Jim Furyk says US Tour rule change has not

upset him ... that's the way he is

FROM THE PGATOUR.COM WEBSITE
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
Wednesday was business as usual for Jim Furyk. He spent two hours in searing sunshine on the practice green, testing a variety of putters, including a couple of belly models (he was still undecided on which one to use).
Then Furyk headed for the practice range to invest some more sweat equity -- literally, as well as figuratively -- into his uniquely effective swing.
A two-time winner already in 2010, Furyk made some unwanted headlines last week when he missed his pro-am tee time at The Barclays by five minutes and was disqualified from the first event of the US PGA Tour Play-offs for the FedExcup.
As Furyk returned home to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida to sit out the first Play-offs event, many of his peers, most notably Phil Mickelson, came to his defence. The rule was too harsh, they said, and since the gaffe occured during the pro-am it should not have affected the actual competition.

On Tuesday, the Tour announced that it was going to suspend the regulation for the rest of the year and review it for the future. Furyk said Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem called him on Monday to let him know of the plans -- and the veteran pro was pleased to hear the news, even though it wouldn't change what happened to him.

"I think people are wondering whether I'm going to be upset that they changed it," Furyk said. "That couldn't be farther than the case. I think there were enough players who were not in favour of the rule. I think the commissioner himself said he didn't like the rule in hindsight.

"Therefore I think the best option, the best scenario was to go ahead and change it as quick as possible."

Unable to play at Ridgewood, Furyk slipped from third to eighth in the FedExCup standings. The fall was significant because the top five entering THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola are the only players who control their own destiny when the points are reset.
A win by any one of those five players automatically guarantees them the FedExCup and the $10 million bonus.
Even so, Furyk has two more events to get back into position -- on courses where he's had success, too. Furyk has tied for seventh and eighth the last two years at TPC Boston and he tied for 14th and second at Cog Hill in 2007 and 2009, respectively, when that course was the venue for the BMW Championship.
Not to mention, Furyk is on a short list for the US PGA Tour's Player of the Year Award, so his performance in the Play-offs could be a deciding factor. Furyk is just focused on playing as well as he can, though, and the rest will take care of itself.
As for not getting a chance to play last week at Ridgewood? When Furyk got the news that he was disqualified, he said he had no one to blame but himself. Just because the rule has been changed doesn't mean he's changing his tune.

"The way I look at it is probably much different than what I've been hearing people talking about," Furyk said. "Everyone's been acting like it's a penalty to me, like I've lost points or fallen back.

"It basically equates to missing a cut. You're going to have to earn so many points to put yourself in position for THE TOUR Championship. And now, what I've done is I've limited myself. I now have two events to earn those points rather than three."

Furyk currently has 1,691 points, putting him 2,246 points behind FedExCup leader Matt Kuchar, last week's winner at The Barclays. Furyk could charge to the top of the list if he wins this week, but in the latest FedExCup scenarios, there's also a very remote chance he could drop to 27th should he miss the cut.

"I've read scenarios where I have to finish fourth in both events or second in one event," Furyk said. "It sounds so ominous, but I had to do that whether it was two events or three.

"Now I've just given myself one less opportunity. But the way you need to look at is I still have two opportunities and hopefully I'll be able to take advantage of them."

McNICOLL AND DOHERTY ON COURSE


FOR STAGE 2 OF TOUR SCHOOL


Tim Sluiter of The Netherlands and Ricki Neil-Jones of England hold the halfway lead at The London Club at the First Qualifying Stage Section A.
Sluiter added a second round 69 to his opening 65 to advance to ten under par, a 36 hole total matched by Neil-Jones after the Englishman shot his second consecutive 67.
They lead the way at The London Club, a European Tour Destination hosting the first leg of the Qualifying School along with Ribagolfe in Portugal.
Carnoustie's Keir McNicoll and Paul Doherty, the South Wales-based former Scottish boys champion, stay on course to qualify for Stage 2.
McNicoll is lying joint 14th on 140 with steady rounds of 69 and 71.
Doherty is sharing 19th place on 141 with scores of 68 and 73.
North-east Alliance champion Paul Cormack (Inchmarlo), the only other Scot in the field of 99 at the Ash, Kent venue, looks out of it. He is back in joint 80th place with 74 and 76 for 150.
Swede Jonas Pettersson continues to lead the way at Ribagolfe after adding a level par 72 to his opening 68 to lead by one from Portugal’s Tiago Cruz.
The First Qualifying School Section A is taking place at two venues this week – in England and Portugal. A further six venues will also take part in the First Qualifying Stage over the next three weeks across Austria, England, France, Germany, Italy and Scotland.
The successful players from each of the eight venues will progress to the Second Qualifying Stage, held in Spain across four venues.


SECOND ROUND LEADERS
THE LONDON CLUB, ASH, KENT
Par 144 (2x72)
134 Tim Sluiter (Ned) 65 69, Ricki Neil-Jones (Eng) 67 67.
136 Ryan Harrison (Eng) 66 70, Richard Wallis (Eng) 67 69.
137 Michael McGeady (Ire) 67 70, Andrew Johnston (Eng) 68 69, Daniel Perrett (Eng) 65 72.
138 Francis G McGuirk (Eng) 71 67, Yasin Ali (Eng) 73 65, David Griffiths (Eng) 69 69, Tom Sherreard (Eng) (am) 68 70.
139 Kevin Harper (Eng) 72 67, Jason Barnes (Eng) 70 69.
140 Rory Kirwan (Eng) 71 69, Keir McNicoll (Sco) 69 71, David Coupland (Eng) (am) 69 71., Steven Brown (Eng (am), Stiggy Hodgson (Eng) 71 69.
142 Paul Doherty (Sco) 68 73, Pontus Leijon (Swe) 73 68, Ross Whitelock (Eng) 72 69, Nick Redfern (Eng) 68 73, Johan Eerdmans (Ned) 71 70, Will Roebuck (Eng) 66 75, Paul Maddy (Eng) 69 72.
143 Michael Vandenberg (Eng) 71 72, Matt Ford (Eng) 69 74, Steven Palmer (Eng) 75 68, Nick Smith (Eng) 73 70, Billy Fowles (Eng) 72 71, Ben Fox (US) 70 73, Toby Burden (Eng) 75 68, Shane Franklin (Ire) 73 70.
144 Jordan Gibb (Eng 77 67, Mu Hu (Chn) 71 73, Nicky Harris (Eng) 72 72, David Callaway (Eng) 72 72, Stuart McCance (Eng) 76 78, Josh Cunliffe (SAf) 71 73, Niall Turner (Ire) 74 70, John Chamberlain (Eng) (am) 73 71.

Selected score:
150 Paul Cormack (Sco) 74 76 (jt 80th).


RIBAGOLFE, PORTUGAL
140 Jonas Pettersson (Swe) 68 72.
141 Tiago Cruz (Por) 69 72.
142 Sergia Gutierrez (Spa) 75 67, Oscar Fraustro (Mex) 70 72, Zavier Guzman (Spa) 72 70.
143 Borja Etchart (Spa) 72 71, Nico Bollini (US) 71 72.
144 Ricardo Santos (Por) 72 72, Dok Rea Noh (Spa) 70 74, Roderick Bastard (Eng) 74 70, Antonio Rosado (Por) 74 70.

SCOTLAND QUALIFY FIFTH, PLAY


SWEDEN IN EURO SENIORS

Scotland qualified in fifth position and will play fourth seeds Sweden in the first round of the match-play stages at the European senior men's amateur team golf championship at Fairhaven Golf Club, Lancashire.
Scottish senior champion Scott MacDonald (Dunfermline) again had the non-counting score - an 83.
Other scores were: Ian Taylor 77, Jim Watt 79, Tony Stafford 80, Colin Christy 80, David Gardner 81.
Ireland virtually outclassed the opposition to qualify as top seeds.
Their 36-hole, best five from six total of 736 was 10 shots better than No 2 qualifiers England and 42 shots ahead of Scotland.
Ireland will play Switzerland, the last of the eight qualifiers for the championship flight with a total of 799, some 63 shots more than the Irish took, which suggests their match-play meeting will be a one-sided contest.
Ireland's scorers on Day 2 were Garth McGimpsey and Maurice Kelly, each with 73, Arthur Pierse and Adrian Morrow, each with 74, and Michael Quirke 75. For the second day in a row, Ireland were able to discard a 78 (returned by Tom Cleary), a score any of the 17 other countries would have been glad to have.
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT QUALIFIERS
736 Ireland 367 369.
746 England 372 374.
759 Germany 382 377
772 Sweden 378 394.
778 Scotland 381 397
796 Spain 404 392
798 Austria 401 397
799 Switzerland 404 395.
Quarter-finals
Ireland v Switzerland
Scotland v Sweden
Germany v Spain.
England v Austria.




ends

LAMB LEADS CRIEFF QUALIFIERS FOR


SCOTTISH PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Broomieknowe's Stephen Lamb squeezed eight birdies into a six-under-par round of 65 to pick up the £100 prize for heading a massive field of 149 in today's (Wed) Gleneagles Scottish PGA championship qualifying round at Crieff Golf Club.
Lamb's halves of 32-33 included five birdies in a row from the fifth to the ninth. He had a couple of bogeys, at the fourth and 17th.
The standard of scoring at the top end of the leaderboard was very good indeed.
To claim one of the 24 spots in the championship over the King's Course, Gleneagles from October 14 to 17 a player had to shoot one-under-par 70 or better.
In fact, two of the six players who did return 70s - Craig Knowles (Panmure) and Scott Finlayson (Scotland for Golf) were eliminated in a play-off.
Also unsuccessful were the two female professionals in the field. Antonia Ffinch (Aberdour) missed out with a six-over 77. She came home in 35 after a nervous start which saw her bogey five of the first six holes.
Heather MacRae (Downfield), who has qualified in the past for the Scottish championship, failed this time with a 78 (39-39).QUALIFIERS
Par 71
65 Stephen Lamb (Broomieknowe).
66 Scott Grieve (Turnhouse), Tom Buchanan (Duddingston), Ross Cameron (McDonald Ellon), Andrew Crerar (Panmure).
67 Sean O'Donnell (Balbirnie Park), Iain Hanna (Strathclyde Park).
68 Paul Jamieson (Dunblane New), Craig Everett (Caldwell), Jonny Sharp (Carrick at Cameron House), Greg McBain (Royal Dornoch).
69 Matthew Burt (Helensburgh), Nigel Scott-Smith (Palacerigg), Alan Purdie (Kingsbarns), Calum Lawson (Blairgowrie), Stuart Williamson (West Kilbride), Greg Paxton (Ralston), Christopher Robinson(Dumfries and Calloway), Neil Fenwick (Dunbar), Andrew Rollo (Moray).
70 Garry Forrester (St Andrews Golf School), Iain Colquhoun (Dundonald Links), Steven Duncan (Balbirnie Park), Alistair Brown (Whitecraigs).
MISSED THE CUT
70 (after play-off) Craig Knowles (Panmure), Scott Finlayson (Scotland for Golf)
71 Jonnie Cliff (Murrayfield), Andrew McMahon (Grove Golf), Ross Neill (Drumpellier), David McCallum (Ralston), Gavin Cook (Prestonfield), Spencer Edwards (Carrick on Loch Lomond), Gordon Niven (Ping Europe Ltd), Ken Campbell (Machrihanish), Graham Forbes (Gourock), Malcolm Isaacs (Nairn Dunbar), Mark Finlayson (Edzell).
72 Andrew Marshall (Houston GR), Scott Catlin (Greenburn), Iain Stoddart (Uphall), Euan Cameron (Hamilton), David Gordon unatt), David Ross Nicol (Dundonald Links), Scott Herald (Mearns Castle), Martin Shaw (Kilmarnock Barassie).
73 Donald McKay (Wellsgreen), Stuart Reekie (Blairgowrie), Andrew Meikle (Archerfield), Alastair J Webster (Edzell), John Robertson (Glasgow), Kevin Campbell (Greenock), Michael Patterson (Kilmacolm), Scott McGrenaghan (Cochrane Castle), Ricky Gray (Renfrew).
Selected non-qualifiers
74 Lee Vannet (Carnoustie Golf Links), Dean Vannet (Peterculter), Ryan Fitzpatrick (Inchmarlo), Andrew Cooper (Newmachar), Jonas Hedberg (Royal Aberdeen).
75 Jonathan Lomas (unatt).
76 Antonia Ffinch (Aberdour).
77 Heather MacRae (Downfield).

Casey: Cocky, abrasive and too-

American!

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By OLIVER BROWN
Paul Casey's rocky relationship with the Ryder Cup was crystallised best by a remark, made off the cuff six years ago, that he "hated" Americans.
The word seemed infelicitous, given that he was going out with an American and had already spent a decade living in Arizona, and it took barely a day for the rednecks' death threats to pour in.
If Casey genuinely did harbour any antipathy for his adopted land, it was in scant evidence last weekend. As Edoardo Molinari captured a famous victory at Gleneagles to join Europe's exotic Ryder Cup talent pool, where, pray, was Casey?
Nowhere to be seen in the bonnie glens of Perthshire, our all-English hero was instead pacing the fairways at some faceless country club in New Jersey, pursuing not so much the selfless dream of a wild-card pick as a rather large dollar sign.
PGA champion Paul Casey's new calm can be a major bonus. Cynical? You bet. Golf in the US is governed by the cynicism of corporate imperatives, to which Casey is an unashamed subscriber. The entire season builds towards the hollow horror of the FedEx Cup, whose cachet rests in nothing more elevated than the fact that the winner picks up a tidy £6.5 million.
The Ryder Cup, by contrast, should be an emblem for everything that is noble and comradely about the game – and yet its scheduling, five days after the decisive FedEx event in Atlanta, means it is ripe for being regarded as an afterthought by money-hungry players.
So how could Casey possibly "hate" Americans? Their country has made him what he is: an ordinary lad from Surrey stockbroker land, made exceptional on the strength of a golf scholarship at Phoenix. Indeed, his problem in the eyes of European critics who find his personality cocky, abrasive, and who do not mourn his omission from the Ryder Cup team for a second, is that he is perhaps too American.
Casey's accent is, rather like that of Justin Rose, stranded somewhere over the mid-Atlantic. He also lapses easily into the hideous techno-speak of the US Tour.
After he had finished his third round at this year's Open at St Andrews, where he had a glimpse of being the first Englishman since Nick Faldo to clasp the Claret Jug, he talked less of the burden of history than of his accomplishment in adding 200 revolutions per minute to his spin rate.
Then he began a fascinating excursion into the intricacies of torque, shaft, plus the merits of carrying a 10.5-degree driver.
Still awake? Casey's idea of a guilty pleasure is practising for an extra hour in the Nike laboratory. It would be difficult to imagine Faldo, when he won at the Old Course in 1990, being in the least bit bothered about whether his ball was spinning at 1,800 or 2,000rpm.
There is nothing wrong, of course, with minute attention to detail in the attainment of sporting excellence, but in Casey's case it only adds to the impression that he goes about his business too scientifically, certainly in relation to his bank account.
His attitude is attuned to the American norm. Take young Hunter Mahan, the blond poster boy of the US Tour, who in 2008 conveyed his perceptions of the Ryder Cup thus: "I think Europe really takes it seriously. The US does, too, but not like Europe. Is it an honour to play? Yes, it is. But time is valuable. This is a business."
Mahan also had the gall to complain that the players were treated like "slaves" at the competition, purely because they had to don tuxedos and attend the odd formal dinner.
So I am baffled to read arguments that Bubba Watson cares more about winning a Ryder Cup place than losing the play-off in last month's US PGA, or that the spirt of the American team, rounded out by captain Corey Pavin's four picks next Tuesday, is irresistible.
It takes Mahan's dim-witted view to show, conclusively, that the Americans care a good deal less about the Ryder Cup than the Europeans. Like most natives of Plano, Texas, he probably thinks Celtic Manor is a haunted house in Scotland.
And no, this does not mean I 'hate' Americans. I just believe that on their golfers' list of self-serving priorities, settling a needle match for patriotic pride in the cold, Welsh October mist comes only slightly higher than the chance to earn FedEx points at the Waste Management Open.

Bumper year for Old Course bookings

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ST ANDREWS LINKS TRUST
St Andrews Links received a record-breaking number of tee-time applications for the Old Course today (September 1) following the staging of the 2010 Open Championship at the venue earlier this year.
The Advance Reservations process for play on the Old Course and The Castle Course opened at 10am BST and within 20 minutes more than 1,500 email applications had been received by St Andrews Links Trust.
The Links Trust, which manages and maintains the seven public golf courses at the Home of Golf, invite applications for tee times a year ahead due to the continued level of demand to play on the famous Links.
‘The Old Course attracts a huge amount of interest, largely due to the history and tradition associated with the Home of Golf’, said Alan McGregor , Chief Executive of St Andrews Links Trust.
‘However, this attention intensifies during the staging of the Open Championship, resulting in a bumper amount of applications for tee-times the following year. This is great news for tourism in St Andrews and Scotland.’
For more information about booking any of the seven St Andrews Links courses please contact the Reservations Department at reservations@standrews.org.uk or on 0044 1334 466718.

USA’S PETER UIHLEIN WINS 2010

McCORMACK MEDAL

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE RandAAmerican Peter Uihlein will become the fourth recipient of the Mark H McCormack Medal, the award given by The R and A to the top-ranked golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at the end of the amateur season and following the European and US Amateur Championships.
Uihlein won the US Amateur Championship on Sunday following a 4 and 2 victory over his Eisenhower Trophy teammate David Chung. He went into the US Amateur already number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, a position he consolidated with victory at Chambers Bay.

The 21-year-old junior at Oklahoma State University has enjoyed a memorable 12 months. He was a member of the winning 2009 USA Walker Cup team and claimed all four points available to him against Great Britain and Ireland at Merion. Following the Walker Cup, Uihlein won both the Ping-Golfweek Preview in September and the Dixie Amateur in December. In 2010, he claimed the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional and Sahalee Players Championship.

Uihlein has been number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for the last 3 weeks and for a total of 12 weeks in 2010.

The Paul Lawrie Foundation Junior Jug

Grand Final: Newmachar Golf Club, Hawkshill Course.
Saturday, October 2, 2010


SHOTGUN START at 10am.

All competitors should check in at 9am to give themselves plenty of time to warm-up and get to their appropriate tee on time.

Hole 1: Scott Gibson (Southerness), Jeff Wright (Forres), Ewan Donaldson (Craigielaw).
Hole 2: Liam Johnston (Dumfries and County), Alasdair McDougall (Elderslie),  Ross Storrier (Downfield).
Hole 3: Lawrence Allan (Alva), Greg Smail (Craigielaw), Daniel Flannery (Peebles).
Hole 4: Joshua Jamieson (St Andrews New), Craig Howie (Peebles), Jordan Milne (Elgin).
Hole 5: Scott Wearing (Bishopbriggs), Andrew Carrell (Peterculter), Charlie MacNeal (Troon Welbeck).
Hole 6: Calum McLean (Cowglen), Alasdair Simpson (Tantallon), Michael Manson (Fortrose and Rosemarkie).
Hole 7: John Douglas (Aberdour), Chris Lamb (Newmachar), Euan Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie).
Hole 8: Blair Carnegie (Dunblane New), Craig Oram (Nairn Dunbar), Gary Foley (Dumfries and County).
Hole 8B (tee-off at 9.50am): Connor Syme (Dumfries and County), Daniel Thompsett (Aboyne), Darren Jones (Elderslie).
Hole 9: Alan Waugh (Cowglen), Jamie Pryde (Deeside), James Park (Royal Burgess).
Hole 10: Neil McArthur (Bishopbriggs), Cameron Buist (Dunblane New), Fraser Melville (Burntisland).
Hole 11: Jordan Lamb (Aberdour), Sean Hassard (Deeside) Ross McGregor (Downfield).
Hole 12: Sean Burns (Cowglen), Blair Milne (Inchmarlo), Conor Dempsey (Camperdown).
Hole 13: Peter Smith (Kenmore), George Colleran (Peterculter), Ross Adamson (Pumpherston).
Hole 14: Andrew Lamb (Alford), Martin McKenna (Whitecraigs), Mathew Gill (Nairn).
Hole 15: Calum Lammie (Stranraer), Steven Dewar (West Lothian), Hector Clarke (Moray).
Hole 16: Shaun Innes (Nairn Dunbar), R Wilson, Lachlan Imrie (Glen).
Hole 17: Jack Elder (Nairn Dunbar), Tommy Rae (Stranraer), Joseph McLaughlan (Dumfries and County).
Hole 18: Jamie Stewart (Kingsfield), Dean McDowall (Stranraer).


Organiser Adam Hunter writes:
Paul Lawrie unfortunately cannot make the Final. He originally chose the date as that was the only weekend date he could make and then SKY invited him to do Ryder Cup work.
Paul is very disappointed that he cannot make it along as he always, as you know, supports all the events (golf, soccer, hockey etc) that his Foundation are involved with, and even events that have nothing to do with his Foundation, when he is at home.
He has organised for European Tour player Stephen Gallacher to attend in his place. Stephen will conduct a clinic at close of play and will also present the prizes.

Spark in rough starts blaze in California

A California golfer sparked a 12-acre blaze after his club came in contact with a rock or stone in the rough. The fire needed 150 firefighters to put it out.
Fire officials say the fire burned through the rough, into vegetation next to the course and over two dry, brushy hillsides.
No charges were filed against the golfer, whose name was withheld

MILLION DOLLAR INCREASE FOR

BARCLAYS SINGAPORE OPEN


NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
This year’s Barclays Singapore Open will see a US$1 million increase in prize money and feature marquee players Phil Mickelson from the United States, Australian Adam Scott, Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and Yang Yong-eun from Korea.
To be played for the sixth successive season at Sentosa Golf Club from November 11 to 14 the total purse will be a staggering US$6 million.
A host of other star players will be announced over the next few months for a tournament that will also see some exciting new changes to its format.
For the second year in a row it will be joint-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and The European Tour and for the first time a field of 204 players will compete on both The Serapong and The Tanjong Courses.
Players will play on both courses for the first two days and after the halfway cut is made they will compete on The Serapong course at the weekend.
“This will be the best field we’ve yet had at the Barclays Singapore Open,” said Robert Morrice, Chairman and CEO Asia Pacific, Barclays PLC.
“We are excited about growing the tournament with this increased field of players from around the world. Golf is a cornerstone of our brand strategy, with the Barclays Singapore Open following on from The Barclays in the US and the Scottish Open.”
In an exciting development last year Barclays announced they would continue their sponsorship of what is Asia ’s richest national Open until at least 2012. They have been title sponsor since 2006.
The top 75 players from the Asian Tour and top 75 from The European Tour will make up the bulk of the field. In a move that will truly open up the tournament to the whole Asia Pacific region 32 positions have been allocated to members of the Mercedes-Benz Tour (7), the PGA Tour of Australasia (5), the China Golf Association Tour (5), the Korean Golf Tour (5) and the Professional Golf Tour of India (5).
Ten places will be for sponsor invites while four amateurs from the Singapore Golf Association and three professionals from the Singapore Professional Golfers’ Association will play.
Nearly 40,000 fans came to watch last year when England ’s Ian Poulter tasted victory and with the world’s best players returning in November that figured is expected to be surpassed.
Crowd favourite Mickelson has competed in the last three Barclays Singapore Opens with his best finish coming in 2008 when he finished ninth.
The American will arrive in Singapore as the reigning US Masters Champion - which he won in April for the third time. He has claimed four Majors in total and 38 US PGA Tour events.