ABERDEEN LINKS CLUBS MOVE TOWARDS AMALGAMATION

Members at three Aberdeen golf clubs will get the chance to air their views on their proposed amalgamation at an open meeting in the Caledonian Golf Club on Thursday,  August 4 at 7.30 pm. 

The Bon Accord, Caledonian and Northern clubs, based at the Kings Links golf course, have joined forces with plans to form a new club, the Kings Links Golf Club. 

The nine-man steering group led by their three respective captains – Ricky Dunn, David Forbes and Derek Johnstone will give an update and answer questions on the amalgamation’s progress.

FORTROSE TRIO ARE NORTH DISTRICT CHAMPIONS

Fortrose and Rosemarkie's Mike MacDonald, Lewis Reid and Chris Gaittens will be the North District's representatives in the Scottish club team championship final at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club on Saturday, September 24. The trio won the North District team championship at Forres Golf Club today with a total of 275 (MacDonald 71-68, Reid 75-68, Gaitten 68-69) made up of a best two from three scores each round of the 36-hole event. Moray (Malcolm MacLeman, Gary Thomson, Stuart Tatters) were runners-up with 280 and Elgin A (Neil McWilliam, Jordan Milne, Michael Watson) were third on 281.

GREEN BLUNDER LETS DYSON IN TO WIN IRISH OPEN

KILLARNEY, Ireland (AP) — Simon Dyson of England won the Irish Open by a stroke today after capitalising on a poor approach shot by Richard Green of Australia on the final hole.
Dyson was trailing by a shot when he birdied the 17th to draw even. His round of 4-under 67 left him 15-under 269 for the tournament. Dyson finished ninth at the Open two weeks ago and called his play in the Irish Open "probably the best golf I've ever played."
Green all but handed Dyson the victory when his approach on the 18th led to a three-putt bogey, only his second of the day. He finished at 68 for a 14 under total.
"You always feel sorry for somebody when that happens," Dyson said. "I'd much prefer to win it with a birdie. But I'll take what I can get."
Scotland's Stephen Gallacher was third after a 68 left him at 12 under.
With the victory, Dyson qualified for next week's World Golf Championship in Akron, Ohio. He received the Waterford Crystal winner's trophy from Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny and $360,000.
More than 20,000 fans lined the fairways Sunday in hopes of seeing fireworks by the Emerald Isle's homegrown stars.
But British Open winner Darren Clarke and three-time-major winner Padraig Harrington didn't even survive Friday's cut. Sunday's two surviving local favorites - Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell - both had mediocre performances again.
McIlroy closed with a 71 to finish 12 shots behind Dyson.
"It wasn't quite the result I was looking for," said the U.S. Open champion.
McDowell, who won the U.S. Open in 2010, said his round of 70 for a 4-under finish felt "very much like Groundhog Day. These greens just drove me insane all week."
Dyson started the day in a three-way tie for the lead with Green and David Howell. While Howell fell off the pace with narrow misses on long putts, Green jumped to a two-shot lead with four birdies on the front nine.
Dyson caught Green with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes. Then Dyson missed a 6-foot birdie opportunity on No. 12 followed by an even worse 4-foot miss for a bogey on No. 13.
"We were just trading blows," Dyson said, "and then I three-putted the 13th, which was a shame."
Dyson pulled even again by birdieing the par-5 16th hole. Green, in the group behind, shot a stunning approach shot on the 16th, leaving him a 10-foot eagle chance. But his first putt rolled narrowly right; his birdie gave him a one-shot lead again.
Dyson didn't let up, dropping his second shot on the par-4 17th within a few feet of the cup for a birdie and a tie with Green. He parred the 18th and watched from the clubhouse, head in hands, as Green took the 18th tee.
Green's drive came close to landing in a creek. But he found himself with a good line to the cup, and chose his 8-iron for the 150-yard shot into a light crosswind. It dropped far short, barely reaching the green's near corner. Green dropped his head in disappointment. Dyson, watching on TV, distractedly bit his nails.
Green's 60-foot birdie putt for the win went straight to the hole - but cut inches to the right at the last moment and rolled 10 feet beyond. His attempt to send the tournament into a two-way playoff rolled a few inches left.
"I didn't expect the 8-iron on the last hole to come up so short," said the 40-year-old Green, a rare left-hander on the European Tour. "I had a great angle."
Of his long-shot putt for victory, he said: "It was a pressure putt, and I hit it a bit too hard."

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GOVE'S PAIR OF EAGLES HELPS HIM INTO NATIONWIDE TOUR LEAD

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
SANDY, Utah -- With no eagles through the first two rounds of the Utah Championship, Jeff Gove changed that in the third round Saturday. He made one on the par-5 third hole then holed out from the fairway on the 12th hole for another.
The second eagle gave him a temporary four-stroke lead and eventually helped him to a 4-under 67. But his play was only enough to earn him a tie for the lead with J.J. Killeen entering the final round. Killeen made three birdies in a row and four total on his back nine and finished with a 3-under 68. Both players stand at 16-under.
Because of bad weather predicted Sunday afternoon, starting times have been moved up, with Gove and Killeen -- playing partners Saturday -- teeing off together at noon local time.
"I definitely didn't start the way I wanted to," said Killeen of his bogeys. "I think it was a timing thing. Maybe I swung a little too quick today. But the bogey I made on one kind of relaxed me."
After Gove's hole-out from the fairway, he was at 17-under, but another bogey at No. 14 left him at 16-under. He parred in.
"I flubbed that chip on 14. It was the only bad shot I had all day," he said.
Even with his back-nine struggles, Gove, a three-time Nationwide Tour champion, likes where he's at entering the final round.
"I haven't been in this position for a long time. It's been a while," he said. "But I've done it before."
His first Nationwide Tour victory came in 1995 at the Tri-Cities Open in his home state of Washington. He added wins in 1999 (Knoxville Open) and 2005 (Oregon Classic).
This season, Gove, a Pepperdine University graduate, is 47th on the money list and is trying to make up for a bad five-week stretch where he missed the cut in every tournament.
"I kind of got going in the wrong way this season and got sick in Mexico. I lost 11 pounds, and I still haven't gained it back," he said.
His game has looked healthy this week, as he's tied for third in par-3 scoring average and tied for second on Willow Creek's par 4s.
Conversely, Killeen, a TCU product who still makes his home in Fort Worth, Texas. has made the course's par 5s his priority. He played the five par-5s in 2-under Saturday.
With 18 holes to play. Jason Kokrak, who made only his second cut of the season, is tied for third with David Lingmerth. They are both four behind Gove and Killeen.
"I three-putted the first par 5, No. 1. That's how I started my round," Kokrak joked. "But I hit it solid from tee to green. I just went out there and tried to make birdies on the par 5s. I just tried to put myself in good position and didn't try to do anything special."
Five players are five back: Danny Lee, Mark Anderson, Jonas Blixt, Bud Cauley and Charles Warren.
Third-Round Notes:
• This is Jason Kokrak's fifth start of the season and only his second made cut. Entering the final round, he's tied for third. His 64 Saturday tied him for low-round honors with Mark Anderson. Kokrak, an Ohio native, who played collegiately at Xavier University in Cincinnati, had his top finish earlier this year -- a tie for 34th at The Rex Hospital Open. In his career, he's only made eight Nationwide Tour starts, with one coming as an amateur in 2007. His career-best finish is a tie for 13th in 2010, at the South Georgia Classic in Valdosta.
• Jeff Gove played bogey-free golf for the first 41 holes of the Utah Championship but finally bogeyed when he missed the green on No. 6. He elected to putt from the fringe, came up short and missed his par putt. He added a second bogey on No. 14.
• Charles Warren has split his time evenly between the Nationwide Tour and the US PGA Tour in 2011. Warren, who is tied for fifth, is playing in his ninth Nationwide Tour event this season, with a tie for third at the South Georgia Classic his best performance. He's only missed one cut and is 39th on the money list. In nine PGA TOUR starts, Warren's best showing was a tie for 18th at the John Deere Classic. Warren's best finish in Utah was a tie for 11th in 2000.
• Danny Lee put together a 6-under 65 Saturday to move into contention. After opening with an even-par 71, he's gone 66-65 in his last two rounds and has been bogey-free for 25 consecutive holes.
• There were seven eagles Saturday, with Jeff Gove making two of them (No. 3 and No. 12). The other eagles came courtesy of Mark Anderson (No. 12), Joel Edwards (No. 12), Carlos Franco (No. 17), David Lingmerth (No. 12) and Dan Woltman (No. 10). There have been 35 eagles this week, with Nos. 1, 3 and 12 all yielding eight. Interestingly enough, a tournament that has seen 23 aces in its history has not had a hole-in-one this week.
• Only three players had bogey-free rounds Saturday. They came from Mark Anderson (64, tied for fifth), Danny Lee (65, tied for fifth) and Casey Wittenberg (66, tied for 10th).

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BROWNE v O'MEARA FOR US SENIOR TITLE - OR SO IT APPEARS

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — The coolest thing at the U.S. Senior Open hasn't been the air conditioning in the clubhouse or the ice in the drinks at the corporate tents.
Olin Browne, of all people, has been one cool customer.
Battling high heat and staring down wizened major winner Mark O'Meara, Browne continues to run just a few degrees above zero.
The journeyman had all the answers for the third day in a row on Saturday, shooting a 6-under 65 to forge a two-stroke lead over O'Meara heading into Sunday's final round.
"The truth is, I haven't been thinking about what I've been doing; I'm thinking about what I'm going to do," Browne said.
Never a winner in his three years of competition since turning 50, Browne set the tournament record for lowest score through 54 holes. After a record-tying 64 followed by a 69, he's at 15-under 198.
He didn't even want to contemplate what winning a major championship would mean to him, even though he knows what it's like to be on the outside looking in for much of his 27 years as a touring pro.
"I really don't have any idea," he said. "It would be great, obviously. Any time you can put that kind of a championship on your resume it's a tremendous accomplishment. I haven't gotten one. I would love to have one."
O'Meara, winner of the 1998 Masters and British Open, had a 66 in a head-to-head duel. Playing in the same pairing, he pulled even with a birdie at the ninth hole but Browne had five birdies on the difficult back nine. His 29 was another tournament record.
"I've always been a player that respects my fellow players," said O'Meara, getting a second wind after playing in Pebble Beach three weeks ago, the past two weeks in England and then flying to his home in Houston before arriving in Toledo on Tuesday. "Olin's a friend. He's a very good player. He showed that out there today and I know he'll be tough tomorrow."
Heading into the final round, it's basically a two-man race. Six shots off the pace at 9-under 204 are Jeff Sluman (65), Peter Senior (68), Joey Sindelar (69) and Mark Calcavecchia (69).
They're left with almost no margin for error.
"You've got to hope that at least you get it done early in the round," said Sluman, winner of the 1988 PGA Championship. "You've got to get this thing done quickly and make some birdies and get some momentum going right off the git-go."
O'Meara refused to say the rest of the pack was out of it. At the same time, he said he relished the one-on-one battle atop the leaderboard.
"It's a whole new day tomorrow," he said. "We enjoy playing with each other. I'll certainly try to do the best I can and if I'm not doing it and he's hitting good shots, I'm fine with that. If he goes out there and plays well and if I play well, we'll have to see what happens coming down the stretch."
Browne is trying to join Simon Hobday, who won at Pinehurst No. 2 in 1994, as the only wire-to-wire winners in the tournament's 32 years.
His 54-hole total was one better than Hobday's 199.
Browne said the thought had never crossed his mind that he might not win again after finishing first at the Deutsche Bank in 2005.
"I feel very fortunate to have this kind of a career," he said. "Whatever happens is OK with me. I've had a nice run. I've got no complaints."
Browne began the day with a one-shot edge on O'Meara. They matched each other swing for swing, putt for putt, throughout a day of scorching heat and high humidity at Inverness Club.
Both birdied the fourth hole, with O'Meara falling two back with a bogey on the next hole. Birdies on holes 8 and 9 helped O'Meara catch Browne heading to the back nine at the old Donald Ross layout, which plays to a par of 37 on the front but doesn't have a par-5 hole and plays to a 34 on the last nine.
Browne hit a wedge to 18 inches for birdie on the 10th hole and took off. He built a three-stroke lead with two more birdies through 13.
O'Meara birdied the 17th and 18th to pull within a shot, but each time Browne - a three-time winner on the PGA Tour - dropped in a birdie putt immediately on top of O'Meara's.
"Does it feel good to answer his birdie? Yeah, of course it does," Browne said. "But I'm not looking at it that way. This isn't match play."
For all intents and purposes, it will be Sunday when Browne and O'Meara trade shots again.
Inverness again remained defenceless despite sun and high temperatures. The course was hit with almost 4 inches of rain in the last week, with a huge thunderstorm on Friday morning delaying play and forcing 21 players to return to the course on Saturday morning to complete the second round.
Barely staying in sight of Browne and O'Meara are Hale Irwin, who shot his age (66), along with New Mexico club pro Jeff Roth (68) and Michael Allen (71), all at 7-under 206.
Tied for 10th and nine shots back came a who's who of senior golf, including defending champion Bernhard Langer (68), Hal Sutton (66), Nick Price (68), Jay Haas (68), Steve Jones (69) and Corey Pavin (70).
"I haven't threatened the leaders yet, but hopefully tomorrow I can go crazy," Haas said.

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ANTHONY KIM REDISCOVERS THE FUN IN PLAYING GOLF

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, Weast Virginia (AP) — Golf is fun again for Anthony Kim. The Greenbrier Classic is helping solidify that.
Kim shot an 8-under-par 62 Saturday for a one-stroke edge over PGA Tour rookie Scott Stallings after the third round on the Old White TPC course.
Kim's low round of the year left him at 10 under with a chance to advance to next week's Bridgestone Invitational with a win. He hasn't missed Firestone since his rookie year in 2007.
A third place-or-better finish would put him in position to earn a spot in the US PGA Championship in two weeks in Atlanta heading into the FedEx Cup play-offs.
"I haven't had this much fun playing golf in a long time," Kim said.
Stallings shot 66 to move into second place at 9 under. Gary Woodland (67) and second round co-leader Webb Simpson (69) were two strokes back.
Kim's last victory came a year ago at the Shell Houston Open before he underwent thumb surgery and took three months off. He's had an up-and-down year, with eight missed cuts and two top 10s in 21 events.
Kim tied for fifth at the British Open earlier this month after making it as an alternate. But last week he was disqualified from the Canadian Open after signing for a score other than an 11-over 81 in the second round.
Kim credited a talk he had after the disqualification with his mother, whom he termed a "great golf psychologist."
"It was just about having fun, relaxing and enjoying the position I'm in because I'm very fortunate to be playing golf for a living," he said. "Sometimes you forget about that. I was pretty upset about my 81 and she noticed somebody in the gallery who was less fortunate. We talked about that and I came out here ready to play some golf and have a good time."
That's a stark contrast to the first six months of the year, in which Kim said he didn't want to be on the golf course because he wasn't sure where his shots would end up.
"People may think I'm exaggerating, but that's how tough this game got for me," Kim said. "Going back to the basics is really what helped my game. Because without that, I would still be struggling."
Kim made eight birdies, tying his total from the first two rounds combined. All of his birdies Saturday came from inside 10 feet. His 113-yard wedge to within a foot of the pin at the par-4 14th gave him the outright lead.
"I was just hitting smart golf shots," he said. "I was starting to think my way around the course instead of just get up to a tee and the fairways are 40 yards wide and the rough is not that penal and just try to hit it as hard as I can. That's not how you play golf."
Stallings had missed the cut in seven of 13 previous events since a third-place finish in the Transitions Championship.
Starting the day two strokes out of the lead, Stallings made four birdies. He missed a 34-footer for eagle at the par-5 17th that would have tied him with Kim, then missed a 13-footer at No. 18.
Stallings has gone 42 straight holes without a bogey and will be in his first final pairing.
"It's my rookie year," Stallings said. "I'm three-fourths of the way through. I'm sitting here just kind of pinching myself every single day to have the opportunity to play out here."
The Old White TPC underwent a makeover after Stuart Appleby shot 59 in last year's final round to beat Jeff Overton by a stroke at 22 under. The talk all week had been about how the course's lengthened tees and reseeded, firm greens would make low scores impossible.
Jimmy Walker, who advanced to weekend play on the cut line, and Kim changed all that.
Walker posted a career-best round 62 and also matched Kim's birdie total.
"You've got nothing to lose when you're at the back of the pack," Walker said. "I told my wife last night, let's go out and attack, see what happens. It worked."
Those low scores were aided by the course's setup. Some tees were moved up and many pin placements were favorable compared to Friday, when Phil Mickelson called the course "brutally difficult."
The field's scoring average of 69.3 strokes was two better than Friday.
"The greens felt a lot softer today," Walker said. "You could see they were receptive right off the bat."
Walker was three strokes out of the lead along with Bill Haas (65) and Chris Couch (67).
Second-round co-leader Brendon de Jonge made two bogeys and a double-bogey on his first seven holes, shot 72 and fell into a group of seven golfers five shots back.
First-round leader Trevor Immelman, seeking his first win since the 2008 Masters, went 23 holes without a bogey before a double bogey on the par-4 13th. He made four bogeys and a birdie after that, shot 73 and trailed by seven strokes

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