GRAHAM FOX WINS AGAIN ON AYRSHIRE WGA 

CIRCUIT,  CLINCHES ORDER OF MERIT TOP SPOT
 
Graham Fox scored his second win of the Ayrshire Winter Golf Association season in today's competition at Kilmarnock Barassie Golf Club, writes Colin Farquharson.

On a very cold and windy day Fox won with a one-over-par 70.  After going out in 32 (one under), he bogeyed 10, 11 and 15.  
 Scoring overall through the field reflected the difficult conditions with which  the players had to contend
Graham now has an uncatchable lead of 14 pts in the Order of Merit from Stephen Gray (Hayston) with one fixture remaining, at Old Prestwick on March 11. 
The Clydeway Golf man, pictured, headed the Kilmarnock Barassie field  by a shot from Craig Ronald (Carluke) with Gray and Paul Robinson (Largs) sharing third place on 72.
Fox really is the "Mr Consistency" of the Ayrshire WGA circuit.  This was the fifth fixture of the season and his record now reads: 2 wins, 2 seconds and 1 joint fifth.
Last week's winner at Troon Portland, Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) had a No return this time round.
A case of the first shall be last?
Royal Troon's Gerry Smith had the lowest amateur round of 73 and, less his handicap of three, he tied for the top net spot on 70 with Kevin McCann (Vale of Leven), a five-handicapper. They each earned a £40 voucher.
The re-scheduled Neer-Day Trophy was won by Smith (Royal  after a countback.
PROFESSIONAL SCORES
Par 69
70 Graham Fox (Clydeway Golf)
71 Craig Ronald (Carluke)
72 Stephen Gray (Hayston), Paul Robinson (Largs)
74 Graham Forbes (unatt), Alastair Forrow (Whitecraigs)
76 David Fleming (Prestwick), Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle)
77 Scott Garrett (Fereneze)
81 Steven Maxwell (Eastwood), Mike Patterson (Kilmacolm)
NR Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills)

LEADING AMATEUR NET SCORES
70 Gerry Smith (Royal Troon) (3), Kev in McCann (ale of Leven) (5)
71 Peter Thomson (Kilmarnock Barassie) (10)
72 Brian Lamb (Irvine) (15)
73 Niall Lamont (Balmore) (1), Allan Paterson (Glasgow) (12), Colin Peddie (Kirkintilloch) (1)



Full results on
www.ayrshirewintergolfassociation.webs.com

Tomorrow's NE Alliance tee times at Spey Bay

+Message to players in first half of the field:
   PLEASE GET A MOVE ON
If you think you have lost a ball off the tee, tell
your partners and play a provisional. Don't wait
until you cannot find it and then trek back to the tee!

8-15 A Campbell, G Esson, C Cassie
8-23
8-31
8-39
8-47 H. Roulston, M Rendall, L Roger
8-55
 
9-03 S. Davidson R. Brown M. Brown
9-11 A. Benton S. Dillon
9-19
9-27 L Duncan, K McGillivaray, D Mackay
9-35 S. Kiloh, K. Zeynlov B. Ritchie
9-43 John Duff, M. Smith N. Chisholm
9-51 S Finnie, D McKay, J Sunley
9-59 A. Gall, L Vannet I. Clark

10-07 R. McConnachie J Scott B. Skene C. Brechin
10-15 D. Fleming J. Emslie L. Fowler
10-23 S. Lawrie B. Fyfe D. Craigie C. Grant
10-31 D. Wright B. Lumsden T. Robertson
10-39 K. Beveridge J. Hopwood M. Forster
10-47 G. Homer D. Leslie W. Shaw
10-55 N. Stewart J. Forrest H. McNaughton

11-03 S Allison, G Mackie, W Skene
11-11 A Clark, R Duncan, M Rogers
11-19 J Murray D. Bisset F. Bisset
11-27 J Duncan G. Milne D. Nelson
11-35 J Jessamine, A. Graham J. Borthwick
11-43 B Murray S. Murray N. K. Parker
11-51 C Duffus G. Allan B. Nicolson
11-59
 
12-07 K Duncan M. Patterson

HENRY, STEWART-CATION TRAILING IN EGYPT

John Henry and Scott Stewart-Cation were joint 31st and 41st respectively after first rounds of 73 and 74 in the Red Sea El Ein Bay Open at Sokhna Golf Club, Egypt  today.
 Frenchman heads field of 97 players with a seven-under-par 65, two ahead of compatriot Leo Lespinasse with third place shared on 68 by Steven Tiley (England) and Clement Batut (France)

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

FOX, REID PIPPED FOR HAT-TRICK BY CURRIE AND 

PATTERSON AT ARCHERFIELD FIDRA
 
Graham Fox (Clydeway Golf) and West Lothian's Alan Reid failed gallantly in their bid to complete a hat-trick of victories in the opening three competitions of the PGA in Scotland's Winter Four-ball series.
Winners at Craigielaw and Dundonald on the two previous Mondays in the month, Fox and Reid had to settle for second place this week, only one stroke behind the £600 winners at Archerfield Links' Fidra Course, Christopher Currie (Caldwell) and Michael Patterson (Kilmacolm).
Currie and Patterson's bogey-free, better-ball, seven-under-par 65 featured birdies at the second, third, fifth, 11th, 12th, 15th and 16th in halves of 34 (three under) and 32 (four under) over a 6,948yd course.
Fox and Reid's 66 earned them the £450 runners-up award.
Five partnerships tied for third place on 67 - Craig Everett (Caldwell) and Stewart Savage (Dalmuir), Norman Huguet (Musselburgh and Gareth Wright (West Linton), Paul McKechnie and Ian Young (Braid Hills), Paul Wardell (North Berwick) and  Fraser Mann (Carnoustie), Alan White (Lanark) and Ronan Rafferty (Monte Rei).
The £2,000 weekly prize list goes down to sixth place and the third-place ties earned £190 per pair.
Next Monday's competition is over Crail Golf Society's Balcomie Links in Fife.
Today's scores at the Fidra Course were:
Par 72.
65 C Currie (Caldwell) and M Patterson (Kilmacolm) (£600).
66 G Fox (Clydeway Golf) and A Reid (West Lothian) (£450)
67 C Everett (Caldwell) and S Savage (Dalmuir), N Huguet (Musselburgh) and G Wright (West Linton), P McKechnie and I Young (Braid Hills), P Wardell (North Berwick) and F Mann (Carnoustie), A White (Lanark) and R Rafferty (Monte Rei) (£190 per pair).
68 S Cairns and I Anderson (Colville Park), M Loftus (Mearns Castle) and S Payne (Cowglen).
69 K Campbell (Machrihanish) and I Taylor (Drumpellier), D Snodgrass (Crail) and D Watt (St Andrews Links GA), O Huish and M Huish (North Berwick).
70 R Buckley and C Smith (Royal Musselburgh), S Gray (Hayston) and G Lister (Alness), J Porteous  and D Laing (Craigielaw), P Robinson (Largs) and J McCreadie (Buchanan Castle).
71 D Gemmell and J Stephen (Aberdour), S Grieve (Turnhouse) and J Dick (Duddingston)
72 P Brookes (Pitreavie) and I Colquhoun (Merchants of Edinburgh), S Lamb (Peebles) and M Patchett (Broomieknowe), Brian Marchbank and Billy Marchbank (Crieff), P Walker (Ballumbie Castle) and R Dixon (Renaissance)
74 M Laughtland (Bishopbriggs) and C Tierney (Carrick on Loch Lomond), I Lowdean and D Anderson (Murrayfield).

DAVIS LOVE NOW FAVOURITE TO BE USA'S NEXT 

RYDER CUP CAPTAIN

FROM ESPN.COM

Davis Love III is expected to be named the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain in a PGA of America announcement next week, according to the Golf Channel.
Love, whose U.S. team lost in excruciating fashion to Europe in 2012 at Medinah, would become the second straight repeat captain, following Tom Watson, whose U.S. squad suffered a 16 ½ to 11 ½ defeat at Gleneagles last September.
The Associated Press also reported the news, citing two sources familiar with the decision.
That lopsided loss in Scotland was the source of considerable acrimony and led to the formation of an 11-member U.S. task force, of which Love was a member.
The idea was to bring new approach to the process of selecting captains, assistants, the formation of the team and even the practice structure going into the 2016 matches at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minnesota.
The task force met two weeks ago in San Diego and it is unclear if it made a recommendation or if the PGA of America decided to go in this direction on its own. The organization which runs the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup in the U.S. would not comment on the report and said only that there would be an announcement next week.
Love's squad was a tough-luck loser at Medinah in 2012, blowing a 10-6 final day lead, the Europeans staging a furious rally to win 14½ to 13½.
Fred Couples' name has come up often in speculation for the next US team captaincy, given his 3-0 record as U.S. Presidents Cup captain. He also served as an assistant on Love's 2012 team. Steve Stricker was mentioned as well, as was Paul Azinger, who was the last U.S. captain to win, in 2008.

---

Love, 50, is a 20-time winner on the US PGA Tour, He played on six U.S. Ryder Cup teams and was a popular captain in 2012. Many of the players on that team expressed regret at the way the matches turned out and that they let him down.
In subsequent interviews, Love suggested he might be open for a return, but not soon.
"My experience has come and gone,'' Love said during a November 2012 interview. "What I've learned is that I'll always be a former Ryder Cup captain. All the things that are behind the scenes that I'll get to share inside the group, whoever the next three or four captains are, that part I really appreciate the experience.
"They asked me to do two things, promote the game, promote the Ryder Cup, be an ambassador for the game. And then to win. We did really well in one part of it and then we just got beat. 
"I don't think they'll ask me to do it again. I don't think you could do much better.
"I would feel bad if I took another team and tried to go win because didn't win with this team. That was my team and I don't think I'd ever want to change that. If they decided they had a gap down the road and decided they'd love for me to do it again. ... maybe.''
The Europeans are expected to name their captain on Wednesday, with the choice down to Darren Clarke and Miguel Angel Jimenez.