US BEAT EUROPE 18-6 IN PALMER CUP

United States completed an 18-6 victory over Europe in the students' international golf match for the Palmer Cup at Caves Valley near Baltimore, Maryland today.
The Americans took the second-day foursomes 3-1 and the singles 6-2.

Results from the final set of singles (US names first):

Horschel bt Floren 4 and 3.
List bt Yates 6 and 5.
Harman bt Shaw 1 hole.
Simpson lost to Blixt 1 hole.
Lovemark bt Haastrup 2 and 1.
Moore bt Oriol 2 and 1.
Johnson bt Campillo 2 holes.
Kirk lost to Davies 4 and 2.
(US 6, Europe 2).

First day: US 9, Europe 3.
Second day: US 9, Europe 3.
Overall: US 18, Europe 6.

South Ayrshire Junior Golf Pre-handicap Open

Monday 6th August 2007 will see the second staging of the South Ayrshire Junior Golf Pre-handicap Open. This event is for all boys and girls aged between eight and eighteen years of age who have not yet achieved an official golf handicap. The aim is to introduce young golfers to ‘open’ competitions at an early stage and it is hoped that those who play in 2007 will have obtained a handicap and will be able to play in the Troon Junior Open next year.

The competition will be played from specially installed forward junior tees on Troon Fullarton Golf Course with boys and girls playing from the same tees. The emphasis of this competition is on participation and as such a goody bag will be given to each competitor rather than having a prize list that only rewards those who score well. A trophy will be presented to the lowest score in each age category. The categories will be displayed on the draw sheet.

Do not miss out on the opportunity to play in this event - places are limited. For further information and an entry form click onto www.golfsouthayrshire.com/events2007/junior-open2007

2007 Troon Junior Golf Open

.....for the Tom Lehman Trophies in association with Golf Holidays Ltd.

2007 will mark the tenth anniversary of this hugely successful, and reputedly World’s largest, one-day junior golf tournament. The quality of the Troon Junior Open, in golfing terms, has developed to such an extent that in recent years the boys’ scratch competition over Darley Golf Course has required balloting for handicaps of twelve and under. The two silver replica claret jugs are presented to the best boy’s and girl’s gross score.

The 2007 Troon Junior Golf Open will be held on Tuesday 7th August and will, as in previous years, consist of five separate handicap competitions, each open to boys and girls from eight to eighteen years of age.

For further information and an entry form click onto www.golfsouthayrshire.com/events2007/junior-open2007

FOUR SCRATCH PLAYERS IN MUNROSS TROPHY FIELD

There are four scratch players - Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm), Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon), Kerri Harper (Inverness) and Jocelyn Carthew (Ladybank) - in the field of 25 for Sunday's Munross Trophy SLGA Order of Merit 36-hole event over the Montrose Links.
Edwina Lowery-Gold (Eaton), conqueror of Krystle Caithness (St Regulus) in the recent Scottish women's amateur championship at Barassie, is making the long trip up from Norwich to play.
Australian-born Edwina, whose father comes from Edinburgh, has a handicap of three.

ELECTRICAL STORM HITS KLM LADIES OPEN, KATHRYN IMRIE ONE OF 60 STILL TO FINISH FIRST ROUND

Kathryn Imrie was one of 60 players unable to complete the first round of the KLM Ladies Open at Eindhovensche Golf Club today because of a thunder and lightning storm over the course.

Play was suspended at 4.20pm and the players did not return.

Kathryn, pictured above, was two over par for the 10 holes she played, having run up a double bogey 6 at the second and dropped shots at the first and 10th. She birdied the long fourth and long ninth in 39 to the turn.

Clare Queen finished with a one-under-par 71 - seven shots behind France's Gwladys Nocera who broke the course record with an eight-under-par 64 to be the clubhouse leader by three shots.

Lynn Kenny matched the par of 72 with birdies at the fifth, ninth and long 15th. She shed strokes to par at the second, 13th and 16th in halves of 35 and 37.

New Zealander Liz McKinnon, married to a Highlander and based near Inverness, had been playing well this season - until today. She slumped to an eight-over-par 80 with halves of 38 and 42. She completed an unhappy day with a triple bogey 7 at the last.

CLUBHOUSE LEADERS

Par 72

64 Gwladys Nocera (Fra).

67 Ludivine Kreutz (Fra), Christl Boeljon (Net) (am).

68 Ashleigh Simon (SAf).

69 Georgina Simpson (Eng), Rebecca Coakley (Ire), Anja Monke (Ger).

Other scores:

71 Clare Queen (Carrick at Cameron House).

72 Lynn Kenny (Archerfield Links).

80 Liz McKinnon (NZ).

GOOD DAY FOR JANICE, CATRIONA AND
MHAIRI AS LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP
STARTS IN MARYLAND

It was a good day for the Scots in the first round of the McDonald's LPGA championship at Havre De Grace, Maryland.
Janice Moodie had a 70 to be alongside Annika Sorenstam in joint 13th place on 70.
Catriona Matthew and Mhairi McKay both had 71s to be joint 20th.
Korean players dominated the top of the scoreboard on 67 with Kim Saiki-Maloney and Birdie Kim sharing the lead with Angela Park.
Janice Moodie had a double-bogey 7 as early as the long second hole but she hit back immediately with a birdie at the third and a couple more at the eighth and ninth to be out in one-under-par 35.
The Scot actually made it four birdies in a row with sub-par figures at the 10th and 11th. That was as good as it got for Janice. She dipped with bogeys at the 14th and 15th and got only one of them back with a birdie at the 18th.
Catriona deviated from par only three times in a rock-steady round. She had a birdie at the second, a bogey at the fifth and a birdie at the eighth. She parred the last 10 holes.
Mhairi had the same kind of card. She bogeyed the first and birdied the sixth and ninth. She parred her way in.
Michelle Wie was sharing 47th place on 73.
Scroll down for more information about her round.
FIRST ROUND LEADERS
67 Kim Saiki-Maloney, Angela Park, Birdie Kim.
68 Karrie Webb, Morgan Pressel, Stacy Prammanasudh, Laura Davies.
69 Brittany Lincicome, Pat Hurst, Maria Hjorth, Suzann Pettersen, Giulia Seregas.
Other scores:
70 Annika Sorensatam, Janice Moodie (jt 13th).
71 Catriona Matthew, Mhairi McKay (jt 20th).
73 Michelle Wie (jt 47th)

MICHELLE WIE RALLIES FROM DODGY START
TO LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Things looked distinctly dodgy for Michelle Wie when she was four over par on the seventh tee in the McDonald's LPGA Championship yesterday. But, give the 17-year-old from Hawaii her due, she ralled to return a one-over-par 73 in the opening round.
Michele had three birdies around the turn before ending the day six shots off the lead at Bulle Rock Golf Course.
"I actually hit some really good shots, I built a lot of confidence off of them," Wie said at her post-round Press Conference.
"But it's a work-in-progress and it's definitely not where I want it to be still.
"I'm definitely not 100 percent right now and I'm just going to work on it, and hopefully tomorrow is going to be better than today."
Wie upset several LPGA Tour players by withdrawing after 16 holes of her first round of last week's Ginn Tribute, citing a wrist injury, only to practise at Bulle Rock two days later. Annika
Sorenstam, the tournament host last week, was very annoyed and described Wie's behaviour as showing "a lack of respect and class."
Adding intrigue to Wie's withdrawal was an LPGA rule that any non-member who shoots 88 or worse in a round is barred from the tour for the rest of the season.
Wie was two bogeys away from that ignominious score when she pulled out.
LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens met Wie's father, B.J., and her agent, Greg Nared, earlier this week to discuss "interpretations of rules and regulations" which arose at the Ginn Tribute.

UNITED STATES WIN EIGHT SINGLES TO
TAKE PALMER CUP STRANGELHOLD


The United States bounced back from losing the four-balls 3-1 to score an 8-0 whitewash over Europe in the singles and have a strangehold 9-3 lead at the halfway stage of the transatlantic students’ golf match for the Palmer Cup at Caves Valley Golf Club near Baltimore, Maryland.
The American line-up, containing most of the top US college circuit players and including Jamie Lovemark, the new No 1 in the R&A World amateur rankings, had been expected to gain revenge for the record trouncing (19 ½-4 ½) they received in last year’s match over the Prestwick links.
Instead, the Europeans got off to a flying start with Edinburgh-born Welsh Walker Cup player Rhys Davies and Ulsterman Gareth Shaw, team-mates at East Tennessee State University, thrashing Jamie Lovemark (University of Southern California) and Luke List (Vanderbilt) by 9 and 7 in the first tie off the tee.
There was some incredible scoring by the Europeans in this match. Davies birdied the first two holes and then Shaw took over. He birdied the third, foufrth, fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth. Davies and Shaw were six up after seven and there was no way back for the American pair after that.
The United States levelled it at 1-1 when Brian Harman (Georgia) and Billy Horschel (Florida) won by 3 and 2 against the all-Spanish pairing of Jorge Campillo and Pedo Oriol.
GORDON YATES' MORNING VICTORY
But Europe edged ahead again when the all-Swedish partnership of Jonas Blixt and Oscar Floren won by 2 and 1 over Dustin Johnson (Coastal Carolina) and Chris Kirk (Georgia).
Stirling student Gordon Yates and Mark Hastrup from Denmark then stretched the European lead to 2pt at lunchtime by beating Jonathan Moore (Oklahoma State) and Webb Simpson (Wake Forest) by one hole after being two up with four to play.
Whatever the Americans had for lunch, it transformed them into match-play tigers and they won all eight singles. Lovemark gained revenge for his landslide four-balls defeat by slamming Davies 4 and 2 and Shaw lost his tie by two holes to Billy Horschel.
Gordon Yates had a great struggle with Jonathan Moore before losing by 2 and 1.
Three of the ties went to the 18th green and another two ended at the 17th but the Americans won all the close ones.
There are 12 points to play for on the second and last day – four foursomes and eight singles.
United States lead 5-4 in the series with one draw.

First day details:

UNITED STATES 9, EUROPE 3

FOUR-BALLS (1-3)
US names first5
L List (Vanderbilt) & J Lovemark (Southern California) lost to R Davies (Wal) & G Shaw (NIr) 9 and 7.
B Harman (Georgia) & B Horschel (Florida) bt J Campillo (Spa) & P Oriol (Spa) 3 and 2.
J Moore (Oklahoma State) & W Simpson (Wake Forest) lost to G Yates (Sco) & M Haastrup (Den) 1 hole.
D Johnson (Coastal Carolina) & C Kirk (Georgia) lost to J Blixt (Swe) & O Floren (Swe) 2 and 1.
SINGLES (8-0)
Lovemark bt Davies 4 and 2.
List bt Campillo 2 holes.
Horschel bt Shaw 2 holes
Harman bt Oriol 4 and 2.
Moore bt Yates 2 and 1.
Simpson bt Blixt 2 and 1.
Kirk bt Haastrup 1 hole,
Johnson bt Floren 4 and 2.