LANARKSHIRE GOLF ASSOCIATION BOYS' STROKE-PLAY CH'SHIP

VENUE: Bellshill Golf Club.
DATE: Sunday, May 22

RULES: Caddies are not allowed. Distance Measuring Devices not allowed.


Dress in Clubhouse : Competitors should note that casual wear is permitted in the Clubhouse but this must be smart.


MOBILE PHONES, JEANS, DENIM TROUSERS, SLEEVELESS AND
COLLARLESS SHIRTS, SHELL SUITS AND TRAINERS ARE NOT
PERMITTED ON THE COURSE OR WITHIN THE CLUBHOUSE.


The 16 Players with the lowest aggregate in the Championship will qualify for the Match Play Championship to be played at Cambuslang G.C. on two dates to be advised.


Please confirm to the Recorder your availability to play on both dates if a qualifier.


Competitors must report to the Recorder at least 10 mins. prior to their starting time.

8.00/12.30:  D CROSS, B POLLOCK, S McVICAR
Hamilton, Colville Park, Kirkhill
8.07/12.37: D FAIR, P HEFFERLAND, D HARKIN
Hamilton, Cambuslang, Kirkhill

8.15/12.45: M WILSON, S CAMPBELL, M McCAIG
Hamilton, Cambuslang, Kirkhill

8.22/12.52: R WOODS, D MURRAY, G RAMAGE
Cambuslang, Shotts, Kirkhill

8.30/1.00: J KERR, D CLELAND, S BRADLEY
Kirkhill, Hamilton, Easter Moffat

8.37/1.07: D McNAUGHT,  A ALEXANDER,  S McLEOD
Kirkhill, Shotts, Cambuslang
8.45/1.15: R.CORCORAN T.McCLUSKEY J.HICKSON
Hamilton Mount Ellen Bellshill
8.52/1.22: F.KINSMAN A.MORLEY C.KELSO
Hamilton Shotts Bellshill
9.00/1.30: C.MACLEOD S.PERMAN A.WILSON
Hamilton Drumpellier Strathaven
9.07/1.37 D.MANN T.McDADE E.McKENZIE
Mount Ellen Drumpellier Strathaven
9.15/1.45 P.THOMSON R.LIVINGSTONE A.ROBERTSON
Mount Ellen Colville Park Carluke
9.22/1.52 D.MURRAY R.COGAN F.HARKISS
Easter Moffat Colville Park Carluke
9.30/2.00 C.CRUICKSHANK M.CULLEN F.KANE
Carluke Wishaw Cambuslang
9.37/2.07 S.FULTON F.STODDART S.KELLY
Lanark Strathaven Carluke
9.45/2.15 J.GRACIE S.PRITCHARD S.KANE
Carluke Wishaw Cambuslang
9.52/2.22 G.PAUL L.PRESTON C.HUGHES
Lanark Hamilton Drumpellier
10.00/2.30 C.HARRISON D.DOUGAN J.HAINIE
Carluke Colville Park Bothwell Castle
10.07/2.37 J.BRYCE C.CONNACHER I.FERGUSON
Strathaven Wishaw Drumpellier
10.15/2.45 B.MURPHY A.THOMSON M.BRENNAN
Lanark Mouse Valley Kirkhill
10.22/2.52 A.SCOTT C.GRAHAM C.ANDREW
Lanark Hamilton Kirkhill
10.30/3.00 K.PRENTICE J.GIBSON J.MUIR
Lanark Mouse Valley Bothwell Castle
10.37/3.07 R.McLEISH L.MORRISON S.MURRAY
Torrance House Hamilton Drumpellier
10.45/3.15: J LAIRD, J REID, C.BOYD
Mouse Valley, Drumpellier, Lanark
10.52/3.22: R GILLAN, BSCOTT
Torrance House Hamilton
11.00/3.30: C FORBES, JRUIZ
Mouse Valley, Drumpellier

SPORTSCOTLAND STATEMENT ON SGU-SLGA AMALGAMATION

Following a report in today's "The Scotsman" newspaper - scroll down to read part of Martin Dempster's article - that a majority of the SGU's area bodies will vote against the proposed amalgamation with the SLGA, a
sportscotland spokesperson said:
 “Since 2007 sportscotland, the Scottish Golf Union and the Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association have been working in partnership to develop the sport, which has culminated in the proposal for amalgamation of the two golf bodies. We are delighted to hear of the significant support for amalgamation from member areas, counties and clubs and hope it will be adopted at the two special meetings to be held later this month.
"We recognise the process that golf has undertaken to get to this point, feeling it has been both transparent and sensible. We see the proposal as both fit-for-purpose and robust, giving Scottish golf the long-term opportunity to build on the excellent base of operations already in place.
"Should the proposal not be accepted then sportscotland would have to consider how and where public investment into Scottish Golf was placed and focused.”
“We firmly believe that one amateur body administering and driving the development of Scottish Golf, will strengthen the sport to achieve success, create an even more positive image and increase the potential for greater participation.
"As an amalgamated body Scottish golf would benefit from a more efficient use of resource and the coming together of the expertise, membership and ambition of both the Scottish Golf Union and the Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association, while providing a stronger platform for sportscotland and commercial sponsors to invest in the future of the game”.

Stuart Mackenzie
media officer
sportscotland

WHAT'S YOUR VIEW ON THIS APPARENT SNAG IN THE PROPOSED AMALGAMATION OF THE SGU AND THE SLGA?
DO THE MEN'S AREAS HAVE A CASE THAT IS WORTH STANDING FOR - EVEN IT JEOPARDISES THE AMALGAMATION?
E-mail your view to Colin@scottishgolfview.com and we'll put it up on Scottishgolfview.com

2018 RYDER CUP FOR FRANCE AND LE GOLF NATIONAL, PARIS

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOUR
France will host The Ryder Cup for the first time in 2018. The historic announcement, which will see golf’s greatest team event return to the Continent of Europe for the first time in 21 years, was made by Ryder Cup Europe at Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.
Le Golf National on the outskirts of Versailles near Paris, the well-established home of the Alstom Open de France, will become only the second Continental venue – following Club de Golf, Valderrama, in Spain in 1997 - when the 42nd edition of The Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States is contested in the autumn of 2018.
Five nations – France, Germany, Holland, Portugal and Spain – had participated in an exhaustive and comprehensive Bid Process – the first conducted by Ryder Cup Europe - to identify the country best qualified to follow Medinah Country Club, Illinois, USA, next year; Gleneagles, Scotland, in 2014 and Hazeltine, Minnesota, USA, in 2016 as host of the biennial contest.
George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour – the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe – made the official announcement at the iconic Wentworth Club, a venue which in 1926 had staged an international match recognised as the forerunner to The Ryder Cup itself one year later.
Also in attendance were delegates from the five Bid Nations, the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland, the PGAs of Europe, high ranking officials from the world of golf and the media, as France received the seal of approval to host The 2018 Ryder Cup.
Richard Hills, Europe’s Ryder Cup Director, had led a four-strong Bid Committee, comprising 2018 Bid Director David MacLaren, Ryder Cup Match Director Edward Kitson and Financial Director Jonathan Orr, to examine and evaluate each Bid, including a series of thorough site inspections to the five countries who had confirmed their desire to stage The Ryder Cup in seven years’ time. A sixth, Sweden, had dropped out of the race in the spring of 2010.
The objective of the bid process was to enable Ryder Cup Europe to arrive at the correct sporting and commercial decision in terms of the host for 2018. To this end, the Bid Committee evaluated the five candidates on five specific criteria, namely: (i) a commitment to the development of a world-class golf facility (new or existing); (ii) provision of ancillary facilities, suitable access and infrastructure commensurate with the staging of an international sporting event; (iii) demonstrable government , private sector and golfing community support; (iv) commercial opportunities available to The Ryder Cup, and (v) contribution of the bid country to the development of golf - for example: historical contribution to the professional game, golf tourism, development of levels of golf participation, professional tournament golf at all levels, player participation within past Ryder Cups, and legacy.
The Bid Committee was assisted significantly in their evaluation procedure by three prominent external advisers in Michael Payne, Jaime Byrom and Nick Bitel, who brought considerable experience from their specialist sporting backgrounds, namely the Olympic Movement, FIFA and the London Marathon respectively.
Earlier this year, all five nations signed Conditional Host Agreements and the fully binding legal contract with France was triggered immediately on the announcement that they have become the successful candidate for the 2018 match.
Hills commented: “We would like to congratulate France on becoming the host for The 2018 Ryder Cup, but more importantly, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all the representatives of France, Germany, Holland, Portugal and Spain, who responded so diligently to Ryder Cup Europe’s bidding criteria and conducted themselves in a thoroughly professional manner throughout the most detailed evaluation process as we have ever embarked upon.
“At the outset, we gave the process the codename ‘Operational Level Playing Field’ and identified three key individuals in Michael Payne, Jaime Byrom and Nick Bitel, each of whom is highly respected in the business and sporting worlds. They brought their own unique brand of expertise to the table and we thank them for helping the Bid Committee identify the correct nation to host this prestigious match.”
Hills added: “We have one worthy gold medallist in France, who gave us the confidence to believe that they will stage a truly memorable Ryder Cup in seven years’ time. However, there are four impressive silver medallists involved in this extremely detailed process in Germany, Holland, Portugal and Spain, any of whom were also well positioned to host the 2018 event.
“France, as the successful nation, will now be entering into a multi-faceted relationship with Ryder Cup Europe, lasting a minimum of 12 years and benefiting many aspects of golf at all levels. All of us at Ryder Cup Europe look forward to working closely with the French Ryder Cup 2018 team in the coming years.”
France has hosted 118 European Tour, 60 European Challenge Tour and 12 European Senior Tour events. Ten French golfers have won 24 tournaments on The European Tour and 36 players have gained 51 wins on the European Challenge Tour while Thomas Levet and Jean Van de Velde have represented Europe in The Ryder Cup in 2004 and 1999 respectively.
Le Golf National, an impressive ‘stadium’ course which has received high praise over the past 20 years, will next month stage the 2011 Alstom Open de France for the tenth successive year and the 19th time in total since its inception 1991.

ABERDEEN TRADE FOURSOMES RESULTS FROM MONDAY NIGHT

Venue: HAZLEHEAD No 1 COURSE

SECOND ROUND

ABERDEEN TELEPHONES bt BAKER HUGHES by nine holes

GREENKEEPERS bt LICENSED TRADE by one hole.

ROYAL MAIL 1 bt BANKERS by two holes.

SURVEYORS bt PSN by 10 holes.

GRAMPIAN POLICE bt ELMAR UK by 12 holes

TULLOCH RECRUITMENT bt CORN TRADE by three holes.

MUIRFIELD CONTRACTS bt CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS by 14 holes.

TIGER WOODS SAYS HE EXPECTS TO PLAY IN UNITED STATES OPEN

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (AP) — Tiger Woods says he did not do any more damage to his left knee and Achilles last week and expects to play in the U.S. Open.
Woods withdrew from last week's Players Championship after only nine holes because of pain in his left leg. He was 6-over par at the time, the shortest tournament of his career.

On his website Monday, Woods says he irritated his knee and Achilles, and that there is no time frame for when it will heal. He said on Twitter that he expects to be at the U.S. Open on June 16-19 and "will do all I can to get there."
He is unlikely to play at the Memorial, which is two weeks before the U.S. Open.

BALLESTEROS FACTOR IN RYDER CUP 2018 VENUE DECISION

FROM THE BBC SPORT WEBSITE
The 2018 Ryder Cup venue will be announced today at Wentworth, with some calling for the showpiece event to take place in Spain in honour of Seve Ballesteros.
The five-time major winner died earlier this month after a long battle with cancer.
Ballesteros' family are among those to suggest that Tres Cantos, near Madrid, should be chosen over bids from France, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal.
"It would be the greatest tribute to him," Baldomero Ballesteros said at his brother's funeral.
"I appeal to the sensitivity of the Ryder Cup committee to agree the greatest honour that could be bestowed on Seve is to award the competition to Spain. I appeal on behalf of the family."
Forever linked with the Ryder Cup after leading Europe to victory as player and captain, a weakened Ballesteros even made a rare public appearance in May 2010 to support Spain's bid.
"It would have made my brother very happy, for it was one of his dreams," Baldomero Ballesteros added.
However, Ballesteros' former Ryder Cup team-mate Bernhard Langer said it would be "absolutely unfair" for Spain to be awarded the event again.
Ballesteros led Europe to a single-point win over the United States at Valderamma in 1997.
"It's time the Ryder Cup went to Germany, France and Portugal," Langer, himself a former winning captain, told Spain's El Mundo newspaper
"There'd be no big problem if it were to return to Spain again but it would be unfair."
Germany is proposing the Ryder Cup be held at Wittelsbacher Golf Club, an hour north of Munich; Portugal has the new Comporta Dunes project south of Lisbon on the Alentejo coast; and the Netherlands is offering The Dutch, 45 minutes from Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
But the best-known course under consideration is Le Golf National near Paris, which has been the venue for all but two French Opens in the last 20 years.
Pascal Grizot, who heads the Ryder Cup commission at the French golf federation, said he has been informed that the French bid, which is backed by the state, is among the favourites.
He said France's main rivals are Spain and Portugal but that his bid is suffering from the lack of French golfers ranked in the world's top 100.
No French golfer won on the European Tour last year while Germany's Martin Kaymer secured four titles.
"Some other bidding countries have contributed more than France to the Ryder Cup history and the European Tour might be tempted to favour one of those countries," Grizot told French sports daily L'Equipe.
"But we are ahead of the Netherlands and Portugal from this point of view."
The 2010 Ryder Cup, won by Europe, tool place at Celtic Manor in Wales, while the 2014 event will be played at Gleneagles in Perthshire, the 2012 event being in MedinahIllinois.
The decision will be announced at the headquarters of the European Tour at Wentworth.

SGU AREAS MAJORITY AGAINST SLGA AMALGAMATION - REPORT

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
http://sport.scotsman.com/
BY MARTIN DEMPSTER
The Scottish Golf Union looks to be well short of gaining the support it needs to be successful with an amalgamation bid with the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association, according to a poll conducted by "The Scotsman" newspaper.
Twelve of the men's 16 Area associations in the home of golf need to give the proposal 75 per cent backing at an extraordinary general meeting planned for next Thursday, the day after the SLGA holds its vote.

However, it looks as though as many as ten Areas, possibly even 11, will be voting against the proposal, due to the fact it intends to remove a second tier of governance.

All 16 Areas are behind the amalgamation in principle, but the majority, it seems, are concerned about the accountability of the proposed new board for the unified body.
Area representatives were invited by the SGU to attend a meeting in Ayrshire on Friday night, but only six areas attended, with some of those who were absent claiming it had been arranged at too short notice.
While the SGU are privately believed to be aware of the way the vote is shaping up, it seems likely that will still take place as planned due to the lack of a "viable alternative".
The SGU claimed last night the proposal has the backing of more than 90 per cent of the 532 clubs that have replied directly to the governing body.
However, the men's Area associations are claiming they have had a different message relayed to them by their clubs and, as things stand, the proposal on the table looks set to be rejected when it is put to a vote next week.

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