One of four Spanish venues for Stage 2 of European Tour Q School

Billy Sim gets only four Scots for
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Hacienda del Alamo haggis night

Billy Sim, Scottish-born director of golf at the five-star Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort near the city of Murcia in south-east Spain, is looking forward to hosting one of the European Tour Qualifying School's four Stage 2 72-hole eliminators from November 20 to 23. Billy is pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency.
As luck would have it, of the 23 Scots players still involved in the long, hard slog to achieve or, in some cases, maintain European Tour playing status, only four will be in action at the Hacienda del Alamo venue. They are: Tartan Tour pros Stephen Gray and Lee Harper, the former Scottish boys champion, rookie pro Paul O'Hara, pictured by Cal Carson golf Agency, who was first reserve to the GB&I Walker Cup team this year, and Edinburgh's Mark Hillson, quarter-finalist in this year's British amateur championship and still an amateur.
Turriff-born Sim has considerable golfing experience on the Iberian peninsula, having been director of golf at San Roque in Spain and Penina, Parque da Floresta and Salgados on Portugal's Algarve region over the past 12 to 15 years.

Here is where the European Tour have decided where the Scots will play in Stage 2.

HACIENDA DEL ALAMO, near Murcia
Stephen Gray
Lee Harper
Mark Hillson (amateur)
Paul O'Hara

SHERRY GOLF, Jerez
Wallace Booth
Chris Doak
Scott Jamieson
Mark Kerr
Kevin McAlpine (amateur)
Alan McLean
Raymond Russell
Elliot Saltman

COSTA BALLENA, near Jerez
Chris Kelly
Craig Lee
Jason McCreadie.

ARCOS GARDENS, near Seville
Jack Doherty
Paul Doherty
Scott Henderson
Joel Hendry
Greig Hutcheon
Keir McNicoll
George Murray
Steven O'Hara

Ross Fisher beats Anthony Kim 4 and 3 in 36-hole

final of Volvo world match-play championship

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Berkshire-born Ross Fisher completed a memorable marathon effort by beating American Ryder Cup player Anthony Kim to win the Volvo world match play championship in Spain today.
The 28 year old from Ascot - a member at the Wentworth club - with high hopes of making his own Ryder Cup debut in Wales next October, won the 36-hole final by 4 and 3 after playing an amazing 126 holes in four days.
Fisher's success stopped Kim, 24 in June, eclipsing Seve Ballesteros as the prestigious event's youngest ever winner.
And it also means, while the tournament has now left Wentworth after being staged there from 1964 until two years ago, the trophy is going straight back.
Fisher, a member at the Surrey club since his boyhood days, is up to a career-best 17th in the World Rankings as a result.
Earning a cheque for €750,000 also takes last year's European Open champion to fourth on this season's Race to Dubai and he could go top by winning the HSBC Champions in Shanghai next Sunday.
"I'm absolutely ecstatic," he said. "It's been a long, gruelling week, but obviously very worthwhile.
"This course was very physically demanding and I don't think I am the fittest of blokes out here. I know I need to work a lot more in the gym.
"The only thing that's been missing this year was a win. I feel I've been very consistent and to be the leading guy in the Majors (in terms of shots taken) shows my golf has been very good."
After coming close to winning the US Open Championship and then leading The Open Championship early on the final day - his hopes crashed with a quadruple-bogey 8 - Fisher became a father for the first time a week later.
Fisher had come through the semi-finals by overcoming Masters Tournament champion Angel Cabrera at the third extra hole (the 39th) and was never behind in the final from the moment he birdied the first.
"I think this format suits me," he continued. "I'm quite an aggressive player and sometimes it's caught me out in the past but the best player in the world is an aggressive player and he hasn't done too badly.
"That's where I draw inspiration from - try to be aggressive but smart as well."
It was a policy that paid dividends on the 22nd and 23rd.
First he drove to the back of the green on the 334 yard par four and holed a35 footer for eagle, then he two-putted the next for a birdie that took him three clear after Kim had opened the door by driving up against rocks.
Kim responded straightaway with a 15 foot putt but was kicking himself for three-putting the following two holes - the second after missing from less than two feet.
Fisher, who missed from three feet and duffed a chip on the same two, was then in danger of losing the 27th but made a 20 footer with his opponent only five feet away. It was halved in birdies.
Kim's duffed chip on the next did prove costly and he went four down with four to play when Fisher birdied the 32nd after a pitch to five feet.
The Los Angeles golfer may not have realised when he had beaten Sergio Garcia at the Ryder Cup last year, but he knew when he had lost this match. It came when Fisher matched his par 4 on the next.
Some of the best golf of the day actually came in the 18-hole third place play-off, where Robert Allenby beat Cabrera at the first extra hole.
Allenby holed in one with a five wood to the 230 yard sixth, was one down with one to play, birdied the par five last for a matching eight under par 64 - and then made an 18 footer for eagle when they went into sudden death.
His reward was a cheque for €250,000 and Cabrera, runner-up to Ernie Els two years ago, took away €200,000.

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Hang Chang-won (17) wins first Asia amateur championship

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY R&A
Shenzhen, China – Han Chang-won of Korea enjoyed the finest moment of his young golfing career when he booked a place at the 2010 Masters Tournament and International Final Qualifying for the 150th Open championship at St Andrews with a dominant victory in the inaugural Asian amateur championship in China today.
Leading by two shots overnight, the 17-year-old earned a trip to Augusta National next April by crushing the competition with a final-round of two-under-par 70 at Mission Hills Golf Club’s World Cup Course, located about 90 minutes north of Hong Kong.
Han finished with a 72-hole total of 276 (-12), five shots in front of compatriot and playing partner Eric Chun, who could only manage a 73. Chun joins his countryman in the final qualifying stage for next year’s Open, the 150th anniversary of the championship.
Three players – Korea’s Kim Meen-whee, Peter Spearman-Burn of New Zealand and Jordan Sherratt from Australia – shared third on 282, with Australia’s Matthew Giles sixth, one shot further back on five-under-par 283.
In an indication of the depth of the field, seven different APGC member nations were represented in the top 10 places at the tournament’s conclusion.
Understandably, Han was thrilled with the victory. “I knew I was leading by five or six after the first nine holes, but I was trying not to think about the result.
“Anything can happen in a round of golf and I was very nervous towards the end. I have to admit that it was the thought of playing in the Masters that made me nervous. I had never even thought it would be possible for me to be playing in the Masters as an amateur.”
Despite his shyness, the youngster is already thinking ahead. “I would like to play with K.J. Choi or Tiger (Woods) in the Masters.”
The lead grew from his overnight buffer of two strokes when Chun made a bogey at the first. Han, the individual champion at last month’s Nomura Cup (Asia Pacific Teams Championship), picked up two more shots at the par-five second with a timely eagle.
A bogey at the fourth briefly saw the lead go back to two shots from a fast-charging Spearman-Burn, who was four-under on the day after eight holes, and Australia’s Giles, who also started quickly and was at seven-under for the round after 11 holes.
However, the relentless determination of the Jeju Island resident was too much for the competition. He added birdies at six, seven, 11 and 12 to build his lead to six shots. Despite bogeys at three of the final five holes, his domination was complete.
While disappointed to miss out on victory, Chun went away happy with his place in International Final Qualifying for the 2010 Open and a chance for some sort of qualifying redemption.
Said Chun: “I was happy with how I played this week. I started poorly and played really well on the second and third days and gave myself a chance and that is what you have to do in tournaments. You have to stay patient, which is what I did, and I am happy with second place.
“The IFQ is a huge opportunity. Earlier this year I got to the final stage of qualifying for the US Open. I was leading by two shots with three holes to play and finished bogey-par-bogey and went into a play-off and lost. That is a bad memory, so I am hoping to get a little payback,” he said.
The student at Northwestern University in Chicago was impressed with his playing partner’s game too.
“He was really solid and that is the thing about Korean golfers is that they are really strong mentally. You can’t really expect them to play badly and that is what Han did today. He made a lot of pars, with a birdie here and there, and made me have to get aggressive, so I am real happy he did well and hope he plays well at the Masters.”
The day’s early mover was Giles, with the Australian scorching out of the blocks to start with four consecutive birdies before adding extras at the sixth, 10th and 11th holes to get to seven-under on the day and share second. However, a double-bogey when he found water at the par-three 13th halted his charge
Han will join Y. E. Yang, the first Asian winner of a Major championship, and Ben An, the winner of this year’s US Amateur Championship, in an appropriate finale to a phenomenal year for Korean golf at all levels around the globe.
Courtesy of today’s win, the Asian amateur championship winner will now join his better-known compatriots at the Masters Tournament.
Local fans were able to see the bright future on offer for Chinese golf with three of their young stars – Hu Mu, Han Ren, who held the outright lead after day one, and Zhang Xin-jun, who fired Saturday’s equal low round with a 66 – finishing tied for 11th
For more information on the Asian Amateur Championship, including the latest news from Mission Hills, live scoring and a selection of video features, please visit www.asianamateurchampionship.com.

Ian Poulter wins Singapore Open by one

stroke to collect $833,330 prize

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Sentosa, November 1: England ’s Ian Poulter held off a brave challenge from Liang Wen-chong of China to claim a thrilling one-stroke victory at the Barclays Singapore Open today for his first triumph in two years.
The Ryder Cup star, who plays mainly on the US PGA circuit, battled to a one-over-par 72 at the Sentosa Golf Club to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the star-studded US$5 million event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour for the first time.
It was Poulter’s eighth career European Tour win, which was worth US$833,330, and his first since winning the 2007 Dunlop Phoenix Open in Japan . However, the flamboyant Englishman needed to overcome a mid-round wobble with four bogeys over six holes to end his title drought.
Liang, Asia ’s number one in 2007, battled gamely with a 70 to finish second, but lamented missed opportunities down the stretch especially on the par five 18th hole which he needed to birdie to force a play-off.
Two-time Barclays Singapore Open champion Adam Scott of Australia stormed through the field with a 68 to finish joint third with compatriot Scott Hend, who signed off with a 69.

Poulter and Ryder Cup teammate Graeme McDowell traded the lead all day long, with Liang lurking behind. But as McDowell faded and Liang failed to find the birdies, Poulter eventually prevailed thanks to a 30-foot birdie conversion at the 13th hole which proved pivotal.
“The birdie on 13 pumped me up. I was getting angry (after bogeys on 11 and 12). I played so well in spells around here and it was just so annoying to let easy holes slip,” said 33-year-old Poulter, who played 12 holes of the third round in the morning to hold on to his lead.
“Making bogey, bogey there and lose the lead with Graeme in front, I felt I needed to do something and I did – I rolled a putt in from 30 feet. And it gave me a nice boost to a tiring day.
“I was mishitting some shots which made it a little bit interesting on a string of holes yesterday and coming out today I made some mistakes as well on the front and back nines. That made it a little bit too close for comfort. But to stand on the last hole knowing I had to make five to win made me fairly happy,” added Poulter, who ended the week on 10-under-par 274.
Liang was searching for his second victory in Singapore but came up just short in the end. He needed to birdie the par five 18th but his approach with only a wedge in hand left him with a 25-foot birdie putt which he didn’t even come close to holing.
“I tried my best but lady luck was eluding me. It was quite a pity on the 18th hole that I couldn’t find a birdie, I just hit a bad third shot. I had a pitching wedge in hand, had 126 yards to the pin,” said the Chinese ace, whose consolation was a career biggest cheque of US$555,550 which took him up to second place on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit.
“There are no regrets. Golf is like that. If I can’t make birdie, I have to accept it. Overall, I’m satisfied and pleased with how I played all week and being in contention.”
Scott, a crowd favourite after winning here in 2005 and 2006, showed he was back to his best form by coming alive on Sunday. As he had made the weekend rounds right on the cut line, the dashing Aussie played on the opposite nine from the leaders but he charged up the leaderboard with six birdies against three bogeys for joint third place.
“I thought if I could do something special, I could win on the wrong side of the course. But it wasn’t to be, that probably won’t ever happen,” said Scott.
He was delighted to finish strongly after a difficult season which has seen him drop to 76th place on the world rankings. “I’m in better shape now that it was at the start of the week. I put it all together in the last two rounds,” he said.
“It’s good to see something come out from the hard work as I’ve been grinding it pretty hard. I hung in there all weekend.”
Current Asian Tour number one Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand finished tied 14th with a closing 69 but saw his Order of Merit lead trimmed by Liang, which will now ensure a climatic finish to the season over the coming weeks.
American world number two Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els of South Africa also finished tied 14th on 280.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71)
274 Ian Poulter 66 64 72 72
275 Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 69 68 68 70
276 Scott Hend (Aus) 72 66 69 69, Adam Scott (Aus) 72 71 65 68
277 Graeme McDowell 71 65 67 74, Anders Hansen (Den) 68 71 68 70, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 72 68 68 69
278 Niclas Fasth (Swe) 69 67 71 71
279 Marcus Both (Aus) 72 71 67 69, Kodai Ichihara (Jpn) 68 68 71 72, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 69 68 70 72, Thomas Levet (Fra) 68 68 73 70, Kenichi Kuboya (Jpn) 70 70 67 72
280 Sam Hutsby 69 70 69 72, Phil Mickelson (USA) 69 71 69 71, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 74 69 69 68, Justin Rose 72 70 70 68, Ernie Els (Rsa) 67 69 72 72, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 71 67 73 69, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 73 67 71 69
281 Daniel Chopra (Swe) 70 65 74 72, Marc Warren 73 69 67 72, Alexander Noren (Swe) 70 69 72 70
282 Yin-shin Chan (Tpe) 67 68 75 72, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 69 67 75 71, Wen-Tang Lin (Tai) 69 70 68 75, Tano Goya (Arg) 74 68 72 68, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 73 67 72 70, Peter Lawrie 71 66 71 74, Ross McGowan 69 69 70 74
283 Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 73 70 70 70, Sang-moon Bae (Kor) 73 68 70 72, Richard Finch 71 68 70 74, Keith Horne (Rsa) 74 68 70 71, Richard Green (Aus) 68 73 72 70, Ted Oh (Kor) 70 73 70 70, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 72 69 71 71
284 Steve Webster 71 72 69 72, Tony Carolan (Aus) 74 67 73 70, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 73 67 70 74, Chih-bing Lam (Sin) 69 69 72 74, Padraig Harrington 74 69 72 69
285 Rodney Pampling (Aus) 72 69 72 72, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 69 72 72 72
286 Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 74 67 75 70, James Kingston (Rsa) 74 66 72 74, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 74 67 69 76
287 Danny Lee (Nzl) 71 72 72 72, Soren Hansen (Den) 71 71 68 77, Guido Van Der Valk (Ned) 72 71 72 72
288 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 68 73 76 71, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 75 66 75 72, Jason Knutzon (USA) 75 67 77 69
289 Zaw Moe (Kor) 71 72 73 73, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 73 70 74 72, Graeme Storm 74 69 76 70
290 Scott Barr (Aus) 71 71 75 73, Kenneth Ferrie 71 72 75 72, Darren Clarke 73 69 73 75, Martin Rominger (Swi) 74 68 77 71
291 Andrew Coltart 70 73 75 73, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 71 72 72 76, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 71 72 72 76, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 69 73 69 80
292 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 71 72 76 73, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 70 71 74 77, Nicholas Redfern 71 70 76 75
293 Wei Chih Lu (Tha) 70 72 74 77
294 Mitchell Brown (Aus) 75 68 76 75

Visit http://www.asiantour.com/ for more information

Brit Woodman outclasses Aussie assistants

FROM THE AUSTRALIAN PGA WEBSITE
British trainee Guy Woodman ran away with the 2009 Crown Lager Australian PGA National Futures Championship with a final round 67 at the magnificent Catalina Country Club in Batemans Bay. Woodman missed an opportunity to equal the Catalina course record of 65 when he uncharacteristically three-putted a short birdie opportunity on the last hole of the tournament, but still ran away the winner with a final round score of 67.
Woodman managed to comfortably hold off the challenge of the Australian trainees, including his closest challenger, Corey Hale, the 2008 Rich River Champion. Hale did his best to test the 2008 British trainee champion with a final-round 69, but Woodman all but sealed the tournament with a front-nine 32.
Woodman finished with an 11-under-par total of 277 to win the title and the $9,900 first prize.
Runner-up Hale finished four shots behind on 281 and earned $5,995.
Other notable performances for the week included the top-ten finish of Queensland trainee Katelyn Must, who was the highest finishing female in the field and another top-three finish for Victorian Leigh Deagan.
+Guy Woodman is the 32-year-old assistant at East Berkshire Golf Club. He won the inaugural Crown Golf English PGA assistants championship after lifting the prestigious Powerage PGA assistants championship at London Golf Club last year.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
277 Gary Woodman (Eng) 71 71 68 67 ($9,900).
281 Corey Hale (Aus) 67 71 74 69 ($5,995).
284 Leigh Deagan (Aus) 70 73 73 68 ($3870).
285 Cody Sherratt (Aus) 67 75 69 75, Kevin Conlong (Aus) 75 70 71 69, Scott Priest (Aus) 71 75 71 68 ($2,566 each).

Ian Poulter leads by one shot

BARCLAYS SINGAPORE OPEN SCOREBOARD
LEADING THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71)
Ian POULTER (ENG) 66 64 72 202
Graeme McDOWELL (NIR) 71 65 67 203
LIANG Wen-chong (CHN) 69 68 68 205
Kenichi KUBOYA (JPN) 70 70 67 207
Anders HANSEN (DEN) 68 71 68 207
LIN Wen-tang (TPE) 69 70 68 207
Scott HEND (AUS) 72 66 69 207
Andrew DODT (AUS) 69 68 70 207
Niclas FASTH (SWE) 69 67 71 207
Kodai ICHIHARA (JPN) 68 68 71 207
Charl SCHWARTZEL (RSA) 72 68 68 208
Sam HUTSBY (ENG) 69 70 69 208
Ross McGOWAN (ENG) 69 69 70 208
Peter LAWRIE (IRL) 71 66 71 208
Ernie ELS (RSA) 67 69 72 208
Adam SCOTT (AUS) 72 71 65 208
Phil MICKELSON (USA) 69 71 69 209
Richard FINCH (ENG) 71 68 70 209
Marc WARREN (SCO) 73 69 67 209
Thomas LEVET (FRA) 68 68 73 209
Daniel CHOPRA (SWE) 70 65 74 209
Gregory BOURDY (FRA) 73 67 70 210
Miguel Angel JIMENEZ (ESP) 74 67 69 210

Cook takes six-stroke lead in Schwab Cup finale

FROM THE PGA.COM WEBSITE
SONOMA, California (AP) -- Things are going so well for John Cook these days that not even an errant tee shot into the bunker on the 18th hole could throw him off stride.
Now it's just a matter of hanging on.
Cook shrugged off his only mistake of the day to save par on the final hole and finish at 6-under 66 on Saturday, preserving his six-shot lead heading into the final round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship (on the US Seniors Tour).
"Just for my psyche and my confidence, that was a good way to end it," Cook said about his 8-foot putt on 18. "I wanted to make that putt bad. The harder you want things, the more relaxed you have to be (and) I was pretty relaxed over that putt."
Cook, the Administaff Small Business Classic winner two weeks ago in Texas, has a 19-under 197 total on the Sonoma Golf Club course, the best 54-hole score in a 72-hole tournament since Jack Nicklaus also had a 197 total in the 1990 US Senior Players Championship. Cook shot a tournament-record 62 on Friday.
The six-stroke lead is the largest after three rounds on the Champions Tour since Jay Haas had a six-stroke lead in the 2005 Schwab Cup Championship. Cook won the Administaff Small Business Classic two weeks ago in Texas.
Russ Cochran (68) is second at 13 under 203. Tom Watson (71), who began the day four shots behind Cook, and Brad Bryant (69) are sharing third place on 204.
Cook will be tough to catch. He was in the sand three times and hit only eight fairways off the tee but avoided trouble most of the day with a short game that has been strong all tournament.
His best save came on the 18th after pushing his tee shot into the bunker on the right side of the fairway. Instead of being able to go for the green with his second shot, Cook was forced to punch out of the trap then hit a wedge within 8 feet.
Cochran, who had six birdies and two bogeys to move into second place, was asked if he was looking forward to playing with Cook in Sunday's final round.
"Not when he's that far ahead," Cochran joked. "He's playing awfully well."
Season points leader Loren Roberts had the day's best round with a 66 to move to 7 under. Roberts struggled the first two rounds but had seven birdies and one bogey to jump up 10 spots to 15th place. Third-place Bernhard Langer (70) was 9 under, 2008 points champ Haas (70) was tied with Roberts at 7 under, while Fred Funk, who went into the weekend 165 points out of the lead, was 2 under following a 74.
The season points winner will receive a $1 million annuity.
"The first couple of days, particularly yesterday, I didn't hit it well, didn't putt well," Roberts said. "I really went to work yesterday afternoon. I was the last guy on the range for a change."
Unlike a day earlier when Cook needed just 23 putts in his 62, he had to scramble on a few holes. He bogeyed the 427-yard, par-4 12th, came back with birdies on 13, 15 and 16 then salvaged par on the 18th.
Watson couldn't sustain the momentum he built after making eight birdies Friday. The 60-year-old Hall of Famer bogeyed the first hole and struggled with his touch most of the afternoon.
That enabled Cochran to make his move. One of only three players to break 70 in each of the first three rounds along with Cook and Bryant, Cochran had six birdies including one on the 142-yard, par-3 17th to move into second.
Langer looked as if he might make a stronger run at Roberts, getting to 10 under after a birdie on the 417-yard, par-4 sixth, but had consecutive bogeys on 7 and 8, dropped another stroke on the 18th.
Joey Sindelar withdrew and was taken to a hospital after complaining of dizziness and shortness of breath. According to a Champions Tour spokesman, Sindelar became dizzy after playing the 204-yard, par-3 fourth hole.
Sindelar rested in between holes and tried to play the fifth before withdrawing. Medical personnel attended to Sindelar at the course and the 51-year-old player was taken to the Sonoma Valley Hospital. Physicians later decided to keep Sindelar overnight for further tests.
Sindelar, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour titles, was 7 under for the tournament before withdrawing.
LEADING THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
197 J Cook 68 62 67.
203 R Cochran 69 66 68.
204 B Bryant 68 6769, T Watson 69 64 71.
205 L Mize 71 66 68, J Slyuman 66 69 70, P Blckmar 66 67 72.
206 L Nielsen 70 67 69.
207 G Morgan 70 68 69, B Langer 72 65 70.
208 D Forsman 72 69 67, M McNulty 69 71 68, E Romero 67 71 70, T Jenkins 71 66 71.