A few dollars more for Russell Knox Florida-based Inverness exile Russell Knox finished joint 13th with a seven-under-par total of 209 in the NGA Hooters Tour Winter Series event at Timacuan Golf Club, Lake Mary, Florida today. Knox, one of the leading money-winners on the Hooters Tour since he turned pro following four years as a student at Jacksonville University, Florida, had rounds of 70, 69 and 70 over the par-72, 7025yd course to earn $1,913. The Scot birdied the third, fifth, 12th and 17th but bogeys at the ninth and 11th on this highly-competitive satellite circuit cost him a top-10 finish and possibly double the pay-out he did get. He finished 11 shots behind the winner of the $12,462 first prize, Michael Thompson from Birmingham, Alabama with scores of 69, 66 and 63 for a five-shot win with an 18-under-par total of 198. LEADING TOTALS Par 216 (3x72) 7025yd 198 Michael Thompson (Birmingham, Alabama) 69 66 63 ($12,462). 203 Robbie Greenwell (Georgetown, Oregon) 67 70 66, Matthew Koln (Maitland, Florida) 67 66 780, Zack Sucher (Loxley, Alabama) 66 67 68 ($5081 each). Selected score: 209 Russell Knox (Jacksonville Beach, Florida) 70 69 70($1,913).

Jordan Findlay wants to stay competitive until

2010 Euro Tour School

Fraserburgh's Jordan Findlay, the former British boys' champion who actually played in back-to-back finals of the championship, has been speaking to Scottishgolfview.com following his first victory on the highly-competitive (17 members with 'plus' handicaps) North-east Golfers' Alliance circuit at Buckpool on Wednesday.

"I played a solid round at Buckpool (for a five-under-par 65). It's always nice to get a win.
"As you know I went to the European Tour and Alps Tour qualifying this year. Both events were a great experience and a learning curve for me," said Jordan who has +2 of a handicap.
"I was particularly disappointed that I missed out on a category for the Alps Tour by just one shot. However, I know the experience gained this year will stand me in good stead for next time around.
"Regarding next year, as of now I'm trying to keep as competitive as possible and improve my game for the season ahead. I have been spending a lot of time down at Largs and on the range in Fraserburgh. My main focus in 2010 will be the European Tour School.
"I will not be entering the Asian Tour Qualifying School (which is coming up shortly) as the costs are too high without outside financial support."
Thanks for your interest
Regards

Lockhart's 74 best at windy Muckhart for Midland Alliance

By LEE SUTHERLAND, Ballumbie Castle GC head professional
This week the Midland Golfers Alliance held the Dennis Redford (Powakaddy) team competition at Muckhart in Clackmananshire.
In wet, windy and wintry conditions Ladybank assistant professional Alan Lockhart led the way in the scratch with a three-over-par 74.
There was a three-way tie for the handicap prize, Ray Barton (Alloa), playing off eight, Jim Meddicks (Murrayshall) (8) and James Milne (Blairgowrie) (9) all scoring net 70.
James also helped his dad, Jim Milne (Blairgowrie) (14) and Fraser McKay (Scotscraig) (6) to win the first prize in the team competition with a score of 62.
LEADING SCRATCH
Par 71
74 A Lockhart (Ladybank) ap.
76 L Sutherland (Ballumbie Castle) p.
77 E Rae (Arbroath), G Milne (Aberdour), D Hutchison (Murrayshall).
78 R Barton (Alloa), R Stewart (Tulliallan), J Meddicks (Murrayshall).
79 W Crosbie (Blairgowrie), K Salmoni (Muckhart) p, H Grant (Muckhart), J Milne (Blairgowrie).
LEADING HANDICAP
70 R Barton (Alloa) (8), J Meddicks (Murrayshall) (8), J Milne (Blairgowrie) (9).
71 D Hutchison (Murrayshall) (6).
72 G Milne (Aberdour) (5), R Lamont (Bathgate) (8).
73 H Grant (Muckhart) (8).
74 E Rae (Arbroath) (3), J Gray (Craigie Hill) (12), W Crosbie (Blairgowrie) (5), J Milne (Blairgowrie) (14), A Mason (Thornton) (7), J Leddy (Bathgate) (9).

Dennis Redford (Powakaddy) Team Competition
62 J Milne (Blairgowrie) (9), J Milne (Blairgowrie) (14), F McKay Scotscraig) (6).
63 A Lockhart (Labyank) ap), R Stewart (Tulliallan) (1), R Barton (Alloa) (8). Better last six.
63 I Henderson (Craigie Hill) (6), J Gray (Craigie Hill) (12), G Milne (Aberdour) (5).

Qualifiers for the JTC Interiors Express Championship in April at Montrose Links
G Milne (Aberdour)
D Hutchison (Murrayshall)
R Barton (Alloa)
J Meddicks (Murrayshall)

Next weeks Meeting

Tuesday 8th December
Charleton Golf Course
9.00 - 12.00
Lee Sutherland

Robert Allenby leads Nedbank Challenge as

Retief Goosen wins Volvo car with eagle 2

Australian Robert Allenby, with three birdies on the front nine and a fourth at the 14th, took the first-round lead with four-under-par score of 68 in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club, Sun City, Johannesburg in South africa.
No Australian has ever won this 29-year-old invitational tournament.
South African Retief Goosen was four under par after 11 holes but bogeyed the 14th and had a double bogey at the 15th before getting an eagle 2 at the par-4 17th to share second place with Tim Clark on 69.
Goosen won a Volvo car for his eagle at the 480yd penultimate hole.
Choosing to play in the 12-man event rather than the Australian Open in his homeland, Allenby began his bid for the $1.2 million first prize with the only bogey-free performance of the day.
Three of his birdies came on par 5s and the other was on the 493-yard fifth.
Playing partner Robert Karlsson also reached 4 under, but in stark contrast double-bogeyed the 17th and dropped back alongside fellow Swede and defending champion Henrik Stenson and American Hunter Mahan.
Rory McIlroy, with a mixed bag of six bogeys and five birdies, appeared out of sorts from the start and was reported to have been put on a drip during a two-hour thunderstorm suspension.
Northern Ireland's world No. 10 returned to birdie the final two holes, but a one-over 73 left the 20-year-old bringing up the rear with England's Ross Fisher and American Nick Watney.
Luke Donald was one better than that. A closing birdie that continued his recovery from a double-bogey 7 at the second and bogey on the next.
Even the player who finishes last walks away with $200,000, but with nobody more than five behind everything is still up for grabs.

HOW THEY STAND
Par 72
68 Robert Allenby (Aus)
69 Retief Goosen, Tim Clark
70 Robert Karlsson (Swe), Hunter Mahan (US), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
71 Angel Cabrera (Arg)
72 Luke Donald (Eng), Richard Sterne
73 Nick Watney (US), Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Ross Fisher (Eng)

Three Scots among 31 winners of 2010 Euro Tour cards

Drummond pitches in at 108th hole

to keep his place on European Tour

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Anglo-Scott Scott Drummond, the one-time PGA championship winner at Wentworth, birdied the last hole of his sixth and final round (108 holes) by pitching in from 25 yards to regain a European Tour card at the Final Qualifying School in North-east Spain today.
Bogeys on the ninth and 15th holes had put the Devon-based Scot in danger of an agonising miss, but for the second day running he made a birdie 3 on the 449yd 18th on the Stadium course at PGA Catalunya Golf Resort near Girona - and, with a total of 418, was right on the limit mark for the 31 qualifiers.
England's Sam Walker, on the other hand, followed birdies at the 15th, 16th and 17th with a bogey to fail by one on 419.
Top of the class was former Wales Open champion Simon Khan, who, with a 20-under-par aggregate of 408, finished one in front of fellow Englishman Sam Hutsby and two clear of Scot Stephen Gallacher, who returned to the school after a season disrupted by ill health.
Gallacher had rounds of 68, 72, 68, 66, 67 and 69 for 17-under-par 411, a great effort and reminiscent of his form when he won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship a few years back.
Thirty-one of the 156 starters earned cards, including former Ryder Cup team-mates Andrew Coltart and Jarmo Sandelin.
Edinburgh-based Coltart needed a big last-day effort to climb into the qualifiers' zone and the man who hails from Thornhill did just that. He climbed from 34th to joint 16th on 417 with a bogey-free closing 68, after earlier rounds of 71, 71, 69, 68 and 70 had put the pressure on him to shoot a 68 or better at the last time of asking, while Sandelin was also 11 under after a 73.
Three Scots in all out of the starting group of 11 achieved their objective. Apart from Gallacher, nephew of the former Ryder Cup captain, and Coltart, Steven O'Hara from Motherwell tied for seventh place on 413 with scores of 68, 70, 68, 69, 68 and 70 - his best tournament performance for a long time.
The Scots who survived the four-round cut but failed to make it into the top 30 at the end of the day were Andrew Oldcorn, like Drummond a former PGA title-winner, and Callum Macaulay who loses his European Tour playing rights after his rookie season, during which he had his high points, just not enough of them.
Those who failed to make the 31 winners of cards but played 108 holes earn Nationwide Tour status if they don't hold it already.

THE MEN WHO EARNED EUROPEAN TOUR PLAYING STATUS IN 2010
SIX-ROUND FINAL TOTALS
Par 428 (4x72, 2x70)
408 Simon Khan (England) 68 63 67 66 70 74.
409 Sam Hutsby (England) 69 72 65 68 66 69.
410 Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) 68 72 68 66 67 69.
411 Alejandro Canizares (Spain) 74 67 61 65 75 69, Marco Ruiz (Paraguay) 71 68 63 69 75 65.
412 Fredrik Ohlsson (Sweden) 68 70 68 69 71 66.
413 Clodomero Carranza (Argentina) 65 73 68 68 67 72, Mark F Haastrup (Denmark) 69 71 68 67 68 70, Eirik Tage Johansen (Norway) 75 65 66 71 69 67, Steven O'Hara (Scotland) 68 70 68 69 68.
414 Benjamin Herbert (France) 69 71 69 71 67 67.
415 Fredrik Andersson Hed (Sweden) 66 75 66 70 69 69, Philip Archer (England) 68 70 67 72 69 69, Jamie Elson (England) 68 65 66 783 71 72, Carl Suneson (Spain) 72 67 65 71 71 69.
417 George Coetzee (South Africa) 68 70 67 71 70 71, Andrew Coltart (Scotland) 71 71 69 68 70 68, Stephan Gross junior (Germany) 69 72 66 66 71 73, Anton Haig (South Africa) 76 73 66 62 69 71, Steven Jeppesen (Sweden) 69 75 67 66 70 70, James Kamte (South Africa) 67 73 69 70 71 67, Gary Murphy (Ireland) 69 67 70 74 69 68, Patrik Sjoland (Sweden) 72 65 67 69 72 72, James Ruth (England) 64 75 66 68 72 72, Jarmo Sandelin (Sweden) 66 69 67 70 72 73 (jt 16th).
418 Scott Drummond (Scotland) 69 69 69 70 70 71, Lorenzo Gagli (Italy) 70 71 67 70 68 72, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet(France) 67 74 67 70 71 69, Julien Guerrier (France) 60 75 70 72 71 70, Rick Kulacz (Australia) 72 70 69 70 73 64, Simon Thornton (Ireland) 67 75 69 69 67 71 (jt 26th).

DID NOT QUALIFY (totals of 419 or over)
419 Wil Besseling (Netherlands) 70 70 66 73 73 67, Liam Bon (Wales) 68 72 70 67 74 68, Michiel Bothma (South Africa) 74 64 65 72 74 70, Tony Carolan (Australia) 674 74 67 72 71 71, Callum Macaulay (Scotland) 70 73 71 67 70 68, Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark) 67 75 68 69 70 70 Lee Slattery (England) 65 74 67 71 74 68 Sam Walker (England) 70 64 69 68 74 73.
(jt 32nd).
420 Javier Colomo (Spa) 74 67 68 71 69 71, Stuart Manley (Wal) 66 72 65 76 70 71, Manuel Quiros (Spa) 71 70 68 67 71 73, Christophe Brazillier (Fra) 71 67 67 70 72 73, Ghislain Rosier (Fra) 71 73 67 64 70 75, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 68 69 69 71 67 76
421 Nicolas Meitinger (Ger) 66 77 73 65 71 69, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 65 78 71 66 72 69, Martin Wiegele (Aut) 65 74 68 72 73 69, Niall Kearney (Irl) 72 68 68 69 74 70, Keith Horne (Rsa) 64 74 68 73 70 72
422 Chris Gaunt (Aus) 74 70 72 65 72 69, Matthew Zions (Aus) 73 68 66 74 72 69, Andrea Maestroni (Ita) 66 74 70 70 71 71, Johan Axgren (Swe) 73 68 65 74 70 72, Alexandre Kaleka (Fra) 68 70 72 69 71 72, Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 69 70 64 72 75 72, Marco Soffietti (Ita) 72 64 68 73 72 73
423 Paul Eales (Eng) 69 74 72 66 75 67, Julien Clement (Swi) 70 73 73 64 72 71, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 70 68 71 71 70 73, Charlie Ford (Eng) 67 64 67 70 81 74, Tim Stewart (Aus) 68 73 69 71 67 75
424 Benn Barham (Eng) 71 72 71 67 72 71, Miles Tunnicliff (Eng) 65 73 70 72 69 75
425 Cesar Monasterio (Arg) 74 69 68 70 75 69, Oliver Whiteley (Eng) 75 65 71 70 74 70, Louis Moolman (Rsa) 70 68 70 72 75 70, Adilson Da Silva (Bra) 73 65 70 69 75 73
426 Anthony Snobeck (Fra) 67 76 70 67 76 70, Rolf Muntz (Ned) 71 72 66 70 76 71, Ryan Blaum (USA) 72 67 68 73 74 72, Andrew Marshall (Eng) 67 76 71 67 72 73
427 Adam Blyth (Aus) 68 77 68 67 79 68, Luis Claverie (Spa) 68 76 67 70 76 70, Andrew Oldcorn (Sco) 72 68 71 70 74 72

Chan Yih-shin (64) leads King's Cup tournament in Thailand

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Khon Kaen, Thailand: Chinese Taipei’s Chan Yih-shin made a spirited start with a sparkling eight-under-par 64 to take the first-round lead at the King’s Cup today.
The 32-year Chan, who is chasing his first Asian Tour victory, brilliantly fired nine birdies at the Singha Park Khon Kaen Golf Club to o pen up a two-stroke lead over India’s rising star Anirban Lahiri, who shot an impressive 66 at the US$300,000 event presented by Singha and Sports Authority of Thailand.
Unheralded Thai Somsak Khaopratoom, Lin Wen-hong of Chinese Taipei and C. Muniyappa of India are a further stroke back after shooting 67s in the final tournament of the season.
Gaurav Ghei of India and New Zealander Mark Purser are among those in tied sixth place on 68 while local hero Thongchai Jaidee, who has already wrapped up a record third Asian Tour Order of Merit title, o pen ed his campaign with an error-strewn 70.
Chan’s highlight of the round came at the 13th hole where he chipped in for birdie from 35 yards out. “Everything clicked and I am happy to lead by two,” said Chan, who effectively established a new course record as the club was o pen ed for play earlier this year.
The man from Taipei hopes lessons learnt at last month’s Barclays Singapore O pen , where he was in contention before fading at the weekend, will put him in good stead in his hunt for a first title at the King’s Cup, which is making its debut on the Asian Tour.
“I wasn’t feeling relaxed in Singapore so I have learned my lesson and will try to keep myself calm throughout the week,” said Chan, whose best finish this season was fifth at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters.
Lahiri, who is amongst an exciting generation of talented youngsters to emerge from India , was thrilled with his round that included seven birdies. The Indian was particularly delighted to birdie the challenging 514-yard par four ninth hole.
“They moved the tee box up by 50 yards as it’s into the wind but the ninth hole is still the
hardest on the course, so it was good to score there. Finding the speed of the greens here is tough but I managed to gauge the speed well and that will be a huge factor this week,” said Lahiri, who is currently 27th on the rankings following four top-10s.
“I’m mentally more relaxed as I don’t need to fight to keep my Tour card. There is no pressure on me to perform so I’m just going out to have fun and hopefully things will fall into place,” he added.
Muniyappa, who broke through with a popular win at the Hero Honda Indian O pen in October, soared with a chip-in eagle at the 15th hole. “The eagle was the turning point. After four holes I was two-under but after that I couldn’t hole the putts and then chipped in on 15,” he said.
Playing in his first Asian Tour tournament, little known Somsak emerged as the surprise name amongst the Thai hopefuls. He chipped in for birdie on the third hole from 20 yards to add to five other birdies.
“I was a bit nervous but luckily for me, my iron play was fantastic. I hit 13 greens and that turned my game around. I was aiming to shoot even-par so this result is good,” said the 23-year-old.
Thongchai, searching for a third victory of the year, endured a tough start as he mixed his card with six birdies against four bogeys. He is six shots behind the leader.
“I hit some poor drives into water on four and six and made bogeys there. The par threes here are tough and it’s hard to make a good score. Two under is still a good start and I’m surprised to see eight-under leading as the course is tough,” said the Thai hero.
Chinese stalwart Liang Wen-chong, ranked second behind Thongchai, withdrew from the King’s Cup after playing nine holes, where he was two under, due to a sore back.
FIRST ROUND LEADING SCORES
Par 72
64 Chan Yih-shin (TPE)
66 Anirban Lahiri ( IND )
67 Lin Wen-hong (TPE), Somsak Khaopratoom (THA), C. Muniyappa ( IND )
68 Apisit Nimnuan (THA), Mark Purser (NZL), Gaurav Ghei (IND), Panuwat Muenlek (THA), Apichai Leelakajornjit (THA), Nakul Vichitryuthasastr (THA)
69 Masaki Sakata (JPN), Ross Bain (SCO), Lee Sung (KOR), Corey Harris ( USA )
70 Artemio Murakami (PHI), Thongchai Jaidee (THA), Kim Dae-Hyun (KOR), Pariya Junhasavasdikul (THA), Shaaban Hussin (MAS)

Stonehaven Golf Club members back

council's plans for new clubhouse

and revamped course

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY STONEHAVEN GOLF CLUB
Stonehaven Golf Club is pushing ahead with its plans for a multi-million pound redevelopment.
The 120-year-old club, which has more than 500 members, plans to sell about 20 acres of its land to a house builder and use the proceeds to revamp the course on the Braes of Cowie.
Part of the development of the course would include a new clubhouse on the field immediately to the south of the current clubhouse, which is an old wooden building no longer fit for purpose. The new clubhouse would be on a site within easy walking distance of Stonehaven town centre.
A special general meeting of members last week voted overwhelmingly to give the club’s elected council the authority to progress matters with the developer.
Should the planning process be successful, the club intends to make its new clubhouse available to a wide range of local organisations for meetings and functions.
Club captain Harry Roulston, pictured above, said: “Traditionally, golf clubs have tended to be used only by golfers and that is perhaps one reason why so many clubs, including our own, are experiencing such tough times financially.
“If our plans proceed as we hope, we will consult widely with other local organisations in Stonehaven before we finalise the design of the new clubhouse.
“We want it to become a real community asset, accessible to local people who may not want to play golf but who might find it useful to affiliate with the golf club and use its facilities for activities, meetings or social events.
“We plan to provide a first-class building with excellent modern facilities, which can be flexible to cope with activities for large and small groups.”
The club believes there is a need for such a building in Stonehaven following the closure of five hotels in the town over the past ten years.
The club has been working directly with the Stewart Milne Group (SMG) for more than a year to promote land belonging to the club on the west side of the Aberdeen-Dundee railway line for residential development.
Earlier this year, with the consent of the club, SMG submitted proposals to build houses on this 20-acre piece of land to Aberdeenshire Council as part of the council’s Local Development Plan process. This land currently contains four golf holes.
The new clubhouse and replacement holes would be located nearer the town to the south of the current clubhouse.
Golf course designer Graeme Webster has produced plans for the new holes and also for a revamp of the existing Stonehaven course.
Mr Roulston said: “We have been most impressed by Mr Webster’s design plans. His artist’s impressions of what the new field would look like are quite stunning and the changes he has recommended for the existing course, lying to the east of the railway line, would improve it greatly and would make our course much more attractive to play for members and visitors alike.”
The whole project, however, depends on Aberdeenshire Council allowing a residential housing development on the golf club’s land, Mr Roulston said.
Aberdeenshire Council’s Local Plan, which is being compiled at present, will allow for new housing development in Stonehaven. One of the sites under consideration is at Mains of Cowie and SMG’s masterplan for development at Mains of Cowie includes part of the golf course.
At present, council planning officials have suggested the golf course land may be unsuitable for houses, citing landscaping reasons, but SMG has lodged an objection to this.
“Our club hopes that local councillors will see the benefits of the development for the town and for the people of Stonehaven and can be persuaded to allow the development to proceed,” said Mr Roulston.
“If the deal goes ahead, the benefits for the town will be enormous. The future of the golf club will be assured for the next generation, which has to be very important for the town, and the community will have access to a terrific new facility, all at no cost to the public purse.”
He added: “Normally, when a land-owner sells some land, he pockets the cash and departs. What makes our plan different is that every penny our club receives for our land will be ploughed back into improved facilities, which will benefit not only our members but our visitors and the whole community.”

Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance

Neil Fenwick's 66 wins at Marriott Dalmahoy

From: Keith Liddle, Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance secretary
A big 'thank you' to Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club for hosting outing number six of the 2009 - 2010 season.
Ninety-eight competitors enjoyed the fine sunny conditions in yesterday's re-scheduled outing to the Dalmahoy West course (Par 68).
Peter Sewell (West Linton) won the Pitreavie Trophy with a net 64. Peter beat Donald Sutherland on a count back.
Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) took the honours in the scratch section with a two under par 66. Neil had an eagle 2 at the seventh, birdies at the ninth and 14th and bogeys at the first and last holes. Gordon Law (Uphall) was second with a one under 67. Gordon had six birdies (first, second, fifth, 11th and 12th) and five bogeys (3rd, 4th, 8th, 9th and 16th). His level par front nine had one par, at the sixth.
Tony Boyle (Glenbervie), Stevie Lamb (Broomieknowe), Richard Johnston (Glenbervie), Ross Neill (Drumpellier) and Mike Thomson (Torwoodlee) were third with one over par 69s.
In the handicap section Peter Sewell shot 70 - 6 = 64. After playing the front nine in two over par 36, Peter matched the par of 34 on the back nine. Donald Sutherland (Linlithgow), 74 -10 = 64, was second after posting two halves of 37.
In third place was David Graham (Lochend), 70 - 5 = 65. New member Ian Wyse (Falkirk Tryst), 77 - 11 = 66, and Liberton's 'senior open marketing guru' John Glen, 75 - 9 = 66, shared fourth spot. John Glen's scratch score beat his age by two shots.
Next week's outing is at Eyemouth where we will be playing for the Professional's Trophy.
SCOREBOARD LATER

Former World No 1 David Duval starts

Q School Final with a one-under 71

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
By CRAIG DOLCH
David Duval has always done things his own way. So it shouldn't be surprising he decided to show up for this week's final stage of the US PGA Tour National Qualifying Tournament at Bear Lakes Country Club, West Palm Beach, Florida.
==================
Q-school leaderboard
Notes from Bear Lakes
Complete coverage
===================
Duval briefly considered skipping the six-day ordeal because his runner-up finish at the U.S. Open and his 130th-place spot on the money list gets him into plenty of tournaments in 2010; plus he will get numerous sponsor exemptions. But Duval quickly changed his mind because he felt playing in the final stage was the correct thing to do.
Never mind that Duval is one of only 12 players to be ranked No. 1 in the world since the rankings were compiled in 1986. Now he becomes the first former No. 1 player to have to go to q-school to keep his full-exempt status on the US PGA Tour, and he says he's fine with that.
"I didn't feel like I should be in his position, but I am," Duval said. "In the end, I decided I'm not above going to q-school like anyone else."
That's a refreshing approach, and one not shared by others. John Daly never considered going to q-school after he lost his full-exempt status in 2006. And three notable players who finished between 126-150 on this year's money list -- Chris DiMarco, Stuart Appleby and Rocco Mediate -- chose to pass on Q-school (DiMarco and Appleby can both take exemptions for being in the top 50 on the career money list.)
Duval admits that even if he wins the final stage, it might get him into only four or five more tournaments next year. But that's not the point, he insists.
"I want to play and I'm working at it," Duval said. "I have no explanation as to how I almost won the U.S. Open and then had to come to Q-school. I'm in a bit of a funny spot -- I'm not exempt on TOUR the way I want to be, but I'm in the first three majors. It's a unique position. I just frankly felt like I've got an opportunity to go down and work and play and better my position and pursue what I still want to do. So I need to go do it."
Duval said he didn't second-guess his decision to come to Bear Lakes when he was standing on the seventh tee Wednesday at the wind-swept Links Course at 4 over, thanks to double-bogeys on the two par-5s. He didn't get upset because he felt he was playing well enough to overcome those dubs.
Sue enough, that's exactly what he did. He birdied the next hole, and then the ninth, to get back to 2 over at the turn.
Even with the wind blowing harder -- gusts were 30-to-40 mph -- Duval's game became sharper. He added three more birdies on the back nine, including the last two holes, against no bogeys to turn a 78 into a 71. That moved him into an 11th-place tie after the first round, four shots behind leader Troy Merritt.
"It wouldn't have been something I felt I could have done if I had not been hitting the ball like I wanted to," Duval said of his strong finish. "But I hit only one bad shot today (a drive on No. 2 that hooked into the water). I felt I was controlling the ball well in these conditions all day."
This is only the second trip to q-school for the 38-year-old Duval; he failed to make it to final stage in 1993. Duval admits he's not sure how to approach this week because of his lack of experience.
"I'm not sure how to approach it because it's not something I've done," Duval said. "I'm trying to conserve my energy. We were just laughing about it ... I felt like we were out there all day today. Well, five more of this."
If Duval can continue to show the kind of resiliency he exhibited Wednesday, the next five days may be not be such a grind. But the fact Duval even showed up this week shows his head is in the right place.
"In this game, we have to earn what we get," Duval said. "You have to earn your status, you have to earn your place. (Because of) my play the last few years, I've lost that.
"If I wanted to play, I needed to come here."
Good for him.

TROY MERRITT SETS PACE WITH A 67

Merritt bogeyed his first hole Wednesday, but that was about the only mistake he made during his first round.
Merritt, who won the Mexico Open this year on the Nationwide Tour, played a seven-hole stretch in 6 under to take the first-round lead with a 5-under 67. Merritt had four birdies in a five-hole stretch to finish his front nine, then added an eagle at the par-5 second hole.
Merritt leads TOUR veteran Jay Williamson (68) by a shot. Three players -- Ty Harris, Billy Horschel and Andrew Buckle -- are tied for third at 69.
Williamson was the lone player among the top five to play the Lakes Course, which played more than a half-stroke harder (75.1) than the Links Course (74.3).
But Williamson has plenty of local knowledge -- he made it through the 1995 q-school here at Bear Lakes and his caddie, Eric Larson, is a long-time member at Bear Lakes. Larson caddied for Anthony Kim the last two years before they parted ways last month.

FIRST ROUND LEADERS
Par 72
67 T Merritt.
68 J Williamson.
69 T Harris, B Horschel, A Buckle.
70 C Tringale, A Meyer, B De Jonge, J Broadway, G Delaet.
71 M Jones, N Lancaster, D Duval, S Bertsch, A McLardy, T Brown, M Connell, J Maggert, C Riley, J Park, J Trudeau.
72 M Flores, C Wilson, B Pappas, B Stuard, D Schultz, S Kim, R Oppenheim, R Damron, H Haas, M Dawson, T Aldridge.
Selected scores:
73 J Parnevik (jt 35th).
76 S Micheel (jt 105th).

Appleby and Hend share lead at Aussie Open

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Australian Stuart Appleby withstood winds of over 30mph to shoot a six-under-par 66 and join big-hitting Scott Hend at the top of the leaderboard on day one of the Australian Open at New South Wales Golf Club, near Sydney today.
Having teed off at 12.20pm, just as the wind was starting the lash the revered links lay-out, the Victorian twice held the outright lead before bogeys at the par-4 14th and par-5 18th left him tied with Hend at the top.
The leaderboard is dominated by players from the morning session with Hend posting eight birdies in his blistering 66, while James Nitties and Peter Wilson also capitalised on the benign conditions early on to sit one stroke off the lead after carding five-under 67s.
The in-form Nitties obviously enjoyed the extra attention after being drawn alongside Adam Scott and American John Daly, while Wilson, who started his day on the 10th hole, stormed home with six birdies on the front nine to share second spot.
Australian Scott continued his late-season resurgence by posting a solid four-under 68 to share third place with countryman Stephen Allan and American David Oh.
Jarrod Lyle and Nick O'Hern sit a further stroke back in a six-way tie at three under alongside veteran Peter O'Malley, whose round of 69 was second only to Appleby among the afternoon players.
Daly signed for a respectable 72 after making an eagle on the par-5 eighth - his penultimate hole of the day.
Aberdeen-born Michael Sim's 71 gave him a share of 18th place.

FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
Players from Australia unless indicated
66 Scott Hend, Stuart Appleby
67 Peter Wilson, James Nitties
68 David Oh (USA), Adam Scott, Stephen Allan
69 Jarrod Lyle, Michael Long (Nzl), Michael Brennan, Andrew Dodt, Nick O'Hern, Peter O'Malley
70 Greg Chalmers, Bryce Molder (USA), Leigh Mckechnie, Gavin Flint
71 Chris Campbell, Michael Sim, Tim Wise, Jae-woong Eom (Kor), Terry Pilkadaris, Paul Marantz, Matthew Millar, Marc Leishman, Michael Curtain, Heath Reed
72 Rudi Bezuidenhout, Ki joon Song, Andrew Bonhomme, Scott Strange, Scott Arnold, Steven Bowditch, Michael McGrath, Brendan Stuart (Nzl), Stuart Bouvier, John Daly (USA), Matthew Stieger
73 Won-Kyung Heo (Kor), Kelvin Jones (Nzl), Chang wan Woo (Can), Geoff Ogilvy, Stephen Leaney, Andrew Tschudin, Do eun An (Kor), Peter Senior, Tim Wilkinson (Nzl), Aaron Baddeley, Gareth Paddison (Nzl), Kevin Stadler (USA), Josh Carmichael, Mathew Goggin, Richard Green
74 Rodney Pampling, Peter Nolan, Sam Saunders (USA), Cameron Percy, Brendan Smith, Marcus Both, Jian Hou (Chn), Terry Price, Paul Sheehan
75 Andrew Mckenzie, Michael Etherington, Brett Rumford, Nathan Green, Min-chang Lee (Kor), Simon Furneaux, Stephen Dartnell, Andre Stolz, Brad Kennedy
76 Scott Laycock, Jason Perry, John Senden, Brad Shilton (Nzl), Josh Geary (Nzl), Michael Moore, Adam Crawford, Henry Epstein, Tristan Lambert, Ben Campbell (Nzl), C j Gatto (USA), Kim Felton, Rodney Booth
77 Ed Stedman, Bryden Mcpherson, Mithun Perera, Tim Wood, Steve Jones (USA), Kyong-jun Moon (Kor), Jason Scrivener, Grant Scott, Chang-won Han (Kor), Scott Barr, Tae hee Lee (Kor), Gui Ming Liao (Chn), Anthony Brown, Jae Hoon Jung (Kor), Gregg Mcintosh
78 Paul Gow, Michael Campbell (Nzl), Ryan Haller, Steven Han (Nzl), Rohan Blizard, Richard Moir, Min-kyu Han (Kor), Tom Prowse, Craig Scott, David Bransdon, Sam Brazel, Steven Conran, Marcus Fraser
79 Andrew Martin, Darren Beck, Anthony Summers, Wayne Perske, Ji-Man Kang (Kor), Jamie Lovemark (USA), Jason Norris, Steve Marino (USA), Soon-sang Hong (Kor), Lucas Bates (Can), Seong Ho Lee (Kor), Chao Li (Chn)
80 Kurt Carlson, Ho-sung Choi (Kor), Craig Spence, Craig Parry, Kenichi Sawada (Jpn), Chang-kyu Hong (USA), Brad Lamb
81 Kevin Chen (Chn), Ben Burge, Matt Ballard
82 Sung-kug Park (Kor), Kevin Chun (Nzl), Meng Zhang (Chn), Jian Chen (Chn), Zhi jun Ou (Chn)
83 James Carr, Rowan Beste, Shintaro Iizuka (Jpn)
84 Ye Tian (Chn), Jake Oh
85 Adam Wilcox
86 Damon Welsford
87 In-woo Lee (Kor)
88 Xie Zhi (Chn), Tae-hyun Jun (Kor), Max Kellner (Ger)
89 Richie Gallichan, Qin Xu (Chn)
90 Rhein Gibson, Nathan Uebergang
92 Andrew Good (Hkg)
Retired: Jae-Hae Choe (USA)

E-mail from "Concerned reader"

Colin
Great and informative site as usual but disappointing to see links on your site where we can apparently hear Tiger leaving a message to some girl on the make.
To see and hear this nonsense I would go to the rag that’s called the Sun or some other gutter press.
Can we get back to what we are excellent at ... reporting on golf?

Note from Editor: Is "Concerned Reader" right? Should we stop publishing stories from the Tiger saga now or is there a general interest in the world's No 1 golfer?

You can E-mail your view to Colin@scottishgolfview.wom?