LAURIE PHILLIPS LEADING QUALIFIER BY 7 SHOTS AT CRUDEN BAY

Home course player Laurie Phillips was the leading qualifier with rounds of 67 and 69 for 136 - seven shots ahead of Chris Gilbert (McDonald Ellon) in the Steadfast Scotland Challenge Cup four-day men's open at Cruden Bay Golf Club today. LEADING QUALIFIERS 136 L Phillips (Cruden Bay) 67 69. 143 C Gilbert (McDonald Ellon) 68 75. 144 N McAndrew (Royal Aberdeen) 73 71. 148 T Sharkey (Helensburgh) 77 71, D McAndrew (Royal Aberdeen) 73 75, S Strachan (Murcar Links) 73 75. 149 B Mitchell (McDonald Ellon) 74 75, G Munro (Fraserburgh) 72 77. 150 D King (Cruden Bay) 77 73. 152 M Christie (Cruden Bay) 77 75.

Bradley Neil heads six Scottish qualifiers at English McGregor Trophy

      Bradley Neil, joint sixth at halfway (Image by Tom Ward Photography).

Blairgowrie's Bradley Neil headed the six Scots who survived the halfway cut in the English Under-16 open stroke-play golf championship for the McGregor Trophy at South Moor Golf Club, Durham today.
Neil had rounds of 71 and 73 to be lieing joint sixth on level par 144 - five shots behind the two-stroke leader, Jack Hermeston (City of Newcastle) (71-68 for 139) with two rounds to be played on Thursday.
Euan Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) is tied eighth on 145 with scores of 74 and 71.
On 146 came Willem Kerr (Craigielaw) with 78 and a great second-round 68 for 146.
Alex Wilson (Gullane) (75-74)and Connor Syme (Dumfries and Co) (72-77) are joint 34th on 149.
The last Scottish qualifier, right on the limit of 150, was Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden) who is tied for 40th place with scores of 72 and 78.
Justin Rose won this title in 1995 and Edoardo Molinari in 1996.

LEADING QUALIFIERS
Par 144 (2x72)
139 Jack Hermeston (City of Newcastle) 71 68.
141 Cameron Long (Drayton Park) 72 69, Johannes Schwab (Austria) 71 70, Bradley Moore (Kedleston Park) 69 72.
142 Jordan Wrisdale (Boston) 76 77.
144 Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie) 71 73, Ben Hutchinson (Howley Hall) 71 73.
Selected qualifiers
145 Euan Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) 74 71 (T8).
146 Willem Kerr (Craigielaw) 78 68.
149 Alex Wilson (Gullane) 75 74, Connor Syme (Dumfries and Co) 72 77 (T34).
150 Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden) 72 78 (T40).
Scottish non-qualifiers
152 Ewan Scott (St Andrews) 76 76.
155 Fraser Davren (Williamwood) 75 80
156 Calum Hill (Tantallon) 72 84.
157 Euan Bowden (Glen) 78 79, Benjamin Kinsley (St Andrews) 78 79.

Byrne and Stewart but no Law in next week's GB and I Walker Cup practice

 By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Walker Cup captain Nigel Edwards will be bringing a squad of 18 players to Royal Aberdeen Golf Club next week for three days’ practice over the venue for the Walker Cup match against the United States on September 10 and 11.

Compared with the squad who played in the first similar practice at the Balgownie links in May, James Byrne (Banchory), Alastair Jones (Radyr), Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) and Andrew Sullivan (Nuneaton) will be added while David Law (Hazlehead) and Irishman Dermot McElroy have not been invited this time round.

“It’s disappointing,” said Law, pictured, who won the Scottish boys championship at Royal Aberdeen in 2009 and completed the double by winning the Scottish men’s amateur championship at Royal Troon later the same year.

David realises his chance of making the Walker Cup team of 10 – to be announced on August 15 have all but gone. He would need to win the Scottish amateur championship again – at Western Gailes from July 25 to 30 – to have any chance of selection.

Byrne and Jones missed the May practice because they were attending US colleges.

Sullivan, who went on to win the Scottish stroke-play at Blairgowrie, and British amateur championship finalist Stewart were both injured at the time.

“The GB and I team is supposed to be announced on August 15 but one place has to be kept open should the winner of the United States amateur championship – to be played at Erin Hills, Wisconsiion from August 22 to 28 – be eligible to play for us in the Walker Cup match,” said skipper Edwards.

Edwards would welcome spectators at next week’s practice session for which he will again arrange a competitive format.

“We won’t be doing much on the Tuesday, but, yes, I would be delighted if spectators came along on Wednesday and Thursday to watch the potential GB and I Walker Cup team going through their paces at the match venue,” he said.

There will be no admission charge to the Balgownie practice and car parking will also be free.

Tickets for the Walker Cup match itself in September will cost £25 each day for an adult and £10 each day for a juvenile. But car parking will be free.

The 18 players assembling next week at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club with Nigel Edwards wioll be:

Tom Lewis, Paul Cutler, Jack Senior, Steven Brown, Rhys Pugh, Kevin Phelan, Kris Nicol, Stiggy Hodgson, Tyrrell Hatton, Rhys Enoch, Ross Kellett, Oliver Farr, Darren Wright, Alan Dunbar, Michael Stewart, Andrew Sullivan, James Byrne and Alastair Jones.

+To purchase tickets for the GB and I v USA Walker Cup match at Royal Aberdeen GC on Saturday-Sunday, September 10-11, log on to the R and A website, www.randa.org

OPEN TEES MAY BE MOVED FORWARD IF THE WINDS CONTINUE

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By PAUL KELSO
Strong winds currently hitting the Kent coast may prompt Open Championship organisers to move some of the most challenging tees at Royal St George’s forward for tomorrow’s opening round.

With a northerly wind gusting up to 30mph as players including Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke played their final Open practice round this morning, R and A chief executive Peter Dawson said that the tees on the seventh and 11th holes could be brought forward.
The seventh features a long carry over rough that, playing upwind, left some players struggling to reach the fairway on Tuesday, while the short par-three 11th is playing considerably longer than its 243 yards.
"We informed the players at the start of the week that we may move some tees forward, and if this wind remains as it is we will consider it," Dawson said.
"The back tee at the seventh was always going to be challenging given that it is 220 yards to reach the fairway, but yesterday some players were having great difficulty reaching it.
"The seventh and the 11th will be strong candidates to be moved forward if the wind remains as it is. I am a firm believer that players should be able to reach the fairways and the par threes."
Dawson said he was happy with the course set-up and believed that it provided a strategic test that the players would struggle to overcome.
"I don’t think we will get a lot of low-scoring this year, particularly if the wind remains strong."
Dawson also said that the R&A has provided a book of remembrance to Seve Ballasteros for the players to sign, and that all the players in the field had done so, with many leaving messages in tribute to the three-time Open winner who died earlier this year.

CASTLE STUART COULD BE TOUGHENED UP FOR NEXT YEAR

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
The combination of a lack of wind, generous fairways, big and soft greens and the absence of punishing rough left Castle Stuart a sitting duck for the class players of the European Tour in the Barclays Scottish Open last weekend.
Well over 100 players scored par or better in the first round ... the cut came at four under par after 36 holes ... and 19 under par was Luke Donald's winning total at the end of only 54 holes.
So are the powers-at-be at Castle Stuart quite happy for their new course, with its spectacular views over the Moray Firth, etc, etc, to be regarded as possible the easiest on the whole European Tour?
Hopefully not.
I don't know if there is space available to lengthen the 7,050yd course off Castle Stuart's back tees but it is clearly too short and too forgiving at its present length.
Even the US Women's Open at the weekend was played over a course of more than 7000 yards. Tour professionals are so skilful and hit the ball so far nowadays that we are moving towards 8,000yd courses being the norm for their capabilities.
Even the US men's college circuit tournaments were being played over courses well in excess of 7,000yd in its 2010-2011 season.
PGA professional Fraser Cromarty, the sales and marketing director at Castle Stuart, said today when asked if there were plans to make the course a sterner test for next year's Barclays Scottish Open:"This is something that is going to be talked about in our de-brief over the coming weeks."

CULTS HOTEL ABERDEEN PENNANT LEAGUE

Due to be played Tuesday, July 12

CALEDONIAN x, PETERCULTER X
+Clubs have agreed not to play this fixture as it has no relevance to
final league placings.

HAZLEHEAD 3, NIGG BAY 2

HOW THEY STAND
LEAGUE A
                    P-W-D-L   Diff    Pts
Portlethen      6-5-0-1-- +11    10
Newmachar    4-4-0-0-- +7        8
Nigg Bay        5-3-0-2- +3         6
Hazlehead      6-3-0-3-- -2        6
Murcar Links   5-2-0-3-- +3       4
Caledonian     5-1-0-4--  -9        2
Peterculter     5-0-0-5-- -13       0


TO PLAY
Thursday, July 14
Murcar Links v Newmachar


TO BE RESCHEDULED
From June 9
Newmachar v Nigg Bay


LEAGUE B


Banchory            5-4-0-1-- +13    8
Royal Aberdeen   5-4-0-1-- +10    8
Deeside              5-2-1-2-- +1     5
Auchmill             5-3-0-2-- +1     5
Stonehaven        5-1-0-2-- -8       4
Bon Accord         4-1-1-2-- -4       3
Northern            5-0-0-5-- -13     0



TO PLAY
Thursday, July 14
Auchmill v Royal Aberdeen
Banchory v Deeside
Bon Accord v Stonehaven
Tuesday, July 19
Bon Accord v Northern


Sunday, August 7
Semi-finals at neutral venue: Deeside or Portlethen
Winners League A v Runners-up League B.
Winners League B v Runners-up League A.


Sunday, September 4
Final at Peterculter.

NEWMACHAR RECOGNISE 61 IN STABLEFORD ROUND AS A RECORD

The Newmachar Golf Club committee have voted unanimously in favour of  recognising an 11-under-par round of 61 by John Duff over the Swailend course as a course record. Although the R and A recommend that course records should be set only in individual stroke-play competitions, excluding Stableford, par and bogey events, it is up to the home club to make the final decision. Duff's 61 was achieved in a Stableford competition last Sunday. In case you are interested, as the Editor was, John's Stableford points score was 45. The CSS on the day was 71 . His handicap was +1.6 and is now +2.4.

RORY ARRIVES TO A TIGER-STYLE AIR OF EXPECTATION

FROM THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By KARL McGINTY
Rory McIlroy went from the tranquillity of a deserted Royal Co Down on Monday evening straight into the bedlam of golf's greatest circus, The Open Championship, yesterday. So high has McIlroy's profile soared globally since last month's stunning US Open victory at Congressional that his pre-championship media conference was broadcast live from Royal St George's on America's top sports cable network ESPN.
There was a Tiger-style air of expectation as McIlroy plonked himself down behind the microphone but there the comparisons stopped as the 22-year-old Ulsterman smiled affably and chatted as easily as he might with his mates on the first tee at Holywood Golf Club, Belfast.
Phil Mickelson hit the nail squarely on the head when he was asked to explain the tidal wave of goodwill which lifted McIlroy after the Masters and then swelled enormously as he sailed to that record-breaking win at Congressional.
“The thing about Rory is that he plays golf with real flair and real charisma and I think fans are drawn to that,” said Mickelson (41) an American golfing icon with four Major titles to his name.
“He plays it with youthful exuberance and its fun to watch and see somebody play golf like that ... but it's not how he won at Congressional with his great play but also the way he interacts with people. The way he draws people to him.”
McIlroy's touchdown at Kent Airport, known locally as Manston, was quite bumpy as the private jet from Belfast was buffeted by the same stiff North-Easterly gale which turned the links at Sandwich into a snarling monster.
Things didn't go so smoothly on the ground either when McIlroy's courtesy car failed to show up because the dispatcher got his arrival time wrong.
Luckily his International Sports Management stablemate Ernie Els had arrived at the same time and the South African underscored McIlroy's popularity among his fellow professionals by placing one of the two vehicles sent for him at the young Irishman's disposal. Of course, McIlroy tees it up with Els and one of his best pals on the US Tour, Rickie Fowler, also 22, in the first round tomorrow morning at 9.09.
Quite a few seasoned veterans cocked an eyebrow in surprise at McIlroy's decision to delay his arrival in Sandwich until yesterday and play just one 18-hole practice round, this morning, in Open week.
Yet this is all part of the same softly-softly approach to the Majors which proved so effective for the first 54 holes at The Masters and again in the US Open.
And after three weeks in which his life has effectively been turned on its head, McIlroy believes there could have been no better way to pass Monday evening before the Open than by playing nine holes at Royal Co Down with his dad.
“We went out in the evening and there was just me and him on the golf course, basically no one else,” he explained. “It was a really nice moment. We did the same thing last year going into St Andrews (where McIlroy opened with a record-equalling 63 at the Majors).
“It sort of brought back a lot of memories, playing with my dad, long summer nights, teeing off at five and sort of getting in at nine.”
McIlroy admitted surprise at the enormity of the reaction to his win. “I didn't realise how much of a fuss or a buzz it would create. The support I've had from people back home and all over the world has been pretty overwhelming,” he said.
Yet he was able to restore a measure of sanity to his routine over the past 10 days.
“I've been practising a lot and I was over here last week for a couple of days and got two good practice rounds in.”
McIlroy endorsed his decision to withdraw from the French Open a fortnight back and said he was glad he didn't enter last week's rain-doused Scottish Open, insisting his failure to play a tournament since the US Open would have no impact on his performance this week.
“I went into the Masters with three weeks off and shot three pretty good scores there, so it's not a problem to me not playing competitive golf after a break.”
Huge crowds watched the Ulsterman chip and putt yesterday He did not venture out on to the links, but will play his one and only practice round in competition week this morning.
Ladbrokes yesterday reported two bets of £20,000 at 8-1 on the US Open champion becoming the first debutant winner of a major to win the very next major since World War II.
When asked if these were gambles of “shrewd punters or desperate men”, he replied: “I'll go for the first option.”
It was a typically assured performance. There were twice as many journalists crammed into the interview room as there had been for Luke Donald, the world No 1, a little earlier.
McIlroy was certainly not overawed. When he tees off at 9.09am in the company of Els and the American Rickie Fowler tomorrow, there will be a media presence rivalling that of the galleries. Yet McIlroy insists he’ll be unfazed.
“I'm the sort of person that likes to have people watching,” said the player who has led seven of the eight major rounds played so far this year.
“It’s not going to be the first time I'll play in front of big crowds.
“Last time I played a competitive round, there was quite a big crowd around ..

NINE Scots enter European individual amateur championship in Sweden

Nine Scots are among the entries for the European men's individual amateur championship at Halmstad Golf Club, Sweden from August 3 to 6. They are:
Michael Stewart
James Byrne
Greg Paterson
David Law
Paul Shields
Ross Kellett
Jordan Findlay
Kris Nicol
James White.

England has 15 entrants, Ireland 6 and Wales 3.