MOLLY'S BISTRO AND MALONES IRISH BAR IN SPOTLIGHT

NEW SPONSORS FOR PENNANT LEAGUE
           AND MAITLAND SHIELD

  By DEREK JOHNSTONE

On behalf of the Aberdeen Pennant League, I would like to thank Alistair Hutcheson and the Cults Hotel for their generous sponsorship over the last few years. It was very much appreciated. 

The Pennant League and the Maitland Shield are now looking forward to a similar excellent relationship with the Douglas Hotel and will encourage club golfers, when in the city centre, to support Molly’s Bistro and Malones Irish Bar.

ABERDEEN PENNANT LEAGUE 

Sponsored by Molly’s Bistro/Malones Irish Bar (Douglas Hotel)

SCHEDULE OF MATCHES 2015

Week 1

Tuesday 2 June

A  Auchmill v Hazlehead         

A  Caledonian v Deeside          

C  Craibstone v Nigg Bay

C  Stonehaven v Newmachar

           

Thursday 4 June

B  Peterculter v Bon Accord

B  Portlethen v Murcar Links

Week 2

Tuesday 9 June

A  Deeside v Hazlehead     

A  Royal Aberdeen v Caledonian  

B  Bon Accord v Northern        

C  Banchory v Stonehaven

Thursday 11 June

B  Portlethen v Peterculter

C  Newmachar v Craibstone

Week 3

Tuesday 16 June

A  Deeside v Auchmill           

A  Hazlehead v Royal Aberdeen   

B  Murcar Links v Peterculter   

B  Northern v Portlethen

C  Nigg Bay v Banchory

C  Stonehaven v Craibstone

Week 4

Tuesday 23 June

A  Caledonian v Auchmill        

A  Royal Aberdeen v Deeside      

B  Murcar Links v Bon Accord    

C  Banchory v Newmachar

C  Nigg Bay v Stonehaven

Thursday 25 June

B  Peterculter v Northern

Week 5

Tuesday 30 June

A  Auchmill v Royal Aberdeen    

A  Hazlehead v Caledonian       

B  Northern v Murcar Links 

C  Craibstone v Banchory

Thursday 2 July

B  Bon Accord v Portlethen 

C  Newmachar v Nigg Bay

Week 6 

(Tuesday 7 July/Thursday 9 July)

Buffer Week for cancellations due to weather.

Semi-finals

Sunday 9^th August

Venues: tbc

 

CITY OF ABERDEEN FOURSOMES FOR 
THE MAITLAND SHIELD

venue HAZLEHEAD No 1 COURSE

Monday, May 18
FIRST ROUND
16.47: Portlethen v Newmachar
17.01: Nigg Bay v Peterculter
17.15: Craibstone v Auchmill
17.29 Deeside v Northern

Tuesday, May 19
16.47: Banchory v Murcar Links
17.01: Hazlehead v Royal Aberdeen
17.15: Caledonian v Bon Accord

Wednesday, May 20
QUARTER-FINALS
16.47: Stonehaven v
17.01:
17.15:
17.29:

Thursday, May 21
SEMI-FINALS
16.47:
17.00

Friday, May 22
FINAL
16.47        
  

 

Final

Sunday 13^th September

Venue: Hazlehead

LEICESTERSHIRE PLAYER'S WAY TO BEAT THE SHORT-GAME YIPS

Jason Palmer: European Tour card

 secured with one-handed chipping

FROM BBC SPORTS.COM
By IAIN CARTER
Golf is an individual game and in the most literal of senses an Englishman has single-handedly made it to the big time.

Leicestershire-based Jason Palmer offers one of the most inspirational stories of the golfing year, having secured a European Tour card for next year.
He will be one of 15 graduates from the Challenge Tour, having won in China and finished second in Oman in his last two outings. With one event to go he lies seventh on the feeder tour's rankings.
And there was a time when he would have laughed at the prospect of such a feat. After all, how could anyone play at the highest level when they don't have the ability to chip?
The 30-year-old from Kirby Muxloe had always been a promising player, but his game would go to pieces around the greens. The area known as 'the scoring zone' was a ruinous nightmare for Palmer.
He had the chipping yips, a condition that deprived him of any feel when trying to play what appears the simplest of strokes.
Eventually he unearthed a technique that worked for him. Now when he is within 50 yards of a green, he plays his wedge shots using just his right hand.

Palmer, a quarter-finalist at the 2006 British Amateur Championship, still plays some bunker shots two-handed

"I can remember the point when I decided to switch very well," Palmer, who is right-handed, told BBC Sport. "I had qualified for the Alps Tour through their Q School in 2009 but it was impossible to score well as every time I missed a green in regulation it resulted in a bogey.
"Sometimes it was even worse, my short game was so destructive. I could hit every shot imaginable; fat, thin, even the odd double hit!
"I was practising with my friend Neil Chaudhuri and told him that I'd had enough as my short game was diabolical. I then showed him that I was fine with one hand. 
"The strike was there. It was crisp, ball then turf every time, and consistently going where I wanted it to go. He said the decision to go one-handed was a 'no brainer'.
"I was at rock bottom so I thought I'd give it a go - things couldn't get any worse. It freed me up instantly.
"All of a sudden I enjoyed missing greens and enjoyed the challenge of getting it up and down. I embarked on a great run of form and finished second on the Alps Tour that season."
This unorthodox approach is now an integral part of his game despite causing a few raised eyebrows among his fellow competitors.
"It certainly takes a few guys by surprise," Palmer said. "Particularly at first when nobody knew about it. I find it worse in pro-ams as I feel like the amateurs think I'm not taking it seriously.
"These days I pre-warn my playing partners that I'm about to chip with one hand. 
"I think as professionals we're conditioned not to inquire too much about our fellow pros' tendencies as we're all unique in one way or another. Amateurs are much more inquisitive as to why we are doing what we're doing."
Palmer says his scrambling stats - the figures that measure efficiency around greens - are "adequate" and he hopes his example might help alleviate the misery of others who suffer similarly.
"I know that a lot of golfers over the years have struggled with the yips either in putting or chipping and hopefully my story can prove to them that there is a way around it, no matter how radical it may seem.
"It seems there are no issues with those who adopt different grips when putting, but mine really is a rare case, going one-handed for chipping."
Palmer says the fact that he will be rubbing shoulders with Europe's elite next season is still sinking in.
"Surreal would be the word I would use," he said. "Two weeks ago I never thought that I would be stood here today with a European Tour card.
"It's great though, it's where I want to be and I'm really looking forward to it. It's been my goal since turning pro and this is my fifth year. So it seems like the right time to try and mix it with the big boys.

There are plenty of unusual putting grips in pro golf - including Chris DiMarco's 'claw'

"I'm happy to keep going with my chipping style on the European Tour. It's totally unique but I can't play with two hands."
Players who prosper on the Challenge Tour have the perfect opportunity to equip themselves for the rigours of one of the toughest tours in the game.
This feeder tour comes to its climax in Dubai this week and while golf's "one-armed bandit"  can already look forward to stepping up a level next year, others are facing a defining tournament.
They include Max Orrin, the man who beat Palmer in Oman last week. The former Walker Cup player now lies 17th in the standings knowing another high finish will be enough to fulfil his dream of a Tour card.
In this most singular of sports, delivering a performance when it is most needed is the key to success at whatever level it is played.
And it is also worth remembering golf's oldest adage, that it is not a game of how, but how many. Just ask Jason Palmer.

 

• 
  

SIX-MONTH BAN ON BEIJING OPEN WINNER XIN-JUN ZHANG

TOP MONEY-WINNER ON PGA TOUR 

CHINA SUSPENDED FOR SIGNING 

INCORRECT SCORECARDS
 
FROM ESPN.COM
By BOB HARIG
The leading money-winner on the PGA Tour China has been suspended six months by the China Golf Association for signing incorrect scorecards.
Xin-Jun Zhang leads the newly formed tour with 650,600 yuan ($105,863).
The top five in money earnings are slated to earn exempt status on the 2015 Web.com Tour, a development circuit for the US PGA Tour. The US PGA Tour and China Golf Association entered a partnership to start the tour this year. 
US PGA Tour officials declined to comment, but the China Golf Association released a statement dated October 24 announcing the suspension.
The organization said that at the Lanhai Open in June and the Cadillac Championship in September, Zhang was disqualified for signing for the wrong scores, "which have been verified by multiple sources. Such behaviour has seriously violated the basic rules of the game of golf, which has brought severe negative publicity.''
Zhang is listed as having been disqualified in each event's official scoring.
The China Golf Association release was translated for ESPN.com by Zing J. Paul, a Chinese lecturer at the University of Florida.
The release said Zhang was suspended from PGA Tour China events for six months, from September 15, 2014, through to March 14, 2015.
Zhang, 27, won the Beijing Open earlier this year on the PGA Tour China circuit. There are three events remaining on the schedule. Zhang was eligible for this week's WGC-HSBC Championship in Shanghai prior to the suspension.
The Web.com Tour schedule has yet to be released for 2015. This year's schedule began in February.
Information from ESPN.com's Michael Collins is included in this report.

UPDATED NORTH-EAST ALLIANCE TEE TIMES WEDNESDAY

CRUDEN BAY

08:15	A.Campbell,	C.Campbell,	G.Esson,	A.Smith
08.23	R.Masson	C.Carnegie	C.Cassie	B.Harper
08:31
08:39
08:47	N.Macandrew	S.McNeill
08:55	J Hamilton	H Roulston	D Randall	L Roger
09:03	J.Duff	R McKinnon	I.Bratton	M.Winton
09:11	R.Brown	S.Davidson	A.Benton	S.Thompson
09:19	R.MacRae	M.Smith	N.Stewart	C.Nelson
09:27	G.Craig	B.Ritchie	M.Forster	S.Kiloh
09:35	R.Buchan	I.Clark	L.Vannet	A.Gall
09:43	S.Lawrie	C.Grant	B.Fyfe	D.Cragie
09:51	P.Lawrie	C.Lawrie	G.Hutcheon	M.McDougall
09:59	J.Scott	P.Mclean	K.Nicol	D.Mackay
10:07	J.Hopwood	K.Beveridge	K.Beveridge	L.Murray
10:15	S.Dillon	G.Angus	C.Angus	S.Shand
10:23	D.Leslie	G.Homer	W.Shaw	H.McNaughton
10:31	D.Townsley	N.Forster	B.Lumsden	G.McDonald
10:39	L.Fowler	D.Fleming	J.Emslie	M.Duncan
10:47	D.Wright	T.Robertson	J.Duncan	G.Milne
10:55		D.Nelson	A.Graham	M.Rogers
11:03	D.Bisset	F.Bisset	J.Murray	R.O'Donnell
11:11	J.Jessiman	I.Grant	J.Hosie	D.McDougall
11:19
11:27	W.Skene	A.Clark	D.Lane	R Duncan
11:35
11:43	P.Low	J.Borthwick	G.Allan	S.Mackie
11:51
11:59	S.Finnie	D.Mckay	M.Booth
12:07	S.Allison	G.Mackie	R.Davidson

BORROWMAN 11th, CULVERWELL 18th IN SPAIN

ROBB WARMS UP FOR TOUR SCHOOL 

WITH JT 5th FINISH ON EVOLVE TOUR

Scottish amateur champion Chris Robb (Meldrum House) from Banchory finished joint fifth with rounds of 70 and 72 for 142 in the Evolve Tour 36-hole event at Club de Golf Bonmont in southern Spain today.
Scott Borrowman (Dollar), playing as an amateur, finished 11th on 146 (72-74) and former Scottish amateur title-holder Alexander Culverwell (Dunbar) finished 18th with 79-76 for 155.
Sweden's Daniel Jennevret won by four shots with a 12-under-par total of 132 (63-69).
Robb, Borrowman and Culverwell are in Spain for the European Tour Qualifying School Stage 2 events which start on Friday.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
132 Daniel Jennevret (Swe) 63 69
136 Kenny Subregis (Fra) 68 68
139 Toby Tree (Eng) 68 71
SELECTED TOTALS
142 Chris Robb (Sco) 70 72 (T5)
146 Scott Borrowman (Sco) (am) 72 74
155 Alexander Culverwell (Sco) (am) 79 76

LATE BOGEYS KILL SCOT'S WINNING CHANCE

CORFIELD WINS, BUCHANAN JOINT 

THIRD IN MENA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

FROM THE MENA TOUR WEBSITE
Lee Corfield held his nerve coming down the home stretch to retain  the MENA Tour Championship at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club today.
One shot in front at the start of the final round, the Englishman closed with a 66 to reach 14 under-par 199, three shots ahead of compatriot Joshua White with four players, headed by Edinburgh’s Tom Buchanan, the head professional at Al Ain, sharing third place on 10 under 203.
His runner-up finish was good enough for White to claim the title of 2014 MENA Golf Tour Order of Merit Champion with $28,471 in earnings as he upstaged fellow Englishmen Luke Joy ($27,066) and Zane Scotland (25,604), who occupied the first two places at the start of the MENA Tour Championship.
“I stayed focused on my game though I knew Tom (Buchanan) was closing in. In the end, it feels nice to get the job done. I think patience was the key,” said Corfield after receiving the winner’s trophy and a cheque for $13,500 from Shaikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, president of the Arab Golf Federation.
“With so many players bunched at the top, I knew it’s going to be close, but I concentrated on one shot at a time, as if each was the first shot of the day. Also, I was a bit lucky with the putter and holed some nice putts at the right time,” said 32-year-old Corfield.
Buchanan, who earned $4,873 from the final event and £13,529 from the MENA Tour season as a whole, had his chance to surpass the overnight leader, but three bogeys in the final four holes denied the head pro at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club a shot at the championship.
“I started off pretty well, but the finish was quite disappointing. Maybe I tightened up a bit,” said the former Duddingston assistant pro, who made the turn at five under.
“If someone had offered me a 67 before the round, I would have gladly taken it. Overall, I am quite of proud of myself the way I played,” Buchanan, who shared third place with England’s Jake Shepherd, Spain’s Tony Ferrer and amateur, James Allan, on 10 under.
England’s White said he was over the moon after winning Order of Merit title. “I didn’t set any goals coming to this tournament, but I am quite pleased with the way things turned out for me.
“Lee played a great game under pressure and deserved to win. I am more than happy with my runner-up finish. I am really looking forward to playing in the 2015 Omega Dubai Desert Classic,” said White who will join Joy and Scotland in the starting line up of the European Tour’s longest running tournament in the region along with Allan, the winner of the amateur Order of Merit title.
While the top three professionals and the leading amateur receive invitations to the 2015 Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the top eight professionals and the top three amateurs on their respective orders of merit also qualify for the Dubai Open, the Asian Tour’s final event in 2014, to be played at the Els Club, Dubai, in December.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71)
199 Lee Corfield (Eng) 63 70 66 ($13,500)
202 Josh White (Eng) 66 68 68 ($9,000)
203 Tom Buchanan (Sco) 71 65 67, Toni Ferrer (Spa) 66 70 67, Jake Shepherd (Eng) 67 67 69 ($4,873 each), James Allan (Eng) (am) 70 66 67.
SELECTED TOTALS
207 Clarke Lutton (Sco) 69 68 70 (T14) ($1,371)
209 Paul Doherty (Sco) 71 71 67 (T20) ($1,152)
215 Danny Kay (Sco) (am) 76 71 74 (T28) 

 
Final Order of Merit (professionals):
1.Joshua White (England) $28,471
2. Luke Joy (England) $27,066
3. Zane Scotland (England) $25,604
4. Lee Corfield (England) $19,762
5. Carlos Balmaseda (Spain) $15,746
6. Faycal Serghini (Morocco) $14,255
7. Ahmed Marjane (Morocco) $13,561
8. Tom Buchanan (Scotland) $13,529

Amateurs:

1.James Allan (England)
2.Michael Harradine (Switzerland)
3.James Yeomans  (England)