PGA EUROPRO TOUR FIRST VENUES NAMED FOR 2012 SEASON

FROM THE PGA EUROPRO TOUR WEBSITE

The first events in the 2012 PGA EuroPro Tour schedule have been announced.
Once again, the Tour will begin at Wensum Valley in Norfolk in April before events at Bovey Castle in Devon and Galgorm Castle in Ballymena, Northern Ireland in May and Burhill in Surrey in June.
Fota Island in Cork hosts an event at the beginning of July in an Irish double-header with the Tour moving to Concra Wood in County Monaghan a week later before it returns to England and Frilford Heath in Oxfordshire.
The end of August will see the Tour move to the north of England at Longhirst Hall in Northumberland.
The top five players at the end of the season will advance on to the Challenge Tour and will only be one stage away from playing alongside the world’s elite on the main European Tour. There is £10,000 available to the winner of each event and a number of European Tour players have begun their careers on the PGA EuroPro Tour.
Danny Nickless, operations manager for the PGA EuroPro Tour, said: “I’m delighted to announce some of the venues for 2012.
"I think it shows our commitment to providing the players with quality courses with favourites that we have visited before such as Burhill, Fota Island, Galgorm and Bovey mixed in with stunning new additions like Frilford Heath and Concra Wood which really are both top class venues.
“During the next one to two months we will be releasing the rest of the schedule so it is ready before the first stage of Qualifying School in April.
“We have some very exciting additions to go along with an already strong schedule. Anybody thinking of joining the Tour will experience some top class golf on challenging courses.”
Any players wishing to earn their places on the EuroPro Tour can attend Q School. The first round is held at the start of April at three different venues with the leading performers moving into the final stage of qualifying at Frilford Heath from April 10 to 13.

2012 PGA EUROPRO TOUR SCHEDULE
April 3-4 (Tuesday and Wednesday) – First stage qualifying. Stoke-by-Nayland in Essex, Mottram Hall in Cheshire and Players Club in Bristol. (Practice day – April 2)
April 10-13 (Tuesday to Friday) – Final stage qualifying. Frilford Heath, Oxfordshire. (Practice day – April 9)

EVENT 1 – April 25 to 27 (Wednesday to Friday) – Wensum Valley, Norfolk.(Practice day – April 23, Pro-Am – April 24).

EVENT 2 – May 23 to 25 (Tuesday to Thursday) – Bovey Castle, Devon. (Practice day – May 21, Pro-Am – May 22).

EVENT 3 – May 30 to June 1 (Wednesday to Friday) – Galgorm Castle, Ballymena, Northern Ireland. (Practice day – May 28, Pro-Am – May 29).

EVENT 4 – June 8 to 10 (Friday to Sunday) – Burhill, Surrey. (Practice day – June 6, Pro-Am – TBC).

EVENT 5 – July 4 to 6 (Wednesday to Friday) – Fota Island, Cork, Ireland. (Practice day – TBA, Pro-Am – July 2, 3)

EVENT 6 – July 11 to 13 (Wednesday to Friday) – Concra Wood, County Monaghan, Ireland. (Practice day – TBA, Pro-Am – TBC).

EVENT 7 – July 18 to 20 (Wednesday to Friday) – Frilford Heath, Oxfordshire. (Practice day – July 16, Pro-Am – July 17).

EVENT 8 - July 25 to 27 (Wednesday to Friday) – Venue TBA.
Event 9 – Scheduled to be from August 8 to 10. Venue TBC.
Event 10 – Scheduled to be from August 15 to 17. Venue TBC.
EVENT 11 – August 22 to 24 (Wednesday to Friday) – Venue TBA.

EVENT 12 – August 30 to September 1 (Thursday to Saturday) – Longhirst Hall, Northumberland. (Practice day – August 28, Pro-Am – August 29).
Event 13 – Scheduled to be from September 5 to 7. Venue TBC.
Tour Championships – Details to be announced.

FLYING DUTCHMAN LEADS OPEN IFQ AT ROYAL JOHANNESBURG

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R AND A
Johannesburg, South Africa: Dutchman Tim Sluiter posted a superb 66 to lead the first round of The Open Championship’s International Final Qualifying (IFQ) Africa at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington today.
The 22-year-old closed the first day at six-under-par and took a one-stroke lead ahead of the final round as 51 players began the 36-hole battle for three coveted places at the 141st Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
Sluiter said: “I played solidly and gave myself a lot of chances. If I keep the same approach tomorrow then I will be playing in The Open, which is really something.”
He started well and penciled in birdies at the first and second, kick-starting his campaign to play in golf’s oldest Major. After a run of four pars he birdied the seventh and reached the turn at three-under. He made a further pair of birdies at the 13th and 14th before closing out with a final birdie at the par-5 18th.
“I didn’t play attacking golf because of the wind, which forces you to stay out of trouble around this course. Part of the trick is to give yourself chances, and I did that today. My putting was on form and I chipped in at the seventh, so it was a solid round of golf,” he said.
“I feel comfortable on this course and my game is good. Hopefully tomorrow will be another good round and it will end sweetly,” said Sluiter.
Spaniard Jordi Garcia dropped a shot at the 15th, but peppered his round with six birdies to secure sole possession of second with a five-under-par 67.
“I played really well today and my putting was good, which helped me enjoy the day. Although it wasn’t my focus at the beginning of the season, to play in The Open is something special to me,” he said.
The 26-year-old made two birdies before the turn before picking up further shots at the 10th, 12th, 14th and 17th.
Speaking ahead of today’s play, Garcia, who is yet to play in The Open, was excited about the chance to follow in the footsteps of previous IFQ Africa qualifiers such as 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen. “It will be a dream to play in the The Open. It’s such a big tournament that I don’t really have words to describe what it will mean,” he said.
Finishing at four-under was Brazil’s top-ranked player, Adilson da Silva, who shot a solid 68 around the windy par 72 East course. “I had a good start and it was a good day, but the wind was swirling today, which made it tricky to find the right club.
“Tomorrow I will aim for a good score and stick with it. I have been lucky enough to play The Open twice before, and what an experience it is! Any time you can make it (to The Open) is really great.”
Canadian Andrew Parr continued his good form from the weekend’s Joburg Open, also played at Royal Johannesburg, to shoot 69 the finish the first round in fourth place. “I want to be out there and I’m having a great time. I’m feeling confident on this course and tomorrow I’m going to repeat my performance and hopefully make The Open,” he said.
However, it was not such a good day for some of the bigger names in the field such as South Africans James Kingston, who retired due to injury, and world number 80 Jaco Van Zyl, who shot a disappointing 78.

JORDAN FINDLAY WINS £100 TOP ALLIANCE PRIZE at OLDMELDRUM

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Colin@scottishgolfview.com

 Rookie professional Jordan Findlay, the 2004 British boys' champion from Fraserburgh, won the £100 top prize at today's North-east Alliance competition in bright and breezy and ultimately chilly conditions at the Oldmeldrum course, Aberdeenshire.

Findlay's two-under-par round of 68 headed a field of 80 by one shot from three amateurs John Duff and Euan Kennedy, both Newmachar members, and Auchmill's Brian Nicolson.

Jordan put himself in the mood for what he described as a "solid round" by driving the first green (261yd) and two-putting for the first of three birdies. The others came by dint of 10ft putts at the 10th and the 18th for 3s. Only blemish on his scorecard was a three-putt bogey 5 at the eighth.

Scotland international Laura Murray (Alford) was well up the scratch returns with a 74 - playing off the same tees as the men, as did Hazlehead youngster Claire Prouse who had an 81.
Berryhill Driving Range Willie McKenzie thought it would be a good idea to loosen up in one of the driving bays at Oldmeldrum. It wasn't. He tweaked a back muscle which forced him to retire after only three holes of his round.

+Stonehaven Golf Club officials have informed the NE Alliance that unavoidable work on the Stonehaven course means that it will not be available for the scheduled Alliance fixture on Wednesday, February 15. An approach is being made to Inchmarlo Golf Resort to see if they host the alliance on that date.

LEADING SCRATCH
Par 70
68 J Findlay (Fraserburgh).
69 J Duff (Newmachar), E Kennedy (Newmachar), B Nicolson (Auchmill).
71 P McLean (Peterhead),
72 K Nicol (Fraserburgh), J Duncan (Newburgh). G Milne (Newburgh), R Fitzpatrick (Inchmarlo).
73 P Morrison (Oldmeldrum), R O'Donnell (Oldmeldrum).
74 S Finnie (Caledonian), F Clarke (Newmachar), M Lawrence (Newmachar), Laura Murray (Alford).
75 A J Fiddes (Murcar Links), D Leslie (Northern), M May (Cruden Bay)
76 C Cassie (Nigg Bay), G Paterson (Northern), A Ross (Deeside), A Gall (Deeside), D Brown (Kemnay)
77 J Nicolson (Auchmill).
78 D Fleming (Portlethen), K Ingram (Deeside), M Duncan (Murcar Links), S Larkin (Royal Aberdeen), J Borthwick (Craibstone).
80 M Merchant (Newmachar).
81 K Watson (Deeside), Claire Prouse (Hazlehead), J Scott (Peterculter), D H Clark (Duff House Royal), L Fowler (Royal Aberdeen), M Booth (Kemnay), J Forrest (Northern), F Bisset (Banchory).
82 C Duffus (Kemnay), K Beveridge (Inchmarlo).
83 H Roulston (Stonehaven), J Hosie (Hazlehead), D Nelson (Aboyne), P Murray (Kemnay), S Allan (Inverurie), P Guthrie (Peterculter).
84 B Harper (Newburgh), L Roger (Royal Aberdeen), D Wright (Northern).
85 K Stephen (Northern).
86 G Homer (Northern), A Petrie (Oldmeldrum)
87 N Stewart (Northern), M Rogers (Kemnay), H McNaughton (Cruden Bay), N Chisholm (Kemnay), D Randall (Banchory).
88 P Cornfield (Auchmill). J Jessiman (Oldmeldrum), D McKay (Caledonian).
89 J Dalgarno (Hazlehead), I Grant (Keith), D Lawrie (Inchmarlo), T Collie (Kemnay).
90 R Brown (Newburgh)
91 S Davidson (Northern)
92 R Orr (Kemnay), B Lumsden (Northern), P Leech (Oldmeldrum).
95 M Rendall (Stonehaven), A Graham (Aboyne).
96 D Bisset (Banchory).
99 M Brown (Newburgh)


HANDICAP PRIZEWINNERS
Class 1 - G Milne (Newburgh) (6) 66; P Morrison (Oldmeldrum) (6) 67; J Duncan (Newburgh) (4) 68; M May (Cruden Bay) (6) 69; R O'Donnell (Oldmeldrum) (3) 70 (better inward half).
Class 2 - M Booth (Kemnay) (11) 70; D Wright (Northern) (13), K Stephen (Northern) (14), I Grant (Keith) (18), J Hosie (Hazlehead) (12) 71 (bih).

OLDMELDRUM SCORECARD: Par 70
OUT: 4-5-3-4-4-5-3-4-4=36. IN: 4-3-4-4-4-4-4-3-4=34

BEST FIGURES OF THE DAY

JORDAN FINDLAY 68
OUT: 3-5-3-4-4-5-3-5-4=36. IN: 3-3-4-4-4-4-4-3-3=32.

JOHN DUFF 69
OUT: 4-4-4-4-3-5-2-3-4=33. IN: 4-4-4-5-4-4-4-3-4=36

EUAN KENNEDY 69
OUT: 3-4-4-4-3-5-3-4-4=34. IN: 3-3-4-5-3-4-4-4-5=35

BRIAN NICOLSON 69
OUT: 4-4-3-3-4-5-2-3-4=32. IN: 4-3-5-5-4-4-4-4-4=32

PHILIP McLEAN 71
OUT: 3-4-5-3-4-5-3-4-5=36. IN: 4-4-4-5-4-3-4--4-3=35

TEE TIMES FOR NEXT WEDNESDAY AT BUCKPOOL

08.15 B Harper, C Cassie, K Watson, D H Clark.

08.24 FREE

08.33 B Nicolson, D McKay, R Fitzpatrick, A Smith                       

08.42 J Dalgarno, C Nelson, Claire Prouse, L Prouse

08.51 Laura Murray, K Beveridge, A Graham

09.00 J Scott, A J Fiddes, G Paterson

09.09 FREE                                                                                                      

09.18 H Roulston, M Rendall, L Roger

09.27 J Duff, R Lamb, M Merchant, E Kennedy

09.36 R Brown, M Brown, S Davidson, I Bratton

09.45 FREE 

09.54 A Gall, J Forrest, N Stewart, M Duncan                

10.03 L Fowler, D Fleming, A K Pirie, N Chisholm

10.12 J Duncan, G Milne, A Petrie, J Jessiman

10.21 S Finnie, J Gall, N K Parker, D McKay

10.30 I Grant, M Smith, D Lawrie, H McNaughton

10.39 P McLean, J Findlay, K Nicol

10.48 D Bisset, C Brindley, D Randall

10.57 F Bisset, S Larkin, M Forster

11.06 G Homer, D Leslie, B Lumsden, M Rogers

11.15 W Shaw, D Brown, T Collie, M Lawrie

11.24 M May, W McKenzie, P Leach

11.33 K Stephen, D Wright

11.42 FREE

11.51 FREE

12.00 D Wilson, P Cornfield, J Nicolson, G Allen

+If you are a member and want to take one of the available tee times at Buckpool, call the NE Alliance mobile (07801 819746) between 10am and 4.30pm NEXT TUESDAY. Same applies if you have to pull out.

HUTCH IS HOT FAVOURITE TO WIN £4,000 MAJORCA PRIZE

Greig Hutcheon is favourite to take home the £4,000 first prize from Majorca after posting a three-under-par 69 in the first round of the 36-hole Optical Express Pro Golf Tour's Championship over the Son Gual course.
Going into the final round the Banchory man leads by two shots from Chris Currie and former Scottish amateur champion John Gallagher.
Hutch had five birdies at two bogeys.
The only female professional in the field of 18 players, Majorca-based Scot Lauren Mackin, 18, had a creditable round of 75 over her home course to be tied for 11th place.
The leading nine players after 36 holes will win a share of the £10,000 prize fund.

OPTICAL EXPRESS PRO TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Son Gual course, Majorca.
FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72
69 Greig Hutcheon.
71 John Gallagher, Chris Currie.
73 Graham Fox, James McGhee, Craig Matheson, Lindsay Mann.
74 Graeme Brown, Lorne Kelly, John Henry.
75 Paul McKechnie, Paul Wardell, David Roger, Lauren Mackin
76 Stewart Savage.
77 Neil Fenwick.
80 Scott Herald.
82 Mark Kerr.

JAMES BYRNE MAKES SOLID START TO ASIAN FINAL Q SCHOOL

Banchory's James Byrne, pictured, made a flying start to the Asian Tour Final Qualifying School at Cha Am, Thailand today. Needing to finish in the leading 40 and ties at the end of 72 holes, last year's Walker Cup hero and now a rookie pro shot a four-under-par 68 at the Imperial Lakeview course to be joint 11th in the huge field of 239 players.

Fellow Scot Simon Dunn had a 71 at the same course to be in joint 67th position.

The Springfield Royal Country Club course, also a par-72 and designed by Jack Nicklaus, is the other course being used for the first two rounds. The final 36 holes will be played at Springfield Royal.

for the first two rounds while the final two rounds will be played at Springfield Royal.

Leading the first-round field is Yosuke Tsukada of Japan with a superb 63 at Imperial Lakeview, including only 25 putts and highlighted by 10 birdies against one bogey to take a one shot lead over Englishman Guy Woodman.

Leading first round scores

Par 72

63 Yosuke Tsukada (Jap).

64 Guy Woodman (Eng).

65 Javi Colomo (Spa).

66 Dodge Kemmer (US), Sushi Ishigaki (Jap).

Selected scores

68 Stephen Lewton (Eng), James Byrne (Sco), Simon Griffiths (Eng), Niall Turner (Ire) (T11).

70 Dale Marmion (Eng), Chris Rodgers (Eng) (T41)

71 Simon Dunn (Sco), Yasin Ali (Eng)

72 Niall Kearney (Ire), James Sheffield (Eng) (T88)

75 Steven Brown (Eng) (T168).

76 Grant Jackson (Eng) (T188).

77 Nick Redfern (Eng) (T209)

79 Ross Canavan (Eng) (T224).

81 Peter Richardson (Eng) (T237).

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE ASIAN TOUR WEBSITE

CLICK HERE

DAY AND MAHAN JOIN FIELD FOR C/BANK QATAR MASTERS

NEWS RELEASE
Doha (QATAR): Australia’s World No 10 Jason Day and US Ryder Cup star Hunter Mahan will join a powerful field when the 2012 Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy is staged at Doha Golf Club from
February 2-5.
For both US PGA Tour stars it will be their first attempt at tackling the 7,414-yard course – widely considered the toughest Middle East challenge on The European Tour – and they will do so in the company of some of the biggest names in European golf.
Also confirmed in the line-up are World No 2 Lee Westwood, World No 4 Martin Kaymer, 2010 US Open Champion Graeme McDowell, TPC Champion KJ Choi, and reigning Dubai World Champion and former Commercialbank Qatar Masters winner Alvaro Quiros.
Add in up-and-coming stars Matteo Mannasero and Tom Lewis plus former Major winners Todd Hamilton, Shaun Micheel, Ben Curtis, Retief Goosen, Michael Campbell and Paul Lawrie and it’s a line-up that is among the strongest seen in the fifteen years of the Tournament.
At a press conference staged to launch the countdown to the $2.5 million event, Commercialbank Deputy CEO Abdulla Al Raisi said the tournament would once again cement Qatar’s place as a growing global sporting destinations.