ENGLAND GOLF NEWS RELEASE

Handy wins English boys' county title by three
 
Durham’s Christopher Handy signed off with a birdie to underline a three-shot victory in the English boys’ County Champion of Champions tournament at Woodhall Spa.
The 18-year-old from South Moor - who had 10 birdies during the day - was one over par for 36 holes on the Hotchkin course. He finished three clear of Conor White, from Shropshire and Herefordshire, and Jack Dyer from Essex.
“I definitely wanted to win this,” said Handy (image © Leaderboard Photography). “It caps off a nice season.” It also made a very good birthday present for his mother, Anne, who spent her day watching her son.
Handy made his intentions clear from the start when he returned the low score of the day with a first round of one-under 72. He started and ended the round with a birdie and held a two-shot lead over Dyer at the halfway stage.
In fact, he played so well that it gave him problems with his putting. “I got off to a good start and hit to about 3ft four times and I didn’t really have a putt for ages,” said Handy, who reckoned he three-putted on five occasions during the day.
In the second round he was also under par for the front nine, but came home in three-over, signing off with another 18th hole birdie.
“I played well on the front nine in both rounds, but missed fairways on the back and if you do that on this course it makes it hard. The wind switched this afternoon and made the tough holes a bit longer.”
However, he enjoyed the luxury of knowing that he had a very comfortable cushion as he played the closing holes: “So I just tried to hit it down the fairway!”
Handy, who represented England at U16 level, has just taken his A Levels, achieving A* in maths and Bs in further maths and business. He’s planning a gap year and then hopes to get a golf scholarship to study in the USA.
Conor White (Bridgnorth) took second place on countback, thanks to his second round of level par 73, which he added to an opening 77. He played very steadily in the afternoon with one bogey and a double balanced by three birdies.
Jack Dyer (Rochford Hundred), who opened with 74, had a second round of 76, which included a double and a triple bogey on the back nine. He played the other 16 holes in two-under par.

Click here for full scores


Lyndsey Hewison
Press Officer
England Golf
pr@englandgolf.org
07825 752 193

Paul Lawrie only one shot off the lead after a 63 Paul Lawrie is back in contention for the KLM Open after a third-roundm seven-under-par 63, not quite as good as his first-day 61 but a major improvent on his second-round 71. The Aberdonian, on 195, is only one stroke behind joint leaders Lee Slattery from England and Rafael Cabrero-Bello (Spain). Slattery is chasing back-to-back European Tour titles after he took shot a 63 The 37 year old triumphed in last week’s M2M Russian Open and brought that fine form to the links of Kennemer Golf and Country Club in the Netherlands, where he sits on 16 under par alongside Rafa Cabrera-Bello with one round remaining. The Spaniard also signed for a 63, making seven gains on the front nine before nine pars on the way home, as did Paul Lawrie, who is one shot off the lead after bouncing back from a tricky second day with a flawless round. Belgium’s Thomas Pieters and Finn Mikko Ilonen both went one better, a pair of 62s launching them into contention at 14 under and 13 under respectively, while overnight leader Søren Kjeldsen of Denmark battled to a 71 to slip down to tied ninth, five strokes back. Quotes Lee Slattery “It’s like a dream come true at the minute. I went into last week with a lot of pressure on and won, and then I’ve come here with no pressure whatsoever and just been trying to play good golf. It’s a fabulous feeling and I feel a lot more relaxed this week than I was last week. Over the years I’ve been told a lot that I should be doing better, that I’ve under-achieved. I knew deep down that there are certain aspects of my golf swing I struggle with, and I had to get stronger. I’ve been working so hard with my coach Alan Thompson – he’s helped me a lot over the last year and been there for me when I really needed him. He’s turned my game around and made it a lot more consistent. “A lot of things went my way today. At 12 it looked like it was going to stay at the back of the green, which would have been a really difficult putt, but it rolled back down to about 15 feet and I managed to knock it in for eagle.” Rafa Cabrera-Bello “I sank a very long putt on the first hole and after the all the other birdies were pretty much tap-ins. It wasn’t frustrating making nine pars in a row. It could’ve been one or two better but I’ll take 63. It’s very exciting for tomorrow and it looks like I’ll be in the last groups with Lee. Being in the final group on the last day is always an honour and very exciting. “I’ve felt this year I’ve been in this position more often than ever before in my career. It’s not always worked out, but I’m learning from my mistakes and working on them, so the more I put myself in that position the more comfortable I’ll be and the better I’ll play – simple!” Paul Lawrie “I really struggled yesterday and hit an awful lot of poor shots off the tee and just didn’t give myself many chances to get going. Today was a totally different story – I hit a lot of good shots. I took great confidence from the fact that I hit it so poorly and only shot one over. When you drive it like that and only hit three fairways, but you’ve not given it away, you have to get a boost from it.  So I came out this morning knowing that if I could play that badly and nearly shoot level par, if I got it anywhere near the golf course I could make some birdies, and that’s exactly what happened. “Tomorrow it’s up to me and the boys chasing the leaders to get off to a good start, nice and steady, make a couple of early birdies and try to chase them down.” Round 3 scores: Par 210 (3x70) 194 R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 65 66 63, L Slattery (Eng) 66 65 63,  195 P Lawrie (Sco) 61 71 63,  196 T Pieters  (Bel) 68 66 62,  197 W Ormsby (Aus) 61 68 68, M Ilonen  (Fin) 64 71 62, M Madsen  (Den) 64 67 66,  198 M Kieffer (Ger) 67 67 64,  199 R Green (Aus) 67 64 68, A Johnston (Eng) 66 68 65, T Lewis (Eng) 69 65 65, J Barnes (Eng) 67 64 68, E De La Riva  (Esp) 66 66 67, S Kjeldsen (Den) 64 64 71,  200 F Zanotti (Par) 67 66 67, E Pepperell (Eng) 67 66 67, D Howell (Eng) 68 69 63, J Scrivener (Aus) 68 67 65, J Morrison  (Eng) 63 67 70, D Horsey (Eng) 63 66 71, B Evans  (Eng) 68 67 65,  201 M Carlsson  (Swe) 65 66 70, S Thornton (Irl) 67 68 66, G Bourdy (Fra) 68 66 67,  202 M Nixon (Eng) 70 64 68, J Luiten (Ned) 63 71 68, A Cañizares  (Esp) 68 66 68, A Sullivan (Eng) 65 69 68, M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) 68 67 67, M Korhonen (Fin) 67 70 65, S Hend (Aus) 65 72 65, M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) 71 60 71, M Kaymer (Ger) 67 67 68, R Bland (Eng) 62 70 70,  203 R Rock (Eng) 63 69 71, P Harrington (Irl) 71 65 67, D Brooks (Eng) 67 68 68, R Karlberg  (Swe) 69 66 68, 204 S Griffiths (Eng) 67 67 70, R McEvoy  (Eng) 71 63 70, E Goya (Arg) 63 71 70, M Ford (Eng) 66 69 69, E Kofstad (Nor) 69 66 69, W Besseling  (Ned) 69 66 69, A Hansen (Den) 70 67 67, R Gonzalez (Arg) 69 68 67, S Gallacher (Sco) 65 72 67, T Fisher Jnr (RSA) 68 66 70, P Uihlein  (USA) 69 66 69, R Finch  (Eng) 69 66 69, 205 B Hebert  (Fra) 68 67 70, P Peterson (USA) 68 69 68, O Fisher  (Eng) 68 68 69, D Vancsik (Arg) 66 70 69, T Watson (USA) 69 68 68, 206 D Lipsky (USA) 66 71 69, A Pavan (Ita) 67 70 69, N Colsaerts  (Bel) 69 65 72, 207 L Jensen (Den) 65 71 71, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 67 70 70, D Gaunt (Aus) 70 67 70, E Espana (Fra) 70 67 70, J Parry (Eng) 67 70 70, 208 P Lawrie (Irl) 68 69 71, D Drysdale (Sco) 68 67 73, R Jacquelin (Fra) 67 70 71, 209 A Quiros  (Esp) 67 65 77, 211 L Bjerregaard  (Den) 66 68 77,

Transatlantic Amateur International at Royal Lytham, Lancashire

 GB and I lead 7-5 at end of Walker Cup first 

day, singles shared 4-4

The afternoon singles on the first day of the two-day Walker Cup match were shared 4-4 at Royal Lytham.
GB and I, who had won the mornng foursomes 3-1, thus take a 7-5 lead into the second half of the match.

MORNING FOURSOMES
GB and Ireland 3, United States 1

SINGLES
GB and I players named first

Ashley Chesters halved with Bryson DeChambeau

Paul Dunne lost to Hunter Stewart 2 holes

Grant Forrest lost to Scott Harvey 2 and 1

Jimmy Mullen bt Denny McCarthy 2 holes

Ewen Ferguson bt Maverick McNealy 1 hole

Gary Hurley halved with Robby Shelton

Jack Hume lost to Beau Hossler 1 hole

Gavin Moynihan bt Jordan Niebrugge 4 and 2

NEWS RELEASE

 Great Britain and Ireland leads the USA7-5 after the first day of the 45th Walker Cup Match at Royal Lytham and St. Annes Golf Club.

The home team got off to an excellent start in its bid to win back the trophy from the USA, who won the 2013 Match at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, New York State

GB and I took a 3-1 lead after the morning foursomes and followed that up by splitting the afternoon singles matches 4-4, winning three and halving two.

“We'll carry on doing what we're doing and look after ourselves,” said GB and I captain Nigel Edwards. “We won't worry about anyone else. If we play as well in the foursomes tomorrow morning as we have done this morning, then the lads will do just fine.”

“It’s great to get the lead,” said Gavin Moynihan of GB and I. “There’s 14 points (four foursomes, 10 singles) still tomorrow so it's not even near over. So, staying again in the same foursomes and getting at it tomorrow morning and kicking on from there. I can't wait for tomorrow to perform.”

In the opening singles match, England’s Ashley Chesters and the 2015 U.S. Amateur champion Bryson DeChambeau were locked in a close struggle with neither having more than a one-hole lead.

 The 21-year-old DeChambeau, who sat out the morning foursomes, bounced back from losing the 15th hole to go one down by winning the next with a birdie and then bravely holing a 12-foot par putt on the last to halve the match.

“It felt like I won the match, honestly, the half-point there was pretty big,” said DeChambeau, who also won the 2015 NCAA Men’s Division I individual title. 

“I probably should have hit driver off the tee box but, unfortunately, I didn’t hit my best hybrid. I was fortunate to get it out (of the fairway bunker) and get it up and down from 140 yards.”

The USA took the next two matches as Hunter Stewart defeated Ireland’s Paul Dunne, 2 up, and Scott Harvey overcame Scotland’s Grant Forrest, 2 and 1.

“Given our start, I'm pleased where we are at this point after one day's play,” said USA captain John “Spider” Miller. “Our guys played hard. They reached down; they delivered on some matches when they needed to, so I'm very proud of them all.”

Stewart remarkably holed his 113-yard 9-iron approach for an eagle on the par-4 11th hole and then chipped in from the side of the green on the 14th for a birdie to win both holes. Dunne, the 54-hole joint leader in The Open Championship at St Andrews, responded by holing out from a greenside bunker on the 13th but his birdie putt lipped out on the 18th to seal Stewart’s win.

“It was a tough fought match this afternoon,” said Stewart. “It feels nice to win a point and grab some momentum for us. We needed that point badly and to win the 16th and 17th to go one up was big.”

England’s Jimmy Mullen performed strongly on the back nine, winning three consecutive holes from the 11th, to win his match with Denny McCarthy, 2 up, and notch his second point of the day. Ireland’s Gary Hurley and Robby Shelton of the USA halved their match before Beau Hossler clinched a 1-up win over Ireland’s Jack Hume.

Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson secured a 1-up victory against Maverick McNealy. The 19-year-old Ferguson sat out the morning foursomes and started in determined fashion to lead by two after four holes. The Scot led throughout the match but McNealy fought back strongly to take the match down the last and force Ferguson to hole a five-foot par putt to complete his win.

“I couldn't wait to get going,” Ferguson said. “I went out to watch this morning and it was electrifying and I just couldn't wait to get out. Then it was just a great atmosphere. It was awesome.”

GB and I secured another point when Ireland’s Moynihan defeated Jordan Niebrugge, the winner of the Silver Medal at The Open, 4 and 2. The 20-year-old Moynihan, who played in the 2013 Match, won the 7th, 8th and 10th holes to take control.

In the morning foursomes, GB and I won three matches. The English pairing of Chesters and Mullen never trailed in their match with McNealy and Stewart and won 3 and 2. They were quickly followed by Cormac Sharvin and Jack McDonald, who enjoyed an emphatic 5-and-4 victory over Niebrugge and Shelton.

Hossler and McCarthy put the first point on the board for the USA with a 3-and-1 win over the Irish pairing of Dunne and Hurley but their compatriots Hume and Moynihan rounded off a good session for GB&I with a 3-and-1 win over Mike McCoy and Lee McCoy.

Tomorrow’s morning foursomes starts at 8.30 a.m. local time. For the draw for the foursomes and afternoon singles and the full results from day one visit www.walkercup.org. 

The Walker Cup Match is a biennial ten-man amateur team competition between a team composed of players from Great Britain and Ireland and the USA. It is played over two days with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes matches. The USA leads the overall series 35-8-1.

Good morning for GB and I in Walker Cup at Royal Lytham

Great Britain and Ireland 3, United States 1

Foursomes
GB and I players named first

• Ashley Chesters and Jimmy Mullen bt Maverick McNealy and Hunter Stewart  3 and 2
• Paul Dunne and Gary Hurley lost to Beau Hossler and 
  
•  Denny McCarthy  3 and 1
• Cormac Sharvin and Jack McDonald bt. Jordan Niebrugge and Robby Shelton (U.S.), 5 and 4
• Jack Hume and Gavin Moynihan bt Lee McCoy and Mike McCoy, 3 and 2

Afternoon Singles
USA players' names first

• Bryson DeChambeau vs. Ashley Chesters
• Hunter Stewart vs. Paul Dunne
• Scott Harvey vs. Grant Forrest
•  Denny McCarthy vs. Jimmy Mullen
• Maverick McNealy vs. Ewen Ferguson
• Robby Shelton vs. Gary Hurley
• Beau Hossler vs. Jack Hume
•  Jordan Niebrugge vs. Gavin Moynihan

CHALLENGE TOUR'S CROWDED LEADERBOARD

George Murray three off the pace in Kazakhstan

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS Sebastien Gros reaffirmed his status as one of the European Challenge Tour’s players of the season as he shot a two under par third round of 70 to muscle his way into a share of the lead of the Kazakhstan Open on 11 under par. Overnight leader, American Sihwan Kim, had a scrappy round, four bogeys meaning he had to be content with a level par 72 to sit alongside Gros and Denmark’s Mads Søgaard who shot a 69 around Almaty’s Nurtau GC. Gros currently sits in third place in the Road to Oman Rankings and he has previously tasted victory this season at the Najeti Open Presented by Neuflize OBC, though the Frenchman does not think this experience will necessarily be a significant factor in the final round. “I wouldn’t necessarily give myself an advantage,” said the 25 year old. “Even though I have won this year, I’ve not always been very good when I’ve been in contention before. Maybe for those other guys it’s something they think about though. “Golf can be so different from day to day, you can even have a bad last round without actually choking, so I’m not worrying about tomorrow, I’m just happy about my day and to be in contention. “This round was a bit different from the two others. I had a few more difficulties on some of the greens, but obviously it’s great to be in contention for a big tournament like this. “A week ago I would have definitely taken being co-leader with one round to play so, even though I could have probably had a better score, I’m happy with where I am right now. “The greens are hard to read. The heat has affected a few of them, and then the ones in the shade are much slower, so this could be why the scoring has been more difficult today. “The scoring on Thursday was very strange though, and was just one of those days. I played well and was still four shots behind the second place players, and they all just had one of those rounds that maybe happens once a season – it just happened on the same day for all of them. “It’s not a course where 20 under par will win it, more like 15 or 16 under par, so the scoring right now is probably about right. And I’ll probably need to get to 16 under par tomorrow to have a chance to win.” The round of the day went to Gros’ compatriot Clément Sordet, whose 66 propelled him up the leaderboard into fourth place, just one behind the leaders. Sordet took a stunning maiden victory at last month’s Northern Irish Open in Association with Sphere Global and Ulster Bank and he hopes those memories can fuel another win tomorrow. “Today I just needed a round like this to get close to the lead and hopefully give myself a shot at winning tomorrow,” said the 22 year old. “I was thinking this morning about when I won in Northern Ireland and how I came through the field on the weekend. It happened once, why can’t it happen again? I wasn’t thinking about the score at all but I ended up on six under, so a very good round.” There are 16 players within five shots of the leaders on a bunched leaderboard as the hard ground and firm greens made scoring more challenging than earlier in the week, but it sets up a thrilling final day for the biggest event of the Challenge Tour season, with a €450,000 prizefund. THIRD ROUND SCORES par 216 (3x72)  205 M Søgaard  (Den) 64 72 69, S Gros (Fra) 68 67 70, S Kim (USA) 64 69 72,  206 C Sordet  (Fra) 69 71 66,  208 G Murray  (Sco) 72 69 67, W Harrold (Eng) 67 73 68, C Shinkwin (Eng) 69 69 70,  209 J Sarasti  (Esp) 71 71 67, J Hansen  (Den) 63 73 73, B Åkesson (Swe) 74 69 66, T Tree (Eng) 67 70 72, R Davies (Wal) 70 69 70,  210 P Whiteford (Sco) 70 71 69, J Makitalo  (Fin) 69 71 70, R Coles (Eng) 69 74 67, J Winther (Den) 66 72 72, T Linard (Fra) 73 69 68, J McLeary  (Sco) 68 69 73, J Fahrbring (Swe) 68 69 73,  211 J Guerrier  (Fra) 69 71 71, J Sjöholm (Swe) 75 68 68, D Im (USA) 72 69 70, S Norris  (RSA) 68 67 76, G Porteous (Eng) 72 70 69,  212 S Soderberg (Swe) 69 69 74, A Saddier (Fra) 71 69 72, H Joannes  (Bel) 69 73 70, H Porteous (RSA) 70 71 71,  213 S Fallon (Eng) 72 70 71, D Palm (Swe) 73 70 70, J Stalter (Fra) 70 73 70, L Gagli  (Ita) 72 72 69, J Robinson (Eng) 71 68 74, J Glennemo (Swe) 74 70 69, D Coupland (Eng) 69 69 75, E Cuartero Blanco  (Esp) 71 71 71, J Huldahl (Den) 72 70 71,  214 R McGee (Irl) 70 72 72, C Selfridge  (Nir) 69 75 70, G Boyd  (Eng) 70 73 71, S Heisele (Ger) 74 70 70, M Schneider (Ger) 75 67 72, S Brown (Eng) 69 75 70, J Doherty  (Sco) 69 68 77, S Jeppesen  (Swe) 72 70 72, R Gouveia (Por) 74 67 73, J Heath  (Eng) 71 72 71,  215 R McGowan  (Eng) 70 72 73, P Relecom  (Bel) 73 70 72, B Virto Astudillo (Esp) 72 70 73, J Hahn (USA) 75 69 71,  216 C Aguilar  (Esp) 74 70 72, J Dantorp (Swe) 70 73 73,  217 E Saltman  (Sco) 74 69 74, S Manley (Wal) 71 73 73, S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 73 71 73, N Bertasio (Ita) 76 68 73, F Bergamaschi (Ita) 75 69 73, C Hanson (Eng) 69 74 74, S Arnold  (Aus) 71 70 76,  218 A Gee  (Eng) 71 71 76, R Evans  (Eng) 70 72 76,  219 A McArthur  (Sco) 76 68 75,  220 O Stark (Swe) 74 70 76,  221 M Delpodio  (Ita) 72 70 79, J Gonnet  (Fra) 72 71 78 - Ends -

South team named for SSGS senior men's area team championship

   South of Scotland team for the SSGS senior men's area team championship at Montrose Links on Wednesday, September 23 is:

 

 

                  Ian R Brotherston      ( Dumfries and County )

                  Muir  Townsley         (Dumfries and County )

                  David  Dickson          (Lochmaben )

                  Tony M Clark            (Dumfries and County)

                  Ian  Reid                    (Dumfries and Galloway)

                  Graeme  Sharp           (Dumfries and County)

 

 

                                

University of Stirling International Students' Tournament at The Duke's

         Craig Ross with the men's championship trophy. Picture by Kenny Smith.

Craig Ross and Gemma Batty win individual titles

By ROB McPHERSON
Gemma Batty (Stirling University and Powfoot GC) continued her brilliant 2015 with a resounding win in the women's section at the 5th University of Stirling International Golf Tournament over The Duke's Course, St Andrews.

The 2015 Scottish women's student champion and GB World University Team member, pictured right with trophy by Kenny Smith, came from two shots back on a breezy day to triumph over local student and former BUCS Student Tour winner, Miranda Brain (St Andrews University and Gog Magog GC) with Slovenian youth champion Nastja Banovec (Abertay University, Dundee) finishing third.
 Speaking of her triumph, Gemma commented on the great condition of the course, particularly the greens at this time of year, which had allowed her to play her brand of attacking golf with confidence. 
In the women's team event, the Stirling University squad  of Batty, Sinead Sexton (Lahinch) and Tara Mactaggart (Minto) easily held off the challenge of the St Andrews students.

The men's saw a repeat victory for the Scottish Golf Union Select team following their 2014 success. Calum Fyfe, Jamie Savage, Ryan Campbell, Craig Ross, Daniel Young and Scott Gibson - who had a hole in one, the third of his career, at the 121yd eighth  hole,  led from the gun.

Although hosts Stirling got to within one shot at the turn, it was the national squad who were victors in the end by a margin of nine strokes. 

The SGU Select were led home by the new individual champion, Craig Ross, whose clutch par putt on the last ensured he bettered Stirling student Marco Iten from Switzerland by one shot. 

Third place went to team-mate Calum Fyfe to round out an excellent end of season outing for the SGU men.

Next week, Stirling seek to defend their European University Championship in St Gallen, Switzerland - but first, all eyes will be on Cormac Sharvin (Stirling U and Ardglass GC) and Jack MacDonald (Stirling U and Kilmarnock Barassie GC) as they seek to help GB and I to victory in the Walker Cup match against the United States at Royal Lytham GC, Lancashire this weekend.

Performance coach and Stirling tournament host Dean Robertson, commented: "We all missed having Jack, Cormac and Gary Hurley (Maynooth) play in the Stirling International this week, but the opportunity for them to demonstrate their talents at the pinnacle of amateur team golf demonstrates the strength that institutions in the UK and Ireland can offer students as they seek to develop their game. 

"All at the University of Stirling and Scottish Student Sport wish Jack, Cormac and Gary great success this weekend."

RESULTS

INDIVIDUAL MEN

Par 213 (3x71)

212 Craig Ross (SGU Select) 70 71 71

213 Marco Iten (Stirling) 70 71 72

218 Calum Fyfe (SGU Select) 70 74 74

222 Andrew Davidson (Stirling) 75 76 71

223 Kyle McCarron (Maynooth) 72 72 79

224 Ryan Campbell (SGU Select) 80 73 71

225 Craig Chalmers (Strathclyde) 68 80 77

226 Angus Carrick (Stirling) 72 77 77

227 Daniel Young (SGU Select) 73 79 75

228 Ross Steedman (Maynooth) 73 77 78

229 Lukas Michel (St Andrews) 74 85 70, Colin 

Edgar (Stirling) 74 77 78, Craig Howie (Stirling) 73 

76 80, Mathias Eggenberger (Strling) 73 74 82, 

Jordan Hood (Maynooth) 76 89 74.

WOMEN

229 Gemma Batty (Stirling) 73 80 76

235 Miranda Brain (St Andrews) 82 79 84

236 Nastja Banovec (Abertay Dundee) 75 76 85

237 Marie Danielsson (St Andrews) 79 84 74

238 Tara Mactaggart (Stirling) 79 79 80

239 Hannah Holden (Sheffield) 75 83 81

240 Sinead Sexton (Stirling) 77 76 87
247 Alexa Hammer (St Andrews) 84 80 83

248 Molly Haslam (Exeter) 81 79 88