TARTAN TOUR SCOREBOARD

Mental Health Foundation Pro-Am
Prestwick G.C.
Final Result (PRO-AM TEAM)
Par 71
61 Jonathan Lomas (unatt).
62 James McKinnon (Irvine).
63 Guy Redford (Dundonald Links).
64 Alan Lockhart (Ladybank).
65 Chris Kelly (Cawder), Colin Gillies (Braid Hills). 
66 David Fleming (Prestwick), David Orr (Eastwood), Stephen Gray (Hayston), Frank Rennie (unatt), Robert Mitchell (Prestwick).
67 Mark King (Kingsfield), Alan E Reid (West Lothian).
68 Graham Fox (East Kilbride).
69 Alan Purdie (Kingsbarns Golf Links), Craig Ronald (Carluke), Alan Tait (Marriott Dalmahoy).
+All the participating professionals received £175 each.

THE AMERICAN VIEWPOINT

Grading the week's studs and duds at

 the 2010 Ryder Cup

By Gary Van Sickle

Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated

EUROPE


Graeme McDowell (2-1-1)
Winning the U.S. Open was nice, but when the Ryder Cup is on your shoulders and you kick butt and execute critical shots, you're unquestionably the man. He's a superstar now. Pictured right.
Grade: A+


Lee Westwood (2-1-1)
The man of the match for Europe the first three rounds, and his takedown of Tiger Woods (with Luke Donald) in alternate shot set the tone for the near-sweep in the third session that keyed the European victory.
Grade: A


Luke Donald (3-1)
Clutch putting, precise iron play, brilliant from the bunkers. Apparently, Luke used The Force. This was his finest hour. P.S. How has he not won a major championship?
Grade: A


Ian Poulter (3-1)
The loud Englishman has been missing in action since winning the Match Play Championship in February, but he rose to the occasion and played his best golf of the year. And in remarkably tame pants!
Grade: A-


Martin Kaymer (2-1-1)
The PGA champion didn't play all that well. He made only two birdies in the last two matches but escaped with a stellar record because he road Westwood's coattails early.
Grade: B-


Rory McIlroy (1-1-2)
The young phenom clearly loved his first Ryder Cup, contrary to his pre-tourney comments. He had his moments, notching two points, but also had his game slightly exposed, twice botching 18.
Grade: B-


Miguel Angel Jimenez (2-1)
The Mechanic had two of the most clutch finishes of the week, saving a win on the 18th, and taking down Bubba Watson in a crucial singles match.
Grade: B+


Ross Fisher (2-2)
Showed stretches of brilliance but also some weakness with the putter. Played his best when paired with the veteran Harrington, who helped him on the greens and boosted his confidence. Lost a lead and a key singles match.
Grade: C+


Padraig Harrington (2-2)
The popular Irishman played poorly and tanked in his singles match against Zach Johnson. Still, he did eke out a couple of team wins thanks to some strong partners, and his presence and leadership may have been worth a point.
Grade: C


Peter Hanson (1-2)
The Swede showed off some solid ballstriking skills and proved he was worthy. He pasted a pair of 7s in his singles match with Mickelson, though, and lost to an opponent who previously had been winless.
Grade: C-


Edoardo Molinari (0-1-2)
Made a lot of birdies and did a great job of getting the crowd involved. He's an exciting player, and he and his brother came through for a key halve. On the flip side, he had Fowler 4-down on the back nine and let him scratch out a huge halve.
Grade: C-


Francesco Molinari (0-2-1)
The brothers scored an important halve in Sunday's four-ball matches and, as it turned out, every half point counted. His ballstriking was impressive, but his putting, especially his short putting, is a serious weakness. Played Tiger tough ... for nine holes.
Grade: C-


UNITED STATES


Steve Stricker (3-1)
The Americans' Most Valuable Player, he carried Woods to two team matches when Woods was struggling. Sent out first against Europe's best singles player, Westwood, Stricker scored the biggest win of the day for the U.S.
Grade: A+


Stewart Cink (1-0-3)
Came up big early when the U.S. needed him and played McIlroy to a draw in singles. Draining some early putts gave the team momentum.
Grade: A


Rickie Fowler (0-1-2)
All Fowler did was make a clutch putt to save a half point on the 18th ... twice. The second one, in singles, had the Cup riding on it. Forget how he played in the team matches, he came through when it was all on the line. The kid's got stones.
Grade: A-


Zach Johnson (2-1)
Too bad the rainout cost the Iowan a match. Pavin would've loved to send him out a fourth time. He played well in the crucial 11th slot in singles, racking up seven birdies against Harrington.
Grade: A-


Tiger Woods (3-1)
Tiger has played better in past Ryder Cups and had worse records. He didn't find his form this week until singles, when he starting slinging birdies and eagles at Francesco Molinari. Never mind how it looked, three wins is three wins.
Grade: A-


Jeff Overton (2-2)
The Indiana alum enjoyed his star turn and his "Boom, baby!" moment, showing what a great clutch putter he is. He and Watson's surprise opening win kept the U.S. close through two sessions. A real find.
Grade: B+


Jim Furyk (0-2-1)
Doesn't have much to show for his efforts but he put on a whale of a show in singles against Donald, despite dumping his final crucial approach shot into a bunker at the 18th. Birdied five of the last 10 holes-but only won one of them against the hot Donald.
Grade: C+


Matt Kuchar (1-1-2)
Didn't play his best but didn't play poorly either, and made a good teammate for Cink. Kooch got drummed in singles, though.
Grade: C+


Hunter Mahan (1-2)
Played one strong match and made a bit of a comeback against McDowell with the Ryder Cup on the line. Under intense pressure, missed the tee shot on the final hole and then duffed a chip. A tough way to finish.
Grade: C-


Bubba Watson (1-3)
Watson's power game was negated by wet, sloppy conditions and thick rough. He didn't make a lot of birdies-just one in singles, where he was schooled by Jimenez. His pairing with Overton, another emotional player, was sheer fun.
Grade: C-


Dustin Johnson (1-3)

A no-show the first three days and was ineffective in a pairing with Mickelson. His putting was way off early but he atoned a bit with a big win in singles, although his opponent, Kaymer, shot over par.

Grade: D+

Phil Mickelson (1-3)

Finally made some birdies after three straight dismal performances. The U.S. team could've used him sooner. Coincidence that he started playing better after he heard that Johnny Miller criticized him on TV? It was Phil's first singles win since 1999.

Grade: D+

AMERICANS REGAIN PRIDE WITH SINGLES FIGHTBACK

Europe win - but it was might close!

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By SANDY MACASKILL AT CELTIC MANOR
Graeme McDowell regained the Ryder Cup lost by Europe at Valhalla in 2008, when his opponent Hunter Mahan conceded the Northern Irishman's putt at Celtic Manor’s 17th hole after squeezing his own effort just wide.
And so, just three months after winning the US Open, Graeme McDowell was Europe's hero once again.
Going into the extended Monday programme of 12 singles with a seemingly comfortable 3pt lead, Europe, in the end, were victorious by the most narrow of possible margins - 14 ½ - 13 ½ - giving this troubled Ryder Cup a unforgettable finish.
Colin Montgomerie could not bear to watch the final drama. But the noise told him all he needed to know. Monty, the European captain, had said before the competition started that this would come down to a final putt on the final hole. Not far off.
‘Captain Fantastic’, Darren Clarke had called him. Well, whatever people will make of the rest of his singles order, Monty’s decision to take out an insurance policy by playing McDowell in the final singles match proved decisive.

That it came down to McDowell and Mahan, the 12th match, was because of impressive final-day performances from the US team, who won six of the day’s singles matches.
Mostly it came down to a tenacious fight-back by rookie Rickie Fowler, who recovered from three holes down with four to go against Edoardo Molinari with four straight birdies ot halve the match.
Europe had started strongly, Montgomerie's team needing just five points to regain the trophy lost in Louisville, Kentucky two years ago. With all 12 singles matches on the course, Europe led in eight. Luke Donald defeated Jim Furyk by one hole and Ian Poulter – good as his word to return with a point – thumped Matt Kuchar 5 and 4.

But it was the Americans, who had started the day trailing by 9 ½ points to 6 ½, who performed better in the singles. “It’s tight,” Donald had said after finishing. It was more than that.

'Magnificent Monday', morphed into ‘Manic Monday’ when Steve Stricker landed an early blow by beating Lee Westwood 2 and 1, Dustin Johnson beat Martin Kaymer 6 and 4, Jeff Overton beat Ross Fisher 3 and 2, Phil Mickelson defeated Peter Hanson 4 and 2, and Zach Johnson beat Padraig Harrington. Stuart Cink was held to a half by Rory McIlroy in the second match.

Tiger Woods, meanwhile, pulled out one of the performances of the day, announcing his return to form in style by coming from two behind and smashing opponent Francesco Molinari 4 and 2 despite the Italian posting four birdies.

It was a day of nerves for those watching and those taking part. On one occasion, the two collided, Jeff Overton and former Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallager, now summarising for the BBC, exchanged views after Fisher had been allowed a drop on the 11th.
When Overton’s father stepped in, matters looked like escalating. Fortunately the players halved the hole and defused the situation.
European fingernails were bitten down to the quick when Fowler recovered against Molinari, winning the 18th. So it was that it came down to McDowell, who, at the 16th green, was just one-up and feeling the pressure.
But the Ulsterman sank a 12ft putt, extending his lead to two with three to play, both fists pumping the air. At the 17th, two down, the pressure got to Mahan and the American muffed his chip to the green. McDowell left his putt short, but when Mahan missed the American conceded.


FINAL SCORE: EUROPE 14½ – USA 13½
Match 1: Westwood v Stricker - US wins 2 and 1.
Match 2: McIlroy v Cink - Halved
Match 3: Donald v Furyk - EUR wins by 1 hole.
Match 4: Kaymer v D Johnson - USA win 6 and 4
Match 5: Poulter v Kuchar - EUR wins 5 and 4.
Match 6: Fisher v Overton - USA wins 3 and 2.
Match 7: Jimenez v Watson - EUR wins 4 and 3.
Match 8: F Molinari v Woods - USA wins 4 and 3
Match 9: E Molinari v Fowler - Halved
Match 10: Hanson v Mickelson - USA wins 4 and 2
Match 11: Harrington v Z Johnson - USA wins 3 and 2
Match 12: McDowell v Mahan EUR wins by 2 holes.

HUGH HUNTER'S CLACKMANNAN COUNTY NEWS

BILL ABERNETHY

The sudden death of Clackmannan county golf president Bill Abernethy caused great shock within county golf circles.
Bill was a great enthusiast of golf and a tremendous supporter of Braehead Golf Club and Clackmannan County Golf Union, always giving encouragement to golfers His presence at County Golf events will be sadly missed,
Golfers and golfing officials throughout the county would extend sympathies to his family. In a way, it is a nice golfing tribute to Bill that the Braehead professional Jamie Stevenson won the Midland Alliance event at Ladybank last week.

MIDLAND ALLIANCE
In the Ladybank Pro-Am event, Jamie Stevenson (Braehead) won the event with a three under par score of 68 in sunny conditions. Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart tied for second place with a one over par 72. In the four man team event, third place went to Jamie Stevenson, Murdie Gilmour (both Braehead), J Stevenson, K Kilgour (both Dunfermline) with a score of 132.


FRUSTRATING WEEKEND FOR LAWRENCE
After withdrawing from the Paul Lawrie Junior Jug event (which was played) to represent Scotland in the Under 16 match against England at Dinsdale Golf Club near Darlington, Alva’s Lawrence Allan must have been very disappointed to find the fixture abandoned at lunchtime due to heavy rain
Lawrence had been selected to partner Ewan Scott in the top foursomes match and play at third spot in the singles, but the singles were abandoned in the early afternoon after a morning rain delay.


AND FINALLY
In the 72-hole Asian Professional tour event held over a long course at the Taiwan Country Club, Hsieh Min-nam of Taipei made the cut of 151 and finished with two further rounds of 75 and 80 to finish in 47th place.
So what? you might say. Only that he is aged 70 and 59 days, and won the individual and team prizes in the 1972 World Cup of golf.
Hope for us all !!!!

Under-16 boys' international abandoned

The Under-16 boys international between Scotland and England at Dinsdale Golf Club was abandoned due to bad weather on Sunday.

FOUR FROM TARTAN TOUR TOP 20


BID FOR SCOTTISH ALLIANCE TITLE

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Late entries by Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills), pictured,  and Graeme Lornie (Paul Lawrie Foundation) mean there will be four players from the Tartan Tour’s current top 20 money-winners in the field for the Scottish Alliance championship over 54 holes at Murcar Links and Newburgh-on-Ythan from Tuesday to Thursday this week.
PGA Cup player Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) and Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), joint fourth in last year’s championship at Gullane behind Gareth Wright (West Linton), who is not defending the title, were already in the field of over 100.
Matheson (£15,118) is eighth, McKechnie (£15,079) ninth, Lockhart (£9,832) 17th and Lornie (£7,079) 20th on the PGA Scottish Region money list for 2010.
Other pros chasing the £1,000 first prize include Alan E Reid (West Lothian), Graeme Brown (Montrose Links), Terry Mathieson (Dunbar), Ross Harrower (Boat of Garten), Paul Jamieson (Dunblane New), Lee Sutherland (Ballumbie Castle), Ian Bratton (Newburgh), Paul Brookes (Pitreavie), Ryan Fitzpatrick (Inchmarlo) and Stephen Lamb (Broomieknowe).
For the first time in Scottish Alliance championship history, there are two female entries, Scotland amateur international Laura Murray (Alford) and Aberdeenshire county champion Sammy Leslie (Westhill).
The leading amateur trophy is likely to be contested by recent Northern Open runner-up Scott Larkin (Royal Aberdeen), who plays off +3, and Scotland cap Kris Nicol, a +4 member at Fraserburgh.

THE AMERICAN VIEWPOINT

Woods, Mickelson don't even look top-20 players

BY GARY VAN SICKLE
Senior Sports Illustrated writer
NEWPORT, Wales — The Ryder Cup is scheduled to have a Monday finish here for the first time in the event's 83-year history.
Put an asterisk on that, though, because it sure looked like the Ryder Cup ended Sunday evening at Celtic Mudhole (Celtic Manor's new name) right on schedule.

Officially, the Ryder Cup isn't over until the European team wins five more points.

Unofficially, Team USA waved farewell to its chances of retaining the Cup when Europe finished off its fast start to the unique six-match session Saturday, mopping up 5 1/2 of the 6 possible points and opening a 9 1/2-6 1/2 lead going into the 12-match singles session.

You can drive a Mack truck through that differential. And that's just about what ran over the Americans in the third session. It may not be so much about whether the Americans can make up 3 points on Monday, but whether they can come back from an ego-crushing defeat.

If you're going to Celtic Manor on Monday, you'd better like the "Ole, ole, ole" song because it's going to be on repeat most of the day.

Anything is possible, of course. American captain Corey Pavin isn't admitting defeat. "I think it's very plausible we can win," Pavin said Sunday night. "Is it an uphill battle? Of course. There are 12 points tomorrow. That's a lot of points. We've got 12 of the best players in the world. They do, too. We'll give it our best shot."

It's true, bigger comebacks have happened. The benchmark is Brookline in '99 when the U.S. faced a 10-6 deficit and famously stormed back to take the Cup. That was a home game, however, and that team featured the four best players in the world on the American squad — Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Payne Stewart.

This U.S. team has players with gaudy reputations. Tiger is still No. 1 in the world and Phil is still No. 2, but Europe's Lee Westwood is scheduled to move up a spot next week and slip into No. 1 before long.
The fact is, it's been months since Tiger and Phil looked like the best two players in the world. At the moment, neither looks a top-20 player.
There is Ryder Cup rookie Dustin Johnson, whose power game was supposed to fit with Phil and form a dynamic duo. Johnson flamed out badly in the Tour Championship after his impressive win at Cog Hill, and he's flamed out even worse this week. Jim Furyk, ranked fifth in the world, can be excused if he's a little worn out from his Tour Championship win and the whole FedEx Cup ordeal. Steve Stricker, ranked fourth in the world, may have run out of gas Saturday after carrying Woods to two match wins.
If the United States is going to mount a charge of the lightweights brigade, who, exactly, is going to lead it into the hail of artillery that's sure to come from the likes of Westwood, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Ross Fisher and Graeme McDowell, among others? They all seem to be more on top of their games than the Americans.

Johnny Miller summed it up best for NBC on Sunday night when he said, "The top European guys like Lee Westwood and Luke Donald have played like they're supposed to, and the top Americans haven't."

It's that simple. There was a reason the European team was rated a heavy favorite going into this Ryder Cup, and those players have backed it up.

The Americans had a chance to win, in my opinion, because they had a better lineup of putters, and they out-putted the Europeans Friday and Saturday morning. The putts stopped going in quite as often on Saturday afternoon, and even more rarely toward Sunday's finish. Was it the scattered rain showers that caused the Americans to leave important putts short on the final nine, or was it the pressure of falling behind?

It doesn't matter. Europe made the putts Sunday and the Americans didn't. For six matches, European teams were 33 under par, and the Americans were 18 under par — 15 shots better. That's not a huge spread over six matches, but match play is like the Electoral College — close in total votes doesn't count. You either carry Florida and Ohio, or you don't.

This is what the Ryder Cup has come down to: The Americans have to win seven out of 12 matches, and halve another. That doesn't sound impossible, but who is going to beat Westwood, Donald, Poulter, McDowell and Fisher, for starters?

There is nothing less fun than a Ryder Cup rout and a singles draw without drama and tension. Everyone, with the exception of Monty and the European players, would like to see a close finish. The Europeans are now in position, however, to blow this thing out. An early American rally is almost inevitable, but like Sunday afternoon's rally, likely to be short-lived.

An American comeback is possible mathematically, theoretically and physically. But to do it on an awkward, sloppy course with slow greens and likely a bit of wind — normal European conditions — in front of a vocal pro-European crowd and against a team that is clearly playing better? Possible, I suppose.

It's also possible that the 2010 Ryder Cup ended Sunday night after an Italian golfer made a short putt, stole a crucial half-point from the U.S., drew a thunderous roar of delight and sent thousands of European fans home happy as an autumn sun set behind the Welsh hills.

It sure looked like the final scene of a show to me.

Pilot Pariya wins Taiwan Masters play-off
 FROM THE ASIAN TOUR WEBSITETaipei: Licensed pilot Pariya Junhasavasdikul of Thailand defeated Siddikur of Bangladesh in a pulsating play-off for his first Asian Tour victory at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters on Sunday.
Pariya, who graduated from Purdue University in the United States with a pre-law bachelors degree and minored in aviation management, closed with a two-over-par 74 to tie with Siddikur in regulation play on a four-day total of two-under-par 286 at the challenging Taiwan Golf and Country Club.
The duo returned to the par four 18th hole in extra time and it was Pariya who sealed the victory with a par at the US$500,000 Asian Tour event.
Local hope Lu Wei-chih, a former Mercuries Taiwan Masters champion, missed out on the play-off after making bogey on the last hole for a 71 while South Africa’s Peter Karmis and Chan Yih-shin of Chinese Taipei finished a stroke back in tied fourth position on a 288 total.
Asian legend Hsieh Min-nan of Chinese Taipei, who at the age of 70 years and 53 days old is the oldest player on the Asian Tour to make the halfway cut, signed off with an 80 for a 306 total.
Trailing overnight leader Siddikur by a stroke, Pariya, turned in 36 before carding a pivotal birdie on the 15th hole to force a play-off.
“I didn’t expect to win but now that I have it is great. I came here with a goal to finish in the top-10 but to win here is just unbelievable. It opens a lot of doors for me but Asia is my home and I’ll always play here,” said the 26-year-old, who won US$100,000 for his victory.
Pariya is one of the most consistent golfers on the Asian Tour with four top-10s to his name this season. His best finish was in third place at the Handa Singapore Classic last month.
Pariya admitted that nerves got to him on the back nine but was delighted with his consistent performance this week.
“I tried not to look at the (scoreboard) results but I couldn’t help myself on the back nine. I knew I was neck-to-neck with Siddikur and I’m lucky things went my way,” said Pariya, who represented the Purdue University golf team and has clocked over 100 hours as a pilot.
Siddikur, who is the first Bangladeshi to win on the Asian Tour at the Brunei Open in August, mounted a strong challenge for his second victory but was blown off course by buffeting winds as he closed with four bogeys against one birdie for a 75.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
286 - Siddikur (BAN) 75-69-67-75, Pariya Junhasavasdikul (THA) 71-71-70-74
287 - Lu Wei-chih (TPE) 72-72-72-71
288 - Peter Karmis (RSA) 70-72-71-75, Chan Yih-shin (TPE) 75-68-73-72
290 - Prom Meesawat (THA) 72-75-71-72
291 - Scott Barr (AUS) 74-75-72-70
292 - Lu Wen-teh (TPE) 76-73-70-73
293 - Lin Wen-tang (TPE) 73-73-73-74, Tsai Chi-huang (TPE) 73-72-76-72
294 - Udorn Duangdecha (THA) 73-74-73-74
295 - Mardan Mamat (SIN) 76-71-71-77, Iain Steel (MAS) 71-73-76-75, Artemio Murakami (PHI) 75-74-72-74, Simon Griffiths (ENG) 78-72-71-74
296 - Oscar Fraustro (MEX) 75-72-73-76, Zaw Moe (MYN) 74-75-73-74, Lu Tze-shyan (TPE) 81-66-76-73