Perry beats Hoffman in play-off

for FBR Open title

Tournament leader Kenny Perry bogeyed the 72nd hole to fall back into a tie at 14-under-par 270 with Charley Hoffman in the FBR Open at TPC Scottsdale, Arizona.
But it all came right for the 48-year-old US 2008 Ryder Cup team member from Kentucky.
He holed a 22ft birdie putt at the third extra hole to chalk up his 13th US PGA Tour win and collect over one million dollars. He won three times last year.
Kevin Nat, who fiished third, a shot behind on 271, could have been in the play-off too. He missed a short birdie putt on the 18th green.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4 x 70)
270 Charley Hoffman 66 68 69 67, Kenny Perry 72 63 66 69 (won play-off at third extra hole)..
271 Kevin Na 67 70 66 68.
272 James Nitties (Aus) 65 69 70 68, David Toms 69 68 67 68.
Selected total:
278 Luke Donald (Eng) 76 65 68 69 (jt 25th).

DRYSDALE LETS IT SLIP OVER CLOSING

HOLES IN NASHUA MASTERS IN S AFRICA

Dunbar's David Drysdale - four over par for the last seven holes - slumped out of contention for a disappointing final position of joint 16th in the Sunshine Tour's Nashua Masters at Wild Coast Sun Country Club, South Africa today.
Drysdale, campaigning in South Africa until he gets further opportunities on the European Tour, finished with a three-over-par 73, birdieing only the third but bogeying the 12th and 14th and running up a disastrous double bogey 6 at the last for a total of seven-under-par 273.
Long-time leader Marc Cayeux (Zimbabwe) doubled bogeyed the 14th on his way to a closing 67 and a total of 264
He was relegated to runner-up by South African Darren Fichardt with a five-birdie, bogey-free last round of 65 for 263.
Glasgow-born Canada-based Alan McLean finished joint 37th on 279 with a final round of 69.

SUNSHINE TOUR WEBSITE REPORT
Darren Fichardt sank a 15-foot birdie putt to win the Nashua Masters by a single shot with a final-round five-under 65 and a total of 17-under 263.
“It felt like a 20-metre putt,” he said after an 18-hole battle with defending champion Marc Cayeux of Zimbabwe, who shot a 67.
Fichardt, who came close to winning at the Africa Open two weeks ago, and was blown away by four great rounds by Deane Pappas at last week’s Dimension Data Pro-Am, wrapped up his first victory since the 2006 Highveld Classic.
“The short stick finally started working,” he said, after complaining all week long that he couldn’t sink a putt, or get a run of birdies going.
“I actually started losing my putting stroke three years ago, and the rest of my swing went with it,” he said. “But I made some changes, took a bit more time over my putts, drew a line on the ball to line it up properly, and it’s slowly been coming back.”
The battle to the wire with Cayeux made the win more satisfying for Fichardt: “I thought I had it won when he got a double bogey on 14 and I opened up a two-shot lead, but then he went and birdied 15 and 16,” he said.
Fichardt also birdied 16 to stay a shot ahead, and after pars for both of them on 17, it was all down to the 18th. Fichardt’s approach spun back to within 15 feet, and Cayeux’s looked to have overshot the green. But he had placed even more spin on it than Fichardt had, and he was left with two feet for a birdie which would have forced a playoff had Fichardt missed his putt.
“It was downhill, and looked as if it was going to swing quite a lot,” recalled Fichardt, but his aim four balls right of the hole was true and the ball went in cleanly for the victory.
The pair was well clear of the rest of the field, with only Branden Grace making a concerted charge at the lead with his eight-under 62. However, he started too far back from four-under, and finished at 12-under 268 in a tie for third with Tyrone van Aswegen and Jaco van Zyl.
Fichardt’s win bumped him up to sixth on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit behind Joburg Open winner Anders Hansen of Denmark who leads.
Mike Green
Leading final totals
Par 280 (4 x 70)
Players from South Africa unless stated
263 Darren Fichardt 66 67 65 65.
264 Marc Cayeux (Zim) 66 66 65 67.
268 Branden Grace 68 70 68 62, Tyrone Van Aswegen 70 66 65 67, Jaco Van Zul 66 70 65 68.
Selected scores
273 David Drysdale (Sco) 67 66 67 73 (jt 16th).
275 Justin Waters (Eng) 68 71 67 69 (jt 23rd).
276 Ricky Lee (Eng) 66 68 75 67 (jt 25th).
279 Alan McLean (Sco) 66 75 69 69 (jt 37th).

Breakthrough win for 19-year-old from Belfast

McIlroy survives late

wobble to score first

European Tour victory

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Northern Ireland teenager Rory McIlroy held his nerve to win a first professional title at the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic by one stroke from Englishman Justin Rose tpday.
The 19-year-old from near Belfast carded a final round two-under-par 70 to finish at 19 under and seal victory as Rose fell just short after five under 67 at Emirates Golf Club.
McIlroy led by six with six to play after reeling off four straight birdies from the ninth but three bogeys in three holes saw Rose move to within one of his playing partner standing on the final tee.
Former Order of Merit winner Rose had a chance to force at least a play-off with a 15-foot birdie putt at the last but missed, allowing McIlroy to roll home a four-foot par putt for his European Tour breakthrough.
The win elevates McIlroy to 14th in the world and makes him the seventh youngest winner in European Tour history.
Dubai-based Swede Henrik Stenson (67) finished third at 17 under, with Robert Karlsson (65), Martin Kaymer (67) and Paul Casey (68) a further shot adrift in fifth

No, I'm not as good as Tiger Woods, says Rory

REPORT FROM THE KALEEJ TIMES ONLINE

Looking back to the final stretch, Rory McIlroy said: “You know, you watch it on TV, and you see guys coming down the stretch with a four or five-shot lead, and you think it’s easy, and it’s not. You still have to play shots, and you still have to hole the putts. I got myself into a great position, middle of the back nine, and then let a few shots slip and Justin birdies a couple, as well, so I fought back. It was nice to just hold it together on the last and get a great up-and-down for the victory.”
On what was going through his mind after the three bogeys, McIlroy said: “I went to the 18th tee knowing that I still had a one-shot lead, so, I knew Justin needed to birdie it. After the tee shot, I never thought that I was going to make a bogey. I hit a perfect lay-up shot, and he just hit his through the fairway. And I hit my third shot, and adrenaline; I was pumped up and got the right hand into it and hit it about seven yards too far and left myself with a pretty tricky up-and-down.

"I managed to take a few deep breaths and compose myself. It was probably one of the best bunker shots I’ve ever played. To knock the putt in, as well, was absolutely—it was great.”
And runner-up Justin Rose was pleased for McIlroy and congratulated him. “He was. He just said he was very, very happy for me. He just said I deserved it and I fought well. It was nice for him to say that. You know, to hold off a field like this, as well, you look down the leaderboard and you have people like Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Colin Montgomerie; you have so many big names there and to be able to beat a field of that quality is very satisfying,” said McIlroy.
The win put him second in The Race to Dubai standings behind Sergio Garcia and also vaulted the world No 39 into the top 20. “Yeah, wow. Yeah (phew). I’ll have to reassess my goals. I got out with the same mindset every week and try to get myself into contention going into the back nine on Sunday, and that’s my goal every week.

"If I’m able to do that, it’s great. And I was able to do it two out of these three weeks in Abu Dhabi and here. I was saying it at the start of the week, as long as I put myself in these positions, sooner or later, I’ll be able to close one out and fortunately for me, I was able to do that this week,” he said.
Veteran players on the Tour have hailed the 19-year-old as the next ‘Tiger Woods’ and Woods won the Dubai Desert Classic last year with a 14-under total as compared to a 19-under by McIlroy. This led to talk that McIlroy was better than Tiger was at 19 years but Rory was at pains to stamp on that suggestion.

“Definitely not. This win definitely, probably put me—I’ve moved up a step and I want to try and just keep getting better and better. Your success only makes you more motivated to try to do better. I’ve realised that I’ve become a very good player and I just want to. I’ve got a lot of years to progress still and I just want to keep trying to practice harder and improve. And if I can do that, one day, hopefully, I’ll be able to compete with them.”
On the win, he said: “It’s definitely a burden off my shoulders or a monkey off my back. If I had not won today, having a six-shot lead, it would it have been pretty tough to take and it would have been hard to come back from that I think. But I was able to scrape in at the end and I was able to get it done.”
On the lessons learnt from the win, McIlroy said with a laugh: “Just to make pars when you are ahead,” but added on a more serious note, “Golf is such a funny game. You can be so far ahead and the guys still peg you back and that’s what happened. My lead was down to one and you sort of have to reassess. But all of these situations and all of these positions that I’ve put myself in, it’s all experience and I’m gathering it week-by-week.”

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
269 Rory McIlroy (NIr) 64 68 67 70 (Euros 323,514).
270 Justin Rose (Eng) 68 66 69 67 (Euros 215,674).
271 Henrik Stenson (Swe) 68 65 71 67 (Euros 121,514)
272 Paul Casey (Eng) 68 68 68 689, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 65 71 71 65, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 70 67 68 67 (Euros 82,432 each).
275 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 72 70 67 66, Louis Oosthuizen (SAF) 68 65 68 74, Scott Strange (Aus) 69 71 66 69, Anthony Wall (Eng) 70 68 68 69 (Euros 47,268).
276 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 70 66 73 67, Richard Green (Aus) 71 63 69 73
277 Ross Fisher 72 69 67 69, Colin Montgomerie 70 70 70 67, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 70 68 75 64 (Euros 28,828 Euros each).
278 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 69 68 72 69, Anders Hansen (Den) 71 71 65 71, Oliver Wilson 71 68 73 66, Bradley Dredge 73 68 71 66
279 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 70 69 70 70, Thomas Levet (Fra) 73 67 66 73
280 Alexander Noren (Swe) 67 71 70 72, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 69 73 70 68
282 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 71 71 72 68, Graeme McDowell 70 72 72 68, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 70 72 72 68, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 69 72 72 69, Peter Hanson (Swe) 71 67 72 72, Gary Murphy 75 68 68 71, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 66 70 73 73, Mark Foster 69 74 66 73
283 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 69 72 69 73, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 72 68 72 71, Simon Dyson 71 68 73 71, Gregory Havret (Fra) 67 68 72 76
284 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 69 73 69 73, Gary Orr 71 70 71 72 ,Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 70 72 72 70 (Euros 13,781 each).
285 Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 74 69 70 72, Mark Brown (USA) 70 73 73 69, Lee Westwood 70 70 73 72, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 69 70 71 75, Simon Wakefield 73 70 69 73
286 Brett Rumford (Aus) 73 70 72 71, Stephen Dodd 71 69 73 73 ,Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 73 68 73 72
287 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 71 71 73 72, Richard Finch 71 71 71 74, Alastair Forsyth 71 70 75 71, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 70 71 73 73 (Euros 9,317 each).
288 Matthew Turner 70 72 71 75, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 67 72 76 73, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 70 71 76 71
289 Darren Clarke 74 69 72 74, Graeme Storm 68 70 77 74, Paul Broadhurst 70 70 72 77
290 Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 69 71 77 73, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 74 69 73 74
291 Paul Waring 67 73 77 74
292 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 72 71 76 73, Christian Cevaer (Fra) 73 70 76 73, Gareth Maybin 70 70 77 75, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 72 71 74 75
293 Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 71 72 78 72
294 Lee Slattery 69 74 76 75, Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 73 68 77 76
296 Paul Lawrie 68 75 74 79 (Euros 4,270).
301 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 70 72 82 77

Rory McIlroy (19) heading for first

victory in Dubai Desert Classic

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Rory McIlroy birdied the first three holes of his final round as he opened up a three-shot lead at the Dubai Desert Classic.
The Northern Irish teenager had earlier returned to Emirates Golf Club to complete a third round five under par 67 to maintain his two-stroke lead.
The 19-year-old grabbed a birdie at the 18th to move onto 17 under par and two clear of in-form South African Louis Oosthuizen who had briefly trimmed the advantage to one a hole earlier.
But as the final round got under way McIlroy stormed out of the blocks with three straight birdies before a double bogey 6 at the fifth saw him slip back to 18 under for the championship after six holes.
Australian left hander Richard Green was the World Number 39’s nearest challenger – the 1997 winner in Dubai was two under for the round and 15 under overall having played seven holes.
Dubai resident Henrik Stenson was a shot further back while English duo Paul Casey and Justin Rose were 13 under.
LATER POSITIONS
McIlory four strokes clear with three to play
-21 after 15 holes Rory McIlroy.
-17 after 15 holes Justin Rose.
-16 after 15 holes Henrik Stenson.
-15 after 17 holes Robert Karlsson.
-15 after 15 holes Paul Casey.
-14 after 16 holes Martin Kaymer.
COMPLETED TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
275 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 72 70 67 66.
276 Sergia Garcia (Spa) 70 66 73 67.
277 Colin Montgomerie (Sco) 70 70 70 67.
284 Gary Orr (Sco) 71 70 71 72.
285 Lee Westwood (Eng) 70 70 73 72.
287 Alastair Forsyth (Sco) 71 70 75 71.
296 Paul Lawrie (Sco) 68 75 74 79
+Paul Lawrie's halves in his final round were 41-38. He had three double bogeys over his third and fourth rounds but not in his 79.

European Tour Scoreboard
DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC
Emirates GC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
(Par 216: 3 x 72)
199 Rory McIlroy 64 68 67
201 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 68 65 68
203 Justin Rose 68 66 69, Richard Green (Aus) 71 63 69
204 Paul Casey 68 68 68, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 68 65 71
205 Martin Kaymer (Ger) 70 67 68
206 Anthony Wall 70 68 68, Scott Strange (Aus) 69 71 66, Thomas Levet (Fra) 73 67 66
207 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 65 71 71, Anders Hansen (Den) 71 71 65, Gregory Havret (Fra) 67 68 72
208 Ross Fisher 72 69 67, Alexander Noren (Swe) 67 71 70
209 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 69 68 72, Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 70 69 70, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 72 70 67, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 70 66 73, Mark Foster 69 74 66, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 66 70 73
210 Peter Hanson (Swe) 71 67 72, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 69 72 69, Colin Montgomerie 70 70 70, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 69 70 71
211 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 69 73 69, Gary Murphy 75 68 68
212 Gary Orr 71 70 71, Oliver Wilson 71 68 73, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 69 73 70, Simon Dyson 71 68 73, Simon Wakefield 73 70 69, Paul Broadhurst 70 70 72, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 72 68 72, Bradley Dredge 73 68 71
213 Matthew Turner 70 72 71, Stephen Dodd 71 69 73, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 69 72 72, Richard Finch 71 71 71, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 74 69 70, Lee Westwood 70 70 73, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 70 68 75
214 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 71 71 72, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 70 72 72, Graeme McDowell 70 72 72, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 70 72 72, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 70 71 73, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 73 68 73
215 Brett Rumford (Aus) 73 70 72, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 71 71 73, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 67 72 76, Darren Clarke 74 69 72, Graeme Storm 68 70 77
216 Alastair Forsyth 71 70 75, Mark Brown (USA) 70 73 73, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 74 69 73
217 Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 69 71 77, Paul Lawrie 68 75 74, Gareth Maybin 70 70 77, Paul Waring 67 73 77, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 72 71 74, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 70 71 76
218 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 73 68 77
219 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 73 70 76, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 72 71 76, Lee Slattery 69 74 76
221 Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 71 72 78
224 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 70 72 82

US PGA Tour Scoreboard
FBR OPEN
TPS Scottsdale, Arizona
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 213 (3 x 71)
201 Kenny Perry 72 63 66
202 Scott Piercy 69 67 66
203 Kevin Na 67 70 66, Charley Hoffman 66 68 69, Brian Gay 68 68 67
204 Jeff Maggert 70 68 66, David Toms 69 68 67, Ted Purdy 71 68 65, Matt Kuchar 67 67 70, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 70 69 65, James Nitties (Aus) 65 69 70, Ryan Moore 69 67 68
205 Nick Watney 70 63 72, Zach Johnson 71 66 68, Cliff Kresge 68 69 68, Rocco Mediate 68 70 67
206 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 72 65 69, Michael Letzig 70 67 69
207 Brendon De Jonge 71 67 69, Sean O'Hair 69 69 69, Bubba Watson 68 70 69, Troy Matteson 70 68 69
208 Scott McCarron 70 72 66, Jonathan Kaye 68 71 69, Gary Woodland 70 71 67, Kevin Sutherland 68 71 69, Parker McLachlin 68 71 69, Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 69 73 66, J J Henry 69 71 68, Ryan Palmer 73 67 68, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 71 68 69, Jonathan Byrd 72 69 67
209 Hunter Mahan 73 67 69, Nathan Green (Aus) 73 69 67, Jarrod Lyle (Aus) 71 69 69, Steve Flesch 69 72 68, David Berganio Jnr. 66 71 72, Luke Donald (Eng) 76 65 68
210 Brandt Jobe 72 69 69, Rodney Pampling (Aus) 72 69 69, Kirk Triplett 70 70 70, Jeff Overton 70 72 68, Cameron Beckman 68 67 75, John Senden (Aus) 68 70 72, Woody Austin 69 72 69, Steve Elkington (Aus) 70 69 71
211 Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 72 65 74, Vaughn Taylor 69 69 73, Rickie Fowler 73 66 72, Kevin Streelman 73 69 69, Bob Tway 71 71 69, D.J. Trahan 68 74 69
212 Dudley Hart 71 71 70, Pat Perez 69 73 70, John Merrick 72 70 70, Chris DiMarco 73 69 70, Lucas Glover 65 72 75, Webb Simpson 68 67 77, Jeff Klauk 74 66 72, Charlie Wi (Kor) 73 68 71, Chad Campbell 70 70 72
213 Brad Adamonis 68 70 75, Briny Baird 67 74 72, Mark Wilson 70 72 71
214 Joe Ogilvie 71 70 73
215 Brett Quigley 69 71 75
216 John Rollins 71 71 74, Ben Curtis 71 71 74, Jason Bohn 71 71 74
217 Nicholas Thompson 72 68 77
218 Dean Wilson 69 73 76

Scots' scores in New South Wales Medal

Second round scores in the New South Wales Medal championship at Bonnie Doon and Twin Creeks Golf & Country Club.
Par 143 (players from Australia unless stated)
136 Kyle Grant 68 68, Lincoln Tighe 68 68.
138 Scott Arnold 69 69, Charles Ford (Eng) 70 68, Adam Wainwright (Eng) 70 68.
Scots scores:
144 Ross Kellett (Colville Park) 72 72 (jt 21st).
149 Gordon Yates (Hilton Park) 75 74 (jt 58th).
MISSED THE CUT AT 149 OR BETTER
155 Fraser Fotheringham (Nairn) 74 81 (jt 121st)
Other score:
150 Farren Keenan (Eng) 74 76 (jt 73rd).
Leading 60 and ties qualify to play a further two rounds at Bonnie Doon GC on Monday when the top 32 at the end of 72 holes will contest the New South Wales Amateur Match-play championship at The Australian Golf Club.