BMW PGA Championship rounds taking 5hr 20min

Fernandez-Castano's waiting game pays off

with share of lead on 67 at Wentworth

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño proved that patience really is a virtue as he picked up three shots in his last two holes to take a share of the lead after the first day of the BMW PGA Championship.
British Masters winner Fernandez-Castaño, who recorded three consecutive runner-up finishes earlier in the year, shot a five under par 67 at Wentworth Club to join England’s David Horsey and Anthony Wall in a share of the lead after the opening round.
“You had to be patient because it took us five hours and 20 minutes to finish the round,” he said. “You had to be patient if you want to do well.
“That chip on the 17th was fantastic. I missed the green short and right with my second, probably the last place you want to be on that hole with that pin position today and how hard the greens are.
“I did a fantastic chip and that was a birdie, and then a fantastic five wood on the last to four feet and then holed it. So that's a great feeling to end the day.”
European Tour rookie Horsey, a team-mate of Rory McIlroy at the 2007 Walker Cup and winner of last season's Challenge Tour, was the first of the 150-strong field to tee off at 7am.
He was one over after five holes of his debut but birdied the next two, added another on the 12th and finished with three more.
“I started off a little bit slow, two three putts on three and four, four being for par, which was a bit disappointing,” said the 24 year old Cheshire golfer.
“And then I birdied six I think and then four birdies on the back nine. I birdied 12, and the last three, so, yeah, strong finish. The back nine is playing downwind today, so it's a little bit easier than the front nine, but you've still got to shoot the score, so I'm very pleased with how I finished.”
Londoner Wall, only two groups behind him, also came home in a four under 33.
The trio face a tough task maintaining their one stroke advantage over the field, with some big names queuing up behind in The European Tour’s flagship event.
Two more Englishmen are only one behind at four under in the shape of Barry Lane and Ross Fisher, along with South African star Charl Schwartzel, Swede Niclas Fasth and defending champion Miguel Angel Jiménez.
“This course with this wind, between the trees sometimes, it makes it quite difficult choosing the clubs” said the Spaniard.
“I played very well, very solid from tee to green, and that's what you need on this golf course. You need to play with the ball and make the putts. I've been playing very well here for the last few years and I feel good on the golf course, it's very nice, and you have to keep focused.”
Colin Montgomerie hit back from his closing 80 at The 3 Irish Open with a three under 69, the same as World No. 7 Paul Casey and last season's European Order of Merit winner Robert Karlsson.
"One 69 is okay but what I have to do is put another one on the board, then another one," said the Ryder Cup captain. "If I can do that, I'll be thrilled.
"I have to set my goals the way they were - to win. I feel capable of it still and it's just a matter of going out and proving it to myself. I haven't been doing that."
American Anthony Kang, compatriot and former Open Championship winner Ben Curtis, Scotland’s Scott Drummond, Dane Søren Kjeldsen, Karlsson’s compatriot Alexander Noren, Martin Lafeber of The Netherlands another Spaniard, Alvaro Quiros, also signed for rounds of 69.
SCROLL DOWN FOR ALL THE FIRST-ROUND TOTALS

Ross Drummond makes solid start to

US Senior PGA Championship

Ross Drummond matched the par of 70 to be high up the leaderboard at the end of the first round of the United States Senior PGA Championship at Canterbury Golf Club, Beachwood, Ohio.
Fellow Scots Sandy Lyle and Bill Longmuir had scores of 74 and 77 respectively.
Americans Scott Hoch and Tom Purtzer are setting a hot pace with four-under 66s.
Germany's Bernhard Langer, a two-time winner this year and the US Champions Tour's top money-winner, had a 68 and was alone in third.
"I would like to think that I'm one of the players to beat," Langer said. "I've had a pretty good season on the Champions Tour last year and I had a really good start this year again. So I would like to think of myself as being one of those guys that has a chance to win."
England's Mark James had a 69.
Only 10 players broke par and 12 others shot even-par 70 in warm and sunny weather with blustery wind at the 88-year-old layout in suburban Cleveland.
Hoch, who started with a pair of birdies, was three shots clear of the field at 6 under as he stepped to the tee on the 227-yard, par-3 17th. Bogey-free to that point, his wind-blown 3-iron ended up in the right front bunker and he failed to get up and down to a pin located on a back shelf. Then on the difficult, uphill par-4 18th, from a perfect lie he flew the green with his second shot but was able to save bogey with a two-putt from 50 feet.
A two-time Masters champion, Langer was content to rely on his arrow-straight drives to avoid the heavy rough bordering the narrow fairways on the tree-lined course. He hit 10 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation.
"I'll take that most days, especially on a course like this where it's not that easy to hit the fairways and the greens," he said.
FIRST ROUND
Par 70
Players from US unless stated.
66 Scott Hoch, Tom Purtzer.
68 Bernhard Langer (Ger).
69 John Morse, Mark James (Eng), Joey Sindelar, Larry Mize, Dana Quigley, Tom Kite, Gary Hallberg.
70 Ross Drummond (Sco), John Jacobs, Dave Stockton, Jeff Sluman, Dan Forsman, Tim Simpson, Hale Irwin, Denis Watson (SAf), Butch Sheehan, Tim Simpson, Sam Torrance, Jay Don Blake, Ross Cochran.
71 Bruce Fleisher, Jay Haas, Tom Jenkins, Hal Sutton, James Blair, Wayne Grady, Ian Woosnam (Wal), Fred Funk, Robert Gibbons, John Aubrey, Gil Morgan, James Mason, Bob Gilder, Chris Starkjohan.
Selected scores:
72 Tom Watson, Bob Cameron (Eng), Ken Green, J C Snead, Juan Quiros (Spa), Mark McNulty (Ire), Lanny Wadkins, Fuzzy Zoeller, Allen Doyle, Costantino Rocca (Ita).
73 Ben Crenshaw, Greg Norman (Aus).
74 Sandy Lyle (Sco), Nick Price (Zim), Roger Chapman (Eng).
75 Tom Lehman.
77 Jimmy Heggarty (NIr), Nick Job (Eng), Bill Longmuir (Sco).
78 Bob Charles (NZ), Peter Mitchell (Eng).

European Tour Scoreboard
BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Wentworth Club, Virginia Water, Surrey
FIRST ROUND
Par 72.
67 Anthony Wall, David Horsey, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa)
68 Ross Fisher, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Niclas Fasth (Swe), Barry Lane
69 Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Colin Montgomerie, Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Scott Drummond, Ben Curtis (USA), Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Robert Karlsson (Swe), Paul Casey, Anthony Kang (USA), Alexander Noren (Swe)
70 Peter Lawrie, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Gary Lockerbie, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg), Lee Slattery, Jamie Donaldson, Markus Brier (Aut), Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Alastair Forsyth, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Thomas Levet (Fra)
71 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), Retief Goosen (Rsa), Marcel Siem (Ger), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Peter Hanson (Swe), Brett Rumford (Aus), Robert Rock, Stephen Dodd, Andres Romero (Arg), Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Sam Little, Marcus Fraser (Aus)
72 Anton Haig (Rsa), Thomas Aiken (Rsa), Anders Hansen (Den), Benn Barham, Scott Strange (Aus), Pelle Edberg (Swe), Martin Kaymer (Ger), Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Rory McIlroy, Marc Warren, Paul Lawrie, Richard Green (Aus), Phillip Archer, Mark Foster, Pablo Martin (Spa)
73 Mikael Lundberg (Swe), James Kingston (Rsa), Soren Hansen (Den), Robert Dinwiddie, John Bickerton, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), John Daly (USA), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Ernie Els (Rsa), Miles Tunnicliff, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Hennie Otto (Rsa), Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Shiv Kapur (Ind), Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Nick Dougherty, Phillip Price, Seve Benson, Paul Broadhurst, Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Paul McGinley, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind), Richard Sterne (Rsa)
74 Zane Scotland, Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Angel Cabrera (Arg), David Frost (Rsa), Darren Clarke, Simon Dyson, Andrew McLardy (Rsa), Johan Edfors (Swe), Simon Khan, Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Michael Jonzon (Swe), Tano Goya (Arg), Luke Donald, Peter O'Malley (Aus)
75 Steve Webster, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe), Graeme McDowell, Paul Waring, Jason McCreadie, Gareth Maybin, James Ablett, Rafael Echenique (Arg), Kenneth Ferrie, Simon Wakefield
76 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Richie Ramsay, Gary Orr, David Howell, Oliver Wilson, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe), Brett A Taylor, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Daniel Vancsik (Arg), George Ryall, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Taco Remkes (Ned), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Chris Doak, Gregory Havret (Fra), Ross McGowan
77 Christian Cevaer (Fra), Francesco Molinari (Ita), Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Oliver Fisher, Andrew Oldcorn, Stephen Gallacher, Richard Finch, David Dixon, Guy Woodman, Nick Ludwell, Lee Westwood
78 Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Mark Brown (Nzl), Paul Simpson, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
79 Alvaro Velasco (Spa), Michael Campbell (Nzl), Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Peter Hedblom (Swe), David Lynn, Bradley Dredge, Simon Lilly
80 Graeme Storm
82 Gary Murphy
86 John Kelly (USA)
Retired: Michael Hoey

South extend long unbeaten run at Southerness

FROM GRAEME SHARP
South of Scotland team started the 2009 area team championship with a comfortable victory over a strong Glasgow side at Southerness.
Neil Hamilton (Dumfries & Galloway) made his debut in the championship in an experienced team that extended its long unbeaten run at Southerness.
The South top their group after the first round of matches with the next game at Lenzie against Dumbartonshire being a must win game if the South are to feature in the semi-finals for the fifth time in the last seven years.
Results;
SOUTH 7 1/2, GLASGOW 1 1/2
Foursomes (3-0)
C Riddick & I Thomson bt S Robertson & M Bookless 1 hole.
I Brotherston & M Grunwell bt J Laurie & G Sangster 3 and 1.
A G F Sharp & N Hamilton bt G McDougall & L McLaughlin 3 and 2.
Singles (4 1/2-1 1/2)
Riddick bt Robertson 3 and 2.
Sharp bt Sangster 4 and 2.
Thomson halved with Bookless.
Hamilton lost to Laurie 6 and 5.
Brotherston bt McDougall 5 and 4.
Grunwell bt McLaughlin 5 and 4.

SOUTH 71/2 GLASGOW 11/2

Lloyd Saltman misses another cut

by four on Euro Challenge Tour

Lothians man Lloyd Saltman has missed another cut on the Challenge Tour. Uninspired rounds of 75 and 73 for 148 saw him drop out of the Piemonte Open at Turin, Italy at the halfway stage. Only those with 144 or better qualified for the third and fourth rounds.
Fellow Scots Andrew McArthur (Windyhill) and Eric Ramsay (Carnoustie) both missed the cut by a single Scot.
Scots still in there pitching are Peter Whiteford on 143, and four who made it with nothing to spare on 144 - Greig Hutcheon, Jamie McLeary, George Murray and Scott Henry.
Paul Symes, European Challenge Tour Press Officer, reports:
A second successive 67 saw two-time Challenge Tour champion Italian Edoardo Molinari take command of the Piemonte Open, being played in his home town of Turin.
Whilst elder brother Francesco laboured to a round of 77 in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club, Edoardo plundered six birdies in a flawless display at Golf Club La Mandria to extend his lead in the €150,000 event.
Just as he had on the opening day, Molinari picked up shots on the 11th, 14th and 17th holes, before a pair of birdies on the front nine – his back nine – moved the 28 year old two shots clear of his closest rival, Norwegian Jan-Are Larsen.
Molinari won both the Club Colombia Masters and the Tusker Kenya Open en route to 16th place in the 2007 Challenge Tour Rankings, but would dearly love to capture a maiden professional title on home soil.
He said: “I played very well again today – probably better than I did yesterday. It could’ve been even lower, because I missed a couple of birdie putts on the back nine. But overall I have to be very happy, because it puts me in a good position going into the weekend.
“The key to playing well at this course is to drive the ball well, because the rough is very tough. If you can keep the ball in play off the tee, you’ve got a good chance of making birdies. Apart from three of the par-5s where I missed the fairway, I managed to drive the ball very well today. If I can find the fairways on the par-5s I’m confident of going even lower, because most of them are reachable in two.
“Overall I feel nice and fresh after taking the week off after the Italian Open to prepare. I spent a week on the practice range just making some small changes to my swing, and I’m glad I did.
"I’ve got a long run of events coming up on the Challenge Tour, so it felt like a good time to take a break. If I hadn’t taken the week off, maybe I wouldn’t have played so well here.
“I’m really looking forward to the weekend now, and hopefully I can keep playing the way I have been. The way I’m striking the ball I feel I can go low again, and if I can shoot two more rounds of 67 then I’ll be in with a great chance of winning. It would be fantastic to win a tournament in Italy, but I know I’m going to have to play well.”
Six birdies and three bogeys in an eventful round of 69 saw Larsen relinquish the overnight lead he had held jointly with Molinari, whilst the lowest round of the tournament to date was posted by Gregory Molteni, whose 66 moved him into a share of fourth place.
Having opened with an eagle 3, Molteni compiled five birdies and a solitary bogey to join the English duo of Gary Boyd and Matthew Morris on six under par. Morris opened with a birdie and added another two to reach the turn in 33, but could only manage level par on the back nine for a second successive 69.
Compatriot Boyd, currently leading the Rankings, is in with a chance of capturing his second title of the season after a round of 67 moved him to within four shots of the lead. Fellow Englishman Richard McEvoy, who signed for a round of 67, is a shot further back on five under par alongside France’s Benjamin Hebert, Italy’s Marco Soffietti, and Spaniard Carlos Rodiles.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
134 E Molinari (Ita) 67 67.
136 J Larsen (Nor) 67 69.
138 M Morris (Eng) 69 69, G Molteni (Ita) 72 66, G Boyd (Eng) 71 67.
139 M Soffietti (Ita) 68 71, B Hebert (Fra) 70 69, R McEvoy (Eng) 72 67, C Rodiles (Esp) 68 71. 140 J Zapata (Arg) 70 70, A Butterfield (Eng) 69 71, L Kennedy (Eng) 73 67, J Quesne (Fra) 71 69, R Coles (Eng) 68 72.
141 G Paddison (Nzl) 73 68, F Colombo (Ita) 71 70, F Calmels (Fra) 70 71, O David (Fra) 68 73, G Gresse (Bel) 73 68, N Colsaerts (Bel) 68 73, C Günther (Ger) 69 72, A Bruschi (Ita) 72 69, A Bossert (Sui) 71 70.
142 J Morrison (Eng) 74 68, L James (Eng) 71 71, J Clément (Sui) 71 71, A Marshall (Eng) 71 71, R Steiner (Aut) 69 73, J Billot (Fra) 72 70, F Fritsch (Ger) 71 71, M Zions (Aus) 73 69, J Guerrier (Fra) 70 72, M Wiegele (Aut) 72 70, C Russo (Fra) 71 71,
143 P Whiteford (Sco) 70 73, D Nouailhac (Fra) 74 69, A Ahokas (Fin) 70 73, R Kakko (Fin) 72 71, M Crespi (Ita) 69 74, J Arruti (Esp) 71 72, C Carranza (Arg) 70 73, G Shaw (Nir) 73 70, M Higley (Eng) 72 71, J Grillon (Fra) 72 71,
144 J Sjöholm (Swe) 75 69, F Svanberg (Sui) 76 68, M Delpodio (Ita) 74 70, N Maestroni (Ita) 73 71, J Abbate (Arg) 73 71, G Hutcheon (Sco) 73 71, B Pettersson (Swe) 72 72, A Willey (Eng) 71 73, J McLeary (Sco) 72 72, A Grenier (Fra) 73 71, D Marmion (Eng) 70 74, G Murray (Sco) 73 71, A Gee (Eng) 74 70, A Hansen (Den) 72 72, M Tullo (Chi) 72 72, B Evans (Eng) 73 71, S Henry (Sco) 71 73, V Riu (Fra) 74 70,
MISSED THE CUT
145 E Ramsay (Sco) 73 72, S Jeppesen (Swe) 72 73, W Schauman (Swe) 72 73, J Parry (Eng) 74 71, S Robinson (Eng) 72 73, A Mörk (Fra) 75 70, A Tampion (Aus) 72 73, C Suneson (Esp) 69 76, L Bond (Wal) 74 71, E Lattanzi (Ita) 74 71, P Baker (Eng) 72 73, R De Sousa (Sui) 72 73, A McArthur (Sco) 74 71, L Brovold (Nor) 70 75, J Wahlqvist (Swe) 73 72, M Laskey (Wal) 71 74.
146 A Wagner (Arg) 74 72, N Fox (Irl) 75 71, M Jurgensen (Den) 72 74, M Rodriguez (Arg) 72 74, M Rominger (Sui) 76 70, M Cort (Eng) 73 73, K Jorgensen (Den) 72 74, B Mason (Eng) 73 73, T Whitehouse (Eng) 73 73, L Westerberg (Swe) 73 73.
147 N Joakimides (Fra) 71 76, E Canonica (Ita) 75 72, C Moriarty (Irl) 70 77, G Houston (Wal) 74 73, M Korhonen (Fin) 72 75, I Giner (Esp) 73 74, I Pyman (Eng) 75 72, B Miarka (Ger) 70 77, A Perrino (Ita) 78 69, B Lecuona (Fra) 78 69, R Treis (Ger) 76 71, C Gane (Eng) 73 74.
148 T Cruz (Por) 73 75, T Dykes (Wal) 77 71, A Högberg (Swe) 75 73, P Bronson (USA) 77 71, P Gustafsson (Swe) 69 79, C Brazillier (Fra) 73 75, L Saltman (Sco) 75 73.
149 C Monasterio (Arg) 75 74, J Colomo (Esp) 72 77, R Swane (Ned) 76 73, N Smith (USA) 73 76, M Reale (Ita) 78 71, M Haastrup (Den) 74 75, A Grammatica (am) (Ita) 75 74.
150 J Altonen (Fin) 78 72, D Griffiths (Eng) 76 74, J Moul (Eng) 76 74, T Schuster (Ger) 72 78, P Purhonen (Fin) 76 74, J Bjerhag (Swe) 74 76, A Haindl (RSA) 78 72, A Zanini (Ita) 78 72, J Ruth (Eng) 77 73, S Reale (Ita) 73 77.
151 P Bocian (Swe) 74 77, D Küpper (Ger) 75 76, O Floren (Swe) 77 74, R Santos (Por) 77 74, A Zani (Ita) 73 78, S Piaget (Mon) 81 70, S Brizzolari (Ita) 76 75, T Feyrsinger (Aut) 75 76,
152 R Hie (Ina) 79 73, M Guerisoli (Ita) 81 71, K Sullivan (Wal) 79 73, N Lemke (Swe) 73 79, G Vicente Elena (Esp) 74 78.
153 N Cabrera (Par) 77 76, B Etchart (Esp) 77 76, A McLean (Sco) 70 83, J Boerdonk (Ned) 76 77.
154 J Forestier (Fra) 78 76, D Ulrich (Sui) 78 76, B Parker (Eng) 77 77,
155 A Bernadet (Fra) 83 72, D Olsen (USA) 77 78, M Gojcic (Slo) 77 78, M Kramer (Ger) 77 78,
156 I Garcia Avis (Esp) 80 76.
157 P Terreni (Ita) 77 80, E Sesia (am) (Ita) 81 76.
158 A Rota (Ita) 80 78, G Tonelli (Ita) 75 83, M Bernardini (Ita) 79 79.
159 N Meitinger (Ger) 77 82.
167 A Garbaccio (am) (Ita) 84 83.

It's Moray v Nairn Dunbar in final of

Northern Counties Seniors Cup

By ROBIN WILSON
Moray Golf Club will go into their third final since the inception, seven years ago, of the senior version of the Northern Counties Cup at Inverness on Friday morning but to win the B D Fraser Cup for the first time they will have to beat the 2005 winners, Nairn Dunbar, in this morning's final.
Nairn Dunbar upset the home support with a stunning seven-hole win over the local team in the semi-finals.
Nairn Dunbar's Hugh Clunas and Derek Lamb won a closely contested game by one hole over Fraser Urquhart and Jim Elliot, but second pair Ian Duncan and David Bunker enjoyed a comfortable six-hole ride over Bob McAdam and Jocky Thomson.
Cruden Bay's Bill Livingston, Mike Keddie, Martin Forster and Jim Smith ended the Murcar Links' reign as champions when Livingston and Keddie finished five holes up on Murcar's John Hamilton and Clark Alexander in the all-North-East quarter-final, Forster and Smith winning by two over David Hird and Eric Morrison.
In the semi final against Moray, Livingston and Keddie won again but not by enough to offset the slide of their second string, Forster and Smith, who lost a five-hole run to Moray's Chris MacLeod and James MacPherson, finally ending three down for Moray to go through by two holes. The final tees off at 9am.

RESULTS:
QUARTER-FINALS
Cruden Bay 1 bt Murcar Links by seven holes.
B Livingston & M Keddie 5, J M Hamilton & C Alexander 0.
M Forster & J B Smith 2, D Hird & E J Morrison 0.

Moray bt Strathpeffer Spa by five holes.
J P Westwood, I J MacKenzie 5, D Bethune & B MacKenzie 0.
C J MacLeod & J S MacPherson 0, P Bannerman & D Gruber 0.

Inverness 1 bt Fortrose & Rosemarkie 2 by 11 holes.
H F Urquhart & J Eliot 9, P L Taylor & L Patience 0.
R McAdam & J S Thomson 2, L Macleman & J Hearmon 0.

Nairn Dunbar 1 bt Royal Dornoch by four holes.
H Clunas & D Lamb 1, B Nicholson & A Bagott 0.
I Duncan & D Bunker 3, A Ramsay & R Bluck 0.

SEMI-FINALS

Moray bt Cruden Bay 1 by two holes.
Westwood & Mackenzie 0, Livingston & Keddie 1.
MacLeod & MacPherson 3, Forster & Smith 0.

Nairn Dunbar 1 bt Inverness by seven holes.
Clunas & Lamb 1, Urquhart & Elliot 0.
Duncan & Bunker 6, McAdam & Thomson 0.

OPEN CHAMPION PADRAIG HARRINGTON

PLAYS OPEN VENUE FOR FIRST TIME

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R&A
In preparation for this year’s Open Championship, two-time winner Padraig Harrington teed off at the Ailsa course for the first time yesterday. Harrington was at Turnberry attending a media day organised by his club supplier Wilson Golf.
Having played this year’s Open venue for the first time he was full of praise for the famous links.
“It’s a super course. It’s lived up to expectations. I had obviously been told that it was a very fair golf course, an enjoyable course. There are not a huge amount of opportunities out there but a lot of steady holes, with difficult par 3’s. The par 3’s really stand out the most. You would want to play the par 3’s well with the par 5 seventh hole the only real birdie chance.
“I have learned what the set up will be like and what shots need to be practiced and played, although the course will change over the next two months. It will certainly be different with the crowds, the warmer weather and people walking around, that will make it a different experience. There is a little bit there with the grandstands, TV towers and scoreboards up already, so it’s starting to take shape.”
“From watching it on TV and hearing what other people have had to say, I knew it was a great course and from just looking at a few holes, I really like what I see and am particularly looking forward to coming here in July to defend my Open Championship title.”
A lot of focus will inevitably be given to Harrington’s attempt to make yet more history at this year’s Open where he will attempt to become the first player to lift the Claret Jug in three consecutive years since Peter Thomson in 1954, 1955 and 1956.
“I am well aware that Peter Thomson was the last man to do it, but I feel I'll be in with a great chance because I have control over my own preparation and, if I get that right, then I can be in contention. From there, I know I can go on and win it.
“I want to win more Majors but I’m not going to put any more pressure on myself to make it three in a row. I’m going to take it like any other Major; winning them individually is big enough but if they happen to come three years in a row well that’s very special. I need to treat this like another Open Championship, winning any of them is a big deal.”
“This isn’t too far from my home to be honest. There will be a good Irish contingent as there always is at The Open; regardless of how you play they are right behind you and it’s a nice bit of motivation. It’s always good to have their support.”
The Open Championship takes place at Turnberry from 12 – 19 July 2009. Tickets are available online at Opengolf.com

Englishman's third Scottish senior amateur championship win

Panmure parade of the prizewinners (left to right): John Fraser, champion David Lane, runner-up Ian Hutcheon, and Andrew Campbell. Image by courtesy of the Scottish Golf Union (Rob Eyton-Jones). Click on it to enlarge.

David Lane holds off last-nine challenge

from Ian Hutcheon at Panmure

David Lane from the Goring & Streatley club near Reading made the long trip up to the Panmure course, near Carnoustie worthwhile when he won the Scottish senior men's open amateur championship for a third time today.
His previous successes came at Glasgow Killermont in 2001 and Scotscraig in 2002. There's no doubt that the Scottish air brings the best out of David. He won the British seniors' open amateur title in 1998 when it was staged over Western Gailes and Glasgow Gailes.
Lane was three shots behind Ian Hutcheon - also a two-time Scottish seniors winner, Alyth in 2004 and Drumpellier in 2007 - after the first round but led by one shot going into today's final round.
Lane's final outward half of 39 gave Hutcheon the chance to draw level with 38 to the turn but the Monifieth maestro bogeyed the 15th and 16th while his English rival reeled off nine straight inward pars for victory with a 74 for nine-over-par 219.
Hutcheon had rounds of 67, 79 and 75 for 221.
Andrew Campbell (Kinross) and former shinty ace John Fraser (Royal Burgess) finished joint third on 223.
Campbell had scores of 75, 76 and 72, Fraser 78 68 and 77. John will be rueing a triple bogey 7 at the eighth in a disastrous outward nine of six-over-par 42. A par at the eighth might have seen him finish at least second.
But that's golf - full of might-have-beens!

Defending champion Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) finished joint 26th.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 210 (3x70) CSS 73 73 73
219 David Lane (Goring & Streatley 70 75 74.
221 Ian C Hutcheon (Moifieth) 67 79 75.
223 Andrew Campbell (Kinross) 75 76 72, John Fraser (Royal Burgess) 78 68 77.
224 David Downie (Kirriemuir) 77 74 73, Stephen Baker (Woodside) 74 74 76, Robert Vallis (Bermuda) 76 70 78.
226 John Johnson (Royal Aberdeen) 78 75 73, Sandy Pirie (Hazlehead) 75 75 76, Philip Sater (Sandiway) 75 74 77.
227 George Payne (Prestbury) 75 76 76, Gordeon MacDonald (Callander) 76 71 80.
228 Paul Crellin (Prenton) 78 77 73.
229 Keith MacBryde (Stone) 74 809 75, Adrian Donkersley (Gerrards Cross) 77 76 76, Glyn Rees (Fleetwood) 74 77 78, Alan Ferguson (Drumpellier) 77 74 78, George Paterson (Northern) 76 73 80.
230 Glyn Hughes (Church Stretton) 74 81 75, Andrew Wight (Glencorse) 73 80 77, Geoffrey King (West Essex) 81 72 77, J Scott Macdonald (Dunfermline) 78 75 77, Tony Patterson (Sunningdale) 76 77 77, Ralph Cowe (Kelso) 76 77 77, John Black (Scotscraig) 74 76 80.
231 Robert Stewart (Tulliallan) 77 76 78, John Baldwin (Sunningdale) 77 74 80.

232 Robert Jack (Liberton) 78 74 80.

233 Richard Campbell (Kinross) 79 76 78, Bill MacIntyre (Harpenden) 77 78 78, Rich Tolly (US) 80 75 78, Aidan Grounds (Falkirk Tryst) 75 79 79, Martyn Temple (US) 76 76 81, Donald McCart (Sherwood Forest) 73 78 82, Francis Clark (Royal Aberdeen) 75 75 83.

234 Jim Watt (Edzell) 75 79 80, William Brown (Strathaven) 77 75 82.

235 Norman Swenson (US) 77 77 81.

236 Jonathan Hubbard (Sunningdale) 80 74 82, Robert Gill (Gerrards Cross) 73 79 84.

237 Robert Wallace (Crosland Heath) 78 76 83, Basil Griffiths (Llanymynech) 77 75 85.

239 Colin Halcrow (Windyhill) 75 79 85.

241 Alistair Brett (Northumberland) 81 74 86.

Shane Lowry turns pro: Will make

debut in European Open next week

FROM THE GUARDIAN.CO.UK WEBSITE
Shane Lowry, who won the Irish Open on Sunday as an amateur, has turned professional and will be playing for money at next week's European Open.
The 22-year-old Irishman, who shot a 10-under 62 in his second round, won a play-off to take the Irish Open on Sunday in his first European Tour event, beating eight of the world's top 50.
He said yesterday that turning professional "will give me the greatest chance of becoming the best player I can be in the future".
The County Offaly golfer, who made the announcement at a news conference in Dublin, said his original plan had been to turn pro after the Walker Cup in September. However, he said he was confident he was making the right decision for his career.
He will officially take out membership of the PGA European Tour in coming days. "I am fully aware that playing against some of the greatest players in the world as a professional on a weekly basis will be new territory for me and it will be a difficult challenge. However, I am confident it is something I am ready for."
But he added: "There is a tinge of sadness for me leaving my amateur career behind."
"My manager Conor Ridge has told me to just go and play golf and they [Horizon Sports Management] will look after everything else, which was music to my ears to be honest."
It was also announced that Lowry will receive a development grant from the Irish Sports Council through the Team Ireland Golf Trust.
Editor's Note: Lowry's victory in the Irish Open, even as an amateur, gave him a two-year exempt status on the European Tour, which is the reason he can simply walk into next week's European Open, unlike the vast majority of rookie professionals.

England, Australia name teams for Ashes

golf match at Royal Birkdale

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION
England have named five experienced internationals, all members of the Walker Cup squad, to face Australia in the two-day Ryder Cup-style Ashes contest at Royal Birkdale Golf Club on June 10-11.
The England quintet will be:
Charlie Ford (Kirby Muxloe - Leicestershire).
Luke Goddard (Hendon - Middlesex).
Matt Haines (Rochester & Cobham - Kent).
Sam Hutsby (Liphook - Hampshire).
Dale Whitnell (Five Lakes - Essex).

Australia will be represented by:
Matt Jager (Melville Glades - Western Australia).
Dan Nisbet (Caboolture - Queensland).
Jason Scrivener (Manduruh CC - Western Australia).
Brendan Smith (Pymble - New South Wales).
Lincoln Tighe (Bonnie Doone - New South Wales).

The matches will comprise two foursomes and five singles on each day, starting at 8.30am.
Jager and Scrivener played in last year’s Ashes match which Australia won 13-12. They also won the inaugural contest 11-4, both being played in Australia.

Editor's footnote: Australia's Scott Arnold, No 1 in the R&A WAGR for quite a spell is not in the team for Royal Birkdale because he will almost certainly have turned professional before then.

E-MAIL LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Colin,
First of all I would like to take time to thank you for the wonderful job you do with the website. It really is required reading for a golf nut like myself and always the first place I go once the computer has started up!
The main reason I am contacting you today is to give you some info which may redress the balance with the US media. At the bottom of the article on Shane Lowry you have an addendum in which you state that the US media are reporting only one amateur winner on the US PGA Tour.
This is wrong. Scott Verplank won the Western Open in 1985 while still an amateur. Doug Sanders also won the Canadian Open as an amateur in 1956. There may be others ( I haven't checked) but these two certainly even things up and protect the integrity of European golf!
Keep up the good work!

Brian Smail
========
Editor's footnote: Below is one of the US-based articles which commented on the lack of amateur winners on the US PGA Tour.
So much about Shane Lowry's victory in the Irish Open was surprising.
The burly, 22-year-old Irishman was only the 16th-ranked amateur in the world, hopeful of making the Walker Cup team, when he teed it up for the first time on the European Tour. His 62 in the third round matched the lowest score ever by an amateur on the tour. His playoff victory moved him up to No. 168 in the world, 14 spots better than Colin Montgomerie.
That Lowry won a European Tour event as an amateur?
Not so surprising.
As much as his victory in the wind and rain on the links of County Louth was cause for celebration, it raised questions about the strength and depth of fields on the European Tour.
Lowry became the third amateur in the last two years to win on the European Tour. He joins Pablo Martin, who won the Portugal Open in 2007 a week before the Masters; and 18-year-old Danny Lee, who captured the Johnnie Walker Classic in Australia three months ago to become Europe's youngest champion in history.
That raises questions when compared with the US PGA Tour, which is going on its 19th consecutive year without an amateur winner.
The last amateur champion in America was Phil Mickelson in 1991.
"On this TOUR, a lot of it has to do with the depth of the fields," said Scott Verplank, who preceded Lefty when he won the 1985 Western Amateur as a junior at Oklahoma State. "Not to take a sideswipe at the European Tour, but I think there's something to that."
Mickelson was a junior at Arizona State when he won the Northern Telecom Open in Tucson, Arizona, making an 8-foot birdie on the final hole for a one-stroke victory over Tom Purtzer and Bob Tway.
It's not so much that Mickelson was the last amateur to win a regular US PGA Tour event. No amateur has even come close since.
A year after Mickelson's feat, David Duval was a 20-year-old junior at Georgia Tech when he had a two-shot lead over Tom Kite going into the final round of the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta. He closed with a 79.
"I was naive and young and didn't know what it was entirely about," Duval recalled. "I just knew I was playing well. I remember that I got asked if I thought I could beat Tom Kite, and I said, 'I don't know. I've beaten him so far.' I got in trouble for that one for being arrogant. But I was beating him. Was that a bad answer?"
Ty Tryon was 16 when he spent more time chasing the leaders than the cut line at the 2001 Honda Classic, eventually tying for 39th. Most recently, Tadd Fujikawa was 16 when he entered the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii six shots out of the lead and tied for 20th.
The Nationwide Tour has been around 20 years with only one amateur winner -- Daniel Summerhays in 2007.
"There's a lot of good, young kids coming along," Verplank said. "That it happens three times in Europe over the last couple of years, you could construe that as another show of strength of our tournaments compared with everyone else's. But that's nothing against the amateur players. The best amateurs from around the world are as good as the best in the United States."
He certainly had no qualms with whom Lowry beat -- Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood were among those who teed it up in the Irish Open, the highest-rated tournament in golf last week.
Likewise, Lee beat a group of players in Australia that included Westwood, Anthony Kim, Camil0 Villegas and Ian Poulter.
Verplank and Mickelson were among the best amateurs when they won as amateurs. Martin and Lee have a similar pedigree.
Martin first showed his stuff at age 17 when he was the 54-hole leader at the Spanish Open. He played at Oklahoma State and was named the top college golfer by winning the Jack Nicklaus Award and Fred Haskins Award.
Lee was born in South Korea and groomed for golf in New Zealand. After supplanting Tiger Woods as the youngest US Amateur champion, he made his PGA TOUR debut in Greensboro and shot four rounds in the 60s to tie for 20th.
Lowry might have been the most unheralded of the three, although he was well-known in European golf circles. The Irishman now has to decide whether to stay amateur and compete at the Walker Cup, or cash in by turning pro.
Verplank and Mickelson both returned to college and won an NCAA title in their senior seasons.
But times have changed. The money wasn't what it is now.
Martin has not had a top 10 since he turned pro and now is No. 527 in the world. Lee has missed four cuts in the six times he has played since winning in Australia.
Perhaps Lowry should consider what Mickelson told The New York Times a few days after he won as an amateur.
"It was unbelievable to me how, as soon as the tournament was over, everybody was hurrying to catch a flight for Hawaii," Mickelson said. "I was so drained and so tired. There was no way I would have been able to play this week. That's why right now I don't feel that I'm ready to turn pro and play every day, week after week."

The way they were: Britain's best boy golfers of 1962

Many thanks to Royal Aberdeen Golf Club member Bill Hogg for supplying two images from 1962 when he captained the Scotland boys' team that included Finlay Morris (scroll down a few days to read the article about how he was killed tragically at a young age) and also, alongwith Finlay, played for Great Britain against the Continent of Europe in one of the early Jacques Leglise matches.
Pictured above is the British boys team. Bill Lockie has been able to help by naming some of the boys that Bill Hogg could not remember. We're still short of two in the British boys' team. If you can help with their names, E-mail the information to Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Back row (left to right): Cameron Penman (Lenzie), Finlay Morris (Cawder), "unknown," Brian Barnes (Millfield College), David Black (Clydebank).
Front row: "unknown," Bill Hogg (Royal Aberdeen), Clive Clark (captain of the England boys team that year, later to become Walker Cup and Ryder Cup player), John Campbell (Glasgow University), Peter Townsend (also a Walker Cup-Ryder Cup player-to-be).

Above is the Scotland team who played England in the 1962 boys' international.
Back row (left to right): Ian Gray, Billy Lockie (Troon), David Webster (recently retired as pro at Lundin Golf Club), Hugh McCorquodale, James Thomson (Troon).
Front row: Finlay Morris (Cawder), John Campbell (Glasgow University), Bill Hogg (Royal Aberdeen), capt., Cameron Penman (Lenzie), David Black (Clydebank).
+Click on the images to enlarge them.

E-mail from Bill Lockie:
Just read the letter from Bill Hogg, and completely endorse the views expressed regards Finlay Morris. He was head and shoulders above the rest of us in both striking and overall game.