SEAN LAWRIE HELPS PORTLETHEN KO CALEY IN MAITLAND SHIELD

Only a week or two ago, Sean Lawrie, nephew of Paul Lawrie, was deep in the heart of Texas as a student at Midland College. Tonight at Balgownie, the youngster was helping Portlethen beat Caledonian by two holes to reach the quarter-finals of the City of Aberdeen double foursomes for the Maitland Shield, sponsored by the Cults Hotel. Lawrie (pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency)and Ryan Donaldson held Caley's Barry Reid and Scott Allan to a square match to clinch victory for Portlethen whose first string of Lewis Shand and Graham Innes had finished two up on Stewart Finnie and Dean Gardiner. Murcar Links teams have a formidable foursomes record and this week's quartet look quite capable of maintaining the tradition. Anthony Bews, Clark Brechin, Bryan Innes and Duncan Raitt finished a combined seven holes up on Newmachar's Chris Simpson, Mark McKechnie, John Duff and Richard Blair who will be defending the Northern Counties Cup over the Royal Aberdeen Links later in the season. Nigg Bay's Ryan Forbes, Richard Nielsen, Ian Welsh and Ross Young overpowered Peterculter's Duncan McLean, Martin Aitken, Fraser Downie and Murray Bowman by eight holes to earn a quarter-final tie against Murcar Links tonight (5.30). Banchory and Auchmill come into the tournament for the first time this week to meet in the first tie in the round of the last eight at 4.45pm. Northern play hosts Royal Aberdeen at 5pm, followed by Deeside against Portlethen at 5.15. RESULTS: FIRST ROUND Portlethen bt Caledonian by two holes (Lewis Shand and Graham Innes 2, Stewart Finnie and Dean Gardiner 0. Sean Lawrie and Ryan Donaldson 0, Barry Reid and Scott Allan 0). Murcar Links bt Newmachar by seven holes (Anthony Bews and Clark Brechin 3, Chris Simpson and Mark McKechnie 0. Bryan Innes and Duncan Raitt 4, John Duff and Richard Blair 0). Nigg Bay bt Peterculter by eight holes (Ryan Forbes and Richard Nielsen 6, Duncan McLean and Martin Aitken 0; Ian Welsh and Ross Young 2, Fraser Downie and Murray Bowman 0). WEDNESDAY QUARTER-FINALS 4.45 - Banchory v Auchmill. 5.00 - Northern v Royal Aberdeen. 5.15 - Deeside v Portlethen. 5.30 - Murcar Links v Nigg Bay.

ERNIE ELS PREDICTS 14 or 15 UNDER PAR WENTWORTH WINNING TOTAL THIS WEEK

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

Ernie Els is predicting a much lower winning score, “double figures at least”, after more tweaks to the West Course at Wentworth Club over the last 12 months.

The 12th hole has been changed back to a par five this year, measuring 531 yards ...

+A bank on the approach to the 15th has been flattened.
+A fringe has been grown on the right of the 17th to slow any errant shots down as they fall down the slope.
+Changes to the 18th include the removal of the big tree and the bunker on the right along with the raising of the fairway in the landing area.
And with good weather forecast for the week, Els is confident players will take advantage of more scoring opportunities and last year's winning score of six under will certainly be beaten.
“The scoring is going to be better,” he said. “I think 14, 16 under par is going to be the winning score again. Hopefully we will have more smiling faces from the players this year.”
On the 12th hole, Els said: “The green was designed for a par five. It’s quite a severe green.”
He felt the bank on the 15th just as you approach the green over a bunker was “unfair” for players going in with a long iron and required a flatter area so the ball could pitch and stay on the green.

And the 18th, which now also features a collar of rough around the green to make it less likely that a ball will spin into the water as happened in the play-off last year, he said:

“I think the guys can really drive the ball down the right side and come in with almost a middle iron now. It’s going to play a lot easier. There’s a lot more room for you to shape the ball right to left into the green. That’s going to play almost like a long par four now.

“I think it is going to be a great finishing hole again,” he added. “There’s water, and so there’s risk and reward. You can make an eagle there now, you can make a 6 now. You can bail-out and make a 5 out of the bunkers or up and down it for birdie. So I think it is a great finishing hole again now.”

SCOT QUALIFIES FOR BRABAZON TROPHY

GOLF BRIEF CREDIT CAL CARSON GOLF AGENCY QUERIES TO COLIN FARQUHARSON TEL 01224 869782   ABERDEENSHIRE PLAYER QUALIFIERS FOR BRABAZON TROPHY   Kevin Duncan from Ellon, Aberdeenshire, the only Scot in the field, shot a par-matching 72 at Worksop Golf Club today (Tuesday) to figure among the 30 leading scores who go forward  from the Northern Qualifier to the English amateur stroke-play championship for the Brabazon Trophy at Walton Heath Golf Club, Surrey from June 28 to July 1. Jordan Wrisdale (Boston) and Sam Whitehead (Woburn) headed the field of 132 players with three-under 69s. Duncan finished joint 11th.   ends   ends

ISAACS BEATS BROWN IN PLAY-OFF TO SCORE FIRST WIN IN FIVE YEARS

By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com Nairn Dunbar's Malcolm Isaacs holed a 10ft birdie putt to beat Graeme Brown (Montrose Links) at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off to win the Deer Park Young Professionals 36-hole tournament at Deer Park Golf and Country Club, Livingston today. And then Isaacs said with a sigh of relief: "This if the first time I've won any competition for five years!" "Malcolm's been shaping up well. I remember he was in with a chance until the closing holes of the Paul Lawrie Invitational at Deeside last autumn," said PGA of Scotland supremo Michael MacDougall. All credit to Isaacs for closing the gap on overnight leader Brown with a two-under-par 70 to post the clubhouse target of two-under aggregate of 142; The Nairn-based man covered his last 11 holes in three under par with birdies at the long eighth, 13th and 15. In contrast Brown let the £475 first prize slip out of his grasp with an inward half of three-over-par 39 for a 74 to slide into a play-off with Isaacs.. The Montrose player, out in 35 with birdies at the long second and sixth, had his first bogey at the long eighth but was clear of the field coming down the home straight. Then Brown bogeyed the 11th and ran up a double bogey 7 at the long 12th. A birdie at the long 14th restored his one-stroke lead but Brown bogeyed the 18th when a par would have given him victory. Brown's runner-up prize was £375. It was a good tournament for North young pros. Andrew Rollo, from the Moray club at Lossiemouth, shot the lowest second round of 69 to tie with Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) for third place on 145. They each earned £300.

DEER PARK YOUNG PROS FINAL TOTALS

DEER PARK YOUNG PROFESSIONALS TOURNAMENT Deer Park Golf and Country Club, Livingston FINAL TOTALS Par 144 (2x72) 142 Graeme Brown (Montrose Links) 68 74, Malcolm Isaacs (Nairn Dunbar) 72 70. Isaacs (£475) bt Brown (£375) at first hole of sudden-death play-off 145 Andrew Rollo (Moray) 76 69, Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) 70 75 (£300 each) 146 David Laing (Craigielaw) 72 74, Ross Dixon (Renaissance Club) 74 72 (£212 each) 149 Ross Leeds (Turnberry) 75 74, Paul Betty (Hamilton) 77 72, Graham Forbes (unatt) 76 73 (£160 each) 150 Cameron West (Scotscraig) 76 74 (£130). 151 Jamie Mackay (North Gailes) 73 78, Stuart Williamson (West Kilbride) 74 77, Paul Robinson (Largs) 75 76 (£110 each) 152 Keir McNicoll (Gullane) 79 73, Fraser Clarke (Newmachar) 78 74, Ross McConnachie (Peterculter) 74 78, Grant Smith (Gleneagles) 75 77 (£75 each) 153 Joel Hopwood (Royal Aberdeen) 74 79, Iain McNab (Dundonald Links) 75 78, Patrick Walker (Ballumbie Castle) 76 77 (£50 each) 154 Christopher Robinson (Dumfries & Galloway) 75 79, Craig Haugh (Linlithgow) 77 77, Calum Lawson (Blairgowrie) 80 74, Craig Haugh (Linlithgow) 77 77 (£35 each) 155 Paul Wilson (Cawder) 80 75, Christopher McMaster (Panmuire) 79 76, Sven Nielsen (Turnberry) 78 77, Joseph McBrearty (Haggs Castle) 74 81 156 Gordon Robertson (Airdrie) 78 78, Matthew Burt (Helensburgh) 78 78, Fraser Rummins (Canmore) 78 78, Graham MacKay (Prestonfield) 78 78, Ian Anderson (Colville Park) 81 75, Peter Scanlan (Playsport Golf) 73 83, Michael Mackenzie (Edzell) 76 80, Andrew McIntyre (Ranfurly Castle) 78 79. 157 Ewan Grimes (Carrick on Loch Lomond) 85 72, Shaun Clark (Elie SC) 81 76, Daniel Wood (Hirsel) 78 79, Fraser Cramb (Noah's Ark) 79 78, Michael Patterson (Kilmacolm) 81 76, Craig Armstrong (Burntisland) 78 79, Gregor Wright (Ladybank) 75 82. 158 Graham Nethercott (Deeside) 76 82, James Boyce (Erskine) 77 81, Martin Lawrence (Newmachar) 82 76, David Addison (Kilmarnock Barassie) 82 76, Jordan Ramanauskas (Gullane) 80 78. 159 Nicky Sinclair (Prestwick) 79 80, Emma Fairnie (Gullane) 78 81 160 Tim Poyser (Renaissance Club) 84 76, Andrew Munro (Musselburgh) 83 77, Duncan Bain (Aberdour) 83 77, Stuart Milne (Balbirnie Park) 82 78, Sam McLaren (Crieff) 77 83. 161 Cameron Tortolano (Stirling) 77 84 163 Jamie Fraser (Renaissance Club) 85 78, Riccardo Scarafile (Eastwood) 82 81 167 Alan McCandlish (unatt) 88 79, Alastair Thomson (Dunbar) 80 87. 169 Richard Holt (Balbirnie Park) 85 84. 172 Ryan Stirling (Lanark) 81 91. 175 Jack Thorburn (Lundin) 89 86. 176 Richard Mackenzie-Smith (Kings Acre) 88 88, Daniel Main (Elgin) 84 92.

ERNIE ELS DEFENDS THE CHANGES HE MADE TO WENTWORTH WEST COURSE

FROM THE BBCSPORT.COM WEBSITE

Ernie Els has defended his changes to the West Course at Wentworth and says the majority of players enjoy the more challenging design.

Paul Casey and Lee Westwood have previously criticised the course, which hosts this week's BMW PGA Championship, since it was made harder two years ago.

But Westwood now says: "Ernie's done a good job on toughening it up."

And Els said: "Criticism is always tough to take, but if it's granted in the right way I'm fine with it."
Last year Casey called it "a grind", while,after shooting a second-round 74 finished with a double-bogey seven, Poulter asked: "You're watching, you tell me, is it fun?"
Further changes have been made since 2011, among them the 12th hole reverting to a par five.

There is also added fringe rough around the final green, making it less likely that balls will spin into the water - as happened to Westwood as he lost a play-off and the world number one spot to Luke Donald in 2011

"That wasn't the plan," admitted Els. "He didn't hit that bad a shot. The penalty was quite severe."
Els added that the previous criticism was now "history".
"We've patched things up with all the players. You're not going to please everybody, but I don't believe everybody should criticise just because there's changes," he said.  

Donald will return to the top of the world rankings if he successfully defends his title.

He became world number one for the first time when he beat Westwood last year - replacing Westwood at the top in the process - and has since traded the spot with Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy, 23, and Westwood are also both in the field.
Although it was bathed in sunshine this week, the condition of the course has been causing concern following weeks of cold and wet weather.
Scottish head greenkeeper Chris Kennedy described it as "the most difficult build-up I have ever known".
He added: "March was the warmest and driest in 120 years and April was the wettest on record.
"Now May is shaping up to be the coldest in decades. We've had hail, white frosts and driving rain. It's been so hard getting quality grass to grow."

RENEWABLE ENERGY PARTNERS SPORT SCOTTISH SENIOR OPEN

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE EUROPEAN SENIOR TOUR
The Scottish Senior Open received a huge boost today thanks to an innovative new sponsorship agreement which will see SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy) and their alliance of renewable energy partners become title sponsors of the prestigious European Senior Tour tournament.
The new partnership between green energy innovators SSE, Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe, Subsea 7 and Technip means that the tournament, one of the longest-running on the Senior Tour schedule, in its 20^th year, will now be known as the SSE Scottish Senior Open.

The SSE Scottish Senior Open will take place at Fairmont St Andrews for the fourth consecutive year and is once again expected to attract some of golf’s greatest legends as they battle it out for the £250,000 prize fund from August 17-19.
The list of former winners includes Scotland’s Ryder Cup-winning Captain and the most capped player in European Tour history, Sam Torrance (2006). Torrance is one of many home favourites to have emerged victorious in the SSE Scottish Senior Open, with Bill Longmuir (2004) and David Huish (1998) also inscribing their names on the trophy.
This year, Barry Lane (pictured above by courtesy of (c) Getty Images) will return harbouring high hopes of a third SSE Scottish Senior Open victory in a row after successfully defending his title in 2011 thanks to a nerveless final round which reached a spectacular climax when he eagled the 18^th to finish two shots clear of Gary Koch.
Lane, however, will be up against a number of Scottish challengers hoping to thrill the local crowds, including fellow former Ryder Cup player Gordon Brand Jnr, Ross Drummond, Andrew Oldcorn and rookie Stephen McAllister, who will be making his SSE Scottish Senior Open debut.
SSE, through their subsidiary company Scottish Hydro, has already been a leading supporter of Scottish golf, backing seven young professionals – Team Scottish Hydro – as they try to make it to the big time while also providing title sponsorship for the Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts on the European Challenge Tour.
The SSE Scottish Senior Open is also supported by EventScotland as part of Scotland’s successful bid to host The 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.

Jim McPhillimy, Managing Director, Group Services of SSE, said: “Golf is a hugely popular sport the length and breadth of Scotland and the Scottish Senior Open is a long standing and prestigious event of which SSE and its renewable energy partners are proud to be title sponsors.
“Together with our partners we are leading the way in the development of renewables in Scotland, making substantial investments to support the growth of this industry.  We welcome this opportunity to support this popular tournament.”
Wendy Barbour, Head of Marketing of SSE, said: “SSE is already a leading supporter of Scottish golf, through Team Scottish Hydro and our title sponsorship for the Scottish Hydro Challenge. We are delighted to be able to come together with our renewable energy partners to sponsor the Scottish Senior Open, an event which will be greatly enjoyed at the venue and on television by the many supporters of the sport.”
Mr Akio Fukui, Chairman of Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe, said: “I am delighted to be working with our partners SSE and Technip, and proud that MPSE can play a key role in supporting the 2012 SSE Scottish Senior Open. “MPSE is continuing to grow its business in Scotland developing the game-changing SeaAngel (TM) offshore wind turbine. It is also a great pleasure for me to announce that MPSE will also renew its sponsorship of young Scottish golfer Jack Doherty as he takes part in the 2012 European Challenge Tour."

GLOBAL GOLF POST AMATEUR COVERAGE :: Worth The Wait

BY JIM NUGENT

 

Listen up, world No. 1 amateur Patrick Cantlay. Pay attention, world No. 3 Jordan Spieth. Recently crowned Players champion Matt Kuchar has a message for you.

You guys were toddlers when Kuchar won the U.S. Amateur in 1997. And you probably hadn't yet picked up a golf club in 1998 when Kuchar, still an amateur, dazzled the world of golf at The Masters and the U.S. Open. So pay attention, and learn a little history.

Kuchar was a sophomore at Georgia Tech when he won the Amateur at Cog Hill in Chicago in 1997, the year after Tiger Woods won it for the third straight time. Kucharwas a pretty good college player at the time, and after he won, he returned to campus life in Atlanta. But what happened in 1998 by virtue of the spoils of victory at Cog Hill changed everything.

Kuchar, then 19 years young, was all over the airwaves at the 1998 Masters, and his 1,000-watt grin captivated golfs largest television viewing audience. He shot even-par 288, fifth-best at the time among amateurs in the history of the tournament. Two months later, he proved that Augusta was no fluke; he challenged for the lead in the third round of the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, and eventually finished 14th, the best finish by an amateur since 1971.

Almost overnight, Kuchar had become white hot. The agents were hovering, and equipment companies were talking millions. With his engaging smile and slightly over-exuberant father on the bag, Kuchar's clubs spoke volumes while that smile and friendly demeanor charmed millions. Pro success and fame was just a signature away.

Except that Kuchar said "no." He walked away from it and stayed in school. People shook their heads ... they didn't understand why the kid with big game and a bigger smile would walk from the almighty dollar. He returned for his junior year, and then aborted a plan to turn pro in early January 1999. He graduated on time from Tech, and thought seriously about life as a career amateur. Eventually, he had to know how far his golf could take him, so he left the amateur game. To date, he has won nearly $20 million in his 11-year pro career. To read the rest of this article click here

 

THE GLOBAL GOLF POST SUPPORTS AMATEUR GOLF IN GB& I

RUSSELL KNOX BEATEN IN PLAY-OFF FOR PLACE IN OPEN

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE R AND A
US PGA Tour rookie Harris English will be making his debut appearance at The Open Championship in July following a new course record and career low opening round of 10-under-par 60, including birdies on his last six holes at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, Texas. 
The American recorded a second round of 63, 7-under-par, to easily win the 36-hole International Final Qualifying (IFQ) America by four strokes over England’s Greg Owen.
The 6,871-yard, par 70 Queens Course hosted the event for the fourth consecutive year to determine the eight qualifiers for golf’s oldest Major Championship held on 19-22 July at Royal Lytham & St Annes. 
In addition to English and Owen, Stephen Ames, Andres Romero and Justin Hicks all advanced into the Championship recording 10-under-par 130 over the 36 holes.
The final three spots were determined by a play-off between Americans James Driscoll and Bob Estes, Sweden’s Daniel Chopra and Scot Russell Knox after all finished on 9-under-par.
Estes made birdie at the par-4 first to claim the first spot. Estes, who qualified though IFQ America last year, will be making his 13^th Open Championship start, with his best finish being a T8 in 1995. A pair of pars at the par-3 17^th was good enough for Driscoll and Chopra to survive and grab the remaining two places.
English, 22, earned his way onto the PGA Tour in 2012 by virtue of a T13 finish at the 2011 US PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.  In 2011 he became the third amateur to win on the Nationwide Tour, having won the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational.
A delighted English said, “I kind of lost track of how many straight birdies I made.  I was relaxed. I had some fun. I was striking the ball really well. In fact, I was doing everything really well.”
“I knew the wind wasn’t going to be blowing, so I knew the scores were going to be low. I couldn’t let up,” English said. “I decided to keep the pedal to the metal on the last 18 holes, where I left myself in a really good position to make putts.”
The key, English admitted, was staying in the moment. “It would be very easy to lose your focus and not put everything into it,” he said. "But, I did, and it paid off.”
English has made 14 starts on the US PGA Tour in 2012, and will now make his first Open Championship start later this year.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “I played in the Walker Cup last year in Scotland, which was a really special experience. I mean, it’s the home of golf over there. I told my parents and my agent that I really, really wanted to play in The Open, so I came here today with that goal…and here I go.”
Greg Owen reeled off four birdies in a row in his afternoon round on holes 13-16 en route to a 9-under-par 61, following an opening round 66.
Owen, who made an albatross in the third round at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2001 to temporarily take the lead (finished T23), will be making his seventh Open Championship start, and first since a T22 finish in 2006. 
“It was just a good round where everything just kept going the right way,” Owen said. “I kept hitting fairways, and when I did hit it in the rough, I managed to hit it close. The one scare I had on the eighth hole was one I made birdie on. It’s a strange game. I haven’t had a round like that in years.”
Following a 1-under-par 69 in his first round, Stephen Ames made eight birdies and an eagle in his afternoon 18 holes to finish with a 9-under-par 61. He finished T3 with Andres Romero and Justin Hicks.
Ames will be making his 12^th Open Championship start in July and will be hoping to improve on his two top-10 finishes (T7 in 2008, T5 in 1997).
This is the ninth time IFQ has been held in the United States and fourth straight time in Texas. Gleneagles was chosen due to its proximity to the PGA Tour’s Texas swing, less than 20 miles from the TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving, where Jason Dufner won last week’s HP Byron Nelson Championship. Gleneagles is approximately 50 miles from Colonial Country Club, where the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial is being contested this week. 

FINAL TOTALS
Par 140 (2x70)
English, Owen, Ames, Romero and Hicks all qualified outright with Estes, Chopra and Driscoll qualifying after a playoff.
123 Harris English (60,63)
127 Greg Owen (66,61)
130 Stephen Ames (69,61); Justin Hicks (67,63); Andres Romero (67,63)
131 Bob Estes (66,65); James Driscoll (66,65); Russell Knox (65,66); Daniel Chopra (64,67)
132 Patrick Reed (68,64); David Mathis (67,65); Roberto Castro (67,65); Ryan Moore (67,65); Tommy Gainey (64,68)
133 Kevin Streelman (70,63); Daniel Summerhays (67,66); Charley Hoffman (66,67); Michael Putnam (66,67); Nick O'Hern (65,68); Harrison Frazar (65,68)
134 Vaughn Taylor (68,66); D A Points (67,67); Nathan Green (67,67); Kelly Kraft (66,68); Tim Petrovic (66,68); Jeff Overton (65,69); Michael Thompson (64,70)
135 George McNeill (68,67); Martin Flores (68,67); John Rollins (68,67)
136 Bryce Molder (69,67); Lee Janzen (65,71)
137 Mathew Goggin (69,68); Heath Slocum (68,69); Frank Lickliter II (66,71); Kyle Reifers (66,71)
138 David Hearn (71,67); David Lipsky (71,67); John Peterson (69,69); Camilo Villegas (68,70); Adam Hadwin (68,70); Kyle Thompson (67,71); Matt Every (65,73)
139 Rafael Campos (70,69); Brendan Steele (70,69); Ryan Palmer (69,70); Dustin Risdon (68,71); Duffy Waldorf (67,72)
14Jhonattan Vegas (68,72); Spencer Levin (66,74)
141 - Bud Cauley (69,72)
142 - Steven Wheatcroft (73,69); Charlie Wi (73,69); Guillermo Pumarol (71,71); Brian Davis (69,73); Tom Hoge (69,73)
143 - Roger Sloan (69,74); Henrik Stenson (68,75)
144 - Danny Lee (70,74)
147 - Miguel Angel Carballo (74,73)

ENGLAND SEND FOUR TO TURKISH OPEN AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

NEWS RELEASE FROM ENGLAND GOLF Three members of the England team that beat France earlier this month, Jack Hiluta (Chelmsford, Essex), Neil Raymond (Corhampton, Hampshire) and Toby Tree (Worthing, Sussex), plus Ben Taylor (Walton Heath, Surrey), another international, will represent England Golf in the Turkish Open Amateur Championship at Antalya on 31st May – 3rd June. The 72-hole stroke play event is being played over two courses on the Turkish Riviera, at Antalya in Serik and over the Cornelia course in Belek. The event is normally staged in September but has been brought forward because the region’s courses will be the venue for this year’s World Golf Championships for the Eisenhower Trophy in October. Hiluta, who will celebrate his 23rd birthday on 28th May, is the newly-crowned Spanish Amateur champion, having won the title at Alcanada in March. A graduate of the University of South Alabama, Hiluta made his full England debut against the French having been England boys’ captain in 2007.The former boy cap reached the quarter finals of the British Boys that year; in 2011 he finished tied third in the Berkshire Trophy. Raymond, 26, enjoyed a successful 2011 in which he won the Brabazon Trophy at Burnham & Berrow and became a full England international. He also played in the victorious Home Internationals team and followed up with inclusion in the European Nations Championship and against France recently. He was also successful in Australia over the winter, winning the New South Wales Medal in a playoff while enjoying several other high finishes. Taylor, 19, made his full England debut in last year’s Home Internationals and is a member of the current England squad. In 2010 he won the South East Junior Championship, the South of England Boys Championship and the Daily Telegraph Junior Championship.He also enjoyed a successful 2011, finishing second in the South East of England Links Championship, third in the Lagonda Trophy and reaching the last 16 of the English Amateur. He recently finished third in the Jones Cup in the United States when representing England Golf. Tree, who will turn 18 on 3rd June, is a former England under 14 and under 16 champion. He has also been capped at under 16 and boys levels before becoming the youngest member of England’s team against France. A consistent performer at national and international level, he won the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters in 2011 and earlier this year won the Gauteng North Open in South Africa. He was also a member of England’s European Nations Championship squad.

-ENDS-

PAUL LAWRIE APOLOGISES FOR NOT SPEAKING TO MEDIA AFTER DEFEAT IN SPAIN

FROM THE PAUL LAWRIE WEBSITE

I would like to apologise to all the media and TV for not speaking to them after my match yesterday morning.   I was very angry and frustrated but I should have gone to the locker room for 5min to calm down and then come back out to speak to them.  
My actions were unlike me but that's the angriest I've ever been coming off a course but that's no excuse so I'm sorry.

TOP ENGLISH PROS WANT MORE TOUR EVENTS IN ENGLAND

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By JAMES CORRIGAN
 A player task force, led by the likes of luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Paul Casey, is to set out on a mission to redress the anomaly which has so many Englishmen at the top of the world rankins, yet so few professional tournaments being staged in England.
This week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth is the only regular European Tour event to be held in England all season, a fact described as “ridiculous” by Casey.

In 2000 there were six Tour events held in England — and then the country could boast only two representatives in the top 100. Now there are two in the top three — Donald and Westwood — plus a strong supporting cast including Justin Rose, Ian Poulter and Casey, who have all recently featured in the world top 10.

The recession has been the main factor in the demise of events such as the British Masters, the English Open, the B and H International and the European Open. With no sponsors willing to provide the millions involved, the Tour has been forced to find backers across the continents.

Its success in this respect is perhaps best evidenced by the outrageous bank balances of Westwood and Co. Yet, despite their wealth, these young multi-millionaires are depressed by their professional absence in their homeland. And they are putting aside their rivalries to try to drum up the backing required.

“We want to know what we can do as players to help make it happen; as we plainly need to do more than talk about it,” said Casey. “Maybe what could help is if we write a collective letter to the right people, to prospective sponsors, guaranteeing that we would all be there and would all help promote the tournament.
“If we started another event in England, featuring Lee, Luke, Ian, Justin, etc, wouldn’t that have great appeal?”

Donald concurs. “This is a great opportunity when you look at the world rankings at the moment,” said the world No 2. “This is the time to cultivate more interest. We’ve got great golfing ambassadors and need another event in England that can inspire the younger generation.
“We’re about to lose TV viewers whose parents don’t have Sky, with the BBC dropping out from golf, so we need more events in England full stop. I’d be happy to lend my name and time and help promote golf more in England.”
Guy Kinnings, the head of golf at IMG which manages Donald and Casey, revealed that talks had already taken place between the players and that he had approached Chubby Chandler, the ISM founder, who manages Westwood.
“We’re all in agreement that we have to get together and pool our resources on this,” said Kinnings.
One of golf’s shrewdest promoters, Kinnings believes that come the end of the year the sponsorship opportunities in England will increase.
“Firms have been focusing on the Olympics, channelling their marketing budgets and energies into the Games,” he said. “It will open up.” If they do, the initial plan will be to stage a “special” limited-field event. This could feature as few as a dozen top players, including England’s “famous five”, and if it is a big enough hit could be developed into a full-field Tour event. Casey seems almost certain it would be.
“Wentworth is always oversubscribed, which just shows the players and public would love it,” he said. “But if we don’t do it now, we could be screwed.”