FIVE QUARTER-FINALISTS IN SPAIN FROM ENGLAND 

OR IRELAND AT JEREZ GOLF CLUB

Three English players - repeating European champion Ashley Chesters, Sean Towndrow and Ashton Turner - and two Irishmen -[ Gary Hurley and Jack Hume - are through to the last eight of the Spanish men's open amateur match-play championship at Jerez Golf Club, writes Colin Farquharson
Still there also is the favourite, No 3 seed, Ivan Cantero from Spain who beat Jack Hule 4 and 3 in the second round.
No 16 qualifier Hurley beat No 1 seed Viktor Hovland 4 and 3.
England's Nick Marsh, the No 9 qualifier, went down by 4 and 2 to 25th qualifier Marcus Maukner from Austria.
Chesters was a 4 and 3 winner in the second round against Vitor Lopes, the No 5 seed.
Hume beat Sebastien Gandow at the 20th.
Towndrow prevailed at the 20th against Tomas Silva and now plays the top remaining Spaniard, No 3 seed Ivan Cantero..
Robin Dawson lost by 4 and 3 to Jeroen Krietenmeijer, the 24th qualifier, from the Netherlands.
Turner, 31st of the 32 match-play qualifiers, outsted Romain Langasque by two holes in the second round.

The quarter-finals line-up is:
Qualifying number in brackets
Gary Hurley (Ireland) (16) v Marcus Maukner (Austria) (25)
Ashley Chesters (England) (12) v Jack Hume (Ireland) (13)
Ivan Cantero (Spain) (3) v Sean Towndrow (England) (22)
Jeroen Krietenmeijer (Netherlands) (23) v Ashton Turner (England) (31)

SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW THE FIRST-ROUND
RESULTS AND SUMMARY

FIRST-ROUND LEADER HENNING GOES FROM 62

 TO 78 - AND MISSES THE CUT!

FROM SKYSPORT.COM

South Africa's Wallie Coetsee fired a six-under, second-round 66 to hold a one-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club..

The 42-year-old opened with three successive birdies on the West course, making further gains at the sixth and 17th to go alongside an eagle at the par-five 15th.
Coetsee's only blemish came with what he described as a "stupid" bogey on the 7th, but he heads into the weekend one stroke clear of compatriots Garth Mulroy and Tjaart van der Walt as well as England's Simon Dyson.
First-round leader Nic Henning (South Africa) with a 62 had an amazing fall from grace. He took 16 shots more for the second round and missed the cut with an aggregate of 140 - one shot too many to qualify for the weekend rounds.
In his first round, Henning reduced the outward half to 29 strokes. In his second round he took 40 to the turn, bogeying the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth after birdieing the first.
His second and last birdie came at the 11th. That was followed by a double blogey 6 at the 13th and bogeys at the 16th and 18th in 38 blows for the inward half. Golf truly is a humbling game.
Coetsee, the new man in the hot seat as he seeks to chalk up a maiden European Tour title and win a place in the Open at St Andrews in July, said:

“There were no cameras on me the whole day, so it was quite easy out there.
 “This is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to pull the horse back a bit, you can’t run too fast. We’ll let the horse loose on Sunday on the back nine.
“For now it’s about making solid pars and keeping the battery at 100 per cent. Keep it going and you’ll be ready when you need to be.
“Leading means a lot to me, but tomorrow we start from level par again. I’ll just give it my best. I’m looking forward to this weekend and seeing what happens."
Dyson, without a European Tour title in four years, made five birdies form his first 10 holes before adding another from 15-feet at the 17th. Despite a bogey at the 12th being Dyson's only dropped shot of the day, the 37-year-old admitted his round could have gone better. 
“I didn’t play as well as yesterday, but I scored pretty well,” Dyson said. “There was some luck. I got fortunate on 10: I pushed my drive down there and managed to get a shot, hit to about three feet and knocked that in, which was a bonus."
South African duo Mulroy and van der Walt join Dyson in contention on 11-under after posting second round scores of 68 and 69 respectively on the more challenging East course, with Sweden's Niclas Fasth alongside Anthony Wall a further stroke back following an impressive eagle at the 18th to shoot a second round 67. 
Alex Noren fired the round of the day after striking eight birdies during an eight-under 63, although it looked like it was going to be beaten by Justin Walters after the South African reached the turn in just 28.
A first ever 59 on the European Tour looked a genuine possibility after Walters carded with six birdies and an eagle at the ninth, but three dropped shots on the back nine leaves him part of the group six adrift. 
South African Open champion Andy Sullivan produced a fine second round display with a seven-under 65, while Europe's 2016 Ryder Cup captain, Darren Clarke, missed the cut (139 and better survived) following an inconsistent one-over 72.
It was also a disappointing day for British amateur champion Bradley Neil from Blairgowrie. He shot a 74 for three-over-par 146 and missed the cut by seven shots.
A massive field of 206 played the first two rounds. The cut fell at the lowest so far this year - four-under-par 36-hole tallies, or better, needed to survive it.

Second Round leaders

Par 143 (72+71)
-12 Wallie Coetsee (Rsa)
-11 Simon Dyson (Eng)
-11 Garth Mulroy (Rsa)
-11 Tjaart Van Der Walt (Rsa)
-10 Niclas Fasth (Swe)
-10 Anthony Wall (Eng)
-9 Kristoffer Broberg (Swe)
-9 Alexander Noren (Swe)
-9 Thomas Aiken (Rsa)
-9 Stuart Manley (Wal)
Selected Others
-8 George Coetzee (Rsa)
-8 Thomas Pieters (Bel)
-7 Andy Sullivan (Eng)
-6 Byeong-hun An (SKor)
MISSED THE CUT
-3 Gregory Bourdy (Fra)
+1 Darren Clarke (NIr) 

HOW THE SCOTS PERFORMED
Par 144 (2x72)
136 Scott Henry 65 71 (T21)
137 Sean Jacklin 68 69 (t31)
138 Andrew McArthur 69 69 (T49)

MISSED THE CUT (139 and better qualified)
141 David Drysdale 70 71, Craig Lee 72 69. 
146 Bradley Neil (am) 72 74
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES AND SCORECARDS

CLICK HERE

Watch day three of the Joburg Open live on Saturday from 10.30am on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. 

GRAY WINS COSTA DEL SOL PRO-AM PRIZE OF 800 

EUROS, CRAIG RONALD TIED FOR SECOND Hayston pro Stephen Gray won the PGA South Region's Costa del Sol pro-am individual top prize of 800 euros at Santana Golf, Malaga this week - and compatriot Craig Ronald (Carluke) chased him home in joint second place to earn 550 euros, writes Colin Farquharson

Gray, pictured right,  had an excellent 72-hole aggregate of 12-under-par 272, made up of rounds of 67, 71, 67 and 67 to win by seven strokes from Ronald (68-73-65-73) and Adam Wootton (Oxford Golf Centre) (70-70-69-70) on five-under 279. With 18 holes to play, Gray led by a single shot from Ronald before his five-birdie, bogey-free closing 67 saw him go well clear.

SEEDED ENGLISHMEN FALL AT FIRST HURDLE

 IN SPANISH MATCH-PLAY

England's Michael Saunders and Jonathan Thomson, the second and fourth seeds respectively, were beaten in the first round of the Spanish men's open amateur match-play championship at Jerez Golf Club today.
Saunders lost by 5 and 4 to compatriot Ashton Turner, 31st of the 32 qualifiers from the 36-hole stroke-play test.
Thomson went down by two holes to Seb Gawton.
Marco Penge lost by 2 and 1 to Viktor Hovland.
Ireland's Gary Hurley bt Jim Lui 6 and 5.
Nick Marsh bt Gianluca Bolla 8 and 6.
Double European champion Ashley Chesters advanced with a 3 and 2 win over Matthias Hirmer.
Jack Hume bt Lars Keunen by 1 hole.
Jack Hule bt P Rodriguez 2 and 1.
Sean Towndrow bt Simon Zach at the 19th.
In an all-Ireland clash, Robin Dawson, the No 7 seed, beat the 26th qualifier and Scottish open amateur stroke-play champion, Gavin Moynihan, by one hole.
Ben Stow, one of the leading English players, was surprisingly beaten 5 and 4 by Ronain Langasque.

All the winners are playing again this afternoon. We'll have the
results displayed on this website for you this evening.

NICKLAUS COURSE AT URY ESTATE WOULD BE 

FUNDED BY BUILDING OF 90 TOP OF RANGE HOUSES

NEWS RELEASE
FM Group, the developers behind the transformation of Ury Estate near Stonehaven, are today lodging a planning application to Aberdeenshire Council for a world-class 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Championship Golf Course, and enabling housing development along with associated infrastructure and landscaping works.

An independent socio-economic impact report, by EKOS, commissioned for the planning application has revealed that the proposed championship golf course and associated housing development will generate £55.5million into the Aberdeenshire economy over a 15 year period and create 200 new jobs.
The £80million investment in the golf course and 90 high-end homes are at the heart of the overall transformation of Ury Estate, which will see the restoration and conversion of Ury Mansion House into a luxury hotel and clubhouse, a mix of high-quality, traditionally built, affordable and luxury housing, improved access, infrastructure and landscaping.
Nicklaus’s excitement for the project comes from his long-held affinity for Scotland, its people, tradition for golf, and beautiful landscape settings for golf venues.

The breath-taking Mearns countryside and the majestic centrepiece of the Ury Mansion House attracted Nicklaus, pictured left,  to the site.
He said: “Aberdeenshire is a beautiful area and this site is particularly special. I have visited on a number of occasions, and I think Ury Estate provides us all the components to create a memorable golf experience.
“I think this golf course can only enhance the storied golf heritage long associated with this beautiful country and the passionate Scottish golf fans. We hope it can be a source of pride for the people in and around Stonehaven and the Aberdeen region.”
Jonathon Milne, director of FM Group, said: “This much-anticipated and highly welcomed golf development stalled during the recession but is now fully back on track and, if it proceeds, will really put Stonehaven on the map, attracting tourists and boosting business in the town. 
It is the final piece in the jigsaw for the Ury Estate development and an intrinsic part of the overall viability of the estate.”
FM Group is delivering a transformational development that will have a positive impact on the local communities by enhancing the overall environment, creating jobs and generating wealth in the economy.
Mr Milne said: “We are pleased that the EKOS report supports our vision for Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire and indeed Scotland with the findings revealing that the net additional gross value added for the Scottish economy could be as much as £95million.”
The proposed housing element of this planning application will be low density and very high quality, sympathetic and complementary to the natural surroundings.
 Current planning policy does not cater for housing but the homes are crucial to funding the construction costs of the golf course which will deliver the economic impact outlined in the EKOS report.
Mr Milne added: “There has been universal agreement that the redevelopment of Ury Estate with the golf course and hotel will be a major coup for Stonehaven. To make it a reality, the economics have to stack up and we require the proposed 90 homes to fund the golf course as well as the Mansion House hotel and link road.
“Essentially, the homes are the enabler for the development - without them we cannot deliver the golf course and the subsequent economic spin-off for the region.”
Feedback from the public consultation, which included a public exhibition, has been overwhelmingly positive.


PICTURE CAPTION: An artist's impression of the course, with the Ury Mansion House in the background


BACKGROUND INFO
Ury Estate has been the subject of many years of engagement with Aberdeenshire Council and the local community to secure the sensitive restoration of the estate and Ury House. This has been delivered within the local development plan process, with the transformation now underway as part of a masterplan for the overall estate which will facilitate controlled development of the site.
The 18-hole championship golf course, an intrinsic part of the estate viability, will be set within the mature landscape setting of Ury Estate with Ury House used as the clubhouse and hotel, providing a long-term use for the unique, but presently vacant and run-down, property.
In the region of 90 low density, high quality houses will be set into the landscape framework to the western edge of the site with access taken off the Netherley Road, with footpaths into the wider community at Ury Estate and thereafter into Stonehaven through an extended network of paths.
The houses will be designed to reflect the architectural style of Ury House with a strong Scottish flavour using a natural palette of materials such as stone, slate and timber. A centralised district heating system is proposed to provide heating to the housing and address carbon emissions, providing higher efficiency and less pollution than localised boilers.

FLEMING'S 175pt LEAD WITH 3 FIXTURES TO GO

  IN WLM GOLF NE ALLIANCE CLASS 1 MERIT TABLE

Portlethen's David Fleming continues to make the running the WLM Golf-sponsored Class 1 Handicap Order of Merit of the North-east Golfers' Alliance, writes Colin Farquharson.

David has a lead of 175pt over the new No 2, Martin Forster (Cruden Bay), who has climbed three places on the back of his performance at Peterhead on Wednesday.
WLM Golf is the company of self-employed teaching pro Willie McKenzie who used to play on the Alliance circuit when he had more time.
Peterculter's Jim Scott was the really big climber of the week, going up 21 places to No 17.
The Order of Merit tables end on March 18 with the second round of the Alliance Championship at Craibstone Golf Club.
The later fixture at Newburgh (March 25) is a non-counter for the Orders of Merit.
Thanks again to Alliance captain, Royal Aberdeen GC Senior Assistant Professional Joel Hopwood who devised the Order of Merit points scheme and updates the tables every week for Scottishgolfview.com
Tomorrow we'll show you how the Class 2 Handicap Order of merit table, also sponsored by WLM Golf, stands. The winners of each Class will earn £50 vouchers from Willie McKenzie who mobile phone number is 07904 756332 if you want to contact him to fix up a package of lessons to improve your game.
More details are on his website: WLMgolf.com




                                         POSITION   AFTER         POSITION AFTER    POSITION CHANGE
                                           POINTS      SPEY BAY    PETERHEAD   
       PLAYER                     TOTAL                                                                           UP (+) DOWN (-)
1    DAVID FLEMING       1000                1    1    0................................................. No change
2    MARTIN FORSTER    825                  5    2    3 ................................................. Up 3 places
3    DAVID MACKAY        775                  2    3    -1................................................. Down 1 place
4    HARRY ROULSTON    750                 3    4    -1
5    PHIL MORRISON        725                   4    5    -1
6    FERGUS BISSET         650                    6    6    0
7    CHARLIE CASSIE       600                    7    7    0
7    JIM EMSLIE                600                     7    7    0
9    STEVE SHAND            550                    9    9    0
10    DAVID LESLIE          525                  10    10    0
11    JOHN NICOLSON    500                   11    11    0
12    GARY ESSON           475                  12    12    0
13    JOHN BORTHWICK  425                 15    13    2
14    ALBERT SMITH        400                  13    14    -1
15    ANDY CAMPBELL    375                 15    15    0
15    STEVE LAWRIE         375                 15    15    0
17    J.SCOTT                      350                  38    17    21
17    ALISTAIR GRAHAM    350              18    17    1
19    KEITH McGILLIVRAY   325            19    19    0
20    DAVE MCKAY             300                 20    20    0
20    STEWART ALLISON    300               20    20    0
22    DAVID NELSON           250                21    22    -1
22    GARY CRAIG               250                21    22    -1
22    RYAN MACRAE           250                21    22    -1
22    WILLIE SHAW              250                 21    22    -1
22    MIKE DUNCAN           250                  21    22    -1
22    BRIAN HARPER         250                  21    22    -1
28    ZANDER ROGER        225                  27    28    -1
29    B.MAIN                        200                  28    29    -1
39    C.DUFFUS                   200                   28    39    -11
31    CRAIG CARNEGIE    175                  30    31    -1
31    GATON DILLON        175                  30    31    -1
31    NORMAN DUNCAN    175                30    31    -1
34    LES FOWLER               150           NEW    34    NEW
34    ROBERT O'DONNELL    150             34    34    0
34    NORMAN FORSTER    150                34    34    0
34    DREW BUCHAN          150                 34    34    0
34    GORDON MILNE         150                 34    34    0
39    C.ANGUS                      100                  38    39    -1
39    J.DOUGLAS                  100                  38    39    -1
41    DEREK McDOUGALL  75                  41    41    0
41    JOSH TURNER               75                  41    41    0
41    JIM DUNCAN                 75                  41    41    0
41    RICHIE DAVIDSON       75                   41    41    0
41    IAIN TAYLOR                75                    41    41    0
46    K.STEWART                   50                    46    46    0
46    JOHN HAMILTON         50                    46    46    0
46    JACKIE FORREST         50                    46    46    0
46    ALAN GALL                  50                    46    46    0

 POINTS BREAKDOWN
 EACH WIN FOR TOP FIVE
IN CLASS 1 RETURNS
1ST: 250
2ND: 200
3RD: 150
4TH: 100
5TH: 50

                   

HONDA CLASSIC LEADER HERMAN HAS SOME NICE 

THINGS TO SAY ABOUT DONALD TRUMP

FROM GOLF.COM
By Randall Mell

 Jim Herman never knows where he’s going to be when he turns around these days.

After a couple weeks unsure how he was going to get into US PGA Tour events, Herman found himself atop the leaderboard Thursday at the Honda Classic.
“I don’t recall ever leading,” Herman, 37, said of his four-year PGA Tour career. He is making his 76th career PGA Tour start.
Playing impressively, bogey-free in tough, windy conditions, Herman shot 5-under-par 65, good for the lead with the morning wave finishing up.

---

---

Last week, Herman was safely in the Honda Classic field, but with a reshuffle of priority rankings last Friday, he got bumped to second alternate. So, he teed it up in the Monday qualifier at PGA National, only to learn on the fourth tee box that he moved up the alternate list into the field again.
“I’m in, I’m out,” Herman said. “It’s what we deal with.”
Herman, born and raised in Cincinnati, has a PGA Tour career best finish of T-9, at the Sanderson Farms Championship in 2013. He plays out of Trump Jupiter, up the road from PGA National. In fact, he credits Donald Trump with helping him make it on Tour. Herman was once an assistant pro at Trump National in New Jersey and met Trump there.
“Got into a nice conversation with Donald, Mr. Trump, one day,” Herman said. “He’s like, `Why are you folding shirts and giving lessons? Why aren't you on the Tour? I've played with Tour players, you're good enough.’
“I don't know, maybe something like that gives you more confidence. It's nice playing out here. I definitely enjoy it better than the golf shop.”
Herman wears the Trump logo on his shirt and carries it on his bag.
“He’s been influential in getting me to the Tour,” Herman said.