Hi5 PRO TOUR - VILLAITANA OPEN
Alicante, Spain
FIRST ROUND LEADERS
Par 72
70 Pete James (England).
73 Brad Clapp (Canada), Carlos Garcia (Spain), Sam Haywood (England), Robert Svensson (Sweden).
74 Zack Saltman (Scotland), Stephen Redford (Spain).
75 Lloyd Saltman (Scotland), Elliot Saltman (Scotland), Jonathan Smart (England), Matthew Evans (England), Kris Jones (England), Matthew Cryer (England).
Selected scores:
76 Alex Belt (England).
77 Daniel Hewitt (England).
78 Richard Carter (England) (amateur).
79 Stuart McCance (England), James Busby (England).
81 Christopher Snape (England).
82 Paul Woodhouse (England) (amateur), James Housby (Scotland).
83 Gary King (England).
84 Louis Farrelly.

COSTA BALLENA QUADRANGULAR, SPAIN

FIRST DAY RESULTS

ENGLAND 3, GERMANY 6
Foursomes (0-3)
Tom Shadbolt & Jonathan Bell lost to Max Kieffer & Marcel Schneider 2 and 1.
Adam Keogh & Ben Loughrey lost to Martin Keskari & Alexander Matlari 2 holes.
Matt Southgate & Joshua White lost to Sebastian Kannler & Alexander Knappe 1 hole.
Singles (3-3)
Bell lost to Kieffer 5 and 4.
Shadbolt bt Schneider 2 and 1.
White halved with Keskari.
Keogh bt Matlari 6 and 4.
Loughrey halved with Kanppe.
Southgate lost to Kannler 4 and 3.

FINLAND 3, SPAIN 6
Foursomes: 1-2.
Singles: 2-4

Russell Knox (out in 29) jumps into Hooters Tour contention

Russell Knox leaped into contention for the five-figure dollars first prize in this week's NGA Hooters Tour with a second-round, seven-under-par 65, which included one of the best outward halves of his pro career.
The Inverness exile and former Scotland youth cap had an eagle and five birdies for that magical figure of 29 to the turn at Rio Pinar Country Club, Orlando, Florida. He spoiled it a bit with a bogey at the 13th but a birdie the next restored him to seven under par for the round.
That gives him a 36-hole tally of nine-under-par 135 as he soared from joint 16th at the start of the day to second place at the end of it, one shot behind the new leader, Ted Potter from Silver Springs, Florida. Ted has scored 66 and 68 for 134.
One shot behind Knox are Americans Ryan Gildersleeve (Clearwater, Florida) with 67 and 69 for 136 and Patrick Nagle (Pacifica, California) with a pair of 68s.
Paul Maddy (Gog Magog, Cambridge), one of two English pros in the first-round pictured dropped back with a 73 for 141. The other, Dave Thomas from Dunmow, Essex, plummeted out of the tournament, slumping from a 68 to an 82 for 150 and from a tie for fifth place to sharing 82nd -- which put him seven shots on the wrong side of the cut at 143 or better.

HOW THEY STAND
Par 144 (2x72)
134 Ted Potter (Silver Springs, Florida) 66 68.
135 Russell Knox (Jacksonville Beach, Florida) 70 65.
136 Ryan Gildersleeve (Clearwater, Florida) 67 69, Patrick Nagle (Pacifica, California) 68 68, Matthew Koln (Maitland, Florida) 68 68.
Selected score:
141 Paul Maddy (Gog Magog, Cambridge) 68 73.
MISSED THE CUT (143 or better qualified)
150 Dave Thomas (Dunmow, Essex) 68 82.
+Russell Knox's outward half was as follows:
Birdie at the long first.
Birdie at the second.
Birdie at the third.
Eagle 3 at the long sixth.
Birdie 2 at the short seventh.
Birdie at the ninth.
OUT IN 29 (seven under par).
Rest of his car:
Bogey at the 13th.
Birdie at the 14th.
IN IN 36 for a 65

LEADERBOARD LOGJAM AT INVERALLOCHY By COLIN FARQUHARSON In one of the tightest finishes in recent North-east Golfers' Alliance history, no fewer than five players tied for first place on level par 67 in today's competition at Inverallochy Golf Club. First man out John Mitchell (Fraserburgh) set the early clubhouse target of 67 (35-32), which included four successive threes from the 10th (birdies at the 11th and 12th), and it was not beaten by anyone else in the field of 83 competitors. It was equalled at irregular intervals by Scottish seniors match-play champion George Paterson (Northern) 36-31, Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon) 34-33, former US college circuit player Scott Larkin (Banchory) 34-33 and Oldmeldrum club professional Hamish Love, 33-34 Mike Booth, a 12-handicapper at Kemnay, had the lowest net score of 60. He won Class 2 by seven strokes! Leading scores (par 67) SCRATCH 67 John Mitchell (Fraserburgh), George Paterson (Northern), Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon), Scott Larkin (Banchory), Hamish Love (Oldmeldrum). 68 Justin Duff (Fraserburgh). 69 Stewart Pert (Huntly), Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh). 70 Andrew Campbell (Deeside), Robert Lamb (Newmachar), Craig Carnegie (Kemnay), Patrick Lovie (P1 Corporate). 71 Stewart Finnie (Caledonian), Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon). 72 Paul McIntosh (Newburgh), Mike Booth (Kemnay), Fergus Bisset (Banchory). 73 Ian Bratton (Newburgh), Harry Roulston (Stonehaven), James Duncan (Newburgh), Mark Lawrie (Kemnay), Brian Nicholson (Auchmill). 74 David Corkey (Murcar Links), Jim Forbes (Aboyne), Don Garrett (Turriff), Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh), Jackie Forrest (Northern), Graham Munro (Fraserburgh). 76 Leslie Roger (Royal Aberdeen), Sandy Elrick (Kemnay), Justin Thomas (Craibstone), John Nicolson (Auchmill). 77 Barry Brooks (Meldrum House), Brian Harper (Newburgh), Charles Cassie (Nigg Bay), John Hamilton (Murcar Links), John Borthwick (Craibstone), David McKay (Caledonian), Gordon Gray (Newmachar), Robert Bruce (Aboyne), Adam Lindsay (Banchory). HANDICAP Class 1 - R Lamb (Newmachar) (4), C Carnegie (Kemnay) (4) 66; J Mitchell (Fraserburgh) (scr), H Roulston (Stonehaven) (6), G H Paterson (Northern) (scr), S Pert (Huntly) (2), J Forrest (Northern) (7), K Duncan (McDonald Ellon) (scr) 67; P McIntosh (Newburgh) (4), M Lawrie (Kemnay) (5) 68; J B orhtwick (Craibstone) (8), J Duncan Newburgh) (4), J Duff (Fraserburgh) (+1), S Larkin (Banchory) (+2) 69; A Campbell (Deeside) (scr), J M Hamilton (Murcar Links) (7), S Elrick (Kemnay) (6), J Forbes (Aboyne) (4), F Bisset (Banchory) (2) 70. Class 2 - M Booth (Kemnay) (12) 60; L Roger (Royal Aberdeen) (9), S Kennedy (Craibstone) (13), M F R Rogers (Kemnay) (15) 67; M Brown (Craibstone) (18), A Petrie (Oldmeldrum) (10) 69; D Wood (Newburgh) (13), R Brown (Craibstone) (12), S Davidson (Northern) (13), J Scott (Peterculter) (10), I Grant (Huntly) (18) 70; B Lumsden (Northern) (14); D Randall (Banchory) (14) 72. INVERALLOCHY WINTER COURSE PAR 67 OUT: 4-3-4-4-4-5-4-4-3--35. IN: 3-4-4-3-4-4-4-3-3--32 KEVIN DUNCAN 67 OUT: 4-3-4-4-4-4-4-4-3--34. IN: 3-4-4-2-4-4-4-4-4--33 HAMISH LOVE 67 OUT: 3-4-5-3-3-4-4-3-4--33. IN: 3-4-4-3-5-4-4-4-3--34 JOHN MITCHELL 67 OUT: 4-3-5-4-4-4-4-4-3--35. IN: 3-3-3-3-4-5-4-4-3--32 GEORGE PATERSON 67 OUT: 4-3-4-4-3-4-6-5-3--36. IN: 2-3-4-3-4-4-4-3-3--31 SCOTT LARKIN 67 OUT: 4-3-4-5-3-3-5-4-3--34. IN: 2-4-4-3-5-5-4-3-3--33

Stenson to spend more time Stateside

World number eight Henrik Stenson has defended his decision to rejoin the US PGA Tour this year. The Swede first joined the US PGA Tour in 2007 but let his membership lapse in 2008 and 2009.
Now he has rejoined the US PGA Tour, indicating he will contest the minimum 15 events while also satisfying European Tour membership by playing 12 Race to Dubai-counting tournaments.
"I've taken up membership this season so I will spend most of the spring and summer in America until the later part of the season," Stenson told reporters on the eve of the Qatar Masters.
"There were a couple of different reasons but family-wise it's convenient to be based over there and have the family in the States and also, all of the big events are in America, from the Accenture Match Play (next month) until the US Open (in June).
"I felt it was time to take up membership again. Great tournaments, great weather and great competition so it's got a lot going for it but obviously Europe is still my home tour and I'll be making a few visits here and there," said the 33-year-old.
Stenson, who has joined Rory McIlroy by committing to the 2010 US PGA Tour, is among nine of the world's top-20 playing in Qatar this week.
World number 13 Kenny Perry is also in the field and has called on Tiger Woods to end his self-imposed exile from golf.
Woods is taking an indefinite break from the sport after admitting last month he had cheated on his wife.
"Tiger needs to come back for himself rather than his golf and when he does I'm going to give him a hug and shake his hand and tell him if he needs to talk or if I can help in any way, I will," Perry told reporters on the eve of the Qatar Masters.
"Tiger needs to come back as, you know, we (in golf) are his family too . . . if he comes back to us I'm sure he'll get a lot of support from the players, I really do."
After being heavily criticised for skipping the 2008 Open, Perry indicated he would compete in July's edition at St Andrews.
"I really got crucified when I elected not to contest the 2008 British Open," he said."But I finished sixth in Milwaukee and I was able to accomplish my goal and make the Ryder Cup team.
"My whole life has been in America, now I'm comfortable with my life and I want to see the world a little bit. It's a great opportunity for me to come over here and see what it's all about and I'm pleasantly surprised."

Paul Lawrie goes back to Wilson Staff clubs

FROM THE PGA.COM WEBSITE
CHICAGO -- Wilson Golf has signed Paul Lawrie as its latest Wilson Staff Advisory Member, company officials have announced. Lawrie is a former Open champion and Ryder Cup player who will join three-time major winner Padraig Harrington as a Wilson Staff European golfer with a major title to his name.
Lawrie will use Wilson clubs in tournament play and will promote the Wilson Golf brand globally. Both players share the same coach, Bob Torrance, as well as the venue of their first major win: the daunting links at Carnoustie.
Lawrie, 41, is a Scotland native and will play on the European Tour with the latest Wilson Staff FG Tour irons and Tw9 wedges. He will wear a branded Wilson Staff cap and carry a Wilson Staff-branded bag and umbrella.
In 1993, Lawrie first signed with Wilson and, with Wilson irons in his bag, won the 1999 British Open, coming from 10 shots back with a final round of 67. He used a Wilson 4-iron on the 17th and 18th holes and won a play-off with Jean Van de Velde and Justin Leonard.
Lawrie enjoyed a high-scoring debut (3.5 points) for Europe in the 1999 Ryder Cup at The Country Club. He also captured the inaugural Dunhill Links Championship in 2001.
"I'm delighted to be back playing with Wilson Staff clubs and believe my game will benefit from using them in the months ahead," said Lawrie.
"I really like the feel of the new FG Tour irons which I've been playing with since last August, and the Tw9 wedges are just outstanding."
Other Wilson Staff Advisory Members include England's Anthony Wall, Spain's Jose Manuel Lara, Fredrik Ohlsson of Sweden and American Ricky Barnes.

Walton Heath to host 2011 Senior Open Championship

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOUR
Walton Heath Golf Club will host the Senior Open Championship for the first time from July 21-24, 2011, 30 years after the Surrey venue staged a historic Ryder Cup.
The Senior Open Championship returns to the south of England for only the second time, following the success of the 2009 Championship at Sunningdale where American Loren Roberts beat Mark McNulty of Ireland and another American, Fred Funk, in an exciting play-off.
In addition to the Ryder Cup, Walton Heath has also hosted the European Open five times and has been the US Open Championship European Qualifying venue since 2005.
Walton Heath’s place in history was sealed in 1981 when it became the first European venue to host a Ryder Cup between a combined European team – rather than Great Britain and Ireland – and the United States.
Thirteen members of the European and United States Teams from that year played in The 2009 Senior Open Championship and many are expected to return to the course for next year’s Championship, including 2009 European Senior Tour Order of Merit winner Sam Torrance who made his Ryder Cup debut at the venue.
Major Champions Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle were also part of the European Team, while Tom Watson, runner-up in The 2009 Open Championship and three-time Senior Open Champion, represented the United States in their 18½ - 9½ victory.
Tom Kite, another member of the 1981 United States Team expected to be part of the field, won the European Open at Walton Heath in 1980, as did Senior Tour Members Andrew Murray (1989) and Mike Harwood (1991), who was crowned the 2009 Senior Tour Rookie of the Year.
As well as producing a number of famous champions and memorable performances over the years - including that of New Zealander Michael Campbell who famously came through US Open Qualifying at Walton Heath in 2005, before going on to beat World Number One Tiger Woods to the title - Walton Heath has boasted some famous members including a reigning monarch, King Edward VIII, and four serving Prime Ministers: Lloyd George, Bonar Law, Arthur Balfour and Winston Churchill.
This year’s Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard will also be played at a new venue from July 22-25, 2010 when it visits Carnoustie, where Watson won the first of his five Open Championships in 1975.

SGU ready to help clubs in financial trouble

FROM THE SCOTSMAN.COM WEBSITE Subscribe
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
While Scottish golf has not yet suffered the ignominy of seeing one of its clubs shut due to the recession, a team of experts is waiting in the wings ready to offer help should such a scenario be imminent.
With membership levels in Scotland having dropped by 2.6 per cent in the men's game and 4.6 per cent on the ladies' front over the past year, clubs the length and breadth of the country are struggling to make ends meet.
Last year Dollar Golf Club went public with its problems and organised a 'Drive to Survive' event, which saw four of the country's leading amateurs at the time – Wallace Booth, Gavin Dear, Gordon Yates and Scott Borrowman – visit the club along with European Tour pro Callum Macaulay to help raise funds to keep it alive.
"There are a number of clubs that are being challenged but, at this stage, we are not aware of any (going under]," said Hamish Grey, the Scottish Golf Union's chief executive.
"Some clubs have found people locally to help out. Take Dollar, for example. They made use of SGU squad members and we also sent along the Eisenhower Trophy and European Team Championship Trophy and, for a small club, they raised a substantial amount of money that has secured its immediate future as they look at plans for re-development."
Echoing the SGU's willingness to help member clubs, chairman Douglas Connon added: "We have tried to make people aware that, if they do have issues, we will be able to help or get some leverage by providing the expertise they might need."We have a number of named individuals, experts in finance, legal, general business and so on, who have agreed to be available to help.
"You tend to find people on the committee of a club with issues often have businesses with some issues as well and can't give the club all of their time, so that's why we are trying to help by being pro-active."
Last year the SGU tried to help clubs attract new members by running a campaign under the tag of 'Love Golf? Join The Club'. A similar project will be orchestratedby Glasgow-based agency Merchant Soul this spring.

No stroke-play qualifying in this year's Scottish Amateur Championship

Possible changes to the format for the Scottish Amateur Championship won't be made until next year at the earliest, writes Martin Dempster in the Edinburgh Evening News.
The Scottish Golf Union is looking at the possibility of introducing stroke-play qualifying to allow players to pick up world amateur ranking points but this year's event at Gullane will be unchanged.
"It is a case of looking at what works out best in terms of the world rankings but it will take time to put in place so it's not going to happen this year," said the SGU's CEO, Hamish Grey.

Inverness Fairways Target Golf Leagues

By Neil D. Hampton
Golf & Marketing Director, Loch Ness Golf Course
Web: www.golflochness.com
Fairways Target Golf Leagues: Spring Week 1 Report

MONDAY LEAGUES
Finally the Target Golf Leagues have started after the driving range was found underneath several feet of snow. Two new teams arrived to the Monday leagues and both acquitted themselves well with one in particular stealing the limelight.
The Royal Swingers (just the middle initial B is missing!) not only won their game against the Sainties, they were also the highest scoring team of the night, there were lots of stories of them “cashing in their bonus” to score as high but they had to club together afterwards to buy a pint with four straws!
Our other new boys are from the fire service but prefer to go incognito under the pseudonym of the Happy Gilmours. In their first game they played one of last season new teams Orion and experience told with Orion taking both points.
In the night's other games it was some more familiar names doing battle with the Parahandies just nicking it from the Neverwillbees (despite the might of the Wilson clan!) and BM Trucks saw off a ring rusty Specialists team.
This puts the Right Royal Bankers at the head of affairs closely followed by BM Trucks with the Neverwillbees at the other end of the table. This is just the first of 10 games so there will be a lot more twists and turns before the end of the season.

Results:
BM Trucks 44 – 22 Specialists
The Neverwillbees 8 – 20 Parahandies
Orion 30 – 13 Happy Gilmours
Sainties 18 – 50 Royal Swingers.

TUESDAY LEAGUES
The Tuesday league saw all of the winter season teams return and it was business as for all of them. Muirton Marvels top the table with the highest score of the night but were pushed all the way by Fairhurst and the same can said for King Kenyon’s Klan who despite having the second best score of the evening only won by five from the Senior Moments.
The Luckless Leadbetters put in a solid performance in their game against the Mad Drivers who couldn’t get out of second gear and the Coastguards got their season off to a winning start courtesy of Fairways not fielding a team.

Results:
Senior Moments 44 – 49 King Kenyon’s Klan
Luckless Leadbetters 42 – 18 Mad Drivers
Coastguards 22 – 0 Fairways
Fairhurst 41 – 51 Muirton Marvels.

FOTHERINGHAM FLOURISHES DOWN UNDER Nairn's Fraser Fotheringham shot a sub-par second round of 70 to survive the halfway cut with three shots to spare in the New South Wales Amateur golf championship but Scott Borrowman (Dollar), a former Scottish youths champion, missed the cut for his second Australian tournament in a row. Fotheringam, beaten finalist in the 2007 British boys championship and wintering in the Australian summer sun, has had rounds of 74 and 70 over the Newcastle (par 72) and Muree (par 71) courses for a 36-hole tally of one-over-par 144 and joint 25th place among the 60 qualifiers for the final two rounds at Newcastle. Australians Reece Hodson (68-68) and Michael Williams (67-69) lead the way on seven-under 136. Walker Cup Englishman Tommy Fleetwood (Formby Hall) and Matt Haines (Rochester & Cobham) are on 141 and 146 respectively. Fleetwood has scored 72 and 69 to be lying joint 12th. Haines has had rounds of 78 and 68 for a share of 43rd place on 146. Borrowman, who had an opening round of 83, had a No Return in the second round - or perhaps he withdrew. It is difficult to interpret the information coming out from the New South Wales Golf Association. He certainly didn't make 147 or better to qualify for the last two rounds.