Alyth tournament to raise money for

-

Kevin McAlpine open to everybody

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
A tournament for teams of four amateurs on Friday, May 28 to raise funds for Alyth Golf Club's most famous golfer, double amateur champion Kevin McAlpine, to finance his fledgling career as a tour professional is open to non-members of the Perthshire club.
In the absence of playing rights on any circuit except the Alps Tour, Kevin (pictured) is relying on invitations this season to further his career, and he will be competing with Gavin Dear and Steven Hume in several Alps Tour events and also in Britain wherever he can find the opportunity.

Kevin, who played the US college circuit for four years as a Colorado State University student, won the 2006 Scottish amateur match-play championship at Nairn in 2006 and completed the rare double the following year when he won the Scottish amateur stroke-play title at Royal Dornoch.

McAlpine's father Hamish was Dundee United Football Club's personality goalkeeper for many season.

Alyth member Scott Brough said: “Obviously sponsorship is hard to come by in the current economic climate, so a few of us got together to organise this event with the support of Alyth Golf Club.
“Kevin brought great publicity to the golf club with his amateur exploits. It’s £150 for a team of four, which includes a two-course clubhouse meal at the end of play. Sponsorship of holes is also an option."
The entry list so far stands at 31 teams. There are morning tee times still available on Friday, May 28 at Alyth.

Groups of four who are interested doing their bit to help Kevin McAlpine by entering a team should contact Jim Docherty at Alyth Golf Club on 01828 632268.

If you haven't got a ready-made four, but want to play, give your name to Jim and I'm sure he can collate single players who are in the same boat. On that basis it would cost single players £37.50 to join three others and make up a team.

And there's no indication that it is a men-only affair. So, don't hold back, ladies! You can do your bit to foster Kevin McAlpine's pro career as well.

Rory McIlroy named European Tour golfer of month for April

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOUR
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy was given a belated birthday present with the news he has been voted The Race to Dubai Golfer of the Month for April.
McIlroy turned 21 on Tuesday May 4, two days after his stunning first triumph on the US PGA Tour in the Quail Hollow Championship, a victory which sealed his winning of the award in the eyes of the judging panel, which consisted of members of the Association of Golf Writers as well as radio and television commentators.
McIlroy, who will receive a jeroboam of Moët & Chandon champagne as well as an engraved alms dish in recognition of his achievement, produced a performance of truly breathtaking ability at the Quail Hollow Club. Having made the weekend action right on the cut line, he stormed through the field with a best of day 66 on Saturday before a course record 62 on Sunday – a round which finished with six consecutive threes – saw him win by four strokes from Masters Champion Phil Mickelson.
“I am thrilled to be recognised by The European Tour with this award, it really means a lot,” he said. “I'm really looking forward to getting back to Europe and playing in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and I suppose I will play there as the reigning Golfer of the Month which will be really nice.
“Even now I am still thinking back to the victory at Quail Hollow. The final round was one of those rounds you are never going to forget to be honest. I was in such a good frame of mind going out that I knew I had a chance and there is no better feeling in the world than to go out and beat such a high quality field over such a good golf course.”
It is the second time that McIlroy has won The Race to Dubai Golfer of the Month Award, the first time being in January 2009 following his maiden European Tour triumph in the Dubai Desert Classic.

European Senior Tour to make debut in Japan

The European Senior Tour will visit Japan for the first time when it co-sanctions the Handa Cup Senior Masters with the Japanese PGA (JPGA) from November 25-28, 2010.
Leading Senior Tour players will compete for a prize fund of approximately €1million (120 million Yen) at the tournament, which will be the first to count towards the 2011 Senior Tour Order of Merit.
The co-sanctioning of the event for the first time between the JPGA and the European Senior Tour was announced by International Sports Promotion Society (ISPS) Chairman Dr Haruhisa Handa, at Stapleford Park, a day prior to the start of the Handa Senior Masters presented by the Stapleford Forum.
ISPS Ambassador Ian Woosnam, the 2006 Ryder Cup-winning captain, won the Handa Cup Senior Masters last year and will defend the title in November.
He will be one of 30 leading European Senior Tour players and 66 JPGA players in the field and will be joined by fellow ISPS Ambassadors Sandy Lyle, a two-time Major winner, and Sam Torrance, the 2002 winning Ryder Cup captain and reigning Senior Tour Order of Merit winner.

Oldcorn raring to start new career as a senior

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Andrew Oldcorn tees of a new chapter in his career tomorrow and is hoping he can get off to a flying start on the European Seniors Tour.
"I've been looking forward to this for quite a while but now that it is here I feel like I have talked about it too long and I want to get started and see how I do," said the Edinburgh man as he looked ahead to the opening round of the £400,000 Handa Senior Masters at Stapleford Park in Leicestershire.
Oldcorn, who turned 50 in March, has been gearing up for his switch to the Seniors' circuit for some time, having grabbed every playing opportunity he could over the last year or so to try and keep his game as sharp as possible.
"I've been in this twilight zone of mid-forties to late forties where your career is coming to an end on the main Tour and you are waiting for your second career on the Senior Tour," he said.
"I'm looking forward to getting back amongst my peers. The challenge of what is coming ahead for me is exciting. How I cope with it is anyone's guess. I've prepared as well as I can. I'm a little bit circumspect in terms of I need to get a bit of confidence back in my game.
"I've kept an eye on how the Senior Tour guys have been performing for a couple of years now. I know that the likes of Sam Torrance, Ian Woosnam, Roger Chapman and Carl Mason have done really well. I draw a bit of encouragement from the fact that I competed against these guys when I was younger and had some success.
"I'm just hoping I can make the transition so I can go into a golf tournament and feel like I can win it again rather than just make up the numbers as I did towards the end of my career of the main Tour."
The highlight of Oldcorn's career on the main Tour undoubtedly came in 2001, when he won the PGA Championship at Wentworth. The Kings Acre professional also tasted success in the Turespaña Masters Open de Andalucia in 1993 and the Jersey Open in 1995.
"If I were to stop now and not play on the Senior Tour I would have to say I've had a good career," he added. "I would be happy with what I achieved. I'm unfulfilled in some aspects – I never played in The Ryder Cup for one which I really wanted to do and never played in the Masters Tournament – but I won three times and a lot of people don't even win once.
"Other than the time I had my illness in the mid-1990s, I went the best part of 22 years without losing my card. All in all I think I have had a successful career.
"If it all stopped tomorrow I would probably give myself seven out of ten. It would be nice to round off my career though by filling in a few gaps I feel need to be filled in on the Senior Tour.
"We can't escape the fact that we are lucky in being able to have a second career in what we do. That is unique to golf. Once I get my head down and meet the guys again and get into the swing of playing tournament golf again, instinct will take over. It's how I manage my game from there as to how well I do."
+The above article appears in full in today's Edinburgh Evening News.

Aberdeen Trades Foursomes Scoreboard
Played at Hazlehead No 1 course

SECOND-ROUND RESULTS

BAKER HUGHES bt ROYAL MAIL 2 by four holes.
R Carr & M Dickie 1, T Still & A Craig 0.
C Stewart & R Grant 3, J Lind & S Middleton 0.

SPARROWS GROUP bt GREENKEEPERS 2 by seven holes.
B Smith & G Blackwood 0, F Downie & S Brown 0.
J Henderson & S Watt 7, S Davidson & R Hardie 0.

BANKERS bt GRAMPIAN POLICE by five holes
G Stuart & B Gibson 6, B Ritchie & J Calder 0.
S Carmichael & M Patterson 0, D Forsyth & E Duthie 1.

R&C CONSTRUCTION bt NE ELECTRICAL by 23 holes.
C Simpson & N Mervin 12, R James & C Ackers 0.
J Speirs & K Allan 11, W Lamb & B Smith 0.

GRAMPIAN FIRE & RESCUE bt ROYAL MAIL 1 by six holes.
D Watson & K Smith 4, C Gilbert & M Stewart 0.
G Shearer & N Meldrum 2, I Robertson & K Duthie 0.

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS bt ASEP ELMAR by eight holes
J Godward & I Castles 6, R McKenzie & S Hardie 0.
A Hepburn & J Henderson 2, A Strath & K Selbie 0.

Rory McIlroy has a talent that cannot be suppressed

FROM THE IRISHTIMES.COM WEBSITE
A WEEKLY COLUMN BY EUROPEAN TOUR CADDIE COLIN BYRNE
The boy wonder from Holywood, Co Down, won his first professional event in dramatic circumstances in the Middle East early last year, which signalled his arrival as a serious contender in European golf while still a teenager.
Our expectations were always high for Rory McIlroy. From the time he gained his tour card off a few invitations a couple of years back to his maiden win in Dubai, he carried the hopes of European golf on his young shoulders. After his win they shot through the roof.
He was exceptionally cool in his pursuit of the Order of Merit title last year and never appeared to have his name off the leaderboard. His rise to the top 10 in the world rankings was rapid, although he never won again last year after Dubai he was in contention almost on a weekly basis. He coped with his position like an old pro, he said the right things and generally came across as a well-honed superstar.
The message seeped out early this year that Rory was prone to back trouble, which quickly deteriorated the more he played. After three weeks of successive events he was struggling to swing properly. This was a serious concern for a subtle young rubber man whose swing combines elegance with explosive power.
Rory is not the first golfer to have back problems. The golf swing is not exactly the most natural move. Much like ballet dancers have an exceptional ability to contort their bodies into exceptional positions, I have often looked at golfers repeatedly bashing balls on a range and marvelled at their strength and flexibility.
Given their long careers it is a priority they take as much care as possible of their backs and not end their careers early though excessive practice.
When I read Rory was struggling with his back I was concerned. When I heard him being interviewed after he missed the cut at Augusta last month I was even more concerned. The impression I got was that he was, at the tender age of 20, already disenchanted with the game at which he is so naturally gifted.
Fortunately the injury is a bone stress in the lower back and will likely right itself within six months. So apart from the short-term inconvenience and discomfort Rory should soon be as healthy and subtle as any other 21-year-old superstar.
Star players will invariably arrive at a crossroads in their careers (albeit not normally after such a short space of time) when their commitment is challenged. The game is undoubtedly easier when you play with the freedom of a playful teenager and a take-what-comes attitude. When his own expectations rise, on top of everyone else’s having been sky-high from the first sight of his tresses bulging out of his peaked cap, this can be a setback.
When you actually have time to think about a meteoric rise and wonder why you have reached a plateau when all you had been used to was upward momentum it must be shocking to a young star.
I feared Rory had discovered how difficult the game of golf really is and maybe yielded to that idea after the Masters. I really thought he was destined for a trough for some time.
How wrong I was. It took him less than a month to bounce back and win not just any old event but one of the US PGA tour’s premier tournaments on a quality golf course at Quail Hollow in North Carolina.
He just about made the cut, shot a wonderful 66 on the Saturday and a mind-blowing 62 on the Sunday to blitz the rest of the quality field and claim his second professional win but most importantly, first win in America. Without being too cheesy, if you can make it there you definitely can make it anywhere. Winners are always gracious to the crowd. In my experience, as a foreign player, America is the toughest place to win, the crowd always shouts louder for an American, no matter who you are.
There will be those who argue it is much easier to go out earlier on a Sunday, under the radar and shoot a really low round and waltz through the field while the gallery have yet to take their seats in the bleachers. They may have an argument. But with the final two holes at Quail Hollow each presenting ample opportunity for double bogeys, Rory must have felt some heat as he reached the end of his round.
It is only exceptional golfers who can produce such scores on such demanding golf courses under unrelenting competition. Rory quickly rediscovered his love for the game and embraced his rightful position on top of the leaderboard with fortitude, not fear.
What an impressive way for a young man to come out of a “slump”. Rory McIlroy is a raw talent who cannot be suppressed.
He has a humble and respectful demeanour about him off the course and has simple, grounded support from his parents and his coach, Michael Bannon. This is not to suggest he does not have the killer instinct needed once inside the ropes.
Rory seemingly likes showing the golfing crowd just how he can play. This is a vital attribute of a world-class golfer, especially when he is under pressure.
With a ground-breaking win in America under his belt but, more importantly, his love of the game rediscovered Rory is ready to show us how talented he really is on the fairways for decades to come

Moneygate Scottish area team championship attracts

strong field to Kinross this coming weekend

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
In form Fraserburgh golfer Kris Nicol will lead a strong North-east team looking to capture their first title in 18 years as the new-look Moneygate Scottish area team championship takes place this weekend (May 15-16) at Kinross.
The Scotland men’s elite squad member continued his excellent start to the season with a runner-up finish in the Irish amateur stroke-play championship at Royal Dublin behind Alan Dunbar on Sunday, a week after securing second place at the prestigious Lytham Trophy. Nicol is joined in the North-east line-up by Philip McLean, who captured the Edward Trophy at Glasgow Gailes last month, as well as reigning Allied Surveyors Scottish Amateur Champion David Law.
Murcar Links’ former Scotland international Bryan Innes, whom Law defeated in the semi-finals at Royal Troon on route to his historic win last year, also takes his place in the side, alongside Scott Larkin and Anthony Bews.
Defending champions Renfrewshire have named an unchanged side from the six-man team who clinched last year’s title at Crail and will be strongly fancied to make it two-in-a-row. Their side includes former Amateur champion Craig Watson, alongside Kilmalcom’s Matthew Clark, who stormed to victory in the Craigmillar Park Open earlier this season, while reigning Scottish mid-amateur champion Andrew Farmer also retains his place in the line-up.
Newly-crowned Scottish boys' champion Grant Forrest will make his senior debut for a Lothians side looking to add to their record-breaking haul of 13 area team titles, while another in-form youngster, Simon Fairbairn, fresh from his runners-up spot in the Golf Data Lab Scottish youths championship, is part of a Borders side looking to win the event for the first time.
Ross Kellett, the second highest ranked Scottish amateur in the world, will be looking to lead Lanarkshire to their first victory since 1998, while Kellett’s Scotland team-mates Steven McEwan and Glenn Campbell are aiming to win third area team titles for Ayrshire and Perth & Kinross respectively.
Kinross’s Montgomery and Bruce courses will stage the event this weekend, with two rounds of stroke-play qualifying on Saturday and the leading four areas competing in the semi-finals the following morning for a place in the Sunday afternoon final.
Lee Hartley, Chief Executive of sponsors Moneygate who provide independent financial advice for golfers across Scotland, is looking forward to his company’s first involvement with the Championship:
“The 16 different Area Associations have assembled a strong field for this weekend’s event and I’m sure there will be some fantastic golf on show. As first time sponsors, we’re looking forward to some exciting competition and meeting the cream of amateur golf in Scotland.”
“Moneygate is still a relatively young company but we have strong ambitions to grow the brand in Scotland and provide benefits for member golfers across the country. This event will further raise our profile and strengthen our support of golf in Scotland.” he added.
+To read the stroke-play qualifying draw on the Scottish Golf Union website, click on the following link:
http://www.scottishgolf.org/index.cfm?objectid=4FACB7B2-9466-32AD-F8371182B9AC8B32&pageid=AD1AE6B8-DECD-6C2E-B8B6201964A49707

TEAM LINES FOR KINROSS
ANGUS
Ross Bell
Graham Bell
Ross Coull
Garry Duncan
William Bremner
Kris Harper
Bobby Willan
ARGYLL & BUTE
Allan McKie
Chris Carson
Gordon Lundie
George MacMillan
Les Pirie
John Shanks
AYRSHIRE
Steven McEwan
Stephen Murray
Euan Brown
Scott Brown
Jack McDonald
John Shanks
BORDERS
David Gillie
Bryan Graham
Alan Ballantyne
Jamie Morris
Warren Renwick
Simon Fairburn
CLACKMANNANSHIRE
Scott Borrowman
Jamie Aitken
Darren Hulston
Steven Horne
Scott Moffat
John Maxwell
DUNBARTONSHIRE
Kevin Smyth
Gordon Yates
Craig Checkley
Paul Betty
Andrew Campbell
Fraser McKenna
FIFE
Gary Sharp
Greg Paterson
James White
Danny Sommerville
Colin Martin
Brian Soutar
GLASGOW
Ben Sloan
Mark Bookless
John Laurie
Steven Robertson
Conor O’Neil
Gordon Sangster
LANARKSHIRE
Ross Kellett
Steven Rennie
Paul Shields
Scott Douglas
Ed Wood
Andy Fairbairn
LOTHIANS
Steven Armstrong
Mark Hillson
Allyn Dick
David Miller
Grant Forrest
Mark Timmins
NORTH
Fraser Fotheringham
Kyle Godsman
Graham Burnett
Mike MacDonald
Lyle McAlpine
Gary Thomson
NORTH-EAST
Philip McLean
Scott Larkin
Kris Nicol
Anthony Bews
Bryan Innes
David Law
PERTH & KINROSS
Nicky Barr
Scott Michie
Paul McPhee
Mark Rose
Stuart Graham
Glenn Campbell
RENFREWSHIRE
Matthew Clark
Gordon Stevenson
Craig Watson
Bryan Adam
Andrew Farmer
Ronnie Clark
SOUTH
Ian Brotherston
Iain Thomson
Michael Grunwell
Kyle McLung
Clark Riddick
Graham Sharp
STIRLINGSHIRE
Colin Mundie
Chris Lawton
Andrew Wallace
Graeme Robertson
Bobby Rushford
Neil Cunningham

Spotlight on Kinross this weekend for new area team format

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Jokingly, someone said at the weekend that the Scottish Golf Union have been trying for years to come up with a format to stop Lothians winning the Scottish area team championship. Since the event started in 1978, Lothians have lifted the title 13 times, nine more than any of the 15 other areas that fit together in the SGU jigsaw, so you can probably get their drift.
This weekend, at Kinross, the event unveils its latest format and, despite cynicism in some quarters, the change is being made to reduce running costs. The title will be decided over two days and, with world ranking points up for grabs in the stroke-play phase on Saturday, the country's elite amateurs will all be there.
It's encouraging to see most areas have included at least one youngster in their six-man team and, for the four sides that qualify for the semi- finals on the Sunday morning, they'll be tested in both stroke-play and match-play over the course of the weekend.
The event, in fact, has been based on the European team championship and the change of format has enabled the SGU to attract a sponsor for this particular tournament for the first time. All in all, it's an exciting change to the domestic calendar, though only time will tell if the SGU have, indeed, come up with a format that finally ends Lothians' long domination of the event.

TIME FOR A GOLF FORUM IN SCOTLAND

Having received E-mails from two European Tour winners and also provoked a reaction at grass-roots level following last week's column on the PGA and clubgolf, I firmly believe that it is time to hold a long-overdue 'Golf Forum' in Scotland.
Andrew Coltart and Dean Robertson were both moved to comment on the PGA, SGU, coaching and playing opportunities and it is clear that everyone isn't singing from the same hymn sheet as we bid to improve on the country's current standing in the professional game.
"I and many others with great experience and knowledge both on a performance playing and coaching level share different views," said Robertson in response.
"It is only fair to listen to the groundswell that is starting to beat a loud drum. Surely the long term aim is for Scottish Golf to benefit from, not only the coaching initiatives that are being delivered via the SGU Academy, but also from other sources, whose delivery may be viewed as different, but whose levels of expertise are valued/embraced by many different golfing bodies both at home and abroad."
The fact people like Coltart and Robertson are prepared to put in their tuppence worth is encouraging and certainly shouldn't be ignored. They, after all, know exactly what it takes to make that transition from top amateur to the professional ranks.

The American connection:
-
Richie Ramsay is shaping as
-
Donald Trump's tour pro

FROM THE HERALDSCOTLAND.COM WEBSITE

By DOUGLAS LOWE
The ever more impressive American portfolio of Richie Ramsay is looking increasingly likely to include an attachment to Donald Trump’s planned links in Scotland.
Ramsay’s connections with Uncle Sam have been growing steadily since he became the first home-based Scot to win the US Amateur Championship at Hazeltine in 2006. Trump was quick to jump on the young Scot’s bandwagon by sending him a letter of congratulations. It must have been obvious to the American billionaire that this was a man he could use.
Ramsay, moreover, met his American girlfriend Angela at Hazeltine, and she lives in Atlanta near where he has a lifetime membership at the Golf Club of Georgia as a result of that US title. He regularly visits the club to keep his short game sharp during winter and has an American sports psychologist in Bob Rotella.
Any US amateur champion is a prospect and the Scottish connection made him unique, especially as he comes from Aberdeen where Trump’s plan to build the world’s finest golf course (in his own estimation) at Menie Estate was causing waves of controversy.
The thought must have crossed Trump’s mind that Ramsay would be an ideal man to cultivate as a popular public face for the enterprise.
When asked during the BMW Italian Open whether an endorsement was in the pipeline, a grin spread across the 26-year-old’s face, he pointed out that his cv included five years studying marketing and sports studies at Stirling University and added: “I’m not going to say any more than that."
The comment followed his revelation that he had partnered Trump in a game of golf over the Trump National Golf Club course at Bedminster, New Jersey, against Ramsay’s own long-time American friend and supporter Dick Gilbert, and teaching professional Dan May.
Ramsay helped to swell the Trump fortune in a small way by taking the money that day but, more significantly, the fact that the great man took time out to host Ramsay underlines the interest the American tycoon has in him.
If you are looking for further evidence of an alliance, in Italy last week the Scot was quick to take the opportunity to bang the drum about the merits of Trump and his planned development in Aberdeen.
“At Bedminster and the Trump course at West Palm Beach where I have also played the facilities and the courses are just world class. Everything he does is really good,” said Ramsay.
“Up north [in Scotland] we don’t have that all-encompassing Turnberry-esque resort where you have the hotel and all the facilities, a good range, cottages you can stay in and a world-class course. It is on some of the best (golfing) land you are going to find not just in Scotland but anywhere around the world.
“When we were talking about it I said, ‘If you do what you’ve done in America and produce the resort you have produced here I think it can only be a good thing.’ In Aberdeen, I think, there is the market for it as well. It is going to be cold but you can play at Royal Aberdeen all year round. You maybe have to put on mitts and a woolly hat, but it [the north-east] doesn’t get the rain that makes it difficult sometimes on the west coast.”
Trump, whom Ramsay rated a single-figure handicapper, might need also that hat to keep his riotous hair in place in the wind.
The pair are kindred spirits in their outlooks on life. A bee in Ramsay’s bonnet is what he perceives as the generally damaging sceptical attitude of Scots compared to the “can-do” philosophy that he has found in the US.
“When he [Trump] does anything, it is not in half-measures and, when I do something, I want to do it 100% as well,” said Ramsay.
Anyone who plays in the Georgia Cup at the Golf Club of Georgia is made a lifetime member. It is an annual match just before the Masters between the US and British amateur champions, and Ramsay in 2007 found himself playing for the US against the Frenchman Julien Guerrier, and winning into the bargain.
The members there are delighted with the way Ramsay has been progressing, winning his maiden European Tour title, the co-sanctioned South Africa Open just before Christmas last year. That victory came on the back of a visit to the club where he views the short-game practice facilities particularly as second to none.
He was last there in April for a two-week spell when the European Tour was in China and Korea. He viewed his third-round, seven-under-par 65 over the Royal Park course in Turin – where he finished joint 13th on Sunday – as a direct result and a sign of a return to form.
Once he has established himself on the European Tour, he fully intends to have a tilt at the PGA Tour in the US – just the kind of attitude that you would expect would be endorsed by Trump.

Irish PGA Championship moved to September date

FROM THE IRISHTIMES.COM WEBSITE
By PHILIP REID
A tradition of recent years, which has seen the Irish PGA Championship act as dress rehearsal for Pádraig Harrington’s assault on the Open, will be broken this season. Instead of occupying a date immediately ahead of the season’s third major, the domestic championship will this year take place ahead of the Ryder Cup in the hope that a number of tour players not involved in that biennial competition will be tempted to play.
Indeed, Michael McCumiskey, the chief executive of the Irish PGA region, has written to every tour player informing them of the dates and venue – September 23rd-26th at Seapoint Golf Club in Co Louth – in an attempt to garner a strong field for the championship, which will be sponsored by Ladbrokes.com.
Harrington has won the championship for the past three years, when it was staged at The European Club. In 2007 and 2008, his use of the event as final preparation for the British Open proved successful as he claimed the title at Carnoustie and Royal Birkdale respectively.
The change in dates this time should help attract a number of tour players, as it is a free week on the European Tour schedule.
Paul McGinley, meanwhile, heads a five-strong Irish challenge in this week’s Mallorca Open on the European Tour. The Dubliner has eased himself back onto the tour after undergoing knee surgery but now plans to undertake a more intensive schedule in a determined attempt to make the Ryder Cup team at Celtic Manor in October.
In fact, McGinley will use Mallorca as the springboard for a stretch of four tournaments in a row that will also take in next week’s BMW PGA at Wentworth, the following week’s Madrid Masters and finish the stretch with an appearance at the Wales Open in Celtic Manor.
“I feel I’m in a position to do this now as I’ve done all the rehab on my knee that my doctors have set out for me,” said McGinley, who has fallen to 319th in the latest world rankings.
McGinley is joined in Mallorca by Damien McGrane, Gary Murphy, Simon Thornton and Colm Moriarty, who usually plays on the Challenge Tour but who gets a rare opportunity to play on the main tour.
Denmark’s Soren Hansen, ranked 50th in the world rankings, is the top-ranked player in the field.
Interestingly, former Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal – the designer of the course – will mark his return to action by playing in tomorrow’s pro-am after an extended battle with rheumatism. Olazabal has been out of action since last October and will play in the pro-am as part of his rehabilitation as he seeks to work his way back out onto tour again. However, the Spaniard will not play in the tournament itself.

Hank Haney resigns as Tiger Woods' swing coach

FROM THE PGA.COM WEBSITE
ORLANDO, Florida -- Hank Haney resigned as Tiger Woods' swing coach on Monday, according to a statement Haney issued to the Golf Channel.
"I have informed Tiger Woods this evening that I will no longer be his coach," the statement said. "I would like to thank Tiger for the opportunity that I have had to work with him over the past six-plus years. Tiger Woods has done the work to achieve a level of greatness that I believe the game of golf has never seen before and I will always appreciate the opportunity that I have had to contribute to his successes."
Woods spent some of his time at The Players Championship last week denying speculation that he was about to leave Haney, his swing coach since 2004, and added Monday that he was working on his swing.
"I talked to Hank about some of the stuff. We're still working on it," he said Monday during a news conference to promote the upcoming AT&T National in suburban Philadelphia. "We have a lot of work to do. I can't make the movements that I made before because of the neck. I need to get healthy to play the proper way."
Haney called his time with Woods "a great learning experience" and said that working with Woods "elevated me in my own profession to a level that I never thought I would achieve." In fact, he added, "I may have learned more from him than he has ever learned from me."
However, Haney said, he believes "it is in both of our best interests for me to step aside as Tiger's coach." And, he stressed, the decision was all his, though he added that he would always be there for Woods should he never need him.
"As we all know, Tiger has been through a lot in the past six months, and I really believe that given the chance, mind free and injury free, we will all see Tiger Woods play once again like we all know he can," Haney said. "I wish Tiger well, not only with his golf, but in finding peace and happiness in all aspects of his life."
*The Associated Press contributed to this report.