December 2005 Archive

Saturday 31st December 2005

Junior Orange Bowl winners, Angela Park (US) and Ben Parker (England)
Photo Courtesy and Copyright © Media-Oasis Golf Inc

SALLY FINISHES JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL ON A HIGH WITH A DOUBLE-EAGLE 70
Scottish Under-18 girls’ match-play champion Sally Watson, pictured right, recaptured her first-day leading form in the fourth and final round of the Junior Orange Bowl international golf championships at Biltmore Golf Club, Coral Gables in Florida. (Photo courtesy and copyright © Cal Carson Golf Agency)
The 14-year-old South Queensferry girl shot two eagles – at the 11th and 15th – in returning a two-under-par 70 for a 72-hole total of eight-over-par 296.
That gave her a joint ninth finish with Germany-based Florentyna Parker whose 18-year-old brother Ben held on to win the boys’ title by one shot with a 10-under-par total of 274.
Sally’s earlier rounds were 70, 75 and 81, her third round being badly affected by winds gusting over 20 mph.
Miss Watson, who won the Doral-Publix Junior Classic 14-15 girls’ title at Miami the previous week, bogeyed the short second and par-4 fifth in her final JOB final round but got on track for a good finish with a 2 at the 171yd eighth hole.
Out in one-over 36, Sally had a 3 at the par-5, 459yd 11th, followed by a bogey at the 12th and then another eagle 3 at the 424yd 15th  before parring the last three holes for a three-under-par inward half of 34.
The girls’ title was won by the United States’ top female junior player, Angela Park from Torrance, California. She closed with a 70 for nine-under-par total of 279. Angela won the Dixie women’s open amateur title in Florida last week.
Runner-up, seven shots adrift, was 16-year-old Kiran Matharu from Leeds.
Kiran closed with a 72 for 286 – three shots ahead of third-placed Isabelle Lendl, 14, one of two daughters of former tennis ace Ivan Lendl, who were playing in the event.
“I drove the ball all week but my iron play was not my best,” said Kiran. “I couldn’t make the putts when it mattered but Angela was the best player this week and I’m really pleased for her success.”
Florentyna Parker slipped to a final round of 77 for 296 and a share of ninth place with Sally Watson.
Ben Parker, picctured right, 18-year-old son of Tim Parker, the club pro at Gut Waldhof, near Hamburg, made the most of his fourth and last appearance in the Junior Orange Bowl – but, after spinning along with a clear lead from Day 1, he scraped home in the end by a single shot. (Photo Courtesy and Copyright © Tom Ward)
Ben, like his sister a member at Royal Birkdale Golf Club and entered from Southport, signed off with a two-over-par 73 for 274. His closest rivals,
Andres Echavarria (Colombia) and Peter Uihlein (US), returned 65 and 67 respectively for the last 18 holes so they made up a lot of shots on the long-time leader down the home straight.
Ben Parker, whose six-shot overnight advantage had been wiped out with two holes to play,  admitted to being nervous out on the course when he learned that Echavarria and Uihlein were significantly under par and making up ground on him at almost every hole.
“I got off to my worst start of the four days,” said Ben. “Then I put myself under a lot of pressure when I discovered the other guys were going low up ahead. When I bogeyed both the 14th and 16th, I told myself to start all over again and try and birdie the last two holes. If that was not good enough, then at least I’ll have done all I can.”
Master Parker responded to the pressure-cooker situation like a true champion in the making. He fired a massive drive down the par-5 17th. That left him only a six-iron approach for a two-putt birdie 4.
Ben just failed to hole a 20-footer on the final green. “I thought it was to tie. When I tapped in, I thought it meant I was in a play-off but the applause told me something else. That was when I realised I’d won,” he said.
Uihlein bogeyed the last to finish on 275, the same total as Echavarria whose better last round (65 to 67) earned him the runner-up prize.
Steven Capper from West Kirby tied for 14th place with scores of 67, 74, 72 and 71 for 284.
Ireland’s Alan Glynn scored 75, 72, 75 and 68 for a share of 25th place on 289.
Tom Sherreard from Maidstone, Kent returned scores of 69, 73, 76 and 72 for a 28th place tie on 290.
The boys’ event had  a field of 69 and there were 33 girl competitors.
42ND JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Biltmore Golf Club, Coral Gables, Florida.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Boys (Par 71)
274 Ben Parker (England) 63 67 71 73.
275 Andres Echavarria (Colombia) 67 71 72 65, Peter Ulhlein (US) 68 72 68 67.
277 Marius Thorp (Norway) 71 69 73 74, Mu Hu (China) 71 60 67 69, Rickie Fowler (US) 73 66 68 70.
279 Bobby Hudson (US) 65 69 76 69.
280 Luciano Giometti (Argentina) 70 68 74 68.
281 Sandro Piaget (Switzerland) 71 68 74 68.
283 Sean Einhaus (Germany) 68 71 76 68, Tommy Chung Hao Mou (Taiwan). 72 74 68 69, Kyle Stanley (US) 73 71 70 69, Andrea Pavin (Italy) 71 69 72 71.
284 Hugues Joannes (Belgium) 71 71 75 67, Jun Seok Lee (South Korea) 73 68 76 67, Steven Capper (England) 67 74 72 71.
285 Minghao Wang (US) 73 70 72 70, Federico Colombo (Italy) 68 68 73 76, David Chung (US) 71 73 73 69, Tristan Bierenbroodspot (Netherlands) 69 74 71 72.
287 Pedro Figueiriedo (Portugal) 71 73 71 72, Cedric Scotto (France) 73 71 69 74, Brian Kim (US) 70 70 73 74.
288  Carlos Goya (Argentina) 69 68 75 76.
289 Alan Glynn (Ireland) 75 72 74 68, Robin Wingardh (Sweden) 72 70 77 70, In-Hoi Hur (South Korea) 73 72 69 75.
290 Sihwan Kim (US) 69 74  75 72, Tom Sherreard (England) 69 73 76 72, Marc Dobias (Switzerland) 74 67 75 74.
GIRLS (Par 72)
279 Angela Park (US) 71 70 68 70.
286 Kiran Matharu (England) 71 71 72 72.
289 Isabelle Lendl (US) 74 70 71 74.
290 Michelle Grilli (US) 72 73 73 72.
291 Vicky Hurst (US) 74 75 71 71, Jennifer M Song (Korea) 72 70 75 74.
293 In-Kyung Kim (South Korea) 78 75 71 69.
294 Maude Aimie LeBlanc (Canada) 74 74 76 70.
296 Sally Watson (Scotland) 70 75 81 70, Florentyna Parker (England) 74 70 75 77.
287 Maria Jose Vial (Chile) 72 71 81 73, Benedicte Toumpsin (Belgium) 74 71 78 74.
300 Marika Lee Lendl (US) 78 72 75 75, Juliana Murcia ( Colombia) 77 75 72 76.

BANCHORY BOY WINS IN TEXAS
Banchory boy James Byrne has won the Barton Creek Junior Open golf tournament  in Texas (on Friday USA time). The Scotland Under-16 international team player shot rounds of 73, 70 and 71 for a one-over-par total of 214 over the Ben Crenshaw-designed course at Barton Creek Golf Club near Austin.
James won by one shot from American Jerrett Hamilton.
Byrne, winner of the North of England Under-16 boys’ open title in the autumn, played in three events on the Texas Junior Tour over the festive period.
He finished fourth in the Texax Junior Open and then fifth in the Cimarron Hills Junior Open in which he tied for second place in the 16 to 18 years’ category.
BARTON CREEK JUNIOR OPEN
Barton Creek Golf Club, Austin, Texas
Leading final totals
214 James Byrne (Scotland) 73 70 71.
215 Jerrett Hamilton 74 70 71.
216 Riley Pumphrey 77 70 69.
217 Josh Jones 73 75 69, Ricardo Rodriguez 72 74 71.

Friday 30th December 2005

BANCHORY BOY LEADS IN TEXAS
Banchory’s James Byrne leads the field by one stroke with one round to go in the Barton Creek Junior Open golf tournament at Barton Creek Golf Club, near Austin, Texas.
The Scotland Under-16 team international player has had rounds of 73 and 70 for a one-over-over par tally of 143.
His closest challengers are American teenagers Jerrett Hamilton and Ryan Haselden on 144.
James, winner of the North of England Under-16 boys’ open title earlier in the year, has had two top-five finishes on the Texas Junior Tour over the festive period.
BARTON CREEK JUNIOR OPEN
Barton Creek Golf Club, Austin, Texas
Leading second-round totals (Par 71)
143 James Byrne (Sco) 73 70.
144 Jerrett Hamilton 74 70, Ryan Haselden 74 70.
145 Ricardo Salinas 74 71.

SALLY BLOWN OFF COURSE IN THIRD ROUND OF JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL
Scottish Under-18 girls’ match-play champion Sally Watson was blown off course in the third round of the Junior Orange Bowl international golf championships at Biltmore Golf Club, Coral Gables in Florida.
The 14-year-old from South Queensferry, the first-round leader, perhaps lacked the experience to cope with a strong wind gusting over 20 miles per hour. A score of nine-over-par 81 – after earlier rounds of 70 and 75 – dropped her down the leaderboard to 16th place on 226.
With one round to go, Miss Watson, a member at Elie & Earlsferry Golf Club, is 17 shots behind the clear-cut leader, Angela Park from Torrance, California, the top-ranked female junior amateur golfer in the United States.
Angela, winner of the Dixie women’s open amateur championship elsewhere in Forida last week and a semi-finalist in the US women’s amateur championship, was perfectly at ease in the conditions which pushed many scores up to the high 70s and 80s.
In contrast, Miss Park shot a four-under-par 68 for a three-round total of seven-under 209. The Brazilian-born daughter of Korean parents has a commanding five-shot lead from Kiran Matharu, a 16-year-old from Leeds. Kiran had a 72 for 214.
England’s Ben Parker, 18-year-old son of a Germany-based club professional, has one hand on the boys’ trophy. He consolidated his position at the head of the field with a even-par 71 off the boys’ tees for a 12-under-par tally of 201. He leads by six shots. 
Ben, like his sister Florentyna who is lying sixth in the girls’ championship, is based in Germany but entered from Southport. They are both members of Royal Birkdale Golf Club.
Master Parker knows the Biltmore course almost like a local. This is the fourth time he has played in the Junior Orange Bowl championships. It has helped him make a good start every day. The third round followed his usual pattern and he was three under par after only four holes. 
42ND JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Biltmore Golf Club, Coral Gables, Florida.
Leading third-round totals
GIRLS (Par 72)
209 Angela Park (US) 71 70 68.
214 Kiran Matharu (Eng) 71 71 72.
215 Isabelle Lendl (US) 74 70 71.
217 Jennifer Song (Kor) 72 70 75.
218 Michelle Grilli (US) 72 73 73.
219 Florentyna Parker (Eng) 74 70 75.
220 Vicky Hurst (US) 74 75 71.
222 Fanny Eineren (Swe) 76 74 72.
223 Benedicte Toumpsin (Bel) 74 71 78.
224 In-Kyung Kim (SKor) 78 75 71, Juliana Murcia (Col) 77 75 72, Maude Aimie LeBlanc (Can) 74 74 75, Maria Jose Vial (Chile) 78 72 75.
225 Marika Lee Lendl US) 78 72 75, Tzu-Chi Lin (Tai) 74 73 78.
226 Sally Watson (Sco) 70 75 81.
BOYS (Par 71)
201 Ben Parker (Eng) 63 67 71.
207 Rickie Fowler (US) 73 66 68.
208 Mu Hu (China)  71 70 67, Peter Uihlein (US) 68 72 68.
209 Federico Colombo (Ita) 68 68 73.
210 Andres Echavarria (Col) 67 72 71, Bobby Hudson (US) 65 69 76.
212 Andrea Pavin (Ita) 71 69 72, Luciano Giometti (Arg) 70 68 74, Carlos Goya (Arg) 69 68 75.
213 Steven Capper (Eng) 67 74 72, Cedric Scotto (Fra) 73 71 69, Brian Kim (US) 70 70 73
Other score:
221 Alan Glynn (Ire) 75 72 74.

Thursday 29th December 2005

SALLY WATSON WON DORAL-PUBLIX AGE-GROUP TITLE AT MIAMI
It’s taken a little while for the news to filter through from Florida but Sally Watson won the girls’ 14-15 years age group at the Doral-Publix Junior Classic tournament at Doral Golf Resort, Miami in the week before Christmas.
Sally, who will not be 15 until next July, had rounds of 74, 69 and 70 for a 54-hole total of 213. She won by three shots from Audrey Goumard (69-78-69).
Sixteen-year-old Florentyna Parker, daughter of an English club pro based near Hamburg, won the girls’ 16-18 years’ title at the same prestigious tournament with rounds of 72, 70 and 77 for 219.
Also on the same mark were another England girls’ international, Kiran Matharu from Leeds (73-71-75) and Victoria Tomko (76-68-75), a pupil at David Leadbetter’s Golf Academy at Bradenton, Florida.
Florentyna won the play-off.
Sally Watson’s older sister Rebecca tied for 15th place with 77, 76 and 79 for 232.
Florentyna Parker’s brother Ben won a play-off for second place in the 16-18 years’ boys championship at the Doral-Publix Junior Classic. Ben scored 68, 74 and 71 for 213 – one shot behind title-winner Andres Echavarria (68-72-72).
Stephan Gross (Germany) had the same total as Ben Parker with rounds of 72, 69 and 72, but lost the play-off for second place.

SALLY SLIPS OUT OF JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL LEAD IN FLORIDA
Scottish girls champion Sally Watson, picured right, from South Queensferry, the overnight leader, has slipped back into a share of seventh place at the halfway stage of the Junior Orange Bowl golf championships at Biltmore Golf Club, Coral Gables in Florida.
The 14-year-old member of Elie & Earlsferry Golf Club shot a second-round 75 – three over par – for a 36-hole tally of one-over 145.
The new leader in the race for the prestigious girls’ title is California’s Angela Park, winner of the Dixie women’s amateur championship elsewhere in Florida last week.
Born in Brazil of Korean parents, Angela followed up her opening round of 71 with a 70 for three-under 141 and a one-stroke lead from England’s Kiran Matharu and Jennifer Song from Korea. Kiran, from Leeds, has returned a pair of 71s so far.
Germany-based English teenager Ben Parker, who is entered from Southport, increased his first-round lead to four shots with a four-under- 67 for a brilliant 36-hole tally of 12-under 130.
Ben, whose father is a pro at a golf club near Hamburg, won the European Young Masters’ boy title last year. He birdied the 15th, 16th and 18th  to close his second round in style after faltering with three putts at the 12th and also bogeying the short 14th.
Ben’s sister Florentyna Parker, is lying joint fifth in the girls’ championship with scores of 74 and 70 for 144.
42ND JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL INTERNATIONAL GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Biltmore Golf Club, Coral Gables, Florida.
Leading second-round totals
GIRLS (Par 72)
141 Angela Park (US) 71 70.
142 Jennifer Song (South Korea) 72 70, Kiran Matharu (Leeds) 71 71.
143 Maria Jose Vial (Chile) 72 71.
144 Florentyna Parker (Southport) 74 70, Isabelle Lendl (US) 74 70.
145 Benedicte Toumpsin (Belgium) 74 71, Michelle Gali (US) 72 73, Sally Watson (Scotland) 70 75.
147 Katia Meyer (Paraguay) 74 73, Tzu Chi Lin (Taiwan) 74 73.
148 Therese Koelbaek (Denmark) 75 73, Maude Aimie LeBlanc (Canada) 74 74.
149 Vicky Hurst (US) 74 75.
150 Marika Lee Lendl (US) 78 72, Fanny Eineren  (Sweden) 76 74.
151 Alejandra Llaneza (Mexico) 74 77.
152 Maria Garcia Aush (Uruguay) 78 74, Katie Detlefsen (US) 76 76, Joanne Lee (US) 74 78.
153 Tiffany Lua (US) 74 79, Agostha Parmigiani (Argentina) 79 74, In-Kyung Kim (South Korea) 78 75.
154 Kiara Hayashida (Peru) 79 75, Cecilia Kleinert (Brazil) 78 76, Audrey Goumard (France) 72 82.
BOYS (Par 71)
130 Ben Parker (England) 63 67.
134 Bobby Hudson (US) 65 69.
136 Federico (Italy) 68 68.
137 Carlos Goya (Argentina) 69 68.
138 Luciano Giometti (Argentina) 70 68.
139 Rickie Fowler (US) 73 66, Sandro Piaget (Switzerland) 71 68, Andres Echavrria (Columbia) 67 72.
140 Andrea Pavin (Italy) 71 69, Marius Thorp (Norway) 71 689, Brian Kim (US) 70 70, Peter Uihlein (US) 68 72.
141 Marc Dobias (Switzerland) 74 67, Jun Seok Lee (South Korea) 73 68, Mu Hu (China) 71 70, Steven Capper (England) 67 74.
142 Brent Blaum (US) 72 70, Hugues Joannes (Belgium) 71 71, Stephan Gross (Germany) 70 72, Ryan Thomas (US) 70 72, Tom Sherreard (England) 69 73.
143 Minghao Wang (US) 73 70, Jordan Lewis (US) 72 71, Tristan Bierenbroodspot (Netherlands) 69 74, Sihwan Kim (US) 69 74.
144 Jason Kang (US) 74 70, Cedric Scotto (France) 73 71, Kyle Stanley (US) 73 71, David Chung (US) 71 73, Pedro Figueiriedo (Portugal) 71 73.
Other score:
147 Alan Glynn (Ireland) 75 72.

BANCHORY BOY JOINT FOURTH IN TEXAS
Banchory teenager James Byrne was lying joint fourth after a first-round score of two-over-par 73 in the Barton Creek Junior Open at Barton Creek Golf Club near Austin, Texas (WED, USA TIME).
James, a Scotland Under-16 international team member and winner of the North of England Under-16 open last autumn, is three shots behind leader Curtis Seideits.
It is the third event on the Texas Junior Tour in which Byrne has played during his school holidays over the festive period. He finished in the leading five in both the Texas Junior Open and the Cimarron Hills Junior Open.
TEXAS JUNIOR TOUR – Barton Creek Open – Leading first round scores (Par 71)
70 Curtis Seideits.
72 Michael McKinley, Ricardo Rodriguez.
73 James Byrne (Scotland), Jordan Frye, William Johnson, Josh Jones.

Wednesday 28th December 2005

SALLY AND BEN PUT UK IN POLE POSITIONS IN FLORIDA
Sally Watson, pictured right, from South Queensferry and England’s Ben Parker scored a double whammy for the United Kingdom on the first day of the Junior Orange Bowl international golf championships at Biltmore Golf Club, Coral Gables in Florida.
Sally, the 14-year-old holder of the Scottish Under-18 girls’ match-play title, leads the girls’ field with a two-under-par round of 70.
Professional’s son Ben heads the boys’ leaderboard with a magnificent round of eight-under-par 63.
For Miss Watson, a member at Elie & Earlsferry Golf Club, Fife, there were no immediate signs of jubilation after handing in her scorecard. Instead she was disappointed that she had “left at least a couple of shots out on the course.”
“I didn’t play the two par-5s at all well and I took 6 at the 15th, which is really almost like giving up two shots. However, I did play well otherwise and hit lots of good shots, so I’m feeling positive after the opening round,” said Sally who was watched by her dad, Edinburgh businessman, Graham Watson.
Sally leads by one stroke from Kiran Matharu from Leeds and Angela Park from California, winner last week of the Dixie women’s amateur open championship.
Ben Parker’s sister Florentyna had a 74.
Former world tennis ace Ivan Lendl, who lives in the United States,  has two of his five daughters in the field.
Isabelle had a 74 and Marika Lee a 78.
The Parkers’ father, Ben, is club professional at Gut Waldhof Golf Club near Hamburg. Ben and Florentyna live in Germany although they are entered from Southport.
Ben was four under par after only five holes even though, in his own estimation, he “started scrappily.”
“I missed the green at the opening par-5 hole with an iron approach and then I missed the green at the par-3 second,” said Master Parker. “Somehow, even after a poor tee shot at the third, I managed to get to four under par after five holes. Later on I birdied the ninth to be out in five under par.
“It was the 10th hole before I hit my first really good drive and holed another birdie putt from about 12 feet. That really got my confidence going.”
Ben Parker had only 23 putts in his score of 63. He leads by two shots from Bobby Hudson from Memphis, Tennessee. Hudson had to come through a qualifying round last week to play in the international event.
Stephen Capper from West Kirby on the Wirral, is lying joint third on 67.
Tom Sherreard from Maidstone, Kent is joint ninth on 69,
Ireland’s Alan Glynn shot a 75.
JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Biltmore Golf Club, Coral Gables, Florida.
Leading first-round scores
BOYS (Par 71)
63 Ben Parker (Southport).
65 Bobby Hudson (US).
67 Andres Echavarria (Columbia), Steven Capper (West Kirby).
68 Juan Pablo Solis (Mexico), Federico Colombo (Italy), Peter Uihlein (US), Sean Einhaus (Geremany).
69 Tristan Bierenbroodspot (Netherlands), Tom Sherreard (Maidstone), Carlos Goya (Argentina), Sihwan Kim (USA).
70 Stephan Gross (Germany), Ryan Thomas (US), Jonathon Widmer (Grand Cayman), Juan Carlos Perello (Dominican Rep), Brian Kim (US), Luciano Giometti (Argentina).
Other score:
75 Alan Glynn (Ireland).
GIRLS (Par 72)
70 Sally Watson (South Queensferry).
71 Kiran Matharu (Leeds), Angela Park (US).
72 Audrey Goumard (France), Michelle Grilli (US), Maria Jose Vial (Chile), Jennifer Song (South Korea).
74 Tzu-hi Lin (China), Tiffany Lua (US), Joanne Lee (US), Isabelle Lendl (US), Florentyna Parker (Southport), Benedicte Toumpsin (Belgium), Alejandra Llaneza (Mexico), Katia Meyer (Paraguay), Maude Aimie LeBlanc (Canada).

Tuesday 27th December 2005

Press Release
Junior Orange Bowl International Championships
27 – 30 December 2005
CORAL GABLES, Florida.
Golf stars of the future are gathered at the City of Coral Gables’ Biltmore Golf Course for the 42nd edition of Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championships which get under way today (Tuesday).
120 of the best girls and boys from home and abroad, with a strong emphasis on international representation, will participate in an event that in past years has featured such future stars as Tiger Woods, Nick Price, Sergio Garcia, Marc Calcavecchia, Annika Sorenstam, Grace Park, Paula Creamer and Tracy Kerdyk.
Talent in abundance this week features defending champion Texan Christopher Ward, 18, handicap +2.4. He will face stiff competition from such gifted competitors as Bobby Hudson of Memphis, Tenn., who blasted his way into the event as winner of a local qualifying event with a magnificent 8-under par 63.
Other notables include Italy’s Andrea Pavan, 16, handicap +3.4, 17-year old Norway’s Marius Thorp rated +3.6, Washington’s Kyle Stanley, 17, national handicap +3.2, and Carlos Goya, 17 handicapped +3.0 in Argentina.
There is no lack of talent in the girls’ division either: 16-year old Kiran Matharu from Leeds, England arrives with a +3.4 index and another 16-year old, Italy’s Marianna Causin, plays to +2.0.
Scottish Under-18 girls’ match-play champion Sally Watson,pictured right, from South Queensferry, a member at Elie & Earlsferry Golf Club in Fife, is the standard-bearer for Scotland at the tender age of 14.
The Scottish Golf Union has maintained its policy of not sending a boy champion.
The USA’s hopes of keeping the girls’ championship at home may lie with Michelle Grilli from Maryland, a +2.0 index player, or possibly Vicky Hurst from Melbourne, Fl., whose index is +1.6.
But there are no favorites yet. The Biltmore course, a Donald Ross design recently renovated and in perfect condition, offers all-comers the opportunity to shine, and most importantly participate in an event designed to develop and foster golfing friendships across the globe.

Monday 26th December 2005

WELSH TEENAGER SIGNS UP TO JOIN LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
Ladies Golf Union Elite Squad member Breanne Loucks from Wrexham has signed a Letter of Intent to join Louisiana State University next autumn.
Breanne, who is 17, has played for Wales at full women’s international level and is the North Wales girls’ champion.
She was runner-up in the Welsh girls’ championship in 2003 and 2004 and also in the Scottish Under-16 girls’ open championship of 2003.
There are no British players currently on the Louisiana State University women’s golf roster. The last one was Heather Stirling from Bridge of Allan, who went on to become Scottish women’s amateur champion and a Curtis Cup player in 2002.
Other British and Irish teenagers who have signed Letters of Intent to join US colleges after next summer are:
Jodi Ewart (Catterick) for New Mexico University; Danielle McVeigh (Kilkeel, Northern Ireland) for Texas A & M; Seamus Power (Waterford) & Niall Kearney (Dublin), both for East Tennessee State, and Kieren Lovelock (Surrey) for Xavier University, Cincinnati.
 

Hope you all had a super Christmas....
We did with our new Grandson... here is Harry one month old today

Saturday 24th December 2005

CALIFORNIA TEENAGER WINS 75TH DIXIE WOMEN’S AMATEUR TITLE
They come from far and wide across the United States to play in the annual Dixie amateur golf championships – and Angela Park, winner of the 75th staging of the women’s tournament this week, had travelled farther than most.
Teenager Angela was born in Brazil of Korean parents but now lives at Torrance, California. Angela is currently ranked No 6 in the list of top United States female amateurs.
Angela turned on her class with a final round of 66 – including an outward half of five-under-par 30 - in the 72-hole event to post a total of eight-under-par 276 and win, going away, by eight shots from another Torrance resident, Jane Rah.
This was Miss Park’s second Dixie amateur championship. In 2003, she won by one shot from a certain Paula Creamer who has gone on to make more golfing headlines this year than her conqueror.
Jane Rah also of Torrance, California finished second at even Par 284. Isablle Lendl of Bradenton, Florida was third with a 2 over Par 286.
Former tennis ace Ivan Lendl’s two daughters, Isabelle and Marika, both achieved top 15 finishes.
Ivan, who has five daughters in all, has an 800-acre estate at Goshen, Massachusetts, but Isabelle (13) and Marika (15) are students at David Leadbetter’s Golf Academy in Bradenton, Florida. [Pictured left is Ivan Lendl walking with his daughter Marika]
Isabelle finished a creditable third on 286 while Marika tied for 14th place on 304. [Isabelle Lendl is pictured below right]
The leading European was Belgium’s Benedicte Toumsin from Brussels. She came 13th on 303.
The first two rounds were played over the Cypress and Oaks courses at Palm-Aire Country Club, Pompano Beach in Florida. The third and fourth rounds were held over the Oaks course.
Colt Knost from Aubrey, Texas won the 75th Dixie men’s amateur title, matching Angela Park’s eight-under-par total of 276. He had three shots to spare from Jonathan Jackson, Chapel Hill in North Carolina.
LEADING TOTALS
WOMEN
276 Angela Park (Torrance, California) 68 70 72 66.
284 Jane Rah (Torrance, California) 70 74 67 73.
286 Isabelle Lendl (Bradenton, Florida) 76 69 70 75.
287 Jennie Lee (Henderson, Nevada) 69 76 70 72.
290 Alison Walshe (Westford, Montana) 71 75 73 71.
Other totals:
303 Benedicte Toumpsin (Brussels, Belgium) 77 75 76 75.
304 Marika Lendl (Bradenton, Florida) 75 75 76 78.
MEN
276 Colt Knost (Aubrey, Texas) 68 66 70 72.
279 Jonathan Jackson (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) 71 64 71 73.
280 James Vargas (Miami, Florida) 69 65 70 76, Isban Cole (Southbend, Indiana) 69 71 72 68, Peter Uihlien (Bradenton, Florida) 72 64 72 72 (Vargas won play-off for third place).

Friday 23rd December 2005

FLORIDA IN JANUARY FOR WELL-HEELED (AND TALENTED) LADY AMATEUR GOLFERS
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Florida is the place to go for well-heeled lady amateur golfers looking for some competitive action in the month of January. Having a single-figure handicap is also desirable.
The Orange Blossom Tour has been on the go now for several years. It consists of four events at the same Florida venues every year. The 2006 dates are:
January 4 to 7: Harder Hall Women’s Invitational at Harder Hall Country Club, Sebring.
January 11 to 14: South Atlantic Ladies Amateur Championship at Oceanside Country Club, Ormond Beach.
January 16 to 21: Doherty/Jones Challenge Cup at Coral Ridge Country Club, Fort Lauderdale.
January 23 to 27: Women’s International Four-ball at Orangebrook Country Club, Hollywood (Florida).
Even if you could afford the $225 entry fee for the tee-off event, the Harder Hall Invitational, it’s too late to get a place in the field.
Carol Semple Thompson, the record-setting US Curtis Cup player who is chairman of the organising committee, says: “We’ve been oversubscribed for the Harder Hall Invitational for some time but we do have two successful entries from Great Britain & Ireland – Vicki Thomas from Wales and Sarah Carty from Ireland.
Carmarthen Golf Club member Vicki has almost certainly played in this tournament in the past during the days when the Ladies Golf Union used to send their Elite Squad to play in some events on the month-long Orange Blossom Tour.
Mrs Thomas has been a Welsh women’s amateur championship finalist 11 times (won eight, lost three) eight times and a Curtis Cup player in six consecutive matches between 1982 and 1992. Now past her 50th birthday, Vicki chalked up her first Welsh senior women’s amateur title in May, 2006.
Sarah Carty is at the opposite end of her career. A member of The Island Golf Club, Dublin, Sarah is 19 years old and plays off six. She represented Leinster in the Under-18 girls’ inter-provincial matches in 2004.
She said in an excusive interview " I am going to play in all four tournaments on the Orange Blossom Tour in Florida and I'm really looking forward to it.
"I finished school in June and decided to take a year out to play golf to try and get my handicap lower.
When I was discussing it with my coach, he sugggested that I play the Orange Blossom Tour to gain some experience.
"Also, as the weather isn't very good here in Ireland in January, it will be nice to be playing in the sunshine!"
Ireland’s Marian Riordan was a winner on the Orange Blossom Tour in January 2005. She and an American player teamed up to win the International four-ball tournament which rings down the curtain on the short, sharp women’s amateur circuit in Florida.
In 1991, Catriona Matthew (North Berwick), as a member of the LGU Elite Squad, won the Doherty/Jones Challenge Cup tournament.
Earlier this week the University of Stirling announced that it was sending six of its female golf scholarship students – Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle), Dawn Dewar (Monifieth), Clare-Marie Carlton (Fereneze), Olivia Briggs (Delamere Forest), Alex Marshall (Burghley Park) and Emma Tipping (Sandiway). The first three are Scots, the second three were born in England – to play in two of next month’s events.
They will play in the Doherty/Jones Challenge Cup and the International four-ball tournament.
Competing on the Orange Blossom Tour is an expensive business for players from this side of the Atlantic.
“If you had entered all four events this year, the combined entry fee would have $850,” said Carol Semple Thompson who will captain the US team in the 2006 Curtis Cup match at Bandon Dunes, Oregon.
“Although there is some private housing available at the Orange Blossom Tour venues, you would have to reckon on hotel costs of around £70 to $100 a night. Then you would need to think about car rental to get around the venues.”
Then, of course, there is the cost of the return flight to Florida.
For a good-class lady amateur golfer in Europe, with little or no prospect of any kind of golf – tournament play or practice – during the month of January at home, the Orange Blossom Tour is an attractive proposition. All they need is a fistful of dollars.
++ If any low-handicap female amateur golfer reading this wants to enter any or all  three Florida tournaments after the Harder Hall Invitational, the appropriate E-mail contacts are: South Atlantic Amateur – mjkulz@aol.com, Doherty/Jones Challenge Cup – jj.sehlke@coralridgecc.com and the Women’s International Four-ball – brgilchrist@aol.com.

JAMES BYRNE JOINT FIFTH IN TEXAS
Banchory’s James Byrne finished joint fifth overall in the Cimarron Hills Country Club Junior Open at Georgetown, Texas. He had rounds of 80 and 78 for a total of 158 – six more than two-shot winner Michael Smith who had a pair of 76s for 152 over the Jack Nicklaus-designed course.
Byrne, a Scotland Under-16 international team player, figured in a triple tie for second place in the 16 to 18 years’ boys’ category which was also won by Michael Smith.
The two-day tournament was played in temperatures in the low 60s.
James finished fourth in the Texas Junior Open earlier in the week.
CIMARRON HILLS CC JUNIOR OPEN
Georgetown, Texas.
Leading totals (Par 72):
BOYS
152 Michael Smith 76 76.
154 Brenden Redfern 78 76.
157 Chase Anderson 81 76, Hayden Stephens 81 76.
158 James Byrne (Sco) 80 78, Scott Roudebush 75 83.
GIRLS
Kathryn Olivier 87 82.
171 Mei Liu 90 81, Brianna Coopman 91 80.
173 Courtney Peeler 89 84

Thursday 22nd December 2005

BYRNE FIVE SHOTS OFF TEXAS PACE
Banchory’s James Byrne, fourth in the Texas Junior Open earlier in the week, made a disappointing start to the Cimarron Hills Country Club Junior Open at Georgetown, Texas.
The Scotland Under-16 international, who won the North of England Under-16 open title in the autumn, had an eight-over-par round of 80 over the Jack Nicklaus-designed course.
Byrne will start the second and last round in joint sixth place, five shots behind joint leaders Bryce McCarthy and Scott Roudebush.
LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES
75 Bryce McCarthy, Scott Roudebush.
76 Michael Smith.
78 Daniel Wood.
79 Taylor Knott.
80 James Byrne, Thomas Ball.

FROM UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS WOMEN'S GOLF WEBSITE
Dawn-Marie Conaty joins Lady Tiger programme in spring  
University of Memphis women's golf coach Jenny Bruun has announced the transfer of Dawn-Marie Conaty to the Lady Tiger programme from North Carolina State University.
A sophomore from Dublin, Ireland, Conaty comes to Memphis after spending a year in the Wolfpack program. Bruun said Conaty will make an impact right away with the Lady Tigers in their spring competition that begins the end of February.
"I am really looking forward to Dawn-Marie arriving in Memphis and becoming a part of our team," Bruun said. "Her positive attitude is contagious and she is one of those people everyone likes to be around. She is coming in with a great deal of national experience and a year of college experience playing in one of the elite conferences. Dawn-Marie will immediately provide us with more depth this spring."
At NC State, Conaty saw action in all five JV events. Her best tournament came at the Patsy Rendleman Invitational where she finished three-over with rounds of 76, 71 to tie for second. Conaty also tied for ninth at the Lady Falcon and 18th at the Coca-Cola Terrier Intercollegiate.
Conaty was a member of the Ireland Ladies Squad and a member of the Ireland Under-18 team from 2001-2004. In 2001, she won the Irish U18 Closed Championship as a 15-year-old. In 2003, Conaty won the News of the World U18 event. She graduated from the Institute of Education in 2004.
The Lady Tigers also recently released their 2006 spring schedule. Memphis will play its first tournament in Miami, Fla., at the Florida International Women's Golf Championship from Feb. 21-22. The Lady Tigers will then compete in the UNLV Spring Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev., the John Kirk/Lady Panther Intercollegiate hosted by Georgia State in Stockbridge, Ga. And the Lady Eagle Invitational in Hattiesburg, Miss. The Conference USA Championship will be hosted by East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., from April 17-19.
A complete 2005-06 Memphis women's golf schedule with dates and location can be found at www.GoTigersGo.com.

CHRISTMAS CHEER FOR SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
The Scottish Golf Union has received an award of £346,082 to help develop the sport at all levels.
The cash boost, announced by sports minister Patricia Ferguson, includes  £198,000 from the sportscotland lottery fund and £148,082 of sportscotland exchequer funding from the Scottish Executive.
The clubgolf programme, a scheme aimed at introducing every child in Scotland to the game of golf by the age of nine, will receive £173,082
Leading Scottish male amateur golfers, include Lloyd Saltman (Craigielaw), who won Walker Cup honours, the Open Silver Medal, the St Andrews Links Trophy and the Brabazon Trophy, will benefit from a £61,000 investment in athlete support programmes.
Around £112,000 of the award will go towards the development of coaching at all levels across the country.
"This sportscotland funding will help ensure that the current generation of golfers have the right support and that the next generation have access to the coaching and equipment they need to become the best," said Patricia Ferguson.
Scottish Golf Union chief executive Hamish Grey, pictured right, commented:
"2005 has been an outstanding year for amateur golf in Scotland and we are beginning to see real returns from our investment in encouraging young people to take up golf."

Wednesday 21st December 2005

STIRLING UNIVERSITY GOLFING LASSES TO PLAY ON FLORIDA'S ORANGE BLOSSOM TOUR 
The University of Stirling is to send its six best female golfing students  to Florida next month to compete in two events on the prestigious Orange Blossom Tour.
Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle), Dawn Dewar (Monifieth), Clare-Marie Carlton (Fereneze) and English-born Alex Marshall, Olivia Briggs and Emma Tipping, will make the trip.
The players will spend almost three weeks in Florida preparing for and competing in the Jones/Doherty Amateur Championship at Coral Ridge Country Club and the Women’s International four-ball event hosted by Orangebrook Country Club.
It is almost 14 years since Catriona Matthew, then a Stirling University golf scholarship student and now the most successful Scottish player ever to play on the LPGA Tour, made the same trip and brought home the Jones/Doherty Cup.
Team captain Olivia Briggs, pictured right, a full England international player, commented:
‘The players are extremely thankful for the support offered by the University of Stirling to fund this trip. It is an excellent opportunity to play competitive golf during the winter period and test our skills against the best that America has to offer. In addition, it is an excellent lifetime experience that only Stirling University could offer to its students."
The Orange Blossom Tour consists of four events staged at high quality venues throughout Florida during the month of January. The tour has attracted a number of famous players in the past. Matthew’s name is engraved on the Doherty/Jones Cup alongside a number of other famous winners including American favourite Patty Berg, Nancy Rubin, Leslie Shannon, Michelle McGann, Vicki Goetze and Natalie Gulbis.
The Stirling players are supported at the University of Stirling through its R&A approved International Golf Scholarship Programme. Over the past 25 years, more than 150 golf scholarships have been awarded with more than 85 players going on to gain international honours.
Previous scholarship holders include recent Walker Cup player Richard Ramsay, former European Tour professional Gordom Sherry, Solheim Cup player Maria Hjorth and European Ladies Tour professional Lyn Kenny.
Colin Dalgleish, appointed this week as Great Britain & Ireland's team captain  for the 2007 Walker Cup, was the first student to gain a golf scholarship at Stirling University back in 1981.

SCOTLAND SELECTORS KEEP FAITH WITH THIS YEAR’S TEAM CAPTAINS IN 2006
The Scottish Ladies Golfing Association selection committee are pinning their faith in this year’s team captains to turn around Scotland’s international fortunes in 2006.
It is more than seven years since a Scotland team won a title at any age level. That was the side who lifted the Under-18 girls’ home internationals’ crown at Mullingar in 1998.
“After coming so close to success at various levels in 2005, the selectors decided to stay with the same captains for 2006,” said SLGA chairman Margaret Rodgers.
That means that Fiona Anderson (Formby Ladies), Pam Gordon (Inverness), Jenny Jenkins (Ralston) and Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) will reprise the roles they played earlier this year.
Former Scottish champion Fiona Anderson, pictured right, who played out of Blairgowrie when she won the title at Nairn in 1987 and reached the final on three other occasions, has been given the task of leading a Scotland team to victory in the women’s home internationals at Frilford Heath, Oxfordshire from September 13-15.
Scotland have not been women’s home champions since they won the title back to back in 1990 and 1991 at Hunstanton and then Aberdovey. It will be Lancashire-based Fiona’s third time in a row as captain.
" I was again thrilled and delighted and also amazed to be asked for a third time. I intend again to go and watch my prospective team members competing under pressure as often as I can,” said Miss Anderson.
“I fully appreciate many other captains don't have the luxury of free time available to me. I will, of course, be playing a wee bit of golf myself so I will have to choose my venues wisely.
“I strongly believe from the players available for the Scotland team in 2006 they are completely capable of beating all the other home countries. Making the players realise their full potential while competing is the key to our success.
“My team could be younger than ever but age is no barrier. I need players who believe they can win by themselves and to be sporting about their victories."
The senior women’s home internationals for the over-50s were introduced only in 2003 and England have been champions on each occasion. Pam Gordon from Inverness, pictured left, who has skippered eight Scotland teams at various age levels, said:
“I'm delighted to have been asked to captain the Scotland team in the senior home internationals at Hamilton in October (3 to 5). It is a great honour and privilege.
“This will be my ninth time as a Scottish team captain and I'm sure that with plenty of home support the team will win the trophy for Scotland. The senior team is something really special as some of the players have never played international golf before whereas some are renewing friendships from as far back as schooldays.
“On the course they are so competitive and play truly from the heart. Hosting the senior home internationals at Hamilton provides a wonderful opportunity for us all.”
Jenny Jenkins (Ralston), pictured right, Scottish girls’ match-play champion in 1988, will be on double international duty next year. First she leads the Scotland squad at the European Under-21 junior women’s team championship at Golf Club de Pan, Netherlands from July to 15.
Scotland has only ever landed one female European team title at any level. That was in 1980 when the Scots were winners of the European Under-21s’ title in Austria.
Miss Jenkins will again skipper the Scotland team in the Under-18 girls’ home internationals at Portstewart, Northern Ireland from August 9 to 11.
Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies), pictured left, made her international captaincy debut in Switzerland this past summer. She will again lead Scotland at the European Under-18 girls’ team championship, to be played at Esbjerg, Denmark from July 11 to 15.
The team captaincies are:
Women’s home internationals (Frilford Heath, Oxfordshire; Sept 13-15) – Fiona Anderson (Formby Ladies).
Senior women’s home internationals (Hamilton:  Oct 3-5) – Pam Gordon (Inverness).
European Under-21 junior women’s team championship (GC de Pan, Netherlands: July 11-15) – Jenny Jenkins (Ralston).
European Under-18 girls’ team championship (Esbjerg, Denmark: July 11-15) – Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies).
Girls'  home internationals (Portstewart, Northern Ireland: Aug 9-11) - Jenny Jenkins (Ralston).

Tuesday 20th December 2005

James Byrne, pictured on the right, at the 16-18 years boy winners presentation at the Texas Junior Open.

BANCHORY BOY FINISHES FOURTH IN TEXAS JUNIOR OPEN
Scottish Under-16 international team player James Byrne from Banchory finished fourth in the Texas Junior Open golf championhip. He had rounds of 77 and 76 over the Blackhorse Golf Club South Course and a 75 in the final round at Redstone Golf Club.
James’s 54-hole total of 12-over-par 228 saw him finish three shots behind the winner, Emiliano Martinez from Mexico. Emiliano scored 74, 76 and 75 for 225 to win by two strokes.
Sara Hemingway from Kingswood, Texas won the girls’ event with scores of 78, 72 and 76 for 226. She won by a commanding margin of 11 shots from Jackie Smith.
TEXAS JUNIOR OPEN – Blackhorse & Redstone Golf Clubs.
Leading totals (Par 72)
BOYS
(US unless stated)
225 Emiliano Martinez (Mexico) 74 76 75.
227 Ryan Sirman 77 73 77, Cory Whitsett 74 77 76.
228 James Byrne (Scotland) 77 76 75.
231 Ryan Haselden 75 78 78, Roberto Ruiz 78 77 76.
GIRLS
226 Sara Hemingway 78 72 76.
237 Jackie Smith 79 81 77.
241 Gina Bortoletto 85 76 80.

SGU Press Release
New Presidents for SGU
Gordon McInnes (Glasgow Golf Club) and David Moir (Lundin Golf Club) are to be appointed President and Vice President of the Scottish Golf Union (SGU), the governing body for amateur golf in Scotland.
The two men will take up their new roles following the SGU Annual General Meeting in January, at which Chairman Alistair Low is expected to announce a strong financial performance throughout 2005 providing a solid foundation on which to further develop the success of the amateur game in Scotland.
After his year as Vice President, McInnes succeeds Graham Ewart as SGU President.  As a past President and Secretary of Glasgow Golf Union, McInnes has been Glasgow’s representative to the SGU since 1991 and has served on the championship, coaching, finance and sponsorship committees.
As Managing Director of the building, property and ceramic tile company, the Levern Group, McInnes was responsible for the Group’s five-year sponsorship of the Scottish Boys and Girls Under-14 Stroke Play Championships and remains the named sponsor of the bi-annual Scotland v England Boys Under-16 International.
McInnes comments, “I am keen to ensure that we continue to enhance the support we give to golf in Scotland, working alongside others who share an unwavering interest in the game.”
An honorary member of Lundin, David Moir also has the distinction of being the youngest ever Club Captain.  He has been a member of Fife Golfing Association Executive since the early 70s and was President from 1982-84.  He has extensive experience in golf administration at various levels, including 17 years on the SGU championship committee, and was recently nominated to represent the GB&I Zone on the same committee of the European Golf Association.
Formerly sole principal of a firm of architects in Leven, Moir has been with the Royal & Ancient Golf Club since 1997 and is currently Manager of the Entries Department of R&A Championships Limited with responsibility for all R&A Championships including The Open.
“It is an honour to take up this new role and act as an ambassador for the Scottish amateur game in Scotland and abroad,” said Moir.
“Recent years have yielded outstanding success for Scottish amateur golf and I am confident we can build on the success already achieved.”

EGU Press Release
ENGLAND'S MORRISON WINS 2005 VICTORIA AMATEUR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
England's James Morrison has won the Victoria Amateur Championship at Spring Valley Golf Club, Australia beating Queensland's Aaron Pike by one hole in the 36 hole Final.
On the final day of play, Sunday 18th December, under overcast skies and with a strong southerly wind making low scores difficult, the golf was of an exceptional quality with little separating the players all day. Pike led by two holes after the morning round, but Morrison (pictured left) came back to take a two hole lead into the last nine holes. Pike rallied to level the match by the 15th, but Morrison took the 17th to gain the lead and become the first non-Australian ever to win the Victorian Amateur Championship.
The victory tops off an excellent year for Morrison, whose home club is St George's Hill, Surrey. After achieving a semi final place in the English Amateur Championship, being placed fourth in the Finnish Amateur and regular representing the Surrey County side, Morrison was chosen as an England A Squad member in October this year.
Morrison was delighted with his victory in becoming the 60th player to take the title in the 105 year history of the event and commented, "I am very happy. All the hard work I have put in is paying off."
This prestigious Championship, won in the past by such players as Peter Thomson, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Geoff Ogilvy and Aaron Baddeley, consists of 36 holes of qualifying stroke play followed by match play for the top 32 players.

R&A Press Release
COLIN DALGLEISH TO CAPTAIN GB&I TEAMS
The R&A has appointed Colin Dalgleish, captain of the Great Britain and Ireland teams for the St Andrews Trophy being played in Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic on 1 & 2 September 2006 and for the Walker Cup at Royal County Down on 8 & 9 September 2007.
"We are delighted that Colin has agreed to take on the role of captain," said Peter McEvoy, Chairman of The R&A Selection Committee.
"He has a wealth of experience, not only as a player but also in captaining Scotland to many successes. I have no doubt that under his leadership, the exciting group of youngsters coming through will be challenging for places in the teams destined to bring trophies back to the British Isles."
Dalgleish, 45, had a career in amateur golf that included success both as a player and as captain of Scotland. In 1981 he won the Scottish Amateur Championship at Western Gailes and later that year was rewarded with a place in the Walker Cup team that played the U.S. at Cypress Point.
He represented Scotland on a regular basis between 1981 and 1989 and following spells as captain of boys and youths teams, captained the senior team from 1993 to 1996 during which period they won the European Amateur Team Championship in Antwerp.
Dalgleish is a director of Perry Golf, a golf travel company specialising in trips between North America and Europe. He lives in, and plays most of his golf at Helensburgh, to a handicap of 2 and is also member of Loch Lomond and Caves Valley, Baltimore.
The 2006 R&A Selection Committee consists of Peter McEvoy (Chairman), Colin Dalgleish (Captain), David Carrick, Mark Gannon, Andrew Ingram and Leslie Walker

LPGA CHANGE THEIR MINIMUM AGE RULE UNDER PRESSURE FROM MORGAN PRESSEL 
Commissioner Carolyn Bivens has announced that Morgan Pressel, who will not have her 18th birthday until May 23, will be able to compete on the LPGA Tour when its 2006 season tees off in Hawaii in mid-February.
"Morgan is an exceptionally talented young player who will be a terrific addition to the LPGA Tour. The decision we made earlier this year was the right decision at the time but after an additional evaluation of her performances over the last several months, I am now confident she's ready to compete successfully on the Tour."
The LPGA Tour rules state that a player must be at least 18 before she can apply for membership. Miss Pressel, while still an amateur, told the LPGA officials that she wanted to become a fully paid-up member of the tour before her 18th birthday, i.e. from the start of the 2006 season.
Now she has succeeded in having the world's No 1 female professional circuit amend its rules - for her benefit.
In fairness, the LPGA constitution does state that women between the ages of 15 and 18 my be granted special permission to apply for membership "by demonstrating to the commissioner their capacity to assume professional and financial responsibilities required of the association's tournament membership."
Morgan, the 2005 US women's amateur champion, finished sixth in the recent LPGA Final Qualifying School.
The fact that Michele Wie, now a professional, is still only 16 years of age may have had more than a little influence in changing the LPGA's way of thinking.

Monday 19th December 2005

BANCHORY BOY TAKES CLOSER ORDER IN TEXAS JUNIOR OPEN
Banchory’s James Byrne, a Scotland Under-16 international team player, has moved up to share fifth place, three strokes behind the joint leaders, with one round to play in the Texas Junior Open at Blackhorse Golf Club, Cypress.
James, winner of the North of England Under-16 boys’ open title at Pannal in the autumn, has had rounds of 77 and 76 for a nine-over-par tally of 153.
Emiliano Martinez (74-76) and Ryan Sirman (77-73) share the lead on 150.
James has entered three back-to-back events on the Texas junior golf circuit as he did this time last year.
It’s not cheap to play in Texas junior golf tournaments. The entry fee for the current event is $250, the second $175 and the third $250 again, making a total of $675 just to enter three competitions.
TEXAS JUNIOR OPEN – Blackhorse Golf Club, Cypress.
Second-round leaders (Par 72)…
150 Emiliano Martinez 74 76, Ryan Sirman 77 73.
151 Kelly Kraft 73 78, Cory Whitsett 74 77.
153 James Byrne (Sco) 77 76, Ryan Haselden 75 78.

Young golfers benefit as Highland Institute welcomes golf as a new sport
Three of Highland’s most talented young golfers will be inducted into the Highland Institute of Sport this month, as Scotland’s Area Institute of Sport network embraces golf as a core sport for the first time.
John Fair (Fortrose) Christopher Gaittens (Fortrose) and Kelsey McDonald (Nairn) are  amongst 26 young golfers from an original shortlist of more than 200 selected across Scotland who will now  benefit from a wide range of support services offered through the Area Institute network.
The Scottish Golf Union and Scottish Ladies Golf Association will continue to provide technical and tactical expertise.  The Highland Institute of Sport aims to help each player become a fully conditioned  athlete by providing top-quality training facilities locally, access to sports science, a fully integrated strength and conditioning programme, sports medicine and athlete career and education services.
“This is a massive step forward for Scottish golf,” said Scotland’s National Junior Coach, Spencer Henderson.
“All the coaches and the players are really excited because this will take them to the next level.  I can see a lot of these players going on to play for Scotland at top amateur level, of which a percentage will hopefully go on and turn professional.
“It means that in addition to the technical coaching they already receive, they will now have a team of specialists behind them who will help them with their physical conditioning and advise them on what to eat and drink on the course so they don’t get dehydrated or fatigue.  Most of it will be brand new to them but catching them at such an early age with a holistic approach to the sport should become a habit.”
In Tiger Woods, the new Highland Institute golfers have the perfect example of the benefits of becoming a fully conditioned golf athlete.
“More and more golfers are seeing the benefits of this type of preparation,” said Henderson.  “Tiger is the benchmark; he’s fit, flexible, trains and looks like an athlete. Junior players respect role models like him and I’m sure that the rest of the young players in Scotland will now start looking up to the players who have been selected for the Area Institute programmes.”
One player who needs no convincing that the Highland Institute will help lift her towards her long term ambition of becoming a professional golfer is Nairn 15 year old, Kelsey McDonald.
A one-handicap, Kelsey became a member of both Scotland’s 18 and under squad and the Home Internationals team this season. But an intense April to October playing schedule left her tired, jaded  and in need of a comprehensive conditioning programme.
“I played a lot this year and I ended up tired at the end of the year so I’m hoping to build up my strength and stamina over the winter,” said the Nairn Dunbar competitor who plans to become a Scratch-handicap in 2006. 
“Having a supervised strength and conditioning programme at Inverness Sport Centre twice a week over the winter will make a big difference.  I’m very fortunate that I haven’t been injured so far but if I do get an injury, then I know that there is a physiotherapist I can see. 
“I’ve already had a medical and I’m planning to see the nutritionist who will be a big help. I will have access to a lifestyle consultant who can advise me on whether I should go to a Scottish or an American university.”
Said Highland Institute of Sport Manager, Chris Hildrey, “Golf in the Highlands has benefited tremendously from the clubgolf initiative and it is very important that we can assist in providing support for elite young athletes on the pathway to golfing success.
“We want every young Scottish golfer to be able to play 36 holes in a day and feel as fresh at the end as they did at the start.
“Whilst their golf coaching is being looked after by governing bodies, we will ensure that each player receives a golf specific programme complete with strength and conditioning, nutritional input, performance lifestyle and medical profiling.
“These athletes have all come through a rigorous selection process to be selected for the Highland Institute of Sport and we believe we have an excellent programme which will help each of them reach their potential.”

PRESS RELEASE
MURCAR LINKS TO STAGE £135,000 CHALLENGE TOUR EVENT
Colin Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie have added their considerable support to the establishment of the first European Challenge Tour event to be staged in Scotland for 12 years, the Scottish Challenge, to be hosted by Murcar Links Golf Club, north of Aberdeen, from July 6 to 9 next year. 
The £135, 000 tournament, which will be funded in the main by EventScotland, has been conceived as a direct result of Scotland’s successful bid to host the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.
It is hoped that such an event, which will be an annual fixture on the Scottish golfing calendar up until – and beyond – the 2014 Ryder Cup, will produce a generation of Scots golfers who aspire to reach the heights attained by 1999 Open Champion Lawrie and eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner Montgomerie, who is one the most prolific points scorers in the history of The Ryder Cup.
As well as enlisting the invaluable support of EventScotland, the Scottish Challenge, which will occupy a prime position on the 2006 Challenge Tour Schedule and take place the week before the Barclays Scottish Open, will have backing from Aberdeen City Council, Scottish Enterprise Grampian, the Stewart Milne Group, and media partners, the Aberdeen Press and Journal.
Murcar Links Golf Club has a proven championship course in the finest of Scottish traditions. Established in 1909 to the design of Archie Simpson, with later refinements by five time Open Champion James Braid, Murcar has frequently featured in the top 100 courses in the British Isles. The 6,314 yard, par-71 lay-out played host earlier this year to the qualifying round of the 2005 Senior British Open Championship, presented by Aberdeen Asset Management.
There is also a nine-hole course at Murcar.
Both Lawrie and Montgomerie are delighted to see the Challenge Tour re-establishing itself in their homeland, and hope that the Scottish Challenge can give aspiring Scottish talent the chance to join them at golf’s top level.
Montgomerie said: “This is great news for golf in Scotland and will give younger players making their way in the game the opportunity to test themselves against a very high standard of player from all over Europe, and indeed, the rest of the world. The fact that the Scottish Challenge has come about as a result of The Ryder Cup going to Gleneagles in 2014 highlights how important The Ryder Cup, and its legacy, will be to our country.”
Aberdeen resident Lawrie, a huge supporter of junior golf in the Grampian area, added: “Any tournament that gives young Scottish players the chance to raise and improve their games should be welcomed. To have secured Murcar Golf Links, a course I know well, is a great coup for the Scottish Challenge, and I think the tournament will be well supported by local people.”
The Scottish Challenge is part of a wide ranging programme of events drawn up as a direct result of Scotland’s successful bid to host The 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. A key focus of that bid was to support the development of golf throughout the younger age ranges. The most tangible result of this has been the establishment of the ClubGolf junior development programme, supported by the Scottish Executive through SportScotland.
Patricia Ferguson, The Scottish Executive’s Minister for Tourism Culture and Sport, said: “Attracting the Scottish Challenge is another feather in the cap for EventScotland. It reinforces our determination to make Scotland a world-beating destination for top class events. It will be a key stepping-stone for the development of our best young players, and I hope it uncovers future Scottish Ryder Cup stars of the calibre of Colin Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie.”
David Williams, Chief Executive of EventScotland, said: “We are delighted to have been able to bring a Challenge Tour event back to Scotland. The Scottish Challenge adds yet another tournament to our portfolio of world-class golf events.”
With 20 European Tour cards awarded to the leading players on the Rankings at the end of each season, the Challenge Tour is widely accepted as the best way for aspiring young professionals to make the breakthrough to the top level.
Marc Warren certainly subscribes to that theory, having become the first Scot in the Challenge Tour’s 17 year history to top the rankings last season. The 24 year old is now set to join Montgomerie and Lawrie on the 2006 European Tour, but is delighted to see the Tour that gave him the chance to launch his professional career returning to Scotland.
“It’s brilliant that the Challenge Tour is going to have a Scottish tournament for the foreseeable future because it is a great place to learn. The way I look at it, I am going to be doing exactly the same things when I play on The European Tour as I have been doing for the past few seasons on the Challenge Tour and that experience should count for a lot," said Marc.
"The four-round events, the travelling and everything that comes with it will be exactly the same on the main European Tour. It also brings you down to earth and makes you work hard to keep competing, which, I think, can do a lot of good for young Scottish players.”
Murcar Golf Club, who officially reverted to its original title of Murcar Links Golf Club at its recent annual meeting, celebrates its centenary in 2009.
A complete refurbishment of the Murcar clubhouse began on November 1 and will be completed by next April.
The reconstruction of Murcar’s extensive practice area, situated adjacent to the clubhouse, and improvements to the course by Graeme Webster, who has designed some of the best practice ranges in Scotland, including Kingsacre and Meldrum House, have also begun.
“There has been an unbelievable amount of work put in behind the scenes at Murcar over the last two years to get us to this point,” said club captain Derek Mortimer.
“Murcar has been a sleeping giant for too many years now and I’m looking forward to the giant waking up fully in 2006.
“The condition of both our courses this year has been universally acclaimed as being at their best in decades. We had had record visitor numbers in 2005 and with the overall improvement under way as regards the off-course facilities, it’s an exciting time to be a Murcar Golf club member as we approach our Centenary year of 2009.”

R&A Press Release
COURSE ALTERATIONS TO ROYAL BIRKDALE
In February 2004 The R&A announced that Royal Birkdale would host the 2008 Open Championship, the ninth time that golf’s oldest major will have graced the wonderful links at Southport.
In 1965, when Peter Thomson rounded off his collection of Open wins with a further triumph that he described as his ‘greatest win’, he added that Birkdale was "man-sized but not a monster."
Alterations are currently being put in place to maintain that description but at the same time to pose new challenges for the world’s greatest golfers.
These course alterations have been agreed between Royal Birkdale Golf Club and The R&A and have been completed with the assistance of Martin Hawtree, golf course architect, who has been involved with previous modifications at Royal Birkdale. The Hawtrees, have been involved with Royal Birkdale since the 1930’s through the original connection established with Martin’s grandfather and then father, both named Fred. The present brief was to ‘tighten up’ the course without resorting to an excessive increase in length.
This has resulted in one new green at the 17th, 20 new hazards, 16 of which are fairway bunkers and six new tees, leading to a total length of approximately 7122 yards, an increase of 154 yards.
The works are being carried out by SOL Golf Construction Ltd who are based in Ireland and will be completed well in advance of the 2008 Open Championship.
Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A said: "Royal Birkdale has always been a strong Open venue and we feel that by introducing these changes, that challenge can be maintained."
"We have paid particular attention to the introduction of tee shots that give players a number of strategic options and through tighter bunkering and the recontouring of green surrounds, intend to make players execute more imaginative recovery shots around the greens."
Speaking on behalf of Royal Birkdale, the Captain, John Henthorn said: "The Club is delighted and excited to be introducing these changes which will toughen up the course, providing a greater challenge not only for the world’s top players but also for our members and visitors alike."

Sunday 18th December 2005

BANCHORY BOY IN TOP TEXAS TEN
Scotland Under-16 international James Byrne, pictured right, from Banchory was lying joint seventh with a five-over-par 77 at the end of the first round of the Texas Junior Open over the Blackhorse Golf Club South Course at Cypress, Texas.
James was four shots behind the leader, Kelly Kraft, in a field of 64.

CATRIONA AND JANICE TEE IT UP FOR SCOTLAND IN 2ND WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
The second Women’s World Cup of Golf will take place at the Gary Player Country Club, Sun City in the North West Province, South Africa from January 20 to 22 .
A total of 20 nations are to compete for a purse of $1.1million over 54 holes of foursomes, better-ball and individual stroke-play.
The teams announced are:
AUSTRALIA
Shani Waugh and Rachel Hetherington
BRAZIL
Candy Hannemann and Luciana Bemvenuti
CANADA
Lorie Kane and A.J. Eathorne
COLUMBIA
Marisa Baena and Cristina Baena
ENGLAND
Kirsty Taylor and Laura Davies
FINLAND
Minea Blomqvist and Riikka Hakkarainen
FRANCE
Gwladys Nocera and Karine Icher
GERMANY
Anja Monke and Miriam Nagl
ITALY
Veronica Zorzi and Silvia Cavalleri
JAPAN
Ai Miyazato and Sakura Yokomine
KOREA
Meena Lee and Bo Bae Song
NEW ZEALAND
Lynnette Brooky and Gina Scott
PHILIPPINES
Jennifer Rosales and Ana Larraneta
SCOTLAND
Catriona Matthew and Janice Moodie
SOUTH AFRICA
Laurette Maritz and Ashleigh Simon
SPAIN
Marta Prieto and Paula Marti
SWEDEN
Annika Sorenstam and Liselotte Neumann
TAIWAN
Amy Hung and Yu Ping Lin
UNITED STATES
Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis
WALES
Becky Brewerton and Becky Morgan

LIZA FINISHES JOINT 25TH BEHIND AMATEUR WINNER OF THAILAND LADIES MASTERS
Liza Walters from Nottingham tied for 25th place in the Thailand Ladies Masters at Phuket Country Club on Saturday.
Liza, who now lives in Derbyshire, started well with a first-round 68 but dropped down the leaderboard with subsequent scores of 78 and 79 for a 54-hole final total of nine-over-par 225.
Eleanor Pilgrim from Wales failed by one stroke to survive the 36-hole cut.
She had rounds of 76 and 80 for 156.
A Thailand amateur player, Nontaya Srisawang, winner of the gold medal in the women’s golf event at the recent South-east Asia Games, won the Thailand Ladies Masters title and trophy – but not the cash prize – with scores of 73, 68 and 72 for a three-under-par total of 213.
She won by one shot from Korea’s Park Hee Young with scores of 76, 70 and 68.
Korea also provided the third-placed Ji Eun Hee who shot 70, 72 and 73 for 215.

Friday 16th December 2005

ELGA Press Release
ELGA members toasted England’s successes of 2005 and looked ahead to the future at the association’s annual meeting in Cheltenham.
Outgoing chairman Jenny Clink highlighted the many golfing triumphs of the season and told around 300 members: “This has been one of the most successful years in our history.”
She also drew attention to a modernisation review which is being undertaken by ELGA to meet the challenges of the future with a dynamic, forward-looking strategy.
The wide-ranging project is part of the lottery-funding agreement with Sport England. It will consider all aspects of ELGA’s operation and, at the annual meeting, members gave a clear mandate for a review of the rules of the association.
The modernisation review began in September with a survey of all stakeholders in English ladies’ amateur golf. It continues in 2006 with workshops for executive committee members, staff and representatives from clubs, counties, divisions and other external bodies.
The results and proposed changes will be presented to ELGA members at a future meeting, hopefully early in 2007.
ELGA members are also to be asked again to approve a subscription increase. A proposal to increase the annual subscription by £1.50 to £7.50 just failed to reach the necessary two-thirds majority at the annual meeting, with 64 per cent of votes in favour. A second proposal to increase the subscription annually by the rate of inflation also failed to reach this majority.

Ring of Kerry Golf and Country Club

IAN BOTHAM BECOMES RING OF KERRY GOLF & COUNTY CLUB’S INTERNATIONAL CAPTAIN
Cricketing legend Ian Botham has been unanimously elected “International Captain” by an enthusiastic membership of The Ring of Kerry Golf & Country Club in south-west Ireland.
Ian “Beefy” Botham, who has generously given so much of his time for charitable causes, has been a member of “The Ring” for the past three years.
When approached by the club, Ian immediately agreed to his name being forward as international captain, in other words a high-profile sporting ambassador on behalf of the club.
“I will wear the green jacket with pride, if elected,” was his response and, needless to say, the members of “The Ring” had no hesitation if electing Ian who undertakes to promote the interests of Ring of Kerry Golf & County Club in the international market.
Sue Ryan, the club’s sales and marketing manager, explained that Botham’s appointment is far from being a token title.
“The role of international captain is very important in the promotion of the club’s interests overseas. The previous holder, Michael O’Sullivan, carried out these duties from his base in London and Michael was most enthusiastic about his mantle being taken over by Ian Botham,” said Sue.
Michael commented: “I cannot think of a better and more appropriate figure than Mr Botham to undertake this role. This appointment shows how far Ring of Kerry Golf & Country Club has developed since its opening in 1998.”
“Ian Botham is a regular visitor to the club and loves the course and the area. He played in our Irish PGA programme last August and we are in talkes to host an Ian Botham PGA Charity pro-am in 2006 which will see some celebrities from the UK taking part together with a few UK professionals,” added Sue Ryan.
A round of golf at “The Ring” with Ian Botham, two return flights to Ireland, two nights bed and breakfast and dinner at the Brook Lane Hotel, Kenmare, plus car hire with Dan Dooley was auctioned for £7,500 in Terry Wogan’s Children in Need Charity programme on BBC Television earlier this year.
It was the third year of the fund-raising package devised by Sue Ryan and supported in style by Ian Botham. In 2003, it raised £11,000 for Children in Need and in 2004, the charity benefited to the tune of £12,000.
Terry Wogan, himself, is no stranger to Ring of Kerry Golf & Country Club. “Terry visited us two years ago for the first time and since then has given us regular glowing mentions on his morning radio programme,” said Sue Ryan, pictured right. “He is an honorary member of the golf club and it was a a result of his first visit that, with Ian Botham’s help, we put together the Children in Need package.
If you want to know more about Ring of Kerry Golf & Country Club, log on to their website: www.ringofkerrygolf.com or E-mail Sue Ryan at marketing@ringofkerrygolf.com

Thursday 15th December 2005

PUTT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME!
- Teens and Celebrities Choose Dream Golf Caddies -
She may have had her feet up of late but according to a new survey by the British Heart Foundation (BHF)1 almost a quarter (22%) of golf-mad teenagers think it's time for Britney Spears to get back to work as their dream golf caddy.
The US singer proved to be well above par by beating a range of top celebrities including Will Smith (21%), Beyonce Knowles (19%) and Ant and Dec (8%). The BHF carried out the research amongst young players to launch the BHF Junior Golf Championship 2006. It hopes more under 18's will take part in the only team contest played nationally that is open to both boys and girls of all levels of play.
The nation's heart Charity also asked a number of celebrity golf fans from the worlds of sport and showbiz to name their No1 companion on the golf course with choices ranging from the sensible to the sensational:
*TV Presenter Kirsty Gallacher chose Jonathan Ross, she said: "He is so funny and would really look the part in his plus fours- I'm sure there is a secret golfer in him that's just dying to get out!"
*Cricket hero and dance sensation Darren Gough had more romantic intentions, "I'd choose Tara Reid. I think she'd inspire me and then I could take her out for dinner to say thanks!"
*Football pundit Gary Lineker decided to make his colleague Alan Hansen sweat "*because I know how much he would hate doing it and would want to play a round himself".
The BHF Junior Golf Championship gives young golfers the opportunity to compete at a national level, whilst raising essential funds for the BHF- in fact the survey also revealed that 47% of players think the best thing about the Championship is raising money for Charity. In 2005, the competition broke all previous fundraising records raising almost £280,000 nationwide. 
Over 4,800 young golfers from golf clubs and schools across the UK took part in the Championship last year. In 2006, over 90 preliminary rounds will be held in the spring, followed by 11 regional finals in the summer, with the top 21 teams going through to the national final held at world-class golf course The Belfry.
The competition is open to players under 18 years old from golf clubs and schools. Each team of three players competes in a Stableford points competition. Teams interested in entering in the 2006 event should call the British Heart Foundation on 020 7487 7149, visit bhf.org.uk/juniorgolf or email bertogaln@bhf.org.uk

Derek Brown, winner of a Five-Star Professional award

FIVE-STAR PROFESSIONAL DEREK SIGNS NEW FIVE-YEAR VALDERRAMA CONTRACT
Perth-born Derek Brown, a highly successful golf professional administrator in both Scotland and Spain, has signed a new five-year contract with owner Jaime Ortiz-Patino as general manager at Valderrama Golf Club on Spain’s Costa del Sol.
Derek passed on the news during his acceptance speech at the PGAs of Europe Gala Dinner at which he was named one of the three winners of the Five-Star Professional Awards for 2005.
The others were Ove Sellberg (Sweden) and David Silva (Portugal).
Derek was born in Perth on February 5, 1950 and was golf captain at Perth Academy from 1966 to 1967. A scratch golfer, played for the Perthshire country team as a junior and adult between 1966 and 1968.
He was appointed vice-captain of Auchterarder Golf Club in 1969.
Although Derek had become a Member of the Associate of Bankers in Scotland in 1968, having started training with the Bank of Scotland, he decided to become a professional golfer later than year.
“I began my professional golf career working with Ian Marchbank at Gleneagles. Throughout my 15 years there, I achieved and maintained the high standards of professional and service required at Gleneagles and, in turn, passed on these standards to the many young assistant professionals – he had six at any one time – in my charge,” says Derek.
“I was very fortunate to have enjoyed the ‘Gleneagles Experience’ in the formative years of my professional golf career. This provided me with the perfect launch pad for my future career.”
Derek left Scotland for the first time to become Ryder Cup captain Tony Jacklin’s partner in a golf business at Sotogrande, based at what was then known as Las Aves Golf Club. Jaime Ortiz-Patino bought the club in 1984 and immediately renamed it Valderrama Golf Club.
Derek remained at the club which was to become recognised as No 1 in Europe, staging the 1997 Ryder Cup match, but Tony Jacklin moved on.
In 1991 Derek came home to Scotland, having been invited by Peter Lederer, the managing director of the Gleneagles Group to establish a new company which would lead Gleneagles into the international golf market place.
“My contract was for two years by my own choice. It was a time to develop new ideas and concepts, with a main priority being given to golf course design and golf management in other areas of the world,” says Derek.
“However, things were developing so slowly that I chose to work for myself again when the contract came to an end.
“My next challenge, in 1994-95, was to create, with a partner, our own pay-and-play golf centre. Our first project was the Blackwater Valley Golf Centre in Hampshire.”
In September 1995, Derek was tempted back to Spain to accept the post of golf director at Atalaya Golf & Country Club near Marbella.
“My job was to re-establish Atalaya as a top golf resort and to make it profitable for the first time in 25 years. I was given total control and responsibility for all affairs the golf club, including improving the condition of both 18 hole courses.
“When I finished my contract in early 2000, I was proud of what I had achieved with my team at Atalaya Golf & Country Club. In 1999, alone there was an increase in profits to 139 million pesetas.”
Derek’s next post was golf director of Monte Mayor Golf & Country Club, also in the Marbella region.
“This was a contract of one year as I had already committed myself to accepted the position of Valderrama’s general manager, beginning in March 2001.
During Derek’s term at Monte Mayor, golf became far more enjoyable over one of the hilliest courses in the region, the reputation of the club improved and more holiday golfers went there to play. At the end of his one-year stay, Monte Mayor had a substantial net operating profit of more than 40 million pesetas.
“To return to Valderamma as general manager in March 2001, at the invitation of Mr Ortiz-Patino, was an exciting opportunity. At Valderrama, the members and visitors expect better than the best and I make sure that they are not disappointed. Only the best is good enough.”

Wednesday 14th December 2005

Golf Writers Trophy goes to Annika for the second time
Congratulations to Annika Sorenstam who has won the Golf Writers Trophy for the second time in three years. Annika won 11 out of the 21 tournaments that she played in, including two majors. Here is a list of previous winners:-
GOLF WRITERS' TROPHY WINNERS
1951 - Max Faulkner
1952 - Miss Elizabeth Price
1953 - Joe Carr
1954 - Miss Frances Stephens
1955 - LGU Junior Team (Mrs BR Bostock, capt)
1956 - John Beharrell
1957 - Dai Rees
1958 - Harry Bradshaw
1959 - Eric Brown
1960 - Sir Stuart Goodwin
1961 - Cdr. RCT Roe
1962 - Mrs Marley Spearman
1963 - Michael Lunt
1964 - Eisenhower Trophy Team (Joe Carr, capt)
1965 - Gerald Micklem
1966 - Ronnie Shade
1967 - John Panton
1968 - Michael Bonallack
1969 - Tony Jacklin
1970 - Tony Jacklin
1971 - Walker Cup Team (Michael Bonallack, capt)
1972 - Miss Mickey Walker
1973 - Peter Oosterhuis
1974 - Peter Oosterhuis
1975 - The Golf Foundation
1976 - Eisenhower Trophy Team (Sandy Saddler, capt)
1977 - Christy O'Connor Sen.
1978 - Peter McEvoy
1979 - Severiano Ballesteros
1980 - Sandy Lyle
1981 - Bernhard Langer
1982 - Gordon Brand Jnr
1983 - Nick Faldo
1984 - Severiano Ballesteros
1985 - Ryder Cup Team (Tony Jacklin, capt)
1986 - Curtis Cup Team (Diane Bailey, capt)
1987 - Ryder Cup Team (Tony Jacklin, capt)
1988 - Sandy Lyle
1989 - Walker Cup Team (Geoff Marks, capt)
1990 - Nick Faldo
1991 - Severiano Ballesteros
1992 - Solheim Cup Team (Mickey Walker, capt)
1993 - Bernhard Langer
1994 - Laura Davies
1995 - Ryder Cup Team (Bernard Gallacher, capt)
1996 - Colin Montgomerie
1997 - Alison Nicholas
1998 - Lee Westwood
1999 - Sergio Garcia
2000 - Lee Westwood
2001 - Walker Cup Team (Peter McEvoy, capt)
2002 - Ryder Cup Team (Sam Torrance, capt)
2003 - Annika Sorenstam
2004 - Ryder Cup Team (Bernhard Langer, capt)
2005 - Annika Sorenstam

Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers clubhouse

R&A Press Release
MUIRFIELD TO STAGE THE 2007 SENIOR BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, PRESENTED BY ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT
Muirfield in Scotland has been announced as the venue for The 2007 Senior British Open Championship, presented by Aberdeen Asset Management, from July 26-29, 2007. It will be the first time the Championship has been staged on The Open Championship course and the move will coincide with the 50th birthday of Nick Faldo.
Faldo won two of his three Open titles at Muirfield - beating Paul Azinger and Rodger Davis by a stroke in 1987, before holding off John Cook five years later – and the Englishman is eligible to make his debut in the 2007 Senior version of the Championship as he turns 50 in the week prior to the event.
And with Seve Ballesteros reaching the same milestone in April 2007, Muirfield, home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, looks set to welcome two of the all-time greats of European golf for the 21st edition of The Senior British Open Championship, presented by Aberdeen Asset Management.
The tournament, which is co-sanctioned between The R&A, the European Seniors Tour and the US Champions Tour, will complete a memorable two weeks on the East Coast of Scotland with The Open Championship being played the week before at Carnoustie.
David Hill, Director of Championships for The R&A, said: "The R&A is delighted that The Senior British Open Championship will be played at Muirfield for the first time in 2007 and hopes that many of the past Open Champions who have won there will return again and support the Championship."
Muirfield – the fourth Open venue to be used for the Seniors’ flagship event after Royal Portrush, Royal Lytham & St Annes and The Westin Turnberry Resort - has a rich history of producing great champions with the latest being Ernie Els, who beat Stuart Appleby, Steve Elkington and Thomas Levet in a play-off at The Open in 2002.
Tom Watson, winner of 12 Majors including two Senior British Open Championships, also lifted the Claret Jug at the famous East Lothian links back in 1980 when he beat Lee Trevino by four shots. However, before the American can start thinking about his return to Muirfield he will be focused on defending The Senior British Open Championship at The Westin Turnberry Resort between July 27-30, 2006 – another course where he has enjoyed success.
Not only did Watson triumph over Jack Nicklaus to win the memorable ‘Duel in the Sun’ Open Championship in 1977, he also overcame a duel of a different nature at Turnberry in 2003, the last time The Senior British Open Championship was staged there, beating England’s Carl Mason at the second hole of a sudden-death play-off. He reclaimed the title at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in July with another play-off success, this time over Ireland’s Des Smyth at the third extra hole.
Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Aberdeen Asset Management, said: "We witnessed a terrific tournament at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club and we are delighted to be involved as presenting sponsor of the next two Championships, at The Westin Turnberry Resort and Muirfield."

SIAN REDDICK NAMED BIG 12 CONFERENCE WOMEN'S GOLFER OF THE MONTH
Sian Reddick from Folkestone, a sophomore golf scholarship student at Baylor University, Texas, was named Big 12 Conference Women's Golfer of the Month for November. 
Sian tied for fifth at the Kent Youel Invitational tournament with a 54-hole total of 224. The England international player  started out with an even-par 72, followed by rounds of 74 and 75. It was her second top-five finish of the first half of the US women's college golf 2005-2006season. She is currently second on the Baylor women's team with a 74 stroke average.
It was the first "golfer of the month" award Sian has won during her stay in the United States.
She won the 2004 English women's closed amateur stroke-play championship at Woodhall Spa, at the same time lifting the Under-23 and Under-21 stroke-play titles.
Miss Reddick will return to competitive action after the mid-season break in the Central District Invitationl at Parrish, Florida on February 20-21.

Representatives from eight Borders golf clubs and clubgolf at this week’s road show at Kelso GC

Press Release
Minto first Borders golf club to join national junior strategy
Minto Golf Club, mid way between Hawick and Jedburgh, is the first Borders club to step forward to join the nationwide drive to encourage children to start golf.
The parkland club, which has a very healthy attitude towards encouraging youngsters to use its course, including running a junior night every Friday, was one of eight Borders clubs (the others were Duns, Eyemouth, Galashiels, Kelso, Lilliards Edge, Roxburghe and Torwoodle) which attended the national junior golf strategy, clubgolf’s road show staged at Kelso Golf Club.
The aim of the evening, hosted by clubgolf’s East of Scotland Regional Manager, Sheila Lamb and Ann Lang, clubgolf’s Club Development Manager, was to give junior convenors and potential volunteer coaches an opportunity to adopt the strategy within their own clubs.
“Juniors are the lifeblood of our club, no expense is ever spared for them and we want to encourage more to join,” said Mary Glendinning, Minto’s Junior Convenor. “The younger they start the better and we hope that through clubgolf we will attract more juniors from the local community.”
clubgolf is a partnership between the Scottish Golf Union, the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association, the Professional Golfers' Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland. The strategy has been developed as a direct result of the Scottish Executive's commitment to introduce every nine-year-old child in Scotland to the game by 2009.
For local children in the Borders their introduction to the game will come at school via firstclubgolf, the strategy’s introductory game. Launched by former Open Champion, Paul Lawrie in Edinburgh this year, firstclubgolf is played with multi-coloured modified clubs, rubberised balls and Velcro targets. Taught by teachers, it is designed as a safe and exciting introduction to the game for nine year olds.
Children who enjoy the experience, and over 12,000 did across Scotland in 2005, can chose to progress to clubgolf’s Level 1 course; 23 hours of coaching in the fundamentals of the game, using real equipment at a local club.
Whilst it is expected that the first group of Borders children will begin clubgolf’s Stage 1 course at local clubs as early as next April, local teachers, volunteers and golf club members will need to be trained over the next three months to deliver coaching.
“We already have good links with the local clubs and driving ranges through the Active Schools programme where kids get the opportunity for coaching at holiday time,” said Eleanour Pearson, Active Schools Manager for the Borders.
“clubgolf will help us further develop these links and provide us with a good network and a development pathway for local children to play golf. At school clubgolf will be delivered through our Active Schools Primary co-ordinators who will provide training for other people interested in delivering clubgolf, such as  teachers, parent and older pupils.
“Two of our co-ordinators will be trained in January and we’re hopeful the coaching in school will start next term if clubgolf can make the links with the golf clubs.”
Meanwhile, Borders clubs will soon have the opportunity to prepare for a new intake of juniors by sending members who are keen to become part time coaches on the two-day PGA clubgolf Level 1 Training for Volunteers Course.
Golf clubs wishing to find out more about clubgolf can contact:
Sheila Lamb, clubgolf East of Scotland Manager: Mob: 07956 540595  E-mail: Sheila.lamb@educ.edin.gov.uk
Ann Lang, clubgolf Club Development Manager: Mob: 07810 501577  E-mail: ann@golf-foundation.org
 

Tuesday 13th December 2005

World-famous Turnberry Hotel

Press Release
Turnberry announces the Centenary Concerts presented by Glenfiddich  May 26/28 2006
Turnberry 9th December 2006
As part of their 100th birthday celebrations The Westin Turnberry Resort, Ayrshire today announced the first two Centenary Concerts, presented by Glenfiddich, on Friday, May 26 and Sunday, May 18, 2006. It was also confirmed that these concerts would become part of the 2006 ‘Burns’ an’ a That! Festival.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Turnberry’s Sales & Marketing Director Stephen Walker said: “ These events have been a long time in the planning and could not have been made possible without the generous sponsorship of Glenfiddich and the creativity of Pete Irvine and his team at Unique Events. The partnership with ‘Burns an’ a That! sits these concerts neatly into the festival programme and showcases Turnberry as an iconic place in the land of the National Bard.
Over the bank holiday weekend of 26-28 May the Hotel lawns with their spectacular seaside views will be transformed into a truly magnificent amphitheatre seating up to 1000 guests. On Friday 26th May, The Orchestra of Scottish Opera will provide the platform for a number of celebrity soloists currently being finalised by Unique Events.  On Sunday 28th May the Royal Scottish National Orchestra will host a Scottish Gala Evening with special guests to include Eddi Reader, Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain.
Linda McClure, CEO of the new Burns Festival Company said ‘This is such a great example of the private and public networks coming together to create a unique series of events not only for the benefit of the festival and local community but also to bring guests from across the globe to this corner Scotland”
Stewart Selbie, General Manager at The Westin Turnberry Resort said: “I am extremely proud to be involved in celebrating such a momentous year for Turnberry and I look forward to sharing the many spectacular events that we have planned with our loyal guests and colleagues.”
The Westin Turnberry Resort is a five red star resort located on the rugged south west coast of Scotland.  Famed for its Championship golf, The Ailsa Course at The Westin Turnberry Resort was recently chosen as host venue for the 138th Open Championship from 16-19 July 2009.
A range of residential packages for The Centenary Concerts presented by Glenfiddich with prices from £285 per person are available to book on 01655 3339991 or visit www.westin.com/turnberry
Concert tickets will be made available to the public from early February 2006.

Press Release
The perfect Christmas break from playing golf
For a unique Christmas shopping experience why not take time out from the hustle and bustle of the high street to come along to the British Golf Museum.  Our welcoming staff can help you solve your Christmas gift dilemmas.  Let us guide you to the perfect gift for the your golf enthusiast.  Choose from our extensive range of unique golfing accessories and once you have finished, we will gift wrap and gift tag it for you! The museum is located just 5 minutes walk from the main shopping area in St Andrews, at the heart of the Home of Golf. The museum lies in a unique location.  Yards from the front doors of The Royal and Ancient Golf Clubhouse, the Old Course and facing the beautiful West Sands beach.  We have ample car parking directly beside the museum and are just 5 minutes walk from the bus station. 
Once inside, why not take time out from shopping to visit our 5 Star, award- winning museum.  On entering the museum you can compare your grips to the greats with our Major's Collection of bronze casts of the grips of golfing greats from Nick Faldo to Jack Nicklaus.  Visitors are then greeted with continuous highlights from past Open Championships.  Once inside the museum you can explore the history of golf from the Middle Ages to the present day through exciting displays and stunning new interactives.  A unique opportunity awaits at the end of your visit to practice putting with replica clubs and balls from the past.  'The 18th Hole' gives visitors the chance to test their golfing knowledge, practice their putting and to dress up in period golfing costume. 
Every visitor who buys an entry ticket to the museum receives a complimentary guide to remind you of your visit.  If you are unable to come to the museum, don't despair.  You can shop online from the comfort of your home or office where you will find a wide selection of our products at www.britishgolfmuseumshop.co.uk
The museum is open 7 days a week 10am-4pm in the run up to Christmas but will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. We re-open to the public on the 27th through to the 30th December and admission at this time is FREE to all visitors.   Come along and enjoy a break from the hectic holiday season at the British Golf Museum.

The Garton Girls that played in the Scottish Seniors at Grantown on Spey this year had a reunion game yesterday.
Jennifer Mack and Fiona Roger (RLCGA) both members of Troon headed the challange match. The teams of Jennifer, Anna Telfer (Past D&A Captain), Helen Faulds (D&A) and Emma Wilson (Past Chairman SLGA) took on the challange of Fiona, Janice Paterson (Past Captain Lanarkshire), Carol Fell (RLCGA) and Noreen Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh).
Fiona's team were the victors and were presented with lots of prizes from Jennifer !!
They are all preparing for Machrihanish in 2006 !!
Link to Carol Fell's photos of the Scottish Seniors at Grantown on Spey

New clubgolf team members, Gill Kelly, Martin Richie and Ann Lang

Press Release
Lang and Richie join clubgolf team
Ann Lang and Martin Richie, from with the Golf Foundation, have joined clubgolf’s regional management team as the first stage of the Foundation’s integration with the national junior golf strategy.
Ann, a member of Strathaven Golf Club, who brings with her almost 20 years of golf and sports development experience, takes on the new role of clubgolf Club Development Manager. Martin, a Scotscraig GC member from Dundee, the Golf Foundation’s North of Scotland Development Officer for the past year, becomes clubgolf’s Tayside & Fife Regional Manager.
Gill Kelly, previously in the Tayside & Fife Regional Manager role, steps across to the new post of clubgolf Events Manager. A major aim of this new position is to heighten clubgolf’s profile, by becoming involved with Scotland’s major golf events.
“Having the support of golf clubs is crucial to the success of the clubgolf programme,” said Ann Lang. “It’s one thing having the game on the curriculum at school but the children do need local clubs signed up which they can progress to.
“My remit is to let the clubs know about clubgolf, what the benefits are for them when they do sign up and what support they can expect from us.”
Long term benefits for clubs joining clubgolf include a thriving junior membership, which will in time boost senior memberships.
“There are a lot of things we can help clubs with which will eventually help them towards accreditation,” said Ann who was due to organise a series of club development information roadshows over the festive period with the aim of attracting another dozen clubs to the partnership.
“We are here to help clubs start and develop their junior sections. How to make a junior constitution, devise a junior action plan, form a junior committee and produce a child protection policy are just a few of the areas we can help with and we will soon be creating a junior golf resource pack.
“A club’s adult membership can benefit directly as well. Some clubs involved in clubgolf have generated new members from parents who have taken their kids along for training and have decided to try themselves.”
In taking over the Tayside & Fife region, Martin Ritchie inherits an area which includes St Andrews Links Junior Golf Association, one of the earliest and biggest proponents of clubgolf, Kingsbarns Golf Links in Tayside and Fife club, Tulliallan.
Said Martin, “The message we are keen to put across to every club is that clubgolf will help widen a club’s junior base, increase memberships and provide coaching opportunities for potential volunteers. As well as strengthening existing relationships, I’m very keen to hear from any clubs in the region who are interested in finding out more about the strategy.”

SGU Rules of Golf Course
From the SGU website:- "The Scottish Golf Union's annual Rules of Golf Course will be held at Drumoig on Thursday and Friday, March 2 and 3.
The two-day course, organised by the SGU Events Department, will cover all aspects of the rules of the game, using video footage of rules incidents, lectures, practical sessions and group discussions. So whether you’re a complete novice or a rules ‘buff,’  this course will expand your knowledge and enable you to make decisions on rules queries more competently.
Guest speaker at the event will be the R&A’s Assistant Director of Rules, Kevin Barker.
SGU Events Manager, Euan Mordaunt comments, “The rules of golf are many and varied and it is important that anyone at club level, whether secretary, committee member or club member, is up to speed with the correct course of action or options available in any given situation.”
To ensure that rules knowledge is up to scratch, the course will include an assessment after which successful candidates will receive the SGU Rules of Golf Award.
The SGU Rules of Golf Course is open to any member of an SGU or SLGA- affiliated club. Course Fees are £149 or £219 including accommodation.
For an application form or further information, please contact: The Scottish Golf Union Events Department. Tel: 01382 549504 or e-mail events@scottishgolfunion.org

ROSS-SHIRE MEN NOW HOLD TOP POSTS IN NORTH DISTRICT SGU
Two Ross-shire golf club members will be at the helm of the North District Association for the next two years after their election to the positions of president and vice-President at the annual delegate meeting in the clubhouse of Inverness Golf Club.
Vice-president Martin Robertson (Gairloch), pictured right, followed the retiring president, Brian Gardner (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), into the top post and Martin’s new vice-president is another Fortrose & Rosemarkie member, James Fraser, pictured left.
For both it has been a rapid promotion to the two offices that cover the administration of golf in the huge North District area of the Scottish Golf Union, stretching from all clubs west of the River Spey to the outer Hebrides and from Newtonmore in the south to the northern isles of Shetland.
Martin Robertson (45) has the distinction of becoming the first Gairloch Golf Club member to be elected as North District president. After serving as the Gairloch president in 1994 and club captain the following year, Martin joined the North District executive in November 2000. During his lead up to the position of Vice President of the District he was also serving for another two years as the Gairloch club captain in 2002 and 2003.
An enthusiastic supporter of junior golf, Martin Robertson is firmly behind the Scottish Golf Union’s initiative on this front and is urging the clubs within his area to bring to the executive’s attention all budding youngsters.
It is also his executive’s intention to have “Roadshows” throughout the North to spread the gospel of the North’s coaching and development framework and hold junior talent spotting days.
James Fraser was captain of Fortrose & Rosemarkie Golf Club in 1994 and 1995 and was recently elected his club’s vice-president. His election as North District vice- president comes after joining the North Executive as recently as November 2003.
After a career in law, James was the Sheriff for the Courts of Dingwall, Inverness and Lochmaddy.
His lifetime of making decisions was immediately recognised by the North District executive and he was given the position of championship convenor for the North’s tournaments. James Fraser holds a Scottish Golf Union Rules of Golf qualification, gained with a 100% pass mark and is hoping soon to tackle the R&A’s rules examination

GOLF FOUNDATION PRESS RELEASE
Golf Foundation raises £80,000 in annual appeal and thanks Club Car for support.
Members of golf clubs all over Britain have played their part in raising around £80,000 for the Golf Foundation’s annual appeal for 2005. Golf clubs were asked to make donations to help fund the Golf Foundation’s important grass roots golf development work in schools, golf facilities and through local authorities all over Britain, which is making the sport more accessible for both boys and girls.
This work in 2005 included: 300,000 children being introduced to golf through the Golf Foundation’s European Tour-endorsed Tri-Golf initiative; nearly 3,000 primary schools welcoming golf into their schools; 500,000 children experiencing some form of golf through the Golf Foundation, and 45,000 children from a diverse range of backgrounds, across nine cities, being involved in community golf schemes thanks to the Daily Telegraph Marriott Golf Roots project.
Added spice for this year’s appeal was provided thanks to Club Car, which presented one of its market-leading Club Car Precedent golf cars to Ken Schofield, to mark his retirement as Executive Director of the European Tour, who in turn donated the Precedent to the Golf Foundation. The car, which would normally sell for around £4,000, was put forward as a prize, and any golf club that donated £250 or more to the Foundation was entered into a draw to win the Precedent. In all, 67 golf clubs reached this figure and with the competition and appeal having just closed, it was left to Ken Schofield himself to make the prize draw, with Epsom Golf Club in Surrey being the lucky winner.
David Bowles, Secretary at Epsom Golf Club, said: “We were shocked and, of course, delighted to be informed that we had won this great prize. We are also very pleased that it has come from supporting the Golf Foundation, an organisation that is doing so much good work for junior golf. At Epsom Golf Club we will continue to support them and hope that all other clubs follow suit. Next year we are leaning towards the Foundation’s ‘£1 per member’ scheme, as this is an easy way to raise vital funds for junior golf.”
Neil Woodfin, Club Car’s Sales Director for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, commented: “The work that the Golf Foundation carries out is essential in bringing new people into the sport and we are delighted to have been able to offer our support in this way.”
Mike Round, Chief Executive of the Golf Foundation, said: “The Golf Foundation has worked hard this year to develop golf in schools, the junior sections of golf clubs and in community projects, and the links between schools and clubs is getting stronger. Of course, all this work costs money and we are heavily indebted to the generosity of many golf clubs all over Britain in providing vital funds. We would like to thank every club member who has given money or time to junior golf, and we’d like to offer special thanks to Club Car and Ken Schofield for donating this prize which served as a great added incentive for the clubs. We are hugely grateful for this level of support.”

EGU Press Release
Fisher included in Costa Ballena squad
Oliver Fisher, the youngest ever Walker Cup player, is included in a strong England team to compete in the Costa Ballena Quadrangular match in Spain at the end of January.
The 17 year old from Essex (pictured left) will line up alongside Elite Squad members David Horsey, John Parry, James Ruth and Paul Waring, plus A Squad member Gary Boyd at Place Costa Ballena Golf Club on 25th - 27th January.
Fisher has enjoyed a superb 2005. After helping England to third place in the Toyota World Junior Golf Cup Challenge in Japan, he made his full England debut in the victorious six-man squad that won the European Men's Team Championships at Hillside in July. He was unbeaten in his singles during the Walker Cup in Chicago when he became the youngest ever GB&I player, just short of his 17th birthday, was a member of England's Home Internationals team and helped win the mixed Spirit International in America. In individual events, Fisher finished joint runner-up in the Brabazon Trophy, reached the semi-finals of the Amateur Championship and the England Amateur Championship before tasting victory in the Duke of York Champions Trophy, the Daily Telegraph Junior Championship and the final of the Faldo Series.
Horsey, whose career hit a new level when he reached the final of the English Amateur at Hollinwell in 2004, has also scaled the heights this year. The 20 year old won the Cheshire Championship to earn a place in the English Champions Tournament which he took by storm, winning by seven strokes after shooting a closing 64, two shots inside the course record at Woodhall Spa. He recently partnered Gary Wolstenholme in the Juan Carlos Tailhade Cup in Argentina following his inclusion in the Elite Squad for 2006.
Parry, the Yorkshire champion, who finished joint third to Horsey at Woodhall Spa, won the Danish Amateur Championship during the summer. That earned him an entry to the Vietnam Open on the Asian Tour in which he played all four rounds. The 19 year old from Harrogate, a former boy international and winner of the McEvoy Trophy, was also fourth in the inaugural South of England Stroke Play Championship at Walton Heath and helped Yorkshire win the English County Championship.
Ruth, 20, from Devon, has been capped at all levels over the past five years and has represented England at home and abroad. He made his full England debut against France at Sandwich last year when included in the Elite Squad for the first time and also played in the Home Internationals. He also helped his club Tavistock win the English Champion Club Tournament and played for Devon in the County Finals as he did again this autumn. A former winner of the Berkhamsted Trophy, this year he has won the St Mellion International, finished third in the Berkshire Trophy, represented England against Spain and again in the Home Internationals and reached the last 16 of the English Amateur.
This year has also been a defining time for Waring. After enjoying a successful international career at under 16, boys and youth levels, the Cheshire lad sustained what proved to be a long-standing injury in the autumn of 2004 which sidelined him for the best part of a year. He celebrated his recovery by becoming English champion over his home course at Bromborough in July then made his long overdue full England debut in September's Home Internationals at Royal St George's.
Boyd has been on the England scene for several years but is still only 19, having won the EGU Gold Medal as an 11 year old back in 1998. Capped at under 16 and boys levels, he was Midland Youths champion last year, finished third in the Carris Trophy (under 18s), and represented GB&I in the Jacques Leglise Trophy. This year, Northamptonshire-based Boyd finished runner-up in the Hampshire Hog, reached the quarterfinals of the English Amateur and represented the EGU in the Chiberta Grand Prix in France, the Saab International and European Amateur Championship, both in Belgium.
The inaugural International Match Costa Ballena Golf in 2001 saw England emerge victorious against Germany, Sweden and Spain, a success that was followed by successive runners-up spots. However, victory was achieved again when the tournament was staged last January.
Like last year, the team will face opposition from Finland, Germany and Spain in a competition that is played on a round robin basis, each match comprising three morning foursomes and six afternoon singles.
England Team:
Gary Boyd (Northants County)
Oliver Fisher (West Essex)
David Horsey (Styal)
John Parry (Harrogate)
James Ruth (Tavistock)
Paul Waring (Bromborough)
Non-travelling reserves: Matthew Baldwin (Royal Birkdale) and James Morrison (St George's Hill)

Press Release
From Balls to Birdies: AmateurLadyGolfer Improves the Game for Women
Time to drop the mince pies and dust down the spikes: a much-needed online community exclusively for lady golfers launches today. Created by Hampshire-based Casie McDonald Wood, AmateurLadyGolfer (ALG) ( www.amateurladygolfer.co.uk ) aims to bring together UK ladies who know their pars from their putters, with the ideal antidote to a male dominated sport.
At present, the UK has around 2,500 golf clubs with more than 200,000 lady members and Casie, 52 - a keen amateur golfer and website developer from Cheriton, Hampshire - wants to improve the golfing experience for the thousands of women who enjoy the game. After spending two years running competitions for the ladies' section of South Winchester Golf Club, Casie came up with the idea for ALG, which provides ladies with friendly competitions and tournaments, the chance to play different courses, and all the advice a girl could need to improve her golfing skills.
Casie explains: “My aim is to build an online community and run the sort of tournaments that are available nationally for men or mixed pairs that will encourage lady golfers to have even more fun. Female golfers are poorly served because golf is still a male preserve and women are a minority. Ladies and men look for something different from their golf game - for us, it’s as much a social experience as a sporting one. ALG fulfils this need, with ladies-only competitions and an emphasis on enjoyment and friendly rivalry.”
To welcome new members, ALG is running two inaugural online competitions - the ‘Par Ladder’ and ‘Birdie Tree’ – which officially open on January 1, 2006, and run until June 2006. With these cleverly conceived competitions, members can compete against ladies throughout the UK without leaving their own golf club or course.
A points system based on hole difficulty, adjusted for handicap, ensures everyone has a fair chance. So players of all abilities can see that their points can mean prizes. Players simply enter their scorecards on the website and see how they’re faring in the contest with leader boards on www.amateurladygolfer.co.uk automatically updating every time a score is entered. ALG awards prizes monthly and overall to the top points scorers as well as handing out fun spot prizes.
The entry fee is £3 per competition or £5 for both; and Lady Captains are eligible for free entry. There’s also a free trial period for everyone covering rounds played in November and December 2005 with the same prize-winning opportunities. To take part in the free trial, ladies register on the website and enter up to three rounds for each of these months before the 15 January 2006.
January 2006 will see the launch of ALG’s Singles and Pairs Tournaments, which give competitors the opportunity to meet new friends and play different courses. The format is Stableford and will involve at lease three matches per person, two of which will be played away from home. The first rounds of these tournaments will take place in April 2006. And, with a view to the future of the sport, ALG is donating a proportion of the tournament income to organisations that encourage girls to take up golf.
Casie McDonald Wood says: “The emphasis is as much upon the social experience as it is on competing. Also in early 2006, we’ll start to add the other sections of the website to develop the community. One early addition will be fantasy league golf, based on selecting teams of world-wide professional lady golfers.”
As well as running competitions and tournaments, ALG rounds up the “best of the web” for lady golfers, with a wealth of information on the best clubs and equipment, tips and techniques and health and fitness advice. The site also includes a golf courses section which shows details of clubs across the UK, including course cards with ladies’ yardages, stroke indexes and pars. ALG promotes club opens, coffee mornings and bridge days in this section free of charge.
ALG is currently seeking sponsors for its tournaments and fantasy league as well as additional prizes for its Par Ladder and Birdie Tree competitions. Sponsors will be richly rewarded through advertising and promotion to the highly targeted ALG community.

By popular demand... here is my grandson Harry, two weeks old, taken by youngest daughter Ali.
Think he looks like Alastair... don't you?

Monday 12th December 2005

R&A Press Release
R&A APPOINTS COLIN PHILLIPS AS ITS FIRST DIRECTOR FOR ASIA-PACIFIC
The R&A, golf’s world rules and development body and organiser of The Open Championship, today announces the appointment of Colin Phillips as its first Director, Asia-Pacific. Phillips, Executive Director of the Australian Golf Union for more than 25 years, takes up his new post with immediate effect.
He will be will be based in Melbourne, Australia, but will spend time travelling throughout the region.
Speaking from St Andrews, Scotland, R&A Director, Mike Tate, said:
"We are delighted that Colin Phillips is joining us. It has been our ambition for some time to have a director permanently based in the region and Colin Phillips has the talents and authority we need to develop our presence in an increasingly important part of the world for our sport.
"Stepping up our activity in the region, working with our affiliated organisations, will benefit from permanent representation on the ground," added Tate.
Almost one in five of the national golfing bodies affiliated to The R&A are located in the Asia-Pacific region, representing a quarter of the world’s golfers. The R&A has established an International Final Qualifying event for The Open Championship in the region and supports both the Asia-Pacific Men’s and the Asian Ladies’ International Amateur Team Championships.
The Open Championship continues to grow in popularity in the Asia-Pacific region, with a record 680 hours of coverage from the 2005 Open at St Andrews, transmitted in 43 territories by fifteen broadcast organisations.
In recent months, The R&A has staged Rules of Golf Schools in Singapore, Korea and China and has supported the China-Scotland Golf Education Partnership since the year 2000 committing funds totalling over £900,000 (AUD 2.07m) to the project.
Additionally, in 2005, The R&A’s founding club, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews selected its Captain for the year from the Asia-Pacific region, The Rt Hon Justice Thomas Munro Gault from New Zealand

Saturday 10th December 2005

SCOTS DISAPPOINT ON FINAL DAY OF PGAS OF EUROPE TEAM EVENT
Scotland had to settle for joint third place behind first-time winners France after having a winning chance at the start of the fourth and final round of the PGAs of Europe international team golf championship over the mountainous Marbella Club Golf Resort on Spain's Costa del Sol today (Saturday).
With 18 holes to go it was France in the pole position at seven under par in the best two from three scores to count daily with Scotland and Ireland breathing down their necks on six under par.
The conditions were perfect - or so it seemed - for a Scots victory charge with high winds rising to sort out the men from the boys.
But it was the Frenchman who coped the better. Jacques Thalamy (three-under 70) and Anthony Manasson (76) gave them a fourth-round total of 146 and a final score of seven-under-577.
That was good enough to win them the 6,000 Euros jackpot prize by two strokes.
Ireland outlasted the Scots to take second place on five-under 579 with a one-under 72 from Brendan McGovern and a 75 from Simon Thornton for 147 on the day. The Irish split 4,800 Euros.
Scotland slumped to their worst daily total of the week -149 with skipper Scott Henderson continuing to perform the anchor role with a 73 but Chris Kelly's three-over 76 had to count while Northern Open champion and Tartan Tour Order of Merit winner Chris Doak had his 77 discarded.
"I've won tournaments in winds before now, but it was so difficult to decide which way it was coming in such hilly conditions. Sometimes it was coming up a valley at you, sometimes down off the steep slopes," said Scott.
There was some excuse for Kelly who took a heavy fall on the opening day, looking for a partner's ball among rocks. He badly twisted his right ankle and was on pain-killers for the rest of the tournament.
The big-hitting Doak did not do himself justice over the four rounds. He had a nightmare outward half on Saturday, running up three double bogeys in an outward five-over-par 42.
England's fourth-round tally of 146 allowed them to make up three shots on the Scots to share third place on three-under-par 581. Both teams received 4,050 Euros. England had three members of the PGA Cup-winning team - Paul Wesselingh, Andrew Baguley and Darren Parris as their line-up in Spain.
Wales' fourth-round team total of 142 was the best by any of the 24 teams left in the contest after the disqualifcation of leaders Spain at the end of the first round because they had two ineligible players in their line-up.
That lifted up the Welshmen - Jimmy Lee, Matthew Ellis and Andy Barnett - into fifth place on 586 and earned the team 3,600 Euros.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
WALES
Jimmy Lee's closing 70 was six shots better than anything else he achieved during the week. "I mastered the par-5s at last and it was nice to finish with an eagle 3. The boys had been giving me some stick after I had non-counting rounds of 78 and 80."
Lee birdied the fifth, seventh and eighth in an outward half of three-under 34 and then birdied the 10th, bogeyed the 11th , 14th and 17th, before his eagle at the 495 metre 18th.
Andy Barnett had a one-under-par 72 (37-35). He birdied the second, eighth, 16th and 18th. He bogeyed the fifth, seventh and 17th.
Matthew Ellis's seven-over 80 was his worst of the week. He bogeyed the second and eighth in 39 to the turn. Then had a nightmare run of a double bogey 6 at the 10th and a double bogey 5 at the short 12th. He birdied the long 13th but bogeyed the 14th ande 17th for 41 home.
IRELAND
Brendan McGovern's closing 72 (35-37)was his third sub-par round of the week.
He birdied the second, third, ninth and 17th and signed off with an eagle 3 at the last. He boged the fourth, double-bogeyed (6) the 10th, bogeyed the 11th and 14th.
"A bad tee shot and three putts cost me that double bogey at the 10th and a three-putted the 11th from only 12 feet, but finishing a tournament birdie-eagle doesn't happen all that often so I'm quite happy personally. We got close to winning but not quite close enough," said Brendan.
Simon Thornton had a two-over-par 75 (40-35). He took a long time to settle in the high winds. He bogeyed the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth and had to birdie the eighth and ninth to get it out in three-over 40.
Coming home, Simon birdied two long holes, the 13tyh and 18th and dropped one shot, at the 17th.
Stephen Hamill had a nightmare nine-over 82 (41-41), by far his worst of the week. Stephen had double bogeys at the short fourth, the long seventh and the par-4 11th. He had single bogeys at the ninth, 12th, 15th, 16th and 17th.
Stephen birdied the fifth and 18th.
ENGLAND
Paul Wesselingh had a very good four days, finishing with a two-under 71, his third sub-par round (he matched par in the third round).
Paul birdied the first, second, seventh, eighth, 15th and 18th. He bogeyed the fifth, ninth, 12th and 13th in halves of 35 and 36.
Andrew Baguely's 76 (37-39) just about summed up his week . He had a double bogey 6 at the 16th after nine straight pars for 37 out. He birdied the 11th but bogeyed the 13th and 14th before his double bogey.
Darren Parris had a 75 (36-39) for second day in row. He birdied the second, had an eagle 3 at the 465 metre par-5 eighth and a birdie at the last. But he bogeyed the fourth, fifth, 11th and then had a disastrous triple bogey 7 at the 17th.
SCOTLAND
Scott Henderson's 73 (37-36) was another anchor-role performance from the Scotland skipper.
"I won tournaments in winds but I just didn't know where the wind was coming from through these valleys and down the slopes," said the Aberdonian.
He bogeyed the third, seventh, 13th and 17th but birdied the sixth, eighth, 15th and 18th.
Chris Kelly had a 76 (37-39). Chris, who took a heavy fall on the first day when looking for a partner's ball among the rocks, requiring pain killers for badly twisted ankle, had a double bogey 6 at the eighth and single bogeys at the 10th, 11th and 18th. He birdied the third and eighth but couldn't squeeze a birdie out of the inward half, when Scotland needed some support for skipper Henderson.
Chris Doak had a 77 (42-35). The Northern Open champion and Tartan Tour Order of Merit winner had an awful outward half. He birdied the first, sixth and eighth but double bogeyed the third, the fifth and the seventh (6-6-7) and had single bogeys at the fourth and ninth.
Coming home, Doak settled to birdie the 12th and 18th and dropped only one shot, at the 16th).
SATURDAY END OF TOURNAMENT SCOREBOARD
PGAs OF EUROPE INTERNATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP, supported by Glenmuir.
Marbella Club Golf Resort, Costa del Sol, Spain.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 73 X 2 = 146 x 4 = 584
577 FRANCE 145 142 144 146 (Jacques Thalamy 70, Anthony Manasson 76) (team prize money 6,000 Euros).
579 IRELAND 142 150 140 147 (Brendan McGovern 72, Simon Thornton 75) (4,800 Euros)
581 ENGLAND 1149 141 145 146 (Paul Wesselingh 71, Darren Parris 75), SCOTLAND 147 145 140 149 (Scott Henderson 73, Chris Kelly 76) (4,050 Euros to each team).
586 WALES 144 151 149 142 (Jimmy Lee 70, Andy Barnett 72) (3,600 Euros).
592 HOLLAND 146 151 145 150 (Simon Crosby 74, Ruben Wechgelaer 76), ITALY 150 144 142 156 (Giorgio Grillo 73, Matteo Peroni 83) (2,900 Euros to each team).
596 SWEDEN 155 149 141 151 (Peter Grimfiord 70, Mark Dewdney 81) (2,500 Euros).
603 CZECH REPUBLIC 147 147 146 163 (Petr Strougal 79, Petr Mruzek 84) (2,200 Euros).
605 SLOVENIA 149 148 152 156 (Daniel Kraljic 77, Janez Grilc 79) (2,000 Euros).
607 SOUTH AFRICA 147 158 151 151 (Paul Marks 71, Norman Mashaba 80).
609 AUSTRIA 154 144 152 159 (Claude Grenier 78, Siegfried Beretzki 81).
612 POLAND 152 151 153 156 (Mike O'Brien 75, Marcin Stelmasiak 81).
614 GERMANY 151 155 149 159 (Lee Spencer 78, Colin Monk 81).
615 FINLAND 154 157 152 152 (Harri Murtonen 75, Riku Soravuo 77/Esa Lehti 77).
616 BELGIUM 155 154 149 158 (Laurent Richard 78, Yuri Tadiotto 80).
618 SWITZERLAND 148 148 164 158 (Marcus Knight 77, Carl Robinson 81).
629 CROATIA 160 155 155 159 (Miro Raic 76, Neno Smoljenovic 83).
630 GREECE 170 156 146 158 (Panagiotis Karantzias 79, Athanasios Karantzias 79).
633 PORTUGAL 159 160 159 155 (Sergio Ribeiro 77, David Moura 78).
637 NORWAY 156 157 158 166 (Eirik Walle 81, Tom Selmer 85)
639 LUXEMBOURG 159 152 159 169 (John Pickford 83, Leslie Cain 86).
648 ICELAND 168 158 162 160 (Helgi Thorisson 78, Sigurdur Petursson 82).
663 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 169 164 160 170 (Alan Johnson 84, Adrian Bell 86).
Disqualified - SPAIN.

DAWSON AND JONES ACHIEVE MASTER PROFESSIONAL STATUS
Ex-Ryder Cup player Peter Dawson and PGA Cup stalwart David Jones are the latest members to be accorded Master Professional status.
The pair join an illustrious group including top European Tour coaches Pete Cowen and Denis Pugh in being recognised by the PGA for their outstanding achievement in the sport.
Dawson, now based at St Cloud Golf Club in Paris, has enjoyed a wide-ranging career as both a player, coach and director of golf and carries the distinction of being the first left-hander to ever play in the Ryder Cup following his appearance for Great Britain & Ireland in the 1977 contest at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
In the same year he also played alongside Nick Faldo for England in the World Cup and partnered Open champion Tom Watson in the first two rounds at Turnberry.
"I suppose the Ryder Cup and world cup were the highlights but really I've just got wonderful memories of having met and played with all the great players," said Peter.
"The chance to play with Palmer, Trevino, Weiskopf, Ballesteros and Norman when he was coming through - it's lovely to be able to say I've played with them and they were all gentlemen."
Jones (pictured right) meanwhile first joined the Tour in 1969, living out of the back of an old bricklayer's Bedford van bought for the princely sum of £50.
After settling down with his wife and two children as the club pro at Bangor in Northern Ireland, he chalked up an impressive PGA Cup record, making seven appearances and twice captain Great Britain & Ireland in the club pros' equivalent of the Ryder Cup.
He also captured three PGA Club Professional titles.
"The PGA Cup is really the pinnacle for a PGA pro, and there is nothing like the feeling of competing against the States for the old battered Llandudno Trophy.  I made more friends, and shared more golfing heartache and joy on those teams than just about anywhere else."
As Irish national coach in '87 he worked with Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke in the early stage of their careers while enjoyimg success of his own by winning the '89 Kenya Open.
Jones has established a reputation as course designer and commentator and for 20 years was a European Tour committee member and s still a board member.
"From Locke to Singh, Jacobs to Leadbetter and Alliss to Laidlaw, I've been blessed to meet, play with and make friends with many great people," said Jones.
The PGA has created four membership classifications above and beyond its normal categories to reflect the expertise, knowledge and achievements of its members.
The status classifications begin at Advanced Professional and move through to Fellow, Advanced Fellow and finally Master Professional.
The following professionals achieved recognition November 2005:
ADVANCED FELLOW
Stephen Cooper  Gainsborough
Richard Lambert  Walsall
David Scott   Kingsbarns
Jonathan Yarwood  Leadbetter Academy
John Heggarty  Royal Liverpool
Maureen Madill  Carden Park
Cathy Panton-Lewis  The Berkshire
Chris Meadows  Regents Park
David Playdon  Wast Hills
FELLOW
Paul Affleck   Portal
Michael Coventon  IQ Venure, Luxembourg
Matthew Gill   Beverly Park
Ian Howieson  RAC Club
Hugh Marr   Premium Golf Consulting
Graham Moore  GM Intentional Golf School
Craig Phillips   Nuneaton
Mark Reeves   Jockey Club , Hong Kong
Cliff Potts   Patraziale GC, Italy
Andrew Whitelaw  The Emirates, UAE
Simon Clough  Belle Mare Plage, Mauritius
Carl Ledbury   Pro1Golf, Belgium
Neil Manchip   Royal Dublin
Chris Mawdsley  Lana GC, Italy
Peter Thomson  Erskine
ADVANCED
Phillip A'Court  Quinta da Marinha, Portugal
Lee Cox   A1 Golf
Thomas Eckford  Ranfurly Castle
Alistair Halliday  Mentmore
Martin Heys   Wexham Park
Christopher Jenkins  Crowlands Heath
Richard Kirby  Chichester
Adrian Rudge  Greenlands Golf & Leisure, Spain
Simon Stevenson  Taunton & Pickeridge
Nigel Turner   Fulwell
Lee Chapman  Wintersqijk GC, Holland
John Gregory   Dartford
Darren Hodgson  Southfield DR
Martin Leung   Red Lane Golf, Dublin

Friday 9th December 2005

First tee at Marbella Club Golf Resort

SCOTS HAVE WINNING CHANCE IN SPAIN
Scotland go into Saturday's fourth and final round with a great chance of winning the PGAs of Europe international team golf championship over the Marbella Club Golf Resort course, set in the middle of the Malaga mountains on Spain's Costa del Sol.
The Scots trio have lowered their best two-from-three team total every day - 147-145-140 and if they can keep up their rate of improvement, it could be the first Tartan triumph in the event since 1997.
Skipper Scott Henderson continued to play an anchor role on the third day with his second successive score of three-under-par 70. But it was Northern Open champion Chris Doak who struck form for the first time this week to lift the Scots up into a share of second place with Ireland on six-under-par 432.
They are only one shot behind the leaders, France.
Defending champions England are by no means out of it in fourth place on 435, one shot ahead of Italy who suffered Spain's opening-day fate of having a player, Andrea Zanini, disqualified because of his ineligibility under the tournament rules.
The removal of Zanini's very good scores from Italy's total saw them tumble down to fifth place and that is where they will start the final round, five shots behind France.
Chris Doak had not looked himself in his early rounds of 74 and 78 and he still had a bag of four bogeys in his third-day 70 but he shot seven birdies in all. Five of them came in six holes in a row from the third, inclouding four straight between the fifth and eighth.
The Greenock man, winner of the Tartan Tour Order of Merit this season, also birdied the long 13th and long 18th by virtue of being such a long hitter off the tee.
"I'm still not happy with my putting. I three-putted three times but my long game was much, much better," said Chris.
Henderson did not have the best of starts, bogeying the first after driving into a bush and three-putting the second and the fourth. But he did birdie the third, the sixth and eighth and had a brilliant eagle 3 at the 467 metre seventh hole where he sank a 20ft putt after getting home in two shots.
"I thought I might break 70 when I got it out in two-under 35 but I pulled my drive at the 13th - if you miss some drives, the slopes off the fairways are a nightmare - to run up a 6."
The Aberdonian finished well with birdie 3s by hitting it close at the 14th and 17th
"We're well place but one or more us in the Scotland team has to score in the 60s for us to have a chance of winning the title," said Scott. "It looks like a great finish with France and Ireland and we'll give it our best shot.
PGAs OF EUROPE INTERNATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP, supported by Glenmuir.
Marbella Club Golf Resort, Costa del Sol, Spain.
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
(Lowest two individual scores from three count daily for team totals).
Par 73 X 2 = 146.
431 FRANCE 145 142 144 (Anthony Manasson 71, Jacques Thalamy 73).
432 SCOTLAND 147 145 140 (Chris Doak 70, Scott Henderson 70), IRELAND 142 150 140 (Brendan McGovern 69, Simon Thornton 71).
435 ENGLAND 149 141 145 (Andrew Baguley 72, Paul Wesselingh 73).
436 ITALY 150 144 142 (Giorgio Grillo 69, Matteo Peroni 73).
440 CZECH REPUBLIC 147 147 146 (Petr Mruzek 72, Petr Strougal 74).
442 HOLLAND 146 151 145 (Ruben Wechgelaer 71, Simon Crosby 74).
444 WALES 144 151 149 (Matthew Ellis 74, Andy Barnett 75).
445 SWEDEN 155 149 141 (Peter Grimfiord 69, Mark Dewdney 72).
450 AUSTRIA 154 144 152 (Siegfried Beretzki 75, Claude Grenier 77).
455 GERMANY 151 155 149 (Colin Monk 70, Lee Spencer 79).
449 SLOVENIA 149 148 152 (Daniel Kraljic 75, Janez Grilc 77).
456 SOUTH AFRICA 147 158 151 (Paul Marks 74, Brian Jacobs 77), POLAND 152 151 153 (Mike O'Brien 75, Marcin Stelmasiak 78).
458 BELGIUM 155 154 149 (Laurent Richard 71, Tim Planchin 78).
460 SWITZERLAND 148 148 164 (Marcus Knight 82, Carl Robinson 82).
463 FINLAND 154 157 152 (Riku Soravuo 74, Esa Lehti 78).
470 LUXEMBOURG 159 152 159 (Leslie Cain 79, Lleon Marks 80), CROATIA 160 155 155 (Miro Raic 77, Neno Smoljenovic 78).
471 NORWAY 156 157 158 (Tom Selmer 76, Thomas Hansen 82).
472 GREECE 170 156 146 (Panagiotis Karantzias 68, Themistoklis Ginis 78).
478 PORTUGAL 159 160 159 (Sergio Ribeiro 74, Sebastiao Gil 85).
488 ICELAND 168 158 162 (Helgi Thorisson 80, Sigurdur Petursson 82).
493 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 169 164 160 (Alan Johnson 78, Adrian Bell 82).

LGU Annual Dinner - Tuesday 17th January 2006
Tickets for the LGU Annual Dinner, to be held in the evening prior to the LGU AGM in Cardiff are now available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The event is being held at the Thistle Hotel, Park Place, Cardiff and starts with a drinks reception at 7:00pm, followed by a three course dinner at 7:45pm. Wine and a gift are included in the price of £36 per person (or £340 for a table of 10).
Pick up a booking form here. For further details visit the LGU website www.lgu.org

Mission Hills China triumphs at 2006 IAGTO Awards
[You can't blame me for publishing this when you see who it from! - GGK]
World’s largest golf club named Golf Resort of the Year - Rest of the World category
December 9, 2005 (Hong Kong) – Mission Hills Golf Club in China, affirmed by Guinness World Records as the world's largest golf facility, has been voted Golf Resort of the Year for the Rest of the World category at the 2006 International Association Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) Awards in association with Hertz.
The prestigious award recognises that Mission Hills China represents the best golf tourism opportunities outside of the United States and Europe and has established itself as one of the best sporting venues in the world. The winner in the United States was the renowned Pebble Beach Resort and, for Europe, the famous Westin Turnberry Resort, venue for 2009 British Open, in Scotland triumphed..
Please feel free to contact me if you have any question.
Cheers
Winky Wong
Assistant Public Relations Manager

EGU Press Release
TEENAGE QUARTET OFF TO SOUTH AFRICA
Four members of England's Under 18 Squad are off to the sunshine of South Africa in the New Year to compete in an inaugural Quadrangular Match against Canada, the Netherlands and hosts South Africa.
The group, which will comprise Ashley Chesters from Shropshire, Hampshire's Sam Hutsby, Dale Smith from Yorkshire, and Hertfordshire's James Watts, will carry English hopes in the tournament being staged at Mabalingwe Golf and Country Club on 15th - 18th January.
Chesters, at 16 will be the youngest of the group but is an emerging talent. He is the reigning Midland boys champion and has been capped at under 16 level over the past two years including recently against Scotland under 16s and the English Girls under 18 team.
The other three players called up are all 17 year olds.
Hutsby, capped at under 16 level last year, moved up to the boys team in 2005 and helped England successfully defend the Boys Home Internationals at Woodhall Spa. He also represented the EGU in the German Junior Masters and the Turkish Amateur.
Smith, another under 16 cap, helped Yorkshire to a share of the Boys County Championship in 2004 and win the title this year. He has been a member of the under 18 squad for two years.
Watts was a team-mate of Hutsby in the victorious Boys Home Internationals side and also played in the Turkish Amateur this summer. Another former under 16 international, he won the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters in June.
The quadrangular contest will involve two foursomes and four singles each day,
The Mabalingwe Country Club course was voted the best new course in South Africa by Golf Digest magazine in 2004. It is the work of Peter Matkovitch, renowned designer of several layouts in southern Africa including Leopard Rock, lies within 1200 hectares of bushveld around an hour and a half north of Pretoria and has its own game reserve.
Prior to arriving at Mabalingwe, the team, minus Watts, will compete in the Ernie Els Junior Tournament at Glendower in Johannesburg on 12th and 13th January. This is a 54-hole stroke play tournament with a cut after the first round, the leading 60 players and ties contesting the final two rounds. Watts, who has school examinations to complete, is delaying his travel to South Africa and will join the others in Johannesburg after the Ernie Els Tournament.
England Team:
Ashley Chesters (Hawkstone Park)
Sam Hutsby (Lee-on-Solent)
Dale Smith (Saltburn)
James Watts (East Herts)
Non-travelling reserve: Jack Hiluta (Chelmsford)

View that sums up Marbella Club's challenging course
[....must have been a challenge to the golf course architect (Dave Thomas) too!- GGK]

FIRST SPAIN, NOW ITALY LOSE LEAD BECAUSE OF INELIGIBLE PLAYERS
For the second day in a row, the overnight leaders in the PGAs of Europe international team championship, supported by Glenmuir, at Marbella Club Golf Resort have been knocked off the top spot because of the ineligibility of a player or players under the rules of the competitIon.
This prompted PGA chairman Sandy Jones to urge all national PGAs who enter teams for the annual PGAs of Europe international team golf championship to ensure that each of their submitted three players meets the competition's entry criteria.
Sandy Jones's intervention became necessary when Italy were tumbled down the leaderboard from their overnight position as second-round leaders because one of their players, Andrea Zanzini, was disqualified after carding a round of 68 following a 70 on the opening day. Both his rounds were discarded from the Italian best two from three daily scores' team total.
This followed a similar situation having arisen at the conclusion of the first round when leaders Spain were found to have two ineligible players, leaving them unable to continue as a one-man 'team' in the four-round stroke-play tournament at Marbella Club Resort on the Costa del Sol.
Italy, however, remain in the competition with their two eligible players but their fall from top spot left France to start the second-half of the 72-hole tournament as leaders on five-under-par 287, only three ahead of defending champions, England, and with Ireland and Scotland sharing third place, three shots further back.
The ineligibility problem has arisen because some national PGAs, in entering their team, have sent players who are currently 'tournament players' only, individuals who have not completed the education programme that is necessary for them to have passed as fully-qualified PGA members.
The tournament is basically for fully-qualified PGA professionals who are not 'players only' but are also engaged as 'club' or 'teaching' professionals.
"In order to protect the integrity and the credibility of the tournament, it is essential that national PGAs ensure that each of their players meets the criteria," said Sandy Jones.
"When the PGAs of Europe receives the entries we are able to check to ensure that they have not been playing on the Challenge or any of the other tournaments.
"But we cannot check the PGA qualification status of each individual, in terms of whether they have completed their training programme (usually three years), or not. That is the responsibility of the PGA who sent in the entry. This year there are 75 players. We could not check the status of each of them. We can only accept each entry in good faith.
"I understand, for instance, that one of the players who has been disqualified was an amateur until only a few months ago, and is clearly not eligible. Each PGA is aware, or should be aware, of the entry criteria.
"The Education Committee of the PGAs of Europe has worked successfully for some 15 years to ensure that our member countries have recognised training programmes in place. It is essential that those players who appear in the international team championship have completed that programme and are thus qualified as PGA members.
"If individuals wish to be 'players only', and do not undertake the recognised PGA training programme, that's fine by us, but they are not eligible for this competition."
HOW THEY STAND AFTER TWO ROUNDS
287 France.
290 England.
292 Ireland, Scotland.
293 Austria.
294 Italy, Czech Republic.
295 Wales.
296 Switzerland.
297 Slovenia, Holland.
303 Poland.
304 Sweden.
305 South Africa.
306 Germany.
309 Belgium.
311 Finland, Luxembourg.
313 Norway.
315 Croatia.
319 Portugal.
326 Iceland, Greece.
333 United Arab Emirates.
DISQ-Spain

PAULINE CLEANS UP AS RIVALS FOUNDER
Pauline Danaher achieved every golfer's dream on her way to success at Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort's Founders' Day competition - by producing a clean sweep of all the prizes available at Spain's new number one golf resort.
[see picture right: Pauline is on the right. She received her prizes from Ineis Mendoza Conessa, Minister for Works and Services.]
Pauline won all four nearest-the-pin prizes and the longest drive to score 38 points and claim victory in the ladies' event on the second day of the inaugural tournament on Hacienda del Alamo's stunning 7,400-yard championship course.
The 12-handicapper, from Dublin, Ireland, walked off with the silverware at the short holes after hitting the ball closest at the 5th, 8th, 12th and 15th - all testing par threes requiring a wood or long iron.
And Pauline knew it was going to be her day when she teed up her ball on the 478-yard par five 18th hole and launched it straight down the middle - watched by Hacienda del Alamo's director of golf Billy Sim.
"I had been hitting the ball well all day and was delighted to find the green on all four par threes because two of them were playing into the wind but I certainly didn't expect to win all the prizes," said Pauline.
"It was one of those days where I felt really comfortable but the lads I was playing with gave me a fair amount of stick after my drive on the 18th and said I was showing off in front of Billy.
"You should have seen me at the prize-giving dinner. I had four visors, two tee shirts and lots of other things. I had five bags by the end of the evening and didn't know how to carry everything," she joked.
Pauline, who is a member at Beaverstown and Shannon golf clubs, could have scored even better in the competition for owners and their guests had she not three-putted TEN TIMES thanks to a putter she was using for the first time.
And the lecturer in culinary arts at Dublin's Institute of Technology missed out on the ladies' overall first prize as she did not play in the first day of the event held at the luxury golf and property resort near Fuente Alamo, Murcia.
Pauline, who flew over from Ireland with her husband Richard, especially for the event, added: "The local professional suggested that I use the putter but it was a lot softer than the one I'm used to playing with and I won't be using it again.
"I was a bit disappointed not to win the overall prize but didn't realise the competition was on the Friday as well. But the course was the best I have seen it, it was in fantastic condition and the greens were excellent."
Regina Sim secured first place in the overall ladies' competition with 52 points while an impressive two-round score of 70 points helped Martyn Nethercott prevail in the men's event.
Pauline was one of more than 80 people to take part in the two-day competition at Hacienda del Alamo and has backed the five-star complex to become one of the most sought-after golf resorts in Europe.
The luxury development, situated in 550 hectares, already boasts one championship course, 550 villas and a golf academy.
But, by 2010, this will have grown to 3,500 villas, 400 luxury apartments and a five-star hotel and spa together with a 'Spanish-style' village featuring shops, bars and restaurants and a second championship golf course.
Pauline, who bought a three-bedroom villa with her husband at the resort three years ago, added: "Hacienda is a very exciting project and it has the potential to be the best there is in the area.
"The golf course is wonderful and we intend to move down there permanently when we reach the age of 50.

Thursday 8th December 2005

SCOTLAND MISS CHANCE TO PROFIT FROM SPANIARDS'S DISQUALIFICATION
Scotland are lying joint fourth on level par 292 at the halfway stage of the PGAs of Europe international team golf championship, supported by Glenmuir, over the Marbella Club Golf Resort on the Costa del Sol today (THURSDAY).
But there was certainly no satisfaction in Scotland line-up of Scott Henderson (Kings Links), Chris Doak (Lanark) and Chris Kelly (Cawder) at their improvement within the leading 10.
They knew they had failed to grasp a golden opportunity presented by the overnight disqualification of leaders and host nation Spain by tournament director Kevin Feeney for fielding a team with two players who "did not meet the tournament's eligibility criteria).
It was Italy who profited most from the shock removal of the Spaniards from the tournament. Giorgio Grillo had the lowest round of the second day - a splendid five-under-par 68 - and he was closely supported by team-mate Andrea Zanini with a 69.
Under the best two from three scores to count for a team daily, the Italy's nine-under-par second-round total of 137 hoisted them seven shots clear of the field at 12-under-par 280 with 36 holes to go.
France, for whom Jacques Thalamy shot a 69, are the Italian's closest challengers at five-under 287.
Defending champions England, well off the pace after a disappointing first-day total of 149, came surging through into third place on two-under 290.
Ireland, technically left in the lead at the start of the second round, slipped back to a share of fourth place on level par with Scotland on the 292 mark.
Scotland skipper Scott Henderson, despite a troublesome back, led by example with a three-under-par 70 (37-33) but Chris Kelly's 75 was good enough to count ahead of Chris Doak's 78 to give the Scots a second-round total of 145.
Henderson dropped his only shot of the day at the fifth but covered the remainder of the holes in four under par with birdies at three long holes (the seventh, 13th and 18th) and also at the par-4 16th.
Like the Aberdonian, Chris Kelly is also on pain-killers but in his case it is for a painful ankle received when he fell heavily on rocks looking for a partner's ball on this mountain course with severe slopes either way.
Kelly had an eagle 3 at the long eighth where he chipped in but he cancelled that out with a double bogey 6 at the 16th in halves of 37 and 38.
Northern Open champion Chris Doak was hot and bothered when he came off with a five-over-par round after a long, hard day on the slopes.
He promptly took off his cap and poured a bottle of cold water over himself in an attempt to cool down.
"I started at the 10th and three-putted my first two greens. Then I had another bogey at the 16th and a triple-bogey 7 at the 17th. I had to birdie the 18th to cover my first nine in six-over-par 42," moaned Doak.
"I got it going better from the first hole with birdies at the second, third, fifth, seventh and eighth but I still had a double bogey at the sixth and dropped other shots at the fourth and ninth.
SCOREBOARD
PGAs OF EUROPE INTERNATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP, supported by Glenmuir.
Marbella Club Golf Resort, Costa del Sol, Spain.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
(best two from three individual rounds count for daily team total).
Par 73
280 ITALY 143 137 (G Grillo 68, A Zanini 69).
287 FRANCE 145 142 (J Thalamy 69, A Manasson 73).
290 ENGLAND 149 141 (P Wesselingh 70, D Parris 71).
292 IRELAND 142 150 (S Hamill 74, S Thornton 76), SCOTLAND 147 145 (S Henderson 70, C Kelly 75).
293 AUSTRIA 149 144 (C Grenier 71, S Beretzki 73).
294 CZECH REPUBLIC 147 147 (P Strougal 73, P Mruzek 74).
295 WALES 144 151 (A Barnett 72, M Ellis 79).
296 SWITZERLAND 148 148 (C Robinson 70, M Knight 78).
297 HOLLAND 146 151 (R Wechgelaer 73, S Crosby 78/M Reynolds 78), SLOVENIA 149 148 (J Grilc 73, D Kraljic 75).
303 POLAND 152 151 (M O'Brien 73, M Stelmasiak 78).
304 SWEDEN 155 149 (J Stern 73, P Grimfiord 76).
305 SOUTH AFRICA 147 158 (P Marks 76, B Jacobs 82).
306 GERMANY 151 155 (M Steckmann 77, L Spencer 78/C Monk 78).
309 BELGIUM 155 154 (Y Tadiotto 77, L Richard 77).
311 FINLAND 154 157 (R Soravuo 75, E Lehti 82), LUXEMBOURG 159 152 (L Marks 76, J Pickford 76).
313 NORWAY 156 157 (T Hansen 74, T Selmer 83).
315 CROATIA 160 155 (M Raic 73, N Smoljenovic 82).
319 PORTUGAL 159 160 (S Ribeiro 75, S Gil 85/D Moura 85).
326 GREECE 170 156 (P Karantzias 73, T Ginis 83), ICELAND 168 158 (H Thorisson 76, K Bjarnason 82).
333 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 169 164 (A Johnson 76, J Danby 88).
DISQ - SPAIN.

EGU Press Release
NEW STRUCTURE FOR THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION
After 80 years as an unincorporated organisation the English Golf Union has amended its structure to both protect the assets of the Union and at the same time modernise the Union's management.
The new structure, which received the full approval of the County Unions, came into being on 1st November 2005 and will see the previous English Golf Union responsibilities split between two new and separate companies, The English Golf Union Limited and EGU Property Company Limited.
The English Golf Union Limited (EGU) will manage the core activities of the Union supporting players, clubs, counties and the hundreds of volunteers involved in the game, as well as the day-to-day management of The National Golf Centre and the courses at Woodhall Spa through a 100% subsidiary, Woodhall Spa Golf Management 2005 Limited. EGU Property Company Limited will own and manage land and buildings at the Woodhall Spa site.
The EGU, which had been an Unincorporated Association for over 80 years, recognized the potential unlimited liability exposure of its Committee members. The new structure ensures that this potential liability is removed. As an incorporated body the EGU is now limited by guarantee - the guarantee being the 34 County Unions, the National Association of Public Golf Courses (NAPGC) and the Artisans Golfers' Association (AGA) with the limit on that guarantee being £1.00.
The changes also included a streamlining of the management functions with the aim of improving the speed and efficiency of decision making so benefiting all the stakeholders of golf in England. Both the number of committees and the number of people serving on the remaining committees will be reduced.
Paul Baxter, EGU Chief Executive commented, "I am confident that the game of golf will benefit from the new structure. We now have a modern and efficient organisation which is qualified to take on the challenges that lie ahead."
The arrangement does not alter the voting structure of the EGU. That remains with the 34 County Unions, the NAPGC and the AGA and the EGU emphasizes that it is these voting representatives that remain the vital link between the clubs and their individual members.
Baxter continued, "Throughout the entire process of establishing our new structure I have been delighted with the support we have received from our counties. They are after all the EGU. Their contribution has been constructive from start to finish. We should all be proud with the final result and I would like to thank those who made change possible."

EILEEN MANSON BECOMES NCLGA VICE-CAPTAIN
Following the resignation of Meg Sieveright (Keith) as vice-captain of the Northern Counties Ladies Golf Association, Thursos Eileen Manson has accepted the post of vice-captain during the 2006 playing season until the association's annual meeting in October 2006.
Miss Manson (50) began playing golf in the mid-1970s and soon achieved a single figure handicap by winning womens tournaments in her native Caithness and also claiming on numerous occasions the club championships at Thurso and Reay.
Last September she was a member of the Northern Counties team at the Scottish women's county finals at Ranfurly Castle. She had two ties, winning one and losing the other.

LEADERS SPAIN DISQUALIFIED FROM PGAS OF EUROPE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
SPAIN, first-round leaders in the PGAs of Europe international team championship over the Marbella Club Resort course, have been disqualified from the 72-hole tournament.
"Two members of the Spanish team did not meet the competition's entry criteria," said tournament director Kevin Feeney.
Spain's team was Pablo Larrazabal, Juan Parron and Alvaro Velasco. Larrazabal shot a five-under-par 68 - sharing with Ireland's Brendan McGovern the lowest first-day individual scoring honours; Parron a 71 and Velasco a 73.
Under the best two from three scores to count daily, Spain led at seven-under-par 139 - three strokes ahead of Ireland (McGovern, Simon Thornton 74 and Stephen Hamill 75).
The disqualification of the Spaniards meant that Ireland went into the second round with a one-shot lead over Italy (143) with Wales (Matthew Ellis 72, Andrew Barnett 72 and Jimmy Lee 78) third on 144.
Spain won the PGAs of Europe international team title three years in a row from 2001 through to 2003. Defending champions England (Paul Wesselingh 71, Darren Parris 78 and Andrew Baguley 80) had a first-round total of 149 yesterday and were joint 11th, now amended to joint 10th.
Scotland (Scott Henderson 73, Chris Doak 74 and Chris Kelly 77) totalled 147 and, following Spain's disqualification, were joint sixth going into the second round.

Wednesday 7th December 2005

SCOTLAND IN SEVENTH PLACE IN SPAIN
Scotland are sharing seventh place one-over-par 147 in a record field of 25 countries at the end of the first of four rounds in the PGAs of Europe international team golf championship, supported by Glenmuir, over the mountainous Marbella Club Resort course on Spain's Costa del Sol.
Skipper Scott Henderson (Kings Links), pictured right, was not all that happy only to match the par of 73 and the other counting score was a 73 by Northern Open champion and Order of Merit winner Chris Doak (Lanark) with a 74.
Chris Kelly (Cawder) had the non-counting round of 77 under the best two-from-three daily format.
"That's some course!" said Henderson who teed off at the 10th and was bunkered at both the 11th and 18th to be two-over-par standing on the first tee.
"I felt a bit happier when I birdied the first three holes to get to one under par but then I gave the shots away again with bogeys at the fourth and fifth. It took a birdie 5 at the long eighth to salvage a par round. I don't think I've been so disappointed in a par round for a long time."
Chris Doak was not a happy chappie either with a 74.
"I was going OK when I got to the turn in two-under 35 with birdies at the first, seventh and eighth and only one bogey at the fifth," said Chris.
"But I bogeyed the 10th, 12th, 15th, 16th and 18th and birdies at the third and 14th couldn't turn that around. My putting's terrible. I'll have to do something about it."
Kelly, like Doak, was out in 35 with birdies at the second, third and seventh and one off-setting bogey, at the sixth. But the former Scottish assistants champion dropped six shots over the first five holes of his inward half, including a quadruple bogey 8 at the 14th.
A birdie 2 at the short 15th was only a temporary turn for the better as he bogeyed the next and took 42 shots - six over the card - for the inward journey.
Defending champions England have given their main rivals a big start. Paul Wesselingh, Darren Parris and Andrew Baguley - all members of Great Britain & Ireland's PGA Cup-winnning team over the Americans at the K Club in September - are back in joint 11th place (in a record field of 25 countries) on
three-over-par 149.
Wesselingh could feel quite happy with a two-under-par 71 but Parris had a 78 and Andrew Baguley a non-counting 80.
Spain are setting the pace on 139 with rookie pro Pablo Larrazabal sharing the first-day individual honours with Ireland's Brendan McGovern on the 68 mark.
McGovern's great effort - despite his continuing problems with his driver - hoisted Ireland into second place on 142. Simon Thornton (74) was Ireland's other counter. Stephen Hamill's 75 was discarded.
Italy (143) are lying third with Wales (144) fourth. Matthew Ellis and Andrew Barnett both scored one-under 72s. Skipper James Lee had a non-counting 78.
PGAs OF EUROPE INTERNATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Marbella Golf Resort, Spain.
FIRST ROUND TOTALS
Par 73
139 SPAIN (P Larrazabal 68, J Parron 71, A Velasco 73).
142 IRELAND (B McGovern 68, S Thornton 74, S Hamill 75).
143 ITALY A Zanini 70, G Grillo 73, M Peroni 77).
144 WALES (M Ellis 72, A Barnett 72, J Lee 78).
145 FRANCE (J Thalamy 71, A Manasson 74, J Cantagrel 80).
146 NETHERLANDS (M Reynolds 72, S Crobsy 74, R Wechgelaer 75).
147 CZECH REPUBLIC (P Mruzek 71, P Strougal 76, R Schovanek 87), SCOTLAND (S Henderson 73, C Doak 74, C Kelly 77), SOUTH AFRICA (P Marks 69, N Mashaba 78, B Jacobs 84).
148 SWITZERLAND (M Knight 73, C Robinson 75, J Schmid 79).
149 AUSTRIA (S Beretzki 73, M Moser 76, C Grenier 81), ENGLAND (P Wesselingh 71, D Parris 78, A Baguley 80), SLOVENIA (J Grilc 74, DKraljic 75, D Murgelj 80).
151 GERMANY (L Spencer 75, C Monk 76, M Steckmann 81).
152 POLAND (M O'Brien 71, M Stelmasiak 81, K Ossowski 84).
154 FINLAND (R Soravuo 72, E Lehti 82, H Murtonen 83).
155 BELGIUM (T Planchin 75, Y Tadiotto 80, L Richard 81), SWEDEN (M Dewdney 76, O Grimfiord 79, J Stern 82).
156 NORWAY (T Selmer 76, T Hansen 79, E Walle 84).
159 LUXEMBOURG (L Cain 79, J Pickford 80, L Marks 81), PORTUGAL (S Ribeiro 76, S Gil 83, D Moura 84).
160 CROATIA (N Smoljenovic 74, M Raic 86, D Ljubanovic 95).
168 ICELAND (K Bjarnason 83, H Thorisson 85, S Petursson 85).
169 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (A Johnson 79, A Bell 90, J Danby 95).
170 GREECE (P Karantzias 82, T Ginis 88, A Karantzias NR).

LGU Press Release
LADIES’ GOLF UNION EMBRACES NEW TECHNOLOGY
This year the Ladies’ Golf Union introduced, for all championships, web-based online entries and encouraged by the success is proceeding with an updated online system for 2006.
Though the 2005 system was introduced late in the entry process, over 80% of all entries were received electronically.
Susan Simpson, Director of Championships of the LGU said: "We believe we are the only British-based golf governing body to have such a system in place. The adoption of the technology has been a huge asset to the players and administrators alike."
"It has dramatically cut down administration but more importantly has made our championship entry process much more accessible worldwide. It is interesting to note that in 2005, tournament entries overall rose by 10% and we believe this to be mainly down to our online system. We realistically expect over 90% of all entries next year to come through that route."
The LGU has always recognised the need to stay at the cutting edge of technology. Championship services now include automatic text messaging of tee times and cuts, WAP scoring to mobile phone handsets and online live scoring at all events.
[Actually East of Scotland Girls have been entering their competitions via the web from this website for the last two years, so I suppose we are at the cutting edge of technology too! - GGK]

Tuesday 6th December 2005

Stephen Gallacher launches City of Edinburgh Junior Golf Strategy
Stephen Gallacher, the 2004 Dunhill Links Championship winner, today (Tuesday 6 December 2005) launched the City of Edinburgh Junior Golf Strategy, a programme designed to make golf accessible to every child in Edinburgh.
The Bathgate 31 year old, who this year finished third in the Deutsche Bank Players' Championship and represented Scotland in the World Cup, unveiled the strategy at Edinburgh’s Silverknowes Golf Course together with Hamish Grey, Chief Executive of the Scottish Golf Union and clubgolf board member, Edinburgh Leisure’s Chief Executive, Keith Jackson and Brian Harris, Sport & Education Manager of the City of Edinburgh Council’s Children & Families Department. Gallacher also took the opportunity to give 12 boys and girls from Sciennes Primary School a golf clinic.
Created by the partnership of Children and Families, Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Leisure and clubgolf, the City of Edinburgh Junior Golf Strategy mirrors Scotland’s National Junior Golf Strategy, clubgolf, borne out of the Scottish Executive's commitment to introduce every nine-year-old child in Scotland to the game by 2009.
The City of Edinburgh Junior Golf Strategy aims to support clubgolf’s 2009 targets by:
· Giving 3866 nine year olds in primary education the opportunity to access an entry level golf programme in school
· Retaining 1585 nine to fourteen year olds in the City of Edinburgh clubgolf programme in any one year, each transferring from the schools programme into skills programmes operated by clubs
· Giving 825 nine to fourteen year olds in the City of Edinburgh access to a programme that is specifically designed and made available to community groups
· Establishing pathways from the schools programme to junior sections of golf clubs and develop clear school club links
· Establishing the strategy at 21 clubgolf centres (clubs or golf facilities delivering the core skills programme)
· Establishing a new junior specific facility
“The City of Edinburgh Junior Golf Strategy provides a perfect opportunity for children to experience the game at an early age and learn the basic skills which will stay with them throughout their golfing lives,” said Stephen Gallacher.
“Not only is golf a fun game which is played in a safe and secure environment, it promotes good health, and demands a high standard of discipline and etiquette; qualities that will be of benefit in their overall development.
“Helping children experience golf through a recognised and well-structured programme can only help the development of the game in this area. I would encourage golf clubs in Edinburgh to offer their support to the programme.”
During its pilot phase clubgolf received strong support from the community. Over one thousand primary school children at twenty-six Edinburgh schools experienced firstclubgolf, the strategy’s introductory game during the 2004/05 academic year. Five Active Schools Co-ordinators have trained local teachers and other school staff to deliver the programme to their P5 age groups.
Forty-eight children experienced clubgolf’s Stage 1 course at Edinburgh Leisure’s Carrick Knowe, Craigentinny and Silverknowes golf courses this summer. Since the Hermitage Clubhouse and Golf Course opened last year, 167 children have been through its clubgolf programme. At Turnhouse Golf Club, the first Edinburgh club to join the strategy, thirty-six children signed up for the clubgolf course this summer. Thirty-two volunteer coaches are coaching Stage 1 of the programme.
Edinburgh Leisure’s Chief Executive, Keith Jackson welcomes the new strategy, "This strategy is an exciting prospect for children in Edinburgh and a challenge to all of us - golf facilities, golf clubs, coaches and volunteers - to work together.
“Golf needs to look forward to the future and engage with young people and current players, to ensure that there is a future of participation and performance within the game. We need to ensure that courses and clubs in Edinburgh sign up to the strategy and actively encourage young people to play. Who knows, any of these children could follow in the footsteps of any of our fine golfers and become the next Stephen Gallacher or Lloyd Saltman."
Said Hamish Grey, Chief Executive of the Scottish Golf Union and clubgolf board member, "Many individuals and organisations have been involved in developing the City of Edinburgh Junior Golf Strategy and we have no doubt that it will attract the widest possible support and commitment.
“It is very encouraging to see that so many local schools and children in Edinburgh are already involved and experiencing the benefits of clubgolf. The challenge now is to encourage more golf clubs to come on board so that the children we are introducing to clubgolf at school can follow a structured pathway and keep progressing to the level they aspire to.
Edinburgh golf clubs and members can find out how they can play a part in the City of Edinburgh Junior Golf Strategy when Turnhouse GC hosts a clubgolf Roadshow on Tuesday 13 December at 7.00pm.
“Turnhouse Golf Club is fully aware of the importance of introducing youngsters to the game and everybody at the Club is delighted to be a part of this initiative with clubgolf which allows us to put something back into the local community,” said Ian Holt, Turnhouse GC’s Junior Convenor.
“The clubgolf programme has been a huge success at Turnhouse this summer. All the children and tutors have thoroughly enjoyed themselves and some of the children are showing a lot of promise. I would recommend other clubs have a look at this initiative, see what it has to offer them and encourage local children to begin a game they may not previously have had access to.”

PGAs of Europe Preview
Scotland won the PGAs of Europe international team golf championship five times in the 1990s - but they have dropped out of the ranks of leading contenders since their last win in 1997.
This week's three-man, 72-hole event, supported by Glenmuir, has been switched from its traditional home at Atalaya Park, where reconstruction work is not finished to another Costa del Sol venue - Marbella Club Golf Resort.
The difference in the courses could hardly be more marked. Atalaya Park is relatively flat and not too difficult by pro standards. The mountainous route to the Marbella Club course is not for the faint-hearted and Dave Thomas must have worked overtime to reclaim a par-73 golfing strip of some 6,800yd from the hilly terrain. The scenery is awesome and each hole seems to be on a different level. It's a golf course with a difference. There can't be many in Britain, for instance, with three par-5s - the sixth to the eighth - in quick succession. It's an exclusive golf course which you can only play if you are a member or taken on a guest.
After yesterday's (TUESDAY) practice round, for which the temperatures were up in the mid-20s on the Costa del Sol, opinions were divided among the players from a record number of 25 countries. Some thought that such an unconventional hilly course opened up the number of teams with genuine winning chances. Others believed that skill would rise to the top over the next four days.
Aberdonian Scott Henderson (Kings Links), a fixture in the Tartan Tour teams over the past few years, is captain of the trio made up on himself, Order of Merit winner and Northern Open champion Chris Doak (Lanark) and Chris Kelly (Cawder).
Defending champions England are entitled to start favourites if only on the grounds that their trio - Paul Wesselingh, Andrew Baguley and Darren Parris - were all members of the successful GB&I team in the PGA Cup match against the Americans at the K Club in September. Wesselingh is the skipper.
Wales, champions in 2000, have the reigning Glenmuir Club pro championship title-holder, Matthew Ellis (Clays), in their line-up, supported by skipper James Lee (Caerphilly) and Andrew Barnett (St Melyd). Lee, winner of the Welsh PGA Order of Merit, will be making his fifth appearance in the tournament. Ellis is another member of this year's winning PGA Cup team.
Ireland, who last won the PGAs of Europe team title in 1998, are represented by Simon Thornton (Royal Co Down), Brendan McGovern (Headfort) and Stephen Hamill (Lisburn). Thornton topped the Irish Order of Merit with five wins including the Ulster PGA championship.
TEAMS:
AUSTRIA - Siegfried Beretzki, Claude Grenier, Michael Moser.
BELGIUM - Tim Planchin, Yuri Tadiotto, Laurent Richard.
CROATIA - Miro Raic, Darko Ljubanovic, Neno Smoljenovic.
CZECH REP - Petr Mruzek, Petr Strougal, Robert Schovanek.
ENGLAND - Paul Wesselingh, Andrew Baguley, Darren Parris.
FINLAND - Harri Murtonen, Riku Soravuo, Esa Lehti.
FRANCE - Anthony Manasson, Jacques Thalamy, Jerome Cantagrel.
GERMANY - Lee Spencer, Colin Monk, Mark Steckmann.
GREECE - Panagiotis Karantzias, Athanasios Karantzias, Themistoklis Ginis.
ICELAND - Helgi Thorisson, Sigurdur Petursson, Kristvin Bjarnason.
IRELAND - Simon Thornton, Brendan McGovern, Stephen Hamill.
ITALY - Giorgio Grillo, Mattewo Peroni, Andrew Zanini.
LUXEMBOURG - Leslie Cain, Lleon Marks, John Pickford.
NETHERLANDS - Simon Crosby, Mark Reynolds, Ruben Wechgelaer.
NORWAY - Tom Selmer, Thomas Hansen, Eirik Walle.
POLAND - Mike O'Brien, Marcin Stelmasiak, Kuba Ossowski.
PORTUGAL - Sergio Riberio, Sebastiao Gil, David Moura.
SCOTLAND - Chris Doak, Christopher Kelly, Scott Henderson.
SLOVENIA - Daniel Kraljic, Janez Grilc, Damjan Murgelj.
SOUTH AFRICA - Norman Mashaba, Brian Jacobs, Paul Marks.
SPAIN - Juan Parron, Pablo Larrazabal, Alvaro Velasco,
SWEDEN - Peter Grimfiord, Jonas Stern, Mark Dewdney.
SWITZERLAND - Marcus Knight, Carl Robinson, Jann Schmid.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Adrian Bel, Julian Danby, Alan Johnson.
WALES - Matthew Ellis, Andrew Barnett, James Lee.
RECENT TITLE WINNERS
1993 Spain. 1996 Scotland. 1997 Scotland. 1998 Ireland. 1999 England. 2000 Wales. 2001 Spain. 2002 Spain. 2003 Spain. 2004 England.

Monday 5th December 2005

MHAIRI SAVES HER BEST FOR LAST BUT NOT ENOUGH TO KEEP EXEMPT STATUS
Mhairi McKay, the only Scot to survive the fourth-round cut, finished on a high with her best round of the 90 holes – a two-under-par 70 for a total of five-over-par 365 in the LPGA Final Qualifying School at Daytona Beach, Florida on Sunday.
Mhairi would have had to shoot 363 or better to be one of the 24 players who gained exempt status for next year’s LPGA Tour.
But the Glasgow-born player’s good closing effort did gain her seventh place among the next 35 who won conditional status. That means Mhairi won’t gain entry to all the LPGA events next season but perhaps enough in which to win sufficient prizemoney to regain full playing rights.
Japanese LPGA Tour star Ai Miyazato finished with a 72 for a 17-under-par total of 343 to win the $6,000 top prize. She finished 12 shots clear of the field. The previous biggest winning margin was nine shots by Michelle Walker in January 1975 when the Qualifying School was over only 54 holes.
Two Swedish players finished in the top 20. Louise Stahle, winner of the British women’s open amateur title for the past two years, closed with a 74 for joint 11th place on 359. Karin Sjodin finished with a 73 for 362 and a share of 16th place.
There was a three-hole play-off among the seven players who finished with totals of three-over-par 363 to decide which three would gain exempt status. One of the successful trio was US Curtis Cup player Brittany Lang. One of the unsuccessful was Australia’s Mardi Lunn
Kathryn Marshall from Monifieth and Vikki Laing from Musselburgh totalled 300 and 305 on Saturday and failed to beat the fourth-round cut which fell at 297.
UPDATED SCOREBOARD
LPGA FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL
Daytona Beach, Florida.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 72
343 Ai Miyazato (Jap) 66 69 70 66 72
355 Libby Smith 75 70 73 68 69, Lee Ann Walker-Cooper 70 68 74 72 71.
356 Brooke Tull 73 70 72 70 71, Katie Futcher 71 72 69 71 73.
357 Julieta Granada (Par) 73 72 71 71 70, Morgan Pressel 66 75 75 71 70.
Others who gained exempt status included:
359 Louise Stahle (Swe) 71 72 69 73 75.
362 Karin Sjodin (Swe) 69 73 72 75 73.
363 (after play-off) Brittany Lang 70 72 75 73 73.
Players gaining conditional status included:
365 Mhairi McKay (Sco) 73 71 71 77 70.
Players eliminated after three rounds included:
298 Samantha Head (Eng) 75 71 80 72.
300 Kathryn Marshall (Sco) 75 75 77 73.
304 Fame More (Eng) 72 76 78 78.
305 Vikki Laing (Eng) 73 82 78 72.
310 Danielle Masters (Eng) 86 76 75 73.
312 Becky Brewerton (Wal) 81 78 78 75.

SCOTS PAIR FINISH 10TH IN ARGENTINA
Scotland’s Bryan Fotheringham from Forres and John Gallagher (Swanston) finished 10th  in the field of 14 for the Juan Carlos Tailhade Cup international team amateur golf tournament at Los Lagartos Country Club, Buenos Aires in Argentina.
After a disastrous opening day, when their combined total was 158, Bryan and John improved their scores to 150, 146 and 146 again for a final total of 600 – 15 shots behind trophy winners Netherlands.
Fotheringham, who improved from 82 in his opening round to shoot 76, 71 and 71 for a personal total of 300, said:
“I think we could have been doing with being out here a few days earlier. We were still getting used to the different conditions over the first two days. But it was very good experience for both of us.”
Gallagher, who, like Fotheringham, made his debut for Scotland in the team that won the home internationals in September, also finished on 300 with scores of 76, 74, 75 and 75.
Netherlands (575) won from defending champions Argentina (577) with Italy and Canada sharing third place on 584.
Wales (Ben Westgate and Chris Cousins), sharing the lead in the early stages, finished joint fifth with Germany on 588.
England (Gary Wolstenhome and David Horsey) finished one place ahead of Scotland in ninth spot with 593.
Kevin Sharp (Canada) and Joost Luiten (Netherlands) had the lowest individual totals of 284.

JOEL SLUMPS AGAIN AFTER SATURDAY PAR-BUSTING ROUND IN US Q SCHOOL
Elgin-born Joel Hendry has fourth and fifth  rounds of 69 and 76 over the weekend to be sharing 146th place  on nine-over-par 360 as the US PGA Tour Final Qualifying School moved into its last 18 holes at Winter Garden, Florida today (Monday).
Hendry will not gain one of the 30 players’ cards to be won at the end of the 108-hole marathon but at least the 26-year-old twice Scottish youths champion got some of his pride back in the fourth round on Saturday.
His 69 – his only sub-par round so far – started from the 10th tee and included birdies at the 12th, 13th, 15th and 17th as he covered his first nine holes in three-under-par 33. After that, Joel, who has lived in the States for most of the last decade, bogeyed the sixth but birdied the seventh to complete the other half in par 36.
In the fifth round, Joel, again starting at the 10th, reverted to his previous disappointing form with bogeys at the 15th, 17th, first, third, seventh and eighth more than cancelling out birdies at the 12th and 18th iun halves of 36 and 40.
Joel’s father, Elgin businessman Mike Hendry said:
“The outcome for Joel, regardless of where he finishes, will be good as he has already guaranteed at least 18 starts on the Nationwide Tour next season.
When I spoke to him on the phone earlier in the tournament, he said that when his short game and putting were fine, he would struggle off the tee and being long courses, it is a must that you hit the fairways.”
Hendry came through two stages to reach the Final Q School, having paid an entry fee of $4,500.
American Michael Allan dropped out of the leadership over the fifth round.
Compatriots John B Holmes and D A Points share the No 1 position at 21-under-par 339. Allan (342) is in third place.
Three European Tour players looked set to finish in card-winning, top-30 positions. Alex Cejka (Germany) is sharing fourth place on 343 and Scandinavians Henrik Bjornstad (Norway) and Mathias Gronberg (Sweden) are in joint 10th place on 347.
UPDATED SCOREBOARD
US PGA TOUR FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL
Winter Garden, Florida.
LEADING FIFTH-ROUND TOTALS
Par 72
339 J B Holmes 69 69 68 67 66, D A Points 69 69 68 66 67.
342 M Allan 64 68 71 69 70.
343 A Cejka (Ger) 73 66 68 70 66, N Thompson 74 67 69 64 69.
Other scores:
347 H Bjornstad (Nor) 69 69 71 68 70, M Gronberg (Swe) 69 72 67 69 70.
353 A McLardy (SA) 72 70 69 73 69.
354 R Johnson (Wal) 71 71 68 73 71.
355 G Hjerstedt (Swe) 72 74 72 68 69.
367 P-U Johansson (Swe) 72 72 72 73 78.
369 J Hendry (Sco) 76 75 73 69 76.
Withdrew: Philip Price (Wal) 73 75 71 - -.

Sunday 4th December 2005

Ailsa, Lady Bader and Mary Summers at the presentation of the Ladies Moroccan Salver

MONIFIETH MUM AND DAUGHTER (11) CAP MOROCCO TRIP WITH VICTORY
Monifieth mum and daughter Mary and 11-year-old Ailsa capped a magical golf trip to Morocco by winning the Ladies Moroccan Salver tournament, played over the Palmeraie Golf Palace course at Marrakech with the backdrop of the Atlas Mountains.
Mary, who plays off two, reached the final of the British girls’ championship as Mary Mackie at Edzell in 1982 when she lost to England’s Claire Waite.
Mrs Summers, who runs the girls’ section of Angus County Ladies Golf Association, is the current Angus women’s county champion and also holds the Carnoustie Ladies Golf Club and Carnoustie Links ladies’ titles.
Ailsa plays off 28 of a handicap.
Now in its fourth year, the Ladies Moroccan Silver is a national greensomes tournament playing in the United Kingdom but not Northern Ireland. This year’s competition attracted entries from 350 golf clubs.
Each club stages its own qualifying competition, the winners of which go forward to one of 10 regional finals throughout the UK.
Mary and Ailsa first won the qualifying round at their own golf club, Panmure Barry at Carnoustie and then scored 42pt – the equivalent of six under par net – to win the regional qualifier at Pitreavie Golf Club, Dunfermline in mid-September.
Then there was the long build-up in anticipation to the end of November when the 10 winning partnerships from the regional finals were flown out by Royal Air Maroc to Marrakech to stay at the five-star Palmeraie Golf Palace Hotel for four nights, all expenses paid.
During their stay, the national Moroccan Tourist Office arranged a number of excursions around the city of Marrakech with its world-famous square, Jamma El Fina.
In the grand final of the Ladies Moroccan Salver greensomes tournament over the Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course which adjoins the hotel, Mary and Ailsa recaptured the Pitreavie form that had earned them the trip to North Africa.
They totalled 42 Stableford points again – their scorecard include one net eagle, six net birdies, nine net pars and only two net bogeys – to win by the resounding margin of six points from their nearest challengers, Tricia Ross and Sue Waters from The Craythorne Golf Club, Staffordshire.
After being ducked in the hotel’s swimming pool – a tournament tradition – Mary and Ailsa attended the prize presentation dinner and received the salver from Lady Bader OBE. The Summers have been invited back to Marrakech as guests of the sponsors for next year’s tournament – although, to defend the salver, they will have first to go through the club and regional eliminating process.
“I am sure we will go anyway,” said Mary. “It was such a memorable few days, both on an off the course. The secret of our success was that we did not stray off the fairway very much. The rough was quite tangled stuff, difficult to get you ball out of.
“The weather at around 16 to 18 degrees was just perfect for us, coming from the cold of Scotland, not too hot but very pleasant. I think our biggest problem on the golf course was working out the distances. Everything was in metres instead of the yardages we are used to.
“Ailsa enjoyed it every bit as much as I did. She wrote a poem which she read out at the gala dinner. She finished by saying ‘This has been a great memory of mine.
“Lady Bader is a great character to say the least. In her speech, she said: ‘I hope you all have had a wonderful time but if you haven’t it is your own bloody fault!’ ”
In her speech, Lady Bader OBE said how delighted she was to have had a young girl win through as it was always her intention to hold a competition which included all the golf club members and particularly the juniors who are the future of all golf clubs.
The Douglas Bader Foundation has raised £20,000 from this event and the mixed pairs event for the Bader Cup.
“Now that Mary and Ailsa have won the Ladies Moroccan Salver – the first Scottish champions we have have -  we are looking forward to many more entries from Scotland,” said tournament organiser John Southwick.
+The Douglas Bader Foundation uses its funds to help people who have lost limbs in accidents literally get back on their feet again. “Sadly, it is mostly young men who have been in motor bike accidents, we have to help these days,” said Lady Bader, widow of  Sir Douglas who lost both legs in a plane crash in the early 1930s but went on to become an ace fighter pilot in World War II.

IMPROVING SCOTS STILL 10TH WITH ONE ROUND TO GO IN ARGENTINA
Scotland’s Bryan Fotheringham and John Gallagher are sharing 10th place in the Juan Carlos Tailhade Cup international team amateur golf tournament in Argentina despite improving their combined totals significantly over the second and third rounds at the Los Lagartos Country Club, near Buenos Aires.
On Saturday, Bryan shot one of the scores of the day – a par-matching 71, which was 11 strokes better than his opening-round nightmare. Even a suspension of play while a thunder and lightning storm passed overhead could not put the Forres man off his game.
Swanston member John had a 75, which gave the Scots a third-round team score of 146 after earlier efforts of 158 and 150.
Gallagher has an individual tally of 12-over-par 225 while Fotheringham is on 229.
Their overall combined score of 454 leaves them 19 shots behind the leaders and defending champions, Argentina.
Wales (Ben Westgate and Chris Cousins) have dropped down to fourth place on 438 behind Netherlands (434) and Canada (436).
England (Gary Wolstenholme and David Horsey) are sharing eighth place with Germany on 449.
JUAN CARLOS TAILHADE CUP TEAM TOURNAMENT
Los Lagartos CC, Buenos Aires, Argentia.
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 71
433 ARGENTINA 149 142 142 (E Goya 74 70 70, S Saavedra 75 72 72).
434 NETHERLANDS 145 148 141 (j Luiten 71 76 78, T Sluiter 74 72 73).
436 CANADA 147 145 144 (K Simard 76 69 69, A Parr 71 76 75).
438 WALES 143 148 147 (B Westgate 70 74 74, C Cousins 73 74 73).
443 ITALY 152 147 144 (E Molinari 77 70 71, L Gagli 75 77 73).
446 UNITED STATES 146 156 144 (T Miskell 73 72 71, S Galko 73 84 73), SOUTH AFRICA 146 150 150 (C Coetzee 783 74 73, L Moolman 73 76 77).
449 GERMANY 156 155 140 (C Schunk 74 75 69, S Kirstein 82 78 71), ENGLAND 153 146 150 (G Wolstenholme 74 74 74, D Horsey 79 72 76).
454 SCOTLAND 158 150 146 (J Gallagher 76 74 75, B Fotheringham 82 76 71).
Other totals:
460 MEXICO.
464 SWEDEN.
466 SPAIN.
469 FINLAND.
479 PARAGUAY.

MHAIRI IS ONLY BRIT TO MAKE IT THROUGH TO FINAL ROUND OF LPGA FINAL Q SCHOOL
Only Mhairi McKay from Glasgow of the three Scots, three English and one Welsh player competing in the LPGA Final Qualifying School has survived to contest the fifth and final round at Daytona Beach, Florida today.
Mhairi wobbled in Saturday’s fourth round  to a five-over-par 77 after earlier scores of 73, 74 and 71 but her seven-over-par tally of 295 beat the 72-hole cut with two strokes to spare.
But Mhairi’s standing of joint 56th place means she needs a sub-70 round as a finale to have a chance of figuring among the top 24 who will gain exempt status for next season’s LPGA Tour.
The next 35 and ties will gain entry only to a limited amount of tournaments.
England’s Samantha Head missed the cut by one shot with a 72 for 298. Her third-round 80 was the knock-back score.
Kathryn Marshall from Monifieth – a winner in the past on the LPGA Tour – finished on 300 after a final round of 73, by two shots her best of the four days.
England Curtis Cup player Fame More from Chesterfield finished on 304 with a 78.
Vikki Laing from Musselburgh is left on the sidelines as a tour player. She left her best until last with a par 72 for 305. A second-round 82 scuppered her prospects. She missed the cut by eight shots.
Fame More’s 2004 Curtis Cup team-mate, Danielle Masters from Kent finished on 310, closing, like so many others, with her best round, a 73. It was almost as though, knowing they had already blown their chance of qualifying, they were able to relax and play the standard of golf of which they are capable.
Becky Brewerton from Wales comes into this category. How could a player of her skill shoot 81, 78, 78 and 75 for 24-over-par 312?
Japanese circuit star Ai Miyazato is heading for a record winning margin in the tournament. She duplicated her opening-day 66 to raise the bar to 17-under-par 271. She leads by 12 shots.
Sweden’s Louise Stahle, winner of the British women’s open amateur championship for the past two years, is the leading European player in joint fifth place after a 73 for three-under 285.
American wonder kid Morgan Pressel got back in the groove after a pair of 75s had sent her tumbling down the leaderboard. The 17-year-old from Boca Raton, Florida is sharing 11th place on 287.
SCOREBOARD
LPGA FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL
Daytona Beach, Florida.
LEADING QUALIFIERS FOR FINAL ROUND
Par 72
271 Ai Miyazato (Jap) 66 69 70 66.
283 Kate Golden 72 71 71 69, Katie Futcher 71 72 69 71…
284 Lee Ann Walker-Cooper 70 68 74 72.
285 Louise Stahle (Swe) 71 72 69 73, Brooke Tull 73 70 72 70, Nicole Jeray 70 75 69 71.
Other qualifiers included:
287 Morgan Pressel 66 75 75 71.
289 Karin Sjodin (Swe) 69 73 72 75.
295 Mhairi McKay (Sco) 73 74 71 77.
NON-QUALIFIERS
298 Samantha Head (Eng) 75 71 80 72.
300 Kathryn Marshall (Sco) 75 75 77 73.
304 Fame More (Eng) 72 76 78 78.
305 Vikki Laing (Eng) 73 82 78 72.
310 Danielle Masters (Eng) 86 76 75 73.
312 Becky Brewerton (Wal) 81 78 78 75.
All the scores from the LPGA website

JOEL GETS HIS PRIDE BACK WITH A FOURTH-ROUND 69 AT Q SCHOOL
Elgin-born Joel Hendry is unlikely to gain one of the 30 players’ cards at the end of the six-round US PGA Tour Final Qualifying School – but the 26-year-old twice Scottish youths champion got some of his pride back in the fourth round on Saturday.
Joel shot a three-under-par 69 after earlier, error-strewn rounds of 76, 75 and 73. His 72-hole total is five-over-par 293 and he is sharing 142nd place with two rounds still to go at the Winter Garden, Florida.
Starting at the 10th, Hendry bogeyed the 10th but birdied the 12th, the 13th, 15th and 17th to cover his first nine holes in three-under-par 33. After that, Joel, who has lived in the States for most of the last decade, bogeyed the sixth but birdied the seventh to complete the other half in par 36.
Joel’s father, Elgin businessman Mike Hendry said:
“The outcome for Joel, regardless of where he finishes, will be good as he has already guaranteed at least 18 starts on the Nationwide Tour next season.
When I spoke to him on the phone earlier in the tournament, he said that when his short game and putting were fine, he would struggle off the tee and being long courses, it is a must that you hit the fairways.”
Hendry came through two stages to reach the Final Q School, having paid an entry fee of $4,500.
Long-time leader Michael Allan from Californian was joined by fellow American D A Points in the pole position at 16 under par 272 in the fourth round. Allan has scored 64, 68, 71 and 69 while Points has gone 69, 69, 68 and 66.
Three European Tour players are sharing 10th place – Alex Cejka (Germany), Matthias Gronberg (Sweden) and Henrik Bjornstad) on 11-under 277.
Welshman Philip Price, who, like Hendry, started at the 10th, withdrew after eight holes. He bogeyed the 12th and 15th and double-bogeyed the 16th but birdied the 17th.
His completed rounds were 73, 75 and 71 for three-over-par 219.
There is no cut in the 108-hole tournament.
US PGA TOUR FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL
Winter Garden, Florida.
LEADING FOURTH-ROUND TOTALS
Par 72
272 Michael Allan 64 68 71 69, D A Points 69 69 68 66.
273 Tom Byrum 67 73 68 65.
Other scores:
277 Henrik Bjornstad (Nor) 69 69 71 68, Matthias Gronberg (Swe) 69 72 67 69, Alex Cejka (Ger) 73 66 68 70.
283 Richard Johnson (Wal) 71 71 68 73.
284 Andrew McLardy (SA) 72 70 69 73.
286 Gabriel Hjerstedt (Swe) 72 74 72 68.
289 Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 72 72 72 73.
293 Joel Hendry (Sco) 76 75 73 69.
Withdrew: Philip Price (Wal) 73 75 71 -.

Saturday 3rd December 2005

Scottish Golf Union president Graham Ewart (left) and North-east District president George Young (right) flank the top three boys in the district during 2005 - Order of Merit winner Scott Fraser (Northern) in the centre, David Morrison (Duff House Royal), left, Graeme Mitchell (Northern), right.

SCOTS MOVE UP IN ARGENTINA GOLF
The Scotland pairing of John Gallagher, pictured right, from Swanston and Bryan Fotheringham (Forres), pictured below right, improved two places to ninth in a field of 16 for the Juan Carlos Tailhade Cup international team amateur golf tournament at Los Lagartos Country Club, Buenos Aires.
Cack-handed Gallagher, beaten finalist in this year’s British amateur championship, has had rounds of 76 and 74, while Fotheringham, who also made his debut for Scotland in the winning team in the home internationals in September, has shot 82 and 76 over the par-71 course.
John and Bryan’s second-round combined score of 150 was an eight-shot improvement on their first-day total.
The Scots’ halfway team total of 308 puts them 17 shots behind the joint leaders, Wales (Ben Westgate and Chris Cousins) and the host nation and defending champions Argentia (Estanislao Goya and Sebastian Saavedra).
England’s Gary Wolstenholme and David Horsey are in sixth place on 299. Wolstenholme, who has won this event in partnership with Nick Dougherty, has had a pair of 74s while Horsey found his feet with a second-round 72 after opening with a 79.
SCOREBOARD
JUAN CARLOS TAILHADE CUP TEAM TOURNAMENT
Los Lagartos CC, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 71
291 WALES 143 148 (B Westgate 70 74, C Cousins 73 74), ARGENTINA 149 142 (Estanislao Goya 74 70, Sebastian Saavedra 75 72).
292 CANADA 142 145 (Kevin Simard 76 69, Andrew Parr 71 76).
293 NETHERLANDS 145 148 (Tim Sluiter 74 72, Joost Luiten 71 70).
296 SOUTH AFRICA 146 150 (Charles Coetzee 73 74, Louis Moolman 73 76).
299 ENGLAND 153 146 (Gary Wolstenholme 74 74, David Horsey 79 72), ITALY 152 147 (Edoardo Molinari 77 70, Lorenzo Gagli 75 77).
302 UNITED STATES 146 156 (Terry Miskell 73 72, Steve Galko 73 84).
308 SCOTLAND 158 150 (John Gallagher 76 74, Bryan Fotheringham 82 76).
309 MEXICO 160 149 (Roberto Diaz Gonzalez 77 74, Maurico Azcue 83 75), GERMANY 156 153 (Christian Schunk 74 75, Stefan Kirstein 82 78).
312 SWEDEN 162 150 (Stefan Erdedi 81 73, David Lingmerth 81 77).
313 SPAIN 160 153 (Jose Luis Adarraga 76 78, Vicente Gonzalo 84 75).
317 FINLAND 160 157 (Tuomas Sistonen 80 778, Ulvio Antti 80 79).
320 PARAGUAY 154 166 (Angel Horikawa 72 83, Jose Salazar 82 83).
330 URUGUAY 168 162 (Martin de Leon 81 84, Bruno Brun 87 78).

MHAIRI McKAY MOVES INTO CONTENTION TO KEEP LPGA TOUR PLAYER’S CARD
Glasgow’s Mhairi McKay boosted her hopes of retaining his LPGA Tour player’s card with a third round, one-under-par 71 for a 54-hole tally of two-over-par 218 in the Final Qualifying School at Daytona Beach, Florida yesterday (FRIDAY).
With two rounds to go, Mhairi, whose earlier rounds were 73 and 74, has improved to a share of 23rd place  …. And at the end of 90 holes, the leading 24 players will gain exempt status on next year’s LPGA circuit.
Kathryn Marshall from Monifieth and Musselburgh’s Vikki Laing will need to pull out all the stops if they are to survive the cut after Saturday’s fourth round, which will reduced the last-day field to the leading 70 and ties.
Kathryn is in joint 98th place on 10-over-par 227 after scores of 75, 75 and 77.
Vikki is sharing 124th place on 233 after rounds of 73, 82 and 78.
Japanese Tour star Ai Miyazato has surged seven strokes clear of the field with scores of 66, 69 and 70 for 11-under-par 205.
Sweden’s Louise Stahle, winner of the British women’s open amateur championship for the past two years, is one of three places sharing second place on four-under 212. Louise’s rounds have been 71, 72 and 69.
Compatriot Karin Sjodin is also well up the field on the 214 mark with rounds of 69, 73 and 72.
LPGA TOUR FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL
Daytona Beach.
Leading third round totals
Par 72
205 Ai Miyazato (Jap) 66 69 70.
212 Katie Futcher 71 72 69, Louise Stahle (Swe) 71 72 69, Lee Ann Walker-Cooper 70 68 74.
Other scores:
214 Karin Sjodin (Swe) 69 73 72.
216 Morgan Pressel 66 75 75.
218 Mhairi McKay (Sco) 73 74 71.
226 Fame More (Eng) 72 76 78, Samantha Head (Eng) 75 71 80.
227 Kathryn Marshall (Sco) 75 75 77.
233 Vikki Laing (Sco) 73 82 78.
237 Becky Brewerton (Wal) 81 78 78, Danielle Masters (Eng) 86 76 75.
All the scores from the LPGA website

JOEL RECOVERY SKEWERED BY LATE DOUBLE BOGEY IN FLORIDA
Elgin exile Joel Hendry was set for his first sub-par round of the US PGA Tour Final Qualifying School until he double-bogeyed the 16th and finished with a one-over-par 73 in the third round at Winter Garden, Florida.
Hendry, the only Scot in the field of 164 chasing 30 players’ cards for next year, is now sharing 150th place on eight-over-par 224. His earlier rounds were 76 and 75.
Joel bogeyed the fourth but birdied the sixth and 11th and was going along nicely until his disaster at the 16th.
Germany’s Alex Cejka, four times a winner on the European circuit, is well placed at the halfway stage of the six-round eliminator. He has had rounds of 73, 66 and 68 to be joint fifth on nine-under-par 207.
Michael Allan from California continues to make the running. He leads by three shots on 13-under 203 after scores of 64, 68 and 71.
US PGA TOUR FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL
Winter Garden
Leading third-round totals
Par 72
203 Michael Allan 64 68 71.
206 Danny Ellis 69 70 67, John Holmes 69 69 68, D A Points 69 69 68.
207 Alex Cejka (Ger) 73 66 68, Joseph Alfieri 69 74 64.
Other scores:
208 Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 69 72 69.
210 Richard Johnson (Wal) 71 71 68
211 Andrew McLardy (SA) 72 70 69.
216 Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 72 72 72.
218 Gabriel Hjerstedt (Swe) 72 74 72.
219 Philip Price (Wal) 73 75 71.
224 Joel Hendry (Sco) 76 75 73.

Friday 2nd December 2005

SCOTS LYING 11TH AFTER FIRST ROUND IN ARGENTINA
Scotland’s Bryan Fotheringham from Forres and John Gallagher (Swanston) were lying 11th in the field of 16 teams at the end of the first round of the 32nd Juan Carlos Tailhade Cup international amateur golf tournament at Los Logartos Country Club, near Buenos Aires in Argentina today (FRIDAY).
Both made their debut for Scotland in the home internationals in September and this trip to South America was an added bonus for their good form during the season.
Gallagher, beaten finalist in the British amateur championship, shot a five-over-par 76 in windy conditions while  Bryan struggled to score an 82, giving the Scots first-round team total of 158 – 15 shots behind surprise leaders Wales (Ben Westgate and Chris Cousins).
“I had a bad run from the ninth to the 12th, going triple bogey, bogey, bogey, double bogey,” said Bryan.
“It was a mixture of being behind trees and plugged in bunkers but the rest of the round wasn’t too bad. I felt I did well on the greens whereas a lot of the players we talked to back in the clubhouse said they struggled for line and pace.
“My local caddie was good at reading them so I’m looking forward to a big improvement in my score in the rest of the tournament. John’s feeling quite positive too after his 76 so we’re determined to start climbing that leaderboard from the second round onwards.”
Wales have a two-shot lead from the Netherlands with United States, competing for the first time, sharing third place with South Africa.
England’s Gary Wolstenholme (74) and David Horsey (79) are back in eighth place on 153. Wolstenholme has won the event in partnership with Nick Dougherty.
JUAN CARLOS TAILHADE CUP TEAM TOURNAMENT
Los Logartos CC, Buenos Aires, Argentina
FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 71
143 Wales (Ben Westgate 70, Chris Cousins 73).
145 Netherlands (Joost Luiten 71, Tim Sluiter 74).
146 United States (Steve Galko 73, Terry Miskell 73), South Africa (Louis Moolman 73, Charles Coetzee 73).
147 Canada (Andrew Parr 71, Kevin Simard 76).
149 Argentina (Estanislao Goya 74, Sebastian Saavedra 75).
152 Italy (Lorenzo Gagli 75, Edoardo Molinari 77).
153 England (Gary Wolstenholme 74, David Horsey 79).
154 Paraguay (Angel Horikawa 72, Jose Salazar 82).
156 Germany (Cjhristian Schunk 74, Stefan Kirstein 82).
158 Scotland (John Gallagher 76, Bryan Fotheringham 82).
160 Spain (Jose Luis Adarraga 76, Vicente Elena Gonzalo 84), Finland (Tuomas Sistonen 80, Ulvio Antti 80), Mexico (Roberto Diaz Gonzalez 77, Maurico Azcue 83).
162 Sweden (Stefan Erdedi 81, David Lingnerth 81).
168 Uruguay (Martin de Leon 81, Bruno Brun 87).

MHAIRI IS BEST OF BRITISH – BUT STILL WELL DOWN THE LPGA Q SCHOOL FIELD
Mhairi McKay from Glasgow is the top British player on the scoreboard after 36 holes of the five-round LPGA Final Qualifying School at Daytona Beach, Florida.
But even Mhairi, with rounds of 73 and 74 for three-over-par 147 is well down the field in joint 44th place.
There is a cut to the leading 70 and ties after four rounds and the leading 24 at the end of the tournament will gain excempt cards for next year’s lucrative LPGA Tour.
Fame More from Chesterfield, a Curtis Cup player two years ago, has scored 72 and 76 for 148 and is sharing 57th place.
Kathryn Marshall from Monifieth, the first Scot ever to win the world’s No 1 ladies’ pro circuit, is in joint 82nd place after a pair of 75s.
Vikki Laing from Musselburgh had one of those nightmare rounds that have haunted her in recent times. She scored a 10-over-par 82 after her encouraging start of a 73. A tally of 11-over 155 puts her in a share of 114th place.
Welsh girl Becky Brewerton has had very disappointing rounds for a player of her undoubted class. Scores of 81 and 78 for 159 have her in joint 135th place.
Danielle Masters from Kent, a Curtis Cup team-mate of Fame More at Formby in 2004, is sharing 139th place – last in the field – with scores of 86 and 76 for 162.
Ai Miyazato, a 20-year-old multi-winner on the Japanese LPGA Tour, has opened up a three-stroke lead with a 66 and 69 for nine-under-par 135.
LPGA FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL
Daytona Beach
Leading second-round totals (Par 72)
135 Ai Miyazato (Jap) 66 69.
138 Lee Ann Walker-Cooper 70 68.
141 Nina Reis 71 70, May Wood 68 73, Morgan Pressel 66 75.
British scores:
147 Mhairi McKay (Sco) 73 74.
148 Fame More (Eng) 72 76.
150 Kathryn Marshall (Sco) 75 75.
155 Vikki Laing (Sco) 73 82.
159 Becky Brewerton (Wal) 81 78.
162 Danielle Masters (Eng) 86 76.
All the scores from the LPGA website

Thursday 1st December 2005

HENDRY’S HOPES FADE OF GRADUATION FROM US PGA TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL
Twice Scottish youths champion Joel Hendry lost more ground on the leaders in the second round of the US PGA Tour Final Qualifying School at Winter Garden, Floriday today (THURSDAY).
Elgin-born Hendry, 26, is based at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and has lived in the States for most of the past decade.
Joel followed up his disappointing first round of 76 with a three-over-par 75 for a seven-over-par 151, Starting at the 10th on the Crooked Cat course, the Scot bogeyed the 10th, 11th and 15th in covering his first nine holes in three-over 39.
Hendry birdied the long first and fourth and also the short sixth but he cancelled out these rare highlights with bogeys at the third, fifth and eighth.
It cost Joel $4,400 to enter the US PGA Tour qualifying process and he did extremely well to get through Stages 1 and 2 to reach the final, six-round test which will decide the top 30 and ties who will gain playing rights for next year’s lucrative tour.
Even if he does not make it through to the final day – and the odds would appear against it – Hendry’s achievement in reaching the last stage will gain him entry to a number events on next year’s Nationwide Tour, the No 2 pro circuit in America.
Californian Michael Allen increased his overnight lead with a 68 to be on the 12-under-par 132 mark.
Alex Cejka (Germany), a four-time winner on the European Tour, boosted his prospects with a 66 for 139 but Welshman Philip Price had a 75 for 148.
UNITED STATES PGA TOUR FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL
Winter Garden, Florida.
Leading second-round totals
132 M Allen 64 68.
Also:
139 A Cejka (Ger) 73 66.
141 M Gronberg (Swe) 69 72.
142 A McLardy (SA) 72 70.
146 G Hjerstedt (Swe) 72 74.
148 P Price (Wal) 73 75.
151 J Hendry (Sco) 76 75.

SALLY WATSON WILL ROUND OFF DREAM YEAR PLAYING IN JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL
… BUT SGU CONTINUE TO DECLINE INVITATION
Scottish Under-18 girls’ golf champion Sally Watson – still only 14 years old - will round off a brilliant breakthrough year by playing in the 42nd Junior Orange Bowl international championship at Biltmore Golf Club, Coral Gables in Florida.
The South Queensferry lass, who is a member at Elie & Earlsferry Golf Club across the Forth in Fife, reached the semi-finals of the Scottish women’s amateur championship at Cruden Bay in May.
Then, in July, Sally won the Scottish girls’ match-play title at Tain, beating the very highly-rated Carly Booth on the 17th green in a classic final.
There were also team appearances for Scotland in the European girls’ championship in Switzerland and the Ladies Golf Union girls’ home internationals at Worplesdon plus a winning team performance for Scotland against England in the schoolgirls’ international match at Glasgow Gailes.
Sally then became the youngest player since Jane Connachan to be selected for the Scotland team for the WOMEN’S home internationals at Dundalk, Ireland in September.
The Junior Orange Bowl international championship is one of the biggest tournaments on the world’s teenage golf calendar. Entry for boys and girls, who must be under 19 years on December 30 and not a student at college or university, is by invitation only.
A maximum of 70 boys and 40 girls from around the world make up the field for the event which is held over four rounds of stroke play between December 27 and 30.
Tiger Woods won the JOB boys’ title in 1991 and another past Open champion, Mark Calcavecchia, won it in 1977. Jose Maria Olazabal played in the early 1980s but did not win. Neither did Annika Sorenstam, Lotte Neumann or Hal Sutton in their youth.
Sally Watson said last night:
“I am thrilled at the prospect of being invited to play against 39 of the world's best girl golfers at the Junior Orange Bowl. To be competing in an event which can lay claim to past champions such as Catrin Nilsmark, Grace Park, Cristie Kerr and Christina Kim is really exciting.
“While it is the middle of our off-season, I am determined to play my best in the tournament. The Junior Orange Bowl will cap what has been a fantastic year for me; the highlights of which have been winning the Scottish girls’ championship, being selected for the Scottish ladies' home international team and spending a week in Texas in October with Butch Harmon and his three brothers.”
Sally’s father, Edinburgh businessman Graham Watson, pictured right with Sally, said:
“I am looking forward to seeing Sally compete against the best girls in the world at the Junior Orange Bowl. She deserves the opportunity to test herself at this level. It has been an exciting season watching her mature as a golfer. “Sally’s efforts, coupled with those of her fellow girl internationalist sister, Rebecca, during the year have made our whole family very proud. Sally is a very dedicated student athlete and with the support of her Scottish-based coach, Ian Muir at Elie, together with the team at the East of Scotland Institute of Sport, I know that she will be ready to play when she arrives in Florida.”
England will be represented in the Junior Orange Bowl field by Tom Sherreard (Chart Hills), Steven Capper (Caldy), Kiran Matharu (Cookridge Hall) and Florentyna Parker (Royal Birkdale).
Ireland’s representative, Alan Glynn (Porters Park), lives in Hertfordshire and was English schoolboys champion in 2004. His parents are Irish.
The Scottish Golf Union has repeatedly over the years declined invitations from the Junior Orange Bowling organising committee to send its current match-play or stroke-play boy champion.
SGU national coach Ian Rae explained:
"The SGU has never sent anyone to this particular tournament, primarily due to the difficulties associated with travelling away from home at this time of year. Also, any young player that we would consider will be heavily involved in the off-season training and development programme gearing up for the busy year ahead."

MHAIRI AND VIKKI (73) SHARE 44TH PLACE IN LPGA FINAL Q SCHOOL
Mhairi McKay and Vikki Laing are sharing 44th place on one-over-par 73 after the first round of the LPGA Final Qualifying School at Daytona Beach, Florida.
They had matching halves of 36 for the outward half and 37 for the inward half.
Kathryn Marshall, the third Scot in the big field chasing 24 exempt cards for the richest women’s professional golf tour in the world, hot a 75 (38-37) to be joint 79th.
Sharing the lead are 20-year-old Ai Miyazato, a six-time winner on the Japanese LPGA circuit, and 17-year-old Morgan Pressel, the US women’s amateur champion and joint runner-up in the US Women’s Open.
Morgan turned pro a week or two ago but would not be able to become a member of the LPGA until her 18th birthday in May.
They both shot six-under-par 66s.
The tournament is over 90 holes. There will be a cut after four rounds.
FIRST-ROUND SCOREBOARD

TURNBERRY TO HOST THE 2009 OPEN
The R&A has announced that the 2009 Open Championship will be played at the Westin Turnberry Resort from 16–19 July, the fourth time that Turnberry has hosted The Open since it was added in 1977 to the list of Open venues.
As a location, it is unsurpassed for its dramatic seascape as a ‘backdrop’ to the world’s oldest major and as a challenging championship layout, it has produced three winners of the highest calibre.
1977 will be remembered for its ‘Duel in the Sun’ when Tom Watson won by the narrowest of one shot margins after both he and Jack Nicklaus halved the 72nd hole in birdies; Greg Norman, the Champion in 1986, remembered for his record second round of 63 after opening with a 74, and Nick Price in 1994, remembered not only for his outrageous putt on the penultimate hole, but also for his titanic struggle against Jesper Parnevik, in second place.
Since Price’s win in 1994, the demands of The Open have substantially increased and while Turnberry could adequately cater in relation to infrastructure and space, traffic management implications had to be resolved before a return to the Ayrshire links could be considered.
Commenting on the announcement, David Hill, Director of Championships for The R&A said: "There has never been any doubt that The Open would return to Turnberry, one of our very best links courses, but before reaching that decision we had to be convinced that every aspect of our forward planning process was in place to ensure a successful return to Turnberry in 2009.
"One element of that planning process was the implementation of a traffic management scheme to ease congestion and since South Ayrshire Council have commenced construction of a road link, essential to the scheme, we now have in place the final piece of the jigsaw."
"I would like to thank all those who have made this announcement possible but in particular Westin Turnberry Resort for agreeing to host The Championship and South Ayrshire Council for proceeding with the new length of road."
Turnberry’s General Manager Stewart Selbie said; "This announcement consolidates years of work and co-operation between The R&A, South Ayrshire Council and ourselves. I am thrilled for everyone on the Turnberry team who has worked on this. In my six years here so many of the world’s best golfers have told me that they enjoy coming to Turnberry as one of the best Open venues in the world."
"This is not only a great story for Turnberry as we move into our centenary year in 2006, but for the whole of Ayrshire, which will again become the centre of the golfing universe in July 2009."
Said a delighted Councillor David Duncan, Acting Leader of South Ayrshire Council: "This really is great news for South Ayrshire and the West of Scotland as a whole, both from a sporting and an economic point of view.
"I am appreciative of The R&A acknowledging that my Council’s significant investment in a major roads scheme has played an important part in helping ensure that Turnberry has been chosen for the 138th Open Championship."
"While we have believed for some time that we were in the running to have the event staged at Turnberry, and officers from the Council have been working with The R&A’s traffic consultants to ensure an improved traffic management scheme was in place, news of the official announcement really is marvellous."
Councillor Duncan added; "In committing itself to the finances involved as part of the Council’s overall economic strategy for the area, we were obviously well aware of the potential benefits to the area in attracting an event such as The Open at Turnberry."
"I am delighted that our commitment has paid off handsomely."

Turnberry 1st Dec 2005 As announced by The R&A today, the 138th Open Championship will be returning to Turnberry, Ayrshire from 16th to 19th July 2009, taking place on the resort’s renowned Ailsa Course. 
Turnberry’s General Manager Stewart Selbie said, “This announcement consolidates years of work and co-operation between The R&A, South Ayrshire Council and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, owners of Turnberry. I am thrilled for everyone on the Turnberry team who has worked on this. In my six years here so many of the world’s best golfers have told me that they enjoy coming to Turnberry as one of the best Open venues in the world.
I would particularly like to thank Graham Peterken and his team at South Ayrshire Council in implementing the changes needed to introduce an updated traffic plan, which was the key to bringing the Open back to Turnberry.  This is not only a great story for Turnberry as we move into our centenary year in 2006, but for the whole of Ayrshire, which will again become the centre of the golfing universe in July 2009”.
Turnberry has been host to the Open Championship on three previous occasions.  In 1977, it was the venue for the famous ‘Duel in the Sun’ between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus.  The Open returned again in 1986, when Greg Norman not only defeated the field but also the wind and rain.  In 1994 Nick Price snatched victory over the last two holes from Jesper Parnevik.
Paul Burley, Director of Golf at Turnberry said, “It is fantastic news that the Open is returning to Turnberry. Having staged three outstanding Open’s it is well deserved that this great championship returns to our legendary links. It is not by accident that previous Open winners at Turnberry happen to have been the best players in the world at the time. It is a reflection of the way the course was set up, its fairness and like all great golf courses, the Ailsa responds to superlative play.”
In conjunction with The R&A, work will begin this winter on the Ailsa Course to enhance it and ensure it is a challenge for the world’s best golfers.
Colin Montgomerie,OBE, fresh from his recent 8th European Order of Merit title who has his Links Golf Academy at Turnberry, sent his good wishes upon hearing the announcement.  He commented, “I know from a player’s perspective how popular the Ailsa Course is, as well as Turnberry itself with all the great facilities it has to offer golfers. I also know how well this announcement will be received by many of the world’s greatest golfers.  The Ailsa has always been my favourite links course and it’s great that Ayrshire has another Open Championship on the horizon.”
The Ailsa is regularly acknowledged as one of Britain’s top three courses as well as consistently being ranked in the world’s top 20 courses.  With spectacular views sweeping across the Irish Sea to the Ailsa Craig, the Isle of Arran and the Mull of Kintyre with the picturesque lighthouse on the horizon, the Ailsa will provide a magnificent and memorable setting for this championship and reinforces Turnberry’s reputation as one of the greatest Open Championship venues.
For further information on Turnberry, please call 01655 331 000 or visit the Turnberry website at www.westin.com/turnberry