Monday, March 14, 2016

Ian Taggart topscores on SJGT at Ashludie
 
 
FROM WALTER BURNS
Here are the results from the Scottish Junior Golf Tour event at Monifieth yesterday on the Ashludie course. The Ashludie as usual was is in great condition with slick greens. The format was 9:9Golf where only your best nine holes count. This fun, attacking format is very popular with our juniors.
Ian Taggart had the best score of the day with 4 under par 30. Roddy McCauley and Sebastian Sandin jointly won the U14 section with 2 under par 32’s. Gregor Graham also shot 32 to win the U13’s and Jamie Gibb and Cormac Sharpe shared the U12 prize with 1 under 33’s.
 
Leading Scores
 
Under 16yrs
30   Ian Taggart (Lenzie)
32   Callum Leeson (Pitreavie)
33   Craig Jackman (Dunblane), Max McCluskey (Lenzie), Ross Barclay (Carnoustie), Jack Pike (Clober), Bjorn Sandin (Dunblane)

Under 14yrs
32  Roddy McCauley (Fereneze), Sebastian Sandin (Dunblane)
34  Jamie Fulton (Muckhart), Scott Souter (Elie)
35  Kyle Murphy (Clydebank)

Under 13yrs
32  Gregor Graham (Blairgowrie)
33  Philip Brown (Monifieth), Aamar Saleem (Ladybank)
35  George Cannon (Falkirk)
 
Under 12yrs
33  Jamie Gibb (Aboyne), Cormac Sharpe (Blairgowrie)
36  Callum Waugh (Cambuslang)
40  Connor Graham (Blairgowrie)
 
The handicap prize was won by Josh Davies (Troon Welbeck) with  a nett 26.
Aamar Saleem won the skills competitions.
 

Walter Burns
Scottish Junior Golf Tour
 
Mob: 07951 103 827
 
 

Labels:

posted by Colin | See story on its own page | Monday, March 14, 2016 | 0 comments

Stephen Gallacher sidelined after hand surgery

Stephen Gallacher will miss at least four weeks of the European Tour
Stephen Gallacher will miss at least four weeks of the European Tour
Stephen Gallacher's hopes of qualifying for a second Ryder Cup have suffered a blow after he underwent an operation on a long-standing hand injury.
The Scot will have his arm in a sling for 10 days and is facing at least a four-week lay-off from the European Tour, where he has made just one halfway cut in five events in 2016.
"The operation was performed on Monday by Doug Campbell, a top hand surgeon," Gallacher said in a statement on his management group's website.
"He cut the tendon sheath away and there was a lot of inflammation. This has been bothering me since last May, when I was forced to pull out of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth before the first round.
"I've had cortisone injections, the latest one in December, but it's hindered me on the course, on the practice range and also in the gym.
"It's been a blessing really that it flared up again and has led to an operation being required as it means I can get back out there not worrying about it."
The 41-year-old, who is 47th in the Ryder Cup qualifying standings and was part of the victorious European side at Gleneagles in 2014, hopes to return to action in the Spanish Open at Valderrama in April.

Labels:

posted by Colin | See story on its own page | Monday, March 14, 2016 | 0 comments


Rejuvenated Charl Schwartzel gets over

 hurdle in first U.S. win in five years

Charl Schwartzel earned his second career PGA Tour victory Sunday at the Valspar Championship.
Charl Schwartzel earned his second career US PGA Tour victory Sunday at the Valspar Championship. ( Getty Images )

By Adam Schupak 
from GOLFWEEK.COM 
PALM HARBOR, Florida – Charl Schwartzel is a silent assassin. In 2011, he became the first player to birdie the final four holes to win the Masters. That victory brought the South African native fame and fortune and a five-year ticket to play the US PGA Tour. But there was another side to the coin: expectations soared, and when Schwartzel failed to deliver on his promise, his confidence took a hit. “You start thinking, ‘Am I actually going to win again out here?’ ” he said.
Schwartzel waited nearly five years, but the wait is over after he shot the lowest final-round score, a four-under 67, at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort, and rallied from five strokes back to steal the Valspar Championship in a play-off against long-time leader Bill Haas.
“It’s a wonderful feeling,” Schwartzel said. “I just needed to get over the hurdle of winning out here again, and I think the way today played out with it being really difficult, you’re grinding just to make pars and keep the ball in play.”
Scores were kept high by a frisky, fickle wind, and Schwartzel seemed to be just loitering on the leaderboard until he looked up at the 13th-green scoreboard and read a stat that he had made just 2.5 percent of putts from 60+ feet this season. Then he poured in his twisting 64-foot birdie effort.
“That will improve the stat a little bit,” he said.
He made a key sand save at the devilish 16th and drained a 23-foot birdie putt at 17 to finish with a 72-hole aggregate of 7-under 277.
“Beginning of the week, I thought to myself, ‘If you do get a chance to win, you better not back off,’ ” said Schwartzel, who made 145 feet worth of putts in the final round.
Schwartzel has a swing to die for, one of the few that Haas said he’ll stop to watch and admire on the range. But even the best swings go awry, and Schwartzel fell into such a funk last season that he nearly skipped the FedEx Cup playoffs.
“I was hitting shots that I didn’t think I could hit and I looked at it (on video) and my swing wasn’t in bad shape,” he said. 
“It took time to fix that up, to trust, to get confidence in the process.”
Time spent with his father, the only instructor he’s ever had, reminded him of some drills he’d forgotten and simplified his move. There were positive signs at the Presidents Cup, including the return of his once-reliable fade, followed by two wins in his native South Africa (at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in November and the Tshwane Open in February), which proved that he could make the necessary swings under duress.
“I always say it takes the same amount of effort anywhere you win in the world,” Schwartzel said.
Now that he is over the hurdle of winning in the U.S. again, Schwartzel is primed for a run at another Green Jacket. His victory means that the champions of the last five Masters (Schwartzel, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth) have all won Tour events in 2016.
“There’s nothing that gets you pumped like winning,” Schwartzel said.
MORE ON SCHWARTZEL'S 
COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN
 Schwartzel was five shots behind going into the final round on an Innisbrook course that was tougher than ever, and he was three shots behind as he approached the toughest part of the Copperhead course.What followed were extraordinary shots and a playoff victory over Bill Haas

All it took was a 65-foot birdie across the green on the 13th. Schwartzel got up and down for birdie from a tough lie in the bunker. His go-for-broke pitch from a dicey lie on the edge of the bunker on the 16th hole allowed him to save par. Then he made a 25-foot birdie putt he couldn't afford to miss on the 17th.
Schwartzel closed with a 4-under 67 -- the best score Sunday -- and won on the first extra hole when Haas made bogey from a bunker.
"I just needed to get over the hurdle of winning out here again," Schwartzel said. "And I think the way today played out, with it being really difficult, you're grinding just to make pars and keep the ball in play. I just needed to put it together on the weekend when it counted."
Schwartzel won for the third time in his past six events, dating to December (the other two were in South Africa).
Haas had a two-shot lead with three holes to play, and he couldn't decide whether he let one get away or the South African simply won it.  
Schwartzel and Georgia University fourth-year student  Lee McCoy (69) were the only two players from the final nine groups to break par.
"Charl had the mentality of needing to shoot a good score, and he did, and that was a hard thing to do," Haas said. "I had the mentality, 'If I shoot even par, I win.' Pars were kind of good. ... I won't beat myself up too bad. I've got to give Charl credit."

The difference was Schwartzel's making two long birdies and Haas' making bogey on No. 16, the toughest hole at Innisbrook. In the play-off, Haas hit into the trees, came up short into a bunker, blasted out of the soft sand about 20 feet away and missed the par putt.
"That stuff happens," Haas said of Schwartzel's birdies. "That's what winners do. And winners don't bogey two of their last four holes they play."
McCoy felt like as big of a winner as Schwartzel. The 22-year-old, in his final year of college, grew up next to Innisbrook and made good on his first sponsor's exemption. He played next to Jordan Spieth, the world's No. 1 player, in the final round and looked like a pro on his way to finishing fourth.
It was the best finish by an amateur in a UA PGA Tour event of top players since 17-year-old Justin Rose tied for fourth at the  Open in 1998 at Royal Birkdale. Robbie Shelton tied for third last year in the Barbasol Championship, held opposite the Open.
McCoy would have earned $292,800 -- had he been a pro.
"It was even more fun than you can possibly imagine, with it being my home course, being in contention on Sunday, playing with the No. 1 player in the world, who is an absolute gentleman all day long," McCoy said. "It was really, really special."
Spieth fell behind early, never caught up and closed with a 73 to tie for 18th, 7 shots behind. He couldn't help but applaud McCoy when he finished his round.
Schwartzel and Haas finished at seven-under 277. It was the highest score to win on the US PGA Tour since Spieth won the U.S. Open at 5 under.
"I think everyone's goal is to keep bogeys off the card," Schwartzel said when he finished his regulation round. "You're just surviving."
That wasn't easy to do.
Steve Stricker was two shots out of the lead before he made a double-bogey on the par-5 11th and never recovered. Graham DeLaet of Canada, starting the final round one shot behind and determined to get his first US PGA Tour victory, never made a birdie in his round of 75.
Ryan Moore hit the ball great and couldn't figure out the greens, which were slower than normal. Moore was within one shot of the lead at the turn, but he closed with 12 straight pars for a 71 and finished two shots out of the play-off, in third place.
It also was a tough day for Ian Poulter, who had a 75-75 weekend and tied for 67th. That bumped Poulter to No. 67 in the world, which could knock him out of the Dell Match Play. 
This was the final week before the world ranking is used to determine the 64-man field (Jim Furyk and Henrik Stenson are not playing). 
US PGA Tour rookie Patton Kizzire closed with a 72 and tied for 33rd, good enough to move past Poulter.
FINAL TOTALS
par 284 (4x71)
1



71 70 69 67 277 won sudden-death play-off

 2



71 67 67 72 277
3


70 69 69 71 279
4


74 71 66 69 280

T5



67 72 70 72 281

T5


72 66 68 75 281
T7




72 70 70 70 282

T7




70 69 72 71 282
T7




71 66 72 73 282
T7



2 71 70 68 73 282
T11 28 -1 F -3 71 70 74 68 283
T11 12 -1 F -1 74 66 73 70 283
T11 2 -1 F 1 70 68 73 72 283
T11 2 -1 F 1 70 69 72 72 283
T11 2 -1 F 1 71 70 70 72 283
T11 2 -1 F 1 72 72 67 72 283
T11 8 -1 F 4 69 72 67 75 283
T18 29 E F -3 71 72 73 68 284
T18 21 E F -2 72 72 71 69 284
T18 9 E F 2 72 67 72 73 284
T18




76 68 67 73 284
T22 34 1 F -3 70 73 74 68 285
T22 34 1 F -3 69 75 73 68 285
T22 17 1 F -1 72 71 72 70 285

T22




75 69 71 70 285
T22 8 1 F E 69 73 72 71 285
T22 8 1 F E 74 68 72 71 285
T22 1 1 F 1 71 73 69 72 285

T22





70 72 71 72 285
T22 1 1 F 1 74 71 68 72 285
T22 3 1 F 2 72 68 72 73 285
T22 13 1 F 3 71 71 69 74 285
T33 14 2 F -1 71 74 71 70 286
T33





74 71 71 70 286
T33 3 2 F 1 71 73 70 72 286
T33 14 2 F 3 70 69 73 74 286
T37 2 3 F 1 73 68 74 72 287
T37 7 3 F 2 70 72 72 73 287
T37 7 3 F 2 72 72 70 73 287
T37 14 3 F 3 70 71 72 74 287
T37 28 3 F 5 70 67 74 76 287
T42 22 4 F -2 72 72 75 69 288
T42 19 4 F -1 70 74 74 70 288
T42 19 4 F -1 71 72 75 70 288
T42 14 4 F E 71 71 75 71 288
T42 14 4 F E 73 71 73 71 288
T42 5 4 F 1 72 71 73 72 288
T42 5 4 F 1 73 72 71 72 288
T42 5 4 F 1 71 74 71 72 288
T42 3 4 F 2 75 69 71 73 288
T42 3 4 F 2 72 73 70 73 288
T42 12 4 F 3 70 71 73 74 288
T53 11 5 F -1 73 69 77 70 289
T53 6 5 F 2 73 72 71 73 289
T53 14 5 F 3 72 71 72 74 289
T56 13 6 F -2 73 71 77 69 290
T56 12 6 F -1 74 69 77 70 290
T56 8 6 F E 74 69 76 71 290
T56 9 6 F 3 67 73 76 74 290

T56


75 69 70 76 290
T56 33 6 F 6 73 72 68 77 290
T62 32 7 F 6 72 72 70 77 291
T62 39 7 F 7 74 67 72 78 291
T64 -- 8 F 2 71 73 75 73 292
T64 8 8 F 4 71 73 73 75 292
T64 17 8 F 5 75 70 71 76 292
T67 4 9 F E 72 72 78 71 293
T67





72 71 75 75 293
T69 -- 10 F 2 68 76 77 73 294
T69 39 10 F 9 70 73 71 80 294

Labels:

posted by Colin | See story on its own page | Monday, March 14, 2016 | 0 comments

Copyright © Colin Farquharson

If you can't find what you are looking for.... please check the Archive List or search this site with Google