BYRD - FIVE BIRDIES IN SIX HOLES - FLIES PAST PEREZ INTO LEAD

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) — The crowd was so big and boisterous Saturday that it made Jonathan Byrd a little uncomfortable. Seeing his name atop the leaderboard? Byrd is getting used to that.
The guy who only last October was worried about keeping his PGA Tour card ran off a blistering stretch of birdies in the Wells Fargo Championship for a 5-under 67, giving him a one-shot lead as he goes for his third win in seven months.
"Twelve months ago, I would never have thought that could happen," he said. "But now, the way my game is, why couldn't it happen? I'm playing well. I feel like I have all the tools to play well. I'm just going to play, and then when it's all over, I'll enjoy whatever I've done."
Byrd is at 15-under 201, a score he didn't imagine until his hot streak.
He was in the mix with a half-dozen other players who were trying to keep in range of Pat Perez when Byrd ran off five birdies in six holes to start the back nine. The one hole he didn't birdie might have been his best putt - a 7-footer that broke sharply to the right.
"You won't believe how much this putt breaks," Phil Mickelson said, standing to the back of the green after his own remarkable par. Byrd poured it into the heart, birdied the next two holes and was on his way.
Perez had a hard-fought 70, missing fairways early in the round and rarely converting birdie chances throughout the back nine until a slight mistake turned into his best-looking shot. Taking a little off a 7-iron, he pulled it slightly on the 17th and saw it sail right at the flag and stop some 5 feet behind the pin for a birdie.
"It was kind of scrappy all the way around," Perez said. "I played pretty good to shoot 70, I guess."
Former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover (69) and former British Open champion Stewart Cink (68), who have not won since capturing their majors in the summer of 2009, were three shots back.
The top eight players were separated by five shots, which isn't much on a Quail Hollow course where last year Rory McIlroy closed with a 62 for his only US PGA Tour victory.
It starts with Byrd and Perez, players whose contrast starts with their pace of play. Byrd is on the deliberate side, while Perez wastes no time. On the sixth hole, with Byrd in the group ahead, the caddies were no more than 10 feet off the green when Perez had hit his tee shot into the par 3.
Perez isn't the least bit worried.
"I wait every single shot, every single day on the US PGA Tour, so I've gotten really used to doing that," Perez said.
Missing from the mix is Mickelson.
The three-time Masters champion was in range and was poised to make a move with a brilliant par save on the 12th, a mini-flop from a downhill lie to a green that ran away and broke sharply to the left. It stopped inches away.
But he flubbed a bunker shot on the 14th to lose an easy chance at birdie, then hit tee shots into the water on the par-5 15th (bogey) and the par-3 17th (double bogey) on his way to a 74. Mickelson has hit five balls in the water this week.
J.B. Holmes had an amazing stretch on the back nine - five shots to play two holes when he holed a 5-iron on the 15th for an albatross, the rarest score in golf, and followed that with a birdie on the 16th. That led to a 65, although he was six shots behind, along with Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, who had a 68.
The excitement was almost too much for Byrd.
He was playing with Mickelson, the biggest draw at Quail Hollow, and while it wasn't the first time, he could feel the energy. The gallery caved in around him going from green-to-tee on just about every hole, with young fans holding out hands to be tapped.
Mickelson gets that all the time - Byrd, not so much.
"I've never high-fived so much in my life," Byrd said.
That only concerned him because he doesn't play wiTh a glove, and part of him wondered if fans had just put on sunscreen.
"Phil is used to that," he said. "He just flashes that smile. I want to keep my head down."
The buzz in the crowd contributed to a slow start, a bogey on the opening hole and failing to birdie the par-5 fifth. But he hit a nifty chip from the side of the seventh for a tap-in birdie, nearly drove the short eighth hole and made birdie, then took off on the back nine.
His longest birdie putt was a 10-footer on the 13th. The rest was about taking advantage of the par 5s and the short par-4 14th. In the middle of that stretch was the 7-foot par on the 12th, which Byrd called his toughest putt on the back nine.
Watching Mickelson hit his chip allowed him to see the degree of break, and he poured it in the centre cut. Then came two more birdies, and Byrd was surprised to hear after his round he had made seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch.
He needed them all to get the 54-hole lead. No one is sure how many he'll need Sunday to collect another win.
"Somebody is going to have to get off to a good start," Glover said. "Jonathan is a great front-runner. He's playing so well. I played with him Tuesday and saw him at home the last couple weeks. He's playing great. It's going to take a good start and a low round because he's playing well enough to shoot in the 60s again tomorrow and blow everybody away. But we'll see."
Players wore black ribbons in honour of Seve Ballesteros, who died early Saturday in Spain. US PGA Tour officials said play will stop at 3:08 p.m. on Sunday for one minute in memory of the Spanish great.
THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
Players from US unless stated
201 Jonathan Byrd 66 68 67.
202 Pat Perez 67 65 70.
204 Stewart Cink 71 65 68, Lucas Glover 67 68 69.
205 Andres Romero (Argentina) 71 67 67, Kevin Na 69 69 67, Bil Haas 64 70 71.

Selected scores:
206 Brian Davies (England) 70 67 69 (T8).
210 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 69 72 69 (T24).
212 Sergio Garcia (Spain) 69 69 74 (T31).
213 Justin Rose (England) 71 73 69 (T41).
214 Edoardo Molinari (Italy) 72 71 71, Martin Kaymer (Germany) 70 71 73 (T49).

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ROBERT ARNOTT WINS PORTPATRICK DUNSKEY PRO-AM BY FOUR

Multi-shot individual victories are comparatively rare on the Tartan Tour but Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs) had four shots to spare at the head of the field in the Portpatrick Dunskey pro-am today.

Robert, pictured, shot nine birdies after bogeying the first hole - the third, fifth, seventh, eighth, ninth - then a second birdie at the 10th - before he was off again with birdies at the 11th, 12th,13th and 17th.

His seven-under-par 63 saw him finished well clear of the three players on 67: James McGhee (Duddingston), David Orr (East Renfrewshire) and Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst).

Sharing fifth place on 68 were Andrew Fullen (Largs) and Lindsay Mann (Carnoustie).

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STEVENSON ON LEADER'S TAIL AT HALFWAY IN IRISH STROKE-PLAY

FROM THE IRISH GOLF UNION WEBSITE
Little-known Belgian Rutger Dhont shot a brilliant course record 66 on Day 2 of the Irish men's open amateur stroke-play championship at Royal Dublin but it was Welshman Rhys Pugh who led the field with an assured performance in a two-under 70 for a halfway total of two-under 142.
Pugh is one shot ahead of Scot Gordon Stevenson (69 for 143) and two clear of Irish teenager Paul Dunne (Greystones) and Eddie McCormack (Galway) going into Sunday's final 36 holes.
Defending champion Alan Dunbar is still well in the hunt after a second round 72, just three shots back on one over.
First round leader Robin Kind dug deep after a poor start, birdieing the final three holes for a 76, five shots off the lead on three over, and tied with Dhont, whose course record was a tremendous recovery from a first round 81.

QUALIFIERS FOR FINAL 36 HOLES
Par 144 (2x72)  CSS 77 75
142 R Pugh (Wales) 72 70
143 G Stevenson (Scotland) 74 69
144 E McCormack (Galway) 74 70, P Dunne (Greystones) 73 71
145 R Whitson (Mourne) 76 69, A Dunbar (Rathmore) 73 72
146 M Veijalainen (Finland) 76 70, P Cutler (Portstewart) 75 71
147 R Dhondt (Belgium) 81 66, D Huizing (Netherlands) 77 70, K Nicol (Scotland) 75 72, R Kind (Netherlands) 71 76
149 R McNamara (Headfort) 80 69, D McElroy (Ballymena) 79 70, S Barry (Laytown and Bettystown) 78 71, T Salminen (Finland) 78 71, N Grant (Knock) 77 72, R Van West (Netherlands) 76 73, J Evans (England) 75 74, J Greene (Carlow) 73 76
150 A Hogan (Newlands) 82 68, W Harmston (England) 79 71, P Murray (Limerick) 78 72, F McKenna (Scotland) 77 73, C O'Malley (Westport) 77 73, J Findlay (Scotland) 76 74, M Gaspar (Portugal) 75 75
151 H Beins (Germany) 81 70, L Bjerregaard (Denmark) 81 70, A Eckhardt (Finland) 79 72, C Selfridge (Moyola Park) 78 73, E Arthurs (Forrest Little) 76 75, J Brittain (England) 75 76, C Fairweather (Knock) 73 78
152 K McCarthy (Kinsale) 82 70, P Shields (Scotland) 79 73, C Doran (Banbridge) 79 73, D Murphy (Portarlington) 78 74, B Casey (Headfort) 77 75

Non-Qualifiers:
152 R O'Donovan (Lucan) 76 76, G McDermott (Co. Sligo) 76 76, F Schulte (Germany) 76 76, D Murray (Skerries) 75 77, R Leonard (Banbridge) 74 78, I Brennan (Greenore) 72 80
153 S Moloney (Castletroy) 80 73, S Bryan (Delgany) 79 74, E Smith (Ardee) 79 74, C Molloy (Ardee) 79 74, J Hume (Rathsallagh) 78 75, W Hanna (Kilkeel) 78 75, S Carter (Stackstown) 78 75, M Kippen (England) 78 75, J Fox (Portmarnock) 77 76
154 P Latimer (Scotland) 81 73, G Dunne (Seapoint) 81 73, J Lyons (Birr) 80 74, R Bridges (Stackstown) 80 74, G Lawlor (Newbridge) 80 74, S Grehan (Tullamore) 79 75, T Gurek (Germany) 78 76, G Moynihan (The Island) 78 76, B Walton (The Island) 77 77, N Hellberg (Finland) 76 78, T Lewis (England) 75 79
155 O Farr (Wales) 83 72, G McGrane (The Royal Dublin) 80 75, R Cannon (Laytown and Bettystown) 78 77, F Osther (Netherlands) 77 78, M Shanahan (West Waterford) 76 79, S Bolton (England) 76 79, T Silva (Portugal) 75 80, D Downie (Sutton) 75 80, J Carlota (Portugal) 74 81
156 S McGlynn (South County) 83 73, A Kearney (Castlerock) 81 75, T Ibbertson (England) 80 76, G Bohill (Co. Louth) 80 76, M Durcan (Co. Sligo) 79 77, J Monaghan (The Royal Dublin) 79 77, S Borrowman (Scotland) 77 79
157 M Downes (England) 83 74, K Murray (Charlesland) 81 76, M Buggy (Castlecomer) 80 77, D Coyle (Co. Louth) 80 77
158 J Hopkins (Skerries) 84 74, S Ryan (The Royal Dublin) 82 76, K Crowley (Lee Valley) 78 80, D Loftus (Swinford) 78 80
159 L Nemecz (Austria) 88 71, J Richardson (Royal Portrush) 85 74, R Fieldhouse (Wales) 84 75, S O'Connor (Skerries) 82 77
160 P Croonquist (USA) 83 77, K Phelan (Waterford Castle) 83 77, P McLean (Scotland) 82 78, A Kiernan (Forrest Little) 82 78, Q Carew (Edenderry) 80 80, S McCarthy (Black Bush) 78 82
161 M O'Connor (England) 83 78, L Lennox (Moyola Park) 83 78, C Martin (Kilkenny) 82 79, S Crenan (England) 82 79, S Crichton (Scotland) 82 79, S Brady (Co. Sligo) 80 81, J Dillon (Headfort) 79 82
162 C Daly (Castletroy) 84 78
163 A Kelly (Charleville) 85 78, S Quy (Belgium) 81 82
164 R Megens (Belgium) 86 78, T Rodrigues (Portugal) 79 85
166 C Korbler (Austria) 90 76
167 J Hord (USA) 84 83
169 D Callister (England) 92 77
170 C Glynn (Carton House) 88 82
171 T Collins (South Africa) 89 82
NR C Boggan (Co. Meath) 79 NR
WD B Anderson (Co. Sligo) 83 WD, S Larkin (Scotland) 91 WD

STIRLING STUDENT HOLMES LEADS GOLF DATA LAB SCOTS YOUTHS

Stirling University second-year student Kit Holmes, a member at Hunstanton Golf Club, Norfolk, leads at the halfway stage of the Golf Data Lab Scottish youths championship at Paisley.
The English-born contender heads the field of Under-21s with rounds of 71 and 68 for a two-under-par halfway tally of 139 and one-shot advantage going into Sunday's final two rounds.
Holmes bogeyed the first but by the time he had a second bogey he had chalked up four birdies (fourth, seventh, long 12th and short 13th). After his bogey at the 14th he birdied the short 15th and came home in 33 for 68.
His nearest challengers are both Scottish - Kyle McClung (Wigtownshire County) and Royal Aberdeen's Callum Trahan. They both have had scores of 71 and 69.
McClung had birdies at the long third, long 12th and short 17th before he dropped his only shot of the day at the 18th in halves of 35 and 34.
Callum Traham birdied three long holes - the third, 12th and 16th and had one bogey, at the sixth, in halves of 36 and 33.
Overnight leader Lawrence Allan (Alva) slumped from a 67 to a 79 which included a quadruple bogey 8 at the 14th and a double bogey 5 at the short 16th. He had three single bogeys - at the first, ninth and 18th in halves of 37 and 41. Lawrence did birdie the 11th and the long 16th. 
The halfway cut to the leading 40 players and ties fell at 148, i.e. players with 36-hole totals of 148 and better qualified for Sunday's final 36 holes.
One of the surprise non-qualifiers was Brora's Calum Stewart who had rounds of 82 and 79 for 161 to miss the mark by some way.HALFWAY LEADERBOARD
Par 142 (2x72) SS 72. CSS 72 72.
139 Kit Holmes (Hunstanton) 71 69.
140 Kyle McClung (Wigtownshire Co) 71 69, Callum Trahan (Royal Aberdeen) 71 69.
141 Bertrand Mommaert (Belgium) 72 69, Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 70 71.
142 Grant Forres (Craigielaw) 74 68, Caeron Marr (Musselburgh) 71 71, Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) 70 72, Lyle McAlpine (Royal Dornoch) 71 72, Greig Marchbnak (Dumfries and Co) 70 72.
Selected score:
146 Lawrence Allan (Alva) 67 79 (T32).

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MORAY AND NAIRN GOLF LEAGUE - SATURDAY RESULTS

MORAY 4½, ELGIN 3½


1. G. Thomson bt N. McWilliam 2 and 1.
2. S. Tatters bt D. Ramsey 1 hole
3. K. Thomson lost to S.G. Milne 2 and 1.
4. R. McConnachie bt F. Baillie 2 and 1.
5. P. McPherson lost to S.H.C. Milne 2 holes
6. R. Larratt halved with D. Hector
7. B. Harris bt P. McHardy 2 and 1.
8. A. Mair lost to G. Ross 1 hole

FORRES 3, NAIRN 5


1. B. Fotheringham bt F. Fotheringham 4 and 3.
2. G. Stuart lost to B. Thomson 7 and 6.
3. R. McKerron lost to R. Smith 1 hole
4. J. Simpson bt E. Gordon 4 and 3.
5. M. Jones bt S. MacDonald 4 and 3.
6. A. Robertson lost to S. Burgess 2 holes
7. C. MacKay lost to A. Bugress 1 hole
8. S. Maclennan lost to G. Morrison 2 and 1. 


NAIRN DUNBAR 1½, MORAY 6½


1. W. Barron lost to G. Thomson 1 hole
2. N. Pears lost to S. Tatters 2 and 1
3. G. Burnett lost to K. Thomson 4 and 3.
4. B. Watson lost to M. Macleman 4 and 3.
5. F. Brown lost to R. McConnachie 2 and 1.
6. C. Oram halved with P. McPherson
7. M. Britosvek lost to R. Larratt 3 and 2.
8. D. Bunker bt B. Harris 4 and 3.

ELGIN 3, FORRES 5
1. N. McWilliam lost to B. Fotheringham 1 hole
2. D. Ramsay lost to G. Stuart 4 and 2.
3. S.G. Milne halved with R. McKerron
4. K. Taylor lost to J. Simpson 1 hole
5. F. Baillie bt M. Jones 1 hole
6. G. Ross lost to M. Murdoch 4 and 2.
7. D. Hector bt C. MacKay 1 hole
8. S.H.C. Milne halved with S. Maclennan

HOW THEY STAND
Forres P3 W2 D0 L1 F14 A10 Pts4
Moray P2 W2 D0 L0 F11 A5 Pts4
Nairn P2 W1 D1 L0 F9 A7 Pts3
Elgin P3 W0 D1 L2 F10½ A13½ Pts 1
Nairn Dunbar P2 W0 D0 L2 F3½ A12½  Pts0

SUNDAY CONCLUDING MATCHES
9.30 Nairn b Moray.
10.30 Elgin v Nairn Dunbar.
2pm Moray v Forres.
3pm. Nairn Dunbar v. Nairn.



 

SOUTH AFRICAN AIKEN LEADS SAD SPANISH OPEN BY TWO SHOTS

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Thomas Aiken holds a two-shot lead going into the final round of the Open de España, where the show went on amid all the tears shed for Seve Ballesteros - many of them inevitably by Jose Maria Olazábal
South African Aiken still leads at El Prat near Barcelona after a third round 72, but the whole day's play was inevitably overshadowed by the death of the five-time Major champion and three-time winner of his national title.
Flags were at half-mast, players wore black ribbons and a minute's silence in mid-afternoon was followed by a round of applause.
Olazábal had just finished a 75 by then after playing with Colin Montgomerie (73) - Ryder Cup captains both, but only one of them, of course, the man who with Ballesteros had formed the most formidable cup partnership in history.
"Olly was in floods of tears most of the day. He has lost an older brother almost," said Montgomerie, his own voice shaky with the emotion of the day.
Another Spaniard, Pablo Larrazábal, was dressed all in black as he continued his bid to put his name on a trophy that Ballesteros last lifted in 1995 - one that made him the only player in European Tour history to record 50 victories.
Aiken doubled his one-shot halfway lead by remaining eight under, but four players are now six under - Larrazábal (73), Dane Anders Hansen (69) and European Tour rookies Scott Jamieson from Glasgow and Romain Wattel from France. They both shot 72.
Nobody scored lower than Hansen and while the wind and pin placings had most to do with that, the sombre atmosphere probably played a part as well.
Olazábal and Miguel Angel Jiménez - vice-captain to Ballesteros at Valderrama in 1997 - embraced at the start of the day and again after the minute's silence.
They have been trying to win the Open de España since 1983 and their wait looks certain to go on. They are both three over.
Scott Jamieson is going well as the front-runner of the Scots contingent but
David Drysdale and Paul Lawrie are just outside the top 20 on one-under-par 215.
On his website, Paul wrote:
"I played awful on the front nine today (+2), then hit it really good but couldn't buy a putt on the back nine (-2)   to shoot level and finish the day one under for the tournament. It was quite a bit tougher today as there was more wind.
"It is very about Seve, I found out when I arrived at the course this morning as I didn't have the TV on this morning. He was my idol growing up. The first time I played with him I never slept the night before and was wetting myself on the first tee. He was a legend and an inspiration to so many people. RIP Seve."

 THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
208 Thomas Aiken (S Africa) 68 68 72.
210 Anders Hansen (Denmark) 69 72 69, Romain Wattel (France) 67 71 72, Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 66 72 72, Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) 67 70 73.
212 Gregory Havret (France) 71 72 69, Lorenzo Gagli (Italy) 71 71 70, Shane Lowry (Ireland) 69 73 70, David Horsey (England) 71 70 71.
Other Scots' scores:
215 David Drysdale 72 71 72, Paul Lawrie 72 71 72 (T22).
217 Colin Montgomerie 70 74 73 (T32).
218 Peter Whiteford 73 72 73 (T38).
221 Ritchie Ramsay 72 72 77 (T53).
222 George Murray 72 73 77 (T57).

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FORD IS THE RIGHT CHARLIE IN ALLIANZ CHALLENGE FRANCE

From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes
Charlie Ford, seeking his second Challenge Tour title, sits on top of a packed leaderboard after the third day of the Allianz Challenge France.
Ford won his maiden professional title at the Turkish Airlines Challenge almost exactly 12 years ago, and the Englishman is in pole position to double his tally after a sparkling round of 66 at Golf Disneyland, on the outskirts of Paris, moved him to 13 under par.
The 26-year-old currently leads by one stroke from his young compatriot Tommy Fleetwood, who equalled the course record with a stunning 63, and Germany’s Nicolas Meitinger.
Ford exploded out of the blocks with three straight birdies, and although his momentum was briefly checked by a bogey at the fifth hole, he immediately responded with two more gains to turn in 31. The back nine was a steadier affair, with a three-putt bogey at the 17th hole cancelling out a birdie at the 14th, but his round ended on a satisfying note with an eighth and final birdie on the 18th hole.
Ford said: “For the first 12 holes I struck the ball really well, then for the last six I had to scramble a little bit, but it’s always pleasing to finish with a birdie. I’m in a good position, but I’m going to have to go low again tomorrow, because Tommy’s shown what can be done today.
“I haven’t really got a target in mind as such – I’m sure I’ll be taking a look at the leaderboards tomorrow, but I won’t let it affect my game. My win in Turkey will probably be in the back of my mind – I seem to play quite well at this time of the year, so hopefully it’s a good omen!”
Having started the day down in 27th place after successive rounds of 69, Fleetwood charged into contention with a birdie blitz from the fourth hole. For the third day running the 20 year old carded a double bogey at the third hole, but he promptly made amends with two huge birdie putts on the next two holes, before adding a further seven birdies to equal the course record set yesterday by overnight leader Jamie McLeary of Scotland.
Fleetwood already has two runner-up finishes to his name in his fledgling professional career, first at last year’s English Challenge and later at the M2M Russian Challenge Cup, but is hopeful his near-misses will inspire him to make it third time lucky.
He said: “I actually called it on the first tee this morning. [Playing partner] Espen [Kofstad] said that the wind might help us today, and I said to him that maybe one of us would shoot a course record – and that’s what happened! It hadn’t looked that way after the third hole – I actually hit a decent drive, but the second shot always seems to catch me out.
“And it didn’t help that I three-putted from about ten feet. So I was pretty angry walking off that green. But then I holed a 50 footer on the fourth, which rattled in at a fair rate, so I maybe had a bit of luck there. Then I holed another huge putt on the fifth which got me on a roll, and after that I never really looked like making a mistake.
“I came close to winning twice last year, and it’s not like I really did anything wrong either time, so I can take some confidence from that. I played well but was just beaten by the better man on the day, and hopefully someone else is saying that about me tomorrow.”
Meitinger, who shares the same coach as World No. 2 Martin Kaymer, has six victories to his name on the Satellite EPD Tour, but believes tomorrow’s assignment is a far tougher task.
The German, who notched four birdies and an eagle in his round of 67, said: “I didn’t play as well as I did yesterday, but I holed a few crucial par putts to keep the momentum going. The highlight was my eagle, which was in memory of Seve, as I holed my pitch from behind the green. So that one was for him.
“I’m looking forward to the final day now. I came close to winning in Colombia at the start of the year, so hopefully I can get the job done here. But it’s not easy to win out here on the Challenge Tour – it’s a big step up from the EPD Tour.
"Here you know someone’s going to go really low on the last day, whereas on the EPD Tour, if you’re one or two shots ahead, you know you can par in and still win the tournament. So the level’s much higher, but I’m feeling confident about my game at the moment.”
SCOTSWATCH: Jamie McLeary came back down to earth after his record 63 on Thursday by taking 11 shots more for his third round but, on 11-under-par 215, the Edinburgh man is "only" five shots off the pace in joint ninth place.
Craig Lee and former Scottish amateur champion Andrew McArthur are a shot closer to Charlie Ford on 204. Lee has improved by two shots every round so will be looking to shoot 64 (if not better on Sunday) while McArthur is also improving each time he plays but only by one shot a time. He had a 67.
Marc Warren is still fighting back from a first-round 73, following that with a 66 and 67 for 206, one shot ahead of Alastair Forsyth who slipped back from a second-round 66 to a Saturday 70.

THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
200 C Ford (Eng) 67 67 66
201 N Meitinger (Ger) 71 63 67, T Fleetwood (Eng) 69 69 63
202 A Domingo (Esp) 70 66 66, J Palmer (Eng) 70 66 66
204 J Quesne (Fra) 69 67 68, C Lee (Sco) 70 68 66, A McArthur (Sco) 69 68 67,
205 J McLeary (Sco) 68 63 74, C Lloyd (Eng) 73 66 66, S Little (Eng) 70 64 71, P Gustafsson (Swe) 68 70 67, G Cambis (Fra) 72 65 68, M Kieffer (Ger) 69 67 69, A Marshall (Eng) 68 65 72, D Vancsik (Arg) 70 67 68,
206 M Warren (Sco) 73 66 67, A Snobeck (Fra) 73 65 68,
207 D Brooks (Eng) 67 70 70, F Calmels (Fra) 71 66 70, R Santos (Por) 71 66 70, B Hebert (Fra) 69 66 72, G Houston (Wal) 67 69 71, E Dubois (Fra) 71 68 68, X Poncelet (Fra) 69 69 69, A Forsyth (Sco) 71 66 70, M Cryer (Eng) 67 72 68, A Pavan (Ita) 69 68 70,
208 A Bernadet (Fra) 68 69 71, F Colombo (Ita) 69 67 72, B Ritthammer (Ger) 72 68 68
209 M Lundberg (Swe) 72 68 69, J Lagergren (Swe) 64 73 72, G Molteni (Ita) 67 69 73, S Thornton (Irl) 68 68 73, N Kearney (Irl) 68 72 69
210 K Eriksson (Swe) 71 69 70, P Edberg (Swe) 70 69 71, S Robinson (Eng) 70 68 72, C Gane (Eng) 69 69 72, S Bebb (Wal) 71 69 70
211 D Perrier (Fra) 72 68 71, P Archer (Eng) 69 69 73, J Billot (Fra) 70 70 71, B Akesson (Swe) 69 66 76
212 J Lopez Lazaro (Fra) 68 72 72, C Russo (Fra) 71 69 72, M Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 67 72 73, B Chapellan (Fra) 67 71 74, J Lima (Por) 71 69 72
213 L Jensen (Den) 71 69 73, M Glauert (Ger) 70 68 75
214 E Kofstad (Nor) 67 72 75, G Lockerbie (Eng) 71 69 74, R Bechu (Fra) 66 72 76, A Ahokas (Fin) 67 69 78
215 M Evans (Eng) 67 72 76
216 R De Sousa (Sui) 72 68 76, J Heath (Eng) 69 70 77
217 A Bossert (Sui) 69 70 78


Paul Symes

Press Officer

European Tour

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MARK CALCAVECCHIA LEADS BY THREE IN US SENIORS' MAJOR

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (AP) -- Mark Calcavecchia opened a three-stroke lead in the Regions Tradition, shooting a 7-under 65 on Friday to run his bogey-free streak to 35 holes at Shoal Creek.
Calcavecchia birdied Nos. 10-12 to pull ahead and added another birdie on the par-5 17th to reach 11 under. He had a chance to get to 12 under, but missed a birdie putt a few inches on No. 18.

The 13-time US PGA Tour winner, seeking his first Champions Tour victory in the 50-and-over circuit's first major of the year, hasn't made a bogey since opening the tournament with a double on the first hole.

Kenny Perry was second, matching Calcavecchia with a 65.

Jay Haas -- whose son, Bill, is contending in the PGA TOUR's Wells Fargo Championship -- and Michael Allen were tied for third at 7 under. Haas had a 68, and Allen shot a 67.

First-round leader Tom Lehman (71) and Tom Pernice Jr. (66) were 6 under.

Calcavecchia, with wife Brenda working as his caddie, is once again chasing a major title. He was second in the British Open last year after 36 holes, but dropped to 73rd with closing rounds of 77 and 80.

"I didn't handle that too good," said Calcavecchia, the 1989 British Open winner. "That was a just a tad bigger tournament than this one.

"I'm sure I'll be nervous. You want to get off to a good start. That's where you want to be. You don't want to be sneaking up on anybody from six shots behind, although that's happened before, too. But it's always nice to be out in front."

Perry, who asked swing coach Ron Green to come up from Mobile on Wednesday, actually had to get over jitters from the second straight day with big names Nick Price and Tom Watson.

Birdies on two of the first three holes helped.

"That seemed to kind of take the edge off me a little bit," Perry said. "I always looked up to Tom Watson. I was nervous (Thursday) playing with Tom Watson, even though I've played a lot of golf with him. (He) and Nick Price are just great men, guys I've looked up to and I was actually a little tight (Thursday). When I birdied 1 and 3, it really loosened me up right out of the gate and I was able to just continue on."

Perry was 4 under over the final nine. He hit a 5-iron to 20 feet of the hole on No. 17, then eagled the hole to take sole possession of second.

"I need a lot more rounds like that," Perry said.

But his biggest shot might have come two holes earlier when he hit a driver through the fairway and into the woods.

"My only shot was to hit a sand wedge to the left front and then I made about a 50-footer for birdie," he said. "It's a putt you don't even think about making much less two-putting, and it went right in the middle, so you know it's kind of your day."

Lehman had two bogeys after a bogey-free first round.

Pernice had four birdies in the final nine holes after entering the day at even par.

This is Pernice's first Champions Tour major.

"I was a little gun-shy (Thursday), had a lot of mud on the ball" from Wednesday's rains, Pernice said. "Fairways are starting to firm up, so a little more of a green light, and I felt better with my swing as well."

SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
Players from US unless stated
133 Mark Calcavecchia 68 65.
136 Kenny Perry 71 65.
137 Jay Haas 69 68, Michael Allen 70 67.
138 Tom Pernice junior 72 66, Tom Lehman 67 71.
Selected score:
147 Sandy Lyle (Scotland) 75 72 (T54).

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SEVE BALLESTEROS DIES AT HOME, AGED 54

(Reuters) - Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros has died after a deterioration in his condition, having undergone treatment for a brain tumour in 2008, the Spanish television channel TVE said today.
Ballesteros, 54, a five-times major winner, had been recuperating at his home in northern Spain after four operations on the tumour and a course of chemotherapy.
Regarded by many as golf's greatest shot-maker, Ballesteros won 87 titles worldwide, 50 of them on the European Tour.
A winner of three Opens and two Masters titles, he also helped revive Europe's fortunes in the biennial Ryder Cup team competition.