Saturday, October 15, 2011

GILLAN BEATS BRYCE IN LANARKSHIRE BOYS' MATCH-PLAY FINAL

Ross Gillan (Torrance House) became the Lanarkshire boys' match-play champion for 2011 today when he beat Jordan Bryce (Strathaven) by 2 and 1 in the final at Hamilton Golf Club.
Bryce is the current Lanarkshire boys' stroke-play champion.

Ross Gillan is on the left in the picture, courtesy of William Sharpe, president of Lanarkshire Golf  Associationa.

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DRUMMOND SHOWS THE BULLDOG SPIRIT TO FINISH HIS ROUND

BENAHAVIS SENIOR MASTERS REPORT FROM NEIL AHERN
European Tour Assistant Press Officer 
Ross Drummond carded for a one under par 70 to finish the second day of the Benahavis Senior Masters in tied ninth spot, but his round was made all the more remarkable considering that he was close to withdrawing, having played all 18 holes with a bad dose of food poisoning.
The tall Scot hadn’t slept at all during the night before his second round and hadn’t eaten anything before taking to the course, but incredibly managed to negotiate the tough La Quinta Golf and Country Club course under par to sit six shots off the lead once again set by Gary Wolstenholme.
“I felt absolutely terrible,” exhaled the Paisley-born player afterwards, “I really don’t know how I did it because I felt so weak and was walking so far behind but I just tried to get around and hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow.
“I was just trying to keep it slow, trying not to hit it too hard and get it up the fairway so I actually played quite nicely and maintained my position. Hopefully now I can eat something tomorrow and push on.”
Wolstenholme, meanwhile, won the battle after a two under par second round of 69 maintained his lead at the Benahavis Senior Masters in Spain, but is yet to win the “War of the Roses” as five of his English compatriots sit waiting to pounce. 
The 51 year old consolidated his first round overnight lead after he followed up a steady level par front nine with birdies at the 14th, 15th and 17th to set the pace at eight under for the tournament and enter the final day with high hopes of a first win of the 2011 season.
He won’t sleep too easy tonight though, as a plethora of England’s top senior players lie ominously in waiting ahead of the final day in the south of Spain, with five St George’s Crosses directly behind him on the leaderboard.The 2009 Benahavis Senior Masters champion and the man with a record 24 European Senior Tour wins, Carl Mason, sits just a shot behind in second place, while 18-time European Tour winner and Ryder Cup veteran Mark James is a shot further back alongside two-time European Tour winner Andrew Sherborne in tied third place.Gordon Brand Jnr bettered his first round by four shots after a two under par 69 left him in tied 20th while Fraser Mann (75) was tied 31st and Andrew Oldcorn (74) was tied 49th.
SECOND-ROUND SCOREBOARD
 Par 142 (2x71)
 134 G Wolstenholme (Eng) 65 69,
135 C Mason (Eng) 70 65,
136 A Sherborne (Eng) 71 65, M James (Eng) 68 68,
138 C Rocca (Ita) 70 68, P Mitchell (Eng) 71 67, B Cameron (Eng) 70 68,
139 B Lane (Eng) 70 69,
140 M Piñero (Esp) 74 66, R Drummond (Sco) 70 70, A Franco (Par) 70 70, M Mouland (Wal) 67 73, J Gould (Eng) 66 74,
141 D Johnson (USA) 70 71, G Brand (Eng) 69 72, J Harrison (Eng) 69 72, T Thelen (USA) 69 72, D O'Sullivan (Irl) 70 71, A Sowa (Arg) 66 75,
142 B Lincoln (RSA) 69 73, E Rodriguez (Esp) 69 73, G Brand Jnr (Sco) 73 69, P Fowler (Aus) 72 70, S Van Vuuren (RSA) 70 72, M Belsham (Eng) 71 71,
143 C Williams (RSA) 73 70, T Johnstone (Zim) 71 72, J Bruner (USA) 73 70, J Stansberry (USA) 73 70, T Charnley (Eng) 72 71,
144 L Carbonetti (Arg) 74 70, T Giedeon (Ger) 73 71, G Ryall (Eng) 72 72, F Mann (Sco) 69 75, B Smit (RSA) 72 72,
145 J Cañizares (Esp) 70 75, D Durnian (Eng) 71 74, K Spurgeon (Eng) 77 68, P Dahlberg (Swe) 74 71, G Banister (Aus) 74 71, R Chapman (Eng) 72 73,
146 G Manson (Aut) 71 75, J Rivero (Esp) 76 70,
147 M Moreno (Esp) 72 75, D Cambridge (Jam) 75 72,
148 J Sallat (Fra) 74 74, D Hospital (Esp) 70 78, C Grenier (Aut) 75 73,
149 B Lendzion (USA) 76 73, J Hall (Eng) 75 74, J Davila (Esp) 69 80, J Quiros (Esp) 71 78, D Smyth (Irl) 74 75, A Oldcorn (Sco) 75 74, J Rhodes (Eng) 73 76,
150 J Heggarty (Nir) 73 77,
151 B Longmuir (Sco) 73 78, G Ralph (Eng) 75 76, F Illouz (Fra) 73 78, S Bennett (Eng) 73 78,
152 M Gray (Sco) 75 77, N Job (Eng) 76 76, P Allan (Eng) 75 77,
153 A Garrido (Esp) 78 75, H Carbonetti (Arg) 79 74,
154 S Ruiz (Esp) 78 76,
155 J Stuart (USA) 76 79, T Horton (Eng) 81 74, S Cipa (Eng) 78 77,
156 M Bembridge (Eng) 78 78, T Burgoyne (Sco) 77 79,
157 J Chillas (Sco) 82 75,
159 V Garcia (Esp) 82 77,
** B Queipo De Llano (am) (Esp) RT  0,

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RUSSELL AND MACAULAY STILL IN THE HUNT FOR ROME PRIZE

 CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT FROM MICHAEL GIBBONS
European Tour Deputy Chief Press Officer
Despite a day of frustration on the greens of the Olgiata Golf Club in Rome, Raymond Russell and Callum Macaulay remain very much in the hunt to take home the Roma Golf Open title going into the final round.
The Scottish duo, playing together in the final group of the third round, suffered on the slick greens at Olgiata but managed to grind out the kind of performances that win titles, with Russell carding a two over 73 to fall back to eight under and Macaulay posting a 72 to drop to seven under.
That left the pair respectively two and three strokes behind the leader, Italy’s own Gregory Molteni, with England’s Sam Little and Lloyd Kennedy sharing second place with Portugal’s José Filipe Lima on eight under.
For Russell, victory in Rome would signal a return to full fitness and form after spending the majority of the year crippled by the effects of a mysterious and debilitating viral condition that saw him operating on 15 per cent of his body’s regular capacity at one stage.
The 39 year old from Edinburgh said: “It was a pretty frustrating day right from the start to be honest. I bogeyed the first and that kind of set the tone. I suppose I have to turn it on its head and take the positives out of it – I had a bad day out there today but I am still right in this tournament. I have to be pleased about that and make sure I take advantage tomorrow.”
For Macaulay, meanwhile, the Roma Open – the penultimate event of the year – represents the last chance for the 27 year old to break into the top 45 in the Rankings and claim a place at the Challenge Tour Grand Final.
The former Scottish amateur champion from Tulliallan needs to finish in the top three in Rome to earn the requisite €10,000 that would allow him to continue his quest to finish in the elite top 20 European Tour card-winning spots at the conclusion of the season finale.
“It was a bad day today but I haven’t played myself out of it,” said Macaulay. “I can still see that third place just in front of me and it is in my own hands to an extent. If I can play well tomorrow then I can still finish top three or better so I still have a chance.”

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR WEBSITE

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LOGJAM FOR LEAD AT PORTUGAL MASTERS

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Rafael Cabrera-Bello will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Portugal Masters, but it is still all to play for after another day of low scoring in Vilamoura.
The Spaniard shot an eight under par 64 at Oceânico Victoria Golf Course to lead by one on 18 under 198 from Sweden's Christian Nilsson (66-199) and Chile's Felipe Aguilar (67=199)
Cabrera-Bello carded five birdies, two eagles and one bogey and the 27 year old, who won the Austrian Open in 2009 with a closing round of 60, said: "It felt really good, I've been playing good the last few days.
"My goal today was to try and do the same thing. The two eagles definitely gave me a big boost and I think I played pretty solid.
"I did not make many mistakes. I've been hitting my irons really good this week, hitting them close and giving myself lots of opportunities and I've been able to make a few. Hopefully I can keep it up tomorrow.
"I probably won't be leading tomorrow by the time I tee off so I need to perform well and try to hit a low round again."
Sweden's Peter Hanson and Denmark's Thomas Björn are just two shots off the lead on 16 under, Hanson carding a superb 64 and Björn - seeking his fourth win of the season - returning a 66.Hanson, a member of the victorious Ryder Cup Team at The Celtic Manor Resort last year, said: "I wasn't really thinking about a 64 but I got off to a good start and managed to keep a bit of momentum into the back nine.
"I've been struggling a bit with every part of my game this season, it has not been consistent but I've been working hard on that the least few weeks.
"I'm just outside top 15 on the Race to Dubai and would love to get into that. I'm also 51st on the world rankings and it would be nice to move up there as well."
South African Hennie Otto was among those on 14 under after producing a brilliant 63.
Otto carded seven birdies and an eagle to complete his round two hours before overnight leader Simon Khan was due to tee off.
The 35 year old had made the cut with nothing to spare on five under after rounds of 72 and 67.
"I got it to six under yesterday with three holes to go and then I double-bogeyed the seventh," Otto said.
"I had five under par in my head to be the number for the cut and I chipped and putted on the eighth for par but then managed to birdie nine to get in right on the mark
"With the early time and fresh greens, I really wanted to have a go. I played well last week but made 18 pars in a row in the first round.
"Yesterday I also played well but didn't make the putts, but I knew it was going to happen sooner rather than later for me."
Khan, after pacemaking rounds of 65 and 66, slipped back to a pedestrian 71 for 202, the3 same mark as Walker Cup star Tom Lewis (68-202) and South Africans Hennie and James Kingston (70).
Paul Lawrie still leads the "Tartan Army" and, all things considered, following the death of his coach and close friend Adam Hunter on Friday night, the Aberdonian did well to shoot a 69 for 12-under 204. He is tied for 13th place. Paul is "only" six shots off the pace with a round to go.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
198 Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spain) 69 65 64.
199 Christian Nilsson (Swedden) 69 64 66, Felipe Aguilar (Chile) 66 66 67.
200 Peter Hanson (Sweden) 66 70 64, Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) 65 69 66.
201 Lorenzo Gagli ((Italy) 69 66 66, Keith Horne (S Africa) 69 65 67.
202 Otto Hennie (S Africa) 72 67 63, Tom Lewis (England) 70 64 68, James Kingston (S Africa) 64 68 70, Simon Khan (England) 65 66 71.

SCOTS' SCORES
204 Paul Lawrie 69 66 69 (T13).
205 Peter Whiteford 71 67 67 (T18).
208 Steven O'Hara 68 71 69, Alastair Forsyth 68 70 70 (T47).
209 Marc Warren 70 69 70 (T59).
210 Colin Montgomerie 67 72 71 (T67).
212 David Drysdale 69 67 76 (T71).

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ROSS BAIN JOINT THIRD IN HERO INDIAN OPEN AFTER ROUND 3

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
New Delhi, India: David Gleeson of Australia signalled his intend of ending a three-year title drought on the Asian Tour by shooting a sizzling six-under-par 66 in the third round of the Hero Indian Open today.
Gleeson was three shots of the pace after the second round but peppered the flags with accurate iron shots for a three-day total of 16-under-par 200 at the Delhi Golf Club to hold a one shot lead over Chiragh Kumar of India.
Overnight leader Kumar rued a cold putter as he posted a 70 while Lu Wei-chih of Chinese Taipei, winner of the Yeangder TPC last week and Scotland’s Ross Bain were a further four shots back on 205 in the US$1.25 million Asian Tour event.
Gleeson got off to a fast start with two opening birdies before turning in 34. He sparked into life in his homeward nine with five birdies against one bogey where his approach shot flew over the 18th green and into the greenside bunker.
“It is the third day and always a tough day to find the right frame of mind. Chiragh and I both had flying starts which were great but I’m happy I hit my approach shots close to the holes,” said Gleeson.
The Chinese Taipei based Australian has been enjoying a rich vein of form since finishing second at the Macau Open last month but he is not taking his lead for granted.
“This course is so difficult. I’m so nervous on every hole to be thinking about anything else. I still got a lot of work to do out there,” said the two-time Asian Tour winner, whose last victory dates back to 2008.
Kumar, a 2006 Asian Games team silver medallist, turned in 34 highlighted by three birdies against one bogey but failed to convert his birdie chances on the back nine where he made nine consecutive pars.
“I just didn’t read my putts as well as I did in the first two rounds. You can’t read them perfectly every day. It was just one of those days,” said Kumar, who is searching for a maiden Asian Tour victory.
Chinese Taipei’s Lu put himself in good position of securing back-to-back victories after charging up the leader board with a 12-yard chip-in birdie on seven for a 66.
“My putting could have been better but I won’t complain with my score. I’m really confident after my win last week and will do my best to narrow the gap on David,” said Lu.
Scots exile Bain, who is also in the hunt for a first Asian Tour victory, eagled the first hole for the second consecutive day courtesy of a monster 70 feet putt for a 68 to lie five shots off the lead.
“I hit a ridiculous putt on the first hole again and that was a bonus. It is those sort of things that happen that nullified some other putts I didn’t hole for birdies. All in all I really played well and my game is in good shape,” said the 35-year-old, who finished second in the 2001 Indian Open.
THIRD-ROUND LEADERS
Par 216 (3x72)
200 - David GLEESON (AUS) 68-66-66.
201 - Chiragh KUMAR (IND) 64-67-70.
205 - LU Wei-chih (TPE) 71-68-66, Ross BAIN (SCO) 65-72-68.
207 - S.S.P. CHOWRASIA (IND) 69-70-68, Adilson DA SILVA (BRA) 68-71-68, Daisuke KATAOKA (JPN) 72-66-69, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 69-67-71.
208 - LAM Chih Bing (SIN) 70-71-67, Himmat RAI (IND) 69-70-69.
209 - Marcus BOTH (AUS) 71-73-65, Boonchu RUANGKIT (THA) 70-73-66, SIDDIKUR (BAN) 70-70-69, Zaw MOE (MYN) 65-74-70, Harendra GUPTA (IND) 72-66-71, Scott BARR (AUS) 67-70-72.
210 - Gaurav Pratap SINGH (IND) 72-72-66.

Selected score:
211 Edoardo MOLINARI (ITA) 71-70-70 (T18).
216 Simon Griffiths (England) 69 72 75 (T43).
218 Chris Rodgers (England) 70 74 74 (T55)

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LIVE SCORING LINKS TO THREE EUROPEN PRO TOURNAMENTS

TO VIEW THE LIVE SCORING SERVICE FROM THE THIRD ROUND OF THE PORTUGAL MASTERS ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

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TO VIEW THE LIVE SCORING FROM THE BENAHAVIS SENIOR MASTERS IN SPAIN

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TO VIEW THE LIVE SCORING FROM THE CHALLENGE TOUR'S ROMA OPEN

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ADAM HUNTER (48) LOSES BATTLE WITH LEUKAEMIA

"Adam was always there for me, and I shall miss him so much" - PAUL LAWRIE

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Adam Hunter, the man who coached Paul Lawrie when the Aberdonian became Open champion at Carnoustie in 1999, died last night after losing his battle with leukaemia. He passed away at Beatson Cancer Centre in Glasgow.
Born in Glasgow on September 26, 1963, the 48-year-old Hunter was a Scotland boy and youth international and spent a couple of years at Virginia College in the United States before he turned pro in 1984.
He had several spells on the European Tour, the highlight of which came in 1995 when he won the Portuguese Open in 1995, beating Darren Clarke in a play-off.
Adam was also a successful Tartan Tour campaigner in the mid-1980s, playing out of the Sandyhills club.
He won the Granite City Classic and the Scottish Under-25s championship in 1985. In 1986 he won the Carnoustie Challenge and in 1987 Hunter won the Northern Open championship at Royal Aberdeen.
In his later years, Hunter established a reputation as a very good coach, principally with Paul Lawrie who won the Open championship at Carnoustie in 1999. His forte was the short game.
Last year Hunter was appointed head coach of the Scottish Under-16s by the SGU, having spent six years prior to that as a Scottish Golf Academy coach.
Hunter opened his own golf school at Newton Mearns, near Glasgow but used Kingsfield near Linlithgow more recently to work with Lawrie and his other pupils.
Douglas Connon, the SGU chairman, visited Adam only this past week.
“Adam was a consistent and straight man who set us all an example by his personal behaviour and how to live life. I am heartbroken as he was my friend. Our thoughts are with his lovely, caring wife Caroline and his family,” said Connon.
News of Hunter’s death was broken to Lawrie after he had just finished his second round in the Portugal Masters.
He said: “I have said many times over the years Adam Hunter was magnificent for me, right from the first day we hooked up together way back in 1998.
“His work-rate and dedication to my golf was unbelievable. He was always there for me and I will miss him so much.
“It would be impossible to tell you how much he meant to me. Nothing was too much trouble. He travelled with me for months after The Open in 1999 as much as my mate as coach. I learned so much from him.”
Hunter began to feel unwell with earache at the end of 2009 and was subsequently diagnosed with leukaemia. Despite the illness, he remained devoted to his job and was still sending emails from his hospital bed over the past few weeks.

+ON his own website, Paul Lawrie has written the following tribute:
"My friend and coach Adam Hunter passed away last night after a two-year battle with leukemia.
"I have said many times he was the reason I became the player I did. I owe him so much. His dedication to my golf career was unbelievable. He was involved in everything I did and was always there for me.
"Our thoughts are with his wife Caroline and their two girls at this awful time."


TRIBUTE FROM FORMER SCOTLAND INTERNATIONAL STEVIE CARMICHAEL

I'm sure many people will share my sadness at Adam's passing.
There is no doubt at all he was one of life's good guys and as well as being a great player and coach he was just a very good man to spend time with.
I'll keep some very fond memories of times spent with Adam on trips with the SGU either working on my game or sharing jokes and stories.
Very, very sad and my thoughts go out to Caroline and their girls.

Stevie Carmichael

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