Alistair Tait's Christmas Wishes

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Michael Sim leads by one


at Perth, West Australia


FROM THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA WEBSITE
(with additional words by Colin Farquharson)
Aberdeen-born Michael Sim demonstrated a fine display of ball striking in blustery conditions to fire a five under par 67 and take a one shot lead into Sunday’s final round of the 36-hole Professional Travel Nedlands Masters.
The cream of West Australian golf was on display in a field of 66 and the final 18 holes should prove to be an enthralling finish with the in-form Stephen Dartnall hot on Sim’s heals after a solid four-under- par 68.
Tigh Van Leeuwen secured a place in the final group, signing for a solid 69.
Michael Long, Jarrod Moseley, Rob Farley and amateurs Brody Ninyette and Jason Scrivener are a further shot back and will need to start well to put pressure on the leading group.
Sim’s round included eight birdies and three bogeys, two of which he three-putted.
Sim, pictured above, has played six events all over the world in the past couple of months and is pleased to be back in Perth, West Australia - where he was brought up after emigrating from Scotland with his mum and dad from when he was seven years old in the early 1990s - for the Christmas break.
Dartnall started his round well with an eagle 3 on the second hole and was pleased to continue his fine form of late. Dartnall finished one stroke out of a play-off in last week's Australian Open and although disappointed not to claim his national title was thrilled to know he can match it with some of the world’s best.
Current Wales Open champion and European Tour player Scott Strange had one of the more interesting rounds of the day, starting poorly to be six over par after 6 holes. Demonstrating his class, Strange followed with six birdies before missing a short putt on the last for bogey and a one over par round of 73.
The Nedlands Golf course has been presented in immaculate condition and the stage is set for an exciting finish.
LEADERBOARD
Par 72
67 Michael Sim.
68 Stephen Dartnall.
69 Tigh Van Leeuwen.
70 Robert Farly, Michael Long, Jarrod Moseley, Brady Ninyette (am), Jason Scrivener (am).
71 David Diaz.

ESPN.com contributor Bob Smiley tailed Tiger Woods for the entire 2008 season, chronicling Tiger's triumphs inside the ropes and his own adventures outside them. The following is an excerpt from "Follow the Roar," Smiley's new book, which is available in US bookstores but may not have made it to Waterstones and other British bookshops yet.

Things you might not
know about Tiger -
He swears a lot
on the golf course

At first glance, the par Tiger Woods made on the par-4 15th hole at Torrey Pines' North Course might seem pedestrian by any standard. But if you happened to watch exactly how the world's No. 1 player made his par, it was nothing short of miraculous.
Buick Invitational, Round 2 -- Torrey Pines North -- January 25, 2008
11:20 a.m. -- Tiger played his first five holes on Torrey Pines North 1-under par. Not bad, but not exactly lighting it up. The North is by far the easier course of the two, and players tend to go low here and hang on for dear life on the South course. It looks as if Tiger is doing the opposite.
His group started on the back nine, and his one problem, as it was yesterday, is his driver. He missed left on 10 and right on 11, the dreaded two-way miss off the tee that has always appeared to frustrate Tiger more than any other part of his game.
The "two-way miss" is a good golfer's way of describing a bad golfer's problem, that essentially he has no idea which way his ball's going. Walking down the 15th, a simple, downhill 394-yard par-4, I don't know which way it's going either, but I guess right. Give me five spins on the roulette wheel and I'll be wrong five times. But this call is perfect. And since the 15th green is about the farthest point away from civilization on the already vacant North Course, only thirty or forty fans are gathered around his ball. As expected, Tiger is in no mood to socialize.
When Tiger arrives, he's still holding his driver and fuming, his jawbones sticking out from his cheeks. He takes one look at his ball and the eucalyptus tree that is blocking his next shot and says, loud enough for us to hear, "Stupid f-----."
Tiger's propensity for swearing on the course is not something of which he is proud and may be the only flaw he routinely fails to keep under wraps. This can mean only that bad language is either the one thing in life Tiger Woods can't beat or he's not really trying to control it at all.
His dad, Earl, said that early on he tried to teach Tiger to bottle up his emotions on the course, but in time Tiger proved that his outbursts could spur him on to better results. It's a theory that completely goes against the conventional wisdom of most every sports psychologist.
Bob Rotella, golf's most famous guru, goes so far as to make not getting angry one of his ten commandments of mental golf, drilling home the mantra that "nothing will bother or upset you on the golf course, and you will be in a great state of mind on every shot."
And even though the tee box is now more than 300 yards behind him, Tiger is still swinging his driver - another Rotella no-no. "The only shot you think about is the one at hand!" is the rule.
He finally stuffs his driver back in the bag, but he doesn't pull out another club yet; rather, he stands behind the ball and places his hands behind his back. And then he closes his eyes.
Call it meditating, exorcising demons, I don't know. But the séance lasts a good five or six seconds as some of us in the crowd shoot one another a quick glance to ask, "Um, what's going on?" When Tiger opens his eyes, his mood is different. Lighter. He shakes out both hands and says, "Okay."
Stevie [Williams], his caddy, has been waiting patiently, as if this happens a lot. And this is when Tiger casually asks, "How far?"
"Eighty-seven hole, eighty-two front," he shoots back.
Tiger nods, then grabs a wedge and punches it under the tree. It comes out hotter than he expected, hops the green, and then disappears back down the other side. Tiger doesn't swear about this one but reacts as if it went exactly where he wanted it to and starts walking.
I run the 87-plus-10 yards to the ball, wondering if perhaps he had painted such a positive mental picture of the shot that he was physically unable to see what really happened. Before he was in trouble, but now he's in jail. His third shot has to go under some pine trees, then up a steep bank of thick rough, then back downhill to a pin that is cut close to the back of the green.
Tiger looks at the shot, unconcerned and clearly still feeling residual warm fuzzies from his astral planing, and pitches the ball up the hill. It appears perfect from our point of view, but once on top we see it never made it to the green, getting snagged by the rough. A bogey would be a gift at this point. Meanwhile, his playing partners George McNeill and Jim Furyk just stand there, putters under their arms, for once waiting for a hack named Tiger Woods.
Tiger gets up to the ball, takes a brief look at the hole, and then, calmly, chips it in for par. I'm now feeling liberated enough myself to express what I'm really feeling. I open my mouth and out comes two words I almost never use: "Holy s***."
Tiger picks the ball out of the cup and moves off to the side of the green, where he coolly starts to reapply some lip balm. He's a monster. Or at least a monster with lips that dry out easily.
We're still cheering, but he doesn't appear to hear us. Stevie's laughing, but Tiger doesn't notice him. He's still somewhere else. Furyk putts out for a conventional par, then sidles over to Tiger, shaking his head and smirking. Finally, Tiger snaps awake and laughs.
It is the deepest and scariest focus I've ever seen.

Editor's note: Woods went on to win the Buick Invitational

Aberdonian 11 shots behind third-round leader Lee Westwood

Richie Ramsay loses more ground

with 75 in South African Open

Richie Ramsay has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous in three rounds of the South African Open championship.
An opening 66, which had him in joint third place, was followed by a par 72 and then a three-over 72 today for a three-under-par 213. That's not bad scoring by "normal " standards but not at the races for anyone trying to win on the European Tour.
The Aberdonian never recovered from a bad start - bogeys at the first and fourth. He did birdied the 10th but promptly bogeyed the 14th and then came a late disaster. He double-bogeyed the par-4 16th - his second double bogey in 54 holes, which is a definite "No-No" when you are playing with the "big boys" of European golf.
If it's any consolation to Ramsay, home favourite Ernie Els took two shots more than Richie did in the third round. Els has scored 67-67-77 for 211.
Ramsay is a distant 11 shots behind third-round leader Lee Westwood who has scored 66, 68 and 68 for 14-under-par 202.
That gives the English Ryder Cup player a two-shot lead from Frenchman Michael Lorenzo-Vera (72 for 204) and Ulsterman Gareth Maybin (69).
Andrew Coltart continues to prosper on his return to the European Tour. The former Ryder Cup Scot from Thornhill shot a five-under-par 67 to be on six-under 210.
Coltart birdied the second, fifth, sixth, 10th, 14th and 15th. Only a bogey at the 17th took a little bit of the shine off his round. But halves of 33 and 34 for a 67 saw him climb the leaderboard after opening rounds of 71 and 72.
David Drysdale had a 70 for 212 and Scottish amateur champion and rookie pro Callum Macaulay had a 74 for 214.
It was the Tulliallan man's first round over par on the European Tour, having made the cut last week and this week as well, obviously, making seven rounds in all. If his above-par rounds are as infrequent as that, Callum will be doing OK.
He started well enough with birdies at the first and second but gave the shots back with a double bogey 5 at the short fourth. A birdie at the long fifth put him under par again but he bogeyed the ninth to turn in par 36. A bogey at the 11th was cancelled out by a 2 at the short 12th but there was no way back from bogeys at the 13th and 15th in an inward 38.
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
202 Lee Westwood 66 68 68.
204 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 67 65 72, Gareth Maybin (NIr) 66 69 69.
205 Rory McIlroy 70 68 67, George Coetzee (Rsa) 69 68 68, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 70 66 69.
206 Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 72 69 65, Damien McGrane 70 64 72.
207 Len Mattiace (US) 70 66 71, Ross McGowan 66 70 71.
208 Chris Wood 68 69 71, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 68 74 66, Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa) 66 71 71, Simon Dyson 67 73 68, Darren Clarke 74 67 67, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 72 69 67.
209 John Mellor 70 68 71, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 64 72 73, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 69 73 67, Branden Grace (Rsa) 69 67 7e, Michael Hoey (NIr) 70 66 73.
210 Adilson Da Silva (Bra) 70 68 72, Ake Nilsson (Rsa) 66 72 72, Garth Mulroy (Rsa) 70 71 69, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 72 70 68, Andrew Coltart 71 72 67, Gary Lockerbie 72 69 69, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 69 71 70, Richard Finch 69 70 71, Gary Murphy 72 71 67, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 65 74 71, Tim Clark (Rsa) 67 73 70, Trevor Fisher Jnr (Rsa) 72 67 71, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 70 71 69
211 Martin Wiegele (Aut) 69 68 74, Merrick Bremner (Rsa) 71 69 71, Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 66 71 74, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 74 69 68, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 71 71 69, David Frost (Rsa) 68 72 71, Lee Slattery 68 72 71, Dion Fourie (Rsa) 70 71 70, Ernie Els (Rsa) 67 67 77.
212 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 70 70 72, Peter Hanson (Swe) 74 68 70, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 68 72 72, David Drysdale 74 68 70, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 67 74 71, Johan Edfors (Swe) 72 70 70
213 Richie Ramsay 66 72 75, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 69 71 73, Christiaan Basson (Rsa) 73 69 71, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 70 70 73, Tyrone Van Aswegen (Rsa) 72 71 70
214 Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 72 69 73, Justin Rose 69 74 71, Peter Karmis (Rsa) 69 71 74, Callum Macaulay 71 69 74, Jake Roos (Rsa) 70 70 74, Carlos del Moral (Spa) 69 68 77, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 69 74 71
215 Marco Ruiz (Par) 69 73 73, Ariel Canete (Arg) 73 70 72
216 Wil Besseling (Ned) 75 68 73, Adrian Ford (Rsa) 70 71 75, Estanislao Goya (Arg) 70 72 74, Alan McLean 71 72 73, Tyrone Ferreira (Rsa) 74 69 73
217 Steve Basson (Rsa) 72 71 74, Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice) 71 72 74
219 Antti Ahokas (Fin) 71 69 79, Albert Pistorius (Rsa) 68 75 76

It's a logjam of leaders in the

Volvo Masters of Asia

The Asian Tour year-ending Volvo Masters of Asia was left hanging by a sword’s edge after the third round ended with five players tied for the lead.
Overnight leader Lam Chih Bing of Singapore battled to a even par 72 at Thai Country Club, Bangkok and was joined at the top the leaderboard on nine-under-par 207 by David Gleeson of Australia, who equalled the course record 63, compatriot Marcus Both (70) and Thai duo Chapchai Nirat (70) and Chawalit Plaphol (69).
Antonio Lascuna of the Philippines was a further shot back while nine other players, including defending champion Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand, are within four shots of the co-leaders to ensure a thrilling finish to the Asian Tour season.
Lam, who led by two strokes after the third round, posted four birdies against as many bogeys as he failed to pull clear of the chasing pack in the US$750,000 event. The 31-year-old was still pleased to stay in the hunt for his maiden Asian Tour victory. “I kind of struggled towards the middle of the round. I was cruising really nicely and on the eighth hole, I found myself in a divot (and made bogey) and that kind of took the steam out of my game. But I managed to hang on and I’m quite happy to be where I am right now,” said Lam, who is making his Volvo Masters of Asia debut.
Lam, who finished second in Cambodia last week, got to two under for the round before dropping three shots over a four-hole run but battled back with two more birdies against another dropped shot on the par three 16th hole after finding the greenside trap.
“I used to get down on myself but today, I made sure I stayed positive. I knew that if I stayed patient, the birdies would come. I’m excited. It’s going to be a really good round tomorrow. Hopefully I can make more birdies than anyone else.”
Gleeson equalled the 11-year-old course record held by Canadian Jim Rutledge, thanks to a mind-blowing outward 29 which included an opening bogey and two eagles.
With a 59 at the back of his mind, he inadvertently took his foot off the gas with a bogey on 13 but finished strongly with three more birdies over his closing five holes to shoot into contention.
“It was good fun. I played pretty good the other two days but made silly scoring mistakes. After the first hole, I thought ‘here we go again’. At the start of the day, I didn’t think I would have a chance for tomorrow,” said Gleeson.
“Now that I’ve done the hard part, I’ve got to get another good round in tomorrow,” said Gleeson, who won the Macau Open and posted top-10s at the Barclays Singapore Open and UBS Hong Kong Open recently.
Big-hitting Chapchai produced three birdies against a lone bogey as he moved into contention at the Volvo Masters of Asia, which has been won previously by compatriots Thongchai Jaidee and Prayad.
Chapchai, a two-time winner in Asia, said: “It’s great to be in the joint lead but I didn’t play that well because I kept hitting my driver left. I had a chance to win the Barclays Singapore Open but I was very tired after a long stretch of tournaments. In that event I tried to play carefully on the last day but that is not my style. I am an aggressive player and will play more like that in the final round.”
In-form Chawalit, who has finished fourth, sixth and third over his last three events, was disappointed that he bogeyed his closing hole, the same as playing partner Both. But he has good vibes heading into tomorrow’s final day.
“I feel like I am due a win, and this week will be my last chance this year. I don’t want to miss this opportunity,” said the Thai.
There was a sense of déjà vu for Both, who was also tied for the third round lead in 2005 before finishing third. After moving to four under for the round, the tall Aussie dropped two bogeys over his last three holes, including a three-putt bogey on 18.
“I made a couple of mistakes. I wasted three shots over the last couple of holes from just around the greens. It’s still close, I get to live to fight another day tomorrow,” said Both.
Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang, who needs a good finish to improve his 51st place on the world rankings to move into the top-50 and earn a US Masters ticket, carded a 72 for tied eight place, three off the lead.
Prayad will enter the last round four shots back after a 72 while India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, who has won the Order of Merit title, shot his second straight 70 to move into 32nd place alongside two-time Volvo Masters of Asia champion Thongchai, who carded a 69.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
207 David Gleeson (AUS) 72-72-63, Marcus Both (AUS) 69-68-70, Chawalit Plaphol (THA) 71-67-69, Lam Chih Bing (SIN) 69-66-72, Chapchai Nirat (THA) 71-66-70
208 Antonio Lascuna (PHI) 70-67-71
209 Rick Kulacz (AUS) 72-69-68
210 Adam Blyth (AUS) 68-72-70, Lin Wen-tang (TPE) 68-70-72
211 Shiv Kapur (IND) 71-73-67, Mo Joong-kyung (KOR) 73-71-67, Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 71-72-68, Simon Griffiths (ENG) 72-68-71, Prayad Marksaeng (THA) 74-65-72, Mitchell Brown (AUS) 70-67-74
212 Bae Sang-moon (KOR) 74-72-66, Tony Carolan (AUS) 69-75-68, Chinnarat Phadungsil (THA) 72-72-68, Jyoti Randhawa (IND) 73-70-69
Selected scores:
213 Rhys Davies (Wal) 72 68 73 (jt 20th).
216 Jeev Milkha Singh (India) 76 70 70 (jt 32nd).
218 Iain Steel (Malaysia) 72 71 75 (jt 44th).
For further information, visit http://www.asiantour.com/ for live scoring.

Golf's real problem is that

EVERYTHING is reported

now, says Peter Alliss

FROM THE GUARDIAN SPORTS WEBSITE
By BILL ELLIOTT
Suddenly golf appears to be the new rock 'n' roll. In the past fortnight quiet, understated, polite, collar-and-tie, after-you-no-after-you golf has found a new voice and it is surprisingly strident, a bit controversial and, occasionally, vulgar.
The old game has been creating shock waves for different reasons: in rapid succession we have had:
a) John Daly wrestling a camera off a spectator at the Australian Open and hurling it against a tree;
b) Tiger Woods' caddie Steve Williams admitting that he considers Phil Mickelson to be "a prick";
c) Padraig Harrington, the most amiable of world-class sportsmen, coolly revealing that he and his Ryder Cup colleague Sergio García have "nothing in common."
Blimey. Even though this brief spate of excess is rather restrained when compared with some of the outbursts to be enjoyed in other more febrile games, it does suggest that golf is entering a new phase.
The old view that golf is a nice game played by nice people with nice manners in nice places is threatened and, when it comes to the sport's image, this may not be a bad thing.
Peter Alliss (pictured above), however, thinks that on the whole it is damaging.
"This sort of stuff has not, up to now, been a common thing in golf," the BBC's main golf commentator said.
"I can't say I like it much because I believe in respect and manners. Now, immediately some people will say that I'm one of those fuddy-duddy old buggers who doesn't fart in the clubhouse, who wears a tie and who doesn't agree with putting one's feet up on a chair.
"Well, OK, everyone is entitled to their view but, really, manners and respect are important. John Daly I won't comment on but does it matter if Harrington and García are not good mates? I'm sure they'll still pull together on a Ryder Cup team and you can't tell me that 100 years ago Braid, Vardon and Taylor got on like a house on fire all the time. It's a competitive sport, for goodness sake.
"And as for Tiger's caddie's remark about Mickelson, well, while that was a bit harsh, I doubt it's going to matter hugely in the big scheme of things. The real problem is that these things all get reported now.
"I had it happen to me years ago when a little comment I made about Nick Faldo was picked up by the Press and suddenly there was a problem between me and Nick when really there wasn't. The Press turn these things into a spot, then start picking at it and suddenly it's turned into impetigo. Some things, I suppose, are best left unsaid."
Which is more or less the view of David Howell as well. The two-time Ryder Cup player has been on the course with Woods and Mickelson and is swift to admit he has never thought them to be best mates.
"There is always going to be great rivalries in sport and that's a good thing. If you've been a close follower of golf, then it's been pretty obvious that Tiger and Phil were rivals, not friends. But does it need to be articulated? I don't think so.
"I can see that it helps to keep interest going in golf but, really, actions speak louder than words for me. Anyway, the challenge in golf is not so much the other bloke but the course and yourself."
Golf too often suffers from an over-cosy, often rather dull, image, so a little stirring up of the pot from time to time can be a good thing for how the outside world views the sport and those who play it.
As Howell sums it up: "I suppose it gives the lie to the thought some people may have that we're all best friends going for a pot of gold together each week. It's pretty obvious that some of us aren't friends. And why should we be? We can still rub along, though."

Caramba for Camilo - 67 puts him joint
second, two behind Furyk in 'Chevron'

Colombian Camilo Villegas, six behind at the start of the day, closed to within two shots of leader Jim Furyk at the halfway stage of the Chevron World Challenge at the hilly and, this week, a muddy Sherwood Country Club course at Thousand Oaks in California.
Villegas, 26 and ranked No 7 in the world, shot a five-under-par 67 - the lowest score of the tournament so far - for a three-under-par tally of 141.
He birdied the first three holes and later had an eagle at the 11th as he made it a three-way second-place tie with South Korean K J Choi, who had a 71, and American Ryder Cup player Anthony Kim (70).
Furyk, two ahead overnight in the 16-man event hosted by Tiger Woods, failed to repeat his form from the first round but preserved the pole position as he bogeyed the last for a 71 and a total of 139.
"I hung in there today, that's the best I can say," said Furyk after earlier picking up two birdies.
"I wasn't as crisp with my iron game and didn't have as many birdie opportunities but I managed to limit the mistakes. I didn't feel great about my game but I still shot one under."
Villegas broke into the world's top 10 by winning the last two events of the 2008 US PGA Tour's FedEx Cup series.
"I swung the club a lot better today than yesterday," the muscular Colombian said after setting up his eagle at the 11th with a risky three-wood second shot over trees to within six feet of the pin.
"Three birdies to get started but then I made three bogeys there," he added, referring to dropped shots at the fifth, ninth and 10th. "I was a little disappointed but an eagle on the 11th hole got me back on track."
Fred Couples, who has battled back problems in recent years, returned a 69 - and then put it down to "local knowledge."
The 49-year-old American birdied three of the first six holes on his way to a tie for fifth at two under in the 16-man event.
"I played well yesterday and much better today," the 1992 Masters champion said. "I've played this course so many times that that's an advantage.
"I'm 49 years old and I wouldn't consider myself to be a threat too much any more but I know I can go around this course because of old habit."
ALL THE SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
139 J Furyk 68 71.
141 K J Choi 70 71, A Kim 71 70, C Villegas 74 67.
142 F Couples 73 69, S Stricker 71 71.
143 H Mahan 71 72, VJ Singh 71 72, B Weekley 70 73.
145 B Curtis 72 73, K Perry 73 72.
146 P Casey 74 72.
148 L Donald 73 75.
149 S Ames 78 71, M Weir 78 71.
150 J Leonard 75 75.