RGU STUDENT GORDON MUNRO BEATS THE PROS IN NE ALLIANCE

By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com   Robert Gordon University student Gordon Munro from Fraserburgh headed a North-east Alliance field of 98, which included Tartan Tour pros Greig Hutcheon, Scott Henderson and Lee Vannet (Carnoustie) plus Northern Open champion David Law (Hazlehead), at Craibstone Golf Centre today. Munro, pictured right, a scratch amateur, was the only player to match the par of 69 over a course where the greens were first-class but the fairways were so wet that Craibstone general manager Billy Sim (who later had a round of 74) said it was "touch and go" in the early morning as to whether or not the course would remain open. The prospects of Munro scoring his first Alliance win were very remote when he was four over par after six holes, having three-putted twice - for a double-bogey 5 at the short second where he was bunkered and for a bogey 5 at the third. He was also bunkered at the sixth. But Clark Kent was transformed into Superman after that. Gordon covered the last 12 holes in four under par with birdies at the eighth, 10th, 16th and 17th , coming home in three-under 31. He wedged to 3ft for the eighth hole birdie ... holed from 30ft for a 2 at the short 10th ... got up and down out of a bunker for a 3 at the 17th and wedged to 2ft at the 17th. "I went to the gym for the first time on Tuesday night and my back was killing me when I woke up this morning and until I warmed up after seven or eight holes," said Munro who has two years to go before he graduates as a quantity surveyor. Rookie pro David Law, off to the Alps Tour School in Italy next week, was runner-up with a 70 (36-34). Bogeys at the second, seventh, eighth and 10th cancelled out his birdies at the third, fourth and 13th.  Tartan Tour No 2 money-winner this year, Greig Hutcheon (Banchory), who double-bogeyed the short 12th. was third on 71 (34-37). Lee Vannet and Scott Henderson had No Returns. Scott had a triple bogey 7 at the ninth and a double bogey 5 at the 12th before, after birdieing the 14th, he decided to tear up his card at the 15th. Retired Hazlehead professional Ian Smith, who finished in the top 10 of the Centenary Open at St Andrews, plays off 12 in the Alliance these days. He figured on the Class 2 handicap prizelist with a net 70, which was not a bad score considering he had double bogeys at the fourth, 11th and 18th. "I enjoyed the good holes," said Ian. Royal Aberdeen's Scott Larkin, in his second Alliance outing since his wrist operation put him out of the game since the spring, improved from an 87 at Montrose Links to a 74 at Craibstone. If he keeps that rate of improvement up, goodness knows what he will score at Peterhead next Wednesday! Bill Urquhart (Murcar Links), one-time North-east Alliance champion, had one of the best inward halves of the day - one-under 33, which included a double-bogey 6 at the 11th, after he had gone out in 40 blows. Even better after the turn that Urquhart was Auchmill's Brian Nicolson, who also went out in 40, but came whistling home - well, not exactly whistling - in 32 shots! Kemnay pro David Brown finished on 74 with a triple bogey 7 at the 13th. Newmachar's John Duff, winner at Cruden Bay and runner-up at Montrose, had a 74 today after losing a ball at the 13th not with a wild shot but one he is inclined to think submerged itself on landing on a particularly soft part of the fairway. John, who has graduated from Aberdeen University, is probably going to play the amateur circuit full-time next year to see how he gets on. He has been caddieing at Royal Aberdeen to build up his funds for the venture. Alford's Laura Murray, the only lady in the field, had a 78 which included a quadruple bogey 8 at the eighth ... which was perhaps not surprising as Laura was in the last group to finish on a dreich day and by the time they got to the 18th if not total darkness it was pretty near it. LEADING SCRATCH Par 69. OUT: 4-4-4-5-5-3-3-4-4: 35. IN: 3-4-3-4-4-4-4-4-4: 34  69 Gordon Munro (Fraserburgh) OUT: 4-5-5-4-5-4-3-3-4: 38. IN: 2-4-3-4-4-4-3-3-4: 31. 70 David Law (Hazlehead). OUT: 4-4-3-4-5-3-4-5-4: 36. IN: 4-4-3-3-4-4-4-4-4: 34 71 Greig Hutcheon (Banchory) 34-37. OUT: 4-3-4-4-6-3-2-4-4: 34. IN: 3-4-5-4-4-5-3-5-4: 37 72 Brian Nicolson (Auchmill) 40-32, Paul McIntosh (Newburgh) 36-36, Graham Mitchell (Braemar) 37-35, Donald McAndrew (Royal Aberdeen) 35-37, Stewart Finnie (Caledonian) 37-35. 73 Euan Kennedy (Newmachar) 37-36, Fraser Clarke (Newmachar) 34-39, Bill Urquhart (Murcar Links) 40-33. 74 Ian Bratton (Newburgh) 37-37, Billy Sim (Craibstone) 38-36, John Duff (Newmachar) 37-37, Scott Larkin (Royal Aberdeen) 37-37, David Brown (Kemnay) 35-39. 75 David Fleming (Portlethen) 40-35, Colin Nelson (Mackenzie Shop) 39-36, Phil Morrison (Oldmeldrum) 37-39. 76 David Leslie (Northern) 36-40, John Hamilton (Murcar Links) 41-35, Terry Mathieson (Murcar Links) 38-38, Sandy Pirie (Hazlehead) 39-37, Gary Ross (Meldrum House) 40-36, Joel Hopwood (Carnegie Club) 40-36 77 Graeme Nethercott (Deeside) 39-38, George Paterson (Northern) 38-39, Harry Roulston (Stonehaven) 40-37, Paul Simpson (Aboyne) 39-38, John Nicolson (Auchmill) 41-37 78 Craig Carnegie (Kemnay) 37-41, Albert Smith (Turriff) 38-40, David Nelson (Aboyne) 40-38, Manson Merchant (Newmachar) 38-40, Ally Fiddes (Murcar Links) 40-38, David Bisset (Banchory) 40-38, Alan Ross (Deeside) 40-38, Keil Beveridge (Aboyne) 39-39, Laura Murray (Aboyne) 38-40. 79 Tommy Collie (Kemnay) 38-41, Martin May (Cruden  Bay) 39-40, Keith Ingram (Deeside) 41-38. 80 John Forrest (Murcar Links) 40-40, Joss Turner (Kemnay) 39-41, Willie McKenzie (Berryhill Driving Range) 39-41, John Borthwick (Craibstone) 40-40. 81 Willie Skene (Deeside) 42-39, Jim Scott (Peterculter) 43-38, Keith Watson (Deeside) 41-40, David Mackay (Newmachar), Nigel Parker (Murcar Links) 41-40 82 Ian D Smith (Hazlehead) 42-40, Alan Gall (Deeside) 41-41, Jackie Forrest (Northern) 41-41. 83 Alister Petrie (Oldmeldrum) 45-38, Hamish McNaughton (Cruden Bay) 43-40, Brian Harper (Newburgh) 43-40, Jim Duncan (Newburgh) 43-40. 84 Charlie Cassie (Nigg Bay) 44-40, Raymond Brown (Newburgh) 38-46. 85  Mike Smith (Inverurie) 42-43 86 Mike Duncan (Murcar Links) 42-44, Alister Graham (Aboyne) 45-41, Phil Murray (Aboyne) 87 Derek Randall (Banchory) 46-41, Chris Adam (Aboyne). 88 Ben Lumsden (Northern) 42-46, Neish Chisholm (Kemnay) 44-44 89 Mike Booth (Kemnay) 46-43, Michael Rendall (Stonehaven) 43-46, Leslie Roger (Royal Aberdeen) 40-49. 90 John Jessiman (Oldmeldrum) 45-45, Chris Brindley (Banchory) 41-49 92 Norman Stewart (Northern) 46-46, Peter Guthrie (Peterculter). 93 David Bingham (Newburgh) 48-45 94 Gary Homer (Northern) (46-48). LEADING HANDICAP Class 1 – G Mitchell (Braemar) (5) 67; P McIntosh (Newburgh) (3), P Morrison (Oldmeldrum) (6) 69; J M Hamilton (Murcar Links) (6), D A Fleming (Portlethen) (5), H Roulston (Stonehaven) (7), B Sim (Craibstone) (4) 70. Class 2 – T Collie (Kemnay) (11) 68; N K Parker (Murcar Links) (12), M Smith (Inverurie) (16) 69; I D Smith (Hazlehead) (12) 70; J Scott (Peterculter) (10) 71. JOHN DUFF (Newmachar) took possession today of the Ron Menzies Memorial Scratch Quaich, suitably inscribed, he won at the Cruden Bay Alliance competition on October 26. The trophy will be up for competition as near October 26 - the anniversary of Ron's death - every year. And (below) is Kemnay's MIKE ROGER with the Ron Menzies Memorial Handicap Quaich he won at the Cruden Bay fixture. +The NE Alliance fixtures at Newburgh (November 23) and Buckpool (December 7) will have two-tee starts. At Newburgh, the first tee times will be 9am on the first and 10th tees. At Buckpool, play will start from the first and the 11th. +Nice to see that two of the top four Tartan Tour pros, Greig Hutcheon (Banchory) and Scott Henderson (Kings Links), are returning to play next week at Peterhead. And Newmachar's golfing minister, Manson Merchant, is also down to play. TEE TIMES FOR PETERHEAD ON  WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16

Match Number ... Tee .... Players
1 07:45 1 Brian Harper, Charlie  Cassie, Charlie
2 07:52 1 Andrew Campbell, Ian Bratton
3 07:59 1

4 08:06 1
5 08:13 1 Colin Nelson, Graham Mitchell, Michael Holley
6 08:20 1 Craig Carnegie, Mark Lawrie, Joel Hopwood
7 08:27 1 Donald McAndrew, Fraser Clarke, Gordon Munro
8 08:34 1 Keil Beveridge, Laura Murray, Albert Smith
9 08:41 1 Laurence Prouse, Claire Prouse, John Dalgarno
10 08:48 1 Terry Mathieson, Joss Turner
11 08:55 1 Manson Merchant, Robert Lamb, Euan Kennedy

12 09:02 1 Jim Scott, George Paterson, Ally Fiddes
13 09:09 1 Harry Roulston, Michael Rendall, Leslie Roger
14 09:16 1 Mike Brown, Bryan D. Robson, Paul McIntosh
15 09:23 1 Sandy Davidson, Mike Brown, Raymond Brown
16 09:30 1 Keith Watson
17 09:37 1 Jim Duncan
18 09:44 1 Allan Ross, Gary Ross, Keith Ingram
19 09:51 1 Hamish McNaughton, Jim Gall, Stewart Finnie
20 09:58 1 Jackie Forrest, Norman Stewart, Mike Duncan, Mike

21 10:05 1 John Duff, John Jessiman, Alister Petrie
22 10:12 1 Willie Shaw, Loren Graham, Chris Adam
23 10:19 1 Dick Wright, Kenny Stephen, David Bingham
24 10:26 1 David Fleming, Sandy Pirie, Les Fowler
25 10:33 1 Alan Gall, Mike Roger, Neish Chisholm
26 10:40 1 David Leslie, Benny Lumsden, Gary Homer
27 10:47 1 Ian Grant, Mike Smith
28 10:54 1 Peter Leech, Willie McKenzie, Martin May

29 11:01 1 Paul Cornfield, Brian Nicolson, Graham Allan
30 11:08 1 Colin Ord, John Nicolson, Mike Booth
31 11:15 1 Peter Guthrie, George Stevely, Nigel Parker
32 11:22 1 David Brown, Tommy Collie, Billy Sim
33 11:29 1 Jim Murray, Chris Brindley, Derek Randall
34 11:36 1 Scott Larkin, Fergus Bisset, Paul Simpson
35 11:43 1 Greig Hutcheon, Scott Henderson, John Borthwick
36 11:50 1
37 11:57 1 David Wilson, Robert O'Donnell, Alister Graham

PAULA CORDINER IS CRUDEN BAY'S NEW CATERING PROVIDER

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY CRUDEN BAY GOLF CLUB
Cruden Bay Golf Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Chef, Paula Cordiner as their new catering service provider.
Paula, pictured right with Robbie Stewart, is well known in the area, having previously been Senior Supervisor at the Happy Plant Garden Centre in Mintlaw following a period of eight years at the Saplin Brae Hotel, and is excited at being given the opportunity to run her own business, aptly named ‘Green to Tea’.
Paula said "I was absolutely thrilled to be chosen to provide the catering franchise for Cruden Bay Golf Club as I have longed to have a business of my own and to have the opportunity to work in such an attractive setting is a dream come true.
"At the moment I am both excited and anxious as my dream becomes a reality but I am determined that through hard work and creative cooking my team and I will be able to tantalise everyone’s taste buds.
"We will be using high quality produce sourced locally, serving healthy options, vegetarian dishes and meals to cater for those with special dietary needs. In addition, having been inspired by the cookery course I attended led by Nick Nairn, I will be working towards achieving the “Eat Safe” and “Healthy Living” awards and hope that this helps to attract new members to the Club.’
Cruden Bay’s PGA Director of Golf Robbie Stewart said "We are very fortunate to have someone of Paula’s experience and expertise now working with us at Cruden Bay Golf Club and I am sure she will provide an excellent service for both our members and guests’.

SINGAPORE RETURN BY MICKELSON AFTER MONTH-LONG BREAK

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Singapore, November 9: American
superstar Phil Mickelson, pictured, hopes a month-long break will help
ignite a worthy title charge at the US$6 million Barclays Singapore Open starting tomorrow (Thursday).
The four-time Major champion, making his fifth visit to the Lion City, leads a star-laden field which includes fellow Major winners Graeme McDowell, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington and Y.E. Yang at the Sentosa Golf Club and he is eager to improve on his best finish of ninth place at the 2008 edition.
In what is Asia’s richest national Open, the cream of the Asian Tour will be led by 2008 Barclays Singapore Open winner Jeev Milkha Singh, three-time Asian number one Thongchai Jaidee and current Order of Merit leader S.S.P. Chowrasia.
A total of 204 players will compete over two courses – The Serapong and Tanjong – at Sentosa in the event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour. The weekend rounds will be held at The Serapong.
“I have been very excited about coming here. I have been back home playing and practising and just itching to come here and play because I feel that I have been playing well and shooting some good scores, so my excitement levels are really high at the moment for this event and next week’s Presidents Cup because those are my last two events of the season before 2012,” said Mickelson today.
Known worldwide as “Lefty”, Mickelson hopes to finally get it right and cash in on the US$1 million top prize at stake. He reckons his four previous visits to Sentosa will help boost his title hopes.
“Having played here a number of years, I just feel that every time I come here I play the course better and better. I have to accept that there are a number of holes where you have to accept par and maybe I have been forcing the birdies in the past. The more I come here the more I accept that,” said the 41-year-old, who has won 39 titles on the PGA Tour.
“The Serapong course is really in incredible shape. It has become more challenging, the conditioning has gotten better and it really is a world class venue to host this event,” added the 11th ranked player in the world.
After finishing fifth and third in the last two Barclays Singapore Open, McDowell, the 2010 US Open winner, is hoping for a natural progression to first place this week. A win in the morning session’s Pro-Am could prove to be good omen for the Ulsterman.
“We were fortunate enough to win the Pro-Am although it wasn’t really much to do with me. There were some interesting handicaps going on but we had a great time,” said McDowell, ranked 14th in the world.
“The golf course is in as good a shape as I have ever seen it. They have had a lot of rain here but this golf course drains incredibly well and we are set for a great week. There is great balance to this golf course. Obviously the Tanjong is a lot easier where you can go and shoot five or six under. The Serapong is the big test. The rough can be really tough so accuracy off the tee is key.”
Els, nicknamed the “Big Easy”, makes a return to the Barclays Singapore Open where he plans to erase some bitter memories of finishing second twice. “I ran Jeev pretty close the year he won. I have had some good runs here but I haven’t played the format with the two courses so that will make it interesting. I had a look at the other course and it looks like you will have to make a pretty good score there to keep the pace. The Serapong is an amazing golf course now – it has really come a long way,” said the South African.
“I have been coming here forever – it’s a great city, I love it here. It would be good to get the win here. I am really looking forward to this week actually. I’m definitely up for it – I have a bit of the hunger back and it will be great to get out and play.”
Yang, Asia’s first male Major champion, knows a first victory of the season will be difficult to come by at Sentosa. “It is a very tough field, one of the best fields in Asia. I have my work cut out this week. Hopefully I will play better than last year,” said Yang, who finished equal 16th in 2010.
Visit www.asiantour.com for live scoring from Thursday to Sunday.

St ANDREWS LINKS FIRST OPEN VENUE TO GAIN ECOLABEL

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      Left to right: Peter Dawson, Jonathan Smith, Euan Loudon and George O'Grady

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ST ANDREWS LINKS TRUST
St Andrews Links has become the first Open Championship venue to achieve the prestigious GEO Certified™ ecolabel in recognition of its sustainability commitment and achievements.
St Andrews Links Trust, which manages the seven courses at the Home of Golf including the Old Course and The Castle Course, has operated a sustainability programme for many years and this approach was described by Mike Wood, the accredited verifier, as being “close to defining an ideal model for sustainable management.”
A special plaque was presented to Euan Loudon, Chief Executive of St Andrews Links Trust, by Jonathan Smith, Chief Executive of the Golf Environment Organisation, with George O’Grady, the Chief Executive of The European Tour, and Peter Dawson, the Chief Executive of The R and A, in attendance.
The Golf Environment Organisation (GEO) is an international non-profit organisation, supported by stakeholders across the golf community to help build awareness and understanding, provide practical programmes and reward achievements with the GEO Certified ecolabel.
In the GEO verification report the assessor praised the Trust’s commitment to social responsibility and community engagement as well as the eco-friendly manner in which the clubhouses, retail outlets and other facilities are operated. They said that not only was the Trust nurturing a 600 year heritage as the birthplace of the game, it was a “standard bearer for 21st Century good practice in golf management.”
A number of sustainability measures at the Links were highlighted by the assessor, including:

+ The high quality of the golf courses’ playing surfaces which are maintained with minimal fertiliser, chemical and irrigation inputs.+ The restoration of the distinctive dune landscape between the New and Jubilee courses, recreating a natural habitat area.
+ Managing the courses in such a way as to contribute to the management of the neighbouring SSSI at the Eden Estuary.
+ The comprehensive range of energy efficiency measures in operation in the clubhouses and facilities.
+ The re-use of organic materials and other recycling activities.
+ Working in close partnership and co-operation with the local community.
+ The transformation of intensively managed mixed farmland, into a new golf course (The Castle Course) with an extensive matrix of grassland habitats.

Euan Loudon said, “We take our duty to manage St Andrews Links sustainably as a golfing resource for future generations extremely seriously. Over the years we have won awards for the measures we have implemented and developed but this is certainly the most rigorous certification process we have gone through. We are delighted to achieve the GEO Certified™ ecolabel and we are focused on continuing to introduce new sustainable methods and practices across the breadth of operations at the Links in the years ahead.”
George O’Grady said, “We congratulate St Andrews Links Trust on their commitment and achievement. This is the kind of leadership that The European Tour are encouraging across all our venues as part of our own commitment to sustainability in golf, which was further reinforced by last year’s comprehensive Ryder Cup Green Drive. As founding partners of GEO, we are delighted to see their customised guidance, programmes and ecolabel gaining this kind of momentum.”
GEO has been dedicated to supporting and promoting sustainability in golf since 2006. In the space of two years, more than 250 golf clubs in 34 countries have started the GEO OnCourse™ programme to achieve the GEO Certified™ ecolabel. St Andrews Links becomes the 50th golf facility to achieve the distinction.
Jonathan Smith said, “For centuries the Home of Golf has been synonymous with low input, community integrated and ecologically rich golf. This stewardship of the historic Links of St Andrews, and more recently The Castle Course, has occurred through good decision-making that blends financial, golfing and common good interests relating to local people and the environment. We are delighted that our OnCourse™ programme has helped the staff of such an iconic golfing destination to broaden and deepen their actions enabling them to combine traditional values with a clear appreciation of modern day corporate and environmental responsibility.”

The full details of the Links Trust certifications can be found here:
http://www.golfenvironment.org/clubs/standrewslinks
http://www.golfenvironment.org/clubs/thecastlecourse

PERRY, HAAS, CALCAVECCHIA WIN THREE-TOUR CHALLENGE

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
HENDERSON, Nevada -- Kenny Perry made nine birdies and led the Champions Tour to the title at the Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge on Tuesday.
The Champions Tour team, made up of Perry, Jay Haas and Mark Calcavecchia, were a combined 15 under in the two-player, best-ball format that allowed each team to discard one score per hole.
The group shot 8 under over the final nine holes to overtake the US PGA Tour team of Boo Weekley, Gary Woodland and Jonathan Byrd, which finished at 12 under at the par-72 Rio Secco Golf Club.
Overall, the Champions Tour trio had 17 birdies.
"My team-mates made birdies," Perry said. "(I had) four on the front and five on the back, so I was pretty steady all day."
Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr and Natalie Gulbis of the LPGA Tour also topped the PGA Tour threesome by going 14 under.
The defending champions, the US PGA trio held a 3-stroke edge over the Champions Tour, and a 5-stroke lead over the LPGA Tour after nine holes, largely due to eagles on the par-5, 516-yard eighth hole by Weekley and Woodland. Byrd also shot a 5-under 31 over the first nine holes.
Kerr keyed the LPGA attack by going 5 under over the final five holes. She eagled the 14th, birdied the 15th, parred the 16th and birdied the 17th and 18th holes. She had six birdies and eagled the par-5, 505-yard 14th.
"We were pretty far back," Kerr said. "In this tournament you've got to stay a little bit close with the last couple holes. I knew I had to just really turn it on as much as I could and try and make up shots. I had a great finish, and we still came up short. But we ended up finishing second instead of third (their 2010 finish).
"I birdied that (14th) hole before, but I never made eagle on that hole. So that was a good improvement."
Perry birdied four holes on the front nine and five on the back nine to go along with one bogey. He helped his team grab a 2-stroke lead over the PGA and LPGA after 16 holes by carding birdies on four consecutive holes -- the 11th through the 14th.
"We were three behind after nine," Perry said. "I didn't see us in the lead until about over here (18th hole). I was on the par 3 (16th), I thought we were tied or one up. It took us 14 or 15 holes to even catch back up."
Perry was the individual winner with an 8-under 64 (32-32). Last year, he tied the PGA's Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson for low individual honours at 4-under 68.
The Champions team received $500,000, the second-place LPGA squad earned $270,000, and the third-place PGA team got $230,000. It was the seventh win for the Champions Tour in the 20 years the event has been held. The PGA Tour has eight titles, and the LPGA has five.
The Challenge raised over $4 million for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. It has accumulated just over $40 million in its 20 years.