Ireland men retain senior title in Westport

Ireland retained the Senior Men's Home International title after coming through the winner- takes-all showdown with Scotland at Westport Golf Club in Mayo this afternoon.
The hosts laid solid foundations after picking up two-and-a-half from a possible three points in the morning foursomes.
Adrian Morrow and Maurice Kelly teamed up in the top match to deny Gordon MacDonald and Sandy Pirie by one hole. Tom Cleary and Michael Quirke's victory was much more clear-cut as they trounced Robert Stewart and Derek Murphy 7 and 6, while Hugh Smyth and Seamus McParland halved with John Fraser and George Paterson.
The afternoon singles was less straight forward but experience from the 2008 European champions came through. Morrow and Stewart halved the top match while Ireland edged closer to victory with Kelly's 6 and 4 win over Fraser and Quirke's 6 and 5 victory against Murphy.
The successful defence was assured when McParland denied Paterson 5 and 3. Cleary and Smyth both lost but the overall victory was already assured as Ireland won 6-3.
Wales defeated England by 5-4 to take third place and consign the European champions to fourth place.
Today's details:
IRELAND 6, SCOTLAND 3
Foursomes (2 1/2-1/2):
Adrian Morrow & Maurice Kelly bt Gordon McDonald & Sandy Pirie 1 hole.
Tom Cleary & Michael Quirke bt Robert Stewart & Derek Murphy 7 and 6.
Hugh Smyth & Seamus McParland halved with John Fraser & George Paterson.
Singles (3 1/2-2 1/2)
Adrian Morrow halved with Robert Stewart
Maurice Kelly bt John Fraser 6 and 4.
Michael Quirke bt Derek Murphy 6 and 5.
Tom Cleary lost to Ian Hutcheon 3 and 2.
Seamus McParland bt George Paterson 5 and 3.
Hugh Smyth lost to Gordon MacDonald 4 and 2.

WALES 5, ENGLAND 4
Foursomes (3-0).
Garry Huggett & John Whitcutt bt Geoff King & Stewart King 1 hole.
Phil Jones & Keith Stimpson bt Andrew Carman & Andrew Stracey 1 hole.
Robert Broad & Mike Rooke bt Doug Arnold & Chris Reynolds 3 and 2.
Singles (2-4):
Robert Broad lost to Chris Reynolds 1 hole.
John Whitcutt halved with Andrew Stracey.
Steve Hopkins lost to Geoff King 2 and 1.
Garry Huggett lost to Andrew Carman 3 and 2.
Keith Stimpson halved with Philip Slater.
Phil Jones bt Stewart King 4 and 2.

+Scotland won the Senior Women's Home Internationals title for the first time at Newport, Wales. Switch over to our sister website, www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk, to read all about it and see an image of the Scots with the Sue Johnson Trophy.

Midand Golfers' Alliance Report

The Midland Golfers’ Alliance held the Fraser Bros (Tyres) pro-am at Ladybank Golf Club, Fife yesterday. There was a three-way tie for the first scratch prize between Ladybank assistant pro Alan Lockhart,+2 Downfield amateur Ross Bell and Montrose assistant pro Graham Brown. They all scored level par 71.
Winners of the team prize were Derek Adams (Carnoustie), David Herd (Downfield) Jim Ward (Carnoustie) and Ally McEwan (Carnoustie) with a total of 127.
LEADING SCRATCH SCORES
Par 71
71 A Lockhart (Ladybank) ap, R Bell (Downfield), G Brown (Montrose) (ap).
72 L Vannet (Carnoustie Links) p, K Hutton (Downfield) p, J Stevenson (Braehead) p.
73 C Donnelly (Balbirnie Park) p, D McKay (Wellsgreen) p.
74 M Pirie (Pitlochry) p.
75 R Walker (Lundin) p, S Smith (Ladybank) p.
76 G Finlay (Ballumbie Castle), B Mason (Callaway Golf) p, B Smith (Downfield) ap.
LEADING TEAM SCORES
127 D Adams (Carnoustie), D Herd (Downfield), J Ward (Carnoustie), A McEwan (Carnoustie).
128 L Vannet (Carnoustie Links) p, D Mitchell (Panmure), P Rhind (Grange), G Paton (Dalhousie).
131 S O'Donnell (Balbirnie Park) ap, G Mitchell (Blairgowrie), C Marr (Glenrothes), L Kinnear (Carnoustie).

Tartan Tour Scoreboard
RRS DISCOVERY PRO-AM
Downfield Golf Club, Dundee
Par 73
67 Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst), David Orr (East Renfrewshire) £781 each.
68 Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) £520.70.
69 Christopher Russell (RAW Golf Course Design) £390.52.
70 Andrew Oldcorn (King's Acre), Craig Lee (unatt) £286.38 each.
71 Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) £225.46.
72 Andrew Crerar (Panmure), Stephen Gray (Hayston), Kenneth Hutton(Downfield), Alan Lockhart (Ladybank) £158.42 each.
73 Mark King (Kingsfield), Graeme Lornie (Paul Lawrie Foundation) £117.15 each.
74 Ian Graham Crow Wood), Chris Kelly (Cawder), Gordon Law (Uphall), Jonathan Lomas (unatt) £91.82.
77 Craig Ronald (Carluke) £68.25.
78 Barry Smith (Downfield), Colin Gillies (Playsport Golf) £56.59 each.
80 Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie) £43.01.

Low scoring start to Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Bjorn leads way with a 64 at Kingsbarns

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
with additional words by Colin Farquharson
Thomas Björn’s sparkling 64 saw him surge to the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship today.
Björn, who last week captained Continental Europe in the Vivendi Trophy carded six birdies and an eagle in eventually signing for a splendid eight under par at the Kingsbarns course.
The Dane’s terrific round also contained a putt for a 63 that trickled past the edge of the ninth hole - his last, having begun on the 10th - which, had it dropped, would have equalled his lowest-ever score on the European Tour.
“In these conditions, that's probably the easier of the three golf courses, but when you drive it as well as I did today the golf course became very simple,” he said.
“I started rolling in a few putts and everything was just kind of coming together. You find out on links golf if you're playing well or not, and you know, I played well today.”
Björn refused to dwell on the putt that shaved the edge of the hole on the 558yd par-5 ninth, instead focusing on the many plus points of a round that came off the back of a busy week fulfilling the role of captain of the Continental European team at the Vivendi Trophy.
“I had a couple of more chances, but you do when you play well. It's just nice to walk off and feel like I got what I deserved.
“I work hard and I'm determined with my golf but there's got to be the freedom and the joy in the game. Hey, days like this certainly help.”
Bjorn’s bogey-free round left him two shots clear of Gareth Maybin, whose 66 on the same course gave him a share of second place with Ross McGowan.
Maybin was also delighted to be in the hunt after a low opening round. “I’ve taken two weeks off and its done me a world of good,” he said.
“I changed my putter, changed the grip on my putter and also the way I go about putting. Everything feels pretty good and I'm quite relaxed.”
McGowan, third on his last start at the Omega European Masters a month ago, was at St Andrews and keen to take advantage of the relatively calm conditions on the Old Course.
The 27 year old, who birdied six of his last 10 holes, stated: "That was the lowest round I've had on the Old Course from the 30-odd times I've played here."
A shot further back on five under par were no fewer than six players in a tie for third. Of those, arguably the highlight was Richie Ramsay’s superb 67 at Carnoustie.
The Aberdonian rookie, filling in as a replacement for the injured Paul Casey, putted solidly and admitted afterwards he relished the chance to play the unique pro-am format that afforded him a sense of freedom and enjoyment.
“I had an open mind to just go out there to put a score together, and it was good fun,” he said.
“I hit it really solid all day and I made a few putts. I've been working really hard on the putting, which is key to any good score out here.
“The format is good,” he added. “It gives the event a unique credibility and obviously you play three fantastic courses. It's good to have maybe a bit more relaxation on the golf course.”
Also hot on the heels of Bjorn at five under is fellow Dane Jeppe Huldahl, who notched his maiden win on The European Tour back in April when he landed the 2009 Celtic Manor Wales Open.
Huldahl has, however, been celebrating the arrival of his first child but admitted it is still satisfying to shoot such a low score.
“I just had a little baby four weeks ago,” he said. “It was my first, a girl. My mind has not really been on golf but its still nice to shoot five under.”
Further down a congested leaderboard on four under par was, amongst others, Rory McIlroy.
The 20 year old was delighted to negotiate Carnoustie with a sub-par round that keeps in the upper reaches of the standings.
“I remember shooting 69 here last year in a pretty tough day and to shoot 68 today, that's pretty good,” he commented.
“I'm very comfortable with my game at the minute. It's a great start to the week and hopefully I can build on it and carry it forward for the next three days."
Second placed McGowan tops the Team Competition after he and partner Richard Bevan, the Chairman of the League Managers Association, combined beautifully to produce a team score of 11 under par.
Scotswatch: Fresh as paint rookie pros Keir McNicoll, Wallace Booth and Gavin Dear had contrasting fortunes. Carnoustie's McNicoll, who won the St Andrews Links Trophy last year, returned to the Old Course to shoot a four-under-68 and was third among the returns at that venue. McNicoll obviously carried on where he left off in the European Tour Qualifying School Stage 1 at The Oxfordshire last week when he shot a last-round 65 to qualify by a single shot for Stage 2.
Walker Cup man Wallace Booth matched the par of 72 at the Old Course which, of course, he knows very well.
But not so happy with their day out at St Andrews were David Drysdale and Paul Lawrie. They both shot 75s which puts them a long way from the lead on a windless day of generally low scoring.
At Carnoustie, Colin Montgomerie and Gary Orr would have preferred a shot or two fewer than 73s which are not disastrous by any means but rookie Ramsay showed the low-scoring potential over even so tough a track as Carnoustie.
It's not going well for new pro Gavin Dear at the moment. One week the Scone man is the 12th best amateur in the world according to the R&A WAGR, then a short time later he has failed to survive the Stage 1 test of the Q School at the Oxfordshire.
Today Gavin saddled himself with a 76 at Carnoustie.

European Tour Scoreboard
ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP
FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72 at each venue
OLD COURSE, ST ANDREWS
66 Ross McGowan
67 Jose Manuel Lara (Spa)
68 Keir McNicoll
69 Carlos Del Moral (Spa), Scott Hend (Aus), Dale Whitnell, Markus Brier (Aut), Chih-bing Lam (Sin)
70 Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Hennie Otto (Rsa), Graham Delaet (Can), Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), David Horsey, Marcel Siem (Ger), Marc Cayeux (Zim), Paul Broadhurst, Alastair Forsyth, Wade Ormsby (Aus), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa)
71 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Alan McLean, Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Scott Drummond, Kane Webber (Aus)
72 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Peter Hanson (Swe), Daniel Chopra (Swe), Steve Webster, Christian Nilsson (Swe), Wallace Booth, Pelle Edberg (Swe), Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den)
73 Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Chris Wood, Andrew Coltart, Scott Strange (Aus), Tano Goya (Arg), David Lynn, Adam Blyth (Aus)
74 Stephen Dodd, Taco Remkes (Ned), Shane Lowry, Jake Roos (Rsa), Bryce Molder (USA), John Bickerton
75 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), David Drysdale, Adilson Da Silva (Bra), Paul Lawrie, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus)
76 Mark Brown (Nzl), Seve Benson, Peter O'Malley (Aus)
77 Mikael Lundberg (Swe)
78 David Gleeson (Aus), Anthony Summers (Aus)

CARNOUSTIE
67 Richie Ramsay
68 Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke, Simon Dyson, Lee Slattery
69 Oliver Wilson, Paul McGinley, James Kamte (Rsa), Simon Wakefield
70 Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Marc Warren, Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Padraig Harrington
71 Trevor Immelman (Rsa), Soren Hansen (Den), Paul Waring, Richard Finch, Danny Willett
72 Ross Fisher, James Kingston (Rsa), Robert Dinwiddie, Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Robert Rock, Brett Quigley (USA), Ernie Els (Rsa), Michael Jonzon (Swe), Luke Donald
73 Joakim Haeggman (Swe), Gary Orr, Anton Haig (Rsa), Shiv Kapur (Ind), Colin Montgomerie, Joost Luiten (Ned), Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Gregory Havret (Fra), Lee Westwood
74 Christian Cevaer (Fra), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), Simon Khan, Adam Crawford (Aus), Brad Faxon (USA), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Miles Tunnicliff, Thomas Levet (Fra)
75 Benn Barham
76 Robert Karlsson (Swe), Jean Hugo (Rsa)
77 Sam Hutsby, David Howell
78 Thomas Aiken (Rsa), Nick Dougherty, Phillip Archer
79 Simon Griffiths
80 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa)

KINGSBARNS
64 Thomas Bjorn (Den)
66 Gareth Maybin
67 Jeppe Huldahl (Den), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Michael Hoey
68 Brett Rumford (Aus), Iain Steel (Mal), David Dixon, Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Rafael Echenique (Arg), Sam Little
69 Gary Lockerbie, Alvaro Velasco (Spa), Graeme McDowell, Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Kenneth Ferrie, Oliver Fisher, Graeme Storm
70 Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg), Keith Horne (Rsa), Scott Arnold (Aus), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Johan Edfors (Swe)
71 Gary Murphy, Damien McGrane, Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Steven O'Hara, Mark Murless (Rsa), Mark Foster, Barry Lane
72 Richard Bland, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe), Peter Hedblom (Swe), Callum Macaulay, Alexander Noren (Swe), Niclas Fasth (Swe), Richard Green (Aus), Oskar Henningsson (Swe), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Ashley Hall (Aus), Bradley Dredge
73 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Jean Van de Velde (Fra), Jamie Donaldson, Peter Lawrie
74 Chris Gaunt (Aus), Branden Grace (Rsa), Pablo Martin (Spa)
75 Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Luke Goddard
76 Seung-yul Noh (Kor), Gavin Dear, Phillip Price

CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT

Wind no problem for magnificent Molinari

REPORT FROM CHALLENGE TOUR PRESS OFFICER PAUL SYMES
Edoardo Molinari continued his dominance of the 2009 Challenge Tour season with a superb round of 69 in tough conditions to seize the lead on the opening day of the ECCO Tour Championship.
The Italian, who has already broken the record for Challenge Tour earnings in a season, would break through the €200,000 barrier and gain automatic promotion to The European Tour were he to add this week’s event to the Piemonte Open and Kazakhstan Open titles he has already collected this term.
Despite gusting winds of up to 25 mph at Holstebro GK in Jutland, on the east coast of Denmark, and despite playing for the first time with a new set of irons which he feels will take his game to even higher levels on The European Tour next season, Molinari was the only member of the 120-man field to break 70.
He currently leads the €180,000 event by one stroke from a trio of players on two under par: Finland’s Roope Kakko, who eagled the 16th hole, England’s Gary Boyd and Jose-Filipe Lima of Portugal, both of whom will join Molinari on The European Tour next season.
Molinari, who will partner younger brother Francesco at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup next month, said: “It was very tough at times out there, especially on the first few holes when it was really windy. But there are also some birdie chances out there, so you just have to concentrate hard and play more conservatively on the difficult holes. I’m using new clubs with different grooves this week, and they probably helped in the wind because the ball spins a bit less.”
The in-form Boyd finished third behind Molinari in Kazakhstan to climb to fourth place in the Challenge Tour Rankings, and so secure a European Tour card for the first time.
Boyd, who became the first ever random “target” of the Challenge Tour’s new anti-doping regime when he was tested after his morning round, claimed the conditions were the toughest he had played in all year.
He said: “It’s a great course – there’s hardly a bad hole out there – but it was playing really tough. It’s always a bit of a battle on the first day anyway, but today it was brutal. I was just trying to stay patient and not to make too many mistakes, which was easier said than done at times. The wind was so strong at times. I hit a five iron with 160 yards to go on one hole and still came up short, so it’s a good two or three clubs difference – and because it’s so cold, the ball doesn’t even fly that far when you’re playing downwind. You’ve got to take advantage of the par fives which are downwind, because on the fives which are playing into the wind, I was hitting a five iron for my third shot. Level par is a decent score round there today, so I’ve got to be delighted with a round of 70.”
Since missing three cuts in the middle of the season Boyd has been in fine form, finishing inside the top 20 in five of his last six events.
The youngster – who will hope to celebrate his 23rd birthday on Sunday by lifting the trophy – credited his improved performance to a midseason break, where his only contact with the golfing world was a book by renowned sports psychologist Dr Bob Rotella, who has worked with Padraig Harrington among others.
He said: “I didn’t actually played that badly from tee to green in the three tournaments where I missed the cut, but my putting had been poor. So I just threw the clubs into the garage and went away for the week. I took Putting Out of Your Mind with me, and it really made a difference. I used to hole so many putts when I was younger, but then I started becoming too technical and thinking about it too much, so that it didn’t feel natural any more. The trick is to try to free your mind, and by and large I’ve been able to do that ever since reading the book.”
FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
69 E Molinari (Ita)
70 G Boyd (Eng), J Lima (Por), R Kakko (Fin)
71 S Davis (Eng), S Manley (Wal), A Sjöstrand (Swe), M Higley (Eng), C Suneson (Esp), J Parry (Eng), J Hansen (Den) (am)
72 R McEvoy (Eng), A Gee (Eng), T Norret (Den), J Moul (Eng)
73 M Jurgensen (Den), A Tampion (Aus) , P Gustafsson (Swe) , B Evans (Eng) , C Monasterio (Arg), F Colombo (Ita), A Kaleka (Fra) , J Larsen (Nor) , R Davies (Wal) , B Akesson (Swe) ,
74 C Carranza (Arg), F Ohlsson (Swe) , M Wiegele (Aut) , S Jeppesen (Swe) , M Eliasson (Swe), A Högberg (Swe), N Smith (USA) , C Gane (Eng) , L Kennedy (Eng) , S Walker (Eng) , A Hartoe (am) (Den)
75 F Andersson Hed (Swe) , A Hansen (Den) , R Coles (Eng) , A Marshall (Eng) , M McGeady (Irl), M Haastrup (Den) , P Whiteford (Sco) , L Jensen (Den) , B Wiesberger (Aut) , F Praegant (Aut) , A Andersson (Swe) , J Guerrier (Fra) , C Rodiles (Esp)
76 R Muntz (Ned) , M Zions (Aus) , D Denison (Eng), P Baker (Eng), F Fritsch (Ger) , J Quesne (Fra) , A Wagner (Arg) , R Eriksson (Swe) , N Colsaerts (Bel), W Schauman (Swe) , C Moriarty (Irl) , G Paddison (Nzl) , A Butterfield (Eng) , D Lokke (Den) (am)
77 M Reale (Ita) , S Bebb (Wal), M Hedegaard (Den), R Hjelm (Den), J Wahlqvist (Swe) , A Ahokas (Fin), D Nouailhac (Fra), D Küpper (Ger), L Johansson (Swe), F Henge (Swe), J McLeary (Sco) , J Grillon (Fra), G Murray (Sco), A Kali (Den) , J Colomo (Esp), T Olesen (Den) , A Bernadet (Fra), S Thornton (Irl), A Kasprzak (Den) (am), L Bjerregaard (am) (Den) ,
78 M Korhonen (Fin) , K Nielsen (Den), J Bjerhag (Swe) , A Snobeck (Fra) , F Calmels (Fra) , Å Nilsson (Swe) , K Hallgren (Swe), P Ankersoe (Den), A McArthur (Sco) , J Arruti (Esp) ,
79 K Jorgensen (Den) , M Thorp (Nor), S Juul (Den), J Clément (Sui) , B Mason (Eng) , R De Sousa (Sui), J Zapata (Arg)
80 J Makitalo (Fin), N Meitinger (Ger), P Bocian (Swe) , G Houston (Wal)
81 G Adell (Swe), L Gagli (Ita), C Lange (Den), P Barth (Swe) , C Günther (Ger) , K Edberg (Swe)
82 J Adarraga Gomez (Esp) , L James (Eng) , M Pilkington (Wal) , N Bruzelius (Swe)
83 L Bond (Wal) , R Steiner (Aut) , J Morrison (Eng) , M Palm (Swe) , G Andersson (Swe)
85 K Sorensen (Den) (am)

Edinburgh & East of Scotland Golfers' Alliance
Gallacher Trophy meeting at Peebles Golf Club

By KEITH LIDDLE
Ninety-seven East Alliance members contested the outing at Peebles Golf Club. Conditions were tricky, windy with occasional showers, but the scoring was extremely good.
The overall winner of the Bernard Gallacher Trophy was Peebles professional Craig Imlah with a fine score of 64, six under par.
In the scratch section, Gareth Wright (West Linton), out in the first match, set a very high standard by returning a five-under-par 65. This was equalled by Scott Catlin (Greenburn) in match number five. These scores were in equal top spot until Craig Imlah, out in the last match, went one better.
After a dropped shot at the first hole, Craig started things moving with birdies at the fourth and fifth holes. He also had an eagle 3 at the ninth, for an outward half of 32. On the back nine, Craig had another eagle, this time at the 319yd par-4 13th and finished off with a birdie 4 to come home in 32.
New member Philip Leggate (Musselburgh) won the top handicap prize with a net 67 off nine.
Philip started steadily, but had a few wobbles on the back nine. However, he managed coax a 25ft putt in at the last for a birdie 4.
Philip just squeezed past scratch player Colin Fraser (Peebles) who had a 68, Andrew Rothney (Deer Park) with a 68 off one and Stuart Smith (Duddingston), adding on two shots for a 68.

Overall winner - CRAIG IMLAH (Peebles) 64.

SCRATCH PRIZEWINNERS
64 Craig Imlah (Peebles) £100.
65 Scott Catlin (Greenburn), Gareth Wright (West Linton) £70 each.
67 Stevie Lamb (Broomieknowe) £40.
68 Andrew Marshall (Houston Golf Range) £20.

HANDICAP PRIZE VOUCHERS
67 Philip Leggate (Musselburgh) (9) £100 voucher.
68 Colin Fraser (Peebles) (scr), Andrew Rothney (Deer Park) (1), Stuart Smith (Duddingston) (+2) £60 voucher each.
69 Ian Fyfe (Musselburgh) (2), Callum Robertson (Merchants of Edinburgh) (3) £10 each.

TRAINEE PROFESSIONAL PRIZES
72 Terry Mathieson (King's Acre), David Patrick (Elie) £10 each.

SENIOR PRIZE
69 (net) Jim Scott (Swanston New) (8) (£20 voucher).

STRONG LINE UP FOR AREA TEAM FINALS

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
The Scottish Area Team Championship reaches its climax this weekend with Dumbartonshire, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and the North East battling it out at Crail for the title of the country’s top golfing region.

The four Areas have assembled a strong line-up for the two-day event, with Scottish Amateur and Boys Champion David Law, European Amateur runner-up Ross Kellett and former British Amateur champion Craig Watson all in the field at the historic Fife venue.

Kellett, who is now the highest ranked Scot in the world at number 55, is looking forward to helping Lanarkshire challenge for their third Area team title:

“We reached the semi-final stages last year so it would be great to go a couple of steps further this year and win the Championship. The team won all three qualifying matches comfortably so everyone’s feeling confident that we can put up a strong challenge.”

“Hopefully my experience can rub off on the rest of the lads. It’s an honour to represent your Area Association and pay back all the support they give us over the years. Personally, winning at Crail would round off what has been a very good season for me.” added the 21-year-old, who was part of Scotland’s European Championship winning team this summer.

Kellett and his Lanarkshire team-mates will face local rivals Dumbartonshire in the opening semi-final, whose side includes Scotland squad member Gordon Yates aiming for their first title since 1980.

Last year’s beaten finalists Renfrewshire boast a strong six-man team, with reigning Mid-Amateur Champion Andrew Farmer alongside Kilmalcolm club-mate Matthew Clark in addition to the experience of former Scotland captain Watson.

They take on the North East, whose side includes double national champion Law, Scottish Amateur semi-finalist Bryan Innes and 2009 Leven Gold Medal winner Philip McLean, aiming to add to their haul of three Area Team titles.

Play gets underway at 8.30am on Saturday morning over the Craighead course, with foursomes in the morning followed by singles in the afternoon. The same format will be played on Sunday for the Final.


2009 Scottish Area Team Championship Line-Ups:

DUMBARTONSHIRE

Gordon Yates (Hilton Park)
Paul Betty (Hayston)
Grant Minnes (Hayston)
Craig Checkley (Vale of Leven)
Andrew Campbell (Dumbarton)
Kevin Smyth (Windyhill)
Colin Peddie (Kirkintilloch)

Jim Cuthbertson (Team Captain)

LANARKSHIRE

Ross Kellett (Colville Park)
Ed Wood (Crow Wood)
Steven Rennie (Drumpellier)
Stewart Henderson (Hamilton)
Andy Fairbairn (Kirkhill)
Alan McDonald (Crow Wood)
Grant Beaton (Torrance House)

Phil Haverstock (Team Captain)

NORTH EAST

Anthony Bews (Murcar Links)
Mark Halliday (Royal Aberdeen)
Bryan Innes (Murcar Links)
David Law (Hazlehead)
Philip McLean (Peterhead)
Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh)
Laurie Phillips (Cruden Bay)

Mike Pucock (Team Captain)

RENFREWSHIRE

Andrew Farmer (Kilmacolm)
Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm)
Ronnie Clark (Erskine)
Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire)
Bryan Adam (Paisley)
Michael Dailly (Erskine)
Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs)

Murdo Carmichael (Team Captain)

Scotland Under-16 team named for Sunday's match at Arbroath

Scotland team for Sunday's Under-16 boys' international against England at Arbroath links is:

Calum Stewart (Brora), capt.
Grant Forrest (Craigielaw).
Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie).
Liam Johnston (Dumfries & Co).
Ewan Scott (St Andrews).
Eamon Bradley (Mount Ellen).
Lawrence Allan (Alva).
Fraser Thain (West Linton)
Ewen Donaldson (Craigielaw)
Josh Jamieson (St Andrews New).

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE ENGLAND U16 BOYS' TEAM FOR ARBROATH

Kate Weldon leaves Scottish Golf Union staff

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
Kate Weldon has left her post as Communications Manager at the SGU after just over three years to pursue new career opportunities. Kate has been a valued and important member of our team at the SGU. She has made a significant contribution in her time with us and we wish her all the best in her future endeavours.
Hamish Grey
Chief Executive
www.scottishgolf.org

Tiger Woods the first billion-dollar sportsman

FROM THE TELEGRAPH.CO.UK WEBSITE
By James Quinn US Business Editor
Tiger Woods has become the first billion-dollar earning sportsman after 13 years as a professional golfer.
According to Forbes Magzine, the $10 million [£6.2 million] bonus that Woods got for his recent FedEx Cup win pushed him over the $1 billion [£620 million] mark in total career earnings.
Up to the beginning of 2009, the world's No 1 golfer had earned $895 million from prize money, appearance fees, sponsorship and from designing golf courses.
Adding together his winnings from this year together with his annual $100 million earnings, this makes Woods the first dollar billionaire sportsman.
Woods, 34, has been the world's highest paid sportsman since 2002, when he overtook Formula One's Michael Schumacher.
In the past seven years his earnings have rocketed as he diversified into golf course design.
The bulk of Woods's earnings come from his long-term partnership with sports giant Nike, which pay him upwards of £20 million a year.
The Forbes report also found America's wealthiest are getting poorer as a direct of result of the financial crisis, with the country's ten richest individuals seeing $39.2bn (£24.5bn) wiped off their collective wealth in just a year.
The net worth of the 400 most affluent people in the US fell by $300bn in the past 12 months, from $1.57 trillion to $1.27 trillion.
The findings come from the latest survey of America's 400 richest people by Forbes magazine – the Forbes 400.