Sunday, June 28, 2009

US CHAMPIONS' TOUR REPORT

Lonnie Nielsen's day at Rochester

Lonnie Nielsen shot a 63, nine-under-par, today to overtake second-round leader Fred Funk with a flourish on the front side and hold on to win the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open by three shots from Funk and Ronnie Black.
Nielsen, who will turn 56 on Monday, finished at 21-under 195, a record in the three-year history of the event. After going 6 under over the first four holes to move quickly into the lead, Nielsen made birdie at No. 12 to break a tie with Funk and followed with birdies at Nos. 16 and 18 to win for only the second time on the Champions Tour.
He won the 2007 Commerce Bank Championship, and his best finish this year was a tie for third at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in April.
It was the fourth straight finish of seventh or better for Funk (69).
If Nielsen had any doubt it was his day, he had to be reassured when his tee shot at 18 hit a tree along the right side and ricocheted back onto the fairway. It led to his 24th birdie of the tournament - he also had an eagle - and finished his second straight round without a bogey.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72). 6974yd En-Joie golf course, Endicott, New York State.
1. Lonnie Nielsen $247,500 66-66-63--195
2. Fred Funk $132,000 64-65-69--198
2. Ronnie Black &132,000 69-63-66--198
4. Brad Bryant $99,000 68-68-65--201
5. Dan Forsman $68,200 70-68-65--203
5. John Morse $68,200 69-67-67--203
5. Jay Haas $68,200 66-68-69--203
8. Mike Hulbert $49,500 67-68-69--204
8. Gary Hallberg $49,500 67-66-71--204
10. Larry Mize $36,630 68-69-68--205
10. Tom Kite $36,630 67-70-68--205
10. Joey Sindelar $36,630 68-69-68--205
10. Nick Price $36,630 70-66-69--205
10. Mike Goodes $36,630 70-65-70--205
REST OF THE FINAL TOTALS
206 D A Weibring 67 69 70, Tom Jenkins 68 69 69, Gary Trivisonno 71 67 68, Jim Thorpe 70 71 65, Scott Hoch 70 67 69, Mark McNulty (Irl) 70 69 67, Eduardo Romero (Arg) 69 63 74
207 Andy Bean 67 68 72, Jeff Sluman 68 67 72
208 Russ Cochran 71 71 66, Bruce Vaughan 72 68 68, Chip Beck 73 68 67, Scott Simpson 70 68 70, David Orgin 69 68 71, Don Pooley 69 71 68, Hal Sutton 68 72 68
209 Clarence Rose 72 71 66, Jeff Roth 66 70 73
210 R.W. Eaks 69 69 72, Dana Quigley 69 69 72, Wayne Levi 72 69 69
211 Fulton Allem (Rsa) 72 68 71, Tom Wargo 71 70 70, Mark Wiebe 69 74 68, Keith Fergus 72 70 69, Jay Don Blake 70 73 68, Vicente Fernandez (Arg) 71 69 71, Hale Irwin 71 69 71, Tim Simpson 69 74 68
212 David Edwards 69 70 73, Tom Purtzer 69 74 69, Joe Ozaki (Jpn) 69 69 74, Bobby Wadkins 71 72 69
213 Phil Blackmar 71 69 73, Tom McKnight 70 73 70
214 Robert L Thompson 73 74 67, Mike San Filippo 73 66 75, Gene Jones 71 71 72, Fuzzy Zoeller 73 71 70, David Eger 77 65 72, Lanny Wadkins 72 70 72
215 Peter Jacobsen 71 71 73, Allen Doyle 71 74 70, Morris Hatalsky 73 68 74, Steve Thomas 70 74 71
216 Mike McCullough 74 71 71, Mike Reid 73 70 73, John Harris 69 72 75, Javier Sanchez 74 74 68, Isao Aoki (Jpn) 73 70 73
218 James Mason 72 74 72, Jay Sigel 72 74 72, Tim Conley 71 77 70, Dave Stockton 75 74 69
219 Bruce Fleisher 74 71 74
220 Bob Gilder 73 74 73
221 Blaine McCallister 73 72 76
222 Jim Albus 75 73 74, Wayne Grady (Aus) 73 79 70
229 Jim Dent 72 78 79
230 Denis Watson (Zim) 74 78 78
234 Rick Reynolds 77 80 77
WD: Craig Stadler

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Carl Mason wins PGA Seniors Championship

for third time - and closes on Tommy Horton

From Steve Todd, European Senior Tour Press Officer
Carl Mason completed a hat-trick of De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship titles after easing to a three-stroke victory at De Vere Slaley Hall today.
Englishman Mason fired a three under par under par final round 69 to capture his 21st European Senior Tour title and close the gap on Tommy Horton’s record of 23 career victories on the over-50s circuit.
The all-time leading Senior Tour money winner, who also won the championship in 2004 and 2007, continued his sequence of winning in each of the seven seasons he has been on the Senior Tour since joining in 2003.
After extending his three-shot overnight lead with two birdies in his opening four holes, Mason had a double bogey after finding the water off on the fifth hole but that proved to be a minor blip as he carded five more birdies.
A double bogey on the last eroded the margin of victory his nine under par total of 279 was enough to hold off Paraguay’s Angel Franco and South African Christopher Williams, who tied for second, and give Mason a belated birthday present, after he celebrated turning 56 on Thursday.
“It was a sweet victory – they all have been,” he said. “I was very pleased with the way I played – I played great.
“I hit two bad shots all day and took double bogeys on them but apart from that I was steady as a rock. I had that winning mode.
“I like that feeling again. It was good. That’s my third PGA Seniors Championship which is nice. It’s a good event to win, a four-round event.
“I putted a lot better this week and my game gets better when I do that, I’m convinced of that.”
“I knew I was playing well so when I knocked it into the water on the fifth I wasn’t that bothered as I knew I was hitting the ball well. I was pleased with the way I kept going.”
Mason, who has won the Senior Tour Order of Merit three times, has now set his sights on landing another John Jacobs Trophy after moving from 31st to sixth in the money list, courtesy of the €47,115 first prize.
“I know what I’m like, I need a confidence boost , so once I get that I normally go on a good run and hopefully I will do. It’s nice to get a win again. The Order of Merit is another target to go at. I want to go out and play good golf and do what I know I can do and if I do that I’ll go close.
“It would also be nice to get to Tommy’s record of 23 wins. I’ve come this far so it would nice to get the record.”
Franco closed with a round of 68 to finish runner up for the fourth time on the Senior Tour while Williams, who secured a conditional card at Qualifying School last November, rounded off a fine Senior Tour debut with a 69 for a share of second place on six under par.
Fellow rookie Roger Chapman finished tied sixth after a fine 68 to record his fourth top ten placing in six appearances, while Ian Woosnam was tied tenth after closing with a round of 70 to extend his lead at the top of the Order of Merit.
Play had started four hours late following a fog delay at the Northumberland resort.
There were two Scots in the leading seven finishers - Gordon Brand junior who closed with a 70 for a share of fourth place on 283 with Nick Job, and Stirling's John Chillas who had a 71 for 285 and a share of sixth place with Roger Chapman.
Also in the top 10 was lofty Ross Drummond with a 70 for 288.

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European Seniors Tour Scoreboard
The De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship
Slaley Hall, North-east England.
FINAL TOTALS
279 C Mason (Eng) 73 70 67 69,
282 C Williams (RSA) 72 70 71 69, A Franco (Par) 69 72 73 68,
283 G Brand Jnr (Sco) 69 73 71 70, N Job (Eng) 76 71 68 68,
285 R Chapman (Eng) 74 71 72 68, J Chillas (Sco) 74 69 71 71,
286 J Heggarty (Nir) 74 69 72 71,
287 J Bruner (USA) 75 73 70 69,
288 G Ryall (Eng) 74 74 71 69, B Cameron (Eng) 71 73 72 72, R Drummond (Sco) 76 71 71 70, I Woosnam (Wal) 73 75 71 69, M Cunning (USA) 73 72 71 72, K Spurgeon (Eng) 70 73 74 71, S Ebihara (Jpn) 75 71 74 68,
289 B Lincoln (RSA) 71 73 74 71, M Williams (Zim) 74 72 73 70, H Carbonetti (Arg) 75 76 69 69, J Quiros (Esp) 71 78 70 70,
290 E Rodriguez (Esp) 73 73 71 73, K Hanefeld (USA) 75 76 69 70, D Smyth (Irl) 73 75 75 67, B Boyd (USA) 73 70 74 73,
291 G Brand (Eng) 81 70 72 68, K Tomori (Jpn) 76 73 71 71,
292 G Towne (USA) 71 75 74 72, T Giedeon (Ger) 71 75 73 73, P Mitchell (Eng) 74 75 71 72, M Harwood (Aus) 74 73 73 72,
293 J Benda (USA) 69 77 73 74, D Russell (Eng) 72 74 74 73, D Merriman (Aus) 77 71 71 74, G Ralph (Eng) 77 74 70 72, G Harvey (Sco) 75 75 71 72,
294 E Darcy (Irl) 74 77 69 74, C Rocca (Ita) 73 74 73 74,
295 A Fernandez (Chi) 75 70 78 72, G Cali (Ita) 71 75 75 74, I Palmer (RSA) 75 73 74 73,
296 J Rhodes (Eng) 76 73 74 73,
297 P Harrison (Eng) 75 75 72 75, A Barrera (Arg) 73 74 78 72,
298 B Charles (Nzl) 73 76 75 74, M Poxon (Eng) 78 73 76 71, D Good (Aus) 75 75 77 71,
299 J Hawkes (RSA) 69 78 79 73, A Murray (Eng) 76 75 74 74, D Cambridge (Jam) 77 72 74 76, S Martin (Sco) 78 73 75 73,
300 D Johnson (USA) 75 77 74 74, A J Webster (Sco) 76 73 76 75,
301 P Oakley (USA) 74 75 74 78, T Allen (Eng) 74 74 73 80,
302 T Planchin (Fra) 75 73 78 76, G Marsh (Aus) 79 73 71 79,
304 V Garcia (Esp) 72 79 79 74,
305 T Rastall (Eng) 71 81 76 77, T Johnstone (Zim) 74 77 77 77,
306 M White (Sco) 74 77 78 77,
310 T Charnley (Eng) 73 79 81 77, A Hemsley (Sco) 74 78 80 78,
311 P Hanna (Nir) 77 75 78 81,
313 T Rouse (Eng) 78 74 80 81,

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Scott Pinckney, James Byrne and Steven McEwan at the conclusion of the SolarSport East of Scotland Open championship at Lundin Golf Club.

It's that man Byrne again! East of

Scotland Open champ by 8 shots

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
There’s simply no stopping James Byrne at the moment! The 20-year-old Banchory man, who plays on the American college circuit for Arizona State University, followed up his seven-stroke Tennant Cup win the previous weekend by winning the SolarSport East of Scotland Open amateur championship by eight shots with a professional-class total of 22-under-par 262.
That’s a record low for the Lundin links tournament, made up of rounds of 65, 63, 67 and 67 over the par-71 course which has been used as an Open qualifying test.
Byrne’s eight-stroke winning margin is probably also a record, although that will require more checking.
Since he returned from Arizona for the summer holidays, Byrne has finished joint fourth in the Scottish open amateur stroke-play, made the last 16 of the British amateur championship, won the Tennant Cup over 72 holes by seven shots by equalling the course record twice, finished second in the Open Regional Qualifying at Musselburgh – and now comes another great performance in an SGU Order of Merit event.
After three rounds at Lundin, the former Scottish boys’ stroke-play champion had a lead of ELEVEN shots but this was cut by three shots by American Scott Pinckney, an Arizona State University team-mate, whom James persuaded to come back to Scotland with him to play links golf.
Pinckney, who shaded Byrne into second place in the Open Regional Qualifying at Musselburgh at the beginning of last week, finished second at Lundin links, thanks to two great Sunday rounds of 64 and 63 (matching Byrne’s second-round as the lowest of the weekend) and a final total of 14-under-par 270.
Steven McEwan (Caprington), last year’s SGU Order of Merit winner, also put together two fine Former Scottish amateur match-play and stroke-play champion Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) did well to secure a top-1o finish in his first competitive outing since a knee cruciate operation last February. He was lying second after a second-round 65 and had another good round of 68 on Sunday morning but he must have tired in another "double-duty" day with a fourth-round 72.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71) CSS 73 71 70 70
262 James Byrne (Banchory) 65 63 67 67
270 Scott Pinckney (Arizona State Univ) 73 70 64 63.
273 Steven McEwan (Caprington) 72 69 66 66.
274 Ross Crowe (Westerhope) 71 69 66 68.
276 Mohammed Arie Irawan (Malaysia) 71 70 67 68, David Law (Hazlehead) 71 69 71 65.
277 Philip McLean (Peterhead) 71 71 67 68, James White (Lundin) 71 69 69 68.
278 Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) 73 65 68 72, Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) 74 69 68 67..
280 Brett Drewett (Australia) 70 72 69 69.
281 Mark Hillson (Craigielaw) 76 68 67 70, Mark Bookless (Sandyhills) 73 67 69 72, Lewis Kirton (Newmachar) 76 65 69 71.
282 Henry Smart (Banstead Downs) 73 70 69 70.
283 Grant McNab (Lundin) 73 70 69 71, Michael Williams (Australia) 70 73 72 68
284 Gordon Yates (Hilton Park) 72 72 70 70, Fraser McKenna (Balmore) 76 69 66 73, Nick Barr (Craigie Hill) 77 67 71 69.
285 Barry McDermott (Leven GS) 73 72 68 72, Paul Ferrier (Baberton) 72 70 76 67.
286 Ross Bell (Downfield) 72 73 70 71, Chris Harkins (Ayr Belleisle) 71 70 72 73, Bryden Macpherson (Australia) 72 68 74 72.
287 Nick Robson (Meldrum House) 76 71 68 72, Michael Daily (Erskine) 75 72 68 72, Alex Main (Thornton) 70 71 70 71, Colin Thomson (East Renfrewshire) 71 73 72 71.
288 James Hamilton (NZ) 70 74 72 72. Cameron Gray (West Kilbride) 74 71 75 68, Martin Brown (Monifieth) 76 69 72 71.
289 Bobby Rushford (Grangemouth) 74 71 70 74, Michael Main (Thornton) 71 74 71 73, Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire) 69 73 73 74, Daniel Sommerville (St Andrews) 71 70 75 73.
290 James Hendrick (Pollok) 75 72 71 72.
293 Scott Borrowman (Dollar) 72 74 73 74, Francisco Pintor Smith (Spain) 76 69 75 73.
295 Raphael Becker (Brazil) 73 74 73 75.

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GLENEAGLES SCOTTISH PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Just champion! That's how David Orr is feeling after his Gleneagles triumph. Image by courtesy of Andy Forman. Double click the image to enlarge it.

David stages an Orr-some finish to win

by three shots from faltering Craig Lee


FROM THE PGA WEBSITE
David Orr produced a grandstand finish at Gleneagles to win the the title and a cheque for £8,800 in the £55,000 Scottish PGA Championship today.
The 35-year-old East Renfrewshire pro closed with a five-under-par 67 over the PGA Centenary course for a 10-under aggregate of 278 to ease to a three-shot victory over long-time leader Craig Lee.
Orr, runner-up in the national championship in 2002 and with three other top-five finishes in the event in recent years, had slipped four shots off the pace when Lee holed his second shot at the first for an eagle but the chamionship unravelled on the inward half as the destination of the crown changed dramatically.
As Lee dropped shots at the 11th and 13th and stumbled to a double-bogey at the 15th in a 71 for 281, Orr reeled off four birdies over his last five holes to power to the front and capture the £8,800 first prize.
"I knew I was playing well and even when I was behind I just stayed patient and the chances arrived for me," said Orr who won three pro-ams in the space of eight days between June 9 and 17.
"I've been close to winning this title before and it's nice to finally do it."
Lee, who has now finished runner-up three times in the national championship, was left to rue his three-over back nine as his hopes of becoming only the fifth player to win both the Northern Open and the Scottish PGA in the same season were dashed.
Colin Gillies, the Tartan Tour's all-time leading money winner, celebrated his 25th year as a professional by grabbing third place on 282 after a 71 while former PGA champion Andrew Oldcorn shared fourth with Mark Kerr of Edinburgh and Musselburgh's Fraser Mann on 284
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
278 David Orr (East Renfrewshire) 69 73 69 67 (£8,800).
281 Craig Lee (unatt) 68 71 71 71 (£6,700).
282 Colin Gillies (Perry Golf) 72 71 68 71 (£5,100).
284 Andrew Oldcorn (Kings Acre) 71 70 74 69, Mark Kerr (unatt) 72 72 70 70, Fraser Mann (Musselburgh) 74 72 68 70 (£2,783 each).
285 Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs GR) 71 71 72 71 (£1,550).
287 Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) 73 69 73 72 (£1,300).
288 Stephen Gray (Hayston) 71 76 73 68 (£1,160).
289 Alan Lockhart (Ladybank) 73 72 73 71, James McGhee (Turnhouse) 72 72 72 73, Nonathan Lomas (unatt) 68 70 76 75, Mark King (Kingsfield) 68 72 72 77 (£956 each).
290 Callum Nicoll (Prestwick) 72 72 75 71, Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie) 68 73 76 73, Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) 75 69 73 73, Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) 69 74 72 75 (£751 each).
291 Tom Buchanan (Duddingston) 70 77 72 72, Scott Henderson (Kings Links) 73 74 75 69, Mark Loftus (Cowglen) 77 72 72 (£613 each).
292 Ross Cameron (McDonald Ellon) 69 76 75 72, Edward Thomson (Senit Associates) 72 72 74 74, Lee Harper (Archerfield Links) 71 74 76 71 (£550 each).
293 James McKinnon (Irvine) 74 70 75 74, Scott Herald (Mearns Castle) 69 77 72 75, Ian Taylor (Drumpellier) 76 70 76 71, Gordon Law (Uphall) 76 67 77 73 (£480 each).
294 Hamish Kemp (Bishopbriggs GR) 74 72 71 77, Jonny Sharp (The Carrick at Cameron House) 69 75 77 73 (£420 each).
295 Christopher Robinson (Dumfries & Galloway) 76 74 72 73 (£390).
296 Steven Duncan (Balbirnie Park) 76 74 71 75 (£380).
297 Ewan Cameron (Hamilton) 75 75 70 77 (£370).
298 Mark Finlayson (Edzell) 78 71 75 74, Kenny Walker (Castle Park) 71 73 77 (£355 each).
299 Graham Fox (East Kilbride) 75 75 77 72, David Patrick (Elie) 75 74 77 73, Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) 75 74 76 74, Stephen Craig (Paragon) 74 73 75 77 (£337 each).
300 Gareth Wright (Swanston Golf) 73 77 76 74 (£325).
301 David Park (Wishaw) 75 73 76 77, Samuel Cairns (Colville Park) 74 71 76 80 (£319 each).
302 Peter Mitchell (Hermitage) 71 77 83 71 (£315).
304 Ronan Rafferty (unatt) 75 75 76 78, Neil Murray (Cruden Bay) 78 73 72 81 (£310 each).
305 Craig Ronald (Carluke) 76 75 76 78 (£306).
306 Alan E Reid (West Lothian) 77 74 81 74, Stephen Lamb (Broomieknowe) 74 74 77 81 (£302 each).
307 Alastair Love (Charleton) 79 72 77 79 (£299).
308 Mark Bruce (Gullane) 75 73 76 84 (£297).
309 Ken Campbell (Machrihanish) 76 75 80 78 (£296).
310 Paul Wytrazek (Burntisland) 75 75 81 79 (£295).
311 Terry Burgoyne (Gotastroms) 72 78 81 80, Andrew Gibson (North Gailes) 75 75 76 85 (£294 each).
312 David Fleming (Prestwick) 76 75 84 77 (£294).
314 Stuart Morrison (Tain) 77 74 80 83 (£293).
315 Nigel Scott-Smith (Palacerigg) 77 74 81 83 (£293).
319 Gordon Niven (Stirling Univ) 71 74 85 89 (£292)

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Nick Dougherty keeps his cool to

win BMW International Open

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
England's Nick Dougherty, who this time last year had little desire to play golf, finally returned to winning ways in Munich - and with it earned a place in next month's Open.
But what a scare the 27-year-old from Liverpool, so devastated by the sudden death of his mother straight after his US Masters debut 14 months ago, was given before he made the BMW International Open his third European Tour victory.
Four clear and seemingly coasting, the gap was suddenly cut to one when Argentina's Rafa Echenique sank a 243yd three-iron approach shot on the last for an albatross. Having eagled the 11th, Echenique equalled the Tour record with his back nine of 27 - he actually played the last 10 holes in an amazing 10 under - but Dougherty kept his composure.
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Three closing pars gave him a superb 64 for a 22 under par total and after raising a hand to the skies he said: "The strength that my Mum had lives on in me. I want to say thank you to all the people who have helped me through some tough times. I have a great team around me and it's great to be back where I feel I belong."
The win earned him nearly £283,000 and he qualifies for Turnberry off a mini-Order of Merit which has been running since the Italian Open at the start of last month.
On the moment when he saw what Echenique had done Dougherty added: "I thought 'Oh my goodness'. The 18th has been an absolute brute for me this week and I'm delighted to get the job done."
Long-time leader Retief Goosen finished third, but 51-year-old Bernhard Langer, hoping to become the oldest winner in Tour history in front of his home fans and only one behind after an opening birdie, fell back to ninth.
Echenique commented: "I've never had an albatross before and I had a great sensation. This is a dream for me - it's unbelievable."
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
266 Nick Dougherty 69 65 68 64
267 Rafael Echenique (Arg) 68 69 68 62
270 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 64 68 67 71
271 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 70 66 66, David Drysdale 70 64 68 69, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 69 67 70 65, Graeme Storm 70 70 64 67
272 Shiv Kapur (Ind) 71 66 70 65
273 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 68 68 65 72, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 68 65 70 70, James Kingston (Rsa) 67 69 67 70, Richard Green (Aus) 71 68 68 66, Danny Willett 67 68 71 67, Thomas Levet (Fra) 68 67 70 68
274 Rory McIlroy 71 67 69 67
275 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 73 68 66 68, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 67 73 72 63, David Lynn 67 70 71 67
276 Peter Lawrie 69 68 70 69, Bradley Dredge 72 69 66 69
277 Anders Hansen (Den) 69 69 69 70, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 71 69 66 71, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 69 70 70 68, Paul Broadhurst 69 70 65 73, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 69 66 74 68
278 Gary Orr 70 70 67 71, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 67 70 70 71
279 Andrew Coltart 67 71 71 70, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 70 69 69 71
280 Chris Wood 71 69 71 69, Scott Strange (Aus) 70 68 70 72, John Bickerton 70 70 70 70, Oliver Fisher 68 69 71 72, Johan Edfors (Swe) 71 69 70 70
281 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 69 71 71 70, Marco Ruiz (Par) 73 67 68 73, Stephen Dodd 68 69 72 72, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 72 69 68 72, Markus Brier (Aut) 69 71 70 71, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 69 69 69 74, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 72 68 71 70, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 69 69 73 70, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 68 72 72 69
282 Max Kramer (Aut) 71 69 73 69, Steven O'Hara 71 70 70 71
283 Anthony Wall 74 66 70 73, Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 70 71 76 66, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 72 69 73 69, Phillip Price 67 72 69 75, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 74 73 69
284 Gary Lockerbie 72 68 69 75, Lee Slattery 70 70 72 72, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 68 71 71 74, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 67 71 71 75, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 70 71 69 74, Luke Donald 70 68 73 73, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 70 70 72 72
285 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 70 70 69 76, Richard Finch 66 71 73 75, Gareth Maybin 71 68 74 72, Kenneth Ferrie 69 72 73 71
286 Gary Murphy 71 70 72 73, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 69 71 74 72, Seve Benson 70 71 70 75
287 Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 72 67 76 72
289 Colin Montgomerie 70 71 72 76, Phillip Archer 69 72 74 74, Scott Drummond 71 69 73 76
292 Michael Hoey 70 71 71 80
293 Barry Lane 68 73 78 74
297 Michael Jonzon (Swe) 70 71 78 78

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Andrew Butterfield's maiden win on Challenge Tour

Lloyd Saltman may have turned corner

- thanks to Sky Sports' Mark Roe


By PAUL SYMES, EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR PRESS OFFICER
Closing rounds of 67 pushed playing partners Andrew McArthur and George Murray into the top ten of this weekend's European Challenge Tour event, "The Princess," which was won by England’s Andrew Butterfield.
Both Scots started the final day on five under par at Båstad GK in Båstad, Sweden, and finished it in a tie for eighth place on nine under par, four shots behind the winner.
It was comfortably Murray’s best performance of the season, as it was for his fellow Scot Lloyd Saltman, who finished one shot back in a tie for 12th place on eight under par after closing with a round of 68.
Saltman, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, had made just one cut all season prior to this week, but the work he has done with Sky Sports analyst Mark Roe now finally appears to be paying dividends.
Peter Whiteford, the fourth and final Scot to make the cut, closed with a round of 68 to finish on one under par.
After 13 years of trying, England’s Andrew Butterfield finally captured his maiden Challenge Tour title on a nerve-jangling final day.
Butterfield has finished runner-up three times in a Challenge Tour career which began back in 1996, but a 13 under par aggregate total was just enough to hold off late charges by his compatriot Richard McEvoy and Spaniard Carlos Rodiles.
For much of the day, Butterfield looked like frittering away the six-stroke lead he had held overnight.
Indeed, after a double bogey at the 13th hole was followed by birdies at the 14th for his three closest rivals, the 36 year old briefly relinquished the lead for the first time since smashing the course record on the opening day.
But Butterfield hit back with a birdie at the 16th hole, and when Germany’s Christophe Günther – who had climbed to 13 under par – ran up successive bogeys, the Englishman knew a par at the last would hand him the title.
As he had done all day, however, Butterfield made life difficult for himself by missing the green. But a precise chip and a nerveless par putt from eight feet secured the €48,000 winner’s cheque, which propelled him to the top of the Rankings and virtually guaranteed him a European Tour card for next season.
Butterfield said: “I can’t really describe how it finally feels to win. It’s a relief more than anything else, because I was probably never going to get a better chance of winning after being six shots clear going into the last day. But after my double bogey at the 13th, I thought I might’ve blown it.
"All I could do was just keep doing what I’d been doing for the first three days, and throughout my career – give it my best shot. I started making some putts, and in the end I just hung on. The putt on the last felt like 20 feet rather than eight, but it went in and I got the job down.
“This dramatically changes my season, because I’ve now won over €80,000, so a card of some sort is already guaranteed for next year. That means I can relax a bit more now and enjoy the season, because there’s a bit less pressure on me. The next step is obviously to win again – although I don’t want to get greedy!
"It’s taken a long time for my first win, but hopefully I won’t have to wait as long again to get the next one on the board.”
Rodiles and McEvoy finished in a tie for second place on 12 under par after both men closed with rounds of 66, whilst Günther was a further shot back in fourth place after a 68.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71)
271 Andrew Butterfield (England) 62 69 67 73 (48,000 Euros).
272 Richard McEvoy (England) 70 67 69 66, Carlos Rodiles (Spain) 66 69 71 66 (27,000 Euros each).
273 Christoph Gunther (Germany) 67 69 69 68 (18,000 Euros).
Selected scores
275 Andrew McArthur (Scotland) 68 71 69 67, George Murray (Scotland) 71 68 69 67 (jt 8th)(7,050 Euros each).
276 Lloyd Saltman (Scotland) 69 70 69 68 (jt 12th) (5,550 Euros).
283 Peter Whiteford (Scotland) 71 70 74 68 (jt 41st) (1,560 Euros).

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James Byrne leads by ELEVEN in East

of Scotland Open at Lundin Links

Banchory's James Byrne, winner of last weekend's Tennant Cup by seven strokes, is doing even better in this weekend's SGU 72-hole Order of Merit event, the SolarSport East of Scotland Open amateur championship at Lundin Links.
The 20-year-old Arizona State University player, who is NOT in the Scotland squad for the upcoming European men's amateur team championship, leads by ELEVEN strokes after 54 holes.
He has scored scored 65, 63 and 67 for a professional-class 54-hole tally of 18-under-par 195.

LEADERBOARD AFTER THREE ROUNDS
Par 213 (3x71) CSS 73 71 70
195 James Byrne (Banchory) 65 63 67.
206 Ross Crowe (Westerhope) 71 69 66, Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) 73 65 68.
207 Scott Pinckney (Arizona State Univ) 73 70 64, Steven McEwan (Caprington) 72 69 66.
208 Mohammed Arie Irawan (Malaysia) 71 70 67.
209 Mark Bookless (Sandyhills) 73 67 69, James White (Lundin) 71 69 69, Philip McLean (Peterhead) 71 71 67.
210 Lewis Kirton (Newmachar) 76 65 69.
211 Mark Hillson (Craigielaw) 76 68 67, Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) 74 69 68, Alex Main (Thornton) 70 71 70, David Law (Hazlehead) 71 69 71, Fraser McKenna (Balmore) 76 69 66, Brett Drewitt (Australia) 70 72 69.
212 Grant McNab (Lundin) 73 70 69, Hendry Smart (Banstead Downs) 73 70 69.
213 Barry McDermott (Leven GS) 73 72 68, Chris Harkins (Ayr Belleisle) 71 70 72.
214 Bryden MacPherson (Australia) 72 68 74, Nick Barr (Craigie Hill) 77 67 71, Gordon Yates (Hilton Park) 72 72 70.
215 Ross Bell (Downfield) 72 73 70, Nick Robson (Meldrum House) 76 71 68, Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire) 69 73 73, Bobby Rushford (Grangemouth) 74 71 70, Michael Williams (Australia) 70 73 72.
216 Michael Daily (Erskine) 75 72 69, Colin Thomson (East Renrewshire) 71 73 72, Daniel Sommerville (St Andrews) 71 70 75, James Hamilton (NZ) 70 74 72.
217 Martin Brown (Monifieth) 76 69 72.
218 James Hendrick (Pollok) 75 72 71, Michael Main (Thornton) 71 74 73, Paul Ferrier (Baberton) 72 70 76.
219 Scott Borrowman (Dollar) 72 74 73.
220 Cameron Gray (West Kilbride) 74 71 75, Francisco Pinter Smith (Spain) 76 69 75, Raphael Becker (Brazil) 73 74 73.

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US PGA TOUR REPORT

Paul Goydos' five birdies on back nine

put him one shot ahead of Kenny Perry

Paul Goydos staged a grandstand finish to this third round, birdieing five holes on the back nine, to jump into a one-shot lead from Kenny Perry with one round to go in the US PGA Tour's Travelers Championship at Cromwell, Connecticutt.
Goydos' 28-foot putt from off the green on the 16th highlighted a third-round 63, sharing with Hunter Mahan the honour of the best round of the third day.
"I had a circus putt on 16," Goydos said. "Again, it was turning lemons into lemonade. Those are the things that are the difference between maybe shooting 68 today and 63."
Leaderboard
1. Goydos -16
2. Perry -15
3. Toms -14
T4. Merrick -13
T4. Wittenberg -13
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Double click for
Complete scores
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Perry, who led after each of the first two rounds, had a seemingly comfortable three-stroke lead after birdies on 11 and 12. But he dropped a stroke on the 14th and Goydos took advantage, making four straight birdies starting on the par-5 13th.
After a rain delay of just over an hour, both golfers parred in. Perry missed a 5-foot birdie try on 18 that would have given him a share of the lead minutes after Goydos misread the break on a 10-footer.
"When it gets dark I don't see very well, I never have played well late in the day and I complain every time," Perry said. "I can't see the lines when it gets dark and that's just the way it was."
David Toms shot a 66 and was in third place at 14-under par. Toms didn't make his first bogey of the tournament until Saturday on the par-4 10th hole, when he missed a 5-foot par putt. It was his only bogey of the round and broke a streak of 45 straight holes at par or better.
John Merrick held the lead several times during the round after making birdie on five of his first seven holes. But a double-bogey on 12 led to a three-stroke swing and put Perry back on top. Merrick finished with a 65, and was tied with Casey Wittenberg, three strokes behind the leaders at 13-under.
Wittenberg chipped in from 51 feet on the 16th hole and made five birdies on the back nine.
"I got in a groove there," he said.
Bo Van Pelt's 23-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th capped a round of 64 that left him at 12-under for the tournament and in a three-way tie for sixth place with Tag Ridings and Ben Curtis.
"I've got to hit some fairways Sunday to go low enough to scare anybody," Van Pelt said. "There are going to be some low scores Sunday. You better have your ears pinned back and go get some birdies."
Mahan, who seems to always play well in Cromwell, shot a 63 to move into contention. Mahan got his only Tour win here in 2007 and finished tied for second in 2006 and 2008. On Saturday, he birdied five consecutive holes to get to 11 under.
"I wish I could find more courses that suit me like this one," Mahan said. "I just like it. It suits my eye. It's a fun course. You can make a lot of birdies, and I just have a lot of confidence when I play here."
U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover was seven strokes behind after his second 65 in three days.
Some of the field had a very long day. They had to finish the second round early Saturday morning, before starting round three.
Jason Bohn made the most of it, knocking in a 127-yard approach on his final hole of the round for an eagle that moved him to 3-under par, and allowed him to make the cut. He shot 67 in the third round is 6-under par going into Sunday.

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