PAUL SHIELDS FINISHES T16 IN US PRO EVENT

   

  PAUL SHIELDS IN ACTION. Image by Tom Ward

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com 
Scotland amateur international Paul Shields (Kirkhill) has again held his own against the professionals on the All-American Pro Tour in Arizona.
Last week Paul made the cut and finished 45th with scores of 74-65-80 for 219.
In this week's event at the Golf Club at Vistoso, near Tucson, Arizona, Paul has shot rounds of 73, 66 and 69 for a five-under-par total of 208.
That earned him a splendid joint 16th place finish in a field of 93 hardened pros (plus one amateur!) at a very competitive satellite tour.
The pros on the 208 mark earned $1,450 apiece.
The winner by two strokes of the $10,300 top prize was Brady Schnell, an American, with rounds of 63, 67 and 66 for a total of 17-under 196 over the par-71 course.
If Glasgow-born Paul, who will be 22 in January, is considering turning pro, then this level of performance must encourage him to have a go.  
In March this year Shields was joint winner of the Northern Amateur Open at the end of a successful seven weeks in South Africa with the SGU Elite Squad. 
In 2010, Paul won the North of Scotland Open amateur stroke-play championship for the David Blair Trophy.
As a junior, Shields was beaten finalist in two Scottish boys' match-play championships -  2008 (by Michael Stewart at Southerness) and 2009 (by David Law at Royal Aberdeen).