FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Robert Rock remained on course for a maiden European Tour title with a third round 68 that left him two shots clear at the BMW Italian Open presented by CartaSi.
The Englishman advanced to 16 under par for the week to pull ahead of a group of six players on 14 under at Royal Park I Roveri.
“Winning here would be amazing for my confidence,” said Rock, who next week will compete in the US Open Championship after qualifying for the first time.
“I am confident already because of my putting this week. I haven’t putted like this in a long time.
“I got a little putting tip out of an old Paul Runyan golf book that a friend gave me. I was reading it on Monday and Tuesday and decided to make a small change to my putting grip. I didn’t even get the chance to try it in practice and took a bit of a gamble by trying in the first round, but I holed my first putt and decided to stick with it. That’s got me through so far.
“I am really, really happy with the putting now. One more day of that and everything will be all right.”
Starting the day with a one shot lead, 34 year old Rock birdied the second for the third time this week only to then bogey the par three fourth after missing the green from the tee.

Consecutive birdies at the eighth and ninth and again at the 12th and 13th saw him pull clear – but he missed a six foot chance on the final green to extend his lead even further.
Rock’s closest attempt at winning came when he lost a play-off for the Irish Open in 2009 to then-amateur Shane Lowry, but he believes he has the mental strength to get over the line.
“I don’t think I’ve had a lead going into the final day and it’s about time I did,” he added. “I’ve had nine years out here trying to win, so we will see how I do tomorrow.

“The first round was my best and although I didn’t play as well since then, I’ve putted well. Now I’m two shots clear. My ninth season on Tour. I had a tie or joint lead on occasions and lost in a play-off once and few seconds, so this will be interesting tomorrow.”

Amongst those who will be in hot pursuit during the final round are home favourite Francesco Molinari and Swede Niclas Fasth, whose 64 was the best score of the day.

“I’ve been playing well for three days but struggling with the scoring,” said Fasth, who followed a chip-in eagle on the eighth with five straight birdies. “Then I struck that patch in the middle of the round and that’s where I made up my ground.”

Ryder Cup star Molinari, cheered on by a crowd of 8,000 in his home city of Turin, mixed six birdies and two bogeys in a 68.

“I played well enough and I am in it tomorrow,” he said. “I left at least a couple of shots out there but it’s not easy with the expectation of the crowd. I am happy with the way I played apart from a couple of putts not dropping. Same again tomorrow - it’s a good position to be in.”

Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal holed a six foot eagle putt at the last to join the group on 14 under, which also included South African Jbe Kruger, Dutchman Joost Luiten and England’s Gary Boyd.

There were some great shots as well as outstanding rounds, most notably Steve Webster’s albatross with a five wood approach on the par five 11th.
THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
200 Robert Rock (England) 64 68 68
202 Niclas Fasth (Sweden) 69 69 64, Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) 67 70 65, Jbe Kruger (S Africa) 69 66 67, Gary Boyd (England) 69 65 68, Joost Luiten (Netherlands) 66 67 69, Francesco Molinari (Italy) 66 68 68
203 Peter Whiteford (Scotland) 68 67 68 (T8)
205 Richie Ramsay (Scotland) 67 69 69 (T15)
209 George Murray (Scotland) 70 69 70, David Drysdale (Scotland) 68 71 70, Lloyd Saltman (Scotland) 70 68 71 (T46)
211 Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 65 74 72 (T57).
214 Alastair Forsyth (Scotland) 69 71 73 (T67)
SCOTS WHO MISSED THE CUT
141 Jack Doherty 71 70
142 Elliot Saltman 70 72
143 Marc Warren 71 72
145 Colin Montgomerie 75 70.

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CHALLENGE TOUR SCOREBOARD

THIRD-ROUND TOTALS

197 P Archer (Eng) 69 67 61,

 199 R Steiner (Aut) 65 65 69,

 203 K Sullivan (Wal) 66 69 68, A Bernadet  (Fra) 68 72 63, T Fleetwood  (Eng) 66 69 68,

 204 C Macaulay  (Sco) 67 69 68, M Decottignies Lafon (am) (Fra) 68 67 69,

 205 A Willey (Eng) 67 70 68, A Högberg (Swe) 66 69 70, F Delamontagne  (Fra) 67 71 67,

 206 D Nouailhac (Fra) 67 69 70, M Erlandsson (Swe) 67 72 67, J Billot (Fra) 67 72 67,

 207 G Houston (Wal) 67 72 68, M Vibe-Hastrup  (Den) 68 72 67, P Dwyer (Eng) 70 68 69,

 208 C Suneson (Esp) 69 69 70, L Jensen (Den) 69 71 68, S Hutsby  (Eng) 71 70 67, J Lucquin (Fra) 69 69 70, A Snobeck  (Fra) 69 72 67, S Jeppesen  (Swe) 67 68 73, M Cryer (Eng) 70 70 68, O Whiteley (Eng) 69 70 69,

 209 V Riu  (Fra) 71 70 68, B Nicolay  (Fra) 65 77 67, I Ridgway  (Eng) 68 73 68, A Johnston (Eng) 69 70 70, L Kennedy  (Eng) 71 67 71, D Brooks (Eng) 71 71 67, A Hansen  (Den) 70 70 69, P Golding (Eng) 68 70 71, C Russo (Fra) 69 69 71, B Evans  (Eng) 69 68 72, J Lando Casanova (am) (Fra) 69 69 71,

 210 N Joakimides (Fra) 68 72 70, T Fournier  (Fra) 69 68 73, J Caldwell  (Nir) 67 72 71, B Hemstock (Eng) 71 68 71, M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) 72 69 69, F Praegant (Aut) 66 71 73, S Tiley (Eng) 70 71 69, D Whitnell  (Eng) 73 69 68,

 211 R Eyraud (Fra) 69 72 70, J Grillon  (Fra) 73 67 71, J Moul  (Eng) 66 73 72, L Richard (Bel) 74 68 69,

 212 K Le Sager  (Fra) 70 71 71, A Coltart (Sco) 70 71 71, J Quesne  (Fra) 69 70 73, C Lee (Sco) 67 74 71, S Piaget  (Mon) 73 68 71, F Marty (Fra) 74 68 70, B Ritthammer (Ger) 70 72 70, E Chaudouet (Fra) 70 72 70,

 213 M Ford (Eng) 68 73 72, T Rice (Irl) 73 68 72,

 214 A Domingo (Esp) 67 75 72, T Raillard  (Fra) 66 72 76, J Heath  (Eng) 69 73 72,

 215 B Bozio  (Fra) 74 66 75, V Almstrom (Swe) 72 69 74,

 216 J Legarrea (Esp) 70 72 74, B Chapellan (Fra) 65 71 80, J Roos (RSA) 69 71 76,

 217 D Lokke (Den) 70 72 75, S Robinson (Eng) 70 72 75,

 220 J Kelly (Nor) 73 67 80,

OLDCORN LEADS BY FIVE AT PGA SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIP

By PAUL SYMES, Senior Tour Press Officer
A decade after winning the BMW PGA Championship, Scotland’s Andrew Oldcorn is on the verge of completing a PGA double after a stunning round of 68 extended his lead at the De Vere Club PGA Seniors Championship to five strokes.
Oldcorn held off the twin threats of Argetina’s Angel Cabrera and Sir Nick Faldo at Wentworth Club ten years ago, and on the final day at De Vere Slaley Hall in Hexham, England, his sole realistic rival would appear to be his compatriot Gordon Brand Jnr, who is the only other player below par on four under. If he can see off Brand Jnr and take the £40,000 first prize, Oldcorn would be following in the footsteps of two of the game’s greats, England’s Neil Coles and Welshman Brian Huggett, both of whom also completed the PGA double during illustrious careers on The European and Senior Tours.
In the circumstances Oldcorn’s best-of-the-day round of 68 was nothing short of exceptional, with persistent rain making life devilishly difficult. But the man from Edinburgh made light of the heavy weather to record five birdies and establish a commanding lead over Brand Jnr, who signed for a round of 69 which included an eagle at the 11th hole.
Oldcorn said: “That wasn’t particularly pleasant in the conditions, but I was delighted with the way I played. I got off to a flier with three birdies in my first four holes, then made a few silly errors and started to lose my rhythm a little bit. When the rain came it was just a case of hanging in there, but I still managed to hit a lot of good golf shots when it mattered.
“I’m obviously in a great position, but it’s a very tough course so five shots can disappear in the blink of an eye. DJ [Russell] was six ahead last year, but ended up having to come from behind to win. And I’m very well aware of what a doughty competitor Gordon is – realistically, it’s probably between us now. But I’ll be playing the course, not the man. I’ve been in this position a few before, so I know the attitude I need to adopt.
“It’s be very nice to do the PGA double. I was also five ahead at Wentworth, so hopefully that’s a good omen. I’m not sure how a win here would compare – hopefully I’ll be in a better position to answer that question tomorrow!”
Whereas Oldcorn is still searching for his first Senior Tour title Brand Jnr already has one victory under his belt, at last year’s Jersey Classic, and the 52 year old is hoping that experience will help him overhaul his fellow Scot.
Brand Jnr said: “I played the front nine very well, but just couldn’t hole any putts. Then I actually played the ninth poorly but made a par putt from 30 feet, and that seemed to get me going. I then chipped in for birdie on the tenth hole and made a great eagle on the 11th. After that the rain really started coming down which made life very tough, but I hung in well towards the end.
“Andrew’s obviously playing very well but he hasn’t won out here before, so that’s a hurdle he’ll have to overcome. All I can do is try to apply some pressure. It’s a tough course and the weather’s not meant to be great again, so it’s not going to be easy. All I can do is try to get off to a good start to try to influence him, and see how he reacts.”
The English trio of Bob Cameron, Carl Mason and Kevin Spurgeon were joined in a share of third place on level par by the Australian duo of Noel Ratcliffe and Mike Harwood.
THIRD ROUND TOTALS207 A Oldcorn (Sco) 73 66 68,
212 G Brand Jnr (Sco) 72 71 69,
216 C Mason (Eng) 72 71 73, B Cameron (Eng) 71 71 74, N Ratcliffe (Aus) 73 68 75, M Harwood (Aus) 72 70 74, K Spurgeon (Eng) 73 69 74,

217 B Lane (Eng) 73 67 77
218 M Briggs (Eng) 71 68 79, D Merriman (Aus) 71 74 73, M Mouland (Wal) 72 73 73,
219 A Franco (Par) 71 75 73, P Mitchell (Eng) 75 75 69, S Torrance (Sco) 75 73 71, I Woosnam (Wal) 75 72 72, K Tomori (Jpn) 79 72 68, P Allan (Eng) 72 73 74, M Farry (Fra) 75 73 71, P Fowler (Aus) 77 68 74,
220 J King (Eng) 77 75 68, P Hinton (Eng) 73 72 75,
221 D Smyth (Irl) 73 75 73, C Williams (RSA) 76 73 72,
222 A Fernandez (Chi) 76 73 73, L Carbonetti (Arg) 75 74 73, B Lincoln (RSA) 81 68 73, P Smith (Sco) 75 73 74,
223 S Lyle (Sco) 72 71 80, M James (Eng) 76 71 76, J Harrison (Eng) 78 73 72, G Wolstenholme (Eng) 74 70 79,
224 G Manson (Aut) 75 71 78, R Drummond (Sco) 72 73 79, D Cambridge (Jam) 75 76 73, D Johnson (USA) 74 75 75, R Green (Eng) 72 78 74, J Quiros (Esp) 78 73 73,
225 J Sallat (Fra) 74 75 76, P Barber (Eng) 78 73 74, W Grant (Eng) 78 72 75, M White (Sco) 74 75 76, M Moreno (Esp) 78 73 74, M Cunning (USA) 76 73 76, W Grady (Aus) 77 75 73, S Bennett (Eng) 72 79 74, M Belsham (Eng) 77 72 76, A Sowa (Arg) 74 74 77,
226 D Durnian (Eng) 76 74 76,
227 S Cipa (Eng) 79 68 80,D O'Sullivan (Irl) 77 73 77, G Banister (Aus) 77 73 77
228 M Williams (Zim) 73 77 78, K Phillips (Eng) 74 78 76, N Job (Eng) 76 74 78, J Hall (Eng) 77 75 76,
229 R Davis (Aus) 74 77 78, J Stuart (USA) 74 76 79,

230 G Townhill (Eng) 74 78 78,

231 F Mann (Sco) 78 73 80,

232 McNally (Eng) 78 73 81,

EAST OF SCOTLAND SENIORS OPEN AT KINR0SS

GROSS TOTALS
Name Club Age H'Cap Rd1 Rd2 Total
CSS 75 74
ANDREW CAMPBELL KINROSS 64 4 75 74 149
GRAHAM BELL DOWNFIELD 51 -2 77 73 150
PHIL DEMPSEY TULLIALLAN 51 3 80 71 151
DAVID IMRIE THORNTON 54 1 79 72 151
IAN TAYLOR ROYAL BURGESS 59 1 76 75 151
LINDSAY BLAIR GRANGEMOUTH 54 1 76 75 151
GORDON MEIKLE LADYBANK 50 2 76 75 151
LINDSAY GORDON TURNHOUSE 60 1 75 76 151
JOHN FRASER ROYAL BURGESS 59 1 78 74 152
DAVID GARDNER BROOMIEKNOWE 55 1 78 77 155
BOB STEWART TULLIALLAN 60 0 78 77 155
ROBERT DENHOLM KINROSS 54 4 78 77 155
IAN JEEN MILNGAVIE 53 2 78 77 155
BILLY ERSKINE KILSYTH & LENNOX 61 2 77 78 155
ALAN O'NEILL WEST LOTHIAN 53 0 76 79 155
IAN GILLAN BISHOPBRIGGS 56 2 76 79 155
DAVID J MILLER BARASSIE 56 1 79 77 156
FRASER McCLUSKEY ROYAL BURGESS 55 0 82 75 157
DAVID A MILLAR NEW CLUB 66 4 78 79 157
GEORGE RODAKS MOFFAT 62 2 77 80 157
STEPHEN ELLIS INNELLAN 63 3 76 81 157
LES MCLAUGHLIN BONNYTON 51 2 83 75 158
JOHN W JOHNSTON ROYAL ABERDEEN 62 3 82 76 158
ALEX RITCHIE BOTHWELL CASTLE 59 4 81 77 158
DEREK MURPHY KINROSS 58 1 80 78 158
IAIN STEWART CURRAGH 64 4 80 78 158
JAMES KINLOCH CARDROSS 65 2 78 80 158
GORDON MACDONALD CALLANDER 63 2 78 80 158
DAVID SHIELDS DUNBLANE NEW 50 0 77 81 158
ALISTAIR TAYLOR TURNHOUSE 56 3 76 82 158
ROBERT SMITH NAIRN 50 0 75 83 158
JALIL AMAN GRANGEMOUTH 57 2 82 77 159
JOHN W McDONALD COWGLEN 56 3 79 80 159
IAN MORRISON ROYAL ABERDEEN 60 4 88 72 160
SCOTT BRADY LUNDIN 57 3 80 80 160
JIM WATT EDZELL 60 2 78 82 160
COLIN CHRISTY KILMACOLM 61 0 78 82 160
PETER KINLOCH CARDROSS 65 5 82 79 161
JIM PATON KIRKINTILLOCH 63 3 81 80 161
STUART BLACK CATHCART CASTLE 50 1 81 80 161
DENIS McQUADE GLENBERVIE 60 5 80 81 161
WILSON BUTLER CARLUKE 53 2 83 79 162
DEREK SIM PANMURE 64 4 83 79 162
ERIC LINDSAY BLAIRGOWRIE 53 2 79 83 162
ALAN ROSS NORTHUMBERLAND 59 4 77 85 162
GORDON THOMSON BEARSDEN 61 5 84 79 163
PETER LAMB BIGGAR 57 1 78 85 163
SCOTT MACDONALD DUNFERMLINE 66 3 84 80 164
IAN FRASER DUMFRIES & COUNTY 52 1 81 83 164
KEITH HOWIE WEST KILBRIDE 65 5 81 84 165
DAVID J SMITH STIRLING 69 3 84 83 167
PATRICK TOMISSON NAIRN 64 4 84 83 167
IAIN MACDONALD BRUNTSFIELD LINKS 57 3 84 83 167
KEN FORREST LENZIE 54 3 86 82 168
KEITH BRUCE EDZELL 62 3 86 82 168
LES FOWLER ROYAL ABERDEEN 63 6 82 86 168
ALAN NELSON BANCHORY 59 6 87 82 169
STUART BAKER HILTON PARK 51 5 85 84 169
BOB HUMBLE KILSPINDIE 62 3 88 82 170
KEN DAVIDSON MUSSELBURGH 53 4 86 84 170
FRASER SHARP BOAT OF GARTEN 62 7 86 85 171
KEITH ROSS BEITH 55 6 85 86 171
DREW WILSON CLOBER 63 5 86 86 172
GORDON GRAY NEWMACHAR 69 5 82 90 172
TOM GREEN BRIDGE OF ALLAN 64 5 88 86 174
DAVID WARREN NORTH BERWICK 61 6 90 85 175
CHARLES BROWN AUCHTERARDER 65 7 89 86 175
IAN KERR KILMACOLM 54 7 91 87 178
LEE BUSHBY BLAIRGOWRIE 61 7 88 90 178
JOE LANGFORD CARLUKE 53 7 87 91 178
DENIS ALBUTT ROYAL DORNOCH 67 9 91 88 179
JAMES HENDRICK POLLOK 50 6 98 84 182
RICHARD GOODALE ABERDOUR 64 8 95 87 182
MALCOLM SIM GRANGE 59 6 89 93 182
NEISH CHISHOLM KEMNAY 60 11 93 91 184
RICHARD USHER BANCHORY 63 10 102 85 187
PETER BYERS GOSFORTH 73 6 92 99 191
MICHAEL MATHER BALLATER 69 9 99 99 198
RICHARD T GRAY COWGLEN 56 4 nr 75
DAVID LOGIE CRAIGIE HILL 50 2 nr 76
SANDY FAIRWEATHER CALEDONIA 65 3 nr 79
BRIAN MITCHELL ROYAL BURGESS 55 5 nr 81
GRAHAM BROWN ROYAL LIVERPOOL 55 1 nr 82
GORDON DOIG SOUTHERNESS 59 4 nr 84
ALAN WILLIAMSON BRUNTSFIELD LINKS 67 7 inj 86
DAVID TAYLOR DUNFERMLINE 54 3 nr 87
GRAEME HUME FALKIRK TRYST 66 8 nr 89
ALISTAIR FIDDES MURCAR LINKS 59 2 90 nr
DONNIE LINDSAY TROON ST. MEDDANS 62 6 82 nr
JAMES PATERSON RANFURLY CASTLE 54 8 nr nr
JOHN DUFF MORTONHALL 55 5 90 nr
ALAN CHAINEY NORTH BERWICK 66 6 91 ns
GEORGE BLAIR HADDINGTON 54 2 82 ns
TONY McINTYRE LUNDIN 67 1 83 ns
MIKE CURRIE THE GLEN 56 3 nr rtd
JAMES T JOHNSTON NORTHUMBERLAND 58 2 wd wd
COLIN TAINSH WEST KILBRIDE 52 5 nr wd
BRIAN SMITH HAMILTON 55 2 wd wd
LEN GRINDROD CROW WOOD 52 2 wd wd
ALAN CAMERON GOUROCK 60 4 92 wd/inj

Generally very good weather, heavy shower of rain late am rd 1 and windy.


HOLE IN ONE BY ROBERT DENHOLM


Robert Denholm, Kinross had a hole in 1 at the 1st hole in round 1, he used an 8 iron for the 161 yard par 3, this was Robert’s 1st hole in 1 playing for nearly 49 years.

LEADING QUALIFIERS SHINE IN SUN AS ABERDEEN LINKS RESUMES

It was a very different picture from the previous evening at the Aberdeen Links Championships last night as glorious sunshine replaced the downpours of Thursday.
Northern's leading qualifiers in Gary Nicholson in the Handicap Shield and Norman Rose in the Murray Cup marched into the quarter finals.
Clubmate Don Galloway ran Gary, close eventually winning at the first extra hole whilst Jim Muir was no match for Rose who eased to a 6&5 victory. There were big wins also in the Murray Cup for Caley's Keith "Beefy" Robertson and Bon-Accords Ian Stewart.


Handicap Shield


G.Nicholson (N)(9) bt D.Gallaway (N)(8) at 19th
D.Grieve (BA)(6) bt A.Phillip (C)(9) 1 hole
T.McGovern (C)(6) bt D.Mair (N)(7) 4 and 2
S.J.Laing (C)(8) bt G.Morrison(N)(8) 1 hole
W.Shand (BA)(9) bt G.Bond (N)(6) at 19th
G.McLaggan (BA)(6) bt J.Forrest (N)(8) 2 and 1
J.Ingles (N)(7) bt A.Haining (BA)(8) 3 and 2
A.J.Sherriffs (N)(7) bt S.Murphy (BA)(6) 3 and 2


Murray Cup


N.Rose (N)(20) bt J.Muir (N)(13) 6 and 5
K.G.Robertson (C)(13) bt G.Fiddes (N)(11) 7 and 6
S.Barclay (N)(11) bt D.Daniel (C)(18) 4 and 3
C.Murphy (BA)(16) bt J.Gall (C)(15) 3 and 2
T.Butler (N)(11) bt N.Christie (BA)(18) 2 holes
G.Duncan (N)(19) bt G.Martin (BA)(14) 2 holes
B.Lumsden jnr. (N)(20) bt D.Coull (N)(10) 2 holes
I.Stewart (BA)(19) bt M.Rimmer (C)(9) 5 and 4


QUARTER FINALS
Monday 13th June
SCRATCH
5.00 B.Edmond (BA) v N.Mitchell (BA)
5.06 M.Greig (BA) v B.Reid (C)
5.12 R.Young (BA) v S.Slessor (N)
5.18 A.Cruickshank (C) v S.Finnie (C)


HANDICAP SHIELD
5.24 G.Nicholson (N) v D.Grieve (BA)
5.30 T.McGovern (C) v S.J.Laing (C)
5.36 W.Shand (BA) v G.McLaggan (BA)
5.42 J.Ingles (N) v A.J.Sherriffs (N)


MURRAY CUP
5.48 N.Rose (N) v K.G.Robertson (C)
5.54 S.Barclay (N) v C.Murphy (BA)
6.00 T.Butler (N) v G.Duncan (N)
6.06 B.Lumsden jnr. (N) v I.Stewart (BA)


Davie Grieve
Links Secretary

ROBERT KARLSSON LEADS BY THREE AT MEMPHIS

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) — Robert Karlsson keeps playing better and better at TPC Southwind. The Swede could be on track for his first US PGA Tour title if he keeps it up.
Karlsson is focused only on his next round.
"That's a question we'll discuss when it happens," Karlsson said.
Karlsson shot a 5-under 65 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead after the second round of the St. Jude Classic. He started a stroke behind first-round leader David Mathis and carded six birdies and a bogey to reach 9 under. Karlsson, who lost here a year ago in a playoff with Lee Westwood, has played his first six career rounds at the course under par with this his lowest score yet.
"It's actually a bonus that I did well here last year," said Karlsson, who is ranked 23rd in the world and has 11 career European Tour titles.
"But this year is a new year, and even now most likely going to be in the lead after two days makes no difference. We've come halfway, and who knows. I might finish 55th. You never know. You've got to keep going, especially on punishing golf courses like this."
Colt Knost (68) and Keegan Bradley (67) were tied for second. Bradley, the Byron Nelson Championship winner two weeks ago, is among a few who can earn a spot last week in the U.S. Open at Congressional by winning his second tour event since the last Open.
John Merrick (69) was 5 under, and Fredrik Jacobson (65) and Harrison Frazar (65) were another stroke back. Brandt Snedeker, The Heritage winner in April, shot a 66 to top the group at 3 under that included Mathis (72). With 83 making the cut at 2 over, David Toms (5 over) and Sergio Garcia (7 over) were among those who made an early departure for Congressional.
Nobody beat Karlsson over 72 holes here in 2010, and he credits the lessons learned on his first practice round here a year ago to avoid hitting into the rough on this 7,239-yard course as much as possible to better set up shots into the greens. Temperatures in the high 90s the past couple weeks have firmed up the Champion Bermuda greens.
"It can be better to have an 8-iron from the fairway or a 7-iron from the fairway instead of a wedge from the rough," Karlsson said. "The greens are firm, and the rough is really, really brutal to control the golf ball out of. You can hit it. you can hit it really far, very, very far because you can get some vicious flyers."
Starting at 4 under and teeing off on No. 10, Karlsson birdied his second hole and finished the back side with birdies on three of the final four holes. He hit an 8-iron to 8 feet on the par-3 11th to set up his first birdie. He saved par on Nos. 12-14 and then hit a wedge from 106 yards to 7 feet to take advantage of a front pin position on the par-4 15th to start his birdie string.
Karlsson found the rough with his tee shot on the par-5 16th but he recovered by hitting a wedge from 124 to 5 feet for a second straight birdie. He stuck a 7-iron from 175 yards to 4 feet on the par-4 18th to reach 8 under.
"I hit a bunch of good iron shots. It was nice obviously to get it going. As you said, it's not an easy golf course. You just don't walk out there and shoot 68, 67. It's always nice to get off to a good start. I played very well on m back nine as well. Gave myself a bunch of chances, and it was good," Karlsson said.
He made the turn and birdied the par-4 first after hitting his second shot within 4 feet of the pin despite being 124 yards out in the primary rough. When Karlsson rolled in a 14-footer on No. 6 for birdie, he became the first player to reach double digits below par at 10 under.
Karlsson dropped a shot with his lone bogey of the round and just his second this week when he three-putted from 34 feet on the par-3 eighth.
Bradley admitted to being a bit tired at Memorial following his win at the Byron Nelson Championship. He missed the cut, and he said he and his caddie got back to doing what worked in Texas. He had a bogey-free round with three birdies.
"Never had to do all the media that I had to do. Obligations that a winner has to go through, which I'm so happy I had to go through it, but it took me a little bit by surprise. But feel good and feel rested now," Keegan said.
Knost is among the Nationwide Tour graduates from 2010 playing well here. The SMU graduate who turned pro in 2007 has made the cut in eight of his 16 PGA events this year and in good position for his best finish yet.
"Kind of been struggling coming into this event, but you know I just kind of took a new mindset this week and just got off to a great start yesterday and played solid again today," Knost said.
DIVOTS: Michael Bradley eagled the par-5 16th when he holed ut from 66 feet from a greenside bunker. ... Kip Henley didn't miss out on a big check by deciding to play here. Usually Brian Gay's caddie, he chose to play instead of work after earning a spot by winning a Tennessee tournament last August. Henley missed the cut at 20 over, while Gay also missed the cut after a 2 over. ... Patrick Reed's pro debut after helping Augusta State repeat as NCAA champs didn't go too well. He missed the cut at 6 over.

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