Saturday, December 19, 2009

Peter Lowe will be Lothians' SGU representative

Peter Lowe (Longniddry) will take over from Bert Leslie as the Lothians' representative on the Scottish Golf Union when the latter becomes president of that organisation next month.
Leslie, a former Lothians president from Bathgate, is due to succeed Ian Ross at the SGU's annual general meeting.

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Florida monsoon weather delays start of Dixie

Amateur championship by 24 hours.

Bad weather in December is not the preserve of the British Isles.
You can read on http://www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk/ that rain and snow in south-east Spain resulted in no play today in the second round of the Ladies European Tour Final Qualifying School at La Manga.
And over in Florida, the Dixie Amateur championship - won last year by Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) - should have started today but didn't because, to quote the championship website "Ten inches of rain in 12 hours is a bit out of the ordinary."
The Dixie Amateur championship is a four-stroke stroke-play tournament.
The first round has been put back to Sunday. The second round will be played on Monday and, for those who make the halfway cut, it will be a busy day on Tuesday when the last two rounds will be played back-to-back.
Scots competing in the event are US college students James Byrne (Banchory & Arizona State University) and Peter Latimer (Markinch & Guilford College, North Carolina). Peter, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency, reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish amateur championship at Royal Troon back at the end of July.

The Scots who have made their way out from this country to compete at Heron Bay Golf Club, Coral Springs in Florida are Ross Kellett (Colville Park), his first outing since he reached the final of the Argentina open amateur championship, and Steve McEwan (Caprington).

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Richie Ramsay five behind pacemaking Pablo

with a round to go in South African Open

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Spaniard Pablo Martin endured mixed fortunes in the third round of the South African Open Championships at Pearl Valley Golf Estates, Western Cape today, but ended it where he started - on course for a second successive victory.
The 23 year old somehow scrambled his way to a level par 72 and with a closing birdie returned to 11 under par 205 and a one stroke lead over Italian Edoardo Molinari.
Martin's ball hit a spectator on the head when his approach shot flew over the green at the seventh, but the former British boys' open champion holed a 20ft par-saving effort.
Then, after bogeying the next two holes and falling into a tie with compatriot Alejandro Cañizares, Pablo made an outrageous birdie at the short 12th when his tee shot, heading for the water, hit a rock and came out.
Winner of the Alfred Dunhill Championship last Sunday, Martin could not escape from a wild drive down the 14th and double bogeyed, but he battled on and got his reward with a chip-and-putt birdie 4 on the 601yd last hole.
“The ball was going to some house on seven, and he (the spectator) kept me in play,” said Martin. “I got up and down from there. I gave him the ball and told him we could have a few beers later.”
Having battled to keep his game on track, Martin even decided to use his driver off the fairway on the 18th in an attempt to reverse his fortunes.
“I couldn’t get the green with a three wood, so I thought, ‘What the heck. Maybe it hits a tree and goes in the hole.’ Nothing bad can happen to me today,” he laughed.
“I can’t believe that either,” said the Spaniard from Malaga of the fact that he leads going into the final round.
While Pablo looks to make it two wins out of two - and this only a month after nearly losing his European Tour card - Molinari is seeking an amazing fifth victory in his last eight starts.
The 28 year old, round in a three under 69 despite having a double bogey himself on the seventh, needs only a top nine finish to move into the world's top 50 for the first time.
It would enable him to join his brother Francesco - they won the Omega Mission Hills World Cup together last month - in the Masters Tournament at Augusta next April, but the title would also take him fourth on Europe's Ryder Cup table.
That would be a stunning achievement for a player who played most of the year on the Challenge Tour, but since topping their money list he has won in Japan and China.
“I’ve played really well the last couple of months, and last week as well,” said Molinari.
“Finally this week, I started making a couple of putts, so I’m in a good position going into Sunday.”
Joint third are Denmark's Anders Hansen, Swede Fredrik Andersson Hed and South African James Kingston, winner two years ago.
Cañizares, son of former Ryder Cup player Jose Maria, took seven on the 13th as he fell to joint ninth five behind.
Alongside him are Aberdeen's Richie Ramsay, back in form with a third-round 68 for six-under 210, Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey and Louis Oosthuizen, who got the home fans cheering when he moved into third place, but then had an air shot over a tap-in bogey putt at the seventh.
His club caught the ground rather than the ball and he immediately told playing partner Cañizares he had taken a stroke.
American Hale Irwin did the same thing in the third round of the 1983 Open Championship at Birkdale and lost to Tom Watson by one stroke the following day.
Callum Macaulay, after a hole in one on Friday, lost ground with a 73 for 212.

THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
205 Pablo Martin (Spa) 65 68 72
206 Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 68 69 69
207 Anders Hansen (Den) 66 69 72, James Kingston (Rsa) 72 66 69, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 71 68 68
208 Shiv Kapur (Ind) 71 68 69
209 Michiel Bothma (Rsa) 68 73 68, Chris Swanepoel (Rsa) 72 69 68
210 Richie Ramsay 67 75 68, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 69 67 74, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 68 69 73, Michael Hoey 70 70 70
211 Richard Bland 73 72 66, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 69 71 71, Jean Hugo (Rsa) 72 69 70
212 Damien McGrane 69 72 71, Scott Dunlap (USA) 72 70 70, Adilson Da Silva (Bra) 69 69 74, Soren Hansen (Den) 70 72 70, Dawie Van der Walt (Rsa) 65 73 74, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 73 71 68, Simon Khan 73 71 68, Callum Macaulay 70 69 73, Jbe Kruger (Rsa) 72 71 69, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 68 75 69
213 Brandon Pieters (Rsa) 74 69 70, Jacques Blaauw (Rsa) 69 75 69, Richard McEvoy 71 69 73, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 76 69 68, Marc Cayeux (Zim) 73 72 68, Sam Hutsby 71 73 69, David Drysdale 75 70 68, Peter Karmis (Rsa) 70 73 70, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 69 74 70
214 Grant Muller (Rsa) 72 72 70, Andrew Coltart 74 67 73, Andre Cruse (Rsa) 72 71 71, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 70 71 73, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 71 69 74, David Hewan (Rsa) 77 68 69
215 Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe) 71 73 71, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 77 68 70, Joost Luiten (Ned) 73 69 73, Gareth Maybin 75 68 72, Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa) 76 67 72, Rhys Davies 73 70 72, George Coetzee (Rsa) 74 67 74, John Bickerton 73 70 72, Dion Fourie (Rsa) 71 72 72, Carl Suneson (Spa) 71 70 74, Gary Murphy 75 69 71, Louis Moolman (Rsa) 70 74 71, Richard Finch 68 71 76, Dylan Frittelli (Rsa) 69 74 72
216 Ulrich Van Den Berg (Rsa) 69 73 74, Steve Basson (Rsa) 73 70 73, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 64 74 78, Garth Mulroy (Rsa) 72 72 72, Branden Grace (Rsa) 72 70 74, Kenneth Ferrie 71 70 75, Robert Rock 71 74 71, Keith Horne (Rsa) 71 72 73
217 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 74 70 73, Oliver Bekker (Rsa) 72 72 73, Paul Waring 73 72 72, Markus Brier (Aut) 71 74 72, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 74 70 73, Doug McGuigan 70 75 72
218 J G Claassen (Rsa) 74 69 75, T C Charamba (Zim) 73 72 73, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 79 65 74
219 Thabang Simon (Rsa) 75 70 74, James Morrison 72 73 74
220 Peter Whiteford 73 72 75, Lindani Ndwandwe (Rsa) 72 73 75
221 Alan McLean 69 73 79, Tyrone Ferreira (Rsa) 71 71 79, James Kamte (Rsa) 70 74 77, Ryan Dreyer (Rsa) 73 72 76
223 Marco Ruiz (Par) 74 70 79

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North-east Alliance mid-season statistics


Graham Gordon and Scott Larkin

top prizewinners so far this season

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Graham Gordon (unattached) is the leading professional money-winner and Banchory's Scott Larkin the leading amateur voucher-winner over the first half of the North-east Golfers' Alliance season which will resume at Craibstone Golf Centre on Wednesday, January 6.
Gordon, pictured first right, a Walker Cup player and Scottish champion as an amateur, has won £300 todate in the 2009-2010 season, when the number of playing opportunities was reduced with bad-weather postponements and cancellations.
Newburgh club pro Ian Bratton is close behind Gordon with £250 to his credit.
Former US college circuit player Larkin, pictured above on right, who has a +2 rating, has won £250 in vouchers over the same period, just ahead of another +2 amateur Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) with £240.
Dunton has the best scoring figures for the first half of the season, being -0.7 on average over a weekly CSS worked out by secretary Ron Menzies. Larkin is next with an average of -0.3.
In the handicap order of merit, Northern amateur David Leighton, who plays off four, has been only 0.1, on average, over the CSS.
MID-SEASON STATS LEADERS
(by courtesy of Ron Menzies)
PROFESSIONALS' MONEY WON
Graham Gordon (unattached) £300.
Ian Bratton (Newburgh) £250.
Colin Nelson (MacKenzie Club) £100.
Ryan Fitzpatricdk (Inchmarlo) £70.
AMATEURS' VOUCHERS WON
Scott Larkin (Banchory) £250.
Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) £240.
Derek Randall (Banchory) £211.
Stewart Pert (Huntly) £195.
Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) £140.
Billy Main (Murcar Links) £130.
Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon) £130.
David Leighton (Northern) £126.
Mike Booth (Kemnay) £126.
Paul McIntosh (Bon Accord) £120.
Anthony Bews (Murcar Links) £120.
Jim Scott (Peterculter) £113.
Philip McLean (Peterhead) £110.
Adam Lindsay (Banchory) £100.
Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh) £100.
James Duncan (Newburgh) £98.
Neish Chisholm (Kemnay) (90.
David Law (Hazlehead) (£90.
Glen Taylor (Hazlehead) £90.
ORDER OF MERIT STROKE-PLAY (Gross)
Average scratch score in relation to CSS
Adam Dunton (McDonald) -0.7
Scott Larkin (Banchory) -0.3
Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) 0.2.
Graham Gordon (Unatt) 0.3.
Philip McLean (Peterhead) 0.3.
Ian Bratton (Newburgh) 0.9.
Colin Nelson (MacKenzie Club) 2.2.
Stewart Pert (Huntly) 3.l3.
Andrew Campbell (Deeside) 3.4.
Barry Brooks (Meldrum House) 4.1
Paul McIntosh (Bon Accord) 4.2.
Stewart Finnie (Caledonian) 4.3.
John Nicolson (Auchmill) 4.7.
Fergus Bisset (Banchory) 4.8.
Mike Jenkins (Duff House Royal 5.0
ORDER OF MERIT STROKE-PLAY (handicap)
Average net score in relation to CSS
David Leighton (Northern) (handicap 4) 0.1.
John Nicolson (Auchmill) (4) 0.7.
Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon) (scr) 1.0.
Paul McIntosh (Bon Accord) (4) 1.1.
James Duncan (Newburgh) (4) 1.2.
Stewart Pert (Huntly) (2) 1.3.
John Dalgarno (Hazlehead) (6) 1.3.
Mike Booth (Kemnay) (11) 1.3.
Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) (+2) 1.7.
Steven Sharp (Newburgh) (12) 1.8.
Brian Harper (Newburgh) (13) 2.09.
Charles Cassie (Nigg Bay) (5) 2.90.
Manson Merchant (Newmachar) (4) 2.l3.
Derek Randall (Banchory) (12) 2.3.
John Borthwick (Craibstone) (17) 2.4.
Albert Smith (Turriff) (4) 2.6.
Les Fowler (Royal Aberdeen) (5) 2.8.
Fergus Bisset Banchory) (2) 2.8.
John Hamilton (Murcar Links (6) 2.9.

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Tiger Woods named US Tour player of the year

Tiger Woods has been named the United States PGA Tour Player of the Year.
It is the 10th time that Woods has collected the Jack Nicklaus Trophy, and his first since 2007.
Woods was recognised by his fellow professionals for his achievements in returning to action from knee surgery, as he won six tournaments out of 17 started. Woods also had three top-10 finishes during the play-offs.
Australian Marc Leishman, 26, won the Rookie of the Year award.
"Congratulations to Tiger and Marc for their accomplishments in 2009," said US PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem.
"Both players enjoyed outstanding seasons capped off by success in the play-offs. The recognition by their peers is the one of the highest compliments a PGA Tour member can receive."

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US PGA Tour's 2010 schedule has only one fewer

tournament and a drop of $3.9million in prize money

The US PGA Tour is riding out the Recession comparatively well - a lot better than the LPGA Tour, when it comes to holding on to its sponsors and tournaments.
The US PGA Tour will have one fewer tournament and a $3.9 million drop in prize money in 2010 compared with this year.
Yesterday, it released the dates for the four tournaments in the Fall Series, along with prize money for the regular tour events.
If the majors and The Players Championship keep their prize money even, the total purse for next year will be $270.8 million, down from $274.7 million this year.
The difference primarily is the loss of the Milwaukee tournament and its $4 million purse. And while 10 tournaments have purse increases, the Turning Stone Resort Championship has lowered its purse from $6 million to $4 million. That event is moving from the Fall Series to the same week as the World Golf Championship at Firestone.
The US PGA Tour says it has 46 tournaments on its schedule that count toward official money. That presumably includes a tournament to be announced during the Fall Series.
For the second straight year, the HSBC Champions in Shanghai will not count toward the PGA Tour money list, even though it is a World Golf Championship recognised fully by every other tour in the world. That event has a $7 million purse, while another unofficial event sanctioned by the US PGA Tour, the Asia Pacific Golf Classic in Malaysia, offers a $6 million purse.
The US season for 2010 begins on January 7 with the SBS Championship on Maui, and concludes November 14 at Disney.

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