THOMAS O'TOOLE ELECTED TO SECOND ONE-YEAR 

TERM AS USGA PRESIDENT

USGA NEWS RELEASE
NEW YORK –  Thomas J O’Toole junior, of St. Louis, Missouri, has been elected to serve a second one-year term as the 63rd president of the United States Golf Association. 
The election of officers and the 15-member USGA Executive Committee also took place today at the USGA’s annual meeting in New York City.
O’Toole will continue to lead the USGA’s professional staff of more than 300 and nearly 1,200 volunteers who serve on more than 30 committees. Together with The R and A, the USGA governs the game worldwide.
“This year marks the beginning of a new and exciting time for the USGA,” said O’Toole.
 “We will begin our new broadcast partnership with Fox Sports, launch two new Four-Ball Championships and conduct our first U.S. Open in the Pacific Northwest.
"This is an historic time and I am honoured to continue to work with our staff and the Executive Committee to guide the game we all love into the future.”

Ayrshire Winter Golf Association tee times for Tuesday

 at  Portland (Royal Troon)
         

                 ALISTAIR    BROWN    Archerfield Links
8.30    1    GERRY    SMITH    Royal Troon / Glasgow G.
      
                 DEREK    WATTERS    Gourock G C
8.38    2    BRIAN    LAMB    Irvine G C
                RAYMOND    CHRISTIAN    Glasgow G C

                 GRAHAM    FOX    Clydeway Golf
8.46    3    PAUL    MOULTRIE    Royal Troon
                 PAUL    GALLAGHER    Prestwick St Nicholas G C

                 DAVID    FLEMING    Prestwick G C
8.54    4    JOHN    RUSHBURY    Kilmarnock (Barrasie) G C
                 JOHN    WATT    St Cuthbert

                 BLAIR    HARVEY    Scottish Golf Academy
9.02    5    PETER    THOMSON    Kilmarnock (Barassie) G C
                GORDON    CLARK    Unattached

                 STEVEN    MAXWELL    Eastwood G C
9.10    6    DREW    WADDELL    Glasgow G C
                 JOE    DEVLIN    West Kilbride G C

                GRAHAM    FORBES    Unattached
9.18    7    BILL    RAE    Kilmarnock (Barrasie) G C
                ROBERT    KERR    Troon Welbeck

                 JOHN    HENRY    Clydebank and District G C
9.26    8    IAN    McCONNOCHIE    Western Gailes G C
                THOMAS    ROGERS    Caldwell G C

                 MIKE    PATTERSON    Kilmacolm G. C.
9.34    9    KEVIN    MCCANN    Vale of Leven G C
                 ROBIN    SLATER    Kilmarnock (Barassie) G C

                   CALLUM    BEVERIDGE    West Kilbride G C
9.42    10    KEITH    ROSS    Beith G C
                   GRAHAM    HAUGH    Glasgow G C

                   PAUL    ROBINSON    Largs G C
9.50    11    STEVE    BANKS    West Kilbride G C
                   REG    SHORT    Kilmarnock (Barassie) G C

                   JASON    McCREADIE    Buchanan Castle G C
9.58    12    BLAIR    ANDERSON    Royal Troon
                   IAN    WALLACE    Royal Troon
               
                     GEORGE    HIGGINS    West Kilbride G C
10.06    13    ALLAN    PATERSON    Glasgow G C
                     DAVID    WORDSWORTH    Irvine G. C.

                     JONNY    MULLANEY    Unattached
10.14    14    RON    PUNTON    Kilmarnock Barrasie G C
                     JOHN    FREESTONE    Belleisle

                     CRAIG    RONALD    Carluke G C
10.22    15    PETER    MILLER    Dundonald Links
                     GEORGE    JENKINSON    Cathkin Braes G C

                      ERIC    EWART    Royal Troon
10.30    16    ALISTAIR    KERR    Kilmarnock (Barassie) G C
                     CAMERON    GLENNIE    Kilmarnock (Barassie) G C

                     SCOTT    GARRETT    Fereneze G C
10.38    17    PETER J    BOYD    Glasgow G C
                     PETER    MACKIE    Bearsden G C

                     DAVID-ROSS    NICOL    Dundonald Links
10.46    18    JOHN    LAPPIN    Portland G C
                     STEVE    FORREST    East Kilbride G C

                     BILL    McMAHON    Irvine G C
10.54    19    LIAM    McGUIGAN    East Kilbride G C
                     JIM    MCEWAN    Elderslie G C

                      COLIN    PEDDIE    Kirkintilloch G C
11..02    20    MARK    LIRONI    Cathkin Braes G C
                      FRED    HALLSWORTH    Western Gailes G C

                     CAMPBELL    ELLIOTT    Haggs Castle  G C
11.10    21    JOHN    CAMERON    Cathkin Braes G C
                    ALEX    FALLIS    Cowglen G C

                     STEPHEN    GRAY    Hayston G C
11.18    22    NIALL    LAMOND    Balmore G C
                     JONATHAN    d'AGUILAR    Glasgow G C

                     PAUL McKECHNIE    Braid Hills
11.26    23    GORDON    CREE    Troon Welbeck
                     COLIN    McLATCHIE    West Kilbride G C

                     FRANK    CRAIG    Hamilton/Cawder
11.34    24    HARRY    MILLER    Royal Troon
                     SCOTT    MILLER    Royal Troon

                     NICK    WALTON    Glasgow G C
11.42    25    JOHN    JONES    Royal Troon
                     ALEC    ROBERTSON    Cowal G C

                     TOM    McGILL    Glasgow G C
11.50    26    STEVEN    SHAW    Loch Lomond
                     DAVID    ROBERTSON    Cochraane Castle G C

                    GEORGE    HANSON    Rothesay G C
11.58    27    IAN    McLARTY    Royal Troon
                     ALISTAIR    CONNELL    Cawder G C

MONTY NOT ON SONG IN THIS US SENIORS' EVENT
 
Colin Montgomerie has not had many "bad" rounds on the US Champions tour but he might class his first-round 73 in the current Allianz Championship at Boca Raton as one of them.
He is well off the lead and even trails Englishman Roger Chapman by five shots.
The second round is well under way.
If you want to follow the live scoring service

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TAYLOR LEADING SCOT IN ALGARVE'S MOGADO CLASSIC

Jay Taylor kept up his recent good form to be the leading Scot, in joint 11th place in a field of 71 players, at the end of the first round of the Algarve Pro Tour's Mogado Classic over 36 holes today.
Taylor had a round of level par 73 - four shots behind the Icelandic leader Axel ~Boasson and three behind the joint second-placed Ricardo Melo Gouveia (Portugal) and young Englishman Josh Hilleard.
Former PGA champion Scott Drummond had a 74 to be T19.
Ben Craggs shot a 77 for a share of 41st place.
Paul Lawrie's elder son Craig had a 78 for joint 49th postiion while Conor O'Neil had an off day to return an 80 for T62

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

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TED INNES-KER FINISHES JT 7th IN MOROCCO

Duke of Roxburghe's son Ted Innes-Ker achieved his highest 54-hole tournament finish since he turned pro in November 2010 with a joint seventh placing in the German PGA's developmental tour event, the Al Maaden Open, at Marrakech, Morocco.

Ker, pictured, who has won an 18-hole event at Sonning Golf Club on the Jamega Tour, had rounds of 70, 67 and 69 for a 10-under-par total of 206. He finished 12 shots behind the runaway winner, Frenchman Alexandre Kaleka who scored 62, 65 and 67 for 22-under par 194 and an eight-stroke victory.
" I picked up just over €800 because there were so many of us tied 7th. Sole sevebth would have picked up just over €1,000," said Ted in an E-mail to Scottishgolfview.comThe North-east trio of Chris Robb, last year's Scottish amateur champion, from Banchory, Northern Open champion David Law from Aberdeen, and Portlethen youngster Sam Kiloh finished joint 20th, 27th and joint 37th respectively.
Robb shot 68, 71 and 70 for seven-under 209.
Law had scores of 71, 68 and 71 for 210 and Kiloh 68, 73 and 74 for 215.
Ross Cameron and Philip McLean missed the second-round cut.

AL MAADEN OPEN
Marrakech, Morocco
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
194 Alexandre Kaleka (Fra) 62 65 67
202 Marcel Sneider (Ger) 70 66 66
204 Martin Keskari (Ger) 71 69 64

SCOTS' TOTALS
206 Ted Innes-Ker 70 67 69 (T7)
210 David Law 71 68 71 (27th)
215 Sam Kiloh 68 73 74 (T37) 

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

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CONSISTENT HAMISH LEADS NE ALLIANCE CLASS 2 

ORDER OF MERIT

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Cruden Bay's Hamish McNaughton is one of the most consistent players on the North-east Golfers' Alliance circuit, which is why he is heading the Class 2 Order of Merit table, sponsored by teaching professional Willie McKenzie's WLM Golf company.

Hamish (pictured below) has 1,650pt to his credit and has a 300pt lead over the second-placed Ben Lumsden (Northern).
McNaughton had 13 of a handicap earlier in the season; now it's down to 11 and I hear on the grapevine there might be a further cut in the pipeline for Hamish! That's the price of success.
It looks a two-horse race between McNaughton and 10-handicap Lumsden for the top Class 2 prize when the Order of Merit schemes, devised and calculated by Alliance captain Joel Hopwood (Royal Aberdeen) end at the two-round championship at Craibstone in late March.

The final meeting of the 2014-2015 Alliance season at Newburgh does not count for Order of Merit purposes.
The end right column on the table below indicates if a player has 
remained in the same position as he was the week before with a "O."
Players who have improved a place or places had a minus "-" before
the figure. Players who have gone down a place or places have a simple figure (without plus or minus in front of it). 
Only the top five finishers each week in Class 1 and Class 2 of the Handicapreturns earn points as follows: 
1st 250pt; 2nd 200pt; 3rd 150pt; 4th 100pt; 5th £50pt.
In the event of a tie, the points are shared, eg if two players tied for second (and third) place, they would each receive 175pt (200+150 divided by 2) 

	2014 - 15		POSITION CHANGE
		POINTS	DOWN
	PLAYER	TOTAL	UP (-)
1	HAMISH McNAUGHTON	1650	0
2	BEN LUMSDEN	1350	0
3	GRAHAM ALLAN	900	2
4	DEREK CRAIGIE	850	-1
5	LES ROGER	775	-1
6	GRAHAM MACKIE	625	0
7	NIGEL PARKER	550	0
7	MIKE  SMITH	550	0
9	ALAN BENTON	500	0
9	MIKE WINTON	500	0
9	L.DUNCAN	500	0
12	GARY HOMER	450	0
13	PETER WALKER	400	0
14	STEVEN DILLON	350	0
14	G.LESLIE	350	0
16	CHARLIE TAWSE	250	0
16	DON LAWRIE	250	0
18	WILLIE SKENE	225	7
18	JOHN JESSIMAN	225	0
18	DEREK TOWNSLEY	225	0
21	JOHN SUNLEY	200	-1
21	DICK WRIGHT	200	-1
21	PAUL CORNFIELD	200	-1
24	MANSON MERCHABT	175	-1
24	STUART MELVIN	175	-1
26	JIM MURRAY	150	NEW
27	JOHN SMITH	125	-2
27	GRAHAM THOM	125	-2
29	ALISTAIR CLARK	100	-1
29	GRAHAM MOIR	100	-1
29	ROBBIE DUNCAN	100	-1
29	MIKE BROWN	100	-1
29	SANDY DAVIDSON	100	-1
34	NEISH CHISHOLM	75	-1
35	R.BROWN	50	NEW

35          PETER LOW                                        50    -1

WIESBERGER GOES CLEAR IN MALAYSIAN OPEN

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Bernd Wiesberger carded the lowest score of his European Tour career in the third round of the Maybank Malaysian Open, a stunning nine under par 63 to move two shots clear at the top of the leaderboard.
The Austrian has been in brilliant form this year, recording three consecutive top six finishes before this event, and he came flying out of the blocks by birdieing the first five holes at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
Three straight birdies to finish capped a wonderful day, and at 17 under par Wiesberger leads by two strokes from Spaniard Alejandro Cañizares, who finished eagle-birdie-bogey for a 68.
England’s Paul Waring had two eagles in his round of 65 to lie third, alongside compatriot Lee Westwood, who birdied the last two holes for a 69, while India’s Anirban Lahiri posted the round of the week, a ten under par 62, to jump up to fifth place.

Quotes

Bernd Wiesberger
“I caught up with the leaders early which was good and finished off well. I felt very comfortable out there and I didn’t even let the bogey bother me. It was really nice out there with less wind today. Everyone was making birdies early on and it was nice to be amongst that. I’ve shot 64 a few times on Tour but this is the lowest. I won’t be fooled by this position tomorrow. There are a lot of good scores out there, as we saw today, so I’ll be trying to make some birdies again and play as well as I did today.”

Alejandro Cañizares
“It was fun - playing alongside these guys is always fun. I made more mistakes than the previous days but I’m happy I made an eagle two on 16 with a wedge. Overall I’m pleased with the way I played. It’s always good to play with someone who is playing well as he’s pulling you to make birdies as well. It was fun to watch, Bernd played great. He kept me going and kept me pushing.”

Lee Westwood
“I didn’t play particularly well today, so I was pleased to shoot 69, which keeps me in the hunt. I couldn’t feel my hip action today, especially early on. But I only made one bogey, and I made some crucial birdies on 17 and 18. If I didn’t make them I’m looking at probably being five shots back, so it was nice to finish with a bit of momentum.

“You can get into a false mind-set, where you convince yourself that you’re not playing very well, when it’s just that someone else has had a great start and is hitting it close. Both of them birdied the first two holes, so two pars felt like it was a bit slow. You’ve just got to be patient. I’ve been in this position often enough so it’s the old adage of playing your own game and taking it one shot at a time.”

Paul Waring
“Obviously I’m very happy. I started like a train and gave myself a lot of good chances early on and could have been really deep in the first five holes. It’s been a good week. I’ve been hitting a lot of close iron shots and giving myself lots of chances. I hope to carry on attacking flags tomorrows and see how we go. I’ve felt good for a while the last few weeks. The swing feels good, the putting feels good.”

THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
199 B Wiesberger  (Aut) 70 66 63,
201 A Cañizares  (Esp) 68 65 68,
202 L Westwood (Eng) 66 67 69, P Waring  (Eng) 69 68 65,
204 A Lahiri (Ind) 70 72 62,
205 P Peterson (USA) 72 69 64,
206 R Lee (Can) 69 69 68,
207 J Higginbottom (Aus) 69 71 67, A Quiros  (Esp) 70 70 67,
208 G Bourdy (Fra) 70 70 68,
209 P Uihlein  (USA) 72 72 65, P Larrazábal (Esp) 73 69 67,
210 D Chia (Mas) 67 74 69, M Warren (Sco) 70 71 69, P Meesawat  (Tha) 68 72 70, J Wang (SKor) 77 66 67, S Kang (SKor) 67 74 69,
211 G McDowell  (Nir) 66 73 72, S Hend (Aus) 73 72 66, R Bland (Eng) 68 70 73, S Chawrasia (Ind) 76 67 68, J Carlsson (Swe) 74 69 68, N Colsaerts  (Bel) 70 74 67,
212 T Jaidee (Tha) 72 73 67, A Sullivan (Eng) 70 70 72, P Lawrie (Irl) 71 66 75, M Madsen  (Den) 72 70 70,
213 A Hansen (Den) 68 76 69, W Ormsby (Aus) 73 69 71, R Jacquelin (Fra) 71 72 70, T Khrongpha (Tha) 74 69 70, L Wen-Chong (Chn) 74 72 67, C Pigem (Esp) 73 71 69, M Fraser (Aus) 72 69 72, G Havret  (Fra) 72 72 69, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 72 70, M Hoey  (Nir) 75 70 68,
214 R Rock (Eng) 70 70 74, E Grillo (Arg) 70 73 71, M Jiménez (Esp) 72 71 71, J Pagunsan (Phi) 71 69 74, N Holman  (Aus) 72 71 71, J Quesne  (Fra) 71 72 71, R Wattel  (Fra) 70 73 71, F Aguilar (Chi) 70 74 70, S Othman  (Mas) 73 71 70,
215 J Janewattananond (Tha) 77 69 69, D Lipsky (USA) 72 73 70, A Dodt (Aus) 69 73 73, G Green (am) (Mas) 74 68 73,
216 C Plaphol (Tha) 76 68 72, T Pieters  (Bel) 73 73 70,
217 S Kapur (Ind) 72 71 74, S Gallacher (Sco) 69 77 71, M Lundberg (Swe) 71 74 72, S Jamieson  (Sco) 73 72 72, S Dyson  (Eng) 72 73 72,
218 E Molinari  (Ita) 72 73 73, H Otto (RSA) 73 69 76, L Wei-Chih (Tpe) 77 67 74, A Que (Phi) 72 72 74, M Foster (Eng) 71 73 74, R Karlsson (Swe) 70 76 72, H Chien-Yao (Tpe) 75 70 73, N Fung (Mas) 71 71 76,
219 T Fleetwood  (Eng) 67 79 73, R Khan  (Ind) 73 73 73, A Lascuna (Phi) 74 72 73, O Fisher  (Eng) 73 73 73,
220 R Nachimuthu  (Mas) 73 72 75,
221 R Finch  (Eng) 73 73 75,
222 P McGinley (Irl) 69 76 77, M Tabuena (Phi) 74 72 76, S Brazel (Aus) 73 71 78,


EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

 MARTIN LAIRD LYING SECOND AT TORREY PINES

SAN DIEGO – Of all the stops on the PGA Tour, Torrey Pines is Martin Laird’s favourite (From Golf Channel.com, by Ryan Lavner)
Why?
“Just look outside,” he said Friday. “You don’t get a better golf course, scenery-wise.”
OK, but the South Course is a pretty good test of golf, too. 
The thick rough places a premium on accuracy off the tee, and the firm greens reward crisp ball-striking – both of which play to his strengths.
“You can’t get away with hiding around here,” said Laird, so it is no surprise that the Scot is front and centre for the second consecutive week on Tour.
After rounds of 68-68, he is tied for second at the Farmers Insurance Open, two shots back of Harris English.
After last week’s close call in Phoenix, Laird was admittedly disappointed that he didn’t win – he led by three after 54 holes – but also encouraged by how well he was playing. He dropped three shots over his last two holes, and his closing 72 left him three shots back of Brooks Koepka.
“You’ve got to take a lot of positives out of that,” he said. “I was the guy out front and everyone was trying to catch me and someone caught me. It’s hard to win out here – there are plenty of leads that get blown.
“Obviously, I was disappointed, but by Monday night, Tuesday morning, I was well over that and looking forward to being here this week.”   
A host of British and American stars  failed to survive the cut.
Luke Donald, Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson exited on 144 - one shot too many.
Phil Mickelson and Brian Davis bowed out on 146.
Russell Knox and Padraig Harrington missed the cut by five wtih 148 36-hole tallies.
SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
Players from USA unless stated
134 Harris England 68 66
136 Nick Watney 71 65, Jhonattan Vegas 67 69, Martin Laird (Scotland) 68 68
SELECTED SCORES
138 Ian Poulter (England) 67 71 (T6)
140 Greg Owen (England) 70 70 (T21)
143 Jamie Donaldson (Wales) 72 71 (T61)
MISSED THE CUT (143 and better qualified)
144 Luke Donald (England) 69 75, Dustin Johnson 74 70, Paul Casey 74 70
146 Brian Davis (England 75 71, Phil Mickelson 74 72
148 Russell Knox (Scotland) 72 76, Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 6 79.