Duddingston's Robert Denholm wins Professional's

Trophy with a net 69 in East Alliance at Eyemouth

By KEITH LIDDLE
Secretary, Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance.
Eighty-seven competitors played in today's East Alliance outing to Eyemouth Golf Club in fine sunny conditions.
Overall winner of the Professional's Trophy was Robert Denholm (Duddingston) with a net 69 off five of a handicap.
The scratch section was won by Bathgate professional Stuart Callan with a two-under-par 70. Stuart got off to a great start with birdies at the second, third and ninth to be out in three under par 32.
Things were a bit tougher on the back nine, however. Stuart dropped shots at the 10th, 14th and 15th, but birdied the 13th and 18th for a one over par 38.
Sharing second place on 71 were Scott Grieve (Turnhouse) and Ross Neill (Drumpellier). Scott had four birdies (fifth, 10th, 16th and 18th) and three dropped shots (fourth, seventh and 15th). Ross had five birdies (first, second, fourth, 13th and 18th), two bogeys (fifth and sixth) and a double (15th).
Joint fourth were Alan Reid (West Lothian) and Terry Mathieson (King's Acre) on level par.
Robert Denholm won the handicap section and the overall competition with a gross 74, less 5, for a net 69. Robert played the front nine in one under par 34 with a birdie at the eighth.
On the tough back nine he dropped shots at 11th, 15th and 16th holes to be back in 40.
Five players shared second spot on net 73: Andrew Rothney (Deer Park) off one, Kenny Reid (West Lothian) off 2, Steven Doyle (Gifford) off 4, Roy Murray (West Lothian) off 8, and Peter Jeffrey (Duddingston) off 13.
Next week's outing is the men's greensomes over the Braids Hills No.1 course in Edinburgh. Edinburgh Thistle Golf Club are our hosts, their clubhouse overlooks the first tee.

LEADING SCRATCH
Par 72
70 Stuart Callan (Bathgate) p £100.
71 Scott Grieve (Turnhouse) p, Neill Ross (Drumpellier) p £70 each.
72 Alan Reid (West Lothian) p, Terry Mathieson (King's Acre) p £30 each.
LEADING HANDICAP
69 Robert Denholm (Duddingston) (5) £100 voucher.
73 Andrew Rothney (Deer Park) (1), Kenneth Reid (West Lothian) (2), Steven Doyle (Gifford) (4), Roy Murray (West Lothian) (8), Peter Jeffrey (Duddingston) (13) £40 voucher each.
TRAINEE PROFESSIONAL
74 Alan Mackay (Pumpherston) £20.
SENIOR
74 David McKean (Cardrona) £20 voucher.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC PGA NATIONAL PRO-AM CHAMPIONSHIP
Grand Final at Antalya Golf Club, Turkey
FINAL TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71
130 Darren Leng & Phillip Killey (Far Grange Park) 64 66, Peter Laugher & Harry Millburn-Fryer (Thurlestone) 68 62 (Far Grange Park bt Thurlestone in play-off)
133 Graeme Bell & Denis Wing (Eaglescliffe) 66 67.
134 Darren Charlton & David Wyllie (Dunstable Downs) 67 67, Matthew Paget & Michael Cardinal (Royal Mid Surrey) 67 67.
135 Graham Farr & Don Hooper (Worcester) 71 64, Gavin Cook & David Kidd (Prestonfield) 69 66.
137 John Dwyer & Fran Meehan (Ashbourne) 71 66.
138 Martin O'Connor & Jonathan Wood (Whiston Hall) 71 67, Gary Carter & Ian Cottee (Five Lakes) 70 68.
139 Matthew Ulyett & Michael Brown (Park Hill) 73 66, Scott Catlin & Nicky Ferguson (Greenburn) 72 67.
140 Mark Rowe & Lee Goodman (Carlyon Bay) 73 67.
141 Ian Benson & Simon Marvell (Hindhead) 73 68, Richard Fox & Mark Stokes (Deangate Ridge) 70 71.
148 Nicholas Rodgers & Simeon Stewart (Came Down) 74 74.

Garcia wants to be next Spanish winner of Qatar Masters

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ALAN EWENS
Superstar Sergio Garcia will be looking to keep the Spanish flag at the top of the leader board when he joins the defending champion and fellow Spaniard Alvaro Quiros at the 2010 Commercialbank Qatar Masters, presented by Dolphin Energy, next month.
Twenty-nine year-old Garcia was one of several Spanish players waiting to congratulate Quiros at the end of his championship-winning round at Doha Golf Club earlier this year.
And nothing would give the world number ten more pleasure so early in the season as lifting the prestigious Mother of Pearl trophy – although the ritual champion’s soaking in the lake fringing the 18th green may not be so appealing.
The 2010 season is also important to Garcia – one of the most popular players in the world game – for the not so small matter of the Ryder Cup Matches which get underway later in the year at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales.
“Sergio is such a passionate and charismatic player in events like the Ryder Cup, which is why he is also one of the most popular players we see competing each year in Qatar,” said Qatar Golf Association (QGA) President Hassan Al Nuami.
Along with the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and title sponsors Commercialbank, the QGA will help stage the tournament at Doha Golf Club from January 28-31.
“This will be the fourth year in a row he has played in Qatar, which maintains our track record of being able to entice the very best players in the world to Doha Golf Club.”
Now in its thirteenth year, the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, Presented by Dolphin Energy, will see a 120-strong field fight it out over the tough 7,388-yard Doha Golf Club with its unpredictable desert winds.
“The tournament has rightly become Qatar’s premier sporting occasion,” said Commercialbank Group CEO Andrew Stevens.
“Every year we try to introduce new players to the region as well as provide a field as strong as any on the European Tour. Sergio Garcia is one of the most successful and admired players in the world and we look forward to welcoming him and the other big players and rising stars back to Doha Golf Club.”

Castle Stuart 'best new international golf course'

Castle Stuart, the Mark Parsinen-designed new links course near Inverness Airport - between Inverness and Nairn, has been awarded the title of ‘Best New International Golf Course for 2009’ anywhere in the world by the Golf.com website.
Click on this link to read the article:
http://www.golf.com/golf/courses_travel/article/0,28136,1945796,00.html
and scroll down to read the review of the course by Press and Journal staff writer Dave Edwards.

Billy is the Main man in North-east Alliance

over 16-hole course at Portlethen

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
The last North-east Golfers’ Alliance fixture of the year produced an amateur 1-2-3 finish over a 16-hole par 63 course at Portlethen Golf Club today (Wednesday).
With the second and third holes not in use, Billy Main (Murcar Links) topped the field of 83 with a round of 60, but only by one shot from Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon) with Steven Sharp (Newburgh) third on 62.
Main birdied the first, fourth, fifth and 18th and dropped only one shot, at the par-3 10th in halves of 24 (three under par) and 36 (level par).
Duncan, one of a handful of former US college circuit players who are making their mark on their return, made a moderate start with bogeys at the fourth and sixth but but he went on to birdie the seventh, ninth, 11th, 13th and 18th in halves of 27 and 34 for a two-under 61.
Later bogeys at the 10th, 14th and 16th cost the Ellon man victory.
Sharp achieved his 62 with halves of 26-36, birdieing the fourth, eighth and 18th but bogeying the ninth and 16th.
Professionals Ian Bratton (Newburgh) and Hamish Love (Oldmeldrum) went out last at 12.30 and got round in almost 3hr precisely. Bratton, whose late start enabled to watch an offspring’s school nativity play in the morning, finished joint fourth with Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) on level par 63, despite double bogeys at the 10th, 12th and 13th He compensated with an eagle at the fourth and birdies at the first, fifth, ninth, 14th, 15th and 18th in halves of 23 and 40.
The next meeting is at Craibstone Golf Centre on Wednesday, January 6.
LEADING SCORES
16-hole course, par 63.
SCRATCH
60 W Main (Murcar Links).
61 K Duncan (McDonald Ellon).
62 S Sharp (Newburgh).
63 K Nicol (Fraserburgh), I Bratton (Newburgh).
64 C Stephen (Meldrum House), P McIntosh (Bon Accord).
65 D Corkey (Murcar Links), A K Pirie (Hazlehead), J Forbes (Aboyne), J Nicolson (Auchmill), C Stewart (Kippie Lodge), D Leighton (Northern), R Lamb (Newmachar), H Love (Oldmeldrum)..
66 A Campbell (Deeside), C Duffus (Kemnay), P McLean (Peterhead), S Chalmers (Banchory).
67 A J Smith (Turriff), I Taylor (Stonehaven) G Mitchell junior (Braemar), I Taylor (Stonehaven), G Leslie (Hazlehead), M Merchant (Newmachar), R Pirie (Caledonian).
68 G Mitchell (Braemar), K Beveridge (Aboyne), D Clark (Duff House Royal), L Fowler (Royal Aberdeen), C Robb (Inchmarlo), A Dunton (McDonald Ellon).
69 B Harper (Newburgh), C Cassie (Nigg Bay), J Dalgarno (Hazlehead), M Jenkins (Duff House Royal).
70 S Cooper (Banchory), D Naylor (Banchory), J Borthwick (Craibstone), P Lovie (P1 Incorporate), J Duncan (Newburgh), R Bruce (Aboyne), D McKay (Caledonian).
HANDICAP
Class 1 – S Sharp (Newburgh) (4) 57; W Main (Murcar Links) (1) 59; P McIntosh (Bon Accord) (4) 60; C Duffus (Kemnay) (5), J Forbes (Aboyne) (4), J Nicolson (Auchmill) (4), D Leighton (Northern) (4), R Lamb (Newmachar) (4), K Duncan (McDonald Ellon) (scr) 61; D Corkey (Murcar Links) (2), A J Smith (Turriff) (4), J Borthwick (Craibstone) (67), J Dalgarno (Hazlehead) (6), I Taylor (Stonehaven) (4), L Fowler (Royal Aberdeen) (5), A K Pirie (Hazlehead) (2), G Leslie (Hazlehead) (4), M Merchant (Newmachar) (4) 63.
Class 2 – J Scott (Peterculter) (9) 63; M Booth (Kemnay) (11) 64; D Townsley (Peterculter) (13) 65; R Alison (Deeside) (13), R Brown (Craibstone) (11), A Petrie (Oldmeldrum) (9), D Randall (Banchory) (12) 67; J Penny (Huntly) (12), B Lumsden (Northern) (12) 68; C Sinclair (Aboyne) (12), N Stewart (Northern) (11) 69; M Brown (Craibstone) (16), I Grant (Huntly) (16) 72; S Davidson (Northern) (12), G Allan (Newmachar) (9) 72.

PORTLETHEN WINTER COURSE (Holes Nos 2 & 3rd not in play). Par 63
OUT: 4-X-X-5-3-4-4-3-4 -- 27. IN: 3-4-3-5-4-4-4-4-5 -- 36

LEADING SCORECARDS TODAY
BILLY MAIN 60
OUT: 3-X-X-4-2-4-4-3-4--24. IN: 4-4-3-5-4-4-4-4-4--36.
KEVIN DUNCAN 61
OUT: 4-X-X-6-3--5-3-3-3--27. IN: 4-3-3-4-3-4-5-4-4--34.
STEVEN SHARP 62
OUT: 4-X-X-4-3-4-4-2-5--26. IN: 3-4-3-5-4-4-5-4-4--36.
KRIS NICOL 63
OUT: 4-X-X-4-3-4-4-3-4--26. IN: 2-5-3-5-4-5-4-3-6--37
IAN BRATTON 63
OUT: 3-X-X-3-2-5-4-3-3--23. IN: 5-4-5-7-3-3-5-4-4--40

Designer of Kingsbarns has done

it again with creation of Castle

Stuart links course near Nairn

FROM THE PRESS AND JOURNAL
By DAVE EDWARDS
Donald Trump's controversial plans for a multi-million £ golf resort on the Menie Estate, near Balmedie north of Aberdeen, made international headlines and divided councils and communities.
Just 100 miles west along the north-east coast, another American's golfing dream slipped quietly under the radar.
After six years of planning, Mark Parsinen's Castle Stuart development, a 425-acre slice of farmland on the shores of the Moray Firth and in the shadow of a 17th century castle and with views of Kessock Bridge and the Chanonry lighthouse is now a reality.
The critically-acclaimed championship course is in its infancy, having only opened on July 13.
Almost 150 lodges are due to be finished next year and the 57-room luxury hotel and spa is expected to be completed by the spring of 2012.
A second 18-hole links course is also planned.
Like tycoon Trump, Parsinen, pictured above, does not do things by half.
His first venture into course design on this side of the pond was Kingsbarns, now firmly entrenched as one of the world's leading 100 courses after only a decade of life.
Even before the now famous Fife links had been played in earnest, its creator was scouring the Scottish coastline to find an even better site.
In 2003, he found Castle Stuart (between Inverness and The Nairn golf course).
Parsinen and his team have created a course there whch, like Kingsbarns, looks as if it has always been there and the art-decor style clubhouse also melts into the surrounding dunes.
The man from Minnesota said as soon as he set eyes on this stretch of Moray Firth coastline he knew instantly his search was at an end.
He has also tramped the dunes which years later Trump would identify as home to his own development.
Parsinen said: "I looked north of Embo and around Inverness but it was purely by accident that I stumbled across this side.
"On a trip to Cawdor Estates, a friend, who was a consultant for the project they were hoping to develop, said I really should have a look down the road, by the (Inverness) airport, at Castle Stuart.
"After only 15 minutes on site I saw the things which are important to me. When you look for a site for four years and you find it, it doesn't take long (to realise it) and after 15 minutes I knew this was it.
"In that short time I could visualise the kind of holes I could do, imagine holes, tees and greens down on the water and against the top of the sea cliff, where it appears you are on the water. It gives the course Pebble Beach-like charactersistics.
He added: "My wife and I walked the coast all the way from Aberdeen along to Cruden Bay and through the Menie Estate without knowing it. We liked everything but, for me, the perfect site may be very different from Donald Trump's perfect site.
"I was looking for elevation differential, access to views of the sea and landmarks in your pesspective.
"The Menie Estate has these amazing dunes, not unlike Cruden Bay, but to me there is a sameness about the site which makes it difficult to do the kind of things I like to do. Menie was't for me and was quickly discarded."
Parsinen said his affinity with Scotland and the Scots was a factor in Castle Stuart becoming a reality (as a golf course).
He said: " I was a student at the London School of Economics in the late 60s and had worked professionally on and off in the UK for years, so by the time I did Kingsbarns, my wife, who is from Calfornia, and I were very comfortable in this country.
"I had been playing golf in the Higlands since 1969, I've been a lifelong lover of links golf and I've been living on and off in the UK for a very long time. I've had children born here and our best friends are Britons.
"We are very comfortable here and this gives us a different perspective on what local councils are looking for.
"When we first came, our first goal was to fit into the local community. We spent a lot of time talking with planners and councill0rs about what would be good, what we were planning to do, so when the first application went in we already know what the issues were. We modified our thinking and our plans so it had a higher probability of receiving a warm reception.
"In October 2004 my wife and I moved into the farmhouse on site and we've lived here for the better part ever since, spending time with neighbours and making friends. By understanding the fabric of a local commuity, you can do something people will embrace.
"I love to build golf courses, I love links and this is the bst site I've ever seen. This is my life's work. When that is the case, you go the extra mile."
Parsinen believes his hands-on approach works and added: "I know Donald Trump. I have an apartment in Manhattan and his office is only three blocks away.
"Donald may have as many as 25 projects on the go at the same time, Menie Estate being one. He is a golfer who has numerous courses in some form of development. He has armies of people working for him and, although they are very professional, I am on site."
To protect the links and following the precedent set at Kingsbarns, the Castle Stuart course closed on November 30 and will not open again until April 1.

Inverness Fairways Target Golf Leagues

By Neil D. Hampton
Golf & Marketing Director
Loch Ness Golf Course
Web: www.golflochness.com
It was tense and exciting finish to the Monday night league with the destination of the league title not being decided until the final ball!
The Loch Ness Juniors and BM Trucks were tied at the top on points but the Juniors had the superior shots scored record so as long as they had the same result on the night as the Trucks the title would be theirs.
The Trucks came out with all guns blazing but so did their opposition, the Parahandies, and the Trucks had to produce one of their best scores of the season to secure the points and put the pressure on the Juniors.
It was Orion that the Trucks were looking to in their game against the Juniors but their hopes took a dive as Orion could only muster three players who fought hard in the face of adversity and compiled a great total of 58.
The Juniors have only failed to score less than this just three times this season but with one of their top players in plaster they just couldn’t find their “A” game and could only muster a total of 56, two shots shy of the Orion total.
Just one more ball would have been enough to surpass Orion and take the win and their third consecutive league title. However, it is the Trucks who find themselves at the top of the table and have their first ever Target Golf League honour.
At the other end the Neverwillbees couldn’t quite claim fifth spot from the Sainties even though they won their game against them. Both finished on 10 points but the Sainties' shots scored total for the season was just seven more than the Neverwillbees (less than one shot per game!) and gave them the fifth place and title of best of the rest.
Results:
BM Trucks 61 – 43 Parahandies.
The Neverwillbees 17 – 12 The Sainties.
Orion 58 – 56 Loch Ness Juniors.
Three Men and a Caddy (Bye) 38.

TUESDAY NIGHT LEAGUE SUMMARY
With the Tuesday league title decided last week it was the final play-off spot that was up for grabs. King Kenyon’s Klan just needed a win to secure the spot and they did this in style with the night’s top score of 78.
This takes nothing away from their opposition, the Muirton Marvels, who put up a spirited fight and have matured into a very solid target golf team – look for them to mount a serious challenge in the Spring league.
Fairways might have snatched the final play-off place had King Kenyon slipped up but Fairways own dismal form continued and they could only score 14 which made the Luckless Leadbetters' job easier as they failed to make an impression with a poor total of 31.
At the other end of the table the Coastguards and Fairhurst faced up for the wooden spoon battle in a winner-avoids-the-spoon clash and it was Fairhurst who consigned the Coastguards to the bottom with a fine 37, nearly twice the Coastguards' total.
The Senior Moments and the Mad Drivers were also just playing for final league position and it was the Senior Moments who rose to the occasion with their personal best for the season to take the two points and leapfrog the Mad Drivers into fifth spot.
Results:
Fairways 14 – 31 Luckless Leadbetters.
Mad Drivers 22 – 67 Senior Moments.
King Kenyon’s Klan 78 – 42 Muirton Marvels.
Fairhurst Fore 37 – 19 Coastguards.

The Top Team Play-off takes place TONIGHT (Wednesday) and will be contested by BM Trucks, Loch Ness Juniors, Luckless Leadbetters and King Kenyon’s Klan. Following that it will be the Captain’s Cup where the team captains will play by themselves to find the best individual.

HOW THEY FINISHED

MONDAY NIGHT LEAGUE
1 BM Trucks 16
2 Loch Ness Juniors 14
3 Orion 12
4 Parahandies 11
5 The Sainties 10
6 Neverwillbees 10
7 Three Men and a Caddy 7

TUESDAY NIGHT LEAGUE
1 Luckless Leadbetters 17
2 King Kenyon's Klan 14
3 Fairways 11
4 Muirton Marvels 10
5 Senior Moments 10
6 Mad Drivers 9
7 Fairhurst Fore 6
8 Coastguards 3

Michael Sim, now in world top 50, has key of


the door to World Championships, Majors

FROM THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA WEBSITE
Young gun Michael Sim says he'll be working hard mentally to put aside several distractions at this week's Australian PGA Championship as he strives to top the Australasian PGA Tour order of merit and earn a start in the four majors next year.
The Aberdeen-born 25-year-old had a stellar 2009 season, winning three times on the Nationwide Tour to gain automatic promotion to the PGA Tour and also recently taking out player of the year honours on America's secondary tour.
With a spot on the US PGA Tour locked up for 2010 Sim could also force his way into the four majors if he retains the spot in the top 50 that he grabbed as of last weekend while as the pacesetter in the race for the money list title he can also earn starts in the World Golf Championships events if he remains there.
But while his sixth placing at last week's Australian Open at La Perouse in Sydney would seem to indicate that he's in the form to achieve those goals, the Western Australian admitted on Wednesday that he hasn't been entirely focused and his game has suffered.
"It would be nice to win the order of merit but I've just got to put that in the back of my mind and just think about my golf game," Sim said after playing in the pro-am at Coolum on Wednesday.
"It's been good all year and I was thinking about it today, the order of merit and top 50 and I didn't really play great golf today in the pro-am."
"To be honest I struggled a little bit last week (at the Australian Open), I got away with a few drives."
"I'm just thinking too much about my technique right now and then add the order of merit and the top-50 stuff on top of that (and) it's hard to hit good golf shots."
"I've just got to get back to my routines and just playing the golf course (and) just leave all that other stuff that you can't control in the back of my mind."
Planning to spend some time at the beach and also take it easy in the afternoon to complete his preparation for the PGA, Sim also admitted how keen he is for a US Masters debut at Augusta National next April even if he won't go there with massive expectations at least the first time.
"I've just watched it as a kid since I was 10 years old with Dad and it's definitely a dream of mine to get to the Masters and obviously a dream to win," he added.
"A lot of people say I've got a good game for the Masters, I shape the ball and my short game's good."
"(But) you watch the Masters on TV and it's one of those courses that looks like you've got to know the course, there's not too many first-time winners that go there."
"I think mentally I've come a long way the past 12 months, I'm starting to believe in myself a lot more."
"Everything's just coming around ... I feel like I've got a great team around me now and hopefully one day I can win a major whether it's next year or two years down the track."
Living close to Geoff Ogilvy in Scottsdale, Arizona, Sim has spent a fair bit of time with the defending Australian PGA champion who rates his younger compatriot very highly and tips big things from him in the future.
"He's a pretty driven bloke with a lot of talent and that's a pretty good combination," Ogilvy said of Sim.
"He's a pretty wise golfer already for 25."
"And he's got that second half of '08 on the US Tour so he's played enough US Tour events to not be overawed by the situation and he's been playing well so I can't imagine he's going to do anything but well next year."

Gatorade becomes first company to drop Tiger Woods

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By ALEX SPILLUS and ANITA SINGH
Gatorade has become the first company to drop its endorsement of Tiger Woods since his wholesome image began to unravel amid reports of multiple affairs.
The company, however, said that the decision to discontinue its Tiger Woods sports drink product was "made months ago.
In a statement, the PepsiCo-owned company said: "We decided several months ago to discontinue Gatorade Tiger Focus along with some other products to make room for our planned series of innovative products in 2010."