MONTY MOVES INTO A SHARE OF SECOND PLACE

LANGER LEADS BY SEVEN IN SENIOR


BRITISH OPEN AT PORTHCAWL

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Germany’s Bernhard Langer continued his scintillating start to The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex, firing a five under par second round of 66 take a record-breaking seven shot advantage into the weekend at Royal Porthcawl.
Langer followed his opening round of 65 with another dominant display in Wales to move to 11 under par for the Championship, equalling the lowest 36 hole mark in the history of The Senior Open, set by American Fred Funk at Sunningdale in 2009.
His seven-stroke advantage over England’s Chris Williams and Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie also set a new record for the biggest lead at the halfway mark of The Senior Open Championship, beating Noboru Sugai’s four-shot cushion at Royal County Down in 2002.
The two-time Masters Champion dropped a shot on the opening hole when he pulled his four iron tee shot into the rough and then overshot the green, but that was his only bogey of the day as he went on to extend his two shot overnight lead in Wales’ first Senior Major Championship.
Langer posted a hat-trick of birdies from the fourth hole to reach the turn in 33, then added further gains on the 11th, 12th and the 18th hole, where he shaved the hole with a ten foot eagle putt.
“I played very smart, very aggressive, then very smart and I was fortunate to some extent, but I have played very well the last two days,” said the former World Number One.
“It wasn’t the kind of start I wanted today, but from that point on, I settled down and I played some really good golf.  I missed a couple of opportunities earlier on, but then I started to play a little better as well and brought it home to the clubhouse with six under par from that point on, which I'm very pleased with overall.”
Having won The Senior Open Championship in 2010, Langer took a two-shot lead to the 72nd hole at Royal Birkdale last year but eventually lost in a play-off to Mark Wiebe.
 However, he appears determined not to let anyone get close to him this time round.
“I don't need more inspiration,” said the 56 year old. “I always want to win and do well.  But yeah, that one hurt.  It still hurts when I think about it.  I try not to think about it.
“It was a little uncharacteristic, and certainly one that there was no excuse for.  If you put me in that situation 100 times, I think I would win 98 or 99 times.  But that one time I didn't.  So it hurt, and it hurt for a while, and it's one of those things I'll never forget, but that's part of life.  If you want to win some, you have got to lose some in the process because you're putting yourself in that situation.”
Williams eagled the 11th hole en route to a round of 70 to move to four under par and will join Langer in the final group on Saturday. 
He shares second place with Montgomerie, who teed off his second round adjacent to the 18th green where Langer was tapping in for his round of 66.
That mean Montgomerie found himself a daunting 12 shots back as he walked down the first fairway and it soon became a massive 14 shot deficit when bogeyed the opening two holes.
However, the 2010 European Ryder Cup captain, who is bidding to for a clean sweep of the Senior Majors, roared back with a birdie on the third hole before reeling off five in a row from the fifth hole to reach the turn in 33. He picked up another shot on the 13th hole, and although he bogeyed the difficult 16th hole, the Scot got up and down from a bunker for a birdie on the last to sign for a five under par round of 66, joining Williams on four under par.
“Bernhard’s not coming back, so you’ve got to get there and put pressure on him and you fight and you go with him,” said the eight-time European Number One. “But all credit to him, to shoot 65, 66 is very, very good.
“I shot 66 and I’m seven behind, so you can't not give all credit to him. He is 56 years old and he has a methodical, clinical approach, which is his normal.  Same as his football team really, isn't it? 
 "But we'll do our best over the weekend.  Believe me, I'll be doing my utmost to try and make this as interesting as possible.”
Montgomerie’s playing partner, US Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson, also carded a round of 66, finishing with an eagle 3 on the 18th hole to add to birdies on the ninth, 12th and 13th  holes.
The 64 year old American, who is chasing a record fourth Senior Open victory, is nine shots off the pace on two under par in a share of fifth position with compatriot Bob Tway, with Spaniard Pedro Linhart fourth on three under par following a round of 69.
Another Spaniard, Miguel Angel Jiménez, who is making his debut in The Senior Open Championship, moved up the leaderboard to tied 12th position with an eventful two under par 69, which was bookended by eagles on the first and 18th holes, but also included a double bogey on the par five sixth hole.
TWO-ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71)
131 B Langer (Ger) 65 66
138 C Montgomerie  (Sco) 72 66, C Williams (Eng) 68 70
139 P Linhart (Esp) 70 69
140 B Tway (USA) 67 73, T Watson (USA) 74 66
141 R Gibson (Can) 70 71, B Lane (Eng) 72 69
142 B Vaughan (USA) 73 69, F Couples (USA) 71 71, T Pernice Jnr (USA) 78 64,
143 B Ruangkit (Tha) 73 70, R Drummond (Sco) 72 71, P Fowler (Aus) 71 72, M Martin (Esp) 74 69, M Jiménez (Esp) 74 69, M Mouland (Wal) 74 69, J Remesy (Fra) 73 70, S Pate (USA) 75 68,
144 J Sluman (USA) 73 71, A Franco (Par) 74 70, O Browne (USA) 72 72, L Carbonetti (Arg) 76 68, C Mason (Eng) 72 72, C Lu (Tpe) 76 68, K Triplett (USA) 72 72, S Jones (USA) 71 73, S Dunlap (USA) 71 73, C Lutz (am) (USA) 72 72,
145 K Tomori (Jpn) 72 73, J Hart (USA) 71 74, D Forsman (USA) 72 73, M Goodes (USA) 75 70, E Toledo (Mex) 73 72, J Carter (USA) 72 73,
146 J Daley (USA) 75 71, H Ueda (Jpn) 76 70, G Hallberg (USA) 72 74, J Sanchez (USA) 74 72, S Luna (Esp) 75 71, J Cook (USA) 73 73, M Brooks (USA) 74 72, F Funk (USA) 74 72
147 K Idoki (Jpn) 74 73, M Dawson (USA) 76 71, G Wolstenholme (Eng) 74 73, A Oldcorn (Sco) 69 78, R Cochran (USA) 74 73, W Wood (USA) 76 71, M Farry (Fra) 76 71, M Allen (USA) 75 72, I Woosnam (Wal) 73 74, M Mackenzie (Eng) 73 74, D Frost (RSA) 71 76, M Harwood (Aus) 74 73, A Webster (Sco) 75 72
148 G Turner (Nzl) 73 75, D Russell (Eng) 77 71, R Rafferty (Nir) 75 73, J Spence (Eng) 71 77, J Smith (USA) 74 74, R Chapman (Eng) 75 73, W Grant (Eng) 78 70, S Okuda (Jpn) 77 71, B Cameron (Eng) 73 75, P Wesselingh (Eng) 75 73,
149 R Spittle (Can) 76 73, B Gilder (USA) 81 68, R Backwell (Aus) 76 73, P Walton (Irl) 72 77, J Carriles (Esp) 79 70, G Bell (Eng) 74 75, P Eales (Eng) 73 76, K Hutton (Sco) 71 78, W Short Jr (USA) 77 72, G Zahringer (am) (USA) 71 78,
 150 M Belsham (Eng) 74 76, J Gould (Eng) 74 76, A Forsbrand (Swe) 74 76, D Westermark (Swe) 76 74, A Bossert (Sui) 76 74, M Reynard (am) (Eng) 75 75
 151 D Smyth (Irl) 72 79, S Brown (Eng) 72 79, E Romero (Arg) 77 74, C Pavin (USA) 81 70, J Rivero (Esp) 76 75
 152 P Senior (Aus) 78 74, P Curry (Eng) 78 74, N Job (Eng) 75 77, A Takamatsu (Jpn) 75 77, S Tinning (Den) 75 77,
 153 T Thelen (USA) 75 78, M Wiebe (USA) 76 77, B Conser (USA) 78 75, P Golding (Eng) 75 78, M James (Eng) 76 77, P Mitchell (Eng) 75 78, M McNulty (Irl) 76 77, A Murray (Eng) 78 75
 154 M Davis (Eng) 76 78, S Bennett (Eng) 79 75, G Brown (Eng) 78 76, T Johnstone (Zim) 80 74, G Emerson (Eng) 80 74, G Stubbington (Eng) 76 78, P Mortimer (Swe) 79 75
 155 J Hall (Eng) 78 77, C Monasterio (Arg) 80 75, G Bruckner (USA) 82 73
 156 J King (Eng) 80 76, D Garwood (USA) 74 82, D O'Sullivan (Irl) 80 76, G Rusnak (USA) 81 75, M Booth (Eng) 77 79, R Evans (Wal) 78 78
 157 C Stadler (USA) 82 75, J Nougues (Arg) 80 77,
 158 S Lyle (Sco) 76 82, S Randolph (USA) 82 76, G Manson (Aut) 80 78
 159 D Purchase (Aus) 80 79, C Rocca (Ita) 77 82, P Gresswell (Eng) 78 81, P Hinton (Eng) 79 80, F Illouz (Fra) 80 79, J Ambridge (am) (Eng) 80 79, D Bell (am) (USA) 80 79,
 160 G Brand Jnr (Sco) 84 76, N Kinghorn (am) (Eng) 80 80,
 161 M Cunning (USA) 79 82, P Scott (Eng) 84 77,
 163 G Brand (Eng) 84 79,
 164 D Pugh (Eng) 85 79, T Lloyd (Eng) 83 81,
 165 C Acutis (Ita) 81 84, A Reynolds (Eng) 82 83,
 167 K Tenmark (Swe) 81 86, N Sugai (Jpn) 83 84, R Lehew (am) (USA) 83 84
 168 N Gold (am) (Sco) 85 83
 173 D Thompson (Sui) 78 95,
 174 T Cooper (am) (Eng) 88 86,
 ** J Riegger (USA) 78 RT,


EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

HORSEY LEADS BY TWO AFTER FINE FINISH AT TSELEEVO

    

       David Horsey: Poor start, finish in Russia  Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)
WHITEFORD SHARING THIRD PLACE, 

FOUR OFF  PACE IN RUSSIAN OPEN
 
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Englishman David Horsey produced a fine finish in the second round of the M2M Russian Open to sit two shots clear at the halfway stage.
The 29 year old, who is chasing his third European Tour title, made a poor start at Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club but recovered well with four birdies in the last six holes for a four under par 68, which took him to 11 under for the tournament.
His lead remained intact all afternoon, only briefly threatened by Belgian’s Thomas Pieters, who was disappointed to bogey the last but nevertheless satisfied with a 68 and a nine under par total.
Scotland's Peter Whiteford (71) and Englishman Gary Boyd (68) are two shots further back on seven under par.

Key Quotes:

 David Horsey
“I got off to a slow start but I managed to bounce back well. I tried to do the same as yesterday and stick to my game and not worry about much else. Dropping a couple of shots early on is always disappointing, but I knew there’d be plenty of chances to come and I just needed to stay patient and keep giving myself putts for birdie. 
"The approach shots are the key here. The fairways are wide so you don’t see guys missing too many. There’s a bit of water, so it’s just about minimising the mistakes and not giving away too many shots when you do make a mistake.
“Then, ultimately, it’s about holing putts, the same as every week. I teed off from the tenth today, so when I reached the turn I knew there’d be plenty of chances on the front nine where there are a few holes downwind.

Thomas Pieters
“I’ve seen a lot of improvement, which is always nice, and I’ve holed a few putts too. I’m very happy with my game. I’ve been working hard on some stuff the last couple of months and it doesn’t happen right away. 
"It takes time, and it’s nice to see the hard work paying off this week with a couple of good rounds. I learned a lot from my experience at the Spanish Open (where he lost in a play-off to Miguel Angel Jiménez). 
"I stayed very calm, which surprised me. I felt comfortable there, which gives me a lot of confidence going into the next two rounds here.
"The course is great and the best thing that suits me is the driving. If you can drive it long and straight off the tee you will do well on this course.”

Gary Boyd
“I played well. I made a slow start and had a bogey on the fourth, but I got it going on the back nine and had four birdies in the last five holes, which is always nice.
"It’s put me in a nice position for the weekend. My game has been good the last two weeks – I played well on the Challenge Tour in Switzerland last week so it was nice to come here with a bit of confidence. 
"The whole season has been pretty poor, but it’s nice to be back playing well. This week is a great opportunity. 
"I haven’t played great on the Challenge Tour this season so it didn’t matter that I’d miss a week, and I’m seeing this as a chance to win and get my European Tour card back. This is where I feel I should be.
"It’s been a tough couple of years with my game but I can feel it slowly coming back. It’s nice to be near the top of the leaderboard and it’s a position I’m familiar with and feel comfortable with.
" I’ve got my game plan ready for the weekend and hopefully it’ll put me in the mix on Sunday afternoon.”

Peter Whiteford
“The start was shocking. The first tee shot was straight in the rubbish, and I was three over after six holes. But it was a good fightback. Strangely, I felt like I was swinging it better today, but there are still some absolutely wild ones in there which cost me today. 
"The good shots are really good, but there are some calamities. Even that shot to the last there – it was an easy nine iron and I just hooked it into the bunker. It makes it exciting though – I don’t really know where to look once I’ve struck it! 
"I’m not playing great so I’m delighted with the way I’m scoring and I’m in with a chance, which is just what I need.”

 SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71)
+66 players made the cut on 144 (+2) 
133 D Horsey (Eng) 65 68.
135 T Pieters  (Bel) 67 68
137 G Boyd  (Eng) 69 68, P Whiteford (Sco) 66 71
138 N Elvira  (Esp) 69 69, M Kieffer (Ger) 67 71, G Bhullar (Ind) 67 71, S Jamieson  (Sco) 66 72, 139 S Hutsby  (Eng) 72 67, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 70 69, K Phelan (Irl) 69 70
140 E Dubois (Fra) 72 68, D McGrane (Irl) 69 71, S Walker (Eng) 69 71, K Eriksson (Swe) 72 68, J Colomo  (Esp) 72 68, M Grönberg (Swe) 70 70, J Doherty  (Sco) 67 73, J McLeary  (Sco) 68 72
141 C Pigem (Esp) 70 71, G Charoenkul (Tha) 73 68, S Hansen (Den) 72 69, C Del Moral (Esp) 70 71, J Wilson (Aus) 67 74, L De Jager  (RSA) 67 74
142 A Saddier (Fra) 69 73, J Hansen  (Den) 69 73, C Lee (Sco) 72 70, D Drysdale (Sco) 73 69, 143 A Andersson  (Swe) 70 73, J Carlsson (Swe) 74 69, B Paolini (USA) 72 71, R Karlberg  (Swe) 67 76, A Pavan (Ita) 73 70, J Heath  (Eng) 71 72, A Maestroni  (Ita) 72 71, J Mikkelsen (Nor) 74 69, S Thornton (Irl) 70 73, R Enoch  (Wal) 70 73, A Otaegui  (Esp) 70 73, O Bekker (RSA) 67 76, A Hartø  (Den) 73 70, H Porteous (RSA) 72 71
144 J Campillo (Esp) 68 76, S Baek (Kor) 74 70, O Henningsson  (Swe) 68 76, B Dredge (Wal) 70 74, M Madsen  (Den) 71 73, R Finch  (Eng) 71 73, M Bremner (RSA) 79 65, J Morrison  (Eng) 71 73, R Kakko  (Fin) 71 73, S Manley (Wal) 71 73
MISSED THE CUT 
145 M Korhonen (Fin) 74 71, P Price (Wal) 70 75, A Forsyth (Sco) 75 70, M Nixon (Eng) 69 76, A Gee  (Eng) 70 75, D Im (USA) 73 72, J Smith (am) (Eng) 75 70
146 J Hahn (USA) 72 74, L Bond (Wal) 73 73, S Chowrasia (Ind) 76 70, P Erofejeff (Fin) 74 72, S Wakefield (Eng) 70 76, D Huizing (Ned) 72 74
147 C Phadungsil  (Tha) 71 76, A Kaleka  (Fra) 74 73, S Kjeldsen (Den) 75 72, P Saksansin (Tha) 75 72
148 J Lara (Esp) 77 71,  149 J Fly (USA) 71 78, J Ahlers (RSA) 74 75
 150 N Dougherty  (Eng) 74 76, L Claverie (Esp) 72 78, H Satama (Fin) 72 78, A Pavlov (Rus) 77 73
151 B Henson (USA) 75 76, V Phillips (Eng) 75 76, J Janewattananond (Tha) 78 73
152 V Osipov (Rus) 77 75, M Dobias  (Sui) 76 76, D Higgins (Irl) 79 73, J Reiss (Eng) 78 74, H Wen-Yi (Chn) 75 77, D Suchan  (Cze) 80 72,
153 M Kawamura (Jpn) 79 74, J Clément  (Sui) 73 80, T Innes Ker (Sco) 78 75, M Suursalu (Est) 74 79
 154 J Roos (RSA) 80 74, P Gal  (Cze) 80 74,
 155 N Nissen (Den) 77 78, D Vancsik (Arg) 80 75, R Gruber (Aut) 75 80
 156 A Vongvanij (Tha) 74 82, P Goryainov (am) (Rus) 76 80
 157 P Dedek (am) (Cze) 84 73
 158 R Steiner (Aut) 75 83
 160 B Palanszki (Hun) 81 79, P Gustafsson (Swe) 82 78, F Becker (Ger) 80 80, M Nichols (Eng) 81 79
 161 A Savolainen  (Fin) 79 82
 162 N Ponomarev (am) (Rus) 77 85
 166 M Morozov (am) (Rus) 89 77
 167 J Ferraby (Eng) 80 87
 168 S Pereltsveyg (am) (Rus) 83 85
 170 E Volkov (am) (Rus) 85 85
 172 Y Kafelnikov (Rus) 83 89, I Tursunov (am) (Rus) 93 79
 178 I Kurochkin (Rus) 85 93
 ** H Sayin (Tur) 81 retired

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

ROYAL ABERDEEN PLAYER TOPS WITH A SCRATCH 70

Bill Methven (left), Craibstone golf general manager Billy Sim (centre)_ and NE District president Jim Hunter. Picture by George Young, the NE District secretary.

BILL METHVEN WINS NE DISTRICT 

SENIORS' TITLE AT CRAIBSTONE

Royal Aberdeen's Bill Methven won the North-east District seniors golf championship, sponsored by Marshall Leisure, at Craibstone today (Friday). 
A six-handicapper, he shot a gross 70 to win the title by two shots from George Paterson (Northern) with host club general manager Billy Sim third on 74 alongside Graham McClaggan (Bon Accord).

North-east District secretary George Young (Inverallochy), playing off eight, won the Handicap Class 1 section with a net 67 while Rod Duff, who plays off 13 at  Kintore, won Section 2 with a net 66.

 SCOREBOARD

SCRATCH
CSS 69

70 W G Methven (Royal Aberdeen)

72 G Paterson (Northern)

74 W Sim (Craibstone), Graham McClaggan (Bon Accord)

75 G M Young (Inverallochy), D Walker (Royal Aberdeen), I Angus (Duff House Royal)

76 A Smith (Turriff)

77 M Merchant (Newmachar)

78 G Gray (Newmachar), R Loggie (Kemnay), D A Fleming (Portlethen).

79 B Shanks (Kemnay), R Duff (Kintore).

80 B Stewart (Newmachar), R Fraser (Nigg Bay), J M Hamilton (Murcar Links).
81 G Allan (Craibstone)
83 P Walker (Cruden Bay), G Murdoch (Craibstone), R Usher (Banchory), L Fowler (Royal Aberdeen), 
88 H Nielsen (Nigg Bay)
90 T Craig (Nigg Bay), B Semple (Craibstone)
91 M Murray (Craibstone) 
92 J Bower (Newburgh)
93 C Goldie (Nigg Bay).
95 G Smith (Craibstone)
96 R Suitherland (Nigg Bay)
97 J Hunter (Ballater)
No Returns: J Murphy (Northern), N Ogston (Turriff)

HANDICAP

Class 1 - G M Young (Inverallochy) (8) 67; G McClaggan (Bon Accord) (5) 69; D Walker (Royal Aberdeen) (5), R Loggie (Kemnay) (8) 70.

Class 2 - R Duff (Kintore) (13), B Stewart (Newmachar) (14) 66; B Shanks (Kemnay) (12) 67;  G Murdoch (Craibstone) (12) 71.

THREE OTHER SCOTS MISS CUT AT ALPS DE ANDALUCIA

MICHAEL STEWART LYING JT SEVENTH 

IN SPAIN - IS HE TURNING THE CORNER?

Is the tour pro career of former Walker Cup player Michael Stewart from Troon about to take off at last?

After a string of disappointing results, Stewart has shot a pair of 69s to be joint seventh on six-under-par 138 in the Alps de Andalucia tournament at Real Club de Guadalamina in southern Spain.

He is three shots behind the leader by one, Spaniard Borja Etchart

The three other Scots in the tournament missed the cut at 141.

James White (Lundin) shot a pair of 71s for 142. Edinburgh's John Gallacher totalled 144 with 73-71 and John Henry shot 72-73 for 145.

PAUL LAWRIE GOLF CENTRE PLAYER'S TIED 10TH FINISH

NICOL EARNS £916 AS TOP SCOT IN 

IRELAND AFTER FENWICK SLUMP

Fraserburgh's Kris Nicol won himself £916 as the top Scot - after the collapse of Neil Fenwick - at the end of the PGA EuroPro Tour 54-hole event at Concra Wood Golf Club in Ireland.

Nicol, who plays out of the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, shot 71, 71 and 72 for a two-under-par total of 214, which placed him joint 10th behind the winner of the £10,000 jackpot, Englishman Steve Uzzell. The Hornsea player had rounds of 66, 69 and 72 for nine-under 207 to win by a shot from Richard Kilpatrick (Banbridge).

Ross Kellett (Kingsfield) was second best Scot with 71,75 and 71 for 217 and joint 18th place. He earned £385.

Newmachar's Malcolm Isaacs and Greg McBain (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) tied for 20th place on 218. Isaacs shot 75-72-71 while McBain had rounds of 74, 71 and 73. They earned £320 each.

Elliot Saltman (Archerfield) totalled 221 (71-72-78) for 40th place and a £255 payslip.

Dunbar's Fenwick had an outside chance of challenging for the £10,000 prize after rounds of 72 and 69 but he plummeted to 41st place in the final standings after a disastrous last round of 81 (44-37).
He had only three pars on his outward half which included two double bogeys. He had no birdies. Neil earned £250.

Paul Shields (Kirkhill) finished joint 42nd on 223 (73-72-78) and earned £237.

Conor O'Neil had the same kind of last round (43-39) as Fenwick. The Mearns Castle man shot 74-74-82 for 230 and 53rd place. He earned £190.

UZZELL CLAIMS MAIDEN EUROPRO WIN IN KINGSPAN CONCRA WOOD OPEN
Englishman finishes one clear after title rival Thacker triples 17th

NEWS RELEASE

Steve Uzzell claimed his first HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour win when he captured the Kingspan Concra Wood Open title on Friday, winning by one shot on nine under.

The Yorkshireman began the round one behind George Thacker (Kedleston Park), who had carded a remarkable seven-under 65 for his second round, four better than the next best card that day.

The 26 year old was neck and neck with Uzzell for much of the final round, but a triple bogey on the 17^th saw him sign for a 75 on the par 72 course, finishing third on seven under.

Northern Ireland’s Richard Kilpatrick (Banbridge Golf Club) was two under for his final round to claim second place on eight under, while Uzzell (Hornsea Golf Club) won with a level-par final round.

“It feels fantastic,” said Uzzell, who wins £10,000, a brand new Motocaddy S1 Pro and a Shotsaver range finder after his victory at Concra Wood Golf Club in Castleblayney, Ireland.

“It got pretty tight on the last nine holes as you would expect, and it is nice to come out on top for a change.

“I bogeyed the 12^th, which is playing something like 200 yards into the wind with water on the left and a really tough flag. I thought if I could make par there then I could make a couple of birdies on the last six, but it played tough today with some great flag positions on the course.

“George on the 17^th, it was the only bad swing of the day for him, and it cost him a god chance coming up the last.

“Everybody on the tour would say you have to use your morning round, and I got off to a really good start on Wednesday morning and played really nicely on Thursday afternoon in my second round.

“You never know what you are going to need in your final round but I have managed to win and that is great for me.

“The win puts me up there on the Order of Merit and that means one more could result can see you finish in the top five and move forward to the Challenge Tour.

“It was my birthday earlier in the week, and there might well be a double celebration!”

Highlights of the Kingspan Concra Wood Open air on Sky Sports 4 on Tuesday, August 5, with repeats the following day. The HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour remains in Ireland for the Walk In My Shoes Open at Mount Wolseley Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort, July 30-August 1.

 

 

MONTROSE MEN'S OPEN WEEK FINALS DAY

SCRATCH

SEMI-FINALS

Ross Coull (Edzell) bt Craig Penny (Newbiggin) 1 hole  

Gavin Hemsley (Mercantile) bt Jamie Beedie (Mercantile) at 25th
 

 FINAL

Coull bt Hemsley 6 and 5.
 

 

VETERANS 

 

FINAL

Derek Cruickshanks (Montrose Mercantile) bt Jim Riddell 

 

(Montrose Mercantile) 5 and 4.

 

CAMERON CUP 

 

FINAL

Rhys Bailey (Montrose Caledonia) bt Joe Black (Kirriemuir) 5 and 3.

 

CAMERON SHIELD 

FINAL
Michael Falconer (Montrose Caledonia) bt Fraser Nicoll (Royal 

Montrose) at 20th
    

UP TO 11 HANDICAP 
 
SEMI-FINALS

Paul Davis (Falkirk) bt Bill Dryden (Mercantile) 3 and 2.

Cameron Carnegie (Kemnay) bt Derek Reid (Forfar) 3 and 2

FINAL

Davis bt Carnegie1 hole
 
12 – 24 HANDICAP SECTION 

SEMI-FINALS
 
Andrew Littlewood (Montrose Caledonia) bt Kieran Scappaticci 

(Montrose Mercantile) 3 and 2 

Aiden Spark (Montrose Mercantile) bt Ian Hamilton (Edzell) 2 holes

FINAL
Spark bt Littlewood 3 and 2.
 
SENIORS
 
SEMI-FINALS

Gordon Milne (Royal Montrose) bt Vince Stewart (Montrose 

Mercantile) 1 hole  

John Young (Royal Montrose) bt Willie Pearson (Sheddens 

Lethamhill) 4 and 3

 
FINAL

Young bt Milne 3 and 2.

 

 

US PGA TOUR REPORT, LINK TO SCORES

PUTNAM AND  PETROVIC SHARE LEAD 

IN CANADIAN OPEN WITH 64s

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE

L'Île-Bizard, Quebec -- He’s never had the first round lead in his US PGA Tour career, but Michael Putnam does know how to win. The two-time Web.com Tour winner in 2013 raced out to a 6-under 64 at the RBC Canadian Open on Thursday, and is tied for the lead with Tim Petrovic heading into Friday’s second round.
The 64 shot by Petrovic and Putnam were the lowest rounds ever shot to open the Canadian Open.
“Obviously it was playing easy,” said Putnam, laughing, after his round finished. “The course is very similar to the courses I play back home – same grasses, same kind of terrain, so I feel pretty comfortable.” 
Putnam’s bogey-free 64 was highlighted by four birdies on the front nine, before the wind picked up.

“I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens. Obviously it got windy there this afternoon and it was tough ball-striking, but somehow I was able to keep it in the fairway,” he explained.
Putnam was the leading money winner on the Web.com Tour last year, was also voted the Web.com Tour Player of the Year. His best finish on the PGA TOUR this season is a T11, at the Travelers Championship. He credits his Web.com Tour experience to how well things are going this year.
“It was huge. I think I was in contention in half the events I played last year, so I got used to doing a lot of media interviews, seeing cameras behind me while I swing. So I feel very comfortable,” he said.
For Petrovic, it was a little bit of a different story for how he got to Royal Montreal. The one-time PGA TOUR winner was the last player to be called into the field, and wasn't able to play a practice round.

LEADERBOARD
Par 70
64 Michael Putnam, Tim Petrovic
65 Taylor Pendrith, Kyle Stanley.

SELECTED SCORES
68 Graeme McDowell (T32)
71 Luke Donald (T87)

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

ABERDEEN-BORN AUSSIE WHOSE CAREER WAS WRECKED BY INJURY

MICHAEL SIM STARTS COMEBACK ON 

WEB.COM TOUR


By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Aberdeen-born Michael Sim is back!
Remember him?
Emigrated with his family from the Granite City when he was seven or eight years old, became the World No 1 amateur - before Richie Ramsay - turned pro and looked to be heading for stardom.
Then he injured his back and his whole career unrvalled.
Michael (pictured) makes his return to competitive golf in this week's Web.com Tour event, the Midwest Classic, at Nicklaus Golf club, Lions Gate, Overland Park, in Kansas. He shot a two-over-par 73 and is T103 alongside Englishmen Greg Owen and David Skinns - two shots ahead of Dornoch's Jimmy Gunn who had a double bogey at the 16th and five bogeys in halves of 36-39. 
Here's what the Web.com Tour side had to say about Michael Sim:
 
• Lost among the headlines this week is the return of Australian Michael Sim, the 2009 Web.com Tour Player of the Year (Editor note: It was called the Nationwide Tour then). Sim had been gone from competitive play in the United States for nearly two years before teeing it up Thursday morning. His last event was the 2012 Miccosukee Championship. His last \US PGA Tour start was the 2011 Children’s Miracle Hospitals Network Classic (W/D).
Sim has been “knocking around home” for a bit and trying to maintain his game while taking a bit of a breather from pressure golf.
The 29-year old posted a 2-over-par 73 and is T1-3.
In 2009, Sim set a Tour record by earning $644,142 in just 14 starts. He won three times, was runner-up twice and finished third once. He won the Stonebrae Classic, the BMW Charity Pro-Am and then collected win No. 3 in this event, posting scores of 65-67-65-67 to finish at 2-under par and win by two shots to earn a battlefield promotion to the US PGA Tour.

Good luck, Michael! Scottishgolfview.com and Scottish golf is rooting for you!

MIDWEST CLASSIC LEADERBOARD
Par 71
64 Paul Haley
65 Sebastian Cappelen, Manuel Villegas, Shane Bertson, Mark Hubbard.

British scores:
73 Michael Sim (Scotland/Australia), Greg Owen (England), David Skinns (England) (T105)
75 Jimmy Gunn (Scotland)