Torrance shares lead with Williams after record 63 

By STEVE TODD
European Seniors Tour Press Officer
Chris Williams ensured the 2010 European Senior Tour season will go right to the wire after a five under par 67 gave him a share of the lead with former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance, pictured, going into the final round of the OKI Castellón Senior Tour Championship.
Williams, who is currently €39,259 behind Thailand’s Boonchu Ruangkit in the Order of Merit, set up a fascinating final day of the season on Sunday by carding four birdies in the last seven holes of his second round at Club de Campo del Mediterráneo.
The South African needs to either win or finish second and hope that Ruangkit is worse than 28th if he is to capture the John Jacobs Trophy, given to the leading Senior Tour player.
He kept his chances of achieving that very much alive with a flawless back nine to move to nine under par for the tournament, level with Torrance who fired a superb course record equalling 63 in Spain.
With Ruangkit eight shots back in a share of 24th place following a 71, the Order of Merit battle looks destined to be just as close as last year when – coincidentally – it was Torrance who came from behind to edge out Ian Woosnam by just €3,380.
“Ultimately the whole season is now coming down to this one round,” said Williams. “There is going to be a lot of pressure and it would be accurate to say that I’m aware of that when I’m out there.
“If you weren’t too bothered about winning the Order of Merit there wouldn’t be but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. Whatever happens it will be the finest year of my life but I’d love to do it.
“If I allow the pressure to become too much it will ruin my game so the idea is just to relish the moment and be careful I do not become over anxious. I really need to separate what is going on tomorrow and ignore the thoughts of awards and just focus on shooting a good score.
“I’m playing with Sam who knows all about this from last year but I’m sure he will be going all out to win for himself.”
Williams might ultimately look back on the tough par three 12th hole - the only one Torrance dropped a shot on - as a pivotal one in his season.
“I really turned my round around with that birdie on the 12th,” he said. “Nothing had really happened for me until that point. It’s a difficult hole but my approach shot was superb and that gave me confidence.”
If Williams is to capture his maiden Senior Tour title – and the John Jacobs Trophy – he will have to overcome a formidable competitor in Torrance, the reigning Order of Merit winner.
Torrance has a marvellous record around Club de Campo del Mediterráneo, winning the OKI Castellón Senior Tour Championship in 2008 and finishing third last year to seal the Order of Merit.
The 2002 Ryder Cup captain posted ten birdies and just the single bogey on the 12th hole as he produced his lowest round of 2010 by two strokes.
Torrance is keen to maintain his sequence of winning in each of his full terms on the Senior Tour since 2004 and said he had given himself every chance of prolonging that run and capturing his 12th title overall.
“I played magnificently today – the best I have for a long time,” said the Scot. “It really doesn’t get any better than it was out there. I played beautifully all day and only hit one bad shot.
“My all round game was superb and I don’t think I could have shot a better score. It would mean a lot to me to win again and keep the run going – I did it two years ago and I’ve given myself every chance of doing it again.
“There is something special about this place for me. I love the people, the food, the course and I’m great friends with the Garcias so I love coming here.”
Torrance and Williams are one shot clear of Englishman Nick Job, who carded a superb 64 to move to eight under par. Australian David Merriman and Spaniard José Rivero, the overnight leader, are a further shot back after rounds of 66 and 71 respectively.
SCOREBOARD TO COME
Par 144 (2x72)
135 S Torrance (Sco) 72 63, C Williams (RSA) 68 67
136 N Job (Eng) 72 64
137 J Rivero (Esp) 66 71, D Merriman (Aus) 71 66
138 A Franco (Par) 70 68, M Cunning (USA) 69 69
139 T Johnstone (Zim) 70 69, J Quiros (Esp) 68 71
140 K Spurgeon (Eng) 71 69, M Harwood (Aus) 70 70
141 L Carbonetti (Arg) 73 68, R Drummond (Sco) 71 70, D Russell (Eng) 72 69, G Brand junior (Sco) 73 68, C Mason (Eng) 74 67
142 I Woosnam (Wal) 71 71, M Farry (Fra) 71 71, M Belsham (Eng) 73 69, D Smyth (Irl) 73 69, G Ralph (Eng) 71 71, J Bruner (USA) 70 72, J Rhodes (Eng) 69 73
143 H Carbonetti (Arg) 72 71, G Wolstenholme (Eng) 73 70, B Ruangkit (Tha) 72 71, D Hospital (Esp) 71 72, J Harrison (Eng) 70 73
144 D O'Sullivan (Irl) 71 73, B Cameron (Eng) 72 72
145 A Sowa (Arg) 72 73, P Fowler (Aus) 74 71
146 G Brand (Eng) 74 72, A Oldcorn (Sco) 73 73
147 M Clayton (Aus) 69 78, B Longmuir (Sco) 75 72
148 B Smit (RSA) 74 74, B Lincoln (RSA) 77 71
149 G Ryall (Eng) 75 74
150 P Mitchell (Eng) 77 73
153 V Garcia (Esp) 76 77
161 G Hopkins (USA) 82 79

FINALE ALLIANZ DE BARBAROUX
Barbaroux Golf Club, Provence region of south France.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
Prizemoney in Euros
208 Victor DUBUISSON (FRA) 69 70 69 (11,100) bt Edouard DUBOIS (FRA) 69 69 70 (7,050) in play-off.
209 Agus DOMINGO (ESP) 70 69 70, Julien GUERRIER (FRA) 68 66 75 (3,745 each). 
210 Julien GRILLON (FRA) 72 70 68 (2,750).
211 Xavier PONCELET (FRA) 74 70 67, Benjamin HEBERT (FRA) 73 70 68, Victor RIU (FRA) 70 69 72, Benoit TEILLERIA (FRA) 72 66 73 (2,223 each). 
212 Gavin DEAR (SCO) 71 71 70, Raymond RUSSELL (SCO) 70 68 74, Anthony SNOBECK (FRA) 71 67 74 (1,581.33 each).
213 Matthew BALDWIN (ENG) 75 69 69 (1,419).
214 Michael LORENZO-VERA (FRA) 75 71 68, Julien FORET (FRA) 71 73 70,
Francois CALMELS (FRA) 72 70 72 (1,274.33 each).
215 Tony RAILLARD (FRA) 73 74 68, Raphael EYRAUD (FRA) 71 71 73,
Baptiste CHAPELLAN (FRA) 73 69 73 (1,073.66 each).
216 Juan Antonio BRAGULAT (ESP) 71 76 69, Charles RUSSO (FRA) 72 74 70,
Nicolas JOAKIMIDES (FRA) 72 70 74, Alexandre KALEKA (FRA) 68 73 75, Adrien BERNADET (FRA) 71 70 75, Pedro ERICE (ESP) 73 68 75 (902.16 each).
217 Matthew CRYER (ENG) 72 73 72, Olivier DAVID (FRA) 75 69 73, Kenny LE SAGER (FRA) 72 71 74, Julien XANTHOPOULOS (FRA) 74 69 74  (771.50 each). 
218 Alan BIHAN (FRA) 68 76 74 (689).
220 Jason KELLY (NOR) 75 74 71, Anthony GRENIER (FRA) 72 75 73,
Christophe BRAZILLIER (FRA) 71 74 75 (661 each).
222 Romain SCHNEIDER (FRA) 76 76 70, Jason PALMER (ENG) 76 72 74,
Olivier SERRES (FRA) 71 73 78 (619 each).
224 Damien PERRIER (FRA) 77 75 72, Sam ROBINSON (ENG) 76 70 78 (584 each). 
225 Benjamin NICOLAY (FRA) 78 74 73, Fabien MARTY (FRA) 76 75 74 (559.50 each). 
226 Farren KEENAN (ENG) 78 76 72, Michael HILL (FRA) 74 77 75, Laurent PONCELET (FRA) 77 71 78 (542 each).
227 Renaud GUILLARD (FRA) 74 78 75 (528).
228 Ivó GINER (ESP) 74 76 78 (521).
229 Jean-Nicolas BILLOT (FRA) 76 79 74, Matthieu BEY (FRA) 77 77 75 (510.50 each). 
234 Nunzio Daniele LOMBARDI (ITA) 77 73 84 (500).

Russell wins a place in 2011 French Open field

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS:
Lothians star Raymond Russell can add the French Open to his 2011 schedule after winning the Allianz Tour's order of merit title at the weekend.
The Prestonpans pro, who will return to the European Tour next season, finished tenth in the third-tier circuit's Grand Final at Barbaroux.
That was enough to clinch the rankings crown as well as an invitation to the lucrative French showpiece.
Russell, 38, had been sitting in a share of second with a round to play and boosted his title bid with a two-under outward half which was highlighted by a hole-in-one at the short eighth.
But the former Cannes Open champion spilled four shots coming home in a two-over 74 for a four-under 212 and finished four strokes behind Victor Dubuisson, who beat Edouard Dubois in a play-off after both players had tied on 208.
Murrayshall's Gavin Dear finished joint 10th with Russell, both earning 1,581 Euros.

Tiger caught between old and new swing
FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
SHANGHAI (AP) — Tiger Woods rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on his opening hole, the first step toward cutting into a five-shot deficit in the HSBC Champions as he tried to make a move and at least give himself a shot at winning.
That also was the last step Saturday.
One shot later, Woods hit a wicked hook so far left into a hazard that he didn't even watch to see where it landed. He tossed his driver at the bag, took out another golf ball and headed to the drop zone.
When his third round ended with a round of 1-over 73, Woods found himself 11 shots behind Francesco Molinari and having to accept that this most peculiar of seasons will end without a PGA Tour victory for the first time in his career.
"Not a very good day," Woods said, to say nothing of the year.
He still has the Australian Masters next week in Melbourne, where he is the defending champion. He is host of the Chevron World Challenge the first week of December, which also counts toward the world ranking.
But as far as the US PGA Tour, his season ends Sunday. The HSBC Champions is a World Golf Championship that counts as an official tour victory provided a PGA Tour member wins.
Woods had won every year since he turned pro and joined the tour in 1996 - 14 straight seasons - and he will fall three years short of matching the PGA Tour record of 17 straight years with a win, by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
Already reduced to No. 2 in the world - Woods could fall to No. 3 depending on what happens Sunday - he can write off this season to a disaster on and off the golf course. It started late last year with revelations of his infidelity, which kept him out of golf for nearly five months. One month after he returned, he split ways with swing coach Hank Haney and only began taking on a new swing with Sean Foley at the PGA Championship in August.
Woods has said he is making progress more quickly than when he changed his swing under Butch Harmon in 1998 and under Haney in 2004, although it's clear it hasn't taken hold.
"He just lacks that little bit of confidence at the moment, and I think it will come," said Ernie Els, who played with him the first two days at Sheshan International.
Asked about his confidence on Saturday, Woods said that it was "pretty good."
"I warm up pretty good, but then on the golf course when I have to hit certain shots, or I don't feel comfortable, I kind of revert back to my old stuff," he said. "And therein lies the problem, because I'm caught right in between."
The numbers have been staggering considering what the previous 14 years looked like.
Woods has only two tops 10s - both times a tie for fourth in the Masters and the U.S. Open. He failed to qualify for the Tour Championship for the first time in his career, and he fell short of the required 15 tournaments for members, which for Woods only means that he doesn't get to vote for player of the year.
Since his tie for fourth at Pebble Beach, where Woods finished three shots out of the lead, he has not been closer than eight shots of the leader going into the final round of any tournament.
As for Sunday in Shanghai?
"I'd like to shoot something good, something positive," he said. "And basically get it going again."

Cook leads by one from Kite, Lehman

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Defending champion John Cook shot a 2-under 69 on Friday at Harding Park to take a one-stroke lead over Tom Kite and Tom Lehman in the Champions Tour's season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
A day after opening with seven birdies in a bogey-free 64, Cook was even par through 15 holes, then eagled the par-4 16th - driving the green and making a 4-foot putt. He followed with pars on the final two holes to get to 9-under 133.
"This golf course is not easy and it played tough today," Cook said. "A lot of us got trapped in between clubs, at least I did. I had to check my ego and go with what was the right thing to do."
Last year, Cook won by five strokes at Sonoma Golf Club.
Kite had a 67, and Lehman shot a 68.
Mark O'Meara (65), Russ Cochran (68) and Fred Funk (70) were 7 under, and Schwab Cup points leader Bernard Langer (69) was in a group at 6 under. Fred Couples was 4 under after a 69.
Couples needs to win to catch Langer in the two-man race for the $1 million annuity. Even if Couples wins, Langer would take the top prize with a two-way tie for fourth or better.
Cook scrambled to save par out of the sand on No. 9 and bogeyed the par-4 13th to drop to 6 under, which left him two shots off the pace. He rebounded with a birdie on No. 14 then hit his driver on the 250-yard 16th within 4 feet of the pin to set up the eagle.
"It was a good shot but it was a better result probably," Cook said of his tee shot on No. 16. "I think (the bogey) it kind of lit a little fire in me."
Kite, whose best finish this season was third at the First Tee Open at Pebble Beach in September, birdied three of the final five holes and nearly holed out on the 16th.
His tee shot hit the green and lipped out of the hole before rolling 15 feet past the pin. Kite missed his eagle try and settled for birdie, then added another birdie on No. 17 to pull within a stroke of Cook.
"I actually played fairly well on the front nine but didn't really get a whole lot to happen," Kite said. "All the fireworks really started happening at the end of the round. I played better today than I did yesterday, so that's encouraging, even though the score's the same."
Funk was tied with Cook atop the leaderboard before a double bogey on No. 18 dropped him back into the pack. Funk's approach on the par-4 final hole went into the deep rough well left of the fairway and his third shot landed in a bunker. He hit a wedge out of the sand, then two-putted for a 6.
Langer also had a run at the leaders when his birdie on No. 16 put him at 8 under along with Funk and Lehman. The points leader fell back a hole later with his double bogey on the par-3 17th.
Langer's tee shot fell 15 yards shy of the green and his approach skipped over the green and into the rough. He then chipped up and two-putted.
"I hit some poor shots coming in," Langer said. "The double bogey on 17 leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Hopefully, I'll hit it a little better tomorrow."

CLICK HERE FOR FOR THE FULL US CHAMPIONS' TOUR SCOREBOARD

Richie Ramsay joint fourth with a round to go at Shanghai

Francesco Molinari leads by one from Lee Westwood

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Lee Westwood admits Francesco Molinari “will be tough to hunt down” during the final round of the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions as he remained one shot adrift of the Italian in Shanghai today.
Both players shot five under par rounds of 67 to see the Italian move to 14 under for the week at Sheshan International and pull the leading duo clear of the chasing pack.

Having been separated by the finest of margins all week, it was little surprise when the Ryder Cup team-mates both birdied their opening hole.

Westwood was briefly level after his 27 year old playing partner dropped a shot at the fourth, but Molinari responded with a birdie at the fifth to restore his advantage before both players gained a stroke at the par five eighth.

While 37 year old Westwood was producing a bogey-free round, Molinari’s card was more varied as he birdied the tenth only to then bogey the 12th before holing his seven iron approach at the 13th for eagle – a shot he later described as “probably the best of the day.”

Westwood responded with birdies at the 13th and 15th to keep the deficit to one, and at the 16th the reigning Race to Dubai champion should have pulled level.

He attempted to drive the green at the short par four, and despite missing the putting surface was able to chip his second to three feet.
Molinari had a ten foot putt just for par at that stage and there was even the prospect of a two-shot swing giving Westwood the lead, but while the Turin golfer bravely holed out the World Number One missed.
Both players then birdied the par five last, Molinari’s improved form with the putter continuing with an eight foot downhill effort while Westwood chipped his third shot to within 12 inches.
Molinari said: “It was a bit of a rollercoaster for me because I hit some really good shots and some not so good shots. I think I showed today that my short game is improving and I’m happy the way I chipped and I putted.
“Sixteen was a really tough moment and it was really good to hole that par putt. Finishing like that is really good because it keeps me in the lead going into tomorrow.”
Westwood was delighted to have put together three excellent rounds on his return from a calf injury, having come into the week with “no expectations”, despite being the new Word Number One.
“That’s probably the best I’ve played all week, played really solidly today,” he said. "I missed a few chances on the greens but made a couple of nice putts as well.
“I think 67 is a good score, I didn’t make a bogey. It shows a good quality of golf when you only make two bogeys over 54 holes.”
Westwood’s compatriot Luke Donald played himself into the final group for the closing round with a bogey-free 68 which left him ten under for the week – four shots off the pace.
And with Ross Fisher, Ernie Els and Richie Ramsay tied for fourth two shots further back, the top six comprised entirely of European Tour Members.
Meanwhile Ireland’s Padraig Harrington carded the tournament’s first albatross on the par five 14th.
“I've never had an albatross before so obviously that was the shot of the day for me,” said the three-time Major winner.
Colin Farquharson writes: Richie Ramsay birdied the par-5 18th for the third day in a row and also birdied the seventh and 15th. He dropped shots at the fifth and short 17th in compiling a one-under-par 71 (36-35).
Fellow-Aberdonian Michael Sim, who plays under the Australian flag, improved by five shots on his Friday nightmare 79 but could not keep a double-bogey 6 off his card at the 15th for the second day running. He has birdied the 16th three days in a row.
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
202 Francesco Molinari (Italy) 65 70 67
203 Lee Westwood 66 70 67
206 Luke Donald 68 70 68
208 Richie Ramsay 69 68 71, Ross Fisher 69 70 69, Ernie Els (S Africa) 72 65 71
209 Jaco Van Zyl (S Africa) 71 66 72
210 Seung-yul Noh (S Korea) 67 72 71, Padraig Harrington 70 70 70
211 Charl Schwartzel (S Africa) 74 70 67, Paul Casey 73 71 67, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Sweden) 69 71 71
212 Peter Hanson (Sweden) 73 69 70, Robert Allenby (Australia) 72 68 72, Pablo Martin (Spain) 68 73 71, Tim Clark (S Africa) 72 70 70, Carl Pettersson (Sweden) 71 70 71
213 Tiger Woods (USA) 68 72 73, Rory McIlroy 71 71 71, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 70 74 69, Ian Poulter 70 70 73, Richard Green (Aus) 72 68 73, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 67 74 72
214 Nick Watney (USA) 72 68 74, Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn) 72 71 71, Hunter Mahan (USA) 70 73 71, K J Choi (Kor) 72 71 71
215 Anthony Kim (USA) 73 72 70, Adam Scott (Aus) 69 73 73, Bill Haas (USA) 72 71 72, Ryan Palmer (USA) 69 72 74, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 72 69 74, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 73 72 70
216 Phil Mickelson (USA) 69 71 76, Ben Crane (USA) 71 71 74, Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor) 72 69 75, Y.E. Yang (Kor) 69 74 73
217 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 71 73 73, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 70 70 77, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 73 71 73, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 72 70 75, Brendan Jones (Aus) 76 72 69, Rhys Davies 75 70 72, Rickie Fowler (USA) 71 74 72
218 Graeme McDowell 74 71 73, Yuta Ikeda (Jpn) 67 75 76
219 David Horsey 71 74 74, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 72 71 76, Jason Bohn (USA) 72 75 72, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 72 73 74
220 Michio Matsumura (Jpn) 71 74 75, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 73 74 73, Hiroyuki Fujita (Jpn) 75 75 70
221 Katsumasa Miyamoto (Jpn) 69 75 77, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 73 68 80, Danny Willett 77 69 75, Heath Slocum (USA) 71 72 78, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 72 76 73
222 Matteo Manassero (Ita) 71 70 81, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 74 78 70
223 Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn) 72 71 80, Alistair Presnell (Aus) 74 75 74, Camilo Villegas (Col) 75 70 78
224 Anders Hansen (Den) 71 74 79, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 75 76 73
225 Michael Sim (Aus) 72 79 74, Simon Khan 76 73 76
226 Pariya Junhasavasdikul (Tha) 74 80 72, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) 78 75 73, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 75 76 75
227 Shunsuke Sonoda (Jpn) 72 77 78, Kang-Chun Wu (Chn) 75 77 75
228 Liang Wen-Chong (Chn) 79 73 76
229 Bill Lunde (USA) 78 72 79, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 69 80 80
233 Li Chao (Chn) 79 79 75, Hao Yuan (Chn) 79 75 79

FOR THE FULL EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE SCOREBOARD, CLICK HERE

PAGUNSAN STORMS TO 11-STROKE VICTORY IN BALI


NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOURNew Kuta, Bali: Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines strolled to a commanding 11-stroke victory at the inaugural US$60,000 Bali O pen after a final round of six-under-par 66 today.
Leading by three overnight, the sweet-swinging Pagunsan did not give his closest challenger Jarmo Sandelin of Sweden a sniff at the title with another accomplished round which included seven birdies at the New Kuta Golf Resort.
Former Ryder Cup star Sandelin, playing on a sponsor’s invite, finished a distant second after a closing 74 while Japan ’s Masaki Sakata and Martin Rominger of Switzerland shared third place.
In what was the final event of the inaugural Asian Development Tour season, Malaysia ’s Akhmal Tarmizee clung on to third place on the Order of Merit to join countryman and top-ranked S. Siva Chandhran and Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Chia-jen, who finished second on the rankings, on the Asian Tour next season.
Closest challengers T.J. Kim of Korea , Thailand ’s Thanyakorn Khrongpha and Indonesian Rory Hie failed to produce the results to dislodge Akhmal, who had missed the halfway cut on Thursday.
But the star of the show was Pagunsan, who is a winner on the Asian Tour. Playing on a sponsor’s invite, he tightened his grip on the Bali Open with an outward 33 and with Sandelin failing to keep pace, Pagunsan cruised home with further birdies on the 14th, 15th and 16th holes and totaled 15-under-par 273 for the week.
“I played well, everything worked for me this week,” said Pagunsan, who earned US$10,500. “I knew I needed to get ahead of Jarmo and waited for him to make mistakes. After the front nine, I was in total control.
“This win will be a good confidence booster as we’ve got the Barclays Singapore Open and UBS Hong Kong Open coming up on the Asian Tour,” added the Filipino.
Sandelin, a five-time winner on the European Tour, tipped his cap to the winner. “Juvic played fantastic golf. Looking back, my momentum was stopped yesterday when I made the mistake by lifting my ball on the 12th hole,” said the Swede.
“I didn’t hole a putt all day, only one on 18. But I’ve enjoyed my time in Bali and a second will always be a second no matter what tournament it is. Hopefully I can build on this,” he added.
The 20-year-old Akhmal was overjoyed to earn a priceless Asian Tour card for next year which was the reward for the top three finishers on the Order of Merit.
“It’s a big relief,” said the Malaysian, who thought he had blown his chances after rounds of 75 and 82. “I was worried over the last two days as there were a few players who could have caught me.
“Now that I’ve got my Asian Tour card, I’m going to work really hard on my game and prepare well for next season,” added Akhmal.


LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
273: Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 72-67-68-66
284: Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 71-69-70-74
288: Martin Rominger (Swi) 74-74-71-69, Masaki Sakata (Jpn) 73-68-75-72
289: Simon Dunn (Sco) 75-69-71-74, Nick Redfern (Eng) 75-76-70-68
290: Jason King (Aus) 73-75-75-67
292: Zaw Moe (Myn) 75-74-72-71, Blair Wilson (Aus) 72-78-69-73, Chang Tse- peng (Tpe) 71-74-71-76
293: Bryan Saltus (USA) 74-74-72-73, Lam Zhiqun (Sing) (am) 73-70-76-74