Wednesday, June 18, 2014

CHRIS ROBB TOP SCOTTISH QUALIFIER


The R&A

NINE SCOTS MAKE IT THROUGH TO 

MATCH-PLAY AT ROYAL PORTRUSH
 
England’s Daniel Brown led the qualifiers after the second stroke-play round of the Amateur Championship today.
There are nine Scots through to the match-play stages at Royal Portrush:
Chris Robb (pictured left) (Meldrum House), Liam Johnston (Dumfries and Co), Grant Forrest (Craigielaw), James Ross (Royal Burgess), Connor Syme (Dumfries and Co), Calum Hill (Tantallon), Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie), Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) and Jamie Savage (Cawder).
And the 2013 Irish champion Cormac Sharvin (Ardglass) is a Stirling University student.
Top seed Daniel Brown made history in 2012 when he became the youngest ever Yorkshire amateur champion and his second-round, 4-under-par 67 at Portstewart gave him an 8-under-par total of 133, the second lowest aggregate total since qualifying was introduced to the Amateur Championship in 1983.

He was one shot outside the record low 132 total of David Horsey in 2007.

The 19-year-old led by a four-stroke margin over countryman Ashton Turner and Italy’s Renato Paratore, the highest ranked player in the field at sixth on the World Amateur Golf RankingTM.
Brown, who is a member at Bedale Golf Club, near Catterick, qualified last year at Royal Cinque Ports and Princes but lost in the first round. He is hoping to go much farther this year.
“It would be massive if I were to win this and play in The Open Championship, but I’ll try my best not to think about that,” Brown said.
Paratore will be hoping to go at least two rounds better than his quarter-final appearance last year. He is looking to become only the second Italian winner since Matteo Manassero at Formby in 2009. 
Paratore posted a 4-under-par 66 over Royal Portrush to go with his opening 71 at Portstewart.
Eight Irish players advanced to the knockout stages with Stackstown’s Richard Bridges posting the best Irish score of the second round with a 2-under-par 68 at Portrush. 
The 27-year-old feels at home on Royal Portrush, having played in the North of Ireland amateur championship on several occasions. Bridges qualified last year too, but lost to Paratore in the third round.
“I had great rhythm today,” Bridges said. “I knew when I got on the range that my game was good. I felt really confident. I brought a bit of form with me this week after reaching the semi-finals of the Irish close championship last week.”
Palmer Cup player Brandon Hagy, the world number 22, is one of two Americans through to the match play rounds along with Myles Lewis. 23-year-old Hagy finished joint sixth leading qualifier after a 139 total.
Hagy, who has just graduated from the University of California after three wins in his final college season, is playing links golf for the first time. The highlight of his second round came at Royal Portrush’s 211-yard, par-3, 14th hole, known as Calamity, when he hit a 5-iron to six feet and holed the birdie putt.
Aside from Paratore, three world top 20 players made it through to the match play stages. 
 Belgium’s Thomas Detry (12), Mario Galiano (13) of Spain and Scotland’s Grant Forrest (17) take their place in the draw. Forrest arrives in Northern Ireland fresh from winning the St Andrews Links Trophy in his last start.
Former Boys’ Amateur Champion Emilio Cuartero also qualified. Cuartero, a student at the University of Missouri, won the Boys Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl in 2007.
Southport and Ainsdale’s Sean Towndrow qualified after setting a new course record at Portstewart. Towndrow birdied five of his first nine holes and didn’t drop any shots for a 5-under-par 66.
The cut fell at 4-over-par 145 and 70 players qualified.
The match play stage will get underway at 7.25am tomorrow.  For the draw, scoring and the full list of qualifiers visit championships.randa.org

LEADING MATCH-PLAY QUALIFIERS  
Par 141
133 Daniel Brown (Bedale) 66 67
137 Ashton Turner (Kenwick Park) 70 67, Renato Paratore (Italy) 71 66
138 Paul Howard (Southport and Ainsdale) 71 67, Hannes Ronneblad (Sweden) 68 70
139 Chris Robb (Meldrum House) 70 69, Brandon Hagy (USA) 69 70.

OTHER SCOTS QUALIFIERS
141 Liam Johnston (Dumfries and Co) 68 73, Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) 73 68 (T16)
143 James Ross (Royal Burgess) 70 73, Connor Syme (Dumfries and Co) 73 70 (T28)
144 Calum Hill (Tantallon) 73 71, Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie) 72 72, Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) 72 72 (T35).
145 Jamie Savage (Cawder) 78 67 (T53)
+Players with 145 and better qualified


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SCOTTISH SENIOR OPEN AMATEUR STROKE PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

BROTHERSTON BOUNCES BACK FOR 

CLEAR LEAD AT BLAIRGOWRIE

Ian Brotherston (Dumfries and County), shrugged off the disappointment of his last-round slump in the European seniors title in Spain at the weekend, to take a three-stroke lead at the end of the first day of the Scottish senior open amateur
stroke-play championship at Blairgowrie today
Brotherston shot a five-under-par 67 over the Rosemount course at the Perthshire venue.
His nearest challengers on the 70 mark are Stephen East (Moortown), former Aberdeen Links champion Barry Brooks (Meldrum House, Philip Slater (Sandiway) and Bob Edgar (Blackpool North Shore).
The field of over 100 will be cut to the leading 50 and ties after the second round.
 
LEADING SCORES
Par 72
67 Ian Brotherston (Dumfries and Co)
70 Stephen East (Moortown), Barry Brooks (Meldrum House), Philip Slater (Sandiway), Bob Edgar (Blackpool North Shore)
71 R Stewart Millar (Cochrane Castle), David Nelson (Northenden), Ian Hutcheon (Monifieth)
72 David Dickson (Lochmaben), David Gardner (Broomieknowe), Charles Banks (Stanton on Wolds).
73 Jim Watt (Edzell), Ian Jeen (Scotscraig), Malcolm Reid (Sonning), Anthony McLure (Longhirst Hall), Richard Latham (Woodhall Spa).
74 Laurie Chancellor (Inverness), Rob Ford (Scotscraig), George Rodaks (Pitreavie). David Pearson (Royal Dornoch), Gordon MacDonald (Glenbervie), Ronnie McLellan (Turnberry), Martin Fell (Copt Heath), Jim McArthur (St Andrews New).
75 Peter Adams (Holywood), Richard Partridge (Wildernesse) Len Salariya (Forfar), Alan Mew (Stonehaven), Michael Wigley (Bude and N Cornwall), Les Pirie (Millport), Joe McManus (Uphall).
76 Alan McEwan (Hamilton), James Johnston (Northumberland), Ashley P Brewer (Denham), Garry Thomson (Paisley), Roy Smethurst (Crewe), David Niven (Newbury and Crookham.
77 Stuart Fawcett (Southport and Ainsdale), Alan O'Neill (West Lothian), Lindsay Gordon (Turnhous), Jonathan Wright (Wildernesse) John Yuill (Newmarket Links), Colin Halcrow (Windyhill), Tony Patterson (Sunningdale), Alan Elder (Kirkcaldy), Denis Martin (Newbiggin by Sea), Bob Humble (Kilspindie), Chris Mitchelson (Prenton), David Imrie (Thornton), Robert Stewart (Tulliallan), John Black (Scotscraig), David J Miller (Kilmarnock Barassie), Andrew Carman (Coventry).

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

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NORTH SEA FOG MAKES IT A LONG AND FRUSTRATING DAY AT MURCAR LINKS


NORTHERN OPEN DOWN TO THREE ROUNDS AND CUT MADE ON FIRST-ROUND SCORES

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
The Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Northern Open has been cut to three rounds and a cut declared on the first-round scores after persistent fog forced the abandonment of the second round at 6.30pm at Murcar Links today.
Tournament director Roy Murray, pictured, said: "It's not an ideal situation but it's the best we could come up with to finish the tournament on schedule. It's certainly been the most frustrating day I have had working for the PGA in Scotland."
There were two separate suspensions of play, lasting more than six hours, before, when the haar rolled back in once again from the North Sea, Murray finally abandoned at 6.30pm the idea of playing on until darkness in an effort to complete the second round 
No second-round scores were returned before play was finally abandoned for the day.
A total of 33 players, including the tournament leader, David Law with a three-under-par 68, never hit a single ball in the second round.
The cut on first-round scores to the leading 36 and ties at four-over-par who will play the final 36 holes for a first prize in the region of £6,000 on Thursday, put James Byrne, title winner for the past two years, and Scottish PGA champion Gareth Wright on the sidelines. Byrne had a nightmare 84 and Wright a 79 on Tuesday.
Course manager Bob Mackay says that fog will not be a problem for Thursday's final two rounds.
"It's an east wind that carries in the fog from the sea. Tomorrow it will be a northwest wind so no fog - but it will be very windy."
SOD'S LAW - By 7.30pm this evening, the FOG HAD DISAPPEARED!
THIRD ROUND DRAW
add on approx 5hr for fourth round tee times

 
  1   7:30 AM   Mark Hillson, Tandridge 75

  1   7:38 AM   Robert Arnott, Bishopbriggs 75
                Graeme Brown, Montrose Links 75

  1   7:46 AM   Paul O'Hara, Clydeway Golf 75
                Corin Stewart (a), Murcar Links 75

  1   7:54 AM   Ross McConnachie, Peterculter 75
                Malcolm Isaacs, Newmachar 75

  1   8:02 AM   Kenneth Hutton, Downfield 75
                Mark Kerr, Marriott Dalmahoy 75

  1   8:10 AM   Greg McBain, Paul Lawrie GC 74
                Craig Everett, Caldwell 74

  1   8:18 AM   Andrew Oldcorn, Kings Acre 74
                Alan Reid, West Lothian 74

  1   8:26 AM   Keir McNicoll, Gullane 74
                Ron Walker, Lundin 74

  1   8:34 AM   Alistair Brown, Archerfield 74
                Christopher Currie, Caldwell 74

  1   8:42 AM   Scott Henderson, Kings Links 74
                David Orr, Mearns Castle 73

  1   8:50 AM   Craig Sutherland, Cherry Lodge 73
                Craig Matheson, Falkirk Tryst 73

  1   8:58 AM   Chris Kelly, Cawder  73
                Lindsay Mann (unattached) 73

  1   9:06 AM   Greig Hutcheon, Paul Lawrie GC 73
                Ross Noon (a)(Craigielaw)73

  1   9:14 AM   Craig Ronald, Carluke 73
                Stuart Morrison, Tain 73

  1   9:22 AM   Anthony Bews (a), Murcar Links 73
                Colin Robinson, Elie SC 72
 
 1   9:30 AM   Stephen Gray, Hayston 72
                Gavin Hay, Nairn Dunbar 72

  1   9:38 AM   Graham Fox, Clydeway Golf 72
                Stephen Craig, Craig Golf 72

  1   9:46 AM   David Patrick, Kingsfield 71
                Neil Fenwick, Dunbar 69

  1   9:54 AM   Jason McCreadie, Buchanan Castle 69
                David Law, Paul Lawrie GC 68






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EUROPRO TOUR REPORT AND LINK TO ALL THE SCORS

 FIRST-ROUND JOY FOR LUKE WITH

AN EIGHT-UNDER 63 TO LEAD BY ON
 
Luke Joy carded an opening-round 63 to lead the HotelPlanner.com Championship at Cumberwell Park by one stroke on eight under par.
The Dorset golfer led a field which scored well on the first day of the HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour event on the par-71 Red and Yellow course. Spaniard Sebastian Garcia Grout is one behind the leader and five golfers share third on six under, just two off the top.
Joy was five under after his first nine holes and made it seven when he eagled 11. A bogey at 13 set him back a shot but 26-year-old moved to the top of the leaderboard with birdies at 16 and 17. 
“I played really solidly today,” said Joy. “I got the pace of the greens down nicely and apart from a one-off shot which saw me make bogey on a par three I had it under control throughout.
“I have had a solid season and everything is coming together. I feel that I am knocking on the door and hopefully I can barge on through if I keep this week going the way it is.
“I think if you play well you will score well this week. The one thing to watch out for is it is playing short, so you don’t have to hit as much off the tee. It is a little bit risk-reward because of that; you could hit driver and go for a chip on and that offers some birdie opportunities.”
The HotelPlanner.com Championship carries a £40,000 prize fund with the winner receiving £10,000, which is crucial money to add to the Order of Merit from which the top five at the end of the season are rewarded with Challenge Tour categories for 2015.
The 54-hole strokeplay event sees 156 of Europe’s best young golfers competing, with a cut to the top 50 players and ties to be made after Thursday’s second round.
Friday’s final round will be filmed for a two-hour highlights package to be broadcast on Sky Sports on July 1. Spectator entry is free throughout the week and live scoring can be found at www.europrotour.com.

To view all the scores

CLICK HERE

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MORE THAN SIX HOURS' PLAY LOST DUE TO FOG ON DAY 2 AT MURCAR LINKS

 Players hanging around the PGA portakabin waiting for news of a resumption of second-round play in the PLGC Northern Open.Picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency
 
PLGC NORTHERN OPEN CUT TO THREE 

ROUNDS - BID TO COMPLETE ROUND 2

  SCUPPERED BY RETURN OF FOG

By COLIN FARQUHARSO
Colin@scottishgolfview.com

The only definite news to report on the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Northern Open championship at Murcar Links is that the tournament has been reduced to three rounds.
The second suspension of play began at 1.10pm and was not lifted until 5.30pm which meant a total loss of six hours' playing time on Day 2.
In fact, the fog crept in again and visibility dropped to the point where it was not possible to restart at 5.30pm.
No second-round scores have been returned

Tournament Roy Murray, addressing the players in the clubhouse lounge, said there was an option - not one he wanted to use - that if the second round was not completed or nearly completed before darkness fell tonight - well after 10pm in the North-east of Scotland as we approach June 21, the longest daylight of the year - then he would declare a cut on the basis of the first-round scores, i.e. leading 36 and ties with scores of four-over 75 or better.
The fog lifted marginally around 4.30-4.45pm and Murray, sensing an opportunity to complete the second round, overrode his earlier statement that he would make a decision at 6.15pm.
Instead came the news that the players should resume their rounds at 5.30pm. But the restart decision was a trifle premature. The fog crept in again and a re-start was NOT possible at 5.30pm.
Tournament leader David Law, with a three-under-par 68, is in the very last group off the tee in the second round.

  The Murcar Links practice ground, mist shrouded but not closed, during the two fog suspensions of play on Day 2 of the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Northern Open championship. Picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

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PERSISTENT FOG AT ROYAL PORTRUSH FORCES CHANGE OF PLANS


The R&A
Media Advisory

THE AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP – REVISED SCHEDULE

The R and A has confirmed the revised schedule for the Amateur Championship following yesterday’s delays caused by persistent fog.
The second stroke play round is scheduled to be completed today (Wednesday 18 June) and the match play stage of the Championship will commence on Thursday 19 June. The revised schedule is as follows:
Thursday 19 June Preliminary Round (if required) and Round 1 (32 matches)
Friday 20 June Round 2 (16 matches) and Round 3 (8 matches)
Saturday 21 June Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals
Sunday 22 June 36-hole Final

Should there be further delays, it has been decided that only 64 players will progress to the match play stage and there will be no preliminary round. In the event of a tie for 64th place it will be decided by card play-off under an amended Condition of Competition.
For more information visit Randa.org.

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LINK TO SENIOR SCORES AT BLAIRGOWRIE

FOR SCORES FROM THE SCOTTISH SENIOR OPEN AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP AT BLAIRGOWRIE

CLICK HERE

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FOG FORCES SUSPENSION OF PLAY AT MURCAR LINKS

The Murcar Links practice ground while play suspended out on the course. Picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

PLGC NORTHERN OPEN ROUND 2  PLAY 

RESTARTING AFTER 1hr 40min DELAY
 
The only golf being played at the Northern Open venue at the time of writing  - 10.30am - is on the practice ground.
That's because the fog that hit the British amateur championship at Royal Portrush syesterday suddenly rolled in at Murcar Links after about two hours' play in the second round this morning.
Play was officially suspended at 10.10am and the players who had been stuck out on the course were called back to the clubhouse just before 11am with no sign of the haar lifting.
LATER NEWS:
Play will resume at 11.50am - a suspension duration of some 1hr 40min
David Law, first-day leader with a 68, was scheduled to be in the last group off the tee at 1.15pm. That will now be 2.55pm with an estimated finishing time of 7.30pm.

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COURSE NOT TOUGHENED UP SPECIALLY FOR PLGC NORTHERN OPEN


MURCAR LINKS IS TOUGH FOR ITS 

MEMBERS TOO! says COURSE MANAGER 

BOB MACKAY


By COLIN FARQUHARSON 
Coln@scottishgolfview.com

Murcar Links course manager Bob Mackay says he has not prepared the course's degree of  difficulty with this week's Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Northern Open in mind.
The fairways are narrow and the rough tough for the club members too!
 "I took it as a compliment that Greig Hutcheon and some of the others said it was like playing a British Open course on a smaller scale," said Bob.
Although all 108 competitors, to varying degrees, had their problems in Tuesday's first round, if they
could not keep their golf balls on the fairway, I did not hear one word of criticism of the course set-up.
Quite the contrary.
Dunbar's Neil Fenwick said: "It's a pleasure to come to play on a 'proper' Northern Open course."
The Scottish Open will be played over the neighbouring Royal Aberdeen Golf Club links at Balgownie next month. Murcar Links is not long but it is difficult enough off the back tees to host an event of that stature.
Murcar Links Golf Club had the good fortune to secure the services of Bob Mackay in November 2011 when Brian Anderson retired.
Bob  is one of the most experienced Scots-born head greenkeepers/course managers
He took up his duties at Murcar Links some 34 years after he got his first job as an apprentice keeper at his local golf club, Royal Dornoch.
He later moved on to Worthing Golf Club in Sussex before getting his first head greenkeeping post, at Dumfries and County GC, in 1985.
He returned to Royal Dornoch as head greenkeeper in 1998, having worked in Ireland and then Prestwick St Nicholas Golf Club in the 1990s.
In 2004, he became course manager at the new Spey Valley course at Aviemore. Latterly, he held down a similar post at another Dave Thomas-designed course at The Roxburghe GC, Kelso.
Another former Royal Dornoch head greenkeeper, Robert Patterson, has been course manager for many years at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club.

The pair have made a huge difference to the neighbouring links.

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