SPENCER LEVIN LEADS WITH A 66 IN PALMER INVITATIONAL

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — On a tough and blustery day at Bay Hill, Spencer Levin made it look easy at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Levin played bogey-free in the afternoon for a 6-under 66, a score so good that it gave him a three-shot lead over Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan and was more than eight shots better than the average score.
Levin only took 24 putts, always the key to a good score. He made three par putts of at least 8 feet, including the final two holes of his opening round when he got up-and-down from bunkers.
Fowler and Mahan played in the morning, when the wind was minimal.
Glasgow's Martin Laird continued his good early-season form with a two-under-par 70.
The power group of Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland all failed to break par. Woods, a six-time champion at Bay Hill, opened with a 1-over 73, his highest start at Bay Hill since 1999.

FROM THE BBC SPORTS WEBSITE

World number four Graeme McDowell carded a disastrous eight-over-par 80 in the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational event in Florida.

The US Open champion had a triple-bogey 8 and six other bogeys in his worst round since an 81 at the 2005 US Open.
Masters champion Phil Mickelson and Britons Brian Davis and Martin Laird are two under sharing fourth, four shots behind leader Spencer Levin.
World number five Tiger Woods dropped a shot at the last to card a one-over 73.
Woods has won six times at Bay Hill but his 73 was his highest opening round in the tournament since 1999.
On a windy day in Orlando, McDowell started his round at the 10th and dropped three shots to turn in 39.
His most expensive error came at the par-five sixth when he attempted to reach the green in two but found the water that runs the length of the dog-leg hole.
After finding the putting surface in five strokes McDowell then three-putted from 30 feet.
"I haven't been very happy with my game for about four weeks," said the 31-year-old from Northern Ireland, who is seeking to fine-tune his game before the first major of the season, the Masters at Augusta starting on 7 April."This may be the wake-up call I need, you know? So it's a good thing really, a reality check for me."
US Ryder Cup star Rickie Fowler also began at the 10th and eagled the 16th before missing key putts to drop shots at the final two holes, which put him in a share of second.
"I thought I hit two really good par putts but they just didn't want to go in," said the 22-year-old.
"But I felt that was some of the best I've struck all year - I was actually hitting fairways and getting on the green. Those putts slipped by but it could have been a really good round versus just a good starting round."
Defending champion Ernie Els dropped four shots in the first three holes en route to a 75.

FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD

Par 72. Yardage 7381
Players from US unless stated
66 Spencer Levin.
69 Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan.
70 Jason Dufner, Brian Davis (England), Lee Janzen, Phil Mickelson, Martin Laird (Scotland), Bubba Watson, Chris Couch, Vaughn Taylor, Daniel Chopra (Sweden), Rocco Mediate.

SELECTED SCORES
71 Ian Poulter (England) (T15).
72 Justin Rose (England), Edoardo Molinari (Italy) (T22).
73 Tiger Woods, Sergia Garcia (Spain) (T31).
74 Matteo Manassero (Italy) (T46).
75 Ernie Els (S Africa) (T63).
78 Michael Sim (Australia/Scotland) (T94).
80 Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) (T107).

TO VIEW ALL THE FIRST-ROUND SCORES ON THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE

CLICK HERE

MONIFIETH LINKS TO STAGE NEXT YEAR'S SCOTTISH ALLIANCE CHP

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Monifieth Links will be the No 1 course for next year's Scottish Golfers' Alliance championship. Arbroath will be the No 2 course if the entry is big enough to justify it.
This year's Scottish Alliance championship over 54 holes will be played at Buchanan Castle Golf Club from October 4 to 6.
The North-east Golfers' Alliance annual meeting will be held at Auchmill Golf Club on the evening of Monday, September 5.
The 2011-2012 NE Alliance season will start two days later on the Wednesday - at Auchmill Golf Club.

Royal Aberdeen's Scott Larkin was knocked out of the North-east Alliance foursomes championship at Murcar Links today - but there was a silver lining to the day ... he received the North-east Alliance individual championship trophy which he won by 10 strokes over 36 holes at Duff House Royal and Buckpool earlier in the month.
Banchory-based Larkin, a +3 player, begins his late bid to impress the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team selectors for the Walker Cup match against the United States over the Balgownie links in September by trying to chalk up a victory over the Leven Links for the second time in nine months when the Scottish Champion of Champions' 72-hole pipe-opener to the men's domestic season is played at the Fife venue on April 2 and 3.
Larkin, who later finished runner-up to Greig Hutcheon in the Aberdeen Asset Northern Open at Meldrum House, won the Leven Gold Medal 72-hole event, also organised by the Leven Golfing Society, last August. 

GRAEME BROWN WINS WITH A SEVEN-UNDER 65 AT BRECHIN

This week the Midland Golfers’ Alliance held their meeting at a sunny Brechin Golf Club. Taking full advantage of the conditions was Montrose Links assistant professional Graeme Brown who returned a seven-under-par 65. Martin Brown (Monifieth) led the way in the handicap with a net score of 67 off +1 of a handicap
Leading Scratch Scores
65 G Brown (Montrose) ap.
67 M Brown (Monifieth).
69 P Jamieson (Dunblane New) p.
70 W Murray (unatt) p.
74 E Rae (Arbroath), S Rennie (Brechin) p, N. Cameron (King James VI), S. McLaren (Crieff) ap, W Crosbie (Blairgowrie), G Jenkins (Crieff), K. Salmoni (Muckhart) p, M. MacKenzie (Forfar) ap.
Leading Handicap Scores
68 M Brown (Monifieth) (+1).
69 W Crosbie (Blairgowrie) (5), A Mitchell (The Duke's) (12).

70 N Cameron (King James VI) (4), H Cowbrough (Muckhart) (6), A McEwan (Carnoustie) (14).

71 E Rae (Arbroath) (3), C Westland (Alloa) (8), G Jenkins (Crieff) (3)

72 D Redford (Murrayshall) (7).

73 S Brough (Alyth) (4).

74 A Duncan (Murrayshall) (4), H. Grant (Muckhart) (6).


Next Meeting
Tuesday 29th March
Monifieth Golf Links (Grange Golf Club)
Sponsored by W.H. Miller
8.30 - 12.30
Lee Sutherland

ROCK OF AGES (WITHOUT A WIN) SHARES ANDALUCIA LEAD

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Robert Rock is closing in on 200 European Tour events without a win, but maybe a change of caddie is about to bring a change of luck for the Englishman 
In his first round with Andy Forsyth on the bag, Rock started the Open de Andalucia de Golf by Turkish Airlines with a five under par 65 in Malaga and shares the lead with fellow Englishman Jamie Elson and Swedes Johan Edfors, Oscar Floren and Rikard Karlberg.
The 33 year old said: "I've been playing good golf but not getting on any run of birdies or building any momentum."
That was the way it seemed to be again when he stood level par with eight holes to play, but then came five birdies for a front nine of 29.
Rock has had three runners-up finishes in his career and even walked away with the winning cheque at the 2009 3 Irish Open because it was amateur Shane Lowry who beat him in a play-off.
Elson was on the same winning Walker Cup team as Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald, but ten years on does not have a full European Tour card and needed a top-ten finish in Sicily to qualify for this week's event.
After turning 30 on Wednesday Elson, whose father Pip was The Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year in 1973, came joint fifth on Monday and on the back of that went to the turn in 30 before adding another birdie at the long 12th.
"My fairways hit stats last year were abysmal and that's why I lost my card, but I went over to the States over Christmas and made some really ground-breaking changes, so I'm delighted," Elson said.
"The first time I had a card was 2004 and perhaps it came a bit early for me. I didn't really know what I was doing."
Edfors is still waiting to add to his three wins during the 2006 season, but four birdies in the last seven holes brought him into the picture.
And afterwards the former Scottish Open champion admitted it was a late decision to play."It was a good, solid day - I only missed one green," he said.
"Last year I didn't play well here and was planning to take this week off. Then I decided to come, and it was a good decision. The course is in great shape, and the weather is lovely."
Karlberg, meanwhile, is playing on an invitation despite having earned over €240,000 for third place in the Barclays Singapore Open last November.
The 24 year old's effort did not count towards The Race to Dubai because he was a member of The Challenge Tour and failed to play in the required seven events there.
"Today I started playing well, I felt comfortable, but the putts refused to drop on the front nine," he said. "My caddie told me to be patient, and since that moment I started making putts. I got five birdies on the back nine.
"Last year I finished third in Singapore. I earned quite a lot of money, and I tried to gain a European Tour card. But then I neglected the Challenge Tour. At the end I didn't make it to The European Tour and lost my Challenge Tour card as I didn't play enough events.
"Miguel Ángel heard about it and said it was a shame, so he invited me to play at his tournament in Málaga. My target this week is a top ten finish which will allow me to play next week in Morocco. I must try to keep ploughing away week after week. I will also play some Asian Tour events in Malaysia, China and Korea."
SCOTSWATCH
Paul Lawrie made an excellent start with a four-under-par 66 to be joint sixth, one shot off the pace.
Lawrie had unblemished halves of 34 and 32 - nine straight pars on the first nine holes (which were the second nine for him, having started at the 10th_ and birdies at the short 11th, long 12th, short 13thj and par-4 14th after the turn.
Only two other Scots got under the par of 70 - Stephen Gallacher, out in 33 and back in 36, and Scott Jamieson who had a cracking score of 31 for the first nine holes but let it go a bit on the way home with 38 shots.
Colin Montgomerie, fit again after a dose of flu last week, hit 70 dead on with matching halves of 35.
Lloyd Saltman and Steven O'Hara had disappointing three-over 73s, both coming home in 38.
George Murray, also on 73, was an uninspired 37 out, 36 back.
Peter Whiteford, after finishing joint fifth in Sicily on Sunday, came down to earth with a bump. The Kirkcaldy man returned a four-over 74 and, starting the second round in joint 124th position, will do very well to beat the cut.

FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 70 (34-36). Yardage: 6817.
65 Robert Rock (England), Johan Edfors (Sweden), Jamie Elson (England), Rikard Karlberg (Sweden), Oscar Floren (Sweden).
66 Paul Lawrie (Scotland) 34-32, Jeppe Huldahl (Denmark), Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Japan), Raul Quiros (Spain).
OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
69 Stephen Gallacher 33-36, Scott Jamieson 31-38 (T36).
70 Colin Montgomerie 35-35 (T60).
73 Lloyd Saltman 35-38, Steven O'Hara 35-38, George Murray 37-36 (T113).
74 Peter Whiteford 36-38 (T124).

RICHIE RAMSAY SIGNS UP WITH SCANDINAVIAN CLOTHING LABEL

NEWS RELEASE
Scottish golfer and South African Open winner Richie Ramsay has signed an ambassador agreement with Peak Performance, Scandinavia’s biggest clothing label in the functional sportswear sector.
Ramsay, from Aberdeen, won his maiden European Tour event in December 2009 when he secured victory at the South African Open. This win followed a glittering amateur career that included Richie winning the Irish Strokeplay Championship title in 2005 and gaining Walker Cup selection in the same year. Richie then went on to win the prestigious US Amateur Championship title in 2006, giving him exemption to the Masters, the US Open and the Open Championship. He also finished 2006 ranked as the World’s No.1 amateur player.
The ambassador agreement with Peak Performance will see Ramsay wearing their clothing throughout the 2011 season to include golf shirts, jumpers and trousers. The agreement has been initiated from the UK office of Peak Performance, who saw a natural crossover with Ramsay given his achievements to date and the future potential of the 27 year old. Martyn Clark, Sales Manager of Peak Performance UK commented: “We are delighted to bring on board a player of Richie’s calibre. He has already made an emphatic impact on the European Tour and is primed to be a star for many years. With his talent and exuberance, we feel that Richie will be a fantastic ambassador for the brand and look forward to seeing him challenge for honours, in Peak Performance colours, throughout 2011.”
Ramsay was also pleased to start the year with a new clothing partner and stated: “I’m delighted to be wearing the Peak Performance range of clothing this year and have been impressed with both the styles and performance fabrics of the shirts. I’m looking forward to working closely with the Peak Performance team for what I hope will be the start of a long lasting relationship.”

SMITH AND LAWRIE RALLY TO REACH NE ALLIANCE FOURS FINAL

Sean Lawrie in action at Murcar Links today (Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency). By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com Deeside teaching pro Peter Smith and Sean Lawrie (Portlethen), 18-year-old nephew of 1999 Open champion Paul, came back from two down with four to play to win a place in Friday's final of the North-east Alliance pro-am foursomes for the Evening Express Shield on a gloriously sunny and almost wind-free day at Murcar Links. Former Northern Open champion and Murcar club pro in the 1980s, Smith and one-handicapper Lawrie will play Newmachar tour pro Euan McIntosh and Kevin Duncan, a +2 amateur at McDonald Ellon GC, in the final, having beaten Inchmarlo pro Ryan Fitzpatrick and Cruden Bay youngster Jamie Reid by one hole in the semi-finals. When they won the decisive 18th it was the first time Smith and Lawrie had been in the lead after a disastrous start in which they were three down after five holes. Fitzpatrick and Reid's lead had been cut to one hole at the turn but they doubled that advantage again to be two up on the 15th tee. Smith and Lawrie birdied that hole and also won the 16th to level the match for the first time since they slipped behind in the early stages. A half at the 17th set the stage for a dramatic closing hole. There are not many trees at Murcar Links but Fitzpatrick and Reid managed to be snookered by one of their tee shot at the home hole and a par 4 was enough to win the hole and the match for Smith and Lawrie. Euan McIntosh and Kevin Duncan (pictured right) won by one hole against Scott Larkin, who plays off +3 at Royal Aberdeen, and Auchmill's Brian Nicolson, who plays off one, although, of course, handicaps did not come into it. Larkin, scheduled to be an amateur partner to a pro in the original draw, sportingly stepped into the breach as a nominal pro after a number of late call-offs. McIntosh and Duncan were seven under par for the day which began well for them with a 7 and 5 win over Kippie Lodge pro Craig Stewart and Banchory golf writer Fergus Bisset. One down after 13 holes in the afternoon to Larkin and Nicolson, McIntosh and Duncan responded to the pressure. They birdied the 14th, 15th and 16th at the critical stage of their nip-and-tuck tie against Larkin and Nicolson who were able to halve the 16th but the damage had been done by then. McIntosh and Duncan were now in the driving seat with a one-hole advantage and they maintained that to the end with further halves at the 17th and 18th.. The handicap foursomes for The Press and Journal Shield will feature Alliance joint secretary Dave Mackay (Newmachar) and Mike Booth (Kemnay) against John Hamilton (Murcar Links) and Charles Cassie (Nigg Bay). Hamilton and Cassie will concede two strokes. In the semi-finals, Mackay and Booth won the first two holes from Willie Skene (Deeside) and Steve Kennedy (Craibstone) and then lost two balls in quick succession to be one down after five. Only a temporary blip, according to Mackay, and he and his partner were two up again at the turn on their way to a 3 and 2 victory. Cassie and Hamilton started like a train against David Leslie (Westhill) and Derek Randall (Banchory), winning four of the first five holes. They were still four up after nine before Leslie and Randall halved their deficit to two holes after 14. A birdie 3 at 15th for Cassie and Hamilton snuffed out their opponents' fightback and a half at the 16th gave them a 3 and 2 win. The finals start at 10am (handicap) and 10.15 (pro-am). TODAY'S SCOREBOARD PRO-AM First round P Smith (Deeside), Sean Lawrie (Portlethen) bt  K Beveridge (Inchmarlo), C Carnegie (Kemnay) 3 and 1. R Fitzpatrick (Inchmarlo), J Reid (Cruden Bay) bt P Lovie (P1 Corporate), M Jenkins (Duff House Royal) 3 and 2. E McIntosh (Newmachar), K Duncan (McDonald Ellon) bt C Stewart (Kippie Lodge), F Bisset (Banchory) 7 and 5. S Larkin (Royal Aberdeen, B Nicolson (Auchmill) bt D Brown (Kemnay), A Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 2 holes. Semi-finals Smith, Lawrie bt Fitzpatrick, Reid 1 hole. McIntosh, Duncan bt Larkin, Nicolson 1 hole. AM-AM HANDICAP First round W Skene (Deeside) (9), S Kennedy (Craibstone) (11) bt J Forrest (Northern) (8), N Stewart (Northern) (13) 2 and 1. D Mackay (Newmachar) (6), M Booth (Kemnay) (11) bt R Lamb (Newmachar) (4), M Brown (Newmachar) (18)  holes. C Cassie (Nigg Bay) (6), J M Hamilton (Murcar Links) (7) bt D Nelson (Aboyne) (7), N K Parker (Murcar Links) (10) 1 hole. D Leslie (Westhill) (5), D Randall (Banchory) (12) bt M Merchant (Newmachar) (5), H McNaughton (Cruden Bay) (11) at 19th. Semi-finals Mackay, Booth bt Skene, Kennedy 3 and 2. Hamilton, Cassie bt Leslie, Randall 3 and 2.

OLDCORN, MORRIS JT EDINBURGH AND EAST ALLIANCE CHAMPIONS

By ALAN GREENSHIELDS
Edinburgh and East of Scotland Alliance secretary
The top 60 players from the East Alliance enjoyed excellent weather at the East Championship over 36 holes at Gullane No.2 and No.3 courses.
It was a close-run contest and the UniRoyal Trophy has joint winners for 2011 with 1986 champion Andrew Oldcorn (King's Acre) sharing the trophy with Jamie Morris (Peebles) on aggregate scores of 134.
Both carded 69s on Gullane No 2 in the morning and 65s on Gullane No 3 in the afternoon.
Close behind them on 135 were the morning leaders - Ian Taylor (Royal Burgess) 68 (best score am No 2) and Daniel Wood (Eyemouth) 62 (best score am No 3).
As a consolation one-handicapper Ian Taylor secured the Gavin Clark Trophy for the best net aggregate of the day of 133 (net 67 on No 2 and net 66 on No 3).
The top handicap prizes were also a shared result with David Graham (Lochend) and Grant Skinner (Glencourse) both carding net aggregates of 136.
Further down the field an internal competition was in place as a result of a father and three sons qualifying for the championship.
Peter Lamb and his sons Jordan, Justin and Stephen fought it out with Justin being the highest placed.
The day also saw the conclusion to the much awaited finale to the Scratch Order of Merit. Scott Catlin (Greenburn) held on to his lead to secure the title. Second spot was maintained by Chris Morris (Kingsknowe) but third place changed hands with Mike Thomson (Torwoodlee) just sneaking past Andrew Marshall (Houston DR) by 1.5 points.
Final points:
1 Scott Catlin 683.5
2 Chris Morris 644.5
3 Mike Thomson 620.0

Champion and winner of the Uni Royal Trophy for 2011
Andrew Oldcorn (King's Acre) & Jamie Morris (Peebles) both with a score of 134
Scratch	Prize	Name (Club)	Score
1st=	£275	Andrew Oldcorn (King's Acre)	134
1st=	£275	Jamie Morris (Peebles)	134
3rd=	£175	Ian Taylor (Royal Burgess)	135
3rd=	£175	Daniel Wood (Eyemouth)	135
5th=	£33	Craig Gordon (Edinburgh GC)	136
5th=	£33	David Patrick (Elie)	136
5th=	£33	Alan Reid (West Lothian)	136
Winner of the Gavin Clark Trophy (Best net score)
Ian Taylor (Royal Burgess) with a net score of 133
Handicap	Prize	Name (Club)	Net
1st=	£138	David Graham (Lochend)	136
1st=	£138	Grant Skinner (Glencourse)	136
3rd=	£56	Scott Knowles (Kingsknowe)	137
3rd=	£56	David McKean (Cardrona)	137
3rd=	£56	Iain Melville (Glencourse)	137
3rd=	£56	Thomas Wilson (Glenbervie)	137
Afternoon prizes for players not included above
Scratch	Prize	Name (Club)	Score
Gullane No.2	£25	Scott Catlin (Greenburn)	69
Gullane No.3	£25	Terry Mathieson (Dunbar)	65
Handicap	Prize	Name (Club)	Net
Gullane No.2	£25	Andrew Rothney (Deer Park)	71
Gullane No.3	£25	Callum Nisbet (Bathgate)	64