BRAEHEAD BOYS RETAIN COUNTY TITLE

Transcription

1 BRAEHEAD BOYS RETAIN COUNTY TITLE It has been difficult to get teams for the County Boys League but, for 2013, the County Golf Union was pleased to get the League decided. Braehead played Alloa at home in a five-a-side match played on handicap basis and took the title comfortably by 3.5 matches to 1.5. The smartly turned out Alloa Boys team gave them a good fight for the title and at the half way point it was fairly even. Top match between Brian McAdam and Gregor McEwan was pretty even until the last few holes when Brian snatched the lead. Good wins from Ryan Calder and Harris McGrath sealed the match for Braehead, but Alloa s Ross Logan gained a half and 12 year old Tom Humphreys had a great win away from home to earn him Man of the Match. Full Results (Braehead names first) 1. Brian McAdam beat Gregor McEwan - 2/1 2. Ryan Calder beat Jamie McEwan - 5/3 3. Cameron Brolly halved with Ross Logan 4. Ryan McCallum lost to Tom Humphreys - 5/4 5. Harris McGrath beat Bryce Clark - 3/1 Match Result: Braehead Alloa 1.5 County Boys League ~ 2013 ictured are the Alloa team in white shirts (left) and the Braehead team on right with the County Boys Leagu rophy. Man of the Match, 12 years old Tom Humphreys, is centre front of the Alloa group. NO JOY FOR ALLOA IN SCOTTISH CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP It was not a day to remember for the Alloa trio in the Scottish Club Championship, when they finished well down the field at Luffness. Their team total (best two scores from three to count) of 40 over par was 30 shots behind the winners Glenbervie, so there is no trip to Portugal. Best Alloa scores came from Ian Ross with rounds of 78 and 77 over the par 72 course - it seemed to be tough for most - the CSS went up by three shots in round 1 and two shots in round 2. Hugh Hunter 29th September 2013

2 ANOTHER GOOD TRY BY THE COUNTY BOYS Just like the under 18 s boys team recently, the under 15 s put up a good show in the Frank Thomson Trophy played over the PGA course at Gleneagles. It was a great day out to play on the Ryder Cup course, only spoiled by rain and strong winds which caused the event to be shortened to 10 holes. Playing a Stableford competition against teams from Fife and Perth & Kinross, the five County boys just missed out by a few shots on the runner up spot, and it was a good performance bearing in mind that the handicaps of the other teams are a good bit lower. Full Results (best four Stableford scores to count from five) 1. Fife - 50 points 2. Perth & Kinross - 34 points 3. Clackmannan - 31 points (Jamie McEwan 12; Ryan McCallum 6; Joshua Hatcher 5; Ross Bundy 8; Cameron McCorgoray 5) ictured is the County Boys Under 15 team who played in the Frank Thomson Trophy at Gleneagles Cameron McCorgoray (Tillicoultry); Ryan McCallum (Braehead); Jamie McEwan (Alloa); Ross Bundy Tillicoultry) and Joshua Hatcher (Tillicoultry) STEWART AGAIN IN MIDLAND ALLIANCE Top senior golfer Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) was in good form at Forfar last week taking the second scratch prize with a 70. He also finished 5th equal along with Harry Salmond in the handicap section. Bob lies 3rd in the Alliance Order of Merit with 105 points; Alloa s Michael Niven is in 7th place with 70 points. Bob has also finished the season in 15th place in the Scottish Golf Union Seniors Order of Merit. SCOTTISH CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP Following their win in the County Championship recently, the Alloa team of Ian Ross, Ian Guthrie and Andrew Main now go forward to the Scottish Club Championship to be held at Luffness over 36 holes. The winning team on that day will represent Scotland in the European Club Championship to be held in Portugal later in the year. Tulliallan won the Scottish title in 1988 and 2002, while Alloa won in 1996.

3 Hugh Hunter 15th September 2013 WATSON TAKES MIDLANDS TROPHY The annual Midlands Team Championship took place at Braehead last Sunday, with four areas competing for team and individual titles. In the team event, with 7 scores counting from 8, Clackmannan finished third, 8 shots behind the winners Fife. Full Results: 1. Fife, Perth & Kinross (Fife win on better 8th score) 3. Clackmannan (Scott Borrowman 69, Darren Hulston 81, Ross Benvie 73, David Milloy 75, Gary Chalmers 77, Davie Beaton 74, John McLaren 73, Allan Watson 67) 4. Angus There was success for County Match Play Champion Allan Watson (Braehead) when he took the individual title with a round of 67, winning on a better inward half from Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie). BRAVE TRY BY COUNTY BOYS The County Boys team was in action at the weekend in the Gary Harvey Trophy held at Dunkeld & Birnam Golf Club. Perth & Kinross won the title easily with wins over the three other areas who all shared the runner up spot. After losing to Perth & Kinross on the first day, the boys came out in determined mood and secured halves with Fife and Angus. Top undefeated County performers were the Boys Champions from Braehead - Rikky Alexander won all his matches and Grant Murray won two and halved another. Full Results: Clackmannan 2 - Perth & Kinross 6 (Clackmannan names first) 1. R Alexander beat B Stephen (Pitlochry) 1 hole 2. B McAdam lost to S Shackles (Murrayshall) 3/1 3. G Murray halved with B Bannerman (Strathmore) 4. G McEwan lost to S Young (Auchterarder) 1 hole 5. R Blyth lost to R Stewart (Crieff) 5/4 6. R Calder lost to C McGuigan (Comrie) 1 hole 7. J McEwan lost to R White (Muckhart) 5/3 8. S Beattie halved with G Stewart (Crieff) Clackmannan 4 - Angus 4 1. Alexander beat R Dallas (Kirriemuir) 5/4 2. McAdam lost to S Grant (Downfield) 6/4 3. Beattie lost to John McKenna (Downfield) 2 holes 4. Calder beat Josh McKenna (Downfield) 4/3 5. Blyth lost to W Porter (Letham Grange) 3/1 6. Murray beat D Grant (Downfield) 2/1 7. G McEwan beat J Beedie (Montrose) 3/2 8. J McEwan lost to F Soutar(Montrose) 5/4 Clackmannan 4 - Fife 4 1. Alexander beat A McDougall (St Andrews) 4/3 2. McAdam lost to A Fernie (Thornton) 2 holes 3. Beattie beat A Miller (Canmore) 1 hole

4 4. Calder lost to E Davidson (Charleton) 5/4 5. Blyth beat R Thompson (Dukes) 2/1 6. Murray beat C Campbell (St Andrews) 3/2 7. G McEwan lost to R Brown (Dunfermline) 4/3 8. J McEwan lost to G Cessford (Balbirnie) 5/3 This weekend the County under 16 boys are in action at Gleneagles in the Frank Thomson Trophy playing against Perth & Kinross and Fife. ictured is the Clackmannan boys team who shared the runner-up spot in the Gary Harvey - smartly dressed n their County sweaters. L-R) Jamie McEwan, Ryan Calder, Gregor McEwan, Grant Murray, Scott Beattie, Rikky Alexander, Ryan lyth, Brian McAdam. Hugh Hunter 8th September COUNTY LEAGUE FINISHING SOON With only three matches left to play, the 2013 League result is fast approaching and it's Alloa who have one hand on the trophy having won all four of their matches. Their nearest challenger is Braehead with three wins out of four. All credit to the Clubs and the organisers for ensuring the games are taking place - matchplay is always a stimulating challenge. The September matches to be played are Tulliallan v Dollar, Tillicoultry v Braehead and Alloa v Alva.... AND A MATCH TO DECIDE THE BOYS LEAGUE County Junior Golf has been going through a difficult time recently, numbers have dropped and clubs have been unable to field teams to contest the boys Team event. However with green shoots of recovery at Alloa, things might be changing especially if it spreads to other Golf Clubs. Braehead is one Club which has managed to keep a thriving boys section - and its no surprise that both the County titles are held by Braehead juniors. Thanks to new Junior Convenors at Alloa, the Boys section have managed to raise a team to play matches, their first match was against Falkirk Golf Club (Carmuirs) which they managed to draw.

5 Arrangements are now in hand for an Alloa v Braehead Junior match to decide the 2013 County Boys League. The Alloa Boys team who played the Falkirk (Carmuirs) team. (L-R) Gregor McEwan (Captain), Lewis Clark, Bryce Clark, Greg Stone, Ross Logan, Jamie McEwan. GARY HARVEY ~ INTER COUNTY BOYS MATCHES The 2013 Gary Harvey Trophy will be played at Dunkeld this weekend and is contested by teams of eight representing Clackmannan, Angus, Fife and Perth & Kinross. Each County plays one match on Saturday and two on the Sunday. Selected to represent Clackmannan are Brian McAdam, Gregor McEwan, Jamie McEwan (all Alloa), Rikky Alexander, Grant Murray, Jordan Struthers, Ryan Calder, Ryan Blyth (all Braehead). MIDLANDS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP While the Boys compete at Dunkeld, the men s teams from the same Counties will be competing at Braehead for the Midlands Team Championship decided by strokeplay. GOOD TRY BY BRAEHEAD LADIES Braehead Ladies reached the final stages of the 2013 Scottish Foursomes, and played at Kirriemuir last weekend. In the windy conditions they lost out to Turnhouse in the semi-final. In the other semifinal, Kilmarnock Barassie won against Deeside and went on to win the final. MIDLAND ALLIANCE At Blairgowrie last week it was top senior golfer Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) who featured in the prize list with a third equal scratch 73. Alloa s Andy McLeod was also third equal in the handicap section with a net 71. In the team event, Muckhart players featured in the top two teams, taking the second prize (scoring 59) with Tulliallan players Harry Salmond and Billy Bell.

6 NO JOY FOR SCOTT IN THE SOUTH EAST The last counting event for the 2013 Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit took place at West Linton last weekend, and confirmed Jack McDonald as the 2013 Order of Merit winner, taking the crown from Dollar s Scott Borrowman. Opening with a good 70, Scott, the 2008 winner of the event went the wrong way with rounds of 73 and 78, but a good closing round of 69 lifted him to tenth position but still ten shots behind the winner Jack McDonald. LOCAL EVENTS With the golf season drawing to a close, there remain three events at Tillicoultry, the Invitation Texas Scramble on the 8th September, the Jubilee Mixed Open on the 15th and a Gents Open Greensome on the 21st. Dollar has a Gents Open Greensome on Saturday 14th September. Hugh Hunter 1st September 2013 ROSS TAKES COUNTY TITLE Eighteen years after taking his first County Championship, Alloa s Ian Ross continued his Autumn Meeting success winning the 2013 title with several rivals close behind. In the first round his one under par 70 was a model of steadiness with two 3s and sixteen 4s, and tied with fellow Alloa player Ian Guthrie. In the second round Ross was two shots worse but although his rivals came close they just couldn t match his aggregate of 142. Best efforts came from John Maxwell and Andrew Main with sub-70 scores of 68 and 69. In fact four players tied on 143 with the two prizes available going to the better second rounds. Best handicap prize went to home player Andrew Main. Ian Ross will go forward along with Allan Watson (the County Matchplay Champion) to represent Clackmannanshire in the 2014 Champion of Champions event at Leven. There was a disappointing that low entry was made worse by several call offs including some who showing some discourtesy couldn t be bothered to notify the organisers - maybe an unwelcome sign of the times. Leading Results - Par 142, CSS Rounds 1 & 2-71 (Home and Visitors) 1. I. Ross (Alloa) 142 (70,72) 2. J Maxwell (Tulliallan) 143 (75,68) 3. A Watson (Braehead) 143 (73,70) 4. R Benvie (Braehead) 143 (72,71) 5. I R Guthrie (Alloa) 143 (70,73) 6. A Main (Alloa) 144 (75,69) 7. A Scotland (Alloa) 149 (77,72) 8. D Hulston (Dollar) 150 (74,76) 9. C Philp (Alloa) 154 (77,77) 10. D Beaton (Braehead) 158 (76,82) 11. R Alexander (Braehead) 160 (83,77) In the team event to decide the Clackmannan County Representative in the Scottish Club Championship to be held at Luffness in late September, Alloa won by a few shots from Braehead.

7 Hugh Hunter (President Clackmannan County Golf Union) presents Ian Ross (Alloa) with the 2013 Clackmannan County Championship Trophy. (L-R) Allan Watson (Braehead), Ian Ross (Alloa), John Maxwell(Tulliallan), Hugh Hunter, Andrew Main (Alloa). TULLIALLAN WIN FOR ROSS In the Clackmannan Autumn Meeting played at Tulliallan recently in difficult wet conditions, with both divisions playing over the one course, visitors took the scratch prizes and locals took the lion s share of the handicap prizes. Best scratch scores were par 69s from Ian Ross and Ross Benvie, while J Mercer was the best handicap on a net 69. Full Results - Par 69, CSS 70 Div 1 (Scr-12) Scratch 1. I Ross (Alloa) 69 (Bih) 2. R Benvie (Braehead) 69. Handicap (net) 1. A Scotland (Alloa) D Beaton (Braehead) C Turner (Tulliallan) 69 Div 2 (13-28) 1. J Mercer (Tulliallan) S Kennedy (Tulliallan) I McCall (Tulliallan) D Saunders (Tulliallan) 72 AGGREGATE TROPHIES In the Harrower Trophy which is the best scratch aggregate from the Spring, Summer and Autumn meetings, Braehead s Ross Benvie on 216 won by a single shot from Ian Ross on 217. In the 2013 Order of Merit trophy, and after the County Championship, Allan Watson (Braehead) who

8 holds a huge lead is the provisional winner with only the Dollar Open results to come. COUNTY SUCCESS AT MUCKHART Wee County golfers quickly stamped their authority on the new Midland Alliance season, taking prizes at Muckhart last week. Top performer was Alloa s Michael Niven showing some of his former prowess on the course when he took the top handicap prize with a net indeed his 72 scratch was the fourth best of the day the winning scratch score of 66 came from former Alloa golf professional Paul Brookes now at Pitreavie. Fellow Alloa member Chris Westland took the second handicap and although out of the prize list, credit must go to Harry Salmond (Tulliallan) who was 4th and Andy McLeod (Alloa) 5th. This weeks Alliance event is at Blairgowrie. MORE SUCCESS FOR SCOTT In the North of Scotland Championship held at Nairn last weekend, Dollar s Scott Borrowman had a runner up finish in the Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit event. After two rounds, Scott was 7 shots behind Jack McDonald; he then pulled back to be within three shots, but with a second 66, Jack won the title comfortably by 7 shots. The result should move Scott (the 2012 holder) up the Order of Merit where he currently lies 13th. Final Scores 1. Jack McDonald 274 (69,66,73,66) 2. Scott Borrowman 281 (72,71,68,70) CALL UP FOR EILIDH Congratulations to Muckhart member Eilidh Watson from Dollar who has been named as second reserve for the Ladies Home Internationals to be played at Scotscraig from 11th to 13th September LOCAL EVENTS THIS WEEK Saturday 31st August Open Greensomes (Braehead) Sunday 1st September - Mixed Open (Alva); Westland Trophy (Alloa) Hugh Hunter 25th August 2013 SCOTT FLIES HIGH AT GANTON Dollar s Scott Borrowman had a very good Home International performance at Ganton last week, winning all his foursomes with Grant Forrest and only losing one single. The best performance came in his first match against Wales where he was unbeaten - in fact his win clinched the match for Scotland - one up with a few holes to play put him under a little pressure but he came through strongly to win 2/1. In the second days play, he halved his singles, but the team lost to Ireland. It was all on the last match against England and another foursomes win set him up for the singles, but he could not recover from going behind in the early stages of the match. The Scottish team lost again and finished in third place. A GOOD SHOWING BY JOHN GULLEN As mentioned previously, Tillicoultry s John Gullen made a nostalgic trip to the Eden tournament and had some minor success, he made the top 64 for the match play stages with scores of 80 over the Eden course and 74 over the more difficult New Course at St Andrews. As the former 1981 Scottish Boys Stroke play Champion, he had a good win in round 1 by 3/1 but lost out at the 20th in round 2 against the Baberton Club Champion. John reckons he was the oldest competitor in the last 32 by (just) more than a year or two. START OF THE MIDLAND ALLIANCE The 2013/2014 Midland Alliance season starts at Muckhart this week and runs through until April It is very popular and has a good representation of Clackmannan golfers - even the waiting list for membership has been closed.

9 NO SCOTS IN THE WALKER CUP The Walker Cup match between Great Britain & Ireland and the USA is the pinnacle of representation for any top amateur golfer. Keen followers of amateur golf will be very disappointed that there is no Scot in the side (or as a reserve) to play the 2013 match in America. It is probably only the second time in history this has happened since the match started in the early 1930s - the last time was 1949 when the team of 8 contained 4 each from England and Ireland. Hugh Hunter 19th August 2013 ALLAN COMES CLOSE AT LEVEN One year after leaving boys golf, Alva s Lawrence Allan took a major step forward in the men s game when he shared the runner up spot in the 72 hole Leven Gold medal last weekend. After the first two rounds, Allan with rounds of 69 and 70 lay three shots behind the local favourite Brian Souter; in round three in difficult conditions, he slipped to a 77 and was probably a bit surprised to find himself still in contention lying three shots behind. In the final round Allan scorched to the turn in 32, helped by an eagle two at the second where he drove the green and holed an eight foot putt. His inward nine of 40 just missed out by one shot and he had to be content with a silver medal in the event which is documented as the oldest Amateur golf competition in the world. The Leven Links course has been a happy hunting ground for Wee County golfers, Sandy Horne and Michael Niven have both won the Champion of Champions just a bit more than a few years ago and last year Scott Borrowman took the third place in the Golf medal following it up with a win in this year s Champion of Champions. Alloa s Jamie Aitken and Braehead s Allan Watson also played at Leven but missed the 36 hole cut. Well done to Lawrence who can definitely take back a bit of confidence when he returns to his USA College next week. Final Results: 1st 287 (+3) Brian Souter; 2nd 288 (+4) James White, Lawrence Allan (69,70,77,72). AND BOB IS AMONG THE TOP SENIORS Top County senior golfer Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) had a good finish in the R&A Seniors Amateur Championship at Royal Aberdeen last week. In the three round event usually dominated by Americans, Bob finished second equal of the four Scots with an aggregate of 231 (78,78,75). Bob and Phil Dempsey (also Tulliallan) will be playing this week in the 36 hole North of Scotland seniors to be held at Cruden Bay. SCOTT MISSES OUT IN SPAIN In the 72 hole European Individual Championship held at El Prat near Barcelona, Dollar s Scott Borrowman just missed the cut by one set after three rounds with an 11 over par score (81,72,74). While this may appear not so good, there were seven others out of the squad of twelve who were worse than this. It really wasn t a good tournament for the Scots among the elite amateurs of Europe. Scott is back in action this week having been selected for the Scottish team in the Home Internationals to play at Ganton in Yorkshire. Scotland will be defending the title they won in 2012 at Glasgow Gailes. Play is from Wednesday to Friday and consists of morning foursomes and afternoon singles matches. LOCAL EVENTS COMING UP The Clackmannan County Autumn Meeting will be played this Saturday (17th August) at Tulliallan - late entries are available. The following Sunday (25th) is the rescheduled 36 hole County Championship to be played at Alloa. These evnts conclude the playing season with the aggregate trophies being finalised and a team to represent a local Club in the Scottish Club Championship final.

10 Tulliallan stages two Open events; the Bloy Smith four ball Open on Sunday 18th August and the Tulliallan Seniors on Wednesday 21st August And for golfing spectators, the Johnnie Walker European Tour event will be played at Gleneagles from the 22nd til the 25th. It s a good chance to give local Callum Macaulay (Tulliallan) a bit of support. AND FINALLY FOR THOUGHT Those who followed the US PGA Championship must have been impressed by the standard of golf on the difficult layout. The winner Jason Dufner scored a record 63 over a course with a rating of 76.7, and it was probably higher because of the way the course was set up - so Jason played to a handicap of at least plus 13!! and that would be equivalent to a 58 around Schawpark. Hugh Hunter 11th August 2013 A LITTLE LOCAL JOY IN THE SCOTTISH AMATEUR The five locals playing at Blairgowrie generally had a good start with four of them proceeding to the second round, only County Match Play Champion Allan Watson (Braehead) losing narrowly to elite boy player Ewen Ferguson. Alloa s Jamie Aitken had a great comeback - after a wobbly outward nine where he was three down, he fought back with a top class performance winning on the last green after a two under par run for the last four holes. Scott Borrowman and Lawrence Allan both won comfortably on the sixteenth green with Darren Hulston winning one hole earlier. In the second round it was Lawrence who arguably had one of the toughest matches in the competition when he took on the local seeded favourite Bradley Neil, the Scottish Boys Champion. Allan quickly established a four hole lead by the sixth and, although pulled back by his opponent, he quickly regained control with birdies and closed out the match at the 15th when Neil hit trouble. There was a big local following and when a couple of spectators were given Neil s score as two down, they snorted, Impossible. But it was happening, Allan was delivering quality golf shots to the greens after accurate tee shots and finishing them off with good putting. Jamie Aitken was a bit more awake in his outward nine winning at the 15th where, after his tee shot was stopped by a tree, he hit a 250 yard shot on to the green and holed the ten foot putt for a match winning birdie. Scott Borrowman had a comfortable win; Darren Hulston gave a top Scottish Amateur player a close game but lost at the 17th. Sadly it all ended in round three - Jamie and Scott were well down at the turn, eventually losing on the inward nine. Lawrence Allan was up after 9 holes, however his magic touch of the previous two days deserted him on the inward nine and he lost at the last but only after his opponent holed a good length putt. Altogether, there were plenty of positives for the locals Full Results Round 1 Jamie Aitken (Alloa) beat Hamish Ireland - 1 hole Scott Borrowman (Dollar) beat James Whitelaw - 3/2 Lawrence Allan (Alva) beat Angus Carrick - 3/2 Darren Hulston (Dollar) beat Corin Stewart - 4/3 Allan Watson lost to Ewen Ferguson - 2/1 Round 2 Aitken beat Stuart McMehen - 4/3 Borrowman beat David Oldham - 3/2 Allan Beat Bradley Neil - 4/3 Hulston lost to Jack McDonald - 2/1 Round 3 Aitken lost to Connor Syme - 4/2 Borrowman lost to Greig Marchbank - 7/5 Allan lost to Nick McAndrew - 1 hole

11 A happy Lawrence Allan after his win against Bradley Neil the local favourite. Jubilant Jamie. Alloa's Jamie Aitken (right) with caddie Paul Reilly after his comeback win in the first round of the Scottish Amateur Golf Championship..

12 COUNTY EVENT NEWS The Clackmannan County Championship (36 holes) has been rescheduled for Sunday 25th August at Alloa and new entry sheets are available in the local Clubs. In the County league, after three rounds of golf matches, Alloa leads the field being undefeated with Braehead and Tulliallan in hot pursuit. Two further rounds of matches will be played to decide the 2013 winners. Entries will be closing soon for the County Autumn Meeting on 17th August at Tulliallan. IN BRIEF... Dollar s Scott Borrowman is in El Prat, Spain, this week with the twelve strong Scottish contingent competing against the elite of Europe for the European Individual title. Scott is pretty certain to be named in the Scottish team to play in the Home Internationals at Ganton next week. The Braehead Ladies march on in the Scottish Ladies Match play Foursomes tournament. They recorded the biggest win in the fourth round of the event - beating Ladybank by 7/6. They now play Strathmore in the quarter finals - the match to be played before the 23rd August. In the Scottish Super Seniors event at Dunfermline, Michael Niven (Alloa) and Ian Peddie (Tulliallan) both finished in the top twenty with 36 hole aggregates of 163. And in a nostalgic return... John Gullen (Tillicoultry) will be back at St Andrews as the only local player in the Eden Golf Tournament to be played next week. LOCAL CLUB EVENTS Saturday 10th August: Dollar Open Sunday 11th August: Mixed Open - Tulliallan Hugh Hunter 4th August 2013 ALEXANDER TAKES ON THE ROXBURGHE First apologies to Braehead s Rikky Alexander for overlooking his entry in the Scottish Boys Strokeplay Championship at the Roxburghe golf course last week. Rikky had a pretty good performance finishing 31st equal in a high quality field with a nine over par score (76,72,77) on the tough course. The winner (Bob McIntyre) however didn t find it tough and was the winner with an 18 under par score (66,66 and 66). Bad weather cut the tournament to 3 rounds. Those golfers with sharp eyes may have picked up the record breaking win by a 14 year old Thai amateur in a 72 hole professional event, beating many experienced players with a 13 under par score. His reaction to winning was to phone his friends to catch up on his school homework, after being given the week off school... WOW! WEATHER WIPE OUTS Unfortunately the 36 hole County Championship which should have been played at Alloa last Sunday was a casualty of heavy rain and a rescheduling will be made - details will appear soon in the local Golf Clubs. The 36 hole Central Scotland Seniors at Kilmacolm lost one round due to the weather. Locals were a bit down the field, Tulliallan s Phil Dempsey scored 72 and Bob Stewart a 74, while the winner Ronnie Clark scored a 65. Bob is in the field for the prestigious Seniors Open Amateur Championship to be held at Royal Aberdeen from Wednesday 7th till Friday 9th August. In the field of 144 top seniors, Bob tees off at 3.52 on the Wednesday. GOLF FIXTURES COMING UP Entry sheets for the Clackmannan County Autumn Meeting at Tulliallan on the 17th August are now on Club notice boards. This event will round off the County season and will determine the aggregate trophies for 2013.

13 Other local fixtures Saturday 3rd August: Boys Open (Alva); Williamson Open (Braehead). Sunday 4th August: Alpha Trophy (Alloa); Junior Open (Tillicoultry). Thursday 8th August: Senior Open Alloa Saturday 10th August - Dollar Amateur Open Golfers should always check with the Golf Clubs for fixture changes and late entries. Hugh Hunter 28th July 2013 TOP COUNTY EVENT THIS WEEKEND The highlight of the Clackmannan County Golf year is the 36 hole County Championship and the 2013 event will be played at Alloa Golf Club this Sunday 28th July. Dating from 1903, the event has had many winners who have gone on to make a mark in the game of golf. Late entries are available this year, up to and including the day of the competition. The event is used as a qualifier for the Scottish Club Championship so there should be teams from each of the six Clubs. Draw sheets are available in each of the local golf Clubs. LOCALS HEAD TO BLAIRGOWRIE Next week, 256 hopefuls will compete for the Scottish Amateur title at Blairgowrie (Lansdowne). Five of the County elite golfers will be competing and hopefully they will get a bit of support from their home Clubs. On Monday 29th, James Aitken (Alloa) at 9.37, Scott Borrowman (Dollar) at and Lawrence Allan (Alva) at are all in action, on Tuesday it's Darren Hulston (Dollar) at 9.13 and Allan Watson (Braehead) at COUNTY SENIORS IN ACTION Alyth was the venue for the Scottish Seniors Match Play Championship last week and top local senior Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) qualified easily for the match play section following a 5th equal finish in the 36 hole strokeplay qualifying. However, after winning his first round match, Bob went down to Richard Gray (Irvine) 2/1 in the second round. This week it s the 36 hole Central Scotland Seniors event to be held at Kilmacolm and locals Bob Stewart, Phil Dempsey (both Tulliallan) plus Alloa s Ray Barton are in action. LAWRENCE GOES DUTCH While many golfers were watching the thrilling golf at Muirfield, Alva s Lawrence Allan was competing in the Dutch Junior Open at Toxandria Golf Club along with a small group of Scots. In an International field that included competitors from Canada, Turkey and Thailand, Lawrence finished top of the Scots with a 5 over par score of 293 (73,72,75,73) to finish in 25th position. The leaders were way out on their own at 11 under par, home player Michael Kraaij won a play off with English player Harry Casey. Interesting that this Junior Open had an age limit of 23! OTHER COUNTY EVENTS There is a Charity Scramble at Braehead on Saturday 27th July and, next week, a Seniors Mixed Open scheduled at Alloa. Hugh Hunter 21st July 2013

14 MIXED EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE FOR SCOTT It was an intense week of golf for Dollar s Scott Borrowman (left) in the European Team Championship. Each of 16 European countries was represented by six players and the first two days of competition comprised 36 holes of stroke play to split the field into two flights of 8 teams who then went on to matches. In the stroke play, Scotland qualified comfortably in 5th place - France led the qualifiers. The draw gave Scotland their first match against Germany and, thanks to a fine comeback from Scott when he won on the last green, Scotland went through to meet the leading qualifier France in the semi-finals. A win put Scotland into the final against England, but they lost narrowly, unfortunately Scott lost his match at the 19th hole. Scott will have a break before an intense three weeks of golf - the Scottish Amateur, the European Individual in Spain and almost certainly he will be in the still-to-be-announced Scottish team for the Home Internationals at Ganton. WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKINGS Two Clackmannanshire players are still in the World Amateur rankings, Scott Borrowman at 279 and Alva s Lawrence Allan at While some might not be impressed by these figures, it must be remembered that the rankings are world wide and go up to around 6000; Scotland has 1 player in the top 100, 5 in the top 200 and 13 in the top 500. LOCAL FIXTURES COMING UP It s a slightly quieter time this week with the Open Championship at Muirfield; there is a Senior Open at Braehead and entries for the 36 hole Clackmannan County Championship at Alloa will be closing. The Scottish Boys Stroke Play Championship will be held next week but again there are no local entries. Hugh Hunter 14th July 2013 BRAEHEAD TRIUMPH IN ALEXANDER TROPHY On their home course, the Braehead team of Ross Benvie, Allan Watson, Jim Muir and Rikky Alexander won by a comfortable six shots in the annual tournament for the Alexander Trophy. The best three scratch scores from four out of each of the eleven teams from Stirling and Clackmannan decide the trophy which will hold its centenary in Braehead captain Ross Benvie led by example with a well compiled 68, and he was ably backed up by the other team members Alloa, Falkirk Tryst Grangemouth Full Results (best 3 scores from 4 to count) Braehead (R Benvie 68, J Muir 75, A Watson 71, R Alexander 73) Falkirk (S Haddow 72, R Campbell 68, R Garrett 78, C Cox 80) Alva Glenbervie

15 Stirling Junior and Youth Society Bonnybridge Tillicoultry Tulliallan. Pictured (L-R) Front row: Ross Benvie (Team Captain), Allan Watson. Back Row: Jim Muir, Rikky Alexander COUNTY LEAGUE UNDERWAY It s been a headache for the organisers in recent years but the 2013 County League seems to be taking shape with all the Clubs participating in six-a-side matches. With two matches completed, Alloa is in the lead with two wins, followed by fiur Clubs with one win each (Braehead, Dollar, Tulliallan, Alva). Three further matches are scheduled for each Club to decide the winner. The Boys League is proving more difficult and it seems like only a few Clubs will be able to participate on a handicap basis. NO OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP SPOT FOR LOCALS Scott Borrowman (Dollar) and Callum Macaulay (Tulliallan) competed in the 36 hole Open Championship Final Qualifying last week. It was a tough assignment, four venues with 72 golfers competing at each for only 3 places. Neither of the locals could find the brilliant form needed - Scott played at Musselburgh and returned scores of 73,73 - four over par and the qualifying was 6 under. At North Berwick, Callum was eight over with scores of 74 and 76 where the qualifying was 5 under par. Scott has a busy time ahead, he has been selected to represent Scotland in both the European Team Championships in Denmark this week and the European Individual Championship in Spain at the beginning of August. Meanwhile Callum has an invitation to play in the Scottish Open this week at Castle Stuart, so hopefully he will find some good golfing form. COUNTY GOLFERS AT THE SCOTTISH AMATEUR It s pleasing to see a good number of local golfers having a go at the Scottish Amateur to be played at Blairgowrie at the end of the month. Five locals representing four local golf Clubs are in the field of 256 in the premier match-play event in Scotland. Three players play on Monday 29th July, James Aitken (Alloa) plays H. Ireland (St Andrews New) at 9.37; Scott Borrowman plays J. Whitelaw (Hollandbush) at 11.09; Lawrence Allan (Alva) plays A Carrick (Douglas Park) at On Tuesday 30th, Darren Hulston (Dollar) plays C. Stewart (Murcar) at 9.13 and Allan Watson (Braehead) plays E. Ferguson (Bearsden). Callum Macaulay of course was Scottish Amateur Champion in 2008 at Carnoustie. BRAEHEAD LADIES MARCH ON The Clackmannanshire flag is flying on the Ladies side as well. Braehead Ladies beat Falkirk Tryst in an away match by one hole to reach the last sixteen of the Scottish Ladies Inter Club Foursomes event. They now play Ladybank in another away match for a place in the quarter finals. Best of luck!! GOLFING SNIPPETS Top County Senior golfer Bob Stewart (Tulliallan who is also a member at Glenbervie played former Alloa member Allan Liddle in the final of the Glenbervie Senior Club Championship - Bob triumphed by 2/1. Bob plays in the Scottish Seniors Match play event at Alyth starting on the 15th July. Tulliallan s Phil Dempsey had a runner-up spot in the West of Scotland Seniors event at Cardross with rounds of 73 & 74. On the junior side, Brian McAdam (Alloa) took the top scratch prizes at both the Crow Wood and Muckhart Junior Opens.

16 COUNTY EVENTS COMING UP Saturday 13th July - Invitation (Dollar); Purkis Trophy (Alloa). Sunday 14th July - Macaulay Cup 4 Ball Open (Tulliallan); Weir Trophy (Alloa). With the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart and the Open at Muirfield, there may still be locals who have an inclination to take up golf at a local Club and, with half the golf season completed, there may be tempting membership deals for the rest of the year. Anyone interested should enquire at a local golf Club or contact a local golf club member. Hugh Hunter 7th July 2013 ALLOA TAKE JUBILEE MIXED FOURSOMES TITLE First played in 1963, the Clackmannan County Mixed Foursomes has always been an enjoyable event in its 50 year history. The first winners were Alloa and they repeated their success last weekend 50 years on at Schawpark. With five out of the County Clubs competing, the Alloa team won by an emphatic 13 shots. The original event was on a scratch basis but, in modern times, net scores are used which theoretically gives every couple an equal footing. The win by Alloa completes a double since their team took the men s foursomes title earlier in the season. Full Results (Best three out of four net scores to count) 1st Alloa (Ian Ross & Morag Hunter 65; Andrew Main & Alison Boyes 76.5;Jim Allan & Tracey-Anne Whitelaw 75; David Abernethy & Janie McMahon 72) 2nd Dollar rd Tillicoultry Joint 4th Alva, Braehead WINNERS ~ THE JUBILEE MIXED FOURSOMES Andrew Whitelaw (Alloa Golf Club Team Captain) with the trophy, surrounded by the winning Mixed Fours golf team from Alloa. LAWRENCE TOPS COUNTY CONTINGENT In the East of Scotland Championship which is a Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit event, the locals

17 had a mixed time. Alloa s Jamie Aitken with rounds of 75 & 76 missed the cut set at 148, but Scott Borrowman (Dollar) and Lawrence Allan (Alva) made it through to the last 36 holes. Best placed at the end of the 72 hole event was Allan finishing 10th equal at seven over par (72,75,71,73) with Borrowman further back at 13 over par (72,75,75,76). The winner was Jamie Savage (Cawder) after a play-off - on 1 over par. A BIT OF IRISH CHEER FOR CALLUM The Irish Open was a mixture for Callum Macaulay - considerable flashes of brilliance neutralised by some over par scores. He opened with a one over par 73 and when he stood three over par in the second round, it looked like a missed cut, however his fighting spirit brought him back to level par - including a birdie at the last - and that was right on the cut line. He fell back in round three with a four over 76 but in the last round he finished with a flourish scoring 69, including 5 birdies in the last 6 holes, that run was spoiled at the par three 17 with a double bogey 5. Both Scott and Callum are in action at the final local qualifying for the Open Championship to be held at Muirfield in July. Callum goes straight into the field at North Berwick, while Scott made it through for the final qualifying with a 70 at Bruntsfield Links and is playing at Musselburgh. Both will be up against strong opposition in the 36 hole events, and competition is certain to be strong for the few places on offer in the Open Championship starting list. LOCAL EVENTS COMING UP Entry forms should now be in the local Golf Clubs for the hole Clackmannan County Strokeplay event to be held at Alloa on the 28th July. The event is used as a qualifying competition of local Clubs to represent a Clackmannanshire club in the Scottish Club Championship to be held in September at Luffness Golf Club. Hopefully there will be a strong field of the top County players, the event is good value and can be an enjoyable day out on a good local golf course. Next weekend is the Alexander Trophy at Braehead where Clubs from Stirlingshire and Clackmannan compete for the annual trophy. Five Clackmannan Clubs will compete alongside seven Stirlingshire Clubs, starting at 10.00am on the 7th July. The Tillicoultry Open Div 1 (0-12) and the Hugh McDonald Invitation at Braehead are both on Saturday the 6th July. Hugh Hunter 30th June 2013 LOCALS JUST MISS OUT AT THE AMATEUR Some call it the British Amateur, but really it is THE Amateur, the most prestigious event in the amateur golf calendar and two locals made the long trip to South East England to compete in the field of 288 elite golfers from all over the world. With only 84 qualifying for the match play stages, Dollar s Scott Borrowman just missed the qualifying cut of 147 with rounds of 78 and 71. Alva s Lawrence Allan looked good with a first round of 73 but fell away in the second round with an 80, missing out by 6 shots. The Scots contingent didn t make much impression this year - of the 30 who entered only seven made the cut and these all lost in the early stages....but BETTER LUCK FOR BOB Tulliallan s Bob Stewart showed some good golfing form in the Scottish Seniors Championship held at Elie last week. Opening with an ordinary 76, Bob added two 71 s to lift him into 6th equal place in the three round event, ten shots behind the winner and 4th best Scot in the field. At present Bob is in eleventh place in the Senior Order of Merit - the points gained should lift him into the top ten and give him some confidence for the rest of the season. SCOTT BOUNCES BACK The Tennant Cup last weekend played over the courses of Glasgow Golf Club at Gailes and

18 Killermont resulted in a top finish for Scott Borrowman. With rounds of 77, 73, 68 and 70, he finished in 5th equal place. Since Scott is already in third place in the Order of Merit, it seems pretty certain that he will be named in the Scotland six man team to contest the European Team Championship in Denmark in early July. Two rounds of 72 and 78 over Glasgow Gailes also ensured Alloa s James Aitken played in the final 36 holes over Killermont in Glasgow. Although his rounds of 73 and 75 didn t lift him up the field, he must have been pleased to be in the company of many of the Scottish elite golfers....and CONFIDENCE FOR CALLUM With rounds of 69,68,74 and 69, Tulliallan s Callum Macaulay finished the BMW International Open in Munich with an eight under par total, his best performance for some time and a share of 35th place. Three birdies in the last four holes must have been especially pleasing. Just three weeks ago he looked very good with opening rounds of 68 and 66 in the Lyoness Open but fell away in the final two rounds. Just stringing together four very good rounds could do wonders for him - he certainly has the game to compete at the European level; its just some consistency that eludes him. After being a reserve for the lucrative Irish Open this week at Carton House, Maynooth, Callum now has a place in the field and a chance to build on last week s good work - locals will be wishing him the best of luck. LOCAL GOLF COMING UP The County Mixed Fours is due this weekend, and hopefully all six Clubs will be represented for what is usually an enjoyable competition. On the 29th June there is the William McLean Open at Braehead (handicaps 13-28) and the Lamert Trophy at Tulliallan (Scr-12). There is also a Gents Open Scramble at Dollar. Local golfers are urged to support these events - the entry fees are good value for money and travelling is minimal. Golfers should check for late entries to these events. On the National scene, the East of Scotland Amateur is being played over the weekend and next week is the under 16's Scottish Boys Championship at Portlethen - sadly no local boys are playing, hopefully they will be supporting the Boys Open at Braehead on the 3rd July. Hugh Hunter 23rd June 2013 WATSON TAKES MATCH PLAY TITLE The sixteen contenders for the 2013 County Match Play title came down to four in the semi-finals last week, and it was Braehead s Allan Watson who came out on top in the final. In the semi-finals at Alloa, Watson played Dollar s Darren Hulston and, with a start of 5 birdies, he stood a comfortable four up - but Darren fought back reducing the lead to one after 13 holes. Watson replied quickly with a birdie at 14 and with Darren in trouble at the 16th, the match was over. In the other semi-final, Tillicoultry s Mike Rust played the County Boys Match play Champion Rikky Alexander and the match was a close fought affair. From one down at the turn, Mike pulled back to take the match again on the 16th green. The final at Braehead brought seasoned campaigner Rust against the 2012 County Champion Watson and, after a slow start, the match livened up when both shared the 5th in birdie 3's. A half in birdie 4's at the 7th was followed by a huge birdie putt on the 8th from Rust to go 1 up. Watson fought back and all square with three to go, Watson diced with the out of bounds on 16, taking it with a fine birdie putt. Two halves on 17 and 18 gave Watson the title by 1 hole and he will be looking to defend his stroke play title soon to do the double in Semi-finals Mike Rust (Tillicoultry) beat Rikky Alexander (Braehead) - 3/2 Allan Watson (Braehead) beat Darren Hulston (Dollar) - 3/2 Final Watson beat Rust - 1 hole. The Four Finalists (L-R)

19 Mike Rust & Allan Watson Allan Watson & Darren Hulston Rikky Alexander & Mike Rust ST ANDREWS LINKS TROPHY Dollar s Scott Borrowman made the cut in the prestigious St Andrews Links Trophy but with increasing scores of 72,73,75 and 77, his nine over par finish was well down the field at 35= placing. Local golfer Lawrence Allan (Alva) will join Scott in their bids to finish with a high placing in the highest level Amateur Event - the Amateur Championship to be staged in SE England over the Royal Cinque Ports and Princes Golf courses. There are the extra incentives for competitors in that the winner can get exemptions into many major events - particularly the Masters. BOYS AREA TEAM AT PRESTWICK The Clackmannan Boys team did not find the hot conditions easy at Prestwick St Cuthbert in the Boys Area Team Championship last weekend and finished in 15th position out of the sixteen teams - nevertheless; the four boys enjoyed the course and added to their golfing development. Foursomes - Grant Murray/Brian Macadam 82; Rikky Alexander/Ryan Calder 77. Singles - Murray 77; Calder 76; Alexander 78. This gave a team total of 390 some way behind the winners - Glasgow. The Clackmannan team Boys Area Team

20 Rikky Alexander, Brian McAdam, Ryan Calder, Grant Murray. LOCAL FIXTURES COMING UP 15th June: Open Greensomes - Alva 16th June: Patton Trophy (Open Mixed) - Alloa 19th June: Carlsberg Senior Open - Tillicoultry. County Secretary Tommy Johnson has sent a note round the six local Clubs reminding them of the County Mixed Fours to be held at Alloa on the 30th June. In recent years this event has been called off at a late hour due to lack of teams, hopefully there will be a full representation for the 2013 event. Hugh Hunter 9th June 2013 TOP TEN FOR SCOTT AT SOUTHERNESS In the Scottish Open Stroke Play Championship held at Southerness last weekend, Dollar s Scott Borrowman finished in seventh equal place - the second best Scot in the event. With a 10 over par aggregate for the first two rounds - and that included a brilliant eagle 3 finish at the 18th when he holed his approach shot from the fairway - it looked as if he might just miss the cut, but with soaring scores in the second round, he made it to the last 36 holes where he returned much better scores of 69 and 70 to give an 11 over par aggregate of 287 (73,75,69,70) and a share of seventh place. The points earned will keep him well up the 2013 Order of Merit and keep his name forward for team selection. The other two County representatives just missed the cut. Alloa s Jamie Aitken recorded 83 and a good 72 while Alva s Lawrence Allan back from University studies in America finished with 78 and 75. BOYS AREA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP This weekend sees the 2013 Boys Area Team Championship at Prestwick St Cuthbert where four boys from each of the sixteen Areas will compete for the 2013 title. Selected for Clackmannanshire are Rikky Alexander, Grant Murray, Brian McAdam and Ryan Calder. Two foursomes are played on Sunday morning and 4 singles in the afternoon (best 3 to count). SCOTTISH SENIORS GOLF The season is well underway with the Spring Meeting played at Montrose where two County seniors finished in the top ten. Tillicoultry s Mike Rust finished in 9th place with rounds of 78 and 80, one shot ahead of Tulliallan s Bob Stewart with rounds of 82 and 77. The East of Scotland Seniors take place this week at Forfar with Bob Stewart and Michael Niven in the field. LADIES GOLF Only two of the local Clubs put forward teams to compete in the Scottish Ladies Club Foursomes event. The draw arranges local ties in the early rounds and Braehead recorded a win against Tillicoultry by 3/1 in the second round. Braehead Ladies now play Falkirk Tryst in the third round of the competition. PAUL LAWRIE FOUNDATION SCOTTISH SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS The Scottish Schools Golf Championships will be held next Monday at Murrayshall Golf courses at Perth. A good field of over 80 boys and 40 girls will compete for individual awards and Team Championships. Clackmannan is represented in the event by Rikky Alexander and Robert Watson in the boys section with Eilidh Watson in the girls section - all with high hopes for good scores. The top players from the event will represent Scotland in a Schools International against English Schools in September at West Kilbride.

21 Hugh Hunter 2nd June 2013 TOP PERFORMANCE BY COUNTY GOLF TEAM In the six man Area Team Championship played at Crail recently, Clackmannanshire finished a highly credible 5th out of the sixteen teams in the qualifying round. Team Captain Darren Hulston was delighted with the performance, The team was gutted to lose a semi-final spot by one shot to Glasgow, nevertheless it s a very good performance and shows that the Wee County elite golfers can compete against the top golfers in Scotland. Under different qualifying rules, Clackmannanshire did make the final of the event - some years ago. With bad weather, the event was cut to one qualifying round and Fife took the 2013 title. BOYS MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP The finals of the County Boys Match Play Championships were held at Braehead last week. In the Senior event Rikky Alexander (Braehead) reversed the Stroke Play result when he beat Grant Murray (Braehead). In the Junior final, Alloa's Jamie McEwan did the double when he beat Calum McGorgray (Tillicoultry). Boys Matchplay Finals (L-R) Grant Murray (runner-up), Rikky Alexander (2013 Senior Boys Matchplay Champion), County Vice President Tom Carroll (Braehead), Jamie McEwan (2013 Junior Boys Matchplay Champion), Calum McGorgray (runner-up). Hugh Hunter 26th May 2013 ANOTHER THRILLING COUNTY FOURS With great tenacity over the inward nine in both their semi-final and final, Alloa took the 2013 title at Tulliallan in difficult conditions. In the semi-finals, Tulliallan won easily against Dollar, but Alloa had to go to the second extra hole in a sudden death to defeat the 2012 champions Braehead. The match was close and Alloa snatched a play off with a 10 ft putt - Braehead missing from shorter range. In the increasing darkness, a birdie three at the second hole secured the tie. In the final the match went

22 towards Alloa over the closing holes. Semi-finals 1. Tulliallan beat Dollar - 10 up. 2. Alloa beat Braehead - 1 up (Braehead names first) 1. Ross Benvie/Allan Watson beat Ian Ross/Andrew Main - 7 holes 2. Rikky Alexander/Scott McChristie lost to Jamie Aitken/Craig White - 5 holes 3. Jim Muir/ David Finlayson lost to David Milloy/ Ian Guthrie - 2 holes Match all square Sudden death: Hole 1 halved in 4; Hole 2 Alloa win with 3 to 4. Result Alloa win 1 up Final Alloa beat Tulliallan - 1 Hole (Tulliallan names first) 1. Bob Stewart/Gordon Lyons halved with Ian Ross/Andrew Main. 2. James McAdam/Davie Fulton lost to David Milloy/ David Abernethy - 1 hole 3 Steven Horne/John Maxwell halved with Craig White/Jamie Aitken. The Winning Team - Alloa Captain Andrew Whitelaw (centre with trophy) surrounded by (Front row - L-R) Andrew Main & Ian Ross. (Back row - L-R) Jamie Aitken, David Milloy, David Abernethy & Craig White MURRAY TRIUMPHS IN COUNTY BOYS In difficult rainy conditions, Braehead s Grant Murray took the 2013 County Boys title with a narrow win over the 2012 Champion Rikky Alexander and Brian McAdam. All three scored a scratch 75, but Murray took the trophy on the best inward nine. In the Junior Boys section, Alloa s Jamie McEwan took the title by 6 shots from Cameron McCorgray. Results Senior Boys (Scratch>

23 1st Grant Murray (Braehead) - 75 (bih) 2nd Rikky Alexander (Braehead) - 75 Senior Boys (Handicap) 1st Jonathan Clark (Tillicoultry) - 70 (bih) 2nd Brian McAdam (Alloa) - 70 Junior Boys (Scratch) 1st Jamie McEwan nd Cameron McCorgray - 99 Junior Boys (Handicap) 1st Harris McGrath nd Ross Logan - 80 The Boys Match Play events will be held soon with the draws in the Clubs. Two Champions with their Trophies Jamie McEwan, Junior Boys (left) & Grant Murray, Senior Boys (right) with other prize winners. COUNTY SUMMER MEETING The County Summer Meeting was held last Saturday with over 70 golfers competing at Braehead. Full results will be notified to Clubs - the best scores (to be confirmed) of the day were a scratch 67 by Steven Horne (Tulliallan) and net 66s by N. Cully and A. McInness. Click here for full results. The field for the County Match Play Championship is now complete and the draw will be available shortly in local Clubs. The first round is at Dollar Golf Club on Monday 27th May, teeing off at 5.30 pm. SCOTT CONTINUES THE GOOD WORK Dollar s Scott Borrowman continued his good work with a high placing in the Irish Amateur held at Royal Dublin. In very tough windy conditions, Scott was one of the 6 who made the cut out of the 18 Scottish entries and distinguished himself with the lowest and only sub par round in the second round of the event, scoring 71. He fell back with a run of bogies in the third round, but steadied in the final round, finishing with an aggregate of 300 (78,71,76,75) and a 17th equal position. WEEKEND GOLF EVENTS The highlight of the County calendar is the Area Team event at Crail this weekend when the Clackmannan team of six will be hoping to finish in the top four Areas out of the sixteen after 36 holes stroke play. A tall order indeed!!... but best of luck. Nearer home, the Tillicoultry Opens are on this weekend (Division 1 Saturday, Division 2 Sunday), while there is a 4 ball Open at Braehead (Saturday), a Belhaven Invitation (Tulliallan) and a Mixed

24 Open at Dollar - both Sunday. Late entries may be available by contacting the Golf Clubs. Hugh Hunter 12th May 2013 COUNTY FOURS UNDERWAY The 2013 Clackmannan County Foursomes started last week at Tulliallan in cold conditions. Each Club is represented by three couples who play 18 holes foursomes golf and the aggregate of the three matches decides the winner. In the first match, Dollar took on Alva, the match was pretty even over the opening nine, but Dollar just took the edge on the inward half, and finished 3 holes up Match results (Dollar names first) 1. S Borrowman/D Hulston 3 up on E Richardson/S McIvor 2. K Christie/R Watson Jr square with M Graham/A Aitken 3. V Allan/S McPherson 1 up on M Robertson/P Davidson (Dollar win 3 up) The second match in Round 1 set the 2012 holders of the trophy Braehead against Tillicoultry. On the outward nine Braehead held a good lead but, coming back, Tillicoultry made a fight back - in the second match, Tillicoultry fought back from two down at the turn to take the tie on the last green by one hole thanks to a good approach by John Gullen and an 8 ft putt from Scott Baird. Match results (Braehead names first) 1. Ross Benvie/Allan Watson 6 up on Andy Anderson/Mark Walker 2. Rikky Alexander/Scott McChristie 1 down to John Gullen/Scott Baird 3. Jim Muir/David Finlayson square with Colin Johnstone/Blair Paterson (Braehead win 5 up) In the semi-finals, Dollar play Tulliallan and Braehead play Alloa. COUNTY SENIORS OPEN THE SEASON The opening meeting of the Scottish Seniors Golfing Society took place at Powfoot recently and featured three Tulliallan golfers in the two round event. Best placed was top County senior golfer Bob Stewart on 145 (75,77). Phil Dempsey, 153, was next best with Ian Peddie a bit further back David Miller from Kilmarnock Barassie won the event with 145 (73,72). SUCCESSFUL START FOR LAWRENCE Its just over three months since Alva s Lawrence Allan started his American University course at South East Louisiana. He has had a good start, featuring in many of the golf teams which are of a very high standard, and has achieved some very good results. His academic studies are also going well, and he will return soon to the Scottish season where his first event will be the prestigious Scottish Stroke Play event at Southerness from the 31st May to 2nd June. It s almost an all plus handicap field, the best listing is a +5.3!! Other locals competing are Alloa s Jamie Aitken and Dollar s Scott Borrowman. SCOTT FEATURES IN THE LYTHAM TROPHY Last weekend was the first amateur Major of the 2013 season and 23 Scots made the journey south to the Open Championship course at Royal Lytham & St Annes. In the 140 strong field only 6 Scots made the cut - Dollar s Scott Borrowman finished right on the cut mark at 151 and finished the 72 holes with two 76 s to put him in 33 equal position (77,74,76,76) at 23 over par. The winner recorded a 7 over par aggregate in the difficult conditions. This week, Scott is over at Royal Dublin golf course playing in the Irish Stroke play event.

25 These events are closely watched by the Walker Cup selectors for the GB&I match against America later in the year. CALLUM MAKES CUT IN ITALY After missing the cut in Madrid a couple of weeks ago, Tulliallan s Callum Macaulay bounced back in Italy making the cut (only three of the ten Scots playing made it). He finished a bit down the field (70,68,70,73) but must gain some confidence for the European Tour events coming up Hugh Hunter 5th May 2013 NO JOY FOR COUNTY AT PROVAN SALVER Needing a win against Fife last Sunday at Burntisland, there was disappointment when the County golf team went down by 6 matches to 2 in bitterly cold windy conditions. A narrow win looked possible after the outward half, but the Fife team fought strongly over the inward nine holes to score a convincing win. It was all in vain anyway as Angus beat Perth and Kinross at Monifieth to take the 2013 Provan Salver title. Best performances for Clackmannanshire came from the team Captain Darren Hulston with a 2/1 win highlighted by a drilled iron through the wind at the 400 yard 16th to 8 feet and go 2 up, plus Ross Benvie who fought back from a two hole deficit to take his match on the last green. Match Result: Clackmannan 2 - Fife 6 (Clackmannan names first) 1. Scott Borrowman (Dollar) lost to Scott Stewart Cation - 1 hole 2. Darren Hulston (Dollar) beat Stuart Hill (Leven Thistle) - 2/1 3. James Aitken (Alloa) lost to Darren Gould (Ladybank) - 2/1 4. Ross Benvie (Braehead) beat Ally Hain (St Andrews) - 1 hole 5. Allan Watson (Braehead) lost to Brian Erskine (Ladybank) - 2/1 6. Steven Horne (Tulliallan) lost to Scott Brownlie (Burntisland) - 2/1 7. Steve McIvor (Alva) lost to Kevin Blyth (Lundin) - 2/1 8. John McLaren (Alloa) lost to Alex Moir (Thornton) - 2/1. Final Team positions - 1st Angus; 2nd Fife; 3rd Clackmannan; 4th Perth & Kinross. COUNTY TEAM GO EAST Played next weekend is the annual Scottish Area Team Championship contested among the sixteen Areas in Scotland. Six of the best players from each Area will play 36 holes stroke play at Crail and the top four play off by match play for the title. Selected for the County are Darren Hulston (Captain), Scott Borrowman (both Dollar), James Aitken (Alloa), Steven Horne (Tulliallan) Allan Watson, Ross Benvie (both Braehead). Hopefully the six will be in top golfing form for the weekend. Best of luck to all!! MIDLAND ALLIANCE SALUTES EDDIE SHERRY Several of the Wee County Midland Alliance members made the trip to Scotscraig last week for a retrial dinner to celebrate 25 years of conscientious work by the Secretary Eddie Sherry. Clackmannanshire is well served by volunteers like him who give their time to promote the game of golf.

26 Pictured is Eddie Sherry (centre) surrounded by Midland Alliance and Alloa Golf Club members (L-R) Ray Barton, Alan Glass, Alan Didcock and Hugh Hunter. UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS This weekend sees the Carlsberg Open at Tillicoultry on Saturday 4th and next week sees the concluding stages of the County Fours. Local golfers are reminded that entries for the County Summer Meeting and Boys Championships are still available. Hugh Hunter 28th April 2013 SPRING DELIGHT FOR COUNTY GOLF Last Saturday was one of the best days yet for playing golf, and luckily it coincided with the County Spring Meeting. The good weather attracted a considerable number of additions to the field, such that totals of 95 played in Division 1 and 80 in Division 2 - a very good entry for the six Clubs in Clackmannanshire. The leading scores were as follows: Division 1 - Alloa (CSS Home 72, CSS Visitors 74) 1st P McVittie (Alloa) =71 (acb) 2nd A Main (Alloa) =71 (acb) 3rd G Lindsay (Alloa) =72 Best Scratch: Ian Ross (Alloa) - 73

27 County Spring Meeting Div 1 (L to R) Braehead members Sandy Douglas, Stewart Cowan and Scott Beattie stray to Alloa for the Division 1 Spring Meeting. Division 2 - Braehead (CSS Home 69, CSS Visitors 72) 1st T Breen (Braehead) =66 2nd J Kane (Braehead) =67 3rd I Allardyce =68 Best scratch; P MacMichael, T Pargeter - 83.

28 County Spring Meeting Div 2 Competing at Braehead were (L-R) Iain Bain, Allan Malcolm and Andrew MacLennan. For full results and matchplay qualifiers click here The next County Meeting open to Division 1 & 2 golfers is the Summer Meeting to be held on the 11th May at Braehead. Entry sheets are available in the local Clubs. LOCALS FALL IN THE BATTLE TROPHY Of the three local golfers competing in this Order of Merit event, only Dollar s Scott Borrowman (77,75) made the half way cut at Crail set at 157. Alloa s Jamie Aitken just missed by one shot with Dollar s Darren Hulston a bit further back. In the third round Scott made up some ground on the leaders with a well compiled round of 70 helped by a good run of 3,2,3 over holes 8 to10 - that was "eagle, eagle, birdie". In fact it was a run of 7 under par for 8 holes when he continued with 3 pars and two birdies. Pity he finished with two bogies - the CSS was set at 76 - so it still meant a bit off the handicap. His three round total of 222 was now only two shots behind the leader. In round four he continued the good work returning a 71 which put him into 4th spot in the event with an aggregate of 293, two shots behind the winner Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie). Scott s amateur world ranking is currently 553(14th in Scotland) BOB STARTS HIS SENIOR SEASON With considerable good golfing form from the winter Midland alliance, former Scottish Seniors Champion Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) will be looking forward to the two day South of Scotland Seniors Championship at Powfoot this week. Also competing in the 100 plus field are Ian Peddie and Phil Dempsey (both Tulliallan). PROVAN SALVER The final matches of the Provan Salver series take place this weekend and the Clackmannan team travels to Burntisland to play Fife. To take the 2013 title, Clackmannan have to beat Fife and rely on Perth and Kinross beating Angus. Selected for this match so far are Darren Hulston (Dollar - Captain), Scott Borrowman (Dollar), Jamie Aitken (Alloa), Ross Benvie, Allan Watson (Braehead), Steven Horne (Tulliallan), Steve McIvor

29 (Alva). LOCAL GOLF FIXTURES COMING UP On Saturday 27th April the evergreen Waddell Shield at Tillicoultry takes place - it s a gents two ball foursome stroke play. On Sunday 28th April there is Mixed Open at Braehead, and the Buick Trophy at Alloa. Late entries may be available - contact the golf club. On the 30th April, the 2013 County Club Foursomes event will start at Tulliallan with a round one tie between Alva and Dollar. On Thursday 2nd May, Braehead will play Tillicoultry. The winners go forward to play Tulliallan and Alloa respectively one week later. Hopefully match secretaries of the six Clubs will be assembling their strongest teams for the event which is usually guaranteed to provide excitement to the spectators. Entries for the County Boys Championships close soon, so any boys interested should find the entry form in the Clubhouses. CALLUM BACK IN THE GROOVE Tulliallan s Callum Macaulay has had a difficult time this year on the European Tour but it started to go right in the Spanish Open last week when he made the cut and earned some 13,000 euros for a one over par aggregate (73,71,74,71) and a share of 27th place. Most important to him must have been a psychological boost to his golf as the summer approaches. The next two European events are the big money ones in Korea and China, so he is well down the waiting lists to enter, he has entered a Challenge tour event in Madrid this week so hopefully he will retain and maybe improve his golfing form. Hugh Hunter 21st April 2013 CRAIGMILLAR SUITS THE COUNTY CAPTAIN In the first Scottish Order of Merit golf event, only County Golf Captain Darren Hulston (Dollar) made it to the last days play. With two rounds of 72 and 67, he made the cut by one shot, but after the event was shortened to 54 holes due to rain, he finished with a 76. After a promising start, both Scott Borrowman (Dollar) 70,72, and Jamie Aitken (Alloa) 70,79 missed the cut at 140. The next event is the Battle Trophy at Crail this weekend and both Scott and Darren will be competing in the 72 strong entry. END OF SEASON FOR MIDLAND ALLIANCE With the final event of the season played at the Dukes last week, the Midland Alliance season closes until August. Although there was no success at the Duke s for local players, it was top Senior golfer Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) who finished best in the Order of Merit. Bob scored 320 pints putting him in third position well behind the winner Gary Tough with 955. Next best was Alloa s Chris Westland in 18th position with 160 points. The long serving Alliance Secretary Eddie Sherry is retiring and is to be honoured at Scotscraig on the 26th April with a dinner for Midland Alliance members. IT S NOT TOO LATE FOR THE SPRING MEETINGS As mentioned earlier, the County Spring Meetings will be held at Alloa and Braehead - there are over 70 entries in the Division 1 meeting at Alloa and over 60 in Division 2 at Braehead. With the weather warming up slightly and courses slowly improving, there is still time to get late entries for both divisions - even on the day. Other local golf events coming up soon are the Belhaven Trophy (Alva) on Sunday 21st April. The County Boys Golf Championships have been moved to May and, again, there are plenty of spaces available on the entry forms. SCOTTISH LADIES MATCH PLAY FOURSOMES Only two local Clubs are participating in the 2013 Match Play Foursomes organised by the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association. Clubs are drawn initially against nearby local clubs and Braehead will play Tillicoultry in the second round.

30 AND FINALLY... Anyone who watched the Masters event must have been highly impressed by the efforts of the 14 year old Chinese boy Tianlang Guan. Over the four rounds he averaged 75, and giving Augusta an estimated scratch score of 77, that means he played to a plus 2 handicap averaged over the 4 rounds. Apart from his outstanding golf, his interviews were mature and thoughtful, and it was also interesting to see that education was his top priority - a great role model for Junior golfers. Hugh Hunter 14th April 2013 STYLISH SCOTT TAKES TITLE AT LEVEN Scott Borrowman likes Leven Links - in many years of competing in the major events held there, the former Youths Champion has taken a third place and a runner up spot but a win has always eluded him. That was corrected last weekend in the cold conditions when he emphatically won the 2013 Scottish Champion of Champions title by three shots. Scott led from start to finish, and with one round to go he led by four shots. He struggled to the turn in the last round in two over par starting with a double bogie, but corrected the situation with a run of three birdies in four holes from the 10th and could even afford the luxury of three putts on the last hole to win by three shots from Matthew Clark. It s the first win by a Clackmannan player since Michael Niven won in 1974 and should consolidate Scott s place among the elite Scottish Amateur golfers. Braehead s Allan Watson, the current County Champion, finished a bit further down with rounds of 70,78,76,77 = 301. Champion of Champions leading scores (Par 284) 1. Scott Borrowman (Dollar) 70,67,72,71 = Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm) 71,69,73,70 = 283.

31 Champion of Champions 2013 Clackmannan County President Hugh Hunter (left) congratulates Scott Borrowman on a fine win at Leven. COUNTY GOLF TEAM CRASHES AT ALLOA As many golfers will tell you, golf is a funny old game - just when you think you are on top of it, it all goes wrong. Well the County Golf team discovered this last weekend when they went down by 6 matches to 2 on home ground against Angus County in the second match of the Provan Salver series. Crumbs of comfort came from Team Captain Darren Hulston who won by 4/3 and home player David Milloy who won by 2/1. The final match of the Provan Salver will take place in three weeks time against Fife at Burntisland. Match Results (Clackmannan names first). Jamie Aitken lost to Campbell Donaldson 3/1 Darren Hulston beat Stewart Smith 4/3 Steven Horne lost to Raymond Perry 4/3 Ross Benvie lost to Morris Lindsay 3/2 Steve McIvor lost to Andy Fyfe 2/1 John Maxwell lost to George Findlay 9/7 David Milloy beat Scott Grant 2/1 John McLaren lost to Steven Cargill 2/1 ALEXANDER MAKES LAST 32 Braehead s Rikky Alexander had a good run in the Scottish Boys Championship at Monifieth, winning 3 matches before losing to the eventual semi-finalist. Rikky played some good golf in his matches especially his third round tie where he recovered from one down after 14 to take the match on the 17th green after some fine approach play to the greens. Round 1 - Beat Adam Gillespie (Balmore) 2/1 Round 2 - Beat Callum Connacher (Wishaw) 4/3 Round 3 - Beat Christopher MacLean (Clydebank and District) 2/1 Round 4 - Lost to Ben Craggs (Glenbervie) 6/5 The other three Braehead boys (Grant Murray, Scott Beattie, and Ryan Calder) made great efforts on the seaside links but all lost in the first round.

32 Scottish Boys Braehead player Rikky Alexander at Monifieth. LOCAL TRIO AT CRAIGMILLAR PARK In the first counting event of the 2013 season held at Craigmillar Park in Edinburgh, Dollar s Scott Borrowman will be making a start to the defence of his 2012 Order of Merit title. Also competing will be Jamie Aitken (Alloa) and Darren Hulston (Dollar). COUNTY SPRING MEETING COMING UP The County Spring Meeting (A Division Alloa; B Division Braehead) takes place on Saturday 20th April. The draw is already made, but late entries will be accepted and new members with handicaps at local Clubs are especially invited to take part. The first group of qualifiers from the leading scratch scores will be obtained for the County Match Play Championship later in the season. Hugh Hunter 7th April 2013 GOLFING KINGS ON THE ISLAND In the first of the three matches to decide the 2013 Provan Salver Trophy, the Wee County took on the Big County on their home ground and, over the King James VI course in Perth, the Clackmannanshire team scored an emphatic victory by six matches to two. Newly appointed Team Captain Darren Hulston (Dollar) was delighted with his first match in charge In the cold conditions there were several strong sub par performances which give us great hopes for future matches, particularly the Scottish Area Team Championship to be held at Crail in May. Best performances came from John McLaren, Scott Borrowman and Steven Horne who outplayed their opponents.

33 Match Results (Clackmannan names first) 1. Scott Borrowman (Dollar) beat Scott Michie (Kinross) 7/6 2. John McLaren (Alloa) beat Greig Carruthers (Pitlochry 8/7 3. Allan Watson (Braehead) lost to David Simpson (Crieff) 1 hole 4. Steve McIvor (Alva) beat Jason Thomson (Kinross) 1 hole 5. John Maxwell (Tulliallan) lost to Willie Hutton (Blair Atholl) 4/3 6. Steven Horne (Tulliallan) beat Thomas White (Kinross) 7/5 7. Jamie Aitken (Alloa) beat Scott Thomson (Strathmore) 5/3 8. Darren Hulston (Dollar/Capt) beat Mark Cameron (Alyth) 4/3 Match result: Clackmannan 6 - Perth & Kinross 2 The next match in the Provan Salver is at Alloa this weekend against Angus County and the following team has been selected: Darren Hulston (Capt), Jamie Aitken, Ross Benvie, Steven Horne, John Maxwell, John McLaren, Steve McIvor. ounty Team he victorious Clackmannan County Golf Team at King James VI Golf Club (wearing their new team weaters). Front row (L-R): Steven Horne, Darren Hulston (Captain), Scott Borrowman, Jamie Aitken. Back ow (L-R): John McLaren, Steve McIvor, Allan Watson John Maxwell. CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS 2013 The opening 72 hole event of the 2013 Scottish Golfing season takes place at Leven Links this weekend with Clackmannan County Champion Allan Watson (Braehead - off at 8.24) and Scottish Internationalist Scott Borrowman (Dollar - off at 10.16) competing in a field of 48 top Scottish golfers. TOP TEN AGAIN FOR LAWRENCE Following on from his recent good performance, Lawrence Allan from Alva scored well again at Little Rock in America with rounds of 78, 74, 78 putting him in a tie for 10th position in the field of 66 and helping his South Eastern College lift the team title by 5 shots. His rounds may appear a bit high - but the competition was played over Chenal Golf course measuring some 7312 yards. MIDLAND ALLIANCE GOLF

34 It was a very good day for Tulliallan s Bob Stewart at Monifieth in the latest Midland Alliance event. Bob finished runner up in the scratch section with a one over par 72, runner up in the handicap section with a net 71, and to cap it all took the team prize with a net 63 partnered by R. Farquhar (Carnoustie) and S. Mitchell (Dukes). Bob has been very consistent throughout the winter season and lies third in the Midland Alliance Order of Merit. Hopefully his form will continue into the Scottish Senior Golfing season. Hugh Hunter 31st March 2013 LAWRENCE FINDS USA FORM Former Scottish Boys Internationalist and Clackmannan County Boys Champion, Lawrence Allan (left) has quickly set about adjusting to new conditions (especially on the putting greens) and produced good golf in the new environment. While we are wrapped up against the weather for our golf, Lawrence has produced a top ten finish on the US College circuit whilst representing South Eastern Louisiana University. Over a 7,104 yard course, and in a field of 66, playing three rounds, Lawrence finished with a two under par score of 214 (74,68,72) to help his University win the team event by 13 shots. His team mate Eamon Bradley won the individual event with a five under par score of 211. My thanks go to Colin Farquharson and the website Kirkwood Golf News which provides excellent updates on US College Golf. Well done to Lawrence and hopefully looking forward to many more good reports. BRAEHEAD BOYS TEE OFF AT MONIFIETH Hopefully the weather will be a bit warmer for the Scottish Boys Golf Championship next week at Monifieth, when the four local boys (Grant Murray, Scott Beattie, Rikky Alexander and Ryan Calder) make their bids for the title. While in previous years there has been a waiting list (around 5.5 handicap), all the entrants with handicaps 6.4 have a place in the draw for the 2013 event - in fact the field is one entrant short which must be a first. Best of luck boys!! COUNTY TEAM IN ACTION Fingers crossed for reasonable weather conditions when the County Golf team take on Perth and Kinross in the first match of the Provan Salver tournament held at Pitlochry this Sunday. Two further matches will follow against Fife and Angus Counties. COUNTY GOLF UNION UPDATE With the poor weather conditions in mind, and the late development of golf courses, the County Boys Championship has been moved to the 12th May, but still at Tillicoultry. The Boys Match Play events that follow will be rescheduled. The Spring Meetings are still scheduled for the 20th April at Alloa and Braehead. Entry forms are available in Golf Clubs. The position of Boys Convenor in Clackmannan County Golf Union is vacant at present and anyone who is interested should contact the County Secretary Tommy Johnson.

35 ounty Office Bearers for R) Kenneth Ellacott (Dollar) - SGU representative; Tommy Carroll (Braehead) - Vice President; Hugh unter (Alloa) - President; Tommy Johnson (Tulliallan) - Secretary/Treasurer. Hugh Hunter 24th March 2013 COUNTY GOLF FOR NEW GOLFERS Some new golfers in the local Clackmannanshire clubs may be unaware of Clackmannan County Golf Union and its activities. It was founded in 1903 with the object of promoting golf among the six local Clubs, and it provides competition and match experience at all levels. All local Club golfers with a handicap are eligible to play in County competitions - entry fees are reasonable and travel is fairly inexpensive since all the courses are within easy reach. New golfers will be made most welcome on the County scene. Entry sheets for the Spring Meeting will be available soon - they will be played in two divisions on the 20th April. A Division at Alloa, B Division at Braehead. The County Boys Championships will be played on Sunday 21st April at Tillicoultry. The 2013 Clackmannan County Golf fixture card is now available at local Clubs; in addition to the County events, the card lists the various Open events run by the six Clubs. BRAEHEAD QUARTET AT SCOTTISH BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP It is encouraging to see four local boys - and all from Braehead - entered for the 2013 Scottish Boys Championship at Monifieth at the beginning of April. Mind you, they all have early rises. Grant Murray is the second match off on the 1st April at 6.53, Scott Beattie is at 7.41 and on Tuesday 2nd April, Rikky Alexander plays at 7.25, Ryan Calder at Local golfers will be wishing them the best of luck and hope they have some good results. Hugh Hunter 17th March 2013