Shark Shoot-out Scoreboard
SECOND-ROUND LEADERS
Naples, Florida
Par 144 (2x72)
131 JerryKelly & Steve Stricker 66 65.
132 Steve Flesch & Dustin Johnson 67 65, J B Holmes & Kenny Perry 70 62, Justin Leonard & Scott Verplank 66 66.
134 Ross Fisher & Ian Poulter 68 66, Chad Campbell & Tim Clark 67 67, Chris DiMarco & Rickie Fowler 69 65.
135 Brad Faxon & Matt Kuchar 73 62.
136 Zach Johnson & Nick Price 71 65, Graeme McDowell & Boo Weekley 71 65.
138 Mark Calcavecchia & Brian Gay 69 69.
139 George McNeill & Jeff Sluman 69 70.

Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa

Pablo Martin leads by two after lucky break at last

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
An amazing stroke of fortune enables Spaniard Pablo Martin to take a two-stroke lead into the final day of the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa.
Five shots clear at one point, the 23-year-old double bogeyed the 14th and was in danger of dropping more strokes when his approach to the 541yd last flew over the green.
But it ran over a narrow bridge towards the clubhouse, rebounded off rocks bordering the water, stayed dry and, despite a weak chip back, he saved his par.
The drama gave Martin, whose career took a downward turn after he became the European Tour's first amateur winner two years ago, a three under par 69 and 14 under total of 202.
Pre-tournament favourite Ernie Els was in danger of falling out of contention after mixing four birdies with four bogeys and then a double bogey over an eventful first 11 holes.
But Els - champion in 2005, but also remembered for finishing with an 8 when two in front two years ago, birdied five of the last six holes.
He has so far birdied the 18th all three days, but the final round is the big test for the "Big Easy" - and for Martin, of course.
Els lies joint second with fellow South African Charl Schwartzel, who won on the Leopard Creek course himself in 2004.
Tied for fourth three behind are Irish pair Damien McGrane and Gareth Maybin and another home player, Jacques Blaauw.
Italian Edoardo Molinari, chasing an amazing fifth win in his last seven starts and a place in next April's Masters Tournament alongside his brother Francesco, dropped from joint second to 12th with a 72.
Molinari, top of last season's Challenge Tour before combining with Francesco to give Italy their first Omega Mission Hills World Cup victory, is 59th in the Official Golf World Rankings and hopes to make it into the top 50 by the end of next week to secure an Augusta invitation.
Els' motivation is that this is his last chance to extend a run of at least one win every year that stretches all the way back to 1991.
“That was a little wild,” he conceded afterwards. “At least there was not a shortage of birdies.”
He said after the second round that the course could produce big swings, and so it proved: “What was I, eight behind him, and I’ve seen big swings in the past on the back nine and that’s why this tournament is so exciting,” said Els.
“I was missing very short putts,” he said. “I felt my stance was a little closed, and when I missed a two-footer for birdie on 14, I said to my caddie Simon that I was going to open out a bit and I got a little run of good putts going.”
Martin, winner of the British boys' open championship in 2001, was four clear after his second round 63 and was impressive again as he added birdies on the second, sixth and 13th.
But, bunkered off the tee on the 413yd next, he failed to make it over the hazard short of the green and ran up a 6.
It was all pars from there whereas Els, whose last success was in America in March last year, suddenly found form again.
“It was tense for me at the beginning,” said Martin. “It was the first time I have played with Ernie, and there was the issue of the crowds too, but after a while, I started to hit some good shots and I enjoyed the day.”
Schwartzel returned a 68, as did McGrane, while Maybin had a 67 to re-ignite his bid for a first European Tour title 12 months after he lost a play-off for the South African Open to Richard Sterne.
Schwartzel also had a scorecard dotted with bogeys, but was still happy with his position: “It’s about what you want to do in the third round,” he said.
“There was a lot of guys up there bunched up, and I thought if I could shoot something around the four-under or five-under mark, I was going to be close,” he added.

South African Sunshine Tour Scoreboard
ALFRED DUNHILL CHAMPIONSHIP
Leopard Creek CC, Malelane
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
202 Pablo Martin (Spa) 68 63 71
204 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 67 69 68, Ernie Els (Rsa) 68 67 69
205 Jacques Blaauw (Rsa) 71 68 66, Damien McGrane 67 70 68, Gareth Maybin 68 70 67
206 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 71 69 66, Anders Hansen (Den) 68 70 68, Sion Bebb 67 70 69, Ariel Canete (Arg) 68 68 70, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 67 72 67
207 Ulrich Van Den Berg (Rsa) 64 72 71, Robert Rock 69 68 70, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 68 71 68, Dawie Van der Walt (Rsa) 68 70 69, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 66 69 72
208 Pelle Edberg (Swe) 65 71 72, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 72 71 65, James Kamte (Rsa) 69 71 68
209 Michiel Bothma (Rsa) 72 70 67, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 67 70 72, Andrew Curlewis (Rsa) 71 68 70
210 James Kingston (Rsa) 68 70 72, Dale Whitnell 70 68 72, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 72 66 72, Vaughn Groenewald (Rsa) 71 68 71
211 Steve Basson (Rsa) 70 70 71, Markus Brier (Aut) 72 68 71, Doug McGuigan 70 73 68, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 69 68 74, Charl Coetzee (Rsa) 74 69 68
212 Carl Suneson (Spa) 71 68 73, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 70 71 71, Shane Lowry 67 71 74, Andrew Coltart 70 72 70
213 Adilson Da Silva (Bra) 71 67 75, Garth Mulroy (Rsa) 68 73 72, Joost Luiten (Ned) 70 70 73, Alan McLean 67 74 72, Jamie Elson 71 70 72, Dion Fourie (Rsa) 71 70 72, Tjaart Van der Walt (Rsa) 67 75 71, Grant Muller (Rsa) 71 71 71, Michael Hoey 73 69 71
214 Richard McEvoy 68 70 76, Julien Guerrier (Fra) 70 70 74, Vaughan Bradford (Rsa) 69 74 71, Kenneth Ferrie 72 68 74
215 Titch Moore (Rsa) 66 73 76, Oliver Bekker (Rsa) 69 74 72, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 67 73 75, Mark F Haastrup (Den) 72 70 73, Warren Abery (Rsa) 72 71 72, Keith Horne (Rsa) 75 68 72, Deane Pappas (Rsa) 74 69 72
216 Peter Whiteford 69 74 73, Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa) 72 71 73
217 David Dixon 70 68 79, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 72 71 74, Nic Henning (Rsa) 69 71 77, Rhys Davies 71 72 74
218 Benn Barham 68 73 77, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 69 74 75, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 71 70 77, Josh Cunliffe (Rsa) 73 70 75
219 Peter Baker 74 69 76, Louis De Jager (Rsa) 69 73 77, James Ruth 72 71 76
220 Richard Finch 69 74 77

Surging Spurgeon hits the top in Mauritius

By STEVE TODD, European Seniors Tour Press Officer
England’s Kevin Spurgeon fired a five-under-par 67 to take a two-stroke lead on 138 into Sunday's final round of the Mauritius Commercial Bank Open as David Frost also moved into contention for a debut European Senior Tour victory.
South African Frost, a two-time winner on the European Tour, eagled the last hole to sign for a round of 70 and a share of second place on 140 with Englishman Nick Job, who posted a 69, but it was Spurgeon who holds the advantage as he searches for his maiden Senior Tour title
Spurgeon, whose late father Keith managed football giants Ajax in the 1960s, reached the turn in 32 after carding four birdies. The 54-year-old picked up another shot on the 13th before his only bogey of the day, on the 16th, where he three-putted from 15ft.
Despite missing the 18th green to the left, Spurgeon finished his round on a high when he birdied the last, chipping to two feet from the greenside rough and holing a morale-boosting putt to finish on six under par for the tournament at Constance Belle Mare Plage.
“I played really solid and just had that one glitch on the 16th,” he said. “I putted really well today and holed some nice long putts – one nice 15 foot putt on the fifth hole to save par.
“I miss-hit my second shot on the last hole – I was in two minds what to do and should have probably chipped over the water but I went for it and came up short. The lie wasn’t great but I got away with it and stiffed it for a birdie. Apart from that, and the 16th, I didn’t do much wrong really.”
Spurgeon, who finished 31st on the 2009 Senior Tour Order of Merit after three top 10 finishes, is trying to go one better than his previous best finish of tied second in the 2007 Irish Seniors Open.
The scorching Mauritian heat, which reached 32˚C, could play a factor in the final round, although Spurgeon feels confident he can cope with both the temperature and the pressure of leading.
“I’ve spent a week in Johannesburg and I’m going there for two months so I’m quite used to the heat,” he said. “My wife’s daughter lives there and we are going back for two months so the heat’s not a problem for me.
“The only problem could be concentration – if you have a bad hole especially. I’m playing well at the moment though and I felt confident coming into the week. It’s a new season and I’ve gone back to basics and I feel comfortable. Another round like that tomorrow and I should be OK.
“I had a great start to last season but then hurt my back in Scotland and I lost confidence. That’s back now. At least I’m in contention again. I’m just going to play how I did today. It would be great to get that first win – it’s going to happen soon and this is a good chance for it. I’ll deal with the pressure as I’ll go along.”
Frost, who is playing in his first Senior Tour event after turning 50 in September, will try to become the second consecutive debutant to win the opening event of the Senior Tour season after Mike Cunning’s victory in Brunei which kicked off the 2009 campaign.
The South African produced a steady round, with one bogey on the fourth hole and a birdie on the ninth, before igniting his challenge with an eagle 3 on the 501yd par-5 final hole, stopping his five-iron approach shot just ten foot from the pin.
“It was a good way to end the round after playing solid all day,” he said. “There were no major bursts like yesterday, I just kept the ball in play and holed some good putts.
“A 70 was the worst I could have done so I’m happy. I made a lot of pars and had a lot of putts for birdie.
“My game feels good. I thought as long as I wasn’t too far behind this week I’d have a good chance. Hopefully I’ll still be there with nine holes to go tomorrow. It would be nice to win on my debut but you have to just play one shot at a time – there’s no point trying to chase somebody.”
Overnight leader Glenn Ralph is three shots off the pace on three under par after a 74 following a double bogey 6 on the 15th hole. The Englishman is in a share of fourth place with compatriot Peter Mitchell and Swede Peter Dahlberg, who signed for rounds of 73 and 70 respectively.
Former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance, the 2009 Senior Tour No 1, moved up to a share of 17th place on one over par following a 71.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
138 K Spurgeon (Eng) 71 67
140 D Frost (RSA) 70 70, N Job (Eng) 71 69
141 G Ralph (Eng) 67 74, P Mitchell (Eng) 68 73, P Dahlberg (Swe) 71 70
142 B Boyd (USA) 73 69, A Franco (Par) 70 72, G Brand (Eng) 72 70, J Bland (RSA) 72 70
143 R Drummond (Sco) 71 72, R Chapman (Eng) 70 73, D Merriman (Aus) 74 69, B Longmuir (Sco) 72 71
144 J Bruner (USA) 75 69, R Willison (Eng) 72 72
145 S Bennett (Eng) 71 74, B Cameron (Eng) 74 71, C Williams (RSA) 74 71, S Torrance (Sco) 74 71, D Johnson (USA) 68 77, B Smit (RSA) 72 73, B Lincoln (RSA) 70 75
146 S Van Vuuren (RSA) 72 74, D O'Sullivan (Irl) 77 69, M Cunning (USA) 74 72, G Watine (Fra) 71 75, P Oakley (USA) 72 74
147 C Rocca (Ita) 76 71, G Gunn (Can) 72 75, M Kierstenson (Eng) 72 75, D Russell (Eng) 73 74, G Banister (Aus) 76 71
148 J Hall (Eng) 74 74, J Hoskison (Eng) 75 73, D Cambridge (Jam) 74 74, J Rivero (Esp) 71 77,
149 J Quiros (Esp) 71 78, G Ryall (Eng) 75 74, H Baiocchi (RSA) 77 72, N Clarke (RSA) 73 76,
150 M Lord (Eng) 70 80, J Chillas (Sco) 77 73, M Farry (Fra) 78 72, G Towne (USA) 77 73, M Bembridge (Eng) 76 74
151 P Brostedt (Swe) 71 80, P Allan (Eng) 81 70, J Benda (USA) 79 72, M Miller (Sco) 77 74, G Cali (Ita) 78 73, P Dugeny (Fra) 75 76, E Darcy (Irl) 78 73
152 I Mosey (Eng) 72 80, D Young (Eng) 76 76, J Stuart (USA) 76 76
153 B McColl (Sco) 74 79, B Hardwick (Can) 79 74, J Rhodes (Eng) 76 77, A Garrido (Esp) 75 78
154 J Heggarty (Nir) 75 79, M Briggs (Eng) 73 81, B Stevens (Eng) 75 79
155 M Williams (Zim) 79 76, T Jones (USA) 81 74, G Davies (Wal) 80 75
156 S Martin (Sco) 78 78
158 J Sallat (Fra) 81 77
162 T Price (Wal) 84 78
163 V Garcia (Esp) 79 84
170 G Palanyandi (Mus) 86 84
176 C Linstead (Eng) 90 86

Michael Sim (65) shoots lowest third round in Aussie

PGA championship as Robert Allenby takes lead

Robert Allenby sank a 10ft birdie putt on the 18th hole to complete a 5-under-par 66 today and take a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the Australian PGA championship at Coolum, Queensland.
The Australian, who won last week's Nedbank Challenge in South Africa, had a 54-hole total of 9-under 204 on the par-71 Hyatt Regency resort course.
Australians Scott Strange (68) and Greg Chalmers (67) were a stroke back.
Aberdeen-born Michael Sim, who had six birdies on the back nine for a 65, the best round of the day, was tied for fourth with last week's Australian Open winner Adam Scott (68) and defending champion Geoff Ogilvy (70), two strokes off the lead.
"I played pretty solid all day," said Allenby. "It could have been better, but it should be quite a finish tomorrow with that leaderboard."
Ogilvy, a former U.S. Open winner, agreed.
"There are five or six guys who could go five or six under tomorrow, and someone probably will," said Ogilvy. "I've never successfully defended a tournament, so it would be nice to do it Sunday."
Most of the buzz on and off the course came from news that Tiger Woods would take an indefinite break from the game because of his ongoing martial problems and admission of infidelity.
John Daly, who shot 72 Saturday and was nine strokes off the lead, said he hopes the tour gets him back soon.
"He is trying to save his marriage," said Daly, who has had his share of marital problems and issues off the course. "My advice to him last week was that he should have come out a lot earlier ... told the truth, got it all out on the table."
Paul Gow of Australia shot a third-round 73, not bad for a guy who didn't think he had made the cut. He flew back to Sydney -- a 90-minute trip -- from Coolum on Saturday afternoon after finishing with at 4-over and seeing the projected cut was 1-over.
But the cut remarkably blew out to 4-over, so Gow had to catch a later flight from Sydney for the 600-mile trip north.
"What an idiot," said Gow. "We even got back in the same [hotel] room. Got back here just before 10 p.m., so it wasn't bad as I was actually in bed and asleep in time."

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 213 (3x71)
204 Robert Allenby 70 68 66.
205 Greg Chalmers 68 70 67, Scott Strange 67 70 68.
206 Geoff Ogilvy 70 66 70, Adam Scott 68 70 68, Michael Sim 71 70 65.
207 Marc Leishman 70 71 66, John Senden 73 67 67.
208 Cameron Percy 72 69 67, Matthew Griffin 67 68 73
209 Steve Marino (US) 70 73 66, Shin-Ching Chan (Tpe) 68 70 71, Michael Curtain 73 65 71, Nick O'Hern 70 70 69, Stuart Appleby 67 69 73, Josh Geary (Nzl) 70 73 66.
210 Chris Campbell 72 67 71, Scott Laycock 76 66 68, Aron Price 74 69 67, Stephen Leaney 71 70 69, Michael Wright 71 69 70, Brett Rumford 70 70 70, Min-kyu Han (Kor) 62 75 73, Mathew Goggin 70 72 68, Stephen Dartnell 68 73 69, Anthony Brown 71 71 68, Paul Sheehan 73 68 69
211 Marcus Both 70 72 69, Andrew Dodt 67 73 71, Brad Kennedy 76 66 69
212 Rodney Pampling 73 69 70, Mahal Pearce (Nzl) 73 70 69, Kyle Stanley (US) 71 71 70, Tim Wilkinson (Nzl) 68 71 73, Adam Crawford 71 71 70, Jason Norris 69 67 76, Jarrod Lyle 70 73 69, Richard Green 71 70 71, Bryce Molder (US) 73 69 70, Gavin Flint 71 71 70
213 John Daly (US) 71 70 72, Henry Epstein 67 74 72
214 Paul Marantz 69 72 73, Scott Barr 74 70 70, Matthew Millar 71 73 70, Heath Reed 70 75 69
215 Leigh Mckechnie 72 70 73, Ji-Man Kang (Kor) 74 72 69
216 Nathan Green 71 72 73, Brad Andrews 72 74 70, Craig Parry 71 73 72, Kurt Barnes 76 70 70, Nick Flanagan 76 67 73, Chao Li (Chn) 71 71 74, Peter O'Malley 73 71 72
217 Tae hee Lee (Kor) 75 70 72, Darren Beck 74 72 71, Bronson LaCassie 68 69 80, Steven Conran 70 75 72
218 Rick Kulacz 71 74 73, Ryan Haller 66 77 75, Peter Wilson 72 74 72, Terry Pilkadaris 71 75 72
219 Paul Gow 75 71 73
220 Anthony Summers 76 70 74
222 David Smail (Nzl) 71 75 76
223 Ben Burge 79 67 77
224 Graeme Stockley 75 71 78
225 Aaron Townsend 69 77 79, Andrew Tschudin 73 69 83

Tiger Woods giving up golf "indefinitely"

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By Nick Allen in Los Angeles.
Tiger Woods has announced that he is giving up golf "indefinitely" in an attempt to patch things up with his wife.
The world's number one player admitted, for the first time, cheating on wife Elin Nordegren and said he was giving up the game so that he could be a "better husband and person".
He said: "After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.
"I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children.
"I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try."
Woods, 33, also asked for "understanding" from fans, fellow golfers and his sponsors and said he needed a "safe haven" to find "personal healing".
In a statement on his website he said: "Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period."
Since Woods mysteriously crashed his car into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his home in Orlando, Florida two weeks ago his life has imploded around him.
The crash is said to have followed an argument with his wife after rumours of his cheating surfaced.
He has now been linked to more than a dozen women including several waitresses.
On Friday, Jamie Jungers, 26, a Las Vegas cocktail waitress, claimed that she had a "boyfriend-girlfriend relationship" with Woods lasting 18 months.
She said Woods publicly flaunted their affair and did not appear worried about getting caught.


Break from golf is smart move by Tiger

By Michael Bamberger, Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated
Never underestimate this Tiger Woods. He will make you look like a fool. Yes, what we've learned about him since Thanksgiving has been sordid. He's not the first famous person to be a serial philanderer. But he is the most famous person to call himself out.
His announcement that he's going to take an indefinite leave from professional golf, was the smartest thing he could possibly have done. He said in a statement, "It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want do my best to try." The hyper-realist.
For 15 or more years now, the guy always looked so smart in public, on the course and in a hundred press tents. Look at the way he's picked his way around the Old Course, golf's great mystery chest, in his two British Open wins there. He picked his spots, picked his spots, picked his spots, taking the full four days to bury 149 other guys.
It's OK to stand in awe of it: it was majestic. In front of the mikes, he was never inspiring, but he didn't want to be. His goal was to keep us out, and he did it well.
For reasons best known to him, he didn't want to be known as a black golfer. Maybe because his ancestry was so mixed. Maybe because he knew that conversation wouldn't help him win more majors. He got the conversation to change.
Yes, he was terse and stingy, but he wasn't an automaton. When he was asked to summarize what his late father had given him, he said it all in a single word: "Love."
And then came Thanksgiving and everything after it, and suddenly he looked so dumb. So sloppy. So inelegant. All these women coming forward, with their tapes and their texts. If you were going to be a serial philanderer, Tiger, wouldn't you be a little smarter about it?
I really didn't want to know anything about his sex life — a person's sex life is private, right? — but there it was, all over the Internet, every damn day. We had always thought his heroes were Nicklaus and Mandela and Earl, right? And suddenly it looked like he was taking his cues from Babe Ruth and Wilt Chamberlain and John Holmes and who knows who else.
And the saddest part was that it was pretty obvious that his wife, Elin, was finding out about it right along with us. I don't think she attacked him with a golf club. No act of violence was going to ease her pain.
Maybe — maybe — this move will. When the news of his infidelity first broke, the cynics said he must protect the brand. Protect the brand, protect the brand, protect the brand. Screw the brand. Tiger's made his money. If he never wins again he's won enough.
I'm not even sure how much he likes golf. I'm not going to venture a guess about the nature of his relationship with his wife. What business is that of ours? I can almost assure you that there's nothing more important in the world to him than the welfare and happiness of his two young children.
I say that for the same reason you would, if you're a parent yourself. And I say that because you could see the intensity of the bond between Earl and Tiger — so obvious and so real. If you've had that, you'd want your kids to have it, too.
How long will he stay away? Your guess is as good as mine. He could never come back. Right now, the idea of him going to the driving range is completely unrealistic. There would be helicopters hovering over his head, and in his head, too.
His appetites, it seems, are like his athletic skill: outsized. Could he ever be happy, just he and Elin and the kids, off on a boat somewhere, or in a condo in Sweden, or in the gilded prison called Isleworth?
From what we've heard, you're tempted to say "No." And that question is not even half of it. Not close. Will Elin ever trust him again? Are her wounds so deep they cannot be repaired? Is the worst news already out? (Probably not).
Their children, Sam and Charlie, had no chance at a normal life, whatever that means, in the best of circumstances, and these circumstances are horrid. It's not just their father's infidelity. It's that the whole world knows.
Ambition is a strange animal. We push it in this country, we push it and push it and push it. Earl pushed it. I don't care how Zen-masterish he sounds in his books and his quotes, he pushed it hard. Be the best, be the best, be the best. And Tiger became the best, way earlier than he expected. He amassed more and more and more, more trophies, more fame, more money.
Oh, Tiger, Tiger, sign my book for me! Tiger, take me to your room! Tiger, take my $100 million endorsement, Tiger! And what did it all get him? A golf bag filled with tsuris and a babe who would give up his texts for a check and some passing fame.
You and I, we have it better than we could ever know.
Tiger says he wants to be a better father and husband and person. Raise your glass to the man. So do I.