Friday, September 17, 2010

NORTHERN COUNTIES CUP

Nairn, Inverness 2, Newmachar, Moray

last four at Royal Dornoch

By ROBIN WILSON
Northern Counties Cup holders Nairn are through to Saturday morning's semi finals of the competition for the sixth year in succession, a position from where they have emerged three times with the cup since 2004, after a dramatic one-hole win over former winners Fortrose and Rosemarkie in the quarter-finals this afternnon.
Nairn now meet the Inverness second team in the first semi-final with Newmachar, the last remaining North-east club facing Moray in the other.
Over a very windy Dornoch links in the morning, the Nairn team brushed aside Tain by 11 holes to meet in the quarter-finals the 2002 and 2006 winners, Ross-shire's Fortrose and Rosemarkie.
It was a closely-fought match going all the way to the final green and only decided by the newly installed Royal Dornoch general manager, Neil Hampton and his partner Robert Smith.
Hampton, who is still linked to Nairn by home club membership, holed a par-saving 20ft putt to halve the final hole and safeguard the one-hole advantage held by first couple Steven MacDonald and Fraser Fotheringham and extend their defence of the cup.
Inverness's second team, John Forbes, Brian Fraser, Jamie Treasurer and David Joel, were gifted a 19th hole play-off win over Murcar Links for the right to meet Nairn this morning. Forbes and Fraser halved the first extra hole but Murcar's second pair, Kyle Nelson and Adrian Styles, both drove out of bounds. Newmachar, whose result against Cruden Bay was inadvertently reversed in yesterday's results, left their third round result in little doubt - a 12-hole advantage over Elgin.
Then the Newmachar second string of John Duff and R Barr, with a four-hole finish, wiped out a two-hole loss by G Simpson and M McKechnie to beat Forres by two holes for their passage into the last four.
As the light was fading the Moray siblings, Kevin and Gary Thomson, along with Malcolm Macleman and Stuart Tatters combined for a five-hole win over a plucky Fortrose and Rosemarkie second team following Moray's earlier win against Deeside in the morning play.
RESULTS
THIRD ROUND
Nairn 1 bt Tain 1 by 11 holes.
Fortrose and Rosemarkie 1 bt Royal Dornoch by 7 holes.
Inverness 2 bt Peterhead by 1 hole.
Murcar Links bt McDonald Ellon 2 by 10 holes.
Newmachar bt Elgin by 12 holes.
Forres bt McDonald Ellon 1 by 7 holes.
Moray 1 bt Deeside by 11 holes.
Fortrose and Rosemarkie 2 bt Thurso by 1 hole.

QUARTER-FINALS
Nairn 1 bt Fortrose and Rosemarkie 1 by 1 hole
(S Macdonald and F Fotheringham 1, M MacDonald and L Reid 0;  N D Hampton and R Smith 0, S Kinnaird and C Gaittens 0).
Inverness 2 bt Murcar Links at 19th
(J Forbes and B Fraser 0, A Bews and I Galbraith 0; J Treasurer and D Joel 0, K Nelson and A Styles 0).
Newmachar bt Forres by 2 holes.
(C Simpson and M McKenchnie 0, G Stuart and J Wright 2; J Duff and R Barr 4, R McKerron and R Proctor 0).
Moray bt Fortrose & Rosemarkie 2 by 5 holes
(K Thomson and M Macleman 2, B Main and K Gaittens 0; G Thomson and S Tatters 3, R Mackay and J Fraser 0).



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John Parry takes lead at Austrian Open


FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
US Open champion Graeme McDowell was upstaged by world number 317 John Parry, who carded a second-round 67 to take the lead at the Austrian Open in Atzenbrugg today.
McDowell held the clubhouse lead on seven under with Jose Manuel Lara only for Parry to overtake him with the joint-best round of the day. The 23-year-old Challenge Tour graduate had a flawless round with five birdies to take top spot by one shot, but he admitted there was plenty of golf left to be played.

"It's a bit early to be looking at leaderboards - we're only in the second round," said Parry, a Walker Cup team-mate of Rory McIlroy.
"It is a lead, though, so I'm happy going into the weekend in front. I'd always prefer to be in the lead than not."
A good finish at the Diamond Country Club should be enough to secure Parry's card for next season - something Lara is looking to achieve as well.
"I still feel young in myself, but there are many young Spanish guys coming up now and already have their cards," said the 33-year-old, who could not match his opening 66 as he signed for a 71. "I need to fight this year and that's what I'm doing."
McDowell, who is playing in his last event before next month's Ryder Cup, birdied four of his first five holes after starting on the back nine.
Having dropped a shot at the 17th he claimed it back at the next and followed up with nine successive pars.
"It's very much the old cliche of a game of two halves, this golf course," McDowell told europeantour.com.
"This front nine's quite tricky and you've got to drive the ball unbelievably well to have any chance of making birdies. On the back nine it's a lot more three woods and hybrids off the tees which offers you a few more opportunities and I think the greens are a little flatter as well.
"I think I'm two over par for the front nine and nine under par for the back nine overall so I certainly know where I need to make up some shots on the weekend."


SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
136 John Parry 69 67
137 Graeme McDowell 69 68, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 69 68, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 66 71
138 Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 68 70, Danny Willett 69 69, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg) 68 70, Philip Golding 69 69, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 69 69
139 Chris Gane 69 70, Andrea Maestroni (Ita) 69 70, Alexander Noren (Swe) 69 70, Andrew Coltart 69 70, Simon Thornton 69 70, David Lynn 68 71, Matthias Schwab (Aut) 70 69
140 Gary Lockerbie 71 69, Benn Barham 71 69, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 72 68, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 68 72
141 Gary Clark 71 70, Sam Hutsby 69 72, Anders Sjostrand (Swe) 73 68, Todd Hamilton (USA) 73 68, George Coetzee (Rsa) 65 76, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 66 75, Steen Ottosen (Den) 74 67

142 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 73 69, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 76 66, Sion E Bebb 70 72, Luis Claverie (Spa) 71 71, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 74 68, Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice) 73 69, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 71 71, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 71 71, Jordi Garcia (Spa) 70 72, Marc Warren 71 71, Alastair Forsyth 74 68, Sam Little 70 72
143 Damien McGrane 67 76, Peter Baker 72 71, Julien Guerrier (Fra) 74 69, Javi Colomo (Spa) 68 75, Scott Drummond 71 72, Andrew McArthur 70 73, Rick Kulacz (Aus) 73 70, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 70 73, Benjamin Hebert (Fra) 70 73, Steve Surry 70 73, Manuel Quiros (Spa) 72 71
144 Marco Crespi (Ita) 75 69, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 70 74, Marco Soffietti (Ita) 71 73, Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 75 69, Andrew Tampion (Aus) 73 71, Ake Nilsson (Rsa) 72 72, Kalle Brink (Swe) 71 73, Oliver Fisher 71 73, Keith Horne (Rsa) 74 70, Richard Green (Aus) 72 72
145 Joakim Backstrom (Swe) 73 72, Jamie Little 76 69, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 73 72, Leif Westerberg (Swe) 73 72, Robert Coles 73 72, James Mclean (Aus) 72 73, Julien Quesne (Fra) 69 76, Steven O'Hara 71 74, Mark Brown (Nzl) 77 68, Scott Hend (Aus) 70 75, Gary Murphy 73 72, Thomas Haylock 72 73, Raimo Sjoberg (Den) 72 73, Markus Brier (Aut) 74 71, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 72 73


MISSED THE CUT
146 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 72 74, Robert Rock 73 73, Marco Ruiz (Par) 74 72, Sven Struver (Ger) 71 75, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 77 69, Johan Axgren (Swe) 72 74, Simon Lilly 74 72
147 Oliver Whiteley 76 71, Soren Juul (Den) 73 74, Kenneth Ferrie 72 75, Florian Fritsch (Ger) 73 74, Joakim Rask (Swe) 73 74, Gregory Molteni (Ita) 71 76, Niklas Bruzelius (Swe) 76 71, Andreas Hogberg (Swe) 75 72, Mark F Haastrup (Den) 78 69, Miles Tunnicliff 76 71
148 Martin Wiegele (Aut) 78 70, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 72 76, David Drysdale 73 75, Carl Suneson (Spa) 76 72, Andre Bossert (Swi) 73 75, Max Kramer (Aut) 79 69, Phillip Archer 75 73, Benjamin Palanszki (Hu) 76 72
149 Petter Bocian (Swe) 76 73, Ally Mellor 74 75, Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 72 77, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 75 74, Andrew Marshall 72 77, David Dixon 75 74
150 Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 74 76, Jurgen Maurer (Aut) 75 75,Santiago Luna (Spa) 74 76
151 Lukas Nemecz (Aut) 76 75, Peter Lepitschnik (Aut) 76 75, Alessio Bruschi (Ita) 79 72, Luke Goddard 76 75
152 Uli Weinhandl (Aut) 76 76, Paul Eales 78 74, Michael Moser (Aut) 82 70
153 Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa) 79 74, Jason Palmer 72 81, Robin Goger (Aut) 74 79
154 Leo Astl (Aut) 76 78, Andrew Butterfield 79 75, James Ruebotham 77 77
155 Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe) 81 74, Stephan Gross Jnr (Ger) 81 74, Alex Kleszcz (Aut) 81 74
156 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 73 83, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 73 83, Daniel Wardrop 80 76
157 Michiel Bothma (Rsa) 80 77, Stanisiav Matus (Cze) 80 77
161 Christoph Pfau (Aut) 77 84
167 Dennis Kupper (Ger) 78 89
170 Chenxiao Duan (Aut) 88 82

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Premier World Hickory Event over five courses


attracts international field to East Lothian

NEWS RELEASE
The Sixth World Hickory Open under the aegis of the Scottish Golf Union will be played at Gullane at the end of next week.
However, it is again to be preceded by a Festival of Hickory Golf on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday over the historic Musselburgh Old Links, the site of six Opens in the late nineteenth century, then over the challenging Craigielaw course before the international field moves to Archerfield, where the Fidra course will be played on Wednesday.
However, the climax of the week will be the 36-hole World Hickory Open this year being played over Gullane 2 & 3 courses, the latter especially suited to hickory golf.
The field will yet again be packed with top internationalists with current US Hickory champion Mike Stevens, Swedish Hickory champion Klas Ohlsson – also a professional player – and Gullane’s own pro Alastair Good, who came so close to clinching the title last year.
Chairman Lionel Freedman says that the tournament has been designed in such a way that he is able to take on late entries, who will benefit, for instance, from the heavily discounted green fees, which will be available at both Archerfield (only accessible with a member normally) and at Gullane. Open entry also entitles each player to attend the Gala Dinner on Thursday in the Gullane clubhouse
Hickory clubs of pre-1936 vintage are available free of charge to players who enter. The organisers have also made the first three days open to players with steel shafted clubs.
“But beware,” says Mr Freedman,” you’ll be hooked on hickory golf before you know it.”





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Rookie senior Wolstenholme leads

Casa Serena Open in Czech Republic


From Michael Gibbons, European Tour Press Officer
Gary Wolstenholme conjured a brilliant eagle two to soar into a share of the lead with Australian Mike Clayton at the European Senior Tour’s Casa Serena Open in the Czech Republic today
The Englishman, a two-time British Amateur champion and Walker Cup regular during a glittering career in the un-paid ranks, continued his excellent start to life as Senior professional with an opening round of five under par 66 at the stunning Casa Serena Golf to join Clayton at the top of the leaderboard
Wolstenholme began his Senior Tour career at Woburn two weeks ago and secured a place in this week’s field thanks to his third place on his Senior debut.
He continued that rich vein of form in the Czech Republic, producing a perfect wedge approach to the par four 16th hole that took one hop towards the hole before tracking all the way to the bottom of the cup for that outstanding eagle two.
“It was funny actually because I made a stupid bogey on the 15th so I was a bit annoyed with myself,” said Wolstenholme who is hoping a strong finish at Casa Serena can secure full playing privileges for the 2011 Senior Tour.
“But I managed to get a nice drive away and then had a perfect yardage for the mid-wedge which I had been hitting well all day. It bounced once about eight feet out and rolled straight in which I was naturally delighted with.
“It was very important for me to get off to a good start today because it is a bit of a sprint over a three round tournament and to avoid going to the Tour School I need to make around €50,000.”
If Wolstenholme can produce another third place finish on Sunday he will win enough of the €600,000 prize fund on offer to have accomplished his mission, but there are plenty of players looking to deny the new kid on the block with 36 holes to play at Casa Serena.
If Clayton can replicate his putting performance over the next two days then he will be a hard man to beat. The Australian received a few putting tips before heading to the Czech Republic and he put them to devastating use during his own first round of 66, holing out from outside 20 feet four times.
“I played well out there today, it was good,” said Clayton. “The biggest difference has been the putting. I was terrible at Woburn a couple of weeks ago so it was better today. I got a putting lesson from Chris Moody after Woburn and that has helped.
“I played with Moods on Monday and he gave me a couple of little tips that seem to be helping and I made some crazy ones out there today which was quite surprising. I was expecting to wake up at some point and realise what was going on!”
Clayton and Wolstenholme lead England’s Mark Belsham and sponsor’s invitation Peter Dhalberg of Sweden by a single stroke at Casa Serena Golf, Paraguayan Angel Franco and Englishman Andrew Murray a shot further back on three under.
Carl Mason’s quest to record a history-making 24th Senior Tour title got off to a solid start after an opening round of 69 saw him form part of a seven-man tie on two under.

FIRST ROUND
Par 71
66 M Clayton (Aus); G Wolstenholme (Eng);
67 P Dahlberg (Swe); M Belsham (Eng);
68 A Franco (Par); A Murray (Eng)
69 G Brand Jnr (Sco); R Drummond (Sco); C Williams (RSA); A Sowa (Arg); C Mason (Eng); M Cunning (USA); L Carbonetti (Arg);
70 M Farry (Fra); D Smyth (Irl); J Gould (Eng); G Ryall (Eng); J Cañizares (Esp); D Durnian (Eng);
71 J Bruner (USA); J Rivero (Esp); B Smit (RSA); P Mitchell (Eng); D Russell (Eng);
72 A Oldcorn (Sco); N Job (Eng); J Harrison (Eng); I Mosey (Eng); T Johnstone (Zim); D O'Sullivan (Irl); A Fernandez (Chi); T Giedeon (Ger); P Teravainen (USA); G Brand (Eng); B Cameron (Eng);
73 J Chillas (Sco); P Oakley (USA); B Lane (Eng); G Cali (Ita); J Quiros (Esp); F Mann (Sco); B Hardwick (Can); T Charnley (Eng); K Spurgeon (Eng);
74 G Banister (Aus); M Gray (Sco); M Bembridge (Eng); J Hall (Eng); J Rhodes (Eng); S Owen (Nzl); M Miller (Sco); B Ruangkit (Tha); D Cambridge (Jam);
75 H Carbonetti (Arg); J Heggarty (Nir); D Hospital (Esp); B Longmuir (Sco); B Lincoln (RSA); A Johnsson (Swe); E Darcy (Irl);
76 D Johnson (USA); D Merriman (Aus); M Harwood (Aus); M Williams (Zim); C Rocca (Ita); G Ralph (Eng); S Bennett (Eng); S Torrance (Sco); M Piñero (Esp);
77 J Seifert (Cze); P Fowler (Aus); R Chapman (Eng);
78 E Rodriguez (Esp); N Ratcliffe (Aus);
79 J Juhaniak (Cze);
82 M Poxon (Eng); G Hopkins (USA);
85 A Garrido (Esp);
** E Polland (Nir) ,

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CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT

McLeary still leads after
roller-coaster in Russia

From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes
Scotland’s Jamie McLeary extended his lead to three shots at the midway stage of the inaugural M2M Russian Challenge Cup on the European Challenge Tour after an up and down day in Moscow.
McLeary’s eventful round of 69 saw him move to eight under par, three shots clear of his compatriot Scott Jamieson and the English duo of Tommy Fleetwood and Sam Walker.
The man from Edinburgh, who opened with a round of 65, picked up where he had left off with three birdies in his opening eight holes at Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club, on the outskirts of the Russian capital.
But then disaster struck, as four consecutive bogeys from the ninth hole saw McLeary relinquish the advantage he had so carefully built. The Scotsman showed commendable mental strength, however, to pick up four shots in his closing five holes, with the highlight a chip in for eagle at the 15th.
McLeary said: “I played really well again today and seemed to be cruising, but then my round took a rather bizarre turn. I hit a bad tee shot on the ninth and made bogey, then on the tenth I got a bit of a bad break with a terrible lie. It was so bad that if I’d tried to hit a full shot, I would’ve missed the ball completely! So I just had to take my medicine and lay up, then on the next two holes I misses short par putts. So from being really comfortable, suddenly everything started coming apart at the seams.
“But I didn’t panic, and the birdie on the 14th got me going again. Then I chipped in on 15, made a good par on 16, almost eagled the 17th and missed a birdie putt on the last. So I’m feeling a lot better than I was about an hour or so ago.
"At the start of the week I thought eight under par might win it, so if I can sneak a couple of 72s over the weekend, hopefully I won’t be too far away. But I can’t afford to think like that – it’ll just be one shot and one hole at a time.”
Earlier in the day his fellow Scot Jamieson, whose tied runner-up finish at last week’s Kazakhstan Open was the best performance of his fledgling Challenge Tour career, carded a round of 69 to move to five under par.
Jamieson started slowly with bogeys at the second and third holes, but swiftly recovered with birdies at the fourth, fifth and eighth to turn in 35. After seven straight pars he closed with another two birdies to go into the weekend with a better-than-average chance of capturing his maiden Challenge Tour title.
Jamieson, currently 20th in the Challenge Tour Rankings, said: “I didn’t get off to the best start, although I actually hit a decent drive on the second, but there are two trees in the middle of fairway and I caught one of them. Then on the third I hit a poor tee shot, but after that it was much better. It was nice not to have to play in waterproofs, although the wind really picked up in places. Maybe that’s why there are so many Scots up near the top of the leaderboard, because we’re used to playing in the cold and the wind!
“Whatever the weather, the course is always great to play. The fairways are quite generous, but if you do miss them then you can really get caught out. The greens are in great shape, so I don’t think anyone could complain about the course this week. And I can’t complain about my form, because I’m playing well at the moment. Hopefully I can keep it going for the next couple of days, then enjoy a two-week break in the States with my girlfriend.”
Rising star Fleetwood shot the lowest round of the day, a 66 which included six birdies and an eagle at the par five eighth. The 19 year old from Merseyside, who finished his amateur career as the leading scratch player on the World Amateur Rankings, seems destined for a bright professional career, having finished second and tied 11th in two Challenge Tour appearances so far this season.
Fleetwood, who started on the tenth tee, said: “I played the first few holes of the back nine terribly on the first day, but today was much steadier. I got it going with a couple of birdies on 14 and 15, then on the front nine – my back nine – I hardly missed a shot. The wind died down on the last few holes, and I certainly made the most of it. Ironically, I don’t even like the eighth hole, even though I eagled it. When I stood on the tee I didn’t really see much reason to go for it, but then I found myself with 230 yards to the green for my second, and hit a draw with my five wood to ten feet. So I like the hole a bit better now! The course in general is set up so well, and the scoring shows it’s really tough. It’s a real test, but I enjoy it.”
Fellow Englishman Walker credited an exemplary putting display to his round of 68. The Birmingham resident has rather lost his way since winning in France earlier in the season, but welcomed his return to form – especially on the greens.
He said: “The last two rounds are probably the best I’ve putted for a very long time. I didn’t play particularly well today, especially off the tee, but I got out of trouble with my putting. That’s given me a lot of confidence, and hopefully I can carry it into the weekend. If I can improve my driving, who knows where it might take me? I’ve been a bit up and down recently, but that’s mainly been down to my putting. Now that I’ve fixed that, my driving seems to have gone a bit off. But if I can bring them both together, I’ll be in good shape.”


SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
136 J McLeary (Sco) 67 69,
139 S Jamieson (Sco) 70 69, T Fleetwood (Eng) 73 66, S Walker (Eng) 71 68,
140 R Russell (Sco) 71 69, R Santos (Por) 72 68, M Ford (Eng) 71 69, T Olesen (Den) 71 69, C Del Moral (Esp) 72 68,

141 L Jensen (Den) 73 68,
142 M Haines (Eng) 69 73, J Abbate (Arg) 71 71, E Dubois (Fra) 68 74,
143 B Wiesberger (Aut) 70 73, L Saltman (Sco) 70 73, T Whitehouse (Eng) 72 71, A Velasco (Esp) 71 72, M Carlsson (Swe) 70 73, T Feyrsinger (Aut) 69 74,
144 D Gaunt (Aus) 74 70, N Lemke (Swe) 74 70, W Ormsby (Aus) 70 74,
145 F Colombo (Ita) 73 72, J Moul (Eng) 74 71, S Wakefield (Eng) 69 76, S Tiley (Eng) 75 70, C Russo (Fra) 71 74, F De Vries (Ned) 73 72,
146 D Whitnell (Eng) 77 69, V Riu (Fra) 74 72, K Sullivan (Wal) 75 71, A Wagner (Arg) 73 73, A Kaleka (Fra) 74 72, C Ford (Eng) 73 73, A Hansen (Den) 73 73,
147 P Dwyer (Eng) 74 73, M Thorp (Nor) 71 76, D Denison (Eng) 75 72, J Billot (Fra) 74 73, D Brooks (Eng) 74 73, C Moriarty (Irl) 71 76, L Bond (Wal) 73 74, L Gagli (Ita) 74 73, C Macaulay (Sco) 68 79, F Praegant (Aut) 78 69,
148 A Bernadet (Fra) 74 74, S Garcia (Esp) 74 74, A Tadini (Ita) 73 75, A Snobeck (Fra) 75 73, P Del Grosso (Arg) 75 73,
149 J Larsen (Nor) 71 78, E Ramsay (Sco) 75 74, M Tullo (Chi) 74 75, S Davis (Eng) 76 73, R Dinwiddie (Eng) 72 77, R Steiner (Aut) 76 73, O Floren (Swe) 76 73,
150 S Manley (Wal) 75 75, P Gustafsson (Swe) 74 76, R Kind (Ned) 75 75, F Calmels (Fra) 74 76, B Evans (Eng) 79 71, C Lee (Sco) 78 72, C Baker (USA) 74 76,
MISSED THE CUT
151 A Ahokas (Fin) 74 77, J Roos (RSA) 72 79, T Stewart (Aus) 77 74, M Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 75 76, I Pyman (Eng) 75 76, O David (Fra) 72 79, M Laskey (Wal) 76 75, L Slattery (Eng) 79 72, P Kaensche (Nor) 75 76,
152 W Besseling (Ned) 72 80, M Higley (Eng) 78 74, J Zapata (Arg) 78 74, J Grillon (Fra) 73 79, C Brazillier (Fra) 80 72, R Kakko (Fin) 76 76, J Clément (Sui) 72 80,
153 N Meitinger (Ger) 76 77, A Gee (Eng) 79 74, I Van Weerelt (Ned) 76 77, R Neil-Jones (Eng) 75 78,
154 A Willey (Eng) 77 77, G Murray (Sco) 82 72, G Houston (Wal) 77 77, B Ritthammer (Ger) 77 77,
156 D Vanegas (Col) 75 81,
158 H Bacher (Aut) 79 79, J Campillo (Esp) 82 76, A Perrino (Ita) 83 75, A Kaunas (am) (Rus) 80 78,
159 N Reilly (Eng) 82 77,
160 J Ruth (Eng) 82 78, M Nichols (Eng) 77 83,
161 Y Kafelnikov (Rus) 80 81,
165 A Nesterov (Rus) 81 84,
166 V Belov (am) (Rus) 84 82, V Osipov (am) (Rus) 84 82,
170 K Allan (am) (Rus) 88 82,
173 K Lifanov (Rus) 87 86,
174 A Mayorov (Rus) 88 86,
175 V Tupikov (Rus) 84 91, N Ponomarev (am) (Rus) 86 89,
182 D Mateshin (am) (Rus) 95 87,
** M Mills (Eng) 81 DQ, L Kennedy (Eng) 79 WD, M Baldwin (Eng) 77 RT, J Sjöholm (Swe) 78 WD, J Elson (Eng) 78 WD, E Saltman (Sco) DQ







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Cruden Bay's new approach is paying dividends

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY CRUDEN BAY GOLF CLUB
A quiet revolution has been going on at Cruden Bay Golf Club, with membership numbers growing, membership satisfaction improving and visitor income increasing.
The recent appointment of Robbie Stewart, the former Club Professional, as the first PGA Director of Golf led to a new approach to business planning and marketing of the club. For the first time the Club introduced a marketing plan for both members and visitors and participated in the Scottish Enterprise ‘’On The Tee’’ initiative, which helps golf clubs realise the benefits of golf tourism.
Golf tourism is worth £220 million p.a. for the Scottish economy, with about 70% of golf visitors to Scotland being from the UK (200,000 people). The largest overseas market is the US with 14% of visits. US golf visitors stay an average of 10 days compared to five days for UK golf visitors, and spend an average of three times as much on their trip.
Robbie Stewart, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency, said;
“We quickly realised that to obtain some of this revenue and sustain facilities for members we had to match our priority, which is to serve our members, by inviting new players to come and experience this outstanding golf course.
“We have had tremendous support from club members for what we are trying to achieve, and have also had a great reaction from our regular tour operators. The messages in our visitors’ book would suggest we’re on the right track and the important thing is that everyone loves the course”.
“The approach is to invite new players to become members too, with access to excellent club house facilities and tee times, all for an annual membership subscription which equates to around only £10 per week”.
+It is claimed that golf was played in the village of Cruden Bay as early as 1791. The present lay-out of the course is a result of it being redeveloped by Tom Simpson and Herbert Fowler in 1926, although many of the original Old Tom Morris greens and basic routing are still in evidence.
+Cruden Bay is one of the best links courses in Scotland, confirmed by the fact that it is presently ranked number 30 in the top courses in Britain by ‘Top 100 Courses’ and has been in the top 100 courses in the world by ‘Golf Magazine’.

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Iain Steel chasing maiden

win on AsianTour

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Taipei: Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant signalled his intent of winning his 12th Asian Tour title by posting a second round five-under-par 67 to take the second round lead at the inaugural Yeangder Tournament Players Championship (TPC) today.
Thaworn also remains on course of matching compatriot and reigning Order of Merit winner Thongchai Jaidee’s record of 12 Asian Tour victories after signing for a two-day total of eight-under-par 136 at the Linkou International Golf Club.
Malaysia’s Iain Steel kept up his charge for his maiden win on the Asian Tour by adding a 69 to his opening 68 to take second place while Australia’s David Gleeson and Tsai Chi-huang of Chinese Taipei are a further shot back in third place on 138 total. Ben Fox and Matthew Rosenfeld of the United States posted matching 139s to take equal fifth at the US$300,000 full field Asian Tour event.
While the record-equalling feat is on track for Thaworn, the 43-year-old Thai who already has three top-10 finishes this season also believes that a victory at this week’s inaugural event will provide the impetus needed to mount a serious challenge at several upcoming high profile events on the Asian Tour Schedule.
“I’ve been playing well this season and my good form has given me lots of self-belief. I’m feeling good about my game and I’m ready to contend for the title this week,” said Thaworn who marked his card with six birdies and one bogey on the par-three fifth.
“A win will definitely be nice as it’ll give me confidence when I play in the big events coming up in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore,” added the Thai.
Steel who started the day tied for second, reeled in birdies on holes two and four before dropping his only bogey of the day at the par-three eighth.
The Malaysian then added two more birdies on the 11th and 18th holes after the turn to return in 69.
“I didn’t hit my drivers and approaches as well as I could have. It was like a ham and egg round today and I came out with three-under,” said Steel.
“I still got to try to make birdies when I can. It’s quite tricky as the greens are very grainy. The par-fives are there for the birdies. The course is not very long but you’ve got to be careful and make some putts when you can,” added the Malaysian
Meanwhile Gleeson believes that he will have to improve on his driving if he wants to win his third Asian Tour title this week.
“I played pretty poorly today. I made a couple of chips and putts but hit three bad drives on the par-fives,” said the Australian.
Gleeson got off well with an opening birdie in his starting back-nine. He bogeyed the par-four 14th but recovered with another birdie on the 15th hole.
The Australian added birdies on the third and fifth holes after the turn but bogeyed his closing ninth to sign for a 70.
“I’ve got to score a little better than that tomorrow and try to be high up in the leaderboard because you never know what the weather is going to be like. Basically I’ve got to try to be in front after tomorrow,” said Gleeson of the impending typhoon forecast to hit Taipei over the weekend.
Overnight leader Lu Wen-teh of Chinese Taipei was disappointed not to have kept up the pace after returning with a 73 for a share of seventh place.
“I just didn’t play as well as I did yesterday. I had a steady round in my front-nine with one birdie but committed too many mistakes in my back-nine resulting in two bogeys. It’s disappointing but there’re still two more rounds to play and I hope to do well,” said the 47-year-old veteran

SECOND ROUND TOTALS
136 - Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 69-67
137 - Iain Steel (MAS) 68-69
138 - David Gleeson (AUS) 68-70, Tsai Chi-huang (TPE) 70-68
139 - Matthew Rosenfeld (USA) 69-70, Ben Fox (USA) 70-69
140 - Chinnarat Phadungsil (THA) 70-70, Tony Carolan (AUS) 73-67, Lu Wen-teh (TPE) 67-73, Choengchai Panpumpo (THA) 69-71
141 - Takafumi Kawane (JPN) 68-73, Baek Seuk-hyun (KOR) 69-72, Lin Wen-tang (TPE) 70-71, Ben Leong (MAS) 70-71, David Johnson (USA) 69-72, Simon Griffiths (ENG) 70-71, Thammanoon Srirot (THA) 71-70
142 - Lin Chien-bing (TPE) 71-71, Sung Mao-chang (TPE) 71-71, Chiang Chen-chih (TPE) 72-70, Unho Park (AUS) 74-68, Artemio Murakami (PHI) 68-74, Lu Chien-soon (TPE) 69-73



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MIDLAND ALLIANCE

McKay and Bell tie on 69 at windy Pitlochry

The second of this week's Midland Golfers' Alliance meetings was held at a very blustery Pitlochry Golf Course yesterday.
The scratch prize was shared by Wellsgreen professional Donald McKay and six-handicap local amateur Ron Bell (Pitlochry) with creditable 69s.
The handicap section resulted in a tie between Mike Niven (Alloa), playing off six, and Ian McMurray (Downfield), playing off 11. They both had net 66s.

LEADING SCRATCH

69 Donald McKay (Wellsgreen) p, Ron Bell (Pitlochry).
70 Mark Pirie (Pitlochry) p.
71 Paul Jamieson (Dunblane) p, Keith Salmoni (Muckhart) p, Keith Bruce (Edzell).
72 Mike Niven (Alloa), Sandy Smith (Ladybank) p.
73 Alan Lockhart (Ladybank) ap, Derek Sim (Panmure).
74 Bob Stewart (Tulliallan)
76 W. Crosbie (Blairgowrie)
77 A. Mason (Thornton), I McMurray (Downfield).

LEADING HANDICAP
63 Ron. Bell (Pitlochry) (6).
66 Mike Niven (Alloa) (6), Ian Murray (Downfield) (11).
68 Keith Bruce (Edzell) (3).
69 Derek Sim (Panmure) (4)
70 Alistair Mason (Thornton) (7)
71 W. Crosbie (5, Blairgowrie) (5), K Thomson (Alloa (13), C Westland (Alloa) (11).
72 D.J. Vickery (Craigiehill) (10), A. McKay (Pitlochry) (11).
73 J. Crawford (Dunblane) (6), M Fraser (The Duke's) (4).

Qualifiers for the JTC Kitchens Express championship at Arbroath in April
R. Bell (Pitlochry) M. Pirie (Pitlochry) and K. Bruce (Edzell)

Qualfiers for the McQueen Shield
 R. Bell( Piltlochry) and Ian McMurray (Downfield).


Next meeting is the Diamond Jubilee Dinner match at Scotscraig on Monday, September 20: 12 noon for 1300 tee off.

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EUROPEAN TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL STAGE 1

Damian takes up

running at Dundonald

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Northern Ireland's Damian Mooney has a one-shot lead at the halfway mark of the First Qualifying Stage – Section C at Dundonald Links.
Mooney is one under par after following an opening round 77 with a 66, while overnight leader Wallace Booth of Scotland posted a round of 70 to move to level par.

Irishman Michael Collins is two shots further adrift after a 69 while English amateur Charlie Cossins is fourth on three over par.

At Fleesensee, Canadian Matthew Bliss leads the way after a second round 67 in Germany.

Bliss is nine under par and has a three stroke advantage over German Max Glauert, who followed his open round 68 with a 70. Sweden’s Robin Askstrand is a further shot back on five under par following a 68.


FOR ALL THE DUNDONALD LINKS SCORES

CLICK HERE


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Nairn's defending champions in the Northern Counties Cup (l to r): Robert Smith, Neil Hampton, Fraser Fotheringham and Steven Macdonald (image by Robin Wilson).

Royal Dornoch beat second

favourites Inverness

By ROBIN WILSON
Forty teams from the Orkneys to Aberdeen set out in the 99th Northern Counties Cup competition over the historic Royal Dornoch Golf Club links yesterday with the host club, already holding a record 21 wins, hoping to end a lean spell of 22 years.since last winning at Nairn in 1988.
The home team were dealt a blow on the eve of the competition when they lost the in-form Kevin Matheson, winner two weeks ago of a club 36 hole open, due to a work re-call and his place had to be taken by a past North District senior champion, Paul York.
York and partner Chris Mailley helped them through the first round and then they relied on a great upbeat performance from second string Kristain Sinclair and Neil Munro to pull them through a second-round fight against second favourites and winners of two years ago, Inverness.
The home second pair won by six holes against Bruce Thomson and Steven Connel to make up a loss of four by Mailley and York against Alan Cameron and Ewan Forbes.
Holders Nairn are bidding for a third successive win on Dornoch turf, following visits in 1998 and 2004, and they have the same line-up as won last year at Peterhead, Fraser Fotheringham, Steven Macdonald, Neil Hampton and Robert Smith.
They cleared their first hurdle with a five-hole win over former double winners Brora. Hampton and Smith were once more the dominant force, winning by four.
Nairn's section of the draw at commencement contained seven previous winners, but only themselves, Royal Dornoch, and Fortrose and Rosemarkie are through to the third round.
Tain, who have never won the cup, eliminated former winners Nigg Bay by one hole in round two to line up this morning's tie against Nairn while former double winners since the turn of the century, Fortrose and Rosemarkie now meet Royal Dornoch.
The North-east interest was reduced substantially when Murcar Links put out Meldrum House by three holes then Cruden Bay overcame Newmachar by 10 holes.
Royal Aberdeen lost both its teams to the McDonald Ellon selections.

RESULTS

FIRST ROUND
Nigg Bay w.o. Nairn Dunbar scr.
Royal Dornoch bt Banchory by 3 holes.
Inverness 2 bt Newmachar 2 by 10 holes.
McDonald Ellon 2 bt Turriff by 2 holes.
Moray 2 bt Nigg Bay 2 by 9 holes.
Royal Aberdeen 1 bt Orkney 2 by 1 hole.
Deeside bt Muir of Ord at 19th.
Fortrose and Rosemarkie 2 w.o. Strathpeffer scr
SECOND ROUND
Nairn 1 bt Brora by 5 holes.
Tain 1 bt Nigg Bay 1 by 1 hole.
Fortrose and Rosemarkie 1 bt Duff House Royal by 2 holes.
Royal Dornoch bt Inverness 1 by 2 holes.
Peterhead w.o. Tain 2 scr
Inverness 2 bt Muir of Ord 1 by 7 holes.
Murcar Links bt Meldrum House by 3 holes.
McDonald Ellon 2 bt Royal Aberdeen 2 by 1 hole.
Newmachar 1 bt Cruden Bay 1 by 10 holes.
Elgin bt Moray 2 at 20th.
Forres bt Nairn 2 by 2 holes.
McDonald Ellon 1 bt Royal Aberdeen 1 by 2 holes.
Moray 1 bt Orkney 1 by 1 hole.
Deeside bt Cruden Bay 2 by 3 holes.
Thurso bt Nairn Dunbar by 7 holes.
Fortrose and Rosemarkie 2 bt Loch Ness by 3 holes.

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