REPORT AND SCORES FROM PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA

WALKER AND SPIETH SHARE LEAD AT 

NINE-UNDER-PAR

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE

In the second round of the 2014 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Jimmy Walker and Jordan Spieth share the lead at 9-under.

Pebble Beach, California (AP) -- The wind and the rain arrived Friday, perhaps a prelude to a nasty weekend. Leave it to a pair of Texans -- Jimmy Walker and Jordan Spieth -- to thrive in Crosby Clambake conditions at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Leaderboard
Tee times
LIVE@ times
Featured Groups
TOUR Report
Social Hub
Projected FedExCup

Walker made some tough par saves and wound up bogey-free at Spyglass Hill with a 3-under 69. Spieth was down the coast at Monterey Peninsula, where he called the birdie on his final hole the best of his life. He's only 20, but it was a proud moment.
They are tied for the lead going into the third round, one shot to par ahead of Hunter Mahan.
The slight advantage would go to Walker, who was at 9-under 135. Already a two-time winner this season, Walker next goes over to Monterey Peninsula, the easiest of the three courses in the rotation. Spieth was at 9-under 134 and headed to Pebble Beach, which can be brutal in nasty weather.
And the forecast for Saturday was not particularly pleasant.
Along with a three-club wind on the exposed sections of all three courses, steady rain began coming down sideways toward the end of the second round. There was about a 75 percent chance for more rain Saturday.
More than looking ahead, Spieth was looking behind. He was happy to at least get Spyglass out of the way already, having opened with a 67 on Thursday. That didn't make the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula a picnic.
"Today was very difficult," Spieth said. "We started out in the rain and wind, and we finished in rainier and windier," he said.
Spieth caught Walker for a share of the lead on the 187-yard ninth hole, which typically requires a 6-iron. He watched Kevin Chappell hit first with a 3-iron, and the ball rolled back down off the front of the green. Spieth doesn't carry a 3-iron.
"I went to a hybrid," he said. "And I just kind of hit a little stinger cut about 20 feet away. And then it was normally a straight putt and Michael (Greller) and I, my caddie, are looking at each other saying, 'Well, we've got to play this about a foot out to the right with the wind.' And so I hit it a foot out. With about 3 feet to go, the wind just blew it right, just broke perfectly right into the hole."
Walker's best holes were his pars, particularly the par-5 14th. His 8-iron came back down into a bunker, leaving him such an awkward lie that he had to plant his feet outside the sand. With a shallow swing, he did well to blast out 12 feet away, and he made the par putt.
"That was pretty big to keep it feeling like things were still in my favor," Walker said.
He made two long birdie putts, and then hit a drive of nearly 390 yards on the seventh hole -- with the aid of a cart path. It left him only an 8-iron to the green, and he had an easy up-and-down for his final birdie.
Mahan had a 68 at Spyglass Hill, with half of his six birdies on the par 5s. He was at 8-under 136.
"Coming up these last few holes are tough," Mahan said. "They're uphill, they got the wind, it's getting cold, raining. You just don't want to throw away shots. Because this can be a long week, and it could be mentally more grinding than anything."
Andrew Loupe, who has missed every cut in his rookie season so far, followed his 63 at Monterey Peninsula with a 73 at Pebble Beach. That wasn't too bad, for Pebble Beach was playing to an average of 74.1, about 2 strokes more difficult than Thursday. He was at 7-under 136 and plays Spyglass on Saturday.
Phil Mickelson finished off his 66 at Monterey on Friday morning, and then got an early indication at Pebble Beach that this might be a long day. He three-putted from 5 feet above the hole on the par-5 second for a double bogey. Mickelson holed some good birdies, but missed plenty of short ones. He switched from a conventional grip to the claw during his round, searching for answers. A three-putt bogey on the 18th at Pebble gave him a 73. He was at 4-under 139, still very much in the game.
"Tee to green, I'm playing very well, but I haven't putted this poorly in a year," he said. "For the way I'm hitting it, it's a little disappointing because I should have a really good opportunity. And I'll have to turn it around. It's not too late, but I've got to get it turned around here."
This is his last tournament until the Florida swing.
David Duval showed some promise in his first PGA TOUR event of the year with a 68 at Spyglass, a course that traditionally gives him fits. He was at 4-under 140.
"What's the forecast tomorrow? More of this? Cool," Mickelson said with a deadpan delivery. "We've had a great run of weather ... so we certainly can't complain. It's sometimes a fun challenge to play out here as the reigning Scottish and British Open champion. I don't really mind the elements, but I do have to get this putter worked out."
It already was a challenge for so many others. John Daly shot 79 at Monterey Peninsula. Four players failed to break 80. Two-time champion Dustin Johnson fell back with a 73 at Monterey. Jason Day of Australia shot 77 at Pebble Beach with one birdie.
 SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Players from USA unless stated
134 Jordan Spieth 67 67
135 Jimmy Walker 66 69
136 Hunter Mahan 68 68, Andrew Loupe 63 73
137 Richard H Lee 65 72
SELECTED SCORES
139 Phil Mickelson 66 73 (T17)
141 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 72 69, Greg Owen (England) 67 74
142 Russell Knox (Scotland) 70 72, Brian Davis (England) 68 74, Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) 71 71
143 Paul McGinley (Ireland) 67 76
145 Raf Cabrera-Bello (Spain) 74 71
152 John Daly 73 79.

 
TO VIEW ALL FRIDAY'S SCORES AND, ON
SATURDAY EVENING, THE THIRD-ROUND 
LIVE SCORING

CLICK HEREhttp://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/at-t-pebble-beach-national-pro-am/leaderboard.html

Send for Sherlock Holmes - : Colin Farquharson cannot find the solution on his own

THE MYSTEROUS CASE OF STIRLING  
ARMOUR AND THE DOUGLAS McD PHILIP TROPHY

Cults Hotel owner Alastair Hutcheson, nephew of the late Douglas McD Philip, pictured with (left) the S C Armour Salver and (right) the Douglas McD Philip Trophy of which Armour was the first winner in 1957 at Hazlehead.

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
In 1956 Stirling Armour won the Royal Aberdeen club championship.
In 1957 Stirling Armour was the first winner of the Douglas McD Philip Trophy, a tournament set up by Douglas McD Philip who was an Aberdeen Football Club director.
His brainwave was to set up a match-play tournament, to be played at Hazlehead, early in a new golf season and featuring the champions from the previous year of the Aberdeen golf clubs - Bon Accord, Caledonian, Victoria, Royal Aberdeen, Murcar, Hazlehead and Nigg Bay.
From memory, I think that if for any reason the club champion was unavailable for the tournament played on weekday evenings, then the beaten finalist could step in.
Fast forward 56 years ... and a salver with the inscription
 
S C ARMOUR
Douglas McD Philip Trophy 1957
 
turned up at a silent auction at Aberchirder's Marnoch Church Social Club.
There were no bids for the tarnished trophy and it might well have finished up in the bucket but for
Duff House Royal Golf Club member Sally Morrison, a member of the church social club committee, who contacted me and asked if I had heard of S C Armour and the Douglas McD Philip Trophy.
To cut a long story short, I told her I did and asked her to send me the salver so that I could do
a bit of detective work to see if I could explain the origin of the salver.
Unfortunately, here we are several months later ... and I am no nearer coming up with the solution that I was on Day 1.
I contacted Alastair Hutcheson, owner of the Cults Hotel, near Aberdeen, and a nephew of the late Douglas McD Philip. He was a grandson of Deeside Golf Club member Paddy Philip who was a brother of Douglas McD Philip.
In the early 2000s it was Alastair Hutcheson who kept the Douglas McD Philip Trophy match-play tournament for club champions going. But it proved harder and harder to get a field of club champions together. They just didn't want to play in it! More of that later.
Back to Stirling Armour.
I have two theories about the S C Armour salver.
1 Stirling or one of his family had it made as a permanet memento of his success in the inaugural Douglas McD Philip Trophy tournament. The board, tray-like salver which was presented to the winner every year was returned to the organisers for engraving, ec before the next year's tournament. So Armour would not have had a trophy to put on his mantelpiece unless he had one made himself.
Which is one explanation.
2 Perhaps the Douglas McD Philip Trophy was not ready in time to be presented to Stirling Armour after his win in the first tournament in 1957. Hence the need for a stopgap trophy ... which could be the one that turned up unwanted at the silent auction in Aberchirder. But, having checked, I can confirm that S C Armour is the first name on the "real" Douglas McD Philip Trophy.
If there are any relations of Stirling Armour alive and well and reading this, could they please get in touch with me at Colin@scottishgolfview.com
They might be able to throw some light on the subject
The Douglas McD Philip Trophy was played for the last time in 2007 at Deeside - where Alastair Hutcheson is a member.
 The tournament had lost the attraction it had in the late 1950s and for the next 30 or 40 yearfs when I, and other P and J golf writers, reported on it early each golf season.
Now Alastair is hoping that the North-east District SGU officials will be willing to play a significant part in resurrecting the tournament for the Douglas McD Philip Trophy. There already is a North-east District Champion of Champions' tournament at the END of each season and it is a match-play affair.
NE District secretary George Young (Inverallochy) is to raise the subject at the next meeting of the NE District committee to see what can be done.
 It is a splendid trophy worth contesting and Alastair Hutcheson and the Cults Hotel would be quite willing to sponsor it.
George Young thinks that the way forward might be to convert it to a stroke-play tournament for club champions and not just the original Aberdeen clubs. It could be opened up to include the club champions for the previous year from all the clubs that contest the district's Journal Cup team tournament.

E-mail Colin@scottishgolfview.com if you know anything about Stirling Armour and also if you 
have any bright ideas for the future of the Douglas McD Philip Trophy tournament. 

 
Stirling Armour in action in the 1957 Douglas McD Philip Trophy match-play tournament at   Hazlehead.
Picture by courtesy of Aberdeen Journals Ltd.

LEADING TWO-ROUND TOTALS FROM AVONDALE, AUSTRALIA

AVONDALE AMATEUR MEDAL
Avondale Golf Club, Sydney

1 HARRISON ENDYCOTT -5 65 65 130
2 Ryan Evans -5 68 64 132
3 Cameron Davis -3 70 66 136
4 DALE BRANDT-RICHARDS -3 69 68 137
4 RYAN SMITH -2 67 70 137
6 Blake Windred -1 71 67 138
6 Brayden Petersen -3 69 69 138
6 Isaiah Melia 0 68 70 138
9 NICHOLAS WATTS -1 72 67 139
9 Kevin Yuan -3 69 70 139
11 FIDEL CONCEPCION -3 72 68 140
12 THOMAS BATEMAN 1 72 69 141
12 Tom Punnett 0 69 72 141
12 Dale Williamson -1 69 72 141
12 Zachary Mullins -3 69 72 141
16 Jack McLeod -2 73 69 142
16 COREY WITTENBERG SNR -2 69 73 142
16 NATHAN WATERS -3 69 73 142
19 Robbie Hogan 0 75 68 143
19 Justin Warren -1 74 69 143
19 JOSHUA CABBAN -2 74 69 143
19 Troy Moses -3 71 72 143
19 KRISTIAN HOOKER -1 68 75 143
24 ALEX HENDERSON -1 71 73 144
24 MATTY WITTENBERG -4 70 74 144
24 WILL BARNETT 0 69 75 144
27 ANGUS RADFORD 0 71 74 145
27 Harry Casey -4 70 75 145
27 Andy Chu -1 69 76 145
27 Grant Booth -3 68 77 145
31 MATTHEW SCARFONE -3 75 71 146
31 Kurt Burns 0 75 71 146
31 Jayden CRIPPS 1 74 72 146
31 JARROD FREEMAN -2 72 74 146
35 Jack Carmichael -2 75 72 147
35 BEN ROBINSON 1 74 73 147
35 Daniel Kolar 0 73 74 147
35 Jack Pountney 0 71 76 147
35 Mitch BEOHM 1 70 77 147
40 Steven Vail -1 76 72 148
40 Mitchell Venables -2 75 73 148
40 Kieren Jones 3 74 74 148
40 TIM HYLAND -3 74 74 148
40 Benjamin CLAPHAM 1 73 75 148
40 Jack Bush -3 73 75 148
40 James Grierson 0 73 75 148
47 Shane FITZPATRICK -1 78 71 149
47 Moe Nagi 0 77 72 149
47 Daniel Gale -2 77 72 149
47 Tony Jung 0 75 74 149
47 Alex Emmerson -1 74 75 149
52 Joshua Clarke -1 75 75 150
52 JASON HONG 0 75 75 150
52 Mitchell Gannon -2 74 76 150
55 Justin KIM -1 76 75 151
55 COREY WITTENBERG JNR 0 74 77 151
57 DALE HUGHES -1 78 74 152
57 Jacob Schouw 4 75 77 152
57 Ben Lockwood 0 74 78 152
57 ISAAC NOH -4 74 78 152
57 Bill Stocks 0 74 78 152
62 KRIS HELLIER 0 79 74 153
62 Patric Kroschel 1 77 76 153
62 Austin Bautista -2 77 76 153
62 David STOREY 3 77 76 153
66 MARK BURNS 2 82 72 154
66 ZINYO GARCIA -1 80 74 154
66 Adam Batty -2 79 75 154
66 Adrian Lee 0 79 75 154
66 NICK BROWN 0 78 76 154
66 Jake Jang -1 77 77 154
72 FRANK MELLISH 1 82 73 155
72 WILLIAM BAYLISS 5 81 74 155
72 CHRIS SKINNER 1 81 74 155
72 Craig Melding -3 79 76 155
72 Nathan Hill 3 78 77 155
72 Reece Oliver 0 78 77 155
72 Matthew Gaffney 4 75 80 155
79 Gary Dowling 1 83 73 156
79 JOE DARCY 2 78 78 156
79 Anthony Bradley 0 75 81 156
82 HARRY WADDINGTON 1 82 75 157
82 Jake Bacon 1 80 77 157
82 COREY JONES 2 79 78 157
82 MICHAEL WESTERWAY 7 77 80 157
86 JOSEPH TRINDER 3 83 75 158
86 Kyle Flynn 0 80 78 158
86 Daniel Yu -2 79 79 158
86 RAMON WHITTAKER 5 78 80 158
86 Mark Panopoulos 2 77 81 158
86 ROB DOWDY 2 76 82 158
92 RICHARD WALLACE 1 78 81 159
92 DARREN ROBEL 1 77 82 159
94 JEFF FAN 7 82 78 160
94 ANDREW CLANEY 4 80 80 160
94 JAC DELANEY -1 78 82 160
97 CHRIS FAN 5 86 75 161
97 Nathan Anning 4 84 77 161
97 Oliver Penn 0 83 78 161
97 Jinho Park -2 78 83 161
101 Rhett Makin 4 85 78 163
101 Michael Bateman 2 79 84 163
103 STEVEN PARKHILL 4 78 86 164
104 Blake Palmer 2 82 83 165
105 David HILLS -2 81 85 166
106 LINUS YIP 2 89 79 168
107 BILLY WATSON 3 90 80 170
108 CAMERON PROWSE 4 87 84 171
108 LIAM DEMAINE 4 79 92 171
110 Graham York 1 85 88 173
111 Luis Killen -2 85 94 179
112 CHARLES BETAR 8 94 88 182
113 DYLAN PERRY -4 67 WD 67
114 Dean Van Kampen -2 79 WD 79
115 SAMUEL NASHAAR -2 84 WD 84
Nicholas Ward 3 DNF -

ENGLAND'S DOUGLAS CAMERON SETS PACE WITH A 74

SENIOR SCOTS TRAIL AT LA MANGA

England's Douglas Cameron leads by two shots from Ireland's Adrian Morrow at the end of the first round of the 54-hole Spanish senior men's amateur championship at La Manga Resort.
Cameron, who slumped after he and his partner led the doubles championship first round earlier in the week,  shot a 74, Morrow a 76 with the leading Scot, John Johnston back in joint 14th place on 82. Ian Brotherston, winner of the doubles title in partnership with a German, fared surprisingly badly. He had an 85 to be languishing in joint 40th position.
LEADERBOARD
Par 72
74 Douglas Cameron (Eng)
76 Adrian Morrow (Ire)
78 Mike Ready (Eng)
79 James McIlwhaine (Ire), Gustavo Larrazabal (Spa), Angel Macias Romero (Spa).
Scots' placings:
84 Iain Jeen (T37).
85 James Johnston, Ian Brotherston  (T40)
86 Donald McCart (T46)
89 Keith Bruce (T72)
Field of 120 players.

JOBURG OPEN REPORT AND SCORES

EDOARDO MOLINARI JOINS CRAIG 

LEAD IN HALFWAY LEAD

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Edoardo Molinari feels his game is in a good place as the Italian continued his return to form by claiming a share of the halfway lead at the Joburg Open.
The 32 year old has been plagued by injury problems since making his Ryder Cup debut alongside brother Francesco in 2010, slipping from the Official World Golf Ranking’s top 20 to World Number 220 as a result.
However, having finished inside the top ten in Dubai last week, the former US Amateur Champion is once more impressing in South Africa as a second round 68 left him tied at the top of the leaderboard with Scotland’s Craig Lee on 11 under par.
“It was another very good round of golf, and I hit the ball very well,” said Molinari, who carded four birdies over the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington West Course following a 64 on the easier East lay-out yesterday; the field have played both courses over the first two days and will now revert to the East Course for the weekend.
“Maybe not as well as yesterday, but I gave myself a lot of chances, which is what you have to do around the East Course. I am very pleased with four under today.
“You just have to play your best. There are a few less birdie chances on the East Course, but all of the par fives are reachable, so you can make a good score.
“I think I drove the ball really well. I’ve been driving the ball like that for the last few months and it’s making a big difference, because I am hitting a couple of clubs less than I am used to and most times I am on the fairway.
“It’s still two rounds to go, but I like the way I am hitting the ball. I made a few putts today, but the most important thing is to keep hitting the ball like this.
“I’m very happy with pretty much everything. I am very happy with my position and my game right now.”
Lee made 67 on the West Course, having impressed with a 65 on the East set-up on day one, as he chases a maiden European Tour title. “The goal was to not fall back and there’s a strong field behind you, so it was important that I didn’t slip back,” said Lee, who had missed the cut on his last five visits to South Africa. 
“I had a pretty good chance early on to distance myself from the rest of the field, but I didn’t really capitalise on the back nine.”
England’s David Horsey and home favourite George Coetzee share third on ten under, and the former was delighted with his work on the greens after an eight under par 63 on the West Course.
The two-time European Tour winner had six unanswered birdies over his opening 14 holes, and rolled in a five footer at the 15th and 30 foot effort at the next to complete his scoring in a flawless round.
“The conditions were a bit breezier than yesterday, but they were made for scoring out there today,” he said. “I’m very pleased with the day’s work. I was a little bit more aggressive, but I made a whole lot of putts and that was it, hey presto!
Horsey, like the majority of the field, is chasing not only the €206,050 first prize but also one of three Open Championship places on offer for to those not already exempt and finishing in the top ten.
“It’s an added bonus,” he added. “I think it’s a good system, a good change from the R&A to do that. It makes the qualifying a bit fairer and spreads it out over a longer period rather than making it a 36-hole sprint.
"It’s at the back of my mind at the moment, but it’s certainly a bonus to consider near the end of the week.”
Coetzee has had 24 top-ten finishes on The European Tour, but is hoping to land his first victory on home soil this weekend.
"I know what to expect and tomorrow I’ll try to stay patient and make a few putts on the way home,” he said.”
Seven players sit two shots from the top of a congested leaderboard, with Finland’s Roope Kakko most prominent after a brilliant eight under par 64 on the tricky East Course that featured a chip-in birdie on the 14th.
SCOTSWATCH. Only three Scots survived the halfway cut at 139 - Craig Lee (132, Alastair Forsyth (jt 4th with 64-70 for 134) and David Drysdale who shot 71-67 for 138 and qualified in joint 35th place.
Scott Henry (69), Chris Doak (68) and Peter Whiteford (71) all failed to make it by one stroke on the 140 mark.
Scott Jamieson had a disastrous second-round 75 which ruined his good first-day effort of 67.
Jack Doherty (73-70), Marc Warren (72-71), Alan McLean (73-70) and Jamie McLeary (72-71) missed out on 143.
Near the bottom of a huge field around the 200 mark came Clydeside-born South African Doug McGuigan on 148 (72-76) and Duncan Stewart who crashed to a second-round 82, after a first-day 73, for 155.

SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
132 Edoardo Molinari (Italy) 64 68, Craig Lee (Scotland) 65 67
133 David Horsey (England) 70 73, George Coetzee (S Africa) 65 68
134 Jin Jeong (S Korea) 65 69, Justin Walters (S Africa) 64 70, James Heath (England) 66 68, Alastair Forsyth (Scotland) 64 70, Roope Kakko (Finland) 70 64, Danny Willett (England) 69 65.

OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
138 David Drysdale 71 67 (T35)

MISSED THE CUT (139 and better qualified)
140 Scott Henry 71 69, Chris Doak 72 68, Peter Whiteford 69 71
142 Scott Jamieson 67 75
145 Jack Doherty 73 70, Marc Warren 72 71, Alan McLean 73 70, Jamie McLeary 72 71
148 Doug McGuigan 72 76
155 Duncan Stewart 73 82

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES, CHECK
THE CARDS

CLICK HERE

GREAT PERFORMANCE BY 18-YEAR-OLD BLAIRGOWRIE PLAYER

BRADLEY NEIL FINISHES JOINT SECOND

IN SOUTH AFRICAN STROKE-PLAY

Overnight leader Bradley Neil could not produce enough birdies to hold on to his advantage but he still finished joint second, beaten only by one shot, in the South African men's amateur stroke-play championship at Benoni Country Club.
A great performance by the 18-year-old Scottish boys match-play champion of 2013.
Neil shot 70, 66, 67 and 72 for a total of 13-under-par 275.
The winner, South African, Jason Smith was able to make up three strokes on the Scot over the final 18 holes to win with a 14-under total of 274, made up of 71, 66, 68 and 69.
Neil bogeyed the sixth but birdied the 10th; bogeyed the 15th but birdied the 16th. Then 
came a crucial bogey at the 17th.
Bradley needed an eagle 3 at the last to tie with Smith but had to settle for a birdie 4.
The 19-year-old South African covered the last seven holes in three under par with birdies at the short 12th, 16th and 18th.
Finishing alongside Neil on 275 were Irishman McElroy, the halfway leader, who had rounds of 69, 65, 70 and 71 for 275. He birdied the 18th to gain a share of second place.
Neil from Blairgowrie, didn’t hide his disappointment at the way things turned out.“Sure, I’m pretty disappointed because I played my poorest round on the final day,” said Neil.
“I feel that I let myself down, but all credit to Jason, though. Out there you are trying your hardest to win and Jason held up best under pressure; he was a fierce competitor and deserved the win.”
McElroy chose to be a little philosophical in defeat.
“I played really well, but it was all about putting,” the Ballymena amateur said. “Four birdies and three bogeys were not too bad, but I missed seven six-footers for birdie. When you are putting like that, you can’t expect to win. It was Jason’s day and he was a deserved winner.
“But at least I improved on my fifth place last year; that’s something positive to take home with me.”
South African Stefan Cronje was the third man on 275, thanks to a hole in one at the 12th, followed by birdies at the 13th and 14th. Bogeys at the 15th and 16th took the edge off his charge.
England's Toby Tree finished sixth on 277 after a seven-birdie closing round of 65.
British boys champion Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden) tied for 19th place on 281 with scores of 67, 73, 69 and 72. He had two birdies and two bogeys, parring the last six holes in a row.
Scott Gibson (Southerness) had scores of 68, 73, 71 and 70 for 282. He had three birdies and one bogey in his final circuit.
Cawder's Jamie Savage finished joint 24th on 283 with rounds of 71, 73, 68 and 71. He had a double bogey 7 at the long ninth but highlighted his bogey-free inward half with birdies at the 11th, 15th, 16th and 18th.
Left-hander Bob McIntyre (Glencruitten) finished on 284 with rounds of 73, 69, 70 and 72. He came joint 27th. His final round included five birdies and a double bogey 6 at the seventh.


LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
274 Jason Smith (SAf) 71 66 68 69
275 Bradley Neil (Sco) 70 66 67 72, Dermot McElroy (Ire) 69 65 70 71, Stefan Cronje (SAf) 69 67 69 70
276 Romain Langasque (Fra) 71 69 69 67

SELECTED SCORES
277 Toby Tree (Eng) 70 73 69 65 (6th)
281 Ewen Ferguson (Sco) 67 73 69 72 (T19)
282 Scott Gibson (Sco) 68 73 71 70 (T21).
283 Jamie Savage (Sco) 71 73 68 71 (T24)
284 Bob McIntyre (Sco) 73 69 70 72 (T27)

MY GOLF RANKING INTERNATIONAL, WEEK 2014/05

1 Toni McDonagh (Fortwilliam, N Ireland) 1217pts

2 Scott Hunter (Tillicoultry) 1185

3 Alastair Wastson (Langlands) 1175

4 Craig Meeks (Thornton) 1157

5 Lewis Blyth (Prestonfield) 1133

6 Adam Jobes (Seacroft) 1129

7 Gary Barclay (Torrance Park) 1125

8 Conal Duffy (Fortwilliam, N Ireland) 1123

9 Roger Leslie (Spey Bay) 1105

10 Ricky McNeill (Dunnikier Park) 1102

11 Douglas Taylor (Dunfermline) 1100, 12 Kevin Wood (Prestonfield) 1085, 13 Daniel Alexander (Kingsknowe) 1075, 14 Alex McKenzie (Lothianburn) 1061

T15 Graeme Cox (Drumoig) 1058, Jack Owens (Bangor, N Ireland) 1058, T15 Jim Rice (Aberdour) 1058, 18 Paul Page (Kingsknowe) 1056, 19 John Douglas (Leven Thistle) 1055

20 John Boag (Blairgowrie) 1048, T21 Greig Denton (Balfron) 1043, T21 Laura McGeachy (Windyhill) 1043, 23 John Nelson (Massereene) 1036, 24 Russell Bracey (Ashridge Artisans) 1034, T25 William Barwood (Langlands) 1031, T25 James Batchelor (Kirriemuir) 1031. 

For up-to-date ranking lists of participating clubs, the full Regional, National and International Rankings and how it works, visit www.mygolfranking.net.

The MyGolfRanking service is free to clubs and members. Clubs wishing to participate should register on www.mygolfranking.net or email info@mygolfranking.net for information.

ENGLAND GOLF NEWS RELEASE

Strong team will defend European Nations title

England Golf has named a quartet of proven winners to defend the men’s title at the European Nations Championship at Sotogrande in Spain, from March 5 to 8.  

They are Ashley Chesters, the European champion; Ryan Evans, the newly crowned winner of Australia’s Lake Macquarie International; Matt Fitzpatrick, the US Amateur champion and world number one for 2013; and Garrick Porteous, the Amateur champion and a member of last year's winning side.
They will target England’s fifth win in this event in six years, having missed out on the title only in 2012.
Meanwhile, a trio of top women players will bid to win the ladies’ title for England for the first time. They are: Sarah-Jane Boyd, the English amateur champion; Gabriella Cowley, the runner-up in the recent Portugal amateur; and Annabel Dimmock, winner of the Jones-Doherty Cup in the USA. 
The European Nations Championship is contested over 72 holes of stroke play, with the best three cards each day in the men’s event, and the best two in the women’s, counting towards the team event. An individual competition runs simultaneously with the Nations Championship.

The players: 
Ashley Chesters, 24, (Hawkstone Park, Shropshire and Herefordshire) became the first English player to win the European amateur title since 2004 when he triumphed at El Prat in Spain in August. He finished eighth on the Titleist/FootJoy England Golf Order of Merit last year.
Ryan Evans, 26, (Wellingborough, Northamptonshire), carried his good form of 2013 into the New Year with victory in the Lake Macquarie International in Australia. During the trip down under he was also top qualifier in the Australian amateur. Last year he helped England regain the Home Internationals title and won the Berkshire Trophy, the Biarritz Cup in France and the Scrutton Jug for the best aggregate score from the Berkshire and Brabazon Trophies.
Matthew Fitzpatrick, 19, (Hallamshire, Yorkshire, Image © Leaderboard Photography) became the first English winner of the US Amateur in 102 years when he triumphed at The Country Club, Brookline, last August. During 2013 he represented GB&I in the Walker Cup, won the silver medal as the leading amateur at The Open, and became the world’s number one amateur for the year. He was the 2012 Boys’ Amateur champion.
Garrick Porteous, 24, (Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland) won the 2013 Amateur championship at Royal Cinque Ports. He also won the Scottish stroke play championship, was runner-up in the Welsh stroke play and helped England win the European Men’s Team Championship in Denmark before being selected for the Walker Cup.
Sarah-Jane Boyd, 22, (Truro, Cornwall) is the reigning English amateur champion and was the 2012 winner of the British stroke play title, qualifying to play in last year’s Women’s British Open. She was the runner-up in the 2013 England Golf women’s order of merit.
Gabriella Cowley, 17, (Hanbury Manor, Hertfordshire) was the runner-up in the recent Portugal international ladies' amateur championship. She won the 2013 England Golf girls’ order of merit, a year when her achievements included qualifying for the Women’s British Open, winning the Critchley Salver and helping England to retain their crown at the Girls’ Home Internationals.
Annabel Dimmock, 17, (Wentworth, Surrey) has just completed a successful trip to the USA for the Orange Blossom Tour where she won the matchplay Jones-Doherty Cup and was runner-up in the South Atlantic women’s amateur. She was runner-up in the 2013 English girls’ championship and, like Gabriella, played in both the girls’ and ladies’ Home Internationals teams.
 

Lyndsey Hewison
Press Officer
England Golf
pr@englandgolf.org
07825 752 193

US PGA TOUR NATIONAL PRO-AM AT PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA

ANDREW LOUPE LEADS WITH A 63 

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
PEBBLE BEACH, California (AP) -- Andrew Loupe knows how one week can change everything. He can only hope his 8-under 63 in the AT and T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is the start of another one.

Leaderboard
Tee times
LIVE@ times
TOUR Report
Social Hub
Projected FedExCup

Loupe had to wait three hours to tee off because of rain Thursday, and then he played bogey-free on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula. That gave him the lowest score among those who finished their rounds.
Rain soaked the Monterey Peninsula in the morning, which was great news for an area desperate for rain, not so much for the tournament.
 Puddles quickly formed on the greens at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill, forcing play to be stopped on all three courses.
Monterey Peninsula played the easiest, and Loupe took advantage. He never had to scramble for par, missed only one fairway and only two of his birdies were over 10 feet. This was his first trip to the area, and it was everything he imagined.
"This place is amazing," Loupe said with a smile as wide as a fairway.
The 25-year-old from Louisiana hasn't made the cut in five starts his rookie season. Loupe might not even have a US PGA Tour card except for his tie for sixth in the last event of the Web.com Tour Finals. He had missed the cut in his previous three Finals event.
Stuart Appleby, Jim Renner, Richard Lee and Scott Gardiner had 65s at Monterey Peninsula.
 Phil Mickelson, a four-time champion, was at 5-under par through 15 holes when the round was stopped because of darkness.
Pebble Beach played the toughest, though the weather was not nearly bad enough to make that much of a difference with only a cool breeze and no rain the rest of the day. Jimmy Walker, already a two-time winner this season, got up-and-down for birdie on the 18th for a 66, the best score at Pebble.
Jordan Spieth, playing with country singer Jake Owen, had the best round at Spyglass Hill at 67. He picked up birdies on all but one of the par 5s, stuffed one close on the uphill second hold and escaped with par with a long pitch from short of the sixth green.
"It was more of an effort just to really play safe on the harder holes," Spieth said. "The par 5s you can take advantage of out here. I three-putted the first par 5 for par, but bounced back on the other par 5s. And then I finally made some putts on the back nine. We picked a great day to have Spyglass."
Dustin Johnson, a two-time winner of this event, had a 68 at Spyglass Hill playing with his future father-in-law, hockey great Wayne Gretzky.
"More happy with the fact he was 4 under today and it's a tough course," Gretzky said. "I'm here for fun. He's here for work."
Johnson had to work hard for his birdie on the ninth hole. His approach struck the pin and bounced back some 40 yards off the green. He chipped that in for his third straight birdie, and then picked up another birdie on the par-5 11th. He closed with seven pars for what he believes was his first bogey-free round at Spyglass.
Graeme McDowell, back at Pebble Beach for the first time since he won the 2010 U.S. Open, opened with a 71 at Spyglass Hill. He has to wait until Saturday to play Pebble Beach with his father, Kenny.
Defending champion Brandt Snedeker had a 72 at Spyglass Hill.
Loupe kept reminding everyone that his 63 was only one round, though it sounded as if he was reminding himself. He is thrilled to be on the PGA TOUR, and it really hit him a few weeks ago at Torrey Pines when some of the biggest stars began showing up.
This wasn't the start he imagined, however -- one round out of 11 that was under par, five weekends off. He wasn't about to panic, either.
"I really just stick to the plan and I know that my group is good. I have 100 percent trust in my swing coach, my family, my trainer," he said. "I guess when you're in those ruts, I just kept telling myself, `You're supposed to be here, you're going to play good, just keep playing.' This is just one round, guys, but I feel good.
"I did miss a few cuts coming into Sawgrass and played good," he said of the week that secured his card in the Web.com finals. "And I just knew that I could do it again. Would I like to play more consistently? Yes. But I just want to keep this rolling."
DIVOTS: Davis Love III was 2 over through 15 holes, but at least he had an amateur. Kelly Slater won the Volcom Pipe Pro 2014 on Wednesday at the Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu, scoring a perfect 10 on one ride. He arrived at Pebble Beach about 5 a.m. Thursday. ... Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley opened with a 67 at Pebble Beach. ... Jim Furyk, in his first US PGA Tour event since September, opened with a 70 at Spyglass Hill. David Duval made his first start of the year and shot 72 at Pebble Beach. 

Russell Knox had a first-round 70. Check out all
the first-round scores and Friday night live-scoring

CLICK HERE

  

SCOTS TO THE FORE IN SOUTH AFRICA WITH SEVEN-UNDER 65s

CRAIG LEE, ALASTAIR FORSYTH IN 

4-WAY TIE FOR LEAD IN JOBURG OPEN
 
                                                  FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

Craig Lee, pictured by Getty Images(c), could be in line for a maiden Major Championship appearance at this year’s Open as he looks to improve his record in South Africa after making a superb start to the Joburg Open.
The Stirling man has missed the cut at his last five tournaments in the Rainbow Nation, but carded a seven under par 65 over Royal Johannesburg and Kensington’s trickier East Course to be part of four-way leading group after the opening day.
Lee’s compatriot Alastair Forsyth, Italy’s Edoardo Molinari and home favourite Justin Walters all signed for seven under rounds of 64 on the West Course, with the tournament divided between the two lay-outs on Thursday and Friday before those making the cut head to the East Course for the weekend.
The East Course is over 400 yards longer and traditionally sees higher scores, but Lee bucked that trend as he chases a maiden European Tour title.
“I've played really nice golf for that, so I'm delighted with the score that I've managed to put together,” said the 36 year old, who carded eight birdies with a single dropped shot at the 17th after finding sand with his approach.
“I hit a lot of shots in to about 15 feet today and I didn't hole that many of those putts, but then on the back I managed to knock in a few putts, so a game of two nines today.
“It's really hard to figure out where you are in the field with two golf courses, and with the East being slightly tougher I feel like I'm in a good position. If we can keep the same level of golf then we might be able to separate ourselves from the bunch.”
“I don't normally play well at all in South Africa, my record here is actually pretty pathetic. It's probably a course that should have suited me in the past, because my strength has always been ball striking. I've never played that great around here, but my game has gotten slightly better over the years.”
As well as the €206,050 first prize, Lee is amongst those chasing one of three places at The Open Championship on offer to those finishing in the top ten and otherwise not exempt for Royal Liverpool.
“You don't really change your strategy, but it's a great reward for three lucky guys who'll get a chance to play in The Open,” added Lee, who is yet to play in one of the game’s four Majors. 
“It's nice to have qualifiers throughout the year and not just geared up to that 36-hole sprint that most qualifiers are. Hopefully we can keep the game up and take one of those spots.”
Walters is also seeking a maiden Major appearance - but may elect not to go to Hoylake even if he qualifies because his girlfriend is due to give birth that week.
“My girlfriend is pregnant, 16 weeks, so the baby is supposed to arrive around the British Open,” he said, after a round that contained eight birdies and one bogey.
“Going into the year when I heard that this was one of the qualifying events I really felt a sense of irony. Finally qualifying for an event I've wanted to play for my whole life, I can see the irony of maybe having to pull out if the baby is arriving.”
Molinari continued to put his injury problems behind him  - the 32 year old having been impeded by a string of fitness issues since making his Ryder Cup debut alongside brother Francesco at The Celtic Manor Resort in 2010.
Having finished tied for ninth in Dubai last week, the former US Amateur Champion also compiled an eight-birdie, one-bogey effort.
Forsyth, a two-time European Tour winner, needed just 30 shots to reach the turn and was the only one of the leading quartet to be bogey free.
“The front nine was probably as good as I've played in a long time,” he said.
“I seemed to do everything right on the front nine, but I struggled a little on the back, where I ended up between clubs a few times. No dropped shots and seven birdies, so I'm never going to complain with that.”
Home favourite George Coetzee looked set to make it a four-way tie at the top when he birdied the 14th from 20 feet and 17th from ten feet, only to bogey the last after his approach came up short of the green.
As a result he joined compatriots Hennie Otto, Graham van der Merwe and Danie van Tonder, England’s James Heath, France’s Edouard Dubois, Korean Jin Jeong and Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen in a tie for fifth.
Coetzee’s finish was still better than that of compatriot Mark Murless, who threatened to break 60 for the first time in European Tour history with an incredible start.
A four-time winner on the co-sanctioning Sunshine Tour, Murless had three birdies and two eagles in his first six holes and when he picked up another shot at the ninth was the outright leader at eight under.
Coming home in 31 would have given him a place in the record books, but he took eight shots more than that, largely due to finding trouble in trees down the left of the 18th and running up a double bogey.

FOR LIVE SCORING FROM THE SECOND ROUND AND A CHECK ON THE FIRST-ROUND SCORES

CLICK HERE