Duncan Stewart bogey, double-bogey finish 

costs him Sotogrande Masters lead


By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Edinburgh-based Duncan Stewart (Turnhouse) was the only Scot to break par in the first round of the MENA Tour's inaugural Sotogrande Masters today ... more than that - he should have ended a wet and windy day on the Costa del Sol in the lead!
Instead, Stewart shot a one-under-par 71 to be joint third, one shot behind joint lears Gavin Moynihan from Ireland and France's Mathieu Decottignies-Lafon.
Stewart birdied the first, long seventh, ninth, 10th, and two more par-5 holes, the 11th and 15th but, needing a par finish to lead, he bogeyed the 17th and had a double bogey 6 at the 18th.
Earlier bogeys were marked up at the third and sixth 
Aberdeen's David Law had a 74 including birdies at the third and 18th but four bogeys as the "meat in the sandwich."
Otherwise it was not a good dday for the Scots in the field of 80.
Ross Kellett had five bogeys and no birdies in a 77 for a share of 25th place.
Paul Shields could do no better than a 79 for joint 79th place while Danny Kay from the Lothians had a nightmare 85 which sees him languishing in joint 71st place.

SOTOGRANDE MASTERS
La Reserva Golf Club, Sotogrande, Spain
FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
par 72
70 G Moynihan (Ire), M Decottignies-Lagon (Fra)
71 D Stewart (Sco), L Corfield (Eng), J Gallegos (Spa), M Tulloh (Chile)

OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
74 D Law (T15)
77 R Kellett (T25)
79 P Shields (T40)
85 D Kay (T71)

TWO SHARE LEAD AT MENA GOLF TOUR’S SOTOGRANDE MASTERS

Wet and windy conditions take its toll on scoring at La Reserva Club

SOTOGRANDE — Gavin Moynihan and Mathieu Decottignies-Lafon battled through wet and windy conditions to put themselves atop the leaderboard in the first round of the inaugural Sotogrande Masters on the MENA Golf Tour at La Reserva Golf Club today

Ireland’s Moynihan, pictured right, made three birdies and a bogey in his opening two-under 70 while Decottignies-Lafon of France kept it clean on the back nine as he picked up four shots after making the turn at two-over. 

In their first season on the tour, the two early frontrunners are led by one shot over a four-man group which included England’s Lee Corfield, a three-time winner, and Spain’s Javier Gallegos, who topped the MENA Golf Tour Qualifying School held earlier this year.

Scotland’s Duncan Stewart and Mark Tullo of Chile were the other two players who moved into a tie for third on one-under 71 as tough weather conditions took its toll with many prominent players in the field struggling to break par. 

Younes El Hassani carded a level-par 72 to lead the MENA Division for professionals while his fellow Moroccan Yassine Touhami seized the early initiative in the amateur division, returning a 76.

Among the notables, Wales’ Stephen Dodd, a three-time winner on the European Tour, and the MENA Golf Tour Order of Merit champion, Thriston Lawrence of South Africa, were tied for 30^th on a 77, just one shot behind England’s Zane Scotland, a 10-time winner on the tour. 

England’s Andrew Marshall, who currently leads the tour’s Order of Merit with a second and a first in the first two events on the tour, shot a one-over 73 to stay in contention for another strong finish.

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R and A Scholars Tournament at St Andrews

Eggenberger leads by two after rain cuts Eden 

second round to nine holes


By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Heavy rain at St Andews, which caused flooding on the Eden Course, forced the organisers to cut the second round of the R and A Scholars Tournament to only nine holes.
The third and final round will be played over the Old Course on Tuesday.
The winner of the men's section is guaranteed a place in the Great Britain and Ireland team for the Palmer Cup match against a United States student line-up.
The winner of the women's competition will be given entry to a tournament on the Ladies European Tour.
Swiss international Mathias Eggenberger (Stirling) won the men's title and a Palmer Cup place last year and he established a two-stroke lead over today's truncated 27-hole programme over the Eden Course.
He shot a four-under-par 67 in the morning and one-under 32 for the afternoon nine holes for a running tally of 101.
That's two ahead of Scottish universities champion Craig Howie (Stirling) and Andrew Wilson (Northumbria). Howie had scores of 70 and 33, Wilson 71 and 32, both on 103 with a round to play.
Ireland's Chloe Ryan leads the women's section with a 27-hole tally of 108 (72-76) over the Eden Course.
The Dublin student  leads by two from Scot Eilidh Briggs (Stirling) 75-35 and by five from third placed Bronwyn Davies (Myerscough) 78-85.
Scottish universities stroke and match-play champion Gemma Batty (Stirling) is nine shots off the pace after scores of 77 and 40 for 117. 
+Tee times for the third round are available by switching over to
www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk

R and A SCHOLARS TOURNAMENT
Eden Course, St Andrews
+Second round reduced to nine holes because of flooding
MEN'S LEADERBOARD
101 M Eggenberger (Stirling) 67 34
103 A Wilson (Northumberland) 71 32, C Howie (Stirling) 70 33
104 S Mullarney (Maynooth) 68 36
105 G Leon (St Andrews) 72 33, S Flanagan (Maynooth) 71 34
106 M Howard (Edinburgh) 71 35
107 D Reidy (Sligo) 72 35
108 A Gleeson (UCD) 71 37
109 J A Wilson (Stirling) 73 36, A Lowry (Maynooth) 73 76
110 S Grehan (Maynooth) 77 773, L Michel (Austria) 75 35, J Glenn (Durham) 75 35, D Hau (South Wales) 74 36, K McCarron (Maynooth).
111 G Burns (St Andrews) 76 35, C Edgar (Stirling) 75 36, K O'Connor (Loughborough) 73 38.
112 C MacLean (Stirling) 76 36, J Shelley (Liverpool) 73 79, R Dawson (Maynooth) 72 40

SELECTED SCORES
114 C Low (Abertay) 75 39.
115 H Tomlinson (Stirling) 77 38.
116 C Neil (Abertay) 77 39
119 A Carrick (Stirling) 76 43
120 J Johnston (Strathclyde) 78 42

WOMEN'S LEADERBOARD

108 C Ryan (Dublin) 72 36
110 E Briggs (Stirling) 75 35
113 B Davies (Myerscough) 78 35
114 J Rossa (Queens) 77 37
115 A Herbaut (France) 78 37
116 S Stone (Exeter) 77 39
117 S Sexton (Stirling) 78 39, T Mactaggart (Stirling) 77 40, G Batty (Stirling) 77 40
118 C Goadby (Stirling) 80 38
119 M Brain (St Andrews) 80 39, B Morris (Cardiff) 78 41, J Saxton (Stirling) 78 41
120 M Lockett (Birmingham) 81 39, N Greville (Stirling) 80 40
135 H Holden (Sheffield) 89 45.


TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES 
AND TUESDAY'S TEE TIMES

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Stephen Gallacher Foundation Tournament Tee Times

Venue: Kingsfield G C. Date: Sunday, April 10 Tee Time Name 1 11:00 AM Ross Munro 1 11:09 AM David Stein 1 11:18 AM Cameron Farrell 1 11:27 AM Marc Owenson 1 11:36 AM Ogilvie Robertson 1 11:45 AM Daniel Flannery 1 11:54 AM Paul O'Hara 1 12:03 PM Rory Tinker 1 12:12 PM Jordan Gallagher 1 12:21 PM Andrew Hutchison 1 12:30 PM Samuel Binning 1 12:39 PM Christopher Billows 1 12:48 PM Chris McQueen 1 12:57 PM Andrew Todd 1 1:06 PM Steven Maxwell 1 1:15 PM Euan MacDonald 1 1:24 PM Graham Forbes 1 1:33 PM Stephen Wilson Complete information is available at Tournament Information Page (TIP)

Gordon MacDonald wins Scottish Seniors 

Golfing Society Winter Order of Merit

By GORDON THOMSON

Gordon MacDonald (Glenbervie) emerged as the winner of the Scottish Seniors Golfing Society Winter Series after the last event played at Prestwick St Cuthbert on Friday. Kenneth Harrison (Peebles) finished second just ahead of George Barrie (Callander) in third place.

Despite not winning any of the individual events, MacDonald was well placed in all five events and that consistency earned him the title. After a fine 2015 season he picked up where he left off last year to show that at the age of 68 he is still a match for the best in Senior golf.

After good weather conditions in the first four events, Friday’s rain and strong winds made scoring conditions difficult at Prestwick St Cuthbert. Ian Johnston (Williamwood) and George Barrie tied for first place on 34 points with Gordon MacDonald and Brian Halbert (Callander) tied on 33 points.

The top ten places in the Order of Merit, containing no fewer than six Stirlingshire players, were :

Gordon MacDonald (Glenbervie )  172 points

Kenneth Harrison (Peebles)  162 points

George Barrie (Callander) 155 points

Robin Craw (Glenbervie )147 points

Alan Harrington (Western Gailes) 142 points

Colin Halcrow (Windyhill) 135 points

David Smith( Stirling ) 131 points

Bruce Hunter (Stirling ) 127 points

Brian Halbert (Callander )127 points

Keith Ross (Beith) 120 points

PGA in Scotland Winter Series Better-ball Four-ball tee imes for April 11

Venue: Western Gailes Golf Club 

 Tee  Time      Name

  1   9:00 AM   Steven Maxwell
                David Orr
                Mark Loftus
                Simon Payne

  1   9:10 AM   Graham Forbes
                Paul Robinson
                James Dick
                Scott Grieve

  1   9:20 AM   Graham Fox
                Alan Reid

  1   9:30 AM   Jason McCreadie
                Robert Arnott
                Craig Everett
                Stewart Savage

  1   9:40 AM   Nigel Scott-Smith
                Vincent Brown
                Fergus Smith
                Colin Fisher

  1   9:50 AM   Alastair Forsyth
                Greg Paxton
                Paul O'Hara
                Steven O'Hara

  1   10:00 AM  Campbell Elliott
                Stephen McAllister
                Stephen Gray
                Billy Marchbank

  1   10:10 AM  Norman Huguet
                Gareth Wright
                Tom Eckford
                David Stein

Complete information is available at Tournament Information Page (TIP)

Duncan Stewart's solid start to Sotogrande 

Masters with a 71

Duncan Stewart has made a solid start to the MENA Tour's inaugural Sotogrande Masters at La Reserve Golf Club.
He ahot a 71 to be one off the pace with half the field still to finish

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Monty earns $19,120 for tied 21s finish with level par 216

Jimenez chalks up 3rd in on US Seniors Tour

Miguel Angel Jiménez shot a final round of eight-under-par 64 en route to securing his third US Champions Senior Tour title in the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic as the evergreen Spaniard finished two shots ahead of American Scott Dunlap with a 54-hole aggregate of 14 under par 202 to earn $240,000.
Jiménez, who has amassed 21 European Tour titles, started the day in third place, three shots behind Dunlap, but produced the lowest final round in the history of the tournament to register his third win in ten starts on the Champions Tour.
The 52 year old’s bogey-free final round included a superb 55-foot putt on the tenth hole for birdie, which he followed up with three further birdies in succession to take control at Fallen Oak.
The Spaniards' earlier rounds were 68 and 70.
As part of his preparation for this year’s Masters Tournament, two-time winner Bernhard Langer finished tied sixth with a score of seven under par.
Colin Montgomerie recovered from an opening round of 77 to finish tied 21st on level par 216
The big Scot's subsequent rounds were 69 and 70. He earned $19,120.


HOW THEY FINISHED xz
 par 216 (3x72)

1	Miguel Angel Jimenez	68	70	64	.		202	$240,000
2	Scott Dunlap	66	69	69			204	$140,800
T3	Tom Pernice Jr.	70	69	68			207	$95,467
T3	Jeff Maggert	71	68	68			207	$95,467
T3	Jerry Smith	69	68	70			207	$95,467
T6	Bernhard Langer	71	70	68			209	$60,800
T6	Glen Day	74	65	70			209	$60,800
T8	Lee Janzen	71	72	67			210	$48,000
T8	Jeff Sluman	73	68	69			210	$48,000
10	Steve Lowery	70	69	72			211	$41,600
T11	Kenny Perry	73	69	70			212	$35,200
T11	Scott Verplank	75	67	70			212	$35,200
T11	Michael Allen	75	65	72			212	$35,200
T14	Gene Sauers	72	71	70			213	$28,800
T14	Scott McCarron	71	71	71			213	$28,800
T14	Tommy Armour III	68	73	72			213	$28,800
17	Corey Pavin	70	71	73			214	$25,600
T18	Jesper Parnevik	70	75	70			215	$22,453
T18	Brian Henninger	73	71	71			215	$22,453
T18	Fred Funk	74	69	72			215	$22,453
T21	Patrick Burke	74	72	70			216	$19,120
T21	Colin Montgomerie	77	69	70			216	$19,120
T23	Duffy Waldorf	74	73	70			217	$16,800
T23	Esteban Toledo	76	70	71			217	$16,800
T23	Mike Goodes	74	71	72			217	$16,800
T26	Gibby Gilbert III	73	74	71			218	$14,560
T26	Marco Dawson	75	71	72			218	$14,560
T26	Jeff Hart	70	73	75			218	$14,560
T29	Peter Senior	78	68	73			219	$11,340
T29	John Riegger	74	72	73			219	$11,340
T29	Wes Short Jr.	76	70	73			219	$11,340
T29	Jay Don Blake	72	74	73			219	$11,340
T29	Tom Byrum	74	72	73			219	$11,340
T29	Jean-Francois Remesy	75	70	74			219	$11,340
T29	Grant Waite	72	72	75			219	$11,340
T29	Craig Parry	70	72	77			219	$11,340
T37	Olin Browne	72	75	73			220	$8,640
T37	Paul Goydos	76	72	72			220	$8,640
T37	Kevin Sutherland	75	74	71			220	$8,640
T37	Brad Faxon	75	69	76			220	$8,640
T41	Joey Sindelar	76	72	73			221	$7,200
T41	Jim Carter	73	73	75			221	$7,200
T41	Bart Bryant	76	73	72			221	$7,200
T41	David Frost	74	71	76			221	$7,200
T41	Rocco Mediate	74	76	71			221	$7,200
T46	Geoffrey Sisk	73	74	75			222	$5,280
T46	Todd Hamilton	80	68	74			222	$5,280
T46	Scott Parel	73	75	74			222	$5,280
T46	Billy Andrade	76	73	73			222	$5,280
T46	Willie Wood	74	76	72			222	$5,280
T46	Jay Haas	75	75	72			222	$5,280
T46	Gary Hallberg	75	76	71			222	$5,280
T53	Larry Nelson	74	74	75			223	$3,680
T53	Brandt Jobe	75	74	74			223	$3,680
T53	Woody Austin	76	74	73			223	$3,680
T53	Loren Roberts	75	75	73			223	$3,680
T53	Mike Springer	75	76	72			223	$3,680
T58	Rod Spittle	72	77	75			224	$2,960
T58	Tim Thelen	75	75	74			224	$2,960
T58	David Eger	76	75	73			224	$2,960
T58	Carlos Franco	76	78	70			224	$2,960
T62	John Cook	74	73	78			225	$2,320
T62	Jose Coceres	74	75	76			225	$2,320
T62	Roger Chapman	80	72	73			225	$2,320
T62	Doug Garwood	74	77	74			225	$2,320
T66	Joe Durant	77	74	75			226	$1,840
T66	Kirk Triplett	78	75	73			226	$1,840
T68	Mike Grob	74	76	77			227	$1,504
T68	Steve Pate	76	75	76			227	$1,504
T68	Bob Tway	81	74	72			227	$1,504
T71	Dan Forsman	78	73	77			228	$1,216
T71	Scott Hoch	80	75	73			228	$1,216
T71	Steen Tinning	78	79	71			228	$1,216
T74	Mark Brooks	76	81	72			229	$1,024
T74	Bob Gilder	80	78	71			229	$1,024
76	Stan Utley	77	82	75			234	$928
77	Blaine McCallister	80	77	78			235	$864
78	Jim Thorpe	77	78	81			236	$800
.

Scottish U18 boys championship first day at Murcar Links

Michael Lawrie through at 19th but Ross 

Callan, 2015 runner-up, falls at first hurdle 


By COLIN FARQUHARSON 
Michael Lawrie (Deeside), pictured below, watched by his dad Paul, squeezed through at the 19th ag,ainst Tom Boyd (Bothwell Castle), son of a former Celtic footballer, as the Scottish Under-18 boys match play championship got under way at Murcar Links today. 

Sandy Scott (Nairn), arguably the favourite for the title, won by 2 and 1 over Greg Cessford (Balbirnie Park).
One of the bigger surprises of a long day was the first-round defeat of Ross Callan (Bathgate), who went all the way to the final last year before being beaten. 
Callan lost by 4 and 2 to Connor Wilson (Dunbar). Sic transit gloria as they used to say in Latin quarters.
Glenn Burrett (Haggs Castle) chalked up one of the biggest wins of the opening morning at the North-east venue. He beat Nathan McKenna (Bothwell Castle) by 7 and 6.
Another winner big-time was Lewis Fraser (Inverness) whose match against Logan Miller (Downfield) ended early with the Highlander on top by an 8 and 7 margin.
Cameron Black (Royal Aberdeen), who played for Scotland in last week's Under-16s quadrangular international at Hilton Templepatrick, Northern Ireland, won by one hole over Calum Graham (Crieff).
Last year's Paul Lawrie Scottish schoolboys champion Darren Howe (Peebles), whose older brother Craig won the Scottish U18 boys title at Murcar Links in 2012, was a 6 and 5 winner over Tim Erskine (Kilmacolm).
  You can view all the first-day results  on the SGU website

CLICK HERE