RENFREWSHIRE NAME YOUNGSTERS FOR COACHING

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE RENFREWSHIRE GOLF UNION
donbremner@ranfurly9.freeserve.co.uk
Although the weather certainly does not encourage thoughts of returning to the golf course for the new season, Renfrewshire Golf Union has announced its coaching squads and has agreed its strategy for the months ahead. Fingers are now well and truly crossed for conditions to improve which will allow the programme to get underway on schedule.
The coaches will be Adam Hunter, George Boswell and Ian Kennedy of Mearns Castle Golf Academy. In addition to the technical sessions, which will commence in mid-February and short-game clinics at a links course prior to the Scottish boys' championship, the programme will include, for the first time, two sessions with renowned sports psychologist, Neil Buchanan.
It is hoped that these sessions will help the boys to prepare mentally for tournaments and to cope with pressure, especially when things are not going well.
In addition to the three squads for over-12-year-old boys, additional budget has been allocated to give coaching opportunities to a number of young golfers who are under 12 years old. It is hoped that giving early tuition to this “development squad” will produce players who will gravitate to the full squads over the next two seasons.
Invitations have already been extended to those selected to the three main squads, details of which are below. The “development squad” invitations will be finalised shortly.
Under-18s
Alasdair McDougall (Elderslie)
Ewan Waugh (Whitecraigs)
Fraser Lauder (Paisley)
Stuart Watt (Old Ranfurly)
Josh Bogle (Ranfurly Castle)
Andrew Cunningham (Ranfurly Castle)
Paul Reilly (Lochwinnoch)
Stuart Cameron (Renfrew)
Greg Paterson (Ranfurly Castle)
Lewis Kerr (Renfrew)
Tom Binning (Ranfurly Castle)
David Slack (Kilmacolm)
Under-16s
Colin Edgar (Cochrane Castle)
Scott Ewing (Elderslie)
Paul Dorrian (Greenock)
Chris McAuley (Greenock)
Steven Wilson (Whinhill)
Anthony McCauley (Whinhill)
Ross Clark (Erskine)
Andrew Guthrie (Erskine)
Greg Cumming (Kilmacolm)
Jack McAlpine (Kilmacolm)
Calum Aiken (Ranfurly Castle)
Lee Wingate (Ranfurly Castle)
Mark McGregor (Kilmacolm)
Jordan Ferguson (Kilmacolm)
Under-14s
Kyle Turner (Cochrane Castle)
Andrew McColl (Erskine)
Josh Beatt (Fereneze)
Lewis Breslin (Fereneze)
Craig Orr (Cochrane Castle)
Jack Currie (Greenock)
Andrew McLelland (Erskine)
Conor Toal (Old Ranfurly)

PAUL SHEEHAN TAKES OVER LEAD IN VICTORIAN OPEN

FROM THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA WEBSITE
In tough conditions again at Spring Valley Golf Club local knowledge of the tough Melbourne sandbelts seemed the key to low scores with Paul Sheehan jumping to the top of the Victorian Open leaderboard as again the majority of the field struggled to shoot under-par rounds.
On a day of tough, windy conditions and challenging pin placements Sheehan’s four under round of 67 was enough to secure him the outright lead at the end of play at nine-under-par 204 over the par-71 lay-out.
Hot on his heels is Cheltenham local boy Matthew Griffin, a five under par round of 66 makes him one shot off the pace at outright second on 206.
Both Sheehan and Griffin have the same coach and are both members at renowned sandbelt course Royal Melbourne which should make for an interesting fourth round when the two pair up.
The tough conditions did not help yesterday’s leader, Steven Jones, who struggled in the wind, shooting two over 73. He is still in contention leading into the last day at tied third.
The big mover of the day was Aaron Townsend who shot an incredible six under 65 to tie him for third with Jones on 208.
Sheehan was pleased with this third-round form which he hopes he can carry through to the last day.
"I was really happy with the way I played today, four under was a good score and I went out there and did what I had to do," said Sheehan.
"I think I putted really well today, my stroke felt good.
"I hit a lot of greens on the back nine and gave myself a chance and had a good feel for the greens"
After struggling in the conditions yesterday Matthew Griffin was happy to have fought back and handled them better today.
"Conditions today were very similar to yesterday, I had struggled a bit early on but managed to get used to them and I felt really good out there today,” said Griffin
"If I had of been in a similar early round situation as yesterday a few years ago I probably would have spat the dummy a little bit and shot six or seven over and played myself out of the tournament. I think in the last twelve months I have really matured and the more experience you have at fighting back the better you get at it."
LEADERBOARD
Par 213 (3x71)
204 Paul Sheehan 69 68 67.
206 Matthew Griffin 67 73 66.
208 Steven Jones 66 69 73, Aaron Townsend 69 74 65.

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OOSTHUIZEN AND BRIER SHARE AFRICA OPEN ROUND 3 LEAD

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

South African Louis Oosthuizen shares the lead with Markus Brier from Austria heading into the final round of the Africa Open after a four under par round of 69 on Day 3 earned him a 13 under total of 206 over the par-73 course at East London Golf Club.

The reigning Open champion, pictured, recorded four birdies, an eagle and two bogeys - the second of which frustratingly came on the last - to sit alongside Brier, who managed a 70.
The pair are a shot clear of a quartet of players on 12 under 207.

Among them are Manuel Quiros (68), defending champion Charl Schwartzel (68) as well as South Africans Jaco van Zyl (70) and Jbe' Kruger (67).

Promising Englishman Chris Wood also carded a six under 67 in the third round, an effort that saw him climb to 11 under, alongside Branden Grace (72) and fellow countrymen Ross McGowan (71) and Miles Tunnicliff (72).

Bristol golfer Wood, who shot to fame in 2008 when he was the top amateur at the Open Championship held at Royal Birkdale where he finished fifth, had a wretched start to his round with a bogey on the par five first.

However, the 23 year old was back level on his next hole before four further birdies and an eagle helped him come back in some style.

The round of the day - a bogey-free, seven-under-par 66 was achieved by Robert Dinwiddie.

That put him on ten under 209 overall and kept him in the hunt for the €158,500 top prize at the co-sanctioned European Tour and Sunshine Tour event.
SCOTSWATCH: Elliot Saltman matched the par of 73 in the third round but at this level par rounds lose you ground and so it was with the Lothians rookie. His 54-hole tally of eight-under-par 211 over the generous par-73 course left him in joint 17th position alongside Steven O'Hara from Motherwell.
Saltman bogeyed the first, second, sixth and ninth in an outward 40 which included only one birdie, at the long fourth. But Elliot redeemed himself with an inward half of three-under-par 33. He birdied the 12th and 13th, dropped a shot at the 14th but got an eagle - his second of the tournnament - at the long long 15th.
O'Hara had his best round so far, a five-under 68 which saw him birdied the long first, the fifth, the ninth, 12th, 14th and long 15th in halves of 35 (two under) and 33 (three under). His only bogey came at the 14th.
Lionel Saltman bogeyed the long first hole for the third day in a row on his way to a one-under 72 for three-under 216 and a share of 42nd place. Lionel bounced back from his bogey hole to birdie five out of six holes from the short second. The only one he parred was the sixth.
But a bogey at the ninth saw him turned in three-under 34. The shine disappeared from Lionel's play thereafter ... bogeys at the long 11th and long 15th and no birdies.
Alastair Forsyth and Marc Warren both had 72s to be joint 55th on 218.
Forsyth had an eagle 3 at the long 13th but bogeyed the ninth in turning in 37 (one under). A birdie at the long 11th put him two under for the day but he proceeded to squander shots at the 12th and 14th and needed a 2 at the short 17th - which he got - to come home in 36.
Warren was going along nicely at four under par for the round with three to play. Then he ran up a triple bogey 7 at the 16th for 38 home. Earlier he had birdied the long first and long third, also the fifth, eighth and 15th. A bogey at the second and dragged him down to three-under 34 for the first nine.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 219 (3x73)
Players from S Africa unless stated.
206 Louis Oosthuizen 70 67 69, Markus Brier (Austria) 70 66 70.
207 Jbe Kruger 68 72 67, Manuel Quiros (Spain) 71 68 68, Charl Schwartzel 69 70 68, Jaco Van Zyl 67 70 70.
208 Chris Wood (England) 72 69 67, Ross McGowan (England) 68 69 71, Miles Tunnicliff (England) 67 69 72, Branden Grace 67 69 72.
SCOTS' SCORES
211 Steven O'Hara 72 71 68, Elliot Saltman 67 71 73 (jt 17th).
216 Lloyd Saltman 68 76 72 (jt 42nd)
218 Alastair Forsyth 70 76 72, Marc Warren 71 75 72 (jt 55th).
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MONTY'S MEN TAKE A HAMMERING IN THAILAND

So team captain Colin Montgomerie predicted that European would do well in Saturday's Day 2 four-balls in the Royal Trophy match against Asia at Black Mountain Golf Club, Hua Hin in Thailand.
How wrong could the victorious Ryder Cup skipper be!
Asia, in fact, took control of match by making a 4-0 clean sweep of the four-balls to jump from 2-2 at the start of the day to 6-2 going into the third and final day.
Noh Seung-yul and Liang Wen-chong set the tone for Asia in the first match, comfortably defeating Montgomerie and Rhys Davies 5 4. Monty and the Welshman, who was born in Edinburgh, had been Europe's Day 1 heroes by winning the final foursomes match to tie up the scoreline at two points apiece. But not this time!
Japanese teenage star Ryo Ishikawa extended Asia's advantage when he matched Pablo Martin's birdie at the 16th to secure a 3 and 2 victory for himself and playing partner Shunsuke Sonada over the Spaniard and Italian youngster Matteo Manassero.
Monty's gloom deepened as Swedish duo Johan Edfors and Henrik Stenson were edged out by Kim Kyung-tae and Jeev Milkha Singh by one hole after all four players birdied the par-5 18th.
And Yuta Ikeda's birdie at the 17th secured a 3 and 1 triumph for the Japanese player and local favourite Thongchai Jaidee over Peter Hanson and Fredrik Andersson Hed.

It leaves Europe with a mountain to climb in Sunday's eight singles matches to retain the trophy they won by a point in Bangkok last year.
Asia need just two and a half points to secure victory.

MEMBERS SET TO COMPLETE LOCH LOMOND CLUB BUY-OUT DEAL

FROM THE SPORT.SCOTSMAN.COM WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER

A members' buy-out at Loch Lomond Golf Club is on course to be completed next week, with a spokesman confirming yesterday that it was unlikely the Barclays Scottish Open would be returning to the venue for the foreseeable future.

The exclusive club, which was put up for sale at an estimated price of £100 million when former owner Lyle Anderson lost control of it after failing to re-negotiate his debts with the Bank of Scotland in 2008, is set to be purchased by a new company, Loch Lomond Members Club.
The company has raised the money required to buy the club and a deal could be finalised within the next few days, with Sir Nigel Rudd, the BAA chairman and a club member, having been appointed to spearhead a new board that will oversee its running.
"We are delighted to have reached our goal in such a short time frame, especially as this has been achieved over the Christmas period," said a spokesman for the members' executive committee.
"The support we have received from members has been exceptional and highlights what great affection there is for the club. The goal now is to move forward with our plans to consolidate Loch Lomond's reputation as one of the foremost private members' clubs in the world."

Loch Lomond has staged a European Tour event every year since 1996 and, for the last nine years, has been the popular home of the Barclays Scottish Open. Now that event is believed to be heading for a links course this year - Castle Stuart near Inverness is the strong favourite - and it appears it won't be back at Loch Lomond in the foreseeable future.

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BIG-HITTER GARRIGUS LEADS US TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Robert Garrigus, the biggest hitter on the US PGA Tour, is leading the Tournament of Champions after two rounds, thanks to one of the shortest clubs in his bag.
Garrigus holed out a wedge for eagle on the 16th hole, then finished with two big drives to set up easy birdies for a 10-under 63 on Friday to take a one-shot lead at Kapalua going into the weekend of the season-opening tournament.
His wedge on the 16th landed some 15 feet beyond the hole and took the grain toward the Pacific Ocean to trickle into the cup. He was excited, sure, but that was overdue. On two other holes, his full wedge came with inches of going in.
That's no surprise. Garrigus, who has led the tour in driving distance each of the last two years, spent the bulk of his time after Thanksgiving working on his wedge game inside 100 yards. The work paid off quickly.
"My wedge game is exactly where I need it to be," he said.
He was at 14-under 132 and had a one-shot lead over Carl Pettersson, who birdied the last hole for a 67. Jonathan Byrd also made birdie on the finishing hole of the Plantation Course for a 68 and was another shot back.
Garrigus, who qualified for this winners-only event in the final US Tour event of the year at Disney, spent his honeymoon on Maui and couldn't wait to get back. This week is as relaxing as there is on tour, with only a 32-man field and no cut. It's the first time Garrigus has teed it up with a guarantee of making money.
"I told everybody, 'I'm not going to really be nervous unless I'm in the last group,'" Garrigus said. "Here we go."
It's the last few groups on the weekend that can put a little edge on this working vacation.
Ernie Els, who set the tournament record at Kapalua in 2003, got back into the mix with a 9-under 64. Steve Stricker didn't make a bogey in calm conditions and shot a 67. Francesco Molinari of Italy recovered from a bogey-bogey start with eight birdies for a 67. FedEx Cup champion Jim Furyk had another 68.
All of them were only four shots behind.
"Everybody is jammed up there," Stricker said. "If the weather stays like this, there's going to be low scores. You've got to keep going."
Also in the mix was Dustin Johnson, among seven players who had the lead at one point Friday. He ran off five straight birdies before trying to drive the 14th green, losing his ball into the native grass and taking double bogey.
"If I drive it straight, it definitely favours long hitters," Johnson said.
Garrigus can go toe-to-toe with anyone off the tee, and he showed that coming in. He ripped a 392-yard drive on the 17th, a big number considering the lack of a strong wind, and wafted his approach to about 6 feet. And on the 684-yard closing hole, he had a 5-iron for his second shot after a 394-yard drive.
For all his length, it's hard to ignore the short aspects of his game.
He uses a 28-inch putter - he once left one in Tiger Woods' locker to give to his daughter, Sam - to help on the greens. But the key has been the wedge game.
Garrigus, who blew a three-shot lead on the 18th hole and lost in a playoff at Memphis last year, was talking to swing coach Jim Ahern a few days before Disney when he was asked why he hadn't performed better.
Garrigus told him wedge game was awful, or words to that effect. Ahern suggested he work on his wedges. It was really simple.
"That week of Disney, I had eight shots inside 100 yards and never had it outside 3 feet - and I made one," Garrigus said. "So it's hilarious to think that little amount of work I put in is paying dividends this big."
He didn't stop with Disney. He hit three bags of balls from inside 100 yards on the range after Thanksgiving, and he is growing more confident with each shot. Perhaps it's no coincidence that two-time defending Geoff Ogilvy attributed his wins at Kapalua primarily to his wedge game.
Ogilvy isn't back to defend because of 12 stitches in his finger. The tournament lost another player Friday when Camilo Villegas was disqualified because of a rules violation on Thursday that no one knew about until the first round was over. On his second chip that was coming back to his feet on the 15th, Villegas flicked away loose pieces of grass where the ball was headed.
It was a tough start to the year for the PGA Tour to lose two marquee players, although there are plenty to fill the void.
Els was disgusted after a three-putt bogey from 12 feet to end his first round. He put that behind him quickly, running off five birdies in a six-hole stretch, and hitting his best shot on the 15th with a 3-wood to the middle of the green that set up a two-putt birdie.
"I needed something like that to get me closer to the leaders," Els said. "At least it got me back in the pack."

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
The Plantation Course - Kapalua Resort, Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii
Par 146 (2x73)
Players from US unless stated.
132 Robert Garrigus 69 63
133 Carl Pettersson (Swe) 66 67
134 Jonathan Byrd 66 68
136 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 69 67, Steve Stricker 69 67, Jim Furyk 68 68, Ernie Els (Rsa) 72 64
137 Dustin Johnson 71 66, Ben Crane 67 70
138 Bill Haas 68 70, Bill Lunde 70 68, Ian Poulter (Eng) 70 68
139 Graeme McDowell (NIrl) 71 68 , Matt Kuchar 69 70, Jason Day (Aus) 73 66
140 Hunter Mahan 70 70, Anthony Kim 69 71, Adam Scott (Aus) 73 67, Bubba Watson 70 70, Tim Clark (Rsa) 72 68
141 Arjun Atwal (Ind) 72 69
142 Justin Rose (Eng) 75 67, Ryan Palmer 70 72
143 Charley Hoffman 68 75, Cameron Beckman 72 71, Matt Bettencourt 73 70
144 Zach Johnson 71 73, Heath Slocum 70 74, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 69 75, Jason Bohn 72 72
148 Derek Lamely 72 76
149 Rocco Mediate 79 70


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ON THE US PGA TOUR'S SCOREBOARD