David Patrick with the UniRoyal championship trophy at Gullane (image by courtesy of alliance secretary Keith Liddle).

David Patrick wins East of Scotland Alliance title by three

David Patrick (Elie) won the Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance championship over the Gullane Nos 2 and 3 courses today.

He totalled 131, made up of a 70 over No 2 and a 61 over No 3.

There were at least five scores better than David's over the longer No 2 course but his 61 over the shorter lay-out was four strokes better than anyone else at that venue.

Neil Bain (Haddington), Scott Catlin (Greenburn) and Neil Colquhoun (Merchants) all finished three shots behind Patrick on 134, Bain with two rounds of 67, and both Catlin and Colquhoun with 69s at No 2 and 65s at No 3.

Bain, a five-handicapper, had the consolation of returning easily the lowest net total of 134.

MARTIN DEMPSTER'S REPORT FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS:

A day that had an ugly start for David Patrick produced a pretty ending as he regained the East of Scotland Alliance Championship at Gullane.
The former Walker Cup player from Edinburgh woke up with one of his eyes puffed up like a golf ball and wondered if he'd be able to play in the two-round event.But, after having problems with gauging distances on the greens on a morning 70 on the No 2 course, Patrick found his range as he stormed to the top of the leaderboard with an afternoon 61 on the shorter No 3 course.

His eight-under-par total of 131 gave him a three-shot win over Scott Catlin, the defending champion from Greenburn, Merchants pro Neil Colquhoun and Haddington amateur Neil Bain as Patrick repeated his UniRoyal Trophy triumph at Dalmahoy in 2008.

"I was doing stuff around the house on Tuesday night and I might have rubbed my eye after touching something or, alternatively, something might have got into my eye," said the 35-year-old.

"When I woke up in the morning, my eye was the size of a golf ball and I couldn't open it."It was still streaming when I started out for my first round, during which I had five three-putts. I kept hitting my first putt long and couldn't stop it. Thankfully, it got better as the day went on."

Three off the pace on the No 2 course after his opening effort, Patrick, who is attached to Elie these days, made his move with a sparkling start to his afternoon round.

He went 3-2-2-3 to be four-under after four – and reckoned it could have been even better.

"I holed from ten feet and 15 feet for birdies at the first and second then chipped in for an eagle at the third," he revealed.

"I should also have had an eagle at the fourth, missing from eight feet, but it was still probably my best-ever start to a round."

A poor sand wedge led to his only dropped shot of the round at the 12th before he finished in much the same way as he'd began – reeling off three straight birdies.

"I've not been playing much but have been working on my short game and feel my putting in particular has improved as a result of some stuff I've been doing in the house," added Patrick, who is gearing up for a first season of playing in pro-ams on the Tartan Tour.

After an opening 65 on the No 3 course – an effort matched in the morning by Colquhoun and Royal Burgess amateur Ian Taylor – Catlin maintained his excellent defence of the title with a second-round 69 to claim second spot.

The outstanding amateur performance of the day came from five-handicapper Bain, who claimed the Gavin Clark Trophy with two superb net 62s."They've got to be the two best rounds of my life," admitted the 45-year-old, who works as a project manager for Hewlett Packard in Edinburgh, having moved to the Capital from the Highlands, where he was a former club champion at Abernethy.

LEADING SCRATCH TOTALS

Gullane No 2 score first, Gullane No 3 score second.

131 David Patrick (Elie) 70 61.

134 Neil Bain (Haddington) 67 67, Scott Catlin (Greenburn) 69 65, Neil Colquhoun (Merchants) 69 65.

137 Colin Fraser (Peebles) 68 69.

138 Terry Mathieson (King's Acre) 72 66, Paul Wardell (Whitekirk) 72 66.

139 Ross Neill (Drumpellier) 70 69, Richard Johnston (Glenbervie) 71 68, Alan Reid (West Lothian) 71 69, Ian Taylor (Royal Burgess) 74 65.

140 Ryan Buckley (Craigielaw) 71 69, Gordon Law (Uphall) 71 69, Scott Grieve (Turnhouse) 71 69.

141 Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) 75 66, Thomas Wilson (Glenbervie) 73 68, David Graham (Duddingston) 72 69, Mike Thomson (Torwoodlee) 71 70.

142 Grant Skinner (Glencorse) 74 68, Tom Buchanan (Duddingston) 68 74, Chris Morris (Kingsknowe) 74 68, Andrew Erskine (Ratho Park) 74 68, George Wither (Lothianburn) 74 68.

143 Craig Imlah (Peebles) 72 71, Stuart Callan (Bathgate) 77 66, Andrew Marshall (Houston GR) 72 71.

144 Andrew Rothney (Deer Park) 74 70.

145 Andrew Wight (Glencorse) 73 72, Robert Denholm (Duddinston) 75 70, Steven Doyle (Gifford) 76 69, Scott Knowles (Kingsknowe) 75 70.

146 Derek Fish (Glenbervie) 77 69.

LEADING HANDICAP

124 Neil Bain (Haddington) (5) 62 62.

131 David Graham (Duddingston) (5) 67 64.

135 Richard Johnston (Glenbervie) (2) 69 66 , Robert Denholm (Duddingston) (5) 70 65, David McKean (Cardrona) (8) 70 65.

136 Grant Skinner (Glencorse) (3) 71 65, Peter Sewell (West Linton) (6) 69 67.

137 Colin Fraser (Peebles) (scr) 68 69, Ian Taylor (Royal Burgess) (1) 73 64, Thomas Wilson (Glenb ervie) (2)71 66, Stgeven Doyle (Gifford) (4) 72 65, Ian Jeavons (Dubar) (5) 71 66.

138 Ian Jeavons (Dunbar) (5) 71 66.

138 Philip Leggate (Musselburgh) (9) 78 60.

139 Thomas Cordery (Musselburgh) (4)70 69, Stephen Gilhooley (Duddingston) (6) 70 69, Graeme Johnston (Glenbervie) (6) 68 71.

141 Scott Knowles (Kingsknowe) (2) 73 68, Arthur Harper (Dunfermline) (4) 71 70, Wilson Morton (Dunbar) (4) 70 71, William Laing (Prestonfield) (6) 74 67, David Jeffrey (Whitekirik) (8) 70 71.

PRIZELIST
Scratch
1st £300 David Patrick (Elie) 131
2nd equal £200 voucher Neil Bain (Haddington) 134
2nd equal £200 Scott Catlin (Greenburn) 134
2nd equal £200 Neil Colquhoun (Merchants) 134
5th £100 Colin Fraser (Peebles) 137

Winner of the Gavin Clark Trophy (Best net score)
Neil Bain (Haddington)

Handicap vouchers
1st £150 David Graham (Duddingston) 131
2nd equal £100 Richard Johnston (Glenbervie) 135
2nd equal £100 Robert Denholm (Duddingston) 135
2nd equal £100 David McKean (Cardrona) 135
5th equal £25 Grant Skinner (Glencorse) 136
5th equal £25 Peter Sewell (West Linton) 136

Tiger agrees to give Masters Press Conference on the Monday

Tiger Woods has agreed to give a full-scale Press Conference on the Monday of Masters week.
Woods is scheduled to appear in the Masters media centre Monday, April 5, at 2 p.m. local time, according to the pre-tournament interview schedule released today by Augusta National Golf Club.
Woods gave short interviews last Sunday to NBC and Golf Channel, answering questions on camera for the first time since his early morning car crash last November.
But the TV channels were limited to 5min interviews.
This will be a different ball-game and it will be interesting to see how Tiger copes with a media with the gloves off, metaphorically speaking, for the first time, not only since the whole sex scandal blew up, but since he made the big time. He might not like it very much.
The full Masters pre-tournament interview schedule is below:
Monday, April 5
2:00 p.m. Tiger Woods
Tuesday, April 6
9:00 a.m. Raymond Floyd
10:00 a.m. Padraig Harrington
11:00 a.m. Stewart Cink
12:00 p.m. Angel Cabrera
12:30 p.m. Chang-won Han
2:00 p.m. David Duval
2:30 p.m. Phil Mickelson
3:30 p.m. Steve Stricker
4:00 p.m. Geoff Ogilvy
4:30 p.m. Matteo Manassero
5:00 p.m. Jack Nicklaus

Elliot Saltman seven shots off the
-
pace on Hi5 Pro Tour last day
-
FROM THE SPANISH Hi5 PRO TOUR WEBSITE
Local Spaniard Ignacio Sanchez Palencia is the co leader on five-under-par 139 alongside Swedens Bjorn Pettersson after day two of the Hi5 Pro Tour's Altorreal Open.
Ignacio played a two-under-par 70 to close the gap on Round 1 leader, Bjorn Pettersson in almost perfect scoring conditions.
Close on their heels going into the final round in joint third position are England's Alex Belt , Sweden's Fredrick Hammarberg , Iceland's Stefan Mar Stefansson and Spain's Dani Alonso.
Just one shot further back are current order of merit leader Matt Evans (66 low round of the day), last week's Senior winner Gary Wolstenholme (pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency), this week playing off the back tees against the field, and Spain's Carlos Aguilar Quesada.
An exciting final round is expected with no fewer than 13 players lying within four shots of the leaders in the chase for the Hi5 Pro Tour's Altorreal title.
The odds are against a Saltman winning for the third event in a row. Last week's winner Elliot Saltman, who followed in the footsteps of his younger brother, Lloyd, is seven strokes off the pace with 18 holes to go. Stranger things have happened!
Second lowest round of the day was produced by the much improving English amateur Richard Carter.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
139 PETTERSSON, Bjorn (Sweden) 68 71, SANCHEZ PALENCIA, Ignacio (Spain) 69 70.
140 BELT, Alex (England) 71 69, HAMMARBERG, Fredrik (Sweden) 70 70, STEFANSSON, Stefan Mar (Iceland) 70 70, ALONSO JANSSEN, Dani (Spain) 70 70.
141 EVANS, Matthew (England) 75 66, AQUILAR QUESADA, Carlos (Spain) 70 71, WOLSTENHOLME, Gary (England) 73 68.
143 SVENSSON, Robert (Sweden) 73 70, JOHNSON, James (England) 70 73, DE LOPE, Javier 74 69, O'HANLON, Paul (Ireland) 73 70.
146 CLAPP, Brad (Canada) 72 74, SALTMAN, Elliot (Scotland) 74 72.
147 HEMMING, Stuart (England) 74 73, COLLINS, Michael (Ireland) 73 74, CARTER, Richard (England) (am) 80 67, FIHN, Felix (Sweden) 69 78.
148 SANDBERG, Daniel 78 70, WEISSER, Dominik 78 70.
149 MCGEE, Ruaidhri (Ireland) 76 73.
150 HANSEN, Stian 77 73.
151 STREET, Ryan (England) 75 76.
152 SHIELDS, Stephen (England) 73 79, BARRY-WALSH, Edward (England) 78 74.
153 KING, Gary (England) 75 78, SALTMAN, Zack (Scotland) 77 76.
154 HOUSBY, James (England) 75 79, THORSTENSEN, Vidar 74 80, BARBA MORENO, Sergio 78 76.
155 HAMER, Martyn (England) 76 79.
156 BLANCO GARCIA, Pedro (Spain) 79 77.
157 MORTON, Alex (England) 79 78, MARTENS, Caroline 79 78.
159 LUND, Stian 78 81.
162 COLLINS, Ronan (Ireland) 79 83, STAAL, Tjeerd 84 78.
164 FRIIS, Christer 87 77, SOENDBERG, Casper 82 82.
165 HULTMAN, Joacim 83 82.
170 CAPAUL, Marcel 85 85.
176 VERA RUIZ, Borja (am) 89 87.
188 DON, Jaly (am) 96 92.
206 PALTTO, Jan Skoglund 106 100

Miguel Angel Jimenez picking up the tab for Andalucia Open

MALAGA, Spain (AP) -- Miguel Angel Jimenez is ensuring the European Tour has an event this week by opening his wallet for the Andalucia Open.
Unable to attract a sponsor because of the worldwide recession, the four-year-old tournament starts on Thursday with total prize money of $1.3 million. That's about what each of the previous three champions earned at Parador Golf Club.
Jimenez, the recent winner of the Dubai Desert Classic, was determined to showcase the area of southern Spain where he was born and started as a caddie in Malaga.
He could have been at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week along with other leading Europeans preparing their games for the Masters.
Instead, he is staying home and underwriting any losses in hosting the event.
Good for him!

Xltec Pro Tour inaugural winner at

-

Whitekirk will earn £800 on Friday

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Some 70 male professionals have joined the new Xltec Pro Tour - but only 45 of them will be playing in the inaugural 36-hole stroke-play event over Thursday and Friday this week at Whitekirk Golf Club, near North Berwick.

"This week is just a bit too early for some of the guys who want to play on the circuit but it looks as if we will have a field of over 70 or so for the second event Hilton Park Golf Club on April 28 and 29," said tour director Alan Tait, pictured, director of golf at the Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel.

"Much the same applies to the lady professionals. We won't have a section for them at this first event but I am hoping that they will turn out in numbers at Hilton Park."

On the male side of things, there is a guarantee of 30 per cent of the field receiving prize money.

That means the top 13 at Whitekirk at the end of play on Friday will receive pay-outs although I understand there will be no official presentation at such at the end of the tournament.

First prize will be £800, second £650 and third £500. The 13th place pay-out will be £125.

All of these figures are subject to the field remaining at 45-strong.

Walker Cup player Wallace Booth (Comrie) is in the field but his GB&I team-mate and fellow rookie pro Gavin Dear from Murrayshall - Scone is where he comes from actually - is not.

But today Gavin gave Alan Tait and his fellow organisers a boost by saying that he certainly will play on the Xltec Pro Tour before it is very much older.

Gavin told Scottishgolfview.com:

"At the moment, I haven't decided which Xltec Pro Tour events I will play. It depends a little on how my schedule turns out. I will try and play when I'm at home. The first event at Whitekirk just came a bit quick for me, after being away for three weeks. I fancied a week off, so didn't enter this one.

"However, in my time off I was planning to run through my schedule and see which events could fit in.

"I think the Xltec Pro Tour is a great idea and something with a lot of promise. When myself and Keir McNicoll were at the Allianz Q school in France, we chatted about the need for a small tour to run in Scotland to get guys playing."

+We will have news of the first day's scores on the Xltec Pro Tour on this website early tomorrow evening.

REST OF XLTEC PRO TOUR SCHEDULE

April 28-29: Hilton Park.

May 25-26: Dalmahoy.

July 28-29 Westerwood.

September 28-29: Spey Valley, Aviemore.

October 6-7: Dundonald Links.

+To read about the lady pro section of the Xltec Pro Tour, switch over to our sister website, www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk

Slaley Hall to host PGA Cup match in 2013

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE PGA
Slaley Hall will see Great Britain & Ireland’s best PGA professionals take on their United States counterparts after it was confirmed as the venue for the 2013 PGA Cup.
The biennial contest has become the premier international team event for PGA pros with the US current holders of the trophy after victory at The Carrick on Loch Lomond last September.
De Vere’s Northumberland resort already enjoys a strong reputation for hosting international golf tournaments with the Dave Thomas-designed Hunting Course currently home to the De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship. It has also staged several European Tour events.
PGA chief executive Sandy Jones said: “Slaley Hall is not only a tremendous setting but the Hunting Course is perfect for the unique match play atmosphere created as GB&I and the US compete for the Llandudno Trophy.
“Representing your country is one of the biggest honours for a PGA professional and I’m sure by staging the event at such a renowned venue as Slaley Hall, it will help raise the profile of the PGA Cup which might not be as well-known as the Ryder Cup but matches it every step of the way for drama and excitement.”
Daniel Hodson, director of golf and leisure for De Vere, commented: “The 2009 PGA Cup at The Carrick on Loch Lomond was a tremendous event and we are delighted to host the PGA Cup when it next returns to the UK.
“Slaley Hall has an illustrious history of hosting top-class golf, and the 2013 PGA Cup along with the continued support for the De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship continues to enhance the resort’s reputation as one of the UK’s leading venues.”
Prior to Slaley Hall, GB& I will have a chance to reclaim the PGA Cup in 2011 when the 25th matches take place at California’s CordeValle resort.
The PGA Cup was first played in 1973 at Pinehurst No 2 and pits two 10-man teams against each other in match-play format of four-balls, foursomes and singles over three days of action. The countries compete for the famous Llandudno Trophy which was the original prize for the Home International Series before the Second World War and was later donated to the PGA by the BBC’s voice of golf Peter Alliss.
Slaley Hall is the latest in a long line of illustrious venues to have staged the PGA Cup with others including Gleneagles, The Belfry, Muirfield, The K Club and Turnberry.

Regional qualifying venues named for 2013 Open at Muirfield

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R&A
Little Aston, Luffenham Heath, Northumberland, Remedy Oak and The Island golf clubs will be used as Regional Qualifying venues for the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield. In all, there will be 14 venues throughout Great Britain and Ireland, which will be used to help determine the fields for four Local Final Qualifying events.
Little Aston Golf Club, near Sutton Coldfield, was designed by six-time Open Champion Harry Vardon, in 1908. In 1994 it hosted the Boys Home Internationals, the Jacques Leglise Trophy and the Boys Amateur Championship, which it staged again in 2008 with Portugal’s Pedro Figueiredo taking the title.
Luffenham Heath, in Lincolnshire, opened for play in 1911 with a celebrity match between Vardon and five-time Open Champion James Braid, two-thirds of the Great Triumvirate. The site on which the course was built was declared a Site of Special Scientific Significance in 1973, due to the importance of the calcareous grasses which carpet the fairways.
The course at Northumberland Golf Club was designed by eminent golf course architect Harry Colt, with the help of Braid. Despite having only previously hosted one R&A event, the 1992 Youths Championship, Northumberland has staged a number of other high-profile competitions including the Dunlop Masters, the English Amateur and, most recently, the 2004 English Boys Stroke Play Championship.
Remedy Oak was opened for play in 2005 by John Jacobs, who, in 1979 and 1981, became the first captain of the European Ryder Cup team. The course was described as “one of the most superbly constructed new golf courses in the South of England,” by eight-time Ryder Cup competitor Peter Alliss.
Founded in 1890, The Island Golf Club, just outside Dublin, is a natural links course which, until 1973, was accessed mainly by boat. The 11th hole is named ‘Cricket Field’ in honour of famous England cricketer WG Grace, who once played a challenge match on the links. The Club has hosted the Irish Ladies Close Championship, the Irish Close Championship and the Irish PGA Championship, in addition to Regional Qualifying in 2005.
The full list of 14 Regional Qualifying venues for the 2013 Open Championship is as follows: Abridge, Bruntsfield Links, Buckinghamshire, Clitheroe, East Sussex National, Hankley Common, Little Aston, Luffenham Heath, Mere, Moortown, Northumberland, Remedy Oak, The Island and The London.

Gavin Dear (left) and Wallace Booth, setting the record straight (images by Cal Carson Golf Agency).

E-mail from Gavin Dear

Walker Cup: Gavin Dear and Wallace Booth

-

felt it was great honour to play in match

Hi Colin,

I have been out of the country for a few weeks playing and hadn't until last night had a chance to catch up with Wallace Booth. I saw Ross Kellett's comments on Scottishgolfview about the Walker Cup and how we felt about it.

Both myself and Wallace felt a bit hard done by the article and felt that it made us look a bit ungrateful. We know both Ross and Martin Dempster very well and know that there would definitely be no ill intent in how the article was written or what was commented on within the article.

But we just wanted the opportunity to tell everybody what we had discussed with Ross and felt about the Walker Cup and kind of set the record straight.

Both Wallace and I really enjoyed the event and it was a great honour to be involved in a match of that calibre. It was a very important for both us of to play and it was undoubtedly our aim at the start of the 2009 season.

Ross asks our opinions for time to time, and this is one of the reasons he will become an even more successful golfer because he is extremely willing to learn. He asked about the Walker Cup and what we would recommend.

Both Wallace and I told him the Walker Cup is something to mark on the calendar for 2011. But that's some time away. This year we felt that the big goal should be a place in the Eisenhower team and trying to win a national championship, something which Ross is very capable of doing.

Then, the way he is playing, we both said that he has to go to Tour School. If he doesn't gain whatever he feels appropriate to turn professional, then he should remain amateur for another year.

If that happens then the Walker Cup will be his goal. The Walker Cup is difficult, being bi-annual and a player for instance like Callum Macaulay was unlucky because it was never really an option for him.

Maybe it will be an option for Ross, maybe not. With regards to the perception of the Walker Cup in the professional game, it is difficult to tell. Professionals are interested to hear about the experience of playing in the Walker Cup but do not hold you in high regard just because you played. You are just another golfer in their eyes - and that's the way it should be.

From Ross's perspective he has seen both Wallace and I miss out at Tour School, struggle for sponsorship and struggle to secure invites to events. Maybe that has pushed him to think a little differently.

We have told him we didn't expect playing in the Walker Cup to open many doors and, from what we have seen of professional golf, it's tough and you have to really work for what you get but both of us would rather have the experience of playing in the Walker Cup than not.

I hope this clears up a few things.

Regards,

Gavin Dear and Wallace Booth

New Head Greenkeeper

for Brora Golf Club

NEWS RELEASE
Following our Head Greenkeeper, Iain Wakeman’s decision to accept a position at Rosslare Golf Club in Ireland, Brora Golf Club is happy to announce that James Macbeath, pictured above, has been appointed as the new Head Greenkeeper. He will return to Brora in his new role on April 1, 2010.
James will be well known to most members, and many golfers throughout the North of Scotland, having played golf here for the last 35 years. Starting as a junior, James steadily improved to become one of the best golfers in the club, winning the Club Championship on eight occasions and the Clynelish Open seven times since 1994.

He also won the Sutherland County Championship in 2000. James currently holds a scratch handicap at his home course.
James has been working as the Deputy Head Greenkeeper at the Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle. He has worked there for the past six years, moving there from Brora Golf Club where he undertook his training. He worked at Brora for nine years before his move to the Carnegie Club.
James is very passionate about his new role and said: “This is the only job I would leave the Carnegie Club for.”

Having made a short presentation to the Management Committee on his vision for the future of the golf course and how he can help improve the presentation and preparation of the already excellent course.

James proved to be the strongest candidate of the seven people who had applied for the post and his appointment was unanimously endorsed by the committee.
We would like to wish James every success in his appointment and hope that the membership will give James their support.

Inverness Fairways Target Leagues: Week 9

By Neil D. Hampton
Golf & Marketing Director, Loch Ness Golf Course
http://www.golflochness.com/

MONDAY LEAGUE SUMMARY
The Monday league is coming to an exciting climax with several outcomes that are all equally likely after this week's results.
Orion beat BM Trucks by just three shots and are now guaranteed a place in the play-offs whereas the Trucks need results to go their way to scrape a place in the play-offs.
But it is the Parahandies who have most to gain, or lose, depending on their performance next week. This week they saw off a determined challenge from the Royal Swingers and now have the possibility of taking the league title if they can beat the leaders Orion by more than 42 shots next week.
If Parahandies lose, however, and BM Trucks win, then the Parahandies will drop to third and out of the play-offs!
In the other games, the Neverwillbees had the night’s top score of 76 in their game against the Sainties and move up to fifth while the Specialists continue their run of good form. Their win over the Happy Gilmour's moves them up to fourth spot.
RESULTS
Orion 40 – 37 BM Trucks.
Sainties 22 – 76 The Neverwillbees.
Parahandies 62 – 53 Royal Swingers.
Happy Gilmour’s 54 – 72 Specialists.

TUESDAY LEAGUE SUMMARY
The Tuesday Night League title was decided this week with King Kenyon’s Klan following form to get their name on the trophy. The Luckless Leadbetters were their only challengers and were their opponents this week but it was the Klan who rose to the challenge and saw off the Leadbetters by a margin of 13 shots.
The Leadbetters now have a fight to take the second play-off place as Fairhurst joined them on 12 points after a win over the absent Muirton Marvels. It is the Leadbetters who have the better shot scored record and this could prove decisive in the final tally after next week’s games. In the other games the Coastguards have moved up to fourth after their win over Fairways who are now guaranteed the wooden spoon.
The Mad Drivers over the Senior Moments also managed to win and while it doesn’t move them up the table it puts them within striking distance of sixth place if results go their way.
RESULTS
King Kenyon’s Klan 54 – 41 Luckless Leadbetters.
Fairways 8 – 24 Coastguards.
Senior Moments 28 – 37 Mad Drivers.
Muirton Marvels 0 – 58 Fairhurst Fore.

HOW THEY STAND

MONDAY LEAGUE
1 Orion 16pt
2 Parahandies 14
3 BM Trucks 12
4 Specialists 10
5 Neverwillbees 8
6 Royal Swingers 6
7 Happy Gilmour's 6
8 The Sainties 0
TUESDAY LEAGUE
1 King Kenyon's Klan 16pt
2 Luckless Leadbetters 12
3 Fairhurst Fore 12
4 Coastguards 10
5 Senior Moments 8
6 Muirton Marvels 8
7 Mad Drivers 6
8 Fairways 2

Elliot Saltman has ground

to make up in Spain


FROM THE Hi5 PRO TOUR WEBSITE
Bjorn Pettersson, representing Sweden, played a near faultless round of 68 to take a slender one-shot lead into the second round of the Murcia-based Hi5 Pro Tour's Altorreal Open in Spain.
With a one-hour suspension of play due to fog, the field found scoring conditions difficult on the Dave Thomas-designed parkland course.
Tied in second place, one shot behind, are Sweden's Felix Fihn and local Spaniard Ignacio Sanchez Palencia.
A special mention must also go this week to Caroline Martins, representing Norway, who is competing against the men from the back tees. She had a round of 79.
SCOTSWATCH: Last week's winner, Elliot Saltman (pictured above) from Scotland, is in joint 16th place after a 74. Elliot had birdies at the long sixth and the 15th but bogeys at the third, short eighth, long 12th and 14th.He has a lot of ground to make up to repeat his success and make it three in a row for the Saltman family from the Lothians. Youngest of the three brothers, all supported by Aegon, Zack Saltman, is sharing 26th place on the 77 mark.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
68 Bjorn Petterson (Sweden).
69 Ignacio Sanchez Palencia (Spain), Felix Fihn (Sweden).
70 Stefan Mar Stefanson (Sweden), Carlos Aquilar (Spain), Dani Alonso (Spain), James Johnson (England), Fredric Hammarberg (Sweden).
71 Alex Bett (England).
72 Brad Clapp (Canada).
73 Gary Wolstenholme (England), Paul O'Hanlon (Ireland), Michael Collins (Ireland), Robert Svensson (Sweden), Stephen Shields (England).
Selected scores:
74 Elliot Saltman (Scotland), Stuart Hemming (England) (jt 16th).
75 Gary King (England), Matthew Evans (England), James Housby (England) (jt 20th).
76 Martyn Hamer (England), Ruairdhri McGee (Ireland) (jt 24th).
77 Zack Saltman (Scotland) (jt 26th).
78 Edward Barry-Walsh (England) (jt 28th).
79 Ronan Collins (Ireland), Alex Morton (England), Caroline Martens (Norway) (jt 33rd).
80 Richard Carter (England) (amateur).
45 players in field.

Scot wins David Platt Tour event at Rotherham

Andrew Patterson, an exiled Scot from Glasgow, now a member of Rotherham Golf Club, won yesterday's Major Golf Tour event, organised by former England football international, David Platt, at Sunningdale.
The format was Stableford and the points scores, supplied as ever by David Platt himself, were:
The event's title was "The Masters" - all four events on David's tour are named after THE Majors.
David, a six-handicapper, was actually the defending champion in the amateur section.

AMATEUR SCORES
1 Andrew Patterson (handicap 22) - 39pt.
2 David Platt (6) - 36pt.
T3 Kevin Rose (9) - 34pt.
T3 Conrad Stretch (16) - 34pt.
5 Jason Hayley (8) - 32pt.
6 Jonathan Goddard (18) - 31pt.
T7 Jim Woodward (5) - 30pt.
T7 James Peacock (10) - 30pt.
T9 Richard Grindon (13) - 28pt.
T9 Wayne Harold (10) - 28pt.
T9 Tommy McCormack (7) - 28pt.
T12 Iain Gorman (13) - 26pt.
T12 Rex Tattersall (12) - 26pt.
T12 David Gardner (13) - 26pt.
T12 Paul Taylor (12) - 26pt.
T12 Tom Warsop (16) - 26pt.
T17 Ross Westwood (14) - 25pt.
T17 Andy Brown (8) - 25pt.
T19 Nick Fitzryk (5) - 24pt.
T19 Graham Miles (5) - 24pt.
T21 David Orchard (16) - 23pt.
T21 Richard Scragg (18) - 23pt.
T21 John Lipton (19) - 23pt.
24 Bob Burrows (22) - 22pt.
PROFESSIONAL SCORES
Par 140 (2x70)
143 James Westwood.
146 Adam Taylor.
148 Jonathan Jones.

David Platt writes:
We go to Woburn (Marquess) in May, Celtic Manor (20-10) in July - 6 weeks before the Ryder C - up and Royal Lytham in September.
We had a 'warm up' round at Sunningdale and the scores counted from both events towards our order of merit leaderboard. At the end of the season we will take the top four to a grand final. Here's how the table stands:
1 Andrew Patterson 77.
2 Kevin Rose 71.
3 Jason Hayley 66.
T4 Jim Woodward 64.
T4 David Platt 64.
6 Iain Gorman 62.
7 Richard Grindon 61.
T8 David Gardner 60.
T8 James Peacock 60.
T8 Conrad Stretch 60.
T11 Rex Tattersall 59.
T11 Paul Taylor 59.
T11 Jonathan Goddard 59.
T14 Richard Scragg 57.
T14 David Orchard 57.
T14 Ross Westwood 57.
17 Graham Miles 55.
T18 Nick Fitzryk 54.
T18 Wayne Harold 54.
T20 Bob Burrows 52.
T20 Tom Warsop 52.
T20 Tommy McCormack 52.
23 Andy Brown 48.
24 John Lipton 46.