Eagle finish has Drysdale flying high, sharing

Madrid Masters halfway lead with Garcia

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Sergio Garcia continued his bid for a first win of the year at the Madrid Masters as he took a share of the halfway lead with Scotland’s David Drysdale.
And on the day golf was voted back into the Olympics Garcia says he wants to make it not simply to Rio de Janeiro in 2016, but to the two Games after that as well.
Garcia, given the news during his second round at Centro Nacional de Golf, celebrated with a birdie on the same hole and went on to add a 67 to his opening 64.
That put him 13 under par at halfway, but Drysdale is alongside him following a 65.
"If I stay in shape I probably have three chances [to play in the Olympics]," the 29 year old star stated. "I'm thrilled and excited about the possibility. There's still a long way to go, but I'm going to try to stay healthy.
"This is a very special day. We've been fighting for a year now to get it in and it feels good. It's going to be an amazing experience for all of us. I've always watched runners, high jumpers, long jumpers thinking it would be nice to have the chance and now we do.
"Until you are there and part of it you don't know what it feels like. It's like The Ryder Cup - only once you play do you realise how big it is. We have the Majors and The Ryder Cup, but winning an Olympic gold medal would be awesome - and staying at the Olympic village would be a great experience."
The 34 year old Drysdale made his tenth trip to The European Tour Qualifying School last November, but is 50th on The Race to Dubai and will be partnering Alastair Forsyth for Scotland in the Omega Mission Hills World Cup next month.
He finished his second round just as Garcia had done on the opening day - with an eagle.
Italian Emanuele Canonica and Ireland’s Gary Murphy both went round in 65 to join England’s Ross McGowan (66) on 12 under.
A shot further back are two more Englishman - Anthony Wall, playing despite a shoulder injury, and Danny Willett, along with Spain’s Jorge Campillo.
Ireland’s The 3 Irish Open winner Shane Lowry made the move of the day with a 63 which propelled him from a tie for 64th to ninth.
McGowan would have led but for four-putting the 16th for a double bogey 6.
Former European Tour winner Canonica is only 262nd on The Race to Dubai standings and no longer in the world's top 1,000, but he was at the Masters Tournament in April - as caddie for José Maria Olazábal.
The Spanish ace also eagled the 18th and for him it was to make the cut right on the limit of four under, as did Luke Donald.
Olazábal's 65 was a ten stroke improvement on the first round, while first round leader Manuel Quiros found it hard to follow up his "unbelievable" opening 62.
That had put him two in front of Garcia, but the World Number 1,076 dropped to tenth with a 73.
SCROLL DOWN TO READ THE MADRID MASTERS SECOND-ROUND TOTALS

Scottish Alliance championship at Murcar Links and

Newburgh-on-Ythan in October 2010

Next year's Scottish Alliance championship will be held at Murcar Links and Newburgh-on-Ythan courses in Aberdeenshire.
Here is a summary of this past week's very successful Scottish Alliance championship over the Gullane No 2 and No 3 courses.
The CSS for each day and each course:
TUESDAY
No 2 CSS 71. No 3 CSS 66.
WEDNESDAY
No 2 CSS 73. No 3 CSS 67.
THURSDAY
No 2 CSS 71. No 3 CSS 69 (reduction only)

2009 SCOTTISH ALLIANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
PRIZELIST

PROFESSIONAL
197 Gareth Wright (West Linton) 75 67 65 (£1,000 & The Scotsman Trophy).
198 David Patrick (Elie) 66 63 69 (£700.
201 Tom Buchanan (Duddingston) 67 65 69 (£575).
202 David Orr (East Renfrewshire) 69 60 73, Alan Lockhart (Ladybank) 68 67 67 (£387.50 each).
205 Neil Colquhoun (Merchants of Edinburgh) 68 66 71 (£200).
206 Alan Reid (West Lothian) 72 62 72 (£75).

AMATEURS
Prizes in vouchers
SCRATCH
210 John Fowler (Hayston) 68 70 72 (£500 & Clydesdale Bank Quaich).
216 Stephen Harrod (Ballumbie Castle) 72 71 73 (£350).
217 Hugh Fraser (Niddry Castle) 73 71 73 (£250).
218 Norman Forsyth (Peebles) 73 74 72 (£200).
HANDICAP
208 Robert Denholm (Duddingston) (5) 74 65 69 (£240).
210 Mike Robson (Harrison) (3) 69 69 72 (£200).
212 John Nicolson (Auchmill (4) 67 68 77 (£150).
215 Richard Johnston (Glenbervie) (2) 72 68 75, Kenny Bisset (Prestonfield) 74 65 76 (£80).
216 William Laing (Prestonfield) (6) 79 66 71 (£30).
SENIOR SCRATCH (36 holes)
145 George Wither (Lothianburn) 74 71 (better inward half wins Margaret Caldwell Trophy), Ian Fyfe (Musselburgh) 74 71.
SENIOR SCRATCH (54 holes)
219 Ian Fyfe (Musselburgh) 74 71 74 (£180).
220 George Wither (Lothianburn) 74 71 75 (£160).
SENIOR HANDICAP (36 holes)
139 Ally Douglas (Caird Park) (14) 69 70 (£80).
140 Jimmy Rankeillor (Baberton) (9) 74 66 (£70).
141 Alister Mason (Thornton) (7) 74 67 (£60).
142 Colin Rae (Pumpherston) (8) 74 68, James Murray (Banchory) (8) 74 68, Alan Boxx (Boat of Garten) (10) 71 71 (£40 each).
SENIOR HANDICAP (54 holes)
215 Wilson Morton (Dunbar) 76 68 71 (£80)

TEAM EVENT FOR MOUNTBATTEN CUP
1250 East Alliance (Gareth Wright, David Patrick, Tom Buchanan, Hugh Fraser, Norman Fraser, Ian Fyfe). £25 each.
1287 Midland Alliance.
1301 West Alliance.

CONSOLATION EVENT (Gullane No 3)
SCRATCH
Amateur prizes in vouchers
77 Robert Marshall (Greenburn), Michael Fraser (Leven Thistle), Richard Lamont (Bathgate) (£30 each).
HANDICAP
65 Glyn Stevens (King’s Acre) (8) (£60).
68 Leslie Roger (Royal Aberdeen) (9), Graeme Hume (Glenbervie) (6) (£45 each).
70 Peter Belcher (Lothianburn) (11), Hugh Smith (Cathkin Braes) (8), David Bisset (Banchory) (9) (£7 each).

Dunbar's David Drysdale shares Madrid lead

European Tour Scoreboard
MADRID MASTERS
Centro National de Golf, Madrid, Spain
SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
131 David Drysdale 66 65, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 64 67
132 Gary Murphy 67 65, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 67 65, Ross McGowan 66 66
133 Anthony Wall 66 67, Jorge Campillo (Spa) 67 66, Danny Willett 66 67
134 Shane Lowry 71 63
135 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 69 66, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 68 67, Marcel Siem (Ger) 67 68, Manuel Quiros (Spa) 62 73
136 Alvaro Salto (Spa) 69 67, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 70 66, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 71 65, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 69 67, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 69 67, Peter Lawrie 69 67, Simon Khan 68 68, Lee Slattery 68 68
137 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 69 68, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 74 63, David Horsey 66 71, David Lynn 67 70, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 69 68, Paul Broadhurst 71 66, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 74 63, Pablo Martin (Spa) 70 67, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 70 67
138 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 69 69, Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 69 69, Damien McGrane 67 71, Robert Dinwiddie 72 66, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 71 67, Marc Warren 70 68, Alexander Noren (Swe) 71 67, Sam Little 68 70, Michael Hoey 69 69, Bradley Dredge 69 69, Paul Waring 69 69, Gareth Maybin 70 68, Scott Drummond 68 70, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 71 67, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 69 69, Gary Lockerbie 68 70, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 70 68
139 Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 72 67, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 71 68, Steven O'Hara 71 68, Oliver Fisher 65 74, Stephen Dodd 70 69, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 70 69, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 72 67, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 69 70, Richard Bland 72 67, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 70 69, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 72 67, Phillip Price 70 69, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 69 70, Seve Benson 70 69, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 70 69, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 70 69, Barry Lane 68 71
140 Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 69 71, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 71 69, Luis Claverie (Spa) 69 71, Mark Brown (Nzl) 68 72, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 75 65, Paul Lawrie 70 70, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 71 69, Santiago Luna (Spa) 70 70, Luke Donald 71 69
MISSED THE CUT
141 Federico Cabrera (Arg) 74 67, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 67 74, Andrew Coltart 70 71, Branden Grace (Rsa) 71 70, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 68 73, Simon Wakefield 72 69, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 70 71, Brett Rumford (Aus) 70 71, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 72 69, Jamie Donaldson 68 73, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 71 70, Miles Tunnicliff 73 68, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 73 68, Gregory Havret (Fra) 72 69
142 Sam Hutsby 73 69, Taco Remkes (Ned) 73 69, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa) 74 68, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 69 73, Marc Cayeux (Zim) 74 68, Graeme Storm 72 70, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 72 70
143 Richie Ramsay 73 70, James Kingston (Rsa) 72 71, Markus Brier (Aut) 69 74
144 Gary Orr 71 73, Miguel Angel Martin (Spa) 76 68, David Howell 72 72, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 72 72, Richard Finch 72 72, Tano Goya (Arg) 76 68, Pedro Oriol (Spa) 71 73, Kenneth Ferrie 74 70, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 74 70
145 Callum Macaulay 72 73, Eduardo De La Riva (Spa) 74 71, Darren Clarke 69 76, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 72 73
146 Pedro Linhart (Spa) 77 69
147 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 72 75, Anton Haig (Rsa) 74 73, Benn Barham 73 74
148 Phillip Archer 76 72
149 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 76 73, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 74 75
150 Stan Utley (USA) 77 73
RTD: Jose-Manuel Lara 84
WD: Pablo Larrazabal 71

CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT

Tight at the top in Toulouse after

62 by on-the-rise Colsaerts

From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes
On a day when it was announced that golf will return to the Olympics in 2016, Nicolas Colsaerts, whose great grandfather represented Belgium in basketball and water polo at the 1920 Games, grabbed a share of the lead at the ALLIANZ Golf Open Grand Toulouse.
A stupendous morning round of 62 – the lowest of a career which has undergone a recent renaissance – moved Colsaerts to 13 under par, level with Argentine starlet Alan Wagner and joint overnight leader Matthew Zions of Australia.
On the same course where he had won the French international boys' championship in 2000, beating a young Italian by the name of Francesco Molinari into second place, Colsaerts carded eight birdies and an eagle at the 17th hole in a flawless round.
The Belgian, who in 2000 became the second youngest player to graduate onto The European Tour through the Qualifying School, is bidding to capture his third Challenge Tour title of a remarkable campaign, having already won the SK Golf Challenge and the Dutch Futures.
With a return to The European Tour already assured next year – he currently sits fourth in the Rankings with earnings of €99,630 – Colsaerts can afford to relax and enjoy the remaining three events.
And the 27 year old, who did not even have a Challenge Tour category at the start of this season after a wretched run of results last year, has already started to plan for his first steps in The Race to Dubai.
He said: “I’m really excited about getting back onto The European Tour – I’ve been counting down the weeks for a while now. At the start of the season, my main goal was just to get into for the Qualifying School Final. But as the season’s gone on, I’ve had to keep setting new goals. Hopefully I’ll be setting some more on Sunday night.”
Zions’ need is perhaps greater, as he currently sits two places outside the top 20 which earn promotion to The European Tour. But the Australian will adopt the tried and tested method of taking one shot at a time in his bid to secure the result he craves.
He said: “It’s never easy to follow up a good round with another one, so I was pleased to go low again. I just tried to forget about yesterday and go out there as if it was the first day of the tournament. If I can keep that attitude over the weekend, I should be ok. I just need to stay nice and free, and forget about everything else. I need to try to stay fresh, physically and mentally. But I’m excited about the weekend.”
At the other end of the experience spectrum is Wagner, who earlier this season followed in the footsteps of his close friend Tano Goya in winning an event co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour and the Tour de las Americas.
Since then he has slowly slipped down the Rankings, but a second success would put him on the threshold of joining Goya on The European Tour.
Wagner, whose round of 64 included a birdie-eagle-birdie finish, said: “It was a very good day. I drove the ball straight and found nearly all the greens with my second shot, so I’m very happy. I had a great finish, which will give me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow. I will probably need to play very well over the next two days, but I believe I can do it. I’m looking forward to the weekend. I’ll try to ignore the leaderboards and just focus on my game. If I can do that, I have a good chance of getting back into the top 20 in the Rankings.”
Federico Colombo shares fourth place on 12 under par with Roland Steiner, who matched the Italian’s round of 65.
Finland’s Antti Ahokas, Sweden’s Ake Nilsson, Frenchman Charles-Edouard Russo and Scotland’s Peter Whiteford are all one shot further back on 11 under par.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
131 M Zions (Aus) 64 67, N Colsaerts (Bel) 69 62, A Wagner (Arg) 67 64
132 F Colombo (Ita) 67 65, R Steiner (Aut) 67 65
133 Å Nilsson (Swe) 67 66, A Ahokas (Fin) 64 69, P Whiteford (Sco) 65 68, C Russo (Fra) 64 69
134 A Bossert (Sui) 68 66, L Bond (Wal) 67 67, J Parry (Eng) 66 68, J Quesne (Fra) 68 66, C Monasterio (Arg) 66 68
135 R Coles (Eng) 68 67, A Tampion (Aus) 69 66, M Korhonen (Fin) 68 67, A Snobeck (Fra) 67 68, C Brazillier (Fra) 67 68, J Larsen (Nor) 67 68
136 S Manley (Wal) 65 71, A McArthur (Sco) 65 71, J Clément (Sui) 72 64, J Lima (Por) 68 68, C Günther (Ger) 69 67, G Paddison (Nzl) 67 69, S Walker (Eng) 66 70, J Moul (Eng) 67 69
137 P Baker (Eng) 69 68, A Kaleka (Fra) 68 69, R Muntz (Ned) 67 70, O Floren (Swe) 70 67, M Wiegele (Aut) 65 72, J Guerrier (Fra) 69 68, G Boyd (Eng) 68 69, B Hebert (Fra) 68 69, G Molteni (Ita) 69 68, C Suneson (Esp) 70 67, B Teilleria (Fra) 69 68
138 F Fritsch (Ger) 65 73, R McEvoy (Eng) 67 71, M Reale (Ita) 66 72, J Morrison (Eng) 69 69, A Butterfield (Eng) 67 71, B Pettersson (Swe) 69 69, S Davis (Eng) 69 69, A Hansen (Den) 68 70, N Meitinger (Ger) 68 70, E Moreul (Fra) 67 71, M Tullo (Chi) 64 74, M Haastrup (Den) 67 71, L James (Eng) 70 68, V Dubuisson (am) (Fra) 69 69
139 D Nouailhac (Fra) 69 70, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 70, S Jeppesen (Swe) 69 70, B Mason (Eng) 70 69, M Higley (Eng) 70 69, J Caldwell (Nir) 67 72, C Menut (Fra) 69 70, P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 69, F Calmels (Fra) 67 72, I Pyman (Eng) 71 68, S Bebb (Wal) 65 74, S Thornton (Irl) 71 68, R Saxton (Ned) 67 72
MISSED THE CUT
140 M McGeady (Irl) 69 71, J Grillon (Fra) 72 68, F Schoettel (Fra) 70 70, R Kakko (Fin) 69 71, S Delagrange (Fra) 71 69, R Santos (Por) 69 71
141 J Remesy (Fra) 70 71, J Billot (Fra) 70 71, J Colomo (Esp) 72 69, N Smith (USA) 71 70, C Carranza (Arg) 70 71, P Relecom (Bel) 73 68, L Gagli (Ita) 70 71, M Cobo Arrayas (Esp) 71 70, M Hill (Fra) 70 71, C Gane (Eng) 68 73
142 A Marshall (Eng) 66 76, O David (Fra) 70 72, B Lecuona (Fra) 71 71, G Rosier (Fra) 72 70, S Robinson (Eng) 69 73, J Sjöholm (Swe) 67 75, N Joakimides (Fra) 71 71, S Jamieson (Sco) 71 71, G Gresse (Bel) 71 71
143 P Rowe (Eng) 72 71, P Golding (Eng) 72 71, J Arruti (Esp) 73 70, T Feyrsinger (Aut) 71 72, F Praegant (Aut) 71 72, B Wiesberger (Aut) 74 69, G Houston (Wal) 72 71, R Russell (Sco) 73 70
144 E Ramsay (Sco) 73 71, B Evans (Eng) 75 69, R De Sousa (Sui) 71 73, R Sabarros (Fra) 70 74, C Farrelly (Eng) 72 72
145 V Riu (Fra) 70 75, J McLeary (Sco) 69 76, R Eyraud (Fra) 72 73, A Willey (Eng) 72 73
146 T Whitehouse (Eng) 72 74, M Mauret (Fra) 74 72, A Bernadet (Fra) 75 71
147 A Högberg (Swe) 69 78, J Forestier (Fra) 75 72, N Beaufils (Fra) 72 75
148 A Grenier (Fra) 69 79, J Van Hauwe (Fra) 71 77, N Pamard (Fra) 74 74
151 D Küpper (Ger) 77 74
153 A Mandonnet (Fra) 72 81,
163 T Benslimane (Mar) 81 82,

If you were thinking of taking a golfing holiday to South Carolina this winter, you might like to reconsider after reading the following news item from Associated Press:

Beware of alligators in South Carolina ... they are not 'armless!

Officials say an alligator bit off part of a golfer's arm as he leaned over to pick up his ball at a private South Carolina course.
The man, who is in his 70s, was retrieving his ball from a pond when the 10-foot alligator bit him at Ocean Creek Golf Course in Beaufort County. The gator pulled the golfer into the pond and ripped off his arm in the struggle. His golf partners were able to free him.
Wildlife workers killed the alligator and retrieved the arm in the hopes it might be reattached.
The man has not been identified. He was being treated at the Medical University of South Carolina, but officials there would not release any information about him.
A call to the golf course was not immediately returned.

Three Scots in top eight at EuroPro Tour event in Fife

Grewal beats Lloyd Saltman in play-off for

£10,000 prize at Torrance Course

By ANTHONY LEAVER
Sandeep Grewal defied high winds in Fife to win The PartyPoker.com International Open over the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews - beating Lloyd Saltman in a play-off after recording the only below par round of the day with a fantastic 67, eight shots fewer than the Scot, to tie with him on four-under-par 212.
Grewal beat Saltman at the second hole of a sudden death play-off to capture the £10,000 prize. Saltman received £5,000 for finishing second.
After the first two rounds Grewal (ISM) was 10 shots off the lead at one over par and never in the frame for victory, but he kicked off with birdies on the first and third holes today, then really put his foot down on the back nine, with an eagle on the ninth followed by three straight birdies. A double bogey on the 14th checked his progress, but he was in the clubhouse at four under 212 after shooting the only under par round of the day over the testing Torrance Course in incredibly high winds.
“It was just one of those days for me,” said the 27 year-old. “On the first I pulled my tee shot, got it back on track then holed a seven iron from 120 yards, and on the ninth I drove well and pitched-in another seven iron for an eagle.”
Grewal began the day in 73rd spot on the Order of Merit before the tournament began and knew the pressure was on to climb that list in order to get into the Tour Championship: “My aim was for top 60 and even after the eagle and the three birdies I was just thinking ‘just stay solid and I could get a top five place,’ said the Wirral man.
“I was playing well and just focusing on that rather than thinking that conditions were tough and that I might be in contention with the rest of the guys still having plenty of holes to play. Even after my double bogey, when I saw that I was just one behind, I didn’t get over-excited as I was just in the zone and forgot about everything else.”
Lloyd Saltman (Aegon) recorded a final round 75 to join Grewal in a play-off, and the Liverpudlian got the better of the Scot on the second trip down 18 – reward for his hard work pre-season.
“On the first play-off hole I sank an eight-footer to keep the thing going and then at the next I had a fifteen-footer first and holed it for par and Lloyd had a ten-footer and lipped out,” said Grewal, who had earned just £1331 before collecting the £10,000 winner’s cheque.
“I just approached it as match-play and went for it, and I got that bit of luck but I think my round deserved it”
“Last year was terrible for me but I put in a lot of work over the winter and I’ve been playing very nicely, even though my scores this year don’t reflect it,” he said, referring to near-misses at Faithlegg and Five Lakes.
Overnight leader Busby’s (The Shropshire) round began in the toughest way with two bogeys in his opening two holes but he steadied the ship somewhat with four pars and a birdie through the seventh. But it was all downhill from there for the man in eighth spot on the Order of Merit before the event began as he picked up three bogeys from the eighth. Although he stopped the rot with a birdie at the 13th he dropped three more shots over the closing holes, including bogeys at the 17th and 18th, for a round of 78.
Busby finished on 213 - one behind Grewal and Saltman so that bogey-bogey finish cost him the title.
Busby’s closest challenger going into the final round was Tom Haylock (Ground Construction Ltd) and like his playing partner, he was never going to recover from a disastrous start with a triple-bogey 7 at the first.
Haylock – who remains in second spot in the money list – grabbed one stroke back at the third but dropped three more shots on the back nine to shoot 67 and join Busby in a tie for third spot.
Walker Cup player Wallace Booth finished in fifth place, carding a six over par 78 to finish at one under for the tournament, one stroke ahead of trio Nick McCarthy (Moortown), Nicky Harris (Whitefield GC) and Craig Lee who finished on level par for the tournament.
Ryder Cup star Ronan Rafferty finished in a three-way tie for ninth spot at two over par, starting the final round three under and carding a final round of 77. Paul Dwyer’s (Clitheroe) level final round is worth much more in the conditions and he joins Rafferty and Michael Collins (Mallow Golf Range) in ninth spot.
Aside from the title and prize money, places in the top 60 and places on the Tour Championship were up for grabs, with Brendon McCarroll finishing in 60th spot after an joint 28th finish in Scotland and 61st man Gareth Davies ruing missing the cut at Fairmont St Andrews.
To view the full Leaderboard from The PartyPoker.com International Open and the Order of Merit standings ahead of the Tour Championship, visit www.europrotour.com.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
212 S Grewal 72 73 67, L Saltman 68 69 75 (Grewal, £10,000, bt Saltman, £5,000, at second hole of sudden-death play-off).
213 D Brooks 68 68 77, J Busby 66 69 78 (£2,100 each).
215 W Booth 71, 66, 78 (£1,400)
216 C Lee 69, 71, 76, N McCarthy 70 71 75, N Harris 70 70 76 (£1,033.33 each).
218 P Dwyer 71 75 72, R Rafferty 71 70 77, M Collins 69 72 77 (£800 each).
Selected scores:
219 J Doherty 75 66 78, G Dear 71 76 72, P Doherty 72 73 74, L Harper 74 72 73 (jt 12th) (£507.50 each).
222 G Murray 71 75 76 (jt 31st) (£287.50).
223 L Kelly 70 75 78 (jt 35th) (£272.50).
224 J Gallagher 72 72 80 (jt 38th) (£255)
225 C Kelly 72 75 78 (jt 42nd) (£232.50).

ASIAN TOUR REPORT, SCORES

MAGICAL DAY FOR MUNIYAPPA IN

HERO HONDA INDIAN OPEN

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
New Delhi, October 9: Indian C. Muniyappa, an unheralded golfer from Bangalore , upstaged the stars and made it the finest hour in his career to date when he took a share of the halfway lead in the US$1.25 million Hero Honda Indian Open today.
The 32-year-old, in his first season on the Asian Tour, shot a three-under-par 69 to top the leader board along with Korean Lee Sung, who shot a 70 at the DLF Golf and Country Club.
The pair lead on nine-under-par 135 by a stroke from Adam Blyth from Australia and Indian Digvijay Singh. They returned rounds of 72 and 68 respectively in the Asian Tour event.
Muniyappa’s performance has put him in the spotlight for the first time and will give the galleries plenty to cheer about on day three.
“I have learned a lot from playing in Asian Tour events overseas this year and it has given me a lot of confidence. I think that is showing this week. I really am trying to focus on keeping my card this year so to be leading is an extra bonus,” said Muniyappa, who plays his golf at Karnataka Golf Association golf course in Bangalore .
He is currently in 97th position on the Asian Tour Order of Merit with earnings of US$17,391, having played in 10 events.
The Indian started his round on the back nine and started poorly with a bogey on the 14th. However, he made a quick fire recovery with birdies on the next two holes and on the front nine birdied two and six.
Lee, who has won once on the Asian Tour in the 2007 Bangkok Airways Open, has been struggling with a back injury for much of the season.
However, as he begins to recover from that so his game is starting to get back on track. A birdie on the ninth hole, his last, helped him finish in a tie for top spot.
First round leader Blyth had been in the lead for much of the day before a poor back nine of three-over-par 39 saw him slip back. He was one ahead at the turn but then bogeyed 11, 13, 14, and 15.
“I was cruising along really nicely but then it all went wrong on the back nine. When I was walking off 17, I just tried to figure out what went wrong and it was really just bad luck. For example on 11, I just hit it over the back, chipped on and just missed the putt.
"Then on 14, I was just trying to lay up with an eight iron but got a huge flyer out of the rough so it carried into the water. I really didn’t hit any bad shots,” said Blyth , who recovered somewhat with a birdie on the 17th.
Two of the tournament's big-name players, Indian Arjun Atwal and Michael Campbell from New Zealand, recovered well after poor first rounds. Atwal, who won this event in 1999, came in with a 66 while Campbell , the 2005 US Open champion, shot 67.
Leading second round scores:
Par 144 (2x72)
135 C Muniyappa (IND) 66 69, Lee Sung (KOR) 65 70
136 Digvijay Singh (IND) 68 68, Adam Blyth (AUS) 64 72
137 Kwanchai Tannin (THA) 68 69, Mars Pucay (PHI) 70 67
138 Jbe Kruger (RSA) 70 68, Keith Horne (RSA) 67 71
139 Unho Park (AUS) 67 72, Mukesh Kumar (IND) 71 68, Jason King (AUS) 66 73, Scott Hend (AUS) 69 70, Daniel Chopra (SWE) 67 72
140 Marcus Both (AUS) 69 71, Antonio Lascuna (PHI) 69 71, Raju Ali (IND) 69 71, Harinder Gupta (IND) 68 72, Stephen Leaney (AUS) 70 70
Selected scores:
141 Arjun Atwal ( IND ) 75 66
143 Michael Campbell (NZ) 76 67

Solar-powered golf carts are here in Scotland

and lack of sunlight is not a problem!

From Steve McTaggart
We read with interest the (Scottishgolfview.com) article by David Sheffer, USGA, about the use of solar powered golf carts.
We are a golf car distributor based in Scotland and have been promoting and selling solar panel cars for the last two years now. We too see this as the way forward and we are happy to report that many golf clubs are now considering using this alternative technology.
We have already supplied several golf clubs across Scotland who have been extremely pleased with the cars, their performance and the costings. We are also now able to retro -fit panels to some makes of golf cars already in situ - something which is also proving popular.
People are often very surprised to hear that these cars run well in Scotland and we have to remind them that the panel requires daylight only, not bright sunshine, to function efficiently. As David says in his article the financial benefits are obvious. Add to that the environmental benefits and the fact that the performance of the car is in no way affected or lessened due to its power source and its a win win situation.
Initially the cost of the cars is slightly higher than that of a petrol or electric car but these costs are soon off set by the reduction in fuel costs.
We hope that the trend will continue to grow and with growing pressure on us to embrace alternative technology this would seem the obvious way forward for the golfing industry.

Steve McTaggart
Managing Director
Scotia Golf Cars Ltd
5 Market Road
Biggar.
ML12 6FX

Golf Approved for 2016 Olympic Programme on Vote By
International Olympic Committee





Competition will be held in Rio de Janeiro, selected as site of 2016 Games

Copenhagen, Denmark (October 9, 2009) – After an absence of more than a century, golf will return as an Olympic sport in 2016 along with rugby sevens following their approval by the International Olympic Committee membership during the IOC’s 121st Session.
They will be part of the Olympic Programme in Rio de Janeiro, which last week was selected as the host city for 2016 Games by the IOC. Golf was last an Olympic sport at the 1904 Games in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, when the United States and Canada were the only two competing countries.
“We are elated that the IOC membership has accepted golf as an Olympic sport, and look forward to seeing the world’s best golfers compete for gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro,” said Ty Votaw, Executive Director of the International Golf Federation Olympic Golf Committee, which has coordinated golf’s Olympic bid. “We thank the IOC for its support, and also congratulate rugby sevens for its inclusion in the 2016 Games.”
Votaw and Peter Dawson, chief executive of The R&A and joint secretary of the International Golf Federation, were accompanied by professionals Padraig Harrington of Ireland, Michelle Wie of the United States and Suzann Pettersen of Norway, as well as 16-year-old (British) Amateur Champion Matteo Manassero of Italy, for a final presentation to the IOC prior to the vote.
“We are extremely grateful that Padraig, Michelle, Suzann and Matteo were able to join us to help communicate the genuine interest world-class players of all ages share in golf becoming an Olympic sport,” Dawson said.
Golf and rugby sevens were recommended for the Olympic Programme by the IOC Executive Board in August following an extensive review process involving seven sports that were vying to be added to the 2016 Olympic Games. Although they emerged as the finalists, both sports still required final approval today by a majority of votes cast by the members of the IOC.
“In addition to those golfers who will have an opportunity to compete as Olympic athletes, we are excited for the national golf federations that will reap the benefits from today’s decision in terms of growth and support within their countries,” Dawson said. “This is a very significant day for golf.”
Leading up to today’s final vote, golf and rugby sevens emerged from a year-long evaluation that included formal presentations by the seven sports, the submission of a Detailed Questionnaire and responses to questions raised by both the IOC Programme Commission and the IOC Executive Board. The IOC Executive Board announced its recommendation of two sports following a meeting in Berlin, Germany on August 13.
“We strongly believed that golf deserved to be added to the Olympic Programme and felt that we presented a compelling case to the IOC,” Votaw said. “We have received unprecedented support from international golf organisations throughout this process, as well as from the world’s top-ranked men and women players, which was critical to our success. We also stressed the universal nature of golf, with 60 million people playing the sport in more than 120 countries.”
Based on player feedback, the IGF has proposed a format of 72-hole individual stroke play for both men and women. In case of a tie for either first, second or third place, a three-hole playoff is recommended to determine the medal winner(s).
The IGF also has recommended an Olympic field of 60 players for each of the men's and women's competition, using the Official World Golf Rankings as a method of determining eligibility. The top-15 world-ranked players would be eligible for the Olympics, regardless of the number of players from a given country. Beyond the top-15, players would be eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top-15.
Current world rankings from both the men’s and women’s games show that at least 30 countries would be represented in both the men’s and women’s competitions, from all continents, under this proposal.

Men of Kent are English senior champions again

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION.
Kent are the kings of English seniors' golf again. They regained the title from old rivals Cheshire when they beat them 5½-3½ on the concluding day of the County Finals at Tandridge, while Dorset and Staffordshire tied their match to share third place.
After the morning foursomes had been halved, Kent took command in the singles, winning four of the six games, their internationals proving better than Cheshire’s.
It was a delighted Kent captain Nick Allen who said: “We have always previously come second to Cheshire and it’s about time we came out on top. I am very grateful that they didn’t play as well as us today.
“I am more than delighted for the team. I think we got away with murder in the final foursome which was halved because that half point could have proved crucial. I think the momentum shifted out way at that moment and we kept it going in the afternoon.”
Roger Fielding, the Cheshire skipper for all of their previous title-winning finals, was tasting defeat for the first time but praised Kent’s performance.
“We came to win and enjoyed the competition and I felt we put ourselves in a position to win, but we lost to the better team on the day. We weren’t expecting better than a share of the foursomes and hoped to share the singles, but Kent played better than us and we will hope to be back next year to get the title back.”
Kent got out of jail in the bottom foursomes through Dave Jessup and Roger Salmon who trailed throughout to Phil Slater and Bob Walker but won the 18th to grab that vital half. Although Phil Jones won the top single 4 and 3 over Chris Hurst, the latter sustaining a penalty stroke on the 15th when he admitted standing on his own ball, it was Kent all the way.
Andrew Stracey, Dave Jessup, Sam Smale and English Champion Chris Reynolds all won out in the country while Cheshire’s only other consolation was a 3 and 1 win for Stephen Baker over Howard Moxon.
The battle for third place couldn’t have been closer. Staffordshire edged the foursomes 2-1 but Dorset hit back in the singles and at one stage looked as if they might take the match comfortably.
Although Ben Rhodes struck the first blow for Staffordshire with a 4 and 2 win over John Smith, Dorset were determined to make their mark and Chris Dennis and Brian Medlam both won on the final green. That gave them south west champions momentum and David Lock’s 5nd 4 victory over John Loader put them on the brink of overall success.
Staffordshire drew level when Neil Copestick beat Rob Clapp on the 18th green which meant everything hinged on the final encounter in which David Backhouse generally held sway over Neil Portas, leading from the first.
Backhouse missed the final green when leading by one hole and could do no better than a bogey five while left-hander Portas took two from just off for a winning par than not only squared their game but ensured the match would finish level.
That meant third place would be decided on games won and even then the two counties couldn’t be separated, both finishing with 8½.

US Nationwide Tour Scoreboard
CHATTANOOGA CLASSIC
FIRST ROUND SCORES
(Note: First round was suspended due to darkness. play will resume on Friday at 8am local time with nine players completing their first rounds).
Par 72
64 David McKenzie, Todd Demsey, Geoffrey Sisk
65 Tyrone van Aswegen
66 Brian Vranesh, Dustin Bray, Guy Boros, Ian Leggatt, Chris Baryla
67 Fran Quinn, Josh Teater, Wil Collins, Esteban Toledo, Bubba Dickerson, Scott Gardiner
68 Chris Anderson, Adam Bland, Scott Parel, Omar Uresti, Martin Flores, Jason Schultz, Blake Adams, John Kimbell
69 Hunter Haas, David Hearn, Chris Kirk, Michael Sims, Luke List, David Peoples, Troy Kelly, Bobby Clampett, Jeff Brehaut, Kyle Reifers, Doug LaBelle, Marco Dawson, Len Mattiace
70 Henrik Bjornstad, Patrick Sheehan, Tyler Aldridge, Dicky Pride, Bryan DeCorso, Jerod Turner, Ryan Cobb, Jim Rutledge, Tom Scherrer, Joe Daley, Kyle Thompson, Bob Burns, Brad Fritsch
71 Justin Hicks, Justin Bolli, Jim Gallagher Jr., Clark Dennis, Matt Every, Bob May, Tommy Gainey, David Branshaw, Jeff Hart, Michael Putnam, Matthew Borchert, Chad Ginn, Bob Sowards, Brian Smock, Johannes van der Walt, Gavin Coles, Seung-su Han, Chris Nallen, J.J. Killeen, Camilo Benedetti
72 Tjaart van der Walt, Mark Brooks, Scott Dunlap, Robert Damron, Troy Merritt, Jin Park, Steven Taylor, Adam Mitchell, Mark Harrell, Jonas Blixt, Ron Whittaker, Paul Gow, Stuart Deane, Brendan Steele, Bradley Iles
73 David Morland, Jonathan Kaye, Shane Bertsch, Alistair Presnell, Tee McCabe, Dave Schultz, Kevin Chappell, Sal Spallone, Drew Laning, Steve Allan, Brenden Pappas, Steven Alker, Brennan Webb, Steven Bowditch
74 Vance Veazey, Garth Mulroy, Steve Friesen, Paul Claxton, Ryan Hietala, Martin Piller, Craig Bowden, Mathias Gronberg, Jhonattan Vegas, Jay Delsing, Daniel Summerhays, Josh Broadaway, Jon Mills, Ryan Armour, Rob Garland
75 Michael Clark, B.J. Staten, Nick Flanagan, Jim McGovern, Matthew Richardson, Jeff Gallagher, Keoke Cotner
76 Skip Kendall, Brent Delahoussaye, Matt Hughes, Grant Waite, Ewan Porter, Won Joon Lee, Paul Apyan
77 Craig Kanada, Allen Fennell, Jim Herman
78 Phil Tataurangi, Andrew Buckle
79 Justin Walters, Alex Aragon
Withdrew: Garrett Osborn

USA hold narrow lead in Presidents Cup

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
A missed short putt from Justin Leonard ensured the United States took a narrow lead over the International team into the second day of the Presidents Cup at Harding Park in San Francisco.
Fred Couples' America side led Greg Norman's Internationals by 3.5 points to 2.5 after the opening foursomes matches in the four-day Ryder Cup style event after Leonard and Jim Furyk halved the sixth and final match of the day with Retief Goosen and YE Yang.
The Americans had started slowly in a competition they had not lost since their only defeat in seven matches in 1998.
There has also been a tie, in 2003, but the way the Americans came back strongly in the six alternate shot foursomes matches yesterday suggested they would not be conceding the trophy lightly come Sunday.
Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim got the home team off to a winning start by coming from behind to beat Canada's Mike Weir and South African Tim Clark two up, while Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker, the world No 1 and three, dominated their match with Australia's Geoff Ogilvy and Japan's Ryo Ishikawa.
Woods and Stricker missed just two fairways and two greens between them on the way to a crushing 6 and 4 victory over world No 10 Ogilvy, the only top-10 ranked player in the International team, and teenage rookie Ishikawa to give the USA an early 2-0 lead.
"I think this is our fifth straight tournament playing together," Woods said of his playing partner. "So we've definitely got used to one another and Stricks is just a great dude to play with.
"We went out there and we didn't give these guys a chance to get in the match. We put the hammer on pretty good."
Stricker added: "We played well together and he got it on there and I was able to make some putts and vice versa. It was a lot of fun."
All was not lost on the opening day for the Internationals, who had been up early in four of the six matches before the Americans rallied.
Ernie Els and captain's pick Adam Scott got Norman's side on the scoreboard as they continued their successful partnership with a 2 and 1 win over Hunter Mahan and Sean O'Hair, giving them their third win in four Presidents Cup matches together.
Scott's performance was always going to come in for particular scrutiny, having been picked by Norman despite a disappointing year on the US PGA Tour, and the Australian golfer was a happy man after the win.
"It's great for me but more importantly we needed a point for the team. Things were looking good early on but some matches turned around so we really needed this one."
Els praised Scott for keeping their partnership in the match.
"I missed some birdie putts but he hit the ball so good today," Els said. "If I had holed some of those this could have been over three or four holes earlier.
"We had to make some par-saving putts but Adam played the last two holes brilliantly. I have a great partner and obviously a great pick."
Vijay Singh and Robert Allenby were never behind in their match with American major winners this year, Lucas Glover and Stewart Cink, but their contest went to the last hole before they were able to secure victory, Australia's Allenby sinking the winning putt to level the matches at 2-2.
The match between Zach Johnson and Kenny Perry and South American pair Camilo Villegas and Angel Cabrera also reached the 18th hole - but not the green.
The Colombian and the Argentinian were one down playing the last when Villegas sent a fairway wood approach from the rough out the back of the green and the Internationals conceded the hole and therefore the match there and then to give the Americans a two-up win as the home win edged 3-2 ahead.
That left Furyk and Leonard against South Africa's Goosen and Korea's newly-crowned US PGA champion Yang. The Americans went three down after just five holes but rallied to get to all square after eight and they never trailed again.
Leonard had a chance to seal victory on the 17th green but missed a short putt, Goosen holing out to send it to the last.
Goosen's approach found rough short of the green as Leonard rifled his onto the green.
Furyk's long putt to win the match came up short and Goosen sunk his short putt to leave Leonard again with a short putt for victory. His effort lipped out and the match was halved, leaving the overall picture delicately balanced.
FIRST DAY RESULTS
UNITED STATES 3 1/2, INTERNATIONAL TEAM 2 1/2
Foursomes:
US names first
Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson bt Tim Clark and Mike Weir 3 & 2
Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods bt Ryo Ishikawa and Geoff Ogilvy 6 & 4
Hunter Mahan and Sean O'Hair lost to Adam Scott and Ernie Els 2 & 1
Lucas Glover and Stewart Cink lost to Vijay Singh and Robert Allenby 1 hole.
Zach Johnson and Kenny Perry bt Angel Cabrera and Camilo Villegas 2 holes.
Jim Furyk and Justin Leonard halved with Retief Goosen and Y E Yang