Editor Colin Farquharson: If you have any doubts about how the serious state of the world economy will have a more and more profound, knock-on effect on professional and amateur golf, just read the following three or four articles I have lined up for you. The first one relates how the USGA's turf/grass experts are helping cash-strapped course in America's Midwest to balance tight budgets with golfers' unrealistic expectations. Almost all of the points have a relevance to British and Irish golf courses.

Club golfers should not expect courses to be

maintained 100% in these dire days

FROM THE UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION WEBSITE

By Bob Vavrek, Senior Agronomist
The bottom falling out of the economy was the uppercut that dropped many American golf facilities to the canvas in 2008. Courses across the upper Midwest were already reeling from the body blows of several years of diminished revenue caused by a decline in green fees and/or dwindling membership dues.

Some courses were knocked out, never to open the doors of the clubhouse again, and others are not quite sure they will be able to answer the bell in 2009. The majority of courses that do fight on will be wobbly to start the season and are likely to clinch and hold for a round or two by slashing the initiation fee, dues or green fees hoping to regain their senses, but knowing they can’t absorb much more punishment.

Without a doubt, all golf courses will bleed profusely from the deep cuts made to the operating budget.

Many superintendents have that one short minute in the corner this winter to determine how they will accommodate the expectations of golfers despite a significant 10 to 20% cut in the budget. No easy task when there will always be a few influential punch-drunk golfers who reside in the bar and discuss raising the bar throughout the winter months.

You know the type – those with chronic memory loss regarding the long-overdue need for fairway drainage or an upgrade from 40-year-old, single-row irrigation, while having only the ability to remember the chant … "great drive - no roll, mud on the ball, plugged ball… great drive – no roll, mud on the ball, plugged ball."

Their total contribution to the dilemma of how to juggle painful budget cuts and golfer expectations is simple – we could save lots of money if we would just turn off the water.

Unfortunately, it’s never that easy or simple. The first, and perhaps most difficult, step will be to convince golfers that deep cuts in the budget will necessitate more reasonable expectations for day-to-day play.

A golf facility in survival mode won’t be able to hand-rake bunkers seven days a week or collect clippings from the fairways. Maybe this is the year to eliminate those unnecessary bunkers from the course.

Maybe the dew walks have to go and the leaves won’t be blown off the greens two or three times a day during September and October.

The key is to prioritise the maintenance operations to determine which practices are essential to an enjoyable, challenging round of golf. Championship fights have been stopped because of serious cuts. And, even under the best of circumstances, the blood flowing into the eyes can cloud your vision.

No different for a golf course dealing with deep, painful budget cuts. Every corner needs a good cut man, and this is exactly where the USGA’s Turf Advisory Service can be of service. We can help restore clear vision with respect to maintenance priorities and share the successes and failures of many other courses having similar financial challenges.

We have nothing to sell and can make unbiased, objective evaluations of maintenance operations and can help determine reasonable expectations for a specific facility. There is no substitute for experience, and the (USGA) Green Section has gone the distance for many years, helping numerous low- and high -budget facilities make the most of their resources.

Tough times can be the best time to arrange for an agronomist to visit your course. The bottom line … don’t let deep cuts keep you down for the count in 2009.

Bob Vavrek is a senior agronomist at the USGA Green Section. This article was adapted from a recent North Central regional update. This and other regional updates written by Green Section staff may be found on the USGA website by clicking here.

Crown Golf allowing golfers to suspend

memberships if they lose their jobs

PRESS RELEASE

Crown Golf, Europe's largest golf course owner/operator, has introduced a special 'credit crunch membership initiative' in response to the economic downturn.For the first time the group has added a redundancy clause to its membership packages, allowing golfers to suspend their membership if they lose their job. In addition, the group is also allowing members to transfer membership to another player if they can no longer afford it.

The initiative has been brought in by Crown Golf to respond to the needs of their members across their club network - which amounts to more than 22,000 golfers at 34 golf clubs across the country.

Announcing the initiative, Crown Golf Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Lewis, said today: "We recognise that taking an annual golf club membership can be seen as a big commitment, so we are determined to give added value to our members - both those renewing memberships and those taking new ones.

"This is the first time we have brought in a redundancy clause and allowed golfers to transfer memberships to another player if money gets tight. Crown Golf is a very forward-thinking organisation. We care about our members and we feel this is the right thing to do in the current climate.
"Members are the lifeblood of the club. We appreciate their commitment to us and it is vital that we build long-term relationships with them by offering membership products that are attractive and fit their lifestyles.
"As an industry we have to recognise the situation that many golfers mayface in the coming months."
Their 'credit crunch' membership initiative also allows an individual club member to play up to eight rounds of golf a year at each of the other clubs in their network.
Crown Golf has 34 properties nationwide.
A full list of clubs can be foundat www.crown-golf.co.uk

Stanford Financial: Another sponsorship

disaster looming up for US PGA

FROM THE CBS SPORTS.COM WEBSITE
By Steve Elling, Senior Writer
As the United States' economy continues to spiral down the commode, yet another potential sponsorship disaster looms for the US PGA Tour.
Business offices of Stanford Financial, which sponsors the event in Memphis and has the longest sponsorship deal in place with the tour, were raided earlier this week by federal officers alleging that the company has committed $8 billion in fraud.
Outside company offices in Houston, federal officials hung a sign reading, "The company is still in operation but under the management of a receiver," signaling that assets have possibly been frozen.
Stanford last fall also signed on to host the season-ending LPGA event, the Stanford Financial Tour Championship, in Houston. It was unclear how the LPGA event would be affected.
Stanford and Frys, an electronics firm, are signed with the US Tour as title sponsors through 2016, the longest-tenured pacts in place as the tour tries to shore up events and sponsors that have been pole-axed by the economy. The tour has over a dozen sponsors in the crippled financial, banking and auto sectors.
It has created a week-by-week examination that has proven embarrassing for both the sponsors and tour at times as entities like Buick and Chrysler, which both are subsisting on hand-outs from US taxpayers, have attempted to justify the expenses of staging golf tournaments while entertaining top brass and clients.
US Tour officials acted quickly to assure the public that the Stanford St. Jude Championship in Memphis event, scheduled for June 11-14, the week before the U.S. Open, would still take place. Tour protocol requires title sponsors to produce a certificate proving that dedicated funds are in place for upcoming tournaments.
"We have no comment regarding the situation with Allen Stanford and certain of his companies at this time," US PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a news release.
"However, we want to categorically state that the PGA Tour event in Memphis will be played as scheduled this year."
It was unclear how the federal raids would affect the sponsorship deals Stanford has with three prominent players on two tours -- Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas and Morgan Pressel.

Johnson and Hansen win places in the

Accenture Match-play Championship

Monday was the cut-off point for qualifying for a place in the 64-man field for the Accenture Match-play Championship in Arizona next week.
Dustin Johnson and Anders Hansen, both tournament winners, made it with nothing to spare as they moved into the top 64 of the world rankings.
Still in doubt is the comeback appearance of Tiger Woods, the No. 1 seed and defending champion. Players have until 5 p.m. on Friday to confirm they are taking up their spots in the tournament.
Only 17 Americans are among the top 64, the lowest since the Accenture Match Play Championship began in 1999. There were 40 Americans in the first year of the tournament.
If Woods does not play, Richard Green of Australia would be the 64th seed.
Johnson has never played in a World Golf Championship, and he might not have expected this one. He was at No. 119 in the world until winning the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Monday, when rain washed out the final round. He moved up to No. 45.
``Any time you can win, it opens up lots of doors for you,'' Johnson said. ``I couldn't be more excited. It couldn't have come at a better time, either.''
Hansen was at No. 65 in the world ranking until the Dane won the Vodacom Championship on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa, moving him up to No. 51. Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, who was No. 67, tied for second at the Vodacom and moved up to No. 63.
Falling out of the top 64 were Dudley Hart, who missed the cut at Pebble Beach; Ryo Ishikawa, the 17-year-old from Japan, and Green. Neither Ishikawa nor Green played last week.
Ishikawa fell from No. 64 to No. 67, and he needs three players to withdraw before he can get in the field.
Perhaps the biggest victim was D.J. Trahan, who was at No. 70 in the world. He was in a three-way tie for sixth through three rounds at Pebble Beach and could have moved to No. 64 by finishing alone in fifth. But when the fourth round was canceled because of rain, Trahan only moved up to No. 66 and currently is the second alternate.
If Woods were to play and no one withdrew, Woods would face Brendan Jones of Australia in the first round. Sergio Garcia, the No. 2 seed, would face Schwartzel, while Padraig Harrington would play Pat Perez and Vijay Singh would face Soren Kjeldsen.

Tiger "ready to return" in

next few weeks: caddie

Tiger Woods is closing in on a return to the US PGA Tour, according to his caddie, Steve Williams.
Woods has been out of competitive action since winning the US Open last June after having reconstructive surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee the following week.
"He is ready to go anytime in the next few weeks," Williams told Television New Zealand. "He is about 90% but he won't play unless he is 100%."
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Tiger Woods' official website
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Williams added: "He has had to modify his swing a little bit to accommodate his knee but it is a matter of getting back into the groove."
Woods, who earlier this month celebrated the birth of his second child with wife Elin, has won 14 Major golf championships and needs five more to set a new record for the most Major wins.
And Williams believes that even if Woods is a little rusty upon his return the American will have the mental strength to remain the world's leading player.
"I've said it before, the best quote I have heard about him is that 'they haven't operated on his head and you haven't operated on his heart', which are his two best components," he added.
"Maybe his game is not as good but if he is mentally stronger - we all know that he is the mentally toughest player to play the game so that in itself is a big factor."

Dustin Johnson is winner at Pebble Beach

Dustin Johnson has won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am after the final round was cancelled due to inclement weather.
The final round of the event was first called off on Sunday as wind and rain lashed the course. Organisers hoped to get it in on Monday, but it became apparently early in the morning that the course was not in good enough condition.
The weather proved beneficial to the 24-year-old Johnson, who claimed his second career US PGA Tour title with an overall score of 15-under-par.
Currently in just his second full year on the US Tour, Johnson joined Anthony Kim as the only players under-25 with two titles.
Johnson picked up six shots in Saturday's third round to overtake Retief Goosen.
Johnson was two strokes off the lead entering the third round before surging past Goosen with a 5-under-par 67 at Poppy Hills.
Goosen fell from the lead after a 74 at Spyglass Hill.

FINAL TOTALS (last round cancelled due to bad weather)
Pebble Beach GC
208 Kevin Chappell 68 72 68
210 Charley Hoffman 66 70 74
211 Tim Herron 72 68 71, Tim Clark (Rsa) 71 71 69
212 Jim Furyk 71 70 71
213 Michael Letzig 69 73 71, Pat Perez 73 71 69, Robert Garrigus 65 71 77, Glen Day 73 70 70, Charles Howell III 72 70 71
214 Phil Mickelson 72 71 71, Mathew Goggin (Aus) 70 73 71
215 Matt Weibring 70 70 75
Poppy Hills GC
201 Dustin Johnson 65 69 67
208 Bill Lunde 67 70 71, D.J. Trahan 67 73 68
209 Mark Brooks 68 69 72, Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn) 69 73 67
210 Charlie Wi (Kor) 68 69 73, Spencer Levin 71 70 69, Vaughn Taylor 66 75 69, Ted Purdy 68 72 70, Matt Kuchar 71 71 68, Jason Day (Aus) 67 75 68
211 Y. E Yang (Kor) 69 70 72, Michael Allen 67 71 73, Jeff Overton 69 70 72, Jeff Quinney 68 73 70, Davis Love III 69 72 70, Len Mattiace 69 72 70
212 Arjun Atwal (Ind) 68 73 71, Steve Lowery 70 69 73, John Mallinger 72 71 69
213 Charles Warren 74 69 70, Scott Gutschewski 71 72 70, David Mathis 71 75 67, Rich Beem 66 75 72, Troy Matteson 73 71 69, Greg Owen (Eng) 68 73 72
214 Brendon De Jonge 69 74 71, Brad Adamonis 71 72 71, KJ Choi (Kor) 69 75 70, Jason Dufner 75 68 71, Chris Smith 70 75 69, David Duval 73 72 69
215 Ricky Barnes 69 75 71, Chris Kirk 73 73 69, Hunter Mahan 72 71 72, Jarrod Lyle (Aus) 72 73 70, Eric Axley 72 72 71, Bob Heintz 71 69 75
Spyglass Hill GC
205 Mike Weir (Can) 67 69 69
206 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 68 64 74
207 Bob Estes 68 72 67, Mark Calcavecchia 67 69 71
208 Chris Stroud 69 69 70
209 Kenny Perry 71 70 68, Sean O'Hair 71 68 70
210 Kevin Stadler 71 71 68
211 Nick Watney 75 69 67, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 71 70 70, Derek Fathauer 71 71 69
212 Jeff Klauk 73 72 67, Aron Price (Aus) 68 69 75
213 Peter Tomasulo 71 70 72, Jay Williamson 70 75 68, Mark Wilson 70 73 70, Frank Lickliter II 72 71 70, James Oh (Kor) 73 72 68
214 J.B. Holmes 74 68 72, J J Henry 71 72 71, Marc Leishman (Aus) 72 73 69, Jimmy Walker 71 73 70, Rick Price 70 72 72, Matthew Jones (Aus) 71 71 72
215 Brian Vranesh 68 74 73, Dean Wilson 68 71 76, John Ellis 69 74 72, Todd Fischer 72 69 74, James Driscoll 73 70 72

Westwood clickety-clicks and finds himself

in second place at Johnnie Walker Classic

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Lee Westwood was pleasantly surprised with his strong opening round at the Johnnie Walker Classic as he ended the first day just two shots behind leader Robert-Jan Derksen.
The 35-year-old Englishman has had little opportunity to prepare for this week's tournament in Perth, Western Australia but his lowered expectations contributed to a relaxed approach and six-under-par 66.
"It's quite good to come to some of these tournaments with no expectations and just play with freedom and take it one shot at a time," said Westwood, who took a month off over Christmas. "I'm not suggesting I wasn't trying; I'm just saying that I haven't played a lot recently and sometimes it's nice to go out and play like that."
In addition to posting a good score, Westwood also had the opportunity to play with one of his golfing idols, Greg Norman.
"That was another treat for me as Greg was really kind of my hero," he added.
"I wanted to play golf like he played, aggressive and with that kind of charisma.
"It's been about five or six years since we last played together at Royal Troon with another guy called Tiger Woods - that was a good three-ball for me!
"I still enjoy watching him play and some of the short-game shots he plays, the chips around the green, he's just in a different class.
"Greg has always been one of the fittest people out there. You look at him now, he's 54 or something like that, and still in great shape. If you're in great shape, then you've got half a chance."
PRESS RELEASE FROM ASIAN TOUR
Robert-Jan Derksen fired a blistering eight-under-par 64 to take the first round lead in the Johnnie Walker Classic with Singaporean Mardan Mamat leading the chasing pack.
Flying Dutchman Derjsen crafted a flawless round which included eight birdies at The Vines Resort and Country Club to lead by one stroke from Mardan, who carried Asia’s charge for a first victory in the prestigious tournament, and Australian Tony Carolan.
Irishman Damien McGrane and English duo Lee Westwood and John Bickerton were a further stroke back while last week’s Maybank Malaysian Open winner, Anthony Kang of the United States, and newly-installed European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie were amongst those bunched on 67.
Australian great Greg Norman, making his first appearance on home soil since 2006, endured a frustrating day on the greens en route to a 75.
American Anthony Kim opened with a bogey-free 68 and Camilo Villegas of Colombia, ranked ninth in the world, sank a last-hole eagle putt to salvage a 72 on a sun-baked day at The Vines.
Derksen was delighted to be challenging for a third career title on a course which he likes. “I’ve played this course a few times, I know the course really well,” said the 35-year-old, whose last victory came in 2005.
“I think it suits my game. I've been struggling a little bit with my driver lately, but I think this week, it's just more position play. It's a good start and it's always nice to have a chance. But there’s a lot of golf to be played.”
No Asian has won the Johnnie Walker Classic since it was inaugurated in 1990 and Mardan gave himself every chance with an impressive display. He credited his coach Kel Llewellyn and caddie Drew Dubberlin for his strong start.
“I’ve got a good caddie who knows the course very well. At the same time, he’s keeping me relaxed and he did a good job,” said Mardan. “Drew knows where to place the ball, the pin positions and how to read the lines. There’s less of a job for me to do and I can just focus on hitting the golf ball. I’m a bit stubborn sometimes but I did listen to some of his advice!”
The Singaporean is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour but it has been nearly three years now that he lasted tasted victory. Part of the reasons has been due to bad habits creeping into his game which Mardan put a quick fix after a session with Llewellyn.
“He fine-tuned my swing and it worked very well. It’s just trying to do what I had forgotten all these years as I’ve not seen Kel for two years. I’m just keeping the swing simple. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it’ll stay that way through the weekend,” said Mardan.
Carolan, a regular on the Asian Tour, played his last 10 holes in seven under to join Mardan in second place. An eagle on his ninth hole, at the par five 18th sparked his superb run. “I nearly had an albatross as the ball shaved the hole. When it left the clubface, we knew it was online and the crowd was screaming. That eagle sparked my round,” said Carolan.
Ryder Cup star Westwood put himself firmly in the race for a 19th European Tour career title after a strong finish where he birdied four of his last seven holes. “I started off hitting a couple of poor shots, a couple of pulls and got away with one but I corrected the fault,” said Westwood.
“That’s what I’ve been good at doing the last couple of years - correcting things pretty quickly - and I started hitting good shots after that and I played well for the last 12 holes.”
Last week’s champion Kang needed a bogey on his opening hole to bring him back to reality and stormed home with an inward 31. “I was still buzzed from last week. But after the bogey, it woke me straight up,” said Kang, a three-time winner on the Asian Tour.
Arizona-based Kang said his family has been inundated with phone calls from friends and well-wishers following his career’s biggest victory. “I feel bad for my parents and everyone back home. I think I’ve had arthritis from sitting in front of the computer for a long time answering emails,” said Kang.
The 54-year-old Norman could not buy a putt and three-putted on three occasions to leave himself with a fight on his hands to make the halfway cut on Friday. “I actually felt good. I hit one bad drive and took a double bogey and took three three-putts. 75 is a bit of a shock to me but that’s my score and I’ve got to take it,” said the Great White Shark.
The Johnnie Walker Classic, offering £1.25 million, is tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia.
ALL THE FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
64 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned)
65 Tony Carolan (Aus), Mardan Mamat (Sin)
66 Damien McGrane, John Bickerton, Lee Westwood
67 Anthony Kang (USA), Danny Lee (Nzl), Clint Rice (Aus), Colin Montgomerie, Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Peter Lawrie, Hiroyuki Fujita (Jpn)
68 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Seung-yul Noh (Kor), Chris Gaunt (Aus), Benn Barham, Andrew Tschudin (Aus), Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Scott Hend (Aus), Alexander Noren (Swe), Adam Blyth (Aus), Scott Laycock (Aus), Richie Ramsay, Gareth Maybin, Phillip Price, Simon Khan, Taichiro Kiyota (Jpn), Anthony Kim (USA), David McKenzie (Aus), Ian Poulter, Hyung-sung Kim (Kor)
69 Michael Sim (Aus), Anton Haig (Rsa), Richie Gallichan (Aus), Tim Wood (Aus), Chih-bing Lam (Sin), Stuart Bouvier (Aus), Gary Lockerbie, Craig Scott (Aus), Richard Finch, Andre Stolz (Aus), Sam Little
70 David Smail (Nzl), Pelle Edberg (Swe), Stephen Leaney (Aus), Johan Edfors (Swe), Simon Wakefield, Anthony Wall, Niclas Fasth (Swe), Markus Brier (Aut), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Darren Beck (Aus), David Howell, Wayne Perske (Aus), Andrew Dodt (Aus), Terry Pilkadaris (Aus), Mark Brown (USA), Peter Senior (Aus), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Seve Benson, Marcus Both (Aus), Sang-moon Bae (Kor), Iain Steel (Mal), Ross McGowan
71 Bryan Saltus (USA), Robert Dinwiddie, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Magnus A Carlsson (Swe), Won Joon Lee (Aus), Robert Rock, Tristan Lambert (Aus), Scott Barr (Aus), Marc Warren, Artemio-hiromasa Murakami (Phi), Craig Parry (Aus), Michael Jonzon (Swe), Alastair Forsyth, Wade Ormsby (Aus), Miles Tunnicliff, Brad Kennedy (Aus), Ashley Hall (Aus), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Cameron Percy (Aus), Paul Casey, Brett Rumford (Aus), Stephen Dartnell (Aus), Rick Kulacz (Aus), Mark Foster, Paul Sheehan (Aus)
72 Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Andrew Coltart, Anthony Summers (Aus), Marcel Siem (Ger), Ben Leong (Mal), Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Scott Drummond, Brad Lamb (Aus), Jason Knutzon (USA), Adam Crawford (Aus), Oliver Fisher, Kane Webber (USA), Alistair Presnell (Aus), Camilo Villegas (Col), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra)
73 Simon Griffiths, David Frost (Rsa), Peter Hedblom (Swe), Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Graeme Storm, Jason Scrivener (Aus), Matthew Millar (Aus), Pablo Martin (Spa), Matthew Griffin (Aus), Steve Webster, Nick Dougherty, Michael McGrath (Aus), Gary Murphy, Taco Remkes (Ned), James Kamte (Rsa), Gavin Flint (Aus), Peter O'Malley (Aus)
74 Chris Downes (Aus), Ryan Haller (Aus), Scott Strange (Aus), Jarrod Moseley (Aus), Tae hee Lee (Kor), Michael Long (Nzl), Phillip Archer, Ryan Hammond (Aus), Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Richard Green (Aus), Gregory Bourdy (Fra)
75 David Gleeson (Aus), Jamie Donaldson, Greg Norman (Aus), Heath Reed (Aus), Paul Broadhurst, Josh Geary (Nzl)
76 Adam Bland (Aus), Angelo Que (Phi), Steven Bowditch (Aus)
77 Aaron Townsend (Aus), Jason King (Aus), Ewan Porter (Aus), Anthony Brown (Aus), Rhys Davies, Chris Rodgers, Peter Fowler (Aus), Steve Jones (USA)
78 Shiv Kapur (Ind), Peter Wilson (Aus), Michael Moore (Aus)
80 Terry Price (Aus)
DQ: Mitchell Brown (Aus)

Top Indian pro Jyoti Randhawa joins

coach Colin Brooks' list of clients


FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By WILLIAM DUNCAN
THE growing reputation of an Edinburgh-based golf coach has earned him another pupil – nearly 5,000 miles away!
Jyoti Randhawa, one of India's top professionals, has started working with Colin Brooks after the former Scottish champion was recommended to him by a rich sponsor.
"It's an interesting one, to say the least," admitted Brooks, who has established himself as one of Scotland's leading coaches from his base at the Braid Hills Golf Centre, Edinburgh.
"It all came about after I did a bit of coaching with one of Jyoti's sponsors up at the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews last October. He liked the way I went about my coaching and, as Jyoti didn't have a coach and was struggling a bit with his game, he suggested that we should get together."
Easier said than done when you're talking about someone who lives in New Delhi and the other in Edinburgh. So where did they meet?
"It was Las Vegas actually," explains Brooks. "Jyoti and his sponsor were having a company day there, so he flew me over and we worked together for a couple of days. Jyoti also liked the things I was saying and we agreed then to start working together. I went out to Dubai when the Desert Classic was being played there and, as the season progresses, we will arrange to meet up now and again at tournaments on the European Tour."
So far, the advice Brooks is giving appears to be paying off for Randhawa, who finished fifth in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last season on his way to claiming 67th position on the European Tour Order of Merit.
In four events this year, he's made the cut every time, picking up more than 100,000 Euros as he tied for second in the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur last weekend.
"It's certainly been a case of so far, so good and, if we continue working together, then I believe that Jyoti sets up base in the London area from around mid-May, so that would make it easier for us to meet up," said Brooks.
"Jyoti's a very good player, as he showed by finishing in the top 70 in Europe last season, and he's not someone who wants to have a coach there 24/7, so we will see how it goes.
"The link up means that Brooks is now working with two European Tour players at the moment, having become Andrew Coltart's coach after the former Ryder Cup man set up home in Edinburgh.
"I was delighted for Andrew when he won back his European Tour card for the current season," added Brooks, who preceded Colin Montgomerie as the Scottish amateur champion in 1986."I think he's got his swing back to where it was when he was being very successful on the European Tour (Coltart faced Tiger Woods in the singles in the 1999 Ryder Cup at Brookline].
"He knows that he's never going to be one of the longest hitters in the world – his strengths are accuracy, consistency and course management. And, having recorded his first top 10 in three years, I believe, in Qatar a few weeks ago, his confidence has clearly been given a huge boost and, hopefully, he can go on and retain his card."
As well as Randhawa and Coltart, Brooks is still coaching Lloyd Saltman, while he's also kept busy in his role as one of the Scottish Golf Union's Academy coaches.
"This is a big year for Lloyd, who must be frustrated to see players he competed against as an amateur now doing well on the European Tour," said Brooks who twice won the Northern Open on the Tartan Tour.
"He's just got to bide his time because he's not doing anything different now to when he was making a name for himself a couple years back. Lloyd has always been a confidence player – he could beat anyone in the world when he's feeling confident – and, hopefully, that will return this season."

Youngest-ever club pro at St Andrews course

Promotion at The Duke's

for Ayden Roberts-Jones

PRESS RELEASE
The Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa in St Andrews has promoted Ayden Roberts-Jones to the role of The Duke’s Club Professional.
At only 27 years old, Mr Roberts-Jones - who has been a key member of the award-winning Duke’s team since qualifying as a PGA Professional in 2003 - becomes the youngest-ever Club Professional to take up this mantle at The Duke’s.
Mr Roberts-Jones, who lives in St Andrews, is also an integral member of the Old Course Hotel’s team, having successfully participated in the cutting-edge Management Development Programme, which greatly enhanced his progression into this exciting new role at The Duke’s.
David Scott, Manager of The Duke's and Estates Landscape commented: “Ayden is extremely committed with great passion and enthusiasm for The Duke’s and has some inspiring ideas to promote its continuous success. I am delighted to promote such young talent into this key role at The Duke’s.”
Mr Roberts-Jones said: “I look forward to working closely with David Scott and the entire Duke’s team. The Duke’s is currently listed within Golf World’s top 100 courses in the UK and Ireland, and the team strives very hard to ensure The Duke’s is providing outstanding service to ensure ultimate satisfaction for our customers. I look forward to contributing to the dynamic vision to make The Duke’s one of the best golfing experiences in the UK.”

WHERE TO GO
The Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa, a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, has 144 spacious rooms including 35 suites, and borders the 17th 'Road Hole' of the world famous Old Course in St Andrews, the Home of Golf. The hotel has spectacular views across the links courses to the sea, The Grampians and St Andrews.
Kohler Co. acquired the award-winning Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa in October 2004 and has since completed a comprehensive investment programme, which includes new suites by star French designer Jacques Garcia and a brand-new, state-of-the-art conference wing.
The Kohler Waters Spa opened in March 2006 and is a member of the prestigious Leading Spas. The Duke's, the newly-landscaped heathland masterpiece, reopened in summer 2006, transformed by American golf course architect Tim Liddy, protégé of Pete Dye, and one of the most talked-about influences in the modern

Greg Kraft defends Puerto Rico Open

championship at Trump International

PRESS RELEASE
Once again Puerto Rico prepares to welcome the best international golf professionals for the opening of Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular from March 12th to 15th in the Trump International Golf Club, Río Grande, where Greg Kraft will defend his 2008 title.
The tournament, with a purse of US$3,500,000 and points for the FedEx Cup, attracts names such as David Duval, Jesper Parnevik, Mark Calcavecchia, Rocco Mediate and Chris Di Marco, among other top players.
Puerto Rico Golf Association, manager and owner of the event, truly believes that this type of competition enhances golf in the region and places Puerto Rico as one of the best places for golf in the whole world.
“Because of its importance, Puerto Rico Open, presented by Banco Popular, will become a classic for golf in the region. It gives our golfers a chance to take part in a PGA Tour tournament, and for tourists to get to know the large variety of courses we have here”, said Sidney Wolf, PRGA President, who is also the main responsible for the tournament which contributes some of its profits to Fondos Unidos de Puerto Rico, a charity association devoted to community actions for Porto Rican youth.
One dream week for tourists
Perfect weather, more than 20 spectacular golf courses, and the best service awaiting a large number of tourists/golfers that, throughout the tournament, in a spectacular week, will be able to enjoy the best golf in the world and also play in a variety of excellent golf courses in the island.
As regards tourism, Mario Gonzalez, Vice Director of Porto Rican Tourism Board, assured that this type of competition showcases for the whole world the wide vacation possibilities in a much faster and more effective way.
“It is of the utmost importance for us to support this tournament, since during this week we receive tourists from all over the world and we have the invaluable opportunity to show them all the touristic options of the island, specially everything related to golf because Puerto Rico has a wide variety of golf courses and a weather that makes it possible to play 365 days a year”, said González.
For more information on Tourism in Puerto Rico visit http://www.gotopuertorico.com/
General Information about Puerto Rico Open
Date: March 9 to 15, 2009
Course: Trump International Golf Club Puerto Rico, par 72 and 7,500 yards
Purse: $3,500,000 USD 250 FedEx Cup points .
Number of players: 132
Format: Stroke Play, 72 holes, 36 hole cut
Television: The Golf Channel (Thursday - Sunday)
Timetable: Monday, March 9 – Professional Practice Rounds & Pro-Am presented by Group Triple-S
Tuesday, March 10 - Professional Practice Rounds & Junior Clinic.
Wednesday, March 11 – Official Pro-Am.
Thursday to Sunday, March 12 to 15 - Puerto Rico Open Championship

Loch Ness Juniors, Luckless Leadbetters

lead way in Fairways Target Golf Leagues

By NEIL HAMPTON
The Loch Ness Juniors kept up their unbeaten run in the Monday night league, maintaining their four-point lead at the top but now over just one team. It was the Neverwillbees, who have never found their form this season, who fell to the Juniors in what was another low-scoring night for all teams.
The Specialists saw off BM Trucks to be alone in second place as Trilight lost to a Fairways team that still could not manage a full team line-up. This leaves Trilight and Fairways tied on 6 points, just two behind the Specialists but a distant six points behind the Juniors.
With four games left to play, the battle is on the second qualifying spot in the Top Team Play-offs.
Results:
The Neverwillbees 12 - 34 Loch Ness Juniors
Fairways 28 - 16 Trilight
BM Trucks 19 - 28 Specialists.

TUESDAY NIGHT LEAGUE
The Tuesday league provided two big results, one at either end of the table. At the top, first played second and it was an encounter that kept everyone on the edge of their seats until the final ball was counted.
The Luckless Leadbetters, who tasted defeat for the first time this season and saw their air of invincibility diminish in subsequent matches, were taken all the way by a plucky Coastguards team who, despite not scoring big, have been grinding out results.
The match score couldn't have been closer with just one shot separating the teams and it was in favour of the Leadbetters who now find themselves two points clear at the top with the Coastguards dropping to third.
The Coastguards are on the same points are Darren's Dazzlers who top scored in their easy win against a lacklustre Raigmore Motel but the Dazzlers have the better shots-scored record and therefore leapfrog the Coastguards.
With the league split just one game away, Patsy's Pets loss to Muirton could be crucial as the Pets are in fifth place, tied on points with Raigmore.
However, they play each next week in a winner-takes-all game for a place in the top half. The Sainties lost their chance of making the top four with their part in the night's biggest result as the Fairhurst Fore finally made an impression, scoring 36 shots which was good enough to beat the Sainties by six, thus securing Fairhurst their first points of the year.
Results:
Fairhurst 36 - 30 The Sainties
Raigmore Motel 12 - 52 Darren'sDazzlers
Patsy's Pets 9 - 40 Muirton Marvels
Coastguards 29 - 30Luckless Leadbetters
HOW THEY STAND
Played-points
1Loch Ness Juniors 6 12
2 Specialists 6 8
3 Trilight 6 6
4 Fairways 6 6
5 The Neverwillbees 6 2
6 BM Trucks 6 2
===============
1 Luckless Leadbetters 6 10
2 Darren's Dazzlers 6 8
3 Coastguards 6 8
4 Raigmore Motel 6 6
5 Patsy's Pets 6 6
6 Muirton Marvels 6 4
7 The Sainties 6 4
8 Fairhurst Fore 6 2

Norman Forrest becomes


President of E G U

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION
Norman Forrest, a long-serving member of the Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs, has been installed as President of the English Golf Union at its annual general meeting at Woodhall Spa.
As he succeeds Roy Case at the helm of the EGU, Forrest hopes his year in office will see more golf clubs taking advantage of the many facilities the Union has to offer.
Norman, pictured right by courtesy of Tom Ward Photography, says: “I would encourage all clubs to take advantage of the support available and also to attend the many seminars, road shows and workshops held throughout the country on a range of subjects of interest to golf club administrators.
"Remember, YOU are the English Golf Union and we are here to support you.”
Norman is keen to underline the fact that he is first and foremost ‘a club man’ and to that end he knows the many areas in which clubs can help themselves through the diverse areas of golf that the EGU provides.
He is also keen to see clubs reverse the trend of diminishing memberships in difficult economic times.
“It is ironic that whilst interest in golf is increasing, membership of our clubs is on the decline,” he adds. “We must all work together to remedy this trend. I know it is uppermost in the minds of our Chief Executive and the EGU Board. Let us hope we are successful in our efforts but we must also ensure that it is not at the expense of the standards and traditions that we hold so dear.”
Norman, 73, is a retired director of a Bolton-based family business specialising in all types of structural timberwork. He is a past Captain, Honorary Life Member and Trustee of Walmersley Golf Club and a member of Royal Lytham & St Anne’s Golf Club.
A Past President of the Bury and District Golf Association, he was President of Lancashire in 1992 and is still active as a member of its Administration Committee. He was the Lancashire representative on the EGU Council in 1995 and 1996 and on the EGU’s Executive from 2003-2005, serving on Finance and Presidents Advisory Committees.
Currently he is a Director and Chairman of the EGU’s Property Company Ltd and has been since 2005. He admits to being a golfer of limited ability, currently playing off an 18 handicap and rising but a strong supporter of etiquette and standards within the game.
Norman is married to Eva and they have three children and six grandchildren.