KNOX TRAILS BY FIVE ON HOOTERS TOUR Florida-based Russell Knox from Inverness will start the third and final round of this week's NGA Hooters' Tour Winter Series event at Diamond Back Golf Club, Haines City, Florida with a five-stroke leeway to make up on the leader. Knox has had rounds of 66 and 70 for eight-under-par 136 and joint eighth position. He had his first bogey of the tournament at the long 16th in his second round. He had earlier birdied the third, long fifth and 14th. Leading the field by three shots is Ryan Gildersleeve from Florida with scores of 66 and 65 for 131. LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS Par 144 (2x72) 131 Ryan Gildersleeve (Clearwater, Florida) 66 65. 134 Matt McQuillan (Kingston, Oregon) 69 65, Drew Letham (Kansas) 69 65. Selected scores: 136 Camilo Benedetti (Orlando, Florida) 69 67, Russell Knox (Inverness) 66 70 (jt 8th).

Hugo leads Open International Qualifying in South Africa

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R&A
South Africa’s Jean Hugo is two strokes clear of the field at the halfway stage of International Final Qualifying – Africa, taking place at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club. Tomorrow, three players will win their place in the 150th Anniversary Open Championship at St Andrews this July.
After overnight storms delayed today’s start by four hours, Hugo signed for a bogey-free, six-under-par 65 around the par-71 East Course.
The 34-year-old, who has won seven times on the Sunshine Tour and once on the Challenge Tour (a 2000 victory in the Volvo Finnish Open), is bidding to play in his third Open Championship after competing at Carnoustie in 1999 and again in 2001 at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
Having missed the cut at both the Africa Open and last week’s Joburg Open, it was a welcome, and timely, return to form with the putter: “I made a big putt on 10 where I started today – about 30 feet and I didn’t make anything the whole week last week, so it was ironic,” he said.
“Tomorrow, I’ve got to do the same thing. It’s one of those good things to do, especially at St Andrews – so that’s a big incentive.”
Currently occupying the other two Open Championship places available are South Africans Oliver Bekker and Darren Fichardt.
Fichardt qualified for The Open through IFQ - Africa in 2008, making his fourth Championship appearance after playing in 2000, 2002 and 2004. The 25-year-old Bekker, however, is attempting to make his first trip to The Open and is, at present, enjoying a solid run of form in South Africa, having shared 35th at the Africa Open and 30th in the Joburg Open.
Joost Luiten of the Netherlands and South Africans Warren Abery, Alan Michell and Douglas McGuigan are a further two back on two-under.
With four more on one-under and a further nine on level-par, the three coveted Open places are still within reach of a large number of players.
A field of 52 players is contesting the 36 holes of International Final Qualifying at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club with the top three after tomorrow’s second round earning a place at the 150th Anniversary Open Championship at St Andrews on 15 – 18 July.
Full first-round hole-by-hole scores can be found on www.opengolf.com.

ELLON'S DUNTON AND DUNCAN IN

THE NE ALLIANCE PICTURE AGAIN

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

McDonald Ellon members Adam Dunton and Kevin Duncan finished first and joint second in today's North-east Golfers' Alliance meeting in cold and wet conditions at Montrose Links.
Dunton, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, third last week at Peterhead behind five-stroke winner Duncan, turned the tables with a one-over-par score of 71.
That was good enough to head a field of 80 – 16 of them had No Returns - by one shot from Duncan and Peterhead's Philip McLean.
Dunton, a +2 player, struggled a bit in an outward half of three-over 38 with double bogey 6s at the third and ninth and only one birdie, at the eighth, to offset the damage. But he came home strongly in two-under-par 33 with birdies at the 13^th, 15^th and 16^th and only one shot dropped, at the short 16^th.
Scratch man Duncan had a mixture of very good and very bad in halves of 36 for his 72. He had an eagle 2 with a mighty drive at the eighth and birdies at the 10^th, 11^th, 13^th and 18^th. On the debit side, he had a triple bogey 7 at the fifth and double bogeys at the 14th and 15^th and a single bogey at the 16^th.
McLean also had a double bogey at the second on his outward 36 but he had birdies at the fourth, seventh, 13^th and 18^th to offset bogeys at the sixth, 10^th, 15^th and 16^th.
Leading scores (par 70)
SCRATCH
71 A Dunton (McDonald Ellon).
72 P McLean (Peterhead), K Duncan (McDonald Ellon).
73 R Lamb (Newmachar).
74 J Duncan (Newburgh).
75 S Finnie (Caledonian).
76 D Naylor (Banchory), A Lindsay (Banchory)
77 A K Pirie (Hazlehead), J Forrest (Northern), H Love (Oldmeldrum), K Nicol (Fraserburgh).
78 D Corkey (Murcar Links), D Bisset (Banchory).
79 C Cassie (Nigg Bay), M Merchant (Newmachar), J Hamilton (Murcar Links), R Bruce (Aboyne), M Jenkins (Duff House Royal).
HANDICAP
Class 1 – R Lamb (Newmachar) (4) 69; J Duncan (Newburgh) (4), J Forrest (Northern) (7) 70; K Duncan (McDonald Ellon) (scr), J Hamilton (Murcar Links) (7) 72; A Dunton (McDonald Ellon) (+2) 73.
Class 2 – D Bisset (Banchory) (9) 69; M Rodgers (Kemnay) (15) 74; D Lawrie (Inchmarlo) (13), R Lumsden (Northern) (13), D Townsley (Peterhead) (15) 75; M Rendall (Stonehaven) (13) 76.

MONTROSE LINKS SCORECARD
OUT: 4-4-3-4-4-4-4-4-4--35. IN: 4-4-3-4-4-5-3-4-4--35.

ADAM DUNTON 71
OUT: 4-4-3-6-4-4-4-3-6--38. IN: 4-4-3-3-4-4-4-3-4--33.
PHILIP McLEAN 72
OUT: 4-6-3-3-4-5-3-4-4--36. IN: 5-4-3-3-4-6-4-4-3--36.
KEVIN DUNCAN 72
OUT: 4-4-3-4-7-4-4-2-4--36. IN: 3-3-3-3-6-7-4-4-3--36

+Next Wednesday's North-east Alliance competition is at Inverallochy.

England 7, Scotland 2 in top 42

of World Amateur Rankings

Scotland can be proud of their world and European team championship status but the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings suggest that the balance of power in the UK amateur game has shifted England's way.

England and Scotland don't have a top 10 player, but the English do have Stiggy Hodgson (14), Matt Haines (15), Chris Paisley (20), Tommy Fleetwood (22), Darren Renwick (23) and Jamie Abbott (31) rated ahead of the leading Scot - Colville Park's Ross Kellett in 34th place in this week's revised rankings.

If you count Matthew Nixon (No 38), who won the British boys' title at Royal Aberdeen in 2006, there are SEVEN English amateurs ranked ahead of the only other Scot in the top 50, Arizona State University student James Byrne from Banchory. James is No 42.

THIS WEEK'S R&A WAGR TOP TEN

1 Matteo Manassero (Italy) (no change).

2 Nick Taylor (Canada) (+1).

3 Victor Dubuisson (France) (-1).

4 Bud Cauley (US) (+2).

5 Peter Uihlein (US) (-1).

6 Morgan Hoffman (US) (-1).

7 Matt Hill (Canada) (no change).

8 Blayne Barber (US) (+1).

9 Russell Henley (Us) (-1).

10 David Chung (US) (no change).

Selected rankings:

14 Stiggy Hodgson (England) (no change).

15 Matt Haines (England) (no change).

20 Chris Paisley (England) (+1).

22 Tommy Fleetwood (England) (-4).

23 Darren Renwick (England) (-1).

31 Jamie Abbott (England) (-1).

34 Ross Kellett (Scotland) (-8).

38 Matthew Nixon (England) (-2).

42 James Byrne (Scotland) (-2).

168 Glenn Campbell (Scotland) (-3).

175 Mark Hillson (Scotland) (-1).

204 Michael Stewart (Scotland) (no change).

229 James White (Scotland) (+2).

278 David Law (Scotland) (no change).

345 Steven McEwan (Scotland) (-1).

427 Philip McLean (Scotland) (-1).

529 Fraser McKenna (Scotland) (+2).

549 Greg Paterson (Scotland) (+4).

562 Peter Latimer (Scotland) (+2).

589 Scott Borrowman (Scotland) (-6)

590 James Ross (Scotland) (+3).

594 Bobby Rushford (Scotland) (+4).

598 Mark Bookless (Scotland) (+3).

676 Kris Nicol (Scotland) (-1).

711 Daniel Sommerville (Scotland) (-1).

714 Paul Ferrier (Scotland) (-1).

728 Craig Watson (Scotland) (no change).

740 Gordon Yates (Scotland) (-119).

792 Scott Crighton (Scotland) (+3).

795 Paul Betty (Scotland) (+5)

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

Time running out to get cheaper

tickets for St Andrews Open

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R&A

St Andrews: For those who wish to witness every moment of the 150th Anniversary Open Championship at St Andrews, there are only 11 days left to purchase Season Tickets at the discounted price of £200. Entry with a Season Ticket for all eight days of play works out at a cost of £25 per day, representing a saving of over 40% on full-price admission for the same period.
“Discounted season tickets always represent excellent value and, with The Open Champions Challenge and the 150th Anniversary, this year more than ever,” said David Hill, The R&A’s Director of Championships.

“Sales have been strong and we look forward to welcoming large and enthusiastic galleries to St Andrews to celebrate this historic Championship.”
The Open Champions Challenge will take place on the Wednesday evening before the Championship gets underway. All 32 living Open Champions have been invited to compete in this four-hole competition over the first, second, 17th and 18th holes of the Old Course.
Greenside Club tickets have sold out but ‘Railway Club at the 17th Tee’ tickets are still available. The ticket gives a full week’s access to a reserved stand by the new 17th tee, which also overlooks the 16th and second green, as well as access to the Railway Club Marquee, in which complimentary tea, coffee and newspapers, plus a range of other catering to purchase, can be enjoyed.
During the four days of the Championship, a daily ticket will cost £60 and concessionary tickets are available. Under-16s will continue to be admitted free of charge.
Ticket enquiries should be directed through www.opengolf.com or +44 (0) 1334 460010.

THE CARRICK ON LOCH LOMOND CONTINUES PARTNERSHIP

WITH MAJOR WINNER PAUL LAWRIE

NEWS RELEASE
The stunning Carrick on Loch Lomond golf course has renewed its sponsorship agreement with 1999 Open Champion and multiple European Tour winner, Paul Lawrie, for the 2010 season. The five-star resort, which includes the award-winning Cameron House Hotel, recently voted Scotland’s best golf resort hotel at the annual Golf Tourism Scotland awards ceremony, has employed Lawrie as its ‘Touring Professional’ since the 2007 European Tour season.
Lawrie has enjoyed an illustrious career at the pinnacle of European Golf, playing on the European Tour since 1992 during which time he has claimed four victories, as well as the 1999 Open Championship and played in the Ryder Cup.
Lawrie’s agreement with The Carrick on Loch Lomond will see him sporting the resorts name and logo on his golf bag throughout the season as well being announced as The Carrick on Loch Lomond’s touring professional as he competes on the European Tour’s international schedule throughout 2010.
Ross Whitfield, The Carrick on Loch Lomond Director of Golf and Estates, commented, “Paul has been a fantastic ambassador for the resort in the past two seasons and we are delighted to continue our support of him in 2010.
"As well as being one of the most talented golfers Scotland has produced, Paul’s personality embodies the values of the resort and we feel he is the perfect person to represent the class and quality of the resort across the world. We wish him every success in the coming season.”
Paul Lawrie, commented, “I would like to thank The Carrick on Loch Lomond for their continued support. I have been very proud to be associated with such a high quality resort over the previous two seasons and I look forward to continuing to promote the golf course and hotel across the world.”
*The Carrick on Loch Lomond has quickly established itself as one of the UK’s leading new golf courses since opening in 2007. The Doug Carrick design meanders between the lowland banks of Loch Lomond for the front nine before heading into the highland heath on the back nine, all of which offers stunning views across the water and surrounding hills. The unique setting is one of the most picturesque anywhere in the UK, and the golf course offers a fitting test of guests’ games.
A variety of tee positions allow weekend golfers and tour professionals alike, to be tested.

Trump can have £35 car park - for 'at least £10,000'

FROM THE PRESS AND JOURNAL
By RYAN CRIGHTON
A former car park which a north-east local authority bought for just £35 will be sold to Donald Trump for at least £10,000.
Aberdeenshire Council's Formartine area committee has backed plans to block seven rival bidders from buying the plot of land at the Menie Estate, near Aberdeen, which the American tycoon wants to add to his golf resort plans.
As revealed in the P&J yesterday, the council's property bosses said Mr Trump should be given "special purchaser" status for the half-acre site because of his plans to create "the world's greatest golf course" around it.
The matter was discussed in private at Ellon yesterday and councillors voted 7-3 for entering into negotiations solely with Mr Trump.
Once the deal is complete, the field will become part of the championship golf course he plans to build, alongside a 450-bedroom hotel, 950 holiday homes and 500 houses.
The site, which is beside Leyton Cottage, one of four local homes now included in Mr Trump's plans, cost the council £35 in 1976.
The report considered by councillors yesteday said the land was valued at £1,000, but the council had been told it should accept nothing less than £10,000 from Mr Trump. The council confirmed last night all other bids had now been rejected.
"Aberdeenshire Council is to enter into negotiations with Trump International Golf Links Scotland over the sale of a former car park owned by the council at Menie Estate, Balmedie," a spokesman said.
"It was decided that the Trump Orgnaisation be regarded as a 'special purchaser' due to the local economic benefits expected to be generated by the golf resort development that has been granted outline permission at Menie. Officers will now begin negotiations with the Trump Organisation concerning the sale of the land. As a result, none of the other bids will be progressed."
Trump International Golf Links executive vice-president Sarah Malone said a bidding war for the site was unnecessary. She said:
"We are grateful to Aberdeenshire Council for awarding us status of special purchaser, which clearly recognises the scale, impact an importance of this project for the North-east of Scotland.
"It was inevitable that others would express an interest in buying the council land as a result of the Trump devleopment, and this was an appropriate step taken by the council to prevent an unnecssary bidding war over a tiny piece of land that lies with the heart of the golf development."
Former Green Party MSP Shioa Baird and Tripping Up Trump members Sue Edwards and David Milne were among those interested in the land.

SGU chooses Glasgow agency as marketing partner

NEWS RELEASE
The Scottish Golf Union has selected a Glasgow-based creative agency as its marketing partner as it seeks to increase its communication with golf clubs, existing club members and potential club members.
Merchant Soul won the competitive tender to be selected as the SGU’s partner agency against some of Scotland’s bigger, more established agencies and will commence work on its initial project of a national membership recruitment and retention marketing campaign.
Ross Duncan, Marketing & Sponsorship Manager at the Scottish Golf Union, commented: “We are always seeking to develop the quality of communications and support we offer our member clubs in order to help them prosper as individual businesses in their own right.
"The current climate only serves to increase the importance of conveying the true value of a golf club membership to both existing and potential members as well as increasing the level of the help and support we can offer to clubs across a variety of areas.
"Merchant Soul displayed a real understanding of the issues facing the golf industry as a whole and in Scotland specifically and we are sure that they will help us to continue to support our member clubs and by extension, over 250,000 golfers across Scotland.”
Ross McDonald, Account Director at Merchant Soul, said: “Both professionally and personally - as a keen golfer and golf club member for over 12 years - I’m delighted to be appointed to this prestigious account. Our experience, both in the strategic and the creative, means I am confident we will be able to help the Scottish Golf Union support their member clubs and communicate to the market the benefits and value of being a member of a Scottish golf club.
*The Scottish Golf Union (SGU) is the governing body for male amateur golf in Scotland, representing the interests of more than 600 affiliated clubs encompassing around 250,000 golf club members.

Lee Westwood wins The European Tour

Players’ Player of the Year Award

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY EUROPEAN TOUR
Lee Westwood, winner of the inaugural Race to Dubai, has been named by his fellow professionals as the winner of The European Tour Players’ Player of the Year Award for 2009.
The 36 year old Englishman hit a rich vein of form towards the end of last season, winning the Portugal Masters in October before storming to a six shot victory in the season-ending Dubai World Championship presented by: DP World which lifted him to the top of The Race to Dubai with record European Tour earnings for a single season of €4,237,762.
Being crowned European Number One for the second time was a fitting end to an impressively consistent season in which he had 13 top ten finishes and came agonisingly close to a maiden Major Championship victory, finishing tied third in both The Open Championship at Turnberry and the US PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
“I am delighted to have been recognised by my fellow European Tour professionals and would like to thank everybody who voted for me,” said Westwood, who was presented with the award prior to the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship where he will commence his 2010 season. “As always, I was surrounded by many great professionals on the Tour last year and I am honoured to have played alongside such great competitors and friends.
“It was a fantastic season – not just for me but everybody involved with The European Tour and the inaugural Race to Dubai. Of course, winning the Dubai World Championship and the Race was an unbelievable moment for me personally and one that will live with me forever. I am very excited about starting the new season and seeing what 2010 will bring.”
Westwood was presented with the specially commissioned solid silver salver by Thomas Björn, The European Tour’s Tournament Committee Chairman. “All the players on The European Tour are delighted to have Lee Westwood as their Player of the Year,” said Björn.
“He had a fantastic season, culminating obviously with his win in the Dubai World Championship, but this award is also a recognition of his consistently fine performances around the world over the last two or three years. He is back to his winning ways in style and we are all very proud that Lee is The European Tour Players’ Player for 2009.”
The award was conceived in 2008 and the salver, handmade at the London workshop of Thomas Lyte Ltd, features a pattern denoting the national flowers of each of the countries who have a player competing on The European Tour. The central section features the unmistakeable profile and swing of Seve Ballesteros – the inspiration behind the award – accompanied by an emotive comment by John Jacobs, the Founding Father of The European Tour, about Seve’s influence. “Seve’s supreme talent, flair and passion for golf inspired millions around the world,” it reads.
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington was the inaugural winner of the award in 2008 following his Major Championship triumphs that year in The Open at Royal Birkdale and the US PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.

Leading Scot Laird targets world top 64

with home visit on the cards

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Martin Laird, the first Scottish golfer to break into the top 100 in the world in more than a year, has set himself a three-week target to force his way into the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.
The Arizona-based player, who tied for fourth behind Geoff Ogilvy in the season-opening SBS Championship on the PGA Tour earlier this month in Hawaii, returns to action today when he lines up in the 90-hole Bob Hope Classic at La Quinta in California
Laird goes into the event lying 83rd in the world rankings and needs to climb into the top 64 to earn a place in the WGC Matchplay event at Dove Mountain in Arizona in a month's time.
"Hawaii was a great week and I am really pleased with my start to the season," said Laird, who plays in next week's Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego and then the Northern Trust Open at Riviera in Los Angeles the following week.
"Now I am looking forward to the next three weeks to see if I can make that push into the top 64."
In addition to the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, the 27-year-old is keen to play in the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns and is not ruling out an appearance in the Gleneagles Scottish Championship over the Kings Course the following week, though his defence of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open title will be the determining factor in that decision.
"My participation in the Scottish PGA Championship is something that I can't comment on right now as I am not sure of my schedule that late in the year," he added.
"I am planning on hopefully coming back and playing in the Dunhill Links, so it is maybe something that could work. However, I have to defend my title in Las Vegas the following week, so I am not sure how it would all work out."

This week's US Tour event lacks a single player from World Top 35

Abu Dhabi Championship takes stars away

from Bob Hope Classic field

FROM THE PGATOUR.COM WEBSITE
LA QUINTA, California -- Given these tough economic times, US PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem has asked players to pitch in by adding tournaments to their schedules. Perhaps he should have been more clear.
He meant tournaments in the United States.

==============================================
Other American golf news links:
Bryant facing his sixth surgery, this one likely to keep him out all year
New event set for October in Sea Island gives Fall Series five tournaments
Seeking places to play, Barron and Fujikawa try Carolina mini-tour
In last-minute deal, Farmers Insurance will sponsor San Diego Open
New iron grooves making a difference, both good and bad, on PGA Tour
Complete coverage of the Bob Hope Classic
==============================================

Anthony Kim makes his 2010 debut this week in a tournament that includes Camilo Villegas and Geoff Ogilvy, who will be going for his second consecutive victory. They will be competing against a world-class field that features defending champion Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Rory McIlroy.
You can find them in the desert -- at the Abu Dhabi Championship.
Halfway around the world in the California desert, the Bob Hope Classic begins on Wednesday. It is the first PGA Tour event on the American mainland, is desperate to find a title sponsor and doesn't have a single player among the top 35 in the world ranking.
Once a premier event on the tour's West Coast Swing, last year it had the second-weakest field among regular tour events.
"It's not something we like to see," said John Foster, president of the Bob Hope Classic. "We've always had to deal with it in some shape or form. It behooves us to make this tournament as attractive as we can. We still have a good field off last year's money list. We have no top 10s, and we're disappointed in that. We still have some great players. It is what it is."
US PGA Tour members require a "conflicting event release" to compete overseas. The guidelines allow for three releases a year, with additional releases for international players who want to play on their home circuits.
It is rare for the tour to grant so many releases -- nine in this case -- to one tournament. Alarms are sounded when that tournament is the same week as a U.S. event that once had tradition and now has no title sponsor. One guideline says the commissioner can deny a request if it would "otherwise significantly and unreasonably harm" the tour and its sponsors.
But let's be practical about this.
All nine releases were granted to players who are European Tour members. Six of those players are Europeans, all of whom began their careers on the other side of the Atlantic.
"Remember, guys like Sergio and Paul Casey, they chose to come over here and play," British Open champion Stewart Cink said. "If they chose to stay in Europe, we wouldn't even be having a conversation like that."
Ogilvy has not played the Hope in five years. Villegas has never played it at all.
What brings the Hope's field so much attention is the absence of Kim, who spent his high school years in the Coachella Valley and was given a sponsor's exemption to play when he was a rookie with limited opportunies. Kim is trying to manage a worldwide schedule. Skipping what amounts to a hometown tournament is not going to win him additional fans.
Rick George, the tour's chief of operations, said nine releases were given opposite the Hope last year. He also noted the number of players who stayed two weeks in Hawaii, which made the Sony Open stronger. Others are adding Pebble Beach to the schedule this year with the U.S. Open coming in June.
"I'd like to think it's just an anomaly," George said. "But that doesn't make it any better for the Bob Hope Classic."
Appearance money is an issue, too, but that's been around forever and is a convenient excuse.
"When you give 'show-up' fees in Europe, that poses a problem," Foster said. "That's an issue for the West Coast. I wish the European Tour wouldn't do that. But that's how they try to attract players."
Kenny Perry, a past Bob Hope champion who was skipping this year, received an offer to play the Qatar Masters next week.
The issue takes on heightened awareness because of the economy. Consider the San Diego Open, which didn't find a title sponsor until a week before its tournament, which is the first on network TV and usually gets Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
How much tougher is it for a tournament to attract a sponsor when it can't get anyone in the top 30?
Joe Ogilvie, a former policy board member who received an exemption to the Hope this year, believes the US PGA Tour nonetheless should put its foot down on conflicting event releases on certain weeks.
"I would take an extremely hard line," Ogilvie said. "As a commissioner, you've got to say, 'No.' What are they going to say? 'I'm going to play Europe (full-time)?' But for whatever reason, he doesn't do it."
Ogilvie said the tour could make it up to the player by building a TV campaign around him, exposure that would be appealing for endorsements and could pay off more than whatever appearance money is being offered.
Cink, another former board member, leans the other way.
"I don't fault the players for going over to play somewhere that may pay them appearance money," Cink said. "We don't get appearance money very often. Kenny Perry is a good example. He's going to Qatar. You have a situation where a guy has played out here his whole life and probably hasn't gotten a whole lot of appearance money. To go and collect a little bit, can you really say, 'Don't do that?'
"I understand that it's difficult to find sponsors right now," Cink said. "There's no real solution."
There's only a harsh reality for the Hope.
It used to be rookies never played the Bob Hope Classic because so many spots were taken by top players. This year, the tournament went 32 deep into the Nationwide/Q-School category to fill its field.