Calcavecchia sets record with nine birdies in row

Former Open champion Mark Calcavecchia birdied nine holes in a row today in the Canadian Open at Glen Abbey, Ontario to break the US PGA record of eight successive birdies first achieved in 1961 by Bob Goalby and later equalled by five other players down through the years.
In perfect morning scoring conditions at a rain-softened course, Calcavecchia opened the delayed second round with two pars, then reeled off the nine straight birdies. His nine birdie putts were from 15 feet or closer.
With 15-year-old son Eric working as his caddie, Calcavecchia shot a seven-under 65 to finish two rounds at eight under par, five strokes behind leader Jason Dufner.
"It's just as opposite as you can get of last week," said Calcavecchia, coming off a tie for 27th Sunday in the Open at Turnberry.
"It's just fly it right to the stick. You give the guys out here no wind and greens that are plugging, you're going to see a lot of low scores."
Calcavecchia won the (British) Open championship in 1989 and 2005 Canadian Open winner at Shaughnessey in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Because of the wet conditions, players were allowed to use preferred lies in the fairways,
"Records are made to be broken," Calcavecchia said. "Could somebody make 10 in a row? Sure. . It wouldn't surprise me if some guy whips out 10 birdies in a row sometime this weekend. Really wouldn't. These guys are good."

TOM WATSON TIRING IN SENIOR OPEN

Norman shoots a 64 to take lead as

Fred Funk mets The Bogey Man

FROM THE GUARDIAN.CO.UK WEBSITE
By BILL ELLIOTT
Greg Norman took advantage as Fred Funk's rhythm faltered at the Senior Open Championship today.
A Senior Open Championship is many things. On a pleasant day, Sunningdale offered a pleasant course to walk while spotting various ageing warriors still determined to do their thing. This chaps' retreat on the Surrey-Berkshire border is a Home Counties' cliche brought to life – lots of blazers and straw hats with a few surreal touches thrown in to liven up the scene a bit.
While Fred Funk – has there ever been a more appropriately named golfer? – was doing his best to defend his lead, the surreal option was delivered by, first, a young woman painted silver who stomped about on stilts and then a bloke who entertained a group of children by clambering inside a necessarily large and yellow balloon and shouting a lot. The kids loved it. The adults scooping beer nearby seemed to enjoy it even more. 'Senior moments' suddenly took on a whole new meaning.
Meanwhile, Funk was at last giving the chasing posse some real cause for optimism. The jerky little American constructed his first bogey of the week on the second before dropping two further shots at the treacherous 12th, where he drove into rough, hacked short of the green, pitched way past the hole and three-putted.
Up ahead of Fred The Shedder, Greg Norman was rediscovering some of his old magic. Two under at the turn, Norman sniffed the famed sausage hut that sits beside the ninth green and that is felt by many to be the best restaurant in the area.
The Shark was clearly inspired by the aroma and birdied four of the next six holes to slip alongside Funk at the top of the leaderboard.
Suddenly the birdie virus swept through the field. Bernhard Langer, everyone's idea of an early favourite, charged through the chorus line, thanks to a 65 that takes him to six under par for 54 holes and in with a more than slightly decent shout on Sunday afternoon.
His Thursday round of 72 was as out of character for Bernhard as the parrot on the shoulder of a woman I then spotted waiting amid the autograph hunters by the recorder's hut – a weird first in 40 years of covering the game.
This parrot thing did not, however, faze Langer. But then nothing much ever does unsettle a man who found an inner calm and peace many years ago. "That was a good round," he said. So I asked if he had found some good karma out there, given that he has a track record of playing well at Sunningdale throughout the Eighties.
"Karma?" he said. "No, I didn't look for karma, I am, as you know, a Christian." This surreal atmosphere was getting better. Or worse, depending on your point of view.
What Langer also says is that it will be a cavalry charge for the title now and a first prize worth a published £222,777.53.
"It is not just the guys on the leaderboard who can win this now, it is a lot of people," he said. "This is that sort of course. You can be aggressive or defensive, it's your choice. I will stick to my game plan however." To be cautious? "No, to be smart."
While this conversation was taking place, Funk was living down to his name again with another bogey, Norman was in the lead on his way to a six-under 64 and Loren Roberts was sliding in beside Funk a shot back.
Tiredness, meanwhile, appeared finally to be catching up with everyone's favourite 59-year-old. For Tom Watson it must now seem a very long time since he put his feet up and thought about nothing. It showed a bit with a par-70 round during which the sparkle was missing.
"I'd five three-putts out there today," he explained. "Just about every green seemed to be a different speed and I couldn't get to grips with them."
No such problem for Larry Mize, who took just 29 blows over the back nine for a 64. Norman must have been delighted to see this. It was, after all, Mize who prevented the Australian winning the Masters when he pitched into the second play-off hole in 1987. So, a lot of good names to contemplate when the final round gets going tomorrow.
Silver Lady and Balloon Man were part of Family Fun Day by the way. Parrot Woman, however, was not. I have no explanation for this, but I can tell you that her efforts to enter the clubhouse were politely, but strongly, rebuffed. No problem with her being a woman of course – it's just that they never have liked parrots much at Sunningdale. Understandably, in my view.
SCROLL DOWN FOR THE THIRD ROUND TOTALS

Tartan Tour Scoreboard
MACDONALD ENERGY MONTROSE LINKS PRO-AM
Montrose Medal Course
FINAL SCORES
Par 71
64 Fraser Mann (Musselburgh) £1,072.78.
65 Mark Loftus (Cowglen) £857.84.
66 Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie) £643.54.
67 David Orr (East Renfrewshire) £482.66.
68 Chris Campbell (Grantown on Spey), Scott Henderson (Kings Links) £353.95.
69 Kenneth Hutton (Downfield) £278.65.
70 Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), Colin Gillies (Perry Golf), Mark Finlayson (Edzell), Samuel Cairns (Colville Park), Neil Murray (Cruden Bay), Stephen Gray (Hayston) £178.79 each.
71 Graeme McInnes (Murcar Links), Euan Cameron (Hamilton), Mark King (Kingsfield), Graeme Lornie (Paul Lawrie Foundation), Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst), Lee Harper (Archerfield Links) £101.89 each.
72 Sandy Smith (Ladybank), Scott Morrison (Acushnet Europe Ltd), Christopher Russell (RAW Golf Course Design), Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs), Chris Kelly (Cawder) £51.58 each.
73 Gordon Law (Uphall), Craig Ronald (Carluke), Ewan Hogarth (Peebles), Callum Nicoll (Prestwick) £48.39 each.
74 Andrew Cooper (Newmachar), Andrew Crerar (Panmure) £48.39.
75 Paul Wardell (Whitkirk), Jamie Wales (Kings Acre) £48.l39 each.
76 Andrew Marshall (Houston GR), GaryForb ers(Murcar Links), Edeward Thomson (Senit Associates), Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills), David Gemmell (Aberrdour) £48.39.
78 Lee Vannett (Carnoustie Golf Lniknks) £48.39.
81 Jonas Hedberg (Royal Aberdeen), Iain Buchan (Craibtone) £48.39 each.
82 Stuart \McEwing (montrose) £48.39.
88 Graeme Stewart (Gleddohc) E£48.39.
TEAM EVENT LEADING PROS
122 (-20) Ewan Hogarth (Peebles) £128.71 each.
125 Chris Campbell (Grantown on Spey), Sandy Smith (Ladybank) £128.71 each.

United States PGA Tour Scoreboard
CANADIAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Glen Abbey Golf Club, Oakville, Ontario
+Final 36 holes to be played on Sunday.
SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
131 Jason Dufner 68 63
132 Jerry Kelly 65 67, Scott Verplank 65 67
133 Peter Tomasulo 65 68, Nathan Green (Aus) 68 65
134 Kevin Na 63 71, Bob Estes 67 67, Pat Perez 67 67, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 65 69, Martin Laird (Sco) 65 69, Camilo Villegas (Col) 63 71
135 Anthony Kim 69 66, Tim Herron 67 68, Scott Sterling 67 68, Briny Baird 72 63, Y.E. Yang (Kor) 69 66
136 Michael Letzig 69 67, Mark Calcavecchia 71 65, Jimmy Walker 66 70
137 Mike Weir (Can) 71 66, Ken Duke 66 71, Kevin Sutherland 68 69, Stephen Ames (Can) 68 69
138 Patrick Sheehan 68 70, Charles Warren 70 68, Chris Riley 68 70, John Merrick 70 68, Billy Mayfair 69 69, Lee Janzen 68 70, Parker McLachlin 66 72, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 70 68, Dean Wilson 68 70, Corey Pavin 68 70, Jay Williamson 70 68
139 Scott McCarron 68 71, Graham Delaet (Can) 73 66, Harrison Frazar 68 71, Webb Simpson 71 68, Steve Elkington (Aus) 68 71, Mark Wilson 68 71, D.A. Points 68 71, Steve Marino 70 69, Joe Durant 65 74, Mike Grob 70 69, Leif Olson 68 71, Nicholas Thompson 73 66
140 Jeff Quinney 71 69, Christopher Baryla (Can) 69 71, Jamie Lovemark 74 66, Derek Fathauer 66 74, David Peoples 67 73, Dicky Pride 70 70, Bryce Molder 71 69, Frank Lickliter II 68 72, Brendon De Jonge 67 73, Andres Gonzales 71 69, Darron Stiles 69 71, Scott Piercy 71 69, Jason Day (Aus) 70 70, Kevin Streelman 72 68, Kevin Stadler 70 70, J.B. Holmes 73 67, Luke Donald (Eng) 71 69, Brandt Snedeker 73 67
141 Aron Price (Aus) 72 69, Omar Uresti 72 69, Joe Ogilvie 72 69, Lucas Lee 71 70, Steve Lowery 67 74, Cliff Kresge 69 72, Jeff Klauk 71 70, Ryan Palmer 69 72, Bo Van Pelt 74 67, David Mathis 71 70, Jonathan Byrd 72 69, Bob Heintz 70 71
PLAYERS WHO MISSED THE CUT
142 Michael Bradley 72 70, Brad Adamonis 71 71, Casey Wittenberg 72 70, Greg Chalmers (Aus) 71 71, Stuart Anderson (Can) 71 71, Brian Bateman 69 73, Chez Reavie 73 69, Dustin Risdon 71 71, Brad Faxon 74 68, Sean O'Hair 73 69, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 75 67, Bill Haas 73 69, Roland Thatcher 72 70, Craig Barlow 70 72, Tommy Gainey 69 73
143 Spencer Levin 70 73, Rafael Gomez (Arg) 71 72, Jonathan Kaye 72 71, Jeff Overton 70 73, Chris DiMarco 71 72, Wil Collins 74 69, Bubba Watson 75 68, Matt Hill 70 73, Todd Hamilton 69 74, Tom Pernice Jnr. 74 69, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 73 70, Charlie Wi (Kor) 70 73, Jay Delsing 69 74, Steve Allan (Aus) 70 73
144 Kris Blanks 75 69, Vaughn Taylor 74 70, John Senden (Aus) 72 72, Troy Kelly 71 73, Peter Lonard (Aus) 73 71, Jason Gore 73 71
145 Hugo Leon 74 71, Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 70 75, John Mallinger 73 72, Matthew Jones (Aus) 72 73, Billy Andrade 73 72, Brian Vranesh 73 72, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 73 72, Glen Day 71 74, Johnson Wagner 70 75, Tyler Aldridge 72 73
146 Colt Knost 70 76, Eric Axley 74 72, Brendon Todd 72 74, Bryan Decorso (Can) 71 75, Ian Leggatt (Can) 74 72, Rick Price 72 74, James Oh (Kor) 74 72
147 Kent Jones 68 79, J.P. Hayes 72 75, Troy Matteson 76 71, Cam Burke (Can) 74 73, Matt Weibring 73 74
148 Graham Baillargeon (Can) 75 73, Wes Heffernan (Can) 69 79
149 John Daly 77 72, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 71 78, Mauricio Molina (Arg) 72 77
151 Richard Lee (Nzl) 73 78, Matthew Borchert 76 75
152 Mathew Goggin (Aus) 73 79, Nick Taylor (Can) 79 73
153 Kyle German (Can) 75 78
156 Andrew Parr (Can) 72 84
The following players withdrew after one round:
72 Jeff Maggert
73 Greg Owen (Eng), David Gossett, Robert Garrigus
74 Tag Ridings
75 Matt Bettencourt
76 Aaron Baddeley (Aus)
77 Carl Pettersson (Swe)
78 Mark Brooks, Brian Davis (Eng)

Senior Open Championship Scoreboard
SUNNINGDALE GOLF CLUB, BERKSHIRE
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 210 (3x70)
200 Greg Norman (Aus) 67 69 64
201 Loren Roberts 66 68 67, Fred Funk 64 65 72
202 Denis Watson (Zim) 68 68 66
203 Sam Torrance (Sco) 67 65 71, Larry Mize 69 70 64
204 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 72 67 65, Bruce Vaughan 70 69 65, Tom Kite 67 68 69, Mark McNulty (Irl) 69 67 68
205 Tony Johnstone (Zim) 68 71 66, Jay Haas 66 71 68, Don Pooley 70 66 69
206 Michael Allen 70 65 71, Tom Watson 67 69 70, Scott Simpson 68 69 69
207 Mark O'Meara 69 70 68, Ian Woosnam (Wal) 68 69 70, Mark James (Eng) 70 69 68, Sandy Lyle (Sco) 68 70 69, David Eger 69 71 67
208 Gene Jones 74 67 67, Joey Sindelar 69 72 67, Jeff Sluman 69 70 69, Ben Crenshaw 73 70 65, Christopher Williams (Rsa) 66 76 66
209 Andy Bean 70 72 67, Sir Nick Faldo (Eng) 70 70 69, Jerry Bruner 67 74 68, Mike Goodes 71 71 67, Gordon J Brand (Eng) 68 68 73, Mark Wiebe 71 68 70, Denis O'Sullivan (Irl) 68 71 70, Gary Koch 70 70 69, Doug Johnson 70 69 70
210 Bertus Smit (Rsa) 69 71 70, Kevin Spurgeon (Eng) 72 70 68, Russ Cochran 69 70 71, Gordon Brand Jnr (Sco) 68 71 71
211 Kirk Hanefeld 72 71 68, Luis Carbonetti (Arg) 73 70 68, Juan Quiros (Spa) 72 71 68, Mike Donald 71 70 70
212 Robert L Thompson 70 74 68, Morris Hatalsky 72 67 73, Paul Simson 71 69 72, Eduardo Romero (Arg) 70 71 71, Bob Gilder 72 70 70, Curt Byrum 68 75 69
213 Gary Hallberg 74 68 71, Joe Ozaki (Jpn) 71 70 72, Mike Reid 72 71 70, Olin Browne 68 73 72, Wayne Grady (Aus) 70 72 71, Ronnie Black 71 71 71, Bobby Wadkins 73 70 70
214 Philip Blackmar 68 72 74, Des Smyth (Irl) 66 74 74, Andrew Murray (Eng) 69 74 71, Graham Marsh (Aus) 70 74 70, Noel Ratcliffe (Aus) 71 72 71, Lonnie Nielsen 72 71 71, Manuel Pinero (Spa) 70 74 70
215 Fulton Allem (Rsa) 70 72 73, John Morse 72 71 72, Stewart Ginn (Aus) 71 72 72, Tim Simpson 73 71 71
216 Giuseppe Cali (Ita) 71 73 72, Costantino Rocca (Ita) 74 70 72, Craig Stadler 74 69 73, Philippe Dugeny (Fra) 71 69 76, Bob Cameron (Eng) 70 72 74, Tom Lehman 70 73 73, Glenn Ralph (Eng) 70 73 73
217 Tom Purtzer 73 71 73, Delroy Cambridge (Jam) 71 73 73, Angel Fernandez (Chi) 70 71 76
226 Bobby Lincoln (Rsa) 72 72 82
MISSED THE CUT AFTER 36 HOLES
145 Eamonn Darcy (Irl) 73 72, Tim Planchin (Fra) 74 71, Peter Mitchell (Eng) 72 73, David J Russell (Eng) 70 75, John Cook 72 73, Tony Allen (Eng) 71 74, Bob Larratt (Eng) 72 73, Sir Bob Charles (Nzl) 70 75, Yoshi Mizumaki (Jpn) 72 73, Angel Franco (Par) 73 72, Peter Fowler (Aus) 71 74, David Merriman (Aus) 70 75, Mike Cunning 72 73, Stephen Bennett (Eng) 74 71
146 David Ogrin 72 74, Katsuyoshi Tomori (Jpn) 71 75, Ross Drummond (Sco) 71 75, Jim Rhodes (Eng) 74 72, Chris Starkjohann 71 75, Jose Rivero (Spa) 76 70, Randy Haag 75 71
147 Marc Farry (Fra) 72 75
148 Mark Balen 72 76, Simon Owen (Aus) 72 76, Brady Exber 75 73, John Chillas (Sco) 77 71, Tony Charnley (Eng) 72 76, Peter Dahlberg (Swe) 72 76, Bill Longmuir (Sco) 74 74, Bill McColl (Sco) 71 77
149 Denis Durnian (Eng) 74 75, Simon Wood (Eng) 74 75, Domingo Hospital (Spa) 76 73, Alastair Webster (Sco) 75 74, Jay Don Blake 72 77, John Bland (Rsa) 74 75, Isao Aoki (Jpn) 78 71, Tom McKnight 80 69
150 Carl Baker 75 75, Nick Job (Eng) 72 78, Graham Gunn (Can) 75 75, Terry Gale (Aus) 78 72, Frank Kiddie (Eng) 76 74, Mike Harwood (Aus) 74 76
151 Christy O'Connor Jnr (Irl) 71 80, Bob Boyd 76 75, Torsten Giedeon (Ger) 73 78, Pete Oakley 71 80
152 Peter O'Hagan (Irl) 74 78, Wes Burton 72 80, Jimmy Heggarty (NIrl) 77 75, Jose Maria Canizares (Spa) 73 79, Shinji Ikeuchi (Jpn) 75 77, Jerry Pate 75 77
153 Gary Player (Rsa) 79 74, Ikuo Shirahama (Jpn) 71 82
155 Richard Masters (Eng) 77 78
156 Antonio Garrido (Spa) 80 76, Niall Lavin (Irl) 76 80, Ralph McLean (Sco) 79 77
158 James Mason 74 84, Jeff Hawkes (Rsa) 77 81, John C Davies (Eng) 76 82
162 Joel S Hirsch 78 84

EUROPEAN TOUR REPORT

Aussie Marcus Fraser hoping to give

himself the best of birthday presents

Australian Marcus Fraser hopes to celebrate his 31st birthday on Sunday with the second European Tour victory of his career.
Fraser, whose previous success came in the 2003 Russian Open, moved from five behind into a one-stroke lead with a third-round 70 at the SAS Masters in Malmo, Sweden today.
The longest course in Tour history - Barseback measures 7,665 yards and has a par of 73 off the back tees - took its toll on overnight leaders Ricardo Gonzalez and Lee Slattery. The Argentinian dropped to fifth place with a four-over-par 77, while Englishman Slattery, one behind at halfway, could do no better than 75.
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More Golf News: Click on line you want to read:
Norman leads at Sunningdale
Dufner leads in Ontario
Seve wants to play next year's Open
Bhullar makes his move
European Tour's official website
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Fraser stands at eight under, one in front of Slattery, Swede Martin Erlandsson and Dane Jeppe Huldahl, winner of the Wales Open at the start of last month.
Aberdeen rookie Richie Ramsay, well placed at halfway after a pair of 70s for six-under-par 140 gave it all back with a third-round 77 for 217, six behind leader Fraser but still the leading Scot among the qualifiers, two ahead of another rookie, Callum Macaulay from Tulliallan.

THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 219 (3x73)
211 Marcus Fraser (Aus) 72 69 70
212 Lee Slattery 67 70 75, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 72 70 70, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 70 70 72
213 Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 68 68 77, Marcus Higley 72 71 70
214 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 73 71 70, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 72 72 70, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 69 71 74
215 Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 71 74 70, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 70 72 73
216 Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 74 70 72, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 72 71 73, Joel Sjoholm (Swe) 73 72 71, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 72 71 73, Anders Sjostrand (Swe) 72 69 75, Jamie Donaldson 71 72 73, Sam Little 72 75 69
217 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 73 74 70, Richie Ramsay 70 70 77, Nathan T Smith (USA) 75 71 71, Gareth Maybin 72 73 72, David Lynn 73 73 71, Jesper Parnevik (Swe) 74 71 72
218 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 72 71 75, Tano Goya (Arg) 69 74 75, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 72 73 73, Pablo Martin (Spa) 69 75 74, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 76 69 73
219 Brett Rumford (Aus) 70 75 74, Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 77 71 71, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 74 70 75, Callum Macaulay 73 72 74, Robert Dinwiddie 74 70 75, Danny Willett 71 72 76, Peter Lawrie 73 71 75, Marc Cayeux (Zim) 74 69 76
220 Damien McGrane 73 71 76, Steve Webster 71 73 76, Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 73 72 75, Mikko Ilonen (Fij) 75 72 73, Per Barth (Swe) 75 73 72, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 69 78 73, Simon Dyson 75 72 73, James Driscoll (USA) 73 74 73, Gary Murphy 71 74 75, Jacob Olesen (Den) 73 72 75, Michael Hoey 72 74 74
221 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 71 71 79, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 74 74 73, Michael Campbell (Nzl) 78 70 73, Andrew Coltart 76 71 74, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 74 70 77, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 74 72 75, Johan Edfors (Swe) 74 73 74
222 Peter Hanson (Swe) 74 73 75, Joakim Rask (Swe) 75 73 74, Robert Rock 73 73 76, Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 77 70 75, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 72 75 75
223 Richard Bland 74 72 77, Will MacKenzie (USA) 73 74 76, John Mellor 76 70 77, Ake Nilsson (Rsa) 75 73 75, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 73 75 75, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 73 72 78, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 74 74 75
224 Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 78 70 76, Phillip Archer 75 73 76, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 74 72 78, Simon Khan 74 74 76
225 Niklas Bruzelius (Swe) 78 70 77, Marcel Siem (Ger) 71 74 80, Christopher Doak 74 73 78
226 Antti Ahokas (Fij) 74 73 79, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 73 74 79
228 Bradley Dredge 76 72 80
229 Branden Grace (Rsa) 70 78 81

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT

Hutch knows he needs to produce a

final round of 66 to win at Cardiff

By SCOTT CROCKETT, Senior Press Officer, European Tour
Scotland’s Greig Hutcheon braced himself to take Route 66 in the final round of the SWALEC Wales Challenge and produce the number he believes will lead him to his fourth Challenge Tour title.
The 36-year-old Aberdonian ended the third round at The Vale Hotel Golf and Spa Resort near Cardiff in a share of sixth place on level par 216 after a one under par 71, only three shots adrift of leader Richard Treis of Germany.
But Hutcheon, who is giving himself this week and next week’s Scottish Hydro Challenge in Aviemore to assess whether or not he will finish the season on the Challenge Tour or return home to the Tartan Tour, believes the crowds at The Vale have yet to see the best of him.
“I am still very much in this and I really think I can go on and win,” said Hutcheon, who worked in an oil support drilling factory throughout the winter in his native Aberdeen to raise money to help pay for his wedding in March.
“I got off to a good start today but then made a few silly mistakes with some sloppy wedge shots which was disappointing. But if I can cut those out tomorrow I think I have a great chance. I do believe I have a low score in me, something like a 66, and if I can do that, then I know I can win.”
To do that, he will have to overhaul Treis who gave credence to the phrase, ‘beware the injured golfer’ when he shrugged off back muscle problems to take the lead after the third round.
The 29 year old Swedish-born German battled to a two under par 70 to post a three under par total of 213 and take a one shot lead over Spain’s Jorge Campillo who carded a 71 for 214.
Home hopes of a first Welsh victory in the tournament since Sion Bebb won at Nefyn in 2006 were kept alive by Bridgend’s Rhys Davies who matched Treis’ 70 for a one under par total of 215 and a share of third place with the English duo of James Morrison and overnight leader Steve Surry.
But the third day was all about Treis who not only defied back pain but also a run of poor results on the 2009 European Challenge Tour which has seen him miss out on the weekend action in seven of the nine tournaments he has contested this year.
“I know the figures say that but sometimes you have to look a little further than the pure statistics,” said Treis who studied at the University of North Carolina for five years until 2005. “I feel I have been hitting the ball really well in practice recently but it has been a different matter taking it into tournaments.
“But, gradually of late, I have begun to feel that part of my game coming around and I think you can see from my scoring of this week that that is the case.”
The fact only five players in total have finished under par after three rounds goes some way to illustrating the difficulty of the National Course which has been windy and playing its full 7,266 yards thanks to pre-tournament rain.
Unquestionably the tougher of the two halves is the back nine but Treis has continually bucked that trend this week and continued to do so again. In Thursday’s first round he was home in two under par 34, on Friday it was 35 but on Saturday he surpassed both those with superb figures of 32.
He set the ball rolling with an eagle three on the 12th before holing from 20 feet for a birdie three on the 14th. Another birdie three followed at the testing 466 yard 17th before he extricated himself from the trees at the last for a pitch and putt par four, holing out in the end from 12 feet.
“I really don’t think there can be anyone in the field who has played the back nine as well as I have this week,” he said. “You can’t really explain why but it is best not to question it and just hope that I can do the same again tomorrow coming down the stretch.”
Second placed Campillo, another graduate from the US Collegiate system, will return to Indiana in the autumn to complete his business degree but gave himself the chance of taking care of golfing business first with a steady third round 71, his only departures from par coming with birdies at the second, seventh and 12th and bogeys at the fourth and 15th.
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
213 R Treis (Ger) 70 73 70,
214 J Campillo (Esp) 72 71 71,
215 J Morrison (Eng) 73 72 70, S Surry (Eng) 71 71 73, R Davies (Wal) 77 68 70,
216 G Hutcheon (Sco) 69 76 71, M Cort (Eng) 68 75 73,
217 J Frazer (am) (Wal) 75 72 70,
218 C Gane (Eng) 72 75 71, J McLeary (Sco) 73 74 71, G Shaw (Nir) 72 75 71, D Küpper (Ger) 75 74 69,
219 C Moriarty (Irl) 74 74 71, J Quesne (Fra) 74 73 72, J Parry (Eng) 68 76 75, R Santos (Por) 78 72 69, A Högberg (Swe) 70 77 72, P Kaensche (Nor) 73 77 69, J Grillon (Fra) 74 72 73,
220 C Brazillier (Fra) 74 76 70, R Steiner (Aut) 76 72 72, S Jeppesen (Swe) 75 73 72, S Juul (Den) 76 74 70, P Del Grosso (Arg) 74 76 70, N Colsaerts (Bel) 73 72 75, S Bebb (Wal) 72 79 69, T Whitehouse (Eng) 77 70 73, N Meitinger (Ger) 74 77 69, A Summers (Aus) 77 74 69,
221 P Whiteford (Sco) 72 77 72, T Haylock (Eng) 78 73 70, O Floren (Swe) 73 78 70, G Houston (Wal) 74 74 73, O Farr (am) (Wal) 73 71 77,
222 F Colombo (Ita) 76 72 74, M Zions (Aus) 74 77 71, A Bernadet (Fra) 74 72 76, L Saltman (Sco) 79 71 72,
223 A McArthur (Sco) 78 70 75, M Wiegele (Aut) 76 73 74, A Belt (Eng) 69 79 75, S Robinson (Eng) 72 78 73, R Karlberg (Swe) 73 75 75, G Murray (Sco) 75 74 74, R McEvoy (Eng) 72 75 76, E Molinari (Ita) 78 72 73,
224 J Doherty (Sco) 74 76 74, K Jorgensen (Den) 73 71 80, A Grenier (Fra) 73 77 74,
225 G Clark (Eng) 75 75 75, M McGeady (Irl) 74 74 77, D Nouailhac (Fra) 71 78 76, Z Scotland (Eng) 76 75 74, J Little (Eng) 75 73 77, J Granberg (Fin) 75 76 74, S Thornton (Irl) 78 71 76, B Evans (Eng) 80 71 74,
226 A Butterfield (Eng) 72 79 75, R Coles (Eng) 74 76 76,
227 D Wardrop (Eng) 78 72 77, S Walker (Eng) 73 75 79, C Lee (Sco) 74 76 77,
228 J Abbate (Arg) 74 76 78, P Golding (Eng) 77 74 77, L Gagli (Ita) 77 74 77, A Tampion (Aus) 74 76 78,
230 J Lima (Por) 76 75 79, T Ferreira (RSA) 75 75 80,

Canadian Open second round delayed by weather

The second round of the Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club, Ontario was not completed on Friday (local time) because of ongoing thunderstorms and lightning in the area.
Play was due to start early Saturday morning (local time) for the completion of the second round - Scot Martin Laird is well up with the leaders - and when we get the completed 36-hole totals, we will display them for you.

New date for NE seniors' championship

The North-east District seniors' championship, washed out at Huntly Golf Club yesterday, will be played over the same course this coming Friday (July 31).

North and North-east youngsters for Grampian

Houston trip in October are named

North and North-east youngsters selected to make the biennial Grampian Houston Junior Trip to Texas for 10 days, starting on October 11 are:

RYAN BAIN (Strathlene)
CAMERON NELSON (Nairn)
ZAC CLARK (Royal Aberdeen).
RODGER CLARKE (Moray)
DANNY EDWARDS (Elgiin)
NICHOLAS MacANDREW (Cullen).
CHRIS ROBB (Inchmarlo).
JACK SCOTT (Deeside)
CALUM STEWART (Brora)
ALEXANDER WISEMAN (Fraserburgh)
JEFF WRIGHT (Forres)
HANNAH McCOOK (Abernethy).

The party will be hosted by Bruce Davidson, former Kings Links Golf Centre, Aberdeen head professional, now the director of golf at River Oaks Country Club near Houston, Texas.
The trip was the brainchild of Davidson back in the 1990s. He went to university at Houston after making a similar trip to Texas as a member of a North-east District junior squad.
The annual Grampian Houston Junior Fund pro-am at Royal Aberdeen raises money to finance the trip.
This year former US PGA champion Steve Elkington and former Open and Masters title winner Mark O'Meara will conduct coaching sessions for the 11 boys and one girl from the North and North-east.
US college golf team coaches will also be invited to run their eye over the youngsters as they play and practise in Texas with a view to offering them golf scholarships.

John Panton, the Grand

Old Man of Scottish

Golf, dies at age of 92

John Panton, one of the legends of post-war Scottish professional golf, has gied at the age of 92.
John Panton, MBE, was the oldest surviving Ryder Cup player from the era when only Great Britain & Ireland players were chosen to play the United States.
Gentleman John played in the matches of 1951, 1953 and 1961.
He was born at Pitlochry in 1916 and won the British professional match-play champion in 1956 and finished fifth in the Open championship the same year.
Panton and Eric Brown dominated the Northern Open championship in the post-war years when there were not nearly so many events for professionals to play in - i.e. before the formation of the European or even a British Tour - and the "Northern" was much more highly regarded in those days.
Panton was associated with Glenbervie Golf Club all his playing days. Latterly he moved to Sunningdale where his daughter Cathy Panton-Lewis, who won the Scottish girls match-play championship in 1969 and later became a successful ladies tour professional.

US Nationwide Tour Scoreboard

COX CLASSIC
Omaha, Nebraska
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS

Par 142 (2x71)
129 Jonas Blixt 64 65, JJ Killeen 63 66
130 Matthew Every 62 68
131 Rich Barcelo 69 62, Brent Delahoussaye 64 67, Tadd Fujikawa 64 67, Michael Sim 66 65, Brian Smock 64 67
132 Blake Adams 67 65, Todd Demsey 68 64, Tom Gillis 65 67, Garth Mulroy 61 71, Geoffrey Sisk 69 63
133 Camilo Benedetti 67 66, D.J. Brigman 69 64, Bubba Dickerson 67 66, Steve Friesen 66 67, Hunter Haas 68 65, Justin Hicks 68 65, Billy Horschel 67 66, Bob May 67 66, Chris Nallen 67 66, Garrett Osborn 69 64, Brenden Pappas 70 63, Kyle Reifers 65 68, John Riegger 66 67
134 David Branshaw 66 68, Andrew Buckle 68 66, Scott Gardiner 68 66, Steve LeBrun 66 68, Zack Miller 66 68, Jin Park 64 70, Sal Spallone 68 66, Chris Thompson 69 65, Steve Wheatcroft 67 67, Garrett Willis 68 66
135 Chad Collins 66 69, Keoke Cotner 67 68, Jeff Gove 68 67, Skip Kendall 66 69, Jon Mills 69 66, Dave Schultz 64 71, B.J. Staten 68 67, Chris Tidland 70 65, Tjaart Van Der Walt 68 67, Dan Wax 66 69
136 Ryan Blaum 71 65, Justin Bolli 65 71, Marco Dawson 71 65, Jeff Gallagher 69 67, Fabian Gomez 66 70, Martin Piller 70 66
137 Henrik Bjornstad 67 70, Adam Bland 69 68, Jim Carter 71 66, Gavin Coles 69 68, Jeff Curl 67 70, Stuart Deane 69 68, Jason Enloe 68 69, Chad Ginn 66 71, Doug Labelle 70 67, Derek Lamely 68 69, Mike Lavery 71 66, David McKenzie 67 70, Brady Schnell 70 67, Byron Smith 70 67
MISSED THE CUT
138 Paul Gow 67 71, Joe Daley 73 65, Andrew Johnson 68 70, Gary Christian 71 67, Brendan Steele 72 66, Ryan Hietala 66 72, Craig Kanada 71 67, Andrew Bonhomme 67 71, Tom Byrum 68 70
139 Grant Waite 67 72, Brandon Brown 72 67, Jeremy Alcorn 69 70, Jim Herman 68 71, Ryan Cobb 74 65, Bradley Iles 67 72, Miguel Carballo 73 66, Scott Parel 69 70, Bob Burns 70 69, Jeff Brehaut 70 69, Ryan Armour 72 67, Jason Knutzon 67 72, Esteban Toledo 68 71, Scott Dunlap 71 68
140 Ben Bates 70 70, Chris Kirk 70 70, Roberto Castro 71 69, Dustin White 70 70, Jhonattan Vegas 71 69, Seung Su Han 73 67, Roger Tambellini 68 72, Paul Claxton 71 69, Chip Sullivan 73 67, Jim Rutledge 69 71, Craig Bowden 67 73, Brennan Webb 70 70, Drew Laning 70 70, Alistair Presnell 70 70
141 David Hearn 72 69, Brad Fritsch 69 72, Brad Elder 70 71, Kevin Chappell 67 74, Jon Petersen 69 72, Dong Yi 68 73, Alex Prugh 73 68, Brian Stuard 71 70, Joseph Sykora 69 72, Matthew Richardson 72 69, Michael Putnam 72 69, Michael Sims 70 71, Cameron Percy 70 71, Andre Stolz 70 71, Kevin Johnson 69 72
142 Fran Quinn 70 72, Josh Teater 71 71, Kyle Thompson 69 73, Robin Freeman 73 69, Ron Whittaker 72 70, Tom Scherrer 71 71, Len Mattiace 70 72, Michael Clark II 71 71, Tommy Tolles 73 69, Jim McGovern 67 75
143 Jeff Burns 70 73, Dustin Bray 68 75, Oskar Bergman 72 71, Thomas Kearney 73 70, Won Joon Lee 73 70, Justin Herron 71 72, Steven Bowditch 75 68, Alex Aragon 73 70
144 Phil Tataurangi 74 70, Josh Broadaway 70 74, John Kimbell 70 74, Tom Carter 75 69
145 Jason Schultz 74 71, Bob Sowards 71 74, J.L. Lewis 72 73, Scott Petersen 73 72
146 Tee McCabe 70 76, Troy Merritt 72 74
148 Shane Zywiec 76 72
149 Chris M. Anderson 74 75
150 Keigo Painter 76 74
151 David Morland IV 77 74, Trevor Dodds 76 75
152 James Kinney 71 81
153 Zoran Zorkic 74 79, Daniel Summerhays 77 76
WD: Jeff Isenhour 74, Willie Wood 75