Drew Weaver, Amateur champion in 2007,

chalks up his first professional victory

Remember Drew Weaver, the American who won the British Amateur championship at Royal Lytham in 2007?

Well, the High Point, North Carolina player has just won his first professional title.

Weaver birdied the first play-off hole in the eGolf Tour’s CFAC Classic at the Cabarrus Country Club course to make the breakthrough and pick up a cheque for $17,000. He beat Tadd Fujikawa (66-67-66) and Fernando Mecherett (66-67-66) who tied with him at 17-under-par 199. Weaver's rounds were 64-68-67. 
“It’s huge. I couldn’t ask to be playing any better right now,” said Weaver. “One thing I’ve learned out here is that you can’t get caught up in one week, you just have to build on each day.”
Following the completion of a stand-out amateur career of which the pinnacle was the 2007 British Amateur, Weaver entered the 2010 eGolf Tour season (his first as a pro) with expectations of winning early and often. After missing four of his first seven cuts, his adjustment to professional golf seemed to be at a stand still.
“I was low, I was pretty much rock bottom,” he said. “But I’ve surrounded myself with good people. Just to get positive words in your ear when you’re not playing well means so much. It really helps you keep your head up.”
A decent showing at the Grand Harbor Open in May gave way to a T6 finish at the HGM Hotels Classic at Rock Barn the very next week – his first top-10 of the season.
From there, Weaver would post four top-six finishes in a five-tournament stretch, including two runner-up finishes. The second of those runner-up efforts came just two weeks ago at the tour’s Manor Classic in Farmville, VA. Just putting himself in position to win was a lot for Weaver, who admits that the British Amateur title overshadowed the fact that he really hadn’t won that much on any level.
“I really haven’t won much. Certainly a lot of good things will come out of this,” Weaver said. “I’ve been working very hard and putting in a lot of long hours, and obviously it’s a good time of year to be playing well, so that’s great.”
The time of year Weaver refers to is the fall, which signifies the changing of leaves and the onset of US PGA TOUR Qualifying School, where over 1,200 golfers will attempt to qualify for the 2011 US PGA and Nationwide Tours.
For Weaver, the $17,000 first-place cheque helped to solidify all of the hard work that went into the 2010 season, but he refused to accept all the glory, instead opting to share it with those who mean the most to him.

“I wouldn’t be here without the support of my family, my swing coach, my agent and my sports psychologist,” he said. “I have great support and it means a lot to finally get one done.”

Monty's an inspiring leader, says McIlroy

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy has paid tribute to captain Colin Montgomerie's inspirational leadership ahead of The 2010 Ryder Cup.
On Tuesday morning, McIlroy and his practice partner Graeme McDowell gained a measure of revenge over the Molinari brothers, who had pipped them to the Omega Mission Hills World Cup title last year.

But the 21 year old was more eager discuss the events of the previous evening, when Montgomerie rallied his 12 troops with some well-chosen words.

He said: "Monty gave a great speech last night in the team room. It was really inspirational, and really got everyone going. He played a tape and then said a few words, which started the week off on the right foot.
"It made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and it was great to be a part of. It wasn't only the players in there - the caddies were in there and all the partners, as well. So everyone got a sense of how important it is for Europe and for The European Tour to win this Ryder Cup back.
In the past McIlroy has sought to downplay the significance of The Ryder Cup in comparison with Major Championships, and whilst he confesses his priorities are unlikely to change, the World No 9 is clearly relishing the prospect of making his debut in golf's greatest team event.

He said: "I think it' probably a good thing to downplay The Ryder Cup, because it's such a big event. But when you get here, you realise the importance of it and you realise how big it is and how important it is to everyone. So I don't want to let myself down this week, and I don't want to let anyone else down this week. That's the main thing.
"You're not just playing for yourself, you're playing for 11 other guys, plus all of the backroom staff and most of Europe as well, I suppose. That's the big thing. You obviously want to play well for yourself, but you also want to play well for everyone else. Hopefully I can win a few points for the guys this week."

TARTAN TOUR SPRINT SERIES

STRATHAVEN GOLF CLUB
RESULT
Par 71
65 Stuart Kerr (Strathaven) (£1,000).
67 Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) (£750).
68 Iain Colquhoun (Dundonald Links), Graham Fox (East Kilbride), James McGhee (Turnhouse) (£443.33 each).
69 Steven Taylor (Bothwell Castle), Scott Henderson (Kings Links), Chris Kelly (Cawder) (£275 each).
70 Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills), Christopher Currie (Caldwell), Terry Mathieson (Dunbar), Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie), Ronan Rafferty (Roxburghe) (£176 each).
71 Fraser Dunlop (Gleneagles Hotel), Craig Gordon (Edinburgh Golf Centre), Craig Ronald (Carluke), David Patrick (Elie), Chris Doak (unatt),
Gareth Wright (West Linton), Sean O'Donnell (Balbirnie Park),
Graeme Lornie (Paul Lawrie Foundation), Nigel Scott-Smith (Palacerigg) (£23.88 each).
72 Ricky Gray (Renfrew), Stephen Gray (Hayston), Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), Greig Hutcheon (Banchory),
73 David Addison (Kilmarnock Barassie).
74 Stuart Pardoe (unatt), Campbell Elliott (Haggs Castle), Steven Duncan (Balbirnie Park), Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst), Stewart Savage (Dalmuir),
David Broadfoot (Dumfries and Co),  Andrew Crerar (Panmure).
75 Fraser Mann (unatt), David Fleming (Prestwick), Lee Harper (Archerfield Links), Richard Fyvie (Pumpherston), John Robertson (Glasgow), Euan Cameron (Hamilton), Chris Morris (Kingsknowe).
76 Malcolm Isaacs (Nairn Dunbar) 
77 Paul Wilson (World of Golf). 
78 Duncan Williamson (Kirkhill), Luke Geoghegan (Carrick at Cameron House), Neil Colquhoun (Merchants of Edinburgh).
79 Duncan Anderson (Murrayfield), Paul Wytrazek (Burntisland).
81 Ian Rowlands (unatt).
82 Jordan Ramanauskas (Gullane) (am), Alan Mackay (Pumpherston).
83 Iain McNab (Royal Troon).
NR Scott Clelland (Coatbridge Driving Range), Scott Caitlin (Greenburn).

Amateur stars come out to play in

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

NEWS RELEASE
Some of the best known and most enthusiastic amateur golfers join a world-class field of professionals, led by major championship winners, Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer, for next week’s prestigious Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews' Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.
Celebrities from the world of entertainment include film and TV stars Matthew Goode, Hugh Grant, Sam L Jackson, Kyle MacLachlan, James Nesbitt, John O’Hurley and Aidan Quinn.

Also taking part are rock music legend Huey Lewis and Michael Flatley, the Irish/American step dancer and producer who created the Riverdance show, and playing for the first time will be popular Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans.

A trio of Britain’s sporting knights – Sir Ian Botham, Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Steve Redgrave - lead a locker room full of sporting heroes, including Dutch football legends Johan Cruyff and Ruud Gullit, former England player Jamie Redknapp and Scottish defender Alan Hansen.
Rugby is represented by All Blacks former captain Sean Fitzpatrick, Scotland’s Gavin Hastings and Argentina’s Hugo Porta, while cricketers Allan Lamb and Michael Vaughan of England and Steve Waugh and Shane Warne of Australia will also be teeing off.
The immensely popular former Wimbledon tennis player Tim Henman will be back, along with Austrian downhiller Franz Klammer and nine-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater.
The amateurs will be playing in one of the strongest fields ever assembled for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which includes two current major champions: Graeme McDowell (US Open) and Martin Kaymer (US PGA). Also entered from the world top 50 are: Lee Westwood (3), Rory McIlory (8), Ernie Els (11), Edoardo Molinari (16), Retief Goosen (17), Padraig Harrington (22), Ross Fisher (27), Charl Schwartzel (34), Robert Karlsson (39) and Peter Hanson (42). Plus Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie and defending champion Symon Dyson.
With a prize fund of US$5 million, the championship incorporates two separate competitions - an individual professional tournament for the world's leading golfers and a team event in which the professionals are paired with some of the most celebrated amateur golfers which creates a unique atmosphere.
Entrance to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship will be FREE at all three courses on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. A ticket price of £15 (concessionary £10) will be charged for the final day’s play over the Old Course on Sunday, October 10.
Entry for under 16s and students is free. Tickets are available through the ticket hotline on 0870 010 9021 or at the entrance gates. There is free parking for spectators and a free shuttle bus service runs from St Andrews to Kingsbarns and Carnoustie.

Gavin Dear looks back on 2009 Walker Cup match


for benefit of 2011 team captain Nigel Edwards

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
A few days ago on Scottishgolfview.com I quoted Nigel Edwards, Great Britain and Ireland's team captain for next September's Walker Cup match at Royal Aberdeen as saying he would like to know why GB and I were something like a combined 64 over par in losing the 2009 Walker Cup match by a big margin at Merion. Edwards was not at the match. Scroll down a bit if you missed the Welshman's comments.
Since then, I have been in touch with Gavin Dear, the Murrayshall, Perthshire man who was a leading member of the team skippered by Colin Dalgleish in the States two years ago.
I put Nigel Edwards' question to Gavin: "Why were GB and I so many over par over a two-day match?"
Here is Gavin's answer:

64 over par? Yes, Merion course was 'the most

penal' for 2009 Walker Cup match

By GAVIN DEARWith regards to the 2009 Walker Cup, I will give it my best go and if Nigel can take anything to help the boys next time at Royal Aberdeen in 2011, that would be great.

I would say the Merion course was extremely tough. Probably a better judge of par would be the Americans' score and the difference. The greens were as fast as some of the boys had ever played on.
With regards to Colin Dalgleish, he was tremendous as team captain. The preparation was first class - equal to our prep for the Eisenhower. But I think all the GB and I players would agree that we didn't perform as well as we should have.
With regards to what Nigel Edwards didn't see: The first morning, Matt  Haines and I were one up with two to play. Peter Uihilen hit his par-3 tee shot 50 yards wide but it stayed on the women's 18th tee. Without this piece of good luck for the Americans, it was game over in our favour.
Matt hit it 20 feet away. I pitched to 5 feet and he missed.
On the 18th the Americans holed from about 45 feet and we missed from 6 feet. If Matt and I had won, it would have been  2-2 overall at the end of the first morning session. The worst part for me was we were the last game on the course and all the boys watched it happen. It gave them (the Americans) a lot of momentum.
A couple of things struck me. We were told that you had to be straight at the Merion course, and we had a lot of shorter hitters, but the course was so tight that you were going to end up in the rough at some time.
Problem was a lot of our guys found themselves in positions 200 yards from the green, playing out of thick rough instead of their guys being 160 yards from the green playing out of the rough.
It's difficult to be competitive with that disadvantage.
I think United States had some world-class players, and we lost one in Shane (Lowry) during the year.
It's quite shocking to see 64 over par listed as a team total for two days, and I told my dad who was there. He thought that looked high, but then he said it was one of the most penal course he had ever seen.
Hopefully that gives Nigel Edwards a few thoughts.
GAVIN DEAR

COMMENT BY E-MAIL FROM GORDON SIMMONDS
Interesting how history can be re-written by poor or selective memory.
Perhaps I can suggest your readers, and Gavin, read a full account of the match presented on http://www.walkercuphistory.com/, and in particular the 'facts' concerning the closing holes (16-18) of the first foursomes' match Gavin (correctly) describes as having a significant impact on morale and, possibly also, the overall match.
Gavin and Matt Haines were one up after 15 holes. They three-putted the 16th, when a two-putt would have won the hole and made them 'dormie'. Haines then forced a long-iron off the par-3 17th tee, rather than using his (normally) trusty 5-wood.
Missing left, as he did, was fatal and gave Dear 'no-shot'. The Americans (in the form of Peter Uihlein - 2010 US Amateur champion) blocked their tee shot well right of target and got lucky, as Gavin described, though missing anywhere right was probably better than missing it where Haines had.
Nathan Smith, for America, pitched to about 6 feet below the hole.
Gavin, so far as I could see from my vantage point on the 17th tee, left it in the rough, Haines pitched on in three, still well outside the American marker. After Haines missed, the hole was duly conceded.
On the very difficult and long par 4 18th, both pairs took three to reach the putting surface, GB and I (after a superb bunker shot by Dear) sitting only 6ft from the hole and the Americans not more than 25ft (probably nearer 20ft). Sadly (for GB and I), Peter Uihlein holed and Haines, for the second time in three holes, missed a short putt; admittedly under the most severe pressure.Of course, it was match play, but interesting to note that the American pair scored an estimated 76 (6-over par) and GB and I about 78.
In the same series of foursomes, Goddard and Whitnell were only four-over par when losing 6 and 5 to Fowler and Cauley; such are the vagaries of match play draws.
The reference to an estimated 64 over par cumulative score for the GB and I team appears to be nearly correct, according to the numbers recorded by the USGA. GB and I players were a cumulative (estimated) 63 over par.
Gordon G. Simmonds LLB DLP

REPLY FROM GAVIN DEAR
Gordon,

You are completely right. I think I mistook the 17th with another hole. To be honest what I meant was that we lost a game we shouldn't have through a couple of missed putts and a very fortunate break.
Would it be possible to have the American score calculated? That would be very interesting to see. As with playing international match-play for a number of years, our first morning game was very scrappy from both sides. It's not always like that and I felt Matt and I played very well the next morning in comparison yet still were beaten.
I am also trying to convey that even though our total score doesn't look very good, it's not like we intended to be that. Everybody in that team gave their all, and we simply came up short.
GAVIN DEAR


MORE OF GAVIN DEAR'S THOUGHTS ON SCOTTISHGOLFVIEW.COM



TOMORROW WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT


'THE CLOSED SHOP OF SCOTTISH GOLF'

Europe are odds on Ryder Cup favourites

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power's Ryder Cup odds:


4-6 Europe
6-4 United States
11-1 A drawn match.

McILROY TO PLAY IN UBS HONG KONG OPEN

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY EUROPEAN TOUR
The new era of the UBS Hong Kong Open has teed off with the announcement of the first star player in what is expected to be a highly competitive field in 2010.
After two successive second-place finishes at the UBS Hong Kong Open, Rory McIlroy will return to the Hong Kong Golf Club in an effort to complete “unfinished business” from November 18-21.
One of the game’s fastest rising stars, McIlroy currently lies seventh in the Official Golf World Rankings and is preparing to make his Ryder Cup debut in Wales this week.
The Northern Irishman is one of the biggest draws in world golf and has been a huge attraction during the last two editions of the UBS Hong Kong Open, finishing second after a thrilling play-off with Lin Wen-tang in 2008, and taking second spot behind Grégory Bourdy at Fanling last year
“I think it would be fair to say that I have some unfinished business in Hong Kong,” said McIlroy. “I’m looking forward to returning to Hong Kong and I won’t rest until I have the Hong Kong Open title in my bag.”
With McIlroy committed to completing unfinished business in Hong Kong, golf fans from around the region are expected to flock to Fanling to see him take a third successive tilt at the title.
“UBS puts on a brilliant event, and Hong Kong is one of the most exciting cities in the world. I love the city and the golf course at Fanling so it was an easy decision to come back this year and try to win the title.
“It is a very important week in the schedule. It is the last tournament before the Dubai World Championship so if you can perform well in Hong Kong it gives you great confidence for the final event of the season.
“I hope to come to Hong Kong early this year to experience more of the city. We don’t always have time to enjoy some of the great destinations that we visit - and for me, Hong Kong ranks as one of the best cities in the world.”
Kathryn Shih, CEO of UBS Wealth Management, Asia Pacific, commented: “The UBS Hong Kong Open has entered a new era and all of us at UBS are committed to ensuring that it remains one of the region’s top sporting events. Clearly, Rory’s return to Hong Kong for a third shot at the title will add an extra dimension to the excitement.
“I am a great admirer of Rory’s attitude”, added Shih. “After coming so close with two thrilling finishes in recent years, his unrelenting pursuit of success is reminiscent of our corporate philosophy of constantly striving to achieve success for our clients. Rory will be a great addition to the tournament and I am sure that his presence will be welcomed by golf fans across the region.”
McIlroy has enjoyed another fine season at the very highest level of the world game, the highlight of which came in America as he rampaged to his first PGA Tour victory with a final round 62 at the Quail Hollow Championship earlier in the year.
Two joint third-place finishes in the final two Majors of the season – The Open Championship and US PGA Championship – have kept the 21 year old at the summit of the World Ranking as he looks forward to making his Ryder Cup debut for Europe versus the USA before heading for Hong Kong.