James Byrne slips from first

to 4th on last day at Sawgrass

Banchory's James Byrne let the chance of a first victory on the United States college circuit slide away from him over the final round of the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational at Sawgrass Country Club, Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida today.
Byrne, 20, led with a first-round 68, shared the lead after a second round 73 and dropped down to a final placing of fourth in a field of 84 with a disappointing last-day effort of five-over-par 77 over the 6955yd, par-72 course for a total of two-over 218.
Byrne never really recovered from a morale-sapping double bogey 6 at the second even though he did birdie the long fourth. Bogeys followed at the sixth and seventh before he gained his second and final birdie of the day, at the long eighth, to be out in two-over 38.
On the inward half, Byrne could not get a single birdie and had bogeys at the 11th, 12th and 14th for 39 home.
The Scot finished four shots behind the winner John Peterson (Louisiana State) who had the best final round of 70 for 214.
Although in the end it was a disappointing finish for James Byrne he was still the leading Arizona State player and he still finished three shots ahed of Newcastle's Chris Paisley (Tennessee) who is in the GB&I Walker Cup squad.
Louisiana State not only provided the individual winner they also won the team title by the commannding margin of 28 shots from runners-up Arizona State with Georgia Southern third and Georgia State foufrth. Tennessee were fifth.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 216 (3 x 72)

214 John Peterson (Louisiana State) 71 73 70.
216 Zack Byrd (Coastal Carolina) 71 70 75, Hunter Hamrick (Alabama) 72 72 72, Andrew Loupe (Louisiana State) 73 70 73.
218 James Byrne (Arizona State) 68 73 77.
Selected scores:

221 Chris Paisley (Tennessee) 73 77 71 (jt 9th).
225 Darren Renwick (Tennessee) 75 76 74, Tom Sherreard (Georgia State) 75 77 73 ( (jt 13th).
232 Cathal O'Malley (Alabama) 78 79 75 (jt 48th).
Field of 84 players.
LEADING TEAM TOTALS

865 Louisiana State. 893 Arizona State. 895 Georgia Southern. 900 Georgia State. 901 Tennessee. 905 Alabama. 15 teams took part.

Turkish Delight for Craig Lee sending him

off to Colombia .... it's a Challenge!

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Hope springs eternal for the tour professional, and it has to, especially those quite a few rungs removed from the top of the ladder. Like 31-year-old Stirling-based Craig Lee (pictured right).

The European Tour in 2008 looked like a bridge too far for Lee who is too good to play on the Tartan Tour but not quite good enough to compete with Colin Montgomerie & Co.

But that was yesterday. What about tomorrow?

Lee tried his luck recently on the German Satellite Tour - the Renauld EPD Tour - and won two 54-hole events, the Sueno Pines Classic and the Sueno Dunes Classic, and finished joint 10th in a third, the Lykia Links Classic.

All the events were played in Turkey. A Germany Satellite Tour in Turkey? Confused? Well, you shouldn't be. I was in the golfing Antalya Region of Turkey in February 2007 and Scotland should have summer weather like it was then!

Anyway, to get back to Craig Lee. He won 8947 Euros to be precise and tops the German Satellite Tour Order of Merit at the moment.

But Craig is turning his eyes to the Challenge Tour, even though Category 12 membership of the European Tour does not guarantee him many starts ... unless he makes the most of his early openings and qualifies to play in the next event and so on.

Lee was so chuffed with how he played in Turkey that he has already spent some of that 8947 Euros in buying air tickets to Bogota, Colombia. That's where the first event on the 2009 Challenge Tour will be played - the Colombia Masters from March 19 to 22.

One small snag. He is not guaranteed a place in the field. If all the guys ahead of Craig in the pecking order enter the tournament, then Craig will have spent a fair bit of money for a sightseeing trip to Bogota!

"You have to be optimistic. I think I'll get into the Colombia Masters and the Kenya Open (Nairobi, April 16 to 19) and the Moroccan Classic (El Jadida, April 30 to May 30), and after that it will be up to me," he said.

One of the reasons he feels he struggled on the European Tour was the time and effort it took to wind down his All Swing Golf Centre business in Stirling.

"I'm glad to be getting back to a position where I am totally focused on playing golf," he said and his results in Turkey a few weeks ago, seem to support that.

Good luck, Craig. Wasn't it only yesterday I reported on him winning the Scottish assistants' championship at Spey Bay? Maybe longer but I am sure that he still wears the same size of cap as he did then. Nice guys like him should win all the time.

Just in case you are interested, the leading positions on the Renault EPD Tour after three events in Turkey are:

1 Craig Lee 8947 Euros.

2 Dennis Kupper (Ger) 5241.

3 James Ruth (Eng) 3810.

4 Max Kramer (Ger) 3645.

5 Paul Hendriksen (Eng) 3127.

Selected positions:

12 Sam Robinson (Eng) 1952.

18 Lee Corfield (Eng) 1483.

MacGregor Golf on the way out of business

MacGregor Golf, the second-oldest golf equipment company in the United States, is selling off chunks of its operation - and is heading for oblivion.
It has suffered a dwindling of staff and defection of top management executives. Perhaps not rats deserting a sinking ship but a good enough analogy.
Now, it is liquidating at least some of its inventory.
“We’ve been picking up some of it at rock-bottom prices,” said Mark Marney, owner and chief executive of The Golf Warehouse.
According to the merchandiser’s website, the MacGregor Bobby Grace DCT series putters, for example, have been marked down from $169 to $49.88.
The inventory fire sale follows MacGregor’s 11th-hour withdrawal from January’s US PGA Merchandise Show at Orlando and offering no product introductions this season.
The Albany, Georgia-based company, whose ownership group includes Greg Norman, has already sold apparel maker Greg Norman Collection to New York-based Tharanco Group on February 2.
A MacGregor spokesperson acknowledged that the company’s Asian subsidiary, which it had owned since 2003, had been purchased in a management buy-out.
According to a former MacGregor employee, the company has been on the block for months. That source, as well as another retail observer, said at least one major retailer considered buying the remaining assets of MacGregor and making it a house brand.
The industry rumour mill has speculated extensively about a potential MacGregor buyer, including reports that one of its international distributors could be a suitor.
Meanwhile, MacGregor’s staff has been depleted. President and CEO Michael Setola joined Greg Norman Collection; putter designer Bobby Grace resigned in June; Reid Gorman, who preceded Setola as president, left the company in October; and the sales staff has been gutted.
Remember the name. MacGregor. It could soon be a thing of the past.

Oh no! European Tour history-maker Danny

Lee is going to change his swing

Nick Faldo did it and went to win six majors. Sandy Lyle did it and never looked like adding to his bag of two majors.
Yes, it's all about changing your golf swing in the belief that it is necessary to take you to a higher leve.
Only days after becoming the youngest winner of a European Tour or Australasian Tour event, 18-year-old amateur Danny Lee has decided to change his swing.
The Korean-born New Zealand golfer finished birdie-birdie to win the Johnnie Walker Classic by a stroke on Sunday.
As an amateur, he didn't get any prize money but as a golfer he moved from No 562 to No 159 in the world rankings and earned a three-year exemption to play in any event he wants, short of the Open, on the European, Asian and Australasian Tours.
It was a conversation with Butch Harmon-trained Won Joon Lee during the Johnnie Walker Classic that encouraged Lee to alter his swing.
``I don't really like the follow-through of my swing so I asked him a couple of questions and he gave me some good tips, so I'm working on that at the moment,'' Lee said. ``He is coached by Butch Harmon and I really like his swing - like Adam Scott. I really like their style of swing so I asked him a few questions.''
Lee plans to turn pro after the Masters - he gets to play at Augusta as the reigning U.S. Amateur champion.
For now, he's back at practice, preparing for the Moonah Classic, which is jointly sanctioned by the Nationwide Tour and the Australasian PGA and starts Thursday at the 7,421-yard Moonah Links course.
He wasn't expecting any spectacular finishes on the weekend because he doesn't like links courses.
So if you never hear of Danny Lee again after he turns pro, you can be sure it was because he thought he could be an even better player if he changed his swing.

La Manga Club shortlisted for Golf Resort Award
PRESS RELEASE
La Manga Club, Europe’s leading luxury sport and leisure resort, has been shortlisted in the Luxury Golf Resort category of the World Luxury Hotel Awards.
Now in their third year, the awards celebrate the world’s finest hotels and resorts. Award winners set the benchmark for luxury hotels in achieving recognition for their world class facilities and service excellence.
Shortlisted in the Luxury Golf Resort category, Spain’s La Manga Club has offered first-class golfing facilities and five-star accommodation for over 20 years. In 2007, Q-Plus, an organisation founded by the National Association of Greenkeepers of Spain, awarded La Manga Club the first certificate in Spain for the quality of its three, 18-hole championship courses.
La Manga Club’s courses have been host to a wide range of sporting legends including Jose María Olazábal, Seve Ballesteros and Colin Montgomerie and a number of leading tournaments such as the Spanish Open, Spanish PGA Championships, BMW Golf Cup International. It is also the winter training base for the German PGA.
With three 18-hole championship golf courses, year round sunny climate and high-tech practice facilities, the resort is the ideal winter holiday destination for golfers of all levels.
The resort is also famed for its leading golf tuition and academies which are ideal for golfers of all ages and abilities.
Set over 1,400 acres of picturesque Spanish landscape, La Manga Club is home to a five-star hotel, four-star apartments and a luxury spa. The resort also hosts over 20 bars and restaurants, 28 tennis courts and eight football pitches.
Murcia Airport is just 30 minutes from La Manga Club. Airlines currently flying direct include: bmibaby, easyJet, Flybe, Thomsonfly, Jet2.com, Monarch and Ryanair.
Alicante airport is around an hour from La Manga Club.
For more information about Golf Academies or for reservations, call +34 968 175 577 visit www.lamangaclub.com or e-mail reserve@lamangaclub.com

Disabled golfers' day at The Duke's

on Tuesday, March 10

The Duke's Course, St Andrews will play host to around 40 disabled golfers from across Scotland on Tuesday, 10 March.
Players attending will also participate in the Scottish Disability Golf Challenge Cup, which has been generated by the SDGP for related charities and other voluntary groups to take part in a new fun golf competition.
Players will be divided into four teams, representing the Guide Dogs for the Blind, Sense Scotland, VONEF Cupar and the SDGP.
As well as the challenging course, players will be blindfolded for a tee shot each during their round of golf, which commences at 11am
Jim Gales, the event organiser, said: "We hope to strike lucky with the weather, as we have a great turn-out for our first event of the year. This will also be the SDGP's first 2009 competition for our inaugural Order of Merit Tables where all golfers, for both 18 and nine-hole competitions will compete for the title of Scottish Merit Champion.
"We must thank the staff at the Dukes Golf Course and at VONEF Cupar for their assistance in the organisation of this event."
Since its official launch in 2006, the Scottish Disability Golf Partnership has provided golf and tuition to hundreds of people with various disabilities and health issues, including those with sensory loss, ie the blind, vision-impaired and the deaf, as well as amputees and those with learning or mobility difficulties
For details about the event or disabled golf generally, contact j.gales@btopenworld.com or call 01334 650 963

Bruntsfield Links (2011) one of four new Open

Regional Qualifying venues named by R&A

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R&A
Four courses have been added to the list of venues staging Regional Qualifying for The Open Championship.
Buckinghamshire Golf Club, Bruntsfield Links and Hankley Common will be used for the 2011 Open Championship, to be held at Royal St George’s, while Moortown Golf Club will be used to help determine which players will tee-off at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2012.
The course at Buckinghamshire Golf Club was designed by former PGA European Tour player and Ryder Cup Captain, John Jacobs OBE. Set in more than 200 acres of spectacular countryside and bisected by the Colne and Misbourne rivers, it opened for play in 1992 and has quickly become recognised as one of the finest inland courses in England.
Golf has been played over Bruntsfield Links, Edinburgh since 1761 with the present course being originally laid out by two-time Open Champion, Willie Park Jr. Offering spectacular views over the Firth of Forth, Bruntsfield remains a stern test of golf and a regular venue for many high-level competitions.
Hankley Common Golf Club opened for play as a nine-hole course before five-time Open Championship winner, James Braid, added another nine in 1922. Often described as an inland course that closely resembles a seaside links, the land on which the course is built has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Situated close to another Regional Qualifying venue, Alwoodley, Moortown Golf Club was established in 1909 and famously hosted the Ryder Cup in 1929 which embedded Moortown’s reputation as a quality championship golf course. To this day, the Club’s ladies’ section competes annually for their own ‘Ryder Cup’, donated by Samuel Ryder in thanks for their help and support during the event.
Moortown was also one of four venues chosen to host Regional Qualifying when the concept was introduced before 1977’s Open Championship at Turnberry – the others being Beau Desert, Lanark and South Herts. Since then, RQ has proved to be a popular addition to The Open calendar, and as the Championship returns to Turnberry in 2009, 16 courses are now scheduled to host qualifying.
The full list of 2009 Regional Qualifying venues is:
Abridge, Alwoodley, Berwick-upon-Tweed (Goswick), Coventry, Effingham, Enville, Ferndown, Gog Magog, Lindrick, Mere, Musselburgh, Old Fold Manor, Pleasington, Rochester & Cobham Park, Royal Ashdown Forest and Royal Dublin.