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SENIOR NORTHERN COUNTIES CUP RESULTS
Cruden Bay Golf Club

FIRST ROUND

Tain w.o. Forres scr.

Murcar Links bt Turriff by 12 holes
C Alexander & W Urquhart 0, A Smith & K Minty 0.
R Morrison & W S Fyfe 12, N Ogston & A Kyle 0.

Cruden Bay 2 bt Torvean by 10 holes
B Livingston & J Cooper 5, E Barron & G Elder 0.
H Livingston & W Davidson-Gall 5, W Rusk & D Milligan 0.

Royal Aberdeen bt Fortrose & Rosemarkie by three holes.
D Walker & S Spence 2, M McArthur & R Macdonald 0.
K Anderson & R Haites 1, L MacLeman & A MacArthur 0.

Inverness bt Nairn by four holes.
H G Urquhart & D H Rae 7, P Saggers & D Cargill 0.
W Hutchison & J Elliott 0, P Tomisson & J Walton 3.

Deeside bt Duff House Royal 2 by four holes
H Morrison & R Bickerton 0, G Jex & R Stephen 1.
M Harper & D Landsman 5, D Cruickshank & A Cruickshank 0.

Peterhead 1 bt McDonald Ellon by five holes.
N McBain & H McIntosh 1, D Heap & J Gabriel 0.
D Beaton & A Porter 4, I Campbell & I Shaw 0.

Murcar Links 2 bt Peterhead 2 by two holes.
W Riddoch & R Brodie 2, W D Thom & S Chalmers 0
J Cattanach & W Souden 0, D Hay & JS Cordiner

Elgin bt Cruden Bay 1 by one hole.
B C Milne & J A C Innes 0, J B D Smith & M Forster 0.
J Porter & J Stirrat 1, J Dunnett & G Wallace 0.


SECOND ROUND
Nairn Dunbar 1 bt Tain by eight holes

H Clunas & D Lamb 8, P York & D Albutt 0.
B Kettles & D Bunker 0, G Stephen & D MacKay 0

Cruden Bay 2 bt Murcar Links 1 by four holes

B Livingston & J Cooper 4, C Alexander & W S Urquhart 0.
H Livingston & W Davidson-Gall 0, R Morrison & W S Fyfe 0.

Inverness beat Royal Aberdeen by eight holes

H E Urquhart & D H Rae 3, D Walker & S Spence 0.
W Hutchison & J Elliott 5, K Anderson & R Haites 0.

Deeside bt Peterhead 1 by one hole.

H Morrison & R Bickerton 0, N McBain & H McIntosh 3.
N Harper & D Landsman 4,, D Beaton & A Porter 0

Moray bt Murcar Links 2 by six holes.

C J MacLeod & M J Dean 3, W Riddoch & R Brodie 0.
J Westwood & J K Young 3, J Cattanach & W Souden 0.

Elgin bt Strathpeffer by three holes.

B C Milne & J A C Innes 2, J Garrow & D Bethune 0.
J Porter & J Stirrat 1, P Bannerman & D Gruber 0.


Duff House Royal bt Fortrose & Rosemarkie by 12 holes.

M Jenkins & J S Sim 9, W Donnelly & A Tait 0.
R A Milne & D Wilson 3, J Hearmon & W Jack 0.

Royal Dornoch bt Nairn Dunbar by 11 holes.

B Nicholson & R Bluck 6, D Roy & G Anderson 0.
J Seatter and A Bagott 5, M Lawlor and G Kelman 0.

Senior Northern Counties Cup Scoreboard
CRUDEN BAY GOLF CLUB

FIRST ROUND

Tain w.o. Forres scr.

Murcar Links bt Turriff by 12 holes
C Alexander & W Urquhart 0, A Smith & K Minty 0.
R Morrison & W S Fyfe 12, N Ogston & A Kyle 0.

Cruden Bay 2 bt Torvean by 10 holes
B Livingston & J Cooper 5, E Barron & G Elder 0.
H Livingston & W Davidson-Gall 5, W Rusk & D Milligan 0.

Royal Aberdeen bt Fortrose & Rosemarkie by three holes.
D Walker & S Spence 2, M McArthur & R Macdonald 0.
K Anderson & R Haites 1, L MacLeman & A MacArthur 0.

Inverness bt Nairn by four holes.
H G Urquhart & D H Rae 7, P Saggers & D Cargill 0.
W Hutchison & J Elliott 0, P Tomisson & J Walton 3.

Deeside bt Duff House Royal 2 by four holes
H Morrison & R Bickerton 0, G Jex & R Stephen 1.
M Harper & D Landsman 5, D Cruickshank & A Cruickshank 0.

Peterhead 1 bt McDonald Ellon by five holes.
N McBain & H McIntosh 1, D Heap & J Gabriel 0.
D Beaton & A Porter 4, I Campbell & I Shaw 0.

Murcar Links 2 bt Peterhead 2 by two holes.
W Riddoch & R Brodie 2, W D Thom & S Chalmers 0
J Cattanach & W Souden 0, D Hay & JS Cordiner

Elgin bt Cruden Bay 1 by one hole.
B C Milne & J A C Innes 0, J B D Smith & M Forster 0.
J Porter & J Stirrat 1, J Dunnett & G Wallace 0.

TORRANCE THUMBS UP FOR PGA HAT-TRICK BID

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY PGA
Twelve months after a hand injury curtailed his challenge, Sam Torrance has given the thumbs up to his bid to land the De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship.
The Ryder Cup stalwart is brimming with confidence as he targets a hat-trick of PGA titles when he returns to De Vere Slaley Hall next month.
The in-form Scot, who is one of the star names in the £250,000 championship which returns to the Northumberland resort for the third successive year from June 24-27, had to withdraw during the second round last year when he injured his thumb.
But as he targets a successful defence of the John Jacobs Order of Merit Trophy and a fourth time in all since joining the senior circuit in 2005, Torrance can reflect on a more than healthy start to the season.
Three top five finishes in four appearances so far including a share of second place in the last event, the Berenberg Bank Masters in South Africa, have catapulted him to second in the Order of Merit behind runaway leader Boonchu Ruangkit of Thailand.
“I’ve had a great start to the 2010 season and I’m targeting a successful defence of the Order of Merit so Slaley Hall would be a nice place to get another victory to help me towards that goal,” said Torrance.
“There will be a strong field, as always for the PGA Seniors Championship, but with the way I’m playing at the moment I feel confident every time I go out on the course so I’m looking forward to it.”
Torrance has notched up 11 wins since joining the European Senior Tour in 2003 and two of those victories included back-to-back PGA Senior Championship titles in 2005 and ‘06.
He admits that it would be a dream to land a third title and join an illustrious group including defending champion Carl Mason and past greats like Christy O’Connor and Neil Coles who managed six and four victories respectively.
“The PGA Seniors Championship is one of the biggest events on the Senior Tour schedule and it is one every player would like to win,” added Torrance.“I’ve managed to do it twice in the past and it would be fantastic to get the hat-trick.''
Daniel Hodson, director of golf and leisure for De Vere, commented: “Once again, we are thrilled to have Sam in the field for the De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship. His tournament was unfortunately cut short last year, but having won the 2009 European Senior Tour Order of Merit I am sure he will be towards the top of the leaderboard at the end of the week this time around.
“Sam is a great character and having played in eight Ryder Cups and won across the world is a real legend of the game. We’re thrilled to have him in the field and look forward to welcoming him to Slaley Hall next month.”
Golf fans can see Torrance tee up with a free download ticket available on www.devere.co.uk/pga-seniorsends

BYRNE SURGES CLEAR OF KELLETT AS TOP

SCOT IN WORLD AMATEUR RANKINGS


Banchory's James Byrne, a student at Arizona State University, has surged clear of Ross Kellett (Colville Park) in the this week's updated R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Byrne, only spot ahead of Kellett last week, has soared 10 places to No 25 while Kellett has falled back 14 spots to No 50.
They are the only Scots in the top 100 of the world rankins.
Peter Uihlein (US), Nick Taylor (Canada) and Tommy Fleetwood (England) are unchanged in the Nos 1 to 3 positions.
Scots in the top 500 are:
25 James Byrne (+10)
50 Ross Kellett (-14).
187 Michael Stewart ( -7)..
263 Kris Nicol (+1)
278 Stuart Ballingall (+9).
281 Glenn Campbell (-15).
319 Philip McLean (+2).
339 James White (+3).
359 Mark Hillson (+3).
414 David Law (+9)
467 Greg Paterson (+58).

Research aimed at helping identify and
-

develop Scottish golfing talent

By GRAEME McDOWALL
I am a PGA professional who is currently studying for a PhD in Sports Coaching at the University of Birmingham. My study is an exploration of the self-determining characteristics of elite level professionals. Guiding this work is the theoretical frameworks of Self Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci 2000) and Ericcson et al’s (1993) Deliberate Practice framework. It is hoped that this work provides the basis for future research aimed at establishing more sophisticated measures for the identification and development of sporting talent.
The most compelling hypothesis from the deliberate practice is that the acquisition of expert performance is not the result of any special or innate talents; instead it is the end result of effortful activities (deliberate practice) extended for a minimum of 10 years (or 10000 hours). During this time practice is only considered to be deliberate practice when it is structured to improve performance, requires constant high levels of concentration, occurs alone and as such is not considered to be inherently enjoyable. Furthermore it is motivated solely by the goal of stretching current levels of performance over long periods of time with no requirement for immediate rewards.
Clearly then not all individuals will be predisposed to work in this way, very possibly however those who can work in this way may have the key distinguishable features needed to become a world class performer. The absence of these attributes may also explain why many seemingly gifted youngsters do not progress into adult achievers whilst those of lesser perceived ability often do. I, therefore, am most interested in developing a measure to identify those individuals who have the talent to ‘practice deliberately’.
With this in mind an increasingly popular theory of human motivation in sport and exercise psychology is known as Self Determination Theory. Essentially Self Determination Theory is a measurement of intrinsic motivation. Individuals with high levels of self determined (intrinsic) motivation have been found to be more likely to choose to work hard, experience lower levels of performance-related anxiety, and exhibit greater levels of skill learning.
In order to establish if self determination has predictive values in relation to deliberate practice I need your help to develop an appropriate scale with which to measure this concept. I would be very grateful if you could complete my questionnaire by following this link –

http://www.survey.bris.ac.uk/bham/sms7v1

furthermore if you want to explore any of these concepts in more detail then please feel free to contact me at gmcdowall@elmwood.ac.uk. Many thanks.
GRAEME McDOWALL

References

Ericsson, K.A., Krampe, R.T. and Tesch-Römer, C. (1993) “The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance”, Psychological Review, Vol 100, No. 3; pp 363-406

Ryan, R.M & Deci E.L. (2000) “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development and Well-Being” American Psychologist, Vol. 55, No. 1, pp 68-78

Senior Northern Counties Cup tees off at Cruden Bay today

The Senior Northern Counties Cup teed off at Cruden Bay today with a line-up of 34 teams, probably the biggest entry since the event was started in 2002 at Duff House Royal.
Biggest number of teams comes from the North-east, all within easy travelling distance of Cruden Bay.
There have been six different winners in the first eight years of the popular competition for over-55s.
Only Brora (2003 and 2006), who were unable to field a team this week because of a knee injury to Jimmy Miller and Robin Wilson heading off to Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship, and holders Nairn Dunbar (2005 & 2009) have won the trophy twice.
Nairn Dunbar (Hugh Clunas & Derek Lamb, Ian Duncan & David Bunker) beat Moray in last year's final at Inverness. Clunas and Bunker were also in the winning team of 2005 at Elgin.
Moray have now lost in two finals - to Brora and Nairn Dunbar.
Other past winners:
2002 Duff House Royal at Banff.
2004 Inverness at Cruden Bay.
2007 Elgin at Nairn Dunbar.
2008 Murcar Links at Banff.
Only six courses used - Duff House Royal, Inverness, Cruden Bay, Elgin, Brora and Nairn Dunbar.
The B D Fraser Trophy was donated by Brian Fraser of Inverness. Brian, a four-time winner of the original Northern Counties Cup - with Inverness in 1971, 1976 and 1978, and with Nairn in 1973.

Paul Shields and James Ross come

through Brabazon qualifier

Paul Shields (Kirkhill) and James Ross (Royal Burgess) came through the Northern qualifier at Huddersfield Golf Club this week for the English amateur stroke-play championship for the Brabazon Trophy, to be played at Royal Liverpooll GC, Hoylake from June 24 to 27.

This is the first year that Northern and Southern qualifiers have been held.

Shields, pictured in action at Huddersfield by Tom Ward Photography, had a very good round of 67 to qualify in joint fifth place behind leader Matthew Fitzpatrick (Hallamshire) with a 65.

Ross qualified in joint 13th place with a 71.

In all, 120 players took part in the Northern qualifier and there was a play-off between the 12 players on the 73 mark for the last five places.

RECORD 65 BY MATTHEW FITZPATRICK (15) AT HUDDERSFIELD

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION

Matthew Fitzpatrick cashed in on an earlier visit to Huddersfield to card a course record six-under-par 65 and top the leaderboard in th e Brabazon Trophy Northern Qualifier supported by Skycaddie.
In perfect conditions, the 15 year old from Sheffield finished a shot ahead of another Yorkshire-based player Wayne Crick and Cheshire pair Michael Bedford and Ian Winstanley.
Earlier this month Fitzpatrick made his first team league debut for Yorkshire in their Roses battle with Lancashire, winning both his matches, a crucial factor as he ran in seven birdies along with just one dropped shot.
“I didn’t expect to shoot 65 but playing here in the Northern League match helped a lot,” he said. “I came here to play relaxed golf and to see how things went. And they went pretty well.”
Fitzpatrick, a member of the England Under 16 Squad, can now look forward to displaying his undoubted skills at Hoylake next month in the championship proper when local knowledge might not come to his aid.
“I’ve never played Hoylake,” Fitzpatrick confirmed. “I went there during the 2006 Open Championship but I’m looking forward to it.”
However, he will have to put that to the back of his mind as he returned home for a spot of revision for a biology exam on Friday.
But for Fitzpatrick’s superb effort, Crick, Bedford and Winstanley would be sharing the course record on 66. Crick, a night worker with Sainsburys in Harrogate, was out at 7.10am and posted his score before most had even got to the practice ground.
The 38 year old Scot admitted he had struggled with his game this year until he cured his driving problems and signed for his best ever score in a major competition.
“I got my handicap down to scratch last year so I thought I’d enter the qualifying and see what happened,” he said. “I’m always threatening to shoot low if my driving is good. I’ve just been waiting for it all to come together and it did today.”
Crick led for a couple of hours before Bedford, 17 years his junior, posted his own 66 containing seven birdies and a double-bogey. “I played solidly but it could have been much better without that double bogey at the 13th,” he said.
Bedford, the reigning Cheshire champion, arrived at Huddersfield in good form. Having topped the Northern Order of Merit last year, he made the cut in Portugal and the Lytham Trophy and won both his matches for Cheshire in their recent league clash with Cumbria.
Now he will tackle Hoylake, a course he knows well. “I really like Hoylake. We play there a lot and I can’t wait to play in the Brabazon there.”
Winstanley, 22, graduated from Leeds University last summer and is now playing full-time golf. “I’ve had a few top tens this year and I had seven birdies today,” he said. His 66 not only ensured his qualification but was good preparation for the forthcoming World Student Games in Malaga where he will be part of the British team.
Richard Prophet, a member of the England Under 21 Squad two years ago, finished fourth on 67, finishing with an eagle-three at the 18th where he fired an eight-iron to 15 feet and sank the putt.
“I’ve been playing well but putting poorly,” he said. “But I changed my putter last week after missing the cut in the Lytham Trophy and the Irish Amateur and it’s working well. I’m looking forward to Hoylake because I prefer links golf.”
With 41 places available, a total of 36 players on 72 or better qualified which left 12 on 73 to play off for the remaining five places. The successful quintet were Paul Lockwood (Hessle), Richard Law (Low Laithes), Stephen Creed (Maxstoke Park), Robert Sutton (Dunstable Downs), and Callum Tarren (Dinsdale Spa).

Lanarkshire Golf Association Seniors Scoreboard

The Lanarkshire seniors competition was played yesterday in excellent weather at Lanark Golf Club.
Notable prize winners included Alan Ferguson, a senior International and record winner of the club championship at Drumpellier Golf Club. He had a scratch 74.
Also past Lanarkshire president David Moffat won his age group with an excellent net 66.
Leading prizewinners in a field of 142 (CSS 72) were:

Scratch and Frank B. Craig Golf Quaich
1. A D Ferguson Drumpellier 74
2. R S Russell Airdrie 76

Class 1
1. D Bennie Lanark 76-8=68 bih
2. I Calder Easter Moffat 83-15=68
3. J Carmichael Airdrie 83-12=71 bih
4. B Finlay Carluke 83-12=71

Class 2
1. G Buchanan Airdrie 87-17=70
2. J Barr Torrance House 78-6=72 bih
3. W Grainger Hollandbush 89-17=72
4. I Thomson Drumpellier 83-10=73

Class 3
1. D Moffat Lanark 75-9=66
2. D Kirkcaldy Drumpellier 83-14=69
3. J Wilson Mouse Valley 80-10=70 bih
4. J Logan Easter Moffat 83-13=70
5. I Wiles Drumpellier 91-18=73 bih

Class 4
1. S Lauder Drumpellier 84-12=72 bih
2. W Taylor Bellshill 83-11=72 bih
3. J F Cunningham Carluke 87-15=72 best last 6
4. D Cairns Crow Wood 85-13=72
5. R Hepburn Mouse Valley 92-19=73


Willie Sharpe, President LGA

Wentworth is not what it used to be, thanks to South African

Lukewarm views on Ernie Els' new-look Burma Road

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By OLIVER BROWN
For all the pyrotechnics of last year's BMW Championship at Wentworth, the fact that American Ben Curtis wound up his round with two eagles suggested the West Course was becoming a soft touch.
You would be hard pushed to make that claim this week, when you see what Ernie Els has done to the place. The South African, who has kept a house at nearby Sunningdale and made this course a personal fiefdom with his seven World Matchplay victories, spent the past year trying to create a test to rival that of many championships.
Els has succeeded, changing the contours of all 18 greens and rendering the 18th more than fearsome enough for the European Tour's flagship event.
A wide ditch has transformed that hole's once gentle character. But the 40 year-old admitted on Tuesday to being "nervous," having led so radical a redesign of the course that brought him his most consistent success.
"I was anxious to get out there," said Els, who had been competing in the Texas Open barely 48 hours earlier. "You're not going to please everybody. You're going to have questions all over the place and it's very easy to criticise something.
"I'm in the hot seat. I'm the guy people can fire at, can throw arrows at, and if guys don't like it you can listen to what they don't like. But this is our fifth major over here in Europe and it needs to have a bit of teeth."
It would be fair to conclude that the early reviews of Els's handiwork have been lukewarm. Graeme McDowell, who played a practice round on Tuesday with fellow Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, said: "This is not Wentworth. This is Wentworth Mark Two."

... but Lee Westwood welcomes the changes

FROM THE SKY SPORTS WEBSITE
Lee Westwood insists he has welcomed the changes made to Wentworth's West Course ahead of this year's BMW PGA Championship.
The Englishman climbed to number three in the world earlier in the week and heads to the Surrey course as arguably the form player in the world.
But the 37-year-old has endured a forgettable time of things at the European Tour's flagship event in recent times, missing the cut at Wentworth in two of his last three visits.
However, he is hopeful the alterations to the lay-out - led by Ernie Els - will play into his hands and boost his chances of another profitable week.
"I'm quite pleased they've changed it as I haven't been playing too well there recently in the last few years," he told Sky Sports.
"I've missed the last couple of cuts, so the changes are welcomed by me.
"I haven't been round the golf course yet, I've got a couple of days, a practice round on Tuesday and then the pro-am on Wednesday, but I think it will play more into my hands than it used to.
"My caddie's been round it and he's impressed with the changes and feels it should seem to suit me.
"I'm certainly playing well at the moment and better than I have done going into this championship in recent years so I'm quite hopeful.
"My last few results have been good so if I keep playing the way I've been playing I should have a chance come Sunday."
Westwood has never won the BMW PGA Championship during his glittering career and concedes it is a title he would love add to his roll of honours.
"Well it's a massive tournament - it's our flagship event in Europe," he continued.
"It's generally always been held around Wentworth so it's got the history and tradition that people associate with big tournaments.
"It's one of the first tournaments I pencil in on my schedule, after the majors and the world golf championships, and it's one I've never won. I've finished second but I'd like to be able to add it to my CV.
"Also there's a lot of cash on offer which reflects at the end of the year on the money-lists, so retaining the (Race to Dubai) money-list, it will be very important with regard to how that goes on from here."

Knee op rules Harrington out of Wales Open

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By MARK GARROD
Padraig Harrington is going into hospital for a knee operation after this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and will not play the Wales Open at Celtic Manor from 3-6 June.
The surgery has been planned so that the three-time major champion recovers in time for the US Open at Pebble Beach in four weeks.Harrington said: "I wanted to get the opinion of my doctor on a knee injury I picked up whilst playing football at Christmas."
After two MRIs and a second consultation, my doctor has advised having a minor procedure in the very near future to prevent the issue developing.
"I will have the operation on Tuesday and will return for the St Jude Classic."
That is in Memphis the week after Celtic Manor and further weakens the field for an event where European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie had hoped to watch all his cup candidates in action. Most of his stars will now be elsewhere as the Wales Open clashes with The Memorial tournament at Muirfield Village in Ohio.
Harrington added: "If I wait until the end of the year, the doctor feels it could cause some arthritic problems. If I can have it cleared up now it reduces the chance.
"So it's just a precautionary thing. Plus it's my right knee, so I'm not so dependent on it playing golf. I can't really do much about it. This is something that's affecting my career if I don't get it done. In fairness to the doctor, he would have done it before The Masters if it was up to him."
Another top golfer struggling with injury is Ian Poulter, forced to take time off recently after hurting his knee playing basketball. He is now having treatment for a neck strain on the eve of the Wentworth event.
The world No 6, playing in the European Tour's flagship event for the first time since 2007 following changes to the course, has been suffering on and off for more than two months."It's been looked at and they can't find any structural problem, but it appears to go into spasm after sleep," said manager Paul Dunkley.
"A physio came and cricked it last night and that's given Ian full movement, but he'll keep having it massaged. He was able to hit balls this morning and I don't think there's any doubt about him playing on Thursday."
Poulter is back in Europe for only one week. The World Match Play champion will also miss The Wales Open at Celtic Manor, as he is returning to America to prepare for the US Open a fortnight later.
"I would like to be there, but it just doesn't fit into my schedule," he said."It's all about schedule – I can't take any tournament out and still play my 15 in the States. If I did I'd be in breach.
"Celtic Manor is not a course I don't know. Twelve of the holes for the Ryder Cup we played when I won the (2003) Wales Open.
"I've got to learn six holes. For my first two Ryder Cups I'd not seen either course until the week of the match."
Meanwhile, England's Robert Coles has been called into the field for the BMW PGA Championship after South African Keith Horne could not arrange a visa in time.
Horne, who had been given an invitation along with Scot Stephen Gallacher, joins compatriots Retief Goosen and Richard Sterne, Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal, New Zealander Michael Campbell, Indian Jeev Milkha Singh and American Shaun Micheel in pulling out.