Sunday, January 16, 2011

JAMES NITTIES WINS VICTORIAN PGA TITLE

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
James Nitties denied Peter O'Malley as the 2011 Cellarbrations Victorian PGA champion after a tough day fighting it out at the Sandhurst Club near Melbourne.
Nitties finished the 54-hole tournament on 18 under par 198, one ahead of O'Malley - who played what Nitties described as ‘epic' golf.
With a three under par closing round of 69, Nittles closed out victory but not before the lead swapped between himself and O'Malley several times.
O'Malley was four under par 68 for his closing round and led for most of the afternoon until Nitties birdied the 17th.
"That's the first time I've ever played with Pom and everyone says he's a horrendous putter but he was great- he putted great and he really ball strikes it," said Nitties of his playing partner O'Malley who throughout the tournament carded only one bogey.
"It was getting to the end of the second round where I didn't even need to watch where his tee shots went because he did not miss a fairway in days."
"This is a great win and a great field - it's the best Vic PGA field I've ever played in."
"It's good to come home and play well. I mean to do well in any event is good, but at home it's even better."
As for O'Malley, he says he is now looking forward to next week's tournament at The Sands Torquay where he feels he can build on his performance from this week.
"(James and I) had a great time, we played the last two rounds together and we had a lot of fun."
"And now it's down to the new tournament next week, the Surf Coast knockout, so I'm really looking forward to that now. There were some really good, positive things there from me for next week.

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FIRST INDIAN TO WIN CHALLENGE TOUR EVENT

FROM PAUL SYMES, CHALLENGE TOUR PRESS OFFICER
Gaganjeet Bhullar became the first Indian to win on the Challenge Tour after triumphing by one shot at the season-opening Gujarat Kensville Challenge, held in his homeland.
Bhullar battled with his nerves during a closing round of 75, but his five under par aggregate total of 283 was enough to see off England’s Matt Ford, who signed for a round of 70 to finish on four under par.
Such was the demanding nature of the course and conditions at the Jeev Milkha Singh-designed Kensville Golf Club in Ahmedabad, India, only six players finished under par.
After opening with a bogey Bhullar recovered by picking up a shot at the third hole, which he has birdied on all four days.
He immediately gave a shot back at the next hole, and after another bogey at the tenth Bhullar’s grip on the trophy appeared in some peril – especially when Ford ran up successive birdies on the 13th and 14th.
But Bhullar remained composed thereafter and, despite another bogey at the 17th hole, a par at the last sealed his victory.
The 22 year old rising star is now €32,000 richer but, perhaps more importantly, has written his name into the history books.
England’s Jamie Moul finished in third place courtesy of a best-of-the-day round of 69, whilst his compatriot Matthew Baldwin took fourth on two under par.
The only other players to finish below par were Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman (73) and Denmark’s Mads Vibe-Hastrup (72), who shared fifth place on one under par.
The Challenge Tour will now take a two month break before the season resumes with the Abierto International Copa Antioquia, in Colombia, from March 10-13.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
283 G Bhullar (Ind) 70 70 68 75 (32,000 Euros).
284 M Ford (Eng) 74 68 72 70 (22,000 Euros).
285 J Moul (Eng) 72 73 71 69 (14,000 Euros).
286 M Baldwin (Eng) 72 70 70 74,
287 M Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 70 76 69 72, M Siddikur Rahman (Ban) 67 74 73 73, 288 K Eriksson (Swe) 70 74 72 72.
289 F Praegant (Aut) 69 71 73 76
291 T Fleetwood (Eng) 74 71 74 72, R Santos (Por) 69 78 69 75,
292 C Ford (Eng) 73 74 75 70, C Macaulay (Sco) 72 73 75 72 (3,200 Euros each)
293
J Robinson (Eng) 74 73 70 76, G Lockerbie (Eng) 74 72 69 78, L Claverie (Esp) 72 74 74 73
294 R Mollah (Ind) 75 72 72 75, L Jensen (Den) 73 75 73 73
295 R Bain (Sco) 71 75 73 76, J Heath (Eng) 73 73 71 78, E Kofstad (Nor) 70 73 73 79, M Jaini (Ind) 71 74 73 77, J Campillo (Esp) 71 73 77 74 (2,252 Euros each).
296 A Tadini (Ita) 75 75 71 75, A Kumar (Ind) 75 71 73 77, M Cryer (Eng) 72 77 71 76, J Van Der Vaart (Ned) 74 70 79 73, T Sherreard (Eng) 77 72 72 75, B Akesson (Swe) 71 77 72 76, B Ritthammer (Ger) 76 72 74 74,
297 M Kumar (Ind) 73 76 71 77
298 D Denison (Eng) 69 73 76 80, W Besseling (Ned) 74 77 72 75, C Brazillier (Fra) 72 76 72 78, C Lloyd (Eng) 74 73 73 78
299 T Leon (USA) 77 73 74 75, R Sharma (Ind) 74 75 78 72, V Kumar (Ind) 72 73 74 80, R Khan (Ind) 77 70 73 79, C Kumar (Ind) 74 74 74 77,
300 C Lee (Sco) 72 79 74 75, R Murthy (Ind) 78 71 75 76, M Zamal Hossain Mollah (Ban) 75 75 73 77, S Syal (Ind) 75 74 72 79, J Garcia (Esp) 74 77 71 78 (1,160 Euros each).
301 M Sharma (Ind) 73 75 72 81, S Das (Ind) 74 72 76 79, R Neil-Jones (Eng) 76 74 77 74, U Weinhandl (Aut) 72 75 73 81
302 H Singh Rai (Ind) 75 74 74 79, R Singh (Ind) 75 75 74 78, V Kumar (Ind) 74 75 74 79, A Bruschi (Ita) 77 4 72 79
303 N Mandal (Ind) 78 71 78 76
304 E Dubois (Fra) 73 77 77 77, A Jha (Ind) 72 70 79 83
305 F Ali Mollah (Ind) 74 74 79 78
307 A Sandhu (Ind) 76 72 79 80
308 J Palmer (Eng) 73 76 79 80, D Brooks (Eng) 76 75 79 78,
309 I Pyman (Eng) 74 75 74 86
314 N Dawar (Ind) 80 71 80 83
317 S Sharma (Ind) 74 77 78 88
Retired: A Grenier (Fra) 73 72 77 ret


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GREAT SCOTT! JAMIESON FINISHES SIXTH IN JOBURG OPEN

Glasgow's Scott Jamieson finished the Joburn Open in a blaze of glory today to finish sixth with an 11-under-par total of 273, thanks to a brilliant last round of 65.
The former Scottish boys' open stroke-play champion, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, who spent four years on the American college circuit as a student at Augusta State University, birdied the fourth, fifth and sixth; had his only bogey of the day at the 10th and then birdies the 11th, 15th, 16th and 17 for 32 home.
It earned Jamieson his biggest pro pay day of 46,020 Euros.
In contrast, Dunbar's David Drysdale, starting the last round in close-up fourth position, nosedived to a share of 13th place with a nightmare final round of 77. He started with a double bogey 6, shed another shot at the third and then had another double bogey 6 at the fourth - five over par for the day after only four holes.
He straightened up momentarily with birdies at the long sixth and seventh to turn in three-over 39. But the magic of his first three rounds had gone. Whereas he had not had a single bogey on the inward half through the first three rounds, today Drysdale bogeyed the 10th, short 12th and 14th without a single birdie for 38 home. Most disappointing to total 276, 11 shots behind the winner, defending champion Charl Schwartzel who finished with a 67.
Marc Warren and Lloyd Saltman finished in joint 20th position on 278, both shooting disappointing 72s when sub-par closing rounds would have earned them much more money. As it is, they each pocketed 14,059 Euros.
Warren birdied the first but bogeyed the second and fourth to turn in 37. On the inward half Marc's only birdie came at the 15th but he gave that shot back with a bogey at the 18th.
Saltman bogeyed the second and third for an outward two-over-par 38. He slipped to four over the round with bogeys at the 10th and 11th but the Lothians man did finish on a high with birdies at the 13th, 15th and 18th for 34 home.
Steven O'Hara, who had a great Sunday last weekend in the Africa Open, could manage only a total of 286 this week. He scored 70, 67, 75 and 74 to finish joint 62nd and earn only 3,510 Euros.

JAMIESON JUST MISSES OUT ON PLACE IN THIS WEEK'S

ABU DHABI CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD

FROM THE SPORT.SCOTSMAN.COM WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Scott Jamieson secured the biggest pay-day of his career with a storming finish in the Joburg Open yesterday but agonisingly missed out on a place in this week's Abu Dhabi Championship, the first big-money event of the year on the European Tour.
To the delight of the home crowds at Royal Johannesburg and Royal Kensington, Charl Schwartzel made a successful defence of his title in the final event on the South African swing, the 26-year-old closing with a scrappy four-under-par 67 to finish four shots ahead of fellow Springbok Garth Mulroy.
However, it was also a rewarding day for Jamieson,who started the final round in a tie for 38th but shot up the leaderboard with a best-of-the-day 65 to finish sixth on 11-under-par 273.
The 27-year-old, who had seven birdies on his card, earned a career-best cheque for £38,241, with the only tinge of disappointment being that he just missed out on the top-five finish that would have earned him a place in the first of the four events in the Middle East over the next month.
After picking up three birdies in a row from the 16th, Jamieson had a good chance for another one at the par-5 closing hole, only to see his 10ft birdie putt stay above ground after shaving the side of the hole.
Instead of moving on to Abu Dhabi, the Challenge Tour graduate will pay a flying visit home to Glasgow today before heading over to America to spend some time with his girlfriend. He's due back in Scotland for fellow Tour player George Murray's wedding early next month before resuming his rookie campaign, either in Dubai or, failing that, India the following week.
"It was a good round today. I played well in the rain and putted very well," said the former Scottish amateur No 1, who finished 30th in the Alfred Dunhill Championship before Christmas but then missed the cut in the next two events in South Africa.
"I had a good chance of a birdie at the last but it shaved the hole. However, I would definitely have taken a 65 before I went out. I had looked at the leaderboard and knew at that point that I would have gone into the top five if I'd holed that putt.
"I had a good first week, then had a couple of disappointing weeks but this was another good one. I'm just trying to play my own game and plod along really. It's disappointing that I didn't get into Abu Dhabi but I might get into Dubai through my ranking as it's a bigger field there. If not, my next event will be in India."

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Schwartzel's short game sees him through

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel ground out a four-shot win to successfully defend his Joburg Open title.
The World No 32 was never at his best from tee to green in his final round 67, but some remarkable up-and-downs helped him finish 19 under par, four ahead of compatriot Garth Mulroy.
Another South African, Thomas Aiken, saw his challenge for a maiden European Tour title fade on the back nine as he finished third on 14 under, with England’s Jamie Elson a shot further back in fourth.
Jean-Baptiste Gonnet from France finished with a one over 72 - a 12 under total - while Scott Jamieson from Scotland completed his week a further shot back on 11 under.
The 26 year old Schwartzel, whose previous scores this week have been 68, an immaculate 61 and 69, hit just one fairway on the back nine but still did enough to clinch a sixth European Tour title with a final total of 265, 19 under.
Tied for the lead overnight with Aiken and Mulroy, Schwartzel quickly raced two shots clear on Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club’s East Course with birdies at the first and third.
But he found trouble on the fourth, failing to get up-and-down from damp greenside rough and bogeying in wet conditions.
Mulroy and Aiken – both looking for a maiden European Tour title in the event co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour – both parred their first four holes to remain one back.
Aiken drew level at the par three sixth with a magnificent tee shot to within five feet, but Schwartzel was back in front when he gained a shot at the par five next.
Schwartzel produced a string of outrageous up-and-downs to remain at 17 under, and when Mulroy and Aiken both bogeyed the 11th, his lead was up to two.
While Schwartzel’s radar from both the tee and the fairway seemed to have gone awry, there was nothing wrong with his short game and he pitched in from a bunker at the 13th to go to 18 under.
Neither Aiken nor Mulroy converted their birdie putts, leaving Schwartzel three clear with five to play.
And having once again driven into trouble at the par five last, Schwartzel produced a magnificent third that almost spun into the hole. That set up a closing birdie that left him as the toast of Johannesburg on a day that began with grey skies, followed by rain and then saw him playing his closing holes under bright sunshine.
“Thomas and Garth probably outplayed me on the back nine by quite a bit, but I just managed to keep getting the ball in the hole," he said afterwards.
"For me I didn't really play well on those last nine holes, but I just kept telling myself 'you've got a good short game and you can do it' and my putting along with the short game came to the rescue.
"It sounds easy, but I've been working really hard on my pitch shots, bunker play and chipping and it helped me when I needed it most today."
Schwartzel, who became only the third South African after Ernie Els and Trevor Immelman to successfully defend a European Tour title, admitted it was the front nine holes that won him the tournament, although a bogey on the ninth did give his challengers hope.
The Vereeniging-based golfer added: "I got off to an absolutely perfect start today, I got my nose ahead.
"Coming down the ninth, I hit it slightly too hard and it went over the back. It was a bad bogey for me and things started getting a bit shaky for me.
"I had to really dig deep there on the back nine and managed to make a score. I'm really pleased that all my hard work has paid off."
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71)
Players from S Africa unless stated
265 Charl Schwartzel 68 61 69 67 (206,050 Euros). 
269 Garth Mulroy 65 64 69 71 (149,500 Euros).
270 Thomas Aiken 64 66 68 72 (89,960 Euros).
271 Jamie Elson (England) 65 64 71 71 (64,830 Euros).
272 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (France) 67 66 67 72 (53,690 Euros).
273 Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 70 66 72 65 (46,020 Euros).

OTHER SCOTS' TOTALS
276 David Drysdale 67 65 67 77 (jt 13th) (18,590 Euros).
278 Marc Warren 67 66 73 72, Lloyd Saltman 71 66 69 72 (jt 20th) (14,059 Euros each).
286 Steven O'Hara 70 67 75 74 (jt 62nd) (3,510 Euros).

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IAN POULTER ENTERS QATAR MASTERS

World No. 10 Ian Poulter who has confirmed his participation in the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, presented by Dolphin Energy, at Doha Golf Club from February 3 to 6.

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TASMANIAN TARQUIN BIRDIE BLITZ WINS AUSSIE AMATEUR MASTERS

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. It took a while for the putts to drop, but when they did, Tarquin MacManus stormed home to win the Australian Master of the Amateurs title.
The Queenslander made six birdies on his closing 10 holes on Royal Melbourne's west course en route to a spectacular seven-under-par 65, including a 20m birdie bomb on the final hole accompanied by a fist pump and a roar from the gallery.
The University of Arizona student finished at a tournament record 12 under after four rounds, beating Tasmanian Ryan McCarthy, New Zealand's Ryan Fox and England's Andrew Sullivan into joint second place, three shots back.
Joint halfway leader Stiggy Hodson, the Walker Cup player from Sunningdale, had to retire during the third round. He was suffering from heat exhaustion.

Remember it is summer time Down Under and the temperatures in the Melbourne area have been in excess of 30 degrees.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
MacManus Tarquin AUSTRALIA 74 67 70 65 276
Fox Ryan NEW ZEALAND 64 74 75 66 279
McCarthy Ryan AUSTRALIA 65 73 72 69 279
Sullivan Andrew ENGLAND 68 71 71 69 279
Canter Laurie ENGLAND 73 71 68 69 281
Campbell Ben NEW ZEALAND 68 74 69 71 282
Richardson Kalem AUSTRALIA 69 72 71 71 283
Holman Nathan AUSTRALIA 70 74 74 66 284
Wright Darren ENGLAND 67 75 73 69 284
Lewis Tom ENGLAND 72 69 69 75 285
Drewitt Brett AUSTRALIA 70 72 71 73 286
Bringolf Daniel AUSTRALIA 72 68 75 72 287
Moules Brad AUSTRALIA 74 72 68 73 287
Senior Jack ENGLAND 72 71 75 69 287
Stieger Matthew AUSTRALIA 71 73 74 69 287
Higginbottom Jake AUSTRALIA 69 72 75 72 288
Ninyette Brody AUSTRALIA 69 76 71 72 288
Smith Matthew AUSTRALIA 74 73 69 72 288
Geminiani Domenico ITALY 76 73 71 69 289
Russell Jordan USA 71 70 75 73 289
Asaji Yosuke JAPAN 74 75 71 70 290
Patel Bhavik USA 76 72 72 70 290
Cabban Joshua AUSTRALIA 73 71 72 75 291
Chen Zihao CHINA 70 76 74 72 292
Hart Tim AUSTRALIA 71 74 75 72 292
Kawamura Masahiro JAPAN 70 71 76 75 292
Drakeford Geoffrey AUSTRALIA 76 74 75 68 293
Jeong Jin AUSTRALIA 71 74 76 72 293
Rindfleish Joshua AUSTRALIA 72 74 75 73 294
Perry Mathew NEW ZEALAND 70 73 75 77 295
Rudolph Harry USA 70 76 76 73 295
Kendall Bradley NEW ZEALAND 72 79 69 77 297
Wood Christopher AUSTRALIA 70 73 81 73 297
Goss Oliver AUSTRALIA 68 73 73 84 298
Chandra Vikrant FIJI 74 78 74 73 299
Kinch Nathan AUSTRALIA 74 72 77 76 299
Murdaca Anthony AUSTRALIA 75 78 74 72 299
Yim John AUSTRALIA 73 78 74 74 299
Dall'Arche Valentino ITALY 74 79 72 75 300
Zhiqun Lam SINGAPORE 80 73 72 76 301
Clementson Benjamin AUSTRALIA 70 74 79 79 302
NG Jerome SINGAPORE 69 77 73 83 302
Allen Olaf FIJI 76 77 76 75 304
Hardham Tim AUSTRALIA 77 75 80 72 304
Evans Alan AUSTRALIA 76 76 76 78 306
Zhu Weiyu CHINA 76 77 77 76 306
Chandra Anuresh FIJI 81 78 78 72 309
Park Andrew S KOREA 75 82 75 78 310
LaRose Rick USA 80 84 77 74 315
Matauatu Josepho VANUATU 81 80 74 81 316
Narayan Greg FIJI 87 81 76 75 319
Malapa Malcolm VANUATU 79 82 77 83 321
Rarick Rick USA 79 84 82 77 322
Hodgson Stiggy ENGLAND 69 69 WD WD WD

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APPLEBY SHARES SONY OPEN LEAD WITH MARUYAMA

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
HONOLULU (AP) — For the second straight day, Stuart Appleby plodded along the soft fairways of Waialae until he closed strong with improbable shots for eagle or a string of birdies.
That recipe could really come in handy Sunday.
Australian Appleby, who holed out with a 5-iron for eagle on the 16th hole in the opening round, chipped in from 90 feet across the green on the par-3 seventh Saturday. That was part of a birdie-birdie-birdie finish for a 4-under 66 and a share of the lead with Shigeki Maruyama.
But the tournament is only half over.
Because of rain that washed out play Thursday, the Sony Open will try to finish Sunday with a 36-hole finale.
"A bit of a crap shoot," Appleby said. "There's a lot of guys in this tournament, absolutely. So it'll be a very interesting finish."
If the trade wind ever arrives, just about everybody is still in the hunt.
Appleby and Maruyama, who had his second straight 65, were at 10-under 130. They were one shot clear of Roland Thatcher (65), Steve Marino (67) and Mark Wilson (67). Another shot back was a group that included Justin Rose (68) and Matt Kuchar (68), who has picked up from last year when he won the US PGA Tour money title and Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average.
The cut was at 1-under 139, and 83 players will get paid.
But because of the 36-hole final, the playing cut was the number of players nearest to 60. With late birdies by Daniel Summerhays and Matt McQuillan, that cut was 56 player at 3-under 137.
That knocked out the likes of Vijay Singh and Zach Johnson.
The gap between top to bottom at the start of Sunday will be seven shots, which can easily be made up over 36 holes.
"Guys can win from seven and eight back on days like that," said Davis Love III, who shot a 66 and was only four behind. "That makes it interesting. It's whoever gets hot with the putter."
The 41-year-old Maruyama, who hasn't won on the US Tour since 2003, loves playing Waialae because the size of his Japanese gallery is larger than usual and there usually isn't a premium on power along the palm tree-lined fairways.
He's not sure about Sunday, however. He looked at his shoes and said with a laugh, "My feet. It's a problem."

"I'm getting older, and 36 holes is going to be a struggle," Maruyama.

What should help is the flat property of Waialae, an old-styled course near the shores of Waikiki Beach.

Anthony Kim matched the low score of the day with a 64 to reach 5-under 135. He was tied with Ernie Els, who might have an advantage based on his experience - not only from winning at Waialae, but playing 36 holes on the last day.

Els faced a 36-hole final round just last month in winning the South African Open. And not many will forget that 36-hole final at Bay Hill in 1998 when he overwhelmed Tiger Woods and Love in the final group.

"That turned out good," Els said, smiling. "I'm kind of looking forward to tomorrow. I've got a month off after tomorrow, and I'd like to let it all hang out."

Just like his opening round, Appleby wasn't doing much overly exciting. He was 1 under for his round with three holes to play when he chipped in for an improbable birdie on the seventh. Then came an approach to 2 feet on the next hole for a tap-in birdie, and he reached the green in two on the par-5 ninth for a two-putt birdie and a share of the lead.

"Tomorrow, we've got a bit of a sprint, even though it's going to take us all day," Appleby said.

It's not unusual for the US Tour to cut to the nearest number of players to 60. The priority always is to finish on Sunday, and that's the first option mentioned in its guidelines.

But it could lead to an awkward finish. Love recalls early in his career playing the Colonial, which Keith Clearwater won by three shots despite finishing on the ninth hole in the final round.

Els, for example, will be in the first group off Sunday morning on the first tee. There will be no time to change the groups based on third-round scores, so the South African will finish on the ninth hole.
"Anybody who's made the cut has got a decent change to play for the championship tomorrow," he said.

LEADERBOARD
Par 140 (2x70)
130 Shigeki Maruyama 65 65, Stuart Appleby 64 66.
132 Steve Marino 65 67, Mark Wilson 65 67, Roland Thatcher 67 65.
Selected scores
133 Justin Rose (England) 65 68 (jt 6th).
135 Ernie Els (S Africa) 70 65, Michael Sim (Aus/Sco) 68 67 (jt 20th).
Missed the cut
140 John Daly 68 72, Brian Davis (England) 68 72.


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