Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Scott Catlin wins Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance championship

By KEITH LIDDLE
Secretary, Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance
Congratulations go to our new Alliance champion, Scott Catlin (Greenburn), winner of the Uniroyal Trophy, and Peter Sewell (West Linton) winner of the Gavin Clark Trophy in the handicap section over the Gullane Nos 2 and 3 courses on Wednesday.
The weather was fine and sunny, with a little bit of a breeze. The welcome in the clubhouse was, as always, very warm and the catering was great (the chicken and leek pie was excellent).
Scott Catlin's winning two-round total was 131, eight under par. Starting on the No 2 course, Scott, pictured above, was round in 66, five under par, which was the lowest round of the day on the longer of the two courses. He had birdies at the third, sixth, ninth, 16th and 18th, plus an eagle 2 at the 361yd 17th. He dropped only two shots, at the fourth and 13th.
In the afternoon round on Gullane No 3, Catlin shot a three-under-par 65 with birdies at the first, seventh, 14th, 15th and 16th and a couple of dropped shots, at the fifth and 11th. Fellow competitors were full of praise for Scott's fine effort.
In second place on 132 was Neil Fenwick (Dunbar). After a solid round of 70 on the No.2 course in the morning, Neil had a wonderful 62, six under par, on the No 3 course in the afternoon. Highlights of Neil's 62 were birdies at the sixth, seventh, eighth, 10th, 14th and 16th, with no shots dropped.
Tom Buchanan (Duddingston) was third with a total of 133, made up of a 68 on No 2 and a 65 on No 3.
Terry Mathieson (King's Acre) and David Patrick (Elie) were fourth equal on 134.
Handicap section winner Peter Sewell, playing off eight, had a net total of 130. He got off to a flying start in the morning round by nearly holing his second shot to the first hole for a tap-in birdie. He birdied the second and seventh too, dropping shots at the fifth and eighth to reach the turn in 33, one under par.
A birdie 2 at the 15th and dropped shots at the 10th, 12th and 16th saw Peter back in two over par 36. His 69 - 8 = 61, had set a cracking early pace.
Robert Denholm (Duddingston) playing off five, was second with a net total of 138. Wilson Morton (Dunbar), also off five, was third with 139.
Fourth spot was shared by Grant Skinner (Glencorse), playing off four, Gordon Bell (Gullane), playing off three, and David Graham (Lochend), playing off four. All three returned net 141s.
I have to thank a number of people who helped us have a great day's golf. First of all I would like to thank Gullane commercial manager Alison MacLeod and her staff, who kindly accepted our request to hold the Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance championship over the Gullane No.2 and No.3 courses.
I also thank the greens staff for providing two fine courses in great condition, a point which was mentioned frequently by our competitors ... caterers John and Alison Greer, who were backed up by a fine team, fed and watered us very well, with a special mention to Irene for her super-efficient service and good humour when dealing with the two Johns and me.
On that note, I would like to thank John T Anderson and John Glen for the help and support they gave. Initially as starters, offering words of encouragement to all our participants before they set out. Between rounds they helped me broaden my historical knowledge of the Alliance with their wonderful stories.
They then helped record the first round scores and before we knew it, they were back out at the first tee offering words of encouragement before the start of round two. At the end of the 36 holes they eagerly collected the cards from competitors and recorded the scores in their neatest handwriting.
I really appreciated their efforts and words of wisdom, from eight in the morning till six at night.
Orders of Merit 2008 - 2009
A big 'well done' to scratch section winner David Patrick (Elie) and handicap section winner John Kerr (Deer Park).
East v West match (Bruntsfield GS, Thursday, April 9)
I will send out an E-mail with a note of the professional and amateur qualifiers within the next few days.
Scottish Alliance Championship 2009
Please note that we will be back at Gullane from October 6 to 8 for this year's Scottish Alliance Championship. I will send out an E-mail with the details in the near future. I'm sure it will be very popular.
And finally...
We have a re-scheduled outing to Duddingston next week (March 25) and I look forward to seeing as many of you who can make it. For those of you who can't, I'd like to thank you for your kind words. Your thoughts and opinions on how to make the Alliance better are always welcome.
LEADING PRIZEWINNERS AT GULLANE ON WEDNESDAY
SCRATCH
131 Scott Catlin (Greenburn) 66 65 (£300).
132 Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) 70 62 (£250).
133 Tom Buchanan (Duddingston) 68 65 (£200).
134 Terry Mathieson (King's Acre), David Patrick (Elie) (£125 each).
HANDICAP
130 Peter Sewell (West Linton) (8) 61 69 (£150 voucher).
138 Robert Denholm (Duddingston) (5) (£125 voucher).
139 Wilson Morton (Dunbar) (5) (£100 voucher).
141 Grant Skinner (Glencorse) (4), Gordon Bell (Gullane) (4), David Graham (Lochend) (4) (£42 voucher each).

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Play it again, Sam! Torrance continues

fine form with seven-under 65 in Barbados

By STEVE TODD
European Seniors Tour Press Officer
Sam Torrance continued his recent resurgence on the European Senior Tour by firing a flawless seven under par 65 to surge into a three shot lead after the opening round of the DGM Barbados Open.
Torrance missed a six foot birdie chance on the last hole which would have seen him equal the course record of 64 shared by Priscillo Dinz (2001), Terry Gale (2003) and Gavan Levenson (2004) but the Scot carded seven birdies elsewhere to get off to a stunning start at Royal Westmoreland.
The 2002 Ryder Cup-winning captain reached the turn in four under par 32 after following birdies on the opening two holes by picking up further shots on the fifth and seventh holes. He then added further birdies on 13th, 16th and 17th to lead Gordon J Brand and Mike Harwood by three strokes.
Torrance admitted that a hand injury that has plagued him for the past two years was still “only 90 per cent right” but he showed no signs of the problem in a simply majestic round.
“I played magnificently today – that was about as good as gets,” said the two time Senior Tour Order of Merit winner. “I missed a chance on the final hole to go to eight under but I played beautifully. I holed a fantastic 25ft on the 17th for birdie. The course is very tricky so I’m delighted with that start.
The 55 year old is in a rich vein of form after following his tenth Senior Tour victory in the 2008 season ending OKI Castellón Open España – Senior Tour Championship with a tied sixth finish in the 2009 curtain raiser, the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters presented by The Stapleford Forum, at the start of the month.
“I’ve been working really hard on my game over the winter,” he said. “I fixed my swing for the Senior Tour Championship and then worked on it over the break. I was playing most days over the winter. I played well in Brunei but didn’t get anything. My game is in great shape.”
Englishman Brand, who finished second behind Ian Woosnam in the 2008 Order of Merit, birdied the final hole after dropping a shot on the 15th to sign for a four under par round of 68 which was equalled by Australian Harwood, who is playing in his second Senior Tour event after ten years out of the game.
Torrance’s compatriot Ross Drummond carded a 69 to lie a shot further back and said he was delighted to be contending at the top of the leaderboard alongside his countryman.
He said: “Sam had a great round out there. It was pretty miserable and blustery on my front nine so I was happy just to make the one mistake on my seventh hole when I came up short of the green with a sandwedge and failed to get up and down.
“I played really well on the way in and managed to find some rhythm. I’m still a bit rusty, I think, but I was delighted with the way I played.”
Defending champion Bill Longmuir posted a double bogey on his penultimate hole to finish on one under par 71, while Woosnam began the defence of his John Jacobs Trophy with a three over par round of 75.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
65 S Torrance (Sco)
68 G Brand (Eng), M Harwood (Aus)
69 R Drummond (Sco)
70 B Cameron (Eng), A Franco (Par), N Job (Eng), M Poxon (Eng).
71 A Murray (Eng), D Cambridge (Jam), D O'Sullivan (Irl), B Lincoln (RSA), G Cali (Ita), B Longmuir (Sco), D Russell (Eng)
72 G Banister (Aus), G Ralph (Eng), D Johnson (USA), I Mosey (Eng), J Bruner (USA) ; D Durnian (Eng), L Carbonetti (Arg), H Carbonetti (Arg)
73 A Tapie (USA), J Hawkes (RSA), G Levenson (RSA), J Rivero (Esp), A Fernandez (Chi), J Heggarty (Nir)
74 D Smyth (Irl), J Chillas (Sco), B Smit (RSA), T Horton (Eng), J Cañizares (Esp), C Leacock (Bar), P Oakley (USA)
75 I Woosnam (Wal)
76 V Garcia (Esp), B Boyd (USA)
77 K Spurgeon (Eng), M Piñero (Esp), D Arnette (USA)
79 T Charnley (Eng), M Cunning (USA), M Miller (Sco)
80 A Garrido (Esp)
81 G Encina (Chi)

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Philip McLean proudly holds the Uniroyal Quaich after his victory in the North-east Alliance championship at Newburgh today (Cal Carson Golf Agency image).

Philip McLean wins NE Alliance title as Chris


Robb and Craig Stephen make late slips

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Peterhead +3 amateur Philip McLean won the North-east Alliance championship for the first time today after his closest challengers came to grief over the closing holes as they chased his clubhouse target of four-under-par 138.
A three-under-par round of 69 at Newburgh, added to a one-under 69 at Buckpool last week, gave McLean the title and the Uniroyal Quaich by one stroke in the end, but it was a close run thing over the last hour or so of play.
McLean, a full-time amateur and protégé of Paul Lawrie, birdied the fourth, sixth, seventh and 10th with only one slip in halves of 33 and 36. He three-putted the 11th from 40 feet.
Philip was under par in 10 his last 11 consecutive Alliance rounds, which augurs well for his prospects of making an impact on the 2009 Scottish circuit of weekend four-rounders. I would put a lot of money on McLean winning a place in the Scotland team for the home internationals come September.
But how strange that McLean is not yet in the field for the Scottish champion of champions' tournament over 72 holes at Leven Links on April 4 and 5, the event which virtually opens the domestic season for this level of competitor. Philip is on the reserve/waiting list.
After last week’s first round, Craig Stephen (Meldrum House) and Scottish schoolboys champion Chris Robb (Inchmarlo) were tied with McLean on the 69 mark.
Late finisher Robb, after birdies at the 15th, 16th and 17th, needed a birdie at the par-5 last to pip McLean. But, after getting home at this 548yd hole with two mighty blows, Chris three-putted for a par and a 70 saw him have to settle for the runner-up position and the J K Hall Quaich with a total of 140.
Stephen, despite dropping three shots over the first three holes, was back in contention with a run of birdies at the fourth, eighth, 11th, 13th, 14th and 15th – only to lose a ball in the whins at the 16th which cost him a double bogey 6. A score of 71 saw him finish third on 140.
From my vantage point sitting next to secretary Ron Menzies as the Recorder's Table, I don't think I've seen so many tired faces as competitors handed in their cards. Black mark to those, by the way, who (a) Had No Returns and (b) Didn't bother telling Ron.
Slow play, which we have not heard much about for a while, reared its ugly head again, particularly over the first nine holes. Some players packed it in after taking more than two hours to complete nine holes.
A lot of the "older" competitors thought that, even on a perfect, almost still day, the course, off the medal tees, was on the long side of testing but a glance at the card shows that it was "only" 6423yd.
Easy for me to say "only," when I wasn't out there trying to keep my ball on the fairway and not in the punishing whins which put a premium on straightness off the tee, particularly on the second nine holes, the original nine-hole course.
But one of the other golfing hats I wear is to report on the United States men's college circuit - and worth nothing that two of their events were playing over courses well in excess of 7,000yd this week.
Now I know there is a huge difference between 40/50/60 somethings playing the North-east Alliance circuit and the fit young college boys ... but surely 6,423yd is not a LONG course by any stretch of the imagination.
One competitor at Newburgh thought that they got so used to playing off "the boxes" during the rest of the NE Alliance season that it was a shock to their system to play off medal tees.
Incidentally, there is no way that the clubs who are quite glad to play hosts to the Alliance through the late autumn-winter-early spring circuit would permit their medal tees to be used "out of season" as it were when preferred lies are usually the norm.
Speaking of whins. It seems unfair to single out Inverallochy's Bryan Ritchie for taking a 12 at the par-5 18th hole today. Unfair, because Bryan's scores are usually much nearer to par if not under it. But I mention his 12 to show just how punishing are these whins down both sides of the Newburgh fairways.
Bryan had a 70 at Buckpool last Wednesday and an 83 at Newburgh today. That's Alliance golf for you!
The championship trophies which will presented by Dick Cradock, former Royal Aberdeen club champion and a past winner of the NE Alliance title in the Murcar Links at lunchtime next Friday (March 27) at the conclusion of the NE Alliance foursomes were won as follows:
Uniroyal Quaich (championship) - Phil McLean.
J K Hall Quaich (best scratch) - Chris Robb.
Chapper's Pot - Class 1 - Craig Buchanan.
The Major's Pot - Class 2 - Benny Lumsden.
The Veterans' Pot (best over-60) - Sandy Pirie.
FINAL TOTALS
First round at Buckpool (par 70); Second round at Newburgh (par 72)
Scratch
Par 142 (70+72).
138 P McLean (Peterhead) 69 69.
139 C Robb (Inchmarlo) 69 70.
140 C Stephen (Meldrum House) 69 71.
142 I Bratton (Newburgh) 70 72.
143 R Stewart (Cruden Bay) 71 72.
144 D Law (Hazlehead) 71 73.
145 C Nelson (Mackenzie Club) 74 71.
147 R Fitzpatrick (Inchmarlo) 71 76, A Bews (Murcar Links) 75 72, G H Paterson (Northern) 73 74.
148 J Nicolson (Auchmill) 75 73.
149 C Dempster (Inchmarlo) 75 74.
150 A K Pirie (Hazlehead) 72 78, D H Clark (Duff House Royal) 76 74
151 W Main (Murcar Links) 75 76, S Finnie (Caledonian) 71 80,
153 B Ritchie (Inverallochy) 70 83, F Bisset (Banchory) 74 79.
155 J Duncan (Newburgh) 78 77, J Mooney (unatt) 71 84.
156 R Hyland (Craibstone) 74 82.
157 C Buchanan (Hazlehead) 77 80, S Scott (Auchmill) 80 77, J Roberts (Cruden Bay) 80 77.
159 B Brooks (Meldrum House) 76 83, I Craik (Portlethen) 82 77, J M Hamilton (Murcar Links) 81 78.
161 C Carnegie (Kemnay) 78 83.
162 S Murray (Newburgh) 81 81.
163 B Harper (Newburgh) 80 83, D Wilson (Duff House Royal) 79 84.
164 C Cassie (Nigg Bay) 80 84.
165 P Farnan (Royal Aberdeen) 79 86.
Handicap
Class 1
141 C Buchanan (Hazlehead) (8) 69 72.
142 C Stephen (Meldrum House) (+1) 70 72.
143 C Robb (Inchmarlo) (+2) 71 72.
144 P McLean (Peterhead) (+3) 72 72, J Nicolson (Auchmill) (2) 73 71.
145 J Roberts (Cruden Bay) (6) 74 71, J Duncan (Newburgh) (5) 73 72.
Class 2
144 B Lumsden (Northern) (14) 68 76.
145 N Parker (Murcar Links) (9) 71 74.
147 S Kennedy (Craibstone) (12) 70 77.
149 M Brown (Craibstone) (16) 71 78, J Scott (Peterculter) (11) 75 74.
150 M Booth (Kemnay) (10) 74 76, P Simpson (Aboyne) (13) 72 78
NEWBURGH SCORECARD FOR PAR OF 72
OUT: 4-3-5-4-3-4-4-4-5--36. IN: 4-4-4-4-4-4-3-4-5--36
PHILIP McLEAN 69
OUT: 4-3-5-3-3-3-3-4-5--33. IN: 3-5-4-4-4-4-3-4-5--36
CHRIS ROBB 70
OUT: 5-4-5-4-2-4-4-4-5--37. IN: 4-4-4-4-4-3-2-3-5--33
CRAIG STEPHEN 71
OUT: 5-3-7-3-3-4-4-3-5--37. IN: 4-3-4-3-3-3-3-6-5--34
IAN BRATTON 72
OUT: 4-3-5-4-3-5-5-4-3--36. IN: 4-4-4-4-4-4-2-4-6--36
E-MAIL FROM GARY HOMER:
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK RON MENZIES FOR ANOTHER ALLIANCE SEASON'S WORK - EARLY MORNINGS, LONG DAYS.
GOOD JOB WELL DONE.
THANKS FROM EVERYONE.

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'King Kong' Chapchai leads SAIL

Open with 10-under-par 62

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ASIAN TOUR
New Delhi, March 18: Big-hitting Chapchai Nirat of Thailand made the best of ideal playing conditions to shoot a course-record 10-under-par 62 for the first round lead at the SAIL Open today.
The 25-year-old Chapchai, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, brilliantly sank 10 birdies at the Classic Golf Resort to lead by three strokes from countryman Wisut Artjanawat, Filipino Antonio Lascuna, Singaporean Mardan Mamat and New Zealand’s Mark Purser, who shot matching 65s for a share of second place.
S.S.P. Chowrasia and Shamim Khan led the Indian charge with a pair of 66s to lie a further stroke back alongside Australian Richard Moir in what is the sixth leg of this season’s Asian Tour.
Tournament favourite and former Asian Tour number one Jyoti Randhawa of India, triumphant at the Singha Thailand Open two weeks ago, endured a lukewarm start with a 71 in the US$300,000 event while experienced Thai Thaworn Wiratchant carded a 69.
I’m very pleased with my effort since this is my second best single round score on the Asian Tour,” said Chapchai.
Needing only 26 putts, the man nicknamed ‘King Kong’ for his long driving ability chipped in for birdie on the 17th hole and nailed a four iron tee shot to one foot of the flag on the 11th. He sank five birdies on either side of the turn after starting the day from the 10th tee.
“Hopefully, I will continue to play well. The key in the second round will be to hit the greens in two on the par five holes,” said Chapchai, whose career low round was a 61 en route to winning the TCL Classic in China two years ago.
Wisut, another young and promising Thai, was also in great form with seven birdies against no bogeys. Having finished in the top-10 three times last year, he is looking for his first win on the Asian Tour.
Keeping the Indian flag flying were Chowrasia, fourth in Thailand two weeks ago, and Khan. Chowrasia, who held the previous course record established in 2004, said: “I made a couple of important birdie putts from 10 feet on the seventh and ninth holes and that got me going. The course is playing really well and we could be in for a very low scoring week. I feel comfortable on this course as I have won here in the past.”
Unheralded Khan has tasted success on the Indian Tour previously but is looking to leave his mark on the Asian Tour. “I couldn't have asked for a better start. I hit it close all day. The course is not very difficult to negotiate since there is no rough or wind but one needs to focus on putting. The winning score could go up to 20 or 22 under,” said Khan.
FIRST-ROUND LEADERS
62 Chapchai Nirat (THA)
65 Antonio Lascuna (PHI), Wisut Artjanawat (THA), Mardan Mamat (SIN), Mark Purser (NZL)
66 Shamim Khan (IND), Richard Moir (AUS), S.S.P. Chowrasia (IND)
67 Rafiq Ali (IND), Rahil Gangjee (IND), Rory Hie (INA), Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND), Thammanoon Srirot (THA), Artemio Murakami (PHI), Mars Pucay (PHI), Jbe Kruger (RSA), Naman Dawar (IND), Christopher Campbell (AUS), Ashok Kumar (IND), Ross Bain (SCO), Wilhelm Schauman (SWE), Kao Bo-song (TPE)

For more information: www.asiantour.com

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Michele Thomson qualifies to

play in North-east Alliance

pro-am foursomes

Ladies European Tour rookie professional Michele Thomson from Ellon will be the first female for many a long year - if ever? - to play in the North-east Alliance foursomes at Murcar Links next week.
Michele qualified as one of the eight leading professionals in the North-east Alliance championship over the past two competitions at Buckpool last Wednesday and Newburgh today.
She will be competing for the Evening Express Shield with
Golf Monthly writer Fergus Bisset, a two-handicapper at Banchory Golf Club.
All the pairings are computer-generated as was the draw for this and the Press & Journal Shield which is all-amateur and played under handicap. The pro-am foursomes is played off scratch.
Michele and Fergus will play former Turriff club professional James Mooney and Craig Stephen, the +1 Meldrum House player.
There will be two match-play rounds in both competitions next Thursday with both finals being contested at the same venue the Friday morning.
Richard (Dick) Cradock, the former Royal Aberdeen club champion and winner of the North-east Alliance championship trophy in the early 1960s, has kindly agreed to come along to the Murcar Links clubhouse and present the trophies next Friday at lunchtime.
Pairings and tee times:

EVENING EXPRESS SHIELD
Pro-am scratch match-play
FIRST ROUND
9.30 Richard Hyland (Craibstone) & John Nicolson (Auchmill) v Ross Cameron (McDonald Ellon) & Chris Robb (Inchmarlo).
9.38 Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) & Fergus Bisset (Banchory) v James Mooney (unattached) & Craig Stephen (Meldrum House).
9.46 David Naylor (Banchory) & Philip McLean (Peterhead) v Ian Bratton (Newburgh) & George Paterson (Northern).
9.54 Ryan Fitzpatrick (Inchmarlo) & Sandy Pirie (Hazlehead) v Craig Dempster (Inchmarlo) & Anthony Bews (Murcar Links).

PRESS & JOURNAL SHIELD
Am-am match-play under handicap
FIRST ROUND
10.0 Craig Buchanan (Hazlehead) (9) & Benny Lumsden (Northern) (14) v John Hamilton (Murcar Links) (5) & Steven Kennedy (Craibstone) (12). Buchanan & Lumsden receive three strokes.
10.10 Ross Milne (Aboyne) (5) & Stuart Higgins (Royal Aberdeen) (10) v Steven Scott (Auchmill) (4) & Jim Scott (Peterculter) (11). Level match (no strokes to be conceded).
10.16 Brian Harper (Newburgh) (6) & Mike Booth (Kemnay) (10) v Colin Duffus (Kemnay) (6) & Nigel Parker (Murcar Links) (9). Level match (no strokes to be conceded).
10.24 John Roberts (Cruden Bay) (6) & Mike Brown (Craibstone) (16) v Craig Carnegie (Kemnay) (4) & Paul Simpson (Aboyne) (12). Roberts & Brown receive three strokes.

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Montgomerie reaches milestone in Andalucía

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOUR
Colin Montgomerie, the most prolific British winner in European Tour history, will celebrate his 500th European Tour appearance as a professional at next week’s Open de Andalucía.
Montgomerie, who will captain Europe at The 2010 Ryder Cup, will bid to capture his 32nd European Tour title when he tees up at Real Club de Golf de Sevilla in Seville, Spain.
The record-breaking Scot opened his account on his 54th European Tour appearance back in 1989, when he cruised to an 11-shot win at the Portuguese Open – his biggest margin of victory in a European Tour event.
Since then the 45 year old has re-written the golfing history books several times, having amassed a total of €23,639,775 in European Tour Official Career earnings, recorded 182 European Tour top ten finishes, set 13 European Tour course records, and lifted the Harry Vardon Trophy for finishing European Tour Number One eight times.
In addition, he has notched eight holes-in-one on The European Tour, won six European Tour titles in a single season, received The European Tour Golfer of the Year award four times, and captured three consecutive BMW PGA Championship titles.
Montgomerie said: “I am very fortunate to have reached the landmark of playing in my 500th European Tour event as a professional. I am very lucky that my career is also my passion, and that I still enjoy the thrill of competing just as much as I did when I started out on The European Tour 20 years ago.
“Over the years and the 499 professional events I have played in, I have been delighted and proud to be part of The European Tour and to see it develop into the thriving worldwide Tour it stands as today. My 500th event will be the Open de Andalucía, a tournament run by Miguel Ángel Jiménez, a good friend and a great player. When he asked me to take part in the event, I immediately said yes.”
Jiménez is again promoting the event which for the first time will be played at Real Club de Golf de Sevilla, a course designed in 1992 by another of Montgomerie’s close friends, fellow Ryder Cup star José Maria Olazábal of Spain.
The careers of the two men are closely linked – indeed, as far back as 1984, Olazábal claimed The Amateur Championship at Montgomerie’s expense.
Three years later Montgomerie turned professional, and collected his first pay cheque – for €1,905 – after a tied 45th finish at the 1987 German Masters.
Twenty years later, in July 2007, he won the more substantial sum of €593,580 after surpassing Nick Faldo’s previous record of 30 European Tour titles with his one-shot victory at The European Open at The K Club in Ireland – also the scene of his 2006 triumph over American David Toms, which ensured he remained unbeaten in eight Ryder Cup singles matches stretching back to 1991.
Montgomerie went on to cap the 2007 season in some style by partnering compatriot Marc Warren to victory at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China, thereby securing Scotland’s first win in the event.
He will now fulfil a lifetime’s ambition by captaining Europe at The 2010 Ryder Cup at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales.

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McDowell spearheads Lake Nona victory

over Isleworth with a six-under 66

Graeme McDowell shot a six-under-par 66 to spearhead a Lake Nona, Florida team to capture the Tavistock Cup 17-13 against an Isleworth team led by Tiger Woods.
"It's about time we won this thing again," Lake Nona captain Ernie Els said.
McDowell won the Payne Stewart Silver Award for having the lowest score in final round of singles medal matches.
The Tavistock Cup, held this year at Lake Nona, is a competition between two high-profile golf clubs in Orlando where several prominent US PGA Tour players are members.
The final round featured two-man teams in stroke play, matching scores against each of the two players from the other club. Woods and Charles Howell III each had a 69 and picked up three points in the final match. They halved with Ian Poulter and beat Henrik Stenson. But the cup had already been decided.
Ben Curtis (68) and Trevor Immelman (69) gave Lake Nona four points in the first match over Mark O'Meara and John Cook, and Lake Nona quickly pulled away. Six of its 10 players shot in the 60s, including Els (69) and Justin Rose (68).
Darren Clarke (68) had the low score for Isleworth.
Tiger Woods had a three-under-par round of 69 and earned 1 1/2pt for his Isleworth club team.

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Monty promises different

style of Ryder Cup

captaincy from Faldo

FROM SPORT.SCOTSMAN.COM WEBSITE
By Mike Aitken
Like the musketeers in Alexandre Dumas' swashbuckling novel, Colin Montgomerie expects Europe's golfers to adopt the clarion call of all-for-one-and-one-for-all at the 2010 Ryder Cup match in Wales.
In order to bring Europe together, the captain has promised to run a more democratic style of leadership in the build-up to Celtic Manor designed to make every member of the European Tour feel part of the campaign to win back Samuel Ryder's trophy from the USA. Once reservations were expressed after Valhalla about Nick Faldo's remote style of captaincy – the Englishman was regarded as out of touch by some players – Monty decided to bind his men to a common purpose.
He plans to keep everyone informed about his plans and will avoid encouraging cliques over the next year and a half."I feel in the past that there has been only a select few told things on a need-to-know basis but I want this to be an open campaign," he explained.
"I will do it through E-mails to the players and talk to them in players' lounges. At lunch, maybe I'll sit at tables I wouldn't otherwise have sat at and say 'listen lads, this is what's happening'.
"I'll be asking them if they have questions and give them an input. There will be no cliques. It will be a Ryder Cup where we're all together. As soon as I know situations, I'll want to let the players know too.
"This will be the first team with a 'young' captain since Seve Ballesteros in 1997, who did it when he was 41. I'll be 47 and I want to feel I'm captaining as a competitive tour player with the nucleus of my side being players I've grown up with and whom I'm slightly older than – the Padraig Harringtons, Lee Westwoods and Darren Clarkes.
"Then there's Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson, Robert Karlsson and Sergio Garcia who are a little younger but are also friends. We will be working together very much as a team and as a Tour."
Having already sounded out Jose Maria Olazabal – the Spaniard will be in Wales either as a vice-captain or a player – Monty sees no need to name his other assistants until much nearer the time. Individuals of the calibre of Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn are sure to loom large in the Scot's mind.
However, no decision will be made on that score until the qualifying process has sorted out some of the wheat from the chaff.
"The last time there was an embarrassing situation where Paul McGinley said 'yes' to being a vice-captain and then said 'no' because he wanted to qualify," added Monty.
"There's no need for that. By the time of the Open at St Andrews in 2010, we'll have a good idea of who is going to help. There will be at least another two assistants (as well as Olazabal if he doesn't qualify]."
It seems unlikely the Scot will enlist Sandy Lyle's support in Wales since he doesn't intend to look beyond his own near-contemporaries for assistance.
"It would be fair to assume that my backroom team would be made up from my peers," he added.
Speaking in St Andrews, where he cut a ribbon at Auchterlonies to mark the expansion and refurbishment of one of the Auld Toun's most famous golf shops, Monty was sanguine about the prospect of a Scot challenging for one of the 12 places available in his team.
After making the point that European golf has a deeper pool of resources than ever before – "I'm sitting on a wealth of talent" – the captain didn't minimise the scope of the test facing players from the home of golf.
"Right now you'd have to say that unless one of them – I don't have to mention their names because they know who they are – steps up and really shines in the next year or so then we might find the same scenario as we had at Valhalla, with no Scots involved," he said.
"That would be disappointing."
Though he won't play and captain in Wales, Montgomerie remains ambitious to restores Scottish representation at the most prestigious stroke-play events. There were no Scots at the two most recent World Championship tournaments and only Lyle will fly the flag at Augusta. However, Monty is optimistic a more relaxed approach will bring out the best in him as a player this year.
"I plan to continue being Scotland's flag-carrier, with all due respect to everyone else," he grinned. "I've been looking for ways to relax on a golf course for years and I think I have just found it. Being named Ryder Cup captain has made me much happier on the golf course. The pressure of proving myself has gone."
The full article contains 816 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.

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