Gullane's East of Scotland Junior League-winning team with a girl, Lesley Atkins, second from the left in the front row!
Switch over to our sister website, www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk, to read Iain McLean's article.

Three share inaugural English junior county

champions' hours at three-under-par 143

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION
The inaugural (English) Junior County Champions Tournament resulted in a three-way tie at Woodhall Spa between Jay Beisser from Essex, Suffolk’s Alastair Hall and James Burnett, the local lad from Lincolnshire.
All three finished on 143, three under par, Beisser after a closing 69, Hall with 71 and Burnett 75 and by the rules of the competition share the title. Beisser was the first to post the target, his 69 containing eight birdies but also four dropped shots, all this after a magnificent start with five birdies in the first six holes.
“I got off to a flying start and had three successive threes from the first,” he said. “I had a lesson with my coach David Brooks last week to check up on things and I played terrible yesterday with my 74. But it came good today and this tops off a very good season for me. I played solid today but it was a pity I three-putted the 17th, which has proved costly.”
Hall, a double title winner in Suffolk, had three birdies in his 71 after starting with 11 successive pars. "I'm quite pleased to have won," he said modestly.
"I didn't know the situation out on the course but I knew it was close. I didn't know Jay had shot four under but this will be my fifth title of the year so it's been quite successful. I checked and with yesterday’s round I played 29 holes without a bogey,” said Hall.
“Then I bogeyed the 15th today but managed to finish with a birdie.” Burnett, who led by one overnight, in contrast to Beisser made an awful start with three bogeys in the first five holes. “But I managed to steady the ship with a birdie at the sixth and came back in level par,” he said. “It’s nice to finally win a national title.”
The trio finished two strokes ahead of Sam Young from Yorkshire, who returned 76, and four clear of Wiltshire’s Ben Stow, who shot 71.
Final scores and more information on the Junior County Champions event can be found on the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org.

Chris Lloyd makes it title No 5 by winning English

county champions' tournament at Woodhall Spa

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION
Chris Lloyd won his fifth title of the year when he came out on top in the English County Champions Tournament over the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa.
A birdie 4 on the 18th in a closing 71 for 140 earned the Gloucestershire champion a one-stroke winning margin over Matthew Southgate from Essex with former champions Justin Phelps from Middlesex third on 142.
“I’m relieved to have won,” said Lloyd. “I made it hard for myself because I should have had it won this morning when I got to three under through six holes. But I gave it away and had to fight back again.
"I didn’t play so well this afternoon and didn’t really score until the last six holes. But I said to myself if I could make three birdies I might have a chance. The key was the par-5 14th where I hit my second to ten feet and made birdie. Then I also birdied the 16th to get to five under and the one at the last sealed it.”
Lloyd, who was also a member of the winning Boys Home Internationals and Jacques Leglise teams, might have seen even more success this season but he lost a marathon play-off to Tom Lewis for the Carris Trophy.
It’s been a busy year for the young Bristolian from The Kendleshire and he admitted he is looking forward to a rest. “It’s been a good year for me and this is a good way to end it,” he added.
“My season is almost done and I’m looking forward to a couple of weeks off before I get back into the gym.”
If Southgate had won it would have completed a double for Essex after Jay Beisser had shared the Junior County Champions title. But it wasn’t to be. The Southend lad who closed with 72, said: “I played well and don’t feel I lost it. Chris won it by finishing with two birdies in the last three holes. I’m delighted to have come to such a testing course as this and shot the scores I have. I had an idea of the situation but I tried not to concentrate on the scoreboards.
“I’ve worked so hard on my game over the last few weeks and this is a nice way to finish the season but we in Essex have the county finals next week.”
Phelps, who won the title in 2004, also signed off with 71, while Mark Young and Andrew Sullivan stormed up the leaderboard with 72 and 71 respectively.
Full scores and more information on the County Champions event can be found on the Championships section of the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org

Lothians captain Nicholson seeks fresh blood

after three defeats in area team championship

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Lothians captain Keith Nicholson today conceded that he is hoping to have some new faces in his team for next year's (new-look) Scottish area team championship.
The Haddington star was reflecting on a disappointing campaign for the record 12-times winners in this year's event.
They ended the round-robin phase with three defeats from three games after going down 6½-2½ to Perth & Kinross at Crieff yesterday. "It just didn't happen for us," reflected Nicholson, who took over the reins at the start of the season following the appointment of Scott Knowles as the Scottish captain.
"We always knew that Perth & Kinross would have some quality players in their side and, on the day, they were sharper around the greens."
Reflecting on the campaign overall, he added: "It is disappointing and, as we start to look to next season, I am certainly hoping that we have some new faces for this event next May."
While conceding that this season's results were well below the standard set by Lothians in the event, Nicholson refused to point a finger of blame at his players.
He added: "The guys have tried their hardest in every game. I've been in that position myself and it certainly isn't through lack of effort that we've not done as well as we'd have liked in this year's event.
"I know that some people have been saying we should be giving younger guys a chance but it's a big step-up for some of them. They've now had another year and I am sure they will come good when they are eventually given their chance."
Duddingston duo Stuart Smith and David Miller provided the sole success in the morning foursomes at Crieff before Miller completed a good day's work with a one-hole win over Tom McLevy in the singles.
But, apart from a half secured by Allyn Dick in the top match, that was all the visitors could muster in the afternoon session.
SCROLL DOWN TO READ A SUMMARY OF THE FINAL SECTION MATCHES AND THE QUALIFIERS FOR THE SEMI-FINALS AT CRAIL GOLFING SOCIETY.

HUGH HUNTER'S CLACKMANNAN COUNTY NEWS

NEAR-MISS FOR COUNTY GOLF TEAM AT ERSKINE

The Clackmannan County Golf team came very close to winning a semi-final place in the Scottish Area Team Championship last weekend. Indeed, half way through the singles, the match was in the Wee County’s favour, but then the strong Renfrewshire team fought back to take the match by 6 matches to 2 with one half.
Eight of the nine matches went to the 17th or 18th green, and the County golfers can be proud of their performance in the away match. Top performer for the County was Alloa’s Ian Ross who was undefeated on the day--- in the morning he partnered Scott Borrowman turning a one hole deficit at the turn into a win on the 17th, helped by a spectacular shot from Scott to the 17th green from an almost impossible position next to a tree.
In Ian’s singles match, he met his best ever challenge with his best ever win on the last green (and the second of the day) against former Scottish Internationalist and Amateur Champion Craig Watson. The only other crumb of comfort was a halved match in the singles by John Maxwell against Andrew Farmer.
Although the team must have been a bit disappointed with the result, it shows quite clearly that they have the golf game to compete at a high level in Scotland, and they must be encouraged for future matches.

MATCH RESULTS ( FOURSOMES) Clackmannan names first.
1. Jamie Aitken & Ross Benvie lost to R Clark and M Clark 2/1
2. Ian Ross & Scott Borrowman beat C Watson & A Farmer 2/1
3. John Maxwell & Steven Horne lost to B Adams & G Stevenson 2/1

SINGLES Aitken lost to M Clark 4/3; Borrowman lost to M Dailly 3/1; Maxwell halved with Farmer; Benvie lost to Stevenson 2/1; Ross beat Watson 1 hole; Horne lost to R Clark 1 hole.

FRANK THOMSON TROPHY
The County Under 14’s team were in action last weekend on the PGA course at Gleneagles, venue for the 2014 Ryder Cup. In difficult conditions, the County five of Lawrence Allan, Jordan Struthers, Angus Boyd, Jack Dowie and Rikky Alexander were a bit behind the other two areas competing in the Stableford event., namely Fife (winners) and Perth & Kinross

MIDLAND ALLIANCE
Alloa’s Michael Niven continues to produce good performances in the Alliance events--- in the latest tournament at Pitlochry, Michael scored 72 to lead the Amateurs, and only bettered by three professionals.

PAY DAY FOR CALLUM IN AUSTRIA
It wasn’t as good as he and his many supporters had hoped. Callum opened with a 5 under par 66 in the first round, fell back with a 74 in round 2, rallied in round 3 with a 68, and after a well over par start in round 4, once more he bounced back with several birdies and a final round of 72. This gave him a 72 hole total of 280 (4 under par), and some food for thought.

SCOTTISH CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP
Clackmannanshire will be represented by Dollar Golf Club in the final involving 16 winning Clubs from the 16 golfing areas in Scotland. They will be hoping to repeat past wins by Alloa and Tulliallan Golf Clubs in the event to give them a trip to the European Final. Representing Dollar will be Darren Hulston, Gary Chalmers and Steven McPherson.

Winter Golf is just the Ticket at Dundonald

NEWS RELEASE
The acclaimed Dundonald Links Golf Club, situated just a couple of miles from Prestwick, on Scotland’s West Coast has launched a new Winter Season Ticket which allows golfers who make an initial down payment of £195 to play unlimited golf between October 1st 2009 and March 31st 2010 for just a further £15 a round.
The Winter Season Ticket entitles golfers to play as many rounds as they like, both at weekends and during the week (subject to available tee times).
The deal will undoubtedly appeal to many golfers because the Club steers clear from using winter greens and winter tees and does not insist on golfers hitting off Astroturf mats.
“We believe the Winter Season Ticket will prove to be extremely popular and not just with those golfers whose own Clubs insist on players using mats and playing from winter tees to winter greens through the winter months,” commented Guy Redford, Director of Golf at Dundonald Links.
“At Dundonald, we pride ourselves on producing a classic links in pristine condition throughout the year and whilst we can’t guarantee the weather, we’re confident you’ll want to use your Winter Season Ticket again and again,” he added.
Dundonald Links is rapidly building a reputation as one of the finest seaside courses in the Home of Golf . The sister course to Loch Lomond, it was designed by acclaimed American architect, Kyle Phillips, who also created Kingsbarns Golf Links in Fife and The Grove in Hertfordshire. The course provides a stern test and regularly hosts both the Duke of York Young Champions Trophy and Stage 1 of the European Tour’s annual Qualifying School .
To book a tee time at Dundonald Links please call +44 (0)1294 314006 or e-mail reservations@dundonaldlinks.com.

US Champions (Seniors) Tour Scoreboard
GREATER HICKORY CLASSIC
Rock Barn Golf & Spa Club, Conover, North Carolina
FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
198 Jay Haas 62 71 65
200 Andy Bean 67 68 65, Russ Cochran 67 68 65
201 Nick Price (Zim) 66 67 68, Hal Sutton 67 69 65
203 Jeff Sluman 67 69 67, Mark McNulty (Irl) 67 69 67, Bob Tway 69 67 67
205 Gene Jones 68 68 69, David Frost (Rsa) 68 68 69, Larry Nelson 69 68 68
206 Gil Morgan 65 70 71, Tom Jenkins 66 72 68, Fred Funk 69 67 70, James Mason 71 69 66, Dan Forsman 67 70 69, Scott Simpson 70 67 69, Olin Browne 70 67 69, David Eger 70 68 68
207 Mark Wiebe 67 71 69
208 Brad Bryant 70 67 71, John Cook 71 69 68, Bruce Vaughan 68 72 68, Craig Stadler 71 67 70, Lonnie Nielsen 68 68 72, Tim Simpson 70 67 71, Bobby Wadkins 67 70 71, Jerry Pate 66 74 68
209 Joe Ozaki (Jpn) 70 66 73, Chris Starkjohann 68 70 71
210 D A Weibring 70 74 66, Joey Sindelar 69 74 67, Tom Kite 70 68 72, John Harris 69 72 69, Mark James (Eng) 69 71 70
211 Jim Thorpe 68 69 74, Chip Beck 72 69 70, Mike Reid 70 72 69, Bob Gilder 70 73 68, Don Pooley 70 69 72, Steve Thomas 67 72 72, Wayne Levi 70 71 70
212 Bruce Summerhays 72 69 71, Keith Clearwater 70 72 70, Sandy Lyle (Sco) 73 70 69
213 Tom Purtzer 72 66 75, Keith Fergus 73 68 72, Morris Hatalsky 74 68 71
214 Jack Ferenz 70 72 72, Walter Hall 71 71 72, Mike Goodes 71 73 70, Ronnie Black 68 70 76
216 Phil Blackmar 71 70 75
217 Fulton Allem (Rsa) 68 73 76, Tom Wargo 71 75 71, Jay Don Blake 74 71 72
218 Larry Mize 68 76 74
219 Bruce Fleisher 77 69 73, Mark W Johnson 72 73 74, John Morse 74 72 73, Jim Colbert 72 75 72, Leonard Thompson 78 70 71
220 Gary Hallberg 72 72 76, Bruce Lietzke 76 71 73, Denis Watson (Zim) 70 74 76
221 Jay Sigel 71 74 76, R.W. Eaks 69 75 77, Dave Eichelberger 69 74 78
222 J.C Snead 72 76 74, Javier Sanchez 72 74 76, Blaine McCallister 72 77 73
224 Mike Hulbert 77 74 73
225 Mike McCullough 76 76 73
227 Lee Trevino 73 75 79, Lanny Wadkins 76 76 75
235 Gibby Gilbert 75 78 82, Jim Dent 79 77 79

US Nationwide Tour Scoreboard
ALBERTSONS BOISE OPEN
Presented by Kraft
Hillcrest Country Club, Boise, Idaho
FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71)
270 Fran Quinn 68 65 68 69
271 Blake Adams 63 65 71 72
273 Ewan Porter 68 71 69 65, B.J. Staten 68 67 70 68
274 Bradley Iles 68 67 69 70, Troy Kelly 68 69 68 69, Skip Kendall 66 69 70 69, Roger Tambellini 70 68 64 72
275 Craig Bowden 70 65 68 72, Andrew Buckle 69 68 66 72, Tom Gillis 73 66 65 71, Brian Smock 71 66 67 71
276 Ricky Barnes 69 67 70 70, Jonas Blixt 69 64 68 75, Jeff Gove 69 70 67 70
277 Oskar Bergman 68 71 68 70, Fabian Gomez 67 68 72 70, Jonathan Kaye 64 71 70 72, Lucas Lee 70 69 64 74, Won Joon Lee 68 68 68 73, James Oh 69 68 69 71, Leif Olson 69 63 73 72, Patrick Sheehan 65 71 70 71, Esteban Toledo 67 70 69 71, Tjaart Van der Walt 68 67 69 73, Steve Wheatcroft 68 67 70 72
278 Michael Clark II 69 68 67 74, Bob May 69 68 69 72, Cameron Percy 70 68 71 69, Dustin Risdon 68 71 66 73, Daniel Summerhays 67 66 74 71
279 Justin Bolli 66 68 72 73, Gavin Coles 70 67 69 73, Robert Damron 69 69 67 74, Scott Gutschewski 68 67 74 70, Garth Mulroy 69 68 72 70, Martin Piller 66 72 68 73
280 Camilo Benedetti 70 68 67 75, Jeff Gallagher 70 67 70 73, J.J. Killeen 65 72 69 74, Michael Putnam 70 69 70 71
281 Kevin Chappell 68 71 75 67, Tommy Gainey 68 71 70 72, Jason Gore 69 69 71 72, Ron Whittaker 69 69 64 79
282 George McNeill 69 69 70 74, John Riegger 68 68 73 73, Darron Stiles 68 71 66 77
283 Chris Baryla 67 68 69 79, Matthew Borchert 72 67 70 74, Chad Collins 70 67 72 74, Troy Merritt 69 70 67 77
284 Dave Schultz 70 69 72 73
286 Paul Claxton 70 69 72 75, Josh Teater 67 65 76 78
287 Scott Dunlap 72 65 73 77, Kyle Reifers 69 69 73 76
288 James Love 69 69 74 76, Brian Stuard 70 68 73 77
289 Matt Every 69 70 74 76
291 Jeff Brehaut 70 68 78 75

Global downturn hits European Tour's major tournament

Dubai World Championship prize

money is slashed by 25 per cent

The European Tour have confirmed that prize money in the season-ending Dubai World Championship is being cut by 25% because of the economic downturn.
There will be the same reduction - from £6.1million to £4.6million - in the 'Race to Dubai' bonus pool on offer to the season's top 15 money-winners.
If a player manages to win both the tournament and the 'Race to Dubai' money list, they will now walk away with £1.7million rather than £2.2million.
====================================
More Golf News: click on the link lines:
Cabrera Bello triumphs in Vienna
Choi celebrates first LPGA win
Taniguchi holds on
Gergely claims historic win
===================================
What might upset some of the 60-strong field on November 19-22, however, is that there is now more on offer from finishing top of the bonus pool than there is for claiming victory at the event. One will receive £928,000 and the other £773,000.
The reduction follows talks in the United Arab Emirates last week between Tour chief executive George O'Grady and event sponsors Nakheel.
O'Grady said: "The European Tour have offered to reduce the prize money to reflect the current worldwide economic position and we will jointly examine prize money levels in future years in the light of this developing global situation.
"We have been assured that our agreement is proceeding substantially as planned. The Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates looks superb and work is being completed on the public areas, car parks and access roads."
Hamza Mustafa, managing director of Nakheel Leisure, said: "Nakheel is committed to 'The Race to Dubai' and the Dubai World Championship.
"The prize funds for both competitions are significant amounts that are worthy of the season-ending tournament and world-class field that will be competing, yet reflective of a new economic climate."

World Hickory Challenge Scoreboard
MUSSELBURGH LINKS
FINAL TOTALS
Par 68
71 Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs Golf Range) £1,250.
73 Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie) £1,000.
74 Klas Ohlsson (Sweden), Fraser Mann (Musselburgh), Mark King (Kingsfield), Perry Somers (unatt) £953 each).
75 Neil Colquhoun (Merchants of Edinburgh), Andrew Oldcorn (Kings Acre) £311 each, Alan Minto (unatt) (amateur).
76 Lee Harper (Archerfield Links), Dean Robertson (Mearns Castle) (£233 each, Boris Lietzow (unatt) (amateur).
77 Jacky Montgomery (Dunbar), Mark Kerr (Marriott Dalmahoy), Steven Taylor (Bothwell Castle) £181 each, Lennart Ohlsson (unatt) (amateur), Mattias Tjernstrom (unatt) amn.
78 David Thomson (Carnegie Club) £155, Ewen glen (unatt) (am).
79 Thomas Buchanan (Duddingston), Alastair Mackenzie (Duddingston) £136 each.
80 John McTear (Mar Hall Hotel Golf & Spa), James Mooney (Kingscliff Golf Solutions) £110 each.
81 Sean O'Donnell (Balbirnie Park) £91, Graham Wilson (unatt) (amateur).
83 Kiell Wiberg (unatt) (amateur), Sten Berg (unatt) (amateur).
84 Fraser McLaughlan (bothwell Castle), Alan Lockhart (Ladybank) £821 each, Anders Werneman (unatt) (amateur).