US PGA Tour Scoreboard
HONDA CLASSIC
PGA National Resort & Spa, Champion Course,
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
FIRST-ROUND
Par 70
65 Nathan Green (Aus), Michael Connell
66 Alexandre Rocha (Bra), Oliver Wilson (Eng), Camilo Villegas (Col)
67 Vijay Singh (Fij), Bubba Watson, D.J. Trahan
68 Graeme McDowell (NIrl), Ted Purdy, Scott Piercy, Alex Prugh, Alex Cejka (Ger), Henrik Bjornstad (Nor), Anthony Kim, George McNeill, Tom Gillis, Jonathan Byrd
69 Jerry Kelly, Vaughn Taylor, Michael Bradley, Steve Lowery, Angel Cabrera (Arg), Sam Saunders, Matt Bettencourt, Matthew Jones (Aus), Charles Howell III, Will MacKenzie, Brad Faxon, Richard S Johnson (Swe), Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), Matthew Every, Lee Westwood (Eng)
70 Brendon De Jonge, Aron Price (Aus), Brett Quigley, Justin Rose (Eng), Vance Veazey, Woody Austin, Garrett Willis, Brandt Snedeker, Chez Reavie
71 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Chris Riley, Chris Stroud, Chris Couch, Steve Wheatcroft, Roger Tambellini, Derek Lamely, Webb Simpson, J.B. Holmes, Chad Campbell, Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Mike Weir (Can), Bo Van Pelt, Jason Bohn, Padraig Harrington (Irl)
72 Spencer Levin, Michael Letzig, Martin Flores, Jason Dufner, Joe Ogilvie, Harrison Frazar, James Driscoll, Greg Owen (Eng), James Nitties (Aus), Charlie Wi (Kor), Justin Leonard, Chad Collins, Rickie Fowler, Briny Baird
73 David Lutterus (Rsa), Jeff Quinney, Steve Marino, Chris Tidland, Ryan Palmer, Ernie Els (Rsa), Boo Weekley, Craig Bowden, Stephen Ames (Can), Lee Janzen, Mark Wilson, John Rollins, Trevor Immelman (Rsa), Mark Calcavecchia, Paul Casey (Eng), Jay Williamson, Brett Wetterich, Johnson Wagner, Rocco Mediate, Tim Clark (Rsa), Rich Barcelo
74 Scott McCarron, Sergio Garcia (Spa), John Senden (Aus), Davis Love III, Kevin Johnson, Todd Hamilton, Graham Delaet (Can), Nick O'Hern (Aus), John Mallinger, Chris Wilson, Marc Leishman (Aus), Jerod Turner, Stuart Appleby (Aus), Nicholas Thompson
75 Brian Davis (Eng), Greg Kraft, David Duval, Tim Wilkinson (Nzl), Kevin Streelman, Blake Adams, Andres Romero (Arg), Jimmy Walker, Troy Merritt, Josh Teater
76 Brian Stuard, Tim Herron, Omar Uresti, Greg Chalmers (Aus), Ben Curtis, Jeff Klauk, Francis Quinn, Bob Estes, Robert Allenby (Aus)
77 D.A. Points, Michael Allen, Paul Goydos, Ryan Garrity, Andy Matthews, Mathias Gronberg (Swe), Carl Pettersson (Swe)
78 Bill Haas, Bill Lunde, Mathew Goggin (Aus), John Merrick, Roland Thatcher, Steve Flesch, Rich Beem
79 Jeff Overton, Y.E. Yang (Kor)
80 Jeff Maggert
81 Perry Moss

Quadrangular international at Chiberta Golf Club

Scots boys' good start in France

Scotland made a good start to the boys' quadrangular international match at Chiberta Golf Club, Biarritz in southwest France today.
They beat Sweden 6 1/2-2 1/2 while Italy upset the hosts, France, 5 1/2-3 1/2.
The Scots won the foursomes 2 1/2-1/2 and the singles 4-2.
Scottish boys' stroke-play champion Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie), pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, Under-16 boys' champion Grant Forrest (Craigielaw), Ian Redford (St Andrews New) and Brora's Calum Stewart were morning and afternoon winners.
McDonald had the first day's biggest winning margin. He beat Axel Arinbjornarson by 8 and 6 in the lead-off singles tie.
The Scotland team manager is Forfar Golf Club secretary Stuart Wilson, the former British amateur champion and Open championship leading amateur.

Day 1 results
SWEDEN 2 1/2, SCOTLAND 6 1/2
Foursomes (1/2-2 1/2)
Axel Arinbjornarson & Patric Sundloft halved with Jack Scott (Deeside) & Scott Gibson (Southerness).
Victor Tarnstrom & Robin Pettersson lost to Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) & Ian Redford (St Andrews New) 3 and 2.
Oscar Lengden & Adam Strom lost to Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) & Calum Stewart (Brora) 2 holes.
Singles (2-4)
Arunbjornarson lost to McDonald 8 and 6.
Sundloft lost to Forrest 1 hole.
Tarnstrom bt Gibson 2 and 1.
Pettersson lost to Redford 2 and 1.
Lengden lost to Stewart 2 and 1.
Strom bt Scott 6 and 4.

FRANCE 3 1/2, ITALY 5 1/2
Foursomes (1-2).
Paul Barjon & Victor Perez bt Mathias Capra & Lorenzo Guanti 5 and 4.
Pierre Tillement & Florian Loutre lost to Gabriele Padouano & Corrado De Stefani 3 and 2.
Kenny Subregis & Thomas Chapon lost to riccardo Michelini & Federico Zucchetti 1 hole.
Singles (2 1/2-3 1/2).
Perex halvewd with Zucchetti.
Barjon lost to Padouano 1 hole.
Subregis bt De Stefani 4 and 2.
Tillement bt Michelini 1 hole.
Loutre lost to Capra 2 and 1.
Chapon lost to Guanti 1 hole.

Spanish men's amateur
international championship
La Canada Golf Club, Costa del Sol

MATCH-PLAY
QUALIFIERS

1 HAINES, MATTHEW ENG 66 72 138
2 BRUN, JULIEN FRA 73 67 140
3 NICOL, KRIS (Fraserburgh) SCO 69 71 140
+Kris Nicol is pictured right.
4 CUARTERO BLANCO, EMILIO ESP 67 73 140
5 SARASTI, JUAN FRANCISCO ESP 73 68 141
6 YATES, GORDON SCO 71 70 141
7 STAL, GARY FRA 71 70 141
8 LOPEZ LAZARO, JOHANN FRA 74 68 142
9 HORTAL OCHOA, ANTONIO ESP 74 68 142
10 FLEETWOOD, TOMMY ENG 75 68 143
11 PULKKANEN, TAPIO FIN 70 73 143
12 LANDO-CASANOVA, JEROME FRA 75 69 144
13 SHADBOLT, THOMAS ENG 74 70 144
14 HODGSON, STIGGY ENG 72 72 144
15 LOUGHREY, BEN ENG 72 72 144
16 KIEFFER, MAXIMILIAN GER 76 69 145
17 PIGEM XAMMAR, CARLOS ESP 75 70 145
18 HAKULA, TONI FIN 75 70 145
19 GARCIA RODRIGUEZ, SEBASTIAN ESP 75 70 145
20 BERTASIO, NINO ITA 74 71 145
21 OTAEGUI JAUREGUI, ADRIAN ESP 73 72 145
22 LERNIHAN, DARA IRE 73 72 145
23 LEVY, ALEXANDER FRA 72 73 145
24 WINSTANLEY, IAN ENG 72 73 145
25 CHRISTIE, ALEX ENG 71 74 145
26 BERTHEUSSEN, ELIAS NOR 74 72 146
27 LYKKE-KJELDSEN, RASMUS DEN 73 73 146
28 LESPINASSE, LEO FRA 73 73 146
29 ABBOTT, JAMIE ENG 75 72 147
30 CARSON, ADAM ENG 75 72 147
31 GIL CASTRO, MANUEL ESP 75 72 147
32 WATTS, JAMES ENG 75 72 147
NON-QUALIFIERS
FERNANDEZ LOPEZ, ALBERTO ESP 74 73 147
FRIESTAD, ARE NOR 73 74 147
PASTOR RUFIAN, MARCOS ESP 71 76 147
MOTTA, LEONARDO ITA 75 73 148
LEWIS, TOM ENG 74 74 148
PIETERS, THOMAS BEL 74 74 148
NIXON, MATTHEW ENG 73 75 148
RUSHFORD, BOBBY SCO 73 75 148
SHEPHERD, JAKE ENG 71 77 148
BROWN, STEVEN ENG 79 70 149
PAISLEY, CHRIS ENG 79 70 149
ESPAÑA, EDOUARD FRA 77 72 149
SIMON DE MIGUEL, JORGE ESP 77 72 149
BERGAMASCHI, FILIPPO ITA 76 73 149
SAINZ DELGADO, JAVIER ESP 75 74 149
MCEWAN, STEVEN SCO 74 75 149
PRIHODA, MARTIN CZE 73 76 149
OROZCO CALLEJA, JOSE MARIA ESP 80 70 150
JOIA, JOSE MARIA POR 78 72 150
DUNNE, PAUL IRE 77 73 150
RODRIGUES, TIAGO POR 76 74 150
JOHN, ALLEN GER 75 75 150
MIVIS, CHRISTOPHER BEL 75 75 150
CURLEY, CIAN IRE 75 75 150
KING, TOMMY ENG 74 76 150
PATERSON, GREG SCO 74 76 150
59 NEMECZ, LUKAS AUT 80 71 151
FERNANDEZ SALMON, SCOTT WILLIAM ESP 77 74 151
WATTEL, ROMAIN FRA 76 75 151
CUENCA BELMONTE, ANDRES ESP 73 78 151
BORROWMAN, SCOTT SCO 73 78 151
GAUTIER, STANISLAS FRA 73 78 151
STABEN, BENEDICT GER 84 68 152
RAHM RODRIGUEZ, JON ESP 80 72 152
D´INCAU, NICOLAS SWI 77 75 152
ELISSALDE, THOMAS FRA 76 76 152
ABADIE, FREDERIC XAVIER FRA 76 76 152
ROBINSON, JAMES ENG 75 77 152
SORDET, CLEMENT FRA 75 77 152
BERTRAN CROUS, VICTOR ESP 74 78 152
BOLOGNESI, ANDREA ITA 79 74 153
MAYRHAUSER, MORITZ AUT 78 75 153
MCLEAN, PHILIP SCO 77 76 153
WOLTERS, STEPHAN GER 76 77 153
SENIOR, JACK ENG 76 77 153
DECOTTIGNIES-LAFON, MATHIEU FRA 75 78 153
SCHWARTZ, ANTOINE FRA 74 79 153
PEYRICHOU, NICOLAS FRA 73 80 153
DUNBAR, ALAN IRE 82 72 154
PUIG GINER, XAVI ESP 81 73 154
JUANEDA GRIMALT, JOSEP ESP 80 74 154
MATTON, SAM ENG 80 74 154
BERNA MANZANARES, DANIEL ESP 79 75 154
VERSELIN, JEAN-PIERRE FRA 78 76 154
SOUTHGATE, MATTHEW ENG 77 77 154
COUVERT, PIERRE-LUDOVIC FRA 77 77 154
CROOKALL-NIXON, SEBASTIAN ENG 77 77 154
MENA RUIZ, OLIVER ESP 75 79 154
KNAPPE, ALEXANDER GER 75 79 154
LINARD, THOMAS FRA 75 79 154
PEPPERELL, EDDIE ENG 75 79 154
WRIGHT, DARREN ENG 78 77 155
KELLETT, ROSS SCO 80 76 156
DALL´ARCHE, VALENTINO ITA 80 76 156
TERRAGNI, CRISTIANO ITA 79 77 156
LAW, DAVID SCO 78 78 156
ERREA MAYO, XABIER ESP 78 78 156
HOGAN, ANDREW IRE 81 76 157
WHITE, JAMES SCO 79 78 157
HILLSON, MARK SCO 78 79 157
BONDIA GIL, JOSE ESP 77 80 157
BORDA ANTOÑANA, DAVID ESP 73 84 157
BERARDO, CLEMENT FRA 72 85 157
GARCIA-MANCEBO GONZALEZ, CARLOS ESP 80 78 158
MOROZOV, MIKHAIL RUS 79 79 158
TURLAN, KEVIN FRA 80 79 159
MORENO LINARES, EDER ESP 79 80 159
ANGLES ROS, PEP ESP 75 84 159
GROS, SEBASTIAN FRA 81 79 160
LOKKE, DANIEL DEN 86 76 162
PIRIS MATEU, GERARD ESP 85 77 162
CABALLER HERNANI, ANDRES ESP 81 81 162
AYOSO ALVAREZ, MANUEL ESP 84 79 163
QUINTARELLI, NICCOLO ITA 82 81 163
NOGUE LOPEZ, SERGI ESP 84 81 165
SMITH, MAX ENG DESC. DESC.
WEBER, LIONEL FRA RET. RET.

Dear and McNicoll set to survive Allianz Q School cut

Gavin Dear from Scone, Perthshire and Carnoustie's Keir McNicoll were on course to survive the 36-hole cut in the French Allianz Golf Tour Qualifying School at Cap d'Agde today.
With several players' scores still to be posted on the Tour website, Dear, with rounds of 76 and 72 for 148, and McNicoll 76 and 73 for 149, were well within the projected cut figure. The projection was for scores of 152 or better to make it through to Friday's third and last round.
McNicoll finished his second round with an eagle 3 at the 17th and a birdie at the 18th in halves of 39 and 34. He also had a double bogey in his first round.
Dear had a double bogey in his first round.

Renault EPD Tour Scoreboard
AMELKIS CLASSIC
Marrakesh, Morocco
FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
65 Marcel Haremza (Germany).
66 Niklas Glans (Sweden).
68 Simon Boyd (England), Reinier Saxton (Netherlands), Benjamin Wuttke (Germany), Christoph Pfau.
69 Alessio Bruschi (Italy), Maximilian Tschinkel (Germany), Paul O'Hara (Scotland), Gary Birch (England), Younes El Hassani (Morocco), Abdelhak Sabi (Morocco), Cian McNamara (Ireland) (jt 8th).
Selected scores:
70 Grant Jackson (England), Stephen Grant (Ireland).
71 Ben Parker (England), Michael Lowe (England).
72 Brian McElhinney (Ireland), Ben Welch (England).
73 Tim Rice (Ireland), Lee Corfield (England), Jay Taylor (Scotland), Rob Harris (England).
77 Adam Sagar (England).
Field of 110 players.
Paul O'Hara birdied the short seventh, the 11th, 14th and 15th. He had one bogey - at the eighth.

Paul Brookes (66) wins Midland Alliance at Arbroath Links

By LEE SUTHERLAND
The individual scratch prize in this week's Midland Golfers Alliance J B Motor Company Team competition at a sunny Arbroath Links was won by Pitreavie professional Paul Brookes.
He won by four shots with a two-under-par score of 66. There was a three-way tie at the top of the handicap leaderboard, captain of the Midlands, Ron Beatt (Scotscraig), playing off 12, Chris Westland (Alloa) (11) and Hugh Hunter (Alloa) (10) all scoring net 68s.
Ron also led his team - Bob Redpath (Scotscraig) (4) and Alistair Cameron (Blairgowrie) (13) to victory in the team competition with a score of 58.
LEADING SCRATCH
66 P Brookes (Pitreavie) p.
70 G Brown (Montrose) ap, C Mathieson (Falkirk Tryst) ap.
71 A Lockhart (Ladybank) ap, S O'Donnell (Balbirnie Park) ap.
72 S Cargill (Arbroath), A J Webster (Edzell) p.
73 M Rae (Alyth) ap, M Finlayson (Edzell) ap.
74 E Rae (Arbroath).
75 G Jenkins (Crieff), K Bruce (Edzell), J Craig (Carnoustie).
LEADING HANDICAP
68 R Beatt (Scotscraig) (12), C Westland (Alloa) (11), H Hunter (Alloa) (10).
69 E Starrett (Crieff) (14), D Black (Dunfermline) (12).
70 J Irwin (Muckhart) (8), P Rhind (Grange) (9).
71 S Cargill (Arbroath) (1), E Rae (Arbroath) (3), D Mason (Lundin) (8), R Pennycook (Dunfermline) (7).
72 S Mitchell (St Andrews New) (12), G Jenkins (Crieff) (3), R Barton (Alloa) (8), A Aitken (Ladybank) (12), C Wallace (Caird Park) (10), K Bruce (Edzell) (3), M Watkin (Panmure) (12), J Rennie (Dunfermline) (13).
LEADING TEAMS
58 R Beatt (Scotscraig) (12), B Redpath (Scotscraig) (4), A Cameron (Blairgowrie) (13).
59 G Brown (Montrose) ap, P Rhind (Grange) (9), R Liddle (Grange) (14).
60 P Brookes (Pitreavie) p, C Westland (Alloa) (11), D Mitchell (Monifieth) (5).

Qualifiers for the JTC Interiors Express Championship in April at Montrose Links
K Bruce (Edzell)
J Craig (Carnoustie)
S Graham (Arbroath)
N Cameron (King James VI)

Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 10
Burntisland Pro Am (sponsored by E Sherry).
Tee reserved: 8.30am - 1.30pm

Davies and Garrido share lead

with seven-under-par 65s

REPORT COMPILED FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE & ASIAN TOUR NEWS RELEASE

Challenge Tour graduate Rhys Davies sparkled on the opening day at the Maybank Malaysian Open to share a one-shot first-round lead with Spain's Ignacio Garrido.
The 24-year-old Davies, still buzzing after matching his career-high finish on the European Tour by claiming sixth in Abu Dhabi at the start of the year, blazed a flawless seven-under-par 65 at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.
A hot and admittedly sometimes lucky putter helped 1997 Ryder Cup team member Garrido share the clubhouse lead over in-form Asian number one Thongchai Jaidee and South Korea's Kim Dae-hyun after the Spaniard dropped just one shot in energy-sapping humidity.
==================================

More News
Nicklaus expects to see Woods at Augusta
Blumenherst leads the way
Harrington relishing 'big tough course'

==================================
"I have had two weeks off since India (European Tour Avantha Masters) so you don't know how you are going to come back after that. I had a decent showing in the Middle East before India and I think that was important for me," said Edinburgh-born Welshman Davies, a former Walker Cup player who played four years on the American college circuit as a student at East Tennessee State University.
"I had a couple of good scores in Abu Dhabi and I fed off that. That is the key for me, when I start to make some birdies I want to take advantage of the fact I am playing well in that moment and really push on and make as many as possible."
WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship quarter-finalist Thongchai wobbled down the stretch with a pair of late bogeys to share second alongside Kim, who picked up five shots over his final five holes.
KJ Choi dropped his only shot of the day at the last to card a five-under-par 67 alongside Spain's Alejandro Canizares, Dane Mark Haastrup and England's Mark Foster with all of the top eight having started in the morning.
Of the afternoon starters, only a resurgent Thomas Bjorn, fresh from top-15 finishes in his last two events, made an impact on the leaderboard to join a large contingent rounding out the top 10 at four under, although 30 players will have to complete their first rounds on Friday after a thunderstorm brought a premature end to play.
Davies, who has enjoyed some measure of success on the Asian Tour over the past two seasons, enjoyed a flawless seven-birdie round, highlighted by a front nine 31. “That is the key for me. When I start to make some birdies I want to take advantage of the fact I am playing well in that moment and really push on and make as many as possible,” he said.

“It is scoreable on the front and there is a bit more length and trouble on the back nine but from my point of view, I try to play every hole as equally tough or easy – whatever way you want to put it - and try to have the same outlook every time that I step onto the tee,” he added.
Garrido got off to a bright start with an eagle 3 on his third hole where he sank a putt from 35ft.

“I think it is a course where you can get round the front nine in two or three under if you play decent golf and then on the back nine you really have to fight. So I suppose if I am saying that three or four under is a good round here, then to shoot seven under is way beyond that,” said Garrido.
Thongchai, currently 44th in the world after a third place finish in Dubai and a quarter-final appearance at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, was eight under through 15 holes before tripping up with bogeys on the seventh and ninth holes.
“I had a very good game plan and my putting was good. I enjoyed it out there but the weather was so hot. My plan was to keep my concentration and that made it easy for me to attack the greens,” said Thongchai, who holed a 20-foot eagle on the par five fifth hole.
“It was a very good round except for the last three holes. If you miss the fairway here, it will be difficult to control your approach to the green because it was very firm today.”
Choi, a seven-time US PGA Tour winner, was disappointed with his bogey on the 18th hole. “I figured if I had a four-under today, it would be a good round and I did better than that so I can’t complain.
“The course set up was very good. If you are not alert, it is designed to be risk reward. You can’t miss the greens. The pins were well placed and very appropriate. It was a good set up today,” said the Korean, who carded six birdies.
The Korean star believes the steamy conditions will test players to the limit this week. “It was a little tiring at the end and I tried to stay cool as well as I could. In these conditions, you have to really focus, especially right before you hit a shot. You have to overcome the heat. If you let it affect you, it’ll be uphill for you,” said the Asian Tour honorary member.

+Peter Whiteford from Kirkcaldy finished on 73 despite shooting six birdies in halves of 35 and 38. He had double bogeys at the the par-4 second and the par-3 11th.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD

Par 72

*First round play was suspended in the late afternoon for thunder and lightning. There are 10 matches still to finish on Friday morning.

65 Rhys Davies, Ignacio Garrido (Spa)
66 Dae-hyun Kim (Kor), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha)
67 Mark Haastrup (Den), K J Choi (Kor), Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Mark Foster
68 Rahil Gangjee (Ind), Robert Rock, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha), Scott Barr (Aus), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Ross Bain
69 M Sasidaran (Mal), Seung-yul Noh (Kor), Darren Beck (Aus), Scott Strange (Aus), Peter Lawrie, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Wen Teh Lu (Tpe), Johan Edfors (Swe), Niclas Fasth (Swe), Sang-moon Bae (Kor), Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Digvijay Singh (Ind)
70 Soren Hansen (Den), Unho Park (Aus), Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha), George Coetzee (Rsa), Markus Brier (Aut), Angelo Que (Phi), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Hyung-sung Kim (Kor)
71 Ben Leong (Mal), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Mark Brown (Nzl), Brett Rumford (Aus), Daniel Chopra (Swe), Marco Ruiz (Par), Danny Chia (Mal), Gregory Havret (Fra)
72 Anis Hassan (Mal), Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Danny Willett, Simon Yates, Simon Griffiths, Gary Boyd, Prom Meesawat (Tha), Michael Jonzon (Swe), Wen-Tang Lin (Tpe), David Horsey, Andrew Dodt (Aus), Chih-bing Lam (Sin), Hiroyuki Fujita (Jpn), David Drysdale, Arjun Atwal (Ind), Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind), Guido Van Der Valk (Ned)
73 Peter Whiteford, Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Robert Coles, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus), Darren Clarke, Hideto Tanihara (Jpn), Jason Knutzon (USA), Anthony Kang (USA), Tony Carolan (Aus), Scott Hend (Aus), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Ashan Wu (Chn), C Muniyappa (Ind), Phillip Archer, Ted Oh (Kor)
74 Yin-shin Chan (Tpe), Wei Chih Lu (Tha), Andrew Butterfield, Michael Campbell (Nzl), Sung Lee (Pkr), Julien Quesne (Fra), Mardan Mamat (Sin), Jamie Elson, Anthony Wall, Thammanoon Srirot (Tha), James Kamte (Rsa), Wen-hong Lin (Chn), Adam Blyth (Aus)
75 Andrew Tampion (Aus), Chris Wood, Shaaban Hussin (Mal), Mars Pucay (Phi), Paul Broadhurst, Carl Suneson (Spa), Periasamy Gunasagaran (Mal), Rick Kulacz (Aus), Gavin Green (Mal), Keith Horne (Rsa), Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Airil-Rizman Zahari (Mal), Anirban Lahiri (Ind)
76 Inn-choon Hwang (Kor), S Sivachandran (Mal), Andrew Coltart, Daisuke Maruyama (Jpn), Rashid Ismail Md (Mal), Danny Lee (Nzl), Mohd Iszaimi Ismail (Mal), Jbe Kruger (Rsa), Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn), Mohd Shukree Othman (Mal), Sam Little, Shingo Katayama (Jpn)
77 Kwanchai Tannin (Hkg), Clodomiro Carranza (Arg), Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Mohd Hisyam Abdul Majid (Mal), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Gavin Flint (Aus), Joong Kyung Mo (Kor), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)
78 Iain Steel (Mal)
79 Marcus Both (Aus), David Howell
80 Rafael Echenique (Arg)

AMONG THOSE STILL TO FINISH:

Stephen Gallacher level par after 14 holes.

Steven O'Hara two over par after 17 holes.

September date for Northern Open as Tartan

Tour supremo hunts for new sponsor

FROM THE PRESS AND JOURNAL TODAY
The Northern Open, one of Scotland's oldest professional evnts, could be staged as late as September to give Tartan Tour officials as much time as possible to attract a sponsor for the tournament.
The 72-hole championship, which boats a celebrated list of past winners, including john Panton, Brian Barnes and Alastair Forsyth, is usually held in May But it lost its backer in 2009 and new Scottish PGA secretary Michael MacDougall has instigated a rethink.
Last year's contest at Spey Valley, Aviemore was compressed into three days, with 36 holes shoehorned into the final day, and had a drastically reduced prize fund.
MacDougall is eager to avoid a repeat.
"We need to stage a proper 72-holer and the way it was last year is that what we want," he said.
"That's why it's not going to be held early in the season. We are not rushing into it. There is a space in the schedule in September and that would give us mre time to nail down a sponsor.
"That will be our focus over the next few months and we're working hard to achieve that."
Greig Hutcheon (Banchory), a former Scottish PGA champion, hopes someone will come forward to support the event. He said: "The Northern Open has a lot of history and it is a shame it is struggling to find a sponsor. We need the tournament to remain on the Tartan Tour as it is one of our most popular events.
"I am sure Michael MacDougall will be doing all he can to maintain its profile. If it has to be put back to September that's fine as I am sure the course will still be beautiful at that time of the year.
"With the right marketing, it can be a big success. It features 156 players every year and I remember when it was a Challenge Tour event and Craig Cassells won it in 1991 at Moray.
"The launch of the new Xltec Pro Golf Tour shows there is still an appetite for tournament golf in Scotland.
"Having had some goods new with its launch, it would be a real shame if we lost as prestigious an event as the Northern Open."
MacDougall, meanwhile, has confirmed that Callaway, the golf equipment manufacturer and a sponsor for the Tartan Tour for seven years, has reduced its commitment to the circuit.
Three 36-hole events backed by the firm were in danger of disappearing from the schedule but MacDougall has acted swiftly and has so far salvaged two.
They will be played at Monifieth and The Roxburghe and will now be sponsored by SkyCaddie.
+The Northern Open, first played in 1933, had a three-day format for 72 holes until more recent times when a round a day became the norm.

John Duncan in his office at Royal Dornoch Golf Club. Picture by Robin Wilson.

John Duncan taking early retirement as

-

Royal Dornoch GC secretary-manager

By ROBIN WILSON

Approaching his 63rd birthday, John Duncan secretary/manager of the Royal Dornoch Golf Club for close on the past 16 years, is taking early retirement from his post at the end of this month but lays his pen to rest next Wednesday due to holiday leave accrued.
The ex Royal Army Pay Corps Lieutenant-Colonel was appointed in charge of Royal Dornoch in July of 1994, five months after the sudden death of the previous incumbent Ian Walker, who took ill in his car when travelling home after attending a Scotland-France rugby international.
Mr. Duncan had the administrative responsibility of running one of the world's best known golf courses. The links are rated 15th best in the World and third in Scotland and with a membership base of 1700 that includes approx 500 overseas members, he also found time to show a welcoming hand to close on 9000 visiting golfers per year.
During his time at Dornoch Mr Duncan also contributed his administrative skills to the Golf Club Managers Association, a body that succeeded the Association of Golf Club Secretaries, and was instrumental with colleagues of setting up the Club Managers Association of Europe, a body having strong links with their American counterparts who promote education and training of Club Managers in Europe to certificate level in the 21st century.

Mr Duncan has just recently returned from the Club Managers Association of America world conference in San Diego where he discussed common problems in club management with counterparts from as far apart as Russia and China to Colombia.
Jim Campbell, captain of Royal Dornoch, speaking on behalf of his Council of Management and members expressed their appreciation of all the work undertaken by Mr. Duncan since his arrival in Dornoch and wished his outgoing Secretary a long and happy retirement away from the daily rigours of office work. The Royal Dornoch Council hope to have a replacement person in post by mid Season.
John Duncan will remain a resident in Dornoch and will be happy not to have the golf fixture problem's currently befalling the North Alliance Secretary, Tony Gill. With a further North Alliance fixture cancelled at Golspie last weekend Gill keeps his fingers crossed Tarbat goes ahead this weekend for now he is contemplating a first ever Saturday fixture to clear some of the back log.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT JOHN DUNCAN (from Colin Farquharson)

John Duncan was born in Galashiels but attended school in Selkirk before studing at Edinburgh University where he achieved an MA in Economics and Economic History followed by a Dip Ed at Moray House.
He had a short time in the Educational Corps before the Royal Army Pay Corps.

"I spent 14 years in Germany but the high point of my service career was being Commanding Officer of the Command Pay Office in Hong Kong," he said.
"My outstanding moment at Royal Dornoch was being invited to play one evening with President Bill Clinton a few years ago.
"I had in my job description 'a duty to inspect the course,' so I have played reasonably frequently and have been in club teams. I have my name on one piece of club silver; the McNaughton Rose Bowl, played over the Struie.

"However, my handicap has gently increased over the years and I hope that with more time to play regularly I can reverse that trend."

European Tour Scoreboard
MAYBANK MALAYSIAN OPEN
Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club
EARLY FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72
65 Rhys Davies (Wales), Ignacio Garrido (Spain).
66 Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand), Dae-Hyun Kim (South Korea).
67 Alejandra Canizares (Spain), K J Choi (South Korea), Mark Foster (England), Mark F Haastrup (Denmark).
Selected score:
68 Ross Bain (Scotland).

Alastair Forsyth out of Malaysian

Open as back pain takes toll

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Alastair Forsyth, who recorded the first of his two European Tour wins in the event eight years ago, has been forced to pull out of this week's Maybank Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur due to a back injury.
The 34-year-old, pictured right, got as far as Dubai earlier in the week when the pain in his back became so bad that he decided there was no point in him making the next leg of his journey. Instead, Forsyth jumped on a plane back to Britain and is still in a bit of discomfort despite a couple of visits to a physiotherapist over the last few days.
"I hurt my back when I was at the gym on Sunday morning," said Forsyth, who had been looking forward to playing in an event that helped him get a foothold on the European Tour. "I felt something strange happen and the pain got progressively worse through the day on Sunday. "I was heading for Malaysia but only got as far as Dubai as it was really uncomfortable and painful, too. There was no point in me going any further so I turned back."
While Forsyth pays regular visits to the European Tour physiotherapy unit for treatment to his back, he says this injury is more serious than any trouble he's encountered in the past.
"I've always had back issues and the physios on the Tour keep it ticking over for me," he added. "If they'd been at this week's event I would probably have tried to make it to Malaysia, but its the Asian Tour guys and I don't know them.

"I've been to see the physio a couple of times since I got home and it is still pretty painful. There is no way I could address a ball at the moment far less hit it. In fact, I wouldn't even be able to put a tee peg in the ground. It is still early in the season and there's no event next week, so I think I have made the right decision by coming home and trying to get it sorted."
Forsyth's absence has reduced the Scottish contingent in Kuala Lumpur to seven for an event where the humidity is as much a challenge as the course itself.
"Even your trousers get soaked," noted Stephen Gallacher, who is hoping to take up where he left off in the Middle East a few weeks ago after notching top-50 finishes in both Qatar and Dubai.
David Drysdale, who was back in Dubai last week to escape the bad weather in Scotland and get in some decent practice, is also in the field, as are Steven O'Hara, Andrew Coltart and Peter Whiteford.
They're joined by Dubai-based Ross Bain and Asian Tour regular Simon Yates, both of whom have received sponsor's invites for the event. Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee, the winner in 2004 and 2005, heads the field, the world No 44 having followed a third place in Dubai by losing to Ian Poulter, the eventual winner, in the quarter- finals of the WGC Accenture Match Play.
Jaidee says the newly-refurbished Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club is the best course in Malaysia.
"I played on this course in 2006 and came back here to see that everything about it has changed," he said. "They moved the tee box back on many holes but the condition is perfect. It is the best course in Malaysia.

"They put more bunkers in and they are in play on almost every hole. This year it will be very challenging. This is the best year so far because of good organisation, good facilities and a fantastic golf course."
American Anthony Kang defends his title against a field that also includes K J Choi, Darren Clarke and Soren Hansen, the latter having finished inside the top 20 in all five events this season to extend his run of consecutive cuts made to 23.
"I only decided to come at the last minute and I am really pleased that I have done that because I see a very good course that is in great condition," said the world No 50, who has missed the cut just five times in over 50 events in the last two seasons.