McNicoll, Dear top Scots as

US dominate Jones Cup

Carnoustie's Keir McNicoll and Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) just made the top 20 in the final placings for the Jones Cup Invitational tournament, dominated by Americans, over the Ocean Forest Golf Club's long and testing 7321ys course at Sea Island, Georgia today.
McNicoll scored 80, 70 and 77 for 11-over-par 227 and joint 19th position with Dear, picture right by courtesy of Tom Ward Photography, who won the Dixie Amateur the last time he was in the United States, having rounds of 77 75 and 75.
US Walker Cup player Kyle Stanley won the prestigious title but only at the second hole of a sudden death play-off against compatriot Morgan Hoffman.
They had both finished on one-over-par 217, evidence of just how tough this course is. A par round of 72 to finish with was good enough to earn Stanley a play-off.
His earlier rounds were 70 and 75. Hoffman scored 72, 72 and 73.
Former Scottish champion Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie) was the third best Scot on 236 with scores of 79, 77 and 80.
Scottish stroke-play champion Wallace Booth (Comrie) looked set for the honour of being the top Scot when he reached the turn in par 36 in his final round. But he took 45 blows for the second nine and an 81 for 237 and finished a shot behind Campbell.

Leading final totals


Par 216 (3 x 72). Players from US unless stated
217 Kyle Stanley 70 75 72, Morgan Hoffman 72 72 73 (Stanley won sudden-death play-off at second extra hole).
218 Cody Gribble 74 71 73.
220 Jon Curran 76 74 70.
221 David May 75 74 72.
223 Mike McCoy 72 75 76.
225 Brian Harman 73 77 75, Bud Cauley 72 78 75, Zack Sucher 74 78 73, Drew Weaver 75 76 74, Cory Whitsett 75 77 73, Brendan Gielow 74 75 76, Brinson Paolini 73 77 75, Carlton Forrester 75 74 76, Adam Mitchell 74 74 77.
226 Matt Swan 77 74 75, Kevin O'Connell 76 77 73, Hudson Swafford 81 72 73.
Selected scores:
227 Keir McNicoll (Sco) 80 70 77, Gavin Dear (Sco) 77 75 75.
228 Kevin Tway 76 78 74.
229 Jorge Campillo (Spa) 77 73 79.
230 Chris Paisley (Eng) 76 80 74, Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 79 77 74.
231 Luke Goddard (Eng) 78 72 81, Ben Westgate (Wal) 77 79 75.
232 Nigel Edwards (Wal) 79 77 76.
234 Matt Haines (Eng) 79 79 76.
235 Tom Sherreard (Eng) 82 79 74, Dale Whitnell (Eng) 74 82 80.
236 Glenn Campbell (Sco) 79 77 80.
237 Wallace Booth (Sco) 77 79 81.
244 Paul O'Hara (Sco) 80 85 79.
247 Steven Uzzell (Eng) 79 86 82, Steven McEwan (Sco) 83 79 85.
248 Ben Enoch (Wal) 92 74 82.
253 Rhys Enoch (Wal) 81 84 78.

Joint leader from Sweden disqualified for Round 2 blunder

Alan Ferguson joint fourth after last-day

drama in Spanish seniors championship

Drumpellier's Alan Ferguson finished joint fourth, five shots behind third-time winner Miguel Preysler (Spain), today in the Spanish senior men's interational amateur golf championship at Costa Ballena Golf Club, Cadiz.
Ferguson had rounds of 76, 74 and 77 for an 11-over-par aggregate of 227.
Tomas Persson (Sweden), who had been level in the lead with Preysler, with one round to go, disqualified himself before the start of play, having discovered that he had played with 15 clubs in his bag, instead of the maximum 14, in his very good second round of 69 (the lowest score of the three days) on Saturday.
Preysler, winner of the title in 2004 and 2005, had deteriorating scores of 70, 75 and 77 for 222 but, thanks to his chief rival's blunder and subsequent honesty in keeping with the spirit of the game, was able to win by two strokes from Irishman Hugh Smyth with Welshman Glyn Rees in third place on 225.
Smyth and compatriot Maurice Kelly won the rain-abbreviated doubles title, the curtain-raiser to the seniors' championship programme - and Kelly finished joint fourth alongside Ferguson.
Aberdeen's Alistair Fiddes and Donald McCart (Sherwood Forest), joint 13th on 235, were the next best Scots after Ferguson in the final standings. Fiddes scored 83, 77 and 75, McCart 77, 76 and 82.
Another Aberdeen competitor, Bill Methven failed by only one shot to make the top 20 in a starting field of 115 competitors with rounds of 83, 76 and 78 for 237. He tied for 24rd place.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
222 Miguel Preysler (Spa) 70 75 77.
224 Hugh Smyth (Ire) 80 72 72.
225 Glyn Rees (Wal) 77 74 74.
227 Alan Ferguson (Sco) 76 74 77, Gustavo Larrazabal (Spa) 78 76 73, Maurice Kelly (Ire) 77 75 75.
228 Bjorn Ronning (Swe) 77 75 76.
231 Claude Rey (Swe) 80 76 75.
232 Denis Martin (Eng) 80 74 78.
233 Rod Gorton (Eng) 84 73 76, Stuart Pond (Eng) 81 76 76.
234 Nuno de Brito e Cunha (Spa) 78 79 77.
235 Alistair Fiddes (Sco) 83 77 75, Donald McCart (Sco) 77 76 82, Tom McEvoy (Ire) 83 74 78 (jt 13th).
Selected scores:
236 Terence Brown (Eng) 80 78 78 (jt 19th).
237 Bill Methven (Sco) 83 76 78, Tony Haire (Eng) 82 77 78 (jt 23rd).
238 Danny Dowell (Eng) 78 86 74, Lord Gort (Eng) 84 73 81 (jt 26th).
240 Bob Edgar (Sco) 81 77 82, Robin Paton (Sco) 82 74 84 (jt 33rd).
241 Sam McGuinness (Ire) 81 80 80, Stephen Hickey (Eng) 79 79 83, Tony Hayes (Ire) 81 81 79 (jt 36th).
242 Ian Mason (Eng) 84 79 79 (43rd).
243 James Johnston (Sco) 90 73 80, Patrick Morgan (Ire) 81 82 80 (jt 44th).
247 Clive Woodford (Eng) 82 82 83 (jt 53rd).
MISSED CUT (165 or better qualified)
166 John Hindshaw (Eng) 88 78.
167 Leslie Fowler (Sco) 86 81, Iain Stewart (Sco) 87 80.
169 Richard Hopkinson (Eng) 84 85, Norman Cameron (Eng) 88 81.
175 Gregg Graham (Eng) 89 86.
Field of 115 players.
Disqualified - Tomas Persson (Swe) 76 69 -.

Solarsport to sponsor East of Scotland Open

Amateur Stroke Play Championship

PRESS RELEASE
Solarsport, the leading sports suncare company, is proud to announce its sponsorship of the renowned East of Scotland Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship in June of this year, 2009.
The three-year deal seals a long-standing friendship between The East and Solarsport and cements the organisers' promise to continue to attract the cream of amateur players from all over the world to maintain the Championship’s high position on the List of Counting Events of the R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking.
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Solarsport has supplied high-profile organisations and prestigious events for many year including, in 2008, the European Ryder Cup Team, who enjoyed the benefits of maximum UV protection.
Solarsport extends its very best wishes to The East and looks forward to welcoming all players and spectators to a weekend festival of fantastic golf at the beautiful links of Lundin Golf Club.
www.solarsport.co.uk

US Nationwide Tour Scoreboard
PANAMA DIGICEL CHAMPIONSHIP
Panama GC, Panama City, Panama.
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 210 (3 x 70)
204 Vance Veazey 67 69 68
205 Len Mattiace 72 69 64, Jim Herman 67 70 68, Camilo Benedetti 68 69 68, Jeff Gove 69 68 68
206 Esteban Toledo 68 70 68, Chris Smith 68 70 68, Rafael Gomez 67 68 71
207 Justin Hicks 71 72 64, Bryan DeCorso 73 68 66, Brian Stuard 70 70 67, Garrett Willis 70 69 68, Kevin Johnson 67 70 70, Henrik Bjornstad 69 67 71
208 Mauricio Molina 70 72 66, Dustin Risdon 70 71 67, Richard Johnson 73 68 67, Brennan Webb 72 69 67, D.J. Brigman 69 71 68, Michael Sim 68 71 69, Neal Lancaster 70 68 70
209 Jeff Gallagher 74 68 67, Jim Rutledge 71 69 69, Tom Scherrer 72 68 69, Alex Prugh 69 69 71, Rich Barcelo 69 69 71
210 Clodomiro Carranza 67 76 67, Steve LeBrun 74 69 67, Geoffrey Sisk 70 70 70, John Riegger 72 68 70, Chris Anderson 68 71 71, Garrett Osborn 68 69 73, Skip Kendall 67 69 74
211 Guy Boros 75 68 68, Andrew Buckle 67 74 70, Jonas Blixt 69 72 70, Bob Sowards 70 70 71, Jon Mills 71 69 71
212 Josh Teater 69 74 69, Michael Clark 71 70 71
213 Alex Aragon 69 74 70, Sal Spallone 74 69 70, Jason Enloe 72 71 70, Justin Bolli 71 71 71, Brian Smock 69 73 71, Mike Heinen 71 71 71, Willie Wood 70 71 72, Tripp Isenhour 69 72 72, Drew Laning 71 70 72, Scott Gardiner 69 71 73
214 Omar Uresti 67 76 71, Hunter Haas 70 73 71, Daniel Summerhays 74 69 71, Steve Wheatcroft 71 72 71, Rodolfo Gonzalez 69 73 72, Craig Bowden 71 71 72, Todd Demsey 70 69 75
215 Keoke Cotner 71 72 72, Chip Sullivan 75 68 72
216 Martin Piller 70 73 73, Matt Every 70 73 73, Joe Daley 69 73 74, Sebastian L. Saavedra 71 71 74, Sebastian Fernandez 68 72 76
217 Jason Schultz 73 70 74, Bubba Dickerson 69 74 74, Matt Hansen 70 73 74, John Morse 69 74 74, Joseph Sykora 76 67 74, Tee McCabe 70 70 77
219 Phil Tataurangi 71 70 78
220 Bob May 70 69 81

South African rookie Kamte wins

Asian Tour International

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ASIAN TOUR
Bangkok, February 8: South Africa’s James Kamte begins his rookie year on the Asian Tour with the very best of starts by lifting his maiden title at the season-opening Asian Tour International at Suwan Golf & Country Club, Bangkok in Thailand on Sunday.
Kamte held off a spirited challenge from a determined Tetsuji Hiratsuka of Japan by closing with a five-under 66 for a 16-under-par 268 total to pip the Japanese to the title by two shots.
Overnight leader Hiratsuka, who came into the final round with a one-shot lead, finished on even-par 71 for a 270 total to take second place while Australia’s Unho Park and Marcus Both together with Thailand’s Prom Meesawat and Philippines’ Juvic Pagunsan all took a share of third place on matching 271s.
It was always going to be a close tussle for the lead at the top of the leaderboard with the quality of play at the Suwan Golf and Country Club at its highest.
Kamte got off quickly with two birdies on his opening two holes. He survived a nasty scare on the fifth hole when he dropped a shot for bogey which allowed Park to move ahead of him at that stage.
However, the South African, who finished fourth at Qualifying school, stormed into contention after the turn with birdies on the 11th, 13th and 16th holes when the others began to falter.
“To win the first tournament as a rookie on the Asian Tour is really a dream come true. I’ve always wanted this to happen and hopefully this is not going to be my last one,” said the rookie who also took home the winner’s purse of US$47,550.
“I knew I was hitting the ball really good the whole week and I just needed to make the putts. I kept my faith in the Lord and everything just went my way,” added Kamte.
After committing a series of errors that resulted in three bogeys on his opening first and second hole as well as the 14th, Hiratsuka lost his grip on his overnight lead.
He tried to stage a late comeback with three birdies in his inward nine but it was not going to be enough to catch Kamte and had to settle for second place.
“Kamte played very well today and I would like to congratulate him. Hopefully, it’ll be my turn the next time,” said Hiratsuka.
Thailand’s Prom Meesawat, who started the day in tied-ninth, got the home crowd going with three successive birdies at the start.
The 24-year-old Thai, who last won an Asian Tour event in 2006 at the SK Telecom Open, made a quick surge with that strong start.
However, bogeys on the sixth and seventh halted his charge momentarily. He recorded another birdie on the ninth before mixing another four birdies with a bogey after the turn to take a share of the third place.
“I think I performed beyond my expectations this week. It’s a big boost for me especially with the long season ahead. The home crowd has been fantastic all week and to have them cheering for me all the time is very heartening,” said Prom.
But perhaps the biggest move of the day belonged to China’s Wu Ashun.
Starting the day in tied-30th, Wu’s made a dramatic surge up the leaderboard by firing a total of nine birdies to fashion a superb final round 63.
It would have been even better if not for his wayward shot that found the rough on the 190-yard par-three seven, eventually resulting in a lone bogey.
“That shot was a real pity. Things might have really changed if I had got a birdie then. But it’s okay, it has been a great week and it can only get better,” said Wu who posted a four-day round score of 67, 71, 71 and 63.
The Chinese eventually finished on 272 in tied-seventh place.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4 x 71)
268 James Kamte (Rsa) 71 63 68 66
270 Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn) 64 68 67 71
271 Marcus Both (Aus) 63 68 72 68, Prom Meesawat (Tha) 69 68 68 66, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 67 71 65 68, Unho Park (Aus) 65 69 66 71
272 Wu Ashun (Chn) 67 71 71 63, Mark Purser (Nzl) 68 66 71 67, Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 65 69 68 70
273 Atthaphon Prathummanee (Tha) 68 68 71 66
274 Simon Griffiths (Eng) 68 71 71 64, Mo Joong-Kyung (Kor) 66 70 73 65, Gavin Flint (Aus) 67 69 70 68, Iain Steel (Mal) 72 63 70 69, Ted Oh (Kor) 68 66 69 71
275 Noh Seung-Yul (Kor) 68 66 75 66
276 Kodai Ichihara (Jpn) 66 69 74 67, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 71 68 68 69, Tim Stewart (Aus) 69 69 68 70, Danny Chia (Mal) 67 69 69 71
277 Andrew Dodt (Aus) 67 69 74 67, John Parry (Eng) 73 67 71 66, Adam Groom (Aus) 67 70 72 68, Matthew Griffin (Aus) 71 66 69 71
278 Darren Beck (Aus) 72 66 70 70, Rhys Davies (Wal) 69 66 71 72, Hirotaro Naito (Jpn) 67 66 73 72, Tatsuya Sato (Jpn) 74 64 69 71, Frankie Minoza (Phi) 69 71 68 70
279 Somkiat Srisanga (Tha) 69 68 73 69, Pariya Junhasavasdikul (Tha) 69 65 77 68, Kim Hyung-Sung (Kor) 71 67 76 65, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 69 69 71 70, Young Nam (Kor) 72 68 66 73, Daisuke Maruyama (Jpn) 71 66 69 73, Toni Karjalainen (Fin) 66 64 74 75
280 Wisut Artjanawat (Tha) 67 73 71 69, Rohan Blizard (Aus) 70 69 72 69, Nakul Vichitryuthasastr (Tha) 69 69 70 72, Nathan Uebergang (Aus) 70 69 70 71, Andrew Marshall (Eng) 70 69 70 71, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 66 68 73 73
281 Kwanchai Tannin (Tha) 70 70 70 71, Guido Van Der Valk (Ned) 72 67 71 71, Angelo Que (Phi) 71 67 75 68, Bryan Saltus (USA) 72 64 78 67, Jason Norris (Aus) 72 67 70 72, Kim Bi-O (Kor) 69 68 72 72, Michio Matsumura (Jpn) 71 65 71 74
282 Yoshinobu Tsukada (Jpn) 71 69 71 71, Rory Hie (Ina) 71 67 73 71
283 Somchai Pongpaew (Tha) 72 68 71 72, Park Jun-Won (Kor) 70 70 74 69, Akinori Tani (Jpn) 70 66 78 69, Scott Barr (Aus) 69 71 76 67, Kim Hyung-Tae (Kor) 70 69 69 75
284 Adam Blyth (Aus) 70 66 74 74, Chawalit Plaphol (Tha) 71 69 71 73, Tatsuhiko Ichihara (Jpn) 68 72 73 71, Digvijay Singh (Ind) 71 68 74 71
285 Michael Light (Aus) 68 67 75 75, Kenichi Kuboya (Jpn) 69 66 76 74, S Siva Chandhran (Mal) 68 70 74 73, Motoharu Mukai (Jpn) 71 69 73 72, Wilhelm Schauman (Swe) 68 69 69 79
286 Lin Wen-Hong (Tpe) 72 68 72 74
287 Airil Rizman (Mal) 73 66 71 77, Nozomi Kawahara (Jpn) 68 72 74 73
288 Tony Carolan (Aus) 71 68 77 72
290 Zaw Moe (Mya) 68 72 78 72
291 George Coetzee (Rsa) 70 68 74 79
292 Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa) 72 68 75 77

Aussie overpowers Kellett over closing

holes of New South Wales final

Ross Kellett (Colville Park), one up with six to play, went down by 2 and 1 to Michael Smyth, playing over his home course at The Australian Golf Club, in the 36-hole final of the New South Wales amateur match-play championship today.
Kellett, who was the sixth seed, was three up after seven holes but had been pulled back to square by the 14th and dropped to two down after 17.
The Scot, who had his 2lst birthday on January 9, fought back to square the contest at the 20th but had slipped two down again by the 26th.
It was a fluctuating contest that Kellett squared at the 29th and led at the 30th for the first time since the early stages.
But Smyth, who was the 16th seed, won the 31st to get back on level terms and then took the 32nd and 34th to regain a one-hole lead. The Australian birdied the 35th for a 2 and 1 victory.
All credit to Kellett for two weeks of solid, sometimes inspired golf. First he came through the NSW Medal in sixth position in a very good field and then he fought his way through to the final of the match-play. Certainly Ross's best sustained performance outside the UK.

FINAL (36 holes) - Smyth (Aus) bt Kellett (Sco) 2 and 1.

Villegas falters and Rollins moves

into Buick Invitational lead

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
John Rollins climbed into a three-stroke lead at the Buick Invitational after carding a two-under-par 70 in the third round at Torrey Pines, San Diego in California on Saturday.
Rollins birdied the second, fourth and sixth holes and traded two birdies and three bogeys on the back nine to move three shots ahead of Camilo Villegas with an overall score of 12-under-par 204.
Rollins is bidding for his first title since the 2006 BC Open.
Villegas had started with a one-stroke lead but bogeyed the seventh and double-bogeyed the ninth to go out at three over 39. The Colombian, who won twice on tour last season, appeared to have trouble with rainy and windy conditions early in the day and finished at two over 74 for a 54-hole tally of nine-under 207.
American Nick Watney sits alone in third place after carding a one-under-par 71. Watney started the day in fourth and used a birdie on 17 to jump up a spot.
England's Luke Donald (71) and American Paul Goydos (72) sit tied for fourth, six shots off the pace at one under.
American Charles Warren was the big mover of the day, jumping from 32nd to a tie for sixth place with a four-under-par 68. Warren did much of his damage on the back nine, coming in at 33.
Lucas Glover carded a three-under-par 69 and Charley Hoffman, who began the day in third place, slumped to a two over 74 to join Warren at seven shots back.
Reigning British Open and PGA champion Padraig Harrington double-bogeyed the fourth and bogeyed the seventh and could not make up the deficit on the back nine, carding a 74 for the second straight day and slipping to 15 shots off the pace.
Phil Mickelson, who has won this event three times, bogeyed three of the first 11 holes and finished with a one-over-par 73 on the day to leave him at one under for the tournament.
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
204 John Rollins 70 64 70
207 Camilo Villegas (Col) 63 70 74
209 Nick Watney 69 69 71
210 Paul Goydos 72 66 72, Luke Donald (Eng) 70 69 71
211 Charles Warren 74 69 68, Charley Hoffman 71 66 74, Lucas Glover 69 73 69
212 Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 66 76 70, George McNeill 71 70 71, J J Henry 70 71 71, Mathew Goggin (Aus) 69 70 73
213 Jeff Klauk 71 73 69, Ben Crane 69 74 70
214 Nathan Green (Aus) 70 72 72, J.B. Holmes 73 70 71, Bill Haas 72 70 72, Marc Leishman (Aus) 74 68 72, Harrison Frazar 69 70 75
215 Robert Garrigus 68 74 73, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 71 71 73, Ted Purdy 74 71 70, Jason Dufner 70 70 75, Ben Curtis 76 66 73, Phil Mickelson 70 72 73, Jarrod Lyle (Aus) 71 74 70, Dean Wilson 71 73 71, Nicholas Thompson 75 70 70, Jason Day (Aus) 69 76 70
216 Jonathan Kaye 70 73 73, Scott Sterling 69 72 75, Lee Janzen 74 72 70, Bubba Watson 71 68 77, Brandt Snedeker 75 68 73, Webb Simpson 72 73 71
217 Aron Price (Aus) 72 72 73, Davis Love III 66 77 74, Parker McLachlin 74 71 72, Gregor Main 70 75 72, Matthew Jones (Aus) 70 73 74, Ricky Barnes 69 73 75, Dustin Johnson 74 71 72, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 70 72 75, Jesper Parnevik (Swe) 71 74 72
218 Kent Jones 70 71 77, Hunter Mahan 74 70 74, Fred Couples 74 70 74
219 Pat Perez 73 73 73, Rodney Pampling (Aus) 72 74 73, Bart Bryant 73 69 77, John Senden (Aus) 76 70 73, Kevin Sutherland 77 68 74, James Nitties (Aus) 79 67 73, Tom Pernice jun 75 68 76, Y. E Yang (Kor) 77 69 73, Glen Day 72 74 73, Jason Gore 70 69 80, Padraig Harrington (Ire) 71 74 74, Tommy Gainey 77 69 73
220 Tag Ridings 71 72 77, James Driscoll 73 73 74, Charles Howell III 72 71 77, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 72 74 74, David Mathis 75 71 74, Rick Price 72 73 75, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 77 69 74, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 68 74 78
221 D A Points 70 72 79, John Huston 71 71 79, Matt Bettencourt 74 72 75, Johnson Wagner 76 70 75
222 Michael Allen 71 75 76, Colt Knost 73 73 76, Tim Petrovic 73 71 78, David Berganio jun 76 70 76, Woody Austin 74 71 77
223 Brian Bateman 69 77 77, Chris Stroud 73 68 82, Greg Owen (Eng) 70 75 78, Alex Cejka (Ger) 73 72 78
224 Jeff Overton 68 78 78, Gary Woodland 76 70 78, Courtland Lowe 71 72 81
225 Scott McCarron 74 72 79, Jay Williamson 72 71 82