NORTH MEN OUT TO MAKE NATIONAL HEADLINES IN SCOTTISH AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP AT ROYAL DORNOCH

By ROBIN WILSON  

Forty years have elapsed since a North golfer last won the Scottish men's amateur championship which tees off at Royal Dornoch today.

He was Hugh Stuart of Forres and he won the national title  at  Prestwick in 1972.

Since the Scottish Golf Union launched the match-play competition in 1922 to find Scotland's best amateur golfer, there have only been two other North winners, Jack Bookless of Inverness in 1929 and Major David Blair of Nairn in 1953.

The SGU flagship events returns to Royal Dornoch on Sutherland's east coast for only a third time. It has attracted a capacity entry of 256 to one of the world's best golf courses. 

Golf has been played on the Dornoch Links since 1616, the club founded in 1877 and the first lay-out credited to Old Tom Morris but most of the present course only came into use at the end of the  World War II when the Ministry of Defence returned the lower links that that they had  been using as an airstrip.

The trophy, first played for ninety years ago, bears the names of some famous winners including the legendary Ronnie Shade, five wins in a row during the 1960's, and veteran Charlie Green, a back to back champion in 1982-83, as well as some names of more recent years, Colin Montgomerie, 1987 at Nairn, and Stephen Gallacher in 1992.

Royal Dornoch's first staging of the championship in 1993 produced a winner in Dean Robertson (Cochrane Castle) and seven years later Steven O'Hara (Colville Park) was victorious.

With the championship at Dornoch, not unexpectedly it has attracted a very good entry of 24 members of northern golf clubs, the host club providing eight of them, four each from Fortrose and Rosemarkie and The Nairn, two Moray Golf Club members and one each from Elgin, Nairn Dunbar, Forres, Tain, Reay and Inverness.

The 24 are a mixture of youthful endeavour and experience,  mature golfers in Bryan Fotheringham (Inverness) and Fraser Fotheringham (Nairn), both having international experiences at different levels.

Scratch golfer Neil Hampton, the present  Royal Dornoch General Manager, when the event was last at Dornoch took the eventual winner to the final green in round three.

The two Fotheringhams, unrelated, and Hampton  remain well equipped to go some distance in the draw while young players  such as the Burgess brothers, Andrew and Sean from Nairn, Tom Dingwall (Nairn Dunbar), Jeff Wright (Forres), Jordan Milne (Elgin), Lyle McAlpine (Royal Dornoch) and the Fortrose and Rosemarkie trio of Chris Gaittens, Lewis Reid and Corin Stewart will all have the opportunity of hitting the national rather than the local headlines. 

Play begins at 6.45am on Monday morning and first North golfer into the fray is North Golf Alliance champion Dougie Thorburn (Reay). His tie against Scott Brown (Turnberry) starts at  6.53am.  There is one all-North tie in round one, Kyle Godsman (Moray) drawn against Lyle McAlpine (Royal Dornoch).

There is no defending champion as last years winner David Law (Hazelhead) has joined the professional ranks, leaving Fortrose and Rosemarkie's Lewis Reid the big chance to pull off the first upset when he tackles the No. 1 seed, Graeme Roberson (Glenbervie) in round one.

Nairn's Cameron Nelson could also make a name for himself when he plays the number three seed, Stirling student Jack MacDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) on Tuesday's continuation of the first round. 

TO VIEW ALL THE TEE TIMES AND LATER THE SGU RESULTS SERVICE FROM ROYAL DORNOCH

CLICK HERE

RUSSELL KNOX FINISHES T56 IN CANADIAN OPEN

Russell Knox, having made his second cut in a row in the Canadian Open, failed to capitalise on the chance to boost his US PGA Tour earnings.
The Jacksonville Beach, Florida-based Inverness exile finished T56 at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club, Ancaster venue in Ontario.
Knox had rounds of 68, 66, 73 and 71 for a two-under-par total of 278.
He had two birdies and three bogeys, including at the 18th hole, in his final round.
Americans dominated the Canadian Open, filling the top six places - which does not happen all that often on the US Tour these days.
Scott Piercy won with a 17-under-par total of 263, made up of rounds of 62, 67, 67 and 67.
Joint runners-up on 264 were Robert Garrigus and William McGirt.
Best of the British was Gary Christian with a T10 finish.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4x70)
players from US unless stated
263 Scott Piercy 62 67 67 67
264 Robert Garrigus 64 66 64 70, William McGirt 63 66 66 69
266 Josh Teater 67 65 68 66, Bud Cauley 0 63 67 66, Chris Kirk 69 66 65 68

SELECTED SCORES
270 Gary Christian (England) 71 68 65 66 (T10)
271 Brian Davis (England) 69 68 65 69 (T150
278 Greg Owen (England) 63 72 73 70, Russell Knox (Scotland) 68 66 73 71 (T56).

TO VIEW A SUMMARY OF THE FINAL DAY'S PLAY AND THE INTERVIEWS WITH LEADING PLAYERS

CLICK HERE


TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES


CLICK HERE

INVERNESS WIN NORTH DISTRICT TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Left to right: Moray Golf Club captain Mike O'Brien, Bryan Fotheringham, Stuart Connell, John Forbes and Robert McKerron, SGU North District president.

Moray Golf Club, Lossiemouth

BEST TWO SCORES PER ROUND COUNTED
CSS 74 FOR BOTH ROUNDS

284 Inverness (Bryan Fotheringham 74 72, John Forbes 72 66, Stuart Connell 82 84).
294 Fortrose and Rosemarkie 1 (Mike MacDonald 77 68, Chris Gaittens 76 77, Lewis Reid 73 81).
296 Moray 1 (Malcolm MacLeman 76 73, Kevin Thomson 77 78, Rodger Clarke 72 75.

301 Nairn Dunbar 1 (William Barron 74 72, Richard Johnstone 79 79, Graham Burnett 75 NR)

303 Royal Dornoch 1 (Chris Mailley 72 76, Neil Munro 78 80, Daniel Holden 77 78)

307 Moray 2 (David Main 75 77, Ian Geddes 76 79, Ian Meggatt 84 81).

309 Elgin (Jordan Milne 84 72, Chris Stuart NR NR, Cameron Kerr 79 74).
310 Tain (Munro Ferries 76 74, Ross Jack 84 76, Frank Mackie 92 77)
314 Nairn Dunbar 2 (Brian Ford 79 83, Lorne Millar NR 78, Kenny Donnelly 75 85).
310 Royal Dornoch 2 (Gary Bethune 79 76, John Shepherd 83 82, Peter Lee 84 81).
321 Forres 2 (Ross Proctor 78 85, Lewis Daley 80 79, John Ellis 101 84).
324 Forres 1 (Robert McKerron 83 77, Mike Murdoch 84 NR, Colin MacKay 81 83).
336 Fortrose and Rosemarkie 2 (Alan Cameron 80 82, Morty Ross NR 85, Michael Manson 90 84).
==============================
Inverness go through to the Scottish
Final at Arbroath on Sunday, September 30

MCARTHUR'S HIGHEST FINISH OF CHALLENGE TOUR SEASON

FROM NEIL AHERN

Challenge Tour Press Officer

Andrew McArthur claimed his highest finish of the 2012 European Challenge Tour season at the English Challenge after a two under par round of 70 left him in tied 29^th spot on four under par.
The 33 year old Glasgow man had a steady two under par back nine to thank after reaching the turn in level par, courtesy of two birdies and two bogeys, before birdies on the 14^th and 16^th helped him finish as the best placed Scot at Stoke by Nayland Hotel, Golf and Spa, near Colchester, Essex.
Raymond Russell was a shot further behind after a one over par 73 left him in tied 44^th while Paul Doherty finished tied 57^th after a three over par final round of 75.
Chris Paisley, meanwhile, claimed his maiden Challenge Tour title as a one under par final round of 71 left the Englishman two shots clear of compatriot
Francis McGuirk on 16 under par.
The 26 year old entered the final day with a three-shot lead after an incredible third round in which an albatross two at the par five 16^th put him into pole position and for a brief period during the final day it looked like the victory might slip from his grasp.McGuirk gained four shots in as many holes midway through his front nine to join Paisley at the top and pile the pressure on the Newcastle man but the 38 year old immediately followed that purple patch with a double bogey at the seventh, after the first of two play suspensions due to lightning.
Paisley then proceeded to birdie the ninth and tenth holes to increase the gap at the top to four and, while he dropped a shot each at the 11^th and 12^th, he pulled himself together to birdie the 14^th and 16^th holes.

McGuirk effectively played his way out of the title chase with a bogey at the 11^th and a double bogey at the 13^th, despite clawing his way back to within four shots with a birdie at the 15^th and an eagle at the
16^th.
Paisley still had the luxury of bogeying the final two holes as the sun reared its head for one final time on a day which had blazing sunshine as well as heavy thunderstorms, and the former Walker Cup player expressed his delight at his first victory.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4x70)
272 C Paisley (Eng) 68 68 65 71
274 F McGuirk  (Eng) 66 71 67 70
276 E Kofstad (Nor) 70 68 67 71
277 N Dougherty  (Eng) 70 69 69 69
278 M Nixon (Eng) 69 68 70 71, J Busby (Eng) 69 68 67 74
280 P Uihlein  (USA) 73 68 70 69, J Grillon  (Fra) 67 70 74 69, J Walters (RSA) 73 71 70 66, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 65 65 77 73, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 69 72 69, B Koepka  (USA) 72 66 67 75, M Haines  (Eng) 68 69 69 74,

281 S Wakefield (Eng) 70 72 72 67, C Lloyd (Eng) 74 68 74 65, S Manley (Wal) 65 68 70 78, B Åkesson (Swe) 71 71 71 68,

282 S Tiley (Eng) 72 70 71 69, G Lockerbie  (Eng) 73 67 69 73, J Huldahl (Den) 74 67 69 72, D Gaunt (Aus) 72 65 72 73,

283 S Brown (Eng) 73 69 69 72, D Whitnell  (Eng) 69 69 71 74, G Houston (Wal) 74 69 68 72, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 71 68 71 73, T Hatton (Eng) 72 70 75 66, J Lima  (Por) 70 72 70 71, B Stow(am) (Eng) 74 69 67 73,

284 A McArthur  (Sco) 70 73 71 70, S Benson (Eng) 72 68 69 75, J Hansen  (Den) 73 67 70 74, M Glauert (Ger) 69 70 75 70, A Hartø  (Den) 71 71 72 70, M Eliasson (Swe) 71 70 75 68,

285 E Pepperell (Eng) 70 71 70 74, C Monasterio (Arg) 74 70 72 69, L Goddard  (Eng) 71 69 72 73,

286 J Abbott (Eng) 72 69 69 76, J Little  (Eng) 68 72 76 70, J Senior (Eng) 73 71 72 70, D Vancsik (Arg) 75 69 68 74, B Chapellan (Fra) 74 69 68 75, P Archer (Eng) 72 72 66 76,

287 B Barham (Eng) 73 69 69 76, D Küpper (Ger) 75 69 72 71, R Wallis (Eng) 74 70 73 70, R Russell (Sco) 70 71 73 73, P Reed (Eng) 74 70 72 71,

288 F Delamontagne  (Fra) 69 71 70 78,

289 S Lilly (Eng) 73 70 72 74, D Brooks (Eng) 73 70 70 76, R Wingardh (Swe) 70 70 72 77, C Moriarty (Irl) 70 69 68 82, J Wahlqvist (Swe) 73 69 71 76, S Grant  (Irl) 69 73 72 75,

290 K Eriksson (Swe) 74 68 75 73,

293 P Doherty (Sco) 74 70 74 75, T Whitehouse  (Eng) 76 68 73 76, A Snobeck  (Fra) 69 74 72 78, A Hortal  (Esp) 75 69 74 75, L Canter (Eng) 78 66 71 78,

** A Ahokas (Fin) 72 72 RT  0,

DAVID IS MAIN MAN IN MORAY OPEN AT LOSSIEMOUTH

By ALAN COWIE

Adam Dunton’s hopes of a first Moray Open win were dashed in the quarter-finals when he lost at the seventh extra hole to Robbie Sheils at Lossiemouth.

The McDonald Ellon GC member described the match as the best in which he had played. The Scotland cap holed a 20 footer on the 18th green before Sheils followed him in to set up the extra holes marathon.

Sheils then lost in the semi-finals to Jeff Wright of Forres but also a member at Moray.

David Main of the host club was 16 when he reached the final for the first time. This was his second and after putting his approach stone dead at the opening hole he took a lead which he never relinquished.

Wright, a winner last week at Elgin, found himself four down after seven but then rallied as Main’s grip on the match was loosened briefly, but after he lost the 11^th he was again two down.

The 16^th hole effectively settled the outcome. Just short of the road, Main put his approach 10 feet behind the hole. Player and caddie agreed the line and down went the putt. A 7 iron at the next (par 5) to 12 feet on the second shot set up a winning birdie 4 and victory by 2 and 1.

RESULTS IN LATER STAGES

Scratch Section

Quarter-finals

R J Sheils bt A Dunton (McDonald Ellon) at 25th.

J R Wright bt M L Macleman 8 and 7.

D R Main bt D Leith (Garmouth) 4 and 3.

J Milne bt B A Caldow at 19th.

Semi-finals

Wright bt Sheils 2 and 1.

Main bt Milne 3 and 2.

Final
Main bt Wright 2 and 1.

Handicap
Section One
Quarter-finals

C Smith (6) bt D C Smith (9) 2 and 1.

E Middleton (10) bt D Fletcher (5) 2 and 1.

A Lallement (9) bt A Hirst (Bury) (7) 4 and 3.

S. Ingram (5) bt D Riddell (Glenbervie)(9) 3 and 2.

Semi-finals

Smith bt Middleton 2 and 1.

Lallement bt Ingram 2 holes

Final

Smith bt Lallement 3 and 2.

Handicap Section Two

Quarter final

P.V. Page (11) bt D.K. Campbell (19) @ 19^th

G. Grant (10) bt L. Mitchell (12)  1 hole.

S. Mckenzie (12) bt J. Munro (21) 2 holes

D. Youngs (Shrivenham)(10) bt R.E. Little (10) 1 hole

Semi Finals

P.V. Page (11) bt G. Grant (10) 2/1.

S. Mckenzie (12) bt D. Younds (Shrivenham)(10) 4/2

Final

S. Mckenzie (12) bt P.V. Page (11) @ 19^th.

FRED COUPLES WIN SENIOR OPEN BY TWO SHOTS AT TURNBERRY

                 

     FRED COUPLES with the Senior Open Championship Trophy

                    Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)

FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

By STEVE TODDAmerican Fred Couples birdied Turnberry’s closing two holes to seal a dream debut victory in The 2012 Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex, finishing two shots clear of compatriot Gary Hallberg following a dramatic final round.
Couples, who had trailed overnight leader Bernhard Langer by one shot going into the final round, took advantage of the German’s slip on the back nine to capture the title with a closing round of three under par 67.
The pair had traded blows before the turn and were tied for the lead when Couples birdied the 11^th hole, before the vital swing which came at the next hole when Langer found trouble from the tee.
He hit a second shot into a bunker and was unable to advance, before then two putting from 25ft to card a double bogey six. Meanwhile Couples birdied the same hole after a glorious five iron approach to six feet to seize the outright lead.
Although he dropped a shot on the next hole, the United States Ryder Cup Assistant Captain produced a stunning finish to pull clear of Hallberg, who had birdied the 17^th himself to set the clubhouse target  of seven under par 273 following a superb four under par 66.

BIRDIE CLINCHER
Taking a one-shot lead on to the final hole, Couples knew he needed to avoid dropping a shot to clinch the title, and the 1992 Masters Champion showed his class, sinking a majestic 20 foot birdie putt to clinch the 26^th Senior Open Championship in style with a winning total of nine under par 271.
“It was a very fun day,” said Couples. “Being paired with Bernhard, you've got to play great and for a long time there, we were neck and neck.
“But for me I felt like I was hitting the ball very strong, very solid and I was really lucky that it didn't rain because I'm not very good in the rain!  I don't wear a golf glove; I had two gloves in the bag that were all‑weather gloves and I was scared to death to ever put those on.
“That was a big birdie on 17 to make 18 play easier and then when I hit the last putt, the hole got in the way and I won by two.  I'm very happy and excited to have won this.”

NEXT BEST THING
Couples, who finished in the top ten at The Open Championship on nine occasions, said that the victory more than compensated for those near-misses.
“It’s the next best thing for all of us,” he said. “Obviously I never won The Open.  I came close.  Last night I really thought about the golf course. I knew I needed to play it well, and this is my biggest Senior Tour win, by far, winning on a truly great, great golf course.
“I can say I won a Senior Open at Turnberry.  I think the best thing about the whole week was playing this course.  It's a challenging, very tough course, under extreme weather.  It’s nice to win any event, but there've been a lot of great champions on this thing, that's for sure.”
Hallberg, who on Friday equalled the Ailsa course record with a stunning 63 in more than blustery conditions, once again showed mastery of the wind with the joint-lowest round of the day to claim second place.
“I played my two best rounds in the worst of the conditions,” said Hallberg. “I was very pleased with the way I played and congratulations to Freddie on a great performance

PRESENT MOMENT
“I didn’t think about setting a target. I tried to stay in the present moment.  I think I did a nice job of that.  I wanted to get ahead of myself.  But I stayed in the present moment.”
The English pair of Barry Lane and Carl Mason finished alongside American Dick Mast in a share of third place at four under par.
Mason played alongside Tom Watson -who closed with a 69 for a share of tenth place on one under par – in a re-run of their battle in The 2003 Senior Open, which the American won in a play-off.

This time it was Mason who had the bragging rights, eagling the seventh hole en route to a 66.
“I was chuffed with the way I played,” said the 25-time Senior Tour Champion. “It was tricky again but I was right into it.  I kept drawing myself back to how well I played with Tom in 2003 and I thought, maybe that's a good omen.  But he's a pleasure to play with, and it was great.”
Former Masters Champion Langer, meanwhile, had to settle of a share of sixth position following a closing 75, meaning he could not reclaim the trophy he won at Carnousite in 2010.

BACK NINE DISASTER
“Obviously the back nine was a disaster,” said Langer. “I just hit a couple of loose shots and got some bad breaks.  I ending up in pot bunkers and all of those things.  We were on the clock, as well, which didn't help.  We had to rush a lot of the shots which didn't make it any easier.
“Fred played very well, a solid round of golf and I think he deserves to win.  He finished in style with birdie, birdie.  That's like a great champion, so it was well deserved.”  

FINAL TOTALS

 Par 280 (4x70)

271 F Couples (USA) 72 68 64 67

273 G Hallberg (USA) 71 63 73 66

276 D Mast (USA) 66 73 70 67, B Lane (Eng) 67 74 66 69, C Mason (Eng) 69 74 67 66

278 P Fowler (Aus) 68 72 65 73, M Wiebe (USA) 70 71 70 67, J Cook (USA) 69 72 66 71, B Langer (Ger) 64 73 66 75

279 I Woosnam (Wal) 71 70 68 70, T Lehman (USA) 66 71 73 69, T Watson (USA) 69 75 66 69, M Calcavecchia (USA) 72 72 69 66, J Blake (USA) 66 73 69 71

282 C Pavin (USA) 70 72 70 70, D Frost (RSA) 66 73 70 73, K Triplett (USA) 69 74 72 67

283 M Allen (USA) 66 74 75 68, M McNulty (Irl) 65 75 75 68, O Browne (USA) 69 73 71 70

284 P Senior (Aus) 68 71 72 73, G Wolstenholme (Eng) 70 73 70 71

285 B Gilder (USA) 72 74 72 67

286 T Kite (USA) 74 73 71 68, M Goodes (USA) 69 73 71 73, C Williams (RSA) 71 73 72 70

287 B Clampett (USA) 70 71 71 75, B Ruangkit (Tha) 69 73 72 73, M Mouland (Wal) 71 72 71 73, L Roberts (USA) 68 75 72 72

288 J Hart (USA) 69 76 70 73, C Lu (Tpe) 66 77 73 72, J Huston (USA) 70 72 70 76, R Drummond (Sco) 70 74 70 74

289 M Farry (Fra) 71 74 71 73, D Eger (USA) 74 70 74 71, P Golding (Eng) 70 75 74 70, D Smyth (Irl) 75 70 72 72, C Lutz (am) (USA) 70 76 67 76

290 J Haas (USA) 73 74 69 74, J Edwards (USA) 69 77 70 74, J Sluman (USA) 70 76 72 72, A Forsbrand (Swe) 71 72 71 76, A Franco (Par) 73 73 67 77, D Russell (Eng) 69 73 71 77, E Romero (Arg) 68 74 77 71

291 R Spittle (Can) 72 74 72 73, P Wesselingh (Eng) 69 76 75 71, J Freeman (USA) 71 74 74 72, L Mize (USA) 71 74 74 72, D Merriman (Aus) 70 77 74 70, M Brooks (USA) 70 71 69 81

292 M James (Eng) 74 74 73 71, B Longmuir (Sco) 71 77 71 73

293 P Jonas (Can) 73 71 74 75, S Pate (USA) 71 75 73 74

294 F Funk (USA) 69 74 75 76, A Gilligan (Aus) 69 73 78 74

295 K Spurgeon (Eng) 72 73 74 76, M San Filippo (USA) 72 76 76 71, R Loubser  (RSA) 74 71 78 72, L Rinker (USA) 67 78 77 73, A Murray (Eng) 69 78 76 72, J Quiros (Esp) 71 76 73 75

296 T Thelen (USA) 73 72 74 77, P Hinton (Eng) 70 75 76 75, K Idoki (Jpn) 69 76 70 81

297 T Elliott (Aus) 71 76 74 76

298 R Haag (am) (USA) 74 74 78 72

299 J Harrison (Eng) 73 74 78 74, M Cunning (USA) 73 75 76 75

300 M Adcock (USA) 73 74 75 78

301 D O'Sullivan (Irl) 76 72 81 72, N Ratcliffe (Aus) 72 76 74 79

302 S Okuda (Jpn) 73 74 72 83

309 J Ross (USA) 75 71 84 79

BLAIRGOWRIE BUNKER RAISES MONEY FOR CHARITY

  Bad enough landing in a bunker ... but having to pay a £1 "penalty" as well!. But it's all in a good cause. Blairgowrie Lansdowne course beside  the green at the 18th hole. Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency

RUSSELL KNOX DROPS DOWN LEADERBOARD IN CANADIAN OPEN

Russell Knox plummeted 32 places down the leaderboard - from T11 to T43 - on the back of a third-round, three-over-par 73 in the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, Ancaster, Ontario.
Knox is now on three-under 207 after 54 holes, needing to shoot very low on the last day to get the kind of payslip he was looking for as he seeks to climb the US PGA Tour money table into the zone where his playing rights for next season are assured.
Knox had an erratic round with the highlights birdies at the first, second and fifth, the definite lowlight a double bogey 7 at the long 17th plus bogeys at the fourth, seventh, ninth and 18th in halves of 37-36.
Americans are dominating the top placings of the Canadian Open with Robert Garrigus leading the way after scores of 64-66-64 for 16-under 194. He leads by one from William McGirt (63-66-66).
Englishman Brian Davis had the kind of third-round figures Russell Knox was seeking - a 65 for 202 and a share of 15 place.
Open champion Ernie Els missed the halfway cut.


THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 210 (3x70)
Players from US unless stated
194 Robert Garrigus 64 66 64
195 William McGirt 63 66 66
196 Scott Piercy 62 67 67
198 Scott Stallings 69 66 63, Chris Kirk 69 66 63, Bo Van Pelt 65 66 67


SELECTED SCORES
202 Brian Davis (England) 69 68 65 (T15)
204 Gary Christian (England) 71 68 65 (T25)
207 Russell Knox (Scotland) 68 66 73 (T43)


TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES


CLICK HERE

TO READ A FULL SUMMARY OF THE DAY'S PLAY AND INTERVIEWS WITH THE PLAYERS

CLICK HERE