TARTAN TOUR SCOREBOARD

TORRANCE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS' TOURNAMENT
Dundonald Links, Ayrshire
FINAL TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
141 Iain Colquhoun (Dundonald Links) 67 74 (£684.92).
142 Graham Fox (East Kilbride) 67 75 (£547.95).
143 Ross Dixon (Renaissance Club) 72 71 (£410.96).
145 Ewan Grimes (Cardross) 74 71, Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) 69 76 (£217.77 each).
146 Greg McBain (Royal Dornoch) 71 75, David Patrick (Elie) 71 75 (£190.56 each).
147 Stuart Williamson (West Kilbride 77 70, Gareth Wright (West Linton) 71 76 (£140.18 each).
148 Malcolm Isaacs (Nairn Dunbar) 74 74, Christopher Currie (Caldwell) 72 76 (£109.28).
149 Graham Mackay (Prestonfield) 77 72, Craig Knowles (Panmure) 75 74 (£92.54).
150 Brian Gibson (Carrick at Cameron House)76 74 (£82.19). 
151 Alastair Love (unatt) 82 69 (£75.19).
152 Terry Mathieson (Dunbar) 79 73, Ross Neill (Drumpellier) 75 77, Graeme Brown (Montrose) 71 81 (£61.69 each).
153 Stephen Lamb (Broomieknowe) 78 75, Heather MacRae (Downfield) 75 78 (£46.42).
154 Christopher Robinson (Dunfries and  Galloway) 81 73, Nicky Sinclair (Prestwick) 78 76, Peter Mitchell (Hermitage) 77 77 (£36.53 each).
155 Paul Wilson (World of Golf) 81 74, Oliver Morton (Callander) 78 77(£31.20 each).
156 Daniel Wood (Eyemouth) 80 76 (£28.92).
157 Jack Bailey (Balbirnie Park) 80 77 (£27.40).
158 Scott Spence (Lundin) 81 77 William Fairfull-Smith (Cowglen) 79 79 (£25.11 each).
159 Alan Mackay (Pumpherston) 81 78, David Addison (Kilmarnock Barassie) 77 82 (£11.41 each).
161 Russell McIntyre (Prestonfield) 81 80, Michael Mackenzie (Forfar) 81 80.
162 Alan Martin (Dukes Course) 83 79, Alan Gibson (Troon Municipal) 82 80, Matthew Burt (Helensburgh) 80 82.
163 Alistair Brown (Whitecraigs) 84 79, Grant Smith (Gleneagles Hotel) 81 82, Christopher McMaster (Panmure) 80 83.
164 Ryan Buckley (Craigielaw) 82 82, Malcolm Murray (Bearsden) 80 84.
165 Ian Rowlands (unatt) 89 76.
168 Adam Rolfe (Royal Troon) 84 84.
171 Alastair Thomson (Douglas Park) 87 84, Sam McLaren (Crieff) 86 85. 
172 David Ross Nicol (Dundonald Links) 86 86, Stuart McEwing (Montrose) 86 86. 
173 Christopher Boyle (Lanark) 89 84
RTD Ross MacLeod (Greaves Sport)
DSQ Paul Gallacher (Dalmuir) 81

PGA EuroPro Tour report, scores

SEVEN SCOTS SURVIVE AT SLALEY HALL 

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Seven Scots survived to play in tomorrow's last round of the PGA EuroPro Tour event - the Veka Network Open at Slaley Hall, Northumberland - after a long, long day in which the start was delayed because of fog and the last men out in the second round had to compete with fading light as an additional hazard.

Ross Cameron (McDonald Ellon), pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, (71-68) and Shaun McAllister (68-71) made it through in joint 20th place on five-under-par 139.

So too did Paul Cormack (Inchmarlo) (68-72) in joint 25th place on 140 as well as Duncan Stewart (Grantown on Spey) (71-70), Lee Harper (Archerfield Links) (68-73), bracketed in 31st place on 141.

The last two Scots who beat the cut with nothing to spare were Scott Henry (Carrick on Loch Lomond) (69-73) and Glasgow's Barry Hume (72-70) on the limit mark of 142.

They are all trailing last year's Lytham Trophy winner James Robinson, bidding to become the first amateur to win on the EuroPro Tour. He has scored 66 and 65 for 13-under 131 and leads by two shots from another Englishman James Hepworth (66-67).

Robinson, of course, can't win the £10,000 first prize - which means bigger pay cheques for the pros behind him!

The Scots who failed included Zack Saltman (Aegon) and John Gallagher (Swanston), both only one shot outside the qualifying mark. Saltman slipped from 68 to 75, including a double bogey 7 at his third last hole. Gallagher covered his last 14 holes in three under par but it was a gallant bid in vain.

LEADING QUALIFIERS

Par 144 (2x72)

131 James Robinson (Eng) (am) 66 65.

133 James Hepworth (Eng) 66 67.

134 Matthew Evans (Eng) 65 69.

136 Rob Harris (Eng) 66 70, Dave Thomas (Eng) 66 70.
Other scores:
137 Gary Wolstenholme (Eng) 69 68 (jt 6th).
139 Ross Cameron (McDonald Ellon) 71 68, Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw) 68 71 (jt 16th)
140 Paul Cormack (Inchmarlo) 68 72 (jt 25th)
141 Duncan Stewart (Grantown on Spey) 71 70, Lee Harper (Archerfield Links) 68 73 (jt 31st).
142 Scott Henry (Carrick on Loch Lomond) 69 73, Barry Hume (Haggs Castle) 72 70 (jt 44th).
MISSED THE CUT
143 Zack Saltman (Aegon) 68 75, John Gallagher (Swanston) 72 71.
145 Steven Mackie (Dunnikier Park) 73 72.

147 Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) 70 77.

148 Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) 71 77.

150 John Henry (Clydebank and Dist) 73 77, Scott Herald (Mearns Castle) 78 72.

157 Euan McIntosh (Newmachar) 76 81.

159 Steven Mann (Aspire) 82 77.






ends

CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT

Marathon men Thorp and Colombo tied at top

From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes

After one of the longest rounds of their careers, Italian Federico Colombo and Norway’s Marius Thorp found themselves on top of the leaderboard on day two of the rain-affected SWALEC Wales Challenge on the European Challenge Tour. Almost 30 hours after hitting their first tee shots on Wednesday morning, the duo were signing for respective rounds of 68 to grab a share of the lead at the Vale Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort near Cardiff.

Unlike Thorp, Colombo is set to miss out on the lucrative Kazakhstan Open in two weeks’ time, as the Italian is currently outside the top 100 in the Rankings. Only victory this week or next would secure him a place in the €400,000 event, and the 22 year old made a solid start with seven birdies and three bogeys.
He said: “My long game has been in good shape for a while now, it’s only really on the greens that I’ve struggled. But hopefully I’ve turned it around now. It’s obviously still going to be tough to get into Kazakhstan, but I’ve got to give it everything because I don’t want to miss out on such an important week – especially when I’m playing well.”
Thorp’s recent form is equally impressive, with four runner-up finishes in his last eight Challenge Tour appearances moving him to 17th place in the Rankings, and on course to earn a European Tour card for the first time. Despite playing 15 holes in almost incessant rain yesterday, remarkably the 22 year old managed to avoid any bogeys – the only player in the entire field to do so.
Thorp was joined near the top of the leaderboard by two fellow Scandinavians, Oscar Floren and Andreas Högberg, both of whom shot three under par rounds of 69.
Floren is in fine form of late having finished runner up at last week’s ECCO Tour Championship, where he still received the winner’s cheque because the champion Andreas Hartø is an amateur and therefore ineligible to claim any prize money. The €28,800 moved Floren up to fourth place in the Rankings, and the Swede is now looking to cement his place in the top ten with a strong finish to the season.
His compatriot Högberg has less lofty ambitions, having struggled to make much of an impression this season. The Swede is still determined to make his way onto The European Tour, but feels that the Qualifying School is now a more realistic route of gaining a place on The European Tour.
Michiel Bothma and Stuart Davis made it a five-way tie for third place after both men compiled rounds of 69. The South African notched seven birdies but gave back four shots in the worst of the conditions yesterday, whilst Davis posted four birdies in his round of 69, with the only blemish of the day coming at the par five 12th hole.
The leading Welshmen were qualifier Matt Dearden and young amateur Chris Nugent, who in fast-fading light posted a highly creditable round of 71 to join Dearden in a share of 14th place.
With almost an entire day having been lost to rain, the second round will start at 7.30am on Friday morning.
SCOTSWATCH. Five Scots in the top 26 is a promising start for the Tartan Army and isn't good to see Lloyd Saltman where he belongs - near the top of the scoreboard. Lloyd had a two-under-par 70 to be joint seventh going into the second round.
Backing up the Lothians man, a shot behind on 71, are Scott Jamieson, Raymond Russell, Chris Doak and Jack Doherty.
Sad to see that Eric Ramsay after a brief blaze of glory last week has gone back into the doldrums and he is unlikely to beat the cut after a first round of 81.FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
68 M Thorp (Nor) , F Colombo (Ita) ,
69 O Floren (Swe) , S Davis (Eng) , A Högberg (Swe) , M Bothma (S Africa) ,
70 C Baker (USA) , D Denison (Eng) , L Saltman (Sco) , A Gee (Eng) , M McGeady (Irl) , L Claverie (Esp) , L Gagli (Ita) ,
71 S Jamieson (Sco) , R Russell (Sco) , M Zions (Aus) , S Wakefield (Eng) , T Remkes (Ned) , J Sjöholm (Swe) , M Dearden (Wal) , M Quiros (Esp) , C Doak (Sco), J Doherty (Sco), P Relecom (Bel), D Whitnell (Eng) , C Nugent (am) (Wal) 
72 D Perrier (Fra) , J Xanthopoulos (Fra) , J Little (Eng) , J Axgren (Swe) , S Buhl (Ger) , M Watson (Eng) , J Legarrea (Esp) , V Riu (Fra) , M Vibe-Hastrup (Den) , T Whitehouse (Eng) , S Lewton (Eng) , F Henge (Swe) , A Johnston (Eng) , G Houston (Wal) , C Smith (Wal) , B Mason (Eng) , N James (am) (Wal)
73 P Gustafsson (Swe) , T Olesen (Den) , Å Nilsson (Swe) , O Whiteley (Eng) , D Brooks (Eng) , S Tiley (Eng) , P Eales (Eng) , N Cheetham (Eng) , D Griffiths (Eng) , S Surry (Eng) , J Elson (Eng) , A Kaleka (Fra) , M Tottey (Wal) , B Ritthammer (Ger) 
74 W Ormsby (Aus) , L Slattery (Eng) , T Stewart (Aus) , D Gaunt (Aus) , B Grace (RSA) , L Matthews (Wal) , E Saltman (Sco) , W Besseling (Ned) , G Molteni (Ita) , M Cort (Eng) , J Campillo (Esp) , S Whiffin (Eng) , L Kennedy (Eng) , P Dwyer (Eng) , F De Vries (Ned) , C Cowper (Eng) , S Manley (Wal) , M Ford (Eng) , A Bossert (Sui) , M Higley (Eng) , P Golding (Eng) , S Piaget (Mon) , M Tullo (Chi) ,
75 B Etchart (Esp) , A Snobeck (Fra) , P Doherty (Sco) , M Laskey (Wal) , B Wiesberger (Aut) , J Zapata (Arg) , J Moul (Eng) , J Grillon (Fra) , A Perrino (Ita) , M Pilkington (Wal) , R Santos (Por) , F Praegant (Aut) , L Brovold (Nor) , C Ford (Eng)
76 A Wagner (Arg) , M Baldwin (Eng) , T Haylock (Eng) , J Maurer (Aut) , C Moriarty (Irl) , I Brown (Eng) , I Van Weerelt (Ned) , I Griffiths (Wal) , A Hansen (Den) , M Sell (Eng) , N Meitinger (Ger) , A Willey (Eng) , N Redfern (Eng), J McLeary (Sco), K Sullivan (Wal) , C Brazillier (Fra) , A Bernadet (Fra), R Enoch (am) (Wal) 
77 R Kind (Ned), I Pyman (Eng) , L Goddard (Eng) , R Blaum (USA) , C Del Moral (Esp), M Cobo (Esp) , S Ottosen (Den) , J Makitalo (Fin) , B Evans (Eng) , J Frazer (am) (Wal)
78 A Signor (Ita) , M Soffietti (Ita) , K Eriksson (Swe) , J Levermore (Eng) , G Rosier (Fra) , J Colomo (Esp) , L James (Eng) , G Shaw (Nir) , P Kaensche (Nor) , J Vickery (am) (Wal)
79 T Dykes (Wal) , L Bond (Wal) , A Tadini (Ita) , J Ruth (Eng) , L Moolman (RSA) , A Mellor (Eng), A Ahokas (Fin) 
80 R Brookman (Wal), M Carlsson (Swe) , C Mills (Wal) , A Sjöstrand (Swe) , L Jensen (Den), S Doherty (Eng), S Lilly (Eng) 
81 M Haines (Eng), A Williams (Wal), E Ramsay (Sco) , C O'Carroll (Wal) , O Farr (am) (Wal)
82 R Thomas (Wal), S Reale (Ita) 

Dyson undaunted - but end of dream for

injured McGowan

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
England's Richard Finch set the first-round pace in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles as the race for places in Colin Montgomerie's Ryder Cup Team began to unfold.
Simon Dyson - one of those in with a chance of taking an automatic spot with a win this week - refused to let two late bogeys dampen his spirit on a day that saw injury end Ross McGowan's dream and Italian Francesco Molinari clinch his debut against the United States at Celtic Manor.

Dyson continued his 11th hour charge for a first cap - to make Europe's side the 32 year old from York not only has to win the final counting event, but also Miguel Angel Jiménez has to finish outside the top nine.

After a four under par 68 - he was six under before bogeying the two of his last three holes - Dyson goes into the second round in joint seventh place two behind fellow Yorkshireman Finch, while Jiménez's 70 has him outside the top 25.

Twelfth in the US PGA Championship a fortnight ago and fifth at the Czech Open on Sunday, Dyson said: "It's amazing what your attitude can be like when you know that you have to win.

"Too often players, including myself, walk into a tournament and think 'we'll give it a go, but there's always next week.'

"This week there isn't a next week."

Captain Colin Montgomerie certainly knows what Dyson would bring to his side if he does pull it off this weekend.

"He's a passionate challenger - up for the challenge and a very bright and sparkly character," he said after his own 71, a vast improvement on 79-83 last time out at the final Major of the season.

"To have to come here and win and to start like that is a fantastic effort, so all credit to him."

Asked what it would mean to qualify, Dyson, last October's Alfred Dunhill Links champion - that also came in Scotland - replied: "I would love it. I absolutely thrive on stuff like that.

"I've played Walker Cup (with Luke Donald and Paul Casey in 1999), a couple of Seve Trophies. I've played the Royal Trophy under Monty as well.

"I wouldn't say I haven't been enjoying my golf, but not as much as I normally do. And then all of a sudden you hit a bit of form and these last few weeks it's really kicked in again.
"I'm really having a lot of fun out there and that's half the battle really.
"A shame to finish like that, but it's a good start, so long may it continue."
Three more days will do him. Even if he does win and Jiménez is in the top nine Dyson would still make it if Swede Peter Hanson, whose victory in the Czech Open on Sunday prompted the Spaniard to enter this week's event, is worse than 43rd.
Hanson, though, began with a 69, while Jiménez's compatriot Alvaro Quiros, who like Dyson needs a victory, mixed five birdies with five bogeys for a 72.
McGowan, bothered by a trapped nerve for the past month and before that by knee and wrist problems, withdrew after a 77 that saw him play through the pain barrier, even squatting down after his tee shot - to 15 feet - at the short 17th.
He had required a top two finish to have any chance and commented: "Unfortunately I won't be able to make the team now, but I've got a few years left in me, so hopefully I'll make it in a couple of years' time.
"I'm pretty gutted. I had a great opportunity to make the team after having such a good finish to last year."
McGowan won the Madrid Masters and then finished second to Lee Westwood in the Dubai World Championship.
SCOTSWATCH:  It was not a bad day for the Scots on home turf with Stephen Gallacher continuing his great season with a 67 to start the second round in joint second place. Marc Warren, a former Johnnie Walker champion, is only one behind Gallacher in joint seventh position.
Paul Lawrie made a good start with a 69 and Steven O'Hara had a 70.
Fraserburgh amateur Kris Nicol can look back on his day with some pride, having returned a one-under-par 71.
There were some not-so-happy Scots at the end of a long day, especially Sam Torrance who is bottom of the heap after an 83, and Andrew Oldcorn wasn't much better with an 80.

FIRST-ROUND SCORES
PGA Centenary Course
Par 72. Yardage 7,316
66 Richard Finch

67 Richard Bland, Gary Boyd, Robert Rock, Stephen Gallacher, David Lynn

68 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Nick Dougherty, Julien Guerrier (Fra), Simon Dyson, Gary Lockerbie, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg), Sam Walker, Marc Warren, Mark F Haastrup (Den), Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Paul McGinley

69 Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Paul Waring, George Coetzee (S Africa), Peter Hedblom (Swe), Oliver Fisher, Peter Hanson (Swe), Paul Lawrie, Thomas Bjorn (Den), Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind), Jamie Donaldson, Miles Tunnicliff

70 Andrew Butterfield, Benn Barham, Oliver Wilson, Steven O'Hara, Anthony Wall, Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Sam Little, Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Stephan Gross junior (Ger), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Rick Kulacz (Aus), Andrew Marshall, David Dixon, Phillip Archer, Mark Foster, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)

71 Anders Hansen (Den), Pelle Edberg (Swe), Kenneth Ferrie, David Orr, Graeme Storm, Stephen Dodd, Simon Thornton, Bradley Dredge, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Hennie Otto (Rsa), Colin Gillies, Peter Whiteford, Colin Montgomerie, Marcel Siem (Ger), James Morrison, Brett Rumford (Aus), Marco Ruiz (Par), Ariel Canete (Arg), Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Tano Goya (Arg), Thomas Levet (Fra), Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) (amateur).

72 John Parry, Damien McGrane, Ross Fisher, Robert Dinwiddie, Sion E Bebb, Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Peter Lawrie, Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Stephen Gray, Scott Hend (Aus), Shane Lowry, Pablo Martin (Spa), Martin Wiegele (Aut), Christian Cevaer (Fra), Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe), Henrik Nystrom (Swe), Steve Webster, Michael Campbell (Nzl), Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Phillip Price, Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Robert Coles, Sam Hutsby, Daniel Vancsik (Arg)

73 Johan Edfors (Swe), Danny Lee (Nzl), Callum Macaulay, Tommy Fleetwood, Michael Jonzon (Swe), Benjamin Hebert (Fra), David Howell, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Andrew Coltart, Richard McEvoy, Rhys Davies, Victor Dubuisson (Fra), Paul Broadhurst, Gary Murphy, Soon-sang Hong (Kor), Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Emanuele Canonica (Ita), Barry Lane

74 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), George Murray, Anton Haig (Rsa), Soren Hansen (Den), Mark Brown (Nzl), Anthony Kang (US), Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Andrew McArthur, Gregory Havret (Fra)

75 Chris Gane, Richie Ramsay, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Gary Clark, Robert Karlsson (Swe), Carl Suneson (Spa), Oskar Henningsson (Swe), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa)

76 Andrew Tampion (Aus), Tony Carolan (Aus), Patrik Sjoland (Swe), Shiv Kapur (Ind), Marcus Both (Aus), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), Jose Manuel Lara (Spa)

77 Peter Baker, Scott Drummond, Julien Quesne (Fra), Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Alastair Forsyth, Ross McGowan

78 Craig Lee, Mark Kerr, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Chris Paisley

79 James White (Lundin) (amateur), Jason McCreadie, Fraser Mann

80 Andrew Oldcorn, Carlos Rodiles (Spa)

81 Mikael Lundberg (Swe)
83  Sam Torrance

RTD: Rafa Echenique (Arg)

Tiger (65) could have turned

the corner at last

FROM THE ESPN.COM WEBSITE

By JASON SOBELL

PARAMUS, N.J. -- There were a lot of firsts in Tiger Woods' opening round at The Barclays today.

As far as he can recall, it was the first time Woods had ever been the first player off the tee on Thursday morning of a PGA Tour event. It was the first competitive round he had ever played at Ridgewood Country Club. It was his first time teeing it up since his divorce was finalised on Monday.

And, oh by the way, it was the first time he posted a 65 all year.
Looking eminently comfortable in his newfound surroundings, Woods began the day by striping a 3-wood down the first fairway and ended it with a seven-foot birdie putt on the final green to grab an early share of the clubhouse lead on Thursday.
In between, he looked, well, very much like the player who has won 71 times on the PGA Tour as opposed to the one who has remained without hardware in nine previous starts this season.
Leaving driver in the bag on all but two driving holes, he found 13-of-14 fairways. Hitting his irons with pinpoint distance control, he reached 15-of-18 greens in regulation. And rolling putts with greater confidence, he holed 16-of-17 attempts from inside 10 feet.
It would be too simplistic to suggest that Woods' divorce has unburdened him to the point where he can now focus on his career and play worry-free golf. Asked if the finalization to the end of his marriage felt like a weight lifted from his shoulders, he responded, "I can't really say that's the case.
Those proclaiming that Woods is back following his seven-birdie, one-bogey round should recall similar decrees made during the U.S. Open two months ago, when he posted a back-nine 31 in the third round at Pebble Beach, only to falter one day later, posting a T-4 finish.
Then again, he looked like a different player in the first round of the FedEx Cup playoffs. The man who so often this season has displayed an image mixing disgust, disappointment and disillusion -- head down, shoulders slumped, no rhythm -- appeared focused and determined throughout his round.
"It feels good to be able to control my ball all day like this," Woods said after his Thursday round.
"I haven't been doing that. The one time I hit the ball like this was the nine holes at the U.S. Open, on the Saturday. I hit it [like that] all day today and that feels good. It feels good to have the things I'm working on starting to feel more natural."
Woods raced to a 4-under front-nine that included driving the green on the 291-yard par-4 fifth hole, which led to birdie. His only setback occurred on No. 12, when he hit an approach shot in the midst of a roar from an adjacent fairway, later explaining, "I completely forgot what I was doing with the shot," eventually leading to bogey.
He bounced back with birdies on each of the next two holes, then concluded his day with a laser of a drive on 18, bending a fade around the corner for a shot he called the most pleasing of his round, which led to that final birdie.
After the round, we witnessed something else lacking from Tiger's game so far this year.
He was smiling.
"I haven't played this good," he said. "So I haven't been in this position. I mean, look at my rounds. I really haven't done this."
Consider it too early to contend that Woods has returned to his familiar self on the golf course in light of his recent divorce. And yet, for one day, at least, he looked very much like that player, spawning hope for the future prospects of his game.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Ridgewood CC, Paramus, New Jersey
Par 71. Yardage 7319
Winner's prize: $1,350,000
65 Tiger Woods, Vaughn Taylor.
66 Ryan Palmer, Brian Gay, Adam Scott.
Selected scores:
68 Rory McIlroy.
69 Michael Sim, Martin Laird, Paul Casey, Padraig Harrington.
70 Luke Donald, Ian Poulter.
72 Brian Davis, Justin Rose.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL SCOREBOARD

Graham Robertson ends best-ever season as

Lothians No 1

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Graham Robertson has added the icing to the cake in his best-ever season by winning the Lothians Order of Merit for the first time.
And the 33-year-old's joy is being shared by rising star Ross Brydon, who held on to top the Boys' table as it also came to an exciting conclusion.
Robertson, a member at both Silverknowes and Turnhouse, got his season off to a flying start by lifting the Stuart Cup as leading qualifier for the Lothians Championship.
He suffered a disappointing early exit in the match-play phase at Royal Burgess before bouncing back to help Silverknowes win the Dispatch Trophy.
The mechanical engineer then chalked up a notable double at Turnhouse, winning the Open and the club championship.
He recently helped Turnhouse win the Edinburgh Inter-Club title and was relieved his appearance in the latter stages of that event didn't cost him the Order of Merit title.
Swanston New's Malcolm Campbell, who was lying in second place, also missed the final counting tournament at Longniddry due to the fact he was playing in the North-East Open.
But Pumpherston's Paul Drake headed into the East Lothian event still in with a chance of winning the Order of Merit title again, while a victory for Keith Reilly there would have seen him match clubmate Robertson's total.
As it was, the top three places in an event being supported this season by Carrick Neill didn't alter, with Robertson finishing with a winning total of 293, followed by Campbell (276) and then Drake (246).
"I'm normally lucky to win one title in a season, so I'm obviously delighted to have picked up five or six this time around," said the winner.
"It was great to have the Lothians Order of Merit back again this season and, since Tam Caldwell won it a few years ago, I've definitely had my eye on trying to win it."
In addition to local events, Robertson has also played tournaments, on occasion, in the SGU Order of Merit this season, the latest of which is this weekend's South East District Open at Mortonhall.
"It's about trying to test yourself at the highest level and there's no doubt you can gain confidence from playing in these events," he added.
"Due to the fact the Scottish Order of Merit title is still up for grabs, I believe the Mortonhall event has attracted a very strong field.
"My aim, first and foremost, will be to make the cut and if I can achieve that, then hopefully I could kick on in the final two rounds and maybe even target a top ten."
Brydon, a 16-year-old who has just gone into fifth year at Boroughmuir High School, was also rewarded for his consistency as he topped the Boys' merit table, sponsored by the Scottish Industrial Sports Association.
A member at two Capital courses - the Merchants and Bruntsfield Links - Brydon scored in six events, winning at North Berwick, where he also plays, Kilspindie and Uphall.
Newbattle's Lee Morgan a close third on 408.
Bain also scored in six events but failed to register a win, while Morgan triumphed twice - at Glencorse and Dalmahoy.
"I played pretty consistently from start to finish," said Brydon, whose win was remarkable given that he missed some of the early events due to a combination of being on holiday and also competing in the Scottish Boys' Under-16 Championship.
"Ironically, the final counting event at Dalmahoy was probably the one I played worst in but, luckily, I had amassed enough points prior to that."
Brydon admits he's benefited from Kurt Mungall's coaching through the Lothians Golf Association as well as some work he's been doing with Ian Young at the Braid Hills Golf Centre.
"I've definitely become a more consistent player while my short game has also been good this year," he added.


Lothians Order of Merit, supported by Carrick Neill.
Leading final positions:
1 Graeme Robertson (Silverknowes) 293
2 Malcolm Campbell (Swanston New) 276
3 Paul Drake (Pumpherston) 246
4 Stephen Simants (Dunbar) 215
5 Keith Reilly (Silverknowes) 193
6 Paul Gault (Westerwood) 153
7 Duncan Martin (Longniddry) 123
8 Thomas Beattie (Grangemouth), Tom Caldwell (Silverknowes) 112
10 David Donaldson (Bruntsfield Links) 110
11 Scott Cunningham (Royal Musselburgh) 93
12 Chris Wood (Longniddry), Scott Young (Turnhouse) 85
14 Lawrie Main (Gullane), Craig Neilson (Dunbar), Colin Robinson (Largs) 78.
Lothians Boys Order of Merit, sponsored by the Scottish Industrial Sports Association.
Leading final positions:
1 Ross Brydon (The Merchants) 470pts
2 Lewis Bain (Turnhouse) 453
3 Lee Morgan (Newbattle) 408
4 Chris Low (Tantallon) 326
5 Louis Gaughan (Bathgate) 238
6 Stuart McLaren (Bruntsfield Links) 225
7 Ryan Boyle (Bathgate) 186
8 Daniel Eardley (Liberton) 147
9 Josh Cullerton (Carrickvale) 141
10 Connor Syme (Dumfries and Co) 140
11 Andrew Young (Turnhouse) 135
12 Josh Rooney (Marriott Dalmahoy) 125
13 Sean Walter (West Linton) 115
14 D J Docharty (Bonnyton) 100
15 Ross Fergus (Swanston New) 98
16 James Park (Royal Burgess) 95
17 Fraser Thain (West Linton) 93
18 Nathan Free (Craigielaw), Connor Gray (Bathgate), Aiden Donnelly (Turnhouse) 85.

England defend seniors title at

Fairhaven next week

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION
England will field four members of their title-winning line-up when they defend the European senior men’s amateur team championship at Fairhaven Golf Club, Lancashire, next week (August 31 to September 4).
Doug Arnold (Copthorne, Sussex), Andrew Carman (Coventry, Warwickshire), Chris Reynolds (Littlestone, Kent) and Philip Slater (Sandiway, Cheshire) were all members of the side that won the title for the first time in Ascona, Switzerland, a year ago.
They will be joined by Dave Jessup (Rochester & Cobham, Kent) and Alan Squires (Oldham, Lancashire), who have both been capped at seniors level before, in a strong side that will need to be on top form to retain the trophy against previous winners Ireland and Scotland and the 16 teams from continental Europe.

Arnold, four times English Seniors Champion, has represented England in every European Seniors Championship since its inception in 2006, while Carman, a senior for only two years, was Midland Seniors Champion last year and played in the Seniors Home Internationals.

Reynolds, the 2009 English Seniors Champion, finished runner-up this year, as he did in 2007. He made his debut in the 2006 Seniors Home Internationals and has played in every event since, while Slater, tied third in this year’s English Seniors, has been called up by England for the last two European Seniors and the last two Seniors Home Internationals.

Jessup, a former world speedway champion, earned his first England seniors cap in the 2008 Home Internationals and, like Reynolds, was a member of last year’s Kent team that won the Seniors County Championship. This year, Jessup has finished tied third with Slater in the English Seniors and was runner-up in the Scottish Open Seniors.

Squires ended a long wait for the English Seniors title when he won at Carlisle in June, having finished second and third previously. He has represented England five times in the Seniors Home Internationals, three times in the European Seniors Team Championships, and finished runner-up in the Lancashire Seniors Championship this year,

The 114 players from the 19 teams in the European Seniors will compete in 36 holes of stroke play qualifying over the first two days with the best five scores from each team of six to count. The leading eight teams will form the top flight, the next eight the second flight, and so on, for the match play knockout stage.

The Championship starts at 7.30am next Tuesday (August 31) and admission is free. For those unable to attend, live scoring and news updates will available on the Championships Section of the EGU website, www.englishgolfunion.org.

North-east Alliance dates, venues for 2010-2011 season

The North-east Golfers' Alliance annual meeting will be held on Monday, September 6 at 7.30pm in the Atholl Hotel, Aberdeen.
The first competition of the new season will be held at Kemnay Golf Club on Wednesday, September 15.
The North-east is hosting the Scottish Alliance championship at Murcar and Newburgh courses from Tuesday to Thursday, October 5 to 7.
Entry forms will be available at the annual meeting or at the tirst competition or by telephoning Alliance secretary Ron Menzies at 01224 78003. Closing date for entries is Saturday,
September 18.
North-east Alliance fixtures for the 2010-2011 season are:
September 15 Kemnay. 22 Huntly. 29 Aboyne.
October 5-7 Scottish championship (Murcar Links & Newburgh). 13 Turriff. 20 Ballater. 27 Cruden Bay.
November 3 Deeside. 10 McDonald Ellon. 17 Edzell. 24 Newmachar.
December 1 Portlethen.
January 5 Craibstone. 12 Peterhead. 19 Buckpool. 26 Inverallochy.
February 2 Montrose. 9 Edzell. 16 Murcar Links. 23 Fraserburgh.
March 2 Newburgh. 9 Duff House Royal (Championship 1). 16 Banchory (Championship 2). 25-26 Murcar Links (foursomes).

Monty and Harrington for Malaysian event

NEWS RELEASE
Johor Bahru: The field for the Iskandar Johor Open (IJO) 2010 just gets better and better as organisers announced today the confirmation of three-time major winner, Padraig Harrington and Europe’s 2010 Ryder Cup captain, Colin Montgomerie for the US$1.25 million championship to be held at Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club from October 14 to 17.
Together with defending champion K.J. Choi of Korea and South African Retief Goosen, these celebrated European Tour stalwarts will lead an impressive line-up of international players in one of Malaysia ’s biggest and richest professional golf championships.

Hererfordshire on verge of English

boys' title

FROM THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION WEBSITE
Hertfordshire are poised to win the English boys' county finals for the first time in 17 years. After completing their second victory by beating Derbyshire 6½ - 2½, they need just a draw with Cumbria to finish as champions.
In the other match, Gloucestershire bounced back from a defeat against Hertfordshire by beating Cumbria 6-3 and need at least a victory over Derbyshire to get their hands on the title.

The morning foursomes looked like ending in a second clean sweep for Hertfordshire but Derbyshire claimed a half to deny them full points. Nevertheless, the South-east champions were determined to stay on course but they suffered a setback when English under 18 Champion Callum Shinkwin lost the top single against fellow boy cap Nick Newbold by 3 and 2.

However, they soon got over this and with Luke Colgate beating Josh Thorley for his fourth win in two days, and Tomasz Anderson beating Craig Young, they were back on course.

They looked like securing two more successes with Will Chambers and Ben Smith ahead in the closing stages. But Chambers lost a 3-up lead to Joe Biggs and had to settle for a half as did Smith, who was 4-up against Alex Weare with five to play but again saw victory slip away. In fact, Weare reeled off three successive birdies from the 15th while a half in par fours on the last shared the spoils.

The bottom game also went to Hertfordshire through Sam Cutting, who was all-square with Jamie Boler with four to play but won the 15th and 17th for a 2 and 1 win.

After losing their opening match to Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire were determined to come out on top against Cumbria and after edging the foursomes 2-1 they did just that.

The top single featured England caps in Seb Crookall-Nixon for Cumbria against Oscar Sharpe and the latter made the better start, two birdies steering him to a 3-up lead after five holes. They reached the turn with Sharpe 2-up but his form dipped on the back nine as Crookall-Nixon won the 11th and 12th, the latter with a birdie three to get back to all-square. They halved the 15th and 17th in birdies and there was nothing to separate them at the end.

However, Gloucestershire were boosted when Tyler Hogarty romped to a 7 and 5 win over Chris Thursby while their victory was completed by Sam McPherson and Sam Sullivan. Sullivan was all-square with Oliver Carr after 16 holes but birdied the 17th then a par at the last was good enough for a 2-hole victory.

McPherson got home by one hole yet was 5-up against Dan Park after 11 holes. But the Cumbrian then launched an amazing run of eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie to cut the deficit to one, while a bogey-five left them level. But the effort seemed to deflate Park who bogeyed the long 17th while a half in par fours at the last saw McPherson take the match.
However, Cumbria gained a point through Keiran Waters while Ryan Pearson, in his first match of the week, gained a half with Jordan Williams.

So the stage is set to a thrilling climax to what is shaping up to be another close encounter by four teams of talented youngsters.

Back injury KOs Drysdale from Johnnie Walker Championship

FROM THE SCOTSMAN.COM WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
George Murray, one 24 Scots in the field at Gleneagles, was playing for fun the last time he teed it up in the Johnnie Walker Championship, but this time it's for real.
The Fifer, who secured a spot six years ago after winning the Scottish Amateur, has earned an invite for the Gleneagles event this time around on the back of his Scottish Challenge success at Macdonald Spey Valley earlier in the season.
Lying fifth on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, he's on course to be playing full time in events like this next season and is aiming to make the most of his opportunity in Perthshire.
"I've got nothing to worry about - I'm just trying to make some money," said Murray, who joined Richie Ramsay, a former Eisenhower Trophy team-mate from their amateur days, for one of his practice rounds on the PGA Centenary Course.
James White, a former Scottish boys' champion, and Fraserburgh's Kris Nicol have received the amateur spots on offer in this week's field, which also includes a Tartan Tour contingent comprising of Craig Lee, David Orr, Fraser Mann, Stephen Gray, Colin Gillies, Mark Kerr, Andrew Oldcorn and Jason McCreadie.
Unfortunately, they'll not be joined on the PGA Centenary Course today by David Drysdale, who has been forced to pull out of the event due to a back injury.
His manager, Iain Stoddart, said: "David felt the injury on Tuesday morning and immediately contacted the tournament director to alert him to the possibility that he might withdraw.
"The timing couldn't be worse."