SCOTTISH JUNIOR GOLF TOUR EVENT

COLIN EDGAR BEST WITH 69 AT 

DALMAHOY EAST COURSE

FROM WALTER BURNS

Here are the results from the Scottish Junior Golf Tour event at Dalmahoy this weekend. It was a level 5 event on the Championship East Course. 

It was looking doubtful that the event would take place as the weather had been very poor. Rain and snow across much of the country. 

Luckily the rain cleared the snow and the rain went off just as the boys were starting. It eventually turned into a sunny afternoon with some very good scoring from the boys. 

Colin Edgar (Cochrane Castle) had the best score of the day, a two-under-par 69. Letham Grange's Will Porter finished in second place on 70 and that was enough to take him to the top of the Under-18 order of merit. 

The Under-16 order of merit is now very close. A 72 by Aidan Husenne (Haggs Castle) takes him half a point ahead of Murray McCrone. Both boys are six-year veterans of the Junior Tour.

  LEADING SCORES

69 Colin Edgar (Cochrane Castle)

70 Will Porter (Letham Grange)

72 Aidan Husenne (Haggs Castle), Mitchell Ronald (East Kilbride)

76 Fraser Kane (Kirkhill)

78 Graeme Greer (Carluke), Aran Sinclair (Bearsden), Matthew Dalrymple (Lochwinnoch)

 

Skill Challenges

Blair Forsyth (Drumpellier) won the pitching.

Fraser Kane won the chipping.

Dean Logan (Bishopbriggs) and Graeme Greer won the 100yds distance control.

Aidan Husenne was the overall skills challenges winner.

Next event is on Saturday, February 22 - Skills Day at Dunfermline.

 

Walter Burns

Scottish Junior Golf Tour

 

Mob: 07951 103 827

 

Email: walter@scottishjuniorgolftour.co.uk

Web: www.scottishjuniorgolftour.co.uk

GREAT BID BY JIMMY GUNN TO BEAT CUT FAILS GALLANTLY

      Alex Cejka, first win since 2002. Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)

 CEJKA WINS RAIN-REDUCED Web.Com 

Tour OPENER IN COLOMBIA

Munich-based, Czech Republic-born Alex Cejka, a former European Tour player, won the rain-reduced Web.Com Tour's opening event of 2014, the Colombia Championship at Bogota Country Club.
Cejka shot 68-68-63 for 14-under-par 199 to win the $135,000 first prize by three strokes from joint runners-up Andrew D Putnam (USA) and Mexico's Carlos Ortiz.
Cejka was declared the winner of the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship when thunderstorms moved into the Bogota area Sunday afternoon and cancelled the fourth round. 
Cejka was halfway through his final round and leading by one shot over Andrew Putnam and by two over Andres Gonzales when play was halted at 2:08 pm.
The rains continued but less than an hour later it was clear that the round couldn’t resume, thus reverting the standings back to 54 holes. 
Cejka had moved into a three-stroke lead earlier in the day when he established a new course record with an 8-under 63.
His 14-under 199 total was three better than Putnam (68) and four in front of rookie Carlos Ortiz (67). Veteran Bill Lunde (70) finished fourth, five off the pace, while Sam Saunders (69), Chris Wilson (70) and Justin Thomas (71) shared fifth place.
“It’s been a long time,” said Cejka of the win. “I had a feeling the rain might come again. I just tried to hang in there. I knew it was going to be tough this afternoon so I was just grinding. Unlucky or luck, depending on how you see it with the weather. 
"It’s nice to win. It doesn’t matter on what Tour these days because there are so many great players.”
The win is the first in the United States for the 43-year old from Germany in his 301 career starts (270 US PGA Tour and 31 Web.com Tour) and it was worth $135,000. 
His last win came at the 2002 Trophee Lancome on the European Tour.
 “I wouldn’t mind playing 72 holes but sometimes there is nothing you can do,” he said.
Cejka had completed only two holes of his third rond Saturday when play was halted by an afternoon thunderstorm (for the third consecutive day).  
Cejka and the rest of the field were forced to return to the Country Club of Bogota course and finish up Sunday morning.
He was nearly flawless as he kept attacking pins and rolling in birdie putts. Cejka birdied Nos. 14, 15, 17 and 18 to regain some distance over Putnam, who was two groups back and put on a charge of his own.
“I saw a leaderboard on 15 but after that I just wasn’t interested,” he said. “I knew I had to play my game and not to worry about anyone else.”
The three consecutive suspensions the first three days of play required officials to figure a way to hurry up the final round. 
Players were sent back out in their same groups in order to save time and hopefully beat the weather. The first groups were eight holes deep in round four when the final threesome reached the 18th green to complete round three.
The last couple of threesomes had 10-15 minutes to relax, grab a quick sandwich and head back to the tee to start the fourth round.
Shortly after signing his card, Cejka checked the time and had 12 minutes before he was to tee off in the fourth round.
“I was a little nervous the first couple of holes because I knew what was at stake,” said Cejka. “It’s not easy. You have in mind that it’s been a long time.”
Cejka gave his challengers hope when bogeyed his first two holes, dropping him to 12-under and one in front of Putnam and Andres Gonzales, who was in the first group off the tee and was about to turn the front nine in 5-under 30.
Cejka rebounded with birdies at No. 5 and 7 to widen his lead. Putnam, playing in the final group, closed to within one with a birdie at No. 7 just before the horn sounded to halt play.
“When they announced it was going to be 54 holes I was a little relieved,” said the winner. “I wanted to complete the round but I’m so happy to have won again.”
Sunday Notes:•
• A total of 2.2 inches of rain fell over the four days of the tournament.
• Putnam picked up the second-place cheque for $81,000.• Did you know…Bogota is located on the west of the Savannah of Bogota, although the geographical site is actually a high plateau in the Andes mountains. The average temperature is 58F. The official highest recorded temperature inside the city limits is 80F and the lowest is 19F.


GALLANT BID TO BEAT CUT
 BY JIMMY GUNN

Dornoch's Jimmy Gunn, making his debut on America's No 2 pro tour, missed but the by three shots after a brilliant second round of 68 - nine shots better than his first-round score
Gunn was out in 32 with birdies at the fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth and when he birdied the 10th to get to five under par on the day, there was
just a glimmer of hope that he was going to beat the cut after all.
But then Gunn was stopped in his tracks by a double bogey 5 at the short 12th and, having lost his momentum, he dropped another shot at the 15th.
But Jimmy's confidence will have been restored, ready  for the second event on the tour.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 213 (3x72)
199 Alex Cejka (Germany) 68 68 63
202 Andrew D Putnam (USA) 68 66 68, Carlos Ortiz (Mexico) 67 69 67
204 Bill Lunde (USA) 66 68 70

MISSED THE CUT (142 and better qualified)
145 Jimmy Gunn (Scotland) 77 68

TO VIEW ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

CLICK HERE

EXCITING FINISH BUILDING UP IN NORTHERN TRUST OPEN

BUBBA WATSON HAS PICKED UP THE 

SCENT OF VICTORY IN CALIFORNIA

Big-hitting left-hander Bubba Watson, pictured, chasing his first US PGA Tour win since the 2012 Masters, has surged into a one-stroke lead in the closing stages of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club, California.
Watson, who had a third-round 64, is 13 under par with eight holes to play.
South African Charl Schwartzel, trying to emulate compatriot Thomas Aitken's victory in the Africa Open today, is 12 under par with seven to play alongside American Dustin Johnson who also has seven to play.


TO FOLLOW THE LIVE SCORING FROM
CALIFORNIA 

CLICK HERE
 
  THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD
Players from USA unless stated
201 William McGirt 69 67 65
203 Charlie Beljan 67 68 68.
204 Brian Harman 67 69 68, Cameron Tringale 68 70 67
205 Bubba Watson 70 71 64, Charl Schwartzel (S Africa) 69 68 68, Dustin Johnson 66 70 69

SELECTED SCORES
207 Lee Westwood (England) 69 70 68
210 Justin Rose (England) 70 72 68
211 Francesco Molinari (Italy) 67 73 71, David Lynn (England) 70 71 70
212 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain) 71 70 71
213 Martin Laird (Scotland) 70 73 70, Ian Poulter (England) 72 70 71
MISSED THE CUT
144 Fred Couples 72 72, Rickie Fowler 68 76
145 Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 72 73, Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 75 70
148 Brian Davis (England) 75 73, Russell Knox (Scotland) 75 73, Louis Oosthuizen (S Africa) 74 74.

SAMANANAH OPEN OVER JACK NICKLAUS COURSE, MARRAKESH

PHILIP McLEAN HAS FOUR BIRDIES IN A 

ROW TO BE LEADING SCOT AFTER 

FIRST  ROUND IN MOROCCO

Peterhead's Philip McLean (pictured) strung four birdies together around the turn to be the best placed of the five Scots in the field at the end of the first round of  the Samanah Open over the championship course designed by Jack Nicklaus at Samanah Country Club, Marrakesh in Morocco.
Playing out of the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, McLean birdied the ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th and 16th but cancelled out all his good work with five bogeys for a par round of 72.
Philip's bogeys came at the second, third, fourth, 13th and 17th in halves of 38 and 34.
That left him in joint 25th place - six shots behind French leader Eduard Espana - in a field of 120. 
England's Max Orrin is snapping at the Frenchman's heels with a 67.
McLean's team-mates Jordan Findlay and David Law are joint 41st and 66th respectively after scores of 73 and 75.
Findlay birdied the fifth, sixth and 16th but shed shots to par at the 10th, 11th, 13th and 15th.
Law usually plays well in Morocco but today was an exception to the rule for the Aberdonian who birdied only the fifth and long 12th in halves of 38 and 37th.
His bogeys came at the third, sixth, seventh and 15th.
Nicklaus never designed an easy course in his life and off the championship tees Samannah can be a punish track if you stray off the straight and narrow.
Pollok's Conor O'Neil had a 78 for joint 91st place while rookie pro Craig Lawrie had an 81 for a share of 107th place.
O'Neil was five over par after eight holes, having a double bogey 6 at the fourth and single bogeys at the second, third and eighth. A birdie at the ninth got him out in in 40 but he dropped further shots at the 11th, 15th and 18th with only one birdie to offset, at the 16th.
Craig Lawrie had only one birdeie, at the short second in halves of 40-41. He had a double bogey 5 at the short 14th plus eight bogeys.

LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
66 Eduard Espana (Fra)
67 Max Orrin (Eng)
68 Philipp Mejow (Ger), David Antonelli (Fra), Oliver Rozner (Fra)
SELECTED SCORES
70 James Wilson (Eng) (T12)
72 Neil Raymond (Eng), Philip McLean (Sco) (T25)
73 Jordan Findlay (Sco), James Johnson (Eng) (T41).
75 David Law (Sco), Nathan Kimsey (Eng), Brad Hannah (Eng) (T66)
78 Conor O'Neil (Sco), Richard Glen (Eng) (T91)
79 Tom Boys (Eng) (T97)
81 Craig Lawrie (Sco) (T107).

ANOTHER SOUTH AFRICAN VICTORY ON HOME TURF

THOMAS AIKEN BEATS OLIVER FISHER 

IN PLAY-OFF FOR AFRICA OPEN TITLE 

South Africa still rules in tournaments on home turf. Thomas Aiken maintained his country's tremendous record in European Tour events in general in South Africa and the Africa Open in particular when he beat Oliver Fisher in a play-off at East London Golf Club on the Eastern Cape. Aiken, who sounds as if he has some Scottish blood in his veins. secured his third European Tour title and first on home soil with a 30ft birdie putt on the first extra hole.
An eagle from 12 feet at the third had been the highlight of Aiken’s 67, as he and Fisher spent much of the afternoon neck-and-neck.
The Englishman had started with a bogey after missing the opening green, but responded with five gains amidst two further dropped shots and would have won had his birdie effort from 15 feet at the last dropped rather than burn the edge of the hole.
“I’ve been waiting for this for quite some time; I’ve won a couple of times overseas, but there is nothing like winning in front of a home crowd,” said Aiken, who finished fifth in his last two events and has already recorded six top-20 finishes on the 2014 Race to Dubai.
“The South African fans have been unbelievable throughout my whole career so it’s nice to finally get one for you guys.”
Aiken had wife Kate on the bag (the couple are pictured together after a previous victory) for the first time, and added: “Thanks so much to my wife, who helped me on the bag for the first time – we might have to do it again!
“East London Golf Club, what a fantastic golf club. It shows that a course doesn’t need to be long for it to play interestingly.
“I always love coming back here, and it’s so great to finally get this trophy under my belt.”
Aiken joins compatriots Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen (twice) and Darren Fichardt in lifting the trophy, which has yet to be prised from South African hands.
England's David Horsey birdied four of his last six holes to shoot a final round of 65 and claim a share of third place on 19 under alongside American John Hahn.
Overnight leader Emiliano Grillo was in a four- strong group a shot further back after gains at the last five holes repaired some of the damage of a quintuple-bogey 9 on the opening hole.
Grillo held a two-shot lead thanks to a brilliant 62 on Saturday, yet the 21-year-old Argentinian had already taken a penalty drop from an unplayable lie when he chipped his fourth shot into a greenside bunker, from where he needed two attempts to escape.
But his sixth shot had rolled back off the green and, after chipping up to seven feet, he needed two putts to complete an extraordinary opening hole and drop his first stroke since his 15th hole on Thursday.
SCOTSWATCH: David Drysdale did well to shoot 12-under-par 272 over the shortish 6,600yd course.
A final round of six-under 66 lifted him up to a share of 27th place and a payslip for 8,786 Euros.
Jamie McLeary earned 7,000 Euros for T34 on 273. He broke 70 in every round, ending with a best of the four score of 67. Well done, Jamie, a rookie on the European Tour although a very experienced one at that. Not many people know he was born in Peterhead!
Chris Doak tumbled to 67th place with an astonishing last round of 84 after earlier scores of 69, 67 and 67. Only Chris will know what went wrong - plenty, we would suggest. Doak earned 2,300 Euros.


LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x72) Yardage: 6,600 Prizemoney in Euros
264 Thomas Aiken (S Africa) 66 65 66 67 (158,500); Oliver Fisher (England) 66 63 66 69 (115,500). Aiken bt Fisher in sudden death play-off.
265 John Hahn (USA) 65 61 71 68, David Horsey (England) 66 64 70 65 (59,150 each).
266 Richard Bland (England) 64 69 64 69, Darren Fichardt (S Africa) 66 67 67 66, Emiliano Grillo (Argentina) 68 63 62 73 (32,700 each).


SCOTS' TOTALS
272 David Drysdale 65 70 71 66 (T27) (8,786)
273 Jamie McLeary 69 68 6 9 67 (T34) (7,000)
287 Chris Doak 69 67 67 84 (67th) (2,300)

MISSED THE CUT
139 Alastair Forsyth 71 68, Duncan Stewart 72 67
140 Craig Lee 69 71, Doug McGuigan 72 68
145 Alan McLean 70 75
146 Peter Whiteford 68 78
147 Jack Doherty 76 71.

MARSH BEATEN IN PLAY-OFF BY PARATORE FOR PORTUGUESE TITLE

England international Nick Marsh raced up the leaderboard and forced a play-off in the Portuguese international amateur championship with a final round of six-under 66 at the Montado resort. It was the low round of the championship and it shot him from a share of ninth place, after three rounds, to a tie with Italy’s Renato Paratore on seven-under par after the regulation 72 holes.  However, Marsh’s impressive challenge ended on the first play-off hole, where both players were bunkered beside the green and the Italian got up and down to win the title. Marsh, from Huddersfield (Image © Leaderboard Photography), reported to his Twitter followers: “Lost in a play-off unfortunately .... Still finished 2nd. Had a great week!!” The 19-year-old was one-under par at the start of the final round and five shots off the lead, held then by Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult. The Yorkshireman charged through the field with four birdies on the front nine, before slipping back with bogeys on the 10th and 11th.  But he was quickly back on the birdie trail, playing the remaining seven holes in four-under to set the tournament target on seven-under. It was matched by Paratore, who was playing in the final group, and who scored two-under 70 to take his place in the play-off – en route to the title. Marsh, who helped England win the Home Internationals at Ganton last summer, is clearly on form in 2014, having already secured a top ten finish in the South American amateur. Two other English players finished in the top ten in the Portuguese championship: Ashley Chesters, the European champion from Hawkstone Park tied fifth on three-under; and Luke Johnson (King’s Lynn, Norfolk) shared seventh place on two-under. Please click here for full scores Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf