Crichton's Admirable Task

Neil Crichton, chairman of the general committee of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club, is to succeed Ian Webb as the joint chairman of the World Amateur Golf Council.

Founded in 1958 to encourage the game's international development as a vehicle to foster friendship and sportsmanship, the WAGC is recognised by the International Olympic Committee and comprises the national governing bodies of more than 90 countries.

One of its main functions is to conduct the biennial World Amateur Team
Championships for women and men - the next two are scheduled for Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia in 2002, and Puerto Rico in 2004.

Crichton, who qualified as a lawyer from Edinburgh University and worked in
private practice for 30 years, links up with Trey Holland, president of the
United States Golf Association, as joint chairman.

He was appointed to the R&A Championship Committee in 1988 and to the Rules Committee in 1993. He has served on the General Committee since 1997 and was appointed chairman last September.

An eight-handicap member of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers at
Muirfield, Crichton is married and has four children. Two years ago, he took
up a new position working for the Government in Edinburgh. Another R&A official, assistant secretary of rules Grant Moir has been named joint deputy secretary of the WAGC.

*Vicky Whyte of Brazil will succeed Patricia Bridges (Australia) as the
WAGC's women's chairman. She was recently elected to serve a second
three-year term as president of the Rio de Janeiro Golf Federation.