NORTH-EAST ALLIANCE

We are now 10 events into the 24 (Order of Merit counting) North East Alliance Fixtures. The "Brimmond Bistro Order of Merit" is sponsored by Craibstone Golf Club and offers prizes for the top 3 players in all three sections, concluding after the second round of the North East Alliance Championship - held at Craibstone - in March.

SCRATCH
The biggest mover in the Scratch Order of Merit this week was Craig Lawrie (PLGC), a tied winner with his newest stablemate, Kevin Duncan (PLGC) at Fraserburgh this past Wednesday. Lawrie moved from 23rd to 11th while Duncan extended his lead at the top of the Order of Merit. 

Other significant movers in this section were Greig Hutcheon (PLGC) who moved from 20th to 15th, and Brian Nicolson (Hazlehead) whose 70 at Fraserburgh shot him into the top 30 for the first time this season. 
The top five remain the same, with Kevin Duncan (PLGC) - 3968 points, John Duff (Newmachar) - 3334 points and Phil McLean (PLGC) - 3052 points - leading the way.

CLASS 1
This week saw no change in the top three of the Order of Merit, with Gavin Chalmers (Alford), Scott Mackie (Kemnay) and Gary Esson (Portlethen) in 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions respectively. Charlie Cassie (Nigg Bay) moved from 20th to 13th and Manson Merchant (Newmachar) broke into the top 20 for the first time.

CLASS 2
The only section with change at the top! Stephen Ross (Hazlehead) has surpassed Jim Stewart (Banchory) to sit atop the Class 2 Order of Merit. 
His slender lead of 16 points makes it the most narrow lead of all the sections. Other significant movers in this section include a four-spot improvement for Aboyne's Donald Lawrie and Richard Ruddiman (Royal Aberdeen) breaking into the top 20 for the first time.

CLUB BREAKDOWN
The full, sectional, Order of Merits are below this text, but directly below shows a Club Representation Breakdown (when over 2 club members are included) of the top 20 in each section:

Paul Lawrie Golf Centre: 9 Players
Craibstone: 5 Players
Kemnay: 5 Players
Portlethen: 4 Players
Newmachar: 4 Players
Northern: 4 Players
Cruden Bay: 4 Players
Deeside: 3 Players
Royal Aberdeen: 3 Players

SCRATCH OOM (updated 12.11.15)

1.    Kevin Duncan (Cruden Bay)                  3968

2.    John Duff (Newmachar)                           3334

3.    Phil McLean (PLGC)                               3052

4.    Sean Lawrie (PLGC)                          2565

5.    Christopher Lamb (Newmachar)        2138

6.    Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon)        2043

7.    Greg McBain (PLGC)                         1989

8.    Joel Hopwood (Royal Aberdeen)       1979

9.    Sam Kiloh (PLGC)                              1864

10.  David Brown (Kemnay)                      1555

11.  Craig Lawrie (PLGC)                          1491

12.  Kris Nicol (PLGC)                               1485

13.  Alan Stuart (PLGC)                            1448

14.  Terry Mathieson (Murcar Links)         1387

15.  Greg Hutcheon (PLGC)                     1329

16.  Billy Fyfe (PLGC)                               1219

17.  Brian Ritchie (Inverallochy)                1164

18.  Gary Esson (Portlethen)                     1161

19.  Colin Nelson (MacKenzie Golf)           1133

20.  Murray Patterson (Cruden Bay)         1035

21.  Tony Robertson (Peterculter)             1025

22.  David Law (PLGC)                             993

23.  Graeme Riley (Craibstone)                979

24.  Stewart Finnie (Royal Aberdeen)       947

25.  David Leslie (Northern)                       942

26.  Scott Mackie (Kemnay)                     909

27.  Brian Nicolson (Hazlehead)                877

28.  Lee Vannet (Craibstone)                     842

29.  Raymond Reid (Tarland)                    804

30.  John Borthwick (Craibstone)              787

CLASS 1 (updated 12.11.15)

1.      Gavin Chalmers (Alford)                  1763

2.      Scott Mackie (Kemnay)                        1581

3.      Gary Esson (Portlethen)                      1204

4.      Scott Melvin (Newmachar)                 1153

5.      Brian Ritchie (Inverallochy)               1150

6.      Donny Adam (Kemnay)                     1079

7.      Tony Robertson (Peterculter)              1061

8.      Les Fowler (Royal Aberdeen)             1059

9.      David Leslie (Northern)                      1045

10.  David Lane (Deeside)                         1020

11.  Graeme Riley (Craibstone)                 965

12.  Derek Craigie (Portlethen)                  894

13.  Charlie Cassie (Nigg Bay)                  855

14.  Steve Shand (Kemnay)                       852

15.  Manson Merchant (Newmachar)        842

16.  Blair McPherson (Portlethen)             828

17.  John Borthwick (Craibstone)              806

18.  Willie Skene (Deeside)                       794

19.  Keith McGillvary (Craibstone)           790

20.  Sammy Leslie (Aberdeen Ladies)       753

CLASS 2 (updated 12.11.15)

1. Stephen Ross (Hazlehead)                             1373

2. Jim Stewart (Banchory)                                   1357

3. Gary Homer (Northern)                                  1174

4. Willie Beattie (Craibstone)                             968

5. Lenny Duncan (Northern)                              782

6.Raymond Brown (Newburgh)                        736

7. Hamish McNaughton (Cruden Bay)            676

8. Nigel Parker (Murcar Links)                           629

9. David Bisset (Banchory)                                  627

10. Robbie Duncan (Deeside)                            609

11. Donald Lawrie (Inchmarlo)                              598

12. Graham Allan (Auchmill)                               582

13. Peter Walker (Cruden Bay)                         558

14. Peter Cheyne (Northern)                            557

15. Peter Low (Craibstone)                                 525

16. Jim Murray (Banchory)                                  470

17. David McKay (Caledonian)                           457

18. Neish Chisholm (Kemnay)                           448

19. Richard Ruddiman (Royal Aberdeen)      437

20. Michael Rendall (Stonehaven)                   409

Lawrence of Kemnay-sponsored North-east Alliance at Fraserburgh

CRAIG LAWRIE AND KEVIN DUNCAN JOINT WINNERS WITH 5-UNDER 65s

By JOEL HOPWOOD  
Craig Lawrie (PLGC) and Kevin Duncan (Cruden Bay) tied today at a sunny Fraserburgh, with a five under par score of 65. A turnout of 97 players enjoyed Fraserburgh's Corbie Hill links in the Lawrence of Kemnay-sponsored North-east Alliance fixture. It is Lawrie's second win of the season, having tied with John Duff at Newmachar in September, and the third win of the North East Alliance season for Duncan - following victory at Craibstone and Turriff, also in September.  
Craig's card started with a bogey five, cancelled out by a birdie at the long 6th - but his back nine, which started with four straight birdies, must have shot him up the leaderboard before a final birdie at the long 15th got him to 5 under.
Duncan's card also started with a bogey five but was offset by birdies at 3, 9, 10, 13, 16 and an eagle at the long 15th - a bogey at the short 14th was the only other blemish on his scorecard. Lawrie and Duncan's score of 65 was good enough to be two cleared of the three way tie for third place - with John Duff (Newmachar), Paul Lawrie (Carnegie Club) and Greig Hutcheon (PLGC) posting 3 under par scores of 67. All five of the above scorecards can be found after all gross scores posted below:


SCRATCH SCORES 65: C.Lawrie (PLGC), K.Duncan (Cruden Bay)
67: J.Duff (Newmachar), P.Lawrie (Carnegie Club), G.Hutcheon (PLGC)
68: P.McLean (PLGC)
69: K.Nicol (PLGC), D.Brown (Kemnay), J.Nicolson (Auchmill), S.Lawrie (PLGC)
70: B.Nicolson (Hazlehead), A.Dunton (McDonald Ellon)
71: S.Mackie (Kemnay), J.Hopwood (Royal Aberdeen)
72: S.Kiloh (PLGC), T.Mathieson (Murcar), L.Murray (PLGC), M.Patterson (Cruden Bay)
73: M.Merchant (Newmachar), M.Duncan (Murcar), C.Lamb (Newmachar)
74: S.Finnie (Royal Aberdeen), C.Nelson (McKenzie Golf)
75: A.Campbell (Murcar), C.Cassie (Nigg Bay), C.Law (Kings Links), G.Chalmers (Alford), D.Leslie (Northern)
76: A.Gall (Deeside)
77: J.Hamilton (Murcar), C.Dempster (PLGC), K.Beveridge (Kippie Lodge), R.Reid (Tarland), G.Milne (Newburgh), D.Fleming (Portlethen)
78: J.Duncan (Newburgh), D.Adam (Kemnay)
79: J.Scott (Peterculter), G.Homer (Northern), A.Graham (Aboyne), B.Harper (Newburgh), G.Cochrane (Kemnay)
80: J.Borthwick (Craibstone), J.Forrest (Northern), G.Patterson (Royal Aberdeen), M.Lawrie (Kemnay)
81: M.McDougall (Peterculter), B.Skene (Peterculter), S.Allison (Caledonian), K.McGillvary (Craibstone), M.Forster (Cruden Bay)
82: D.Bisset (Banchory), G.Riley (Craibstone), B.Mcpherson (Portlethen)
83: A.Clark (Newmachar), R.Blackmore (Tarland), D.Mckay (Calidonian), S.Leslie (Aberdeen Ladies), L.Roger (Royal Aberdeen), P.Cheyne (Northern)
84: T.Boyle (Portlethen), M.Winton (Calidonian), J.Murray (Banchory), G.Allan (Newmachar), R.Ruddiman (Royal Aberdeen), A.Roger (Fraserburgh)
85: N.Parker (Murcar), H.Macnaughton (Cruden Bay), J.Stewart (Banchory)
86: G.Mackie (Calidonian)
87: D.Lawrie (Inchmarlo), S.Davidson (Northern)
88: R.Duncan (Deeside), P.Walker (Cruden Bay), M.Brown (Newburgh), T.Collie (Kemnay), S.Ross (Hazlehead)
89: M.Rogers (Kemnay), M.Smith (Newmachar), N.Stewart (Northern)
90: S.Melvin (Newmachar), D.Wright (Northern)
91: L.Duncan (Craibstone), B.Lumsden (Northern), D.Booth (Tarland), D.Lane (Deeside)
92: D.Nelson (Aboyne)
94: R.Brown (Newburgh)

HANDICAP PRIZEWINNERS: 
Class 1: M.Duncan (Murcar) 65 (BIH), J.Nicolson (Hazlehead) 65; S.Mackie (Kemnay) 67; M.Merchant (Newmachar) 68 (BIH), J.Hamilton (Murcar) 68

Cla ss 2: G.Homer (Northern) 69 (BIH), J.Forrest (Norhtern) 69; N.Parker (Murcar) 70 (BIH), M.Brown (Newburgh) 70 (BIH), D.Lawrie (Inchmarlo) 70

FRASERBURGH CORBIE HILL COURSE
PARS SCORECARD
4-4-4-4-3-5-3-4-4 (35)
4-4-4-4-3-5-4-3-4 (35) 70

C.Lawrie (PLGC)
5-4-4-4-3-4-3-4-4 (35)
3-3-3-3-3-4-4-3-4 (30) 65

K.Duncan (Cruden Bay)
5-4-3-4-3-5-3-4-3 (34)
3-4-4-3-4-3-3-3-4 (31) 65

J.Duff (Newmachar)
4-4-5-4-3-4-3-5-4 (36)
3-3-4-4-3-5-4-2-3 (31) 67

P.Lawrie (Carnegie Club)
4-3-4-4-3-4-4-4-4 (34)
5-3-4-3-3-5-3-3-5 (33) 67

G.Hutcheon (PLGC)
5-3-4-4-4-3-3-3-3 (32)
3-4-4-4-3-6-4-3-4 (35) 67

 Scott Campbell wins MENA Tour championship top prize of $13,500

AL AIN, UAE: Scott Campbell held his nerve in demanding windy conditions to win the MENA Golf Tour’s season-ending event, presented by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, as South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence walked away with the Order of Merit title today.

Starting the day one shot in front, England’s Campbell closed with a two-under 69 to finish at 15-under 198 for his maiden win since turning professional three years ago.

South Africa’s Tyler Hogarty, who returned a 65 – the day’s best score – joined England’s Craig Hinton for a share of second as another Englishman, Stuart Archibald, settled for fourth on 11-under.

“I am delighted to get the job done in tough conditions,” said a delighted Campbell after receiving the winner’s trophy from Mohammed Rashid Al Nasri, general manager of Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club.

“I just concentrated on my game and holed some nice putts, especially the birdie on the 10th was crucial as it helped retain the lead. I managed to control the proceedings thereafter and played some solid golf coming home,” said the 24-year-old from Sheffield, who received a winner’s cheque for $13,500 for the biggest payday of his career.

“Before playing on the tour, I took some lessons from my coach (Pete Cowen) and that lifted my confidence,” said the Englishman, who enjoyed a two-shot cushion standing on the 18th tee.

His playing partner Hinton had his chances, but saw a couple of putts agonisingly lip out. “I think I played okay and it’s just that some of the putts refused to go in,” said the Englishman, who led by one shot at the turn.

“I bogeyed the 10th which gave Scott a two-shot swing and that, in the end, made the difference,” he said.

South Africa’s Lawrence carded a 70 to finish in a tie for sixth on six-under which was good enough for him to win the Order of Merit title with $27,679  (over Dh100,000) in earnings during the season, ahead of Spain’s Gabriel Canizares of Spain ($ 20,379).

England’s James Allan comfortably kept up his dominance in the Amateur Division, closing with a 70 to end the tournament at 10-under, well ahead of India’s Rayhan Thomas who finished at three over.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71)
198 S Campbell (Eng) 65 64 69 
200 T Hogarty (SAf) 71 64 65, C Hinton (Eng) 65 65 70
202 S Archibald (Eng) 66 66 70

SCOTS' TOTALS
210 P Doherty 70 71 69 (T14) ($1,367)
211 C Lutton 68 70 73 (T16th) ($1,204)
213 D Kay 71 70 72 (25th) ($1, 015)
220 B Alexander (am) 70 73 77 (T37)

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
CLICK HERE

Russell Knox's WGC win brings Ryder Cup 

(almost) into play

FROM GOLF.COM

By Doug Ferguson

SHANGHAI - Russell Knox was the centre of attention after winning the HSBC Champions, and not just with the sponsors.

After his press conference, he posed with four flight attendants from Emirates Airlines. Next up was a photo with the owner and executive staff of Casillero del Diablo, which supplied the wine for the week.

When he sat back down to sign flags and caps for HSBC, another man approached whom Knox did not recognise.

''Hello, Russell. I'm Keith Waters with the European Tour.''

Waters is the chief operating officer, and he was equipped with all the answers Knox did not know and was too overwhelmed to ask at the moment - mainly, the process of becoming a European Tour member and how that relates to the Ryder Cup.

Sensing that the 30-year-old from Scotland was still trying to digest his first big win - a World Golf Championship, no less - Waters gave him a business card with his mobile number and told him he would be available any time. And there was one more thing.

''Also just so you know, Darren Clarke is going to be calling you,'' Waters said.
''We'll be in touch for sure,'' Knox replied with a grin.

Clarke is the European captain for the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine. Odds are, he has been on the phone with Matthew Fitzpatrick, Thomas Pieters and any other European who appears to have even a remote chance of qualifying.

To be realistic, Knox barely has that.

Is he interested in the Ryder Cup? Of course. Even though he has lived in Florida his entire professional life, he grew up in Inverness and is proud of his Scottish heritage. His sister, Diane, is a popular radio DJ in Scotland.

''Obviously, it's going to be a goal of mine to make the European Ryder Cup team, and this obviously springboards me to a place where ... I mean, yesterday I was nowhere near it,'' Knox said. ''I have no idea where I stand on making the team or what I need to do. But I look forward to finding out and giving it a run, that's for sure.''

Much will depend on what European Tour chief Keith Pelley announces next week in Dubai on a new membership policy.

One of the options is to require a minimum of five European Tour events (down from 13), but that number would not include the majors or WGCs. So it really would be no change at all, except for making it practical for players who have slipped out of the top 50 - such as Luke Donald andGraeme McDowell - and no longer are automatically eligible for the eight biggest events in world golf.

For Knox, that would mean adding four tournaments to what he already plays.
Knox is among dozens of Europeans who live in America and play the majority of their golf on the PGA Tour. But his career is more closely in line with the likes of Carl Pettersson and Martin Laird than with McDowell, Ian Poulter or a resurgent Paul Casey.

Pettersson was born in Sweden and moved to North Carolina when he was in high school. Laird is from Glasgow, played at Colorado State and never went back to Europe until he already had his PGA Tour card. One year he played the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, and a local radio reporter aware only of his accent innocently asked Laird why it had taken so long for him to do well on his home soil.

''This is my first event,'' Laird said.

Knox played 99 times on either the PGA Tour or the Web.com Tour before making his European Tour debut last year in the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, not far from where he grew up. He played his first British Open this year - he was the alternate who replaced Rory McIlroy when he tore up his ankle playing soccer.

Knox was the only player keeping the third round from being completed Saturday evening at Sheshan International because he thought it was too dark to play the final hole. That led some in the British press to jokingly refer to him as the ''American'' because of the minor inconvenience. When he returned the next morning and made birdie, and then never lost the lead on Sunday, he became a Scot again.

It was all in good fun, but to be fair, only the diligent golf press in the U.K. knew much about Knox, and for good reason. This was his first win on any of the six main tours around the world. Knox had never been remotely close to the top 50 in the world until he won the HSBC Champions and shot all the way up to No. 31. Now he's the 10th-highest European in the world ranking.

He is guaranteed two majors (Masters, PGA Championship) and a WGC, and he's likely to get in the other two WGCs. Whether he takes up European Tour membership and makes a run at the Ryder Cup, Knox ultimately concluded that ''it's a great problem to have.''

Besides, it beats the alternative.

''I always joked with my caddie that if I ever won,'' he said, ''I was going to retire.''

Inaugural Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf 

 

Championship Feb 13-15 at Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. -- Founders Group International, the Dustin Johnson Golf School and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday this week announced the launch of the inaugural Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship, a 54-hole tournament that will be played February 13-15 at TPC Myrtle Beach.

The invitational event will feature a 90-player field comprised of elite-level boys and girls from across the globe. More information on the tournament, including eligibility criteria, is available at www.WorldJuniorGolfChampionship.com