APOLOGIES TO NEIL SELBIE AND CO FOR SPONSORSHIP ERROR

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Scottishgolfview got it wrong on Saturday night with our report of the North-east District Golf Association Orders of Merit winners.
The competitions are sponsored by Neil Selbie and Co, not the Paul Lawrie Foundation as reported. Apologies to Neil Selbie and Co.
The Paul Lawrie Foundation does sponsor the North-east District men's and boys' teams.
The top five placings in both 2011 NE District Orders of Merit were:

BOYS

1 Chris Lamb (Newmachar) 970pt

2 Ross Anderson (Stonehaven) 600

3 Andrew Carrell (Peterculter) 590

4 Ben Murray (Portlethen) 570

5 Sam Kiloh (Portlethen) 460      
                                                           CHRIS LAMB
                                                    

MEN

1 Clark Brechin (Portlethen) 420pt

2 Anthony Bews (Murcar Links) 350

T3 Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh) 280

T3 Donald MacAndrew (Royal Aberdeen) 280

5 Matthew Greig (Bon Accord) 270.

CLARK BRECHIN

NO TURKISH DELIGHT FOR STEPHEN GRAY IN PGA PLAY-OFFS

Hutcheon and Patrick on one-under 70, five off lead
NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE PGA
Reigning champion Greig Hutcheon shrugged off a bad back to make a solid start to the defence of his Titleist PGA Play-Offs title with a one-under-par 70 in Turkey.
The Banchory player trails leader Richard Wallis (Walmer and Kingsdown) by five shots following his score at Antalya Golf Club's PGA Sultan Course which was matched by fellow Scot David Patrick (Elie Sports Centre) and leaves them tied fifth alongside Guy Woodman.
Midland ace Matt Cort (Rothley Park) who recently added the Australian Futures title to his PGA Assistants’ crown won earlier in the summer, is second with a 67 with David Higgins (Waterlooville Links) shooting 68 and former play-offs winner Paul Streeter (Lincoln Golf Centre) carding a 69.
Hutcheon admitted he was delighted with his score after struggling with a sore back that he hopes a Turkish massage can put right.
“I really struggled but hit a couple of good shots at the end, holing long putts on 14 and 18 for birdies,” he said.
“It’s sore behind my right shoulder. I was working on it last night, I had a hot bath but couldn’t loosen it off and had a few drinks that didn’t work either.
“But my back loosened off as the round progressed but it is still bad and I'll see if a Turkish massage can sort it out.
“I am feeling a bit out of sorts but I’m pleased with the score because the way I felt I was swinging it I could have shot 75,76 or 77.”
Leader Wallis, back to back winner of the South Region Order of Merit, reeled off five birdies in six holes from the eighth to set the pace.
With a clutch of European and Challenge Tour spots available for the winner plus the top 10 qualifying for the BMW PGA Championship, the stakes were high as the 54-hole tournament got underway and South Region No. 1 Wallis signalled his intentions with a birdie on the par-4 first hole.
Two 18 foot birdie putts on eight and nine sparked his birdie blitz but perfectionist Wallis still had time to rue a couple he left out there.
“I can’t be disappointed with six under but I missed a couple of short ones – a three footer on 17 and an eight footer on the last,” said Wallis.

ADDITIONAL REPORT (not from the PGA)
The Tartan Tour No 1 this year, Stephen Gray (Hayston) certainly did not enjoy any Turkish delight. In fact he had a nightmare – a round of six-over-par 77 to lie last of the 24 qualifiers at the end of the first day.
Hutcheon, pictured by Matt Lewis, courtesy of Getty Images (c), turned around a two-over-par card by birdieing four of the last five holes.
Patrick was also two over par after seven holes but covered the rest in three under par with birdies at the short eighth, long 16th and short 17th.
Gray, a model of consistently good scores during the 2011 season, had possibly his worst round of the year.
The Hayston man had double bogey 6s at the fourth and 14th and also dropped single shots at regular intervals. His only birdie in halves of 37 (two over) and 40 (four over) came at the long seventh.
Leader Wallis, from the Walmer and Kingsdown club had five birdies in six holes from the eighth on the Sultan Course. He leads by two from Matt Cort (Rothley Park), PGA assistants champion and recent winner of the Australian Futures title.
Hutcheon and Patrick are joint fifth.
Several European and Challenge Tour starts are available for the winner and the top 10 qualify for the 2012 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

ALLL THE FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 71
65 Richard Wallis (Walmer and Kingsdown).
67 Matt Cort (Rothley Park).
68 David Higgins (Waterlooville Links).
69 Paul Streeter (Lincoln Golf Centre).
70 Greig Hutcheon (Banchory), David Patrick (Elie Sports Centre), Guy Woodman (East Berkshire).
71 James Ablett (Lee on the Solent), Michael Watson (Wessex), Simon Lilly (Wellingborough).
73 Christopher Gill (Exeter), Barrie Trainor (Ireland), David Shacklady (Mossack Hall), Stuart Brown (Orton Meadows), David Smith (Swinton Park), Brett Taylor (Chelmsford).
74 Alan Wainwright (Mid Yorkshire), Craig Goodfellow (Carlisle).
76 Robert Giles (Greenore), Damian Mooney (Ballyliffin).
77 Stephen Gray (Hayston).

+You can check out all the scorecards on the PGA website

CLICK HERE

TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR 2012 SCOTTISH OPEN AT CASTLE STUART

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOUR
The Scottish Open is 40 years old next July – and you can be at Castle Stuart Golf Links near Inverness to witness the celebrations as one of The European Tour’s most prestigious titles is contested over one of the most spectacular new courses.
England’s Luke Donald captured the title earlier this year with a stunning performance which helped to cement his status as World Number One and propelled him to the top of The Race to Dubai during a vintage year for The European Tour.
The 2011 Scottish Open boasted one of the strongest fields on The European Tour International Schedule, with many of the world’s best players in action just a few days before The Open Championship, and the scene is set for a repeat performance from July 12-15, 2012, the week prior to The Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes.
Following the eagerly-anticipated announcement of the Scottish Open’s return to the widely acclaimed Castle Stuart Links, tickets are now on sale at substantial winter discounts if purchased before December 31.
Anyone wishing to spend four glorious days on the shores of the scenic Moray Firth can purchase a season ticket for £60 before Hogmanay – December 31 – a saving of £10 on pre-tournament prices and £20 on gate admission during the week of the event.
Adult day tickets are priced at £25 before December 31, rising to £30 pre-event and £35 on the gate. Concessions (60 and over) start at £40 for a season ticket and £15 for any one day tickets if purchased by the last day of the year. Under-16s accompanied by an adult are admitted free of charge and all car parking is also free.
Reserved grandstand seating can also be purchased immediately for Saturday (£10) and Sunday (£15) of what promises to be one of the highlights of the 2012 season.
Hospitality packages in the popular Skean Dhu unit start at £219 + VAT with lunch in the equally popular Laurent Perrier Brasserie priced from £75 per person. Demand is sure to be high for these packages, so book now to avoid disappointment.
Full details about purchasing these ticket and hospitality offers and other events on The European Tour can be found at: www.europeantour.com/tickets or by telephoning the Ticket Hotline: +44 (0) 800 023 2557. Please send postal enquiries to European Tour Tickets, Mirren Court Three, 123 Renfrew Court Three, Paisley, PA3 4EA.

FRAZAR IS SINGING IN THE RAIN AT PEBBLE BEACH INVITATIONAL

FROM THE ESPN.COM WEBSITE
PEBBLE BEACH, California -- Harrison Frazar won the rain-soaked Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational by a stroke on Sunday after Cameron Tringale missed a 2-foot par putt on the final hole.
Frazar, who won the St Jude Classic in June for his first US PGA Tour title, closed with an even-par 72 to finish at 9-under 279. Tringale had a 73 to tie for second with Matt Bettencourt.
"There's no better place to be miserable," Frazar said. "When the weather is like this, it's a lot easier to do it here than someplace else."
Frazar also hit his final approach into the bunker en route to a par.
Bettencourt (75) was 12 under after eight holes, but had two double bogeys in his final 10 holes.
"We were all hoping they were going to call us in," Frazar said. "On the sixth hole, half the green was under water. Fortunately, none of our putts were in the litte rivers."
Only three of the 41 pros broke par in the final round played in strong intermittent rain and gusting wind.
Frazar earned $60,000 from the $300,000 purse in the 40th annual event that featured players from the US PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour.
After Tringale hit his second shot on the par-5 18th into the front bunker, he missed a 12-footer that would have given him the victory, then missed the short par putt to hand Frazar the title.
"I just looked up and it was left," Tringale said. "There was a lot of rain, but it wasn't as bad as it was supposed to be. We played in a lot of rain in college, but you never really get used to it."
U.S. Senior Open champion Russ Cochran (70) and US PGA Tour player Hunter Haas (75) finished at 7 under.
Leta Lindley was the only LPGA player to make the cut. She shot a 76 to finish 3 over.

DANIEL HUIZING WINS ANOTHER TITLE IN ARGENTINA

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Daniel Huizing of the Netherlands, highest placed European in the RandA World Amateur Golf Rankings, could break into the top 10 in this week's revision of the ratings.
Yesterday, the in-form Daniel won the Argentina international men's amateur championship at San Isidro Golf Club. He beat Argentina's Patricio Tolosa 9 and 7 in the 36 hole final with a nine-birdie performance.
He was two up after the first round.
Huizing was the No 3 qualifier, Tolosa the 21st.
It capped a tremendous two weeks in Argentina for the "Flying Dutchman." The previous week he and Robin Kind won the Juan Tailhade Cup international pairs tournament for the Netherlands.
Huizing rose from No 15 to No 11 in the World Rankings. This week he might be No 10 (Ayrshire's Michael Stewart is No 13).
In an all-Argentina women's championship final, Manuela Carbajo, the No 4 seed, beat the No2 qualfier, Maria Oliveira by one hole.
+Picture of Daniel Huizing and Manuela Carbajo with their trophies is taken from the Argentina Golf Federation website.