RICKIE FOWLER LEADS BY FOUR AFTER KOREA OPEN ROUND 3

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
CHEONAN, South Korea (AP) — Rickie Fowler shot an 8-under-par 63 today to take a four-stroke lead after the third round of the Korea Open as Rory McIlroy slipped down the field.

Fowler, the 2010 US PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, started the day in a five-way tie for the lead in a group that included McIlroy and defending champion YE Yang, before moving to a 13-under 200 total for the tournament.
Yang, playing in front of his home crowd, was in second after a 67, two strokes ahead of fellow South Korean Kim Meen-whee, who had a 66.
McIlroy struggled around the course to post a 73, leaving the U.S. Open champion 10 shots off the pace. A nightmare run of four bogies and one double bogey between the 9th and 16th holes all but rules out the prospect of the Northern Irishman improving on his third-place finish in 2009.
Fowler had no such problems as his eight birdies put him out of sight of the chasing pack.
"It's long been a dream of mine to win a professional title," Fowler said. "I want to take the opportunity that I have at the moment."
Yang, the only Asian to win a major, birdied six holes but bogies at the 3rd and 17th left the Korean with much to do on Sunday.
Bronson La'Cassie of Australia, also five under after two rounds, emulated McIlroy by shooting a 73.

LEE AND DOAK IN THE CHALLENGE TOUR HUNT IN FRANCE

                            CHRIS DOAK IN ACTION ... Image by Getty Images (c)

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT

By SARAH GWYNN

Scottish duo Craig Lee and Chris Doak are in contention for the Allianz Open de Lyon title after carding respective rounds of 69 and 65 in the third round on a cold, wet day at Golf du Gouverneur.
The pair are tied second, four shots off the lead held by Frenchman Julien Quesne, who had a four under par 67.
Lee, whose 64 in the opening round was the lowest of his Challenge Tour career, had an eagle, two birdies and a two bogeys to remain in the mix, but he was left to rue a dropped shot at the last hole.
“I feel disappointed because I got off to a great start,” said the 34 year old from Stirling. “I was three under after five, but then I came to the eighth and had a 20ft putt for eagle, missed it and missed the birdie putt as well. Then I bogeyed the ninth, so those two holes really took the wind out of my sails.
“I had a few opportunities on the back nine but couldn’t take any, then I had a silly bogey to finish. But it’s really tough out there. The rain has made the rough so hard to get out of, and because it’s so cold the ball is not flying as far.
“Julien has been playing some great golf so if he keeps it up tomorrow he’ll be hard to catch. But four shots is not many over 18 holes and anything can happen. I just need to start well again and get a bit of momentum going.”
Doak had birdies at the second, third and eighth, and then picked up further shots at the tenth, 13th and 16th, but bogeys at the 12th and 18th prevented him climbing further up the leaderboard.

“I’m playing nicely,” he said. “It was disappointing to finish with a bogey at the last – I chipped onto the green but missed the putt. That was the only bogey of the day, so it’s going well and I’m putting nicely.

“I haven’t played with Craig all year so it will be fun if we are in the same group for the last round.”

THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71)

200 J Quesne  (Fra) 66 67 67

204 C Lee (Sco) 64 71 69, C Doak (Sco) 70 68 66, P Relecom  (Bel) 66 70 68

205 F Colombo (Ita) 67 67 71, V Riu  (Fra) 68 70 67, A Tadini (Ita) 68 68 69

206 K Eriksson (Swe) 69 66 71

207 D Vancsik (Arg) 68 69 70, A Perrino  (Ita) 68 68 71, A Levy (Fra) 67 72 68, R Hjelm (Den) 69 67 71, M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) 68 69 70, A Bernadet  (Fra) 70 67 70, R Eyraud (Fra) 70 71 66, G Stal (am) (Fra) 69 65 73

208 J Guerrier  (Fra) 68 70 70, S Walker (Eng) 69 71 68, F Delamontagne  (Fra) 68 68 72, M Erlandsson (Swe) 67 71 70

209 M Southgate  (Eng) 67 72 70, D Brooks (Eng) 65 73 71, G Cambis  (Fra) 67 68 74, A Ahokas (Fin) 66 70 73, K Borsheim  (Nor) 69 69 71, R Santos  (Por) 70 69 70, A Hartø  (Den) 67 70 72, M Delpodio  (Ita) 70 70 69, P Edberg (Swe) 66 74 69, M Lundberg (Swe) 69 69 71

210 J Heath  (Eng) 72 70 68, B Grace  (RSA) 65 73 72, J Billot (Fra) 69 73 68, J Remesy (Fra) 71 68 71, E Kofstad (Nor) 70 68 72, M Bothma (RSA) 72 68 70, N Joakimides (Fra) 68 72 70, N Meitinger  (Ger) 72 65 73, B Evans  (Eng) 70 71 69

211 L Kennedy  (Eng) 69 68 74, J McLeary  (Sco) 69 71 71, B Ritthammer (Ger) 69 73 69, G Houston (Wal) 70 72 69, A Domingo (Esp) 71 68 72, J Garcia  (Esp) 68 74 69, M Cryer (Eng) 72 66 73, B Chapellan (Fra) 66 70 75

212 P Del Grosso  (Arg) 70 67 75, A Forsyth (Sco) 69 69 74, A Johnston (Eng) 70 72 70, S Little (Eng) 71 71 70, T Whitehouse  (Eng) 72 69 71, C Lloyd (Eng) 71 71 70, E Espana (am) (Fra) 71 68 73

213 P Dwyer (Eng) 69 70 74, R Russell (Sco) 70 70 73, W Besseling  (Ned) 68 71 74, S Bebb (Wal) 69 73 71,

214 D Nouailhac (Fra) 70 72 72, F Praegant (Aut) 66 73 75, R Kind (Ned) 68 71 75, A Bossert (Sui) 73 67 74, P Archer (Eng) 68 71 75, S Tiley (Eng) 68 74 72, C Macaulay  (Sco) 67 74 73, L Jensen (Den) 73 68 73,

215 K Le Sager  (Fra) 72 70 73, C Ford (Eng) 70 71 74,

216 T Fournier  (Fra) 73 68 75, S Hutsby  (Eng) 69 73 74, M Baldwin (Eng) 72 70 74,

220 P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 72 78,

LEE SLATTERY LEADS BY TWO AFTER ROUND 3 IN MADRID MASTERS

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Lee Slattery holds a two-shot lead going into the final round of the Bankia Madrid Masters after the player from Southport, Lancashire produced a solid third round at El Encin Golf Hotel today.
One stroke ahead at the halfway stage, Slattery was passed by home favourite Eduardo De La Riva and Italians Francesco Molinari and Lorenzo Gagli on the front nine, but kept calm to record a bogey free 69.
That took him to 14 under par 202 for the week, and with his nearest challengers unable to maintain blemish-free cards, allowed the Challenge Tour graduate to double his advantage.

MORE SUMMARY LATER

EUROPEAN TOUR SCOREBOARD

BANKIA MADRID MASTERS
El Encin Golf Hotel

THIRD ROUND LEADERS
Par 216 (3x72)
202 Lee Slattery (England) 67 66 69.
204 Brett Rumford (Australia) 65 71 68, Lorenzo Gagli (Italy) 65 70 69.
205 Cesar Monasterio (Argentina) 68 70 67, Oscar Floren (Sweden) 69 69 67, Francsco Molinari (Italy) 67 67 71.
206 Eduardo de la Riva (Spain) 67 67 72.
207 Thomas Aiken (S Africa) 71 69 67, Alvaro Quiros (Spain) 67 72 68.
208 Benjamin Herbert (France) 69 72 67, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain) 65 75 68, Luke Donald (England) 68 70 70.
209 Richard McEvoy (England) 69 71 69, Edoardo Molinari (Italy) 66 73 70, Tano Goya (Argentina) 67 70 72.

SCOTS' SCORES
212 Marc Warren 72 68 72 (T28).
213 Richie Ramsay 68 74 71 (T38).
214 Steven O'Hara 71 72 71, George Murray 69 74 71, Lloyd Saltman 73 69 72 (T46).
216 David Drysdale 68 75 73 (T56).
217 Paul Lawrie 72 71 74 (T60).

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

CLICK HERE

OPTICAL EXPRESS PRO GOLF TOUR 2011 - FINAL MONEY TABLE

"Q" denotes qualified for Tour Championship in Son Gual. All players who have played a minimum of 3 events

1. Paul McKechnie Braid Hills £5,377.50 Q
2. Graeme Brown Montrose £3,202.50 Q
3. Neil Fenwick Dunbar £2,865.00 Q
4. Paul O’Hara Colville Park £2,819.28 Q
5. David Orr East Renfrew £2,270.00 Q
6. Chris Currie Caldwell £1,725.00 Q
7. Alan Lockhart Ladybank £1,658.05 Q
8. Greig Hutcheon Banchory £1,573.33 Q
9. Graham Fox Rowallan Castle £1449.99 Q
10. James McGhee Duddingston £1,385.00 Q
11. Paul Wardell Whitekirk £1,154.28 Q
12. Craig Matheson Falkirk £1,124.99 Q
13. John Gallagher Swanston £1,050.00 Q
14. Lindsay Mann Carnoustie Links £1,021.37 Q
15. Shaun McCallister Craigielaw £1,005.41 NO
16. Lorne Kelly Pro Dream USA £992.21 Q
17. John Henry Clydebank and District £917.50 Q
18. David Roger Windyhill £860.54 Q
19. Steven Duncan Carnoustie £824.16 Q
20. Mark Loftus Adam Hunter Golf £804.29 Q
21. Kevin McAlpine Alyth £715.50 Q
22. Jason McCreadie Buchanan Castle £705.94 Q
23. David Roger Windyhill £680.54 Q
24. Scott Herald Mearns Castle £648.46 Q
25. Chris Kelly Cawder £648.00 NO
26. Mark Kerr Murrayfield £641.25 Q
------------------ DID NOT QUALIFY ---------------
27. Ian Redford St Andrews New £585.00
28. Eric Ramsay Carnoustie £540.00
29. Robert Arnott Bishopbriggs DR £511.33
30. Craig Ronald Carluke £499.28
31. Ben Irving The Pines £492.62
32. Ronan Rafferty The Roxburghe £483.33
33. Graham Rankin Drumpellier £410.00
34. Jamie Carver Unattached £403.33
35. Campbell Elliott Haggs Castle £367.21
36. Colin Gillies Kingsfield £340.00
37. Corisande Lee West Lancs £335.00
38. Keir McNicoll Carnoustie £303.00
39. Malcolm Isaacs Nairn Dunbar £290.00
40. Steven Mackie Dunniker Park £280.00
41. Carl Thompson Pikefold £273.75
42. Scott Henderson Kings Links £255.55
43. Martin Lawrence Newmachar £254.28
43. Scott Pithie Carluke £254.28
45. Katy McNicoll Carnoustie £246.79

GRAEME BROWN WINS £1,500 PRIZE AT OPTICAL EXPRESS FINALE

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE OPTICAL EXPRESS PRO GOLF TOUR

The final event for this year on the Optical Express Pro Golf Tour came to a climax yesterday at Irvine Bogside in Ayrshire. The tournament was reduced to a one-round shoot-out as high winds, torrential rain and thunder and lighting took its toll on day one and play was abandoned.

Montrose's Graeme Brown took home the £1,500 first prize with a 3 under par 68 to win by 2 shots from Dunbar's Neil Fenwick. The 31-year-old Brown carded five birdies (3, 4, 6, 7 and 10th) and two bogeys, at the tough par 4 ninth, and 12th. The win took Brown, pictured, to second spot on the money list which was won by Braid Hills, Paul McKechnie.

Peter Latimer was leading amateur with a level par 71 which was all the more impressive after a triple bogey 7 at the first hole.
The leading 24 players will now go to the end of season Tour Championship in Son Gual Mallorca, and will compete for a prize fund of £10,000.
ALAN TAIT

w: www.opticalexpress.com

fb: www.facebook.com/opticalexpressPGT2011

The all important Leaderboard and confirmation of the Top 24 players, who will be invited to play for a guaranteed prize fund of £10,000 at the International Grand Final at Son Gual will be announced tomorrow.

FINAL TOTALS AT IRVINE BOGSIDE

1 Graeme Brown 68 £1,500
2 Neil Fenwick 70 £900
T3 Chris Currie 71 £700
T3 Peter Latimer (AM) 71 £150 voucher
T5 Craig Matheson 72 £483.33
T5 Graham Fox 72 £483.33
T5 Ronan Rafferty 72 483.33
T8 Paul Wardell 73 £254.28
T8 Martin Lawrence 73 £254.28
T8 Jason McCreadie 73 £254.28
T8 Scott Pithie 73 £254.28
T8 Craig Ronald 73 £254.28
T8 Paul O'Hara 73 £254.28
T8 Nigel Scott-Smith 73 £254.28
T15 David Roger 74 £180.00
T15 Neil Colquhoun 74 £180.00
T15 Greig Hutcheon 74 £180.00
T18 Alan Tait 75 £125.55
T18 Fraser Mann 75 £125.55
T18 Scott Herald 75 £125.55
T18 Alan Lockhart 75 £125.55
T18 Campbell Elliott 75 £125.55
T18 Paul Gallacher 75 £125.55
T18 Lorne Kelly 75 £125.55
T18 Scott Henderson 75 £125.55
T18 Jim McKinnon 75 £125.55
27 James Steven (AM) 76 £50 voucher
T28 Graham Rankin 77
T28 Carl Thompson 77
T28 Stewart Savage 77
T28 Fraser Grant (AM) 77
T28 Jamie Savage (AM) 77
T33 Ben Irving 78
T33 Tim Rich 78
T33 Chris Hogg 78
T33 Kevin McAlpine 78
T37 John Henry 80
T37 Corisande Lee 80
T37 Michael Patterson 80
T40 Scott Garrett 81
T40 Cameron Tortolano 81
T40 Steve Johnson 81
T40 Ted Innes Ker 81
T44 Vincent Brown 85

T44 Sam Binning (AM) 85

46 Graham Forbes 86

e: enquiries@opticalexpressPGT.com

w: www.opticalexpress.com

SIMPSON WILL HAVE A SHOT AT TOPPLING DONALD ON US LIST

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Georgia (AP) — Webb Simpson plans to play the McGladrey Classic next week, giving him a shot at replacing Luke Donald atop the US PGA Tour money list.
Donald is trying to become the first player to win money titles on the US PGA Tour and European Tour in the same year. When the FedEx Cup ended, Donald was No. 1 on the list by $68,971 over Simpson.
Simpson's agent, Thomas Parker, said Simpson planned to play at Sea Island next week and that he would decide later whether to play the season-ending tournament at Disney.
Donald has a large lead in the money list in Europe. He could add Disney if he wanted, although his wife is expecting their second child.

MICHAEL ALLEN GOES THREE SHOTS CLEAR ON US SENIORS TOUR

FROM THE US CHAMPIONS (Seniors) TOUR WEBSITE
THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) -- Michael Allen shot a 9-under 63 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead over John Cook after the first round of the Champions Tour's Insperity Championship.
Allen, the 2009 Senior US PGA Championship winner, had nine birdies in his bogey-free round at The Woodlands Country Club. Cook, the 2008 champion and a three-time winner this year, also had a bogey-free round.
"I don't think you ever think you'll go out and shoot 63, 9 under," Allen said. "I was in a good frame of mind, just playing the shots.
"Overall, it's been a fairly consistent year," Allen said. "It's been a little frustrating that I haven't won. My main goal I wanted to come out here and play two weeks in Texas and see if I can get this first win under my belt. I'd like to get out with another one of these and bury these guys. We'll see what happens."
Schwab Cup points leader Tom Lehman and Mark Calcavecchia opened with 67s, and defending champion Fred Couples was another stroke back along with Tommy Armour III and Eduardo Romero.
Allen began play on No. 10, and made birdie putts of 12 feet on No. 11, 20 feet on No. 13 and 12 feet on No. 15. He took the lead for good when he hit a 4-iron to 3 feet to set up a birdie on No. 6 that got him to 8 under. He holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole to extend the lead.
Two-time winner Bernhard Langer was 7 under after 16 holes, but hit into the water on No. 17 en route to a double bogey and followed that with another double bogey on 18 for a 69.
The German star won the 2007 event at Augusta Pines and successfully defended his title in 2008 at The Woodlands. He shot a tournament-record 62 in the opening round of his 2007 victory.
Couples opened with an eagle on the par-5 first and was 4 under after 12 holes. He made a double bogey on the par-5 15th, then birdied Nos. 16 and 17.
Lehman, a three-time winner this year, has a 398-point lead over Calcavecchia in the Schwab Cup standings with three events left.
Allen was two strokes off the best round of his Champions Tour career, a 61 in the third round of the 2010 Schwab Cup Championship.
"I just kind of played the shots I had," Allen said. "I was obviously playing them quite well and when I got the 10-footers I was making them with no problem today. That was nice. I don't think I did anything I don't always try to do."

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

JOHN MALLINGER HALFWAY LEADER AT BLACK CREEK MOUNTAIN

FROM THE US NATIONWIDE TOUR WEBSITE
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee -- John Mallinger shot a 7-under 65 Friday and grabbed the 36-hole lead at the Children's Hospital Classic in Chattanooga. Mallinger's 13-under 131 total is one better than former Navy Lieutenant Billy Hurley III, who kept pace with his own 65 at Black Creek Mountain and former champion Justin Bolli (67).
Monday qualifier Brice Garnett (68) is two shots back while Aaron Watkins (65), first-round leader Nicholas Thompson (71), Brett Wetterich (68) and 2006 champion Kyle Reifers (67) are tied for fifth place, three off the pace.
Mallinger has been on a hot streak on the Nationwide Tour after struggling all season on the US PGA Tour. The former Long Beach State standout missed the cut in his first five starts to begin the 2011 campaign. He made six of nine after that but he still missed out on the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup when they began in late August.
"I like to keep playing and I think that's why it was so hard for me this year. Because of my conditional status I didn't know when I was getting in," he said. "The tournaments were so spread out that I couldn't get a rhythm going."
He's in perfect sync after returning to the Nationwide Tour where he cut his teeth in 2005-06. While his cohorts were battling in the first Playoff event in New Jersey, Mallinger finished tied for third at the News Sentinel Open in Knoxville after holding the second-round lead.
He added consecutive runner-up finishes in Pittsburgh and Boise before a T6 two weeks ago in California.
"I knew I was playing well and wanted to keep going," he said of his decision to play Nationwide Tour events. "Here I am sitting 11th on the money list six weeks later."
The biggest reasons for his sudden surge are putting and confidence. Or confidence and putting.
"I think it's just believing in myself a little more. I'm obviously holing a lot more putts, that's a big key," he said. "You just have confidence when you get over the ball. You're not thinking about anything but making the putt. That feeling doesn't come too often and you have to take advantage of it when it does."
It certainly helps your chances to make a few putts when you have as many chances as he's had. Mallinger's missed only one green in two days.
"You get momentum going and get some confidence and you can start hitting the flag more," he added. "I have a better chance of holing the putt even if I do miss the green."
Confidence is also high for Hurley, who has been making steady progress during his first full season as a professional. The Annapolis graduate has inched his way to No. 23 on the money list by making nine of his last 10 cuts but is trying not to think about the pressure that is building as the season winds down and The 25 leading money winners gain US PGA Tour status for 2012.
"It's the unspoken thing that's out there. It's the big elephant in the room," he said. "It just is what it is. The only thing you can do anything about is the golf shot you've got in front of you."
Hurley knows that if he can play well down the stretch, things will take care of themselves.
"I don't need any help from anybody else," he said. "I don't need the right people to finish in the right places. I just need to play solid golf and it will be fine."
He was solid on Friday, hitting all 18 greens and cashing in on five birdies and rolling in a 35-footer for eagle.
"You shoot 7-under and hate to say you hit some putts that could have gone in, but I did," he said. "On greens like this I feel I should make -- everything might be a bad word -- but I feel like I should make a lot of putts. For whatever reason I see these greens really well. I just see where it's supposed to go."
Second-Round Notes
* A total of 76 players made the 36-hole cut, which came at 4-under 140. They included England's Greg Owen but he slipped down from T6 to T35 with a 72 for 138. Compatriot Matthew Richardson failed to make it despite a two-under-par tally of 142 (72-70) - that's how high the standard of play is on the Nationwide Tour. Scotland's Russell Knox was not in the field this week. 
* Second-round leader Mallinger has posted five consecutive top-10 finishes, one shy of the Nationwide Tour's all-time record.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE