Friday, September 18, 2009

Nigel Edwards is man to captain GB&I in

2010 Walker Cup match at Balgownie

FROM THE GOLFWEEK.COM WEBSITE
By Alistair Tait
The R & A should take the first step now to try to win back the Walker Cup. They should appoint Welshman Nigel Edwards as Great Britain & Ireland captain for the 2011 and 2013 matches.
Edwards, 40, is far and away the best available man for the job.
After three straight defeats, the R & A needs to start planning for the next match immediately. Another loss at Royal Aberdeen two years hence and some golf fans, especially American ones, might start referring to the match by its former nickname, the “Walkover Cup.”
That was the term coined when the U.S. used to turn up every two years and win without breaking a sweat.
Fortunately, the match has been fairly competitive since 1995 when GB&I defeated the Tiger Woods-led U.S. team at Porthcawl. From 2003-07 only one point separated the teams. This year the gap grew to seven points.
I think this year’s match was merely a one off. Buddy Marucci’s team was the better side, but they weren’t seven points better than GB&I.
GB&I captain Colin Dalgleish deserves no condemnation. He couldn’t have taken a better GB&I team to Merion. They were the 10 best players in the British Isles. They just didn’t deliver.
Dalgleish prepared well and the team had lots of chemistry, but it just didn’t happen for him. That’s too bad, because he deserved at least one win from his two terms as captain.
Hopefully Nigel Edwards will not suffer the same fate.
Edwards ticks all the right boxes as GB&I captain. He played in four consecutive matches from 2001-07, compiling a 4-5-3 won, lost and tied record. He still plays top-flight amateur golf and so will be playing with potential team members on a regular basis. He is heavily involved with amateur golf in his role as director of player development and coaching for the Golf Union of Wales.
Edwards is not only the right man, he’s the right man at the right time. The Walker Cup is a joint effort between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the captaincy is shared around the four countries. Edwards is the perfect politically correct choice since a Welshman is next in line to captain the GB&I team. Dalgleish (Scotland), Garth McGimpsey (Northern Ireland) and Peter McEvoy are the last three captains.
It seems nothing stands in Edwards’ way. The only slight hitch is that he might still want to play in the next match. That’s fair enough, but there’s an easy solution. The R & A should appoint him as captain, but name an assistant captain at the same time. Then if the Walker Cup selection committee considers it would be better for Edwards to play, the assistant captain can take over and Edwards can act as vice-captain.
I’ve been impressed over the years with the way Edwards deals with the young Welsh players. He has much experience in man management from his role for the WGU. He will be a good motivator for the next Walker Cup team. More importantly, the players will have respect for him because of his playing record.
Edwards is my man. The R & A should make him theirs.

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GB&I trail 6-2 to United States on first

day of PGA Cup at The Carrick

By NAT SYLVESTER, PGA Press Officer
Great Britain & Ireland face an uphill battle to reclaim the Llandudno Trophy after the United States chalked up a 6-2 advantage on the opening day of the 24th PGA Cup at The Carrick on Loch Lomond.
The USA began their defence of the biennial contest in spirited fashion, sweeping the morning foursomes by 3-1 and stifling out a GB&I fightback in the afternoon to close out the four-balls by the same tally.
The bright spots for GB&I were point winners Jon Bevan (Wessex Golf Centre, Dorset) and Will Barnes (Garstang G&CC, Lancashire) in the morning foursomes - they defeated Ryan Benzel and Lee Rinker 4 and 2 - while Welsh duo James Lee (Caerphilly) and Andrew Barnett (North Wales Driving Range) also posted some blue on the leaderboard by beating Mike Small and Mark Sheftic 4 and 3 in the four-balls.
Otherwise there was little to cheer for GB&I who had threatened to sneak an unlikely half in the afternoon four-balls when Kedleston Park’s Paul Wesselingh, in his sixth successive appearance for GB&I and partnering Houghwood GC’s Barry Taylor, arrowed an iron to 3ft on the 18th but Scott Hebert dashed their hopes by draining a 15ft putt from just off the fringe to secure victory by one hole for he and partner Steve Schneiter.
West Berkshire’s Paul Simpson, who had to pull out of the morning foursomes due to sickness thrusting rookie Taylor into early action, made it out in the afternoon to team up with Nevill GC’s Jamie Harris but it proved in vain as they went down 2 and 1 to Eric Lippert and Lee Rinker.
It was a second defeat for Harris who was out first with Taylor in the morning foursomes and lost heavily, 6 and 5, to Sonny Skinner and Kyle Flinton.
Skinner survived being thrown out of a buggy into a bunker on his way back to playing a provisional ball on the 11th. The mishap did little to disrupt his rhythm, however, and he rifled an approach stone dead for a birdie on 12.
The remaining morning foursomes saw Barnett and Lee also defeated 3 and 2 by Scott Hebert and Craig Thomas while in the final morning foursomes the experienced pairing of Wesselingh and former Walker Cup player Jeremy Robinson (Twyford, Worcester) were beaten 2 and 1 by Mike Small and Mark Sheftic.
GB&I captain Gary Alliss admitted it had been a disappointing day but remained hopeful his team could reverse their fortunes and continue their record of never having lost on Scottish soil in three previous matches.
“It’s early days, it’s not quite at the fat lady singing time yet and there is time for us to turn it round,” he said.“Last time in the US two years ago we had a very good start, not quite as good as the US today, but then they clawed us back on the second day.
“I’d love to have the score in our favour but although the players are disappointed they are not down and out and beaten at all and are very much up for it.”
He added: “I think the guys at times, particularly in the four-balls, didn’t quite hit it close enough to have a chance. With these greens you have to be inside 10ft and because we were a couple of holes behind we tried to ram the ball in the hole and they were really running too fast.”
Meanwhile US captain Brian Whitcomb praised the quality of golf from both teams but refused to get carried away with his team’s strong position.
“I’m very proud of my players. The quality of the golf was exceptional – from both teams. Although the margin after one day of three seems favourable it came down to a putt here and a sand shot there.
“We have got a lot of work in front of us, but we’re really happy where we are but I assure that captain Gary Alliss and the GB & I team has other thoughts on the outcome of this match.”
Results:
US names first
Foursomes
Sonny Skinner & Kyle Flinton bt Jamie Harris & Barry Taylor 6 and 5.
Ryan Benzel & Lee Rinker lost to Jon Bevan & Will Barnes 4 and 2.
Scott Hebert & Craig Thomas bt Andrew Barnett & James Lee 3 and 2.
Mike Small & Mark Sheftic bt Paul Wesselingh & Jeremy Robinson 2 and 1.
Four-balls
Skinner & Flinton bt Bevan & Craig Matheson 3 and 1.
Hebert & Steve Schneiter bt Wesselingh & Taylor 1 hole.
Small & Sheftic lost to Barnett & Lee 4 and 3.
Eric Lippert & Rinker bt Harris & Paul Simpson 2 and 1.

SATURDAY
Morning four-balls
GB&I first
7:45 Paul Wesselingh & Jeremy Robinson v Ryan Benzel & Mike Small.
8:00 Paul Simpson & Jamie Harris v Craig Thomas & Kyle Flinton.
8:15 Andrew Barnett & James Lee v Eric Lippert & Mark Sheftic.
8:30 Jon Bevan & Will Barnes v Steve Schneiter & Scott Hebert

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NAIRN 1 v NAIRN 2 IN NORTHERN COUNTIES

CUP SEMI-FINAL AT PETERHEAD


Nairn 1, the most successful team in recent years of the Northern Counties Cup men's double foursomes match-play tournament, are through to Saturday morning's last four at Peterhead Golf Club.
The Nairn club are guaranteed representatives in the afternoon final because Nairn 2 are Nairn 1's opponents at 9am in the first semi-final.
The second semi-final at 9.15 will be contested by Cruden Bay 1 and Moray 1.
Results
THIRD ROUND

Nairn 2 bt Orkney 1 by four holes.
Cruden Bay 2 bt Banchory by six holes.
Nairn 1 bt Royal Aberdeen 1 by two holes.
Brora bt Forres by five holes.
Cruden Bay 1 bt Inverness 2 by three holes.
Royal Aberdeen 2 bt Nairn Dunbar at 20th.
Peterhead bt Murcar Links by two holes.
Moray 1 bt Duff House Royal by five holes.

QUARTER-FINALS
Nairn 2 bt Cruden Bay 2 by two holes.
Nairn 1 bt Brora by seven holes.
Cruden Bay 1 bt Royal Aberdeen 2 by five holes.
Moray 1 bt Peterhead by six holes.

SATURDAY SEMI-FINALS
9am Nairn 2 v Nairn 1.
9.15 Cruden Bay 1 v Moray 1

SATURDAY FINAL at 2pm.

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FOUR TIE IN STIRLING PRO-AM

Four players - Steven Taylor (Bothwell Castle), Andrew Oldcorn (Kings Acre), Mark Loftus (Cowglen) and Colin Gillies (Playsport Golf) - tied for victory on four-under-par 68 in the rescheduled Stirling Golf Club pro-am today.
They each earned £666.
They won by a shot from Mark King (Kingsfield), Fraser McLaughlan (Bothwell Castle) and Fraser Mann (Musselburgh).
Next, on 71, came Sean O'Donnell (Balbirnie Park), Chris Russell (RAW Golf Course Design), Craig Ronald (Carluke) and Graham Fox (East Kilbride).
Fox led the Guardian Systems trio of amateurs, Fred Findlay, Scott Braid and George Wilson, to victory with a net 58 after a card countback that went down to the last three holes.
Leading pros
Par 72
68 S Taylor (Bothwell Castle), A Oldcorn (Kings Acre), M Loftus (Cowglen), C Gillies (Playsport Golf).
69 M King (Kingsfield), F McLaughlan (Bothwell Castle), F Mann (Musselburgh).
71 S O'Donnell (Balbirnie Park), C Russell (RAW Golf Course Design), C Ronald (Carluke), G Fox (East Kilbride).

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Olazabal and Dougherty miss the cut as

Berham leads at 13-under-par 129+

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Jose Maria Olazabal and Nick Dougherty were among those to miss the halfway cut as England's Benn Barham retained the lead at the Austrian Open in Vienna today.
Barham's rounds of 63 and 66 took him to 13 under par, his 129 total equalling the lowest of the European Tour season.
He goes into the weekend two in front of 2007 winner Richard Green, the Australian left-hander also returning a five-under 66 in the second round, and three ahead of Scotland's Scott Drummond (68).
Olazabal, however, crashed out on level par after going in the water and double-bogeying the short 17th for a 72, while Dougherty's second successive 71 was not good enough either.
Low round of the day was a 64 from Welsh Ryder Cup hopeful Bradley Dredge, runner-up at the European Masters on his last start two weeks ago. It included seven successive birdies, one short of the Tour all-time record, from the 14th, although placing of the ball was being allowed on the wet fairways.
Barham, yet to win on the circuit and down at 175th on the money list, has had an eagle and 12 birdies so far.
"You never know what will happen in this game," he said. "I've been working with a new coach the last few weeks and it's just a case of letting it go.
"I'm pleased with the direction it is moving. With the way my season is going I needed a different direction to freshen things up - playing the same week-in week-out was frustrating.
"Robert Watts has given me a few new things to work on and I have been striking it well. As a golfer if you hit the ball well you think well and everything falls into place.
"There is a long way to go. I'll try to treat it as another round with my mates at Chart Hills. The moment you get caught up in it the problems start to arise."
TWO-ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71)
129 Benn Barham 63 66
131 Richard Green (Aus) 65 66
132 Scott Drummond 64 68
133 Chris Gaunt (Aus) 66 67, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 68 65, Mark Foster 65 68
134 Joost Luiten (Ned) 67 67, Soren Hansen (Den) 67 67, David Horsey 67 67, Pablo Martin (Spa) 66 68
135 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 65 70, Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 66 69, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 67 68, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 67 68, David Lynn 67 68, Brett Rumford (Aus) 64 71, Wil Besseling (Ned) 68 67, Gary Murphy 68 67, Iain Pyman 70 65, David Dixon 68 67, Markus Brier (Aut) 68 67
136 Marc Warren 68 68, Phillip Archer 65 71, Matthew Cort 68 68, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 69 67, Gregory Havret (Fra) 69 67, Bradley Dredge 72 64
137 Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 69 68, David Drysdale 69 68, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 70 67, Ross McGowan 67 70, Alex Cejka (Ger) 69 68, Seve Benson 69 68
138 Richard Bland 68 70, Damien McGrane 71 67, David Howell 69 69, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 68 70, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 69 69, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 67 71, Simon Wakefield 68 70, Marc Cayeux (Zim) 71 67, Marco Ruiz (Par) 70 68, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 68 70, Paul Lawrie 68 70, Inder Van Weerelt (Ned) 72 66, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 71 67, Thomas Levet (Fra) 68 70
139 Lukas Nemecz (Aut) 71 68, Alan McLean 72 67, Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice) 73 66, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 69 70, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 69 70, Gary Lockerbie 68 71, Stephen Dodd 71 68, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 71 68, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 70 69, Cesar Monasterio (Arg) 71 68
140 Ulrich Van Den Berg (Rsa) 72 68, Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 66 74, Richie Ramsay 72 68, Steven O'Hara 69 71, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 69, Lee Slattery 67 73, Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 70 70, Callum Macaulay 66 74, Sam Walker 72 68
141 Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 71 70, John Mellor 68 73, Hennie Otto (Rsa) 69 72, Phillip Price 70 71, Andrew Coltart 73 68, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa) 69 72, Paul Broadhurst 73 68, Kane Webber (Aus) 73 68, Alastair Forsyth 72 69, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 72 69, Santiago Luna (Spa) 74 67, Michael Hoey 72 69
142 Robin Goger (Aut) 71 71, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 71 71, Robert Dinwiddie 71 71, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 70 72, Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 68 74, Scott Strange (Aus) 71 71, Nick Dougherty 71 71, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 70 72, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 73 69, Sam Little 72 70, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 72 70, Barry Lane 74 68
143 Anton Haig (Rsa) 74 69, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 76 67, Mark Davis 72 71, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 72 71, Oliver Fisher 70 73
144 Greig Hutcheon 74 70, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 73 71, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 73 71, Gustav Adell (Swe) 74 70, Ally Mellor 72 72, Sven Struver (Ger) 69 75, Miles Tunnicliff 74 70, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 75 69
145 Taco Remkes (Ned) 74 71, Patrick Niederdrenk (Ger) 73 72, Christopher Doak 72 73
146 Roope Kakko (Fin) 73 73, Branden Grace (Rsa) 72 74
147 Danny Lee (Nzl) 74 73, Peter Lepitschnik (Aut) 75 72, Christoph Pfau (Aut) 75 72
148 Jaakko Makitalo (Fin) 75 73
149 Clemens Prader (Aut) 76 73, Petr Nic (Cze) 75 74, Michael Moser (Aut) 79 70, Uli Weinhandl (Aut) 75 74, Jurgen Maurer (Aut) 78 71, Marcus Higley 74 75, Jordi Garcia Del Moral (Spa) 79 70, Moritz Mayrhauser (Aut) 77 72, Benjamin Palanszki (Hun) 74 75
150 Chenxiao Duan (Aut) 75 75, Claude Grenier (Aut) 74 76
151 Simon Griffiths 77 74
154 Leo Astl (Aut) 81 73, Vincent Abel (Aut) 78 76, Alex Larrazabal (Spa) 76 78
155 Kevin Berger (Ger) 78 77
157 Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 76 81
160 Sebastijan Ajster (Slo) 84 76
RTD: 74 Simon Khan, John E Morgan

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Mount Ellen Crowned Belhaven Best Club Champions

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
Paul Bradley and Graham Kilpatrick were the toast of Mount Ellen Golf Club tonight after they stormed to a two-shot victory in the final of the 2009 Belhaven Best Scottish Club Handicap Championship final at The Duke’s, St Andrews.
The Lanarkshire duo combined to perfection to record a superb six-under par aggregate of 65 to finish two shots clear of Balbirnie Park’s Robert Donaldson and Bill Ballie and become the tenth winners of Scotland’s biggest participation golf event.
Starting at the tenth tee, they raced in contention after Bradley recorded a net eagle at the par five 11th and then chipped in for an eagle two at the short par four 13th hole. A bogey at the par three 12th hole was their only blemish on the outward nine but another Bradley birdie at the 15th put them back at four-under par.
Kilpatrick notched a birdie four at their tenth hole and the scratch golfer played some excellent par golf before his partner finished off the round in style with a net birdie at the closing hole to post a score no one else in the field was able to match.
“It’s great to win such a big event here at The Duke’s, which is a fantastic golf course. We both played really well today and we couldn’t have got off to a better start after getting two eagles in the opening four hole.” said 19-year old Bradley, a student at the University of Stirling.
“We only just scraped through to the final after finishing ninth in the Regional Qualifying at Helensburgh so to come out on top today in this field is amazing.” he added.
The win caps a remarkable year for 28-year-old Kilpatrick, who was also the reigning club and open champion at Mount Ellen:
“It’s been a great season for me having won the two big ones at my home club and this is the icing on the cake. We dovetailed very well out there today and managed to hole a few putts. The greens were very fast and the course is long and while it’s very different to Mount Ellen, we felt we would have a chance.”
Runners-up Ballumbie Castle, represented by 9-handicapper Bill Baillie and Robert Donaldson, playing off 2, were left to rue back-to-back bogeys at the 17th and 18th holes which marred an otherwise excellent scorecard.
Starting at the tenth, Donaldson got the Angus pairing off to a flying start with an eagle at the 11th hole and further birdies followed at the 13th, 1st, 2nd and 9th holes to give them second spot.
Borders club Hirsel took third spot with an excellent three-under par score of 68, with Bruce Lunn and Duncan Law doing their club proud with equal halves of 34.
Daryl Sreenan and Garrie Watson from Downfield in Dundee were fourth on 69, with Lochmaben and Craibstone the other two clubs to break par with scores of 70 to finish in fifth and sixth sports respectively.
Click here for the hole-by-hole scores from the Belhaven Best Scottish Club Handicap Championship at The Duke’s, St Andrews.

http://www.golfbox.dk/livescoring/leaderboard.asp?tour=%7b9D1286E8-ECBF-4358-808D-5F6940DF1D1A%7d&grp=101&clubOnly=1&color=1&lang=1033

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Putt-putt Torrance hands the advantage to Woosnam

By SCOTT CROCKETT, European Seniors Tour Press Officer
Sam Torrance handed the early advantage in the race for the European Senior Tour Order of Merit to Ian Woosnam after the first round of the Casa Serena Open in the Czech Republic.
The Scot, currently in second place and third placed Woosnam are the two men primarily battling for the crown in the absence of leader Mark McNulty and Woosnam stole a march as his fellow Ryder Cup Captain struggled on the course some 70 miles south east of Prague.
Woosnam opened with a four under par 67 to lie only three shots adrift of leader, Australian Peter Senior, while Torrance struggled on the greens on his way to a two over par 73 and a share of 46th place.
“Putting was poor, game was poor, pretty much everything was poor today – I have to try and do a lot better tomorrow,” was Torrance’s summation of a round which saw him card five birdies in total.
“Sam did struggle a bit today which was unfortunate but I’m trying not to think about the Order of Merit at the moment to be honest,” said Woosnam, who trails Torrance by a matter of some €5000 with a first prize of €90,000 at stake on Sunday night. “I am trying to concentrate on playing better and if I do that, then everything else will take care of itself.
“I played well today but there is still a bit of inconsistency in my game. I played well in the second round at Woburn two weeks ago, shot 69 in the second round and then shot 79 in the final round so, at the moment, you are just never sure what you are going to get. But today was encouraging.”
Leader Senior began to make immediate amends for his Woburn heartache of a fortnight ago with his superb seven under par 64.
The Australian, who only turned 50 at the end of July, looked a certainty to claim his maiden Senior title when he took a four shot lead into the final round of the last event on the schedule – the Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters at Woburn – two weeks ago. But the four time European Tour champion saw his putter go cold in the final 18 holes to allow a charging Tony Johnstone to claim the spoils.
However Senior was quick to make amends at the Casa Serena course with a stunning opening effort which gave him a two shot lead over three players, Carl Mason, Domingo Hospital and Noel Ratcliffe.
“I actually felt I putted okay at Woburn, the ball just refused to drop for me,” said Senior, who had seven birdies in total in a flawless effort. “So it was nice to get a couple of putts in early in my round here which gets your confidence up on the greens and your momentum going.
“It is especially important to putt well on this course because if you can find the fairways here, it is one where there are a lot of short irons in for second shots. That means you’ll have plenty of birdie chances.
“But that’s the way it is nowadays. It is sometimes not always the guy who plays the best who wins, it is the guy who putts the best. However, I am really enjoying my time out here on the Senior Tour. It is a great atmosphere despite being competitive and I am looking forward to playing more tournaments.”
Leading the chasing pack was Englishman Mason whose flawless 66 represented his lowest round of the 2009 season and one which reignited his hopes of becoming the most successful Senior Tour player of all time.
Currently that record is held by Mason’s fellow Englishman Tommy Horton with 23 victories but Mason has 21 and admitted he now has the scent of history in his nostrils.
“It is harder to win out here now the older you get but it still would be something really nice to do and I feel it is within reach,” said Mason. “I’ve broken just about every Senior Tour record out here in my seven years on Tour so it would be nice to add that to the collection.”
Further down the leaderboard, Bernhard Langer looked like he would be the man to end the day in pole position when he birdied the first two holes on his way to reaching the turn in 31. But the double Masters champion could not quite repeat the fireworks on the inward half and he had to settle for a 67 alongside Woosnam.
“Four under on the front nine was good but then I ran into some problems on the inward half with a couple of loose shots and a couple of missed putts,” he said. “I really feel like I left some shots out there because even par coming home is not really good enough. It should have been at least a couple better.”

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European Seniors Tour Scoreboard
CASA SERENA OPEN
Casa Serena Golf, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic
FIRST ROUND
Par 71
64 P Senior (Aus)
66 N Ratcliffe (Aus), C Mason (Eng), D Hospital (Esp)
67 I Woosnam (Wal) , B Langer (Ger) , P Mitchell (Eng) , M Farry (Fra) , J Bruner (USA) , G Brand (Eng)
68 M Harwood (Aus) , N Job (Eng) , C Williams (RSA) , G Brand Jnr (Sco) , D Russell (Eng) ,
69 B Cameron (Eng) , D O'Sullivan (Irl)
70 G Ralph (Eng) , G Cali (Ita) , T Giedeon (Ger) , D Smyth (Irl) , B Smit (RSA)
71 P Allan (Eng) , D Merriman (Aus) , B Longmuir (Sco) , A Murray (Eng) , D Cambridge (Jam) , E Darcy (Irl) , K Spurgeon (Eng) , S Owen (Nzl)
72 L Carbonetti (Arg) , S Bennett (Eng) , B Boyd (USA) , J Cañizares (Esp) , M Williams (Zim) , T Gale (Aus) , M Miller (Sco) , J Chillas (Sco) , R Drummond (Sco) , T Johnstone (Zim) , J Rivero (Esp) , E Polland (Nir) , M Cunning (USA) , M Bembridge (Eng) , R Chapman (Eng)
73 B Lincoln (RSA) , E Rodriguez (Esp) , M Clayton (Aus) , S Torrance (Sco) , D Durnian (Eng)
74 J Rhodes (Eng) ,
75 I Mosey (Eng) , G Encina (Chi) , J Quiros (Esp) , D Good (Aus) , C Rocca (Ita) , A Franco (Par) ,
76 D Johnson (USA) , M Poxon (Eng) , J Hall (Eng) , A Barrera (Arg) , G Towne (USA) , J Heggarty (Nir) , G Watine (Fra) , J Hawkes (RSA) , M Piñero (Esp) , A Fernandez (Chi) ,
77 J Seifert (Cze) ,
78 H Carbonetti (Arg) , P Oakley (USA) , P Brostedt (Swe) , A Garrido (Esp) ,

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Craig Lee leads Dundonald qualifiers for Stage 2

By SARAH GWYNN, European Tour press officer
Scot Craig Lee fired cemented his place in the next stage of European Tour Qualifying School with a stunning round of 66 at Dundonald Links, one of four venues for First Qualifying Stage, Section A.
That score propelled Lee into first place at nine under overall, five shots ahead of Englishman Jamie Elson, whose 76 was out of character with his previous three rounds but was enough for him to qualify for Second Stage in November nonetheless.
Twenty-four players in Scotland made it through to the next round, where the goal will be to reach the Final Stage and ultimately win one of 30 places available on The 2010 European Tour International Schedule.
There was agony for Paul McKechnie and Gary King, whose rounds of 77 and 75 respectively meant they missed out on qualification by one shot.
At Lübker Golf Resort in Denmark, where 13 players qualified, Lars Johansen remained top of the leaderboard after posting a second successive 71 to stay two shots clear of Lars Johansson of Sweden. Danish amateur Daniel Lokke shot his best score of the four rounds, 72, to scrape through.
At Chart Hills Golf Club in England, where 21 players booked their place at Second Stage, James Busby posted a 66 to win by two shots from overnight leader Matthew Baldwin. The pair, who finished 16 under and 14 under respectively, were way ahead of the rest of the field but the best score of the day came from American Russell Surber, whose 64 meant he qualified by two shots. Dutch amateur Sven Maurits also produced an impressive final round, carding a 65 to move up to third place at eight under.
Another Dutch amateur, Jurrian Van der Vaart, won at Ribagolfe in Lisbon, Portugal after a 72 in the final round kept him at the top of the leaderboard, one shot ahead of Swede Johan Bjerhag. Thirteen players qualified, but Spaniard Diego Torne was not among them after he crashed to a 79 in the fourth round, meaning he missed out by two shots.
Results:
LUBKER, DENMARK
(13 players qualified)
285 L Johansen (Den) 73 70 71 71
287 L Johansson (Swe) 74 75 67 71
288 V Almstrom (Swe) 71 74 69 74
290 M Bliss (Can) 73 73 72 72
291 N Lemke (Swe) 73 74 72 72
293 T Norret (Den) 72 73 73 75
294 M McQuillan (Can) 76 72 71 75
296 A Axelsson (Swe) 78 75 68 75,
297 M Warenius (Swe) 74 74 72 77, F Ohlsson (Swe) 77 75 69 76, C Lange (Den) 76 73 74 74, B Ahlenback (Swe) 73 73 74 77, D Lokke (am) (Den) 73 77 75 72
DID NOT QUALIFY
299 T Nielsen (Den) 75 74 72 78
301 K Storgaard (Den) 75 75 73 78
304 P Malmgren (Swe) 78 75 72 79, B Akstrup (Den) 79 76 69 80

RIBAGOLFE, PORTUGAL
(13 players qualified)
281 J Van Der Vaart (Ned) (am) 68 69 72 72
282 J Bjerhag (Swe) 70 70 71 71
283 J Pettersson (Swe) 72 73 70 68
284 M Bothma (RSA) 71 71 70 72
286 J Poucher (USA) 68 71 72 75
287 L Claverie (Esp) 74 72 72 69, F Cea (Esp) 67 73 77 70
288 J Little (Eng) 69 74 74 71, P Del Grosso (Arg) 71 74 71 72
289 M Ureta (Chi) 70 74 71 74
291 P Pinto (Arg) 74 76 73 68
293 H Santos (Por) 74 72 74 73, A Gutierrez (Esp) 76 74 75 68
DID NOT QUALIFY
294 R Eriksson (Swe) 76 74 72 72, J Kelly (Nor) 76 73 75 70, C Cousins (Wal) 71 79 72 72, M Cobo Arrayas (Esp) 70 78 74 72, L Dodd (Eng) 73 76 72 73, R Bastard (Eng) 77 75 72 70
295 C Nel (RSA) 71 76 73 75, P Hansen (Den) 74 75 75 71, D Torne (Esp) 74 73 69 79
296 J Evans (Eng) 71 77 72 76
297 S Grant (Irl) 75 75 73 74, D Hutton (Eng) 71 73 82 71
298 J Billing (Swe) 76 76 74 72
299 M Hedegaard (Den) 73 75 76 75, N Drane (Eng) 74 78 75 72
300 J Carlson (Swe) 73 71 80 76
303 D Carrera (Esp) 75 76 76 76, K Grud (Den) 75 75 73 80

DUNDONALD LINKS
(24 players qualified)
279 C Lee (Sco) 78 70 65 66
284 J Elson (Eng) 69 69 70 76
286 T Dykes (Wal) 69 73 73 71
287 C Kelly (Sco) 73 73 73 68
288 J McCreadie (Sco) 74 75 66 73, G Cowan (Eng) 73 70 70 75, L De Jager (RSA) 69 70 72 77
289 J Ablett (Eng) 74 74 72 69
290 S Doherty (Eng) 73 73 74 70, K McAlpine (Sco) (am) 67 73 69 81, M Hillson (Sco) (am) 75 72 71 72
291 P O'Hara (Sco) 75 76 68 72, M Quiros (Esp) 71 76 73 71, R Lee (Eng) 71 74 71 75, M Kerr (Sco) 72 71 77 71
292 L Harper (Sco) 78 72 70 72, O Whiteley (Eng) 74 74 69 75, D Belch (Eng) 71 75 72 74, S Henderson (Sco) 72 76 75 69
293 S Gray (Sco) 72 75 72 74, I Keenan (Eng) 74 72 75 72, J Axgren (Swe) 76 75 70 72, I Ridgway (Eng) 75 72 71 75, W Bowe (am) (Eng) 73 70 74 76.
FAILED TO QUALIFY
294 P McKechnie (Sco) 73 74 70 77, G King (Eng) 76 72 71 75
295 A Lockhart (Sco) 74 74 72 75, G Marks (Eng) 74 77 71 73, G Yates (Sco) (am) 76 72 75 72
296 B Trainor (Irl) 70 78 74 74, S Jackson (Eng) 77 72 74 73, S McAllister (Sco) 76 69 73 78, E Little (Sco) 75 73 74 74
297 B McElhinney (Irl) 78 75 70 74, J Harper (Eng) 75 78 73 71, A Hodkinson (Eng) 76 72 78 71 298 S Capper (Eng) 77 73 72 76, S Mackie (Sco) 73 73 73 79, G Plumet (Fra) 71 74 77 76, D Holloway (Nzl) 77 75 72 74
299 D Astin (Eng) 77 73 71 78, B Howlett (Eng) 83 71 72 73, R Carter (am) (Eng) 78 73 72 76, K Nicol (Sco) (am) 76 72 77 74
300 C Campbell (Sco) 79 74 71 76, R Cameron (Sco) 72 75 75 78, S Garcia-Grout (Esp) 76 73 74 77
301 L McNaughton (Aus) 75 76 75 75
302 J Fallon (Eng) 78 74 71 79, P Cormack (Sco) 79 74 73 76, M Lavelle (Irl) 78 75 71 78
303 J Housby (Eng) 77 73 74 79, S Hume (Sco) 76 75 74 78, J Findlay (Sco) (am) 74 76 75 78
304 C Wilson (Eng) (am) 73 73 80 78
306 O Arvidsson (Swe) (am) 74 79 71 82

CHART HILLS
(21 players qualified)
272 J Busby (Eng) 67 68 71 66
274 M Baldwin (Eng) 69 67 68 70
280 S Maurits (Ned) (am) 69 72 74 65
281 O Turnill (Eng) 70 71 73 67
283 M Vandenberg (Eng) 71 70 71 71, B Jones (Eng) 74 69 69 71
284 J Ruebotham (Eng) 74 71 71 68, N Chaudhuri (Eng) 76 74 68 66, J Hendry (Sco) 71 75 71 67, R Surber (USA) 78 72 70 64, M Laskey (Wal) 71 71 76 66, A Tarchetti (Eng) 70 73 71 70, J McLean (Aus) 72 72 71 69, J Watts (Eng) (am) 74 71 70 69
285 M Lowe (Eng) 75 74 65 71, J Abbott (Eng) (am) 72 75 69 69
286 W Hefferman (Can) 69 75 72 70, M Ford (Eng) 69 77 69 71, K Harper (Eng) 75 73 69 69, F McGuirk (Eng) 71 73 75 67, G Povey (Eng) (am) 70 76 71 69.
DID NOT QUALIFY
287 R Watkins (Eng) 71 76 71 69, D Lloyd (RSA) 70 74 75 68, G Davies (Eng) 72 73 72 70, B St John (Eng) 73 78 67 69, J Barnes (Eng) 73 74 74 66
288 T Prowse (Aus) 72 73 69 74, N Redfern (Eng) 69 73 72 74, B Banks (Eng) 71 75 72 70, Y Ali (Eng) 74 72 71 71
289 M Feuerstein (USA) 73 76 71 69, M Searle (Eng) 73 73 74 69, S Lee (am) (Eng) 72 74 70 73, I Winstanley (am) (Eng) 73 77 69 70
290 J Kavanagh (Eng) 75 73 73 69, J Gallagher (Sco) 76 72 70 72, R Jones (Eng) 71 78 69 72
291 C Lockwood (Eng) 74 75 73 69, R Edginton (Eng) 77 74 71 69, K Staunton (Eng) 72 76 72 71 P Maddy (Eng) 73 74 77 67, C Gill (Eng) 77 71 71 72
292 D James (Eng) 76 73 74 69
293 J Smith (Eng) 76 73 71 73, D Thomas (Eng) 76 75 70 72
294 G Woodman (Eng) 75 72 75 72, P Appleyard (Eng) 71 70 79 74, R Neil-Jones (Eng) 76 72 72 74, M Bush (Eng) 72 78 74 70, J Clarke (Eng) 74 73 77 70, J Webber (Eng) (am) 71 71 76 76
295 J Hearn (Eng) 74 71 77 73, B O'Donoghue (Aus) 73 77 72 73, S McCance (Eng) 73 77 73 72
296 C Simpson (Eng) 73 78 73 72
297 R Whitelock (Eng) 72 74 76 75, R Buxton (Eng) 70 75 75 77
302 K Shepherd (Eng) 77 74 73 78, S Kemp (Bah) 78 75 71 78

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Peter Whiteford’s woes come to an end in

Kazakhstan with 67 after four missed cuts

By CHALLENGE TOUR PRESS OFFICER PAUL SYMES
Scotland’s Peter Whiteford, pictured, bounced back to form and banished the memory of four successive missed cuts with a round of 67 on day two of the €400,000 Kazakhstan Open.
Whiteford’s poor recent form has seen him slip down to 19th place in the Challenge Tour Rankings, and therefore in danger of missing out on promotion to The European Tour.
But after moving to nine under par and within one stroke of joint leaders Gary Boyd, Andrew Marshall and Edoardo Molinari, Whiteford is now in with a realistic chance of cementing his return to The European Tour at the first time of asking.
Despite an opening round of 68 and a front nine of 33 this morning, the Scot was, by his own frank admission, still struggling with his game – particularly off the tee, where he was battling with a tendency to pull his drives left.
With thick rough lining the fairways at the Arnold Palmer-designed Zhailjau Golf Resort in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Whiteford was becoming increasingly reliant on his powers of recovery to stay under par.
But after making an adjustment with his set-up on the back nine, the penny dropped and Whiteford can now look forward to a weekend which could make or break his season.
He said: “My game’s been pretty horrendous lately, and that continued yesterday. I shot a 68 in the rain which looks like a great score on paper, but I had to rely on a lot of up and downs – and I’m talking from about 60 yards, not just from the edge of the green! Even for the first ten or 12 holes of my round this morning, I still wasn’t feeling very comfortable. I was pulling everything left – and the further right I aimed right, the further left the ball went!
"But for the last five or six holes I made an adjustment – almost as a last resort – and it seems to have done the tick, because it was much more like the sort of golf I know I’m capable of producing.
“Before then, the confidence still wasn’t there, despite the fact that I was seven under par. For about a round and a half, I’d hardly hit a fairway. I’ve never had to battle so much – golf shouldn’t have to be that hard! The rough’s so tough in places, I couldn’t even reach the greens on some holes. So I’ve been having to rely on my short game, and fortunately it was in good order – particularly my putting.
"That’s the key for me – if I’m putting well, I feel I can win tournaments. So now I’m putting well and managing to keep my drives in play, I’m feeling a lot more positive about life. Hopefully I can keep it going for the next two days.”
Whiteford’s fellow Scots enjoyed mixed fortunes, with George Murray and Eric Ramsay both missing the cut after respective rounds of 73 and 76. But Andrew McArthur (two under par), Scott Jamieson, Jamie McLeary (both three under) and Lloyd Saltman (five under) will all feature over the weekend.
SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
134 G Boyd (Eng) 63 71, A Marshall (Eng) 71 63, E Molinari (Ita) 67 67,
135 S Thornton (Irl) 69 66, P Whiteford (Sco) 68 67,
136 C Gane (Eng) 70 66, P Gustafsson (Swe) 69 67, C Russo (Fra) 70 66, J Clément (Sui) 67 69, G Paddison (Nzl) 69 67
137 M Zions (Aus) 68 69
138 S Saavedra (Arg) 70 68, J Morrison (Eng) 68 70, J Quesne (Fra) 71 67, O Floren (Swe) 66 72,
139 J Grillon (Fra) 70 69, B Mason (Eng) 69 70, D Denison (Eng) 70 69, M Wiegele (Aut) 69 70, M Haastrup (Den) 73 66, L Saltman (Sco) 67 72, M Korhonen (Fin) 71 68,
140 A Gee (Eng) 72 68, R Steiner (Aut) 71 69, R Davies (Wal) 72 68, S Bebb (Wal) 74 66, J Olesen (Den) 72 68, J Zapata (Arg) 74 66, S Tiley (Eng) 71 69, A Wagner (Arg) 73 67,
141 S Juul (Den) 72 69, J McLeary (Sco) 71 70, Z Scotland (Eng) 72 69, S Davis (Eng) 69 72, S Jamieson (Sco) 74 67, A Tampion (Aus) 69 72, B Pettersson (Swe) 70 71, C Moriarty (Irl) 71 70, B Evans (Eng) 69 72,
142 P Kaensche (Nor) 73 69, B Alvarado (Chi) 72 70, C Brazillier (Fra) 74 68, L Bond (Wal) 71 71, N Smith (USA) 66 76, A McArthur (Sco) 70 72, J Lima (Por) 69 73, D Griffiths (Eng) 72 70, A Kaleka (Fra) 71 71, J Sjöholm (Swe) 71 71, T Carolan (Aus) 68 74,
143 D Hewan (RSA) 71 72, S Surry (Eng) 75 68, P Baker (Eng) 72 71, G Shaw (Nir) 70 73, D Wardrop (Eng) 70 73, A Bernadet (Fra) 72 71, F Colombo (Ita) 72 71, A Snobeck (Fra) 74 69, S Manley (Wal) 73 70, C Carranza (Arg) 75 68, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 71 72, A Ahokas (Fin) 70 73, B Hebert (Fra) 73 70, M Tullo (Chi) 70 73, P Golding (Eng) 73 70
MISSED THE CUT
144
R Treis (Ger) 76 68, C Suneson (Esp) 74 70, A Grenier (Fra) 71 73, R Santos (Por) 72 72, J Abbate (Arg) 74 70, N Colsaerts (Bel) 72 72, F Calmels (Fra) 69 75, R Karlberg (Swe) 70 74, A Willey (Eng) 74 70, B Miarka (Ger) 68 76,
145 M Reale (Ita) 73 72, R Steele (Eng) 74 71, J Billot (Fra) 70 75, C Rodiles (Esp) 72 73, T Feyrsinger (Aut) 69 76, T Ferreira (RSA) 70 75, L James (Eng) 69 76, J Colomo (Esp) 72 73,
146 G Molteni (Ita) 73 73, S Hutsby (Eng) 75 71, C Günther (Ger) 74 72, R McEvoy (Eng) 71 75, N Meitinger (Ger) 74 72, G Houston (Wal) 74 72, K Sullivan (Wal) 73 73, N Vanhootegem (Bel) 74 72, J Guerrier (Fra) 71 75,
147 J Moul (Eng) 73 74, R Coles (Eng) 72 75, L Gagli (Ita) 74 73, A Högberg (Swe) 77 70, A Butterfield (Eng) 75 72, G Murray (Sco) 74 73,
148 J Arruti (Esp) 74 74, T Whitehouse (Eng) 75 73, J Granberg (Fin) 73 75,
149 L Westerberg (Swe) 75 74, F Praegant (Aut) 74 75, J Larsen (Nor) 69 80, J Heath (Eng) 77 72
150 D Froreich (Ger) 75 75, A Bossert (Sui) 74 76, S Robinson (Eng) 74 76, M Pilkington (Wal) 74 76, S Jeppesen (Swe) 77 73, T Cruz (Por) 72 78, V Riu (Fra) 76 74,
151 L Kennedy (Eng) 77 74, R De Sousa (Sui) 76 75, J Parry (Eng) 77 74, J Sköld (Swe) 78 73, A Hansen (Den) 78 73,
153 E Ramsay (Sco) 77 76, D Küpper (Ger) 80 73,
154 J Wahlqvist (Swe) 79 75, R Harris (Eng) 76 78,
155 D Nouailhac (Fra) 79 76, Å Nilsson (Swe) 85 70, K Jorgensen (Den) 80 75,
159 K Lifanov (Rus) 79 80,
165 A Lagay (Kaz) 84 81,
169 E Bashikov (am) (Kaz) 83 86,
171 K Kang Byung (am) (Kaz) 88 83,
187 A Vongay (Kaz) 99 88, N Makulbekov (am) (Kaz) 95 92,
188 A Muhamedjanov (am) (Kaz) 98 90,
** J Caldwell (Nir) 72 DQ,

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NATIONWIDE TOUR REPORT

Adams fires career-best 63 to take

first-round lead at Boise Open

FROM THE PGA.COM WEBSITE
Boise, Idaho -- Blake Adams figures he needs to hit his gap wedge as often as possible this week. Adams' wedge put him in birdie range time after time in the opening round of the Nationwide Tour's Albertsons Boise Open and the 34-year old Georgian took full advantage of the opportunities.
Adams tallied nine birdies and matched his career-best score with an eight-under 63, good for a one-stroke lead after the initial 18 holes in the $725,000 tournament.
Adams leads by one over US PGA Tour veteran Jonathan Kaye, who missed a short par putt on the closing hole. Texan J.J. Killeen and Patrick Sheehan, winner of the Athens Regional Foundation Classic, share third place, two back of Adams, who is No. 4 on the money thanks to seven top-10 finishes this season.
Justin Bolli, Skip Kendall, Martin Piller and Canada's Chris Baryla are three back and tied for fifth place.
Adams, the Tour leader in driving distance, got off to a potentially disastrous start on the opening par-4. His 3-wood "failed to turn over" on the dogleg-left, 409-yard hole and went through a fairway bunker, but just barely. He had one foot in the bunker and one foot out and overhanging tree branches in front.
"A lot of my friends back home call me "Tin Cup" because I don't like laying up," said Adams. "I've learned there are times that you have to and I probably should have there. I was thinking that it's just the first hole of the day and you just don't want to pitch out."
Adams' second shot caught a tree branch and dropped straight down in a bad lie. He pulled his third left and into a grrenside bunker, plugging near the lip. A big blast left him 20 feet away in four. Adams, ranked No. 6 on Tour putting, rolled it in for a 5.
"I don't know if there's anything such as a good bogey," he said. "But I'll gladly take that. Looking back on it, considering the lies I had in the rough and the bunker, I was glad to make 5."
It was the only 5 on the card for Adams, who registered 10 3s on the day.
"I just putted well, that's the main thing," he said. "I hit some good shots but I just made the putts. That's the difference in anybody's round out here. Everybody hits it about the same, it's just who makes the putts."
Kaye shared the lead until missing a left-to-right sliding downhill three-footer at No. 18.
"I wanted to ram it but I knew if I missed it I'd be chipping back," he said.
Despite the miss, Kaye was pleased with his first Nationwide Tour start since 1997, when he briefly teed it up three times.
"I came out with no expectations and tried to hit solid shots," he said after seven birdies and an eagle. "I made one bad club selection on the fourth hole and made bogey. A par-save at eight kept my round going."
Things haven't been going well for Kaye, who is playing on the US PGA Tour this year on a Major Medical Extension. The 39-year old Phoenix resident has been battling to get back to full strength since 2006.
"Playing on a 'medical' I haven't gotten to pick the starts I would normally pick. I didn't get to play at venues that I normally like to play," said Kaye, who has made seven cuts in 17 starts this season. "I wasn't quite 100%. I may have started playing too soon the year before."
Kay's 7-under matched his season-best, a 7-under at the Valero Texas Open earlier this summer, but he still finds himself No. 162 on the money list and making his first start since the PGA TOUR regular season more than a month ago.
"The goal is to win," he said. "I have to get my card back somehow. If I can win here and make some more money somewhere else I might be able to sneak in there."
First-Round Notes:
* This week's field might be one of the strongest ever assembled for a Nationwide Tour event. There are 67 of the top 70 money winners entered. Number one Michael Sim, No. 40 Craig Barlow and No. 56 Jhonattan Vegas are the only missing members from the first 70.
* Heralded amateurs Rickie Fowler and Sam Saunders, the grandson of Arnold Palmer, made their professional debuts. Saunders returned an even-par 71 and Fowler a 73.
* 77 players in the field of 156 broke par in the opening round and 86 posted par-or-better scores. The first-round scoring average for the par-71 layout was 70.942.
FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 71
63 Blake Adams.
64 Jonathan Kaye.
65 J J Killeen, Patrick Sheehan.
66 Justin Bolli, Skip Kendall, Martin Piller.
67 Esteban Toledo, Josh Teater, Daniel Summerhays, Fabian Gomez, Chris Baryla.
Selected scores:
74 Gary Christian.
76 Matthew Richardson.

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