LOMAS AND CRAIG SHARES HONOURS IN FIFE

FORMER EUROPEAN TOUR ROOKIE OF 

YEAR TIES FOR ABERDOUR VICTORY

Chesterfield-born Jonathan Lomas, pictured left, now based at Caprington Golf Club, Ayrshire, and Dunfermline's Stephen Craig, back in Scotland this season after a lengthy spell in Germany, scored their first wins of the year in the Renault (Scotland) Aberdour Golf Club pro-am at the Fife venue.

Lomas was the 1994 European Tour Rookie of the Year and won the Czech Open in 1996 as well as scoring two successes on the Challenge Tour.
He and Craig hit the three-under-par 67 mark to earn £412 each with contrasting rounds.

Craig, pictured right, had a bogey-free round highlighted with birdies at the fourth, ninth and 13th.
Lomas had six birdies (the second, foujrth, 10th, 11th, 13th and 14th) and three boys, at the fifth, ninth and 15th.
They finished a shot ahead of former Tartan Tour No 1 Colin Gillies (Kingsfield) and Andrew Marshall (Houston Golf Range) who earned £275 each. A double bogey 5 at the short 18th cost Marshall victory. He had earlier had an eagle and four birdies.
Jamies Stephen (Aberdour) led the Falc Nutech team of Gary McWilliams (handicap 18), Craig Hempseed (56) and Stephen McGregor (6) to victory in the pro-am team event with a 16-under-par net total of 51.

PRO SCORES

Par 67

64 J Lomas (Caprington), S Craig (Craig Golf) (£412 each)

65 C Gillies (Kingsfield), A Marshall (Houston GR) £275 each)

66 S Gray (Hayston) (£200)

67 K Hutton (Downfield) (£175)

68 A Crerar (Panmure) (£150)

69 D Gemmell (Aberdour) (£100)

70 I Taylor (Drumpellier) (£100)

71 C Gordon (Edinburgh GC) (£100)

72 G Mackay (Melville GR) (£100)

73 S Herald (Mearns Castle) (£100)

74 K Campbell (Greenock), N Colquhoun (Merchants of Edinburgh), J Stephen (Aberdour), C Beveridge (West Kilbride), D Flannery (Caldwell) (£100 each).

75 I Howieson (Howieson GS) (£100)

77 J Hopwood (Royal Aberdeen) (£100)

79 S Bissett (Kingsfield) (£100)

80 Liam Neeson (World of Golf) (£100)

CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT AND SCORES

SWEDE SHOOTS COURSE-RECORD 62 


AT GALCORM CASTLE, N IRELAND

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Swede Joakim Lagergren got the second edition of the Northern Ireland Open Challenge at Galcorm Castle off to an explosive start, soaring to a course-record nine under par 62 to take a two-shot lead after Day One.

The 22 year old, pictured right by courtesy of Getty Images(c), who has already played two full seasons on The European Tour in his short professional career, threatened the magic number of 59 when he negotiated his opening 15 holes in eight under par with a par five to play on the par 71 lay-out.
He did birdie the ninth, his last hole having teed off at the tenth, and while he could not create history as the second player to shoot sub-60 on the Challenge Tour, his bogey-free opening round was enough to set a new record low round at the wonderfully-presented Galgorm Castle.
On a day when 4,429 people filed through the gates at what has become the best-attended event in Challenge Tour history, the crowds were treated to a mixed bag weather-wise, the course bathing in sunshine for the vast majority of the day but a heavy shower causing a 47-minute delay in play mid-way through the afternoon.
Lagergren was lucky enough to avoid that inconvenience and he was delighted to get off to such a strong start in perfect conditions, playing alongside local crowd favourite, promising amateur Dermot McElroy.
“You can’t start any better than this,” said the Stockholm player, whose stepfather Ola Eliasson is a former European Tour player. 
“I’ve been playing really well the last couple of weeks but the putting hasn’t really been going good and I holed a few putts today which gave me momentum.
“I wasn’t even thinking about the birdies I was making, I was just playing today. I wasn’t even sure how many under par I was but when you get on a roll like that you just don’t want to stop. You just don’t think about the scoring, you just keep hitting those good shots.
“I holed a few 15 to 20-foot putts today so that’s a real bonus. Hopefully it will be a good week. It really feels like a proper European Tour tournament, we had a small crowd with us all day today because I played with Dermot and it was really good fun.
“Crowds definitely boost me. It’s really nice that they come out to watch the local guys and I was lucky to have played with him.
“I didn’t really think about the 59. I actually missed a short birdie putt on my second last hole, the eighth, from around five feet. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
“Usually you get that buzz and adrenalin of a 59 when you’re six or seven under but I didn’t think about it at all today. Anything can happen over the next three days. I was hitting good shots today, and every course is easy when you do that, but if you’re not hitting good shots out there the course is not easy.
“It would be really good to have more crowds tomorrow. The crowds could get really big here this week. I played two years on The European Tour and especially when I played in Sweden, the crowds were fantastic, so hopefully I will have a similar atmosphere over the weekend.”
Anthony Snobeck of France was two shots back on seven under par after signing for a 64 which included two eagles, one of which came at the driveable par four second to get his round going early on.
Meanwhile, the strongest local challenge came from Jonathan Caldwell of Northern Ireland, who had a stellar amateur career which culminated in his partnering Rory McIlroy at the 2007 Walker Cup.
While he has thus far struggled to emulate that success in the professional ranks, an impressive six under par 65 moved the 30 year old to within three shots of the lead in a share of third place alongside another former Walker Cup player, England's Steven Brown.

FIRST-ROJND SCORES
Par 71
62 J Lagergren (Swe)
64 A Snobeck  (Fra)
65 S Brown (Eng) , J Caldwell  (Nir) 
66 R McGowan  (Eng) , M Orrin (Eng) , D Kemmer (USA) ,
67 W Booth  (Sco) , T Sluiter  (Ned) , T Linard (Fra) , R McEvoy  (Eng) , K Benz (Sui) , G Shaw (Nir) , C Russo (Fra) , D McElroy (am) (Nir) 
68 B Ritthammer (Ger) , C Shinkwin (Eng) , R Davies (Wal) , J Lando Casanova  (Fra) , J Edfors (Swe) , T Lee (USA) , N Kearney (Irl) , C McDonnell (Eng) , C Hanson (Eng) , A Björk (Swe) , J Maw (Eng), R Kind (Ned) , P Figueiredo  (Por) , L Goddard  (Eng) , K Ferrie (Eng) , G Cambis  (Fra) , A Bernadet  (Fra) , J Sjöholm (Swe) ,
69 P Maddy (Eng) , B Stone (RSA) , A McArthur  (Sco) , G Boyd  (Eng) , J Harrison (Eng) , M Glauert (Ger) , C Aguilar  (Esp) , M Delpodio  (Ita) , N Quintarelli (Ita) , P Dwyer (Eng) , J Winther (Den) , G Murray  (Sco)
70 A Wrigley (Eng) , J Garcia Del Moral (Esp) , C Ford (Eng) , D Stewart (Sco) , S Little (Eng) , E Johansen  (Nor) , M Decottignies-Lafon (Fra) , S Arnold  (Aus) , J Huldahl (Den) , A Dunbar (Nir) , J Galbraith (am) (Nir) ,
71 B Åkesson (Swe) , M McGeady (Irl) , F Praegant (Aut) , M Ford (Eng) , R Russell (Sco) , M Tullo (Chi) , M Haines  (Eng) , R Gowers (Eng) , E Espana (Fra) , M Trappel  (Aut) , M Hoey  (Nir) ,
72 M Wiegele  (Aut), C Kelly (Sco), S Hutsby  (Eng) , P Gal  (Cze) , J Gonnet  (Fra) , J Fahrbring (Swe) , F Fritsch  (Ger) , A Savolainen  (Fin) , D Mooney (Nir) , M Murphy  (Irl) , D Gavins (Eng) , C Shave (Eng) , D Frittelli (RSA) , L Jensen (Den) , J Senior (Eng) , S Henry  (Sco) , J Stalter (Fra) , M Lafeber (Ned) , P McKechnie (Sco) , C Paisley  (Eng) , H Bacher (Aut) , B Robinson (am) (Eng) , C Sharvin (am) (Nir) , A Grant (am) (Irl)
73 H Joannes  (Bel) , T Pilkadaris (Aus) , J Elson  (Eng) , O Wilson (Eng) , S Hansen (Nor) , J Pastor (Esp) , C Mivis  (Bel) , S Tiley (Eng) , S Whiffin (Eng) , L Saltman (Sco) , J Garcia Pinto (Esp) , P Price (Wal) , J Rask (Swe) , N Johansson (Swe)
74 J Guerrier  (Fra) , P Edberg (Swe) , L Nemecz (Aut) , M McAlpin (Nir) , O Ramsnes  (Nor) , R Steiner (Aut) , T Murray (Eng) , S Grant  (Irl) , B Parker  (Eng) , C Bouniol (Fra) , D Coupland (Eng) , B Virto  (Esp) , J Timmis (Eng) , J Roos (RSA) , G Woolgar (Eng)
75 R Gouveia (Por) , C McNamara (Irl) , C Brazillier  (Fra) , B Hebert  (Fra) , A Domingo (Esp) , A Perrino  (Ita) , Z Scotland  (Eng) , A Gabella (Sui) , G King (Eng) , O Farr (Wal) , L Kennedy  (Eng) , J Legarrea (Esp)
76 D Law (Sco) , O Evans (Eng) , O Stark (Swe), R Whitson (Nir) , G Lockerbie  (Eng) , N McCarthy  (Eng) , N Lemke (Swe) ,
77 T Innes Ker (Sco) , J Wilson (Aus) , C Macaulay  (Sco) , N Murray (Nir) , R Coles (Eng) , A Hogan  (Irl) , B McCarroll  (Irl) , C Campbell (am) (Nir)
78 S Ward (Irl) , D Geminiani (Ita) , P Widegren  (Swe) , B Evans  (Eng)
79 M Smith (Eng) , J Quinlivan (Irl)
81 J Kennegard  (Swe)




EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

ARMSTRONG WINS MIDLAND ALLIANCE MEETING

BURNTISLAND ASSISTANT WINS AT 

MUCKHART WITH ONE-UNDER 70

REPORT FROM LEE SUTHERLAND

Burntisland assistant professional Craig Armstrong won the leading scratch prize in the rescheduled Midland Golfers' Alliance competition at Muckhart Golf Club.
He shot a one-under-par 70 to win by one
Robert Mackie, who plays off seven at Thornton, had the best net score of 69.

MIDLAND ALLIANCE - Muckhart Golf Club
Par 71
LEADING SCRATCH
70 C Armstrong (Burntisland) ap
71 S McKendrick (Dunkeld)
73 M Pirie (Pitlochry) p, G Tough (Edzell).
74 N Cameron (Blairgowrie) ap.
75 P Brookes (Pitreavie) p.
76 D Wilson (Monifieth), R Mackie (Thornton), L Sutherland (Monifieth) p, B Stewart (Tulliallan).

LEADING HANDICAP
69 R Mackie (Thornton) (7).
70 D Wilson (Monifieth) (6).
71 R Baldie (Crieff) (7), S Mckendrick (Dunkeld) (scr)
72 J Leddy (Bathgate) (10)
73 H Salmond (Alloa) (5), G Muir (Burntisland)
74 K Thomson (Alloa) (14), G Wilkie (Muckhart) (14), A McLeod (Alloa) (5).

Qualifiers for the JTC Kitchens Express Championship 
S McKendrick (Dunkeld)
M Pirie (Pitlochry)
N Cameron (Blairgowrie)

 Qualifiers for the McQueen Shield 
R Mackie (Thornton) (7) 

Next Meeting 
Tuesday, September 2
EDZELL
Sponsored by Ian Cooke Catering  
Tee reserved from: 8.30-12.30

HEISELE WINS 5,000 EUROS FIRST PRIZE WITH 17-UNDER-PAR

FARRELLY TOP BRIT IN GERMANY

Englishman Craig Farrelly was the leading British player in the final totals at the German PGA Developmental Tour event, the Gut Bissenmoor Classic at Bad Bramstedt today.
He finished T10 on 210 with rounds of 69, 72 and 69 to earn 710 Euros.
Winner of the 5,000 Euros first prize was Germany's Sebastian Heisele with scores of 68, 64 and 67 for a 17-under-par total of 199. He won by four shots from former British amateur champion at Turnberry, Dutchman Reinier Saxton (64-71-68) and Germany's Marcel Schneider (64-71-68) for 203. The joint runners-up earned 2,500 euros apiece.

TO VIEW ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

CLICK HERE

ITALIAN OPEN FIRST ROUND REPORT, SCORES

 FRANCESCO MOLINARI GRABS


HIS HOMELAND HEADLINES

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Stephen Gallacher may be the only man in the world who can still qualify automatically for Europe’s Ryder Cup team at the 71st Italian Open , but Francesco Molinari grabbed the round one headlines in his homeland by taking a share of the six-under-par lead to make a great start to his bid to convince Paul McGinley to make him one of the three available Ryder Cup Captain’s Picks.
Gallacher, who needs to win or finish second (alongside no more than one other player) in Italy to earn enough World Ranking points to displace Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell from the automatic qualifiers, opened with a level par 72 at Circolo Golf Torino – La Mandria, the course on which Molinari and brother Edoardo grew up playing.
Francesco certainly took full advantage of his local knowledge, delighting the home crowds with a bogey-free 66 to rise to the top of the leaderboard alongside Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger.
England’s Richard Bland, American John Hahn, Northern Irishman Gareth Maybin, South African Hennie Otto and Scotland’s Richie Ramsay share second place on five under par, while McGinley, returning to the fairways after a two-month injury lay-off was unlucky to shoot one over.
The Irishman will name his three Captain's Picks to complete his 12-man Ryder Cup Team next Tuesday at The European Tour’s headquarters at Wentworth Club.
Key Player Quotes
Francesco Molinari: “It’s great to play in front of your home crowd and so many family and friends here at my home club. There is expectation and pressure but I enjoy it. The expectation if you don’t get a good start can become too much but thankfully I made a good start and I hope the crowd enjoyed the day as much as I did.
“I have been in contact with Paul and texting throughout the season as I am sure he has done with all of the guys and we had a chat at the start of the week. He was basically just wishing me luck. "There was no special message or anything. I think the good thing for me is that he knows what I can bring to the team because he has seen me in the last two Ryder Cups when he was a vice-captain. 
"But it is really up to me to prove how much I want to be on the team and I am playing well enough to get to Gleneagles. I don’t really know what I need to do to get a pick but I think I need to aim for a win this week and treat it like anything less than that would not be good enough." 
Bernd Wiesberger: “It was good today. I had a great start early on and cooled down a little bit but it is a really good start so I am pleased. There are a few guys here – Francesco and Stevie – who might be thinking Ryder Cup and other things but I am not worrying about anything like that so hopefully I can stay lose and have a real go at it this week.
“My performance at the US PGA gave me a lot of confidence knowing I could get into that position and be in the last group in a Major. I probably should have tried to make more of a move in the final round but I didn’t drive the ball that well that day and couldn’t really get it going. 
"It was actually the first time I have had a really good performance in America as well so it was a big, big week for me and a pretty cool experience to be out so late on a Sunday in a Major.”

+SCROLL DOWN TO READ A REPORT OF STEPHEN GALLACHER'S ROUND AND WHAT HE HAD TO SAY ABOUT IT.
 
FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72
66 B Wiesberger  (Aut); F Molinari (Ita)
67 G Maybin (Nir); J Hahn (USA); R Ramsay  (Sco); H Otto (RSA); R Bland (Eng)
68 M Madsen  (Den); M Kieffer (Ger); D Fichardt (RSA); F Aguilar (Chi); G Stal  (Fra); F Laporta (Ita); E Lipparelli (am) (Ita)
69 J Hansen  (Den); J Doherty  (Sco); T Aiken (RSA); D Lipsky (USA); S Chowrasia (Ind); R Kakko  (Fin); R Rock (Eng); D Huizing (Ned); M Warren (Sco); J Luiten (Ned); R Fisher (Eng);
70 C Del Moral (Esp); C Lee (Sco); S Kim (Kor); S Walker (Eng); A Saddier (Fra); A Hartø  (Den); M Korhonen (Fin); A Quiros  (Esp); L Slattery (Eng); A Sullivan (Eng); T Pieters  (Bel); G Bhullar (Ind); J Morrison  (Eng); S Benson (Eng); J McLeary  (Sco); G Molteni (Ita); J Knutzon (USA)
71 M Nixon (Eng); B Rumford (Aus); S Hansen (Den); D Im (USA); V Riu  (Fra); E Molinari  (Ita); J Kruger (RSA); S Dyson  (Eng); T Lewis (Eng); D Horsey (Eng); G Porteous (Eng); G Bourdy (Fra); M Bremner (RSA); C Doak (Sco); P Hanson (Swe); S Manley (Wal); A Bruschi  (Ita); A Wall (Eng); E Goya (Arg); D McGrane (Irl); J Campillo (Esp); D Vancsik (Arg); G Migliozzi (am) (Ita);
72 M Bernardini  (Ita); N Dougherty  (Eng); E De La Riva  (Esp); M Lampert (Ger); M Carlsson  (Swe); D Clarke (Nir); A Gee  (Eng); T Hatton (Eng); S Khan (Eng); F Bergamaschi (Ita); S Gallacher (Sco); P Harrington (Irl); N Bertasio (Ita); T Fleetwood  (Eng); A Tadini (Ita); R Paratore (am) (Ita)
73 M Manassero (Ita); P Whiteford (Sco); D Howell (Eng); J Heath  (Eng); M Siem  (Ger); S Thornton (Irl); R Finch  (Eng); S Kapur (Ind); R Cabrera-Bello (Esp); D Drysdale (Sco); K Broberg (Swe); R Wattel  (Fra); P McGinley (Irl); G Coetzee (RSA); N Colsaerts  (Bel); A Forsyth (Sco); P Archer (Eng); G Storm  (Eng); A Levy (Fra); B Rusch (am) (Sui); M Cea (am) (Ita)
74 S Webster (Eng); T Nørret (Den); E Pepperell (Eng); N Ravano (Ita); M Foster (Eng); R Gonzalez (Arg); F Andersson Hed (Swe); W Ormsby (Aus); L Bjerregaard  (Den); R Jacquelin (Fra); J Quesne  (Fra); J Olazábal (Esp); J Dantorp (Swe); E Dubois (Fra); L Gagli  (Ita); O Fisher  (Eng); R Santos  (Por); A Pavan (Ita); R Derksen (Ned)
75 N Elvira  (Esp); P Sjöland (Swe); N Fasth (Swe); A Kaleka  (Fra); M Crespi  (Ita); S Wakefield (Eng); J Kingston (RSA); P Relecom  (Bel)
76 K Horne (RSA); R Green (Aus); J Lara (Esp); M Jonzon (Swe); A Rota (Ita); J Walters (RSA); J Singh (Ind); J Jeong (SKor); E Di Nitto (am) (Ita)
77 B Henson (USA); C Wood  (Eng); E Grillo (Arg); J Carlsson (Swe); T Levet (Fra); F Maccario (Ita); A Romano  (Ita); M Grönberg (Swe)
78 J Lima  (Por); P Lawrie (Irl); A Otaegui  (Esp); J Parry (Eng); D Higgins (Irl); E Canonica (Ita); F Calmels  (Fra); B Paolini (USA);
80 I Garrido (Esp); D Brooks (Eng)


EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

EUROPRO TOUR AT THE OXFORDSHIRE

SEVEN SCOTS BEAT CUT, THREE HAVE

OUTSIDE CHANCE OF £10,000 PRIZE

Seven Scots, headed by Ross Kellett (Kingsfield) and Paul Shields (Kirkhill), have qualified for the third and final round of the PGA EuroPro Tour 54-hole event. the second last of the season, at the Oxfordshire Golf Club.
Kellett and Shields have both scored 70-69 to share third place on 139, five shots behind leader by four,  Richard Prophet from England (68-66 for 10-under 134) and are in with an outside chance of winning the $10,000 first prize.
Kingsfield man Kellett had five birdies (fourth, eighth, 12th, 15th and 17th but two bogeys, fifth and seventh.
Shields had a bag of six birdies and three bogeys
So too is former Scottish boys champion Paul Doherty (Vale Hotel), sharing sixtgh place on 140 (70-70).
Other Scottish qualifiers are Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) (70-73) and Jordan McColl (Scotscraig) (72-71) in joint 30th place on143, Ellon's Ross Cameron, tied 37th on 144 (72-72), and Carnoustie's Eric Ramsay (71-74) who squeezed through on the limit 145 mark, thanks to three birdies on the inward half.
But some £2,750 from the ten other Scots in the field stayed in the organisers' coffers
Kris Nicol (Paul Lawrie GC) and Zack Saltman (Archerfield) missed out by one shot on 146, Nicol with rounds of 76-70, Zack with a pair of 73s.
Elliot Saltman (Archerfield) (71-76) and James Hamilton (Cowglen) (75-72) failed on 147, one shot ahead of Neil Henderson (Renaissance) (74-74).
Paul Lawrie's elder son, Craig, failed on 149 (76-73)

LEADING QUALIFIERS

Par 144 (2x72)

134 R Prophet (Eng) 68 66

138 P Tarver-Jones (Eng) 67 71

139 R Kellett (Sco) 70 69, P Shields (Sco) 70 69,. J McAllister (Eng) 68 71

OTHER SCOTS' SCORES

140 P Doherty 70 70 (T6)

143 N Fenwick 70 73, J McColl 72 71 (T30)

144 R Cameron 72 72 (T37)

145 E Ramsay 71 74 (T48)

MISSED CUT (145 and better qualified)

146 K Nicol 76 70, Z Saltman 73 73

147 E Saltman 71 76, J Hamilton 75 72

148 N Henderson 74 74

149 C Lawrie 76 73

150 S Crichton 74 76

152 C O'Neil 80 72

153 P Robinson 72 81

156 J Findlay 77 79

RYDER CUP CRUNCH TOURNAMENT FOR STEPHEN

 GALLACHER HAS IT ALL TO DO AFTER 

LEVEL PAR START TO ITALIAN OPEN

FROM SKY SPORTS.COM WEBSITE

Stephen Gallacher, pictured, was unable to build on an excellent start to the Italian Open today and now faces an uphill task to guarantee his spot on Europe's Ryder Cup team.

The Scot is the only man capable of moving into the automatic qualifying places in the final counting event, with a top-two finish in Turin enough to dislodge former US Open champion Graeme McDowell from the side.
The 39-year-old from Bathgate, a nephew of Bernard Gallacher, was quickly moving in the right direction with two early birdies at Circolo Golf Torino, but three bogeys in the space of four holes on the back-nine undermined his push for a Ryder Cup debut at Gleneagles.
He did sink a lengthy birdie putt three holes from home to ensure he finished with a level-par 72, but that was already five shots behind early clubhouse leaders, John Hahn and Gareth Maybin, who both posted 67s. Later the gap between the Scot and the leaders widened to six when Francesco Molinari and Bernd Weisberger shared the overnight lead with 66s.
Starting from the 10th, Gallacher pulled his opening drive into the rough but produced a superb recovery shot to the back edge of the green and safely two-putted for par.
The Scot was then involved in a lengthy search for playing partner Edoardo Molinari's ball on the 11th, but maintained his concentration and after the ball was found with seconds of the 5min time limit to spare, eventually fired in a superb approach which was an inch away from dropping into the hole for an eagle.
Gallacher also got up and down from left of the green on the par-five 12th to move to two-under-par, but dropped his first shot of the day on the 220yd par-3 16th, missing from 10 feet for par after a poor chip from the back of the green.
A better chip ensured he avoided the same fate on the 17th and the Dubai Desert Classic champion almost got back to two-under in style on the 18th, his recovery from a greenside bunker catching the edge of the hole and spinning out.
Gallacher did not have to wait long to card another birdie on the par-five first, but promptly gave that shot back on the second and had to hole from 10 feet to avoid three-putting the third.
After a bogey on the fourth, he then dropped another at the short fifth after finding a greenside bunker with his tee-shot as the wheels threatened to come off.
He hit back bravely with a clutch putt for par at the sixth and repaired some of the earlier damage with his fourth birdie of the day at seven, before parring home.
However, he will be aware that he needs to make up plenty of ground in Friday's second round to keep alive his hopes of automatic qualification.
Gallacher headed straight for the practice range after his round..
"I'm a bit disappointed because I threw away a couple of shots midway through my round but I'll hit a few balls this afternoon and iron a few things out," Gallacher said.
"It's okay for the first day and I am only one good score away from the top of the leaderboard.
"I didn't drive it too well and the rough is very penal. The greens are also getting firmer so if you get out of position it makes it very difficult.
"I know I have to finish first or second, that's not going to change, so I'm not putting any pressure on myself. Once you get out on the course you just try to birdie every hole. That's the easy part. It's when you finish you think about The Ryder Cup."

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

John Hahn made true the old adage about the early bird catching the worm as he claimed a share of the early first round clubhouse lead
Hahn, one of a record four Americans to come through last November’s Qualifying School, had missed six cuts in his last nine events.
The 25 year old, out in the second group out at 7:40am and began the day bemoaning another early start, but ended it delighted with a 67 featuring six birdies and one bogey to join Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin on five under par.
"I've just had so many early starts recently," Hahn said. "I was up before 5am today but the one advantage is that you're always going to have smooth greens and it was nice to take advantage.
“I had a good game plan today that I executed well.
“It was pretty good all day - you have to stay out of the rough because it was so penal and I managed to do that pretty well today. It was a case of making aggressive swings at conservative targets and I always think that if you can execute that then you will usually benefit from it.”
Maybin, three times a runner-up on The European Tour but without a victory in more than 150 events, also had six birdies with his only blemish of the day coming at the seventh.
“You really have to be straight off the tee here and I managed to do that today – hopefully I can keep doing for three days and keep climbing the leaderboard,” said Maybin, who posted a top-ten finish in Denmark two weeks ago.
“This kind of course is more suited to me than last week – it is not too long and you have to hit some low shots off the tee and there aren’t many holes where you have to hit driver.”

Of the afternoon starters, in-form Austian Bernd Wiesberger made the biggest move.
Having finished runner-up on home soil two months ago and played in the final Sunday pairing alongside Rory McIlroy at the US PGA Championship, the two-time European Tour winner went to the turn in 33

SCHOOLS' HIGHLIGHT AT PETERCULTER

PAUL LAWRIE FOUNDATION

              SCHOOLS’ TEAM CHALLENGE

  MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 - PETERCULTER GOLF CLUB

Players should register in the Clubhouse (from 10.45 am) before going to stated tee at 11.40 am.  Shotgun begins at  NOON

GIRLS - RED TEES               BOYS - WHITE TEES

HOLE              

     1     Fraser Middleton                              Westhill Academy

            Megan Reid                                      Aberdeen Grammar

            Jack Buckley                                    The Gordons Schools

           

     2     Jordan Sleigh                                    Banff Academy

            Gavin Elrick                                      Alford Academy

            Thomas Cameron                             Robert Gordon’s College

                       

     3     Jasmine Mackintosh                         Hazlehead Academy

  Grant Pirie                                          Ellon Academy

  Mark Gilmour                                     Aberdeen Grammar

    4     Michael Lawrie                               Robert Gordon’s College

            Shannon McWilliam                        Aboyne Academy           

            Ben Henderson                                Cults Academy

      5    Cameron Fraser                               Meldrum Academy

            Calvin Duffton                                 Aboyne Academy

            Dylan Smith                                     Robert Gordon’s College

           

      6    Tyler Ogston                                         Torry Academy

            Cameron Cobban                                  Alford Academy

            Jack Brown                                           Turriff Academy

     7     Ryan Stewart                                        Meldrum Academy

           Fintan McKenna                                      Albyn School

            Ferghus Milne                                        Banchory Academy

    7M   Stephen Roger                                      Ellon Academy

            Adam Fisher                                          Cults Academy

            Callum Bruce                                         Banff Academy

           

     8     Scott Watson                                    Peterhead Acad              

            Kyle Harker                                     Aboyne Academy

            Craig Leith                                       Hazlehead Academy

     9     Harry Webster                                       Albyn Academy

            Owen Lawson                                       Alford Academy

            Scott Henderson                                    Turriff Academy

           

    10    Andy Imray                                          Ellon Acad                  

            Craig Watson                                        Peterhead Academy

            Ben Green                                            Inverurie Acad                                

    11    Tom Flaherty                                         Banchory Academy

            Liam Carnegie                                       Oldmachar Academy

            Michael Donaldson                                Inverurie Acad        

    12    Jonathan Bell                                         Aberdeen Grammar

            Gavin Still                                              Banff Academy

   Ellis Roberts                                          Peterhead Acad

    13    Scott D’Agostino                                   Oldmachar Acad       

            Lachlan Stewart                                     Meldrum Academy

            Adam McGowan                                   The Gordons Schools

    14    Connor Brown                                       Hazlehead Academy

            Jack Ironside                                         Turriff Academy

            Lachlan Robertson                                 Speyside High

    15    Nicol Christie                                         Oldmachar Academy

            Alistair Kinghorn                                   Albyn School

            Glen Murison                                        The Gordon Schools

    16    Drew Henderson                                    Westhill Academy

            Ewan Malcolm                                       Speyside High

            Joss Leslie                                            Torry Academy

    17    Jack Thomson                                       Banchory Academy

    Duncan Craig                                        Cults Academy

    Cameron McArthur                                Inverurie Academy

    18    Reece Duncan                                       Torry Academy

            Marcus Charlesworth                            Speyside High

            Greg MacDonald                                   Westhill Academy

M = Middle of Fairway (Tee-off before hooter at noon to be in position)