Stars of Scottish Golf and a former US Open champion on view at Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, Ardoe all day Monday

The first round of the Aberdeen Asset Management 36-hole Scottish par-3 championship at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, Ardoe, on the South Deeside Road will be played on Monday with Tuesday's second round being redrawn, leading scores to go out last.
There is a pro-am element to the competition with each professional partnered by an amateur.

TEE TIMES FOR MONDAY

FIRST FLIGHT
7.30am Reece Mitchell and Marc Watt; A N Other and Shannon McWilliam.
7.40 Ross Cameron and Gary Craig; Sam Kiloh and Michael Milne.
7.50 Zander Culverwell and Alan McPhee; Chris Robb and Graeme Milne.
08.00 Gavin Hay and Jim Walton; Kris Nicoll and Gavin Chalmers.
08.10 Sam Binning and Allan Henderson; Daniel Kay and Steve Mellor.
08.20 Graeme Brown and Pat Sibille; Paul Robinson and Erik Christoffersen.
08.30 Grant Forrest and Fraser Ogston; James McGhee and George McLeod.
08.40 Philip McLean and Alan Duncan; Chris Currie and Fergus Bisset.
08.50 Kelsey MacDonald and Sudrey Morrison; Greg McBain and Sam Locke.

FLIGHT TWO
10.40am Craig Lawrie and Ian Jack; Jason McCreadie and Trevor McAllister.
10.50 Paul Lawrie and Eric Herd; Michael Campbell and Stuart Downie.
11.00 Graham Fox and David Nelson; Neil Fenwick and Ricky Sturrock.
11.10 Jamie McLeary and Gavin Wiseman; Stephen Gray and Johnstone Mackie.
11.20 Bradley Neil and A N Other; Wallace Booth and Nick Chilcott.
11.30 Kevin Duncan and Ron Evett; Sean Lawrie and Michael Lawrie.
11.40 Greig Hutcheon and Nick Robson; Alastair Forsyth and Calum McCombie.
11.50 Jack Doherty and Bill Greenhalgh; David Law and Kevin Milne.
12 noon Michael Sterwart and Ian Robinson; Paul Shields and Alisdair McKenzie

FLIGHT THREE
1.40pm Miguel Martin and Gary Ross; John Henry and Keith Ingram
1.50 Gareth Wright and Paul Young; Ryan Camjpbll and Alan Ross.
2.00 Scott Jamieson and Peter Jamieson; Paul McKechnie and John King.
2.10 Steven O'Hara and Les Murison; Peter Whiteford and George Allan.
2.20 Ross Kellett and Billy Neilson; Scott Henderson and Nick Dalgarno.
2.30 Paul O'Hara and Jim Stewart; Laouis Gaughan and Nicholas Black.
2.40 Kamran Zeynalov and Hannah Bycroft; Alan Stuart and Hannah McCook.
2.50 A N Other and Craig Howie; Michael Patterson and Connor Syme.
3.00 John Duff and Ryan Boyle; A N Other and Simon Muir.

Dustin Johnson beats Jordan Spieth in Northern Trust play-off

OLD WESTBURY, New York. -- In a FedExCup Play-off opener that felt like a heavyweight bout, Dustin Johnson delivered back-to-back blows to beat Jordan Spieth for the Northern Trust tournament title.
One was a putt from 18 feet.
The other was a drive that travelled 341 yards.

Down to his last shot, Johnson watched his 18-foot par putt stay on the high side of the hole and thought for sure it would miss. He took two steps of hope to the right, and then pumped his fist in a rare show of emotion when it swirled around and dropped in the back side of the cup for a 4-under 66 to force a play-off.

Given new life, Johnson relied on his strength and powered a drive over the lake to the far edge of the fairway. It was the longest drive all week on the 18th hole, and it left him a 60-degree wedge to 4 feet for birdie and a victory he badly needed.

The No. 1 player in pro golf finally looked the part again.

"It was fun to be in the hunt again and know that my game is going to hold up under pressure," Johnson said.

Spieth lost for the first time in six tries when leading by two shots or more, and there wasn't much he could do except take back that tee shot into the water on the par-3 sixth hole after building a five-shot lead. Johnson played bogey-free over the final 29 holes.

"I didn't lose the tournament," Spieth said after closing with a 69. "He won it."

It was great theatre between Johnson and Spieth, good friends who now are No. 1 and No. 2 in the world.

"I thought that was a fun show," Spieth said. "I was hoping it wasn't going to be that much fun."

Johnson made up a five-shot deficit in five holes, and they battled along the back nine with big shots and big moments.

They were tied on the par-3 17th when both hit into a bunker, and Johnson blasted out to 4 feet with an easier shot and angle to the hole. Spieth had 18 feet for par and knocked it in, like he always seems to do.

On the closing hole, Johnson showed the kind of golf I.Q. that belies his simple outlook on life. After he sliced his drive up the hill and into a nasty lie in the rough, he chose to lay up instead of trying to hammer a shot to an elevated green.

But he made it pay off with a par, that got him into the playoff after Spieth lagged a 75-foot putt perfectly to get his par.

They finished at 13-under 267.

Johnson was angry with himself after his tee shot in regulation for not taking it over the water, even with a light wind in his face.

"Right after I hit my drive, I was like, `What am I doing?" Johnson said. He told his caddie, brother Austin Johnson, that if they got into a playoff, he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. It took the most clutch putt Johnson has made in his career, and he blasted his best drive of the week.

Spieth knew it was going to be tough when they returned to the tee and felt the wind switch in their favor.

"I was hoping he was not going to notice that," Spieth said.

Johnson won for the first time since he wrenched his back during a spill down the stairs that knocked him out of the Masters and derailed his dominance in golf. He had won three straight tournaments against strong fields until that injury.

"I feel like the game is finally back in form like it was before the Masters," Johnson said.

Of his 16 victories, this was the first time Johnson faced a must-make putt on the final hole, and he delivered a par putt that even Spieth thought was going to miss on the high side of the hole.

"But his body language was hanging in," Spieth said. "I'm like, `Does that really still have a chance?' And it came around and lipped it. My initial thought was, `I just did that exact thing to him the hole before.'"

The Northern Trust never looked as though it would contain so much drama.

Spieth began with a three-shot lead and he stretched it to five shots with a 30-foot birdie putt on the fifth hole.

Five holes later, they were tied.

Spieth's tee shot on the next hole banged off the rock wall and into the water on the par-3 sixth, and he made double bogey. On the ninth hole, Spieth took three putts from just off the left side the green, and Johnson made a 7-foot birdie putt for another two-shot swing.

No one else really had a chance.

Jon Rahm (68) ran off three straight birdies early on the back and briefly was one shot behind, though he had stronger holes ahead of him and fell back. Jhonattan Vegas (65) was within two shots after playing the scoring holes. They tied for third, four shots behind.

Otherwise, it was a matter of who finished among the top 100 in the FedExCup to move on to the TPC Boston next week for the second playoff event.

Bubba Watson shot a 70 and tied for 10th, to become one of eight players to qualify for the second playoff event all 11 years of the FedExCup. David Lingmerth and Harold Varner also moved into the top 100. That marked the fewest players outside the top 100 to advance since 2007.

Johnson moved to the top of the list. Spieth is right behind. They will play together the opening two rounds next week in Boston.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4x70)
players from USA unless stated otherwise
269 D Johnson 65 69 67 66, J Spieth 69 65 64 69 (Johnson won play-off)
271 J Vegas (S America) 69 65 72 65, J Rahm (Spain) 68 68 67 68
272 P Casey (England) 69 68 66 71

SELECTED TOTALS
276 J Rose (England) 68 68 69 71 (T10).
278 M Laird (Scotland) 69 69 69 71 (T20)

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Spence Trophy Qualifying

Sunday, August 27 at Aboyne GC

TOP FOUR TO QUALIFY FOR MATCH-PLAY

144 Cameron Gray (Cruden Bay) 72 72
148 Cameron Carnegie (Kemnay) 74 74  
152 Jack Pirie (Hazlehead) 77 75
153 Finlay Wallace (Portlethen) 79 74.        

NON-QUALIFIERS
154 Nicholas Black (Deeside) 74 80
155 Jamie Seatter (McDonald Ellon) 80 75.
156 Carmen Griffiths (Aboyne) 79 77.
157 Brad Murray (Inverallochy) 77 80.
158 Scott Simkins (Peterculter) 84 74.
164 Ben Read (Banchory) 83 81.
NR Ryan Stewart (Inverurie) 74 NR       

 

Draw for semi-finals at Aboyne GC on Sunday. October 1 at 09.00 hrs:

 

Cameron Gray (Cruden Bay)  v.  Finlay Wallace (Portlethen)

 

Cameron Carnegie (Kemnay)   v.   Jack Scott (Hazlehead)  

 

Final will tee off at 1.30pm

 

•                   

North of Scotland Open for David Blair Trophy

Edinburgh man wins six-hole sudden-death

play-off at Royal Dornoch

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Edinburgh player Kieran Cantley (Liberton) , 19, won a marathon sudden-death play-off against Stephen Roger (Cruden Bay) and Kyle Godsman (Moray) to be presented with the David Blair Trophy as North of Scotland open amateur stroke-play champion at Royal Dornoch this evening (Sunday).
The trio had tied on three-under-par 277. The play-off lasted six holes and more than one hour. Had it continued much longer, they would have run out of daylight!
"It's my biggest achievement in golf so far," said Cantley. "I played in the tournament for the first time at Inverness last year and finished in the top 10."
Robin Wilson describes the play-off action:
The play-off saw the first and 18th holes played twice. Then the first and second holes.
All three players birdied the first extra hole where Godsman drove the green.
Godsman drove into the rough at the second play-off hole and, with a bogey to his rivals' pars, he was eliminated and placed third in the final standings.
Back to the first hole again which was halved in par, and so too was the 18th.

On to the second hole. Both Cantley and Roger were on the green with their tee shots. Cantley holed a 25ft winning putt for a birdie 2.

Former Scottish youths champion and past winner of the North-east District 72-hole Open, Roger, 29, closed with a 69, birdieing the third and 15th but bogeying the 12th.
Cantley had birdies at the eighth, ninth and 12th in a closing 70 but he could have won the title without the need for the extra time drama as he bogeyed the 11th, 13th and 14th.
Godsman, 26,  had a steady last round of 70 with only two variations from par - a birdie at the third and a bogey at the 10th.
Jordan Shaw (Boat of Garten finished fourth on 279.
Third-round leader Euan Walker  (Kilmarnock Barassie) had a disaster-strewn final round of 74 for 281 and a share of fifth place .
Gordon Munro's Sunday morning five-under-par 65 was the lowest score of the four rounds. The Newmachar man, who had a 12 at one hole in last weekend's North-east District Open, finished joint eighth on 282 at Royal Dornoch.
Defending champion Jeff Wright (Forres) finished well down the leaderboard on 291 after saddling himself with a first-round 78.

SCROLL DOWN PAST THE PICTURE TO VIEW
ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

 Kieran Cantley receives the David Blair Trophy from Royal Dornoch GC captain Alan Ramsey. Stephen Roger is second from the right and North District SGU John Ross is on the extreme right. Pictures by Robin Wilson.

 FINAL TOTALS
par 280 (4x70). SSS 73. CSS 73 73 72 72. Distance: 6,626yd.
277 S Roger (Cruden Bay) 72 69 67 69, K Cantley (Liberton) 69 68 70 70, K Godsman (Moray) 68 67 72 70 (Cantley won sudden-death play-off at sixth extra hole, Godsman eliminated at second play-off hole). Voucher value: Cantley £400, Roger £300, Godsman £200.
279 J Shaw (Boat of Garten) 70 71 68 70, J Wilson (Balmore) 67 68 74 70. Voucher value: Shaw £150, Wilson £125.
281 K Gunnyeon (Murcar Links) 73 69 71 68, E Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) 70 71 66 74. Voucher value: Gunnyeon £100, Walker £80.
282 J Johnston (Ayr Belleisle) 73 73 68 68,  A J Sutherland (Cupar) 73 67 73 69, Rory J Smith (Dalmahoy Hotel) 69, 70, 74 69, G Munro (Newmachar) 72 74 65 71, A Harper (Bolton Old Links) 69 69 74 70. Voucher value: Johnston £70, Sutherland £60, Smith £50.
284 Euan McIntosh (Turnhouse) 75 72 69 68
286 L Reid (Fortrose and Rosemarkie) 72 71 73 70, M Rickard (Cupar) 74 69 69 74.
288 J D Forbes (Inverness) 68 75 75 70, C Mailley (Royal Dornoch) 68 74 74 72
289  C Franssen (Inverness) 73 71 72 73, M Schinkel (Royal Dornoch) 71 71 74 73
290 C Donaldson (Downfield) 75 73 70 72, R Copland (Cawder) 71 74 74 71
291 J Wright (Forres) 78 71 67 75
292 S Buchanan (Prestwick St Nicholas) 76 72 72 72, F Milne (Banchory) 70 74 73 75, J A Fraser (Royal Burgess) 72 70 76 74, S Tatters (Moray) 69 71 77 75.
293 J Mackay (Duff House Royal) 72 76 72 73, A Smith (Edzell) 73 74 73 73, L Smart (Banchory) 69 76 73 75.
294 M L Macleman (Moray) 73 75 72 74, J Rogan (Longniddry) 72 70 75 77
296 M Pennycott (Royal Burgess) 73 75 70 78
298 J Mackintosh (Nairn) 74 75 76 73.
299 C Nelson (Royal Dornoch) 69 74 74 82
300 L Gillies (Nairn) 73 74 78 75, A McNaughton (Caldwell) 75 72 77 76
301 D Joel (Inverness) 76 73 78 74, G Murray (Moray) 73 75 77 76
302 M Hislop (Glenbervie) 75 74 77 76
306 A Wright (Royal Troon) 74 75 80 77.

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Barry Lane wins by five from Gary Orr

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Former Ryder Cup player Barry Lane, pictured with the championship trophy by courtesy of Getty Images(c),  secured his sixth European Senior Tour title as he carded a final round five under par 67 to win the Willow Senior Golf Classic by five strokes at Hanbury Manor.
The Englishman, who represented Europe at The 1993 Ryder Cup, fired the lowest round in Senior Tour history on Saturday, a 12 under par 60, taking a four stroke lead over Gary Orr into the final round.
In addition to the lowest single round in Senior Tour history, Lane’s 22 under par  final total is also the lowest 54-hole score to par since 2010.
“I think I’ve shot 20-odd under par before,” said Lane. “But that was in four rounds. I’m 57 and I nearly shot my age yesterday, which is quite difficult to do.

“It was tough going out today. You have a four-shot lead and know that everyone is gunning for you; but it was only Gary who was within four shots, so it was for me to lose really.”

Lane made the turn one under par, just three strokes ahead of Orr who then reduced the deficit to just two shots with a birdie on the 13^th.

A birdie on the 15^th hole kick-started Lane’s round as he went on to birdie the 16^th and then eagled the par five 17^th hole, giving him a four stroke lead on the 18^th tee.

“At all the tournaments I’ve won, I’ve led going into the final round, so I knew what to do,” said Lane. “I gave myself a bit of a pep talk this morning. I thought if I could get to 22 under then Gary would have to shoot 63 just to tie.

“The birdie on 15 was crucial. I hit a great shot to the green and Gary went first, rolling one in for birdie. I knew I had to get mine in to stay two ahead.

“It was nice walking up the 18^th with such a lead. I had 113 yards to the flag but hit a horrendous hook with a wedge to the left of the green. I lost focus a little bit, but recovered and it’s fantastic to win again.”

Orr finished with a 17 under par total, two strokes ahead of former John Jacobs Trophy winner Paul Wesselingh, who topped the Senior Tour Order of Merit in 2013.

Roger Chapman, double Senior Major Champion in 2012, finished fourth on 13 under par with Peter Fowler, Chris Williams and Thaworn Wiratchant sharing fifth on 11 under.

Barry Lane earned 59,586 euros, Gary Orr 39,724 euros, easily the biggest payday of his rookie season on the over-50s tour.

Final scores:
par 216 (3x72)
194 B Lane (Eng) 67 60 67
199 G Orr (Sco) 66 65 68
201 P Wesselingh (Eng) 67 68 66
203 R Chapman (Eng) 69 66 68
205 C Williams (SAf) 69 67 69, T Wiratchant (Thailand) 68 67 70, P Fowler (Australia) 66 67 72
206 M Farry (Fra) 68 69 69, M Harwood (Australia) 68 68 70 
207 T Thelen (USA) 72 70 65, G Turner (NZ) 72 66 69, J Sandelin (Swe) 68 68 71
208 C Dennis (USA) 69 69 70
209 S Brown (Eng) 72 68 69, C Monasterio (Arg) 72 68 69, C Mason (Eng) 70 70 69, G Brand Jnr (Sco) 70 69 70, M James (Eng) 69 70 70, L Zhang (China) 69 70 70, M Atlevi (Swe) 65 70 74
210 S Dodd (Wales) 71 71 68, M Mouland (Wales) 72 69 69
211 G Wolstenholme (Eng) 72 71 68, S Luna (Spn) 74 68 69, P O'Malley (Aus) 71 70 70, B McGovern (Ire) 73 67 71, J Remesy (Fra) 69 69 73, A Oldcorn (Sco) 66 69 76
212 P Eales (Eng) 73 72 67, P Golding (Eng) 70 72 70, P Walton (Ire) 72 68 72
214 A Bossert (Switz) 70 75 69, P Linhart (Spn) 72 71 71, B Conser (USA) 71 72 71, D Smyth (Ire) 71 71 72, D Gilford (Eng) 68 72 74
215 C Suneson (Spn) 70 75 70, J Rivero (Spn) 73 71 71
216 R Rafferty (NIre) 74 73 69, G Rusnak (USA) 70 73 73, M Martin (Spn) 71 71 74
217 S Tinning (Denmark) 75 71 71, A Sherborne (Eng) 71 71 75
218 R Drummond (Sco) 72 72 74
221 A Mednickson (Swe) 74 74 73, G Brand (Eng) 76 70 75
222 N Job (Eng) 73 74 75
223 C Rocca (Ita) 77 71 75
224 P Wilson (Eng) 72 72 80
225 D Russell (Eng) 71 76 78
230 M Mackenzie (Eng) 78 75 77
231 A Forsbrand (Swe) 76 75 80
233 M Squire (Eng) 78 79 76
234 J Sallat (Fra) 78 78 78

American Suri scores first European Tour 

win with flawless 64 in final round

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Julian Suri, pictured with the championship trophy by courtesy of Getty Images(c), claimed his maiden European Tour title after seeing off the challenge of David Horsey in a thrilling final round at the Made in Denmark tournament today.

American Suri produced a flawless 64 to finish the week on 19 under par and secure his first victory in just his seventh European Tour event.

Horsey, who was one stroke adrift of playing partner Suri as they stood at the 18th tee, finished four shots back in second after carding a disappointing triple bogey at the last.

Suri, who won the D+D REAL Czech Challenge in May, becomes the third American to win on the European Tour and Challenge Tour, following in the footsteps of Brooks Koepka and Peter Uihlein.

Englishmen Ben Evans, Steve Webster and Chris Paisley were in a tie for third on 13 under par.

Suri, who began the day two shots behind overnight leader Horsey, picked up an early birdie at the second after sending his tee-shot to within three feet of the pin.

The 26 year old then took the outright lead when he curled in from six feet for a birdie at the third before picking up another shot at the fourth to make it three birdies in a row.

And after holing his birdie putt at the seventh, Suri knocked in his six-foot birdie putt at the eighth to move to 17 under.

With Suri reeling off five straight pars from the ninth, Horsey joined him at the summit on 17 under after making back-to-back gains at the 11th and 12th.

And the pair holed similar birdie putts from around 12 feet at the 14th to get to 18 under.

Suri then rolled in a  putt from around 15 feet at the next to open up a one-shot lead.

And after safely finding the fairway with his tee-shot at the last, Suri carded a par at the last to lift the trophy.

FINAL TOTALS

Par 284 (4x71)

265 J Suri (USA) 67 69 65 64

269 D Horsey (Eng) 68 67 64 70

271 S Webster (Eng) 64 70 69 68; C Paisley  (Eng) 68 69 65 69; B Evans  (Eng) 71 68 66 66

272 B Hebert  (Fra) 65 71 68 68; W Ormsby (Australia) 64 72 67 69; H Porteous (SAf) 70 67 68 67; M Wallace (Eng) 64 74 65 69

273 M Siem  (Ger) 66 74 67 66; J Daly (USA) 67 70 65 71; A Rai (Eng) 69 69 65 70; R Rock (Eng) 68 68 66 71

274 M Warren (Sco) 71 64 70 69; P Dunne (Ire) 67 68 70 69; J Walters (SAf) 71 68 69 66; T Detry  (Belgium) 69 71 65 69; T Olesen (Denmark) 67 71 65 71

275 N Elvira  (Spn) 67 69 69 70; S Manley (Wales) 71 67 70 67; J Parry (Eng) 66 72 72 65; S Chawrasia (India) 67 68 71 69

276 W Ashun (China) 71 65 73 67; S Kjeldsen (Denmark) 69 68 69 70; A Connelly (Canada) 68 71 69 68; D Lipsky (USA) 66 71 69 70; P Widegren  (Swe) 68 70 70 68;

277 B Ritthammer (Ger) 68 71 69 69; L Bjerregaard  (Denmark) 66 72 68 71; E Pepperell (Eng) 71 69 68 69;

278 V Dubuisson  (Fra) 66 71 69 72; O Lengden (Swe) 65 73 67 73; P Waring  (Eng) 66 73 70 69; B Fritsch (Canada) 71 71 67 69; J Lima  (Portugal) 71 67 74 66; A Chesters  (Eng) 69 71 69 69; G Havret  (Fra) 68 69 65 76; A Björk (Swe) 69 70 71 68; M Kaymer (Ger) 69 71 67 71; R Green (Australia) 70 70 70 68

279 N Johansson (Swe) 68 73 71 67; M Armitage (Eng) 73 68 70 68; J Hansen  (Denmark) 66 71 71 71

280 O Fisher  (Eng) 69 71 72 68; P Peterson (USA) 70 72 66 72; L Jensen (Denmark) 67 69 69 75; T Bjørn (Denmark) 73 68 70 69; J Morrison  (Eng) 66 74 70 70

281 S Horsfield (Eng) 69 72 75 65; D Im (USA) 68 73 67 73; B Eccles (Australia) 69 70 70 72; C Pigem  (Spn) 71 71 67 72; T Lewis (Eng) 67 72 71 71; J Dantorp (Swe) 70 70 72 69; K Horne (SAf) 71 70 71 69; M Søgaard  (Denmark) 67 70 74 70

282 R Finch  (Eng) 71 68 69 74; F Fritsch  (Ger) 72 70 72 68; S Heisele (Ger) 72 70 69 71

283 O Wilson (Eng) 72 70 73 68; J Stalter (Fra) 72 70 72 69; D Drysdale (Sco) 70 71 72 70; L Canter (Eng) 69 72 70 72;

284 M Ovesen (Den) 69 73 71 71; E Molinari  (Ita) 72 69 70 73; S Lee (SKor) 71 71 71 71

285 J Roos (SAf) 70 69 74 72

286 M Pavon (Fra) 66 72 74 74; R Karlsson (Swe) 65 74 72 75; S Khan (Eng) 72 69 74 71

287 P Gal  (Czecho) 71 71 73 72

295 L Cianchetti (Ita) 69 71 76 79

Montrose's Graeme Brown shoots to the front

with a 62 to win £2,240 top prize

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Montrose Links assistant professional Graeme Brown shot his lowest round of the season - an eight-under-par 62 - for an 11-under-par total of 129 to win the £2,240 top prize, easily his biggest cheque of the season, in the Kerr Investments' 36-hole Order of Merit pro-am at Dumfries and Galloway Golf Club today.

Brown, pictured, had nine birdies in his round to remember - at the second, fourth, fifth, 10th, 11th, 14th, 15th and 16th in halves of 33 (three under) and 29 (five under). He also had one bogey, at the short eighth.
Greig Hutcheon (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, Inchmarlo) also came with a second-round rush. He shot a 63 for 130, finishing one stroke behind Brown and earning the £1,540 runner-up prize.
He had eight birdies on his second-round card - at the first, second, fifth, sixth, eighth, 11th, 16th and 17th. He too had one bogey, at the third hole.
Alastair Forsyth (Mearns Castle), joint halfway leader on 63 with Marc Owenson (Gullane), shot a second-round 68 to finished third on 131. Owenson went from 63 to 73 and a 136 total knocked him out of the top 10.
Stephen Craig (Craig Golf) led the Dumfries and Galloway No 12 team to a four-stroke victory in the pro-am with a 36-hole tally of 242.


KERR INVESTMENTS 36-hole Order of Merit pro-am
Dumfries and Galloway Golf Club.
Par 140 (2x70)
129 G Brown (Montrose Golf Links) 67 62 (£2,240).
130 G Hutcheon (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, Inchmarlo) 67 63 (£1,540)
131 A Forsyth (Mearns Castle) 63 68 (£1,215)
133 R Arnott (Bishopbriggs) 68 65 (£840)
134 P O'Hara (North Lanarkshire Leisure) 70 64, G Wright (West Linton) 64 70 (£577.50 each).
135 M Patterson (Kilmacolm) 70 65, D Orr (Eastwood) 67 68, C Currie (Caldwell) 66 69 (£448 each).
136 G Fox (Clydeway Golf) 69 67, C Marr (Musselburgh) 69 67, C Kelly (Stirling) 69 67, P McKechnie (Braid Hills) 67 69, R Leeds (Archerfield Links) 67 69, M Owenson (Gullane) 63 73.
137 G Hay (Grantown on Spey) 72 65, J Lomas (Caprington) 69 68, S O'Hara (North Lanarkshire Leisure) 69 68, S Binning (Mearns Castle) 69 68, R Menzies (Trump Turnberry) 67 70.
138 J McGhee (Swanston New) 70 68, R Munro (Duddingston) 70 68.
139 K McNicoll (Carnoustie Golf Links) 72 67, F McKenna (Caldwell) 69 70.
140 C Nairn (Kilmarnock Barassie) 72 68, C Goodwin (Strathlene) 67 73.
141 F Mann (Carnoustie Golf Links) 70 71, A D Wills (Lanark) 68 73.
142 S Henderson (Kings Links) 72 70, R Cameron (Saltire Energy) 72 7 G Forbes (Mar Hall Hotel) 71 71, G McDougall (Elie Links) 70 72, A Welsh (Cathkin Braes) 68 74.
143 J Dick (Duddingston) 73 70, S Gray (Lanark) 68 75.
144 J McCreadie (Largs) 75 69, J Fraser (Renaissance Club) 75 69, S Craig (Craig Golf) 74 70, L Hughes (Ayr Belleisle) 72 72, A O'Donnell (Largs) 72 72
145 D Stein (Ranfurly Castle) 74 71, C Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) 73 72.
146 G Hardy (Prestwick St Nicholas) 76 70, N Huguet (Musselburgh) 73 73, C Porciani (Trump Turnberry) 72 74
147 I Graham (Crow Wood) 72 75
148 S Houlden (East Kilbride) 73 75
149 J Brown (Dumfries and Galloway) 80 69
157 P Kerr (Hayston) 79 78.

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Bon Accord's Edmond and Greig win Simmers

Trophy a fourth time at Cruden Bay

 Barrie Edmond (left) and Matthew Greig (right) with NE District president David Fleming (centre) and the Simmers Trophy. Picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Bon Accord's Barrie Edmond and Matthew Greig won the North-east District foursomes championship for the Simmers Trophy a fourth time in perfect golfing weather at Cruden Bay Golf Club today.
Edmond and Greig returned an alternate-shot score of three-under-par 67 with birdies at the seventh, eighth, 11th, 15th and 18th, offset by bogeys at the 12th and 17th in halves of 34-33.
They won by a single shot from the home course pairing of Laurie Phillips and James Booth with Murcar Links (Anthony Bews and Adrian Styles) third on 72.
Phillips and Booth had birdies at the second, 13th, 14th and 15th in halves of 37-31. They bogeyed the first and fifth before they got into the swing of things.
Barrie Edmond thinks he has actually won the Simmers Trophy five times in all but he cannot remember the Bon Accord clubmate that partnered him before he struck up a successful playing relationship with Matthew Greig!
So what's the secret of very good foursomes play?
"They say it's 'Never complain, never explain' to your partner but I think if you hit all the fairways off the tee you are hard to beat," said multiple Aberdeen Links champion Edmond.

+The Simmers Trophy has been on the go since the 1950s and it is a bit worse for the wear with a few dents on it and one of the handles a bit loose. So Messrs Edmond and Greig won't actually get the trophy to display in the Bon Accord clubhouse until it has been to a jewellers for repair. District president David Fleming is going to see to that.
At the same time, the names of the winners for 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 will be inscribed.

NE DISTRICT SIMMERS TROPHY FOURSOMES CHAMPIONSHIP
Cruden Bay Golf Club
Par 70
67 BON ACCORD 1 (B Edmond and M Greig)
68 CRUDEN BAY 1 (L Phillips and J Booth).
72 MURCAR LINKS (A Bews and A Styles)
74 McDONALD ELLON (J Godward and A Dunton)
76 WESTHILL (B McHattie and K Coutts)
77 BANCHORY 2 (B  Milne and M Lawrence), ROYAL ABERDEEN (M Halliday and D Raitt)
78 DEESIDE (A Ross and K Ingram), NIGG BAY 2 (G Grimmer and L O'Connor)
79 NORTHERN 2 (G Clark and S Slessor), BANCHORY 1 (J Harling and D Brand), CALEDONIAN 1 (A Doig and B Reid)
80 PORTLETHEN (K Daglish and S Wallace), DUFF HOUSE ROYAL 2 (M Jenkins and I Angus)
81 NORTHERN 1 (C Johnstone and L Minty), TURRIFF (A Ogg and J Dalgarno)
82 CRUDEN BAY 2 (L Cruickshanks and M Christie)
83 DUFF HOUSE ROYAL 1 (N Campbell and C Mathieson)
84 BON ACCORD 2 (M Smith and R Allerton), NIGG BAY 1 (R Forbes and P Burnett).
88 PETERCULTER (A Hicks and J Kennedy)

NR CALEDONIAN 2 (M Beattie and W Ross)

Link to North of Scotland Open stroke play at Royal Dornoch

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Tournament in progress

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
par 280 (4x70). SSS 73. CSS 73 73 72
277 S Roger (Cruden Bay) 72 69 67 69, K Cantley (Liberton) 69 68 70 70, K Godsman (Moray) 68 67 72 70
279 J Shaw (Boat of Garten) 70 71 68 70
281 K Gunnyeon (Murcar Links) 73 69 71 68, E Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) 70 71 66 74 
282 J Johnston (Ayr Belleisle) 73 73 68 68, G Munro (Newmachar) 72 74 65 71, A J Sutherland (Cupar) 73 67 73 69, A Harper (Bolton Old Links) 69 69 74 70
284 Euan McIntosh (Turnhouse) 75 72 69 68
286 L Reid (Fortrose and Rosemarkie) 72 71 73 70, M Rickard (Cupar) 74 69 69 74.
288 J D Forbes (Inverness) 68 75 75 70, C Mailley (Royal Dornoch) 68 74 74 72
289  C Franssen (Inverness) 73 71 72 73, M Schinkel (Royal Dornoch) 71 71 74 73
290 C Donaldson (Downfield) 75 73 70 72, R Copland (Cawder) 71 74 74 71
291 J Wright (Forres) 78 71 67 75
292 S Buchanan (Prestwick St Nicholas) 76 72 72 72, F Milne (Banchory) 70 74 73 75, J A Fraser (Royal Burgess) 72 70 76 74, S Tatters (Morasy) 69 71 77 75.
293 J Mackay (Duff House Royal) 72 76 72 73, A Smith (Edzell) 73 74 73 73, L Smart (Banchory) 69 76 73 75.
294 M L Macleman (Moray) 73 75 72 74, J Rogan (Longniddry) 72 70 75 77
296 M Pennycott (Royal Burgess) 73 75 70 78
298 J Mackintosh (Nairn) 74 75 76 73.
299 C Nelson (Royal Dornoch) 69 74 74 82
300 L Gillies (Nairn) 73 74 78 75, A McNaughton (Caldwell) 75 72 77 76
301 D Joel (Inverness) 76 73 78 74, G Murray (Moray) 73 75 77 76
302 M Hislop (Glenbervie) 75 74 77 76
306 A Wright (Royal Troon) 74 75 80 77.

Spieth leads by three from Johnson at Northern Trust tournament

NEWS RELEASE
OLD WESTBURY, New York – Engrave the trophy. It’s locked up. Jordan Spieth has won the Northern Trust tournament.
Having won nine of the last 10 times he’s led after 54 holes on the US PGA Tour, Spieth’s three-shot buffer over Dustin Johnson means it is statistically likely the Texan makes it win No. 4 for the year on Sunday and takes the lead in the FedExCup.
Rounds of 69-65-64 leave him at 12 under par at Glen Oaks Club with Johnson at 9 under.
Spieth is five shots clear of the four-way tie for third so the buffer is too significant, right?
We haven’t seen a front-runner like this since Tiger Woods, who was an incredible 51-4 when holding the lead or co-lead with a round to go on the US PGA Tour.
OK. OK. OK. Hold up. Let’s not get too crazy. This is golf after all. Spieth knows as well as anyone a tournament can turn on one bad swing – or one good one.
That one 54-hole lead he didn’t convert in the last 10? The 2016 Masters where he blew a 5-shot lead on the back nine. The vision of him painfully finding Raes Creek twice that day are still fresh scars for us all.
His most recent 54-hole lead came at The Open Championship this year where he lost his buffer early with some crazy play, famously hit the ball off the map and played from the driving range, before sensationally turning it back around with a blitz finish for victory.
The time before that it appeared he was going to let Daniel Berger get the better of him at the Travelers Championship in a playoff. Cue a sensational bunker hole-out in sudden death for the win.
You couldn’t really write the script for any of these occasions.
“I'd expect anything. I've kind of shown that anything can happen [laughing] unfortunately and fortunately,” Spieth said when asked to imagine what he would think if he was trying to chase down a front-runner with his record.
“So anything can happen tomorrow. I expect some swings but if we stay focused on a goal, keep playing the way we're playing, then should be fine.”
The chasing pack can look at things one of two ways.
They can go glass half-empty and lament the likelihood of Spieth’s steel to win and ability to get out of even tough situations.
Or they can go glass half-full and recall his shakiness at times, and back themselves to go head-to-head if they can get him near the ropes.
“I like coming from behind,” Johnson, fourth in the FedExCup, said.
“Let's be honest here. I'd rather have a three-shot lead. But it's not that bad coming from three shots back, either, because that can change in one hole.
“Obviously Jordan's playing really well, so he's going to be tough to beat tomorrow.”
Johnson wasn’t planning on being overly aggressive. Instead he plans to just rely on his long game to potentially give himself more birdie chances than the 24-year-old.
He will have to as Spieth’s putter has been a big part of the puzzle.
“Maybe some of his putting will rub off on me and I'll start holing them,” Johnson smiled.

“I think it's going to be a fun day. I think it's going to be a battle but we'll see who is on top at the end.”
For those further back – like Spaniard Jon Rahm who is part of the crowd at 7 under – aggression is going to be needed.
When the gap is five you must go super low or also hope for a stumble above.
“And Spieth is not known for being one to stumble. Last time he actually made a little bit of a mistake and ended up with a finish for the ages at The Open,” Rahm said.
“He's not going to give it to you. That guy can seriously close it out.

“We need to make up shots as fast as possible, as early as possible. Hopefully I can get off to a good start like I did today and make a few putts early and who knows.”
Spieth for his part expects them to come at him hard. He doesn’t believe the field is playing for second.
“I imagine it's not like guys that were chasing Tiger where you almost felt hopeless,” he said.
“I don't think DJ is really worried about much. We've battled it out quite a few times. He'll step up and just do his thing. I don't think he's going to think much about me, other than where he's at as we get down the stretch.”

Spieth, the 2015 FedExCup champion, hopes Johnson isn’t even in the hunt by the time they get down the stretch. The first of his three wins this season came at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he “cruised” along on Sunday.
“Pebble Beach was an absolute cruise,” he reminisced.
“It was a bogey-free 2-under round when I had a lead by a significant margin, and I think the longest par putt I had was 3 feet that day. So that's what I would obviously like tomorrow.”
Glen Oaks might not allow that. While the fairways are generous, the rough is thick.
“This is not a course you can stand on the first tee and think 65. It can happen but you force it out here you will have a big number,” former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy said.
“It’s a U.S. Open with wide fairways. A good player is going to win here and if it’s not one of the really long hitters like Jordan than he’s done extremely well.”
Odds are he will do extremely well. Again.

LEADERBOARD
Players from USA unless stated otherwise
198 J Spieth 69 65 64
201 D Johnson 65 69 67
203 P Casey (England) 69 68 66, P Reed 70 67 66, J Rahm (Spain) 68 68 67, M Kuchar 71 64 68

SELECTED SCORES
205 J Rose (England) 68 68 69 (T8)
207 M Laird (Scotland) 69 69 69 (T17)

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THREE SCOTS BEAT ROUND 3 CUT 

AT LPGA Q SCHOOL STAGE 1

Three Scots - Michele Thomson, Vikki Laing and Rachael Taylor - survived the third-round cut to the leading 125 players and ties at the LPGA Tour Qualifying School Stage 1 at Mission Hills Country Club, California.

Thomson (Meldrum House) from Ellon is in T22 position with rounds of 69, 70 and 72 for five-under 211.

Laing has had scores of 74, 72 and 72 for 218 and a share of 81st place.

Taylor made it on the limit mark of 220 with rounds of 71, 75 and 74.

The leading 90 and ties after the fourth round will advance to stage 2 at Venice, Florida from October 18 to 22.

South Africa's Stacy Bregman and Swedish amateur Linnea Strom are co-leaders on five-under 211.

Scots who missed the cut were Heather Macrae on 225 (72-73-80) and amateur Jess Meek on 232 (80-76-76.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

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