PAUL LAWRIE RANKED NO 30 IN THE WORLD

Paul Lawrie's Gleneagles triumph has moved him up to No 30 in the world professional golf rankings

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KELLY WINS NORTHERN OPEN CURTAIN-RAISER

                                              CHRIS KELLY

By COLIN FARQUHARSON 
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Cawder pro Chris Kelly warmed up for this week's Aberdeen Asset Management Northern Open Championship at Meldrum House, Oldmeldrum by leading the Salamis team to victory in the curtain-raising pro-am with a net 12-under-par total of 128.
His amateur partners were Kenny Bennet (handicap 4), Gus Smart (16) and Gary Cruickshank (17).
Runners-up on 129 were the teams led by Northern Open defending champion David Law (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) and Banchory's James Byrne.
Kelly won the first pro prize of £150 and Law, who won the title as an amateur 12 months ago, received £100 after a card countback with Byrne's team.
Individual pro scores were not returned.
Said David Law later:
"The course is looking fantastic especially considering the torrential rain in Aberdeen and its suburbs. I'm playing well so looking forward to the days ahead and would, of course, love to defend my title."
The 72-hole tournament, with a cut to the leading 40 and ties after 36 holes, begins Tuesday and ends on Friday, instead of the traditional Northern Open format of two rounds on the final day.
The first prize will be around the £4,000 which runner-up pro Stephen Gray (Hayston) collected for finishing two shots behind amateur winner Law last year.
There are 11 amateurs in the field this year. David Law's 2011 performance apart, the amateurs are competing for the Bookless Cup, donated by the late Jack Bookless (Inverness) who was Scottish amateur champion in 1929 - two years before the Northern Open was first played, at Balgownie.

TARTAN TOUR ORDER OF MERIT LEADERS

1 Greig Hutcheon (Banchory)
2 David Patrick (Elie SC)
3 Scott Henderson (Kings Links)
4 Gareth Wright (West Linton)
5 Neil Fenwick (Dunbar)
6 Stephen Gray (Hayston).

LEADING MONEY WINNERS 2012

1 Greig Hutcheon (Banchory) £26,568

2 Graham Fox (Rowallan Castle) £22,764

3 Stephen Gray (Hayston) £21,656

4 Scott Henderson (Kings Links) £21,211

5 Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) £13,486

6 David Orr (Mearns Castle) £12,201

7 David Patrick (Elie SC) £11,545

8 Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) £11,300

9 Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) £11,183

10 Chris Kelly (Cawder) £10,771

11 Christopher Currie (Caldwell) £10,682

HUGH HUNTER'S CLACKMANNAN COUNTY NEWS

SCOTT BORROWMAN AT THE TOP

Dollar’s Scott Borrowman continued his fine golfing form with a top ten finish in the latest Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit event.   
In the North of Scotland open amateur stroke-play championship,played over the par 71 Tain lay-out, Scott returned scores of 70,70,72,73 to give him a total of 285, 14 shots behind the winner and a share of 10th place. 
With three events still to be counted, Scott at present is leading the Order of Merit, and the final placings will be decided after this weekend’s South East District Championship to be held at Longniddry Golf Club.  Scott is a former winner of the event in 2008, and must be feeling confident,

 Further down the Order of Merit are Jamie Aitken (Alloa) at 51st and Lawrence Allan (Alva) at 79th equal.    In the World Amateur Golf Rankings, Scott Borrowman continues to improve and currently stands at 518 (16th best in Scotland) while Lawrence is at 873 and the 25th best in Scotland.  Altogether a good showing for the Wee County.

       JOHN CAIRNS------- AN APPRECIATION.

Friends of John Cairns (Alloa Golf Club) were saddened to learn of his death recently. Known in golfing circles as Jock, he brought an infectious enthusiasm for golf to all who met him.   
John was gently persuaded to take up office in Clackmannan County Golf Union, and took to the duties in a conscientious manner, inspiring others and eventually reaching the office of County Golf Union President.
Sympathies are extended to his family at this sad time.

     

       LOCAL GOLFING FIXTURES COMING UP

Open Greensomes/Braehead/Saturday, September 1

Mixed Open/Alva/Sunday, September 2

Westland Trophy/Alloa/Sunday, September 2           

   

SPENCE TROPHY SEMI-FINALISTS FOR AUCHMILL

Sam Kiloh (Portlethen) will play Jack Harling (Banchory) and Inchmarlo's Adam Fisher will play Ray Gordon (Alford) in the semi-finals of the Aberdeen and District Junior Pennant League's Spence Trophy semi-finals on the morning of Sunday, October 7 at Auchmill Golf Club.
The winners will meet in the final in the afternoon at the same venue.

Scores in the qualifying round at Auchmill on Saturday were:

QUALIFIERS

SS 69. CSS 69 69

143 Sam Kiloh (Portlethen) 74 69, Adam Fisher (Inchmarlo) 70 73.

146 Ray Gordon (Alford) 74 72.

147 Jack Harling (Banchory) 75 72.

  

NON-QUALIFIERS

149 Lewys Anderson (Deeside) 75 74, Stephen Roger (Cruden Bay) 80 69.
150 Michael Reid (Oldmeldrum) 76 74.
151 Jay Hutton (Auchmill) 73 78
155 Calvin Cheyne (Murcar)74 81.
158 Adam Giles (Newmachar) 83 75.
161 Darren Smith (Inverurie) 80 81
164 Grant Joss (Royal Aberdeen) 86 78,Andrew Carrell (Peterculter) 82 82.
165 Mark Rimmer (Caledonian) 83 82.

 

 

 

              

                             

Abbreviations:   (Ab) Aboyne, (Au) Auchmill, (AL) Alford, (BA)Bon accord,

(Ban) Banchory, (C) Caledonian, (Cr) Craibstone, (CB) Cruden Bay, (D) Deeside, (H) Hazlehead,

(Inc) Inchmarlo, (Ichy) Inverallochy, (Inv) Inverurie, (K) Kemnay,(Kin) Kintore, (McD) McDonald, (M) Murcar,

(Newb) Newburgh, (New) Newmachar, (NB) Nigg Bay,(N) Northern,

(O) Oldmeldrum, (Pc) Peterculter, (Pd) Peterhead, (P) Portlethen,

(RA) Royal Aberdeen, (ST) Stonehaven, (W) Westhill  

 

FIFE ORDER OF MERIT FOR THE MACKAY BOWL

in association with www.MyGolfRanking.co.uk

Positions after 20 events

	NAME	CLUB		Points
1	Alan Sutherland	Ladybank		550
2	Scott Crichton	Aberdour		480
3	James White	Lundin		420
4	Jordan McColl	Scotscraig		180
5	Ewan Scott	St Andrews		160
T6	Brian Soutar	Leven GS		140
	Scott Stewart-Cation	The Duke’s		140
8	Colin Martin	St Andrews		130

The final counting events for the 2012 FIFE ORDER OF MERIT are the CANMORE GOLF CLUB 36 HOLE OPEN on 1 September and the SOUTH-EAST DISTRICT OPEN at LONGNIDDRY on 1 & 2 September.

POULTER, COLSAERTS GET LAST RYDER CUP SPOTS

Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts have received the two wildcard picks as captain Jose Maria Olazabal completed his 2012 European Ryder Cup side.

England's Poulter, 36, will be winning his fourth cap, while Belgian Colsaerts, 29, will make his debut in Medinah, Chicago from 28-30 September.

The pair joined the 10 automatic picks from the rankings after Sunday's Johnnie Walker Championship.

Europe have beaten the United States in four of the last five Ryder Cups.

European 2012 Ryder Cup team

• Rory McIlroy (NI) Age: 23 Caps: 1
• Justin Rose (Eng) Age: 32 Caps: 1
• Graeme McDowell (NI) Age: 33 Caps: 2
• Paul Lawrie (Sco) Age: 43 Caps: 1
• Francesco Molinari (Ita) Age: 29 Caps: 1
• Luke Donald (Eng) Age: 34 Caps: 3
• Lee Westwood (Eng) Age: 39 Caps: 7
• Sergio Garcia (Spa) Age: 32 Caps: 5
• Peter Hanson (Swe) Age: 34 Caps: 1
• Martin Kaymer (Ger) Age: 27 Caps: 1
• Ian Poulter (Eng) Age: 36 Caps 3
• Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) Age: 29 Caps 0

The players who made the team by right are Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell, Paul Lawrie, Francesco Molinari, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Peter Hanson and Martin Kaymer.

The US-based Poulter, who struggled with pneumonia earlier this season, has built a reputation as a fearsome matchplay exponent. He was the highest points scorer for either side when selected as a wildcard for the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla and won three points out of four in Europe's 14½-13½ win at Celtic Manor two years ago.
Poulter, who made the first of his three previous appearances in the biennial event in 2004, could have overhauled the Germany's former world number one Kaymer with a 35th-place finish in Scotland, but opted to stay in America.
Colsaerts, who won the World Match Play Championship in May, could also have sealed an automatic place with a top-two finish at Gleneagles, but his share of 19th meant the out-of-form Kaymer held on to the final qualification place, despite also opting to miss the event.
The 29-year-old Colsaerts, the longest hitter on the European Tour, is the next man on the Ryder Cup rankings list and is considered the leading contender for the final spot.
Colsaerts will become the first Belgian to compete in the Ryder Cup and will also be the only rookie in this year's side, compared to the six that played in Wales.
Padraig Harrington, a six-time Ryder Cup veteran, was also in contention for a wildcard - but Olazabal said it would take "at least a win" at the Barclays tournament in New York for the Irishman to stand a chance, but he finished eight shots behind eventual winner Nick Watney.

Last five Ryder Cups

• 2010, Celtic Manor, Wales: Europe beat US 14½-13½
• 2008, Valhalla, Kentucky: US beat Europe 16½-11½
• 2006, The K Club, Ireland: Europe beat US 18½-9½
• 2004, Oakland Hills, Michigan: Europe beat US 18½-9½
• 2002, The Belfry, England: Europe beat US 15½-12½

The 10 automatic choices were made up of the top five from a list based on ranking points won in European Tour events, followed by the next five best on the world rankings.

Olazabal, who played in seven Ryder Cups from 1987-2006 and was a key partner of the late Seve Ballesteros, will have four vice-captains to assist him in Chicago.
The two-time Masters champion will be joined by Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke, Ireland's Paul McGinley, Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Eight players have already qualified for the US team: Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickelson.
US captain Davis Love names his four wildcard choices on 3 September after the first two events of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup play-offs.
The 2012 Ryder Cup will take place from 28-30 September at Medinah Country Club in Illinois. The course was originally designed by an Aberdonian, Stuart Bendelow who emigrated to America in the late 19th Century and is credited with having designed more than 600 golf courses over there.

POULTER SLAMS US PGA TOUR FOR COURSE SET-UP

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE

By JAMES CORRIGAN

Ian Poulter finished down the pack at The Barclays on Sunday and was confident of two things - a Ryder Cup wild card selection and a fine.
One is as predictable as the other. Poulter has been quoted at the ridiculously short-odds of 1-500 to be named as one of José Maria Olazábal’s two captain's picks for Medinah on Monday. And if the golfing authorities ever publicised who they sanction, it would be just as unprofitable to back Poulter being punished for his remarks concerning the Long Island course.

First came the tweet, following his third-round 76. “The worst course set-up I have ever played in 13 years on tour. They have ruined what is a great course, greens like concrete stupid pins.” 
Then, with the notebooks in from of him, Poulter was even more outspoken.

“I’ve got to tell you, they f****d up,” he said. “Royally f****d up. Look at how many guys have had a bad day, and there’s a lot of guys that had a bad day.

“You know, the eight, especially, is the worst I’ve ever seen on Tour. Eight was worse than Shinnecock. How about that for a statement? They have lost it.” 
LESSON LEARNED

He was referring to the infamous 2004 US Open at nearby Shinnecock Hills, when a few of the greens made glass seem receptive. The PGA Tour had clearly learned the lesson of Saturday and turned on the hoses.

The result, said Poulter, was “a much fairer test of golf”. The 36 year-old stuck by his comments after a 69 dragged him back to level par, but still outside the top 30.
“All we want as players is to be rewarded for good shots,” he said. “On those greens we weren’t being rewarded. I spoke to some of the officials and they told me they were expecting cloud cover. There wasn’t any. What more can I say?”
 As Poulter was ready to travel to his next assignment — a company day at The Liberty course in New Jersey, on the way to which he will receive a call from the Olazábal — Sergio García was teeing off with a two-shot lead over Nick Watney, trying to win for the second successive week.
The Spaniard is the talk of the range again, following a resurgence which has been marked by his abandonment of a professional caddie. Last week at the Wyndham Championship he used a bagman from a local club, while here at Bethpage he called up a friend, Wayne Richardson, who usually walks the course as a ball-spotter for a US network.
Justin Rose believes that this – plus the motivation to qualify for the Ryder Cup, of course — has helped García rediscover his love for the game. “It has made him take the responsibility and, if you like, go back to playing like he did as a kid,” said Rose after his own 68 took him to two-over.
“It’s great to see him enjoying himself on the course again. From a Europe perspective it is a big, big boost.” 
EDITOR: But Sergio did not win .... scroll down for the final totals and last-day summary from The Barclays.

DARRON STILES WINS ON WEB.COM TOUR

DARRON STILES WON THE US WEB.COM TOUR (formerly the Nationwide Tour) event at the weekend.

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JAY DON BLAKE WINS US CHAMPIONS TOUR EVENT

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SERGIO GARCIA LOSES LEAD OVER FINAL ROUND

LEADING FINAL TOTALS AT THE BARCLAYS

Par 284 (4x71)
Players from US unless stated
274 Nick Watney 65 69 71 69
277 Brandt Snedeker 70 69 68 70
278 Dustin Johnson 67 71 72 68, Sergio Garcia (Spain) 66 68 69 75
279 Graham DeLaet (Canada) 75 67 72 65, Louis Oosthuizen (S Africa) 70 71 68 70, Lee Westwood (England) 69 72 68 70, Brian Harmon 65 75 68 71

SELECTED TOTALS

281 Luke Donald (England) 68 74 69 70 (T10)
282 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 64 75 75 68 (T19
283 Rory McIlroy (N Ireland) 69 73 69 72 (T24)
284 Ian Poulter (England) 68 71 76 69 (T36)
285 Greg Owen (England) 68 73 72 72, Tiger Woods 68 69 72 76, Phil Mickelson 68 74 67 76 (T38)
286 Justin Rose (England) 67 72 79 68, Gary Christian (England) 66 71 77 72 (T46)
292 Martin Laird (Scotland) 70 68 77 77 (T71)

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BALLANTINE'S TAIWAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Taipei: Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Chi-hsien capped a memorable week by firing a flawless five-under-par 67 to win his maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship on Sunday.

Hsieh, who held the lead after the second round, was a figure of consistency as he put out an assured performance at the National Garden Golf Course to seal victory with a winning total of 16-under-par 272.

Despite Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Mong-nan’s best effort of 64, he could not pip compatriot Hsieh to the title and had to settle for second place following rounds of 72, 69 and 70.

Chinese Taipei’s Yeh Wei-tze signed off with a 69 to take third place on 277 while Canada’s Lindsay Renolds, England’s Grant Jackson and Chinese Taipei’s Hung Chien-yao shared fourth place on 278.
STRONG FINISH 

Hsieh, who held a two-shot advantage heading into the final round, parred the first six holes before reeling in his first birdie on the par-five seventh.

After turning in 35, Hsieh began his charge with successive birdies on holes 12 and 13 before signing off in style with another two birdies in his closing three holes.

“This is definitely a week to remember! I simply played my best golf and I knew that if I continued doing so, I would win,” said Hsieh, who pocketed the winner’s purse of US$19,250 at the US$110,000 ADT event, which is the richest on the Schedule.

“The first birdie on the seventh was a bit of a relief but once I made the turn and got another birdie on the 12^th, I was really feeling very confident. I knew it was my title to lose, and thankfully, I kept my focus and I just want to enjoy the winning feeling now,” added Hsieh.

The Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship was a showcase of the region’s aspiring professionals on the ADT, which recently received a massive boost when it was awarded Official World Golf Ranking status from 2013 onwards.

With golf returning to the Olympics in 2016, the ADT will become a platform for emerging players from across Asia to have the opportunity to play their way to Rio De Janeiro.
WORLD RANKING POINTS

From next season, all winners of ADT events will receive a minimum of six World Ranking points while the top-six players and ties will earn points based on a sliding scale.

Launched in 2010 with the aim of creating a career pathway for professional golfers in Asia, a record total of 12 events will be played this season with the top three finishers on the Order of Merit earning Asian Tour cards for 2013.

 

For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.

 

Leading final round scores

272      HSIEH Chi-hsien (TPE) 72-66-67-67

275      HSU Mong-nan  (TPE) 72-69-70-64

277      YEH Wei-Tze (TPE) 71-72-65-69

278      Lindsay RENOLDS (CAN)72-68-70-68, Grant JACKSON (ENG) 72-67-68-71, HUNG Chien-yao (TPE) 73-68-66-71

DUMBARTONSHIRE BOYS' BIG WIN AT HAMILTON

Dumbartonshire beat Lanarkshire 7-1 at Hamilton in the West of Scotland Boys' League.

The Dumbarton boys produced some great scoring in their matches, the best coming from James Wilson of Hilton Park.
He had six birdies in a 7 and 6 win over the unlucky Hamilton boys club champion David Fair who was only three over par for the 12 holes  

Results (Lanarkshire boys named first)

Under-16s

David Fair (Hamilton) lost to James Wilson (Hilton Park) 7 and 6
Marcus Callen (Wishaw) lost to Cameron Black (Cardross) 4 and 3
Ciaran Reilly (Easter Moffat) bt Hamish Mills   (Cardross) 1 hole
Andrew Thomson (Carnwath) lost to Robbie Kemsley  (Balmore) 5 and 4.

Under-18s

Andrew Robertson (Carluke) lost to Cameron  Kirkwood (Bearsden) 5 and 4
Shaun Mc Bride (Playsport) lost to George Duncan  (Windyhill)7 and 6
James Allison (East Kilbride) lost to Robert Johnson   (Helensburgh) 6 and 5
Calum Connacher (Wishaw) lost to Craig Chalmers    (Lenzie) 3 and 2

Willie Sharpe
Lanarkshire Golf Association