Friday, November 12, 2010

JUAN CARLOS TALIHADE CUP SCOREBOARD

Los Lagortos Country Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina
November 11 to 14.

FIRST ROUND TOTALS
(scroll down to the end for news of Friday's second round)

140 ENGLAND
ANDREW SULLIVAN 67
NEIL RAYMOND 73

142 FINLAND
TAPIO PULKKANEN 70
MIRO VEIJALAINEN 72

143 NORWAY
ESPEN KOFSTAD 70
ELIAS BERTHEUSSEN 73


143 MEXICO
JUAN PABLO HERNANDEZ 69
SANTIAGO GAVIÑO VALLADARES 74

144 SPAIN
SCOTT FERNANDEZ SALMON 69
ANTONIO HORTAL 75

145 URUGUAY
JUAN ALVAREZ 70
AGUSTIN TARIGO 75

146 COLOMBIA
JUAN SEBASTIAN MUÑOZ AMAYA 72
DANIEL ZULUAGA OCAMPO 74

148 NETHERLANDS
ROBIN KIND 73
ROWIN CARON 75

149 ARGENTINA
JORGE FERNANDEZ VALDES 74
TOMAS COCHA 75

149 NEW ZEALAND
MATHEW PAUL PERRY 71
GARY-JOHN HILL 78

150 AUSTRALIA
RYAN McCARTHY 72
NATHAN HOLMAN 78

151 CANADA
RICHARD JUNG 74
MITCHELL ROSS EVANECZ 77

152 ITALY
EMANUELE SESIA 75
FILIPPO BERGAMASCHI 77

152 PORTUGAL
GONÇALO PINTO 74
TOMAS SILVA 78

154 SOUTH AFRICA
RYAN MATTHEW DREYER 75
DANIEL JONATHON HAMMOND 79

NR PERU
PATRICIO SALEM 69
RAFAEL CLAUX NR


+LATER NEWS FROM THE SECOND ROUND - NORWAY THE NEW LEADERS

CLICK HERE FOR THE ARGENTINA ASSOCIATION WEBSITE SCOREBOARD

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Irish Open future in doubt as title sponsor pulls out

Telecommunications company 3 has announced it will not be renewing its sponsorship of the Irish Open, putting the future of the tournament in doubt.
In a statement released this afternoon, the company stated it believed its sponsorship of the Republic of Ireland football team is more beneficial (to it) than the golf tournament.
The company stated: 'In a challenging market place, 3's focus in 2011 and beyond, is to grow the brand in the mass consumer and business markets.

'Following a review of its sponsorship portfolio, a decision was taken to streamline activities. 3 believes its support of the Irish football team will deliver the most commercial value for the brand into the future.'

The company was title sponsor for the past two stagings of the event and were widely praised for playing a key role in its resurgence, coupled with it moving the dates from May to the August Bank Holiday in the European Tour's schedule.

The news has come as a surprise. Only three weeks ago the European Tour's director of international policy Keith Walters revealed that the Tour was in negotiation with 3 about the location for the 2011 tournament.

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Shed no tears for the millionaires who lose their cards

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By Alistair Tait
How would you like to earn $710,000 to fail at your job? Or even $274,000?
I would.

There will be many sad stories over the next couple of weeks of US PGA Tour and European Tour players failing to retain cards on their respective tours. We need to keep these stories in perspective.

This week’s Children’s Miracle Network Classic on the PGA Tour is the last chance saloon for players trying to get inside the top 125 on the money list to retain playing rights for next season. European players go through the same test in Hong Kong next week, where anyone inside the top 115 keeps a card for the 2011 European Tour.

No doubt it will be heartbreaking for many of these players, but let’s not pass the hat around for them. They don’t need it.

The price of failure can be very rewarding.

Briny Baird is currently 126th on the US PGA Tour money list. Yet he’s earned $710,337 this season. I’m going to have a hard time weeping for him if he fails to get inside the top 125.

I’m probably not going to shed too many tears for players further down the list either. James Driscoll is ranked 154th but has still earned over $500,000 – $500,625 to be precise. It doesn’t end there. Harrison Frazar has made $201,280 for being 187th best player on the US PGA Tour this year.

I know many people outside the world of golf who’d love to make that sort of money for not doing their job to the best of their ability.

The price of failure isn’t so lucrative in Europe, but it’s not bad. It’s probably going to take about €200,000 to stay inside the top 115. Sam Hutsby is currently occupying that spot with €197,809 in earnings. That’s around $274,000 just to finish last. Not bad for a guy who’s only 22.

I bumped into European Senior Tour player Roger Chapman at Orlando Airport last Friday. Chapman had just made it through stage one of Champions Tour Qualifying. He in turn had bumped into former Euro Tour player Daniel Chopra.

Chapman was surprised to see Chopra driving a yellow Lamborghini. Chapman asked me if Chopra had been very successful on the US PGA Tour.

My reply: He only needs to be moderately successful to have a nice lifestyle.

For the record, Chopra has two wins in five US PGA Tour seasons – the Ginn sur Mer Classic at Tesoro and the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Championship. He never won on the European Tour, although he has nine international victories, mostly in Asia.

A good player, if not a great one.

In five years he has earned $7.7 million. He’s one of hundreds of millionaires on the US PGA Tour, many who have been far less successful than him.

So cue the sad stories of players missing their cards by a few hundred dollars or a few hundred euros, but save the tears.

These guys aren’t exactly on the bread line.

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Henry, McGhee and Harper come through Alps

Tour Q School Stage 1

Three of the four Scottish competitors in the field came through the 36-hole Stage 1 of the Alps Tour Qualifying School.
The odd man out was Ben Irvine from Kirkcudbright with rounds of 83 and 70 for 153. That was five shots too many to survive, pity because Ben's second round showed he had the potential to make it but the first round was a millstone round his neck.
Scott Henry from Cardross came through with flying colours - in second place at the Riva dei Tessali venue.
Scott had scores of 69 and 68 for five-under-par 137, four shots behind the "winner" at this course, French amateur Guillaume Cambis with scores of 68 and 65.
At Metaponto, England's Paul Maddy led from start to finish with rounds of 64 and 68 for 12-under-par 132. He had six strokes between him and the second-placed competitor.
James McGhee (Turnhouse) and Lee Harper (Archerfield Links) both qualified on the 143 mark - joint 16th - at Metaponto. Both players had scores of 74 and 69.
The Alps Tour Final Q School will take place next week.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE ALPS TOUR WEBSITE AND SCORES

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Five Scots make it through to Senior Tour Q Final

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Five Scots - Albert Mackenzie, Peter Smith, Terry Burgoyne, Alan Hemsley and Ian Dougan - figured among the 63 players who progressed today from Stage 1 of the European Senior Tour Qualifying School at the Gramacho and Silves courses on the Algarve to next week's final eliminating test at Vale do Pinta for the 2011 over-50s
Mackenzie had rounds of 66 and 73 for five-under-par 139 - six shots behind the American leader at the par-72 Gramacho course, Tim Thelen (64-69).
Former Northern Open champion Peter Smith, pictured, from Udny, Aberdeenshire, made it through in joint 20th place on 145 with scores of 71 and 74.
Also at the Gramacho course, Burgoyne (78-68) and Hemsley (72-74) qualified on the limit mark of two-over 146.
Scots who did not make it at Gramacho were Duncan Williamson on 150 (72-78) and Haggs Castle club pro Campbell Elliott who had contrasting rounds of 81 and 71 for 152.
At the par-70 Silves course, a fifth Scot qualified on the limit mark of six-over 146. He was Ian Dougan who followed up a first-round 77 with a 69.
At this venue, another Scot, Iain Parker had one shot too many with scores of 75 and 72 for 147.
ADDITIONAL INFO
FROM THE EUROPEAN SENIOR TOUR WEBSITE
Venuzuela’s Luis Soto led 33 qualifiers from Pestana Golf Resort’s Silves Course with a four under par aggregate total after the second and final day of the Senior Tour Qualifying School – Stage One.
Soto added a superb four under par round of 66 to his opening day 70 to finish one stroke clear of American Jeb Stuart, who signed for a round of 67.
Joint overnight leader Andrew Macdonald of England finished in a tie for third place on two under par, alongside Spain’s Manuel Moreno and Canadian Ken Tarling.
The cut-off came at six over par, with Argentina’s Alfonso Barrera – the runner-up behind Northern Ireland’s Jimmy Heggarty at the 2008 Qualifying School Final – amongst those who finished on that mark.
Meanwhile, over on the Nick Price-designed Gramacho Course, where the qualifying mark was two over par, American Tim Thelen once again dominated proceedings, leading the 30 qualifiers with an 11 under par aggregate total.
That was four shots better than England’s Matt Briggs in second place, with Scotland’s Albert McKenzie and Italian Carlo Alberto Acutis sharing third place on five under par.
The 63 players who have progressed through to next week’s Final Stage will be joined by a further 13 exempt players – including Heggarty, former European Tour Champion Stephen Bennett and World Cup winner Torsten Giedeon – at Pestana’s Vale da Pinta, to contest the 14 available cards for the 2011 European Senior Tour season.


CLICK HERE FOR FINAL TOTALS AT GRAMACHO

CLICK HERE FOR FINAL TOTALS AT SILVES
 

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Golf industry reveals Gold Standard winners


NEWS RELEASE
This year’s top golf honours have been announced at the glittering Golf Tourism Scotland ’s Gold Standard Awards held at the Macdonald Marine Hotel and Spa in North Berwick. During the sell-out event, which was attended by 175 golf industry professionals, 21 nominees vied for three, golf-specific awards.
The top honour of Golf Course of the Year went to Castle Stuart Golf Links which beat off competition from Kingsbarns and the Old Course in St Andrews . The Highland links’s managing partner, Mark Parsinen, was also honoured with the acclaimed Special Achievement Award.
“Our mission every day is to send our customers away happy“, said Stuart McColm, general manager of Castle Stuart Golf Links. "From meet and greet, to checking-in, to caddies, food and drink, it’s all about great customer service. The Highlands can deliver and we’ve got a great product."
Elsewhere, Davy Gilchrist of Kingsbarns Golf Links picked up the CaddieMaster of the Year accolade for the second successive year, and the Crail Golfing Society was proud recipient of the Golf Secretariat award.
“It’s been a fantastic year for golf tourism,” said Nick Hunter, chairman of GTS. “ Scotland has hosted a number of high-profile tour events which have showcased exactly why playing golf here is so special. And despite tough times, our members have upped their game so that once again our facilities have improved and our standards of service have been fine-tuned. The Gold Standard Awards recognise the very best exponents of this process, but I think the golf industry generally should be congratulated for a job well done.”
On hand to meet the winners was two-time major winner Sandy Lyle, who highlighted the importance of the GTS awards. “Playing golf in Scotland is very special indeed,” he said.
 “And often what makes it special, apart from the terrific courses, are the people who arrange your trip, transport you between venues or meet you at the hotels. In my view, the GTS Gold Standard Awards celebrate the efforts of these individuals who are the golf tourism industry in Scotland .”
In all, 11 awards were handed out on the night, three of which were sponsored by some of the country’s leading businesses. Joining the awards’ host resort, the Macdonald Marine Hotel & Spa in North Berwick, was Arnold Clark Car and Van Rental, Europe ’s largest independently owned, family run motor dealer, and the Fairmont St Andrews, which hosted the G20 Summit in November 2009.
The award recipients came from every sector of the golf tourism industry. And the winners were:

GOLF COURSE OF THE YEAR. Nominations for this category were open to any golf course in Scotland that offers tee-times to visitors.

Castle Stuart Golf Links

GOLF SECRETARIAT OF THE YEAR. Nominations for this category were open to any golf club/course whose administration provides a service to visitors and/or the travel trade.

Crail Golfing Society

CADDIEMASTER OF THE YEAR. Nominations for this category were open to any caddiemaster providing a service to visitors and/or the travel trade.

Davy Gilchrist, Kingsbarns Golf Links

HOTEL OF THE YEAR (Small hotel/guest house category). Nominations for this category were open to accommodation providers with 20 or fewer bedrooms that provide services to golf visitors. 

Ugadale Cottages, Machrihanish

HOTEL OF THE YEAR (Country house hotel category). Nominations for this category were open to hotels and exclusive-use properties operating in rural areas that provide services to golf visitors.
 Rufflets Country House Hotel, St Andrews


HOTEL OF THE YEAR (Large hotel category). Nominations for this category were open to hotels with more than 20 bedrooms which provide services to golf visitors.

Royal Golf Hotel, Dornoch

HOTEL OF THE YEAR (Resort hotel category). Nominations for this category were open to resort hotels with golf course(s) attached.
 Fairmont St Andrews

GOLF TOUR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR. Nominations for this category were open to any tour operator bringing golfers to Scotland .

Links Golf St Andrews

TRANSPORT OPERATOR OF THE YEAR. Nominations for this category were open to any business providing transport services in Scotland including rail, road, air and sea.

St Andrews Executive Travel

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Mark Parsinen, Castle Stuart Golf Links

YOUNG INDUSTRY PERSON OF THE YEAR.

Angus Watson, Fairmont in St Andrews



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Trump's course could host Ryder

Cup by 2022

FROM TODAY'S PRESS AND JOURNAL
By RYAN CRIGHTON
One of the most influential men in golf has tipped Donald Trump's North-east resort to host a major international tournament like the Ryder Cup within a decade of opening.
Players will tee off at the US billionaire's Menie Estate championship course (12 miles north of Aberdeen) in 2012 and yesterday the site welcomed Professional Golfers Assocaition chief executive Sandy Jones.
Last night Scots-born Mrs Jones - who is a senior Ryder Cup board member - said the luxury Aberdeenshire complex should have "everything needed" to host the tournament or a similar global event by 2022.
"This is such a fantastic site. There are not many sites left in the world that are so close to the sea with such magnificent dunes and the traditional links land around it," he said.
"At the moment this is pretty unique - and it is only 20 minutes from a major international city.
"When the course is complete, this is no doubt in my mind - having seen the site this morning - that it will be one of the great golf courses in the world."
He added: "I can't see why this course would not hold a grteat tournament. Great tournaments are only great because they are played at great venues.
"It is clear to me that is is going to be a great venue - so you have the basis here for a great tournament. What you then need is the corporate support which Donald Trump can provide through his own business acumen and business contacts.]
"It has got all the the ingredients and another thing it has got is a great golfing opopulation to support it.
"Aberdeen is a golf-mad city. I remember once seeing 3,000 people watching two amateurs competing for a local links championship. No other place in the world would get a crowd like that for a city championshi0p.
"It would be a great place to bring a great tournament and the Americans wold love coming here.
Sandy Jones believes the Royal and Ancient would want to look at the course for a future Open championship venue, adding: "There are also other great events in the world, such as the World Golf Championships which attract all the top players in the Order of Merit.
"These are the targets that I think this course will attract and will want to host - and I think the people who organise them would want to be hosted at venues like this because it will open up a whole new audience.
"I'll be amazed if there is not a really major world event here within a decade."
Mr Trump's plan to build two golf courses, a £250million hotel, 950 holiday homes and 500 houses has already been backed by Aberdeenshire Council.
Sarah Malone, executive vice-president of Trump International in Scotland, said: "We are building this golf course with an international event in mind."

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GREAT SCOTT! ADAM STORMS AHEAD

AT BARCLAYS SINGAPORE OPEN

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Singapore: Adam Scott of Australia put himself in a strong position of securing an unprecedented third Barclays Singapore Open title by charging into the second round clubhouse lead.
Scott, winner of the tournament in 2005 and 2006, en jo yed a magical six-hole stretch where he posted five birdies and one eagle to turn in 29 before signing off with a six-under-par 65 for a 12-under-par 130 total at the Sentosa Golf Club, Tan jong course.
Title holder Ian Poulter of England sank his longest career putt from 100 feet for birdie on the last hole to close on 63 for a 132 total, two strokes behind Scott at the US$6 million event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
An in-form Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland birdied the opening four holes before stumbling to a 68 to share third place with Fred Andersson Hed of Sweden and Kang Kyung-nam of Korea on a 133 total.
Asian Tour members Rikard Karlberg of Sweden , Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand , Chinese star Liang Wen-chong and Jeev Milkha Singh of India , a former Barclays Singapore Open champion in 2008, battled to a 134 total to stay in touch with the leader.
The second round play finished early,suspended due to darkness and a total of 28 players will resume their round at 7.30am on Saturday.
The projected cut figure is 139 or better to survive. 
Scott returned this morning to complete the first round and after playing 30 holes today, he was delighted to be in the running to seal a third victory in Singapore .
“Every time you have won somewhere you always en jo y going back and you have good feelings. I have had a great run in Singapore in the past and it would be nice to have another great run over the weekend and get win number three,” said the dashing 30-year-old.
He believes he will need a lot of rest to muster enough strength to maintain his lead.
“I need to rest as much as I possibly can and keep hydrated. We have a lot of golf to play in this tournament and the weather forecast is always a bit dodgy so you need to be alert at all times.”
Poulter turned in 34 but burst into life on his inward nine where he carded six birdies. But the highlight was on the last hole where his massive putt propelled him into contention.
“It was the very, very left edge of the back of the green and I reckon it is a good 100 feet, if not a touch more and I certainly can’t remember holing anything of that length in the past,” said Poulter of his 18th hole putt.
After playing on the Tan jong course today, Poulter is raring to return to the challenging Serapong and is aiming to emulate his victory feat last year.
“I’m looking forward to going back onto Serapong. It is definitely the harder of the two courses but I like that. I hear it might be a bit windy on Sunday which is good so I have to put myself up there in the hunt again,” he added.
Former Asian Tour number one Liang, who finished second last year, put himself in contention again by firing six birdies and one eagle against two bogeys.
“I have played well at the Serapong in the past and I’m confident of getting a good score during the weekend rounds. I’m feeling good about my form and hope to finish the jo b this time,” said Liang, who was one stroke behind Poulter last year.
After recovering from an elbow injury and an appendix operation three months ago, Prayad, a six-time Asian Tour winner, believes he is back to his best form after shooting four consecutive birdies from the third hole.
He added three more birdies on holes 10, 11 and 12 but shot his only blemish of the day on hole 14 where he three putted.
“My driver, putting and chipping clicked for me and that’s a recipe for a good score. It has been an up and down season for me after my injury and operation but I feel that I’m back and ready to challenge for the title,” said Prayad.
SECOND-ROUND COMPLETEDTOTALS
Par 142 (2x71)
+28 Players have still to complete their second rounds, commencing at 7.30am local time on Saturday. The projected cut figure is 139 or better to make it.
The Serapong
134 Rikard Karlberg (Swe) 64 70
135 Bi-o Kim (Kor) 63 72, Jamie Donaldson 66 69
136 Tony Carolan (Aus) 66 70, Chris Wood 63 73, Markus Brier (Aut) 65 71, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 66 70, Hiroshi Iwata (Jpn) 66 70
137 Scott Hend (Aus) 64 73, Gareth Maybin 65 72, Keith Horne (Rsa) 65 72, Scott Strange (Aus) 65 72, Johan Edfors (Swe) 66 71
138 Peter Lawrie 67 71, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 68 70, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 68 70, Digvijay Singh (Ind) 69 69
139 Anthony Kang (USA) 66 73, Scott Barr (Aus) 64 75
LIKELY TO MISS THE CUT
140 Ashun Wu (Chn) 67 73, Alastair Forsyth 67 73, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 66 74, Danny Chia (Mal) 67 73, Mark Foster 69 71, Chao Li (Chn) 71 69
141 Ashok Kumar (Ind) 70 71, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 62 79, Rhys Davies 73 68, Simon Griffiths 69 72, Simon Khan 68 73
142 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 67 75, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 66 76, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 73, Jbe Kruger (Rsa) 71 71, Richard Finch 65 77, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 71 71, Ted Oh (Kor) 66 76, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 69 73
143 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 68 75, Kang-Chun Wu (Chn) 71 72, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 69 74
144 Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 69 75, Nicholas Fung (Mal) 67 77, Wei-Huang Wu (Chn) 69 75, Kodai Ichihara (Jpn) 68 76, S Sivachandran (Mal) 70 74, Sung Lee (Pkr) 71 73, Ross McGowan 70 74
145 Young jin Kim (Kor) 65 80, Lu sen Lien (Tpe) 70 75, Wen-hong Lin (Chn) 70 75, Guido Van Der Valk (Ned) 70 75, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 68 77, Young Nam (Kor) 68 77
146 Prom Meesawat (Tha) 71 75, James Kingston (Rsa) 73 73, Shaaban Hussin (Mal) 75 71, Chris Rodgers 73 73, Manav Jaini (Ind) 71 75, Shamim Khan (Ind) 71 75, Thomas Levet (Fra) 72 74
147 Gregory Foo (Sin) 73 74, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 74 73
148 Richard Moir (Aus) 71 77, Thanyakorn Khrongpha (Tha) 68 80, Panupol Pittayarat (Tha) 73 75, Artemio-hiromasa Murakami (Phi) 69 79, Quincy Quek (Sin) 71 77, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 72 76
149 Matthew Rosenfeld (USA) 74 75, Wisut Artjanawat (Tha) 74 75, Thammanoon Srirot (Tha) 70 79
150 Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 72 78
151 Corey Harris (USA) 71 80, Anirban Lahiri (Ind) 70 81
152 Vinod Kumar (Ind) 69 83
153 Johnson Poh (Sin) 74 79, Kenneth Ferrie 68 85
154 Edgar Oh (Sin) 75 79

The Tanjong
130 Adam Scott (Aus) 65 65
132 Ian Poulter 69 63
133 Graeme McDowell 65 68, Kyung-nam Kang (Kor) 66 67, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 68 65
134 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 70 64, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 69 65, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 69 65
135 Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 70 65, John Huh (Kor) 70 65
136 Yih-Shin Chan (Tpe) 68 68, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 68 68, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 67 69, Michael Hoey 69 67
137 Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 70 67, Steve Webster 72 65, Anders Hansen (Den) 71 66, Nick Dougherty 65 72, Mars Pucay (Phi) 72 65, Jason Knutzon (USA) 69 68
138 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 69 69, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 72 66, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 73 65, David Drysdale 68 70, Colin Montgomerie 70 68, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 70 68, Wen-Tang Lin (Tpe) 70 68, Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 70 68
139 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 71 68, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 69 70, Jay Bayron (Phi) 72 67, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 71 68, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 72 67, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 71 68, Marcus Both (Aus) 70 69, Alexander Noren (Swe) 72 67, Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn) 74 65, Shane Lowry 73 66, Tano Goya (Arg) 70 69, Hyung-sung Kim (Kor) 72 67
LIKELY TO MISS THE CUT
140 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 73 67, Richie Ramsay 72 68, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 70 70, Rick Kulacz (Aus) 72 68, David Horsey 71 69, Unho Park (Aus) 69 71
141 Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 70 71, Tetsuya Haraguchi (Jpn) 71 70, David Howell 69 72, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 73 68, Mark Brown (Nzl) 70 71, Namchok Tantipokakul (Tha) 72 69
142 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 72 70, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 72 70, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 74 68, Simon Dyson 73 69, Adam Blyth (Aus) 76 66
143 Ben Leong (Mal) 74 69, Zaw Moe (Kor) 70 73, Ben Fox (USA), Jerome Ng (Sin) 76 72
149 Iain Steel (Mal) 75 74, Graeme Storm 73 76
150 Michael Jonzon (Swe) 74 76, Oliver Fisher 80 70
151 Gary Murphy 79 72
152 James Morrison 79 73

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Tiger is nine shots off pace in Aussie Masters

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tiger Woods fought his new swing in a strong wind Friday and struggled to a 1-over 72, leaving him nine shots behind Adam Bland going into the weekend in the Australian Masters.
Even in his return Down Under, the defending champion is in the familiar spot of trying to catch up.
The surprise in blustery conditions at Victoria Golf Club came from Bland, who rallied from a poor start with a strong finish for a 67 that put him at 10-under 132. Another surprise came from Woods.
One day after so many crisp shots, he missed far too many greens for the way he is putting and couldn't save par. Woods fell off the pace with a sloppy short iron into a bunker on the fifth and a pedestrian chip from behind the seventh green. And he made consecutive bogeys on the back nine to fall further behind.
"I wasn't quite as sharp with my irons," Woods said.
Bland had a two-shot lead over former Las Vegas winner Andre Stolz, who also had a 67 in the windy afternoon. Daniel Gaunt had a 72 and was alone in third place at 5-under 137, five shots behind.
The smile returned for Sergio Garcia, in his third tournament since a two-month break from golf to clear his head. The Spaniard easily handled the strong wind for a 6-under 65, his best score of the year, that put him back into the mix in Melbourne.
"I'm just trying to shoot the best score I can," Garcia said.
Woods was only three shots when he finally teed off under a gray sky and wind that topped 20 mph. He played the 257-yard opening hole just as he wanted, into a bunker and out to tap-in range for birdie. And while he saved par on the third, he missed his target some 20 yards to the right, a sign of things to come.
It was the strongest wind he has faced since the opening hour at the Ryder Cup, only this lasted four hours. Woods found himself reverted to some old swing habits, and it wasn't pretty.
"When the wind blows this hard, I tend to revert back to my old motion," Woods said. "I struggled with that. It was a little more difficult than I thought it would be."
The Australian Masters is the last time this year Woods is defending a title, and he hasn't come remotely close in the others.
Stuart Appleby, not listed among the top players in tournament advertising, had a 69 and was in the group at 2-under 140. Camilo Villegas shot a 70 was tied with Woods, while Geoff Ogilvy birdied the last two holes for a 70 that brought him back to even par.
Robert Allenby had a 72, which at least was good enough to make the cut.
Garcia was right around the cutline when he teed off after opening with a 73, and he did hardly anything wrong. What helped, as it always does with the 30-year-old Spaniard, was making his share of putts.
Garcia made birdie on all the par 5s, picked up a surprise birdie on the third with a long putt from off the green, and finished with a wedge that settled 8 feet behind the hole and a fist pump when it dropped for birdie on the ninth.
He was not about to declare himself back to full form after one round, but it was encouraging.
"Even though it was quite difficult with the conditions, it seemed like we were always making the right decisions," Garcia said. "Put that with how I was hitting the ball ... to be honest with you, that wasn't the lowest score I could have shot."
His biggest opponent figured to be the weather forecast. It began raining just as Woods finished, and heavy rain is expected for Saturday.

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA SCOREBOARD

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