WEST MIDLANDS PAIR PIPPED IN INTERNATIONAL PAIRS WORLD FINAL AT MACHRIHANISH DUNES

Manuel Hernandez Gonzalez and Manuel Sanchez Varela of Team Spain were the winners of the 2013 International Pairs World Finals, held at Machrihanish Dunes. 
With a Stableford score of 41pt, the team from Spain won a nail biting play-off against England's Marcus Law and Stuart Stamps (pictured right) from Hagley Golf Club in the West Midlands.
South Africa’s team of Johann Strauss and Pierre van Graan came third with a score of 39. 
The 2013 International Pairs World Final, hosted at The Village at Machrihanish Dunes, brought together finalists from across the globe in what event organizer Patrick Mulcrone called the ultimate test of golf.

“All in attendance described the setting and course for this final as perfect,” Mulcrone said, “with many holes hugging the rugged and picturesque shores of the Mull of Kintyre. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff in attendance and the testing links course was in absolutely perfect condition for the competitors, who prepared for battle in Scotland, the home of golf.”
There were no clear-cut favourites and the final scores underlined just how competitive the event was.  At the end, there were two teams left, Spain and England on 41 points apiece; Manuel Sanchez Varela (handicap 11) and Manuel Hernandez Gonzalez (2) representing Spain and Stuart Stamps (9) and Marcus Law (5) representing England. 
After the first extra hole was halved when Law called a penalty on himself because his ball had moved on the green, the excitement and tension level of the match only grew higher.

On the second playoff hole, both Spaniards drove to within chipping distance of the hole on the lower level of the green and went on to clinch the tournament by putting out for par.

GREAT SCOTT! AMATEUR CRICHTON LEADS SPANISH 36-HOLE EVENT

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com 
Scottish amateur cap Scott Crichton, pictured, from Aberdour leads the field at the halfway stage of the Corvera Open at Corvera Golf and Country Club, Murcia in south-east Spain.
Crichton shot a seven-under-par 65 which included nine birdies (the first, third, fifth, long seventh, 10th, long 11th, long 14th, 16th and 18th - and two bogeys (sixth and short 15th) in halves of 33 and 36.
He leads the 36-hole Evolve Tour event by one shot.
Other Scots in the picture are former Scottish boys match-play champion Paul Ferrier (Baberton), now a tour pro, and Tartan Tour campaigner Neil Fenwick from Dunbar.
Ferrier is joint 10th after a round of 69 in which he had five birdies in a span of nine holes from the third to the 11th - birdies at the third, fifth, sixth, seventh and 11th, sandwiched between bogeys at the second and 14th.
Fenwick bogeyed the first first three holes and then covered the remaining 15 in five under par - birdies at the fourth, seventh, 11th, 14th and 16th - for a 70. He is joint 12th in the field of 30 players.

CORVERA OPEN
Corvera Golf and Country Club, Murcia, Spain
FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72
65 Scott Crichton (Sco) (am)
66 Phillip Mejow (Ger), George Woolgar (Eng).
67 Justin Brink (SAf), David Callaway (Eng).

OTHER SCOTS' SCOTS
69 Paul Ferrier (T10)
70 Neil Fenwick (T12).


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MONTY EARNS $113,366 FOR JOINT THIRD FINISH ON US SENIORS TOUR

Colin Montgomerie earned $113,366 for a joint third place finish in the AT and T Championship at San Antonio, Texas,. the penultimate tournament on the US Champions' schedule for 2013.
Monty had scores of68, 68 and 69 for an 11-under-par total of 205, sharing third place with Americans Fred Fun k and Kirk Triplett behind play-off participants Kenny Perry (USA) and Florida-based German Bernhard Langer who tied on 203.
Perry won the play-off at the first extra hole to collect the $285,000 first prize. Langer earned $167,200.
Montgomerie has earned $322,945 from 10 events on the US seniors' circuit since he turned 50 earlier in the summer. He is 47th on the money list but only the top 35 qualify for the season-ending Charles Schwab Championship at San Francisco.
LEADING TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
203 Kenny Perry (USA) 65 71 67, Bernhard Langer (Ger) 67 69 67 (Perry beat Langer at first hole of play-off). 
205 Colin Montgomerie (Sco) 68 68 69, Fred Funk (USA) 69 69 67, Kirk Triplett (USA) 70 67 68.
SELECTED TOTAL
222 Roger Chapman (England) 77 72 72 (T69) ($1,729).

PERRY BEATS LANGER IN PLAY-OFF TO WIN SENIORS' AT and T CHAMPIONSHIP

FROM THE US CHAMPIONS' TOUR WEBSITE

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Kenny Perry made a 10-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff with Bernhard Langer on Sunday to win the Champions Tour's AT and T Championship at TPC San Antonio.

RELATED

Leaderboard Results, money Highlights Notebook
  Money list Schwab Cup

Perry and Langer each shot 5-under 67 to finish at 13-under 203 on TPC San Antonio's AT and T Canyons Course. Perry saved par on the final hole of regulation with an 18-foot putt.
"I made clutch putts just to even hang in there with him," Perry said. "Putter saved me."
He didn't know he needed to make the long putt on 18 in regulation to remain tied with Langer, who was playing in the group behind him.
"When I made that putt, I thought I had a one-shot lead and that he would have to birdie 18 to catch me," Perry said. "I look over there, and he had birdied 17. I thought, `Dang, I had to make that to tie.' So, I guess it was a good mindset for me to know that I was relaxed and could putt with a good speed and hit it right in the middle."
Perry hit an 8-iron from 176 yards to set up the winning 10-foot putt in the playoff.
"It was perfect," Perry said. "I was jacked up, downwind, lot of adrenaline. I hit it the perfect distance. It was an amazing shot. I usually hit 160 with an 8-iron. Isn't that funny what adrenaline does to you?"
Perry extended his lead in the Charles Schwab Cup from 494 to 612 points entering the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship next week in San Francisco. The 14-time PGA TOUR winner won the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship and U.S. Senior Open in consecutive tour starts this summer and has five career victories on the 50-and-over circuit.
"I'm the guy that's being hunted," Perry said. "I think you have a different attitude when you're the hunter, and you're trying to attack. He's in the attack mode every week, trying to catch me, and I'm trying to play defense like a goalie in hockey. I'm trying to block him and keep him away."
The top 30 on the money list qualified for the finale, though Perry and Langer are the only players with a shot at the $1 million annuity for the points title.
"He's going in with a very large lead," Langer said. "I don't know if it's over. Theoretically, it's possible. I'm going to play as well as I can and see what happens."
Langer also lost a playoff last year in the event, falling to David Frost on the second extra hole.
"I don't feel all that bad," Langer said. "I played really good golf and kept my emotions in check. I was pretty relaxed. I have no regrets whatsoever. It just turned out that one person in the field beat me in the playoff. There's not much I can do about that."
Fred Funk, Colin Montgomerie and Kirk Triplett tied for third, two shots back. Funk shot 67, Triplett had a 68 and Montgomerie a 69.

RORY BEATS TIGER IN CHINA EXHIBITION MATCH

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE

HAIKOU, China (AP) -- Rory McIlroy won today for the first time this year -- even if it was an 18-hole exhibition against Tiger Woods.
McIlroy made four birdies and an eagle over the last seven holes at Mission Hills for a 6-under 67, giving him a one-shot win over Woods. It was the second straight year McIlroy has defeated Woods at the medal match in China.
"I would like to play all my tournaments in China where I can beat Tiger," McIlroy said, tongue in cheek.
Even an unofficial win has to count for something. McIlroy beat Tiger last year at Jinsha Lake under far different circumstances. McIlroy was a major champion, No. 1 in the world and on his way to sweeping all the important awards. He signed a lucrative deal with Nike a short time later, and this season has been a struggle. 
McIlroy has had only one reasonable chance to win a tournament, and he didn't even qualify for the Tour Championship on the US Tour.
He is using a new driver and a softer golf ball, even prompting Woods to say to him after one chip, "How did you do that?"
The banter was free and easy, mostly about equipment. Woods was trying to recover from a virus he picked up from his daughter, and spent most of the afternoon asking his caddie for cough drops.
The golf was spectacular over the final hour on the Blackstone Course, however.
Woods had a one-shot lead and hit a marvelous approach to 10 feet on the par-5 12th. McIlroy followed with a long iron into 5 feet, and both made eagle. They both made birdie on the 13th, and McIlroy caught him with a 6-foot birdie on the 14th.
They birdied the 16th to reach 5-under, and the match turned on the next hole. Woods came up short on his approach to the 17th, and after nearly flying his pitch into the cup, he missed a 5-foot par putt. Woods had a 20-foot eagle putt on the 18th for the tie. He missed, and McIlroy knocked in his 3-foot birdie.
Woods could hardly raise his voice after the round.
"I don't sound all that well now, but it was nice that it was warm out there today," Woods said. "That certainly helped because I think my fever broke and I can start feeling a bit better. But I tell you what, when you have kids, they bring home some strong bugs, and this one has definitely been kicking my butt for the last couple of days."
McIlroy was headed back to Shanghai for the HSBC Champions. Woods is skipping the World Golf Championship, and will play next week in the Turkish Open.
"I've seen a lot of promising signs over the past few weeks in practice and also in competitive play," McIlroy said. "I still have four tournaments left until the end of the season and I would love to finish 2013 strongly and get a little bit of momentum going into next season. But I think as I showed out there, I'm hitting the ball well.
"If I can just get the putter going a little bit more, then in these last four tournaments I can hope to contend and maybe pick up a win or two."

  

BUCHANAN RECOVERS FROM SHAKY START IN QATAR CLASSIC

Tom Buchanan overcame an early double bogey at a short hole to be the leading Scot on par 72 at the end of the first round of this week's MENA Tour 54-hole event, the Qatar Classic at Doha Golf Club.
Buchanan, joint 11th, three shots behind the leader, South African Tyler Hogarty, birdied the fourth, long 10th, 14th and 16th in halves of 39 and 33. His scrappy start saw him run up a 5 at the short third and also drop shots at the fifth and sixth.
Buchanan is attached to the Al Ain Club in the Middle East.
Mortonhall's Greg Nicolson is joint 18th after a 73 which included four birdies and five bogeys in halves of 37-36.

QATAR CLASSIC
Doha Golf Club
FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72
69 Tyler Hogarty (SAf)
70 Daniel Owen (Eng), Daniel Wardrop (Eng), Lee Corfield (Eng)
71 Stephen Dodd (Wal), Sergio Gutierrez Sanchez (Spa), Jonathan Fransson (Swe), Tom Boys (Eng), James Allan (Eng) (am), Hamza Amiun (Pak).
72 Tom Buchanan (Sco), Yasin Ali (Eng), Fredrik Quicker (Swe), Younes El Hassani (Mor), Ahmed Reda Rhazah (Mor), Zane Scotland (Eng).
OTHER SCOTS' SCORES:
73 Greg Nicolson (T18)
74 Steven Troup (T26)
76 Fraser McKenna, Ted Innes Ker (T41).
77 Clarke Lutton, Conor O'Neil (T58)
78 Graeme Stewart (T71)

ends

RENFREWSHIRE WIN WEST OF SCOTLAND LEAGUE FOR 12TH TIME IN A ROW

FROM JIM PATON, Dumbartonshire team manager

At last, at the third time of asking, the long awaited match between Dumbartonshire and Renfrewshire to see if DGU could stop the amazing progress of Renfrewshire winning the West of Scotland League for the 12th time in a row.

Unfortunately this wasn't the case. Played at a wet (where isn't) Kirkintilloch Golf Club, both teams put in a sterling performance in the wet, cold conditions.  

I don't think we ever had the upper hand, but after the fourth game, DGU had halved two games, lost two and the other 4 games looked like going to the 18th giving Renfrewshire a slight  worry. However the Renfrewshire players in games 5, 6 and 7 all managed to win their games with the last game being halved.

So many congratulations to Renfrewshire GU and all the players who represented their county for this magnificent achievement.

 

MOORE BEATS WOODLAND IN KUALA LUMPUR EARLY MORNING PLAY-OFF

  NEWS RELEASE FROM ASIAN TOUR

Kuala Lumpur, October 28: American Ryan Moore defeated countryman Gary Woodland with a magical birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the CIMB Classic on Monday.

The 30-year-old Moore hit an exquisite eight iron approach shot to within three feet of the par five 18^th hole at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club’s West course to claim his third PGA TOUR title in the US$7 million event sanctioned with the Asian Tour.

Woodland, who had missed a birdie putt on the 72^nd hole on Sunday evening for the victory, missed the green in regulation and then left his fourth shot short of the hole to settle for the runner-up place.                                                                                                 

“Playing a play-off with someone like Gary, I know I don't want it to last very long,” said a delighted Moore, who won the top cheque of US$1.26 million in what is Asia’s first official FedExCup event.

“I had a great opportunity there on 18 with my third shot, and it was just an absolute perfect number. It was 158 yards, a little bit back up the hill, so for me that was just a perfect slightly choked down full eight iron.

“Fortunately it was a back right pin, too, and I like to hit a little cut. It was coincidentally the exact shot I was working on the range … with my nine iron I was actually as I didn't hit my lay up quite as far as I had planned on. I was planning on having a nine iron in and I had the eight iron, but it's essentially the exact shame shot, and fortunately I hit it right next to the hole.”

The Las Vegas-based Moore said he was pumped up for the play-off after making a crucial par save on the 72^nd hole in near-darkness on Sunday after a wonderful approach shot as well. 

“Sleeping was not a matter of the fact that I had to come back and play a play-off this morning and try and win a million dollars. It was the fact that I was a little bit jacked up because I just made an amazing up and down on the 18th hole to just tie and even get into it. So I just had that little bit of adrenaline, so it was more getting that out of the system than nerves for this morning,” said Moore, who is ranked 31^st in the world.

Woodland, who was chasing his third PGA TOUR title, was disappointed he came up short against Moore after both players ended regulation play on 14-under-par 278. “It was tough. It was a long hole, and Ryan hit a great shot in there and obviously made a good birdie. But I thought I hit a pretty good shot on the third, just obviously coming out of the rough, I would have like to have been in the fairway, came out of the rough and came up a little short,” said Woodland.

He said he would not have hit his birdie putt any differently on the 72^nd hole during the final round which would have sealed victory for him.

“I'd like to make that putt. I hit it where I wanted to, it just broke more. I can see it now, it was a little lighter out right now, I can see it broke a little more, but it is what it is. I hit a good putt, and it just didn't go in,” said the 29-year-old.

One of the longest hitters on Tour, Woodland took the safety first approach in the play-off with a long iron off the tee but pushed his second shot into the rough. From there, he struggled home as Moore cruised to victory.

“I didn't think I could cover the bunkers this morning, especially where that pin was. If the pin was up front, we probably would have been a little more aggressive, but with the pin in the back I didn't want to leave it short of the bunker and have a tough third shot.  We decided to lay up and tried to hit a good wedge in there,” he said.

“I really enjoyed my time here. Obviously I played pretty well, just came up one shot short.  All in all it was a great week, something to build on, and look forward to coming back.”

 

NEW QUALIFYING SET-UP FOR 2014 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP AT HOYLAKE

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE R and A

 A new international qualifying series featuring events on the world’s leading golf tours is being introduced for The Open Championship which takes place at Royal Liverpool (Hoylake) from 13-20 July, 2014.

The Open Qualifying Series will comprise 14 events in nine countries on five continents and will offer players the opportunity to qualify for golf’s oldest Major Championship at prestigious events on the US PGA Tour, the European Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia, the Japan Golf Tour and the Sunshine Tour.

Nine qualifying places will be available on both the PGA and European Tours. Players will be able to qualify on the PGA Tour at each of the AT&T National, The Greenbrier Classic and the John Deere Classic*. 

In Europe, players will be able to qualify at the Irish Open, the Alstom Open de France and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open prior to The Open.

The Qualifying Series will commence with the Emirates Australian Open which runs from 28 November - 1 December, 2013. Qualifying places will also be available at the Mizuno Open on the Japan Golf Tour, The Open Qualifying Series – Thailand and the Joburg Open in South Africa.

Peter Dawson, the Chief Executive of The R and A, said, “This is a significant change to the qualifying process for The Open and one which will make the Championship as open as possible to players from around the world.

“The new Open Qualifying Series will create an exciting build-up to The Open as players bid to secure their places in the weeks leading up to the Championship. We believe it will enhance the qualification process by giving players the opportunity to qualify at 72-hole championships as well as being more convenient in terms of their scheduling.

“We are very much looking forward to The Open 2014 Qualifying Series getting underway next month in Australia.”

Tim Finchem, the Commissioner of the PGA Tour, said, “We welcome this initiative from The R and A which will offer qualifying places at three events on the US PGA Tour in the lead-up to The Open. This will give the players a clear pathway to secure their place in The Open at three prestigious events and create some added interest as players try to qualify for the world’s oldest Major Championship.”

George O'Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said: “Incorporating the new Qualifying Series within three of The European Tour’s strongest tournaments on three of Europe’s finest courses will ensure qualifiers of the highest quality progress through to The Open Championship in July. We are delighted to support The R and A in this change which will be warmly welcomed by The European Tour membership.”
Two-time Open Champion Padraig Harrington said, “I really do think it will attract more players to the Irish Open, especially those who are not already exempt for The Open Championship, and some quality players will be in that category.  

"The Scottish Open and the French Open are also going to be involved which will also make those events stronger, whilst ensuring that The Open will have the strongest possible field.  It’s a nice boost for the European Tour from The R and A.”

Paul Lawrie, the 1999 Open Champion, added, “I think there are two things that jump out.  It’s going to strengthen the tournaments where those places are going to be coming from and that it is qualifying over a 72-hole event, which I think is fairer for the players trying to qualify.”

The 2001 Open Champion David Duval said, “I feel like The Open Championship is the most important golf tournament of the year. For guys to know that many weeks ahead of time that they are in, that they have qualified, and that they have had the chance to play 72 holes to do it, I think it’s a brilliant idea.”

The Open Qualifying Series will replace International Final Qualifying (IFQ) for The Open Championship which was introduced in 2004 and involved 36-hole qualifying events in Australasia, Asia, Africa, America and Europe.

Final Qualifying for The Open Championship has also been changed for 2014.  Final Qualifying will continue to offer three places at each of four events in the UK but for the first time next year they will be played at four venues covering Scotland and the North-west, Central and South-coast regions of England to provide a more accessible route into The Open for competitors qualifying from the 13 Regional Qualifying events around the country. 

The venues are: Gailes Links, Hillside, Woburn and Royal Cinque Ports.

For more information visit TheOpen.com.

The Open Qualifying Series (OQS) will offer the following qualification places in The Open Championship:

Open Qualifying Series	Event	No of places	Detail
OQS-Australia	The Emirates Australian Open	3	three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties
OQS-South Africa	The Joburg Open	3	three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties
OQS-Thailand	The Open Qualifying Series - Thailand	4	four places to the leading four players
OQS-Japan	The Mizuno Open	4	four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties
OQS-Ireland	The Irish Open	3	three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties
OQS-France	Alstom Open de France	3	three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties
OQS-Scotland	Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open	3	three places to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties
OQS-USA	AT&T National	4	four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties
OQS-USA	The Greenbrier Classic	4	four places to the leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties
OQS-USA	John Deere Classic	1*	one place to the leading player (not otherwise exempt) who finishes in the top five and ties
OQS-Final Qualifying	Gailes Links Hillside Royal Cinque Ports Woburn	12	Three places available at each event

*There is one place in the John Deere Classic due to the logistics of qualifiers travelling to play in The Open at short notice.

NB: Any player who has qualified through The Open Qualifying Series is deemed an exempt player. In the event that that player subsequently fulfils other exemption categories those places in the starting field will be subject to Section G of The Open Championship Entry Form (i.e. these places will be made available to the highest ranked players on OWGR after the close of entries).

The Open Championship:

The 143rd Open Championship will be played at Royal Liverpool, Hoylake from 13-20 July, 2014.

The Open Championship is golf’s oldest Major. Played since 1860 on British links golf courses, it is the game’s most international Major Championship with qualifying events on every continent. For one week each year, the pursuit of the famous Claret Jug trophy is the focus of the sporting world, followed globally by millions of fans.

Organised by The R and A, The Open delivers an annual economic benefit of up to £100 million to its host region, while the Championship’s commercial success supports the development of the game, worldwide.