STRONG AYRSHIRE TEAM NAMED FOR AREA CHAMPIONSHIP AT CRAIL

NEWS RELEASE
Despite 2012 Scottish Golfer Of The Year Jack McDonald being unavailable due to university exams, a strong Ayrshire team has been announced for the 2013 SGU Area Team Championship, which takes place at Crail on 18th and 19th May.
The six man team is headed by former Scottish boys stroke-play winner and Scottish international Steven McEwan (Loudoun).
Also included is the 2011 Scottish boys match-play champion and the winner of both the Ayrshire  stroke-play and match-play titles in 2012, David Wilson (Troon Welbeck).
Former Ayrshire matchplay and Champion Of Champions trophy winner Scott Brown (Turnberry) has also been named in the side along with 2010 Scottish mid-amateur champion Craig Hamilton (Ballochmyle).
John Shanks (Irvine), who along with Steven McEwan was in the side when Ayrshire last won the area team championship  in 2008 is once again included in the Ayrshire side, as is Ewan McKinnon (Corrie) who is making his debut in the event.

The full team is :-
Steven McEwan -- Loudoun
David Wilson --  Troon Welbeck
Scott Brown -- Turnberry

Craig Hamilton -- Ballochmyle
John Shanks -- Irvine
Ewan McKinnon -- Corrie

EWAN AND SMYTH JOINT LEADING SCOTS AT LYTHAM TROPHY

Ewan Scott continued his good start to the golfing year by posting a two-over-par 72 early on the first day of the Lytham Trophy and was still the leading Scot in joint fourth place as the big field were almost all back in the clubhouse.
Then, among the late finishers, along came another Scot, Michael Smyth (Royal Troon) with a 72 and all those on that score eventually were joint fifth at the end of the day.

Scott, from St Andrews, looked like bettering par when he was one-under after an outward 33 with birdies at the fourth and short ninth with only one offsetting bogey, at the short fifth.

But the prevailing wind made the second nine the tougher half for everyone and Scott came home in three-over 33 with shots dropped at the 10th, 11th and 17th.

The conditions became more testing at the day wore on with no afternoon scores troubling the leaders.

Nathan Kimsey (Woodhall) led from early in the day with a two-under-par 68, one ahead of Lancashire's Paul Howard (Southport and Ainsdale).

Michael Daily (Erskine) shot a 74, the same score as Swiss Stirling student Matthias Eggenberger while another Stirling student, Irishman Cormac Sharvin signed for a 75.

Scott Crighton (Aberdour) and James Ross (Royal Burgess) returned 76s, one ahead of Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie), Paul Moultrie (Royal Troon) and Anglo-Scot Alasdair Dalgliesh (Haywards Heath).

Former Scottish amateur champion and a reinstated from the pro ranks, Graham Gordon (Newmachar), who had a top 10 finish in this event 12 months ago, looks certain to miss the cut after an opening 84.
Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) and Fraser McKenna (Balmore) had only slightly better prospects of reaching the last two rounds after returning 81 apiece in the evening play.

LYTHAM TROPHY

Royal Lytham and St Annes

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 70

68 N Kimsey (Woodhall Spa)

69 P Howard (Southport and Ainsdale).

70 N Raymond (Corhampton), K Johannessen (Norway).

72 J Hume (Rathsallagh), E Scott (St Andrews), L Johnson (Kings Lynn), P Kinnear (Formby), A Plant (Rochester and Cobham), M Smyth (Royal Troon).
 

SELECTED SCORES

74 M Daily (Erskine), M Eggenberger (Stirling U) (T15)

75 C Sharvin (Stirling U), N Henderson (Renaissance) (T26)

76 S Crighton (Aberdour), J Ross (Royal Burgess), Sam Binning (Ranfurly Castle) (T38).

77 G Robertson (Glenbervie), A Dalgliesh (Haywards Heath), P Moultrie (Royal Troon), S Borrowman (Dollar) (T55).
78 D Kay (Dunbar) (T65)

79 K McClung (Wigtownshire Co), J White (Lundin), A Dunton (McDonald Ellon), M Clark (Kilmalcolm), G Stevenson (Whitecraigs)(T79).

80 C Howie (Peebles), R Bell (Downfield), A Culverwell (Dunbar) (T99)
81 J McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie), F McKenna (Balmore), J Savage (Cawder) (T112).

84 G Gordon (Newmachar) (T135).

MCLEARY, MACAULAY MAY BE ONLY SCOTS QUALIFIERS IN ITALY

Only Jamie McLeary and Callum Macaulay of the 13 Scots in the field are likely to survive the cut, delayed until Saturday morning because of thunderstorms, at the halfway stage of the Challenge Tour event, the Montecchia Open at Padova, near Venice, Italy.

McLeary (69-69) and Macaulay (70-68) are both on four-under-par 138 and in joint 27th position behind the English leader, Jamie Moule (65-67 for 132).

The forecast is for aggregates of two-under 140 and better to be needed to beat the cut.

Lloyd Saltman (71-70) and Alastair Forsyth (70-71) are on 141.

Raymond Russell (72-7o) is a shot behind on 142.

Ross Kellett has scored 74-69 for 143.

Andrew McArthur (73-71) is on 144 and Duncan Stewart (71-78) on 149.

Scots who will complete their second rounds early Saturday morning are David Law, Jack Doherty, Wallace Booth, Steven O'Hara and George Murray. All of them need to improve their positions at the suspension if they are to hit 140 or better.

MONTECCHIA OPEN

Padova, nr Venice, Italy

SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD

Par 142 (2x71)

132 Jamie Moul (Eng) 65 67.
133 Gareth Shaw (NIre) 65 68, Brooks Koepka (US) 66 67, Edouard Espana (Fra) 65 68, Julien Gerrier (Fra) 68 65.

SCOTS' SCORES

139 Jamie McLeary 69 69, Callum Macaulay 70 68 (T27)

141 Lloyd Saltman 71 70, Alastair Forsyth 70 71.

142 Raymond Russell 72 70.

143 Ross Kellett 74 69.

144 Andrew McArthur 73 71.

149 Duncan Stewart  71 78.

To complete second rounds: David Law, Jack Doherty, Wallace Booth, Steven O'Hara, George Murray.

ends

KRIS NICOL FINISHES FOURTH IN FRANCE

Fraserburgh's Kris Nicol saved his best until last to finish joint fourth in the Alps Tour event, the Rebetz Open at Picardy, France today (Friday).

The Paul Lawrie Golf Centre player shot rounds of 71, 71 and 67 for a six-under-par total of 209 over the par-73 course. He earned 2,020 Euros for finishing four shots behind the winner of the 5,800 top prize, Spain's Borja Etchart (69-67-69 for 14-under 205).

Nicol, a former greenkeeper at Fraserburgh Golf Club, had seven birdies - at the first, eighth, ninth, long 11th, short 13th, 14th and 17th in halves of 33-34. He had one bogey, at the 10th.

Former Stirling student David Booth from Rotherham finishedd a shot behind Nicol in sixth place with scores of 72, 67 and 71 for 210 to win 1,720 Euros.

Irishman Stephen Grant was runner-up to Etchart, two shots behind with rounds of 71, 65 and 71 for 207. He earned 3,940 Euros. 

ALPS TOUR REBETZ OPEN

Picardy, France

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 219 (3x73)

205 Borja Etchart (Spa) 69 67 69 (5,800 Euros).

207 Stephen Grant (Ire) 71 65 71 (3,950 Euros).

208 Tomsk Dogil (Ger) 73 66 69 (2,560 Euros).

209 Kris Nicol (Sco) 71 71 67, Julie Gressier (Fra) 70 69 70 (2,020 Euros each).

210 David Booth (Eng) 72 67 71 (1,720 Euros).

EWAN SCOTT BEST OF SCOTS AT LYTHAM TROPHY OPENING ROUND

  Ewan Scott in action today. Picture by courtesy of TOM WARD

Scots' scores in the Lytham Trophy first round:
Par 70
72 Ewan Scott (St Andrews).
76 Scott Crighton (Aberdour), James Ross (Royal Burgess).
77 Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie), Alasdair Dalgliesh (Haywards Heath).
79 Kyle McClung (Wigtownshire Co), James White (Lundin), Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon), Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm).
80 Craig Howie (Peebles), Ross Bell (Downfield).
84 Graham Gordon (Newmachar).

 +Nathan Kimsey (Woodhall Spa) leads with a 68.

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RAMSAY HEADS SIX SCOTS TO MAKE THE CUT IN VOLVO CHINA OPEN

NEWS RELEASE FROM ONE-ASIA TOUR 

TIANJIN, China, May 3 - Finland's Mikko Ilonen, seeking a first victory since winning twice in 2007, fired a record-equalling nine-under-par 63 on Friday to claim a three-shot lead after the second round of the Volvo China Open at Tianjin Binhai Lake Golf Club. 

Ilonen is on 12 under par 132 at the 20 million yuan (U.S. $3.2 million tournament), co-sanctioned by OneAsia and the European Tour, with a pair of more recent winners lurking in the shadows in the form of Australian Brett Rumford and Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who both shot 67s.

Overnight leader Robert-Jan Derksen (70) is a shot further back, while defending champion Branden Grace (67) is three under. 

The cut was set at par, eliminating 12-year-old local wonder boy Ye Wocheng who became the youngest player ever to take part in a OneAsia or European Tour event when he teed off on Thursday. He shot two rounds of 79.

Six Scots beat the cut - Richie Ramsay (139),  Paul Lawrie and Stephen Gallacher (both 141) , Peter Whiteford (142) and Scott Jamieson, on the limit mark of 144.

Ilonen, playing the course back-to-front, had a blemish-free-round that included three birdies on his opening nine and six on the way home. He has shot 63 twice before, and his score equalled the course record set by Swede Alexander Noren at the same event last year. 

"I hit the ball better than yesterday. Obviously 69 yesterday was a good score and it was a bit breezier, but I gave myself more chances today -- hit more greens and hit more fairways. It was a very stress-free round today," he said.

He credited a six week spell away from  home during the off season with helping him prepare better for 2013.

"I went away with my family in December to Thailand, to Black Mountain (Golf Course), for five to six weeks before the season started. Compared to a year ago it was a lot of good preparation in a facility where you can hit balls outdoors."

Rumford dedicated his round to caddy, John "Ronnie" Roberts, who marked his 67th birthday on Friday and has overseen something of a renaissance in the Australian's career since taking over his bag in December.

"Each player has their own motivation, I guess, and that varies from day-to-day," said Rumford, who ended a five-year drought with victory in the European Tour's Ballantine's Championship in South Korea last week. 

"It was in my mind at the beginning of the day that it would be nice to shoot 67 on Ronnie's 67th birthday. Tomorrow I'll have to find something different to motivate me."

Kiradech, who won his first European Tour event at the Malaysian Open in March, missed only one green in regulation despite the wind around the long, links-style course, which played to 6,749 metres (7,381 yards) on Friday. 

"My driver has done very well for the first two days," he said.

"I talked to my coach last night and he said I have to keep the ball low, and if you miss, miss on the right side. If you miss on the easy side, you can still get up and down, you can still have a mistake and recover." 

Pre-teen Ye was somewhat overwhelmed by the course's length and the wind, but still found positives from the experience.

"Golf is a hard game to play at this level of competition and on these courses, but I feel I will soon be ready for it," he said. "I’m looking forward to the next time I can play out here." 

His 16-year-old compatriot Dou Zecheng, however, made the cut after shooting level par on Friday to go with his opening round 70.

"I feel great to have achieved that," he said. "Now I will enjoy my game through the weekend. I am not thinking too much about the score, just trying my best and getting more experience."

HALFWAY TOTALS

Par 144 (2x72) Yardage 7,667

132 Mikko ILONEN (FIN) 69-63. 135 Brett RUMFORD (AUS) 68-67, Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) 68-67.

136 Robert-Jan DERKSEN (NED) 66-70.

137 Pablo LARRAZABAL (ESP) 71-66, Lee SLATTERY (ENG) 69-68.

138 Matthew GRIFFIN (AUS) 70-68, Graeme STORM (ENG) 70-68.

139 Mark FOSTER (ENG) 70-69, Richie RAMSAY (SCO) 71-68, Paul CASEY (ENG) 71-68, PARK Sang-hyun (KOR) 69-70, Aaron TOWNSEND (AUS) 69-70, Joel SJOHOLM (SWE) 74-65, Damien McGRANE (IRL) 73-66.

140 Joost LUITEN (NED) 73-67, Paul WARING (ENG) 72-68, Soren KJELDSEN (DEN) 72-68, Fabrizio ZANOTTI (PAR) 71-69, LEE Hyung-joon (KOR) 70-70, Raphael JACQUELIN (FRA) 68-72, Steve WEBSTER (ENG) 73-67.

141 Branden GRACE (RSA) 74-67, Paul LAWRIE (SCO) 69-72, Nick CULLEN (AUS) 72-69, Michael HENDRY (NZL) 74-67, AN Byeong-hun (KOR) 73-68, Matthew BALDWIN (ENG) 70-71, Niclas FASTH (SWE) 73-68, Tommy FLEETWOOD (ENG) 71-70, Soren HANSEN (DEN) 72-69, Stephen GALLACHER (SCO) 70-71, Jeev Milkha SINGH (IND) 72-69, Richard FINCH (ENG) 71-70, Kristoffer BROBERG (SWE) 74-67.

142 Ricardo SANTOS (POR) 70-72, Terry PILKADARIS (AUS) 69-73, Markus BRIER (AUT) 71-71, Rafael CABRERA- BELLO (ESP) 72-70, Johan EDFORS (SWE) 73-69, David HOWELL (ENG) 74-68, JB HANSEN (DEN) 73-69, Gregory HAVRET (FRA) 72-70, Andy SULLIVAN (ENG) 74-68, DOU Ze-cheng (am, CHN) 70-72, Peter WHITEFORD (SCO) 73-69.

143 Andrew DODT (AUS) 72-71, Eddie PEPPERELL (ENG) 75-68, HUANG Wen-yi (CHN) 74-69, Richard BLAND (ENG) 72-71, Andreas HARTO (DEN) 72-71, Chris LLOYD (ENG) 71-72, Alexander NOREN (SWE) 70-73, Thomas BJORN (DEN) 70-73, Victor DUBUISSON (FRA) 71-72, Edoardo MOLINARI (ITA) 75-68, Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 74-69.

144 LIANG Wen-chong (CHN) 74-70, Felipe AGUILAR (CHI) 71-73, Emiliano GRILLO (ARG) 73-71, Phillip PRICE (WAL) 76-68, Moritz LAMPERT (GER) 72-72, Garrett SAPP (USA) 70-74, Scott JAMIESON (SCO) 73-71, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 76-68, Magnus A CARLSSON (SWE) 71-73, Estanislao GOYA (ARG) 70-74, Ricardo GONZALEZ (ARG) 73-71.

MISSED THE CUT

145 Mark BROWN (NZL) 75-70, Oliver FISHER (ENG) 74-71, Michael WRIGHT (AUS) 75-70, Gary LOCKERBIE (ENG) 76-69, Andre STOLZ (AUS) 74-71, Alvaro QUIROS (ESP) 70-75, Peter EROFEJEFF (FIN) 76-69, HE Shao-cai (CHN) 72-73.

146 RYU Hyun-woo (KOR) 73-73, KIM Dae-sub (KOR) 71-75, HE Ze-Yu (CHN) 75-71, Michael HOEY (NIR) 72-74, Marcus FRASER (AUS) 74-72, Anthony BROWN (AUS) 76-70, SU Dong (CHN) 73-73, Eduardo DE LA RIVA (ESP) 74-72, Scott STRANGE (AUS) 73-73, David DRYSDALE (SCO) 72-74, Simon WAKEFIELD (ENG) 73-73, S S P CHOWRASIA (IND) 70-76, Jorge CAMPILLO (ESP) 73-73, Lorenzo GAGLI (ITA) 72-74.

147 Fredrik ANDERSSON HED (SWE) 79-68, Rory HIE (INA) 73-74, Jim LIU (am, USA) 77-70, HU Mu (CHN) 74-73, Jean-Baptiste GONNET (FRA) 74-73, Espen KOFSTAD (NOR) 75-72, Jbe KRUGER (RSA) 75-72, Gareth MAYBIN (NIR) 76-71, Marc WARREN (SCO) 75-72.

148 WU Ashun (CHN) 77-71, Justin WALTERS (RSA) 72-76, CHOI Ho-sung (KOR) 77-71, ZHANG Xin-jun (CHN) 75-73, JOO Heung-chol (KOR) 72-76, Craig LEE (SCO) 73-75, James MORRISON (ENG) 73-75, Eric MINA (USA) 75-73, ZHOU Guo-wu (CHN) 76-72, ZHANG Lian-wei (CHN) 73-75, Robert COLES (ENG) 76-72.

149 Scott LAYCOCK (AUS) 77-72, John PARRY (ENG) 77-72, Scott HENRY (SCO) 80-69, Alessandro TADINI (ITA) 75-74, Christian CEVAER (FRA) 75-74, Peter LAWRIE (IRL) 75-74.

150 HSIEH Chi-hsien (TPE) 74-76, Julien QUESNE (FRA) 71-79, Martin WIEGELE (AUT) 78-72, Jose Manuel LARA (ESP) 73-77, Jamie ARNOLD (AUS) 71-79, Gareth PADDISON (NZL) 75-75.

151 LI Hao-tong (CHN) 76-75, Peter HEDBLOM (SWE) 78-73, KONG Wei-hai (CHN) 72-79, Keith HORNE (RSA) 73-78, YAN Bin (CHN) 70-81, Daniel POPOVIC (AUS) 75-76, Paul McGINLEY (IRL) 76-75, Chris PAISLEY (ENG) 76-75, Maximilian KIEFFER (GER) 78-73.

152 CAO Yi (CHN) 78-74, Akinori TANI (JPN) 75-77, Thomas AIKEN (RSA) 79-73, Maarten LAFEBER (NED) 75-77, JIN Da-xing (CHN) 78-74, JIN Cheng (am, CHN) 77-75, Chris DOAK (SCO) 75-77.

153 FAN Zhi-peng (CHN) 79-74.

155 ZHAO Xiong-yi (CHN) 81-74, YUAN Tian (CHN) 79-76, Wolmer MURILLO (VEN) 78-77.

157 Ren HAN (CHN) 83-74, WU Wei-huang (CHN) 84-73, LIU Yan-wei (am, CHN) 81-76, Oscar FLOREN (SWE) 78-79, JIA Jun-feng (CHN) 79-78, WU Hong-fu (CHN) 81-76.

158 OUYANG Zheng (CHN) 78-80, BAI Zheng-kai (am, CHN) 83-75, YE Wo-cheng (am, CHN) 79-79, LUO Xue-wen (am, CHN) 80-78.

160 CHEN Zi-hao (am, CHN) 81-79.

161 YUAN Hao (CHN) 80-81.

164 LI Xin-yang (CHN) 83-81.

THONGCHAI SHOOTS A 65 TO RAKE LEAD IN INDONESIAN MASTERS

REPORT FROM ASIAN TOUR

Jakarta, May 3: Thai star Thongchai Jaidee drew inspiration from the presence of his family members by firing a superb seven-under-par 65 to take the second round lead at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters today.

Thongchai, who holds an unprecedented three Order of Merit titles, posted a flawless round highlighted by seven birdies for two-day total of 10-under-par 134 at the US$750,000 Asian Tour event which is played at the immaculate Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

Australia’s Scott Barr shot a second successive 68 in his 200^th appearance on the Asian Tour to trail Thongchai by two shots while Wade Ormsby of Australia was in third position on 137.

Reigning Open Championship winner Ernie Els of South Africa shot 70 to stay in the hunt in tied fourth place with Hung Chien-yao of Chinese Taipei and Australians Kieran Pratt, Jake Higginbottom and Scott Hend, who was the overnight co-leader.

The third round of the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters will start at 7am and is expected to finish at approximately 2pm local time due to expected thunderstorms in the afternoon. 

Thongchai, who has four top-10s this season, wielded a hot putter as he continues his search for a 14^th Asian Tour victory.

“My wife and two sons are here with me this week. My oldest son followed me for nine holes today but my youngest is at the hotel. I’m very happy with my family support. I want to show them that I can play very well,” said Thongchai.

A top-three result at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters will push him inside the top-60 on the Official World Golf Rankings, giving him a strong chance to qualify for the U.S. Open next month. Thongchai was the first Thai to ever play in all four rounds in the 2001 U.S. Open.

“I hope I can keep my confidence like this in the next few days. If I drive, hit and putt like today then I think I have a good chance to win the tournament. My putting wasn’t that good in the last few months but it is coming around now,” said the world number 65.

"I played very solid and I have no complains at all. I think I have a chance to go even lower in the next few days. I’m only halfway there. There are many strong players here but getting off to 10-under after two rounds gives me a good chance.”

Barr hopes to make it a really special 200^th Asian Tour event by winning his first victory this week. His wife is also expected to give birth to his second child on Tuesday.

“This week sort of feels like a special week for me. I’ve had a lot of media attention and you sort of feel like you are in the limelight and ready to go. I’ve enjoyed it. Hopefully it will be a week that I will remember,” said Barr.

“I’ve been preparing for my second child for months now. Obviously when I get home after this week, I will be pretty busy. It is very exciting and I’m looking forward to it,” he added.

Els, nicknamed the Big Easy, endured an energy-sapping day but remained confident that he can shoot a low number and contend for the title.

“Today was a bit of a jetlag day for me. I was trying to get some energy going. Hopefully I will have more energy tomorrow. I think my game is all there. I just need to get a bit sharper mentally,” said the four-time Major champion.

“I was hoping for a better score but I didn’t quite get it. My game is not too bad. I just need to eliminate some really small mistakes. This is the type of course where you can get a little bit aggressive. I’m hitting the ball quite nicely so I like to stay aggressive. If I get myself in position, I will go for flags and get my putts in,” added Els.

The halfway cut was set at two-over-par 146 with 69 players making the weekend rounds including 2011 Open Championship winner Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, who shot a 75 for 145.
Banchory's James Byrne, the Northern Open champion, missed the cut by the huge margin of 13 shots with rounds of 80 and 79 for 159.
His second round started with a double bogey 6 and he had a triple bogey 7 at the 17th. 

 

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS

Par 144 (2x72) Yardage 7,340

134 Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) 69-65.

136 Scott BARR (AUS) 68-68.

137 Wade ORMSBY (AUS) 69-68.

138 Kieran PRATT (AUS) 70-68, Jake HIGGINBOTTOM (AUS) 69-69, HUNG Chien-yao (TPE) 70-68, Ernie ELS (RSA) 68-70, Scott HEND (AUS) 66-72.

139 Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 71-68, Shiv KAPUR (IND) 70-69, Bernd WIESBERGER (AUT) 67-72, Daisuke KATAOKA (JPN) 70-69.

140 Richard T. LEE (CAN) 72-68, Angelo QUE (PHI) 70-70, Unho PARK (AUS) 68-72, HWANG Inn-choon (KOR) 66-74, Pariya JUNHASAVASDIKUL (THA) 72-68, Rahil GANGJEE (IND) 71-69, Ryan McCARTHY (AUS) 70-70.

141 Adilson DA SILVA (BRA) 68-73, Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 72-69, Chawalit PLAPHOL (THA) 69-72, MO Joong-kyung (KOR) 72-69, Gunn CHAROENKUL (THA) 69-72, David LUTTERUS (AUS) 68-73.

SELECTED SCORES
143 Simon Dyson (England) 69 74 (T35)

MISSED THE CUT (146 and better qualified)
159 James Byrne (Scotland) 80 79.   

WALKER CUP TEAM CHASE STARTS WITH LYTHAM TROPHY THIS WEEKEND

FROM THE HERALD WEBSITE

By NICK RODGER

Golf Correspondent

Scotland's Walker Cup hopefuls will be aiming to shine in front of the selectors this weekend as the amateur game's first major of the season, the Lytham Trophy, takes place over the Royal Lytham and St Annes links.

For the first time since 1995, the GB and I squad system, an elite pool of players from which the majority of the final team was picked, has been abandoned and Nigel Edwards, the captain, has made it clear that the door to selection is very much open. 
The message is simple.
"The team will be selected on what the guys do over the summer," said Edwards, who captained GB and I to victory at Royal Aberdeen in 2011 and is now preparing for the defence of the cup on American soil this September.
"Often, we would pick a squad in the past, and some of the guys would turn professional and drop out. Others playing college golf would not be named in the original squad, then would play well in the winter and would look conspicuous by their absence from the squad. At the end of the day, we're not just picking a team based on a squad session."
Graeme Robertson, who opened his account on the Scottish circuit with an order-of-merit win in the Battle Trophy recently, heads a strong home contingent which also features Jack McDonald, last year's Scottish Golfer of the Year, and international regulars, James White and Fraser McKenna.
Ewan Scott, runner-up in last month's Scottish Boys' Championship, has also made the trip to the Lancashire coast, as have Edward Trophy winner Matthew Clark and former Scottish champion and past Walker Cup player Graham Gordon, who tied sixth in the Lytham Trophy last season.

FIFE TEAM NAMED FOR SCOTTISH AREA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP AT CRAIL

 The Fife GA team for the Scottish area team championship at Crail Golfing Society  on May 18-19 is

James White (Lundin)
Brian Soutar (Leven GS)
Scott Crichton (Aberdour)
Scott Stewart-Cation  (The Duke's)
Ewan Scott (St Andrews)
Ally Hain (St Andrews)


Bill Dickson 
Team Captain
Fife Golf Association  

 BRIAN SOUTAR, BACK FROM NORWAY,
 SEEKING TO REGAIN SCOTLAND PLACE

MARTIN DEMPSTER comment in "The Scotsman" newspaper
Brian Soutar, the 2012 South African open amateur champion who refused a place in the Scottish squad this season after returning to work as a welding inspector, is to return to the national golf stage later this month.,
The Leven Golfing Society player, who has worked in Norway since last October, is in the Fife line-up for the Scottish area team championship at Crail after ladning a job nearer home.
"I've got a job as a project manager for my old NDT company back home on my doorssetep," he told "The Scotsman."
"So I will be trying to get back into my golf again. I'll be playing in the Aea Team event, the St Andrews Links Trophy and a few more towards the end of thes eason."
Soutar was a full-time amateur golfer for two years, winning the 2011 Scottish champion of champions event over his home course before helping Fife record a first victory in the Scottish area team championship at Prestwick the same year.
Soutar then succeeded compatriot Michael Stewart as the South African open amateur champion last season but refused to take up the spot he had earned in the South African Open after spending a "small fortune" subsidising his amateur golf career.
Soutar, a member of last year's winning Scotland team in the Home Interationals in Ayrshire, added:
"I've got no plans to turn professional but will be trying to get back into the Scotland team.
"I probably won't play enough competitions this year to make the Home Internationals (at Ganton in August) but, you never know!"   

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RORY BACK ON SONG, SHARES LEAD IN WELL FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP

           RORY McILROY ... Good round with his driver. Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)


FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina -- For all the talk about the greens, Rory McIlroy's most important club was his driver  in the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship.

Leaderboard

Tee times
TOUR Report notes Round 1 video

McIlroy kept the ball in play at Quail Hollow and gave himself plenty of birdie chances on a cloudy, soft afternoon. He ran off six birdies in a seven-hole stretch around the turn and finished with an 8-foot birdie putt for a 5-under 67 to share the lead with six other players.
It was the first time this year McIlroy has been atop the leaderboard after any round, and the first time he broke par in the opening round.
"Now that I feel like I'm swinging it well, this is the sort of golf I expect to play," McIlroy said.
Nick Watney, Ryan Moore, Robert Garrigus and PGA TOUR rookie Derek Ernst shot 67 in the morning. Daniel Summerhays and Nate Smith, a Monday qualifier, joined McIlroy by posting their 67s in the afternoon.
Phil Mickelson and Lucas Glover were in a large group at 68, with 19-year-old Jordan Spieth in another big group at 69.
The talk going into the Wells Fargo Championship was the shape of the greens. Two of the putting surfaces had to be entirely replaced by sod just a week ago -- the 10th green had to be sodded twice -- and the other greens were ragged. Some had ugly patches of brown where there was no grass.
But they weren't as bad as players feared, and there wasn't much public grumbling, mainly because Quail Hollow has a history of being in pristine shape and players seemed willing to accept this is an exceptionally bad year.
"It was fine," Boo Weekley said after his 68. "First off, they were pretty smooth. It ain't 100 percent, but I mean they're good enough to play golf on."
The bigger problem was cool, soft conditions that made Quail Hollow seem longer than usual.
That's why McIlroy was so pleased with missing only three fairways. The greens weren't smooth, but they were soft enough that getting into position off the tee was pivotal in setting up birdie chances.
"They're not the best greens that we've ever putted on, but they're certainly not the worst, either," McIlroy said. "The ball still rolls pretty well on them. As long as you give yourself chances for birdies, that's all you can ask. ... If you drive the ball well, you can really take advantage of that. And for the most part today, I did drive the ball well."
McIlroy got into the mix quickly with four straight birdies -- two of them on the par 5s, a 7-iron to 3 feet on the par-3 sixth hole, and a big drive on the short, par-4 eighth that left him a flip wedge into about 3 feet. A tee shot that found the rough on the ninth led to bogey, but the world's No. 2 player bounced back with an up-and-down birdie on the par-5 10th and an approach into 8 feet on the 11th for another birdie.
His biggest scare came on the 18th, when McIlroy looked nervously down the left side of the fairway as the ball flirted with the winding creek, barely clearing the water. From there, he hit 8-iron that stopped close to where it landed, and he made an 8-foot putt that bounced more than it rolled.
It's just one round, though it feels like a long way from a few months ago. The start to the season for McIlroy was marked by a missed cut, a first-round loss in the World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play Championship, walking out of The Honda Classic from frustration after 27 holes and loads of speculation about his decision to change equipment after last year.
Thursday was another step in the right direction.
"It's big strides because my game wasn't where it should have been at all at the start of the year," McIlroy said. "Got into a couple of bad habits on my swing, and it just took me a little bit of time to get out of them."
One tweak he made after the Masters with swing coach Michael Bannon was to keep his hips more stable.
Garrigus missed only two greens and figures he should be have been twice as much under par as he was.
"I absolutely striped it all day," Garrigus said. "I could have shot 10 or 11 under today if I had made some putts. I was hitting it really close all day. I didn't get frustrated. I just kept hitting it. I'm very confident right now and hitting it really well."
Summerhays and Smith each reached 6 under until bogeys on the 17th hole. Smith missed a 5-foot par putt, and immediately tapped down a section of the green on the line of his putt. That was a typical reaction on this day, and probably won't change much during the week.
The hole locations were in different spots than players typically see, as officials looked for sections of the green that had the lushest grass to cut the holes. The idea was to at least keep the bumps to a minimum in a 4-foot radius around the hole.
Smith was the biggest surprise, mainly because he had to qualify for the tournament on Monday. He also had the most unusual golf bag.
Smith played a prank earlier in the week on James Hahn, who returned the favor. Hahn posted a message on the bag in the locker room asking players to sign it for charity. They do that all the time, though it's not usually the bag a player uses in the tournament.
There were some 60 autographs on the bag.
"A little embarrassing when you're playing as a Monday qualifier," Smith said. "You don't want people to be making fun of you. But I kind of had it coming from James, so it's all in good fun. I'll be getting him back. So don't you worry about that."
Last in the field of 156 going into the second round is Padraig Harrington who switched to a belly-putter for this tournament. Second thoughts?
LEADERBOARD
Par 72
Players from USA unless stated
67 Ryan Moore, Nick Watney, Robert Garrigus, Derek Ernst, Rory McIlroy (N Ireland), Daniel Summerhays, Nathan J Smith
68 Boo Weekley, Phil Mickelson, Lucas Glover, Zach Johnson, Jason Kokrak.

SELECTED SCORES
70 Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium), Lee Westwood (England), Ross Fisher (England) (T23)
71 David Lynn (England) (T38).
72 Sergio Garcia (Spain), Jesper Parnevik (Sweden), Martin Laird (Scotland), Bubba Watson (T53)
77 Greg Owen (England) (T140)
80 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) (last of 156).

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OLAZABAL FIGHTS TO KEEP VIVENDI SEVE TROPHY FROM DROPPING OFF SCHEDULE

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By JAMES CORRIGAN 
José María Olazábal has pleaded with his Ryder Cup heroes to commit to the Vivendi Seve Trophy as fears intensify over the immediate future of the match named in honour of the great Spaniard.

Next Tuesday is the second anniversary of Ballesteros’s death from brain cancer. 

Yet, despite all the promises made about his legacy in the immediate wake of his passing at the age of 54, there are doubts about the Seve Trophy’s continued existence.

Olazábal, picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c), has heard the downbeat rumours and is clearly desperate for the survival of the 13-year-old match that pitches Great Britain and Ireland against Continental Europe, even though some notable figures have suggested October’s biennial match could even be in danger.

“It would be a great shame if we lose this event,” Olazábal told Telegraph Sport this week. “I would love to see the involvement for the top players for that event, their commitment would help in terms on sponsorship, TV and making it a bigger spectacle.”

When contacted by the Telegraph, the European Tour confirmed that the Seve Trophy was still on this year’s schedule, but did not reveal why “TBA” was still displayed next to the event on the Tour’s official website. Vivendi is the named sponsor, the French media company having taken over in 2009 and having hosted the past two matches at Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, near Versailles.

The Tour remains hopeful of confirming the venue and date, but does so with pessimistic whispers swirling on the range. The relationship between the Tour and Ballesteros’s brothers has been strained, while the financial downturn on the continent has acted as another hurdle.

And, as Olazábal noted, the top players have been reluctant to find room for it in their packed schedules. The guaranteed attendance of European heavyweights such as Rory McIlroy, Sergio García and Justin Rose would serve as a huge boost.
There are emotional reasons for Olazábal to hold the Seve Trophy in such high esteem. He formed a legendary partnership with Ballesteros and is only one of many who believes that both the Ryder Cup and the European Tour owe much of their popularity to his friend’s influence.
Yet Olazábal also believes there is a genuine sporting justification for the Seve Trophy, in its role as a dress rehearsal for bigger events.
“The Seve Trophy is a fantastic event in terms of being a stepping stone, not only for some of the players but also the captains,” he said.
“Look at Paul McGinley. He has been a great supporter of the event and has learned a lot about captaincy and the team room. Monty [Colin Montgomerie] did as well – he got a lot of info from the Seve Trophy. And there’s also the bond that it creates between the players, which they can take into the Ryder Cup. It would be a real shame if it went.”
McGinley had planned to lobby the top players to appear in this year’s match, while the European Tour is putting its faith in a new regulation providing powerful persuasion.
Keith Waters, the tour’s chief operating officer, said: “The Vivendi Seve Trophy is on the 2013 European Tour schedule and, with the change in our regulations we announced last November, which sees the tournament now counting towards the minimum number of 13 our members must participate in to obtain inclusion in the Race to Dubai, we are looking forward to a strong field in action in October.”
However, the truth is that they can reach 13 without taking part in the Seve Trophy. So, maybe the emotional argument is more likely to save the event.
Those such as Olazábal and McGinley can only pray that it will.