DAVID HUISH RECEIVES JOHN PANTON AWARD

Stephen Gallacher displays his PGA honorary membership card. Picture by Andy Forman.

STEPHEN GALLACHER RECEIVES 

HONORARY MEMBERSHIP OF PGA


PGA IN SCOTLAND NEWS RELEASE
Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher capped a fairytale 2014 season by receiving Honorary Membership of the PGA at the Scottish Region’s annual luncheon in Glasgow today.
The world No 35, who was part of Europe’s winning team at Gleneagles in September, was presented with the accolade  in the Hilton Hotel by PGA chairman David Murchie.
Entertaining an audience of close to 700, Gallacher revealed in a Q and A session with Dougie Donnelly the agony he went through straight after narrowly missing out on automatic qualification for the match in Perthshire.
Needing a top-two finish in the Italian Open - the final counting event - the Lothians man shot 65 in both the second and last round, only to end up third behind South African Hennie Otto and Englisham David Howell.
“As I was about to step into the shower after the last round, I was feeling deflated when I was told by Scott Crockett, the European Tour’s Director of Communications, that Paul McGinley wanted to speak to me,” he said.
“When I went outside, Scott told me that Paul was standing under a tree and it was all a bit cloak and dagger.
LONGEST DAY
“I wondered what he was going to tell me but all he said was, ‘well played, you’ve had a good tournament and now you’re going to face the longest day of your life tomorrow’.”
That’s when McGinley and two of his assistant captains, Sam Torrance and Des Smyth, met at Sunningdale to discuss their wild card options, with Gallacher getting the phone call he’d been praying for along with Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter.
“I’d really wanted to follow in my uncle Bernard’s footsteps,” he said, “and I knew this match was probably going to be my only chance to do that in Scotland.”
As well as seeing Gallacher being made an Honorary Member, the annual event in Glasgow also saw coveted prizes handed out to David Huish, John Muir and Emma Fairnie.
Huish, a PGA member for 55 years, the majority of which were spent at North Berwick Golf Club, received the John Panton Award for "outstanding services to golf."
HUISH'S HERO
“I am so thrilled to receive an award in the name of John Panton as he was my hero,” said the three-times Northern Open champion and five-times winner on the European Senior Tour.
After starting his own PGA career as an assistant at Gullane in 1959, Huish moved through to Hamilton six years later.
But, after just a year at the Lanarkshire venue, he returned to his golfing roots at North Berwick and served as both club pro and course manager there before retiring in 2009.
 “I could not have had a better role model than John Panton,” added Huish after receiving his award from John Mulgrew, chairman of the PGA in Scotland. “He was a great club pro, a fantastic golfer and a real gentleman.

“I learned so much from John and it was also down to him that I rubbed shoulders with so many great players at an early stage in my career.”
DISTINGUISHED CAREER
During a distinguished Tartan Tour career, Huish won the Scottish Assistants’ Championship, the Scottish PGA Championship and three Northern Opens. Later, he chalked up five victories on the European Senior Tour, four of which were gained in play-offs.
Picking up his latest prize in the game, Huish told onlooking sons Martyn and Oliver: “I hope they have as much enjoyment from being PGA pros as I have.”
Muir received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his role in the Deer Park course at Livingston, having staged Tartan Tour events for more than 30 years, including the Scottish Under-25s, Scottish PGA Championship and, more recently, the Deer Park Masters.
Fairnie, winner of the Stewart Thom Award for her achievements in the PGA training programme when she was at Gullane, delivered her acceptance speech via video from New Zealand, having moved there to work.

TOLEDO COURSE ORIGINALLY DESIGNED BY DONALD ROSS

      Inverness A view of Inverness golf course in Toledo, Ohio

AMERICA'S INVERNESS GOLF CLUB TO 

STAGE BOYS' CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2019

NEWS RELEASE FROM USGA
FAR HILLS, New Jersey – Inverness Golf Club, in Toledo, Ohio, has been selected by the United States Golf Association as the host site for the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, to be contested July 15-20.
“Inverness Golf Club has enjoyed a storied history, having hosted seven USGA championships over the past century,” said Daniel B. Burton, USGA vice president and Championship Committee chairman. 
“By hosting this championship in 2019, the club will become the first to have a U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Junior Amateur.”
America's Inverness Golf Club was opened in 1903 and its current course was designed by Dornoch exile Donald Ross in 1916. The course has been restored three times, most recently by Arthur Hills in 1999. 
The lay-out features tree-lined, narrow bent grass fairways, approximately 80 bunkers and firm, fast bent grass greens.
Inverness Club will be hosting its eighth USGA championship and first U.S. Junior Amateur. The club has hosted four U.S. Opens. Ted Ray won the 1920 Open by one stroke over four players, including Harry Vardon. It was four-time champion Bob Jones’ first U.S. Open, and he finished in a tie for eighth place. Billy Burke (1931) and Dick Mayer (1957) won U.S. Opens at Inverness in play-offs, with Burke prevailing over George Von Elm in the longest play-off in U.S. Open and major championship history, 72 holes.
 Hale Irwin earned the second of his three U.S. Open victories in 1979, by two strokes over Gary Player and Jerry Pate.
The club also hosted the 2003 U.S. Senior Open, won by Bruce Lietzke, by two strokes over Tom Watson; the 2011 Senior Open, won by Olin Browne, by three strokes over Mark O’Meara; and the 1973 U.S. Amateur, won by Craig Stadler, who defeated David Strawn, 6 and 5, in the 36-hole final.
Inverness Club was the site for two PGA Championships and two NCAA Championships (1944, 2009). 
Bob Tway won the 1986 PGA Championship by holing a bunker shot on the 72nd hole to defeat Greg Norman by one stroke, and Paul Azinger outlasted Norman in a play-off to win the 1993 crown. World Golf Hall of Famer and 1939 U.S. Open champion Byron Nelson served as the club’s professional from 1940-44.

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Flint Hills National to Host 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur

MIDLAND GOLFERS ALLIANCE REARRANGED FIXTURE

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, GARY 

GETS GOING ... WINNER AT CHARLETON

Edzell's +2 rated amateur Gary Tough, one of the most consistent performers at Midland Golfers' Alliance fixtures, won the top scratch prize at Charleton golf course, Colinsburgh, Fife today in a rearranged competition which was postponed last week because of bad weather.

In testing conditions, Tough returned a two-over-par 74 to win by two strokes.

He was joint winner at Fairmont St Andrews on November 5, and joint runner-up at Leven on November 11.

There was a tie for first handicap between Steven Paterson (Lundin) (4) and Dennis Redford (Murrayshall) (11), both scoring net 72s. 

LEADING SCRATCH

Par 72

74 G Tough (Edzell).

76 S Paterson (Lundin), A Duncan (Murrayshall).

77 G Jenkins (Crieff), B Stewart (Tulliallan), R Tinker (Piperdam) (ap).

78 P Brookes (Pitreavie), D Thomson (Downfield).

79 D Snodgrass (Crail GS) (ap)

82 S Craig (Craig Golf) (p).

LEADING HANDICAP

72 S Paterson (Lundin) (4), D Redford (Murrayshall) (11).

73 A Duncan (Murrayshall) (3).

74 G Jenkins (Crieff) (3),  D Thomson (Downfield) (4), A Mason (Thornton) (9).

75 F Lindin (Muckhart) (8)

76 B Stewart (Tulliallan) (1), G Tough (Edzell) (+2)

78 A Black (Dunfermline) (14)

Qualifiers for JTC Championship

D Snodgrass, D Redford, F Lindin, A Mason

Qualifier for McQueen Shield

G Jenkins

Next meeting on Thursday, January 15 at Anstruther Golf Club. Tee reserved from 8.30am to noon.

Lee Sutherland

SCOTT STEWART-CATION HAS LAST-ROUND MELTDOWN

HENRY AND WHITE GAIN ALPS TOUR 

SCHOOL PASS MARKS




John Henry (Clydebank and District) and Lundin's James White gained pass marks at the Asian Tour Final Qualifying School at La Cala Golf Resort, Mijas  between Malaga and Marbella on Spain's Costa del Sol.
But Kirkcaldy's Scott Stewart-Cation (Cluny Park) had a nightmare final round that saw him finish well over the limit mark of 10-over-par 225 for the leading 35 and ties.
Henry finished joint 17th on six-over 221 with rounds of 70, 76 and 75. He had no birdies in his final round.
White earned Asian Tour playing rights in 2015 with nothing to spare.
He shot 77, 72 and 76 for 225. White bogeyed the second, third, fourth and fifth holes in his final round but birdies at the sixth and eighth pulled him out of the nosedive.
Stewart-Cation had scores of 73, 74 and 86 for 18-over 233 and joint 59th place in the final totals. His inward half cost him 47 shots, which included triple bogey 7s at the 12th and 16th, as well as double bogey 6s at the 13th and 15th.
Tim Gornik (Slovenia) was the winner by three strokes of the eliminating competition with scores of 70, 65 and 76 for a
 four-over-par 211.

ALPS FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL
La Cala Golf Resort, Costa del Sol,Spain.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 215 (2x72, 1x71)
211 T Gornik (Slo) 70 65 76
214 D Van Driel (Ned) 72 68 74
215 H Casey (Eng) 74 71 70, I Giner (Spa) 75 69 71, A Kaleka (Fra) 72 68 75.
SCOTS' TOTALS
221 J Henry 70 76 75 (T17)

225 J White 77 72 76 (T33)

FAILED TO QUALIFY (225 and better qualified)_
233 S Stewart-Cation  73 74 86 (T59)

BRITISH BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR NAIRN, NAIRN DUNBAR

THE R&A ANNOUNCES 2017 

CHAMPIONSHIP VENUES

NEWS RELEASE
The R&A has announced that some of the finest golf courses in Great Britain and Ireland will be the venues for its Championships and International Matches in 2017.

Royal St George’s, where Darren Clarke won The Open in 2011, will host the Amateur Championship for the 14th time, with the qualifying stroke-play rounds being played at nearby Prince’s.

The Amateur Championship will return to the famous links at Sandwich for the first time since 2006 when Frenchman Julien Guerrier defeated Adam Gee from Leatherhead by 4 and  3 in the 36-hole final.
Among the winners of the championship at Royal St George’s are the great amateurs John Ball Junior, Freddie Tait and Harold Hilton.

Open Champion Rory McIlroy is one of several champions and Ryder Cup team members who have played in the Amateur Championship over the years, including Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington, Henrik Stenson, Louis Oosthuizen, Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal, who won in 1984, and Sergio Garcia, who won in 1998.

The Boys' Amateur Championship will be played at Nairn Golf Club and nearby Nairn Dunbar Golf Club.
It will be the second time the championship has been played at Nairn and the first occasion since 1989 when Carl Watts from Dyke lifted the trophy.

A field of 252 of the world’s leading boy golfers will take part in the championship which featured 23 nationalities in the 2014 event. Previous winners include Sergio Garcia, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sir Michael Bonallack while Major Championship winners Sandy Lyle, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy have all played in the event.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, said, “We are looking forward to staging the 2017 championships at some of the most renowned courses in Great Britain and Ireland.
"The venues each have illustrious histories and will provide wonderful tests of golf. I’m sure the players will enjoy the challenge they present and that spectators will take the opportunity to come and watch some top class amateur golf.”

The Boys' Home Internationals will be played at St Annes Old Links, which was a Local Final Qualifying venue for The Open at Royal Lytham&St Annes in 2012.

The Jacques Leglise Trophy will be held at Ballybunion’s Old Course for the first time. The County Kerry links hosted the Irish Open in 2000 and the Palmer Cup, which is contested by teams of European and American students, in 2004.
The Seniors Amateur Championship, meanwhile, will make its first visit to Sunningdale’s Old Course.

The 46th Walker Cup match between Great Britain and Ireland and the USA will be played at Los Angeles Country Club in California.

The dates for the Championships and International Matches in 2017 are as follows:

The Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s and Prince’s:   June 19-24

The Boys Home Internationals, St Annes Old Links:  August 8-10

The Seniors Amateur Championship, Sunningdale (Old Course):  August 9-11

The Boys Amateur Championship, The Nairn and Nairn Dunbar:   August 15-20

The Jacques Leglise Trophy, Ballybunion (Old Course): September 1-2

The Walker Cup, Los Angeles Country Club: September 9-10

For more information visit championships.randa.org.