AYRSHIRE JUNIOR ORDER OF MERIT -

With the counting events for the 2013 Ayrshire Junior Order Of Merit scheduled to be concluded on 18th August, the chase for the title is close, with a number of players still in a position to win or finish in the top three positions.

Following his fourth place at the Ayrshire Boys Championship and a joint second placing at the Tom Lehman, Murray McCrone (Troon Welbeck) holds the lead in the table, although Connor McKay (Loudoun) is only a few points behind him in the title chase.

Sean Cook (Kilmarnock Barassie) is presently in third spot with Louis Murray (Troon Welbeck) lying in fourth after his two wins in the last week in the Ayrshire Boys Championship and the Tom, Lehman.

Points from the Ardeer Junior Open, Kilmarnock (Barassie) Junior Open and Kilbirnie Place Junior Open have still to be added as the results have not yet been received.

Counting events still to be concluded are :-

The Ayrshire Boys Matchplay Championship
The North Ayrshire Junior Open (Irvine Ravenspark)
The Ayr Belleisle Junior Open (Ayr Belleisle)
The Ballochmyle Junior Open (Ballochmyle)
The British Boys Championship (Royal Liverpool)

Present standings in the table are -

342.5		MURRAY McCRONE	Troon Welbeck
306.67		CONNOR McKAY	Loudoun
257.5		SEAN COOK	Kil. Barassie
250		LOUIS MURRAY	Troon Welbeck
246.25		DARRYL LYNCH	Ayr Belleisle
136.67		SHAUN HEDGER	West Kilbride
125		STUART EASTON	Irvine
125		BLAIR GAVIN	Kil. Barassie
100		AIDAN DORE	Loudoun
90		CALLUM McLEAN	Caprington
87.5		STEWART RUSSELL	Kil. Barassie
87.5		CALLUM GORRIE	Kil. Barassie
72.5		JORDAN FRASER	Ayr Belleisle
62.5		ELLIOT SPENCE	Loudoun
62.5		CONNOR DUNCAN	Caprington
62.5		CAMERON GRANT	Caprington
61.67		EUAN WALKER	Kil. Barassie
42.5		JORDAN WOTHERSPOON	Troon Welbeck
42.5		CRAIG McKENZIE	Troon Welbeck
37.5		SCOTT McLELLAND	Loudoun
35		MICHAEL AITKEN	Caprington
35		FRASER RIGBY	Kil. Barassie
21.67		JACK PURDIE	Largs
20		CALLUM IRVINE	Ayr Belleisle
17.5		CHRIS HEWITSON	Pr. St Cuthbert
17.5		FRASER McALPINE	Ayr Belleisle
10		ANDREW GORDON	Ayr Belleisle
8.75		JORDAN SWEENEY	Ayr Belleisle
5		NEIL STEVENSON	Ardeer
5		JACK THOMAS	Irvine

AYRSHIRE BOYS MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP - First round results

The first round of the 2013 Ayrshire Boys Matchplay Championship took place at Prestwick Golf Club on Tuesday 6th August.

Newly crowned Ayrshire Boys Champion Louis Murray (Troon Welbeck) having won the Tom Lehman Trophy at the Troon Municipal courses earlier in the day, eased through his first round match against clubmate Craig McKenzie by 2 & 1.

In the semi final on Wednesday, Murray will face Shaun Hedger (West Kilbride) who defeated Murray McCrone (Troon Welbeck) by 2 & 1 in their opening round match.

The other semi final will feature Darryl Lynch (Ayr Belleisle), who beat Connor McKay (Loudoun) in the opening round by 3 & 1, and Callum Gorrie (Kilmarnock Barassie), who was a 2 & 1 winner against Jack Purdie (Largs) on Tuesday evening.

The semi final matches will take place on Wednesday evening with the final scheduled for Thursday.

HOME INTERNATIONALS - McDonald named in Scotland side for Ganton

Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) has been named in the Scotland team to contest the Home Internationals at Ganton next week.

A member of the Scotland side who won the Raymond Trophy a year ago on home soil at Glasgow Gailes, McDonald retains his place in the side to defend the title this year.

(Report from the SGU website)

Alexander Culverwell, the new Fairstone Scottish Amateur champion, has quickly been rewarded for his success at Blairgowrie after being handed a Scotland debut for next week’s Home Internationals at Ganton.

 

The 25-year-old from Dunbar, who defeated James White 2&1 in Saturday’s 36-hole final over the Lansdowne Course, has been handed a selector’s pick for the 11-man team aiming to defend Great Britain and Ireland’s premier amateur team title from next Wednesday (14 – 16 August).

 

Culverwell proved his matchplay credentials at last year’s Scottish Amateur in reaching the last-16 at Royal Dornoch, before the University of Stirling business studies student went all the way to glory in Perthshire.

 

Now he is relishing the chance of a first international cap as the Scots seek to defend the title they won for the first time in six years at Glasgow Golf Club’s Gailes Links 12 months ago.

 

“I knew my win was going to open up a lot of opportunities,” said a delighted Culverwell. “My win at Blairgowrie was the best golf I’ve ever played. It’s an amazing feeling putting it all together during a week and playing great golf. The victory was massive for me.”

 

Culverwell is one of six picks in total, with the other five qualifying automatically either from the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) or the SGU Men’s Order of Merit (OOM). Five automatic places were up for grabs on the WAGR and two via the OOM, but to fulfil the automatic selection criteria a player must be in both the OOM top-15 and in the top-15 Scots on the WAGR.

 

With 19 July the date for automatic selection after the Sutherland Chalice, Glenbervie’s Graeme Robertson, St Andrews’ Ewan Scott and James Ross of Royal Burgess booked their spots from the WAGR. Last year’s Scottish Amateur Golfer of the Year Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) and Scott Crichton (Aberdour), who has posted four top-three’s in recent weeks, also met the automatic selection as the top two on the OOM.

 

With Culverwell securing the last of the six picks, the other five went to last year’s Scottish Amateur champion Grant Forrest (Craigielaw), the Scottish Boys winner Bradley Neil from Blairgowrie, the 2012 SGU Men’s Order of Merit winner Scott Borrowman (Dollar), Sutherland Chalice champion Matt Clark of Kilmacolm and Cameron Corbett Vase victor Daniel Young (Craigie Hill).

 

Of the 11, six helped Scotland finish as runners-up at last month’s European Men’s Team Championship in Denmark – namely Robertson, McDonald, Ross, Borrowman, Scott and Neil.

 

Four-time Home Internationals player White can count himself unlucky in just missing out on place, with the beaten Scottish Amateur finalist from Lundin named as first reserve for Ganton.

 

Only four players in last year’s victorious Scotland side had previous Home Internationals experience, with Borrowman, Clark, Forrest, McDonald and Robertson all retaining their places for the 2013 staging at the renowned venue near Scarborough .

 

Teenage duo Scott and Neil, who still qualify to play at Boys’ international level, join Culverwell, Ross, Crichton and Young in making their event debuts.

 

National Coach Ian Rae said: “It’s a good, strong side with a lot of winners. While we have six debutants, we actually have good experience as three of the new players played in the European Men’s Team Championship final.

 

“We have practiced at Ganton and players like Zander Culverwell have played the course a lot in University golf. We’re confident of putting up a strong defence.”

 

Each Home Internationals team is represented by the leading 11 amateur players in their respective countries, playing Ryder Cup-style match play in a round robin format.

 

Ganton is a classic links course in England’s north-east and boasts a proud history of staging leading events. Indeed, the North Yorkshire course staged the 1949 Ryder Cup matches. Spectators are welcome to attend at Ganton, where entry is free.

 

Scotland Home Internationals team (club and age):

 

Scott Borrowman (Dollar, 26)

Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm, 31)

Scott Crichton (Aberdour, 25)

Alexander Culverwell (Dunbar, 25)

Grant Forrest (Craigielaw, 20)

Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock (Barassie), 20)

Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie, 17)

Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie, 25)

James Ross (Royal Burgess, 23)

Ewan Scott (St Andrews, 18)

Daniel Young (Craigie Hill, 23)

 

1st reserve: James White (Lundin, 25)

 

Meanwhile, eight members of Scotland’s Home Internationals team are in Spain this week for the European Men’s Individual Championship.

 

At Real Club de Golf el Prat, the Scots’ hopefuls will seek to build on finishing runners-up at the European Men’s Team Championship.

 

Robertson, Forrest, McDonald, Neil, Ross, Scott, Borrowman and Young are all in action, many seeking to boost their Walker Cup selection claims.

 

The European Individual, played over 72 holes of strokeplay, starts tomorrow (7 August) and runs until Saturday.

BOYS HOME INTERNATIONALS - Day 1 daw for Scotland

Scotland, with Ayrshire's Stuart Easton and Euan Walker in the team, drew 7.5 - 7.5 with Ireland on the first day of the Boys Home Internationals, whilst defending champions England defeated Wales.

(Report from the R & A website)

England began the defence of their Boys Home Internationals title with a convincing 10.5-4.5 win over Wales, while Scotland and Ireland shared the spoils in a typically competitive encounter on the opening day at Forest Pines in Lincolnshire.

Wales gave themselves a mountain to climb after labouring to a 4.5-0.5 defeat in the morning foursomes. And despite rallying in the singles, Derek Hughes’ side were worthy winners.
The unpredictability of match play can make for such an enthralling format and Ashton Turner’s (right) match against Otto Mand was a case in point.

Turner was four under through six to go five up on his Welsh opponent. However Mand responded with three birdies in five holes from the seventh and got back to just one down with five holes to play.

By the par five 17th, local favourite Turner had a two-foot putt to close out the match but missed and the encounter went to the final hole. The Kenwick Park player held his nerve to hole a four-foot par putt on the 18th to eventually win by one-hole.

“That was a tough, hard ride,” said a relieved Turner afterwards. “We had a better ball score of 12 under and I’m just pleased to come out with the victory.”

“I don’t know what I was doing on 17, it was a moment of madness. Looking back, it’s the type of game you want in match play. Otto’s a great player and he came back and pushed me all the way.”
Wales, in recent years, have had a habit of making things difficult for opponents in the singles and Kyle Harman enjoyed a 4&3 win over England’s Jack Singh Brar, while Tim Harry denied Adam Chapman by one-hole in the top match.

Further down the order, Jack Davidson and Rhys Jones put points on the board for Wales with their respective wins against Robert Burlison (2-holes) and Jake Storey (3&2).

England’s other points came from Marco Penge, Bradley Moore, Ben Amor and Harry Ellis, while Haydn McCullen’s one-hole win over Thomas Williams sealed the overall team win.

“They were tight games this afternoon. Wales played very well and there was some great golf played. I’m pleased the boys have come through in the end,” said England captain Hughes, whose young side are attempting to win for the third consecutive year.

“We’ll have a little review about how it went today and make some decisions about who’s going to play tomorrow. That will be the most difficult bit because we have a good set of lads and they are all very capable.”

Ireland held a narrow 3-2 lead after the morning foursomes but there was always a sense this match would go to the wire – and so it did, to the final green in the final match.

Barrie Douglas’ Scotland side seized the early initiative in the singles and at one stage looked set to win. However, as long shadows spilled across the fairways at the day’s end and the pressure
mounted, the outcome was a halved match. On reflection, it was a fair result but there were mixed feelings in both camps.

“We’ll look back on it as a match we might have won,” said Douglas. “Some of the matches were very close but nerves play a part coming down the stretch.”

While Douglas reflected on what might have been, his Irish counterpart Roy Archibald was simply relieved.

“There’s no doubt we used our get out of jail card today,” explained the Irish captain. “Scotland led in the top four matches and we looked dead and buried at one stage. But things happened in our favour on the closing holes and we were fortunate to get out with a halved match.”

The final act saw Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre play a fine approach into six feet at the 18th in his match against Alec Myles. The Irish teenager pulled his second at the par four and when he failed to get up and down the left-handed Scot secured the two-hole win as the overall result finished 7.5-7.5.

There were many talking points, not least the attempted comeback by Stuart Easton before Jack Walsh eventually prevailed for Ireland at the 18th.

The Irish player had been four up before Easton put a run of five birdies together in the middle of the round to take the match to the 18th. Easton played a poor pitch and failed to make par and Walsh held his nerve to hole from eight feet for par and a one-hole win.

Sligo’s Sean Flanagan and Galway’s Ronan Mullarney also held their nerves at the 18th to halve their respective matches against Barassie’s Euan Walker and Lundin’s Niall McMullen.

Today’s results leave England in the driving seat and the defending champions will now take on Ireland, while Scotland play Wales on day two.

BOYS HOME INTERNATIONALS - First Scotland cap for Easton

Stuart Easton

Stuart Easton (Irvine) gains his first Scotland cap this week, with selection for the national boys team to contest the Boys Home Internationals at Forest Pines in North Lincolnshire from 6th to 8th August.

 

The new West Of Scotland Boys Matchplay Champion joins fellow Ayrshire player Euan Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) in the 11 strong Scotland squad who will be bidding to go one better than their runners up spot from 2012 and attempting to stop England winning the series fro the third successive year.

 

Euan Walker

Scotland last won the Boys Home Internationals at Moray in 2006.

 

The Boys Home Internationals has been a proving ground for dozens of Walker Cup players and future Major Championship winners including reigning US Open Champion Justin Rose, six-time Major winner Sir Nick Faldo, former Open and Masters champion Sandy Lyle, former Open Champion Darren Clarke, former US Open and current US PGA champion, Rory McIlroy.

 

First played at Dunbar in 1923, the Boys Home Internationals started off as a match played between England and Scotland which was extended in 1972 to include a team match between Ireland and Wales, before the current format was established in 1996.

 

The R&A Trophy has been awarded to the winning team since 1985.

 

Scotland team

 

Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden)

Calum Hill (Tantallon)

Robert MacIntyre (Glencruitten)

Benjamin Kinsley (St Andrews)

Cameron Kirkwood (Bearsden)

Niall McMullen (Lundin)

Alan Waugh (Cowglen)

Connor Syme (Dumfries & County)

George Burns (Williamwood)

Euan Walker (Kilmarnock (Barassie)

Stuart Easton (Irvine).

AYRSHIRE CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS - Hamilton Vs McEwan in the final

The semi finals of the 2013 Ayrshire Champion Of Champions were played at Royal Troon GC on Friday evening, 2nd August, with Craig Hamilton (Ballochmyle) and Steven McEwan (Caprington) winning a place in the final next Friday.

Craig Hamilton

In the first semi final, Craig Hamilton faced Andrew Jess (Ayr Belleisle).

Conceding the first hole to go one behind, Hamilton hit back immediately, taking the second to square the tie. The lead changed several times on the outward nine with Hamilton just edging ahead to go one up at the turn.

Hamilton extended his lead to two holes at the tenth but a lost ball at the 12th saw his lead reduced again to one hole. Jess took the fourteenth with a par to square the match once again, and went into the lead for the first time since the fifth hole with a birdie at the fifteenth. Jess then suffered successive bogeys at the next two hole to reverse his lead into a one hole deficit and an excellent approach at the final hole to five feet, coupled with Jess missing the green, gave Hamilton a place in the final with a two hole victory.

Steven McEwan

In the second semi final, defending champion Steven McEwan faced Ryan Smith (Prestwick St Cuthbert).

Smith took the lead with a par at the second hole but McEwan squared the tie at the next hole and went into the lead by winning the third. With Smith hitting some wayward tee shots, McEwan built a three hole lead after eleven and despite losing successive holes at the twelfth and thirteenth, McEwan rallied over the closing holes, winning the fourteenth and fifteenth to restore his three hole advantage before winning his third successive hole at the sixteenth to take his place in the final with a 4 & 2 victory.

The final is scheduled to be held on Friday 9th August over The Old Course at Royal Troon, with a 5.00 p.m. tee off.

 

SCOTTISH AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP - Ayrshire hopes end in quarter finals

Ayrshire hopes of a winner in the 2013 Scottish Amateur Championship, played at Blairgowrie this week, ended in the quarter finals.

The sole remaining competitor from the county, Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie), lost out in Friday morning's quarter finals to Craig Ross (Kirkhill).

In Saturday's final, Alexander Culverwell (Dunbar) beat James White (Lundin) by 2 & 1.




 

AYRSHIRE BOYS MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP - Draw for 2013 competition

The 2013 Ayrshire Boys Championship will be held at Prestwick Golf Club from Tuesday 6th to Thursday 8th August.

The draw for the championship is :-

 

2013 AYRSHIRE BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP
PRESTWICK GOLF CLUB
First Round	Semi Final	Final
Tuesday 6th August	Wednesday 7th August	Thursday 8th August
16:15	16:30	16:30
Louis Murray (Welbeck)
Craig Mckenzie (Welbeck)
16:23
Murray McCrone (Welbeck)
Shaun Hedger (West Kilbride)
16:30	16:40
Connor McKay (Loudoun)
Darryl Lynch (Belleisle)
16:37
Jack Purdie (Largs)
Callum Gorrie (Barassie)

A practice round is available to competitors, from 4.30 pm on Monday 5th August. Register with the caddiemaster on arrival.

Any player not available for the championship is requested to contact the AGA Secretary, Alasdair Malcolm, as soon as possible, to allow a reserve to be included in the draw if possible.

ASYRSHIRE BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP - Louis Murray takes title at Ballochmyle

Ayrshire Boys Champion
Louis Murray

Louis Murray (Troon Welbeck) is the 2013 Ayrshire Boys Champion, winning the title by two shots at Ballochmyle GC on Thursday 1st August.

Whilst other events in the county were delayed or abandoned due to weather conditions, the players in the boys championship enjoyed reasonable weather, although a strong breeze added considerably to the challenge of the course.

In the morning round, Callum Gorrie (Kilmarnock Barassie) led the way with a three over par 73, with Louis Murray and Jack Thomas (Irvine) a shot further back on 74.

Murray McCrone (Troon Welbeck) was a shot further back on 75 after the morning round with Darryl Lynch (Ayr Belleisle) three shots off the lead on 76.

In the afternoon, Jack Thomas failed to reproduce his morning form, fading to an 87 to drop out of contention, whilst Louis Murray carded a second successive 74 to set the championship target at 148, eight over par.

Darryl Lynch threatened to match the total of his playing partner Murray, but a double bogey seven on the last saw him return a 74 to leave him two shots adrift of Murray. The last proved to be Lynch's undoing in the championship as he carded double bogey sevens in both the morning and the afternoon which greatly contributed to the championship slipping from his grasp.

A second round 76 saw Murray McCrone finish clear in fourth place as it became clear that the one player left on the course who could realistically challenge Murray's target was first round leader Callum Gorrie.

Gorrie struggled early on in his second round, two double bogeys in the first four holes contributing to him being six over par after five holes. The Kilmarnock Barassie boy steadied his game in the closing holes of the first nine to turn for home still six over for the round. As his morning form returned, Gorrie recorded three successive birdie threes from the eleventh hole to seriously renew his hopes for the title and despit a bogey four at the par three fourteenth, he remained just four over par with three holes to play.

A costly double bogey six at the sixteenth renewed the pressure on Gorrie, taking him to six over par for the round and leaving him needing to complete the final two holes in one under par to force a play off with Murray.



The new champion
With AGA Vice President James McMurdo

A par three at the seventeenth, and three shots to the green at the final hole left Gorrie needing to hole a 30 foot putt on the final green to tie with Murray. Gorrie's birdie effort was strong and never really challenged the hole, and his disappointment was compounded when he missed the return, finishing with a bogey six and a seven over par total of 77 for the second round.

The best nett score of the day was returned by host club member Andrew Davidson, the nine handicapper returning net scores of 73 & 70 for a 143 total, leaving him two shots clear of his nearest opponents.

At the conclusion of the championship, Ayrshire Golf Association Vice President James McMurdo (Ballochmyle) presented prizes to the successful competitors and handed the trophy and commemorative medal to the 2013 Ayrshire Boys Champion, Louis Murray.

Final Results :-

148 - Louis Murray (Troon Welbeck) 74/74
150 - Callum Gorrie (Kilmarnock Barassie) 73/77, Darryl Lynch (Ayr Belleisle) 76/74
151 - Murray McCrone (Troon Welbeck) 75/76
155 - Shaun Hedger (West Kilbride 78/77, Connor McKay (Loudoun) 80/75
156 - Jack Purdie (Largs) 78/78
157 - Craig McKenzie (Troon Welbeck) 79/78, Stewart Russell (Kilmarnock Barassie) 81/76
158 - Blair Gavin (Kilmarnock Barassie) 81/77, Adam Wilson 82/76
159 - Jordan Sweeney (Ayr Belleisle) 82/79, Ross McDonald (Irvine) 83/76
161 - Andrew Davidson (Ballochmyle) 82/79, Jack Thomas (Irvine) 74/87
163 - Jordan Fraser (Ayr Belleisle) 82/81
165 - Blair Fleming (Troon Welbeck) 84/81
166 - Andrew Bogle (Kilmarnock Barassie) 88/78
169 - Robert Meddings (Ayr Belleisle) 81/88, Ruairidh Sayce (Prestwick St Nicholas) 91/78
172 - Andrew Gordon (Ayr Belleisle) 85/87, Ewan Milligan (Loudoun) 84/88
173 - Stuart Fairgrieve (Irvine) 91/82
174 - Fraser Rigby (Kilmarnock Barassie) 94/80
175 - Connor Brooke (Prestwick St Nicholas) 91/84
179 - Stuart Hope (Kilmarnock Barassie) 93/85
181 - Stuart Dunlop (Kilmarnock Barassie 93/88
N/R - Robert Clark 88/nr 

 

SCOTTISH AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP - McDonald carries Ayrshire hopes into quarter finals

Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) carries Ayrshire hopes into the quarter finals of the 2013 Scottish Amateur Championship at Blairgowrie on Friday.

The Scotland international and third seed won through his fourth and fifth round ties on Thursday to book a place in the last eight of the national championship.

On Thursday morning, McDonald beat Conor O'Neil (Pollock)  by 3 & 2 to set up an afternoon fifth round match against local player Greg Smail (Craigielaw) whom he beat by the same margin to secure his place in the last eight.

In the quarter finals on Friday morning, McDonald will take on Craig Ross (Kirkhill) for a place in the semi finals.

Jack McDonald

Ayrshire's other two remaining players still in action on Thursday lost out in their bids for places in the latter stages of the event.

James Bunch (Prestwick) lost by 2 & 1 to Allyn Dick (Kingsknowe) in their fourth round tie on Thursday morning whilst his Prestwick GC clubmate Charlie Macneal was edged out at the 21st hole, alsdo in the fourth round, in his match against Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden).

The quarter final and semi final matches are scheduled to be completed on Friday.

SCOTTISH AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP - Prestwick pair join McDonald in last 32 at Blairgowrie

Jack McDonald

Ayrshire hopes for the 2013 Scottish Amateur title rest in the hands of Jack McDonald of Kilmarnock (Barassie) and the Prestwick GC duo of Charlie Macneal and James Bunch, as the championship at Blairgowrie moves into the fourth round.



Charlie Macneal

Jack McDonald edged through by one hole against Marc Owenston (Longniddry) to book his place in the last 32 where he will face Conor O'Neil (Pollock).

Charlie Macneal cruised into the fourth round with a 5 & 4 win over Robert McIntyre ((Glencruitten) and now lines up in the last 32 on Thursday morning against Ewan Ferguson (Bearsden)


James Bunch

In the final tie of the fourth round, James Bunch will face Scotland internationalist Allyn Dick (Kingsknowe) after a 2 & 1 win over Steven Stewart (Clydebank & District) in round 3.
Allyn Dick ended the hopes of Craig Telfer (Prestwick St Cuthbert) with a 2 & 1 win in their third round tie.

The other Ayrshire player in the third round, Paul Moultrie (Royal Troon), was edged out at the first extra hole by Ryan Lumsden (Royal Wimbledon)

All the fourth and fifth round ties are due to be completed on Thursday.

RICOH WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN - Turnberry to host 2015 championship

The Ricoh Women's British Open is returning to Turnberry in 2015, it was announced today.

(News release from IMG)

Turnberry's famous Ailsa course was announced today as the venue for the 2015 Ricoh Women's British Open for only the second time in the Championship's history.

Turnberry, the Luxury Collection Resort in Ayrshire and host of the Open Championship on four occasions, was the scene of the Women's British Open Championship in 2002 when Australia's Karrie Webb won this prestigious title for a third time. The stunning location of the Ailsa course makes Turnberry one of the most scenic golf destinations in the world.

A top-quality links, the location of the Ailsa course makes Turnberry one of the most scenic golf destinations in the world.

the Ailsa couse was the scene of the 1977 Open Championship provided the stage for the famous "Duel in the Sun." In brilliant sunshine, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson went head-to-head over the final two days, with Watson eventually finishing a shot clear of his rival - and 11 shots ahead of the rest of the field.

Turnberry also hosted the Open in 1986, won by Greg Norman,  1994  when Nick Price triumphed and more recently in 2009 when Stewart Cink was the winner.

Webb's triumph at Turnberry in 2002 saw her open with a stunning round of 66 and close the tournament with the same score. She came from three strokes back in the final round to clinch victory with a flawless final round over the Ailsa Course.

 In winning, she became the first player to win the Championship three times.

Next year's Ricoh Women's British Open will be played at Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Lancashire from July 10 to 13.

SCOTTISH AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP - More Ayrshire second round successes

The second round of the 2013 Scottish Amateur Championship was completed at Blairgowrie GC on Wednesday morning with four of the remaining five Ayrshire players booking their place in the third round.

Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) eased into round 3 with a 2 & 1 win over Darren Hulston (Dollar), whilst Craig Telfer (Prestwick St Cuthbert) had a smooth passage into round 3 with a 5 & 4 win over Chris Lawton (Falkirk Tryst).

Prestwick Golf Club have two representatives in round 3, Charlie Macneal winning his second round match against Matthew Reid (Downfield) by 3 & 1 whilst James Bunch had a final green victory, by one hole, over Ryan Campbell (Falkirk).

The only Ayrshire player to exit in round 2 on Wednesday morning was Michael Smyth (Royal Troon) who lost in a fine match at the 19th hole against David Mitchell (Leven Thistle) despite recording two eagles and four birdies in his round.

All the third round matches are scheduled to be completed on Wednesday evening.