WEBSTER, PIRIE SHARE MIDLAND ALLIANCE AT WINDY STRATHMORE

Club professionals Alastair Webster (Edzell) and Pitlochry's Mark Pirie shared first prize with one-under-par rounds of 71 in very windy conditions for today's Midland Golfers' Alliance competition at the Strathmore Golf Centre, Alyth.

They finished a shot ahead of leading amateur Gary Tough, the Edzell scratch player.

The handicap section resulted in a three-way tie with net 71s between John Breen (Kirkcaldy) (14), Maurice Arnold (Kirkcaldy) (12) and John Rankin (Scotscraig) (7).

Last week's Midland Alliance at Carnoustie was cancelled because of the weather.

LEADING SCRATCH

 Par 72

71 Alistair Webster (Edzell), Mark Pirie (Pitlochry).

72 Gary Tough ( Edzell)

73 Michael Rae (Alyth), Willie Hutton (Pitlochry), Tom McLevy (Blairgowrie), Jamie Stevenson (Braehead).

75 Paul Brookes (Pitreavie), Ross Bell (Downfield).

76 Keith Bruce (Edzell), Neil Cameron (King James VI)

LEADING HANDICAP

John Breen (Kirkcaldy) (14), Maurice Arnold (Kirkcaldy) (12), John Rankin (Scotscraig) (7) 71; Jim Crawford (Dunblane) (6), Scott Brough (Aylth) (5), Gary Tough (Edzell) (scr), Graham Milne (Aberdour) (5), Ron Bell (Pitlochry) (7), Chris Westland (Alloa) (10), Doug Sievwright (Drumoig) (14) 72;. Willie Hutton (Pitlochry), Grant Jenkins (Crieff) (4), Keith Bruce (Edzell) (3) 73; .

John Seaton (Pitlochry) (4), Derek Sim (Panmure) (4) 74.

Next week';s meeting is the HI-TECH Acoustic Service Ltd. at Scotscraig on Thursday, February 23.

PAIN IN SPAIN FOR SCOTS ON HI5 PRO TOUR

Not a good day for the Scots in the latest Hi5 Pro Tour event, the El Valle Open, in the Murcia region of south-east Spain.
Scott Henry was the best of the bunch with a three-over-par 74 which included a double bogey 6 at the fifth. The Cardross man is joint 11th in a field of 73, six shots behind co-leaders Jamie Abbott (England) and Sweden's Gustav Adell on three-under 68.
Greig Hutcheon, Scott Henderson and Callum Macaulay are sharing 25th place on 76. Hutcheon had a double 5 at the short ninth, Henderson a triple bogey 7 at the 14th and Macaulay a pair of double bogey 6s at the first and ninth.
Fraserburgh amateur Justin Duff returned an 81 while former Northern Open champion David Thomson from the Skibo Castle staff and former Rangers footballer Ian Redford both had 85s.

LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 71
68 Gustav Adell (Swe), Jamie Abbott (Eng).
70 James Maw (Eng), Andreas Hogberg (Swe).
Scots scores
74 Scott Henry (T11).
76 Greig Hutcheon, Scott Henderson, Callum Macaulay (T25).
81 Justin Duff (am) (T49).
85 David Thomson, Ian Redford senior (T61).


TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

SCOTS LICKING THEIR WOUNDS AFTER BEAR COURSE BITES THEM

By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com Jack Nicklaus-designed courses are never easy, wherever they are around the world. The Samanah course, laid out by the Golden Bear at Marrakesh, Morocco, follows the pattern of being long (7,327yd) and difficult unless you keep your wits about you. Several Scots were licking their wounds from this encounter with the Bear in the first round of this week's Alps Tour event over 54 holes, the Samanah Open. For example, Ross Kellett, out in one-under-par 35, was heading for a sub-70 score over a long (7,327yd) and testing couse until he bogeyed the 14th and then ran up a triple bogey 7 at the 15th. Birdies at the long 16th and short 17th repaired some of the damage for the Motherwell man before he dropped another shot at the last for a 74 which left him in joint 33rd  in a field of 93. Fraserburgh rookie Kris Nicol had only one birdie, at the long 16th, in compiling a 76 for a share of 57th place. Like Kellett, Murrayshall's Gavin Dear was out in one-under-par 35 and up among the leaders. Nine holes later - which cost him a horrendous 43 shots, Dear is signing for a six-over 78.  He did not have a single par in a tortuous inward half which saw him finishs double bogey-bogey-double bogey. Also on the 78 mark is Peterhead rookie Philip McLean who was out in a respectable 37 but then took 41 shots to get back to the clubhose. He ran up a triple bogey 7 at the 18th. One player, Englishman Matthew Cryer, worked out the Nicklaus puzzle better than most. One of the last men off the course in fading list, Cryer took the lead with a four-under-par 68 ... and even he bogeyed the 18th. All in all a day that Nicklaus, pictured above, had he been present, would have felt pleased that his course beat most of the competitors. LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES Par 72 68 Matthew Cryer (England). 69 Steven Brown (England), Brendan McCarroll (Ireland), Tommy Schaff (US). 70 Jesus Legarrea (Spain), Andrea Rota (Italy). SELECTED SCORES 71 Jack Senior (England) (T8) 72 Gareth Shaw (Ireland) (T16) 73 Andrew Cooley (England), Dara Lernihan (Ireland) (T20). 74 Ross Kellett (Scotland), Richard Kilpatrick (N Ireland) (T33). 75 Stiggy Hodgson (England) (T42) 76 Kris Nicol (Scotland), Jack Clarke (England) (T57). 78 Gavin Dear (Scotland), Philip McLean (Scotland) (T70). 79 Warren Harmston (Eng) (T81).

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE ALPS TOUR WEBSITE

CLICK HERE

GB AND I PRELIM SQUAD NAMED FOR ST ANDREWS TROPHY

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R AND AA preliminary 12-player Great Britain and Ireland squad has been selected for this year’s St Andrews Trophy Match which will be played at Portmarnock Golf Club, Ireland, on August 31 and September 1.
It is a largely new-look squad for the match against the Continent of Europe with only Ireland’s Alan Dunbar and Rhys Pugh of Wales able to boast previous Walker Cup experience.
The group features players who have enjoyed success across the globe, including Neil Raymond, winner of the 2012 New South Wales Stroke Play, Paul Shields, who shot a 61 at the recent 2012 Gauteng North Open in South Africa and the University of Alabama’s Jason Shufflebotham who won last year’s prestigious Sam Hall Intercollegiate.
Among those also showing good form on the US college scene are Ben Taylor, of Nova Southeastern University in Florida, and the University of North Florida’s Kevin Phelan, who finished third and fourth respectively at last week’s Jones Cup Invitational.
The squad will meet for the first time at Portmarnock from July 4-6 in a match- play team environment consisting of two series of foursomes and singles matches.
Victorious 2011 Walker Cup Captain Nigel Edwards, back to lead a St Andrews Trophy side for a second time, is delighted with the talent at his disposal.
“We have based our preliminary selection on performances throughout 2011 and will look to add to this squad following the Amateur Championship at Royal Troon in June,” said Edwards, who played on winning St Andrews Trophy teams in 2002, 2004 and 2006.
“A number of players have started the season well in Australia, South Africa and on the US college circuit.
“My message to the squad, and those players who narrowly missed out, is to keep playing well through the spring and summer and prove that you should be in the final nine.”
The selectors, who will attend events throughout the summer, fully expect several players not included in the initial 12-man squad to be in contention for a place in the final nine-man team.

GB and I Squad
Alan Dunbar - Rathmore
Rhys Enoch - Truro
Ben Loughrey - Wrag Barn
Dermot McElroy - Ballymena
Kevin Phelan - Waterford Castle
Garrick Porteous - Bamburgh Castle
Rhys Pugh - Vale of Glamorgan
Neil Raymond - Corhampton
Paul Shields - Kirkhill
Jason Shufflebotham - Prestatyn
Ben Taylor - Walton Heath
James White - Lundin

GB and Selectors
Nigel Edwards, Captain
Jonathan Plaxton, Chairman
Allan Brodie
Michael Burns

George Burns best with a 73 in Scottish Junior Golf Tour at Dundonald

George Burns from Williamwood had the lowest score of one-over-par 73 in yesterday's Scottish Junior Golf Tour Level 4 and 5 event at Dundonald where the course was in fantastic conditionm, considering the time of year.

The wind blew just enough to make this championship course a real challenge for the boys. The standard scratch went up from 72 to 75.

LEADING SCORES 

Under-14 years 

81 Matthew McCulloch (Portpatrick)

82 Aidan Husenne (Haggs Castle)

85 Glen Burrett (Haggs Castle), Murray McCrone (Troon Welbeck)

Under-15 years

81 Josh Beatt (Fereneze)

84 Ross Glass (Cawder), Connor McKay (Loudoun)

Under-16 years

73 George Burns (Williamwood)

77 Adam Fisher (Inchmarlo), Stuart Easton (Bogside)

Under-18 years 

76 Connor Syme (Dumfries)

77 Louis Murray (Troon Welbeck)

78 Jack McCluskey (Ayr Belleisle), David Slack (Gourock)

Walter Burns

Scottish Junior Golf Tour

Web: www.scottishjuniorgolftour.co.uk

TIGER NEEDS BUTCH HARMON TO STRAIGHTEN HIM OUT AGAIN

Richard Durrett covers golf for ESPNDallas.com.


Hall of Fame golfer Lee Trevino has some pointed advice for Tiger Woods after his final-round debacle on Sunday at Pebble Beach - become a student of Butch Harmon again.
"I would call a realtor (estate agent) in Henderson, Nevada, and I'd find out where Butch lived and I'd buy the house next door," said Trevino, appearing on ESPN Dallas on Monday afternoon. "I'd go over and ring the doorbell and say, 'Hi, neighbour,' and get back with Butch. That's exactly what I would do."

Harmon is currently Phil Mickelson's teacher and a former instructor for Woods. Harmon worked with Woods from 1996, when he won his third U.S. Amateur Championship, until August 2002. Woods won eight majors and played some of his most dominating golf under Harmon's watchful eye, including his 15-stroke victory at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2000.

At Pebble Beach on Sunday, Woods started the day in contention, but shot 75 thanks in large part to woeful putting, while Mickelson shot 64 to win his 40th career PGA Tour event.

Trevino, who won six majors on the PGA Tour in his career, said he believes both Woods and Harmon should "bury the hatchet" and work with each other. Woods has worked with teacher Hank Haney after his departure with Harmon and is now with Sean Foley.

"I'm sure there's bad blood there, at least that's what I've heard," Trevino said. "I haven't talked to Butch in years, so I don't know how he feels with Tiger and I don't know if Tiger is too proud to ask for the help and if he asked for help if Butch would give it to him. But I think they speak to each other when they see each other at tournaments. If they do that, I don't see why two grown people can't sit down. He's all messed up right now."

Trevino said Woods isn't as intimidating to fellow golfers as he used to be.

"I think they know he can be had now," Trevino said. "They know. You know whether the guy is playing well or not. You can tell by his demeanor and the way he's walking around. Now he's talking to everybody. Before, he was more focused on what he was going to do and how he was going to do it."

Still, Trevino sees Woods' game improving and believes he's a threat at Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters, the first major of the season, in April.

"He's going to be someone to reckon with at Augusta," Trevino said. "I think he's really pointing to Augusta. I can see to where he is making some progress. He's putting some good rounds together, at least three rounds, and then Sundays he's not coming through. The spanking that he got yesterday, with him not hitting it very well and then Mickelson playing extremely well -- when you shoot 64, especially at Pebble, you've really walked the walk there -- Tiger will be back on the practice tee."

Trevino said Woods "doesn't trust what he's doing yet."

"He can't drive the ball," Trevino said. "That's the problem. He doesn't stay down long enough on the ball. Augusta would be the only one he has a shot at winning if he drives it poorly. He's not going to win the U.S. Open or PGA because there's too much rough."

ERNIE ELS GETS INTO WORLD MATCH-PLAY THROUGH BACK DOOR

FROM THE KALEEJ TIMES WEBSITE
Defending champion Luke Donald topped the qualifiers list released on Monday for next week’s World Golf Championships Match-Play Championship while Ernie Els will just sneak into the 64-man field.
World No. 1 Donald, who won the US and European money titles last year, led the field by virtue of his ranking with fellow Englishman Lee Westwood second, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy third and Germany’s Martin Kaymer fourth.
If the European foursome hold their spots for another week they will be the top seeds in the four brackets to be released next Monday based upon next week’s rankings.
While the entry list is pulled from this week’s rankings, players have until Friday to confirm their spot in the field or drop out.
World No. 11 Phil Mickelson, coming off a victory at Pebble Beach on Sunday, plans to play this week at Riviera and skip the WGC event, opening the way for the 65th-ranked player in the world, South Africa’s Els, to make the line-up.
Els was just ahead of 66th-ranked compatriot George Coetzee, who might also find his way into the line-up if England’s Paul Casey, ranked 23rd, skips the Dove Mountain event. He is recovering from a shoulder injury.
Alternates waiting behind Coetzee for a spot in the line-up include American Ryan Moore, Australia’s Robert Allenby and Dutchman Joost Luiten.
Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello won the Dubai Desert Classic to jump from 119th in the rankings to 60th to qualify for his WGC debut while Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts shared ninth to jump from 69th to 64th to make the field, knocking Allenby onto the alternates list.