Russell Knox wins US Tour Q School Stage 1 event

Russell Knox, the Scot who is one of the leading money-winners on the NGA Hooters Tour, swept through to Stage 2 of the US PGA Tour Qualifying School process by winning the Stage 1 event at St Augustine, Florida by three shots today.
Inverness-born Knox, who stayed on in the United States after spending four years playing the US college circuit as a Jacksonville University, Florida student, had rounds of 69, 70, 68 and 66 for a 15-under-par tally of 273.
Cardross-born Ross Bain, based in Dubai, missed out in the Stage 1 eliminator at at Dayton Valley, Nevada. He finished with a 71 for a four-under-par total of 284, seven shots too many to figure among the 22 qualifiers from this venue for Stage 2.

England send Hemstock, Robinson to Venezuela

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION
England squad members Billy Hemstock (Teignmouth, Devon) and James Robinson (Southport & Ainsdale, Lancashire) have been selected to represent the English Golf Union in the biennial Simon Bolivar Cup at Barquisimeto Golf Club, Venezuela from November 4 to 7.
Hemstock, 25, the current Devon champion, has enjoyed a successful season but has yet to represent his country at international level.
In 2009 he has finished joint second in the Chiberta Grand Prix in France, and third in both the Finnish and European amateur championships. Domestically, Billy finished tied third in the Tillman Trophy, equal seventh in the Berkshire Trophy, reached the last 16 of the English and Spanish amateur championships and finished 12th on the Titleist/Footjoy EGU Order of Merit.
Robinson, 21, made his full international debut in the winning England side in the Home Internationals at Hillside in August. Like Hemstock, he has been successful in 2009, winning the Lytham Trophy, tied third in the Hampshire Hog and he also reached the last 16 of the Spanish Amateur.
The Simon Bolivar Cup is decided over 72 holes of stroke play with the aggregate score of the two players to count.

2009 FIFE ORDER OF MERIT for THE MACKAY BOWL

Final Positions after 23 events.

1 James White (Lundin) 920pt
2 Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) 690pt.
3 Colin Martin (Balbirnie Park) 475pt.
4 Danny Sommerville (St Andrews) 460pt.
5 Alex Main (Thornton) 450pt.
6 Peter Latimer (St Andrews New) 320pt
7 Scott Crichton (Aberdour) 305pt.
8 Michael Main (Thornton) 260pt.

Four Scots in leading 21 at European Tour event

Swede finish for Michael Jonzon

to win Castello Masters in Spain

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Sweden's Michael Jonzon sank an 18ft birdie putt on the final green to win the Castello Masters by one stroke in a dramatic finish at Castellon, Spain today. It was his first European Tour win since the 1997 Portuguese Open.
Jonzon looked to have lost his grip on the tournament by double-bogeying the 15th and dropping another shot at the 17th.
Martin Kaymer, six behind with five to play, was suddenly level when he birdied the 14th, 16th and 17th - and Jonzon's fellow countryman Christian Nilsson was 19 under par as well in the clubhouse.
When Kaymer then hit his approach to the 428yd last to nine feet, the 24-year-old German looked favourite for a victory that would take him back to the top of the European Tour Order of Merit but Jonzon, 482nd in the world and playing with 10th-ranked Sergio Garcia and 12th-ranked Kaymer, holed from twice as far, Kaymer missed and it was all over.
=============================
CLICK ON THESE LINKS FOR MORE GOLF NEWS:
Matteson three shots clear in Scottsdale
Ikeda claims fourth tour title
Australian Masters retains Tour status
=============================
"I'm on the moon," said Jonzon, whose only previous success in 290 tour starts was the 1997 Portuguese Open.
"It's been desperate for me and I am kind of speechless at the moment. It's unbelievable."
The first prize of just over £308,000 was more than four times his previous biggest cheque in a career that goes back 16 years and includes eight trips to the qualifying school.
"It's going to take time to let this sink in, I guess," he added.
"I'm just so thrilled to have a playing status for next year and I'm so proud of myself the way I handled these days."
It was a good tournament for the Scots with four in the leading 21 finishers - Andrew Coltart (270), Ryder Cup skipper Colin Montgomerie (271), David Drysdale (273) and Richie Ramsay (274). Three more Scots survived the halfway cut.
Paul Lawrie bounced back from the disappointment of exiting after 36 holes in the previous weekend's Portugal Masters at Vilamoura by finishing with four decent scores for a seven-under-par total of 277.
FINAL TOTALS
Costa Azahar at Club de Campo del Mediterraneo
Castellon, Spain
Par 284 (4x71)
264 Michael Jonzon (Swe) 64 68 65 67
265 Christian Nilsson (Swe) 69 66 65 65, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 63 67 68 67
267 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 63 68 67 69
268 Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 71 67 64 66
269 Robert Allenby (Aus) 64 66 71 68, Soren Hansen (Den) 70 68 65 66
270 Sam Hutsby 65 68 66 71, Peter Hanson (Swe) 66 68 66 70, Andrew Coltart 70 64 69 67, Darren Clarke 68 70 67 65
271 Colin Montgomerie 70 69 64 68, Jamie Donaldson 71 67 65 68
272 Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 65 67 70 70, Anthony Wall 68 67 69 68, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 67 65 70 70, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 70 67 69 66
273 David Drysdale 68 68 66 71, David Horsey 67 71 70 65, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 71 70 68 64
274 Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 68 71 69 66, John E Morgan 66 68 72 68, Richie Ramsay 71 69 68 66, Oliver Fisher 68 69 71 66
275 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 71 66 68 70, Benn Barham 68 66 70 71, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 70 66 70 69, Branden Grace (Rsa) 74 64 68 69, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 70 62 72 71, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 65 72 68 70, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 65 69 73 68, Miles Tunnicliff 67 67 72 69
276 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 72 67 68 69, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 69 70 68, Marc Warren 72 65 70 69, Robert Dinwiddie 69 70 67 70, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 67 68 70 71, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 72 68 66 70, Bradley Dredge 70 69 68 69
277 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 69 70 68 70, Richard Bland 70 69 68 70, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 68 70 68 71, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 67 73 68 69, Justin Rose 68 71 66 72, Paul Lawrie 70 69 71 67, Alfredo Garcia-heredia (Spa) 73 68 67 69, Manuel Quiros (Spa) 69 71 71 66
278 Joost Luiten (Ned) 70 69 68 71, Marcel Siem (Ger) 71 70 67 70, Danny Willett 71 66 68 73, Scott Drummond 70 66 70 72, Johan Edfors (Swe) 70 70 69 69, Paul Broadhurst 70 64 75 69, Marc Cayeux (Zim) 71 70 70 67, Tano Goya (Arg) 71 70 68 69, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 68 69 68 73
279 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 72 69 69 69, Taco Remkes (Ned) 69 71 70 69, Paul Waring 70 71 69 69, Eduardo De La Riva (Spa) 71 68 72 68, Santiago Luna (Spa) 68 69 72 70, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 70 71 73 65, Simon Wakefield 70 69 65 75
280 Gary Murphy 70 70 72 68, Matthew Millar (Aus) 70 71 70 69, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 74 67 67 72, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 72 66 73 69, Pablo Martin (Spa) 67 71 70 72
281 Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 73 67 72 69, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 70 70 70 71
282 Gary Lockerbie 70 71 71 70, Federico Cabrera (Arg) 71 70 72 69, John Mellor 73 68 73 68, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 69 70 69 74, Pedro Oriol (Spa) 71 70 71 70
283 Francis Valera (Spa) 73 68 74 68
284 Wil Besseling (Ned) 72 68 70 74, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 73 68 72 71
285 Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 71 65 76 73
289 Anton Haig (Rsa) 71 67 73 78

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR

More Molinari magic lands him

Italian Federation Cup triumph

From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes
Edoardo Molinari captured his third Challenge Tour title of the season in gripping fashion, with a 30ft birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Italian Federation Cup which saw him to maintain his 100 per cent record on home soil this year.
Trailing overnight leader Nicolas Colsaerts by one stroke with one hole to play, Molinari knew he needed something special to delight the home crowds at Olgiata GC in Rome, Italy. Hope seemed to be fading when he could only find the left edge of the green with his approach, but Molinari rose to the occasion with a perfectly-weighted putt which snaked into the hole for a flawless round of 66 and a 21 under par total.
Behind him, Colsaerts had found the fairway but was impeded by overhanging branches for his second shot, which fell short of the green to leave him a testing chip. The Belgian failed to get up the up and down he needed to force a play-off and so the title went to Molinari, whose €24,000 winner’s cheque took his season’s earnings to an incredible €231,879.
The 28 year old from Turin will now head to the season-ending Apulia San Domenico intent on capturing his fourth title of the campaign and his third on home soil, having already triumphed at the Piemonte Open and Kazakhstan Open earlier in the year.
Molinari, who recently treated himself to a new Audi sports car as a reward for his record-breaking season, said: “Finally I managed to win a tournament in the last couple of holes, which makes up for Denmark and Colombia, where I lost on the last day. It was a fantastic moment when that putt dropped on the last hole. I’d had that exact same putt in the practice round, so I knew the pace and how it would break. I hit it on the right line, and once it rolled down the small tier I knew it had a great chance.
“Today was probably the most difficult of the four days, because the wind was very strong at times. So after the first few holes, I thought 18 under would have a good chance, but then when I reached that with a birdie at the 12th, I just pressed on. I didn’t look at any leaderboards until the 18th green, when I saw Nicolas was on 21 under par. So I knew I needed to make the putt, and when it dropped in I was pretty happy to say the least.
“There were a lot of people following is today, so it felt extra special to win. That putt on the last was the cherry on the cake, and I hope everyone went home happy. It’s nice to come from behind to win, although I feel a little for Nicolas. He played fantastically well – to shoot under par today was a great score in the conditions. He bought me dinner last night to say thank you for giving him a lift to the golf course every day, so it’ll be my turn to treat him next week!”
Colsaerts could console himself with a runner’s up cheque for €16,500, which moved him closer in the Challenge Tour Rankings to third-placed José-Filipe Lima of Portugal.
He said: “I gave it a great go, and in the end it wasn’t quite enough. I was obviously disappointed with the finish, but I’m still happy with how I played over the four days. Hopefully I’ll get Edoardo back by winning the Grand Final next week!”
A round of 71 saw Welshman Rhys Davies finish third on 16 under par to climb to sixth place in the Rankings, but perhaps the most significant move was made by his compatriot Stuart Manley, who climbed from 48th to 36th to secure a berth in the season finale.
In contrast to the Welshman’s joy, Norwegian Jan-Are Larsen could only despair after his missed cut meant he fell two places to 47th position. England’s Adam Gee took the 45th and final place, as he finished just €1,574 ahead of unlucky “loser” Carl Suneson of Spain.
Wales’ Llewellyn Matthews also had reasons to celebrate after he became the second Challenge Tour player this season to record an albatross, as he holed his second shot on the fifth hole.
Scott Jamieson was the leading Scot in joint 11th place on 278 with steady rounds of 68, 70, 69 and 71 to finish 11 shots behind the winner.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
267 E Molinari (Ita) 66 67 68 66,
268 N Colsaerts (Bel) 68 66 66 68,
272 R Davies (Wal) 66 68 67 71,
273 S Manley (Wal) 70 70 67 66,
274 F Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 68 64 73,
275 B Hebert (Fra) 74 67 67 67, S Thornton (Irl) 65 69 70 71,
276 P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 66 70 70,
277 A Mellor (Eng) 72 69 66 70, T Olesen (Den) 70 68 66 73,
278 J Sjöholm (Swe) 69 69 67 73, C Russo (Fra) 70 66 72 70, S Jamieson (Sco) 68 70 69 71, J Quesne (Fra) 71 69 67 71,
279 R Coles (Eng) 69 68 73 69, A Tampion (Aus) 68 68 71 72, J Caldwell (Nir) 69 70 71 69,
280 M Haastrup (Den) 66 70 71 73, J Parry (Eng) 71 70 69 70, C Gane (Eng) 69 71 69 71,
281 J Morrison (Eng) 73 68 68 72, I Pyman (Eng) 71 70 66 74, G Boyd (Eng) 70 70 69 72, P Kaensche (Nor) 73 70 70 68,
282 K Sullivan (Wal) 74 69 72 67, R Santos (Por) 69 70 69 74, A Kaleka (Fra) 69 74 68 71, F Colombo (Ita) 73 67 70 72, O Floren (Swe) 71 70 71 70, V Riu (Fra) 67 72 73 70,
283 M Wiegele (Aut) 73 70 68 72, C Moriarty (Irl) 69 71 70 73, J Guerrier (Fra) 72 70 70 71, G Molteni (Ita) 69 74 72 68,
284 D Denison (Eng) 71 68 70 75, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 72 67 75, F De Vries (Ned) 74 69 71 70, G Houston (Wal) 72 68 70 74, P Whiteford (Sco) 67 73 74 70, J Grillon (Fra) 68 74 69 73, S Bebb (Wal) 69 72 69 74,
285 R Saxton (Ned) 70 71 67 77, B Mason (Eng) 70 73 72 70, B Pettersson (Swe) 69 71 69 76, N Bertasio (am) (Ita) 71 70 68 76,
286 A Bernadet (Fra) 70 70 72 74, C Suneson (Esp) 72 71 73 70,
287 J McLeary (Sco) 68 73 74 72, L James (Eng) 71 70 76 70, C Monasterio (Arg) 71 70 70 76, A Bossert (Sui) 72 70 74 71, P Terreni (Ita) 74 69 70 74,
288 F Praegant (Aut) 72 70 73 73, L Matthews (Wal) 71 71 74 72, A Maestroni (Ita) 72 70 74 72,
289 J Moul (Eng) 73 68 74 74,
290 M Crespi (Ita) 72 70 71 77, J Wahlqvist (Swe) 70 70 77 73, E Lattanzi (Ita) 70 73 75 72,
292 M Bernardini (Ita) 72 70 74 76, M McGeady (Irl) 71 69 73 79, L Gagli (Ita) 72 71 73 76

E-mail from Bob Davies
justus69@bigpond.com.au

Subject: Golf Courses of Europe

Hello & Greetings from Australia.
After visiting the Scottishgolfview.com website I was wondering if any of your readers might be interested in my story and perhaps be able to help in my quest.
My name is Bob Davies and I am Glasgow-born but I now live on the east coast of Australia.
I am an amateur collector of golf club scorecards from around the world, and I am trying to be the first person in the world to obtain a golf club scorecard from every country and island that plays golf.
At this point I have golf club scorecards from 231 different countries and islands of the world in my collection, including remote places like McMurdo Station in Antarctica, Diego Garcia, Tristan Da Cunha in the middle of the Indian Ocean, St Helena, one of the remotest golf courses in the world, and many more.
I am now concentrating on all the golf courses in Eastern Europe and I have in my collection scorecards from Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia Afghanistan, Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, as well as the 37 member countries of the 39 that have registerd for the 2009 World Golfers Championship.
The only countries that I do not have a golf club scorecard from are Moldova, Montenegro, Belarus, Macedonia, and Azerbaijan, and I was wondering if it is at all possible that you or any of your readers could please help me or put me in touch with someone who could help me fulfil my ambition and obtain a golf club scorecard from any of these five countries as I would be honoured to add any of their golf club scorecards and countries too my collection.
I am more than willing to pay you for any postage invoved.

Bob Davies
P.O.Box 584
Woolgoola
New South Wales 2456
Australia

Scottish seniors at Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort

Ian Brotherston reigns in Spain again,

signing off with excellent 68

Ian Brotherston's form was on a par with the weather - very hot as the temperature went over 25 degrees - as he shot an excellent four-under-par 68 - by far the lowest score of the tournament - in the final round to retain by a runaway margin the Murcia Seniors Open title - organised by the Scottish Seniors Golfing Society - over the Hacienda del Alamo course in Spain, which will shortly host one of European Tour Qualifying School's Stages 3 events.
The Dumfries & County player, who has a +2 handicap, was winning the 54-hole event for the second year in a row. His earlier rounds were 73 and 75 and his total of level par 216 over the testing Dave Thomas-designed course, saw him finish seven shots clear of runner-up Dougal Chalmers (Panmure).
Chalmers had rounds of 73, 75 and 75 for a total of 223 and, playing off two, won the top handicap prize with a net total of 217, one shot ahead of John Johnston, the former Scotland interantional from Royal Aberdeen.

***On the Sunday before Murcia Seniors Open, Ian Brotherston played in the Hacienda Open one rounder off the same tees and shot a new course record of 63 made up of nine birdies and nine pars.

LEADING SCRATCH TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
216 Ian Brotherston (Dumfries & Co) 73 75 68.
223 Dougal Chalmers (Panmure) 73 75 75.
225 Brian Smith (Kilmacolm) 76 78 71.
227 John W Johnston (Royal Aberdeen) 76 78 73.
229 Scott MacDonald (Dunfermline) 82 73 74.
230 Bill McIntyre (Harpenden) 76 77 77, Jim Johnston (Northumnberland) 75 76 78.
232 Andrew Brodie (Balmore) 78 78 76, Gordon MacDonald (Callander) 78 73 81.
233 Ian Hutcheon (Monifieth) 81 74 78.
234 George Paterson (Northern) 79 78 77, Fred Hutcheon (Monifieth) 78 78 78, David Millar (Galashiels) 76 79 79.
235 Keith Bruce (Edzell) 82 77 76, John McDonald (Cowglen) 84 73 78, Sandy Pirie (Hazlehead) 82 75 78, Eddie McIntyre 77 80 78, Richard Gray (Cowglen) 73 78 84.
236 Norman Forster (Peterculter) 74 77 75, Keith Howie (West Kilbride) 80 79 77.
237 Andrew Laird (Deeside) 84 75 78.
238 Ken Forrest (Lenzie) 85 78 74, Gordon Gray (Deeside) 83 77 78, David Doodson (Temple) 81 79 78, Alistair Fiddes (Deeside) 78 78 82.
240 Jim Emslie (Royal Aberdeen) 82 81 77, Alan Nelson (Banchory) 80 82 78, Donnie Lindsay (Windyhill) 79 80 81.
242 Bill Methven (Royal Aberdeen) 78 80 84.
Other scores:
243 Drew Wilson 82 78 83.
244 Ian Jeen 83 83 78, Robbie Nairn 81 80 83, Ron McDonald 80 79 85.
245 Ray Donnelly 81 81 83.
247 Jim Kinloch 86 82 79.
249 Finlay Jardine 86 80 83.
251 Brian Kidd 88 86 77, Duncan Forbes 86 79 86, Peter Kinloch 86 79 86.
252 Derek Hitchman 85 87 80, Ian Gourlay 84 81 87.
253 Jim Pagan 88 84 81.
269 Fraser Sharp 87 88 84.
264 Jim Scott 92 87 85, Peter Higgins 87 92 85, Neish Chisholm 92 83 89.
265 Frank Knighton 93 88 84.
266 Colin Grant 91 81 94.
268 Paul Higgins 89 93 86.
274 Morrison Johnston 92 89 93.
277 Norman Williamson 95 92 90.
281 Ron Taylor 99 97 85.
283 Doug Baldry 102 93 88.
298 Bill Crighton 102 94 102.
LEADING HANDICAP
217 Dougal Chalmers (Panmure) (2) 71 73 73.
218 John W Johnston (Royal Aberdeen) (3) 73 75 70.
219 Brian Smith (Kilmacolm) (2) 74 76 79.
Other net totals included:
220 Gordon Gray (6) 77 71 72, Eddie McIntyre (5) 72 75 73.
221 Norman Forster (5) 79 72 70, Bill McIntyre (3) 73 74 73, Jim Johnston (3) 72 73 76.
222 Ian Brotherston (+2) 75 77 70, Fred Hutcheon (4) 74 74 74, David Millar (4) 72 72 75.
223 Scott MacDonald (2) 80 71 72, Andrew Brodie (3) 75 75 73, David Doodson (5) 76 74 73.
224 Keith Howie (4) 76 75 73.
225 Alan Nelson (5) 75 77 73.
226 Keith Bruce (3) 79 74 73, Robbie Nairn (6) 75 73 77, Richard Gray (3) 70 75 81.

K J Choi marks return to Asia with

victory in Iskandar Johor Open

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Asian Tour honorary member K J Choi of Korea celebrated his return to Asia with a deserved victory at the weather interrupted US$1 million Iskandar Johor Open at Johor Bahru Malaysia today.
Choi posted a third round score of eight-under-par 64 for a three-day total of 20-under-par 196 at the full field Asian Tour event that was reduced to a 54-hole stroke play tournament due to inclement weather.
Chapchai Nirat of Thailand took second place after delighting the galleries gathered at the Royal Johor Country Club with three amazing chip-ins on the 15th, 17th and 18th holes.
Defending champion Retief Goosen of South Africa signed off with a superb 62 to take a share of third position alongside overnight leader Himmat Rai of India who closed with a 70 for a three-day total of 201 at the final round that was suspended for two hours due to thunderstorms.
Choi spun his words into gold when he held true to his word of a career revival in Johor. He did not take long to prove his point when he fired three consecutive birdies in his opening three holes before adding another two on the sixth and seventh holes to make the turn in 31.
The Korean went on to post further birdies on holes 11, 12 and 18 to return with a blemish free scorecard courtesy of an amazing par save on the 15th after his tee-off shot found the water.
Choi recovered remarkably when he managed to hole his chip from 10 yards to save par.
“I was not really concerned about my shot on the 15th hole. Even if I had made a bogey, I knew that the next few holes were difficult holes and I had some space between Himmat so I kept myself calm and it helped with the way I played,” said Choi who bagged US$158,500 for his victory.
Choi’s victory marked a happy homecoming for the Korean as he previously sharpened his skills on the Asian Tour before turning his attention to the US PGA Tour where he has won seven titles.
“It is not easy to win on the Asian Tour. The depth of talent of the players here is very deep. If you do not manage yourself and your game, you cannot win out here. For me to win my first Asian Tour title outside of Korea is a testament of how difficult it is to play here,” said Choi who will be heading to the lucrative Barclays Singapore Open next week.
Chapchai was delighted to finish in second and he credited his tee shots for his second place finish.
“I was very lucky especially with the three chip-ins. I was struggling with my putting the entire year but after this tournament I felt that it has improved. My tee shots also worked well as I was able to find 10 fairways,” said Chapchai who wrote his name into the record books with a 32-under-par winning total at the SAIL Open in India .
FOR MORE INFORMATION
website www.iskandarjohoropen.com.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
196 K J Choi (KOR) 68-64-64
200 Chapchai Nirat (THA) 69-65-66
201 Retief Goosen (RSA) 69-70-62, Himmat Rai ( IND ) 64-67-70
204 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 72-68-64, Kodai Ichihara (JPN) 66-69-69
205 Juvic Pagunsan (PHI) 70-68-67, Mars Pucay (PHI) 69-65-71
206 Anirban Lahiri (IND) 69-69-68, Lin Wen-hong (TPE) 69-69-68, Noh Seung-yul (KOR) 69-68-69, Tim Stewart (AUS) 69-73-64, Chang Tse-peng (TPE) 65-68-73
Darren Beck (AUS) 68-64-74
207 Rahil Gangjee ( IND ) 69-67-71
208 Chris Rodgers (ENG) 70-68-70, Jason Norris (AUS) 72-65-71
209 Antonio Lascuna (PHI) 70-70-69, Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 70-70-69

Craigielaw win East Lothian Juniors County Cup

By DAVID WARREN
East Lothian Junior League secretary

Haddington Captain Andrew Douglas presenting the Junior County Cup

to Greg Smail flanked by Team mates (L-R) Grant Forrest, Gabrielle MacDonald and Jack Dow.

This knock-out alternate shot event was played on Thursday and Friday at a Haddington course in fine condition. The format consisted of two foursomes matches, the winners being decided by aggregate holes up. The first match was a scratch game and the second was a handicap game. Gullane were seeking a “treble” having won the County League and Strokeplay events already.
Tantallon, one of the favourites, were defeated 1 up in the first round by the Musselburgh Old Team, but they in turn were beaten 1 up by Gullane. Gullane therefore reached the final where they faced Craigielaw, recent victors in the Scottish Junior Team Championship. Craigielaw had convincingly beaten Kilspindie and North Berwick on their way to this final.
In superb weather, the two Teams proceeded to do battle. In the handicap game, Duncan McLean and Greg Houlston of Gullane, receiving 1 stroke, struggled to find their form and were soon well behind, mainly due to some fine putting by Gabrielle MacDonald and Jack Dow of Craigielaw.
The real fireworks happened in the scratch game which was between four fine players, some of whom are Scottish Internationals and all of whom have a scratch or near scratch handicap. Greg Smail and Grant Forrest represented Craigielaw whilst Gullane were represented by Lesley Atkins and Rachael Watton. This was a real battle between boys and girls, and the only advantage the girls had was that they played off the Ladies’ tees. However, they were frequently still ahead of the boys after the drives. There was considerable good natured “banter” between these two sides and the match was played swiftly and in fine spirit.
The scoring in this game was excellent, the boys gaining an early lead by having birdies at the 2nd, 3rd and 4th holes. When the overall aggregate match was decided on the 16th green, Greg and Grant were 5 under par, but were only 2 up on Lesley and Rachael! Despite the spectators wanting this exhibition of golf to continue, the match had to end there with Craigielaw having won by 6 & 5 overall.
Haddington Captain Andrew Douglas presented the trophy to the winners. Haddington have always been great supporters of Junior Golf in the County, and Jim Simpson, their Junior Convenor, hopes that their own Team will soon be challenging for trophies again.

Above photo (L-R) Greg Smail and Grant Forrest representing Craigielaw, 

Lesley Atkins and Rachael Watton representing Gullane.

Exile Knox in contention to advance from

US PGA Tour School Stage 1

FROM THE SCOTSMAN GOLF WEBSITE
By Nick Rodger
Russell Knox moved up into a share of sixth during the second round of the US PGA Tour's Qualifying School Stage 1 event at St Johns in Florida.
The former Scottish youths' cap and Inverness exile, who has earned over £60,000 on the NGA Hooters Tours this season, posted a two-under 70 for a five-under 139 to finish four strokes off the lead and on course for one of the 22 places up for grabs in the next phase.
At Dayton Valley in Nevada, Dubai-based Scot Ross Bain carded a one-under 71 but slipped out of the qualifying zone with a five-under 139. Bain, who sits seven shots off the lead, shares 24th spot, with the top 22 and ties after 72 holes progressing to stage two.
Elsewhere, Gary Nicklaus, son of 18-time Major winner Jack, eased into the top ten at Port St Lucie in Florida with a five-under 67 for a 138.

DAVID ORR TOPS TARTAN TOUR MONEY
TABLE FOR FIRST TIME WITH £36,154

Back in Scotland, David Orr has capped a fine season on the domestic circuit by topping the Tartan Tour's money-list for the first time. The East Renfrewshire pro banked £36,154 from 58 events and finished over £7,000 clear of Craig Lee, the winner of the points-based order of merit.
Orr, 35, highlighted his year by landing the Scottish PGA Championship at Gleneagles in June, one of 12 wins he scored during the 2009 campaign.
Lee, the Northern Open champion, earned £29,041 to finish second ahead of Hayston's Stephen Gray in third.
Meanwhile Bishopbriggs pro Robert Arnott will skipper a three-man squad of Tartan Tour pros in the PGAs of Europe Team Championship at the Roda club in Murcia, Spain, next month.
Arnott will be joined in the line-up by Kingsfield's Mark King and Colin Gillies (Playsport Golf).
The Scots, who dominated the contest in the 1990s with five wins in seven years, will be joined by 23 other nations for the 72-hole championship from 10-13 November.

NORTH ALLIANCE NEWS

Policeman Bryan Ronald wins on his

home beat at Thurso with superb 66

By ROBIN WILSON
After an excellent summer season that rewarded Bryan Ronald's a first club championship title at Thurso Golf Club and the Newsbeat Summer League scoring trophy, his form has extended into the North Golf Alliance winter season where he took first place when the Alliance fixtures reached his home course.
The Northern Constabulary police officer took a second place behind Tain's Munro Ferries in the first fixture at Durness but was nine shots clear of the Alliance Quaich holder on his home patch in the second fixture with a superb three under par 66.
The local champion also saw off a challenge from Reay's Don Mackay who began and ended his round with birdies. Ronald began his morning round with bogey 5 and ended it with a par 4 so had three shots to make up on Mackay's total for these two holes.
Part of the deficit was written off by the local member with two outward birdies, the second and seventh for a one under par count of 34, but he still trailed Mackay by one shot after nine. On the home stretch Ronald caught and passed the Reay visitor with consecutive birdies on the 14th and 15th holes for a two under par card of 32.
Mackay enjoyed a second birdie on the fifth hole for his two under par first nine of 33 but before his closing birdie he had wasted shots at the 10th and 15th holes for what might have been on any other day a fine winning score of one under par 68 (33-35).
Plus two player Ferries and Reay's Wayne Mowat shared gross 75s with Mowat's net 70, off 5, rewarding him with first handicap place in Class 1. Tarbat greenkeeper Mike Keay earned a reward for making the journey north with a second place on the count back over local Charlie Burness.
Mike McAllan made the shorter journey from Wick to win the Class 2 Section with net 71, off 12, again after a card play-off with Ali Melville (Tain).
The fixture this weekend is Invergordon, Ronald's old police beat before his posting to Thurso, thus giving him the opportunity to continue his fine start to the season and go one better than his second placed 75 at this venue twelve months ago.
LEADING SCORES AT THURSO
Scratch
66 B Ronald (Thurso).
68 D A Mackay (Reay).
75 M Ferries (Tain), W Mowat (Reay).
76 G Stephen (Wick).
77 C Burness (Thurso), J A Harper (Wick).
78 M Keay (Tarbat).
79 J Hunter (Wick), M Mackintosh (Brora).
Handicap
Class 1 – W Mowat (Reay) (5) 70; M Keay (Tarbat) (7), C Burness (Thurso) (6) 71; M Moran (Invergordon) (9) 72.
Class 2 - M McAllan (Wick) (12), A Melville (Tain) (11) 71; I Ross (Reay) (11) 72; J Morrison (Durness) (18) 73.

+Do you want YOUR golf news and images posted on www.scottishgolfview.com?
E-mail Colin Farquharson at colin@scottishgolfview.com