By COLIN FARQUHARSON Sandy Scott was pipped by Irishman Conor O'Rourke for what would have been the biggest win of his fledgling golf career. The 17-year-old Nairn member finished with a 71 for 11-under-par 276 in the St Andrews Links Trophy won by a single shot by his rival from Naas who posted a final round of 70 for 275. Scott bogeyed the 17th (Road Hole) on the Old Course in the third and fourth rounds. His slip in the final round allowed O'Rourke to par the 17th and 18th for victory FINAL TOTALS ST ANDREWS LINKS TROPHY Round 1 New Course (par 71, CSS 73) Rounds 2-3-4 Old Couse (par 72, CSS 75 75 XX) Par 287 (1x71, 3x72) 275 C O'Rourke (Ire) 65 69 71 70 276 S Scott (Nairn) 68 67 70 71 277 E Ferguson (Bearsden) 66 70 70 71 278 V Veyret (Fra) 72 69 70 67, J Savage (Cawder) 67 71 71 69, C Fyfe (Cawder) 71 67 71 69 279 D McElroy (Ire) 71 69 69 70 280 L Johnston (Dumfries and Co) 66 70 72 72 281 A Chapman (Carus Green) 70 69 71 71, B Coletta (Australia) 70 71 69 71, C Howie (Peebles) 65 72 72 72.
By COLIN FARQUHARSON Lanarkshire won the Scottish boys' area team championship for a seventh time at Grangemouth Golf Club today. Graeme Greer (Carluke), Dylan Burt (Bellshill), Greg Dalziel (Airdrie) and Lewis Irvine (Kirkhill) totalled 368 (foursomes 149, singles 219) to win by a single stroke from Lothian's Eric McIntosh, the Scottish boys' champion from Bruntsfield, David Rudd, Andrew Benson and Brodie Good. Lothians matched the winners' foursomes total of 149 but took one more than Lanarkshire in the singles. North-east's Sam Locke, Michael Lawrie, Craig Leith and Callum Bruce finished third on 374 (foursomes 153, singles 221). North (Rory Franssen, Finlay Asher, Andrew Moir and Thomas Bell) tied for fourth place on 378 with Renfrewshire's Jack Currie, L Breslin, Jamie Stewart and Matthew Dalrymple. FINAL TOTALS 368 Lanarkshire 149 219 Foursomes: G Greer, D Burt 78; G Dalziel, L Irvine 71. Singles: Burt 71, Irvine 73, Dalziel 75, Greer 80. 369 Lothians 149 220 Foursomes: E McIntosh, D Rudd 69; A Benson, B Good 80. Singles: McIntosh 72, Rudd 73, Benson 75, Good 80. 374 North-east 153 221 Foursomes: M Lawrie, C Leith 77; C Bruce, S Locke 76. Singles: Locke 71,Leith 75, Bruce 75, Lawrie 77. 378 North 157 221 Foursomes: R Frassen, F Asher 77; A Moir, T Bell 80. Singles: Franssen 72, Bell 74,Moir 75, Asher 77. 378 Renfrewshire 154 224 Foursomes: J Currie, L Breslin 82; J Stewart, M Dalrymple 72. Singles: Stewart 71, Dalrymple 73, Breslin 80, Currie 81. 382 South 157 225 Foursomes: W M Squires, C Harkness 77; A Bendall, N Watson 80. Singles: Watson 72, Squires 75, Bendall 78, Harkness 88. 382 Angus 159 223 Foursomes: H George, J Connelly 78; A Smith, D Grant 81. Singles: Grant 71, George 74, Connelly 78, Smith 78. 383 Perth and Kinross 157 226 Foursomes: R Watson, J Roberts 73; A Simpson, C Graham 84. Singles: Watson 75, Simpson 75, Graham 76, Roberts 77. 388 Fife 156 232 Foursomes: S J Nicholson, B McKay 80; J Paterson, K Bowman 76. Singles: Nicholson 73, McKay 79, Bowman 80, Paterson 83. 393 Dunbartonshire 160 233 394 Stirlingshire 166 228 395 Glasgow 164 231 400 Ayrshire 160 240 404 Clackmannanshire 166 238, Argyll and Bute 168 236 411 Borders 171 240
FROM THE CHALLENGE TOUR WEBSITE Alexander Knappe held on to secure a
gritty one-shot victory at the Swiss Challenge presented by Association
Suisse de Golf on the European Challenge Tour. The German battled the elements in Lucerne, carding five birdies on
his way to signing for a three under par 68 which took him to twelve
under par 272 overall. The 27 year old was level with playing partner Paul Howard on eleven
under par when the pair teed off on hole 17 at Golf Sempachersee. And as the heavens opened it was Knappe who managed to stay focused
in the rain, picking up a birdie at the 17th which would secure him a
maiden Challenge Tour title. “I can’t believe it at the moment really,” said the German, whose
career best finish before today came last year when he finished tied
sixth at the GANT Open in Finland on the Challenge Tour. “It feels really good to get a win on the Challenge Tour and I am delighted that I managed to do it today. “My round today wasn’t actually as good as those I have played before
this week – in particular my first and my third rounds. I hit a couple
of bad shots, I missed a few easy birdie putts, but I managed to get a
few good up and downs. “I just thought there were some birdies to be made out there so I
kept patient - and that’s what I did today. It all came together in the
end. “This gives me a huge boost for the rest of the season as I was on a
medical exemption but now I will be a category one so I can now play in
everything which is perfect. " I think it can give me a good chance of
winning again going forward for the rest of the season. “I have to drive seven hours to get to Belgium tonight so I don’t
know if I will have time to celebrate! But I am sure tomorrow when it
sinks in properly I can go out for dinner with my caddie and enjoy it
properly then.” Finishing one shot behind Knappe were both England’s Paul Howard and
Norway’s Espen Kofstad – who topped the Challenge Tour Rankings in 2012
after winning twice on Europe’s top developmental tour. England’s Jordan Smith cemented his place at the top on the 2016 Road
to Oman, finishing strongly with a four under par 67 to reach six under
par overall and finish the week tied for 12th place. David Law (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) returned to form after three down-the-field performances by finished tied eighth on 277 with four steady scores of 71, 69, 67 and 70 or seven-under-par 277. The Aberdonian earned 3,995 euros - his biggest payslip of the Challenge Tour season so far. Edinburgh-based Duncan Stewart from Grantown on Spey earned 2,890 euros for a tied 12th finish on 278 with rounds of 71, 72, 69 and 66. That final round was the tournament lowest. Peter Whiteford from Kirkcaldy shot 288 (71-72-70-75) for a tied 54th finish which earned him 612 euros. Chris Doak shot 72-70-79-74 for 295 and joint 67th place for whch he was paid 442 euros LEADING FINAL TOTALS par 284 (4x71) prizemoney in Euros 272 A Knappe (Ger) 67 70 67 68 (27,200) 273 P Howard (Eng) 68 67 69 69, E Kofstad (N)or) 68 68 70 67 (15,300 each). SCOTS' SCORES 277 D Law 71 69 67 70 (T8) 3,995 278 D Stewart 71 72 69 66 (T12) 2890 288 P Whiteford 71 72 70 75 (T54) 612 295 C Doak 72 70 79 74 (T67) 442.
FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE Matthew Fitzpatrick won his second
European Tour title at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club, Sweden as he eased to a
three-shot victory at the Nordea Masters. The Englishman came into the final day with a five-shot advantage and
while he saw that cut to two around the turn, he kept his head on the
back nine to sign for a 71, get to 16 under, and hold off the challenge
of Lasse Jensen and Nicolas Colsaerts. Jensen not only claimed his best European Tour result as he finished a
shot clear of Colsaerts in second, but he also earned a place in the
field for the Open Championship at Royal Troon in July with a closing
68. For Colsaerts it was a second top three finish in four events as he
gets back to his best after a disappointing 2015 and his hopes of
claiming a spot at the year's third Major Championship disappeared when
he put his tee-shot on the 17th into the water. Home favourite and World Number Six Henrik Stenson fired the low
round of the day with a 66 to finish at ten under alongside fellow Swede
Bjorn Hellgren, with England's Ross Fisher a shot further back. Fitzpatrick had ten top tens in his rookie season in 2015 including
victory at the British Masters supported by Sky Sports, and this week's
victory will go a long way to securing his place in the European Ryder
Cup Team to face the United States at Hazeltine in the autumn. The 21 year old had been masterful on the greens all week and after
making an impressive par save on the first, he rolled in from 15 feet on
the next to extend his lead to six. Jensen holed a seven iron from 152 yards on the sixth for an eagle to
join the group six shots adrift and playing partner Colsaerts birdied
the same hole to get to 11 under and cut the gap to five. The Belgian then used his immense power to get on the green at the
par five ninth in two and he rolled in the eagle putt to move to within
three of Fitzpatrick, with Jensen picking up a birdie. Fitzpatrick made a birdie but Colsaerts was heating up, making a gain
on the tenth thanks to a lengthy putt, and when Fitzpatrick bogeyed the
tenth, the pressure was starting to build. But a poor tee-shot from Colsaerts resulted in a bogey on the 12th
with Fitzpatrick making a birdie from six feet on the same hole to
establish a cushion again. Jensen had dropped a shot on the tenth but he chipped in for a second
eagle of the day on the 13th to sit just one shot behind Colsaerts and
the two-time winner dropped three shots on 16th and 17th before making a
gain on the last. Fitzpatrick bogeyed the final hole after bunkering his second shot but it made little difference as he claimed a second win in
his 51st European Tour appearance. Rikard Karlberg finished at eight under, two shots clear of three-time winner Lee Westwood and France's Raphaël Jacquelin.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS Par 288 (4x72) 272 M Fitzpatrick (England) 68 65 68 71 275 L Jensen (Denmark) 2 69 66 68 276 N Colsaerts (Belgium) 70 66 70 70 278 H Stenson (Sweden) 72 70 70 66, B Hellgren (Sweden) 71 72 68 67 SELECTED TOTALS 282 L Westwood (England) 68 71 72 71 (T8) 288S Henry (Scotland) 67 69 74 78 (T25) 289 P Lawrie (Scotland) 73 69 74 73 (T30) 298M Warren (Scotland) 67 73 74 84 (T65)
Our third event on the Big Johnson's Tour is tomorrow (Monday) at Irvine Golf Club. The competition is jointly sponsored by the Paul
Lawrie Foundation, Devel Golf and Golf Marker Systems .
Sandy Scott, bogeyed the 17th Road Hole on Old Course today.
By COLIN FARQUHARSON Seventeen-year-old Sandy Scott from Nairn could be on the verge of his biggest victory so far ... he is joint leader with Irishman Conor O'Rourke with one round to go over the Old Course in the prestigious St Andrews Links Trophy. Scott, who will enrol on a four-year course at Texas Tech University in August, has had rounds of 68 (New) and 67 (Old) and 70 (Old) for a 10-under-par tally of 205. Sandy, winner of the Scottish U18 boys' stroke play title last year as well as an SGU 72-hole men's order of merit event, the East of Scotland Open at Lundin Links, bogeyed the 17th in his third round or he could have had the pole position to himself. Scott is spearheading an excellent tournament for Scots. Former British boys champion Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden) is one behind the leaders after a 70 for 206. Liam Johnston (Dumfries and County) is fourth with a 72 for 208, while Craig Howie (72), Calum Fyfe (71) and Jamie Savage (Cawder) (71), are tied fifth on 209.
The MyGolfRanking Angus Players of Week
2016/22 are Dinish Bailwal (Piperdam Osprey) and Jackie Brown (Monifieth) who retain
their No 1 spots on MGR Angus Men's and Ladies’ Ranking respectively.
ANGUS MEN
1 Dinish Bailwal (Piperdam Osprey) 1098 pts
2 Aidan Smith (Edzell) 1091
3 James Howe (Arbroath) 1050
4 Walter Speirs (Edzell) 1000
5 Grant Thomson (Grange Monifieth) 961
6 Gary Pyott (Arbroath) 943
7 Keith Law (Forfar) 940
8 Steven McGlashan (Arbroath) 914
9 Brian Melville (Caird Park) 911
10 Colin Brunton (Monifieth) 906
ANGUS CLUBS – MEN
1 Edzell 818 pts
2 Arbroath 701
3 Caird Park 673
4 Brechin 646
5 Kirriemuir 617
6 Ballumbie Castle 615
7 Montrose Caledonia 605
8 *Forfar 589
*New entry this week
+The Angus Ladies updated rankings can be viewed on www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk
For up-to-date ranking lists of
participating clubs, the full Regional, National and International Rankings and
how it works, visit www.mygolfranking.net.
The MyGolfRanking service is free to
clubs and members so
CLUB SECRETARIES, PLEASE EMAIL THIS TO
YOUR MEMBERS in order that they may sign in.
Clubs wishing to participate should
register on www.mygolfranking.net or email info@mygolfranking.net for
information.
David Moir
Past President
SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
Hon Life President
FIFE GOLFING ASSOCIATION
Managing Director
in LEAGUE with GOLF Ltd
23 Links Road
Lundin Links
Leven
Fife KY8 6AS
Scotland
By COLIN FARQUHARSON Barrie Edmond (Bon Accord) won the Royal Aberdeen Medal as the leading qualifier for the match-play stages of the Aberdeen Links championship.
Bidding for a record-equalling fifth title, Edmond had scores of 65 and 72 for five-under-par 137. His one-over-par second round left the door open for Caledonian's BarrieReid to get to within one shot of Edmond with rounds of 68 and 70 for 138.
Edmond will play the 16th qualifier, Northern GC senior George Paterson in the first match-play round on Monday evening.
There were three players on 151 - M Edmond, G Paterson and D Mair. The first two qualified with better second rounds. Stewart Finnie (Caledonian), this year's Aberdeen Links senior championship winner with clubmate Alex Cruickshank runner-up, was the No 3 qualifier.
LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING
137 B Edmond (BA) 65 72
138 B Reid (C) 68 70
140 S Finnie (C) 68 72
141 R Evett (N) 68 73
143 N Walker (N) 73 70
144 A Doig (C) 71 73, M Smith (BA) 70 74.
145 G Mitchell (BA) 72 73, D Leslie (BA) 70 75, M Dunn (BA) 70 75
146 G Somers (BA) 74 72, S Allan (C) 71 75
147 C Somers (BA) 74 73
148 A Cruickshank (C) 73 75
151 M Edmond (B) 75 76, G Paterson (N) 75 76 151
+M Beattie (C) 73-73 for 146 was unavailable for match-play.
MONDAY'S MATCH-PLAY TIES
4.47 B Edmond (BA) (Q1) v G Paterson (N) (Q16)
4.54 G Mitchell (BA) (Q8) v D Leslie (BA) (Q9) 5.01 N Walker (N) (Q5) v S Allan (C) (Q12)
5.08 R Evett (N) (Q4) v C Somers (BA) (Q13)
5.15 B Reid (C) (Q2) v M Edmond (BA) (Q15)
5.22 M Smith (BA) (Q7) v M Dunn (BA) (Q10)
5.29 S Finnie (C) (3) v A Cruickshank (C) (Q14)
5.36 A Doig (C) (Q6) v G Somers (BA) (Q11)
+The championship quarter-finals are on Monday, June 13; the semi-finals on Wednesday, June 15, and the finals of the three competitions will be played on Friday, June 17.
Matt Kuchar made four birdies in five holes when play was suspended
Matt Kuchar and Emiliano
Grillo were left to rue a two-hour weather delay at The Memorial as the
third round concluded in fading light with three players tied for the
54-hole lead.
The
US PGA Tour decided against bringing the tee times forward despite the
threat of adverse weather late in the afternoon and the decision
backfired as eight players remained on the course when play was halted,
but the torrential rain relented and the action resumed at 7:15pm local
time.
Kuchar and Grillo were locked together at 15 under par, but
the interruption proved costly as Grillo returned to double-bogey the
17th before Kuchar, who had reeled off four birdies in five holes before
the suspension, bogeyed the last.
That resulted in Kuchar falling into a share of the lead with William McGirt and Gary Woodland, while Jason Day is the closest challenger of the "big three" although a double-bogey at the 18th left him three shots off the pace, but Rory McIlroy is five back after an erratic 70.
McGirt
matched Dustin Johnson's opening-day 64, but he looked unlikely to
retain the clubhouse lead when Grillo cruised to the turn in 33 with
birdies at the second, fifth and seventh, and he picked up another with a
20-foot putt at the 13th before blotting his card at the next after
pulling his tee-shot into a hazard on the left.
The
Argentine bounced back with a birdie at 15, and he had just holed out
for a cast-iron par at the short 16th when the hooters echoed around the
course, but a poor drive on the resumption left him unable to reach the
17th green in two and he took three to get down from the fringe to walk
off with a six.
Grillo parred the last to complete a 70 and stay
at 13 under, while Muirfield Village specialist Kuchar was
uncharacteristically erratic over his first 10 holes, dropping four
shots around a run of three consecutive birdies from the fifth.
Grillo double-bogeyed the 17th on the resumption
But
the 2013 champion revived his challenge with a birdie at the long 11th
and began to pepper the pin with his precise iron play which yielded
further gains at 13, 14 and 15 before the threat of lightning forced him
back to the clubhouse.
Returning to the 16th after the delay,
Kuchar did well to save par from 10 feet and missed a good birdie chance
from similar range at the next, but he dumped his drive into a fairway
bunker at the last and dropped his fifth shot of a rollercoaster 70.
Kuchar has a superb record at Muirfield Village, lifting the title in 2013
McGirt
made the first significant move of the third day and roared up the
leaderboard when he followed three birdies over the first four holes
with a stunning 245-yard second to three feet at the fifth which set up
an eagle-three.
He continued his charge with three birdies in five
holes after the turn before he carelessly three-putted the 16th green,
but he responded with an excellent birdie at 17 after clipping his
approach to 10 feet from a fairway bunker.
William McGirt got off to a hot start and blitzed his way to a 64
Big
hitting Gary Woodland is alongside McGirt on 14 under after he kept a
bogey off his card in a 69, carding birdies at the seventh, 11th and
14th to put himself in contention for a first PGA Tour win since the
2013 Reno-Tahoe Open.
Jon Curran pitched in from thick rough for
an unlikely birdie at the 17th just moments before the suspension, and
he returned to par the last an join Adam Hadwin on 13 under after the
Canadian had earlier completed a 67 which included a run of three
birdies and an eagle over a five-hole stretch on the outward half.
Dustin Johnson fired a 68 to move within a shot of the lead
Johnson
is also just one off the lead after the weather delay worked in his
favour, making bogey at 17 before scurrying for cover before he returned
to hit a superb approach to two feet at the last to set up a closing
birdie for a 68. Danish veteran Soren Kjeldsen vaulted 36 places
up the leaderboard with a superb, early 64, carding four birdies in an
outward 32 before adding four more in five holes from the 11th to claim a
share of the lead with McGirt.
Kjeldsen
failed to get up and down from sand at the 17th, but he got the shot
back at the last as he knocked his second from close to 190 yards to 12
feet and rolled in the putt to return to 12 under.
Day took the
gloss off an excellent round when he double-bogeyed the last - coming up
short with his second and seeing his first chip from an awkward lie
roll back off the front of the green.
Day's
68 was two better than McIlroy, who had two sixes on his card and also
found water twice as he closed on nine under, while overnight leader
Brendan Steele got off the worst-possible start when he bogeyed the
second and doubled the next on his way to an outward half of 40 before salvaging a 75 with a birdie at 17. THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD
par 216 (3x72)
