ENGLAND'S  JACKIE FOSTER WAS MVP OF SENIOR HOMES AT ALYTH
Hertfordshire player Jackie Foster (Bishops Stortford Golf Club), current holder of the England senior women's stroke play championship (see Leaderboard Photography picture below), was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2016 Senior Women's Home Internationals which ended at Alyth Golf Club, Pertshire on Friday.

A key player in England's 10th title success in the series, Jackie won five of her six matches, winning three out of three singles, and two out of three foursomes outings. Her only defeat was in parthership with Katherine Russell (Royal Ashdown Forest) in the Day 2 foursomes against Scotland whose Mary Smith and Lorna McKinlay beat them by two holes.
Next best points-earners for champions England were Catherine Rawthore (Sale) and Julie Brown (Trentham) with 4pt apiece.
Senior British Open champion Laura Webb (East Berkshire) and Sheena McElroy (Grange) shared the honour of being the most successful players for European champions Ireland, who were officially designated runners-up at Alyth after a countback involving Wales and Scotland, who also finished with 1pt from three matches.
Both Laura and Sheena gained 3.5pts from three wins and one halved match apiece.
Wales had two players who earned 4pt each - former Senior British champion Ann Lewis (Royal St David's) and Jane Rees (Minchinhampton).
Scotland's best player over the three days was Lesley Lloyd (Hayston) with 3.5pt, half a point ahead of Fiona De Vries (St Rule). Neither player was fielded by captain Lorna Bennett in the final singles against Ireland.

PLAYERS' RECORDS AT ALYTH
SCOTLAND
Lesley Lloyd       P5 W3 H1 L1  Pts 3.5
Fiona De Vries    P5 W3 H0 L2  Pts 3
Gillian Kyle         P6 W2 H0 L4  Pts 2
Lorna McKinlay P5 W2 H0 L3  Pts 2
Mary Smith        P4 W2 H0 L2  Pts 2
Sheena Wood     P6 W2 H0 L4  Pts 2
Alex Glennie     P2 W0 H0 L2  Pts 0

ENGLAND
Jackie Foster          P6 W5 H0 L1  Pts 5
Cath Rawthore       P5 W4 H0 L1  Pts 4
Julie Brown           P5 W4 H0 L1  Pts 4
Aileen Greenfield P4 W3 H0 L1  Pts 3
Helen Lowe          P4 W2 H1 L1  Pts 2.5
Karen Jobling      P5 W1 H2 L2  Pts 2
Kath Russell        P4 W1 H1 L2  Pts 1.5

IRELAND
Sheena McElroy     P5 W3 H1 L1  Pts 3.5
Laura Webb            P6 W3 H1 L2  Pts 3.5
Carol Wickham       P5 W3 H0 L2  Pts 3
Gertie McMullen    P5 W2 H0 L3  Pts 2
Mary Sheehy          P5 W2 H0 L3  Pts 2
Maria O'Reilly        P4 W1 H0 L3  Pts 1
Suzanne Corcoran  P3 W0 H1 L2  Pts 0.5

WALES
Ann Lewis            P6 W4 H0 L2  Pts 4
Jane Rees              P6 W4 H0 L2  Pts 4
Denise Richards   P5 W2 H1 L2  Pts 2.5
Sharon Roberts    P6 W1 H1 L4  Pts 1.5
Olwen Davies      P5 W1 H0 L4  Pts 1
Chris Harries       P4 W1 H0 L3  Pts 1
Patricia Fernon    P1 W0 H0 L1  Pts 0

RESULTS
Day 1 - Scotland 5, Wales 3 (foursomes 2-1)
             England 5.5, Ireland 2.5 (foursomes 2.5-0.5)

Day 2 - Ireland 2.5, Wales 5.5 (foursomes 2-1)
             England 5.5, Scotland 2.5 (foursomes 1-2)

Day 3 - Wales 2.5, England 5.5 (foursomes 1-2)
             Scotland 2, Ireland 6 (foursomes 1-2)

HOW THEY FINISHED
                                  P   W   D   L    F         A      Pts
1 England ................ 3    3    0    0   16.5    7.5      3
2 Ireland .................. 3    1    0     2   11     13         1
3 Wales ...................  3    1    0     2   11     13         1
4 Scotland ..............   3    1    0     2     9.5  14.5      1

+Ireland won a countback against Wales to be official runners-up.
The countback went back three or four stages, coming down to a comparison of the number of holes played by the tie-ing teams, discounting halved matches. Ireland played fewer holes than Wales.

+More than one player expressed the view that as no trophy is awarded for finishing second in this tournament, Wales, Ireland and Scotland should have been classed as tied second. Wales, in particular, having beaten Ireland, felt hard done by that a complicated countback placed them below the Irish in the final table.

NUMBER OF TITLE WINS SINCE TOURNAMENT STARTED IN 2003

10 - England (last three in a row: 2014-2015-2016)
  2 - Ireland
  1 - Scotland, Wales 
 

The updated draw for Tuesday's first round of next week's Scottish Alliance championship at Irvine Bogside Golf Club can be viewed on our new SGValliances.com website which is the place to go for news, draws, results of every alliance in Scotland.

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Ryder Cup: Only one point between teams after 3 sessions of play

 USA 6.5, Europe 5.5 after Saturday foursomes

RYDER CUP LATEST
SATURDAY MORNING FOURSOMES
Spaniards Rafa Cabrera Bello and Sergio Garcia produced a stunning comeback against Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth in the Day 2 four-balls to steal a half point and help Europe cut the United States' lead to one point on day two of The Ryder Cup.
The duo had claimed a point in the four-balls on Friday but today were four down with six holes to play against the home side's star pairing at Hazeltine National.
Cabrera Bello and Garcia then won four holes out of five from the 13th to take the match up the last and a closing half meant Europe took the morning session 2½-1½ to take the overall score to 6½-5½, a remarkable fightback after surrendering yesterday's foursomes 4-0.
Rory McIlroy and Thomas Pieters continued their excellent partnership with a 4 and 2 win over Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson to initially cut the gap to one point but Brooks Koepka and Brandt Snedeker were 3 and 2 winners over Matthew Fitzpatrick and Henrik Stenson.
Justin Rose and Chris Wood were then taken up the last by Zach Johnson and Jimmy Walker as they prevailed one up before the Spanish duo's late heroics.

Duncan Stewart just outside top 20 in Challenge Tour event

Jordan L Smith leads by two in Kazakhstan Open with third-round 66

FROM THE CHALLENGE TOUR WEBSITE
England’s Jordan L Smith extended his lead at the Kazakhstan Open to two shots today  as he carded a six under par round of 66 in the third round at Zhailjau Golf Club.
Smith started the day one shot ahead of Steven Brown, Roman Langasque and Ricardo Santos, but found himself behind as he carded early bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes.
The 23 year old, who won the Red Sea Egyptian Challenge in April, recovered quickly as he eagled the sixth hole to return to level par on the day.
He then birded the eighth and ninth holes to reach the turn in 34 and he rolled in four more birdies, included a 12-foot putt on the 18th hole to move to 17 under par, two shots clear of compatriot Sam Walker.
“I got off to a bit of a nervy start but made eagle straight after, and that settled me down for the rest of the round,” said Smith. “I holed the right putts at the right times to keep momentum going.
“I hit my irons and wedges great as well, so I’m happy with that. The putt on the last was a highlight and I holed a nice six-footer on 15 just to keep things going.
“I’m going to approach tomorrow exactly the same way. Me and my caddy have a good game plan, hopefully the weather will hold off.”
Walker remains in contention after his seven under par, blemish-free round, his best of the tournament so far.
His run of birdies on the 14th 15th and 16th holes saw him surge up the leaderboard, taking second place as he goes in search of his second title of the season.
“I played well today, very well,” said Walker. “I gave myself a lot of chances. I drove the ball well. I played solid, which you have to do, especially on ‘moving day’. Now I’ve put myself in with a chance tomorrow.
“I holed some good putts. I holed two ten-foot putts after being in the rough then birdied 16 which was a great birdie.
“I’m not doing anything different. My mind is just a lot clearer. After a win it gives you a little bit of breathing space. I need to keep doing what I’m doing and that’s just enjoying it.”
A further shot back in third place are England’s Garrick Porteous and Dutchman Reinier Saxton and behind them are New Zealand’s Olympian Ryan Fox and Santos on 13 under par.
The round of the day belonged to Charlie Ford who started the day seven shots off the lead, but carded a tournament-low eight under par 64 for a 12 under par total after three rounds.
“At the start of the day I knew I wanted to get to double figures to be close,” said Ford. “I had a really good run around the turn and I didn’t make any bogeys either, which have been costing me recently – it’s nice to keep the card clean.”
 The fourth and final round of the Kazakhstan Open will be played as a U-Draw due to the threat of bad weather in Almaty.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

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SCOTS' SCORES
207 Duncan Stewart 71 69 67 (T21)
211 Ross Kellett 76 67 69 (T39)
212 Peter Whiteford 72 70 70 (T41)
217 Scott Henry 72 70 75 (T62)

MISSED THE CUT ( 142 and better qualfieid)
146 David Law 72 73
153 Paul Shields 77 76 

Ryder Cup latest: USA 6, Europe 5. One foursome to finish

Ryder Cup Saturday morning (USA time) foursomes results:

Rory McIlroy-Thomas Pieters (win 4 and 2)​ vs. Phil Mickelson-Rickie Fowler

Brandt Snedeker-Brooks Koepka (win 3 and 2) vs. Matthew Fitzpatrick-Henrik Stenson

Justin Rose-Chris Wood (win by 1 hole) vs. Zach Johnson-Jimmy Walker

Overall Score: 

USA: 6

Europe: 5

Link to final totals from Scottish mid-amateur championship at Western Gailes

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Good start by Duncan McNeill at Iowa

Duncan McNeill, pictured left, from Annan, a second-year student at McNeese State, is tied for fourth place after a first-round 69, three under par for a 7,179yd course at Spirit Hollow, Iowa, in the Golfweek Conference Challenge tournament this weekend.
Three players share first place on 68.
Another McNeese State student, freshman Tom Atkins from Poole, is T50 on 78 in a field of 60 players. 

Alex Chalks up a T7 finish in Connecticut

Alex Chalk, pictured, from Castle Douglas, a freshman at Seton Hall University, New Jersey tied for seventh place in the Hartford Hawks Invitational at South Kent, Connecticut's Bull Bridge Golf Club.
Over a par-72 course of 6,992yd, Alex had a pair of 70s for 140 - 10 shots behind the winner, Donnie Trosper (Central Florida)

Americans lead by 2pt going into Day 2

Ryder Cup 2016: Match results, Saturday morning foursomes pairings at Hazeltine

By Golfweek Staff

Saturday

FOURSOMES (USA times)

7:35 a.m.: Rickie Fowler/Phil Mickelson (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy/Thomas Pieters (Europe)

7:50 a.m.: Brandt Snedeker/Brooks Koepka (USA) vs. Henrik Stenson/Matt Fitzpatrick (Europe)

8:05 a.m.: Jimmy Walker/Zach Johnson (USA) vs. Justin Rose/Chris Wood (Europe)

8:20 a.m.: Jordan Spieth/Patrick Reed (USA) vs. Sergio Garcia/Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Europe)

RESULTS

Friday

MORNING
FOURSOMES (U.S. wins 4-0; leads 4-0 overall)

• Jordan Spieth/Patrick Reed, U.S. BEAT Justin Rose/Henrik Stenson, Europe, 3 and 2 (Recap)
• Phil Mickelson/Rickie Fowler, U.S. BEAT Rory McIlroy/Andy Sullivan, Europe, 1 hole (Recap)
• Jimmy Walker/Zach Johnson, U.S. BEAT  Sergio Garcia/Martin Kaymer, Europe, 4 and 2 (Recap)
• Dustin Johnson/Matt Kuchar, U.S. BEAT Thomas Pieters/Lee Westwood, Europe, 5 and 4 (Recap)

 AFTERNOON
FOUR-BALLS (Europe wins 3-1; U.S. leads 5-3 overall)

• Henrik Stenson/Justin Rose, Europe BEAT Jordan Spieth/Patrick Reed, U.S., 5 and 4 (Recap)
• Sergio Garcia/Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Europe BEAT J.B. Holmes/Ryan Moore, U.S., 3 and 2 (Recap)
• Brandt Snedeker/Brooks Koepka, U.S., BEAT Martin Kaymer/Danny Willett, Europe, 5 and 4 (Recap)
• Rory McIlroy/Thomas Pieters, Europe BEAT Dustin Johnson/Matt Kuchar, U.S., 3 and 2 (Recap)

Europeans lose foursomes 4-0 but win the four-balls 3-1

U.S. leads 5-3 at Ryder Cup after magical, roller-coaster Day 1

By Jim McCabe

GOLFWEEK.COM

Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth got the electricity going from the start Friday at the Ryder Cup. (Getty Images)

CHASKA, Minnesota — It was August at the Travelers Championship when a man’s thoughts wandered ahead. “I can’t wait for the Ryder Cup,” said Aussie Geoff Ogilvy.
It was September at the Deutsche Bank Championship when another Australian went into drift mode. “I love the Ryder Cup,” said Adam Scott. “I love to see guys cook under pressure.”
Aussies, both of them, and thus ineligible for the Ryder Cup. Yet Ogilvy and Scott are in synch with so many of us who’ll never stand in the arena, but cherish those occasions when we get to watch it play out on stage.
Yes, this biennial team competition has a mystical pull on us and Friday was the latest chapter that explains why. It was a day that began with a birdie at the first hole by the lead-off American group (Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed) and concluded with the only eagle of the day at the 16th by the last European pairing of the day (Rory McIlroy and Thomas Pieters).

Related Coverage

• VIDEO: All of the U.S. winning putts from Ryder Cup opening session

• Predictions: 2016 Ryder Cup, Saturday foursomes

• Brandt Snedeker hits fan with drive, wins his match for her

• Complete coverage: 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National

But, oh, it wasn’t just any eagle, my friend. No, sir, it was a definitive emphatic one. “I wanted to put an exclamation point on that session for us,” said McIlroy of his 20-footer that had been set up by a frozen rope of a 4-iron from 226 yards.
The putt dropped and so did McIlroy’s guard as he took a few bows and let out a scream to the heavens, victorious by 3 and 2 over Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar.
Damn, such joy, which is what Jim Furyk meant when he said a few weeks ago “that you’ll see guys do things in the Ryder Cup that you never see them do.”
As for the 10 1/2 hours in between Reed’s opening birdie and McIlroy’s closing eagle, there were a swing of emotions that only the Ryder Cup can bring. There were fears of a blowout given the Americans’ 4-0 sweep in foursomes (one match ended at 14, two at 16, just one went to 18), then a stunning shift of momentum as the Euros stormed to victory in three of four four-ball games in the afternoon.
Oh, there were those hallmarks that keep us feeding off our love of the Ryder Cup.

There was a crowd McIlroy called “hostile” (old story) and there were nervous rookies who didn’t handle the pressure (Andy Sullivan’s water ball at the par-3 17th put he and McIlroy in the foursomes loss column to Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler).
There were unsung first-timers who shined (Rafa Cabrera-Bello teamed with Sergio Garcia for an afternoon four-ball win) and veterans who couldn’t fight through their woes (Lee Westwood struggled mightily in a foursomes loss with Pieters).
There was a first tee enveloped in atmosphere and football chants and costumes that would on any other occasion lead to one’s arrest and there were contentious moments that made you take note (McIlroy contends he innocently forgot to shake Johnson’s hand after their four-ball game).
There were horrific shots under pressure (Mickelson drove out of bounds at the sixth, Westwood into the water at the seventh) and a string of lasers shots by a ball-striking maestro (Henrik Stenson made three straight birdies, five in all and teamed with Rose to shoot 9 under for 14 holes in a four-ball demolition of Spieth and Reed).
But above all, there was a throwback to yesteryear, a tribute to a hero who united us all in the love of golf, and a Ryder Cup opening that had us choking back tears before letting out screams.
When the curtain rose on the 41st Ryder Cup, what was positioned on the first tee was a priceless relic. It was the golf bag used by Arnold Palmer when he was captain of the 1975 Ryder Cup team that hosted Great Britain and Ireland at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.
On Monday, the day of Palmer’s funeral in Latrobe, Doc Giffin selected the bag out of Palmer’s barn and had it shipped to the PGA of America at Hazeltine. Officials knew they were getting a Palmer golf bag, but didn’t know it was the 1975 one.
Such brilliant symmetry on yet another pulsating day of Ryder Cup drama because when the Americans won the morning foursomes, 4-0, it was the first shut-out in the first session since . . . you guessed it, 1975.
Such magic, which is why we love the Ryder Cup.

Link to European Tour Q School Stage 1 at Ribagolfe, Portugal (Sept 27-30)

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Jordan McColl (Kingsbarns Pro Acad) failed to qualify for Stage 2

Link to Stage 1 at Hardelot, France (where Wallace Booth made it through to Stage 2 with rounds of 69, 67, 74 and 72 for a T10 finish). 
For all the final totals

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