Long Ashton snatch English Junior Club Championship The team from Long Ashton in Gloucestershire snatched victory in the English Junior Champion Club tournament today by the tiny margin of one point – on countback.  Nathan Moore, Sam Harrison and Sam Williams (image © Leaderboard Photography) came in right at the end of the 36-hole final at Frilford Heath and tied Cambridgeshire’s Nene Park on 147 stableford points, with the best two scores counting in each round.  The title was decided by the combined scores of all three players over both rounds and Long Ashton triumphed with 206 points to Nene Park’s 205.  The championship was decided at England Golf Week which brought over 500 competitors to Frilford Heath to take part in a series of finals during the five-day celebration of handicap golf.  “It’s really brilliant,” said Long Ashton’s junior organiser, Andi Moore. Meanwhile, Nene Park’s lead scorer Lucas Bickers promised: “We’ll be back.”  Nene Park – whose team also included Dan Clark and Kallon Rawlings – had set the target hours earlier and settled in for a long wait. “I’ve never been in this position before so I don’t know what to expect, but we won’t get too over-excited because anything can happen in golf,” said Bickers, who had scores of 39 and 43 points.  His words turned out to be prophetic when Long Ashton staged a storming finish to win the championship. Moore came in first, with 31 points off two handicap, followed by Williams with 41 and finally Harrison with 36.  None of them had any idea of how the team was placed and, in fact, they each thought the others were scoring poorly. “I saw Sam hit two into the gorse and thought he wasn’t playing very well,” said Harrison. In fact, Williams, 16, was putting together his best round since taking up golf a couple of years ago. “I felt really good swinging the club and started going at a few pins and it went from there,” said the 12-handicapper.  Harrison, meanwhile, was spurred on by his own annoyance at incurring a two-shot penalty for playing a wrong ball. He also missed several birdie putts and his putt for par on the last stopped about two inches from the hole. He came in adding up the missed opportunities which he feared might cost the team – only to be delighted when their victory was confirmed.  “This is really, really good and it’s going to be a big inspiration to our younger juniors,” said Andi Moore.   Long Ashton had started the final round in a share of seventh place after scoring 70 points in the first round, before adding 77 today. Nene Park had been in 13th place at the halfway stage with 67 points and added 80 today.  Meanwhile, overnight leaders The Burstead, from Essex, slipped back into third place after they added 67 to their opening 76. The team was Harry Marchant, Sam Ainsbury and Noah Andrews.  The low score of the championship was Bicker’s second round 43. The 14-year-old has been playing serious golf for only a year and today’s score is his best yet. His round started with a double bogey and he had two blobs on the back nine – but the rest was very steady, composed of six pars, six bogeys and three birdies.  “The best thing was that we were chasing, so there was no pressure,” said Bickers. “I just stuck to my plan to go out and play golf. I got the right bounces, the right kicks and holed the right putts.”  Click here for full scores Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 07825 752 193 EDITORS’ NOTES England Golf is the governing body for amateur golf in England. It is one of the country’s largest sports governing bodies and looks after the interests of more than 1,900 golf clubs and 675,000 men, women, boy and girl club members. England Golf is at the heart of grassroots golf, inspiring people to have a lifelong involvement in the game.  Our development initiative ‘Get into golf’ introduces new golfers, juniors and adults, to start playing the game as well as increasing the interest and participation in golf.  Working with our partners we offer business support to clubs to encourage more golfers to enjoy the benefits of club membership and to help promote the game as being accessible, fun and family friendly. For competitive golfers, England Golf provides championships for all ages and abilities, both in individual and team events, hosted at some of the most prestigious courses across the country, some with qualifying events at any club.  England Golf identifies and develops the country’s most talented golfers through their amateur careers, many of whom go on to become the world’s leading professional golfers, such as Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Charley Hull and Melissa Reid.

British boys' championship at Muirfield

Aguilera KOs defending champion 

Svensson to each last eight

 

NEWS RELEASE FROM R and A

 Spain's Alejandro Aguilera eliminated defending champion Marcus Svensson to reach the quarter-finals of The 90^th Boys Amateur Championship at Muirfield today.

Aguilera beats defending champion Svensson at Muirfield

The 16-year-old, the youngest player left in the field, led for the majority of the match, winning the 4^th hole with a birdie two, before Svensson conceded on the 7^th to extend the lead to two holes.

The pair traded holes between the 8^th and 10^th, but two successive bogeys by Aguilera on the 15^th and 16^th left the match all square. However, the Spanish youngster kept his composure on the final hole, producing a fine up and down from the left hand bunker to seal the match with a par.

As a result, Aguilera will win the Peter Garner Bowl for the player under 17 years of age who has progressed furthest in the Championship.

England’s Danny Daniels is also through to tomorrow’s quarter finals after a 3 and 1 win over compatriot Arrun Singh Brar. In blustery, wet conditions on Scotland’s east coast, the Essendon member took control of the contest from the 7^th and led throughout before securing the result on the 17^th hole following a bogey six from his opponent.

Lucas Becht found himself four holes in front after the 10^th hole against Ruben Petterson, and never looked back as the Belgian closed out the match against the Dane on the 16^th.
Also through to the quarter finals are David Nyfjall, Matias Honkala, Falko Hanisch, Adrien Pendaries and Charlie Thornton, who won on the second extra hole against Timo Vahlenkamp.

During the morning third round matches, leading qualifier Kristoffer Reitan was beaten by England’s Daniel O’Loughlin on the final hole to exit the Championship, while Ireland’s Thomas Mulligan, who had beaten the much fancied Rayhan John Thomas in the previous round, lost 3 and 1 to Daniels.

The quarter-finals get underway tomorrow from 8am at Muirfield. Admission and parking is free. 

For the match play draw and scoring please visit championships.randa.org

Key Quotes:

Alejandro Aguilera:

“It’s difficult to say how I feel; I’ve never felt something like this. It was amazing to have the support out there. My short game was good and I hit many fairways. I wish to win it, but I know it will be very, very difficult. I will try and play my best, it’s amazing to be here at Muirfield as I’ve only ever played in England.”

Danny Daniels:

“I’m really happy, I played some really good golf there. I managed to grind out the result in the end and played great. I holed some putts to save par. I’m really happy to get this far.

“I’m just taking one game at a time and I’m happy to be here at Muirfield and enjoy the experience, it’s not every day you get to play here. We’ll see how we go tomorrow and just enjoy it.”

Lucas Becht:

“It’s amazing to get to the quarter-finals. I came here looking to do my best and having got through is just the best thing I could have hoped for. I’m really happy.”

Scots finish third in Home Internationals by beating Wales 8-7

Ireland win title for third year in a row but it 

went down to last putt on last green

FROM SCOTTISH GOLF WEBSITE
By ED HODGE, Press and Media Officer
Ireland claimed a thrilling Fairstone Men’s Home Internationals at The Nairn Golf Club, edging out England in their winner-takes-all tussle after the final putt on the final green for their third successive title.
After a superb three day’s golf over the stunning Highland links, the annual four-team home nations came down to the final match on the course, contested between Ireland’s Colm Campbell and Adam Chapman from England.
Irish Amateur champion Campbell won the opening five holes of their singles joust, but Carus Green’s Chapman staged a stirring comeback that saw him pull level with a 15 feet birdie putt on 17 to set up a tense, grandstand finish. 
With the overall score at 7 –7, and England needing just a halved point to lift the Raymond Trophy on the basis of matches won throughout the week, Campbell knew he had to win the last hole for an historic Irish hat-trick of Men’s Home Internationals crowns.
The Warrenpoint player duly delivered, making birdie after his two-and-a-half feet putt was generously conceded, while Chapman could only make par after finding the greenside bunker with his approach to the par-5. 
Campbell was mobbed by his jubilant team-mates on the 18^th after Ireland came back from a 3 – 2 foursomes deficit to claim the title, notably winning the final three matches when they trailed 7 – 5.
Campbell, 29, said: “That’s as nervous as I’ve been on a golf course. I knew the point was required, knew what was on the line and we were trying to make a wee bit of history as well, winning three in a row for the first time. 
"It wasn’t good for the heart, I can tell you. I’ve been a part of the last three so that is even sweeter again. As an amateur, this is definitely as good as anything I’ve done so far.
“I was five up through five, got off to a blistering start, but Adam came back at me. I made a bad bogey on 16, so that it was back to one, then he holed a lovely putt on 17 and we’re all square. I then probably hit one of the best tee shots of my life down 18 knowing we needed to win. I was lucky to be able to make two nice swings and have a straightforward chip and putt.”

> Watch final day highlights and player interviews on our Facebook page

Nigel Edwards, Performance Director at England Golf, added: “That was extremely gutting, disappointing. I’m proud of the way the whole team played. It was a tough week weather-wise, but there were a lot of good shots, attitude and effort. You could see on the 18^th how disappointed they were.
“Ireland came out strong this afternoon in the singles and we gave ourselves a lot to do, but the players battled so, so well coming down the closing holes. It was an excellent contest and it’s come down to one putt. That’s what the championship wants. I’m sure it’ll make our players stronger, wiser and better players.”
Meantime, hosts Scotland dug deep to secure a narrow victory over Wales, also winning 8 – 7, to achieve third place overall.
After Matthew Clark and George Duncan battled to a halved match with Llewellyn Matthews and Zach Galliford to ensure the morning foursomes were shared, the hosts edged the singles. 
Liam Johnston and Graeme Robertson secured key one-hole wins, but it was home member Sandy Scott’s 6 and 4 win over Ben Chamberlain that proved equally as vital, with the local members cheering him on.
Lee Jones and Patrick Mullins responded with victories for Wales, but Scotland’s experienced bottom order saw them home as Barry Hume and Matt Clark sealed 3 and 2 victories respectively.
Scott, a European Amateur Team winner with Scotland in July and now set to begin a college career in Texas in the US, said: “A singles win was what I wanted after two losses to start with. I played a lot better in the afternoon and it was great to have the local support.
“I’m much more pleased with my game, I was struggling a bit coming into the week but I’ve been hitting the ball a lot better.”
Englishman Ashton Turner from Kenwick Park was named the Fairstone Player of the Championship, having won the most points for an individual player in the event.

> View final day scores from the Fairstone Men’s Home Internationals at Nairn.

The Men’s Home Internationals were sponsored by the Fairstone Group, one of the UK’s largest chartered financial planning firms, with support from The R&A. Thanks also to our wonderful host venue, The Nairn Golf Club.

EuroPro Tour report and link to final totals

Wilkinson wins £10,000 jackpot at Caversham 

Heath as Booth has T7 finish for £1,100 prize

NEWS RELEASE FROM NICK TEALE

James Wilkinson shot a four-under-par final-round 69 to win The pentahotels Championship with a score of -10 at Caversham Heath Golf Club, his second HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour title.

 

The Cumbrian finished one ahead of Mark Laskey (Brockey Hall/Team Honma) and Richard James (Aberdovey Golf Club). Both needed a birdie on the last to force a play-off with Wilkinson (Penrith Golf and FootGolf Centre) having held the clubhouse lead as the final groups played their concluding holes.

 

Wilkinson’s win sees him climb inside the all-important Race To Desert Springs Order of Merit, from which the top five at the end of the season progress to the Challenge Tour in 2017.

 

“I am delighted to win,” said Wilkinson, who wins £10,000, a brand new Motocaddy S1 Lithium trolley, Bushnell Tour X Range Finder and Bolle Sunglasses.

 

“It was tough out there today. The wind was blowing a gale. I got stuck in and tried to stay patient. Pins were tricky.

 

“I had a little blip on the 11^th, the par five, but apart from that I got hit good iron shots in good places so there wasn’t too much pressure on the putter.

 

“I had a great second shot at 15 and it was sitting lovely and I made birdie to join the lead and then at the 17^th that birdie turned out to be enough for the win. I am over the moon.”

 

James had begun the final round sharing the nine-under lead with Haydn McCullen (Delamere Forest) and Nick Cunningham (Bedford and County Golf Club). The later was rarely in the picture and finished tied 12^th having shot six-over for his last 18.

 

McCullen held an early two-shot lead after birdies at the 1^st and 2^nd, but a nine on the par-five 4^th and bogeys at the 7^th and 8^th put an end to his challenge, although a late revival did see him finish in a tie for fourth with Nick McCarthy (Moortown Golf Club) on six under.

 

Highlights of the pentahotels Championship will air on Sky Sports on Tuesday, August 23. The HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour continues next week with The Matchroom Sport Championship at East Sussex National.

TO VIEW ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

CLICK HERE

SCOTS' TOTALS AND PRIZEMONEY

 215 W Booth 77 70 68 (T7) £1,100

 216 F Moore 71 69 76 (T12) £700

 227 J Henry 75 69 83 (51st) £295.

 228 Z Saltman 74 72 82 (52nd) £290

ALL-ENGLAND FINAL TO EDEN TOURNAMENT

Geoff Nixon from Carlisle beat Samuel Henfrey (Northamptonshire) by 2 and 1 in an all-England final to the Eden Tournament at St Andrews.

The handicap final for the Eden Tankard also ended in an English success. Gary Beattie, who plays off 15 at Millbrook, beat five-handicapper Neil Murray (Dullatur) at the 20th.

RESULTS:

EDEN TOURNAMENT

St Andrews

 

Semi-finals - S Henfrey (Northamptonshire) bt D Waugh (Baberton) 1 hole, G Nixon (Carlisle) bt M Hogg (Rushcliffe) 2 and 1.

FInal - Nixon bt Henfrey 2 and 1.

EDEN TANKARD (handicap)

Semi-finals - G Beattie (Millbrook) (13) bt C Hunt (Ullesthorpe) (5) 3 and 2, N Murray (Dullatur) (3) bt K Goodwin (Glenbervie) (5) 4 and 3.

Final - Beattie bt Murray (Dullatur) at 20th

Scotland Senior men's and women's teams named

NEWS RELEASE FROM SCOTTISH GOLF
Scottish Golf has announced sides for the European Senior Team Championships later this month.
The European Senior Ladies’ Team Championship takes place at Sierra GC in Poland from 30 August – 3 September, with the Men’s event being held at the same time over Diners G and CC Ljubljana in Slovenia.
The top two players on the Scottish Golf Senior Men and Women’s Orders of Merit have earned selection, along with four selectors’ picks.
The two automatic selections from the Senior Women’s Order of Merit were Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) and Alex Glennie from Kilmarnock Barassie, with Lorna Bennett captain of the team.
Last year’s Men’s Order of Merit winner, Ronnie Clark (Erskine), and Downfield’s Graham Bell secured automatic selection from the rankings, while David Gardner from Broomieknowe captains the side.
SCOTLAND SENIOR WOMEN'S TEAM
    Alex Glennie, Kilmarnock Barassie
    Gillian Kyle, East Renfrewshire
    Lorna McKinlay, Dunnikier Park
    Mary Smith, Tain
    Fiona de Vries, St Regulus
    Sheena Wood, Aberdeen Ladies
SCOTLAND SENIOR MEN'S TEAM
    Graham Bell, Downfield
    Ian Brotherston, Dumfries and County
    Ronnie Clark, Erskine
    David Gardner, Broomieknowe
    Malcolm Reid, Sonning
    Nick Robson, Meldrum House

John Fraser (Royal Burgess) and David Shields (Glenearn) will then be added to the squad, making up  a seven-player Scotland side for the Senior Home Internationals at Machynys, South Wales from 20 – 22 September.
Robson drops out as he is a year too young for the over-55’s event.

Justin Rose captures first hole in one in Olympic history

AUSSIE RULES AS FRASER CLAIMS 

OLYMPIC FIRST-ROUND LEAD

INTERNATIONAL GOLF 

FEDERATION NEWS

RELEASE

 www.igfgolf.org

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: On a momentous day when golf was reunited with the Olympic movement after a 112-year absence, Australian Marcus Fraser leads the men’s competition after shooting the lowest score of a thrilling opening day, which saw Justin Rose capture the first hole-in-one in Olympic history.

As a new era dawned for the sport amid the colossal carnival which represents sport’s greatest show on earth - putting a huge smile on the face of golf - it was 38-year-old Fraser from Melbourne who took command by firing an eight-under-par 63 to grab the first round lead.

The bounce in Fraser’s step was unmistakable as he laughed, “We were just saying: ‘I've got the Olympic record’.  That's pretty cool, and hopefully that lasts all week.”

Fraser claimed nine birdies over the purpose-built Olympic course at Reserva de Marapendi to open up a three-stroke lead over Open champion Henrik Stenson and Canadian Graham DeLaet as the 60 newest and proudest Olympic athletes set the tone for a potentially epic few days’ play in Rio.

Fittingly, it was a 44-year-old Brazilian, Adilson da Silva, who was handed the honour of striking the first Olympic golf shot in the modern era at 7.30am, a time when most of the swimmers, gymnasts, boxers and beach volleyball heroes were tucked up in the Olympic Village.

It was also appropriate that the first three-ball of the Olympic competition contained DeLaet, whose countryman, George Lyon, was the last person to capture a precious gold medal in the dying embers of golf’s last flirtation with the Olympics 112 years previously.

DeLaet was aware of the Canadian connection as he flexed his competitive muscles with an outstanding round of 66, five-under-par and observed: “We said as we were walking off the first tee that this is pretty cool – the first time in over a hundred years - and we're the lead group.  It was nice.”

As the day unfolded, and more new Olympians were established with every passing tee time, it was clear that golf was savouring its return to Olympic prominence. The quality of the play reflected that.

Rose enjoyed the feeling of recording the first hole-in-one of the new Olympic era, as his seven iron from 189 yards disappeared into the hole at the fourth.

“Definitely one of those icing on the cake moments, when you're the first to do anything, no one can ever take that away from you, whatever it is,” said Rose, who is tied for fourth at four under par.  “That was definitely a cool moment.”

DeLaet admitted he was inspired by meeting the Canadian women who won the first bronze in Rugby Sevens. He said: “We went to the Canada House on Tuesday night and the Rugby Sevens girls were with us on the bus going over there, and they had their Bronze Medals when they got there.

“You know, we got to hold it.  We took a picture with the girls and that's when it really kind of became real to me how amazing it would be to get that chunk of medal.  Obviously gold would be incredible, but I think bringing home anything would be really, really special.  I know that countries always count medals, so to be able to add to what Canada can rack up would be pretty awesome.”

Stenson, who won his first major at Royal Troon last month, racked up six birdies and one bogey in his 66 to join DeLaet in second spot, with Justin Rose of Great Britain among a group of five players on 67, four under par.

He admitted that confidence is still high after his Open win and said: “Hopefully confidence doesn't wear off that easily, but more than anything, I'm just focusing on my game and what I need to do, and I feel like I've got pretty good control over most areas of my game, what I need to focus on. It was all about trying to get some energy back.  Days like these are tiring, playing in these conditions.”

Quotes of the day:

Marcus Fraser 63 (-8): “I think this is probably one of the best rounds of golf I've ever played, given the circumstances, I was quite edgy and a bit jumpy on the first tee, because it's such a big occasion to be here at the Olympics.  To manage that and go on to play the way I did is really pleasing and a big confidence boost.

“Tapping in on the 18th, when the three-footer went in, I looked down there, and grabbed my ball out of the hole. It’s something I'll never forget, because it's pretty special to be able to shoot that score in the first round that golf is back in the Olympics.”

Graham DeLaet 66 (-5): “I was a little bit nervous actually.  You know, we do this for a living week‑in, week‑out, but there was something different about that first tee shot today.  It was a different announcement for us, and it was just a really cool feeling.

“I was playing with a Brazilian (Adilson da Silva) and that was neat.  We had a lot of people out there, especially for 7.30 in the morning - more than I anticipated.  It was a lot of fun.  We said as we were walking off the first tee; ‘this is pretty cool, first time in over a hundred years, and we're kind of the lead group’.  It was nice.
Gregory Bourdy 67 (-4): “It's an amazing experience to be here, playing an Olympic Games, It was really one of my biggest goals for the last few years to be here and to perform, to play well.  I’m very happy to start my Olympics with a score of four under. I think it's already a special atmosphere, because usually, as I said, we play individually and we are not listening too much to French cheering ‘Allez les Bleus’!”

Nicolas Colsaerts 68 (-3): It would mean a lot on a personal point of view and also a national point of view.  It would be a dream come true.  It's not the first time golf is here, but it will pretty much feel like it, in the modern era, anyway.  I feel honored to be here.  I really feel proud to be on that list of players that have supported the event.”

Matt Kuchar 69 (-2): “The nerves don't get me in very many places.  Here it was a little different.  Teeing off in particular. I think I was the first American to tee off today and to hear my name announced as an Olympian (meant) there were a few more butterflies than I anticipated on the first tee.”

Matteo Manassero 69 (-2): “When I hit the first tee shot, I thought: ‘okay, I'm officially an Olympic athlete’ and that was a good feeling.  We (have been) trying our best to get golf to look as great as it is in the biggest sports stage there is.  It's a good responsibility, and also we're having a lot of fun and it's great to be here.”

Padraig Harrington 70 (-1): “I would say I was more nervous on the first tee ‑ as much as I would have been when I played my first major.  It was very exciting.  I said it to the guys walking off, now we are Olympians and nobody can take that away from us.  When you think about it, most weeks, you have 156 guys playing, 155 losers. This week, you have 60 guys playing, and we are all winners.”

Adilson da Silva 72 (+1): “Before I teed off, my head was everywhere….just don't goof this!  But just towards the end, I managed to calm myself down and focus to what I wanted to do.  And I have been hitting my driver well, so I think I committed to the shot and I hit a nice one there.”

To find a full list of player transcripts after Day 1 of the Olympic Games golf competition, visit:

http://www.igfgolf.org/

or

http://www.asapsports.com