SWEDE Niclas Fasth had the distinction today of achieving the first eagle when the Wales Open switched to the new course on which the 2010 Ryder Cup will be staged.

NORTH BERWICK'S Catriona Matthew, who had a season's best tie for second behind world No.1 Lorena Ochoa in the Sybase Classic two weeks ago, is aiming for another high

SWEDEN'S Robert Karlsson returns today to the venue, if not actually to the course, where he set two European Tour records two years ago.

EDINBURGH-BORN Sally Watson already has a stack of happy memories from the Old Course at St Andrews, and she is ready to pile on a few more when she lines up for Great Britain

STUART SMITH may have lifted the Lothians Championship four times during a decade of dominance but he's still to pocket a medal in the other big event on the Capital golf

SCOTTISH champion John Gallagher reckons he has work to do over the next few weeks in order to give the national selectors a 'super six' headache.

DEREK MILLER staged his second Houdini act in succession to progress to the last 32 in this year's Lothians Champion of Champions tournament.

SILVERKNOWES have a side in the last eight of this year's Edinburgh Evening News-sponsored Dispatch Trophy - but it's not the one that anyone really expected.

AUSTRALIAN Rod Pampling, runner-up at the Colonial tournament on Sunday, is among 14 players to earn a late exemption for next month's US Open.

CATRIONA Matthew returns from a short break for today's Ginn Tribute in South Carolina, with fellow Scots Janice Moodie and Mhairi McKay in the field.

SOUTH Korean KJ Choi was in optimistic mood for his title defence at this week's Memorial tournament despite missing the cut in his last two US PGA Tour starts.

WORLD No 1 Tiger Woods is confident he will be fit to play in the US Open at Torrey Pines next month.

THE only player on either side who crossed swords with the world's best players on the Old Course last summer, Sally Watson believes her experience of playing all four r

CARLY Booth, one of four Scots in the Great Britain and Ireland side which takes on America in the Curtis Cup from tomorrow through to Sunday in St Andrews, stayed away from

OPEN champion Padraig Harrington is already directing his attention to the US Open.

LORENA Ochoa has pulled out of the US LPGA Tour Ginn Tribute at RiverTowne Country Club in Charleston, South Carolina, due to an illness in her family.