Colin Farquharson is now off on holiday until late October 25.

Normal service will be resumed on Monday, October 26.

Stables and Thomson share North Alliance honours

By ALAN COWIE
Kevin Stables (Elgin) & Kevin Thomson (Moray) shared the top honours in Saturday's North Scottish Golfers' Alliance at Boat of Garten carding level par 70's. Both players dropped shots at the last Stables after finding 4 earlier birdies, and Thomson birdies.
New Member Blair Moir off 4 from Spey Bay won Section One with a 68, while Alliance Secretary Alan Cowie (Moray) off 9 had a nett 64 the highlight of which was an eagle 3 at the thirteenth.

Leading Scratch Scores:
70 K. Stables (Pro)(Elgin), K. Thomson (Moray)
72 A. Cameron (Inverness), J.D. Forbes (Inverness), N.D. Hampton (Loch Ness), B. Moir (Spey Bay)
73 J.R. Mackay (Muir of Ord), A. Cowie (Moray);
74 B.A. Watson (Nairn Dunbar), G. Hay (Grantown), J.S.D. Campbell (Grantown);
75 D. Hexley (Inverness), R. Harrower (Pro)(Boat of Garten), G. Mellis (Muir of Ord);
76 Jordan Milne (Elgin);
77 G. Burnett (Nairn);
78 I. Macaulay (Elgin), J.A. Grant (Grantown), N. Mcwilliam (Garmouth & Kingston), J.A.G. Innes (Elgin);
79 A.W. Mair (Moray), L. Stewart (Grantown);
80 G. Murray (Spey Bay);
81 F. Brown (Nairn Dunbar), C. Small (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), S. Rooney (Boat of Garten), I. Findlay (Grantown);
82 S. Wilson (Inverness), W.B. Johnston (Moray), D. Johnston (Moray), R.R. Adams (Moray), A. Henry (Inverness);

Handicap Section One (8 and under):
68 B. Moir (Spey Bay)(4);
72 J.R. Mackay (Muir of Ord)(1);
73 G. Mellis (Muir of Ord)(2), L. Stewart (Grantown)(6), G. Hay (Grantown)(1), I. Macaulay (Elgin)(5), S. Rooney (Boat of Garten)(8);

Handicap Section Two (9 to 14)
64 A. Cowie (Moray)(9);
69 C. Small (Fortrose & Rosemarkie)(12);
73 W.B. Johnston (Moray)(9);
75 A. Grigor (Boat of Garten)(14);
A. Boxx (Boat of Garten)(10);

ASIAN TOUR REPORT AND SCORES

MUNIYAPPA CROWNED HERO HONDA

INDIAN OPEN CHAMPION

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
New Delhi. C Muniyappa’s dream became a reality today when he triumphed in the US$1.25million Hero Honda Indian Open today after beating Lee Sung on the first extra hole.
C. Muniyappa drained a 10 foot birdie putt on the par five 18th to win at DLF Golf and Country Club and transform the life of a golfer who once earned one rupee working as a caddie aged seven in Bangalore .
The 32 year old had a one-stroke lead at the start of the day and closed with a two-under-par 70.
Deaf golfer Lee caught him with a 69, helped by a birdie on the last. The pair finished tied on 12-under-par 276.
Australian Marcus Both, Kwanchai Tannin from Thailand and India ’s Anirban Lahiri finished two strokes back. Both shot 71, Tannin came in with a 70 while Lahiri charged up the leader board with a 64 helped by an eagle on the last.
“I only came here to try and help keep my Asian Tour card. It was only when I got to the play-off that I thought let’s go for the win. I really don’t know what I will do with the prize money. Maybe rent a house,” said Muniyappa, whose home club is Karnataka Golf Association golf course in Bangalore .
He turned professional in 1996 but this year marks his first season on the Asian Tour which makes his victory even more incredible.
“I learned the game by watching members at the club. My first clubs were a seven iron and a two iron. I have never had a coach. I got some advice on things to work on this year on my swing but it would have taken a lot of practicing. There is no time. I’d rather be playing in tournaments than practising,” added Muniyappa.
Muniyappa, whose first name is Chinnaswamy, birdied seven and nine for a solid front nine. He then made another birdie on 11 but dropped his first shot of the day on 14. He recovered with a birdie on the following before dropping a shot on the 16th. He then parred his way home.
He earned US$198,125 for the victory which made the US$17,391 he has earned from the other 10 Asian Tour events this year paltry. The result saw him lead from 97th position on the Order of Merit to sixth.
Lee, who has been deaf since birth, missed a birdie putt from 12 feet on the play-off hole to open the door for his inexperience Indian opponent.
The Korean, who has won once before on the Asian Tour in the 2007 Bangkok Airways Open, has been hovering just off the lead all week and comfortably made the green in two to make a fine birdie four on his last hole.
He mounted a challenge for the title with a three under par front nine but he made costly bogeys on 12 and 16.
“I thought I could win and felt confident all week. I was very patient and kept my concentration very well. It is disappointing but I think this week was meant Muniyappa’s week,” said Lee.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
276 - C. Muniyappa ( IND ) 66-69-71-70, Lee Sung (KOR) 65-70-72-69
278 - Anirban Lahiri ( IND ) 72-71-71-64, Kwanchai Tannin (THA) 68-69-71-70, Marcus Both (AUS) 69-71-67-71
280 - Ashok Kumar ( IND ) 71-71-68-70, Digvijay Singh ( IND ) 68-68-71-73
282 - Gavin Flint (AUS) 73-71-69-69, Keith Horne (RSA) 67-71-73-71, Antonio Lascuna (PHI) 69-71-70-72, Harendra Gupta ( IND ) 68-72-67-75
283 - Udorn Duangdecha (THA) 71-72-68-72, Mukesh Kumar ( IND ) 71-68-70-74. Adam Blyth (AUS) 64-72-72-75, Jbe Kruger (RSA) 70-68-70-75
284 - Danny Chia (MAS) 71-72-72-69, Gaganjeet Bhullar ( IND ) 73-71-68-72, Unho Park (AUS) 67-72-71-74

Peter Whiteford finishes 17 under par

to be joint sixth behind winner Parry

Peter Whiteford finished joint sixth in the latest European Challenge Tour event with a 17-under-par total of 271. His rounds were 65, 68, 70 and 68.

REPORT BY CHALLENGE TOUR PRESS OFFICER PAUL SYMES
A career best round of 63 helped former Walker Cup player John Parry of England seal his maiden Challenge Tour title at the ALLIANZ Golf Open Grand Toulouse in France today.
Parry, who started the day four shots off the lead in 14th place, posted eight birdies in a flawless round of golf to finish on 21 under par 267, two strokes clear of Portugal’s José-Filipe Lima.
The 22 year old collected €24,000 to move to 12th place in the Challenge Tour Rankings and within sight of a place on The European Tour, where his 2007 Walker Cup team-mates David Horsey, Rory McIlroy and Danny Willett currently ply their trade.
Parry got off to the perfect start with a birdie at the first hole at Golf de Toulouse-Seilh, in south west France, and promptly added a further four to reach the turn in just 31.
He picked up four more shots after the turn to move out of sight and so claim his first professional title in his maiden season on the Challenge Tour, having gained his card last year through the EuroPro Tour Order of Merit.
Parry, who made just two bogeys across the four days, said: “It’s the lowest round of my professional career, and I picked quite a time to do it! To be honest, I’ve probably played as well on the first three days, but I didn’t hole any putts from ten feet or more. Today, everything seemed to drop – I only had 26 putts. I knew I wasn’t making many mistakes, so when the putts started to fly in, I just grew in confidence. When I woke up this morning, I knew that if my putter was working I would have a chance of winning, even though I was four shots back.
“I set out to attack from the start, and when I was six under through ten, it was going pretty well. I thought I’d be leading by one, but when I glanced up at the leaderboard on the 11th green, there were five or six guys on 18 under par. But in a funny way that probably helped, because it made up my mind for me – I knew I had to keep making birdies. My target was to get to 20 under par, but then when I got there on the 15th hole, I thought I might need one more, so I was really pleased to birdie the 17th. As it turns out I didn’t need it, but it was still a nice cushion to have coming down the last hole.
“It’s good that I’ve got a week off to relax and recover for the next event, and obviously I’ll go there with my confidence sky high. I still need a couple of decent weeks to be sure of my card, but at least I’ve put myself in with a great chance. It’s mine to lose now. Hopefully I can join the likes of David, Danny and Rory on The European Tour. Seeing what they’ve achieved this year is obviously inspiring, and has given me the confidence to believe I’m good enough to compete with the guys on the main Tour. I just need to get there now.”
Lima has already guaranteed his card for next season, but the Portuguese cemented his second place in the Rankings behind leader Edoardo Molinari courtesy of a round of 67 which earned him €16,500, taking his winnings to €132,542.
Lima had briefly shared the lead after a birdie at the 13th hole, but a bogey at the 15th – combined with a birdie from Parry at the same hole – put pay to the Portuguese’s chances.
A round of 67 helped former Ryder Cup player Peter Baker of England to a share of third place on 18 under par, alongside Italian Federico Colombo and Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts, who moves up to third place in the Rankings.
Overnight leader Antti Ahokas of Finland dropped back to a share of ninth place after he could only manage a level par round of 72.
FINAL TOTALS TO COME
Par 288 (4x72)
267 J Parry (Eng) 66 68 70 63
269 J Lima (Por) 68 68 66 67
270 N Colsaerts (Bel) 69 62 74 65, F Colombo (Ita) 67 65 71 67, P Baker (Eng) 69 68 66 67,
271 P Whiteford (Sco) 65 68 70 68, R Steiner (Aut) 67 65 69 70, C Russo (Fra) 64 69 69 69,
272 R Coles (Eng) 68 67 67 70, L Bond (Wal) 67 67 71 67, A Ahokas (Fin) 64 69 67 72, J Quesne (Fra) 68 66 71 67, C Suneson (Esp) 70 67 66 69, S Walker (Eng) 66 70 67 69, S Manley (Wal) 65 71 69 67, V Dubuisson (am) (Fra) 69 69 66 68,
273 M Wiegele (Aut) 65 72 65 71, O Floren (Swe) 70 67 68 68, J Caldwell (Nir) 67 72 66 68,
274 M Zions (Aus) 64 67 72 71, M Korhonen (Fin) 68 67 71 68, J Clément (Sui) 72 64 66 72, R McEvoy (Eng) 67 71 70 66,
275 A Butterfield (Eng) 67 71 69 68, Å Nilsson (Swe) 67 66 72 70, J Moul (Eng) 67 69 72 67,
276 E Moreul (Fra) 67 71 71 67, B Pettersson (Swe) 69 69 70 68, N Meitinger (Ger) 68 70 68 70, A Kaleka (Fra) 68 69 70 69, S Bebb (Wal) 65 74 65 72, A Snobeck (Fra) 67 68 73 68, S Davis (Eng) 69 69 70 68, F Calmels (Fra) 67 72 70 67,
277 C Monasterio (Arg) 66 68 72 71, J Morrison (Eng) 69 69 72 67, A Bossert (Sui) 68 66 71 72, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 70 72 66, C Günther (Ger) 69 67 71 70, A Tampion (Aus) 69 66 74 68,
278 A McArthur (Sco) 65 71 71 71, C Brazillier (Fra) 67 68 71 72, S Jeppesen (Swe) 69 70 71 68, B Hebert (Fra) 68 69 73 68, I Pyman (Eng) 71 68 72 67, R Muntz (Ned) 67 70 71 70, G Boyd (Eng) 68 69 73 68,
279 L James (Eng) 70 68 73 68, A Wagner (Arg) 67 64 75 73, B Teilleria (Fra) 69 68 70 72, F Fritsch (Ger) 65 73 69 72,
280 C Menut (Fra) 69 70 71 70, R Saxton (Ned) 67 72 69 72, J Guerrier (Fra) 69 68 73 70, S Thornton (Irl) 71 68 70 71, J Larsen (Nor) 67 68 73 72, D Nouailhac (Fra) 69 70 70 71,
281 M Higley (Eng) 70 69 71 71, P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 69 71 71,
283 M Reale (Ita) 66 72 70 75,
284 A Hansen (Den) 68 70 71 75, B Mason (Eng) 70 69 71 74, G Molteni (Ita) 69 68 75 72, M Haastrup (Den) 67 71 74 72,
287 M Tullo (Chi) 64 74 73 76,
288 G Paddison (Nzl) 67 69 74 78,

Ross McGowan wins Madrid Masters

from Ilonen with Drysdale third

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS WEBSITE
England's Ross McGowan lies second in the Ryder Cup race after capturing his first European Tour title by three shots.
Seven clear after his magical third-round 60 in the Madrid Masters at Centro Nacional, the 27-year-old from Surrey saw that advantage cut to only two by Finn Mikko Ilonen with four to play.
But a 10ft birdie putt at the 15th eased his worries about blowing the biggest lead of the season.
Even then McGowan was lucky on the par-5 last when his second shot was pulled and finished on wooden sleepers just above the lake.
He was able to save par and with a one-under-par 71 collected the £227,014 first prize with a 25-under-par total of 263.
"I came here this week in form and it's lovely to come away with the trophy," he said.
"Once I saw where some of the pins were it was a lot trickier and my game-plan was to hit as many greens as I could.
"It means a lot to win - that's another goal out of the way and hopefully from here I can progress and move on to bigger things."
Ilonen, the former British amateur champion, finished runner-up and after starting the week down in 159th place that moved him well inside the top 115 who keep their cards for next season. After finding himself 12 adrift following an opening 74, Ilonen had rounds of 63, 63 and 66.
Dunbar's David Drysdale, joint halfway leader with Sergio Garcia, closed with a 67 for third place, while pre-tournament favourite Garcia was only 17th.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
263 Ross McGowan 66 66 60 71
266 Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 74 63 63 66
267 David Drysdale 66 65 69 67
270 Gary Murphy 67 65 70 68, Alexander Noren (Swe) 71 67 67 65, Gareth Maybin 70 68 68 64
271 Anthony Wall 66 67 70 68, Danny Willett 66 67 66 72, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 74 63 67 67
272 Gary Lockerbie 68 70 68 66, Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 69 66 64 73, Jorge Campillo (Spa) 67 66 68 71, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 70 68 66 68, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 71 65 65 71, Luke Donald 71 69 65 67, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 67 65 69 71
273 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 69 68 69 67, Alvaro Salto (Spa) 69 67 68 69, Damien McGrane 67 71 68 67, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 64 67 71 71
274 Marcel Siem (Ger) 67 68 71 68, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 69 69 65 71
275 Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 72 67 67 69, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 71 69 68 67, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 69 67 71 68, David Lynn 67 70 70 68, Oliver Fisher 65 74 66 70, Paul Broadhurst 71 66 70 68, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 68 67 72 68, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 70 69 64 72, Bradley Dredge 69 69 69 68
276 Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 72 67 66 71, Phillip Price 70 69 67 70, Scott Drummond 68 70 67 71, Simon Khan 68 68 69 71, Seve Benson 70 69 68 69
277 Paul Waring 69 69 73 66, David Horsey 66 71 69 71, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 69 70 66 72, Pablo Martin (Spa) 70 67 71 69, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 71 67 66 73, Barry Lane 68 71 68 70
278 Richard Bland 72 67 70 69, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 72 67 72 67, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 69 70 67 72, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 69 68 71 70, Peter Lawrie 69 67 72 70, Stephen Dodd 70 69 69 70, Santiago Luna (Spa) 70 70 68 70, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 70 67 71 70, Sam Little 68 70 68 72, Manuel Quiros (Spa) 62 73 70 73
279 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 69 69 70 71, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 69 71 71 68, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 71 68 70 70, Lee Slattery 68 68 76 67, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 75 65 69 70, Paul Lawrie 70 70 69 70, Shane Lowry 71 63 73 72, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 69 67 72 71
280 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 70 69 72 69, Marc Warren 70 68 71 71, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 70 69 73 68, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 70 66 71 73, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 71 69 71 69
281 Mark Brown (Nzl) 68 72 71 70
282 Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 71 67 74 70
283 Luis Claverie (Spa) 69 71 69 74, Steven O'Hara 71 68 72 72
284 Robert Dinwiddie 72 66 74 72, Michael Hoey 69 69 72 74
285 Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 69 69 72 75
289 Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 70 69 77 73