SUMMER LEAGUE - latest results

Ballochmyle have taken a firm grip on a semi final place after the latest round of Summer League matches.

In LEAGUE 1, a 5 - 1 home win over Ayr Belleisle boosted Ballochmyle's lead in the section.
In the other match played recently in the section, Prestwick St. Cuthbert recorded their first win of the season with a 4 - 2 home win over Caprington.

with all four clubs having just two matches each remaining, present positions in the section are :-

Ballochmyle 16 pts, Ayr Belleisle 8 pts, Prestwick St. Cuthbert 4 pts, Caprington 4 pts.

In LEAGUE 2, Troon St. Meddans and Lousdoun are locked together at the top of the table after St. Meddans won 4.5 - 1.5 at home to West Kilbride and Loudoun beat Ardeer by 4 - 2 away from home. With two rounds of matches still to be completed, it appears that the deciding match will be the meeting of the two leading teams at Loudoun in the last round of ties to be played.

Present positions in the section are :-

Loudoun 12 pts, Troon St. Meddans 12 pts, Ardeer 4 pts, West Kilbride 4 pts.

In LEAGUE 3, Kilbirnie hold a clear lead after a 5 - 1 home win over Annanhill.

Present positions in the section are :-

Kilbirnie Place 16 pts, Irvine 12 pts, Irvine Ravenspark 4 pts, Annanhill 0 pts.

With four matches still to play, three of the four teams in the section could still win a place in the semi final.

No further matches have been played in LEAGUE 4, Beith still holding the lead and simply require Tam O Shanter to avoid a 6 - 0 defeat in their final match at Kilmarnock Barassie to go through.

LEAGUE 5, with two matches still to be decided, is extremely close, with any of the three teams still in a position to go through.

Present positions are :- Troon Welbeck 6 pts, Largs 6 pts, New Cumnock 4 pts.

Outstanding games in the section are :- Troon Welbeck Vs. New Cumnock & New Cumnock Vs. Largs

AYRSHIRE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP - Prestwick triumph at Loudoun

Prestwick Golf Club are the 2009 Ayrshire Club Champions after edging out Ballochnmyle by one shot at Loudoun on Sunday 5th July.

19 teams contested the championship this year.

The winning Prestwick team - (l-r) - James Bunch, Allan Thomson & Johnathan King.

With two scores from three counting towards the team total, it was Ballochmyle who set the early target, Craig Hamilton (69) and Graeme Rowan (67) combining for a 136 total. Dougie McKinnon added a useful 72 as the third score, to be utilised in the event of a tie.

In the early stages it was Kilmarnock (Barassie) who came closes to Ballochmyle's total with Callum Sharp (71) and Euan Brown (67) combining for a 138 total.

With only three teams remaining to complete their scores, the host club Loudoun fell just short of Ballochmyles score with Tommy McInally (71) and John Haggerty (67) combining for 138.

Prestwick posed the greatest challenge to Ballochmyle and so it proved with former Scotland internationalist Johnathan King leading the way with a 67.

Despite dropping five shots over the closing holes, James Bunch added a level par 68 to King's effort, giving Prestwick a one shot lead on 135. In the final match, former Scottish Amateur Champion Allan Thomson added another 68 to complete the Prestwick Scoring.

Prestwick will now go forward to represent Ayrshire in the Scottish Club Championship finals at Prestwick St. Nicholas on Sunday 27th September.

FINAL TEAM TOTALS :-

135 - Prestwick

136 - Ballochmyle

138 - Loudoun, Kilmarnock (Barassie)

140 - Brunston Castle

142 - Irvine

143 - Troon Welbeck

144 - Prestwick St. Nicholas, Turnberry

146 - Ayr Belleisle

147 - Irvine Ravenspark

148 - Troon Portland, West Kilbride

149 - Prestwick St. Cuthbert

150 - Troon St. Meddans, Ayr Dalmilling, Annanhill

156 - Tam O' Shanter

159 - New Cumnock

CSS for the competition was 69 (no change)

Full results and individual scores are available to download via the link on the left of this page

AYRSHIRE SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIP - draw for order of play

The draw for the 2009 Ayrshire Seniors Championship, to be held at Kilmarnock (Barassie) on Tuesday 21st July, has been made.

2008 winner Ronnie Potts (Irvine Ravenspark) - pictured right with Sandy Provan - returns to defend the Sandy Provan Trophy, awarded for the best nett score in the championship.

The draw for order of play is :-

0900 - R.J. Bruce (Kilmarnock Barassie), J. Waddell (Kilmarnock Barassie), W.B. Buchanan (Royal Troon)
0910 - J.C. Richardson (Caprington), E. Sanderson (Muirkirk), J. Brown (Stewarton)

0920 - G. Semple (Stewarton), W. Burns (Muirkirk), R. Young (Irvine)

0930 -

0940 -

0950 - J. Broadfoot (Turnberry), C. Greer (West Kilbride), O. Hollywood (Troon Portand)
1000 - D. Love (West Kilbride), R. Potts (Irvine Ravenspark), A. Muir (Caprington)

1010 - C. McGregor (Irvine Ravenspark), W. McMahon (Irvine), C. Francis (Troon Welbeck)

1020 - G. Harrison (Caprington), D. Hollingworth (Ayr Belleisle), J.L. Wilkie (West Kilbride)
1030 -

1040 - G. Barnes (Caprington), J. Gray (Prestwick St Nicholas), J. McFarlane (Irvine Ravenspark)

1050 - R. Harrison (Caprington), A. Cairns (Troon Portand), G. Robertson (West Kilbride)

1100 -

1110 -

1120 - J.W. Campbell (West Kilbride), B. Sherwood (Machrie Bay), D. Taylor (Ayr Belleisle)

1130 - D. Wilkinson (Corrie), H. Sim (Annanhill), R.S. Armour (West Kilbride)

1140 -

1150 -

1200 -

Late entries are being accepted by either :-

telephoning Alasdair Malcolm on 01292 477657

or by e-mail at ayrshiregolf@fsmail.net .

Entry fee for the competition is £10

AYRSHIRE JUNIOR ORDER OF MERIT - Walker leads the way after four events.

With four of the 21 counting events in the 2009 Ayrshire Junior Order Of Merit Trophy completed, Euan Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) holds a narrow lead over the field.

Walker took top spot in the Girvan Boys Championship and followed it with a fifth place at Largs to give him a 20 point lead over the other players in the table.

Andrew Wright (Kilmarnock Barassie) is in second place after his win in the Prestwick Boys Open at St. Cuthbert whilst Marc Smith (Troon Welbeck) lies third with points from a third place at largs being added to the points gained at the Scottish Boys Championship earlier in the year.

Graeme Ritchie (Troon Welbeck) and John Robertson (Largs) share fourth place after a shair of the top points at Largs earlier this week.

Present positions in the Junior Order Of merit are :-

120.00 - Euan Walker (Kilmanrock Barassie)
100.00 - Andrew Wright (Kilmarnock Barassie)
92.50 - Marc Smith (Troon Welbeck)
87.50 - Graham Ritchie (Troon Welbeck), John Robertson (Largs)
62.50 - Charlie MacNeal (Troon Welbeck), Sam Findlater (Troon Welbeck), Declan Flood (Caprington), Scott Johnston (Prestwick St. Cuthbert)
50.00 - Jack McDonald (Troon Welbeck)
42.50 - Rory McKenzie (Troon Welbeck)
27.50 - David Wilson (Troon Welbeck), Gragor MacKintosh (Girvan)
10.00 - Alistair Berry (Irvine Ravenspark)
7.50 - Callum Beveridge (Troon Welbeck)
2.50 - Andrew Gilmour (Largs), David McLellan (Largs)

DUNFERMLINE BUILDING SOCIETY JUNIOR MASTERS - Ayrshire well represented in boys & girls regional final.

The local regional final for the Dunfermline Building Society Junior Masters competition will e held at Bishopbriggs on Tuesday 14th July, and Ayrshire are well represented iin both the boys and girls events.

Steven McLeish (Ayr Belleisle), Craig McCallum (Ayr Belleisle), Kieran Young (Skelmorlie), Ross McSherry (Royal Troon) & Michael Pollock (Skelmorlie) take part in the boys event, whilst Sophie Love (Skelmorlie), Hazel McGarvie (Ayrshire Ladies), Zoe Raynor (Bentinck Ladies) & Gillian Love (Skelmorlie) represent the county in the girls event.

SCOTTISH BOYS STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP - Five Ayrshire boys bid for title

Ayrhsire will have five representatives in the 2009 Scottish Boys Strokeplay Championship which will be held at Ladybank from 21st to 23rd July.

Boys internationalist Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) will be joined by clubmate Andrew Wright and fellow junior tour competitor Marc Smith (Troon Welbeck).

Also in the field will be Gregor MacKintosh (Girvan) and the new West Of Scotland Boys Strokeplay Champion Colin Robinson (Largs).

EUROPEAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - Stewart adds to honours as Scotland take title

Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) added to his ever increasing haul of golfing honours when he helped Scotland to an emphatic win over Englad in the final of the 2009 European Team Championship at Conwyn, North Wales on Saturday.

For the second day in succession, Stewart contributed two points from two which helped Scotland to a 5 - 2 win in the final.

FINAL RESULT :-

SCOTLAND 5 ENGLAND 2

Foursomes
(2-0)

Gavin Dear & Glenn Campbell bt Dale Whitnell & Charlie Ford 1 hole
Wallace Booth & Michael Stewart bt Matt Haines & Tommy Fleetwood 2 and 1

Singles
(3-2)

Booth lost to Sam Hutsby 5 and 4
Stewart bt Whitnell 5 and 4
Dear lost to Haines at 19th
Ross Kellett bt Fleetwood 1 hole
Paul O'Hara bt Luke Goddard 2 and 1

EUROPEAN MENS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - Stewart helps Scotland through to final

Scotland, with Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) in the team, are in the final of the Mens European Team Championship for the first time since 2001, where they will face England on Saturday, over the Conwyn course in North Wales.

Scotland qualified for the top flight in sixth place out of eight earlier in the week, with Stewart being second best Scots scorer on 143, one under par, 5 behind the best Scotland performer Wallace Booth.

The qualifiers for the championship flight were :-

690 (-30) NORWAY

693 (-27) ITALY

697 (-23) SWEDEN

700 (-20) ENGLAND

707 (-13) FRANCE
716 (-4) SCOTLAND
716 (-4) GERMANY
718 (-2) FINLAND

Best individual score was 134, 10 under par, by Pontus Widegren (Ger) (67-67) & Matteo Manassero (Italy) (66-68).

The scores returned by the Scotland players were :-

138 (-6) Wallace Booth 72 66

143 (-1) Michael Stewart 70 73
144 (level) Gavin Dear 69 75
146 (+2) Michael Campbell 73 73
146 (+2) Paul O'Hara 72 74
148 (+4) Ross Kellett 72 76

In the first round of the matchplay, on Thursday, Scotland staged a superb comeback from 2 - 0 down after the morning foursomes to beat Sweden 4 - 3.

Details of the tie were :-

SCOTLAND 4, SWEDEN 3

Foursomes (0-2)

Wallace Booth & Michael Stewart lost to Pontus Gad & Pontus Widegren 3 and 1

Gavin Dear & Glenn Campbell lost to Jesper Kennegard & Henrik Norlander 4 and 3

Singles (4-1)

Dear bt Robin Wingardh 2 and 1

Booth bt David Lingmerth 1 hole

Stewart lost to Kennegard 1 hole

Ross Kellett bt Widegren 1 hole

Paul O'Hara bt Norlander 4 and 3

Other first round results in the championship flight were :-

Norway bt Finland 5-2.
England bt France 4.5 - 2.5

Italy bt Germany 5.5 - 1.5

In the Semi Finals on Friday, Scotland beat Italy by 4.5 - 2.5 with Stewart bouncing back from two losses against Sweden to record two points for Scotland to help the side through to the final.

Match details were :-

SCOTLAND 4.5 ITALY 2.5

Foursomes (1-1)

Gavin Dear & Glenn Campbell lost to Niccolo Quintarelli & Nino Bertasio 3 and 2

Wallace Booth & Michael Stewart bt Matteo Manassero & Andrea Pavan 4 and 2

Singles (3.5 - 2.5)

Dear bt Joon Kim 1 hole

Booth bt Quintarelli 4 and 3

Stewart bt Bertasio 2 and 1

Ross Kellett halved with Andrea Pavan

P O'Hara lost to Matteo Manassero 6 and 4

In the other semi final England beat Norway 4 - 3 despite losing the morning foursomes 2 - 0.

SCOTTISH SENIOR LADIES - Glennie beaten in semi final of national championship

Alex Glennie (Kilmarnock Barassie) was beaten in the semi finals of the 2009 Scottish Senior Women's Amateur Matchplay Championship on Friday 3rd July at the Montgomery course at Kinross.

The former Ayrshire Ladies Champion was beaten 6 & 4 by the eventual winner, Heather Anderson (Alyth), after qualifying for the matchplay stages from the strokeplay event earlier in the week.

Anderson beat Moira Thomson (Gullane Ladies) in the final by 5 & 3.

CLUBGOLF - Shiskine to the fore in Arran junior initiative

Shiskine Golf Club’s seven volunteer coaches, Willie Kelso, Joe Faulkner, Gordon Stewart, Jacqui Rankin, David Henderson, Liz Kerr and Jenni Turnbull with PGA Pro Alan Martin (centre) who led the Level 1 training course). Image by courtesy of Rob Eyton-Jones.

NEWS RELEASE BY ROB EYTON-JONES (Clubgolf)

Arran’s Shiskine Golf and Tennis Club, which last month received major investment from sportscotland to help transform its facilities, is making huge strides in developing junior golf in the community through the national junior programme, clubgolf.

Clubgolf is the partnership between the Scottish Golf Union (SGU), the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association (SLGA), the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA), the Golf Foundation and sportscotland launched in 2003 following Scotland’s successful bid to host the 2014 Ryder Cup.

Shiskine golfers had become aware the average age of its member was heading towards the late 50s. They realised that the numbers of children playing golf on the island was shrinking and they admitted more could be done to offer local youngsters a structured coaching

programme.

Through the forward thinking efforts of its members, in combination with clubgolf, improvements to its clubhouse and the adoption of a clubgolf programme (Shiskine is the first clubgolf centre on Arran) will have a double impact on local juniors.

“Our club is very much involved with the community,” said the Club’s clubgolf co-ordinator, Gordon Stewart. “We have had a good relationship with the two local primary schools and have offered their children coaching in an amateur but enthusiastic way.“But when we looked at the whole junior structure we realised we hadn’t got a proper training programme in place.“Then, when we found out about clubgolf and proper structured coaching we decided to invest in training to push it forwards.”

To address its challenges the Club has been working closely with Ann Lang, clubgolf’s Regional Manager for South West Scotland.This May it made a significant step by sending seven of its members on clubgolf’s two day Level 1 coaching course, held at the local high school. All seven became qualified coaches. Having since re- approached the local primary schools, the Club has attracted over 30 children to its clubgolf coaching which is supervised by its pro, Dougie Bell.

“We run the coaching on Monday evenings, take the children out for between one and two hours and we rotate the volunteers,” said Mr Stewart. “It’s working very well and the kids love it.”

Junior developments at Shiskine are having a knock on effect locally. Impressed by its results nearby Whiting Bay GC has made contact with Ann Lang to improve its own junior coaching.

Meanwhile, work on Shiskine’s new purpose-built clubhouse is due to start soon. When complete it will provide full disabled access, improved changing rooms and showers plus a room for bowling and tennis club members. In addition, a new restaurant and function suite will be available all year round creating a fantastic facility for use by the whole community.

“It’s very obvious to us that juniors are very keen but there were no facilities for them, no junior room or TV, so we are quite excited about providing that facility,” added Mr Stewart.

With the local driving range providing the practice facility to keep the coaching going through the autumn and winter, and other plans to hold junior tournaments, local children have everything they will ever need to keep them involved and developing in the game.

Rob Eyton-Jones e-mail: rob@eyton-jones.co.uk

Official clubgolf website: http://www.clubgolfscotland.com/

PGA SENIORS TOUR - Another top ten finish for Drummond

Ross Drummond from Prestwick continued his good form at the weekend with another top ten finish in a seniors tour event.

In the The De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship at Slaley Hall, Drummond recovered from an opening 76 to finish with rounds of 71,71 & 70 and a 288 total, leaving him in joint 10th place behind winner Carl Mason who finished on 279 to give him a three stroke winning margin.

Also finishing alongside Drummond on 288 was former masters Champion Ian Woosnam (Wales).

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

279 - C Mason (Eng) 73 70 67 69
282 - C Williams (RSA) 72 70 71 69, A Franco (Par) 69 72 73 68
283 - G Brand Jnr (Sco) 69 73 71 70, N Job (Eng) 76 71 68 68
285 - R Chapman (Eng) 74 71 72 68, J Chillas (Sco) 74 69 71 71
286 - J Heggarty (Nir) 74 69 72 71
287 - J Bruner (USA) 75 73 70 69
288 - G Ryall (Eng) 74 74 71 69, B Cameron (Eng) 71 73 72 72, R Drummond (Sco) 76 71 71 70, I Woosnam (Wal) 73 75 71 69, M Cunning (USA) 73 72 71 72, K Spurgeon (Eng) 70 73 74 71, S Ebihara (Jpn) 75 71 74 68

JUNIOR COACHING - Clubs invited to apply for coaching grants

Application forms have been released this week for Ayrshire golf clubs to apply for a coaching grant, up to the value of £150, to assist in coaching provision within thier own clubs.

In a change to the proceedure last year, club representatives are asked to apply for the grant on behalf of their club, outlining the proposed coaching programme and providing details of the professional being used to deliver the coaching.

On approval, the club representative will be provided with a form to pass to the professional concerned which will require to be completed at the conclusion of the coaching programme, endorsed by the club representative, and thereafter returnd by the professional direct to the Ayrshire Golf Association for payment.

The application form for grant approval is available as a download from the link on the left of this page, under the Junior Order Of merit, Entry Forms & Coaching heading.

AYRSHIRE FOURBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - Quarter final line up completed

The line up for the quarter finals of the 2009 Ayrshire Fourball Championship has been completed with the remaining third round ties being decided over the weekend.

Scott McCahill & David Wallace (Maybole), who were beaten finalists two years ago, went through to the last eight with a win at the 21st at home to Daniel McGee & John Brennan (Tam O Shanter).

Also booking their place in the quarter finals were Dougie McKinnon & Kevin Ottley (Ayr Belleisle) who had a 1 hole win over James & Craig Nichol at New Cumnock.

The full Quarter Final line up is :-

Kenny Hankinson & Gibby Lamont (Troon Welbeck)

Vs.

A. Dunlop & J. Brown (Brunston Castle)

Gary Jordan & Douglas Anderson (Annanhill)

Vs.

Stuart & David Brown (Doon Valley)

Scott McCahill & David Wallace (Maybole)

Vs.

Joe Howie & John McMillan (Ardeer)

John Byrne & Colin Greenham (West Kilbride)

Vs.

Dougie McKinnon & Kevin Ottley (Ayr Belleisle)

All quarter final ties are due for completion by 9th August 2009

EAST OF SCOTLAND OPEN - McEwan third behind form man Byrne

Steven McEwan (Caprington) was third in this weekends East Of Scotland Open at Lundin Links, finishing 9 shots adrift of runaway winner James Byrne (Banchory).

McEwan covered the second days play in 10 under par, with two successive rounds of 66 for a 273 total.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS:-

262 - James Byrne (Banchory) 65 63 67 67

270 - Scott Pinckney (Arizona State Univ) 73 70 64 63

273 - Steven McEwan (Caprington) 72 69 66 66

274 - Ross Crowe (Westerhope) 71 69 66 68

276 - Mohammed Arie Irawan (Malaysia) 71 70 67 68, David Law (Hazlehead) 71 69 71 65

Other Ayrshire Scores :-

286 - Chris Harkins (Ayr Belleisle) 71 70 72 73

288 - Cameron Gray (West Kilbride) 74 71 75 68

POLLOCK TROPHY - Entry forms available for Kilmarnock (Barassie) Boys Open

Entry forms for the 2009 Kilmarnock (Barassie) Boys Open, for the Pollock Trophy, have been distributed to clubs.

This is a counting event for the 2009 Ayrshire Junior Order Of merit.

Individual entry forms can be downloaded via the link on the left of this page.

Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club
Junior Open
for the
POLLOCK TROPHY
Monday 13th July 2009

Handicap limit-20 Open to juniors under 18 yrs on 1st January 2009

Best overall scratch score- POLLOCK TROPHY & £100
Runner-up - £50 3rd - £25

Best overall nett score £40. Runner-up £20

Prizes will also be awarded for nett scores as follows:
Under 18 yrs 1st, 2nd & 3rd
Under 16 yrs 1st, 2nd & 3rd
Under 14 yrs 1st, 2nd & 3rd

Additional prizes for longest drives, nearest the pin and hidden holes.


Entries with entry fee of £5.00 must be received by Monday 30th June 2009
A limited number of entries may be available on the day of competition.

Entry fee on day will be £6.00

AYRSHIRE JUNIOR GOLF LEAGUE - League Championship latest

In SECTION A, the only match played recently saw caprington and Ardeer playing out a 3 - 3 draw at the Kilmarnock course.

Present positions in the section are :-

Troon Welbeck 4 pts from 2 games, Largs 4 pts from 1 game, Ardeer 4 pts from 3 games & Caprington 2 pts from 2 games.

In SECTION B, Irvine Ravenspark are out in front after two convincing 5 - 1 home wins over Annanhill and Prestwick St. Nicholas and a 3 - 3 draw away from home at Largs Routenburn.

Largs Routenburn also edged out their visitors Annanhill by 3.5 - 2.5 in a recent match.

Present positions are :-

Irvine Ravenspark 14 pts from 5 games, Largs Routenburn 10 pts from 4 games, Annanhill 4 pts from 3 games & Prestwick St. Nicholas 0 pts from 1 game

In SECTION C, West Kilbride beat their visitors Irvine Bogside by 5 - 1 recently, whilst Ayr Belleisle fought out two drawn matches at home, to Irvine Bogside and Ballochmyle. Bogside also recorded a 4 - 2 home win over Ballochmyle recently.

Present positions are :-

West Kilbride 12 pts from 3 matches, Ballochmyle 10 pts from 5 matches, Irvine Bogside 6 pts from 4 matches & Ayr Belleisle 4 pts from 3 matches.

In SECTION D, Prestwick St. Cuthbert lead the way after a 4 - 2 home win over Kilmarnock Barassie and an away win at Kilbirnie by a similar margin. Kilmarnock Barassie also suffered a 4 - 2 away defeat at Loudoun recently.

Present positions are :-

Prestwick St. Cuthbert 14 pts from 4 matches, Loudoun 6 pts from 2 matches, Kilbirne Place 0 pts from 2 matches & Kilmarnock Barassie 0 pts from 2 matches.

DOC THOM AYRSHIRE ORDER OF MERIT - Hamilton leads the way after 9 events

With returns now collated from 9 of the 15 counting events in the 2009 Doc Thom Ayrshire Order Of Merit, Keith Hamilton (Ayr Belleisle) still leads the way in the table by a clear margin.

The latest counting event recorded was the recent Ballochmyle Open where home club players were to the fore, filling five of the seven counting places.

Former Ayrshire Matchplay Champion Craig Hamilton led the way with a four under par 70, edging clubmate Thomas Green into second spot by two strokes. William Wilson (73), Andrew campbell (73) and William Andrew (74) filled places five to seven, whilst the Loudoun Duo of John Haggerty and Tommy McInally were joint third on 71.

LEADING TOTALS AFTER 9 EVENTS ARE :-

312.50 - Keith Hamilton (Ayr Belleisle)
217.50 - Craig Hamilton (Ballochmyle)
150.00 - John Shanks (Irvine)
125.00 - John Sloan (Doon Valley)
122.50 - Stephen Murray (Troon Welbeck)
112.50 - Tommy McInally (Loudoun)
100.00 - Paul Denim (Loudoun)
88.30 - Joe Gilligan (Troon Welbeck)
87.50 - Ricky Black (Irvine), David Tierney (Ayr Belleisle)
80.00 - Tom Green (Ballochmyle)
77.50 - John Haggerty (Loudoun)
53.30 - Stephen McBlain (Prestwick St. Cuthbert), Del Chamberlain (Troon Welbeck)
50.00 - Steven McEwan (Caprington), John Houston (Caprington)

The results of the McGilchrist Cup at Ardeer last week are still to be added.

The remaining counting events are :-

The Scottish Amateur Championship at Royal Troon (27/07/09 to 01/08/09)
The Viking Krus at Largs (23/08/09)
The Welbeck Links at Troon Municipal (30/08/09)
The Largs & Millport Trophy at Largs Routenburn (05/09/09)
The Arrol Cup at Prestwick St. Nicholas (19/09/09)

SCOTTISH SENIORS TOUR - Miller third as Hutcheon wins East Open

David Miller (Kilmarnock Barassie) kept up his recent good form at the East of Scotland Seniors Open this week with a third place finish behind Ian Hutcheon of the host club.

The championship, played over 36 holes, saw Hutcheon win by two shots with a two over par score of 144.with Miller joint third, one further shot behind.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS :-

144 - Ian Hutcheon (Monifieth) 76 68

146 - Tony McIntyre (Lundin) 75 71

147 - David J Miller (Kilmarnock Barassie) 74 73, David Smith ( Stirling ) 72 74

148 - Jim Watt (Letham Grange) 74 74, George Paterson (Northern) 74 74

150 - Alex Richie (Bothwell Castle) 78 72, Eric Lindsay (Blairgowrie) 78 72, Robert Thomson ( St Andrews 75 75, Richard T Gray (Cowglen) 73 77

OTHER AYRSHIRE SCORES

159 - Ronnie McLellan (Turnberry) 83 76

167 - John Broadfoot (Turnberry) 86 81

WD - Keith Howie (West Kilbride) 79 WD.

SOUTH AYRSHIRE JUNIOR GOLF CLUB - Unavailability of website - an explanation

The undernoted e-mailed information has been received from a solicitor acting on behalf of the former Secretary of the South Ayrshire Junior Golf Club :-

" To Alasdair Malcolm

I am a solicitor instructed by Mr John McKenzie in connection with the comments attributed to you which appeared in an article in this weeks Ayrshire Post about the South Ayrshire Junior Golf Club.

My client takes great exception to your comments. Firstly he advises the difficulty with the website was technical problem of which he was unaware until Friday 19th June at around 4pm. He took steps to sort the problem immediately after it was brought to his attention and the site was up and running again within 30 minutes. My client has asked me to stress that the temporary problem with the website was definitely not, as you suggested in the article, a result of any deliberate action on Mr McKenzies part. Our client is at a loss to understand why, if you were aware of the website problem prior to the afternoon of Friday 19th June, you did not contact him to advise of this.

It is interesting that notwithstanding the fact that the website was fixed and accessible by 19th June you did not mention this in your comments to the Ayrshire Post and in fact the article states that plans are ongoing to create a new website which implies there was still a problem with the existing site, which was not the case for almost 5 days before the Ayrshire Post was published.

I am instructed by Mr McKenzie to seek an apology from you for the comments attributed to you in the newspaper, in particular your claim that the website problem was a ‘childish and petulant gesture’. If you do not issue an apology immediately my client will have no alternative but to consider further action.

As your comments were made in your capacity as the President of the Ayrshire Golf Association please provide me with contact details for the Secretary of that organisation as my client also wishes his complaint to be made to the Committee.".

WEST OF SCOTLAND BOYS MATCHPLAY - Walker secures double for Ayrshire

Following the success of Colin Robinson (Largs) earlier in the week in winning the West Of Scotland Boys Strokeplay at Balmore, it was the turn of Euan Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) to shine on Thursday 25th June when he won the West Of SWcotland Boys Matchplay title over the same course, ensuring both trophies will be at home in Ayrshire for the next 12 months.

With the top 16 available players from the strokeplay progressing to the matchplay event, Walker triumphed over Patrick McCarron (Windyhill) in the final.

Charlie MacNeal (Troon Welbeck) reached the semi final of the matchplay before being ousted by McCarron.

RYDER CUP - Professor Purdie returns

Two Ayrshire men will be involved in the preparations in the build up to the forthcoming Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.

One, of course, will be known to all. The European Captain will be Colin Montgomerie who is closely linked to the Royal Troon club of which he is an Honorary Member.

The other Ayrshireman may not be as well known to some, but Professor David Purdie is fiercely proud of his local roots.

Professor Purdie attended Prestwick High School and Ayr Academy, before he went on to study medicine, specialising in the study of Osteoporosis.

A keen sportsman, Professor Purdie played his early golf at Prestwick St. Nicholas and still enjoys the game at the two clubs of which he is a member, Sunningdale and The Royal Burgess club in Edinburgh.

An interesting article from The Scotsman is produced (in part) below, outlining Professor Purdie's role in the forthcoming Ryder Cup :-

FROM THE SCOTSMAN.SPORT.COM WEBSITE
By Mike Aitken

European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie has already secured the services of a Scot for his support team at Celtic Manor next year after asking David Purdie, one of Britain's most accomplished speakers, to reprise his role of speech caddie in Wales.

Professor Purdie last offered advice on public speaking to a Ryder Cup captain when he worked with Sam Torrance at The Belfry in 2002.

A former specialist in brittle bone disease – he retired from leading the centre for metabolic bone disease two years ago and now concentrates on writing and speaking about golf as well as medical matters.

Purdie played an important role in helping make Torrance the voice of European golf seven years ago. Purdie made it clear he wasn't Torrance's speech-writer and it was the golfer who coined phrases such as "out of the shadows come heroes" and "they have a Tiger but I've got 12 lions". Instead, Purdie saw his role as helping Torrance to sound like himself.

"I was his speech caddie," he said. "I carried the bag of words."

Montgomerie, who was an unbeaten member of the European team in that match seven years ago, had not forgotten the impact made by Torrance off the course at The Belfry as well as on it and resolved to ask Purdie this month to help shape his speeches. The men, who both hail from Ayrshire, met at Gleneagles and agreed to collaborate.

Purdie now has a full house of team captains from this side of the Atlantic on his client list since the Scot is already helping Colin Dalgleish, the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup captain, and European Solheim Cup captain Alison Nicholas, with their speeches.

Although Montgomerie will take to the boards at Celtic Manor with more experience of public speaking than Torrance, the recruitment of Purdie should ensure Europe are one up on the USA before the match starts at Celtic Manor rather than two down, as happened when Sir Nick Faldo was in front of the microphone at Valhalla last year.

OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP REGIONAL QUALIFYING - Stewart storms through to final stages

Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) stormed into the Final Qualifying stages of the 2009 Open Golf Championship with a third place finish in the Regional Qualifying event held at Musselburgh on Wednesday 24th June.

Stewart, a Scottish internationalist and a former Scottish Boys Champion was one of a number of Ayrshire golfers taking part in Regional Qualifying at two of the sixteen selected venues on Wednesday 24th June, finishing as the only one of the local hopefuls to progress to Final Qualifying.

At Musselburgh, Stewart shot a superb 66, five under par, to finish third of the qualifiers.

The qualifying score at Musselburgh was 69, leaving Callum Nicoll (Prestwick) agonisingly outside the qualifying mark by one shot.

The scores returned by Ayrshire players at Musselburgh were :-

66 - Michael Stewart (Am) (Troon Welbeck)

70 - Callum Nicoll (Prestwick)

73 - Paul Moultrie (Am) (Troon Portland), Gordon Sherry (Kilmarnock Barassie)

74 - Stuart Robin (Prestwick St. Nicholas)

75 - Jamie Mmackay (Am) (Kilmarnock Barassie)

77 - Walter Meiklem ((Am) (Troon Welbeck), Stephen Murray (Am) (Troon Welbeck)

79 - David Addison (Am) (Kilmarnock Barassie)

85 - Kieron Stevenson (Royal Troon)

N/R - Michael Sweenie (Turnberry)

*** Another Ayrshire connection in the Regional Qualifying at Musselburgh was the performance of amateur player Andrew Gunson, playing out of Shady Canyon in the USA, who shot 68 to go through to the Final Qualifying stages.

Andrew began his golf at Turnberry, where his father, European Tour player Brian Gunson, was Director Of Golf until 2001 when he took up a new post and the family moved to America. Brian himself also began his golf in Ayrshire, being a junior member at Ballochmyle and Prestwick St. Cuthbert before progressing to the professional ranks.

The other venue which featured local players was Berwick-Upon-Tweed where the quaslifying score was 71.

Closest to qualifying was Jack Doherty (North Gailes) who was just one shot off the pace on 72.

Scores at this venue involving local players were :-

72 - Jack Doherty (North Gailes)

74 - David Ross-Nicol (Dundonald Links)

76 - Chris Harkins (Am) (Ayr Belleisle)

79 - Keith Hamilton (Am) (Ayr Belleisle), David Strachan (Am) (Turnberry)

80 - Colin Cunningham (Turnberry)

83 - Del Chamberlain (Troon Welbeck)

Final qualifying will take place at Glasgow Gailes, Kilmarnock (Barassie) and Western Gailes on Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th July.

WEST OF SCOTLAND BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP - Robinson brings trophy to Ayrshire

Ayrshire county player Colin Robinson (Largs) won the 2009 West Of Scotland Boys Championship at Balmore Golf Club on Tuesday 23rd June

Joint leader after the first round with a three over par 69, Robinson added a one over pat 67 in the second round for a total of 136 and a six stroke victory.

AYRSHIRE FOURBALL - Brunston Castle through to last eight

A. Dunlop & J. Brown (Brunston Castle) will face a trip to play the Troon Welbeck pairing of Kenny Hankinson & Gibby Lamont in the quarter finals of the 2009 Ayrshire Fourball Championship.

The Brunston castle duo booked their place in the last eight with a 3 & 1 home win over Jim & Shaun Ryan (Ayr Dalmilling).

BOB TORRANGE SCHOOL OF GOLF - Ayrshire player strikes first ball

Ayrshire county player Colin Robinson (Largs) was given the honour of striking the first ball at the opening of the Bob Torrance School Of Golf at the SportScotland National Centre at Inverclyde recently, under the watchful eye of Mr. Torrance himself.

Colin has been coached by Bob for the past two years and was delighted to be asked by Bob to hit the first ball.