Bradley Neil wins Tour School Stage 1

 event in Austria

Blairgowrie's Bradley Neil is living proof, if it were needed, that a brilliant career as an amateur is no guarantee at all of an even moderately successful career as a tour pro.
Remember when Lloyd Saltman was winning just about everything he played in as an amateur. But when he turned pro he left his talent behind in the amateur ranks
But hope springs eternal and here's hoping that Bradley Neil turns out to be another Justin Rose who missed the cut in his first 25 starts as a pro ... but is now a past winner of the US Open, recently the Olympic men's golf gold medallist.
Neil has won the Stage 1 qualifier in Austria at European Tour Q School.
The Blairgowrie player topped the standings on 18 under par at Ebreichsdorf to book his spot at Stage 2 in Spain in early November, joining the 10 Scots who came through the recent qualifier at  The Roxburghe.

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Hampshire and Yorkshire score opening wins  at England Men's County Finals Hampshire and Yorkshire took the honours on a birdie-strewn first day of the English Men’s County Championship at Sandwell Park Golf Club in Staffordshire. Hampshire – who received good luck wishes from former team-member Justin Rose – beat Cornwall 5-4, while Yorkshire defeated Warwickshire 7-2 The action on the first day of the round robin tournament unfolded on a bright autumn day, with many of the holes being decided by birdies. Both winning teams took the upper hand in the morning foursomes with Hampshire winning two of their three games and Yorkshire completing a clean sweep with a combined team score of 15-under par. In the singles Hampshire, playing in the top match, claimed their first point with the 3 and 1 win of Billy McKenzie. He was quickly followed by Jordan Sundborg who took charge of his game when he won the ninth, 11th, 12th and 14th. He had been a couple down over the opening holes but, helped by some birdies, came out of that stretch three up and also closed out his match 3 and 1. “I played really well from the seventh and got a bit of momentum going,” he said. Team captain Martin Young gave Hampshire the win with his 4 and 3 victory and was two-under when he finished. His round got off to a good start when he holed a long par putt to halve the first and, as he moved into gear, he won five holes in a row to reach the turn five up. He’s suffering from a heavy cold and said: “Because I’m feeling a bit rough I played within myself, drove the ball well and hit it straight.” He went on: “I’m so pleased we have won and really pleased that the points have been shared out among the players.” Hampshire, which includes the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands, is fielding a young team which includes four rookies at County Finals. Young, by contrast, is playing in his seventh final and still waiting for a win! The last time Hampshire won this championship was in 1996 when Olympic champion Justin Rose was in the team. He sent a video good-luck message to the side saying: “Go out and give it 100%, I am sure you will wear the badge well.” In the day’s other match, Yorkshire laid the foundations of their win with their 3-0 foursomes success, before Steve Robins and Ben Hutchinson (pictured top)  forged ahead in the singles to clinch the victory. Robins, who insisted he wasn’t playing his best, managed to score in style. He won five holes in a row from the eighth – helped with three birdies – before closing out his game on the 15th Hutchinson grabbed the initiative straight away in his game and was four up after four and five up at the turn. He was three-under going out and, although he didn’t putt as well on the back nine, he won 3 and 2 to ensure Yorkshire’s point.  “It was the winning point and that’s what counts,” he said. His team-mates weren’t finished, although Warwickshire made them work for their points. Warwickshire’s Patrick Ruff, who was two down at the turn, took English amateur champion Dan Brown to the 18th and their game was halved. Warwickshire’s Matt Cryer had 16 pars and two birdies in his game, got ahead of Will Whiteoak on the 15th and their game also went to a halved result. Liam Phipps took a point for Warwickshire with his 3 and 1 result, but Kealan Lowe, the Yorkshire order of merit winner, completed the team’s 7-2 scoreline when he won the last game 2 and 1. Yorkshire captain Darryl Berry said: “It’s been a very good day’s work. I’m happy with the way they played and it’s a deserved win. They have stuck to what they had to do and their attitude has been brilliant. They’re all up for it!” Tomorrow Hampshire play Warwickshire and Yorkshire play Cornwall. Click here for tee times and full scoring Image copyright Leaderboard Photography. Lyndsey Hewison Press Officer England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 07825 752 193

Cardrona pair head qualifiers for Handicap 

Championship Grand Final


Cardrona's Clayton Collett, who plays off 12, and 14-handicapper Craig Hunter headed the 10 pairs who reached the Grand Final of the Scottish Club Handicap Championship through today's regional qualifier at West Linton Golf Club.
The Grand Final will be played at The Carrick on Friday, October 14.
Collett and Hunter finished well clear of the field of 52 pairs with a better-ball net score of 62, four clear of the joint second placed West Linton (Kerr Middleton and George Young) and Dalbeattie's Kenny Wallach and David McDowall.
Five pairs returned net 68s but to achieve the required number of 10 qualifiers in total, a countback was held and Aegon's Gordon McSorley and Ross Fisher were eliminated.
QUALIFIERS
62 Cardrona: C Collett (12) and C Hunter (14)
66 West Linton: K Middleton (9) and G Yount (20); Dalbeattie: K Wallach (11) and D McDowall (16)
67 Comiston Ladies: S Cowie (17) and K Everett (17); Grangemouth: N Wilson (3) and S Campbell (4); Register House: J McCormick (11) and S Arnott (6).
68  Harrison: J Cafferty (5) and I Ashley (5); Musselburgh: I Murdoch (12) and I Fyfe (2); Castle Douglas: D Mulholland (4), M Pflanz (11); West Lothian: S Chalmers (5) and D MacLeod (4).

Non-qualifiers included:
68 (after card countback) Aegon.
69 Braids Utd, Craigmillar Park, Sanquhar, Jedburgh, Crichton.
70 Ravelston, Cupar, George Heriot's FP, Merchants of Edinburgh,  Pitreavie, Galashiels, Duns, Bishopbriggs
71 Niddry Centre, Earlsgate, BBT, Kinghorn Th, Torrance Park, Edinburgh Western.
72 Winterfield, Torwoodlee, Binny, Scone, Dumfries and Co, Newcastleton, Griers, Bonnybridge
73 Lockerbie, Peebles, Cowdenbeath.
74 Port Seton, Biggar, Innerleithen
75 Lochend
76 Melville.
77 Thorntree, Bathgate
NR Douglas Water
No show Portobello

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Northern Counties Cup tournament at Royal Dornoch

Royal Aberdeen beat holders Nairn, then 

Newmachar to reach last four

The last four still standing in the Northern Counties Cup at Royal Dornoch GC are Royal Aberdeen 1, Moray 1, Banchory and Nairn Dunbar

Royal Aberdeen 1 had an impressive victory over holders Nairn by seven holes in the morning third round. The difference was in the putting with the Balgownie men holing out consistently and also sinking  a great deal of long putts.
Royal Aberdeen's Mark Halliday, Nick and Donald Macandrew, and young Daniel Sim, followed up that good performance with another one to KO Newmachar by three holes in the quarter-finals.

Cruden Bay 2 beat Tain in the morning at the 20^th but they succumbed to the in-form Moray 1 quartet by a 14-hole margin in the quarter-finals

Banchory had a convincing win against Meldrum House to reach the semi-finals with last year’s finalists Nairn Dunbar who beat the 2014 winners, Fortrose, to reach the last four.

NORTHERN COUNTIES CUP
Royal Dornoch Golf Club

 THIRD ROUND

 Royal Aberdeen 1 bt Nairn by 7 holes

M Halliday, N Macandrew 4, S MacDonald, F Fotheringham 0; D Macandrew, D Sim 3, R Smith, J Macintosh 0.

Newmachar 1 bt Cruden Bay 1  by 1 hole

C Cheyne, G Munro 0, M Buchan, M Christie 2; C Simpson, J Wilson 3, S McCulloch, G Evans 0.

Moray 1 bt Royal Dornoch 1 by 6 holes

M L Macleman, S Tatters 4, D Pearson, B Urquhart 0; K Godsman, G Murray 2, C MacKay, K Mathieson 0.

Cruden Bay 2 bt Tain at 20^th

C Stephen, L Cruickshanks 1, M Ferries, A Everett 0; S Buchan, D King 0, D O’Brien, L McAlpine 1.

Meldrum House bt Inverness by 1hole

D Morrison, S Green 0, J Forbes, D Joel 0; R Ord, C McCombie 1, J Keith, K MacKay 0.

Banchory bt Turriff by 10 holes

A Lindsay, L Smart 3, S Clarihew, I Ross 0; J Harrling, R Black 7, A Ogg, M Singer 0.

Fortrose bt Nigg Bay 1 by 3 holes

A Cameron, L Reid 3, T Ogston, L O’Conner 0; M MacDonald, C Gaittens 0, G Grimmer, S Jamieson 0.

Nairn Dunbar bt Forres by 5 holes

G Burnett, W Barron 2, J Wright, J Carpenter 0; F Brown, B Watson 3, B Fotheringham, R McKerron 0.

 QUARTER-FINALS

Royal Aberdeen 1 bt Newmachar 1 by 3 holes

M Halliday, N Macandrew 3, C Cheyne, G Munro 0; D Macandrew, D Sim 0, C Simpson, J Wilson 0.

Moray 1 bt Cruden Bay 2 by 14 holes

M L Macleman, S Tatters 9, C Stephen, L Cruickshanks 1; K Godsman, G Murray 5, S Buchan, D King 0.

Banchory bt Meldrum House by 10 holes

A Lindsay, L Smart 4, D Morrison, S Green 0; J Harling, R Black 6, R Ord, C McCombie 0.

Nairn Dunbar bt Fortrose by 1 hole

G Burnett, W Barron 0, A Cameron, L Reid 2; F Brown, B Watson 3, M MacDonald, C Gaittens 0.

Mann beats Arnott in play-off for Scottish PGA senior title after tie on 64

Carnoustie's Fraser Mann beat Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs) in a play-off for the Grants Scottish PGA senior championship over 17 holes at Dunblane New Golf Club today.
They had tied on five-under-par 64, both men having six birdies and one bogey.
Mann had halves of 33 and 31, Arnott two 32s.
Fraser won the play-off with a par 4 at the second extra hole.
Mann won the £525 first prize with £420 going to Arnott.
Third-placed Andrew Oldcorn (Kings Acre) earned £350 for a 66.

FINAL TOTALS
par 69. Yardage 5,991
64 F Mann (Carnoustie), R Arnott (Bishopbriggs). Mann (£525) won after beating Arnott (£420) in play-off.
66 A Oldcorn (Kings Acre) £350.
69 G Law (Uphall) £300.
70 K Hutton (Downfield), T Eckford (Ranfurly Castle), G Forbes (Murcar Links) £200 each.
71 C Elliott (Haggs Castle) £100.
72 P Kerr (Hayston), L Mann (Carnoustie) (£62 each).
73 S Savage (Dalmuir), S McAllister (S McAllister Golf).
75 K Baxter (Buchanan Castle), R Drmmond (unatt).
77 S Craig (Craig Golf)
79 N Urquhart (Merchants of Edinburgh).
80 G Reilly (Cochrane Castle)
83  C Steven (Strathclyde Park)
84 A McLean (Duddingston)








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Where Scots finished and how much they won on EuroPro Tour

Venue: Moor Allerton Golf Club, Leeds

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
par 213 (3x71)
203 Jonathan Caldwell (Clandeboye) 70 64 69 (£10,000)
204 Kevin Harper (East Devon) 69 69 66 (£6,000)
206 Curtis Griffiths (Wentworth) 68 70 68 (£3,000)

SCOTS' TOTALS
210 Louis Gaughan (Bathgate) 68 72 70 (T17) (£528)
212 John Henry (Clydebank and Dist) 73 69 70 (T24) (£435)
213 Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) 70 72 71 (T32) (£388)
216 Conor O'Neil (Mearns Castle) 70 71 75 (T46) (£320)

TO VIEW ALL THE TOTALS AND PRIZE MONEY

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CALDWELL WINS CLIPPER LOGISTICS CHAMPIONSHIP
Northern Irishman leads into Race To Desert Springs top five

 

Jonathan Caldwell finally landed his first HotelPlanner.com PGA EuroPro Tour title, taking home the Clipper Logistics Championship at Moor Allerton with three birdies in his last four holes.

Caldwell (Clandeyboye; 70, 64, 69) has finished inside the top five on eight occasions in five years on the tour, but beat Kevin Harper (East Devon Golf Club; 69, 69, 66) holing a nervy short putt for the title in Leeds. It lifts him inside the Race To Desert Springs top five, a position which is rewarded with a 2017 Challenge Tour card for those in that position at the end of the season.

Curtis Griffiths (Wentworth; 68, 70, 68) consolidated his position in second on the tour rankings with a third-place finish on seven under par.

“It feels great,” said Caldwell, who takes home £10,000 along with a brand new Motocaddy S1 Lithium trolley, Bushnell Tour X Range Finder and Bolle Sunglasses. “It has been a long time coming after a few near misses, so it feels special.

“The one bad shot I hit all week was at the 3^rd, and it got me into some bother. I took a swipe at it left handed, got it out right handed and didn’t really know where I was going with the 4^th but managed to get it up by the green to chip and putt for what turned out to be a pretty good six in the end. It was a shame after a good start on the first two holes, and I then bogeyed the 4^th as well.

“Making a birdie at 5 was key, picking one up there and steadying the ship by hitting fairways and greens. I stayed patient and knew I was playing well enough to give myself chances.

“It is satisfying to win birdie-ing three of the last four, rather than to stumble over the line. The top five has been a goal of mine throughout the year, and I have done that now – better late than never.”

The top 60 on the Race To Desert Springs will now be invited to play the season-ending Tour Championship at Desert Springs Resort in Spain. Nick Cunningham took 60^th spot with a season’s earnings of £3,070.71 but Ben Hall misses out, finishing just £42.21 behind.

Highlights from the Clipper Logistics Championship will be broadcast on Sky Sports on Tuesday, October 4.

Forrester Park pro Edgcombe wins £2,400 for fifth place finish with amateur Taylor in Lombard Trophy Grand Final

Forrester Park Golf Resort, Dunfermline professional Paul Edgcombe earned £2,400 for a fifth place finish with amateur partner Jamie Taylor in the Lombard Trophy Grand Final over 36 holes at Vila Sol on the Algarve.
Edgcombe and Taylor had rounds of 69 and 68 for a seven-under-par total of 137 - four shots behind the the winner of the £12,000 first pro prize Adam Powell (Hartford) and his amateur partner Matt Leach who scored 71 and 62 for 133.
Anglo-Scots pros Alan Hemsley (Barnham Broom) and Albert MacKenzie (Saunton) earned £1,800 and £1,200 respectively for sixth and 10th place finishes with their amateur partners.
Drumpellier pro Ian Taylor and amateur Hugh McIntyre finished 11th in the field of 14 qualifying pairs. They scored 74 and 68 for 142. Taylor earned £1,100.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Vila Sol, Algarve
Par 144
133 Adam Powell (Hartford) (£12,000) and Matt Leach (am) 71 62.
134 Edward Goodwin (Cirencester) (£7,500) and James Harding (am) 67 67

SELECTED TOTALS
137 Paul Edgcomb (Forrester Park) (£2,400) and Jamie Taylor (am) 69 68 (5th)
 138 Alan Hemsley (Barnham Broom) (£1,800) and Paul Dodman (am) 72 66 (6th)
141 Albert MacKenzie (Saunton) (£1,200) and Paddy Towson (am) 73 68 (10th).
142 Ian Taylor (Drumpellier) (£1,100) and Hugh McIntyre (am) 74 69 (11th).



TO VIEW ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

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New captain Keith Macintosh drives in 

R and A NEWS RELEASE

St Andrews: The traditional driving-in ceremony for the new Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews took place on the first tee of the Old Course today.

Keith Macintosh began his year in office with a drive at precisely 8am as a cannon fired alongside the tee. A large crowd of onlookers gathered to watch the ceremony along with a number of Past Captains of the Club.
As Captain, Mr Macintosh will represent The R&A and support its work in developing golf around the world. He will attend R&A championships in the professional and amateur games and assume an ambassadorial role for the Club.     
After hitting his tee shot, Mr Macintosh said, “I was a little more relaxed on the driving range than I was there. I was a bit quicker there but I won’t tell anyone where I was aiming.

“When you look around at all the distinguished past Captains it makes you feel pretty intimidated and humble really. I am very much looking forward to serving as Captain and representing the Club.”

A distinguished amateur golfer, Mr Macintosh won the Scottish Amateur Championship at Prestwick in 1979 and the Belgian Open Amateur Championship the following year. The former Scotland international was also a member of the Great Britain and Ireland St Andrews Trophy team that defeated the Continent of Europe 19 ½ - 10 ½ at Royal St George’s in 1980.

Mr Macintosh has served on the Amateur Status and Finance Committees of The R&A. He has been a Member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club since 1994 and, in 1999, won the Royal Medal, the Club’s principal scratch medal prize at its Autumn Meeting. He is an Honorary Member of Cardross Golf Club and was Chairman of Prestwick Golf Club in 2014/15. He plays to a handicap of 3.

Born in Cardross, in Argyll, Scotland in 1949, Mr Macintosh studied law at Glasgow University before serving his legal apprenticeship in Glasgow and becoming a solicitor at a practice in Dumbarton. In 1987, he was appointed Company Secretary of Clydesdale Bank PLC. After nine years in the role he returned to practising law as a Partner in practices in Glasgow and then Dumbarton and Helensburgh. He retired in 2009.

Residing in Helensburgh, Mr Macintosh lives with his wife Diana and has two sons, Stewart and Scott.

In the past, the Club Captaincy was bestowed on the winner of the annual Challenge for the Silver Club but by the early 19th Century the Captaincy had become an elected office.

Part of the tradition is that a gold sovereign is paid by the new Captain to buy his golf ball back from the caddie who retrieves and returns it. Experienced caddie John Boyne returned the Captain’s ball for the first time in his 15th season on the links. “I’m relieved because I can’t run any more. I’m getting older and older and I was thinking this moment was disappearing. Since 2002, I’ve been watching the ball going down my right side, or left side, and never actually into my arms so I’m delighted for a change.”

Scots slip on Day 2 in Mexico

Australia Has Commanding Lead After Second Round In 

World Amateur Team Championship

Australia nearly matched the 36-hole scoring record and vaulted to an eight-stroke lead after the second round in the 30th World Amateur Team Championship (WATC). Harrison Endycott and Cameron Davis each fired 5-under 66s at the par-71, 6,771-yard Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club in Mexico.
The Australians, who began the day one stroke behind first-round leaders Scotland, posted a 10-under 132 at Mayakoba. Australia’s two-round total of 19-under-par 267 is one off the WATC record established by the USA in 2012. Curtis Luck, the 2016 U.S. Amateur champion, added a non-counting even-par 71. The best two scores from each country’s three-man team are used.
“The mindset was to be as competitive as we can,” said Australian captain Matt Cutler, whose team also equaled the lowest second-round score in WATC history. “You talk about having an opportunity to win. If we play well, we have a chance to win, so that has been our focus.”
Endycott, who has won this year’s Porter Cup and was a quarter-finalist at the Australian Amateur, holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th to cap his team’s performance. He used an 8-iron to set up two of his six birdies at Nos. 9 and 15, but his play was propelled by a run of four consecutive birdies on his inward nine in the first round.
Maverick McNealy, who won the 2016 Mark H. McCormack Medal as the world's top-ranked amateur player, reeled off five consecutive birdies on his inward nine at Iberostar to advance the USA into second place at 11-under 275. McNealy, a first-team All-American at Stanford University, and Scottie Scheffler, a junior at the University of Texas, each carded 3-under 69s. Scheffler also closed well with birdies on three of his last five holes.
Poland counted a 2-under 69 from Adrian Meronk and a 1-under 70 from Mateuz Gradecki, positioning them in fourth at 9-under 277.
Scotland are one stroke behind at 8-under 278. The first-round leaders struggled to a 2-over 144. Robert MacIntyre, the runner-up at this year’s Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl, had an even-par 71, while Grant Forrest added a 73.
 Forrest’s topsy-turvy round included a triple-bogey at Mayakoba’s par-4 first hole, his 10th hole, and a 60-foot eagle putt from the fringe at No. 5.
“It was one of those days where it couldn’t have gone much worse,” Forrest said. “It’s just what happens sometimes, and you have a tough time when the putts don’t go in.”
Forrest has scored 68-73, Connor Syme 66-73 and Robert MacIntyre 69-71.
Austria and Ireland are tied for sixth at 7-under 279. Austria’s Markus Maukner and Michael Ludwig each carded 2-under 70s at Iberostar. Maukner improved from his first-round 80 by making five birdies against three bogeys. Jack Hume, of Ireland, fought back from a two-stroke penalty to post a 2-under 70, and teammate Paul McBride had a 73.
Spain, which was tied for third after the first round, had difficulties making the transition to the Mayakoba El Camaleon course. The team’s second-round score of 3-over 145 left them at 281 in a tie for 12th. Manuel Elvira, who is a junior at the University of Central Florida, shot a 71 and Ivan Cantero had a 74.
Joshua Ho, of Singapore, produced the low round of the championship with a 7-under 65 at Iberostar. Ho, who was 11 strokes better than his first-day score, and Gregory Foo’s 70 helped improve their team’s standing 26 places and into a tie for 12th at 281.

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 Michael Sim 10 shots behind South Pacific Open leader

Aberdeen-born Michael Sim is lying tied 23rd after three rounds of the South Pacific Open at New Caledonia.
He has had rounds of 69, 72 and 70 for a two-under-par tally of 211 - 10 shots behind the leader, Adam Blyth (Australia) (67-69-65 for 201).
LEADERBOARD
Par 213 (3x71)
players from Australia unless stated otherwise
201 Adam Blyth 67 69 65
202 Jake McLeod 63 67 72
203 Harry Bateman 69 66 68
SELECTED SCORE
211 Michael Sim (Scotland) 69 72 70 (T23).

 

Carnoustie Junior Open on Wednesday, October 12
 
This years event is on Wednesday, October 12 on the Burnside course at Carnoustie golf links. Entries are open to Juniors aged 18 and under. Handicap for girls max. 36 and 28 for boys with an entry fee of £5.  
For more details please look on carnoustiegolflinks.co.uk under tournaments or phone 01241802277 for late entries.
Fraser Mann
Carnoustie Junior Links Co-ordinator.