Wednesday, December 07, 2011

EDWARD TROPHY GOING BACK TO A ONE-DAY 36-HOLE TOURNEY

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Glasgow Golf Club's Edward Trophy open tournament will revert to a 36-hole, one-day event next season when it will be played over the Glasgow Gailes links on Saturday, April 21.
The Edward Trophy became one of the SGU Order of Merit events when it was extended to 72 holes over a Saturday and Sunday in early September. Two-round tournaments are not given Order of Merit status.
Claire Middleton, the Glasgow GC golf manager, explained:
"The Edward Trophy's format changed to 72 holes only two years ago and the Tennant Cup (June 23-24) is remaining as our SGU Order of Merit Open Competition.
"The Club took into account the requirements of our members in an already busy calendar of events at Gailes over the next few years."
Peterhead's Philip McLean is pictured above with the Edward Trophy after his four-round victory in 2010. Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency.
Next year (2012) Glasgow Gailes will co-host the qualifying rounds on June 18-19 for the British men's amateur championship at Royal Troon Golf Club.
The men's home internationals will also be played at Glasgow Gailes from August 15 to 17 next season.

*The Scottish champion of champions 72-hole tournament, hosted by Leven Golfing Society on April 7-8, does not have SGU Order of Merit because entry is restricted.
Dates for the SGU Order of Merit 72-hole tournaments in 2012
April 14-15: Craigmillar Park Open (Edinburgh).
April 21-22: Battle Trophy (Crail GS: Craighead course, Fife)
June 1-2-3: Scottish open amateur stroke-play championship (Kilmarnock Barassie).
June 23-25: Tennant Cup (Glasgow Gailes 36, Killermont 36).
June 30-July 1: East of Scotland open amateur stroke-play championship (Lundin GC, Fife).
July 7-8: Cameron Corbett Vase (Haggs Castle GC, Glasgow).
July 21-22: Newlands Trophy (Lanark GC).
August 11-12: Standard Life Leven Gold Medal (Leven GS, Fife)
August 18-19: North-east District Open amateur championship (Newmachar, Aberdeenshire).
August 25-26: North of Scotland open amateur stroke-play championship (Tain, Ross-shire).
September 1-2: South-east District Open amateur championship (Longniddry, East Lothian.

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DODD WON'T GO BACK TO SCHOOL, BLAND FEELS HE MUST

The European Tour Final Qualifying School tees off at PGA Catalunya Golf Resort, Girona in north-east Spain on Saturday. It's six rounds of "pure torture," according to many who have endured it. Not many want to subject themselves to it more than once. But it happends.
This evening we highlight two players who have lost the right to play the European Tour in 2012 because they did not win enough money this season- Stephen Dodd and Richard Bland.
They have faced up to the situation in different ways. Dodd is not going to go back to the Tour School; Bland says he has gained pass marks at it before and he will try to stage a repeat performance.
Here's the STEPHEN DODD story first (from the BBC Sports website)
Stephen Dodd has lost his European Tour card for next season.
The Welshman, 45, failed to finish among the top 118 players on the money list who keep their cards for 2012.
Dodd has ruled out chasing one of the 30 additional places available through the European Tour Qualifying School.
"I've been to Tour School many times and it's not something I want to do now. I've been there and done that and I'll be quite happy just to play what I get in next year," Dodd said.
"I'm looking forward to spending a bit more time at home, to be honest. I've played a lot this year and consequently I've not played very well so I'll look forward to a break now.
"You never know at this game, it can change from week to week, month to month so we'll see what happens.
"Obviously I'm a bit disappointed, but I haven't played well enough.
"I'm going to play Thailand [The Thailand Open] in a couple of weeks, have Christmas at home and just play a bit next year."
Dodd is a three-time European Tour winner, taking titles at the 2006 European Open, the 2005 Irish Open and the 2005 China Open, and was the 2005 World Cup champion alongside Bradley Dredge.
+Stephen Dodd beat Cruden Bay's Craig Cassells by 5 and 3 in the 1989 final of the British amateur championship at Royal Birkdale. In August that year, both Dodd and Cassells played in the the GB and I team which won a Walker Cup match in the States! Peach Tree GC, Georgia was the venue and GB and I, captained by Geoff Marks, won 12.5-11.5. Dodd played No 1 in the second-day singles.
Cassells gave up the game after a few years of limited success as a pro. He went into his late father's fish business in Peterhead.

NOW THE RICHARD BLAND STORY:
Hampshire golfer Richard Bland has admitted that he has had a hugely disappointing year.
Bland, 38, finished 162nd in the order of merit meaning he has to compete over six harrowing (well, they can be!) rounds at PGA Catalunya, beginning on Saturday, with the pressure on him to finish in the top 30 to earn a place on the European Tour next year.
"This has probably been my worst season as a professional. I've had a lot of tournaments where I haven't been at the races," he said.
"I'd have hoped to have played better even with off-course issues."
Only the top 115 players gain automatic qualification for the following season.
Last season Bland, who lives in Southampton, finished 65th - just five places outside the race to Dubai.
Bland had to go through the same qualifying process in 2008 and believes that experience will stand him in good stead this time around.
"I finished the season strongly so I'm focussing on those positives," he added.
"In some ways it is harder than playing for a major, ultimately you are playing for your livelihood.
"I just need to draw on some of my experiences from my last 10 years on the Tour and try and use that to my advantage.
"I've been there and done it so I've got that to fall back on."

TO VIEW THE FULL FIELD FOR THE EUROPEAN TOUR FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL AT PGA CATALUNYA, NORTH-EAST SPAIN

CLICK HERE

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BRITISH PAR-3 CHAMPIONSHIP AUGUST 7 to 10 AT NAILCOTE HALL

FROM THE PGA WEBSITE
The popular Farmfoods British Par-3 Championship has announced its dates for 2012 with the event being played from August 7-10 at Nailcote Hall's Cromwell Course, Solihull in Warwickshire
Andrew Sherborne won the 2011 championship, beating off a host of stiff competition from the likes of record European Senior Tour winner Carl Mason, Graeme Storm, Scott Jamieson, and Gary Wolstenholme.
Two-time major winner and Ryder Cup legend Tony Jacklin will again host the competition, flying in from Florida for the event.
Celeb Am tournaments will be played on August 7 and 10 respectively, accompanied by two charity gala balls on the dates of the Pro-Am to raise money for the Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People.
For more information on the Championship and how you can get involved in playing in the event or sponsorship, visit the British Par 3 Championship website or call Champions on 08453 313 031

FOR THE TOURNAMENT WEBSITE

CLICK HERE

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WALKER CUP NAMED SCOTTISH SPORTS EVENT OF 2011

FROM THE R and A WEBSITE

The Walker Cup match has been named Event of the Year at the annual Sunday Mail/SportScotland Scottish Sports Awards 2011.
Royal Aberdeen Golf Club hosted the two-day biennial team competition in September which attracted thousands of spectators to watch the 10 best male amateurs from Great Britain and Ireland take on their counterparts from the United States over the Balgownie links.
GB and I went into the contest as underdogs against a US team that included six of the world’s top 10 amateurs but brilliant performances, from the likes of Welsh teenager Rhys Pugh and Open Championship Silver Medallist Tom Lewis, saw the home team win the Walker Cup for the first time since 2003. Picture above by courtesy of Tom Ward Photgraphy.Captained by Nigel Edwards, the victory means that GB and I has now claimed four of the last five Walker Cups played on home soil, dating to 1995 at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.
R and A Championships Assistant Directors Rhodri Price and Michael Wells joined Royal Aberdeen’s Niall Farquharson to accept the award from European Tour pros Alastair Forsyth and Scott Jamieson at the Glasgow ceremony.

Price, who was GB and I Team Manager at Royal Aberdeen, said: “Royal Aberdeen staged a wonderful Walker Cup that will live long in the memories of all those involved.

“Despite having to deal with some pretty severe wind and rain, we attracted big crowds who witnessed some thrilling golf and were able to toast a home victory come Sunday night.
“This award recognises the hard work put in by all those involved in staging what was a truly world class sporting event.”
The Walker Cup beat off competition from, among others, the Great Britain Davis Cup tennis matches against Luxembourg and Hungary at Glasgow’s Braehead Arena.
The televised awards show, hosted by ESPN presenter Kelly Cates, also saw Scottish Walker Cup players Michael Stewart and James Byrne nominated in the Amateur Performance of the Year category.
Former Scotland and Rangers manager Walter Smith was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, while tennis star Andy Murray won Scottish Sports Personality of the Year.

 


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TOM LEHMAN SEEKS HAPPY YEAR ENDING IN MAURITIUS SENIORS

By STEVE TODD
European Seniors Tour Press OfficerHaving already topped the US Champions Tour Money List in 2011, American Tom Lehman faces the leading two players on the European Senior Tour in this week’s MCB Tour Championship in Mauritius.
The 1996 Open Champion, pictured, is looking to end a special year on a high at Constance Belle Mare Plage, where he will play alongside Peter Fowler and Barry Lane in the first round on Friday.
Fowler and Lane are going head-to-head for the John Jacobs Trophy as the leading two players on the Senior Tour Order of Merit but Lehman is hoping to outshine them both with a victory of his own.
The 2006 United States Ryder Cup Captain won three times on the US Champions Tour in 2011, succeeding German Bernhard Langer as winner of the Charles Schwab Cup, Money List and Player of the Year.
Lehman could add to his haul of titles with victory this week, whilst he is also fulfilling a long-term ambition by visiting the sunshine island of Mauritius for the first time.
“I played on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa in 1989/1990 and was told you have to come to Mauritius, it is a beautiful place,” said Lehman. “But we could never afford to come then so when the opportunity was there to do this two tournament swing with Nedbank last week it was perfect timing. We’ve left everything behind – the kids are being looked after – and taken a shot and come over and it has been well worth it.
“David Frost told me that you have to hit it straight on this course. We played together on Saturday at Sun City and I hit it in the bushes three or four times and shot three over. He said ‘you think this is tight, wait for next week’. He forewarned me.”
Lehman, the 2010 US Senior PGA Champion, is making his debut in a regular European Senior Tour event and he opened the door to playing more often on this side of the Atlantic in the future.
“I enjoy playing in Europe a great deal,” he said. “I’ve played a fair bit in the past and I enjoy the competition, the courses and the cultures. I have thought about doing a more international schedule as I get older. I could see myself doing that as I enjoy it so much.
“Golf is becoming such a global sport and it is a good thing that the Senior Tour is becoming more global too.”

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PERTH (Western Australia) TO HOST 2012 EUROPEAN TOUR EVENT

The European Tour is going to stage a tournament in Perth next October.
But it's going to be Perth, Western Australia, NOT Perth, Scotland!
The Perth International Championship will have the biggest prize fund on the golfing calendar Down Under - some 2 million US dollars worth.
It will be underwritten by the Western Australian Government under a three-year deal and will be co-sanction by the European and Australasian Tours.
The venue will be Lake Karrinyup Country Club from October 18 to 21.
In recent years the city of Perth in Australia's largest state, Western Australia, has hosted such big golf events as the Heineken Classic, the Johnnie Walker Classic and the Lexus Cup.
Owned and promoted by international sports management company, IMG, the Perth International should draw a strong field of overseas stars to battle the Australians through its connection with the European tour.
PGA Tour of Australasia chief executive Brian Thorburn welcomed the event as another boost for Australian golf after a big season highlighted by the Presidents Cup.
"The PGA Tour of Australasia is delighted to add the Perth International Golf Championship to its 2012 schedule and look forward to welcoming the European Tour and its players back to Australia," said Thorburn.
"Perth has a proud history of staging world class golf tournaments and, following on from one of Australia's most successful golf seasons ever, we look forward to working with all parties to grow this prestigious tournament."
European Tour chief operating officer Keith Waters welcomed his tour's return to Western Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
"Returning to Australia, and the city of Perth in particular, will further enhance the global nature of the European Tour," said Waters.

Editor: But wouldn't it have been nice to have a European Tour event staged in Perth, Scotland?

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