SAM WALKER GOES FOUR SHOTS CLEAR AT AVIEMORE

By NEIL AHERN, European Challenge Tour Press Officer

Sam Walker is in line to claim his second Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts title as he raced into a four shot overnight lead thanks to a four under par round of 67 on a rain-delayed second day in Aviemore.

Heavy overnight rain meant that the beginning of the second round was delayed by two and a half hours but that soon turned to sunshine and Walker made hay despite a stunning performance from Chris Lloyd, who moved 106 places up the leaderboard thanks to 10 birdies in his final 13 holes.

That contributed to a nine under par round of 62 which left Lloyd amongst a five-man chasing pack in tied second place, four shots back on seven under.

Walker, who won this title in its inaugural year, 2006, before going on to earn a card for The European Tour the following season, looked to be running away with it midway through his round as he went five under par for the day through eight holes and five shots clear, having teed off at the 11th.

The 34 year old got off to the perfect start as he birdied the difficult par four 11^th and he built on that when he almost knocked a four iron second shot into the cup for an albatross at the par five 13^th hole, before tapping in for birdie. Back to back birdies on the 17^th and 18^th followed before he negotiated the back nine in one over par to move to 11 under par for the tournament.

“I just played very steady,” said Walker. “It could have been lower. I knocked it to two foot down the ninth and missed it. I thought I hit a good putt but it just lipped out. I'm putting extremely well, which you need to do around here, I think.

“I'm hitting it close, driving it well and putting everything in the right places. It couldn’t have been any worse than four under today. I'm just chilled, very relaxed. You’ve got to take everything on board. It’s four rounds of golf, anything can happen tomorrow, you just have to stay patient.”

As the day drew to a close, it looked like nobody would get near Walker’s lead, not least young English compatriot Chris Lloyd as he lingered 14 shots off the pace through four holes after a double bogey at the 14^th hole had him three over par for the tournament.

If he had remained on that score, the 20 year old would have missed the cut by five shots but he performed a truly incredible turnaround which began on the 16^th and 17^th holes with back to back birdies, having teed off on the 11th.

That started a run of 10 birdies in 13 holes with three pars coming at the 18^th, fourth and 10^th, his final hole.

“I was one over through five for my round after the double at the 14^th and I was three over for the tournament and I was giving myself a hard time,” said the Bristol native. “But I just hit it stone dead at the 16^th and got up and down for birdie at the 17^th and from there on it was just stone dead, stone dead, stone dead on every hole.

“It was eight birdies in nine holes from the first to the ninth. It was pretty cool, I have to say. I've been out injured recently but as soon as I got it going it was like my old self again. It was quite fun.”

Lloyd joined four others in the chasing pack on seven under par, including two fellow Englishmen Jamie Abbott and Simon Wakefield as well as Chile’s Mark Tullo and Garry Houston of Wales.

QUALIFIERS FOR FINAL ROUNDS
  Par 142 (2x71)

131 S Walker (Eng) 64 67,

135 C Lloyd (Eng) 73 62, J Abbott (Eng) 66 69, S Wakefield (Eng) 69 66, M Tullo (Chi) 67 68, G Houston (Wal) 69 66,

136 J Dantorp (Swe) 70 66, B Barham (Eng) 68 68, J Parry (Eng) 69 67, M Carlsson  (Swe) 67 69, D Brooks (Eng) 64 72, L Burns (Eng) 70 66,

137 D Vancsik (Arg) 67 70, G Hutcheon (Sco) 69 68, C Doak (Sco) 70 67, A Bossert (Sui) 67 70, J Lima  (Por) 69 68, A Hartø  (Den) 67 70,

138 E Kofstad (Nor) 71 67, A Kaleka  (Fra) 70 68, O Whiteley (Eng) 68 70, N Fenwick (Sco) 69 69, P Baker (Eng) 69 69, G Lockerbie  (Eng) 68 70, S Strange (Aus) 73 65, M Kieffer (Ger) 67 71, N Dougherty  (Eng) 69 69, A Tampion  (Aus) 68 70,

139 F Calmels  (Fra) 69 70, P Erofejeff (Fin) 70 69, S Lilly (Eng) 71 68, M Cryer (Eng) 70 69, C Kelly (Sco) 69 70, S Piaget  (Mon) 66 73, M Bothma (RSA) 72 67, F Fritsch  (Ger) 68 71, M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) 71 68, L Goddard  (Eng) 71 68, N Meitinger  (Ger) 71 68, S Gray (Sco) 70 69, L Canter (Eng) 69 70, R Russell (Sco) 67 72, M Madsen  (Den) 69 70, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 70 69,

140 C Gane (Eng) 66 74, E Bertheussen (Nor) 72 68, G Dear (Sco) 70 70, J Walters (RSA) 72 68, P Uihlein  (USA) 71 69, N Lemke (Swe) 71 69, D McKenzie (Aus) 70 70, E Pepperell (Eng) 68 72, B Chapellan (Fra) 69 71, A John (Ger) 72 68, C Paisley  (Eng) 71 69, S Henderson (Sco) 72 68, A Levy (Fra) 69 71, S Davis (Eng) 74 66, K Eriksson (Swe) 68 72, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 70, S Kim (Kor) 69 71, G Clark (Eng) 68 72,

MISSED THE CUT

141 P Gustafsson (Swe) 73 68, A Snobeck  (Fra) 71 70, M Delpodio  (Ita) 72 69, S Jeppesen  (Swe) 69 72, C Monasterio (Arg) 71 70, S Benson (Eng) 72 69, T Whitehouse  (Eng) 72 69, J Hansen  (Den) 72 69, P Reed (Eng) 72 69, B An (Kor) 72 69, M Ford (Eng) 70 71, L Saltman (Sco) 71 70, J Barnes (Eng) 71 70, W Booth  (Sco) 66 75, C Ford (Eng) 71 70,

142 B Åkesson (Swe) 69 73, D Gaunt (Aus) 72 70, V Riu  (Fra) 74 68, D Law (Sco) 72 70, M Quiros (Esp) 72 70, B Evans  (Eng) 73 69, C Macaulay  (Sco) 71 71, E Saltman  (Sco) 69 73, J Palmer (Eng) 70 72, A Bernadet  (Fra) 71 71, S Pinckney (USA) 72 70,

143 P Archer (Eng) 72 71, S Manley (Wal) 70 73, C Hanson (Eng) 73 70, W Roebuck (Eng) 69 74, F McGuirk  (Eng) 71 72, J Gibb (Eng) 72 71, S Tiley (Eng) 74 69, F De Vries  (Ned) 71 72, S Drummond (Sco) 76 67, C Russo (Fra) 73 70, F Delamontagne  (Fra) 71 72, G Fox (Sco) 70 73,

144 S Bebb (Wal) 73 71, A McArthur  (Sco) 71 73, J Doherty  (Sco) 71 73, D Stewart (Sco) 72 72, J Van Der Vaart (Ned) 77 67,

145 A Parr (Can) 78 67, G Watremez (Bel) 76 69, R McGowan  (Eng) 73 72, D Higgins (Irl) 75 70, J Clément  (Sui) 74 71, A Knappe (Ger) 74 71, R Karlberg  (Swe) 71 74,

146 S Engell Andersen  (Ken) 76 70, J Busby (Eng) 71 75, S Henry  (Sco) 74 72, L Jensen (Den) 72 74, C Moriarty (Irl) 72 74, P Dwyer (Eng) 75 71,

147 J Huldahl (Den) 74 73, J McLeary  (Sco) 75 72, X Zhang (Chn) 72 75, M Stewart (Sco) 70 77, M Brown (Nzl) 73 74, A Gee  (Eng) 74 73,

148 B Etchart  (Esp) 77 71, A Hansen  (Den) 72 76, G Molteni (Ita) 76 72, A Bruschi  (Ita) 75 73, M Southgate  (Eng) 71 77, R Cameron (Sco) 75 73, F Keenan  (Eng) 78 70, T Hatton (Eng) 72 76, M Glauert (Ger) 71 77, C Günther (Ger) 80 68,

149 J Wahlqvist (Swe) 75 74, M Haines  (Eng) 75 74, A Perrino  (Ita) 79 70, M Kerr  (Sco) 77 72, C Brazillier  (Fra) 73 76,

150 P Oriol (Esp) 74 76, G Murphy (Irl) 77 73, F Praegant (Aut) 79 71, S Buhl (Ger) 78 72,

151 R Echenique (Arg) 74 77, J Gallagher  (Sco) 76 75, R Wingardh (Swe) 72 79,

152 A Ahokas (Fin) 78 74, D Seymour (Eng) 76 76, T Ferreira  (RSA) 76 76,

153 L Bond (Wal) 75 78, M Higley (Eng) 78 75, J Byrne  (Sco) 74 79, P Relecom  (Bel) 68 85,

** Å Nilsson (Swe) 71 RT, P Streeter (Eng) 76 DQ, C Aguilar  (Esp) 72 WD,

JOEL SJOHOLM LEADS BY TWO IN BMW INTERNATIONAL OPEN

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

Joel Sjöholm holds a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the BMW International Open as the Swede seeks his first European Tour title.
The 27 year old former Challenge Tour graduate lit up Gut Lärchenhof with two eagles and four birdies in a second round 66 to reach 11 under par.
That was two better than overnight joint-leader Fabrizio Zanotti, former Ryder Cup star Paul McGinley and English pair Danny Willett and Chris Wood.
Chilean-born Sjöholm, adopted by a Swedish couple when three months old, was dressed in his now customary plus-fours as he eagled both the 577 yard 16th and 546 yard third for a superb six under par round in the windy conditions in Cologne.
A closing birdie took the World Number 306 clear, and while Sjöholm is relatively inexperienced when it comes to leading European Tour events, he is not being chased by a host of regular winners.
Of the top five, only McGinley has tasted victory on The European Tour – and the last of the Irishman’s four titles came seven years ago.
“Now I see that I'm up there, and of course it's going to be a new situation for me,” said Sjöholm. “But then I watched a lot of Euro Cup the last two or three weekends, I've seen what happens after four or five minutes, and I'm happy to be on top at the moment - but I would rather be on top on Sunday.
“I'm just enjoying this so much, I don't really think too much about it. It's just a great feeling and a fantastic tournament. I've always played here in Germany, and it was good to play well at the new venue.”
Willett, Wood and Zanotti have racked up six runner-up finishes between them and all will be targeting a breakthrough victory this weekend.
Wood is best known for finishing fifth in the 2008 Open Championship as an amateur and then coming third a year later at Turnberry.
Willett was a team-mate of Rory McIlroy in the 2007 Walker Cup - against an American side that included new US Open Champion Webb Simpson, Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson.
“It's always nice to put yourself in contention,” said Wood. “Nothing beats it really, and the more and more you can do it, the more chance you have to win and hopefully one will come along.
“The results haven't really backed up the way I've played. I'm finishing top 20 with what I feel is top ten, top-five form really. I’ve just got to stay patient and wait for that to happen.”
Zanotti had shared the first-round lead with Marcus Fraser, but managed only a 71 while the Australian fell five behind with a 74.
“I had a good fight today,” he said. “I had a good start and the back nine, I didn't hit it that good, but I kept going.”
Local favourite Martin Kaymer, the highest-ranked player in the field, missed the cut, but 54 year old compatriot Bernhard Langer shot 67 and at five under is not out of the hunt yet.
Sjöholm, with a best finish of third in Sicily last year, followed his first eagle with back-to-back bogeys.
But it was a different tale after the second one. He added birdies on the fifth and ninth to go clear in the race for a first prize of €333,330.
Sjöholm’s eagles were far from routine. First he chipped in from heavy rough and then he pitched in from almost 100 yards.
Sergio Garcia's 67 lifted him into a share of 13th on six under alongside, among others, Fraser and England's Andrew Marshall, who won a BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe with a hole-in-one at the 215 yard 17th.
Kaymer three-putted for bogey there and missed out by a single shot like Ryder Cup Captain José María Olazábal.

HALFWAY LEADERBOARD

Par 144 (2x72)
133 Joel Sjoholm (Sweden) 67 66
135 Danny Willett (England) 65 70, Paul McGinley (Ireland) 65 70, Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) 64 71, Chris Wood (England) 65 70
136 Thomas Norret (Denmark) 67 69, Shiv Kapur (India) 66 70.

SCOTS' SCORES

139 David Drysdale 69 70 (T21)
140 Alastair Forsyth 69 71, Stephen Gallacher 67 73 (T30)
141 Steven O'Hara 69 72 (T42)
142 Paul Lawrie 72 70 (T48)
143 Peter Whiteford 70 73, Colin Montgomery 69 74, Marc Warren 73 70 (T58)

MISSED THE CUT (143 and better qualified)

144 Martin Kaymer (Germany) 71 73
145 Gary Orr 72 73
147 George Murray 72 75, Craig Lee 74 73
148 Scott Jamieson) 73 75.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE
 

KENDAL McWADE NAMED AS ENGLAND REGIONAL BOYS COACH

ENGLAND GOLF NEWS RELEASE
After an extensive recruitment process, England Golf has identified ten experienced golf coaches to spearhead its revamped Under 16s Boys Regional Coaching Programme from September 2012 onwards. Under the tenure of Nigel Edwards, England Golf’s Director of Coaching, investment  in the existing Regional Coaching Programme will be increased, extending the number of contact days with the players selected to attend.
The ten coaches recruited and the coaching regions they have been allocated to are as follows: -

Kendal McWade (pictured above) – North Region
Steven Robinson – Yorkshire Region
Peter Barber – North West Region
David Brooks – West Midlands Region
Lysa Jones – East Midlands Region
Rob Watts – Thames Valley Region
John Jacobs – South West Region
John Noble – South Region
Steven Orr – South East Region
On unveiling the new look line-up, Edwards commented, “I’m very pleased with the individuals selected. It was a tough recruitment process and the competition was very strong. We have the opportunity to increase our investment in regional coaching and it was imperative that we identified the right coaches to take the programme to the next level. 
"Our national squads and england teams will prosper with more players progressing at a younger age.”
The successful candidates will undergo an induction and training weekend in September at England Golf headquarters in Woodhall Spa before joining the regional management team to identify their squad for the winter training ahead. 
Boys demonstrating the required talent and promise will have the opportunity to apply to join the regional coaching programme over the coming weeks.

GORDON'S BRAND OF GOLF TAKES HIM TWO CLEAR

By STEVE TODD
European Senior Tour Press Officer
Gordon Brand Jnr overcame punishing conditions to seize a two-stroke lead in the first round of the Van Lanschot Senior Open in The Netherlands, carding a battling one under par 71.
The former Ryder Cup player, pictured by courtesy of Getty Images(c), finished in the top five in both of his previous appearances in the tournament, but found a very different Royal Haagsche Golf & Country Club due to strong winds in The Hague.
After starting with a birdie on the first, the 53 year old Scot dropped a shot on the fourth after mis-clubbing as the wind intensified.  He then holed back-to-back 15ft birdie putts on the tenth and 11^th holes to move back into red figures, but then dropped a shot on the 13^th after missing a five foot par putt.
With wind speeds exceeding 30mph, Brand Jnr was the only player to break par and he holds two stroke advantage over a group of five players, which includes his compatriot, the former PGA Champion Andrew Oldcorn.
 “It was a good round,” said Brand Jnr. “It was very hard work. but I up and downed it well today. No matter how well you played out there it was tough to get up and down but I seemed to do it well and seemed to have reasonable control of the ball.
“That was the key given the conditions. It was incredibly windy out there.
“I’ve got a good record round here, but it played completely differently today. I’m not saying it is ever easy here, but that was probably as hard as the course could play without it being unplayable.
It’s a links course though so at least you can play it a bit linksy. A 71 is a great score.”
The eight-time European Tour winner has made a relatively modest start to the 2012, recording his only top ten finish so far in the Mallorca Open Senior, but he feels his liking of Royal Haagsche Golf & Country Club could lead to a better week.
“I’ve not played that badly but I have scored badly and I’ve not seemed to get any momentum going. Today momentum was staying around par and I just played very well.
“The goal this week was just to perform better. I’ve been wasting shots and getting frustrated. These conditions maybe helped as I knew I’d have to save a few pars and I was pleased with how I achieve that.
“The course suits me. I don’t like these big open fairways, I like small enclosed ones. I play a lot of my better golf on tight courses. It seems to give me a better focus.”
Oldcorn, who finished runner up to George Ryall in the inaugural event two years ago, began brightly, opening with a birdie on the first hole and picking up another shot on the seventh hole.
However, he dropped three shots on the back nine and finish on one over par 73 for a share second place with English pair John Gould and Jeff Hall, Spaniard Domingo Hospital and Australian Terry Price.
“It’s difficult to assess how I feel about that round really because I played so well the front nine and then got on the tenth in two but as we were walking up it rolled off the green,” he said.
“I then duffed a chip and made a six. I lost a bit of momentum then and started trying to guide my tee shots a bit because of the wind. It was a tough day.
“I think if you break 70 here today you have played out of your skin. Having ground out a front nine it was disappointing to do what I did on the tenth. That threw me a bit and I hit a couple of poor drives on the back nine which were straight off bogeys. I was lucky to even make bogey and I just ground it in. I didn’t play great, I didn’t play awful. It was just a tough day so I’m quite pleased.
“I probably would have taken one over from the start.”
Gould had earlier been setting the pace and looked breaking par after birdieing the 13th hole to go to two under par. However he finished with three consecutive bogeys to drop back and he also settled for a one over par 73.
Irishman Des Smyth, who fired a closing 65 to win by two shots last year, began his defence of the title with a two over par 74, while former Masters Champion Ian Woosnam was one shot further back following a 75.

 

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD

  Par 72

71 G Brand Jnr (Sco)

73 A Oldcorn (Sco) , T Price (Aus) , J Hall (Eng) , D Hospital (Esp) , J Gould (Eng) 

74 M Harwood (Aus) , M Martin (Esp) , J Harrison (Eng) , M Cunning (USA) , T Thelen (USA) , R Drummond (Sco) , A Sherborne (Eng) , S Cipa (Eng), D Smyth (Irl)

75 D O'Sullivan (Irl) , K Tomori (Jpn) , M Kuramoto (Jpn) , A Fernandez (Chi) , C Williams (RSA) , N Ratcliffe (Aus) , I Woosnam (Wal) , T Johnstone (Zim), B Longmuir (Sco)

 76 L Carbonetti (Arg) , M Belsham (Eng) , B Smit (RSA) , P Walton (Irl) , K Spurgeon (Eng) , P Smith (Sco) , G Manson (Aut) ,

 77 Z Martinez (USA) , J Quiros (Esp) , N Job (Eng) , P Wesselingh (Eng) , C Mason (Eng) , B Lincoln (RSA) , G Banister (Aus) , R Gibson (Can) , M Piñero (Esp) ,

78 R Davis (Aus) , T Elliott (Aus) , B Gee (Ned) , P Fowler (Aus) , G Norquist (USA) , G Ralph (Eng) , S Torrance (Sco)

 79 C Rocca (Ita), A Saddington (Sco) , G Cali (Ita) ,

 80 D Russell (Eng), P Mitchell (Eng) , S McAllister (Sco) , G Ryall (Eng), J Woof (Eng) , B Ruangkit (Tha), A Franco (Par) , A Forsbrand (Swe) , J Bruner (USA), J Rivero (Esp) , D Cambridge (Jam)

 81 D Merriman (Aus) , A Garrido (Esp), J Rhodes (Eng)

 82 G Wolstenholme (Eng) , D Thomson (Sco) , M Farry (Fra) 

 83 G Brand (Eng), B Cameron (Eng)

 88 B Lane (Eng) 

 89 T Burgoyne (Sco) ,

 92 R Van Blankers (Ned) ,

 

-      

HOWIE LEADS COOPER JUNIOR MASTERS

Peebles' Craig Howie today recaptured the form that won him the Paul Lawrie Scottish boys' championship at Murcar Links in April. The teenager, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, shot a three-under-par 69 to lead a quality field of 132 in the first round of the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters at Nizells Golf Club, Kent.

Next best Scots with three rounds to go over the weekend are Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie), Lawrence Allan (Alva) and Anthony Blaney (Liberton), all bracketed in 11th place on 73.

Alan Waugh (Cowglen) squeezed into the top 20 with a 74, one shot ahead of Angus Carrick (Douglas Park).

Cawder's Jamie Savage is joint 42nd after a 76.

Two Scots failed to break 80 - Alexander Wilson (Renaissance) who hit that mark to be joint 93rd and Euan Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) who is joint 105th after an 81.

SIR HENRY COOPER JUNIOR MASTERS

Nizells GC, Kent.

LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES

Par 72

69 Craig Howie (Peebles)

70 Daniel Brown (Bedale), Cameron Massey (Chorlton cum Hardy), Matthew Wells (Saunton)

71 Max Orrin (North Foreland), Marco Penge (Worthing), Ben Wall (Hayling).

OTHER SCOTS SCORES

73 Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie), Lawrence Allan (Alva), Anthony Blaney (Liberton) (T11)

74 Alan Waugh (Cowglen) (T19)

75 Angus Carrick (Douglas Park) (T31)

76 Jamie Savage (Cawder) (T42)

80 Alexander Wilson (Renaissance) (T93)

81 Euan Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) (T105)

TARTAN TOUR PRO-AMS CALLED OFF, REARRANGED

Today's Airdrie pro-am was abandoned in mid-afternoon when the area was hit by a thunder and lightning storm. Saturday's Bathgate pro-am has had to be called off because the burn that runs through the course has burst its banks and caused flooding. The event has been rearranged for Saturday, August 18.

PAUL DOHERTY HAS TO SETTLE FOR £5,000 EUROPRO TOUR PRIZE

Former Scottish boys match-play champion Paul Doherty, based in South Wales, earned £5,000 as runner-up in this week's EuroPro Tour event, the WSL Open at Collingtree Park GC, Northampton.

Doherty, Scottish boys match-play champion at Dunbar in 2003, had rounds of 66, 71 and 72 for a seven-under-par final total, finishing one shot behind the £10,000 jackpot winner, James Hepworth (Ilkley) who scored 66-69-73 fo 208.

Doherty let first prize slip through his fingers with bogeys at the 15th and 17th.
 It was very, very windy during the final round,” said Hepworth. “Conditions on the first two days were pretty steady, although it was quite windy on Thursday afternoon.

“When I woke up on Friday morning it was raining quite heavily and it was very windy, so I knew that any score around par would be a good one.

“I saw on the leaderboard that I was one shot behind with four holes to play. At that point I thought I needed a birdie and then I three-putted the par-three 15th because I had hit a poor shot into the green.

“I knew the last hole would play havoc. It is a really tough last hole and it started raining as I was about to tee off but I managed to keep my concentration and make par.”

Zack Saltman (Archerfield Links) earned £350 for a joint 23rd place finish on 215 (71-70-74).

Former Scottish amateur champion and past Walker Cup player Graham Gordon (Newmachar) finished joint 28th on 216 (72-68-76).
  
LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 216 (3x72)

208 James Hepworth (Ikley) 66 69 73 (£10,000).

209 Paul Doherty (Vale Hotel) 66 71 72 (£5,000)

210 James Maw (Abbeydale0 69 70 71, Lee Clarke (Eng) 70 69 71, Jonathan Caldwell (Clandeboyne) 68 70 72, Steve Uzell (Hornsea) 68 68 74 (£1,700 each)

OTHER SCOTS TOTALS

215 Zack Saltman (Archerfield Links) 71 70 74 (T23) (£350)

216 Graham Gordon (Newmachar) (am) 72 68 76 (T28) .

LARA DISQUALIFIED BECAUSE CADDIE HID EXTRA CLUB IN BUSHES

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE

Jose Manuel Lara has been disqualified from the BMW International Open after the Spaniard's flustered caddie attempted to hide having an extra club in his bag for Thursday's first round
Realising on the second hole that Lara was using 15 clubs (one more than permitted) for Thursday's round at the Gut Larcenhof course in Pulheim, Argentine caddie Mathias Vinson tried to hide the extra club in some thick bushes.
Lara thought the bagman had taken a diversion for a "call of nature" but his playing partners, Damien McGrane and Peter Hedblom, became suspicious. Vinson then admitted to Lara that there had been 15 clubs in the bag.
John Paramor, chief referee of the European Tour, told Lara he was disqualified from the £1.6 million (2 million euro) tournament because a player is responsible for his caddie's actions. Vinson was banned from caddying "indefinitely," the tour said in a statement released today.
"The penalty of disqualification was imposed [...] with Paramor and tournament director David Williams believing a serious attempt to circumvent the rules was made by the caddie," the statement said. "Following an interview with Jose Manuel Lara, it was established that he had NO prior knowledge of the 15th club in his bag, or the attempt to dispose of the 15th club."Lara shot a 3-under 69 but was given a two-stroke penalty for each of the holes he played with 15 clubs, making his revised score a 73.
Paramor said McGrane and Hedblom had approached Vinson after he returned from the bushes.
"He was seen entering the bush with the bag of clubs by his playing partners, who thought it was a little bit suspicious," Paramor said. "They went and asked the chap, 'What are you doing?' and he sort of fumbled out an answer saying, 'I've got this wrong - I've done something bad. I wish it hadn't happened.'
"It was clear the club was out of the bag and in the bush at the time. He admitted it straightaway and regretted his action."
Vinson had been caught in a traffic jam on his way to the course in west Germany, jogging the final three kilometers of the journey to ensure he made it in time before Lara teed off. In his haste, he failed to notice Lara having 15 clubs in his bag.
Lara had arrived at the course from his Dusseldorf hotel with only around an hour before his tee-off.
"Hopefully we won't have too many more of those (incidents)," said Paramor, who was the tour referee at the time of a similar incident involving former Masters champion Ian Woosnam at the 2001 Open.
On that occasion, the Welsh player was tied for the lead on the second hole of his fourth round at Royal Lytham when he was informed by his caddie, Miles Byrne, that a spare driver had been left in the bag.
Woosnam was given a two-shot penalty, costing him the chance of a first British Open title, a first prize of £225,000 and a potential place in Europe's Ryder Cup team.
Meanwhile, Martin Kaymer of Germany found himself in a quandary ahead of his second round at Gut Lacenhof after discovering his golf shoes had been stolen from a storage area.
"It's not the shoes I am concerned about, but the specially made inserts I had in the shoes," the former No. 1, who shot a first-round 71, said.
"I've managed to get another pair of shoes but will have to wait to get home tonight to fit another pair of inserts."

KRIS NICOL LEADING SCOT IN ALPS TOUR EVENT IN FRANCE

Scots Kris Nicol, Ross Kellett and Philip McLean scored one-under-par 72, 75 and 78 respectively in today's first round of this week's Alps Tour event in France, the Open International du Haut Poitou.
Nicol, who had five birdies and four bogeys will start the second round in joint 16th place, five shots behind two Frenchman who share the lead on 67
Kellett had a mixed bag of an eagle, three birdies and two double bogeys.
McLean was up with the leaders with an outward half of 34 but he took 44 blows to come home. He had a double bogey and five bogeys on the inward half.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

MyGolfRanking.co.uk, Fife Golfing Association

Ranking	Name	Club	Points
1	Andrew Jones	Kirkcaldy	1121.43
2	Marcus Rickard	Cupar	1118.75
3=	Marc Elvin	Forrester Park	1031.25
	Iain Fleming	Auchterderran	1031.25
5	Kevin Lowey	Kirkcaldy	1013.5
6	Greg Brooksbank	Falkland	992.86
7	G Angus	Scotscraig	975
8	B McGowan	Thornton	952.83
9	Michael Rooney	Lundin	950
10=	T G Caldwell	Burntisland GH	941.67
	E M Diston	Ladybank	941.67
12	M Clark	Thornton	931.43
13	Jim Woods	St Andrews GC	925
14	Ben Kinsley	St Andrews GC	907.14
15=	A Cannon	St Andrews GC	900
	Greg Walker	Earlsferry Thistle	900
17	Owen McCue	Kirkcaldy	891.67
18	Gordon Hay	Dunnikier Park	885.71
19	C Nelson	St Michaels	883.33
20	Matthew Miller	Canmore	878.57
For up-to-date ranking lists of participating Clubs, the full Fife ranking list and How It Works, please visit
www.MyGolfRanking.co.uk

NORTH-EAST GOLF IS HIT BY RAIN, RAIN AND MORE RAIN

By DEREK JOHNSTONE

Tonight's Aberdeen Links Championship final between Matt Greig and Barrie Edmond has been postponed as the course is flooded. It has been re-scheduled for next Friday (June 29) with a 5.15 tee off.

The Aberdeen Trades Final at Hazlehead this evening is another casualty of the amount of rain in the Aberdeen area over the past 48 hours.

Both finalists, Greenkeepers and Tulloch Recruitment have team problems which rule out the final being reschedule for next week.
It will now be played on the evening of Thursday, July 12 at 5pm.
Saturday's Journal Cup North-east District club team championship at Oldmeldrum is also in doubt. There is a 6 am inspection arranged.
Craibstone golf course has been closed this week and will not reopen this week. That means that Sunday's Aberdeenshire girls' medal competition has been postponed.

ALAN McINALLY WINS FOOTBALLERS' CLASSIC AT LA MANGA

NEWS RELEASE 

Former Aston Villa and Scotland striker Alan McInally gained revenge on his narrow defeat to Steve Lovell last year by turning the tables on the defending champion to clinch victory in the 2012 Addison Lee Footballers’ Golf Classic at La Manga Club.

The Sky Sports pundit finished three points adrift of the ex-Millwall and Wales frontman in the 54-hole event at the luxury five-star Spanish resort in 2011 but it was a different story 12 months later.

McInally took control on the final day as leader Chris Nicholl slipped back to take the coveted title with 103 points, four clear of Lovell who claimed second place on countback from ex-Crystal Palace midfielder Stuart Massey.

This year’s field for the annual event was one of the strongest ever assembled with the likes of Ipswich manager Paul Jewell, former Nottingham Forest and England defender Des Walker and ex-Chelsea and Scotland star David Speedie among the star-studded line-up.

Nicholl started strongly to lead after the first day with 37 points and was still three points ahead of McInally with 18 holes remaining but he crumpled under pressure, only managing 29 points in the third round to eventually finish fourth.

Each day of the competition saw the footballers play with a different group of three golfers who were competing for a team prize – sponsored by Addison Lee, London’s leading minicab company – with two rounds being played on La Manga Club’s South Course and one on the North Course.

Overall victory went to the side consisting of Mike Holt, Brian Maxwell and Geoff Patch who took top prize with 249 points, while the 'Body Parts' team of Michael Dick, Dave Harris and Marc Harris won the one-day Alan Ball Trophy with the help of record-breaking veteran Northern Ireland goalkeeper Pat Jennings.

The luxurious setting of La Manga Club is the ideal venue for the competition with its three championship golf courses perfectly complemented by the rest of the resort’s wide-ranging facilities, including a 28-court tennis centre and 2,000sqm spa complex.

The Addison Lee Footballers’ Golf Classic is organised by Mancini Events and next year’s event will take place at the award-winning venue from June 1-6, 2013.

For further information please visit www.mancinievents.co.uk, call 07918 644900 or email donna@mancinievents.co.uk. For more information on La Manga Club visit www.lamangaclub.com.

ABERDEEN AND DISTRICT MEN'S PENNANT LEAGUE SCOREBOARD

Portlethen 3.5, Newmachar 1.5

Ian Craik and Graham Innes lost to Mark McKechnie and Neil Melvin 2 and 1.

Ryan Donaldson and Keith Horn bt Euan Kennedy and Paul Henderson 4 and 3.

Lewis Shand and Ben Murray bt Mike Barclay and Bryan Robson 5 and 4.

Stephen Cook and Kevin Daglish halved with Ian Grimmer and Sam Thain

Sean Lawrie and Sam Kiloh bt Andy Neave and Robert Lamb 2 and 1

SPONSORED BY THE CULTS HOTEL

SCOTS BEATEN IN AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINALS ... BUT FERRIER, McDONALD DESERVE PLAUDITS

Saturday's 36-hole final of the British amateur championship at Royal Troon will feature an Irishman, Alan Dunbar of the Rathmore club, and an Austrian, Mattias Schwab.
So no Scot in the field - but on this side of the Border, we will remember this championship for the great performances of Paul Ferrier (Baberton) and Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) in reaching the semi-finals.
Dunbar beat Ferrier 3 and 2 while Schwab beat McDonald by two holes.


TO VIEW ALL THE RESULTS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP


CLICK HERE


QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
Paul Ferrier (Baberton) bt Matthew Steiger (Australia) 4 and 3.
Alan Dunbar (Rathmore, Ireland) bt Robert Karlsson (Sweden) 3 and 2.
Matthias Schwab (Austria) bt Jacobo Pastor (Spain) 4 and 3.

Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt Toby Tree (Worthing) at 19th.


SEMI-FINALS
Dunbar (pictured right) bt Ferrier 3 and 2.
Schwab bt McDonald 2 holes.

DUNBAR v SCHWAB FOR AMATEUR TITLE

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE RandA 
Northern Ireland’s Alan Dunbar and Matthias Schwab from Austria will contest the 36-hole final in the 117^th Amateur Championship at Royal Troon. 
At stake is the Amateur Championship Trophy, a spot in this year’s Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes, a place in next year's US Open and traditionally, an invitation to the Masters Tournament at Augusta National.
Dunbar and Schwab ended Scotland’s hopes of a first all-Scottish final since 1909. Dunbar defeated Baberton’s Paul Ferrier, while Schwab ended the great run of local Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie)
Dunbar is looking to become the first Northern Irish player to win since Michael Hoey at Prestwick in 2001 and Schwab can become the first Austrian to lift the Amateur Championship trophy. 
Dunbar raced to a two-hole lead over Ferrier after playing Royal Troon’s front nine in 33, 3-under-par. However, consecutive double bogey sixes at 10 and 11 brought the match back to all square. Dunbar turned the contest around by winning the 12th with a birdie and 13th with a par.
“I played well on the front nine and holed a few putts, but 10 and 11 were shockers,” Dunbar said. “The momentum was with him after those two holes so to win 12 and 13 was important.” 
The 23-year-old, winner of the St Andrews Links Trophy in 2009, hails from Portrush, and attended the Darren Clarke Foundation. Dunbar spent 12 months on the programme last year, and had the chance to play with Clarke at Royal Portrush in January. 
“He’s around a lot now that he lives back in Portrush so I see him a bit, and it was great to play with him.”
Dunbar helped Great Britain and Ireland win last September's Walker Cup contest at Royal Aberdeen. He won two out of three matches to help defeat the United States 14-12. 
Patience has been the key to reaching the final. 
“I’m quite a calm guy. I’ve got a lot of patience,” he said. 
Ferrier, the Scottish boys match-play champion of 2007, has just graduated from UNC-Charlotte with a degree in psychology. He will rue the bogey he made at 15 to lose the hole after winning the 14^th to get back to one down. 
Ferrier left Royal Troon with his head held high, despite not making the final.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute,” Ferrier said. “I let it slip at 15 against Alan. Two down with three to play is always leaving you with a lot of work to do. I can take a lot from this heading into Regional Qualifying for The Open Championship at Goswick on Monday.” 
Schwab is six years Dunbar’s junior at age 17. He won the 2010 Austrian Amateur and has made the cut in the last two Austrian Opens on the European Tour. 
He faced a tight match against McDonald. The 19-year-old Scot from nearby Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club, Troon had much of the support.
McDonald, winner of the British Universities title a couple of months ago, was two down after 11 holes but fought back to square the match at the 15^th. However, Schwab made a birdie on the par-5, 16^th to go one up. The match ended when McDonald drove into the fairway bunker at the 18^th and failed to make par.
“It was tight match,” said McDonald, an RandA Scholar at Stirling University studying applied mathematics. “I’m proud of the way I stayed composed this week, especially in the match-play stages. I never got ahead of myself all week. It’s been a big step up for me.” 
Schwab has also made a big step up this week. He has legendary German coach Willie Hoffman to thank. Hoffman coached Bernhard Langer to two Masters’ titles, and made him one of world’s best players. 
“I drive to Munich once every two months to see him, and the rest of the time I send him videos,” Schwab said.
He made the cut on the mark of 145, 3-over-par, but has made the most of the match play stages. “There was a lot of nail-biting about qualifying, so I was just happy to make it into the match play stages,” he said. “I’m happy to be in the final. I know there are big prizes that go with winning but I’m not going to think of those.”
Schwab comes from a sporting family. Father Andreas participated in the 1976 Winter Olympics at Innsbruck, and came fourth in the two-man Austrian Bobsleigh team. Matthias has a chance to get one over on dad here at Royal Troon. 
Besides the Amateur Championship trophy, the winner gets a gold medal. 
Results of today’s fifth round and semi-finals can be viewed on www.RandA.org
The 36-hole final will commence tomorrow at 8.30am.

ACE HELPS DAVID MATHIS LEAD US PGA TOUR EVENT

FROM SKYSPORTS.COM WEBSITE

American David Mathis shot a hole-in-one on his way to taking a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Travelers Championship.

Mathis hit his ace between two birdies in his opening three holes and rode that starting wave to a round of six-under-par 64 on the TPC River Highlands lay-out.
Sweden's defending champion Fredrik Jacobson, Australian Nathan Green and American Will Claxton are all one behind on Mathis on 65.
The first round featured scorching temperatures near 100 degrees and a hot pairing of major champions with US Open victor Webb Simpson playing alongside fellow Americans Bubba Watson and Keegan Bradley.

First round leaderboard

(US unless stated)
-6 D Mathis
-5 N Green (Aus)
-5 W Claxton
-5 F Jacobson (Swe)
-4 W Simpson

Watson, a winner of the Travelers Championship in 2010, started his round with consecutive birdies and the back nine with an eagle on the par four 10th after holing out from 137 yards.
He finished at four-under 66 along with Simpson, who got to five under with a birdie at 15 but slipped back with a bogey at the next.
Bradley, winner of the 2011 US PGA championship, finished at two under.
The group at four under also contains Rocco Mediate,  runner-up to Tiger Woods in the memorable US Open play-off of 2008, as well as South AfricanTim Clark  and England's Gary Christian.
Ian Poulter joined Bradley on two-under, one behind another Englishman in Brian Davis, while Ireland's Padraig Harrington followed up his fourth place at the US Open with an opening 69.