Thursday, October 29, 2009

Viking Classic start is rained off

No play was possible today in this week's US PGA Tour event, the Viking Classic, because of a very wet course and a bad-weather forecast. Officials are hoping for better weather on Friday but they are resigned to the tournament spilling over into Monday next week at Annandale Golf Club.
Early morning rain soaked an already waterlogged golf course. The weather left pools of water on fairways and muddy conditions over the 7,199-yard layout.
The Viking Classic is the second-to-last US PGA Tour event of the season.
The final tournament is scheduled for November 12. With no tournament next week, the Viking Classic could continue into Tuesday without any knock-on effect.

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Cal Carson Golf Agency image of James Byrne, with his distinctive "Sun Devils" golf bag at the Scottish open amateur stroke-play championship at Murcar Links this past summer. Click on image to enlarge.

World ranking cannot help James Byrne

get into Arizona State University team

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

James Byrne is ranked the 42nd best amateur golfer in the world - and the leading Scot - but he cannot get into the Arizona State University team of five since the 2009-2010 US college season started!
Is the 20-year-old from Banchory, who had a super summer golf season back home, worried about this state of affairs? Well, not really as he says in the following E-mail:
"I simply didn't play well enough to make the initial starting five for a tournament at Chicago, and with the Arizona State team winning the event, (and going from strength to strength), I've not really had a chance to push anyone out.
"We only play three events in the fall season though and it's been a long summer so I'm not too disheartened. I am playing in the Argentine amateur championship in three weeks' time and also the Dixie Amateur (won by Gavin Dear in 2008) in Fort Lauderdale just before Christmas.
"So I still have plenty golf to play. In the spring we have nine college tournaments, so hopefully I'll be much fresher after a good rest and I'll put some better numbers up.
"You might also like to know that my team-mate and room-mate, Scott Pinckney, who played in Scotland over the summer with me, has finished in the top eight in all three events this autumn in high-quality fields. He puts his improvement down to being able to control his trajectory better after playing in the wind and rain for two months in Scotland!"

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WEST OF SCOTLAND ALLIANCE REPORT

Stevie Gray and Chris Currie share spoils at Dundonald

By JOHN R CARRELL
A total of 71 amateurs and 22 professionals contested the West of Scotland Golfers' Alliance competition at Dundonald Links this week.
Conditions were very favourable with only a light wind. Later on the sun came out to provide excellent conditions to end the day. The course, once again, was in fantastic condition and we would all like to thank the mamagement, ground staff and clubhouse staff for helping to make our day successful.
Hayston's Stevie Gray came in late in the day to share first place on four-under-par 68 with the early leader, fellow pro Chris Currie (Caldwell).
Currie finished his first half one over par but produced six birdies, including five in a row, and a bogey to grab the early lead.
Gray finished his first half two better than Chris with a one under par 35. He then bgoeyed the 10th but managed to muster two birdies and an eagle up the last to equal Currie's score of 68.
New member Jonathan d'Aguillar carded a net 68, playing off 11, to win the handicap prize. Richard Deakin, handicap 11, secured second place with a net 73.
Seniors prize went to Hugh Smith with a net 76 off eight.
PRIZEWINNERS
Par 72
Scratch
68 Chris Currie (Caldwell) p, Stevie Gray (Hayston) p (£95 each).
70 David Roger (Windyhill) p (£60).
71 James Smallwood (Fereneze) p (£40).
Handicap
(value of prize vouchers)
68 Jonathan d'Aguillar (Glasgow) (11) (£80).
73 Richard Deakin (Hayston) (11) (£50).
74 Peter Harvey (Renfrew) (3), Willie McCallum (Kirkhill) (9) (£30 each).
Seniors
(value of prize vouchers)
71 Hugh Smith (Cathkin Braes) (8) (£30).
73 John Greene (Cowglen) (12), Willie Houston (Torrance House) (13) (£10 each).

+All the handicap winners also shared the sweep money, while nine 2s on the day shared the amateurs' 2s' sweep.

PRIZEWINNERS AT STRATHAVEN (Ocober 13)
Par 71
Scratch
68 David Orr (East Renfrewshire) p (£110).
69 David Roger (Windyhill) p (£80).
71 Christopher Currie (Caldwell) p, Grant Minnes (Hayston), Nigel Scott-Smith (Palacerigg) p (£33 each, voucher to amateur).
Handicap
(value of prize vouchers)
67 Billy Campbell (Loudon Gowf Club) (5) (£80).
69 Terry Reilly (Hayston) (11) (£50).
70 Hamish Tod (Clober) (18) (£35).
71 Graham Byers (Vale of Leven) (18), Bill Scott (Glasgow) (7) (£12.50 each).
Seniors
(value of prize vouchers)
71 James Nugent (Vale of Leven) (15) (£30).
73 John Greene (Cowglen) (12) (£20).
Our top two handicap winners also took the sweep money, with a visitor on the day, James Halpen, sharing second place with a net 69.

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Scots trailing 10-2 to France at Cannes Mougins

Scotland's first amateur golf international since top men Gavin Dear, Wallace Booth, Paul O'Hara and Keir McNicoll turned professional, is underlining just how difficult it will be to replace these proven campaigners in top-level matches until the next generation of Scottish international players matures.
In the current friendly match at Cannes Mougins, France lead 10-2 after winning the opening foursomes 3-1 and the first-day singles 7-1.
The Scots team is: David Law (Hazlehead), Ross Kellett (Colville Park), Scott Borrowman (Dollar), Greg Paterson (St Andrews New), Philip McLean (Peterhead), James White (Lundin), Steven McEwan (Caprington) and Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh).
+Note from Editor: The above information is gleaned from the French Federation website which gives only the names of the French players who won/lost! Unfortunately, we don't know which Frenchmen were playing which Scots.

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Stay-at-home Americans are at it again -

eight of them won't go to Shanghai

Ten players - eight of them American, including US Open champion Lucas Glover - have turned down places in next week's HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai.
The event becomes part of the World Golf Championships series for the first time and has prize money totalling £4.2million.
But while the sponsors are naturally delighted that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are in the 78-strong field, the list of withdrawals will not go down so well. Glover's compatriots Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Kenny Perry, Scott Verplank, Dustin Johnson and Heath Slocum, plus Fiji's Vijay Singh and South African Tim Clark, are not making the trip.
The World Golf Championships have all been staged in the United States since The Grove in England was the venue for the American Express Championship in 2006.
Since the series started 10 years ago, the Accenture Match Play has only once been taken out of America - that was in Australia in 2001 and the field was the weakest ever - and the Bridgestone Invitational has always been at the Firestone course in Akron.
All of which goes to prove that American pro golfers in general don't like travelling outside America. What are they afraid of?
Now you realise how much the R&A owe to Arnold Palmer for blazing the trail four decades ago in coming across to play in the Open championship on a regular basis.
Send your comments to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Not ALL leading American pros stay at home ...

First response from Danny Wightman:
"I can't see there is anything for them to be afraid of if they travel outside America to play golf, but some people, like fans, might think that the Americans be can't be bothered travelling long haul because they would be very tired and restless once they arrived there and not play well as a result.
"But I think they are right to turn down the chance to go to China because they've got other priorities, like family come first or playing competitions on the (US) PGA Tour which is very important to Americans golfers.
"It would be good for a country like China to see the big names of American golf playing in Shanghai, but let's be fair about this. There are plenty of leading American pros who DO play outside the States ... Mickelson went to Singapore, and Mission Hills in China; Anthony Kim went to play in Dubai and is now competing in the Volvo world match-play in Spain, and Boo Weekley and Heath Slocum were runners-up in the World Cup in China."

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VOLVO WORLD MATCH-PLAY SHOCKS

Top seed Casey, Garcia and Kaymer all

miss out on place in semi-finals

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
American Anthony Kim was the star of the first day at the Volvo World Match Play Championship as he secured two wins to put himself in prime position to make the last four.
But Paul Casey, the No 1 seed, lost twice on his return to golf in Spain - and even with another group game still to come, he has no chance of making the semi-finals.
On a day of upsets at Finca Cortesin near Marbella, a very different test to the event's previous home Wentworth, the title hopes of Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer were ended as well.
Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy each suffered a defeat too - but because they played only once on the opening day, they could yet make it through to the last four.
Kim started the day with a comprehensive four-hole win over Retief Goosen, before seeing off the challenge of Casey in the afternoon.
“I haven't had this much fun playing golf in quite a long time,” said Kim. “It's been a tough year, but my coach and I had a great week last week and I feel like I finally started progressing instead of going backwards.
“I'm not there yet, but I'm definitely making more birdies, definitely feel more confident about my game, and I think that's all golf is about, confidence. So my caddie and I did a good job of staying patient when things weren't going well for us, and just made pars and grinded it out. So if we keep this up, we are going to be in good shape.”
Still troubled by the rib muscle injury which had kept him out of action since August 6, top seed Casey lost to Scott Strange and then to American Ryder Cup player Kim.
"Not great - I can't swing the way I want," Casey admitted after his one-hole defeat to Strange, who, at 168th in the World Rankings, is 164 places below the 2006 match-play title winner.
"I'm coming out of a lot of the shots. Scott played well. But having said that, I gave him three holes on the front - and you can't do that against anybody in this field."
He was three down at the turn against Kim - and even when he chipped in at the 14th, it was only for a half.
Under the old format it would have ended 3 and 2. But for the group stage all games continue to the 18th, and he went down by three holes. However, Casey was a lot cheerier at the end of the day.
"This morning I was questioning whether I had come back too early," he said. "But I don't now. That was much better - I hit a lot of good shots."
With Kim also beating Goosen and then the South African getting the better of Strange, it is Kim in control of his own destiny in Group A. He is likely to progress even if he loses narrowly to Strange.
England's Oliver Wilson, unable to play the Wednesday pro-am after waking up with a bad neck, is in pole position in Group B after wins over Garcia and Kaymer, both by one hole.
His last group game is against Robert Allenby, who missed out on the same double when Garcia birdied the last for a half.
Even with that point, however, Garcia's match with Kaymer cannot take either to the top and Wilson will go through with a half against Allenby. Lose, though, and he is out.
"I was very nervous all day yesterday," commented Wilson, who had to pull out of the Players Championship in May with the same problem.
"I get so conscious of it and didn't sleep very well, trying to stay in the right position. Towards the end of my first match it was tightening up, but overall it was pretty good and to win twice on the first day is everything I wanted to do.
"To beat Sergio in Spain is a really good scalp for me."
In Group C, Simon Dyson was a three-hole winner over Henrik Stenson, with Angel Cabrera doing his hole-difference no harm at all in defeating McIlroy by five.
Portugal Masters winner Westwood was comprehensively outplayed by Jeev Milkha Singh, although the India golfer was not getting carried away.
“In match-play I think anything can happen,” he said. “It depends on whoever holes more putts, and we'll see what happens. I'm excited about that.”
Ross Fisher was the other victorious player in Group D, winning by two against Colombia’s Camilo Villegas.
FIRST-DAY RESULTS
+All matches played over 18 holes.
Numbers in brackets are players' seeding.
Group A
(16) Scott Strange (Aus) bt (1) Paul Casey (Eng) by one hole
(9) Anthony Kim (US) bt (8) Retief Goosen (SAf) by four holes
Kim bt Casey by three holes.
Goosen bt Strange by one hole.
Group B
(13) Oliver Wilson (Eng) bt (4) Sergio Garcia (Spa) 1 hole
(12) Robert Allenby (Aus) bt (5) Martin Kaymer (Ger) 1 hole
Garcia halved with Allenby.
Wilson bt Kaymer 1 hole.
Group C
(14) Simon Dyson (Eng) bt (3) Henrik Stenson (Swe) 3 holes
(11) Angel Cabrera (Arg) bt (6) Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 5 holes
Group D
(15) Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) bt (2) Lee Westwood (Eng) 6 holes
(10) Ross Fisher (Eng) bt (7) Camilo Villegas (Col) 2 holes

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EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR

McArthur lying joint third in Italy Grand Final

From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes
Andrew Tampion’s improbable search for a European Tour card took flight with a round of 66 today which saw him establish a three-shot lead at the midway stage of the European Challenge Tour's Apulia San Domenico Grand Final.
The Australian, currently 39th in the Rankings and without a top 10 finish for four months, sits on six under par, three shots clear of Frenchman Alexandre Kaleka, who, like his playing partner, closed with a birdie in his round of 69.
Welshman Rhys Davies and Swede Peter Gustafsson also signed for rounds of 69 to take a share of third place on two under par alongside Scotland’s Andrew McArthur, who is hoping to climb one place into the top 20 of the Rankings after a series of agonising near-misses in recent seasons.
Needing at least a top three finish this week to stand any chance of securing a return to The European Tour, which he last graced in 2007, Tampion set about his task with relish by collecting birdies at the second, third and fifth holes.
The man from Melbourne shrugged off the disappointment of his only bogey of the day at the sixth hole at San Domenico Golf in Puglia, Italy, to collect a further three birdies after the turn and sign for the joint lowest round of the day.
Tampion said: “I didn’t do anything wrong and managed to hole some putts for a change. I’ve been playing pretty well for the past month or so but haven’t been getting my rewards, so I feel like I’m due. I’ve been hitting 15 or 16 greens most weeks, but only shooting level par or one under. So it was nice to see a few putts drop today, and it’s also just nice to see someone other than Edoardo [Molinari] at the top of the leaderboard – he’s giving us all a chance this week!”
In contrast to Tampion, Davies has enjoyed a hugely impressive campaign, and with his confidence sky high after finishing third at last week’s Italian Federation Cup, he will now seek to round off his first full Challenge Tour season in some style with a third title.
The Bridgend boy opted to spurn the chance of playing at the Barclays Singapore Open on The European Tour in favour of improving his final position in the Challenge Tour Rankings, and the decision looks to have been a wise one.
He said: “It was definitely a bit easier today with less wind, but it’s still a tricky course. You won’t get a much tougher opening hole – I flushed my three wood off the fairway and only just reached the green, so a par there felt like a birdie. After that I just played very solid golf, so hopefully I can keep it going for another two days and round off the season with another win.
“Once I made the decision to come here I didn’t have second thoughts, so I’m fully committed to playing well. It was obviously tempting to play in Singapore instead because of the money on offer, but that can wait for another day. Hopefully there will be plenty of chances to play in big tournaments next season.”
Gustafsson and McArthur, respectively 20th and 21st in the Rankings, will both be hoping to join Davies in The 2010 Race to Dubai, and the duo seem set to carry their private battle into the final two rounds of the season. Just €155 separate the pair in the Rankings, though neither man is tying himself in knots trying to work out the various permutations.
McArthur said: “It was much the same as yesterday – I just tried to give myself as many chances as possible, although I didn’t putt as well. Unfortunately I got off to a slow start again – I only seem to get going once I’m two over! For both of my bogeys I only had a wedge in my hand, which was pretty unforgivable because I should’ve been looking at making birdies, not dropping shots.
“But other than that I played pretty well and drove the ball particularly well, which you have to round here. So that gives me confidence for the final two days. I haven’t given much thought to what might or might not be good enough, because I’ll just end up with a headache.”
Perhaps the most significant move of the day came from Germany’s Christian Günther, who had looked in danger of relinquishing his place in the top 20 after opening with a round of 77. But a round of 66 pulled him right back into contention, as he climbed 31 places into a tie for eighth.
SECOND-ROUND SCOREBOARD
136 A Tampion (Aus) 70 66,
139 A Kaleka (Fra) 70 69,
140 P Gustafsson (Swe) 71 69, A McArthur (Sco) 70 70, R Davies (Wal) 71 69,
141 S Bebb (Wal) 68 73,
142 M Wiegele (Aut) 72 70,
143 C Günther (Ger) 77 66, O Floren (Swe) 72 71, P Whiteford (Sco) 70 73, S Jeppesen (Swe) 72 71, R Coles (Eng) 76 67,
144 A Butterfield (Eng) 70 74, A Hansen (Den) 72 72,
145 C Gane (Eng) 70 75, E Molinari (Ita) 74 71, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 72 73, F Calmels (Fra) 71 74, J Guerrier (Fra) 70 75, G Boyd (Eng) 72 73, J Colomo (Esp) 74 71,
146 J Morrison (Eng) 76 70, A Wagner (Arg) 74 72, Å Nilsson (Swe) 75 71,
147 S Walker (Eng) 76 71, R Steiner (Aut) 75 72, M Zions (Aus) 75 72,
148 C Rodiles (Esp) 76 72, N Colsaerts (Bel) 76 72,
149 J Quesne (Fra) 73 76, A Marshall (Eng) 71 78, J Parry (Eng) 76 73, L James (Eng) 73 76,
150 E Ramsay (Sco) 77 73, R McEvoy (Eng) 78 72, L Gagli (Ita) 76 74,
151 F Praegant (Aut) 77 74, S Manley (Wal) 71 80,
152 G Paddison (Nzl) 80 72, J Lima (Por) 72 80, P Baker (Eng) 76 76,
153 J McLeary (Sco) 75 78,
154 M Tullo (Chi) 73 81,
155 A Gee (Eng) 77 78,
156 F Fritsch (Ger) 77 79,

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EUROPRO TOUR REPORT

Scott Jamieson wins Order of Merit,

Paul Doherty jt 7th behind Simon Lilly

By ANTHONY LEAVER
Wellingborough's Simon Lilly carded a fantastic final round of 65 to win the PGA EuroPro Tour Championship at De Vere Slaley Hall, Northumberland today by seven shots at eight under par – securing his Challenge Tour card in the process.

Glasgow's Scott Jamieson clinched the Order of Merit title to lead the five qualifiers for next season's Challenge Tour.
Lilly played with the duo he shared the overnight lead with – Chris Hanson (Woodsome Hall) and Paul Doherty (Vale Hotel) – but as they struggled to build on the platform they had set, Lilly stormed out of the blocks with four birdies in the first six holes to seize the initiative.
He then matched that birdie salvo on the back nine by picking up a shot at the 10th then three straight birdies from the 13th moved him to nine under for the tournament before a minor blemish in the shape of a bogey at the last saw him finish at eight under par, seven shots ahead of Steve Surry (Cumberwell Park).
“Obviously with three of us tied for the lead I had winning in my mind and I thought that if I shot somewhere in the 60s I would be hard to beat, but to do that today was just unreal,” said Lilly, who finished fifth on the final Order of Merit standings with the £15,000 winner’s cheque to take the final Challenge Tour card.
“I always like being in contention and I was really looking forward to getting out there,” said the 32 year-old, who won the Tour Championship and Order of Merit on the 2004 EuroPro Tour. “I was happy with my game all week, really liked the lay-out of the course and there wasn’t a tee-shot I hit that I didn’t like.”
Hanson’s bid for the title was all over after dropping four shots in his first four holes. He eventually finished eight over for the day and in a tie for 18th spot, while Doherty went round in 75 to finish two over for the tournament and in a three-way tie for sixth with Colin Roope (wstore.co.uk) and Paul Maddy (Gog Magog), who shot a three under par 69 in his final round.
The respective slips from Hanson and Doherty opened the door for Surry to move through the field to take second spot with a two under par final round.

Following rounds of 74 and 71, Surry made his move on the front nine with three birdies and just one bogey – consolidating his position with a level par back nine.
Brian McElhinney (Team Ireland) carded a final round of 69 to finish level for the tournament and move into a tie for third spot with Steven Parry (Bolton). A closing 68 by Matthew Ford (Marriot Tudor Park) saw him claim fifth place at one over par – one stroke clear of Paul Maddy in sixth.
Glasgow's Scott Jamieson secured the Order of Merit title as the top three on the money list prior to the event remained the same, with Tom Haylock (Ground Construction Ltd) finishing second and Daniel Brooks (Mill Hill) taking third spot.

The performances of Surry and Lilly saw them claim fourth and fifth spots respectively to form the quintet achieving their Challenge Tour cards for 2010 through the EuroPro Tour.
The top 15 on the money list will travel to Morocco in December to take part in the Samanah Masters 2009 Satellite Tours Grand Finale at the Samanah Country Club in Marrakesh.

Click here for the full final leaderboard from the Tour Championship: http://europro.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/europro9/event/europro925/index.htm

Click here for the final Order of Merit standings from the 2009 PGA EuroPro Tour: http://europro.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/europro9/poy/oom/index.htm

LEADING FINAL SCORES FROM DE VERE SLALEY HALL

Par 216 (3x72)
208 Simon Lilly 73 70 65 (£15,000).
215 Steve Surry 74 71 70 (£7,500).

216 Brian McElhinney 75 72 69, Steven Parry 73 73 70 (£2,650 each).
217 Matthew Ford 76 73 68 (£1,500).
218 Paul Maddy 73 76 69 (£1,300).
219 James Gill 79 69 71, Colin Roope 73 72 74, Paul Doherty 71 72 76 (£1,000 each).

Other Scots' scores, money:
222 Scott Jamieson 76 75 71 (17th) £460
223 Jack Doherty 73 74, 76 (jt 18th) £400.83
226 Lee Harper 75 77 74 (jt 31st) £292.50
227 Mark Kerr 76 80 71, Elliot Saltman 76 76 75, Duncan Stewart 78 77 72 (jt 33rd) £270

233 Lorne Kelly 78 77 78 (jt 48th) £205
238 Barry Hume 81 77 80 (jt 52nd) £187.50


FINAL TOP 15 ORDER OF MERIT
1 Scott Jamieson £23,492.25
2 Tom Haylock £22,972.41
3 Daniel Brooks £22,274.17
4 Steve Surry £20,922.50
5 Simon Lilly £20,407.02
6 Jack Doherty £17,218.79
7 Paul Dwyer £16,455.00
8 James Busby £15,935.00
9 Elliot Saltman £14,383.57
10 Paul Maddy £14,374.49
11 Graeme Clark £14,245.00
12 Sandeep Grewal £12,031.00
13 Nicky Harris £10,341.83
14 James Ruebotham £9,714.99
15 Matthew Ford £9,662.30

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Poulter sets pace with 66 before rain

and lightning stop Singapore play

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
Ian Poulter was the clubhouse leader at the $5million Singapore Open after firing a five-under-par 66, one ahead of Ernie Els of South Africa and Taiwanese qualifier Chan Yih-shin, before heavy rain and lightning forced the suspension of play halfway through the opening round.
Englishman Poulter, pictured, made six birdies for a five-under par round over the par-71 lay-out at Sentosa Golf Club.
“It was nice,” Poulter said after his round. “There were no mistakes on the back nine and on my front nine, after I bogeyed the first, I started to hit some good shots.”
World No 2 Phil Mickelson, who mixed an eagle and three birdies with three bogeys for a 69, was in a group of seven players at 2-under.
“I putted well today, and as the week goes on I think I will get better and better as I get accustomed to the speed of the greens,” Mickelson said.
Poulter is looking to move up the rankings of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, where he’s currently in 29th place.
The Singapore Open is co-sanctioned by the European and Asian tours.
More than half of the field had not completed the first round when play was suspended for more than two hours in the afternoon due to thunderstorms.
Ireland’s Ryder Cup star Padraig Harrington and Australian Geoff Ogilvy were among the players who will have an early breakfast and complete their first rounds on Friday morning.
PLAYERS WHO COMPLETED FIRST ROUND
Par 71. Players who had still to finish rounds when play was suspended for the day will do so at 7.40am local time on Friday.
66 Ian Poulter
67 Yin-shin Chan (Tpe), Ernie Els (Rsa)
68 Anders Hansen (Den), Kodai Ichihara (Jpn), Thomas Levet (Fra)
69 Phil Mickelson (USA), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Niclas Fasth (Swe), Wen-Tang Lin (Tai), Chih-bing Lam (Sin), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)
70 Wei Chih Lu (Tha), Alexander Noren (Swe), Rick Kulacz (Aus), David Howell, Ted Oh (Kor), Kenichi Kuboya (Jpn)
71 Danny Lee (Nzl), Nicholas Redfern, Graeme McDowell, Scott Barr (Aus), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Peter Lawrie
72 Seung-yul Noh (Kor), Scott Drummond, Mardan Mamat (Sin), Marcus Both (Aus), Justin Rose, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Danny Chia (Mal), Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn), Digvijay Singh (Ind), Adam Blyth (Aus)
73 Terry Pilkadaris (Aus), Johan Edfors (Swe), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Marc Warren, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Sang-moon Bae (Kor), David Bransdon (Aus), Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Gavin Flint (Aus), Paul McGinley
74 Mikael Lundberg (Swe), Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Steven Tiley, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Martin Rominger (Swi), Graeme Storm, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), K J Choi (Kor), Keith Horne (Rsa), Antonio Lascuna (Phi)
75 Frankie Minoza (Phi), Jeppe Huldahl (Den), Tetsuya Haraguchi (Jpn), Mitchell Brown (Aus), Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Jonathan Leong (Sin), Peter Hedblom (Swe), Jason Knutzon (USA), Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa), James Kamte (Rsa), Gregory Havret (Fra)
76 Bryan Saltus (USA), Michael Campbell (Nzl), Simon Griffiths, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa)
77 David Gleeson (Aus), Kenji Cheung (Sin), Koh Deng Shan (Sin)
78 Sung Lee (Pkr), Mark Brown (Nzl)
79 Borworn Chaisri (Tha)

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Disappointed John Gallagher will try

for Alps Tour card next month

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Former Scottish amateur champion John Gallagher is set to turn his back on the PGA EuroPro Tour and try his luck instead next season on the Alps Tour, a circuit comprising events in countries including France, Spain, Italy and Austria.
The 28-year-old, who is attached to Swanston New, is coming to the end of his first full year as a professional and admits he's not done nearly as well as he was hoping.
Despite playing in all but one of the 12 events on the schedule, he finished 69th on the EuroPro Tour Order of Merit with earnings of just over £1,300, missing out on a place in this week's Tour Championship at Slaley Hall.
Gallacher, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency, who has an unorthodox cackhanded grip, also fell at the first hurdle in the qualifying process for the European Tour and has now decided to look to pastures new for next season.
He's heading off to Bari in the south of Italy in the middle of next month and is hoping to come back with a card for the Alps Tour, which, like the EuroPro Tour, is a third-tier circuit in Europe.
"It's been quite a difficult first season for me and, to be honest, it has not gone as well for me as I thought it would," said Gallagher. "After a good start, I had a bad spell in the middle of the year and now it is a case of building for next season.
"The standard on the EuroPro Tour is good but there are things I've encountered that have been a big difference to when I played in amateur events. For instance, it is very frustrating when you make an 8hr drive down to somewhere like Devon, only to find you can't play a practice round due to the fact the course is closed for a pro-am.
"That sort of thing definitely affected me and, having spoken to some of the English guys I used to play amateur golf with, I have decided to give the Alps Tour a try. If I can get my card for that, I will get into 20-odd events next year and, while it might sound a bit daft, I genuinely believe that travelling to countries like France, Italy and Spain will be a lot less stressful than some of the journeys I've had to make this year on the EuroPro Tour.
"It is also cheaper to enter events on the Alps Tour – £85 per tournament compared to £275 per event on the EuroPro Tour."
The first stage of qualifying takes the form of a 36-hole event at Riva Dei Tessali Golf Club, near Bari, on 12-13 November, with the final stage being played over 54 holes at the same venue on 16-18 November.Gallagher, who will need to finish in the top 35 to secure the card he's looking for, added:
"This year has cost me some money but I've been fortunate to have some good sponsors and I'm hoping to persuade them to commit to another year. I won't deny there have been times this year when I've felt lousy about things but my family and friends, including Colin McClung and Stewart Snedden up at Swanston New, have helped me to try and stay positive.
"At the moment, my career may not be as glamorous as it was when an amateur, when I was playing in events like the British Amateur and representing Scotland. But, if I can get my confidence back, I know that I can start shooting those low scores again and I am already looking forward to next year.
"I know what I need to do in Italy next month and I am working hard to get my game as sharp as it can possibly be at this time of the year."

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Michael MacDougall succeeds

Gordon Dewar as Tartan Tour

administration supremo

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY PGA
The PGA today announces two staff changes which will have significance both at its National UK Headquarters and within its Scottish Region which is based at Gleneagles.
Gordon Dewar, who has been secretary to the PGA Scottish Region for the past three years, is leaving his post to join the National Tournament Department at the PGA’s Belfry headquarters.
He has accepted the role of Assistant to the Senior Director and will become a key member of the tournament staff team as the PGA seeks to grow its playing activities for members at all levels.
The vacated position of PGA Scottish Region Secretary will be filled by Michael MacDougall, pictured above, who himself has worked for the past year as a Tournament Director at national level.
This signals a return to Scotland for Michael as he had previously worked in the Scottish Region as a Tournament Controller.
Both Gordon and Michael are excited by the prospect of their new roles.Gordon said: “After working for 10 years within the Scottish Region, I’m now looking forward to fresh challenges in my career and I feel re-energised by the new role.”
Michael is equally thrilled with the prospect of leading the PGA activity within Scotland.
“The Scottish Region has always been the leading region within the PGA and it will be a great privilege and challenge to be at the helm in the years ahead. This is a very exciting time for the PGA with the build up to the 2014 Ryder Cup Match at Gleneagles.”
Alan White, Chairman of the PGA in Scotland and Professional at Lanark Golf Club, said he welcomes the changes.
“Gordon has given great service to Scotland over his ten years on staff and we all wish him well in his new role,” he said.
“Michael MacDougall was always a popular member of staff in Scotland and we welcome him back to this vital role within the PGA and Scotland. I am certain he will do an excellent job.”
Both appointments will officially come into place from January 1, 2010 but the remaining weeks of the year will see Michael and Gordon working closely together to ensure a smooth handover and take up of both roles.

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