Matt NeSmith boosts US Walker Cup team selection prospects with South Carolina win

FROM GOLFWEEK.COM
BLUFFTON, South Carolina – From the southern hospitality to the oppressive heat, everything about the Players Amateur screams Lowcountry. On Sunday at Berkeley Hall’s North Course, one of South Carolina’s own walked away with the title and the promise of a US PGA Tour start next year at Harbour Town Golf Links.
So many times in five previous starts at the Players Amateur, Matt NeSmith, 21, would hang around the top 10 all week but couldn’t take advantage.

The Players Amateur truly is an endurance test. Temperatures reached the triple digits as players slugged out four trips around Berkeley Hall. NeSmith carried his own bag even though caddies are allowed.
NeSmith trailed third-round leader Chase Koepka by five shots at the start of the day.
NeSmith put up a final-round 65 to finish at 13 under for the week.
“It’s the best final round I’ve ever had to win a golf tournament,” NeSmith said without hesitation.
It has probably won him a place in the US team for the Walker Cup match against GB and I at Royal Lytham September 12-13.

LINK to live scoring from US Champions Tour

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Live scoring from closing holes of US PGA Tour event

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Richie Ramsay gets place in Open championship field

• calcarsongolf@btinternet.com

TIM CLARK WITHDRAWAL

Tim Clark (South Africa) has withdrawn from The Open and is replaced by Richie Ramsay, Scotland.

The next three competitors on the reserve list are as follows:

1^st Reserve: Shawn Stefani, USA

2^nd Reserve: George McNeill, USA

3^rd Reserve: Chris Wood, England

Raphael Jacquelin, Daniel Brooks and Rikard Karlberg qualified for The 144^TH Open at St Andrews after the final round of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open today.

Three places in the Championship, set to be played later this week from 16-19 July, were available through The Open Qualifying Series at the European Tour event at Gullane Golf Club for the leading three non-exempt players who finished in the top ten and ties.

 FROM GOLFWEEK.COM
The R&A announced Sunday that Tim Clark had withdrawn from the Open at St. Andrews and would be replaced by Richie Ramsay.
However, the announcement did not specify for what reason Clark pulled out of the year's third major championship, although it is believed to be because of visa issues.
As a South African, Clark is subjected to strict new visa laws that his country enacted to combat child trafficking. When he knows he’s going to play somewhere other than in the U.S., where he holds a visa, he has to plan months in advance. It starts with a meeting to apply for the visa where he undergoes “biometrics” such as finger-printing. But to make an appointment, interested parties must start with a letter confirming they have reason for a visa.
The R&A told Clark they would not send the letter until he was officially in the field. Clark earned his exemption via his world ranking after last month's Travelers Championship and a letter was subsequently sent, albeit too late for Clark. 
“I needed it six weeks ago,” Clark said.

Phone number for late entries to Sutherland Chalice next weekend

 

A limited number of late entries will be accepted for next weekend's SGU 72-hole Order of Merit event,  the Sutherland Chalice, at Dumfries and Galloway Golf Club.

If you want to join the field, please contact Iain Urquhart on 07803 242209.

 

AAM Scottish Open report and final totals

Rickie Fowler: AAM Scottish Open champion 2015 with the trophy (picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c).

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
America’s Rickie Fowler birdied the last hole at Gullane to snatch victory and deny compatriot Matt Kuchar in a thrilling finish to the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.
The World Number Nine produced his second brilliant finish of the season, having fallen two shots off the lead when he bogeyed the 14th hole of the final round.
Fowler responded with birdies at the 15th, 16th and 18th to finish 12 under par and snatch his first European Tour victory from Ryder Cup team-mate Kuchar who tied for second with Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin, a shot behind the winner.
That brought back memories of the 26 year old's victory in the Players Championship at Sawgrass in May, when he played the last six holes in six under par, taking a tournament-record 11 shots to finish birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie.
Kuchar had set the clubhouse target on 11 under par after a closing 68, finally ending the hopes of Scotland's Marc Warren who had finished ten under par four hours earlier after a superb 64.
Fowler had dropped his second shot of the day after driving into a fairway bunker on the 14th, but holed from nine feet on the next, two-putted the par-five 16th and then hit a superb approach to two feet on the last.
That left France's Raphaël Jacquelin needing to hole his second shot to the 18th to force a play-off and his approach spun back to within inches of the hole, but Fowler was not to be denied.
There were also three Open Championship places available to those not already exempt, and they went to Jacquelin, overnight leader Daniel Brooks and Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg.
And Fowler hopes to emulate compatriot Phil Mickelson by doubling up at St Andrews in the year’s third Major next week.
“Phil [Mickelson] mentioned to me win this and there’s a good chance you win next week so I had to take care of business,” said Fowler.
“I don’t know what’s so special about links golf but it’s my favourite. The golf course can play so different day after day and it presents a new challenge. It was a good test this week at Gullane.
"It's pretty special - I played great coming in and it's been a great week. I will have a bit of time tonight to let it sink in and get right back at it next week.
"This is a big win. I had a couple of missed cuts after winning the Players, which was disappointing, so it feels good to get back on form.
"I had to dig deep. I was a little bummed to drop a shot on 14 but knew I had some birdie holes coming in. I had played the last four holes well this week and luckily 14 didn't cost me."
Fowler, who finished in the top five in all four majors last year, added: "There are a few things I can tighten up for next week but I am looking forward to getting back to St Andrews, the Home of Golf, and getting into contention."

 ALL THE FINAL TOTALS
 Par 280 (4x70) Yardage: 7,133
prizemoney in US dollars

268 R Fowler  (USA) 66 68 66 68 ($988,709)
 269 R Jacquelin (Fra) 68 67 64 70, M Kuchar  (USA) 66 68 67 68 (515,254 each)
 270 E Pepperell (Eng) 70 66 65 69, J Luiten (Ned) 71 63 66 70, M Warren (Sco) 70 67 69 64 (251,926 each)
 271 D Brooks (Eng) 64 65 69 73, R Fisher (Eng) 70 65 68 68, L Donald  (Eng) 69 67 69 66 (153,054 each)
 272 R Karlberg  (Swe) 67 71 70 64, V Dubuisson  (Fra) 70 66 68 68, M Jiménez (Esp) 69 65 68 70, Y Yang (SKor) 68 67 70 67, T Fleetwood  (Eng) 67 66 67 72, D Howell (Eng) 68 70 66 68, R Knox (Sco) 67 68 66 71 (98,137 each)
 273 A Johnston (Eng) 67 67 71 68, B Grace  (RSA) 69 66 68 70, R Finch  (Eng) 65 68 72 68, P Lawrie (Sco) 67 67 69 70, B Martin (USA) 69 66 68 70 (74,035 each)
 274 M Lampert (Ger) 71 66 70 67, F Aguilar (Chi) 73 64 67 70, B Koepka  (USA) 70 68 66 70, M Nixon (Eng) 65 67 74 68, J Senden (Aus) 68 68 71 67, A Levy (Fra) 68 70 68 68, T Hatton (Eng) 68 69 71 66, R Paratore (Ita) 70 68 66 70, F Zanotti (Par) 69 67 67 71 (59,917 each)
 275 S Lowry  (Irl) 66 66 72 71, P Mickelson (USA) 69 68 70 68, G McDowell  (Nir) 66 66 72 71, J Donaldson (Wal) 70 67 69 69, R Palmer (USA) 67 65 70 73, P Oriol (Esp) 67 69 67 72, G Stal  (Fra) 66 68 74 67, T Jaidee (Tha) 67 69 69 70, C Wood  (Eng) 69 69 67 70, M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) 67 70 69 69 (44.255 each)
 276 R McEvoy  (Eng) 66 67 72 71, M Crespi  (Ita) 69 68 68 71, S Kjeldsen (Den) 72 66 68 70, S Kapur (Ind) 68 70 66 72, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 67 66 72 71, E De La Riva  (Esp) 72 66 69 69, M Kieffer (Ger) 69 65 70 72, E Grillo (Arg) 66 67 71 72, D Berger (USA) 73 65 67 71, G Havret  (Fra) 66 68 69 73, S Benson (Eng) 65 69 71 71, T Aiken (RSA) 69 68 70 69 (30,848 each)
 277 J Van Zyl (RSA) 69 66 74 68, M Ilonen  (Fin) 70 68 69 70, M Siem  (Ger) 69 67 73 68, R Rock (Eng) 69 67 70 71, M Madsen  (Den) 68 68 70 71, J Carlsson (Swe) 65 67 72 73, A Otaegui  (Esp) 65 72 68 72, B Hebert  (Fra) 68 70 71 68, C Tringale  (USA) 68 67 71 71 (19,049 each)
 278 P Larrazábal (Esp) 71 66 69 72, J Lando Casanova  (Fra) 71 66 73 68, M Foster (Eng) 67 70 70 71, C Lee (Sco) 72 66 68 72, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 69 69 70 70, N Colsaerts  (Bel) 73 65 71 69, P Harrington (Irl) 68 68 70 72, A Sullivan (Eng) 68 68 73 69 (13,347 each)
 279 R Wattel  (Fra) 70 68 67 74, R Bland (Eng) 70 68 72 69, G Hutcheon (Sco) 70 68 69 72, B An (SKor) 70 68 69 72 (9,377 each)
 280 J Rose (Eng) 66 66 72 76 (8,887)
 281 S Soderberg (Swe) 68 69 72 72, D Drysdale (Sco) 71 65 71 74 (8,882 each)
 282 M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) 67 67 78 70, L Bjerregaard  (Den) 69 68 68 77, J Campillo (Esp) 69 69 71 73, M Hoey  (Nir) 70 65 70 77 (8,869 each), O Schniederjans (am) (USA) 70 67 75 70,
 283 J Walker  (USA) 65 70 78 70,
 285 J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 67 69 73 76

Braveheart Linhart soars to Winston win


EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Pedro Linhart showed nerves of steel to soar to a maiden European Senior Tour victory at the WINSTONgolf Senior Open, fending off the significant challenge of Englishman Barry Lane, who was at one point two holes away from the tour’s first 59.
The Spaniard entered the final day with a two shot lead but before he even teed off his final round at the stunning northern Germany venue, the pressure was already on as Lane negotiated his front nine in 29 shots - seven birdies and two pars.
Lane stepped on to the par five 17th tee needing an eagle followed by a birdie at the par four 18th to make history and card the first sub-60 round in Senior Tour history. Two closing pars meant he could not achieve that remarkable feat, but a ten under 62 still left Linart with plenty of work to do.
The 52 year old rose to the challenge in steely fashion, however, and it was a holed nine iron from 139 yards for an eagle two at the second hole which set him on his way to a breakthrough victory.
Two more birdies followed at the fifth and sixth holes and, while a bogey at the ninth meant he was just one shot clear of Lane heading into the back nine, an impressive run of four consecutive birdies from the 13th sealed a three-stroke win for the Cadiz player courtesy of a six under 66 and a 16 under total.
“I really enjoyed it for a while out there when I was hitting it stone dead every time,” said Linhart, who has now won a title each on the Challenge Tour, The European Tour and the Senior Tour. “It is difficult to win though, and there were moments when I was a bit tense, but I just let go and tried to just play golf.
“It’s difficult to avoid those leaderboards, I don’t understand these players who say they don’t look at them – they’re big enough! It was out there for the taking and they are all very good players out here so I knew someone would go really low, I was just hoping it was me.
“It was a good shot into the second and for it to go in was just a bonus at exactly the right moment, because I hadn’t played the first hole particularly well. Then I made a couple of good birdies at five and six and after that I was struggling off the tee. But I just hit some great iron shots on the back nine and that did it for me.
“I hit it stiff on 13, 15 and 16 and then it was just a matter of getting it over the water at the last hole. I just continued playing my best golf and that’s what did it this week.”
Having only earned European Tour status for the first time in his early 30s, before winning his only title at 36 in 1999, Linhart believes his game has been getting better as the years roll by. Now he is looking forward to pitting his wits against some of the greatest legends of the game at The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex in just over a weeks’ time.
“I certainly hope this is the start of bigger and better things,” said the former Madeira Islands Open winner. “I didn’t get on tour until late in my career and I feel like I’m becoming a better player now after 50 than I was when I was younger.
“There are a few players who have been like that. Golf is a game where you just don’t know when it’s going to happen for you. You just have to keep working and showing up every week.
“The Senior Open is the big one for us. I did go and play the US Senior PGA Championship but that was after not much competitive golf so this really is the Major for us because we’ve already played a few events and it’s such a great tournament. I’m looking forward to it.”
Lane, meanwhile, was just delighted to have put himself in the mix having begun the day seven shots off the leader and the four-time Senior Tour winner is now looking forward to bringing that form to Sunningdale’s Old Course for Europe's only Senior Major.
“I was seven behind and I didn’t really think about the leaderboard at all,” said the 55 year old. “But I birdied the first two holes, then missed a four-footer for birdie at the third, then I made five in a row and even lipped out for a hole in one at the seventh.
“I was at ten under at that point and Pedro was just starting and I thought, ‘if I can get it to 14 or 15, you never know’. Then I birdied 12, 14 and 16 and I thought, if I eagle 17 and birdie 18 this could be a 59.
“I couldn’t reach 17 but I was just short after two beautiful shots and I had lovely chip that ran just four feet past, but had a terrible birdie putt then.
“After being seven behind, to finish second is great though and it’s a nice way to finish going into the Senior Open.”
Paul Wesselingh, the 2014 champion, could not quite make a push for a successful title defence but he did card a four under par 68 to take third place outright on 11 under par, while Spain’s José Manuel Carriles was a shot further back on ten under par in fourth place.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
200 P Linhart (Esp) 70 64 66,
203 B Lane (Eng) 73 68 62,
205 P Wesselingh (Eng) 70 67 68,
206 J Carriles (Esp) 72 66 68,
207 M Harwood (Aus) 71 67 69,
208 S Luna (Esp) 72 68 68, G Marks (Eng) 71 65 72, J Gould (Eng) 70 69 69, A Bossert (Sui) 74 66 68,
209 B Longmuir (Sco) 71 69 69, W Grant (Eng) 76 67 66,
210 J Harrison (Eng) 72 73 65, P Golding (Eng) 73 67 70, D Smyth (Irl) 71 69 70, A Forsbrand (Swe) 72 68 70, A Franco (Par) 72 66 72, C Williams (RSA) 69 68 73,
211 R Drummond (Sco) 69 70 72, J Remesy (Fra) 78 68 65, B Cameron (Eng) 70 67 74, J Berendt (Arg) 72 69 70, G Brand Jnr (Sco) 70 71 70,
212 J Quiros (Esp) 75 67 70, P O'Malley (Aus) 77 65 70,
213 T Thelen (USA) 75 70 68, L Zhang (Chn) 72 72 69, P Fowler (Aus) 72 76 65, M Davis (Eng) 74 69 70, R Sabarros (Fra) 74 71 68, G Emerson (Eng) 75 70 68, C Monasterio (Arg) 72 70 71,
214 S Tinning (Den) 78 70 66, J Bruner (USA) 75 71 68, D O'Sullivan (Irl) 74 70 70, G Turner (Nzl) 72 74 68,
215 M Farry (Fra) 75 69 71, M Martin (Esp) 73 73 69,
216 G Rusnak (USA) 74 72 70, F Lamare (Fra) 75 70 71, P Eales (Eng) 74 74 68,
217 M James (Eng) 78 69 70,
218 M McLean (Eng) 76 75 67, M Mouland (Wal) 75 71 72, M Bianco (Ita) 74 76 68, A Saddington (Sco) 74 74 70,
219 C Mason (Eng) 76 75 68, G Wolstenholme (Eng) 77 69 73, G Manson (Aut) 73 73 73, A Sherborne (Eng) 80 69 70, P Walton (Irl) 74 68 77, S Brown (Eng) 75 71 73,
220 B Conser (USA) 74 74 72, D Russell (Eng) 77 76 67, J Rivero (Esp) 75 72 73, T Elliott (Aus) 76 74 70,
221 M Mackenzie (Eng) 75 74 72, S Cipa (Eng) 72 72 77,
222 N Job (Eng) 74 73 75, G Brand (Eng) 76 74 72, A Oldcorn (Sco) 74 78 70, T Price (Aus) 81 74 67, K Tarling (Can) 79 71 72,
223 G Bell (Eng) 73 74 76, P Scott (Eng) 78 71 74, P Mitchell (Eng) 79 72 72,
224 C Rocca (Ita) 74 75 75, A Murray (Eng) 75 78 71,
225 G Ryall (Eng) 75 76 74,
227 N Hubbard (Eng) 80 75 72,
229 J Ryström (Swe) 78 72 79, N Ratcliffe (Aus) 79 76 74,
** L Carbonetti (Arg) DQ  0 0,



EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Three Scots share fourth place in Slovakia Challenge behind winner Borja

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Borja Virto Astudillo earned his debut Challenge Tour title in truly dramatic fashion, chipping in for birdie on the 72nd hole to win the D+D Slovakia Challenge by a single stroke.

The Spaniard, pictured with the trophy by courtesy of Getty Images(c), was level pegging with playing partner Ricardo Gouveia on 16 under par, but denied the Portuguese back-to-back wins after chipping in from just off the 18th green to spark scenes of wild celebration at Penati Golf Resort in Senica, Slovakia.
With Denmark’s Jeff Winther, playing in the final group, needing an unlikely eagle on the last to join Virto Astudillo on 17 under par, the Spaniard still faced an anxious wait to have his maiden victory confirmed but, after watching Winther make par, he could finally relax for the first time on a tense final day.
He said: “I normally stay pretty calm on the golf course, but I did the biggest fist-pump of my life when that chip went in on the last. It was only just off the green but it had to go up and over a big slope and then down the other side, so it definitely wasn’t easy. 
"To win your first title is always very special, but to shoot 66 and chip in on the last hole – it doesn’t get much better than that.”
The €26,400 cheque moved Virto Astudillo, who came through the Qualifying School last year, up to 12th place in the Road to Oman Rankings, and whilst he is likely to concentrate predominantly on The European Tour for the remainder of the season, the victory has restored some self-belief.     
He said: “I don’t know why, but I just feel more comfortable on the Challenge Tour. It shouldn’t matter what Tour you’re playing on, because you’re only playing the golf course and not the rest of the field. But hopefully this win gives me confidence to take onto the main Tour, because I believe my game is good enough to compete out there.
“I played very well today, just hit two bad shots which cost me bogeys on the eighth and 17th. I actually made a good bogey on the eighth, because I hit my second into the water but managed to get up down from 80 metres.
" Then on the 17th I hit my approach shot right and didn’t manage to save par. So it was a really bad time to make bogey but I managed to stay calm, and then to finish like I did was obviously a dream.”
"Gouveia pushed Virto Astudillo all the way, but a closing round of 68 for a 16 under par aggregate total was ultimately not quite enough to secure a second successive victory, following his win in Germany last week.         
However, the Portuguese could console himself with the fact that his cheque for €18,150 saw him displace Frenchman Sebastien Gros at the top of the Road to Oman Rankings.
Winther continued his fine form, finishing in the top three for the second week running to climb to 16th in the Road to Oman Rankings.
Fourth place was shared between a trio of Scots, Jack Doherty (71), Scott Henry (66) and Jamie McLeary (69), who all finished on 13 under par.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
271 B Virto Astudillo (Esp) 69 67 69 664
272 R Gouveia (Por) 69 66 69 68
273 J Winther (Den) 66 71 66 70 
275 J Doherty  (Sco) 65 71 68 71, S Henry  (Sco) 73 70 66 66, J McLeary  (Sco) 68 70 68 69,
 276 S Wakefield (Eng) 68 74 68 66,
 277 A Björk (Swe) 70 68 70 69,
 278 L Claverie (Esp) 71 65 72 70, J Robinson (Eng) 73 68 69 68, J Hansen  (Den) 70 70 69 69, T Sluiter  (Ned) 69 69 73 67, N Kearney (Irl) 68 71 69 70,
 279 C Arendell (USA) 74 68 71 66, D Huizing (Ned) 71 70 68 70, M McGeady (Irl) 70 68 72 69,
 280 J Glennemo (Swe) 74 70 71 65, N Kimsey (Eng) 75 69 69 67,
 281 J Lima  (Por) 69 71 73 68, J Heath  (Eng) 70 71 70 70,
 282 D Stewart (Sco) 69 72 72 69, J Fahrbring (Swe) 70 74 71 67, S Jeppesen  (Swe) 70 65 73 74, G Murray  (Sco) 71 71 73 67, J Girrbach (Sui) 68 74 71 69, S Tiley (Eng) 70 71 67 74, R Davies (Wal) 71 73 73 65,
 283 D Vancsik (Arg) 73 66 74 70, A Snobeck  (Fra) 70 71 71 71, P Howard  (Eng) 69 68 72 74, G Porteous (Eng) 71 72 72 68, A Knappe (Ger) 70 73 70 70, L Gagli  (Ita) 69 73 71 70, R Evans  (Eng) 69 72 70 72,
 284 T Linard (Fra) 71 69 71 73, B Stone (RSA) 74 66 75 69, J Sjöholm (Swe) 68 70 70 76, D Gaunt (Eng) 66 74 76 68, M Wiegele  (Aut) 71 73 71 69,
 285 W Besseling  (Ned) 67 72 74 72, S Fallon (Eng) 70 74 69 72, M Schneider (Ger) 71 70 73 71,
 286 N Ravano (Ita) 70 73 74 69, J Guerrier  (Fra) 70 71 71 74, B Etchart  (Esp) 68 72 71 75,
 287 J Watts (Eng) 72 71 75 69, A Velasco (Esp) 73 68 76 70, F Praegant (Aut) 73 68 73 73, R Enoch  (Wal) 70 71 72 74,
 288 P Tarver-Jones (Eng) 72 70 69 77, J Makitalo  (Fin) 73 70 72 73, A Tadini (Ita) 68 74 74 72, E Cuartero Blanco  (Esp) 71 71 75 71,
 289 B Åkesson (Swe) 70 70 77 72,
 290 C Hinton (Eng) 71 71 70 78,
 291 S Walker (Eng) 69 74 72 76, E Goya (Arg) 74 70 74 73, D Ulrich (Sui) 68 74 74 75, J Carlota (Por) 72 67 79 73, J Rask (Swe) 72 72 72 75, R McGowan  (Eng) 72 72 74 73,
 292 D Kemmer (USA) 74 70 74 74, N Bertasio (Ita) 72 72 76 72, J Kaske (Fin) 67 75 76 74,


EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Craig Ross wins by five shots in France

Kirkhill's Craig Ross scored a big career victory  in France today (Sunday) when he won the prestigious Chiberta Grand Prix at Biarritz in southwest France.

Ross, pictured, headed an international field by five strokes with a seven-under-par aggregate of 273. He shared the lead in the first round and led for the rest of the 72-hole event.

His scores over the par-70 lay-out were 70, 69, 67 and 67.

Runner-up on 278 was England's Alfie Plant (Sundridge Park) with scores of 72, 72, 65 and 69 for 278

Craig Howie (Peebles) tied for ninth place on 283 with rounds of 70, 78, 68 and 67.

Daniel Young (Craigie Hill) finished on 288 and joint 28th with scores of 69, 73, 75 and 71.
 Ross, Howie and Young won the international team event for Scotland.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

par 280 (4x70)

273 C Ross (Kirkhill) 70 69 67 67

278 A Plant (Sundridge Park) 72 72 65 69

Selected totals

283 C Howie (Peebles) 70 68 68 67 (T9)

285 J Singh Brar (England) 71 76 68 70 (T12)

288 D Young (Craigie Hill 69 73 75 71 (T24)

Link to live scoring from final day of AAM Scottish Open at Gullane

CLICK HERE

Richie Ramsay now first reserve for place in Open championship

To

• calcarsongolf@btinternet.com

Sweden's Alexander Noren  has withdrawn from The Open and is replaced by Hiroshi Iwata, Japan.

The next two competitors on the reserve list are as follows:

1st Reserve: Richie Ramsay, Scotland

2nd Reserve: Shawn Stefani, USA 

 

Eddie Pepperell opens up about  the loneliness and boredom of a pro golfer's private life

By Ben Dirs BBC Sport

Interesting golfer walks into a clubhouse. No, this isn't a joke, I met him a few weeks ago. Eddie Pepperell was his name: Open debutant, rare sporting philosopher, chronicler - the Samuel Pepys, pardon the whimsy, of the European Tour.

I am, of course, being facetious. There are, no doubt, interesting golfers galore. It's just that, well, they rarely come across that way.
Blame the media for its bland enquiries. Blame the golfers for their lack of candour. Blame modern sport for its insistence on focus and discipline. Blame those damn caps they wear that make them all look the same. 
Whatever the reason, it's nice to meet a golfer willing to open up about pretty much anything.
"I share your frustration," says the 24-year-old Pepperell, who qualified for St Andrews courtesy of finishing tied for second at the Irish Open in May.
"Modern sportspeople are geared up to being professionals from such a young age that they tend not to have other experiences. And even when a sportsperson is interesting, they're often not very good at portraying it."
Pepperell, who turned pro in 2011, has been keeping an online blog since 2012.  It includes discursions on failure, passion, nature and nurture and the relative merits of intro - and extroversion. 
But the most arresting blogs focus on the reality of life on tour: it turns out that much of a budding golfer's existence is not too dissimilar to Alan Partridge's dismal stint in the Linton Travel Tavern. 

Alan Partridge, Steve Coogan's dysfunctional comic creation, extolled the virtues of living in a hotel

"It was very lonely at first, so tough," says Pepperell, who I caught up with at Frilford Heath Golf Club,  near his Oxfordshire home. "I played a tournament in Italy and spent every night dining on my own in a motorway cafe with all these fat Italian truckers. I remember thinking: 'Is this what it's all about?'
"In Abu Dhabi, I stayed in an incredible five-star hotel, with a bathroom worthy of Julius Caesar. At first I thought 'wow!' But that was followed by a sad realisation that I had nobody to share it with."
When Pepperell beautifully describes the existential bleakness of being served a Baileys in his palace of a hotel room, you can't help but think of Alan Partridge extolling the virtues of his unconventional circumstances, all because he is able to order an Irish coffee at 3am.
It was what Pepperell describes as the "mind-destroying" tedium and loneliness of tour life that compelled him to start writing in the first place, as well as a sudden conviction that expanding his mind might make him a better golfer.

"I felt like a candle," says Pepperell, who is still to win on the European Tour but does have previous major experience, having qualified for the 2013 US Open.
 "I'd be flickering on and off, the fire wasn't there every day. But once I started reading books - I didn't read one until I was 19 - it opened my mind completely, I started to see the world from different angles, as well as myself."

Many fans have little sympathy for the complaints of pro sportspeople, every one of whom they believe to be millionaires living out 'the dream'. 
And while Pepperell isn't angling for anybody's sympathy, he is keen that they are at least furnished with an unvarnished truth. And the truth is that professional golf is a grim, Darwinian struggle for survival.
"To succeed on tour, it's important to be good but it's infinitely more important to be tough," says Pepperell, whose particular interest is in books that deal with the ingredients of success.
"If you're not tough enough, you're going to fade away. The only thing that makes most golfers happy is playing good golf. If you're struggling with the lifestyle and playing badly, you're really in trouble."
The more Pepperell talks, the more one is reminded of the starving artist in his garret,  desperately striving for a perfection that is always, tantalisingly, out of reach.
 And while pro golfers aren't exactly starving, many of them are struggling to pay their bills - when Pepperell won his first pro title, a Challenge Tour event in 2012, his straitened circumstances meant he pretty much had to.
"My credit card had been rejected that morning and I had to get my friend to pay for my hotel room," says Pepperell, who does not come from money. "Being out of cash almost forced me to play well."
Winning was something golf folk thought Pepperell would do a lot of when he finished runner-up to Tom Lewis in the 2009 British boys'  championship. But when Lewis was winning his maiden European Tour title only two years later, Pepperell was playing for relative peanuts on the Challenge Tour, a league below the big time.
Four years later, it is Lewis who is struggling. 
Down to 424 in the world rankings, Lewis, a close friend of Pepperell's, failed to qualify for this year's Open. 
Professional golf is snakes and ladders by a different name.
"Learning as a golfer is like trying to complete a puzzle," says Pepperell, ranked 105 in the world. "You're always trying to add pieces in without the pieces that were already in place falling out.
"On any given day, maybe 10 players out of a field of 100 will be happy. Some guys are financially secure, but if they're playing badly it will still affect their mood. Other guys have no money and are battling their game. 
"You see so many guys on tour pulling their hair out. If I'm not playing great I'm so miserable. And I'm not a miserable person.
"People have this idea that because we're playing for all this money, that makes us upbeat. It's nice to have money but it doesn't pull you through the moments when you're alone and stressed and things are going wrong in a foreign country.
"The lows are very low but the highs are so high that they make up for it. Then again, you will never experience anything like that first high again."

Pepperell stresses the importance of perspective, before adding that too much perspective can be dangerous for an elite sportsperson: it's all very well telling yourself that knocking a small white ball around a field with a stick isn't that important really, but success in sport requires a healthy dose of self-absorption and delusion.
"I think of myself as a load of helium balloons attached to a stone," says Pepperell. "There are parts of me drifting off in all sorts of crazy directions and if I was to lose that stone - which represents family, my girlfriend and friends - I would end up floating in space, with no direction and no idea where I was going.
"But if we all thought too much about how insignificant we are, none of us would ever get out of bed in the morning. So you've got to find that balance, you almost need to be like two people in order to become successful."
Therein lies another dilemma: the more successful a sportsperson becomes - and every sportsperson craves success - the more famous he or she becomes and the more difficult it is to remain tethered to that stone.
"When I read that Rory McIlroy doesn't enjoy the game like he used to,  I wasn't at all surprised," says Pepperell. "I don't think many top golfers actually enjoy what they do. I don't think many top sportspeople enjoy what they do. They're constantly scrutinised and it becomes so stressful, so pressurised.
"People think being famous is great. But being that famous can be the worst thing in the world. I want to be the best I can be. But being the best I can be means winning majors, becoming famous and all the bad stuff that comes with it. It's like making a pact with the devil."
If St Andrews should prove to be Pepperell's crossroads moment, expect any pact with the devil to come with clauses - because Pepperell is too self-aware and conscious of the dangers to go all in.
"There's no sense I've made it now I've qualified for the Open," he says. "I'd never want to feel like that. To be thinking like that is dangerous. You have to always feel vulnerable, have people around you reminding you of your frailties, your insecurities and your weaknesses.
"Once you start feeling invincible, something bad inevitably happens. Golf is tough like that. Life is tough like that." 

Eddie Pepperell's life in golf
Born: 22 January 1991, Oxfordshire
Home club: Frilford Heath, Oxfordshire
Current world ranking:105 Highest: 95
Amateur highlights: GB and I  boys' team, winners of Jacques Leglise Trophy 2007, 08, 09; GB and I men's team, runners-up in St Andrews Trophy 2010
Turned professional: 2011
Professional highlights: 2012 Open Cotes d'Armor Bretagne, won (Challenge Tour); 2013 BMW PGA Championship, sixth; 2013 US Open, tied 124th; 2015 Irish Open, tied second

How Scotland's amateur teams rank in Europe

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Following the past week's European team championships, here are the rankings of the Scotland squads
MEN
1 Scotland
2 Denmark
3 Sweden
4 England
5 Ireland
6 France
7 Spain
8 Germany
9 Belgium, 10 Finland, 11 Netherlands, 12 Italy. 13 Switzerland, 14 Wales, 15 Poland, 16 Czech Republic.
BOYS
1 Germany, 2 Sweden, 3 Norway, 4 Netherlands, 5 England, 6 Scotland, 7 Denmark, 8 Italy.
9 Czech Republic, 10 France, 11 Finland, 12 Wales, 13 Belgium, 14 Switzrland, 15 Spain, 16 Iceland.
+Ireland did not enter a boys' team

WOMEN 
1 France, 2 Switzerland, 3 Spain, 4 England, 5 Sweden, 6 Germany, 7 Denmark, 8 Ireland.
9 Finland, 10 Belgium, 11 Scotland, 12 Turkey, 13 Italy, 14 Slovenia,15 Austria,16 Netherlands, 17 Wales, 18 Norway, 19 Iceland, 20 Slovakia

GIRLS
1 Spain, 2 Italy, 3 Austria, 4 Czech Republic, 5 Germany, 6 Netherlands, 7 Norway, 8 France.
9 Sweden, 10 England, 11 Denmark, 12 Finland, 13 Ireland, 14 Belgium, 15 Scotland, 16 Switzerland.
+Wales did not enter a girls' team  

Tiger says he's shocked by how soft the Old 

Course is playing

FROM ESPN.COM
BY BOB HARIG
ST. ANDREWS- Getting his first look at the Old Course since playing it during the 2010 Open, Tiger Woods was surprised to see green grass and slow fairways after arriving early Saturday morning following an overnight flight from Florida.
Woods played three holes with five area junior players as part of a Nike-sponsored golf training camp.
It was enough to see a far different course than the one Woods won on in 2000 and 2005, as well as the one where Louis Oosthuizen captured the Claret Jug in 2010.
Tiger Woods said he was "shocked" by the soft greens and slow fairways he encountered Saturday at St. Andrews.

In an interview with ESPN.com and USA Today afterward, Woods talked about having to adjust his game plan after being in the country for less than half a day.
"I was shocked," Woods said. "I had seen photos of it a month ago. It was bone dry. It looked like it was going to be one of those dust bowls again; hard, fast, like the years I've played St. Andrews. It's changed. They got big rain and a lot of sun. It's totally changed.
"I'm going to have to do a little bit of feel around the greens, my putting. I wasn't expecting the firmness to be that soft. We made ball marks on the greens. I don't ever remember making ball marks around this place."
With a forecast that calls for more rain during the week, Woods said. "It's not going to get any faster. It'll be on the softer side for an Open."
Woods is coming off a tie for 32nd at the Greenbrier, where he put together his best tournament in more than a year. He shot a final-round 67 without making a bogey and took away some much-needed confidence.
"I did a lot of work," said Woods, who had bandages over two blisters. "I feel good. Sunday at Greenbrier is probably the best I hit it in two years. That was fun. 
"It sounds crazy when I told everyone at Greenbrier that I felt close, after the scores I shot at the Memorial and the U.S. Open. I just didn't quite have the feel yet. I shifted the baseline so much I just didn't quite have the feel yet.
"I put it together at Greenbrier and hit it really good. [Instructor] Chris [Como] told me it was the first time I led the field in proximity to the hole with my iron game. That was fun. Sunday, I missed one fairway, the 17th hole, which I have never hit in six tries. So that wasn't really surprising.
"I feel like everything's coming around. I still need to get a feel for how this golf course is chasing. I wasn't expecting it to be this soft. The shot selections I was working on last week and some of the trajectories I was envisioning on certain holes and certain winds and the ball chasing and what I need to do to make it move on the ground.
" It's going to be different. It's going to be more forced carries than I was expecting coming into the event."

The Open will be without No. 1-ranked Rory McIlroy, who suffered a ruptured ligament in his left ankle while playing soccer with friends on July 4 and announced Wednesday that he would not be defending his title at the Open.

"He sent me a photo the day he did it," Woods said of McIlrory. "We talked about it for a little bit. He said, 'You've been through a lot of injuries over the years.' So he picked my brain a little bit. We had a good talk.
"He's doing the right thing, taking care of his body first before he gets back out here. No doubt, he's frustrated that he's not going to be able to play in the Open Championship, especially here at St. Andrews. And how well he's been playing of late, and this golf course really does set up well for him, too. 
"That's the way it goes. We all get injured at one point in time. Sometimes it's through the sport or sometimes it's through fun activities. You just never know."

Classy Jamie Stewart wins Global Golf Post 

                  Picture of Jamie Stewart by courtesy of the SGU

Under-16s title by five strokes at Arbroath

Jamie Stewart put the host country back on the winners' roll with a brilliant 15-under-par aggregate of 265 - a tournament record -  to win the Global Golf Post Scottish Under-16 boys' open championship from an international field over Arbroath Golf Club's par 70 links course, writes Colin Farquharson
Stewart, 16-year-old junior member of Old Ranfurly Golf Club, will soon be off to Switzerland with Darren Howie (Peebles) as Scotland's representatives in the European Young Masters.
If Jamie can keep this kind of form going until then, he must have a chance of bringing home that title.
Stewart closed with rounds of 69 and 65 to win by five shots from the best of the foreign legion sent over by the French, Theo Berger. 
Berger showed his class with a final round of 64 for 270. He had an eagle and seven birdies and a superb inward half of 30.
But he could hardly make an impression on the front-running Stewart who had six birdies and one bogey in his last round.
Over the 72 holes, young Stewart had a grand bag of 24 birdies with not a single double bogey
Howie, who was second to Stewart at halfway, finished fourth with rounds of 69 and 70 for 272.
Stewart is only the second Scottish winner of the Under-16s title in the past six years. He follows in the footsteps of Ben Kinsley (St Andrews) in 2011 and, before that Grant Forrest in 2009. Forrest won the Scottish amateur championship at Royal Dornoch in 2012.
+Scroll down for the SGU website report and Kenny Smith's picture of Stewart with the trophy.

GLOBAL GOLF POST SCOTTISH UNDER-16 BOYS' OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Arbroath Golf Club, Angus
FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4x70) SS 70 CSS 69 70 70 69
265 J K Stewart (Old Ranfurly) 65 66 69 65
270 T Berger (Fra) 66 71 69 64.
271 J Benson (Beeston Fields) 69 66 68 68
272 D Howie (Peebles) 66 67 69 70
278 D Mary (Fra) 68 71 66 73, M Fernandez de Olivaira (Arg) 69 69 70
280 A Flanagan (St George's Hill) 71 73 70 66, J Ainscough (Hartlepool) 71 71 68 70, J Blunden (Wrekin) 70 71 71 68
281 C Burns (Balmore) 73 68 74 66, J Wilson (Tyneside) 67 70 73 71
282 A Petit (Fra) 74 69 69 70, H Hyest (Fra) 73 69 72 68, T Stote (Burnham and Berrow) 73 68 69 72, 211 J Skov Olesen (Den) 71 69 71 71, T Boulanger (Fra) 71 69 69 73, A Laussot (Fra) 70 68 73 71
283 Y Ducler (Fra) 69 68 73 73, M Watt (Inverallochy) 70 69 74 70, P L Gachet (Fra) 68 70 74 71
284 Jonathan Albert (Fra) 72 72 66 74, K Bowman (St Andrews New) 70 74 70 70, S Stedman (Chart Hills) 74 70 71 69, N Lacroix (Fra) 69 71 73 71, L Kelly (Ashton-under-Lyne) 72 69 76 67
285 G Saunders (Meon valley) 71 71 72 71
286 J Dinouard (Fra) 70 71 75 70, R MacIntosh (Fra) 67 70 76 73, C Bruce (Duff House Royal) 70 72 70 74, J Audibert (Fra) 69 74 73 70, A Syed (Foxhills) 70 74 75 67
287 F V Ruess (Ger) 72 68 74 73, C Duha (Fra) 72 71 74 70
288 A Fitzpatrick (Hallamshire) 71 72 69 76
289 C Salter (Northants) 71 69 76 73
290 D Larvaron (Fra) 72 69 75 74, A Moir (Elgin) 68 75 74 73
292 J Demant (Fra) 72 72 73 75, A Simpson (Strathmore) 70 74 75 73
293 H Ottley-Wood (Cotswold Hills) 74 67 76 76
294 G Luck (Fra) 70 74 73 77
295 C Petrie (Luffenham Heath) 70 74 75 76, J Paterson (St Andrews New) 71 73 79 72
299 K Reid (Balmore) 72 72 72 83
305 B Rendell (Clacton-on-Sea) 70 74 79 82.

  Jamie Stewart with the championship trophy. Picture by courtesy of Kenny Smith and the SGU website.

Record-breaking performance from Stewart

FROM THE SGU WEBSITE
Jamie Stewart produced a dominant final day display to capture the Global Golf Post Scottish Boys Under-16s Championship in record breaking fashion at Arbroath.
The 16-year-old from Old Ranfurly, who had held the overnight lead on 9-under par, fired a morning round of 69 to main his advantage, before recording his second 5-under 65 of the week to romp home by a five-shot margin, becoming the first Scot since Ben Kinsley in 2011 to lift the trophy and the lowest final total recorded in the event’s 32 year history.
His nearest challenger was Frenchman Theo Berger, who finished the championship with a stunning back nine of 30, which included three consecutive birdies from the tenth and an eagle-birdie finish for a closing 64. 
The Palmola youngster clinched the silver-medal on 10-under par, with England’s Jake Benson on 9-under 271 in third place, a shot clear of Peebles’ Darren Howie.
Howie, the Scottish Schools Champion and Scotland U-16s team-mate of Stewart, finished with rounds of 69 and 70 to end the week in fourth place, giving him confidence ahead of his trip to Switzerland for the European Young Masters later this month.
A delighted Stewart said: “It’s great to bag my first big win and I’d like to thank David Orr, George Boswell (coaches) and Andrew MacIntyre for their help in developing my game this year. 
"I was a little nervous going into the final round in the lead, but a birdie-birdie start helped relax me and set me up going into the back nine with a three-shot lead.
“The key all week was solid putting and I put myself in good positions off the tee in every round. I didn’t find a single fairway bunker all week and my course management was good. It helped playing with Darren (Howie) today as he’s a good friend of mine.
As for his goals, Stewart added: “My aim for the remainder of the season is to make the Boys' Home Internationals Team and win another big Under-16s event so hopefully I can achieve both of those.”
Callum Burns (Balmore) clinched a top-10 finish with a superb final round of 66 to end the week as the third highest Scot on the leaderboard on 281, one-over par, with Inverallochy’s Marc Watt sharing 18th place on 3-over.
One of the other highlights of the day was a spectacular albatross 2 from France’s Chayan Duha at the par-five 17th to catapult him into 32nd place, a shot ahead of Alex Fitzpatrick, younger brother of former US Amateur Champion Matt.
Stewart joins an impressive list of former Under-16s champions which include Challenge Tour stars Peter Whiteford, George Murray and Wallace Booth, as well as recent Amateur Championship runner-up Grant Forres, winner of the Scottish amateur championship at Royal Dornoch in 2012.