were once among the richest on those two tours.
The purse of the company's LPGA tournament in April, the Ginn Open, hasn't yet been announced but has been throttled back from its previous levels.
The Ginn Company has been targeted by a handful of lawsuits and the value of properties at several of its communities has plummeted in value.
The PGA Tour has several title sponsors from the automobile or financial-services sectors that are reeling from the recession, although the other events tied to those ailing industries at the moment are scheduled to be staged as planned, including the two tournaments sponsored by Buick, which recently severed its endorsement contract with Tiger Woods a year early.
As it stands, the US PGA Tour will have at least two open dates. With the Valero Texas Open moving from the fall into the regular season to replace the defunct AT&T event in Atlanta, there will be no tournament held opposite the Presidents Cup matches (October 8-11).
There's also an open week from September 14-20 during the FedEx Cup play-offs. If the Ginn date remains vacant, the 10½-month season would feature three open weeks.

Olazabal completes Europe side with
Nick Dougherty & Pablo Larrazabal

Team captain and selector Jose Maria Olazabal has added Englishmen Nick Dougherty and Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal to his European side to play Asia in the Royal Trophy at Bangkok next month.
Their selection completes Olazabal's eight-man team for the January 9-11 contest, won by Europe on the previous two editions.
Larrazabal, 25, won the French Open in June and was named Rookie of the Year by the European Tour.
"It's such a great honour to be chosen to represent Europe at such an early stage in my professional career," Larrazabal said in a statement. Dougherty's selection comes after wins at the Singapore Masters and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, as well as several top-five finishes at big contests on the European Tour.
"Nick is a champion and a very solid golfer," said Olazabal, who replaced Spanish compatriot Seve Ballesteros after the five-times Major winner underwent brain surgery.
"I'm confident that he will prove to be of great value."
The matchplay contest will take place in Chonburi, Thailand, and features foursomes, four-balls and singles.
It will be held in Thailand until 2011, after which the venue will alternate between Europe and Asia.
Teams:
EUROPE - Paul Lawrie (Scotland), Niclas Fasth (Sweden), Oliver Wilson (England), Soren Hansen (Denmark), Johan Edfors (Sweden) Nick Dougherty (England) Paul McGinley (Ireland), Pablo Larrazabal (Spain)
ASIA - Prayad Marksaeng (Thailand), Hideto Tanihara (Japan), Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand), Ryo Ishikawa (Japan), S.K. Ho (South Korea), Liang Wenchong (China), Charlie Wi (South Korea), Toru Taniguchi (Japan).

Gavin Dear leads Dixie Amateur by five strokes

with one round to go

Perth international golfer Gavin Dear, one of Scotland's winning trio in the Eisenhower Trophy men's amateur team championship in Australia in October, is hot favourite to land another notable overseas title.
Dear (pictured right by Tom Ward Photography), a Murrayshall Golf Club member from Scone, leads the 78th Dixie men's amateur championship by five strokes with one round to play at Heron Bay Golf Club, Coral Springs in southern Florida.
He went two shots clear of the field by following up a two-under-par 70 with a brilliant 10-under score of 62 in the second round to be on 12-under-par 132 at the halfway stage.
Then Dear more than doubled his lead with a third-round 67 for an international-class tally of 17-under-par 199.
"I had a steady start of five pars before I birdied the sixth, eighth and ninth to go out in three-under 33," said Gavin.
"I got to four-under-par with a birdie at the 10th but then bogeyed the 11th and 12th before cancelling them out with birdies at the 13th and 14th. I still had one bogey to come - at the 15th - but I eagled the 16th and finished with a couple of pars. So I came home in an up-and-down 34 for 67 which I was very happy with.
"The course played tougher for the third round due to a constant wind, although not a cold one like in Scotland. A 67 was the second-best score of the third round."
Carnoustie's Keir McNicoll and another Murrayshall member, Steven Hume failed to survive the halfway cut, even though they shot level par 144, which demonstrates the standard of play by a field, consisting mainly of American college circuit players. McNicoll scored 71 and 73, Hume a pair of 72s.
Dear's closest rival going into the final round is American Vaughn Snyder, a student at Ohio State University, with scores of 69, 65 and 70 for 204.
Third on 206 is youngster Byeong-Hun An, a teenage pupil at Bradenton Academy. He has shot rounds of 71, 63 and 72.
Dear is bidding to become the first Scot to win the Dixie amateur championship, first played 78 years ago and won by players of the calibre of Frank Stranahan, Lanny Wadkins, Andy Bean, Hal Sutton (1978-79) and Jesper Parnevik (1986).
THIRD-ROUND LEADERS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
199 Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) 70 62 67.
204 Vaughn Snyder (Ohio State Univ) 69 65 70.
206 Byeong-Hun An (Bradenton Academy) 71 63 72.
207 Mu Hu (Florida Univ) 72 66 69, Drew Ernst (Coastal Carolina Univ) 74 68 65.
208 Brinson Paolini (Princess Anne CC) 66 70 72, Will Wilcox (Clayton State Univ) 72 68 68.
209 Brad Exber (Las Vegas) 69 66 74, Spencer Cole (Alabama Univ) 69 69 71, Kelly Kraft (Southern Methodist Univ) 71 67 71, Matteo Manassero (Italy) 70 68 71, Derek Rende (Tennessee-Chattanooga Univ) 69 69 71, Conrad Von Borsig (Virginia Univ) 70 68 71, Brandon Detweiler (North Carolina State Univ) 72 68 69, Romain Wattel (Bussy-Guermantes GC, France) 72 69 68.
210 Peter Uhlein (Oklahoma State Univ) 69 67 74, David Chung (Stanford Univ) 70 67 73, Michael Herbert (Circle Christian School) 75 63 72, David Johnson (Central Florida Univ) 69 69 72, Matt Kocolowski (Circle Christian School) 69 70 71, Brooks Kopka (Florida State Univ) 70 71 69, Julian Suri (Bartram Trail High School) 70 71 69.

European Seniors Tour event for Benahavis, Andalucia

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR
The European Senior Tour is set to visit Benahavis in southern Spain for the first time when the Benahavis Senior Masters takes place at La Quinta Golf and Country Club from October 2-4, 2009.
Former Spanish Ryder Cup legend Manuel Piñero, who is also the course designer at La Quinta, will feature in the inaugural event, competing in a strong field of eligible Senior Professionals.
La Quinta Golf and Country Club, which is managed by Troon Golf, lies in the heart of the region of Benahavis, Andalucia, - an area renowned for its beautiful mountain scenery and outstanding golf courses. It is currently home to nine of the 60 golf courses in the Costa del Sol with this number expected to increase to 15 in the next decade.
Jose Antonio Mena Castilla, Mayor of Benahavis, said: “Benahavis looks forward to welcoming the European Senior Tour in 2009. Golf is an important part of Benahavis and I am sure the European Senior Tour professionals and spectators alike will enjoy the beautiful scenery and pleasant environment that exists here.”
The agreement between the municipality of Benahavis and the European Senior Tour has been brokered by promoters, WSM Sponsorship.

The full 2009 European Senior Tour Schedule will be released early in the New Year.

Telephone stress line for greenkeepers!

FROM THE TIMES NEWSPAPER WEBSITE
A telephone stress-line is being opened for the 6,000 members of the British & International Golf Greenkeepers' Association (BIGGA) to help to cope with the rising numbers buckling under the pressure at a time when the golf industry is falling victim to the climate - both financial and the dreadful weather.
While the top of the game is awash with massive prize-money for players such as Tiger Woods, the highest-earning sportsman in the world, the grass roots of golf have been swamped. Two rainy summers have led to a dramatic fall in attendances at courses, with corporate clients taking their money elsewhere and casual golfers preferring to stay at home rather than attempt to splodge around a puddle-strewn course.
The rotten weather and economic downturn have combined to mean the closure of clubs and a huge drop in demand for turf and the services of groundsmen. Where courses have stayed open, greenkeepers have often suffered the abuse of players.
“Trying to get the message across to golfers is very hard,” Duncan Peddie, the greenkeeper at Alloa Golf Club said. “The ones who don't listen can make life very difficult.”

+Read the full article by Kevin Eason on TIMESONLINE by cutting and pasting the following website address:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/golf/article5385349.ece