Grandson's bid to get Aberdonian

Tom Bendelow into Golf Hall of Fame

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Stuart Bendelow, grandson of Aberdeen-born Tom Bendelow who became arguably North America's most prolific golf course designer in the golf boom years of the early 20th Century, is embarking on an effort to get Tom's name into the World Golf Hall of Fame at St Augustine, Florida.
"I expect his nomination will be put forth under the Lifetime Achievement category to which he clearly qualifies," said Stuart, who lives at Bluffton, South Carolina.
"Ballot papers will soon be sent out to the supporting organisations of the WGHOF for their nominations. The deadline for their nominations is March 1, 2010. Once his name is placed in nomination, we will have the happy task of encouraging the WGHOF Director's Selection Committee to select Tom Bendelow for induction into the Hall of Fame.
"I trust you will support and encourage this effort to give Tom Bendelow the recognition he deserves. In the past you have provided me with considerable encouragement and practical support. I look forward to hopefully celebrating Tom's induction with you in the near future.
"I will keep you informed of our progress.
Best regards
Stuart Bendelow

A RECAP ON LIFE OF TOM BENDELOW (1868-1936)
Frequently referred to as "The Johnny Appleseed of American Golf," Tom Bendelow (pictured above) is acknowledged to have designed more than 600 golf courses across the United States and Canada.
Born in Aberdeen in 1868, Bendelow, who worked as a printer with the forerunner of the "Press and Journal" newspaper, emigrated in 1892 to work for the "New York Herald" newspaper. An accomplished golfer himself, he began by teaching golf to New York club members in the mid-1890s. He opened one, if not the first indoor golf instructional school in New York City in 1895. In 1898 he was hired by the New York City Park Authority to take charge of Van Cortlandt Park golf course, the first municipal golf course in the United States.
During his tenure there, Tom redesigned and supervised the expansion of the course to 18 holes.
The success he achieved at Van Cortlandt Park drew the attention of numerous cities across the States and catapulted him into golfing prominence.
A preponderant number of Tom Bendelow's courses were laid out between 1900 and 1916 during his association with A G Spalding (Spalding golf balls) and his mission to "spread the gospel" of golf across America. No community was deemed too small nor too poor to have its own golf course.
Of all the courses Tom Bendelow designed his three lay-outs at Medinah are recognised as representative of some of his best work.
In 2005 Tom Bendelow was inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.
Tom died in 1936, never having returned to Aberdeen. The Bendelow family pie shop at Causewayend prospered for many, many years. Ironically, "Bendelow Pies" were more famous in the Granite City than Tom ever was, before or after his death.
The name Tom Bendelow is still far better known in America than in Scotland or even Aberdeen.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME
Visit www.worldgolfhalloffame.org
The World Golf Hall of Fame, located at World Golf Village in St Augustine, Florida honours and celebrates golf's greatest players and contributors. A World Golf Foundation initiative, the Hall of Fame represents collaboration among 26 national and international golf organisations, including the European Tour, LPGA, the Masters Tournament, PGA of America, the US PGA Tour, The R&A and United States Golf Association.
The museum houses interactive exhibits and historic and personal artifacts that tell the stories of its members and the game of golf.





+Any comments? You can E-mail them on any golfing topic to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

New Italian golf resort developed by Sir Rocco Forte

One thing leads to another: From Kingsbarns to

Verdura in Sicily is Kyle Phillips' golf journey

FROM THE GOLFWEEK.COM WEBSITE
By Martin Kaufmann
When Americans contemplate a golf trip to Europe, the default choices are either Scotland or Ireland. And why not? Whether it’s a buddies' trip or a couple's getaway, one could hardly go wrong in either destination.
But perhaps the most interesting development this year in European golf is taking shape on the southern tip of Italy, where Verdura Golf & Spa Resort (www.verduraresort.com) is scheduled to open March 1 in Sicily.
The resort sits on 570 acres, with 1.2 miles of private Mediterranean coastline, and has 45 holes of golf – two regulation 18s and a nine-hole par 3 course.
The man behind Verdura is Sir Rocco Forte, whose eponymous Rocco Forte Collection operates some of Europe’s most acclaimed hotels. Sir Rocco, who turns 65 on January 18, grew up in the hotel business and in 1982 became CEO of Forte Group plc, the conglomerate built by his father, Lord Charles Forte.
The company owned hotels, restaurants, a winery and even highway service areas. But in 1996, the Forte family lost control of the company to Granada plc in a £3.9 billion hostile takeover.
The Forte family walked away with £325 million, and Sir Rocco used the money to begin building a new chain of decidedly upscale hotels.
The Rocco Forte Collection now operates 13 properties, with four more in development. Sir Rocco recently received Hotels Magazine’s 2009 Corporate Hotelier of the World award.
Verdura is the first golf resort developed by Sir Rocco, who is described as an avid golfer, but is better known as a competitive triathlete who has represented Great Britain in the World Triathlon Championships.
He approached California-based course architect Kyle Phillips eight years ago about taking on the project. Phillips said that his design of Kingsbarns, ranked No. 1 on the list of Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses of Great Britain & Ireland, apparently had caught Forte’s eye.
In a phone interview, Phillips said Verdura’s East and West courses have a similar architectural style. Both courses, for instance, have seaside holes and similar green complexes.
“One of the mistakes that people make with sites like this is they build a seaside course and then they build an inland course,” he said.
Phillips said that the sea is visible even from the most inland holes, and his routings allow for the two courses to be combined to form a tournament course that incorporates all of the resort’s seaside holes.
Sir Rocco has established a reputation for operating five-star hotels, each with a distinct style that fits into its surroundings rather than having a cookie-cutter feel, an approach that appealed to Phillips.
“What he’s trying to do in the hotel world is what I’m trying to do in golf,” the architect said.
The resort’s director of golf is Niall Cameron, who played on the European Tour in the early 1980s and previously worked at clubs such as Royal St George’s and Turnberry. Cameron also designed the course at Assoufid, a Forte Collection resort that’s under development in Marrakech, Morocco.

Ian Poulter, now married and has launched his own clothing range.

Ian Poulter joins star-studded Qatar Masters field

NEWS RELEASE
World No 11 Ian Poulter has joined what is once again growing to be another powerful field for the $2.5 million Commercialbank Qatar Masters, presented by Dolphin Energy, to be staged later this month at Doha, Qatar.
The flamboyant and talented Englishman will join fellow world top 20 stars Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Paul Casey, Kenny Perry, Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen for the European Tour event being played from January 28-31 at Doha Golf Club.
Although the stylish 33 year-old has yet to win on the Gulf stage, he displayed tremendous consistency throughout 2009 which culminated in victory at the Singapore Open in November for his eighth European Tour title, en route to finishing ninth in The Race to Dubai. And with 2010 being Ryder Cup year, the ardent Arsenal fan – a captain’s pick by Nick Faldo in 2008 - will be determined to make the team on his own merits this time around.
“Although Europe failed to win the Ryder Cup in 2008, Ian Poulter was undoubtedly one of the stars of the European team,” said Hassan Al Nuami, President of the Qatar Golf Association (QGA), organisers of the tournament in association with the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and title sponsors Commercialbank.
“He couldn’t make it last year as he was recovering from eye surgery so he’ll receive a warm welcome back from all of us in Doha in two weeks.”
In 2008, Poulter nearly captured his first Major but finished runner-up in The 137th Open Championship and fully justified Faldo’s decision to pick him as a wild card for the Ryder Cup by scoring four points out of a possible five at Valhalla.
“I don't think I could probably play under as much pressure as I did at the Ryder Cup, to be honest with you,” said Poulter, talking of his controversial wild card experience. “Everything from now on in… hopefully I can enjoy and play golf.
One of the most colourful figures in the game, Poulter also enjoyed a busy year in 2007, making the cut in all four Majors, winning the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan, marrying his long-time fiancée Katie and launching his own clothing range, Ian Poulter Design.
“Everyone who loves sport enjoys seeing players who are not only wonderful at their game but are also great characters,” said Commercialbank Group CEO Andrew Stevens.
“I think we were all a little disappointed when Ian opted out of playing in the three Desert Swing events last year. He adds a great deal of colour to the event and I remember how generous he was at a golf clinic held for Doha’s youngsters back in 2008. It will be a pleasure to have him back in Qatar and we wish him every success in 2010.”

England's Todd Adcock to spend four months in Australia

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION
England international Todd Adcock will spend the next four months in the sunshine of Australia under the English Golf Union’s (EGU) annual arrangement with the Waverley Golf Club of Melbourne.
The former English Champion will guest for the club’s team in the Victoria Golf Association’s Pennant Series of events, which run from March to May, as well as competing in the major Australian amateur championships prior to that.
Sussex-based Adcock, who won the 2008 English amateur championship by beating Chris Paisley in the final at Woodhall Spa, made his England debut in that year’s Home Internationals at Muirfield and also played against Spain at La Reserva last year. A former Sussex Champion, Adcock, 24, has been to Australia before. In 2008 he represented the EGU in the Federal Amateur, finishing fourth.
The arrangement with the Waverley club, which has run for several years, will see Adcock staying with club members. The Pennant Series is a club team competition which commenced in 1899 between five clubs. This year, 44 clubs will be involved divided into six divisions with promotion and relegation operating at the end of the series.
Matches are played each week at a different venue on a round robin basis in each division with each club represented by a seven-man team.

Asian Tour Final Q School test for Wallace

Booth, Lee Harper and Van De Velde

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ASIAN TOUR

Hua Hin , Thailand: A bevy of talented players will chase their dreams of securing playing rights in Asia when the Asian Tour Qualifying School Presented by Sports Authority of Thailand, starts on Wednesday.
Open championship runner-up at Carnoustie in 1999, Jean Van De Velde of France will headline the field that includes past Asian Tour winners, Kane Webber of Australia , Harmeet Kahlon of India , Filipino Artemio Murakami and the American trio of Edward Loar, Clay Devers and Bryan Saltus.

Scots who have come through the Stage 1 eliminators are rookie pro and last year's Walker Cup team member Wallace Booth (Comrie) and past Scottish boys champion and EuroPro Tour event winner Lee Harper (Archerfield Links).
The Asian Tour Qualifying School will be played over two courses at the Jack Nicklaus designed Springfield Royal Country Club and Palm Hills Golf Club. Players will play on alternate courses for the first two rounds while the final two rounds will be played at Springfield Royal Country Club.
Having missed the cut to secure his Tour card in 2007, Van De Velde will need to shake-off a bout of food poisoning to earn his playing privileges in Asia where 28 tournaments with total prize fund of US$39 million will be staged this season.
“I decided to play more golf in Asia because my wife and kids are based in Hong Kong and Asia is where my life is now. Asia is exciting, there are good tournaments and great players.
“I need a change of scenery as well. After playing 20 years in Europe , I decided that it is time to do something different,” said Van De Velde.
Four Chinese hopefuls, Shang Lei, Liao Gui Ming, Kong Wei Hai and Chen Jian, who are sponsored by Liang Wen-chong, Asia ’s number one in 2007, are also in the mix.
Liang, who sponsored the quartet through his foundation, hopes they will win spots in Asia and further harness their talents.
“Those four young players have rich experience and potential, they share key role in China golf’s development. So we hope they can get a great result and have an opportunity to attend the 2010 Asian Tour,” said Liang.
Murakami, the 2007 Iskandar Johor Open winner, who failed to retain his Tour card last season after finishing in 70th place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, is hoping to bounce back and re-capture his Tour card.
“I have been practising a lot in the Philippines , and I’m hitting it much better now. It all comes down to putting as it was the main reason why I have been playing so badly last year.
“I missed all the cuts in the big events last season and it was disappointing. That really cost me. My aim now is to get into the top-40 and try to win again on the Asian Tour,” said Murakami, who won a junior tournament at the Springfield Royal Country Club in 1998.
Rory Hie, who won a tournament in Indonesia last month, is determined to repeat last year’s feat where he became the first Indonesian to earn playing rights on the Asian Tour.
“Last year was a learning curve for me and I hope to put it to good use. A lot of top players are consistent with their game and that’s what I need to do. My form is now back on track and hopefully I can earn my card again,” said Hie.

GULLANE PLAYABLE FOR EDINBURGH & EAST ALLIANCE

The Gullane courses are open today, which means that the Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance competition at Gullane No 3 is definitely ON tomorrow. Four temporary greens will be in play.

PETERHEAD LINKS PLAYABLE FOR NE ALLIANCE Peterhead Golf Club's Craigewan Links course will be playable for a resumption of the North-east Alliance season tomorrow (Wednesday). The course re-opened today as the thaw removed the last of the snow from the greens and fairways. Competitors who have reserved starting times are asked to check in early with Alliance secretary Ron Menzies in the clubhouse as some players will start at the fourth tee. The last Alliance competition was at Portlethen on December 9.

Kearney gets the call into this week's Joburg Open

FROM THE IRISHTIMES.COM WEBSITE
By PHILIP REID
Niall Kearney's decision to kick-start his professional career by undertaking the journey to South Africa has reaped dividends, with the 21-year-old Dubliner securing a sponsor’s invite into this week’s Joburg Open – which completes the European Tour’s co-sanctioned tournaments with the Sunshine Tour – starting in Johannesburg on Thursday.
Although last year’s Walker Cup campaigner missed the cut on his professional debut in the Africa Open last week, Kearney’s status – having joined the expanding stable of golfers at Horizon Sports – has earned him a precious invite into a tournament where South African Charl Schwartzel will aim for back-to-back titles after starting his year’s work with victory at the East London Club on Sunday.
Kearney is the new kid on the block as far as the Irish contingent competing at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Club – where the East and West courses will be used – is concerned, with Darren Clarke, Peter Lawrie, Michael Hoey, Gary Murphy and tour school graduate Simon Thornton all competing.
Clarke, who started his season with a tied-28th finish in the Africa Open, recognises he has a lot to do if he is to achieve the target of reclaiming his Ryder Cup place for the match with the United States in October. Currently ranked 115th in the official world rankings, which doesn’t guarantee him places in any of the majors or WGCs, Clarke moved on to Johnannesburg remarking, “I want to get back on that team. I’m currently outside the top 50 in the world, so I’ve got to play and play well if I’m to make that team.”
The JoBurg Open is played over two courses, one of which, the East, Clarke considers “one of the best in South Africa, it is a fantastic course.”
Clarke’s best finish in the tournament was fourth in 2008, a season he secured his last two wins on tour in the Asian Open and the Dutch Open.

Australian Master of the Amateurs

Scoreboard: Day 2

YARRA YARRA GOLF CLUB, MELBOURNE
(Four-round event)

36-HOLE TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72). 6,102 metres.

286 AUSTRALIA (Matt Jager 74 72: 146, Jordan Sherratt 66 74: 140).

287 UNITED STATES (Morgan Hoffman 73 73: 146, Bud Cauley 76 65: 141).

291 NEW ZEALAND (Ryan Fox 75 71: 146, Andrew Stewart 75 70: 145).

293 EUROPE (Victor Dubuisson 72 70: 142, Alexsander Kleszcz 76 75: 151).

299 ENGLAND (Matt Haines 72 73: 145, Tommy Fleetwood 83 71: 154).

311 SOUTH AFRICA (J G Classsen 76 79: 155, Leon Knoll 73 83: 156).

315 SOUTH KOREA (Jin Jeong 69 71: 140, Woo Cho 84 91: 175).

323 VANUATU (Tony Mansala 89 77: 166, Josepho Matauatu 80 77: 157).

322 FIJI (Vikrant Chandra 81 78: 159, Ashween Ram 85 78: 153).

331 JAPAN (Fumito Yamada 77 82: 159, Hyuga Sakita 86 86: 172).