US PGA Tour event washed out in Illinois

The second round of the John Deere Classic was postponed due to heavy rain.
Scheduled to start at 7 a.m. on Friday, tournament officials at the Silvis, Illinois venue were hoping to begin play at 4 p.m. (local time) after several delays. They called the round off entirely about 20 minutes before the first groups were scheduled to tee off.
By then, the sun was out and most of the clouds had disappeared. But the course was simply too wet, so officials moved the round back a day and scheduled 36 holes for Sunday.
Twice US Open champion Lee Janzen and Darron Stiles are tied for the lead after shooting 7-under 64 on Thursday.

Birdie-less Harrington goes four

clear in Irish PGA championship

Padraig Harrington did not have a single birdie in a third-round 73 - but still ended the day with a four-shot lead on two-under-par 211 in the PGA Irish championship at the European Club.
Nobody broke 71, which indicates that the weather was not helpful.
SCOREBOARD
Par 213 (3x71)
211 Padraig Harrington (unatt) 68 70 73.
215 Simon Thornton (Royal Co down) 75 67 73.
217 Gavin Lunny (Naas) 70 73 74, Richard Noel Kilpatrick (Banbridge) 70 7 77.
218 John Kelly (St Margaret's) 75 71 72, Brian McElhinney (Team Ireland) 70 76 72, Glen Robinson (St Helen's Bay) 70 74 74.
219 Seamus McMonagle (unatt) 69 75 75.
220 Brendan McGovern (Headfort) 72 71 77.
222 Denis O'Sullivan (Club La Playa) 75 76 71, Mark Staunton (www.foreirreland.com/) 76 73 73.
224 Michael Collins (www.foreireland.com/) 73 78 73, Padraic O'Rourke (Green 18) 71 76 77, Tim Rice (unatt) 70 76 78.
225 Cian McNamara (unatt) 75 78 72.
226 Wayne O'Callaghan (Wayne O'Callaghan Golf.com) 76 72 78, Damian Mooney (unatt) 70 77 79.
227 Jimmy Bolger (Kilkenny) 76 74 77, Ian Kerr (Bunclody) 75 74 78.
228 Michael Allan (Leopardstown) 80 75 73, Donal Gleeson (McGuirks Golf) 77 74 77.
229 Gary Cullen (Beaverstown) 78 76 75, Stephen Fitzpatrick (Powerscourt) 80 73 76, John Dignam (Slade Valley) 77 76 76.

Sir Nick misses the cut at Loch Lomond

Having started the Scottish Open as plain Nick Faldo the six-time major winner ended it today as Sir Nick.
Between the first and second rounds the European Tour established there was no need to wait for Faldo's investiture to acknowledge the knighthood he received last month.
Last year's Ryder Cup captain was playing his first event since the Hong Kong Open eight months ago and missed the halfway cut on two over par following rounds of 71 and 73.
Faldo is also in the field for The Open at Turnberry next week.

Mickelson confirms he's not coming over for Open

Phil Mickelson has confirmed he will not take part in The Open which begins in Turnberry on Thursday.
The American, who has been replaced in the starting field by fellow American Ben Crane, has pulled out so he can be with his wife and mother who are both battling cancer.
Mickelson, who had contested every Open since he turned professional in 1994 but only finished in the top 10 once when he was third at Royal Troon in 2004, confirmed his decision with an announcement on his website, www.philmickelson.com.
He said: "As a professional golfer, competing in major championships, and winning them, is my main objective.
"But I've always said family is my number one priority. For that reason I won't be playing the British Open at Turnberry next week.
"It's a trying time for us as we await more test results but we have excellent medical attention and care, we've received wonderful support from so many people, many of whom have gone through the same battle, and we're optimistic, as always."

BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN

'I do like Loch Lomond,' says Goosen

- and no wonder as he leads by two

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Retief Goosen is not known as a comic, but he is sure he gave his playing partners a laugh at Loch Lomond today by making a total mess of his opening shot.
"A low, thinny one going right - probably not even 180 yards off the tee," said Goosen of his three-wood down the 10th.
However, the South African was the one smiling the most at the end of the Barclays Scottish Open second round, however, after an eight-under-par 63 catapulted him from four behind into a two-stroke lead.
Goosen, now 11 under, missed out on the course record by only one stroke - as he did not need telling because he was the one to achieve it back in 1997.
"I've shot 62 around here twice, once with placing (in 2001 en route to taking the title) and once without. I do like it here. The golf course is fairly generous off the tee and I'm not one of the straightest hitters."
The double US Open champion, who rescued his par-4 on the 10th with a 30-foot putt, has a particular fondness for the 518-yard third hole now.
As on the opening day, he sank a 20-footer for eagle, making him four under there already this week.
Goosen - a winner in Asia, Africa and America in the last nine months, but not in Europe since the 2005 German Masters - has Australian Adam Scott as his closest challenger. Scott was off at 7.40am, but did not prevent former tennis world number one Ana Ivanovic from being there to support him as he added a 67 to his opening 66.
"All areas of my life are in a good place right now," said the 28-year-old when asked if it helped to have a partner who was also a professional sports star.
His compatriot Marcus Fraser and German Martin Kaymer, winner of the French Open on Sunday, are three behind in joint third, while Lee Westwood, the player Kaymer beat in a play-off in Paris, was much improved both in his golf as well as his health.
For the second week running Colin Montgomerie ended up making a halfway cut he firmly expected to miss on Friday night.
Europe's Ryder Cup captain will now try to force his way into contention in the Barclays Scottish Open just as he did at the French Open last weekend.
Despite making birdies at the last four holes for a second-round 69, Montgomerie assumed his level-par aggregate would see him crashing out of his national championship for the third year running.
But six-and-a-half hours later the 46-year-old's place in the final two rounds was confirmed when Martin Erlandsson, playing in the last group, lost a ball and triple-bogeyed his final hole.
A birdie there from the Swede would have knocked out not only Montgomerie, but also defending champion Graeme McDowell. Erlandsson was actually two under with three to play, but dropped five shots in the last three.
Montgomerie had been full of doom and gloom after his round.
"I'm not playing very well at all," he sighed.
"My game has gone back to where it's been for the last one-and-a-half years - disappointing.
"But never mind - we'll keep going. Turn up next Thursday (the start of the Open at Turnberry) and give it a run - that might be the answer."
If Monty's not happy with his game what about New Zealand's Michael Campbell? The former US Open has now missed 11 cuts in a row.

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE END-OF-PLAY SCOREBOARD AT LOCH LOMOND

Nick Dougherty named European Tour

Player of the Month for June

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOUR
England’s Nick Dougherty has been named The Race to Dubai Golfer of the Month for June after his memorable, emotionally-charged victory at the BMW International Open.
Dougherty, who will receive a jeroboam of Moët & Chandon champagne along with an engraved alms dish in recognition of his achievement, secured his third European Tour victory at the Golfclub München Eichenried with a brilliant final round of eight under par 64 to win by a stroke from Argentina’s Rafa Echenique, who scored an unbelievable albatross 2 on the par-5 72nd hole to push Dougherty all the way.
But the Englishman retained his nerve to finish one clear of Echenique and three ahead of Retief Goosen as he took the €333,330 first prize and moved into the top 20 in The Race to Dubai.
Dougherty’s win in Germany was hugely poignant because it was his first win since his mother, Ennis, passed away last year, and the emotive element to his win made it all the more remarkable.
“I just collapsed after my Mum died,” Dougherty said of his form and confidence. “Up until that point I was playing pretty well. I was going to make The Ryder Cup Team, I had just started to break into the Majors, led the US Open and finished seventh having played with Tiger Woods – everything felt very comfortable.
“Then my world turned upside down in 2008. Having been blessed to not having anything really significant in a bad way happen to me, it hit me like a ton of bricks and I wasn't prepared for it, and it was horrible.
“But I sat down and, in time, started to heal and I collected myself and I realised that I
I have potential to be a great player. There are things I have to work on, but days like I had in Munich are not a coincidence. It was a long time coming, but it came at the right time and to be recognised as the Golfer of the Month just tops it off nicely.”

LLOYD SALTMAN MISSES ANOTHER CUT

Rookie Alexandre Kaleka leads, just five

days after turning professional

REPORT FROM PRESS OFFICER RODDY WILLIAMS
Alexandre Kaleka belied his inexperience as he took a one stroke lead into the weekend of the ALLIANZ EurOpen de Lyon in France, just five days after turning professional.
The 22 year old Frenchman birdied his penultimate hole, the eighth at Golf du Gouverneur, for a four under par 67 and 12 under total of 130, one ahead of Denmark’s Anders Schmidt Hansen and four clear of the chasing pack.
Kaleka, who only turned professional on Monday after representing France in last week’s European amateur team championship in Wales where they finished fifth, might have been expected to buckle after finding himself in a share of the first round lead.
But a birdie on the 12th and eagle on the 15th kept him in front and, despite dropping a shot on the first and not hitting a fairway on his back nine, he conjured up two more birdies to take the outright lead.
“I am staying calm and it was nice to have a few people behind me today,” he said. “The score was okay but I found it difficult to hit the fairways and that was a big difference. I just need to try and find the fairways tomorrow and if I drive well I will be okay. I am pretty confident with the putter so just need to try and get the ball in position.”
Hansen is hoping to join the growing band of Danish golfers on The European Tour and take his place alongside his namesakes, Anders and Søren. Like all Danish golfers, he has been inspired by Thomas Björn and all he has achieved, but it was seeing his old travelling companion on the Challenge Tour and amateur teammate Jeppe Huldahl win the Celtic Manor Wales Open last month which opened his eyes to what is possible.
“Thomas Björn has been huge for Danish golf and inspired every golfer,” explained Hansen. “He broke the boundaries and now golf is the second most popular sport in Denmark. There are a lot of very good Danish golfers on The European Tour now, but seeing that Jeppe could go out and win was fantastic. Now I know what is possible.”
Hansen birdied two of his three opening holes and holed a five metre putt on the ninth to go out in 33. Two more birdies and a solitary bogey coming in gave the 31 year old a four under 67 and 11 under par total of 131.
Glasgow's Andrew McArthur slipped back into the pack with a costly double bogey on his final hole. He trails leader Alexandre Kaleka by five strokes going into the weekend.
McArthur was right in the mix after a birdie on his penultimate hole, the eighth at Golf du Gouverneur, moved him within three of the lead, but found trouble on the last to fall back into a six-way tie for third.
McArthur was unable to match his stunning opening 63 as he mixed birdies and bogeys in equal measure through the first 16 holes, before getting himself under par with his birdie on eight. But that good work was undone on the last.
Of the other Scots in the field in France, Peter Whiteford climbed 36 places to a share of 27th with a three under par 68 to lie on three under 139, but Lloyd Saltman couldn’t rekindle his Open Qualifying heroics as he missed the cut and can now turn this attentions to Turnberry where he will tee it up alongside his brother Eliot.
Eric Ramsay, Scott Henry and George Murray also missed the cut.
Spain’s Carlos Rodiles eagled the 15th on his way to a 65 to join the group on seven under that included Australian Tony Carolan (70), Portugal’s José-Felipe Lima (67), England’s Philip Golding (68) and last week’s runner-up Florian Praegant (68).
Among the players a further shot back and very much in the mix is Colombian Manny Villegas, the younger brother of World Number 11 Camilo.
Villegas, three years the junior of his more famous brother who is competing this week in the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, is playing only his third Challenge Tour event as he looks to establish himself on the golfing stage.
His five under par round, which included an eagle three on the third where he chipped in, took the 24 year old to six under par and within striking distance of the leaders.
Having turned professional last year after finishing at the University of Florida, Villegas won only his second event as a professional when he captured the 2008 Colombia Open. Since then he has been competing around the world in Canada, Japan, Australia and on the American mini Tours, and he now hopes to use the Challenge Tour as his route to The European Tour.
“Things are going well and I am having a lot of fun,” he said. “Hopefully I can get it going this weekend and then play more over here. It depends on how well I do over here but I would love to come and play on The European Tour.”
ROUND 2 SCOREBOARD
Par 142 (2x71)
130 A Kaleka (Fra) 63 67,
131 A Hansen (Den) 64 67,
135 P Golding (Eng) 67 68, C Rodiles (Esp) 70 65, J Lima (Por) 68 67, F Praegant (Aut) 67 68, T Carolan (Aus) 65 70, A McArthur (Sco) 63 72,
136 A Grenier (Fra) 65 71, B Mason (Eng) 66 70, C Günther (Ger) 67 69, F Calmels (Fra) 68 68, M Villegas (Col) 70 66, C Brazillier (Fra) 69 67, L Bond (Wal) 70 66, B Lecuona (Fra) 68 68,
137 R Muntz (Ned) 67 70, J Arruti (Esp) 68 69, R Coles (Eng) 72 65, J Quesne (Fra) 71 66, J Parry (Eng) 69 68, V Dubuisson (am) (Fra) 67 70,
138 S Manley (Wal) 67 71, A Snobeck (Fra) 66 72, D Nouailhac (Fra) 69 69, C Russo (Fra) 69 69, B Hebert (Fra) 68 70,
139 G Paddison (Nzl) 66 73, R Karlberg (Swe) 71 68, J Bjerhag (Swe) 71 68, R McEvoy (Eng) 69 70, A Gee (Eng) 67 72, P Rowe (Eng) 71 68, E Molinari (Ita) 68 71, G Houston (Wal) 66 73, Z Scotland (Eng) 69 70, P Whiteford (Sco) 71 68, M Higley (Eng) 71 68, A Willey (Eng) 70 69,
140 M Mills (Eng) 72 68, D Küpper (Ger) 74 66, D Griffiths (Eng) 70 70, M Zions (Aus) 70 70, S Bebb (Wal) 70 70, J Heath (Eng) 69 71, S Juul (Den) 70 70, J Grillon (Fra) 67 73,
141 R Steele (Eng) 70 71, B Miarka (Ger) 70 71, P Niederdrenk (Ger) 75 66, C Suneson (Esp) 70 71, L Gagli (Ita) 70 71, J Guerrier (Fra) 73 68, R Thuillier (Fra) 71 70, M Cort (Eng) 70 71, A Zanini (Ita) 67 74, L Westerberg (Swe) 71 70, A Högberg (Swe) 71 70, A Butterfield (Eng) 72 69, J Lando-Casanova (am) (Fra) 71 70
MISSED THE CUT
142 F Cupillard (Fra) 72 70, S Davis (Eng) 69 73, N Fox (Irl) 77 65, A Wagner (Arg) 71 71, C Moriarty (Irl) 71 71, L James (Eng) 71 71, A Bernadet (Fra) 69 73, J Billot (Fra) 73 69, B Pettersson (Swe) 73 69, J Sjöholm (Swe) 72 70, R Santos (Por) 67 75, N Meitinger (Ger) 69 73, M McGeady (Irl) 65 77, S Luna (Esp) 73 69,
143 M Quiros (Esp) 70 73, R Harris (Eng) 69 74, M Mauret (Fra) 73 70, G Boyd (Eng) 72 71, V Riu (Fra) 74 69, J McLeary (Sco) 70 73, P Relecom (Bel) 72 71, G Rosier (Fra) 70 73, T Feyrsinger (Aut) 71 72, J Moul (Eng) 68 75, L Saltman (Sco) 70 73, F Fritsch (Ger) 73 70,
144 N Pamard (Fra) 71 73, D Denison (Eng) 72 72, A Bruschi (Ita) 71 73, J Colomo (Esp) 70 74, S Delagrange (Fra) 74 70, M Tullo (Chi) 74 70, M Curtain (Aus) 70 74, G Molteni (Ita) 71 73, A Mörk (Fra) 74 70,
145 P Del Grosso (Arg) 72 73, E Ramsay (Sco) 72 73, M Kramer (Ger) 68 77, T Cruz (Por) 70 75, J Campillo (Esp) 71 74, J Van Hauwe (Fra) 73 72, J Clément (Sui) 72 73, J Zapata (Arg) 73 72,
146 O Suhr (Den) 75 71, M Montgaillard (Fra) 75 71, R Treis (Ger) 74 72, L Kennedy (Eng) 74 72, N Vanhootegem (Bel) 74 72, B Evans (Eng) 70 76, J Burnier (Sui) 73 73, R De Sousa (Sui) 72 74, R Swane (Ned) 72 74, M Crespi (Ita) 74 72,
147 A Summers (Aus) 74 73, J Boerdonk (Ned) 74 73, F Schoettel (Fra) 76 71, R Guillard (Fra) 72 75, J Ruth (Eng) 75 72, J Garcia Fernandez (Esp) 73 74, R Hie (Ina) 69 78, D Perrier (Fra) 79 68,
148 J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 71 77, D Froreich (Ger) 74 74, D Marmion (Eng) 73 75, E Moreul (Fra) 76 72, O David (Fra) 71 77, L Alexandre (Fra) 71 77,
149 S Saavedra (Arg) 72 77, J Morrison (Eng) 72 77, R Zwahlen (Fra) 74 75, D Antonelli (am) (Fra) 73 76, A Malinvaud (am) (Fra) 74 75,
150 I Pyman (Eng) 76 74, M Reale (Ita) 76 74,
151 T Lopez (Fra) 74 77, S Henry (Sco) 80 71, N Colsaerts (Bel) 76 75, N Beaufils (Fra) 73 78,
152 T Ferreira (RSA) 78 74, M Hill (Fra) 77 75, G Murray (Sco) 74 78,
153 F Colombo (Ita) 75 78,
154 M Saluda (Pol) 78 76, F Cabrera (Arg) 74 80, T Schuster (Ger) 75 79,
155 A Haindl (RSA) 79 76, R Eyraud (Fra) 77 78,
156 J Sallat (Fra) 75 81, G Ruste (Fra) 83 73,
158 M Pilkington (Wal) 83 75,
165 M Stelmasiak (Pol) 79 86,

Scots boys beat Portugal

Saturday's European boys' team championship final at Golf Club de Pan, Utrecht in the Netherlands will be contested by Denmark and Germany.
Denmark beat the host nation 4-3 in today's first semi-final while the Germans "walloped" Spain 5-2 in the other.
Scotland, competing in Flight B, had a good 3-2 win over Portugal. Having shared the foursomes, thanks to a 20th hole win by Jack McDonald and Daniel Young, the Scots got the necessary two further points from Paul Shields (3 and 2) and David Law (one hole).
Results:
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
SEMI-FINALS
Denmark 4, Netherlands 3.
Spain 2, Germany 5.
Also:
Czech Republic 1 1/2, Sweden 3 1/2
Belgium 1, England 4.
FLIGHT B
SCOTLAND 3, PORTUGAL 2
Foursome
Jack McDonald & Danield Young bt Tomas Silva & Goncalo Pinto at 20th.
Singles
Sandy Bolton lost to Pedro Figueiredo 4 and 3.
Paul Shields bt Miguel Gaspar 3 and 2.
David Law bt Jose Maria Joia 1 hole.
Chris Robb lost to Tiago Rodriques 2 and 1.

IRELAND 1, FRANCE 4
ITALY 4, SWITZERLAND 1
NORWAY 3, FINLAND 2

FLIGHT C
Poland 3, Slovenia 2.
Hungary 1, Wales 4.

Bookless in joint 12th place at halfway

in Chiberta Grand Prix at Biarritz

Scottish boys' stroke-play champion Mark Bookless (Sandyhills) had a second-round 73, six shots worse than his opening effort, for a halfway total of one-under-par 139 in the Chiberta Grand Prix golf tournament at Biarritz in Southwest France today.
Bookless is sharing 17th place, seven shots behind the French leader Romain Schneider who had a brilliant nine-under-par round of 61 to take the lead on eight-under-par 132.
Greg Paterson (St Andrews) repeated his par 70 for a 36-hole tally of 140 and joint 22nd place.
Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) also had a 70, an improvement of two shots, for 142 and a share of 33rd place.
All three Scots were among the 71 players with totals of 147 who survived the halfway cut.
SECOND-ROUND LEADERS
Par 140 (2x70)
Players from France unless stated
132 Romain Schneider 71 61.
133 Ambroise Fourquet 66 67.
135 Antoine Schwartx 66 69.
Selected scores:
138 Liam O'Neil (Eng) 69 69 (jt 12th).
139 Mark Bookless (Sco) 66 73 (jt 17th).
140 Greg Paterson (Sco) 70 70 (jt 22nd).
141 Billy Hemstock (Eng) 68 73 9jt 28th).
142 Kris Nicol (Sco) 72 70 (jt 33rd).
144 Adam Keogh (Eng) 70 74 (jt 47th).

European Tour Scoreboard
THE BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN
Loch Lomond.
SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2 x 71)
131 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 68 63
133 Adam Scott (Aus) 66 67
134 Martin Kaymer (Ger) 69 65, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 68 66
135 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 67 68, Nick Watney (USA) 67 68, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 69 66, Soren Hansen (Den) 67 68, Martin Laird 65 70, Kenneth Ferrie 67 68, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 65 70
136 Ross Fisher 69 67, Richard Green (Aus) 64 72, Camilo Villegas (Col) 69 67, Mark Foster 68 68, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 69 67, Paul McGinley 65 71
137 Brett Rumford (Aus) 68 69, Jason McCreadie 70 67, Jamie Donaldson 69 68, Gregory Havret (Fra) 67 70
138 Gary Orr 70 68, Ernie Els (Rsa) 69 69, Markus Brier (Aut) 69 69, Darren Clarke 69 69, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 70 68
139 Damien McGrane 71 68, Brian Gay (USA) 70 69, Oliver Wilson 74 65, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 69 70, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 69 70, Anthony Wall 70 69, Rory McIlroy 68 71, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 70 69, Lee Westwood 73 66, Rodney Pampling (Aus) 68 71, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 70 69, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 69 70, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 67 72, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 69 70, Ross McGowan 67 72, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 70 69
140 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 67 73, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 68 72, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 71 69, David Drysdale 67 73, Paul Lawrie 68 72, Shane Lowry 69 71, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 74 66, Chris Doak 72 68
141 Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 71 70, Steve Webster 71 70, James Kingston (Rsa) 69 72, Scott Drummond 70 71, John Bickerton 72 69, Graeme Storm 65 76, Oliver Fisher 73 68, Lee Slattery 71 70, Alexander Noren (Swe) 70 71, Boo Weekley (USA) 71 70, Ian Poulter 69 72, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 70 71, Pablo Martin (Spa) 69 72, Thomas Levet (Fra) 70 71
142 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 70 72, Graeme McDowell 70 72, Colin Montgomerie 73 69, Scott Strange (Aus) 70 72, Nick Dougherty 71 71, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 73 69, David Lynn 70 72, Paul Broadhurst 71 71, Seve Benson 70 72, Gary Lockerbie 69 73, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 72 70, Sam Little 70 72, Miles Tunnicliff 70 72
MISSED THE CUT
143 Robert Dinwiddie 68 75, Benn Barham 74 69, Simon Dyson 71 72, Peter Lawrie 73 70, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 74 69, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 70 73, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 73 70, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 71 72, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 67 76, Gareth Maybin 70 73, Simon Khan 71 72, Robert Allenby (Aus) 72 71, Andres Romero (Arg) 72 71, Phillip Archer 71 72, Tano Goya (Arg) 71 72, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 71 72
144 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 73 71, Nick Faldo 71 73, Anton Haig (Rsa) 76 68, Michael Campbell (Nzl) 69 75, Marcel Siem (Ger) 69 75, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 74 70, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 72 72, Peter Hanson (Swe) 73 71, John Daly (USA) 69 75, Callum Macaulay 73 71, Robert Rock 70 74, Gary Murphy 72 72, Marc Warren 76 68, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 69 75, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 72 72
145 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 70 75, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 71 74, Anders Hansen (Den) 69 76, Danny Willett 70 75, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 73 72, Stephen Dodd 73 72, Bradley Dredge 75 70, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 75 70
146 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 72 74, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 71 75, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 74 72, Phillip Price 72 74, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 69 77, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 76 70, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 79 67, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 76 70, Sandy Lyle 72 74
147 Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 75 72, David Horsey 72 75, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 75 72, Simon Wakefield 72 75, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 74 73, Azuma Yano (Jpn) 77 70, Richard Finch 75 72, Alastair Forsyth 70 77, Tim Clark (Rsa) 72 75
148 Anthony Kang (USA) 74 74, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 74 74, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 70 78, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 68 80, Michael Hoey 73 75
149 David Dixon 72 77, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 79 70, Mark Brown (Nzl) 70 79, Barry Lane 76 73
150 Stephen Gallacher 72 78, David Howell 73 77, Metteo Manassero (Ita) (am) 74 76, Johan Edfors (Swe) 76 74
151 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 73 78
154 Rafael Echenique (Arg) 82 72
155 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 77 78
156 Wallace Booth (am) 83 73
157 Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 77 80, Taco Remkes (Ned) 78 79, Nick Ludwell 76 81
Retired: Paul Waring 68, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 75

Blairgowrie boy wins Loretto School Scottish U-14s boys' title

Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie) won the Loretto School Scottish Under-14 boys' title at Largs today.
The girls' Under-14 championship was won by a Belgian competitor.
Switch over to our sister website, www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk, for a full report by Ross Duncan and a link to the complete scoreboard.

LOMAS AND GRAY TIE AT NEWMACHAR

WITH TWO-UNDER-PAR 70s

Former European Tour player Jonathan Lomas, who now lives near Alloway, Ayrshire, shared first place with Hayston's Stephen Gray in the £5,500 Fairways Pro-am, supported by Golf Finance, at Newmachar Golf Club today.
Once again the Tartan Tour pros found the Dave Thomas-designed Hawkshill course, with its tree-lined fairways and water hazards, a test for the best.
Gray and Lomas headed the field in the shotgun start event with matching rounds of two-under-par 70. They each earned £818.55.
Gray started his round at the fifth and did well to shake off the potentially demoralising effect of a double bogey at the eighth. He bounced back with birdies at the ninth, 11th, 14th and 16th in halves of 37 and 33.
Lomas started his round at the eighth and his two bogeys came at the 13th and 14th. But he then birdied the 17th and 18th and the fifth and sixth.
Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs) led the Concept Group Ltd trio of amateurs, Neil McLean (handicap 18), Philip Edwards (1) and Kevin Riley (scratch) to victory in the team event with a 13-under-par net score of 131. They won by one shot from the team piloted by Kingsfield pro Mark King.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 72
70 Stephen Gray (Hayston), Jonathan Lomas (unatt) £815.55 each.
71 Edward Thomson (Senit Associates), Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs), Craig Ronald (Carluke) £427.46 each.
72 Mark King (Kingsfield), Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie) £254.57 each.
73 Chris Campbell (Grantown on Spey), Graeme Lornie (Paul Lawrie Foundation), Fraser Mann (Musselburgh) £175.89 each.
74 Callum Nicoll (Prestwick), Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), Greg McBain (Royal Dornoch) £131.78 each.
75 Scott Henderson (Kings Links), Christopher Russell (RAW Golf Course Design) £109.14 each.
76 Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) £91.13.
77 Andrew Coooper (Newmacharr), David Orr (East Renfrewshire) £77.21 each.]78 Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) £63,85.
81 Colin Gillies (Perry Golf) £54.57.
NR Gordon Simpson (Hilton Park) £43.01.

SOUTH OF SCOTLAND SENIOR OPEN

Local hero Ian Brotherston wins by

four strokes at Dumfries & County

Local hero Ian Brotherston (Dumfries & County) won the South of Scotland Seniors Open golf tournament over his home course by four strokes today.
Brotherston had rounds of 66 and 70 for two-under-par total of 136.
Runner-up was Graham Brown (Royal Liverpool with 68 and 72 for 140. Ian Taylor (Royal Burgess) claimed third place with 69 and 72 for 141.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 138 (2x69). CSS 69 69.
136 Ian Brotherston (Dumfries & Co) 66 70.
140 Graham Brown (Royal Liverpool) 68 72.
141 Ian Taylor (Royal Burgess) 69 72.
142 Maitland Pollock (Lochmaben) 72 70, Alistair Harkness (Southerness) 71 71, John W Johnston (Royal Aberdeen) 71 71, John A Fraser (Royal Burgess) 71 71, Anthony Clark (Dumfries & Co) 70 72.
143 Adrian Donkersley (Gerrards Cross) 72 71, David J Miller (Kilmarnock Barassie0 71 72, David Gardner (Broomieknowe) 70 73.
144 Peter Jamieson (Cathkin Braes) 76 68, Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) 71 73, James Kinloch (Cardross) 67 77.
145 John Broadfoot (Turnberry) 78 67, Ronald MacLean (Hamilton) 74 71, Stephen Ellis (Heritage) 72 73, Keith McAllister (South Shields) 72 73, Michael Currie (The Glen) 70 75, David Fulton (Castle Douglas) 69 76.
146 John Johnston (Wishaw) 76 70, Lindsay Blair (Grangemouth) 74 72, Gordon Thomson (Bearsden) 74 72, Norman Cameron (Porters Park) 73 73, John Roberts (Lancaster) 72 74, Sandy Pirie (Hazlehead) 72 74, Bob Humble (Kilspindie) 71 75, Gordon MacDonald (Callander) 70 76.

Gary Player takes a trip

down memory lane

at Sunningdale

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR
Gary Player, the most decorated player in the field for The Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard, will attempt to roll back the years when he returns to Sunningdale Golf Club, 53 years after capturing his maiden European Tour victory at the Berkshire venue.
The South African won the Dunlop Tournament over 90 holes of the Old and New Course in 1956 at the very start of his glittering career and now, in the twilight of his playing days, he will hope to continue his remarkable relationship with The Senior Open Championship when he returns to the Old Course from July 23-26.
Player, pictured above autographing a cap when the Senior Open was played at Royal Aberdeen GC a few years back, has only missed one of the previous 22 Senior Open Championships, at Royal County Down Golf Club in 2002, and the ‘Black Knight’ remains the joint most successful player in the history of the event with Tom Watson.
Both Player and Watson have won The Senior Open Championship three times, although Player edges the overall Major Championship count with 18 (including nine Senior Majors) compared to the American’s 12 (including five Senior Majors).
Indeed Player’s incredible record of 164 victories spanning five decades means he is the most successful of the 18 Major Champions in the field.
The 73 year old, who won The Senior Open Championship at Turnberry in 1998 and 1990 and Royal Portrush in 1997, has fond recollections of Sunningdale, which he regards as “one of his favourite places on the planet”.
“My memories of Sunningdale are all good,” he said. “The Old Course is a truly classical course where you have to drive well to score well. It’s got everything a classic golf course should have.
“It’s going to be a sentimental journey for me this week. When I was at Sunningdale more than half a century ago I stayed in a bed and breakfast with Mr and Mrs Beattie close to the club and they really looked after me.
“Sunningdale was where I had my first Tour win and I’m looking forward to meeting up with so many old friends again and reminiscing over those great days.”
Also joining Player and Watson among the list of illustrious Major Champions at Sunningdale will be Sir Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Greg Norman and Ian Woosnam.
Player believes the field is the most impressive he has been part of in the history of The Senior Open Championship.
“I’ve almost been an ever present at The Senior Open and it’s very rewarding for me, and I’m sure for the European Senior Tour, to see how the Championship has grown in stature and popularity over its 23 years,” he said.
“The Senior Open has been a showcase Championship for the European Senior Tour and since being recognised by the Champions Tour as a Major at Turnberry in 2003 the Americans have come over in increasing numbers.
“With 18 Major winners this is the strongest field ever assembled for the Championship and with players like Ben Crenshaw, Tom Lehman, Mark O’Meara, Larry Mize and three-times Champion Tom Watson among so many leading players it’s going to be an entertaining week. I believe there are also 32 Ryder Cup players competing which adds another interesting dimension to the Championship.
“After 22 years on links I was surprised when I heard it was coming to Sunningdale but it’s a lovely golf course and along with Wentworth is one of my favourites. It’s also got one of my favourite holes – the 10th on the Old Course. It’s a magnificent hole with a wonderful view down the valley and up towards the Halfway Hut. Among all the golf courses I’ve designed around the world I’d have been happy to have created that hole.”
Player’s support of The Senior Open and the European Senior Tour over the past two decades will continue into 2010 when he is part of the field for the inaugural Berenberg Bank Masters from March 26-28 over The Links at Fancourt which he designed. It will be the Senior Tour’s first visit to Player’s native South Africa.

Spectators can buy tickets for The Senior Open Championship by visiting www.europeantourtickets.com or by calling +44 (0) 800 023 2557 or on the gate. One day tickets are £25 and season tickets are £70.

For further information, please contact:-
The European Tour Communications Division
Tel: +44 (0)1344 840400; Fax: +44 (0)1344 840444
Email: http://uk.mc870.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=media@europeantour.com

From Dave Miller:

On the Scottishgolfview.com topic of low scoring rounds (Scroll Down to read original message from Clober pro Gary McFarlane), Alex Cruickshank fired a six-under-par 59 in the first round of the Braemar Open last weekend. See the following link to an article in the Aberdeen Evening Express:

http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1294908

Alex shoots 59 at Braemar
By Alan Brown
Published: 07/07/2009

ALEX Cruickshank fired an amazing six-under-par 59 on his way to winning the Braemar Open.
The 51-year-old added a second round 66 for a 125 total and a five-shot win over Deeside’s Andy Campbell.
Cruickshank, who plays off one, said: “I played well, hitting the fairways nicely and did well on the greens.
“But there was nothing spectacular, it was just good steady golf.
“My play was consistent over the whole 36 holes, I didn’t make any real mistakes and that paid off.
“I holed a few putts that I was pleased with but generally my play was steady.”
The Caley member has won the Braemar Open several times before.
“I have won it quite a few times but I didn’t win it last year so I was glad to get my hands back on the trophy,” he said.
“It’s good that I won for the older guys. I’m doing my part to keep the torch burning for the older generations”
Unsurprisingly, given the success he has enjoyed there, Cruickshank is full of affection for Braemar.
“Braemar is my favourite tournament,” he said.
“It’s close to my heart because I’ve won there so many times.
“Also it’s a really enjoyable course to play, I find it very relaxing.”

+++You can E-mail your golf news, views and images to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

It's not a happy Harrington as

he takes lead in Irish PGA

FROM THE IRISH PGA WEBSITE
Pádraig Harrington reclaimed the bragging rights in the Ladbrokes.com PGA Irish Championship, at The European Club, this morning with a second round one-under-par 70 to speed past overnight leader Leslie Walker.
Harrington's 70 leaves him at four-under 138, one stroke ahead of Dundalk club pro Walker who posted a bumpy round of 72 to fall behind the defending champion, bidding for his sixth success in the championship and a three-in-a-row of wins.
The holder, however, was not entirely happy with his day's work but still reckons it's a useful exercise before he battles for that three-in-a-row victories in the Open at Turnberry next week.
"I seemed to have lost a bit of rhythm with the swing throughout," he explained. "It was gradually getting a little bit worse as the round went on but I can't really complain about the score.
"The bad shots are a result of me losing confidence in where I'm going to hit it. There were plenty of shots I hit out there where I was doing something I didn't like and then at times I'd lose focus about it and hit a bad shot, like on four and again on six.
"I've been into my game very well all week, so far, so that's a good thing. Chipping and putting is good. I'm happy on those two things so now I just need to get a little bit more of what I had last week (in France)".
Playing the back nine first, he reached the turn in two-under with birdies at the 10th and 13th holes and made another birdie at the long third before losing strokes at the par four fourth and short sixth where he was in water.
Walker had just seven pars on his card that showed half-a-dozen birdies, three bogeys and two double-bogeys. The doubles were at the second and seventh holes. At No.2 he missed the green and duffed his chip for a five and after driving into rough at long seven he moved the ball and called a penalty shot on himself.
Banbridge man Richard Kilpatrick is not having life easy on tour but reckons the challenge of playing here should be a help. In his second 70 of the tournament he made three birdies and two bogeys to be in third place overnight.
At the third hole he got up and down for birdie four from 10 yards, at the fifth he rolled in a 12-footer for a three and at 18 sank a 10-footer for another birdie three.Simon Thornton equalled the best score of the championship to date - a four-under-67 with seven birdies sprinkled over his card. He was off at the 10th with bogey five but then pencilled in a hat-trick of birdies from the 12th, going 3-4-2 and swapped birdie at 17 for bogey at 18.
On the front nine he birdied the first and sixth, bogeyed the eighth but got that shot back on his last green for a super 67, level par for the tournament and fourth place.
Fifty-one players made the cut at 155 (+13) and missing out by just one shot was Marian Riordan who carded a 76 yesterday after dropping three shots in her last three holes.
LEADERBOARD
Par 142 (2x71)
138 Padraig Harrington (unatt) 68 70.
139 Leslie Walker (Dundalk) 67 72.
140 Richard Noel Kilpatrick (Banbridge) 70 70.
142 Simon Thornton (Royal Co Down) 75 67.
143 Gavin Lunny (Naas) 70 73, Brendan McGovern (Headfort) 72 71.
144 Glen Robinson(St Helen's Bay) 70 74, Seamus McMonagle (unatt) 69 75.
146 Brian McElhinney (Team Ireland) 70 76, John Kelly (St Margaret's) 75 71, Tim Rice (unatt) 70 76.
147 Damian Mooney (unatt) 70 77, Padraic O'Rourke (Green 18) 71 76.
148 Wayne O'Callaghan (unatt) 76 72.
149 Ian Kerr (Bunclody) 75 74, Mark Staunton (unatt) 76 73.
Selected scores:
153 Cian McNamara (unatt) 75 78.
+Players on 155 or better qualified for final two rounds.
MISSED CUT
156 Marian Riordan (Leopardstown) 80 76, Gary Howie (Adare Manor) 75 81.

US Women's Open scores on Kirkwoodgolf.co.uk

Scores from the United States Women's Open can be found by logging on to our sister website, www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk
Also news that player power has ousted the LPGA Commissioner.

United States PGA Tour Scoreboard
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
The TPC at Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois
FIRST ROUND
Par 71
64 Darron Stiles, Lee Janzen
65 J J Henry, Dean Wilson, Matt Bettencourt
66 Tim Petrovic, Dicky Pride, Matthew Borchert, Jason Day (Aus)
67 Spencer Levin, Brian Davis (Eng), Chris Stroud, Kirk Triplett, Mathias Gronberg (Swe), J.L. Lewis, Cliff Kresge, Greg Owen (Eng), Peter Lonard (Aus), Richard S Johnson (Swe), Daniel Chopra (Swe), George McNeill, Brandt Snedeker, Jason Bohn
68 Patrick Sheehan, Robert Garrigus, Jeff Quinney, David Berganio jun, Todd Hamilton, Matthew Jones (Aus), Webb Simpson, Jeff Klauk, Chad Campbell, Marc Leishman (Aus), Briny Baird, Scott McCarron, Andrew Ruthkoski, Ted Purdy, Bob Tway, Kenny Perry, Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Mark Calcavecchia
69 Bart Bryant, Kevin Sutherland, Heath Slocum, Charles Howell III, Brett Quigley, Bo Van Pelt, David Mathis, Frank Lickliter II, Jerry Kelly, Bryce Molder, Pat Perez, Zach Johnson, Lucas Glover, Mark Brooks, Garrett Willis, Steve Elkington (Aus), Ricky Barnes, Tommy Gainey
70 Mike Van sickle, Brady Schnell, Danny Lee (Nzl), Nathan Green (Aus), Bob Estes, Ryan Palmer, Roland Thatcher, Marc Turnesa, Peter Tomasulo, Kris Blanks, John Senden (Aus), Davis Love III, Kevin Streelman, Brian Vranesh, Rich Beem, Jay Williamson, Carl Pettersson (Swe), Johnson Wagner, Scott Verplank, Steve Allan (Aus)
71 Charley Hoffman, Chris Riley, Vaughn Taylor, Colt Knost, David Toms, Harrison Frazar, Steve Marino, Jimmy Walker, Ken Duke, Bob Heintz, Brad Adamonis, Steve Stricker, Kyle Stanley, Jason Dufner, Joe Ogilvie, Matt Kuchar, D.A. Points, Jack Newman, Cameron Beckman, Guy Boros, Ryan Moore, D.J. Trahan
72 Michael Bradley, Bill Lunde, Gary Woodland, Wil Collins, Mark Hensby (Aus), Stephen Leaney (Aus), Derek Fathauer, Charles Warren, Casey Wittenberg, Greg Chalmers (Aus), Tom Lehman, Scott Piercy, Brian Bateman, Jeff Maggert, Kevin Stadler, Glen Day
73 Paul Stankowski, Tag Ridings, Eric Axley, Woody Austin, Zack Sucher, Charlie Wi (Kor), Philip Francis, Arjun Atwal (Ind), Notah Begay III, Scott Sterling, Brandt Jobe, Scott Gutschewski, Tyler Aldridge, Matt Weibring
74 Robert Gamez, Aron Price (Aus), J.P. Hayes, Chez Reavie, Leif Olson, Joel Kribel, Troy Matteson, Nicholas Thompson
75 Bill Haas, Shaun Micheel, Troy Kelly, David Duval, James Driscoll, Aaron Krueger, Jason Gore, Mark Wilson
76 Brendon De Jonge, Kent Jones, Jonathan Kaye, Joe Durant
77 Brad Faxon, Brendon Todd, Rick Price, Jesper Parnevik (Swe)
80 James Oh (Kor)

Monster rough at Turnberry for

the Open unless it's cut back

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Turnberry is shaping up to be a brute of a test at next week's Open Championship, according to early player reports.
Colin Montgomerie, who has an academy at the Ayrshire venue, said: "They had a medal there for the members - 150 starters - and they left 480 balls on the course. That's over three a player and it proves that, although the fairways were generous, avoid the rough at all costs.
"It's a shot-maker's golf course, a tremendous course. I didn't lose a ball, which was good, but it can only be worse now than when I played 10 days ago."
Ernie Els, winner at Muirfield in 2002, added: "I was there for two days and that could be quite a beast if the wind comes up.
"They must have had a lot of rain - it's very lush, very green and that's why the rough is so high.
"You're probably going to have to have a good game plan, probably play quite safe off the tees to get it in play.
"The secret to playing good links golf is having a good strategy, sticking with that and having a lot of patience. But, more than anything, really striking the ball solidly.
"If you don't, you'll get found out. You won't have much of a chance."
Graeme McDowell, defending champion at the Scottish Open this week, said: "It's got some of the heaviest links rough I've ever seen. If you miss it in the wrong place you might want to bring a couple of golf balls with you.
"I certainly lost a couple. Right of the 17th green I've never seen rough as thick in all my life. You've got to know which side you can miss it on and which you can't."
The R&A, organisers of the Open, have been known to go over the top as far as rough at the Open championship is concerned, i.e. Carnoustie in 1999 and at one previous Open at Turnberry where it was cut back after complaints from the players that the rough was just too penal at some holes.