BYRNE LOSES WAGR TOP BRIT HONOUR TO NIXON

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Banchory's James Byrne, who will be home shortly from Arizona University for the Christmas holidays, has temporarily lost the honour of being the leading British and Irish player in the RandA World Amateur Golf Rankings.
That has been taken over by the 2006 British boys' champion Matthew Nixon - he won that title at Royal Aberdeen - who has gone up five places on the back of his performance alongside the professionals in the European Tour Final Qualifying School.
Nixon earned playing rights on the European Tour next season but has not yet relinquished his amateur status. He is also on the short leet for the GB and I Walker Cup line-up to play the Americans at Balgownie next year, but there would seem to be no way he is going to win European Tour membership and then not use it.
But, for the moment, Matthew Nixon is ranked No 17, one ahead of Byrne who has gone down one place from last week.
Irishman Paul Cutler, at No 21, is the third best British and Irish player in the WAGR. The only other one in the top 50 is Tom Lewis, the British boys champion of last year, who lost a play-off for a professional tournament in Australia a weekend or two ago.
Lewis, another earmarked for Nigel Edwards' Walker Cup line-up at Balgownie, is No 35.
Scots ranked in the top 500:
18 James Byrne (down 1 from last week).
61 Michael Stewart (no change).
136 Ross Kellett (-2).
176 Stuart Ballingall (-2).
177 Kris Nicol (-2).
309 Scott Crichton (-2).
327 James White (-2).
344 Scott Larkin (-3).
368 Peter Latimer (-2).
386 Brian Soutar (-2).
471 Paul Shields (-3)