Aberdeen Men's Pennant League results on Thursday evening:

Section A 
Caledonian 1, Royal Aberdeen 4
 A Cruickshank and D Mullen lost to M Halliday and N Macandrew 2 and 1.
S Finnie and A Doig lost to D Macandrew and C Leith 3 and 2.
L Ross and D Oliver lost to G Joss and D Sim 8 and 7.
M Beattie and B Reid bt D Raitt and A Buchan 4 and 3.
S Allan and G Meade lost to W Park and M Black 3 and 1.


Section B 
 Peterculter 0.5,  Murcar Links 4.5

Rob Currie and Ryan McKinnon lost to Brian Innes and Ronnie Brechin 3 and 2

Cameron Sutherland and Ross Jaffrey lost to Alan Holbrook and Corin Stewart 3 and 2

Craig MacDonald and Ryan McRae lost to Anothony Bews and Iain Galbraith 5 and 4 

Richie Taylor and Michael Cushnie lost to Willie McKenzie and Ryan Sharp 3 and 2

Scott Patterson and William Short halved with Gregor Stewart and Kyle Nelson

Section C
 Stonehaven 1, Banchory 4
C MacKay and G McFarlane lost to A Lindsay and R Black 5 and 4.
K Brown and K Riddell lost to F Milne and D Brand 2 and 1.
S Guzik and B Ferguson lost to S Locke and C Lindsay 1 hole.
S Dempster and B McGillivray bt S Craig and F Bisset 2 holes.
I Taylor and R McAllan lost to R Gray and S Larkin 1 hole.

Paul Doherty just inside top 20 in South Africa

Paul Doherty is lying T19 with one round to go in the MENA Tour's last event in South Africa, "The Roar" Tournament at Waterkloof Golf Club, Pretoria.
The Scot has had rounds of 72 and 70 for 142 - nine shots behind the leader by four, South African Riekus Nortje (65-68 for 11-under-par 133)

Aussie Davis leads as storms disrupts the Brabazon Australia’s Cameron Davis kept his grip on the top of the Brabazon Trophy leaderboard today, scoring four-under 68 in the weather-disrupted – and unfinished - second round at London Golf Club. He’s 10-under par for the English men’s open amateur stroke play championship championship and currently leads by three from England’s Jamie Li who shot 67. But the second round was suspended after thunder and lightning swept across the course in the early evening, accompanied by torrential rain as the players headed for cover (Image © Leaderboard Photography). Half the field still have to complete the round and, weather permitting, will restart at 7.30am tomorrow. The field will then be cut to the leading 60 players and ties who will play the third round tomorrow afternoon. Earlier, the start of the round was delayed by 2½ hours after overnight storms left the Heritage course waterlogged. Davis was among those who were able to complete their round and he said afterwards: “I was very happy we got to play today. It wouldn’t have been too great if we’d had to hang around all day. “The course was very much wetter than yesterday but they got it in great shape from when we first looked at it.” He was two-under on both halves, with five birdies in total, but remarked: “I hit the ball very well but didn’t make as many putts inside 10ft as I did yesterday. I was happy with the birdies I made, but I left a lot of chances out there.” Jamie Li, from Bath , (pictured right) started his round with a pair of bogeys but was soon producing superb golf, with a run of five consecutive birdies from his 10th hole as he came home in 30.  He was undismayed by his start, remarking: “I knew I was swinging it fine and for the rest of the front nine I was pretty solid.” The sparkling stuff began on the 1st, where he holed a 20-footer. He then holed a bunker shot on the 2nd, a 4ft putt on the 3rd, a 2ft putt on the 4th and got up and down on the 5th for his fifth consecutive birdie. Finally, he birdied the long 8th with another up and down. “It’s great when it all flows,” said Li. “I was swinging it good, getting the ball close, giving myself birdie chances and my putter was pretty good all day.” Among the others currently high on the leaderboard are Anglo-Scot Ryan Lumsden (Royal Wimbledon) who moved to five-under with a bogey-free 68. He is joined by James Robinson (Redditch), whose 68 included an eagle three on the 8th, and by Jamie Bower (Meltham) who has played just six holes of his second round. Jack Singh Brar (Remedy Oak) finds himself in exactly the same position as last year, on four-under at the halfway stage of the championship after scoring 68 today.  Yorkshire’s Dan Brown (Masham) returned 69 and is on the same mark, as is Harry Hall (West Cornwall) after five holes of his second round. The best score of day came from Andrew Wilson (Wynyard) with six-under 66, despite topping his first tee shot, from the 10th, and failing to reach the fairway! It also improved on his first day score by 10 shots and followed a quick lesson with England coach Graham Walker after play yesterday. “I bogeyed my first hole but I played better after that and for the first 11 holes I had 11 putts,” he said. They included a 50-footer for eagle on the 15th. Click here for current scores Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 07825 752 193

Flying Finn shoots nine birdies to lead at Aviemore with a 64 

FROM THE CHALLENGE TOUR WEBSITE
Tapio Pulkkanen moved into the lead after the opening round of the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts, one shot clear of a chasing pack which included Sebastian Soderberg - fresh from playing a practice round with Dustin Johnson at last week’s U.S. Open.
Pulkkanen only discovered he was playing at Macdonald Spey Valley Golf Club on Tuesday evening before flying to Scotland on Wednesday, but the Finn showed no signs of fatigue as he carded nine birdies in a seven under opening round 64.
The 26 year old, who was forced to take a week off last week to recover from chickenpox, admitted that he had a look at the leaderboard on the 18th hole only to realise his birdie putt was for the outright lead, and he duly converted it to edge clear at the summit.

“I really wanted to make the birdie on the last as I saw there were six players on six under,” he said. “So I wanted to make sure I went seven under. I was actually first reserve for a very long time for this event. 
“I only found out I was playing on Tuesday, and travelled on Wednesday. I was really sick last week and I couldn't practice any golf, so it feels a little bit surprising. I've never been the leader after a first round so it's a nice feeling.”
Soderberg, meanwhile, put his Major experience to good use with a six under par 65 at the sun-kissed Highlands venue. The Swede, who won the season-opening Barclays Kenya Open in March, made his Major debut last week at Oakmont Country Club having pre-qualified from Walton Heath via a play-off.
His American dream got even better when he was treated to a practice round alongside his fellow former Coastal Carolina University alumnus Johnson, who would eventually go on to claim a maiden triumph in one of golf’s big four events in dramatic circumstances.
Although Soderberg did not make it to the weekend in Pittsburgh, it was an unforgettable experience which has given his confidence a huge boost and he believes it contributed to his superb opening round in Aviemore.
“I played really well for the first 13 holes today,” said the 25 year old. “I hit a lot of fairways and had a few good looks at birdie. I made an unfortunate bogey at seven and then missed a couple of good opportunities on the last few holes but overall it was a really good round.
“I was disappointed missing the cut at Oakmont, I thought I had a chance to make it but I was excited to get going playing again this week. Being at an event like that definitely gives you motivation - I just felt like I wanted to play today and it was a good day in the end.
“I played with Dustin on the Monday – I’ve played with him before from college – but obviously he’s a really good player. When he gets it going in tournaments he just murders the ball and that was the key at Oakmont.
“I was really excited, really pumped for him. He should have won a Major a long time ago so it was only a matter of time and it was fun for me, for him to win the week that I played with him.
“I think there was one drive where I was only maybe ten yards behind him – you should definitely never compare drives with him because he’s probably the best driver in the world. Other than that his game is really solid so it definitely gives you an insight into what parts of your game you need to get better at.”
Soderberg was one of six players tied for second place on a packed leaderboard at the stunning Highlands venue.
Among the others were Englishman Robert Coles, who lost out to compatriot Jack Senior in a three-way play-off in this event last year, and is hoping to go one better this time around. He got off to a perfect start with a round which comprised seven birdies and one bogey.
“I am delighted with that,” said the three-time Challenge Tour winner. “It was a really nice day and the course was in great condition and for me it’s a very good score because I haven’t had many this year so I’m very pleased.
“I’m just happy to get a decent round in. I played pretty solid and hit some shots close which I haven’t been doing recently and it makes everything easier when you have shorter putts.
“I’d like to think I can go one better this week but it’s a long way off right now and the way I’ve been playing, I’m just happy to get good scores in at the moment and build on that but if I get a chance to go for a win I’ll be very grateful for it.”
There was cause for celebration for another Swede in the opening round of the €250,000 event as Anton Karlsson holed out with his final shot of the day for a hole-in-one at the tenth hole and a five under par 66.
Incredibly, the 22 year old had come close to an ace on two separate occasions prior to that, having teed off at the 11th hole.
“It was pretty special,” said the player from just outside Stockholm. “It was just a six iron, I hit it really well and held it against the wind and it just dropped into the hole. I could see it from the tee. 
“I was pretty close a couple of times today. I almost made one on the 16th too and tapped in for birdie, then on the fourth it looked like it was going in too and I made another birdie too. My playing partner said to me jokingly, ‘don’t worry, you’re going to make one today’, so it was pretty crazy that one ended up at home in the end.”
Peter Whiteford was the leading Scot as he joined Karlsson and six others in a share of eighth place on 66

SCOTS' SCORES
66 P Whitefored (T8)
67 G Murray (T16)
68 J Ross, D Stewart (T24)
69 P Shields, P McKechnie, J Doherty, R MacIntyre (am), J McColl.
70 B Neil, G Forrest (am) (T56)
72 R Kellett, C Syme (am), D Law, J Henry (T98)
73 N Fenwick, Z Saltman, R Cameron (T113)
74 S Hendry, E Saltman, C O'Neil (T122)
75 A Culverwell, M Stewart, W Booth (T135)
76 C Macaulay (T143).
79 N Henderson (T52)
81 C Sutherland (158th)

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

Richie Ramsay wins a BMW car for hole in 

one on his way to a 71
 
FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Raphaël Jacquelin admitted his return to the top of the leaderboard was overdue after a seven under par 65 gave him the first round lead at the BMW International Open.
The Frenchman carded seven birdies in a flawless round at Golf Club Gut Laerchenhof to lie a stroke clear of England’s Oliver Fisher.
The last of Jacquelin’s four European Tour titles came in 2013, and his eighth-place finish in Sweden earlier this month was his first top-ten for 11 months.
“I'm very pleased of course, as you can imagine,” said Jacquelin. “I played solid pretty much all day long. It was a bit tough at the end but I managed to save some good pars.
“The wind was picking up again, so it was not easy at all. I tried to stay focused on the game and the way I was hitting the ball and did pretty well and very happy for that and leading – it’s been a long time. It's a good feeling.

“It's been a long time, but it's difficult. I'm still practising hard and working hard on the game, and here we go, sometimes it pays.
“I'm just going to try to do the same the rest of the week.”
Earlier Fisher had returned to form in spectacular fashion, having come into the event off the back of 10 missed cuts in 16 starts and without a top-ten finish on The Race to Dubai this season.
The 27 year old hit 17 out of 18 greens in regulation and said: “I’m very delighted. You've got to hit fairways and hit greens and I've done that today and played well. Anytime you go bogey-free for 18 holes is a good round.

“The guys that hit the fairways and tee-to-green around here generally do pretty well. Today that's what I've done well, and a round of 66, I'm very pleased.Chile’s Felipe Aguilar, South African Zander Lombard and Dane Thorbjørn Olesen were tied for third on five under par, with Sweden’s Henrik Stenson part of the group a shot further bacSpain’s Sergio Garcia, who finished fifth at last week’s US Open Championship, signed for a one under par 71, but Masters Tournament champion Danny Willett had two double bogeys in a round of 74. 
An ace by Aberdonian Richie Ramsay (pictured) at the 183-yard 16th won him a car from the tournament sponsors as he finished with a one-under 71.

SCOTS' SCORES
par 72
69 S Jamieson (T49)
70 C Lee (T26)
71 R Ramsay, A McArthur (T40)
73  P Lawrie (T82)
76 D Drysdale, M Warren, J McLeary (T126)

TO VIEW THE COMPLETE SCOREBOARD

CLICK HERE

Garland leads pack by one at Cumberwell Park

NEWS RELEASE BY NICK TEALE

Nicholas Garland will take a one-shot lead over a close field into the final round of the GRENKE Championship after another good day of scoring at Cumberwell Park Golf Club in Wiltshire.

The Burghley Park Golf Club representative carded a second-round 65, six under par on the Red/Yellow course, to move to -11 after 36 holes.

Three-time European Tour winner Stephen Dodd is second on ten under after two rounds of 66, with seven golfers tied third on nine under, two off the lead.

With a further five players three back on eight under the HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour event is set for a thrilling climax on Friday.

“My putting has been great,” said leader Garland. “There are plenty of chances out there and it is quite wet so you can shoot at the pins. 

“I played here last year and it was totally different; very firm and bouncy but I do like the course here, it is good.

“Tomorrow will be the same approach regardless that I am leading – hit the fairways and take it from there.” 

Garland made seven birdies and one bogey for his second round. Starting on the 10th tee he broke par at 11, 13 and 14 before dropping a shot at 15. However, birdies at 17 and 18 saw him to nine under for the tournament, and coming home he made further birdies at 2 and 8 for the 36-hole lead.

Welshman Dodd would have had a share of the lead but for a first dropped shot of the tournament at the 14th. Runs of three consecutive birdies from both the 4th and the 10th saw him to a second-round 66.

Among the seven golfers tied third is home favourite Steve Surry, who finished second here last year. He started the day at seven under but had a mixed second round, carding a two-under-par 69 consisting of six birdies, two bogeys and a double at the 17th.

A cut to the leading 50 professionals and ties has now been made with all those three under par or better proceeding to play Friday’s final 18.

The GRENKE Championship is a 54-hole event from which the winner will take home £10,000 from a total purse of £50,000.

Any earnings will make a valuable contribution to the Race To Desert Springs Order of Merit, from which the top five at the end of the season earn a Challenge Tour card for 2017.

Spectator entry is free throughout the event and highlights will be broadcast on Sky Sports on Tuesday, July 5. 

Live scoring is available at www.europrotour.com.

LEADERBOARD
par 142 (2x71)
131 N Garland 66 65
132 S Dodd 66 66
133 D Coupland 63 70, J Maw 67 66, J Harrison 68 65, N Marsh 66 67, L Johnson 65 68, C Hally 66 67, S Surry 64 69.
SCOTS' SCORES
139 K Nicol 70 69 (T42)
MISSED THE CUT
140 F Moore 70 70
143  C Lawrie 70 73, L Saltman 70 73, S Borrowman 74 69
146 S Lawrie 72 74.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES AND SCORECARDS

CLICK HERE

 

Hutch leads by three with a round to go in 

Northern Open

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Greig Hutcheon does not often lose the lead after occupying the pole position with one round to go - and, with a commanding lead of three shots after 54 holes of the £30,000 Northern Open at Royal Dornoch, it is almost a case of "who's gonna be second?"

But Hutch, pictured, the 2010 "Northern" winner who now plays out of the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Inchmarlo, will certainly not be counting his chickens as he tees off on nine-under-201, three ahead of Greg McBain (Newmachar) and Chris Kelly and five in front of the joint third-placed Louis Gaughan (Bathgate) and Scott Henderson (Kings Links) on 206.

Hutcheon had a bag of eight birdies in a five-under-par 65 at the Sutherland venue.

The 43-year-old  sits on nine-under-par, increasing his slender overnight advantage to three shots over defending champion Kelly (67) and McBain (64).

Hutcheon's victory at Meldrum House five years ago was claimed over 36 holes due to bad weather, so it would probably give him a sense of satisfaction if he emulated that triumph over the full distance.

“I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and I just need to keep it going," he said. “I would like to shoot all four days in the 60s - that would be great.”         

On a day when the wind was blowing in the opposite direction from the opening two rounds, the leader stormed to the turn in 32 following birdies at the first, third, sixth and seventh before making further gains coming home at the 12th, 13th and 15th.

“I played a lot better today and also didn’t make any clubbing errors," added Hutcheon, who finished as the leading PGA pro in last month's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Kelly kept alive his hopes of becoming the event's first back-to-back winner since 1994, when Montrose pro Kevin Stables achieved the feat at the same venues, with a 67 that was lit up by four birdies in five holes from the 11th.

"It was pretty rubbish on the way out, but I was able to hold it together," said the Cupar-based 38-year-old. “I’m three shots back on Greig, but that can change in one hole, so anything can happen tomorrow."

Newmachar pro McBain, who served his PGA training at Royal Dornoch, used his local knowledge to equal the best round of the week with a flawless 64, which included an eagle-3 at the ninth.

“It could have been a wee bit better as I missed a few chances, but you would take a 64 round here all day long," he said. “I will just go out tomorrow, do what I have been doing all week and see where that takes us.”

Kings Links Golf Centre man Scott Henderson, the 1996 winner, and Bathgate's Louis Gaughan are sitting joint-fourth on two-under after matching 68s.

An exciting finish lies in store in the battle for the Bookless Cup, which is awarded to the leading amateur.

After a level-par 70 to sit on four-over, Boat of Garten’s Jordan Shaw leads by one in that race from the host club's Chris Mailley (72), with another Royal Dornoch member Craig Mackay a shot further back after the same third-round score.

SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW FRIDAY'S FINAL TEE TIMES

AND ALL THE SCORES

Friday's final round tee times in Northern Open

 Round 4: Royal Dornoch Golf Club - Championship 24/06/2016

 Tee  Time      Name

  1   7:30 AM   Gary McFarlane, Clober Golf Club
                Murray Urquhart, Nairn Golf Club

  1   7:38 AM   Rory Tinker, Piperdam Golf & Leisure Resort
                Ross Munro, Duddingston Golf Club

  1   7:46 AM   Keir McNicoll, Gullane Golf Club
                Mark Hillson, Kilconquhar Castle Estate

  1   7:54 AM   Graham Forbes, Mar Hall Hotel & Resort
                Alan Saddington, The Dutch

  1   8:02 AM   Christopher McMaster, Wellsgreen Golf Range
                Sam McLaren, Blairgowrie Golf Club

  1   8:10 AM   Paul Malone, Braid Hills Golf Range
                Heather MacRae, Archerfield Links

  1   8:18 AM   David Pearson (a), Royal Dornoch
                Greg Paxton, Ralston Golf Club

  1   8:26 AM   Steven O'Hara
                Steven Maxwell, Eastwood Golf Club

  1   8:34 AM   Derek Watters, Gourock Golf Club
                Alan Welsh, Cathkin Braes Golf Club

  1   8:42 AM   Fraser Fotheringham (a), Nairn
                David Stein, Ranfurly Castle Golf Club

  1   8:50 AM   Craig Matheson, Falkirk Tryst Golf Club
                Kamran Zeynalov, Portlethen Golf Club

  1   8:58 AM   Gareth Wright, West Linton Golf Club
                Euan McIntosh (a), Turnhouse

  1   9:06 AM   Craig Goodwin, Duff House Royal Golf Club
                Jonathan Lomas, Caprington Golf Club

  1   9:19 AM   Andrew Crerar, Panmure Golf Club
                Cameron Marr, Musselburgh Golf Club

  1   9:27 AM   Craig Mackay (a), Royal Dornoch
                Paul Robinson, Largs Golf Club

  1   9:35 AM   Robert Arnott, Bishopbriggs Golf Range
                Chris Mailley (a), Royal Dornoch

  1   9:43 AM   Craig Gordon, Edinburgh Golf Centre
                Michael Patterson, Kilmacolm Golf Club

  1   9:51 AM   Gavin Hay, Grantown-on-Spey Golf Club
                Jordan Shaw (a), Boat of Garten

  1   9:59 AM   James McGhee, Whitehill House Golf Club
                Craig Ronald, Carluke Golf Club

  1   10:07 AM  David Orr, Eastwood Golf Club
                Samuel Binning, Mearns Castle Golf Academy

  1   10:15 AM  Marc Owenson, Gullane Golf Club
                Craig Everett, Caldwell Golf Club

  1   10:23 AM  Stephen Gray, Lanark Golf Club
                Graeme Brown, Montrose Golf Links Ltd.

  1   10:31 AM  Paul Wardell, North Berwick Golf Club
                Christopher Currie, Caldwell Golf Club

  1   10:39 AM  Alastair Forsyth, Mearns Castle Golf Academy
                Paul O'Hara, Clydeway Golf

  1   10:47 AM  Graham Fox, Clydeway Golf
                Scott Henderson, Kings Links Golf Centre

  1   10:55 AM  Louis Gaughan, Bathgate Golf Club
                Chris Kelly

  1   11:03 AM  Greg McBain, Newmachar Golf Club
                Greig Hutcheon, Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Inchma

Complete information is available at Tournament Information Page (TIP) 

NORTHERN OPEN 
Royal Dornoch GC
THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 210 (3x70)
201 G Hutcheon (PLGC Inchmarlo) 67 69 65.
204 G McBain (Newmachar) 69 71 64, C Kelly (unatt) 69 68 67
206 L Gaughan (Bathgate) 74 64 68, S Henderson (Kings Links) 65 73 68
209 G Fox (Clydeway Golf) 73 69 67, P O'Hara (Clydeway Golf) 72 69 68.
210 A Forsyth (Mearns Castle) 72 71 67, C Currie (Caldwell) 71 69 70, P Wardell (North Berwick) 72 68 70, G Brown (Montrose Links) 71 69 70.
211 S Gray (Lanark) 74 68 69, C Everett (Caldwell) 71 70 70
212 M Owenson (Gullane) 70 70 72
213 S Binning (Mearns Castle) 73 69 71, D Orr (Eastwood) 74 67 72
214 J McGhee (Whitehill House) 74 70 70, J Shaw (Boat of Garten) (am) 75 69 70, G Hay (Grantown on Spey) 74 70 70, M Patterson (Kilmacolm) 70 71 73
215 C Mailley (Royal Dornoch) (am) 72 71 72, C Gordon (Edinburgh GC) 76 68 71, R Arnott (Bishopbriggts) 75 68 72.
216 P Robinson (Largs) 71 74 71, C Mackay (Royal Dornoch) (am) 73 71 72, C Marr (Musselburgh) 74 68 74
217 A Crerar (Panmure) 74 74 68, J Lomas (Caprington) 74 74 69, C Goodwin (Duff House Royal) 71 76 70, E McIntosh (Turnhouse) (am) 78 68 71, G Wright (West Linton) 70 75 72
218 K Zeynalov (Portlethen) 77 71 70, C Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) 71 71 76
219 D Stein (Ranfurly Castle) 76 72 71
220 F Fotheringham (Nairn) (am) 72 75 73, A Welsh (Cathkin Braes) 73 74 73, D Watters (Gourock) 74 72 74, S Maxwell (Eastwood) 72 73 75, S O'Hara (unatt) 73 72 75
221 G Paxton (Ralston) 72 76 73, D Pearson (Royal Dornoch) (am) 70
222 Heather MacRae (Archerfield Links) 75 72 75, P Malone (Braid Hills) 5 71 76, S McLaren (Blairgowrie) 70 73 79.
223 A Saddington (The Dutch) 74 73 76, C McMaster (Wellsgreen) 75 72 76.
224 G Forbes (Mar Hall) 74 73 77, M Hillson (Kilconquhar Castle 70 73 81
225 K  McNicoll (Gullane) 77 71 77, R Munro (Duddingston) 78 69 78
228 R Tinker (Piperdam) 73 74 81
231 M Urquhart (Nairn) 72 76 83
234 G McFarlane (Clober) 77 70 87
 

Friday evening's Aberdeen Links Championship programme of finals is:

Links Championship Final

5.0pm Barrie Edmond (Bon Accord) v Barry Reid (Caledonian).  

Two ex-Links champions who will bring the best out of each other as Edmond bids for record-equalling fifth Links title.

Handicap Shield Final

5.15pm Liam Minty N (4)   V David Oliver C (4)

Two young guns who will be possibly be future Links champions.

Murray Cup Final

5.30pm Jackie Forrest (Northern) (12) v Graeme Mackie (Caledonian) (11)

Caledonian veteran Graeme Mackie takes on the Northern senior Jackie Forrest, two players in the twilight of their careers.

Prizegiving

9.15pm Bon Accord Golf Club

 

With the course in such excellent condition we hope to see good golf from the finalists.

 

Graeme Whyte

Aberdeen Links Championship Secretary

 

McDowell follows McIlroy in withdrawing from Rio Olympic Games golf

GOLF CHANNEL by Will Gray

The Irish Olympic golf team lost its second potential member in as many days when Graeme McDowell (pictured above) followed Rory McIlroy in withdrawing his name from consideration for Rio.
McIlroy withdrew on Wednesday, citing concerns over the Zika virus and leaving McDowell in line for the second and final automatic qualifying spot for Ireland alongside Shane Lowry. 
 But McDowell's wife is pregnant with the couple's second child and is expected to give birth in early September, leading the Ulsterman to announce via Twitter that he won't make the trip to Brazil

West of Scotland boys' championship on July 11

There are still plenty of spaces for the West of Scotland boys championship at Mount Ellen Golf Club on Monday, July 11.

The closing date has been extended and we will now accept entries until the day of the competition.

The top 16 players go into match-play on July 12/13th.

handicap limit is 12.

You can enter direct by e-mailing to wsosharpe@yahoo.co.uk 

Willie Sharpe

Press Officer

Lanarkshire Golf Association

Link to European Tour event this week

CLICK HERE

Link to Northern Open Round 3 scores

CLICK HERE

MENA Golf Tour regular Leitmannstetter lies 

one shot off the pace in South Africa

NEWS RELEASE FROM VIREN VARMA

PRETORIA, June 22 — MENA Golf Tour regular Aaron Leitmannstetter fired a sizzling six-under 66 to lie just one shot off the pace after the opening round of The Roar at Waterkloof Golf Club on Wednesday.

Starting from the 10th tee, Leitmannstetter of Germany flew off the gate in style, picking up four shots in his first five holes, but a double-bogey (on the par-3, 15th) prevented him from joining South Africa’s Riekus Nortje atop the leaderboard.

Nortje kept it clean, going bogey-free en route to a 65 as his compatriot Jason Viljoen occupied solo third on five-under, one clear of a four-man, which included Chile’s Antonio Costa, the winner of the recent Mountain Creek Open by Golf Citizen in Thailand.

Despite running up a double bogey, Leitmannstetter was quite pleased with his efforts. “Yeah, I’m very happy and I enjoyed it out there, I got off to a really good start, but unfortunately double-bogeyed the 15th which is not an easy par-three,” he said.

“After that I just tried to keep it going and it went well. I’m really glad because I holed some really important putts down the stretch,” said the German, who missed the cut at the Jo’burg City Masters last week.

“The greens are rolling magnificently. It’s very important to hit the ball nicely into those greens and place it well to have a good putt. It worked out well for me,” said Leitmannstetter, who rolled in eight birdies, including three on the back nine.

“I’m actually trying to keep it simple. I wanted to play well because it’s my last event here in your beautiful country. I didn’t take too much advantage out of my game yet, so I’m trying to play well and we’ll see what happens,” added Leitmannstetter.

Nortje, who racked up a second and ninth in the previous two events, said putting another flawless performance validated his recent form.

“I’ve been playing pretty solid and hitting the ball pretty well and it’s good to string together another bogey-free round,” explained Nortje.

A key part of Nortje’s success on day one was his greens in regulation play, and it’s a game plan he takes into the week having not played the course in over 10 years.

“It was actually quite funny because it’s the first time in about 10 years that I’ve played this golf course. It actually worked out quite well for me. I hit the ball in the right areas, I only missed two greens — both of them just off the green — so it was pretty good all-round,” said Nortje.

Elsewhere, South Africa’s Bryandrew Roelofsz, who won the South to East Challenge two weeks back, returned a three-under 69 to share eighth along with Siphiwe Siphayi and the English duo of Joe Heraty and Jeff Inglis as Lee Corfield, a four-time winner on the MENA Golf Tour, settled for a level-par 72.

Paul Doherty, the only Scot in the field, has a 72 and is T34 going into the second round.

The Roar, the third and final co-sanctioned event between the Big Easy Tour and the MENA Tour, provides players an opportunity to cash in on the R500,000 prize money, as well as valuable world ranking points.

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Australia’s Davis leads Brabazon  after birdie bonanza Australia’s Cameron Davis leads the Brabazon Trophy at London Golf Club after a first round of six-under 66 - which started with five birdies in a row.  “That was a very nice run,” said Davis, 21, who started the English men’s open amateur stroke play championship on the 10th. “My first tee shot wasn’t too great but I made a couple of long putts and holed a bunker shot from the back of the 11th green. That was a little bonus!  “It was just one of those days. Later I hit a couple of tee shots into the long stuff, but I kept it going,” added Davis, the world number 13 (pictured top). He certainly did that on his 17th hole where he lost his first ball but still managed a par – and then signed off with a birdie on his 18th.  It gave him a one shot lead over England’s Jamie Bower (Meltham), while Tom Gandy (Rowany), Craig Smith (Fulford) and Ryan Brooks (Whittington Heath) are a stroke further back on four-under. They were among 31 players who beat par, taking advantage of the ideal scoring conditions after recent heavy rain softened the immaculate Heritage course and encouraged the players to fire at the pins. “It was very scorable as long as you kept the ball in the fairway, the greens are soft enough to keep it close,” said Davis, who was the 2015 Australian Amateur champion and runner-up in the Asia Pacific championship.  Bower (pictured left) agreed: “Driving is important on this course. If you can get it out there a decent distance there are some good opportunities and I gave myself plenty of chances.” He grabbed them as they came along and collected seven birdies in his round.  Bower is an England international who won twice on an early season of South Africa and reached the last 16 of last weekend’s Amateur Championship. “I’m very happy with today’s play, it’s a good solid start and I couldn’t really ask for any more,” he said. He posted his 67 during a furious flurry of low scoring by the early starters. Jake Burnage (Saunton) and Callum Farr (Priors Hall) were playing in the first groups in the two-tee start, and returned 70 and 69 respectively.  Farr made his Brabazon debut with a bogey-free round which included a holed pitch shot on the 10th. “I didn’t really do anything wrong and I made a few good up and downs for par,” said the 17-year-old, whose next big date is to play for England in the European boys’ team championship.  No sooner had they returned their cards than Smith and Brooks came in, having played together, both shooting 68.  “I think we played similar and fed off each other,” said Brooks, 19, who is playing in the Brabazon for the first time. “We hit a lot of greens and didn’t really hit off-line apart from a couple we looked for at the end.” Gandy, from the England Golf A squad, followed them in with another 68, which included just one dropped shot,  While the top scorers made it look easy, there was plenty of trouble to be found with wayward shots. The fairways are generous, but fringed with deep, whispy rough; there’s plenty of water and the greens, while very true, are fast.  In addition the pollen count was high and hay fever complaints were common.  England international Alfie Plant (Sundridge Park) – who was among the hay fever sufferers – led the Kent challenge alongside Mark Collins (Chart Hills) after both shot 73. Freddie Price (Royal Blackheath) scored 75 and Dan Brown (Chart Hills) returned 76.  After tomorrow’s second round the field will be cut to the leading 60 players and ties who will play the final 36 holes.  SCOTS' FIRST-ROUND SCORES Par 72 SSS 75 CSS 75 69 Liam Johnston (T6) 71 Ryan Lumsden, Craig Ross (T15) 72 Scott Gibson (T32) 73 Sandy Scott (T44) 74 Jeff Wright (T63) 75 Kyle Godsman, George Burns (T82) 76 Kieran Cantley (T96) Retired: Calum Fyfe.     Click here for full scores  Images © Leaderboard Photography