Saturday, July 04, 2009

US PGA Tour Scoreboard
AT&T NATIONAL
Congressional G & CC, Bethesda, Maryland
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 210 (3x70)
200 Tiger Woods 64 66 70, Anthony Kim 62 70 68
201 Michael Allen 67 69 65, Cameron Beckman 68 67 66
202 Rodney Pampling (Aus) 67 64 71, Jim Furyk 66 67 69
203 Lucas Glover 69 66 68
204 Danny Lee (Nzl) 68 67 69, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 69 69 66, Bryce Molder 64 70 70, Cliff Kresge 70 67 67, Ryan Moore 69 66 69
205 George McNeill 70 66 69, Boo Weekley 67 69 69, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 66 69 70
206 D.A. Points 64 70 72, Hunter Mahan 69 69 68, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 66 68 72, Steve Marino 73 65 68, Davis Love III 69 67 70, Brandt Snedeker 68 70 68
207 Robert Garrigus 70 68 69, Justin Rose (Eng) 67 71 69, Ryan Palmer 69 67 71, Matt Bettencourt 70 71 66, Mark Wilson 70 67 70, Fred Couples 72 67 68
208 Charley Hoffman 71 69 68, Ted Purdy 73 66 69, James Nitties (Aus) 71 67 70, Kevin Streelman 70 67 71, Nathan Green (Aus) 71 71 66, Vijay Singh (Fij) 70 68 70, Marc Leishman (Aus) 70 71 67, Tim Petrovic 68 71 69, Y.E. Yang (Kor) 67 71 70
209 Charles Warren 73 67 69, Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 72 68 69, Bill Lunde 70 68 71, Sean O'Hair 69 72 68, Steve Elkington (Aus) 65 73 71, Jason Bohn 72 70 67
210 Scott McCarron 72 65 73, Dean Wilson 69 69 72
211 J J Henry 76 66 69, Rocco Mediate 70 69 72, Chez Reavie 70 71 70
212 Jason Dufner 72 69 71, Steve Flesch 69 72 71, Bo Van Pelt 69 72 71, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 71 70 71, Peter Lonard (Aus) 70 70 72
213 Bart Bryant 68 72 73, John Senden (Aus) 71 70 72, Jeff Quinney 69 73 71, Harrison Frazar 69 70 74, Nicholas Thompson 71 70 72, Webb Simpson 74 67 72
214 Nick Watney 70 72 72, Joe Ogilvie 69 72 73, Mike Weir (Can) 71 71 72, Notah Begay III 70 72 72
215 Paul Goydos 73 68 74, Matt Hill 71 69 75
216 Michael Letzig 68 74 74, Brian Davis (Eng) 70 72 74, Chris Stroud 74 67 75, Chris DiMarco 70 72 74, David Mathis 71 71 74
217 Ricky Barnes 70 72 75, Kevin Stadler 69 73 75, Martin Laird (Sco) 70 71 76, Troy Matteson 69 71 77
219 Jeff Maggert 72 70 77
220 Marc Turnesa 71 69 80, James Driscoll 70 70 80

Labels: ,

Lothians beat Angus 6-3 in U-16s friendly

Lothians beat Angus 6-3 in an Under-16 boys' friendly match at Linlithgow. Angus were up against it when they trailed 3-0 after the morning foursomes but they stuck to their task and shared the foursomes 3-3/
Details (Lothians boys first):
FOURSOMES (3-0).
Anthony Blaney (Liberton) & Fraser Thain (West Linton) bt Grant Bowman (Monifieth) & Ally Bremner (Edzell) 6 and 5.
Louis Gaughan (Bathgate) & Blair Todd (Greenburn) bt Ian Douglas (Monifieth) & Jevin Wilkie (Downfield) 4 and 2.
Andrew Loch (Pumpherston) & Callum Hill (Tantallon) bt Calum McKay (Grange) & Connor Cook (Caird Park) 8 and 7.
SINGLES (3-3)
Thain lost to Bowman 1 hole.
Blaney lost to Cook 1 hole.
Gaughan bt Douglas 3 and 1.
Todd lost to Bremner 1 hole.
Hill bt Wilkie 3 and 2.
Loch bt McKay 6 and 4.

Labels:

James White leads from Gary Tough

at halfway in Cameron Corbett Vase

Stirling University student James White from Lundin Golf Club, Fife leads the 41 qualifiers with 36-hole totals of two-over-par 146 or better into Sunday's final 36 holes in this weekend's SGU Order of Merit event - the Cameron Corbett Vase at Haggs Castle Golf Club, Glasgow.
Professional's son James, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, was the Scottish boys' match-play champion at West Kilbride in 2006.
Earlier this season he lost a play-off to Paul O'Hara in the Edward Trophy at Glasgow Gailes.
This weekend White leads at 10-under-par 134, made up of a pair of 67s, one ahead of veteran campaigner and former Craigmillar Park Open winner, Gary Tough, the course manager at the Letham Grange Hotel, Angus. Gary has had rounds of 67 and 68, opening up a two-shot gap between himself and the third-placed Michael Williams (St Michaels).
Not often you see the name of a St Michaels Golf Club member in contention in an SGU Order of Merit event but Michael is up there with the best of them after a 70 and 67 over the 6,426yd course which has a par of 72 and an SSS of 71.
Banchory's James Byrne, the most in-form player in Scottish amateur golf with back-to-back victories in the Tennant Cup and then the East of Scotland Open, is not playing in the Cameron Corbett Vase.
Presumably he wants to be as fresh as possible for the Open Championship's Local Regional Qualifying over 36 holes on Monday and Tuesday.
QUALIFIERS
Par 144 (2x72) 6,426yd
134 James White (Lundin) 67 67.
135 Gary Tough (Letham Grange) 67 68.
137 Michael Williams (St Michaels) 70 67.
138 Keith Hamilton (Ayr Belleisle) 73 65, Alex Main (Thornton) 70 68, Craig Watson (East Renfrewshire) 69 69, Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) 69 69, Allyn Dick (Kingsknowe) 67 71, Nick Barr (Craigie Hill) 67 71.
139 Mark Bookless (Sandyhills) 70 69, Paul Betty (Hayston) 70 69.
140 Andrew Wallace (Glenbervie) 74 66, Scott Borrowman (Dollar) 71 69, Steven Robertson (Sandyhills) 69 71, Fraser Fotheringham (Nairn) 68 72.
142 Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) 72 70, Chris Harkins (Ayr Belleisle) 71 71, Richard Graham (Hayston) 69 73.
143 Ross Crowe (Westerhope) 73 70, Andrew Gunson (Shady Canyon) 72 71, Sam Binning (Ranfurly Castle) 70 73.
144 Ian Redford (St Andrews New) 72 72, Philip McLean (Peterhead) 71 73, James Morrison (Stellenbosch) 71 73.
145 Paul Ferrier (Baberton) 74 71, David Addison (Barassie) 74 71, Steven Maxwell (Windyhill) 73 72, Liam McGowan (St Andrews New) 72 73, John Mathers (Haggs Castle) 71 74, Fraser McKenna (Balmore) 71 74, Bobby Rushford (Grangemouth) 70 74, Steven McEwan (Caprington) 70 75, Colin Thomson (East Renfrew) 70 75, Chris Conroy (Paisley) 67 78.
146 Tom Blennerhassett (Dalmahoy) 76 70, Stephen Machin (Cowglen) 74 72, Paul Gault (Kirkhill) 73 73, Mathew Clark (Kilmacolm) 72 74, Gordon Yates (Hilton Park) 72 74, Steven Rennie (Drumpellier) 71 75, Michael Main (Thornton) 70 76.
MISSED THE CUT
147 Neil McBride (Cowglen) 73 74, James Hendrick (Pollok) 73 74.
148 James Ross (Royal Burgess) 77 71, Daniel Sommerville (St Andrews) 74 74, Lewis Kirton (Newmachar) 74 74, Keith Shanks (Birk Boilermaker) 74 74, Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon), James Hamilton (NZ) 72 76, Ross Bell (Downfield) 72 76, Craig Hamilton (NZ) 71 77.
149 John Shanks (Irvine) 79 70, Michael Buchan (Cruden Bay) 79 70, Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon) 77 72, Dean Yeats (Nigg Bay) 75 74, Stephen Keane (Cathkin Braes) 74 75, Greg Nicolson (Mortonhall) 73 76, Brett Drewitt (Australia) 71 78.
150 Michael Smyth (Royal Troon) 76 74, Ben Sloan (Cathkin Braes) 75 75, Jamie MacKay (Barassie) 74 76.
151 Fraser Campbell (Clober) 77 74, Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) 77 74.
152 Cameron Gray (West Kilbride) 78 74, Colin Mundie (Falkirk) 75 77, Alistair Lauder (Paisley) 74 78, Chris Carson (Innellan) 73 79, William Bremner (Edzell) 71 81.
153 Michael Gray (Lanark) 75 78.
154 Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs) 76 78.
155 Kenneth Anderson (Falkirk) 79 76, Michael Daily (Erskine) 79 76, Justin Duff (Fraserburgh) 75 80, Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh) 74 81.
157 Andrew Abercrombie 79 78, Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) 78 79.
158 Wesley Proctor (Stellenbosch) 81 77, Sean McGarvey (Glencorse) 80 78.
161 Neil Cunningham (Carmuirs) 85 76, John Duff (Newmacar) 81 80.

Labels:

RENFREWSHIRE 6-12 handicap championship

George White is local hero

but probably not to man

he pipped, Gary Easton!

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY RENFREWSHIRE GOLF UNION
Caldwell Golf Club hosted the Renfrewshire Golf Union 6-12 handicap Championship on a day where early morning conditions were excellent for the competitors.
Gary Easton from Fereneze Golf Club set an early target for the large field of 118 when, playing off a handicap of 11, he got to the turn in 36. He leaked a few on the way back but a card of 76 less 11 for a net 65 raised the eyebrows of those still to tackle the demanding course.
Alan Proctor of Lochwinnoch looked to be up for the challenge as did Martin McCulloch of Bonnyton but both dropped shots toward the end and could only record 66 and 67 respectively for what became third and fourth places.
It took local golfer, George White, to take the wind out of Gary’s sails. George was one behind the leader with three holes to play but a birdie 2 at the dangerous 16th, followed by solid pars at the two remaining holes, saw him return the same net score – 72 less 7 for 65 – as Gary.
A complicated count back resulted in George taking the trophy with what was the best scratch score of the day.
+Picture, courtesy of Renfrewshire Golf Union, shows championship winner George White being presented with the trophy by RGU president Billy Gilmour.

Labels:

SCOT'S 65 IS HIS LOWEST OF YEAR

Don't write me off for an Open at

Turnberry, says jaunty Monty

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Colin Montgomerie matched his lowest round of the year in Paris today - and then urged people not to dismiss his chances of figuring prominently in the upcoming Open Championship at Turnberry.
"I was eighth there in 1994, and The Open gives me my best opportunity if it's fast-running," said the Ryder Cup captain, after a six-under-par 65 in the third round of the French Open Alstom at Le Golf National.
Montgomerie did not expect to make the cut after a closing triple-bogey 7 on Friday had dropped him to one over. He survived by the skin of his teeth, however, and on his return to the course on which he was runner-up last year - his last top-10 finish - he sank a 97-yard pitch to the sixth for an eagle 2 and grabbed four birdies.
Best of those was a 204-yard four-iron to within a few inches of the flag on the difficult 17th, and that reminded the 46-year-old Scot of his prime.
He added: "That's what I used to do. I've been making far too many mistakes - there were a load of crazy ones on Friday - and it starts with hitting fairways.
"If I do that I can play to my strength, my iron play. This was a very important round for me, and I've just got to keep at it, hoping it will come back one day.
"That 7 killed things off here. I've now got to move up as high as I can - I don't need the money, but I need the points."
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71)
202 Rafael Echenique (Arg) 65 67 70
203 Martin Kaymer (Ger) 62 72 69
204 Paul Waring 66 70 68
205 Peter Hanson (Swe) 65 70 70, Richard Green (Aus) 68 67 70, Seve Benson 70 67 68
206 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 67 71 68, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 68 66 72, Lee Westwood 68 68 70
207 Ian Poulter 72 69 66
208 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 67 70 71, Steve Webster 69 65 74, Colin Montgomerie 69 74 65, Scott Strange (Aus) 65 72 71, Jamie Donaldson 69 71 68, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 65 75 68, Graeme Storm 69 72 67, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 72 71 65
209 Anders Hansen (Den) 69 72 68, Phillip Archer 69 73 67, Danny Willett 68 71 70, Kenneth Ferrie 70 68 71, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 70 70 69
210 Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 67 74 69, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 70 71 69, Gary Orr 73 70 67, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 67 72 71, Darren Clarke 73 69 68
211 Damien McGrane 70 72 69, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 69 71 71, Soren Hansen (Den) 68 71 72, Gareth Maybin 69 71 71, Nick Dougherty 66 76 69, David Horsey 72 71 68, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 72 67 72, Marc Warren 68 72 71, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 70 72 69, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 69 71 71, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 70 72 69
212 Shane Lowry 69 72 71, Paul Lawrie 67 74 71, Oliver Wilson 72 69 71, David Lynn 69 74 69, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 72 70 70
213 James Kingston (Rsa) 71 70 72, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 75 68 70, Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 67 75 71, Peter Lawrie 71 71 71, Steven O'Hara 71 72 70, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 70 72 71, Paul Broadhurst 73 69 71, Gary Lockerbie 68 75 70, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 67 73 73, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 74 66 73, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 70 72 71, Mark Foster 69 74 70
214 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 74 67 73, David Drysdale 67 76 71, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 71 72 71, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 73 70 71, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 67 73 74, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 68 74 72
215 Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 74 69 72, Benn Barham 68 74 73, Pablo Martin (Spa) 71 72 72, Thomas Levet (Fra) 67 73 75, Ross McGowan 69 72 74, Barry Lane 70 71 74
216 Robert Rock 70 70 76, Miguel Angel Martin (Spa) 72 71 73, Philip Golding 71 72 73
217 Thomas Bjorn (Den) 70 70 77, Alastair Forsyth 72 69 76, John Bickerton 65 77 75, Sam Little 67 75 75
218 Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 68 75 75
219 Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 69 73 77
221 Paul Nilbrink (Swe) 73 69 79

Labels:

David Orr comes home in 28 to
snatch tie at Hayston pro-am

New Scottish professional champion David Orr is still on Cloud Nine! The East Renfrewshire man put together a blistering inward half of six-under-par 28 in tieing with Alan Lockhart (Ladybank) and home course pro Steven Gray on six-under 64 at the head of the leaderboard in the £7,000 Hayston Golf Club, Kirkintilloch pro-am today.
Orr, pictured right by Andy Forman, was two or three shots adrift of Lockhart (out in 33) and Gray (out in 34) when he turned in 36 but Orr then went into overdrive with an eagle and four birdies over the inward half.
They each earned £837.20 for finishing two shots ahead of Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills), Lee Harper (Archerfield Links) and Chjris Kelly (cawder) who earned £387.20 apiece.
There was a tight finish too in the pro-am team event with Jonny Sharp (The Carrick at Cameron House) leading amateurs Jim Paterson (handicap 3), John Mulgrew (16) and Peter McGlynn (15) to victory with a net total of 16-under-par 54.
But they only just made it by a shot from the team piloted by Alain Tait (Marriott Dalmahoy) with Euan Cameron (Hamilton) only one shot further back on 14 under par with his trio.
Leading pro scores
Par 70
64 Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), David Orr (East Renfrewshire), Stephen Gray (Hayston) £837.20 each.
66 Paul McKechnie (Brfaid Hills), Lee Harper (Archerfield Links), Chris Kelly (Cawder) £387.20 each.
67 Fraser McLaughlan (Bothwell Castle), Kenny Walker (Castle Park), Edward Thomson (Senit Associates), Christopher Russell (RAW Golf Course Design) £219.76 each.
68 Sean O'Donnell (Balbirnie Park), Campbell Elliott (Haggs Castle), Mark King (Kingsfield), Fraser Mann (Musselbugh), Scott Henderson (Kings Links) £136 each.
69 Ian Graham (Crow Wood), Samuel Cairns (Colville Park), David Park (Wishaw), Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs), Paul Malone (Braid Hills), Colin Gillies (Perry Golf), Callum Nicoll (Prestwick), Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie) £70.49 each.
70 Gordon Law (Uphall), Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst), Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) £48.39 each.
71 Jonny Sharp (Carrick at Cameron House), Dean Robertson (Mearns Castle), Craig Lee (unatt) £48.390 each.nn
72 John Ruth (Sandyhlls), Andrew Oldcorn (Kings Acre), Euan Cameron (Hamilton), Peter Kerr (Hayston), Steven Taylor (Bothwell Castle) £48.39 each.
73 Gavin Cook (Prestonfield) £48.39.
74 Alan Tait (Marriott Dalmahoy) £48.39.
78 James Mooney (Kingscliff Golf Solutions), Graeme Sneddon (Geaves Sportrs) £48.39 each.

++Note: Last Friday's invitational shotgun pro-am at Dumfries & County Golf Club was abandoned after only five holes because of bad weather.

Labels:

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

Champions of the world - and now Champions of Europe! The victorious Scotland team, captain Scott Knwles and coach Ian Rae in high spirits after being England in the final (image by courtesy of Tom Ward Photography; click to enlarge).
Scotland salutes its golfing heroes:
World, now champions of Europe


By COLIN FARQUHARSON
It goes not get much better than adding the European men's amateur team championship at Conwy, North Wales today to the Eisenhower Trophy world amateur team title won at Adelaide, Australia last October.
That's the brilliant achievement by the cream of Scotland's amateur golfers. Savour it long and sweet. It's a double that might not happen again for many years because of the rising standards among countries that once upon a time merely made up the numbers.
The common factors in both Scotland's memorable wins - in Australia and again this week, culminating in a 5-2 win over England in the final - were Gavin Dear (Murrayshall) and Wallace Booth (Comrie). They, alongwith Calum Macaulay (Tulliallan) won the Eisenhower Trophy. Calum is now finding his feet on the European Tour.
Dear and Booth, probably playing their last season in amateur golf, completed a terrific double whammy by joining up with Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck), the Colville Park pair of Ross Kellett and Paul O'Hara, and Blairgowrie's Glenn Campbell to become champions of Europe this week.
How many of these Scottish golfing heroes will be rewarded with places in the GB&I Walker Cup line-up for the United States in September? We must wait and see but today's victory over England must have impressed the selectors.
To take a 2-0 lead over England from the morning foursomes was a big boost to the Scots.
Gavin Dear and Glenn Campbell finished one up on Dale Whitnell and Charlie Ford while Wallace Booth and Michael Stewart were 2 and 1 winners over Matt Haines and Tommy Fleetwood.
British amateur championship beaten finalist Sam Hutsby got one point back for England in the singles by beating Wallace Booth 5 and 4 but young Michael Stewart cancelled that out by beating Dale Whitnell 5 and 4.
That left Scotland leading 3-1 with three ties to finish.
Gavin Dear and Matt Haines were all square after 16 holes before Haines won at the 19th.
Ross Kellett was one up after 14 on Fleetwood and kept his nose in front to the winning line, winning by one hole.
Paul O'Hara was two up on Luke Goddard after 13 holes and stayed that way to win on the 17th green.
Behind these bare scorelines lies a lot of great golf, a lot of anxiety but a lot of after-glow enjoyment as well.
Well done, Team Scotland! We're proud of you.

FROM THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION WEBSITE:
SGU National Coach Ian Rae said, “Undoubtedly the double victory in the morning foursomes set us up perfectly for the afternoon singles and afforded us some breathing space. They played exceptionally well which really gave us the upperhand from the outset and we continued to build upon that momentum.”
Depsite two losses in the top two singles campaigns, Michael Stewart and Ross Kellett were exerting their dominance over counterparts Dale Whitnell and Tommy Fleetwood (respectively) with four hole leads in their matches.
Rae added, “There was no doubt that despite the calibre of their opponents these were matches that we looked set to win and were crucial in securing us points for our victory.”
With two wins apiece between England and Scotland in the singles it was left to Edward Trophy winner Paul O’Hara to seal the victory when he sank the winning putt at the 17th. Rae added, “Paul sealed the deal but everyone today played their part in securing this great win for us, the whole event has been a great experience and a tremendous achievement to hold both world and European titles simultaneously.
“We selected a team which we felt could deliver at the highest level of the game and this victory today has cemented Scotland’s position at the top of the amateur game.”

FINAL DETAILS
SCOTLAND 5, ENGLAND 2
Foursomes (2-0)
Gavin Dear & Glenn Campbell bt Dale Whitenll & Charlie Ford 1 hole.
Wallace Booth & Michael Stewart bt Matt Haines & Tommy Fleetwood 2 and 1.
Singles (3-2)
Booth lost to Sam Hutsby 5 and 4.
Stewart bt Whitnell 5 and 4.
Dear lost to Haines at 19th.
Ross Kellett bt Fleetwood 1 hole.
Paul O'Hara bt Luke Goddard 2 and 1.
Results:
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
1 Scotland bt England 5-2.
3 Italy bt Norway 5-2.
5 France bt Sweden 3-2.
7 Finland bt Germany 3-2.
SECOND FLIGHT
1 Ireland bt Denmark 3-2.
3 Spain bt Iceland 3-2.
5 Netherlands bt Portugal 4-1.
7 Belgium bt Wales 3-2.
THIRD FLIGHT
1 Austria
2 Czech Republic.
3 Greece.
4 Turkey

Labels:

Peter Baker’s dozen under par

shares lead in Switzerland

By GORDON SIMPSON of the European Tour Press Staff
English Ryder Cup player Peter Baker drew on the memories of his victory in the Credit Suisse Challenge two years ago by storming into a share of the lead going into the final round at Wylihof Golf Club, Luterbach, Switzerland today.
Baker, who used a third-round 66 as the platform for his successful title surge in 2007, repeated that score this time around to tie with American Nathan Smith (68) at the top of the leaderboard.
The leading pair are on 207, 12 under par, a shot clear of Austrian Florian Praegant and halfway leader, Yorkshire's John Parry, who shot rounds of 66 and 72 respectively.
Baker, whose two Challenge Tour titles in 2007 secured a return to he European Tour, now hopes that Switzerland can be the springboard to another crack at the big-time in 2010, which will be his 24th year on Tour.
“Although the conditions this week are very different from when I won here in 2007, you can’t beat good memories of winning” said the three-time European Tour champion. “It was very wet two years ago, but the course here seems to suit my game.
“When you’ve won over a certain course, you know where to place the ball and which shots you need to play and I think that has helped me greatly this week. I played well for the first two days without getting any putts to drop, but I made a good birdie on the seventh today and then ‘stiffed’ my approach for another at the ninth. That gave me the momentum to make five birdies coming home.”
Smith, a 25 year old Californian, celebrated Independence Day in the Alps rather than his usual haunt of the beach in Santa Cruz near San Francisco.
“I would normally be enjoying a nice barbecue on the beach on the 4th of July back home, but I am not complaining about being here and playing in the final group” said Smith, who missed out on his card by one shot at the 2008 Qualifying School – Final Stage.
“That really frustrated me,” he continued. “But I felt it was worth persevering over here and trying to see what I could do on the Challenge Tour. I won on the Hooters Tour in the States in 2007 but felt I could improve my golf here and see the world at the same time.
“In order to get to know yourself, you need to get out of your comfort zone, and I am really pleased that I made that decision. I’ve had no trouble making friends here and now I need to get the winning habit.”
Former Scottish amateur champion George Murray from Anstruther is five shots off the pace on 212.
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 219 (3x73)
207 N Smith (USA) 71 68 68, P Baker (Eng) 70 71 66
208 J Parry (Eng) 69 67 72, F Praegant (Aut) 74 68 66
209 L Kennedy (Eng) 71 72 66, E Molinari (Ita) 72 69 68, R Steiner (Aut) 70 70 69, J Quesne (Fra) 69 69 71
210 A Butterfield (Eng) 73 70 67, J Campillo (Esp) 74 69 67, R Santos (Por) 72 68 70, A Hansen (Den) 72 71 67, T Carolan (Aus) 70 69 71
211 L Bond (Wal) 71 72 68, A Gee (Eng) 73 67 71, A Marshall (Eng) 72 70 69
212 G Murray (Sco) 71 69 72, C Suneson (Esp) 69 70 73, B Pettersson (Swe) 69 68 75, D Denison (Eng) 72 70 70, P Relecom (Bel) 71 70 71
213 N Meitinger (Ger) 69 72 72, F Calmels (Fra) 72 73 68, M Wiegele (Aut) 72 71 70, A Mellor (Eng) 72 72 69, C Günther (Ger) 74 71 68, J Grillon (Fra) 72 70 71, J Sjöholm (Swe) 73 70 70
214 J Colomo (Esp) 70 71 73, J Morgan (Eng) 72 69 73, K Sullivan (Wal) 71 72 71, N Sulzer (Sui) 70 72 72, G Houston (Wal) 71 72 71
215 J Larsen (Nor) 74 69 72, G Shaw (Nir) 74 70 71, J Bjerhag (Swe) 72 72 71, M Zions (Aus) 69 75 71, G Paddison (Nzl) 74 71 70, M Villegas (Col) 72 71 72, C Russo (Fra) 69 74 72,
216 P Kaensche (Nor) 73 72 71, N Lemke (Swe) 73 70 73, D Wardrop (Eng) 71 74 71, N Maestroni (Ita) 69 74 73, J McLeary (Sco) 71 73 72, L James (Eng) 68 75 73,
217 R Karlberg (Swe) 75 70 72, M Tullo (Chi) 73 69 75, J Granberg (Fin) 73 71 73, S Robinson (Eng) 67 76 74, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 71 72 74, J Billot (Fra) 71 72 74, C Brazillier (Fra) 75 70 72, F Colombo (Ita) 71 73 73
218 S Jeppesen (Swe) 71 70 77, S Davis (Eng) 67 74 77, S Saavedra (Arg) 75 70 73, M Laskey (Wal) 73 72 73, P Purhonen (Fin) 73 72 73, T Cruz (Por) 68 75 75,
219 C Moriarty (Irl) 74 71 74
220 P Del Grosso (Arg) 74 71 75
221 T Whitehouse (Eng) 71 74 76
222 J Clément (Sui) 73 72 77
223 G Woodman (Eng) 69 76 78, F Fritsch (Ger) 71 74 78

Labels:

Tiger Woods will play Native American

charity event for buddy Begay

Tiger Woods has accepted an invitation from long-time friend Notah Begay III to play in his charity Skins Game at Turning Stone Resort next month to support Native American youth.
Woods’ agent at IMG confirmed Tiger would be playing on August 24 in the Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge. The world’s No. 1 player will join Stanford University team-mate Begay, former Masters champion Mike Weir and Camilo Villegas.
A year ago, the event raised $180,000 for Begay’s foundation, which supports youth sports and wellness programs for Native Americans in New Mexico and other states.
Begay, a Navajo, is the only Native American on the US PGA Tour. He has four PGA Tour victories, none since 2000, and earned his card for this year by returning to Q-School.
He and Woods have remained close, however, and, thanks to Tiger, Begay received an exemption to the AT&T National, of which Woods is the host.
Woods had planned to play in Begay’s event a year ago until he was forced to miss the second half of the season with knee surgery.
Turning Stone Resort in upstate New York has held a Fall Series event on the PGA Tour the last two years, and its $6 million purse is larger than some regular-season events. Woods is not expected to play in the PGA Tour event, as it follows the conclusion of the FedEx Cup.
Begay’s charity event is the Monday of The Barclays in New Jersey, the start of the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup.
Woods has never played The Barclays since it became part of the play-offs. Mark Steinberg, his agent at IMG, said Woods has not decided on his schedule for the play-offs.

Labels: ,

US PGA TOUR REPORT

A master class
from Tiger in
how to hold a
good score
together
FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Tournament host Tiger Woods held a very good round together in brilliant style during a shaky stretch in the middle and shot a four-under 66 to take a one-shot lead at the AT&T National with the lowest 36-hole score ever recorded at the Congressional Country Club. But a back-nine collapse put paid to Paul Casey's hopes of competing over the weekend.
With big crowds turning out in the Washington DC area at the start of the July 4 holiday weekend, Woods followed Thursday's six-under-par 64, his lowest opening round in two years, with a 66 on the par-70, 7,255-yard Blue Course in Bethesda, Maryland.
The five-birdie, one-bogey round took the world number one into an early second-round lead at 10 under par and he held on to it after overnight leader Anthony Kim failed to build on his course record, eight-under 62 in the first round.
The leader, though, was far from happy with his day's work.
"I didn't drive the ball as well as I did yesterday or hit my irons as crisp," Woods said.
"Either I hit it pretty close to the hole, within 10 feet, or I was missing greens. So it was a little bit of two ends today.
"It was nice to actually get a score out of it. I didn't shoot myself in the foot and had a stretch there from basically 17 through three (he started at the 10th) where I didn't really hit the ball all that well but somehow was able to get through it and keep the momentum of the round going."
Kim had got to 10 under after eight holes before three bogeys undermined his good work. A birdie at the 16th, though left him with a level-par 70 to finish two strokes behind Woods in third place, one behind Australia's Rod Pampling, who posted a 64 to move to nine under par.
Kim was happy to have remained in the hunt after surviving a tough round.
"It was a grind, possibly one of the toughest ball-striking days I've had in a long time, even with all my injuries (this year) and I feel good," Kim said. "I stayed positive and made a couple of key putts to keep me in it so it's not so bad to be third after a rough day."
“Either I hit it pretty close to the hole, within 10 feet, or I was missing greens,” Woods said. “So it was a little bit of two ends today. It was nice to actually get a score out of it.”
Woods is in the halfway pole postion at 10-under 130, breaking by one shot the previous 36-hole score at Congressional set last year by Tom Pernice Jr. and Jeff Overton. Woods has a one-shot lead over Rod Pampling, who had a 64 to boost his chances of qualifying for the Open at Turnberry.
Defending champion Anthony Kim couldn’t build on his course-record 62 from the opening round. He played in the afternoon, after Woods set the target, and caught him briefly before missing too many fairways and having to settle for a 70 that put him two behind.
Jim Furyk, adding more star power to the leaderboard, had a 67 and was alone in fourth.
Perhaps more daunting than Woods’ record 36-hole score is his record on the US PGA Tour when he has at least a share of the 36-hole lead.
He is 31-6 in US sports terms (i.e. won 31, lost six), having won the last 11 times from that spot, dating to 2004 at the Byron Nelson Championship.
While some of the birdies were pure, such as a 5-iron to within 4 feet of a tucked flag on the 13th, it was his worst golf that showed why Woods contends as often as he does.
He twice hit tee shots into the rough and couldn’t get to the green. Another tee shot went into a bunker. He missed the green at a par 3 on the 'wrong' side of the hole. From the middle of the fairway, he hit a miserable shot into a hollow of thick grass.
Despite all that, Woods played that five-hole stretch in one under par whereas a lesser golfing mortal would have been several over.
“That’s why the guy is at such a high level,” said US Open champion Lucas Glover, who played with Woods and shot 66 to join the group at 5-under 135. “When things are going bad, he can rely on his short game. He just doesn’t waste any shots. If he’s losing shots, it’s because of a bad break or a bad lie.”
There were ample opportunities to fall back.
Unable to reach the 17th green from a thick lie in the rough, Woods holed a 6-foot par putt. He pushed his 3-wood into the right rough on the 18th and had to punch under some tree branches and let the ball roll toward the green, but not too far because of water all around it. He putted from off the green 70 feet away to within 5ft and holed that for par.
The birdie came from a fairway bunker, the ball spinning back pin-high, five feet away. Then came a scary, almost magical chip from the side of a mound, which he flopped with enough spin to tap in a 2-footer. And on the third hole, having short-sided himself again, Woods pitched perfectly to a green running away from him and saved another par with a 4-foot putt.
“That’s how you keep yourself in a golf tournament,” Woods said. “I made a couple of big putts — 17, 18, good up-and-down on 2 — and it kept me going. I played well early, and it’s all about keeping your momentum.”
Woods will play in the final pairing of the third round with Pampling, a familiar face from their many morning practice rounds at the majors. Pampling was in the first group off Friday morning, ran off three birdies through five holes, and didn’t get unsettled by a lone bogey when he missed the fairway on the sixth hole, which plays as a par 4 at 516 yards.
“I just didn’t do anything wrong and kept myself out of trouble,” Pampling said.
He has two weeks left to try to qualify for Turnberry, but would need at least a runner-up finish this week to have a chance. Otherwise, he is headed for the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.
Most eyes were behind Pampling, however, with the prospects of a Woods-Kim shootout at Congressional. Kim is regarded as the most promising young American to challenge Woods, and despite a swing that deserted him midway through the round, he’s only two behind. “I hate the way I hit the ball today,” Kim said. “My swing got loose and I couldn’t find it out there. If I can stay focused and stay positive, I’ll be in good shape.”
A dozen players were separated by five shots, including US Amateur champion Danny Lee, who had a 67. Even so, it starts with a familiar name at the top.
“He can be playing great and then you really don’t have a lot of chance of beating him,” Pampling said. “And then he’s just playing so-so and he’s still right there with a chance to win coming down the last nine holes. He’s just amazing how consistent he is.”
Paul Casey had halves of 30 and 39 for 144 - two shots too many to make the cut. He had five bogeys and one birdie on his inward half.
But Glasgow's Martin Laird made the cut with scores of 70 and 71 for 141.
SECOND-ROUND LEADING TOTALS
Par 140 (2x70)
130 T Woods 64 66.
131 R Pampling 67 74.
132 A Kim 62 70.
133 J Furyk 66 67.
134 B Molder 64 7, D A Points 64 70, D Chopra 66 68.
135 S Appleby 66 69, L Glover 69 66, D Lee 68 67, R Moore 69 66, C Beckman 68 67.
Selected scores
138 J Rose 67 71 (jt 22nd).
141 M Laird 70 71 (jt 48th).
142 B Davis 70 72.
MISSED THE CUT (142 and better qualified)
144 P Casey 75 69.

Labels: ,

Copyright © Colin Farquharson

If you can't find what you are looking for.... please check the Archive List or search this site with Google