THREE STARTING BERTHS AT TURNBERRY

AVAILABLE AT IFQ - AFRICA

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY R&A
2 February 2009, Durban, South Africa: On Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 February 2009, International Final Qualifying - Africa will take place at Royal Durban Golf Club for the first time. A field of 44 will play for three available starting berths in The Open Championship, to be played 16 - 19 July at Turnberry, Scotland.
Three of last year’s qualifiers, Josh Cunliffe, Douglas McGuigan and Darren Fichardt, all of South Africa, will return trying to emulate their achievements of 2008. Fichardt, currently seventh in the Sunshine Tour’s 2009 Order of Merit, edged out defending champion Marc Cayeux to win the weekend’s Nashua Masters and both will hope to take that form into the 36-hole qualifier.
Jaco van Zyl is another who will hope to challenge after showing good early season form and winning last year’s Vodacom Origins of Golf final.
“Currently I’m feeling solid after finishing well last year and with a good start this year, but the qualifier is only two rounds and you cannot pace yourself like a four-round tournament. You have to play aggressively over all 36 holes,” said Van Zyl.
Adding further interest will be 2007’s IFQ - Africa winner, Adilson da Silva. The Brazilian will be hoping to make it to The Open for the third time after competing at St Andrews in 2000 and Carnoustie in 2007.
Play will commence at 8am local time on both Tuesday and Wednesday with live scores and stories published on http://www.opengolf.com/.

Ron Taylor comes in from

the cold at Wick

By ROBIN WILSON
Ron Taylor, Wick's bastion of Alliance golf since the 1980s and a six-time winner of the Scratch Quaich since this trophy was introduced in season 1997-98, ended his season's lean spell by enjoying home comforts over a cold and windswept Reiss course on Sunday.
The course was one of two halves. With a strong tail wind on the outward half, Taylor, pictured right by Robin Wilson), recorded a one under par 34 and, facing the wind for the inward nine holes, he added 39 more shots to give himself a four-stroke win over Tain's lefty, Munro Ferries.
Ferries, currently in the running to win the Quaich this year, did not harness the wind on his outward run and carded a two over par 37. Unable to beak the 40 barrier coming home, he signed for the only other score under 80 and a second-place 77, in the low entry field.
From the small hardy band of Ross-shire golfers who braved the journey north in addition to Ferries's second scratch place, his travelling companions came away with two firsts and a second place in the handicap sections.
Leading score in the Class 1 section was from Tarbat head greenkeeper Mike Keay, a gross 82 and net 75 off seven, and behind him by one was by Tain's Andrew Watt with best local Bill Murray claiming third with a better inward half in a group of four net 78s.
Ross-shire's second winner was Ali Melville (Tain) with the best handicap card of the day. The 12-handicapper's net 70 for a first in Class 2 improved on his early season second place at Golspie and third at Tarbat.
Hopefully in two weeks' time the weather will have improved to entice a bigger entry for the fixture on the Dornoch/Struie course on February 15. The twice postponed January fixture, due to have been played at Tain, has now been rearranged for the same venue on Sunday, February 22.
Wick Results
Scratch
73 R W Taylor (Wick).
77 M Ferries (Tain).
Handicap
Class 1- M Keay (Tarbat) (7) 75; A Watt (Tain) (7) 76; W Murray (Wick) (5) 77 (bih).
Class 2 – A Melville (Tain) (12) 70.

Mike Harwood to make Senior Tour debut

in Brunei after a 10-year sabbatical

PRESS RELEASE
Australian Mike Harwood, a five-time winner on The European Tour, will return to full-time golf after a sabbatical of more than a decade when he makes his European Senior Tour debut in the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters presented by The Stapleford Forum from February 27-March 1.
At 6ft 4in, Harwood will join Scotland’s Ross Drummond as the tallest player on the Senior Tour and he is hoping to make big strides in the Senior Tour Order of Merit in his rookie season.
After celebrating his 50th birthday in January, Harwood will hope to make a similar sort of impact to one of last year’s debutants, Englishman Peter Mitchell, who won three times in his maiden campaign in 2008.
However, after such protracted break from the game Harwood remains realistic about his expectations for his own first season on the Senior Tour.
“My thoughts for this season are only excitement,” he said. “Having so many years off has been very difficult but also very rewarding to be with my family. During that time I have played several tournaments each year in Australia and played the pro-am circuit at home.
“My target this year is to finish in the Senior Tour Top 20 and to work hard and dedicate myself full-time back to the game.
“The Top 20 players on the Senior Tour are strong and hopefully I can play to that standard. My main rival this year is, without doubt, myself.”
Harwood is certainly no stranger to success having won two of the biggest tournaments on the European Tour Schedule in 1990 – the PGA Championship and the Volvo Masters – en route to his career-best finish of sixth in the Order of Merit.
Those titles followed his maiden victory in the Portuguese Open in 1988 and triumph in the PLM Open in 1989, with his fifth and final European Tour win arriving in the 1991 European Open.
Harwood also finished runner up in the 1991 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, two strokes behind compatriot Ian Baker-Finch, and he will hope to rekindle that sort of display when he makes his debut in The Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard at Sunningdale Golf Club in July.
“I am really looking forward to playing The Senior Open Championship but as for winning this year, a win in any tournament would be a fantastic achievement,” he said.
Harwood will hope to follow in the footsteps of fellow Australian’s Stewart Ginn, a winner on the Senior Tour in 2008, and Noel Ratcliffe, one of the Senior Tour’s most successful players. Ratcliffe recorded eight Senior Tour victories between 1997 and 2005 and won the Order of Merit in 2000 and Harwood admits the standard set by his friend will provide a benchmark for him.
“Noel Ratcliffe had an outstanding Senior Tour career and we have played together many times, and stayed together several times,” he said. “Not only would I like to match Noel’s Senior Tour highlights, but I’d also like to go one step further.”
Among the familiar Senior Tour faces Harwood will encounter when he tees up in the season opener at The Empire Hotel & Country Club will be former Ryder Cup Captains Bernard Gallacher and Sam Torrance, as well as Gordon J Brand, a two time winner in 2008, two –time Major Champion Sandy Lyle and all-time leading Senior Tour money winner Carl Mason.

Four-way tie in North Scottish

Alliance at windy Spey Bay

There was a four-way tie for the major scratch prize on two over par 72 in the North Scottish Alliance meeting at windy Spey Bay. Kevin Thomson (Moray), Gordon Hay (Grantown) and Allan Cameron (Inverness) all had steady halves of 37-35, while Willie Hutchison (Inverness) lost a ball at the 12th in an inward 34.

LEADING SCRATCH
Par 70
72 K Thomson (Moray), G Hay (Grantown), R A L Cameron (Inverness), W Hutchison (Inverness).
73 S Wilson (Inverness).
74 J Simpson (Forres), N D Hampton (Loch Ness).
75 L Reid (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), M Macdonald (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), R Mckerron (Forres).
76 B Fotheringham (Forres).
77 J A Grant (Grantown),R Stewart (Grantown), J A G Innes (Elgin), G Donaldson (Elgin),.
78 A W Mair (Moray), K Smith (Elgin).
79 R R Adams (Moray), M L Macleman (Moray).
80 S Johnston (Elgin).
81 R G Macpherson (Moray).
82 I Hamilton (Elgin), B Inch (Elgin).
83 R Laing (Grantown), M Vishu (Boat of Garten), M C Page (Moray), H McMillan (Elgin).

HANDICAP - Class 1 (8 and under)
W Hutchison (Inverness) (7) 65
S Wilson (Inverness) (2), G Donaldson (Elgin) (6) 71
R Stewart (Grantown ) (5) 72
L Reid (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) (2) 73

Class 2 (9 to 14)
R R Adams (Moray) (9) 70
R G Macpherson (Moray) (9), M Vishu (Boat of Garten) (11) 72
R Barrett (Grantown) (14) 73.