It's Geoff Ogilvy versus Paul Casey

in final of World Match-play

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Paul Casey edged past Ross Fisher to become the first English finalist of the World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play where he will play Geoff Ogilvy who reached his third final in four years with victory over Stewart Cink.
Australia's Ogilvy, winner of the event in 2006 and runner-up in 2007, won 4 and 2 over the American Cink, last year's losing finalist, at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.
In the all English semi-final, Casey scored a 2 and 1 win over Fisher to reach the 36 hole final.
Only one Englishman had previously reached the last four of this event, with Ian Poulter appearing in the semis in 2005.
Cink had earlier in the day defeated Ernie Els 2 and 1 in the quarter-finals while Ogilvy had ended the run of 19 year old Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy with a 2 and 1 win.
Ogilvy took a one up lead into the par five 11th but he found the lip of a fairway bunker off the tee and then missed a par putt from 14 feet.
Ogilvy turned his game up a notch to take the match by winning four straight holes from the 13th, scoring birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie to go through to his third final in four years.
"When you make birdies like that at the end it's a nice way to finish," Ogilvy said, after setting up a final between two of the 47 European Tour Members who descended on Arizona this week.
The tournament had moved higher into the foothills of the Tortolita mountains from The Gallery Club, its home of the previous two years, and Ogilvy had with Casey travelled from their Whisper Rock Golf Club, their base in Scottsdale, Arizona, to play a practice round two weeks prior to the tournament in order to familiarise themselves with the new course.
It certainly paid dividends for both men and Ogilvy looked forward to a final between friends.
"It will be fun," he said. "We both came down a couple of weeks ago to check out the golf course and if we both ended up in the final that's very coincidental.
"I'm sure the Whisper Rock members will be down in force."
Casey's 4 and 3 win over American Sean O'Hair at the desert course near Tucson and Fisher's 2 and 1 victory over US Ryder Cup hero Justin Leonard ensured a first English finalist and an all Surrey match with Casey from Weybridge and Fisher from Cheam.
Fisher had beaten three Americans - Pat Perez, Jim Furyk and Leonard - en route to the last four but bogeyed the par four opening hole before matching Casey shot for shot over the next four holes.
Casey had not fallen behind in any of his previous matches and was two up after 13 holes when Fisher overshot the 13th green with a chip out of greenside rough on the way to a bogey six.
There were problems for both Englishmen at the 14th but Fisher came off worse, firing out of the cacti on his second shot and into scrub next to a greenside TV camera tower.
He took a drop but the ball was still in amongst low lying cacti and Fisher shot gingerly out of trouble into more conventional rough on the other side of the green.
His fifth shot was much better, to 13 feet, leaving Casey with a fourth shot from the back fringe that he left short.
Fisher then holed his double bogey putt and remarkably escaped with a halved hole as Casey saw his seven foot putt lip out.
Both men got back on track with birdies at the 15th and Fisher cut Casey's lead to one hole with a birdie two at the 16th.
Fisher, though, overcooked his approach shot to the 17th green and Casey capitalised with a 15 foot putt for victory."Ross played some very good golf closing in," said Casey. "I mean, that up and down on 15 was phenomenal. Almost went in the hole. And his birdie on 16, again, great putt. And I was under pressure. So I feel very satisfied to hole that birdie putt to close the match out."
As for facing Ogilvy in the final, Casey said: "We are both members at Whisper Rock in Scottsdale. It will be a kind of like the Whisper Rock Club Championship!"
Fisher performed with distinction on his first appearance in the event and will take on Cink in the Consolation Match for third place. "It's disappointing to lose but to get this far it was very pleasing," said The European Open Champion. "I wanted to take Paul out, but it was a difficult game. He has a great match play record, but I fancied my chances of doing pretty well this week and it just didn't come together. "There was a few shots that I lost there. And when I had chances at the end, I just couldn't take them."
McIlroy, meanwhile, in his first tournament as a professional in the United States, was not downhearted despite being unable to continue his excellent form beyond the quarter-finals.
"Geoff played incredibly well and I needed to get birdies but it just wasn't enough in the end," said McIlroy.
"But I can take a lot out of this week. I played well and I've held my own against some of the best players in the world so it's been good."
the previous two years.
SEMI-FINALS (18 holes)
G Ogilvy (Australia) bt S Cink (US) 4 and 2.
P Casey (England) bt Ross Fisher (England) 2 and 1.
SUNDAY'S 36-HOLE final
Ogilvy v Casey.
THIRD-PLACE PLAY-OFF
Cink v Risher

World match-play in Arizona desert

Ogilvy beats McIlroy

but Casey v Fisher

in semi-finals

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Paul Casey, pictured right, booked his place against fellow-Englishman Ross Fisher in the second semi-final of the World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play but Rory McIlroy's bid for glory came to an end over the new Jack Nicklaus-designed course at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain.
Casey became only the second Englishman to reach the last four of this event, emulating Ian Poulter in 2005 by beating American Sean O'Hair 4 and 3 at the desert course near Tucson.
Northern Ireland's McIlroy, in his first tournament as a professional in the United States, could not continue his excellent form, the 19-year old falling to Australia's Geoff Ogilvy 2 and 1 in a tight first match of the day.
"Geoff played incredibly well and I needed to get birdies but it just wasn't enough in the end," McIlroy said.
"But I can take a lot out of this week. I played well and I've held my own against some of the best players in the world so it's been good."
World No 8 Ogilvy was the Irish teenager's first encounter this week with a top 10 player after the Ulsterman had knocked out Louis Oosthuizen, Hunter Mahan and Tim Clark in his professional debut on American soil.
McIlroy started in ideal fashion with a birdie at the second to go one up but Ogilvy, the 2006 winner and 2007 runner-up, was soon back in business, winning the fourth hole as his younger rival three-putted for bogey.
It was a similar story at the par-4 fifth as McIlroy, having produced the longest drive of the week with a 388 yard tee shot, two putted for par and Ogilvy birdied to go one up.
It was nip and tuck until the 11th when McIlroy found the desert off the tee and had to take a drop on the way to a bogey 6 while the former champion birdied. Then he went two down at the 12th before bouncing back with a birdie at the 13th to win the hole and reduce the deficit to one hole.
McIlroy was fighting tooth and nail to stay alive in his match and holed a crucial 12 foot birdie putt at the par-3 16th to halve the hole and extend his match to the 17th.
He produced some brilliant match play golf with his second shot, following Ogilvy's approach to 14 feet past the hole from 199 yards by leaving his ball just nine feet short from 155 yards.
Ogilvy, though, was still in control and when he sank his putt the match was over.
The Australian mets American Stewart Cink, 2 and 1 conqueror of South African Ernie Els in the round of the last eight.
England's Casey was trying to go one better than his previous best performance in 2007 when he was beaten 6 and 4 by Ogilvy at the same stage.
Against O'Hair he was quickly into his stride, with a birdie at the par four opening hole, sending in his approach shot to six feet as the American got tangled in the rough off the tee and bogeyed.
That was pretty much the way things went for the rest of the match as Casey played controlled golf while O'Hair sprayed it around, allowing Casey to go six up after ten holes.
Casey had not been behind in any match this week and there was no danger of that fact changing even when O'Hair won the 11th with his first birdie of the round.
The American returned to form on the 12th with another bogey before keeping the contest alive by winning the 13th and the 14th, where Casey posted his first bogey of the round, only his second in three days.
It was a minor annoyance as O'Hair missed a birdie putt to extend the match and Casey got his victory at the 15th hole.
"I like this golf course," Casey said. "I roughly know how far the ball goes. I got it wrong a couple of times, but I seem to have figured out a way of playing this place and I like my game plan. I'm going to try and replicate it again."
Yet Casey believes he would be on the way home to nearby Scottsdale were it not for a practice round with Geoff Ogilvy two weeks before the tournament began at the new Jack Nicklaus-designed desert course.
"I think our opinions of the golf course would be different now from if you had asked us two weeks ago," Casey added."I think it was intimidating, a little bit. Certainly the greens – they're complex. I think we both knew most of the lines off the tee. I think what's changed this week is the Tour have moved a lot of the tees around. Like 11 was almost 100 yards up. So two weeks ago I had no clue how to play that hole. And that made it easier."]
In the last quarter-final to go out, England's Ross Fisher was two up after 14 holes on Justin Leonard of the United States and trying to secure an all English semi-final with Casey. Fisher succeed by a 2 and 1 margin.

RESULTS
QUARTER-FINALS (18 holes)


G Ogilvy (Australia) beat R McIlroy (Northern Ireland) 2 and 1.


S Cink (United States) beat E Els (South Africa) 2 and 1.


P Casey (England) beat S O'Hair (United States) 4 and 3.


R Fisher (England) beat Justin Leonard (United States) 2 and 1.


SEMI-FINALS (later today, US time)


Ogilvy v Cink


Casey v Fisher

Sam Hutsby v Reinier Saxton in Sunday 36-hole final

Dear loses to Dutchman in

Spanish semi-final

Gavin Dear (Murrayshall), pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, lost to British amateur champion Reinier Saxton (Netherlands) in the 18-hole semi-final of the Spanish men's open amateur championship at Royal Seville Golf Club today.
Dear, ninth of the 32 qualifiers for the match-play stages, had beaten No 1 seed Pontus Widegren (Sweden) by one hole in the morning quarter-finals.
But, in the afternoon, the Perth man, who helped Scotland win the Eisenhower Trophy world amateur team championship in Australia, never recovered from Saxton's brilliant start in which he birdied the first three holes to be three up on the fourth tee.
The Dutchman also won the sixth with a par to increase his advantage to four.
Dear did win back the seventh and eight with pars but fell three down again to a birdie by his opponent at the 12th.
The Scot, who won the Dixie Amateur championship in Florida over the Festive period, birdied to 15th to cut his deficit to two holes but halves at the next two holes ended the match 2 and 1 in favour of Saxton.
In the 36-hole final on Sunday, Saxton, the No 5 qualifier, will play England's Sam Hutsby from Liphook, Hampshire, who won at the 20th against France's Victor Dubuisson in the other semi-final. Hutsby, a past winner of The Duke of York Young Champions' Trophy at Dundonald Links, was the No 10 qualifier.
Hutsby, who is only 19 and a strong candidate for a Walker Cup team place at Merion, United States in September, also won the Spanish title in 2006 when he beat the then US amateur champion, Edoardo Molinari, by a convincing margin over 36 holes.

SATURDAY RESULTS

QUARTER-FINALS
G Dear (Sco) bt P Widegren (Swe) 1 hole.
R Saxton (Net) bt T Lewis (Eng) 5 and 4.
V Dubuisson (Fra) bt E Pepperell (Eng) 4 and 3.
S Hutsby (Eng) bt M Haines (Eng) 7 and 5.

SEMI-FINALS
Saxton bt Dear 2 and 1.
Hutsby bt Dubuisson at 20th.

Tee it up for a friendly welcome

in the Borders

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY VISITSCOTLAND

Four golf courses in the Scottish Borders have been named the friendliest in the region in the new Scottish Borders Golf Guide 2009. The new edition of the guide recognises the warm welcomes on offer at the 18-hole courses the Hirsel and Minto and the 9-hole courses St Boswells and Selkirk.

The courses are part of the Freedom of the Fairways Golf Pass which is featured in the new edition of the Scottish Borders Golf Guide for 2009. It has become the most popular golf pass in Scotland and is supported by Tontine Hotel in Peebles.

The guide, published by VisitScotland, provides information on accommodation and how to book golf at the 21 courses in the Scottish Borders.
The Scottish Borders is increasingly being recognised as a short break golf destination with an array of outstanding 18-hole golf courses. The Freedom of the Fairways Golf Pass covers all of the courses in the region and offers the 3-Day Golf Passport which entitles the golfer to up to six rounds of golf over three consecutive weekdays (weekends four rounds) at the cost of £88 per person (£44 for juniors).

The 5-Day Golf Passport allows up to ten rounds of golf over five consecutive weekdays (weekends eight rounds) at the cost of £120 per person (£70 for juniors).
‘’We are delighted to offer the golfers this fantastic product which represents great value for money considering the quality of the participating courses,” said Sandi Hellowell, Regional Director at VisitScotland.

“The prices have been put on hold for 2009 which is an added incentive to come here to play. As golf is one of the key themes of the year of Homecoming Scotland 2009 we are looking forward to welcoming more golfers to this beautiful part of Scotland.’’
Golf Passes are available to purchase from February 1, 2009 and are valid between April 1 and October 31, 2009.

There are 21 golf courses in the Scottish Borders to choose from. To purchase Freedom of the Fairway Passports either phone 01835 863170, visit the online shop at http://www.visitscottishborders.com/ or pop in to any of the Visitor Information Centre’s in Borders.

For more information on golf in the Scottish Borders go to: http://www.visitscottishborders.com/. The guide is available via website at http://www.visitscottishborders.com/Brochure.aspx%20visitscotland.com:

For more information on the Homecoming Scotland 2009 events programme go to: http://www.homecomingscotland2009.com/.

Great Scott! Drummond only two

shots off Indonesia Open pace

It's a long-time since Anglo-Scot Scott Drummond, pictured on right, strung together three better-than-average rounds, probably not since he was a shock winner of the PGA championship at Wentworth in 2004.

But, here he is, with one round to go in the Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open in joint third place with scores of 71, 69 and 69 for seven-under- par 209 - only two shots behind the leader, Thai star Thongchai Jaidee.

In fact Drummond could have been sharing the 54-hole lead but for bogeys at the 17th and 18th. Earlier he got to four-under-par for the day with birdies at the second, fourth, fifth and 11th before he dropped his first shot of the round at the 14th.

Drummond responded to that setback with back-to-back birdies at the15th and 16th before his back-to-back bogeys finish in halves of 33 and 36.

Jaidee birdied the 18th hole for a one-stroke lead from Sweden's Alexander Noren who posted a 66 at the New Kuta Golf Resort, Bali.

Jaidee, a former Asian Tour No 1, nailed six birdies against a lone dropped shot for a nine-under-par 207 total.

England’s Simon Griffiths carded a 69 and was among six players in a tie for third place alongside former winner and compatriot Simon Dyson and Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl who both shot matching 70s.
India’s Jyoti Randhawa charged up the leaderboard after a 66 to lie in joint ninth place together with England’s Steve Webster who slipped down the ranks after an even-par round.
Thanks to steady putting today, Thongchai will be eager to emulate his performance when he heads out on Sunday.
“My irons were good and consistent except for one hole at the 16th. But the key was my putting today. It was good. I read the lines well. It was a nice finish and I’m enjoying myself,” said Thongchai, who was five under after nine holes before closing in with a bogey on the 16th and birdie on the 18th hole.
“The pin positioning was tough and the wind was strong on the back nine. The green is also very tricky this week. If you hit it more than three feet away from the flagstick, it’s quite tough and difficult to read the lines. But I’m pleased and look forward to Sunday,” added the leader.
Sweden’s Noren shot a 66 and was a stroke behind the Thai golfer in lone second place.
“My wrist was hurting yesterday, which is why I’ve got it strapped up. It’s been troubling me on and off for quite a few weeks now, but never when I’m actually playing. Today, I wasn’t even sure if I would play or not," said Noren.
“But that’s the way it always seems to be, when you’re not focusing on your golf and you don’t have any expectations, you just tend to go out there and play. And that’s what I did today."
England’s Griffiths, with one runner-up finish last season on the Asian Tour, eagled the long 16th hole for a 69 to lie in tied third place.
“I was pretty pleased with how I played today. I didn’t get off to a great start, but I made a few good saves which steadied me. I picked up a couple of birdies and then holes a massive eagle putt on the 16th, which was awesome,” said Griffiths.
Randhawa, with seven wins on the Asian Tour, remained in close contention firing a 66 for a 210 total.
“I’m hitting the ball well. I was even par after two rounds and I looked at the leaderboard and realised that I wasn’t too far away. All I needed to do was to shoot a good number which was what I did today,” said Randhawa, who was Asia’s number one in 2002.

Andrew Coltart parred the last 10 holes after packing three birdies and two bogeys into his first eight holes. He birdied the first, second and seventh and bogeyed the sixth and eighth. His halves were 35 and 36 for 71 and a 54-hole total of one-under-par 215.

Richie Ramsay managed to salvage a par 72 - four shots better than his second round but still four shots worse than his opening 68 - to be on the level par 216 mark. The Aberdonian ran up a double bogey 6 at the 13th (he had a triple bogey 7 in the second round) but, on the credit side, he birdied the first, third, fifth and 16th. In halves of 34 and 38, Ramsay had bogeys at the second and 14th apart from his double bogey.
ALL THE THIRD-ROUND TOTALS

Par 216 (3 x 72)

207 Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 71 69 67
208 Alexander Noren (Swe) 69 73 66
209 Richard Bland 72 71 66, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 73 66 70, Scott Drummond 71 69 69, Simon Dyson 68 71 70, Simon Griffiths 70 70 69, Ross McGowan 69 71 69
210 Steve Webster 69 69 72, Jamie Donaldson 68 71 71, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 74 70 66
211 Anthony Kang (US) 70 71 70
212 Gary Lockerbie 71 72 69, Wei Chih Lu (Tha) 71 70 71, Digvijay Singh (Ind) 69 72 71, Jason Knutzon (US) 72 70 70, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 69 73 70, Simon Khan 68 76 68
213 Frankie Minoza (Phi) 74 69 70, Gary Murphy 70 72 71, Tony Carolan (Aus) 68 74 71, Ted Oh (Kor) 73 67 73, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 70 72 71, Chinarat Phadungsil (Tha) 70 71 72, Angelo Que (Phi) 64 76 73, James Kamte (Rsa) 72 71 70, Gavin Flint (Aus) 70 72 71
214 Bryan Saltus (US) 70 72 72, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 72 68 74, Darren Beck (Aus) 71 71 72, Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn) 69 74 71, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 74 71 69, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 71 74 69, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 73 71 70, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 71 72 71, Sam Little 73 70 71, Rory Hie (Ina) 70 72 72
215 Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 69 76 70, Zaw Moe (Kor) 73 71 71, Neven Basic (Aus) 75 70 70, Andrew Coltart 73 71 71, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 70 71 74, Rhys Davies 69 73 73, Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor) 73 68 74
216 Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 68 73 75, Richie Ramsay 68 76 72, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 74 71 71, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 68 75 73, Chawalit Plaphol (Tha) 71 71 74, Mark Foster 72 71 73
217 Danny Willett 70 74 73, John Bickerton 71 74 72, Seve Benson 70 73 74, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 74 71 72, Oliver Fisher 71 74 72, Brett Rumford (Aus) 70 73 74, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 72 73 72, Miles Tunnicliff 69 71 77, Michael Hoey 71 73 73
218 Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 71 74 73, Markus Brier (Aut) 71 74 73, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 74 71 73
219 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 71 74 74, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 74 71 74
220 Taco Remkes (Ned) 70 73 77, Scott Strange (Aus) 73 71 76, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 70 73 77
222 Marcel Siem (Ger) 76 68 78
224 Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 71 72 81

Australian David a “merry man”

after a 65 in Brunei

By STEVE TODD
European Senior Tour Press Officer
Australian David Merriman fired the lowest round of his European Senior Tour career to take a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters presented by The Stapleford Forum.
Merriman carded a flawless six under par round of 65 at The Empire Hotel and Country Club which included an eagle 2 at the par-4 sixth hole to surge through the field following his opening round 70.
The 54-year-old birdied the first two holes before his eagle as he reached the turn in 31 and he kept up the momentum on the way in by picking up shots on the 12th and 14th holes.
A run of pars then ensured the Sydney professional shaved a stroke off his previous Senior Tour lowest round of 66 set in the OKI Castellόn Open de España in 2007.
He goes into the final round on seven under par 135, a stroke clear of overnight leader Bob Cameron of England, who shot a 69, and American Mike Cunning who signed for a 67.
Cunning’s compatriot Doug Johnson, playing in his first tournament on the Senior Tour since a horrific accident left him battling for his life last April, is also in contention a further stroke back on 137 after a stunning 64.
Merriman, who won the 2006 Senior Tour Qualifying School, said his hot putter was the key to his fine round, which now puts him in pole position to beat his previous best Senior Tour finishes of third in The Midas English Seniors Open and the OKI Castellόn Open de España, both of which came in the 2007 season.
“I got off to a really solid start holing a 15 footer on the first for birdie and an eight footer on the second also for birdie,” said Merriman, who finished 22nd in the 2008 Seniors' Order of Merit.
“My putting was great all through the round but I also drove well – I think I only missed one fairway throughout the whole round and my iron shots were hitting the middle of the greens every time.
“I pretty much two or one-putted all the way around so I’m delighted. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. It’s the first time I’ve ever led a European Senior Tour event going into the final day so I’m really looking forward to the challenge. I’ll just go out tomorrow play my own game and see what happens.”
Cameron once again had an eventful round, following his opening round 67 with four birdies and two bogeys to move to six under par 136 for the tournament while Cunning carded six birdies and a double bogey 6 on the 11th hole to join him in a tie for second.
However the story of the day was provided by his fellow American Johnson who carded an amazing eight birdies and just a single bogey for his 64 to move to five under par 137, two strokes behind leader Merriman.
Johnson played the first two events of the 2008 season before suffering severe burns when the carburettor of a van he was trying to fix exploded, leaving him in hospital for 21 days with his life hanging in the balance.
Playing with a protective strapping on his arm following a gruelling 10 month rehabilitation programme, the 58 year old admitted just being out on the course meant so much to him.
“That was the most fun I’ve had in nearly a year,” he said. “The doctors said to me after the accident, ‘If you thought you were tough before, now you’ll be bullet proof’. I’m lucky to be in Brunei and I’m just happy to be upright. Nobody appreciates being here more than I do.
“Following the accident I constantly have to keep stretching six hours every day. I lay on a bed and thought about playing for the past year. I just tried to stay calm.
“It’s nice to not feel nervous, bogeys are bogeys but they just don’t affect me now.”
Elsewhere, former Italian Ryder Cup player Costantino Rocca carded a 66 to move to four under par 138, three shots off the pace, while Sam Torrance is two under par after a 69 for 140, the same mark as Ross Drummond, who went from 68 to 72, and Sandy Lyle a stroke further back on 141.
SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2 x 71)
135 D Merriman (Aus) 70 65
136 M Cunning (USA) 69 67, B Cameron (Eng) 67 69
137 D Johnson (USA) 73 64
138 G Ralph (Eng) 70 68, S Ebihara (Jpn) 70 68, C Rocca (Ita) 72 66
139 A Franco (Par) 73 66, G Cali (Ita) 70 69
140 P Dugeny (Fra) 71 69, S Torrance (Sco) 71 69, B Ruangkit (Tha) 70 70, K Tomori (Jpn) 70 70, R Drummond (Sco) 68 72, G Levenson (RSA) 70 70
141 J Hawkes (RSA) 72 69, C Chun-Hsing (Tpe) 69 72; J Hall (Eng) 69 72, A Murray (Eng) 70 71; P Oakley (USA) 68 73, J Heggarty (Nir) 73 68, S Lyle (Sco) 72 69
142 J Quiros (Esp) 72 70, G Banister (Aus) 73 69, B Boyd (US) 70 72, S Ginn (Aus) 70 72, N Ratcliffe (Aus) 73 69, K Spurgeon (Eng) 69 73
143 D Good (Aus) 71 72, M Harwood (Aus) 72 71, C Sang-Ho (Kor) 69 74, J Chillas (Sco) 73 70
144 N Job (Eng) 74 70, E Rodriguez (Esp) 74 70, M Williams (Zim) 71 73, B Longmuir (Sco) 76 68; A Tapie (USA) 73 71
145 G Brand (Eng) 74 71, M Miller (Sco) 73 72, G Watine (Fra) 73 72
146 B Lincoln (RSA) 71 75, S Owen (Nzl) 76 70, A Barrera (Arg) 74 72, T Allen (Eng) 71 75, I Mosey (Eng) 72 74
147 M Ramayah (Mas) 73 74, M Briggs (Eng) 72 75, B Smit (RSA) 73 74, M Poxon (Eng) 75 72, J Bruner (USA) 71 76
148 G Ryall (Eng) 75 73, P Harrison (Eng) 73 75, J Lapsley (Nzl) 73 75, T Giedeon (Ger) 76 72, A Garrido (Esp) 76 72
149 T Gale (Aus) 76 73, P Brostedt (Swe) 72 77
150 B Gallacher (Sco) 75 75, J Hoskison (Eng) 74 76, D Cambridge (Jam) 77 73
151 S Stull (USA) 76 75
152 A Sowa (Arg) 78 74, M Piñero (Esp) 79 73, L Carbonetti (Arg) 80 72
153 B Hardwick (Can) 80 73
154 M Clayton (Aus) 79 75
155 B Fung (Sin) 75 80
156 B Jones (Aus) 78 78
157 D Russell (Eng) 82 75
158 T Charnley (Eng) 81 77
162 V Garcia (Esp) 81 81
163 A Sim (Bru) (am) 83 80
172 H Abdullah (Bru) (am) 86 86
Retired D Durnian (Eng)

Michael Sim (76) blows it in third round

of Moonah Classic to slump to ninth

Aberdeen-born Michael Sim crumpled to a 76 in the third round of the Moonah Classic tournament over the difficult Moonah Links lay-outm Melbourne, designed by five times Open champion Peter Thomson and twice host of the Australian Open.
But Sim, who emigrated with his parents to Australia when he was seven in the early 1990s, had boasted the previous day that he knew the course better than anyone in the field, having come through the Australian amateur system which is based at the Moonah Links.
It didn't look like that in the third round as Sim slumped from a share of the lead back to a share of ninth place, five strokes off the lead.
Sim had played 28 consecutive holes without a bogey until the roof fell in at the start of his third round. He bogeyed the first, took a double-bogey 7 at the long seventh and dropped another shot by bogeying the third - four shots shed to par over three holes.
Give him his due, Sim bounced back with birdies at the long fourth and short fifth before subsiding to another bogey at the sixth on his way to an outward half of three-over-par 39.
Untidy bogeys at the 11th and 14th left him in the doldrums until he birdied the long 18th for 37 home and a 76, nine shots more than he required in his second round.
LEADING THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
207 Miguel Angel Carballo (Arg) 68 68 71.
209 Richie Gallichan (Aus) 71 68 70.
210 David Smail (NZ) 71 68 71, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 68 70 72.
211 Alistair Presnell (Aus) 72 67 72, Dustin White (US) 68 70 73.
Selected score:
212 Michael Sim (Sco) 69 67 76 (jt 9th).