AYRSHIRE FOURBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - Draw for 2013 competition

The draw for the 2013 Ayrshire Fourball Championship has been made, with 46 pairs bidding for the title this year.

2012 winners George and David McCulloch (Brunston Castle) return to defend their title and
face an away tie in round 1 against Kenny McGill and Gilbert Lamont (Troon Welbeck), whilst 2012 runners up Robert Marshall & Phil Rooney (Beith) also return this year and have a bye into round 2 where they face an away tie against Alan Mulholland & James McGill (Moorpark).

First round ties are due for completion by 14th April with second round ties scheduled to be played by 19th May.

1st Round	2nd Round
Played By:- 14th April 2013	Played By:- 19th May 2013
George Crichton & Grant Fraser
Ayr Dalmilling
William Fleming & David Muir
Ballochmyle
Fraser Williamson & Alan Lochrie
Kilmarnock Barassie
Colin Davidson & Ronnie Davidson
Abbotsford
John MacDonald & Steven Wilson
Wallacetown
David Clydesdale & Graham Ross
Crosshouse
David MacDonald & Iain MacDonald
Largs
Andy Turnbull & David Cook
Fenwick
Martin Brown & Gary Harris
Malletsheugh
Peter Gossman & Bryan Gossman
West Kilbride
Robert McMaster & Graham Andrew
Girvan
Jamie Harper & Neil Sands
Annanhill
David Frew & David Brown
Prestwick St Cuthbert
John Brodie & Gordon Christie
The Chase
Stuart Wilson & David McGilvary
Troon Portland
Mick McGowan & Gerry Reid
Alton
Francis Donaghy & Lee Walker
Braehead
Ross Anderson & Craig Anderson
Kilbirnie Place
Euan Grant & Martin Lothian
Turnberry Staff
Darren Mallinson & William Howat
Irvine Ravenspark
Simon Bowman & John Steele
Prestwick St Nicholas
Alex Young & Alan Stewart
Stewarton
Kenny McGill & Gilbert Lamont
Troon Welbeck
David McCulloch & George McCulloch
Brunston Castle
John Burrows & Martin Burrows
Skelmorlie
Edward Gilmour & Neil McPherson
Tam 'O' Shanter
Ricky Black & Keith Fairley
Irvine
Hugh Campbell & Kenneth Campbell
Ayr Carrick
	Neil Black & Gary Allison
	Rowallan Castle
	Andrew Cunning & John Renwick
	Muirkirk
	Gavin Campbell & Paul Ferguson
	Maybole
	Cameron Hendry & Alan Baillie
	Largs Routenburn
	Douglas McMaster & Gary Robinson
	New Cumnock
	Bryan Christie & Brian Wyllie
	Ardeer
	Ian Leishman & Brian O'Neil
	North Beach
	Paul McIvor & Tom Clark
	Loudoun
	John Toal & Kevin Campbell
	Glacier
	Wullie Creevy & Ronnie Allison
	Saxone
	Chris Bradley & Ryan Boon
	Ayr Belleisle
	James Graham & Marc Wallace
	Doon Valley
	Colin Pettigrew & Drew McCutcheon
	Drongan
	Marc Smith & Craig Boyle
	Caprington
	Alan Mulholland & James McGill
	Moorpark
	Robert Marshall & Philip Rooney
	Beith
	Edward Saunders & John Paul Flanigan
	Troon St Meddans
	Ian Durward & Craig Durward
	Ayr Seafield

AYRSHIRE CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS TROPHY - Draw for 2013 competition published

The draw has been made for the 2013 Ayrshire Champion of Champions competition, with a record entry of 50 players bidding to take the title.

One interesting first round tie sees the 1998 winner David Miller (Kilmarnock Barasssie) travel to face 2011 winner Scott Brown (Turnberry). 

Holder Steven McEwan has a bye into round 2 where he begins his defence of the title with an away tie against Jim Brown (Saxone)

First round ties are due to be completed by 14th April with second round ties scheduled for completion by 19th May.

The semi finals and final will be played at Royal Troon on Fruday 2nd and Friday 9th August respectively. These are fixed dates and any competitor who will not be available on these dates should advise the Tournament Administrator before playing their first tie in the competition.

The full draw for rounds 1 & 2 is  :-

1st Round	2nd Round
Played By:- 14th April 2013	Played By:- 19th May 2013
Scott Brown (Turnberry)
David Miller (Barassie)
Craig Hamilton (Ballochmyle)
Thomas Smith (Wallacetown)
Gregor Dickson (Largs)
Geroge Robertson (Ravenspark)
Shaun Ryan (Dalmilling)
Steven Bolland (Tam 'O' Shanter)
John McCaig (Seafield)
Andrew Armstrong (Moorpark)
Robert Ferguson (Welbeck)
Craig Anderson (Carrick)
Gary Jordan (Crosshouse)
Nicol Auld (Whiting Bay)
Jim Reid (North Beach)
Craig Robertson (Abbotsford)
Frank Murdoch (Brunston Castle)
David Cook (Fenwick)
Sandy Riddell (Skelmorlie)
Andrew Jess (Belleisle)
Stuart Robin (St Nicholas)
Brian Gray (Beith)
Tom Reid (Stewarton)
Alan McLean (Kilbirnie)
Iain Fraser (St Meddans)
Michael Smyth (Royal Troon)
Kierean Reid (Alton)
Gary Steele (Maybole)
Derek Ballantyne (Ardeer)
Gary Bryden (Turnberry Staff)
David McAlpine (Drongan)
Iain Girvan (Muirkirk)
Gavin Stuart (Braehead)
George McKay (West Kilbride)
Iain MacKenzie (Routenburn)
Seamus Connor (Malletsheugh)
	David Sloan (Doon Valley)
	Brian Robertson (Auchenharvie)
	John Shanks (Irvine)
	John Wylie (Glacier)
	Jim Brown (Saxone)
	Steven McEwan (Holder)
	Andrew Power (Portland)
	Tommy McInally (Loudoun)
	Steven Stamper (Girvan)
	Ryan Smith (St Cuthbert)
	Jim Gilmour (Rowallan)
	Alan Smeeton (The Chase)
	Tony Fraser (Annanhill)
	Neil McCormack (New Cumnock)

UNDER 16 QUADRILATERAL TOURNAMENT - First national call up for Jack Thomas

Jack Thomas

Jack Thomas (Irvine) has been selected as one of the eight strong Scotland team who will contest the Under 16 Quadrilateral competition in Wales from 26 - 28 March.

 

Scotland will face wales, Ireland and Holland in the event at Southerndown Golf Club

 

The under noted article is reproduced from the www.scottishgolf.org website.

 

National Under-16 coach Kevin Hale is relishing the chance of taking an entire new team to the Under-16 Boys Quads in Wales next month.

 

Eight players have been selected to represent Scotland at the Boys development and training matches at Southerndown Golf Club.

 

The Scots face the Welsh, Ireland and Holland from 26 – 28 March, with Hale joined by Barry Jones in the coaching party.

 

Lundin’s Niall McMullen captains the side on the back of an excellent season in 2012, which saw him consistently make cuts and finish in a tie for sixth spot at the Scottish Boys Under-16s Championship.

 

The latest gathering for the Boys Quads is to help them prepare for international action later in their amateur careers.

 

Hale, who helped Scotland emerge victorious at the event last year, said: “It’s a really good event, playing competitive matches and working with the players pretty intensely for five days. It’s all about giving emerging players experience.

 

“The team changes every year and this year we have a young team, with three players under the age of 15. But that shows the youngsters are stepping up, proving they have the ability to get into the team. It’s about how they deal with the experience now.”

 

Of the team, Marriott Dalmahoy’s Murray Naysmith will hope to build on a fine 2012 which saw him also finish in share of sixth at the Scottish Under-16s and help the Lothians to an historic hat-trick of Dunfermline Building Society Scottish Boys Area Team Championships.

GIRLS GOLF - 3 Ayrshire girls in S.L.G.A. teams

Three Ayrshire girls have been selected for teams to represent the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association in forthcoming tournaments.

Emma Hale and Hazel McGarvie, both of the Troon Ladies club, are in Team 1 for the SLGA Under 16 Strokeplay at Strathmore in April whlst clubmate Connie Jaffrey will play in the Fairhaven Junior Championship in May.

The list of teams selected by the SLGA for 2013 team events is:

SLGA Under 16 Open Stroke play Championship (Strathmore), April 4-5
TEAM 1
Emma Hale (Ladies Golf Club, Troon), Fiona Liddell (Schloss Vornholz), and Hazel MacGarvie (Ladies Golf Club, Troon)
TEAM 2
Emily Dalgetty (Glencorse), Chloe Goadby (St Regulus) and Claire Robertson (Carnoustie Ladies)

Helen Holm Scottish Open Stroke Play Championship (Troon), April 26-28-
Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) and Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar)

Welsh Ladies' Open Amateur 54 Hole Stroke Play Championship (Vale of Glamorgan), May 4-5
Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm), Jessica Meek (Carnoustie Ladies) and Rachel Walker (Dumfries and County)

Irish Ladies' Open Amateur 54 Hole Stroke Play Championship (Castle), May 25-26
Lesley Atkins (Gullane Ladies), Hannah McCook (Grantown on Spey) and Clara Young (North Berwick)

Fairhaven Junior Championship, Lancashire, May 3-5
Nicola Callander (Mill Green), Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies), Lauren Whyte (St Regulus) and Clara Young (North Berwick)

THE FIRST OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP - Quest for image almost concluded




FROM THE HERALDSPORT.COM WEBSITEBy NICK RODGER

Every picture tells a story but, as far as the story of the Open is concerned, there is one significant visual representation that has remained elusive - an image of the very first championship at Prestwick in 1860.

For Professor David Purdie, a native of the Ayrshire town and a well-respected author and after-dinner speaker, the quest to produce the missing link in the pictorial history of the game's most celebrated contest is almost complete.


Professor David Purdie

"The germ was planted over 40 years ago and when I was just getting into golf as a boy in Prestwick, I remember asking my grandfather 'the first Open was here?' and he said, 'Yes, the first several Opens were here'," recalled Purdie.

"I asked if I could see it but he responded by saying 'it's funny, but I've never seen an image'. It wasn't until I was doing a book on the history of golf years later, and I began a serious hunt for an image from that first Open, that I realised there was nothing. That has since been confirmed by the R and A and Prestwick Golf Club."

Utilising historical records, archive material and the kind of sleuthing that would make the work of Poirot look shoddy, Purdie has commissioned the distinguished Scottish painter, Graeme Baxter, to produce "Opening Drive", a substantial oil on canvas that will be the end result of a period of intense research into one of golf's most momentous occasions.
 At noon on Wednesday, October 17, 1860, the first tee-shot of the first Open was struck by Old Tom Morris and Baxter's painting, which is to be unveiled in late March, will depict the scene on Prestwick's first tee in meticulous detail, from the assembled players, caddies and officials to the "fitful sunshine" and the level of the tide.

"I called the hydrographic department at the Admiralty and asked where the tide was on Prestwick beach at noon on this day in October 1860," said Purdie, who grew up on Links Road just yards from the first tee and remains a member at nearby Prestwick St Nicholas.
"A very posh voice responded and said 'could you give us a couple of hours.' They called back and said 'one hour below high water'. This was confirmed by The Herald, which, for God knows how long, has carried high water at Greenock. You could calculate from high water at Greenock if it was high water at Prestwick and it matched. That was important for the accuracy of the painting."

The one aspect of the painting that remains conjectural, however, is the presence of Young Tom Morris, who would go on to win four consecutive Opens at Prestwick from 1868.

Purdie added: "We don't know who caddied for Old Tom Morris, we hoped it would have been his son, Young Tom. He was a pupil at Ayr Academy and I phoned the rector and asked if they had the truancy records for October 1860 . . . sadly they did not.
"The painting, therefore, will depict Old Tom being caddied for by a young boy who may or may not be Scotland's greatest ever golfer."

The inaugural Open was won by Willie Park, who topped a field of eight professionals at the end of 36 holes – three rounds of 12 – that were completed in one day.

"By God, they were fast," said Purdie. "I phoned the Met Office to ask when the sunset was on that day. It was 5.14pm. So they started at noon, whizzed round three times in between lunch at the Red Lion pub, sorted the championship out, presented the belt and were away hame by the back of five. There was no slow play in those days."

WEST OF SCOTLAND BOYS - Eastwood host 2013 championships

The 2013 West Of Scotland Boys Stroke Play and Match Play championships will be hosted by The Renfrewshire Golf Union and will be held at Eastwood Golf Club.

The Strokeplay Championship takes place on Monday 8th July with the top 16 placed players available going forward to contest the Match Play championship over the same course on Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th July.

The entry fee is £10.00 and entry forms and info is available to download direct from the link on the left of this page, under the 'Juniors Info' heading.