Gullane News from around the golfing globe !

NEW CAPTAIN ALISTAIR LOW DRIVES INTO OFFICE AT R AND A

                           Alistair Low drives himself in from the first tee at the Old course.

News Release issued by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews
Alistair Low began his year of office as the Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews today with the traditional driving-in ceremony on the first tee of the Old Course.
Accompanied by simultaneous cannon fire, Low teed-off at precisely 8am under a cloudless sky in front of a large crowd, hitting an impressive high fade down the first fairway.
His position as Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, will see him travel the globe representing the Club and the game of golf.
Speaking shortly after hitting his shot, Low said: “I was pretty nervous I must say. It all got to me in the last couple of minutes but I think it was an alright shot. I kept it on the golf course at least.
“I will be an ambassador for the club, flying all over the world and I will be in attendance at all of the major championships run by The R&A.
“I’ve always enjoyed coming here so I am particularly looking forward to spending more time in St Andrews.”
A member of the Club since 1968, Low brings considerable experience to his new role having chaired the Championship Committee from 1985 to 1988. He was subsequently Chairman of the General Committee between 1991 and 1994 and was also Chairman of the Scottish Golf Union from 2002 to 2008.
An accomplished amateur golfer – he currently plays to a handicap of five - Low won the British Youths Championship in 1963 and was a Scottish Amateur Championship semi-finalist in 1964, 1968 and 1970.
A retired actuary and graduate of St Andrews University, Low lives in Gullane, East Lothian, and is a member of both Gullane and The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, where he is the immediate past captain.
The Club’s ‘Captain of the Golf' was originally determined by the annual Challenge for the Silver Club with the best player on the day becoming Captain for the year. However, by around 1806 the Captaincy had become an elected office and the Challenge became a symbolic competition.
One tradition that has endured is the awarding of a gold sovereign to the caddie that successfully retrieves the ball and returns it to the captain. Oliver Horowitz, now in his sixth season on the links, successfully returned the ball after attempting to catch it on the full.
The delighted 25-year-old filmmaker from New York, who will caddy for musician Huey Lewis at next week’s Dunhill Championship, said: “When he hit it I was way over on the left and I suddenly realised he had hit a bit of a cut and it was going right. I saw it in mid-air, caught it with my left hand on the fly but dropped it.
“So my hand is now throbbing as we speak and will be black and blue tonight but it’s definitely worth it.”

ROOKIE SCOTS PRO DUNCAN WINS FLORIDA PLAY-OFF

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Greg Duncan, a 20-year-old rookie pro from Edinburgh, has won for the first time at the 18th attempt on the Minor League Golf Tour in Florida. Duncan, pictured, won the Treasure Coast Classic over one round at Palm City, Florida on Wednesday after a three-way play-off against two Americans, Scott Marino, whose brother Steve plays on the US PGA Tour, and Brandon Smith. The trio had tied on three-under-par 69. Duncan had to produce two birdies to stay alive in the play-off, finally winning it and the $600 prize with a par at the fourth extra hole. Duncan, now living at Port Lucie, Florida, has won $2,370 this season on the mini-tour which runs 18-hole events at different courses, sometimes as many as four or five a week. It was Duncan's sixth top-10 finish.

FORMER BOYS CHAMPION AT GULLANE GC !! 

GRANT FORREST'S GREAT START WITH SAN DIEGO UNIVERSITY

 
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com 
Grant Forrest, last year's Scottish boys' match-play champion and Craigielaw GC member, has made an excellent start for San Diego University, California on the US college circuit.

Freshman Grant (pictured by Andy Forman) followed up a joint ninth finish on his debut in the Colorado Invite on September 12-13 by sharing fifth place in a field of 100 at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invite at the US Air Force Academy's Eisenhower Blue Course (par 72, 7,370yd), Colorado Springs in Colorado at the weekend.

In a quality competition - the leading dozen or so competitors were all under par, despite the length of the course - Forrest shot five-under-par 211 with scores of 73, 69 and 69. He was the leading San Diego University player, only two shots behind the joint winners, Kevin Penner (UNLV) (74-67-68) and T J Carpenter (Ball State) (71-67-71), on seven-under 209.

 San Diego (872) finished joint eighth of 19 in the team event won by UNLV after a play-off with Colorado who also totalled 844.

  

HENDERSON GAINS TOP 10 PLACE IN MARYLAND 

Neil Henderson from North Berwick, a student at Old Dominion University, tied for eighth place with a three-under-par total of 210 in the Maryland Intercollegiate at River Marsh Golf Club, Cambridge in Maryland.

Over a 6,801yd, par-71 course, Neil had good scores of 71, 69 and 70 and finished four shots behind four players who tied for victory on 206 - Brian Dorfman (Georgetown) (67-71-68), Damon Postal (Winthrop) (72-63-71), Max Maisico (Pennsylvania) (69-69-68) and Taylor Dickson (Winthrop) (66-65-75).

Tom Wilde from Berkshire, another Old Dominion University student, finished joint 19th on 214 with scores of 70, 71 and 73. 

A third Old Dominion player, Garth McGee from Ireland, finished joint 49th on 222 with scores of 73, 74 and 75.

Old Dominion (850) finished fourth of 13 in the team event won by Winthrop University (829) ahead of Pennsylvania (840) and Georgetown (844).

RACHAEL DOING WELL DEBUT FOR DENVER

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Mortonhall's Rachael Watton is doing well in her debut appearance for the University of Denver in the Golfweek Conference Challenge women's college tournament over the Red Sky Golf Club's Fazio Course (Par 72, Yardage 6236) at Wolcott, Colorado this week.
Scotland international Rachael, 19,  has scored 76-72 so far in the 54-hole tournament which ends today.
In a field of 90 players, her four-over 148 tally has her lying joint sixth behind two players on 143: Natalie Gleadall (Mississippi) (69-74) and Grace Na (Pepperdine) (69-74).
Watton enrolled on a four-year golf scholarship at the University of Denver last month and was unavailable for selection for the Women's Home Internationals at Hillside. She was a member of the Scotland team who, 12 months earlier at Whitchurch (Cardiff), had won the title for the first time in 19 years. This year, without Rachael, Scotland finished last.
Of course, one player does not make or break a team ... Midlothian managed to win the Scottish women's county championship without Rachael's services in an exciting finish at Dumfries and County GC at the weekend.

RACHAEL WATTON FINISHED T11 ON DEBUT FOR DENVER

Rachael Watton faded over the final round but still finished a creditable joint 11th in a big field for her debut on the US women's college golf circuit.
The 19-year-old Scotland international from Edinburgh was the highest-placed finisher of the Denver University squad, which is important for a freshman student.
The tournament was the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Rachael was lying joint sixth overnight after rounds of 76 and 72 for 148 over the 6236yd Fazio Course (par 72). Her final round was a disappointng 77 with regular bogeys and only one birdie - she claimed two in each of her earlier rounds - at the 12th.
Watton's 54-hole total of 225 saw her finish eight shots behind the winner, Chirapat Jan-Javanil (Oklaohoma). who had scores of 70, 75 and and 72 for one-over 217, winning the title by three shots from Natalie Gleadall (Mississippi) (69-74-77), Kristina Merkle (Tulsa) (79-70-71) and Grace Na (Pepperdine) (69-74-77), all on 220.
Rachael and the Denver team were actually leading the team event with only six holes to play but couldn't hold the stronger finishing squads at bay and finished seventh of 18 on 912.
Oklahoma (899) won from  UC Davis (Scot Anne Walker is its head coach) on 904 with Tulsa (906), Pepperdine (907) and Oregon and Mississippi (both 908) coming in ahead of Denver.