North-east District order of merit winners Alexander and Clark

North-east District Association president Willie Donald with Alexander Wiseman (Fraserburgh), left, winner of the boys' order of merit in 2009, and (right) Clark Brechin (Portlethen), winner of the men's order of merit, at tonight's North-east District annual dinner at The Marcliffe Hotel, Aberdeen. Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency. Click to enlarge.
Scottish men's and boys' champion David Law (Hazlehead) was due to be presented with an award by the district in recognition of his historic double but he was unable to attend because of injuries sustained when he was set upon by two thugs in the early hours of Thursday morning just off Aberdeen's Union Street.
NORTH-EAST MEN'S ORDER OF MERIT
LEADING TOTALS
350 Clark Brechin (Portlethen).
315 Anthony Bews (Murcar Links).
310 Bryan Innes (Murcar Links).
300 Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh).
245 Andrew Campbell (Deeside).
200 Glen Taylor (Hazlehead).
180 Philip McLean (Peterhead).
165 Mark Halliday (Royal Aberdeen).
130 Chris Gilbert (Cruden Bay).
125 Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon).

NORTH-EAST BOYS' ORDER OF MERIT
LEADING TOTALS
492.5 Andrew Wiseman (Fraserburgh).
450 D Thompsett (Aboyne).
382.5 J Presly (Banchory).
355 K Zeynalov (Portlethen).
300 G Munro (Fraserburgh, F Clarke (Westhill), B Murray (Portlethen).
230 Ryan Bain (Strathlene).
220 A Carrell (Peterculter).
200 C Campbell (Inchmarlo).

THE STORY THAT WILL MAKE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER HEADLINES

News agency speculation over cause of Tiger

Woods' accident involves wife Elin

FROM THE AGE.COM.AU WEBSITE
By JOHN ELDER
Two days after a lurid story broke about Tiger Woods having an affair with a New York nightclub hostess, the golfing superstar was found by police lying on his back outside his Florida mansion, incoherent and bleeding - with his distressed wife standing over him with a golf club in her hands.
Woods' car was also in bad shape: it had apparently hit a fire hydrant before crashing into a tree in a neighbour's yard at 2.25am (local time) on Friday .
Elin Nordegren reportedly told police her husband had crashed after pulling out of the circular driveway, and she had been in the house when she heard the accident.
She said she had used the golf club to smash the back window to help get her husband out of the car.
Windermere police chief Daniel Saylor said the front windows of the Cadillac SUV were not broken and ''the door was probably locked''.
Mr Saylor said: ''She supposedly got him out and laid him on the ground. He was in and out of consciousness when my guys got there.''
Mr Saylor said Highway Patrol officers found Ms Nordegren ''frantic, upset'' and that Woods ''was mumbling but didn't say anything coherent''.
He said Woods had cuts to his upper and lower lips, and blood in his mouth. He was given first aid by police until an ambulance arrived, then treated at a local hospital and released in ''good condition''.
Some news agencies are speculating that Ms Nordegren had been arguing with her husband over the reported affair with New York hostess Rachel Uchitel, who was in Melbourne while Woods competed in the Australian Masters.
Ms Uchitel has denied an affair.
Celebrity news website TMZ claims that Woods told ''a non-law-enforcement type'' that Ms Nordegren scratched his face during an argument over the affair and that when he fled the mansion she followed him with the golf club. The report claims that as Woods drove off, his wife struck the vehicle and he became distracted and crashed.

Stephen Gallacher top Scot after Day 1 of

European Tour Final Qualifying School

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Julien Guerrier stormed into a four-shot lead at European Tour Qualifying School – Final Stage, carding a record ten under par 60 on the Tour Course, the shorter of the two courses being used at PGA Catalunya Resort in Spain.
The Frenchman has already earned his playing rights for the 2010 Race to Dubai after finishing 16th in the Challenge Tour Rankings this season, but is playing this week for the chance of gaining a better category and has every chance after shooting the lowest round in European Tour Qualifying School history.
The absence of the intense pressure some of the other 155 players are under this week allowed Guerrier to shoot 11 birdies, and he has a significant lead over a group of five players at six under – Australian Tony Carolan, South African Keith Horne, Englishman James Ruth, Dane Lasse Jensen and Swede Jarmo Sandelin.
Thirty cards plus ties are up for grabs, with 156 hopefuls playing four rounds – two each over the Tour Course and the Stadium Course - before the field is whittled down to 70 players plus ties to play two more rounds over the Stadium Course on Wednesday and Thursday.
Guerrier was delighted to have made such a strong start, but was mindful that there is still a lot of golf to be played before he can start celebrating.
He had halves of 30 for his 10-under-par 60, birdieing the third, fourth, sixth, seventh, ninth, 10th, 12th, 13th, short 14th, short 16th and 17th. He bogeyed the short 11th.
“It was a fantastic round,” he said. “I just made one mistake on the 11th, which was my second hole, where I had three putts for a bogey. At the beginning I didn’t play very well but I putted well, and then it all started to come together. My long game was very good and my putting was good.
“But it’s very, very long, like a marathon so it’s a good start but the tournament doesn’t really begin until the third round so we’ll see.”
He added: “The condition of the course was very good. The greens were excellent and the front nine was in very good condition even after a lot of players had played it in the morning. I really enjoyed it.”
Asked if he is feeling any pressure, knowing whatever his performance at Qualifying School – Final Stage, he is still guaranteed to play on The European Tour next season, Guerrier replied: “It’s just a bonus this week. I have some pressure – pressure to win or make the top ten, which would be good for me because it would mean I could play maybe two or three more tournaments next season which may be important.”
The par 72 Stadium Course proved a tougher task in round one, with only three of the top 13 players on the combined leaderboard playing it in the first round - Jarmdo Sandelin carding a six under par 66 and Charlie Ford and James Kamte shooting rounds of 67.
Carolan, who tied for 36th at the UBS Hong Kong Open two weeks ago, opened his account on the Tour Course with an eagle at the par five tenth on his way to a six under par 64.
“I’m struggling a bit as I’ve got flu,” he admitted. “But I had one of those rounds where every putt could’ve gone in. Some did and the ones that didn’t just lipped out, so every putt I hit I felt it was going in. I was five under at the turn so I had a great first nine – the back nine on the Tour Course – so my score could have been even better.”
Ruth also finished six under, defying a niggling injury which has bothered him for months. “I’ve been suffering from tendinitis which has come and gone throughout the season and it’s affected me mentally as much as physically,” he said. “I felt it earlier in the week but the physios here did a great job with me this morning and I felt a lot more confident today.”
Alexandre Kaleka of France, who won the Challenge Tour’s ALLIANZ EurOpen de Lyon six days after turning professional, started with a four under par 66 on the Tour Course, which was blighted by two bogeys in his last three holes.
SCOTSWATCH: Stephen Gallacher's situation is a bit like that of Julien Guerrier in that he is guaranteed a certain amount of outings on the 2010 European Tour because of a medical exemption - he missed the last few months of the season due to illness. He shot a 68 over the tougher, par-72 Stadium course, where Scott Drummond had a 69 but Andrew Oldcorn, Jamie McLeary and Eric Ramsay had to settle for matching par.
George Murray had a 73 here and Glasgow-born Alan McLean a 76 which leaves him with the proverbial mountain to climb, even to make the first cut to 70 players and ties after four rounds.
Steven O'Hara did best of the Scots on the par-70 Tour course, shooting a 68, two ahead of Callum Macaulay who also played on the European Tour in the season just ended. Andrew Coltart had a 71 at this venue were Greig Hutcheon had a disappointing 73. Three over par after one round of the Final School does not augur well for the Banchory club's tour pro's prospects of advancing.

LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES
STADIUM COURSE
Par 72 (7172yd)
66 Jarmo Sandelin (Swe).
67 Charlie Ford (Eng), James Kamte (SAf).
68 Jamie Elson (Eng), Stephen Gallacher (Sco), Simon Khan (Eng), Alessandra Tadini (Ita), Philip Archer (Eng), George Coetzee (SAf), Alex Kaleka (Fra).
69 Hans Peter Bacher (Aut), Mark F Haastrup (Den), Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Scott Drummond (Sco), Benjamin Hebert (Fra), Gary Murphy (Ire).
Selected scores:
72 Andrew Oldcorn (Sco), Jamie McLeary (Sco), Eric Ramsay (Sco).
73 George Murray (Sco).
76 Alan McLean (Sco).

TOUR COURSE
Par 70 (6577yd)
60 Julien Guerrier (Fra).
64 Keith Horne (SAf), James Ruth (Eng), Tony Carolan (Aus), Lasse Jensen (Den).
65 Colm Moriarty (Ire), Miles Tunnicliffe (Eng), Clodomiro Carranza (Arg), Lee Slattery (Eng), Martin Wiegele (Aut).
66 Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Roope Kaakko (Fin), Stuart Manley (Wal), Nicolas Meitinger (Ger), Edouard Dubois (Fra), Klas Eriksson (Swe), Andrea Maestroni (Ita).
67 Jonathan Caldwell (NIr), Darren Fichardt (SAf), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Wes Hefferman (Can), Pedro Linhart (Spa), Andrew Marshall (Eng), Thorbjorn Olesen (Den), Iain Pyman (Eng), Anthony Snobeck (Fra), Simon Thornton (Ire).
Selected scores:
68 Steven O'Hara (Sco).
70 Callum Macaulay (Sco).
71 Andrew Coltart (Sco).
73 Greig Hutcheon (Sco).

One of the worst weeks in Tiger's charmed life

FROM THE CBS SPORTS.COM WEBSITE
By Steve Elling
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
ORLANDO, Florida -- It all started last weekend, when Tiger Woods heard a sound that had never before wafted past his ears. A hearty chorus of boos.
Woods was inducted into the Stanford University Hall of Fame last weekend and was embraced by a lusty round of verbal abuse from California (University) fans at half-time of the annual Big Game. Woods seemed momentarily taken aback, then regained his composure.
The catcalls and pratfalls only got worse from there.
In a 24-hour span that landed Woods on the front of the gossip and metro sections for all the wrong reasons, he was accused of cheating on his wife in a front-page tabloid headline, then crashed his car into a tree a few yards from his Isleworth mansion early Friday morning at 2:25 a.m.
If that's what Thanksgiving is like, give him 364 days of playing alongside Phil Mickelson anytime.
Details from Woods' camp were few, other than to clarify that early reports that he was seriously injured were exaggerated. Woods hit a fire hydrant before he caromed into the tree, suffered facial lacerations, was treated at an Ocoee hospital and released. However, given that the National Enquirer newspaper story had hit newsstands hours earlier, it didn't take long for folks to wonder if the crash and story were somehow linked.
After all, we're not talking about his tee shots here. Far as anybody knows, Woods has always driven it straight and avoided the trees when his hands gripped the wheel of an Escalade. As of a couple of years ago, when I researched his motor-vehicle particulars along with those of several other prominent Orlando-area pros, his driving record was practically impeccable.
The semi-long arm of the law will be knocking on the front door of Tiger Woods’ home on Saturday, sometime after 3 p.m.
Yeah, we know what you are thinking.
One of the most skilled sports figures of the past half-century drove his car into a tree at 2 a.m., hours after the Enquirer story?
It will be interesting to see how -- or if -- Woods reacts in the next few days. Three years ago, he quickly lambasted an Irish tabloid report that claimed his wife, Elin, had posed nude during her modeling past. Without prompting and while preparing to play in the Ryder Cup, Woods vehemently denied the story and later received a $183,250 settlement and an apology from the paper.
Nary a peep yet on the Enquirer story. Granted, so-called reputable news-gathering organisations do not react to tabloid fodder as a rule, and the story hit the stands over Thanksgiving weekend, when half the world was at the dinner table, so maybe it's simply a timing issue.
There was no clarification from Woods about the accident account, either. Like where he was headed, what he was doing in a car at that hour on a holiday and how he managed not to miss a fire hydrant that had presumably been in the same spot the entire 10 years he has lived in that abode:
"Tiger Woods was in a minor car accident outside his home last night. He was admitted, treated and released today in good condition. We appreciate very much everyone's thoughts and well wishes," a statement posted on his website said.
That was the extent of it. It was later reported that Elin had used a golf club to shatter the rear window of his Cadillac in order to help extricate him after he hit the tree a few feet from his driveway. The Escalade's speed at impact was apparently low, since airbags did not deploy. He was bleeding from the mouth and semi-conscious when officers arrived, reports said.
Once the Florida Highway Patrol released the news at mid-day Friday that Woods had been treated at a hospital, the story exploded and the Orlando gossip grapevine did what it does best regarding Woods of late -- it began to bear bitter fruit. Sprinkle some supposition over a dollop of innuendo, and viola, you have a full-fledged cell phone talkfest.
So it's been a rough few weeks for the painfully private Woods, whose personal life and relationships have never exactly been an open book. It's not every six-day period that the No. 1 sports figure on the globe gets jeered, lands on the front page of a supermarket tabloid alongside Oprah, Martha Stewart and Katie and Tom Cruise, then takes a steering wheel in the teeth after he tried to run over a tree.
Maybe the abrasions he suffered Friday morning were as much from embarrassment. It's possible that's all the Thanksgiving episodes were -- careless, clumsy, explainable stuff that will have everybody laughing soon enough.
After all, Woods is set to play next week at the Chevron World Challenge in suburban Los Angeles, an event that he hosts and benefits his charity.
Over the course of the day, the terms relating to the accident, which first described his condition as "serious," were soon downgraded to minor. Maybe once Woods clears the air, the same will be said of one of the worst weeks of his life.

Asian Tour Qualifying School entry deadline extended

The 2010 Asian Tour Qualifying School, presented by Sports Authority of Thailand, will extend its application deadline to Tuesday, December 15 due to overwhelming response.
Three venues will host the First Stage, with Watermill Golf and Gardens in Bangkok staging a leg from December 16 to 19, 2009 followed by Majestic Creek Golf Resort and Kaeng Krachan Country Club and Resort in Hua Hin from January 6 to 9, 2010.
The all-important Final Stage, where the top-40 finishers and ties will earn their Asian Tour card, will be held at Palm Hills Golf Resort and Country Club and Springfield Village Golf & Spa in Hua Hin from January 13 to 16, 2010.
The Entry Form for the Qualifying School is now available on www.asiantour.com

Stage set for exciting Sunday finish in China

Ireland still lead but only by one from

title-holders Sweden and Italy

REPORT FROM CHINA BY MICHAEL GIBBONS
Deputy Chief Press Officer, European Tour
Ireland, Sweden and Italy are set for a final round battle royale at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup on Sunday after the third-round four-balls left the three nations as the clear favourites to take the title the title
The Molinari brothers Edoardo and Francesco carded the joint-lowest round of the third day with South Korea over the Olazábal Course, posting a brilliant 61 to move to 24 under par and into a share of second place with defending champions Sweden, who, thanks to the efforts of Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson, compiled a fine 62 to lie just one shot behind Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy.
Team Ireland’s third round effort of eight under par 64 was good enough for them to retain the lead for the third round.
The three contenders are all looking forward to what is shaping up to be a hugely exciting final round.
“It seems to be a three-horse race obviously, one team on 26 under and two teams on 25,” said McDowell. “So barring any disaster in the foursomes, I can't see any other team outside the top three winning.”
McIlroy added: “I think if everything was to go to plan and we were to win tomorrow, it would definitely be the biggest highlight of my golfing career so far. You know, it's very special to win an event, but to win it with a partner and to win it with a friend would make it even more special.”
Sweden are naturally confident of putting together a final round charge after their unforgettable charge to victory last year with a final round 63 in the foursomes.
“It was a great atmosphere playing in the last match with Ireland today,” said Karlsson. “We can draw on the memories of last year’s 63 but we have to go out there and get some birdies on the board early and get going from there because Ireland and Italy are very strong teams.”
Stenson is hoping that he and Karlsson can make a fast start in order to get their noses in front of the final grouping of Ireland and Italy.
He said: “It was great to play with the Irish boys today – it was almost like match play out there and I think both teams played well. But tomorrow is a different day and I am glad that we are not in the final group – we have a chance to steal a march on the guys behind us and that’s what we will be trying to do.”
The Molinaris enjoyed their best round of the week and will seek to win the Omega Mission Hills World Cup for the first time in the country’s history, their best finish being second in 1998 with the team of Massimo Florioli and Costantino Rocca.
“It's been a really good week, but today was probably the best day,” said Francesco. “We both played really consistent, good golf. It's been really good and we are in good position for tomorrow. We just try to keep playing like this and see what happens tomorrow.”
Edoardo added: “We played very well today. He was probably a little bit better than I was today. Both of us we managed to make a lot of birdies and hole the putts in the right moments. It was definitely a good score out there today because the pins were quite difficult, and even the other teams are not shooting as low as the first round, so I think 61 today is a great score.”
SCOTSWATCH: At last David Drysdale and Alastair Forsyth produced the kind of low-scoring round we expected from them. They combined for a better-ball third-round score of eight-under-par 64, which matched the effort by Ireland's pace-making pair, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, and was five shots better than anything they had achieved earlier in the week.
The Scots are on 10-under-par 206 - the same mark as the United States, and ahead of countries of the calibre of Spain and France.

THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
Round 1: better-ball. Round 2: foursomes. Round 3: better-ball.
190 IRELAND (Graeme McDOWELL and Rory McILROY) 58-68-64.
191 ITALY (Edoardo MOLINARI and Francesco MOLINARI) 64-66-61, SWEDEN (Robert KARLSSON and Henrik STENSON) 64-65-62
197 SOUTH AFRICA (Rory SABBATINI and Richard STERNE) 65-70-62, JAPAN (Hiroyuki FUJITA and Ryuji IMADA) 62-71-64
198 ENGLAND (Ian POULTER and Ross FISHER) 66-69-63, WALES (Stephen DODD and Jamie DONALDSON) 66-68-64
199 VENEZUELA (Alfredo ADRIAN and Jhonattan VEGAS) 67-67-65
200 SOUTH KOREA (Charlie WI and YANG Yong-eun) 64-75-61, AUSTRALIA (Stuart APPLEBY and Robert ALLENBY) 68-70-62, ARGENTINA (Tano GOYA and Rafael ECHENIQUE) 61-75-64, INDIA (Jyoti RANDHAWA and Jeev Milkha SINGH) 67-68-65
201 CHILE (Hugo LEON and Martin URETA) 69-67-65
202 DENMARK (Soren KJELDSEN and Soren HANSEN) 66-70-66, SINGAPORE (LAM Chih Bing and Mardan MAMAT) 66-70-66
203 CANADA (Graham DELAET and Stuart ANDERSON) 64-74-65, GERMANY (Alex CEJKA and Martin KAYMER) 66-71-66
204 PHILIPPINES (Mars PUCAY and Angelo QUE) 68-72-64, THAILAND (Prayad MARKSAENG and Thongchai JAIDEE) 67-70-67, CHINA (ZHANG Lian-wei and LIANG Wen-chong) 65-71-68
205 NEW ZEALAND (Danny LEE and David SMAIL) 67-68-70
206 SCOTLAND (David DRYSDALE and Alastair FORSYTH) 69-73-64, UNITED STATES (Nick WATNEY and John MERRICK) 67-72-67
207 FRANCE (Christian CEVAER and Thomas LEVET) 67-73-67, SPAIN (Gonzalo FERNANDEZ-CASTANO and Sergio GARCIA) 69-71-67
208 PAKISTAN (Muhammad MUNIR and Muhammad SHABBIR) 69-75-64, CHINESE TAIPEI (LIN Wen-tang and LU Wei-chih) 67-74-67
211 BRAZIL (Rafael BARCELLOS and Ronaldo FRANCISCO) 68-75-68

So what's the matter with Tiger

Woods these days? He's behaving

like a petulant, spoiled child

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By MARK REASON
What's eating Tiger Woods? For the past few months he has been flouncing around tournaments like a spoiled child.
Now he has left his house in the early hours of the morning and had a stand up row with a fire hydrant and a tree. We knew Tiger's driving was wayward these days, but he usually manages to at least stay on the property.
There are now bound to be questions about Tiger's private life. Tiger's entourage has maintained a stiff upper lip, but if all is well at home, where was Woods off to in the early hours of Friday morning? That's the question that Tiger will now have to answer.
It seemed a little late to be practising his ball striking, even if Tiger is due to host his own tournament, the Chevron World Challenge, early next week. Well, if Woods wanted publicity for his event, he's certainly got it now. It's going to be a media circus down there in California.
At most press conferences these days Tiger's agent Mark Steinberg sits at the back and makes the signal when he thinks his client has had enough. But even Steinberg might struggle to turn the taps off next week. The world wants to know just what is going on in Tiger's life right now and they are expecting some answers.
The recent prang is just another in a long series of destructive incidents over the past few months. At the Open Championship in July Woods failed to acknowledge his fans when he turned up on the Sunday. The cap went down and Woods looked straight ahead. It was tunnel vision without even a glimpse of headlights. Woods was looking out from a dark place.
At the Turnberry press conference he was almost rude to several journalists. The media accept this as their lot, but seasoned Tiger watchers were taken aback by just how curt some of his answers were. They veered from the smart ass to the dismissive.
The following month at the Bridgestone Invitational Woods was put on the clock for slow play. He subsequently slated the official responsible and many felt that Woods should have been fined. When Tiger escaped sanction he hung out to dry a journalist with whom he has been friendly for years. We began to wonder what was going on with Woods. Maybe he was still grumpy after coming back from reconstructive knee surgery or maybe there was something more.
At the USPGA Championship the following week Tiger took the lead going into the final round of a major for the 15th time and lost for the first time in his career. Mr Invincible had just been beaten. Why was he suddenly vulnerable?
The greatest sign of a golfer's strength of mind lies in his putting. In the major years Tiger has been the greatest putter the world has ever seen. But suddenly he had started missing. He was no longer making the crucial putts that used to break his opponents. Was it just age or was there another reason for the frailty?
Tiger's behaviour on the final day of that US PGA Championship appalled many an old pro. He showed a lack of proper respect for his playing partner Y.E. Yang. On one occasion Tiger left the green when Yang still had to make a vital putt.
The five time Open champion Peter Thomson wanted to go on the record after that incident. He told Telegraph Sport: "I wish he'd smile more. He injures his image by being morose and petulant. There is also very little consideration for the fellow he is playing with. He could show more humility."
Earlier this month Tiger travelled down to Thomson's own back yard to play in the Australian Masters at Melbourne. His behaviour had not improved. On the Saturday Tiger threw his driver into the crowd in a fit of temper and then retrieved it with glassy disdain.
So just what is eating Tiger? As Thomson said, where has the smile gone? Tiger should have everything in the world going for him. He has a beautiful wife, two young children, a £1.5 million mansion and a world of talent and charisma. But right now, it just doesn't seem to be quite enough.

+Any comments on the topic raised in the above article? Send them to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

James Nitties loses New South Wales

Open lead to a 64 by Jason Norris

FROM THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA WEBSITE
A vintage Jason Norris has overcome extreme weather conditions - very hot and very windy - to take the outright lead at the 2009 NSW Open following a third round seven-under 64.
The 2007 champion produced the round of the tournament to hold a one stroke-lead from Novocastrian James Nitties heading into Sunday'sfinal round.
His performance puts him at eight-under par after rounds of 70, 71 and 64.
It seems Norris could be back to his career-best form, two years after suffering horrific facial injuries from a freak accident during the 2007 Australian PGA Championship.
A book given to Norris by a friend’s mother has been the tonic to his resurgence.
“Following facial surgery I wasn’t able to fly home so I was stayed there as part of my recovery. The book is called ‘The Secret’ and it’s such a positive book, everyone should read it.”
Two top ten finishes in New Zealand earlier this year have built further on the 38 year-olds confidence.
“After flirting with death a three foot putt doesn’t seem important.”Norris also attributed the Pro-Am Teams Challenge to having a relaxed attitude in today’s difficult conditions.
“The Pro-Am is a good concept if you are going well you can enjoy it and if you aren’t going so well you can focus on the four ball.”
Defending champion Aaron Townsend, playing alongside Norris moved into contention following a three-under, 68 and begin the final day four strokes back.
Overnight leader James Nitties kept his cool as expected high temperatures and strong winds got up in the afternoon.
“It was brutal out there today,” Nitties explained after his round.
“I survived with a two-over, 73 and am really looking forward to tomorrow’s final round.”
Out in the first group having just survived the halfway cut, rookie Nick Cullen went from 51st to 7th following a third round six-under, 65.
The 25 year-old from The Grange, South Australia produced five birdies in a row from 13th to the 17th.
Queensland’s Shaun Harmer may have been out of contention, but his eagle on the 16th was a highlight after he holed out from 110 meters.
LEADING THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71)
All players from Australia
205 Jason Norris 70 71 64.
206 James Nitties 65 68 73.
208 Rohan Blizard 71 70 67.
209 Aaron Townsend 70 71 68.
210 Aaron Pike 68 70 72, Heath Read 65 74 71.
211 Nicholas Cullen 70 76 65, Nathan Green 64 76 71, Grant Maoorhead 67 74 70.
212 Michael Bell (am) 70 73 69, Troy Kennedy 72 71 69, Brad Lamb 73 72 67, Leigh McKechnie 70 72 70, Graeme Stockley 72 72 68, Andre Stolz 70 74 68.
205 Jason Norr

Title-holders Sweden cut Ireland's lead to two

strokes halfway through Saturday round

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Defending champions Sweden trimmed Ireland’s advantage to two strokes at the midway point of Saturday`s third round four-balls at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup.
Holding a three stroke overnight lead following Friday`s alternate shot foursomes, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell reached the turn in four under par to progress to 22 under overall at Mission Hills Golf Club in China
But with Robert Karlsson inspiring Sweden to five under for the day at the turn, he and partner Henrik Stenson are firmly in the hunt.
Karlsson’s putter was proving a key tool in Sweden’s arsenal as the former European number one drained a 30 foot birdie putt which broke three times from off the green at six before adding his fourth gain in five holes at the seventh.
World Number Seven Stenson finally made his first contribution of the day at the ninth to leave the defending champions a shot clear of Italy.
Brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari also played the front nine of the undulating Olazabal Course in five under to progress to 19 under par.
Ireland, who posted a brilliant 14 under par in Thursday’s opening round fourballs, started brightly with two birdies over the first three holes.
But they had to wait until the seventh to add a third following McIlory’s deft chip to less than a foot from the greenside bunker before McDowell picked up his second shot of the day at the ninth.
Australia and Korea set the clubhouse mark at 16-under-par although it appears they will still be well off the pace by the end of the third day ahead of the final round alternate shot foursomes on Sunday.
US PGA Championship winner Y E Yang blazed six birdies on the front nine before partner Charlie Wi took over on the trip home with four of the five gains on the back nine as Korea posted a 11-under-par 61.
“We played with Ireland on Thursday and they are playing really well,” said the US PGA Tour regular Wi.
“Rory and Graeme are hitting it so nice and they are making the putts when they need to.
“It depends how they finish up today, if we are two, three, four, five shots back, we might have a chance, but other than that, it will be really tough to catch them.
“YE shot 30 on the front nine by himself and then I was able to contribute on the back nine. He played really beautifully but to shoot 61 you both have to contribute and I think that we are very lucky to make the putts at the right time. We didn’t birdie the same hole, we picked up a birdie on the hole the other one didn’t.
“If we were told we would have a 61 before we teed off we would have been very pleased and hopefully we will be able to improve on what we did.”
Australian duo Stuart Appleby and Robert Allenby also did not drop a shot in their ten under 62.

Tiger Woods' wife rescued him from car crash

by smashing window with golf club

By NICK ALLEN
Tiger Woods’ wife rescued him from the wreckage of a late night car crash by smashing a golf club through the window, police said.
Elin Nordegren, 29, dragged her husband to safety after he hit a fire hydrant outside their £1.5 million Florida mansion and then veered into a tree on a neighbour’s property at 2.25am local time on Friday.
Police arrived minutes later and found Woods, 33, lying in the street drifting in an out of consciousness as his wife hovered over him.
He had cuts on his lips and blood in his mouth and officers carried out first aid, said local police chief Daniel Saylor.
Woods was then taken to hospital in an ambulance but was later released.
Mrs Nordegren told police she was inside the couple’s house in a gated community in Orlando, Florida when she heard the accident and ran outside.
She grabbed a golf club and smashed the rear window of the black Cadillac Escalade to get to her husband.
Woods was on his own in the car and no other vehicles were involved. It was unclear where he had been intending to go at that early hour.
The Florida Highway Patrol said alcohol did not play a part in the crash but it was still under investigation and charges could be pending. They were trying to piece together how Woods, the world’s number one golfer, had managed to hit the fire hydrant and tree, which were on either sides of the road.
Airbags in the car did not deploy which suggests that it was travelling at less than 33mph.
The golfer’s agent, Mark Steinberg, said last night that Woods was “fine”.
A joint statement issued by Woods’ office and the hospital said: “Tiger Woods was in a minor car accident outside his home last night. He was admitted, treated and released today in good condition.”
The accident happened on a day when unsubstantiated rumours about the golfer’s private life were circulating on the internet.
Woods lives in a suburb of Orlando with his wife and their daughter, Sam Alexis, two, and son Charlie Axel, nine months.
His wife is a Swedish former model who was working as an au pair when the couple met at the 2001 Open.
They married in October 2004 at the Sandy Lane resort in Barbados in a ceremony that reportedly cost more than £1 million.
Their home is set on an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course and a chain of small lakes. The neighbourhood, which is fortified with high brick walls and has its own security force, is home to CEOs and other sports stars.