Aberdeen Pennant League Scoreboard
Sponsored by Cults Hotel

Venue: Kings Links

NORTHERN 5, AUCHMILL 1

Home players first

G H Paterson & T Robertson bt G Geddes & J Barclay 3 and 2.
A Cooper & B Rae bt S Scott & K Sellar 2 and 1.
S Duff & G Bond bt J Nicolson & K Duncan 2 and 1.
I Watt & R Stewart bt P Benson & M Albiston 2 and 1.
J Inglis & W West bt A Allan & L Taylor 3 and 2.
C McBain & C Ross lost to B Nicolson & A Swift 1 hole.

+Home clubs in Aberdeen Pennant League fixtures are invited to E-mail results (in the same manner as above) to Colin@scottishgolfview.com, preferrably on the night of the match.

Englishman leads Memorial Tournament

Luke Donald has just

20 putts on way to 64

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Luke Donald shot a sparkling eight-under-par 64 on the first day of the Memorial tournament to take a three-shot lead.
The Englishman started his round with a bogey but a run of six birdies in seven holes on the back nine propelled him up the leaderboard ahead of Americans Jim Furyk and Ted Purdy, Australia's Jason Day and South Africa's Thomas Aiken, who all carded opening rounds of 67.
It was the lowest score of Donald's PGA Tour season so far and having picked up eight shots in nine holes from the eighth.
"I just got on a hot streak," he said. "Eight under through nine holes, that doesn't happen very often but when you get on that roll, it feels pretty good. So I just kept going and made some birdies."
Purdy carded seven birdies but shipped a costly double bogey at the par three 12th, while Day finished with back-to-back bogeys.
Steve Marino, Stewart Cink, Mark Wilson sit tied for sixth at four under, with group of nine including Tiger Woods, who has won the title three times at Muirfield Village Golf Club, tied for ninth a further shot back.
Elsewhere, Open champion Padraig Harrington struggled to a three over 75 alongside Vijay Singh

SOME PUTTING TIPS FROM LUKE DONALD
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
DUBLIN, Ohio -- Luke Donald just tried to stay in the present.
He rolled in that first putt Thursday from just off the fringe. Five more birdie putts from 10, 25, 12, 6 and 8 feet followed in quick succession, but Donald tried not to get caught up in what was happening.
"You try and just focus on every shot as it comes," he explained. "Obviously, it's in the back of your mind that you're making a good run, and you want to keep that going."
When Donald was done, he had sole possession of the early lead at the Memorial Tournament after a sizzling 64 that included just 20 putts -- a personal and tournament best. The PGA Tour record is 18, accomplished seven times, most recently by Ken Duke at this year's World Golf Championships-CA Championship.
Donald's performance Thursday was no fluke. The 31-year-old Englishman is among the PGA Tour's best putters -- leading in five statistical categories, including total putting and putting average.
So who better to get a putting tip from than Donald, who had eight birdies in a nine-hole stretch on Thursday at Muirfield Village?
"Putting is all fundamental," he said. "It's such a small stroke, you can't make corrections like you can in a full swing because there's just no margin for error."
So when Donald talks to his pro-am partners, he has three areas of emphasis.
1.) The setup: "You have to have your eyes directly above the ball tracing straight lines to the hole."
2.) The hands: "Your hands should be falling just below your shoulders. ... If your hands are outside the plane of your shoulders, you're going to have more of an arced putting stroke. If you get it too far in, it's going to make the putting stroke go out. So you want it somewhere in the middle, where your hands are hanging right beneath your shoulders."
3.) The grip: "Grip in a putting stroke is very different to hitting shots. When you're hitting golf shots, it's more in the fingers, and putting you want it more in the palms. So you keep that club face square to the target."
Donald said putting has been an area of emphasis for him since he turned pro in 2002. The two-time US Tour winner also started using an Odyssey mallet-style putter a year ago at The Honda Classic.
"I think that really helped with the pace of my stroke, really helped lining up putts a little bit better," he said. "Just seemed to swing very well."
Of course, another key is confidence.
"You start putting well, and you start believing in yourself a little bit," Donald explained. "Confidence on the greens breeds confidence. You keep making more putts. I think putting is very mental. Once you feel like you're a good putter, then it becomes easier."

FIRST-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
64 Luke Donald (Eng)
67 Thomas Aiken (Rsa), Jim Furyk, Ted Purdy, Jason Day (Aus)
68 Steve Marino, Stewart Cink, Mark Wilson
69 Tiger Woods, Rodney Pampling (Aus), Kevin Sutherland, Mike Weir (Can), Reinier Saxton (Ned), Johnson Wagner, Troy Matteson, Jonathan Byrd, Nicholas Thompson
70 Will MacKenzie, Steve Stricker, Ernie Els (Rsa), Ryuji Imada (Jpn)
71 Charley Hoffman, Zach Johnson, John Senden (Aus), Tom Lehman, Ben Curtis, Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer (Ger), David Duval, Matt Bettencourt, Tom Pernice Jnr., Chez Reavie, Kevin Na, Camilo Villegas (Col)
72 Michael Letzig, Jerry Kelly, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Erik Compton, Davis Love III, Lee Janzen, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Kenny Perry, Daniel Chopra (Swe), Robert Allenby (Aus), Mark Calcavecchia, Marc Turnesa, Stuart Appleby (Aus)
73 Nick Watney, Bart Bryant, Todd Hamilton, James Nitties (Aus), Nick O'Hern (Aus), Webb Simpson, Shaun Micheel, Y.E. Yang (Kor), Chris DiMarco, Steve Flesch, Matt Kuchar, Alex Cejka (Ger), Paul Casey (Eng), Dustin Johnson, Mathew Goggin (Aus), K J Choi (Kor), Rocco Mediate, Carl Pettersson (Swe), D.J. Trahan
74 Scott McCarron, Billy Mayfair, Greg Owen (Eng), Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Hunter Mahan, Brett Quigley, Bill Haas, Marc Leishman (Aus), Richard Sterne (Rsa)
75 Tim Herron, Mark Brooks, Lucas Glover, Jeff Quinney, Woody Austin, John Mallinger, Charles Howell III, D.A. Points, Vijay Singh (Fij), Ian Poulter (Eng), Padraig Harrington (Irl), Ryan Moore
76 Jeff Overton, Steve Lowery, Jeff Klauk, Billy Andrade, Richard S Johnson (Swe), George McNeill, Sean O'Hair, Tim Petrovic, Ken Duke
77 Charles Warren, Chris Stroud, Adam Scott (Aus), Jason Dufner, James Driscoll, Kevin Streelman, Peter Lonard (Aus), Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), James Kamte (Rsa)
78 Brian Davis (Eng)
79 Chris Wilson, Danny Lee (Nzl), Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Scott Piercy, Cliff Kresge
80 John Rollins, Justin Rose (Eng), Ryan Palmer
81 Bo Van Pelt, Parker McLachlin, Jesper Parnevik (Swe)
82 J.B. Holmes
83 Brad Faxon
86 Kevin Chappell

Five Scots in leading 18 at Celtic Manor Wales Open

Glasgow-born McLean shares lead


with Dougherty, Frost & Bjorn

Heard the one about the Scotsman, Englishman, Dane and the South African? Well, they share the first-round lead in the Celtic Manor Wales Open over the 2010 Ryder Cup venue at Newport.
Thomas Bjørn opened with a five under par 66 to share the pole position with England's Nick Dougherty, Scotland’s Alan McLean (pictured above) and 49 year old South African David Frost at the first round of The Celtic Manor Wales Open.
The Dane carded three birdies in a row from the 14th in his seven birdie, two bogey round and completed an impressive finish to his round when he picked up a shot at the par five last.
“I played nice all day to be honest,” he said. “I made a couple of stupid bogeys early on and that didn't get the round going, but I hit some lovely shots on 14 and then a good drive on 15 up on the green and a lovely seven iron into 16 and they gave me those three birdies in a row there. That kind of took the round to where I was really playing.”
“It's nice, I played good, solid golf without being perfect. I just hit some good shots. To be honest 14 is always a testing hole on this golf course and I got away with a very good drive there and hit an eight iron close. When you play the tough holes well, all of a sudden it's possible to shoot good numbers, and that's what I did today.”
Dougherty, who finished fourth in the event last year, played a magnificent chip at the last for his fifth birdie and then recalled the great times he had at the venue with his mother, who died suddenly just over a year ago.
"I love it here. She was Welsh and I've found the Welsh people very receptive to me," he said.
“It was an awesome shot to be fair [the chip at the 18th]. I executed it perfectly, and it was particularly tough. I'm not sure if you can see that on TV how much slope there was off the right, but it was my only option really. It turned out to be a really nice day.”
Frost compiled a flawless round on the Twenty Ten course - which will stage next year’s Ryder Cup - and admitted he had surprised even himself with his round of 66.
“I didn't expect it around here,” he said. “The golf course isn't really built for my game - it's a little long.
“Going into the par-4s is three, four and five irons for me, and a lot of guys are out there hitting seven, eight and nine irons. As I say I'm very pleased but surprised.”
McLean joined the leading trio late in the day having been in one of the final groups to go out this afternoon, but the South African-raised, Clydeside-born Scot, who lives in Canada, showed signs he is recovered from the foot injury that hampered his 2008 season.
“I was very happy with my round today coming off the last two weeks where I was not overly confident, and to shoot five under par, I was very happy,” he said.
A stroke behind the leading players Pablo Larrazábal, Taco Remkes and Fabrizio Zanotti all signed for rounds of 67.
Spain’s Larrazábal displayed how quickly a round can change, when two under after his outward nine holes he then hit a wild approach shot at the sixth into the water and had to take a drop, resulting in a bogey.
Having taken a swipe at some reeds with his club in frustration, the 2008 Open de France winner then celebrated in style as he recorded a hole in one at the par-3 seventh, his tee shot going into the cup on the second bounce.
“It was a great shot,” he said. “I thought it was the perfect club, if I hit it perfect, and I hit it perfect and I made it, so, great.”
Larrazábal was not alone in his feat on day one, however. Indian Jeev Milkha Singh produced the day's second ace on the 196 yard 13th and then Dane Mads Vibe-Hastrup followed Larrazábal in.
Paraguayan Zanotti was another to have a round of two halves. The World Number 317 parred every hole on the front nine, but only had one on the back nine.
He birdied three in a row from the tenth, the 14th and 15th and also the last with consecutive bogeys at the 16th and 17th for a four under total.
On today's evidence in the Wales Open, Bjorn and Paul McGinley, wanted by skipper Montgomerie as Ryder Cup team vice-captains, still have it in their power to qualify for the side. "If I don't make the team I am happy to help, but if I am then I will obviously play," said 38-year-old Bjorn, whose last appearance was in the 2002 victory at The Belfry.
McGinley hit back from a triple bogey 7 on his second hole and signed for a 68.
With an eye on next year's attempt to win back the Ryder Cup, Montgomerie has made the pair captains for this September's Vivendi Trophy - the old Seve Trophy - between a Continental Europe side and one from Britain and Ireland.
But McGinley feels exactly the same as the Dane about his No 1 Cup goal.
"I really want to make the team," said the 42-year-old, who stood down as an assistant to Nick Faldo because he felt it was a distraction to his playing career.
"I think Monty is going to be a great captain and I would love to play under him. Monty is going to announce who his vice-captains are going to be after qualifying finishes. Obviously he's picked myself and Thomas to be involved in the Vivendi and I don't think you have to put one and one together.
"I'm obviously in his mind somewhere in terms of those four people he's going to have, but I'm a lot more comfortable trying to make the team this year and whatever happens after that happens.
"That's when I'll be able to make a decision, but in the meantime it's gung-ho trying to make the team."
SCOTSWATCH: A great opening day for Scottish players with five in the leading 18. Apart from Alan McLean sharing the lead, Richie Ramsay, Gary Orr, Jason McCreadie and Callum Macaulay shot 68s to be sharing eighth place. Peter Whiteford and Colin Montgomerie are only a shot behind them.
Not such a good day for Marc Warren (79) and Paul Lawrie who announced he was going home to rest a chronically sore left foot after also returning a 79.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 71
66 Alan McLean, Thomas Bjorn (Den), Nick Dougherty, David Frost (Rsa)
67 Taco Remkes (Ned), Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa)
68 Richie Ramsay, Gary Orr, Jason McCreadie, Tim Dykes, Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Robert Rock, Callum Macaulay, Lee Slattery, Richard Green (Aus), Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Paul McGinley
69 Benn Barham, Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice), John Bickerton, Peter Lawrie, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Wade Ormsby (Aus), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Stuart Davis, Jeppe Huldahl (Den), Peter Whiteford, Colin Montgomerie, David Lynn, Simon Khan, Gary Lockerbie, Craig Smith, Mark Foster
70 Steve Webster, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe), Ross Fisher, Branden Grace (Rsa), Klas Eriksson (Swe), Mark Brown (Nzl), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Marc Cayeux (Zim), Federico Colombo (Ita), David Dixon, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe)
71 Carlos Del Moral (Spa), Christian Nilsson (Swe), Robert Dinwiddie, Paul Waring, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Steven O'Hara, Stephen Gallacher, Richard Finch, Niclas Fasth (Swe), Oskar Henningsson (Swe), Michael Curtain (Aus)
72 Jonathan Caldwell, Joakim Haeggman (Swe), Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa), Peter Hedblom (Swe), Oliver Fisher, Iain Pyman, Stephen Dodd, Antti Ahokas (Fin), Sam Little, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Chris Wood, David Howell, Kyron Sullivan, Andrew Coltart, Scott Strange (Aus), Peter Senior (Aus), Seve Benson, Gary Murphy, Sam Walker, Marcus Higley, Phillip Archer, Corey Pavin (USA), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind), Christopher Doak
73 Alvaro Velasco (Spa), Danny Willett, Rafael Echenique (Arg), Wil Besseling (Ned), Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Santiago Luna (Spa), Michael Hoey, Gregory Havret (Fra), Richard Bland, Shiv Kapur (Ind), Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Rhys Davies, Paul Broadhurst, Jamie Donaldson, Inder Van Weerelt (Ned)
74 Mikael Lundberg (Swe), Ake Nilsson (Rsa), Michael Campbell (Nzl), Marcel Siem (Ger), Scott Drummond, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Simon Dyson, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Brett Rumford (Aus), John E Morgan, Marco Ruiz (Par), David Drysdale, Michael Jonzon (Swe), Nick Ludwell, Ross McGowan, Bradley Dredge
75 Ulrich Van Den Berg (Rsa), Damien McGrane, Garry Houston, Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Sion Bebb, Kenneth Ferrie, Simon Wakefield, Kane Webber (USA), Anthony Kang (USA), Anthony Wall, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg), Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), James Heath, Matthew Millar (Aus), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa)
76 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), John Mellor, Trevor Jones, Andrew Oldcorn, Phillip Price, Stuart Manley, Pelle Edberg (Swe), Graeme Storm
77 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Zane Scotland, Shane Lowry, Anthony Snobeck (Fra), Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha)
78 Barry Lane
79 Marc Warren
80 Peter Fowler (Aus)
82 Pablo Martin (Spa)
Withdrew:
79 Paul Lawrie.
80 Anton Haig (Rsa)
Retired:
Christian Cevaer (Fra) (after 12 holes)

Craig Matheson wins again in Murcar

Links Centenary pro-am

Falkirk Tryst professional Craig Matheson made it two wins in two days when he shot a three-under-par 68 to lift the £1,200 first prize in the £8,000 Murcar Links Golf Club Centenary pro-am today.
Matheson had earned £1,000 for a Wednesday victory in the Pollok pro-am. Now after starting the week without a win in 2009, he's now got two to his credit as the first back-to-back pro-am winner on the Tartan Tour this year. More important, his bank balance has risen by over £2,200 over 48 hours and 36 holes' golf.
Matheson, joint ninth in last week's Northern Open over the 7,000yd-plus Spey Valley course, has obviously appreciated the shorter courses he's been tackling this week. He highlighted his Murcar Links card with an eagle 3 at the long fourth and finished in style with birdies at the 17th and 18th. His only bogey came at the seventh in halves of 35 and 33.
Those late birdies made all the difference because Matheson won by a shot from David Orr (East Renfrewshire) with Northern Open champion Craig Lee (unatt) and Alan Lockhart (Ladybank) tied for third place on 70.
Former British boys champion Garry Harvey (Kinross) led the Central Insurance trio of amateurs, Iain Henry (handicap 12), Bill Adams (7) and David Henry (18) to victory in the team event with a 13-under-par net score of 129.

MURCAR LINKS CENTENARY PRO-AM
Murcar Links Golf Club.
Professional scores
Par 71
68 Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst), £1,217.
69 David Orr (East Renfreshire), £973.
70 Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), Craig Lee (unatt), £638 each.
71 Craig Ronald (Carluke), £438.
72 Mark Loftus (Cowglen), Christopher Russell (RAW Golf Course Design), Chris Kelly (Cawder), £316 each.
73 Peter Smith (unatt), Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie), Jonathan Lomas (unatt), Fraser Mann (Musselburgh), Graeme Lornie (Paul Lawrie Foundation), £189 each.
74 Kenneth Hutton (Downfield), Greg McBain (Royal Dornoch), Grame McInnes (Murcar Links), £133 each.
75 Chris Campbell (Grantown on Spey), Colin Gillies (Perry Golf), £103 each.
76 Lee Harper (Archerfield Links), Garry Harvey (Kinross), Gary Fobes (Murcar Links), Ross Cameron (McDonald Ellon), £66 each.
77 Neil Murray (Cruden Bay), Terry Mathieson (Kings Acre), Euan Cameron (Hamilton), £53 each.
78 Mark King (Kingsfield), £53.
79 Edward Thomson (Senit Associates), Stephen Gray (Hayston), £53 each.
87 Graeme Stewart (Gleddoch), £53
NRs Kenny Walker (Castle Park), Harry Bannerman (Aspire), Scott Henderson (Kings Links), £53 each.

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR

Henry gets it rolling but other Scots

face battle to beat the cut

From Michael Gibbons, Challenge Tour Press Officer
Former Scottish boys and Scottish men's amateur stroke-play champion Scott Henry produced a fine opening score of three under par 69 to get in the hunt for the Kärnten Golf Open presented by Markus Brier Foundation on the European Challenge Tour today.
Henry is just four shots off the early pacesetters Florian Fritsch of Germany and Spain’s Carlos Rodilles at the Golfclub Klagenfurt-Seltenheim, and one behind Austria’s most successful player, Markus Brier, the double European Tour Champion who is promoting the €140,000 event through his own Foundation.
While Henry held his own amidst the Austrian Alps, his compatriots in the field struggled in the first round, with Elliott Saltman (+1), Lloyd Saltman (+2), Jamie McLeary (+3) and Eric Ramsay (+5) all facing a second-round battle to make the halfway cut.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
65 F Fritsch (Ger), C Rodiles (Esp),
66 M Crespi (Ita), J Guerrier (Fra), L Moolman (RSA),
67 A Perrino (Ita), S Saavedra (Arg), T Schuster (Ger), O Floren (Swe), N Colsaerts (Bel), C Carranza (Arg),
68 J Parry (Eng), M Mills (Eng), A Zanini (Ita), G Boyd (Eng), M Brier (Aut), B Taylor (Eng), R Gonzalez (Arg), J Morrison (Eng), N Fox (Irl), T Carolan (Aus), A Bossert (Sui), F Praegant (Aut), J Granberg (Fin), C Günther (Ger), J Little (Eng), J Billot (Fra), M Wiegele (Aut), J Garcia Pinto (Esp),
69 D Wardrop (Eng), L Westerberg (Swe), R Swane (Ned), R Steiner (Aut), O David (Fra), S Henry (Sco), A Crux (Eng), U Weinhandl (Aut), D Küpper (Ger), P Lepitschnik (Aut), P Kaensche (Nor), M Korhonen (Fin), A Gee (Eng),
70 J Sköld (Swe), G Shaw (Nir), M Rodriguez (Arg), R Gruber (Aut), L De Jager (RSA), T Ferreira (RSA), P Niederdrenk (Ger), R Hie (Ina), G Davies (Eng), E Canonica (Ita), M Gojcic (Slo), J Maurer (Aut), J Lerchedahl (Den), M Zions (Aus), F Calmels (Fra), S Juul (Den), J Olesen (Den), M Haremza (Ger),
71 L Dodd (Eng), F Svanberg (Sui), M Laskey (Wal), A Mellor (Eng), J Larsen (Nor), P Gustafsson (Swe), A Mörk (Fra), A Bruschi (Ita), D Carter (Eng), E Molinari (Ita), B Pettersson (Swe), B Lecuona (Fra), J Sjöholm (Swe), R Edginton (Eng), S Reale (Ita), J Ruth (Eng), C Aguilar (Esp), S Garcia-Grout (Esp), H Bacher (am) (Aut),
72 G Molteni (Ita), G Woodman (Eng), N Meitinger (Ger), M Rominger (Sui), A Haindl (RSA), K Brink (Swe), O Suhr (Den), T Whitehouse (Eng), C Russo (Fra), G Paddison (Nzl), J Etulain (Arg),
73 R McEvoy (Eng), E Saltman (Sco), B Hebert (Fra), L Matthews (Wal), S Arnold (Aus), N Maestroni (Ita), J Abbate (Arg), D Hewan (RSA), S Tiley (Eng), J Bäckström (Swe), P Fendt (am) (Aut), B Reiter (am) (Aut), M Mayrhauser (am) (Aut),
74 T Laitto (Fin), L Saltman (Sco), J Arruti (Esp), N Stivala (Aus), D De Vooght (Bel), F Pogatschnigg (Aut), P Richardson (Eng), J Grillon (Fra), B Parker (Eng), L Kennedy (Eng),
75 R Neil-Jones (Eng), W Rieder (Aut), A Murray (Irl), R Steele (Eng), N Smith (USA), M Kramer (Ger), J McLeary (Sco), A Wernig (Aut), H Pfaller (Aut), I Giner (Esp), N Schroter (am) (Aut),
76 S Piaget (Mon), L Astl (Aut), C Monasterio (Arg), T Feyrsinger (Aut), G Clark (Eng), C Suneson (Esp), P O'Keeffe (Irl), J Colomo (Esp), S Grant (Irl), J Bjerhag (Swe), G Schultes (Aut), T Cruz (Por), P Golding (Eng), C Brazillier (Fra), D Marmion (Eng), F Ruprecht (Aut),
77 C Perez Barberan (Esp), M Quiros (Esp), E Ramsay (Sco), C Grenier (Aut), M Bednarczyk (Pol), P Del Grosso (Arg), J Ruebotham (Eng),
78 D Froreich (Ger), R Harris (Eng)
80 D Sugrue (Irl), M Delpodio (Ita), M Campbell (Irl), G Adell (Swe),
81 L Nemecz (am) (Aut),
84 K Mayr (Aut)

Paul Lawrie's left foot forces him to retire at Celtic Manor

Paul Lawrie has retired from the Celtic Manor Welsh Open at Newport after returning a first-round 79.
On his blog, Paul writes:
"I got off to a terrible start today with two bogeys in the first four holes. I shot 79 and actually played ok but yet again got severely punished for any shot off line. My left foot has been sore again so I have decided not to play tomorrow and return home to rest it."

... and Christian Cevaer pulls out after 12 holes

Christian Cevaer, surprise winner of the European Open on Sunday, withdrew from the Wales Open after 12 holes today because of exhaustion.
Cevaer said he felt dizzy on the course and withdrew on doctor's orders.
The 39-year-old Frenchman, who lives in Switzerland, said the elation of winning the European Open combined with problems with his managing agents "have caught up with me."
He had been unable to get home after his victory on Sunday.
"I didn't sleep that much. The problems off the course are causing me a lot of stress and turmoil. They are taking a bit of sleep away."
He added that he also had physical problems stemming from the stress of worrying about the management company.
"The combination of all those factors meant I was unable to perform on the golf course today," he said.
He next plans to play in Final Open Qualifying at Sunningdale.

European Tour Scoreboard
CELTIC MANOR WALES OPEN
Celtic Manor G&CC, Newport
FIRST ROUND SCORES (incomplete)
Par 71
66 David Frost (Rsa)
67 Taco Remkes (Ned), Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa)
68 Jason McCreadie, Tim Dykes, Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Callum Macaulay, Lee Slattery, Richard Green (Aus), Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Paul McGinley
69 Craig Smith, Stuart Davis, Benn Barham, Peter Lawrie, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Marcus Fraser (Aus)
70 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), David Dixon, Branden Grace (Rsa), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Gregory Bourdy (Fra)
71 Carlos Del Moral (Spa), Stephen Gallacher, Paul Waring, Richard Finch, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Steven O'Hara
72 Peter Hedblom (Swe), Iain Pyman, Stephen Dodd, Antti Ahokas (Fin), Sam Little, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Chris Wood, Kyron Sullivan, Andrew Coltart, Scott Strange (Aus), Peter Senior (Aus), Seve Benson, Sam Walker, Marcus Higley, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind), Christopher Doak
73 Alvaro Velasco (Spa), Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Danny Willett, Rhys Davies, Rafael Echenique (Arg), Paul Broadhurst, Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Jamie Donaldson, Gregory Havret (Fra)
74 Brett Rumford (Aus), David Drysdale, Marco Ruiz (Par), John E Morgan, Michael Campbell (Nzl), Michael Jonzon (Swe), Ross McGowan
75 Damien McGrane, Garry Houston, Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Kenneth Ferrie, Kane Webber (USA), Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg), James Heath, Matthew Millar (Aus)
76 Andrew Oldcorn, Stuart Manley, Pelle Edberg (Swe), Graeme Storm
77 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Shane Lowry
Withdrew: 79 Paul Lawrie
Retired: Christian Cevaer (Fra)

Time to change world ranking

system, says Paul McGinley

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Irishman Paul McGinley has called on the powers-that-be in golf to "wake up" and change the world ranking system.
McGinley spoke after kicking off his bid for a first win in four years with a three-under-par 68 in the Wales Open at Celtic Manor, an event featuring only three of the game's top 50.
"It's a problem, there's no doubt about it," said the 42-year-old Dubliner. "In these economic times all sponsors are facing the same problem of getting top players to play and in my opinion the world ranking system does not reward guys who play a lot of tournaments. At the end of the day we have to have better fields - it's very important."
He added: "I understand the big picture. All contracts are tied in with the world rankings and they determine who gets into events.
"At present the system rewards players who play only 20 tournaments a year and we should be encouraging guys to play more.
"I am not a mathematician, but we've got to find a system that does not penalise players for the amount they play.
"Everybody is reluctant to change for some reason, but we have to wake up and find a way around it."
The rankings are determined on points average over a rolling two-year period, and much was made of the fact in April that American star Davis Love missed out on The Masters because he did not get any points in the last week of qualifying, whereas if he had not played he would have made it to Augusta.

Moray Golf Club's shield-winning line-up after their success at Elgin.

Moray Marvels dash Nairn hopes of

four-tmer in Moray & Nairn League

All good things must come to an end, and Nairn Golf Club’s hopes of winning the Moray & Nairn Golf League title for a fourth year in a row were dashed by Moray Golf Club.
The Lossiemouth line-up had four players possessing plus handicaps and the remainder playing off scratch, so they were entitled to be classed among the favourites to win the event, hosted by Elgin Golf Club.
Moray warmed up to their task by beating Nairn Dunbar 6-2 in their opening tie and they beating the holders, Nairn, 6-2. A first-round bye did Nairn no favours. They needed a competitive work-out before meeting a team of Moray’s calibre.
George Asher and Steven Macdonald put early points on the board for Nairn but thereafter it was all Moray with Kevin Thomson, Andrew Rollo, Kyle Godsman, Robbie Sheils, Scott Little and Malcolm Maclemman recording victories.
Moray’s match towards the title continued with another 6-2 win, this time over hosts Elgin.
That meant the Lossie men needed only a draw in their last match to secure the title and the G R Thomson Shield but there was no holding them back and Moray finished with a 100 per cent record by beating Forres 5 ½- 2 ½,
It was Moray’s ninth Moray & Nairn League championship success in the 62 years of the competition.
Nairn recovered from their defeat at the hands of Moray to whitewash Forres before further victories followed against local rivals, Nairn Dunbar as well as Elgin, to take the runners-up spot.
Top individual performer was Kyle Godsman (Moray), who was the only player to win all four games. George Asher and Steven MacDonald (both Nairn) were also unbeaten, taking 3 ½ points out of four.
Summary of the results:
Nairn Dunbar 2, Moray 6.
Elgin 2, Forres 6.
Nairn 2, Moray 6
Elgin 2, Nairn Dunbar 6
Forres 0, Nairn 8.
Moray 6, Elgin 2.
Nairn Dunbar 2, Nairn 6.
Moray 5 ½, Forres 2 ½.
Nairn 4 ½, Elgin 3 ½.
Forres 4, Nairn Dunbar 4.
FINAL TABLE
Played-won-drawn-lost-For-Against-Points
Moray 4-4-0-0-23 ½-8 ½-8pt
Nairn 4-3-0-1-29 ½-11 ½-6pt
Nairn Dunbar 4-1-1-2-14-18-3pt
Forres 4-1-1-3-12 ½-19 ½-3pt
Elgin 4-0-0-4-9 ½-22 1/2-0pt

John Gallagher shoots a 10-under 58 at Swanston

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS
Cackhanded former Scottish amateur champion John Gallagher warmed up for a big couple of weeks on the PGA EuroPro Tour by shooting a sensational 58 over the new lay-out at Swanston. His ten-under-par effort came in a club medal, Gallagher having been given permission to play in such events by the club to try and retain his competitive edge.
Gallagher, whose playing partners included director of golf Stewart Snedden, picked up two eagles in the opening seven holes before adding six birdies, including a 3-2-3 finish.
"I also shot 58 over the old lay-out but this is my best score round here to par, even in a bounce game," he said.
Gallagher is off to Kent at the weekend to prepare for an event at Prince's next week before moving on to Devon for the fourth event of the season on the PGA EuroPro Tour.

CARSON CLOSE TO NOTABLE DOUBLE
Edinburgh's Robert Carson came close to recording a notable double in two top scratch events at the weekend.
The Marriott Dalmahoy player had the lowest scratch score of three-under-par 66 in the Loreburn Cup Open tournament at Dumfries & County, having been pipped by former British Amateur champion Craig Watson in the Parlane Open at Cathcart Castle the previous day.
Carson shot rounds of 66 and 70 in the latter and lost out by just one stroke.

Parlane Cup results from the Cathcart Castle GC website (value of vouchers in brackets):

1st C Watson (East Renfrewshire) 70-65-135 (£225)
2nd R Carson (Dalmahoy) 66-70-136 (£150).
3rd S Clarke (Ranfurly Castle) 68-69-137 (£100).
4th W MacMillan (Deaconsbank) 70-69-139 (£75).
5th G Hay (Grantown on Spey) 70-69-139 (£50).
6th M Clark (Kilmacolm) 68-71-139 (£40).
7th A Fairbairn (Kirkhill) 68-71-139 (£35)
8th S Williamson (Kirkhill) 72-68-140 (£25).

Loreburn Cup results at Dumfries & County Golf Club.
(from Dumfries & County GC website)
Par & CSS : 69
Winner (overall net): P Robinson (Southerness) (2) 64.
Scratch Winner: C Heuchan( Colvend) 67
Handicap
Class 1: 1st R Carson (Dalmahoy) (1) 65; 2nd A Bagnall (Loch) (2) 65; 3rd R Johnstone (Southerness) (6) 66
Class 2: 1st W Walker (D&C) (12) 66 (better last 6); 2nd A Cathro (D&C) (10) 66 (better last 6); 3rd D Friel (Eden) (12) 66.
Class 3: 1st P Chisholm (D&C) (17) 69; 2nd C McInnes (D&C) (17) 71; 3rd R Bailey (D&C) (25)73 (better inward half).

Three share lead in English Senior

Men's Championship

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION
A pair of internationals, Chris Reynolds and Andrew Carman, and a potential one in Andrew Stracey, share the lead after a contrasting opening day to the English Men’s Seniors Championship.
All three carded one-over-par 72s at Old Fold Manor where scoring was much easier than at Moor Park, which proved a sterner test, reflected in the returns from the High Course.
Reynolds, an England senior international since 2006, has finished runner-up and third in this championship so has put himself in a position to improve on that.
“I would have taken 72 before the start so I’m happy,” he said. “I kept the ball mostly in play and got out of position on the greens only a couple of times which made it difficult to two putt. The greens were excellent and I had five birdies but looking at the scores, Moor Park will be a different proposition tomorrow.”
Carman, who has only just qualified as a senior following his 55th birthday, was equally happy with his lot. “I played well off the tee where I hit a lot of three-woods and irons,” he said. “I had a practice round at Old Fold a couple of Saturdays ago which paid off. However, I also missed a lot of birdie chances so it could have been a whole lot better.”
Carman, who was an England international in 1979 and ’80 and Chairman of Selectors for five years, felt his seniors debut last week in Ireland was good preparation.
“The greens there were good and that helped a lot,” he added.
Stracey, another newcomer to the seniors game – this is his third over-55s tournament – is a clubmate of Reynolds at Littlestone. His 72 came despite an indifferent start.
“I four-putted the first green which I feel was because the practice putting green was completely different to those on the course,” he said.
“But it is nice to be playing competitive golf again. Between the ages of 40 and 55 you seem to be in the doldrums but everyone is serious about seniors golf.”
Stracey is certainly the man in form. He won the Irish Open Seniors last week and having reached three President's Putter finals, he could be the man to beat. The three front-runners at Old Fold Manor lead by a shot from Stewart King, another seniors international , and by two from the rest of the field.
The best score at Moor Park, where the greens seemed to catch everyone out, was 76 from Robert Head of Brockett Hall. “I putted well but I had a few three putts which is inevitable on those greens,” he said.
“I used to live locally so I know this course pretty well but you can easily come unstuck here where the slopes and borrows are so tricky.”
Play starts at 8.30am each day and admission is free. Live scoring and news updates will available on the Championships Section of the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org.

Greg Paterson leads Fife Order of Merit

Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) leads the 2009 Fife Order of Merit for the Mackay Bowl with 280pt - 80pts ahead of the second-placed James White (Lundin).
The next counting event is this weekend's St Andrews Links Trophy (May 5 to 7).
HOW THEY STAND
1 Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) 280pt.
2 James White (Lundin) 200.
3 Colin Loveday (Scotscraig) 170.
4 Alister Hain (Ladybank), Geoff Marshall (Kirkcaldy), Colin Martin (Balbirnie Park), Lee Stewart (Canmore) 125.
8 Gary Fotheringham (Canmore), David Mitchell (Leven Thistle), Danny Somerville (St Andrews), Paul Stewart (Ladybank), Brian Young (St Andrews) 100.

Lothians' boys championship scoreboard
THE BRAIDS, EDINBURGH
QUARTER-FINALS
Louis Gaughan (Bathgate) (No 12 qualifier) bt Colin Dick (Murrayfield) (No 14 qualifier) 5 and 4.

Scott Young (Turnhouse) (13) bt Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) (No 1 seed) 3 and 2.

Simon Fairburn (Craigielaw) (15) bt Euan Mackay (Torphin Hill) (6) 4 and 3.

Josh Renwick (Uphall) (9) bt Blair Pelling (Prestonfield) (3) 1 hole

+Information supplied to Scottishgolfview.com by "Stan." Many thanks

Tiger and Jack have a ball at Skins

Game warm-up for 'Memorial'

Tiger Woods warmed up in impressive style for this week's Memorial tournament, playing alongside golfing great Jack Nicklaus before winning Wednesday's Skins Game with a would-you-believe-it? chip-in.
After holing a 12-foot par putt at the last to extend the four-man competition, Woods staged a grandstand finish, sealing victory by holing out from 25 yards in the closest-to-the-pin chipping contest at the 18th to win a four-skin roll-up. With a tally of six skins, the world No 1 made the most money for charity.
"That was nice," said Tiger after spending a day in the rain at a wet Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin in the state of Ohio.
"It was a nice way to end it with everyone sticking it out for the whole day. Hopefully, everyone will continue."
Watched by huge galleries on a rainy day at Muirfield Village, Woods played with tournament host Nicklaus, 69, for the first time since the opening two rounds of the 2000 U.S. PGA Championship.
Despite struggling to reach some of the fairways in the damp conditions, Nicklaus brought out loud roars from the fans when he won two skins on the par-5 11th after hitting an eight-iron to four feet to set up a birdie.
"I had a good time, and I particularly enjoyed 11," said the 18-times major winner affectionately known as the Golden Bear. "That was good fun."
"We haven't played together for nine years. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the conversation. I like to be with Tiger. I like his company."
Veteran Kenny Perry, one of two other players in the four-man charity skins game, summed up his own memorable day:
"It was just an honour for me to be walking down the fairway with them," he said.
Between them, Nicklaus and Woods have amassed 32 major titles among their 139 US PGA Tour victories.
"Just seeing Jack lock in to the contest was very reminiscent of what you see Tiger do when he locks in," said Stewart Cink, the fourth member of the group.
Woods laughed:."Jack was and always will be a competitor. Anyone who has ever played the game at the highest level wants to come out and give it their best, whatever the occasion. You could see it on certain holes, certain shots, him kind revert back to the old Jack. It was neat to see."
The two were last paired in the first two rounds of the 2000 PGA Championship, when Woods was winning his third straight major title.
"What I said then, I believe, was something to the effect that, 'I believe that the baton has long been passed,'" Nicklaus cracked.
It certainly has not been dropped.