CRAIG WATSON RETAINS HERBIE PIRIE TROPHY

               Craig Watson (left) with the Herbie Pirie Trophy

RENFREWSHIRE GOLF UNION

PRESS RELEASE

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Renfrew Golf Club was, once again, the venue for the final Renfrewshire Golf Union competition of the season – the Herbie Pirie Trophy played over 36 holes.  The top golfers in the Order of Merit are invited and, for many of them, the challenge was to wrest the trophy from the current holder.

Last year’s winner was East Renfrewshire’s Craig Watson who does not consider himself to be a veteran and certainly does not play like one.  However, he was 31 when he won the British Amateur Championship and made the Walker Cup team in 1998.  Young Turks like local man Michael Campbell, three times Menzies Trophy winner Sam Binning and Gourock’s Steven Higgins were keen to show that youth could overcome and Derek Anderson of Cochrane Castle, Lee Jenkins of Elderslie and Andrew Farmer had all performed well over the season and expected to put up a strong challenge.  Kilmacolm’s Matthew Clark, having just been advised of his selection for the Scottish team in the Eisenhower Trophy in Turkey, was confident and Craig’s grip on the trophy was a slender one!

In the morning round, it looked as if this might be the case with Chris Kelly of Bonnyton recording a two under par 70 to lead Craig by a shot.  Ronnie Clark of Erskine established a challenge with a great afternoon round of 70 for a total of 144 and when Chris returned an afternoon score of 73 for an aggregate of 143 it looked ominous for Craig as conditions had turned for the worse with heavy showers of rain and a strong wind making life difficult for the later starters.

Undaunted, Craig settled down to record six birdies and only two bogies for a great round of 68 and an aggregate of 139 to retain the trophy and to again demonstrate that the quality of his golf is untarnished with the passing of  time.  The trophy was presented by Craig Pirie, the grandson of the donator of the trophy.

This was the final Order of Merit event and Kilmacolm’s Andrew Farmer, who had already established an unassailable lead during a great season, was presented with the trophy by Ian McCosh, the RGU President

Pictures are Craig being presented with the trophy by Craig Pirie and Andrew receiving the trophy from Ian McCosh

NORTH EAST NAME TEAM FOR NEW TOURNEY AT MONIFIETH

North East team for a new inter-district men's team championship at Monifieth on Sunday, September 30 is:
David Morrison and Lewis Mutch (Duff House Royal), Donald Macandrew and Nick Macandrew (Royal Aberdeen), Darren Watson (Peterhead) and Gordon Munro (Fraserburgh), Scott Robertson (Hazlehead) and Jake Scott (Buckpool)There will be four foursomes in the morning and eight singles in the afternoon, with Angus, North and North East taking part

 

RORY McILROY WINS AGAIN IN UNITED STATES PLAY-OFFS

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE 

By JAMES CORRIGAN

Seven days, two titles, one extraordinary young golfer. Rory McIlroy once again put Lee Westwood and the rest of the game’s best in their place at Crooked Stick on Sunday night with his second win in a week and his third in four events. 

And on this emphatic evidence of this, a two-shot win over the Englishman and Phil Mickelson, McIlroy will soon be putting $10m in its place – straight into his bank account. On Sunday night the world No 1 was celebrating his first back-to-back victories in a career which becomes more exciting by the swing, by the day, by the tournament.

After lifting the Deutsche Bank Championship title in Boston on the Monday, the Northern Irishman lifted the BMW Championship in Indianapolis on the Sunday. He was 40-under for the two events; this particular 20-under total owing much to the final-round 67, which meant his last eight rounds have been sub-70.

McIlroy sits atop the FedEx Cup rankings with the finale and its outrageous winning bonus beckoning in 10 days’ time. But this meant so much more than money, so much more than the $2.9m he collected in one amazing week. When he peered down the names below, McIlroy felt immense pride.

“I’m on a great run at the minute,” said McIlroy, who began this staggering run with last month’s USPGA procession.

“I actually had to scramble a bit here, but drove it beautifully today. It’s great to be able to win events like this when the quality is so good.”

It seemed appropriate that golf’s finest topped one of golf’s finest leader boards. While McIlroy and Westwood went at it like two heavyweights, prizefighters of the quality of Tiger Woods, Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Vijay Singh threw their own shots. But as hard as they tried none of them could bring down this 23-year-old.
Despite Mickelson arriving late to snatch a tie for second, Westwood came closest in his 69, producing a succession of sumptuous approach shots and keeping pace with McIlroy until the 13th. But then McIlroy simply pulled away, with birdies on the 15th on the 16th, in the almost nonchalant style of a certain rival who was left in a tie for fourth. “Rory’s putting on a show out there,” said Woods, who must have felt like he was watching a repeat.
Few people would have been more delighted to witness an all-UK showdown than the Europe Ryder Cup captain, Jose Maria Olazabal. 
He knew all about the rude state of McIlroy’s form, but in Westwood he has another world-class operator who is clearly peaking. At eighth in the FedEx rankings, Westwood, himself, still has a shot at the $10m
The good news for Olazabal goes on and on. Earlier in the day, Peter Hanson defied fatigue as well as the most alarming of distractions to win the KLM Open at Hilversum, Holland. The Dane was on the brink of withdrawing on Friday after his one-year-old son, Tim, was rushed to a hospital near the family home in Orlando with a respiratory illness.
Hanson was persuaded by his wife and the medics to continue and despite staying awake more of Friday night as he kept in touch with the hospital, he managed to shoot a pair of 67s to beat Scotland’s Riche Ramsay and Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal by two shots. “I'm very happy,” said Hanson. “Tim’s getting better and better.” 

TO VIEW ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

CLICK HERE 

TO READ THE REPORT ON THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE

CLICK HERE

FIFE BOYS WIN GARY HARVEY TROPHY AT CHARLETON

Fife beat Perth and Kinross on Sunday to win the Gary Harvey Trophy boys area team tournament at Charleton.
The Fife team was:
G Forrester (Lundin)
A Davidson (Charleton)
J Hogg (The Duke's)
J Douglas (Aberdour)
E Davidson (Charleton)
A Fernie (Glenrothes)
A Millar (Canmore)
J Allan (Balbirnie Park)
OTHER TEAMS
PERTH and KINROSS
C McGuigan (Comrie), M Brodie (Strathmore), S Young (Auchterarder), R Stewart (Crieff), B Steven (Pitlochry), E Farquharson (Auchterarder), B Bannerman (Strathmore), G Stewart (Crieff).
ANGUS
S Grant (Downfield), E Mathew (Kirriemuir), J Millar (Monifieth), C Cook (Caird Park), L George (Downfield), G Petrie (Forfar), T Ogilvie (Monifieth), C McKay (Grange).
CLACKMANNAN
R Alexander (Braehead), S Beattie (Braehead), B McAdam (Alloa), G Murray (Braehead), R Calder (Braehead), G McEwan (Alloa), R Blyth (Braehead), J McEwan (Alloa).

FINAL PLACINGS
1 Fife 6pt,  F 15.5 A 8.5
2 Perth and Kinross 4pt 15-3.
3 Angus 2pt 10-14
4 Clackmannan 1pt 7.5-16.5 

Results:
 Day 1
Fife 4.5, Clackmannan 3.5
Perth and Kinross 6.5, Angus 1.5
Day 2
Fife 5.5, Angus 2.5
Perth and Kinross 6, Clackmannan 2
Fife 5.5, Perth and Kinross 2.5
Clackmannan 2, Angus 6