Scotland’s Elliot Saltman fired a six under par 64 to take a three-way share of the lead with Alfredo Garcia-Heredia and Steve Lewton at the halfway stage of The European Tour Qualifying School in Spain. On a day of low scoring at PGA Catalunya Resort, Garcia-Heredia and Saltman kept their cards bogey-free, posting six birdies each over the par 70 Tour Course to move to 11 under par, while Lewton recovered from a hat-trick of bogeys to sign for a 66.

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In his three attempts so far, Lloyd Saltman has succeeded only once in reaching the final stage of the European Tour Qualifying School. That was in 2008, when a damaging 80 in his third round cost him a place in the final 36 holes of the six-round test. Last year, Saltman, who looked set for a quick climb up the ladder after turning professional in 2007 on the back of a glittering amateur career but has seen his career stall somewhat, fell at the first hurdle.

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LLOYD SALTMAN scored his best finish on the European Challenge Tour this year with a share of third in the Allianz Golf Open Grand Toulouse yesterday.

The former Open silver medal winner continued his good run of form with a closing two-under 69 for total of 280.

Saltman finished five shots behind Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, who won after a 68 for 275.

Jamie McLeary shared fifth place on 281 after a 71 while Andrew McArthur dropped back into a tie for 11th on 284 with a 74.

Raymond Russell (285) and Scott Jamieson (286) also finished in the top 20 but Craig Lee and George Murray were well down the field with 293s.

.Gavin Dear shared second place in the Alps Tour’s Madrid Open after rain in Spain caused the final round to be abandoned.

The Perth rookie stormed into the title hunt with a second-round 65 for seven-under 137.

Lloyd Saltman led three Scots through stage one of the European Tour’s qualifying school at Wychwood Park near Crewe last night.
The former Open silver medal winner slipped to a closing two-over 74 but still progressed with ease in a share of eighth on a two-under 286.

Saltman, who will now head for stage two of the q-school marathon in Spain in November, finished six shots behind leading qualifier, James Heath of England.

Elgin’s Joel Hendry grabbed one of the 28 stage two places on offer with a 288 after a 71 while Ross Bain, the top Scot in the 2007 Open, also hit a 71 and squeezed through on the 291 limit.

On the Tartan Tour, Cawder’s Chris Kelly scooped the £2000 top prize in the Blue Group Pro-Am at Auchterarder. The former Scottish PGA champion carded a three-under 66 and claimed his seventh win on the domestic circuit this season by a shot from Colin Gillies and current Tartan Tour money-list leader Stephen Gray.

Greig Hutcheon, fresh from his win in the Aberdeen Northern Open on Thursday, shared fourth spot after a 68.

On the EPD Tour, Paul O’Hara’s end of season promotion push suffered a late blow in the opening round of the Fulda Championship in Germany.

The Colville Park rookie, aiming to break into the top-five of the German circuit’s rankings and earn a European Challenge Tour card, slipped to a double-bogey six on the 18th in a one-under 71.

O’Hara, who currently sits in eighth spot on the money list, finished day one in a tie for 15th, six shots behind early leader Benjamin Miarka, who blasted a 65.

Closer to home, Australia’s Perry Somers captured the World Hickory Open championship at Gullane.

Queensland man Somers, now a teaching pro in Germany, had rounds of 78 and 76 for a 154 and beat host club pro Alasdair Good to the title by two shots.

Playing with a set of pre-1935 clubs, Somers took the step back in time in his stride as he added the world crown to the German, French and Czech hickory titles he has won this year.

He said: “I’ve only been playing hickory for two years but as soon as I put on the plus fours and tie I feel inspired and in my element

“I love the game but I reckon I was born 90 years too late. I’m sure our golfing forefathers would be proud to see us continue their traditions.”

Scotsman: 25 September 2010
By NICK RODGER

LLOYD SALTMAN headed for Sweden today bitterly disappointed about missing out on a return to St Andrews but feeling confident about his prospects for the rest of the season. The Lothians star was one of three Scots who lost in play-offs in Fife yesterday for Open Championship spots – and he admitted that hurt badly.

But Saltman has been encouraged by his recent form and is looking to maintain that in this week’s Challenge Tour event, The Princess, in Bastad.

“Missing out on The Open is a sore one, especially after coming so close again, but my game is definitely better than it was when I qualified for Turnberry a year ago,” he said.

“I played well last week (in La Gomera] after also doing well in the Scottish Challenge and things are looking good for the rest of the season.”

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LLOYD SALTMAN tees off his season for ‘real’ in Africa tomorrow and is feeling confident that a big year lies ahead of him.
While the Lothians star has been playing on the Hi5 Tour in Spain over the past few months and also won an event for pros under the age of 26 at home club Archerfield Links, the Kenya Open on the Challenge Tour is what he has been preparing for.

A spot in the field for last month’s event in Colombia came too late for Saltman to make the journey to South America but, on this occasion, he knew a few days in advance that he’d climbed off the reserve list for a tournament being played at Muthaiga Golf Club.

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LOTHIANS golfer Lloyd Saltman will head to Kenya later this month on Challenge Tour duty in a confident mood following his second pro win in a row.
The Archerfield ace cruised to a five-shot victory in the Hi5 Pro Tour’s Polaris Condado de Alhama Open in Murcia yesterday as his build-up to the new Challenge Tour campaign gathered pace.

Former Open star Saltman, who led by four shots heading into the closing round in Spain, signed off with a two-under 70 for an 11-under 205 and won by five strokes from Holland’s Floris De Vries and former Scottish Amateur champion Callum Macaulay.

Aegon-backed Saltman’s success, which earned him almost £2,000, was his second title in just over a week following victory in the Major Golf Championship at his home course of Archerfield last Tuesday.

His older brother, Elliot, shared 11th spot on 221 after a 72 while youngest sibling Zack posted a 76 for 227.

By NICK RODGER and MARTIN DEMPSTER, The Scotsman 12 March 2010

Scotland’s Lloyd Saltman (Aegon) enjoys a four-shot lead going into the final round of the Polaris World Condado Open despite starting his second round with a couple of bogeys.
Howeverthe middle brother of the three Saltman siblings from the Lothians who are playing in Spain this week, answered with eight birdies during the remainder of his round en route to a fine 67 on the 6800 metre Nicklaus signature course.
His nearest rivals are Andreas Hogeberg (Sweden) and fellow-Scot Callum Macaulay (Tulliallan), both at five under par.
Cool temperatures with strong winds faced the players today to go along with the slick greens so scoring was not very easy. made scoring not very easy.
In the ladies’ division ladies LET player Josefin Leijon (Sweden) took over the lead after a 75 today and holds a two-shot lead over Mari Suusalu from Estonia and yesterday’s leader Johanna Lundberg (Sweden) who slipped back with a 79 today.