Current North-east Alliance Order of Merit 
 Scratch

COMPILED BY ALAN GALL
1 Kevin Duncan (Cruden Bay) 900 475 1375 
2 Phil McLean (Peterhead) 650 350 1000 
3 Jack Chalmers (Kemnay) 500 425 925
4 Laura Murray (Kippie Lodge) 425 400 825
5 Stewart Finnie (Caledonian) 350 300 650 
6 John Borthwick (Craibstone) 625 625
7 Brian Nicolson (Newmachar) 225 375 600 
T8 Brian Ritchie (Inverallochy) 0 500 500 
T8 Sean Lawrie (Paul Lawrie GC) 500 500 
10 Sam Locke (Paul Lawrie GC) 475 475 166
T11 Ian Esslemont (Newmachar) 275 175 450 
T11 Lee Buck (Portlethen) 0 450 450 
T11 Michael Buchan (Cruden Bay) 450 450 
T11 Paul Lawrie (Gleneagles) 450 450 
15 Craig Lawrie (Paul Lawrie GC) 425 425 
T16 John Duff (Newmachar) 375 375 
T16 Michael Findlay (Cullen Links) 375 375
T16 Ross McConnachie (Peterculter) 350 25 375 T16 Craig Dempster (Paul Lawrie GC) 325 325 T20 Fergus Bisset (Banchory) 225 100 325 
T20 Graham Riley (Craibstone) 325 325 
T20 Graham Somers (Bon-Accord) 50 275 325 T20 Kamran Zeynalov (Portlethen) 325 325 
T20 Reece Mitchell (Paul Lawrie GC) 0 325 325 25 Simon Hanson (Kemnay) 300 300 
26 Neil Watt (Cullen Links) 275 275 
27 David Fleming (Portlethen) 250 250 
28 John Nicolson (Hazlehead) 0 250 250
29 Chris Gilbert (Cruden Bay) 0 225 225 
T30 Graham Meade (Caledonian) 125 75 200 
T30 Raymond Reid (Tarland) 0 200 200 
T30 Sam Kiloh (Portlethen) 200 200 
33 Dave McLean (Newmachar) 175 175 
34 Doug Booth (Tarland) 0 150 150 
T35 Kimberley Beveridge (Aboyne) 125 125 
T35 Richie Davidson Caledonian 125 125
T35 Scott Barron (Kemnay) 0 125 125 
T38 Colin Craig (Kintore) 100 100 
T38 Declan Addison (Cruden Bay) 100 100 
40 Justin Barclay (Hazlehead) 75 75
41 Stuart McWilliam (Royal Aberdeen) 0 50 50
T42 David Leslie (Bon Accord) 25 25 
T42 Phil Morrison (Newmachar) 25 25

HANDICAP CLASS 1
CURRENT LEADING TOTALS
1 Jack Chalmers (Kemnay) 725 450 1175 
2 Richie Davidson (Caledonian) 775 275 1050 
3 John Borthwick (Craibstone) 825 825 
4 Ian Esslemont (Newmachar) 475 325 800 
5 Colin Craig (Kintore) 500 200 700 
6 David Fleming (Portlethen) 375 300 675 
7 Dave McLean (Newmachar) 650 650 
8 Brian Nicolson (Newmachar) 200 375 575
T9 Doug Booth (Tarland) 75 475 550 
T9 Graham Somers (Bon Accord) 200 350 550 
T11 Brian Ritchie (Inverallochy) 0 500 500 
T11 Graham Meade (Caledonian) 375 125 500 
T11 Michael Buchan (Cruden Bay) 500 500 
T14 Graham Riley (Craibstone) 450 450 
T14 Justin Barclay (Hazlehead) 450 450 
16 Lee Buck (Peterculter) 0 425 425 
T17 Fergus Bisset (Banchory) 400 400 
T17 Michael Findlay (Cullen Links) 400 400 
T17 Raymond Reid (Tarland) 0 400 400 
T20 Cameron Carnegie (Kemnay) 375 375
T20 Stewart Finnie (Caledonian) 200 175 375
22 Ritchie Smith (Portlethen) 350 350
T23 Gordon Gibson (Kemnay) 275 25 300 
T23 Neil Watt (Cullen Links) 300 300
T23 Phil Morrison (Newmachar) 300 300 
26 Martin May (Cruden Bay) 275 275 
T27 Charlie MacDonald (Peterculter) 250 250
T27 John Nicolson (Hazlehead) 25 225 250
T27 Scott Barron (Kemnay) 0 250 250 
30 Jim Emslie (Royal Aberdeen) 200 200 
31 Willie Skene (Deeside) 175 175 
T32 David Leslie (Bon Accord) 150 150 
T32 Donny Adam (Kemnay) 0 150 150 
34 Blair Moir (Keith) 125 125 
35 Stuart McWilliam (Royal Aberdeen) 0 100 100
T36 Ross Sinclair (Kintore) 75 75 
T36 Ryan Bruce (Peterculter) 0 75 75 
T38 Derek Craigie (Kemnay) 0 50 50
T38 Gavin Chalmers (Alford) 50 50

HANDICAP CLASS 2

1 David Lane (Deeside) 850 350 1200 
2 Dick Wright (Auchmill) 400 500 900 
3 Ally Sorley (Newmachar) 825 825 
4 Glen Cochrane (Kemnay) 475 325 800 
T5 Colin Duffus (Royal Aberdeen) 500 275 775 
T5 Stephen Ross (Hazlehead) 300 475 775 
7 Les Fowler (Royal Aberdeen) 525 175 700 
8 John Hosie (Hazlehead) 425 225 650
9 Mike Duncan (Murcar Links) 200 400 600 
10 Graham Watson (Deeside) 575 575 
11 David Nelson (Aboyne) 500 500 
T12 Alistair Clark (Newmachar) 0 450 450 
T12 Gary Homer (Aboyne) 450 450

T12 Raymond Brown (Deeside) 450 450 
T15 Graham Allan (Newmachar) 125 300 425 
T15 Graham Thom (Murcar Links) 300 125 425 
T15 Martin Foster (Cruden Bay) 0 425 425 
T15 Richard Ruddiman (Royal Aberdeen) 425 425 
19 Derek Cruickshank (Craibstone) 400 400
T20 Mike MacKay (Kemnay) 0 375 375 
T20 Richard Denning (Inverurie) 175T2 200 375 
T22 Charlie Cassie (Nigg Bay) 325 325 
T22 Norman Glass (Portlethen) 325 325 
24 Morty Denholm (Deeside) 300 300 
T25 David Cassie (Nigg Bay) 275 275 
T25 Jim Scott (Peterculter) 200 75 275 
T25 Mike Brown (Deeside) 125 150 275 
T28 Derek Townsley (Peterculter) 200 50 250 
T28 A Cobban (Portlethen) 150 100 250 
T28 Mark Lawrie (Kemnay) 0 250 250 
T28 Rod MacDonald (Peterculter) 250 250 
32 Gary Leslie (Deeside) 225 225 
33 Peter Cheyne (Northern) 175 175 
34 Tom Boyle (Portlethen) 50 50
35 Ben Lumsden Northern 0 25 25

 

ANDY DAVIDSON WINS FIFE CHAMPIONS' TITLE

 

Andy Davidson won the Fife Golf Association Champion of Champions' title at Leven today.

He had two rounds of 66 and his 132 aggregate won him the tournament by seven strokes.

LEADING TOTALS
132 A Davidson 66 66
139 A Hain 70 69
141 R Brown 70 71
142 S Scott 71 71
143 M De Vries 71 72
144 A Collier 72 72

 

NO PLACE LIKE HOME FOR NORTHERN COUNTIES

CUP WINNERS NAIRN 1

Nairn 1's winning line-up with the Northern Counties Cup. Left to right: Fraser Fotheringham, Jamie Lloyd, Andrew Burgess and Logan Gilbert. Picture by Hamish Simpson 

Nairn 1 made the most of home links advantage to beat Moray 1 by two holes in today's final of the Northern Counties Cup double foursomes match-play tournament.
The first Nairn pairing of Andrew Burgess and Logan Gillies were 5 up on Malcolm MacLeman and Graham Murray at the turn.
After losing the 11th,  Nairn won the 12th to maintain their five-hole superiority.
The Moray first pair made a spirited fightback over the final six holes, finally losing by two.
Moray 1's second pair were two up through 11 but a double bogey on 12 halved their advantage, and they finally finished all square.

NORTHERN COUNTIES CUP
Venue: Nairn Golf Club
SEMI-FINALS
Nairn 1 bt Elgin 1 by seven holes
Andrew Burgess, Logan Gillies 3, Dave Hector, Andrew Moir 0.
Fraser Fotheringham, Jamie Lloyd 4, Richard Bremner, Danny Edwards 0.
Moray 1 bt Banchory 2 by two holes
Malcolm MacLeman, Graham Murray 4, David Brand, Craig Lindsay 0
Kevin Thompson, Jordan Edwards 0, Blair Milne, Fergus Bisset 2. 

FINAL.
Nairn 1 bt Moray 1 by two holes
 Burgess, Gillies 2, MacLeman, Murray 0.
 Fotheringham, Lloyd 0, Thompson, Edwards 0.

WONDERFUL

WILLETT

WINS AT

WENTWORTH

Danny Willett won his second Rolex Series title as he held his nerve down the stretch to overcome Jon Rahm in a dramatic final round of the BMW PGA Championship.
The duo had been locked together since the end of round two at Wentworth Golf Club and went blow for blow over the weekend in an enthralling battle in front of bumper crowds at the European Tour's flagship event.
Willett jumped out into a two-shot lead with two early birdies on Sunday and while Rahm kept the pressure on during a round where the momentum was as changeable as the autumn weather, Willett signed for a closing 67 to get to 20 under and claim a three shot win.
South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout was then at 16 under after a 68, a shot clear of American duo Billy Horschel and Patrick Reed.
After missing the cut at this event last season, Willett was 462nd in the Official World Golf Ranking as his struggle for both form and fitness continued after his victory at the 2016 Masters Tournament.

A sensational maiden Rolex Series victory six months later at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai represented a stunning return to the top of the game and the Englishman is now back in the top 40 in the world.
The victory also makes him the fourth player to win multiple Rolex Series events alongside Rahm, Alex Noren and Justin Rose, and the eighth to win both the BMW PGA Championship and the Masters.
"It doesn't get much better does it?" he said. "An emotional week.
"It was a good battle out there today with myself more than anyone else and it was nice to come through the other side.
"(I've had) an undying want to get back there. I was willing to change whatever had to be changed and I think that's pretty hard to do, it's hard to jump full throttle into something that you're not quite sure if it's going to work out or not.

Willett got off to a brilliant start, holing a 25 footer on the second and then sending his approach to 12 feet at the third to jump into a two-shot lead.
Rahm made a two putt birdie on the par five next to trim the advantage but Willett put his second to four feet over the water at the eighth and led by two at the turn.
A stunning tee shot on the tenth from the leader piled the pressure on Rahm but the World Number Six holed from 18 feet and the lead stayed at two as Willett followed him in.


Willett was in huge trouble as he sent his tee shot on the 11th a long way right and then found heather followed by a bunker, and he had to hole a 40 footer for a remarkable bogey to stay ahead.
Rahm played a poor chip with his third shot on the par five next and surrendered a bogey but the lead was back to one on the 13th as he put an approach to six feet.
The two shot advantage was re-established on the 14th, however, as Rahm found sand off the tee and failed to get up and down.
Both players got up and down from the front of the green on the 17th for birdies and Willett claimed a two putt birdie on the last as Rahm saved par after putting his second in the water.

"I'm not going to lie, it hurts, it stings," said Rahm. "I played well all week and up until the 13th hole I was incapable of hitting an iron close to the pin and made a couple of stupid mistakes. I'm just going to have to figure out why it happened and that's it."
Bezuidenhout made five birdies and a single bogey in a 68, while a chip-in eagle on the fourth was the highlight of a second 65 of the week for Horschel, who was making his Wentworth debut having grown up watching this event.
Reed carded a bogey free 66 to sit alongside his countryman, two shots clear of Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello and Scot Richie Ramsay.
Home hero Justin Rose was then at 12 under, one clear of World Number Two Rory McIlroy and England's Andrew Johnston

 

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Read more at  

LINK TO SANDY PIPEY YOUNG MASTERS FIRST-ROUND SCORES

CLICK HERE

LEADING SCORES
68 Steven O'Hara (North Lanarkshire Leisure)
69 Euan Bowden (North Berwick)

 

 

 

Photos can be viewed by clicking on the following line:

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/ladieseuropeantour/

 

Sunday 22^nd September 2019

 

Nelly Korda wins Lacoste Ladies Open de France

 

Nelly Korda shot a four-under 67 to win the Lacoste Ladies Open de France for her first Ladies European Tour title.

Korda, who has won two titles on the LPGA Tour and one on the Symetra Tour, held a one-shot lead heading into the final round, but she carded six birdies and two bogeys on a blustery final day for a total of 15-under-par to win by eight at Golf du Medoc near Bordeaux.

“Conditions were tough, but I tried to stay level headed and I tried to keep my head down and make as many birdies as possible,” said the 21-year-old from Bradenton, Florida, whom, together with her sister Jessica, was the joint leading points’ scorer for the United States Solheim Cup team at Gleneagles last weekend.

“I was consistent and hit a lot of fairways and greens, so I gave myself a lot of opportunities and my putting was quite good. I played really well last week and unfortunately we didn’t get the win, but I’ve been playing really solidly. I played a KLPGA event a couple of weeks before Solheim and I finished second there, so I’m playing really solid and hopefully I can do it again.”

Korda was making her tournament debut and becomes the third American in four years to win the Lacoste Ladies Open de France, following on from Beth Allen and Cristie Kerr, who won at Chantaco in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Although the world no.10 was born in the United States, her parents are the retired professional tennis players Petr Korda and Regina Rajchrtová from the Czech Republic and she added: “It feels great to win in Europe and hopefully I’ll win one day in Czech.”

Céline Boutier finished second while her European Solheim Cup team-mate and last year’s tournament winner Caroline Hedwall tied for third with Joanna Klatten.

Korda had led by six at the tournament’s halfway stage, before Klatten shot up the leaderboard with a back nine of 29 in her third round. However, the home hope had a nightmare start and was eight over after her first six holes.

Korda made her first birdie on the third, but threw a lifeline to Boutier with a bogey on the seventh. She then birdied the ninth, 11^th and 12^th, bogeyed the 13^th and birdied 14 and 16 to gain a seven-stroke advantage. Boutier then failed to escape from a greenside bunker at her first attempt and made a bogey on the last hole and Korda tapped in for a par.

Boutier carded three birdies and three bogeys for a level par 71. She said: “I’m very excited about the result because right after Solheim, I didn’t know what to expect, physically and mentally after that week. Nelly played very well and it was going to be hard to catch her, especially in those conditions, so I’m happy with the result. I have to say, the back nine was a little tough.”

Having been eight-over-par for her first six holes, Klatten rallied with birdies on seven, nine, 14 and 16 and was happy with a five-over-par 76.

Her equal third-place prize cheque for €17,063 was double the amount she has earned from 12 events on the LPGA so far this year.

She said afterwards: “It was a very eventful round. I played solid but I had three disastrous holes, so if you take those out of the equation I played pretty solid and it was a third place finish, so I’m okay.”

European Solheim Cup player Azahara Muñoz, a two-time winner of the event, tied for fifth place with Laura Fuenfstueck, Julia Engstrom, Olivia Cowan and Manon De Roey, while Jessica Karlsson and Charlotte Thompson tied for tenth.

With a tie for 12^th place, Esther Henseleit moved to the top of the order of merit and now faces the prospect of becoming only the third player in history, following Dame Laura Davies and Carlota Ciganda, to win both the LET order of merit and the leading rookie award, in the same year.

 Scores here

 

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LET: ladieseuropeantour.com

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Instagram: @LETGolf

 

MATT CLARK CLEAR WINNER OF NE DISTRICT
ORDER OF MERIT

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Matt Clark (Meldrum House) won the North-east District's men's Order of Merit by a clear-cut margin of 39pts.
He shot an eight-under-par score of 62 (31-31) in the final event at the Meldrum House Hotel course today (Sunday).
Clark had nine birdies - at  the first, second, fourth, sixth, 11th, 12th, 13th, 16th and 17th - offset by bogeys at the.  ninth and 18th.
The tournament was sponsored by Thistle Kitchens and Bathrooms
Leading scores in the final round at Meldrum House Hotel's course were:
62 M Clark (Meldrum House)
66 F Milne (Banchory), A Dunton (McDonald Ellon)
67 D Morrison (Meldrum House)
69 B Innes (Murcar Links), M Halliday (Royal Aberdeen).
70 N Mitchell (Bon Accord), C Brechin (Portlethen)
71 R Manson (Kemnay)
72 C Gilbert (Cruden Bay)
73 R Murdoch (Portlethen),M Thomson (Kintore), J Calder (Newmachar).
75 G McDonald (Cruden Bay)
76 A Bews (Murcar Links), C Somers (Murcar Links)
77 G Esson (Portlethen), C Morrison (Inverurie), B Edmond (Bon Accord)
79 C Stewart (Murcar Links)

Top 10 points totals in the final order of merit table were:
156 M Clark (Meldrum House)
117 A Dunton (McDonald Ellon)
105 B Edmond (Bon Accord)
77 D Morrison (Meldrum House)
59 B Innes (Murcar Links)
55 M Halliday (Royal Aberdeen)
47 J Calder (Newmachar)
46 M Thomson (Royal Aberdeen)
44 J Godward (McDonald Ellon)
42 J Ross (Newmachar)

Nairn 1 v Moray 1 in Northern Counties

Cup Final at Nairn

This afternoon's Northern Counties Cup men's double foursomes final at Nairn Golf Club is being contested by the home favourites, Nairn 1, and Moray 1 from Lossiemouth.  
In this morning's first semi-final Nairn 1 were in total control against Elgin 1, winning by a commanding margin of seven holes. The second semi-final was a more closely fought affair, resulting in Moray 1 defeating Banchory 2 by two holes.

SEMI-FINALS
Nairn 1 bt Elgin1 by seven holes
Andrew Burgess, Logan Gillies 3, Dave Hector, Andrew Moir 0.
Fraser Fotheringham, Jamie Lloyd 4, Richard Bremner, Danny Edwards 0.
Moray 1 bt Banchory 2 by two holes
Malcolm MacLeman, Graham Murray 4, David Brand, Craig Lindsay 0
Kevin Thompson, Jordan Edward 0, Blair Milne, Fergus Bisset 2.

KRUGER ENDS SEVEN-YEAR TITLE DROUGHT BY WINNING THE 35TH SHINHAN DONGHAE OPEN

Jbe Kruger of South Africa  

Incheon, South Korea, September 22: South Africa’s Jbe Kruger ended his seven-year title drought on the Asian Tour by signing off with a six-under-par 65 to win The 35th Shinhan Donghae Open by two shots on Sunday.

Kruger has not won another Asian Tour title since his lone win in India in 2012. However, he showed he was ready to make his comeback to the winner’s circle with a commanding performance where he did not drop a single shot in his last 37 holes at the Bear’s Best Cheongna Golf Club.

Trailing overnight leader Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe by two shots, the South African made his move quickly with a birdie on the second hole, followed by another pair of birdies on holes seven and eight. 

After making another birdie on 11, Kruger knew he would have a chance of winning and charged ahead with three straight pars before pulling ahead with another set of birdies on 15 and 16 to eventually close with a winning total of 15-under-par 269. 

Korean-American Chan Kim matched Kruger’s final round efforts with another 65 of his own to finish in outright second place while Vincent could not hold on to his overnight lead, slipping to third place after posting a 71 at The 35th Shinhan Donghae Open which is being tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Korean PGA and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).

 

Did you know?

• With this win Jbe Kruger secures a two-year exemption on the Asian Tour after being ranked 95th on the Order of Merit the previous week.
• The South African did not make a bogey in his last 37 holes of the tournament, going back to the 17th hole on Friday.
• He had a Driving Distance average of 286 yards, Driving accuracy of 67.86%, Greens in Regulation (GIR) of 76.39 and Putts per GIR of 1.69.
• Kruger last won on the Asian Tour in the 2012 Avantha Masters in India, a tournament that was co-sanctioned by the European Tour. 
• Hailing from Northern Cape province in South Africa, he has also recorded four career wins on the Sunshine Tour. The latest title coming at the Sun Carnival City Challenge in 2017.
• The 33-year-old got his nickname Jbe from the initials in his full name, James Barry Kruger.
• Chan Kim is a former member of the Asian Tour. He topped the Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2013.
• He finished third on the JGTO money list in 2017, thanks to three wins.
• Kim came in second at the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open on the Japan Golf Tour in July where he earned his spot to The Open. 
• He is currently leading the driving distance stats category (320.34) on the JGTO.
• Scott Vincent, the only Zimbabwean member on Tour, has never finished outside the top-three in his last four outings at the Shinhan Donghae Open.
• He finished tied-second in 2016, tied-third in 2017, second last year and third this week.
• Vincent claimed his first international win at the Landic Challenge 7 held on the Japan Challenge Tour in June.
• He has not missed a single cut in eight starts so far this season.
• Vincent was crowned the Asian Tour Rookie of the Year in 2016 after ending his season in 28th place on the Order of Merit.

Players’ Quotes

Jbe Kruger (Rsa) Fourth round 65 (-6) Total 269 (-15)
"It all changed on the seventh hole when I made my second birdie and I could feel the momentum then. It was in the Lord's plan whether I would win again today. But as for me, I started to feel good and after the 11th hole, I had a good feeling it was my time again. I would say what went right today was probably my putting.

" I obviously didn't hit it as well as I could have but my chipping and my putting saved me multiple times and that's why I didn't make bogeys. I'm a professional and this is what I do for a living, so I will probably go where the money is, go there and play well.

" I have been a big fan of playing in Japan, but you can't really get into that Tour if you haven't gone to Q school. But now, things have changed. This course is a Jack Nicklaus-design golf course. It's the same as my own course, so the first time I came here, it literally looks identical.

"It has the same lines, the same kind of grass. Everything is exactly the same and it almost feels like a home away from home. So, you know I've heard someone say “horses for courses” and that's the truth, because you generally play well at the same courses all year long. 

Chan Kim (Usa) Fourth round 65 (-6) Total 271 (-13)
Yeah I played really solid and gave a good fight today. Obviously the you know, we were expecting some bad weather but it held up pretty well. It was pretty windy but it was definitely scorable conditions. It’s quite a bitter pill to swallow after finishing so close. I finished second and third quite a bit this year, so I'm just still waiting for that first win of the season. 

Scott Vincent (Zim) Fourth round 71 (Even) Total 273 (-11)
It was just tough, not a lot went my way and I didn’t play very well. You know, I left a few shots out there as well but when you look at the overall picture, I would have had to at least shoot four under today to match that score which is going to be tough any day out here. So, the way Jbe played it was going to be tough to beat either way. But obviously with my position going in, I would have liked to have a slightly different result.

"But hey, I still haven’t finished outside of the top-three, so still not bad. I learned a lot and got a lot to work on, but heading in the right direction. I put myself in contention to win a tournament, that’s important for me. You know this has been a big tournament for me in my career, where it’s kind of boosted the rest of the year, so I’m hoping that this is going to do the same and carry me forward in these next few events.

Leading Scores after round 4 of the The 35th Shinhan Donghae Open at the par 71, 7238yds Bear's Best Cheongna GC course (am - denotes amateur):

par 284 (4x71)
269 - Jbe Kruger (SAf) 69-67-68-65.
271 - Chan Kim (USA) 66-71-69-65.
273 - Scott Vincent (ZIM) 67-67-68-71.
274 - Sung Kang (S KOR) 69-70-65-70.
275 - Rikuya Hoshino (JPN) 74-67-66-68.
276 - Shugo Imahira (JPN) 66-70-68-72.
277 - Jeongwoo Ham (S KOR) 68-69-71-69, Matthew Griffin (Australia) 70-72-65-70.
278 - Shaun Norris (SAf) 74-69-67-68, Sanghee Lee (S KOR) 69-73-66-70, Hyungjoon Lee (S KOR) 70-66-70-72.

For full results, download here.