AYRSHIRE STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP - Third title for Shanks at Irvine

2014 Ayrshire Strokeplay Champion
John Shanks

John Shanks (Irvine GC) won the 2014 Ayrshire Strokeplay Championship, over his home course, on Sunday 27th April, taking the title by two shots from former Irvine GC member Stephen Spence who now plays out of Royal Troon. 


Shanks' first win in the championship came at West Kilbride in 2007, and his victory this year was his second success over his home course after his victory the last time the championship was played over the Bogside course in 2009.

Shanks showed consistency over the two rounds, carding one over par returns of 72 in both rounds for a 144 total.

The only sub par round of the day came in the morning from Scott Brown (Turnberry), who led after the first round by one shot from Mark Anderson (Irvine) with ultimate winner Shanks and Steven McEwan (Loudoun) one shot further back.

James McMurdo & John Shanks

Brown however faded in the afternoon to a seven over par 78 for a 148 total and fourth place overall.

Defending champion Stuart Robin (Prestwick St Cuthbert) suffered an unfortunate disqualification as a result of an unsigned afternoon card, which denied him a place in the top eight finishers.

At the conclusion of the competition, prizes were awarded by Ayrshire Golf Association Vice President James McMurdo (Ballochmyle)

CSS for both rounds increased by 2 to 75.


Final Results:-

PAR 71  SSS 73  CSS Round 1 75 (+2)  Round 2 75 (+2)

John Shanks	Irvine	72	72	144
Stephen Spence	Royal Troon	74	72	146
Mark Anderson	Irvine	71	76	147
Scott Brown	Turnberry	70	78	148
Steven McEwan	Loudoun	72	77	149
Ewan McKinnon	Corrie	78	71	149
George Robertson	Ravenspark	73	76	149
Kenny Macaskill	Turnberry Staff	76	74	150
Craig Hamilton	Ballochmyle	78	73	151
J. Gordon Boyle	Turnberry	73	78	151
Darren Mallinson	Ravenspark	75	77	152
Steven Wallace	Prestwick St Cuthbert	77	76	153
Greg Cathie	Irvine	74	79	153
Sandy Buchanan	Prestwick St Nicholas	75	79	154
George Higgins	West Kilbride	77	77	154
Keith Hamilton	Ayr Belleisle	74	81	155
Gareth Lamb	Irvine	76	79	155
David McLellan	Largs	79	76	155
Paul Denim	Loudoun	81	74	155
Brian Moore	Largs	75	80	155
Kenny Milliken	Troon St Meddans	82	73	155
Malcolm Pennycott	Whiting Bay	75	81	156
Colin Gray	Irvine	84	73	157
Stephen Murray	Troon Welbeck	80	78	158
Craig Adams	Irvine	79	79	158
Michael Smyth	Royal Troon	80	78	158
Tommy McInally	Loudoun	79	79	158
Alan Connery	Irvine	82	77	159
Graeme Gimson	Prestwick St Cuthbert	78	82	160
Darren McConnell	Kilmarnock Barassie	80	80	160
Gary Bryden	Girvan	83	78	161
James Johnston	Prestwick St Nicholas	87	74	161
David Longair	Prestwick St Cuthbert	80	81	161
Greg Telfer	Prestwick St Cuthbert	80	82	162
Stuart Brown	Loudoun	80	83	163
Neil Morrison	Troon Welbeck	82	81	163
Scott Gilchrist	Loudoun	84	79	163
Steven Stamper	Turnberry	80	84	164
Andrew Kent	Troon Welbeck	82	82	164
Barrie McDonnell	Caprington	85	80	165
Craig Robertson	Abbotsford	83	82	165
Alasdair Berry	Ravenspark	85	81	166
Iain MacDonald	Largs	82	85	167
Frank Murdoch	Brunston Castle	85	82	167
Mark Stewart	Troon St Meddans	87	82	169
Stuart Robin	Prestwick St Cuthbert	75	DQ	N/R
Euan Brown	Kilmarnock Barassie	84	DNS	N/R
Gordon Dunlop	Irvine	81	DNS	N/R
Stuart White	Girvan	83	DNS	N/R
Dominic Booth	Turnberry	N/R	DNS	N/R
George Dobie	Troon St Meddans	80	DNS	N/R
Chris Bone	Loudoun	86	N/R	N/R
Keneth Hankinson	Irvine	81	N/R	N/R
Scott McCahill	Turnberry	84	DNS	N/R
David Power	Troon St Meddans	87	N/R	N/R
Craig Telfer	Prestwick St Cuthbert	84	N/R	N/R
Paul Ferguson	Turnberry	N/R	DNS	N/R
Neil Black	Rowallan Castle	N/R	75	N/R
Billy Hunter	Irvine	85	N/R	N/R
Brian Yates	Prestwick St Cuthbert	79	N/R	N/R

HELEN HOLM SCOTTISH WOMANS OPEN STROKEPLAY - Dimmock wins from local member Jaffrey

English teenager Annabel Dimmock shot a final round 73 and scored a start to finish victory with an 11 under par 214 total in the Helen Holm Scottish Open Strokeplay Championship at Troon.   Connie Jaffrey In winning the 2014 title, Dimmock edged out host club member Connie Jaffrey who was bidding to become the first Scot to win the title since 2002.   (Report from the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association website)   Connie Jaffrey, the Scottish Girls’ Champion and a Troon Ladies’ member, was also in impressive from, closing with a 71 to finish in outright second place and three shots behind on eight under par 217.    Five ahead after rounds of 70 and 71 over Troon Portland, Dimmock, a 17-year-old from Wentworth, had increased her lead to six by the time she reached the turn in two under par 35 in the final round over over the famous Royal Troon.  She then dropped shots at tenth and the long 11th to give Jaffrey a glint of hope. But more birdies at the 12th and 15th helped seal the victory.    Jaffrey, also 17, was delighted with her runner-up finish. “That was my best ever round over Royal Troon and I played really steady today,” she said after her six birdie round. “I went out thinking I had a chance to win and I got close. This rates as the best result of my career.”   Jaffrey will be playing in the Scottish Ladies’ Amateur Championship at Prestwick next month and will then defend the Scottish Girls’ Championship at Dumfries and County in May before heading to the US and a golf scholarship at Kansas State University.     Dimmick is currently on a gap year and her goal is to make the GB and Ireland team to defend the Curtis Cup at St Louis Country Club in June. A win in the Jones Doherty Challenge Cup in Florida at the start of the year also boosted her hopes.   She has also been inspired by Charley Hull, the 18-year-old Ladies’ European Tour winner who helped Europe win the Solheim Cup in the US last year.    “Charley has been great for girl’s golf and she has proved that there isn’t too big a jump between the top amateurs and the professionals,” she said. “But getting the timing right is the key to turning professional.”   Ireland’s Olivia Mahaffey (Royal County Down) made it a clean sweep for the teenagers. The 16-year-old had a best of day seven under par 68 on a bright and breezy day and finished in third place on five under par 220.    The highlight of her round for the Irish Open Girls’ Champion was an eagle at the ling 15th – a drive, five iron and 12 foot putt.   Leading Final Scores :-

214 - Annabel Dimmock (Wentworth) 70 71 73
217 - Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies) 74 72 71
220 - Olivia Mehaffey (Northern Ireland) 73 79 68
221 - Chloe Ryan (Ireland) 74 73 74, Anaelle Carnet (France) 72 74 75
222 - Sarah-Jane Boyd (Truro) 77 70 75
224 - Gabriella Cowley (Hanbury Manor) 76 76 72, India Clyburn (Woodhall Spa) 76 74 74, Sinead Sexton (Ireland) 74 73 77
225 - Ellie Goodall (Selby) 73 79 73, Lauren Whyte (St Regulus) 72 75 78

SALE OF TURNBERRY SEES PROPERTY TYCOON DONALD TRUMP POISED TO EXPAND HIS GOLF PORTFOLIO

Dubai government's sale of Turnberry sees property

tycoon Donald Trump propose a deal for golf's historic Open Championship host

(From The Telegraph website, by James Corrigan, Golf Correspondent)

The Open Championship will not have seen anything quite like it. Donald Trump, the controversial billionaire property developer, is set to buy himself a piece of golf’s most historic tournament with a £35 million deal for Turnberry expected to be finalised soon.

The revered South Ayrshire course, which is almost guaranteed to host its fifth Open in the next decade, is currently owned by Leisurecorp, a subsidiary of the Dubai government, and has been unofficially up for sale since the global financial downturn hit the emirate so hard.

Dubai bought the resort – which includes two other courses as well as a golf academy, a five-star hotel and lodge and cottage accommodations – for £52 million and when Tom Watson almost won the following year’s Open there, bringing yet more exposure to the layout on the rugged coastline overlooking the Firth of Clyde, it seemed good business.

Yet Trump is ready to increase his ever-expanding golfing empire – which currently stands at 16 resorts – by paying almost £17 million less than the Sheikhs at the same time as earning himself a place at the heart of the game’s establishment. “The deal is not done yet, but it should be soon,” a source said on Sunday.

Turnberry is the only one of the nine courses on the current Open roster which is owned by a private company, rather than by the members – in the case of Muirfield and others – or by local authorities in the case of St Andrews and Carnoustie.  

As well as infrastructure problems and comparatively poor attendances, this was considered one of the reasons why the R&A, the game’s governing body which runs the British, did not stage the Open there between 1994 and 2009.  

Yet because of the quality of the links, as well as its scenery and it’s place in the game – it hosted the legendary 1977 Duel in The Sun which saw Watson beat Jack Nicklaus – the R&A was drawn back to the course, which boasts its own lighthouse as well as the view of the Ailsa Craig, the volcanic island 10 miles out to sea.  

It will be interesting how the R&A reacts to Trump’s purchase, although it would be highly doubtful Trump would affect the course’s status on the rota. Within the sport, Trump’s influence is seen as positive, as he has updated and substantially improved golf resorts.  

Trump bought Doral, the Miami resort, for £89 million two years ago and, after a £148million overhaul, was a larger-than-life presence at the WGC Cadillac Championship last month, which featured most of the world’s top players.  

The majors are next on the Trump radar and it is believed that he has assurances to host the US PGA Championship and is close to securing a US Open. But Turnberry will be Trump’s biggest coup yet, both in terms of the heritage of the course itself and the inevitable publicity his ownership will generate. The Women’s British Open will take place at Turnberry next year.  

The flamboyant 67-year-old, with his trademark quiff and outspoken opinions, will doubtless flaunt his acquisition in front of the Scottish Assembly, particularly the First Minister, Alex Salmond. Since building the Trump International Links on the Menie Estate perched on the Aberdeenshire coast, he has waged a public battle against the building of offshore wind turbines which he claims are a blight on the views from his, and other courses.  

Although that particular links, which Trump claims to be the “best course in the world”, has opened, the turbine row has seen him suspend the construction of a proposed 450-bedroom hotel, conference facilities and residential developments. Trump considered taking legal action when You’ve Been Trumped, a British-made documentary which focused on some of the disgruntled long-term residents by that beach in Balmedie, was released in 2011.  

In an interview with the Telegraph last month, Trump vowed not to make any more investments in Scotland until the turbine project is shelved. He has clearly found Turnberry irresistible, however. Neither Trump nor Turnberry were available for comment.