Greig Hutcheon takes over
as top Scot at Cardrona

By PAUL SYMES, Challenger Tour Press Officer
A final hole birdie from Tyrone Ferreira saw the young South African join England’s Matthew Morris at the top of the leaderboard at the end of Day 2 of the Scottish Challenge.
Despite often attritional conditions at Macdonald Cardrona Hotel Golf and Country Club near Peebles, Ferreira – who has finished in the top 20 in his last three Challenge Tour events – posted an eagle 2 in his round of 66 to join Morris on seven under par 135.
The Challenge Tour rookie, who hails from Johannesburg but is currently sharing a house in Manchester with fellow South African Branden Grace, said: “I’m not used to this sort of rain where I come from! It was also quite difficult to see the ball on the last few holes, so I’ve got to be pretty pleased with a 66. I haven’t got a Challenge Tour category, so I need to finish in the top ten here to get into next week’s tournament."
Morris’ return to the fairways after a two-year absence is starting to bear fruit after the Englishman shot a round of 68 for a share of the lead.
Since his maiden Challenge Tour victory at the 2004 Danish Open, a subsequent loss of form and financial difficulties saw Morris don a chauffeur’s cap in a bid to make ends meet. But a top ten finish might persuade the man from Birmingham to resume his golfing career in earnest.
He said: “I thought my win in Denmark in 2004 would really get my career going, but then I struggled with my game. Perhaps I wasn’t mature enough to handle it. But I went away to work on my swing for a couple of years, and it seems to be paying off.
"I worked as a chauffeur for my friend’s law firm in the meantime, which worked out perfectly because it meant I was able to drop my clients off for meetings in the morning and practise all day. I could feel my game together, and I’ve carried that confidence into this week.”
Ferreira and Morris lead by one shot from England’s Seve Benson, the Scandanavian duo of Klas Eriksson and Jeppe Huldahl, and leading Scot Greig Hutcheon (picture above by Cal Carson Golf Agency).
The Aberdeenshire man, who finished second at the Banque Populaire Moroccan Classic earlier in the season, carded four birdies en route to a round of 69.
His compatriot, Banchory amateur James Byrne was unable to reproduce the fireworks of the opening day, but the American college circuit teenager still carded a creditable round of one-over 72 to finish the day joint 10th on four under par 138, three shots off the lead.

LEADING TOTALS
Par 142 (2 x 71)
135 T Ferreira (RSA) 69 66, M Morris (Eng) 67 68.
136 S Benson (Eng) 68 68, K Eriksson (Swe) 67 69, J Huldahl (Den) 71 65, G Hutcheon (Sco) 67 69.
137 W Besseling (Ned) 69 68, C Doak (Sco) 67 70, P Streeter (Eng) 69 68.
138 L Bond (Wal) 70 68, T Remkes (Ned) 68 70, C Russell (Eng) 71 67, O Whiteley (Eng) 70 68, J Byrne (Sco) (am) 66 72.
Other halfway totals:
139 G Murray (Sco) 71 69(jt 15th).
140 J Doherty (Sco) 68 72, C Lee (Sco) 70 70 (jt 23rd).
142 S Henry (Sco) (am) 70 72, R Kellett (Sco) (am) 72 70, S O'Hara (Sco) 72 70 (jt 42nd).
143 E Ramsay (Sco) 72 71 (jt 55th)
MISSED THe CUT (143 or better)
All Scots players.
144 D Drysdale 76 68, S Jamieson 73 71, M Loftus 74 70.
145 B Hume 72 73, A Oldcorn 75 70, S McEwan (am) 76 69.
146 P McKechnie 76 70, J McLeary 74 72, L Saltman 76 70.
148 J Gallagher (am) 74 74, S Henderson 78 70, P McLean (am) 73 75, L Kelly 75 73, E Saltman 73 75.
150 M Kerr 76 74, R Russell 80 70.
151 G Brown 77 74.
154 G Lornie 75 79.
159 M Urquhart 77 82.

GREAT SCOTT HELPS EUROPE BEAT
AMERICANS TO WIN PALMER CUP

A Europe line-up, including Stirling University's Scott Borrowman, scored a famous 14-10 victory over a star-studden United States team to win the Palmer Cup two-day student's international golf match over the Glasgow Gailes links, Ayrshire today.
Europe, facing an American line-up which included the top three in the R&A's world amateur rankings, should not have had a chance of holding their illustrious opponents.
But they did more than that.
After a fighting performance on Day 1, at the end of which the United States were restricted to a one-point lead, the Europeans, of whom all but Borrowman are students at American colleges, stunned the Americans by making a clean sweep of the Day 2 foursomes 4-0 to lead 9 1/2-6 1/2 going into the final set of eight singles.
And the Europeans even took the honours from the singles as well, 4 1/2-3 1/2, when a great fightback was anticipated from the United States.
Scott Borrowman from Dollar, who had beat Walker Cup American Billy Horschell in the first-day singles, this time achieved a square match with Kevin Chappell, ranked the No 2 amateur in the world. Borrowman's ranking is over the 600 mark.
The Scots, winner of the Scottish youths championship last year, was never overawed and never trailed against Chappell. Borrowman took a lead he would hold for four holes when he birdied the fifth before a Chappell birdie at No. 9 evened the match. The Scot again took a brief lead by winning the 11th but relinquished his advantage after Chappell eagled No. 13.
Borrowman claimed the advantage yet again after the 17th. Chappell halved the match when he birdied the final hole.
The United States, who still lead the series overall, have now lost three straight on this side of the Atlantic - the last two when the contest has been played on Scottish links.
There is a message in there somewhere. “I’m ecstatic for the eight guys on the European team,” said European Captain Mårten Olander. “Our attitude is what made us through the matches. Our swings did not change from yesterday but our belief that we would play great golf today. Winning the four matches this morning really put us in a positive mood entering the singles matches and to beat such a strong American team in singles is quite an accomplishment."

FINAL SCOREBOARD
Result:
EUROPE 14, UNITED STATES 10
Day 1: Europe 5 1/2, United States 6 1/2
Day 2 Europe 8 1/2, United States 3 1/2.
Foursomes: Europe 4, United States 0
European names first
Jonas Blixt & Jonas Endander Hedin bt Aaron Goldberg & Michael Thomson 4 and 3.
Scott Borrowman & Charles Ford bt Billy Horschel & Adam Mitchell 3 and 1.
Jonathan Caldwell & Gareth Shaw bt Derek Fathauer & Chesson Hadley 1 hole.
Jorge Campillo & Tim Sluiter bt Kevin Chappell & Rickie Fowler 3 and 2.

Singles: Europe 4 1/2, United States 3 1/2
Campillo halved with Fowler.
Blixt bt Thompson 2 and 1.
Ford halved with Horschel.
Shaw lost to Hadley 1 hole.
Borrowman halved with Chappell.
Hedin bt Mitchell 3 and 2.
Caldwell bt Goldberg 3 and 2.
Sluiter lost to Fauthauer 3 and 1.

Birdie-birdie finish puts

Monty in title hunt

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Four days after his 45th birthday, Colin Montgomerie finally breathed new life into his career in Paris today.

Montgomerie, in a year that has seen him fall out of the world's top 100 for the first time since 1990, birdied the final two holes of his second round of the French Open to join Lee Westwood in third place - two shots behind England's David Lynn and Spanish rookie Pablo Larrazabal.
The eight-time European No 1 hit a five-iron to four feet, then an eight-iron over water to seven feet, holing both putts, to finish in real style and when asked if he felt good about the weekend, he replied "very good."
The big Scot, pictured above, added: "If I can be patient and hole a fair share then I have a chance. I had 16 holes of utter, utter frustration and I hate to say the birdies were deserved, but the way I played that was the very minimum I deserved.
"That was as good as I can play from tee to green. I've hit 33 greens in regulation out of 36 round here, which is back to the way that I used to play and win tournaments - through lack of mistakes.
"It wasn't the amount of putts that I holed, it was the amount of mistakes I didn't make. That's good, that's the way that I like to play golf."
Westwood, meanwhile, is looking good to make instant amends for his US Open near-miss - and to give himself the perfect boost ahead of The Open.
Like Montgomerie, Westwood has also been easy to spot on the opening two days. He was standing on the fairway while others almost literally disappeared into the hay.
He has yet to lift a trophy this year, but his confidence is sky-high and it went up another notch with his bogey-free 68.
Qualifier Larrazabal, one in front after his opening 65, was in the first group out at 7.30am, while Lynn did not finish until nearly 12 hours later and made it a tie at the top by sinking a bunker shot at the last for a superb 65.
Westwood, playing his first tournament since going so close to his first major victory at the US Open two weeks ago, defied the blustery conditions to add a bogey-free 68 to his opening 69 at Le Golf National near Paris.
In joint 17th place overnight he shot up into a tie for second place at halfway on 137 with Angel Cabrera, Ignacio Garrido, Peter Lawrie and Colin Montgomerie.
They were two shots behind the joint leaders, Larrazabal and Englishman David Lynn.
The 25-year-old Larrazabal from Barcelona led by one overnight following a six under par 65 and marched four clear when he began the back nine with three birdies in four holes.
Then, however, Larrazabal failed to get up and down after missing the 16th green. He three-putted the next, being forced to settle for a 70 and a seven under par aggregate of 135 as a result.
Victory for Westwood would almost certainly see him leap over Miguel Angel Jimenez and Robert Karlsson to the top of the Order of Merit.
The only other Scots apart from Monty to make the halfway cut on level par 144 were Paul Lawrie, who did it with nothing to spare, thanks to a par-matching 71 today, and Andrew Coltart who went backwards with a 76 for the same mark.

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2 x 71)
135 David Lynn 70 65, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 65 70.
137 Colin Montgomerie 69 68, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 68 69, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 67 70, Peter Lawrie 66 71, Lee Westwood 69 68.
138 Shiv Kapur (Ind) 75 63, Soren Hansen (Den) 69 69, Paul Broadhurst 69 69, Graeme Storm 68 70.
139 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 70 69, Carl Suneson (Spa) 72 67, Miles Tunnicliff 68 71, Oliver Fisher 66 73.
140 Michael Jonzon (Swe) 68 72, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 71 69, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 69 71, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 73 67, Simon Dyson 70 70
141 Steve Webster 73 68, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 68 73, Jamie Donaldson 68 73, Tom Whitehouse 71 70, Markus Brier (Aut) 70 71, John Bickerton 72 69, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 68 73
142 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 68 74, Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 71 71, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 71 71, Graeme McDowell 69 73, Nick Dougherty 71 71, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 70 72
143 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 68 75, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 72 71, David Frost (Rsa) 69 74, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 70 73, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 72 71, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 74 69, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 74 69, Gregory Havret (Fra) 73 70, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 73 70, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 70 73, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 72 71, Rick Kulacz (Aus) 72 71, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 72 71, Jean Van de velde (Fra) 71 72, Phillip Archer 69 74, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 71 72
144 Ross Fisher 73 71, Danny Willett 74 70, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 72 72, Peter Hanson (Swe) 71 73, Sebastien Delagrange (Fra) 72 72, Scott Barr (Aus) 75 69, Martin Wiegele (Aut) 68 76, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 74 70, Andrew Coltart 68 76, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 71 73, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 70 74, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 69 75, Paul Lawrie 73 71, Ian Poulter 72 72, Richard Green (Aus) 73 71, Paul McGinley 71 73, Barry Lane 68 76, Thomas Levet (Fra) 75 69, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 70 74.
MISSED THE CUT
145 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 72 73, Benn Barham 71 74, Darren Clarke 72 73, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 69 76, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 74 71, Stephen Dodd 70 75, Richard Finch 70 75, Alastair Forsyth 72 73, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 77 68, Bradley Dredge 75 70
146 Damien McGrane 72 74, Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 71 75, Robert Dinwiddie 74 72, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 71 75, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 76 70, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 72 74, Simon Wakefield 71 75
147 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 75 72, Christian Cevaer (Fra) 72 75, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 73 74, Gary Orr 74 73, Marc Warren 75 72, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 70 77, Stuart Manley 73 74
148 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 72 76, Peter Whiteford 74 74, David Howell 73 75, Matthew Millar (Aus) 77 71, Johan Edfors (Swe) 72 76, Rory McIlroy 73 75, Romain Wattel (Fra) 75 73, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 75 73, Philip Golding 69 79, Stephen Gallacher 75 73.
149 Garry Houston 75 74, Scott Strange (Aus) 71 78, Julien Quesne (Fra) 77 72, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 72 77, Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 72 77, Sam Walker 74 75, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 77 72, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 73 76
150 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 73 77, James Kingston (Rsa) 75 75, Ariel Canete (Arg) 79 71, Sam Little 73 77, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 75 75, Cedric Menut (Fra) 75 75, Simon Khan 78 72
151 Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 75 76, Anders Hansen (Den) 73 78, Alexander Noren (Swe) 77 74, Daniel Brooks 75 76, Adrien Mork (Fra) 81 70, Frederic Cupillard (Fra) 78 73, Ross McGowan 81 70
152 Miguel Angel Martin (Spa) 73 79, Lea Cooper 76 76, Mark Foster 78 74
153 Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 77 76, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 76 77, Francois Calmels (Fra) 79 74
154 David Dixon 78 76, Phillip Price 77 77, Malcolm MacKenzie 77 77, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 75 79, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 77 77
155 Anton Haig (Rsa) 79 76, Gary Murphy 73 82
156 Olivier David (Fra) 76 80, Anthony Wall 77 79, David Griffiths 78 78, James Kamte (Rsa) 78 78, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 75 81
157 Oliver Wilson 76 81, Lief Westberg (Swe) 73 84.
158 Pedro Linhart (Spa) 83 75, Scott Drummond 80 78, Mark Brown (USA) 77 81
159 Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 75 84

160 Benoit Teilleria (Fra) 76 84.
161 Francois-Romain Rouilleaux (Fra) 80 81.

169 Pablo Martin (Spa) 85 84
171 Cedric Judlin (Fra) 85 86

Retired: Simon Griffiths 73
Withdrew: Sven Struver (Ger) 80

FIFTH WIN FOR JASON

McCREADIE AT

TORRANCE HOUSE

PRO-AM WITH A 67

Jason McCreadie chalked up his fifth win on the Tartan Tour this season when he won the £955 top prize in the Torrance House Golf Club pro-am today.
The Buchanan Castle pro shot a five-under-par 67 for a one-stroke victory from Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs) and Jim McKinnon (Irvine).
McCreadie, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, the PGA Scottish Region's second top money-winner behind Chris Doak, had a brilliant outward half of five-under-par 32 with birdies at the second, fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth.
After the turn, Jason's charge lost its momentum - one birdie, one bogey and seven pars - but he had done enough to lock up win No 5.
Jim McKinnon led the Hackers' Choice amateur trio of Gordon Bruce (handicap 13), Stephen O'Brien (+2) and John Stewart (18) to victory in the team event with a net total of 15-under-par 57.
LEADING PROFESSIONALS
Par 72
67 J McCreadie (Buchanan Castle).
68 R Arnott (Bishopbriggs), J McKinnon (Irvine).
69 L Mann (Carnoustie), G Law (Uphall).
70 S Taylor (Bothwell Castle), D Orr (East Renfrewshire), G McInnes (Murcar Links).

Gordon looking on bright side after
joint 4th finish on EuroPro Tour

Graham Gordon slumped out of the lead with a four-over-par closing round of 76 and finished a disappointing joint fourth on one-under-par 215 in the PGA EuroPro Tour’s Stoke by Nayland championship at the Suffolk venue today (Friday).
For the Aberdonian, who only five years ago was Scottish amateur champion and a Walker Cup player in the same year, his take-home pay of £1,433 was considerably less than the £10,000 first prize he had his eyes on at the start of the day after rounds of 70 and 69 had put him in the pole position.
But Gordon should be accentuating the positive from this performance – his best for well over a year and perhaps a sign that he is about to turn the corner and regain the form and consistency that once made him a top pro prospect.
He virtually kissed goodbye to his victory chance when he bogeyed the first three holes and saw a one-hole lead almost immediately become a two-stroke deficit.
He did birdie the fourth and fifth but promptly gave the shots back with bogeys at the eighth, ninth and 11th. He had his third birdie of the round at the 15th but down went another bogey at the 18th in halves of 39 (his worst of the three days) and 37.
Gordon finished seven shots behind the English winner, Nicky Harris from Whitefield, with scores of 72, 69 and 67 for eight-under 208, one shot ahead of Jamie Harris (Nevill) with 70, 71 and 68 to collect the £5,000 runner-up prize.
Callum Nicoll from Prestwick earned £900 for rounds of 75, 71 and 71 for 217 and eighth place. He bogeyed the 16th and 17th or else he would have earned a four-figure sum.
Steven Mackie from Dunnikier Park, the only other Scot to make the last day, had scores of 75, 75 and 78 for a share of 33rd place on 224 for which he earned £272.50.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
208 N Harris (Eng) 72 69 67 (£10,000).
209 J Harris (Eng) 70 71 68 (£5,000).
212 M Ford (Eng) 71 69 72 (£2,500)
215 G Gordon (Sco) 70 69 76, D Mooney (NIr) 72 72 71, P Curry (Eng) 75 69 72 (£1,433 each).
Other Scots:
217 C Nicoll 75 71 71 (jt 8th) (£900).
224 S Mackie 71 75 78 (jt 33rd) (£272.50).

Bob Charles, a man who
doesn't drink tea or coffee,
is ready to maintain
Senior Open record

PRESS RELEASE
Two-time winner Bob Charles will tee up at The 2008 Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard at Royal Troon Golf Club looking to maintain his remarkable record of being the only person to have played every tournament since the event began in 1987.
The evergreen New Zealander, who continues to compete at the top end of the European Seniors Tour leaderboards at the ripe old age of 72, this year marks the 45th anniversary of his Open Championship win at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
It is also the 15th anniversary of the last of his two Senior Open Championship victories, at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1993.
Charles, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), who also claimed the title in 1989, heads to Royal Troon Golf Club for his 22nd consecutive Senior Open Championship, from July 24-27, in fine form over links courses, with top 20 finishes in Jersey, Wales and Ireland so far this season.
He has shot scores lower than his age ten times on the European Seniors Tour, including on five occasions so far in 2008, with a 71 and 70 in Poland, a superb final round 69 in Jersey, a 71 in Wales and most recently with a first round 71 in Ireland.
Charles also showed that he can still keep up with players half a century younger than himself when he finished a remarkable tied 23rd at the Michael Hill New Zealand Open on The European Tour last year.
The left-hander said he had many fond memories of the Senior Open Championship, having finished runner-up on six occasions to add to his two wins.
He said: “I’ve won it twice and I’ve played in every one so it is special for me. It was first played in 1987 and I’m hoping to keep the record going. I’m really looking forward to playing Troon. I had a fifth place there in The 1962 Open Championship, which is the best finish I have had there.
“The tee shots are quite challenging at Troon as you are hitting across fairways. For someone who can really shape the ball it is good but if you drive it straight, you go straight through the fairway. You have to be able to bend the ball to keep it on a lot of fairways.
“I always look forward to the Senior Open Championship. I played very well at Muirfield last year. I think I even made more birdies than the winner Tom Watson did in the four rounds. But I also made a number of double bogeys and triple bogeys which destroyed potentially good rounds.
“I was really pleased with my performance last year and I think going in this year my game is in even better shape. I’m hitting the ball a little bit longer and that helps.
“I don’t expect much of my game at my age but I love the game, I love to play and I love the competition.
“Once you get to 71 or 72 it’s a lot easier to break your age than when you are in your 60s. I’ve broken my age in Poland, Jersey, Wales and Ireland– each of the four tournaments I have played in Europe this year. It’s about all there is left for me these days – to shoot my age or better!
“I just like to think that I will still be playing at the 50th anniversary of my Open Championship."
Charles’s modesty is just one of his many qualities, along with a steely self-discipline that has seen him abstain from drinking tea and coffee for the past 25 years.
He said: “Moderation is my motto. I don’t go to excess on anything. I have a glass of white wine and a glass of red wine in the evening, sometimes I have two glasses of red. I also stretch daily and I sleep well.”
Charles will be joined in the field by the defending champion Tom Watson, who is the only other player to have won an Open Championship and Senior Open Championship at the same venue
If the legendary American retains his title, he will have won The Senior Open Championship on three of the courses where he also lifted The Open Championship, following his previous double victories at Turnberry and Muirfield.
Charles admits he is excited by the presence of the five time Open Champion in the field, along with the Senior Open Championship debuts of the big European trio Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam.
He said: “I think the field is great for this event. With Watson and the new European players such as Langer, Lyle and Woosnam I think it will be a hugely successful event. We have also got some good players coming over from the US.”
To reserve a Championship hospitality package in the Barcelό Troon Marine Hotel, E-mail marine.mande@barcelo-hotels.co.uk
Tickets for The 2008 Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard - which is jointly run by the European Seniors Tour and The R&A and co-sanctioned by the US Champions Tour - can be booked now by visiting http://www.europeantourtickets.com/.

East of Scotland Open field

is strong enough to make

good 72-hole tournament

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
It says a lot for the strength in depth of Scottish men's amateur golf that there are still enough "name" players in the field for this weekend's East of Scotland Open amateur golf championship, sponsored by the Bobby Jones Golf Company, at Lundin Golf Club, Fife to make it a very interesting contest over 72 holes.
A clash with the departure of Scotland's top squad of six for next week's European team championships in Turin and also the appearance of another six leading amateurs in the Scottish Challenge pro event at Cardrona has not gone down well with championship convener David Moir.
But most of the amateurs in the Cardrona field could still make it through to Lundin if they miss the halfway cut, having left their names in the draw.
Scott Borrowman (Stirling University & Dollar), who has played so well for Europe in the Palmer Cup match against the United States at Glasgow Gailes over the past two days, will be one to keep an eye on.
American college circuit player Lewis Kirton (Newmachar), pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved), who had a good run at the Scottish youths' title last weekend at The Roxburghe, is another young man in form ready to take on the experience of men like Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie), Bryan Fotheringham (Forres), Gordon Yates (Hilton Park) and Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire).
Ovcrseas challengers in the East of Scotland Open will include some of the Australian, New Zealand and South African players who have been touring the British amateur circuit. Best of them could be Rohan Blizard, the Australian who is No 73 in the R&A world rankings.
The top 40 and ties at the end of Saturday's 36 holes will contest Sunday's final two rounds.

http://www.eastofscotland.co.uk/ is the East of Scotland Open championship website if you want to follow the tournament via the Internet.

Russell Knox's four-under 66 only
good enough for joint 20th place

Russell Knox from Inverness - a resident of Jacksonville, Florida for the past five years - was lying joint 20th in the NGA Hooters Tour Classic after the opening round at Spring Hill Golf Club, Tennessee.
Over a 6,807yd course with a par of 70, Knox had a 66 (31-35) with birdies at the third, sixth, eighth, ninth and 13th before a solitary bogey at the 18th.
He started the second round five shots behind the leader, Bryant McKellar from Alabama.
Irishman Niall Turner, like Knox a former US college circuit player, from Cork was lying joint second on 63.
And a third ex-college circuit golfer, David Skinns from Lincoln, was one of eight players sharing fourth place on 64.
Welshman Bren Briscoe, who picked up a $33,566 winner's cheque two or three competitions ago, was in a share of 50th place with a 68.

Europe take foursomes 4-0 to

grab Palmer Cup lead

Europe have regained the lead in the Palmer Cup two-day students' international match by making a magnificent 4-0 clean sweep of the morning foursomes over the Glasgow Gailes links in Ayrshire.
Going into the final set of eight singles, Europe lead the United States 9 1/2-6 1/2.
9.5-6.5 advantage.
The singles have been brought forward to a 12.45 start because of a bad weather forecast for later in the afternoon.
“Obviously, I’m very pleased we won all four of our matches this morning,” said European captain Mårten Olander. “We used the same line-ups we used yesterday morning and got off to the same start but managed to close them out today. Yesterday the Americans grabbed opportunities at the end of the round but weren’t able to do so today.
"This sets up what should be fantastic afternoon matches. On paper the individuals on the U.S. team are higher ranked, but we have the home-field advantage and our spirits our high.”
The Swedish tandem of Jonas Blixt and Jonas Enander Hedin evened the overall team score with a 4 and 3 win against Aaron Goldberg and Michael Thompson.
The Swedes won the first hole but lost the second with bogey. The U.S. would take a brief one-hole lead after claiming the fifth with a birdie. Europe evened the match at the seventh and took the lead by winning both No. 9 and 10. They pushed the lead to four holes by claiming the 12th and 13th.
Scott Borrowman and Charles Ford put Europe back in the team lead by downing Billy Horschel and Adam Mitchell, 3 and 1. The Americans won the fourth to go ahead, but Europe evened the score with a birdie on the next hole.
The Euros also won the seventh to take the lead for good. The two sides traded the next four holes before Europe claimed Nos. 13 and 14. Team USA trimmed the lead back to two holes on the 16th before conceding the 17th.
Jorge Campillo and Tim Sluiter won the second hole and never looked back in their 3 and 2 victory over world No 3 Kevin Chappell and world No 1 amateur Rickie Fowler. The Euros pushed their lead to four after claiming the fourth with par and the fifth and sixth with birdie.
The United States cut the lead in half with wins at Nos. 10 and 11. The two sides traded wins at the 12th and 13th before Campillo and Sluiter closed out the match on 16, winning with birdie.
Europe completed the sweep with the only match that went the complete 18 holes when Jonathan Caldwell and Gareth Shaw edged Derek Fathauer and Chesson Hadley by one hole.
The Americans held the lead for much of the front nine. The U.S. won the second and third before Europe claimed the fourth and fifth to send the match back to all square. The Americans would again take the lead after a birdie at No. 7 but Europe took Nos. 9 and 10. The two sides alternated the next three and again at Nos. 15 and 16 to even the match.
Europe reclaimed the lead at No. 17 and halved the 18th to secure the victory.

SCOREBOARD
End of Day 1: Europe 5 1/2, United States 6 1/2
Day 2 foursomes: Europe 4, United States 0.
European names first
Jonas Blixt & Jonas Endander Hedin bt Aaron Goldberg & Michael Thomson 4 and 3.

Scott Borrowman & Charles Ford bt Billy Horschel & Adam Mitchell 3 and 1.

Jonathan Caldwell & Gareth Shaw bt Derek Fathauer & Chesson Hadley 1 hole.

Jorge Campillo & Tim Sluiter bt Kevin Chappell & Rickie Fowler 3 and 2.

Overall scoreline with eight singles to play: Europe 9 1/2, United States 6 1/2.

ends

Adam and Oscar England's pair

for European Young Masters

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION
The Gloucestershire pair of Adam Carson and Oscar Sharpe, the English boys' under 16 champions over the past two years, will represent the English Golf Union in the annual 54-hole European Young Masters tournament at Chantilly Golf Club, France, from July 24 to 26.
Carson, who will defend the English boys' under-16 championship next week at High Post in Wiltshire, won the McGregor Trophy a year ago at Southport & Ainsdale when he finished five strokes ahead of the field after the championship had been cut to 54 holes because of high winds and driving rain.
The 16-year-old Long Ashton player has enjoyed a successful run in the past 12 months, finishing runner-up in the Douglas Johns Trophy and the South West boys' championship last year.
He was also capped at under-16 level against Scotland. This year, Carson has won the Gloucestershire junior championship, finished runner-up in the Gloucestershire under-16 championship, fourth in the Fairhaven Trophy and fifth in the Gloucestershire county championship.
Sharpe, 15, had an amazing 2006 when aged just 13. That year he won the English under-16 title, the under-14 championship for the Reid Trophy and the under-15 title, the Douglas Johns Trophy, and made his international debut in the under-16 match with Scotland.
Last year, he represented England in the European boys' team championships in Denmark and the boys' home internationals before crossing the Atlantic to study at an American college where he won several events.
Sharpe flew the flag for the English Golf Union in last year’s European Young Masters in France, finishing fourth.
The European Young Masters includes a girls' competition with a Nations Cup covering both, three of the four cards each day to count.

US PGA Tour Scoreboard
BUICK OPEN
FIRST ROUND
Par 72
64 Dudley Hart, Bo Van Pelt, Corey Pavin.
65 Daniel Chopra (Swe), Briny Baird.
66 Woody Austin, Jon Mills (Can), Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn), Kenneth Ferrie (Eng).
67 Kevin Na (Kor), Charles Warren, Tom Byrum, Brad Elder, Tag Ridings, Lee Janzen, Stephen Leaney (Aus), Bubba Watson, Johnson Wagner
68 Patrick Sheehan, Todd Demsey, Harrison Frazar, Nick O'Hern (Aus), Fred Funk, Bob Tway, Dustin Johnson, Ben Crane, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), Mathew Goggin (Aus), Jim Furyk, Jay Williamson, Scott Verplank, Jason Gore
69 Michael Letzig, Nick Watney, Robert Garrigus, Billy Mayfair, Brian Gay, Steve Lowery, Steve Allan (Aus), Kenny Perry, Paul Claxton, Dean Wilson, Chad Collins, Ken Duke, Dicky Pride, Olin Browne, Tom Gillis
70 Charley Hoffman, Todd Hamilton, Brenden Pappas (Rsa), Matthew Jones (Aus), Bob Estes, Justin Bolli, Jose Coceres (Arg), Ryan Palmer, Craig Barlow, Craig Kanada, Mark Brooks, Jason Allred, Andrew Buckle (Aus), Chris DiMarco, Neal Lancaster, Lucas Glover, Alex Cejka (Ger), Kevin Streelman, Peter Lonard (Aus), Brett Rumford (Aus), Kevin Stadler, Parker McLachin, Brandt Snedeker
71 Chris Riley, Kyle Thompson, Jeff Gove, J.P. Hayes, Mark Hensby (Aus), Bob Sowards, Charles Howell III, Tim Wilkinson (Nzl), Justin Leonard, John Riegger, Shane Bertsch, Jin Park (Kor), Arron Oberholser, Rodney Pampling (Aus), Omar Uresti, Eric Axley, Gavin Coles (Aus), Tom Lehman, Brent Geiberger, Billy Andrade, Paul Goydos, Dan Forsman, John Huston, Marc Turnesa (Af), Carlos Franco (Par), Rocco Mediate
72 Vaughn Taylor, Cody Freeman, Marco Dawson, James Driscoll, Heath Slocum, Chez Reavie, John Daly, Joe Durant, Jim McGovern, Jimmy Walker, Larry Mize, Kent Jones, John Senden (Aus), Nick Flanagan (Aus), Charlie Wi (Kor), Travis Perkins, John Rollins, Ryan Armour, Glen Day
73 David Lutterus (Rsa), Michael Bradley, Jeff Overton, Paul Stankowski, Jeff Quinney, Greg Kraft, Mathias Gronberg (Swe), Ronald Whittaker, Will MacKenzie, Nathan Green (Aus), Frank Lickliter II, Steve Flesch, Cliff Kresge, Matt Harmon, Mark Wilson, Jason Day (Aus), Richard S Johnson (Swe), Jeff Maggert, J J Henry, Scott Sterling
74 Cameron Beckman, Jason Dufner, Brandt Jobe, Ted Purdy, Tom Pernice Jnr., Robert Gamez, Jesper Parnevik (Swe)
75 Brad Adamonis, Chris Stroud, Jeff Cuzzort, Martin Laird, Douglas Labelle, Troy Matteson, Webb Simpson
76 Brian Bateman, Scott Hebert
77 Robert Damron, Jake Roos (Rsa), Bob Heintz
Withdrawn: Tom Scherrer 77, Tommy Gainey 82