Things you might not know ...

Chris Wood (Long Ashton), winner of the Silver Medal as leading amateur in the Open on Sunday, won the St Andrews Links boys' tournament only three years ago.

Scots come through Senior

British Open Qualifying

to play at Royal Troon

South African Bertus Smit was one of 45 players to secure a place in The 2008 Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard through final qualifying.
Smit, who finished tied second behind winner Tony Johnstone at the Jersey Seniors Classic, finished four shots behind Irish amateur Adrian Morrow (70) at Western Gailes, one of three courses to host the qualifiers for the Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club.
Scot Craig Maltman was one of six players to finish tied on 74 at Dundonald Links, along with former Murcar Links amateur John A Fraser (Royal Burgess), pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, Mike Gallagher, Jim Lapsley, David A Russell and Steve Stull.
Leading the way at Glasgow Gailes on 73 was the English trio of Andrew Hall, Phil Hinton and Andrew Reynolds.
Fifteen players qualified from each of the three venues and will go into Thursday’s first round draw alongside Greg Norman and defending champion Tom Watson, as well as Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam.
Qualifiers from today's three venues were:

DUNDONALD LINKS

74 C Maltman (Sco), S Stull (US), M Gallagher (Eng), J Lapsley (NZ), D Russell (Eng), J A Fraser (Sco) (am).
75 B Lockie (Sco), J Chaffee (US), M Williams (Zim).
77 T Conley (US),T Price (Wal), J Hoskison (Eng), J P Morgan (Eng), I Brotherston (Sco) (am).
78 T Giles (Eng).
GLASGOW GAILES
73 A Hall (Eng), P Hinton (Eng), A Reynolds (Eng).

74 J Heggarty (Nir)
75 P McKellar (Sco) (am).
76 B McColl (Sco), B Harston (US), J McTear (Sco), B Exber (US), D Downie (Sco) (am), R Clark (Eng).
77 J Chancey (US), S Graham (Eng), M Aoki (Jpn), K Hanefield (US).
WESTERN GAILES
70 A Morrow (Ire) (am).
71 J Blair (US), S Martin (Sco), T Giedeon (Sco).
73 S Prendergast (Ire)
74 B Smit (RSA), P Teravainen (US).
75 G Townhill (Eng), R Carrasco (US), P Dahlberg (Swe), A Murray (Eng), R Fox (Eng), N Lavin (Ire).
76 A Adams (US), J S Hirsch (US) (am).

Tartan Tour Scoreboard
AUDI PRO-AM
Lanark Golf Club
TEAM EVENT ONLY
+Every pro received £200.
Par 140
125 David Orr (East Renfrewshire) & team.
126 David Patrick (Elie) & team.
127 Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) & team.
129 Colin Gillies (Perry Golf) & team.
129 Dean Robertson (Mearns Castle) & team.
129 Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs Golf Range) & team.
130 Chris Campbell (Carnegie Club) & team.
131 Andrew Oldcorn (Kings Acre) & team.
131 Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie) & team.
132 Gordon Law (Uphall) & team.
132 Stuart Morrison (Tain) & team.
133 Christopher Russell (RAW Golf Course Design) & team.
133 Craig Ronald (Carluke) & team.
134 Alan Lockhart (Ladybank) & team.
134 Tom Buchanan (Duddingston) & team.
134 Mark Banard (Inchmarlo) & team.
135 Graeme McInnes (Murcar Links) & team.
140 Mark Loftus (Cowglen) & team.
140 Chris Doak (unatt) & team.
147 Scott Catlin (Greenburn) & team.
149 Steven Duncan (Balbirnie Park) & team.
151 Nicholas Reid (Deeside) & team.

NEW GOLF PRO AT KIPPIE LODGE

Kippie Lodge Sports & Country Club - formerly Aberdeen Petroleum Golf Club - has appointed Craig Stewart as its new golf professional. Stewart, 23, has been on the Inchmarlo Golf Centre staff for six years.
Kippie Lodge has a nine-hole course and a driving range.

North of Scotland Junior Open tee times

LOCH NESS GOLF CLUB
Late entries will be accepted on 01463 713334 for the North of Scotland Junior Open to be played on Loch Ness New Golf Course on Sunday, July 27.
Competitors will tee of in threes at 10 minute intervals and are from the host club unless otherwise stated.
Abbreviations: B, Brora; C, Carrbridge; CL, Caldwell; FR, Fortrose & Rosemarkie; FW, Fort William; G, Garmouth; I, Inverness; IS, Isle of Skye; K, Kingussie; KH, Keith; M, Muir of Ord; MT, Milnathort; N, Nairn; ND, Nairn Dunbar; P, Pumpherston; S, Stonehaven; SA, St Andrews; SM, Strathmore; TH, Thurso.

9.00 R Hunter (MT), R Black (I), C. Reid (I); L. Hunter (MT), S. MacLeod, A. Fraser.
9.30 C. Nelson (N), J. Brown (SA), A. Ross (FW); C. Neil, G. Bennett, K. MacKay; C. MacLean (I), L. Leighmedde (M), C. Black.
10.10 E. Chancellor (I), J. Shaw (K) S. Chalmers; F. Brown (ND), S. Goodman (I), D. MacDonald; M. Kennedy (C), M. MacPherson, J. Groom (P).
11.00 R. Rapson, R. Fyfe (I), Miss A. Brown (ND); M. Parsonage (TH), E. MacLachlan (I), S. Tammie (FR); A. Kenyon (I), C. MacMillan (I), M. Bramley.
11.50 R. Benson (I), R. Carpenter, R. Carson (I).
12.00 C. McIntosh (I), S. Murray, S. Pieraccini (I); S. Wright (S), M. McGrory (CL), I MacLeod (I).
12.40 C. Stewart (B), I. McCallum (FW), E. Donaldson (IS); A. Young (G), R. Innes (KH), A. Cameron (FW).
1.00 Miss J. Innes (KH), I. Stewart (B), G. Martin (SM).

Robert McKnight, Jason

Palmer tied 2nd in

Chiberta Grand Prix

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Whatever happened to the leading final totals from the Chiberta Grand Prix at Biarritz in Southwest France?
That's a good question, one I've been asking myself over the past week. Because I had to break off in the middle of the tournament - reporting on it from the tournament website - and go down to Southport for the R&A Junior Open last week, I lost track of it ... and, worse than that, although I found the tournament website again, quite unbelievably it did not have a recap on the final totals!
But, thanks to the R&A's David Moir, the man who organises the World Amateur Golf Rankings and, to that end, gathers in open tournament scores literally from around the world, I can now plug the gap in our service of reports and scores.
So, here we are:
Frenchman Cambis won by nine strokes
Robert McKnight from the Caprington club, Ayrshire, finished joint second with Englishman Jason Palmer on 269 - nine shots behind the all-the-way-leader, presumably a Frenchman, Guillaume Cambis.
Cambis shot 63, 65, 65 and 67 for 260. Not quite sure what the par was. I know it is a shortish course but that is still very good golf indeed.
McKnight (picture above by Cal Carson Golf Agency), scored 65, 68, 67 and 69 for 269, the same total as Jason Palmer (Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire), the 23-year-old Midland open amateur champion, who scored 68, 68, 66 and 67. Farren Keenan (Sunningdale), who played four years on the American college circuit as a student at the University of Texas, finished fifth on 272 with scores of 68, 70, 66 and 68.
In sixth place was another representative of the English Golf Union, Billy Hemstock from the Teignmouth club in Devon. Billy scored 68, 66, 72 and 67.
James White (Lundin), the 2006 Scottish boys' match-play champion and Stirling University student, slipped over the last couple of rounds to finish joint 25th on 283 with scorfes of 67, 70, 75 and 71.
Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm), the third Scot in the international field, tied for 32nd place with scores of 67, 71, 72 and 75 for 285.
Cambis won the men's title by nine shots and Linn Gustafsson from Sweden did even better in the women's championship. She won that by ELEVEN shots!
Linn completed her freshman year in May at Texas State University. She comes from Ekero in Sweden.
Her scores in the Chiberta Grand Prix women's championship - once won by Kirsty Fisher, I recall, were 78, 73, 68 and 66 for 275.
Runner-up on 286 was one of the Derrey sisters from France - Stephanie, with 70, 73, 72 and 71 for 286.
Joint third on 288 were the halfway leader Marion Ricordeau, who had a disastrous last round of 81 (for 288) which undid all her good earlier work of 68, 68 and 71, and Fanny Bernard.
LEADING TOTALS
MEN
260 Guillaume Cambis (France) 63 65 65 67.
269 Jason Palmer (Kirby Muxloe) 68 68 66 67, Robert McKight (Caprington) 65 68 67 69.
270 Ignacio Elvira 687 71 66 65.
272 Farren Keenan (Sunningdale) 68 70 66 68.
273 Billy Hemstock (Teignmouth) 68 66 72 67.
Other totals:
283 James White (Lundin) 67 70 75 71 (jt 25th).
285 Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm) 67 71 72 75 (jt 32nd).
WOMEN
275 Linn Gustafsson (Sweden) 68 73 68 66.
286 Stephanie Derrey (France) 70 73 72 71.
288 Fanny Bernard 71 72 73 72, Marion Ricordeau 68 68 71 81.

DOUGLAS PHILIP TROPHY EVENT
WILL NOT BE PLAYED THIS YEAR

Plans to revamp the Douglas Philip Trophy golf tournament and stage it this Sunday at Deeside Golf Club have been abandoned by Cults Hotel proprietor, Alastair Hutcheon, nephew of the late Douglas Philip, the Aberdeen FC director who started the event in 1947 at Hazlehead.
"The response from golf clubs has been so poor, the number of entries so small that I have decided not to hold the tournament this year," said Alastair, brother in law of Deeside Golf Club professional Frank Coutts.
"It's not the end of it, by any means, but it's back to the drawing board to see if we can come up with a format that has more appeal."

Twelve months ago at Cardrona Hotel, James Byrne (Banchory) and Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) after they had tied at the end of 72 holes and Byrne had won a play-off for the title and trophy. James is too old to play this week in the Scottish boys' stroke-play at Blairgowrie, so Michael Stewart looks set to go one better. Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency, all rights reserved. Click on the image if you wish to enlarge it.

Michael Stewart hot favourite
to complete boys' title double

Michael Stewart is a hot favourite to add the Scottish boys' open stroke-play golf championship at Blairgowrie's Lansdowne course over the next three days (Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday) to the Scottish boys' match-play title he won at Southerness in April.
Only four teenagers have done the double since the stroke-play was introduced to the Under-18s' calendar - TV commentator Ewan Murray (1971), Steven Young (1994), Scott Henry (2004) and golf writer John Huggan who won the boys' stroke-play first in 1977 and then became the Scottish boys' match-play champion in 1978.
Troon Welbeck member Stewart lost to James Byrne (Banchory) in a play-off last year when the stroke-play was staged at Cardrona. Since then Stewart has graduated to top men's events like the St Andrews Links Trophy, finishing runner-up to Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie), and competing with distinction for Scotland in the recent European men's amateur team championship.
That does not mean it's a one-horse race over the four rounds at Blairgowrie. One could make out a case for at least half-a-dozen challengers, such as David Law (Hazlehead) who won the North-east District boys' championship a few days ago, Paul Shields (Kirkhill), Oliver Huish (North Berwick) and the King James VI trio of Paul McPhee, Sam McLaren and Ian Redford.
The championship is sponsored by firstpointusa.com, a leading sports scholarship consultancy, providing assistance to boys and girls seeking to pursue playing and academic careers and United States colleges and universities.
Michael Stewart enrols at East Tennessee State University in the autumn.

Hi Ho Silver! Chris Wood is riding
high as leading amateur in Open

PRESS RELEASE FROM ENGLISH GOLF UNION
England international Chris Wood produced the performance of his life to secure the silver medal as the leading amateur in the Open championship at Royal Birkdale.
A closing round of 72 for 290, 10 over par, saw the 20-year-old from Bristol finish in joint fifth place overall with American Jim Furyk, seven strokes behind the champion, Padraig Harrington, but ahead of many leading professionals after a tough week over the Southport links.
“I don’t know what to say, I‘m lost for words,” was Wood’s comment on his outstanding performance. “It’s been a great week and an unbelievable experience. The support I had from the fans was brilliant and playing with Ian Poulter in the final round was superb as he played so well.
“I didn’t feel under any pressure but it was another tough day in the wind,” added the 6ft 5in man from Long Ashton who won the admiration of the fans.
Starting the final round on eight over par after rounds of 75, 70 and 73, and with his father Richard as caddie, Wood kept his game under control in the blustery conditions and managed to find three birdies.
With Poulter in with a great chance of picking up the Claret Jug, the pair seemed to inspire each other but although Poulter matched Harrington’s 69, he had to settle for second place four strokes behind the Irishman.
With only two amateurs making the cut, the silver medal was a straight fight between Wood and Tom Sherreard, former boy cap and an England ’A’ Squad member, from Kent. But Sherreard also closed with 72 thanks to an eagle-birdie finish for 294, 14 over par.

Steve Uzzell wins Russian amateur
championship by 10 strokes

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION
Steve Uzzell became the third successive Englishman to win the Russian amateur championship when he finished 10 strokes ahead of compatriot Jamie Abbott at the Pestovo Golf and Yacht Club near Moscow.c
Uzzell follows Seve Benson in 2006 and Chris Wood last year as Russian amateur champion and earns a start in this week’s Russian Open on the European Tour.
Uzzell, the Brabazon Trophy winner and England international, led from start to finish with rounds of 67, 69, 71 and 73 for an eight-under-par aggregate of 280. He led by two at halfway and despite a third round 71, extended his advantage to seven strokes going into the final day.
His closing 73, under little pressure, allowed Uzzell to open the gap even further on the field although his victory celebrations were delayed by a hold-up for rain when he was on the 17th tee.
It was Abbott, the 21 year old from Suffolk and fellow EGU Elite Squad member, who climbed from fourth to second with a 75 for 290.
Neil Chaudhuri, the third England Elite Squad member in the field, finished fifth on 295 after a closing 72.
Uzzell’s latest triumph underlines the value of regional coaching. The 24 year old Yorkshireman was a late developer but under the guiding hand of coach Graham Walker he has blossomed into a talented golfer on the international scene.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
280 S Uzzell (Hornsea) 67 69 71 73.
290 J Abbott (Fynn Valley) 70 71 74 75.
290 P Svajlen (Russia) 72 72 71 75.
293 M Morozov (Russia) 68 73 76 76.
295 N Chaudhuri (The Leicestershire) 72 75 76 72.

What Harrington had to say after
second Open triumph ...

Padraig Harrington has risen to a career-high third in the world rankings following his Open Championship success at Royal Birkdale on Sunday -- and this time he is comfortable with the position.
His previous highest ranking of sixth place did not sit easily for the ambitious Irishman but he now plans to maintain a permanent presence in golf's top echelons.
"I got to sixth in the world before and I wasn't comfortable there," Harrington told reporters after winning the Open Championship for the second year in a row.
"I thought: 'Ooh, I'm sixth in the world and it's not good enough.' Now I'm more comfortable at third than I was at sixth.
"I've improved as a player and I'm continuing to improve as a player, that's the main thing for me. My goal is to keep getting myself into contention in majors, keep hanging around. The majors are what it's all about for me.
"I set my schedule out this year for the four majors and I was trying to peak for those four weeks," added the 36-year-old Dubliner, who clinched his second grand slam title with a commanding four-shot victory at Birkdale.
"I got myself vaguely in contention at the Masters -- not particularly but vaguely. The U.S. Open, it didn't happen. The Open -- it happens."
Harrington tied for fifth at the Masters in April before sharing 36th place in last month's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
"All you need to do is hit one out of the four of those," he said of his major ambitions. "That's a pretty high rate for most of us mere mortals.
"I think I've got better at that. I've matured as a player, with experience and with my game. I trust my game more and I definitely have more confidence in my swing."