August 2006 Archive

Thursday 31st August 2006

MACHRIHANISH MONSTER UNTAMED SO FAR IN SCOTTISH SENIOR WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP
The Machrihanish links, even off the par-72 women’s tees, with a bit of a breeze blowing proved a bit of a monster for the over-50s in the first round of the Scottish senior women’s amateur stroke-play championship today (THURSDAY).
Only four players broke 80 with Ladybank’s Lorna Bennett, pictured right, leading the field with a 77.
One behind were the defending champion Pamela Williamson (Baberton) and Fiona De Vries. Moira Thomson (North Berwick) was two off the pace with an 80.
Scotland senior international Noreen Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh) strained her back taking her caddie car out of her car boot – and she struggled round in 88.
There were some high scores at individual holes but, paradoxically, there was a very low score at the 159yd 16th – a hole in one by Rita Dee (Kingsknowe) with her driver.
The stroke-play championship is over 36 holes at the end of which the 16 leading players will go forward to contest the match-play championship in what is now a four-day programme.
SCOTTISH SENIOR WOMEN’S AMATEUR STROKE-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
Machrihanish Golf Club.
LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES
77 L Bennett (Ladybank).
78 F De Vries (St Rule), P Williamson (Baberton).
79 M Thomson (North Berwick).
80 A Smart (Banchory).
81 H Faulds (Douglas Park), L Terry (Cruden Bay), R Brown (Lothianburn).
82 A Telfer (Milngavie), R Dee (Kingsknowe).
83 J McCartney (Erskine).
84 J Paterson (Drumpellier), N Smith (Downfield), I Harvey (St Rule), E Campbell (Torwoodlee), W MacCallum (Falkirk).
85 P Wilson (Murcar Links), R Anderson (Hntly).
86 E Wilson (Elie &Earslferry), M Tough (Falkirk), K Sutherland (Royal Montrose), S McGregor (Edzell).
87 A Moffat (St Regulus), K Ballantyne (Craigmillar Park).
88 J Mack (Haggs Castle), J Slater (Aboyne), S Quinn (Stirling), N Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh).
89 A Brownie (Lothianburn), P Hutton (Lanark), I Crawford (Troon Ladies), V Watt (Torwoodlee).
90 M Neilson (Greenock).
91 I McIntosh (Inverness).
93 M MacNaughtan (Aberdeen Ladies), S Coster (Hilton Park), I Chapman (Forfar), M Clapperton (Banchory), S Hodge (Aberdeen Ladies), J Wheeler (Aberdeen Ladies).
94 E Young (Balmore).
95 E Fisken (Nairn), N Duncan (Brechin), P McGunnigle (Banchory), M Robinson (Murcar Links), H Kelly (Ladies Panmure Barry).

ONLY TWO SCOTS LIKELY TO BEAT THE THIRD-ROUND CUT IN HAMBURG
Only two of the six Scots in the field – Krystle Caithness (St Regulus), pictured right, and Gemma Webster (Hilton Park), below left, – are likely to survive the third-round cut in the European women’s amateur individual golf championship at Hamburg Falkenstein Golf Club in Germany.
Krystle dropped out of the top 20 to joint 39th place with a 76 for seven-over-par 149. She birdied the second and 13th but had a double-bogey 6 at the 14th in halves of 40 and 36.
Gemma also had a double-bogey 6, at the 12th , but had birdies either side in halves of 38 and 36 for a 74 and a halfway tally of 150. She is in joint 45th place.
Only the leading 70 and ties in a field of 136 after Friday’s third round will go forward to the final 18 holes.
That means Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) in joint 82nd place on 154 (79-75), Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) in joint 88th place on 155 (73-82), Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) in 106th spot on 158 (82-76) and Clare-marie Carlton (Stirling University) in joint 111th place on 160 (78-82) need to make big improvements to beat the cut.
Jenna Wilson had the biggest fall from grace. Her 82 included a quadruple bogey 8 at the fifth and a double-bogey 7 at the 17th in halves of 43 and 39.
Germany’s Thea Hoffmeister took over the lead with a 69 for three-under-par 139.
Leading British players are England’s Kerry Smith and Welsh Curtis Cup player Breanne Loucks in joint seventh place on 143. Kerry has scored 71 and 72 while Breanne had 73 and 70.
LEADING SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 71
139 T Hoffmeister (Ger) 70 69.
140 S Cologan (Spa) 66 74.
141 B Mozo (Spa) 69 72.
142 L Matthews (Can) 70 72, S Kirchmayr (Ger) 73 69.
143 C Ciganda (Spa) 70 73, I Boineau (Fra) 69 74, K Smith (Eng) 71 72, A Rossi (Ita) 72 71, C Masson (Ger) 74 69, B Loucks (Wal) 73 70, S Maier (Ger) 71 72, K Schallenberg (Ger) 73 70.
144 S Hassan (Wal) 73 71, B Buendia (Spa) 72 72.
145 F Parker (Eng) 73 72, A Munoz (Spa) 70 75, I Wilke (Ger) 72 73, Z Masinova (Ita) 74 71, C Hedwall (Swe) 74 71, E Westrup (Swe) 70 75, M Hernandez (Spa) 73 72.
Other scores:
146 M Bourdie (Fra) 72 74.
147 J Schaeffer (Fra) 74 73.
149 M Reid (Eng) 74 75.
149 K Caithness (Sco) 73 76.
150 G Webster (Sco) 76 74.
151 S Walker (Eng) 75 76,.
152 J Nicolson (Wal) 79 73.
152 N Edswards (Eng) 76 76.
154 H MacRae (Sco) 79 75, F Johnson (Eng) 75 79.
156 S Evans (Wal) 75 81.
158 K Walker (Sco) 82 76.
160 C-M Carlton (Sco) 78 82.

ANNE LAING IN IRELAND TO MAKE GUEST LADIES CUP APPEARANCE FOR CORK
Left out of the Scotland women’s home international squad this week, three times Scottish champion Anne Laing will be making a guest appearance for Cork Golf Club this weekend in the national finals of the Suzuki All-Ireland Ladies Cup at Massereene Golf Club, Antrim.
Cork, with past Curtis Cup player Anne and Claire Coughlan, who played in this summer’s Curtis Cup match in Oregon, are obviously the favourites.
Cork face Royal County Down in Saturday first semi-final. Royal County Down will not lack confidence, however. Earlier in the tournament, they toppled Royal Portrush, champions for the past three years.
If any side can beat Cork it could be top seeds The Currah with Irish internationals Maura Morrin, Sinead Keane and Marian Riordan in their line-up. Their Saturday semi-final will be against the winners of Friday’s supplementary play-off between County Louth, champions of Leinster, and Roscommon, champions of Connacht.
Friday 2nd September Play-off 1pm. Co. Louth -v- Roscommon.
Saturday 3rd September Semi-finals 8am. Cork -v- Royal Co. Down Ladies., 8.40. The Curragh -v- Co Louth or Roscommon.
Final 2pm: Winners of semi-final 1 -v- winners of semi-final 2

IRISH UNDER-15 BOYS OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Hosted by Balbriggan Golf Club.
FINAL TOTALS
142: I Keane (Malahide) 72 70.
144: R McGee (City of Derry) 73 71.
145: R Whitson (Mourne) 76 69.
148: G McGee (Malone) 76 72.
149: D Mallon (Dungannon) 76 73, M O'Connor (England) 73 76, P Dunne (Greystones) 73 76, Q Carew (Edenderry) 72 77.
150: N McGlynn (Seafield) 77 73, M Mulhall (Royal Tara) 77 73, M Durcan (Co Sligo) 76 74, P McGlone (Dunmurry) 75 75, S O'Hara (Co Sligo) 72 78.
151: D McElroy (Ballymena) 78 73, C Dowling (Mallow) 76 75, S Cannon (Athenry) 75 76.
152: P Walsh (West Waterford) 79 73, C Selfridge (Moyola Park) 78 74, J Taylor (Shandon Park) 75 77.
153: A Darragh (Dunmurry) 76 77, B Stow (England) 76 77, C Fairweather (Knock) 76 77.
154: K Egan (Curragh) 81 73, C Hansom (Limerick) 76 78, C Finnerty (Corrstown) 74 80.
155: M Fanning (Co Louth) 81 74, D O'Sullivan (Strandhill) 78 77, S O'Connor (Skerries) 77 78, C O'Sullivan (Fota Island) 75 80.
156: W Chambers (England) 78 78, D Byrne (Athenry) 77 79.
157: H McHugh (Skerries) 80 77, J Pierse (Grange) 79 78, D Graham (Shandon Park) 77 80, B Graham (Canada) 76 81, A Stewart (Bangor) 76 81, S Brown (Athy) 74 83.
158: M McKnight (Lisburn) 80 78, P Higgins (Sutton) 80 78, C Glynn (Lucan) 78 80, D Cuddy (Castlebar) 77 81.
159: C Cahill (Navan) 79 80, A Welsh (Knock) 77 82.

TOP SCOTS TACKLE THE LEADING CONTINENTAL STARS IN DUKE OF YORK TROPHY FIELD
Top Scots prospects Carly Booth (Comrie), James White (Lundin) and Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw) will get the chance to measure up to the leading Continental star teenagers in The Duke of York Young Champions Trophy over three rounds at Loch Lomond Golf Club's links course, Dundonald, near Troon from September 12 to 14.
Carly will have three of her Junior Ryder Cup team-mates to beat, including Saskia Hausladen (Germany), winner of the European Young Masters gils championship in which the Perthshire 14-year-old finished third.
Miss Booth has enrolled at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy at Bradenton, Florida and will fly back to Scotland to play in the "invitation only" Duke of York Trophy event and then go on to the Junior Ryder Cup match against the United States at Celtic Manor.
McAllister and White will cross swords again with the leading England players they beat to win the boys' home international title for Scotland at Lossiemouth three weeks ago.
The notable exception will be Matthew Nixon, the 17-year-old from Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester who was not thought good enough to play for England - and then came to Scotland to win the British boys' championship at Royal Aberdeen a fortnight ago.
The Duke of York, a single-figure handicap golfer, attends the tournament, watches the play - he was struck on the ankle by a stray golf ball at Kingsbarns two years ago and hosts an official dinner for the boys and girls.

SGU Press Release
REVIEW REPORT RECOMMENDS SINGLE MANAGEMENT BODY TO RUN SCOTTISH AMATEUR GOLF
An independent report has recommended that the Scottish Golf Union (SGU) should be run by a single management body rather than the existing board and executive council.
That suggestion came from the working group chaired by Sir Craig Reedie that was commissioned by the SGU in September 2005 to consider the governance of Scottish amateur golf’s governing body.
In its conclusions and recommendations the group said that for the SGU to work smoothly, swiftly and effectively ‘its structure must be as uncomplicated as possible in order that the management can make best possible use of its resources and keep the organisation on the move to achieve its goals’.
To that end the report suggests unifying the existing board and executive council into an enlarged board of twelve. The existing board consists of seven members appointed because of their past experience to fulfill specific advisory roles (e.g. finance, performance etc), plus the President and Chief Executive.
The process for selection of these seven members involves every club and Area being invited to nominate candidates they feel are suitable for the specific role. Under the recommendations the existing nine members would be augmented by the Vice President and two other directors who would be appointed by and be direct representatives of the Areas. All board appointments will continue to require ratification by the Areas so the whole board will continue to work on behalf of the Areas and amateur golf in Scotland.
The report also recommends improvements in our communication processes, more flexibility in the appointment of sub committee members and limits on the length of time that sub committee members can serve without a break.
It is now down to the 16 Areas as shareholders to decide, after consultation with their member clubs, whether to adopt any or all of the report’s recommendations.
SGU chairman Alistair Low and SGU President Gordon McInnes both welcomed the report’s findings, saying they believed it will ‘significantly improve the governance of golf in Scotland’.
Gordon McInnes added, “I believe these proposed changes would enable the Union to continue to attract able and committed volunteers to assist in the governance of our affairs in the future.”
It is expected that each Area will be seeking the views of the clubs in their region on this report. Where possible this is likely to be achieved at the relevant Area AGM or a specific meeting held for this purpose over the next two to three months. It is anticipated that final decisions on the recommendations will be taken early in the new year.
NOTES:
For further information, please see the summary of the Reedie Group Report on the Governance of the Scottish Golf Union below:
The Group was set up in September 2005 by the Chairman and President of SGU.
It was chaired by Sir Craig Reedie, the other members being Charles Philip and Donald Turner.
The terms of reference were: “To consider the constitution of SGU and the governance of men’s amateur golf in Scotland and to make recommendations as appropriate.”
The Group consulted widely with Areas, clubs and members of the Board and Executive Council of SGU.

The principle recommendations of the report are as follows:

• That the SGU adopts a common purpose or vision as its over arching aspiration;
• That the existing system of clubs being represented through the existing sixteen Areas should continue;
• That future expansion of SGU activities be supported by appropriate professional staff;
• That the existing Board and Executive Council should be amalgamated in a unified board of twelve members consisting of seven members selected for their expertise in specific fields and the President and Chief Executive of SGU, (i.e. the board as at present constituted) augmented by the Vice President and two Area representatives appointed by the Areas from Area committees;
• That members of subcommittees should, like Board members, serve for a maximum of two three year periods;
• That Areas should develop succession plans for Area committees;
• That Area constitutions should be reviewed to bring about a measure of consistency;
• That a review of SGU communication policy should be carried out;
• That a review of the clubgolf programme should be undertaken with particular reference to communication with Areas; and
• That the enlarged Board should host a six monthly meeting of Area representatives to canvass opinion and report on activities and planned developments.

DALMAHOY REWARD FOR CLUBGOLF YOUNGSTERS
Over 100 Lothian primary school children experiencing golf on the national junior golf strategy, clubgolf have been given the unique opportunity to experience the Charles Church Scottish Seniors Open at the Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club this weekend as a reward for their commitment to the programme.
Created as a lasting legacy of Scotland's bid to host the Ryder Cup in 2014, 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.
The children heading to Dalmahoy have been introduced to the sport in school via clubgolf's introductory game, firstclubgolf. Played with multi-coloured clubs, rubberized balls and Velcro targets, firstclubgolf has been designed as a safe and exciting introduction to the game for nine year olds. Children who enjoy the experience can progress to the second level of the player development pathway, hosted by their local clubs.
At Dalmahoy, the children will have the opportunity to watch the professionals in action, receive coaching from the Hotel’s professionals and test out their skills on the clubgolf practice area.
"We have invited children from schools and clubs in the East of Scotland in recognition of their commitment to the clubgolf strategy," said Sheila Lamb, clubgolf East of Scotland Regional Manager.
"We are very grateful to the organisers and sponsors of the Charles Church Scottish Seniors Open for welcoming us. I have no doubt these children will have an experience which will inspire them to continue developing their skills.”
Said Scott Dixon, Head Professional at the Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club, “Dalmahoy understands the importance of developing junior golf as well as creating strong links with children and schools in the surrounding area.
“We recognize the fantastic work clubgolf does and this is the reason we have invited them to be a part of the Charles Church Scottish Seniors Open. Dalmahoy also plans in the coming year to strengthen our links with clubgolf and use Dalmahoy as a coaching centre for children in the surrounding area.

Wednesday 30th August 2006

KRYSTLE AND JENNA TOP SCOTS AS SPANIARD (66) GOES CLEAR
FROM COLIN FARQUHARSON
One of the “lesser” Spanish leading lights, Sandra Cologan, outshone the field with a five-under-par 66 in the first round of the European women’s individual amateur golf championship at Hamburg Falkenstein Golf Club in Germany today (WED).
Sandra’s excellent halves of 33 opened up a three-shot lead over compatriot Belen Mozo, winner of both the British women’s and girls’ open titles this summer, and Isabelle Boineau (France).
Scottish Under-21 champion Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) and Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) did not do too badly at all with two-over-par 73s but such is the high quality of this field of 136 that they are barely in the top 20 going into the second of four rounds.
Jenna had a problem with the short holes. She dropped shots at both the short 10th and short 15th but did well to birdie the 17th to get home in 36.
Keystle Caithness had two early birdies, at the fourth and seventh, dropping only a shot at the ninth to turn in one-under-par 35. But her inward half contained bogeys at the 11th, 14th and 17th.
Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) had a pair of 6s at the two early long holes on her way to a 79.
Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) had a double-bogey 6 at the first. She finished on 81.
Defending champion Jade Schaeffer (France) started with a 74.
The field will be cut to the leading 70 and ties after the third round.
EUROPEAN WOMEN’S INDIVIDUAL AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Hamburg Falkenstein Golf Club, Germany.
LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 71 (36-35).
66 S Cologan (Spa) 33-33.
69 I Boineau (Fra) 33-36, B Mozo (Spa) 35-34.
70 E Westrup (Swe) 36-34, L Matthews (Can) 36-34, T Hoffmeister (Ger) 37-33, A Munoz (Spa) 35-35, C Ciganda (Spa) 34-36.
71 K Smith (Eng) 33-38, S Endstrasserr (Aut) 35-36, S Maier (Ger) 34-37.
72 M Bourdie (Fra) 37-35, B Buendia (Spa) 35-37, M Silva (Spa) 37-35, A Rossi (Ita) 35-37.
73 J Wilson (Sco) 37-36, K Van Leeuwin (Net) 36-37, L Gustafsson (Swe) 39-34, F Parker (Eng) 37-36, B Loucks (Wal) 37-36, S Kirchmayr (Ger) 39-34, C Afonso (Fra) 37-36, M Hernandez (Spa) 36-37, C Girgnolo (Ita) 37-36, K Caithness (Sco) 35-38, S Doring (Ger) 39-34, K Schallenberg (Ger) 37-36, M Hochwimmer (Aut) 37-36, D Graff (Ger) 35-38.
Other scores:
74 M Reid (Eng) 36-38, J Schaeffer (Fra) 37-37.
75 S Evans (Wal) 39-36, S Walker (Eng) 37-38, F Johnson (Eng) 41-34.
76 N Edwards (Eng) 38-38, G Webster (Sco) 39-37.
78 C-M Carlton (Sco) 40-38.
79 H MacRae (Sco) 41-38.
81 K Walker (Sco) 42-39.

SCOTS NAME TEAM FOR WOMEN’S WORLD AMATEUR TEAM EVENT
The Scottish Ladies Golfing Association has named a team of three to play in the Espirito Santo Trophy women’s world amateur team championship over four rounds of stroke-play at De Zalze and Stellenbosch Golf Clubs, South Africa from October 18 to 21.
They are:
Krystle Caithness (St Regulus), Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) and Jenna Wilson (Strathaven).
Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) is reserve.
The team will be captained by former Curtis Cup player and past British amateur champion, Alison Davidson (Stirling).
This will be the first time a Scotland team has competed in the biennial women’s world amateur team championship since the early days of the tournament in the 1960s. Since then a Great Britain & Ireland team represented Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales.

PAMELA BIDS FOR SENIORS’ DOUBLE WHAMMY REPEAT AT MACHRIHANISH
Baberton’s Pamela Williamson is bidding to win the Scottish senior women’s stroke-play title for the fourth time in all at Machrihanish Golf Club tomorrow.
Pamela won the title at East Renfrewshire in 1999, Crail in 2002 and Grantown-on-Spey last year when she had a shot to spare over Liz Campbell (Torwoodlee) at the end of the 36-hole event.
Last year was the first time that the programme was extended to four days to introduce a match-play championship, contested by the leading 16 players in the stroke-play event.
Mrs Williamson won the match-play title as well 12 months ago, beating Moira Thomson (North Berwick) in the final.
A field of 90 competitors have made the long haul down to Machrihanish. A good time will be had by all, whatever the scores and results on the golf course!

Press Release
World Golf Hall of Fame to Welcome Five New Members Oct. 30
Arnold Palmer, Gary Player Among Returning Members
St. Augustine, Fla. (August 29, 2006) – The World Golf Hall of Fame will welcome five new members into the Hall of Fame at its annual Induction Ceremony Monday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. The Class of 2006, which includes Larry Nelson, Vijay Singh, Marilynn Smith and the late Mark McCormack and Henry Picard, will bring the Hall of Fame’s membership to 114.
“The five inductees entering the Hall of Fame this year are truly deserving of the honor,” said Jack Peter, Sr. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Hall of Fame. “The contributions and successes each has brought to the sport have added a great deal to its history. We look forward to their stories being recognized at the ceremony as well as being preserved in detail throughout the museum.”
Selected in the Lifetime Achievement category, McCormack, the founder of IMG, will be introduced by Hall of Fame Member Arnold Palmer. Palmer became McCormack’s first client in 1960, initiating the era of sports management and marketing that was the foundation for IMG, considered the world’s foremost sports, entertainment and media company. Until McCormack’s death in 2003, Palmer remained one of McCormack’s closest friends.
Nelson, elected on the 2006 PGA TOUR ballot, will be introduced by Hall of Fame Member and Global Ambassador Gary Player. Nelson credits a Player-written golf tip as serving to inspire him early in his golf career. For years, Nelson has regarded Player as a close friend and an individual who is a “consummate professional.”
Picard, the Veteran’s category selection, will be introduced by Hall of Fame Member Beth Daniel. Picard, a highly respected teacher, worked with Daniel on her game at the Country Club of Charleston, where they were both members.
Singh, elected on the 2005 PGA TOUR ballot, will be introduced by Ted Forstmann, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IMG Worldwide, Inc. Partners in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am since 1993 and in the Dunhill Links Championship for over six years, Singh and Forstmann share a business relationship and close friendship.
Smith, a Lifetime Achievement inductee and one of the 13 original founders of the LPGA, will be introduced at the ceremony by Hall of Fame member Kathy Whitworth. Whitworth and Smith enjoy a friendship and camaraderie having played against each other in the 1960s and 70s.
The 2006 World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on the outdoor lawn near the Hall of Fame at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla. For more information on the ceremony or 2006 Class of Inductees, call 904-940-4123 or visit www.wgv.com.

Tuesday 29th August 2006

FORMER SCOTTISH GOLF UNION SECRETARY IAN HUME DIES IN EDINBURGH HOSPICE
J W “Ian” Hume, former secretary of the Scottish Golf Union, died today (TUESDAY) in an Edinburgh hospice.
Born in Edinburgh in 1947, Ian spent all his working life in the city. He became a member of Broomieknowe Golf Club in 1966 and served six years on its council before being appointed to the executive of the Lothians Golf Association in 1975.
He succeeded Archie Jamieson, who died in August, 1985, as secretary of the Scottish Golf Union on January 1, 1986. At the age of 38, he was one of the youngest ever to hold the post.
For many years, the Scottish Golf Union full-time staff consisted of Ian Hume, Graham Ewart as championship secretary and two ladies/women who looked after the small office’s administration near the Royal Burgess Golfing Society clubhouse at Barnton, Edinburgh.
When the SGU moved its headquarters from Edinburgh to Drumoig in 1999, Ian retired as secretary. He emigrated to New Zealand and returned to Edinburgh only about a month ago.
Gordon McInnes, president of the Scottish Golf Union, paid tribute to Ian tonight when he said: “I always found him to be a very level-headed man in all aspects of golf administration.”
Ian is survived by his sister.

SIX SCOTS LASSES BID FOR EUROPEAN GLORY
FROM COLIN FARQUHARSON
While Richie Ramsay was making the headlines in the US amateur championship, Scotland’s competitors did not cover themselves in glory at the European men’s individual amateur golf championship in Italy.
This week the spotlight falls on the Scotland female players in the European women’s individual amateur championship over four rounds, teeing off at Hamburg Golf Club, Germany on Wednesday.
The Scots sextet, who may or may not be inspired by Richie Ramsay’s achievement, is Krystle Caithness (St Regulus), Clare-Marie Carlton (Stirling Univ), Heather MacRae (Dunblane New), Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle), Gemma Webster (Hilton Park) and Jenna Wilson (Strathaven).
No Scot has ever won this tournament which was first played in 1986. England has provided one winner – Emma Duggleby in 2000, and Wales one – Becky Brewerton in 2002.
The field of 146 contains all the Continental stars, including Katharina Schallenberg (Germany), who reached the final of the US women’s amateur championship a few weeks ago, defending champion Jade Schaeffer (France), Anna Rossi, the Italian who won last week’s British women’s open amateur stroke-play title, and Belen Mozo (Spain), who has won both the British women’s and British girls’ open amateur titles this summer.
Even teenager Belen (handicap +3.9) rates herself second to compatriot Carlota Ciganda who won the European title last year when she was only 14. Carlota, who has a handicap of +4.3, is another member of the strong Spanish entry of 14.
England’s entries are Naomi Edwards (Ganton), Felicity Johnson (Harborne), Florentyna Parker (Royal Birkdale), Melissa Reid (Chevin), Kerry Smith (Waterlooville) and Sophie Walker (Kenwick Park).
Wales are represented by Stephanie Evans (Vale of Llangollen), Breanne Loucks (Wrexham), Jo Nicolson (Wrexham) and Sarah Hassan (Vale of Glamorgan).
Ireland had four players in the GB&I Curtis Cup team but there are no Irish players in the Hamburg field.

BUSA ANNOUNCES TEAMS TO COMPETE AT THE 2006 WORLD UNIVERSITY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
The British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) today listed its men’s and women’s teams to represent Great Britain at the 11th World University Golf Championships staged at Circolo Golf Torino, Italy from the 5th – 9th September 2006. Details of individual players are below.
18 teams from across the globe will compete for individual and team titles in men’s and women’s golf over 72-holes around the challenging course that hosts regularly the Italian Open, a renowned European Tour event.
GB last medalled at the event in 2000 when it was hosted at Castle Rock, Northern Ireland. Although team selection has been hindered somewhat with the event clashing with the Men’s Home Internationals, Team Manager, Raleigh Gowrie is optimistic.
He commented:
“Selection for this tournament is just reward for the players’ efforts in student and mainstream golf competitions over the past 12-months. I am sure that the players will enjoy the occasion and if they can play to their potential then there is every chance of gaining success in both the men’s and women’s events.”
This year’s crop of players follow in the footsteps of many notable performers that have taken part in the World Universities event, including British Amateur champions Gordon Sherry and Stuart Wilson, Solheim Cup players Catriona Matthew and Maria Hjorth and European Tour regulars Graeme McDowell and Oliver Wilson.
Greg Norman Clothing has kindly agreed to provide team kit and Sunderland of Scotland is to provide waterproofs to the team members. Both companies are strong supporters of student golf in Britain over the past 2 years and are keen to expand their involvement in this growing market.
You can follow the progress of the Great Britain teams by logging on to the tournament website at http://www.wucgolf2006.com .

Monday 28th August 2006

ANNE LAING “DISAPPOINTED” TO BE LEFT
OUT OF SCOTLAND TEAM FOR HOME NATIONALS
BY COLIN FARQUHARSON
Anne Laing, the 32-year-old Vale of Leven player, who played in seven Scottish women’s amateur championship finals since 1996 – winning three of them, has been left out of the Scotland team of eight for the women’s home internationals at Frilford Heath, Oxfordshire from September 13 to 15.
First capped for Scotland at Wrexham in 1995, Anne has missed only one home internationals series since then, in 2000 at Royal St David’s when she was ruled out with a broken collar bone.
“I’m very disappointed,"said Anne who was called before the weekend by SLGA chairman Margaret Rodgers to break the news that she did not figure in the selectors' team for the internationals.
“I didn’t play well in the ‘British’ at Royal County Down but I did reach the final of the Scottish championship at Dunbar and I was the top Scot in fifth place in the Irish women’s open stroke-play at the end of June. I couldn’t make it to the British stroke-play last week in Kent because of my work commitments,” said Miss Laing who also lost her place in the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team this year.
To the SLGA's credit, Margaret Rodgers also phoned the other players who might have felt they would be in the team ... but weren't, Kylie Walker, Gemma Webster, Fiona Lockhart, to break the news to them.
It is a team – to be captained by Margaret Macnaughtan (Aberdeen Ladies) since the resignation of Fiona Anderson, skipper for the past two years – with a young look about it.
The average age would have been even lower had 14-year-old Carly Booth (Comrie) been available.
“Carly has to be at Celtic Manor for the Junior Ryder Cup match on Friday, September 15 and she is also playing at Dundonald in the The Duke of York Young Champions’ tournament which finishes on September 14. She is coming back from the USA to fulfil these commitments,” said Mrs Rodgers.
Carly is now a pupil – alongwith Sally Watson – at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy at Bradenton, Florida.
The Scotland team, with ages, is:
Sara Bishop (Windyhill) 30, Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) 17, Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) 23, Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) 22, Roseanne Niven (Crieff) 17, Martine Pow (Selkirk) 41, Sally Watson (Elie & Earlsferry Ladies) 15, Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) 22.
Reserves: 1 Fiona Lockhart (St Regulus) 30, Gemma Webster (Hilton Park) 20, 3 Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) 15.

Compared with the Scotland team who beat Ireland and Wales but lost to England 5-4 at Dundalk last year, Anne Laing, Fiona Lockhart, Kylie Walker and Gemma Webster have been dropped while Clare Queen has since turned professional.
Sara Bishop, Dunbartonshire & Argyll champion for three of the past four years and runner-up in the British women’s mid-amateur championship last year, and Scottish Under-18 match-play champion Roseanne Niven are the new caps at this level.
Sally Watson, 14 at the time, was a member of the Scotland team 12 months ago at Dundalk but was not given a game. Sally, Scottish girls’ match-play champion in 2005, was beaten finalist in the British girls championship at Portstewart a couple of weeks ago.

Draw for East of Scotland Girls Autumn Meeting at Kilspindie on Sunday 3rd September.

VETS’ FIELD FOR BLAIRGOWRIE
The line-up for the quarter-finals of the Scottish Veteran Ladies Golf Association championship at Blairgowrie on Sunday, September 24 has now been finalised.
The eight competitors has each won an area championship final this summer.
The draw is:
1.33 Jean Brydson (Castle Douglas & Galloway) v Noreen Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh & East).
1.40 Margaret McGregor (Dumfries and Co & Dumfries-shire) v Liz Campbell (Torwoodlee & Borders).
1.48 Kathleen Sutherland (Royal Montrose & North) v Vivien Welsh (Elgin & Highland).
1.55 Helen Faulds (Douglas Park & West) v Fiona De Vries (St Rule & Midland).

Royal Dornoch’s Lady captain, Margaret Bagott is surrounded by her team members (with exception of Cara Gruber) who won both Trophies in the Caithness /Sutherland Inter Club competition over their home course on Saturday; left to right, Trish Weekes, Claire Riddell, Moira Rennie, Margaret Baggott, Christine Ramsey, Elizabeth Coghill and Annette Strauss.
[Photo courtesy: Robin Wilson]

Double Trophy Success for Royal Dornoch’s Ladies
FROM ROBIN WILSON
Royal Dornoch’s women’s club champion and course record holder Cara Gruber, fired her team mates into a decisive 21-stroke win to bring the Ord Salver back out of Caithness custody for the first time in four years at the Caithness/ Sutherland women’s in the county club competition at Royal Dornoch.
Gruber, who plays with a handicap of plus one and scored 75 beat the course par
by a shot and was two below the Competition Scratch Score of 77 to lower her handicap even further. Her eagle three at the 4th hole and birdie at the ninth more than cancelled her bogies at the first, second and 8th holes for an outward 38. a birdie two at the 10th hole was the start of a rock solid inward 37.
Her fellow members in the Royal Dornoch first team were Liz Coghill (91) Claire Riddell (93) and Lady captain Margaret Bagott (98) who combined for the three out of four score total of 259.
The Royal Dornoch second team of Annette Strauss (87, nett 74), Trish Weekes (87 nett 72), Christine Ramsey (101nett 87) and Moira Rennie (105 nett 88) for a scratch total of 275 were actually scratch runners up to their first team but they made it a double Dornoch success when they were awarded the Beatrice Trophy for the best handicap aggregate of 233 from their three best nett scores.
As a result the Wick number one team of Marion MacKay (90), Deirdre MacAngus (91), Carol Place (99) and Doreen Cormack (102) were awarded second scratch place for their three score total of 280.
Golspie with a 54 hole nett total of 235 were placed second handicap, Lesley Cranna (29) 72, Anne Macrae (11) 78, Caroline Logie (23) 85, Fiona More (20) 89.

I'M SPEECHLESS SAYS RAMSAY AFTER WINNING THE UNITED STATES AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
REPORT FROM THE USGA WEBSITE
(with some additional words by Colin Farquharson)
(photo from USGA website)
Richie Ramsay, 23, from Aberdeen won four of six holes with birdies to take a 3-up lead after 13 holes and then held on the rest of the way to beat John Kelly, 21, of St. Louis, Missouri, 4 and 2, in the 36-hole final of the U.S. amateur championship Sunday at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska in Minnesota on Sunday.
Ramsay becomes the first Scot since 1898 to win the Amateur championship, earning a place in the next U.S. Open and Open, and a likely invitation to play in the next US Masters tournament - if he remains an amateur, which is very likely as he wants to play in next year's Walker Cup match at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland.
Kelly cut Ramsay’s lead to 1 up in the afternoon round with a winning birdie on the 21st hole, but could get no closer. The match ended on the 34th green, when Kelly conceded Ramsay’s 12-footer for birdie after his own birdie putt from just a bit farther away lipped out.
"I can’t believe my name is going to be on that trophy," said Ramsay, the winner of the 2005 Irish Amateur Stroke Play Tournament. "I’m quite speechless right now and close to tears. Everything went according to plan. I can’t believe it!
"I think this could have a big impact on Scottish golf," Ramsay continued. "I’m just a guy from Aberdeen who loves playing golf. I work hard at it, and it just shows what someone can do when they put their mind to something. I think the celebration will last quite a while when I get home."
Three of the last four US amateur champions have been foreign-born, with Ramsay joining 2003 winner Nick Flanagan of Australia and 2005 winner Edoardo Molinari of Italy.
Ramsay was unstoppable in the afternoon, hitting all but two fairways and all but one green.
"He stuck it to me all day," said Kelly, a senior at the University of Missouri and the 2006 Missouri Stroke Play champion. "But I can’t be too disappointed. I was a nobody and now I’m a somebody, I think."
Ramsey and Kelly each won two of the first eight holes, but Ramsey’s birdie on the par-3 eighth started a three-hole run that put him comfortably ahead at 2 up. He took advantage of Kelly’s misfortune on the ninth and won the hole when Kelly conceded his 15-foot putt for birdie, and then sank a 20-footer for a winning birdie on the 10th.
Ramsay also took the 13th by concession when Kelly missed his tee shot to the right and needed two chips to get on the green. Ramsay had again put the pressure on by hitting his long-iron tee shot to within 18 feet of the hole.
"Without being big-headed, if I go out and play my game and play the shots that are in my bag, there’s no reason why I can’t win," said Ramsay earlier in the week. "You’ve got to think you can win."
Kelly trimmed Ramsay’s lead to 2 up at the halfway point when Ramsay putted his 50-foot birdie chance off the green and made a bogey to lose the 17th hole, his first bogey since the first hole of the day. It would be his last.
He was the equivalent of three under par for his morning round, with the usual concessions given for match play. He finished the equivalent of six under par for 34 holes over the longest US amateur course ever, a 7,473-yard layout that has been host to the 1970 and 1991 U.S. Open and the 2002 US PGA Championship.
Tony Jacklin won the US Open at Hazeltine National in 1970.
A senior at Scotland’s University of Stirling who will graduate in December with a marketing degree, Ramsay was the more experienced of the two finalists. He was among the 10 top amateurs chosen to the 2005 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup squad, even though his memories are bitter sweet.
His team lost to the USA amateurs and Ramsay was not selected to play in any of the 16 singles matches over the two-day competition. Ramsay hasn’t forgotten the experience.
"I’ve had the 2007 Walker Cup in the back of my mind ever since," said Ramsay, who is committed to staying an amateur until at least September 2007.
Kelly’s claim to fame before this week was his state title and a local win at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis.
"I haven’t done a whole lot, I’ll admit that in my career up to this point, but I believe in my game and I believe I’m a good player," said Kelly. "That counts for just as much as anything. If you believe that you’re a good player, I think that’s huge."
Ramsay was most awed by winning a spot in the 2007 Open, which will be played at Carnoustie, an hour’s drive from his home in Aberdeen, where he is a member at Royal Aberdeen.
His hometown friend, Paul Lawrie, won the Open at Carnoustie in 1999. And he encouraged Ramsay throughout the seven-day championship with daily text messages.
It worked.
The US amateur championship is the oldest of the 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, and notable Amateur winners include Bob Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods (three years in a row in the 1990s).
The last Scot to reach the final was Jack McLean in 1936 when he lost to American Johnny Fisher at the 37th. Stymies were still an important part of match-play golf in those days and it was a stymie that contributed to Jack's defeat.

Ladies European tour
LAURA DAVIES WINS SAS MASTERS
(photo from LET website)
Laura Davies, now 42, scored her first win on the Ladies European Tour for more than two years when she won the SAS Masters by six shots at Oslo Golf Club, Norway on Sunday.
Laura had rounds of 69, 68 and 68 for 11-under-par 205 to win the title and the 30,000 Euros first prize.
Belgium's Ellen Smets was runner-up with 72, 69 and 70 for 211.
Lynn Kenny earned 800 Euros for joint 52nd place with scores of 74, 74 and 78 for 10-over-par 226.
Inverness-based New Zealander Liz McKinnon scored 73, 75 and 80 for 228. She earned 630 Euros.

FUTURES TOUR SCOREBOARD
Final round scores in the Duramed FUTURES Tour's Gettysburg Championship at the 6460-yard, par 72 The Links At Gettysburg course
1 Song-Hee Kim (Seoul, Korea) 72-66-68 - 206 $10,500(play-off)
2 Jin Young Pak (Kang Leung, Korea)67-68-71 - 206 $7,500
3 Kristy McPherson (Conway, South Carolina)73-64-71 - 208 $5,550
4 Angela Park (Torrance, California) 71-72-66 - 209 $4,425
Also:
T25 Samantha Head (Bedford) 77-68-73 - 218 $662

Sunday 27th August 2006

ABERDONIAN RICHIE WINS 36-HOLE FINAL AT HAZELTINE NATIONAL BY 4 AND 2
Royal Aberdeen’s Richie Ramsay has put himself into the golfing history books by becoming the first Scot over 100 years to win the United States amateur golf championship.
The 23-year-old Stirling University student was always in the driving seat in the 36-hole finale over the tough Hazeltine National course at Chaska, Minnesota against 21-year-old John Kelly from St Louis Missouri and won the title and the Havemeyer Trophy by 4 and 2
Richie played superlative golf over a monster course. He was three under par and two up at the end of the first 18 holes.
He was three under par for the second round when he ended the match with a birdie at the 34th hole.
Ramsay thus earns the right to play in next year’s US Masters, the US Open and the Open at Carnoustie – if he remains an amateur.
Prior to the final, Richie said he wanted to play in next year’s Walker Cup match and only after that would he enter the qualifying process which would make him a tour pro eventually.
Some 36 years ago, the Hazeltine National course, which has par-5s over 600 yards long, was the scene of Tony Jacklin’s epic win over the Americans in the 1970 US Open.
Now a Scot – the first to contest the final since Jack McLean lost to Johnny Fisher at the 37th in 1936 – has capped a glory week by winning one of the most coveted golf titles in the world.
Tiger Woods won the US amateur championship three years in a row in the mid-1990s.
Ramsay won four of six holes with birdies to take a three hole lead before Kelly trimmed it back to two holes at the lunch-time break.
Ramsay is the first Scot to win the US amateur since Findlay Douglas from St Andrews in 1898. Two of the last three US amateur champions have been foreign-born –- Nick Flanagan of Australia in 2003 and Edoardo Molinari of Italy in 2005.
Ramsey and Kelly each won two of the first eight holes, but Ramsey’s birdie on the par-3 eighth started a three-hole run that put him comfortably ahead. He took advantage of Kelly’s misfortune on the ninth and won the hole when Kelly conceded his 15-foot putt for birdie, and then sank a 20-footer for a winning birdie on the 10th.
Ramsay, whose biggest wins prior to this were in the Scottish open amateur stroke-play championship at Lundin Links and the Irish open amateur stroke-play championship, also took the 13th by concession when Kelly missed his approach to the right and needed two chips to get on the green. Ramsay had again put the pressure on by hitting his long-iron tee shot to within 18 feet of the hole.
"Without being big-headed, if I go out and play my game and play the shots that are in my bag, there’s no reason why I can’t win," said Ramsay earlier in the week. "You’ve got to think you can win."
Kelly trimmed Ramsay’s lead by making a two-putt birdie on the 313-yard par-4 14th, but Kelly found trouble again on the 16th, hitting his 6-irionn approach into the hazard behind the green, and Ramsay needed only an easy par to move back to 3 up.
Ramsay putted his 50-foot birdie chance off the green and made a bogey to lose the 17th hole, his first bogey since the first hole of the day. He was the equivalent of 3-under-par for his morning round, with the usual concessions given for match play.
A senior at Stirling University, Ramsay will graduate in December with a marketing degree.
In last year’s Walker Cup match at Chicago, Ramsay partnered his golfing buddy Lloyd Saltman in the foursomes but did not get a game in the singles on either day.
"I’ve had the 2007 Walker Cup in the back of my mind ever since," said Ramsay, who is committed to staying an amateur until at least September 2007.
Kelly’s claim to fame before this week was his win at the 2006 Missouri Stroke Play Championship.
Ramsay is a good friend of Paul Lawrie who has been encouraging him every day with text messages.
Check out US Amateur website.

LAURA MURRAY WINS AGAIN AT INVERNESS
Alford’s Laura Murray kept her run of success going at Inverness Golf Club today (Sunday) when she won the Ness Open 36-hole women’s tournament by four strokes.
During the week, Laura, who turned 18 earlier this month won the SLGA county open meeting at Inchmarlo a couple of days after capturing the North of Scotland girls’ title at Kirriemuir.
Miss Murray, who turned down the chance of going to an American college and will enrol at Robert Gordon University next month, had rounds of 72 and 77 for a total of 149.
Another teenager, Jane Turner (Mortonhall) was runner-up with 73 and 80 for 153.
Nairn Dunbar’s Laura Walker, a former Scottish girls’ match-play champion was third on 157 with 80 and 77.
[Laura is pictured right with Sam Skinner, a representative of Norcom who sponsored the tournament. Photo courtesy Isobel McIntosh]
NESS WOMEN’S OPEN – Inverness GC
Leading totals (CSS 74 & reduction only)
149 L Murray (Alford) 72 77.
153 J Turner (Mortonhall) 73 80.
157 L Walker (Nairn Dunbar) 80 77.
160 E Ogilvy (Auchterarder) 82 78, C Mcandrew (Nairn Dunbar) 81 79, L Hendry (Routenburn) 81 79, K Harper (Inverness) 78 82.
163 C Gruber (Royal Dornoch) 83 80.
167 M Howieson (Inverness) 84 83.
169 H Harvey (St Rule) 86 83, G Dowling (Inverness) 85 84, E Cuthill (Lanark).
170 J Sneddon (Alyth) 83 87.
174 T Fraser (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) 86 88, L MacCallum (McDonald Ellon) 85 89.
176 L Fraser (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) 87 89.
179 S Vass (Tain) 89 90, E Mackay (Nairn Dunbar) 88 91.
183 A Niven (Crieff) 95 88.
Leading handicap
Class 1 (scr-7) – C McAndrew (Nairn Dunbar) (4) 152; L Hendry (Routenburn) (2) 156.
Class 2 (8-20) – T Fraser (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) (12) 150; G Dowling (Inverness) (8) 153.

North of Scotland men's open amateur stroke-play championship
McALPINE RETURNS TO CHAMPION FORM TO WIN THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND OPEN check out scottishgolfview.com

South Girls beat East Girls at the Woll.
South of Scotland Girls beat East of Scotland Girls by 4.5 matches to 3.5 in a close contest at the Woll, near Selkirk today. The results were as follows; (East of Scotland Girls names first)
G Simpson (8)halved her match with J Graham (6)
H Dalrymple (13) beat I Craigie (9) 4 & 2
E Bisset (13) lost to A Mitchell (12) 3 & 1
H Goodwin (17) beat A Bain (13) 6 & 5
J Laird (17) lost to K McDonald (16) 1 hole
G MacDonald (19) lost to N Blackie (19) 4 & 2
S Lamb (19) beat K Wood (24) 1 hole
C Wood (20) lost to R Walker (24) 4 & 2

Saturday 26th August 2006

KELSEY THIRD, ROSEANNE SEVENTH AFTER THEY WIN TEAM TROPHY
Overnight leader Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) finished third in the girls’ championship of the Belgian Junior Nations Open at Royal Golf Club of Belgium, near Brussels on Saturday.
Kelsey was the halfway leader with a pair of 74s. Then heavy rain washed out the scheduled third round, reducing the event to a 54-hole contest. In the final round, Miss MacDonald, 15, had a 78 for 226, which allowed her rivals to close the gap.
Only one headed her – Belgium’s Lien Willems who had scores of 73, 78 and 74 for 225 to win the Louise Van Den Berghe Cup.
Kelsey’s overnight lead had disappeared at the fourth and fifth . She had a double-bogey at each of them. But she kept her composure and, in fact, had recovered so much that she came to the last hole one behind the eventual winner, Lien Willems.
Unfortunately, Kelsey's birdie putt missed while her rival closed with a par – and that was the difference between them at the end of 54 holes.
Fanny Vuignier (Switzerland) matched Kelsey’s 226 total with scores of 77, 72 and 77 and was officially placed second because she had a better last round than the Scot.
Roseanne Niven (Crieff) finished seventh with 76, 80 and 74 for 230.
Consolation for the Scottish girls is that they won the Team Trophy based on scores in the first two rounds and Kelsey MacDonald also finished second in the girls’ long-driving competition with a tee shot of 226 metres (the winner, a French girl, had a drive of 248 metres).
Dawn Marie Conaty (Ireland) finished 23rd on 237 (81-79-77).
Belgium also provided the winner of the boys’ championship for the Flory Van Donck Cup. Dimitri Van Doren scored 72, 70 and 71 for a three-stroke with with a total of 213.
Sam McLaren (King James VI) finished 53rd with 77, 77 and 79 for 233.
Paul Shields (Kirkhill) came 58th with 79, 76 and 81 for 236
BELGIAN JUNIOR NATIONS OPEN
Royal Golf Club of Belgium, nr Brussels
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
BOYS
213 D Van Doren (Bel) 72 70 71.
216 F Schutte (Ger) 71 75 70, N Nissen (Den) 71 71 74.
Other totals:
220 S Ward (Ire) 77 69 74 (8th).
227 D Lernihan (Ire) 78 72 77 (22nd).
231 J Vickery (Wal) 79 74 78 (46th).
233 S McLaren (Sco) 77 77 79 (53rd).
236 P Shields (Sco) 79 76 81 (58th).
250 R Bentham (Wal) 82 86 82 (63rd).
GIRLS
225 L Willems (Bel) 73 78 74.
226 F Vuigniers Swi) 77 72 77, K MacDonald (Sco) 74 74 78.
Other totals:
230 R Niven (Sco) 76 80 74 (7th).
237 D M Conaty (Ire) 81 79 77 (23rd).

ANOTHER TERRIFIC PERFORMANCE BY ABERDONIAN AT HAZELTINE NATIONAL
Aberdonian Richie Ramsay has won his way through to Sunday's 36-hole final of the United States men's amateur golf championship.
He finished one up in his semi-final against Webb Simpson from Raleigh, North Carolina over the tough Hazeltine National course at Chaska, Minnesota, where Tony Jacklin won the United States Open in 1970.
Ramsay, a 23-year-old Stirling University student and a Walker Cup player for GB&I in Chicago last summer, was roughly level par for the 18 holes.
The Scot won the first hole with a par 4. The next two holes were halved in pars.
Ramsay went two up with a birde 2 at the short fourth.
The fifth hole was halved in par 4s.
Simpson bogeyed the sixth to Ramsay's par 4, putting the Scot three holes up.
The American got one back with a birdie 4 at the long seventh - three of the four par-5 holes on Hazeltine National are over 600 yards - and a half in par 3s at the eighth left Ramsay two up coming up to the turn.
The Scot appeared to take a stranglehold on a place in the final when he went three up with a birdie 4 at the 606yd 11th but his opponent then started a comeback.
Ramsay bogeyed the 12th to be only two up and then Simpson birdied the 14th to be only one down.
Richie rallied to regain a two-hole lead with a fine birdie 4 at the 642yd 15th.
But the drama continued as Simpson cut his deficit to one again at the 16th which Ramsay had to concede.
One up with two to play, Richie, a member at Royal Aberdeen, showed he was made of the right stuff by halving the short 17th and the long home hole.
In the final Ramsay will play 21-year-old John Kelly from St Louis, Missouri. Kelly did not lead until the 10th against Ryan Yip but went on to beat the Canadian by 2 and 1 with two-under-par figures.
The last Scot to win the US amateur title was Findlay Douglas from St Andrews in 1898.
Tiger Woods won it three years in a row in the 1990s.
The winner of the championship gets to play in next year's US Masters - if he is still an amateur.

ELGA Press Release
England girls beat Spain in U16 international
England's girls pulled off an excellent win when they beat Spain 4-2 in the annual U16 international at Heswall Golf Club.
Their scoreline gave the combined England girls and boys' team a 7-5 win in the match, which precedes the North of England U16 amateur strokeplay championship. The boys halved their match 3-3.
ELGA's national junior coach, Pat Smillie, said: "This is an excellent win, it's fantastic. It convinces them that Spain are not unbeatable."
The girls, captained by Julie Brown (Brocton Hall), got off to a great start when they won both their foursomes.
Hannah Lovelock (Hindhead) and English U15 champion Kelly Tidy (Manchester) followed up with good singles wins. Hannah dismissed her opponent 6/5 while Kelly birdied the 18th to finish 2 up.
Hannah Barwood (Knowle) and Rachel Connor (Manchester) had a big foursomes win but both lost in the singles as fatigue set in at the end of a long campaign which began with the European Young Masters and continued through the European girls' team championship, the English and British girls' championships and the girls' international matches. They both withdrew from the North of England championship.
Meanwhile, in the first round of the championship four members of the ELGA squad have returned scores of 77, three over standard scratch. They are Hannah Lovelock (Hindhead), English U13 champion Alexandra Peters (Notts' Ladies), Emily Priest (Enville) and Rachel Goodall (Wirral Ladies'). Two other players, Katie Mundy (Dunwood Manor) and Kelly Tidy (Manchester) shot 78.
Results. England Girls 4 Spain Girls 2
Foursomes: Hannah Lovelock & Kelly Tidy beat Rocio Sanchez and Nerea Salaverria 3/2. Hannah Barwood & Rachel Connor beat Patricia Queipo de Llano & Ana Fernandez 6/5.
Singles: Connor lost to de Llano 4/2, Tidy beat Fernandez 2 holes, Lovelock beat Sanchez 6/5, Barwood lost to Salaverria 3/2.

ELGA Press Release
England's Kelly Tidy wins northern U14 event
English girls' U15 champion Kelly Tidy has added another title to her collection at the North of England U16 championship.
The Manchester player won the U14 event after she rounded off the 72-hole tournament with a one-under par 72 for a total of 303 (78, 77, 76, 72). The 14-year-old was six shots clear of her closest rival.
Meanwhile Hannah Lovelock (Hindhead) finished on 305 and won third prize in the U16 competition (77, 76, 76, 76).
The results capped a fine week for the two girls who also won both their games in the England v Spain international which preceded the championship. Their play helped England win the match 4-2.
Meanwhile, three other members of ELGA's squad at the U16 championship also played the final two rounds of the event and acquitted themselves well.
Katie Mundy (Dunwood Manor) shot her four most consistent rounds with scores of 78, 77, 77, 75. English U13 champion Alexandra Peters (Notts Ladies') returned 77, 76, 78, 79 while Rachel Goodall (Wirral Ladies') scored 77, 76, 80, 81.
ELGA's national junior coach, Pat Smillie, said: "We have had some great results and I think this bodes very well for the future. There are lots of positives to take from this and I am extremely pleased with the squad result."

Futures Tour
SAMANTHA SAFE BUT BRENDA OUT
Samantha Head (Bedford) ensured she would be playing on the last day of the Gettysburg Championship, this weekend's US Futures Tour event, at Gettysburg Golf Club, Pennsylvania with a second-round 68 for a three-over par tally of 145.
But Brenda McLarnon (Belfast) had no chance of beating the cut after a 76 and 79 for 155.
Early clubhouse leader on the second day was Song-Hee Kim from Korea with 72 and 66 for 138.

Ladies European Tour
LYNN BEATS CUT, BUT CLARE MISSES OUT
Lynn Kenny (Clydesdale Bank) and Inverness-based New Zealander Liz McKinnon were among the players with totals of 149 or better who survived the 36-hole cut in the SAS Women's Masters tournament at Oslo Golf Club, Norway today.
Clare Queen missed out by four shots.
Lynn scored a pair of 74s for 148, the same mark as Liz with 73 and 75. They are in joint 40th place.
Clare finished joint 94th with a disappointing 76 and 77 for 153.
Laura Davies leads with 69 and 68 for seven-under-par 137 - two shots ahead of Australian Sarah Kemp (72-67).

RAMSAY SURVIVES CADDIE BLUNDER
ABERDONIAN WINS US AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINAL AT THE TWENTY-FIRST HOLE
REPORT FROM THE USGA WEBSITE
By David Shefter and Greg Smore, USGA
Chaska, Minnesota – Thomas Buller might be the happiest man in Chaska. Make that the most relieved person.
Buller is not a competitor in this year’s U.S. Amateur, but his accidental decision late Friday afternoon nearly cost his player a match.
Serving as a caddie for Scotland’s Richie Ramsay, the Chaska High School senior inadvertently touched the line of putt at Hazeltine National Golf Club’s par-3 17th hole. The action was seen by Ramsay’s quarter-final opponent, Rickie Fowler, and the match’s referee, Dick Rundle, was brought in to settle the claim.
When Buller admitted to touching the surface – a breach of Rule 16-1 – Ramsay sustained a loss-of-hole penalty. Suddenly a one-up lead turned into all square (Richie had been three up, but lost the 14th, 16th and 17th).
Ramsay, however, did not get angry nor did he publicly scold his caddie. Buller’s parents, Mike and Jean, are serving as Ramsay’s host family this week and their son offered to carry Ramsay’s bag for the championship.
So with momentum seemingly slipping away – Fowler had also won the 16th hole with a birdie – Ramsay re-focused. An experienced competitor who played in the 2005 Walker Cup for Great Britain and Ireland, Ramsay had faced plenty of difficult situations. Now he was under tremendous adversity.
All he did was convert a clutch 12-foot par putt at 18 to extend the match, then got a brief reprieve when Fowler missed a 6-footer for birdie on the first extra hole (No. 10) that could have closed out the match. Two holes later, Ramsay holed a 15-footer for birdie to move into Saturday morning’s semi-finals against Webb Simpson.
"I just said, ‘Don’t worry about it, it’s all right,’ " said the 23-year-old Ramsay. "He’s made a mistake. I’ve made mistakes. You’ve just got to think he’s going to learn from it.
"It’s tough but I know he’s feeling bad. If I turn around and say something to him, he’s going to feel even worse. So you’ve just got to say, ‘I’m still in the game and I concentrate on what happened on the hole before, I’m not focused on my objective, which is to win the match and hit some good shots. I managed to do that on 18."
Ramsay has spent some time this year working with sports psychologist Richard Cox. They talked about focusing on small details and eliminating any outside distractions. Ramsay also has thrived under pressure. He recalled holing a 25-footer on the last hole to win the European Under-21 Team Championship for Scotland over rival England.
So the 12-footer on 18 against the 17-year-old Fowler was just another in a long line of pressure situations he’s faced.
"It’s just visualizing the ball going into the hole," said Ramsay. "There’s no better feeling under pressure. That’s what you spend all your time practicing for. Luckily, it just worked out for me."
Ramsay lipped out a 12-footer for birdie at No. 10, the first extra hole, before Fowler failed to convert his short birdie attempt. Then at the 21st hole (No. 12), Ramsay executed a perfect right-to-left approach that stopped 15 feet behind the flagstick.
"The whole day, I had hit some good putts and they hadn’t gone in," said Ramsay. "So on the last few holes, I was thinking that I hadn’t [made] anything today, I’m owed a few putts. So I was stroking the ball good and I just managed to hole that putt on 12. And in a way, it evened itself out. But, you know, it could have gone either way at the end."
Ramsey will finish up his college work this fall at the University of Stirling in Scotland. He did come to the U.S. five years ago to attend Midland junior college in Texas. That experiment lasted only one year.
Ramsay felt he had better opportunities back home, with access to coaching and a more comfortable environment.
"I’ve got a really good team right now," said Ramsay. "It is basically really good support from the Scottish Golf Union. My coach is employed by the Scottish Golf Union and he’s the national coach, a guy by the name of Ian Rae. They just say we’ll do this for you or we’ll do that for you. All you’ve got to do is go out and play golf."

US Futures Tour
BRENDA AND SAMANTHA DOWN THE FIELD
Brenda McLarnon from Belfast and Bedford's Samantha Head were sharing 77th and 94th places respectively at the end of the first round in the $75,000 Gettysburg Championship, this weekend's US Futures Tour event at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Brenda had a four-over-par 76 (39-37) while Samantha "lost it" on the inward half for a 77 (36-41).
Julie Tvede from Copenhagen was the overnight leader at six-under 66 (34-32), leading by two shots from a Korean, Jin Young Pak (34-33).
Vikki Laing from Musselburgh is not playing in this tournament.

Friday 25th August 2006

KELSEY AND ROSEANNE WIN TEAM EVENT FOR SCOTLAND IN BELGIUM
Scotland’s Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) and Roseanne Niven (Crieff) won the girls’ international team award after torrential rain forced the third qualifying round in the Belgian Junior Nations Open to be washed out at Royal Golf Club of Belgium near Brussels today.
Kelsey, leading qualifier with two rounds of 74, and Roseanne, officially 17th of the match-play qualifiers with scores of 76 and 80, totalled 304.
They finished two shots ahead of host nation Belgium with Austria (308) third. Ireland (331) came 12th.
Scotland’s representatives in the boys’ section, Sam McLaren (King James VI) (77-77) and Paul Shields (Kirkhill) (79-76), finished 11th in the team event with a total of 309. Belgium (291) won from Denmark and Iceland (292). Ireland (296) finished joint fourth and Wales (316) 15th.
The tournament concludes today with another strokeplay round.

CARLY BOOTH (14) TAKES SIXTH PLACE AT SANDWICH
By Colin Farquharson
FOURTEEN-year-old Perthshire prodigy Carly Booth achieved her best finish outwith junior golf when she tied for sixth place in the British women’s open amateur stroke-play championship at Prince’s Golf Club, Sandwich in Kent today.
Scottish Under-16 girls champion Carly pulled herself up into the top 10 with two one-under-par rounds of 72 on the final day for an aggregate of 299.
Carly is the only British or Irish player to earn a place in the European team for next month's Junior Ryder Cup match against the United States at Celtic manor.
Anna Rossi, pictured right, became the first Italian to win the stroke-play championship – first played in 1969 – by scoring six under par over the final 36 holes. Two rounds of 70 gave her a two-under-par total of 290 and a one-shot win from the overnight leader, Rachel Bell (Ganton).
Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) did not do so well on the final day and scores of 77 and 75 put her on 302 and a share of 12th place.
Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) tied for 19th place on 305, four shots ahead of defending champion Heather MacRae (Dunblane New).
Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) saved her best until last, a closing 71 for 310 and joint 29th place.
(Photo Courtesy and Copyright © Tom Ward)
COLLATED SCOREBOARD
BRITISH WOMEN’S OPEN AMATEUR STROKE-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
Prince’s Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent.
FINAL TOTALS (Par 73)
290 A Rossi (Ita) 74 76 70 70.
219 R Bell (Ganton) 74 73 73 71.
292 S Hassan (Vale of Glamorgan) 76 76 68 72.
294 S Nicholson (NZ) 75 74 72 73.
298 L Eastwood (Yelverton) 73 769 74 72.
299 M Reid (Chevin) 78 78 73 70, C Booth (Comrie) 72 83 72 72, A-L Caudal (Fra) 75 77 69 78, M Boudry (Fra) 72 77 74 76.
301 J Berton (Fra) 75 80 70 76.
302 K Smith (Waterlooville)78 81 70 73, M Gillen (Beaverstown) 74 83 74 71, S Walker (Kenwick Park) 75 79 74 74, E Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) 72 82 73 75, K Caithness (St Regulus) 72 78 77 75.
303 T Mangan (Ennis) 74 74 80 75.
304 S James (Bristol & Clifton) 76 80 71 77.
305 N Edwards (Ganton) 76 81 78 70, M Riordan (Tipperary) 76 79 78 72, J Wilson (Strathaven) 73 81 74 77.
Other scores included:
309 H MacRae (Dunblane New) 80 79 77 73.
310 K Walker (Buchanan Castle) 73 83 83 71.

Ladies European tour
LYNN HAS 74 IN NORWAY
Lynn Kenny, now sponsored by the Clydesdale Bnk, was lying in joint 34th place with a two-over-par 74 at the end of the first round of the SAS Masters at Oslo Golf Club, Norway today.
Clare Queen had a 76 to be in joint 68th position.
France's Virginie Lagoutte set the pace with a five-under-par 67.
She has an overnight lead of two strokes from Kirsty Taylor (England), Nikki Garrett (Australia), Sarah Heath (England), Laura Davies (England) and Cherie Byrnes (Australia.

RAMSAY AND FISHER THROUGH TO LAST EIGHT
Walker Cup team-mates Richie Ramsay (Royal Aberdeen) and Oliver Fisher (West Essex) have reached the quarter-finals of the United States men’s amateur golf championship over the tough Hazeltine National course at Chaska, Minnesota.
Ramsay won by 3 and 2 over left-handed American Kyle Davis with roughly one over par figures.
The Stirling University student squared the match at the seventh and never looked back after winning the eighth, ninth and 13th.
Fisher was three under par in beating another American, Jonathan Hodge, by 5 and 4.
The 17-year-old Englishman won the first three holes and was four up after eight.
Tony Jacklin won the US Open at Hazeltine National in 1970.

EGU Press Release
Peter Benka accepts EGU Presidency for 2008
Peter Benka, a Walker Cup player and former England international, has accepted the nomination to become President Elect of the English Golf Union for the year 2007 with a view to becoming its President in 2008.
Peter played in the 1969 Walker Cup match in Milwaukee and claimed a singles victory over Steve Melnyk. Although GB&I lost narrowly 10-8, he lost only one of his four matches.
His England record is also impressive with only seven defeats in 29 matches between 1967 and 1970.
Reacting to his invitation, Peter said: “I’m very honoured to be asked. It was a pleasant surprise. I’ve had a lot of enjoyment from golf and English golf in particular over the years and it will be a privilege to follow many of the great and the good of the English game.”
Born in London in 1946, Peter was educated at Charterhouse and started his working life in the City. He is now retired from stockbroking having been a partner in the firm of Laing & Cruickshank, and later a Director of Credit Lyonnais Securities.
He started the game at an early age at Addington Golf Club. A winner of the British Youths Championship in 1967 and ‘68, he also won the Surrey County Championship twice (1967 and ‘68) and represented the county between 1965 and 1984. He was capped at England Boy and Youth level then became a full international. He was a member of England's winning side in the European Mens’ Team Championship in 1969 and, as well as the Walker Cup, represented Great Britain & Ireland in the St Andrews Trophy in 1970.
His lowest handicap was plus-one but he now plays social golf off five at Walton Heath and West Sussex Golf Clubs.
Peter’s life as a golf administrator began in 1972 when he became Captain of Surrey, serving on the County Committee for 25 years. He is currently a Vice President.
His work with the EGU began in 1981 on the Executive and Finance Committees and later on the Championship Committee. However, the playing side of the game was never far away and he became an England selector in 1993, taking over as chairman the following year until 1998. His first captain was Peter McEvoy and later Malcolm Lewis.
In 1997, Peter was elected to the R&A’s Selection Committee, taking over as chairman in 1999 until 2002. Again he had McEvoy as captain and later Garth McGimpsey. Peter currently chairs the R&A’s Amateur Status Committee and serves on the General Committee and is due to step down in September 2007.
He was also President of the Public Schools Golfing Society, 1999-2001.
Peter, 60, is married to Pam (nee Tredinnick) who has a distinguished playing career of her own. She was a Curtis Cup player in 1966 and ‘68, and England international, and was Curtis Cup captain in 2002. She is currently Ladies Captain at West Sussex Golf Club. They have a son, Mark, and a daughter, Clare.
“I’m really looking forward to 2008,” he added. “I shall garnish as much information as I can in the meantime and if it is spreading the word on what the EGU is all about around the country that is a role I’m happy to undertake.”

ELGA Press Release
Formby Ladies’ pair lead PING championship qualifiers at Ilkley
Lancashire’s Elsbeth Pierce made a winning choice when she interrupted a holiday to play in a regional final of ELGA’s new competition, the PING Ladies' Four Ball Better Ball Tournament of England.
Elsbeth and her partner, Deborah Porter, won the Northern qualifier at Ilkley in Yorkshire, returning a net score of six-under par 67.
The Formby Ladies’ players lead 12 pairs from the event who all won places in the grand final of the competition. This will be held on October 18 at PING’s flagship golf course at Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. The qualifiers, who scored net 71 or better, all won a pair of ECCO shoes and a PING Collection shirt.
Elsbeth, who plays off eight, was so determined to compete that she left her family golfing holiday in Wales and drove for five hours to Ilkley. “We loved the format,” she said afterwards. “It’s like serving at tennis because you get two chances. We think it’s a competition for everyone.”
Deborah, a six-handicapper who plays with PING clubs, added: “We’ve had a fab time, everything has been great from start to finish and we’ve made new friends.”
Among those who will be joining them at Gainsborough are mother and daughter, Doreen and Janet Nesbitt of Heworth, Durham, who scored net 68.
Janet, who plays off seven and first took up golf to please her mum, is hoping to change her clubs. “I’m looking forward to going to Gainsborough and seeing how the clubs are made and visiting the custom fitting centre,” she said.
Hartlepool pair Chris Williamson and Natalie Crute also scored 68. “It’s all just been brilliant,” said 19-year-old Natalie, who has been playing golf for just 18 months and is already down to 12 handicap.
She’s got a PING driver, three-wood and hybrid club in her bag and she added: “I have really enjoyed today. It’s what I hoped to be doing when I took up golf.”
Yet another pair on 68 were the “big guns” from Brough: Erica Hardaker, the ladies’ captain, and Carole Waights, the ladies’ secretary and junior organiser.
Carole, who took up golf in 2001, is another confirmed PING enthusiast. “I went to the PING fitting centre as soon as I got a 36 handicap and now I’m down to 18.”
Among the other qualifiers were Carolyn Kirk and Elaine Hulley from The York who finished on three-under 70. Carolyn, who plays off four, is one of ELGA’s team of USGA course raters and is a prominent player in English seniors’ golf.
“The format is excellent and we’ve had great fun, giving it a whack and seeing what happened!” she laughed. Carolyn has used PING clubs for about 10 years and enjoyed the opportunity at the regional final to see the latest clubs and the range of ECCO shoes.
Two more regional finals are yet to be played. Midland division: Trentham Golf Club, Staffordshire, on August 30. South-West division: Woodbury Park Golf Club, Somerset, on September 19. The South-East qualifer at Langley Park was the first to take place.

England.. winners of the BUSA Mens' Home International Championship

BUSA Home International series
England won both the Mens and Womens Championships yesterday at Dudsbury Golf Club.
In the Mens' Event, England won all thre of their matches against Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to take the Championship from runners-up Scotland. Wales were third and Northern Ireland fourth. Oustanding performers remaining undefeated throughout the competition were Jason Palmer (England), Ed Parker (England).
A complicated scoring system in the Womens event resulted in England winning the series with 47 points. Scotland were second with 37.5 and Northern Ireland third with 23.5. Outstanding Performers scoring maximum points for their teams were Nikki Hunter (England), Lucinda Davies (England) and Kerri Harper (Scotland)
Kerri Harper (Scotland) and Gemma Parkes (England) now hold the womens' course record with 73s
Mens results (Excel spreadsheet), Womens results (Excel spreadsheet)

Thursday 24th August 2006

IT’S A SOGGY SANDWICH FOR SECOND ROUND OF BRITISH WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Non-stop rain marred the second day’s play in the British women’s open amateur golf championship at Prince’s Golf Club, Sandwich in Kent today.
The bad weather transformed the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the 72-hole tournament. Overnight leader Rachel Newren from Salt Lake City, Utah was washed away to an 84, 14 shots worse than her leading 70 on the opening day.
It also raised the anticipated halfway cut figure to 13-over-par 159 and allowed defending champion Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) to qualify for the final 36 holes when she had seemed out of contention.
“The rain down here was horrendous all day,” said the Ladies Golf Union director of championships Susan Simpson from Carnoustie.
“We were really lucky not to have had to suspend play. The course drainage was superb. It was the worst rain I have ever seen on a golf course and all the girls got soaked. Anything sub-80 was a great score, all things considered.”
Five Scots qualified for the final 36 holes – Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) in joint sixth place on 150 (72-78), Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) with 154 (73-81), Carly Booth (Comrie) on 155 (72-83), Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) with 73 and 83 for 156 and the defending champion, Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) on the limit mark of 159 (80-79).
Halfway leader is Yorkshire’s Rachel Bell from Ganton with 74 and 73 for 147, one ahead of Curtis Cup player and Irish champion Tricia Mangan (Ennis).
BRITISH WOMEN’S OPEN AMATEUR STROKE-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
Prince’s Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent
QUALIFIERS WITH 159 & BETTER (Par 73).
147 R Bell (Ganton) 74 73.
148 T Mangan Ennis) 74 74.
149 E Lyons (West Surrey) 77 72, S Nicholson (NZ) 75 74, M Bourdy (Fra) 72 77.
150 A Rossi (Ita) 74 76, K Caithness (St Regulus) 72 78.
152 S Hassan (Wal) 76 76, A-L Caudal (Fra) 75 77, L Eastwood (Yelverton) 73 79.
154 J Wilson (Strathaven) 73 81, R Newren (US) 70 84, E Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor) 72 82, S Walker (Kenwick Park) 75 79.
155 J Berton (Fra) 75 80, M Riordan (Tipperary) 76 79, C Booth (Comrie) 72 83.
156 C Aitken (Mid Kent) 78 78, T Davies (Treadur Bay) 76 80, K Walker (Buchanan Castle) 73 83, M Reid (Chevin) 78 78, L Gendronneau (Fra) 73 83, C Lee (West Lancs) 76 80, S James (Bristol & Clifton) 76 80.
157 L Collin (John O’Gaunt) 75 82, N Edwards (Ganton) 76 81 M Gillen (Beaverstown) 74 83, B Lane (Aus) 76 81, D Montgomery (Lambourne) 80 77.
158 C Douglass (Brocket Hall) 75 83, M Morrin (The Curragh) 76 82, D Smith (Co Louth) 77 81, V Valvassori (Ita) 81 77.
159 H MacRae (Dunblane New) 80 79, L Jones (Royal Liverpool) 81 78, A Vilatte (Fra) 81 78, H Aitchison(Bedfordshire) 83 76, K Smith (Waterlooville) 78 81, N Kitching (Claremorris) 79 80, M Crosland (US) 78 81.
NON-QUALIFIERS INCLUDED:
160 E Lowrey-Gold (Eaton) 81 79, S Evans (Vale of Llangollen) 76 84, F Johnson (Harvborne) 78 82.
161 G Webster (Hilton Park) 79 82.
166 H Brockway (Yeovil) 83 84.
167 E Fairnie (Sco) 82 85.
169 C-M Carlton (Stirling Univ) 83 86.
173 E Cuthill (Lanark) 89 84.

KELSEY CLEAR IN BELGIUM
Nairn's 15-year-old Kelsey Macdonald, pictured right, leads by one stroke at the halfway stage of the girls’ section in the Belgian Junior Nations Open at Royal Golf Club of Belgium, near Brussels.
Nairn Dunbar Golf Club member Kelsey, winner of the Northern Counties women’s championship for the past two years, has had two rounds of 74 for a four-over-par tally of 148 and leads by one shot from Austria’s Christine Wolf (75-74).
Roseanne Niven (Crieff), the Scottish Under-18 girls’ match-play champion, is in 15th position on 156 with scores of 76 and 80.
In the boys’ competition, Sam McLaren (King James VI) from Perth, the Scottish Under-16 boys’ title-holder, is in 47th place with a pair of 77s for 154 – one shot ahead of Paul Shields (Kirkhill) (79-76).
Dimitri Van Doren(Belgium) and Nicoli Nissen (Denmark) lead on two-under-par 142.
LEADING GIRLS' SCORES
148 K MacDonald (Scotland) 74 74.
149 C Wolf (Austria) 75 74.
151 L Willems (Belgium) 73 78.
153 G Paolillo (Italy) 78 75, S Nuutinen (Finland) 75 78, S Cologan (Spain) 72 81, E Wanet (Belgium) 77 76.
Other score:
156 R Niven (Scotland) 76 80 (15th).
LEADING BOYS' SCORES
142 D Van Doren (Belgium) 72 70, N Nissen (Denmark) 71 71.
Other scores:
146 S Ward (Ireland) 77 69 (7th).
150 D Lernihan (Ireland) 78 72 (18th).
153 J Vickery (Wales) 79 74 (36th).
154 S McLaren (Scotland) 77 77 (47th).
155 P Shields (Kirkhill) 79 76 (52nd).
165 Alyn Torrence (Wales) 83 82 (90th)
168 R Bentham (Wales) 82 86 (92nd).

NISSAN IRISH BOYS AMATEUR CLOSE CHAMPIONSHIP
Hosted by Kinsale Golf Club.
LEADERS AFTER 36 HOLES
142: S Gallivan (Killarney) 73 69, R O'Sullivan (Fota Island) 68 74.
143: S Healy (Claremorris) 73 70, L Lennox (Moyola Park) 70 73.
144: P O'Kane (Moyola Park) 73 71.
145: R McNamara (Headfort) 74 71, P Reavey (Warrenpoint) 70 75.
146: J Gourley (Knock) 74 72, J Crowley (Muskerry) 74 72, C McKenna (Mallow) 73 73, G McGrane (The Royal Dublin) 73 73, S Doherty (Malone) 71 75.
147: D Reilly (Westmanstown) 75 72.
148: T Conran (Portadown) 78 70, J Monaghan (The Island) 73 75.
149: R McGee (City of Derry) 78 71, B Keenan (The Heath) 77 72, G Boyd (Donaghadee) 77 72, D Loftus (Swinford) 76 73, E Marsden (Tullamore) 72 77.
150: R McCrudden (Royal Portrush) 77 73, D Roche (Claremorris) 77 73, A Daly (Delgany) 74 76, R O'Donovan (Lucan) 74 76, P Small (Bangor) 73 77, J Patterson (Royal Portrush) 73 77.
151: A Hogan (Newlands) 80 71, K McDonagh (Athlone) 78 73, G Shaw (Mullingar) 77 74, D Dickenson (Letterkenny) 77 74, G McGee (Malone) 73 78, C Friel (Rossmore) 73 78.

SEVEN SCOTS SEEK IRISH SENIOR TITLE
Seven Scots have entered the Irish senior women's open stroke-play golf championship at Woodbrook Golf Club, near Dublin on September 11 and 12.
They are: Pamela Williamson (Baberton), winner of the title in 2002 and 2003, Noreen Fenton (Merchants of Edinburgh), Lynne Terry (Cruden Bay), Helen Faulds (Douglas Park), Jennifer Mack (Haggs Castle), Janice Paterson (Drumpellier) and Fiona Roger (Ranfurly Castle).
Canada's Alison Murdoch will be bidding to complete a hat-trick of victories in the three-round championship.

Press release
British Universities Home Internationals
COURSE RECORDS BROKEN ON FIRST DAY
The 2006 British Universities Golf Home Internationals started in spectacular fashion on Tuesday with two female golfers breaking the course record at Dudsbury Golf Club. The women are playing in a team Strokeplay competition with teams from Northern Ireland, Scotland and England vying for the title.
In good playing conditions, the record held by Sahara Hassan for just over 12 months looked in danger of being beaten early in the day as five players from the field recorded a score of 1 over or better. Two players, Gemma Parkes, England and Kerri Harper, Scotland capitalised on their early form to win their matches and take maximum points for their country. In the process both posted score of 73 to better the course record by one stroke. At times Kerri struggled on the course posting 2 double bogies while Gemma played a more consistent round playing solidly over the 18 holes.
England women have started the competition well, winning 5 out of 6 matches on the first day of competition taking a 5.5 point lead over nearest rivals Scotland.
HARPER CONTINUES TO STEAL THE SHOW
The women’s strokeplay was a much tighter affair yesterday with England and Scotland tying on 13 points while Northern Ireland was close behind on 10 points. Current standings are England 30, Scotland 24.5 and Northern Ireland 18.5. The standout competitor was again Kerry Harper from Scotland, who matched the women’s club record which was she recorded yesterday. Her consistency has led to her winning both her matches and helping Scotland remain in contention for the overall championship.
[The BUSA Women's Home Internationals Championship is a three-cornered contest. The girls are playing stroke-play in six three-balls. Players are awarded points for the place they finish in their three ball - 3 points for 1st, 2 for 2nd and 1 for 3rd. - Here is the spreadsheet (Excel file) for the results so far - you'll need a degree to understand it! - Gill]
Men's contest
8-player teams from Scotland, England, Wales and Northern-Ireland are competing for the Men’s Home International title. England triumphed over Northern-Ireland 8-4, whilst Scotland had a convincing victory over Wales 10 1/2– 1 1/2. Tomorrow’s play sees England take on Scotland, whilst Northern-Ireland face Wales.
In the men’s competition the game between heavyweights Scotland and England proved to be an exciting one. England showed an early dominance winning the foursomes 3-1 in the morning. In the afternoon’s play Scotland started a revival early on, after 5 singles matches the score had been reduced to 5-4 in favour of England. England’s tailender’s though finished in the dominant style England had started the day with taking the final three match to make the score 8-4.
Jason Palmer (England), Ed Parker (England) and Gordon Yates (Scotland) were recently selected to represent Britain at the World University Golf Championships to be held in Torin, Italy on 5-9 September. Selectors will be pleased with the form of the three players as all three are yet to lose a match in either foursomes or singles.
In the other match of the day Northern Ireland forfeited two matches as they were down 1man. Despite this setback the team played well pushing Wales throughout the day and could have won the match if at full strength. Eventually Wales overcame Northern Ireland to post a score of 8-4.
Tomorrow is the final day of the Internationals and sees Northern Ireland play Scotland and England play Wales.
[Spreadsheet (Excel file) of men's results]

Wednesday 23rd August 2006

KRYSTLE, CARLY SHARED SECOND PLACE ON OPENING DAY OF "BRITISH STROKE-PLAY"
Scottish Under-21 girls champion Krystle Caithness, pictured right, came back into form to share second place with Comrie youngster Carly Booth in the first round of the British women’s open amateur stroke-play golf championship at Prince’s Golf Club, Sandwich in Kent today.
Krystle, from Cellardyke in Fife, and Carly both shot one-under-par 72s to be on the tail of Rachel Newren from the United States. Rachel set the pace with a 70.
Miss Caithness managed a good score despite a double-bogey 6 on her card at the sixth hole. She had birdies at the second, seventh, 15th and 18th in halves of 36. She dropped a single shot at the 10th.
Carly, pictured left, soon to set off for the David Leadbetter Golf Academy at Bradenton, Florida on a full scholarship, had birdies at the second, eighth and 12th in halves of 35 and 37.
Although defending champion Heather MacRae (Dunblane New) saddled herself with an opening round of 80 (40-40), it was generally a good day for Scots.
Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle) and Jenna Wilson (Strathaven) are also up with the leaders on the 73 mark.
Kylie hit the par 73 mark with birdiesd at the seventh, 10th, 12th and 14th. She also had bogeys at the fifth, sixth, 11th and 13th . in halves of 35 and 37.
Jenna, who has done so well in Scotland’s main 36-hole women’s opens this summer, also had a 73 (36-37), thanks to birdies at the second, ninth and 10th. The Strathaven player bogeyed the first, sixth and 18th.
Clare-Marie Carlton (Stirling Univ) had three double-bogeys in halves of 42 and 41 for an 83.
Elaine Cuthill (Lanark) topped that with one triple bogey and three double bogeys in her 89 (45-44).
BRITISH WOMEN’S OPEN AMATEUR STROKE-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
Prince’s Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent.
LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 73
70 R Newren (US).
72 K Caithness (St Regulus), C Booth (Comrie), M Bourdie (Fra), E. Bennett (Brokenhurst Manor)
73 K Walker (Buchanan Castle), L Gendronneau (Fra), L Eastwood (Yelverton), J Wilson (Strathaven).
74 R Bell (Ganton), A Rossi (Ita), T Mangan (Ennis), M Gillen (Beaverstown).
75 J Berton (Fra), A-L Caudal (Fra), S Walker (Kenwick Park), L Collin (John O’Gaunt), C Douglass (Brocket Hall), S Nicholson (Hutt).
76 S Hassan (Vale of Glamorgan), M Riordan (Tipperary), B Lane (Aus), C Lee (West Lancs), S James (Bristol & Clifton), M Morrin (The Curragh), N Edwards (Ganton), S Evans (Vale of Llangollen), T Davies (Treadur Bay).
77 F Angioletti (Ita), E Lyons (West Surrey) Dierdre Smith (County Louth).
78 E Givens (Blackwell Grange), M Reid (Chevin), F Johnson (Harborne), L Ball (Matfen Hall), R Cassidy (The Island), M Crosland (US), M Verchenova (Rus), C Aitken (Mid-Kent), K Smith (Waterlooville), Sarah Attwood (Gog Magog).
Other scores included:
79 G Webster (Hilton Park)
80 H MacRae (Dunblane New).
82 E Fairnie (Dunbar).
83 C-M Carlton (Stirling Univ), H Brockway (Yeovil).
89 E Cuthill (Lanark).

GOOD START BY KELSEY AND ROSEANNE IN BELGIUM
Scotland’s Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar) and Roseanne Niven (Crieff) made a promising start to the girls’ section of the Belgian Junior Nations Open at Royal Golf Club of Belgium, near Brussels todaY,
Kelsey had a two-over-par 74 with birdies at the first and 14th while Rosanne had a 76, which included a double bogey at the fourth and a birdie 2 at the short 12th.
The top 60 players after three rounds will go forward to the match-play stages.
LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
GIRLS
Par 72
72 Sonia Cologan (Spa).
73 Ines Tusquets (Spa), Lien Williams (Bel).
74 Kelsey MacDonald (Sco).
Other scores:
76 Roseanne Niven (Sco).
81 Dawn Marie Conaty (Ire).
88 Ciara Walsh (Ire).
BOYS
(Par 72)
71 Nicolai Nissen (Den), Frederik Schulte (Ger), Tiago Rodrigues (Por).
Other scores:
74 Shaun Malone (Eng).
77 Simon Ward (Ire).
78 Dara Lernihan (Ire).

Ayrshire Girls
Alex makes it three in a row!
Alex Sargent (Skelmorlie), pictured right, won the St. Nicholas Trophy for Ayrshire Girls on Sunday at Kilbirnie Golf Club. Alex scored a gross 77, net 60, giving her the title on the better inward half over Rachael McQueen (Bentinck Ladies) who had a gross 69, also net 60.
This competition is clearly a favourite for Alex who has now won the trophy three years in succession despite strong opposition. Lynsey Weadon (Barassie) finished 3rd with a 65. In the Bronze Division, Ashleigh Crighton (Skelmorlie) was 1st with a net 69, Kelly McNee (Loudoun) 2nd on 70, and local girl Caitlin Barr, 3rd on 72.
Rachael’s scratch score of 69 gives her the top spot as the qualifier for the Daily Telegraph Junior Golf Championship. The CSS for the day was 68.
The Pre-handicap girls played 9 holes over a shortened course and their results are as follows:-
Over 12 years           
1st   Charlotte Smith (Barassie)            44                         
2nd  Valentina Mozzoni (Skelmorlie)  46           
3rd  Melanie Ross (West Kilbride)      55           
Under 12 years
Rachel Irvine (Kilbirnie)          50    
Holly Winton (Ballochmyle)    59
Sarah Davies (West Kilbride)   63 bih

Ayrshire Girls Div 1 prize-winners

Ayrshire Girls Div 2 prize-winners

ILGU Press Release
Girls Under 15 Interprovincial Matches - Athy Golf Club, 23 August 06
Ulster win the inaugural Under 15 Interprovincial matches beating Leinster 3-2 in the final.
Connacht claimed third place with a 4 -1 win over Munster.
Final
Ulster 3 - 2 Leinster (Ulster names first)
Lisa Maguire beat Carla Reynolds 3&1
Leona Maguire beat Patrice Delaney 4&3
Tara Gribben beat Laura Boylan 4&3
Erin Connolly lost to Sarah Murray 1up
Megan Thompson lost to Una McLaughlin 1up
3rd place match (Munster names first)
Munster 1 - 4 Connacht
Emma O’Driscoll lost to Sarah Helly 2up
Laura McCarthy lost to Julie O’Gara 4&2
Hannah O’Brien beat Daryl Conroy 5&4
Julie Coyne lost to Niamh Carty 8&7
Kate Scales lost to Aoife McHale 5&4
Semi Finals
Ulster 5 – 0 Munster (Ulster names first)
Lisa Maguire beat Emma O’Driscoll on the 19th
Leona Maguire beat Laura McCarthy 3&1
Tara Gribben beat Hannah O’Brien 4&2
Erin Connolly beat Julie Coyne 7&5
Kate Scales beat Megan Thompson 4&3
Leinster 3 – 2 Connacht (Leinster names first)
Carla Reynolds lost to Sarah Helly 5&4
Patrice Delaney beat Julie O’Gara 2&1
Laura Boylan lost to Daryl Conroy 5&3
Sarah Murray beat Niamh Carty 2&1
Una McLaughlin beat Aoife McHale 4&3

Countdown to the Gibson Cup… entries to be in by Friday 8th September
A reminder for any ladies foursomes pairings intending to enter the Gibson Cup over Braids No. 1 course in Edinburgh on 30th September and 1st October that the deadline is only a couple of weeks away i.e. Friday 8th September.
Entry Forms can be obtained from Edinburgh Leisure (phone 0131 652 2178 or by e-mail from AlasdairDunlop@edinburghleisure.co.uk, from Anne Brownie by e-mail @ apbrownie@blueyonder.co.uk or from most Golf Clubs in the Edinburgh area. The closing date for entries to be received by Edinburgh Leisure is 8th September 2006.
Information regarding the tournament format is available on the entry form. In summary, entrants play a round of medal foursomes (off handicap) on the Saturday which may qualify them for foursomes match play on the Sunday. If not, there is a Stableford competition on the Sunday, again foursomes format. All in all a great way to experience different types of foursomes golf over the one weekend!

Tuesday 22nd August 2006

Prizewinners and SLGA officials at Inchmarlo today
Pamela Mackenzie (Chairman of county Golf, SLGA)
Alison Hope (Newmachar) winner of Silver handicap Challenge Cup.
Laura Murray (Alford) winner of Silver scratch Challenge Cup
Mary Summers (Panmure Barry) Silver scratch runner-up (Muirhead Trophy)
Marta Moody (Murcar Links) winner of both the Bronze scratch and handicap trophies (Nisbett Cup scr and Challenge Cup net).
Fiona Farquharson, SLGA tournament officer.

Scottish Ladies Golfing Association county open meeting
IN-FORM LAURA WINS ANOTHER CUP AT INCHMARLO
New North of Scotland girls’ golf champion Laura Murray followed up her Sunday win at Kirriemuir by lifting the Silver Challenge Cup in the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association county open meeting at Inchmarlo Golf Centre, Banchory today (TUESDAY).
Teenager Laura, who plays off two, had a round of 76 – one outside the women’s course record for the testing, tree-lined Laird’s Course.
Two players were next best with 78 – six times Angus women’s champion Mary Summers (Panmure Barry) and Jacqueline Sneddon (Alyth).
The Muirhead Trophy went to Mary with a better inward half of 40 to 42.
Alison Hope (Newmachar), playing off 14, won the Silver Handicap Challenge Cup with a 66, three ahead of Mary Burgess (Aboyne) (11).
In the Bronze Division, Marta Moody (Murcar Links) scored a double whammy with a gross round of 92 which won her the Nisbett Cup for the best scratch round and also the Challenge Cup for the lowest net round, a net 71.
A total of 58 players took part.
COLLATED SCOREBOARD
SLGA COUNTY OPEN MEETING
Inchmarlo Golf Centre, Banchory
Par 72. CSS 72.
LEADING SCRATCH
76 L Murray (Alford).
78 M Summers (Panmure Barry), Jacqueline Sneddon (Alyth).
80 A Hope (Newmachar), E Hodgetts (Balbirnie Park), M Burgess (Aboyne).
81 L Terry (Cruden Bay).
82 M Myers (Clober).
83 J Slater (Aboyne),
84 R Dunsmuir (Cruden Bay).
85 J Clarke (Panmure Barry).
86 J Cumming (Inverness), J Petrie (Panmure Barry), A Freeman (Panmure Barry).
87 J McCartney (Erskine), C Bryce (Ballater).
88 P Wood (Turnhouse), E Grant (Douglas Park), M Macnaughtan (Aberdeen Ladies).
89 S Tait (Newmachar), M Miller (Cruden Bay).
90 L Joss (Newmachar), L Kelly (Newmachar), S Todd (Panmure Barry). P Halliwell (Inchmarlo), M Garden (Peterculter).
91 A Stalker (Aberdeen Ladies), A Chree (Ladies Panmure).
92 M Moody (Murcar Links).

IRISH SCHOOLS MATCH-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
National Finals hosted by Kinsale Golf Club
SEMI-FINALS
Crescent College Comp., Limerick 3 Campbell College, Belfast 2
(Crescent College Comp. names first):
Colin McNamara (Limerick) lost to Garth Boyd (Donaghadee) 5 and 4.
Daragh Garrahy (Limerick County) bt Jonathan Gourley (Knock) 2 and 1.
Paddy Spillane (Limerick) bt Patrick Small (Clandeboye) 4 and 3.
Philip Geraghty (Limerick) lost to Simon Moore (Shandon Park) 2 holes.
Chris Hansom (Limerick) bt Nicky Moorehead (Shandon Park) 1 hole.

St Paul’s College, Raheny 4 ½ Sligo Grammar School ½
(St. Paul’s names first):
Niall Kearney (Royal Dublin) bt Stephen Brady (Co Sligo) 5 and 4.
Barry Fennelly (Royal Dublin) halved with Michael Durkan (Co Sligo).
Gary McGrane (Royal Dublin) bt Steffan O’Hara (Co Sligo) 7 and 6.
Richard Behan (St. Annes) bt Oliver Howes (Strandhill) 7 and 5.
James Hunt (Clontarf) awarded a walk over.

FINAL
St Paul’s College, Raheny 3 Crescent College Comp, Limerick 2
(St. Paul’s names first):
Niall Kearney (Royal Dublin) bt Colin McNamara (Limerick) 6 and 5.
Barry Fennelly (Royal Dublin) bt Daragh Garrahy (Limerick County) 2 and 1.
Gary McGrane (Royal Dublin) bt Paddy Spillane (Limerick) 5 and 4.
Richard Behan (St. Annes) lost to Philip Geraghty (Limerick) 8 and 7.
James Hunt (Clontarf) lost to Chris Hansom (Limerick) 4 and 3.

SHEENA SHAVES SHOT OFF HER KING’S LINKS RECORD
Former Scotland international golfer Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies), pictured right, shaved a stroke off her own women’s course record at the King’s Links when she won the Caledonian Ladies Open with a par-matching 68.
Sheena, who won the City of Aberdeen Women’s Quaich for a seventh time earlier this month, had birdies at the first, eighth and 13th. She had a double bogey at the second and dropped only one other shot, at the seventh.
The CSS for the competition was 69
Her figures were:
OUT – 3 6 3 4 4 4 5 3 4 – 36
IN – 3 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 – 32

LGU Press Release
LADIES’ BRITISH OPEN AMATEUR STROKE PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
Curtis Cup players Naomi Edwards, Martina Gillen, Breanne Loucks, Trisha Mangan and Melissa Reid will lead the challenge for the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship, to be played at Prince’s Golf Club, Sandwich from 23-25 August.
It is over 10 years since Prince’s last hosted the Ladies’ Stoke Play Championship and then, it was Spanish player Maria Pons who took the trophy overseas. However the seven most recent winners have all resided in the British Isles and last year at Nairn, Heather MacRae of Dunblane New won a closely contested championship after a play-off with Nicole Gergely of Austria.
Heather was the first reserve for the Curtis Cup, and is defending her title against not only five of the players from Bandon Dunes, but also from a field of 120 players that includes many of the world’s top amateurs. Included in that list are French players, Caroline Alfonso, Isabelle Boineau, Anne-lise Caudal and Elena Giraud, Sarah Nicholson of New Zealand and Italian players Anna Rossi and Vitorria Valvassori.
All four holders of the national stroke play titles will be competing at Prince’s: Melissa Reid, the Scottish title holder, Martina Gillen, the Irish, Naomi Edwards, the Welsh and Liz Bennett, winner in July of the English title.
The Ladies’ British Stroke Play Championship is being played at Prince’s as one of the events during the club’s centenary celebrations and Bill Howie, Director of Prince’s Golf Club said: “I am delighted to welcome the return of the Ladies’ British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship to mark our Centenary Year. We have a long association with ladies’ tournaments since 1912 having hosted the Curtis Cup and the English and British Championships throughout the years.”
The list of entrants can be viewed at www.lgu.org – Championships.

R&A Press Release
TEAM FOR THE JACQUES LEGLISE TROPHY MATCH AGAINST THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE
Matthew Nixon from Ashton-under-Lyme, the winner of the Boys Amateur Championship at Royal Aberdeen, has been selected for his first ever cap as one of nine GB&I team members to compete for the Jacques Leglise Trophy.
The GB&I boys will play against their Continental counterparts at Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic on 1 & 2 September when they will hope to avenge the defeat in last year’s contest at Royal Porthcawl.
Nixon, 17, has yet to play at international level for his native England yet, in defeating highly rated Swedish youngster Bjorn Akesson at the 38th hole in a closely contested final, he clearly showed his potential.
He is joined in the team by English players Luke Goddard and Sam Hutsby. Hutsby, 17, started the year in fine form by winning the Spanish Amateur Championship with a 7&6 defeat of Eduardo Molinari, the 2005 US Amateur Champion. Since then he finished runner-up in the McEvoy Trophy and represented England boys both in Japan and Sweden.
Goddard, an 18-year-old from Middlesex, gained promotion to international recognition for England thanks to his wins in the Bernard Darwin Salver and the Peter McEvoy Trophy.
Scottish players Lewis Kirton and James Byrne have been members of the Scottish boys’ teams that have had a successful season to date. That commenced with a win in the Boys Quadrangular International and was followed by reaching the final of the European Boys Team Championship where they lost to a strong Norwegian team. More recently, Scotland won the Boys Home Internationals at Moray Golf Club, Lossiemouth.
Adam Runcie from Abergele was in the Welsh squad at Lossiemouth as was Rhys Enoch, who has also been promoted to play in the Senior Home Internationals at Pyle & Kenfig in September. This year, Enoch finished in third place of the Welsh Order of Merit, largely due to his win in the Trubshaw Cup and his fifth place in the Duncan Putter.
The team is completed with Niall Kearney of Royal Dublin, named team captain, and Paul Cutler of Portstewart both of whom were members of the Irish Boys Team at Lossiemouth where they narrowly lost out to Scotland in the quest for The