All the scores from Florida

US PGA Tour Scoreboard
TRANSITIONS CHAMPIONSHIP
Innisbrook, Tampa Bay, Florida
FIRST ROUND
Par 71
Garrett Willis 65
Jonathan Byrd 67
Retief Goosen 67
Jeff Maggert 67
Rickie Fowler 67
Carl Pettersson 67
Jim Furyk 67
Jeff Quinney 68
J.B. Holmes 68
Steve Elkington 68
Ross Fisher (England) 68
Alex Cejka 69
Brandt Snedeker 69
John Senden 69
Stephen Ames 69
Lucas Glover 69
Spencer Levin 69
Josh Teater 69
Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 69
K.J. Choi 69
Brett Quigley 70
Nicholas Thompson 70
D.A. Points 70
Mathew Goggin 70
Charlie Wi 70
Ricky Barnes 70
Steve Stricker 70
Bill Haas 70
Brad Faxon 70
Martin Laird (Scotland) 70
Steve Flesch 70
Trevor Immelman 70
Jason Dufner 70
Jimmy Walker 70
Brian Stuard 70
Roland Thatcher 70
John Daly 70
Jerry Kelly 70
Steve Lowery 70
Fred Funk 70
Bubba Watson 70
Brian Davis (England) 71
Boo Weekley 71
Ryan Moore 71
Tom Lehman 71
Scott McCarron 71
James Nitties 71
Matt Jones 71
Matt Every 71
Luke Donald (England) 71
Kenny Perry 71
Brian Gay 71
Justin Leonard 71
Chris DiMarco 71
Joe Ogilvie 71
Ted Purdy 72
Tim Petrovic 72
George McNeill 72
Johnson Wagner 72
Sean O'Hair 72
Daniel Chopra 72
Aaron Baddeley 72
Lee Janzen 72
Charles Howell III 72
Matt Bettencourt 72
Corey Pavin 72
Nick O'Hern 72
Bob Estes 72
Kevin Na 72
Brendon de Jonge 72
J.J. Henry 72
J.P. Hayes 72
James Driscoll 72
Bo Van Pelt 72
Dustin Johnson 72
Greg Chalmers 72
David Duval 72
Briny Baird 72
Jason Day 72
Kris Blanks 72
Jeff Klauk 73
Nathan Green 73
Derek Lamely 73
Ian Poulter (England) 73
Sergio Garcia 73
Parker McLachlin 73
Heath Slocum 73
Scott Piercy 73
Justin Rose (England) 73
Webb Simpson 72
Tim Wilkinson 73
Rod Pampling 73
Kevin Sutherland 73
Nick Watney 73
John Rollins 73
Geoff Ogilvy 73
Zach Johnson 73
Adam Scott 73
Richard S. Johnson 73
Will MacKenzie 73
Troy Merritt 73
Greg Owen (England) 73
Bob Heintz 73
Chad Collins 73
Rory Sabbatini 73
Mark Wilson 74
Blake Adams 74
Yuta Ikeda 74
Chez Reavie 74
Omar Uresti 74
Stuart Appleby 74
David Toms 74
Troy Matteson 74
Andres Romero 74
Brett Wetterich 74
Jeev Milkha Singh 74
Rod Perry 74
Ty Harris 74
Tom Gillis 74
Bryce Molder 74
Jason Bohn 75
Greg Kraft 75
Pat Perez 75
Vaughn Taylor 75
Michael Letzig 75
Ben Bates 75
Woody Austin 75
Rocco Mediate 75
Paul Goydos 75
Cameron Beckman 75
Chris Couch 75
John Huston 75
Jeff Overton 75
Ryan Armour 75
Bill Lunde 76
Robert Karlsson 76
Michael Bradley 77
Rich Beem 77
Chris Stroud 78
Stewart Cink 78
Alex Prugh 78
Patrick Moore 80
Steve Wheatcroft 81
Ryo Ishikawa 83

SALTMAN BROTHERS' NOTABLE SUCCESS

First Lloyd, then Elliot wins on Spanish Tour

FROM THE SPANISH Hi5 PRO TOUR
Scotland's Elliot Saltman closed out the win at the Hi5 pro Tour Condado Open by five shots today with a two-over-par aggregate of 218 (72-73-73) in Murcia, south-east Spain.
How often, on any tour, do brothers score back-to-back victories? Probably never. But it has happened over the past two weeks on the Hi5 Pro Tour. Last week Lloyd, the middle one of the three Saltman siblings, won easily in the Condado Open. This week it was Elliot who triumphed, equally easily on the Nicklaus-signature designed Condado course.
Elliot, the oldest of the Lothians brothers, who are all sponsored by Aegon, showed his calm by playing the back nine in two under par to close out the title with a commanding lead. His cash prize was 1,800 Euros.
Elliot has already won as a professional - on last year's EuroPro Tour in England.
In second place tied were Andreas Saltberg (Sweden) , Brad Clapp (Canada) , Michael Collins (Ireland) and Frederick Hamarberg of Sweden.
Gary Wolstenholme, arguably the most distinguished English male amateur golfer of the last two decades. won the seniors championship by converting a birdie on the second extra play off hole over countryman Stephen Shields.
The Hi5 Pro Tour marches on to the “Club De Golf Altorreal” one of the oldest Clubs established in Spain based in the region of Murcia. Surely the Saltmans can't make it three in a row? Watch this space.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
218 Elliot Saltman (Scotland) 72 73 73.
223 Andreas Hogberg (Sweden) 75 77 71, Michael Collins (Ireland) 71 75 77, Brad Clap (Canada) 75 73 75, Fredrik Hammarberg (Sweden) 72 75 76.
225 Gary Wolstenholme (England) 73 76 76, Stephen Shields (England) 78 67 80.
226 Lasse Sonne Nielsen (Denmark) (amateur) 78 77 71, James Housby (England) 74 74 78, Felix Fihn (Sweden) 77 71 78.
227 Martyn Hamer (England) 74 76 77, Pablo del Grosso (Spain) 77 71 79, Ruaidhri McGee (Ireland) 75 79 73.
229 Bjorn Pettersson (Sweden) 78 76 75, Ignacio Sanchez Palencia (Spain) 79 72 78, Gary King (England) 76 79 74, James Johnson (England) 74 78 77.
230 Zack Saltman (Scotland) 77 81 72, Richard Carter (England) (amateur) 78 78 74, Stefan Stefansson (Sweden) 77 78 75.
233 Patric O'Neil (amateur) 73 87 73.

EUROPEAN MEN'S NATIONS CUP
Real Golf Club, Sotogrande, Costa del Sol, Spain
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Best three from scores count
417 ENGLAND
FLEETWOOD, TOMMY 70
HAINES, MATT 69 69 138
PAISLEY, CHRIS 68 71 139
LEWIS, TOM 70
426 GERMANY
KIEFFER, MAXIMILIAN 71
KNAPPE, ALEXANDER 71 71 142
JOHN, ALLEN ALEMANIA 69
ROEHRIG, MAXIMILIAN 73 71 144
427 DENMARK
HANSEN, JOACHIM BRANDT 77 69 146
LOKKE, DANIEL 67 72 139
BJERREGAARD, LUCAS 71
HARTOE, ANDREAS 71
433 AUSTRIA
NEMECZ, LUCAS 70 68 138
MAYRHAUSER, MORITZ 73
GOGER, ROBIN 72
NEMECZ, TOBIAS 74 76 150
435 WALES
FARR, OLIVER 72
FRAZER, JAMES 72 71 143
PUGH, RHYS 73 74 147
VICKERY, JOE GALES 73
435 FRANCE
SORDET, CLEMENT 74
LOPEZ LAZARO, JOHANN 73 67 140
WATTEL, ROMAIN 76 73 149
LEVY, ALEXANDER 72
438 FINLAND
SAMOOJA, KALLE 75 72 147
PULKKANEEN, TAPIO 70
SATAMA, HENRI 74 73 147
VEIJALAINEN, MIRO 74
438 ITALY
BERTASIO, NINO 70 73 143
QUINTARELLI, NICCOLO ITALIA
MANASSERO, MATTEO ITALIA 75 69 144
MOTTA, LEONARDO ITALIA 75 76 151
439 SWEDEN
CARLSSON, NICLAS 75
KOKOCINSKI, ROBIN 68
FLATAU, VICTOR 76 73 149
LAGERGREN, JOAKIM 74 73 147
440 SPAIN
SARASTI BERNARAS, JUAN FRANCISCO 72
PIGEM XAMMAR, CARLOS 75 76 151
CUARTERO BLANCO, EMILIO 74
HORTAL OCHOA, ANTONIO 70 73 143
440 HOLLAND
KRAAIJ, MICHAEL 76 73 149
KIND, ROBIN 72 71 143
BOSHART, DYLAN
HUIZING, DAAN 77 71 148
442 IRELAND
CUTLER, PAUL 73 73 146
DUNBAR, ALAN 71
MURRAY, PAT 73
LERNIHAN, DARA 76 76 152
446 BELGIUM
MIVIS, CHRISTOPHER 75 71 146
PIETERS, THOMAS 75 74 149
13 DETRY, THOMAS 76
RICHELLE, JULIEN 75
447 SCOTLAND
KELLETT, ROSS 72 72 144
WHITE, JAMES 75 78 153
McLEAN, PHILIP 79
LAW, DAVID 71
450 PORTUGAL
JOIA, JOSE MARIA 77 70 147
GASPAR, MIGUEL 74
SILVA, TOMAS 79 74 153
RODRIGUES, TIAGO 76
453 NORWAY
BERTHEUSSEN, ELIAS 77 74 151
RAMSNES, OLE
OLSEN, AKSEL 76 75 151
GUNDROSEN, MAGNUS 76 75 151
464 CZECH REPUBLIC
ONDREJ, LIESER 82 76 158
KORDA, JIRI 76
POSPISIL, MICHAL 79 72 151
PROCHAZKA, DAVID 79
485 SLOVENIA
VIDMAR, JAKA
STANIC, MARTIN 73 78 151
ZIGA, AVSEC 84 81 165
GREGORINCIC, GRECA 83 86 169

EUROPEAN TOUR IN MOROCCO

In the Nick of Time, Dougherty comes good ...

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Nick Dougherty, desperate to ride of wave of English success in golf lately, did his battered confidence the world of good with an opening seven under par 66 at the Hassan Trophy in Morocco today.
Home in 30 with an eagle and five birdies, the 27-year-old from Liverpool took a one-stroke lead over Ireland's Peter Lawrie, Scot Stephen Gallacher, Italian Francesco Molinari, India's SSP Chowrasia and South Americans Ricardo Gonzalez and Fabrizio Zanotti.
"I've been struggling so much I'm just trying to build some confidence and hit as many good shots as I can," said the three-time European Tour winner who has dropped to 120th on the rankings from a high of 46th two years ago.
==============================
Links to more golf news
Goosen expects fans to respect Woods
Olazabal to miss Masters
Monty welcomes Woods return
Rose hoping to blossom in Florida
==============================
"Thomas Bjorn gave me quite a bit of help yesterday on the range, which meant the world to me obviously, but it's a work in progress.
"Anything under par I would have been happy with, so I was delighted with that. I think seven under is a really, really good score round there.
"I putted fabulous and I'm delighted with my short game in general, but it's the long game that's concerning me. I've been battling with that for a long time now."
Breaking his driver on the eve of the event did not hold Lawrie back.
"The head of the driver came loose during practice. I have a spare, but I'm just not not 100% confident with it," said the former Rookie of the Year, whose only European Tour win came in the 2008 Spanish Open.
"The three-wood's going well, but the driver will have to come out somewhere."
TROPHEE HASSAN II SCOREBOARD
Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat, Morocco.
At Blue Course (Par: 72)
66 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg), Stephen Gallacher, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Peter Lawrie
67 Thomas Aiken (Rsa), Shiv Kapur (Ind), Alejandro Canizares (Spa), David Horsey, Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Sam Little
68 Niclas Fasth (Swe), Rafael Echenique (Arg), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra)
69 Richard Bland, Anthony Wall, David Lynn, Pablo Martin (Spa), Darren Clarke, Mark Brown (Nzl), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra)
70 Anthony Kang (USA), Azuma Yano (Jpn), David Howell, Gregory Havret (Fra)
71 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), Andrew Butterfield, Gary Boyd, Richard Finch, Richard McEvoy, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Younes El Hassani (Mor)
72 Ariel Canete (Arg), Gregory Bourdy (Fra)
73 Mikael Lundberg (Swe), Andrew Tampion (Aus), Jeppe Huldahl (Den), Faycal Serghini (Mor), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), Graeme Storm, Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Daniel Vancsik (Arg), David Dixon, Markus Brier (Aut), Jamie Donaldson
74 Sam Hutsby, Gary Lockerbie, Christian Cevaer (Fra), Daniel Brooks
75 Chris Gane
76 Paul Waring
79 Macon Moye (US)
At Red Course (Par: 73)
66 Nick Dougherty
67 Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind)
68 Rhys Davies
69 Phillip Price, Julien Clement (Swi), Thomas Levet (Fra)
70 Stephen Dodd, Joost Luiten (Ned), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)
71 Jhared Hack (USA), David Drysdale, Christian Nilsson (Swe), Robert Rock, Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Carlos Rodiles (Spa)
72 Steve Webster, Peter Whiteford, Gareth Maybin, Robert Coles, Thomas Bjorn (Den), Julien Quesne (Fra), Simon Khan
73 Peter Baker, Danny Willett, Seve Benson
74 John Parry, Gary Orr, Marcel Siem (Ger), Paul Broadhurst, Marco Ruiz (Par), Shane Lowry, Alastair Forsyth, Tano Goya (Arg), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Barry Lane
75 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Damien McGrane, Richie Ramsay, Marc Warren, Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Kenneth Ferrie, Peter Hedblom (Swe)
76 Reda Rhazali (Mal), Oskar Henningsson (Swe), Paul McGinley, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa)
77 Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Alexander Noren (Swe), Santiago Luna (Spa), Mark Foster
80 Michael Hoey

Graeme Brown wins Midland Alliance at Crieff with a six-under 65

By MARTIN BROWN
(Lee Sutherland is on holiday).
This week's Midland Alliance meeting was held at Crieff Golf Club and was won by Montrose assistant professional Graeme Brown with a magnificent, six-under-par effort of 65.
Tieing for second place were senior amateur Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) and Edzell assistant pro M Finlayson with commendable 67s.
There was a three-way tie for leading handicap with G Jenkins (Crieff) (3), H Hunter (Alloa) (10) and C Westland (Alloa) (11) leading the way with net 66s.
LEADING SCRATCH
65 G Brown (Montrose) ap.
68 R Stewart (Tulliallan), M Finlayson (Edzell) ap.
69 S Smith (Ladybank) p, S O'Donnell (Balbirnie Park) ap, G Jenkins (Crieff).
70 M Pirie (Pitlochry) p, A Lockhart (Ladybank) ap, S Cargill (Arbroath), A J Webster (Edzell) p, C Mathieson (Falkirk Tryst) ap, K Harper (Carnoustie), G Finlay (Ballumbie).
LEADING HANDICAP
66 G Jenkins (Crieff) (3), H Hunter (Alloa) (10), C Westland (Alloa) (11).
67 R Bell (Pitlochry) (5), R Stewart (Tulliallan) (1).
68 J Crawford (Dunblane) (6), D K Hutchison (Murrayshall) (6), A Mason (Thornton) (7).

Super Seniors and Autumn
-
Doubles new events on
-
Scottish Seniors' Golf
-
Society 2010 circuit

By KEITH HOWIE
Captain of the Scottish Seniors Golf Society
These are the two new events on our fixture list this year - the Super Seniors Open at Stirling on July 29 and 30, and the Autumn Meeting Douobles for pairs over two East Lothain course, the Glen and Haddington, on August 26-27. Briefly the Super Seniors is Sandy Pirie's idea and the main trophy bears his name (Sandy is pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency). It is appropriate that the first one is at Stirling which, apart from its convenient central location, is where it all started for the Society.
The event is two rounds stroke play open to all amateurs, whether SSGS members or not, who have reached the age of 65 by competition date. There is a separate trophy for the over-70s and prizes, scratch and handicap, in age categories. Handicap limit is 12.4.
Entry forms can be obtained by emailing http://uk.mc870.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=khnextlevel@aol.com or in writing to Scottish Seniors Golfing Society, 69 Russell Drive, Bearsden, G61 3BB.
The suggestion for the Autumn Doubles came from Senior International and former Scottish Seniors Strokeplay Champion Steve Ellis. We are delighted to announce that Tullibardine Distillery have stepped in to offer sponsor support and we hope members will reciprocate by supporting the "doubles" connotation.
Host clubs will be The Glen in North Berwick and Haddington with one round of four-ball better- ball and one greensomes - the same format as we use for the Murcia Seniors Doubles. Pairings will consist of one member and one guest. The writer has managed to coax Bobby Blackwood, Cochrane Castle out of retirement for the event and there will no doubt be many interesting pairings.
Our season tees off with the Spring Meeting over Montrose Links and entries are coming in fast. 2010 is Royal Montrose's bicentenary and we are honoured to be invited to share the celebrations with the club.
Our regional 36-hole fixtures are hosted this year by Dumfries and County, Kinross, Glenbervie, Duff House Royal (in their centenary year) and Lanark. The Match-play is at Kinross and the Inter-county at Musselburgh.
The Order of Merit Shoot-out features the OOM top 30 and is held over Landsdowne course Blairgowrie. The fixture list is completed by the SSGS Murcia Seniors Open held for the third consecutive year at the brilliant Hacienda del Alamo Resort course from October 24-31st. Again the event is not limited to members and entry forms are available as detailed above.
The Society is buoyant with currently 400 on our member database and we are quietly pleased that President Gordon MacDonald's vision has re-awakened the competitive fire in so many senior amateurs the length and breadth of Britain and beyond. Membership details can be found on our website http://www.scottishseniorsgolf.com/

Stephen Gallacher has a 67 in Morocco

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez was the clubhouse leader at the Trophée Hassan II on its European Tour International Schedule debut in Morocco.
The 40 year old, winner of last season's SAS Masters in Sweden, played his opening round on the shorter (par 72) Blue course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat and grabbed five birdies in the space of seven holes before reaching the turn in four under 32.
Gonzalez did not waste his good start and set the clubhouse target with a six under par 66.
He shared top spot with the highest ranked player in the field - Italian Francesco Molinari , who had one to play, with Spain’s Igancio Garrido one behind along with France's Jean-François Lucquin and Indian S S P Chowrasia.
England's Sam Little burst to five under after seven, but then double bogeyed the ninth, while former Ryder Cup players Darren Clarke and David Howell stood two under.
The first two rounds are in a pro-am format - Clarke is partnering his father - before the leading professionals progress to the closing 36 holes at the weekend.
The Red Course has a par of 73 and measures 7,344 yards.
First Scot to finish was Stephen Gallacher with a five-under-par 67.
SCOREBOARD AT END OF PLAY
Switch over to our sister website, www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk, to follow the Ladies European Tour event, also being played in Morocco. Carly Booth started her pro career with a double bogey 6. What happened next? Switch over and find out!

Inverness Fairways Target Golf Leagues

By Neil D Hampton
Golf & Marketing Director, Loch Ness Golf Course
Web: www.golflochness.com
WEEK EIGHT SUMMARY
The top of the table got tighter on Monday night and it looks like it could go all the way to the final game. BM Trucks top scored with 58 as they beat the Parahandies and retook second place on the better shots scored record but Orion remain in pole position and favourites for the title as they are still two points ahead after their win over the Royal Swingers.
At the other end of the table Sainties still haven’t got off the mark, this week falling to the Specialists who now find themselves in fourth place. The Happy Gilmour’s continued their good form with a win over the Neverwillbees and join them on six points just two behind the Specialists.
The crunch game next week is BM Trucks against Orion with an Orion win almost guaranteeing them the league title but a win for the Trucks will bring them and the Parahandies into the reckoning for the final game.
RESULTS
Orion 57 – 32 Royal Swingers
Sainties 22 – 7 Specialists
Parahandies 43 – 58 BM Trucks
Happy Gilmour’s 24 – 18 The Neverwillbees.

TUESDAY LEAGUE SUMMARY
In the Tuesday League, King Kenyon’s Klan have one hand on the league title and a guaranteed place in the top team playoffs are seeing off the Muirton Marvels.
It was close game with just one ball separating the teams but this result drops the Marvels down to fourth place and they will have their work cut out to get into the play-offs now that the Luckless Leadbetters seem to have their form back.
The Leadbetters were the night’s top scorers with 53 which was easily more than enough to take the points from a very lacklustre Fairhurst Fore. The Leadbetters join Fairhurst on 10 points but their much better shots scored record could prove crucial.
At the other end of the table the wooden spoon will be a dog fight between the Mad Drivers and Fairways after both suffered defeats to the Coastguards and Senior Moments respectively. Fairways are on the bottom with just 2 points but the Mad Drivers only have 4 points so there battle on the last day of the season in a fortnights time will give them a lot to play for.
RESULTS
Fairhurst Fore 15 – 53 Luckless Leadbetters
Mad Drivers 9 – 34 Coastguards
Senior Moments 36 – 16 Fairways
Muirton Marvels 35 – 42 King Kenyon’s Klan.

HOW THEY STAND

MONDAY TABLE
1 Orion 14pt
2 BM Trucks 12
3 Parahandies 12
4 Specialists 8
5 Royal Swingers 6
6 Neverwillbees 6
7 Happy Gilmour's 6
8 The Sainties 0

TUESDAY TABLE
1 King Kenyon's Klan 14pt
2 Luckless Leadbetters 10
3 Fairhurst Fore 10
4 Muirton Marvels 8
5 Senior Moments 8
6 Coastguards 8
7 Mad Drivers 4
8 Fairways 2

Lady professionals' Scottish events looking for your help

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
If you don't switch over regularly to our sister website, http://www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk/, you might not know that the new XLtec Pro Tour, founded by Alan Tait, the director of golf at Marriott Dalmahoy Hotel, starts next Thursday and Friday (March 25-26) at Whitekirk Golf Club near North Berwick.
You might not know either that each of the six, two-day 36-hole events will have a section for women/girl professionals. They will be playing for the sum of their own £50 competition entry fees ... unless you or your company would like to donate £200 to one of the prize pots.
You can E-mail Colin@scottishgolfview.com to find out how to go about it.
The six XLtec Pro Tour events are:
March 25-26: Whitekirk.
April 28-29: Hilton Park.
May 25-26: Dalmahoy.
July 28-29: Westerwood.
September 28-29: Spey Valley, Aviemore.
October 6-7: Dundonald Links.

Forsyth's back woes subside

-

in time for Moroccan tilt

FROM THE SCOTSMAN SPORT.COM WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Two weeks after being forced to halt a journey to Malaysia due to a back injury, Alastair Forsyth is among seven Scots teeing off in today's first round of the Hassan Trophy in Morocco.
The two-time European Tour winner, pictured right, got as far as Dubai on his way to the Far East before the pain became so unbearable that he turned around and jumped on the first flight back home.

A week ago Forsyth was still being troubled by the problem but, thanks to Gerry Docherty, the physio at Dunfermline Athletic Football Club, he's been able to join David Drysdale, Stephen Gallacher, Gary Orr, Richie Ramsay, Marc Warren and Peter Whiteford in this week's field at Royal Dar Es Salam.

"The fact I'm playing this week is all thanks to Gerry, who I was referred to by Stephen Gallacher, who has fought back problems for years," said Forsyth.

"Gerry thought that just one session would be enough but it needed a few more. It was painful but he knows what he is doing so I'm grateful to him. I hit some balls last Friday and decided to play this week. I'm a bit stiff but the back is feeling good. I didn't think I would be back playing anywhere near this time, so I'm delighted."

Ramsay and Warren are both making their returns this week after spending time working on their games in America recently. Ramsay, the South African Open champion, has been practising at the Golf Club of Georgia since he tied for 14th in India, while Warren has been back at his home in Florida since playing in the three events on the Middle East Swing.

This is the first time the tournament in Rabat has been part of the European Tour schedule, but the course has hosted the Moroccan Open, the last winner of which was Ian Poulter in 2001.

On the US PGA Tour, Justin Rose is trying to book his place at the Masters in this week's Transitions Championship at Palm Harbor on Florida's west coast. Rose stands 59th in the world, with the leading 50 on Monday week qualifying for the opening major of the season.

World Match Play champion Poulter, also part of the Innisbrook field, is one of Rose's closest friends in golf – as well as his Ryder Cup partner two years ago – and said:

"It would be good to see him get back into the top 50 and into The Masters. I know that's why he has been playing a busy schedule and he's obviously playing well. His place in the world rankings is not reflective of the type of player he is."

Rose is mightily relieved to see his hard work paying dividends at last. The 29-year-old has yet to win in over 150 US Tour starts, but has earned well in excess of $10million and said: "I've played good enough golf to win out here. I've been close a few times. Sometimes winning just gets in the way without you trying too hard – it's felt like it's been a bit of a battle. If I can maintain the direction I'm going I certainly believe it will happen."

+The full article above appears in The Scotsman newspaper.