Seve is on the road to recovery - Olazabal

Seve Ballesteros is on the road to recovery following surgery to remove a malignant brain tumour, according to fellow Spaniard and erstwhile Ryder Cup partner, Jose Maria Olazabal.
Olazabal said he has been in touch with Seve's relatives and that they and doctors are positive about his recovery.
"Everybody seems to be really optimistic," Olazabal said. "The doctors are saying that Seve's improvement has been fantastic so far. He will still have to get stronger, but he's doing fine."

Ayrshire-based Lomas fails to cut it
in US Tour Q School Stage 2 event

Englishman Jonathan Lomas, an Ayrshire-based Tartan Tour player, failed to make the 19 qualifiers from the US PGA Tour School Stage 2 event at Oak Valley Golf Club, California at the weekend.
Lomas, now 40, was the European Tour Rookie of the Year in 1994 and won the Czech Open in 1996. He had rounds of 73, 76, 73 and 72 for 294 to finished 59th behind Canadian Jim Rutledge who scored 71, 69, 68 and 65 for 273.
One Englishman who did make it through to the US Tour's Final Q School at PGA West Golf Club, La Quinta in California over six rounds from December 3 to 8, was Matt Richardson who finished fourth of the 20th qualifiers in the Stage 2 event at Lantana Golf Club, Texas.
Richardson scored 70, 74, 67 and 72 for 283 - three shots behind winner Jimmy Walker from Texas with 69, 71, 72 and 69 for 280.
Notah Begay, four-time winner on the US Tour and a friend of Tiger Woods, shot a 65 in his final round to qualify in joint ninth place on 287. His earlier rounds had him outside the possible cut-off mark - 71, 77 and 74.

Tommy Armour III leads by five shots
at Pebble Beach Invitational

Title-holder Tommy Armour III birdied the final two holes, holing a 30-footer on the 18th, to take a five-stroke lead from Rich Beem in the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational on Saturday.
The 49-year-old Armour, a two-time winner on the US PGA tour and a descendant of the "Silver Scot," Tommy Armour, shot a seven-under 65 at Pebble Beach to post a 14-under-par 54-hole total of 202. He had one eagle, six birdies and a bogey on his third-round scorecard.
"Everything was working today," said Armour, who finished 62nd this season on the money list. Beem, the 2002 US PGA Championship winner, shot a 68, also at Pebble Beach. He also had an eagle, but four birdies and two bogeys.
The 37th annual tournament features players from the four major tours as well as mini tour players, club pros and amateurs competing on teams. Champions Tour and LPGA Tour entrants receive distance advantages on tee shots.
Former U.S. Open winner Scott Simpson of the US Champions (Seniors) Tour had a 66 at Del Monte. He was eight under par along with Bryce Molder, the Nationwide Tour player who had a 69 at Spyglass Hill.
Armour, who ended a four-year winless streak with his Callaway victory in 2007, last won on the US PGA Tour at the Valero Texas Open in 2003 when he set the tour tournament record of 34-under par.
"There's a lot of golf left and Pebble Beach is a tough golf course," Armour said. "You never know what the weather can bring tomorrow."
Vicky Hurst, who recently qualified for the U.S. LPGA Tour, shot a 72 at Pebble Beach for a 1-under total.

Japanese teenager just fails in Dunlop
Phoenix tournament

Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa fell narrowly short as Prayad Marksaeng held on for a one-stroke victory at the Dunlop Phoenix tournament.
Ishikawa, 17, was seeking his second win within a month on the Japan Tour and pushed Prayad until the very end at Phoenix Country Club, Japan.
He sank a seven-foot birdie at the final hole but it was not enough as Prayad made par from six inches to clinch his third victory of the year on the Japan Tour.
He carded a closing 71 to finish eight-under 276 as Ishikawa (68) claimed second on seven-under.
Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Japanese duo Shigeki Maruyama and Hiroyuki Fujita were tied for third on six-under.
Prayad, 42, was five shots ahead with eight holes left but double-bogeyed the par-three 11th and bogeyed the par-four 12th to leave the door open for his rivals.
However, a bird from 18 feet at the par-four 16th steadied the ship and the Thai player held on to claim the title.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4 x 71)
276 Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 68 70 67 71
277 Ryo Ishikawa 72 67 70 68
278 Shigeki Maruyama 71 68 71 68, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 68 70 73 67, Hiroyuki Fujita 72 69 69 68
279 Masaya Tomida 71 69 69 70
280 Toru Taniguchi 70 69 71 70
281 Yasuharu Imano 71 73 67 70, Koumei Oda 72 70 72 67, Tomohiro Kondo 68 69 70 74, Ian Poulter (Eng) 73 73 66 69, Brandt Snedeker (USA) 68 71 70 72, Hideto Tanihara 72 70 68 71
282 Daisuke Maruyama 73 73 67 69
283 Ernie Els (Rsa) 72 73 70 68, Taichi Teshima 73 66 73 71, Hyung-sung Kim (Kor) 70 74 68 71
284 Hirofumi Miyase 69 73 69 73, Steve Marino (USA) 71 70 71 72, Yusaku Miyazato 70 73 71 70
285 Ik-Je Chang (Kor) 69 75 71 70, Azuma Yano 70 70 70 75, Brendan Jones (Aus) 71 71 71 72, Steven Conran (Aus) 71 68 76 70
286 Brandt Jobe (USA) 74 68 74 70, Toru Suzuki 68 71 75 72, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 76 69 70 71, Takao Nogami 72 72 69 73, Kenichi Kuboya 73 73 69 71, Dong-Hwan Lee 69 76 74 67, S K Ho (Kor) 69 70 76 71, Paul Sheehan (Aus) 67 73 75 71
287 Steve Flesch (USA) 71 75 73 68, Seung-ho Lee (Kor) 71 72 74 70
288 Yoshikazu Haku 71 71 74 72, Shingo Katayama 73 74 70 71, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 68 70 77 73
289 Kaname Yokoo 74 72 71 72, Ryuichi Oda 70 75 72 72, Toshinori Muto 74 74 70 71, Takashi Kanemoto 73 69 72 75, Satoru Hirota 73 71 72 73, Naomichi Joe Ozaki 72 73 69 75
290 Keiichiro Fukabori 72 72 73 73, Masao Nakajima 78 70 70 72
291 Sushi Ishigaki 74 73 74 70, Hideki Kase 70 72 77 72, Makoto Inoue 73 74 75 69
292 Chris Campbell (Aus) 73 75 73 71, Tommy Nakajima 74 73 74 71, David Smail (Nzl) 73 70 75 74, Tadahiro Takayama 76 71 71 74
293 Michio Matsumura 70 68 76 79, Kiyoshi Murota 75 72 73 73, Nobuhito Sato 72 72 77 72, Hiroshi Iwata 68 74 78 73
294 Greg Meyer (USA) 72 76 74 72
296 Wei-Tze Yeh (Tai) 74 74 72 76, Toshimitsu Izawa 76 72 78 70
297 Mitsuhiro Tateyama 72 76 72 77
298 Johnson Wagner (USA) 71 74 79 74, Takuya Taniguchi 70 76 75 77
299 Shintaro Kai 75 73 75 76
301 Hidemasa Hoshino 73 74 81 73, Kiyoshi Miyazato 74 73 76 78
302 Naoya Takemoto 71 75 81 75

Lin Wen-tang beats McIlroy and Molinari
in play-off after Wilson's late collapse

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ASIAN TOUR
Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang lifted the UBS Hong Kong Open title after a thrilling play-off win over Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Italy’s Francesco Molinari.
They had tied on 15-under-par 265 for the regular 72 holes. Lin Wen-tang beat McIlory at the second play-off hole, Molinari having been eliminated at the first.
Oliver Wilson was also 15 under par until he bogeyed the 15th, 16th and 17th and finished with a 71 for 268. McIlroy and Molinari both finished with 65s to get into the play-off with Wen-tang who closed with a 67.
Lin nailed an accurate approach shot in the second-play-off hole which left the ball within inches of the hole for a tap-in birdie and the win at the Hong Kong Golf Club.
He walked away with the winner’s cheque of US$416,660 and rises to second place on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit after becoming the first Asian golfer to win the title in a decade.
“It cannot be described how I feel. All I can do is use my smile to say thank you to you all,” said Lin.
Lin had the chance to win with a 4f birdie putt on the 18th hole in regulation play but he two-putted for par and remained tied with Italy’s Francesco Molinari and McIlroy at the top of the pack.
He then struck a wayward drive in the first play-off hole on the 18th, hooking his tee shot into the trees, but an incredible recovery shot from what looked an impossible position got him out of trouble to within four feet for a birdie.
McIlroy also birdied after a wonderful approach to three feet but Molinari was eliminated when his 15ft putt slipped by, leaving Lin and McIlory to head back to the 18th tee for the second play-off hole.
This time it was McIlroy who found trouble off the tee, finding the same trees as Lin moments earlier, but the Northern Irish teenager played an almost equally remarkable recovery, hooking a gap wedge 40 yards round the trees to find the back of the green.
Lin made no such mistake at the second time of asking and blasted a solid drive followed by an inch perfect pitch which left his ball right next to the hole. McIlroy’s birdie putt slid by and Lin was able to tap in for the win.
“I tried to be happy as much as I can. For the last few holes, actually, I knew I did have a chance to win the tournament without the play-off, but I didn't make it. I was focused on the 18th green in regulation play but I somehow missed the four feet birdie putt, but I put it behind me right away as I knew I had to head back to the tee for the play-off.
“When I was in the trees in the first play-off hole, I knew that as long as the ball was not in the hole, I still had a very good chance to take it to another playoff hole, so I went for it. And it was like help from the Gods; and at the end, I made it.
“I've always said that the trophy goes to the most well‑prepared player, and I'm very well prepared this week. I really have been wanting to win. I think good preparation is the basis of success,” admitted the champion.
Chinese Taipei’s Lu Liang-huan was the first ever winner of the tournament 50 years ago and Lin has joined the list of illustrious winners this week.
Lin has also enjoyed a superb 2008 season on the Asian Tour having won the Asian Tour International in March. He had also previously finished tied third at the BMW Asian Open in April coupled with two runner-up finishes prior to his Hong Kong success.
Despite having lost in a tight battle, McIlroy was pleased with his overall performance.
“I thought I probably did enough when I made three at the first play-off hole and I had an incredible recovery shot on the second play-off hole, but it just wasn't meant to be,” he said.
Molinari shared a similar sentiment having lost out in the first play-off hole.
“You need to do the right shot at the right moment, and I'm pretty happy with the way I played the play-off, anyway. It was a pretty good putt as well, but just didn't break,” said the Italian golfer.
FINAL TOTALS
Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling
Par 280 (4 x 70)
265 Wen-Tang Lin (Tai) 65 69 64 67 (Wen-Tang Lin won at the second play-off hole) Francesco Molinari (Ita) 66 67 67 65, Rory McIlroy 70 64 66 65
267 Chawalit Plaphol (Tha) 66 66 70 65, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 69 67 64 67
268 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 69 67 63 69, David Gleeson (Aus) 72 65 65 66, Oliver Wilson 66 66 65 71, Iain Steel (Mal) 68 68 66 66, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 64 69 69 66
269 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 71 63 66 69, Graeme McDowell 71 68 65 65, Angelo Que (Phi) 68 68 67 66, Oliver Fisher 67 65 73 64
270 Colin Montgomerie 68 65 68 69, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 64 71 69 66
271 John Daly (USA) 68 68 73 62, Wei Chih Lu (Tha) 70 69 64 68
272 Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor) 70 67 66 69, Bradley Dredge 69 70 65 68, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 71 68 66 67, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 70 70 66 66, Johan Edfors (Swe) 68 65 73 66
273 Peter Hanson (Swe) 67 70 69 67, Gareth Maybin 71 67 68 67, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 71 69 71 62, Ben Leong (Mal) 69 70 65 69, David Frost (Rsa) 69 68 67 69
274 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 71 69 68 66, Taichiro Kiyota (Jpn) 72 67 70 65, Paul Lawrie 69 70 69 66, David Lynn 71 67 65 71, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 71 69 70 64
275 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 69 66 68 72, Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 70 70 66 69, Darren Beck (Aus) 68 69 69 69, Paul Waring 72 68 66 69, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 70 62 73 70, Mark Brown (USA) 70 70 66 69, Gavin Flint (Aus) 68 70 69 68, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 66 70 72
276 Tony Carolan (Aus) 70 67 72 67, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 67 72 67 70, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 70 66 70 70, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 69 68 71 68, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 70 67 67 72, Sattaya Supupramai (Tha) 71 69 70 66
277 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 69 70 68 70, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 71 69 67 70, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 68 68 70 71, Taco Remkes (Ned) 69 70 69 69, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 70 67 73 67
278 Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe) 66 71 69 72, Frankie Minoza (Phi) 65 72 72 69, Anders Hansen (Den) 71 68 70 69, Zaw Moe (Kor) 72 68 70 68, David Horsey 70 70 71 67, Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 73 67 70 68, Jamie Donaldson 75 63 72 68, Unho Park (Aus) 71 68 67 72, Paul McGinley 71 69 67 71, Wen Teh Lu (Tpe) 68 69 71 70
279 Anthony Wall 72 68 72 67, Artemio-hiromasa Murakami (Phi) 67 70 72 70, Phillip Archer 72 67 71 69, Scott Strange (Aus) 71 68 71 69, Chinarat Phadungsil (Tha) 67 71 70 71, David Bransdon (Aus) 70 68 70 71, Martin Rominger (Swi) 71 66 68 74
280 Anthony Kang (USA) 70 70 67 73, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 69 68 74 69, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 70 70 70 70, David Dixon 68 69 72 71, Joong Kyung Mo (Kor) 69 71 71 69
281 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 70 70 74 67, Shun yat jason Hak (Hkg) 70 70 73 68
282 Marcus Both (Aus) 68 72 73 69, Wook-Soon Kang (Kor) 69 69 69 75, Jong Yul Suk (Kor) 70 69 74 69
283 Niclas Fasth (Swe) 71 69 71 72
284 Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 71 69 71 73
288 Scott Drummond 68 70 76 74.

Three-way play-off after Oliver Wilson's late bogeys

Exciting finish at UBS Hong Kong Open

(SCROLL DOWN FOR THE VERY LATEST INFORMATION)

A play-off looks very much on the cards in the UBS Hong Kong Open today.
Four players are locked together at 15 under par as they play the closing holes.

HOW THEY STAND
-15 after 17 holes Francesco Molinari.
-15 after 16 holes Rory McIlroy.
-15 after 14 holes Oliver Wilson.
-15 after 14 holes Lin Wen-tang.
-13 after 16 holes Pablo Larrazabal.
-13 after 14 holes Bernhard Langer.
Also:
-10 after 17 holes Colin Montgomerie.
COMPLETED TOTALS INCLUDE
Par 280 (4 x 70)
271 John Daly 68 68 73 62.
274 Paul Lawrie 69 70 69 68.

LATER NEWS:
Oliver Wilson dropped out of chase for his maiden tour win by bogeying the 15th, 16th and 17th to be -12 playing the last hole.
Francesco Molinari (65) and Rory McIlroy (65) leaders in clubhouse on 265 (-15).
Lin Wen-tang is playing the last. He is -15 for the tournament. Needs a par figure to make it a three-way play-off or a birdie to win the title.

EVEN LATER NEWS
Lin Wen-tang parred the last hole for a 67 and 265 to make it a three-way play-off.
Oliver Wilson finished with a 71 for 268, the same total as Bernhard Langer (69).
Colin Montgomerie finished on 270 with final round of 69.

BACK LATER WITH THE RESULT OF THE PLAY-OFF AND ALL THE FINAL TOTALS