Graeme McDowell expressed his delight at becoming the first Irish winner of the Volvo World Match Play Championship as he joined an illustrious list of champions with a hard-fought victory over Thongchai Jaidee in Bulgaria.

HAVING discovered someone who is prepared to work even harder than him, Kevin Craggs knows full well that Catriona Matthew has no intention of taking her foot off the gas for a while yet.

TWO years after winning the event for the first time, Fife regained the GolfKings Scottish Area Team Championship with victory over record holders Lothians in a weather-affected event at Crail.

MARTIN Laird is amongst the hopefuls in today’s Open Championship qualifier at Gleneagles Country Club In Texas.

STIRLING’S Craig Lee missed out on a breakthrough European Tour win as American Peter Uihlein shot four birdies on the back nine to claim the Madeira Islands Open by two shots.

THE 99th final of the Scottish Ladies’ Championship started to the sound of bottles crashing into a recycling bin at the back of the Longniddry clubhouse.

CHILE’S Mark Tullo hit a four-under-par round of 68 to wrest the lead from Craig Lee on the penultimate day of the Madeira Islands Open.

Amid all the nonsense that went on before and during last week’s Players Championship – Vijay’s amazing decision to sue the PGA Tour, Sergio’s increasingly open dislike of the world’s best golfer and Tiger’s apparent need for both road map and rulebook when dropping balls – one thing went almost unnoticed. Behind everyone’s back, Rory McIlroy slipped quietly into a tie for eighth place.

Jack Nicklaus yesterday led tributes to former US Open champion Ken Venturi, who has died at the age of 82 just days after being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Graeme McDowell and South African Branden Grace set up a mouth-watering showdown in today’s semi-finals of the World Match Play Championship at Thracian Cliffs in Bulgaria.

IT will be hats off – at least one anyway – if North Berwick’s Clara Young becomes the youngest-ever Scottish Ladies’ champion at North Berwick today.

Ian Poulter yesterday labelled his performance as “disgusting, disgraceful and unacceptable” as he crashed out of the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Bulgaria.

Elliot Saltman was pipped for the £10,000 prize in a three-man play-off at the Astbury Hall Classic at the Cheshire venue.

SCOTLAND’S Craig Lee moved into a one-shot lead at the Madeira Islands Open yesterday courtesy of a four under par second round of 68, on a weather-affected day when former US Amateur Champion Peter Uihlein threatened the magic number 59.

PETITE as they come, Clara Young looks more cut out for a pommel horse than pummeling away with a golf club but today, in her native East Lothian, the 16-year-old will bid to follow in the spikemarks of Scotland’s greatest lady golfer.

World No 2 Rory McIlroy is set to leave Horizon Sports Management to create his own management group.

A FORMER prisoner of war camp which once held some of Hitler’s crack SS troops could be given a new lease of life - as a temporary home for the army of volunteers at next year’s Ryder Cup clash in Scotland.

LOTHIANS set out at Crail tomorrow hoping to prove 13 has not become their unlucky number in the GolfKings Scottish Area Team Championship.

KINGSKNOWE’s Louise Fraser got in on the act on a day of shocks in the Scottish Women’s Championship at Longniddry.

FORMER champion Keegan Bradley last night shrugged off two bogeys around the turn to set a course record with a sizzling 10-under-par 60 in the opening round of the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas.