Murcar Links v Portlethen in 100th Maitland 

Shield Final at Kings Links 

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
It will be a Murcar Links v Portlethen final on Friday evening (4.47pm tee off) in the 100th City of Aberdeen men's double foursomes match-play.
Murcar Links beat Northern by eight holes and Portlethen KOd Hazlehead by the same margin in the other semi-final in miserable wet and cold conditions at the Kings Links.
Murcar's Adrian Styles and Bryan Innes produced the best golf of the night in finishing eight up on Northern's Stuart Slessor and George Paterson.
Styles and Innes were four under par at the finish. They have finished ahead in all three ties they have played this week.
Murcar Links' second string of Anthony Bews and Ronnie Brechin had a halved match with Neil Walker and Cameron Johnstone.
Running Styles and Innes close in the sub-par scoring stakes were Portlethen's Kevin Daglish and Clark Brechin. They were five up at the turn against Hazlehead's Greig Kennedy and Adam Strachan, thanks to three-under par figures.
Kennedy and Strachan threatened a revival by winning the 11th and 12th but their Portlethen opponents pulled away again to finish six up.
The Portlethen second string of Keith Horne and Gary Esson scored their third win of the week, this one by three holes over Hazlehead's Phil Lawrence and Brian Nicholson who had won their two previous ties.
RESULTS
SEMI-FINALS
Murcar Links beat Northern by 8 holes
A Styles, B Innes 8, S Slessor, G Paterson 9.
A Bews, R Brechin 0, N Walker, C Johnstone 0.

Portlethen bt Hazlehead by 9 holes
K Daglish, C Brechin 6, G Kennedy, A Strachan 0.
K Horne, G Esson 3, P Lawrence, B Nicholson 0.

 FRIDAY'S FINAL
4.47 Murcar Links v Portlethen.

Justin Rose pulls out of BMW PGA Championship due to back injury

By PA Sport

Former US Open champion Justin Rose has withdrawn from next week's BMW PGA Championship due to a back injury.

Rose, who lost a play-off to Anders Hansen at Wentworth in 2007 and was joint second in 2012, is coming off a top-20 finish at the Players Championship at Sawgrass and a final round of 66.
But he wrote on Twitter: "It is with deep disappointment that I must announce that I will not be able to play the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

"I battled the onset of back pain all week at the Players Championship and the symptoms worsened during my week at home.
"I have a great team of people around me who are working diligently to help me get as fit as possible as soon as possible and I must fully focus on rehab at this time.

CONTINUING THE MAITLAND SHIELD DEBATE

Maitland Shield player problems? What about 

the 10-man Pennant League then?
 
FROM RYAN FORBES, Nigg Bay GC
If clubs can't arrange four players from six to play in the Maitland Shield, they should be thinking twice about entering a 10-man team in the Aberdeen Pennant League. 
If you can't guarantee getting away from work, you shouldn't be committing yourself to play in these events. If your club has to scratch from the game on the day, you have let down and inconvenienced your opponents who may have made themselves available by using annual leave etc!
I feel the problem here is that match secretaries are not arranging players in advance. The Maitland Shield has had this rule for some time and I fully agree with it.
The only suggestion I can make to improve the availability of players is to submit the team of six on the Sunday evening prior to the event.
As for teams struggling to field teams in the Aberdeen Pennant League , it must be noted that this may not only have an effect on clubs progressing to the final stages of the league, it may have an financial effect on clubs who still have to pay caterers etc. Not to mention the 1hr slot a club may potentially lose in green fees.  
With the ongoing low oil price, some clubs are losing vital corporate memberships and are also tightening there belts. Teams must be committed if entering these events or they will soon become a shambles.

Ryan Forbes
Nigg Bay GC

Six Scots make the cut on EuroPro Tour

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Six Scots - Neil Fenwick (141), Paul McKechnie (142), Zack Saltman (142), Elliot Saltman (143), Michael Stewart (144) and John Henry (144) - survived the halfway cut in the first PGA EuroPro Tour event of the season, at Frilford Heath Golf Club, Oxfordshire.
Fenwick had five birdies and a bogey in a second-round 68 for joint 10th place overnight, four shots behind the three Englishman who share the lead on seven-under 137.
McKechnie slipped back to joint 21st with a 74 for 142, the same mark as Zack Saltman with a pair of 71s.
Elliot Saltman made it through with scores of 72-71. Michael Stewart sagged a bit to a 75, six shots more than his first round, but made the cut on the limit mark as did Henry with a pair of 72s.


PGA EUROPRO TOUR
Frilford Heath Golf Club
LEADING SECOND-ROUND SCORES
Par 144 (2x72)
137 L Canter (Eng) 69 68, L Cornford (Eng) 68 68, D Coupland (Eng) 68 69
137 A Runcie (Wal) 71 67, L Jackson (Eng) 70 68.

SCOTS' SCORES
141 N Fenwick 73 68 (T10)
142 P McKechnie 68 74, Z Saltman 71 71 (T21)
143 E Saltman 72 71 (T31)
144 M Stewart 69 75, J Henry 72 72 (T46)

 MISSED THE CUT (144 and better qualified)
145 L Saltman 75 70
146 J McColl 74 72, C Macaulay 76 70, G Wright 72 76
147 J Hendrick 73 74, C O'Neil 73 74
148 N Henderson 74 74, L Gaughan 74 74
149 B Neil 70 79, K McAlpine 77 72
150 S Drummond 75 75
153 F Moore 78 75
154 S Borrowman 80 74
158 C Lawrie 74 84.


TO VIEW THE COMPLETE SCOREBOARD

CLICK HERE

Cameron and Robb in the Austrian mix

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Ellon's Ross Cameron and Chris Robb (Meldrum House) are tied for third place with a round to go in the German PGA development tour event, the Haugschlag Open in Austria.
Cameron has had rounds of 67 and 66 for 11-under-133, a total match by Robb with scores of 66 and 67.
Cameron had seven birdies. Robb had two eagle 3s at par-5 holes and also three birdies.
Paul Lawrie Golf Centre players Sam Kiloh (142), Phil McLean (143) and Kevin Duncan (144) all missed the cut at 141. 
Czech Republic player Stanislav Matus leads by four with rounds of 63 and 64 for 127.

HAUGSCHLAG OPEN
Haugschlag Golf Resort, Austria.
LEADING SECOND-ROUND SCORES
par 144 (2x72)
127 S Matus (Cze) 63 64
131 O Rozner (Fra) 65 66
SCOTS' SCORES
133 R Cameron 67 66, C Robb 66 67 (T3)

MISSED THE CUT (141 and better qualified)
142 S Kiloh 68 74
143 P McLean 76 67
144 K Duncan 73 71
146 A Culverwell 71 75
160 B Collier 83 77
 

Nairn 1 v Duff House Royal 1 in Senior 

Northern Counties Cup Final
 

By GARY ABEL

Tomorrow's final (9.15am tee off) of the Senior Northern Counties Cup at Royal Dornoch will feature The Nairn 1 against Duff House Royal 1.
Nairn have never won the tournament but the men from Banff were the first winners in 2002 and  have won it again since. Now they are bidding for a third tournament success, which would put them on a par with Brora and Inverness, the only clubs to have won the Senior Northern Counties Cup three times.

In the semi-finals, played on a bleak afternoon with conditions compared to that of a winter alliance with everyone in their winter woollies to keep warm.

The afternoon combination of the wind and rain made it a survival of the fittest.

Nairn 1 bt Inverness by nine holes and Duff House Royal 1 bt Royal Aberdeen by three holes to earn their place in the last-day spotlight.

Royal Aberdeen 1 were almost KO'd in the morning quarter-finals by Nairn 2 whose second string lost two of the last three holes to finish three down. This allowed Royal Aberdeen to advance to the semi-finals by a one-hole margin.

SENIOR NORTHERN COUNTIES CUP

Royal Dornoch Golf Club

QUARTER-FINALS

Inverness bt Duff House Royal 2 by 6 holes

(L Chancellor, S Barron 6, J Sim,  A Cruickshank 0; F Urquhart, J Elliott 0, G Kelly, A  Alexander 0)

The Nairn 1 bt Murcar Links by 2 holes

(P Sagers, R Smith 1, M Lornie, A Bochel 0; P Tomisson, W Morris, 1, D Templeton, C Alexander 0)

Duff House Royal 1 bt Royal Dornoch 1 by 9 holes

(A Kennedy, D Clark 7, D Pearson, R Murray 0; M Jenkins, I Angus 2,  G Sutherland, P Lee 0)

Royal Aberdeen 1 bt The Nairn 2 by 1 hole

(I Morrison, I Donald 0, A  Adam, J McGinlay 2; J Christie, J Johnston 3, J Taylor, I Cooper 0)

SEMI-FINALS

The Nairn 1 bt Inverness by 9 holes

(P Sagers, R Smith 7, L Chancellor, S Barron  0; P Tomisson, W Morris, 2, F Urquhart, J Elliott 0)

Duff House Royal 1 bt Royal Aberdeen 1 by 3 holes

(A Kennedy, D Clark 2, I Morrison, I Donald 0; M Jenkins, I Angus 1,  J Christie, J Johnston 0)

M

Ramsay and Warren leading Scots in top 10

Willett leads from McIlroy at Irish Open

 FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

Masters Tournament champion Danny Willett made a brilliant return to European Tour action as he posted an opening round of 65 to take a two-shot lead over Rory McIlroy at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation.
The Englishman took a long break after winning his first Major Championship at Augusta National in April but showed no signs of rust at The K Club as he got to seven under and opened up a gap to the tournament host.
Willett's Green Jacket triumph was his second win of the campaign but McIlroy has also been in sparkling form with five top tens in his five appearances so far, although he has missed the cut at this event in the last three years.
Willett currently leads the defending Race to Dubai champion by over a million points in the battle to be Europe's Number One but after the two took the contest right to the wire last season, we could be set for an intriguing battle again in 2016.
Rain in the morning coupled with wind and sun in the afternoon meant County Kildare lived up to its tempestuous reputation as the World Number Nine and World Number Three rose to the top of the leaderboard.
Callum Shinkwin and Jaco Van Zyl were then at four under, a shot clear of defending champion Søren Kjeldsen, two-time Major winner Martin Kaymer and Ross Fisher.
Fisher and Kaymer had set the clubhouse target in the morning and sat atop the leaderboard for a long time before a flurry of birdies saw a six-way tie develop with Shinkwin, who started on the tenth, turning in 34.
McIlroy had birdied the fourth and sixth and he rolled in a downhill putt on the ninth to also join that group before Shinkwin edged ahead with a birdie on the second.
Willett joined McIlroy with birdies on the third, seventh and ninth to also turn in 32 and while Shinkwin would get to five under with a birdie on the fifth, the two highest ranked players in the field went to work reeling him in.
McIlroy took advantage of the par five tenth but Willett followed suit with a brilliant approach and then birdied the 11th to get to five under. The four-time Major winner then got to that mark as he left himself less than 100 yards with his second on the 13th and holed from the fringe but Willett stuck an approach to three feet on the same hole for another birdie.
McIlroy three-putted the 14th to drop a first shot of the day while Shinkwin bogeyed the eighth and when Willett holed a long downhill putt on the 14th, he had a three-shot lead.
A wayward tee-shot led to Willett dropping a shot on the 17th as McIlroy birdied the par five last but the 28 year old followed suit to establish a cushion.
Van Zyl had turned in 35 but made four birdies on the back nine to move up the leaderboard while Kjeldsen eagled the last to join Fisher and Kaymer.
Kaymer also had an eagle on the fourth in his 69 while Fisher recorded seven birdies, two bogeys and a double.

FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72
65 D Willett (Eng)
67 R McIlroy (N Ireland)
68 C Shinkwin (Eng), J Van Zyl (SAf)

SCOTS' SCORES
70 R Ramsay, M Warren (T9)
71 S Gallachar (T17)
72 P Lawrie (T31)
73 D Drysdale, C Lee (T52)
75 R Knox (T93)
76 A McArthur (T114)
78 S Jamieson, J McLeary (T143)


TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES AND CHECK THE SCORECARDS

CLICK HERE

R and A should respect wishes of Muirfield members - and still stage Open there

MY VIEW - BY JIM HARDIE

In view of, in my opinion, the scandalous decision announced by the R and A, that any club operating a male-only membership shall NOT partake in the future as an open Championship venue, perhaps you will now review my previous "information" about the Rand A not taking the Open back to Turnberry, due to the course belonging to Donald Trump?

Whatever happened to democracy in this country. The members of Muirfield have voted, as is their right to do so, and the R and A have previously "ignored" the male-only tag, and therefore set a precedent!

The world, or at least the UK, has gone mad with PC (political correctioness), fuelled of course by a small MINORITY of people within our midst!

I, for one, would care little, if indeed anything, if the Open were held at an all-female club. It's the course as a worthy venue that sets the criteria for selection, not PC, and/or suppressing freedom of speech as in Mr Trump's case !

I sincerely hope that the members of Royal Troon vote in favour of the status quo regarding their club, and do not bow to external pressure applied by the R@A !

This would deprive the golfing public of watching the world's best at three scottish venues, leaving only Carnoustie and St Andrews on the rota.

The hypocrisy of it all shall, of course, become  apparent should Mr Trump become the President of the USA.

The R@A will then fall over backwards to accommodate Turnberry!

Irrespective of one's own beliefs on any of the said subjects, I personally would fight tooth and nail to accept the democratic decision of Muirfield members, and the freedom of speech of Donald Trump

Based on the decision already taken re Muirfield and the "rumours" about Turnberry it is indeed a sad day for golf

on both fronts!

Jim Hardie

Men's Open at Montrose Links from July 25 to 29

 

The Barr Demolition Limited Montrose Open Week will be held from Monday 25th to Friday 29th July 2016. The event will be sponsored by Barr Demolition for a fourth year running.

Information on the event can be viewed by visiting http://montroselinks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/MENS-OPEN-WEEK-INFORMATION-.pdf

Entry forms can be downloaded by visiting

 http://montroselinks.com/tournaments/tournaments/

R and A says Open will not be staged at Muirfield until women members are admitted

MUIRFIELD MEMBERS VOTE TO REMAIN  A MEN-ONLY CLUB NEWS RELEASE Members of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers  (HCEG), the world’s oldest golf club, at Gullane, East Lothian  have voted to remain a men-only club. A two thirds majority of those who voted was required to change the club’s membership policy  to admit women as members. In an open letter the Club Committee had recommended that the  membership vote in favour of a resolution to admit women as members. In the end a postal ballot  of members, scrutinised by Electoral Reform Services, did not reach the required threshold in favour   of change. Voting was divided 64% in favour of the resolution and 36% against. HCEG Captain, Henry Fairweather said: “The Honourable Company is a members' club, and, as such, the members decide the Rules  of the Club, including its membership policy. Women will continue to be welcome at Muirfield   on the course and in the clubhouse as guests and visitors, as they have been for many years.” The records of the Club reveal that women have played golf at Muirfield since 1904. Women’s and  men’s single-sex golf clubs, although reducing in number, have been a feature of golf provision in  Great Britain and Ireland and comply fully with equality legislation. Founded in 1744, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is the world’s oldest recorded  golf club. In that year the club organised the first tournament open to all golfers and set down  the original playing rules of the sport. With The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews  and Prestwick Golf Club, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers played a leading  role in the formation and development of The Open. SCROLL DOWN PAST THE PICTURE TO GET THE R AND A RESPONSE WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR MUIRFIELD BEING REMOVED FROM OPEN ROTA                           The 18th green and clubhouse at Muirfield in the East Lothian village of Gullane. STATEMENT FROM THE R and A ON TODAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT AT MUIRFIELD Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R and A: “We have consistently said that it is a matter for the  Honourable Company to conduct a review of its membership  policy and that we would await their decision. “The R and A has considered today’s decision with respect  to The Open Championship. The Open is one of the world’s  great sporting events and going forward we will  not stage the Championship at a venue that does not  admit women as members. “Given the schedule for staging The Open, it would be  some years before Muirfield would have been considered  to host the Championship again. If the policy at the club should  change we would reconsider  Muirfield as a venue for The Open  in future.”

Byrne's putting lets him down in Taipei

Banchory's James Byrne, a two-time winner on the Asian Development Tour and a former Walker Cup player, shot a two-under-par 70 to be joint eighth, five behind the leader, Lin Wen-Ko (Taiwan) at the end of the first round of the Ambassador ADT tournament at Hsinchu, Chinese Taipei today.

Byrne said: "I was disappointed not to return with a lower score after struggling with the putter.

 “It is a good score in the wind but I left a lot of shots out there especially on the back nine (he started from 10th tee). I didn’t capitalise at all and let a good round go. I hit the ball really well but didn’t hole anything.

“I was on the green in two at the four par-5s  but only birdied one of them (the 14th). I’m really disappointed with the putting,” said Byrne who had other birdies at the 10th, 11th and 13th.

 

CONTINUING THE MAITLAND SHIELD DEBATE

Relax the Maitland Shield pool rule,

says Billy Sim

Billy Sim, the Craibstone Golf Club general manager, feels that the present Maitland Shield mandatory six-player pool, to be named well in advance, should be relaxed.

"As long as the clubs have four players turning up on the night for their matches, that's all that should count. The present rigid selection system is putting un-necessary pressure on the officials who are virtually team managers," says Billy (pictured) who intends raising the matter with the Maitland Shield organiser, Derek Johnstone, when he returns from Australia. 

Directly or indirectly, the double scratching of first Stonehaven, then Peterculter from the 100th staging of the City of Aberdeen men's double foursomes could be traced back to the inflexibility of the team pool rule.

Chile’s Costa seals emphatic wire-to-wire win

at MahaSamutr Masters

VIREN VARMA REPORTS

HUA HIN (Thailand) — Antonio Costa left the field marvelling at his sublime form this week when he completed an emphatic wire-to-wire victory in the MahaSamutr Masters in Thailand today.

Starting the day six shots in front of the field, the 27-year-old Chilean closed with a 68 to reach 15-under 201 for the tournament at Banyan Golf Club, three clear of Venezuela’s Wolmer Murillo, who made the biggest charge of the day, carding a fluent seven-under 65 to keep things interesting.

India’s Rayhan Thomas, an amateur, continued his impressive run this season, following up his second-place finish last week at Mountain Creek with another creditable third to round off the Thailand leg of the tour on a high.

It was Costa who walked off the Banyan golf course with a grin of pride lighting his face. “I am really excited to win my first event outside Chile. I have really worked hard to get this point,” said Costa

Costa started strongly, reeling off five birdies, including three in a row from the sixth to make the turn at five-under. A wrong selection of club resulted in a bogey on the 16th, but the job had already been done.

“I played perfect golf on the front nine and did not make much mistakes coming home. I think I played solid golf all week. My putting, in particular, was pretty good — and that made the difference.

“I played one shot at a time and stayed focused which kept me going,” he said. “It’s my first season on the tour, but I am loving it and feeling at home after making so many new friends,” said Costa who has become the second Latin American after Murillo to win a MENA Golf Tour event.

Murillo, six back at the start of the day, needed something special to track down Costa. He did produce the best round of the week, but, in the end, it was not good enough to stop a rampaging Costa. 

“Super happy with my performance,” enthused the 35-year-old Venezuelan, the winner of last week’s Mountain Creek Open

“I felt like I had a plenty of opportunities to score, but never mind. Shooting a 65 in the final round was special. I really want to thank John Wither, a PGA professional, for the all the hard work he has done with me. My confidence is on a high which is great.”

India’s Thomas mixed six birdies with three bogeys in his final round 69 to finish solo third on eight-under 208— and on top in the amateur division for the third time in a row this season.

“It was a good week. Played some good golf. I nearly aced the par-3, 15th, which was the highlight of my final round,” said the 16-year-old Dubai-based prodigy, who is supported by the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation.

The MENA Golf Tour will travel to South Africa for the first time next month for a three-event series, starting with the South to East Challenge to be held at Centurion, Pretoria, from June 7.

SCOTSWATCH (by Colin Farquharson). Paul Doherty had one of his highest finishes on the MENA Tour for some time with a tied sixth placing on 211 - 10 behind the winner. Doherty had three steady rounds of 70, 70 and 71 for a five-under-par aggregate.
Aberdeen-born Clarke Lutton made the top 20 in a share of 17th place3 with scores of 74, 74 and 72 for two-over 218.
Dunbar's Danny Kay shot 71, 75 and 73 for 219 and joint 21st place.
Lee Harper scored 77, 72 and 75 for joint 35th place on 224.
Lothians amateur Ben Alexander finished T38 on 225 with scores of 73, 77 and 75.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
par 216 (3x72)
201 Antonio Costa (Chile) 66 67 68
204 Wolmer Murillo (Venezuela) 70 69 65
208 Rayhan Thomas (India) (am) 67 72 69

SCOTS' TOTALS
211 Paul Doherty 70 70 71 (T6)
218 Clarke Lutton 74 72 72 (T17)
219 Danny Kay 71 75 73 (T21)
224 Lee Harper 77 72 75 (T35)
225 Ben Alexander (am) 73 77 75