8am Round-Up: Walker Cup heading to two iconic US venues

Two of the most iconic golf courses in the US '“ Seminole Golf Club Florida and Cypress Point Club in California '“ have been named as future venues for the Walker Cup.

Great Britain & Ireland won the Walker Cup at Lytham last year. It is heading to Seminole in 2021 then Cypress Point four years later

Seminole is to stage the biennial match between the leading amateurs from the US and Great Britain & Ireland in 2021. To be held in May, it will be the first time in the US that the contest will take place in the spring.

The match will then return to its traditional September slot when it is played at Cypress Point in 2025. The Pebble Beach course staged the 1981 Walker Cup, the club’s only previous USGA competition.

“The selections of Seminole Golf Club and Cypress Point Club as Walker Cup venues are emblematic of what George Herbert Walker intended when he helped create the first Match in 1922,” said Stuart Francis, USGA Championship Committee chairman.

“To have two of the United States’ greatest courses as host sites will not only produce memorable competitions but reinforces the stature of amateur golf in this country.”

Next year’s Walker Cup is being held at Los Angeles Country Club, where Scot Craig Watson will lead GB&I into battle in the event for the first time after succeeding Welshman Nigel Edwards.

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Jamie Savage is the best placed among the six Scottish hopefuls heading into today’s second round in the final of the Alps Tour Qualifying School in southern Spain.

The Cawder man posted a one-under-par 71 on the Asia Course at La Cala to sit joint-10th in the battle for cards on the third-tier circuit.

On a day when Englishman Miles Collins set the pace following a six-under-par 66, Savage made his score with three birdies on the front nine.

It was a bit of a struggle for the other Scots, with Craig Sutherland and Jack McDonald next best with three-over 75s that left them tied for 55th.

Sutherland’s card contained a double-bogey 7 at fifth while Ayrshire ace McDonald failed to muster a single birdie.

It was the same story for former British Boys’ champion Ewen Ferguson as he had to settle for a 77 while Clarke Lutton and Joe Knox are two shots further back.

Lutton, who finished joint-fourth in the pre-qualifier at the same venue earlier in the week, also came to grief at the fifth, running up a triple-bogey 8 at fifth.

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Tiger Woods has signed a deal to play with Bridgestone golf balls after using them in his recent return after a 15-month lay-off.

The 14-time major winner had to find a new golf ball and clubs after Nike decided to stop manufracturing equipment and focus and apparel.

“Finding the right golf ball is extremely important,” Woods said in a statement. “It’s an essential part of my equipment.”

The former world No 1 put the Bridgestone Tour B-330s ball in play for the first time at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

“Tiger did a lot of testing, but this is the one that came out to his liking,” said his agent, Mark Steinberg.

“It was always about finding out what was best for him and what he liked best before putting together the structure of a deal.’’

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Three Scots - Laura Murray, Jane Turner and Heather Stirling - are among 115 hopefuls setting out tomorrow in the final stage of the Ladies European Tour Lalla Aïcha Tour School in Morocco.

Marrakech is hosting the event, which is played over five rounds, for the fifth consecutive year.

The field is split in two groups and will alternate over the first four rounds between Amelkis Golf Club and Samanah Country Club.

There will be a cut to the top 60 and ties after 72 holes and the final round will be contested at Samanah Country Club.

Players who finish in the top 30 and ties will earn LET membership in category 8 for 2017, while those that finish from positions 31st to 60th and ties after the cut will earn membership in Ccategory 9b.