Friday, October 03, 2014

CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT AND LINK TO SCORES



Floral Florian blossoming in Rome

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Florian Fritsch even had the flower beds on his side as the German took the lead before an overnight suspension at the end of the second day of the EMC Golf Challenge Open, where he plays his final event of the season hoping to claim a victory that would virtually seal his European Tour status next year.
The 28 year old’s fear of flying means he will not be able to participate in the European Challenge Tour’s ‘Final Swing’ – a series of four lucrative season-ending events in China, Oman and Dubai – so he needs to consolidate his place in the top 15 of the Rankings this week in order to graduate for The 2015 Race to Dubai.
Fritsch is well on the way as he carded a superb bogey-free four under par second round 67 to move to five under and take a one-shot lead at Olgiata Golf Club.
He did so with a help from both Lady Luck and Mother Nature, after he flew the 18th green with a rescue club from 242 yards and found a flower bed via a bounce on the cart path. Due to a number of obstacles, including a tree, Fritsch was left with a favourable free drop and duly took advantage to get up and down for a crucial par.
“I’ve never seen so much media interest around one shot,” said the Munich-born player. “There were people surrounding me with cameras and fans taking photos. I got really lucky with my free drop, I had a good free swing and a lot of green to work, downhill, so I chipped to 12 feet and holed it.
“I putted really well today. I have been practising a lot on the greens lately, especially on long swinging putts, making sure I miss on the correct sides, and I had loads of really good two-putts today.
“The golf course out there is great but it’s really tough. There are par fours that could easily be par fives. I played here in 2009 and 2010 and it’s changed quite a bit. I had heard they increased it by maybe 1,000 yards and the greens are quick and slick so it demands the full package of your game.”
Fritsch admits he needs something big this week if he is to copper-fasten his place on The European Tour next year but, after a stunningly consistent season which has yielded two runner-up finishes, four further top tens and three more top 20s in just 14 Europe-based appearances, he knows he cannot let it cloud his mind ahead of a huge weekend for his career in Rome.
“Of course I have put myself in the position I want to be in going into the weekend,” he said.
 “But on the other hand it’s almost not the position I want to be in because I don’t want to start thinking about prize money and what place I need to finish because my mind will begin to deteriorate then.
“I’m on €73,000 now in the Rankings and I probably need around €80,000 to make sure I can graduate at the end of the season, but I can’t start thinking about those things now. I need to just play my game and I have a very interesting 36 holes ahead of me.”
One man trying to take a more direct route to The European Tour is Benjamin Hebert, who lies in outright second place after racking up six birdies on the way to a four under par second round 67 to move to within one of the lead on four under.
The Frenchman is bidding to gain automatic graduation from the Challenge Tour through the three-wins-in-a-season rule for a second time in his career, having done so in 2011 before adding his fourth and fifth titles on the second tier this season.
His compatriot and overnight leader after the first day, Alexandre Kaleka (72), shares third place on three under par with young Portuguese Ricardo Gouveia (71), while former European Tour winner Jeppe Huldahl of Denmark and another Frenchman Julien Guerrier are on three under but are yet to finish their second rounds.
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE 

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SENIORS' TOURNAMENT REPORT

PHIL GOLDING LEADS FRENCH

RIVIERA MASTERS WITH A 64

Phil Golding carded a superb eight under par 64 to storm to the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the French Riviera Masters seniors' tournament at Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort in Provence.
The Englishman carded eight birdies and did not drop a shot to go into the second round a single shot ahead of compatriot Gary Emerson.
Argentina’s Cesar Monasterio posted a six under par 66 to end the day one shot ahead of Spaniard’s Miguel Angel Martin and Juan Quiros while Australia’s Peter Fowler began the defence of his title by recording a five under par 67 to share sixth place alongside Barry Lane, Simon P Brown, Angel Franco, Rick Gibson, Terry Price, Gary Wolstenholme and Ryder Cup vice-captain Des Smyth.
Golding arrived in France fresh from a second place finish behind Paul Wesselingh at the Winstongolf Senior Open in Germany and he maintained that sort of form by carding four birdies on each nine to card his best round on the European Senior Tour since 2012.
“I learned a lot from Paul Wesselingh last week. I was looking at the stats and I saw he made 15 birdies and no bogeys. I made 19 birdies but also dropped some shots and that’s why I found myself in a play-off against him and Bernhard (Langer).
“I vowed this week that I’d try to minimise my mistakes and that’s what I did today. I played pretty smart stuff. It isn’t every day when you get round without dropping a shot but I hit all 18 greens and that’s always going to help. I also putted well. The greens are really quick and very true.
“There were one or two tough pins but I managed to finish below them and that’s important on this golf course. It’s a game of chess out there. You have to plot your way round.”
Emerson was another player who posted a top-five finish in Germany and also arrived in France full of confidence. He hit a drive and a three wood to 20 feet for an eagle on the first, dropped a shot on the second but then fired six birdies to climb within one shot of the overnight lead.
“It was great to start with an eagle. I hit a good shot on the second but it ran through the back and there’s no shot from there. It’s a course where you have to hit the ball into the right places and I did that today.
“I played lovely. I missed one from a couple of feet for birdie on the 17th but I holed my share of putts as well. The greens here are probably as fast as any we have putted on all season and they are also very true so there are doing to be a lot of low scores over the weekend.
“I had a bad few weeks during the middle of the season but I hit on something in Portugal and then played much better in Germany where I missed the play-off by a single shot. I didn’t touch my clubs at all last week but today I managed to start where I left off. I’m happy and looking forward to tomorrow.”
On a day of low scoring a total of 33 players broke par. Early clubhouse leader Barry Conser shared 14th place with Ross Drummond and Wraith Grant on three under par 69 while John Gould, Domingo Hospital, Pedro Linhart, Bill Longmuir, Gordon Manson, Stephen McAllister, Ronan Rafferty and Tim Thelen are tied in 17th place after posting rounds of 70.         
     
Round One Scores
par 72
64 P Golding (Eng)
65 G Emerson (Eng)
66 C Monasterio (Arg)
67 J Quiros (Esp); M Martin (Esp)
68 A Franco (Par); D Smyth (Irl); P Fowler (Aus); B Lane (Eng); S Brown (Eng); G Wolstenholme (Eng); T Price (Aus); R Gibson (Can)
69 W Grant (Eng); B Conser (USA); R Drummond (Sco);
 70 R Rafferty (Nir); S McAllister (Sco); J Gould (Eng); B Longmuir (Sco); P Linhart (Esp); D Hospital (Esp); G Manson (Aut); T Thelen (USA)
71 B Cameron (Eng); K Spurgeon (Eng); G Turner (Nzl); M Harwood (Aus); J Remesy (Fra); R Sabarros (Fra); P Wesselingh (Eng); J Carriles (Esp); C Mason (Eng)

72 A Oldcorn (Sco); M Mackenzie (Eng); S Luna (Esp); J Sallat (Fra); F Illouz (Fra); S Cipa (Eng); M Bianco (Ita); D Russell (Eng); S Tinning (Den); P Eales (Eng); J Smith (USA);
73 N Job (Eng); G Brand (Eng); D O'Sullivan (Irl); M Cunning (USA);
74 M Mouland (Wal); J Berendt (Arg); M Farry (Fra); L Carbonetti (Arg); G Joyner (Aus); I Woosnam (Wal);
75 G Rusnak (USA); P Walton (Irl); P Jonas (Can); M Davis (Eng); J Rivero (Esp); G Brand Jnr (Sco); A Sherborne (Eng);
76 A Garrido (Esp); G Cali (Ita); A Bossert (Sui); J Bruner (USA);
77 N Ratcliffe (Aus); D Durnian (Eng);
78 M McLean (Eng); G Ryall (Eng); G Banister (Aus);
81 C Williams (RSA);
 ** M James (Eng);

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FRENCHMAN TAKES UP RUNNING AT ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

    



For immediate release
   


JACQUELIN LEADS BY ONE STROKE

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Raphaël Jacquelin finished with back-to-back birdies at Kingsbarns to establish a one-shot lead in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The Frenchman followed an opening round of 65 at Carnoustie with battling two under par 70 at Kingsbarns to move to eight under par for the tournament, before he completes the rotation of three Scottish links courses by playing St Andrews on Saturday. 
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (70), France’s Alexander Levy (68) and Englishman Oliver Wilson (72) are tied for second place on seven under par after also playing Kingsbarns, while Irishman Shane Lowry is the fourth player on that mark following a two under par round of 70 at St Andrews.
Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher is two shots off the pace after a round of 70 at Kingsbarns, while his teammate from Gleneagles, World Number One Rory McIlroy, moved up the leaderboard with a five under par round of 67 at the same venue.
McIlroy ignited his round with an eagle on the 16th hole – his seventh after starting on the tenth tee – and added five more birdies over the next 11 holes to move to four under par for the tournament, just four shots adrift of Jacquelin.

Key player quotes

Raphaël Jacquelin

“I’m pretty happy, especially the way I finished. I birdied 17 and 18, so it was good before having dinner and going for a rest. But not too happy with the game overall because of course, I didn't play that well, not as well as yesterday. 

"It was not that easy, there was a bit of wind, a bit of rain, and it was a bit cold as well.  But I think the course was not playing as difficult as expected.

Padraig Harrington

“I really had a chance of stealing a march today.  I had three three‑putts that were kind of innocuous. I missed a few opportunities.  Today was a day where if things went right for me, I could have shot another 66, or 65 and that would have given me a nice little bit of a lead going into the weekend.”

Oliver Wilson
“This is a fantastic opportunity.  A good weekend now would change everything dramatically. It'll be a big ask, but it's do-able.  I'm playing well enough to.  There’s no question that I'm definitely playing well enough to go out there and shoot two good scores over the weekend.  I've just got to go and do it.”

Shane Lowry
“The way I played, to shoot two‑under was quite good.  The forecast was pretty bad today and everyone was expecting the worst, but it wasn't actually that bad.  It played quite easy toward the end and I could have picked up a couple more, but I'm happy with the position I'm in.”

Alexander Levy

“Victor Dubuisson was an inspiration for us French players last week and it would be nice if a few of us French players could get into the next Ryder Cup. I’m very happy with my two rounds, especially having no bogeys today in those conditions.”

Rory McIlroy
“I think the eagle on 16 today sort of kick started something for me.  I just went from there, and started to knock a few putts in.  I felt like I struck the ball pretty well for the first couple of days, but just to see a few putts roll in sort of gave me a little bit of confidence and played well after that.”

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
135 R Jacquelin (Fra) 65 70 

136 A Levy (Fra) 68 68, S Lowry  (Irl) 66 70  P Harrington (Irl) 66 70 , O Wilson (Eng) 64 72  
137 C Doak (Sco) 70 67, R Palmer (USA) 69 68 , R Ramsay  (Sco) 69 68
 138 G Bourdy (Fra) 67 71, F Aguilar (Chi) 71 67, G Coetzee (RSA) 71 67 S Gallacher (Sco) 68 70
 139 C Wood  (Eng) 70 69 , B Stone (RSA) 72 67 , J McLeary  (Sco) 67 72 , H Otto (RSA) 69 70, R Gonzalez (Arg) 69 70 , R Green (Aus) 68 71 0, R Sterne  (RSA) 73 66
 140 M Foster (Eng) 68 72 , G Storm  (Eng) 68 72 , R Karlsson (Swe) 72 68 , M Siem  (Ger) 69 71, S Hansen (Den) 72 68 , M Nixon (Eng) 70 70 , R McIlroy  (Nir) 73 67 , V Dubuisson  (Fra) 71 69
 141 T Olesen (Den) 71 70 , G Porteous (Eng) 74 67 , R Evans  (Eng) 67 74 , A Sullivan (Eng) 70 71 , N Dougherty  (Eng) 72 69 , E Molinari  (Ita) 73 68 , T Lawrence (RSA) 68 73 , T Aiken (RSA) 71 70 , A Hall (Aus) 71 70 , J Parry (Eng) 68 73 , B Grace  (RSA) 76 65 , P Lawrie (Sco) 69 72

 142 P McGinley (Irl) 72 70 , M Hoey  (Nir) 72 70 , S Kapur (Ind) 70 72 , M Kieffer (Ger) 72 70 , L Bjerregaard  (Den) 74 68 , R Finch  (Eng) 72 70 , J Walters (RSA) 69 73 , R Bland (Eng) 71 71 , J Morrison  (Eng) 72 70 , S Jamieson  (Sco) 70 72, C Lee (Sco) 71 71 , S Khan (Eng) 71 71 , P Casey  (Eng) 69 73 , T Fleetwood  (Eng) 69 73 , P Uihlein  (USA) 73 69 , T Jaidee (Tha) 71 71 , D Howell (Eng) 70 72 , J Luiten (Ned) 72 70 , B Wiesberger  (Aut) 71 71 , A Otaegui  (Esp) 67 75 ,

 143 D Drysdale (Sco) 71 72 , R Wattel  (Fra) 72 71 , N Cullen (Aus) 73 70 , M Warren (Sco) 73 70 , R Rock (Eng) 67 76 , C Montgomerie  (Sco) 72 71 , T Fisher Jnr (RSA) 70 73 , O Fisher  (Eng) 74 69 , N Fasth (Swe) 72 71 N Elvira  (Esp) 71 72, A Wall (Eng) 73 70 , P Lawrie (Irl) 70 73 , R Derksen (Ned) 73 70 , B Koepka  (USA) 70 73 , A Cañizares  (Esp) 72 71 , M Crespi  (Ita) 73 70 , P Waring  (Eng) 71 72 , E De La Riva  (Esp) 67 76 , N Faldo (Eng) 71 72 ,
 144 M Carlsson  (Swe) 74 70 , J Scrivener (Aus) 72 72 , U Van Den Berg  (RSA) 71 73 , A Hansen (Den) 75 69 , D McKenzie (Aus) 70 74 , G Stal  (Fra) 69 75 , T Lewis (Eng) 71 73 , F Molinari (Ita) 74 70 , L Oosthuizen  (RSA) 70 74 , M Bremner (RSA) 73 71 , P Larrazábal (Esp) 71 73 , S Dyson  (Eng) 73 71 , F Zanotti (Par) 73 71 , D Willett  (Eng) 74 70 , S Hutsby  (Eng) 73 71 , J Dantorp (Swe) 72 72 , K Phelan (Irl) 73 71 , S Thornton (Irl) 73 71 ,
 145 A Saddier (Fra) 72 73, M Lampert (Ger) 72 73, D McGrane (Irl) 75 70 0, E Els (RSA) 71 74, J Carlsson (Swe) 71 74, M Anguiano (USA) 71 74, E Grillo (Arg) 72 73, J Quesne  (Fra) 72 73, G Havret  (Fra) 74 71 M Ilonen  (Fin) 74 71, N Holman  (Aus) 71 74 , D Fichardt (RSA) 73 72 0, P Whiteford (Sco) 74 71
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

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BANCHORY MAN MAKES IT TO SPAIN IN PURSUIT OF TOUR CARD


SCOTTISH CHAMPION ROBB GETS 

THROUGH TO STAGE 2 OF Q SCHOOL

Scottish amateur champion Chris Robb (Meldrum House) has added his name to the handful of Scots who have progressed to the European Tour Qualifying School Stage 2 tournament at four venues in Spain from November 7 to 10.
The Banchory-based player made it through fairly comfortably from the Stage 1 eliminator at Frilford Heath Golf Club, Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
He shot 69, 71, 72 and 72 for a four-under-par total of 284 and joint 17th place among the leading 23 and ties who qualified with aggregates of 287 and better.
" I had a scrappy last two rounds, but I did well to get level par out of the final round as I wasn't hitting the ball as well as I had been earlier in the week. But I scrambled well," said Robb.
Fellow Scot Jay Taylor, whose third-round 65 matched the lowest score of the tournament, failed to make it on 294 and a share of 43rd place.
Welshman Mark Laskey won 1,800 euros as the leading qualifier with roundes of 66, 71, 69 and 71 for 11-under 277.

LEADING QUALIFIERS
Par 288 (4x72)
277 M Laskey (Wal) 66 71 69 71 (1,800 euros)
279 R Brown (Eng) 67 65 72 75, C Harrison (USA) 68 66 69 76 (1,050 euros each)
SELECTED TOTALS
284 C Robb (Sco) 69 71 72 72 (T17)
MISSED THE CUT (287 and better qualified)
294 J Taylor (Sco) 77 78 65 74



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SOCIETY OF ST ANDREWS GOLFERS' LEGACY TO THE GAME



250th ANNIVERSARY OF DECISION THAT

LED TO 18 HOLES BECOMING STANDARD

LENGTH OF A GOLF COURSE

NEWS RELEASE
The historic Links at St Andrews will celebrate a major milestone tomorrow (4 October) with the 250th anniversary of 18 holes at the Old Course.
The decision to reduce the world’s most famous Links from 22 to 18 holes was made by the Society of St Andrews Golfers – more commonly known today as the RandA – on October 4, 1764, and would become the standard bearer for courses around the world and championship golf to the present day.
On October 4, 1764, following the Challenge for the Silver Club a meeting took place of the Society, whose minute reads: “The Captain and Gentlemen Golfers present are of the opinion that it would be for the improvement of the Links that the four first holes should be converted into two.”
The removal of two holes (four in total going out and back) in subsequent years meant the Old Course would become, around that period, 10 holes, of which 8 were played twice.
In the decades that followed, the Old Course continued to evolve as the Links and surrounding areas developed, from playing the course backwards through to new greens being built and holes, so familiar to many today, were mapped out across the Links. By the mid-19th Century the 18-hole format at St Andrews had become the blueprint for golf with new and existing courses across the world all following its 18-hole layout.
Euan Loudon, chief executive of St Andrews Links, said: “This important date marks another milestone in the game of golf’s rich history and the special place St Andrews, the Home of Golf, holds for this great game.
“The Society of St Andrews Golfers may not have appreciated the ramifications of the decision they made on October 4 1764 but those individuals and the resultant changes to the Old Course had a huge impact on the way the game would be played forever.
“The records show they took the decision because they sought to improve the Links and that commitment to improving this magical place resonates with everyone here at the Links today.
“Staff across the Links work tirelessly to honour and respect the history of St Andrews and to improve the experience of every golfer coming here, be it the world number one competing this weekend or those securing a cherished tee time in the ballot next week.”
In order to celebrate the 250th anniversary the Links will publish a specially commissioned time-lapse project, which can be viewed from midday today (3 October) at standrews.com. It highlights the daily efforts of the greenkeeping team at the Old Course to deliver memorable experiences for every golfer playing the world’s most famous Links.
The time lapse was recorded as the Old Course greenkeeping team, led by Course Manager Gordon McKie, prepared for a day’s play at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which celebrates a 30 year association with St Andrews this week. The hand mowing of the 18th green took 45 minutes to record and required thousands of frames of film.

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NORTH-EAST ALLIANCE TEE TIMES FOR NEXT WEDNESDAY

BALLATER GOLF CLUB

8.00 A Campbell, G Esson
8.07 C Carnegie, C Cassie
8.14 Available
8.21 Available
8.28 Available
8.35 G McBain, T Mathieson, C Brechin
8.42 Available
8.49 Available
8.56 R Brown, S Davidson, A Benton


9.03 J Hamilton, L Roger, M Rendall
9.10 B Ritchie, M Smith, G Craig
9.17 A Gall, L Vannet, I Clark
9.24 M Winton, D McDougall, S Thomson

9.31 B Robson, M Merchant, D Lane.
9.38 B Fyfe, S Lawrie, D Craigie.
9.45 K McGillivary, I Duncan, I Grant

9.52 B Lumsden, C Grant, H McNaughton
9.59 J Scott, B Skene, S Dillon


10.06 J Duff, M Duncan, N Chisholm
10.13 C Nelson, N Stewart, J Forrest

10.20 S Shand, C Angus
10.27 G Angus, K Stewart, J Sunley.
10.34 G Homer, D Leslie,W Shaw.
10.41 D Fleming, L Fowler, J Emslie.

10.48 K Duncan, M Paterson, I Taylor
10.55 A Graham, D Nelson, I Clark

11.02 I D Smith, M Rogers, S Murray
11.09 D Bisset, F Bisset, J Duncan
11.16 J Murray, D Rendall
11.23 J Smith, A Hedley, C Tawse
11.30 K Shanks, C Law, P Cornfield
11.37 G Allan, J Nicolson, B Nicolson.
11.44 Keil Beveridge, Kim Beveridge, J Hopwood
11.51 Available
11.58 Availabl
e


12.05 J Borthwick, P Low, D Buchan
12.12 Available
12.19 M Lawrie, M Booth
12.26 R Davidson, S Allison
12.33 D Wilson S Finnie, D McKay


+To fill one of the vacant times, phone the NE Alliance phone on Tuesday 9.30am to 4.30pm. 07523 859149


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TWO-DAY COMPETITION DRAWS A HUNDRED TO CARNOUSTIE COUNTRY



SANDY LYLE MAKES DEBUT IN WORLD 

HICKORY OPEN AT PANMURE


NEWS RELEASE

On Tuesday, October 7,  Sandy Lyle MBE will be among the 100 golfers teeing off in the first round of the World Hickory Open, which is being played on one of Carnoustie Country’s top golf courses – Panmure Medal.


“I’ve been playing hickory golf for close on three years,” said Sandy Lyle, pictured, who was the 1985 Open champion at Royal St George's and the first British winner of the Masters in 1988. 
“I am really looking forward to playing in the World Hickory Open at Panmure.”

The World Hickory Open 2014 is one of the main events in this year’s Carnoustie Country Festival of Golf and will be played over two days by a field of over 100 hickory golfers from across the globe. “We are absolutely delighted to be joined by a golfer of Sandy Lyle’s calibre,” said World Hickory Open founder and director, Lionel Freedman, who explained that the hickory golfers will have a warm up round at Forfar on Monday, October 6 in preparation for the tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“The majority of competitors will be playing with pre-1935 golf clubs,” continued Lionel, who added that, in keeping with the traditional ethos of the tournament, most of the competitors will be wearing golf clothing reminiscent of the hickory era.

“For a few of the competitors, this will be their first time playing golf using hickories, while others are highly experienced hickory golfers. But whether novice or expert, they all share a common bond – a passion for golf in its truest form, which they will certainly experience when they play Panmure, widely considered to be one of the top 100 courses in the world.”

This is the third consecutive year the World Hickory Open has been held in Carnoustie Country, which covers 34 courses within a 40-mile drive of Carnoustie Championship. Since 2012, Monifieth Links, Montrose Links and now Panmure have welcomed the World Hickory Open, with many competitors returning year after year, including American hickory golfer Mike Stevens.

“The World Hickory Open is a first rate tournament in every aspect and is the trip I look forward to the most each year,” said Mike, who has been playing hickory golf for 15 years.
“It’s always wonderful to see so many old friends, meet new friends and be in one of my favourite places in all the world – Carnoustie Country. To walk on courses where golf has been played for hundreds of years and to play as they did all those years ago is beyond description.”

The tournament is for amateur and professional golfers and this year, thanks to sponsorship from The World Golf Teachers Federation, a prize fund of £3,000 is on offer.

“We believe teaching professionals, as ambassadors to the game, should have a keen sense of - and appreciation for - the history of our game,” explained Geoff Bryant, President of the United States Golf Teachers Federation. 
“Hickory golf takes us back in time, enabling us to experience how the game was originally played and actually ‘feel’ the implements used by those who preceded the modern era of golf.

“Having occasionally played hickory golf, I know that what makes this version of the game extra special is the camaraderie between hickory golfers, who share a love for the history and traditions of the game.”



For more information, visit www.worldhickoryopen.com, www.carnoustiecountry.com, ‘like’ the Carnoustie Country Facebook page or follow Carnoustie Country on Twitter.


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NOW ONE OF SCOTLAND'S FINEST GOLF RESORTS


Left to right: Fiona Bruce (TV presenter), Peter Walker (Meldrum House Hotel general manager), Andy Burgess (Chief Executive Meldrum House Estates), AA representative Simon Numphud.
MELDRUM HOUSE COUNTRY HOTEL WINS AA HOTEL OF YEAR FOR SCOTLAND AWARD
NEWS RELEASE
The transformation of one of Scotland ’s finest golf resorts has been recognised at the hospitality industry’s national awards ceremony. 
Following an extensive four-year renovation programme, Meldrum House Country Hotel was named AA Hotel of the Year for Scotland at the glittering AA Hospitality Awards held in London.

The resort, which has an 18-hole championship course, having staged the PGA in Scotland's Northern Open championship, and world-class golf academy, has already recorded an impressive year with a four-fold increase in year-on-year golf bookings as well as a string of local awards to its name, including the restaurant and hotel of the year titles at the Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards. 
Andy Burgess, chief executive at Meldrum House, has overseen the transformation of the hotel into one of Scotland’s premier golfing venues.

“To receive recognition from such a prestigious national award is a huge testament to both our hotel owners, who have provided the foresight, vision and financial support to make our success possible; and to general manager Peter Walker and his team on the ground whose energy, dedication and enthusiasm for delivering our vision has been outstanding,” he said.
"Meldrum house is a very special place made all the more special by the team that makes it happen. This award recognises the remarkable efforts of everyone involved at Meldrum House.”

The work carried out at the hotel includes the development of a stylish wing of contemporary bedrooms and a multi-purpose conference facility.
 The resort has also invested in a state-of-the-art green-keeping centre and improvements to drainage and conditioning on the Knight’s Course. 
“The renovation work is part of a long-term project to establish Meldrum House as a premier golf resort in the heart of the Aberdeenshire countryside,” Burgess continued. 
“While many of the changes have taken place in the hotel, we equally recognise the importance of making improvements to the golf course and the facilities that surround it. For that reason, this award recognises the work done so far. There is still plenty to do as we continue to raise standards across the board.”

With its hand-cut greens and cross-cut fairways, the Knight’s Course at Meldrum House is one of only a few resort courses in Scotland measuring more than 7,000 yards. Ongoing course improvements are echoed in plans for the hotel which include extending the property with 40 new rooms, a new restaurant and an impressive ballroom.



1) Meldrum House Country Hotel and Golf Course is renowned as one of the finest golf clubs in Scotland with its practice facilities and magnificent course situated in secluded grounds adjacent to the Aberdeenshire town of Oldmeldrum .

2) It includes an 18-hole private members golf course, extensive golf academy, 27 hotel bedrooms all of individual character, two conference suites, a marquee that holds weddings and corporate events, unique whisky bar and an award-winning restaurant.

3) The Teaching Centre is built on 24 acres of mature estate land and incorporates 12 contoured greens and 18 flags all of which are protected by bunkers.

4) Meldrum House has been awarded a Four-Star rating by VisitScotland as well as an EatScotland Silver Award and a coveted Taste of Grampian Award. It went through a £2.5 million redevelopment plan which introduced a new conference facility and a wing of stylish, contemporary rooms.

5) For more information about Meldrum House, please visit www.meldrumhouse.com

6) For more information about the AA Hospitality Awards, please visit www.aahospitalityawards.com/ 
 

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