BOTHWELL CASTLE QUAICH ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 4

The Bothwell Castle Quaich will be held on Sunday 4th August and there are still some Times available. There are 8 Scratch prizes with a 1st prize of £400. The course is in fantastic condition with fast true greens and with a £15 entry fee is great value.

Times are available from  the Professional Alan McCloskey on 01698 801969.


Murray Dubber

SUPER-MAC DOES IT AGAIN ... REPEAT 66 TO LEAD BY FIVE

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Scottish youths champion Robert MacIntyre, pictured, proved his six-under-par 66 in the first round was no fluke by staging a repeat performance on Day 2 to spreadeagle the field in the Stephen Gallacher Foundation Scottish Under-18 boys' open amateur stroke-play championship at The Roxburghe Hotel golf course, Kelso today.
The Glencruitten, Oban left hander is on 12-under-par 132 at the halfway stage of the 72-hole vent and leads by five shots from repeating Paul Lawrie Scottish schoolboys champion Connor Syme (Dumfries and Co) (67-70 for 137).
Third-placed Ewan Ferguson (Bearsden) is a further two shots back on 139 (69-70).
MacIntyre bettered his first-round outward half with 31 shots to the turn - birdies at the first, third, fourth, fifth and nine without even the sniff of a bogey.
After birdies at the 11th and 12th, Robert was seven under par with six to play - and a score in the low 60s was on the cards.
But then as golf so often does, MacIntyre was stopped in his tracks by a double bogey 5 at the short third.
He took it on the chin and bounced back with an eagle 3 at the 14th, only to shed another shot at the 15th before parring in for another remarkable round.
"I’m playing the best I’ve ever played,” said MacIntyre, the 16-year-old Scotland boys cap. “I was hoping for three-under today so another 66 is a bit of a shock. I’ll just try and do the same tomorrow. It’s good to know I have won before and I can do it.”

MacIntyre has been hunting down the amateur course record, held by the Lothians’ Anthony Blaney after a 64 last year, but has so far come up just short this week. 
The cut, which looked like being at 149, went up to 150 late in the day. 

The non-qualifiers included Paul Lawrie's elder son Craig with scores of 76 and 77 for 153 - three shots too many to make it through to Thursday's 36-hole finale.
He was looking like qualifying until he dropped five shots over five closing holes - a bogey at the 12th, a triple bogey 8 at the 14th and a bogey at the 16th in an inward 41.

 QUALIFIERS
Par 144 (2x72) SS 74 CSS 74 74
132 R MacIntyre (Glencruitten) 66 66
137 C Syme (Dumfries and Co) 69 70
139 E Ferguson (Bearsden) 69 70
140 J Harling (Banchory) 72 68, O Bergqvist (Swe) 70 70
142 C Hill (Tantallon) 72 70, J Floydd (Haywards Heath) 70 72, E Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) 71 71
144 T Simmonds (Gullane) 76 78, C Peruzzi (Ita) 74 70, C Fyfe (Cawder) 71 73
145 S Mazzoli (Ita) 73 72, J K Volden (Nor) 72 73, A Burgess (Nairn) 70 75, C Curren (Harburn) 75 70.
146 L Anderson (Deeside) 71 75, D McNeill (Powfoot) 73 73, J Goth-Rasmussen (Den) 72 74.
147 J Wilson (Balmore) 77 70, S Easton (Irvine) 75 72, R Gordon (Alford) 74 73, R Stewart (Crieff) 72 75, G Burns (Williamwood) 73 74. 
148 A Fisher (Newmachar) 76 72, C Cochrane (Marriott Dalmahoy) 75 73, A Wilson (Renaissance) 75 73, R Alexander (Braehead) 76 72, T Watson (S Africa) 74 74, F Davren (Williamwood) 72 76
149 D McCreadie (Newton Stewart) 78 71, F Rovegno (Ita) 76 73, S Blair (Royal Musselburgh) 79 70, D Bomarsi (Ita) 76 73, G Forrester (Lundin) 74 75, L Cianchetti (Ita) 75 74, R Robertson (Old Ranfurly) 72 77, J Lelliott (Worthing) 72 77.
150 K Mackay (Inverness) 78 72, A Wolstencroft (Carlisle) 77 73, G Cowen (West Lothian) 73 77

MISSED THE CUT INCLUDED
151 R Franssen (Inverness) 76 75
152 B Murray (Portlethen) 80 72.
153 C Lawrie (Deeside) 76 77
154 S Scott (Nairn) 74 80
155 A Carrell (Royal Aberdeen) 78 77, L McWilliam (Aboyne) 84 71, N Young (Insch) 77 78
156 M Brodie (Strathmore) 79 77
157 A Ross (Fort William) 72 85
158 C Stephen (Aboyne) 82 70, C Franssen (Inverness) 79 79.


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DOHERTY AND FINDLAY TO THE FORE IN IRELAND

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PAUL DOHERTY AND JORDAN FINDLAY
TO THE FORE IN IRELAND

Former Scottish boys match-play champion Paul Doherty shared the lead on three-under-par 69 and past British boys title-holder Jordan Finlay was joint third at the end of the first round of this week's PGA EuroPro Tour event in Ireland, the Kingspan Concra Wood Open at Concra Wood Golf Club, Castleblaney.
Doherty had birdies at the long first, fifth and 11 on a bogey-free card.
Fraserburgh's Findlay, playing out of the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, had a 70, his lowest score for some time.
In contrast, Elliot Saltman had a 77 and Neil Fenwick a 78 while Gavin Dear slumped to an 80.

KINGSPAN CONCRA WOOD OPEN
Concra Wood Golf Club, Castleblaney, Ireland.
LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
69 P Doherty (Vale Hotel), C Moriarty (Ire).]70 R McGee 9Ire), J Findlay (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre), B Hemstock (Eng), A Belt (Eng), N O'Briain (Ire)
OTHER SCOTS SCORES
71 P McKechnie (Braid Hills) (T9)
75 P McGhee (East Renfrewshire) (T46)
76 M Isaacs (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) (T54)
77 J Dick (Duddingston), E Saltman (Archerfield Links) (T66)
78 N Fenwick (Dunbar), P Shields (Kirkhill) (T73)
79 Z Saltman (Archerfield Links) (T89)
80 M Cunningham (Longniddry), G Dear (Noah's Ark Golf Centre) (T97).

ends

GRAY AND WRIGHT TIE FOR VICTORY IN PANMURE PRO-AM

Stephen Gray (Hayston) and West Linton's Gareth Wright earned £1,005 apiece for matching four-under-par 66s to head the field in the Panmure Golf Club pro-am today.
Heavy overnight rain had taken most of the fire out of the baked fairways and both men were able to make five birdies with only one offsetting bogey.
Wright, "fresh" from making the last day of the Open, birdied the first, long second, short 11th, 12th and 13th, dropped his shot at the long 14th and then parred.
Gray had his sub-par figures at the long second, the short fifth, the long 14th, the 17th and 18th. His bogey came at the short ninth.
They finished a shot ahead of five players - Graeme Brown (Montrose Links), Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle), Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs), Greig Hutcheon (Banchory) and David Patrick (Kingsfield) who each earned £439 for their 67s.
Stephen Gray also led the winning amateur trio of Colin Kennedy (handicap 11), Jamie Cromar (14) and Colin Comar (15) to victory in the team event with an 18-under-par net total of 122. They finished four shots clear of the field.
PRO SCORES AND PRIZE MONEY
Par 70
66 S Gray (Hayston), G Wright (West linton) (£1,005 each).
67 G Brown (Montrose Links), J McCreadie (Buchanan Castle), R Arnott (Bishopbriggs), G Hutcheon (Banchory), D Patrick (Kingsfield) (£439 each).
69 K Hutton (Downfield) (£245)
70 C Currie (Caldwell), P Wardell (Whitekirk), S Taylor (Bothwell Castle), G Fox (Clydeway Golf), C Gordon (Edinburgh GC), C Kelly (Cawder) (£167 each).
71 C Matheson (Falkirk Tryst), G Law (Uphall), J Lomas (Caprington) (£111 each).
72 D Orr (Mearns Castle), G Smith (Gleneagles Hotel) (£83 each).
73 K McNicoll (Gullane), J McGhee (unatt) (£33 each).
74 A Crerar (Panmure), F Mann (Musselburgh).
75 C McMaster (Panmure), K Walker (Castle Park), A Marshall (Hayston), C Knowles (Panmure)
78 M Thomson (Panmure), J McKinnon (Irvine).
79 S Craig (Germany).

OPEN SILVER MEDALLIST FITZPATRICK BIDS FOR ENGLISH AMATEUR TITLE

Matthew Fitzpatrick (Hallamshire, Yorkshire), winner of the silver medal as the leading amateur at The Open Championship at Muirfield on Sunday, will attempt to become English Amateur champion when he competes at Frilford Heath, near Abingdon, on 29th July – 3rd August. The Sheffield lad will be joined by fellow teenager Jimmy Mullen (Royal North Devon), who also played all four rounds at Muirfield, in England Golf’s blue riband event over the Red and Blue Courses at the prestigious Oxfordshire venue. Fitzpatrick, 18, (image copyright Tom Ward)  is off to the Northwestern University in Chicago, a college attended by Luke Donald, in September and would love to go there as the English champion, having won the British Boys Championship at Hollinwell last year. Mullen, 19, has also been hitting the headlines recently. The Open apart, he finished joint third in last month’s Brabazon Trophy at Formby, holing-in-one during his final round of 71. The first two days at Frilford Heath are confined to qualifying rounds with all 288 players completing one round over each course at the end of which the leading 64 progress to the match play knockout stage over the Red. On day one, Fitzpatrick starts his bid from the first tee of the Blue Course at 12.50pm, while Mullen starts an hour later from the tenth tee of the Red. Harry Ellis (Meon Valley, Hampshire), who became the youngest winner of the title aged 16 at Silloth-on-Solway a year ago, is having a successful year. He won the Hampshire Junior Championship and was top individual in the South East Boys Qualifying, finished runner-up in the Hampshire Hog and the Michel Carlhian Trophy in France and became a boy cap in the European Boys Team Championships at Murcar Links two weeks ago. He begins his defence from the tenth on the Blue at 1.30pm, while Seb Crookall-Nixon (Workington, Cumbria), twice a winner of the English under 16 Championship and now at college in America, is off first at 8am from the tenth tee on the Blue. There are a number of internationals in the star-studded field, including five members of England’s European Team Championship-wiining squad in Denmark earlier this month. Neil Raymond (Corhampton, Hampshire), twice an English Amateur quarter finalist, sets off last at 2.20pm from the first on the Blue, Nathan Kimsey (Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire) is off first from the tenth of the Red at 8am, while Callum Shinkwin (Moor Park, Hertfordshire), the South American Amateur champion, start from the tenth on the Red along with fellow international Jamie Rutherford (Knebworth, Hertfordshire) at 9.50am. Max Orrin (North Foreland, Kent), another of the Euro title-winning squad, is off the first of the Blue at 8am along with former Mid Amateur champion Martin Young (Brokenhurst Manor, Hampshire), while English boy champion Patrick Kelly (Boston West, Lincolnshire) starts from the first on the Blue at 1.20pm along with former under 16 champion Jack Hermeston (City of Newcastle). The Championship starts at 8am on Monday 29th July and culminates with the 36-hole final on Saturday 3rd August. Latest scores and news updates can be found on the England Golf website www.englandgolf.org. For further information please contact: Press Office England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 01526 354500

MONTROSE OPEN WEEK HIT BY WEATHER

Montrose Open Golf Week has been disrupted by the weather.
The first round of the scratch match play will not be completed until lunchtime on Thursday. 
Eight groups will resume play at 8am at the positions they were when play was suspended earlier today.


The scheduled 36-hole qualifying had to be cut to 27 holes because of fog.
LEADING SCRATCH QUALIFIERS
105 William Bremner jun (Edzell) 70 35, Gary Tough (Edzell) 69 76.
106 Ross Coull (Edzell) 69 37, Liam Balneaves (Greenacres) 69 37.
108 John Duff (Newmachar) 69 39.
112 Norman Dyce (Strathmore) 74 38, Gregor Stewart (Murcar Links) 74 38. 
113 James Beedie (Montrose Mercantile) 74 39
114 Jack Douglas (Portlethen) 77 37, Arran McHardy (Prestonfield) 76 38, Gavin Hemsley (Montrose Mercantile) 75 39, Ron Le Clair (Royal Montrose) 72 42.
115 Liam Geddes (Montrose Mercantile) 75 40, Jeff Strachan (Royal Montrose) 75 40.
117 Barry Mitchell (Royal Montrose) 77 40.

MATCH-PLAY TIES STARTING THURSDAY MORNING
08.00 G Tough (Edzell) v S McMillan (Edzell)

08.07 B Mitchell (Royal Montrose) v K Dickson (Mercantile)

08.14 G Stewart (Murcar Links) v S McGurk (Yaz Links)

08.21 R McHardy (Prestonfield) v J Laing (Royal Montrose)

08.28 R Coull (Royal Montrose) v G Barber (Royal Montrose)

08.35 J Strachan (Royal Montrose)  v J Adams (Edzell)

08.42 N Dyce (Strathmore) v C Fraser (Brechin)

08.49 G Hemsley (Mercantile) v D Massaro (Le Robine)

 CAMERON SHIELD - ROUND 1 RESULTS BROOMFIELD COURSE
Michael Falconer (Montrose Caledonia) bt Guy Salmond 

(Montrose Caledonia) 1 hole 
 
Ross Mitchell (Royal Montrose) bt Dean Brown (Montrose 

Mercantile) 4 and 2
 
Aidan Spark (Montrose 

Mercantile) bt Andy Law jun (Callander) 5 and 4 
Cameron Glennie (Montrose Mercantile) bt Duncan Maguire 

(Royal Montrose) 2 and 1

 

 

DRAW FOR CAMERON SHIELD – SEMI -FINALS
THURSDAY

11.00 Michael Falconer (Montrose Caledonia) v Ross Mitchell 

 

(Royal Montrose)

11.07 Aidan Spark (Montrose Mercantile) v Cameron Glennie 

 

(Montrose Mercantile) 
HANDICAP MATCHPLAY FULL HANDICAP - IF ALL 

 

SQUARE AFTER 18 HOLES – 3 EXTRA HOLES TO BE 

 

PLAYED WITH STROKES AS PER STROKE INDEX THEN 

 

SUDDEN DEATH AFTERWARDS

 

 

DAVID LAW FINISHES TENTH IN POLISH OPEN

 David Law finished 10th in the German PGA Tour's Polish Open at Sand Valley Golf and Country Club, Paslek.
The Aberdonian shot rounds of 71, 73 and 70 for a two-under-par total of 14 to earn 780 Euros.
He would have had an even higher finish but for a double bogey 6 at the seventh in his final round which included birdies at the second, fifth, 12th, 13th and 15th.
Peterhead's Philip McLean, who is also attached to the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, finished joint 30th and earned 348 Euros for a three-over-par total of 219 (75-73-71).
Florian Fritsch beat fellow-German Anton Kirstein with a birdie at the fourth hole of a sudden-death play-off after they had tied on nine-under-par 207.
Kirstein was leading on his own until he bogeyed the last hole of regulation play. Fritsch birdied it.

POLISH OPEN
Sand Valley Golf and Country Club, Paslek
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
207 Florian Fritsch (Ger) 69 70 68, Anton Kirstein (Ger) 67 68 72 (Fritsch, 5,000 Euros, bt Kirstein, 3,000 Euros, at the fourth hole of a play-off).
208 Menno Van Dijk (Net) 68 71 69 (2,000 Euros)
209 Craig Farrelly (Eng) 69 69 71 (1,500 Euros).
  
SELECTED OTHER SCORES
214 David Law (Sco) 71 73 70 (10th) (780 Euros).
219 Philip McLean (Sco) 75 73 71 (T30) (348 Euros).




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MONTROSE OPEN GOLF WEEK HIT BY FOG

 

Due to severe fog, play was reduced to 27 holes.

 

We had hoped to get players out this morning at 7 to finish rounds but it was impossible – matchplay has just resumed just now.

  

Claire Penman

Company Secretary
Montrose Golf Links Limited

MONIFIETH AND DOWNFIELD BOYS MAKE TOP 10 IN LOUISIANA

Left to right:  David Hutton, Scott Grant, Harry Ogilvie, Mac Duncan, Calum McKay.

A group of eight boys from Monifieth and Downfield, accompanied by Monifieth captain Bill Miller and Junior Convener Alex McKay recently returned from a bi-annual exchange trip with Lake Charles Golf and Country Club, Louisiana.

While there, the boys who were 18 or younger participated in a United States Junior Golf Association event at The Gray Plantation Golf Club at Graywood.

The five boys who competed over the two days all finished in the top nine, a fantastic achievement in extremely hot conditions.  

Alex McKay

WHAT HAS TIGER LOST? MOST OF ALL: HIS AGGRESSIVENESS

By Michael Bamberger, Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated

It looked like footage from the highlight reel: Steve Williams bounding to the 18th tee late on a major Sunday, the black Titleist bag bouncing on his broad back, Tiger Woods trailing him, measuring the wind with his eyes and the falling temperature with his cheeks.

But the Titleist bag, in his brilliant bachelor youth a central part of the Tiger Woods ensemble, belonged to Adam Scott, and Williams was caddying for the Aussie, with his swing from God, and not for the man he helped guide to 13 major championships. 
The giant scoreboard beside the green showed that Phil Mickelson was the leader in the house at three under par at this Open at Muirfield, while Woods was five back and by that point playing only for pride.
Yes, Tiger Woods has won four times this year, and he's still the best player in the world. But he's not the man you once knew (or thought you once knew). 
Last Saturday night, when he trailed only one man on the leader board and was just two shots back in the oldest and grandest championship in all of golf, an event Woods has won three times, he was engaged in crazy talk. He said, "There's a bunch of guys who have a chance to win this tournament."
Say what?
You wanted to shake him and scream, You're Tiger Woods — you don't talk about the other "guys" and their wing-and-a-prayer chances of winning a jug that carries the names Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods your own damn self!
His scores last week were 69, 71, 72 and 74. Not the chart the doctor wanted to see. In the 17 majors in which he has played since his epic one-legged U.S. Open win in 2008, Woods has nine top 10s. Tiger knows those numbers. He cites them. But the truth is that the life and times of Tiger Woods will not be counted in top 10 finishes. Not now. Not ever.
The end of 72 holes in any major is almost like the end of a religious holiday. (Name your favorite religion; Tiger is still wearing his Buddhist bracelets.) There's a moment there when the players, no matter where they have finished, let themselves go. Woods tapped in at the 18th, and then he and Williams, starting to heal the wounds of their unseemly 2011 divorce, had such a heartfelt handshake and mini chat that a Muirfield member in a double-breasted blazer, standing in the wings, actually mimed it for a fellow member.
Moments later, in the players' parking lot, Williams analyzed the state of Woods's game.
"Having seen him up close now three times in recent weeks, 36 holes at Merion and 18 here, everything looks good in his game and his swing," Williams said. "But the one thing that's missing is his old aggressiveness."
Before Y.E. Yang chased down Woods at the PGA Championship in August 2009, and before his personal life imploded three months later, aggressiveness was Woods's defining trait. Talent, intelligence, a work ethic — and an aggressiveness that would not quit. That was then. These days, at golf's most important events, that last trait has been AWOL.
On Sunday, at the short par-5 9th, Woods had a chip for eagle from a good lie. Back in the day, following his father's instructions to let the legend grow, he'd find a way to hole that shot, right? 
This shot was thinned, pulled and misread. The moment was his to own. He ground out his birdie there — as a grinder, Woods was his old impressive self last week — but he needed more. Meanwhile, Scott's birdie at the same hole gave him a piece of the lead. Williams cleared a path to the 10th tee.
There's nothing wrong with Tiger, except he doesn't own his weekend play at majors the way he once did.
Number 10, a par-4, was playing long, with the wind quartering in from the right. Scott drilled a drawing driver. Woods, suddenly only two back, followed with a cut three-wood from an open stance that was dead left from the second he hit it. Yes, driver might have brought bunkers into play. But this was a moment that was screaming for the old, aggressive Tiger Woods.
Of course, it's hard to be aggressive with a shot — the basic draw-shot driver — you haven't had much success with lately. Something's changed with Tiger. Before the fire hydrant episode, he could control everything. Now he cannot.
On the other end of the players' parking lot — a converted farm field, actually — Mark Steinberg, Woods's agent, and Joe LaCava, his caddie, were talking, an unofficial meeting of Tiger's tiny golf ops inner circle. The missing person was his instructor, Sean Foley.
Also missing, of course, was Tiger's most trusted adviser, his father, who died seven years ago. Williams was asked if Earl's imprint was missing from Tiger's game. The caddie said that whatever was missing, Tiger's mother, Tida, was providing. 
"I think Tiger gets incredible support from his mom," Williams said. "She's an inspiring person."
The Open was Woods's first tournament since the U.S. Open at Merion. He skipped his own event at Congressional, in between the two majors, as he rested a sore left elbow. Woods said he was fine last week, and he made hard, full swings out of the rough. He was walking with a slight hitch and, at times, a pained face, but no veteran golfer is ever feeling perfect.
He clearly enjoyed his Saturday pairing with Lee Westwood (who, by the way, has bested Tiger each of the last six times the two have been paired); his many sessions with reporters were uneventful; the spectators were respectful toward him. Fred Couples, who will be his Presidents Cup captain in October, came out to watch him finish on Sunday. His lady friend, the skier Lindsey Vonn, was around.
He and Westwood could spend a long weekend comparing notes on that subject, if either were inclined to do that sort of thing (not a chance). Westwood had a two-shot lead through 54 holes. On Sunday he was in the last twosome with Hunter Mahan, another player looking to win his first major, which was a positive for the Englishman. It was cool and windy and the course was very difficult — also positives for somebody who hits the ball as purely as Westwood does. He has had at least a handful of experiences where he has contended in majors. Another positive. Yet he didn't get it done.
He closed with a 75 to finish in a tie for third. He has made a pile of money. He lives large. He'll most likely wind up in the Hall of Fame. 
But Westwood is 40, and whether he will ever win a major is difficult to say. "I'm not too disappointed," said Westwood, now 0 for 62 when teeing it up at a major. "I don't really get disappointed with golf anymore." Those are words to which Tiger Woods cannot relate.
The ownership of ephemeral things is a funny business. Tiger used to own the tee box. He used to own his Saturday playing partner, and then his Sunday playing partner. (Last week he didn't.) He used to own the field and the course, reporters and rules officials, his practice sessions and practice rounds, his schedule and his time. Compromise, he no doubt is finding out, is part of middle age. Now, at 37, his life is more complicated. Welcome to middle age. Golf, as Tiger Woods played it through 2008, requires a ruthlessness that is almost inhuman, and maybe he has tired of it.
But maybe he hasn't.
When the 142nd British Open was all over, Woods was asked, essentially, to pay a compliment to the winner. "Given the conditions," he was asked, "how impressive is Phil's 66?"
"It's certainly gettable out there," Woods said. 
He then proceeded to give a 75-word answer that never, not even in a veiled way, referred to Phil Mickelson, Champion Golfer of the Year.
What a relief. The Tiger you thought you knew is still alive.

DID YOU KNOW THAT PHIL MICKELSON HAS PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS?

BY GREG KELLY

Phil Mickelson and I aren't very much alike. His average drive (often with a three-wood) travels 290 yards. I hit it about 220, but usually not until the weather gets really humid and the ground really hard.

 He one-putts more times in a tournament than I probably do all summer. And last year he won $4.2 million on the PGA Tour, while I believe I was down a net $30 in my weekly foursome.
But Phil and I do share one thing: We both have psoriatic arthritis, which is why I know his British Open win is more impressive than he'll ever say.
There are more than 100 kinds of musculoskeletal disorders that are classified as arthritis; the psoriatic variety is one of the more insidious. It comes without warning and causes all kinds of problems. Kind of like termites. In effect, the body is under siege from its own immune system, which is fighting a threat that doesn't exist. The result is systemic inflammation that attacks the skin and joints, causing damage in varying degrees.
Once the joints are damaged, the body is forced to compensate, creating other problems. 
In my case, I didn't realize I had arthritis in my right toes until I developed bursitis in my left hip. It was only while rehabbing the hip that a physical therapist noticed my gait was being affected by my sore and swollen toes. He recommended I see a rheumatologist, who immediately identified the problem.
Within a few months the three outer toes on my left foot were so deformed that hammertoe doesn't even begin to describe them. That was 12 years ago. Since then, one of the new miracle drugs, Humira, has arrested the disease, as twice-monthly injections regulate my immune response. But the joint disfigurement is done and can't be reversed, and the collateral damage just gets worse. The inability to grip with my toes throws off my balance, and my right ankle feels as if it is permanently sprained. But I'm lucky. I can still play golf. For some people, psoriatic arthritis is crippling.
In Mickelson's case, he was preparing to play the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach when his joints began to ache. His right ankle hurt, his right wrist felt as if it was sprained, and his left index finger was swollen.
Not good for a player whose short-game feel is so critical to his success. Still, he finished fourth, three strokes behind Graeme McDowell.
But just a week later his symptoms took a more extreme turn.
"I was laying in bed and any movement was painful," he told USA Today in 2011. "I had to go lie on the couch because whenever [wife] Amy would move, it would hurt. A few days later I went out to play golf and the pain had extended to my shoulders, and I wasn't able to take the club back."
He sought immediate medical help, which is probably the best lesson Mickelson can teach anyone, golfer or not. A rheumatologist determined that psoriatic arthritis was the problem, and Mickelson began immediate treatment with Enbrel, another of the inflammation-suppressing drugs that stop the disease from doing more damage. He was back on Tour before the season ended.
While he declined to use the disease as an excuse, his game suffered. He got off to a hot start last year, including a win at Pebble Beach and a tie for third at the Masters, but as the season wore on, his game declined. 
In one two-month stretch he withdrew from the Memorial, citing fatigue; finished 65th at the U.S. Open; missed the cut at the Greenbrier and the British Open; then finished 43rd at the Bridgestone and 36th at the PGA.
There were rumblings that the golf world was watching the end of a once great player. Mickelson denied it, saying, "I've been able to practice hard. I've been able to work out. I lost weight. I'm in better shape than I have been in a long time. [My health] hasn't been the issue."
With his near miss at Merion and now his back-to-back wins at the Scottish and British Opens, he was right. He knows his body better than anyone. It would be nice, though, if Phil shared a little more of his experience with a disease that affects an estimated 25 million people around the world. 
I feel a kinship with him that I'm sure most psoriatic arthritis sufferers do. And knowing what I do about playing golf with the affliction, I'm also more in awe of him now than ever before.

Greg Kelly, a 12 handicap, is a former senior editor at Sports Illustrated.

ANGUS BOYS FIGHT BACK FOR SQUARE MATCH WITH LOTHIANS

 Angus team (left to right): Aidan Smith, Will Porter, Findlay Soutar, Harry Ogilvie, Mac Duncan, David Grant.

                               REPORT AND PICTURE BY ALEX McKAY
Lothians and Angus drew an  Under-16s boys match at Turnhouse Golf Club on Tuesday.

The Angus team overturned a 2-1 morning foursomes deficit by winning the afternoon singles 3 1/2-2 1/2.

After losing the first two singles to trail 4-1, the last four Angus players battled hard to gain the 3 1/2 pts required to avoid defeat. 

It was a great team effort by the Angus squad but a special mention must go to Mac Duncan who has played in Angus squads for four years. This was his first ever victory in a singles match.

RESULTS:

LOTHIANS 4 1/2, ANGUS 4 1/2

Lothians names first

FOURSOMES (2-1)

Conner Farrell and Leigh Lawson bt Will Porter and Harry Ogilvie 4 and 3.

Cameron Blair and Lewis Govenlock bt Findlay Soutar and David Grant 2 and 1

Jack Rogan and David Rudd lost to Mac Duncan and Aidan Smith 4 and 2.

SINGLES (2 1/2-3 1/2)

Farrell bt Porter 4 and 2.

Lawson bt Ogilvie 4 and 3.

Rogan halved with  Soutar

Blair lost to Grant 2 and 1

Rudd lost to Duncan 1 hole

Govenlock lost to Smith 2 and 1