Scotland boys beaten by Ireland

Scotland were beaten 9-6 by Ireland while England and Wales drew 7 1/2-7 1/2 on the opening day of the Boys' Home International at Hankley Common Golf Club, Surrey.
Details:

IRELAND 9, SCOTLAND 6
Foursomes (3-2)
Paul Dunne & Ciaran Boggan lost to David Law & Paul Shields 1 hole.
Chris Selfridge & Michal Durcan bt Sandy Bolton & Chris Robb 5 and 4.
Reeve Whitson & Ian O'Rourke bt Jack McDonald & Daniel Young 6 and 5.
Brian Casey & Danbiel Muphy lost to Jack Scott & Scott Bibson 1 hole.
Colin Fairweather & Garth McGee bt Grant Forrest & Calum Stewart 6 and 5.
Singles (6-4)
Dunne bt Law 4 and 3.
Dermot McElroy halved with Shields.
Selfridge lost to Robb 4 and 3.
Whitson lost to Bolton 4 and 2.
Durcan bt Ian Redford 3 and 1.
O'Rourke bt McDonald 5 and 4.
Casey lost to Scott 2 and 1.
Murphy bt Gibson 1 hole.
McGee bt Forrest 5 and 4.
Fairweather halved with Stewart.

Dwyer equals course record to lead at Tudor Park

By ANTHONY LEAVER

Paul Dwyer equalled the course record at Marriott Tudor Park in Kent to lead by a stroke after the opening round of the PGA EuroPro Tour’s Virgin Atlantic 25th Anniversary Classic with a seven under par 63.
Dwyer (Clitheroe) opened up with a birdie at the first then added four more before dropping a shot at the ninth. Two more birdies came at 12 and 13 before a birdie-bogey-birdie finish meant Dwyer equalled the course record carded by Sky Sports EuroPro Tour commentator Sam Pigott in 2003 and his 63 sees him one shot clear of a quartet of challengers.
Woolgar (Capitalservices.com) began calmly enough on the back nine with five pars but then exploded into life with four straight birdies from the 15th to go through his first nine at four under. Another birdie at the second was immediately wiped out with a bogey at the third, but two further birdies saw him card 64 and sit one stroke behind Dwyer. Graeme Clark (Doncaster) also started on the back nine with four birdies and picked two more up on the front nine in a blemish free round of 64. Daniel Gaunt (Burhill GC) and Nicky Harris (Whitefield GC) played in the same group starting on the back nine and both recorded rounds of 64 – Harris storming to four under after six holes before dropping his only shot of the day at the 17th while Gaunt picked up three birdies on both nines without dropping a shot.
It was a fine day of scoring in Kent with over 60 players breaking par, which promises much for the remaining two days. Elliot Saltman (Aegon), Daniel Wardrop (Didsbury GC), Jonathan Evans (Wentworth), Shane Franklin (Atheney GC) and Shaun McAllister (Cragielaw) are all two shots behind Dwyer at five under with ten players one stroke behind at four under (66).
The second round of the Virgin Atlantic 25th Anniversary Classic begins at 7.30am on Wednesday morning with live scoring available at www.europrotour.com via the Score Updates link on the homepage.


SCOTS' SCORES IN THIS WEEK'S PGA EUROPRO
TOUR EVENT AT TUDOR MANOR
Par 70
Shaun McAllister 65 -5
Elliot Saltman 65 -5
Scott Herald 66 -4
Lorne Kelly 66 -4
Jack Doherty 67 -3
John Gallagher 67 -3
Steven Hume 67 -3
Paul Doherty 69 -1
Barry Hume 71 +1
Duncan Stewart 73 +3
Zack Saltman 74 +4

Hazlehead's David Law in action during the 38-hole final of the Allied Surveyor Scottish amateur championship at Royal Troon on Saturday (Cal Carson Golf Agency image; click on it to enlarge).

New champion Law leaps 252 places

to No 371 in R&A World Rankings

New Scottish amateur champion David Law is the biggest mover in the new R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings.
The 18 year old Aberdonian, the first teenager to win both the Scottish boys’ and men’s championships in the same season, has jumped from No 623 to 371 – a leap of 252 places in the new R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Paul O’Hara (Colville Park), beaten at the 38th by Law in the final at Royal Troon, has broken into the top 100 for the first time. He rose 42 places to No 85 and is the second-ranked Scot behind Gavin Dear, who drops one place to No 13
Carnoustie’s Keir McNicoll, beaten semi-finalist in the “Scottish,” has risen 66 places to No 337.
Scots in the R&A WAGR top 500 are (up or down since last week shown in brackets):
13 Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) -1.
85 Paul O’Hara (Colville Park) +42.
91 Ross Kellett (Colville Park) +10.
94 James Byrne (Banchory) -5.
115 Wallace Booth (Comrie) -3.
187 Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) -3.
240 Mark Hillson (Craigielaw) -11.
302 JamesWhite (Lundin) -4.
337 Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) +66.
340 Scott Borrowman (Dollar) -6.
349 Steven McEwan (Caprington) -68.
371 David Law (Hazlehead) +252
421 Philip McLean (Peterhead) -1

England send Gidney, Hemstock and Hinton

to Finnish Open Amateur Championship

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION
Jonathan Gidney (Church Stretton, Shropshire & Herefordshire), a Midland Youth Champion for a record three successive years, is among a three-man squad to represent the EGU in the Finnish Open Amateur Championship at Helsinki Golf Club on 13th – 15th August.
He will be accompanied by fellow England A Squad members Billy Hemstock (Teignmouth, Devon) and Craig Hinton (The Oxfordshire, BB&O), in the 54-hole stroke play event.
The trio will seek to extend England’s successes in the Championship which has seen the title held by Gary Wolstenholme in 1996, Ross Fisher in 2003, after a playoff with Wolstenholme, and Luke Collins two years ago.
Gidney, 22, from Shropshire, was Midland Youth Champion for the third successive year in 2008, Welsh Youth Champion also last year and runner-up in the recent Midland Open Amateur.
Hemstock, 25, is the current Devon County Champion. Last year he finished runner-up in the Duncan Putter and Irish Open Amateur Championship and fourth in the Tillman Trophy. This year he was seventh in the Brabazon Trophy.
Hinton, 20, has represented his county as a junior in sports such as hockey, athletics, cricket and football. Golfwise, he finished eighth in the Bucks Scratch Open and 17th in the Tillman Trophy in 2008.
Apart from the individual Championship, England have also been successful in the Nations Cup which is decided over the opening 36 holes, the best two cards to count in each round.

SCOT RISES TO THE CHALLENGE

McLeary’s career on the verge of positive eruption

From: Michael Gibbson, European Challenge Tour Press Officer
It’s often said that golfers will go to any lengths to reach the top of their profession, but last week’s Scottish Hydro Challenge champion Jamie McLeary has surely taken that maxim to a new level after revealing that he prepared for the 2009 season by running up a volcano!
Thankfully for Scot McLeary, the volcano – a famous Edinburgh landmark known as Arthur’s Seat, whose shadow looms large over Scotland’s capital city – has been extinct for centuries and is thought to have last erupted some 350 million years ago.
The 28 year old, whose €32,000 victory at the Macdonald Spey Valley Golf Club on Sunday saw him move to 11th on the Challenge Tour Rankings and into position to claim one of the 20 available European Tour cards on offer at the end of the season, has been working on a specific fitness plan to manage a thoracic spine injury that causes a muscle spasm down the side of his ribs.
While his injury looks likely to be with him for the rest of his career, McLeary has enlisted the help of Alex Woods and his company, Golf Fit Ltd, who, unsurprisingly, specialise in golf biomechanics and are experts in fitness programmes specific to professional golfers.
Part of Woods’ fitness regime for McLeary involves sprinting to the summit of Arthur’s Seat in brutal winter conditions, and the Scot is hopeful that this punishing training plan can see his career continue to erupt towards the game’s highest level.
“My back is fine although I felt it a little bit at Spey Valley last week with hitting a lot of low punchy shots,” said McLeary after his two stroke win over Edoardo Molinari at Spey Valley. “But it is okay – the problem will be with me for the rest of my life but as long as I am careful with it then it shouldn’t be a problem.
“I am working with Alex Woods from Golf Fit on my flexibility. I do a lot of strengthening the back as well as mobility, stability, and power. I actually go running with him up Arthur’s Seat in the winter which is tough because it is very steep at the top.
“Running up an extinct volcano in the winter when it is often covered in snow is not something that you particularly look forward to, but at least we don’t run up the whole thing. We run up the steepest part – from the middle duck pond to the summit. As I said we often run up there in the snow which can be awful but it is worth it.”
It will certainly be worth it if McLeary, whose fiancée, Cheryl, is due to give birth to the couple’s first child next month, can maintain his position on the Rankings and secure place on The European Tour next season.
“The Challenge Tour is a great place to learn your trade but we all want to playing on The European Tour and seeing how we do against the best players in the world,” he said. “I am in the top 20 on the Rankings now and have to try and stay there.”

Four new caps in England team for Men's

Home Internationals at Hillside

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION
England will parade four new caps - Stiggy Hodgson (Sunningdale, Surrey), Matthew Nixon (Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire), Chris Paisley (Stocksfield, Northumberland) and James Robinson (Southport & Ainsdale, Lancashire) - in the 11-man squad for the Home Internationals at Hillside Golf Club on Merseyside on 26th - 28th August.
The rest of the team is:
Jamie Abbott (Fynn Valley, Suffolk), Tommy Fleetwood (Formby Hall, Lancashire), Luke Goddard (Hendon, Middlesex), Matt Haines (Rochester & Cobham, Kent), Sam Hutsby (Liphook, Hampshire), Farren Keenan (Sunningdale, Surrey) and Dale Whitnell (Five Lakes, Essex).
The non-travelling reserve is Jack Senior (Heysham, Lancashire).
The line-up shows four changes from the side that beat Spain in March while six of the side played in last year’s Home Internationals in Scotland. There are three teenagers in the line-up while the average age is just below 21.
Hodgson, who will turn 19 on 12th August, was English Under 18 Champion last year and is enjoying a successful 2009 with victory in the Sunningdale Foursomes, runner-up in the Hampshire Hog and South East Group Qualifying, a semi-finalist in the Amateur Championship and third in the Tillman Trophy.
Nixon, 20, is a former British Boys Champion who was a joint winner this year along with Hodgson of the Henriques Salver when finishing tied fourth in the Brabazon Trophy, runner-up in the Selborne Salver and the Lancashire Championship and third in the West of England Stroke Play.
Paisley, 23, was runner-up in last year’s English Amateur Championship, the Tillman Trophy and the South of England Stroke Play. He has enjoyed much success on the US college circuit and has just graduated from the University of Tennessee.
Robinson, who will be 21 on 8th August, won the Lytham Trophy in May. He reached the semi-finals of the English Amateur in 2007, was second in last year’s Scottish Youth's Open Championship, while in 2009 he has been third in the S&A Bowl and the Hampshire Hog. Abbott, 22, was leading qualifier in last week’s English Amateur but was beaten by Hodgson in the third round.
The Suffolk man has a string of runners-up places including the Midland Open Amateur and the Parman Championship last year while in 2009 he’s been second in the Portuguese Amateur, the Berkhamsted Trophy and the Lagonda Trophy. He made his England debut in last year’s Home Internationals, arriving as a last minute reserve.
Fleetwood, 18, was capped at Under 16 and boy level before making his full debut in last year’s Home Internationals. He won all six of his matches in last year’s Boys Home Internationals and also represented GB&I against Europe in the Jacques Leglise Trophy. He was last year's Lancashire Champion, finished runner-up in the Amateur Championship, while in 2009 he has won the Scottish Open Amateur Stroke Play and was a quarter finalist in the Amateur Championship.
Goddard, 21, is the new English Champion following his victory at Rye last week. A former winner of the Bernard Darwin and McEvoy Trophies, the South East Junior Championship, the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters and the Chiberta Grand Prix, the English was his first victory of 2009. He was another to make his full England debut in last year‘s Home Internationals. Haines, 19, won the McEvoy and Carris Trophies in 2007 and represented England in the European Boys Team Championships, the Boys Home Internationals and GB&I in the Jacques Leglise Trophy. Last year he won the Lytham Trophy, while his victories in 2009 have been the Berkhamsted Trophy, Hampshire Hog and tied in the Duncan Putter. He was also runner-up in the St Andrews Links Trophy.
Hutsby, 20, capped at Under 16 and boys levels, he won the Spanish Amateur Championship, the Duke of York Young Champions in 2006 and the St Mellion International in 2007 when he also made his full England debut in the Home Internationals.
Last year, he won the Bernard Darwin Salver, was runner-up in the Welsh Open Stroke Play, while this year he was runner-up in the Spanish Amateur and the Amateur Championship. Keenan, 24, lost to Goddard in last weekend’s final of the English Amateur. A former winner of the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters and the Surrey Championship, he’s won the Berkshire Trophy for the past two years and is another to have made his full England debut in last year’s Home Internationals.
Whitnell, who will turn 21 on 9th August, is the current leader of the Titleist/Footjoy EGU Order of Merit. His successes have been many including the Daily Telegraph Junior Championship in 2006, the North of England Youth Championship, the Tillman Trophy for the past two years and this year’s Portuguese Amateur. He was a semi-finalist in last year’s Australian Amateur, runner-up to Haines in the Lytham Trophy, but won the Lagonda Trophy.
A semi-finalist in last week’s English Amateur, the Essex man has played in the last two Home Internationals and European Men’s Team Championships, was a member of the Eisenhower Trophy team and the winning European Nations Cup team with Goddard and Hutsby.
England recaptured the Raymond Trophy in 2007 when they won the Home Internationals at County Louth in Ireland but lost it to the Irish in Scotland last year.

Robin Wilson's picture (left to right): Jim Miller, Sandy Mackenzie (captain of Golspie GC), tournament winner Bruce Thomson, and Class 2 runner-up Michael J Bonner (Golspie). Click on the image to enlarge it.

Bruce Thomson wins Golspie Classic

by three shots from Jim Miller

By ROBIN WILSON
Jim Miller, Brora's top golfer over FIVE decades, made a valiant attempt to win a Golspie Classic Trophy before finishing second behind a player to whom he was giving away almost 40 years in age.
Inverness's Bruce Thomson was just seven years old when Miller won the inaugural Golspie Classic 21 years ago. Miller was returning to the venue where he set the first course record of 65 more than 30 years ago before it was lowered to 64 during the British Amateur qualifying rounds of 1985.
After course changes, a new low mark of 64 was claimed byby Ross MacDonald (Channels Golf Club) in the Golspie Classic of 2005.
Another change to the Golspie course was brought into use for the first time last weekend, a new tee adding extra yards to the 15th hole “Tattie Pits” but with Thomson's first round 68 the Inverness player has now been credited with the latest course record score.
His figures for 68 (one under par) were:
OUT : 4-2-4-5-4-3-4-4-5 = 35.
IN: 3-3-4-4-4-4-3-3-5 = 33.
Thomson is no stranger to winning at Golspie, Four years ago in the August tournament he won the Sinclair Cup after a blistering second round card of 65. His new record card of 68 was inspired by a birdie 2 at the second hole, only for it to be given back to the course with a not uncommon bogey 5 at Paradise.
He was soon again under par with two birdies over the first five inward holes, the 11th and par five 14th. A four from the new tee at the 15th was followed by two par threes only to be blemished with a bogey finish for inward 33 and one under par 68.
As one of the last to leave the course Thomson went into an overnight three-stroke lead from Iain Powell (Murcar Links) (37-34), John Turner (Tyneside) (35-36), and Daniel Holden (Royal Dornoch) (35-36).
Turner and Holden both featured birdie twos on their cards at the short sixth hole while Powell after a birdie two at the 17th took five down the last hole for his 71.
Tucked in behind these three came Miller, who celebrates his 66th birthday this week and matching the “young guns” birdies on the 6th hole in two halves of 36 for his threatening 72. But all these birdies at the sixth hole were out shone by local member, Larry Stewart's eagle on Sunday when he holed out in one from the sixth tee.
Sunday's wind direction changed and it was the old wise head of the Brora maestro who coped best in the chasing pack. The strengthening wind from the West also brought some rain to the early starters. Turner's 36 hole total rose to 146 with a 75, he went 6-7 at the 14th and 15th holes for an inward 39.
Holden soared to a 79 from an inward 42 and only Powell was able to recover from an outward 38 to come home in 35 his 73 for 144 leaving him in eventual third place behind Miller.
Legend Miller, Brora's only remaining plus one handicapper, carved out a flawless first nine for 35 and going below par with a birdie at the 13th looked a winner. The crack on his card came with a three putt on the next green before a dropped shot at “Tattie Pits” and a closing bogey slipped his finishing count back to what was still a tremendous 71 and the best of Sunday's cards.
Had Thomson been aware of the leading 36 hole total of 143 posted by Miller, who knows if the extra pressure might have altered the end result? But again playing near the end of the field the 28 year old local government officer with Highland Council, Tech Services, recovered from a three bogey run at the far end of the course and an outward card of 37 to compose a workmanlike inward one over par count of 35, saving pars on the final two greens with single putts for a commendable three shot win.
Tyneside's John Turner after slipping back to fourth scratch place with his gross 146 still found himself the recipient of the Class 1 handicap trophy for the nett of 138. His opening 71 was reduced to 67 and he was able to hold onto first place with a second round nett 71 for 138 and a three shot win over Andrew Watt (Tain) with handicap 8 for netts of 70 & 71. Watt was in turn one ahead of Gordon Sutherland (RDGC) who holed a vital five foot putt on the last green to get the card play-off verdict for third place over his Dornoch club mates Kristian Sinclair and Hamish Macrae.
In Class 2, local members Colin Mackay and Michael J. Bonner were separated by a single shot. Mackay with handicap 14 scoring 72 and 71 for 143 and Bonner (hdc 13) returning 75 & 69. Third place went to D. Godsman (Kemnay) (20) 77/72, 149.
The presentation of trophies was made by Golspie Club Captain Sandy MacKenzie, who was introduced by Vice Captain John Davies.
LEADING SCORES
CSS 70 & 70 (visitors and locals)
Scratch
140 B. J. Thomson (Inverness) 68 72.
143 J. Miller (Brora) 72 71.
144 I. S. Powell (Murcar Links) 71 73.
146 J. Turner (Tyneside) 71 75.
147 D. Hexley (Inverness) 74 73.
150 K. G. Sinclair (RDGC) 74 76, D. Holden (RDGC) 71/79.
151 A. Powell (Deeside) 75/76, A. MacDonald (RDGC) 74/77.
153 D.W. R. Chalmers (Panmure) 74/79.
155 W. H. Macrae (RDGC) 79/76.
Handicap
Class 1. - J. Turner (Tyneside ( 4) 138. A. Watt (Tain) (8) 141. G. Sutherland )(RDGC) (7) 142.
Class 2 – C. Mackay (Golspie) (14) 143. M. J. Bonner (Golspie) (13) 144. D. Godsman (Kemnay) (20) 149.

Brora Mixed Foursomes

Handicap winners in their début mixed foursomes at Brora in June 2006 then following up as winners of the scratch salver three month later, father and daughter Dougall and Gemma Chalmers (16) (Panmure) recaptured the scratch salver for a second time over the Brora links last Sunday with a super gross score score of 74.

Mark Bookless breaks Cathcart Castle

record in winning Glasgow title

Sandyhill's Mark Bookless shaved a shot off the Cathcart Castle Golf Club course record on his way to winning the the Glasgow men's amateur stroke-play championship in wet and windy conditions at Cathcart Castle Golf Club.
Conor O'Neil (Glasgow), only 17 years of age, equalled the course record of 64 in his second round to set the clubhouse target of 134.
Then Bookless, who had a 69 in the first round, beat that with a sensational back nine of 30 in compiling a new low mark of seven[-under-par 63 for a 36-hole total of eight-under-par 132.
Mark first won this title three years ago as a 16 year old.
Another youngster, James Hendrick (Pollok) came third with scores of 70 and 68 for 138.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 140 (2x70) CSS 70 70
132 Mark Bookless (Sandyhills) 69 63.
134 Conor O'Neil (Glasgow) 70 64.
138 James Hendrick (Pollok) 70 68.
139 Gordon Sangster (Cathkin Braes) 68 71, Steven Machin (Cowglen) 67 72.
140 Ben Sloan (Cathkin Braes) 71 69.
141 Frank Drum (Cowglen) 71 70.
142 Steven Robertson (Sandyhills) 73 69, Blair Crabb (Williamwood) 69 73, Patrick O'Neil (Pollok) 68 74.
143 Craig Haugh (Cathkin Braes) 70 73, Crawford Burns (Williamwood) 69 74, George A Crawford (Williamwood) 68 75.
144 Thomas Martin junior (Haggs Castle) 73 71, Lewis Burnett (Ralston) 71 73.
146 Jonny McLeish (Cathcart Castle) 70 76.
147 Ian Gillan (Bishopbriggs) 74 73, Neil McBride (Cowglen) 72 75.
148 Scott McGraddie (Cathcart Castle) 74 74, Andrew Matthews (Cathkin Braes) 73 75.
149 Allan Johnston (Cathcart Castle) 77 72, Graham Young (Williamwood) 76 73, Chris McManus (Glasgow) 76 73, Gerard Cameron (Bishopbriggs) 73 76.
150 Graeme McDougall (Bishopbriggs) 81 69, Scott Wearing (Bishopbriggs) 80 70, Alex Beith
(Glasgow) 76 74, Chris Wedgeworth (Cowglen) 73 77.
151 Steven Coyle (Cathkin Braes) 70 81.
152 Barry Strain (Cathkin Braes) 78 74, Scott Coulter (Cathcart Castle) 77 75, David Shields
(Haggs Castle) 76 76.
153 Clark Nelson (Glasgow) 77 76, Steven Gray (Williamwood) 76 77, Stuart Miller (Cathcart Castle) 75 78.
154 Craig Anderson (Sandyhills) 77 77.
155 Calum McLean (Cowglen) 80 75, Kris Clelland (Haggs Castle) 74 81, Matt O'Neill (Cathcart Castle) 72 83.
156 Ryan Strain (Cathkin Braes) 78 78.
157 David Leck (Ralston) 78 79.
158 Neil McArthur (Bishopbriggs) 81 77, Jamie Lambie (Sandyhills) 80 78.
159 James Monaghan (Bishopbriggs) 79 80.

THE 41ST SENIORS OPEN AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
ATTRACTS QUALITY FIELD

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY R&A
A quality field of 144 players aged 55 and above from 14 countries including the USA, Singapore and Morocco will contest the 41st Seniors Open Amateur Championship over the historic fairways of Prestwick, the birthplace of The Open Championship, later this week.
The competitors will play 18 holes on both Wednesday and Thursday, after which the leading 60 players and ties play a further 18 holes on Friday 7 August.
Paul Simson from North Carolina, USA, will be hoping to repeat last year’s performance when he won the Championship for the second time in three years at Royal Cinque Ports and Prince's in Kent. He took the title by two strokes from England’s Chris Reynolds with Canadian Graham Cooke finishing third. Reynolds a former England Senior International hopes to continue his recent form after claiming the 2009 English Seniors Championship in June at Moor Park (High Course) & Old Fold Manor golf clubs.
Despite the USA’s dominance of this event over the past few years there are a number of European contenders heading to Ayrshire with every chance of victory.
England’s Andrew Stracey (Littlestone) clinched the Irish Seniors Amateur Championship at Bangor in May.
Former Irish International Maurice Kelly (Killeen) won the Irish Seniors Close Amateur Championship and was runner up by one shot to Italy’s Federico Lang in Greece for the International European Seniors Championship. David Lane (Goring & Streatley) won the Scottish Seniors Championship at Panmure.
The 2009 Champion will gain exemptions for The Senior Open at Carnoustie and The US Seniors Amateur 2010.
The full list of competitors can be viewed at www.randa.org