QUALITY FIELD AT BLAIRGOWRIE FOR SCOTTISH STROKE-PLAY

NEWS RELEASE
The Blairgowrie Golf Club are hosting the Scottish Amateur Strokeplay between May 27 and 29, when a field of high quality amateur golfers, with handicaps all better than +1.3, will compete for the coveted trophy won by such illustrious Scottish golfers as Colin Montgomerie and Richie Ramsay.
The strength of the field is boosted with the Walker Cup being held at Royal Aberdeen later this year, and those playing including Blair's own Glenn Campbell and 15-yearold Bradley Neil, who will be attempting to make their own bid to the selection committee.
Glenn, the 2005 Scottish Amateur Champion, will be attempting to add this title to his impressive golfing CV, and adding his name to others who have won this title when previously held at Blairgowrie in 1974, 1979 (both I C Hutcheon) and most recently in 1989 (F Illouz, France).
Bradley, current holder of the Scottish and English Under 14 titles, will be attempting to land the title at his first attempt and become the youngest winner of the title.
The Blairgowrie Golf Club are honoured to host the event this year, and are working closely with the SGU to ensure that no stone is left unturned in preparation for the event.
Douglas Cleeton, Managing Secretary, said ‘Many members have volunteered their time or services to assist with this event, which speaks volumes for the enthusiasm shown at the club.
"Naturally with the event being played over Lansdowne there will be disruption for the members as generally only Rosemount and the Wee Course will be available for play over this weekend.
"With the Club Championship's first round qualifying also on Saturday 28th May as well as the Stroke Play qualifying 2nd round, we are guaranteed an extremely busy day at the club.
"For this and other days we have ensured an overflow car park is available nearby. The quality of the courses and facilities at the club are a major factor in this event being held this year, and in fact for other major events being held here this year and for the foreseeable future."

GOOD OPENING WINS BY LUKE DONALD AND LEE WESTWOOD

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Luke Donald took the first step towards the Sunday clash with Lee Westwood that he wants to happen - even though it would mean he could not become World Number One this week.
"I would love to play Lee," said second-ranked Donald after beating lone American Ryan Moore 4 and 3 in the first group game of the Volvo World Match Play Championship at Finca Cortesin in Spain.

"There's more satisfaction when you can take down the number one player in the world."

And he speaks from experience there. When he won the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play in Arizona in February he beat Martin Kaymer in the final - on the very weekend that the German took the top spot in the rankings.

Westwood has since grabbed it back, though, with two wins in Asia and he was even more impressive than Donald on the opening day, beating Dane Anders Hansen 6 and 5.

Under the new format neither Westwood nor Donald are certain yet to reach the last 16 knock-out stages, however.

If they lose their second group games - Westwood against Australian Aaron Baddeley and Donald against defending champion Ross Fisher - they could yet find themselves in sudden death play-offs to decide who goes through.

But Northern Irish pair Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy will also fancy their chances of progressing after beating Louis Oosthuizen and Retief Goosen respectively, McIlroy chipping in at the last.

The day's other three winners were Kaymer, who overcame Korea's Y E Yang 2 and 1, and Spanish duo Alvaro Quiros and Miguel Angel Jiménez. Quiros beat Paul Casey and Jiménez overcame Masters Tournament champion Charl Schwartzel 6 and 5.

Only one of the eight games was halved. That was between Ryder Cup teammates Ian Poulter and Francesco Molinari and Poulter did that with a five foot birdie putt on the last after losing the first three holes.

Westwood rattled off six birdies in eight holes from the fourth to leave Hansen trailing in his wake and on such a physically demanding course - even with some buggy rides provided - was delighted to finish on the 13th.

The 38 year old had calf trouble from June onwards last year, but has worked really hard on his fitness.

"The less holes you can play are obviously to pay dividends down the road and down the tournament," he said.

"You get to a point in your career where you look for places that you can gain an advantage or where you can improve.

"I wasn't as strong as I ought to have been, but now I'm a lot more powerful. I wouldn't say I'm a svelte marathon runner, but I'm fit for golf - powerful in all the right areas."

After his victories in Indonesia and Korea he also senses a return to the time when he took most of the chances that came his way.

"I'd like to start finishing off tournaments like I did ten years ago - that habit of just really being patient and lingering around and sort of sticking your chin out at the right time.

"That obviously works wonders for your confidence and I started to feel it again in Korea."

McDowell was grateful for the instant chance to move on from his closing 79 at The Players Championship on Sunday.

His match, of course, was a clash between the US Open Championship and the Open Champion and McDowell, who defends the former in Washington next month, said after beating Oosthuizen 3 and 1: "I wouldn't have liked a week off to think about the way I played.

"I've had a couple of days in the gym just trying to get a little bit of life back in the legs because they went dead on me."

After a bogey, double bogey finish to the front nine he eagled the long 11th and birdied the 13th and short 17th.

McIlroy was two down to Goosen after seven, but after fighting back to level he birdied the 15th to nose in front and matched Goosen's birdies at the 16th and 18th.

Casey and Schwartzel were the only higher seeds to lose, Casey never getting back on terms against Quiros after bogeying the opening two holes.

Now he has to get something out of his match with Søren Kjeldsen to have a chance of going through.


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CARL MASON ON BRINK OF PASSING TOMMY HORTON WIN TOTAL

FROM MICHAEL GIBBONS

Deputy Chief Press Officer

European Tour

mgibbons@europeantour.com

Carl Mason took a giant leap towards becoming the most prolific winner in Senior Tour history after producing a brilliant second round 65 (six under par) for 10-under 142 to establish a one shot lead over Scot Bill Longmuir with 18 holes of the tournament to play.

The Englishman racked up an outstanding seven birdies and just a single bogey at the El Vale Golf Resort in Murcia, taking him to the brink of passing Tommy Horton’s record of 23 Senior Tour career victories.

Mason equalled that impressive tally in Switzerland last year but can become Europe’s most successful Senior by keeping Longmuir and the rest of the chasing pack at bay in Friday’s final round.

The 57 year old Mason was quick to play down the significance of what would be an historical victory in Spain, but he will surely be privately eyeing the chance to be recognised as Europe’s most prolific Senior Tour champion.

“It would be nice if I can win tomorrow, it would be nice to do it,” said Mason, who holed an unbelievable 60 foot birdie putt on the first hole of his second round.

“But there is still another day and we all know anything can happen over 18 holes. If I play like I know I can then I can do it but I try not to think about records or anything like that – I just play my game and enjoy it.

“I certainly enjoyed the round today – I played well, putted nicely and it was a nice round of golf given how tricky the conditions were at points.”

While Mason naturally wanted to take the focus away from his record-breaking attempt, Longmuir is well aware that he can play the role of party-pooper during the final round at the El Vale Golf Resort. The Scotsman added a fine 67 to his opening 66 to lie just one shot off the pace on nine-under-par 133. 

“I played similar to yesterday – technically it was very solid and that is probably the most pleasing part of the round today,” said Longmuir.

“Tomorrow will be interesting – Carl Mason is out to beat that record, and I am here to stop him! He is a good friend of mine and I will enjoy very much playing with him tomorrow.”

 SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71)

132 C Mason (Eng) 67 65

133 B Longmuir (Sco) 66 67

137 B Cameron (Eng) 66 71

138 D Merriman (Aus) 66 72
139 J Rozadilla (Esp) 69 70, J Rivero (Esp) 66 73, A Oldcorn (Sco) 69 70, G Ryall (Eng) 70 69, A Fernandez (Chi) 69 70
140 P Mitchell (Eng) 68 72, J Harrison (Eng) 67 73, D Smyth (Irl) 68 72, N Job (Eng) 68 72
141 J Chillas (Sco) 72 69, J Stuart (USA) 69 72, C Rocca (Ita) 71 70, G Wolstenholme (Eng) 72 69, G Banister (Aus) 71 70, A Franco (Par) 70 71,
142 G Brand (Eng) 73 69, B Smit (RSA) 70 72, A Garrido (Esp) 72 70, J Quiros (Esp) 70 72, J Bruner (USA) 70 72,
143 S Cipa (Eng) 72 71, B Lincoln (RSA) 72 71, A Sherborne (Eng) 75 68, M Belsham (Eng) 71 72, J Cañizares (Esp) 71 72, C Williams (RSA) 71 72, D Durnian (Eng) 68 75, E Darcy (Irl) 71 72,
144 J Heggarty (Nir) 70 74, D O'Sullivan (Irl) 72 72, G Ralph (Eng) 74 70, J Gould (Eng) 72 72, S Van Vuuren (RSA) 71 73, H Carbonetti (Arg) 71 73,
145 S Bennett (Eng) 74 71, J Sallat (Fra) 74 71, D Cambridge (Jam) 76 69, G Manson (Aut) 71 74,
146 P Dahlberg (Swe) 76 70, L Carbonetti (Arg) 73 73, K Spurgeon (Eng) 74 72,
147 J Rhodes (Eng) 73 74, T Charnley (Eng) 75 72, E Rodriguez (Esp) 75 72, M Moreno (Esp) 71 76, M Farry (Fra) 77 70, J Stansberry (USA) 76 71,
148 A Sowa (Arg) 74 74, G Cali (Ita) 75 73, G Brand Jnr (Sco) 72 76, A Forsbrand (Swe) 72 76
149 M Gray (Sco) 73 76, J Hall (Eng) 75 74, T Johnstone (Zim) 75 74,
150 M Piñero (Esp) 76 74, F Mann (Sco) 72 78, M Bembridge (Eng) 74 76,
151 J Davila (Esp) 79 72, P Errity (Irl) 71 80, M Kierstenson (Eng) 74 77,
152 B Hardwick (Can) 80 72, M Briggs (Eng) 78 74,
154 L Cooper (USA) 78 76,
155 B Stevens (Eng) 76 79,
157 M Miller (Sco) 75 82,
158 V Garcia (Esp) 77 81,
159 E Polland (Nir) 75 84,
171 G Hopkins (USA) 88 83

MORAY v NAIRN FINAL AT ELGIN IN SENIOR COUNTIES CUP

By ROBIN WILSON
This afternoon's semi finals of the Senior Northern Counties Cup at Elgin Golf Club involves four clubs from the North area after the two remaining North East clubs, Deeside and Cruden Bay lost in this morning's quarter-finals.
Holders of the B D Fraser Cup, Moray Golf Club, beat Deeside by eight holes,first pair Jim Young and Pat Smith three hole winners over Deeside's Neil Harper and Dave Bisset. Chris Macleod and Michael Dean were five up on Roy Burnett and R Bickerton.
In the eagerly all Moray semi final the holders will play old rivals Elgin who accounted for Royal Dornoch with a three hole margin. Locals Bryce Milne and John Porter wining by one hole over Bert Nicholson and Peter Lee and John Innes and club secretary Gary Able finished two up on Dornoch's Alan Ramsey and Peter Haworth.
Fortrose and Rosemarkie beat Ross-shire neighbors Strathpeffer Spa by eight holes. Fortrose's first couple Willie Donnelly and John Hearman were five up on James Garrow and Michael Wilson and second couple Malcolm MacArthur and Louis MacLeman finished three holes to the good over Philip Bannerman and Derek Gruber.
Fortrose's opponents in the semi finals are The Nairn whose first string Ian Cooper and Peter Saggers lost by one hole to Cruden Bay's Bill Livingston and Will Davidson-Gall, but a four hole win for Nairn's Pat Tomisson and James Walton carried the North club through.

LATER NEWS FROM ROBIN 

Holders through to final at Elgin
Moray Golf Club, holders of the B D Fraser Senior Northern Counties Cup, a double foursomes inter club competition between clubs from the North East, North and the Northern Isles are through to the final of this year's competition and bidding to become the first club since inauguration in 2002 to make a successful defence.
In tomorrow morning's final Moray who won for the first time last year will play The Nairn Golf Club who have reached their first final after a three hole victory over Fortrose and Rosemarkie. The Nairn's second string Pat Tomisson and James Walton again pulling their first couple through with a three hole win over Fortrose and Rosemarkie pair Willie Donnelly and John Hearman after the first two couples finished level
The other semi final, between Moray and hosts Elgin, was stalemate after twelve holes with Elgin's Bryce Milne and John Porter losing the 12th to have their lead cut back to two holes over Jim Young and Pat Smith.
 Coming behind Moray's Chris Macleod holed for an eagle two at the 12th to go two up on Gary Able and John Innes. Over the remaining six holes the Moray couples dominated. Young and Smith came back to win by two while Macleod and Mike Dean extended their lead to a finishing five holes for Moray to continue their defence into the final by seven holes.

GREENKEEPERS v MUIRFIELD CONTRACTS IN ABDN TRADES FINAL

Greenkeepers will play Muirfield Contracts in the final of the Aberdeen Trades men's double foursomes match-play tournament over the Hazlehead No 2 course.
Semi-finals results:

GREENKEEPERS bt INSURANCE by two holes.

Dennis Grant and Ro'ss McRae 1, Gary Walker and Alan Ross 0.
Graeme Mitchell and Fraser Downie 1, Nick Henderson and D Love 0.

MUIRFIELD CONTRACTS bt SURVEYORS by three holes.

Matt Greig and S Robertson 1, Mark Halliday and John Broadley 0.
Mark Greig and Ian Flanagan 1/2, Andrew Smith and Colin Kerr 1/2

KELLY AND KING SHARE HONOURS IN BEN SHOTGUN PRO-AM

Chris Kelly (Clober) and Mark King (Kingsfield) shared the individual honours in yesterday's Ben shotgun pro-am at Cardross Golf Club.
They both scored two-under-par 72s to earn £787 apiece.
Spencer Edwards (Carrick on Loch Lomond) finished third on 73 for which he won £459.

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WESTWOOD SAYS SEVE EXAMPLE WILL INSPIRE HIM THIS WEEK

FROM THE STUFF.CO.NZ WEBSITE
Lee Westwood will draw inspiration from the late Seve Ballesteros's sheer will to win as he battles to retain his world number one ranking at the World Matchplay Championship at Finca Cortesin, Casares, Andalucia. 
Westwood could be overtaken by second-placed compatriot Luke Donald or Germany's Martin Kaymer, in third place, if either win this week in Spain.
Spaniard Ballesteros claimed the World Matchplay Championship five times when it was played at Wentworth. Westwood was a winner in the event at Wentworth in 2000.
"Relating to this week, the way he (Ballesteros) played matchplay he never gave anything away," Westwood, who is bidding for third successive title this year, said today.
"With the fight he showed, he was never really out of a hole. Even if he was in the worst lie and the worst spot you always thought he had a chance of getting the ball up and down.
"That kind of flair is always going to be difficult to play (against) in match play and that's probably why he was so successful in this tournament.
"But it was his short game that stood out and some of the miraculous shots he played. He had a lot of imagination, obviously, and feel."
Westwood also expressed admiration for Donald, acknowledging the way in which his compatriot has improved his game this season to become his biggest threat.
"You don't get to number two in the world without having a lot of strengths and very few weaknesses," Westwood said.
"If you make a significant move as he has done and shown the consistency he's shown, you have to have improved in every area by a small percentage."
The world No 1 agreed with Donald that Britain could be proud of its status in golf.
"It's the first time a country has had one and two in the world other than America and it just shows the state of English and British golf right now," he said.
"We have two Northern Irishmen in the top six (fifth placed Graeme McDowell and sixth placed Rory McIlroy), and Paul (Briton Paul Casey) at ninth."

LONGEST GOLF DAY TO AID MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT

NEWS RELEASE

Every year UK golfers are challenged to take part in the Longest Golf Day, where they have to get a team of four together and play 72-holes of their golf course in one day during June or July, to help raise money for the work conducted by Macmillan Cancer Support, which not only involves sponsoring nurses and hospices, but also providing phone services that offer emotional support.

Macmillan, now in their 100th year, is the UK’s leading cancer care charity, and is a source of support, helping with the things that people affected by cancer want and need. With cancer affecting one in every three people, such support improves the quality of life for those affected and makes a real difference to people. Such work would not be possible with the amazing support Macmillan is shown at their fundraising events.
LPGA Tour professional Janice Moodie says:"I have been given many things and opportunities in my professional golf career. One way I have been able to give back is by participating in charitable golf outings, many of which have been associated with different cancer organizations. Cancer has no discrimination or boundaries of gender, race, wealth or country, it effects us all in someway or another. That is why it is so important we all get together and raise money for this worthy cause. And why not have a good time doing it playing golf."
The Longest Golf Day puts the ‘fun’ into ‘fundraising’, where people get to enjoy a great day of golf, raise money for an excellent cause and have the chance to win prizes.
Each four-ball takes a note of their scores as they work round their course and submit these, along with their total fundraising amount, and there are prizes on offer to the best teams. Last year the best four teams were whisked off to the Boavista course in Portugal for two days to play-off in the final, and there are similar prizes for the top teams this year.
The Macmillan team in the West of Scotland are receiving support from KaneGolf.com, a golf club manufacturer based in Hillington, who have provided a putter as a prize for one winner, and will also produce a customised Big Easy driver for another winner.
Golfers do not need to play 72-holes at one course if other arrangements can be made, and the event is currently receiving support from numerous clubs and organisations. At Hilton Park Golf Course in Milngavie, General Manager and Golf Professional Gordon Simpson has pledged his support to the event, allowing four-balls access to the course to play as many of the 72-holes they wish, and Haggs Castle Golf Course in Glasgow are allowing four-balls taking part in the challenge to play 18-holes at their course for free. Similarly, the 9-hole Lochranza Golf Course on the Isle of Arran is allowing golfers free access to their course, and the nearby Lochranza Hotel is offering discounted rates to registered participants.
EuroPro Tour professional John Gallagher says:
“As a former Scottish Amateur Champion and British Amateur runner up I would like to offer support to the people taking part in the Longest Golf Day in raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. I am sure everyone involved will have a great time while contributing to a worthy cause.”
Legendary musician and self-confessed golf addict Alice Cooper  (pictured below) is also showing his support, providing a signed copy of his book ‘Golf Monster’ to give away to one lucky winner. The book is autobiographical, but the rocker also discusses how he fell in love with the game to drive away his demons, and he gives his own 12-step guide to developing your game.

“Playing golf is like being a rocker on stage. You have the choice of retreating into your shell and gazing at your shoes, or becoming a power performer in front of your crowd. I much prefer the latter," - quote from back cover of ‘Alice Cooper, Golf Monster’ UK Edition

With a range of other possible prizes to be won, with discussions being held with big name manufacturers within the golf industry, this is an exciting year to be getting involved with the Longest Golf Day.