PHILIP McLEAN WINS £300 AT PAUL LAWRIE INVITATIONAL PRO-AM

Peterhead's Philip McLean (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) won the top pro prize of £300 in today's Paul Lawrie Invitational pro-am at Deeside Golf Club.
McLean piloted the Intermoor team to a net 56.
David Law, also playing out of the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, also achieved a net team score of 56 with the Aberdeen Asset Management 1 team but lost out on the countback.
Banchory's James Byrne led the Hunting 1 team into third place on net 57, beating three other teams, whose pros were Andrew Coltart (Farmfoods 1), Jordan Findlay (Saltire Energy 1) and Greg McBain (Aberdeen Asset Management 2), all of whom also had net totals of 57, on a card countback.
Law collected £200 and Byrne £100.

PAUL LAWRIE INVITATIONAL ROUND 1 TEE TIMES AT DEESIDE GOLF CLUB

 

The pairings for the first round of the Paul Lawrie Invitational at Deeside Golf Club on Tuesday are:.

SPECTATORS WELCOME: NO CHARGE FOR ADMISSION OR CAR PARKING

1 8:15 AM

Malcolm Isaacs, Paul Lawrie Golf Centre

Graeme Nethercott, Deeside Golf Club 

Andrew Crerar, Panmure Golf Club

1 8:26 AM 

Alan Reid, West Lothian Golf Club

Bradley Neil (a)

Scott McGrenaghan, Cochrane Castle Golf Club

1 8:37 AM 

William Fyfe, Paul Lawrie Golf Centre 

Christopher Robinson, Portpatrick Dunskey Golf Club

Graham Forbes, Unattached * 

1 8:48 AM 

Jordan Findlay, Paul Lawrie Golf Centre

David Thomson, Carnegie Club

Mark King, Kingsfield Golf Range

1 8:59 AM Paul Lawrie, Carnegie Club

Greg McBain, Gamola Golf

Paul O'Hara, Clydeway Golf

1 9:10 AM

Andrew Coltart

Connor Syme (a)

Garry Forrester, St Andrews Golf School

1 9:21 AM

Jason McCreadie, Buchanan Castle Golf Club 

James Byrne, Banchory

David Law, Paul Lawrie Golf Centre 

1 9:32 AM 

Craig Lawrie (a) 

David Kenny 

David Broadfoot, Dumfries and County Golf Club 

1 9:43 AM

 Ewen Ferguson (a)

 Philip McLean, Paul Lawrie Golf Centre 

Craig Ronald, Carluke Golf Club 

1 9:54 AM 

Mark Kerr, Marriott Dalmahoy 

 Ross McConnachie, Peterculter Golf Club

 Christopher Campbell, Trump International Golf Links

1 10:05AM 

Iain Colquhoun, Loch Lomond Golf Club

Sean Lawrie (a) 

Michael Patterson, Kilmacolm Golf Club 

1 10:16 AM 

Mark Loftus, Mearns Castle Golf Academy

Graeme Robertson (a) 

Jonathan Lomas, Caprington Golf Club

 1 10:27 AM 

Paul Wardell, Whitekirk Golf Course

 Paul Shields, Kirkhill

 Craig Gordon, Edinburgh Golf Centre

 1 10:38 AM 

Daniel Flannery, Caldwell Golf Club 

Chris Kelly, Cawder Golf Club 

Paul Robinson, Largs Golf Club 

1 10:49 AM 
Craig Matheson, Falkirk Tryst Golf Club
Tom Dingwall, Nairn Dunbar Golf Club 
Paul McGhee, Paul Lawrie Golf Centre 
1 11:00 AM
 Robert Arnott, Bishopbriggs Golf Range 
Christopher Currie, Caldwell Golf Club 
Gareth Hardy, Belleisle Golf Course 
 1 11:11 AM
 Ross MacLeod, Clydeway Golf 
Daniel Wood, Hirsel Golf Club 
Jordan Gallagher, Douglas Park Golf Club 
1 11:22 AM
 Campbell Elliott, Haggs Castle Golf Club 
Stuart Morrison, Tain Golf Club 
Calum Lawson, Wellsgreen Golf Range 
1 11:33 AM
 David Orr, Mearns Castle Golf Academy 
Terry Mathieson, Murcar Links Golf Club Scott Gibson (a)

1 11:44 AM 
Stephen Gray, Hayston Golf Club 
Grant Smith, Gleneagles Hotel Golf Courses 
Patrick Walker, Ballumbie Castle Golf Course 
1 11:55 AM 
Graeme Brown, Montrose Golf Links Ltd. 
Greg Paxton, Ralston Golf Club 
Stephen Lamb, Macdonald Cardrona
1 12:06 PM 
Steven Taylor, Bothwell Castle Golf Club 
Keir McNicoll, Gullane Golf Club 
Iain Stoddart, Uphall Golf Club

ZACH JOHNSON WINS BMW CHAMPIONSHIP BY TWO SHOTS

FROM THE BBC SPORTS WEBSITE

BMW Championship final leaderboard (US unless stated)

• -16: Z Johnson
• -14: N Watney
• -13: J Furyk
• -11: J Day (Aus), L Donald (Eng), H Mahan, S Stricker
• Selected others: -9: T Woods; -5: S Garcia (Spa); -4: D Lynn (Eng); -2: A Scott (Aus); -1: B Davis (Eng), J Rose (Eng)

American Zach Johnson shot a final-round 65 to win the BMW Championship and climb into the top five in the race for the season-ending FedEx Cup.

Johnson, on 16 under, finished two ahead of Nick Watney and three better than third-round leader Jim Furyk, with Tiger Woods seven adrift.
Woods and Johnson are amongst the five who can win the $10m (£6.3m) FedEx Cup  with victory in Atlanta next weekend.

How the FedEx Cup works

• Players pick up points throughout the regular season in each event they play. Most tournaments give 500 points to the winner
• The top 125 players enter the play-offs, which consist of four tournaments and where victory carries 2,500 points
• The field is whittled down to 30 for the final event, the Tour Championship
• Points are reset, so the number one player has 2,500 points, number two has 2,250 and so on to number 30, who has 210
• In theory, all 30 players could win the FedEx Cup, but only the top five are guaranteed to take the trophy if they win the Tour Championship

Luke Donald finished tied for fourth to reach the final event at East Lake.

The Englishman followed his third-round 67 with a 66 in Monday's rain-delayed final round to climb from 54th to 29th in the FedEx Cup standings, with 30 men moving on to the Tour Championship.
Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion, picked up the $1.44m (£900,000) top prize and his 10th career title.
Furyk, who became only the sixth player to card a sub-60 round when he fired a second-round 59, has now squandered his last six 54-hole leads.
Woods had begun the day four behind Furyk, but a level-par round of 71 saw him slide down the leaderboard.
The world number one can console himself with the knowledge that he has his FedEx Cup destiny in his own hands.
Along with Johnson, fellow American Matt Kuchar, Sweden's Henrik Stenson and Australian Adam Scott are the players who are not relying on others to falter in Atlanta.
Furyk began the back nine with a two-shot lead over Johnson at Conway Farms in Illinois, but the world number 24's bogey-free round would eventually see him home.
A birdie on the par-four 12th saw Johnson draw level, with Watney's 14 under at one point being good enough for a three-way share of the lead and the lowest score in the clubhouse.
But Johnson's birdies at 16 and 17, the latter courtesy of a 13-foot putt, took him to 16 under. For Furyk, a bogey via a bunker on 16 and three putts at each of 17 and 18 ended his challenge.
He would drop a shot behind Watney, who also jumped into the field for the Tour Championship.
However, his progress, along with that of Donald, ensured that England's Lee Westwood will miss out.

IAN HUTCHEON MEMORABLE VICTORY IN MONIFIETH CHAMPIONSHIP

^{NEWS RELEASE FROM MONIFIETH GOLF CLUB}

This was a historic day in the Club’s history with Ian 

Hutcheon at the age of 71years playing his nephew Chris 

Hutcheon,the defending champion. 

The golfing pedigree of the Hutcheon family is well 

documented and the close fought game in a gale force wind 

at Monifieth Links spoke volumes for the prowess of both 

players. Ian finally prevailed by 2 and 1, winning the championship for the 17^th time and more importantly for Ian, 

it meant he had won at least once in each of the last 6 

decades - his first victory achieved 51 years ago in 1962.

The  photo shows from left Chris D. Hutcheon, Bill 

Miller (Capt), Ian C. Hutcheon.

For further information on Ian’s past successes see http://www.monifiethgolfclub.co.uk/history/ian-hutcheon/

 

 

 

 

START THINKING ABOUT US COLLEGES AT THE AGE OF 15, SAYS GAVIN

FROM GAVIN DEAR

Golf Scholars

Just wanted to give you an update on Golf Scholars, we have started off well, have some players signed up and a large number of coaches. One of the major issues we have found, is that parents and young golfers don't realise that the Recruiting Process takes time! 

You really need to be thinking about it from the age of 15, which means the players may play off a slightly higher handicap. There is also a misconception that young golfers must play off a plus handicap.

This is simply not true, there are a number of boys who have gone to America on Scholarship from handicap of 4 - if they have strong academics, Girls can play off anything up to 8. At the end of the day Academics are key, and the SAT test will determine what level and which Universities you can play for. 

Golf Scholars has also launched a 14 day free trial period, to allow parents and young golfers to have a look at the site and understand how it works. 

If anyone has questions please contact us at info@golfscholars.com

Gavin Dear

THAWORN WINS RECORD 16TH ASIAN TOUR TITLE AT AGE OF 46

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ASIAN TOUR
Singapore: Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant showed never to write off an old man when he saved the best for last by snatching the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship (TPC) title from American rookie Chan Kim to win his record 16^th Asian Tour title on Sunday.

While the 46-year-old has not lit the scene in his previous eight starts before his arrival in Chinese Taipei, the reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion showed his mettle by going the distance to ink another piece of history and leapfrog from 63^rd place to 14^th place on the merit rankings with his season haul of US$116,134.

“I’m very proud because I can still win at the age of 46. I was really struggling with my irons but I chipped and putted so well. I honestly didn’t think that I could win,” said Thaworn, whose best result prior to this week was a tied 28^th finish in Indonesia in May.

Mother Nature played a pivotal role when the Thai veteran clinched the inaugural Yeangder TPC title in 2010 and it proved to be Thaworn’s lucky star again when play was suspended for over an hour, allowing him to regroup and map out his final strategy.

“I was lucky when I won the Yeangder TPC in 2010. Nature helped me that year because we only played 54 holes!” said Thaworn.

“After the first four holes, I didn’t think I had a chance to win the tournament at all because Chan Kim played very well. Play was suspended for an hour and it got better for me after that because I birdied five and six,” added Thaworn.

Kim was left to rue what could have been after three costly bogeys starting from the 15^th put paid to any hopes of a fairytale ending in his rookie season.

The 23-year-old could however take consolation that his second placed finish at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club has lifted him to 33^rd place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

“I played pretty solid throughout the whole round. I have no complaints. I just had a few bad shots here and there. I want to carry that onto my next tournament and keep it going,” said Kim, who enjoyed his biggest prize cheque of US$55,000 since he topped the class at Qualifying School in January.

“It was really fun just to learn from one of the game’s best golfers. I’ve a lot to learn from him and I’m glad I had the opportunity to play with him,” added Kim.

Philippines’ Angelo Que meanwhile moved up five spots to 11^th place courtesy of his third place finish at the Yeangder TPC.

His spell binding performance, where he needed only 21 putts on the final day to put himself into contention for his fourth Asian Tour win, virtually sealed his place at the World Cup of Golf in November and put himself in the brink of a place in the lucrative CIMB Classic in Malaysia next month.

“I feel great. This week was pretty big. It was a week for me to secure my spot in the World Cup of Golf and my Asian Tour card for next season. At the same time, I think I have a chance to get into the CIMB Classic now. If I keep doing what I’ve been doing then I think I can get to play at the CIMB Classic for the first time,” said Que.

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat continues to lead the Order of Merit on US$679,999 with India’s Gagnajeet Bhullar and Australia’s Scott Hend in second and third place respectively on US$279,193 and US$273,128/

The Asian Tour will take a week’s break before heading to Japan for the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open which tees off from September 26-29.

 

Asian Tour Order of Merit Top-20

Pos Player Order of Merit (US$)

 

1 Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) $679,999.36

2 Gaganjeet BHULLAR   (IND) $279,193.59

3 Scott HEND   (AUS)   $273,128.13

4 Thongchai JAIDEE   (THA) $238,391.48

5 BAEK Seuk-hyun   (KOR) $186,068.54

6 LIANG Wen-chong   (CHN) $185,383.29

7 Anirban LAHIRI   (IND) $148,085.24

8 Wade ORMSBY   (AUS) $145,317.27

9 Shiv KAPUR   (IND) $129,934.57

10 Berry HENSON   (USA) $125,616.15

11 Angelo QUE   (PHI) $122,655.05

12 Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) $121,089.15

13 KIM Gi-whan   (KOR) $117,217.27

14 Thaworn WIRATCHANT   (THA) $116,134.62

15 Pariya JUNHASAVASDIKUL   (THA) $106,704.53

16 Rikard KARLBERG   (SWE) $104,457.59

17 SIDDIKUR   (BAN) $103,333.50

18 Joonas GRANBERG   (FIN) $86,437.83

19 Bryce EASTON   (RSA) $86,159.05

20 Arnond VONGVANIJ   (THA) $84,877.45

 

RAIN WASHES BMW CHAMPIONSHIP INTO FIFTH DAY

By US PGATOUR.COM wire reports
LAKE FOREST, Illinois -- Jim Furyk will have to wait one more day to try to end three years without a US PGA Tour victory.
The final round of the BMW Championship was suspended Sunday because of steady rain that left too much water on Conway Farms. Furyk, the 2010 FedExCup champion who has a one-shot lead over Steve Stricker, was still about two hours away from even teeing off.

BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

Full leaderboard   See you Monday   Projected FedExCup   TOUR Report notes   Sunday photos  

"The bad news -- obviously, I'm anxious to get out there and play, as is everyone else," Furyk said. "But the good news is no one wants to go out and play in this and slop it around in bad weather on a golf course where we're playing the ball down and it's probably a little too wet out there."
Rory McIlroy found one small consolation to the end of his PGA TOUR season -- he was one of six players who finished. McIlroy had yet another double bogey -- that's 12 double bogeys and a triple bogey in three FedExCup Playoffs events -- but holed out from 164 yards for eagle on the 12th hole and had his second straight 68.
It was the first time he had back-to-back rounds in the 60s in the same tournament this year on the PGA TOUR.
Furyk was at 13-under 200 and in the final group with Stricker. Brandt Snedeker was two shots behind at 202, followed by Zach Johnson at 203 and Tiger Woods at 204. Woods was penalized two shots on Friday when his ball moved as he was removing a small branch next to it behind the first green.
Dustin Johnson closed with a 72 and has to wait to make sure no one bumps him out of the top 30 in the FedExCup, which would keep him from the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Johnson tried to hit 3-wood into the par-5 18th green and produced two splashes -- one from water getting between the club face and the ball, the other when the ball came down well short and into a creek.
"It just came out dead," he said.
Everyone else was to return to Conway Farms on Monday morning and act like Sunday never happened.
"I think we got the better end of the deal by not even playing in it," Stricker said.
Slugger White, the vice president of rules and competition for the PGA TOUR, said the forecast was for a half-inch of rain over six hours, which would not have been enough for water to accumulate. Instead, there was an inch of rain and so much water that there would have been no place to take relief from casual water. The problem holes were Nos. 3, 9, 10 and 12.
"Casual water was going to take us to where we couldn't play," White said.
The TOUR chose to play the ball down, meaning players could not lift, clean and replace their golf balls through the green. Play was stopped for 3 hours in the late morning, and then it was called again for good after the round resumed for just under an hour.
Of the 48 players who at least teed off, none were within 10 shots of the lead when they started.
Even so, the conditions were difficult for those who still had something at stake. Charles Howell III started the week at No. 31 in the FedExCup standings. He was 1 over through four holes. Rickie Fowler had a chance to get into the top 30 and advance to the TOUR Championship. He shot 77 in the first round and bounced back with a pair of 68s. Fowler was 2 under through four holes Sunday.
The final round was to resume at 8 a.m. local time Monday with a reasonable forecast.