FRANCESCO MOLINARI LEADS BY ONE AT WENTWORTH HALFWAY

            Francesco Molinari ... Singing (and swinging) in the rain at Wentworth today.
                                      Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)

REPORT FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
By SARAH GWYNN

Francesco Molinari soared to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway mark of the BMW PGA Championship with a superb four under par second round of 68.

The diminutive Italian coped admirably in the at times torrential rain at Wentworth Club and at six under par 138 will take a one shot lead into the weekend, ahead of South African George Coetzee, Spaniard Alejandro Cañizares, England’s Mark Foster and Scot Marc Warren.

Molinari’s compatriot Matteo Manassero also enjoyed another productive day on the West Course, posting a 71 for a four under par total, the same mark as young English rookie Eddie Pepperell, who provided one of the highlights of the day by birdieing the last four holes.

Molinari said: “I'm really happy with yesterday and today. The conditions were quite tough but I hit the ball well and the putter is working well so I am really happy at the moment.

"Six under is a good score given the conditions - I live over here now so I am used to it - and I'm in a great position going into the weekend, but it's a really tough course so anyone six or seven behind is still in it."

Lee Westwood is well placed at three under par after a second round 71, and said: “My short game's been red hot. When I was walking off the back of the 12th green, where I pitched that shot to about four feet, Ernie (Els) said, 'Bit of a short game wizard now’. If my long game starts to come together, I could be dangerous."

Where Molinari and Westwood made progress, a number of their 2012 Ryder Cup team-mates struggled, as defending champion Luke Donald, Paul Lawrie, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter all missed the cut.

SECOND-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)

138 F Molinari (Ita) 70 68

139 G Coetzee (RSA) 69 70, M Foster (Eng) 70 69, M Warren (Sco) 69 70, A Cañizares  (Esp) 69 70

140 E Pepperell (Eng) 71 69, M Manassero (Ita) 69 71,

141 L Westwood (Eng) 70 71, N Fasth (Swe) 70 71, S Khan (Eng) 69 72, E Els (RSA) 72 69, G Havret  (Fra) 70 71, S Lowry  (Irl) 70 71

142 E Molinari  (Ita) 71 71, R Bland (Eng) 71 71, R Jacquelin (Fra) 71 71, N Colsaerts  (Bel) 72 70, J Levermore (Eng) 72 70, P Price (Wal) 73 69, L Slattery (Eng) 71 71

143 T Björn (Den) 69 74, S Garcia  (Esp) 72 71, W Liang (Chn) 75 68, M Ilonen  (Fin) 67 76, J Kingston (RSA) 66 77, A Quiros  (Esp) 70 73, G Fernandez-Castaño  (Esp) 68 75,

144 B Grace  (RSA) 71 73, A Hansen (Den) 70 74, M Kaymer (Ger) 70 74, D Drysdale (Sco) 71 73, B Wiesberger  (Aut) 73 71, P Larrazábal (Esp) 71 73, G Bourdy (Fra) 71 73, J Van Zyl (RSA) 75 69, A Tadini (Ita) 73 71, G Storm  (Eng) 73 71, D Clarke (Nir) 74 70

145 R Fisher (Eng) 72 73, D Willett  (Eng) 73 72, J Kruger (RSA) 71 74, R Santos  (Por) 73 72, G Mulroy (RSA) 74 71, J Sandelin (Swe) 76 69, A Noren  (Swe) 74 71, G Lockerbie  (Eng) 71 74, R Sterne  (RSA) 71 74, T Jaidee (Tha) 74 71, C Doak (Sco) 74 71, O Fisher  (Eng) 70 75, S Drummond (Sco) 70 75, M Jiménez (Esp) 76 69, P Uihlein  (USA) 72 73, T Fleetwood  (Eng) 71 74, D McGrane (Irl) 72 73

146 F Zanotti (Par) 71 75, P McGinley (Irl) 71 75, R Coles (Eng) 75 71, G Hutcheon (Sco) 72 74, M Siem  (Ger) 75 71, B Rumford (Aus) 75 71, C Montgomerie  (Sco) 71 75, A Dodt (Aus) 75 71, P Lawrie (Irl) 74 72, J Quesne  (Fra) 71 75, S Kjeldsen (Den) 74 72, J Rose (Eng) 72 74, J Donaldson (Wal) 71 75, J Olazábal (Esp) 75 71, R Ramsay  (Sco) 71 75, T Levet (Fra) 71 75
MISSED THE CUT

147 P Lawrie (Sco) 75 72, D Lynn (Eng) 74 73, M Carlsson  (Swe) 71 76, K Horne (RSA) 72 75, C Lee (Sco) 74 73, S Henry  (Sco) 68 79, M Baldwin (Eng) 74 73, D Fichardt (RSA) 72 75, A Kaleka  (Fra) 71 76, E Grillo (Arg) 72 75, D Howell (Eng) 73 74, J Luiten (Ned) 72 75, P Whiteford (Sco) 72 75

148 V Dubuisson  (Fra) 72 76, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 76 72, S Dyson  (Eng) 72 76, P Casey  (Eng) 70 78, R Derksen (Ned) 74 74, T Lewis (Eng) 73 75, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 78 70, A Sullivan (Eng) 72 76, P Hedblom (Swe) 73 75, L Gagli  (Ita) 75 73, J Edfors (Swe) 70 78

149 R Gonzalez (Arg) 75 74, R Wattel  (Fra) 73 76, R Finch  (Eng) 72 77, R McIlroy  (Nir) 74 75, G McDowell  (Nir) 74 75, S Jamieson  (Sco) 73 76, J Gonnet  (Fra) 74 75, M Wiegele  (Aut) 68 81, J Campillo (Esp) 76 73, H Otto (RSA) 74 75, S Gallacher (Sco) 76 73, C Cévaër (Fra) 73 76

150 L Donald  (Eng) 78 72, J Walters (RSA) 77 73, T Olesen (Den) 76 74, D Horsey (Eng) 74 76, K Broberg (Swe) 74 76, E Kofstad (Nor) 73 77, M Kieffer (Ger) 76 74, R Wallis (Eng) 74 76, C Paisley  (Eng) 75 75, S Wakefield (Eng) 74 76

151 S Webster (Eng) 75 76, F Aguilar (Chi) 74 77, R Rock (Eng) 77 74, G Maybin (Nir) 76 75, M Lafeber (Ned) 72 79, P Streeter (Eng) 75 76, T Aiken (RSA) 73 78, M Fraser (Aus) 76 75

152 I Poulter (Eng) 76 76, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 74 78, P Waring  (Eng) 74 78, T Fleming (Eng) 76 76

153 R Green (Aus) 76 77, D Higgins (Irl) 74 79, S Hansen (Den) 76 77, D Van Der Walt (RSA) 78 75, I Garrido (Esp) 75 78,

154 M Hoey  (Nir) 73 81, G Wright  (Wal) 78 76, P Meesawat  (Tha) 77 77

155 A Hartø  (Den) 77 78, M Campbell (Nzl) 77 78

156 S Chowrasia (Ind) 71 85, J Whatley (Eng) 79 77, J Morrison  (Eng) 77 79, J Sjöholm (Swe) 75 81

157 B Trainor  (Irl) 75 82

158 J Hansen  (Den) 79 79

167 S Henderson (Sco) 82 85

 ** G Bhullar (Ind) 74 RT, J Singh (Ind) 78 RT, C Wood  (Eng) 77 WD, J Lara (Esp) 79 RT,

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

DINWIDDIE AND KAKKO SHARE LEAD AT ROYAL WATERLOO

                            

CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT FROM NEIL AHERN

Two former European Challenge Tour winners, Englishman Robert 

Dinwiddie and Roope Kakko of Finland, will top the bill in the 

weekend battle at Royal Waterloo Golf Club as they were tied at 

the top on nine under par after the second round of the Telenet 

Trophy near Brussels, Belgium.

The pair, just 10 months apart in age, are experienced campaigners 

on the Challenge Tour with Dinwiddie having claimed three wins 

since 2007 and Kakko having sealed a sole victory back in 

2004.They will need all of their guile over the testing, old-style 

Royal Waterloo lay-out but Dinwiddie is the man in form after 

carding a six under par 65 on day two to move into the lead 

midway through the day before being joined at the top by the 

Finn.

“I got a couple of birdies early on and got under par quickly and 

then I played pretty steady for the most part after that,” he said.

“I sank a couple of ten-footers and holed out well for the most part. 

"The chip-in for par was pretty nice, it was good to keep the 

momentum going.”

Dinwiddie recently took a 10-week sabbatical from the game after 

a difficult spell of form but believes his escape to Thailand was 

exactly what he needed to gain perspective on his life and his game.

“I played in India in January at the Gujarat Kensville Challenge, 

played rubbish and just didn’t want to be there so I ended up going 

to Thailand for two months,” said Dinwiddie, who has twice 

graduated for The European Tour via the Challenge Tour.

“I put the clubs away for ten weeks. I needed it. I had never done 

anything like that before - just completely switch off and live a 

different lifestyle and forget about golf for a while.

“I put some work in since then and I think I'm working on the right 

things. Even today it’s still not where I want it to be but I'm getting 

it right more of the time.”

Kakko, meanwhile, has also had time away from the game recently 

but for a completely different reason - having suffered an Achilles 

injury - and while he had problems with his back in the cold 

conditions in Belgium, they didn’t deter him as he added a three 

under par 68 to his opening 65.

“My front nine was really good but I got really tired on the back 

nine and my lower back is killing me,” said the 31 year old.

“It was one of those things where I was not swinging great on the 

back nine but I’m super-happy to have finished with two birdies, it 

took a lot out of me to make those two fours.”

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS 
Par 142 (2x71)

133 R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 68 65, R Kakko  (Fin) 65 68

135 L Goddard  (Eng) 64 71, R Davies (Wal) 67 68, D Gaunt (Aus) 69 66, D Kemmer (USA) 67 68, C Russo (Fra) 69 66, T Sluiter  (Ned) 68 67, M Sell  (Eng) 66 69

136 S Hutsby  (Eng) 69 67

137 P Dwyer (Eng) 68 69, F Calmels  (Fra) 70 67, C Aguilar  (Esp) 71 66, V Riu  (Fra) 68 69, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 66, S Kapur (Ind) 70 67, S Manley (Wal) 67 70, D Vancsik (Arg) 66 71, A Otaegui  (Esp) 67 70, J Lima  (Por) 72 65, D Im (USA) 71 66, W Besseling  (Ned) 69 68

138 B Koepka  (USA) 68 70, P Maddy (Eng) 72 66, S Kim (Kor) 69 69, W Booth  (Sco) 70 68, J Ruth  (Eng) 67 71, J Guerrier  (Fra) 68 70,

139 T Hatton (Eng) 71 68, C Kim (USA) 72 67, B Hebert  (Fra) 69 70, D Ulrich (Sui) 74 65, N Quintarelli (Ita) 72 67, D Denison  (Eng) 66 73, Å Nilsson (Swe) 64 75

140 L Weber (Fra) 70 70, R McGowan  (Eng) 72 68, S Tiley (Eng) 71 69, A Perrino  (Ita) 69 71, D Brooks (Eng) 68 72, M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) 70 70, O Floren  (Swe) 68 72, R Russell (Sco) 70 70, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 69 71, B Parker  (Eng) 70 70, G Shaw (Nir) 70 70, A Hortal  (Esp) 71 69, S Piaget  (Mon) 70 70

141 A McArthur  (Sco) 71 70, E Johansen  (Nor) 72 69, S Thornton (Irl) 71 70, J Glennemo (Swe) 69 72, B Etchart  (Esp) 73 68, G Watremez (Bel) 71 70, F De Vries  (Ned) 70 71, D Dixon (Eng) 71 70, T Fournier  (Fra) 70 71, K Borsheim  (Nor) 70 71, E Bertheussen (Nor) 72 69, A Pavan (Ita) 72 69, S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 70 71, A Bernadet  (Fra) 69 72, J Doherty  (Sco) 69 72, A Rota (Ita) 71 70

 

MISSED THE CUT

 

142 R Kellett (Sco) 72 70, K Ferrie (Eng) 70 72, P Gal  (Cze) 73 69, L Bjerregaard  (Den) 72 70, S Grant  (Irl) 69 73, G Stal  (Fra) 69 73, B An (Kor) 72 70, J Moul  (Eng) 66 76, J Carlsson (Swe) 69 73, M Haremza (Ger) 71 71, E Dubois (Fra) 71 71, F Colombo (Ita) 67 75, F Praegant (Aut) 72 70, A Dunbar (Nir) 72 70, J McLeary  (Sco) 71 71, M Glauert (Ger) 73 69, D Frittelli (RSA) 71 71, J Abbott (Eng) 70 72, B Dredge (Wal) 72 70

143 F Svanberg  (Sui) 70 73, J Dantorp (Swe) 70 73, J Mommo  (Fin) 75 68, M Trappel  (Aut) 74 69, L Saltman (Sco) 70 73, I Giner (Esp) 75 68, M Kramer  (Ger) 73 70, T Pulkkanen  (Fin) 73 70, P Relecom  (Bel) 74 69, B Chapellan (Fra) 74 69

144 O Whiteley (Eng) 74 70, A Engell  (Nor) 76 68, E Espana (Fra) 73 71, G Boyd  (Eng) 72 72, G Gresse  (Bel) 72 72, D Wuensche  (Ger) 75 69, F Bergamaschi (Ita) 73 71, P O'Keeffe  (Irl) 70 74, A Gee  (Eng) 74 70, A Domingo (Esp) 72 72, M Rominger  (Sui) 76 68, N Ravano (Ita) 71 73, N Vanhootegem (Bel) 72 72

145 J Huldahl (Den) 74 71, J Fahrbring (Swe) 73 72, M Haastrup  (Den) 74 71, T Remkes (Ned) 72 73, N Elvira  (Esp) 75 70, T Nørret (Den) 73 72, J Lando Casanova  (Fra) 77 68, A Velasco (Esp) 76 69, M Southgate  (Eng) 73 72, P Archer (Eng) 72 73,

146 O Wilson (Eng) 76 70, J Howarth (Eng) 72 74, M Prihoda (Cze) 74 72, M Novy  (Cze) 72 74, O Farr (Wal) 76 70, G Cambis  (Fra) 73 73, C Macaulay  (Sco) 70 76, A De Bondt (am) (Bel) 70 76

147 J Mikkelsen (Nor) 71 76, T Murray (Eng) 73 74, G Houston (Wal) 72 75, M Crespi  (Ita) 70 77, A Forsyth (Sco) 72 75, M Hermans  (Bel) 78 69, D Stewart (Sco) 74 73

148 H Bacher (Aut) 71 77, J Senior (Eng) 73 75, P Oriol (Esp) 76 72, G Monville (Bel) 73 75, D Geminiani (Ita) 74 74, J Timmis (Eng) 76 72, D Perrier (Fra) 77 71, A Bailly (am) (Bel) 74 74

149 F McGuirk  (Eng) 76 73, D Griffiths  (Eng) 75 74, R Saxton (Ned) 76 73, J Lucquin (Fra) 76 73, C Brazillier  (Fra) 76 73, J Barnes (Eng) 75 74, K Hesbois (am) (Bel) 75 74

151 F Laporta (Ita) 77 74, T Haylock  (Eng) 75 76

153 G Seegmuller  (Bel) 81 72

154 S Echikson (am) (Bel) 77 77

155 L Richard (Bel) 77 78, R Hahn (Hun) 76 79

157 J Whitehouse (Aus) 78 79 
Retired: G Murray (Sco) 72 ret; N Dougherty (Eng) 76 ret.

BON ACCORD BEAT PORTLETHEN IN VERY TIGHT MAITLAND SHIELD FINAL

              AND THE WINNERS ARE .....  BON ACCORD
Left to right: Matt Dunn, Barrie Edmond, Matt Greig and Graeme Mitchell

                            Picture by courtesy of Walter Rae

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Bon Accord, one of the eight clubs who inaugurated the City of Aberdeen foursomes for the Maitland Shield, rather appropriately won the tournament in its 100th year, sponsored by the Cults Hotel, at the Kings Links this evening.
In a squeaky tight final, watched by fair-sized galleries, Bon Accord squeezed their way past Portlethen to a one-hole overall victory in the double foursomes format.
Portlethen's lead pairing of Clark Brechin and Sam Kiloh finished one up against Barrie Edmond and Graeme Mitchell but Bon Accord's second string of Matt Greig and Matt Dunn overcame that deficit by finishing two holes up on Graeme Innes and Keith Horne.
It was Bon Accord's third Maitland Shield triumph in the past six years, having won the trophy in 2008 and again in 2011.
Portlethen missed a chance to finish two up in the first tie. They let Bon Accord, who had been out of bounds off the tee,  off the hook with a half in double-bogey 6 at the 17th after being on the apron of the green in two shots.
All square on the 18th tee, the Bon Accord pair three-putted the last green to lose by one hole.
Greig and Duncan finished strongly to win the night for Bon Accord. All square after 15, they won the short 16th with a birdie 2 and also won the 17th with a par 4 before halving the last for a two-hole victory.
+The clubs who founded the Maitland Shield tournament were Bon Accord, Caledonian, Victoria, Northern, Murcar, Royal Aberdeen, Deeside and Balnagask (now Nigg Bay).

RESULT OF FINAL
Bon Accord bt Portlethen by one hole
(B Edmond, G Mitchell 0, C Brechin, S Kiloh 1; M Greig, M Dunn 2, G Innes, K Horne 0).

                                        Portlethen's team of gallant losers in the Maitland Shield Final
                                                          Picture by Walter Rae
                               Left to right: Graeme Innes, Clark Brechin, Keith Horne and Sam Kiloh 

RYDER CUP HEROES MISS THE CUT AT WENTWORTH

Two-time defending champion Luke Donald and Ryder Cup team-mate Ian Poulter missed the cut today  at the BMW PGA Championship.
So too did World No 2 Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Paul Lawrie.
Donald (72) was six-over-par overall after two rounds in the cold and rain at Wentworth.
Donald's round of 78 Thursday was Donald's worst at Wentworth by four shots.
Poulter (76) is planning to make the most of his free weekend, going to the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.
With the cut being  146 and better qualified, McIlroy and McDowell were out with identical rounds of 74 and 75 for 149.
Lawrie totalled 147 (75-72). 
The most spectacular fall from grace was that of Scott Henry. Up with the leaders after a first round 68, he required 79 shots to navigate the "Burma Road" at the second attempt and missed the cut by one stroke.
A nightmare outward half of five-over-par 40 was bad enough, but then Henry bogeyed the 10th and double-bogeyed the 11th to be eight over par for his first 11 holes alone.
He did eventually birdied the 12th, 15th and 17th but it was toolittle too late. Further bogeys at the 14th and 16th contributed to a day that will do nothing for the Scot's self-confidence.
Bigger-name Scots who bowed out were Scott Jamieson (73-76) and Stephen Gallacher (76-73), both on 149.

But well after 8pm Banchory's Greig Hutcheon, pictured right, battled his way into the weekend action. After bogeys at the first, second, third and eight, he turned in four-over-par 35 and he looked on his way out of the tournament.
But Hutch, the Tartan Tour supremo last season, rallied to birdie the long 12th, the short 14th, and, after his only bogey of the inward half, at the 15th, Greig birdied the 17th and parred the treacherous par 5 18th for a 74. Coupled to his first-day 72, that meant Hutcheon had made the cut right on the limif of 146. Well done, Greig!
Francesco Molinari (68) posted the clubhouse target of 138 early in the day but it stood up virtually unchallenged through many more hours' play.
South African James Kingston, who had been the overnight leader with a 66, lost his touch completely and posted a 77 for 143, the same mark as the trouble Sergio Garcia.

MCLEAN AND LAW MAKE TOP 20 IN GERMANY

Peterhead's Philip McLean put together three of his steadiest rounds on the EPD Tour to finish joint 15th and earn 513 Euros in the Haugschlag Open in Germany today (Friday).
McLean scored 73, 73 and 70 for level par 216.
Paul Lawrie Golf Centre stablemate David Law finished on 217 with roudns of 75, 70 and 72 for one-over 217. He earned 450 Euros.
German players finished first and second with Bernd Ritthammer taking the 5,000 Euros top prize with scores of 69,72 and 66 for nine-under 207 - two ahead of Floria Fritsch (74-71-64).

EPD TOUR - HAUGSCHLAG OPEN
Haugschlag Golf Resort, Germany
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
207 Bernd Ritthammer (Ger) 69 72 66 (5,000 Euros).
209 Florian Fitsch (Ger) 74 71 64 (3,000 Euros)
SCOTS' TOTALS
216 Philip McLean 73 73 70 (513 Euros) (T15).
217 David Law 75 70 72 (450 Euros) (T18).

MARC WARREN ONE SHOT BEHIND LEADER FRANCESCO MOLINARI

Italy's Francesco Molinari posted the clubhouse target of six-under-par 138 with rounds of 70 and 68 very early on the second day in the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club,Virginia Water in Surrey.
But he was still in the pole position many hours later at the end of play.
Marc Warren (70-69), South Africa George Coetzee (69-70) and England's Mark Foster (70-69) are the Italian's nearest challengers on 139.

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
138 Francesco Molinari (Italy) 70 68.
139 George Coetzee (S Africa) 69 70, Marc Warren (Scotland) 60
70, Mark Foster (England) 70 68, Alexjandro Canizares (Spain) 69 70.
140 Eddie Pepperell (England) 71 69, Matteo Manassero (Italy) 69 71.
141 Lee Westwood (England) 70 71, Ernie Els (S Africa) 72 69, Simon Khan (England) 69 72, Gregory Havret (France) 70 71, Shane Lowry (Ireland) 70 71, Nicklas Fasth (Sweden) 70 71.

SELECTED SCORES
143 Sergio Garcia (Spain) 72 71, James Kingston (South Africa) 66 77  (T20)
144 David Drysdale (Scotland) 71 73 (T27)
145 Scott Drummond (Scotland) 70 75 (T49)
146 Colin Montgomerie (Scotland) 71 75, Richie Ramsay (Scotland) 71 75, Greig Hutcheon (Scotland) 72 74  (T50)

MISSED THE  CUT (146 and better qualified)  

147 Peter Whiteford (Scotland) 72 75, Craig Lee (Scotland) 74 73, Paul Lawrie (Scotland) 75 72, Scott Henry (Scotland) 68 79.
148 Paul Casey (England) 70 78.
149 Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland) 74 75, Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) 74 75, Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 73 76, Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) 76 73.
150 Luke Donald (England) 78 72.
152 Ian Poulter (England) 76 76
154 Gareth Wright (Wales) 78 76.
167 Scott Henderson (Scotland) 82 85. TO VIEW THE COMPLETE SCOREBOARD

CLICK HERE

ABERDEEN PENNANT LEAGUE STARTS MONDAY AT PETERCULTER

ABERDEEN PENNANT LEAGUE

(Sponsored by the Cults Hotel)

E-MAIL YOUR RESULTS TO

Colin@scottishgolfview.com

SCHEDULE OF MATCHES 2013

Week 1

Monday, 27 May         

C  Peterculter v Stonehaven     

Thursday 30 May

B  Caledonian v Royal Aberdeen

Tuesday 4 June                   

A  Banchory v Northern         

A  Auchmill v Murcar Links     

B  Portlethen v Hazlehead      

Thursday 6 June

C  Deeside v Craibstone

Week 2

Tuesday 11 June                  

A  Newmachar v Banchory        

A  Northern v Auchmill         

B  Portlethen v Caledonian

C  Nigg Bay v Peterculter

Thursday 13 June

B  Royal Aberdeen v Bon Accord

C  Stonehaven v Deeside

Week 3

Tuesday 18 June                  

A  Murcar Links v Newmachar                   

B  Bon Accord v Portlethen     

B  Hazlehead v Caledonian

 

Thursday 20 June

A  Banchory v Auchmill

C  Craibstone v Nigg Bay

C  Peterculter v Deeside

Week 4

Tuesday 25 June                  

A  Northern v Murcar Links     

A  Auchmill v Newmachar        

B  Hazlehead v Royal Aberdeen  

C  Deeside v Nigg Bay

Thursday 27 June

B  Caledonian v Bon Accord

C  Stonehaven v Craibstone

Week 5

Tuesday 2 July              

A  Newmachar v Northern        

B  Bon Accord v Hazlehead      

B  Royal Aberdeen v Portlethen

C  Craibstone v Peterculter         

Thursday 4 July

A  Murcar Links v Banchory

C  Nigg Bay v Stonehaven

Week 6

Tuesday 9 July/Thursday 11 July

Buffer Week for cancellations due to weather.

Semi-finals

Sunday 4 August/Sunday 11 August. Venues: tbc.

Final

Sunday 8 September 

– tee times from: 12.28.

Venue: Kings Links.

Clubs should E-mail their results on the night the matches are played 

to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

They will go straight on dispaly on www.scottishgolfview.com

PALMER AND ROLLINS LEAD AT THE COLONIAL COUNTRY CLUB

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
FORT WORTH -- Ryan Palmer and John Rollins live about a mile apart from each other in nearby Colleyville, a suburb near DFW Airport. They are members at Colonial Country Club and have played several rounds together.
And now they're dominating the top of the leaderboard after Thursday's first round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
Palmer shot an 8-under 62 in the morning, and Rollins followed with a 63 in the afternoon, claiming the top two spots after 18 holes. Four players -- Morgan Hoffman; Canadians David Hearn and Graham DeLaet; and John Peterson, the latter having grown up on this course when his family had a membership -- were another shot back at 64.
No dues-paying member of Colonial has won the Crowne Plaza Invitational since the last of Ben Hogan's five wins in 1959. Palmer or Rollins could follow in Hogan's footsteps this week.
"I think it's pretty cool," Rollins said. "It would be fun if we could fast forward this to Sunday."
Palmer actually plays more golf at Colonial than does Rollins does.
"I think he is a pretty permanent fixture in the men's group," Rollins said. "... I know a lot of people know that Ryan is a member. A lot of people may not know that I'm a member here. Hopefully by the end of the week they will."
Neither has enjoyed much success in their previous starts here.
Palmer's best finish in nine starts was his tie for fifth a year ago -- he's only top-10 finish. Rollins has missed the cut in seven of his 10 starts, his best finish a tie for 24th in 2007.
But Palmer's 62 ties for the lowest opening-round score in tournament history. Rollins' 63 was his best round at Colonial by four strokes.
Palmer visualizes his name on the Wall of Champions on the first tee.
"This is what I dream about when I play here every year," Palmer said. "This is the one tournament I gear up for the most."
Rollins is now visualizing a duel with Palmer on the back nine Sunday.
"I hope I come out on top," Rollins said.
Of course, there's a long ways to go, and the leaderboard behind Palmer and Rollins is crowded.
Besides the four players at 64, six more players are at 65, including 19-year-old Dallas native Jordan Spieth. In all, 38 players are within five shots of Palmer's lead.
Hoffmann comes off a tie for fifth at last week's HP Byron Nelson Championship, the best finish of his rookie year. He shot a pair of 66s on the weekend and the momentum obviously carried over to Thursday's first round.
"Last week was a big confidence booster," Hoffmann said.
Defending champion Zach Johnson shot a 1-under 69, as did last week's winner, Sang-Moon Bae, who double bogeyed his final hole.
"It's a fairly solid day," Johnson said. "A day I didn't shoot myself out of it."

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE 

PETER SENIOR TIED FOR FIFTH IN US SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Australian Peter Senior leads the European Senior Tour challenge after the first round of the United States Senior PGA Championship presented by Kitchenaid in Missouri.
Americans Jay Haas and Duffy Waldorf lead the way at Bellerive on five under par, with Senior two shots further back after a three under par 68 which left him tied for fifth.
Senior, whose only Senior Tour title to date came in 2011 on home soil, carded four birdies against a solitary dropped shot.
Scotland’s Andrew Oldcorn and five-time Open Champion Tom Watson are amongst those on two under, with Sandy Lyle and Mark McNulty five off the pace on level par.
England’s Roger Chapman began the defence of his title with a one over par 72.

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ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Jay Haas is familiar with Bellerive Country Club -- and it showed in the first round of the Senior PGA Championship.
Haas, who grew up in nearby Belleville, Illinois, and Duffy Waldorf shared the lead Thursday, shooting 5-under 66 in breezy, cool conditions.
The 59-year-old Haas, the winner of the over-50s' major championship in 2006 and 2008, had a bogey-free round. The 50-year-old Waldorf had six birdies and one bogey.
"I didn't expect it going out," Haas said about shooting a low round. "I wasn't very sharp today, but managed to ... my misses were in the correct spots and I took advantage of a few good iron shots and just kind of kept it between the ditches, I guess you would say. But I'm very, very pleased."
Haas has 16 Champions Tour victories after winning nine times on the US PGA Tour.
Waldorf is winless in 11 career starts on the 50-and-over tour after winning four times on the US PGA Tour.
"Tee to green, it was a very good day," Waldorf said. "All in all, I hit the ball really well. I really liked my iron play. I had quite a few birdie putts. I didn't make them all so I feel like I still had some more out there."
Sonny Skinner, the PGA head professional at River Pointe Golf Club in Albany, Georgia, was a stroke back along with Japan's Kiyoshi Murota.
"I'm not going to adjust my goals because I did have a good day today," Skinner said. "My main goal coming into this tournament was to just try to stay within each shot and each moment. A lot of times when you're on the outside looking into a big stage like the Champions Tour, it's real easy to get excited and your eyes wandering all over the place at how wonderful it is.
"You lose sight of the fact that, `Hey, I got to play golf.'"
Australia's Peter Senior and Taiwan's Chien-Soon Lu shot 68, and Tom Watson, a two-time Senior PGA champion, was another stroke back in a 12-player group that included Kenny Perry, Fred Funk, Rocco Mediate, Russ Cochran, Dan Forsman, Gil Morgan and Bill Glasson.
Defending champion Roger Chapman opened with a 72. Peter Jacobsen, the 2004 U.S. Senior Open winner at Bellerive, had a 75.
The temperature hovered in the low to mid-60s under overcast conditions. A light but steady rain fell three times in the afternoon, with each shower lasting less than 30 minutes.
Haas finished third in the 2004 U.S. Senior Open at Bellerive. He said he has played about 30 rounds at the country club.
"I'm certainly very excited about shooting 5 under here," Haas said. "Probably my lowest score ever at Bellerive, no matter what age I was."
His uncle, Bob Goalby, the 1968 Masters winner who stills lives in Belleville, followed him on the back nine holes.
"I think he was happy for me," said Haas, who was going to have dinner with Goalby and other family members. "He'll try and get over when he can. The last time he walked nine holes, I don't know when that was."
Haas made his way around the course with a balky back that he said left him in "a little bit" of pain.
Waldorf finished ninth in the 1992 PGA Championship at Bellerive.
Murota had six birdies and a double bogey. Skinner, a two-time winner on what is now the Web.com Tour, had six birdies and two bogeys and hit all 14 fairways in regulation.
DIVOTS: Brian Fogt, the PGA director of instruction at Bellerive Country Club, led off the tournament by hitting the first tee shot. ... The field includes 34 international players representing an event-record 18 countries. France's Marc Farry, who earned a berth when David Frost withdrew, pushed the country total to the record. England leads with seven entrants, followed by Japan (4) and Australia (3).

INVERNESS HOLD ON TO WIN SENIOR NORTHERN COUNTIES CUP

    WINNING LINE-UP - L to R - Laurie Chancellor, David Rae, Jim Elliott and Fraser Urquhart.

Inverness beat Duff House Royal by one hole in this morning's final of the Senior Northern Counties Cup tournament at Nairn Dunbar Golf Club. Inverness, represented by Laurie Chancellor, David Rae, Fraser Urquhart and Jim Elliott, won by an overall one hole in the double foursomes format.
Chancellor and Rae finished three holes up on the Banff club's first pairing, Alan Kennedy and Duncan Clark, but Duff House Royal's second string of Mike Jenkins and Alan Cruickshank almost forced the final into extra holes.
Jenkins and Cruickshank finished two holes up on Urquhart and Elliott, just one hole short of making up the overall deficit.

Inverness had got off to a great start and were five up overall, continuing to hold on to that lead until the turn. 

Duff House Royal then started a fight back. Kennedy and Clark came back from five down to three down and Jenkins and Cruickshank did even better, rallyng from three down to two up.

FINAL

Inverness bt Duff House Royal by one hole

(L Chancellor, D Rae 3, A Kennedy, D Clark 0; F Urquhart, J Elliott 0, M Jenkins, A Cruickshank 2). 

+Fraser Urquhart, father of Murray Urquhart, is the same H F Urquhart who won the Scottish boys championship in1962. He is still going strong at the age of 69. He was also in the Inverness team that won the Senior Northern Counties Cup nine years ago at Cruden Bay
Thanks to Robin Wilson for this additional informationl

MUIRFIELD GETS READY FOR ANOTHER OPEN

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FROM GOLF BUSINESS NEWS

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One of the fairest of the Open Championship courses is how Muirfield is often described, and everyone at The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is eagerly anticipating the staging of the 16th Open Championship at Muirfield in July 2013.
Muirfield’s course manager Colin Irvine aims to achieve the perfect fine balance between past, present and future. “We’re aware of the history of the course, but what we’re trying to do here is constantly refine its qualities and its wonderful natural features,” he says. “There aren’t just signature holes at Muirfield – it’s a signature course.
“It’s also important to keep up with technology to make our presentation the best we can, using the aids that are out there. We’re therefore always looking out for the best machine to do the job for us.”
Colin has been in charge at Muirfield for 18 years and is very much his own man when it comes to course management. Over the years he has come to trust John Deere equipment to match his needs, particularly the company’s fairway mowers, which are supplied and serviced by local dealer Thomas Sherriff & Company at Haddington, East Lothian.
Colin Irvine says he is a big fan of John Deere’s hybrid electric mowers, and uses 7500Es (pictured) to keep Muirfield’s fairways in tip-top shape all year round. “Taking away the hydraulics from the mowing heads and the consequent noise reduction makes mowing much more comfortable for the man on board and for everyone else,” he says. “Removing the risk of oil leaks is such a weight off a course manager’s mind too, especially when big tournaments are in the offing.”
Other John Deere machines used at Muirfield include the 2500E hybrid electric triplex greens mower, the 8000E three-wheeled, ultra-light five-gang fairway mower for larger tee and green surrounds, the 2653B triplex for pathways, the diesel 2030A ProGator and electric TE Gator utility vehicles for general transport work, and the 1565 front rotary mower for paths and rough grass.
Specific work in readiness for the 2013 Open began in earnest last October, when fairway sanding and bunker re-facing got under way, though Colin points out that he’s been in pre-Open mode since the day this year’s event was announced.
He encourages his 11-strong course maintenance team always to see things from a golfer’s point of view. To a man they all play the game and the course, so it’s easy to see why Muirfield has a reputation for being a true golfers’ course.
 
In conjunction with the fleet of John Deere mowers that follow the course’s testing contours accurately, even application of wetting agents helps the grass to grow just as evenly as elsewhere across the humps and bumps that characterize this famous old course.
Wetting agents for just about all the in-play areas perform quite a big role in the course maintenance programme, to try and get more even and lasting use of rainfall and irrigation water. Colin uses a John Deere HD200 ProGator mounted sprayer to ensure that the wetting agents are spread evenly and to the maximum effect.
Muirfield’s greens, tees and aprons are hand mown every day using a total of 18 John Deere 180C and 180SL 18in or 220C 22in walk-behind greens mowers. 
Most of the championship tees are pretty small and triplex cutting would be difficult, but even the bigger ones are traditionally cut this way. Although the 2500E hybrid mower is also used on the greens at weekends, hand mowing these down to 4mm is absolute in the run-up to the tournament.
The course’s own John Deere fleet will be supported during this period by extra machines supplied by the company and Thomas Sherriff, as official suppliers of golf course maintenance equipment to The 2013 Open Championship.

John Deere Limited www.JohnDeere.co.uk
Muirfield – The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers www.muirfield.org.uk
The Open Championship www.theopen.com