PORTLETHEN v BON ACCORD IN MAITLAND SHIELD FINAL AT LINKS

Friday evening's final in the City of Aberdeen foursomes for the Maitland Shield, sponsored by the Cults Hotel, at the Kings Links will be contested by home club Bon Accord, winners in 2011, and Portlethen, through to the last stage for the first time.
Having knocked out the title-holders, Murcar Links on Wednesday night, Portlethen followed up that by beating last year's beaten finalists, Royal Aberdeen by two holes.
Both Portlethen pairs, Clark Brechin and Sam Kiloh, and Graham Innes and Keith Horne, finished one up.
Brechin and Kiloh were two down after four holes to Steve Buchan and Donald Macandrew but had squared it by the eighth and were two up after 11. 
Buchan and Macandrew kept alive Balgownie hopes of an overall victory by winning the 16th, halving the 17th and then winning the last to be only one down at the finish.
But Innes and Horne doubled Portlethen's margin of victory by finisheding one up on Ian Middleton and Grant Joss.  
Bon Accord overpowered Banchory in the cold, windy conditions with Barrie Edmond and Graeme Mitchell laying the foundations for a six-hole overall win by winning the first tie by four holes against David Brand and Sam Strachan.
Edmong and Mitchell were four up after seven and five up at the turn.
Matt Greig and Matt Dunn, the Bon Accord second string were also four up after seven on Adam Lindsay and Jack Harling.

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Portlethen bt Royal Aberdeen by two holes
(C Brechin, S Kiloh 1, S Buchan, D Macandrew 0; G Innes, K Horne 1, I Middleton, G Joss 0).
Bon Accord bt Banchory by six holes
(B Edmond, G Michell 4, D Brand, S Strachan 0; M Greig, M Dunn 2, A Lindsay, J Harling 0).

+ Friday's final tees off at 4.47pm.
        

GODDARD LEADS WEATHER-HIT CHALLENGE TOUR EVENT AT WATERLOO

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT
By NEIL AHERN 
Luke Goddard described it as the best round of his European Challenge Tour career as the Englishman carded a superb seven under par 64 to move into a one-shot lead after a weather-affected opening day of the Telenet Trophy in Belgium. 
The beginning of play was delayed by three and a half hours at the prestigious Royal Waterloo Golf Club, near Brussels due to heavy rain, but not even a further two-hour suspension midway through Goddard’s round would distract him as he flourished on the back nine.
The 25 year old resumed before embarking on a stunning run of four consecutive birdies from the fifth hole, his 14^th, to add to the five birdies on his front nine before a bogey at the last denied him the chance to take a two-shot lead into the second day.
While many groups are yet to finish their first rounds, early on Day 2, Goddard was simply delighted with how all facets of his game came together in one thoroughly enjoyable round.
“I started really well with a birdie on ten,” said the former Walker Cup player. “Then I had a bogey at  the 11^th but I played really solid after that, made plenty of birdies and even missed a couple of good chances.

“I'm really pleased with the way I played. At the (par five) fifth I 

was tempted to go for the green in two but I laid up and it was a 

good decision because I made birdie, then I chipped in at six with a 

nice shot up a tier.

“I holed a 15-foot putt at the seventh and hit a good approach into 

the eight to about 10 foot so it was a nice finish. I didn’t force it 

today and was nice and relaxed.

“It was the best round I've had on the Challenge Tour. It’s a 

really  nice feeling, especially after a poor start to the season.

It’s good to  get off and running.”

Goddard was one shot clear of Finland’s Roope Kakko, whose six 

under par opening round of 65 was enough to move him into 

outright second place and he was happy to maintain his momentum 

after an impressive final round 68 at last week’s Madeira Islands 

Open – Portugal - BPI, where he finished tied fifth.

“In the final round last week I just found something and I was 

striking the ball really well and that same feeling is still going,” said 

the 31 year old. “It’s funny, it seems the guys who play well on 
]
Sunday play well the following week so I just tried to do the same 

things.”

Martin Sell of England was a shot further back in third place, after 

a  five under par 66, while American Dodge Kemmer, Adrian 
 
Otaegui of Spain and another Englishman James Ruth were tied 

fourth on four under.

 LEADERS IN CLUBHOUSE
Par 71
64 Luke Goddard (England).
65 Roope Kakko (Finland)
66 Martin Sell (England), Jame Ruth (England), Adrian Otaegui (Spain).
SCOTS SCORES
69 Jack Doherty.
71 Andrew McArthur
72 George Murray

SCOTT HENRY IN THE MIX IN WEATHER-HIT OPENING DAY AT WENTOWRTH

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

By SARAH GWYNN

Sponsor’s invite James Kingston made light of the cold, wet conditions at Wentworth Club, Surrey to take the first-round lead in the BMW PGA Championship with a sublime six under par 66.

That gave the South African a one stroke advantage over Finn Mikko Ilonen, with Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño and Scottish rookie Scott Henry, pictured below, on four under par. 

Austrian Martin Wiegele was also four under after 13 holes when play was suspended for the day, after earlier thunderstorms caused a 90min delay, and will complete his first round on Friday morning. 

Kingston finished with seven birdies and one bogey shortly before play was suspended at 15.42. 
 Playing under a sponsor’s invitation after losing his card last season, he said: “What a great feeling to be back here. I think I've made the most of the invitation today.” 

  "I never felt like I played poorly enough to lose my card and that's what makes it even more frustrating," said Kingston, whose last of two European Tour victories came in the Mercedes Benz Championship in 2009.

"I felt like I played half decent throughout the whole season but just never managed to put a score on the board. It does make it a little harder to accept.
"Getting an invite into this event, what a great feeling to be back here. I think I've made the most of it today."

Ilonen, who was runner-up in the Volvo China Open earlier this month, said:

 "All day I was thinking 'Can I get these waterproof trousers off?' and never managed it. We even had hail on the ninth tee. I said to a friend last night it was going to snow today and she laughed at me. It's British summer and we have proof of that."

 Ilonen  carded a 67 as he looked to build on a run of two second places in his last three events.
"It was pretty nippy when we started and stayed that way," said Ilonen, who finished runner-up in Morocco and China recently.

Ryder Cup heroes Martin Kaymer, Francesco Molinari and Lee Westwood are in hot pursuit on two under par, while World Number Two Rory McIlroy opened with a two over par 74 and Colin Montgomerie, who won a hat-trick of BMW PGA Championship titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000, signed for a 71.

 All but one of last year's victorious Ryder Cup team are in the 150-man field, but several of them fell victim to Wentworth's closing stretch.
England's Justin Rose - runner-up last year and beaten in a play-off in 2007 - finished bogey, double-bogey to drop from three under to level, while McIlroy had also been three under after 12 holes but bogeyed five of the last six to be home in 41 for a two over 74.
"Even when I was three under I thought things could have been better," said McIlroy, who missed good birdie chances on the first two holes and is still seeking his first win of the year after five victories worldwide in 2012.
"I hit a couple of loose tee shots on 13 and 17 and three-putted the 14th, but thought I got a bit unlucky on 18 when I hit my drive where I wanted but it ran through the fairway and into an unplayable lie in the bushes.”
McIlroy's playing partner Graeme McDowell also ran up a double-bogey 7 on the 18th in matching McIlroy's 74.
McDowell, who took 8 on the same hole in the opening round last year after a two-shot penalty for failing to replace his ball after it moved, hit his approach into the moat surrounding the raised green.
SCOTSWATCH: It was a good day for Scott Henry, two shots off the lead in joint third place on 68, and also for Marc Warren who finished late in the day with a 69 to be in the top 10.
Scott Drummond, former winner of the PGA title, had a 70 and Richie Ramsay also got under par with a 71 for a share of 23rd place with Montgomerie.
Greig Hutcheon and Peter Whiteford  would have been happy with their par 72s.
But Scott Jamieson had a 73, Craig Lee and Chris Doak 74s, and Ryder Cup man Paul Lawrie a disappointing 75.
Lawrie, who finished high up in this event 12 months ago, had a triple bogey 7 at the 13th and also shed shots at the first, third, 10th and 11th. High spots for the Aberdonian, who "drove it awful," were birdies at the 12th, 16th and 18th.
But Lawrie by no means bringing up the rear for the Scots. Stephen Gallacher toiled for a 76 while Scott Henderson, qualifying to play through the Scottish PGA, had a sad 82 to be last of the field of 150 at the end of the day. 

LEADING FIRST-DAY SCORES
Par 71
66 James Kingston (S Africa).
67 Mikko Ilonen (Finland).
68 Scott Henry (Scotland), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
69 Matteo Manassero (Italy), George Coetzee (S Africa), Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Simon Khan (England), Marc Warren (Scotland).
70 Oliver Fisher (England), Shane Lowry (Ireland), |MartinKaymer (Germany), Niclas Fasth (Sweden), Johan Edfors (Sweden), Lee Westwood (England), Francesco Molinari (Italy), Paul Casey (England), Alvaro Quiros (Spain), Anders Hansen (Denmark), Scott Drummond (Scotland).

OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
71 Richie Ramsay, Colin Montgomerie, David Drysdale  (T23).
72 Greig Hutcheon, Peter Whiteford (T46).
73 Scott Jamieson (T63)
74 Craig Lee, Chris Doak (T84)
75 Paul Lawrie (T105)
76 Stephen Gallacher (T122)
82 Scott Henderson (150th).    

LAW MOVES PAST MCLEAN IN GERMANY

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LAW MOVES PAST MCLEAN IN GERMANY

David Law has moved up past Paul Lawrie Golf Centre stablemate Philip McLean with a round to go in the EPD Tour event in Germany, the Haugschlag Open.

Law is on one-over 145 after rounds of 75-70, tied for 24th placed behind leader Robin Kind (Netherlands), who has had a pair of 69s for 138

McLean has had two 73s for 146 and is sharing 30th place.

The cut fell at 147 and better.

EPD TOUR - Haugschlag Open

Germany.

LEADING SECOND ROUND TOTALS

Par 144 (2x72)

138 Robin Kind (Net) 69 69.

139 Roland Steiner (Aut) 70 69.

SCOTS SCORES

145 David Law 75 70 (T24)

146 Philip McLean 73 73 (T30).

ends

GREAT FOR SCOTT, POOR FOR PAUL AT WENTWORTH

Scott Henry and Paul Lawrie had contrasting fortunes in the opening round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, Surrey today.
Early starter Henry shot a 68 to be only one shot behind leader Mikko Ilonen (Finland).
But Lawrie, who finished high up in this event last year, saddled himself with a three-over-par 75 which could have been worse because he birdied the 16th and 18th after running up a triple boghey 7 at the 13th.
Paul had three birdies in all. The first came at the 12th, but he also dropped shots at the first, third, 10th and 11th.
Stephen Gallacher had a lot of work ahead of him if he is to make the cut. He shot a 76.

EARLY LEADERBOARD
Par 72 
67 Mikko Ilonen (Finland)
68 Scott Henry (Scotland)
69 Matteo Manassero (Italy).
70 Oliver Fisher (England), Shane Lowry (Ireland), Martin Kaymer (Germany).

OTHER SCOTS' SCORES

73 Scott Jamieson
74 Craig Lee
75 Paul Lawrie
76 Stephen Gallacher              

DUFF HOUSE ROYAL v INVERNESS SENIOR NORTHERN COUNTIES CUP FINAL AT NAIRN DUNBAR TOMORROW

It will be a Duff House Royal v Inverness final in the Senior Northern Counties Cup double men's foursomes at Nairn Dunbar Golf Club tomorrow (Friday).
THURSDAY RESULTS
 
 QUARTER-FINALS

Duff House Royal bt Brora by 10 holes

(A Kennedy, D Clark 5, J Miller, I Grant 0; M Jenkins, A Cruickshank 5, R Wilson, R Sim 0).

The Nairn bt Strathpeffer by eight holes

(P Stegers, P Tomisson 5, M Wilson, S MacKenzie 0; J McGinley, I Cooper 3, J Garrow, F Byrne 0).

Nairn Dunbar bt Elgin at 19th

(J Westwood, H Bunker 1, B Milne, J Porter 0;  D Bunker, K Campbell 0, H Simpson, C MacDonald 1).

Inverness bt Royal Dornoch by nine holes

(L Chancellor, D Rae 4, B Nicholson, P Lee 0; H Urquhart, J Elliott 5, R Murray, A Ramsay 0).

SEMI-FINALS

Duff House Royal bt The Nairn by nine holes

(A Kennedy, D Clark 4, P Stegers, P Tomisson 0; M Jenkins, A Cruickshank 5, J McGinley, I Cooper 0)

Inverness bt Nairn Dunbar 2 by three holes

(L Chancellor, D Rae 2, J Westwood, H Bunker 0; H Urquhart, J Elliott 1, D Bunker, K Campbell 0)

GARCIA'S COMMENTS COULD LOSE HIM MILLIONS IN SPONSORSHIP DEALS

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By JAMES CORRIGAN, AT WENTWORTH
Sergio García has issued an emotional apology to Tiger Woods for his racist jibe against the world No 1 but is still facing the prospect of losing millions of pounds in sponsorship deals.

García held an impromptu press conference here on the eve of the BMW PGA Championship, expressing regret at his behaviour but revealing that he would not be given official sanctions from golf’s authorities.

That came shortly after Woods had branded his rival’s comments at the European Tour annual awards dinner on Tuesday night “wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate”.

García had been asked at that event if he would invite Woods to his rented accommodation for dinner at the forthcoming US Open. “We will have him round every night,” García said. “We will serve fried chicken.”

Within an hour, García had issued a statement through the European Tour’s press office, apologising for what he termed “a silly remark”, but that did not satisfy Woods.

“The comment that was made wasn’t silly,” Woods wrote on Twitter. “It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate. I’m confident that there is real regret that the remark was made. The Players ended nearly two weeks ago and it’s long past time to move on and talk about golf.”

At The Players Championship at Sawgrass the long-standing enmity between Woods and García boiled over after an incident in the third round in which the Spaniard was distracted while playing a shot. The pair proceeded to trade thinly-veiled insults via the media. But on Tuesday it was transformed from a petty squabble into a racist storm.
García met George O’Grady, the European Tour chief executive, and Tim Finchem, the PGA Tour commissioner, after his morning pro-am on the West Course. Both were in the 300-strong audience at the ­dinner when García made the comment on the microphone surrounded by the 11 team-mates with whom he won the Ryder Cup last year.
“Sergio expressed very deep and sincere regret for his unguarded and, in his own words, ‘stupid’ remark and we are also aware of his statement of apology,” O’Grady said. 
“Following our meeting, we have accepted his full apology and we consider the matter closed.”
While the Tours might consider the issue closed, García is aware that his sponsors do not yet feel the same. His main backer is TaylorMade-adidas, which said that his comment was “offensive and in no way aligns with TaylorMade-adidas Golf’s values and corporate culture”.
It added: “We have spoken with Sergio and he clearly has regret and we believe he is sincere. We discussed with Sergio that his comments are out of bounds and we are continuing to review the matter.”
The review involves the Californian company’s human resources division and insiders claimed that it is possible that García’s contract would be cancelled.
 Industry figures estimated the annual worth of the performance-related deal at up to £5.32 million. Another sponsor, Omega, is also likely to launch a review, although the watchmaker could not be contacted on Wednesday.
The saga bears a striking resemblance to the Fuzzy Zoeller affair in 1997. Then, Zoeller suggested Woods would choose “fried chicken and collard greens” for his Masters Cham­pions’ Dinner the following year. Zoeller lost most of his sponsorship.
There will almost certainly be another price for García to pay. His next tournament in America is the US Open near Philadelphia in three weeks. Often a target for hecklers, the event will be uncomfortable for García, particularly as the often rowdy galleries pull for Woods.
García intends to apologise to Woods in person and has phoned the world No 1’s manager, Mark Steinberg. During his press conference, García said the word “sorry” 11 times. “I want to send an apology,” he said.
“I didn’t want to offend anyone. I answered a question [from the compère] that was made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner. I understand my answer was totally stupid and out of place.
“I can’t say sorry enough about that. I want to apologise to Tiger. I feel sick about it, I’m truly, truly sorry and hope we can kind of settle things down and move on.”
García revealed that he had considered withdrawing from this event but did not because he felt “this tournament deserves to have me”.
García added: “As soon as I left the dinner I started to get a sick feeling. I didn’t really sleep at all. I felt like my heart was going to come out of my body. It was tough to hit a shot [in the pro-am] without thinking about it. I want to go out tomorrow and try and give everything I have.”
Luke Donald, a close friend of García’s, was struck by how regretful he looked during his morning round. “We all know Sergio, he says his mind and sometimes he doesn’t have that filter unfortunately,” said Donald. “It was an unfortunate incident. He’s full of regret, he wished he hadn’t said it.”
World No 2 Rory McIlroy, a good friend of both Woods and García, agreed. “It was an off-the-cuff comment,” he said, “and it shouldn’t have been said and I think Sergio realised that as soon as he said it.”
Justin Rose was equally understanding, saying: “Sergio does have a big heart and he’s excitable as well. You love him and sometimes it can also get in his way unfortunately,”
García tees off with Donald and fellow Spaniard Gonzalo Fernández. He will be relieved to have two allies for company.

A RESPONSE TO JAMES CORRIGAN ARTICLE IN WHICH HE SAYS GARCIO SHOULD BE PUNISHED

E-mail from Kevin Duncan

I would like to reply to James Corrigan or make a note below his article about Sergio Garcia. 
James seems to be implying that Sergio Garcia made a 'racist remark.' I think this is far from the case. It seems to me that if anyone is racist it is the media or journalists that choose to take Sergio's comment way out of context and make a racist connection with them. 
James has also mentioned the Fuzzy Zoeller remark, which was slight different as I believe he used the word 'they' or 'them' to refer to Tiger's ethnicity. This is clearly wrong. 
I would like to quote James as saying 'Woods deserves better' and if there was a racist remark (which I don't see) he does. However, let's not forget how this whole episode started. Woods was so wrapped up in his own game, he didn't take time to consider his fellow competitor, and as you could clearly see from the split screen coverage he caused the crowd to applaud and distract Sergio. Woods was clearly in the wrong here, but instead of apologising to Garcia he choose to make the infuriating remark 'its not a surprise he's complaining about something' and in the process also lie about the series of events that went on. 
So not only did Tiger distract a fellow competitor, which he should be fully aware not to do with his status but he then tried to antagonise his fellow competitor with his comments and he lied to make himself look innocent. 
 As if all this wasn't bad enough Tiger's fans then started giving Garcia abuse during the final round. I believe Sergio Garcia deserved better than that from Tiger Woods.Wouldn't you agree? 
Of course Tiger gave us a glimpse of his true personality a few years ago with his scandal so this is hardly surprising. 
What really annoyed me most about James Corrigan's article, however, was his comment 'He actually believes he is that important' referring to Garcia's answer of 'this tournament deserves me' when asked why he didn't pull out. 
At this point I was beginning to think James had never been to watch professional golf before because to suggest Sergio Garcia was not important to a golf tournament is simply ludicrous! 
Of course this tournament deserves and needs Garcia, it is the flagship event and they want to have the best players on the tour to battle it out.
Garcia is currently 14th in the world (has been as high as number 2) and is third on the Race to Dubai. Sergio Garcia in the field is beneficial to the Tour in general (unless you would rather players like Garcia play fully on the US PGA Tour), the fans that go to watch the event and great for the sponsors who want as many good players at an event as possible. 
If you are still not convinced James I suggest that you go watch Sergio Garcia play golf in person because it is as good as it gets. I have watched many great players at many great tournaments and nobody I have seen can rival Garcia, and I include Woods in this. He can shape the ball, hit it high or low, hit it long, control his spin, shoot low scores and has a great imagination around the greens. Possibly the most talented man in golf  - and you don't want him in the tour's biggest event of the year!
I'm glad you're not running the European Tour. I'm sure if James, were he to reply to this, he would cite the fact Garcia was being racist and this cannot be tolerated, which I agree, it cannot but unless you can prove 100 percent that he was trying to be racist (which you can't) then you cannot ban someone or even try and suggest he was being racist because that is totally unfair. 
Garcia has now apologised to anyone who may have taken offence to his comments and that should be the end of it. My fear now is that Garcia will get heavily criticised in the media, abused by the American fans (who seems to think Tiger can do no wrong) and it will have an adverse effect on his golf. 
I hope this is not the case as the only loser in that situation is golf.

Kevin Duncan