No reason why senior pros cannot improve,
 says Bernhard Langer

FROM THE EUROPEAN SENIOR TOUR WEBSITE
Ryder Cup legend Bernhard Langer believes that players on the European Senior Tour can continue to push boundaries, starting with this week's Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex.
Langer, a ten-time Ryder Cup player and former European Captain, is currently two shots behind the leaders at Carnoustie Golf Links, but remains confident ahead of Friday’s second round.
“I feel like my game is very close,” said Langer. “I just have to try and hit a few more quality iron shots and get a little closer to the hole.
“I’m right there, you can’t win the tournament on the first day. You can lose it by messing up real bad, but there’s a lot of golf to be played.”

On the US Champions Tour, Langer has competed in 11 events in 2016, winning three and finishing in the top ten on six more occasions.
At this year’s Senior Open, he is bidding to emulate the feats of Gary Player and Tom Watson and become the third player to win the senior Claret Jug on three occasions.
“I think we can still get better – I truly believe that,” said Langer. “I’m convinced that you can become a better golfer as you mature. Because I’ve had more years to work on my technique, I can still become a better ball striker.
“I may lose some distance, I may lose some strength and flexibility, but I might have a better understanding of my own swing and what works and what doesn’t.
“I’ve certainly played tremendous golf over the last ten or 12 years, and I had some great years before that too.
“A lot of the game is mental too. You need to be hungry or eager to do well, which I think most of the field here are, or they wouldn’t fly halfway around the world just to see Carnoustie. They want to play well.”

During his busiest periods on the European Tour, Langer played in as many as 23 events in a single campaign. He now believes that regular breaks throughout the season contribute to his longevity in professional golf.
“I’ve learned to pace myself,” he said. “A few years ago, you just played whatever tournament there was, you just entered and played. One time I played 11 in a row.
“Now, two or three is pretty much the most. I’ve learned what’s good for me. You’ve got to listen to yourself and your body. I don’t like going more than two, really. Every once in a while I go three if I absolutely have to.
“I put the clubs away for a week or four or five days, even in the middle of the season and just do other stuff. I think that’s good for me. It gives me a chance to come back and think ‘let’s get back into it and work on it again’, instead of ‘I’ve got to play another this, or another that, just dragging along.’

Woody emerges from "long stretch of ugliness" with a four-under 68

CARNOUSTIE (AP) -- Woody Austin made four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine and finished with a 4-under 68 to take the first-round lead in the Senior British Open.
The 52-year-old Austin rebounded from bogeys on Nos. 9 and 10 with birdies on 11, 12, 14 and 16. He has struggled after winning three times in four events this year on the US PGA Champions Tour.

''It seems, I forgot how to play after that,'' Austin said. ''It's been really bad since. It's been unfortunately a long stretch of really ugliness.''
Mark O'Meara was a stroke back along with Carlos Franco, Esteban Toledo, Joe Durant, Tom Byrum, Scott McCarron and Peter Fowler. Franco, from Paraguay, qualified Monday.
The wind was 10-15 mph at Carnoustie Golf Links with a mix of sun and clouds and a high in the 60s.
''I think the rain yesterday softened the course a little bit,'' O'Meara said. ''We were pretty fortunate. The wind laid down just a little bit in the middle of our round out there, so it was a little bit more playable. But Carnoustie is a very demanding golf course. You have to drive the ball well. You have to be accurate with your iron shots, and then you've got to putt well.''
Austin won the last of his four non-senior US PGA Tour titles in the 2013 Sanderson Farms Championship.
''I'm not into grinding,'' Austin said. ''I'm not into beating a bunch of balls anymore. I did that for my 40 years. I'm done. So, I go home, I play with my kids, I play with my family. I own a golf course. I help run the golf course. I try to do the things I need to do there.
"You'll find me sometimes weeding, jumping on a mower and mowing. I hit balls usually maybe Saturday and Sunday the week before I go back out. That's it. That's my preparation. The only time I work on (my golf)  is when I get to the golf course.''
Bernhard Langer, the winner in 2010 at Carnoustie, had a 71.
Defending champion Marco Dawson opened with as 72. He won last year at Sunningdale.
Michael Bradley had a 74 in his senior debut. He won four times on the regular US PGA Tour.

SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE NEWS ABOUT THE OPENING DAY

OF THE SENIOR BRITISH OPEN AT CARNOUSTIE

Ross Kellett still flying ... 64 puts him one 

off the Challenge Tour pace in France


FROM THE CHALLENGE TOUR WEBSITE
Sebastian Heisele took a one-shot lead from the in-form Ross Kellett after the first round of Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge with a fine eight under par round of 63 at Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil.
The German made nine birdies on a perfect scoring day in northern France to put himself at the top of the leaderboard, with Ross Kellett his closest challenger and Wil Besseling, Ryan Fox and Matthew Nixon a shot further back.
The 27 year old has finished in the top 20 six times in ten events this season and sits 24^th in the Road to Oman Rankings, but admitted he has been frustrated not to have converted several promising positions into victories already.

“It felt good today,” he said. “It’s been a good year so far but I posted eight under today because I had a hot putter and managed to hole a few good ones.
“I felt quite comfortable out there today and it’s a bit of redemption for last year when I went out and I shot nine over on the first day – I was trying for nine under today to even it out but didn’t quite get there!
“It’s just one of those things where you feel comfortable – I came here last year so this year I’m happier here and knew what to expect. It’s a course where you’re going to get plenty of opportunities if you hit fairways and greens.
“It’s nice to be in a good position going into tomorrow and into the weekend hopefully and for me, I’ve had a very good scoring average this year and I’ve been able to be in good positions quite a lot going into the final day but it hasn’t quite worked out for me so far.
“I don’t necessarily feel 100% or totally comfortable going into the final day just yet, I often have jittery or nervous starts in a way, so it’s a learning process right now.
“Confidence is obviously there, I know I can put a score together – my scoring average is about 69 which is one of the lowest this season – and I know that the game is there and that takes a bit of stress out of it when you tee up and know you can hit a low one, like today.
“I tend to go out and play my game and hope to be in the red numbers every day – I think I’ve only had two or three rounds over par this year, but sometimes at the wrong times and that ends up costing you.
“There’s always going to be someone on Challenge Tour who goes and shoots the lights out, like I did today and Adrien Saddier or Nicolo Ravano [who shot a 59] did last week. Someone will go low tomorrow, hopefully it might be me again.”

Kellett, pictured above, had a putt for a 59 of his own last Thursday at the Fred Olsen Challenge de España but led after round one with a 60 and the Scot was quick out of the blocks again this week, a bogey-free 64 good enough for second place on his own.
The Motherwell man had birdies at the first, second, seventh, eighth - out in 31 - 14th, 16th and 18th.
Reigning champion Fox had an eventful round, mixing ten birdies with just five pars as he began his title defence impressively, with Dutchman Besseling and England’s Sam Nixon matchig the New Zealander’s score of 65.
The French charge was led by Olivier Rozner and Clément Sordet, who were both five under par after round one, with last week’s winner Saddier and Rankings Number Three Matthieu Pavon one shot further back.
Blairgowrie's Bradley Neil is tied sixth after a 66 which included not one but TWO eagle 3s - at the eighth in an outward 31- and at the 18th after he had bogeyed the 14th and 17th.
Duncan Stewart is T21 on 68 which included four birdies in a row from the 11th to the 14th in halves of 35 and 33. He bogeyed the first, ninth and16th.

FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72
63 S Heisele (Ger)
64 R Kellett (Sco)
65 M Nixon (Eng), R Fox (NZ), W Besseling (Ned)

OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
66 B Neil (T6)
68 D Stewart (T21)
70 D Law (T50)
73 P Whiteford, P Shields (T103)
78 J Doherty (T152)
Field of 156

Woody Austin's late 68 breaks leaderboard

 logjam in Senior Open at Carnoustie

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
with some additional words by Colin Farquharson
 American Woody Austin, three times a winner on the US Seniors Tour in the Spring,  came in late on the opening day with a four-under-par 68 to break a logjam at the top of the leaderboard in the Senior Open Championship at Carnoustie.
Six-footer Austin, 52, birdied the first and third, then stuttered with bogeys at the ninth and 10th. But the man from Tampa, Florida came again with a bogey-free inward half of 33, studded with birdies at the 11th, 12th, 14th and 16th.

"Senior golf, certainly on the Champions' Tour, is all about putting. At our age we all know how to play the game. So it comes down to a putting contest every week," said Austin, pictured. 
Seven  golfers carded first rounds of three under par 69s.
The Americas are dominant with five representatives in the top eight.
Mexico’s Esteban Toledo was five under par going into the final two holes, but consecutive bogeys meant he finished with a first round 69.

Paraguayan Carlos Franco also scored a 69 on a benign day at the feared Angus links. The over-50s are playing a course of 7,345yd. If the wind blows, it could change the picture dramatically.
Franco, brother of European Senior Tour member Angel, secured his place in the 30th edition of the Senior Open after qualifying at Panmure Golf Club on Monday.
“To shoot three under par on a links course is not very easy, especially at Carnoustie,” Franco said. “We were lucky with the weather today, so you have to take your opportunities and make a good score.
“I’m so happy because it’s been so long since I shot three under par in a Major.”
McCarron, a year on from making his debut on the over-50s circuit, joins Franco at the top of the leaderboard.
“I’m very happy,” the American said. “Any time you can go bogey-free at Carnoustie is something special. Obviously, we didn’t have a lot of wind today, but it was enough to keep you guessing.
“I love playing over here. I played the Scottish Open in 1996 here at Carnoustie and just fell in love with this style of golf. It’s my favourite style of golf – you can be very creative.”
Bernhard Langer, who goes in search of his third Senior Open title, scored a one under par 71 and crowd favourite Miguel Angel Jiménez is one of five players in joint ninth  place after shooting two under par 70. Marco Dawson started the defence of his Senior Open title with a level par 72.
Top Scot is Robert Arnott is joint 24th place with a 72 (35-37), despite a double bogey 6 at the 17th. Also on 72 is Andrew Oldcorn who had late birdies at the 14th and 16th in halves of 38-34.
Tom Watson and Colin Montgomerie, two men expected to be nearer the top than the bottom are lying T88 after both had 76s, one ahead of Sam Torrance and Sandy Lyle.
Banchory exile Bruce Davidson, based in American for many years and a qualifier at Panmure earlier in the week, had a 78 to be sharing 118th place.
Davidson's caddie Jonathan Black, who plays Panmure regularly said: "Bruce took an awful lot of putts today. He wasn't getting close to the pin with his approach shots and three-putted several times from long range. Still, tomorrow's another day."

FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72. Yardage 7,345
68 W Austin (USA)
69 T Bryant (USA), S McCarron (USA), C Franco (Par), J Durant (USA), E Toledo (Mex), M O'Meara (US), P Fowler (Aus).

SELECTED SCORES
70 M A Jimenez (Spa)
72 R Arnott (Sco), A Oldcorn (Sco), J Daly (USA) (T24)
73 S Savage (Sco), I Woosnam (Wal), T Lehman (USA) (T40)
74 L Mann (Sco) (T52)
75 R Drummond (Sco) (T73)
76 T Watson (USA), C Montgomerie (Sco), G Manson (Sco) (T88)
77 S Torrance (Sco), S Lyle (Sco) (T103)
78 B Davidson (Sco) (T118)
85 M Lang (Sco) (T143). 

TO VIEW ALL FRIDAY'S SECOND-ROUND TEE TIMES

CLICK HERE

SELECTED TEE TIMES

08.30 A Oldcorn, N Sugai, P Tallent (am)

09.00 J Parnevik, M O'Meara, C Stadler
09.20 J Daly, C Montgomerie, T Watson
09.30 M A Martin, P Fowler, W Austin

12.10 R Drummond, B Davidson, B Henninger
12.30 D Gilford, F Funk, C Franco

01.00 S Torrance, J Sindelar, C Parry
01.40 I Woosnam, J Van de Velde, T Lehman
01.50 B Langer, M A Jimenez, M Dawson 

Flanagan two shots clear  in Carris Trophy It was moving day in the Carris Trophy today and the pressure was on – but no-one could catch overnight co-leader Angus Flanagan. The 17-year-old from Surrey (Image © Leaderboard Photography) held off his challengers with a third-round 69 and a 10-under par total for the English U18 boys’ championship at Hunstanton. He’s two shots ahead of Oscar Teiffel of Sweden and Matias Honkala of Denmark who scored 68 and 69 respectively. Kristian Tannum Donaldson, who also led after the second round, is now six-under after scoring one-over 73 today. Today’s action unfolded under more bright sunshine and the players capitalised on the perfect scoring conditions, notching up 196 birdies and 12 eagles between them. That translated into an exciting battle for the top of the leaderboard - and a giant stride for Sweden’s Hugo Townsend, who shot the best score of the tournament so far.  His seven-under 65 moved him up 26 spots and into a share of sixth place. The scoreboards changed rapidly all day as a host of players staged their charge, particularly on the outward holes. Flanagan, from St George’s Hill, was firmly among them, speeding to the turn in five-under 32, hitting every green and taking only 12 putts. At that stage he was 12-under for the championship, before dropping a couple on the way in as he grappled with the strengthening wind. “It was tough, it came from a completely different direction and I hadn’t played the course that way before.” He kept his eyes off the scoreboards today, knowing that challengers were certain to come at him, but determined to stick to his game plan and not be influenced otherwise. “Tomorrow, hopefully I’ll just do the same as I have been doing,” he said. Teiffel and Honkala played together, peppering the course with birdies and an eagle apiece. “I just tried to make as many birdies as possible,” said Teiffel, 16, who is playing outside Sweden for the first time. “But it’s difficult to chase birdies here, except on the par fives, so you have to give yourself as many opportunities as possible.” Honkala, who has been in the top three throughout the championship, added: “I didn’t hit it so close in the beginning, but in the middle section I hit it really good.” He had a purple patch from the long ninth, where he almost holed in two, scoring eagle, birdie, par, birdie. His approach for tomorrow is simple: “I am going to make a lot of birdies!” Behind them on the leaderboard is Tannum Donaldson in fourth place on six-under, followed by Alex Fitzpatrick (Hallamshire) on three-under after today’s 68. A shot further back are Thomas Plumb (Sherborne), who also scored 68, and Hugo Townsend, who played his way into the mix with his 65. Townsend was five over after 36 holes and after a chat with his dad, the tournament professional Peter Townsend, who won around the world in the 60s and 70s, he decided a more aggressive approach was called for. “My game plan was to hit more drivers and I was hitting great tee shots into position and my iron play was great. It was just a consistent round,” said the 18-year-old. He was six-under to the turn, with four birdies and an eagle on the 9th, and came home in one-under.  “It’s the back nine where I have struggled in the first two rounds and I told myself to just keep it together. I never lost my momentum, even when I had two bogeys, and that was the most important thing.” Tomorrow’s final round starts at 8am, with the leaders teeing off at 12noon.  Click here for full scores and tee times. Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 07825 752 193 .

Kirkhill youngster Irvine in Young Masters' top 10

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Kirkhill's Lewis Irvine was sharing seventh place in the European Young Masters in Switzerland after a first-round 73, one over par for the Golf Club du Domaine Imperial.
He was four shots behind the joint leaders, Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra (Spain) and Ireland's Mark Power.
Ed Price from Wales was in 13th place with a 74.
Ireland's John Brady and Harry Goddard (England) were tied for 28th place on 78.
Dunbar's Connor Wilson had an 80 which placed him T33 in the boys' field of 57 overnight
In the girls' second PLF Scottish schoolgirls champion Jennifer Rankine (Haggs Castle) had an 85 for a share of 41st place while Kristy Brodie (Strathmore) returned a 90 for joint 47th spot.
The leader by three in the girls' section is Sara Hricikova (Czech Republic). 

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

Graeme Greer leading Scot in third place at Lanark

Thomas beats Ferguson in play-off for Scottish 

U18 boys' open stroke play


By COLIN FARQUHARSON
India-born Rayhan Thomas, playing out of Dubai Creek Yacht and Country Club, won the Scottish U18 boys' open amateur stroke-play championship at Lanark Golf Club today.
He beat Australian front-runner Ben Ferguson at the second hole of a sudden-death play-off after they had tied on five-under 205 at the conclusion of 54 holes.
Thomas had rounds of 69, 66 and 70; Ferguson 66, 70 and 69. The pair finished six shots ahead of the international field.
Leading Scot was Graeme Green (Carluke) in third place with three very steady rounds of 71, 70 and 70 for one-over 211, a shot ahead of joint fourth-placed Sam Locke (Banchory) (69-71-72), son of Paul Lawrie's swing coach Andrew Locke, and Matthew McCulloch (Portpatrick Dunskey) (72-71-69).
Rory Franssen (Inverness) (73-70-70) tied for sixth place on 213  alongside Jamie Stewart (Old Ranfurly) (68-75-70).

SCOTTISH U18 BOYS' OPEN AMATEUR STROKE-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
Lanark Golf Club.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 210 (3x70)
205 R Thomas (India) 69 66 70, B Ferguson (Aust) 66 70 69 (Thomas won play-off at second extra hole).
211 G Greer (Carluke) 71 70 70
212 M McCulloch (Portpatrick Dunskey) 72 71 69, S Locke (Banchory) 69 71 72
213 R Franssen (Inverness) 73 70 70, M Lorentzen (Den) 71 73 69, J Stewart (Old Ranfurly) 68 75 70
214 R Yu Zhu (Sandyhills) 67 72 75
215 E McIntosh (Bruntsfield Links) 71 72 72, E Schiavella (Ita) 71 71 73
OTHER SCOT' TOTALS
216 M Dalrymple (Old Ranfurly) 71 77 68 (T12)
218 J Paterson (St Andrews New) 71 75 72, R Watson (Muckhart) 68 80 70.
219 C Bruce (Duff House Royal) 71 73 75, J Carpenter (Forres) 71 72 76 (T19).
222 D Howie (Peebles) 74 79 69, J Connelly (Carnoustie Caledonian) 72 77 73, A Moir (Elgin) 72 75 75, M Lawrie (Deeside) 71 75 76 (T24)
223 J Roberts (Muckhart) 74 78 71, K McAllister (Easter Moffat) 74 74 75, M Watt (Inverallochy) 69 79 75 (T31)
224 C Giffen (Lundin) 73 74 77, C Graham (Crieff) 72 71 81
224 F McKenna (Royal Aberdeen) 74 76 75 (38th)
230 R Carey (Auchterarder) 74 78 78

TO VIEW ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

CLICK HERE

St Andrews Trophy match at Prince's comes to dramatic end

Craig Watson's GB  and I team rally from 4pt 

down to earn a 12.5-12.5 draw

    Skipper Craig Watson (that's him at the right end of the back row) with his happy warriors.

                         Picture by courtesy of the R and A.

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Skipper Craig Watson's Great Britain and Ireland team responded to their captain's call for a supreme effort and came back from 4pt in arrrears to draw 12.5-12.5 with the Continent of Europe at Prince's Golf Club, Kent today.
As holders of the trophy in the biennial competition, it remains within GB and I's grasp for another two years.
Trailing 4-8 at the start of the second day, GB and I won the foursomes 3.5-0.5 with Grant Forrest and Connor Syme scoring a 4 and 3 win.
The singles produced a dramatic finish.
Forrest was beaten 2 and 1 but Robert MacIntyre from Oban and Syme gained vital half-points to provide the platform for  Welshman David Boote's one-hole win - he had been four up after 13 - to give the home team a hard-earned share of the honours.
The GB and I team is selected by the R and A. The Continent of Europe team by the European Golf Association.

ST ANDREWS TROPHY
Prince's Golf Club, Kent
Day 1 score: GB and I 4, Continent of Europe 8.
Day 2 score: GB and I 8.5, Continent of Europe 4.5
Final score: GB and I 12.5, Continent of Europe 12.5
Day 2 Foursomes (3.5-0.5)
S Grehan (Ire) and S Gregory (Eng) bt L Cianchetti and S Mazzoli (Ita) 5 and 4.
J Hume (Ire) and D Boote (Wal) bt V Veyret (Fra) and R Petersson (Swe) 1 hole.
G Forrest and C Syme (Sco) bt M Schwab (Aut) and G Migliozzi (Ita) 4 and 3.
J Bower (Eng) and A Plant (Eng) halved with I Cantero Gutierre3x and M Galiano (Spa).
Day 2 Singles (5-4)
Gregory bt J Krietemeijer 2 holes.
Hume lost to Mazzioli 1 hole.
Grehan bt Cianchetti 4 and 3.
Forrest lost to Petersson 2 and 1.
Syme halved with Schwab.
Bower lost to Veyret 3 and 2.
R MacIntyre halved with Migliozzi.
Boot bt Gutierrez 1 hole.
Plant bt Galiano 4 and 3.

"The boys were brilliant," says captain Craig

R and A NEWS RELEASE

Sandwich, England: Great Britain and Ireland retained the St Andrews Trophy after finishing level at 12 ½-12 ½ with the Continent of Europe at Prince’s in Kent today.

Trailing their opponents 8-4 at the start of the second day, Craig Watson’s side won three of the morning foursomes matches and halved the other to reduce the Continent of Europe’s lead to a single point at 8½ -7½ going into the afternoon’s singles.

Ireland’s Stuart Grehan led from the first hole against Luca Cianchetti and was comfortable against the Italian for the entire duration, closing out the match with a birdie on the 15^th hole for a 4 and 3 win to put GB and I back on level terms at 8½ -8½.

The 2016 Amateur Champion Scott Gregory edged GB and I in front for the first time after beating Jereon Krietemeijer by two holes to make it 9½ -8½, only for the visitors to take the lead again after a 2 and 1 win for Sweden’s Robin Petersson over Grant Forrest, followed by Stefano Mazzoli’s victory by one hole against Irishman Jack Hume.

The Continent of Europe’s lead was stretched to two points shortly after when Frenchman Victor Veyret picked up three holes in a row from the 14^th to seal a 3 and 2 success against Jamie Bower.

Connor Syme and Matthias Schwab halved their match for a share of the spoils to leave the Continent of Europe needing only one point to win the match outright.

However, Alfie Plant pulled a point back for GB&I with a 4 and 3 win over Mario Galiano and, after Robert MacIntyre and Guido Migliozzi halved their match, the destination of the trophy came down to the result between David Boote and Ivan Cantero Guiterrez.

The Welshman retained his composure and secured a par on the 18^th to beat the Spaniard by one hole, gaining the crucial point to secure a 12 ½-12 ½ final score and ensure that GB and I retained the St Andrews Trophy as holders following their victory at Barsebäck in 2014.

In the morning’s foursomes, Grehan and Gregory convincingly beat Italians Cianchetti and Mazzoli 5 and 4 to gain a vital point in the first foursome, before Scottish duo Forrest and Syme notched up an additional point for the home side shortly after, defeating Schwab and Migliozzi 4 and 3.

GB and I were victorious in the third match this morning after Hume and Boote won by one hole versus Veyret and Petersson. The final foursome, featuring English pair Plant and Bower against Spain’s Galiano and Cantero Guiterrez, was halved.

Key quote:

Craig Watson, Captain, Great Britain and Ireland:

“I’m absolutely delighted with the result, especially after yesterday’s 4-0 result in the first session. It was always going to be difficult and the boys were disappointed to only draw 4-4 in yesterday afternoon’s singles matches.

“We got off to a good start today and the boys dug in well with a tremendous performance after being four down and knowing we had to take something into this afternoon. We continued where we left off (on Wednesday) and the boys were brilliant.”

Senior Golf Circuit for over-48s' 36-hole competition

Baker and Taylor tie for victory at Arbroath

after American misses short putt at the last 

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Peter Baker from Shifnal, Shropshire, who won 3pts out of four in the 1993 Ryder Cup match, tied for victory on five-under-par 135 with American Skip Taylor, a 55-year-old North Carolina high school physical education teacher cum pro golfer,  in the Senior Golf Circuit's Arbroath Smokie 36-hole tournament over the Angus links today.

Taylor (65-70) missed a very short putt on the last green or else he would have been the outright winner. There was no provision for a play-off. Baker had rounds of 67 and 68.
They finished one shot ahead of Spain's Jose Romero who had a pair of 68s.
Baker, pictured, 49 in October, is too young for the European Senior Tour but the lower age qualification of 48 on the independent Senior Golf Circuit, organised by former Scottish amateur international David James from Dumfries, allows the 1987 European Tour Rookie of the Year  to cut his teeth in preparation for when he does step up to the 50 and over  grade.
"I liked the Arbroath course very much. It's a real classic links with some very challenging holes," said Baker before departing to Carnoustie to support stablemates Gary Wolstenholme, Paul Broadhurst and David Gilford in the Senior Open.
Englishman George Ryall shot the tourament low of six-under 64 in the second round, enabling him to tie for fourth place on 137, alongside Carnoustie's Fraser Mann and four others.
Former Manchester United and Wales international footballer Clayton Blackmore slumped to a second-round 78, eight more than in his first round.

SENIOR GOLF CIRCUIT'S ARBROATH SMOKIE TOURNAMENT
Arbroath Links.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 140 (2x70)
135 P Baker (Eng) 67 68, S Taylor (USA) 65 70.
136 J Romero (Spa) 68 68
137 G Ryall (Eng) 73 64, C Grenier (Aut) 71 66, N Sweet (Eng) 68 69, D Edlund (Swe) 68 69, F Mann (Sco) 68 69, T Lawrence (Eng) 67 70.
138 M Hurtubise (Can) 71 67, M Mielke (USA) 69 69, C Bolling (USA) 69 69.
139 Y Nilsson (Swe) 69 70, C Hunsucker (USA) 68 71
140 P Woodward (Aust) 72 68, D Mast (Eng) 69 71.
141 J Hoskison (Eng) 70 71.
142 N Mitchell (Eng) 68 74.
143 S M Hill (Eng) 75 68, D Hospital (Spa) 73 70
144 S Craig (Sco) 72 72, M Booth (Eng) 72 72, J P Sallat (Fra) 69 75.
146 R Tihabanyane (SAfr) 72 74, M Field (Eng) 67 79.
148 J La Force (Can) 71 77, C Blackmore (Wal) 70 78.
149 D Narveson (USA) 72 77.
153 P A Brostedt (Swe) 76 77.

 Tom Watson made honorary member of 

Monifieth Links GC .. 41 years after first visit

  Tom Watson and Bill Miller (Getty Images)

FROM THE EUROPEAN SENIOR TOUR WEBSITE
No-one at Monifieth Golf Links paid much notice when the freckle-faced American kid pitched up at their course on Sunday, July 6, 1975, seeking a practice round ahead the 1975 Open at Carnoustie.
The golfer himself wasn’t hugely enamoured when he teed up on the first hole and promptly lost his ball. Or so he thought. In fact, after dropping a second ball on the fairway, he then discovered the original ball in a small pot bunker 40 yards from where he expected to find it.
“Right then, I didn’t like this form of golf,” admitted Tom Watson. “It took me another four years for the penny to finally drop and from that moment I loved links golf.”

Fast-forward 36 years and five Claret Jugs later, and the same golfer returned to that very same spot and, in front of around 300 Monifieth members, re-enacted that original tee shot.
This time around, however, Watson was a VIP guest as he received Honorary Life Membership from Bill Miller, the only other man to receive that huge honour.
 Current Monifieth Links Chairman, Graham Waghorn, helped the five-time Open Champion to embed a special plaque in the first tee to commemorate that less than auspicious tee shot from 1975.
Watson then regaled his eager audience with that tale of his first visit to Monifieth, while Miller warned the American: “You’ll still need to go into the ballot for a tee time like the rest of us – but at least you won’t have to pay the green fee!”

Link to first-round scores from the Senior Open at Carnoustie

CLICK HERE

Paul Lawrie Golf Centres set to fly with KAI

Left to right: Craig Dempster, Paul Lawrie, Kirsty Weir and Chris Campbell

NEWS RELEASE

Former Open champion Paul Lawrie has engaged KAI Agency to work on sales, marketing and public relations projects surrounding his successful Paul Lawrie Golf Centre brand.

The Aberdeen golfer, who won the Open Championship in 1999, has recently added to the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre portfolio by acquiring the Inchmarlo Golf Centre, on the outskirts of Banchory in Aberdeenshire.

The Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Inchmarlo will include a recently reconstructed and remodelled nine hole Queen’s Golf Course and 20 bay driving range, as well as a re-vamped shop.

Paul Lawrie said; “I'm looking forward to working with Kirsty and Christopher from KAI Agency on our Golf Centre projects. I'm impressed by their energy, skills and experience in the trade which will lead to some exciting things over the coming months.”

KAI Agency will initially be focused on ensuring that the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre brand and facilities meet the expectations of the customers along with being innovative in packages, offers and simple communication methods.

Christopher Campbell, Managing Director KAI Agency said; “We are very excited to be working with Paul Lawrie and his team on the Golf Centre projects.
“I frequently use the modern facilities at the well established Centre in Aberdeen and have to say they are second to none. Even better, when I have finished practising I can nip up to Clarets for a sneaky coffee and cake. What more can you ask for?

“The addition of the Inchmarlo site allows the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre experience to be enjoyed in a new location by current and new customers and we look forward to working with the team to make the experience as enjoyable as possible.”

There are two Paul Lawrie Golf Centres

Ardoe is set within the beautiful Royal Deeside and boasts a nine hole par three golf course, a 27 bay driving range and a world class short game area. The Centre also has three PGA Teaching Professionals on hand to provide instruction in fully equipped private teaching bays.
The Paul Lawrie Golf Centre experience is further enhanced by a bespoke custom fitting bay, well equipped shop, friendly coffee shop and physiotherapy service offered by Greenside Health and Performance.

The Inchmarlo Centre will include the recently reconstructed and remodelled nine hole Queen’s Golf Course and a 20 bay driving range, as well as a re-vamped shop.
Paul said; “We are excited about the potential for the range and course at Inchmarlo. It’s a place I know well, having spent many hours here in the past working on my game. The view from the range is beautiful so it’s just a great place to spend time and the course is an excellent test with lots of character.”

KAI Agency

KAI Agency is the brainchild of golf industry professionals Kirsty Weir and Christopher J Campbell.
With a wealth of experience in their respective fields, the duo have branched out to create a bespoke agency that will work with your business to improve and maintain standards.
“We specialise in marketing, operational improvements, sales strategies, and event creation/management whilst seeking and improving sponsorship opportunities,” said Managing Director, Kirsty Weir.

For more information on KAI Agency contact Kirsty Weir, Managing Director, 07988850820, kirsty@kaiagency.co.uk

For more information on Paul Lawrie Golf Centres contact Craig Dempster, Director of Golf, 01224 865750, craig@paullawriegolfcentre.co.uk 

Four Scots playing in this week's European Young Masters

A Scottish quartet are playing in the European Young Masters in Switzerland this week, starting today (Thursday).
Girls’ pair Jennifer Rankine (Haggs Castle), the winner of the Paul Lawrie Foundation Scottish Schools Championship, and Kirsty Brodie (Strathmore) are joined by Lewis Irvine (Kirkhill) and Connor Wilson (Dunbar).
The development-based event takes place from 21 – 23 July at Golf Club Domaine Imperial in Switzerland.

> View latest scores European Young Masters

PGA coaches gave 3,000 free lessons at 

Open's R and A SwingZone

PGA PRESS RELEASE

PGA professional Tom Gibbs was like a kid in a sweet shop at Royal Troon during Open Championship week.

The 3 Hammers Golf Centre pro from Wolverhampton was part of the 23-strong team of PGA coaches who gave close to 3,000 free lessons during the Open at the R and A SwingZone.

Gibbs personally teed up 150 lessons to a cohort of golfers of all ages and abilities including an ex-British Boys champion from the 1980s while along the way he indulged his passion for coaching by getting a close-up of some of the finest exponents of the art such as Butch Harmon and Sean Foley – Tiger Woods’ ex-coach and now coach to Justin Rose.

“It was great to see the tour players, get on the practice range and have a look at them close up, see how the guys go about it on the course, their game management, warming up and the different things you don’t normally see on TV,” he said.

“I got the chance to pick Sean Foley’s brains and ask about a couple of drills we’ve seen on the range, so I picked up lots of things.”

But like all the coaches, it was the 15 minutes inspiring and encouraging golfers that flocked to the R&A SwingZone that really struck a chord with Gibbs.

“You want to give them a little nugget that they can go away with to improve their game but also get them enthuses and wanting to play more golf," he added.

“A highlight for me was teaching a guy called Max from the US. He was over here playing golf all over the place. He’d shot 94 on one course and took great delight in coming back to me telling me he’d shot 76 after a 15 minute lesson.

“And all week we kept getting people coming back, doffing their cap and saying how the lesson has made a difference so it’s amazing what you can do in 15 minutes.”

Another of the stalwart coaches was Denise Hastings who runs golf schools in both Europe and America as well as The Bedfordshire and Kingsway golf clubs.

She played eight years on the Ladies European Tour but coaching at Open weeks remain a highlight.

“It’s one of the best weeks of the year, working with a great bunch of pros and just the whole experience,” she said.

“We see so many different people and nationalities - we’ve had Spanish, Americans, Canadians, I had a Lithuanian lady, a Belgian. It’s just fun to see people go away after 15 minutes thinking ‘cor, that’s good, I feel better’.

“You can’t really see the ball flight in the nets but if you send someone away with one or two ideas on how to improve their golf then it’s spot on.

“I had eight years on tour and this is like giving something back, I’ve been lucky, I’ve had a good career and this to me, it’s almost better than playing.”

The full complement of PGA pros at Royal Troon was: 

Denise Hastings (Denise Hastings Golf Schools), David Playdon, John Mulgrew (Airdrie), James Crawford (West Sussex), Peter Ball (Balborough Links), Jamie Cundy (Dudley), James Morrow (Chartham Park), Geraint Dixon (Bedfordshire), Lee Day, Chris Hattersley (Kingsway Golf Centre), Alan Bradshaw (Bootle), Mark Taylor (Alvaston Golf Centre), Andrew Simmonds (South Buckinghamshire Academy), Allan Martin (Buchanan Castle), Craig Gornal (South Buckinghamshire Academy), Oliver Barnes (Mere), Martin Goldie (Bishopbriggs Golf Range), Marcus Bell (Bawtry Golf Academy), Robert Collinson (Bearsden Golf Range), Garry Forrester (St Andrews Golf School), Tom Gibbs (Three Hammers), Scott Clelland (Hayston) and Sam Johnston (Tidbury Green).