Field at Panmure will have handicaps of 4.7 or less

Bob Stewart facing strong

opposition as he defends

Scottish seniors' title

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
This month’s Scottish Seniors Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship has attracted one of the tournament’s strongest ever fields.
Hosted by Panmure Golf Club, Carnoustie from May 19 to 21, the handicap ballot for the 54 hole tournament has been set at a record low of 4.7. Players from the US and Sweden, as well as the other Home Unions, have undoubtedly been drawn by the prospect of competing at the Open qualifying venue as well as wanting to test their mettle against some of Scotland’s finest.
Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency after his triumph at Elgin, will be defending his title, while his Irish-based namesake Iain, who narrowly missed out last year at the first extra hole following a sudden death play– off at Elgin, also returns for another crack at the title.
Among the starting field of 144 is the legendary Ian Hutcheon, former Walker Cup player and past Scottish Amateur Champion. More recently, as three times holder of the Scottish Seniors title, Hutcheon has Charlie Green’s unmatched record five wins in the tournament in his sights.
The Monifieth maestro shared the bronze medal position last year along with two-time former Champion, Goring & Streatley’s David Lane, who is aiming to match Hutcheon’s hat-trick this year.
Other former champions in the starting line up include Callander’s Gordon MacDonald, winner of last year’s Seniors Order of Merit and the 2005 champion, and Cowal’s Stephen Ellis, the 2006 winner.
The competitors play 18 holes on each of the first two days with the top 40 players plus ties making the cut to contest the final round.
Commenting on the 32nd hosting of the event, SGU Events Manager Euan Mordant said, “We have a number of likely contenders for this championship title, with Ian Hutcheon from neighbouring Monifieth – he is also a member of Panmure - hoping to capitalise on his good local knowledge. Our current champion Bob Stewart, who showed great tenacity to win the play-off last year, is also not to be discounted as one of the pre-tournament favourites.
"With a number of potential outsiders in the form of overseas competitors also in the mix, the array of quality players this event has attracted will certainly make this a celebration of seniors golf.”
To be eligible for the event, entrants must be aged 55 years or over on the first day of the tournament, which is an SGU Seniors Order of Merit counting event.
Please find a link to the draw for the 1st day of action. http://www.golfbox.dk/livescoring/startlist.asp?tour=%7b270E0C5B-5CFD-4DD2-B69A-45A78563093C%7d&rd=1&clubOnly=1&color=1&lang=1033
Live scoring will be available for the duration of the event, please visit http://www.scottishgolf.org/ for results.
Kate Weldon
Communications Manager
Scottish Golf Union

Chris Kelly three shots off pace

on opening day of PGA EuroPro

Tour at Northampton

By ANTHONY LEAVER
PGA EuroPro Tour Press Officer.
Scot Chris Kelly, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, with a 71, is three strokes behind tournament leader Richard Edginton at the end of the opening day of the first event on the 2009 PGA EuroPro Tour at Collingtree Park, Northampton. Edginton leads the field by one stroke at four under par 68, having been three under after 13 holes with an eagle and three birdies in his round before he added a fourth birdie at the last to sneak ahead of Cian McNamara and Chris Evans in second spot.
Irishman McNamara (Limerick) started his round on the back-nine with a birdie on the 10th, and went out level before birdies at the second, seventh and ninth holes contributed to a fine first round 69.
Like Edginton, Evans (Stonebridge GC) eagled the ninth but had back to back birdies at 16 and 17 to thank as he joined McNamara behind the leader.
Sky Bet are the official bookmakers of the Tour for 2009 and they will be watching the progress of Simon Lilly nervously. The 2004 EuroPro Tour Order of Merit winner was a 70-1 shot for the tournament and that was a price the locals liked the look of.
The Wellingborough man was backed into 33-1 joint favourite and is sitting pretty in a group of six players at two under, thanks to four birdies on the front nine after starting his round on the 10th and going out two over par.
Francis McGuirk (Princes GC), Steve Surry (Cumberwell Park), Jason Levermore (Clacton-on-Sea), Chris Hanson (Crossland Heath) and Matthew Evans (Rotherham GC) join Lilly at two under par.
Evans produced a fine comeback to sit just behind the pacesetters, after starting his round on the back nine with two bogeys. The Rotherham man gained a shot back with a birdie on the second before a birdie-eagle finish saw him turn his indifferent start on its head.
McGuirk also began his round at the tenth and went out at two under par, which became three under with a birdie at the first. He followed that with a double bogey on the third but his fourth birdie of the day on his final hole left him at two under. Surry’s round of 70 was a calm affair, with three birdies from the ninth following a solitary dropped shot at the eighth.
Levermore managed five birdies in his 70 with a double bogey at the fifth and a bogey at 15 costing him. Hanson was one over after five but recovered well with three birdies to shoot 70.
Full first round scores and live scoring is available at http://www.europrotour.com/ via the Score Updates link on the homepage – the second round begins at 7.30am on Thursday.
SCOTS' FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72
Chris Kelly 71 -1
John Gallagher 72 Level
Jack Doherty 72 Level
Paul Doherty 73 +1
Graham Gordon 74 +2
*Elliot Saltman 74 +2
Duncan Stewart 76 +4
Graeme Brown 76 +4
Shaun McAllister 76 +4
Kenneth Glen 77 +5
Christopher Campbell 78 +6
Steven Hume 80 +8
Barry Hume 84 +12
Zack Saltman 86 +14
*Elliot Saltman won the curtain-raising pro-am on Tuesday by one stroke with a four-under-par 68.

Scottish PGA event reverts to original three-day format

Bookless Cup will be contested by 10

amateurs in Northern Open at Aviemore

A total of 10 amateurs will be competing for the Bookless Cup when the Northern Open championship is played over the Spey Valley course at Aviemore from May 26 to 28.
They include Sunday's Phillips Trophy winner at Cruden Bay, Stewart McCulloch (McDonald Ellon). The others are: Neil Howitt (Nairn), Don Garrett (Huntly), Stewart Pert (Huntly), Scott Green (Meldrum House), Lee McDonald (Nairn Dunbar), Stuart McKendrick (Dunkeld & Birnam), Andrew Campbell (Deeside), Graham Murray (Cullen) and Nick Robson (Meldrum House).
The Bookless Cup, which goes to the leading amateur who completes 72 holes, has been won in recent years by Jimmy Gunn (Royal Dornoch), now competing as a professional on the Gateway Tour in Arizona, and George Murray (Anstruther) who is a pro on the Challenge Tour.
Entry fee for the amateurs in the Northern Open is £60.
There will be a cut to the leading 40 players and ties after the first 36 holes. The qualifiers will play two rounds on the final day, Thursday, May 28.
Until recent times, the Northern Open was always a three-day event with a cut after two rounds and the qualifiers playing 36 holes on the final day, i.e. a Thursday.
The Scottish PGA has decided to revert to that three-day format after stretching it to a four-day, one-round-a-day-format over the past decade or so.
"In these tough financial times, an extra day means extra costs for all concerned, so we thought it best to condense this year's Northern Open to three days," said Gordon Dewar, the Scottish PGA secretary.

Colin Brown nominated as R&A

captain for 2009-2010

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R&A
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews has announced Colin M Brown as Captain for the year 2009 – 2010. Each year the Past Captains meet to confer upon the nomination and the announcement was made today at the Club’s May Business Meeting. The new Captain will assume office later this year following the traditional driving in ceremony on Thursday 24 September.
Colin Brown joined The Royal and Ancient Golf Club in 1994. He served on the Finance Committee from 2000 – 2005 and is currently Chairman of the Membership Committee and a member of the General Committee.

He is a past Captain of Kilmacolm Golf Club and, in 2001, captained Prestwick Golf Club in its 150th anniversary year. He plays to a handicap of 7.
Educated at Glenalmond College, he is a Chartered Accountant and has retired following a career in stockbroking and investment management. He is a former Chairman of the Scottish Stock Exchange and is a Deputy Lieutenant of Renfrewshire.
Resident in Kilmacolm, Colin is married to Patricia, also an ardent golfer, who is Vice Captain of Renfrewshire Ladies’ County Golf Association. They have three adult children all of whom attended St Andrews University.

SCOTTISH WATERAID 36-HOLE PRO-AM

Rain helps preserve Hamish

Kemp as leader with a 71

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Rain, rain – and even more rain. Rather appropriate for the first round of the Scottish WATERAID 36-hole Order of Merit pro-am at Kilmarnock Barassie today.
The early starters had by far the best of the conditions with Hamish Kemp (Bishopbriggs Golf Range), who teed off at 7.30am, posting a clubhouse target of one-under-par 71 which was unequalled at the end of a long day’s play, some 12 hours later.
Kemp’s CV on the Tartan Tour is nothing to write home about – but he is halfway there towards a memorable first victory.
He had birdies at the first, fifth, sixth, 13th and 14th, dropping shots at the second, ninth, 10th and 12th in halves of 35 (one under par) and 36 (level).
Hamish leads by three from Stewart Savage (Dalmuir) 34-38, Mark Loftus (Cowglen) 34-38, James McKinnon(Irvine) 37-35, Gareth Wright (West Linton) 36-36 and Ken Campbell (Machrihanish) 35-37.
Savage had birdies at the second, seventh, ninth and 10th but dropped a shot at the third and also bgeyed three of the closing eight holes ifor his 72.
Former Scottish PGA champion Mark Loftus marred his card with a double bogey 6 at the 12th. In fact, Mark dropped four shots to par between the 10th and 13th. He did birdie the second, fifth, 15th and 16th.
James McKinnon had birdies at the first, 15th and 16th but bogeyed the fourth, eighth and 17th.
Welshman Gareth Wright came to the last, needing a birdie to take the lead on 70, or a par to share it with Hamish Kemp. Instead the West Linton man bogeyed the 18th for a 72. He did birdie the first, 10th and 16th but bogeyed the fourth and short 14th apart from his 18th-hole slip.
Ken Campbell deviated from par only four times on his scorecard of 72 - birdies at the first and 15th, bogeys at the 12th and 18th.
Former Walker Cup player David Patrick (Elie) was going as well as anyone when he turned in two-under-par 34 but the inward half cost him 41 shots (five over par). David bogeyed the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 18th.
Scottish PGA champion Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle), runner-up to Chris Doak in this event last year, had double bogey 6s at the 13th and 15th in his 76 (36-40), one shot better than Gordon Sherry, playing over his home course.
Sherry was six over par when he had his first birdie at the 13th, promptly gave the shot back at the 14th but then birdied the 16th.
Also on 77 is former Northern Open champion Murray Urquhart who is now based at the Spey Valley course in Aviemore. Urquhart had a triple bogey 7 at the 12th in an inward 40.
Another past Northern Open kingpin, Scott Henderson (Kings Links) had double bogeys at the seventh and 17th in halves of 37 and 41 for a 78.
The first-day pro-am was won by the Biwater Treatment 1 team of Iain Ross (handicap 6), Alex Spiers (11) and Jim Anderson (18), led by pro Andy Oldcorn, with a net score of eight-under-par 64. They won with a better back nine than Biwater Treatment 2’s line-up of Kevin O’Reilly (15), David Hillary (10) and Alastair Bateman (12), led by Colin Gillies, who also had a net 64.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
71 Hamish Kemp (Bishopbriggs GR).
72 Stewart Savage (Dalmuir), Mark Loftus (Cowglen), James McKinnon (Irvine), Gareth Wright (West Linton), Ken Campbell (Machrihanish).
73 Ian Taylor (Drumpellier), David Orr (East Renfrewshire), Mark King (Kingsfield).
74 Steven Taylor (Bothwell Castle).
75 Alan E Reid (West Lothian), Scott Herald (Mearns Castle), Anthony Mackrell (East Kilbride), David Patrick (Elie), Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie), Steven Duncan (Balbirnie Park), Jonathan Lomas (unatt), Callum Nicoll (Prestwick), Fraser Mann (Musselburgh).
76 Mark Barnard (Inchmarlo), Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle).
77 Gordon Sherry (Kilmarnock Barassie), Murray Urquhart (Spey Valley), Greig McSporran (Kinross), Scott Catlin (Greenburn), Ross Cameron (McDonald Ellon), Stephen Gray (Hayston), Colin Gillies (Perry Golf).
78 Graham Fox (East Kilbride), Stuart Morrison (Tain), Scott Henderson (Kings Links), Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills).
79 Jamie Stevenson (Braehead), Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), Kenneth Monaghan (Bothwell Castle).
80 Lee Vannet (Carnoustie GL), Gavin Cook (Prestonfield), Graeme Lornie (Paul Lawrie Foundation), Andrew Oldcorn (Kings Acre), Gordon Law (Uphall).
81 Lee Harper (Archerfield Links), Garry Forrester (St Andrews Golf School), Greg McBain (Royal Dornoch), Craig Ronald (Carluke), Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs GR).
82 Samuel Cairns (Colville Park).
84 Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst).
85 Greg Paxton (Ralston), Christopher Russell (RAW Golf Course Design).
86 Edward Thomson (Senit Associates).
PRO-AM WINNERS
64 (-8) Andrew Oldcorn (Kings Acre) & Biwater Treatment Team 1: Iain H Ross (6), Alex Spiers (11), Jim Anderson (18), who had a better inward half than
64 (-8) Colin Gillies (Perry Golf) & Biwater Treatment Team 2: KevinO'Reilly (15), David Hillary (10), Alastair Bateman (12).

Stiggy Hodgson, Alexandra

Peters invited to play in

BMW PGA pro-am

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY EUROPEAN TOUR
In recognition of the growing strength of junior golf in the UK, BMW is delighted to announce that it has invited two of the country’s most exciting young talents to play in the prestigious Pro-Am that precedes this year’s BMW PGA Championship at The Wentworth Club.
Both, 18 year-old Stiggy Hodgson, from Sunningdale Golf Club and 15-year-old Alexandra Peters, from Notts Ladies Golf Club, look destined to be star’s of the future and will certainly gain valuable experience and a taste of the professional game as a result of playing alongside one of the European Tour’s best players around Wentworth’s famed West Course.
With a handicap of +3, Stiggy (pictured above by courtesy of Tom Ward Photography), is recognised as one of the brightest young talents in British golf and is the current holder of The Duke of York Young Champions Trophy, won at Dundonald Links last September.

He recently won this year’s Sunningdale Foursomes alongside fellow member John Stansbury. In 2008 he won the Carris Trophy, the Peter McEvoy, the English Boys Amateur Championship and the Daily Telegraph Junior Golf Championship. He has also represented England and various levels and is currently a member of the England A Squad.
With an impressive handicap of +2, Alexandra is the first girl to be awarded The Duke of York Sports Foundation scholarship to Wellington College.

In 2008 she became the youngest ever winner of the Ladies’ Nottinghamshire County Championship and was runner up to Carly Booth in the Daily Telegraph Junior Golf Championship. Recently she has become a member of the full England Ladies’ Squad and this past weekend won the Fairhaven Trophy girls' section.
Defending champion, Miguel Angel Jiménez, will head a strong international field at the 2009 BMW PGA Championship, to be staged over the West Course at Wentworth Club on 21-24 May, 2009.
It marks the 26th year in-a-row the European Tour’s flagship event has been staged at Wentworth Club and the fifth since BMW assumed the title partnership of the European Tour’s premier event in 2005.
The BMW PGA Championship has a long and distinguished history and has been won by many of the world’s leading players including Major winners Arnold Palmer, Tony Jacklin, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Jose-Maria Olazábal, Ian Woosnam and Angel Cabrera.
The 2009 BMW PGA Championship is the first of this year’s European Tour events to be staged in the UK. It is to be screened lived on BBC and SKY TV.