US PGA TOUR REPORT, SCORES

Rickie Fowler leads by three from Justin Rose

FROM THE PGA.COM WEBSITE
DUBLIN, Ohio -- Rickie Fowler, the new kid in golf, gave himself a chance Friday to be the next kid to win on the US PGA Tour.
The 21-year-old Fowler ran off three straight birdies late in his round for a 6-under 66 to tie the 36-hole record at the Memorial Tournament and take a three-shot lead over Justin Rose into the weekend at soggy Muirfield Village.
Fowler was at 13-under 131. That tied the tournament record set by Scott Hoch in 1987.
Youth has been all the rage on the PGA Tour over the last month, with Rory McIlroy winning at Quail Hollow two days before his 21st birthday, and Jason Day winning the Byron Nelson Championship two weeks ago at age 22.
They both turned pro three years ago. Fowler didn't turn pro until last summer, yet he already has lost in a playoff last fall and finished one shot behind in the Phoenix Open in February.
"Just being in contention the few times I have over the last eight months, this is by far the best I've felt," Fowler said.
Defending champion Tiger Woods is starting to feel a little better, too.
Woods was just inside the projected cut line when he started, and with his lackluster play on a course that can penalize errant shots, there was some question whether he would be around for all four rounds in his final event before the U.S. Open.
Those questions didn't last long. He birdied three of the opening five holes, then ran off three straight birdies on his front nine to offset the few mistakes for a 69. He was at 3-under 141, 10 shots behind, but still playing.
"I hit more good shots today than I did yesterday, and really putted well," Woods said.
Phil Mickelson, who has another chance to become No. 1 with a victory, was headed in that direction with a birdie-birdie-eagle stretch on the front nine, only to give it back by missing one par putt after another on the back nine. He closed with two straight birdies for a wild round of 71 that put him at 6-under 138, still in the game but seven shots behind.
"It's frustrating for me because I played very well and didn't shoo t the number I thought I should," Mickelson said.
Jim Furyk missed a short birdie putt on the final hole and had to settle for a 67, leaving him in the group at 9-under 135 that included Tim Petrovic, who earlier in the day matched Fowler's 66.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)

131 Rickie Fowler 65 66
134 Justin Rose (Eng) 65 69
135 Jim Furyk 68 67, Tim Petrovic 69 66
136 Spencer Levin 68 68, Jason Day (Aus) 67 69
137 Stewart Cink 70 67
138 Phil Mickelson 67 71, Alex Cejka (Ger) 71 67
139 Steve Stricker 69 70, Jeff Overton 69 70, Matt Kuchar 71 68, Tom Pernice junior 72 67, Kenny Perry 71 68, Steve Marino 68 71, Sean O'Hair 68 71, Bo Van Pelt 70 69, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 69 70, Ryan Moore 70 69
140 Brendon De Jonge 71 69, Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 72 68, Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 67 73, Adam Scott (Aus) 70 70, Brett Quigley 70 70
141 Pat Perez 71 70, Tiger Woods 72 69, Zach Johnson 73 68, Matthew Jones (Aus) 70 71, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 71 70, Ricky Barnes 70 71, Dustin Johnson 72 69, Tim Clark (Rsa) 70 71
142 Jerry Kelly 72 70, J.P. Hayes 72 70, Bubba Watson 69 73, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 65 77, Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 71 71, Peter Hanson (Swe) 71 71, J.B. Holmes 68 74, Andres Romero (Arg) 67 75, D.J. Trahan 73 69
143 Charley Hoffman 72 71, Tom Lehman 70 73, Kevin Streelman 70 73, Vijay Singh (Fij) 71 72, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 68 75, Bill Haas 73 70, K J Choi (Kor) 69 74, Martin Laird (Sco) 72 71, Tom Gillis 71 72, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 73 70
144 Brian Davis (Eng) 71 73, Tim Herron 71 73, Vaughn Taylor 75 69, Davis Love III 72 72, Greg Chalmers (Aus) 74 70, Woody Austin 71 73, Kevin Sutherland 72 72, D.A. Points 73 71, Kevin Stadler 69 75, Nathan Green (Aus) 72 72, Mark Calcavecchia 72 72, Y.E. Yang (Kor) 70 74
145 Bryce Molder 74 71, John Merrick 73 72, Erik Compton 73 72, John Senden (Aus) 73 72, Ben Curtis 73 72, Chad Collins 73 72, Camilo Villegas (Col) 77 68, Brett Wetterich 71 74
MISSED THE CUT
146 Rodney Pampling (Aus) 76 70, Billy Mayfair 73 73, Graham Delaet (Can) 75 71, John Mallinger 76 70, George McNeill 74 72, Mathew Goggin (Aus) 73 73, Ernie Els (Rsa) 74 72, Troy Merritt 74 72
147 Hunter Mahan 75 72, Jeff Maggert 74 73, Robert Allenby (Aus) 74 73, Noh Seung-yul (Kor) 75 72, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 72 75, Brandt Snedeker 75 72, Derek Lamely 75 72, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 73 74
148 Michael Letzig 67 81, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 74 74, Michael Sim (Sco/Aus) 69 79, Jason Dufner 74 74, Byeong-hun An (Kor) 77 71, Kevin Johnson 73 75, Chris Couch 73 75, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 73 75, Webb Simpson 73 75, Matt Hill (Can) 72 76, Boo Weekley 72 76, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 72 76, Jonathan Byrd 72 76
149 Kris Blanks 71 78, Joe Ogilvie 73 76, Troy Matteson 75 74
150 Lucas Glover 76 74
151 Marc Leishman (Aus) 76 75, Blake Adams 72 79
152 Brad Faxon 73 79, Mike Weir (Can) 77 75, Jimmy Walker 74 78, James Nitties (Aus) 74 78, Jason Bohn 74 78
153 Josh Teater 73 80
154 Alex Prugh 74 80, Mark Wilson 75 79
156 Nick Watney 74 82
157 Chris Wilson 78 79, Chris Smith 78 79, Sam Saunders 83 74
158 David Duval 79 79
159 Steve Flesch 79 80

St Andrews Links Trophy Scoreboard

LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES(first two rounds over Jubilee Course par 72)
1 Daniel Lökke Holstebro (Denmark) F -6 66
2 Patricio Salem Los Inkas (Peru) F -5 67
2 Ben Westgate Trevose F -5 67
4 Matthew Southgate Thorpe Hall F -4 68
4 David Coupland Boston F -4 68
6 Alastair Jones Radyr F -3 69
6 Jonathan Hurst Shaw Hill F -3 69
6 Tom Lewis Welwyn Garden City F -3 69
6 Stiggy Hodgson Sunningdale F -3 69
6 Greg Paterson New St Andrews F -3 69
11 Ross Bell Downfield F -2 70
11 Philip McLean Peterhead F -2 70
11 Darren Wright Rowlands Castle F -2 70
11 Jack Senior Heysham F -2 70
11 Michael Bedford Prestbury F -2 70
11 Eddie Pepperell Drayton Park F -2 70
11 Ben Campbell Masterton (New Zealand) F -2 70
11 Antoine Schwartz La Boulie (France) F -2 70
11 Billy Hemstock Teignmouth F -2 70
20 Matthew Nixon Ashton-under-Lyne F -1 71
20 James White Lundin F -1 71
20 Seamus Power West Waterford (Ireland) F -1 71
20 Nino Bertasio Gardagolf (Italy) F -1 71
20 Kieran Pratt Commonwealth (Australia) F -1 71
20 Guillaume Cambis Ormesson (France) F -1 71
20 Alan Dunbar Rathmore F -1 71
20 Todd Adcock Nevill F -1 71
20 Toby Burden Hayling F -1 71
20 Tom Boys Royal Liverpool F -1 71
20 Luke Collins Mendip Spring F -1 71
20 Chris Paisley Stocksfield F -1 71
20 Tyrone Ryan Bryanston (South Africa) F -1 71
20 David Booth Rotherham F -1 71
20 Charlie Wilson Littlestone F -1 71
20 Matthew Clark Kilmacolm F -1 71
20 Liam Burns Sundridge Park F -1 71
20 Sebastian Maclean Las Palmas (Bolivia) F -1 71
38 Scott Crichton Aberdour F E 72
38 Simon Richardson Boston West F E 72
38 Laurie Canter Saltford F E 72
38 Richard Smith Notts F E 72
38 Adrian Otaegui Goiburu (Spain) F E 72
38 Stephen Speirs Kooyonga (Australia) F E 72
38 Tom Sherreard Chart Hills F E 72
38 James Frazer Pennard F E 72
38 Victor Dubuisson Saint Nom (France) F E 72
38 Kris Nicol Fraserburgh F E 72
38 Rae Mackie Waterkloof (South Africa) F E 72
38 Benjamin Rusch Lipperswil (Switzerland) F E 72
38 Chris Lloyd The Kendleshire F E 72
38 Sam Claridge Harpenden Common F E 72
38 Mark Bookless Sandyhills F E 72
53 Alexander Levy Ormesson (France) F +1 73
53 Adam Keogh Boston West F +1 73
53 Patrick Spraggs Stowmarket F +1 73
53 Jin Jeong Waverley (Australia) F +1 73
53 Bobby Rushford Grangemouth F +1 73
53 Michael Stewart Troon Welbeck F +1 73
53 Jordan Findlay Fraserburgh F +1 73
53 Jerome Lando Casanova Ormesson (France) F +1 73
53 Christopher Mivis Millenium (Belgium) F +1 73
53 Clement Sordet Ormesson (France) F +1 73
53 Paul Moultrie Royal Troon F +1 73
53 Mark Halliday Royal Aberdeen F +1 73
53 Lucas Bjerregaard Frederikshavn (Denmark) F +1 73
53 Henri Satama Nurmijarvi (FInland) F +1 73
53 Keith Hamilton Ayr Belleisle F +1 73
53 Leonardo Motta Biella (Italy) F +1 73
53 James Martin San Roque (Spain) F +1 73
70 Chris Harkins Ayr Belleisle F +2 74
70 Neil Raymond Corhampton F +2 74
70 James Robinson Southport & Ainsdale F +2 74
70 Brian Soutar Leven F +2 74
70 Robbie Van West Prise D'eau (Netherlands) F +2 74
70 Willem Vork Noordwijkse (Netherlands) F +2 74
70 Pierre-Alexis Rolland Rigenee (Belgium) F +2 74
70 Richard Bentham St Pierre F +2 74
70 Robin Kind Haagsche (Netherlands) F +2 74
70 Anders Kristiansen Borregaard (Norway) F +2 74
70 Ross Coull Edzell F +2 74
70 Roberto Laino Woburn F +2 74
70 James Taverner South Herts F +2 74
70 Romain Wattel Bussy Guermantes (France) F +2 74
70 Craig Hinton The Oxfordshire F +2 74
70 Ross Kellett Colville Park F +2 74
70 Matt Jager Melville Glades (Australia) F +2 74
70 Alex Christie Tyrrells Wood F +2 74
70 Steven McEwen Caprington F +2 74
70 Daan Huizing Lage Vuursche (Netherlands) F +2 74
70 Sam Stuart St Annes Old Links F +2 74
91 Niccolo Quintarelli Montecchia (Italy) F +3 75
91 Joe Vickery Newport F +3 75
91 Emilio Cuartero Raimat (Spain) F +3 75
91 Luke Thomas Vale of Glamorgan F +3 75
91 Jay Beisser Chelmsford F +3 75
91 Tommy Fleetwood Formby Hall F +3 75
91 Joshua White Chipstead F +3 75
91 Kenny Subregis Bordeaux Lac (France) F +3 75
91 Stuart Phillips Royston F +3 75
Selected other scores:
Gordon Yates (Hilton Park) 76
Mark Hillson (Craigielaw) 76.
Ian Redford (St Andrews 76.
Daniel Sommerville (St Andrews) 77.
Aaron Sweeney (Carnoustie) 78.
Fraser Fotheringham (Nairn) 78.
Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie) 78.
Anthony Bews (Murcar Links) 79.
James Whitelaw (Kames) 80.
James Bunch (Prestwick) 81.

EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR REPORT, SCORES

Gordon Brand junior goes three clear with a super 63

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Gordon Brand junior rekindled memories of his record-breaking performance at La Moye Golf Club 24 years ago with a stunning eagle as he opened up a three-stroke lead after a nine-under-par 63 in the Matrix Jersey Seniors Classic today.
The Anglo-Scot set a European Tour record of four eagles in a round in the 1986 Jersey Open – subsequently matched by Mikko Ilonen in the 2003 Open de España – when he set the course record of 62 at La Moye Golf Club and he notched another eagle when he holed his 193 yard four iron second shot on the par four fifth hole.
Brand also carded seven birdies in a stunning nine under par round of 63 – just one stroke more than his long standing course record – to open up a three shot advantage over Kevin Spurgeon at the top of the leaderboard on the Channel Island.
Starting on the tenth tee, the former Ryder Cup player birdied the 11th, 12th and 18th holes in his outward nine before picking up further shots on the second, third, sixth and seventh holes alongside his eagle on the fifth.
“That was one stroke more than in 1986 – I must be getting worse!" he joked. "It was some round though.
“The key today was my putting. I’d been fiddling around with my putter beforehand – I brought three then bought another from the Pro Shop but I ended up sticking with my normal one and putted well in the Pro-Am with it.
“The putter I used last year was out the equation so my mind was made up but it ended up being a good choice. I hit some really nice shots but holed out fantastic today and holed the shot on the fifth.
“I didn’t see it go in as I hit it over a tree but I knew it was on line. I’ve got a bit of history with eagles round here after 1986 with the four eagles in one round. They were threes on all of the par fives though.
“I do like links golf and this course suits me – I like how it is set up – and I managed to control the ball well today. It is tricky out there but it is like any links golf, if you play well it is there for the taking and that’s certainly what I did today.
“I hit the right shots at the right time and putted well. Sometimes I didn’t even need to go to pins as I was that comfortable on the greens, not that I holed any long ones – I just made everything from inside ten feet.”
Brand’s nine under par 63 equalled the lowest round to par of the season so far set by Bill Longmuir in the Handa Senior Masters presented by The Stapleford Forum last month.
His nearest rival is Englishman Spurgeon, winner of the opening event of the 2010 in Mauritius, who fired four birdies and an eagle of his own on the par five second hole to lie in second place after signing for a flawless 66.
“Apart from my first tee shot I hit every fairway and every green today,” said Spurgeon. “I didn’t make any mistakes. I had a nice rhythm out there and I found it a lot easier coming back from America last week to play this course.
Two former Matrix Jersey Classic champions – Bobby Lincoln and Tony Johnstone - both opened with four under par rounds of 68 for a share of third place with Andrew Oldcorn, who was the last winner of the Jersey Open on The European Tour in 1995, Qualifying School winner John Harrison and Australian Graham Banister.
Oldcorn is playing in only his third European Senior Tour event and finished tied eighth in last week’s US Senior PGA Championship.
LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72. Yardage 6,665
BRAND junior, Gordon  63
SPURGEON, Kevin  66
LINCOLN, Bobby 68
JOHNSTONE, Tony  68
OLDCORN, Andrew 68
HARRISON, John 68
BANISTER, Graham 68
1RYALL, George  69
CUNNING, Mike 69
RUANGKIT, Boonchu  69
MASON, Carl 70
DURNIAN, Denis 70
CAMERON, Bob 70
GARRIDO, Antonio 70
WILLISON, Ricky 71
JOB, Nick  71
BRUNER, Jerry 71
CHILLAS, John 71
HARWOOD, Mike 71
CHAPMAN, Roger 71
BRAND, Gordon J 71
CARBONETTI, Horacio  71
HOSPITAL, Domingo 71
MERRIMAN, David 71
FARRY, Marc 71
FRANCO, Angel 71
FOWLER, Peter 71
JOHNSSON , Anders  71
RHODES, Jim 72
DRUMMOND, Ross 72
BOYD, Bob  72
CARBONETTI, Luis 72
SOWA, Adan72
GOULD, John 72
CLAYTON, Mike 72
MITCHELL, Peter 72
CHARNLEY, Tony 72
DEELEY, Michael J 72
Selected scores:
HORTON, Tommy 73
LONGMUIR, Bill  75
MANN, Fraser 75
MILLER, Mike 80

EUROPEAN TOUR REPORT, SCORES

Siem and Dodt share halfway lead at Celtic Manor

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
German Marcel Siem and Australian Andrew Dodt took over top spot after shooting 67 and 70 respectively at The Celtic Manor Wales Open today.
Overnight leader Chris Wood, having started with a 65, had problems with double bogeys at the fourth, 13th and short 17th contributing to a 76 as The Ryder Cup lay-out at The Celtic Manor Resort bared its teeth more in the energy-sapping sunshine.
European Captain Colin Montgomerie is very much in the hunt for a first win in three years at two under.
Former World Cup winner Siem, whose seven birdies included a chip-in from the rough at the fourth, was delighted with his upturn in form.
Siem said: "I played really well at Wentworth already and just had a nightmare on the 17th on Sunday and made a nine there.
"So actually I'm in there, it's just my mind set for Sunday I have to change a little bit because I think the average of Sunday is 75.
"I always say ‘okay, you haven't won for a long time, The Race to Dubai, you're not that high up', and I always try to play safe.
"When I came on Tour, I was always thinking, only thinking about winning, and not about top tens. That's what I want to do again and I just want to think that I want to win, and top ten is great, but the only goal is going to be winning tournaments again."
The 24 year old Dodt burst onto the scene earlier this year with his Avantha Masters win in India, and is now hoping to secure a second European Tour title after a one under par round saw him climb from joint second to a share of the lead.
The pair are one ahead of Dane Thomas Björn, whose 68 raised his spirits following six successive missed cuts.
"It's been two nice days," said the 39 year old. "I came in here after six missed cuts in a row, not feeling I've been playing that badly, but just not really putting any scores together. And I just said to myself coming into this week ‘just try and build scores instead of forcing it a little bit'. I've possible been forcing it too much because I've been wanting it too much.
"So I just decided to build a score yesterday, and especially today, didn't play particularly well earlier on but I hit it into the right places and just built a score again.
"I felt like I played pretty decent, and all of a sudden you get those numbers in. All in all I'm very pleased with where I am."
Wood stated: "I had a couple of really, really bad shots. To think after 12 holes I was still playing fairly solidly and then I just had a complete concentration lapse." He went into the lake off the 13th tee.

SCROLL DOWN TO READ HOW PAUL LAWRIE TOOK EIGHT PUTTS ON ONE GREEN AND MISSED THE CUT BY ONE SHOT.

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71)
136 Marcel Siem (Ger) 69 67, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 66 70.
137 Thomas Bjorn (Den) 69 68
138 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 70 68, Soren Hansen (Den) 68 70, Richard McEvoy 67 71, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 70 68, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 67 71
139 Robert Rock 68 71, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 68 71, Peter Lawrie 72 67, Bradley Dredge 66 73, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 69 70
140 Richie Ramsay 68 72, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 71 69, Colin Montgomerie 70 70, Rhys Davies 67 73, Luke Donald 75 65, Darren Clarke 69 71, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 67 73
141 Chris Wood 65 76, Gary Boyd 71 70, James Kingston (Rsa) 70 71, Oliver Wilson 70 71, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 69 72, Simon Dyson 71 70
142 Graeme McDowell 72 70, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 68 74, Gareth Maybin 69 73, Benn Barham 70 72, Oliver Fisher 74 68, Marco Ruiz (Par) 71 71, Marc Warren 71 71, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 68 74
143 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 70 73, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 72 71, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 72 71, Anton Haig (Rsa) 72 71, Julien Guerrier (Fra) 71 72, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 71 72, Danny Lee (Nzl) 68 75, Scott Hend (Aus) 71 72, Stephen Gallacher 70 73, Shane Lowry 70 73, Jamie Donaldson 71 72, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 72 71, Simon Thornton 68 75, Ross McGowan 70 73, Barry Lane 71 72
144 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 72 72, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 72 72, Garry Houston 73 71, Peter Whiteford 72 72, Phillip Price 70 74, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 70 74, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 72 72, Julien Quesne (Fra) 71 73, David Lynn 72 72, Alexander Noren (Swe) 70 74, Alastair Forsyth 71 73, James Ruth 70 74, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 72 72, Pablo Martin (Spa) 71 73, Benjamin Hebert (Fra) 73 71
145 Chris Gane 70 75, Richard Bland 74 71, Damien McGrane 69 76, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 74 71, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 73 72, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg) 70 75, Graeme Storm 74 71, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 69 76, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 73 72, Mark Foster 72 73.
MISSED THE CUT
146 Anders Hansen (Den) 75 71, Ross Fisher 76 70, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 76 70, Steven O'Hara 76 70, Jamie Elson 74 72, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 75 71, Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 74 72, Kyron Sullivan 73 73, Andrew Coltart 74 72, Nick Dougherty 75 71, Mark Brown (Nzl) 74 72, Robert Coles 73 73, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 73 73, Paul Lawrie 72 74, David Dixon 75 71, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 76 70, Ariel Canete (Arg) 73 73, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 71 75
147 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 71 76, Andrew McArthur 73 74, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 71 76, Scott Drummond 78 69, Paul McGinley 72 75, Simon Khan 71 76, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 72 75
148 Lee Slattery 73 75, Richard Finch 71 77, Paul Broadhurst 75 73, Gregory Havret (Fra) 75 73
149 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 71 78, Sam Hutsby 75 74, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 77 72, John Parry 71 78, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 77 72, Tano Goya (Arg) 71 78, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 72 77
150 Gary Orr 78 72, David Howell 76 74, Peter Baker 75 75, Danny Willett 75 75, Gary Lockerbie 75 75, Gary Clark 76 74, Craig Smith 73 77, Gary Murphy 73 77, Mark F Haastrup (Den) 73 77, Stephan Gross Jnr (Ger) 71 79, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 75 75
151 Liam Bond 75 76, Scott Strange (Aus) 79 72, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 74 77, Stuart Manley 74 77, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 78 73
152 Andrew Tampion (Aus) 79 73, David Horsey 77 75, Kenneth Ferrie 79 73, Anthony Kang (USA) 72 80, Carl Suneson (Spa) 79 73, Phillip Archer 77 75, Miles Tunnicliff 74 78, Sam Little 73 79, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 73 79
153 Steve Webster 73 80, Sion E Bebb 77 76, George Coetzee (Rsa) 73 80
154 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 80 74, Michael Campbell (Nzl) 76 78, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 77 77, Johan Edfors (Swe) 78 76
155 James Morrison 77 78, Michael Watson (USA) 77 78
156 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 82 74, Andrew Butterfield 79 77
158 Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe) 78 80
159 Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 77 82
160 Neil Cheetham 80 80
169 Jason Powell 89 80
RTD: Brett Rumford (Aus) 71, Anthony Wall 74, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 79, David Drysdale 74

No doubting Thomas as he storms into lead in Austria
By SARAH GWYNN
European Challenge Tour Press Officer
Austrian Thomas Feyrsinger produced a stunning finish to card a five under par 67 for the second day running to lead the Karnten Golf Open by Markus Brier Foundation at the halfway stage.
Feyrsinger picked up four shots in the last three holes and has a one shot advantage over compatriot Markus Brier, the creator of the tournament, and Dutchman Floris De Vries, who carded rounds of 68 and 67 respectively at Klagenfurt-Seltenheim Golf Club.
Overnight leader Martin Wiegele, who gave the home crowds even more reason to cheer yesterday when he shot a stunning ten under par 62, struggled to match his first round form and laboured to a four over par 76 to slip back to six under overall.
Feyrsinger was delighted to see some hard work over the last few months starting to pay off.
“I’ve had a hard, hard time this last year and have been working so hard on my game,” he said. “I’ve made many changes over the winter to the physical and mental aspects and kept telling myself that being patient would pay off.
“Today I felt great and it was a good finish which has put me in this position. I finished eagle, birdie, birdie so it was nice to end on that. The three bogeys came as a result of missing the green and failing to get up and down.
“Earlier in the round I was getting a little tense and I three-putted the 12th – the third from about two feet. I just told myself to relax and it worked.”
Brier had earlier set the clubhouse lead but was not completely satisfied with how he played.
“It was a bit different today as I was driving the ball really well but was not so good with my irons,” he said. “It was almost the opposite of yesterday. I only missed one fairway, but the irons were a little shaky and I didn’t give myself too many good birdie chances.
“I holed long putts for birdie at the third and the 11th and I chipped in for birdie at the 12th. I had a couple of close ones but I wasn’t as accurate as I was in the first round.”
De Vries won the Mugello Tuscany Open a fortnight ago and is confident he can pick up his second Challenge Tour victory here.
“I’m playing really well and I think I can win it, yes,” he said. “I’m really relaxed and today I was playing like it was a practice round. It felt great.
“The only bad thing that happened was my three wood broke when I hit a shot. I heard this loud noise and I looked up and the club head flew off and the ball went only about 40 yards. It cost me a shot and I’ll have to find a new three wood but it’s not too serious.”
Wiegele admitted it was hard to follow such a sublime score and having a three shot at the start of the second round put him under pressure.
“It was the first time I’d ever shot 62 and the first time I’ve led a tournament after the first round,” he said. “I tried not to think about it but it’s not easy. It was in my head a bit.
“All of a sudden I was six over but I managed to play the rest of the round in two under so at least there’s a positive to take from it and I’m still in a good position. I just wasn’t as accurate and on this course if you go in the rough or the water it’s at least one shot dropped.”
Sixty-four players made the cut with 36-hole totals of 143 (one under par) or better.
SCOTSWATCH: Lloyd Saltman's career as a professional shows no signs of a turn for the better. He missed another cut in Austria today with rounds of 74 and 72 for 146 - three shots over the limit mark.
Glasgow's Scott Jamieson led the three Scots qualifiers with scores of 70 and 69 for 139 and a share of 14th place behind the Austrian leader, Thomas Feyrsinger, who is on eight-under 134 with a pair of 67s.
Callum Macaulay (Tulliallan) is in joint 22nd place on 140 with two 70s while Carnoustie's Eric Ramsay qualified in joint 41st position thanks to a good second round of 68 for 142.
Jack Doherty joined Lloyd Saltman on the sidelines after a pair of 74s for 148.

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
134 T Feyrsinger (Aut) 67 67,
135 F De Vries (Ned) 68 67, M Brier (Aut) 67 68,
136 A Sjöstrand (Swe) 65 71, L Claverie (Esp) 68 68, N Meitinger (Ger) 67 69,
137 R Steiner (Aut) 71 66,
138 L Westerberg (Swe) 70 68, F Calmels (Fra) 70 68, M Wiegele (Aut) 62 76, J McLean (Aus) 70 68, J Sjöholm (Swe) 68 70, B Ritthammer (Ger) 67 71,
139 S Jamieson (Sco) 70 69, A Maestroni (Ita) 69 70, E Dubois (Fra) 71 68, J Caldwell (Nir) 68 71, A Johnston (Eng) 68 71, G Molteni (Ita) 71 68, G Davies (Eng) 69 70, D Denison (Eng) 73 66, E Canonica (Ita) 72 67,
140 J Campillo (Esp) 68 72, C Macaulay (Sco) 70 70, A Haindl (RSA) 72 68, M Cobo (Esp) 71 69, M Thorp (Nor) 72 68, A Bruschi (Ita) 70 70, T Whitehouse (Eng) 70 70,
141 R Kind (Ned) 71 70, J Zapata (Arg) 69 72, V Riu (Fra) 70 71, M Higley (Eng) 69 72, A Snobeck (Fra) 72 69, L Jensen (Den) 75 66, M Zions (Aus) 70 71, G Woodman (Eng) 73 68, L Moolman (RSA) 69 72, V Covello (USA) 70 71, A Bossert (Sui) 70 71,
142 E Ramsay (Sco) 74 68, R Thuillier (Fra) 74 68, T Olesen (Den) 71 71, J Xanthopoulos (Fra) 70 72, D Whitnell (Eng) 70 72, K Eriksson (Swe) 75 67, J Arruti (Esp) 70 72, A Gee (Eng) 71 71, P Del Grosso (Arg) 71 71, H Bacher (Aut) 69 73, J Colomo (Esp) 70 72, M Mills (Eng) 68 74, P Golding (Eng) 75 67, D Vanegas (Col) 70 72,
143 L Kennedy (Eng) 70 73, M Moser (Aut) 72 71, A Kaleka (Fra) 72 71, J Axgren (Swe) 73 70, J Maurer (Aut) 72 71, C Ford (Eng) 70 73, J Larsen (Nor) 73 70, M Baldwin (Eng) 70 73, J Abbate (Arg) 74 69, G Shaw (Nir) 67 76.
MISSED THE CUT
144 B Lecuona (Fra) 71 73, B Evans (Eng) 72 72, S Buhl (Ger) 72 72, Z Scotland (Eng) 72 72, N Lemke (Swe) 70 74, M Carlsson (Swe) 72 72, T Remkes (Ned) 69 75, A Zanini (Ita) 74 70, M Laskey (Wal) 70 74, L Goddard (Eng) 73 71, F Colombo (Ita) 69 75, S Lewton (Eng) 72 72, M Quiros (Esp) 71 73,
145 L Dodd (Eng) 72 73, M Tullo (Chi) 74 71, A Tadini (Ita) 72 73, T Haylock (Eng) 72 73, S Piaget (Mon) 72 73, D Nouailhac (Fra) 72 73, F Praegant (Aut) 73 72, V Almstrom (Swe) 74 71, N Sulzer (Sui) 72 73, A Högberg (Swe) 74 71, S Lilly (Eng) 74 71, G Watremez (Bel) 74 71, A Bernadet (Fra) 76 69, P Lepitschnik (Aut) 73 72,
146 C Pfau (Aut) 74 72, F Marty (Fra) 69 77, A Blyth (Aus) 74 72, L Saltman (Sco) 74 72, O David (Fra) 73 73, B Chapellan (Fra) 72 74, S Reale (Ita) 76 70, Å Nilsson (Swe) 74 72, A Perrino (Ita) 74 72, A Signor (Ita) 74 72, W Ormsby (Aus) 71 75, M Bothma (RSA) 78 68, D Perrier (Fra) 73 73, C Brazillier (Fra) 71 75, R Sjöberg (Swe) 73 73, M Mayrhauser (am) (Aut) 76 70,
147 M Rominger (Sui) 73 74, M Eliasson (Swe) 73 74, A Marshall (Eng) 75 72, D Brooks (Eng) 72 75, S Garcia (Esp) 77 70, I Van Weerelt (Ned) 73 74, M Lowe (Eng) 73 74, R Santos (Por) 74 73,
148 J Doherty (Sco) 74 74, J Roos (RSA) 76 72, L Astl (Aut) 72 76, S Ottosen (Den) 72 76, L Nemecz (am) (Aut) 79 69,
149 B Wiesberger (Aut) 78 71, J Ruebotham (Eng) 74 75, D Moretti (am) (Aut) 74 75, M Trappel (am) (Aut) 80 69,
150 G Povey (Eng) 78 72, T Stewart (Aus) 72 78, U Weinhandl (Aut) 78 72,
151 L Johansen (Den) 73 78, J Billot (Fra) 80 71, A Mellor (Eng) 80 71,
152 F Widmark (Swe) 76 76, D Wardrop (Eng) 76 76, N Bruzelius (Swe) 82 70, W Rieder (Aut) 71 81, R Gruber (Aut) 75 77, P Oriol (Esp) 75 77, S Russi (Chi) 77 75, O Turnill (Eng) 75 77,
153 F Ruprecht (Aut) 76 77, P Fendt (am) (Aut) 73 80,
154 S McHenry (Aus) 80 74, L Matthews (Wal) 79 75, G Rosier (Fra) 80 74,
155 C Günther (Ger) 74 81,
156 S Juul (Den) 77 79,
157 D Ulrich (Sui) 76 81, P Scott (Eng) 76 81, R Harris (Eng) 79 78, F Pogatschnigg (Aut) 78 79, B Neumayer (am) (Aut) 81 76,
158 J Hedin (Swe) 75 83,
159 C Bausek (Aut) 83 76,
161 I Pyman (Eng) 79 82,
162 D Hewan (RSA) 84 78,
163 J Estevez (Arg) 81 82,
Withdrew: S Wakefield (Eng).

European men's mid-amateur championship scoreboard
MORFONTAINE GOLF CLUB, FRANCE
LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
(one round to go)
138 John Kemp (England) 70 68, Jamie Miller (England) 69 69.
139 Jacobo Cestino (Spain) 69 70, Mark Wharton (England) 68 71.
140 Morten Findsen Schou (Denmark) 73 67.
141 Francois Illoux (France) 72 69.
142 Malcolm Reid (Scotland) 74 68.

Home win for Chris Kelly in Cawder pro-am with a 68

Chris Kelly, playing over his home course, won the £1,085 top prize with a round of two-under-par 68 in the £6,750 Cawder Golf Club pro-am today
It was Kelly’s third pro-am win of the season, following victories at Roxburghe in April and Portpatrick in May.
Kelly finished a shot ahead of Graham Fox (East Kilbride) and Colin Gillies (Braid Hills) thanks to birdies at the fourth, 10th, 11th and 16th, which cancelled out bogeys at the second and third.
Fox and Gillies each earned £759.
Kelly almost made it a double whammy in the team event but had to settle for second place behind the Circle Insurance trio of amateurs, Alistair Macpherson (handicap 2), Graham Murray (9) and Danny McIntyre (13), spearheaded by Falkirk Tryst pro Craig Matheson. They had a net score of 15-under-par 125, one shot better than Chris Kelly’s team.
PRO TOTALS
Par 70
68 Chris Kelly (Cawder) (£1,085).
69 Graham Fox (East Kilbride), Colin Gillies (Braid Hills) (£759 each).
70 Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs), Stephen Gray (Hayston), Alan Purdie (Kingsbarns), Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie) (£171 each).
71 Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), David Patrick (Elie),Chris Doak (unatt) (£210 each).
72 Peter Mitchell (Hermitage), Chris Conroy (unatt) (£157 each).
73 Craig Ronald (Carluke), Stewart Savage (Dalmuir), Craig Lee (Aspire), Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) (£125 each).
74 Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst), Mark King (Kingsfield), Scott Henderson (Kings Links) (£87 each).
75 Steven Taylor (Bothwell Castle), Joel Rodwell (Southport and Ainsdale) (£57 each).
77 James Mcknnon (Irvine) (£48).
78 Anthony Mackrell (Playsport Golf) (£48).
79 Gordon Stewart (Cawder) (£48).
80 Andrew Crerar (Pasnmure) (£48).

Dear beats cut in France but Hume fails

Gavin Dear qualified comfortably for the final two rounds of this weekend’s Alps Tour event, the International d’Ile de France at Golf de Disneyland, near Paris but the Perthshire man’s travelling companion, Steven Hume, missed the cut by eight shots.
Dear, starting at the 10th, came home in 33, for a second-round 69 and a two-round tally of three-under- par 139.
That put the Murrayshall House man in joint 19th position, six shots behind the leader, Italy’s Nunzio Daniele Lombardi with rounds of 67 and 66.
Hume had second-round 72, not good enough to repair the damage of a first-day 78 and his 150 total put him well outside the 142 or better mark required to maintain an active interest in the tournament.
SECOND-ROUND LEADERS
Par 142 (2x71)
133 Nunzo Daniele Lombardi (Ita) 67 66./
134 Alan Bihan (Fra) 68 66.
135 Paolo Terreni (Ita) 67 68, Thomas Fournier (Fra) 69 66.
Selected scores:
136 Matthew Cryer (Eng) 69 67, Jason Palmer (Eng) 70 66 (jt 5th).
137 Farren Keenan (Eng) 70 67, Agus Domingo Hospital (Spa) 65 72 (jt 12th).
138 Jason Barnes (Eng) 72 66 (jt 16th).
139 Gavin Dear (Sco) 70 69 (jt 19th).
140 Daniel Coughlan (Eng) 69 71.
MISSED THE CUT (142 or better)
150 Steven Hume (Sco) 78 72.

Elliot Saltman earns £1,433 for joint fourth

finish on EuroPro Tour in Ireland

Elliot Saltman earned £1,433 for finishing joint fourth in this week’s PGA EuroPro Tour event over 54 holes at Castle Dargan Golf Club on the Northwest Sligo coast of Ireland.
The Lothians man had rounds of 67, 69 and 70 for a seven-under-par tally of 206, four shots behind the £10,000 first prize winner, Englishman Ian Keenan (Royal Liverpool) with scores of 65, 70 and 67.
Saltman had a mixed bag of one eagle, four birdies, one double bogey and three bogeys on the final day but he came home in 33 to cement a top-four finish.
Tartan Tour man Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) slipped past the youngest of the Saltman brothers, Zack, to finish joint 13th on 209 with scores of 69, 74 and 66. McCreadie had an incredible run of eight under par for 10 consecutive holes from the fifth to the 14th – and then dropped out of the top 10 with a double bogey 6 at the last hole.
Zack Saltman, level with brother Elliot at the start of the last round, failed to build on earlier rounds of 70 and 66. His three-over-par 74 (38-36) contained two birdies but simply too many bogeys to stay in the top 10. He finished joint 15th on 210.
Paul Doherty was joint 18th on 211 with scores of 71, 69 and 71.
Three Scots shared 21st place on 212 – Steven Duncan from Carnoustie (70-74-68), Alyth’s Kevin McAlpine (66-73-73) and Scott Henry (The Carrick on Loch Lomond) who had double bogey 6s at the 17th and 18th to finish with a 75 after earlier scores of 68 and 69.
Ellon’s Ross Cameron (Paul Lawrie Foundation) finished joint 43rd with scores of 72, 73 and 71 for 216.
Scott Herald (Mearns Castle) came 56th of the 58 qualifiers with scores of 70, 73 and 80 for 223. His finish would have made a strong man weep – triple bogey 7, bogey 5, triple bogey 7 for 42 home.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71)
202 Ian Keenan (Eng) 65 70 67 (£10,000).
203 Justin Evans (Eng) 69 66 68 (£5,000).
204 Daniel Belch (Eng) 69 69 66 (£2,500).
206 Elliot Saltman (Sco) 67 69 70, Tim Rice (Ire) 67 72 67, Paul O’Hanlon (Ire) 70 67 69 (£1,433 each).
207 James Busby (Eng) 69 68 70, Brian McElhinney (Ire) 67 70 70, James Freeman (Eng) 66 70 71, Andrew Thorpe (Eng) 69 65 73.
Selected scores:
209 Jason McCreadie (Sco) 69 74 66 (jt 13th).
210 Zack Saltman (Sco) 70 66 74 (jt 15th).
211 Paul Doherty (Sco) 71 69 71, Gary Wolstenholme (Eng) 71 72 68 (jt 18th).
212 Steven Duncan (Sco) 70 74 68, Kevin McAlpine (Sco) 66 73 73, Scott Henry 68 69 75 (jt 21st).
216 Ross Cameron (Sco) 72 73 71 (jt 43rd).
223 Scott Herald (Sco) 70 73 80 (56th).

Celtic Manor Wales Open nightmare as Aberdonian runs up an 11

Paul Lawrie runs up 8 putts at one hole - and misses cut

Former Open champion Paul Lawrie went from the sublime to the ridiculous when he followed five birdies with a nightmare 11 that contained an incredible eight putts in the second round of the Celtic Manor Wales Open over the Ryder Cup course today.
The Aberdonian, pictured, had charged from 63rd to joint fourth place, only two behind overnight leader Chris Wood in his opening eight holes.

When he was in a greenside bunker for two on the 610-yard second, his 10th, the Scot had hopes of picking up another shot. But instead he came out far too strongly and saw his long first putt go past the flag and trickle down into a hollow.

From there he needed three attempts to get the ball back up, but that was not the end of the drama. He putted back into the hollow from 20 feet with his eighth stroke and had three more putts from there.

“Ridiculous,” he said after signing for a 74 that sent him crashing out of the event at four over par 146 .. but only by one shot! Even seven putts on that green would have enabled Paul to beat the cut.

Asked if the blame lay with him or with the pin placing, the 41-year-old from Aberdeen replied: “Bit of both.
“I hit the first putt about a foot too far. When you do that and you end up where I was then that’s a bit silly.
“The second one hit a divot in front of me so didn’t get up, so after the next one didn’t make it either I had to make sure with the one after that and knocked it about 20 feet past.
“I couldn’t believe it when I then back down the hollow.”
“The really sad thing was that I had played so lovely. I missed a three-foot putt at the first, otherwise I would have been out in six under.”
In contrast, Luke Donald, last weekend's winner, shot a 65 for 140, the same 36-hole mark as Aberdonian Richie Ramsay who followed his first-day 68 with a 72.
Early leaders on four-under 138 were Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, Denmark's Soren Hansen and Maarten Lafeber of the Netherlands.

EARLY SECOND-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 142 (2x72)
138 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 70 68, Soren Hansen (Den) 68 70, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 70 68

139 Peter Lawrie 72 67, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 69 70
140 Richie Ramsay 68 72, Rhys Davies 67 73, Luke Donald 75 65, Darren Clarke 69 71, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 67 73
141 Gary Boyd 71 70, James Kingston (Rsa) 70 71, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 69 72, Simon Dyson 71 70
142 Marco Ruiz (Par) 71 71, Graeme McDowell 72 70, Marc Warren 71 71, Benn Barham 70 72, Oliver Fisher 74 68
143 Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 72 71, Anton Haig (Rsa) 72 71, Jamie Donaldson 71 72, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 72 71, Barry Lane 71 72, Ross McGowan 70 73
144 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 72 72, Garry Houston 73 71, Peter Whiteford 72 72, Phillip Price 70 74, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 72 72, David Lynn 72 72, Alastair Forsyth 71 73, James Ruth 70 74, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 72 72
145 Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 73 72, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 74 71, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 73 72, Mark Foster 72 73, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg) 70 75, Graeme Storm 74 71, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 69 76
146 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 75 71, Nick Dougherty 75 71, Andrew Coltart 74 72, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 76 70, Steven O'Hara 76 70, Jamie Elson 74 72, David Dixon 75 71, Paul Lawrie 72 74, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 76 70, Ariel Canete (Arg) 73 73, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 71 75
147 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 71 76, Andrew McArthur 73 74, Scott Drummond 78 69, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 72 75
148 Lee Slattery 73 75, Richard Finch 71 77, Paul Broadhurst 75 73, Gregory Havret (Fra) 75 73
149 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 77 72
150 Craig Smith 73 77, Gary Clark 76 74, Gary Murphy 73 77, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 75 75
151 Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 74 77, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 78 73
152 Anthony Kang (USA) 72 80, David Horsey 77 75, Miles Tunnicliff 74 78
154 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 80 74, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 77 77, Johan Edfors (Swe) 78 76
155 James Morrison 77 78, Michael Watson (USA) 77 78
156 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 82 74
160 Neil Cheetham 80 80
RTD: Brett Rumford (Aus), Anthony Wall

Former Ryder Cup men bid for Open places at Sunningdale

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE R&A
Irish Ryder Cup veteran Darren Clarke is the highest-ranked of nine former Ryder Cup players who will attempt to secure their places in the 150th Anniversary Open Championship at International Final Qualifying – Europe on Monday. They will form part of a field of 96 players, each looking to secure one of 10 Open berths available at Sunningdale Golf Club.

Clarke, currently the world number 163, secured his best Open Championship result to date at Royal Troon in 1997, where he finished runner-up to Justin Leonard. The five-time Ryder Cup player will be attempting to reach his 19th Open, building on a good record at St Andrews which has seen him tie seventh at the Millennium Open, and tie 15th in 2005.
Fellow Irishman Paul McGinley, a veteran of three matches between Europe and the USA, will also take his place in the field. McGinley will be hoping to have earned his 17th Open appearance after completing 18 holes of the New Course and 18 holes of the Old Course at the Berkshire venue.
Also attempting to qualify on Monday is the 2010 European Ryder Cup team Captain, Colin Montgomerie, who has made 20 consecutive Open appearances since making his debut in 1990. The 31-time European Tour winner will be hoping to return to St Andrews five years after finishing runner-up to Tiger Woods in 2005.
The other former Ryder Cup players attempting to book a ticket to St Andrews are Thomas Bjorn, Niclas Fasth, Paul Broadhurst, Peter Baker, David Howell and Andrew Coltart.
Going in search of their Open Championship debuts are three of the four players to have won on the European Tour as amateurs: Spain’s Pablo Martin, Danny Lee of New Zealand and Irishman Shane Lowry, all of whom now play professionally.
Martin became the first-ever amateur winner on the European Tour when he captured the 2007 Estoril Open de Portugal. Former US Amateur Champion Lee became the youngest-ever winner when he won the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic at the age of 18. And Lowry claimed victory on home soil when he triumphed at the 2009 Irish Open. The only other player to have won on the European Tour as an amateur, Korea’s Seung-yul Noh, secured his Open debut at IFQ – Asia in March.
Adding further interest is Matteo Manassero, the 17-year-old Italian who earned the Silver Medal at the 2009 Open Championship and the Silver Cup at the 2010 Masters Tournament for finishing as the highest-placed amateur in both. Manassero is hoping to make his first professional Major Championship appearance at St Andrews in July.
Play will get underway at 6.30am local time on the Old and New courses at Sunningdale. Live scores and stories will be published on www.opengolf.com throughout the day.

Blaney v Fairburn in final of Lothians' boys' championship

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Liberton's Anthony Blaney stands between Simon Fairburn and a successful defence of the Golf Finance-sponsored Lothians boys' championship at the Braids.
In last night's semi-finals, Blaney squeezed past Fraser Thain of West Linton at the 19th, while Fairburn beat his Craigielaw clubmate Ewen Donaldson 3 and 2 in a match that was a lot closer than the score suggests.
One down with four to go, Thain won the 15th and 16th, both with birdies, to get his nose in front then holed a good five-footer for a half at the short 17th, where Blaney followed him in from slightly closer.
Thain then drove into 'The Graves' at the last and lost that to a par before he three-putted from 18 feet at the first extra hole, missing a three-footer for par to allow Blaney to go through.
Fairburn's home club is Torwoodlee in Galashiels but he's also a member at Craigielaw, allowing him to enter this event. Both he and Donaldson were out in 33 and, what's more, they were all square with five holes to play. Fairburn, who finished second in the Scottish Youths' Championship at Monifieth earlier in the year, then won the 14th with a birdie before a par-4 proved good enough for him to also take the 15th.
Piling the pressure on his opponent, Fairburn then hit his drive pin high at the 16th, where Donaldson found the whins on the right, took a drop and then thinned his pitch through the back.
Having already proven he can go the course and distance in this event, Fairburn is certainly the favourite for tonight's final, which tees-off at 5.15pm.
But Blaney is possibly the most improved young player in Capital golf over the past year or so and he'll certainly be no pushover.
Results:
Semi-finals:
S Fairburn (Craigielaw) bt E Donaldson (Craigielaw) 3 and 2.
A Blaney (Liberton) bt F Thain (West Linton) at 19th.

Stage set for English seniors' title battle at Carlisle

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION
The final day of the English Seniors Championship will be an intriguing battle at Carlisle today as the cream rose to the top in round two with internationals filling the leading six places.
Alan Squires took over at the top of the leaderboard on three-under-par par 140 after a 71 in as the sun beat down at Eden, which followed a 69 at Carlisle, the only man to better par on both courses. He leads by three from overnight leader and defending champion Chris Reynolds, who returned 74 at Eden, and by five from former world speedway champion Dave Jessup.
Squires, from Oldham, started with a bogey at the second and dropped one more shot but he cancelled that with three birdies and even lipped out for eagle at the long eighth.
“I played it very cagey at Eden today,” said Squires. “I hadn’t played the course before and I took on board what some of the other players were saying that it was a tough test. But I’ve amazed myself this week because I have not played a lot this year. It is difficult to play in competitions such as the Irish Seniors and the Scottish when you have a job and playing with the lads at Oldham is a lot different from a national competition. But I’m not putting pressure on myself. I’ve been in this position before, three years ago, and blew it. But I’m playing solidly and if I can shoot under par again we’ll see.”
Reynolds was going nicely at Eden, level par through 13 holes but bogeys at the 14th and 18th dropped him back.
Jessup, on 145 after a 72 at Carlisle, expressed himself as happy despite a double bogey five at the short fourth where he missed the green and three putted. But he found three birdies and although he dropped another shot at the short 17th he declared: “I’m just happy to be a contender.”
Four-time champion Roy Smethurst is six strokes behind but got himself back into contention with a 72 at Eden and shares fourth place with Welsh international and 2008 champion John Jermine, who went round Carlisle in 76. Hertfordshire’s Peter Bax, who shared the overnight lead on 69, carded 78 at Eden to drop back to joint sixth spot on 147.
The best round at Carlisle came from another international and former champion Doug Arnold, who signed for 70, which hauled him up the order after a disastrous 81 at Eden.
“I had a bad finish at Eden yesterday, dropping six shots in the last three holes including two lost balls,” said Arnold. “I lost another on the first today and three-putted the fourth, but I battled away to get three birdies including a chip-in on the eighth.”
The day also saw a second hole-in-one. Following an ‘ace’ at the 161 yard 13th at Eden in round one by Martyn Senior, the former secretary at Hesketh Golf Club, which helped him make the cut, Peter Groocock from Hampshire holed his seven iron tee shot at the 137 yard 13th at Carlisle. It was the 68 year old great grandfather’s seventh hole-in-one, all of which have been in competition.
The 36-hole cut came at 156 with 64 players surviving for the final 18 holes.