UNITED STATES OPEN AT PEBBLE BEACH

Casey, Micheel, De Jonge share lead on 69 (-2)

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE

Paul Casey birdied the famous 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of the most revered and challenging lay-outs in America, to card a two-under-par 69 and join American Shaun Micheel and Brendon De Jonge of Zimbabwe in the first-round lead at the Monterey venue on the Pacific shore of California.

The trio's 69s are the lowest leading first-round scores at a US Open since Colin Montgomerie posted the same at Winged Foot in 2006. And they lead a championship that, when held the previous four times on the Californian course, has produced champions of the calibre of Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Tom Kite and Tiger Woods.
"Certainly, I wanted to make that putt on the last," Casey (pictured above) said. "I'm not sure what anybody else has done but I thought leading would be quite cool, especially around Pebble Beach.
"This is a fantastic year for majors in terms of where we're playing," he added with reference to next month's Open Championship at St Andrews.
"I haven't been back here in a long time. It's moved up my list on courses because I must admit most of the times I've played here at the AT and T (annual US PGA Tour event in February) it's been a bit difficult to smile while going around this golf course because of the weather, but it was truly great out there today."
Casey's compatriots Ian Poulter and Luke Donald both preached patience as the key to US Open success.
The world numbers eight and six will start the second round at one under par and level par respectively, just off the pace.
Poulter crafted a three-birdie, two-bogey opening 70 on the Monterey Peninsula while Donald had two birdies and a double bogey on his card in a 71 as they began their bids for a first major victory.
"You have to stay patient or you will be going home pretty quickly around this place," Poulter said.
"If you get a little bit impatient and take on a shot you shouldn't, you can make triple bogey very quickly."
Patience was key for Poulter at the oceanside 18th, where he found sand three times on the way to a par at one of the most famous closing holes in championship golf.
"Well it's technically two bunkers, but it's just a very big one on the left there," he said with a laugh. "It was very bucket and spade like, wasn't it?
"But you have to grind. Obviously you're not going to miss it left off the tee, and the right bunker's not disastrous to go in. I mean I had a great lie with a four iron and really I should have put it in play.
"I hit what I thought was a nice shot, but it turned over in the wind and kind of had a ball that was sitting a little down from 99 yards.
"And that's never an easy bunker shot with a pitching wedge.
"I got a little lucky with a 18-footer that fell in the middle."
Donald was satisfied with his course management that set up a steady level-par start.
"Majors always demand full concentration and it's easy to lapse and you have to focus pretty hard," Donald said.
"You have to think through every shot around here.The rough is a bit shorter but whenever I missed a shot I missed in the right place.
"It's a good solid start, something to build on. It's encouraging to shoot level par when not playing your best."
Lee Westwood had a dreadful start - four over par after six holes - but settled to cover the remainder in one under par for an opening 74, the same score as Tiger Woods and Ross Fisher.
Phil Mickelson had a nightmare putting round in posting a 75. Rory McIlroy also had a 75.

SCOREBOARD

FIRST ROUND

Par 71

69 Brendon De Jonge, Paul Casey (Eng), Shaun Micheel

70 Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn), Mike Weir (Can), K J Choi (Kor), Ian Poulter (Eng), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Alex Cejka (Ger)

71 Dustin Johnson, Graeme McDowell (NIrl), David Toms, Luke Donald (Eng)

72 Jerry Kelly, Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Jason Allred, Jason Dufner, Zach Johnson, Matt Bettencourt, Hiroyuki Fujita (Jpn), Kenny Perry, Ricky Barnes, Justin Leonard, Jim Furyk, Bo Van Pelt, Tim Clark (Rsa), Scott Verplank, Ross McGowan (Eng)

73 Matthew Richardson (Eng), Sergio Garcia (Spa), David Frost (Rsa), Toru Taniguchi (Jpn), Peter Hanson (Swe), Steve Marino, Russell Henley, Ernie Els (Rsa), Craig Barlow, Pablo Martin (Spa), Gregory Havret (Fra), Stuart Appleby (Aus), Y.E. Yang (Kor), Kent Jones, Hugo Leon, Lucas Glover, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Padraig Harrington (Irl)

74 Seung-yul Noh (Kor), Tiger Woods, Ross Fisher (Eng), Martin Kaymer (Ger), Steve Wheatcroft, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Vijay Singh (Fij), Lee Westwood (Eng), Stephen Ames (Can), Rory Sabbatini (Rsa), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Gareth Maybin (NIrl), Matt Kuchar, Fred Funk, Erick Justesen, John Rollins, Azuma Yano (Jpn), Trevor Immelman (Rsa), Robert Allenby (Aus)

75 Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Oliver Wilson (Eng), Ty Tryon, David Duval, Heath Slocum, Robert Karlsson (Swe), Scott Langley, Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Jon Curran, Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Charles Warren, Steve Stricker, Retief Goosen (Rsa), Davis Love III, Eric Axley, Angel Cabrera (Arg), Phil Mickelson, Arjun Atwal (Ind), Jason Preeo, Morgan Hoffmann, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Brandt Snedeker, Robert Gates, Ryan Moore

76 Nick Watney, Kaname Yokoo (Jpn), Andrew Putnam, Hudson Swafford, Gary Woodland, Tom Lehman, Rafael Echenique (Arg), Kent Eger (Can), Stewart Cink, Simon Dyson (Eng), Simon Khan (Eng), Paul Goydos, Sean O'Hair, Jim Herman, Jason Gore

77 Michael Sim (Aus), Chris Stroud, Erik Compton, Adam Scott (Aus), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Rikard Karlberg (Swe), John Mallinger, Bob Estes, Yuta Ikeda (Jpn), Marc Leishman (Aus), Rocco Mediate, Henrik Stenson (Swe), Rich Barcelo

78 Kenny Kim (Swe), Brian Gay, Soren Hansen (Den), Harrison Frazar, Ben Curtis, Jerry Smith, Ben Martin, Gary Boyd (Eng), Michael Campbell (Nzl), Tom Watson, Rhys Davies (Wal), Steve Allan (Aus), Terry Pilkadaris (Aus), Derek Lamely, James Morrison (Eng), Hunter Mahan, Camilo Villegas (Col)

79 Francesco Molinari (Ita), J J Henry, Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Joseph Bramlett, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Daniel Summerhays, Alex Martin

80 Brian Davis (Eng), John Senden (Aus), Mathias Gronberg (Swe), Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Kevin Na, Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Ben Crane, Dan McCarthy, Paul Sheehan (Aus)

81 Bennett Blakeman, Travis Hampshire, Deane Pappas (Rsa)

82 Mark Silvers

83 Kevin Phelan

86 Blaine Peffley

Link to the US Open championship website:

http://www.usopen.com/en_US/scores/index2.html?refresh

LINDSAY’S THE MANN AT DOUGLAS

 PARK PRO-AM (home in five-under 30) 

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Carnoustie Links’ Lindsay Mann, the 48-year-old former Walker Cup player, today scored his first outright win on the Tartan Tour since the Easter Moffat pro-am last September.
Mann, pictured right, who twice partnered Andrew Oldcorn to foursomes victories under the captaincy of Charlie Green in the 1983 match against the Americans at Hoylake (the USA won 13 1/2-10 1/2), won the £1,058 top prize at the Douglas Park Golf Club pro-am with an excellent score of five-under-par 64.
Lindsay’s outward half of level par 34 – birdies at the sixth and eighth between bogeys at the fourth and ninth – gave no hint of the fireworks to come,
He birdied the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 15th in a bogey-less inward half of five-under-par 35.
Mann won by two shots from joint runners-up Ian Graham (Crow Wood) and Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) who each earned £7840.
Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) picked up £476 for fourth place on 67.
Peter Mitchell (Hermitage) led the Nexus Packaging amateur trio fo Mark Ferguson (scratch), Ewan Ferguson (4) and Lewis Ferguson (13) to victory in the team event with a net score of 21-under-par 117.
They won by two shots from the team led by Crow Wood professional Ian Graham.
SCOREBOARD
Par 69
64 Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie) (£1,058).
66 Ian Graham (Crow Wood), Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) (£740 each).
67 Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) (£476).
68 Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs GR), Steven Taylor (Bothwell Castle) (£348 each).
69 James McKinnon (Irvine), Campbell Elliott (Haggs Castle) (£254 each).
70 Stephen Gray (Hayston), Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), Craig Ronald (Carluke), Scott Henderson (Kings Links), James McGhee (Turnhouse) (£165 each).
71 Colin Gillies (Braid Hills), Chris Kelly (Cawder) (£121 each).
72 Gary Dingwall (Royal Dornoch), Mark King (Kingsfield), Peter Mitchell (Hermitage), Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) (£90 each).
73 Graham Fox (East Kilbride) (£63).
74 Gareth Hardy (Ayr Belleisle), David Patrick (Elie) (£48 each).
75 Alastair Thomson (Douglas Park) (£48).
76 Kevin Campbell (Greenock), Andrew Marshall (Houston GR), Brian Leishman (Gleneagles Hotel) (£48 each).
77 Kevin McAleer (Gleddoch), Duncan Williamson (Kirkhill), Derek Watters (Gourock) (£48 each).
78 David Park (Wishaw) (£48).
80 Andrew Cooper (Newmachar)(£48).
81 David Blackadder (Kingsbarns), Ross Cameron (McDonald Ellon) (£48 each).
84 Robert Irvine (Douglas Park) £48).
Disqualified – Andrew Carlton (Paisley), Nicola Melville (Nicola Melville Golf) (£48 each).

+In case you've been trying to remember who else was in the 1983 GB and I Walker Cup team alongwith Lindsay Mann and Andrew Oldcorn, we can tell you now:

G Macgregor (Scotland), P Walton (Ireland), S D Keppler (England), D G Carrick (Scotland), P Parkin (Wales), A D Pierse (Ireland), M E Lewis (England), M S Thompson (England).

European Challenge Tour Scoreboard
MOROCCAN CLASSIC
Pullman Mazagan Royal Golf Club and Spa, El Jadida
FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72. Yardage 6,848
62 T Norret (Den) ,
63 R Kind (Ned) ,
65 N Bollini (USA) , G Woodman (Eng) ,
66 E Saltman (Sco) ,
67 P Del Grosso (Arg) , J Arruti (Esp) ,
69 F Henge (Swe) , J Billot (Fra) , C Baker (USA) , A Bernadet (Fra) , N Bruzelius (Swe) , M Baldwin (Eng) ,
70 R Santos (Por) , T Haylock (Eng) , S Buhl (Ger) , J Roos (RSA) , J McLean (Aus) , T Whitehouse (Eng) , V Almstrom (Swe) , Z Scotland (Eng) , S Russi (Chi) , G Canizares (Esp) , A Chopard (Sui) , E Canonica (Ita) , S Garcia (Esp) , S Arnold (Aus) ,
71 F Adams (USA) , J Hack (USA) , F Becker (Ger) , D Whitnell (Eng) , A Bruschi (Ita) , J Sjöholm (Swe) , J Little (Eng) , G Dear (Sco) , D Brooks (Eng) , A Hamilton (USA) , D Coughlan (Eng) , L Jensen (Den) , A Mellor (Eng) , D Nouailhac (Fra) , J Cunliffe (RSA) , C Cannon (Eng) , G Shaw (Nir) , K Sullivan (Wal) , N Sulzer (Sui) ,
72 P Relecom (Bel) , S Ottosen (Den) , R Harris (Eng) , D Hewan (RSA) , J Maurer (Aut) , L Westerberg (Swe) , P Dwyer (Eng) , C Smith (Wal) , M Mills (Eng) , J Moul (Eng) , M Martin (Esp) , M Laskey (Wal) , O Turnill (Eng) , J Kavanagh (Eng).
73 D Griffiths (Eng) , H Bacher (Aut) , A Haindl (RSA) , C Garcia (Esp) , S Alvang (Den) , L Saltman (Sco) , F Serghini (Mar) , F Roca (Esp) , D Lazar Siegal (USA) , S Barhoumi (am) (Tun) ,
74 J Haas Jnr (USA) , J Hedin (Swe) , J Smith (USA) , A Perrino (Ita) , G Davies (Eng) , J Relecom (Bel) , D Wardrop (Eng) , P Richardson (Eng) , S Osborne (Eng) , D Marmion (Eng) , R Diab (Mar) , M Saissi (am) (Mar) ,
75 M Bliss (Can) , S Reale (Ita) , J Doherty (Sco) , J Abbate (Arg) , L Goddard (Eng) , A Signor (Ita) , I Ridgway (Eng) , J Caldwell (Nir) ,
76 H Thethy (Ken) , A Sjöstrand (Swe) , B Ritthammer (Ger) , A Sabi (Mar) , B Etchart (Esp) , G Oyebanji (Ngr) , C Simon (Esp) , J Campillo (Esp) , Y El Hassani (Mar) , D Ulrich (Sui) , N Makroune (Mar) , R El Kherraz (Mar) ,
77 Z Saltman (Sco) , G Molteni (Ita) , I Pyman (Eng) , S Seijo (Esp) , C Günther (Ger) , J Ruebotham (Eng) , D Bohannon (USA) , T Benslimane (Mar) , J Estevez (Arg) , G Hutcheon (Sco) , I Schneider (USA) , J Gidney (Eng) ,
78 M Rominger (Sui) , S Talbot (Can) , J Freeman (Eng) , Y Benchetrit (Fra) , J Zaroili (am) (Mar) ,
79 T Remkes (Ned) , P Ellerstrom (Swe) ,
80 A Joudar (Mar) , A Vergari (Ita) , R Rhazali (Mar) , L Dodd (Eng) , A Odoh (Ngr) ,
81 S Rodriguez (Esp) ,
82 P Gasnier (Bra) , A Zanini (Ita) ,
83 B Akesson (Swe) , P Oriol (Esp) ,
86 S Berrada (am) (Mar) ,
** L De Jager (RSA) , W Razam (am) (Mar) ,



Paul Symes

Press Officer



62 Thomas Norret (Denmark).
63 Richard Kind (France).
65 Guy Woodman (England), Nico Bollini (US).
66 Elliot Saltman (Scotland).
67 Pablo del Grosso (Argentina), Jesus Maria Arruti (Spain).
Selected Scottish scores:
71 Gavin Dear (jt 29th).
73 Lloyd Saltman (jt 59th).
75 Jack Doherty (jt 84th).
77 Zack Saltman (jt 104th).
+ Still to finish: Greig Hutcheon.
Field of 134 players

European Tour Scoreboard
SAINT-OMER OPEN
St Omer Golf Club, Lumbres, France
FIRST ROUND
Par 71
66 Martin Wiegele (Aut), Colm Moriarty
68 Joakim Backstrom (Swe), Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Andrew Marshall, Wade Ormsby (Aus), Charles-Edouard Russo (Fra)
69 Michiel Bothma (Rsa), Jordi Garcia (Spa), Charlie Ford, Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Mark Tullo (Chi)
70 Ben Evans, Henrik Nystrom (Swe), Pelle Edberg (Swe), Lloyd Kennedy, Marcus Higley, Peter Kaensche (Nor), Ghislain Rosier (Fra), Matt Haines, Alan Wagner (USA), Thomas Feyrsinger (Aut), Cesar Monasterio (Arg)
71 Robert Dinwiddie, Mikko Korhonen (Fin), Jamie Elson, Andreas Hogberg (Swe), Andrew McArthur, Fabien Marty (Fra), Miles Tunnicliff, Paul Eales, Fredrik Widmark (Swe), Andrea Maestroni (Ita), Magnus A Carlsson (Swe), Andrew Coltart, Steven Tiley, Stephan Gross Jnr (Ger), Lee S James, Mark F Haastrup (Den), David Vanegas (Col)
72 Chris Gane, Alvaro Velasco (Spa), John Parry, Floris De Vries (Ned), Liam Bond, Luis Claverie (Spa), Wil Besseling (Ned), Daniel Denison, Francois Calmels (Fra), Adam Blyth (Aus), Garry Houston, Jan Are Larsen (Nor), Edouard Dubois (Fra), Marius Thorp (Nor), Gary Clark, Olivier David (Fra), Benoit Teilleria (Fra), Lorenzo Gagli (Ita), Philip Golding
73 Joakim Haeggman (Swe), Andrew Tampion (Aus), Ake Nilsson (Rsa), Chris Gaunt (Aus), Benn Barham, Anders Schmidt Hansen (Den), Johan Axgren (Swe), Clodomiro Carranza (Arg), Steven O'Hara, Zhigun Lam (Chn), Lee Slattery, Callum Macaulay, Benjamin Hebert (Fra), Adam Gee, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Peter Gustafsson (Swe), Matthew Zions (Aus), Julien Guerrier (Fra), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Rudy Thuillier (Fra), Sam Hutsby, Jamie McLeary, Sam Walker, Carl Suneson (Spa), Thorbjorn Olesen (Den), Keith Horne (Rsa), Florian Praegant (Aut), Chris Doak
74 George Murray, Carlos Del Moral (Spa), Stuart Davis, Stuart Manley, Johan Lopez Lazzaro (Fra), Javier Colomo (Spa), Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Victor Dubuisson (Fra) (am), Anthony Snobeck (Fra), Scott Jamieson, Eric Ramsay, Santiago Luna (Spa), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Steve Surry, Alexandre Kaleka (Fra)
75 Steve Lewton, Ben Mason, Simon Wakefield, Nicolas Meitinger (Ger), Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Federico Colombo (Ita), Victor Riu (Fra), Roope Kakko (Fin), Peter Baker, Oliver Whiteley, Chris Rodgers, Julien Quesne (Fra), Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Oscar Floren (Swe), Gary Murphy, Marcus Both (Aus), Ryan Blaum (USA), Phillip Archer, Angelo Que (Phi), James Ruth
76 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Raphael Eyraud (Fra), Anthony Grenier (Fra), Marco Soffietti (Ita), Damien Perrier (Fra), Christophe Brazillier (Fra), Raymond Russell, Florian Fritsch (Ger), Gareth Paddison (Nzl), David Dixon, Julien Clement (Swi), James Kamte (Rsa)
77 Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe), Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Lars Brovold (Nor), Klas Eriksson (Swe), Scott Drummond, Julien Grillon (Fra), Louis Moolman (Rsa), Julien Xanthopoulos (Fra), Antti Ahokas (Fin), Andrew Willey, Jaakko Makitalo (Fin), Tim Stewart (Aus)
78 Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Sion E Bebb, Roland Steiner (Aut), Manuel Quiros (Spa)
79 Anton Haig (Rsa), Bruno-Teva Lecuona (Fra)
80 Branden Grace (Rsa)
81 Baptiste Chapellan (Fra), Inder Van Weerelt (Ned), Julio Zapata (Arg).

PGA EUROPRO TOUR REPORT, SCORES

   Craig Lee gives it all his got at Bovey Castle. Image by courtesy of Lewis Lustig.

Craig Lee (out in 28) has picked up the scent of a £10,000 jackpot

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Money motivates Craig Lee and the play-anywhere Stirling-born tour pro has the scent of a £10,000 jackpot prize in his nostrils after making the long, long  drive from Scotland down to Devon.
Now attached to the Aspire Golf Centre, near Aberdeen on the South Deeside Road, looked European Tour class today as he covered the front nine holes at Bovey Castle in a sensational seven-under-par 28 on his way to sharing the halfway lead in the PGA EuroPro Tour’s Dunlop Masters tournament.
Lee birdied the first, second, third, fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth and then cooled off with six pars in a row before dropping his first and only shot at the 16th. But he notched birdied No 10 at the long 18th for a round of seven-under-par 63.
How Lee must be rueing that double bogey 6 with which he started the tournament on Wednesday! He has a 36-hole total of nine-under-par 131 – but only a share of the lead with Sean Doherty from Bury. The Englishman had a flawless 64 to follow his opening 67.
Steven Mackie from Dunnikier Park added a par 70 for 141, which gave him a share of 23rd place.
Other Scots who survived the cut were cack-handed John Gallagher (Swanston) with a pair of 72s for 144, one stroke ahead of Barry Hume (71) and Paul Doherty who improved by nine shots with a 68 to make it through on the limit mark of 145.
Scott Henry (The Carrick on Loch Lomond) was on the borderline for beating the cut until he removed any anxiety with birdies ath the 16th and 17th and returned a 69 for 143 - two shots to spare. Not a bad comeback for the former Scottish boys' kingpin and men's stroke-play champion of yesteryear, considering he had double bogeys at the eighth and the short 11th.
Henry's eventual bag of six birdies cancelled out the mistakes. Now if he could only get rid of the mistakes, he would improve his scores by a lot of shots!
Non-qualifiers included Drumepellier’s Graham Rankin (71-146), Archerfield Links’ Lee Harper (76-148), Carnoustie’s Keir McNicoll (73-148), Craigielaw’s Shaun McAllister (78-150) and Alyth’s Kevin McAlpine (73-152).

LEADING SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 140 (2x70)
131 Craig Lee (Sco) 68 63, Sean Doherty (Eng) 67 64.
132 Nick McCarthy (Eng) 66 66.
133 Steve Uzelli (Eng) 68 655.
135 James Busby (Eng) 66 69.
Selected Scottish scores:
141 Steven Mackie 71 70 (jt 22nd).
143 Scott Henry 74 69 (jt 35th).
144 John Gallagher 72 72 (jt 42nd).
145 Barry Hume 74 71, Paul Doherty 77 68 (jt 48th).
MISSED THE CUT
146 Graham Rankin 75 71.
148 Lee Harper 72 76, Keir McNicoll 75 73.
150 Shaun McAllister 72 78.
152 Kevin McAlpine 79-73.

HUME’S HARD TASK TO BEAT ALPS TOUR CUT
Perthshire player Steven Hume will be hard pushed to make the leading 40 players and ties who will beat the cut after Friday’s second round of the Alps Tour’s Open Intenational de Normandie at Golf de Saint Saens in France.
The Murrayshall man saddled himself with a four-over-par 75 and is lying joint 80th in the field of 120 players.
Hume had three birdies – at the 10th, 11th and short 17th – but he undid the good work with a double bogey 7 at the long 12th and bogeys at the second, eighth, 14th, 16th and 18th.
Frenchman Alan Bihan, a winner twice already this season on the satellite circuit, is setting the pace with a five-under-par 66.
FIRST ROUND LEADERS
Par 71
66 Alan Bihan (Fra).
67 Julien Foret (Fra), Matteo Del Podio (Ita), Juan Antonio Bragulat (Spa).
Selected scores:
69 Jason Palmer (Eng).
72 Ricki Neil-Jones (Eng).
74 Philip Rowe (Eng), Adam Hodkinson (Eng), Farren Keenan (Eng), Jonathan Lomas (Eng).
75 Steven Hume (Sco).

E-mail from Neil Wilson

Reference recent Martin Dempster article about Paul Lawrie wishing other Scottish pros would follow his example in encouraging young amateurs

"On the general issue of encouragement to young golfers by the professional class, can I say that my own experience has been almost all positive. We have the good fortune to live for much of the year in Spain and play most of our golf at Valderrama.
"A number of current European Tour professionals are members, including Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Alvaro Quiros and Soren Hansen. They all spend a lot of time over the winter practising at Valderrama and I have found them to be incredibly generous with their time and will play a few holes or have putting competitions with any of our junior members who happen to be around.
"My son is a pupil at Loretto School Golf Academy in Musselburgh and is a huge fan of Gonzo, Alvaro and Soren whereas the current crop of Scottish pros are by and large just names that occupy the lower reaches of the results sheet each week. More's the pity."

Neil Wilson

Keep up the good work. "Scottish Golf View" is brilliant for keeping us very much in the picture as to what is happening in Scottish golf.

Kind regards,

Neil Wilson

Ryder Cup is a 45,000 a day sell-out

Tickets for The 2010 Ryder Cup match days are now completely sold out .
With the 100-days-to-go mark set to be celebrated next week, The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales is already guaranteed to see record 45,000-a-day crowds for the three days of competition between Europe and the United States (October 1–3).
The ticket ballots for those days were heavily over-subscribed and all the allocations have now been made and are being processed.

Banchory's James Byrne only Scot in quarter-finals

SEVEN NATIONS REPRESENTED IN

LAST EIGHT OF 2010 AMATEUR

CHAMPIONSHIP AT MUIRFIELD

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE RandA
Eight players from seven nations are through to the quarter-finals of the 2010 Amateur Championship at Muirfield. All four home nations are represented, along with Italy, France and Korea.
First through to the last eight was England’s Matthew Nixon, defeating Tommy Fleetwood with a birdie 3 at the 18th to win by one hole. The 21-year-old former Boys Amateur Champion, pictured above with the trophy at Royal Aberdeen GC in 2006, who earlier in the day had eased past Denmark’s Peter Baunsoe 3 and 2, faced an altogether tougher task against the world number nine.
“It was a bit of a struggle out there,” explained Nixon, “nip and tuck all the way. I hit a lot of greens today and I played quite well.”
Magnanimous in defeat, Fleetwood said: “I’ve played the Amateur twice before this, and I’ve lost to the winner both times. He’s one of my best mates, so I hope he goes all the way.”
Nixon will play Rhys Enoch in the fourth round. This morning, the Welshman was a three-foot putt away from making his Amateur Championship exit against Jordan Findlay of Scotland. But Findlay missed and handed his one-time East Tennessee State University team-mate another chance. He grasped it at the 19th hole. In the afternoon, Enoch overcame Bolivia’s Sebastian Maclean 2 and 1.
“I definitely feared the worst this morning. I was really struggling, but somehow I got through it and found something this afternoon,” he said. “My short game and putting is very sharp right now and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”
Scottish hopes are very much alive in the form of James Byrne, who negotiated his way through to the last eight after victories over Germany’s Stephan Jaeger and Englishman Alex Christie. The Arizona State University junior, 21, is hoping to become the first winner on home soil since Stuart Wilson at St Andrews in 2004.
“I had high hopes of doing well this week. I’m playing steady golf – I was about two under par today. I had a good summer last year and I feel like I’ve got the game to do well again,” said Byrne, a quarter-finalist last year at Formby.
Completing the quartet of home internationals is Northern Ireland’s Paul Cutler who made his way to the last eight courtesy of a one-hole victory over Scotland's Michael Stewart and a 3 and ;2 triumph against Japan’s Yuki Usami.
Despite having had little links experience Jin Jeong has arguably been the most impressive international player this week. Today he defeated the 2010 Scottish Open Stroke Play Champion, France’s Romain Wattel, 4 and 3 in the morning, and 2009 Boys Amateur Champion Tom Lewis by one hole in the afternoon.
The South Korean, who currently occupies 10th place in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, said: “It was a really tight match and we both played really well, but I was quite nervous at the end. I’ve been playing well all week, so I just need to do the same tomorrow.”
Completing the quarter-finalists are France’s Edouard Espana, Chris Paisley of England – the only Walker Cup player to make it to this stage of the competition – and Italian Andrea Pavan, the latter defeating England’s Darren Wright by one hole in the final match of the day.
“It feels good to get through,” said the Italian. “The drive on 18 this afternoon was a really great shot. 18 is a pretty tough hole, so just hitting it down the middle, then hitting the green when you need to it is a good feeling. Perhaps tomorrow will be better still.”
The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be played tomorrow at Muirfield, with the morning round getting underway at 8.15am and the afternoon’s play commencing at 1.00pm.
The 36-hole final will be played on Saturday. The winner will receive exemption into the 150th Anniversary Open Championship and a Masters Tournament invitation.

James Byrne is holing the putts that matter at Muirfield

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By Martin Dempster
With the iconic clubhouse of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers providing a spectacular backdrop, James Byrne picked the perfect moment to show that Scottish golfers maybe aren't poor putters after all.
Much has been made of Scots underperforming with the flat stick in their hands in recent years, but Byrne, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, perhaps helped by the fact he gets to play and practise on decent surfaces most of the time at Arizona State University, is holing the putts that matter in the Amateur Championship at Muirfield.
In his third-round morning match against Germany's Stephan Jaeger, the 21-year-old from Banchory rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt under intense pressure on the last to clinch victory, keeping Scottish interest alive in the process following earlier defeats for his countrymen, Jordan Findlay and Michael Stewart.
Byrne then beat Alex Christie, one of seven English players to make it to the last 16, by 2 and 1 in the afternoon and now meets Frenchman Edouard Espana, who, based on his two Thursday wins  over Walker Cup squad members Stiggy Hodgson and Alan Dunbar, will be a dangerous opponent for the Scot in the quarter-finals.
"They are the kind of putts you need to hole to get you going," said Byrne of the downhill effort that also had a six-inch break on it.
The Morth-east player, who admits he was drawn to Arizona State by the fact Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey, Pat Perez, Grace Park and Anna Nordqvist among others went there, too, before going on to become successful Tour professionals, is unfazed by being the home man left carrying the Saltire in East Lothian.
"The nerves I am feeling are good ones and help me focus when I need to," said Byrne, who has already gone one better than 12 months ago, when he reached the last 16 at Formby.
Golf, meanwhile, has been put into perspective for England's Matthew Nixon and Welshman Rhys Enoch, who meet this morning in another of the quarter-finals. Both have suffered huge heartache in the last year or so, Nixon's 19-year-old girlfriend dying from cancer and Enoch's younger brother, a talented golfer himself, being killed in a car crash.
Nixon, 21, who won the British Boys' Championship at Royal Aberdeen four years ago, claimed the scalp of leading qualifier Tommy Fleetwood, one of the players, ironically, who helped him get back playing golf after a testing time in his young life.
"I had a month off earlier in the year after losing my girlfriend to cancer just after Christmas," said the Ashton-under-Lyne player. "Her name was Anja Barnacott and she was 19. She started having chemotherapy in April, just after I met her. She had stem cell transplant but had a relapse and went back into hospital. That was on November 19 and they said she'd be in for a month but never came out.
"It wasn't a nice thing to experience but it has made me a stronger person. I had some good friends who helped me through it and I probably wouldn't be here just now without their support. It put my life into perspective – golf is just a game now.
Nixon clinched his one-hole win over Fleetwood, beaten finalist at Turnberry two years ago, by hitting a majestic approach to three-and-a-half feet at the last. "Tommy has twice beaten me in Lanacashire county finals so it is about time I got one over on him," noted Nixon.
Enoch's brother, Ben, was on his way to play a practice round for the Lytham Trophy a year past April when he was killed in a car crash. "For a while afterwards you don't really care about anything," admitted Rhys, who has the word 'BEEN', his brother's nickname, embroidered on his East Tennessee State University shirt in his memory.
In his morning match with Findlay, Enoch, who was one down with one to play, looked to be heading for an exit when he produced an untimely shank. But, helped by a decent lie in the thick rough, the 22-year-old was able to make a 5, good enough to force extra-time after Findlay, who had been bunkered off the tee, then three-putted from 35 feet.
Both players were through the back at the 19th after getting flyers from rough with their second shots but Enoch, who had a much easier lie than the Scot, salvaged a par to go through.
Up against Paul Cutler, the Irishman who won the Lytham Trophy this year, Stewart covered the last ten holes in four-under-par and eagled the long 17th to square matters only for his opponent to hole from eight feet for a match-winning birdie at the last.
TODAY'S RESULTS

THIRD-ROUND
Upper Half
Tommy Fleetwood (Formby Hall) bt Rasmus Lykke-Kjeldsen (Denmark) 4 and 3.
Matthew Nixon (Ashton-under-Lyne) bt Peter Baunsoe (Denmark) 3 and 2.
Sebastian MacLean (Bolivia) bt Henrik Norlander (Sweden) 1 hole.
Rhys Enoch (Truro) bt Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh) at 19th.
Tom Lewis (Welwyn Garden City) bt Jonathan Hurst (Shaw Hill) 2 and 1.
Jin Jeong (South Korea) bt Romain Wattel (France) 4 and 3.
Paul Cutler (Portstewart) bt Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) 1 hole.
Yuki Usami (Japan) bt Kieran Pratt (Australia) 6 and 4.
Lower Half
Alan Dunbar (Rathmore) bt James Fox (Portmarnock) 2 and 1.
Edouard Espana (France) bt Stiggy Hodgson 5 and 4.
Alex Christie (Tyrrells Wood) bt Alexis Szappanos (Germany) at 19th.
James Byrne (Banchory) bt Stephan Jaeger (Germany) 1 hole.
Billy Hemstock (Teignmouth) bt Are Friestad (Norway) 5 and 3.
Chris Paisley (Stocksfield) bt Toby Burden (Hayling) 2 and 1.
Andrea Pavan (Italy) bt Morten Orum Madsen (Denmark) 1 hole.
Darren Wright (Rowlands Castle) bt Jose Maria Joia (Portugal) 2 and 1.

FOURTH ROUND
Matthew Nixon (Ashton-under-Lyne) bt Tommy Fleetwood (Formby Hall) 1 hole.
Rhys Enoch (Truro) bt Sebastian MacLean (Bolivia) 2 and 1.
Jin Jeong (South Korea) bt Tom Lewis (Welwyn Garden City) 1 hole.
Paul Cutler (Portstewart) bt Yuki Usami (Japan) 3 and 2.
Edouard Espana (France) bt Alan Dunbar (Rathmore) at 19th.
James Byrne (Banchory) bt Alex Christie (Tyrrells Wood) 2 and 1.
Chris Paisley (Stocksfield) bt Billy Hemstock (Teignmouth) at 19th.
Andrea Pavan (Italy) bt Darren Wright (Rowlands Castle) 1 hole.

FRIDAY'S QUARTER-FINALS
Nixon v Enoch
Jeong v Cutler
Espana v Byrne
Paisley v Pavan

Duff House Royal Centenary Year

This is Duff House Royal Golf Club, Banff's Centenary Year.
Switch over to our sister website, http://www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk/, to see what they have planned for their Week of Celebration.