Stuart Easton finishes third at Southern Dunes

Invitational over a 7,546yd course

Stuart Easton from Irvine, a third-year student at Western Kentucky University, today (Sunday) followed up his fifth place finish in Memphis four weeks ago by taking third place in the Southern Dunes Invitational over very long course (7,546yd) at Southern Dunes Golf Club, Maricopa, Arizona.

Stuart, pictured right, shot rounds of 70, 69 and 70 for a seven-under-par total of 209.
The only men in a field of 63 competitors to finish ahead of the Scot were the winner, Riley Elmes (Loyola Marymount) (69-65-70 for 12-under 204) and runner-up Brian Humphreys (Boise State) (66-71-69 for 206).
Wyoming University, playing over their home course, won the team title with a total of 854 - two shots ahead of Loyola Marymount. Western Kentucky (876) finished fifth of 10.

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Open Students' Tournament at Fairmont St Andrews

Stirling and Ireland's Maynooth celebrate as

 

Goadby and Mullarney take Fife honours

By BEN PHILIP 

Irishman Ronan Mullarney (Maynooth University) beat Monty Scowsill (Exeter) and Robert Foley (Stirling) in an exciting play-off climax to the men's 54-hole competition at the 13th Fife open students tournament over the Kittocks course, Fairmont St Andrews.

St Andrews native Chloe Goadby (Stirling University) took the spoils in the women’s competition ahead of a tense battle for the runner-up placings between St Andrews’ Lieve van Veggel and Kirsten Brown and Stirling’s Jen Saxton.

 

After a calm start to the final day, the wind got up for the third round in a row.

Despite a very impressive 69 from Bjorn Bojesen (St Andrews) which earned him fourth place,  it soon became clear that the leading contenders were Mullarney, Scowsill, and Foley. They eventually tied on 220, Scowsill having a 75 in his third round, Mullarney a 75 and Foley a 79.

 In the sudden-death play-off, all three birdied the first. Second time round, Foley was not able to match his two rivals.

Mullarney and Scowsill then headed down the 14^th to identify a winner. A very fine par 4 from Mullarney (pictured above with the men's trophy) was enough to secure him the title.

In the men’s team competition, Bojesen’s round wasn’t enough to carry St Andrews past the Maynooth team as Mullarney’s 74 gave the Irish university  victory by one stroke.

 In the women's individual competition, Chloe Goadby (pictured right with trophy) started with a three-stroke lead but was pushed all the way by Kirsten Brown (St Andrews) who moved into a tie for the lead until a double bogey at the 16th took the pressure off Goadby.

Earlier, Lieve van Veggel had shot a level par 74 to set the clubhouse lead at +13 and only Goadby was able to beat that, finishing at +8. Both Jen Saxton (Stirling) and Brown matched Van Veggel but, on countback, Saxton took third with Brown fourth.

In the women’s team competition, Van Veggel’s round of the day wasn’t quite enough to see St Andrews I home, Stirling I taking the team prize by two shots.

 

The Fife Tournament brings the 2017 student strokeplay calendar year

 

MEN'S FINAL TOTALS
Kittocks Course, Fairmont St Andrews.
Par 213 (2x71) SSS 75 CSS 78 75 76

220 Ronan Mullarney (Maynooth) 74 71 75, Monty Scowsill (Exeter) 77 70 73, Robert Foley (Stirling) 73 68 79 (Mullarney won play-off).
223 Bjorn Bojesen (St Andrews) 78 76 69.
225  Eugene Smith (Maynooth) 82 71 72, George Burns (St Andrews) 74 73 78.
226 Mark Napier (Stirling) 79 72 75.
227 Cathal Butler (Maynooth) 75 70 82.
229 Caolan Rafferty (Maynooth) 81 71 77.
230 James Blyth (Exeter) 75 78 77.
231 Eanna Griffin (Maynooth) 81 72 78.
232 Alasdair McDougall (Newcastle) 79 77 76.
233 Matthew Myers (St Andrews) 78 75 76.
234 Colin Edgar (Stirling) 82 76 76, Jack Rogan (St Andrews) 80 77 77, Michael Schinkel (Highlands and Islands) 78 74 82.
235 Riccardo Cellerino (Highlands and Islands) 80 82 73, Jamie MacKintosh (Highlands and Islands) 81 76 78, Alasdair McDougall (Stirling) 79 75 81, Rodrigo Andrade Castillo (St Andrews) 78 74 83.
236 Cameron Franssen (St Andrews) 84 79 73, Tobias Hein (St Andrews) 84 75 77, David Nagiev (Stirling) 77 77 82.
237 Tom Bradley (Exeter) 81 81 75, Graeme Greer (Scottish Rural University) 80 76 82,  Scott Macpherson (Stirling) 80 74 83, Alistair McNaughton (Highlands and Islands) 78 76 83.
238 Jordan Hood (Maynooth) 82 74 82.
239 Daniel Morris (Stirling) 83 76 80, Oscar Hein (Bournemouth) 82 77 80, Ellis Hart (Stirling) 82 75 82.
240 Conor Rochon (St Andrews) 82 78 79.
241 Callum Cochrane (Newcastle) 84 78 79.
242 Liam Frean (St Andrews) 79 83 80.
243 Robert Watson (Strathclyde) 85 77 81.
244 Jordan Sundburg (Stirling) 90 76 78.
246 Christopher Kulukudis (St Andrews) 82 82 82

Withdrew: Adam Mulhall (Stirling) 85 77 wd


 MISSED CUT TO TOP 30 PLAYERS AND TIES
163 Alex Bagnall (St Andrews) 88 75, Peter Kerr (St Andrews) 87 76, Cameron Franssen (St Andrews) 84 79, Nicholas Inderthal (St Andrews) 83 80, Kieran McCormick (Highlands and Islands) 82 81, Finlay Asher (St Andrews) 75 88.
164 Craig Leith (Robert Gordon U) 88 76, Aaron McGinlay (Strathclyde) 83 81, Christopher Kulukundis (St Andrews) 82 82.
165 Rob J Paterson (Aberdeen) 86 79, Lewis West (Robert Gordon U) 86 79, Elliot Innes (St Andrews) 86 79, Andrew Mulholland (Aberdeen) 84 81, Ethan Davies (Stirling) 83 82, Daniel Lane (Exeter) 82 83, Jack Malone (Stirling) 80 85.
166 Alexander Wilson (St Andrews) 92 74, Jordan Sundborg (Stirling) 90 76, Jack Pope (Exeter) 89 77, Stephen Alexander (St Andrews) 87 79, Ross Nelson (Stirling) 84 82, Graham (Highlands and Islands) 79 87.
167 Matthew Fitzsimons (Stirling) 92 75, Shasa Decker (Stirling) 88 79.
168 Joe Du Feu (Stirling) 89 79.
169 Callum Ferguson (Edinburgh) 87 82, Tom Cochrane (St Andrews) 85 84, Aneesh Mistry (St Andrews) 85 84.
170 Jamie Stoddart (St Andrews) 92 78, Ben Church (Newcastle) 88 82, Jamie Parker (Stirling) 81 89.
177 Stewart McCaw (Stirling) 99 78, Connor Hansen (St Andrews) 90 87.
178 Lewis Black (Stirling) 91 87.
179 Lewis Fraser (Stirling) 92 87.
180 Finlay Goodlad (Stirling) 92 88, Sean Davidson (Stirling) 90 90.
183 Christopher Cheng (Reading) 92 91.
188 Fergus Bannon (Stirling) 99 89

No return: Joe White (Liverpool)
Retired: Laird Shepherd (Stirling), Carl Kolless (St Andrews) 86 -.'

MEN'S LEADING TEAM TOTALS
680 Maynooth 1
681 St Andrews 1
687 Exeter 1
699 Stirling 1
704 St Andrews 3
707 St Andrews 2


 WOMEN'S FINAL TOTALS
Kittocks course, Fairmont St Andrews.
Par 222 (3x74) SSS 75 CSS 78 76 78

230 Chloe Goadby (Stirling) 77 73 80.
235 Lieve Van Veggel (St Andrews) 83 78 74, Jennifer Saxton (Stirling) 74 80 81, Kirsten Brown (St Andrews) 81 72 82
236 Clodagh Walsh (Maynooth) 76 81 79.
241 Gemma Batty (Stirling) 83 75 83.
242 Alexandra Saunders (Exeter) 81 81 80
243  Penny Brown (Stirling) 84 81 78, Hazel MacGarvie (Stirling) 83 76 84.
249 Marie Danielsson (St Andrews) 81 74 94, Harriet Llewellyn (Exeter) 87 78 84.
252 Alexa Hammer (St Andrews) 85 79 88.
256 Mary Doyle (Maynooth) 85 79 92.

 MISSED CUT TO LEADING 12 PLAYERS
165 Penny Brown (Stirling) 84 81
166 Molly Dowling (Maynooth) 85 81
167 Emily Laws (Stirling) 86 81
168 Mirren Fraser (Stirling) 89 79
170 Caitlin Boa (Highlands and Islands) 83 85.
171 Fern Clark (St Andrews) 92 79, Claudia Ovens (Exeter) 87 84.
172 Georgina Hirst (St Andrews) 85 87
174 Louise Duncan (Edinburgh) 93 81, Michaela Patzeltova (Scottish Rural Univ) 91 83, Georgina Holden (St Andrews) 87 87.
175 Cassie Kneen (St Andrews) 94 81
191 Emily Mollard (Exeter) 106 85
Retired: Iga Jozefiak (St Andrews)


LEADING WOMEN'S FINAL TEAM TOTALS

471 Stirling 1
473 St Andrews 1
478 Stirling 3
492 Maynooth 1.

ends

Hatton birdies the last to win Italian Open

+Picture of Tyrrell Hatton by courtesy of Getty Images(c).

REPORT BY EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS 

Tyrrell Hatton sealed his second European Tour victory in seven days with a brilliant birdie at the last to win the Italian Open at Golf Club Milano.
Last week's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner carded six birdies - including five on the back nine - in a flawless 65 on Sunday to win his first Rolex Series event and now moves to fifth position in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex.
It had looked like the tournament would be decided by a play-off, with clubhouse leaders Ross Fisher and Kiradech Aphibarnrat alongside Hatton on 20 under par as he stood at the 18th tee, but the 26 year old, who celebrated his birthday yesterday, calmly rolled in his birdie putt from 15 feet to get to 21 under-par 263 and clinch the trophy.

Fisher, who was also pipped to the post by Hatton in Scotland last week, and Aphibarnrat had to settle for a share of second place one stroke behind the winner on 264, while England’s Matt Wallace finished in fourth on 19-under 265, courtesy of a brilliant chip-in birdie at the 17th with Australian Marcus Fraser a further shot off the pace.

Race to Dubai leader Tommy Fleetwood extended his lead at the top of the Rankings with a final round 67 to finish on 17 under alongside home favourite Francesco Molinari, South Africa’s George Coetzee and England’s David Horsey.

Fleetwood’s closest rivals to be crowned Europe’s Number One player for 2017 – World Number Five Jon Rahm and Masters Champion Sergio Garcia – finished tied 15th and tied 30th respectively.


Player quotes
Tyrell Hatton: “It's an amazing feeling to win back-to-back. You know, slightly different circumstances today where I had to come from behind. I'm not sure how far back I was going into the back nine but I knew I needed plenty of birdies and was very fortunate that I holed a few putts coming in.

“I knew I needed a low score today, and the front nine, it was pretty slow and sort of didn't really get any momentum. I was fighting myself, trying to stay patient, and you know, J.B (Jonathan Bell), my caddie, was saying, "Good things will come." Although I found it hard to believe, I tried to stay patient and in the end, I guess I got my reward.

“Amazing to win one, but to win back-to-back, and defend in two weeks is unbelievable. It gives me a lot of confidence. Obviously winning last week, my game felt really good, and just taking that into this week and playing well again and giving myself another chance was great.

“To win a Rolex Series event is very special. They are new for this season and all the players are looking forward to playing in them. I'm just happy that I could win one of them after a poor showing in them during the summer.

“These are massive events for the European Tour. They get such a good field and are so well supported with the crowd. The crowds were amazing. It's very special to win one of the big events on the European Tour.”

Ross Fisher: “It was good fun. Great fun playing with Marcus Fraser. We both knew we had to get off to a quick start and we both did that birdieing the first few holes. Just trying to push each other along and feed off each other.

"Made some birdies early on and gave myself plenty of chances coming home. Just unfortunately didn't manage to hole any. Great to finish minus 20 and it’s great to be playing two weeks back-to-back and in contention and playing some of the best golf of my life.”

Tommy Fleetwood: “The last three rounds have been great. Just strange, that three-putt on 14, kind of leaves you feeling sick. I thought about that for my last four holes and I couldn't get that out of my head, even though I finished well. It's a Rolex Series event, they are massive events and it's been a great result at the end.

“I'm still trying to win tournaments but gaining points is massive. I've had a good week, a good result. I've not played a lot recently and it was nice to have my juices flowing on Sunday being a little bit in contention. If I can do that every week coming in, then we'll be happy at the end.

“It's a strange scenario because you never look at what other players are doing but all of a sudden you start and you've got to stay away from looking at what Sergio (Garcia) is doing or what Jon (Rahm) is doing or whoever wins this tournament, maybe they get close.

“You have to just keep your eye on what you're doing. I think it's challenging mentally to make sure that you keep going, there's no doubt about it. It's a massive dream of mine to win the Race to Dubai, always will be, whether it happens this year or not.”

FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71)

263 T Hatton (Eng) 69 64 65 65
264 K Aphibarnrat (Thailand) 64 67 68 65, R Fisher (Eng) 68 66 67 63
265 M Wallace (Eng) 64 65 67 69
266 M Fraser (Australia) 67 62 72 65
267 T Fleetwood (Eng) 71 66 63 67, G Coetzee (SAf) 65 69 65 68, F Molinari (Ita) 64 68 66 69, D Horsey (Eng) 70 64 69 64
268 N Bertasio (Ita) 68 67 69 64, M Warren (Sco) 66 69 67 66, E Pepperell (Eng) 64 69 69 66, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 68 67 67 66, M Jiménez (Spn) 70 67 66 65
269 A Cañizares (Spn) 66 70 65 68, N Colsaerts (Belgium) 68 68 67 66, M Kieffer (Ger) 68 66 66 69, B Hebert (Fra) 70 68 67 64, J Rahm (Spn) 67 68 69 65, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 68 69 64 68
270 A Connelly (Canada) 68 65 72 65, G Havret (Fra) 66 69 70 65, W Jeunghun (SKorea) 68 67 68 67, A Byeong Hun (SKorea) 65 69 66 70, J Smith (Eng) 70 67 70 63
271 A Levy (Fra) 68 69 66 68, P Dunne (Ire) 67 69 66 69, J Donaldson (Wales) 64 67 71 69, D Drysdale (Sco) 67 70 68 66
272 S Garcia (Spn) 66 67 70 69, G Bourdy (Fra) 68 69 70 65
273 R Sterne (SAf) 70 66 68 69, J Luiten (Netherlands) 68 68 68 69, R Karlsson (Swe) 70 67 69 67, D Fichardt (SAf) 67 67 70 69, T Olesen (Denmark) 69 69 69 66, F Aguilar (Chile) 68 69 65 71
274 A Noren (Swe) 66 70 66 72, F Fritsch (Ger) 67 67 69 71
275 J Campillo (Spn) 67 69 71 68, J Lagergren (Swe) 69 67 69 70, N Elvira (Spn) 70 68 70 67, R Ramsay (Sco) 67 68 69 71, A Björk (Swe) 64 69 69 73
276 D Brooks (Eng) 67 68 73 68, B Wiesberger (Austria) 69 67 71 69, E Di Nitto (Ita) 69 69 72 66, B Rumford (Australia) 71 65 69 71, A Otaegui (Spn) 70 67 71 68,
277 C Hanson (Eng) 68 70 71 68, R Bland (Eng) 72 65 71 69, A Pavan (Ita) 66 71 70 70, J Quesne (Fra) 68 70 69 70, L Donald (Eng) 69 67 70 71, L Soomin (SKorea) 71 67 73 66
278 R Gouveia (Portugal) 67 71 74 66, J Carlsson (Swe) 70 68 71 69,
279 D Howell (Eng) 67 71 73 68, D Burmester (SAf) 70 68 71 70, C Paisley (Eng) 66 69 71 73, L Westwood (Eng) 69 69 72 69, L Scalise (am) (Ita) 69 69 69 72,
280 M Pavon (Fra) 66 72 77 65, W Ormsby (Australia) 69 69 72 70
281 G McDowell (NIre) 69 69 72 71
287 S Brazel (Australia) 67 71 79 70

Johnston, Howie and Maclean gain pass marks at Pro Golf Tour Q School

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Liam Johnston from Dumfries finished first at the Pro Golf Tour Qualifying School over two rounds at Paderborn Golf Club, Germany.
Johnston, a former Scottish amateur stroke-play champion, had 12 birdies over rounds of 69 and 67 for eight-under 136, winning the event by a single shot from Dutchman Max Albertus (67-70).
Other Scots in the field of 96 players, Craig Howie and Christopher Maclean, both amateurs, gained pass marks by sharing 13th place on 141. Howie had a pair of 71s, Maclean 72 and 70.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

Perez wins US Tour event at Kuala Lumpur

American Pat Perez won the US PGA Tour event played at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - the CIMB Classic - with a 24-under-par total of 264, made up of the following scores: 66, 65, 64 and 69.
He finished four strokes ahead of compatriot Keegan Bradley (65-71-65-67).
A third American, Xander Schauffele (65-67-67-72) and South Korean Sung Kang (676-68-65-71) tied for third place on 271.

TO VIEW ALL THE FINAL TOTALS

CLICK HERE

Price and Monty share lead with Kelly at

 US Senior Tour event

Welshman Phillip Price, Scot Colin Montgomerie and American Jerry Kelly are sharing the lead with one round to go in the United States Senior Tour event, the SAS Championship, at Cary, North Carolina.
Price and Monty have both scored 69-67 for 136; Kelly a pair of 68s.
The trio are only one stroke ahead of five players, including Vijay Singh (69-68) and Corey Pavin (69-68).
Two Englishmen nearer the bottom of the scoreboard are Paul Broadhurst, T56 on 145 (73-72) and Sir Nick Faldo T66 on 147 (72-75)



TO VIEW THE COMPLETE SCOREBOARD


CLICK HERE

Van Rooyen triumphs in China, Forrest gets pro career best T2

Image of Erik van Rooyen by courtesy of Ze Sho 

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS REPORT 

Erik van Rooyen secured his European Tour status for 2018 by claiming a maiden European Challenge Tour victory at the Hainan Open in China.

The South African began the week on the cusp of a European Tour card as he sat in tenth place in the Road to Oman Rankings, but after scooping a first-place pay cheque of €47,539 he is assured of a place on Europe’s top tier next season.
Scot Grant Forrest finished T2 on 16-under-par 272 (67-68-68-69) - a pro career best for the former Scottish amateur champion who left the amateur ranks last year. He earned £23,800, his biggest payday since the turn pro.

Forrest started the week as first reserve before making it into the tournament at the 11^th hour

 

Starting the day with a two-shot lead, van Rooyen knew that he would be in for a tough final day as he had Challenge Tour Number One Tapio Pulkkanen hot on his heels in second place.

The pair locked horns last month at the Kazakhstan Open where van Rooyen led by one going into the final round – but Pulkkanen went on to lift the title on that occasion after winning in a play-off.

Today was all about van Rooyen though, who battled the wind and the rain on Hainan Island to post a gritty one under par score of 71 and claim a two-shot win.

With his European Tour status guaranteed for next season, the 27 year old cannot wait to play alongside his close friends Dylan Frittelli and Julian Suri – both former Challenge Tour players who have won on the European Tour this season.

“I am super stoked and it has always been a dream of mine to play on the European Tour,” he said. “To have that dream become a reality after today feels amazing.

“I have played a couple of European Tour events and you just really want to be there as you really want to play against the best out there.

“Dylan did the same last year and Julian – what an amazing guy and a great player – also won on the Challenge Tour and the European Tour this season. It makes you want to get there as, without sounding arrogant, you know that you are as good as them so you just want to be there with them.

“I woke up with a two-shot lead but after Tapio made birdie at the first and I made bogey it was gone, so you just have to stop and reset as there are 17 holes of a good battle remaining – which we had.

“The whole day was tough in the conditions but I guess from 15 onwards I knew I was close. I had a two-shot lead and I wanted to maintain that so birdieing 17 was huge as it meant that I was three ahead as I teed up on the par five 18^th.

“That eliminated the situation of anyone catching me and I just thought to myself ‘three good shots and I am on the green and making par and they can’t touch you’.

“It has been a long year and I haven’t been home for so long. I have only been home for ten days since May so it was relief and happiness to have won on the Challenge Tour as that was the next step in my career – it was very emotional and I am very happy.”

With victory in China van Rooyen moves up to fourth place in the Road to Oman Rankings while Finland’s Pulkkanen, who finished tied second, is now 41,000 points ahead in the race for top spot.

 

Final totals

270 E Van Rooyen (RSA) 67 65 67 71,
272 G Forrest (Sco) 67 68 68 69, T Pulkkanen (Fin) 68 66 67 71,
273 R Sciot-Siegrist (Fra) 73 65 67 68,
274 M Kinhult (Swe) 69 73 65 67,
275 G Moynihan (Irl) 67 70 69 69,
276 O Farr (Wal) 73 67 69 67, R Ree (USA) 69 67 68 72, L Yuxin (Chn) 71 68 66 71,
277 B Virto (Esp) 69 68 68 72, B Macpherson (Australia) 68 70 68 71, C Tarren (Eng) 72 71 67 67, M Madsen (Den) 69 69 72 67, O Lindell (Finland) 70 71 69 67,
278 C Sordet (Fra) 69 74 66 69, R Hie (Indonesia) 67 66 73 72, E Goya (Arg) 73 67 68 70, M Skelton (Eng) 70 66 71 71,
279 J Guerrier (Fra) 74 70 65 70, G Charoenkul (Thailand) 72 69 65 73, C Braeunig (Ger) 68 72 70 69, B Hafthorsson (Iceland) 71 65 71 72, R Saxton (Netherlands) 70 69 70 70, S Brown (Eng) 66 69 73 71, S Fernandez (Spn) 71 67 72 69,
280 C Yi (China) 72 68 69 71, B Neil (Sco) 75 68 67 70,
281 R Evans (Eng) 70 72 70 69, R Cho (SKorea) 74 69 70 68, M Baldwin (Eng) 67 75 71 68,
282 R Kellett (Sco) 72 66 72 72, J Da-Xing (Chn) 69 69 72 72, D Huizing (Ned) 72 68 71 71, M Schwab (Aut) 69 69 71 73, L Gagli (Ita) 72 69 72 69, M Antcliff (Aus) 69 73 70 70, S Jung (Can) 73 71 66 72, J Hansen (Den) 71 68 69 74,
283 M Perry (NZ) 72 70 70 71, O Lengden (Swe) 73 66 72 72, S Heisele (Ger) 72 70 71 70
284 G Porteous (Eng) 71 70 69 74, M Tullo (Chile) 72 70 75 67, C Zi-Hao (China) 71 71 71 71, J Doherty (Sco) 73 71 71 69 
285 H Wen-Yi (China) 69 72 74 70, A Saddier (Fra) 72 69 72 72, M Fenasse (Fra) 70 70 71 74, Z Hui-Lin (China) 69 70 74 72 
286 T Linard (Fra) 72 72 72 70, V Perez (Fra) 72 69 73 72, J Heath (Eng) 72 72 70 72, D Foos (Ger) 70 66 79 71, J Senior (Eng) 72 71 70 73
287 B Evans (Eng) 72 72 70 73, C Mivis (Belgium) 71 72 73 71, F Laporta (Ita) 68 75 71 73, R Santos (Portugal) 75 69 74 69, M Webb (Eng) 74 70 71 72 
288 M Orrin (Eng) 67 72 72 77, N Von Dellingshausen (Ger) 74 70 71 73, J Arnoy (Norway) 72 70 73 73
289 O Zheng (China) 69 73 72 75, S Forsström (Swe) 72 71 75 71, T Rongjian (China) 73 71 71 74, N Cullen (Australia) 69 73 72 75, M Ovesen (Denmark) 74 69 73 73
290 L Chun (China) 73 69 73 75, A Belt (Eng) 74 70 71 75, J Girrbach (Switz) 70 71 75 74
298 L Linqiang (China) 69 75 75 79

Rory Franssen moves up to joint 11th place in

Tennessee with a four-under 68

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Rory Franssen from Inverness, a student at the University of Missouri shot a second-round, four-under-par 68 to improve to a share of 11th place on five-under 139 in the Bank of Tennessee men's college tournament over 54 holes at the Blackthorn Club @ The Ridges, Jonesborough, Tennessee.

Over a par 72 course of 7,147yd, Rory, pictured, birdied the first, second, third, fourth, sixth and 10th in halves of 31 and 37. He bogeyed the 11th and 13th.
Team-mate Jamie Stewart, a member of Old Ranfurly Golf Club, has scored 72-71 for 143 and is T30 in a field of 84 players.
Stewart had five birdies in halves of 36 and 35 in his second round.
A third Missouri player, Hayden Buckley, leads the field by one stroke with scores of 68 and 64 for 132.
Penn State (549) lead the team event by nine strokes from Missouri.

First Annual John Sutherland Legacy Pro-Am 

 PGA in Scotland Order of Merit Event

 

May 21st and 22nd, 2018

36-hole format at Golspie and Tain Golf Clubs

 

NEWS RELEASE FROM PGA IN SCOTLAND

The PGA in Scotland, in conjunction with three leading Dornoch Firth Highland golf clubs -  Brora, Golspie and Tain - are pleased to announce the establishment of the John Sutherland Legacy Pro-Am.  

The tournament, which will be the first PGA in Scotland Order of Merit Pro-Am event played on the three courses, is designed to raise global awareness of these exceptional seaside links and to honor the legacy of John Sutherland (1864-1941), who played a leadership role in establishing golf in the Highlands.  

The annual event will rotate between two of the three sponsoring clubs, with the inaugural tournament being held at Tain and Golspie on May 21st and 22nd, 2018. The 2019 event will be held at Brora and Golspie, with the 2020 event taking place at Brora and Tain. 

 

Forty teams of four will compete, each lead by a Scottish PGA member who will individually compete for £25,000 in prize money. A gala dinner will be held at the conclusion at Dunrobin Castle on the evening of May 22nd with several celebrities expected in attendance to entertain the competitors.  

Practice rounds will be held May 19th and 20th. Qualifying events for amateur teams to win entry will be held at Golspie Golf Club on 28^th April 2018 and Tain Golf Club on 14^th April 2018. 

 

John Sutherland served as Secretary of Royal Dornoch Golf Club for 58 years (1883 - 1941), and was a Founding Member of the Scottish Golf Union and Founding Secretary of its Northern District. 

He served as principal architect for many courses in the Highlands, including Royal Dornoch, Brora, Golspie, Tain, Portmahomack, Bonar Bridge, Skibo, Lairg and Wick.

 

Sutherland was responsible for many of the leading golfers of his era travelling north to celebrate these exceptional links, including Old Tom Morris, James Braid, J H Taylor, Harry Vardon and Arnaud Massy.

He was the mentor to Dornochians Donald and Alex Ross who emigrated to America, Alex winning the 1907 US Open and brother Donald becoming perhaps the most important golf course architect in United States history.  

 

Sutherland was also perhaps the finest golfer in the history of the Highlands, having won Royal Dornoch’s Silver Medal 11 times and leading Dornoch’s team to 16 victories in the Northern Counties Cup. Sutherland also served as Dornoch’s Town Clerk for 17 years until his death in 1941. 

 

A Leadership Committee has been established to organise the event, consisting of Stuart Morrison (Chair) - Tain Golf Club, Jimmy Yuill - Golspie Golf Club, Tony Gill - Brora Golf Club, Shona Malcolm – PGA in Scotland and Todd Warnock - Links House at Royal Dornoch.

The Committee will be working in the coming months to form a Sponsorship Committee to assist in funding the event.  

 

Key Contact Information:

Mailing Address:

            John Sutherland Legacy Pro-Am Tournament

            c/o Stuart Morrison, Head PGA Professional

            Tain Golf Club, Tain, IV19 1JE

            Telephone: +44 (0) 1862 893313

            Email: proshop@tain-golf club.co.uk

 

Jimmy Yuill:

            Golspie Golf Club, 

            16 Ferry Road, Golspie, Sutherland KW10 6ST

            Telephone: +44 (0) 1408-633-555

            Email: jimmy.yuill56@gmail.com

 

Tony Gill:

            Brora Golf Club

Golf Road, Brora, Sutherland, KW9 6QS

Telephone: +44 (0)1408 621417

Email: secretary@broragolf.co.uk

 

Shona Malcolm, Secretary - The PGA in Scotland:

            King’s Lodge, Gleneagles,

            Auchterarder, Perthshire, PH3 1NE

            Telephone: +44 (0) 7717-811-880

            Email: shona.malcolm@pga.org.uk

 

Todd Warnock:

            Links House at Royal Dornoch,

            Dornoch, Sutherland, IV25 3LW

            Telephone: +1-312-543-7558

            Email: todd@linkshousedornoch.com