US PGA TOUR FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL

WINTER GARDEN, ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA

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Scotland joint second as rain cuts

short PGAs of Europe event

FROM THE PGAs OF EUROPE WEBSITE
England were crowned PGAs of Europe international team champions for a third time as Mother Nature had the last word at Vale do Lobo on Portugal's Algarve coastline.
The rain that had caused a rescheduling in the second round returned with a vengeance on the fourth day of the event sponsored by Associacao Turismo do Algarve and also being supported by Glenmuir, The Tivoli Victoria, Vale de Lobo Golf Club and the Ryder Cup European Development Trust’
But for Tournament Director, Ben Groutage, turning two par-5s into par-3s because of flooded fairways on that second day, the annual event may not have even reached its satisfactory 54-hole destination.
Accompanied by thunder and lightning, which felled a tree alongside the par three 17th hole, the deluge swamped the course and caused the fourth round to be abandoned.
Consequently England were declared the winners as a result of leading the 26-strong field by four strokes at the end of the third round. It was particularly galling for France’s Rogez Sabarros who recorded the tournament’s second-hole-in-one – on the shortened sixth.
“He was playing very well,” said skipper Benjamin Nicolay. “In fact we all were, so we’re very frustrated by what’s happened.”
In contrast England’s team captain, Jon Bevan, was delighted with the victory but admitted he would have preferred to have secured as a result of playing 72-holes.
“A win’s a win,” he said. “So obviously we’re very pleased. But it would have been better and more satisfying if we’d won it with the tournament going the distance. I know the French are disappointed… and so would we be in their position.
“The good thing is that we led from the start of the tournament and were still in front when it was abandoned.” As Bevan’s best round of the tournament – a four-under-par in the third – ensured England went into the final day in pole position, he was entitled to some personal satisfaction.
He was quick, however, to praise the part played by his team-mates, David Shacklady, who was under par in each of his three rounds, and John Wells. “It was a real team effort and John and David both made huge contributions,” added Bevan. “They laid the foundations in the first two rounds and David was very consistent throughout.”
The trio earned €6,000 for their victory while Scotland and France picked up €4,500 each for finishing joint-second.
But that was cold comfort to both teams who had begun to shave England’s lead when the tournament was called off. Scotland had trimmed it to two strokes after the first six holes of the ill-fated fourth round while France had reduced it to three.
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NEDBANK CHALLENGE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Pressure? What pressure? asks

world No 1 Lee Westwood

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH SPORTS WEBSITE
Lee Westwood insists becoming world No 1 has not increased the pressure on him as he bids to become the first Englishman in 16 years to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.
The 37 year-old is amongst five European Ryder Cup-winning players that will take part in the event at Sun City this week.

Ireland's three-time major winner Padraig Harrington is also in the field, and is joined by England's Ross Fisher, Italy's Edoardo Molinari and Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez.

There is also a strong South African contingent on display - including three-time winner Ernie Els, Tim Clark, Retief Goosen and Louis Oosthuizen, who won the the Open Championship at St Andrews earlier this year.

Last year's winner Robert Allenby will defend his title at the Gary Player Country Club, while England's Justin Rose and Dane Anders Hansen complete the 12-man line-up.

The tournament, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2010, last had an English winner in 1994 when Nick Faldo emerged triumphant Westwood said: ''I'd love to win here, It's somewhere I've always enjoyed coming to. It's a great tournament, it's always has a good feel, I enjoy the golf course and have since '98 when it was my first year. I enjoyed it then and enjoy it now.''

As for the additional burden of being the world's top-ranked player - he overtook Tiger Woods at the start of last month - he continued: ''(There's) no pressure, really.

''Being the number one in the world comes as a consequence of playing well, so if you think playing well's going to create more pressure then you're probably doing the wrong job.''
Westwood was predictably pleased with the way 2010 has gone, but conceded that bar a calf injury, it could have been even better.
He added: ''I've had a decent year, it's been a little bit stop-start really, the second half of the year. It was a little bit disappointing to get an injury when I was doing so well in June.
''But having said that, since the Open I played three stroke-play events. I finished 11th in the Dunhill, second in China and third last week in Dubai so I'm happy with the way things are going.''
Woods, meanwhile, has revealed he will look at his commitments to his children before deciding which tournaments to play in 2011 other than the four major championships.
Woods said US PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem has asked him to play more events during the 2011 season as the world’s top golf circuit nears the end of its television contracts.
While Woods went winless this season for the first time in 14 years as a professional, his efforts to win will not over-ride his desire to be with his two children as he adjusts to life as a single father. Woods and Elin Nordegren share custody following their divorce.
“There are a lot of things that we’re trying to adapt to, our new living conditions,” Woods said during a news conference at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, site of this week’s Chevron World Challenge.
“That’s most important. We’re trying to figure all that out, and then obviously I still want to play golf at a high level and win golf tournaments. It’s about getting a balance and trying to find what the right balance is going forward.”

Russell Knox success makes old team-mate

Duncan Stewart yearn for return to

Florida, but no money, no sponsor

 By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Together they put Jacksonville University, Florida on the college golfing map but now Duncan Stewart, pictured, from Grantown-on-Spey and Russell Knox from Inverness are enduring frustration as they pursue professional golfing careers on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
Russell, who stayed on at Jacksonville Beach after his four years as a student, is making a good living as one of the most successful competitors on the NGA Hooters Tour, one of the biggest satellite circuits in America .
But Knox really wants to be on the US PGA Tour and his recent fourth attempt to get to the Final Qualifying School ended in failure. His frustration is such that he is seriously considering trying to get through the European Tour Q School qualifying system next year, despite all the transatlantic trips that would entail, first to the UK , and then hopefully to Stage 2 and the Final Stage in Spain .
Duncan Stewart, now 26, follows his old sparring partner’s fortunes from affair.
“Russ is doing really well over there. I think he could get a few more starts on the Nationwide Tour (the No 2 pro circuit in the US ), then he could at least get his card on there,” says Duncan .
“He definitely has the game to compete at a higher level than he’s in at the moment.”
In a perfect world, Stewart would head back to Florida where he had four successful years playing for Jacksonville University on the college circuit.
“I would love to go back out to the States but it all comes down to having the money, which I don’t. I’ve been trying to save as much cash as possible to finance my golf next season because I don’t have a sponsor.
“I shall probably play on the EuroPro Tour and try to get as many starts as possible on the Challenge Tour. I just have to keep playing and hope the big break will come along.
“I took eight months off last winter without even picking up a golf club. I felt I needed a break away from the game.”

Americans already short favourites

The view down the fairway at the first hole at Balgownie with the North Sea and Aberdeen Bay in the background (image by Cal Carson Golf Agency).

to win Walker Cup at Balgownie

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
What are the odds on United States making it four wins in a row over Great Britain and Ireland in next September 9 and 10's Walker Cup match over the Royal Aberdeen links at Balgownie?
Fairly short, I would think, given that there are 33 Americans and only four British and Irish players in the top 50 of this week's updated RandA World Amateur Golf Rankings.
The top 10, of course, is overloaded with US-born college players.
Banchory's James Byrne, who will have completed his four years at Arizona State University, Tempe by next autumn, remains the highest British and Irish player in 17th position for the second week in a row.
England's Matthew Nixon, who won the British boys' championship over at Balgownie two or three years ago, is No 20, again "no change." Nixon might well have turned professional before the end of this year. Playing as an amateur, he has qualified for the European Tour Final Qualifying School, teeing off at PGA Catalunya, Spain on Saturday.
Irishman Paul Cutler also stays where he was last week, in the No 21 berth, and the only other Brit in the top 50 is former British boys champion Tom Lewis from London in the No 39 position.
Lewis's great effort in almost beating the pros Down Under in the New South Wales Open - he lost in a three-way play-off - saw him rise 11 places in the WAGR.
Scottish champion Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) is the only other Scot apart from Byrne in the top 100. He has gone up one place in a week to No 63.
Ross Kellett (Colville Park), so long a fixture in the leading 100, dropped down to No 136 last week and has risen one spot to 135 in the update.
Anglo-Scot Stuart Ballingall from Norwich, a first-year student at Missouri University, is the fourth highest Scot in 174th place, a rise of one place, and Fraserburgh's Walker Cup team contender, Kris Nicol, has also gone up one to No. 175.
To summarise, there are only two Scots ranked among the world's top 100 amateurs and another three between 101 and 200.
Is that about as much as we can expect from our comparatively small population of golfers or should we have more?
E-mail Colin@scottishgolfview.com with YOUR view.

WALKER CUP RESULTS IN RECENT YEARS
2009 - United States won at Merion.
2007 - United States won at Royal Co. Down, N Ireland.
2005 - United States won at Chicago.
2003 - Great Britain and Ireland won at Ganton, Yorkshire.
2001 - Great Britain and Ireland won at Sea Island.
1999 - Great Britain and Ireland won at Nairn.

NE ALLIANCE BREAK UNTIL JANUARY 5


Dave Wilson and Davie Mackay, acting joint secretaries of the North-east Golfers' Alliance since the death of Ron Menzies, have decided that the weather is too bad to contemplate rearranging one or more of the competitions called off in the first half of the season for December 8 or 15.
The cancellation of today's meeting at Portlethen because of snow was the fourth loss since September.
The next scheduled Alliance competition is at Craibstone Golf Centre on Wednesday, January 5.

O'Malley putts with eyes shut to

combat the yips

FROM THE PGA OF AUSTRALASIA WEBSITE
By ADAM LUCIUS
The innovative Peter O'Malley will continue with his 'eyes wide shut' approach to putting at this week's Australian Open, convinced shutting off his vision is helping cure career-threatening yips.
The Australian golfing veteran began putting with his eyes closed during practice and enjoyed so much success he started using the method in tournament play.
Blessed with a strong game off the tee, O'Malley has battled on the greens for the best part of 20 years but believes his unique solution to the problem is turning his game around.
It helped him secure a breakthrough win in the NSW Open last weekend – his first win in five years – and will now be adopted at the Australian open, starting Thursday at the rain-soaked Lakes.
"I've tried different grips and all sorts of different things but I started practising with my eyes closed to get some good feel and then I thought I'd just try it on the short putts just to take away a bit of the visual anxiety," O'Malley revealed on Wednesday.
"I can still miss putts but it feels a little bit better."
"Long-range (putts) have never been an issue for me. I've always putted pretty well from a distance."
"But just the short-range sort of stuff from probably five foot in I just close my eyes and just try and keep my head still and listen for it to go in."
O'Malley will persist with the tactic at the Australian Open despite the risk of it unravelling before a wider audience.
"I started (closing my eyes) probably a couple of months ago but I haven't really played a lot of tournaments," he said.
"I've only probably played half a dozen tournaments doing it, so the first time committing to it was pretty tough but then you just say 'ok it can't be any worse so I'll just keep persevering with it'."
"I made a couple of good putts (on Sunday at the NSW Open), I missed one at 16 but at 15 I made a good putt for par which really kept me going."
"It's just something I'm trying so I'll keep it going this week hopefully."
"I'd say most guys out here have practised doing it at some stage. (As to) how many guys have actually done it in tournament play? It probably wouldn't be that many."
O'Malley, who finished 192nd on the European Tour money list this season, is right at home at the revamped Lakes course.
As a member, he has played the course countless times and is confident of taming a lay-out that has come in for heavy criticism since its re-design.
"You do need a lot of local knowledge on these greens," O'Malley said.
"I've probably played this course more than anyone else in the field which for me is a great advantage."
"I would have liked to have seen some better weather but I still feel pretty confident."