A round over the Old Course, St Andrews will cost £140 next year, a rise of £10.

'Modest increases' on some St Andrews courses'

visitor green fees next year

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ST ANDREWS LINKS TRUST
St Andrews Links Trust has announced its 2011 visitor green fees for the seven courses at the Home of Golf.
There will be small increases on some of the courses next year following two years where the fees have been frozen.
The high season green fee for the Old Course will be £140, a £10 increase on last year. The New and Jubilee courses will change to £70, a £5 increase. The green fees for The Castle, Eden , Strathtyrum and Balgove courses will remain the same.
The Castle Course will be included in the Links’ Three and Seven Day tickets and Advance Reservable Three and Seven Day tickets without a surcharge from April 18, 2011 onwards.
Alan McGregor, chief executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said, “Trustees gave careful consideration to setting the green fees for 2011 and decided that modest increases on some of the courses were appropriate. We have enjoyed a busy season on the courses despite the temporary closures for the staging of the Open Championship. We hope that the global media exposure generated by the Open will attract high numbers of visiting golfers to the Links next year.”
The application forms for making Advanced Reservations for 2011 on the Old Course, The Castle Course and the other St Andrews Links courses are now available to download from http://www.standrews.org.uk/.
The Advanced Reservations process opens from 10am BST on Wednesday, September 1 when the forms should be emailed to reservations@standrews.org.uk. Applications will not be accepted prior to that time.



.

Notes to editors

FAMILY FUN AT SCOTTISH SENIOR OPEN

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE AZALEA GROUPFormer Ryder Cup captains Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam will be leading the charge to strip Glenn Ralph of his Cleveland Golf/Srixon Scottish Senior Open title this weekend – but it’s not just the pros who will be getting into the swing of things at Fairmont St Andrews.

While the golfing elite of the over-50s will be battling it out on the five-star resort’s Torrance course, hundreds of children will have the opportunity to get their first taste of golf thanks to International Golf Development.
The company will be providing a feast of golf with its Start New At Golf (SNAG) course and interactive golf zone – and adults can join in too.
The SNAG system provides the perfect introduction to golf, using just two clubs – the roller and the launcher – to build up skills and confidence before moving on to the full game.
Charles Head, general manager of Fairmont St Andrews, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming a lot of golf fans to the resort this week and hopefully introducing some newcomers to the game too.
“The SNAG course and interactive golf zone have proven very popular at other Senior Tour events and will make a wonderful addition to our facilities for the weekend.
“Hopefully a lot of local families will be able to come along to enjoy the golf, try the game for themselves and have a great day out.”
The Cleveland Golf/Srixon Scottish Senior Open takes place from August 20-22 at Fairmont St Andrews on the recently renovated Torrance course.
The course has benefited from significant improvements following a recent £17m redevelopment of the luxury resort which also included extensive work on its second 18-hole lay-out – the Kittocks course – lavish spa complex and five-star hotel.

LAST WORD ON THE DUSTIN JOHNSON AFFAIR

No drama at Whistling Straits if US

PGA had had out-of-bounds stakes

in place

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By James Achenbach.
All I did was state what seemed obvious to me: Dustin Johnson was robbed at the US PGA Championship, and it shouldn’t have happened.
The response was staggering: hundreds of E-mail comments, a handful of phone calls, even three radio talk shows wanting to discuss the incident.
Most of the commentary was pro-Dustin Johnson. However, some wasn’t.
In today’s electronic society, I get to know some Golfweek readers by their E-mail names and not their real names.

So it was that Jimmyteeball, a golf professional, hit me with a 200-mph E-mail tee shot:

“James, give me a break. Dustin Johnson is leading a major championship and he hits the ball 10 rows up in the stands (figuratively) ... You and everyone else act like he was in the middle of the fairway. The reason the fans were in the bunker was that they were not supposed to be in play.
"Isn’t this guy supposed to be one of the best players in the world? The PGA needs to put up white (out of bounds) stakes and save us all the drama.”
My response: I suppose you would take the 1979 British Open title from Seve Ballesteros because he drove his ball some 50 yards offline into a car park and underneath the front bumper of a small British automobile. If I had a dollar from every wild tee shot under pressure in a major championship, I would host an all-night party.

Golfers play the golf course as defined. In the case of Dustin Johnson, that bunker on the final hole at Whistling Straits was not well-defined.

As Johnson stated on 97.5 The Fanatic, a sports-savvy radio station in Philadelphia: “There was all kinds of grass in it. Obviously people had been walking in it. What it looked like, to me, was just a bare spot. It’s real sandy out there when you get off the fairway no matter where you are. It just looked like a bare spot where people had worn it down from the crowd walking on it. "There was no definition to it at all. Every sand trap on that whole course, you can tell it’s a sand trap because it has a distinct definition and outline in it. Even going back and looking on the TV, there’s really no definition to it, so I just never thought it was a bunker.”
I remember the short speech I scribbled on a piece of paper in April before the Masters awarded me a Major Achievement Award (in all honesty, this was based on the longevity of covering 40 Masters and not on the merit of my stories):
“All my life, people have told me I am too serious,” I wrote. “That’s fine with me. When I first covered the Masters in 1971, I knew right away this was my kind of tournament. It was serious. I loved the history, the traditions, the green jackets, the ceremony, the formal atmosphere. This was serious golf back then, and it remains serious golf today.”
So let’s get serious about the US PGA Championship, which probably would benefit from being more highly structured like the Masters.
Just as businessman and golf lover Herb Kohler has the resources and influence to attract (please note I did not use the verb buy) three US PGA Championships and a Ryder Cup, we should assume that other individuals and other courses will expose their eccentricities to the world of golf.
Already the U.S. Open has been scheduled for two new locations, Chambers Bay (south of Seattle) in 2015 and Erin Hills (northwest of Milwaukee) in 2017.
Kohler and architect Pete Dye constructed nearly 1,000 bunkers at Whistling Straits. The Dustin Johnson sand pit was trampled by spectators who walked and ran through it during the tournament. There were unconfirmed reports that children had been building sand castles. There were no rakes in this so-called bunker.
So what can we learn from DJ-gate?
Get serious. Golf as usual is not enough in a major championship. This is one of the four most important golf tournaments on the planet, so let’s treat it as such.

Double or triple the pool of rules officials. Add reinforcements for the leading groups on Saturday and Sunday.

Undefined sandy areas outside the spectator ropes should be classified as waste areas, not bunkers. With such a designation in place, Dustin Johnson would have been able to ground his club. It’s not like he would be granted relief – it still would have been a daunting shot.
Rules officials should become proactive, warning players about unusual situations and possible infractions.
Why didn’t rules official David Price, walking down the 72nd hole with the player leading the US PGA Championship, say something about the bunker? Because, even though Price later said HE clearly recognised it as a bunker, rules officials don’t customarily assert themselves in such a manner.
Well, it’s time to change. Sprawling modern golf course design and the frenzied emphasis on major championships demand that we devise new methods of dealing with the applications of the rules.
When Dustin Johnson was asked why Price didn’t say anything, he valiantly assumed responsibility for the mistake.
“I was wondering that myself,” Johnson admitted. “But, it’s not up to them, it’s up to me. Obviously I never once thought I was in a bunker. I know the rules of golf very well and I know that I can’t ground my club in a bunker. But it never even crossed my mind that I was in a bunker. But that’s how it goes. I made a mistake.”

With better planning, we might be able to avoid such mistakes in the future.

TODAY'S TARTAN TOUR SCORES

FOR news of today's Tartan Tour event, a qualifying competition for the Kerr Investments Golf Classic 36-hole pro-am, at Dumfries and Galloway Golf Club,

CLICK HERE

ONLY TWO SCOTS MAKE EUROPRO TOUR CUT

Only two Scots – Elliot Saltman (Aegon) and Lee Harper (Archerfield Links) – survived the 36-hole cut in this week’s PGA EuroPro Tour event, the Skycaddie European Championships at Hever Castle Golf Club, Kent.
Saltman packed four birdies and a lone bogey – at the 18th – into a three-under-par 69 for a two-round tally of 142 and joint 20th place going into the final round.
He is five shots behind the leader in the chase for the £10,000 prize, Englishman Justin Evans (69 for 137).
Harper slipped from an impressive 69 to a sloppy 75, including a double bogey 5 at the short sixth, and is sharing 29th place on 144 – two shots inside the limit qualifying mark of 146, which Gary Wolstenholme (70-76) made with nothing to spare.
Carnoustie’s Keir McNicoll (71-147), Scott Henry (The Carrick at Loch Lomond) (74-147) and Drumpellie’s Graham Rankin (70-147) all failed by one shot – and all of them bogeyed the last hole! In fact McNicoll bogeyed the 15th, 16th and 18th; Henry the 13th and 18th, and Rankin the 15th and 18th, are a birdie-eagle-birdie purple patch from the ninth to the 11th, had given him an excellent chance of qualifying.
Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw) ended on 148 with a pair of 74s, the same total as Duncan Stewart (Grantown-on-Spey) with a second-round76.
Swanston’s John Gallacher missed out on 149, Paul Docherty on 150, Zack Saltman and John Henry on 151 and Kevin McAlpine on 160.
SECOND ROUND LEADERS
Par 144 (2x72)
137 Justin Evans (Eng) 69 69.
138 Zane Scotland (Eng) 69 69.
139 William Boniface (Eng) 69 70, Graeme Clark (Eng) 68 71, Matthew Evans (Eng) 72 67, Andrew Johnston (Eng) 71 68.
Scots qualifiers
142 Elliot Saltman (Aegon) 73 69 (jt 20th).
144 Lee Harper (Archerfield Links) 69 74 (jt 29th).
SCOTS WHO MISSED THE CUT (146 or better needed)
147 Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) 76 71, Scott Henry (The Carrick at Loch Lomond) 73 74, Graham Rankin (Drumpellier) 77 70.
148 Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw) 74 74, Duncan Stewart (Grantown on Spey) 76 72.
149 John Gallacher (Swanston) 75 74.
150 Paul Doherty (Vale Hotel) 76 74.
151 Zack Saltman (Aegon) 75 76, John Henry (Clydebank and Dist) 77 74.
160 Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) 82 78.

 Erskine Club captain Finlay MacLennan, Matthew Clark and Renfresshire Golf Union president Don Bremner

KILMACOLM HAVE ANOTHER CHAMPION

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY RENFREWSHIRE GOLF UNION
Don Bremner: e-mail- donbremner@ranfurly9.freeserve.co.uk
The season started well for Matthew Clark of Kilmacolm when, in April, he won the Craigmillar Open with an amazing four-round aggregate score of 260 which included a third-round 62.
This propelled him into the leading area of the Scottish Order of Merit and the prospect of a place in the Scotland team. However, an early exit in the Scottish amateur championship meant that he missed out on his cap and further disappointment was to come as clubmate Andrew Farmer won the Renfrewshire county stroke-play championship.
Having made his way to the semi finals of the County Match Play Championship at Erskine Golf Club, Matthew was keen to finish the season with a flourish but, first, his old adversary and local member Ronnie Clark stood in his way.
In a high standard match, he took control of the match by the seventeenth tee where he was two up with two to play. A drive sent right into shoulder high rough and obscurity took the game to the last where Ronnie drove to green side followed by Matthew’s effort which caught the greenside bunker.
Extra holes looked on the cards until he splashed out to two feet to win by one hole – a great contest.
In the other semi final, Renfrew’s Jordan Grant met Ken Fairbrother from Cochrane Castle. By the turn, by virtue of two birdies, Ken was one up. Jordan quickly clawed this back to square the match at the tenth then birdies from him at the 13th and 14th saw him take control for an eventual 4 and 3 win.
The quality of the final was quickly established when Jordan and Matthew traded birdies in the first two holes. The turning point came at the fifth hole where Mattthew decided to cut the corner in a bid to catch the green – some 323 yards away! His bravery paid dividends with the ball finishing at the back of the green and he went on to build a three hole lead by the turn.
Jordan staged a comeback with a win at the tenth but his putting touch, which had been superb in the morning battle, abandoned him and Matthew played some great golf to win 4 and 3 to win the championship that he wanted.

Stephen Gallacher keeping busy because he fears being frozen out

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Despite feeling exhausted after his top-20 finish in the USPGA Championship, Stephen Gallacher has travelled from Wisconsin to the Czech Republic this week because he fears being frozen out of some European Tour events later in the season.

The 35-year-old is enjoying the best run of his career and is now up to 83rd in the world, having started the year down at 451st after missing the second half of last season due to illness.

He's also lying 23rd in this year's Race to Dubai but is not guaranteed to get in any of the events between the Dunhill Links Championship, in early October, and the Dubai World Championship, at the end of November, on the strength of his ranking from last season's Tour Qualifying School.

That's why Gallacher, unlike Rhys Davies and Darren Clarke - amongst others, has decided to play in the Czech Open starting tomorrow despite the combination of a tough week at Whistling Straits and a lot of travelling over the past week or so taking its toll on the Scot.

"I'm shattered but I've got to keep playing because I might struggle to get into tournaments later in the season," he told the Evening News from Heathrow following a quick turnaround back home in Linlithgow.

"Realistically, I could miss five big tournaments between the Dunhill Links and the Dubai World Championship so that's why my focus has to be on playing at the moment."
The Portugal Masters, which boasts a £2.5million prize fund, is straight after the Dunhill Links, with the new Andalucia Masters at Valderrama another big-money event Gallacher could miss out on despite the fact he's now the leading Scot in the world rankings.
"I'm going to be looking for some invites and it would be nice if my recent form helped me get into a few events," he added.

Despite his recent form - he's missed the cut just once in his last 18 events and also finished just outside the top 20 in the Open Championship at St Andrews - Gallacher reckons it is a "tall order" for him to become a late contender for one of Colin Montgomerie's three wild cards for the Ryder Cup.

"This week is a big tournament, as is next week's Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, where I love playing as well," he said.

"But, even though I've played with the world No. 2 (Phil Mickelson) and world No 4 (Steve Stricker) in recent weeks and held my own with them, I still don't think the Ryder Cup is a real possibility."

Gallacher just missed out on the top-15 finish in Wisconsin that would have secured his place in next year's USPGA Championship in Atlanta.

But, after playing four rounds on one of the most demanding courses in the world without going over the par of 72, he was understandably pleased with his performance.
It was a brilliant event to play in and the way I played was a great confidence booster," declared the former Dunhill Links champion.
"I want to be playing in more of these tournaments in the future and it would have been the icing on the cake if I had secured a top-15 finish.
"However, it was my first USPGA Championship for five years and there's no doubt my game has improved a lot since that last occasion.

"My main goal now for the rest of the season to keep climbing as high as I possibly can in the world rankings.

"I'm delighted to be up to 83rd now and it would be great if I could get into the top 50 again."

One disappointment for Gallacher between now and the end of the year is that he won't get the chance to represent Scotland in the World Cup.

That's because the event, which has a permanent home at Mission Hills in China at the moment, is now a biennial affair.

"It would have been myself and Martin Laird if the event was being held this year and that would have been nice for both of us," noted Gallacher.

"It's a bit disappointing it is every two years now but I've still got the Dubai World Championship to look forward to at the end of the season."

As things stand, Gallacher and Richie Ramsay are the only two Scots on course to make the big-money bonus event in Dubai. The top 60 in the Race to Dubai qualify and Ramsay, the South African Open champion, is lying 24 spots behind his compatriot.

Paul Lawrie and Peter Whiteford, lying 69th and 70th respectively, are still in with a shout, with David Drysdale, the sole Scot in last year's inaugural event, sitting 81st at the moment and needing a good run of form to book his return ticket.

Busy month ahead for Lanarkshire Golf Association

Lanarkshire Golf Association have four big tournaments coming up in the next four weeks.
First up on Thursday, August 26, is the county boys' match-play final between James Steven and Craig Ross, both from Kirkhill.The match will be played at Cambuslang at 4.30.
Next up, also at Cambuslang, is the Lanarkshire three-man team club championship. Cambuslang also hosted it last year and went on to win it and finished eighth in the Scottish final at Prestwick St Nicholas GC.
This year's final will be played at Fortrose and Rosemarkie GC on Sunday, September 26.
Lanarkshire have two remaining Order of Merit 36 hole qualifiers.They are the Cadzow Cup at Hamilton on Sunday, September 5. Handicap limit is 5 and entry is £15. Entries to the Secretary Graham MacKenzie at Hamilton Golf Club phone 01698282872
The final 36 hole event will be the Garnkirk Trophy at Crow Wood on Sunday, September 12. The new date is to avoid clashing with other tournaments and attract a quality field. Handicap limit is 5. The first prize is a voucher for £300 and there are many other prizes. The £12 entry can be paid on the day. Telephone entries to Professional Shop, Crow Wood GC at 0141 779 1943
The current leader of the Order of Merit is Andy Fairbairn of Kirkhill with 47 points.
Willie Sharpe
President
Lanarkshire Golf Association

STEVENSON ROCKETS UP WORLD

AMATEUR RANKINGS

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
A first SGU Order of Merit tournament victory in the North-east District Open at Cruden Bay at the weekend boosted St Andrews University graduate Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs) 88 places in this week’s revised R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Stevenson is now officially the 566th best male amateur golfer on the planet!
US college student Neil Henderson (Glen) finished joint seventh behind Stevenson and he has made a gigantic leap of 261 places to No 724.
Scott Larkin (Royal Aberdeen), winner of the recent Standard Life Leven Gold Medal, rises 33 places to No 377 but it will be some time before he is back in action. He injured his left wrist late in the third round of the NE District Open and had to retire.
Jin Jeong, the Australia-based South Korean who beat James Byrne in the final of the British amateur championship at Muirfield, has lost his No 1 WAGR to American Peter Uihlein. Jeong is now No 2 ahead of England’s Tommy Fleetwood who is on the verge of turning pro.
Byrne has gone down two places to No 13. The only other Scot in the top 100 is Ross Kellett (Colville Park), up two places to No 59. New Scottish champion Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) has improved 12 places to No 104.


THE NEW R and A WORLD AMATEUR
 GOLF RANKINGS

1 Peter Uihlein (US) +1.
2 Jin Jeong (SKor) -1
3 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) no change.
Scots’ rankings:
13 James Byrne -2.
59 Ross Kellett +2
104 Michael Stewart +12.
145 Kris Nicol -6.
203 Stuart Ballingall +8.
248 James White +8.
356 Peter Latimer no change.
367 Scott Crichton +5
377 Scott Larkin +33.
452 Paul Shields no change.
499 Phili8p McLean -20.
545 Gordon Yates -6.
548 Greg Paterson +4.
566 Gordon Stevenson +88.
578 James Ross +42.
635 Matthew Clark -5.
658 Fraser McKenna -5.
659 David Law +47.
673 Graeme Robertson -5.
680 Mark Hillson -62.
696 Scott Gibson +65.
715 Brian Soutar +63.
710 Glenn Campbell -6.
724 Neil Henderson +261.
744 Andrew Gunson -8.
748 Ross Bell -8.

 Three Scots in GB and I team for St

Andrews Trophy match 

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R and A

The Great Britain and Ireland team to face the Continent of Europe in the 2010 St Andrews Trophy Match has been confirmed.

“We have selected a very strong team for the match,” said GB&I Captain Nigel Edwards. “I’m pleased that we have a balanced team made up of players who all have undoubted talent and proven track-records in match play competition.

“We go to Italy knowing that we will face a tough Continent of Europe side, but we look forward to the challenge and expect to perform well.”
The nine players who will contest the match at Castelconturbia near Milan, Italy, are as follows:

James Byrne, Banchory: Byrne, who studies at Arizona State University, reached the final of the Amateur Championship at Muirfield in June and, more recently, finished 11th at the European Amateur Championship in Finland. He also represented Europe at the Palmer Cup in June at Royal Portrush.

Date of Birth: 02/01/89
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 11





Laurie Canter, Saltford: The reigning South African Amateur Champion has enjoyed an excellent season, winning a number of titles including the Hampshire Hog and the West of England Amateur. A strong match play competitor, he won five and a half points out of a possible six at last week’s Home Internationals.

Date of Birth: 03/11/89

Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 99


Paul Cutler, Portstewart: 2010 Lytham Trophy Champion Cutler reached the quarter-final stage of the Amateur Championship. Cutler represented Ireland at the Home Internationals, earning two points from a possible three from his singles matches.
Date of Birth: 12/01/89

Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 10

Ross Kellett, Colville Park: 2009 European Amateur Championship runner-up Kellett won the Tennant Cup at Glasgow – Gailes Links and Killermont in June. Earlier in the year he finished in fifth place at the Portuguese Amateur and, recently, he represented Scotland at the Home Internationals.

Date of Birth: 09/01/88

Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 32


Tom Lewis, Welwyn Garden City: The 2009 Boys Amateur Champion won the Berkhamsted Trophy this year, as well as finishing runner-up in the Welsh Open Stroke Play. In 2010 he has formed part of winning England teams at the European Team Championship, the Home Internationals and the European Nations Cup.
Date of Birth: 05/01/91
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 22


Matthew Nixon, Ashton-under-Lyne: Another member of the winning English team at the Home Internationals, Nixon has been remarkably consistent this year, producing a string of good results including a third-place finish at the Lytham Trophy and a fourth-place at the Scottish Amateur Stroke Play Championship. He also reached the semi-finals of the 2010 Amateur Championship.
Date of Birth: 12/06/89
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 14


Eddie Pepperell, Drayton Park: 2009 Boys Amateur Championship runner-up Pepperell has enjoyed a successful season with wins coming at the Welsh Open Stroke Play and the Berkshire Trophy. He was also part of the English team at the European Team Championship and the Home Internationals.

Date of Birth: 22/01/91

Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 77

Michael Stewart, Troon Welbeck: Winner of the 2010 Scottish Amateur Championship, former Scottish Boys Champion Stewart earned five and a half points from a possible six for Scotland at the Home Internationals.

Date of Birth: 06/03/90

Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 96

Darren Wright, Rowlands Castle: The 2009 West of England Amateur Champion added the Brabazon Trophy to his list of achievements this year, before forming part of the victorious English team at last week’s Home Internationals.
Date of Birth: 08/12/88
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 104


The Continent of Europe team is:
 Alexis Godillot (France) – Non-playing Captain

Nino Bertasio (Italy); Jesper Kennegard (Sweden); Max Kieffer (Germany); Espen Kofstad (Norway); Johann Lopez-Lazaro (France); Morten Orum Madsen (Denmark); Kalle Samooja (Finland); Romain Wattel (France); Pontus Widegren (Sweden).

The 2010 St Andrews Trophy will be held at Castelconturbia, Italy, on August 27-28. Four foursomes ties will be played each morning, with eight singles matches being played on Friday and Saturday afternoon.

The St Andrews Trophy Match is played every two years between Great Britain and Ireland, and the Continent of Europe. It was first played in 1956 over the West Course at Wentworth. Great Britain and Ireland have won the last five matches, including at Kingsbarns in 2008. The most recent Continent of Europe victory came at Golf Villa D’Este in 1998. The GB and I team is selected by The R and A and the Continent of Europe side by the European Golf Association.

GRANT FORREST (left) and SCOTT GIBSON

Scots Forrest and Gibson in GB and I team

for Jacques Leglise Trophy match

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R and A
The Great Britain and Ireland, and Continent of Europe teams to contest the 2010 Jacques Leglise Trophy Match have been announced. The nine-man teams to face each other at Castelconturbia near Milan, Italy, are as follows:


GB and I
Rhys Pugh (Vale of Glamorgan) – Captain
James Burnett (Sleaford)
Adam Carson (Long Ashton)
Paul Dunne (Greystones)
Grant Forrest (Craigielaw)
Scott Gibson (Southerness)
Paul Lockwood (Hessle)
Chris Lloyd (The Kendleshire)
Dermot McElroy (Ballymena)


Continent of Europe


Gerald Stangl (Austria) – Non-playing Captain
Thomas Detry (Belgium)
Stanislas Gautier (France)
Domenico Geminiani (Italy)
Kristian Johannesen (Norway)
Moritz Lampert (Germany)
Markus Maukner (Austria)
Adrian Otaegui (Spain)
Thomas Pieters (Belgium)
Thomas Sorensen (Denmark)


Paul Dunne, Chris Lloyd and Adam Carson will provide valuable experience, having been part of the winning GB and I team in last year’s Match at Ganton. Dunne and Lloyd recently represented Ireland and England, respectively, at the full Home Internationals, which took place at Ashburnham, South Wales. Rhys Pugh, the 16-year-old winner of the Peter McEvoy and Fairhaven trophies earlier this year, has been named as GB and I’s Captain for the Match.

On the Continent of Europe team is the newly crowned Boys Amateur Champion, Adrian Otaegui, who defeated Germany’s Max Rottluff 4 and 3 in the 36-hole final at Kilmarnock Barassie last Sunday. Also included in the squad is 14-year-old Domenico Geminiani who is the youngest-ever player to compete in a European Tour event; a feat he accomplished at the BMW Italian Open in May.
Thomas Detry and Moritz Lampert from the Continent of Europe team, along with Chris Lloyd, are members of the European Junior Ryder Cup team due to play the USA at Gleneagles in September.
“The standard of golf in mainland Europe continues to improve, and their current junior players reflect this,” said Chairman of R and A Boys Selectors, Peter McEvoy.
“It will be a tightly contested match, but I am confident that we have gathered together the strongest team we can. The players on both teams are of a standard way above that played by under-18s in previous generations, so it promises to be a great display of elite golf."
The Jacques Leglise Trophy Match will be held at Castelconturbia, Italy, on August 27-28. Four foursomes ties will be played each morning, with eight singles matches being played on Friday and Saturday afternoon.
The Jacques Leglise Trophy Match is played annually between boys representing Great Britain and Ireland, and the Continent of Europe. It was inaugurated in 1958, but not until 40 years later was the event first played in Europe.
GB and I dominated the early encounters, losing only three times before 1995. Yet the strength of European golf has improved dramatically and, since then the Continent of Europe have won six matches to GB&I’s seven. The GB and I team is selected by The R and A and the Continent of Europe side by the European Golf Association.

Tiger's caddie says his job is safe

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealander Steve Williams doesn't believe his job as Tiger Woods' caddie is under any threat, despite media speculation about their 11-year association and concern over the champion golfer's form.
Williams told New Zealand radio earlier today that he and Woods remain close friends and there is no possibility their working relationship is about to end.
"I'm sure if there was going to be some sort of parting of the ways, I'd be the first to know," he said. "From my point of view, I don't see any chance of that happening."

Williams said Woods had no plans to change his key personnel, though he has struggled to regain form after taking a break from the US PGA Tour amid revelations of marital infidelities.

"People speculate. He's not playing well and his results aren't what we're used to," Williams said in the radio interview. "Tiger and I are very good friends and we've been through a tough time, there's no question about that.

"I'm fully supportive of the guy and he's been great through this whole situation with me."

Williams expressed confidence in the ability of Woods' new swing coach Sean Foley to revive his game.

"He hasn't decided if that's the coach who's going to be with him, but I really like what this new guy had to say and what his theories are," Williams said. "If Tiger decides to stick with Sean, I believe he'll get better. It might take a little while."

Woods finished 28th at last week's PGA Championship in Wisconsin, a week after posting the worst 72-hole total of his career - 18 over par - at the Bridgestone Invitational event in Ohio. Williams said nobody should rush to the conclusion Woods was losing his ability or his aura.
"At the end of the day, Tiger Woods is Tiger Woods," Williams said. "He's won 14 majors and 71 PGA Tour events. Regardless of what's gone on, you can't take that away from the guy.
"Tiger knows how to win and people know that he knows how to win. When he gets back in the situation where he's playing well again and he's in contention to win, he'll get the job done."
Williams said Woods remained hopeful of being selected by captain Corey Pavin in the U.S. team for the Ryder Cup.
"It's one of the biggest events in the world and anybody that's played in it before, always has the desire to play in it again," Williams said. "We've got a couple more weeks to show him (Pavin) that he's playing better."

Coltart's entry boosts field

for £45,000 Scottish PGA

FROM THE SCOTSMAN.COM WEBSITE
By NICK RODGER
Andrew Coltart is set to be the headline act at this season's £45,000 Gleneagles Scottish PGA championship.
The former Ryder Cup player, who won the national title at Dalmahoy in 1994, has submitted his entry for October's revamped championship, which has been moved from the PGA Centenary course to the King's course and has been streamlined to a field of  66 players.
Coltart has been critical of the PGA over the years after his fledgling professional career in the early 1990s was hindered by a lack of playing opportunities on home soil.
The 40-year-old severed his ties with a club in his native Dumfries to pursue full-time competition, but was forced into golfing exile on a Swedish mini-circuit for a spell due to a dearth of starts in Scotland.
"Andrew has probably not had the most cordial relationship with the PGA over the years, but that was well before my time and I'm delighted that he's expressed his intention to play," said Scottish PGA secretary Michael MacDougall.
"It will help raise the profile of the championship and that is great news for the Scottish PGA."
Meanwhile, Paul Lawrie, the former Open champion, will lend his support to the Tartan Tour by competing in Friday's Deeside Pro-Am.