BO VAN PELT LEADS CANADIAN OPEN AFTER ROUGH IS TRIMMED

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Bo Van Pelt held his finish after a perfect iron shot into the 18th green, lowering the club in time to acknowledge the generous applause after his ball stopped five feet below the hole.
Another great drive. Another great approach shot.
It had become ho-hum stuff for Van Pelt in the third round of the RBC Canadian Open on Saturday.
Van Pelt birdied four of his last five holes, including the final two, to finish with a 65 and a one-stroke lead.
"If you are hitting every fairway and green after nine holes there is no way you should be over par," Van Pelt said of his 1 over front nine.
Canadian Adam Hadwin, playing on a sponsor's exemption, missed a 12-foot birdie putt on 18 to finish with a 68, and sit alone in second at 4-under 206.
Andres Romero (67) and first-round leader Kris Blanks (69) are tied for third, two shots back, after another tough day in the thick rough along the tight, tree-lined Shaugnessy Golf and Country Club.
John Daly, who four-putted No. 18 for triple-bogey Friday, shot 67 and is in a group of four at 2 under with Sean O Hair (66), Aron Price (69), and Geoff Ogilvy (70) heading into Sunday's final round.
Van Pelt, who had five-straight top-15 finishes before tying for 57th at last week's British Open, was 1-over at the turn and mad at himself for leaving strokes on the course with poor putting. He hit every green - no easy task this week - but had a couple of three-putts and missed three "short" birdie putts.
But with no one else going low, Van Pelt calmed himself on the walk to No. 10.
"I felt if I could get one hot nine, I could get in contention," he said.
The 36-year-old from Indiana did just that, starting with a birdie on the par-4 10th, another on the par-3 12th, and four on the final five holes, ending with a 5-foot putt after another beautiful approach on the tough par-4 18th.
With only 11 players still under par after three days of thick rough and narrow fairways, few expected to see anyone setting the nine-hole record at the 7,010-yard, tree-lined Shaugnessy Golf and Country Club. Van Pelt did it by keeping his driver in the short grass, and hitting 17 of 18 of the small greens.
"You never know you are going to shoot 29," said Van Pelt, who used his driver for all but one hole on Saturday. "You have to drive it in play. If you drive it in rough, you can't hit the green. I grew up on a tree-lined golf course with small greens, so from a visual standpoint, I like the looks of it."
Like Van Pelt, Daly said the key was hitting his driver well.
"You have to," said Daly, saying it at least gave him a chance to get to the small greens from the rough if he hit it further off the tee. "If you lay up you can t get to the green on your approach shots. You've just got to attack."
Daly, playing just his 14th US PGA Tour event this year because he now relies on sponsor's exemptions, is trying to win for the first time since 2004, and hasn't been in the top-10 since two runner-up finishes in 2005. He said he will be nervous Sunday.
"If I'm not I shouldn't be out here," said Daly. "It's been a long time."
Van Pelt played in front of sparse crowds Saturday. But there will be plenty of attention on the final pairing Sunday with local hero Hadwin.
The 23-year-old Hadwin tipped his cap and gave a wave to a raucous reception walking up the 18th green, and the roars continued long after he missed a 12-foot birdie putt and tapped in for par. For a second-year pro from the third-tier Canadian Tour, Hadwin appeared to be taking it all in stride as he tries to become the first Canadian since Pat Fletcher 1954 to win his national open championship.
"It's indescribable," Hadwin said of the reception. "It's a very exciting feeling to have that many people behind you and cheering for you. If I keep doing what I'm doing they will have something to cheer for on the final day.
Top amateur Patrick Cantlay shot 68 to get to 1-over and into a tie for 17th as he looks to continue a streak that has seen him finish in the top-25 of all four PGA Tour events this season, including the U.S. Open.

The US PGA cropped the thick, punishing rough in the hours between the end of Friday's second round and the start of Saturday's third round.

Canadian left-hander Mike Weir hurt a wrist so badly hacking out of the rough that he withdrew from the tournament on Friday. 

Many pundits reckon that was the tipping point for the US Tour officials - they had to do something before somebody did something else worse to themselves trying to get out of the rough, rated the longest, toughest encountered on the US Tour this year.

LEADERBOARD

Par 210 (3x70) Yardage 7,010

Players from U S unless stated

205 Bo Van Pelt 68 72 65.

206 Adam Hadwin (Canada) 72 66 68.

207 Andres Romero (Argentina) 72 68 67, Kris Blanks 67 71 69.

208 Sean O'Hair 69 73 66, John Daly 70 71 67, Aron Price (Australia) 68 71 69, Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) 70 68 70.

SELECTED SCORES
215 Luke Donald (England) 70 73 72 (T45).
216 Ernie Els (S Africa) 68 74 74, Jim Furyk 74 70 72 (T53).

MISSED THE CUT

145 Matt Kuchar 71 74.

146 Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain) 74 72.

148 Camilo Villegas (Colombia) 74 74

149 David Duval 73 76, Paul Casey (England) 76 73, Louis Oosthuizen (S Africa) 75 74.

150 Anthony Kim 69 81.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE

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JORDAN SPIETH JOINS TIGER WOODS AS MULTI-US BOYS CHAMPION

FROM THE USGA WEBSITE
Bremerton, Washington State – Jordan Spieth, 17, of Dallas, Texas, earned a 6 and 5 victory over Chelso Barrett, 16, of Keene, New Hampshire in the final of the US junior (boys) amateur championship at the par-72, 7,111-yard Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club.
Spieth, who also won this Under-18 years title in 2009, became just the second golfer in the 64-year history of the championship to claim more than one title. Tiger Woods won three consecutive US boys' titles from 1991 to 1993.
“Any time you can be compared to any of Tiger's golf accomplishments, it's very special,” said Spieth. “You know, he won it three years in a row. I'm glad to have got two of them, so now I can't play in this one anymore, I'm going to go after the Amateurs that he won. But as of the present moment, I'm very happy to have won this coming in as a past champion and being able to make it through again.”

But it wasn’t easy, particularly at the start. Barrett took an early 2-up lead in the scheduled 36-hole when Spieth bogeyed the first two holes.
“Two up through two is awesome but there’s 36 holes to play,” said Barrett, who was playing in his second Junior Amateur. “It was a good start, but I knew I would have to continue and I didn’t.”
Spieth got one hole back when Barrett double bogeyed the par-4 third hole and squared the match when he made a 10-footer for birdie on the par-5 sixth hole. Spieth would not trail again. He took the lead for good with a conceded birdie on No. 13 when Barrett was unable to get up and down from a greenside bunker. Another bogey by Barrett on No. 15 increased Spieth’s lead to 2 up.
At the 461-yard, par-4 17th hole, it looked like Barrett might get one back when Spieth hit his tee shot into the deep rough left of the fairway and Barrett drove in the middle of the fairway. But Barrett hit his approach shot short and right of the green and his 7-foot par raced putt 5 feet past the hole. His bogey putt lipped out and Spieth made his bogey putt to take a 3-up lead.
“It was a funny lie,” said Barrett of his approach shot on No. 17. “It wasn’t bad enough to where I hit the shot that I hit. I thinned it and came out of it. I hit a god-awful chip and a bad three-putt. I knew I had to be aggressive with it because I was banking on him making his 8-footer.”
On the par-4 18th, both players chose to drive the green. Barrett, whose tee shot found the rough just next to a front greenside bunker, hit a beautiful shot to 2 feet, which was conceded for birdie. Spieth hit his tee shot into a greenside bunker and he blasted out to 4 feet, which he made for birdie.
“That was a very important hole to get a birdie on, especially after 17 turned out the way it did,” said Spieth. “I was 2 up going to 17, thought it was going to be 1 up going to 18, and it ended up being 3. Big turnaround going into lunch.”
After the break, Spieth lost No. 1 for the second time in the match but made a 16-footer for birdie one hole later to again build his lead to 3 up. Barrett would not get closer again. He bogeyed the 23rd hole to go 4 down and another bogey two holes later pushed the deficit to 5 down.
“You have to make a lot of birdies to actually gain momentum against Jordan because he’s such a good player,” said Barrett, who lost to Spieth, 7 and 5, in the first round at the 2010 Junior Amateur. “Against other players, you can make birdie-birdie-par and maybe win three out of four holes, where if you want to win three out of four against him, you’ve got to birdie three holes.”
For Spieth, who was upset in the second round at the Junior Amateur a year ago, regaining the trophy was particularly sweet. It was his last junior event – he turns 18 next week and will start college at the University of Texas next month.
“I'm just very, very pleased that I came out on top here with the expectations and everything going in,” he said. “I was preparing for it the whole year, and it's nice to be able to execute.”

IRISH OPEN COULD BE PORTRUSH STEPPING STONE TO THE OPEN

FROM THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH WEBSITE

By Jonathan Bradley

The Irish Open is on its way to Royal Portrush — and that could well be a stepping stone towards the course staging The Open itself.

Buoyed by the recent Major successes of Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell — who honed their games at Portrush — and Rory McIlroy, the Stormont Executive has now pledged “substantial financial backing” to bring a European Tour event to Royal Portrush.

That will be the Irish Open, which, incidentally, all three of our Major winners will be competing in when it tees off in Killarney next week.

It is hoped that a successful staging of the Irish Open at Royal Portrush — which will happen within two years — would quell concerns about the viability of holding the Open Championship at the course in the future.

It has been 60 years since the one and only occasion when the tournament was held on Ulster's northern coastline — with Max Faulkner winning there in 1951.

And newly-crowned Open champion Clarke is among those who believe it is time to bring the world’s oldest major championship back to Royal Portrush.

The 42-year-old said: “The golf course is every bit as good as any of the Open venues. It's good enough to be in the rota.”

Club captain Phillip Tweedie said: “The Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment has now given a firm commitment in terms of providing the financial backing that is required and the European Tour has also strongly endorsed the move.”

To hold such an event requires at least £2.7million, with half of that outlay being needed for prize money.

Tourism Minister Arlene Foster has called on all of the parties involved to make sure the Irish Open is a success in Northern Ireland.

“This will need a major commitment from Royal Portrush Golf Club, the European Tour, sponsors, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Tourism Ireland, Coleraine Borough Council and others,” she nsaid.

“But I am confident that we will work well together to make this a world-class event.”

She added: “This will showcase our golf tourism, offering all over the world and provide a major boost to our local economy.”

However, the R and A, the organisers of the Open, has expressed doubts about the logistics of holding an event of that size in Northern Ireland, particularly an hour's drive northwest of Belfast to the coastline that faces the Mull of Kintyre.

Last week R and A chief Peter Dawson said: “The usual mixture of a great course and plenty of infrastructure, combined with a prospect of commercial success, is what's needed to host the Open.

“No doubt about the golf course at Portrush but the other two are what we have to look at.”

ICE-COOL FROST SHARES SENIOR OPEN LEAD WITH AMERICAN PAIR

By STEVE TODD, European Tour Press Officer
David Frost fired a flawless six under par 66 to move into a three-way share of the lead in The Senior Open Championship with American pair Mark Calcavecchia and Russ Cochran after a dramatic third round at Walton Heath Golf Club., Surrey. 
South African Frost, who lost in a play-off to Tom Lehman in last year’s US Senior PGA Championship, sank a seven foot birdie putt on the last hole to move to seven under par for the championship going into the final round after taking advantage of a slip by Calcavecchia, the joint-overnight leader. Calcavecchia had opened up a three shot lead over the field after three birdies in his opening 12 holes but it was a case of unlucky 13 as his drive into the notorious Walton Heath heather cost him a treble bogey seven and a dip in confidence.
A further dropped shot on the 16th saw the 1989 Open Champion slip back into the pack but he returned to the top of the leaderboard with a crucial birdie on the last to tie with Frost and Cochran, his compatriot who shot an impressive 66. Calcavecchia is bidding to become only the fourth player to win both The Open Championship and Senior Open Championship but he admitted that he will have to improve his driving in the final round if he is to follow in the footsteps of Gary Player, Bob Charles and Tom Watson.
“My driver gets a little out of kilter every now and then, and you know, once I start hitting it crooked, I can't stop it.
“I hit six perfect drives in the first six holes and after that it was ugly. I finished three, three, with a birdie on 18 so that was nice and I’m back in with a tie for the lead. There's a whole bunch of guys at six under par and it's pretty tight.
“I'm sure somebody is going to shoot a good score. You have to go out and have a good one tomorrow and if I can keep on hitting my irons pretty good and if I can keep it out of the bad stuff, maybe I'll have a chance.”
Frost’s red-hot putter saw him charge up the leaderboard as he looks to become the second consecutive European Senior Tour Member after Bernhard Langer to capture The Senior Open Championship.
“I've got myself right in there now,” said the 51 year old Mauritius Commercial Bank Open Champion. “Another round like this would be great.
“Somehow minus eight crept into my head last night before I went to bed, and I just saw this number in the sky all day long. Unfortunately, I just missed it by one. But I made a lot of good putts, a lot of crucial putts, which gives me confidence for tomorrow.”
“I thought this morning time's running out to win a Major Championship so I might as well just go for broke.”
Cochran, who finished tied third in last year’s Senior Open Championship at Carnoustie, began his third round with a hat-trick of birdies and added five more but a bogey on the fifth and a double bogey on the 14th blotted an otherwise scintillating round.
“I had a great feel with the putter today,” said Cochran. “I’ve been kind of struggling with it a little bit the first couple of days and trying to kind of find the speed of the greens, but today, I saw the putts beautifully and it seemed like I could make a lot of birdies.”
It’s the third successive day that three players have shared the lead and with three shots covering 12 players at the top of the leaderboard it promises to be a fascinating final round at Walton Heath.
Englishman Barry Lane, the best placed European, is one shot behind the leading trio on six under par after carding a three under par 69, the same score as his playing partner Corey Pavin, the 2010 United States Ryder Cup Captain, who is tied with him in a share of fourth position.
Pavin was runner up to Langer last year and is hoping to go one better this time round.
“It would be nice to win tomorrow,” said Pavin, the 1995 US Open Champion. “I have not won yet on the senior circuit, and to win over here has always been a dream of mine and to win on a links style golf course. On many levels it would be very nice.”
Tom Watson, the three time Senior Open Champion and five time Open Champion, is also in the frame after signing for a round of 69 for a four under par aggregate total to sit just three shots off the lead.
The 61 year old said: “I played a really solid front nine, then I three putted the tenth. But I birdied 12 and 13, which were two good, solid birdies. Then I got a little scruffy, hit a bad too shot on the 16th, but still managed to make a wonderful par. You never like to end on a bogey, but that's the game. Overall, I played a very good round of golf – 69 is a good score out there today.”

SENIOR OPEN SCOREBOARD AT WALTON HEATH, SURREY

THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
T1 FROST, David  69 74 66 - 209
T1 COCHRAN, Russ 72 70 67 - 209
T1 CALCAVECCHIA, Mark  68 69 72 - 209
T4 PAVIN, Corey  72 69 69 - 210
T4 LANE, Barry 71 70 69 - 210
T6 BECK, Chip 73 69 69 - 211
T6 GOODES, Mike 70 70 71 - 211
T6 RINKER, Lee 70 67 74 - 211
T9 WATSON, Tom  75 68 69 - 212
T9 COOK, John  73 67 72 - 212
T9 SPITTLE, Rod  70 67 75 - 212
T9 FOWLER, Peter  71 68 73 - 212
T13 GILDER, Bob  72 71 70 - 213
T13 BRAND JNR, Gordon  70 72 71 - 213
T13 TWAY, Bob  70 71 72 - 213
T16 SPURGEON, Kevin 77 66 71 - 214
T16 HARWOOD, Mike  68 74 72 - 214
T18 HAAG (AM), Randy 72 75 68 - 215
T18 LANGER, Bernhard 70 76 69 - 215
T18 LEHMAN, Tom 71 72 72 - 215
T21 ALLEN, Michael 74 71 71 - 216
T21 SLUMAN, Jeff  71 73 72 - 216
T21 WOOSNAM, Ian  71 73 72 - 216
T21 BYRUM, Tom  71 72 73 - 216
T21 JONES, Steve  73 70 73 - 216
T21 REID, Mike  74 69 73 - 216
T21 FUNK, Fred 72 70 74 - 216
T21 BELSHAM, Mark 71 71 74 - 216
T29 HAAS, Jay 71 74 72 - 217
T29 MITCHELL, Peter  71 73 73 - 217
T29 MIZE, Larry 71 72 74 - 217
T29 ARMOUR III, Tommy 74 69 74 - 217
T29 SENIOR, Peter  74 69 74 - 217
T29 O'MEARA, Mark  71 72 74 - 217
T29 HUSTON, John  72 71 74 - 217
T29 FRANCO, Angel  70 72 75 - 217
T37 JOB, Nick  74 74 70 - 218
T37 O'SULLIVAN, Denis  73 74 71 - 218
T37 BROWNE, Olin 75 69 74 - 218
T37 QUIROS, Juan  75 69 74 - 218
T37 MAST, Dick 73 71 74 - 218
T42 MASON, Carl  76 72 71 - 219
T42 MASON, James D 73 73 73 - 219
T42 RUTLEDGE, Jim 73 73 73 - 219
T42 SIMPSON, Scott 71 74 74 - 219
T42 KITE, Tom 72 71 76 - 219
T47 JOHNSTONE, Tony 73 75 72 - 220
T47 MURPHY, James 75 73 72 - 220
ROMERO, Eduardo 72 75 73 - 220
T47 OZAKI, Joe 73 74 73 - 220
T47 FERNANDEZ, Angel 77 70 73 - 220
T47 WOLSTENHOLME, Gary 73 73 74 - 220
T47 CURRY, Paul 76 70 74 - 220
T47 BROOKS, Mark 72 74 74 - 220
T47 FORSBRAND, Anders 72 72 76 - 220
T56 FARRY, Marc 75 73 73 - 221
T56 SIMSON (AM), Paul 73 73 75 - 221
T58 ROCCA, Costantino 76 72 74 - 222
T58 PATE, Steve 76 72 74 - 222
T58 OLDCORN, Andrew 73 75 74 - 222
T58 SHERBORNE, Andrew 74 74 74 - 222
T58 MOULAND, Mark 71 75 76 - 222
T58 MCNULTY, Mark 68 76 78 - 222
T64 RUANGKIT, Boonchu 75 73 75 - 223
T64 PRICE, Nick  72 74 77 - 223
T66 BLACKMAR, Philip  73 75 76 - 224
T66 DARCY, Eamonn 76 72 76 - 224
T66 GREEN, Damon 76 71 77 - 224
T66 RATCLIFFE, Noel  72 75 77 - 224
T66 PATE, Jerry 74 73 77 - 224
T66 BRAND, Gordon J 74 72 78 - 224
72 DALEY, Joe 71 77 77 - 225
T73 CHAPMAN, Roger 77 70 79 - 226
T73 MACKENZIE, Albert  69 74 83 - 226
75 CUNNING, Mike 72 74 81 - 227
76 JAMES, Mark 73 75 80 - 228  

MacIntyre wins area boys' title for second year in a row at Taynuilt

                           Leading prizewinners at Taynuilt Golf Club today

Robert MacIntyre (Glencruitten) secured a successful defence of his boys' and Under-16 area titles at the Argyll and Bute boys' championship at a sunny Taynuilt with a score of 68.
Runner up was Alastair MacLean (Glencruitten) with a 69, followed by Craig Pirie (Millport) 70. In fourth place was Sean Dunstaffnage (Glencruitten) 73.
First place in the handicap section was taken by Alastair Shaw of Port Bannatyne with an outstanding nett 56 (76 - 20). Runner up was Lewis Wilshire of Tobermory, nett 64.
The Argyll and Bute District golf executive would like to thank the members of Taynuilt GC for the courtesy of the course and commend its fine condition.

McARTHUR FOUR OFF THE PACE IN WINDY ENGLISH CHALLENGE

CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT FROM MICHAEL GIBBONS
Andrew McArthur hauled himself into contention at the English Challenge with an excellent four under par 68 at the Stoke by Nayland Hotel Golf and Spa in the toughest conditions of the week.
With a wicked, swirling wind cutting across the golf course, McArthur produced the second best score of the day to move to six under for the tournament, four shots behind leaders Lloyd Kennedy of England and Frenchman Benjamin Hebert. The Scot will have to produce more of the same to take home the €25,600 first prize, though, with 23 players within four strokes of the lead.
Jack Doherty, the only other Scot to make the halfway cut produced a level par 72 to remain on three under par.
Kennedy and Hebert produced the best scores of the day move into a share of the lead.
Kennedy produced an outstanding display of golf, posting a brilliant six under par 66 to make huge strides towards the top of the leaderboard.
The Englishman went to the turn in one under par 35 before turning on the style over the back nine of the Gainsborough Course at Stoke by Nayland, ignoring the tricky conditions to conjure five birdies – four of which came in his last five holes – to come home in 31.
Hebert, arguably the man in the best form on the Challenge Tour following his victory in last week’s Credit Suisse Challenge, then posted a fine four under par 68 to join Kennedy in the ten under lead going into the final round. Matthew Baldwin and Carl Suneson lead the chasing pack on nine under with a further six players tied on eight under. It should be a thrilling final round with no less than 23 players – including first and second round leader Jamie Moul – within four shots of the lead.
“That came as a bit of a surprise,” smiled Kennedy after signing for his 66. “It was very tough out there today - it was a different win to the last few days and it was blowing a lot stronger that it had done previously. “To shoot 66 in those conditions was a pretty decent knock and I have done exactly what I set out to do at the start of the day: given myself a real chance to win which is all you can ask for heading into the final round.”
Hebert is clearly a man on a high following his win in Switzerland last week. He is now looking to emulate his country man Edouard Dubois by becoming the second two-time winner on the Challenge Tour and the first player since Iain Pyman in 2007 to win back-to-back on the Challenge Tour.
“Hopefully I can follow Dubois – although if I do it in the space of seven days then it is better than him because it took him three weeks to win two!
“Seriously though, I am very happy with the round today. It was very difficult with the wind – I would say that it was affecting yardages by two full clubs so scoring was difficult.
“I hope the experience of winning last week will help me tomorrow. I think the more occasions that you are in such a situation then the more comfortable you feel. I am very confident in my game at the moment and that will help me too.”
THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
206 Lloyd Kennedy (England) 70 70 66, Benjamin Hebert (France) 71 66 69.
207 Carl Suneson (Spain) 68 70 69, Matthew Baldwin (England) 66 71 70.

SCOTS' SCORES
210 Andrew McArthur 74 68 68 (T17).
213 Jack Doherty 70 71 72 (T38).

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DOUBLE-EAGLE KELLY WINS MONTROSE PRO-AM

Chris Kelly chalked up two eagles and five birdies in a round of five-under-par 66 to win the top prize of £1,186 in today's Petrofac Montrose Links pro-am.
Cawder pro Kelly got a 2 at the shortish par-4 eighth by driving the green and his second eagle, a 3, came at the par-5 15th. He also birdied the long sixth, seventh, ninth, 13th and short 16th in an outstanding round that saw him finished three shots ahead of runner-up Jamie Carver (unatt).
Carver also gained an eagle 2 at the short eighth and birdied the fifth, 10th and 13th but bogeys at the second, long sixth and 16th meant he could not mount a challenge to Kelly. 
Former Curtis Cup player and past Scottish women's champion Michele Thomson finished a creditable eighth with a 73 which earned her £261.
Carver led the amateur trio of Jeff King (handicap 10), Gavin Hemsley (1) and Wayne Henderson (2) to a four-stroke victory with a net score of 124 in the pro-am team event.

LEADING PRO SCORES
Par 71
66 Chris Kelly (Cawder) £1,186.
69 Jamie Carver (unatt) £948.
70 Gareth Wright (West Linton) #£711.
71 Norman Huguet (Musselburgh) £533.
72 Graeme Brown (Montrose Links), Greig Hutcheon (Banchory), Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs) £363 each.
73 Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) £261.
74 Graham Fox (Rowallan Castle), Fraser Mann (Musselburgh, Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle), Stephen Gray (Hayston), Greg McBain (Rooyal Dornoch), Scott Henderson (Kings Links) £177 each.
75 Ross Cameron (McDonald Ellon), Colin Gillies (Kings Links), Mark Loftus (Adam Hunter Golf) £118 each.

ALEX NOREN LEADS BY ELEVEN SHOTS AT NATIVE STOCKHOLM

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Alex Noren rewrote the record books with a sensational 63 at Bro Hof Slott to lead by 11 shots after three rounds of the Nordea Masters today.
The 29 year old Swedish players knocked two shots off the course record in his native Stockholm to establish the joint second-highest lead in European Tour history.
Only Retief Goosen, who was 13 shots clear at the 2002 Johnnie Walker Classic, has been further ahead with one round left to play.
And the history books will have to be rewritten again if anyone is to deny Noren his second title of the season - nobody has ever come from more than ten behind to win in the final round of a European Tour event.
Starting the day three ahead of Shiv Kapur, Noren briefly came under pressure from Bubba Watson when the American Ryder Cup star birdied his first three holes.
But a first birdie of the day from six feet at the fifth did wonders for the Saab Wales Open champion’s confidence, and he struck his approach at the next to within a foot.
A majestic long iron at the par five ninth left Noren with a two foot eagle putt, which he duly converted to turn in a four under par 32.
The 2009 Omega European Masters winner then holed from eight feet at the tenth, before adding further gains on the 12th, 13th and 15th.
And if Noren had any doubts that the golfing Gods were on his side, then confirmation came at the 18th.
Moments after nearest challenger Watson double bogeyed, Noren hooked his drive under the stands down the left, received a free drop, and struck a splendid approach to six feet before holing his birdie putt.
That led to an 11 under par total for his round, taking the World Number 92 to 20 under for the week at a venue where the winning 72-hole score a year ago was only 11 under.
“Unreal, obviously,” said Noren, before heading to a friend’s wedding to drink “water and diet coke”
“It was an amazing feeling. I never thought it would be possible to shoot these scores. Every shot went the way I wanted - I don’t know what to say - I’m just so happy to play like this.
“It’s hard to sink in. I’ve never dreamt of playing like this here, I just thought if I make the cut I will be happy this week. 20 under is better than I can imagine.”
With the lengthy Bro Hof Slott lay-out well suited to his game, big-hitting left-hander Watson had wasted little time making his move.
He took advantage of the opening par five, birdied the next and completed his hat-trick with an approach to five feet at the third.
The World Number 14 spun his approach to eight feet at the sixth, but missed a ten foot eagle putt at the ninth after a wonderful approach and had to settle for a fifth birdie of the day.
However, the back nine saw a mixture of two birdies and two bogeys before Watson’s costly misjudgement on the last.
Watson had nothing but praise for Noren after his round - comparing his performance to that of Rory McIlroy at last month’s US Open Championship.
“He’s playing so good right now, like McIlroy in the States at the US Open,” he said. “When a guy’s playing that good you can only keep going and do your best.
“I was just thinking one shot at a time. Played really good, just lost focus on the back nine and couldn’t recover from it. One bad swing on 18 cost me a double.”
Another Swede, Christian Nilsson, impressed with a 66 to join South African Jaco Van Zyl (70) in a share of third on eight under. But there could be no doubt that the day belonged to Noren.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERS
Par 216 (3x72)
196 Alexander Noren (Sweden) 67 66 63.
207 Bubba Watson (US) 71 67 69.
208 Christian Nilsson (Sweden) 73 69 66, Jaco Van Zyl (S Africa) 67 71 70.

SCOTS' SCORES
211 Scott Jamieson 73 71 67 (T12).
213 Alastair Forsyth 72 72 69 (T29).

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GRAMPIAN HOUSTON JUNIOR PARTY FOR TEXAS NAMED

North golfers outnumber those from the North-east in the Grampian Houston Junior Trip party for a 10-day trip to Texas during the mid-October school holidays.
The players were nominated by their clubs and then a short leet drawn up by the Grampian Houston Junior committee in Aberdeen.
Those selected are:
SOPHIE ALEXANDER (Deeside).
FREDDIE BROWN (Nairn Dunbar)
SEAN BURGESS (Nairn)
CHRISTOPHER LAMB (Newmachar)
JORDAN MILNE (Elgin)
LEWIS MUTCH (Duff House Royal)
ROSS PROCTOR (Forres)
JAMIE REID (Cruden Bay)
ALISDAIR ROSS (Fort William)
JAKE SCOTT (Strathlene)
JACK WALKER (Fraserburgh)
JAMIE WHITTET (Muir of Ord)

WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS SELANGOR MASTERS REPORT, SCORES

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia: Rookie Joonas Granberg produced a stellar final round of six-under-par 66 to become only the second Finnish player to win on the Asian Tour at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters today.
Granberg, who set a new course record 62 in the opening round, edged Thai teenager Panupohol Pittayarat by one stroke with his 15-under-par 273 winning total at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club. The 24-year-old Finn pocketed US$60,902.
Overnight leader Panuphol, 18, underlined his massive potential by taking runner-up spot with a battling 71 while Adam Groom of Australia shared third place with Filipino veteran Antonio Lascuna on 275 in the RM1.2 million (approximately US $400,000) Asian Tour event.
Groom, searching for his first Asian Tour title, was tied on 15-under alongside Granberg with the par five 18th hole to play but four putted on the last green for a disappointing double bogey and a 68.
Sukree Othman of Malaysia provided the local cheers by soaring up the leaderboard with a superb 65 for tied fifth place with Australian Marcus Both (67) and Siddikur of Bangladesh (68) on 276.
“I didn’t think my first win will come so soon. There are so many good players on the Asian Tour and I didn’t play very well in my first four events in Asia. I thought I had a chance for a top-10 or top-five but now, I’m a winner,” said Granberg, who came through Qualifying School in January.
The Finn, who has three wins on his home tour, started the final round four shots off the lead but got off to a flying start with an eagle on his opening hole from 10 feet before turning in 33. He sank birdies on the 11th and 14th holes before pulling off what was eventually the winning birdie at the demanding par three 17th hole.
“The eagle on the first was very good. It relaxed my feeling so much. Then I had a good birdie on the third and I was more relaxed. I just played it one shot at a time. I walked very relaxed and that was my secret. I said yesterday that 66 would be okay and now I’m the winner. It’s amazing,” he said.
“On 17, I hit a five iron with a fade. It was a very tough pin position but I hit it straight at the flag. It ended two and half meters for the birdie. I thought I needed to birdie 18 for a play-off (which he parred). I don’t know what happened to Adam. I was expecting at least a play-off as 18 is a good birdie hole,” added Granberg.
The promising Panuphol, who turned professional at the age of 14, rued missed chances but believes his finish will spur him on during the second half of the Asian Tour season. “I had my chances but I didn’t take them. The win was there for the taking but I didn’t capitalize on it but overall I’m still happy. I know I can play well at the highest level,” said Panuphol, who is nicknamed “Coconut” by his family.
Groom was a picture of poise as he surged into contention by moving to six-under for the round through 17 holes, thanks to an eagle on the first and four birdies. After narrowly escaping the hazard with an errant drive on 18, a play-off loomed as he safely hit the green in regulation. But he sent his birdie attempt racing six feet past the cup and agonisingly took three more putts for a 7.
“I played great all day. I was six-under before the last hole and probably played one of my best rounds in a while. I hit a bad tee shot but the positive part was that I was in contention. I made some money and that would put me in good position on the Order of Merit,” said the Australian.
Lascuna, winner of the inaugural Selangor Masters in 2007 when it was a domestic event, birdied the last hole to claim his second top-10 finish this year and felt the achievement was a personal victory in itself.
“I’m very happy with my result. I didn’t expect to be in contention after the third day and to finish in third place is a tremendous achievement. It was a great week and I enjoyed myself. My performance was solid and I just need to work on my driver,” said the 40-year-old.
Sukree, a former national amateur player, charged up the leaderboard and delighted the crowds with a stunning chip-in birdie on 15 from 30 yards. But a bogey on 16 took the winds off his sail in his title hopes.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to shoot such a low score but deep in my heart I wanted to do my very best. I think of shooting 62 every time I play but this is a good result. I’m happy to shoot a low score in front on my home crowd,” said the Malaysian.
The day of drama was also highlighted by a stunning albatross from Japanese Ryutaro Nagano. He achieved the Asian Tour’s 16th albatross in history on the par five 12th hole when he holed out from 247 yards with a five wood. It was his career first albatross which helped him secure tied 49th place after a closing 69.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72). Yardage 6,977273 - Joonas GRANBERG (FIN) 62-75-70-66.
274 - Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 71-65-67-71.
275 - Adam GROOM (AUS) 68-73-66-68, Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 70-69-66-70.
276 - Sukree OTHMAN (MAS) 71-70-70-65, Marcus BOTH (AUS) 70-67-72-67, SIDDIKUR (BAN) 68-70-70-68.
277 - CHANG Tse-peng (TPE) 72-66-71-68, Tjaart VAN DER WALT (RSA) 65-74-70-68.
278 - MO Joong-kyung (SKOR) 67-74-73-64, S. Siva CHANDHRAN (MAS) 72-69-67-70.
279 - LIN Wen-tang (TPE) 68-71-73-67, Nicholas FUNG (MAS) 72-70-66-71.
280 - Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 71-67-74-68, Juvic PAGUNSAN (PHI) 69-72-71-68, Panuwat MUENLEK (THA) 68-69-72-71, Rashid KHAN (IND) 69-71-69-71, Ross BAIN (SCO) 70-71-68-71, Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 71-68-69-72.

ROTHESDAY 36-HOLE OPEN LATE ENTRIES ACCEPTED

Entries are still being accepted for the 36 hole Bennie Trophy being held at Rothesay Golf Club on Saturday, August 6.
This tournament was first played for in 1931 after a trophy was presented by George Bennie, the nventor of the railplane which was an air-rail system of transport.

Entry is £15 per head with 10 scratch prizes and various other prizes.

Entry can be made by calling the club shop on 01700 503554"

BOB COLLINSON OPEN DAY AT WINDYHILL GOLF CLUB

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY WINDYHILL GOLF CLUBAre you looking for an Open day to play on a weekend? Then why not come along to the Windyhill Open Day on Sunday 14th August?
Scratch, handicap and fun prizes. £10 entry fee
Tee times still available - entry forms available to download from the website, www.windyhillgolfclub.co.uk


OR contact
Lindsay Mathie, 07905 881 496