Windy start at Miami to WGC-CA Championship

Casey content to be only two behind Allenby


FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
England's in-form Paul Casey was thrilled to finish the opening round of the WGC-CA Championship only two shots off the lead in windy Miami - after thinking Robert Allenby must have been playing somewhere else.
Australian Allenby defied the conditions with an eagle and six birdies to stand eight under par after 12 holes, but then bogeyed the last four at the Doral Resort & Country Club.
That handed top spot to South African Charl Schwartzel with his five under par 67 - the only bogey-free round of the day - while Casey had four successive birdies late in the day before dropping a shot at the last to be in a tie for fifth spot.
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More News
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Westwood and Casey target rankings rise
Dyson delights in big year
Noh caps dream week with Open berth
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"I thought Robert was playing a different course," said the world number six, who has a chance this week to become Tiger Woods' closest challenger on the rankings for the first time.
"That was very impressive stuff - there are a lot of tough holes here - and I'm very happy with my 69."
Far from satisfied, though, was Rory McIlroy as he handed in a bitterly disappointing 76 and then sentenced himself to some hard labour on the practice range.
McIlroy had only a few of the 68-strong field behind him after no fewer than six bogeys and so many shots into bunkers that he could not remember the final tally.
"I'm just struggling," said the world number nine, outscored by five by playing partner and defending champion Phil Mickelson.
"I'm not playing well and just can't keep things going. I've been struggling since the weekend in Dubai (now over a month ago)."
ALL THE FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Doral Resort & CC, Miami, Florida
Par 72. Players from United States unless stated
67 Charl Schwartzel (South Africa)
68 Vijay Singh (Fiji), Robert Allenby (Australia), Ernie Els (South Africa)
69 Dustin Johnson, Francesco Molinari (Italy), J.B. Holmes, Soren Hansen (Denmark), John Senden (Australia), Paul Casey (England)
70 Jerry Kelly, Jim Furyk, Luke Donald (England), Martin Kaymer (Ger), Tim Clark (Rsa), Padraig Harrington (Ireland)
71 Phil Mickelson, Anthony Kim, Bill Haas, Sean O'Hair, Yuta Ikeda (Japan), Matt Kuchar, Henrik Stenson (Sweden)
72 Lucas Glover, David Toms, Geoff Ogilvy (Australia), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain), Simon Dyson (England), Liang Wen Chong (China), Alvaro Quiros (Spain), Hunter Mahan, Alistair Presnell (Australia), Ian Poulter (England), Camilo Villegas (Colombia), Edoardo Molinari (Italy)
73 Nick Watney, Steve Stricker, Ross Fisher (England), Jason Dufner, Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand), Kenny Perry, Mike Weir (Can), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain), Y.E. Yang (South Korea)
74 Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark), Graeme McDowell (N Ireland), Adam Scott (Australia), Brian Gay, Sergio Garcia (Spain), Angel Cabrera (Argentina), Heath Slocum, Peter Hanson (Sweden), Ben Crane, Lee Westwood (England)
75 Steve Marino, Michael Sim (Aus), Stewart Cink
76 Rory McIlroy (N Ireland), Zach Johnson, Retief Goosen (South Africa), Anders Hansen (Denmark), Scott Verplank, Ross McGowan (England)
78 Robert Karlsson (Sweden), Kevin Na, Oliver Wilson (England), Marc Leishman (Australia)
79 Ryan Palmer

Puerto Rico Open hit by heavy rain suspension of play

Heavy rain halted the first-round action very early and then eventually washed out the rest of the opening day's play at Rio Grande in the US PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open.
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Click on this link for more details:
PGATOUR.COM: Complete coverage of the Puerto Rico Open
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Six inches of rain had fallen on Donald Trump's 7,526yd tropical, oceanside course by early afternoon.
The first round will restart on Friday morning, with preferred lies in closely mown areas.
Before play was first suspended at 7:19 am, Skip Kendall hit an eagle on the par-4 10th hole. Eighteen players teed off prior to the suspension of play.
The $3.5 million tournament in Puerto Rico is being held opposite the World Golf Championship at Doral, which has attracted the best players from around the world.

Hume 69, Dear 71 in Alps Tour event in Spain

FROM THE ALPS TOUR WEBSITE
Play in the first round of Peugeot/Alps Tour's tournament at Club de Golf El Escorpion, Valencia in Spain was suspended due to the darkness. About 30 players were still on course at the time and play will resume tomorrow morning at 8am local time.
The leader in the club house teed off in the morning today. Italian Matteo Delpodio signed for a perfect 66, five under par. He reached the turn with nine par figures but stayed patient.
The 24-year-old from Turin seemed much more untroubled than last season:
“Last year, I was not relaxed when I was on a tournament. I made a mistake by playing on each circuit if I could enter the field. I was jumping from Challenge Tour to Alps Tour and I even played my National Open on the main Tour.
"It was not a good choice because each week was very important for my ranking and I missed some casual attitude. This year I feel really better. I have learned from my mistake, I am a professional in my work, I play well, I have a good team around me so I know that if the win doesn't come this week I can do it another week.
"Today, I was patient and knew that I would obviously holed some putts. I was very close to the holes with my putts on front nine. Then I holed five birdie putts on back nine. The work I did with the Italian Federation is paying off.
"Massimo Scarpa is running a group of 20 players and he really helps us. He is a excellent coach, knows exactly what to say to make us play our best golf.”
Same kind of words came from compatriot Andrea Perrino, joint second on 67. Perrino won the Alps Tour order of merit last year and came to Spain to practice. He scored 67, -4 and shared second provisional place with Challenge Tour French player Christophe Brazillier.
“Obviously, I have less pressure since I am not playing on my circuit but it is a good thing to practice here. The course is in a really good shape and the greens are firm. Last year, I did not start the season very well but I played consistent since July. I want to be ready earlier this year.”
The weather conditions were tougher for afternoon players. The wind started to blow and it was colder. The leading Spanish player, Jordi Garcia del Moral, was in morning group as well and scored 68, -3 for a 4th position.
SCOTSWATCH. Perthshire pair Steven Hume and Gavin Dear returned scores of 69 and par 71 respectively. Hume is joint fifth, Dear tied for 21st place.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
+Play suspended early because of darkness, 30 players still to complete rounds.
Par 71
66 Matteo Delpodio (Italy).
67 Christophe Brazillier (France), Andrea Perrino (Italy).
68 Jordi Garcia del Moral (Spain).
69 Steven Hume (Scotland), Santiago Luna (Spain), Lawrence Dodd (England), Pedro Oriol (Spain), Ivo Giner (Spain), Moises Cobo (Spain), Jose Romero (Spain), Steve Lewton (England).
Selected scores
70 Richard Kilpatrick (N Ireland) (jt 13th).
71 Gavin Dear (Scotland), Farren Keenan (England), Jason Palmer (England), Nicholas
Murtagh (England (jt 21st).
72 Matthew Cryer (England) (jt 37th).
73 Neil Chaudhuri (England), Mark Hooper (England) (jt 49th).
75 Jason Barnes (England), Daniel Coughlan (England) (jt 73rd).
+Field of 111 players.

2,100 Euros cash prize for Lothians man, 7,176 Euros from three events

Lloyd Saltman, lady pro winner Johanna Lundberg (Sweden) and senior award winner Miguel Angel Martin (Spain) pictured after the prizegiving today.

Lloyd Saltman wins by five, Callum Macaulay jt second

FROM THE SPANISH Hi5 PRO TOUR WEBSITE

Lloyd Saltman from Scotland went wire to wire to capture the 2010 Polaris World Condado Open today with an 11-under-par total of 205 earning him a five-shot margin of victory. The middle brother of the “Saltman brothers” had tremendous composure the entire round today, reported tournament director Wayne Hachey.

“You could see how cool he played his round today, the mark of a real champion. He just got on with it and took care of business, and did not let anyone come from behind with his solid performance of 70 today and a -11 total.”

Another Scotsman, former European Tour player Callum Macaulay, and Challenge Tour player Floris de Vries (Netherlands) were his nearest rivals. Both finished at -6.

De Vries fired a great 65 today on the demanding Nicklaus layout. After a short frost delay, the blue skies and gentle winds provided great scoring conditions to go along with the superb putting surfaces at Condado.
In the ladies section Johanna Lundberg (Sweden) shot a final round 71 to win by one shot over Josefin Leijon also from Sweden.
The senior award was won by European Tour veteran Miguel Angel Martin (Spain) who displayed his usual talents and closed the event with a fine 69 (nine shots better than his opening round.

*Lloyd Saltman's cash reward for victory was 2,100 Euros, giving him a grand total of 7,716 Euros from the three Hi5 Pro Tour events he has played.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
1-205 Lloyd Saltman (Scotland) 68 67 70.
T2-210 Floris De Vries (Netherlands) 73 72 65, Callum Macaulay (Scotland) 71 68 71.
4-211 Andreas Hogberg (Sweden) 71 68 72.
T5-214 Felix Fihn (Sweden) 71 72 71, Gary King (England) 68 76 70.
7-216 Gareth Davies (Wales) 75 70 71.
T8-217 Miguel Angel Martin (Spain) 78 70 69, Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark) 70 72 75.
10-220 Alex Belt (England) 71 73 76.
T11-221 Elliot Saltman (Scotland) 72 77 72, Patrick O'Neill (amateur) 72 74 75, Lasse Sonne Nielsen (Denmark) (amateur) 70 73 78.
14-222 Tim Sluiter (Netherlands) 70 72 80.
T15-224 Ruaidhri McGee (Ireland) 75 76 73, Richard Kind (Netherlands) 70 76 78, Jan-Philip Neuendorf (amateur) 73 75 76.
18-225 Ryan Street 76 77 72.
19-226 James Housby (England) 72 76 78.
T20-227 Zack Saltman (Scotland) 75 76 76, Martyn Hamer (England) 73 77 77, Emilo Rodriguez Aguilera (Spain) 73 76 78.
T23-228 Richard Carter (England) (amateur) 71 79 78, Adrian Axelsson (Sweden) 73 82 73.
T25-229 Stian Hansen (Norway) 79 75 75, Juhana Pernaa (amateur) 77 74 78.
27-230 Brad Clapp (Canada) 77 78 75.
T28-231 Emilio Rodriguez Senior 77 74 80, Vidar Thorstensen 74 81 76.
30-232 Stephen Shields 83 77 72.
T31-233 Paul O'Hanlon 74 76 83, Fredrik Thorin 80 77 76.
T33-235 Christer Friis 78 79 78, Scott Fitzgerald (England) 80 79 76, Edward Barry-Walsh (England) 82 81 72.
36-237 James Johnson (England) 77 83 77.
37-239 Alvaro Herrero (Spain) 83 76 80.
38-241 Ronan Collins (Ireland) 84 82 75.
39-271 Roy Van der Loop (Netherlands) 86 95 90
40-296 Jan Skoglund Paltto 99 103 94.

LADIES SCOREBOARD ON www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk

Gullane gallop away with title as defending champs drop

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Gullane turned out for their final match in the East Lothian Winter League knowing anything but a 5-0 home defeat would be enough to secure the title.
That thought may have given some hope to opponents Haddington, themselves in need of a couple of league points to make sure of avoiding relegation.However, the match was more of a victory march for Jeff Aitken's side, with the hosts quickly taking control of all but the top tie, and in the end, there was some doubt as to which pairing secured the vital first point that won the title for Gullane.
Whether that claim fell to Fraser Syme and Murray Saunders on the 15th green in match 2, to Rob Jack and Mike Corrie on the 14th in match 3, or to Stuart Menzies and George Paterson on the 13th in match 5, nobody is quite sure.
What is certain is that Gullane secured their first Winter League title for 29 years, and Duncan Low and Scott Walker completed the day's work with a victory on the last green over Keith Nicholson and David Warner in the top tie.
Last year's Division 2 champions, Longniddry, completed their campaign with a win on the road at Kilspindie, and in so doing claimed runners-up spot.
However, there were more twists and turns in the race to avoid relegation and Dunbar completed their struggle for survival with a solid win away to Craigielaw. That was enough to preserve their top-flight credentials for another season and, at the same time, send the defending champions down.
Royal Musselburgh, the champions 11 times, suffered defeats at Haddington on Saturday and at Tantallon on Sunday and that leaves them vulnerable to the drop.
Tantallon's emphatic home win went some way to restoring confidence in a side that has been inconsistent this term, though they travel to Haddington next Saturday in the knowledge that they still need a draw to avoid the third automatic relegation spot.
And, should they win that match, they will move up to third place and send Royal Musselburgh into the play-off. Haddington will take heart from the 5-0 thrashing they handed out when they travelled to the coast in October, and have their sights set on a home win that will earn them the right to contest Sunday's play-off at Tantallon's expense.
Kilspindie return to Division 2 and will be joined in the drop by last year's champions, Craigielaw.
Glen have been on top of the Division 2 table all season, and duly finished off the job with a 4-1 win on the road against Musselburgh Old.
With just one defeat all season, Innes Christie's side can now look forward to competing in an elite six-team Division 1 next year.
Whitekirk have kept up the pressure all the way, and started the day just a point in arrears. Their match at Gifford was postponed due to snow and, with the title decided, that fixture cannot now have any bearing on the final placings.
As Division 2 runners up, Andy Ovens' men will have a second shot at promotion in the play-off match at Gullane next Sunday.

Lothians warm up with match at Kingsknowe
Lothians are to face a club side in Edinburgh as part of their preparations for the new season.
Keith Nicholson has indicated he'll be trying to field his strongest side possible for the friendly at Kingsknowe on Saturday week.
"This is a real feather in our cap as I don't think it's something the Lothians have done before," said Kingsknowe team captain Bill Buchan.
"We were delighted that Keith liked the idea straight away when we made the approach."
The following weekend – on 27 March – a Lothians Select will face a Lothians Boys/Youths Select at Craigielaw, giving Nicholson another chance to run the rule over players.

Windyhill Pro David Roger takes West Alliance

honours at Lanark Golf Club with two-under 68

By JOHN CARRELL
West of Scotland Golfers' Alliance secretary
A total of 60 amateurs and 15 professionals were put to the test in this week's West of Scotland Golfers' Alliance competition at a frosty Lanark Golf Club.
The start was delayed by an hour and a half while we waited for the sun to soften the ground. Play got underway at 9.30 with only one winter green. The course looked in great condition and the players enjoyed their time on this Open Qualifying course.
David Roger, the pro from Windyhill, took an early lead on 68 with five birdies and no bogies in the first nine. The second nine was looking good with par all the way till the 18th where he took a triple bogey 6 to leave him on two under par. The mistake on the 18th turned out to be okay though as no-one managed to overtake him for the rest of the day.
Previous winner Stevie Gray, the pro from Hayston, came equal second with two young amateurs, James Hendrick (+1) from Bonnyton and Conor O'Neill (+2) from Pollock, both on par 70.
The amateurs' prize went to Kevin McCann (7) who finished with a net 66. Kevin Caldwell (4) from Hayston and Brian Robertson (11) from Forrester Park shared second place on 69.
Seniors prize went to the last outing's amateur winner, John Greene (12), who carded a net 70.
PRIZEWINNERS
Scratch
68 David Roger (Windyhill) p £110.
70 Stevie Gray (Hayston)p £60, James Hendrick (+1) (Bonnyton) and Conor O'Neill (+2) (Pollock) £60 vouchers each.
Handicap
Prize Vouchers
66 Kevin McCann (Vale of Leven) (7) £80.
69 Kevin Caldwell (Hayston) (4), Brian Robertson (Forrester Park) (11) £42.50 each.
71 Andrew Sturton (Forrester Park) (9) £25.
Seniors
Prize Vouchers
70 John Greene (Cowglen) (12) £30.
72 John Mansfield (Troon Merchants) (15) £20.

Our top three handicap winners also shared the sweep money, while eight players who achieved 2s on the day shared our amateurs' 2s sweep money.

Greig Marchbank tops SGU U16s' Winter Series Order of Merit

SCOTTISH GOLF ACADEMY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Winter Series Under-16 boys' Final Order of Merit

Event 1 at Nairn Dunbar (October 18, 2009).
Event 2 at Whitekirk (November 22, 2009).
Event 3 at Eden course, St Andrews (February 7, 2010).
Event 4 at Forrester Park (March 7, 2010).

1 Greig Marchbank Thornhill 4 675.00
2 Ewan Scott St Andrews 3 585.00
3 Lawrence Allan Alva 4 572.50
4 Craig Howie Peebles 4 535.00
5 Calum Hill Tantallan 4 515.00
6 Daniel Flannery Peebles 4 425.00
7 Anthony Blaney Liberton 4 367.50
8 Bradley Neil Blairgowrie 4 363.33
9 James Steven Kirkhill 4 361.88
10 Bob Macintyre Glencruitten 4 343.33
11 Cameron Farrell Cardross 3 340.00
12 Blair Carnegie Dunblane New 4 310.00
13 Jordan Shaw Kingussie 3 297.50
14 Alasdair McDougall Elderslie 4 271.88
15 Charlie Linton Dunblane New 4 269.38
16 Jamie Savage Cawder 4 269.00
17 Fraser Lauder Paisley 4 267.50
18 Euan Bowden Glen 3 230.00
19 Scott Whannel Newton Stewart 4 227.50
20 Ewen Ferguson Bearsden 4 214.83
21 Alasdair McDougall New Club St Andrews 4 204.38
22 Andrew Loch Pumpherston 4 172.50
23 Ross Proctor Forres 4 164.38
24 Euan Walker Kilmarnock (Barassie) 4 156.50
25 Ben Murray Portlethen 3 149.00
26 Greig Stewart Crieff 4 144.38
27 Craig Oram Nairn Dunbar 4 135.00
28 Craig Anderson Sandyhills 4 115.00
29 Calum John Mckay Grange 3 97.50
30 Charlie Macneal Troon Wellbeck 1 87.50
31 Jack Moir Newburgh on Ythan 2 85.00
32 David Slack Gourock 1 75.00
33 Robbie Gauld Cruden Bay 4 69.00
T34 Connor Syme Dumfries & County 3 49.38
T34 Neil McArthur Bishopbriggs 3 49.38
T36 Ryan Gordon Alford 3 35.00
T36 Jamie Boon Forres 2 35.00
T36 Ray Gordon Alford 2 35.00
39 Craig Boyd Lanark 4 20.00
T40 Gary Foley Ralston 4 10.00
T40 Robbie Spriddle Dunfermline 4 10.00

+Under-16 girls' Winter Series Final Order of Merit on www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL FINAL QUALIFYING - ASIA

Teenager Noh wins
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place at Open

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Kuala Lumpur: Noh Seung-yul of South Korea completed a sensational run in Malaysia after qualifying for the Open at St Andrews in July with Malaysia ’s Danny Chia, Japanese Hiroyuki Fujita and amateur Eric Chun of South Korea at the International Final Qualifying – Asia today.
Noh, winner of last week’s Maybank Malaysian Open, claimed one of the four tickets to the world’s oldest Major after closing with a four-under-par 68 in the tournament that was won by Fujita who signed off with a 66 for a two-day total of 11-under-par 133 at the Saujana Golf and Country Club.
Chia shot a 68 to finish in tied second position alongside Noh on 134 and will make his third appearance in the Open. Chun, who finished second at the inaugural Asian Amateur Championship in China last year, birdied his last hole to join the trio at St Andrews in July.
“I’m really happy but honestly it hasn’t settled in yet. It has been a great two weeks for me but I’m not going to let it get to my head,” said the 18-year-old Noh.
Noh romped home with two birdies on his last two holes and was delighted with his round except for a bogey on the 16th hole and is now relishing the opportunity to play in his first Major.
“I’m more experienced now after last week and that has certainly carried over to this week. I treat every tournament the same and I’m looking forward to playing against the world’s best,” added the South Korean.
Chia got off to a bright start with an eagle 2 on the fourth hole when his drive landed 15 feet from the pin. He last played in the Open in 2005, which was also held at St Andrews and in 2008.
He said that he felt confident going into the final three holes. “The thrill of returning to The Open started with three more holes to go. I always want to show my fans that I’m not going to crack at the pressure point and kept telling myself to keep calm and focus,” said Chia who has won once on the Asian Tour.
“A lot of things were going through my mind yesterday. I found it hard to sleep! I always try to prove myself in front of the home crowd that Malaysian professionals can make it into the next level in golf and I did that today,” added the Malaysian who mixed his round with an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys.
Fujita, the highest ranked player at 80th in the world, who also featured in the Open in 2005 where he played in all four rounds, was delighted to top the qualifier courtesy of a flawless round highlighted by six birdies.
“My ball striking wasn’t really good but my putting helped a lot this week. There was a lot of good players here and I didn’t expect to win so I’m glad to be able to win it and of course to play in a Major again,” said the two-time Asian Tour winner.
Chun, who was on five-under alongside three other players going into the final hole, held his nerve to sink his birdie putt from four feet to claim the last place at St Andrews.
“I have never been so nervous in my life and I’m just happy it worked out well. I was really patient today and that was the key for me. Every putt I had out here these two days were as important as my last putt. All these other good putts led me to this opportunity.
“I haven’t played at St Andrews before or let alone been anywhere near there! So I’m looking forward to it. I’ve only seen it on television and heard about it so to play there is amazing,” said Chun who turned 20 on Monday.
The Open will celebrate its 150th anniversary at the Old Course, St Andrews from July 15-18 this year.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS


Par 144 (2x72)
133 Hiroyuki FUJITA (JPN) 67-66
134 NOH Seung-Yul (KOR) 66-68, Danny CHIA (MAS) 66-68
138 Eric CHUN (A) (KOR) 67-71
Top-four above qualify for The Open.
139 KIM Dae-Hyun KOR 73-66, Keith HORNE (RSA) 73-66, Andrew DODT (AUS) 74-65
140 HIDETO Tanihara (JPN) 72-68, Guido VAN DER VALK (HOL) 71-69
141 Tetsuji HIRATSUKA (JPN) 73-68, HAN Chang-Won (A) (KOR) 73-68
142 LAM Chih-Bing (SIN) 73-69, Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 69-73, David GLEESON (AUS) 74-68
143 M.Sasidaran (MAS) 72-71, Miles TUNNICLIFF (ENG) 71-72
144 Airil Rizman ZAHARI (MAS) 73-71, Mars PUCAY (PHI) 72-72, Yoshinobu TSUKADA (JPN) 72-72, LEE Sung (KOR) 70-74

Leading Scots in R&A World Amateur Rankings

The top seven Scots in this week's R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings are:

49 Ross Kellett (down four places from last week).
66 James Byrne (down 6).
169 Glenn Campbell (down 2).
180 Michael Stewart (down 1).
188 Mark Hillson (down 17).
278 James White (down 13).
324 David Law (down 14).

Fairways Target Golf Leagues Week 7

By Neil D. Hampton
Golf & Marketing Director, Loch Ness Golf Course
Web: www.golflochness.com
MONDAY LEAGUE REPORT
It was a night of upsets in the Monday league as both the top two teams lost. Orion and BM Trucks found themselves in the unusual position of being the night’s two lowest scoring teams as they tasted rare defeats.
Orion fell to the Parahandies, the night’s top scorers and now second in the league but it was the BM Trucks defeat that caused the biggest sensation as they lost to the Happy Gilmour's who recorded only their second win of the season.
The Sainties had their best score of the season but are still to get off the mark as the Neverwillbees also had their highest score! As this was the last game before the league splits the crunch match was for the final place in the top half and Royal Swingers who were 4th faced their nearest challengers the Specialists.
It was the Specialists who took the win and joined the Royal Swingers on 6 points but the Swingers held onto 4th spot by virtue of a better shots scored record having scored a total of just 10 more points than the Specialists in 7 games!. There are now 3 games left to decide the two qualifiers for the end of season play-offs.
RESULTS
Specialists 55 – 48 Royal Swingers
Sainties 43 – 63 The Neverwillbees
Parahandies 64 – 34 Orion
Happy Gilmour’s 37 – 32 BM Trucks.

TUESDAY LEAGUE REPORT
Things were a little bit more clear cut in the Tuesday League and only one of the top teams suffered defeat but this was not enough to drop them out of the top half. It was the Senior Moments who took the scalp of Muirton Marvels with their best score of the season so far but it was just too late and they will have to content themselves with being the best of the rest at the moment now that the league table split has been made.
The Marvels drop down to 4th place as the Luckless Leadbetters finally got back on form knocking in an impressive 61 (their best of the season too!) against the Coastguards. Fairhurst continued their good form and consolidated their second place in the league table with a solid win over the Mad Drivers but it was league leaders King Kenyon’s Klan who had the best score of the night with 72 as the thumped stable mates Fairways who are still adrift at the bottom.
The Klan have a 2 point lead over Fairhurst moving into the split but the Leadbetters look menacing just 2 points behind Fairhurst with 3 games to go.
RESULTS
Coastguards 27 – 61 Luckless Leadbetters
Mad Drivers 28 – 40 Fairhurst Fore
King Kenyon’s Klan 72 – 21 Fairways
Muirton Marvels 36 – 53 Senior Moments.

TABLES

MONDAY LEAGUE
1 Orion 12pt
2 Parahandies 12
3 BM Trucks 10
4 Royal Swingers 6
5 Specialists 6
6 Neverwillbees 6
7 Happy Gilmour's 4
8 The Sainties 0
TUESDAY LEAGUE
1 King Kenyon's Klan 12pt
2 Fairhurst Fore 10
3 Luckless Leadbetters 8
4 Muirton Marvels 8
5 Senior Moments 6
6 Coastguards 6
7 Mad Drivers 4
8 Fairways

Royal Lytham to host Walker Cup in 2015

-

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R&A
The R&A has announced that Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club will host the 45th Walker Cup Match, in 2015. The biennial contest between Great Britain & Ireland and the USA will take place on the Lancashire links on September 12 and 13 that year.
“We are delighted that Royal Lytham & St Annes has agreed to host the Walker Cup in 2015,” said David Hill, The R&A’s Director of Championships. “As one of Great Britain and Ireland’s premier links courses, it will undoubtedly provide a stern test befitting a contest that has come to represent the pinnacle of amateur achievement.
“The golfing public in the north-west of England are extremely knowledgeable and have always shown a keen interest in the amateur game,” Hill added. “We look forward to welcoming them to Lytham in 2015 for what will be a fantastic celebration of golf.”
Lytham has a proud association with the amateur game. Bobby Jones became only the third amateur to lift the Claret Jug when he won the first of his three Open Championships there, in 1926. The venue has also staged four Amateur Championships in 1935, 1955, 1986 and in 2007, when Drew Weaver, a member of the USA’s winning Walker Cup team last year, defeated Australian Tim Stewart 2&1 in the final.
“Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club is both delighted and honoured to be asked to host the Walker Cup in 2015,” said Paul Gardner, captain of the club. “Royal Lytham prides itself on strong connections with the amateur game, which it supports every year by holding the Lytham Trophy, a major event for those seeking Walker Cup selection.
“The last two years have seen significant Course improvements, following consultation with The R&A, which will lead to an enhanced challenge for all competitors in major events throughout this decade and beyond.”
Though the Club will be hosting the Walker Cup for the first time in 2015, it is no stranger to international team matches, having hosted the Ryder Cup in 1961 and 1977: the USA beating Great Britain & Ireland on both occasions.
Royal Lytham & St Annes has hosted The Open Championship on 10 previous occasions and will do so again in 2012.
In 2011 the Walker Cup will be played at Royal Aberdeen in Scotland. Following that, the 2013 Match will be contested at the National Golf Links of America, Long Island, New York.