Former British boys champion beats No 2 seed at Royal Troon

Bob Torrance turns the clock

back for Jordan Findlay to

topple Wallace Booth

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Wallace Booth's failure to survive the halfway cut in last week's South of England Open at Walton Heath, coupled with today's first-round exit from the Allied Surveyors' Scottish amateur championship at Royal Troon, could cost the the Comrie man a Walker Cup team place when the GB&I selectors meet on Sunday to pick the team to face the United States in September.

His brilliant team match-play record - Eisenhower Trophy world championship success last October and European championship-winning team member only a few weeks ago - could yet win him enough selectors' votes to pull him through when set against his disappointing form as an individual this season.

The giant-killer who cut down the No 2 seed was Jordan Findlay, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency, back home in Fraserburgh after four years at East Tennessee State University, during which time his standard of golf performance declined considerably from the level that saw him win the British boys' championship at Conway in 2004 and reach the final again the following year at Hunstanton.

Booth himself, of course, played four years on the US circuit as a student at Augusta State but Wallace was a star member of that university's golf team almost from start to finish.

Booth went into today's tie ranked No 112 under the R&A WAGR while Finlay was No 1037. That is a big, big gap but the Jordan that turned up today was much more like the young man for whom the brightest of golf futures was predicted at one time.

US college golf was expected to make him an even better player. It didn't. The whole story of why it didn't will be told some day.

Bob Torrance must have been mighty pleased at the Findlay's 3 and 2 success over the second favourite for the Scottish title. He has been working the young man from Buchan hard for a fortnight - and it showed.

Findlay set out to build up an early lead which he felt he would almost certainly need when Booth, the former British junior wrestling champion and the stronger golfer, came back at him over the difficult holes on the inward nine which were playing downwind today.

Findlay's game plan worked a treat. He was five holes to the good after 11 before Booth, as anticipated, slashed three holes off his deficit by winning the 12th, 13th and 14th.

It could have been a crisis for Jordan but he kept calm and was able to halve the 15th and 16th for a notable victory which might be the turning point in Findlay's golf career.

The second-day's count of fallen seeds was again two. No 7 Steven McEwan (Caprington), beaten in last year's final but off the boil for most of this season, lost by one hole to US-based Andrew Abercrombie.

Ross Kellett (Colville Park), the third seed, is the only seed left in the bottom half of the draw.

One of the best come-from-behind wins of the day was achieved by former Scottish stroke-play and match-play champion Kevin McAlpine from Alyth. He was four down at the turn to multi-Lothians champion Stuart Smith but a birdie at the 10th lit his fuse and three putts by Smith at the 11th helped Kevin put wheels on his rally and he won in the end on the 18th green.

That was quite a performance by a man who has only recently been able to return to golf after a knee cruciate ligament operation in February.

The second-round ties began in the afternoon and the seeded Gavin Dear (Murrayshall), Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) and Paul O'Hara (Colville Park), the only remaining seeds in the top half of the draw, all entered the third round without too much of a strain.

Mind you, that's not quite being fair to the gutsy performance by Deeside youngster Thomas Rennie who took Dear - now 12th ranked in the world - to the 17th green before admitting defeat by 2 and 1.

“Thomas was a very tough opponent and with the wind gusting made it much more difficult to judge shots and we were both making mistakes. It was the kind of a day, had it been a stroke-play event, when you would have been happy to break 80," said Gavin.

SCROLL DOWN FOR ALL OF TODAY'S RESULTS AT ROYAL TROON

Tiger tackles three in a row for

first time since knee surgery

Tiger Woods is going to play in the next three tournaments on the US Tour schedule, for the first time since he had knee reconstruction surgery since when two in a row is the most he has tried.
The first is this week's Buick Open where he is a two-time winner and has never finished worse than 11th in eight previous starts at Warwick Hills.
Next week Woods will move on to tee it up at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Then it's off to Hazeltine for the US PGA Championship, his last shot at winning a major this year.
That he chose to play the Buick Open was only a mild surprise. Woods likes the golf course, and although he ended a decade-old endorsement contract one year early because of the economy, there remains a sense of loyalty to his longtime relationship with Buick.
Woods didn't offer much insight on his website, saying only that he was looking forward to the Buick Open and ``the golf course suits my eye,'' a loose translation for ``I see myself winning.''
Even though he is leading the US PGA Tour money list by more than $500,000 and his three victories are more than anyone else, he has played only 10 times this year.
Some pundits have suggested Tiger needs to play more.
His last tournament was nothing short of a disaster on a personal front and in terms of his image of invincibility. Woods played a six-hole stretch at Turnberry in seven-over-par and wound up missing the cut in the Open by one shot, only his second missed cut in a major and his first weekend off in three years.
Swing coach Hank Haney worked with him last week in Florida, then offered a self-deprecating assessment as he headed to the airport.
``He's doing really good,'' Haney said, adding, in jest ``He had a bad tournament, and I'm getting fired.''
Haney has been working with Woods for more than five years and knows what kind of scrutiny to expect. He was on the range at Augusta National when Woods vented about how poorly he was hitting the ball, and speculation soon shifted to Haney being shown the door.
Haney looks more at the big picture.
``There isn't cause for that much alarm,'' Haney said. ``He's played so well (before Turnberry), it was a little easier to brush off.''
Even so, there is a sense of urgency this time of the year.
Woods is at the halfway point of his schedule - that includes The Presidents Cup, tournaments in Asia and Australia, and his Chevron World Challenge in December.
Woods rarely plays the week before a major, but there has always been an exception or two for the PGA Championship. He has played five times the week before the PGA Championship, and last year won at Firestone by eight shots before winning the PGA at Southern Hills.
The last time he played three in a row? That was during the inaugural year of the FedEx Cup in 2007, when Woods tied for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship, then won the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship.
He has played at least three straight weeks 21 times in his career, and twice won all three events (Disney, Tour Championship and American Express at the end of 1999; and the PGA Championship, Firestone and Deutsche Bank in 2006).
Whether he can win three in a row this time will be as trivial as the other two streaks.
What people will remember is whether Woods wins the last one.

Tom Watson, not feeling too good, cancels practice round

Tom Watson cancelled his first practice round today for the US Senior Open because he is feeling ill.
He's still hoping to make it onto the course on Wednesday. The tournament starts on Thursday.
Watson, 59, said the bug will cost him preparation time after spending the past two weekends in Britain. He followed his play-off loss in the Open at Turnberry with an eighth-place tie in the Senior British Open at Sunningdale.
Given his no let-up schedule over the past 14 days but two transatlantic flights for good measure, it is perhaps no surprise that the 59-year-old is feeling a little bit under the weather.

Rotary Young Golfer of 2009 competition

This competition will be held at Grangemouth Golf Club on Thursday, August 6 between 10am and 6pm for youngsters who have been chosen to represent Rotary District 1020 which covers the Borders, Edinburgh and East Central Scotland.
Last year over 60 youngsters took part. Polmont Rotary Club is hosting the event.
This is a chance to enjoy a great day out on a course which overlooks Grangemouth and the River Forth. Its within one mile of the M9.
Spectators can view the competition, There is no entry charge. Snacks and meals are available all day in the clubhouse.

England field two new caps in European

seniors' team championships

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION
England will field two new caps in Andrew Carman (Coventry, Warwickshire) and Andrew Stracey (Littlestone, Kent) in their squad to contest the European men’s seniors team championships at Golf Club Patriziale Ascona in Switzerland from August 11th - 15.
The rest of the six-man line-up is:
Douglas Arnold (Copthorne, Sussex)
Geoff King (West Essex, Essex)
Chris Reynolds (Littlestone, Kent)
Philip Slater (Sandiway, Cheshire).
Both Carman and Stracey are newcomers to the senior ranks, both having passed the 55 age limit in the past year.
Carman was a full England international in 1979 and ’80, playing ten times for his country and later became chairman of England selectors. He made his seniors debut in this year’s English Seniors Championship at Moor Park, finishing third.
Stracey made an explosive start to his over-55s career, winning the Irish Open Seniors at Bangor in his first event before finishing runner-up in the English Championship.
Arnold, 62, has played in every European Seniors Team Championships since its inception in 2006. The Sussex man has won three English Seniors titles, the last in 2006. A gritty competitor, he has also represented England in every Seniors Home Internationals since they were inaugurated in 2002.
King, 65, was capped for the first time in last year’s Seniors Home Internationals in Wales but this will be his first European appearance. The Essex man finished tied fourth in this year’s English Seniors Championship and third in the South East Seniors Qualifying.
Reynolds, 60, is the current English Seniors Champion following his victory at Moor Park last month, having finished runner-up two years ago and third in 2008. The Kent man made his England debut in the 2006 Seniors Home Internationals and has played in the last two European Seniors Team Championships.
Slater, 58, was first capped as a senior in last year’s European Team Championships in Ireland and also played in the Seniors Home Internationals.

From Gary Sutherland:

Just visited your website and wondered if you and your readers might be interested in my golf project. I've been spending the summer playing 18 rounds of golf on 18 Scottish islands with my golf bag doubling as my suitcase and all my travel being done by ferries and buses.
I've done 12 islands so far, mostly the Hebrides. Still to visit Orkney and Shetland.
There's a blog up and running:
www.islandhacking.blogspot.com

The book, The Fairway Isles, will be published by Hachette next spring.

Gary Sutherland

Scotland boys' team named for home internationals

Scotland's team for next week's (Tuesday to Thursday) boys' home internationals at Hankley Common Golf Club, Surrey is:

Sandy Bolton (Goring & Streatley)
Grant Forrest (Craigielaw)
Scott Gibson (Southerness)
David Law (Hazlehead)
Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie)
Ian Redford (St Andrews New)
Chris Robb (Inchmarlo)
Jack Scott (Deeside)
Paul Shields (Kirkhill).
Calum Stewart (Brora)
Daniel Young (Craigie Hill).

Gavin Dear now 12th in world

amateur rankings - best yet

Murrayshall's Gavin Dear has risen to 12th - his highest yet - in this week's R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings. The 24-year-old Scone man was 13th last week. His target is to make the top 10 in time to avoid Stage 1 of the European Tour Qualifying School.
The only other Scots in the world's top 100 amateurs are Ross Kellett (Colville Park and James Byrne (Banchory). Kellett has gone up two places to 87th and Byrne, ironically on the day after he went out in the first round of the Allied Surveyors Scottish amateur championship at Royal Troon, soared 16 places to 89th.
Wllace Booth (Comrie) is the fourth highest Scot in 112th ranking, a drop of three places.
The world's No 1 is Nick Taylor (Canada) ahead of Morgan Hoffman (USA) and Matt Hill (Canada).
The only British player ahead of Gavin Dear is Englishman Sam Hutsby (Lipook) in fifth place.
Scots in the top 1000+ of the R&A WAGR are:
12 Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) +1.
87 Ross Kellett (Colville Park) +2
89 James Byrne (Banchory) +16.
112 Wallace Booth (Comrie) -3.
127 Paul O'Hara (Colville Park) +2.
184 Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) +25.
229 Mark Hillson (Craigielaw) -40.
281 Steven McEwan (Caprington) -4.
298 James White (Lundin) -2.
322 Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie) -2.
334 Scott Borrowman (Dollar) +5.
403 Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) +27.
420 Philip McLean (Peterhead) +1.
461 Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) +8
500 Fraser McKenna (Balmore) -2.
521 Gordon Yates (Hilton Park) -9.

587 Lewis Kirton (Newmachar) +4.

598 David Law (Hazlehead) -31.

663 Bobby Rushford (Grangemouth) -5.

692 Mark Bookless (Sandyhills) -3.

714 Paul Ferrier (Baberton) +6.

723 Peter Latimer (St Andrews New) +5.

731 Paul Betty (Hayston) +11.

732 Stephen Spiers (in Australia) +12.

749 Scott Crichton (Aberdour) +6.

782 Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire) 0.

842 Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) +1.

843 David Addison (Barassie) +1.

851 James Ross (Royal Burgess) 0.

868 Fraser Fotheringham (Nairn) -2.

1020 Paul Shields (Kirkhill) +192.

1032 Allyn Dick (Kingsknowe) +6.

1037 Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh) -6.

1038 Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs) -6.

Allied Surveyors Scottish Amateur Championship
ROYAL TROON GOLF CLUB

Day 2 - FIRST ROUND (continued)
Scott McClory (Bathgate) bt Derek Ramsay (Elgin) 5 and 3.
Douglas Hunter (Marriott Dalmahoy) bt John Sloan (Doon Valley) 6 and 5.
John Duff (Newmachar) bt Andrew Wallace (Glenbervie) 2 and 1.
Kyle Godsman (Hopeman) bt Derek Anderson (Cochrane Castle) 1 hole.
George Robertson ((Irvine Ravenspark) bt Jonathan King (Glasgow) 3 and 2.
James White (Lundin) bt Robert Carson (Marriott Dalmahoy) 8 and 7.
Andrew Wright (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt Stephen Harrod (Ballumbie Castle) 3 and 2.
Michael Gray (Lanark) bt Matthew Reid (Downfield) 1 hole.

Gregor Stewart (Murcar Links) bt Nicky Gold (Bonnyton) 3 and 2.
Andrew McKayh bt Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) 4 and 2.
Gordon Yates (Hilton Park) bt Mark Dickson (Gullane) 3 and 2.
Ian Redford (St Andrews New) bt Andrew Rothney (Deer Park) 4 and 3.
Bryan Innes (Murcar Links) bt David Oldham (Hamilton) at 20th.
Mark Halliday (Royal Aberdeen) bt Scott McGrenaghan (Cochrane Castle) 3 and 2.
James Hendrick (Pollok) bt Marc Rice (Easingwold) 8 and 7.
Robert McGrory (Singing Hills) bt David Miller (Duddingston) 3 and 2.

Stephen Neilson (Dunbar) bt David Thom (Burntisland) 5 and 4.
Liam McGowan (St Andrews New) bt George Findlay (Ballumbie Castle) 2 and 1.
Fraser Henderson (Craigielaw) bt Stan Morrison (US 2 and 1.
ROSS KELLETT (Colville Park), No 3 seed, bt Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon) 6 and 4.
John Burns (Mount Ellen) bt Steven Maxwell (Windyhill) 5 and 3.
Michael Buchan bt Niall Lamond (Balmore) 6 and 5.
Scott Michie (Thornton) bt Bobby Rushford (Grangemouth) 4 and 3.
Barry Scott (Lochmaben) bt George Crawford (Williamwood) 4 and 3.

Andrew Abercrombie (US) bt STEVEN McEWAN (Caprington) (No 7 seed) 1 hole.
Euan Brown (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt Billy Campbell (Kirkintilloch) 1 hole.
Cameron Gray (West Kilbride) bt Mark McMillan (Bonnyton) 1 hole.
Chris Robb (Inchmarlo) bt Stephen Baillie (Garmouth & Kingston) 2 and 1.
Stewart Henderson (Hamilton) bt Andrew Weir (Montrose Mercantile) 2 holes.
Fraser McKenna (Balmore) bt Paul Gault (Kirkhill) 8 and 7.
Christopher Forman (Peterhead) bt Jamie Neilson (Dunbar).
Neil McKinnon (Murcar Links) bt Torquil McInroy (North Berwick) 6 and 5.

Michael Main (Thornton) bt David McMillan (Lanark) 5 and 4.
Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire) bt Simon Lockhart (Bathgate) at 19th.
John Miller (Gullane) bt Philip McLean (Peterhead) 5 and 4.
Gavin Lawrie (Prestwick St Nicholas) bt Euan McIntosh (Newmachar) 1 hole.
Scott Stewart-Cation(Ladybank) bt Simon Taylor (Germany) 3 and 1.
Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) bt Stuart Smith (Duddingston) 1 hole.
Colin Thomson (East Renfrewshire) bt Paul Betty (Hayston) at 19th.
Ben Sloan (Cathkin Braes) bt Craig McLaughlin (Largs) 2 and 1.

David Law (Hazlehead) bt Neil McWilliam (Garmouth & Kingston) 5 and 4.
Iain Thomson (Powfoot) bt Michael Robertson (Selkirk) 2 holes.
Mark Thomson (Grange) bt Jamie Dunster (Worcestershire) 3 and 2.
Daniel Sommerville (St Andrews) bt Neil Howitt (Nairn) 4 and 3.
Keith Shanks (US) bt Graeme McDougall (Bishopbriggs) at 19th.
Michael Daily (Erskine) bt Paul Ferrier (Baberton) 1 hole.
Daniel Harrison (Crieff) bt Kyle Smith (Troon Welbeck) at 20th.
Oliver Huish (North Berwick) bt Michael Grunwell (Powfoot) 1 hole.

Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh) bt WALLACE BOOTH (Comrie), No 2 seed, 3 and 2.
Barrie Edmond (Bon Accord) bt Clark Riddick (Southerness) at 20th.
Robert Jenkins (Crow Wood) bt Fraser Campbell (Clober) 1 hole.
Jonathan Caldwell (Greenock) bt Wilson Bryson (Drumpellier) 3 and 1.
Martin Stein (Craigielaw) bt Daniel McCreadie (Bellshill) 4 and 3.

SECOND ROUND
James Ross (Royal Burgess) bt Kyle McClung (Wigtownshire Co) 7 and 6.
Grant Carnie (Newburgh on Ythan) bt Haig Hamilton (Colville Park) 1 hole.
GAVIN DEAR (Murrayshall) (No 1 seed) bt Thomas Rennie (Deeside) 2 and 1.
Euan Kennedy (Stonehaven) bt Russell Thornton (US) at 25th.
Scott Gibson (Southerness) bt Sam Binning (Ranfurly Castle) 5 and 4.
Sean Kennedy (Dumfries & Galloway) bt Jordan McColl (Scotscraig) 1 hole.
Richard Graham (Hayston) bt John Wybar (Aldeburgh) 3 and 2.
Stuart Boyle (Harburn) bt Daniel Young (Craigie Hill) 4 and 3.

Angus Cappi (Carnoustie) bt Gregor Munro (Ranfurly Castle) 1 hole.
Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) bt Allyn Dick (Kingsknowe) 3 and 1.
Michael Campbell (Renfrew) bt Colin Heuchan 2 holes
Chris Harkins (Ayr Belleisle) bt Barry Lindsay (Mount Ellen) at 20th.
Barry Brooks (Meldrum House) bt Alexander Culverwell (Dunbar) at 19th.
Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) bt Stephen Spence (Irvine Bogside) 4 and 3.
Jamie MacKay (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt Scott Moffat (Alloa) 5 and 4.
KEIR McNICOLL (Carnoustie) (No 8 seed) bt Neil McBride (Cowglen) 4 and 2.

PAUL O'HARA (Colville Park) (No 4 seed) bt Anthony Bews (Murcar Links) 4 and 2.
Myles Cunningham (Craigielaw) bt Garry Duncan (Carnosutie Caledonia) 2 and 1.
Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt Munro Ferries (Tain) 5 and 4.
Martin Hamilton (Woking) bt Mark Collin (Eyemouth) 1 hole.

Another look at yesterday's first-round ties at Royal Troon

Dick, three up with three to play,

makes life difficult for himself

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Admitting he'd got too far ahead of himself when he stepped on to the 16th hole dormie three up, Allyn Dick heaved a huge sigh of relief after coming through a tough first-round test in the Allied Surveyors Scottish Amateur Championship at Royal Troon.
On a day of mixed fortunes for Lothians players in the Scottish Golf Union's flagship event, the Kingsknowe player recovered from losing the last three holes – he paid the price for poor tee shots at each of them – to beat Nairn's Fraser Fotheringham at the 19th.
"That's what you call making life difficult for yourself," declared Dick, who had covered the opening 15 holes in level-par – a decent effort in a gusty cross wind – to put himself in a strong position against an opponent who reached the final of the British boys' championship two years ago.
After finding a bad lie with his drive at the 16th, Dick, a two-time Scottish mid-amateur champion who had a good win in the Cameron Corbett Vase earlier in the month, dumped his second in the burn before plugging a 4-iron tee shot into a greenside bunker at the next.
Giving Fotheringham even more encouragement, the 30-year-old Lothians player drove into the rough down the right at the last, tugged his second and, instead of tucking into a celebratory lunch in the clubhouse, was back on the first tee facing a sudden-death shoot-out.
To his relief, Dick's tee shot at the 19th just avoided a couple of nasty fairway bunkers and he duly made the most of that break, holing from 10ft for a birdie-3 before watching Fotheringham miss from slightly closer to prolong the encounter.
"I got a bit too ahead of myself and you can't do that on a course like this," reflected triple Dispatch Trophy winner Dick, who acknowledged that he faced another tough examination in the second round this afternoon against Greg Paterson from St Andrews New.
A semi-finalist 12 months ago, Paterson was too good for Graham Robertson in their encounter, the Silverknowes man having the door closed on him by a "cheeky" birdie from his opponent at the 14th.
James Ross, Zander Culverwell, Stuart Boyle, Myles Cunningham and Neil Henderson all joined Dick in round two but, disappointingly, Mark Hillson, the 2007 Lothians champion who reached the quarter-finals in the British amateur championship at Formby earlier in the year, suffered an early exit.
The Craigielaw man lost 2 and 1 to John Shanks from nearby Irvine, admitting afterwards that he'd been "putted off the course" by an opponent who was five up after five after covering that stretch in three-under-par.
Ross overcame an early rise – he was up at 5am to prepare for a 6.45am tee time – to progress at the expense of Glencruitten's Allan McKie, the 19-year-old Royal Burgess player always holding the upper hand en route to a 4 and 3 win.
Harburn 17-year-old Boyle, playing in the event for the first time, was one-under for the 12 holes he needed to beat Les Pirie (Millport), while Culverwell, the 2006 Lothians champion, was another comfortable winner on his return from a four-week lay-off due to an elbow injury, the 21-year-old from Dunbar crushing Nigg Bay's Dean Yeats.
Henderson, the 2007 SGU junior champion of champion from the Glen, reckoned a stroke of luck turned his match against Meldrum House's Nick Robson. Having just won the 11th to get back to one down, Henderson feared his ball was lost in the bushes at the 12th but, after finding it, was able to hit a 3-iron to a foot and went on to win 2 and 1.
Gavin Dear, the top seed, proved too strong for Tantallon's Joe Lockie, who never really recovered after three-putting the first, while Grant Forrest, the Scottish Under-16 champion from Craigielaw, had shanks at successive holes as he went down to Paul O'Hara.
Forrest, who was unable to fit in a practice round after only returning from the European Young Masters in France on Sunday night, had the consolation of hearing that he's been selected for the Boys' Home Internationals at Hankley Common next week.
After being three down with five to play, Stephen Buckley, the 2000 Scottish boys' champion from Royal Burgess, chipped in at the last to force extra-time only to lose to a par-4 from Fifer Peter Latimer at the 19th.

Abbott and Best share English amateur

qualifying lead with 66s at Rye

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION
Jamie Abbott isn’t a lover of Rye and wasn’t looking forward to visiting the Sussex links. But he was all smiles after sharing the lead on 66 with Adam Best after the first qualifying round of the English Amateur Championship.
The pair are a stroke ahead of Ross Spurgeon from Essex and Kent-based Matt Haines and two clear of the rest of the field on a day that began wet and swiftly turned windy, presenting a tough test for the 288 competitors.
Despite having five birdies on his card at Rye, Abbott, the Suffolk-based England international, admitted: “I’ve played Rye several times in recent years and shot millions. I wasn’t looking forward to coming here again especially when it was raining on the first tee and then got windy. But I birdied the first two holes, gave them back on four and five, but managed to turn two under. It became relentless tough with the wind so I would have taken 66 before I went out.” Yorkshire’s Best was equally at home over the Sussex links, his 66 contained two birdies and 16 pars.
“We get these conditions at Cleveland so I’m used to playing in the wind,” he said. “I knew people would struggle out there but I’m more than happy with 66 because I feel this is the tougher of the two courses. It’s nice to shoot a good score in round one so that you don’t have to chase a score to qualify.”
Spurgeon, also in action at Rye, was another equally at home in the conditions. “I can keep the ball low in the wind but it was tough,” he admitted. “It is my first low score for a while but I was confident coming into this week. I made a good start with a birdie at the first then made some pars at the tough holes which set me up.”
Haines, with four trophies on his sideboard this year and a runner-up spot in the St Andrews Links Trophy, was as steady as ever with 67 at Rye and would have shared the lead but for a dropped shot at the 17th.
Three players share fourth place on 68 and all were in action at Littlestone where the par is 71. Laurie Canter from Bath, the Midlands Youth champion, came home in 31 with four of his five birdies to be joined by Luke Goddard and Tom Lewis.
Goddard, the England cap from Hendon, had four birdies while Lewis, fresh from his victory in the Carris Trophy last week, found six birdies and was back in 32.
Defending champion Todd Adcock, on the course at 9am, happy with his 70 at Rye. “I’ve been struggling with my game and I just ground it out today,” he said. “The heavens opened on the first tee and didn’t stop until the last few holes. I missed a couple of putts on the back nine but it was nice to finish with a birdie.”
Chris Paisley, whom Adcock beat to win the title at Woodhall Spa last year, shot 69 at Rye, while Jason Palmer, winner of the South of England stroke-play at Walton Heath last week, went round in 73 at Rye.
“I didn’t enjoy that,” he said. “It was tough and it rained for 11 holes. I dropped some silly shots coming home but I think I’ll enjoy Littlestone more tomorrow because it is more open off the tee and there are a few par-5s.”
Admission is free to the event which finishes on Saturday 1st August.
For those unable to attend, live scoring, championship commentary and news updates are available on the Championships Section of the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org

Aussie Green beats Goosen in Canadian

Open play-off after 36-hole final day

The Canadian Open is over at last ... and the winner is ... 34-year-old Australian Nathan Green, but only after an extra two holes added on to the regulation 72 which took five days to complete in a rain-battered tournament.
Green beat South African Retief Goosen with a par on the second hole of a sudden death -play-off.
Green shot rounds of 69 and and 68, both on Monday, for a total of 270. Goosen three-putted the 18th for par and a 67 in the morning, then eagled it in the afternoon for a 69, also for 18-under-par, four shots clear of the field.
Goosen had a putt to win on the first extra hole, but missed a six-foot birdie try after leaving his bunker shot above the hole. Green saved par after his second shot bounced off a cart path, landing near the scoring trailer above the green.
"I dodged a bullet," said Green, who also saved par on the 18th to force the play-off after hitting over the green and into the crowd.
Goosen had his fourth straight top-six finish. After tying for 16th in the US Open, the 40-year-old South African was third in the BMW International in Germany, tied for sixth in the Scottish Open and tied for fifth in the Open at Turnberry.
Anthony Kim (66 & 73) and Jason Dufner (70 & 73) tied for third, four strokes back at 14 under in the event soaked by nearly five inches of rain the first four days.
Lee Janzen (70 & 67), Brandt Snedeker (67 & 68) and Jerry Kelly (72 & 71) followed at 14 under. Stephen Ames was the top Canadian, tying for eighth at 12 under after rounds of 72 and 67. "This was the last thing I was expecting to do," Green said after earning $918,000 (£559,000) to push his season total to $1,282,017 (£780,000).
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
270 Nathan Green (Aus) 68 65 69 68, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 65 69 67 69 (Green won sudden-death play-off at second extra hole).
274 Anthony Kim 69 66 66 73, Jason Dufner 68 63 70 73
275 Jerry Kelly 65 67 72 71, Lee Janzen 68 70 70 67, Brandt Snedeker 73 67 67 68
276 Michael Letzig 69 67 66 74, Scott McCarron 68 71 67 70, Christopher Baryla (Can) 69 71 70 66, Bob Estes 67 67 68 74, Mark Calcavecchia 71 65 71 69, Scott Verplank 65 67 71 73, Stephen Ames (Can) 68 69 72 67, Y.E. Yang (Kor) 69 66 73 68
277 Peter Tomasulo 65 68 72 72, J.B. Holmes 73 67 67 70, Chris Riley 68 70 70 69, Tim Herron 67 68 71 71, Martin Laird (Sco) 65 69 78 65, Bryce Molder 71 69 70 67, Briny Baird 72 63 70 72, Webb Simpson 71 68 67 71
278 Pat Perez 67 67 72 72, Jeff Quinney 71 69 65 73, Scott Sterling 67 68 72 71, Mike Weir (Can) 71 67 69 71, Luke Donald (Eng) 71 69 67 71, Camilo Villegas (Col) 63 71 72 72, Mark Wilson 68 71 69 70
279 Patrick Sheehan 68 70 70 71, Joe Durant 65 74 68 72, Dean Wilson 68 70 69 72, Corey Pavin 68 70 72 69, Kevin Streelman 72 68 71 68
280 John Merrick 70 68 70 72, Leif Olson 68 71 68 73, Harrison Frazar 68 71 70 71, Kevin Sutherland 68 69 70 73
281 Derek Fathauer 66 74 73 68, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 70 68 69 74, Darron Stiles 69 71 68 73, Ken Duke 66 71 74 70, Scott Piercy 71 69 69 72, Steve Elkington (Aus) 68 71 75 67
282 D.A. Points 68 71 66 77, David Peoples 67 73 76 66, Graham Delaet (Can) 73 66 72 71, Billy Mayfair 69 69 70 74, Jimmy Walker 66 70 74 72, Jamie Lovemark 74 66 69 73
283 Jason Day (Aus) 70 70 72 71
284 Kevin Na 63 71 74 76, Nicholas Thompson 73 66 73 72
285 Kevin Stadler 70 70 76 69, Frank Lickliter II 68 72 72 73
286 Brendon De Jonge 67 73 75 71
287 Jay Williamson 70 68 77 72
288 Charles Warren 70 68 69 81, Dicky Pride 70 70 76 72
289 Mike Grob 70 69 75 75
291 Andres Gonzales 71 69 79 72, Parker McLachlin 66 72 74 79