JUSTIN ROSE LEADS TRANSITIONS FIELD INTO FINAL ROUND

Justin Rose has taken up the running in the US PGA Tour's Transitions Championship at Innisbrook, Tampa, Florida.
The Englishman shot a six-under-par 65 for the second day in a row and leads at the end of the third ound 13-under-par 200.
But he is just a shot ahead of Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge (66 for 201) and Webb Siompson (67).
Martin Laird is sharing 10th place only four shots off the pace after a 68 for 204.
Paul Casey (71) and Sergio Garcia (72) are sharing 16th place on 206 - two shots ahead of rising Italian star Matteo Manassero (72 for 208 and joint 29th place).
Germany's World No 1 Martin Kaymer matched the par of 71 today and slipped down to joint 37th place on 209.
THIRD-ROUND LEADING TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71)
Players from USA unless stated
200 Justin Rose (England) 70 65 65.
201 Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe) 69 66 66, Webb Simpson 67 67 67
202 Scott Stallings 66 70 66, Gary Woodland 67 68 67.
203 Nick Watney 66 72 65, Brandt Snedeker 72 64 67, Garrett Wills 66 67 70, Chris Couch 69 64 70.
Selected totals:
204 Martin Laird (Scotland) 66 70 68 (T10).
206 Paul Casey (England) 64 71 71, Sergio Garcia (Spain) 68 66 72 (T16).
208 Matteo Manassero (Italy) 68 68 72 (T29).
209 Brian Davis (England) 70 71 68, Martin Kaymer (Germany) 68 70 71 (T37).

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FROM THE IRISH TIMES WEBSITE

JUSTIN ROSE POST-ROUND QUOTES:
“This is a golf course that it’s easy to be patient on,” said Rose, who has missed just seven greens all week. “If you hit in the middle of the green, you two-putt par, and you know you’re not being lapped by the rest of the field.”
The world number 31’s back-to-basics approach has put him on course for a third PGA Tour title in under a year.
“[I’d been] tinkering around with too many swing keys,” said the 30-year-old. “My goal for the next couple of weeks was to whittle it down to something very simple heading into Augusta.
“And I think that should still be my goal really, the next couple of weeks, just to really every day drop a thought, drop something, so you can go into that tournament as free and relaxed as possible.”

CASEY SAYS ENGLAND'S LACK OF TOUR EVENTS IS EMBARRASSING

FROM THE AOL.COM SPORT WEBSITE
By Ben Hunt
A few months ago, FanHouse UK looked at Lee Westwood's justification for the European Tour to stage more events in England.
Currently, England stages just one - The BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth - where as in the past it held other events, such as the popular English Open at The Belfry or The HSBC World Match Play.
The Tour has swollen to include many co-sanctioned events in South Africa and Asia, and that is good news for the players and the overall state of the game.
However, you cannot escape that while the chiefs at the European Tour are always looking to expand, they have ignored the golf fans who set them on their road to success in the first place.
Since the European Tour moved their headquarters to Dubai - which is in itself a strange paradox - there is the sense that England has been forgotten.
There is the argument that England does not have the courses suitable to host a substantial tournament.
However, that perspective is instantly dismissed by the fact the Open will be held this year at Royal St George's in Kent. It was also successfully staged at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in 2006 and will again return there in 2014.
A few years ago, there was also a WGC event at The Grove in Hertfordshire, so there is the proof England does have the courses.
All things considered, it seems a shame that England is not getting another regular tournament on the European Tour's schedule, although Paul Casey goes a step further and labels it "embarrassing".
He told The Daily Mail: "It upsets me, annoys me, it's embarrassing. One European Tour event in England at a time when we've got so many world-class players? It's rubbish.
"You can watch as many events as you like on television but there's no substitute for actually attending an event and that's what concerns me.
"If I hadn't been able to go to Wentworth twice a year or Walton Heath for the European Open, I'm not sure I'd have wanted to become a pro.
"Young people get inspired by watching the game close-up. If we don't get these events back given the great players we currently possess, when will we?"
Casey makes a fair point and one the European Tour need to take into consideration, for while they might be patting themselves on the back for securing lucrative sponsorship and expanding television deals, there is nothing like watching the action live.
By limiting the amount of exposure English golf fans get to the live events, could in turn harm the state of domestic game.
If that does happen, then this could be the last time we see three Englishman inside the top seven in the world rankings.

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

JAPANESE MEN'S PRO TOUR WILL START ON SCHEDULE

The Japanese men's golf tour will begin on schedule next month to help raise money for the victims of last week's devastating earthquake, a senior official told the Reuters agency.
The JGTO tour's executive director Andy Yamanaka said sponsors were in favour of playing the events as planned while an official announcement is expected next week.
"We're planning to hold the season opener in Nagoya, the Token Cup, on April (14-17) as planned," said Yamanaka.

"Most of the sponsors want to host the events, even though there has been major damage (in the north of Japan).

"We're thinking about what we can do to raise money and make donations to support the victims."

Thousands died in the 9.0-magnitude quake last Friday, triggering a massive tsunami that wiped away entire towns and badly damaged a nuclear power plant 240-km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

The women's JLPGA tour scrapped a handful of events following the earthquake but Yamanaka insisted the JGTO would try to stick to its schedule, despite the crisis.

"It's difficult to judge (if golf events should go ahead under the circumstances), but many say we should carry on in order to raise money," he said, adding that sponsors and players alike would make donations.
"The JLPGA already cancelled four tournaments but our season hasn't started yet. It's easy to cancel tournaments but we must find a way to help the victims - that's the bottom line."
Yamanaka admitted, however, that the JGTO would rethink their plans in the event of a Chernobyl-style meltdown at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
"Of course you must think about a worst-case scenario," said Yamanaka, who will hold talks with players including JGTO teen sensation Ryo Ishikawa before the organisation's formal announcement.
"We have to look at the situation very carefully," he added, while hundreds of workers battled to repair the quake-battered nuclear reactor.

"You just don't know what's going to happen and things could get worse, so we have to change our plans accordingly."
Reuters

FRENCHMAN JACQUELIN LEADS BUT SICILIAN OPEN NOT OVER YET

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Sicilian Open after overhauling long-time leader Anthony Wall in the closing stages of day three.
Jacquelin and Wall had threatened to turn the event into a two-horse race when they pulled clear of the chasing pack at the Donnafugata Golf Resort and Spa.
However, both men dropped shots down the stretch to leave the tournament wide open ahead of Sunday’s play, which will begin with 13 players within four shots of the lead.
Veteran Welshman Phillip Price and England’s Jamie Elson are tied for third on six under. Price fired seven birdies and three bogeys in an eventful 67, while Elson birdied the 16th and 17th holes to vault up the leaderboard.
Jacquelin’s bogey at 16 was the only blemish in an otherwise faultless round of 69 for the Frenchman, who claimed his last European Tour victory at the 2007 BMW Asian Open.
He picked up shots at the first and fourth holes en route to a front nine of 33, which overnight leader Wall would have matched were it not for a bogey at the short eighth.
Jacquelin moved level with his rival with another birdie at the 12th and Wall then dropped another shot at 15 before both men bogeyed the following hole.
“I was just trying to concentrate only on my game and I am really pleased with the way that I am hitting the ball at the moment,” said Jacquelin.
“I’m hitting my new driver really well and staying patient on the greens which you have to do here. I just have to try and keep going and stay patient tomorrow and make some good opportunities for birdies. That’s the aim anyway."
The 36-year-old insists he does not feel burdened by extra pressure as he looks to end his winning drought.
“I don’t think about it,” he added. "If I win, I win, if not then it doesn’t really matter. Obviously I want to win and came here to win but we are all here to win and there are a lot of guys playing each week and there can only be one winner.
“If I win it would be cool but if not I will still be really happy to have a good result and to enjoy the way that I am playing because I am having a lot of fun out there.”
Wall rued his failure to capitalise on an encouraging start.
“I played well actually but then kind of hit a brick wall around the turn,” he said. "I just felt that I should have probably been two or three shots better off at that point and I just lost a bit of momentum.
“I felt that I should have been six ahead of the field and then was seeing that other guys were getting closer to me.
“I should have dealt with it better because I have a lot of experience but I didn’t do too well with that mentally. I lost a bit of concentration because I got a bit down on myself.”
Price was pleased with his efforts after battling to shoot 71 and 69 in the opening two rounds.
“I struggled on the first day, I hit the ball really poorly and I was kind of thinking ‘where’s my coach’ but I managed to make a good job of it,” he explained.
“Yesterday was better and (it was) probably even better again today so it’s improved every day.
“I think the course probably suits me. It’s a bit of a windy, fiddly course and my experience gives me some help.”
When asked about a possible victory push on Sunday, Price replied: “If I play like I did today, I’ve got a chance.”

GOOD ROUND BY PETER WHITEFORD
Scotland’s Peter Whiteford, pictured, and England’s Simon Dyson fired rounds of 66 and 67 respectively to move into the group of nine players at five under 208 in joint fifth place.
Whiteford, who had five bogeys and a double bogey in the first round followed by two bogeys in Round 2, had not bogeys at all today as he birdied the fourth, ninth, 11th, 12th and 16th in two halves of 33.
Richard Green, who started the day alongside Jacquelin on seven under, was also on that score after a disappointing start that saw him double bogey the first and bogey the second.
Ireland’s Peter Lawrie matched Whiteford’s bogey-free 66 and was a shot further back at four under 209, alongside the likes of Scots Colin Montgomerie and Scott Jamieson and England's Kenneth Ferrie in joint 14th place.

Montgomerie, with halves of 35 and 36, was once again hampered by the flu during his round and said: “Considering I spent 21 hours in bed before going out there today, I played okay! I have to say that I feel rotten and am going back to bed right now. It certainly feels like the flu – I am just achy all over.
“It is disappointing in the sense that this flu has caused me to miss an opportunity today – I felt that I had a chance to make a move and get into contention for the final round. I played okay but you can’t do much when you feel as weak as I do now.”
Monty, who had earlier bogeyed the third but birdied the seventh, looked set for a sub-par round after birdieing the 17th but he wilted at the last which cost him a bogey.
Stephen Gallacher (72) and Paul Lawrie (73) are jointly on level par 213, sharing 44th place. Gallacher had a double bogey 5 at the short eighth and dropped other shots at the 10th and 11th. He got only three of them back with birdies at the fifth, seventh and 16th in halves of 35-37.
Lawrie had 34 putts, although he says on his blog that he did not putt poorly, just couldn't get the ball close enough to the pin with his approach shots. He had a solitary birdie at the 11th but dropped sots at the third, 14th and 16th in halves of 36-37.

LEADERBOARD
Par 213 (3x71)
204 Raphael Jacquelin (France) 66 69 69.
205 Anthony Wall (England) 66 67 72.
207 Philip Price (Wales) 71 69 67, Jamie Elson (England) 69 69 69.
208 Peter Whiteford (Scotland) 74 68 66, Simon Dyson (England) 71 70 67, Jose Manuel Lara (Spain) 65 75 68, Robert Dinwiddie (England) 70 69 69, Soren Hansen (Denmark) 69 70 69, Chris Wood (England) 67 71 70, Joel Sjoholm (Sweden) 70 68 70, Oscar Floren (Sweden) 69 68 71, Richard Green (Australia) 68 67 73.

OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
209 Scott Jamieson 71 70 68, Colin Montgomerie 69 69 71 (T14).
213 Stephen Gallacher 71 70 72, Paul Lawrie 72 68 73 (T44).
215 George Murray 74 69 72 (T55).
216 Marc Warren 72 72 72 (T62).
217 Alastair Forsyth 72 71 74, Lloyd Saltman 73 70 74 (T64).

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