McKENNA SWOOPS TO CONQUER AT CRAIL

By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com  Fraser McKenna is certainly the man in form over the opening weeks of the Scottish amateur circuit for 2012. Two Sundays ago he won the Scottish Champion of Champions' tournament at Leven (not an SGU Order of Merit event because it is invitational). Last Sunday he finished sixth in the Craigmillar Park Open. And today, at the Crail Golfing Society's Craighead Links, the Balmore man came with a last-round surge to win the second staging of the Battle Trophy. This is his second SGU Order of Merit success, following up last season's victory in the Sutherland Chalice four-rounder in Dumfries. Four different players led the field at the end of the four rounds. Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) continued the form that won him the British Student Finals Tour title at West Lancs on Thursday to lead with a four-under 68 at the end of the first round. But after the second round it was another Stirling University student, David Booth from Rotherham. who had taken over the pole position with scores of 69-65 for 10-under 134. Booth gave away to Kirkhill's Paul Shields who recaptured his South African form from earlier in the year to lead by two shots after 54 holes with scores of 70-68-69 for nine-under 207, Booth having subsided to a third-round 75. Over the final round, Shields slumped to a 75 for six-under 282 and McKenna swept past with a 69 for a four-stroke win on 10-under 278. McKenna, a former British boys championship beaten finalist, had scored 69, 68 and 72 in his earlier rounds. Fraser had a particularly good back nine on the last round: par, birdie, par, birdie, birdie. That really nailed it for him. Paul Shields started his last round with an eagle but went bogey, bogey, double bogey, at 5, 6 and 7 to be two over par for the front 9. Two birdies on the back 9 at 10 and 13 weren’t enough to make up for bogeys at 11, 15 and 18. David Booth's second-round 65 was the lowest 18 hole total ever recorded at Craighead but it won't be recognised as a course record before of preferrred lies. David also had the best 36-hole total of 134, but his putting left him from the back 9 of the third round. Booth, who closed with a 73, tied with Shields for third place. Craigmillar Park Open winner Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) did well to come back from an opening round of 76 to finish joint fourth on 285 with Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm). Robertson's later rounds were 67-70-72 while Clark shot 71-69-71-74. James Aitken (Alloa) was a surprise name at this level of golf in sixth place on one-under-par 287, thanks to 68s in his first and third rounds. Nice also to see Ewan Scott (St Andrews), beaten finalist in the Paul Lawrie Scottish boys championship recently, finishing seventh on level par 288. Defending champion Alexander Culverwell (Dunbar) found his form to late to repeat his title challenge. He had a final round of 68 for a total of 295 after earlier efforts of 74-77-76. Reinstated amateur Graham Gordon (Newmachar), a former Walker Cup player and Scottish amateur champion, missed the cut by one shot with scores of 79 and 73 for 152. +Douglas Hunter (Dalmahoy) had a hole in one with a rescue club today at the 197yd seventh hole. Our man on the spot did not tell us whether it was in his third or fourth round. But having a glance at Douglas's scores of 77-73-74-79, I would guess his ace came in the 74 and he was still recovering from the start of the celebrations when he scored 79. An open tournament with the best part of 60 or 70 people in the clubhouse is not the best time to have a hole in one but, I'm told, Douglas stepped up to the bar and told his fellow competitors "The drinks are on me!" FINAL TOTALS Par 288 (4x72) CSS 74 74 74 74 278 Fraser McKenna (Balmore) 69 68 72 69. 282 David Booth (Rotherham) 69 65 75 73, Paul Shields (Kirkhill) 70 68 69 75 285 Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) 76 67 70 72, Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm) 71 69 71 74. 287 James Aitken (Alloa) 68 76 68 75. 288 Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 75 72 70 71. 289 Ewan Scott (St Andrews) 71 76 69 73. 291 Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) 68 73 75 75, Ross Bell (Downfield) 75 71 75 70, Scott Brown (Turnberry) 79 71 71 70. 292 Lawrence Allan (Alva) 71 70 76 75, Oliver Roberts (Hong Kong) 72 71 71 78. 293 Scott Borrowman (Dollar) 73 75 72 73. 294 Conor O'Neil (Pollok) 74 75 71 74, Andrew Campbell (Dumbarton) 72 74 73 75. 295 Alexander Culverwell (Dunbar) 74 77 76 68, Scott Crichton (Aberdour) 76 73 71 75. 296 Fraser Moore (Blenbervie) 78 72 75 71, Scott Larkin (Royal Aberdeen) 75 71 74 76. 297 Calum Hill (Tantallon) 78 72 76 71. 298 Michael Bacigalupo (Longniddry) 74 77 73 74, Michael Daily (Erskine) 74 76 73 75. 299 Kit Holmes (Hunstanton) 74 76 75 74, Conor Scott (Duddingston) 75 72 77 75, Colin Thomson (East Renfrewshire) 77 73 74 75. 300 David Mitchell (Leven thistle) 76 75 76 73, Jordan Milne (Elgin) 69 79 76 76, Ben Renfrew (The Wynyard) 77 70 73 80. 301 Allyn Dick (Kingsknowe) 77 74 75 75, John Duff (Newmachar) 74 76 75 76, Danny Kay (Dunbar) 76 73 76 76, James Hendrick (Pollok) 74 72 75 80. 302 Kyle McClung (Wigtownshire Co) 72 76 73 81. 303 Douglas Hunter (Dalmahoy) 77 73 74 79. 304 Eamon Bradley (Mt Ellen) 79 70 81 74, Keith Anderson (Charleton) 77 73 77 77 306 Stephen Neilson (Dunbar) 75 76 77 78. 310 Thomas White (Kinross) 78 71 77 84. NR Alistair Hain (Ladybank) 76 74 79 NR Withdrew: Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon) 69 67 75 wd

2011 SCOTS BOYS CHAMP WILSON WINS EDWARD TROPHY

By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com Ayrshire teenager David Wilson, winner of last year's Scottish boys' golf championship after a remarkable comeback from eight down in the final, scored his biggest victory since then in the Glasgow Golf Club's 36-hole open event for the Edward Trophy at Glasgow Gailes on Saturday. Wilson (pictured at Murcar Links by Kenny Smith of the SGU), who reached the last 32 in defence of his Under-18 national boys title at Murcar Links recently, had two fine rounds of 70 for a total of 140 - two under the testing par of 71 and nine shots under the combined CSS of 149 (74-75). He won by four strokes from Craig Ross (Kirkhill) (72-72) with four players tied for third place on 146. First-round leader with a 68, Steven McEwan (Loudoun) crashed to an 80 in the second round for 148 and a joint 10th finish. LEADING FINAL TOTALS Par 142 (2x71) CSS 74 75 140 David Wilson (Troon Welbeck) 70 70. 144 Craig Ross (Kirkhill) 72 72 146 David Curtis (Cathkin Braes) 76 70, Martin Hand (Eden) 72 74, Thomas Forster (Brampton) 72 74, Ronald Clark (Erskine) 71 75 147 Steven Stamper (Girvan) 74 73, Nick Bell (Eden) 75 72, Andrew Millray (Windermere) 77 70. 148 Garry Price (Paisley) 76 72, Steven McEwan (Loudoun) 68 80. 149 William MacMillan (Eastwood) 74 75, Keith Hamilton (Ayr Belleisle) 71 78, James Atkinson (Kendal) 75 74. 150 Derek Fish (Glenbervie) 73 77. 151 Cameron Farrell (Cardross) 77 74, Michael Smyth (Royal Troon) 76 75. 152 Fraser Campbell (Milngavie) 74 78, Alexander Wilson (The Renaissance) 75 77. 153 Stuart Black (Cathcart) 77 76, Scott Moore (Clydebank and District) 76 77, Fraser Grant (Ralston) 70 83, John Laurie (Cowglen) 75 78, Martin Williams (Kirkintilloch) 81 72. 154 Andrew McKay (Balmore) 76 78, Kristopher McClure (Clydebank and District) 76 78. 155 Craig Chalmers (Lenzie) 75 80, Jean-Charles Gouvernaire (Saint Cyprien) 83 78.

TIRING WESTWOOD LASTS OUT TO WIN INDONESIAN MASTERS

JAKARTA: Lee Westwood overcame fatigue to win his first title of the year and 38^th career victory with a successful title defence at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters presented by PNTS today.

The world number three golfer completed a marathon of 32 holes as he returned on Sunday morning to finish the third round before closing with a final round two-over-par 74 for a winning total of 16-under-par 272 at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

The Englishman defeated former Asian Tour number one Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, who returned with a 67, by two shots while India’s rising star Gaganjeet Bhullar and Shiv Kapur finished in tied third place at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club. 

Westwood, who had a break after finished tied third at the Masters Tournament two weeks ago, held a dominant eight-shot lead going into the final round but tiredness began to kick in on his homeward nine as he shot one birdie and three bogeys.

“Today was hard. It is never easy playing in these conditions and I had to play 32 holes. It was draining out there and I was really feeling it on the back nine. When you are in contention and under pressure, it seems to zap your energy faster,” said Westwood.

“You never know how to play with such a big lead. You don’t know if you should attack or defend. It is quite hard to get your mental attitude around it. It was a case of staying patient and calm and playing the holes correctly. It was exhausting,” he added. 

Westwood, who won US$118,875 and a batik jacket, which is afforded to every winner of the tournament, hopes to replicate his winning performance this week in the three remaining Major championships of the year.

“Hopefully this will kick-start my year. I’ve played well without any wins so hopefully I can go on and win other tournaments. It is tough when you are the favourite because if you don’t win then it will be disappointing. There was a lot of pressure so I’m glad I did it,” added Westwood, who turns 39 on Tuesday. 

Westwood is the 10^th player to successfully defend his title on the Asian Tour. The last successful title defence was by Lu Wen-teh of Chinese Taipei, winner of the Taiwan Masters in 2007 and 2008.

Thai star Thaworn, winner of the Order of Merit in 2005, birdied the last two holes to claim his best finish of the season. 

“I felt tired after the 12^th hole but I held on. I couldn’t really hit my shots properly so I’m quite surprised with the way I finished. I haven’t won in a while but I’ve come close this season so I hope to keep the momentum going,” said the 12-time Asian Tour winner.

Bhullar, who won his first Asian Tour title in Indonesia in 2009, posted his fourth top-10 finish on the Asian Tour this year and was delighted with his battling performance. 

“Indonesia is one of my favourite destinations. I won my first title here. Obviously when I play here I have a lot of positive memories. I’m quite confident my time to win will come really soon. I went through a slump last year but I guess that’s part of the game and I’m over it,” said 23-year-old.

Lee Sung of South Korea, who was born with a hearing impairment, turned in 32 to narrow Westwood’s lead by three but his title hopes were dashed after shooting three straight bogeys from the 10^th hole followed by two more dropped shots on 15 and 16.

“I lost concentration out there. That has been the story for me since last year. I really need to maintain my focus if I want to win again,” said a devastated Lee, who won on the Asian Tour in 2007. 
Banchory's James Byrne finished joint 43rd on one-over-par 289 with scores of 73, 67, 74 and 75. He earned $4,200.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 288 (4x72) Yardage 7,262.

272 Lee WESTWOOD (ENG) 65-68-65-74.

274 Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 72-69-66-67.

276 Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 72-70-65-69, Shiv KAPUR (IND) 68-71-70-67.

277 Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 74-68-66-69.

278 BAEK Seuk-hyun (SKOR) 72-70-68-68.

279 Angelo QUE (PHI) 69-73-68-69, LEE Sung (SKOR) 68-71-67-73, Bernd WIESBERGER (AUT) 70-68-72-69.

281 Berry HENSON (USA) 69-73-69-70, Wade ORMSBY (AUS) 71-73-66-71, Masanori KOBAYASHI (JPN) 69-68-74-70, Zaw MOE (MYN) 68-67-75-71.

282 Scott BARR (AUS) 74-69-69-70, Ben FOX (USA) 73-70-68-71, SIDDIKUR  (BAN) 71-73-67-71, Jonathan MOORE (USA) 73-72-68-69, Adam GROOM (AUS) 72-69-70-71, Kieran PRATT (AUS) 73-65-69-75.

283 Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 68-75-68-72, Darren BECK (AUS) 73-71-69-70, Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 70-72-70-71.
SELECTED TOTAL
289 James Byrne (Scotland) 73 67 74 75.

PAUL SHIELDS LEADS BATTLE TROPHY BY TWO

Halfway leader David Booth from Rotherham took 40 shots for the inward nine and fell out of the pole position with a third-round 75 this morning in the Battle Trophy 72-hole SGU Order of Merit event over Crail Golfing Society's Craighead course.
Paul Shields (Kirkhill) swept past into a two-stroke lead with a 69 for seven-under-par 209 - two shots of Booth and Fraser McKenna (Balmore), winner of the Scottish Champion of Champions tournament at Leven a fortnight ago.

THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Mainly in descending order
Par 216 (3x72) CSS 74 74 74
Stephen Neilson 75 76 77 228
Alistair Hain 76 74  79 229
Eamon Bradley 79 70 81 230
Keith Anderson 77 73  77 227

Alexander Culverwell 74 77 76 227
David Mitchell 76 75 76 227

Thomas White 78 71  77 226

Calum Hill 78 72 76 226
Allyn Dick 77 74 75 226

Danny Kay 76 73 76 225

John Duff 74 76 75 225

Kit Holmes 74 76 75 225

Fraser Moore 78 72 75 225

Conor Scott 75 72 77 224

Jordan Milne 69 79 76 224

Colin Thomson 77 73 74 224

Douglas Hunter 77 73 74 224

Michael Bacigalupo 74  77  73  224
Michael Daily 74 76 73 223

James Hendrick747214675221

Ross Bell 75 71 75 221

Kyle McClung 72 76 73 221

Scott Brown 79 71 71 221

Scott Larkin 75 71 74 220

Ben Renfrew 77 70 73 220

Scott Borrowman 73 75 72 220

Conor O'Neil 74 75 71 220

Scott Crichton 76 73 71 220

Andrew Campbell 72 74 73 219

Lawrence Allan 71 70 76 217

Adam Dunton 75 72 70 217

Jack McDonald 68 73 75 216

Ewan Scott 71 76 69 216

Oliver Roberts72 71 71214

Graeme Robertson 76 67 70 213

James Aitken 68 76 68 212

Kevin Duncan 69 67 75 211

Matthew Clark 71 69 71 211

David Booth 69 6575 209

Fraser McKenna 69 68 72 209
Paul Shields 70 68 69 207

BRANDEN GRACE WINS CHINA OPEN BY THREE

TIANJIN, April 22 - South African Branden Grace secured his third win of the year and the biggest of his career when he beat defending champion Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium by three strokes on Sunday in the U.S. $3 million Volvo China Open, co-sanctioned by OneAsia and the European Tour.

Rounds of 67, 67, 64 and 69 gave him a 21-under par total of 267 and set a record on this new links-style course, which at 7,667 yards is one of the longest on any professional circuit. Like many links courses, however, the weather is its chief defense, and on a balmy day conditions were perfect for low scores.
Colsaerts, whose only European Tour victory came at this event last year, put in a heroic defense of his title , but his three-under 69 for the day was not enough to catch Grace. A crucial birdie on the last, however, gave him sole possession of second place and also a spot in the Volvo World Matchplay Championships next month.
A shot further back was England's Richard Finch, who closed with a 66, one ahead of Frenchman Victor Dubuisson and George Coetzee of South Africa who shared fourth.
Grace burst onto the scene in January when he won back-to-back victories in his native South Africa, beating a host of his talented countrymen and the cream of European talent to take the Joburg Open and the Volvo Golf Champions tournament.
In the latter, he and Colsaerts went head-to-head on the final day, and the pair have now forged something of a friendship as they played the final two rounds together this weekend.
"To have won three now, before May, is unbelievable," a beaming Grace said after his victory. "Now I want to win every weekend."
The 23-year-old's only blemish of the day was a bogey on the par-four fourth, but he recovered and kept his nerve for the remainder of the round.
"I stayed really calm even after the bogey," he said. "I think the experience of earlier this year really helped me a lot."
Grace said he would now shift his focus to gaining a bit more experience playing on the PGA tour as well as the Majors.
His sole Major appearance ended with him tied for 43rd in the 2009 Open Championship, but this win is likely to propel him into the world's top
"I have played one of the majors before, but a few more are the aim," he said. "I will also head to the States to try get a bit more experience there."Colsaerts felt he could have been a bit more aggressive in chasing down Grace over the last round, but was nevertheless happy with his performance."I thought I could have got little meaner on Branden today. I had a few chances," he said
" I could have closed the gap a little more. I left him a bit too much breathing space."But he admitted there was little the field could do against a player clearly in form."He played very well today and did not do anything stupid," said Colsaerts.
"He made a couple of birdies here and there which is what you want to do when you are a couple of shots ahead. He (Grace) sent everybody a statement yesterday that he was the guy that we had to go and hunt."
That said, the big-hitting Belgian was particularly pleased with his birdie on the last that gave him solo second place.
"I think it would have been a little sour to have finished tied second as I played well all week."
The man he robbed for that, Englishman Finch, enjoyed the best weekend of his career for a bumper payday after closing with a six-under 66.
"My game did not quite feel it was in the same slot as yesterday to be honest. First few holes were a bit of a scramble, but I hung in there and made a few good birdies and I am pleased with how it went overall. A 65 66 is probably the best weekend I have ever had."Of the 30 Chinese players in their national Open championship, only two made the cut.
 Huang Wenyi finished a credible five under, while 2003 winner Zhang Lianwei was a further three shots adrift.Ian Poulter, the top player in the field with a rank of 24th in the world, finished well down at 10 under for the tournament, but showed his class with a closing round of 66.Swede Peter Hanson, who finished tied for third in the U.S. Masters two weeks ago, shot the day's low score of 65 to finish at 13 under for the tournament.

TO VIEW ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

CLICK HERE

SCOTTISH MID-AMATEUR TOURNAMENT, DUNDONALD LINKS

FINAL TOTALS

Par 144 (2x72)

149 James Bunch (Prestwick) 76 73, John Yuille (Royal Burgess) 73 76.

150 Wayne Crick (Oakdale) 74 76.

151 Paul Moultrie (Royal Troon) 70 81.

152 James Bishop (Little Aston) 82 70, Jody Greenall (Brampton Park) 77 75.

153 Michael Wilson (West Lothian) 77 76.
156 J Richard Johnston (Glenbervie) 78 78, Gary Cochran (Irvine Ravenspark) 76 80/
158 Chris Fitt (Gog Magog) 81 77, Iain Fraser (Troon St Meddans) 79 79, Paul Denim (Loudoun Gowf) 79 79, Kenneth Fairbrother (Cochrane Castle) 77 81, Jason Morris (Deangate Ridge) 77 81.
159 Iain Wilson (Marriott Dalmahoy) 80 79, Kenny Milliken (Troon St Meddans) 79 80, Stuart Black (Cathcart Castle) 78 81.
160 Jean Charles Gouvernaire (St Cyprien) 81 79, Kevin Nisbet (Ballochmyle) 77 83.
161 Paul Tatlow (Chevin) 79 82.
162 Steve Creed (Maxstoke Park) 81 81, Fraser McCall (Troon Portland) 78 84, David McDowell (Portlethen) 74 88.163 Adam Wells (Wentworth) 85 78, Graham Smith (Drumpellier) 83 80.
164 George Higgins (West Kilbride) 83 81, Andrew Turner (Wentworth) 80 84

166 Christopher McKellor (Ulverston) 79 87. 

167 Neil Elborn (City of Newcastle)  90 77, Alistair Serrels (Royal Montrose) 83 84, \john \lorimer (Gog Magog) 79 88.

168 Christian Bedes (st Cyprien) 88 80

169 Mike Hall (Stirling) 86 83
170 Iain Kirkham (Rowallan Castle) 83 87.
171 Barry Mitchell (Murcar Links) 88 83, Thierry Lambert (Saint German) 85 86. Dean Elliott (Ellesborough) 85 86.

172 Andy Brown (Vale of Llangollen) 86 86, William Ferguson (Drumpellier) 85 87

174 Christopher Marriott (Cranleigh) 93 81, Richard Wileman (Notts) 92 82, Nigel Moxon (Congleton) 88 86.
176 Jim Schiavone (Lundin) 83 93.
179 Alan Lee (Leven Thistle) 89 90.

182 Bryn Largue (Ulverston) 86 96.

184 Derek Riddell (Glenbervie) 93 91, Davied Morrans (Torphin Hill) 89 95
185 Mike Page (Dun Whinny) 89 96.

188 Derek Bryson (New Cumnock) 94 94.

190 Oliver Jacquin (St Cyprien) 96 94.

192 Stephen Manchester (Hart Common) 103 89.
196 Pete Stamps (Burton on Trent) 98 98.

207 Geoff Bray (Chestfield) 97 110.

NR John Fowler (Hayston) 80 NR
NR Len Grindrod (Cawder) 83 NR

NR William Lee (Leven Th) 84 NR

NR Darren Kilfara (Dunbar) NR 85

NR Martin McCrory (Cathkin Bares) 86 NR

NR Steve Whitby (Mere) 90 NR

NR Benjaim Ellison (Gog Magog) NR 92

NR James McKenzie (Glasgow Gailes) 92 NR
NR Scott Cochran (Windyhill) NR NR

NR Stephen Higgins (West Kilbride) NR NR

 

BIRDIE BLITZ BY FROST, ALLEN GIVES THEM SHARE OF LEAD

FROM THE US CHAMPIONS TOUR WEBSITE
SAVANNAH, Georgia (AP) -- David Frost and Michael Allen birdied nine of the first 13 holes and combined for a 9-under 63 on Saturday for a share of the second-round lead with Tom Purtzer and Brad Bryant in the Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf.

CLICK HERE FOR SCORES
Leaderboard 

The teams were at 19-under 125 in the better event. Bryant and Allen had 65 at The Club at Savannah Harbor.
The leaders in the 54-hole Champions Tour event were one shot ahead of four teams: Gil Morgan and Tom Kite (61); Bobby Clampett and Andy North (62); Jay Haas and Fred Couples (63); and Jeff Sluman and Brad Faxon (64).
Six other teams were at 17 under heading into the final round.
"We had a good time out there," Allen said about their bogey-free round. "We were fighting. It was fun."
Allen, coming off a victory last week at the Encompass Insurance Pro-Am of Tampa Bay, currently tops the Tour's money list and leads Bernhard Langer by 157 points in the Charles Schwab Cup race.
Frost had the hot hand early, rolling in four birdie putts on the first seven holes. When he cooled off, Allen took over, making birdies on five of the next six holes.
"Yeah, it's just nice generally to just have a good mate to play out there with," Frost said. "You know he's going to come into play when you're out ... and hopefully we don't play the same holes badly. That's the only question mark out there."
Unless you count the weather. Saturday was sunny, warm with a mild breeze coming up the Savannah River. Almost perfect for golf. Rain was forecast for Sunday, however.
"I bet it will take 30 under to win if the weather is like it was today," Purtzer said.
And if it's not?
"I think we're OK because we both hit the ball high, so we're not looking for it to roll a lot," Purtzer said.
Mark James rolled in a 45-foot birdie putt from off the 18th green as he and Des Smyth repeated as champions of the unofficial 54-hole Raphael Division title at 19 under, one stroke better than two teams: Denis Watson and Steve Jones, and Mark McCumber and Wayne Grady. Jones, playing in the group ahead of the winners, holed his approach on the finishing hole for eagle.
Earlier in the week, Gibby Gilbert and J.C. Snead repeated as champions of the 54-hole Demaret Division for players 70 or older.