PAUL McKECHNIE TURNS IN A GRAND PERFORMANCE AT BARASSIE

Paul McKechnie won the top prize of £1,168 in the Scottish Water Aid pro-am at Kilmarnock Barassie on Wednesday.

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HARD LUCK STORY AT RENFREWSHIRE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY RENFREWSHIRE GOLF UNION
donbremner@ranfurly9.freeserve.co.uk

The first tournaments of the season were held at Cochrane Castle Golf Club. The events were the Youth County Stroke Play Championship and the Junior Stroke Play Championship.
In the Youth section, Darren Jones of Elderslie had a hole in one at the 17th which is called “Hard Luck” and this became true when, despite this bonus, he failed to make the leader board. In the morning round, Sam Binning of Ranfurly Castle set the pace with an opening 71. This was closely followed by Paisley’s Jack Bradley with 72 and Mark Scanlan of Greenock with 74. The final order did not change as both Jack and Mark slipped to an afternoon 75 leaving Sam to coast home by four shots with a second round of 72 for 143.
The juniors had a similar pattern with the morning leaders retaining the same position at the end of the day. Stuart Watt of Old Ranfurly posted a morning 71 followed by 76 for 147. In second place was Greg Paterson from neighbouring club, Ranfurly Castle who shot 73 and 76 for a 149 total. In third place was John Scott of East Renfrewshire who recently had a great run at the Boys’ Match Play at Dunbar. He had a very respectable total of 141.
The top sixteen in each competition go forward to the respective Match Play Championship.

TO COME LATER
Pictures of Sam Binning and Stuart Watt both with Cochrane Castle Captain, Norrie Gibson.

PRODUCTIVE SESSION, SAYS WALKER CUP SKIPPER EDWARDS

An awkward lie in a bunker at Balgownie's 10th hole for Fraserburgh's Kris Nicol but he manages, despite his one leg in, one leg out stance to extricate the ball from the sand. Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com   Welshman Nigel Edwards, captain of the Great Britain and Ireland squad for September's Walker Cup match against the United States at Royal Aberdeen, said it had been a "productive session" at the end of the first day of a three-day practice match for 16 of the possible team of 10 over the classic Balgownie links. Scottish champion Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) is absent from the get-together which is just as important for developing team spirit as it is for getting to know the course. He has a wrist injury. But the three Scots who did play - Ross Kellett (Colville Park), pictured on short 11th tee by Cal Carson Golf Agency, Fraserburgh's Kris Nicol and late call-up David Law (Hazlehead), pictured below, who won the Scottish boys championship over the Royal Aberdeen course two years ago - all said they had enjoyed themselves on an afternoon of sunshine/cloud/a strong and cool wind from the south-east/rain/hailstones - a typical Scottish spring day, in fact! Law's call-up was not so late as that involving Ireland's Kevin Phelan, a student at North Florida University. He was still at Dublin Airport at noon but was on the first tee at Balgownie by 2.30pm. R and A championships official Rhodri Price, himself a former Welsh international, named the two teams of eight - "Ganton" and "Nairn" ... after the venues for the last two wins by GB and I over the Americans. Only foursomes were played on the first afternoon but each match was divided into two nine-holes with 1pt for winning the first nine holes, another 1pt for winning the second nine holes and 2pt for winning the overall 18-hole match. You needed a degree in advanced mathematics to tell who was winning and losing but, according to Rhodri Price, it is Nairn 9, Ganton 7 going into Day 2's programme of morning foursomes and afternoon singles. "The Royal Aberdeen Club have been most welcoming and all the lads have entered into the spirit of the match. They all seem to have liked the course," said captain Edwards. "I've been here before but most of the players have not. It's a links that requires a player to be patient. The entrances to some of the greens are quite narrow so you've got to be accurate with your approaches. "I don't think playing it at the Royal Aberdeen links will be any great advantage to us, to be honest. All the Americans will be very good players and very good players can play on any kind of course. "I am looking forward to our next trip up here which will be in July when the course should be a lot firmer and bouncier." Only Stiggy Hodgson of Sunningale of the advance squad of 16 in Aberdeen this week has experience of playing in a Walker Cup match.  Hodgson had a bizarre experience at the 10th hole this afternoon. Left with a straight forward little pitch from just off the green, he moved the ball only an inch or two. Why? The grip of Stiggy's club, above where he was holding it, stuck in his waterproofs around the middle on his downswing.Result, he struck the ball only a glancing blow. Embarrassing but fortunately it was only a practice match! TIME NOTE: The first of the foursomes teed off at 2pm and the last around 2.30pm, delayed until Kevan Phelan arrived from the airport. Yet all four matches, played over 18 holes, and averaging 3 1/2 hours each, were off the 18th green by 6 o'clock. Well played! The Walker Cup match will be played on Saturday and Sunday, September 10 and 11. Tickets are on sale now. SCROLL DOWN FOR THIS AFTERNOON'S RESULTS AT BALGOWNIE

WALKER CUP PRACTICE DAY 1 RESULTS

Great shot, Stiggy! Watched by partner Rhys Enoch and opponents Steven Brown and Jack Senior, Stiggy Hodgson comes out of a greenside bunker at the 18th close enough for Enoch to hole it for a winning par 4. Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency. GB and  I WALKER CUP PRACTICE MATCH Royal Aberdeen GC. FIRST DAY Foursomes GANTON TEAM 7, NAIRN TEAM 9 First nine holes Stiggy Hodgson (Sunningdale) and Rhys Enoch (Truto) (0pt)  lost to Steven Brown (Wentworth) and Jack Senior (Heysham) (1pt) 1 hole. Ross Kellett (Colville Park) and Oliver Farr (Ludlow) (1pt) bt Tom Lewis (Welwyn Garden City) and Paul Cutler (Portstewart) (0pt) 1 hole. David Law (Hazlehead) and Darren Wright (Rowlands Castle) (0pt) lost to Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) and Dermot McElroy (Ballymena)  (1pt) 2 and 1. Alan Dunbar (Rathmore) and Tyrell Hatton (Harleyford) (1/2pt) halved with Kevin Phelan (Waterford) and Rhys Pugh (Vale of Glamorgan) (1/2pt). Second nine holes Hodgson and Enoch (1)  bt Brown and Senior (0pt)1 hole. Kellett and Farr (1/2pt) halved with Lewis and Cutler (1/2pt). Law and Wright (1pt) bt Nicol and McElroy (0pt) 2 and 1. Dunbar and Hatton (0pt) lost to Phelan and Pugh (1pt) 2 holes. 18-hole results Hodgson and Enoch (1pt) halved with Brown and Senior (1pt). Kellett and Farr (2pt) bt Lewis and Cutler (0pt) 2 and 1. Law and Wright (0pt) lost to Nicol and McElroy (2pt) 1 hole. Dunbar and Hatton (0pt) lost to Phelan and Pugh (2pt) 2 holes. Breakdown of points awards +First nine holes: 1pt for leading after nine holes, 1/2pt for square game after nine holes. +Second nine holes; 1pt for leading over second nine holes; 1/2pt for square game over second nine holes. +!8 holes: 2pt for winning the whole match., 1pt for square matchj DAY 2 PROGRAMME (Thursday) Four foursomes at 8.32, 8.40, 8.48 and 8.56am. Eight singles at 1.12, 1.20, 1.28, 1.36, 1.44, 1.52, 2pm and 2.08. DAY 3 PROGRAMME (Friday) Four foursomes at 8.32, 8.40, 8.48 and 8.56. Match will end at lunch-time to allow players to get home or to their next tournaments. Spectators most welcome at Balgownie, no admission charge, free car parking.

CRUDEN BAY BUILDS OVERSEAS RELATIONSHIPS

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY CRUDEN BAY GOLF CLUB

Cruden Bay Golf Club, situated in the North-East of Scotland and one of Scotland’s leading golf clubs has formed reciprocal relationships with premier golf clubs in both Australia and the United States.

Members of Cruden Bay will now receive preferential terms when visiting either Yarra Yarra Golf Club in Melbourne and Dismal River Golf Club in Nebraska, USA.

Robbie Stewart, Cruden Bay’s PGA Director of Golf says:
‘We are delighted to have formed close relationships with both of these prestigious golf clubs. The relationships have been built, not with the clubs but with the people involved with these clubs, the management and the members. We have built friendships and hopefully we will continue to do so for many years to come. Golf is very much a global game but with its roots firmly in Scotland, the home of golf, and we are proud to be able to promote golf in Scotland in this way. It is very satisfying to know that both of these reciprocal arrangements came about through members from Yarra Yarra and Dismal River who visited Cruden Bay and were so impressed by both the golf course and the friendly welcome they received that they wanted to be more closely connected with us’.

Yarra Yarra Golf Club is one of Melbourne's most prestigious private golf clubs, boasting a heritage listed Clubhouse and a list of the worlds leading professional golfers who have won tournaments there including Johnny Miller, Greg Norman, Ian Baker-Finch, Anika Sorensten and Karrie Webb. Stuart Appleby and Robert Allenby also launched their professional careers after being members at Yarra Yarra. The course was designed in 1926 by Dr Alister Mackenzie during his brief visit to Australia during which time he designed many courses along the Melbourne sandbelt.

Dismal River, a Jack Nicklaus signature course, is a links style course in the remote sandhills of Nebraska which has received rave reviews since it opened for play. Nicklaus himself saying ‘the experience of arriving at the Dismal River site was like stepping back in time and seeing what the dunes of Northeast Scotland must have looked like a hundred years ago. In every direction I looked I saw great golf holes’. In addition Golfweek magazine included Dismal River Club on its best new courses list in 2007.

Cruden Bay is a warm and welcoming golf club that caters for both members and visiting golfers from across the globe. The golf course creates unique challenges for all categories of golfer and offers the one thing that all golfers enjoy – FUN. Set against a backdrop of subtly contoured greens and magnificent panoramic views, the course truly justifies its place high in golf course rankings.

For more information contact Robbie Stewart, PGA Director of Golf, Cruden Bay Golf Club:
Tel 01779 812285 email: robbie@crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk

PHIL MICKELSON TRIBUTE TO SEVE'S SHOT-MAKING GENIUS

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By KEVIN GARSIDE
The players arrived at Sawgrass on Tuesday for the richest tournament in golf to be greeted by a Spanish flag flying at half mast. On Thursday they will contest the Players’ Championship wearing black ribbons.
The late Seve Ballesteros did not care for these parts much, but he would have been pleased with the effort made by the PGA Tour in his honour.
Sawgrass, a great landscaped monument to grandiose American golf, fairly represents the anti-Seve tradition. In other words, there is nothing about this place that occurs naturally.
A golf course that is barely a tee shot from the Florida seaboard embraces none of the features offered by its geography.
That is a little like the great architects of Scottish golf ignoring the unique coastal contours of St Andrews or Carnoustie in favour of farmland. Perhaps it is not televisual enough.
Ballesteros never won here. One who has, Phil Mickelson, spoke with reverence about the Spaniard, who makes his final journey in Pedreña today (Wednesday).
How fitting that the anecdote Mickelson rolled out referred to the innovative brilliance of Ballesteros with a three-iron, the only club owned by the infant genius hitting balls on the beach along the Bay of Biscay.
“The first time we played [together], we played at Torrey Pines, and the 11th hole is a par-three there and the pin was back right and he would take a three-iron that was normally a five or six-iron shot and carve a three-iron, a big 30 to 50-yard rounded slice that would land in the middle of the green and then side spin over to the hole.
“It just opened my eyes how many different ways you can get to some of these pins. The fact that you couldn’t go right at the hole and stop it, he found a different way to come in sideways and get the ball close,” Mickelson said.

“I loved watching that because it showed me that it’s possible that you can do it, that it doesn’t have to be this robotic way of fairways, middle of the green and so forth. You can get to some of these pins that are challenging and make it fun.”

The appreciation was mutual. Ballesteros named his dog Phil in tribute, following Mickelson’s Masters victory last year. The pair shared a clothing sponsor, which afforded Mickelson off course time with Ballesteros that he now regards as precious.

“We did some photo shoots together, and between shots we would talk and hit some shots and have a little contest and be creative out of the bunker, around trees and so forth. I enjoyed that time with him because I saw his artistry. It was neat to see and to be able to have a relationship with him.”

The European Tour, represented at today’s funeral by chief executive George O’Grady, plus a host of senior players, including Colin Montgomerie and José-Maria Olazábal, are considering how they might recognise Ballesteros permanently.

A Twitter campaign by the players is already under way to have the Harry Vardon image on the European Tour logo replaced with a signature silhouette of Ballesteros celebrating his Open victory at St Andrews in 1984.

Chubby Chandler, head of the ISM sport management company responsible for Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy, is to propose to the Tour that the players wear navy blue sweaters, the preferred choice of Ballesteros on ‘glory Sundays’, on the opening day of the flagship BMW Championship at Wentworth this month.

“I think that would be the perfect tribute. And it would be easy to accomplish,” Chandler said.

ROYAL DORNOCH WIN DORNOCH FIRTH LEAGUE TARGE

By ROBIN WILSON
Host club Royal Dornoch enjoyed comfortable victories over the other four clubs, Brora, Golspie, Invergordon and Tain, to win the Dornoch Firth League Targe for an 11th time in the 34-year history of the competition at Dornoch.
Dornoch were the first winners of the Targe in 1973 when the league was then played on a home and away basis featuring only Brora, Tain and Golspie clubs. When Invergordon were admitted four years later the one weekend of fixtures were instituted. Fitting all the games into two days has just one drawback, the threesome match on Sunday afternoon which can either benefit or hinder a club's success.
Last year at Golspie the final threesome fixture came to Brora's rescue as they pulled back Dornoch's lead with two massive wins to retain the Targe. Again involved in the double-header on Sunday afternoon it was really beyond Brora's expectations for a repeat as by this stage the hosts had already amassed 18 points from three completed games to Brora's 6.5 points from two games.
Royal Dornoch had dropped just half a point in their opening encounter against Golspie (6.5- 0.5), Kevin Matheson being held to a halved tie against Golspie's number two greenkeeper Craig Mackay but the home team winning five other ties pretty convincingly. Golspie's Alister MacDougal was a narrow loser to Daniel Holden in the 5th tie, Holden one of two Royal Dornoch players who would go on to win all of his four games over the two days.
Carnegie Shield holder Alex MacDonald was the host club's other four-time winner and he got his second point with a 4&3 result over Brora's Roddie Cameron when the two old Sutherland rival clubs met on Saturday afternoon. Dornoch beating the holders 6.5 to 0.5 where Brora switched their four day open winner Ewan Polson to second place and in the top game Brora's Head Greenkeeper James MacBeath went under by two holes to his old work mate at Skibo, Chris Mailley.
Meanwhile Tain recovered from their opening defeat by Brora to scrape past Invergordon 4-3.
Royal Dornoch took their points tally to 18 on Sunday morning with a 5-2 result over Invergordon to put them in the driving seat and even if Brora pulled of an afternoon clean sweep of fourteen points from their double header against Golspie and Invergordon the hosts were left requiring only two points from seven in their last fixture against Tain to regain the Targe.
Munro Ferries gave Tain and Brora a ray of hope when he inflicted a first defeat of the weekend over Mailley winning 2 and 1 but the Dornoch mean machine did not miss a gear in the next five games.
Kevin Matheson, Alex MacDonald, newcomer and team captain Neil Hampton, Daniel Holden and Kristian Sinclair all won their ties to clinch victory with Tain's Davie Vass giving his club a late crumb of comfort in the final game by beating Brian Urquhart to leave the hosts with a resounding 5-2 result.
Brora to their credit in defence of the Targe came out fighting in the threesome fixture. Polson was reinstated to first place but a birdie three from a long putt on the final the green gave Golspie's Darren Hexley the only point lost in the fourteen ties. Brora ending up 6-1 victors over Golspie and 7-0 over Invergordon to finish second in the table with 19.5 points. Tain were third with 11.5 points, Golspie fourth, 8.5 points, and Invergordon who host next years fixtures fifth with 7.5 points.
Reflecting on the overall result Royal Dornoch justified their pre tournament favourites tag. The inclusion of their new club Secretary/Manager Neil Hampton (+1), Chris Mailley (scr), Alex MacDonald (scr), Kevin Matheson (1) and Daniel Holden (3) who on Sunday were joined by Kristian Sinclair and Brian Urquhart, the latter replacing John Shepherd who had played and won twice on Saturday proved decisive. Holden and MacDonald maintained an unbeaten record over the two days as the winning club emerged with a another five points from their Invergordon encounter to take their winning total up to twenty three.
Results:
Saturday
Royal Dornoch 6.5, Golspie 0.5
Tain 1 Brora 6
Royal Dornoch 6.5, Brora 0.5
Invergordon 3, Tain 4
Sunday
Royal Dornoch 5, Invergordon 2
Tain 4.5, Golspie 2.5
Royal Dornoch 5, Tain 2
Invergordon 2.5, Golspie 4.5
Golspie 1, Brora 6
Brora 7, Invergordon 0.

AYRSHIRE CLUBS SUPPORT SGU-SLGA AMALGAMATION

FROM THE AYRSHIRE GOLF WEBSITE
The Ayrshire Golf Association will vote 'yes' for adoption of the proposals to amalgamate the Scottish Golf Union and the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association when the 16 SGU areas meet at the Special General Meeting on Thursday, May 26.
Having considered the proposal for the formation of a single governing body for golf in Scotland and fully engaged in the consultation process over the last year or more, which has involved meetings with representatives of the SGU and roadshows to allow clubs to engage with the current national bodies, the AGA Executive agreed that they favoured supporting the final proposals, which were circulated to all member clubs by the SGU last month.
The AGA Executive put their position to the 65 member clubs of the Ayrshire Golf Association, with the proviso that the final decision on which way to vote would not be confirmed unless member clubs of the Ayrshire Golf Association supported this view, as The Association's Executive were acutely aware that their responsibility was to reflect the view of those clubs amongst the 65 member clubs of The Association who engaged in the debate.
All clubs were invited to a meeting at Caprington Golf Club on Tuesday, May 10 and the clubs in attendance were overwhelmingly in favour of adoption of the proposals for amalgamation, a position which was also reflected in returns received from clubs which chose to express their preference in response to a separate survey.
With the Ayrshire Golf Association opting to support the proposals for the amalgamation, it now remains to be seen if the other Area Associations in Scotland will endorse the proposals as the way forward for amateur golf in Scotland

ABERDEEN TRADES FOURSOMES AT HAZLEHEAD

	1ST RND DRAW		TONIGHT, WEDNESDAY
4.19	GARAGE TRADE			Vs	ABERDEEN TELEPHONES
4.33	BAKER HUGHES			Vs	MORRISON CONSTRUCTION
			(playing Friday)
4.47	ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY			Vs	INSURANCE
		withdrawn
5.01	LUMSDEN SECURITY			Vs	R and C CONSTRUCTION
5.15	LICENSED TRADE			Vs	ABERDEEN PRESS
			(playing Thursday)
5.29	GREENKEEPERS			Vs	BAKERS
	1ST RND DRAW		THURSDAY 12/05/11
4.19	ROYAL MAIL 1			Vs	TEACHERS
4.33	BANKERS			Vs	GRAMPIAN FIRE and RESCUE
4.47	P.S.N.			Vs	MOTOR TRADE
5.01	ROYAL MAIL 2			Vs	SURVEYORS
5.15	BANCON CONSTRUCTION			Vs	GRAMPIAN POLICE
5.29	ELMAR UK			Vs	MEAT TRADE
	1ST RND DRAW		FRIDAY 13/05/11
4.19	LAWYERS			Vs	CORN TRADE
4.33	TULLOCH RECRUITMENT			Vs	SPARROWS GROUP
4.47	PLUMBER and HEATING			Vs	CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS
		(withdrawn)
5.01	MUIRFIELD CONTRACTS			Vs	BYE
	2ND RND DRAW		FRIDAY 13/05/11
5.15				Vs
5.29				Vs