Tuesday, March 29, 2011

SCOTT HENDERSON WORKING ON SWING FOR NEW SEASON

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Aberdeen's Tartan Tour regular Scott Henderson has one thing in common with Tiger Woods at the moment - they are both working on swing changes.
But Scott does not need a coach to tell him what he should or should not do. He has been long enough in the game - turning pro in 1992 - to work it out for himself.
"I am trying to iron out a flaw that has crept into my swing over the last season or two. I been taking the club up too steeply in the backswing and I've been working through the winter on sorting it out," said the 41-year-old whose 38 wins on the PGA Scottish Region circuit include the 1996 Northern Open in a gale at Cruden Bay.
Henderson, who has played out of Kings Links Golf Centre in his 19 years as a pro, had a brief spell on the European Tour. He came through the Qualifying School in 1996 and was the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year in 1997, the year after Thomas Bjorn and two years before Sergio Carcia. Sadly, he lost his playing rights on the European Tour at the end of the 1999 season and has never managed to win them back.
Henderson has won £232,057 in Tartan Tour events over the years and last season was his best since 2005.
"I think we've all been given a lift by Paul Lawrie and Martin Laird's double success at the weekend. Tremendous achievement."
One of Henderson's opening events on the Tartan Tour will be the Castle Stuart Invitational on April 10-11 when
his swing alterations will be given their first real test although he did play with Mark King as his partner in the low key Glenmuir Winter Series four-ball, better-ball event at West Kilbride yesterday (Tuesday).
"Castle Stuart is a great new links although you could land a plane on the fairways they are so wide. I presume this to enable visiting amateur golfers to get round in a reasonable time without losing too many balls," said Scott.
"I am certain that before the Barclays Scottish Open is played at Castle Stuart in July, the rough will have been allowed to grow on both sides of the fairways.
"I do hope that they get as good crowds as they got when the tournament was played at Loch Lomond. The European Tour has never had a venue as far north in Scotland as between Nairn and Inverness."

Labels:

McKINNON AND TAYLOR WIN WEST KILBRIDE BETTER BALL

James McKinnon (Irvine) and Steven Taylor (Bothwell Castle) won the Glenmuir Winter Series four-ball, better-ball competition at West Kilbride today with a score of 10-under-par 61.
That earned them the top cash prize of £700.
Joint runners-up on 62 were Graham Fox (East Kilbride) and David Patrick (Elie Sports Centre, and Lee Harper (Archerfield Links) and Mark Kerr (unattached). They split £425.

LEADING TOTALS
Par 71
61 James McKinnon (Irvine) and Steven Taylor (Bothwell Castle) (£700).
62 Graham Fox (East Kilbride) and David Patrick (Elie Sports Centre); Lee Harper (Archerfield Links) and Mark Kerr (unatt) (£425).
63 Craig Ronald (Carluke) and Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) (£225).
64 Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs GR) and Stephen Gray (Hayston); Mark Loftus (Adam Hunter Golf) and Simon Payne (Cowglen); Stuart Williamson (West Kilbride) and Iain Darroch (West Kilbride); Christopher Currie (Caldwell) and Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) (£45).

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE PGA SCOTTISH REGION WEBSITE

CLICK HERE

Labels:

MIDLAND ALLIANCE CHAMPIONSHIP TEE TIMES

J T C Interiors Express Midland Alliance Championship and McQueen Shield

Thursday, April 7 at Arbroath Links.
J T C Interiors Express Midland Alliance Championship

8.00 and 1.00 A Lockhart, G McLeod, L Cargill
8.08 and 1.08 M Pirie, Ron Bell, S Cargill
8.16 and 1.16 A Martin, C Armstrong
8.24 and 1.24 C Knowles, K Harper, E Rae
8.32 and 1.32 W Murray, S Clark, K McGowan
8.56 and 1.56 G Brown, M MacKenzie, J Boyd
9.04 and 2.04 H Grant, H Cowbrough
9.12 and 2.12 P Jamieson, N Cameron, J Watt
9.20 and 2.20 S McLaren, A J Webster, Ross Bell
9.28 and 2.28 S Harrod, G Finlay, G Hume
9.36 and 2.36 L Sutherland, M Fraser, C Westland
9.44 and 2.44 P Brookes, R Stewart, D Mitchell
9.52 and 2.52 M Brown, D West, I Henderson


McQueen Shield
10.00 J Wilson, A Douglas
10.08 S Andrews, W Crosbie, A Michell
10.16 G Cant, J Rankin, D Sievwright
10.24 A Smith, R Brownhill, I McMurray
10.32 R Beatt, R Redpath, W Miller
10.40 I Mitchell, J Irwin, G Wilkie
10.48 R McLean, J Rennie, L Bushby
10.56 J McIntyre, A Duncan, M Watkin
11.04 M Phillips, N Henderson, D Hutchies


Lee Sutherland

Labels:

GRAEME BROWN'S BACK-TO-BACK WINS IN MIDLAND ALLIANCE

Montrose Links assistant professional Graeme Brown had the lowest scratch score for the second Midland Golfers' Alliance meeting in a row - the W H Miller team competition - over the Monifieth Links' Medal course.
Brown, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, had a fine round of four-under-par 67, one shot ahead of PGA Cup player Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) with Alan Lockhart (Ladybank) third on 69..
Arthur Farquharson, who plays off 11 at Downfield Golf Club, Dundee had the best net score of the day - a 66, two shots ahead of past SGU president Hugh Hunter (Alloa) (9).
Arthur also figured in the winning team with John Rankin (Scotscraig) (8) and Ian Mitchell (Downfield) (8). They had a score of net 59.

LEADING SCRATCH
Par 71
67 G Brown (Montrose) ap.
68 C Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) ap.
69 A Lockhart (Ladybank) ap.
70 K Hutton (Downfield) p, J McIntyre (Lundin).
71 A J Webster (Edzell) p, C Armonstrong (Burntisland) ap.
C Armstrong (Burntisland) ap, S Cargill (Arbroath).
72 M Brown (Monifieth).
74 S Graham (Arbroath), I C Hutcheon (Monifieth).
75 G McLeod (Monifieth) p, E Rae (Arbroath), P Jamieson (Dunblane New) p.
LEADING HANDICAP

66 A Farquharson (Downfield) (11).
68 H Hunter (Alloa) (9).
69 J McIntyre (Lundin) (1).
71 N McLeod (Monifieth, 6), S Graham (Arbroath) (3), D Redford (Murrayshall) (7), D Black (Dunfermline) (11), S Cargill (Arbroath) (scr).
72 E Rae (Arbroath) (3), G Paton (Dalhousie) (8), I Mitchell (Downfield) (8), C Marr (Glenrothes) (13).

W H MILLER TEAM COMPETITION
59 A Farquharson (Downfield) (11), J Rankin (Scotscraig) (8), I Mitchell (Downfield) (8).
60 K Hutton (Downfield) p, S Marshall (Downfield) (4), D Morrison (Downfield) (12).
61 A Martin (The Duke's) ap, G Hume (The Dukes) (7), R McLean (Dunnikier Park) (6).

Next Week's Meeting
Thursday, April 7
J.T.C. Interiors Express Midland Alliance Championship and McQueen Shield
Venue: Arbroath Links
 Lee Sutherland

Labels:

NINE SCOTS IN FIELD FOR CHALLENGE TOUR'S KENYA OPEN

There are nine Scots in the field - the Team Hydro five: Chris Doak, Gavin Dear, Craig Lee, Callum Macaulay and Jamie McLeary, plus Jack Doherty, Marc Warren Andrew Coltart and Scott Drummond - for this week's Challenge Tour event, the Barclays Kenya Open which tees off on Thursday at Muthaiga Golf Club.FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Going purely by the form guide, red-hot Englishman Jamie Elson could well be the man to beat.
The 29 year old from Surrey currently sits in 52nd place in The Race to Dubai, thanks largely to his top five finishes at the Joburg Open and more recently at the Sicilian Open, a result which gained him entry to last week’s Open de Andalucía Golf by Turkish Airlines, where he finished in a tie for 23rd.

Elson, who married wife Hannah last summer, trailed the leaders by just one stroke at the halfway stage, and so was ultimately disappointed to have slipped down the leaderboard at the weekend after rounds of 71 and 72.

But the 2001 winning Walker Cup team member still took heart from a performance which continued his recent renaissance, having fallen into relative obscurity after first losing his European Tour card in 2004, and then struggling to rebuild his career on the Challenge Tour over the next two seasons.

He said: “I feel like I’m now starting to fulfil my potential a little bit. Maybe it was a case of too much too soon when I first won my card. I’ve always had a good feel for the game, but until recently I never had the technical foundations to fall back on when my game started to go awry. But after my work with my coach, Scott Hamilton, I feel I’m now much better in that regard.

“I went to see Scott in the States over Christmas and the new year, and we both worked hard on my swing and it’s made a huge difference. He wasn’t my coach at college, but my best mate over there recommended him as he’s the head pro at his home club. I’ve known Scott for a few years now but only started working with him for the last 18 months, and we’re now starting to see the results.

“So it’s mainly down to him, but also down to my perseverance. I played well in spells last year, but didn’t always capitalise on my good play. But results this year have been much better, although I’ve still been a little bit disappointed with my form at the weekend, so hopefully I can put that right here this week.”

Elson is thus now better placed to make a bold bid to return to The European Tour, though he is yet to decide whether to play a full campaign on the Challenge Tour or instead try to make the most of the limited appearances on the top tier afforded to him by his lowly category.

Elson faced the same dilemma last year and, with hindsight, feels he may have been better served by concentrating on the Challenge Tour and trying to build on his tied second finish at the dual ranking SAINT-OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC last June.

“With about six events of the season left last year I was around 35th in the Challenge Tour Rankings and 140th in The Race to Dubai, so I decided to concentrate on the main Tour and ended up missing out,” he said.

“It felt like the right decision at the time, and who knows if it would have ended up differently if I’d played on the Challenge Tour instead? But that’s in the past now anyway – I’m concentrating on the future.

“I haven’t played on the Challenge Tour for a little while, so it’s been good to catch up with a few of the guys here this week. I haven’t played at Muthaiga before but I did play at Karen Golf Club in 2005 and 2006, so I know what to expect.

“The climate’s perfect for playing golf, and the greens here look good, so with a bit of luck I can have another good week and keep my recent run going.”

Labels:

POULTER AND McILROY ON OPPOSITE SIDE OF SPIKES ARGUMENT

FROM THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA WEBSITE 
A war of words broke out on Twitter last week between two of the game's best known names over the use of metal spikes.
Ian Poulter, one of the most prolific tweeters on tour, wasn't happy when he finished his first round at Bay Hill and tweeted the following message:
“The greens got crusty out there this afternoon, baked in the heat and wind, and there were plenty of spike marks. Why do people still use spikes?"
That outburst drew a reaction from Rory McIlroy who fired back with:
“I wear spikes … Problem!?!? If you got your swing speed over 100mph, you might need spikes too…".
The Irishman did add a "smiley" at the end of his tweet to indicate it was all in good humour but it seems Poulter was serious with his complaint.
Only a handful of players still wear metal spikes but the issue is bubbling away under the surface with several other players also complaining about the problem at Bay Hill.
According to the US blog www.weiunderpar.com, both Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson told the site metal spikes were a problem in certain conditions though neither went as far as calling for a ban.

Labels:

SCOTTISH HYDRO CHALLENGE PRIZE MONEY BOOSTED

TEAM HYDRO (left to right): Jamie McLeary, Gavin Dear, Craig Lee, Craig Doak and Callum Macaulay.

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOUR
The Scottish Hydro Challenge has enhanced its reputation as one of the most lucrative tournaments on the Challenge Tour schedule after increasing its prize fund for the 2011 edition to €220,000.
The tournament, which receives crucial, much-valued investment from EventScotland as part of the national events agency’s ongoing support of The European, Challenge, Senior and Ladies European Tours ahead of The 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, is in its sixth year and returns to the magnificent Macdonald Spey Valley Golf Course in Aviemore for the third season running.
It is also the third year Scottish Hydro have been title sponsors, and the event has in the last two seasons produced ‘home’ winners in Scottish duo Jamie McLeary, in 2009, and George Murray.
The Scottish Hydro Challenge, taking place from June 23 – 26, falls under the year of Active Scotland banner, an initiative aiming to raise the profile of the country as an active nation and holiday destination and promote the benefits of sport and activity to Scottish people and visitors.
The Macdonald Spey Valley Golf Course is the perfect venue to showcase Scotland’s superb countryside and inspire others to be active – be it playing golf or just being outdoors and appreciating the surroundings.
Set among heather and birch trees against the majestic backdrop of the Cairngorm mountain range, the course was described by its architect, the famous Dave Thomas, as “the jewel in my crown”.
Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer for EventScotland, said: “EventScotland has supported the Scottish Hydro Challenge since 2006 as part of our long-term commitment to the growth of Scottish golf and our drive towards The Ryder Cup 2014.
“The event helps our future golfing stars onto the ladder of the professional game and gives them a chance to play at home, in the ‘Home of Golf’, on one of its top courses.”
Jim McPhillimy, Scottish Hydro Group Services Director, said: “The Scottish Hydro Challenge has gone from strength to strength in the last few years and we are proud to be able to increase the prize fund as well as continue to be part of the ongoing success of Scottish golf in the build-up to the sport’s greatest team competition, The Ryder Cup.
“This year we have also launched Team Scottish Hydro, where we are providing financial and strategic support to five young players - Gavin Dear, Chris Doak, Craig Lee, Callum Macaulay and Jamie McLeary- in a bid to produce more Scottish European Tour and Ryder Cup stars.
“It gives the players the opportunity to focus entirely on their games as they bid to make their way onto The European Tour and of course it would be fantastic to see one of them win the Scottish Hydro Challenge this year – as Jamie McLeary did two years ago.”
Ruaridh Macdonald, Sales and Marketing Director of Macdonald Hotels and Resorts, said: “The two editions of the Scottish Hydro Challenge held at Macdonald Spey Valley have been hugely successful and it has been a pleasure to have golf’s rising stars here.
“It is great news that the prize fund has been increased, particularly in today’s tricky financial climate, and it means the event will continue to be one of the most lucrative on the Challenge Tour schedule and attract the best players.
“The feedback we have received from the players and spectators from the last two events has been overwhelmingly positive, and we look forward to welcoming them back in June.”
This year there will again be a Clubgolf Pro-Am on the Monday of the tournament week for all the Clubgolf volunteers, and junior coaching will take place for many local schools on June Thursday 23 and Friday 24.
DOUGLAS LOWE MEMORIAL QUAICH FOR TOP SCOT
The tournament’s leading Scottish player will be presented with the Douglas Lowe Memorial Quaich, in memory of the popular and much-respected Herald golf journalist Dougie Lowe, who died this month aged 59 following a short illness.
Dougie is pictured right with the Scottish golf writers' championship trophy and the Belhaven Trophy which he won at the annual competition at Mar Hall in late October. Picture by Carol Fell.
 Iain Stoddart of Bounce Sport Management, the Challenge Tour’s commercial partner in Scotland, said: “Dougie Lowe was devoted to golf in Scotland, from grass roots level to The European Tour, and he would be very proud and humbled to know there is an award in his memory.
 “He was an extremely popular man who loved his job as a golf reporter and will be very sadly missed by the golfing world.”

Labels:

MARTIN LAIRD HOPES HE CAN INSPIRE OTHER SCOTS TO WIN

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By OLIVER BROWN
In the afterglow of a courageous one-shot victory at Bay Hill, Martin Laird claimed his accomplishment could mark a watershed for Scottish golf, sorely in need of a hero since the dominance of Colin Montgomerie ended.
So impressive was Laird in closing out his second US PGA Tour win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational that his Scottish supporters had reason to overlook his 10 years of residence in the US. It was apt, too, that the 28 year-old should have timed his day of glory to coincide with the restoration of former Open champion Paul Lawrie, whose win at the Andalucia Open broke a trophy drought stretching back to 2002.
“It’s no secret that Scottish golf has been down for a few years after Monty,” said Laird, fresh from calling parents Charles and Anne back home in Glasgow. “Now we have a lot of good players. We just need to get experience and to have two wins in one week is obviously huge.”
Laird had the fortune of a golf scholarship to Colorado State University on which to fall back, but recognised that most of his aspiring compatriots could not follow his lead. Instead, he argued that Scotland’s struggles post-Montgomerie lay in the lack of players delivering on promise as amateurs.
“We won the Eisenhower Trophy a couple of years ago, but for some reason the transition from amateur to professional golf has just not been working,” Laird said.
“I was lucky enough, when I graduated from Colorado State University, that I had a group of sponsors who gave me some money to play. I didn’t have to worry about paying my bills and entry fees. I could work on my game.
“People back in Scotland don’t always have that luxury. No doubt we have the talent. But we need to get the transition better.”
Laird has chosen some august company in which to toast his twin US PGA triumphs. For his breakthrough win in Las Vegas he was introduced to Justin Timberlake, who helped support the tournament, and on Sunday night he stood by Bay Hill’s 18th green in conversation with his esteemed host, Arnold Palmer.
“He just said, ‘Congratulations, that was great’,” said Laird, who heads to Augusta hoping to become the first Scot to win the Masters since Sandy Lyle in 1988.
Another with designs on the green jacket is Justin Rose — the Englishman has led the Masters three times and almost overtook Laird at Bay Hill with a back nine of 31.
“I’m thrilled to be playing it again,” said Rose, who missed out on qualifying last year. “I’ve had a couple of spells in my career where I have missed majors, and I hate being on the outside looking in. It’s lovely to have the reward and to be back playing well again.”

Labels: ,

LAWRIE AND LAIRD TO PLAY AT CASTLE STUART LINKS IN JULY

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOURScotland celebrated a unique transatlantic golfing ‘double’ on Sunday when Martin Laird followed Paul Lawrie into the winner’s enclosure – and now both new champions have their sights set on adding to their title haul in the Barclays Scottish Open.
Aberdonian Lawrie, pictured by courtesy of Getty Images (c), who won The European Tour’s Open de Andalucia de Golf by Turkish Airlines in Spain hours before Glaswegian Laird prevailed in the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the US PGA Tour, have both confirmed their participation at Castle Stuart Golf Links near Inverness from July 7-10.
And their presence at the highly acclaimed new links of Castle Stuart for the Barclays Scottish Open will afford the Highland golfing public an opportunity to watch one of Scotland’s most successful established stars alongside one of the brightest emerging talents.
It was the first time that two Scots have triumphed in the same week on any Tour. Lawrie, the 1999 Open Champion, collected his sixth European Tour title while Laird collected his second success on the US PGA Tour.
The nearest Scotland has come to pulling off such an unusual feat was in 1987, when Sandy Lyle won the German Masters seven days after Ken Brown was victorious in the Southern Open in America.
Both Lawrie and Laird are thrilled to be playing a classic links course in the week before The Open at Royal St George’s, especially 42 year old Lawrie who finished tied sixth at the Sandwich venue in 1993, six years before his career-defining moment at Carnoustie when he claimed the Claret Jug after a play-off.
He said: “It was certainly a great weekend for Scottish golf and I hope what Martin and I achieved will inspire a few other Scots to do the same. There has been a lot of comment about Scotland’s lack of success in recent times but it wasn’t from lack of effort! The European Tour, in my view, is the strongest in the world at the moment. Winning is never easy and especially right now with the high quality of players on the Tour.”
Lawrie is looking forward to meeting up with his fellow Scot, Laird, who he first encountered some years ago. He added: “It will be great to see Martin at the Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart. I remember meeting him while my coach, Adam Hunter, was in charge of the Scottish amateur squad. He was a nice lad and a good player. I was impressed with him then and I was impressed with what he did on Sunday.
“It will be good to play Castle Stuart for the first time when I head up there next month after hearing so many good reports about it. This is a huge deal for the Moray Firth area, having the Barclays Scottish Open on their doorstep, not just in economic terms but for the juniors and schools in the area to see this level of golf close up.”
Laird, who finished tenth in the Barclays Scottish Open in 2009 and tied 26th last year, is delighted to be returning to his homeland for the third successive year. And for the crowds arriving at the spectacular Moray Firth venue, it will be a rare opportunity to see the highest ranked Scot in the world golf.
The 28 year old, who moved within one place of a coveted spot in the top 20 on the Official World Golf Ranking on the strength of his win in Florida, commented: “I am looking forward to getting back to my homeland to play the Barclays Scottish Open in July. In a pre-round interview on Sunday, I was told that Paul Lawrie had won in Andalucia, so it was extra special to be able to play my part in such a great day for Scottish golf. Congratulations to Paul!
“I was extremely excited about my win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. It doesn't get much better than walking off of the 18th green to shake hands with Mr Palmer and to receive the trophy from him. I am pleased to be the first European ever to win at Bay Hill, which is an incredibly strong golf course, and against such a great field. It gives me even more confidence going in to The Masters next week.”
Already participating in the 2011 Barclays Scottish Open are three-time Major Champion Padraig Harrington, reigning Masters Champion Phil Mickelson, 2010 US Open Champion Graeme McDowell and last year’s winner, Edoardo Molinari, with more leading names to be confirmed shortly.
Ticket information
The Barclays Scottish Open Championship in 2011 will boast one of the strongest fields on The European Tour International Schedule, with many of the world’s best players in action pursuing a prize fund of £3 million. All four days will be broadcast live on both BBC Television (July 9 and 10) and Sky Sports (July 7 and 8) with extensive highlights on both channels.
Advance tickets are now on sale for the 2011 Barclays Scottish Open with significant reductions available on tickets purchased by Sunday, April 10 – the final day of the Masters Tournament in the United States.
For full details of these ticket offers and other events on The European Tour, please visit www.europeantourtickets.com or telephone the Ticket Hotline: +44 (0) 800 023 2557; fax +44 141 887 0223. Please send postal enquiries to European Tour Tickets, Mirren Court Three, 123 Renfrew Court Three, Paisley, PA3 4EA.

Labels:

Copyright © Colin Farquharson

If you can't find what you are looking for.... please check the Archive List or search this site with Google