Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Rory McIlroy: Ryder Cup hopefuls will 'regret' missing Open de France

FROM ESPN.COM

Rory McIlroy has warned European players who have opted to contest the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational instead of the Open de France that they will "regret it", but accepts defending champion Shane Lowry was put in an unenviable position.
A re-working of the US PGA Tour's calendar to accommodate golf's return to the Olympics saw the WGC event brought forward to the end of June, bringing it into direct conflict with the Open de France at Le Golf National, venue for the 2018 Ryder Cup.
The European Tour responded by withdrawing its sanction of the Bridgestone Invitational just two days after Lowry won it last August, meaning money won there will not count for Ryder Cup points or towards the Race to Dubai.
And to encourage the likes of McIlroy to choose Paris over Akron, the 100th Open de France is also offering increased prize money and extra Ryder Cup points, as well as counting as two of the five tournaments outside majors and WGC events required for European Tour membership.
The winner will collect 64 points towards the Ryder Cup world points list -- Bernd Wiesberger won 36 last year -- and one million towards the European points list. By way of comparison, in 2014 Graeme McDowell needed 171 points to claim the last qualifying place for Gleneagles via the world points list, while Jamie Donaldson required 2.6 million to secure the equivalent place on the European list.
Lowry's share of second place in the U.S. Open lifted him to 11th in the Ryder Cup standings and fellow contenders Andrew Johnston, Russell Knox and Soren Kjeldsen have opted to join the Irishman in competing in Akron.
Asked about the extra Ryder Cup points in a press conference ahead of the Open de France, McIlroy -- whose place at Hazeltine is already secure -- said: "I think that was one of the incentives to come here, maybe not for myself, but for some of the other guys.
"I think a few guys that aren't playing might regret it, depending on what happens when the team is picked at the end of August, but then you've got Shane who was in a tough position.
"He wins his first World Golf Championships last year and naturally you want to go and try to defend your title. So he was put in a tough position just because of the way the schedule was this year.
"But you could see many guys that are down the list and have a good week this week, they can put themselves right into contention for either an automatic place or a pick. It will be interesting to see how that unfolds."
Lowry has been paired with last year's runner-up Bubba Watson and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama for the first two rounds at Firestone Country Club, with Dustin Johnson alongside the man he succeeded as U.S. Open champion, Jordan Spieth, and 2013 winner Justin Rose.

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To view the scores in today's Captains and secretaries' Tournament Qualifier

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at Eastwood Golf Club

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 No place like home for Deeside's Neil Harper
 - winner of club's Senior Open by 3 strokes
Neil Harper, a five-handicapper from the host club, won today's Deeside Senior scratch section by three strokes with a round of 70.
Runner-up was former Links champion Stewart Finnie with a 73.
 
DEESIDE SENIOR OPEN
(CSS 70 home players, 71 visitors) 
players from Deeside unless stated otherwise
Scratch
70 N E Harper.
73 S Finnie (Caledonian).
75 A G Ross 75
76 P Milne (Nigg Bay).
Handicap
Class 1  -  N E Harper (5) 65; N Davidson (12) 67; T  McAllister (6), W. Bathgate (9) 69; P Milne (Nigg Bay) (6), W. Findlay (Caledonian) (8), R W McKay (Murcar Links) (11) 70. 
Class  2 – W.G. Laver (Royal Aberdeen) (13) 67; E D Johnstone (15), W J Forbes (Murcar Links) (18) 68, M Straughen (18) 69.
 

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Parade of Inverness club champions. Left to right: Rory Franssen, Dean Boyce, Jonathon Keith, David Syme, Marion Howieson, Linsey Munro

First-timer Jonathon Keith continues 

Inverness club championship trend

By ROBIN WILSON
For a second season in succession Inverness Golf Club has a new first-time club champion - 20-year-old Jonathan Keith from Grantown-on-Spey defeating last season's first-time winner, David Joel, in style in a 36-hole final.

Jonathan joined the city club from Grantown on Spey six years ago when a strong junior section was emerging at Inverness.  It did not take him long for him to make his mark as he won the Junior Open in 2012 and in the same year the club juniors won the three North District junior Order of Merit events.
Keith won the Under 18, Cameron Franssen the Under 16)and Rory Franssen  the Under 14.
 In 2014 Keith rose to become the North District Youth Champion.
Keith beat former champion, John Forbes on his way to the final where, after the first 18 holes. he held a four-hole lead over the defending champion, David Joel.
Keith's advantage increased to six holes after winning the first two holes at the beginning of the second round. But Joel got these losses back with an eagle at the third and a birdie on the next hole.  The quality of the golf continued through the next 12 holes, especially at the par three 13th where Joel holed a bunker shot to cut Keith's lead to three. But, from the next tee, Joel struck the big tree on the right with his drive and put his second shot out of bounds to go dormie four down and Keith's first time title was secured on the next green with a 4 and 3 result.

 MARION HOWIESON'S SEVENTH LADIES' TITLE
The final of the Inverness Golf Club women's championship featured two previous six-time winners, Kerri Harper and Marion Howieson. Edging ahead with seven wins was Howieson but not before she had to go an extra hole to overcome Harper, a Northern Counties women's team player

The men’s handicap title was won by David Syme, who defeated Graeme Thomson 3 and1 in the final. Lindsey Munro won the women's  handicap title, beating Gill Osmand 3 and 1.
 Scottish international Rory Franssen retained his junior title. He beat Logan Gillies 2 and 1, and 12 year old Dean Boyce lifted the junior handicap title with a 2 and 1 victory over Jamie Penwright.

North Order of Merit update.
Ousted at the semi final stage of the Inverness Club Championship, John Forbes, who is the club secretary at Muir of Ord Golf Club, was able to take his place in last Saturday's James Braid 36 hole open event at Brora where he gathered another 60 points to increase his lead at the top of the North District's Order of Merit table.
The Order of Merit really came into its own at Brora where six of the contenders finished in the top ten aggregate scores that were the best of any counting competitions so far this season.


First to return a new course record card of 65, five under par, was Bryan Fotheringham (Forres) and matching his 65 was the previous course record holder Chris Mailley (Royal Dornoch),whose previous course record was 66. 
Fotheringham grossed 135 with his first round 70 as did Mailley with his opening 70 and they were joined in a three way tie to receive 90 points each with Nairn's reigning District Champion Fraser Fotheringham, 67 and 68.

The points did not stop coming the way of Inverness members. European Boys Team Championship cap Cameron Franssen finish in third place on 138 (70-68) to earn his first 70 points and with a gross 71 and 72, Fortrose and Rosemarkie's Robert MacKay share of seventh place earned his first points of the season. But MacKay's gross 143 reduced to nett 135 to win the Kidd Cup in the low handicap section. 
The next Order of Merit fixture is on Saturday, the Brodie Trophy at Forres Golf Club followed next weekend by the Badenoch Open at Kingussie and Newtonmore.
Order of Merit Points Leaders
235 J Forbes (Muir of Ord).
190 F Fotheringham (The Nairn).
155 D Hexley (Golspie).
145 B Fotheringham (Forres).
135 B Urquhart (Royal Dornoch). 
130 K Thomson (Moray). 
90 A MacDonald (Royal Dornoch), C Mailley (Royal Dornoch). 
80 C Gaittens (Fortrose), C J MacKay (Royal Dornoch), J Scott (Moray).
75 J Keith (Inverness), D Gould (Moray).70 C Franssen (Inverness).  


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Top table. L to R: Current Scottish PGA Champion Chris Kelly, past champion Paul Lawrie, MandH Logistics Managing Director Tom Wotherspoon and Shona Malcolm, secretary of the PGA in Scotland. Picture by Kenny Smith.

 NEW SPONSOR OF SCOTTISH PGA CHAMPIONSHIP   

  SIGNS FIVE-YEAR DEAL WITH TARTAN TOUR


NEWS RELEASE FROM PGA IN SCOTLAND
The Professional Golfers’ Association is delighted to announce a new five-year national partnership with leading logistics operator M and H Logistics. As part of this partnership, M and H Logistics will be the new title sponsor of the Scottish PGA Championship.

This year will see the 100th staging of the Scottish PGA Championship. The M and H Logistics Scottish PGA Championship hosted by Gleneagles will take place over the King’s Course on 17-20th October 2016, marking the culmination of this season's Tartan Tour Order of Merit.

"This exciting new partnership takes the Scottish PGA Championship to the level we should be aspiring to," said Shona Malcolm, the PGA in Scotland secretary.  "We wanted something special this year to mark the tournament's 100th staging and this also sets the standard for the rest of our events."

The success in securing a title sponsor for the Tartan Tour's marquee event follows the PGA's appointment of David Longmuir, the former chief executive of the Scottish Football League, last October to explore sponsorship and commercial opportunities throughout Great Britain and Ireland.

"Credit where credit is due because David brought M and H Logistics to the table and we are really looking forward to working with them," added Shona Malcolm.
M and H Logistics Managing Director Tom Wotherspoon said: "This is M&H Logistics' first move away from football sponsorship and, in making this decision, we had to choose the correct partner. 

"The fresh and dynamic ideas we were presented with made us feel that the PGA's vision of a productive partnership mirrored our own future strategy."

PGA chief executive Sandy Jones added: “This is an exciting development for the historic Scottish PGA Championship and with the support of M and H Logistics we look forward to an exciting future for the tournament. In addition we are delighted to welcome M and H Logistics on board as a PGA Partner and forging a successful partnership in the years ahead.”

Past winners of the Scottish PGA Championship include two former Open champions, Sandy Lyle and Paul Lawrie, as well as three Ryder Cup captains in Eric Brown, Bernard Gallacher and Sam Torrance.

The field for this year's event will be limited to 66 players, with two separate qualifying events taking place at Crieff on August 30 and August 31.

"The prize fund for the M and H Logistics Scottish PGA Championship hosted by Gleneagles will be significantly enhanced from recent years," said Malcolm.

"We believe the King's Course is the right venue for the event, especially after it has recently undergone an extensive redevelopment programme.
"Gleneagles has been a great supporter of the tournament, having hosted it now since 1999, and we are delighted that support is continuing."

Bernard Murphy, Managing Director at Gleneagles, added: "We’ve been proud hosts of this event for a number of years and are delighted to continue our long association with The PGA by hosting the tournament’s 100th staging.

“This year we’re particularly looking forward to showcasing The King’s Course, which was officially relaunched last week, following an extensive development programme to restore the course to its original glory. 

“The layout of The King’s, which is now in keeping with James Braid’s original design vision nearly 100 years ago, presents golfers with a different playing experience and demands different skills – a challenge which I have no doubt the players will relish.”



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West of Scotland boys' championship needs entries

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Kemnay junior Cameron Carnegie wins 

men's club championship
 
History was made last weekend at Kemnay with a junior member, Cameron Carnegie, coming from six shots back to win the men’s club championship scratch title, with a four-round total of 292.  Aged just 16, he achieved a course recorde-qualling 68 off the Black Tees in the final round.
Cameron said “ I set myself a target to win the men's club championship before I was 18 years old.  I am delighted with the win and am looking forward to playing in the Champion of Champions next year.
" I started well on Saturday - birdie, birdie and I thought if I could par in from there he would be in with a chance. I went out in 32 and had to stop play for 20-30 mins for thunder and lightning at the 11th. 
"I knew exactly how everyone was scoring and remained calm and played steady golf to the 18th where I had a good up and down after missing the green right.  I got a great reception from fellow members after the 18th and it was a day I will remember for a long time”


Junior Pennant Champions 2016
After being runners-up to Royal Aberdeen last season, the Kemnay Junior Pennant team has gone one better this year and were crowned as Junior Pennant Champions 2016 at Inverallochy on Sunday. A fantastic achievement as this is the first time Kemnay has won this prestigious title!
They did this by winning their section with wins over Deeside at home, and away matches at both Portlethen and Murcar Links.   
They then beat last year's winners, Royal Aberdeen, in the semi-final at Portlethen and won 4-1 over Aboyne in Sunday's final.  Winning the Pennant title means that they qualify for the  Junior Home Nations Team Championships and ultimately qualify for the Grand Final overseas!
Pennant Team Manager, Craig Carnegie (Cameron’s father) said “The players are from Kemnay, Kintore, Alford and Turriff and are all keen to play in the matches. The basic skills of golf, rules and etiquette were coached through ClubGolf to these players when they were younger. Now they have been developed and coached into a successful and motivated Team. 
"I knew after last year's 5-0 defeat in the Final to Royal Aberdeen at Inverurie Golf Club that they would learn from the experience and give them more determination to be successful. They are a great group of players to manage as they are all competitive and want to do well for each other. 
"It has been a very difficult task for me to select the players for all the matches but it has brought success. The 15 team members selected over the five matches have made me very proud as Team Manager and are a credit to Kemnay Golf Club for achieving the first ever Pennant League Victory”

Underpinning both Cameron’s win in the Men’s Club Championship win and the Pennant Team success is ClubGolf and the Club’s commitment to running the national structured programme for youngsters starting in the game

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Fraser Moore (71) leads Scots at EuroPro Tour event in NE England

Glenbervie's Fraser Moore is the best placed Scot at the end of the first round of this week's PGA EuroPro Tour event at Longhirst Hall, Morpeth in the North-east of England.
He returned a 71 to be three shots off the pace in a share of 10th place in a field of 156 players. 

SCROLL DOWN FOR NICK TEALE'S
SUMMARY OF THE FIRST-DAY HIGHLIGHTS

LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES
68 M Bedford (Eng)
69 C Evans (Eng), J Timmis (Eng), N Kearney (Eng)

SCOTS' SCORES
71 F Moore (T10)
72 C Macaulay (T16)
73 R Campbell, K Nicol, F McKenna (T25)
74 J Duff (T32)
76 M Stewart (T58)
77 C Lawrie, J Hendrick, N Fenwick (T74)
78 L Saltman (T87)
79 J McColl, Z Saltman (T106)
80 P McKechnie (T116)
81 E Saltman, J Steven (T124)
84 S Lawrie (T141)
85 G Duncan (T146)
NR N Henderson.
TO FINISH: J Henry, C O'Neil, B Craggs 

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
 

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Bedford leads at end of wet first day 
By NICK TEALE
Mike Bedford leads the Dawson and Sanderson Classic by one shot at the end of a wet first round of the HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour event at Longhirst Hall Golf Club in Northumberland.
Rain fell consistently at the Morpeth venue for much of the opening day, with the afternoon groups suffering the worst of the wet weather.
Bedford (Bramhall Park Golf Club) carded an opening-round 68, four under par, on the Dawson Course to lead. Christopher Evans (Wishaw Golf Club), Jason Timmis (Newcastle-Under-Lyme GC) and Niall Kearney (The Royal Dublin) share second on three under.
Bedford made three consecutive birdies from the sixth but a double bogey at the 11th pushed him back down the leaderboard. However, a run a four birdies from the 12th saw him to five under before a bogey at 17 pulled him back to just one ahead of his nearest rivals.
Evans enjoyed his best ever EuroPro Tour finish here last year when he finished second and occupies that position alongside two others at the close of the first round after a 69 made up of four birdies and three bogeys.
Ireland’s Kearney had five birdies for his 69, while Timmis was four under on his front nine before a bogey at the 12th denied him a share of the overnight lead.
Six golfers are two behind the leader on a weather-effected day which saw only sixteen golfers sign for under par rounds. A cut to the leading 50 players and ties will be made at the conclusion of Thursday’s second round, with the third and final round to be played on Friday.
Spectator entry to the Dawson and Sanderson Classic is free throughout the event and a two-hour highlights package will air on Sky Sports 4 on Tuesday, July 12.
 



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US Tour winner Billy Hurley will skip the  

Open to attend his sister’s wedding


Billy Hurley III will miss out on his first British Open appearance.
Billy Hurley III will miss out on his first Open appearance. (Getty Images)
AKRON, Ohio – For several years, Billy Hurley III put country before golf. Now he has decided that family comes first, too.
Hurley, who won the Quicken Loans National on Sunday to earn a spot in the Open at Royal Troon on July 14-17, said he called R and A chief executive Martin Slumbers and said he wouldn’t be competing in golf’s oldest championship. Instead, Hurley plans to attend his sister Megan’s wedding in their hometown of Leesburg, Virginia
“I wouldn’t miss my sister’s wedding for the world,” Hurley said. “It’s very important for me to be there to support her and her husband.”
Hurley said his sister tried not to persuade when they talked on Sunday. He called it an easy decision, and said he phoned his sister during his practice round to inform him that he wouldn’t miss the festivities.
“She started crying,” Hurley said.
Hurley’s fairytale victory – winning his home-town event, a former Navy lieutenant at a tournament that pays homage to the military, just 10 months after his father committed suicide and hoisting his first PGA Tour trophy when talk of retirement flooded his mind – left many reaching for a Kleenex.
“I didn’t know that many people cared about me,” said Hurley, who estimated he had received 250 text messages and another 130 emails, including a few from four-star admirals.
“I’ve heard from so many grown men telling me they were watching golf crying on Sunday. I had a good friend of mine in California call and leave a message, and he was fighting back tears the whole time he was leaving the message for me.”
As the last man into the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Hurley said his locker at Firestone Country Club is tucked in a back corner, “and there’s a parking spot back in the back of the lot and everything.”
When Hurley arrived at the practice range, Michael Greller, caddie to Jordan Spieth, congratulated him and said, “Thanks for making us all cry.”
Hurley, who entered last week ranked No. 607 in the world and hadn’t finished better than T-41 in his previous 11 events, considered hanging up his spikes after a poor performance at the Puerto Rico Open in March. Hurley said he no longer enjoyed the struggles of professional golf.
“One of the guys on my team said, ‘Well, why don’t you take a day, day and a half, and really think about quitting, like really think about retiring. What would that look like? What would you do?’ And I did,” Hurley said.
The 34-year-old Hurley and his wife, Heather, usually “renewed our contract to continue playing golf” in August. His wife suggested that he stick it out to the end of his contract. After all, he had waited five years to begin his career in earnest while he fulfilled his five-year military obligation out of the Naval Academy.
In May, Hurley’s younger brother, Dan, caddied for him at the Web.com Tour’s Rex Hospital Open. Despite missing the cut, Hurley’s brother saw reason for hope and told him, “That doesn’t look like a guy who should retire to me.” Dan was on the bag again in June when Hurley was the medalist at U.S. Open sectional qualifying in Rockville, Md. “A couple days later, he was like, ‘That’s the best I’ve ever seen you play.’ ”
On Sunday at Congressional when Hurley’s big brother walked off the 18th green as a champion, Dan said, “Are you still thinking of retiring?”
Skipping Troon, but Hurley now believes the best is yet to come.
 
Hurley is replaced by Jim Herman of the United States.
The next three competitors on the reserve list are as follows:
1st Reserve: Marcus Fraser, Australia
2nd Reserve: Luke Donald, England
3rd Reserve: Daniel Summerhays, United States

s

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Shane Lowry withdraws from Olympics 

over Zika concern

AKRON, Ohio -- Shane Lowry of Ireland says if the Olympics were anywhere other than Rio de Janeiro, he would be the first to show up. Instead, he is the sixth golfer to withdraw because of the Zika virus.
Lowry, who was married in April, said he wants to start a family soon and he received "firm medical advice" from doctors in Dublin that he should not go to Rio. He joins Rory McIlroy as the top two Irish golfers who won't be in the Olympics because of Zika concerns.
That means Padraig Harrington at No. 159 in the world and Seamus Power (No. 283) will play for the Irish flag in Rio.
"There's too much of a gray area for me," Lowry said. "There's not a 100 percent way of saying you have it or you don't have it when you get back, so that's a problem for me and my wife, especially. If I came back from Rio and was able to say 100 percent that I didn't have it? Then it might be a different story."
Lowry said he read all the material from the PGA Tour and European Tour and met specialists in Dublin.

"They left it to me," he said. "But they advised me that if I went to them and said I was going to Rio on a holiday, they would advise me not to go. It was our decision. It was a tough decision to make. Because I wanted to go."
Others who have withdrawn specifically because of Zika are Jason Day, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace and Marc Leishman. Lowry said if he were single, that "potentially" would change his plans. And if the Olympics were elsewhere?
"One hundred percent, I'd be there. I'd be the first person there," he said. "I was going for the whole lot and planning to stay on afterward. But I'm recently married, we're thinking about starting a family and it's not ideal to be going places like that."
Four other golfers already have pulled out for reasons beyond Zika, such as a crammed schedule. Lowry believes the threat of Zika has to be considered more for golf than most other sports.
"We do seem to be more at risk," he said. "We're on the golf course for six hours a day, seven hours a day. Other athletes are in a stadium. This is just my opinion, but other athletes have been training four and eight years to go to Olympics. I can see why they're going. It's the pinnacle of their sport. It's not the pinnacle of golf yet. It could be in 20 years' time."

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