Golf News Digest – 08.02.08

Four Aussie Golfers Qualify for Open

Following last week's Australian International Final Qualifying event at the Lakes, Andrew Tampion, Brad Lamb, Ewan Porter and Peter Fowler all earned a sport in the Open Championship field this year at Royal Birkdale.

The two-day, 36-hole tournament was won by Tampion, who finished three clear of the rest of the field.

New Clothing Deal for English Golf Union

Oscar Jacobson is the new clothing designer for the English Golf Union. An agreement has been signed meaning that the brand will be the official clothing supplier for all the teams and individual players that represent England in 2008.

The Oscar Jacobson Golf Collection will include polo shirts, sweaters, trousers and blazers for all of the players. The staff of the European Golf Union will also receiver shirts, trousers and blazers from Oscar Jacobson.

The EGU has said that it is delighted with the partnership. Oscar Jacobson is also the official clothing brand of the European Tour.

Nine-Year-Old Aces 1st at Addington Court

It takes some golfers a lifetime to make an ace, for Harry Deans it took just nine years. The youngster entered dreamland when he made a hole-in-one at the 100-yard 1st on the nine-hole course at the Addington Court Golf Centre.

With a crowd of a dozen or so people looking on the youngster hit a perfect 3-wood into the cup. He was congratulated and given a free junior membership by general Manager Glen Halsey.

Harry was not held to the rule where the person who makes a hole in one has to buy a round of drinks at the bar; instead he is going to use his money on a new wood.

If you ask me it seems like the clubs he has are working just fine for him.

New CEO at LGU

The Ladies? Golf Union at St. Andrews has announced that Shona Malcolm will be taking over as the Interim CEO until the end of September 2008.

Malcolm, who for the previously year, has been a Scottish Councillor on the LGU, it taking over at a very important time for the union as it is trying to implement a new business plan. Her main job for the immediate future is to make sure that the plan is put into action with an emphasis on the structure of the staff and governance.

?I look forward to working with all the staff at St. Andrews to move the LGU forward in line with the approved Business Plan and to maintain and indeed strengthen the collective voice for women and girls golf,? said Malcolm.

R&A Gives Away Record Number of Bursars

This week The R&A has announced that is will be giving away 91 individual bursars to students this year. The size of the bursars varies from £500-£3,000, with the total exceeding £320,000.

Students in countries such as Iceland, Italy and Belgium received the bursars and they are designed to help young athletes combine schoolwork and competitive golf.

The University students that receive them will be able to play in The R&A bursars? tournament this April at the Old and Eden Courses in St Andrews.

Blind Golfer Gets Hole-In-One

Aces are popular this week, with a 92-year-old legally blind man by the name of Leo Fiyalko making a hole-in-one on the 110-yard par-3 5th at the Cove Cay Country Club in Florida.

Fiyalko, who only has peripheral vision in his right eye, tees it up every Tuesday with his usually foursome of guys between the age of 70 and 90 plus. He has been playing golf for six decades and at one time had a handicap of seven.

Sky Sports to Show More Golf in HD

Golf fans that have high definition televisions are in luck because Sky Sports has announced that they will broadcast all of the rest of the European Tour in HD.

Along with the European Tour some other tournaments that will be seen in high definition are the Open, the US Open, the PGA Championship, The Ryder Cup and all of the World Golf Championship events.

The first one of these events to be seen will be the Accenture Matchplay, which starts on the 20th of February. In total there will be 28 golf events shown in HD on Sky Sports.