HOME TROPHY WIN FOR DAVID GRIEVE AT CARNWATH

Home player David Grieve won the 36-hole Lady Lockhart de Robeck trophy at Carnwath on Saturday.

His scores were 70 and 68 for a 138 total for a one-shot win over Kevin Loughrie of Cambuslang.

LEADING TOTALS

CSS 71 72

138 David Grieve (Carnwath) 70 68 

139 Kevin Loughrie (Cambuslang) 71 68

141 Gordon Miller (Cawder) 70 71 

143 Ryan McKenzie (Erskine) 72 71

144 John Ralston (Shotts) 71 73

145 Robert Weir (Carnwath) 72 73, Michael Reid (Forfar) 71 74, Keith Turnbull (Larkhall) 71 74, David Brown (Carluke) 69 76, Stewart Henderson (Hamilton) 72 74.

 

This result, together with the cancellation of Sunday's Lanarkshire county championship due to flooding, means that David Brown of Carluke goes to the top of the Lanarkshire Order of Merit salver with 45 points, two ahead of Andy Fairbairn of Kirkhill who did not play at the weekend.

Kevin Loughrie (Cambuslang) goes into third place with 36 points. The next counting event is the Newlands Trophy at Lanark on July 21-22.

Willie Sharpe

Lanarkshire GA 

 

JAMES ROSS WINS SUTHERLAND CHALICE IN TIGHT FINISH

Edinburgh's James Ross, on summer holidays from US college in Houston, Texas, won the Sutherland Chalice and the £500 premier voucher by a single shot in a tight finish to the SGU Order of Merit 72-hole golf tournament at Dumfries and Galloway Golf Club today. Royal Burgess member Ross shot 70, 68, 68 and 70 for a four-under-par total of 276 With a round to go the lead was shared by Downfield's Ross Bell and Scott Crichton (Aberdour). Bell sagged to a final round of 74 after scoring 67-67-69. Crichton's slump was even worse. After very good scores of 67-66-70, he had a 75 which dropped him a a four-way tie for fourth place on 278, two behind the winner and one behind runner-up Bell. The others were James White (Lundin), Mathew Clark (Kilmacolm) and Michael Daily (Erskine). Clark (65) and Daily (66) were the only players to break the par of 70 in the last round. Unusual to see a player of Paul Shields' calibre nearer the bottom than the top of the field. Paul's Sunday rounds of 74 and 80 contrasted with his 69-71 on Saturday. Two players had holes in one during their second rounds - Jordyn Rhind (Uphall), young brother of Lee, and Neil Henderson (Glen). Rhind's ace came at the 187yd 13th, Henderson's at the 142yd fourth. Rhind shared the lead on five-under-par 65 with James White after the first round. LEADING FINAL TOTALS Par 280 (4x70) CSS 71 71 71 71 276 James Ross (Royal Burgess) 70 68 68 70 (£500 voucher). 277 Ross Bell (Downfield) 67 67 69 74 (£350 voucher) 278 Scott Crichton (Aberdour) 67 66 70 75, James White (Lundin) 65 72 70 71, Mathew Clark (Kilmacolm) 69 70 74 65, Michael Daily (Erskine) 71 69 72 66 (£150 vouchers each). 279 Fraser McKenna (Balmore) 71 66 68 74, Sam Binning (Ranfurly Castle) 69 69 73 71 (£85 vouchers each). 281 Euan Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) 71 69 68 73 (£70 voucher) 282 Scott Borrowman (Dollar) 71 66 72 73, Craig Hamilton (Omanu) 69 69 68 76(£55 vouchers each) ( 283 Liam Johnston (Dumfries and Co) 69 72 72 70, Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 70 72 70 71 (£43 vouchers each) 285 Alexander Culverwell (Dunbar) 67 72 68 78, Graham J Gordon (Newmachar) 67 73 72 73 (£33 vouchers each). 286 Allyn Dick (Kingsknowe) 72 67 73 74, Colin Thomson (East Renfrewshire) 69 72 69 76 (£15 vouchers each) 287 Jordyn Rhind (Uphall) 65 71 76 75, Rory Thompson (Dumfries and Galloway) 73 72 69 73 288 Neil Henderson (Glen) 72 72 72 72. 289 Sam Davis (NZ) 70 72 69 78, Fraser Moore (Glenbervie) 71 74 69 75. 290 Graeme McDougall (Bishopbriggs) 70 74 70 76 291 Kyle McClung (Wigtownshire and Co) 72 69 74 76, Ryan Campbell (Falkirk) 70 73 78 70, Conor Syme (Dumfries and Co) 72 72 72 75, Scott Gibson (Southerness) 74 70 72 75, Alan Sutherland (Ladybank) 75 70 75 71, 292 Conor O'Neil (Pollok) 72 67 74 79, Scott Larkin (Royal Aberdeen) 75 70 78 69. 293 Kenny MacAskill (Turnberry) 73 68 80 72, Nick Macandrew (Royal Aberdeen) 74 70 74 75, Steven Rennie (Drumpellier) 73 72 73 75. 294 Paul Shields (Kirkhill) 69 71 74 80, Keith Shanks (Golf House Club) 71 71 74 78  295 Daniel Kay (Dunbar) 70 73 76 76. 296 Colin Baird (Bothwell Castle) 70 73 76 77 297 Daniel Thompsett (Aboyne) 76 78 74 79 298 Scott Brown (Turnberry) 74 71 76 77, Marc Owenson (Longniddry) 74 70 86 78

JEEV MILKHA SINGH BEATS FRANCESCO MOLINARI IN CASTLE STUART PLAY-OFF

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Indian Jeev Milkha Singh beat Francesco Molinari with a birdie at the first extra hole in a play-off to win the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart Golf Links.
Singh, who also qualifies for The Open, beat Italian Molinari - brother of 2010 champion Edoardo - with a 12 foot birdie putt at the first extra hole.
Home favourite Marc Warren looked on course for victory but came unstuck over the closing stretch to finish joint third with Swede Alex Noren one shot back.
Singh had set an early target of 17 under with a 67 and overnight leader Molinari then forced sudden death by holing a nine foot par putt on the last for a 72.
WARREN'S LATE MISTAKES
The 31 year old Warren double-bogeyed the 15th, then bogeyed the next two for a one under par 71.
Singh, who on a dream Sunday at Castle Stuart Golf Links also claims a spot in next week’s Open Championship, came from five shots back and joint 16th place for the fourth victory of his European Tour career.
“I was just enjoying a cup of tea and some chocolate cake and watching it on television, and suddenly got excited,” said Singh - who was three shots behind Warren when he signed his card.
“I think God has been kind, and I think the field came back and I put myself in a to go in for a play-off - I'm very fortunate.
“I would like to thank a lot of people who have been by my side the last three, four years that have been a struggle for me with the injuries: My family, my friend who coaches me, Janet, who was on my bag, my sponsors who stood by me like Callaway, UPS, Societe Generale, golf in DUBAi; all of these guys have been great and supported me through a tough time and I want to thank them all for this
REALLY TOUGH
“It has been really tough - frustrating than anything else. You feel like your game is coming back and another injury creeps up, but I just stuck myself in there and said that you need to work on the physical side, and I worked hard on that. Everything has paid off, and I just want to think about the good things and not what's past and I want to look towards the future now.”
After playing the first 14 holes in a brilliant five under par in the first windy conditions of the tournament it all started to go awry on the 423 yard 15th for Warren.
He faced a 15 foot par putt after finding rough off the tee, but three-putted it for a double bogey six.
His next drive found gorse and after a penalty drop led to a bogey five, then he chipped far too strongly on the short 17th and let another shot go.
Suddenly he needed to birdie the par five last to be in the play-off, but into the wind he needed three to find the green and then missed from 25 feet.
“I might need a little help to get to sleep tonight," said Warren.
"It's going to be disappointing watching The Open (an event the former Omega Mission Hills World Cup winner has never qualified for). I had it in my hands."
NOREN 6 AT THE LAST
Noren was equally gutted minutes earlier as he had taken a bogey six at the last - one behind Singh, who had set the target of 17 under par with a bogey-free 67 - the Swede missing a three foot par putt.
Molinari, who started with a course record 62 and led after the second and third rounds as well, required a closing birdie to win and so emulate his brother Edoardo, winner of the title two years ago.
But he left himself having to hole from nine feet to keep his title hopes alive. He made that, but he could not match Singh's four when they played the hole again.
Singh was assured of The Open spot going into sudden death because Molinari was already exempt for Royal Lytham.
It will be only his second appearance in the event after he missed the cut at Carnoustie five years ago
"I just love links golf," Singh said, although he had a different opinion when he first experienced it as a 16 year old in 1988.
That was for the qualifying rounds of the British Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl and also Pyle and Kenfig. He shot 87 and 84.
"I thought 'My God, this is tough'. I wasn't used to wearing raingear."
Singh's father Milkha was known as "The Flying Sikh", most famous for losing out on an Olympic 400 metres medal in a photo-finish in Rome in 1960.
A Bollywood film is currently being made about his life called "Go Milkha Go", but on the final day in the Highlands it was a case of "Go Jeev Go".
He birdied four of the first six holes, then added another on the 363 yard tenth and parred in.
THREE PUTTS AT 16
It looked like three-putting the 337 yard 16th after driving the green and leaving a 14 foot attempt on the last short of the hole would cost him - before those in the final groups started to struggle.
Molinari finished runner-up for the second week running. Victory would have taken him from tenth to second in The Ryder Cup standings, but he is still looking good for a second successive cap.
“It was a good week, positive,” said Molinari. “It’s obviously disappointing at the moment not to finish it off.
“The two putts at 15 and 16 that I missed made all the difference in the end.”
World Number One and defending champion Luke Donald stays sixth on the points table after finishing 16th with, among others, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington.

Tournament Leaderboard

Par 288 (4x72) Yardage 7193
271 Francesco Molinari (Italy) 62 70 67 72,  Jeev Milkha Singh (India) 66 70 68 67. Singh (518,046 Euros) bt Molinari (345,360 Euros) at first hole of play-off.
272 Alexander Noren (Sweden) 66 66 70 70, Marc Warren (Scotland) 68 69 64 71 (174,999 Euros each).

273 Matthew Baldwin (England) 67 68 71 67, Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark_) 65 72 64 72, Thomas Levet (France) 68 69 66 70 (111,298 Euros each). SELECTED TOTALS 274 Peter Whiteford (Scotland) 71 65 66 72 (T8) (69,834 Euros). 276 Luke Donald (England) 67 68 68 73, Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 69 69 67 71, Martin Laird (Scotland) 68 70 64 74, Phil Mickelson (US) 73 64 65 74 (T16) (38,388 Euros each). 277 Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) 68 72 65 72 (T24) (31,394 Euros). 278 Alastair Forsyth (Scotland) 71 68 68 71 (T28) (25,844 Euros). 284 Steven O'Hara (Scotland) 69 71 69 75 (T61) (7,460 Euros). 288 Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) (am) 70 70 68 80 (T74)

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CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT FROM NEIL AHERN

Gary Stal confirmed his status as one of the hottest prospects in European golf after the 20 year old Frenchman claimed his second Challenge Tour title in as many months at the Credit Suisse Challenge, beating compatriot Alexandre Kaleka in a play-off.

In a dramatic finale at Golf Sempachersee, outside Lucerne, Kaleka made a late charge thanks to three birdies on the back nine in windy conditions and his par on the 18^th meant Stal needed a birdie to win in regular play.

The young man from Lyon left himself with a difficult putt for par, after his approach fell short at the front of the green and his birdie putt stopped six feet from the hole, but he showed nerves of steel to sink it and finish on 11 under par, tied with Kaleka.

He topped that off by showing true grit on the first play-off hole. After his second shot landed short of the second tier upon which the pin was placed, Stal left himself an extremely tough putt to win. But, following Kaleka’s missed birdie chance, he rolled it over the ridge and straight into the centre of the cup to rapturous cheers from the watching crowds.

“It’s incredible to win again,” said Stal. “To win in a play-off, it feels like a much bigger deal and I am just so happy.

“I was a little bit nervous for my second putt at the 18^th to take it to a play-off so it was very pleasing to hole it. I just set my mind on the play-off after that and just wanted to give it my all.”

In his first season on the European Challenge Tour, Stal claimed his maiden win as an invite at the Kärnten Golf Open presented by Mazda in Austria a month ago after a nerveless display in a final group battle with England’s Daniel Brooks.

Once again, he was in a pressure cooker situation in Switzerland and he defied his years by showing consummate composure, saying afterwards that he thrives on it.

“I like playing in these kinds of situations,” he said. “I like the pressure, I really enjoy it. It’s more difficult to manage but that’s the nature of pressure and I'm just happy to have won this time out.”

It was a tentative start to the day from all three overnight leaders and Stal began with eight consecutive birdies but neither Italian Andrea Perrino nor Janne Mommo of Finland could take advantage and a birdie at the ninth put the young Frenchman out in front.

KALEKA TAKES CHANCE
With Mommo dropping a shot at the 15^th to go one over and Perrino suffering a triple bogey at the 11^th hole, the two co-leaders going into the final round dropped out of contention but Kaleka duly filled the void.

When the 25 year old bogeyed the third hole, he seemed to be out of the race but a birdie at the par five seventh took him to the turn on level par before he gained shots at the tenth, 14^th and 17^th to force the play-off. While he was disappointed not to seal a second title of his own, he was happy with the week and predicted big things for Stal.

“I didn’t see the leaderboard coming down the stretch,” said Kaleka, who won on his professional debut in the ALLIANZ EurOpen de Lyon in 2009. “I just wanted to birdie the 17^th and 18^th and I did so on the 17^th but not the last hole.

“There are no regrets today though. I felt good in the play-off but my tee shot was in the rough, I pushed the eight iron a little and it was a tough putt so I just tried to hole it because it was a play-off and you don’t want to be short in a play-off.

“Gary hit a really nice putt at the end and there’s nothing you can do about that. He’s a nice guy and he’s a good player so I think he will probably win another time this year.”

Andrea Perrino’s one over par 72 was enough to seal outright third place while Andreas Hartø rallied to a three under par 68 to finish tied fourth alongside Mommo, who finished with a two over par 73

FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71)

273 G Stal (Fra) 69 67 67 70, A Kaleka (Fra) 70 65 70 68 (Stal won play-off at first hole).#

275 A Perrino (Ita) 69 66 68 72,

276 A Hartø (Den) 69 70 69 68, J Mommo (Fin) 69 65 69 73,

277 L Goddard (Eng) 71 64 70 72,

278 A Domingo (Esp) 68 68 70 72,

279 D Vancsik (Arg) 68 70 72 69, R Steiner (Aut) 68 71 72 68, B Chapellan (Fra) 70 69 70 70, N Bertasio (Ita) 71 70 69 69, D Brooks (Eng) 69 69 70 71, B Parker (Eng) 70 68 70 71

280 J Busby (Eng) 69 67 72 72, D Gaunt (Aus) 69 69 71 71, G Houston (Wal) 69 65 72 74, C Doak (Sco) 70 70 73 67, S Tiley (Eng) 67 72 69 72

281 V Riu (Fra) 70 70 73 68, R Kakko (Fin) 74 63 72 72, J Hansen (Den) 62 74 72 73, C Moriarty (Irl) 67 70 73 71

282 D Ulrich (Sui) 68 71 70 73, O Wilson (Eng) 66 74 70 72, A Levy (Fra) 67 73 71 71, L Jensen (Den) 66 71 74 71

283 A Gee (Eng) 72 67 74 70, M Rominger (Sui) 69 68 73 73, S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 70 70 71 72, B Koepka (US) 71 70 73 69, A Snobeck (Fra) 67 72 73 71, M Carlsson (Swe) 70 70 73 70, C Hanson (Eng) 68 69 73 73, S Pinckney (USA) 69 70 73 71

284 M Delpodio (Ita) 71 68 75 70, C Macaulay (Sco) 69 71 72 72

285 M Haines (Eng) 73 68 71 73, J Gibb (Eng) 69 69 71 76, J McLeary (Sco) 68 69 70 78, M Madsen (Den) 71 70 74 70, J Heath (Eng) 69 70 74 72, A Bernadet (Fra) 72 69 75 69

286 J Clément (Sui) 69 69 75 73, A Tadini (Ita) 70 70 73 73

287 J Wahlqvist (Swe) 68 73 74 72, M Kieffer (Ger) 72 69 71 75, H Joannes (Bel) 67 71 71 78

288 N Meitinger (Ger) 69 72 75 72, A Velasco (Esp) 72 67 77 72, S Benson (Eng) 73 68 75 72, M Nixon (Eng) 72 68 76 72

289 A McArthur (Sco) 69 71 75 74, P Archer (Eng) 68 70 75 76

290 P Baker (Eng) 72 68 76 74, B Evans (Eng) 70 71 77 72

291 B Rusch (am) (Sui) 69 70 80 72

292 M Bothma (RSA) 71 70 80 71, S Davis (Eng) 71 68 78 75, S Wakefield (Eng) 67 70 81 74

294 J Mikkelsen (Nor) 69 71 77 77

296 B Etchart (Esp) 73 68 77 78

 

2012 FIFE GOLFING ASSOCIATION BOYS ORDER OF MERIT

In association with www.MyGolfRanking.co.uk

 Positions after nine events:

1 Ryan Walsh (Kirkcaldy) 300 pts

2 Ewan Scott (St Andrews) 270

3 Greg Forrester (Lundin) 220

4 Ben Kinsley (St Andrews) 200

5 Alisdair McDougall (St Andrews New) 190

 6 Niall McMullen (Lochgelly) 140

7 Ryan Brown (Dunfermline) 130

T8 Thomas Hall (Saline) 115

T8 David Paterson (Leven GS) 115.

The next counting events for the 2012 FIFE BOYS ORDER OF MERIT are the GLENROTHES GC BOYS OPEN and the SCOTSCRAIG GC BOYS OPEN on 16 July.

LANGER LEADS BY FOUR IN US SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

Bernhard Langer shot a third-round 66 for a 54-hole tally of 200 and goes into the final round of the US Senior championhip at Indianwood Country Club, Lake Orion, Michigan with a lead of four shots from Tom Pernice, junior, Corey Pavin, England's Roger Chapman, Tom Lehman and John Huston.
Andrew Oldcorn dropped back to a share of 47th place with a 75 for 214

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
200 Bernhard Langer

(Germany) 66 70 64
204 Tom Pernice junior (US) 67 71 66, Corey Pavin (US) 67 69 69, Roger Chapman (England) 68 68 68, Tom Lehman (US) 70 66 68, John Huston 69 67 68.

SELECTED SCORES
213 Gary Wolstenholme (England) 70 70 73 (T38)
214 Andrew Oldcorn (Scotland) 70 69 75 (T47)

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STRICKER MOVES UP INTO SECOND PLACE IN JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

Troy Matteson is still leading in the US PGA Tour's John Deere Classic at Silvis, Illinois - but now tournament specialist Steve Striker is his closest challenger.
England's Gary Christian dropped back, even though he scored a one-under-par 70 in the third round.

LEADERBOARD
Par 213 (3x71_
Players from US unless stated
195 Troy Matteson 61 68 66
198 Steve Stricker 65 67 66
199 Zach Johnson 68 65 66, Brian Harman 65 65 69

SELECTED SCORE
210 Gary Christian (England) 65 66 70 (T8)

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LIVE SCORING FROM FINAL ROUND AT CASTLE STUART

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FIRST-TIME PRO WINNER KELLETT EYES STEP UP TO CHALLENGE TOUR

Rookie Scottish pro Ross Kellett scored his first win as a professional on Saturday when he won the Alps Tour event, the Montecchia Open in Italy. Motherwell-based Kellett. 24,  had scores of 63, 70 and 68 for a 12-under-par total of 201. He won by two shots from Italian rookie Niccolo Quintarelli who had rounds of 66-70-67. Kellett made all the running in the 54-hole event, birdieing six of his last seven holes in the first round for an inward half of 30. That put him in the lead to stay. He had a two-stroke advantage going into the final round but said later he did not feel as though he was under pressure. "I know I can compete at this level and this proves it," he said. He had only one birdie on the outward half but was still two shots clear of the field with nine holes to play. Kellett, sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management, clinched this important first pro win with further birdies at the 10th and 15th. The first prize of 5,800 Euros boosted his winnings from 11 events to 16,107 Euros. This was his fifth top-10 finish. He is the second Scot to win on the Alps Tour this year, following in the footsteps of Aberdeen's David Law who won in Morocco.# QUOTES FROM KELLETT Kellett said today: "Saturday was a super day to end a super week. My 63 (-8) on Thursday, felt easy as I putted the best I ever have. "Friday was solid enough although not as good putting and in the final round, I played very solid, hitting 15 greens in regulation, which took the pressure off me in a way. "I have been playing solid for a while now but to put it all together in Italy was the key. I had only three bogeys over 54 holes all week which is always a plus. "Winning my first event proves to me I can compete at pro level and no one can take that away from me now. It's the first of many I hope. "I still have to remain focused to consolidate my top five  position in the Alps Tour Order of Merit for the end of the season, which will get me Challenge Tour category. "I would like to thank my sponsors also Aberdeen Asset Management and Adidas Taylormade golf for their continued support."   LEADING FINAL TOTALS Par 213 (3x71) 201 Ross Kellett (Sco) 63 70 68 203 Niccolo Quintarelli (Ita) 66 70 67 204 Jason Palmer (Eng) 68 72 64, Thomas Feyrsinger (Aut) 66 69 69 205 Gareth Shaw (NIr) 72 69 64, Alessandro Grammatica (Ita) 65 71 69, Jean-Nicolas Billot (Fra) 67 68 70 206 Alessio Bruschi (Ita) 66 72 68, Tom Sherreard (Eng) 65 72 69, Stefano Pitoni (Ita) 68 68 70, Julie Foret (Fra) 65 70 71.

ENGLAND REGAIN PLACE IN EUROPEAN MEN'S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

NEWS RELEASE FROM ENGLAND GOLF
England has regained its place in the European Men’s Team Championship for 2013 after finishing clear winners of the European Men’s Challenge Trophy in Iceland.
The six man team – the best five scores each day to count – finished with an aggregate of 1,054, ten strokes ahead of runners-up, the Netherlands, and 22 shots clear of the rest of the field.
England went into the third and final day four strokes ahead of the Dutch but with Callum Shinkwin (Moor Park, Hertfordshire) returning an equal best-of-the-day 66, Ben Stow (Rushmore, Wiltshire) 67 and Garrick Porteous (Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland) 70, it built the foundation for a famous victory.
Craig Hinton (The Oxfordshire, BB&O) also signed for 70, while Jack Hiluta (Chelmsford, Essex) returned to form with a level-par 71 and Ben Taylor (Walton Heath, Surrey) a non-counting 74.
Stow topped the individual ranking on nine under par 204 after posting three sub par rounds; Porteous was tied third on 210, and Hiluta and Shinkwin on level-par 213.
The victory means that England, ten times champions, will, once again, be lining up with all the major nations in next year’s European Men’s Team Championships in Denmark.
Final scoresTeam: 1054 England, 1064 Netherlands, 1076 Portugal, 1087 Iceland, 1102 Belgium, 1153 Slovakia, 1159 Russia, 1222 Serbia
Leading individual:204 B Stow (Eng) 68 69 67
209 T Detry (Bel) 72 68 69
210 T Pieters (Bel) 68 72 70, G Porteous (Eng) 68 72 70, P Figueiredo (Port) 68 70 72
Other England scores:213 J Hiluta 68 74 71, C Shinkwin 73 74 66
215 C Hinton 75 70 70
223 B Taylor 76 73 74