Monty too tired to play in European Masters this week

European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie has withdrawn from this coming week’s European Masters in Crans-sur-Sierre, where qualifying begins for next year’s European team to play the Americans at Celtic Manor.
Colin cited fatigue in making the announcement after a closing-round 71 left him tied for 31st place at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
He says traveling to the United States for the PGA Championship and to the Netherlands for last week’s Dutch Open resulted in him needing “a week to recharge my batteries.”
Montgomerie says he’ll watch on television as the race for Ryder points kicks off. He wished “everyone attempting to earn a place in my team for Celtic Manor next year the very best of luck.”

Tiger misses 7ft putt - and Heath Slocum

wins The Barclays by one strokes

Tiger Woods' aura of invincibility continues to fade. His latest could-have-won, should-have-won defeat came in The Barclays tournament at the much criticised Liberty National course at Jersey City today.
Heath Slocum made a 20-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a one-shot victory over Woods and others.
Tiger was one shot behind when he fired a 6-iron from 189 yards into 7 feet on the final hole, adding to his collection of clutch shots. Typical of his week, however, Woods missed the putt and shot 67, then had to wait to see if there would be a play-off.
Slocum and Steve Stricker, tied for the lead, both hit into fairway bunkers and couldn’t reach the green. Slocum raised both arms in the air when his par putt broke gently back to the left and disappeared into the cup.
Stricker had a 10-foot par putt to force a play-off, and but lipped out and he closed with a 69.
Ernie Els (66) and Padraig Harrington (67) also finished one shot behind Slocum. Els had his clubs loaded into the trunk of his car when he heard the cheers for Woods’ approach to the 18th green.
Then came a groan when Woods missed, followed by news that Slocum and Stricker were in trouble off the tee. Before long, Els was on the driving range warming up for a possible five-way play-off that never happened when Slocum made the biggest putt of his career.
In the third year of these playoffs, the FedEx Cup finally has a winner that resembles a real underdog.
Slocum qualified for these play-offs with only two points to spare – he was No. 124 out of 125 players who advance to this post-season bonanza. His victory moves him to No. 3 in the standings, assuring him a spot in the Tour Championship and a shot at the $10 million prize.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Slocum said. “I was sweating it out last week. I didn’t even know if I’d be here. I came in here with the attitude that I had nothing to lose.”
He turned into a huge winner.
Slocum, who came into The Barclays at No. 197 in the world ranking, finished at 9-under 275 and earned $1.35 million for his third career PGA Tour victory, and first in four years. His other two victories were opposite-field events, when the best players in the world were competing elsewhere.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71):
275 Heath Slocum 66 72 70 67
276 Steve Stricker 69 70 68 69, Tiger Woods 70 72 67 67, Ernie Els (Rsa) 72 68 70 66, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 67 75 67 67
277 Nick Watney 68 73 69 67, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 66 72 68 71
278 Webb Simpson 66 68 72 72
279 Paul Goydos 65 71 68 75, Ian Poulter (Eng) 67 72 70 70, Scott Verplank 73 70 68 68
280 Brian Gay 70 72 71 67, Brandt Snedeker 72 75 67 66, Jason Day (Aus) 70 73 70 67
281 Dustin Johnson 70 74 73 64, Steve Marino 65 71 68 77, Jim Furyk 69 73 70 69, Robert Allenby (Aus) 68 75 69 69, Greg Owen (Eng) 71 74 65 71
282 Hunter Mahan 72 72 68 70, Lee Janzen 68 75 70 69, Troy Matteson 71 71 69 71, Y.E. Yang (Kor) 71 72 68 71
283 Kevin Na 73 72 71 67, Bill Haas 72 70 69 72, Tim Clark (Rsa) 71 70 71 71, Jonathan Byrd 72 74 67 70
284 Zach Johnson 70 72 67 75, Matt Kuchar 68 73 68 75, Stewart Cink 70 72 71 71
285 Charley Hoffman 66 74 71 74, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 65 76 74 70, David Toms 67 75 71 72, D.A. Points 70 71 74 70, J.B. Holmes 73 73 69 70, Justin Leonard 68 75 72 70, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 68 71 73 73, Mike Weir (Can) 71 71 72 71, Bo Van Pelt 70 74 66 75, Luke Donald (Eng) 73 69 73 70
286 Rodney Pampling (Aus) 68 73 69 76, Ben Crane 74 73 69 70, Justin Rose (Eng) 73 72 69 72, Boo Weekley 75 70 74 67, Fred Couples 71 76 69 70
287 Chris Riley 72 75 70 70, Bob Estes 73 74 70 70, Chad Campbell 72 75 70 70, Davis Love III 70 75 72 70, Tim Petrovic 69 76 74 68, John Mallinger 74 72 70 71
288 Kenny Perry 71 75 71 71, Phil Mickelson 70 75 74 69, Jerry Kelly 72 74 76 66, Anthony Kim 75 71 71 71, Harrison Frazar 73 71 72 72, Kevin Sutherland 69 76 75 68
289 Daniel Chopra (Swe) 77 69 71 72, Adam Scott (Aus) 75 72 72 70, Cameron Beckman 70 72 74 73, James Nitties (Aus) 71 75 73 70, Kevin Streelman 68 78 69 74, Mark Wilson 72 75 72 70
290 Bill Lunde 70 73 71 76, Vaughn Taylor 71 76 69 74, John Senden (Aus) 72 73 71 74
291 Charlie Wi (Kor) 73 73 73 72, J J Henry 72 73 74 72, Brett Quigley 70 77 72 72
292 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 70 74 74 74, Charles Howell III 76 70 72 74, Ryan Moore 68 78 77 69
293 John Rollins 71 73 73 76, Jeff Overton 72 71 77 73, Alex Cejka (Ger) 71 72 77 73
299 Joe Ogilvie 73 72 78 76
300 Todd Hamilton 71 74 79 76

South Korean (17) becomes youngest ever

United States amateur champion

South Korean-born Byeong Hun-an, only 17 years of age, has become the youngest ever winner of the United States men's amateur championship at Southern Hills, Tulsa in Oklahoma.
The student at a Bradenton, Florida golf academy beat Clemson University senior student Ben Martin 7 and 5 in a 36-hole final in which both men never touched the form that got them to the last day of the championship.
An was nine over par on the day, but that still put him well ahead of the struggling Martin.
An, the second consecutive champion born in South Korea, took a three-hole lunchtime lead by winning three of the last four holes in the morning round.
Martin bogeyed five of the first seven holes in the afternoon round to fall six down and there was no way back from that.
An, who turns 18 on Sept. 17, is about a month and a half younger than Danny Lee was when he broke Tiger Woods' record last year to become the U.S. Amateur's youngest champion. Lee was 18 years, 1 month old at the time of his victory, while Woods was seven months older than that when he won his first of three straight titles.
Other past champions include Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Phil Mickelson.

United States Walker Cup squad completed

with selection of Tringale and Uihlein

American Walker Cup captain Buddy Marucci has his final two players.
Cameron Tringale and Peter Uihlein have been selected to round out the 10-player American roster that will be playing Great Britain & Ireland at Merion GC on September 12 and 13.
Tringale, a first-team All-American who graduated last spring from Georgia Tech, and Uihlein, a sophomore at Oklahoma State, both made the match play portion of this past week's U.S. Amateur at Southern Hills.
Tringale lost in the third round to David Lingmerth, while Uihlein advanced to the quarter-finals before losing to Charlie Holland.
Tringale was a qualifier for the U.S. Open this past summer at Bethpage. Uihlein had top-15 finishes this summer at the Sunnehanna Amateur, Northeast Amateur, Southern Amateur and Porter Cup.
Tim Jackson, the 50-year-old top seed, and U.S. Amateur runner-up Ben Martin are the alternates for the team.
U.S. WALKER CUP TEAM
Bud Cauley, 19, Jacksonville, Fla.
Rickie Fowler, 20, Murrieta, Calif.
Brendan Gielow, 21, Muskegon, Mich.
Brian Harman, 22, Savannah, Ga.
Morgan Hoffmann, 19, Saddle Brook, N.J.
Adam Mitchell, 22, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Nathan Smith, 30, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Cameron Tringale, 21, Laguna Nigel, Calif.
Peter Uihlein, 19, Orlando
Drew Weaver, 22, High Point, N.C.

JOHNNIE WALKER CHAMPIONSHIPS

Paul Lawrie upbeat after finishing joint

third behind Peter Hedblom

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Swede Peter Hedblom spoke of his delight after winning his first title on European soil by capturing the Johnnie Walker Championships at Gleneagles Hotel today.
The 39 year old secured his third European Tour victory after overhauling compatriot Martin Erlandsson on a day of high drama over the PGA Centenary Course at the Perthshire venue.
Hedblom, who led going into the final round for the second consecutive tournament, shot a five under par 67 to erase the disappointment of losing a sudden-death play-off to England's Simon Dyson in last week's KLM Open.
He finished one ahead of his rival after Erlandsson, joint 20th overnight, had set the clubhouse target with an astonishing 62, the lowest round of his life and the best score recorded over the PGA Centenary Course. But for the preferred lies rule in operation, Erlandsson's score would have lowered the course record by a stroke.
After a magical nine birdies in his first 12 holes the World Number 365, who last week closed The KLM Open with a course record-equalling 63, had moved from six behind to two in front. Erlandsson added another birdie on the short 17th to lay down an impressive marker to the leaders, who were still on the front nine at the time.
However, Hedblom grasped the nettle and reeled off four birdies in a row around the turn as well, but he then failed to get up and down from rough left of the 15th green.
So one more birdie was needed and it came with a superb pitch to four feet on the long 16th. Then two closing pars gave him the victory with a 13 under total of 275.
Defending champion Grégory Havret and Aberdeen's 1999 Open championship winner Paul Lawrie shared third place.
Hedblom said: “That was so tough. I thought last week was, but this was harder. It feels unbelievable.
“I had to dig down so deep, but I am so happy. What a round Martin played - I couldn't believe it and he should have won.
“I just had to plug on. I hit a great shot into 16, but making two pars was even harder.
“This year has been unbelievable. I played so poorly (not a single top 30 finish) until last week. I want to play in the big tournaments, but I keep taking one step back. Hopefully this is two steps forward.”
Erlandsson, whose seven successive birdies from the sixth was a European Tour best for the season and only one short of the all-time record, has had chances to win before and admits he has struggled with the mental side.
As a result his psychologist, a former international hurdler, advised turning his mind to other things when under pressure.
“I was looking at my thumb and wondering how it looked,” he said to a quizzical media. “I was also trying to look at a tree or somebody in the audience to keep my mind at peace. I got off to a good start and that helped my confidence and I really enjoyed it and played free and that was the key.”
Meanwhile, Lawrie remained upbeat despite the defeat. He said: “I had four good ball-striking days last week, so that's two events in a row where I've hit it like I want to hit it, and I think it was extremely close this week."
Havret, whose chances of a repeat victory disappeared with a second round 76, finished strongly with a round of 67 to underline his love of playing in Scotland.

European Tour Scoreboard
JOHNNIE WALKER CHAMPIONSHIPS
Gleneagles Hotel PGA Centenary Course, Perthshire
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
Prize money paid in Euros
275 Peter Hedblom (Swe) 72 68 68 67 (269,895).
276 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 74 70 70 62 (179,926).
278 Paul Lawrie 67 69 73 69, Gregory Havret (Fra) 68 76 67 67 (91,171 each).
279 Gary Orr 73 71 71 64 (68,662).
280 Shiv Kapur (Ind) 69 70 72 69, Jamie Donaldson 69 71 70 70, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 70 69 71 70, Steven O'Hara 68 76 66 70 (45,504)
282 Danny Lee (Nzl) 71 70 72 69, Soren Hansen (Den) 69 70 71 72, David Lynn 76 68 71 67, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 72 69 71 70
283 Damien McGrane 72 72 71 68, Graeme Storm 69 74 70 70
284 Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 70 71 71 72, David Carter 74 70 70 70, Gary Murphy 73 69 73 69
285 Richard Bland 72 72 67 74, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 73 69 70 73, Danny Willett 69 71 73 72, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 69 69 74 73, David Dixon 76 68 74 67, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 72 70 70 73, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 70 69 72 74, Chris Doak 72 72 74 67 (18,116 each).
286 Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 72 70 72 72, John E Morgan 70 71 78 67, Oliver Wilson 73 68 74 71, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 72 71 75 68
287 Jonathan Caldwell 72 66 76 73, Anthony Wall 69 75 72 71, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 71 68 77 71, Richie Ramsay 71 73 74 69, Colin Montgomerie 76 68 72 71, Bradley Dredge 75 67 73 72 (12,793 each).
288 Richard Finch 73 70 75 70, Maarten Lafeber (NIrl) 71 67 73 77, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 70 72 72 74, Ross McGowan 74 68 74 72
289 Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 71 72 76 70
290 Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 70 72 76 72, Alan McLean 69 73 74 74, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 70 70 76 74 (9,554 each).
291 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 69 75 73 74, Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 72 69 77 73, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 73 71 75 72, Ake Nilsson (Swe) 68 73 78 72, Inder Van Weerelt (NIrl) 73 71 76 71, Simon Khan 70 72 76 73
292 Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 72 70 74 76, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 71 71 76 74, Stephen Dodd 73 70 76 73, Scott Arnold (Aus) 71 72 80 69, Michael Curtain (Aus) 72 70 75 75
293 Alexander Noren (Swe) 69 74 74 76, Stephen Leaney (Aus) 71 71 78 73, Simon Dyson 76 68 75 74
294 Gareth Maybin 69 73 78 74, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 68 73 78 75
295 Phillip Archer 71 69 76 79, Pablo Martin (Spa) 72 71 71 81
296 Marcus Fraser (Aus) 70 73 74 79
301 Gary Lockerbie 72 72 79 78
302 Wil Besseling (NIrl) 73 70 84 75

Somerville wins South East District

Open by 3 from McAlpine, Nicol

Former US college circuit player Daniel Somerville turned the tables on Kevin McAlpine in winning the South East District Open championship by three strokes at Dunbar Golf Club today.

Seven days earlier, Somerville finished joint fifth in the North of Scotland open amateur stroke-play championship at Lossiemouth, 11 shots behind winner McAlpine.

But at the end of four rounds at Dunbar this weekend it was Somerville who had scored his first SGU 72-hole Order of Merit tournament victory.

The only man to break par at the end of 72 holes in some rough weather over the weekend, Daniel had rounds of 71, 70, 72 and 69 for a total of two-under-par 282 over the par-71 lay-out.

Myles Cunningham (Craigielaw), who had earlier rounds of 72 70 and 69, would have finished second but was disqualified for a scorecard infringement.
That promoted McAlpine and Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) to joint second place on 285.
The Alyth man scored 74, 72, 70 and 69, Nicoll had rounds of 75, 72, 69 and 69.
Title-holder Scott Borrowman (Dollar) failed to survive the halfway cut at 13-over-par.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71)
282 Daniel Somerville (St Andrews) 71 70 72 69.
285 Kevin McAlpine (Alyth) 74 72 70 69, Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) 75 72 69 69.
286 Mark Hillson (Craigielaw) 73 74 71 68.
287 Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs) 70 74 71 72, Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) 75 72 71 69.
295 Graham Davidson (Winterfield) 73 73 75 73, Peter Speaman-Burn (NZ) 75 77 69 74.
296 Richard Gill (Craigmillar Park) 77 70 73 76.
297 Gordon Yates (Hilton Park) 76 75 74 72, Philip McLean (Peterhead) 78 75 70 74, Malcolm Campbell (Swanston New) 75 73 78 71, Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 76 79 72 70.
298 Alexander Culverwell (Dunbar) 78 76 74 70.
299 Paul McPhee (King James Vi) 79 75 70 75, Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) 78 77 773 71, Paul Betty (Hayston) 74 77 75 73, Bryan Fotheringham (Forres) 77 74 76 72, Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm) 75 77 74 73.
301 Keith Reilly (Silverknowes) 80 75 73 73, Stephen Neilson (Dunbar) 75 76 77 73, Ben Sloan (Cathkin Braes) 82 73 75 71, Tom Blennerhassett (Dalmahoy) 78 74 74 75, Dean Muir (Dunbar) 75 73 74 79.

302 Graham Robertson (Silverknowes) 80 74 73 75, Andrew Wallace (Glenbervie) 76 76 77 73, Steven Armsrong (Turnhouse) 78 73 78 73.

303 Stephen Simants (Dunbar) 74 79 82 68.

304 Simon Lockhart (Bathgate) 79 75 78 72, Ed Wood (Crow Wood) 74 76 78 76.

306 Richard Graham (Hayston) 78 76 78 73.

308 Martin Stein (Craigielaw) 79 76 74 79, Ally Macphail (Ratho Park) 76 799 79 74.

Disqualified - Myles Cunningham (Craigielaw) 72 70 69 DQ; Stewart McCulloch (McDonald Ellon) 78 75 DQ 73.

Eric Ramsay cruises to first win in Poland

FROM PAUL SYMES, EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR PRESS OFFICER
Carnoustie's Eric Ramsay clinched his maiden Challenge Tour title in comfortable fashion after closing with a round of 69 to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the DHL Wroclaw Open today.
The Scot, who became the 12th first-time winner on this season’s Challenge Tour, pocketed a cheque for €22,400 after finishing on 17 under par, two shots clear of his nearest rivals, the English duo of Andrew Butterfield and Richard McEvoy, who closed with respective rounds of 67 and 65.
Ramsay, a former Australian open amateur championship winner, posted an astonishing 23 birdies over the four days at Toya Golf and Country Club in Wroclaw, Poland, and his 263 aggregate score was the lowest 72 hole total of the 2009 Challenge Tour season.
The 30 year old, who had led the €140,000 event since opening with a round of 61, carried a four-stroke advantage into the final day, and swiftly extended it with birdies at the second and third holes.
He picked up another shot at the 13th hole and, despite bogeys at the 15th and the last, the victory – which saw him climb 48 places to 22nd in the Rankings – was never seriously in doubt.
Ramsay said: “Obviously I’m very happy, even though I didn’t play that well today, particularly at the last. So I limped over the line a little bit, but it’s just such a relief to have got my first win. I got off to a good start with the early birdies, which gave me a nice cushion to play with. After that I was just trying to hit the middle of the greens, and I gave myself a few chances but just didn’t take them.
“There were quite a few leaderboards out on the course, so I knew I was two ahead coming down the last. I pulled my approach shot into the bunker and had a bit of a plugged lie, so I had visions of not coming out or going through the back of the green, which would’ve been so embarrassing. But thankfully I managed to get the job done.
“It’s obviously given me a big boost to my position in the Rankings, because before this week I was starting to worry about keeping my card on the Challenge Tour. But now I can start thinking about hopefully finishing in the top 20 and earning my card for The European Tour. I’m taking next week off, then playing in Holland and Kazakhstan, which is obviously the big one. It’ll be good to go there with my confidence high.”
Ramsay’s playing partner Butterfield, who closed the gap on Rankings leader Edoardo Molinari to €21, 652, birdied the last hole to draw level with his compatriot McEvoy, whose cheque for €12,600 moved him up to fourth in the Rankings at the expense of his injured compatriot Robert Coles.
Sweden’s Oscar Floren, American Nathan Smith and England’s Steven Tiley all finished two shots back in a tie for fourth place on 13 under par.
Floren’s round of 64 was the lowest of the day, whilst Tiley’s 68 ensured him a place in the lucrative Kazakhstan Open, as he moved from 196th in the Rankings to inside the top 100.
Sweden’s Andreas Högberg was also in jubilant mood after his ace at the 14th hole, the third of the tournament.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4x70)
263 E Ramsay (Sco) 61 68 65 69
265 A Butterfield (Eng) 66 66 66 67, R McEvoy (Eng) 66 66 68 65
267 N Smith (USA) 68 65 68 66, S Tiley (Eng) 66 69 64 68, O Floren (Swe) 71 68 64 64
268 D Griffiths (Eng) 71 65 65 67, N Colsaerts (Bel) 68 64 66 70, C Gunther (Ger) 68 68 67 65
269 J Parry (Eng) 67 68 66 68, N Meitinger (Ger) 67 68 67 67
270 J Olesen (Den) 69 64 71 66, C Gane (Eng) 67 67 66 70
271 B Mason (Eng) 70 67 64 70, L Gagli (Ita) 67 66 67 71, S Surry (Eng) 66 72 65 68
272 S Jamieson (Sco) 67 62 69 74, J Larsen (Nor) 67 66 69 70, M Korhonen (Fin) 68 67 70 67, S Saavedra (Arg) 64 70 70 68, G Boyd (Eng) 66 70 69 67, M Wiegele (Aut) 68 66 66 72, V Riu (Fra) 67 67 74 64, J Theunis (Bel) 70 67 66 69, K Sullivan (Wal) 66 69 69 68, R Santos (Por) 66 69 67 70
273 T Whitehouse (Eng) 70 66 68 69, G Davies (Eng) 67 70 67 69, F Fritsch (Ger) 68 67 68 70
274 A Grenier (Fra) 68 71 66 69, R Karlberg (Swe) 65 69 71 69, M Mills (Eng) 67 69 69 69, A Hogberg (Swe) 69 70 67 68
275 C Brazillier (Fra) 71 68 68 68, L De Jager (Rsa) 69 68 69 69, C Moriarty (Irl) 69 67 67 72, G Shaw (NIrl) 68 67 72 68, J Quesne (Fra) 67 70 68 70
276 C Smith (Wal) 69 68 69 70, P Del Grosso (Arg) 66 73 70 67, A Mellor (Eng) 65 66 73 72, A Kaleka (Fra) 70 69 72 65, A McArthur (Sco) 68 68 69 71
277 A Bossert (Swi) 69 65 69 74, B Parker (Eng) 72 66 71 68, J Guerrier (Fra) 66 64 71 76, C Russo (Fra) 68 68 69 72, J Little (Eng) 68 71 68 70
278 J Arruti (Spa) 66 70 74 68, A Gee (Eng) 71 68 67 72
279 M Reale (Ita) 66 70 70 73, A Bernadet (Fra) 69 68 69 73
280 G Houston (Wal) 70 68 68 74, S Jeppesen (Swe) 73 66 71 70, M Laskey (Wal) 71 67 68 74
281 A Hansen (Den) 70 69 75 67, A Bruschi (Ita) 71 68 74 68, D Wardrop (Eng) 69 67 69 76, R Steele (Eng) 69 69 71 72, B Taylor (Eng) 67 69 71 74
282 R Davies (Wal) 69 70 72 71, S Henry (Sco) 69 66 73 74, D Ulrich (Swi) 69 70 72 71, D Marmion (Eng) 72 66 71 73
283 P Kaensche (Nor) 70 69 72 72
284 P Purhonen (Fin) 68 70 72 74, G Woodman (Eng) 74 65 71 74
286 C Aguilar (Spa) 66 72 74 74
287 J Elson (Eng) 71 68 80 68

SIMMERS TROPHY FOURSOMES

Bews and Innes win Simmers Trophy foursomes at Cruden Bay Murcar Link's Anthony Bews and Bryan Innes won the North-east District club foursomes tournament for the Simmers Trophy at Cruden Bay today. They returned a 68 for a three-shot victory from the home-course pairing of Laurie Phillips and Steve Buchan. Glen Taylor and Scott Robertson (Hazlehead) finished third with a 72 in a tield of 32 pairings. LEADING TOTALS 68 Anthony Bews & Bryan Innes (Murcar Links). 71 Laurie Phillips & Steve Buchan (Cruden Bay). 72 Glen Taylor & Scott Robertson (Hazlehead). 74 Francis Clark & Colin Shaw (Royal Aberdeen), John Godsman & Stuart Buchan (McDonald Ellon).

US PGA TOUR REPORT

We're playing the 'ladies tees,' says Tiger

after Liberty course is shortened

Steve Marino has never won on the US PGA Tour. The much-criticised Liberty National course in New Jersey might just be his big chance to put the record straight.
Marino ran off three straight birdies late in Saturday's third round for a three-under 68 to catch Paul Goydos for a share of the lead at The Barclays.
On a Liberty National course shortened by 355 yards -- Tiger Woods said it was like playing the "ladies tees" -- a bunch of other players felt the same way about their chances.
That includes Woods.
Despite missing six putts inside 12 feet -- one of them for eagle -- Woods made two big pars on the back nine and shot a 67 that left him five shots out of the lead going into the final round.
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Related link:

PGATOUR.COM: Complete coverage of The Barclays
======================================
Goydos made his move early with three straight birdies that put him atop the leaderboard throughout most of the day. On holes where everyone was picking up birdies, however, Goydos settled for pars and shot a 68.
"If you told me on Thursday I would start Sunday tied for the lead, I wouldn't have believed you," Goydos said.
Goydos and Marino were at 9-under 204, two shots clear of 24-year-old rookie Webb Simpson (72) and Fredrik Jacobson (68). Steve Stricker had a 68 and was three shots behind at 207.
The Barclays is the only PGA Tour event Woods has played at least three times without finishing in the top 10. He was among 11 players separated by five shots going into the final round.
Marino lost in a playoff at Colonial this year, and he shared the 36-hole lead with Tom Watson at the Open at Turnberry. He figures that being in the mix for a title can only serve him well, and Marino should find out how much on Sunday.
"I felt like I was ready to win back then, too," Marino said. "It just didn't turn out that way. I just feel like I'm playing real well right now, and I'm going to do the best I can. I think if I play well, I'll have a good chance to win the golf tournament."
There is plenty of other inexperience with him.
Simpson, who was in Q-School eight months ago, is trying to become the first rookie to win on the PGA Tour this year. He did well to stay in contention after badly pulling his tee shot into the water on the par-3 11th and taking triple bogey.
Jacobson has never won a PGA Tour event in his six years as a full member.
Woods, however, also has company. After getting up-and-down from 190 yards for par on the 13th, and making a 12-foot par putt on his final hole, he was at 4-under 209 along with Padraig Harrington and Zach Johnson.
Liberty National, described throughout the week as long and hard, received a new identity in the third round.
"They are playing the ladies' tees most of the day," Woods said.
The tees were moved forward so far that the course was only 7,064 yards. The two biggest changes presented the biggest problems for Woods as he tried to get closer to the leaders.
The par-5 13th was only 509 yards (54 yards shorter), and Woods had to hit 3-wood off the tee to keep it short of the water. From a slightly downhill lie, he hit his 3-iron fat and held out his hand for another ball as his shot was descending into the water. Woods remarkably escaped with a par when he hit 5-iron to 7 feet and made the putt.
Then came the 18th hole, where the tee was moved forward 55 yards. It was an awkward distance for Woods, who put it into the bunker on the right and took out the top of the tee marker in frustration. He flung his club after blasting out of the sand and into the rough, then made a 12-foot putt to save par, and possibly save his chances.
"As of right now, I'm still in the ball game," Woods said.
His fear was that with the course playing short, the players ahead of him also would pick up birdies and separate themselves even more. That didn't happen. The players who made the biggest move along the back nine were trying to catch Goydos.
Marino did just that. He ran off three straight birdies starting with the par-3 14th, hitting his tee shot to 2 feet of the front pin. Then came an approach to 10 feet on the 15th, and a wedge to 6 feet on the 16th.
He is not concerned with who's behind him -- Woods' name was mentioned -- and neither is Goydos.
The greater mystery is how the PGA Tour will set up the golf course. The tees have been moved around quite a bit this week, and with rain in the forecast, this was as short as it has played. That likely helped Goydos, among the shortest hitters.
"You have to be careful to take what this golf course gives you each day," Goydos said. "And the way they have kind of moved the tees around on different holes, we are going to have take that as it comes tomorrow. I don't know what to expect."

US SENIORS TOUR REPORT

McNulty, Roberts share Boeing Classic lead

Only a few weeks after contesting a playoff for the Senior British Open championship at Sunningdale, Mark McNulty and Loren Roberts find themselves together again.
Roberts and McNulty each shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday at the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge and share the lead at 11 under after two rounds of the Boeing Classic in Washington State. The duo will take a two-shot advantage over Bernhard Langer and Mark O'Meara into today's final round.
It was late July when Roberts and McNulty met in a playoff for the Open title at Sunningdale. On the third play-off hole Roberts finally outlasted McNulty to wrap up his second Senior British Open title.
Now the pair will be in the final group Sunday.
"There are a lot of guys looming right there. We're going to have to go out and shoot under par," Roberts said. "I think it's going to be a shootout."
McNulty spent Friday night on the range, trying to figure out how a sizzling opening nine holes of the tournament got away from him in the first round. McNulty shot a 30 for those first nine holes -- the back nine -- before struggling with two bogeys and finished with a 4-under 68.
He didn't make the same mistakes again. McNulty was 4 under on his first nine holes Saturday, then made another four birdies on the back nine. He birdied Nos. 10, 14 and 15, then curled in a long birdie putt on the 16th to share the lowest round of the tournament. His only hiccup was a bogey at the 12th.
McNulty has four top-10 finishes this year, including a victory at the Principal Charity Classic and his runner-up finish to Roberts.
"I played nice and steady all the way through the round," said McNulty, who is 9 under on the back nine through two rounds. "I've been going for flags a lot more this year. My putting is down some but I've been pleased with how I've played."
Roberts wouldn't let McNulty get away. Roberts had four birdies in his final five holes to match McNulty's 65.
Thanks to his touch around the green, Roberts scrambled to a bogey-free round, following up on his 4-under 68 in the first round. The steady putter made three consecutive birdies on 7, 8 and 9, then did the same thing on the back nine with consecutive birdies at 14, 15 and 16 before his 8-foot birdie at 18.
Key for Roberts were his saves on Nos. 10 and 11 when he chipped close twice to make easy pars and keep his momentum going.
"I'm going to have to look at shooting 4 or 5 under par tomorrow and see what happens," Roberts said. "Mark went low, I went low, I think Mark and I are both going to have to go out and shoot 4 or 5 under just to stay ahead of the pack."
Langer had a 6-under 66, a round that he kept from falling apart on the back nine. He saved par on the 12th with a 15-foot putt, then got up and down from a greenside pot bunker on the 14th.
He narrowly avoiding hitting the ball into the hazard on the par-5 15th, as his second shot caught a tree limb and fell in a bunker instead. Langer ended up making bogey on 15, but rebounded with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17.
O'Meara led by two shots after the first round, but missed a number of short birdie putts throughout his second round. O'Meara suddenly found his putting stroke in the closing holes with birdies at 14, 15 and 16. He stumbled with a bogey at 17 when his tee shot on the par-3 hole missed the green, but rallied with a birdie at 18.
Craig Stadler came from a jumbled pack to surge into contention.
Two years ago, Stadler was in a record seven-man playoff here, before losing out to Denis Watson. Dusting off a putter that was sitting in his closet for about five years, Stadler made six birdies for the second straight day. The difference Saturday was that Stadler didn't throw in the two double bogeys that ruined his first round.
Stadler heads to Sunday three shots back and looking for his first victory in five years.
"It feels like 25 (years) most of the time," Stadler joked.

US PGA Tour Scoreboard
THE BARCLAYS
Liberty National, Jersey City, New Jersey
THIRD ROUND
Par 213 (3x71)
204 Steve Marino 65 71 68, Paul Goydos 65 71 68
206 Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 66 72 68, Webb Simpson 66 68 72
207 Steve Stricker 69 70 68
208 Heath Slocum 66 72 70
209 Tiger Woods 70 72 67, Zach Johnson 70 72 67, Ian Poulter (Eng) 67 72 70, Matt Kuchar 68 73 68, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 67 75 67
210 Nick Watney 68 73 69, Rodney Pampling (Aus) 68 73 69, Ernie Els (Rsa) 72 68 70, Bo Van Pelt 70 74 66, Greg Owen (Eng) 71 74 65
211 Charley Hoffman 66 74 71, Bill Haas 72 70 69, Troy Matteson 71 71 69, Scott Verplank 73 70 68, Y.E. Yang (Kor) 71 72 68
212 Hunter Mahan 72 72 68, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 68 71 73, Jim Furyk 69 73 70, Robert Allenby (Aus) 68 75 69, Tim Clark (Rsa) 71 70 71
213 Brian Gay 70 72 71, David Toms 67 75 71, Lee Janzen 68 75 70, Stewart Cink 70 72 71, Jonathan Byrd 72 74 67, Jason Day (Aus) 70 73 70
214 Justin Rose (Eng) 73 72 69, Bill Lunde 70 73 71, Mike Weir (Can) 71 71 72, Brandt Snedeker 72 75 67
215 D.A. Points 70 71 74, J.B. Holmes 73 73 69, Justin Leonard 68 75 72, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 65 76 74, Luke Donald (Eng) 73 69 73, Kevin Streelman 68 78 69
216 Kevin Na 73 72 71, Ben Crane 74 73 69, Vaughn Taylor 71 76 69, John Senden (Aus) 72 73 71, Cameron Beckman 70 72 74, Harrison Frazar 73 71 72, John Mallinger 74 72 70, Fred Couples 71 76 69
217 Chris Riley 72 75 70, Davis Love III 70 75 72, Dustin Johnson 70 74 73, Kenny Perry 71 75 71, Chad Campbell 72 75 70, John Rollins 71 73 73, Anthony Kim 75 71 71, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 77 69 71, Bob Estes 73 74 70
218 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 70 74 74, Charles Howell III 76 70 72
219 Adam Scott (Aus) 75 72 72, James Nitties (Aus) 71 75 73, Mark Wilson 72 75 72, Phil Mickelson 70 75 74, Charlie Wi (Kor) 73 73 73, J J Henry 72 73 74, Brett Quigley 70 77 72, Tim Petrovic 69 76 74, Boo Weekley 75 70 74
220 Jeff Overton 72 71 77, Kevin Sutherland 69 76 75, Alex Cejka (Ger) 71 72 77
222 Jerry Kelly 72 74 76
223 Joe Ogilvie 73 72 78, Ryan Moore 68 78 77
224 Todd Hamilton 71 74 79