English Amateur Championship qualifying rounds

Junior Ryder Cup cap Lloyd celebrates by claiming top seeding

FROM THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION WEBSITE
The cream certainly rose to the top as the qualifying rounds for the English Amateur Championship were completed at Little Aston and Sutton Coldfield with internationals Chris Lloyd, Tommy Fleetwood and Laurie Canter heading the cast list for the match play rounds.
Boy cap Lloyd led the way with 66 for 136, eight under par, finishing a shot ahead of full international Fleetwood, who shot 69, both at Little Aston.
For Lloyd, it was a welcome return to form after a poor display, by his high standards, in last week’s Carris Trophy at Woodhall Spa and the news that he has been selected for the European team in the Junior Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September.
“Getting selected was a nice touch after a disappointing Carris,” said the lad from Bristol. “Yesterday was a bit of a battle but I’m very happy with 66 today. I drove the ball well and if you do that around here it only leaves you with a wedge in and you can leave your putts in A1 positions.”
Lloyd had an eagle, with a chip-in on the 12th, plus five birdies, was out in 32 and dropped just one shot, at the ninth.
“Now I’m looking forward to the match play,” added Lloyd. “I’ve had my fair share of wins and losses but I’m playing well and I don’t see why I can’t go a long way.”
Fleetwood’s 69, which included a front nine of 33, was his sixth consecutive round in the Sixties in what has been an extremely busy time for the Lancastrian.
In recent times he played in the French Open on the European Tour, then jetted off to Sweden to help England win the European Men’s Team Championship and finished runner-up on Sunday in the European Challenge Tour event at Stoke by Nayland before dashing up to Birmingham.
“I’ve probably played more golf than anyone in this field this week,” he remarked. “I won’t be having a rest unless I get beaten in the match play.
“My 69 could have been better but I cruised round and just hit the middle of the greens. I didn’t know the course and I didn’t have time for a practice or even walk round.”
Canter was the low man of the day with a seven birdie, blemish-free 65 at Little Aston for 138. “After 73 yesterday, I was nervous at the start as I didn’t want to miss qualifying,” said the man from Somerset.
“That’s the best I’ve putted since the start of the season while my long game was better than yesterday. I’ve only had a double bogey in two days and no other dropped shots”
Having won the South African Amateur back in the winter and with an unbeaten record in the singles during the European Men’s Team Championships in Sweden, Canter feels he has a great chance of the title.
“Because I make a lot of pars, I’m tough to beat in match play,” he added.
Fellow international James Robinson matched Lloyd’s 66 at Sutton Coldfield to climb the leaderboard on 141. In an amazing round, he signed for nine birdies, seven coming in nine holes from the fourth, while he came home in 31 strokes.
Yet another England cap, Jamie Abbott, who suffered in the gale during the Open Championship at St Andrews, returned a bogey-free 68 at Little Aston, which included an eagle, two birdies and 15 pars.
“It was a bit different to the Open and better than yesterday,” he said after going out in 32.
Tyrrell Hatton, another who made it to St Andrews, fired 69 at Sutton Coldfield for 139 for joint third place with Andrew Cooley, who had 70 at Little Aston.
James Doswell was in the second game out at Little Aston and has a habit of shooting low in the second round to qualify.
He returned 66 at Rye a year ago and managed just one more this time for 141 with an eagle and four birdies.
“I only hit one bad shot and it cost be a bogey at the fourth,” said the 23 year old from Hastings.
A total of 81 players qualified for the match play on 146, two over par, or better.

Click here to read the qualifying scores

Allied Surveyors Scottish Amateur Championship Day 2

James Byrne in action during his second-round victory over Scott Borrowman at Gullane today. Picture by Kenny Taylor.

Byrne edges past Borrowman 2 and 1 in second round

By ROSS DUNCAN
Scottish Golf Union Marketing and Sponsorship Manager
Top seed James Byrne, Boys Order of Merit leader Simon Fairburn and Newlands Trophy winner Allyn Dick were among the first players to reach the third round of the Allied Surveyors Scottish Amateur Championship at a sunny Gullane this afternoon.

In the match with top billing among the East Lothian golf faithful, Byrne edged past former Scottish Youths Champion Scott Borrowman (Dollar) with a 2 and 1 win to set up a clash with Craigielaw’s Shaun Deegan, who was a 4 and 3 victor over Keith Anderson (Charleton).

Borderer Fairburn celebrated his call-up to the Scotland Boys Home Internationals side with comfortable 4 and 2 win over Kilsyth’s Thomas Morrison and will now face Kingsnowe’s Allyn Dick in the third round after the former double Mid-Amateur champion overcame Daniel Kay.
Scottish Boys Champion Grant Forrest continued his good progress in the match play with a 5 and 4 win over East Lothian rival Alexander Culverwell to book his third round spot, while Forrest’s Scotland boys team-mate Scott Gibson, who finished fifth in the Boys Stroke Play down the coast at Craigielaw last week, defeated Steven Robertson 3 and 2.
The number eight seed Greg Paterson is also safely though after a 5&3 win over Niall Lamond and fellow seed Kris Nicol joined him in the third round with a hard fought 2&1 win against Troon’s Paul Maultrie.
In the final quarter of the first round matches played this afternoon, Colville Park’s Ross Kellett, seeded two this week enjoyed a 4&2 win over former British boys finalist Fraser Fotheringham (Nairn Dunbar) while the 1991 champion Graham Lowson rolled back the years with a narrow one hole win against Archerfield’s Gregor Munro.
Another Craigielaw player Mark Hillson is also through to round two after his 2&1 win over Leven’s David Mitchell and the host club’s Martin Hopley won at the first extra hole in his match against Elgin’s Derek Ramsay.
Earlier winners on Day 2 included No 3 seed Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck). After trailing on the outward journey, he beat Brian Soutar (Leven Golfing Society) 4 and 3.

Defending champion David Law from Aberdeen started with a good 3 and 2 win over Craig Hamilton from New Zealand. The Hazlehead 19-year-old was one down at the turn but finished his match in style with a putt for a birdie 2 at the 16th.

Tain’s Munro Ferries and Darren Hulston (Hayston) achieved the longest match so far in the week-long championship. It went to the 23rd before the man from the Far North triumphed.

The tournament's first day and half had been devoid of any major form upset until ... Craigmillar Park Open winner Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm), seventh on the SGU Order of Merit went down by one hole to Thomas Sharkey from Helensburgh.

A reminder of the eight seeds named for the championship:

1 James Byrne, 2 Ross Kellett, 3 Michael Stewart, 4 Kris Nicol, 5 James White, 6 Philip McLean, 7 David Law, 8 Greg Paterson.

Click here for the Day 2 results from Gullane.

Royal Golf Course, Marrakech, one of the courses you will be playing if you go on the inaugural Morocco Golf Festival from October 9 to 16.
Switch over to our sister website, http://www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk/ if you want a reminder of all the details.
Colin Farquharson, Editor of http://www.scottishgolfview.com/ and http://www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk/ is the experienced Tournament Director who will be organising your enjoyment at the
MOROCCO GOLF FESTIVAL
FLY OUT OCTOBER 9, FLY BACK OCTOBER 16.

World Hickory Golf promises to attract a record field

NEWS RELEASE
The Sixth World Hickory Open to be held in East Lothian promises to be an even better event with a strong contingent from the USA and Sweden already on the player’s list.
World Hickory Open Chairman Lionel Freedman exhorts hickory fanatics and even the not-so-expert to get their entry submitted without delay to avoid disappointment. As usual pre-1936 hickory shafted clubs are provided at no cost for those without their own set as are clubs manufactured by The St Andrews Golf Co.- the last manufacturer of golf clubs in Scotland .
“The new course selection, the rapidly growing popularity of the hickory game and the presence of at least three National Hickory Champions is assurance that this year’s Open will attract a record field,” says Lionel Freedman. “This tournament is for professionals and amateurs alike, which adds another unique dimension to the event.”
However, with The Scottish Golf Union now supporting the tournament, the venues have been adjusted to embrace the best of old and new with competition play over Musselburgh Old Links, Craigielaw, Archerfield and Gulllane 2 and 3. from September 20th-24th 2010.
For those who are not familiar with some of these courses:
Musselburgh Old Links was the site of six Opens in the late 19th century.
This is followed by the challenging Craigielaw links, where the domed greens seem to demand an approach with the putter.
Then it’s another mile or two east to Archerfield’s incredible Fidra course, a new lay-out based on the original private course in a sensational setting with its own stately home as a backdrop and finally to Gullane 2 and 3 for the 36-hole Open Championship and the team event.
The tournament also includes a celebratory dinner at the historic Gullane clubhouse climaxing with the prizegiving followed by entertaining speeches by golfing luminaries. This Dinner will support two charities, The Ewan MacDonald Centre, which has been set up at Edinburgh University by the MacDonald family, to find a cure for motor neuron disease, and Keepers of the Green, whose members, in addition to playing hickory golf, raise money to buy electric wheelchairs for the physically handicapped.
Entries include current national champions, Mike Stevens from the USA, Owe Werner from Sweden , Perry Somers from Australia, Ian Forrester from Holland and Marc Amort from Schloss Langenstein in Germany.
“We are delighted to support this year’s World Hickory Open and hope to encourage more Scottish golfers to participate in this wonderful event. It provides a great opportunity to take a step back in time and see how golf was played prior to modern technology and I’m sure it will be a great occasion for hickory fans from Scotland and all over the world.” said Hamish Grey, Chief Executive of the Scottish Golf Union.
The organisers urge players to waste no time in visiting the website www.worldhickoryopen.com where full details of the event and entry forms are already published..

Further information from Lionel Freedman on +44 (0)131-665 4861.

Senior Open Qualifying venues named for 2011

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOURBetchworth Park, Burhill Golf Club and Kingswood Golf and Country Club were today named as the three qualifying venues for The 2011 Senior Open Championship.
An estimated 300 players will take part in the 18 hole qualifier across the three courses on July 18 hoping to earn a place in the field for The Senior Open Championship at Walton Heath from July 21-24.
It is the first time Walton Heath has hosted the Championship as the Surrey venue marks the 30th anniversary of it hosting The Ryder Cup in 1981 – the first biennial contest between a combined continental European Team and the United States on European soil.
Several players from that Ryder Cup are likely to be in the field for The Senior Open Championship including Sandy Lyle, Sam Torrance, Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer who will be defending his title after winning his maiden Senior Major Championship at Carnoustie on Sunday.
The qualifying competition will give non-exempt players the chance to join these golfing greats in the Championship with the hope of reproducing the performance of Pete Oakley in 2004 who came through qualifying before going on to win the Championship at Royal Portrush.
Andy Stubbs, Managing Director of the European Senior Tour, on behalf of The Senior Open Championship, said: “Following the success of this year’s Senior Open at Carnoustie last week we are delighted to announce three fantastic courses in Betchworth Park, Burhill and Kingswood as the venues for next year’s qualifier and we are extremely grateful to the respective Members for giving up their facilities.
“The Senior Open Championship continues to grow each year and it is vital that we have strong qualifying venues to support this. All three courses are close to Walton Heath and I’m sure the Surrey area will benefit from the boost to its economy that is associated with hosting the Senior Open Championship.”

SCOTLAND TEAM NAMED FOR BOYS' INTERNATIONALS

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
Pollok’s Conor O’Neil, runner-up at the recent Scottish boys stroke play championship, heads the Scotland line-up look for a victory on home soil at next week’s Boys Home Internationals next week (Tuesday to Thursday) at Southerness Golf Club.
O’Neil, who will travel to Michigan State University to begin a golf scholarship at the end of next month, finished just a shot behind Finland’s Linus Vaisanen at Craigielaw to record his best performance in a national championship last week and will make his full Scotland debut at Southerness. Jamie Lynch (Falkirk Tryst) gains an inclusion after his third place finish in the boys stroke play and semi-final appearance in the match play.
He is joined by Scottish boys champion Grant Forrest and the runner-up from West Kilbride, Ian Redford, while the in-form Scott Gibson will enjoy representing his country on his home course. SGU Boys Order of Merit leader Simon Fairburn is included, while Jack McDonald retains his place in the side from last year.
United Arab Emirates based Daniel Hendry, fourth at Craigielaw last week and the highest placed under 16s finisher, earns his first cap with 15-year-old Ewan Scott from St Andrews promoted to the under-18s team. Scottish Youths Championship runner-up Paul McPhee (King James VI), is also included.
Scotland will be looking to win the Boys Home Internationals for the first time since they triumphed at Moray back in 2006. The Scots are captained by former Amateur Champion Stuart Wilson, while national junior coach Spencer Henderson makes his final excursion with the boys team before departing to take up his role with the Turkish Golf Federation.
The Scotland Boys Team is sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management and TaylorMade adidas-Golf.
The full side is:
1. Simon Fairburn (Torwoodlee)
2. Grant Forrest (Craigielaw)
3. Scott Gibson (Southerness)
4. Liam Johnston (Dumfries & County)
5. Jamie Lynch (Falkirk Tryst)
6. Conor O'Neil (Pollok)
7. Paul McPhee (King James VI)
8. Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie)
9. Ian Redford (St Andrews New)
10. Ewan Scott (St Andrews)
11. Daniel Hendry (Dubai)
Non-playing captain: Stuart Wilson (Forfar)



ENDS

Westwood fancies being Ryder Cup captain some day

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
Lee Westwood is looking forward to working under his seventh Ryder Cup captain as he dreams of being handed the honour himself one day.
Colin Montgomerie will be at the helm as Europe try to wrest the trophy back from the United States in October at Celtic Manor, and Westwood, Europe’s No 1, is relishing the chance to see what the Scot brings to the role he hopes to fill in the future.
“I’d love to be the captain one day. It’s a massive honour and very few people get to do it,” Westwood said.
“I’ve got a lot of experience playing in the Ryder Cup and a lot of experience of different captains and the way they’ve all done it and I should be able to look back and know what to do and what not to do. Hopefully one day I’ll get the chance to do that.”
The 37 year-old, who could become world No1 if he wins next week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, is, however, more focused on his own achievements in the game for now, adding that becoming world No1 “would be amazing”.
Westwood believes Montgomerie, who has represented Europe eight times, will bring an abundance of passion to the job.
“He has always worn his heart on his sleeve and he’s been very passionate about the Ryder Cup and he’s obviously played many of them, so he’s got a wealth of experience.
“He’s always stirring the troops up and getting you going so I think he’ll make a great captain.”

Stubbs expects Monty to play on Seniors Tour when time comes

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Andy Stubbs, the managing director of the European Senior Tour, is confident Colin Montgomerie will play on the circuit when he turns 50 in three years' time and believes Bernhard Langer's success in the Senior Open Championship at Carnoustie will have fuelled the Scot's thirst for success beyond the regular Tour.
Montgomerie has always been somewhat lukewarm on the subject of senior golf but Stubbs feels watching the likes of Langer, his former Ryder Cup team-mate, winning an over-50s major, will influence the 47-year-old as he edges closer to becoming eligible.
Asked if he was expecting to have Montgomerie on board eventually, Stubbs said: "Anyone that's had a record in major championship history or Ryder Cup captaincy or participation, yes. (Jack] Nicklaus was the one that said he would never play senior golf, and he did. He didn't play too many; he picked and chose his events. I think Colin will do the same."
Stubbs believes the majors in particular will be attractive to Montgomerie but is hoping the paths taken by the likes of Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam since they turned 50 will have shown the current Ryder Cup captain that the ever-expanding European circuit can provide a good level of competition on his own doorstep as opposed to moving to America, as Langer has done, to play on the Champions Tour.
"My instinct is that Colin would not be attracted by that (the Champions Tour]," he added. "Ian and Sam both had a little go at that, but they don't enjoy going to their room at seven at night watching TV; they would rather be in the bar having a cocktail or a fizzy water. The guys (on the European Senior Tour] like each other's company. You've witnessed it around Ryder Cups, it's a big family. I don't think Colin will go to America and mix particularly well. I think he's likely to want to play in Europe."
Stubbs is in Rome today hoping to sign a contract for a new tournament in October. If successful, the 2010 schedule will have been increased to 20 in the space of 12 months. "That would be five more events from last year in the deepest recession anyone can remember and it's a compliment to those guys out there that play on this tour," he said.
"My job is to make sure that all of our tournaments in different parts of the world become bigger and better and I think we will attract him (Montgomerie] to play a handful of events. I think Ian and Sam are your benchmark. They don't play all the tournaments, probably 12-15 a year, but they play enough that they enjoy," he said.
Langer's win at Carnoustie was watched by approximately 33,000 fans over the course of the week.