Paul Lawrie made an honorary life member of Stonehaven Golf Club

Paul Lawrie was given honorary life membership of Stonehaven Golf Club by club captain Sandy Walker earlier today when the 1999 Open champion attended the club's junior prizegiving.

Stonehaven Golf Club's prize-winning juniors with Paul and (on left) Neil Irvine, the club's junior convener.

Stonehaven juniors learn secret of Paul's success: Short-game practice

PAUL Lawrie had a simple message for young golfers when he handed over prizes to juniors at Stonehaven Golf Club today.
It was: "If you want to make a living at golf, concentrate on practising your short-game skills."
The former Open champion said he spends as much as 70 per cent of his practice time on chipping and putting and he urged youngsters to do the same if they wanted to improve their game significantly.
Paul’s remarks came during an entertaining question-and-answer session in a well-filled clubhouse.
Later, club captain Sandy Walker conferred an honorary life membership of Stonehaven Golf Club on Paul in recognition of the support he has given the junior section in the last few years.

MARTIN LAIRD SHARING 2ND PLACE, FIVE BEHIND LEADER STRICKER

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Steve Stricker reached his boiling point Sunday in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions when he walked off the 12th tee, his lead down to two shots and his ball in the bunker after he missed a fairway almost as wide as Wisconsin.
As he reached a clump of trees that shielded him from the fans, he thumped his 3-wood on the soft grass.
For the mild Midwesterner, this constitutes a meltdown.
"I was frustrated at that point," Stricker said.
But he never lost his patience. More importantly, he never lost his lead. Stricker closed with four straight birdies, including a chip-in from short of the 16th green, for a 4-under 69 that restored the five-shot lead he started with in the third round at Kapalua.
It only looked as though nothing had changed.
Defending champion Jonathan Byrd had a 4-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole for a share of the lead. He missed it and had to settle for two more pars and a 67.
Webb Simpson had long birdie putts on the 13th and 14th holes to catch Stricker. He missed both of those and was left in the wake of Stricker's great finish.
"That was key to finish that way," Stricker said. "Sets me up for some momentum going into tomorrow. I just kept telling myself that I had the lead still and just to be patient. Things were not really going the way I had hoped, but I just kept telling myself to hang in there."
Stricker was at 19-under 200, poised to start the new season off with a trophy in his hands and a lei around his neck.
Only two other players have led by as many as five shots through 54 holes at Kapalua -- Geoff Ogilvy in 2009 and David Duval in 1999 -- and both went on to win handily. Stricker doesn't expect it to be that easy.
He will play in the final group with Byrd, who overcame back-to-back bogeys early in his round for a 67. Byrd would have taken a spot in the last group at the start of the week. Five shots behind the highest-ranked American in the field?
"He's a tough guy to catch," Byrd said. "But I don't think any lead is too much."
Martin Laird had a 67 and also was five shots behind at 14-under 205, along with Simpson, who had to settle for a 69.
"I don't know what it will take, but I'm guessing a minimum of 8 under probably," Laird said of his chances Monday. "But this is a golf course that you can do it."
The 30-year-old Scot birdied the third, fifth, seventh and ninth to reach the turn in four-under-par 32. He dropped his only shot of the day at the short 11th before picking up the thread again to birdie the 12th, long 15th and 16th for a 67, his lowest score so far.
Stricker bolted clear of the field on Saturday with a second round, 10-under 63 but he never felt as comfortable in Sunday's round until the closing stretch.
"I wasn't making any birdies, and it seemed like everybody else was," Stricker said. "I knew it was going to be tough. When you're leading a golf tournament, it's just hard to keep that momentum. When you're not making birdies, you feel like you're letting things slip away. I felt everyone was coming after me, and I was coming back to the pack."
But he owns the closing stretch on the Plantation Course.
With his four straight birdies at the end, Stricker is now 13-under par on the last five holes. This time, he started his birdie run on the par-5 15th with a 3-wood that he had to hit perfectly to get onto the green, and he did just that for a two-putt birdie.
He followed with a chip-in short of the 16th green -- "I stole one there," Stricker said -- then crushed a tee shot and hit 9-iron into about 4 feet on the 17th. With a 406-yard drive on the 18th -- down the hill, down the grain, the wind at his back -- he came up just short of the green for an easy birdie.
It's the rest of the day that didn't feel so easy.
"I didn't feel comfortable," Stricker said. "I didn't hit it bad, but I didn't feel as aggressive at times. You're in a position where you don't want to screw up, but yet you're on a course that birdies can be made and guys can come from a ways back."
The more pars Stricker made, the more he let other players back into the hunt.
Stricker began the third round with a five-shot lead over Simpson, and only five players were closer than 10 shots of him.
Byrd, despite consecutive bogeys early in the round that put him nine shots behind, began his rally with an eagle on the fifth hole. Laird made four birdies on the front nine and made the turn in 12 under.
Stricker's cushion effectively was gone in two holes.
After making a 20-foot birdie putt on the seventh, he ended his streak of 30 holes without a bogey with a three-putt on the eighth, missing badly from just over 3 feet.
Then on the par-5 ninth, his lob wedge came up woefully short and rolled back down to the fairway. Again, Stricker did well to scramble for par on a birdie hole.
Simpson birdied the eighth for a two-shot swing, then picked up birdies on the 10th and 12th to close within one shot.
But no one ever caught up to Stricker, and he pulled away in the final hour.
Stricker was on the 11th tee when Bryce Molder holed out from 75 yards for eagle on the 14th hole, a cheer that caused the final group to turn and look. That got Molder to within three shots of the lead. He wound up eight shots behind.
"Steve is certainly not one to back off the pedal, so you know there's not a great chance he's going to come back to the field a lot," Molder said. "You've got to make some birdies. I saw that through nine, he was just playing OK. And I thought, `OK, well, cool. Now we're within striking distance.' But you know, so much can happen in so many holes."
It happened just in time for Stricker.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERS
Par 219 (3x72)
Players from US unless stated otherwise
200 Steve Stricket 68 63 69.
205 Martin Laird (Scotland) 68 70 67, Jonathan Byrd 67 71 67, Webb Simpson 68 68 69.
208 Bryce Molder 71 70 67, Kevin Na 73 64 71.

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SCOTT ARNOLD SCORES FIRST PRO WIN IN VICTORIAN OPEN

FROM THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA WEBSITE
In a thrilling finish to the 2012 Victorian Open Scott Arnold has claimed his first professional win at the Spring Valley Golf Club today.
Starting the round tied with New Zealand’s Michael Hendry at 9-under par, it was an exciting round of golf which saw the lead change many times before Arnold eventually prevailed.
"It's great, especially the way I did it as well, I just sort of hung in there all day,” said Arnold.
With scores of 71, 66, 67 and 68 for a tournament total of 272, 12-under the card, Arnold won the title by a single stroke, showing composure when his playing partners made charges for the title.
Kurt Barnes finished runner-up on 273 with scores of 71, 68, 68 and 66.
Michael Hendry was a distant third on 277 (65-66-73-730.
“I didn't play fantastic golf but was still playing within myself and getting done what I needed to do," said Arnold.
“Barnesey was really putting the heat on, especially on the back nine at 11 and 12 and 13, I got out of my little zone and had to get back in and I was happy that I pulled it off."
Kurt Barnes headed into the final day three shots back from his playing partners, Arnold and Hendry, but with a birdie on his opening hole followed by birdies on the 5th and 6th and an eagle on the 7th he looked unstoppable.
“I had to get out of the blocks early and I did, through nine holes I thought it was probably mine to lose,” said Barnes
A double bogey on the 11th followed by two more bogeys on 13 and 14 had all but worked Barnes out of the Victorian Open until an eagle on the 17th had him back in contention.
“I faltered a bit on the back nine, but I come home strong there.
“I thought if I made my eagle on 17 and Scotty missed his, I was still a chance, but that's golf.”
Barnes finished with a final round score of 5-under 66 to take him to a tournament total of 11-under par, one shot back from Arnold in second place.
“Well done to Scotty, I gave it a good run,” added Barnes.
Hendry, who had dominated the tournament throughout the first two rounds, earning himself a six stroke lead heading into the weekend, unfortunately couldn’t finish the way he started, with his putting let him down.
“I've never seen so many putts hit the hole, at not a lot of speed
either, and find a way not to go in.
“On another day, they'd all drop and it would have been my day.
It was just one of those things.
Hendry’s final round saw him record four bogeys to finish the day at 2-over. With scores of 65, 66, 73, 73 to be 7-under the card and five shots from the lead, Hendry finished the Victorian Open third.
Daniel Bringolf finished as the highest ranked amateur at 2-under par.
For the first time the Men’s Victorian Open was played simultaneously with the Women’s Victorian Open at Spring Valley Golf Club with Frenchwoman Joanna Klatton claiming the title with an 8-under par 212 after a play-off.

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FORSYTH AND LEE MAKE TOP TEN BEHIND WINNER OOSTHUIZEN

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Louis Oosthuizen began The 2012 Race to Dubai in style as he successfully defended his Africa Open title at East London Golf Club on South Africa's Eastern Cape territory today.
The South African won on home soil for the second year running with a closing 67 to hold off the challenge of compatriots Tjaart Van der Walt and Retief Goosen.
The former Open Champion held firm on the back nine as his playing partners struggled for birdies, Oosthuizen running out a two shot winner on 27 under par.
Van der Walt finished second after a closing 69, with Goosen carding the same score for third – the two-time US Open Champion’s challenge coming undone when he took three from the edge of the green at the par three tenth.
“It was a real dogfight for most of the day,” said Oosthuizen. “I remember watching Tjaart when I was an amateur, and it was just great seeing him play to his potential today.
“He played really well. He’s one of those who won’t go away. He’s not going to mess it up – he’s too consistent for that.
Oosthuizen was by far the most aggressive player in the final group, and asked about his decision to try and drive the greens on the shorter par fours said: “On six, I go for that green every time, so to me it was a good driver today with the wind into me.”
Oosthuizen and Van der Walt were tied for the lead overnight, and it was the latter who started better, despite the pressure of playing in the final grouping alongside two Major Champions.
The 37 year old – who remains without a title in his 15-year career - birdied the first from ten feet, sunk a 15 footer at the next, and was left with a tap-in for a hat-trick of gains at the par five third.
Oosthuizen birdied the first, bogeyed the second, then rolled in a 15 foot eagle putt at the next.
Goosen, himself without a European tour title for five years, holed a 20 foot eagle putt of his own at the third, and with a birdie on the opening hole had joined Oosthuizen on 23 under par.
Oosthuizen missed a three foot putt at the fifth and bogeyed, but it proved to be his last error and the 29 year old responded with three birdies in four holes to turn in 33.
First he drove the green at the par four sixth, then pitched to five feet at the seventh and holed a 20 footer at the ninth.
That left him level with Van der Walt, who struck his approach at the eighth to three feet.
Oosthuizen and Van der Walt both looked to be in trouble at the tenth when they missed the green, but while they got up-and-down from unlikely locations, Goosen took three from the fringe and never got back into the contest from three behind.
A huge drive at the 11th set up Oosthuizen for a two-putt birdie on the 11th, and a 30 foot birdie at the penultimate hole all but sealed a victory that was confirmed when he got up-and-down from the back of the 18th green for par.
It was a splendid Africa Open for home-grown players. South Africans finished 1-2-3-4-6 and T8.
Scotland had two men in the top 10. Alastair Forsyth picked up 41,300 Euros for a fifth place finish on 22-under-par 270 with scores of 69, 66, 68 and 67 - a splendid effort that hopefully will give him the self-confidence to go from strength to strength this season.
Craig Lee finished joint eight on 274 with scores of 68, 67, 68 and 71. The Stirling man earned 23,100 Euros
Scotland had three men in the top 20 of a European Tour event, an overall performance not to be sniffed at. David Drysdale finished joint 18th on 277 with scores of 72, 69, 69 and 67. His payslip amounted to 10,864.
Steven O'Hara just couldn't get into the 60s but had four solid sub-par rounds of 70, 70, 70 and 71 for 281 and a share of 47th place for a 4,700 Euros pay-out.
Glasgow-born Alan McLean finished T54 on 282 with scores of 70, 71, 68 and 73 for a financial reward of 3,520 Euros

AFRICA OPEN
East London GC, Eastern Cape

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 292 (4x73). Prize money in Euros
Players from South Africa unless stated otherwise
265 Louis Oosthuizen 69 62 67 67 (158,500)
267 Tjaart Van der Walt 69 64 65 69 (115,00)
268 Retief Goosen 65 68 66 69 (69,200)
269 Jaco Van Zyl 71 65 67 66 (49,100)
270 Alastair Forsyth (Scotland) 69 66 68 67 (41,300)
272 Richard Sterne 69 69 64 70 (35,400)
273 Danny Willett (England) 67 68 65 73 (29,500)
274 Craig Lee (Scotland) 68 67 68 71, Lyle Rowe 73 68 65 68 (23,100 each).
275 Matthew Baldwin (England) 72 64 70 69, Magnus A Carlsson (Sweden) 69 66 70 70, Emiliano Grillo (Argentina) 73 66 71 65, Peter Karmis 68 70 69 68 (17,475 each)

OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
277 David Drysdale 72 69 68 67 (T18) (10,864)
281 Steven O'Hara 70 70 70 71 (4,700)
282 Alan McLean 70 71 68 73 (T54) 3,500).

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LAIRD JOINT 4TH BEHIND STRICKER AT HALFWAY ON HAWAII

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Steve Stricker made even the long putts look like tap-ins on his way to a 10-under 63 on Saturday, giving him a five-shot lead halfway through the US PGA Tour's season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course, Kapalua on Hawaii.
Scotland's Martin Laird dropped back to joint fourth after a three-under 70 for 138.
Stricker, pictured, played the final five holes in 5 under, which included a 3-wood -- up the hill and into the sun -- that settled about 12 feet away for eagle on the par-5 15th. That allowed Stricker to get a five-shot lead from Webb Simpson, and from the amazing eagle-eagle finish by Kevin Na.
Stricker was at 15-under 131, two shots off the 36-hole record that Ernie Els set in 2003.
Na, six strokes back at 9 under, wasn't even part of the picture until he holed a 5-iron from 221 yards for eagle on the 554-yard 17th hole, then hit 3-wood down the hill on the par-5 18th to about 10 feet for another eagle.
"It'll be the best finish of my life," Na said.
It turned a good round into a 64, and it at least kept Na in the hunt against a 27-man field that suddenly felt much smaller when Stricker put together a strong finish of his own.
Only eight players were within 10 shots of Stricker at the end of the day.
As much as he loves starting his year in Kapalua -- this is his third straight trip, the longest streak of anyone in the field -- Stricker has yet to hoist a trophy with a lei draped around his neck.
He took a big step toward that in the closing stages of the round. Starting with a simple up-and-down on the par-5 ninth, Stricker was 7 under over the last 10 holes.
"I felt like I was going to make every putt I looked at for a while," Stricker said.
After his eagle on the 15th, Stricker holed a 15-foot birdie from the front of the green on the 17th, and finished with a long two-putt birdie from just off the 18th.
He has played the par 5s in 9 under for the week.
"I've had some good success here," said Stricker, who has lost in a playoff and tied for fourth over the last four years. "The more times you can play it, the better off you are. I'd sure like to get off to a good start this year."
Rory Sabbatini was hit with a two-shot penalty at the start of his round for being late to the first tee. It was a bizarre penalty, only because the practise green is about 25 yards from the first tee.
His caddie, Mick Doran, took the blame. Instead of looking for the preceding group to tee off, he was relying on his watch, which was four minutes slow. They rushed to the tee, but it was too late.
Sabbatini had a 70 -- including the two-shot penalty -- was 12 shots behind.
"It's the first time ever for me on TOUR. I know it's the first time for Mick," Sabbatini said. "I guess neither of us were really paying attention. Just one of those goofy moments."
Its the second straight year of trouble for Doran, who was on Camilo Villegas' bag last year with the Colombian was disqualified for tamping down grass as his ball was rolling back toward him.
Martin Laird had a birdie putt on No. 13 to get within one shot of Stricker, his playing partner. Four holes later, he was seven shots behind, hurt mostly by missing two short birdie putts and by hitting his tee shot into the trees on the 17th. A search party found more than a dozen balls, none belonging to Laird.
The Scot had a 70 and was at 8-under 138, along with first-round leader Jonathan Byrd, who had a 71. Chris Kirk was among the early starters and shot 66, though that turned out to be ordinary by the end of the day.

HALFWAY LEADERBOARD
Par 146 (2x73)
Players from US unless stated
131 Steve Stricker 68 63.
136 Webb Simpson 68 68
137 Kevin Na 73 64.
138 Martin Laird (Sco) 68 70, Jonathan Byrd 67 71.
140 D A Points 71 69.
141 Chris Kirk 75 66, Bryce Molder 71 70, Keegan Bradley 69 72.

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