LUKE DONALD HALFWAY LEADER ON US PGA TOUR

 HALFWAY LEADERS
Par 142 (2x71)
132 Luke Donald (England) 67 65.
133 Garrett Willis (US) 64 69.
134 Camilo Villegas (Colombia) 66 68, Jim Furyk (US) 68 66, Jason Day (Australia) 69 65, Chad Campbell (US) 65 69.
Selected totals:
135 Ian Poulter (England) 69 66, Ben Crane (US)b 69 66 (T7).
137 Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) 68 69 (T15).
MISSED  CUT (142 or better qualified)
143 Michael Sim (Australia/Scotland) 71 72.
146 Francesco Molinari (Italy) 72 74.

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FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina (AP) — Luke Donald moved a step closer to the No. 1 ranking Friday, shooting a 6-under 65 on Friday to take the lead halfway through The Heritage.
Donald is ranked third now, behind No. 1 Martin Kaymer and No. 2 Lee Westwood. However, Donald would jump to the top with a win at Harbour Town, no matter how Westwood fares this weekend at the Indonesian Masters.
Westwood had a one-stroke lead Saturday in Jakarta after the completion of the suspended second round. Kaymer isn't playing this week.
The 33-year-old Donald hasn't let talk of No. 1 distract him through two rounds, finishing at 10-under 132 for a one-shot edge over first-round leader Garrett Willis (69).
Masters runner-up Jason Day (65), defending champion Jim Furyk (66), Camilo Villegas (68) and Chad Campbell (69) were 8 under. Ben Crane (66) and Ian Poulter (66) were three strokes behind Donald.
Donald was the highest ranked of seven players in the world's top 20 competing at what could be the last Heritage. The PGA Tour fixture is seeking a title sponsor, something tour and event officials say is essential to maintaining its place on the schedule for 2012.
Donald could give the Heritage the boost it needs if he can claim No. 1.
"I guess it's always in the back of your mind," the Englishman said. "It's hard to get away from knowing that with Twitter and Facebook and the media and everything, you obviously know what's at stake."
Donald, who won the Match Play Championship in February, thinks he can focus on what got him to this point - steady, unflappable golf.
"I can control where I hit the golf ball, and hopefully, I'll give myself a good shot at it come Sunday," he said.
Donald has gradually found his game the past few seasons on Pete Dye's treacherous layout. Donald finished second two years ago, then was third behind Furyk in 2010.
Donald began the round three shots behind Willis and quickly moved in front with five birdies on the front nine. After a bogey on the 10th hole, Donald moved in front again a hole later with a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe. An 8-footer on the par-5 15th brought his final birdie and he parred in to break 70 for eighth time in his last nine rounds in the event.
"The last couple of years, I've come here playing reasonably well, where I've had control of the golf ball, which is very key at this place," Donald said.
Donald doesn't want to make too much of the rankings. They're a snapshot of how consistently you've performed over a two-year period, he says. But with his Match Play win, defeating Kaymer in the final, and finishing fourth in the Masters, does Donald feel like the world's best player?
"Not yet," he said, smiling.
Donald has several capable players close on his tail. Willis closed with a birdie to draw within a stroke. Furyk continued his strong play at Harbour Town - he's shot in the 60s 10 of his last 12 rounds - with a bogey-free outing. And the talented Villegas is having his best tournament of the year after missing five of his first eight cuts.
Furyk might be Donald's biggest weekend challenge. Besides winning three times last year, Furyk earned the FedEx Cup $10 million bonus. He's had two seconds and a fourth at Harbour Town to go along with his Heritage win and is feeling as good as he did a year ago when he slipped on the champion's plaid coat.
Furyk opened with three straight birdies and added two more to jump into contention.
"It seems like when I play well, I play really well here," he said. "And I think it's a little bit of testament to the golf course. I really like it here."
U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, ranked fifth in the world, was five shots behind after a 69. No. 10 Matt Kuchar shot a 72 to fall into a tie for 43rd, eight shots in back of Donald.
Ernie Els, 15th in the rankinigs, missed the cut with rounds of 75 and 78, his worst performance in 12 career trips to the Heritage. Els switched to a belly putter this week and struggled on the greens with 59 putts. He also failed to make a birdie Friday.
Daniel Summerhays had the 20th hole-in-one at Harbour Town, using an 8-iron at No. 17. The ace followed Summerhays' double-bogey 6 on the par-4 16th. ... Among those missing the cut were five-time Heritage champion Davis Love III and rising 22-year-old star Rickie Fowler. ... John Daly made his second cut in seven events - and first since January - as he finished even-par 142. ... Rocco Mediate and Jesper Parnevik withdrew before their second-round tee times.

MONTROSE OPEN TEXAS SCRAMBLE ON SUNDAY, JUNE 12

 

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We still have spaces available for our Open Texas Scramble, to be held on Sunday,  June 12 on our Medal Course.  Cost is £20 for Season Ticket Holders or £50 for Visitors.

 

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E-mail from Bob Stewart

Hi Colin
Just thought I would let you know that Callum Macaulay has been preparing for his season on the Challenge Tour by playing in America. He has played in an Adams Pro Tour Series event in Texas where he finished in fourth spot. Let's hope this will help him start the season well in two weeks' time in Paris.
Best regards,


Bob Stewart

I'll drink to that! Colin Farquharson.

+If you have a piece of golf news you think the Editor may not know about and you feel Scottishgolfview.com readers would like to hear about, E-mail the information to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

JAMIE DONALDSON HALFWAY LEADER IN VOLVO CHINA OPEN

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Jamie Donaldson holds a one-shot lead of the halfway stage of the Volvo China Open – but no fewer than 12 players are within two shots and poised to challenge over the weekend.
After a decade on The European Tour and 23 top-ten finishes, Welshman Donaldson is still looking for a maiden title, but put himself in pole position with a blistering 11 under par 61.

That took him to 13 under, with Jeppe Huldahl, Grégory Havret, Nicolas Colsaerts, Keith Horne, Peter Lawrie, Jeev Milkha Singh and Gareth Maybin all one further back.

“I think my best ever round before this was eight under par last year or the year before, so this was a lot better,” said Donaldson, who fired five birdies in six holes around the turn and 11 in total.

“I played great pretty much all the way. I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens and gave myself a lot of chances which you have to do here. It’s set for low scoring. Today everything went my way.

“It’s a course that’s open for low scoring. It’s a good golf course and the greens are fantastic – the conditions are great and it is set up for scoring but you’ve still got to play the shots and wait for the putts to drop. I kept patient and waited for it to happen today. “

The 35 year old insists his lack of silverware on The European Tour will not be a factor over the weekend.

“I’ve been at the top of the leaderboard a few times,” he added. “It’s a matter of same again tomorrow and you never know I might shoot the same again tomorrow.

“The same again would be marvellous. I’ll just have to add them up at the end and see what it comes to. What everybody else does is out of your control. It’s a case of giving yourself the best options possible.”

South African Horne still had four holes of his opening round to complete when he returned to the course, and two birdies saw him snatch the first round lead off Han Chang-won.

The 39 year old began following up his opening 63 with back-to-back birdies, and having dropped his first shot of the week at the 14th - his fifth - responded with a birdie three holes later en route to a 69.

"Yesterday I got off to a great start with birdies on the first four holes and kept going from there," he said.

"It's the sort of course you can get going on. There's not much to scare you out there. If you get the irons and putter going you can get a good score."

US Open Championship runner-up Havret completed a second consecutive round of 66.

"I had a good round," he said. "I birdied 16, 17, 18 then one and three so five under for six holes was the key.”

Big-hitting Belgian Colsaerts started his round with successive birdies, and not surprisingly picked up shots on both par fives on the back nine in his 67.

"I closed well this morning - an eight foot putt with one hole to go and made birdie and then made birdie on the last," he said. "That set the tone for the rest of the day and I birdied the first two on the round that followed. I just kept hitting greens and was very close to the flag."

Former Wales Open champion Huldahl signed for a 65 that included no fewer than eight birdies, which he put down to some good work on the greens.

"I holed a lot of good putts this week - that's the key," he revealed. "You still have to make the birdies on the course it's not really easy.”

Singh carded a second consecutive 66, and the man often credited with leading the growth of golf in India believes China could also be turning out European Tour winners on a regular basis in the near future.

“China is developing fast in golf,” he said. “There are so great players and I am so impressed with the course.

“They are international standard and in excellent condition. Golf is catching up fast in this country. It is going to be big in the future. The people are learning about the game and I think they are going to produce some top players.”

The home challenge is currently being led by Chinese Number One Liang Wen-chong and Wei Wei on ten under, while Spain’s Sergio Garcia continued his improvement to advance to 11 under and a share of ninth place.


HALFWAY LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
131 Jamie Donaldson (Wales) 70 61.
132 Jeppe Huldahl (Denmark) 67 65, Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 65 67,
Gregory Havret(France) 66 66, Peter Lawrie (Ireland) 68 64, Jeev Milkha Singh (India) 66 66, Gareth Maybin (N Ireland) 65 67.
SCOTS' SCORES
135 Richie Ramsay 66 69, Peter Whiteford 67 68, Stephen Gallacher 70 65 (T21).
132 David Drysdale 68 69 (T36).
MISSED THE CUT (139 or better qualified)
140 Simon Yates 71 69.

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LEE WESTWOOD INDONESIAN MASTERS CHARGE PUT ON HOLD

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Jakarta: Shaaban Hussin and Park Hyun-bin took the surprise clubhouse lead at the Indonesian Masters as Lee Westwood’s charge came to a halt when the second round was suspended due to lightning on Friday.
The world number two was nine-under in the US$750,000 and will have to return at 6.30am local time on Saturday to finish his remaining two holes at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.
Shaaban of Malaysia and Korean Park fired a 67 and 68 respectively to take the clubhouse lead on nine-under-par 135 in the inaugural US$750,000 Asian Tour event.
Thitiphun Chuayprakong of Thailand shot a 68 to lie in third position on 134 while countrymen Pariya Junhasavasdikul, who shot the best round of the week so far with a superb 65, was a stroke back with compatriot Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Englishman Simon Griffiths.
Round two was suspended due to lightning threat at 4.25pm local time and will resume at 6.30am on Saturday. A total of 47 players have yet to complete their rounds.
Thailand ’s Thongchai Jaidee was on eight-under through 16 holes before play was suspended. His playing partner and overnight leader Siddikur struggled to emulate yesterday’s solid round as he was five-under.
Westwood, who reverted to the conventional putter from the belly putter today, birdied his opening four holes before making the turn in 32. He added a birdie and bogey on holes 12 and 13 respectively and was on the charge with another birdie on 16 before play was suspended.
“Obviously I’m disappointed because I had two more holes to play. I’m still in contention and have to see how things go in the next two days,” said Westwood.
He has the opportunity to regain the world number one position this week if he wins and if Luke Donald does not in the United States .
Shaaban, a former Malaysian amateur number one, didn’t hit a single par in his first nine. He got off to a bogey start but rallied with four straight birdies before adding two birdies against as many bogeys.
He returned with a blemish free back nine highlighted by a monster 20 feet birdie putt on 12 before sinking a crucial birdie on the last from seven feet for a 67. His total of 135 equalled his best two-day score at the 2009 Brunei Open.
“I had a bogey on my first hole and I never gave up from there. I tried to come back from that blemish and returned with four straight birdies. After the turn, I wanted to focus more and finished strongly which I did,” said the 30-year-old.
He earned his Asian Tour card in 2010 but struggled with consistency where he only posted one top-10 in Cambodia . He is hoping to make amends this week and celebrate the arrival of his son with a victory.
“I need to maintain my rhythm like how I did today. Everything clicked for me and I’m happy with that. I’ve more reason to celebrate because I welcomed a new son two weeks ago. I’m looking forward to the next two days,” added Shaaban.
Asian Tour rookie Park earned his card at Qualifying School in Thailand earlier this year when he finished in tied 33rd place. He started with nine consecutive pars before bursting into life with birdies on the last three holes.
He admitted that he was lucky with his birdie on the 17th hole after his superb approach shot landed 10 feet from the hole.
“I couldn’t read the greens on the front nine and got a bit lucky on the back. The wind was blowing very strongly on the 17th hole and I thought my approach would land far from the hole. I was very lucky it didn’t!” said the 24-year-old.
Park turned professional five years ago and decided to play on the Asian Tour to elevate his career.
“I like the way the Asian Tour is run and I’m enjoying myself here. I’m also used to the weather because I always practice in Thailand during the winter season in Korea ,” said Park, who is looking for his first career victory.
Licensed pilot Pariya bounced back from his opening round 72 with a brilliant 65 highlighted by an eagle where he holed out from 90 feet on the par five 12th hole.
He won his maiden title last year and finished in 12th place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. Despite making all four cuts this year, Pariya has not managed to play his way in contention until this week.
“I haven’t been posting any threats to the leaderboard in my last four tournaments so coming down here to put myself in contention is really good to see. This is a boost of confidence for me,” said Pariya.
SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARDPar 144 (2x72)
135 - Shaaban HUSSIN (MAS) 68-67, Hyun-bin PARK (KOR) 67-68.
136 - Thitiphun CHUAYPRAKONG (THA) 68-68.
137 - Pariya JUNHASAVASDIKUL (THA) 72-65, Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) 69-68, Simon GRIFFITHS (ENG) 69-68.
138 - LIN Wen-tang (TPE) 71-67, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 70-68.
140 - Miles TUNNICLIFF (ENG) 72-68, Marcus BOTH (AUS) 70-70, Scott BARR (AUS) 73-67.
141 - Jason KNUTZON ( USA ) 70-71.
142 - Adam GROOM (AUS) 75-67, Tim STEWART (AUS) 70-72, Mardan MAMAT (SIN) 72-70, Atthaphon PRATHUMMANEE (THA) 73-69, Rory HIE (INA) 68-74.


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SIX BIRDIES IN A ROW HELPS WILLIS LEAD THE HERITAGE

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina (AP) — Garrett Willis had a run of six straight birdies for a seven-under 64 and a one-stroke lead in this week's US PGA Tour event, The Heritage.
Willis was a shot in front of Arjun Atwal, Matt Bettencourt, Chad Campbell and Tim Herron at Harbour Town Golf Links. Mark Wilson, Camilo Villegas and 2009 Heritage champion Brian Gay were two strokes back.
Luke Donald, the world's No. 3 player, topped a group at 67.
Willis, the 2001 winner in Tucson in his first event as a US PGA Tour member, planned to switch to a belly putter this week, but stuck with his longtime Scotty Cameron model putter he called "Old Faithful."
The decision was a good one as Willis moved in front with his birdie run. He broke free from the pack at 6 under with a 15-footer for birdie on No. 16.
The round was slowed by a rain delay of more than 2 hours, leaving 18 players who must finish Friday before starting the second round.

FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
1st prize $1,026,000.
Par 71.
Players from US unless stated
64 Garrett Willis.
65 Chad Campbell, Tim Herron, Arjun Atwal (India), Matt Bettencourt.
66 Mark Wilson, Brian Gay, Camilo Villegas (Colombia).
Selected scores:
67 Luke Donald (England) (T9).
68 Brian Davis (England), Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) (T15).
69 Ian Poulter (T28).
71 Michael Sim (Australia/Scotland) (T57).

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