Thursday, May 14, 2009

Byrne back - and he qualifies to

play in the Brabazon Trophy

Banchory's James Byrne, not in the Arizona State University team for their end-of-college-season tournaments, flew home to Britain earlier than usual - and shot a three-over-par 74 today to figure among the leading 30 and ties qualifiers for the Friday-Saturday-Sunday Brabazon Trophy (English open amateur stroke-play championship) at Moortown Golf Club near Leeds.
Mark Hillson (Craigielaw) did not make it today with a 78 which left him in joint 68th place.
The first 18-hole qualifying competition on Wednesday saw the rising Royal Burgess star, James Ross, make it though to the main event with a fair degree of ease. He shot a 74 to finished joint seventh. Scott Borrowman also figured among the leading 30 and ties who qualified on Wednesday. He had a 76 for a share of 28th place.
Angus Cappi (Carnoustie) missed out on Wednesday with an 81 for joint 85th place.

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Bankers win Aberdeen Trades Foursomes title

Bankers have won the Aberdeen Trades Foursomes title at Hazlehead for the third time this century!
The team of Gregor Stewart, Barry Gibson, Scott Carmichael and Martyn Paterson triumphed by five holes over Apora (Aberdeen Post Office Recreation Association), represented by Scott Spiers, Kevin Duthie, Ross McKen and Tony Robertson, in tonight's final.
Bankers also won the double foursomes match-play tournament in 2000 and 2001. Gregor Stewart is the only Banker to have played in all three winning teams of the 21st Century.
Details of the 2009 final:

BANKERS beat APORA by five holes.
G Stewart & B Gibson 0, S Spiers & K Duthie 2.
S Carmichael & M Paterson 7, T Robertson & R McKen 0.

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Brora GC win Highland Club of the Year Award

By ROBIN WILSON
Brora Golf Club, situated on Sutherland's East Coast, have been announced as the 2008 winners of the Highland Sports Development Association Club of the Year and become only the second golf club in the area to be awarded the trophy. Reay Golf Club (Caithness) won it in 2006.
Brora Golf Club is primarily a local village club who put a big effort into attracting many visitors to it through its fine example of a traditional James Braid links course. The five time Open champion redesigned the course in 1923 and it has changed very little ever since.
The quality of its many testing holes, greens and fairways have in recent years ranked it in the Top 100 courses in the UK, and described by more recent five time Open champion, Peter Thomson, “as the most natural links course in the world”.
But it is not only the course that won Brora the award. The judges were particularly interested in the excellent work that is being carried out with the Junior Section.
An increase in its membership, coaching in the local primary school, free lessons for under-12 year-old all summer and indoor during winter and an introduction to the club fixture list of Generation Foursomes for adult/junior teams with the support of Clubgolf Scotland.
The junior section currently boasts the present Scottish Under-16 team captain.
Other key areas to impress the judges was the club's website to attract visitors to the village's prime tourist attraction. Live scoring information on clubhouse web screens including photography and graphics to promote the course.
The presentation of the trophy and prize to this years wining club, a module/unit/IT or sport related short course, donated by Inverness College, was made at a ceremony outside the Golf Clubhouse by HSDA Chairperson, Highland Councillor Margaret Patterson (Dingwall) in the presence of Joan Maxwell (Fortrose), Secretary of the Association,and Campbell Port (Chairman of Sutherland Sports Council) to Golf Club President Robert Powell.
Runners up to Brora Golf Club were: Caithness Rugby Football Club, followed by Wolfpax Rider, Mountain Bike Club, Badenoch.

Picture line- up: left to right – Fiona Risk (Brora), Joan Maxwell (Secretary), Campbell Port, Alistair Risk ( Club Vice President), Chairperson Margaret Patterson, Club President Robert Powell, and Mrs Dawn Powell. Image by courtesy of Robin Wilson. Click on it to enlarge.

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PGA EUROPRO TOUR EVENT IN IRELAND

Scott Jamieson sharing lead

with round to go at Faithlegg

By ANTHONY LEAVER
Glasgow's Scott Jamieson and Kieran Staunton share the lead at eight under par in the Green17 Faithlegg Championship in Ireland ahead of Friday’s final round.
The duo are two shots clear of five players at six under par led by Steve Surry who shot the lowest round of the day in a bid for back-to-back victories after winning the opening event at Collingtree Park in Northampton last week.
Jamieson, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, who played the US college circuit as an Augusta State University student and later the Hooters Tour when he turned pro, came out of the traps with an eagle at the second to build on his two under 70 in the opening round and recovered from a bogey at the fourth with five birdies to shoot 66.
“I really took advantage of the par fives all day, I think I was five under for them in fact,” said Jamieson, who won the first round of qualifying school at Forest Pines.
“I was just playing good golf, not really holing any long putts or anything – just playing a solid game and that’s all I need to do tomorrow really, just keep going and concentrate on my game plan.”
Staunton (Woodcote Park) was one of five leaders from the first round and he started his round on the back nine with just one birdie to go out one under after an opening round 68. He kicked on in the home straight though with three more birdies to post another 68. Jamieson was 25-1 for victory with official bookmakers Sky Bet before the event, while Staunton was 66-1 – they will be the last pair out at midday in the final round.
Surry (Cumberwell Park) began on the back nine and went out at two under before attacking the front nine with gusto to pick up five birdies to shoot record the lowest round so far in the tournament of 65 to move to six under following a one over opening round of 73 –Sky Bet will be sweating on his fine form having offered 20-1 that he would win three or more tournaments on this year’s Tour.
Jack Doherty (North Gailes) takes a spot in the chasing pack after he plundered three birdies on the last three holes to move to six under after starting at level par. Jeremy Kavanagh (Stoke Park) was in that group of leaders overnight but dropped off the pace with a two under round of 70, while Steven Capper (Caldy GC) and Andrew Thorpe (Peterborough Milton) carded rounds of 68 and 69 respectively to move right into the hunt.
Elliot Saltman (Aegon) was Surry’s partner in favouritism before the event and is still in the thick of things after a 71 and heads a group of eight players three shots off the lead at five under par.
Sandeep Grewal also carded a 66 with six birdies on the front nine to move to five under, along with James Busby (The Shropshire) who dropped just one shot in his round of 67. Spaniard Carlos Balmaseda shot a fine 66 with an eagle and four birdies to add his name to the list, with four players a shot behind that group at four under par.
Tim Rice (Limerick) can claim the most remarkable burst of the day after starting on the back nine and going out at one over. Birdies at the first and second were followed by a hole-in-one at the third and another birdie at the fourth in a three under round of 69 to be part of a clutch of five players at three under for the tournament.
With the top 15 players within three shots of each other it is sure to be a thrilling finale in Waterford.
A total of 57 players made the cut at level par for the final round with the first tee-off time at 7.30am – the full leaderboard and live scoring can be found at http://www.europrotour.com/ by clicking on the Score Updates link on the homepage.
LEADERBOARD
Par 144
136 Scott Jamieson (Sco) 70 66, Kieran Staunton (Woodcote Park) 68 68.
138 Jack Doherty (North Gailes) 72 66, Steve Surry (Cumberwell Park) 73 65.
139 Scott Herald (Mearns Castle Golf Academy) 71 68, Barry Hume (Sco) 70 69, Sandeep Grewall (Eng) 73 66, Elliot Saltman (Aegon) 68 71, James Busby (The Shropshire) 72 67, Paul Maddy (Gog Magog) 70 69, George Woolgar (Eng) 70 69, Carlos Balmaseda (Spa) 73 66.
Other Scots' scores:
142
Chris Kelly 72 70, Duncan Stewart 73 69, Paul Doherty 72 70 (jt 25th).
143 Steven Mackie 73 70 (jt 36th)
144 John Gallagher 74 70, Graeme Lornie 71 73 (jt 48th).
MISSED THE CUT (level par or better)
145 Graham Gordon 76, 69, Steven Hume 75 70, Shaun McAllister 73 72, Mark Kerr 74 71, Graeme Brown 70 75.
146 Andrew Oldcorn 74 72.
147 Lee Harper 75 72.
150 Christopher Campbell 78 72.
151 Kenneth Glen 76 75.
153 Zack Saltman 78 75.
154 Eric Walker 74 80.
165 Chris McCalman 82 83.

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BOB STEWART LEADS SENIORS'

OPEN AT GLASGOW GAILES


Tulliallan's Bob Stewart, who defends his Scottish seniors championship at Panmure next week, could be running into form at just the right time.
Stewart led the huge field of 120 - there were 140 entries in all - for the first Scottish Seniors Golfing Society 36-hole open stroke-play event at Glasgow Gailes Golf Club, Ayrshire today.
Stewart, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency at Elgin last year, shot a round of 71, matching the par but three under the CSS on a windy day.
At the halfway stage he leads by one shot from former shinty star John Fraser (Royal Burgess) and Brian Bingham (Haggs Castle).
Gordon MacDonald, captain of the burgeoning senior men's society, is lying joint fifth on the 74 mark after birdieing the short sixth and getting an eagle 2 at the par-4 seventh hole.

FIRST ROUND
Par 71. CSS 74
71 Bob Stewart (Tulliallan).
72 John Fraser (Royal Burgess), Brian Bingham (Haggs Castle).]
73 George Paterson (Northern).
74 Glyn Rees (Fleetwood), David Dickson (Lochmaben), William Brown (Strathaven), Gordon MacDonald (Callander).
75 Sandy Pirie (Hazlehead).
76 Mark Lironi (Cathkin Braes), Colin Christy (Kilmacolm), Donald McCart (Sherwood Forest), Ian Peddie (Tulliallan), Greaeme Millar (Swanston New), George Rodaks (Moffat).
77 Ronnie McLennan (Turnberry), Keith McAllister (South Shields), Alistair Fiddes (Deeside), Ronnie McLean (Hamilton), Stuart Pond (Worksop), Andrew Laird (Deeside).
78 Ken Russell (Wigton & Bladenoch), Derek Murphy (Kinross), Henry Anderson (Glenbervie), James Haddon (Darwen), Donald Moody (Bramford), William Moore (Ravenspark), Glen Ballantyne (Williamwood), Stephen Ellis (Heritage GS), William Erskine (Kilsyth & Lennox), Ian Brotherston (Dumfries & Co), Jim Roy (Grange), Michael Currie (Glen).
79 Colin Halcrow (Windyhill), Ian Dickson (Lundin), Donnie Lindsay (Windyhill), Gordon Brown (Vale of Leven), Brian Smith (Kilmacolm), Tony Stafford (Dun Ochil Gleneagles), Ian Taylor (Royal Burgess), David Leighton (Northern), Mike Robson (Kingsknowe), Gordon Thomson (Bearsden), Alan MacNaught (Colchester), David Smith (Stirling), Ken Thomson (Bramhall Park).

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Francesco Molinari sets course record with a 63

Only Harrington misses out on a

day of low scoring at Baltray

By THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Italian Francesco Molinari broke the course record on a day of spectacular scoring in The 3 Irish Open at County Louth today - but Padraig Harrington failed once again to ignite his season.
While the Open and US PGA champion, without a top 10 finish since January, managed only a one over par 73 after losing a ball on the final hole Molinari grabbed an eagle and eight birdies in a nine under par 63.
Brilliant though that was - it matched the lowest round of the 26-year-old's European Tour career - it was good enough for only a one-stroke lead.
Only 40 minutes earlier Swede Johan Edfors had equalled the old record for the Baltray links after collecting no fewer than 10 birdies.
"I enjoy links golf and I enjoyed it a lot," smiled Molinari, whose older brother Edoardo was US Amateur champion in 2005.
It helps, of course, when you make a make a 20-footer for birdie on the first and then a 30-footer for eagle at the third, but nobody could accuse the Turin golfer of not capitalising on those early bonuses.
"I played a lot of links golf as an amateur and it's just a matter of getting used to it again," he added.
Not that the course played hard and fast. Rain softened it up and everybody was able to attack the flags more as a result - some more successfully than others inevitably.
Harrington's closing bogey 6 was not his only one of the day. He also had one on the 531yd sixth. But the Dubliner, commuting from home by helicopter, did his best to look on the bright side.
"I felt good about a lot of things strangely enough," he commented. "I will focus on that and in three months I could be on top of the world. I was always hanging on in there, but that's how the game is. Some days it just does not go for you and some days everything goes for you. I've just got to stay patient."
Paul Lawrie, putting the Meldrum House ban controversy behind him, made a very good start with a six-under-par 66. That put him in joint third position at the end of a first day of low scoring, which suggests, if the wind doesn't get up, it will require a sub-par total, i.e. less than 144, to qualifying for the weekend rounds.
Marc Warren and Alastair Forsyth are both a shot behind on 67.
FIRST-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
63 Francesco Molinari (Ita)
64 Johan Edfors (Swe)
66 Robert Rock, Roope Kakko (Fin), Shiv Kapur (Ind), Oliver Wilson, Paul Lawrie, Nick Dougherty, Jamie Donaldson
67 Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Robert Dinwiddie, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Lee Slattery, Marc Warren, Shane Lowry, Alastair Forsyth, Julien Clement (Swi), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Thomas Levet (Fra)
68 Mikael Lundberg (Swe), Gary Orr, Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Anders Hansen (Den), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Peter Hedblom (Swe), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), John Daly (USA), Stephen Gallacher, Lee Westwood
69 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), Damien McGrane, Rafael Echenique (Arg), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Peter Hanson (Swe), Wil Besseling (Ned), Anthony Kang (USA), Rory McIlroy, Marcus Fraser (Aus), Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Chris Wood, Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Marcel Siem (Ger), Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Andrew McLardy (Rsa), Gary Lockerbie, David Drysdale, Emanuele Canonica (Ita)
70 Jeppe Huldahl (Den), Steve Webster, Ross Fisher, Colin Montgomerie, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Estanislao Goya (Arg), David Horsey, David Frost (Rsa), Steven O'Hara, Graeme Storm, Gary Murphy, Stephen Dodd, Alexander Noren (Swe), Pablo Martin (Spa), Gregory Havret (Fra)
71 David Carter, James Kingston (Rsa), Soren Hansen (Den), Klas Eriksson (Swe), Kenneth Ferrie, Simon Dyson, Simon Wakefield, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Niclas Fasth (Swe), Michael Jonzon (Swe), Oskar Henningsson (Swe), Michael Hoey, Bradley Dredge, Richard Bland, Hennie Otto (Rsa), Magnus A Carlsson (Swe), Eamonn Brady, David Howell, Phillip Price, Mark Brown (Nzl), Darren Clarke, Paul Broadhurst, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Richard Green (Aus), Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Paul McGinley
72 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Richie Ramsay, Noel Fox, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Paul Waring, Peter Lawrie, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Simon Khan, Anthony Wall, Alessandro Tadini (Ita), David Dixon, Des Smyth, Phillip Archer, Pedro Figueiredo (Por), Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Sam Little, Robert Giles
73 Barrie Trainor, Alvaro Velasco (Spa), Thomas Aiken (Rsa), Patrik Sjoland (Swe), Gareth Maybin, Rhys Davies, David Lynn, Oliver Fisher, Brett Rumford (Aus), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Richard Finch, John Kelly (USA), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa), Padraig Harrington, Barry Lane, Ross McGowan, Richard Sterne (Rsa)
74 Christian Cevaer (Fra), Anton Haig (Rsa), Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe), Pelle Edberg (Swe), Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Seve Benson, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg), Alexandre Rocha (Bra), Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Philip Walton, Mark Foster
75 Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Michael Mcgeady, Benn Barham, Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Scott Drummond
76 Jonathan Caldwell, Zane Scotland, Michael Campbell (Nzl), Scott Strange (Aus), Eoin Arthurs, Damian Mooney, Taco Remkes (Ned), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Simon Thornton, Peter O'Malley (Aus)
77 John Dwyer, Graeme McDowell, John Bickerton, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)
78 Scott Arnold (Hkg), Gregory Bourdy (Fra

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Lee James tees off with a 65 in

Challenge Tour event in France

From Paul Symes, European Challenge Tour Press Officer
Former British amateur champion Lee James got his quest for a fifth Challenge Tour title off to an encouraging start with a flawless round of five-under-par 65 on the opening day of the ALLIANZ Open Côtes d’Armor Bretagne.
The 36-year-old from Dorset, who shares the same management company as Miguel Angel Jiménez, fired three birdies and an eagle to move to within one shot of clubhouse leader Victor Riu of France.
After a disastrous start to his 2009 Challenge Tour campaign – he was six over par after the first four holes of the Club Colombia Masters – James recently rallied with a top ten finish in the Tusker Kenya Open, followed by a tie for 28th place in Morocco two weeks ago.
Having lost his European Tour card after a poor season with the putter last year, he was naturally delighted after showing signs of a return to form on the greens.
James, who captured three of his four Challenge Tour titles en route to topping the Rankings in 2002, said: “It often comes down to how you fare on the greens, but that’s particularly true of me. I felt comfortable and confident with the putter in my hand today, and that made all the difference. Two years ago I couldn’t find the fairway off the tee for love nor money, and then last year I rectified that, only for my putting to go to pot. So if I can bring it all together this year, I might have a half-decent season!”
At the other end of the experience spectrum, Challenge Tour rookie Riu wowed the home crowds with a rousing round of 64 to grab the outright lead.
Riu earned his card through the Alps Tour, a satellite Tour played predominantly across his native France, but proved he belonged in this elevated company with six birdies and an eagle.
That moved the 24 year old Parisian to six under par, one shot clear of James, Sweden’s Steven Jeppesen and Germany’s Florian Fritsch – who picked up five shots in his closing four holes.
Denmark’s Anders Schmidt Hansen recovered from a horrendous start – he was three over after just two holes – to close on three under par, alongside Norway’s Jan-Are Larsen, Ireland’s Alan Murray and France’s Julien Quesne.
Riu earned his card through the Alps Tour, a satellite circuit played predominantly across his native France, but proved he belonged in this elevated company with six birdies and an eagle.
That moved the 24 year old Parisian to six under par, one shot clear of a quintet of players: England’s Lee James, Sweden’s Steven Jeppesen, Denmark’s Oliver Suhr, Australian Matthew Zions and Germany’s Florian Fritsch – who picked up five shots in his closing four holes.
Riu attributed his fast start to his maiden Challenge Tour season – he finished fifth on only his second appearance in the Tusker Kenya Open – to a stint practising in Brisbane, Australia, for three months over the winter.
He said: “It’s a bit warmer in Australia than it is in France! I worked with my coach more on my mental approach and my routine, which was good because I had focused too much on my technique until now. So it was good to get another point of view, and today I think the practice paid off, because I played very well. My long game was very good and I also putted very well, because whenever I had a birdie chance, I took it. Obviously it would be great if I could do well here and then finish in the top 20 at the end of the year, but it’s my first season so I’m just going to enjoy it.”
Carnoustie's Eric Ramsay is the leading Scot on 68, one shot ahead of Andrew McArthur from Windyhill.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 70
64 V Riu (Fra).
65 F Fritsch (Ger), M Zions (Aus), L James (Eng), S Jeppesen (Swe), O Suhr (Den).
66 J Guerrier (Fra), J Sjöholm (Swe), B Miarka (Ger), R Coles (Eng), V Dubuisson (am) (Fra) .
67 J Parry (Eng), J Larsen (Nor) , A Murray (Irl), A Hansen (Den), J Quesne (Fra).
68 N Colsaerts (Bel), C Brazillier (Fra), J Lima (Por), E Ramsay (Sco), T Haylock (Eng), A Gee (Eng), A Tampion (Aus), J Billot (Fra), A Kaleka (am) (Fra).
69 T Feyrsinger (Aut), S Robinson (Eng), R Kilpatrick (Nir), P Rowe (Eng), J Blaauw (RSA), G Plumet (Fra), D Küpper (Ger), L Kennedy (Eng), F Schoettel (Fra), A McArthur (Sco), P Golding (Eng), M Haastrup (Den), N Joakimides (Fra), J Gougeon (Fra) , M Korhonen (Fin) , B Hebert (Fra), G Hutcheon (Sco), M Laskey (Wal), D Ulrich (Sui), A Bernadet (Fra).
70 M Quiros (Esp), F Praegant (Aut), R Bechu (Fra), P Gustafsson (Swe), J Guillet (Fra) , P Del Grosso (Arg), G Davies (Eng), O Floren (Swe), M Tullo (Chi), T Whitehouse (Eng), F Calmels (Fra), L Brovold (Nor), N Maestroni (Ita), B Teilleria (Fra), D Nouailhac (Fra), M Cort (Eng), P Whiteford (Sco), B Evans (Eng), A Grenier (Fra), M Mills (Eng), B Lecuona (Fra) , R Steele (Eng), I Pyman (Eng), P Relecom (Bel), N Smith (US), A Marshall (Eng), J Ruth (Eng).
71 T Dykes (Wal), J Little (Eng), A Joudar (Mar), A Mellor (Eng), B Alvarado (Chi), J Grillon (Fra) , M Ford (Eng) , J Forestier (Fra), P Kaensche (Nor), C Suneson (Esp) , E Chaudouet (Fra) , A Bruschi (Ita) , B Mason (Eng).
72 K Jorgensen (Den), L Westerberg (Swe) , F Cupillard (Fra) , B Coathalem (Fra) , J Garcia Pinto (Esp), M Mauret (Fra) , J Sköld (Swe) ,
73 J Remesy (Fra) , C Aguilar (Esp) , A Zanini (Ita) , D Froreich (Ger) , V Simoni (Fra) , N Meitinger (Ger) , R Santos (Por) , A Taupin (Fra) , T Cruz (Por) , A Högberg (Swe) , R Steiner (Aut), C Moriarty (Irl), A Willey (Eng).
74 A Weizman (Fra) , A Wagner (Arg) , D Griffiths (Eng) , C Monasterio (Arg) , E Moreul (Fra) , C Menut (Fra) , A Mörk (Fra) , M Reale (Ita) , J Garcia Fernandez (Esp) , K Brink (Swe) , R Harris (Eng) , J Heath (Eng) , S Delagrange (Fra) ,
75 D Denison (Eng) , G Houston (Wal) , C Günther (Ger) , R Malingri Di Bagnolo (Fra) , M Kramer (Ger) , J Zapata (Arg), J Colomo (Esp) , C Russo (Fra) , O David (Fra) , A Butterfield (Eng) , C Dubois (Fra) , G Boyd (Eng) ,
76 T Ferreira (RSA) , J Xanthopoulos (Fra) , P Baker (Eng) , N Vanhootegem (Bel) , L Richard (Bel) ,
77 X Laduche (Fra) , A Mandonnet (Fra) , I Giner (Esp) , G Gresse (Bel) , K Sullivan (Wal) , F Vallet (Fra) , M Van Hauwe (Fra).
78 X Poncelet (Fra), D Perrier (Fra), J Van Hauwe (Fra), M Hill (Fra) , E Chamaulte (Fra) , C Smith (Wal).
79 S Reale (Ita).
80 S Juul (Den).
81 J Lenne (Fra), R Treis (Ger).
82 F Serghini (Mar).
83 M Pilkington (Wal).
84 S Bernard (Fra).
DQ T Briset (Fra).

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Former Open champion talks about Meldrum House situation

Happier days: Paul Lawrie and Meldrum House Golf Club chairman Bob Edwards after Paul had opened the club's practice facilities (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency). Click to enlarge.

Paul Lawrie: It's incredible how things can

escalate out of nothing at all

Paul Lawrie, his honorary membership at Meldrum House Golf Club cancelled as well as being told not to return to the Oldmeldrum facility even to meet his coach Neil Marr, has been elaborating on his side of the story:
"I played at Meldrum House during the Easter holidays with my two boys," he recalled. "Afterwards I asked the starter: What's happening with the greens?'. He said it wasn't his department. I then asked the course manager the same question and he said What do you mean?
"I said Well, they're not very good. The ball's bouncing about all over the place and that's unusual for here because they're usually good.' He then said Are you winding me up?' and I said No, it's just my opinion'. I sensed he was not happy with me asking.
"We had a conversation. It was not an argument. There were no voices raised and the whole thing lasted 20 seconds and I went back to the boys. That's all that happened with him.
"A few days later I was playing at Deeside and I texted the head greenkeeper at Meldrum House, Kenny Harper, whom I have known for years upon years. It said: Deeside greens are really good unlike your sh*te.' That's what it said and it was to someone I've known for a long, long time.
"He texted me back: Tiger Woods is really good, unlike ' Meaning me. Now that is a fantastic bit of banter between friends. The next thing I get a letter (from the Meldrum House board of directors) saying: Due to your recent comments and text messages we feel it is in everyone's best interests that you no longer return to Meldrum House Golf Club.
"I swear that is what happened. I sent an e-mail to Bob Edwards, the chairman, explaining that the texts were banter and saying I find it incredible the action he and his directors had taken. I got a strong email back calling me for unprofessional behaviour.
"It's incredible how things can come out of nothing. I believe they want me to apologise for what I've done and I'll be welcome back with open arms, but I would not go back no matter what they did now. You can't treat people like that. I am an honorary member and an Open champion and I have done nothing to apologise for.
"Why couldn't Mr Edwards have phoned me before he sent the letter? He has my phone number. Then I could have explained all this and that it was all a misunderstanding. I merely asked what was happening with the greens and the text to Kenny was banter.
"The story is everywhere now. I was in the players' meeting last night (to decide an increase in Ryder Cup wild cards from two to three) and when I came out I had 14 voice messages. This thing has grown out of all proportion. They are adamant that I was serious about the texts but there is no way I was.
"I wish I had never said what I had said, but if you are a member of a golf club you are entitled to give your comments and opinions, whatever they are. Can you imagine if they banned every member of every golf club in the world who asked what was happening with the greens?
"Neil (Marr, his coach) and I will do our work at Pine Lodge, a driving range in Kemnay. My father built a house there but sold it before they built the range and I like the atmosphere there."

Editor's message to Bob Edwards and Paul Lawrie: Sounds like something that could be sorted out over a cup of tea or a pint instead of smouldering on, giving unwelcome publicity to all concerned. I know both men personally and would be happy to be the peace-maker.

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