ROYAL AND ANCIENT GOLF CLUB ANNOUNCES PIERRE BECHMANN AS CAPTAIN FOR 2012/13

NEWS RELEASE
Pierre Bechmann will serve as Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews 2012 - 2013 following his nomination by the Past Captains of the Club.
Bechmann’s year of office will begin with the traditional driving-in ceremony on the first tee of the Old Course on Friday 21^st September, 2012.
Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris in 1957, Bechmann becomes the first Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club from Continental Europe where he is particularly active in amateur golf sitting on the Executive Committee of the French Golf Federation and the Championship Committee of the European Golf Association.
A lawyer and member of the Paris Bar, Bechmann has been President of his home club, Golf de Chantilly, since 2010.  He is a former member of the R and A’s General Committee, and has served on the Championship and Rules of Golf Committees as well as The R and A Coaching Panel.  In 2008/09 he was Captain of Royal St George’s Golf Club. 
Bechmann lives in Chantilly and plays to a handicap of 9.

JACK DOHERTY HOPING FOR BELATED BIRTHDAY PRESENT IN FRANCE

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR
By PAUL SYMES

Kilmarnock’s Jack Doherty is hoping for a belated birthday present at this week’s ALLIANZ Open Côtes d’Armor Bretagne, the first event of the 2012 Challenge Tour season on European soil.

Doherty celebrated his 30^th birthday at the weekend before getting down to the serious work of preparing for this week’s €160,000 event, which is being held at Golf Blue Green de Pléneuf Val André, in the Bretagne region of northern France, for the sixth successive season.

After finishing a career-high of 79^th place in the Challenge Tour Rankings last season, Doherty came into the current campaign with high hopes of earning a European Tour card for the first time, only for missed cuts in India and Kenya to knock his confidence.
But having made some encouraging strides under the tutelage of his coach Bill Lockie in recent weeks, Doherty has arrived in Pléneuf Val André in good heart.
He said: “I played quite nicely in Colombia, so that was encouraging. It was obviously disappointing to then miss the cut in Kenya, but after a nice wee break I’m ready to go again. It’s going to be a long season because I should get into most events, so it was good to recharge the batteries.
“I’ve been practising really hard, and hopefully it’ll start paying off soon. The work I’ve been doing with Bill in recent weeks has been coming along quite nicely. He’s seen a lot of improvements in my game, so I’m feeling much more positive about my chances. I’ve been with Bill for about two-and-a-half years, so hopefully we’re now starting to see the fruits of our labour.”          

With his local club North Gailes, on the Ayrshire coastline, having been buffeted with wind and rain along with the rest of the United Kingdom in recent weeks, it is not only his new swing changes with which Doherty has had to contend.

But with cool temperatures, high winds and squally showers forecast to arrive in Brittany from tomorrow, Doherty feels well prepared to win his battle with the elements.     

He said: “I’ve not played here for two years, and the course was really bouncy the last time I played. But it’s a lot greener and a lot softer this week, so the course is playing a bit longer but it also means you fancy your chances of hitting your approach shots close.

“A lot will come down to the conditions, because the wind is picking up as we speak. But that would be no bad thing for me, because I’ve played in windy conditions back home and I practise a lot in the wind, so it would probably help my chances if it was to blow this week.”

With €675,000 – capped at €500,000 for the purposes of the Challenge Tour Rankings – up for grabs at the Madeira Islands Open, which is also being played this week, Doherty could be forgiven for thinking what might have been had he not withdrawn as the first reserve from the tournament at the 11^th hour.

But with no guarantees that he would be permitted to compete for the sizeable prize fund on offer at Santo da Serra, Doherty was minded to recall Edith Piaf’s classic hit song, “Non, je ne regrette rien”.

He said: “I don’t have any regrets. I was the first reserve on Sunday night and I then held on until 3pm on Monday, when I had a phone call from the Tour to say I needed to make a decision. Any other week I would’ve gone, but I didn’t want to go there, not get in, and then miss the chance to play here instead. So I’m happy with the decision I’ve made, and hopefully I can make the most of my chance here this week.”

ENGLAND'S FIVE NEW CAPS FOR WEEKEND MATCH v FRANCE

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLAND GOLF
Jack Hiluta (Chelmsford, Essex), winner of this year’s Spanish Amateur Championship, and boy internationals Callum Shinkwin (Moor Park, Hertfordshire) and Toby Tree (Worthing, Sussex) are three of five new full caps in the England team to play France at Rochester and Cobham Park in Kent this weekend, May 12^th – 13^th. 
The other two newcomers to top level international matches are Ashley Chesters (Hawkstone Park, Shropshire) and Josh White (Chipstead, Surrey).  The rest of the team is Craig Hinton (The Oxfordshire), Ben Loughrey (Wrag Barn, Wiltshire), Neil Raymond (Corhampton, Hampshire), and Ben Stow (Rushmore, Wiltshire).  Non travelling reserve is Matthew Wallace (Hertfordshire). Hiluta, 22, won the Spanish title in March, beating Germany’s Marcel Schneider 4 and 3 in the 36-hole final at Alcanada.  A former England boy captain, his appearances on this side of the Atlantic have been few as he has been at college in Alabama but he did finish joint third in last year’s Berkshire Trophy and was a member of the England squad at this year’s European Nations Championship in Spain. He currently leads the Titleist/FootJoy England Golf Order of Merit.  Shinkwin, 18, the 2010 England Boy Champion, has been a boy international for the past two years. He was a semi-finalist in last year’s English Amateur Championship at Woburn and is enjoying a successful 2012 season, winning the Hampshire Hog, finishing third in the Berkhamsted Trophy and fifth in the Darwin Salver.Tree, 17, completes the treble of under 16, boy and full international against France. The England under 14 Champion in 2008, he won the under 16 title two years later and in 2011 won the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters. He represented GB and I against the Continent of Europe in last year’s Jacques Leglise Trophy and over the winter won the Gauteng North Open in South Africa. He was also a member of the European Nations Championship squad.Chesters, 22, is another former under 16 cap and Midland and Shropshire boy Champion. He won the Lee Westwood Trophy last year and finished runner-up in the Simon Bolivar Cup in Venezuela. He toured Australia with the England squad last winter, gaining two top-ten finishes and was also in the European Nations Championship squad.White, 20, also steps up from boy international and was joint winner of the recent West of England Championship at Royal North Devon. In 2011, he won the Berkshire Trophy and the Surrey Championship and was an England representative in the European Amateur and Finnish Amateur Championships and the Costa Ballena Tournament in Spain.Hinton, 23, made his full England debut in last year’s Home Internationals in Ireland, having enjoyed a string of top ten finishes over the season including fifth in the Brabazon Trophy and sixth in the Portuguese Amateur. He also played in the Open Championship after winning the qualifier at Deal. This year, he represented England in the Jones Cup in America.Loughrey, 23, earned his first full cap against Spain at The Berkshire last year and was also a member of the victorious England team in the Home Internationals in Ireland. Winner of the Lee Westwood Trophy in 2010, he followed that by winning the New South Wales Cup in Australia the following winter, while in 2011 he finished third in the Welsh Open Stroke Play and fifth in the Brabazon Trophy and South of England Stroke Play. He was also a member of the victorious Wiltshire team in the County Championship.Raymond, 26, also earned his first full cap against Spain last year and played in the Home Internationals. His biggest victory came in last year’s Brabazon Trophy at Burnham and Berrow while he finished eighth on the Titleist/FootJoy Order of Merit. Over the winter he visited Australia with the England squad, winning the New South Wales Medal. He was also a member of this year’s European Nations Championship team in Spain.
Stow, 20, was another debutant in last year’s Home Internationals and a member of the Wiltshire County Championship winning team. In 2011 he won the Welsh Open Youths Championship and the South West Championship and finished runner-up in the Welsh Open Stroke Play. He was also second in the County Champions Tournament, finishing sixth on the Titleist/FootJoy Order of Merit.
The French team will comprise: Mathieu Decottignies, Edouard Espana, Romain Langasque, Nicolas Manifacier, Adrien Saddier, Antoine Schwartz, Kenny Subregis and Lionel Weber.  Langasque hit the headlines during this year’s Spanish Amateur when the 17 year old shot a course record 64 during the qualifying rounds at Alcanada.
The England v France contests date back to 1934. There have been 31 matches of which England has won 26 and France five. The French won the last meeting 13-11 at Chantilly in 2010.
The match consists of four foursomes and eight singles matches on each day.

For further information please contact:
Lynne Fraser, Marketing and PR Manager

PGA CATALUNYA TO STAGE EUROPEAN TOUR SCHOOL FINAL STAGE FOR NEXT THREE YEARS

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOURThe European Tour has reached an agreement with PGA Catalunya Resort for the world-class venue in Girona, northern Spain, to host the Qualifying School Final Stage for the next three years.

The 36-hole resort, which is a member of The European Tour Properties network, will host the six-round Final Stage for the fifth successive season from November 24-29, 2012.      

The Tour and Stadium courses were both co-designed by European Tour champions Neil Coles, MBE, and Angel Gallardo, respectively the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Tour’s Board of Directors.

The Stadium Course – which staged the 2009 Open de España, won by Frenchman Thomas Levet – has received numerous accolades since it opened in 1999, and was recently named the best course in Spain in the list compiled by http://www.top100golfcourses.co.uk/

Last year, the demanding 6,588 yards, par 72 layout was named in Golf World magazine’s list of the ‘Top 100 Courses in the World’, and was also included in Golf Monthly magazine’s ranking of the ‘Top 50 Courses in Continental Europe’.

The club’s new practice facilities, which include a 2,000 square metre putting green and chipping area with five bunkers containing different sand types, drew widespread praise from the players when they were unveiled last year.

South African Branden Grace, who has won three times on The 2012 European Tour International Schedule since taking the 11^th card at the Final Stage last year, called them “some of the best practice facilities you’ll find anywhere in the world”.

Mike Stewart, Qualifying School Director, said: “It is excellent news that the Qualifying School will be played at PGA Catalunya Resort until at least 2014. It is rare that you find a venue with two superb courses both in magnificent condition, but PGA Catalunya Resort fits the bill perfectly. By its nature the Qualifying School can be a long and stressful week for the players, but it is very reassuring to know that the courses they will play – and the new facilities they will practise on – are of the highest quality.”

Julio Delgado, Chief Executive of PGA Catalunya Resort, said: “While the reputation of our two golf courses is well established, we have invested heavily in our practice and coaching facilities to make PGA Catalunya Resort a centre of excellence for tournament professionals and elite amateur teams from across Europe.
“It is heartening to hear players talking so positively about the upgraded facilities which we continue to develop, and an honour to continue to host The European Tour’s Qualifying School Final Stage.”

NORTH OF ENGLAND MEN'S MID-AM STROKE-PLAY TO BE LAUNCHED ON FRIDAY, JULY 27

NEWS RELEASE

Wyncanton Marketing Services Ltd (Whitstable, Kent. UK) are pleased to announce a new golf championship for Mid Amateur golfers in the UK. 

The North of England Mid Amateur Stroke Play Championship will take place at the impressive De Vere Slaley Hall Golf Club, Northumberland on Friday, July 27.

The tournament will be held over 36 holes in one day, with the winner being the player who returns the lowest gross score for the 36 holes.  Prizes will be given for the first four places in the scratch event and the first three places in the handicap event and there is an expected prize fund to the value of more than £1,000. 

There is also a prize for the leading player over 50 years of age.  The event will be open to all male golfers over the age of 35 and who are in possession of an active CONGU handicap of 12 or less.

“Following on from the success of our first events this year, we decided to add another event for 2012.  The feedback was so positive from the players that it cemented our belief that there is a huge gap in the market for new tournaments aimed at golfers aged over 35 years of age.” said Jason Morris, Golf Director of Wyncanton Marketing Services. 

“The Slaley Hall event will be part of the new Mid Amateur Golf Order of Merit which will run throughout the season with prizes for the leading players and will add an extra incentive for the players to do well in each event.” 

“These are exciting times for us and the new web site www.midamgolf.co.uk is attracting visitors from all over the world.  There are currently 18 events this year and we have resurrected The Welsh Mid Amateur Championship and The Scottish Mid Amateur.  Our Slaley Hall event has already attracted three time British mid-amateur champion John Kemp from Woburn who is looking to follow up on his win at the Players Club last week,” added Jason.

For more information relating to this release and details of all Wyncanton Marketing Services Events, please visit www.midamgolf.co.uk or contact Jason Morris on 07891 766102 or email midamateurgolf@gmail.com.

TIGER TURNS ON SIR NICK AND HIS OTHER CRITICS: 'How do they know what I'm thinking?'

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE

By James Corrigan at Sawgrass

Tiger Woods yesterday hit back at Sir Nick Faldo - and others, it should be said - for questioning his self-belief and insisted that his recent flops were "no big deal."

The former world No 1 refuses to accept that his recent struggles – he finished in a tie for 40th at the Masters and then missed the cut at Quail Hollow last week — can be put down to anything other than his latest swing change. And he switched into ridicule mode when told of Faldo’s claims concerning his broken psyche.

“I always find it interesting [the critics’ comments] since they’re not in my head,” Woods said. “How do they know what I’m thinking? They must have some kind of superpower I don’t know about.”

Derren Brown or not, Faldo is adamant that Woods’s problems are not technical but mental. Like most in the game, the Englishman believed the 14-time major winner had turned a corner seven weeks ago at the Arnold Palmer Invitational — where Woods celebrated his first official win in two years — but watched in discomfort as he reverted to woeful form in the next two events.

“When he won at Bay Hill [three tournaments ago] he said the swing was fixed,” Faldo said. “But then came The Masters and then last week.

“The bottom line is that he just doesn’t have the self-belief, the confidence he obviously had before. This has been going on for longer than he wants. For the first time in his career Tiger has fears... If he fears losing his ball to the right, he’s pulling it hard left.”

Added Faldo: “The crash and burn in his personal life has had a huge effect. He’s a different guy, physically, technically and in karma. We shouldn’t compare him to the old Tiger. This is the Tiger we’ve got now.”

Faldo is far from being a lone voice on this issue. Indeed, Woods is under attack from the American commentary box, which roundly dismisses his argument that these are merely the usual teething problems of a new swing.
Johnny Miller on Tuesday concurred with Faldo, his colleague at the Golf Channel.
“He won at Bay Hill and we thought, ‘wow, he’s back’,” the two-time major champion said. “And all of a sudden, at the Masters his nerves just went off the red line and he basically succumbed to the pressure. I think that really affected him. It was a shock. He went from the top of his game to just like, ‘what the heck is going on?’ It made him very human.”
The most severe condemnation, however, came from Brandel Chamblee, who urged Woods to sack his coach, Sean Foley, and reappoint Butch Harmon. “He needs to fire Sean, call Butch. I think that would get it done right there,” the former US PGA Tour player said.
“I know he’ll never do that, because he’s letting his ego get in the way of common sense. He wants to prove to people he’s right. He would rather prove to people he’s right than be right.”
Woods is having none of it, repeating “this is all a process” like a monk with a mantra. “It felt good after Bay Hill — I’d be creeping towards that,” he said. “Unfortunately the last two tournaments weren’t that great. No big deal. We’ll just try to put it together this week.”
Sawgrass is hardly a comfortable place for Woods to perform another resurrection. In each of the past two years he has withdrawn in the first round, the first time with a neck injury and then, 12 months later, with multiple leg injuries. Before then he could boast one Players win, way back in 2001.
What Rory McIlroy would give for one win here. On his two appearances at Sawgrass he has missed the cut. The world No 1’s discomfort at The Players is so pronounced that last year he decided to skip the event nicknamed ‘the fifth major’.
That is now a source of regret . “It wasn’t one of my brightest moments,” he said.