RUSSELL KNOX MISSES THE CUT ON US NATIONWIDE TOUR

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
By Joe Chemycz, Nationwide Tour staff

SAN JACINTO, California-- Miguel Carballo of Argentina and Peter Lonard of Australia share the 36-hole lead at the US Nationwide Tour's Soboba Golf Classic. The two have posted identical scores of 65-68 and are tied at 9-under 133, one stroke better than Rob Oppenheim and a pair of New Zealanders -- Tim Wilkinson and Bradley Iles.

Nine more players are knotted at 7-under 135, including Jason Kokrak, winner of last week's Albertsons Boise Open. Joining him are Jonas Blixt and Troy Merritt (T3 and T11 last week) and first-round leader Cameron Percy, who opened with a 63 but was 10 strokes the bad on Friday.

Inverness exile Russell Knox (pictured) missed the cut.

Caballo recovered from back-to-back bogeys with a birdie on his final hole Friday morning and grabbed the clubhouse lead after the morning session.
What was his best club on the day?
"My driver. I drove the ball very well today," he said through a translator after hitting 13 of 14 fairways. "I feel like my game is coming around and I'm playing pretty good. I have a lot of confidence right now."
The source of his confidence this summer rests squarely on his chin. After he missed his third straight cut, the 32-year old started growing a beard. Since that point in mid-June, his game has turned for the better. He was a cumulative 3-under par for his first nine events before the beard, which has a strange resemblance to the one Abraham Lincoln used to sport. In his last 11 starts, counting this one, he is 81-under par.
"I'm playing a lot better this year but a lot of this happened when I started growing this beard," he said. "I feel like the beard is giving me a lot of confidence."
Meantime, Lonard is scratching his head as to how he's posted a 9-under score at The Country Club of Soboba Springs.
"This week is the worst I've hit it tee-to-green all year," said the 44-year old from Sydney. "I guess I've putted pretty good. You hole a couple of putts and all of a sudden life changes."
It changed dramatically in January of 2010 when Lonard underwent surgery on his right hip and left knee in an effort to cure lingering back issues.
"It was either get it fixed or give up golf," he said. "I couldn't walk 18 holes. It got to the point that I was hitting the ball 20 yards shorter. I needed to do something."
Lonard had been a regular on the US PGA Tour since 2002 and counted a win at the 2005 MCI Heritage among his accomplishments but the pain began to increase as the years progressed. He made only 13 cuts in 30 starts in 2009 and wound up No. 164 on the money list. It was time for something drastic. The surgery put Lonard on the sidelines for most of last year.
"It's been a bit of a road," he said of his recovery. "It's been a long year. It's been a grind."
Lonard, who has made 276 starts on the main US tour and earned nearly $9.5M, found himself in new territory this year in his 'rookie' season on the Nationwide Tour. New courses and plenty of new - and younger - faces everywhere.
"That's what a few of the kids are calling me," he said of the moniker 'rookie.' "I used to call them that when I was on the US PGA Tour and they called me 'Papa' but now it's the other way around. I call them 'Papa' now."
A total of 59 players did not complete round one on time due to an afternoon delay of two hours (threatening conditions, wind).
• Here is how the leaderboard looked after the first round was completed:
1. Cameron Percy 63 (-8)
T2 Bradley Iles 65 (-6)
T2 Peter Lonard 65 (-6)
T2 Doug La Belle 65 (-6)
T2 Miguel Carballo 65 (-6)
T6. Six players tied at 66 (-5)

• A total of 64 players made the 36-hole cut, which came at 2-under 139.
• The top-25 money winners were all entered in this week's event and 11 made the cut. Fourteen of the 25 will not be around for the weekend: Troy Kelly (No. 3/WD), Kyle Thompson (No. 6), Erik Compton (No. 7), Russell Knox (No. 8), Kyle Reifers (No. 9), Steve Wheatcroft (No. 11), Danny Lee (No. 14/DQ), Scott Brown (No. 15), James Nitties (No. 16), Billy Hurley (No. 19), Brett Wetterich (No. 20), Brenden Pappas (No. 22), Garth Mulroy (No. 23) and Brian Smock (No. 25).
• Newcomers Russell Henley and Harris English will be cashing checks for the first time this week. The former University of Georgia All-America team-mates who won Nationwide Tour events as amateurs earlier this year are making their first professional starts and both made the 36-hole cut.

Henley, winner of the Stadion Classic at UGA in May, is at 4-under par after rounds of 68-70. He is tied for 26th and has only 50 putts through 36 holes (T2).

English, winner of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational in July, is at 3-under after scores of 72-67 and T34.

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ADAM SCOTT TAKES OVER LEAD IN FEDEX CUP FINALE

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
ATLANTA (AP) — Adam Scott placed a dozen tees and balls in a circle, 4 feet from the cup, trying to make them all as caddie Steve Williams followed behind him and replaced the golf balls after each putt. The circle was expanded to 6 feet, then 10 feet.
"I'm just trying to make as many as I can," Scott, pictured right, said on the eve of the Tour Championship.Tee to green, he feels as though his game has rarely been better.
The Australian switched to the long putter at the Match Play Championship at the end of February, and he has seen enough improvement to win a World Golf Championship at Firestone. There are still a few bad days - and bad weeks, as he showed last week at Cog Hill.
The practice sure seemed to pay off Friday at East Lake. Right when it looked as though he were losing ground, Scott ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch, most of them from that distance he had been practicing, one of them a 35-footer on the eighth.
It led to a 5-under 65 and gave him a one-shot lead over K.J. Choi going into a week in which 14 players were separated by five shots. It also gave him as much confidence about the last two rounds as his win at East Lake five years ago.
"Just lost a little confidence last week reading the greens," Scott said. "I never got anything started on line that looked like going in, and even a couple of putts yesterday and today were good putts that weren't quite on line. But today was a lot better. That's a positive thing going into the week, because it was a much freer approach to putting."
Scott was at 8-under 132, alone atop a crowded leaderboard.
Jason Day, who played on a steamy Friday afternoon with Scott, had a 67 and was two shots behind, along with Luke Donald, the world's No. 1 player who had a 68 and still might be the guy to beat for the $10 million FedEx Cup.
Bubba Watson, who still isn't sure East Lake is a good fit for his game, managed the low score of the round with a 64. That put him at 5-under 135 along with Hunter Mahan and a pair of U.S. hopefuls for the Presidents Cup, Bill Haas and PGA champion Keegan Bradley.
Another American who is desperate to go to Royal Melbourne - Brandt Snedeker - was at 3-under 137, along with Matt Kuchar.
Kuchar and Donald are in the top five of the FedEx Cup, meaning they only have to win the Tour Championship to collect the biggest payoff in golf.
Scott is at No. 19. If the leaderboard looks Sunday exactly how it did on Friday, Scott would capture the FedEx Cup because the top two players on the points list - Webb Simpson and Dustin Johnson - were out of the top 18 and the others weren't high enough.
It's a lot of maths - not to mention golf - between now and then, although Scott still has a chance.
"I've got to win, and I imagine Webb must have to finish pretty low to give me a chance," Scott said of the FedEx Cup. "That's all I know. I just figured if I win this week, I'll be happy no matter what. I'll finish what I think has been a really good season."
Bradley, who came into the day with a two-shot lead, bogeyed two of his first five holes and never quite recovered in his round of 71. Scott, who won the Tour Championship at East Lake in 2006 the year before the FedEx Cup was created, also had a scrappy start with three bogeys on the opening six holes.
"I was pretty annoyed at myself, but I'm playing too good to let myself flip away at the moment," he said.
Scott proved that by running off four straight birdies, then adding another on No. 12 with a deft shot from a fairway bunker to about 8 feet that put him ahead of Day, who only six holes earlier had been five shots clear of Scott.
The two Australians were paired together in the final round of the Masters and tied for second, and they went at it again in the second round at East Lake.
"I'm in front and then he comes back, and then he's in front and I come back," Day said. "It does fire you up because everyone wants to win it, and you just want to go out there and play the best you can."
Quietly lurking, as usual, is Luke Donald.
With two days remaining, there is no clear favourite for the FedEx Cup - or for the Tour Championship.
"You get a bunch of good players together, and these things are going to unfold like this," Scott said. "I think everyone is just enjoying being here and trying to do the best they can, because there's a lot at stake, obviously."


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JOHN DALY WALKS OUT OF AUSTRIAN OPEN AFTER DISPUTE

FROM THE BBC SPORT WEBSITE
John Daly has walked out of the Austrian Open in Atzenbrugg after a dispute over a two-shot penalty.
The American heavyweight stormed off at the 15th hole following a disagreement with officials over where his ball should have been dropped after a shot into the water.
The two-time major champion, nicknamed 'Wild Thing', also threw his club in to the lake at the par-three 15th.
Tournament referee Andy McFee said: "I told him it was a two-shot penalty, at which point he said 'I'm done.'"
The 45-year-old American was level par for the day and two over par for the tournament before his troubles at the 15th, and was on course to make the cut.
McFee added: "If you play from a wrong place, and it's a serious breach then there could be a disqualification. But we always try to avoid this.
"When I knew it was not a serious breach I said 'You can carry on John'. But John did not want to do that."
Daly was playing with Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez and Austria's Martin Wiegele at the Diamond Country Club outside Vienna, and had battled back to one over par with birdies at the 12th and 13th, before dropping a shot at the 14th.
Daly rose to fame after winning the 1991 US PGA title, coming in to the event as the ninth reserve player. His long-hitting and turbulent private life made sure he was never far from the headlines, but he showed proof of his talent in 1995, winning The Open Championship at St Andrews.
He has won six titles on the US PGA and European tours, the most recent being the Buick Invitational in San Diego in 2004.
There is a four-way tie at the top of the Austrian leaderboard after two rounds. England's Robert Coles carded the best round of the day, a seven under par 65, to finish on seven under par.
He shares the halfway lead with Dutchman Joost Luiten, Denmark's Thomas Norret, and India's Gaganjeet Bhullar. First round leader Liam Bond of Wales dropped back to a share of ninth place after he shot a 74.
Only two of the world's top 100 are competing in Atzenbrugg - Jimenez lies in a tie for 18th after a second round 69, while Ireland's three-time major winner Padraig Harrington is in a tie for 47th after he finished at 1 over par.

LEADERBOARD Par 144 (2x72)
137 Robert Coles (England) 72 65, Joost Luiten (Netherlands) 67 70, Thomas Norret (Denmark) 67 70, Gaganieel Bhullar (India) 69 68.
138 Daniel Gaunt (Australia) 67 72, Matthias Schwab (Austria) (am) 72 678, Emanulele Canonica (Italy) 71 68, Simon Wakefield (England) 73 66.
140 Liam Bond (Wales) 66 74, Gary Murphy (Ireland) 72 68, Gary Orr (Scotland) 69 71.
OTHER SCOTS' TOTALS
143 Lloyd Saltman 73 70, David Drysdale 73 70, Marc Warren 70 73, Alastair Forsyth 74 69 (T29)
145 Raymond Russell 74 71 (T47).
MISSED THE CUT (147 or better qualified)
148 Steven O'Hara 75 73, Scott Drummond 73 75.
150 Elliot Saltman 76 74.

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ROSS DRUMMOND ON THE CLIMB IN CANNES' SENIORS EVENT

By STEVE TODD

European Seniors Tour Press Officer
Ross Drummond fired a superb second round 67 to move up the leaderboard in the Cannes Mougins Masters today.
The 6ft 4in Scot, pictured, is in a share of 12th place, six shots off the pace set by Australian Mike Harwood after the joint lowest round of the day in France.
Drummond bogeyed the second hole but carded birdies on the fourth, seventh, eighth, 13th, 14th and 16th holes.
Fellow Scot Gordon Brand Junior signed for a level par 72 to remain one under par for the tournament at Cannes Mougins, alongside compatriot Bill Longmuir who carded a 73.
Harwood, meanwhile, made an explosive start to his second round with four consecutive birdies from the third hole but after establishing a two-stroke cushion at the top of the leaderboard he then relinquished it with dropped shots on the 10th and 12th holes.
However, further birdies on the 14th and 16th holes saw him re-establish the outright lead and move to ten under par for the tournament, with Argentine Horacio Carbonetti his nearest rival on eight under par.
“My round was totally different to yesterday,” said Harwood, who opened with a 66. “Yesterday I played terrific tee to green and putted pretty miserably. Today I played miserably tee to green and putted terrific. If you can figure that one out let me know.
“The plan is to figure it out for tomorrow and put it together. This course doesn’t suit my striking at all. It’s quite difficult round that middle part with all the dog-legs right to left, when I hit it left to right. I’m fighting it a little bit and got through it alright.
“I started really well with lots of threes and lots of twos then I was pretty stagnant in the middle part and played pretty nicely coming in, so I’m happy overall.”

SECOND-ROUND TOTALSPar 144 (2x72)
134 M Harwood (Australia 66 68,
136 H Carbonetti (Argentina) 68 68, M Farry (France) 66 70,
137 J Quiros (Spain) 69 68, B Vaughan (USA) 66 71,
139 M Mouland (Wal) 71 68, D Smyth (Irl) 69 70, J Pate (USA) 72 67, R Davis (Aus) 72 67, F Illouz (Fra) 70 69, A Franco (Par) 69 70,
140 R Drummond (Sco) 73 67, B Cameron (Eng) 70 70, A Sowa (Arg) 70 70,
141 G Wolstenholme (Eng) 74 67, L Carbonetti (Arg) 72 69,
142 N Ratcliffe (Aus) 70 72, B Lane (Eng) 70 72, D Merriman (Aus) 69 73,
143 T Thelen (USA) 73 70, B Longmuir (Sco) 70 73, D O'Sullivan (Irl) 75 68, P Fowler (Aus) 72 71, G Brand Jnr (Sco) 71 72,
144 A Oldcorn (Sco) 72 72, J Sallat (Fra) 72 72, B Lincoln (RSA) 75 69, M Belsham (Eng) 76 68, C Rocca (Ita) 72 72,
145 K Tomori (Jpn) 73 72, I Woosnam (Wal) 76 69, J Gould (Eng) 76 69, G Ralph (Eng) 73 72
146 N Job (Eng) 72 74, D Russell (Eng) 73 73, J Harrison (Eng) 74 72, C Williams (RSA) 72 74, A Sherborne (Eng) 73 73, D Durnian (Eng) 72 74, M Cunning (USA) 74 72, C Mason (Eng) 71 75
147 A Forsbrand (Swe) 75 72, P Dugeny (Fra) 76 71, B Smit (RSA) 73 74, G Ryall (Eng) 70 77, J Stuart (USA) 76 71, P Mitchell (Eng) 72 75
148 A Fernandez (Chi) 76 72
149 T Charnley (Eng) 75 74, G Cali (Ita) 74 75
151 G Brand (Eng) 74 77, M Moreno (Esp) 69 82, M Clayton (Aus) 72 79
152 P Dahlberg (Swe) 73 79, J Bruner (USA) 76 76, K Spurgeon (Eng) 74 78
155 S Torrance (Sco) 79 76, M Miller (Sco) 79 76, D Cambridge (Jam) 80 75
157 A Garrido (Esp) 78 79

CHRIS DOAK LEADS SCOTS CHALLENGE IN TOULOUSE

By SCOTT CROCKETT
European Tour Chief Press Officer
Chris Doak will lead the Scottish challenge into the weekend of the Golf Open Grand Toulouse on the European Challenge Tour.
The 33-year-old Glaswegian, pictured, carded a second round 67 at Golf de Toulouse-Seilh in south west France to add to his opening 69 for a six under par total of 136 to sit in a tie for 16th place, six shots adrift of leader, England’s Matthew Baldwin.
Highlight of Doak’s round was an eagle three at the fifth but he also carded four birdies which more than made up for his two dropped shots of the day at the ninth and the 16th.
Doak will be joined in the weekend action by fellow Scots James Byrne and Craig Lee.
Banchory-based Byrne, playing in his first professional event following his Walker Cup heroics of a fortnight ago, could not quite repeat the fireworks of his opening 65 and had to settle for a 72 for 21st place on 137, while Stirling’s Lee added a 70 to his opening 68 for 138 and 33rd place.
Unfortunately, however, it was the end of the road for Jamie McLeary and Jack Doherty who, on 143, were three shots outside the cut mark, while Gavin Dear was one shot worse off on 144.
However, the man who made all the headlines at the top of the leaderboard was Matthew Baldwin.
The 25 year old from Southport carded a superb second round 63 for a 12 under par total of 130 and a two shot lead over first round pacesetter Christophe Brazillier of France, who posted a 70 for 132, and Sweden’s Robin Wingardh who notched a 67 for the same total.
Currently 29th on the Challenge Tour Rankings and therefore within touching distance of the top 20 who will gain playing privileges on The 2012 European Tour at the end of the season, Baldwin revealed he is using every possible means to make the step up, including trying to harness the mental side of the game.
For most of this year, the Englishman has been working with sports psychologist Lee Crombleholme and admitted he is seeing a positive effect, as illustrated by four top 25 finishes in his last four outings on the Challenge Tour.
“I only actually see Lee about three or four times a year but I call him most tournament days,” said Baldwin, who carded four birdies in each half in a flawless second round showing, including birdie twos at each of the three par threes on the inward half of the Seilh venue.
“All the lads out here on Tour speak about all aspects of the game and while everyone probably knows how you should think out on the golf course, sometimes in the heat of competition you can forget. The calls I make to Lee hopefully help me remember.”
Leading the pursuit of Baldwin was another man heavily involved in the mental side of the game, Robin Wingardh, who turned professional in June after successfully completing a degree in sports psychology at the University of Tennessee.
The 23 year old from Helsingborg reached the turn in level par but like Baldwin, gathered four birdies on the back nine to give him a chance of his first Challenge Tour title in this, his sixth outing of the season.
“I’ve always been interested in the mental side of the game and I just think that now, with seemingly every player out here getting better and better, you need to give yourself every possible advantage,” he said.
Alongside Wingardh, first round leader Christophe Brazillier could not repeat the fireworks of his course record 62 but the encouraging thing for the 31 year old Frenchman was the fact that he has yet to drop a shot in 36 holes, his second round 70 featuring 17 pars and one solitary birdie three at the fourth.
“It just goes to show how funny a game golf can be at times,” said Brazillier, who is currently 58th on the Challenge Tour Rankings. “I tried just as hard as I did yesterday and indeed I hit all 18 greens in regulation today but I just couldn’t find a putt.”
Five players share fourth place on nine under par 133 going into the weekend; the French trio of Damien Perrier, Julien Quesne and Victor Rui alongside Ireland’s Simon Thornton and Gary Lockerbie of England.
The pick of the quintet proved to be Lockerbie who added a fine 64 to his opening 69, the 28 year old surging up the leaderboard courtesy of a strong finish to his round which saw him notch birdies at the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth holes.
“I’m currently 68th on the Rankings so my main goal is to try and make the top 45 who qualify for the Grand Final,” he said. “If I can do that, then you never know.”








Scott Crockett

Chief Press Officer

The European Tour

CHALLENGE TOUR SCOREBOARD

Golf Open Grand Toulouse at Golf de Toulouse-Seilh
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
130 M Baldwin (Eng) 67 63
132 C Brazillier (Fra) 62 70, R Wingardh (Swe) 65 67
133 V Riu (Fra) 68 65, J Quesne (Fra) 67 66, G Lockerbie (Eng) 69 64, S Thornton (Irl) 66 67, D Perrier (Fra) 66 67
134 O David (Fra) 69 65, S Little (Eng) 66 68
135 M Southgate (Eng) 68 67, J Lagergren (Swe) 68 67, N Meitinger (Ger) 67 68, E Kofstad (Nor) 65 70, G Houston (Wal) 69 66,
136 B Parker (Eng) 65 71, C Doak (Sco) 69 67, T Ferreira (RSA) 71 65, A Marshall (Eng) 67 69, M Evans (Eng) 69 67,
137 J Bragulat (Esp) 70 67, E Pepperell (Eng) 69 68, O Whiteley (Eng) 68 69, A Hansen (Den) 69 68, L Jensen (Den) 65 72, P Del Grosso (Arg) 70 67, A Domingo (Esp) 69 68, F Calmels (Fra) 69 68, J Byrne (Sco) 65 72, P Archer (Eng) 69 68, J Heath (Eng) 72 65, A Schwartz (am) (Fra) 70 67,
138 S Hutsby (Eng) 66 72, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 69 69, B Teilleria (Fra) 72 66, M Erlandsson (Swe) 68 70, F Delamontagne (Fra) 68 70, D Brooks (Eng) 70 68, C Judlin (Fra) 72 66, C Gane (Eng) 69 69, B Chapellan (Fra) 72 66, L Canter (Eng) 70 68, B Ritthammer (Ger) 69 69, C Russo (Fra) 69 69, C Lee (Sco) 68 70
139 N Kearney (Irl) 69 70, E Chaudouet (Fra) 68 71, A Tampion (Aus) 70 69, A Butterfield (Eng) 74 65, A Bossert (Sui) 69 70, A Pavan (Ita) 70 69, N Lombardi (Ita) 67 72, A Tadini (Ita) 69 70, C Ford (Eng) 74 65, J Hepworth (Eng) 70 69, I Giner (Esp) 71 68, J Van Der Vaart (Ned) 70 69
140 F Colombo (Ita) 73 67, A Högberg (Swe) 73 67, M Delpodio (Ita) 73 67, P Gustafsson (Swe) 73 67, A Snobeck (Fra) 71 69, J Lima (Por) 68 72, C Paisley (Eng) 69 71, S Bebb (Wal) 74 66, J Remesy (Fra) 69 71
MISSED THE CUT
141 D Vancsik (Arg) 72 69, A Perrino (Ita) 71 70, J Garcia (Esp) 72 69, J Guerrier (Fra) 70 71, A Levy (Fra) 72 69, R Hjelm (Den) 70 71, B Grace (RSA) 70 71
142 F Valera (Esp) 70 72, C Moriarty (Irl) 71 71, N Mourlon (Fra) 71 71, J Campillo (Esp) 74 68, M Cryer (Eng) 72 70, K Borsheim (Nor) 71 71, M Hill (Fra) 72 70, S Garcia (Esp) 72 70
143 H Norlander (Swe) 72 71, M Kieffer (Ger) 71 72, J Estevez (Arg) 74 69, F Marty (Fra) 71 72, J Doherty (Sco) 70 73, F Praegant (Aut) 69 74, T Raillard (Fra) 72 71, J McLeary (Sco) 71 72
144 G Dear (Sco) 74 70, J Palmer (Eng) 74 70, B Evans (Eng) 71 73, A Otaegui (Esp) 70 74, M Bothma (RSA) 69 75, M Juan (Esp) 73 71, J Guillet (Fra) 67 77, O Rozner (am) (Fra) 71 73,
145 A Bihan (Fra) 72 73, A Bernadet (Fra) 72 73, P Relecom (Bel) 77 68, E Dubois (Fra) 70 75, J Robinson (Eng) 70 75, T Fournier (Fra) 73 72,
146 P Valmary (Fra) 71 75, D Nouailhac (Fra) 71 75, G Rosier (Fra) 76 70, A Grenier (Fra) 72 74, B Barham (Eng) 72 74, R Thuillier (Fra) 74 72,
147 A Mandonnet (Fra) 80 67, B Åkesson (Swe) 75 72, J Lopez Lazaro (Fra) 76 71, B Etchart (Esp) 70 77, J Grillon (Fra) 74 73,
148 J Garcia Fernandez (Esp) 76 72, C Garrido (Esp) 75 73, R Santos (Por) 72 76,
149 P Dwyer (Eng) 78 71, L Seinger (Fra) 77 72, K Le Sager (Fra) 75 74, A Kaunas (Ltu) 73 76, V Almstrom (Swe) 83 66,
150 C Airot (Fra) 79 71, D Bobrowski (Fra) 72 78,
151 A Ahokas (Fin) 79 72, R Steiner (Aut) 76 75, J Belot-Lacroix (Fra) 74 77,
156 M Van Hauwe (Fra) 74 82,
160 A Noudeu (Fra) 80 80
** J Billot (Fra) 73 Withdrew, A Pailler (Fra) 76 Retired

NORTHERN COUNTIES CUP

Newmachar 1's quartet of defending champions - Mark McKechnie, Chris Simpson, John Duff and Richard Barr - are through to this morning's (SAT) of the 100th staging of the Northern Counties Cup inter-club double foursomes match-play tournament over the Moray Golf Club Old Course links at Lossiemouth. The North-east provides three of the last four and the North only one with Newmachar playing Meldrum House from Oldmeldrum in the first semi-final and, in the other, Brora tackle McDonald Ellon. RESULTS THIRD ROUND Newmachar bt Royal Aberdeen 1 by six holes (M McKechnie, C Simpson 4, S Buchan, D W MacAndrew 0; J Duff, R Barr 2, W D Barclay, D F MacAndrew 0). Peterhead bt Nairn Dunbar at 22nd. (P McLlean, C Forman 0, B Ford, R Johnston 0; L Cruickshank, Richard Gordon 0, D Bunker, H Bunker 0).  Nairn 2 bt Cruden Bay 1 by five holes. (S MacDonald, E Gordon 3, A Middleton, S McCulloch 0; G Asher, P Saggers 2, S Buchan, L Phillips 0). Meldrum House  bt Elgin 1 by two holes  (G Watson, CMcComrie 1, S H C Milne, C Kerr 0; N Robson, C Brodie 1, J MIlne,  D Ramsay 0).  Moray 1 bt Murcar Links by two holes (K Thomson, C Stuart 0, N McKinnon,  A Campbell 2;  R Sheils, S Tatters 4,  A Bews,L Vettese 0). Brora bt Royal Aberdeen 2 by two holes (L MacDonald- MacLeod, E Polson 0, D Purrdie, M Wilson 0; J MacBeath, I Stewart bt  R Laird, D Harris 2). McDonald Ellon bt Inverness 1 by seven holes (M Stewart, C Gilbert 2, A Cameron, EForbes 0; K Duncan, A Dunton 5, J Forbes, Brian Fraser 0). Nigg Bay bt Royal Dornoch 1 by one hole (I Welsh, S Jamieson 0, B Urquhart, K Sinclair 0; R Forbes, G Grimmer 1, N Munro, J Shepherd 0). QUARTER-FINALS Newmachar 1 bt Peterhead by two holes. Meldrum House bt Nairn 2 by two holes. Brora bt Moray 1 by one hole. McDonald Ellon bt Nigg Bay by seven holes. SATURDAY SEMI-FINALS 9am - Newmachar 1 v Meldrum House. 9.15am - Brora v McDonald Ellon. Final will tee off at 2pm.

CRAIG RONALD WINS TO HEAD SPRINT SERIES QUALIFIERs

By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com Carluke's Craig Ronald headed the 36 qualifiers for the Sprint Series Final at The Duke's Course, St Andrews on October 3-4 with a sparkling round of five-under-par 67 in the fourth and final qualifying competition at The Roxburghe course, near Kelso today. Ronald, pictured, had an eagle 3 at the long seventh and birdies at the first, ninth, long 11th, 12th and 14th with a couple of bogeys, at the short fourth and short eighth, to offset that. His reward on the day was £1,000 and the clinching of a place at the head of the qualifiers for the 36-hole shoot-out. Alastair Mackenzie (Renaissance Club) earned £750 today with a round of 68 in which he birdied the sixth, long seventh, long 11th short 13th, long 14th before his only bogey of the round, at the 16th. Scott Grieve (Turnhouse), Stephen Lamb (Macdonald Cardrona) and Ross Dixon (Renaissance Club) tied for third place on 70 and each received £433. The qualifying table was based on players' best two rounds from the four Sprint Series events. The top 10 qualifiers are 1 Craig Ronald, 2 Graeme Brown, 3 Greig Hutcheon, 4 Graham Fox, 5 Gareth Wright, 6 David Orr, 7 James McKinnon, 8 Ken Campbell, 9 Scott Grieve, 10 Alastair Mackenzie. Heather MacRae (Gleneagles) made it through in 33rd place but Michele Thomson (McDonald Ellon) finished below the qualifying mark in 44th place. Men who just missed out were 37 Iain Colquhoun, 38 Fraser Clarke, 39 Craig Gordon, 40 Stuart Reekie. Of course, the Sprint Series is an invitational event and it is not guaranteed that all 36 qualifiers will accept the invitation to play at The Duke's. In which case some of those who just missed out might well be drafted into the field. SPRINT SERIES - Fourth qualifier The Roxburghe GC, Kelso LEADING SCORES Par  72 67 Craig Ronald (Carluke) £1,000. 68 Alastair Mackenzie (Renaissance Club) £750. 70 Scott Grieve (Turnhouse), Stephen Lamb (Macdoald Cardrona), Ross Dixon (Renaissance Club) £433 each. 71 Tom Buchanan (Duddingston), Craig Gordon (Edinburgh GC), John Ruth (Clydeway Golf), Stephen McAllister (Renaissance Club), Alan Reid (West Lothian) £250 each. 72 Sean Thompson (East Renfrewshire), David Orr (East Renfrewshire), Michael McAllan (Glenbervie), Graham Fox (Rowallan Castle) £142 each. 73 Paul Brookes (Pitreavie), Jonathan Porteous (Craigielaw), James McGhee (Duddingston), Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), Paul Wardell (Whitekirk), Owen Leslie (Piperdam), Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst), Gareth Wright (West Linton), Christopher Currie (Caldwell), Scott Herald (Adam Hunter Golf) £10 each.

CHRIS KELLY ONLY SCOT TO MAKE IT THROUGH FROM WYCHWOOD

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Only one Scot - Cawder tour pro Chris Kelly - was among the 27 qualifiers from the European Tour Qualifying School First Stage Section B 72-hole eliminator at Wychwood Park GC, Crewe today.

England’s Steven Uzzell led the way to Stage 2 at one of four venues in Spain in early December with a final round of 71 for a nine-under-par aggregate of 279, finishing three shots ahead of the field.

Walker Cup hero Jack Senior made it with a 68 for third place on 283 but team-mate Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) finished well off the 291 cut-off mark with a 74 for 300.

Kelly, pictured, had his worst round of the four, a 76, but a 290 total got him through with a shot to spare.

Banchory's Greig Hutcheon was in the top 25 at the start of the day but outside it at the close of player after a 74 for 292 - agonisingly one shot too many for the successful Tartan Tour campaigner.

Duncan Stewart (Grantown on Spey) had a 71 for 293, the same total as Stephen Gray (Hayston) whose closing round of 69 was one of the best of the day.

Paul Doherty (Vale Hotel) 75, Zack Saltman (Archerfield) 73 and Elgin exile Joel Hendry 72, all failed on the 295 mark.

Jason McCreadie finished with a 72 for 296, two more than Scott Henderson who had a 75.

Lee Harper and Michael Stewart finished bottom of the heap for the Scots with 74 apiece for 300 - nine shots away from a ticket to Stage 2.

EUROPEAN TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL

Stage 1 Section B

Wychwood Park GC, Crewe

QUALIFIERS FOR STAGE 2

Par 288 (4x72)

279 S Uzzell (Eng) 66 70 72 71,

282 D Kemmer (USA) 67 72 73 70,

283 J Senior (Eng) 71 71 73 68,

284 J Morgan (Eng) 72 72 70 70, S Brown (Eng) 70 71 71 72, I Pyman (Eng) 71 72 73 68, A Cooley (am) (Eng) 70 72 72 70,

285 P Reed (USA) 67 73 73 72,

286 K Harper (Eng) 70 76 74 66, A Versfeld (RSA) 70 73 71 72, H Leon (Chi) 70 74 71 71, B Ahlenback (Swe) 64 78 72 72,

287 D Wardrop (Eng) 73 72 72 70,

288 I Ridgway (Eng) 72 71 70 75,

289 J Bartlett (am) (Eng) 73 68 77 71,

290 R Gildersleeve (USA) 70 74 74 72,Z Scotland (Eng) 75 74 72 69, L Ferreira (RSA) 74 68 75 73, B Martin (Eng) 69 79 70 72, C Kelly (Sco) 69 74 71 76, P Maddy (Eng) 74 74 72 70, J Timmis (am) (Eng) 70 72 73 75,

291 J White (Eng) 73 73 76 69, T Mordt (RSA) 71 74 72 74, J Dransfield (Eng) 68 76 75 72, P Richardson (Eng) 70 73 77 71, M Ureta (Chi) 72 73 76 70,

FAILED TO QUALIFY

292 A Georgiou (RSA) 71 76 73 72, P Kaensche (Nor) 69 75 73 75, G Hutcheon (Sco) 72 73 73 74,

293 D Stewart (Sco) 72 77 73 71, J Shepherd (Eng) 75 72 74 72, D Marmion (Eng) 71 75 73 74, D Lloyd (RSA) 72 77 74 70, B Briscoe (Wal) 76 71 72 74, S Gray (Sco) 74 75 75 69, D Coupland (am) (Eng) 75 74 76 68, A Chesters (am) (Eng) 72 71 76 74,

294 P Grannell (Eng) 73 75 72 74, S Griffiths (Eng) 76 76 72 70, N James (Wal) 72 80 71 71, A Hodkinson (Eng) 76 74 75 69, I Winstanley (Eng) 78 72 72 72, G Woolgar (Eng) 70 74 73 77,

295 S Merry (Tri) 72 77 72 74, P Doherty (Sco) 72 75 73 75, Z Saltman (Sco) 75 73 74 73, D Palm (Swe) 71 77 71 76, J Hendry (Sco) 72 76 75 72, J Howarth (Eng) 72 73 75 75,

296 R Wallis (Eng) 73 74 74 75, A Stott (Eng) 72 76 71 77, G Parker (Eng) 73 77 75 71, J McCreadie (Sco) 75 78 71 72, S Arnold (Aus) 71 79 72 74, R O'Neill (Eng) 75 75 72 74, S Tooth (Eng) 77 76 73 70, O Farr (am) (Wal) 75 75 74 72, R Bentham (am) (Wal) 72 75 77 72,

297 R Oliver (Nir) 76 69 77 75, A Shakespear (Eng) 71 76 78 72,

298 C Elliot (Eng) 74 78 72 74, S Henderson (Sco) 76 73 74 75,

299 Y Ali (Eng) 76 75 75 73, M McAlpine (am) (Nir) 73 77 73 76,

300 J Need (Eng) 73 78 72 77, A Palmer (Eng) 73 74 73 80, L Harper (Sco) 74 74 78 74, B Fowles (Eng) 76 72 77 75, M Stewart (am) (Sco) 70 83 73 74,

301 D James (Eng) 79 76 71 75,

302 A Jones (Eng) 75 74 73 80,

303 A Evans (Eng) 72 74 80 77,

304 D Mooney (Nir) 72 77 77 78,

FLEESENSEE FINAL TOTALS

Par 288 (4x72)

275 C Lange (Den) 68 67 69 71,

278 M Larsson (Swe) 70 71 71 66, J Glennemo (Swe) 68 72 68 70, M Eliasson (Swe) 69 69 69 71,

279 J Ruth (Eng) 70 66 76 67, A Knappe (Ger) 71 73 67 68,

280 F McGuirk (Eng) 71 69 74 66,

281 P Mejow (Ger) 69 69 73 70, T Petersson (Swe) 69 73 67 72,

282 J Wahlqvist (Swe) 73 68 74 67, S Piaget (Mon) 72 69 69 72, A McLean (Sco) 71 70 69 72,

283 T Remkes (Ned) 68 74 73 68, B Miarka (Ger) 72 73 67 71,

284 T Dogil (Ger) 67 75 72 70, D Wuensche (Ger) 72 71 68 73, C Pfau (Aut) 73 69 69 73,

285 S Grant (Irl) 70 72 75 68, M Haremza (Ger) 73 73 70 69, R Svensson (Swe) 73 67 74 71, D Froreich (Ger) 73 67 73 72, D Lokke (Den) 69 73 70 73,

MISSED THE CUT

286 M Brenner (Ger) 73 72 72 69, F Fihn (Swe) 68 75 73 70, B Reiter (Aut) 75 70 70 71, D Küpper (Ger) 71 73 71 71, V Flatau (Swe) 72 70 71 73, J Lerchedahl (Den) 73 68 72 73,

287 R Hie (Ina) 73 72 70 72, B Wuttke (Ger) 66 72 77 72,

288 K Mortensen (Den) 74 75 70 69, M Johansson (Swe) 67 73 77 71, O Sigurdsson (Isl) 72 73 69 74,

289 C Schwierz (Ger) 68 71 79 71, A Johansson (Swe) 72 72 72 73, R Mattila (Fin) 70 72 71 76, A Kirstein (am) (Ger) 72 69 71 77,

290 W Barnes (Eng) 74 72 72 72, A Fischer (Ger) 71 67 77 75, F Christensen (Swe) 69 69 74 78,

291 M Salminen (Fin) 70 75 75 71, J Magnusson (Swe) 74 73 72 72, J Sheffield (Eng) 71 72 75 73, A Andersson (Swe) 68 72 75 76,

292 J Colomo (Esp) 75 72 72 73, L Bjerregaard (Den) 72 69 74 77, L Corfield (Eng) 72 73 69 78,

293 C Aronsen (Nor) 71 76 73 73, M Novy (Cze) 72 72 75 74, A Björk (Swe) 72 74 72 75, D Oakey (USA) 73 74 70 76, S Gross Jr (Ger) 71 77 67 78,

294 W Schauman (Swe) 79 71 71 73,

295 R Askstrand (Swe) 74 74 72 75, O Tubb (Can) 72 76 71 76, C Braunig (am) (Ger) 73 72 73 77,

299 H Lipsanen (Fin) 70 78 70 81,

301 J Ryba (Cze) 74 78 69 80

KNOX MAKES TWO-UNDER-PAR START TO NATIONWIDE TOUR EVENT

Florida-based Russell Knox from Inverness had a two-under-par 69 in the first round of this week's US Nationwide Tour event, the Soboba Classic at Country Club at Soboba Springs, San Jacinto, California.

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NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY PGA SCOTLAND

SANDY PIPEY YOUNG MASTERS AT ROYAL DORNOCH
After a one-year absence, the final Scottish PGA Order of Merit event of the season for Trainees and Young Professionals returns to Royal Dornoch, with the staging of the Sandy Pipey Young Masters tournament over the weekend.
Due to the lack of a sponsor, the event did not take place in 2010.
However, thanks to hard work by club officials, a new backer has stepped in to ensure that the tournament which has a history of over 20 years, has returned to the schedule.
Formerly known as the Royal Dornoch Masters, the tournament has now been re-named the “Sandy Pipey Young Masters” in memory of a well-known and popular local caddie, who passed away recently.
The event gets underway on Saturday with two pro-ams, one of which is being staged in conjunction with Clubgolf and enables six teams of local youngsters the opportunity to practice and play with a professional, before the more serious business of the 36 hole competition begins on Sunday.
Likely contenders for the top honour include Dunbar’s Neil Fenwick, runner-up in each of the three previous Young Professionals' Order of Merit tournaments in 2011, Graeme Brown from Montrose who will not be unfamiliar with the type of game required around a links course and Edinburgh’s Mark Kerr, who shot a remarkable 60 in winning the Aberdour Pro-Am earlier this year.
The prize-fund for the event is guaranteed to be a minimum of £6,000, but with Royal Dornoch holding a fund-raising raffle and auction following Saturday’s play this may increase further.

KEEGAN BRADLEY LEADS BY TWO IN FEDEXCUP FINALE

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE

ATLANTA (AP) -- Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner atop the leaderboard in Atlanta should sound familiar.
Only this is the FedExCup finale, not the final major of the year.
And they were on East Lake, not 40 minutes up the road at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Bradley, who won the US PGA Championship last month in a playoff over Dufner, ran off four birdies on the back nine Thursday for a 6-under 64 to build a two-shot lead in the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.
Dufner was surprisingly crooked off the tee, yet still managed a 66 and was tied for second along with Chez Reavie and Luke Donald, the No. 1 player in the world and one of five players in prime position to win the $10 million FedExCup bonus.
Bradley and Dufner will be in the last group Friday, and it was impossible to ignore the coincidence.
"Yeah, I don't think there's any big surprise," Bradley said. "He likes this grass, too. He likes these courses, and I hope I get to play with him tomorrow. I think that would be a lot of fun."
It would bring back great memories for Bradley, a 26-year-old rookie. Not so much for Dufner, who had a four-shot lead with three holes to play until he made three straight bogeys and wound up losing in a three-hole playoff.
"Maybe he's having some of the same feelings -- very comfortable on this type of golf course ... with the conditions maybe a little more severe at Atlanta Athletic Club off the tee," Dufner said. "But he's having a good day. Hopefully, we'll be paired tomorrow. That will be a little interesting, I guess. Maybe some thoughts here or there will come back and forth."
The TOUR Championship is more about memories, however.
Keegan Bradley (left), Jason Duffner (right)

Along with this being the end of the FedExCup, there's another cup on Bradley's mind. He is not a lock to be a captain's pick for the Presidents Cup, despite having won twice this year, including a major. U.S. captain Fred Couples has said he would consider the TOUR Championship as one last audition.
Bradley could not have asked for a better start.
He holed a bunker shot from across the green on his second hole to fire up the fans, most of whom now know his name.
After a sloppy three-putt bogey on the eighth, he hammered a 3-wood from 281 yards that rolled past the hole at No. 9 and set up a two-putt birdie, then really put it together on the back nine. He had a pair of short birdie putts, along with a two-putt birdie on the 15th and was feeling the good vibes from a month ago.
He is a long shot to win the FedExCup -- especially with Donald playing well -- but the Presidents Cup is right in front of him, and Bradley feels it.
"The cliche is to say that I'm not thinking about it, but literally probably every third hole -- or maybe even less -- it pops into my mind," Bradley said. "I really want to be on the team, but I want to earn my way onto the team, just like I'm going to have to. If the captain and assistant captains think I've done enough to get on the team, they're going to pick me.
"And if they don't, that's totally fair, too."
The conditions at East Lake were relatively tame until the final hour, when sprinkles turned to rain and even halted play with the final two groups not finished. Donald returned to play the 18th in a driving rain, and did well to escape with par from the bunker on the par-3 closing hole.
Charles Howell III, whose appearance at East Lake guarantees another trip back to Georgia in April for the Masters in his hometown, was at 67 along with Adam Scott, Hunter Mahan, Jason Day and Matt Kuchar.
The group at 68 included another batch of Presidents Cup hopefuls, from Aaron Baddeley on the International team to Bill Haas and Brandt Snedeker on the American side.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 70
Players from US unless stated
64 Keegan Bradley
66 Jason Duffner, Chez Reavie, Luke Donald (England).
67 Charles Howell III, Hunter Mahan, Adam Scott (Australia), Jason Day (Australia), Matt Kuchar.
Selected scores:
68 Phil Mickelson.
69 Justin Rose (England).

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