FIVE SCOTS REACH FINAL SENIOR TOUR Q SCHOOL

Scots David James, Robert Arnott, Albert Mackenzie, Terry Burgoyne and Alan Saddington made it through Stage 1 of the European Senior Tour Qualifying School on the Algarve, Portugal today.But Campbell Elliott, Kenny Hutton, George Crawford, Ian Dougan and Mike Lang failed to figure among the leading 29 qualifiers from each of the two venues, Silves and Gramacho.James finished tied third at Silves with scores of 67 and 71 for 138, three shots behind venue winner Mark Wharton (67-68) from England.Dougan shot 75-74 for 149 to finished joint 46th and Lang 81-74 for 155 and 60th place.Arnott and Mackenzie qualified in joint 12th place at the Lagos venue of Gramacho where they both totalled 150, Arnott 78-72, Mackenzie 72-78. They finished seven shots behind venue winner John Lindberg, a Swedish amateur, who scored 74-69 for 143.Burgoyne made it through in joint 14th place on 151 (71-80) and Saddington in a share of 19th place with scores of 78-74 for 152.Elliott failed on 155 (80-75), Hutton on 158 (81-77) and amateur Crawford on 165 (82-83).The European Senior Tour Q School Final Stage will be played at Vale da Pinta, Carvoeiro next week.  FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE Mark Wharton emerged triumphant in Stage One of the European Senior Tour Qualifying School at Silves Golf Course. Wharton, who turns 50 on May 2 this year and joined the professional ranks in October 2012, led 29 successful qualifiers from Silves Golf Course at the Pestana Golf Resorts, in Portugal’s Algarve region. The Englishman added a round of 68 to his opening effort of 67 to finish the two-day qualifier on five under par, two strokes ahead of his nearest challenger Miguel Guzman of Argentina, who signed for a best-of-the-day 67.  Wharton, who mixed four birdies with two bogeys in wet and windy playing conditions, hit 15 greens in regulation and would have finished further clear were it not for a number of missed chances late in his round. Meanwhile, over at Gramacho Golf Course, it was Swedish amateur John Lindberg who finished top of the pile after signing for a superb round of 69 which was the lowest of the day by three shots. Lindberg was the only player in the 80-man field to finish under par, with Brazilian Luiz Martins and American John Ross finishing in a share of second place two shots back on one over par. A total of 29 players also progressed from Gramacho Golf Course to next week’s Final Stage at the Vale da Pinta Course, at Pestana Carvoeiro Golf Resort, where the 58 qualifiers will be joined by 17 exempt players in a battle for the 14 cards on offer for the 2013 Senior Tour Schedule.