Westwood birdies last three holes to share halfway lead

MEMPHIS, Tennessee -- Lee Westwood had heard how challenging the TPC Southwind course is when the wind blows. Now the Englishman knows for himself how true all that talk really is.
Westwood scrambled to birdie his final three holes in grabbing a share of a one-stroke lead second-round lead with Garrett Willis in the St. Jude Classic with the winds gusting up to 22 mph.
Westwood, making his Memphis debut this week as part of his tune-up for next week's U.S. Open, said that made it tricky judging shots after seeing no wind Thursday.
"You've got to be on the fairway to attack the flags, and I just didn't hit it close enough to the flag early on," he said. "So it was a day of patience and battling, and I was rewarded at the end of the round with three birdies for doing that."
Westwood had a one-stroke lead after his opening 65, and the world's No. 3-ranked player dropped two strokes off the pace with two bogeys. He rolled in a 26-footer for birdie on No. 17, and then hit a 9-iron within 4 feet for a 68 that tied him with Willis at 9-under 131 total through 36 holes.
Willis, who spent last year on the Nationwide Tour, had five birdies in a bogey-free round to put himself in the final group for Saturday.
Charley Hoffman had the clubhouse lead early with a 65 and was at 132. Robert Karlsson (66) and Robert Garrigus (66) were tied for third at 133. Texas teenager Jordan Spieth, who became the sixth-youngest to make a PGA Tour cut at the HP Byron Nelson Championship last month, missed this cut at 1 over as he finished 2-over 142.
Hoffman took advantage of his morning tee time with little wind in becoming the first to reach 8 under. His sixth birdie, which he rolled in from 78 feet on the par-3 14th, helped him take the clubhouse lead.
"I think they gypped me a few feet," Hoffman said on the measurement of a putt he put at 90 feet and the longest putt of his life.
Westwood joined him at 8 under with his first birdie of the round on his fourth hole. He gave that stroke back with a bogey on No. 8 when he was short of the par-3 green and didn't get up and down. Westwood pushed a 17-footer for birdie on No. 9 just right of the hole.
He dropped another shot on the par-3 14th when he hit his tee shot into a bunker behind the green and two-putted.
"I set myself a little task of trying to birdie two of the last four holes to shoot under 70," Westwood said. "I birdied the last three holes and had a good chance at 15. I'm pleased with that. It was a great way to finish off the day and send it into tomorrow with momentum."
Willis won the 2001 Tucson Open before finding himself back on the Nationwide Tour last year where he finished 12th on the money list to get back to the PGA Tour.
He has made 10 of 13 cuts this year and tied for 13th at the Valero Texas Open for his best finish. He had the first-round lead at the Transitions Championship after opening with a 65 but finished tied for 72nd. Willis, who lives in Knoxville, Tenn., said that taught him a very important lesson about patience.
"I just kind of realise that this is the opportunity for me to support my family," Willis said. "I don't need to go out there and shoot at every pin. I can go out there, shoot for the middle of the green, try to make a putt from 20, 30 feet. If I don't, tap it in for par, and I'm just trying to play as well as I possibly can."
That focus helped on a day where he hit an approach into a fan's chair on the par-5 third and had to wait for a ruling for a drop where the ball rolled behind a tree. That forced him to punch out left of the green where he got a lucky kick with it rolling up to 30 feet closer to set him up for birdie.
"That got some excitement definitely going for me," Willis said.
He rolled in a 3-footer for birdie on No. 9 and had his own strong finish with birdies on three of the final four holes. His 18-foot putt lipped in for birdie on No. 15 when he thought he had missed it, two-putted for birdie from 60 feet on the par-5 16th and watched Tom Pernice's putt on the same line on No. 18 before rolling in a 19-footer.
"I'm trying to be a lot smarter and try to learn from my mistakes, knowing that a lot of pars on this golf course when the wind starts blowing is a pretty good score," Willis said.
Tim Petrovic briefly tied Hoffman at 8 under with his fourth birdie on his 12th hole only to bogey two of his next three to fall off the pace. He finished with a 68 and was tied for sixth at 134 with Lee Janzen (66) and Shaun Micheel (66).
This is Karlsson's first trip to Memphis as his tune-up for the U.S. Open. He got a bounce off a cart that helped him save par on his final hole.
"I didn't aim for that one actually," he said to laughter. "I hit it a bit right, and I was very happy when I saw it, when I saw where it was. That happens. It was good there was no one in the cart anyway.
Paul Goydos withdrew with an injury. He opened with a 75 and shot a 38 through his first nine holes Friday, putting him 8 over. Mark Hensby withdrew due to illness, and John Morse withdrew with an injury. ... Steve Wheatcroft had a double eagle on the par-5 No. 3. He holed out from 243 yards with a hybrid 2-iron for just the fourth double-eagle in this event's history. It didn't help enough. He missed the cut. ... John Daly was among the 81 making the cut. He made it right at 1 over due to taking a two-shot penalty for hitting the wrong ball out of a hazard on No. 9 and finishing with a double bogey on the hole.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Total prize fund $5.6million. Winner: $1,008,000.
Par 140 (2x70)
131 Garrett Willis 66 65, Lee Westwood (Eng) 63 68
132 Charley Hoffman 67 65
133 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 67 66, Robert Garrigus 67 66
134 Tim Petrovic 66 68, Lee Janzen 68 66, D.J. Trahan 66 68, Shaun Micheel 68 66
135 Bob Estes 66 69, Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 69 66, Jason Dufner 68 67, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 67 68, Boo Weekley 69 66
136 Kirk Triplett 68 68, Zach Johnson 67 69, John Senden (Aus) 66 70, Jay Williamson 66 70, Woody Austin 69 67, Heath Slocum 69 67, Rich Barcelo 68 68
137 Vaughn Taylor 68 69, Glen Day 68 69, Johnson Wagner 69 68, Michael Clark II 71 66, Josh Teater 66 71
138 Mathew Goggin (Aus) 69 69, Casey Wittenberg 64 74, Camilo Villegas (Col) 71 67, Cameron Percy (Aus) 70 68, Jonathan Byrd 69 69
139 Jeff Quinney 68 71, Billy Mayfair 69 70, Charles Howell III 67 72, Webb Simpson 70 69, Will MacKenzie 70 69, Ben Crane 67 72, Dean Wilson 67 72, Dicky Pride 69 70, Phil Tataurangi (Nzl) 66 73, Chris Rogers 69 70, Chris DiMarco 70 69, Kevin Na 68 71, Jeff Maggert 68 71, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 69 70, Brett Wetterich 72 67, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 65 74
140 Kent Jones 67 73, Spencer Levin 72 68, Omar Uresti 70 70, John Merrick 69 71, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 72 68, Brian Gay 73 67, Roger Tambellini 68 72, D.A. Points 74 66, Chad Campbell 70 70, John Rollins 71 69, J.B. Holmes 72 68, Chad Collins 67 73, Craig Barlow 74 66, Brandt Snedeker 70 70
141 Chris Riley 68 73, Gary Woodland 70 71, Michael O'Neal 70 71, David Toms 71 70, Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 69 72, Greg Kraft 67 74, John Daly 71 70, Joe Durant 71 70, Nathan Green (Aus) 73 68, Justin Bolli 68 73, Frank Lickliter II 71 70, Stephen Ames (Can) 70 71, Nicholas Thompson 68 73, Charles Warren 72 69, Joe Ogilvie 73 68, Tom Pernice Jnr. 73 68, Michael Connell 66 75, Alex Cejka (Ger) 68 73, Steve Elkington (Aus) 72 69, Troy Merritt 69 72
MISSED THE CUT
142 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 67 75, Aron Price (Aus) 73 69, Paul Stankowski 68 74, Mark Brooks 73 69, Michael Bradley 70 72, Jim Carter 72 70, Grant Leaver 71 71, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 75 67, Henrik Bjornstad (Nor) 70 72, Jason Gore 74 68, Matt Weibring 71 71, Jordan Spieth 73 69
143 Brian Stuard 73 70, Brent Delahoussaye 69 74, Marco Dawson 71 72, Steve Lowery 73 70, Parker McLachlin 71 72, Steve Wheatcroft 71 72, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 72 71, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 71 72, Mike Small 71 72, Cameron Beckman 69 74, Matthew Every 69 74, John Huston 73 70, Skip Kendall 73 70
144 David Lutterus (Rsa) 70 74, Tim Herron 74 70, Vance Veazey 73 71, Ian Poulter (Eng) 72 72, Manuel Villegas (Col) 71 73, Todd Hamilton 74 70, James Driscoll 74 70
145 Scott McCarron 76 69, Rodney Pampling (Aus) 72 73, Jonathan Kaye 76 69, Jeff Gove 72 73, Ted Purdy 75 70, Harrison Frazar 71 74, Greg Owen (Eng) 69 76, Jim Gallagher Jnr 74 71, Kevin Stadler 71 74, Robin Freeman 75 70
146 Chris Stroud 70 76, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 76 70, Bill Lunde 71 75, J.L. Lewis 72 74, Brenden Pappas (Rsa) 72 74, Cliff Kresge 73 73, Tim Wilkinson (Nzl) 71 75, Jay Delsing 74 72, Justin Leonard 74 72, Cameron Tringale 71 75
147 J J Henry 73 74, Steve Flesch 77 70, Len Mattiace 73 74, Matt Bettencourt 75 72, Spike McRoy 73 74
148 Jarrod Lyle (Aus) 77 71, Martin Flores 72 76, Roland Thatcher 70 78
149 Daniel Chopra (Swe) 76 73, Garth Mulroy (Rsa) 73 76, Chris Smith 73 76
150 Guy Boros 76 74, Ryan Palmer 70 80
151 Dave Schultz 73 78, Chris Wilson 71 80, Craig Bowden 75 76
155 Scott Moran 81 74
WD: Paul Goydos 75, John Morse 76 , Mark Hensby (Aus) 73

Sandy Lyle sets pace with a 66 in

Handa Irish Senior Open

FROM THE EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR WEBSITE
Two-time Major Champion Sandy Lyle closed with a superb eagle for an opening round 66 to set the pace in the Handa Irish Senior Open presented by Fáilte Ireland as he chases his maiden European Senior Tour title.
A sublime three iron approach shot from 214 yards into the wind on the picturesque finishing hole at Carton House set up the eagle chance from 12 feet which the former Open and Masters Champion holed to move one stroke clear of Frenchman Marc Farry at the top of the leaderboard.
Lyle, picture by courtesy of Getty Images, had earlier posted five birdies, dropping just one shot when he found the fairway bunker on the fifth hole, and his stunning eagle meant he equalled the course record of six under par shared by Nick O’Hern Titch Moore, Oliver Wilson and Thomas Björn.
“Anytime you finish with an eagle on the last hole and you are four under after 17 is special,” said the Scot. “I was just hoping I could make birdie and I got an eagle out of it. I had two good shots there into 12 feet into the wind so it was a great way to finish.
“I was very happy with the round. The course is playing really good. It is a little easier than when I played on The European Tour here a few years ago. The rough is cut back considerably and we didn’t have too much wind today so it was up for grabs.
“The greens are rolling nice so hopefully we can see some low scoring here this week.”
Lyle’s best performance in three seasons on the European Senior Tour so far is tied sixth in The Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters presented by The Stapleford Forum last season but a superb performance at last year’s Masters Tournament, where he finished tied 20th, and an opening round 69 at Augusta National this year showed he remains capable of competing at the highest level.
His 66 over the Montgomerie Course at Carton House, in Co. Kildare was his lowest round on the Senior Tour, and sets up the 18-time European Tour winner for a weekend assault on the title, which was won last year by Ian Woosnam.
“I’ve been a little starved of winning a tournament recently so I’m keen to win,” said the five-time Ryder Cup player. “I felt if I can do what I did today in terms of driving the ball and keeping it under control I should be thereabouts at the end of the week.”
Farry opened with six birdies and a bogey in his round of 67, which was also his lowest Senior Tour round.
The former European Tour winner believes the Montgomerie Course, designed by the European Ryder Cup Captain, suits big hitters such as Lyle and himself.
“I really hit the ball well today and I missed a short putter on the last hole but I accept 67 as a good start,” he said. “It’s my best round so far on the Senior Tour. This course suits me as it is longer and helps the long ball strikers we have on this tour.”
“The last three tournaments I have played better and I’m starting to get more used to the Senior Tour.”
Englishman Glenn Ralph, winner of last year’s Cleveland Golf/Srixon Scottish Senior Open, and South African Christopher Williams are a further shot back on four under par with another Englishman, Andrew Murray, in fifth place after a 69.
Leading the home challenge are Irishmen Jimmy Heggarty, Denis O’Sullivan and Des Smyth, who all posted level par rounds of 72 for a 14 way share 20th place, alongside former World Number One Woosnam who led Europe to Ryder Cup glory at the nearby K Club in 2006.
Sam Torrance, the 2002 Ryder Cup Captain, eagled the last hole but that was only good enough for a two over par 74, the same as his former Ryder Cup teammate Eamonn Darcy of Ireland.
FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72
66 S Lyle (Sco)
67 M Farry (Fra)
68 G Ralph (Eng), C Williams (Rsa)
69 A Murray (Eng)
70 M Gray (Sco), B Longmuir (Sco), A Sowa (Arg), J Gould (Eng), R Chapman (Eng), M Harwood (Aus), N Job (Eng)
71 R Drummond (Sco), G Brand Jnr (Sco), M Cunning (USA), K Spurgeon (Eng), A Franco (Par), J Quiros (Spa), D Hospital (Spa)
72 E Rodriguez (Spa), J Chillas (Sco), D Smyth, P Fowler (Aus), D O'Sullivan, T Johnstone (Zim), J Rhodes (Eng), A Johnsson (Swe), I Woosnam (Wal), D Johnson (USA), J Heggarty (NIrl), P Mitchell (Eng), A Oldcorn (Sco), M Poxon (Eng)
73 B Cameron (Eng), L Carbonetti (Arg), S Owen (Nzl), J Hall (Eng), C Mason (Eng), B Boyd (USA), C Rocca (Ita), B Ruangkit (Tha), B Lincoln (Rsa)
74 M Pinero (Spa), J Harrison (Eng), E Darcy, M Belsham (Eng), T Giedeon (Ger), S Bennett (Eng), M Williams (Zim), S Torrance (Sco), D Russell (Eng), D Merriman (Aus)
75 G Brand (Eng), P Oakley (USA), T Gale (Aus), F Mann (Sco), G Banister (Aus), E Polland (NIrl), G Cali (Ita), J Bruner (USA), N Ratcliffe (Aus), A Fernandez (Chi), D Cambridge (Jam)
76 H Carbonetti (Arg), P O'Hagan, M Kelly, M Quirke, E McMenamin
77 E Feely, L Higgins, M Miller (Sco), J Bland (Rsa)
78 A Garrido (Spa), C O'Connor Jnr, M Bembridge (Eng), I Mosey (Eng), M Clayton (Aus)
79 V Garcia (Spa), J Rivero (Spa), T Charnley (Eng)
82 B Smit (Rsa)

EUROPEAN TOUR REPORT, SCORES

Bjorn and Del Moral share two-stroke lead in Portugal

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Thomas Bjorn and Carlos Del Moral signed for matching rounds of 65 to share a two shot lead at the top of the Estoril Open de Portugal leaderboard today at the Penha Longa course.
Ryder Cup Dane Bjorn played some tremendous golf as he recorded eight birdies to race to 13 under with a hole to play.
But the World Number 193 - who was in contention for last week's Celtic Manor Wales Open before a disappointing final round - bogeyed the par five last after finding trouble from the tee to join Del Moral on 12 under at halfway.
After driving right into the trees, Bjorn could only find rough with his second and his third flew the green.
He had an eight foot putt for an up-and-down par but when that slid by the Spaniard was left with a well-deserved share of the lead.
"I hit every fairway until the last hole, and I only missed one green," said Bjorn. "I felt I  was really steady and my golf felt easy for once, which made a nice change. It was a shame about the last, but I've still got to be happy about a 65. You normally have at least one bad hole in a round of golf. It's just a shame it had to be the last. But I like the course. I seem to find a nice rhythm round here."
The 24 year old Del Moral completed a brilliant back nine 31 at Penha Longa Golf Club and put his superb display down to an improved fitness regime.
"I've started working a lot more on my fitness levels away from the course. I've started training hard, because that's what all the top players do," said Del Moral - seeking a maiden European Tour win.
"I feel much better out on the course now. It's had an effect much sooner than I'd thought, but I'm very happy. Hopefully it can continue having the same effect for the next two days and the rest of the season.
"I'm going to go for a run on the beach this afternoon, and hopefully I'll lose a few more pounds and go even lower tomorrow!"
The Spaniard was in doubt as to which part of his game sparked that stunning run on the back nine.
"I've played beautifully these last two days, and putted very well. I made a lot of clutch putts, particularly on the back nine," he added.
"So my putting definitely made the difference between a good round and a great round today."
Three players share third on ten under - Ireland's overnight leader Damien McGrane joined by the English duo of Steve Webster and Robert Rock.
Webster's last European Tour title came on Portuguese soil at the 2007 Portugal Masters and the 35 year old turned in 34 after starting at the tenth before registering a hat-trick of birdies from the first.
"I've not played brilliantly this year so far, but I've brought a new putter with me this week and I seem to have found something with my putting stroke," said Webster.
"So it was nice to make a few 20 footers for a change, instead of just hitting it close all the time. Six birdies today tells its own story."
Irishman McGrane looked on course to set the clubhouse target for the second day running as he advanced to 11 under for the week with six to play.
But the former Volvo China Open winner came unstuck at the 434 yard fourth when his wayward approach finished on the root of a tree and forced him to play away from the flag, leading to a double bogey six before a birdie at the ninth, his last, repaired some of the damage.
Coles mixed eight birdies with two bogeys in his 66 as the Challenge Tour graduate looks for a second top five finish of the season.
"Before this week, I haven't been hitting the ball well," admitted Coles."I've been chipping poorly and putting terribly. So if you can't put it close, I suppose you can't just blame poor putting for high scores. But over the last couple of days, I've kept it pretty straight, and managed to create plenty of chances, a few of which I've taken."
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
132 Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 67 65, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 67 65
134 Robert Coles 68 66, Damien McGrane 64 70, Steve Webster 67 67
135 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 69 66, Robert Rock 68 67, Mark F Haastrup (Den) 67 68, Andrew Coltart 68 67
136 Andrew Tampion (Aus) 66 70, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 65 71, Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 68 68, Richard Green (Aus) 67 69, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 69 67, Bradley Dredge 67 69
137 John Parry 67 70, Stuart Manley 65 72, Luke Goddard 64 73
138 Gary Lockerbie 69 69, Chris Wood 69 69, Phillip Archer 71 67, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg) 70 68
139 Richard Bland 66 73, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 70, Marco Ruiz (Par) 68 71, Tano Goya (Arg) 69 70, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 72
140 Marco Soffietti (Ita) 69 71, Gary Murphy 71 69, Andrew McArthur 71 69, Stephan Gross Jnr (Ger) 70 70, Ryan Blaum (USA) 71 69, Tom Whitehouse 72 68, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 69 71, Scott Drummond 69 71
141 Christian Nilsson (Swe) 70 71, Jan Are Larsen (Nor) 72 69, Ake Nilsson (Rsa) 70 71, Paul Waring 73 68, Soren Juul (Den) 72 69, Fredrik Henge (Swe) 68 73, Mark Brown (Nzl) 71 70, Oliver Fisher 71 70, Andre Bossert (Swi) 71 70, Louis Moolman (Rsa) 69 72, Alastair Forsyth 73 68, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 71 70, Benjamin Hebert (Fra) 74 67
142 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 72 70, Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 67 75, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 70 72, Liam Bond 70 72, David Lynn 69 73, Darren Clarke 75 67, Steven O'Hara 76 66, Kenneth Ferrie 70 72, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 71 71, Iain Pyman 68 74, Sam Little 70 72, Miles Tunnicliff 72 70
143 Chris Gane 71 72, Jamie Little 72 71, Benn Barham 74 69, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 75 68, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 71 72, Johan Axgren (Swe) 72 71, Graeme Storm 74 69, Scott Hend (Aus) 73 70, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 75 68, Markus Brier (Aut) 73 70, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 77 66, Paul Eales 74 69, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 77 66, James Mclean (Aus) 68 75, Julien Guerrier (Fra) 74 69, Keith Horne (Rsa) 72 71, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 72 71, Van Phillips 70 73
MISSED THE CUT
144 Anton Haig (Rsa) 70 74, Daniel Brooks 71 73, Hugo Santos (Por) 70 74, Simon Lilly (Gb) 73 71, Paul Broadhurst 74 70, Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 72 72, Antonio Dantas (Por) 72 72, Marc Warren 72 72, James Ruth 75 69, Mark Laskey 74 70, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 71 73, Simon Thornton 73 71, Philip Golding 73 71
145 Sam Hutsby 71 74, Sion E Bebb 71 74, Peter Baker 72 73, Ricardo Santos (Por) 73 72, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 71 74
146 Chris Gaunt (Aus) 74 72, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 72 74, David Horsey 71 75, Bjorn Pettersson (Swe) 74 72, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 74 72, James Ruebotham 71 75, Ghislain Rosier (Fra) 72 74, Andrew Marshall 71 75, David Vanegas (Col) 74 72, Santiago Luna (Spa) 72 74, Alessio Bruschi (Ita) 74 72
147 Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 76 71, Nathan Smith (USA) 70 77, Dale Whitnell 73 74, Phillip Price 73 74, Johan Lopez Lazzaro (Fra) 74 73
148 Michiel Bothma (Rsa) 73 75, Gary Clark 74 74, Goncalo Pinto (Por) 72 76
149 Ricardo Melo Gouveia (Por) 74 75, Henrique Paulino (Por) 76 73, Cesar Monasterio (Arg) 72 77
150 David Carter 77 73, David Hewan (Rsa) 72 78
151 Tiago Cruz (Por) 76 75, Carl Suneson (Spa) 74 77, Andrew Butterfield 78 73, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 76 75
152 Dominique Nouailhac (Fra) 76 76, Miguel Gasper (Por) 76 76
153 Nuno Campino (Por) 72 81
155 Steen Ottosen (Den) 77 78
156 Daniel Wardrop 81 75
158 Antonio Rosado (Por) 82 76
159 Antonio Sobrinho (Por) 77 82
160 Joao Malagueira (Por) 75 85
161 Mark Peddard 80 81
163 Nelson Cavalheiro (Por) 79 84
164 Tomas Silva (Por) 83 81

Anstruther man eliminating all negative thoughts

BY GEORGE! MURRAY LEADS

SCOTTISH HYDRO CHALLENGE
By MICHAEL GIBBONS
Deputy Chief Press Officer, European Tour
George Murray found golfing enlightenment to move to the top of the Scottish Hydro Challenge leaderboard at the Macdonald Spey Valley Golf Course.
Inspired by his recent discovery of the book ‘Zen Golf’, Murray, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, freed his mind to compile a second round 67 and move to eight under par for the tournament, giving the 27-year old Anstruther man a one-shot lead over Swede Magnus Carlsson, Germany’s Christophe Günther and England’s Lee Slattery going onto the weekend of the €200,000 event in the Scottish Highlands at Aviemore.
Italian star Matteo Manassero fired a level par 71 to remain in touch with the leaders on four under, while his playing partners – Challenge Tour Number One Rob Dinwiddie and defending champion Jami McLeary – are respectively five and three under with 36 holes still to play.
Murray’s second round included five birdies and a single bogey as he strode through the field to take the lead. After his round he revealed how his new attitude is, in the main, down to Dr Jo Parent’s book, ‘Zen Golf’, a work designed to eliminate the negative thoughts that plague golfers of every ability.
“I have been playing a lot better – I think it is just the mental approach and I have become a lot more relaxed. I have been reading some books in an attempt to chill myself out and it is helping,” said Murray.
“The best one is Zen Golf which is brilliant. When you read it you just come away thinking that every shot has no relevance, so when I am standing over a four-footer I know that it’s not important and if I miss it then it is not the end of the world.
“I am just going to go out tomorrow, hit it, find it and go round in as few stokes as possible. I don’t really think about winning, I just want to let it happen. Obviously we have all dreamt of winning but I am only half way there so there is a long way to go. I don’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on myself. That’s the Zen Golf talking!”
Argentina’s Joaquin Estevez, England’s Jamie Moul and Chilean Mark Tullo share fifth place on six under par, the Scottish duo of Chris Doak and Scott Jamieson joined Dinwiddie, Sweden’s Oskar Floren, Frenchmen François Calmels and Charles-Edouard Russo as well as Norwegian Marius Thorp on five under.

Chris Doak, Scott Jamieson other Scots in contention

FROM THE SCOTSMAN.COM WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Tournament leader George Murray, who lives in Anstruther and plays his golf at Elie, where he has retained his link with Earlsferry Thistle, is determined he won't get in front of himself as the weekend's final rounds unfold.
"Everyone dreams of winning but I'm only halfway there," he said. "If you start thinking about winning it only creates extra pressure, which is unnecessary."
On a day when the wind had switched completely round from earlier in the week, the Fifer, Scottish amateur champion at Gullane in 2004, who is sharing a house close to the course with fellow competitors Scott Jamieson, Robert Dinwiddie and Adam Gee, almost holed his 5-iron tee shot at the par-3 16th and got up and down from bunkers for two more birdies on the back nine.
Jamieson, a 26-year-old from Glasgow who topped the PGA EuroPro Tour standings last season, is just three shots behind his housemate after he moved into contention in the £170,000 event with a second-round 69, coming home in 33. Greenock's Chris Doak, bidding to complete a Spey Valley double after winning the Northern Open two years ago, is also on five-under after a 70.
Lloyd Saltman, still trying to kick-start his professional career as Rory McIlroy and Rhys Davies, two of his Walker Cup team-mates, take the game by storm, catapulted himself up the leaderboard. The 24-year-old Archerfield Links man posted a 67 – his best round on the Challenge Tour since a similar effort in the Kazakhstan Open last September – to move to three-under, the same as Paul Lawrie Foundation team member Graeme Lornie, who had a bogey-free 68.
Saltman had arrived on Speyside at a low ebb after missing five consecutive cuts, but a change of attitude, coupled with some technical tweaks from coach Colin Brooks earlier in the week, helped him stop the rot and, in the process, put a spring back in his step at just the right time.
In 2005, as a 19-year-old, Saltman stood alongside Tiger Woods and Colin Montgomerie as he received the Silver Medal for finishing as leading amateur in the Open Championship at St Andrews and, not surprisingly, he's hoping to be back at the Old Course for the 150th anniversary of the world's oldest major next month. "I'm playing in the local final qualifying in two weeks' time and I'm hoping I get drawn at Scotscraig, where I qualified in 2005," he said. "The Old Course is one of my favourites and who knows what might happen if I can get back to St Andrews."
Since playing in the same Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team as McIlroy and Davies at Royal County Down in 2007, Saltman has been left trailing in their wake, but said: "I know I have the ability and attitude. I've stopped beating myself up on the course since my dad watched me out in France recently and said he felt I didn't seem to be enjoying it. I've changed my focus as a result of that and it is good to be in contention in Scotland."
Murray's closest challengers are Swede Magnus Carlsson (70), Englishman Lee Slattery (66) and Christoph Gunter, a 24-year-old German who was persuaded to turn professional by Simon Marshall, a one-time Tartan Tour player. "This is the best I have played this year," he said after signing for a second-round 68, an effort matched by defending champion Jamie McLeary, who picked up four birdies in his last six holes, to move to three-under.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71). Yardage 7,100.
134 G Murray (Sco) 67 67;
135 M Carlsson (Swe) 65 70; C Günther (Ger) 67 68; L Slattery (Eng) 69 66;
136 J Estevez (Arg) 68 68; J Moul (Eng) 71 65; M Tullo (Chi) 66 70;
137 O Floren (Swe) 70 67; C Doak (Sco) 67 70; S Jamieson (Sco) 68 69; R Dinwiddie (Eng) 69 68; C Russo (Fra) 66 71; M Thorp (Nor) 66 71;
138 F Calmels (Fra) 66 72; I Van Weerelt (Ned) 67 71; M Manassero (Ita) 67 71; A Perrino (Ita) 69 69; L James (Eng) 67 71; C Moriarty (Irl) 71 67;
139 P Del Grosso (Arg) 70 69; L Saltman (Sco) 72 67; B Wiesberger (Aut) 72 67; G Shaw (Nir) 68 71; G Lornie (Sco) 71 68; A Gee (Eng) 67 72; S Davis (Eng) 70 69; J McLeary (Sco) 71 68; M Cort (Eng) 66 73;
140 J Zapata (Arg) 69 71; B Evans (Eng) 71 69; F Colombo (Ita) 69 71; O David (Fra) 68 72; C Smith (Wal) 70 70; M Haines (Eng) 68 72; S Surry (Eng) 72 68; A Bernadet (Fra) 71 69; C Macaulay (Sco) 72 68; L Kennedy (Eng) 71 69; J Caldwell (Nir) 68 72;
141 G Houston (Wal) 73 68; A Ahokas (Fin) 66 75; M Baldwin (Eng) 70 71; M Bliss (Can) 69 72; C Brazillier (Fra) 70 71; A Willey (Eng) 73 68; J Grillon (Fra) 68 73; S Garcia (Esp) 70 71; L Westerberg (Swe) 70 71; C Ford (Eng) 71 70; N Lemke (Swe) 69 72; L Matthews (Wal) 71 70; S Henry (Sco) 70 71; O Whiteley (Eng) 68 73; B Grace (RSA) 72 69; A Wagner (Arg) 72 69;
142 M McGeady (Irl) 68 74; A Johnston (Eng) 71 71; S Buhl (Ger) 70 72; E Saltman (Sco) 69 73; S Arnold (Aus) 72 70; N Cheetham (Eng) 71 71; H Bacher (Aut) 72 70; C Rodgers (Eng) 70 72; W Ormsby (Aus) 72 70; A Mellor (Eng) 72 70; R Kind (Ned) 70 72.
MISSED THE CUT
143 M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 75 68; J Arruti (Esp) 72 71; V Almstrom (Swe) 69 74; A Kaleka (Fra) 73 70; M Kerr (Sco) 71 72; F Praegant (Aut) 72 71; T Olesen (Den) 66 77; M Quiros (Esp) 70 73; W Besseling (Ned) 70 73; C Kelly (Sco) 72 71; T Norret (Den) 71 72; V Covello (USA) 71 72; C Lee (Sco) 73 70; F De Vries (Ned) 70 73; J Xanthopoulos (Fra) 72 71; S Henderson (Sco) 73 70;
144 R Russell (Sco) 72 72; M Korhonen (Fin) 70 74; J Colomo (Esp) 74 70; M Mills (Eng) 70 74; E Dubois (Fra) 74 70; J Makitalo (Fin) 75 69; Z Scotland (Eng) 71 73; M Zions (Aus) 73 71; S Tiley (Eng) 69 75; P Oriol (Esp) 75 69; B Etchart (Esp) 72 72; P Kaensche (Nor) 74 70; G Hutcheon (Sco) 69 75; P Relecom (Bel) 79 65;
145 J Doherty (Sco) 69 76; B Chapellan (Fra) 68 77; M Higley (Eng) 72 73; A Sjöstrand (Swe) 73 72; J Clément (Sui) 73 72; K Sullivan (Wal) 71 74; L Claverie (Esp) 73 72; T Weiss (Sui) 72 73; R Thuillier (Fra) 73 72;
146 V Riu (Fra) 74 72; A Velasco (Esp) 75 71; R Arnott (Sco) 71 75; S Wakefield (Eng) 73 73; K McNicoll (Sco) 74 72; S Gray (Sco) 74 72; J McCreadie (Sco) 72 74; M Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 72 74; R Kakko (Fin) 74 72; G Watremez (Bel) 73 73; B Mason (Eng) 76 70; J Maurer (Aut) 78 68; R Steiner (Aut) 70 76; T Remkes (Ned) 74 72;
147 A Hansen (Den) 67 80; S Duncan (Sco) 72 75; A Blyth (Aus) 75 72; A Maestroni (Ita) 71 76;
148 S McAllister (Sco) 74 74; D Griffiths (Eng) 77 71; A Tadini (Ita) 78 70; J Abbate (Arg) 75 73; K McAlpine (Sco) 73 75; J Hedin (Swe) 76 72;
149 C Shave (Eng) 74 75; D Marmion (Eng) 76 73; L Harper (Sco) 72 77; S Doherty (Eng) 73 76; S Robinson (Eng) 75 74; J Billot (Fra) 76 73; T Stewart (Aus) 73 76; P Dwyer (Eng) 75 74; S Lewton (Eng) 76 73;
150 J Gallagher (Sco) 75 75; P O'Hanlon (Irl) 73 77; G Dear (Sco) 73 77;
151 P Doherty (Sco) 76 75;
152 D Ulrich (Sui) 73 79; J Campillo (Esp) 76 76; S Walker (Eng) 74 78;
153 M Lawrence (Sco) 78 75; E Ramsay (Sco) 80 73;
154 R Steele (Eng) 77 77;
161 M Lowe (Eng) 85 76;
163 F Cromarty (Sco) 88 75;
166 R Bechu (Fra) 87 79;
** D Perrier (Fra) 75 RT;
G Povey (Eng) WD



Michael Gibbons

Perthshire man has lower last two-round total than Alps Tour winner

HUME MAKES TOP 20 BUT DOUBLE BOGEY


ROBS HIM OF PLACE IN TOP 10 IN ITALY

Murrayshall’s Steven Hume did not know whether to laugh or cry after finishing joint 18th in the Alps Tour’s Le Fonti Open in Italy today.
The Scot repeated his second-round 68 for a total of four-under-par 212, having started the tournament with a 76, and earned 697.50 Euros for a joint 18th place finish at Golf Club Le Fonti.

But Hume had a double bogey 6 at the 15th hole after earlier having an eagle 2 for the second day in a row on the outward half and birdieing the sixth, ninth, 10th, 14th and 18th.

The Perthshire man’s aggregate of eight-under-par 136 for the last 36 holes of the tournament was two shots fewer than that achieved by tournament winner, Frenchman Alan Bihan.
Had Hume, pictured, been able to par the 15th on his last round he would have finished in the top 10 and earned over 1,000 Euros.
Bihan won for the second time this year with scores of 65, 68 and 70 for 13-under-par 203. He had four shots to spare at the finish and collected the top prize of 6,525 Euros.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
203 Alan Bihan (Fra) 65 68 70 (6,525 Euros)
207 Miguel Pujalte Sastre (Spa) 70 69 68, Juan Antonio Bragulat (Spa) 75 64 68, Matteo Del Podio (Ita) 72 66 69 (3,232 Euros each).
209 Jason Palmer (Eng) 70 73 66, Paolo Terrini (Ita) 73 657 69, Fredrik Svanberg (Swi) 73 66 70, Andrea Zanini (Ita) 69 69 71 (1,822 Euros each).
Selected scores:
211 Sam Robinson (Eng) 71 71 69 (jt 12th) (840 Euros).
212 Steven Hume (Sco) 76 68 68, Jason Barnes (Eng) 70 71 71 (697.50 Euros each).
215 Matthew Cryer (Eng) 71 74 70 (jt 30th) (522 Euros).
217 Ricki Neil-Jones (Eng) 75 69 73 (jt 38th) (459 Euros).

PGA EUROPRO TOUR REPORT, SCORES

HERALD SLIDES DOWN TO JT 26TH

PLACE FINISH AND £320 PAY SLIP

It all went pear-shaped in the end for Mearns Castle’s Scott Herald in this week’s PGA EuroPro Tour event, the Dawson and Sanderson Classic at Longhirst Hall Golf Club, Northumberland.
From sharing the first-day lead with a one-under-par 70, Herald slumped with rounds of 75 and 76 for an eight-over-par final total of 221 which gave him joint 26th place with a payslip for £320.
David Roger (Windyhill) and Mark Rae (unattached) finished joint 35th on 225, each earning £272.50. Roger had rounds of 75, 76 and 73, Rae 74 76 and 74.
Graham Grankin collected £212.50 for finishing joint 47th on 228, made up of rounds of 80, 72 and 76.
Englishman Stuart Archibald, 25, from Basingstoke won the £10,000 top prize at the fifth extra hole of a sudden-death play-off between the three men who tied at the top of the leaderboard on level par 213.
Archibald had rounds of 77, 71 and 65. Beaten in the play-off were fellow Englishman Matt Allen (73-69-71) and Australian Daniel Gaunt (73-69-72). They earned £3,750 each.

.LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71)
213 Stuart Archibald (Eng) 77 71 65 (£10,000), Matt Allen (Eng) 73 69 71 (£3,750), Daniel Gaunt (Aus) 73 69 71 (£3,750). Archibald won three-way play-off.
214 Chris Roake (Eng) 70 73 71 (£1,700).
215 Gary Wolstenholm (Eng) 76 70 69 (£1,400).
216 Jason Kelly (Eng) 73 75 68, Daniel Belch (Eng) 73 75 698, Paul Maddy (Eng) 73 74 69, Ricky Lee (Eng) 77 70 69, Nick McCarthy (Eng) 70 71 75 (£950 each).
Selected Scots scores
221 Scott Herald 70 75 76 (jt 26th) (£320).
224 David Roger 75 76 73, Mark Rae 74 76 74 (jt 35th) (£272 each).
228 Graham Rankin 80 72 76 (jt 45th) (£212).

Darlington's Darren wins world one-armed title at Nairn Dunbar
Darlington’s Darren Gray is the new world one-armed golf champion. He won the title by beating Irishman Cian Arthurs 2 and 1 in the 18-hole final at Nairn Dunbar Golf Club this afternoon.
In the morning semi-finals, Gray beat Hugo Du Toit (South Africa) by 5 and 4 while Arthurs beat Nicholas Champness (Royal Ashdown Forest) by 2 and 1.
While the main event of the week was drawing to a close, Stuart Griffin (Stirling) won the President’s Prize Stableford competition with 40pt off a handicap of 17.
David Waterhouse (Upton by Chester) (14) was runner-up with 36 and Alistar Calvert, who had come from Tasmania to play in the championship, tied for third place on 35pt with Keith Dewhurst (Bolton Old Links). Calvert plays off 13 and Dewhurst has 14 of a handicap.
Today's championship results:
Semi-finals – Darren Grey (Darlington) bt Hugo Du Toit (South Africa) 5 and 4, Cian Arthurs (Ireland) bt Nicholas Champness (Royal Ashdown Forest) 2 and 1.
Final – Grey bt Arthurs 2 and 1.

PRESIDENT’S PRIZE STABLEFORD
Leading points totals
40 Stuart Griffin (Stirling) (17).
36 David Waterhouse (Upton by Chester) (14).
35 Alistair Calvert (Tasmania) (13), Keith Dewhurst (Bolton Old Links) (14).
26 John Condie (Ireland) (26).
33 David Braddick (Parklands) (20), Marcus Malo (Sweden) (5), Darren Masters (Feltwell) (18).
32 Graham Cole (Onneley) (24), Robert Paul (Walmer and Kingsdown) (7), Gary Gardner (Dalmahoy) (19), Tony Jones (Northrop) (18).
31 Mary Fahey (Ireland) (36), Brendan Swan (Ireland) (14), Alex Hjalmarsson (Sweden) (7), Douglas Jopp (Craigielaw) (15), George Bradley (Dunaverty) (20), Bill Boyes (McDonald Ellon) (26).
30 James Darragh (Cathcart Castle) (20), Peter Priscott (Swaffham) (28), Gusta Emilsson Sweden) (18).
29 Michael O'Grady (Ireland) (8).
28 David Bailey (Whittington Heath) (17).
27 Malcolm Guy (Old Meldrew) (24), Ken Nicholls (Ireland) (24).
26 Hugh Ross (Cawder) (17), Michael Crowston (Dunstable Downs) (17), Patrick Fitzgerald (Ireland) (26).
24 Dave Schutsander (Sweden) (9).
23 Bobby Parkb (Indonesia)) (22).
21 Scott Robertson (USA) (16).
19 Don Allen (Northern Ireland) (28).

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Leading prizewinners Evan Robertson, Lauren  Watson and Scott Main. Pictured below: Jamie Hall and Jack Yule. Images by courtesy of Derek Johnstone.

SCOTT AND LAUREN WIN PAUL LAWRIE

ABERDEEN SCHOOLS GOLF TITLES

Hazlehead Academy’s Scott Main and Lauren Watson (St Margaret’s) won the individual titles at the Paul Lawrie Aberdeen schools golf championships at Craibstone.

Main won the Paul Lawrie Aberdeen Schools’ Scratch Trophy with a six over par 75, in very wet, testing conditions. He pipped Andrew Carrell (Cults Academy) by one shot.

Main, who plays off five of a handicap, had two birdies - at the ninth and 16th - but he had double bogey 6s at the eighth and 18th and also dropped shots at the sixth, seventh, twelfth and 17th.
Carrell was only one over par after 12 holes but a double bogey and four bogeys in the final six holes. He was runner-up for the second year in a row.
The Paul Lawrie girls’ championship, decided on net scores, was won by Lauren Watson (St Margaret’s) after a countback with Rachel Polson (Cults Academy). They had both finished on net 78, Lauren playing off 17 and Rachel off five.
Evan Robertson (Cults Academy) won the Paul Lawrie Handicap Trophy with a net 70 off six, beating Hazlehead’s William Mathers and Calum Sutherland (Cults Academy) by one shot.
There was further success for Cults Academy when the Paul Lawrie Schools’ Handicap (13 to 24) Trophy was won by Jack Yule with a net 62 off 18. The scratch trophy for boys with higher handicaps was won by Jamie Hall of Harlaw Academy with a eight over par 77.
LEADING SCORES (Handicaps scr-12)
BOYS
SCRATCH
White tees: CSS 71
75 S Main (Hazlehead)
76 A Carrell (Cults), E Robertson (Cults)
78 C Sutherland (Cults)
79 C Polson (St Machar)
81 R Yule (Cults), E Moore (Harlaw), A Fisher (Cults)
82 C Dunbar (Hazlehead), J Pryde (Cults)
HANDICAP
70 E Robertson (Cults) (6).
71 W Mathers (Hazlehead) (12).
72 C Dunbar (Hazlehead) (10).
GIRLS
HANDICAP
CSS 73 (Reduction only)
78 L Watson (St Magarets) (17).
78 R Polson (Cults) (5).

LEADING SCORES (Handicaps 13-24)
BOYS
SCRATCH
Yellow tees: CSS 68
77 J Hall (Harlaw)
80 J Yule (Cults)
81 S Bennett (Torry), A Harkins (AGS), R Powell (Cults)
82 S Harkness (RGC), M Rae (Oldmachar)
83 G Kinnear (AGS), E Hvide (Oldmachar)
HANDICAP
62 J Yule (Cults) (18).
64 R Powell (Cults) (17).
65 E Hvide (Oldmachar) (18).

Birthday boy Murray and Doak share Scots' top billing at Aviemore

FROM THE SCOTSMAN.COM WEBSITE
By Martin Dempster
ON the day he celebrated his 27th birthday, Fifer George Murray enjoyed the added satisfaction of sharing top billing amongst the home contingent with forgotten man Chris Doak in the first round of the £170,000 Scottish Hydro Challenge at Macdonald Spey Valley.
Both signed for four-under-par 67s – the same as Matteo Manassero – as Magnus Carlsson, a 28-year-old Swede, set the early pace in the race for a £27,000 top prize with a 65 that contained ten birdies over the heather-fringed Aviemore course.
Out in the fourth group of the day at just after 7am, former Scottish Amateur champion Murray bagged six birdies, including the 17th and 18th, and was in a hearty mood as he headed off to celebrate his birthday declaring: "It's time for the cake and candles!"
The Anstruther man, a professional since 2006, finished third in the Madeira Island Open on the European Tour earlier in the season but has yet to register a top ten in his five appearances so far on the Challenge Tour this year.
"I have been playing well for a while now, just not putting great," he commented. "I played in The Open qualifier at Sunningdale (on Monday] and hit the ball great but just could not make a putt so I have been working on it a lot since I came up here and the putting stroke seems to be getting better."
Wearing a Ben Hogan-style bunnet that has become his trademark in recent seasons, Doak also made his score with a strong finish, the 32-year-old from Greenock picking up three birdies in the last four holes to come home in 33.
Ahead of the two Scots on the leaderboard are a Swede (Carlsson), a Finn (Antti Ahokas), an Englishman (Matthew Cort), a Dane (Thorbjorn Olesen), a Norwegian (Marius Thorp), two Frenchmen (Francois Calmels and Charles-Edouard russo) and a Chilean (Mark Tullo).
Carlsson, back on the Challenge Tour after he also lost his card for the main circuit at the end of last season, only had five pars on his card and would have been more than just a shot ahead of the chasing pack but for a double-bogey 5 at the 16th, where he found himself with a "terrible stance" in a greenside bunker and failed to get out at the first attempt.
Playing with defending champion Jamie McLeary, who had a level-par 71, Manassero had Steve Surry's course record of 64 in his sights after storming to the turn in five-under 30, the 17-year-old Italian having picked up six birdies in that stretch, including four in a row from the fourth, where he holed a bunker shot.
However, last year's Open Championship Silver Medal winner walked off the course looking deflated after coming home in one-over. "I felt I deserved better than 67 but I would have taken that at the start of the day."
Cort, a 35-year-old from Leicester, blazed home in 31, one less than Ahokas posted over the same stretch, while Thorbjorn's effort was, according to one of his playing partners, the "easiest five-under round" he'd ever witnessed.
On a day when fewer than 40 players in the 153-strong field managed to break par, Englishman Michael Lowe ran up a painful 12 at the par-4 11th as he limped home in 47, though at least he made it to the first tee. Compatriot Graham Povey suddenly felt dizzy shortly before he was due to set out and, after initially being treated by on-course medics, was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

 Kerr overcomes nerves to enjoy good opening round

Mark Kerr  banned from playing on the Tartan Tour until the start of next month after breaching PGA training rules, shook off the rust to give a good account of himself in the opening round, writes Martin Dempster, staff golf writer of The Scotsman and Edinburgh Evening News.
The 28-year-old, who is allowed to play in the Challenge Tour event as his suspension only covers PGA tournaments, recovered from being three over after just four holes to sign for a level-par 71.
Kerr has made just one other competitive appearance since the second stage of the European Tour's qualifying school last autumn and has found little time to fit in the practice he needs since starting as a PGA trainee at Marriott Dalmahoy earlier in the year.
But, despite feeling nervous, he bounced back well from his poor start to finish the opening day just six shots off the early pace, set by Swede Magnus Carlsson.
"I'm only here really to see what my game is like and, to be honest, I don't expect to make the cut," said Kerr. "Before Sunday I'd worked 70 hours in nine days and it's impossible to do that and compete against the guys on the Challenge Tour.
"I was nervous at the start and wondered what I was doing here after dropping three shots in the first four holes, but 71 wasn't bad in the end even though I didn't play all that well."
Kerr, who tied for fourth in last year's Northern Open over the Aviemore course, is determined to put the events that led to him being banned along with David Orr, the Scottish PGA champion, in the past.
"It's over and done with," he said. "I'm now three months into my training at Dalmahoy and I'd be silly not to get my PGA qualification as it will be something to fall back on."
Defending champion Jamie McLeary, who is attached to the Kirknewton club and lives just outside Bonnyrigg, also opened with a 71.
"If that's my bad round out the way I'll be more than happy," said McLeary, who felt he was ticking along nicely until running up a bogey-6 at the long 13th.
He repaired the damage straight away with a birdie at the 14th before picking up another shot at the 17th.
Elliot Saltman led the Lothians contingent after an opening 69.
Raymond Russell, the top Scot on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit coming into the event, had a 72.
Lee Harper and Lloyd Saltman also finished the day on one over, the latter admitting his dinner last night would taste better on the back of a 25-foot birdie putt at the closing hole.
"I'm playing really nice from tee to green and if I can start holing some putts there's a good score waiting for me," he said.
Among the later starters on the opening day, Shaun McAllister and John Gallagher shot 74 and 75 respectively.

US PGA TOUR REPORT

Lee Westwood leads St Jude Classic with record 63

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
World number three Lee Westwood made himself right at home on his first trip to Memphis as he posted a course-record 63 at TPC Southwind to take an early lead at the St Jude Classic.
The Englishman's seven-under-par opening round at the par-70 course gave him a one-stroke clubhouse lead over the morning wave of starters in Tennessee, with American Casey Wittenberg back home in six under and Ireland's Padraig Harrington third following a 65.
That left three-time major winner Harrington a shot clear of an eight-man group in the clubhouse at four under par, with England's Ian Poulter, the world number five, leading the way for the late starters alongside American Lee Janzen and Stephen Ames of Canada at three under after 10, 11 and 13 holes respectively.
Westwood, who played next week's US Open venue Pebble Beach on Sunday and Monday ahead of the second major of the year, hit the ground running in Memphis. He went bogey-free with five birdies and an eagle, going out in 29 for his opening nine holes, starting from the 10th tee and including his three at the par-five 16th.
Westwood added his fifth and final birdie of the round before carding pars all the way home - the only blemish, he felt, was a missing short birdie putt at the ninth, his last.
"Twenty-nine, that was a pretty good start," Westwood said.
"And 63 is always a good start. I couldn't be disappointed with that.
"Could have been better, but I'm not going to cry too much from missing from four feet on the last."
England's Greg Owen finished at one under following an opening 69 while world number 10 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland was at level par after 12 holes.
Australia's Robert Allenby did not get a chance to continue his run of good form at TPC Southwind. A joint runner-up in 2008 and tied for fourth last year, Allenby withdrew on Thursday morning due to illness.
ALL FIRST ROUND SCORES
(Par 70)
Round completed Friday morning:
63 Lee Westwood (Eng)
64 Casey Wittenberg
65 Padraig Harrington (Irl)
66 Phil Tataurangi (Nzl), John Senden (Aus), Garrett Willis, Michael Connell, Bob Estes, Tim Petrovic, Jay Williamson, D.J. Trahan, Josh Teater
67 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Kent Jones, Charley Hoffman, Robert Garrigus, Zach Johnson, Greg Kraft, Charles Howell III, Robert Karlsson (Swe), Ben Crane, Dean Wilson, Chad Collins, Ryuji Imada (Jpn)
68 Chris Riley, Kirk Triplett, Vaughn Taylor, Paul Stankowski, Jeff Quinney, Roger Tambellini, Shaun Micheel, Justin Bolli, Nicholas Thompson, Jason Dufner, Lee Janzen, Alex Cejka (Ger), Kevin Na, Jeff Maggert, Glen Day, Rich Barcelo
69 Billy Mayfair, Woody Austin, Mathias Gronberg (Swe), Heath Slocum, Greg Owen (Eng), Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Boo Weekley, Dicky Pride, Brent Delahoussaye, Chris Rogers, John Merrick, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), Mathew Goggin (Aus), Matthew Every, Cameron Beckman, Jonathan Byrd, Johnson Wagner, Troy Merritt
70 David Lutterus (Rsa), Michael O'neal, Gary Woodland, Webb Simpson, Will MacKenzie, Chad Campbell, Roland Thatcher, Ryan Palmer, Henrik Bjornstad (Nor), Stephen Ames (Can), Chris Stroud, Omar Uresti, Chris DiMarco, Michael Bradley, Cameron Percy (Aus), Brandt Snedeker
71 Bill Lunde, Marco Dawson, David Toms, Harrison Frazar, Steve Wheatcroft, Tim Wilkinson (Nzl), Michael Clark II, John Daly, Joe Durant, Grant Leaver, Mike Small, Frank Lickliter II, Matt Weibring, Manuel Villegas (Col), Parker McLachlin, Chris Wilson, John Rollins, Kevin Stadler, Richard S Johnson (Swe), Camilo Villegas (Col), Cameron Tringale
72 Spencer Levin, Charles Warren, Rodney Pampling (Aus), Martin Flores, Retief Goosen (Rsa), Jeff Gove, Brenden Pappas (Rsa), Jim Carter, J.L. Lewis, Andrew McLardy (Rsa), Steve Elkington (Aus), J.B. Holmes, Ian Poulter (Eng), Brett Wetterich
73 Brian Stuard, Aron Price (Aus), Garth Mulroy (Rsa), Brian Gay, Chris Smith, Mark Hensby (Aus), Nathan Green (Aus), Jordan Spieth, Vance Veazey, Mark Brooks, Joe Ogilvie, Steve Lowery, Cliff Kresge, Tom Pernice Jnr., Dave Schultz, J J Henry, Len Mattiace, John Huston, Skip Kendall, Spike McRoy
74 D.A. Points, Justin Leonard, Jay Delsing, Tim Herron, Craig Barlow, Todd Hamilton, Jim Gallagher Jnr, James Driscoll, Jason Gore
75 Paul Goydos, Robin Freeman, Craig Bowden, Ted Purdy, Matt Bettencourt, Stuart Appleby (Aus)
76 Jonathan Kaye, Scott McCarron, Daniel Chopra (Swe), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Guy Boros, John Morse
77 Jarrod Lyle (Aus), Steve Flesch
81 Scott Moran

ABERDEEN LINKS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Matt Smith wins battle of the big hitters

By DAVID GRIEVE
In the Aberdeen Links Championship Handicap Shield competition last night there were wins for former scratch champion Scott Davidson (Northern) and Caley club captain David Forbes. David will now meet Matt Smith of Bon-Accord who won the battle of the big hitters against Northern's Craig Ross.
In the Murray Cup, Northern's Colin Taylor was the 'Iron Man,' returning to win his first round tie against Ryan Grieve (BA) at the 22nd hole. He then went on to beat his mate Gibby McDonald at the 19th. Elsewhere, title-holder Graeme Mackie (Caledonian) continued his defence with a two-hole win over Northern's Richard Jones. Last years quarter finalist, 14-year-old Mark Rimmer will hope to go at least one better after beating Bon-Accord's Calum Murphy, also 14 years old, by 5 and 4.
THURSDAY NIGHT RESULTS
Handicap Shield
C.Laing (Caledonian) (7) bt M.Taylor (Caledonian) (8) at 19th.
S.Davidson (Northern) (5) bt S.Murphy (Bon Accord) (6) 3 and 2.
A.Divers (Caledonian) (6) bt P.Angelo (Northern) (7) 1 hole.
C.Johnstone (Norhern) (8) bt A.Stewart (C) (5) 1 hole.
D.Forbes (Caledonian) (6) bt EM.Leslie (Bon Accord) (7) 4 and 3.
M.Smith (Bon Accord) (6) bt C.Ross (Northern) (5) 3 and 2.
W.Shand (Bon Accord) (8) bt R.Stewart (Bon Accord) (9) 1 hole.
R.Allerton (Bon Accord ) (5) bt P.Cheyne (Northern) (8) 3 and 2.

Murray Cup
D.Barclay (BA) (14) bt G.Kidd (N) (16) 1 hole.
J.Hay (N) (12) bt D.Donaldson (BA) (22) 1 hole.
F.Kennedy (BA) (11) bt AG.Forbes (C) (13) 6 and 5.
I.Stewart (BA) (18) bt D.Coull (N) (10) 4 and 3.
M.Rimmer (C) (13) bt C.Murphy (BA) (14) 5 and 4.
C.Taylor (N) (12) bt G.McDonald (N) at 19th.
GW.Mackie (C) (10) bt R.Jones (N) (14) 2 holes.
J.Hosie (N) (11) bt B.Lumsden (N) (14) 2 and 1.

FRIDAY'S QUARTER FINALS
SCRATCH
5.0 B. Edmond (BA) v A. Doig (C)
5.06 S. Carmichael (C) v W. Ross or L. Morrice (C)
5.12 P. Boyce (N) v A. Cruickshank (C)
5.18 B Reid (C) v S. Murray (BA)
HANDICAP
5.24 C. Laing (C) (7) v S. Davidson (N) (5)
5.30 A. Divers (C) (6) v C. Johnstone (N) (8)
5.36 D. Forbes (C) (6) v M. Smith (BA) (6)
5.42 W. Shand (BA) (8) v R. Allerton (BA) (5)

MURRAY CUP
5.48 D. Barclay (BA) (14) v J .Hay (N) (12)
5.54 F. Kennedy (BA) (11) v I. Stewart (BA) (18)
6.00 M. Rimmer (C) (13) v C. Taylor (N) (12)
6.06 G W Mackie (C) (10) v J. Hosie (N) (11)