Link to scores on Jamega Tour Ascot event Day One

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                                Nigg Bay's winning quartet. Pictures by Matty Beattie
No Maitland Shield glory run for Banchory 

and Craibstone this year!

By COLIN FARQUHARSON 
Banchory, last year's beaten finalists,  and Craibstone , the surprise packet who made it to the semi-finals 12 months ago, were both knocked out this evening in the first round of the 100th City of Aberdeen men's double foursomes for the Maitland Shield at King's Links. Sic transit gloria!
Murcar Links beat Banchory by seven holes with Adrian Style and Bryan Innes finishing four up against Adam Lindsay and Fergus Milne, while Anthony Bews and Ronnie Brechin were three up on Craig Lindsay and Roy Black.
Nigg Bay scored a similar 7-0 win over Craibstone. Gordon Grimmer and Steve Jamieson were four up on Ian Still and John Borthwick at the end of 18 holes and Zac Wood and Ryan Forbes were three holes to the good over Stuart Milne and Mark McDonald.
Hazlehead were the night's biggest winners. Their quartet of Greig Kennedy, Adam Strachan, Phil Lawrence and Brian Nicholson, finished a combined nine holes  up on Auchmill's Jonathan Gregor, Graeme Hay, Alex Allan and Keith Duncan.
Peterhead have become the second club to scratch from the tournament. Last week Stonehaven withdrew. Today, Peterculter said they were scratching because of team problems. 
That gives Bon Accord a walk-over into Wednesday's quarter-finals.


Results in this evening's first-round ties in the 100th City of Aberdeen men's double foursomes for the Maitland Shield at the Kings Links were:

Nigg Bay bt Craibstone by 7 holes
G Gimmer, S Jamieson 4, I Still, J Borthwick 0.
Z Wood, R Forbes 3, S Milne, M McDonald 0

Murcar Links bt Banchory by 7 holes 
                             (Banchory team pictured right)

A Styles, B Innes 4, A Lindsay, F Milne 0.o
A Bews, R Brechin 3, C Lindsay, R Black 0

Hazlehead bt Auchmill by 9 holes
G Kennedy, A Strachan 5, J Gregor, G Hay 0.
P Lawrence, B Nicholson 4, A Allan, K Duncan 0. 

TUESDAY'S FIRST-ROUND TIES
4.47 Royal Aberdeen v Deeside.
5.01 Bon Accord walk-over, Peterculter scratched
5.15 Portlethen v Newmachar 

               Hazlehead's winning team on the first night of Maitland Shield

                                             Craibstone's team beaten in first round

                                  Auchmill, first-round losers in Maitland Shield
 

Sandy Scott can't play for North boys in Scottish championship

Sandy Scott (Nairn) is unavailable for the North District team of four to play in the Scottish area team boys' championship at Grangemouth Golf Club on Sunday, June 5.

He is competing in the St Andrews Trophy 72-hole tournament at St Andrews that weekend.

The North boys team is:

Rory Franssen (Inverness)

Andrew Moir (Elgin)

Thomas Bell (Forres)

Finlay Asher (Nairn).

Russell Knox ranked No 28 in world

Russell Knox, pictured above, is now ranked in the top 30 of the world's professional golfers .... No 28 to be precise in this week's revised listing. It's the highest he has ever been in the world pro rankings.
Inverness-born Knox, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida, campaigns on the US PGA Tour whereas the Nos 2 and 3 Scots in the world rankings, Marc Warren (No 132) and Richie Ramsay (No 137), play on the Europan Tour.
Martin Laird's lack of success in America has seen him slide down the rankings to No 211.
Stephen Gallacher (No 246) is the only other Scot in the world's top 300.
LATEST WORLD RANKINGS
1 J Day
2 J Spieth
3 R McIlroy
4 B Watson
5 R Fowler
6 H Stenson
7 A Scott
8 D Johnson
9 D Willett
10 J Rose

SCOTS:
28 R Knox
132 M Warren
137 R Ramsay
211 M Laird
246 S Gallacher 

To view the top 300 world rankings

CLICK HERE

 Jack McDonald in ISM Class of 2016 sponsorship

Left to right: Garrick Porteous, Jack McDonald, Haydn McCullen, Chubby Chandler, Thriston Lawrence and Billy Spooner. 

NEWS RELEASE

International Sports Management today launches a pioneering sponsorship scheme to help prestigious businesses support our Class of 2016 on the road to success.

The programme sees partners invest in up and coming quintet Garrick Porteous, Thriston Lawrence, Haydn McCullen, Jack McDonald and Billy Spooner, as well as accessing unrivalled networking opportunities and a golf day.

DWB Wealth Consultancy (Wealth Management), Enterprise (Car Rental), GoPro (Action Cameras), Irish Biltong Co (Food), London Sport Exchange (Finance and Investments), MyProtein (Nutrition), Pond Mobile (Mobile Operator), Savills (Estate Agent), The Entertainer (Discount Publisher), Adaris (FX) and TW Steel (Luxury) will back the youngsters as they embark on a season that will prove crucial to their golfing futures.

Garrick will focus on the Challenge Tour, while Thriston, Haydn, Jack and Billy will be looking to underline their growing reputations on the EuroPro Tour, each wearing the Class of 2016 logo as they set off on the path to stardom.

ISM Chief Executive Officer Chubby Chandler said: “We believe this is a great way to connect new partners with our best young talent.

“They will be involved in every step and share the highs and lows of what promises to be a memorable year for these young lads, who have bags of potential.

“The boys are really buying into the ethos of the whole thing and who knows? In years to come these companies may be able to boast about having been involved with one of the world’s leading players at the very start.”

Garrick is a former British Amateur champion, while South African Thriston, 19, won last year’s Ras Al Khaimah Classic on the way to finishing at the top of the MENA Tour’s Order of Merit.

Haydn, also 19, won the HotelPlanner.com Championship on last year’s EuroPro Tour, while Ayrshire-born Jack, 23, who helped Great Britain and Ireland win the Walker Cup last year, and former England international Billy, 18, have recently turned professional.

Steven Orr (40) is younget recipient of PGA 

Master Professional status

THE PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS’ ASSOCIATION 
PRESS RELEASE from NATHANIEL SYLVESTER
A Scottish golfer who first picked up a golf club at aged just four has become the youngest ever recipient of PGA Master Professional status.

Littlehampton, West Sussex-based Steven Orr, pictured, now 40, who is director of coaching and development at the Cranfield Golf Academies, received the accolade in the latest APAL (Accreditation for Professional Achievement and Learning) awards.
Also celebrating were Jussi Pitkanen (Ireland PGA coach education and development manager), Shane Rose (Cold Ashby), Kieron Stevenson (Royal Troon) and Ian Wrigley (Dunham Forest) who achieved PGA Fellow Professional status.
The following were accorded PGA Advanced Professional membership: Stephen Ennis (Balcarrick), Robert Giles (Greenore), Lewis Hanney (Oake Manor), Graham Hawkings (Malvern College), Simon Hayward (Westridge), Mark Norton (Northants County), Mark Sturgess (Bourn Golf) and Scott Thompson (Mendip Spring).
Orr grew up playing golf on the south side of Glasgow at East Renfrewshire Golf Club where he and his older brother, David, who is also a successful PGA pro, were passionate about the game right from the start.
The younger Orr harboured hopes of playing on the European Tour but has ended up as a renowned coach with a host of achievements to his name including being one of the first PGA pros to undertake the UKCC Level 4 Certificate in Coaching.
Ironically, it was a golfer who famously never had a lesson - Bubba Watson - that persuaded Orr that he wasn’t going to cut it as a player at the highest level and stoked a passion for coaching.
Orr played a few rounds with Watson while at university in Alabama and it was a wake-up call to his own tour ambitions.
“From my teens I wanted to be a European Tour player but I promised myself that when the day it became evident it was not going to happen as a tour player that coaching was where I wanted to be,” said Orr who is also an England Regional coach.
“Playing with Bubba you could see he was a different standard and it was maybe a turning point when I realised there were players far better than me.
“The other moment that brought it home was when I played in the Johnnie Walker Championship and played with Peter Hanson who went on to play in two Ryder Cups. There was a big gulf to these world-class players and by the time I was 26 I realised I was not going to achieve my tour ambitions.
“Coaching was beginning to hold a fascination when I put a foot in the coaching world. I went from playing ten hours a day to not playing for a year because I was so absorbed in coaching.
 “I’m totally fascinated with coaching and in fact it’s outgrown my fascination with playing in a way I never thought would happen.”
Orr, who described himself as a "decent player" who competed on the Europro Tour and made some Challenge Tour appearances, believes his appetite for coaching was fuelled by his playing experiences.
“I think my fascination with coaching grew out of my failure as a player. I was looking from a playing perspective and wanted to understand why,” he added.
“I love coaching, I do 70 hours a week but it doesn’t feel as though I’ve worked a day since 2003. My love for coaching grows every day, I’m very fortunate that I have got a job that doesn’t feel like work. I think every passionate coach will tell you the same.
“Also, part of journey over the last 15 years has been in coach education including as a PGA tutor and working overseas for the R and A. I’ve found that really interesting - how we develop effectively as coaches and how that process works.”
Reflecting on his PGA Master Professional accolade, Orr added: “This is a real honour to be given this award by the PGA especially when you look at some of the guys on the list of Master Professionals.
“Several of them have been huge mentors, notably Scott Cranfield whom I have worked under from day one of my coaching career.”

Belhaven Best Ben pro-am tee times

VENUE: Cardross Golf Club
DATE: Thursday, May 26

 Tee   Time      Name

  1A   12:30 pm Scott Henderson, Kings Links GC

  2A   12:30 pm  Craig Ronald, Carluke GC

  3A   12:30 pm Cameron Farrell, Cardross GC

  4A   12:30 pm Alan Welsh, Cathkin Braes GC

  5A   12:30 pm Christopher Currie, Caldwell GC

  6A   12:30 pm  Paul O'Hara, Clydeway Golf

  7A   12:30 pm  Robert Arnott, Bishopbriggs GR

  8A   12:30 pm  Stephen Gray, Lanark GC

  9A   12:30 pm  Samuel Binning, Mearns Castle GA

  10A  12:30 PM  Mark Hillson, Kilconquhar Castle Est

  15A  12:30 PM  Alastair Forsyth, Mearns Castle GA

  16A  12:30 PM  Graham Mackay, Loretto School GA

  17A  12:30 PM  Paul Robinson, Largs GC

  18A  12:30 PM  Chris Kelly

Complete information is available at Tournament Information Page (TIP)

TONIGHT'S MAITLAND SHIELD TIES
First round
4.47pm Northern walk-over, Stonehaven scratched
5.01pm Nigg Bay v Craibstone
5.15pm Murcar Links v Banchory
5.29pm Auchmill v Hazlehead.

TUESDAY
First round continued
4.47pm: Royal Aberdeen v Deeside
5.01pm: Bon Accord walk-over, Peterculter scratched
5.15pm: Portlethen v Newmachar (defending champions) 

WEDNESDAY
Quarter-finals
4.47pm: Caledonian v Northern
5.01pm: Nigg Bay or Craibstone v Murcar Links or Banchory
5.15pm: Auchmill or Hazlehead v Royal Aberdeen or Deeside.
5.29pm: Bon Accord v Portlethen or Newmachar 

THURSDAY
Semi-finals
4.47pm
5.01pm

FRIDAY
Final
4.47pm

Jason Day coasts to four-shot win in Players Championship at Sawgrass

SKYSPORTS.COM By Keith Jackson

Jason Day lifts the trophy after his victory at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday

Jason Day joined an elite club to have posted multiple wire-to-wire victories in the same season as a composed one-under 71 was enough to claim a comfortable four-shot victory at the Players Championship.

The Australian  was uncharacteristically nervy on the greens on the front nine at TPC Sawgrass in Florida on Sunday as he dropped shots at the sixth and ninth to turn in 38 with his overnight four-shot lead halved, but he shut the door on the field with birdies at 10 and 12 before cruising to the finish line.
Day led from start to finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, and his win at the course in Ponte Vedra Beach emulates the feats of Tiger Woods (twice), Tom Watson and Johnny Miller in going wire to wire twice in the same year.

Kevin Chappell won the race for second, while Rory McIlroy got to within three of the leader when he picked up his third birdie of the round at the 11th only to see his challenge scuppered when he pulled his tee shot into water at the short 13th.
Day appeared on course for a procession when he gouged a wedge to six feet from thick rough at the first, but he missed the birdie chance and another one went begging from inside 10 feet at the par-five second.

The world No 1 then had his short-game prowess to thank for bailing him out of trouble with sublime up and downs at holes three and five, but he could not save par at the next after finding a fairway bunker with his drive.
The 28-year-old Australian scrambled a par at the next as he holed from 15 feet, but he lost concentration at the ninth when he duffed three straight chips from the rough to the right of the narrow green and eventually rolled in a testing six-foot putt to limit the damage to a bogey 6.

But he regrouped and found the heart of the 10th green with his second before carding his first birdie of the day with a confident 18-foot putt, and he rolled in another from similar range at the 12th to restore his four-stroke advantage.
And with nobody able to mount a significant charge to put his lead under threat, Day converted a delightful pitch for another birdie at the 16th and negotiated the final two holes with cast-iron pars to close on 15 under for the tournament.

Day's win also makes him only the fifth man to have won The Players, a major and a WGC after Woods, Phil Mickelson, Martin Kaymer and his fellow Australian Adam Scott.
With scoring conditions significantly easier than Saturday, Chappell emerged from the pack to finish runner-up on his own after he recovered from a front-nine 37 - which included three bogeys in five holes - with a flawless inward 32.

Chappell began his move when he chipped in for eagle at the long 11th, and he followed a birdie at 16 with a superb wedge to three feet at the penultimate hole before his final chance to pressure Day went begging when he missed the target from 10 feet at the last.
Round of the day went to youngster Justin Thomas, who cruised to the turn in 32 and picked up three further shots over the final five holes to return a 65 which gave him the early clubhouse lead on 10 under, lifting him 20 places up the leaderboard.

Justin Thomas birdied three of the last five holes to post the day's low round of 65

Thomas had to settle for a share of third with 2012 champion Matt Kuchar and fellow Americans Colt Knost and Ken Duke, while former Ryder Cup star Francesco Molinari emerged as the leading European after a 72 left him at nine under.
Graeme McDowell was a further stroke adrift as he birdied the final three holes to salvage a 69, but his compatriot McIlroy was left to rue his big mistake at the 13th which halted his momentum.

  Rory McIlroy was just three off the lead when he got to eight under with a birdie at 11

The world No 3 made well-crafted birdies at the second and ninth and kept a bogey off his card on the outward nine, and he picked up his third shot of the day at the third par-five to move into third place on eight under.
But he tugged his tee-shot into the stream to the left of the 13th green and did well to get up and down from the drop zone for bogey, and a wild drive at the 15th led to another dropped shot before a closing birdie after a precise wedge to six feet at the last capped a closing 70 - seven under for the tournament.

BACK TO JASON DAY:

With Day's win Sunday at the Players Championship, he has seven victories in his past 17 starts worldwide. When you consider the depth in today's game, and how seven wins is a career for some, it is important to appreciate what we have witnessed since the end of a disappointing day last July at the home of golf in Scotland

"Well, it's Tiger-esque, that kind of run,'' said Adam Scott, who played a practice round with his countryman earlier in the week.
 "It's the thing I always try to explain how good you feel after one win, and I try to imagine how good Tiger [Woods] felt, just playing about five years into his pro career having won like 50 events. 
"Imagine how you'd feel confidence-wise, and Jason must be feeling something like that at the moment.
"And that's an incredibly nice way to walk out on the golf course, and you can see it with Jason. You can see there's that calmness inside him, calm confidence, and the way he's walking around, he's got that kind of unbeatable look about him.''
Perhaps it is no coincidence that Day has sought out Woods for advice. He has made no secret of the fact that the man he once idolized now has become somewhat of a mentor and sounding board.
Woods made a career out of closing out tournaments, and Day is doing the same thing, converting with the 54-hole lead on five straight occasions.