US PGA TOUR NEWS

Extra club in bag costs Furyk $131,250

and 188 FedEx Cup points ... but

he hasn't sacked caddie Fluff

Jim Furyk called a four-stroke penalty on himself in Saturday's third round of The Barclays when he and caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan left an extra club in the bag, a mistake that ended up costing Furyk $131,250 and 188 FedEx Cup points.
Furyk discovered the 15th club while preparing to play a shot near the second green on Saturday and had to take two penalty strokes for each hole, turning his opening pars into double bogeys. He finished with a 70 in the rainy morning round, then shot a 69 on Sunday to tie for 15th at 3 under – six strokes behind winner Heath Slocum.
Without the penalty strokes, Furyk would have tied for sixth. He dropped from 16th to 18th in the FedEx Cup points race, finishing the event with 1,458.
The extra club was a 60-degree wedge with extra bounce, something Furyk thought he might need on shots into the grain from the many run-off areas around the greens. He decided to go with his usual low-bounce model with a sharp leading edge, but the other club was inadvertently left in the bag and went unnoticed – in part because he had the rain hood on his bag throughout the warm-up session and on the course.
“It was a chain of events that added up to a stupid mistake,” Furyk said. “I assumed he (Cowan) knew I was going to play this 60 and he didn’t know which way I was going to go. ... It’s one of the simplest rules in golf. It’s so easy.
“I pride myself on being really prepared – and to do something like that. I think mental errors are much harder to overcome on the golf course than physical errors. The ones that you make because of an absent mind or not paying attention or not doing your homework, those are the ones that hurt the most because you can control that.”
Furyk tried to put the error quickly behind him
“He (Cowan) was kicking himself,” Furyk said. “I said, “Hey, I don’t want to hear it. Let’s just play golf and we’ll figure it out.’
“We’ve been through too much together for a long, long time. He’s been on my bag for over 10 years (Furyk hired Cowan immediately after he was fired by Tiger Woods). He does what he does. He shows up on time. He’s a good person and he’s a good caddie. The last thing I want anyone to do is blame it on Mike. The fact that we both made the error is what surprises me. That’s the shocker. I can see one person being a bonehead for 30 minutes, but two people is disappointing.”

+Kenny Perry has replaced his regular caddie Fred Sanders (49) with son Justin Perry.

Nicklaus joins Palmer in US Masters'

ceremonial starting role in 2010

Jack Nicklaus, 69, will join Arnold Palmer as an honorary starter at next year's U.S. Masters.
Four times title-winner Palmer, now 79, has performed the ceremonial role on his own since 2007 at the opening major of the season at Augusta National.
"We are delighted and fortunate to have such a great ambassador and icon of our sport take part in this tradition," Augusta National chairman Billy Payne said in a statement.
"Having Jack join Arnold on the first tee next April will be a special thrill for his many loyal fans around the world."
The 2010 Masters will take place from April 8 to 11.
Six times title-winnerNicklaus, who made his 45th and final competitive start at Augusta National in 2005, agreed to join Palmer in hitting the ceremonial first shot after receiving the support of his long-time friend.
"I have always had great respect for Arnold and his legacy at the Masters and I did not, in any way, want to infringe on the opportunity for Arnold to have and enjoy this Masters tradition for himself," said Nicklaus.
"He is so deserving of this honour, and thus I felt it was his time, not mine."
Nicklaus added that, because Palmer had "enthusiastically supported the invitation, it became an easy decision for me."

Jesper Parnevik has hip surgery - for second time

Jesper Parnevik has undergone successful arthroscopic hip surgery and will miss the remainder of the 2009 US PGA Tour season as he works through the necessary rehabilitation and training schedule.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Marc Philippon, one of the world's leading orthopaedic hip surgeons who has performed similar procedures on Greg Norman and Peter Jacobsen, at the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colorado.
Parnevik underwent a similar surgery in 2000 which was also performed by Dr. Philippon.

Annual meeting in Atholl Hotel on Monday, September 7

NORTH-EAST ALLIANCE SEASON

TEES OFF ON SEPTEMBER 16

The North-east Golfers' Alliance annual meeting will be held in the Atholl Hotel, Kings Gate, Aberdeen on Monday, September 7 (7.30pm).
Entry forms for the Scottish Golfers' Alliance championship at Gullane from October 6 to 8 will be available from secretary Ron Menzies (pictured right) at the meeting.
The 2009-2010 NE Alliance season will tee off at Kemnay on Wednesday, September 16.
The complete list of dates and venues is:
September
16 Kemnay. 23 Huntly. 30 McDonald Ellon.
October
6-9 Scottish championship at Gullane Nos 2 & 3. 14 Insch. 21 Ballater. 28 Edzell.
November
4 Banchory. 11 Deeside. 18 Newmachar. 28 Portlethen.
December
2 Buckpool.
January
6 Craibstone. 13 Peterhead. 20 Montrose. 27 Inverallochy.
February
3 Buckpool. 10 Fraserbugh. 17 Murcar Links. 24 Turriff.
March
3 Newburgh. 10 Duff House Royal (Championship 1). 17 Cruden Bay (Championship 2). 25-26 Alliance foursomes (Murcar Links).

HUGH HUNTER'S Clackmannan county news

DISAPPOINTMENTS ALL ROUND

There were disappointments for Clackmannan golfers last week in their events.
Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay just missed the cut in the Johnnie Walker European Tour event over the PGA course at Gleneagles. Local supporters saw Callum record an aggregate of 145 for his first two rounds… one shot too many.
However, Callum is now in the field for the next European Tour event at Crans in Switzerland this week. The picturesque course, set just under 5000ft up among the Alps, measures just over 6,800 yards and at that altitude the golf ball will fly much longer distances so the scoring could be low.
Second to be disappointed was Dollar’s Scott Borrowman who missed the cut in attempting to defend his South East District title. Over the windy Dunbar links Scott recorded an aggregate of 161 (77, 84) - five shots too many.
Scott will be hoping for better luck this week at the Newlands Trophy over Lanark Golf course where he will be trying to match Callum Macaulay’s win of 2007.
Finally it was Bob Stewart who lost in the second round of the Scottish Seniors Match Play event at Newmachar. Bob was runner up in the event last year, and when he led the qualifiers in the 36 hole qualifying with a score of 149 (76, 73) he must have felt confident as the number one seed, but he lost by one hole in the second round of the Match Play to Stephen Ellis.

CLACKMANNAN COUNTY BOYS IN ACTION
Clackmannan county boys are in action this weekend at the Gary Harvey Trophy event at Dunkeld when they take on teams of eight from Angus, Fife and Perth& Kinross.
Five out of the six county clubs are represented. County president Sam Kinnaird is enthusiastic about their chances, saying “Clackmannan have a strong team of good players, and we hope they will produce their best golf in the three matches--- one match on Saturday at 1.00 and two matches on Sunday.”
The Clackmannan County Golf Union has selected:
John Salmond, Grant Dowie (both Alloa), John Macpherson, Michael Barrett (both Braehead) Gary Chalmers (Dollar), Daniel Ashe (Alva), Scott Baird, Kevin Ross (both Tillicoultry)
Hopefully, Clackmannan County Juniors (and all Scottish Juniors) will be inspired by the performance of the Korean Byeong-Hun An at the weekend when he created a record by winning the US Amateur at age 17.
As a result of this, he gets an invite to the Masters, the Open at St Andrews and the US Open all in 2010….. just a bit different from playing in Junior Opens!!

MIDLAND ALLIANCE GOLF
The Midland Alliance events are up and running with one event every week (except at Xmas) through till March of next year. There is a high demand for membership and there are waiting lists operating.
Wee County golfers have always supported the events, and there is rumoured to be new participation from the professionals at Alloa Golf Club - David Herd and Gregor Abel. The best scores from the events are published in the Courier and on the "Scottish Golfview" website which continues to provide top golf news from Scottish players and events.
With two events completed, locals have made their mark quickly. At Ballumbie Castle, Alloa’s Michael Niven returned a fine 70 to tie the best scratch score with Braehead’s professional Jamie Stevenson, one shot behind. Michael qualifies for the Midland Championship event in April 2010.

Lanarkshire junior title for Torrance House

Torrance House are the 2009 Lanarkshire junior champions. They beat Colville Park 5-1 in the final at Kirkhill Golf Club on Sunday.
In the semi-finals Torrance House beat Mount Ellen 3 1/2-2 1/2three and Colville Park beat Lanark 4-2.
Mount Ellen finished third after beating Lanark 41/2-1 1/2 in the third-place play-off.

US Nationwide Tour Scoreboard
FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4x70)
265 Gary Christian 68 70 63 64 (Gary Christian won at the ninth play-off hole), Mathias Gronberg 68 68 65 64
267 Henrik Bjornstad 66 67 67 67
269 Chris Tidland 69 66 65 69
270 Guy Boros 67 64 68 71, Kevin Chappell 67 66 68 69, Tom Gillis 68 71 65 66, David McKenzie 69 65 69 67, Garrett Osborn 66 68 69 67, Peter Tomasulo 67 69 65 69, Omar Uresti 69 69 65 67, Ron Whittaker 71 66 66 67
271 Craig Bowden 70 70 66 65, Martin Flores 66 71 64 70, Matt Hendrix 70 69 68 64, Cameron Percy 73 65 68 65, Patrick Sheehan 67 71 68 65, Roger Tambellini 72 67 66 66, Garrett Willis 71 68 67 65
272 Ryan Armour 66 72 68 66, Justin Bolli 67 71 66 68, Jeff Gove 70 70 68 64, Paul Gow 71 69 66 66, Kevin Johnson 70 68 68 66, Jon Mills 71 67 70 64, Jim Rutledge 68 70 68 66
273 Joe Daley 71 68 66 68, Derek Fathauer 74 65 66 68, Jim Herman 69 68 68 68, Jin Park 67 72 66 68
274 Matthew Borchert 68 68 69 69, Dustin Bray 69 68 69 68, Jason Hill 65 74 69 66, Derek Lamely 69 71 64 70, Spencer Levin 68 67 71 68, Brian Stuard 69 67 68 70, Vance Veazey 67 69 72 66, Steve Wheatcroft 71 67 67 69
275 Keoke Cotner 68 71 67 69, Brad Elder 70 67 67 71, Jeff Gallagher 68 70 69 68, Len Mattiace 69 67 70 69, Matthew Richardson 68 70 66 71, Esteban Toledo 68 68 70 69, Willie Wood 69 68 70 68
276 Bradley Iles 67 70 67 72, Steve LeBrun 71 67 71 67, Won Joon Lee 69 70 70 67, Michael Sims 64 73 70 69, B.J. Staten 67 71 71 67
277 Brad Fritsch 68 70 69 70, Jim McGovern 67 70 69 71, Garth Mulroy 70 70 69 68, Andrew Ruthkoski 67 69 73 68, Justin Smith 70 70 69 68
278 Chad Ginn 70 69 68 71, Doug LaBelle II 68 71 69 70, Brenden Pappas 68 68 70 72, Fran Quinn 68 68 71 71, Jon Turcott 68 72 68 70
279 David Hearn 70 70 69 70, a-Scott Hunter 70 70 74 65, Luke List 70 70 72 67, Chris Nallen 70 70 69 70, Geoffrey Sisk 68 69 73 69
280 Todd Demsey 67 72 71 70, Daniel Summerhays 69 71 68 72
281 Daniel McCarthy 66 72 72 71
282 Rich Barcelo 70 70 69 73, Tommy Gainey 69 71 71 71
283 Ryan Hietala 68 68 74 73
284 Hunter Haas 70 70 69 75

Harrington back in world top 10 after

finishing joint runner-up

Padraig Harrington is back in the world's top 10 after finishing joint runner-up in the opening event of the US Tour's FedEx Cup play-offs.
Harrington's closing birdie enabled him to share second place at The Barclays in New Jersey with Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Steve Stricker - all a stroke behind shock winner Heath Slocum.
More News==================
Click on line of story you want to read:
Lawrie targets cup return
Slocum pulls off surprise win
Slow play earns Johansen fine
Monty misses Swiss trip
===========================
Woods missed a seven-foot birdie chance after Harrington had holed from almost twice as far, then Slocum made a 21-footer which gave him victory when Stricker bogeyed the hole.
Harrington moves up from 11th to ninth in the rankings, while Slocum, the 124th seed in the 125-strong field, leaps all the way to 59th from 197th.
Latest leading positions:
1 Tiger Woods 14.53pts
2 Phil Mickelson 7.86
3 Paul Casey 6.53
4 Steve Stricker 6.44
5 Kenny Perry 6.10
6 Henrik Stenson 5.98
7 Sergio Garcia 5.71
8 Geoff Ogilvy 5.41
9 Padraig Harrington 5.41
10 Lee Westwood 5.19
11 Stewart Cink 5.16
12 Martin Kaymer 4.87
13 Jim Furyk 4.84
14 Vijay Singh 4.70
15 Lucas Glover 4.45
16 Camilo Villegas 4.35
17 Anthony Kim 4.19
18 Ian Poulter 4.13
19 Retief Goosen 4.10
20 Ernie Els 4.09.
Other leading Europeans in the top 100:
21 Robert Karlsson
24 Rory McIlroy
25 Ross Fisher
27 Luke Donald
32 Soren Kjeldsen
39 Miguel Angel Jimenez
40 Alvaro Quiros
42 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
45 Oliver Wilson
46 Graeme McDowell
48 Soren Hansen
54 Justin Rose
64 Chris Wood
66 Francesco Molinari
68 Anders Hansen
69 Peter Hanson
78 Nick Dougherty
86 Thomas Levet
94 Fredrik Jacobson
95 Anthony Wall
98 Steve Webster.

R&A CONFIRM GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND

TEAM FOR 2009 WALKER CUP

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R&A
The R&A has confirmed the Great Britain and Ireland team to face the USA at The Walker Cup 2009, to be played at Merion, Pennsylvania, USA on September 12 and 13.
“We have picked a strong team for what will undoubtedly be a tough match,” explained GB&I Captain, Colin Dalgleish. “Each player selected has demonstrated their ability to perform at the very highest levels of the amateur game, but, crucially, they have also bonded extremely well.
“I’m convinced that we go to Merion as a tight-knit team with the combination of experience and talent necessary to give ourselves every chance of returning with the trophy.”
The ten players who will contest the match at Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania, USA, are as follows:

Wallace Booth, Scotland: Wallace Booth was a member of Scotland’s winning side at both this year’s European Amateur Team Championship and last year’s World Amateur Team Championship. He also won four points from a possible four for Great Britain and Ireland in the 2008 St Andrews Trophy against the Continent of Europe. A student at Augusta State University between 2003 and 2007, Booth finished second in this year’s Irish Open Amateur and third in the Scottish Champion of Champions.
Date of Birth: 27/07/1985
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 34

Gavin Dear, Scotland: 2009 Irish Open Amateur champion, Gavin Dear, was also a member of Scotland’s winning side at both this year’s European Amateur Championship and last year’s World Amateur Team Championship. Winner of this year’s Craigmillar Park Open, second at the Scottish Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship and a Spanish Amateur semi-finalist, Dear attended Lynn University in Florida between 2002 and 2006 and won the Dixie Amateur in 2008.
Date of Birth: 05/06/1984
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 12

Tommy Fleetwood, England: Lancashire’s Tommy Fleetwood won the Scottish Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship this year by eight shots with a tournament-record score of 16-under-par. He was runner-up in the 2008 Amateur Championship at Turnberry as a 17-year-old and reached the quarter-finals of the event at Formby this year. He has played for England at all levels of the amateur game and has represented GB&I in the Jacques Leglise Trophy.
Date of Birth: 19/01/1991
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 20

Luke Goddard, England: Goddard triumphed at the English Amateur Championship earlier this year at Rye Golf Club. And the long-time England international has enjoyed an extremely consistent season, finishing second in the Berkshire Trophy and fourth in the Portuguese Amateur, St Andrews Links Trophy and South of England Open Amateur.
Date of Birth: 17/04/1988
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 6

Matt Haines, England: Haines has enjoyed a successful season, winning both the Hampshire Salver and the Duncan Putter, and finishing runner-up at the St Andrews Links Trophy and Welsh Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship. As a member of the England team, he maintained a 100% individual record at the European Amateur Team Championship and did so again in matches against Spain and Australia. In 2008, Haines formed part of the GB&I team that defeated the Continent of Europe in the St Andrews Trophy.
Date of Birth: 01/12/1989
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 20

Eamonn ‘Stiggy’ Hodgson, England: Always known by his nickname ‘Stiggy’, Hodgson has earned his place in the team thanks to a string of consistent performances. He reached the semi-finals at The Amateur Championship, the quarter-finals of the English Amateur, finished third in the Tillman Trophy, fourth in the Brabazon Trophy, sixth in the Hampshire Salver and seventh in the Lytham Trophy. Hodgson has previously competed for GB&I at the 2008 Jacques Leglise Trophy and is a past English Boys champion.
Date of Birth: 12/08/1990
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 11

Sam Hutsby, England: 2009 European Nations Cup champion, Hutsby, is the highest-ranked player on the Great Britain & Ireland final squad. He was runner-up at both The Amateur Championship and the Spanish Amateur this year, while last year he was a member of the winning GB&I team at the St Andrews Trophy, taking three-and-a-half points from a possible four.
Date of Birth: 29/10/1988
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 4

Niall Kearney, Ireland: Niall Kearney, winner of the 2009 Brabazon Trophy, was a member of Ireland’s winning team at the 2008 European Amateur Team Championships and Mens Home Internationals. Kearney reached the last 32 at this year’s Amateur Championship as well as making the last four in the West of Ireland Championship and finishing sixth at the South of England Open Amateur.
Date of Birth: 10/03/1988
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 27

Chris Paisley, England: A University of Tennessee student since 2005, Paisley won the Arizona Intercollegiate at the Arizona National earlier in the year before representing Europe against the USA at the Palmer Cup at Cherry Hills. In 2008 he competed for GB&I in the St Andrews Trophy as well as winning the Czech Open Amateur and finishing runner-up at the English Amateur.
Date of Birth: 24/03/1986
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 16

Dale Whitnell, England: Whitnell maintained a 100% individual record during England’s match against Australia earlier this year. He is the Portuguese Open Amateur champion and the Tillman Trophy winner. Backing up these victories were third places in the Lytham Trophy and Scottish Amateur Open Stroke Play and fourths in the Brabazon, Irish Open Amateur and South of England Open Amateur. He also reached the semi-finals of the English Amateur. In 2008 Whitnell competed for GB&I at the St Andrews Trophy.
Date of Birth: 9/08/1988
Highest World Amateur Golf Ranking: 8

The 2009 Walker Cup will be held at Merion Golf Club, Pennsylvania, on September 12 & 13. A change of format has been made from previous years, with four foursomes ties to be played each morning, followed by eight singles matches on Saturday afternoon, and ten (previously 8) singles on Sunday afternoon.

Visit www.2009walkercup.org for more information.

Powfoot's Ian Thomson wins South

stroke title over home course

“Local Hero” Iain Thomson of Powfoot won the South of Scotland men's amateur hampionship around his home course in testing conditions at the weekend with excellent scores of 70 and 72 for a level par total of 142.
Iain won by two shots from clubmate Mike Grunwell who scored 73 and 71.
It was Iain’s second South championship, having won his first a decade ago in 1999.
The re-arranged competition, which had been washed out the weekend before, attracted a field of 60 players with the top 16 stroke-play totals qualifying for match-play championship which will be concluded with the semi-finals (8.30am) and final on Sunday (September 6).
The Powfoot team of I Thomson, M Grunwell and S Wightman (286) now go forward to represent the South in the Scottish club championship at Prestwick St Nicholas.

LEADING TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71). CSS 74 73
142 I Thomson (Powfoot) 70 72.
144 M Grunwell (Powfoot) 73 71.
146 G Sharp (Dumfries & County) 72 74.
149 D Armstrong (Lochmaben) 77 72, R. Murray (Dalbeattie) 77 72
150 C Riddick (Southerness) 77 73, K. Jamieson (Powfoot) 77 73, I Reid (Dumfries & Galloway) 75 75.

MATCH-PLAY RESULTS
FIRST ROUND
I Thomson (Powfoot) bt M Kirkwood (Kirkcudbright) 5 and 4.
I Reid (Dumfries & Galloway) bt B Irving (Dumfries & Co) 1 hole.
B Scott (Lochmaben) bt R Murray (Dalbeattie) 7 and 6.
S Wightman (Powfoot) bt D Armstrong (Lochmaben) 2 and 1.
G Hodgson (Powfoot) bt G Sharp (Dumfries & Co) 2 holes.
C. Riddick (SoutherNess) bt S Kennedy (Powfoot) 3 and 2.
K Jamieson (Powfoot) bt R Thompson (Dalbeattie) 4 and 3.
M Grunwell (Powfoot) bt L Johnston (Dumfries & Co) 1 hole
QUARTER-FINALS
Thomson bt Reid 2 holes.
Scott bt Wightman 2 and 1.
Riddick bt Hodgson 4 and 3.
Grunwell bt Jamieson 2 and 1.

*Semi-finals and final to be played on Sunday, September 6 at 8:30am.

Third seniors' win of season for Loren Roberts

with birdie-birdie finish to Boeing Classic

Mark O'Meara is getting closer but he's still winless on the United States Champions (Seniors) Tour. For the eighth time since joining the over-50s circuit, O'Meara had to settle for second place in the Boeing Classic at Snoqualmie, Washington State on Sunday.
Loren Roberts made a 5ft birdie putt on the 17th to draw level with leader O'Meara and then sank a 3ft birdie putt at the last for victory.
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Roberts finished at 18 under, thanks to a final-round 65 and a fortuitous bounce on 17 when the ball came out of the fringe and trickled its way toward the hole.
"I saw it get a foot up into the fringe. It just goes to show you, and I've said it when I've won, 'Hey, it was my day. I got lucky.' There is a lot of skill involved but it's all a matter of getting the right break at the right time," O'Meara said. "Who knows, maybe that ball could have stayed up there. But it doesn't work that way and he's got the trophy."
Roberts won for the third time this season, adding to victories at the ACE Group Classic and the Senior British Open last month.
O'Meara led by a shot until an untimely bogey on the short, par-4 16th when his second shot bounced on the lip of a bunker short of the green and fell back into the sand. O'Meara rebounded with a birdie on the 17th, but could only manage a par on the par-5 18th when his tee shot found a fairway bunker.
Roberts took advantage. He nearly matched O'Meara's sterling tee shot at 17, a shot that Roberts had been dreading all week. With water fronting the green the pin was placed in the back left corner. Roberts, who struggles with right-to-left shots, got his 5-iron to turn over just enough to catch a ridge separating the green.
But he didn't see the ball hop into the fringe and pop free.
"That's a tough pin for me to get at," Roberts said. "I put probably the best swing of the tournament for me. ... For me to get into position was to make the birdie at 17. I'd been thinking about that hole all week."
Roberts then birdied the final hole with three solid shots. From 50 yards out Roberts used a wedge and hit a low skip shot that landed on the fringe, checked up and rolled just a few feet from the cup. O'Meara was on the driving range prepping for a potential playoff when Roberts dropped his winning putt.
"I'm not going to say second is terrible because it's not terrible," O'Meara said. "But when you've come close as I have and not break through yet, and today could have been a great breakthrough day for me. Unfortunately I'll have to wait until next week."
Dan Forsman and Bernhard Langer finished tied for third place at 14 under. Hal Sutton made a huge charge, shooting a tournament-low round of 63 including an eagle on the final hole. Sutton finished at 12 under and in fifth place.
Second-round co-leader Mark McNulty stumbled at the start with a four-putt from about 40 feet after reaching the par-5 first in two shots. McNulty shot a 3-over 75 and finished in eighth place at 8 under.
Separated by one group, Roberts and O'Meara turned the final round into a two-man match of O'Meara dropping birdies and Roberts matching.
O'Meara made nine birdies, including five on the back nine, with his only blemish coming at the 16th, part of an 8-under 64. But he still hasn't won a PGA Tour sanctioned event since the 1998 British Open.
O'Meara made birdies at Nos. 6, 7, 8, then spun a fairway bunker shot to 6 feet for a birdie at No. 10. He hit another stellar bunker shot at the 12th to about 4 feet and another at the 210-yard par-3 13th, pushed O'Meara to 16 under.
But Roberts answered each charge, thanks to a putter that saw Roberts make just one bogey Sunday - one of only two bogeys the entire tournament.
Roberts birdied Nos. 7 and 8, then saw his birdie putt on 10 do a 360 around the hole and drop to get to 14 under. He pulled even with O'Meara at 15 under with a birdie on the 12th and added another at the 13th, from the fringe, to reach 16 under.
Roberts hit just 23 putts in his round and nine on the closing nine holes. He also closed the gap with leader Fred Funk in the Charles Schwab Cup points race. Roberts now trails by 86 points.
"No question I holed some putts there on the back nine," Roberts said. "I made some putts today, believe me."
FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
198 Loren Roberts 68 65 65
199 Mark O'Meara 66 69 64
202 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 69 66 67, Dan Forsman 69 67 66
204 Hal Sutton 71 70 63
205 Craig Stadler 70 66 69
207 Mark James (Eng) 71 69 67
208 Mark McNulty (Irl) 68 65 75
209 John Cook 69 69 71, Jeff Sluman 72 69 68
210 Robert L Thompson 72 71 67, Nick Price (Zim) 69 70 71, David Eger 75 65 70, Bob Gilder 70 71 69, Bobby Wadkins 72 70 68
211 Mark Wiebe 72 71 68, Tom Kite 69 73 69, Eduardo Romero (Arg) 76 68 67, Tim Simpson 73 67 71
212 Brad Bryant 71 70 71, R.W. Eaks 70 71 71, Larry Mize 73 72 67
213 Scott Simpson 71 72 70, Mike Goodes 79 66 68, Jay Don Blake 73 70 70, Don Pooley 69 72 72
214 Gary Hallberg 71 72 71, James Mason 69 74 71, Denis Watson (Zim) 76 71 67, Tom Jenkins 74 67 73, Fuzzy Zoeller 71 74 69, Olin Browne 74 71 69, Hale Irwin 70 70 74, Sandy Lyle (Sco) 71 72 71
215 Phil Blackmar 73 73 69, Andy Bean 74 68 73, Russ Cochran 70 70 75, John Morse 76 70 69, John Jacobs 68 71 76, Allen Doyle 68 76 71
216 Bruce Summerhays 75 70 71, Gene Jones 73 72 71, Ben Crenshaw 76 71 69, Ronnie Black 72 72 72, Morris Hatalsky 71 73 72, Bruce Fleisher 73 71 72, Jim Thorpe 76 65 75, Tom Purtzer 76 70 70, Chip Beck 69 76 71
217 Bruce Lietzke 70 74 73, Mike Reid 77 72 68, Joe Ozaki (Jpn) 69 76 72, Jeff Coston 75 72 70, Blaine McCallister 72 69 76
218 Gil Morgan 69 76 73, Kirk Hanefeld 75 70 73, John Harris 71 74 73, Fred Funk 72 74 72
219 Graham Marsh (Aus) 74 74 71, Keith Fergus 77 70 72, Dave Eichelberger 74 72 73, Steve Thomas 74 75 70
220 Fulton Allem (Rsa) 74 71 75
221 David Ogrin 78 70 73, Bruce Vaughan 69 77 75, Jeb Stuart 74 75 72
222 Lanny Wadkins 75 75 72, Jerry Pate 73 73 76
223 Tom Wargo 75 75 73, Mike Hulbert 79 70 74
224 Wayne Levi 72 78 74
225 David Edwards 77 75 73, Tom McKnight 74 76 75
226 Mike McCullough 71 79 76, Lonnie Nielsen 72 77 77
229 Gary Player (Rsa) 77 75 77
234 Jim Albus 84 76 74
236 Isao Aoki (Jpn) 77 78 81

Paul Lawrie believes he can

make next Ryder Cup team

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By Martin Dempster
Despite missing out on victory in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Paul Lawrie believes he can be a serious contender over the next 12 months in the battle to get into Colin Montgomerie's Ryder Cup team in Wales.
After giving an excellent account of himself over four days in Perthshire, the 40-year-old Aberdonian had to settle for a share of third place behind two Swedes, Peter Hedblom firing a closing 67 to win by a shot from compatriot Martin Erlandsson, who bolted through the field with a ten-under 62.
Lawrie, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, the 1999 Open champion, reckoned he could easily have come out on top at the end of a week when his recent work with coach Bob Torrance started to pay dividends and he now has his sights set on a second Ryder Cup appearance.
"Based on the things I am working on and the way they are going, I think I've got a real chance of making next year's team – I've just got to keep thinking that in my head," said Lawrie, who played in the 1999 match at Brookline, where he partnered Montgomerie.
"I know the stats don't lie but I think I'm a better player than someone who's only played in one Ryder Cup team and I'd love to be in the side in Wales – it's going to be a hell of a team."
Lawrie, who picked up a cheque for £78,820 and jumped from 97th to 73rd on the Race to Dubai Order of Merit, was pleased with his week's work at Gleneagles despite coming up just short in his bid for a first Tour triumph in seven years.
"I played extremely good again and the worst I could have finished this week was ten-under," he added. "It was another week of solid ball-striking and I could easily have won. It's an incredibly fine line between winning and finishing third, so we are getting much closer."
Hedblom, who had lost to Englishman Simon Dyson in a play-off in the KLM Open in the Netherlands seven days earlier, was delighted to have bounced back straight away and is looking forward to testing himself against the world's best players in the coming months.
"It feels unbelievable," declared the 39-year-old, who won the Moroccan Open in 1996 but then add to wait 11 years for his only other success on the European Tour in the Malaysian Open."As I was standing over the last putt, I was saying to myself, 'I don't want to do another play-off'. This is my first win in Europe and to do it in the 'Home of Golf' is even better – this is where you want to win.
"I've played twice in the US Open but have never played in a World Golf Championship event in my career. My goal has always been to get into the top 50 in the world so that I can play in those events as well as the majors because I think I can play with the best players in the world."
Hedblom, who has rocketed up to 40th on the Order of Merit after two great weeks – he earned £233,330 for this win – holed two crucial clutch putts on the last two holes but reckoned it was his approach to the seventh hole that had sparked his run to the title after Erlandsson had set the clubhouse target of 12-under.
"I almost holed out with a 6-iron and then picked up birdies at the next three holes as well – that got the momentum going for me," he reflected.
Erlandsson's round included a devastating burst of seven successive birdies – one short of the European Tour record – and the man from Malmo revealed afterwards that he come up with an unusual way of trying to stay calm during that run.
"I had some mental things to think about and started to look at my thumb and wonder how it looked," he said. "If you think about a pink elephant, you just think about a pink elephant."
Hedblom said: "That was so tough. 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."
He added: "I want to play in the big tournaments, but I keep taking one step back. Hopefully this is two steps forward."
***The full article above appears in The Scotsman newspaper today.