Meldrum House inaugural tournament

SENIOR MOMENTS IN STORE AT THIS

WEEK'S ABERDEEN MASTERS

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

The inaugural Aberdeen Senior Masters 54 hole tournament which tees off at the exclusive Meldrum House Hotel course, Oldmeldrum tomorrow should draw the golf fans to the Oldmeldrum venue over the next three days.

Spain's Miguel Angel Martin (pictured) is one of the leading atttractions.
Martín  started out as a caddie and turned professional in 1981. He has been a member of the European Tour for more than twenty seasons and in 2005 he became the first Continental European golfer to make 500 appearances on the tour. 
 His best finish on the Order of Merit was 17th in 1996 and he has won three European Tour events. He was also a member of the winning Spanish team at the 2000 Alfred Dunhill Cup.
In 1997 Martín earned a spot in the European Ryder Cup team via the money list, but was forced to withdraw after failing to recover in time from a wrist injury sustained in July.
Martin tees off at 10.40am Monday with former Aberdeen Links champion Barry Brooks, a Meldrum House member and Scottish senior amateur champion last year, and Brian Marchbank.

The tournament, the brainchild of Thistle Windows chief executive Nick Robson,  is open to professionals of 48 years and senior amateurs of Category 1 status. The field comprises of 40 pros and 20 amateurs.

There is a £33,360 prizefund with £5,000 going to the winner, £3,500 to the second tapering down to £260 for the 30th place pro.

There wll be an over-60 years prize and the senior amateurs wll be competing for prize vouchers.

Other well know names in the field include Gary Wolstenholme, Stephen McAllister,  Colin Gillies, Gordon Brand, Fraser Mann, Ronan Rafferty and Kenny Hutton

There is no cut.

Aberdeen Masters/ Monday Tee Times

1	08:30	Gary	Wolstenholme
		Kumar	Kami
2	08:40	Kenny	Hutton
		Paul	Streeter
3	08:50	Mark	Wharton
		Allan	Jarrett
		Laurie	Turner
4	09:00	Neil	Marr
		Mike	Best
		Tony	Stevens
5	09:10	Mark	Spooner
		John	McBride
		David	Shacklady
6	09:20	George	Ryall
		David	Russell
		Gary	Ross
7	09:30	Campbell	Elliott
		Roger	Roper
		Jose	Romero
8	09:40	Peter	Ridley
		Mike	Reynard
		Doug	Young
9	09:50	Nick	Robson
		Phillip	Price
		Bob	Cameron
10	10:00
11	10:10	Gary	Potter
		Gary	Pike
		Andrew	Oldcorn
12	10:20	James	Murphy
		Paul	Moultrie
		Nick	Mitchell
13	10:30	David	McDowell
		Tim	Spence
		Stephen	Mcallister
14	10:40	Miguel Angel	Martin
		Barry	Brooks
		Brian	Marchbank
15	10:50	Paul	Affleck
		Malcolm	Mackenzie
		Santiago	Luna
16	11:00	Pedro	Linhart
		Tony	Lawrence
		Alan	Ross
17	11:10	Nick	Job
		Pieter	van Doorne
		Matt	Dale
18	11:20	Duncan	Williamson
		Charles	Haynes
		John	Harrison
19	11:30
20	11:40	Gary	Stewart
		Colin	Gillies
		Mark	Gammell
21	11:50	Adrian	Firman
		Marc	Farry
		Patrice	Kalita
22	12:00	Scott	Davidson
		David	James
		Robert	Arnott
23	12:10	Steve	Cipa
		Jose Manuel	Carriles Corino
		Marcel	Capaul
24	12:20	Nicky	Gold
		Ronan	Rafferty
		Simon	Brown
25	12:30	Andy	Campbell
		Paul	Broadhurst
		Matt	Briggs
26	12:40	Gordon	Brand
		Mark	Booth
		Jon	Bevan
27	12:50	Barrie	Stevens
		James	Berry
		Graham	Banister
28	13:00	Shaun	Ball
		Tomi	Tirkkonen
		Fraser	Mann

Tournament sponsored by Kings Links Golf Centre in its 25th year

Kyle Godsman wins NE District Open by a shot

 Jim Hunter, president of the North-east District of the SGU, tournament winner Kyle Godsman, and Chris Law, representative of sponsors Kings Links Golf Centre. Picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency


By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Moray Golf Club member Kyle Godsman, 24, from Hopeman achieved his first SGU 72-hole Order of Merit tournament victory at Cruden Bay today when he won the North-east District Open amateur championship by one stroke in a tight finish.
The tournament was again sponsored by the Kings Links Golf Centre, Aberdeen, now in its 25th year
Godsman finished third in this event 12 months ago and last year lost a play-off for the North of Scotland Open stroke-play so he deserved a change of luck.
He won the prestigious title, the trophy and the maximum £500 amateur voucher prize in the end with a closing round of two-over-par 72 for an aggregate of two-over 282, a total surpisingly high in relatively benign conditions which substantiates the belief that Cruden Bay, although short of 7,000yds in length makes up for the lack of distance by being one of the toughest par-70 links in the business.
Godsman, who played on the American college circuit for four years, shared the halfway lead with Cameron Franssen (Inverness) and broke two shots clear of the field, even with a third-round 72 for level par 210 over 54 holes.
Franssen slipped back with a 78 for 216 and Liam Johnston (Dumfries and County), with a 73 for 212, took over as the leader's main challenge, albeit still two shots off the pace.
The final round was not without its crises for Godsman who had a double bogey at the second and another at the ninth. Birdies at the first, third and fourth helped him to reach the turn in two-over-par 38.
Three putts for a bogey at the 12th had Godsman rocking a bit but a birdie at the 13th calmed him down and he parred the remaining holes to hold Johnston, another former US college circuit player, at bay by a single shot.
"I knew I had a slender lead if any coming down the closing holes but birdies were hard to come by so I set my sights on parring the last five holes and thought that might be good enough to win," said Godsman who works full time in the winter to finance his golfing travels during the competitive season.
His ambition is still to gain a Scotland cap before he considers turning professional.
Johnston signed off with a 73 for 283, one behind the winner.
"I bogeyed the 14th and 16th in the final round," said Johnston. "And that made the difference between victory and defeat."
Cameron Franssen finished third with a level par 70 - the best score of the afternoon - for 286.
Brother Rory finished fifth with a 70 for 290.
The trophy for the best performance by a North-east player was won by young Chris Lamb (Newmachar) who finished 10th overall on 293

 AND A WORD FROM THE SPONSORS
Paul Girvan, director of the Kings Links Golf Centre, said: “We have always been a keen supporter of amateur golf and to mark our 25th anniversary, we are proud to be title sponsor of the North-east’s flagship amateur championship event. It’s been great to see so many familiar faces out playing this weekend and on behalf of Kings Links, our congratulations go to Kyle Godsman, a true champion on one of the best links courses in the country. Many thanks to the North East District Association and Cruden Bay Golf Club for organising and hosting such a fantastic event.”

Craig Pirie wins Argyll and Bute stroke-play 

title for first time, seven years after father

Craig Pirie from Millport secured his first Argyll and Bute stroke-play title on Saturday at a bright but breezy Machrihanish Dunes. 
His superb afternoon bogey-free, three-under round of 69 added to his morning 75 gave him an even par total of 144. 
This was good enough to earn a three-stroke victory from Blairmore and Strone veteran Gordon Tyre.

 In third place was the first round leader Bute's Graham Bolton who slumped to a 78 in the afternoon.
In winning the title Craig joined his father Les in winning the area stroke-play title after his father's win in 2008 at Rothesay.
Also played in conjunction with the strokeplay event was the Youth's championship which was won by Machrihanish youngster Andrew Wallace who secured a six shot victory from Glencruitten's Sean Dunstaffnage.
To complete a good day for the Millport Club, they won the right to represent Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Club Championship to be held in September at Fortrose and Rosemarkie.

CSS for the morning was 75 reduction only and the afternoon was 73

Results

1	Pirie, Craig  Millport	75	69	144
2	Tyre, Gordon  Blairmore and Strone	75	72	147
3	Bolton, Graham H  Bute	73	78	151
4	Fagervold, A  Glencruitten	81	73	154
5	MacMillan, George  Machrihanish	81	74	155
6	Pirie, Les  Millport	78	77	155
7	Standaloft, Donald  Port Bannatyne	81	75	156
8	Reynolds, George  Rothesay	80	76	156
9	Robertson, Ross  Machrihanish	80	76	156
10	MacKie, Allan  Glencruitten	79	77	156
11	Gilmour, Steven  Lochgilphead	77	79	156

Kyle Godsman wins NE District Open by one stroke

CRUDEN BAY

Par 280 (4x70) CSS 74 73 74 73
282 K Godsman (Moray) 72 66 72 72.
283 L Johnston (Dumfries and Co) 70 69 73 71
286 C Franssen (Inverness) 69 69 78 70
288 A Davidson (Charleton)  75 73 68 72  
290 R Franssen (Inverness) 70 74 74 72
291 J Valentine (Musselburgh) 70 74 75 72
292 B Kinsley (St Andrews) 77 74 70 71, R Alexander  (Braehead) 74 74 73 71, D Lawrence (Ballumbie Castle) 72 68 76 76
293 D Watson (Cruden Bay) 74 72 72 75, J Wilson (Balmore) 75 70 74 74, C Lamb (Newmachar) 74 72 74 73
294 A Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 81 68 70 75
295 G Burns (Williamwood) 77 71 76 71, B Edmond (Bon Accord) 77 69 76 73
296 C Edgar (Cochrane Castle) 73 78 73 72, A Campbell (Murcar Links) 71 74 74  77
297 M Pennycott (Whiting Bay, Arran) 78 70 76 73
298 A Culverwell (Dunbar) 77 72 72 77 
299  A Bews (Murcar Links) 74 75 78 72, T Beasley (Hunstanton) 68 79 78 74,  C McLean (Balmore) 75 70 81 73
300 A Sutherland (Cupar) 75 78 73 74, D Elder (Carnoustie Caledonia) 74 73 81 72, J Wright (Forres) 75 71 78 76, C Brechin (Portlethen) 75 70 80 75
301 G Munro (Fraserburgh) 74 75 81 71, J Godward (Cruden Bay) 75 75 80 71
303 S Scott (Nairn) 80 70 76 77, F Davren (Williamwood) 75 69 87 72
304 A Carrick (Douglas Park) 79 76 75 74 
305 C Baird (Bothwell Castle) 74 75 77 79
306 K Gunnyeon (Murcar Links) 75 78 80 73
307 N Macandrew (Royal Aberdeen) 79 76 75 77, J Harling (Banchory) 75 80 76 76
308 P Dorrian (Greenock) 76 76 74 82, R Wardlaw (Carnoustie Caledonia) 77 78 77 76   
314 D Buchan (Peterhead) 76 79 80 79
NRs J Duff (Fraserburgh) 77 73 78 NR, G Esson (Portlethen) 75 79 78, D Morrison (Duff House Royal) 71 77 NR

1. Withdrew: S McCulloch (Cruden Bay) 80 74 81 wd

 McLeary joint 2nd as Foos (17) sets Challenge Tour record as youngest ever winner

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
 Dominic Foos announced his arrival on the global golf stage by storming to a three shot victory at Aura GC in the GANT Open to become the youngest winner in European Challenge Tour history. 
 The German, just 17 years and 347 days old, fired a four under par round of 67 to obliterate the chasing pack, headed by joint runner-up José Manuel Lara, who tied the course record with a 64. To put this into context, Martin Kaymer won his first Challenge Tour event at the age of 21, and the previous youngest winner, Francis Valera, was more than a year older than Foos when he won in 1993. 
  The teenager, who won 14 junior tournaments before turning professional, betrayed no signs of nerves as he made six birdies in his first 11 holes to put daylight between him and the field, and was thrilled to have emphatically closed out a tournament he had led from the very start. “This is a very special win for me,” he said. “I’m feeling great to have just won my first ever professional win, and my dad just told me that I’m the youngest ever to win a Challenge Tour event, which is really amazing.
 “I was very relaxed all day, I felt really comfortable in general today. I think the mind-set doesn’t really change from day to day so it was the same as I’ve approached the week. “Going wire-to-wire is maybe a little bit more difficult than finding your best game in the third and fourth round but it’s special to be able to do it. 
 “It’s very special to share this with my father. We’ve had a couple of victories together before, but we put in so much hard work and for him to be there next to me as my partner and caddie is even more special.
 “My mum has been here walking with me every hole, so it’s really something special having your parents here at your first professional win. It’s a dream come true.” Spaniard Lara, twice a winner on The European Tour, did not drop a shot as he made seven birdies to finish on 11 under par for the week. 
Alongside him as joint runners-up were Scot Jamie McLeary, German Marcel Schneider and South African Brandon Stone. McLeary birdied the 18th after a scruffy round, and both he and Stone consolidated their places in the top 15 of the Road to Oman Rankings as they bid to earn graduation to The European Tour for 2016.
 Foos’ fellow German Alexander Knappe had six birdies and an eagle as he tied the course record with Lara on his way to a sixth place finish, his best result as a professional. For the fourth day in a row, great crowds from nearby Turku came to support the Finns, the best of whom was Mikael Salminen, whose 65 saw him into the top ten. Local hero Roope Kakko, in his first event since his maiden European Tour victory at the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – 
FINAL TOTALS

270 D Foos (Ger) 65 69 69 67, 
273 M Schneider (Ger) 68 67 72 66, J Lara (Esp) 73 69 67 64, J McLeary (Sco) 67 68 70 68, B Stone (RSA) 67 68 71 67, 
274 J Billing (Swe) 70 67 70 67, A Knappe (Ger) 69 70 71 64, D Law (Sco) 70 67 67 70, 
275 M Salminen (Fin) 71 69 70 65, 
276 F Calmels (Fra) 68 67 73 68, A Björk (Swe) 71 68 71 66,
 277 R McGowan (Eng) 69 68 69 71, S Arnold (Aus) 71 67 72 67, N Kristensen (Den) 70 69 70 68, O Bekker (RSA) 73 68 69 67, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 70 67 71 69,
 278 S Jeppesen (Swe) 71 71 70 66, D Coupland (Eng) 68 71 67 72, B Åkesson (Swe) 67 70 71 70, S Tiley (Eng) 67 71 70 70, N Lemke (Swe) 67 73 71 67, T Linard (Fra) 73 69 70 66, 
279 J Robinson (Eng) 69 68 74 68, N Bertasio (Ita) 70 72 69 68, S Kim (USA) 71 70 70 68, J Hansen (Den) 70 69 71 69, N Hellberg (Fin) 73 67 71 68, D Vancsik (Arg) 70 68 71 70, K Kulokorpi (am) (Fin) 67 69 73 70, 
 280 P Erofejeff (Fin) 70 71 67 72, J Lima (Por) 71 66 70 73, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 70 69 70 71, J Makitalo (Fin) 73 66 68 73, C Mivis (Bel) 67 69 70 74, L Gagli (Ita) 71 70 69 70, D Burmester (RSA) 71 69 73 67, R McGee (Irl) 71 71 69 69, R Kakko (Fin) 66 71 71 72,
281 B Hafthorsson (Isl) 67 73 69 72, R Evans (Eng) 75 67 72 67, 282 A Gee (Eng) 74 68 71 69, T Sluiter (Ned) 68 71 71 72, L Vaisanen (Fin) 69 68 68 77, J Fahrbring (Swe) 69 71 71 71,
283 M Søgaard (Den) 69 72 71 71, P Maddy (Eng) 70 69 73 71, P Widegren (Swe) 70 68 70 75, J Sjöholm (Swe) 72 68 72 71, J Mommo (Fin) 71 71 72 69, M Jonzon (Swe) 71 70 71 71, B Virto Astudillo (Esp) 71 71 73 68, S Brown (Eng) 70 72 73 68, 
284 J Guerrier (Fra) 68 70 71 75, W Harrold (Eng) 74 67 70 73, J Rask (Swe) 68 70 75 71, L Ruuska (am) (Fin) 70 68 76 70, 
 285 G Porteous (Eng) 72 68 70 75, 
 (Sco) 74 68 75 68,  
287 S Einhaus (Ger) 74 67 69 77, T Pulkkanen (Fin) 75 67 70 75, 
288 G Shaw (Nir) 69 69 73 77, A Hartø (Den) 72 68 74 74, J Glennemo (Swe) 72 68 73 75, N Dahlgren (Fin) 69 72 73 74, 289 J Sarasti (Esp) 70 72 73 74, 290 C Arendell (USA) 70 72 75 73, 292 S Manley (Wal) 75 67 76 74, E Saltman (Sco) 73 69 78 72 

Kyle Godsman leads by two after Round 3 of NE District Open at Cruden BayPa

 The North-east District Open amateur championship is sponsored by Kings Links Golf Centre, Aberdeen, now in its 25th year. Picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency

Par 210 (3x70) Yardage: 6,645 SS 73, CSS 74 73 74
210 K Godsman (Moray) 72 66 72
212 L Johnston (Dumfries and Co) 70 69 73
216 D Lawrence (Ballumbie Castle) 72 68 76 , C Franssen (Inverness) 69 69 78, A Davidson (Charleton) 75 73 68
218 R Franssen (Inverness) 70 74 74, D Watson (Cruden Bay) 74 72 72
219 J Wilson (Balmore) 75 70 74, J Valentine (Musselburgh) 70 74 75, A Campbell (Murcar Links) 71 74 74, A Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 81 68 70
220 C Lamb (Newmachar) 74 72 74
221 R Alexander (Braehead) 74 74 73, A Culverwell (Dunbar)  77 72 72, B Kinsley (St Andrews) 77 74 70
222 B Edmond (Bon Accord) 77 69 76
224 J Wright (Forres) 71 75 78, G Burns (Williamwood) 77 71 76, C Edgar (Cochrane Castle) 73 78 73
225 C Brechin (Portlethen) 75 70 80, T Beasley (Hunstanton) 68 79 78
226 /C McLean (Balmore) 75 70 81, C Baird (Bothwell Castle) 74 75 77, S Scott (Nairn) 80 70 76, P Dorrian (Greenock) 76 76 74, A Sutherland (Cupar) 75 78 73
227 A Bews (Murcar Links) 74 75 78
228 D Elder (Carnousie Caledonia) 74 73 81, J Duff (Fraserburgh) 77 73 78
230 G Munro (Fraserburgh) 77 73 78, A Carrick (Douglas Park) 79 76 75, N Macandrew (Royal Aberdeen) 79 76 75, J Godward (Cruden Bay)75 75 80
231 F Davren (Williamwood) 75 69 87, J HarlinMg (Banchory) 75 80  76
232 G Esson (Portlethen) 75 79 78, R Wardlaw (Carnoustie Caledonia) 77 78 77
233 K Gunnyeon (Murcar Links) 75 78 80
235 S McCulloch (Cruden Bay) 80 74 81. D Buchan (Peterhead) 76 79 80
NR D Morrison (Duff House Royal)  71 77 NR

Law and McLeary on leader's tail with one 
round to go in Challenge Tour event
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Dominic Foos will become the youngest winner in European Challenge Tour history should he win the GANT Open, where he holds a one shot lead over David Law going into the final round after a two under par third round of 69.
The German 17 year old tops the leaderboard on ten under par overall and would beat Francis Valera’s record that has stood since 1993 by more than a year were he to prevail at Aura GC.
Foos’ lead would have been greater had he not made bogey on two of his final three holes, but the youngster remained happy with his day’s work and optimistic ahead of the biggest round of his fledgling career.
“Today was exactly like yesterday,” he said. “I played the front nine really well, was four under par for my round after 14 holes, but I finished bogey-bogey-par. I actually hit two good putts that just broke late and missed but all in all it was still a very good round.
“I wasn’t nervous at all through the round, not even at the end, it’s just hard having to putt through shadows and get the break right. I’m feeling great with my game and I played really well today, so everything is good.
“I haven’t thought about the final round just yet but I’m not going to do anything different to the last three days, it’s just another round of golf and I’ve got to keep on playing.
“It was a lot of fun playing with Brandon Stone today. I know him quite a bit so he helped keep me relaxed on the course, we really enjoyed ourselves.
“Jamie McLeary kept responding whenever I made a putt and seemed to really push himself, and obviously he’s got a lot of experience – I’ve got experience of winning tournaments as well, obviously not on a level like that, but winning is winning, so I’ll stick to my plan in the final round.”
Aberdonian Law carded a second successive round of 67 to lie on nine under par, with fellow Scot McLeary one shot further back after a double bogey at the 18th hole.
Alongside him will be the local favourite, Finland’s Linus Vaisanen, whose 68 also puts him two shots behind Foos ahead of what looks set to be an enthralling finale.

Scores after round  3:
 203 D Foos (Ger) 65 69 69,
 204 D Law (Sco) 70 67 67,
 205 J McLeary  (Sco) 67 68 70, L Vaisanen (Fin) 69 68 68,
 206 R McGowan  (Eng) 69 68 69, C Mivis  (Bel) 67 69 70, B Stone (RSA) 67 68 71, D Coupland (Eng) 68 71 67,
 207 M Schneider (Ger) 68 67 72, J Billing (Swe) 70 67 70, J Lima  (Por) 71 66 70, J Makitalo  (Fin) 73 66 68,
 208 R Kakko  (Fin) 66 71 71, P Widegren  (Swe) 70 68 70, B Åkesson (Swe) 67 70 71, P Erofejeff (Fin) 70 71 67, F Calmels  (Fra) 68 67 73, S Tiley (Eng) 67 71 70, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 70 67 71,
 209 F Andersson Hed (Swe) 70 69 70, J Guerrier  (Fra) 68 70 71, J Lara (Esp) 73 69 67, N Kristensen  (Den) 70 69 70, B Hafthorsson (Isl) 67 73 69, D Vancsik (Arg) 70 68 71, K Kulokorpi (am) (Fin) 67 69 73,
 210 J Hansen  (Den) 70 69 71, L Gagli  (Ita) 71 70 69, O Bekker (RSA) 73 68 69, G Porteous (Eng) 72 68 70, T Sluiter  (Ned) 68 71 71, A Knappe (Ger) 69 70 71, A Björk (Swe) 71 68 71, M Salminen (Fin) 71 69 70, S Einhaus (Ger) 74 67 69, S Arnold  (Aus) 71 67 72,
 211 G Shaw (Nir) 69 69 73, N Hellberg (Fin) 73 67 71, J Fahrbring (Swe) 69 71 71, N Lemke (Swe) 67 73 71, N Bertasio (Ita) 70 72 69, W Harrold (Eng) 74 67 70, R McGee (Irl) 71 71 69, S Kim (USA) 71 70 70, J Robinson (Eng) 69 68 74,
 212 T Pulkkanen  (Fin) 75 67 70, T Linard (Fra) 73 69 70, J Sjöholm (Swe) 72 68 72, M Jonzon (Swe) 71 70 71, S Jeppesen  (Swe) 71 71 70, P Maddy (Eng) 70 69 73, M Søgaard  (Den) 69 72 71,
 213 D Burmester (RSA) 71 69 73, J Glennemo (Swe) 72 68 73, J Rask (Swe) 68 70 75, A Gee  (Eng) 74 68 71,
 214 A Hartø  (Den) 72 68 74, N Dahlgren (Fin) 69 72 73, J Mommo  (Fin) 71 71 72, R Evans  (Eng) 75 67 72, L Ruuska (am) (Fin) 70 68 76,
 215 J Sarasti  (Esp) 70 72 73, B Virto Astudillo (Esp) 71 71 73, S Brown (Eng) 70 72 73,
 217 R Kellett (Sco) 74 68 75, C Arendell (USA) 70 72 75,
 218 S Manley (Wal) 75 67 76,
 220 E Saltman  (Sco) 73 69 78

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

FOR LIVE SCORING FROM THE FINAL ROUND

CLICK HERE

Svensson v De Lange in British Boys' 
Championship Final at Royal Birkdale

NEWS RELEASE FROM R and A

Sweden’s Marcus Svensson will meet Keegan De Lange of South Africa  in the 36-hole Final of the 89th Boys Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale GC on Sunday.

Svensson, from Halmstad Golf Club, will be looking to secure a Swedish double on Sunday and defend the title that Oskar Bergqvist won last year at Prestwick. The 17-year-old sent Italy’s Guido Migliozzi home with a 5 and 4 victory in the morning’s Quarter Final to earn a match against England boys international Marco Penge, from Golf at Goodwood, for a place in the Final.

The pair, who are close friends, battled back and forth throughout their Semi Final match with Penge taking the early advantage with a birdie on the 3rd hole. 

After conceding the 6th, Svensson birdied the 7th before the match drew level at the turn while another birdie from the Swede on the 12th put him in front for the first time.

Both players dropped shots down the stretch before Penge, the Scottish Open Stroke Play Champion, rolled in his birdie putt on the 17th to square the match. With a large gallery of spectators gathered on the 18th Svensson answered back, sinking his 15-foot birdie putt to secure his place in the Final.

De Lange, who won the Free State Open in South Africa in February, is also set to play in the biggest match of his golfing career tomorrow. The Pretoria Country Club member was never behind in his morning Quarter Final as he defeated England’s Billy Spooner at the 19th hole.

He continued his steady play through the afternoon, taking the lead from the outset against Spain’s Borja Martin Torre in their Semi Final when the Spaniard opened with two bogeys. After halving the 3rd with pars, Martin Torre birdied the 4th to cut the deficit to one hole before De Lange found his stride with a brilliant approach to six feet for a birdie three on the 5th hole.

Despite birdies from Martin Torre on the 9th and 14th holes the Spaniard was unable to catch De Lange and the match ended on the 16th hole with De Lange sealing a 3&2 victory.

As the highest-placed under-17 player in the Championship, Martin Torre was awarded the Peter Garner Bowl, a trophy which counts Sergio Garcia and Sandy Lyle amongst its former winners.

In the other Quarter Final matches earlier in the day Martin Torre had a smooth path to the Semi Final after beating England’s Jordan Sundborg with a resounding 7 and 5 victory while Penge defeated fellow Englishman Nathan Fell on the first extra hole.

Key Quotes:

Marcus Svensson

“I really can’t believe it, I’m just so happy right now.  I’m feeling really good and hopefully I can play the same golf I did today and I hope to win.

“Making the last putt, I wanted Marco to win as well. It’s such a small difference between winning and losing. He’s a great player and played good all round.

Keegan De Lange

“I managed to keep the lead the whole time but it was a tight fought game, there were no soft holes. Borja played really well and it was a great Semi Final.

“I’m feeling fantastic and I am extremely excited for the final tomorrow. I’m looking forward to a good game.”

Marco Penge

“Marcus is one of my best friends and he is a great player so it was always going to be a good game and a tough one to win. I’m mostly proud of him but also disappointed in myself. It’s been a good week and a really good year overall.”

Borja Martin Torre

“I’m very happy with this week. I wasn’t playing well but I tried very hard. When I arrived and saw Birkdale for the first time it was incredible and I am happy that I was able to play this course.”

The 36-hole final between Svensson and De Lange will begin at 8:30am on Sunday with the second 18 holes to be played at approximately 1:00pm.  Admission and parking is free for spectators at Royal Birkdale.

For updates and scoring please visit Championships.Randa.org.

Day, Spieth set up Sunday showdown

at US PGA Championship

Jason Day, shown at the 2015 PGA Championship ( Associated Press )

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE

By Jeff Babineau 

 

Leaderboard

MOSEL, Wisconsin . – Jason Day was making it look so, well, easy. As the sun started to dip down across scenic Lake Michigan along his back nine late Saturday afternoon, the sport boats gently bobbing up and down in the water below, Day’s score was taking a big dip as well, and he was threatening to run off at the 97th PGA Championship.

---

Birdie at the ninth. Birdie at 10. Eagle at the par-5 11th, where he smashed a drive so long, former PGA champion Rich Beem said Day’s golf ball “tapped out in the fairway.” It left Day with only a wedge into the green from 160 yards (gulp!), and he knocked it to 13 feet. Boom! Birdie at 13, kick-in birdie at 14 … it was pretty special stuff.
Only a mishap from a soft greenside bunker at the par-4 15th, which led to double bogey, would do anything to slow him (he’d get one of those shots back with a birdie at the 217-yard 17th hole, a real bonus). But for the third consecutive round, Day (11 fairways, 13 greens, 24 putts) would tick a shot off his score, and rounds of 68-67-66 have him in terrific position to capture his first major on Sunday.
So, will it finally happen for Day, who keeps knocking so hard on the door? Well, there are some world-class players who will have something to say about that, including one Jordan Spieth, the 22-year-old wunderkind from Texas who has won two majors and nearly added a third last month at St. Andrews, where he finished just a shot out of a three-man playoff. No one has solved the riddle of the majors this year anywhere close to the way Spieth has. Through 15 rounds, he now is 50 under par.
Can we pause for a few seconds here to appreciate that? Fifty. Under. Par. At Augusta, Chambers Bay, St. Andrews and Whistling Straits. We’re not talking the old Bob Hope Desert Classic, folks.
Spieth appeared to be stuck in neutral for much of his round on Saturday, making nine consecutive pars at one point as the field was piling up birdies on a day when the wind was down (field scoring average, 70.62). And then he would go on a rip-rocket tear, thrilling those in the packed grandstands who stayed late with six birdies in his final eight holes, including three birdies as his collective finishing bow.
Spieth hit the par-5 16th in two, made from 13 feet at the 17th and 7 feet at the difficult 18th, and all of a sudden, he was signing for a 65 that pulled him within two shots of Day and places him in position to chase history on Sunday. Spieth would become only the third player to capture three professional majors in a single season, joining Ben Hogan (1953) and Tiger Woods (2000).
Most would tend to think his belly already is filled by success with what he’s done in such a magical 2015, but Spieth doesn’t quite view it that way. He looks at it thusly: Counting the 2014 Masters, which he lost to Bubba Watson, he has had four excellent shots at winning major championships, and his record is a pedestrian 2-2.
It did hit home for him this week that majors are rare, and winning them even rarer, and he knows it will be a long way until the Masters should he come up short on Sunday. That’s enough to keep him very hungry.
“I realized we don’t get to play another event like this until April of next year,” Spieth said. “And that makes you think, wow, there really are only a few of these, and they’re precious, and you need to make the most of them.”
For the most part, he’s covered that end of the bargain.
Also in the mix for Sunday: Englishman Justin Rose (68) and South Africa's Branden Grace (64), who are two shots back; former PGA champion Martin Kaymer (65) of Germany, who won five years ago when the PGA visited Whistling Straits; as well as long-hitting Tony Finau and 54-hole leader Matt Jones, an Aussie who was sticking close to Day before the wheels fell off and he played his final four holes in 4 over. Jones struggled to 73, while Finau posted 69. They’ll start Sunday five shots out.
“It would take something pretty special, a 65 at least, to have a chance, at best,” Jones said. “Jason is playing great. He’s going to be very tough to beat tomorrow the way he’s putting. Best of luck to him.”
Dustin Johnson, the tragic figure of Whistling Straits five years ago, shot 68 and is at 9-under 207.
Here’s the thing about Day: He dealt with vertigo at Chambers Bay, and he came up just a few revolutions shy of one final birdie that would have put him in the playoff at the British Open. He was gutted leaving the Home of Golf, having given so much down the stretch that he departed hastily in tears.
This week, he has vowed not to get in his own way. It means a great deal to him, yes, but he cannot treat it like that. Refreshingly, he’s having fun out on the golf course, and absolutely smashing his driver, which is putting him in many green-light situations to go at pins. He is still riding high off winning the RBC Canadian Open (where he finished birdie-birdie-birdie) the week after St. Andrews and says his belief in himself is as high as it has been all season.
“My confidence level is high, but I’m just more enjoying just being out on the golf course,” Day said. “Rather than in previous positions that I’ve had in major championships, I’ve viewed them as very stressful and kind of hard to go out and play the next day. But I’m enjoying myself so much on the golf course.”
Said Day's longtime manager, Bud Martin, "He's started to play like he did when he was a junior and an amateur, when he expected to win."
On Sunday, he’ll go eye-to-eye with Spieth, who continues to dazzle and amaze. Day knows he can’t get caught up too much in what Spieth, the best putter in the game, is doing, or somebody else might pass him by. But also admits it can be challenging to not be making putts when the other guy in your group is running them in from Kenosha to Sheboygan.
“If he goes out and wins tomorrow from putting well,” Day said of Spieth, “then he deserves it. But I’m going to give him a fight.”
Buckle up. This could be a lot of fun.

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