Wednesday, December 14, 2011

SCOTTISH PGA BRING TOGETHER PAUL LAWRIE, JEAN VAN DE VELDE

  PAUL LAWRIE lets Jean Van de Velde get his hands on the Open Championship trophy at last as the 1999 Carnoustie protagonists meet at the annual Scottish Region PGA lunch at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel today. Picture by courtesy of Andy Forman.


IT'S THAT MAN AGAIN! Paul Lawrie received a PGA Achievement Award in recognition of his Paul Lawrie Foundation work to help golfing youngsters.
Picture by Andy Forman.


THE MAN FROM MACHRIHANISH. Jock MacVicar, the Scottish Daily Express long-serving golf writer with the PGA award he received for outstanding service to golf and journalism. Picture by Andy Forman.

FROM THE R and A WEBSITE
Legendary golf writer Jock MacVicar has been presented with a Scottish PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of a career spanning more than 50 years.
MacVicar covered his first Open for The Scottish Daily Express in 1962 and has been at virtually every Championship since for the same newspaper.
He has also been present for many of the biggest moments in golf over the past half-century, having covered numerous Masters, US PGA Championships and a host of Ryder Cups.
A well-known figure throughout the world of golf, MacVicar’s career highlights include seeing Sandy Lyle win The Open at Royal St George’s in 1985, witnessing the Duel in the Sun between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson at Turnberry in 1977, and Paul Lawrie’s incredible play-off victory over Jean Van de Velde at Carnoustie in 1999.
A good golfer himself, the Glasgow-based journalist ranks Dunaverty in Kintyre as his favourite course.
Asked about his long and successful career, the 74-year-old said: “I don't know about the secret to good golf writing, but it is essential that you have a great love of the game and a pretty good constitution to keep going.
“Although, working for what might be called a tabloid, you have to try to be fair without your copy becoming deadly dull.
“An ability to quickly spot the main line of a story or situation is very important, even if it doesn't always please a player or an official body!”
MacVicar received his award from Scottish PGA captain Andrew Crerar at the Association’s annual lunch at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel.
Hosted by the BBC’s Dougie Donnelly, the guests of honour were Lawrie and Van de Velde who reminisced about their careers and the 1999 Open.
The lunch also saw former Gleneagles Hotel head professional, Ian Marchbank, receive the John Panton award for his achievements in golf.
The PGA top trainee award went to Alan Gibson (Troon Municipal), who was presented with the Stewart Thom Trophy.
Scottish Assistant Professional of the Year Alan Gibson (Troon Municipal), left, receives the Stewart Thom Trophy from Scottish PGA Region Captain, Andrew Crerar (Panmure GC). Another image by Andy Forman.

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PHILIP McLEAN OFF THE MARK AS A PRO - WINNER AT CRAIBSTONE

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Peterhead’s Philip McLean has followed in mentor Paul Lawrie's footsteps by earning his first payslip as a professional at a North-east Golfers' Alliance competition.
With a three-under-par 66 over partially frost-bound Craibstone course, McLean, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, who turned pro during last week's European Tour Qualifying School Stage 2 event in Spain, won today’s Alliance competition to earn around £80 by heading a field of 66 competitors.
As Alliance joint secretary Dave Wilson recalled: “Paul Lawrie won his first money as an assistant pro in the North-east Alliance some years ago, so let's hope that’s a good omen for Philip McLean’s pro career.”
“I don’t think I’ll be framing the cheque, I need the money,” joked McLean who had an eagle, six birdies and five bogeys in conditions that were a lottery. Needless to say, preferred lies were in operation and temporary winter greens were in use. Some approach shots bounced through the frosty greens, others did not.
Despite that, McLean, with his father caddieing for him, covered the inward half in only 30 shots, including seven threes, five of them birdies.
"I drove the ball well - maybe as far as 300 yards in these conditions - and I also putted well," said McLean.
He won by three shots from fellow rookie pro Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh) and six-handicapper Newburgh-on-Ythan amateur Brian Harper.
McLean and Findlay are heading for Morocco in February to play a combination of Alps Tour and EPD Tour events over a four or five-week stretch.
Findlay had four birdies - at the first, fourth, 12th and 14th - but cancelled them out with bogeys at the second, sixth, 11th and 16th.
Harper, who plays off six at Newburgh, led the clubhouse returns on his own until first McLean and then Findlay came in at the backend of the field Brian's net 63 won him the Class 1 first net prize by the handsome margin of six strokes. He had gross birdies at the first, ninth, 10th and 16th and bogeys at the fifth, sixth, 12th and 18th.
Hazlehead's father-and-daughter Lawrence and Claire Prouse both finished in the Class 2 prize list with net 69s. They are going to be a formidable pair in the North-east's open mixed foursomes circuit next summer.
Keith Watson (Deeside) had the proverbial game of two halves - 43 for the first nine, 33 for the inward half.
Gary Homer (Northern) had a gross 81, his lowest score since the old King died.
Playing off 12, Gary won the Class 2 handicap section by three shots with a net 69 although another 12-handicapper, Nigel Parker (Murcar Links), is quite right in claiming that he would have finished a lot closer to Homer than joint second alongside Peterculter's Jim Scott on net 72 but for an 8 in an outward gross 46 (inward 38).
Amazingly on a day when, as one competitor put it, "My golf was only marginally more enjoyable than going Christmas shopping with the wife," there were only two No Returns.
+Scroll down for a picture of Martin Forster with one of the Ron Menzies Memorial Trophies and why winning it has special significance for the Cruden Bay GC member.

LEADING SCRATCH
Par 69 (35-34)
66 P McLean (Peterhead) 36-30.
69 J Findlay (Fraserburgh) 35-34, B Harper (Newburgh) 35-34.
70 J Duff (Newmachar) 34-36.
71 S Larkin (Royal Aberdeen) 38-33.
72 C Nelson (MacKenzie Shop) 38-34.
73 R Lamb (Newmachar) 36-37, D Macandrew (Royal Aberdeen) 37-36, E Kennedy (Newmachar) 39-34, F Bisset (Banchory) 37-36.
74 B Nicolson (Auchmill) 37-37.
75 L Prouse (Hazlehead) 39-36, L Vannet (Carnoustie) 37-38.
76 K F Watson (Deeside) 43-33, Claire Prouse (Hazlehead) 38-38, A Fiddes (Murcar Links) 40-36, P Lovie (P1 Corporate) 35-41, J Nicolson (Auchmill) 41-35, R O’Donnell (Oldmeldrum) 41-35.
77 S Finnie (Caledonian) 39-38.
78 A Graham (Aboyne) 39-39, G Ross (Meldrum House) 40-38.
79 J Borthwick (Craibstone) 41-38, P Morrison (Oldmeldrum) 40-39, H Roulston (Stonehaven) 41-38.
80 G Milne (Newburgh) 42-38, M Forster (Cruden Bay) 39-41, L Fowler (Royal Aberdeen) 40-42, A Ross (Deeside) 42-38.
81 J Duncan (Newburgh) 43-38, D Clark (Duff House Royal) 39-42, D Leslie (Northern) 40-41, G Homer (Northern) 44-37.
82 M Merchant (Newmachar) 37-45, J Scott (Peterculter) 43-39, A Gall (Deeside) 42-40, D Fleming (Portlethen) 42-40, D Bisset (Banchory) 42-40, D McKay (Caledonian) 43-39, D Wilson (Duff House Royal) 40-42.
84 C Cassie (Nigg Bay) 43-41, J Turner (Kemnay) 44-40, N K Parker (Murcar Links) 46-38.
85 L Roger (Royal Aberdeen) 41-44, B Robson (Newmachar) 47-38, A J Smith (Turriff) 42-43.
86 R Brown (Newburgh) 46-40, J Forrest (Northern) 44-42, P McIntosh (Newburgh) 45-41.
88 N Stewart (Northern) 46-42, P Guthrie (Peterculter) 45-43, W Shaw (Banchory) 45-43.
89 M Rendall (Stonehaven) 47-42, J Jessiman (Oldmeldrum) 46-43.
90 D Randall (Banchory) 47-43, G Allan (Newmachar) 46-44.
91 M Rogers (Kemnay) 45-46.
92 R Orr (Kemnay) 42-50, I Grant (Keith) 49-43, J Gall (Caledonian) 48-44.
93 M Smith (Inverurie) 50-43, D Wright (Northern) 49-44.
96 P Cornfield (Auchmill) 48-48.
100 K Stephen (Northern) 53-47.

HANDICAP PRIZEWINNERS
Class 1 - B Harper (Newburgh) (6) 63; R Lamb (Newmachar) (4), L Prouse (Hazlehead) (6), Claire Prouse (Hazlehead) (7), A Graham (9) 69.
Class 2 - G Homer (Northern) (12) 69; N K Parker (Murcar Links) (12), J Scott (Peterculter) (10) 72; L Roger (Royal Aberdeen) (12) 73; R Brown (Newburgh) (12) 74 (bih).

CRAIBSTONE PAR
OUT: 4-3-4-5-5-3-3-4-4: 35. IN: 3-4-3-4-4-4-4-4-4: 34

LEADING CARDS
Philip McLean 66
OUT: 3-3-4-3-6-4-4-5-4: 36. IN: 3-4-3-3-3-3-5-3-3: 30.
Jordan Findlay 69
OUT: 3-4-4-4-5-4-3-4-4: 35. IN: 3-5-2-4-3-4-5-4-4: 34
Brian Harper 69
OUT: 3-3-4-5-6-4--3-4-3: 35. IN: 2-4-4-4-4-4-3-4-5: 34
John Duff 70
OUT: 3-3-4-5-5-4-3-4-5: 36. IN: 3-5-3-4-4-3-5-4-3: 34
Scott Larkin 71
OUT: 4-3-4-5-6-3-3-5-5: 38. IN: 3-5-4-4-3-4-3-4-3: 33

The North-east Alliance now has a mid-winter break over the Festive period until Wednesday, January 11 at Inverallochy.

TEE TIMES FOR INVERALLOCHY
8.15 B Harper - C Cassie - K Watson - G Leslie
8.24 A Smith - P Lovie - C Carnegie - R Fitzpatrick
8.33 G Munro - D Macandrew - F Clark - A N Other
8.42 Claire Prouse - L Prouse - J Dalgarno - C Nelson
8.51 H Roulston - M Rendall - L Roger- A N Other

9.00 A Fiddes - J Scott - G Paterson - P Morrison
9.09 J Duff - R Lamb - E Kennedy - M Merchant
9.18 S Davidson - M Brown - R Brown - I Bratton
9.27 A N Other - A N Other - A N Other - A N Other
9.36 A N Other - A N Other - A N Other - A N Other
9.45 A Ross - G Ross - K Ingram - D Clark
9.54 L Fowler - A K Pirie - M Forster - W Sim

10.03 H McNaughton - J Forrest - N Stewart - A Gall
10.12 J Duncan - G Milne - J Jessiman - A Petrie
10.21 P McLean - J Findlay - K Nicol - A N Other
10.30 I Grant - M Smith - M Rogers - A N Other
10.39 D Leslie - B Lumsden - G Homer- D Bisset
10.48 S Larkin - F Bisset - J Murray - D Randall
10.57 P Leech - W McKenzie - M May - A Graham

11.06 W Shaw - D Wright - K Stephen - A N Other
11.15 N K Parker - G Stevely - A N Other - A N Other
11.24 D McKay - S Finnie - J Gall - A N Other
11.33 A N Other - A N Other - A N Other - A N Other
11.42 J Nicolson - G Allan - P Cornfield - A N Other
11.51 D Wilson - J Borthwick - R O'Donnell - A N Other

+If you want to fill one of the "A N Other" slots at Inverallochy, call Dave Wilson the day before the competition - in this case, Tuesday, January 13 - between 10am and 4.30pm on 07801 819746 

MARTIN FORSTER IN THE PICTURE AT LAST WITH RON MENZIES MEMORIAL TROPHY

It was back in Ocotober, at the North-east Alliance nearest to first anniversary of secretary Ron Menzies sudden death "in harness," that Cruden Bay's Martin Forster won, over his home course, one of the three trophies that will perpetuate Ron's name on the autumn-winter-spring circuit, writes Colin Farquharson.
But it has taken this long for Martin and yours truly to get together for the purpose of taking a picture of him with the Class 1 quaich.
Winning a "Ron Menzies Trophy" has a special significance for Martin, as he explained to me at
Craibstone today.
"Ron and I had a lot in common, which we did not discover until the North-east Golfers' Alliance brought our paths together. We both were born in Glasgow. We both went to Glasgow Academy and we were later both members at Hilton Park Golf Club."

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GARY ORR ON LAST-ROUND TIGHTROPE AT FINAL Q SCHOOL


By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Helensburgh's Gary Orr is the Scot who will be walking the tightrope in tomorrow's sixth and final round of what has been the lowest-scoring Final Qualifying School in European Tour history at PGA Catalunya, Girona in north-east Spain.
As far as the two other Scots qualifiers are concerned, perhaps tempting fate to say that Motherwell's Steven O'Hara is sitting pretty in 11th position - the top 30 at the end of play tomorrow will gain pass marks to the 2012 European Tour - while Chris Doak, in joint 39th spot, has the proverbial mountain to climb on the final circuit.

Orr, pictured above, went over par for the first time in 90 holes with a 73 for eight-under 348 and his joint 28th position leaves him precariously balanced as he goes into last day of this 108-hole golfing marathon.
It is unlikely that par golf will keep him inside the top 30 but chasing birdies is a risky business with no margin for error in this situation. Fortunately, Orr is a vastly experienced competitor at the age of 44. He will need nerves of steel in a round of golf where his future on the European Tour could boil down to one missed putt.
Today he cancelled out bogeys at the first and ninth with birdies at the 10th and short 11th but he slipped to a third bogey at the long 15th just when he looked to be giving himself a little bit more room for manoeuvre going into the final round.
O'Hara, after four consecutive sub-par rounds, looks set to resume his European Tour career in the New Year.
His five-birdie, two-under-par 70 in the fifth round leaves him only five shots behind the new leader, Englishman David Dixon who had seven birdies, including five inside a six-hole stretch, on his way to a 67 for 18-under-par tally of 338.
Former Northern Open champion Chris Doak has gone off the boil over the last two days with rounds of 72 and 73 to be joint 39th on 350. 
Beginning at the 10th, Doak birdied the long 12th but he covered the next 15 holes in two over par with bogeys at the 18th and short fifth - not the kind of scoring that holds out promise of a sub-par closing round to lift himself up the necessary nine placings in the standings.
There are 33 players on eight-under par 348 or better with a round to go.
LEADING FIFTH ROUND TOTALS
Par 356 (3x72, 2x70
338 David Dixon (Eng) 74 65 63 69 67.
339 Bernd Ritthammer (Ger) 65 71 68 68 67.
340 Sam Hutsby (Eng) 60 69 68 71 72.
341 Richard Bland (Eng) 67 72 65 68 69, Branden Grace (SAf) 68 68 65 70 70, Andy Sullivan (Eng) 65 66 67 72 71.
SCOTS' SCORES
343 Steven O'Hara 73 67 65 68 70 (11th).
348 Gary Or 68 69 69 69 73 (T28).
350 Chris Doak 71 68 66 72 73 (T39).
HUTSBY LOSES LEAD AT LAST - BUT COMPATRIOT

DIXON TAKES OVER POLE POSITION

By NEIL AHERN
European Tour assistant press officer
David Dixon stormed into the lead in The European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage after a five under par fifth round of 67, which included no fewer than seven birdies.
That score elevated him to the top spot, which English compatriot Sam Hutsby had occupied for the previous four days.
Dixon, whose sole European Tour win came at the Saint-Omer Open presented by Neuflize OBC in 2008, overcame a bogey on the second hole to card four consecutive birdies from the third hole, followed by another on the eighth to reach the turn in 32, four under par.
While the experienced Englishman did hold a three-shot lead at one point during the day, his five consecutive pars after the turn, followed by a birdie and a bogey at the 15th and 16th, opened the door for Bernd Ritthammer to join him at the top temporarily.
A gained shot at the 17th hole, however, handed him a single shot lead over the German heading into the final day of the gruelling six-day marathon at PGA Catalunya Resort, near Girona.
“I think the experience of having been here a few times before definitely helps because you tend to deal with the highs and lows a bit better,” said the 34 year old, who won the Silver Medal as leading amateur at The Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s in 2001.
“You’ve just got to try to hang in there, go steady and give yourself a chance of getting your card and possibly even winning. It’s been a funny old year so it’d be nice to finish it on a high note, but I’d be happy with a top ten finish.
“Tomorrow I’ve just got to go out there with the same mentality as today, and hope the putts continue to drop. My putting this year has been poor, which is why I’m here, so it’s about time I came good.
“I switched to the belly putter recently, and it’s starting to work well for me. I holed a monster putt from about 60 foot on the fifth hole, and holed a few good clutch putts, so that bodes well for tomorrow and for next season too.”
It was a stunning back nine performance which lifted Ritthammer into the mix, after an up-and-down front nine, and having signed for a five under par 67, he is now setting his sights on victory in northern Spain.
“It was like a rollercoaster on the front nine,” said the Nuremburg-born player. “I started well with an eagle on the third and a birdie on the fourth, but then had two bogeys. The fifth could easily have been a double bogey though, so I did well there.
“I made another birdie on the eighth but bogeyed the ninth, so I was actually pretty happy to reach the turn in one under. Then I started to play really well on the back nine, I didn’t make any mistakes.
“This is the first time I’ve been in this position and it feels pretty good. Last year here I was in the top 30 after five rounds, but this position is much more comfortable. I just want to win the tournament now; I don’t have to worry too much about not getting a card. I just need to play a solid round.
“I started the week playing quite aggressively and it has paid off until now, so there is no reason to change it or play more defensively tomorrow. It’s very exciting and I’m looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.”
Overnight leader Hutsby relinquished his lead early in the day after starting with a bogey, before three more dropped shots were offset by one birdie to reach the turn in 39. But the resurgent 23 year old clawed his way back to third place with a level par 72 thanks to a superb three under back nine which included birdies at the 11th, 13th, 15th and 17th.
“I’m so happy at the minute,” said the 23 year old afterwards. “If you’d told me on the tenth that I’d end up with level par I wouldn’t have believed you. I just dug in deep and my short game kept me in it. I hit a couple of nice putts in the last few holes, and I’m absolutely chuffed to bits to still be in the mix.
“I bogeyed the ninth and tenth to go four over. I just couldn’t find my rhythm. I hit it really well on the range. Every time I’ve hit it well on the range I haven’t played that well, which just goes to show what a mental game this is.
“It’s given me confidence, because if I can play that poorly and still get round in 72 I’m doing well. If I don’t get off to a great start tomorrow, I can look back and use this round to give me more self-belief, because I can come back from it.”
Adrien Bernadet, meanwhile, carded the third hole in one of the week, his five iron on the 208-yard fifth hole dropping in to add an eagle to his five birdies in a round of 67, which elevated him to tied seventh place.
“That was the seventh hole-in-one of my career and probably the best one,” said the Frenchman.
With just one round remaining in the testing marathon of golf in northern Spain, the race for the European Tour cards on offer, to the top 30 and ties, was beginning to take shape.
Teetering on the brink were Peter Gustafsson, Lloyd Kennedy (both tied 22nd), Gary Orr and Tim Sluiter (both tied 28th), while the youngest player in the field, 19 year old Adrien Otaegui, last year's British boys champion from Spain,  was also tied 22nd.
Those just outside the parapet included Alessandro Tadini (tied 34th), Seve Benson and Chris Doak (both tied 39th).

ALL THE FIFTH ROUND TOTALS
Par 356 (3x72, 2x70)
338 D Dixon (Eng) 74 65 63 69 67
339 B Ritthammer (Ger) 65 71 68 68 67
340 S Hutsby (Eng) 60 69 68 71 72
341 B Grace (RSA) 68 68 65 70 70; R Bland (Eng) 67 72 65 68 69; A Sullivan (Eng) 65 66 67 72 71
342 G Cambis (Fra) 66 69 68 69 70; J Garcia (Esp) 71 64 66 73 68; A Bernadet (Fra) 68 69 69 69 67; K Borsheim (Nor) 66 71 69 68 68
343 S O'Hara (Sco) 73 67 65 68 70
344 E Grillo (Arg) 73 68 70 68 65; T Nørret (Den) 71 67 62 74 70
345 R Saxton (Ned) 70 66 65 78 66
346 J Lagergren (Swe) 66 71 67 71 71; M Lafeber (Ned) 69 67 69 70 71; A Marshall (Eng) 68 71 68 69 70; J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 71 63 72 72 68; A Ahokas (Fin) 74 66 64 72 70; V Riu (Fra) 67 69 66 69 75; D Fichardt (RSA) 66 73 66 68 73
347 L Kennedy (Eng) 68 66 70 69 74; P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 63 66 75 73; D McKenzie (Aus) 69 64 68 71 75; A Otaegui (Esp) 68 69 69 66 75; M Nixon (Eng) 68 69 67 72 71; J Guerrier (Fra) 68 66 71 73 69
348 M Carlsson (Swe) 66 70 66 75 71; M Southgate (Eng) 70 68 71 71 68; G Orr (Sco) 68 69 69 69 73; C Brazillier (Fra) 65 74 67 73 69; T Sluiter (Ned) 63 75 68 70 72; M Lundberg (Swe) 70 68 66 73 71 (T28)

====== PROJECTED CUT-OFF MARK AFTER SIX ROUNDS ===

349 W Abery (RSA) 69 65 67 75 73; A Byeong-Hun (Kor) 70 70 65 72 72; J Hugo (RSA) 65 71 70 69 74; E Kofstad (Nor) 66 68 70 72 73; A Tadini (Ita) 69 70 70 69 71
350 C Doak (Sco) 71 68 66 72 73; W Besseling (Ned) 74 63 69 72 72; S Benson (Eng) 72 71 70 66 71; J Gibb (Eng) 69 68 67 69 77; T Van Der Walt (RSA) 69 74 72 64 71; A Parr (Can) 72 66 67 72 73; H Soon-Sang (Kor) 68 72 65 71 74
351 A Domingo (Esp) 71 67 67 74 72; A Snobeck (Fra) 67 72 66 72 74; R Quiros (Esp) 65 69 72 74 71; J Elson (Eng) 74 67 74 63 73; J Hansen (Den) 67 67 71 73 73; H Bacher (Aut) 71 68 70 70 72
352 J Walters (RSA) 73 70 70 66 73; J Wahlqvist (Swe) 71 69 68 71 73; T Remkes (Ned) 73 69 72 65 73; B Parker (Eng) 69 67 70 72 74; A Tampion (Aus) 65 73 68 70 76
353 S Buhl (Ger) 68 72 66 74 73; B Barham (Eng) 65 70 66 73 79; S Kim (Kor) 68 71 68 73 73; R Dinwiddie (Eng) 67 71 67 75 73; P Dwyer (Eng) 67 69 68 72 77; A Haindl (RSA) 71 67 70 70 75
354 M Madsen (Den) 71 71 71 67 74; M Haastrup (Den) 74 67 72 64 77; B Chapellan (Fra) 70 69 69 72 74
355 S Jeppesen (Swe) 73 70 70 67 75; S Pinckney (USA) 66 73 70 71 75
356 D Vancsik (Arg) 68 68 69 73 78
357 F McGuirk (Eng) 76 69 68 66 78; M Tullo (Chi) 73 69 72 66 77

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LUKE DONALD IS NAMED US PGA TOUR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

FROM THE BBC SPORTS WEBSITE
England's Luke Donald has been named the US PGA Tour's Player of the Year after finishing the season at the top of the money lists in both America and Europe.
Donald, 34, from Hemel Hempstead, who sealed the double with third place at the Dubai World Championship, is the first Briton to win the players' poll since it started in 1990.
"That's a great honour to cap off what has obviously been an amazing year for me," said Donald.
The world number one had 14 top-10 finishes in 19 PGA Tour event starts.

========== LUKE'S US PGA TOUR RECORD IN 2011
Played: 19
Wins: 2
2nd place finishes: 2
3rd place finishes: 3
Top-10 finishes: 14
Top-25 finishes: 16
=====================================

His biggest win in America came in the World Golf Championship Match Play event in which he beat one of his predecessors in the world No 1 slot, Martin Kaymer, 3 and 2 in the final.
Donald will complete his season at the Australian Masters, which starts tomorrow.
In a total of 26 tournaments so far this season he has missed only two cuts and registered a remarkable 20 top-10 finishes.
The only other time a European has won the award since 1990 is when Ireland's Padraig Harrington took the honour in 2008.
US PGA champion Keegan Bradley scooped the season's Rookie of the Year award after being shortlisted for the main prize along with fellow Americans Bill Haas, Webb Simpson and Nick Watney.

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RAMSAY, JAMIESON WORDS OF WISDOM TO SGU'S TOP AMATEURS

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
Richie Ramsay and Scott Jamieson, two of the three Scottish professionals who reached the Race to Dubai finale, have provided the nation’s leading male amateurs with a fascinating insight into what it takes to reach the higher echelons of The European Tour.
The duo, who both enjoyed impressive amateur careers, took time out from their quests for success at the Dubai World Championship over the weekend to sit down with members of the Men’s National Squad during their warm weather winter training trip to Abu Dhabi.
Paul Shields, Scott Crichton, Daniel Kay, Fraser McKenna, Conor O’Neil and Brian Soutar have moved into the final days of their four-week intensive camp at Yas Links Golf Club, who together with Centro Yas Island Hotel and Aberdeen Asset Management have sponsored the hugely beneficial trip.
Having taken advantage of the wonderful playing and practice facilities at Yas and eased to a 9-0 success over the UAE national team during their stay, the trip has now been further benefited following the in-depth discussions with Ramsay and Jamieson.
While former Open champion Paul Lawrie pocketed a cheque for over £500,000 following his superb runners-up finish behind Alvaro Quiros in Dubai, Ramsay and Jamieson, both 28, also enjoyed notable success in 2011 and were delighted to share their tips for the top with the aspiring amateurs.
Ramsay, pictured above, who famously became the first British golfer in almost a century to win the US Amateur Championship in 2006, ended the season in style, recording three top-five finishes in his last six events to come 28th in the Race to Dubai rankings and book his place at The Open next summer. Given his current form, the Aberdonian has emerged as a genuine candidate for Europe’s Ryder Cup team at Medinah next September.
Glaswegian Jamieson, pictured right, meanwhile, enjoyed a strong rookie season on the main circuit, finishing 59th in the overall standings. The 2006 SGU Order of Merit champion played his best golf in the first half of the season, impressively securing three third-place finishes – including the Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart – during a summer purple patch.
Having quizzed Ramsay and Jamieson on a number of issues at Jumeriah Golf Estates, the SGU players feel they will reap the rewards from the experience in the immediate future.
Shields, the ever-improving 20-year-old Scotland international from Kirkhill, said: “We received fantastic advice from Richie and Scott.
“Richie spoke about his journey from amateur to professional and playing golf to your strengths and the team around him. It was very interesting, beneficial and good to hear from somebody that has achieved what we are all trying to achieve.
“We also sat down with Scott to talk about his rookie season on tour and he was telling us how he is planning for next year. He still has two feet securely on the ground and is very gracious with what he has achieved. Scott talked about life on and off the course.”
National coach Ian Rae, among the support staff with the squad in the Middle East, added: “They had a great day and spent 45 minutes with Scott and an hour with Richie.
“The chats were very informal on the putting green and the guys asked plenty of questions on how to compete on The European Tour. The key points discussed were the importance of wedge play from 100 yards in, the short game and, the major point, the mental game.
“Both Richie and Scott thought a strong confidence in your own ability and getting on with your own game rather than watching and listening to others was key - trust yourself, make a plan and commit to the plan.”

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