TIGER WOODS' RESPECTABLE FINISH, PAUL CASEY'S BUMMER

Tiger Woods finished with three 68s on the trot after his opening round of 73 in the Frys.com Open at CordeValle GC, San Martin California.
Not good enough to win but Tiger's total was a respectable seven-under-par 277.
Paul Casey blew his victory prospects with a double bogey 6 at the sixth; another 6 at the long ninth and a 5 at the par-4 13th. He also birdied the fifth and 12th but overall he dropped two shots and slid down to T19 with a few holes to play.
Who won ... you'll have to join us again about breakfast time for the full story.

QUESNE HOLDS ON TO TAKE CHALLENGE TOUR EVENT TITLE

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT
By SARAH GWYNN
Julien Quesne sealed the second Challenge Tour win of his career after a nerveless three under par 68 in the final round of the Allianz Open de Lyon.
At 16 under overall, the Frenchman won by two shots from Belgian Pierre Relecom, who had a flawless 66, and with two events of the season remaining, the €24,000 first prize guarantees him a place in the top 20 of the Rankings who earn a European Tour card for 2012.
A seven under par 64 gave Frenchman Michael Lorenzo-Vera third place, one shot ahead of Scotland’s Chris Doak in fourth.
At one stage Lorenzo-Vera was closing in on Quesne, who had birdies at the third, sixth and eighth against a bogey at the fifth to remain ahead at the turn at Golf du Gouverneur. He then added a timely birdie at the 12th to remain ahead, and all but sealed the win with another birdie at the 15th.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said the 31 year old, who is the seventh French champion of the 2011 Challenge Tour season. “I am delighted. For 18 holes I fought and fought, and Pierre was playing so well I knew I had to keep my concentration. When I made the birdie on the 15th I relaxed a little, and after another birdie at the 17th I knew the trophy was mine.
“It is very exciting that I’ll be playing on The European Tour next year. I cannot wait. But before that there are two events left and my target is to finish in the top five. Playing like this I think it is possible.”
Relecom continued his fine form, having finished third in last week’s Fred Olsen Challenge de España, to record his best Challenge Tour finish to date.
“It is great to go one better than last week and I’m very happy with how I’ve played again,” said Relecom. “I can’t ask for more than a bogey-free round of 66 on the last day, but it wasn’t quite good enough to catch Julien.
“He played really well – every time I made a birdie he made one too. I’m very pleased for him and he deserves this victory.
“The turning point was probably on the 15th, when I had a putt for eagle and he was short right of the green with a tricky chip. My putt missed by less than an inch, and then Julien holed a long putt for birdie to keep the scores the same. That hole was like double points.”
Lorenzo-Vera, the 2007 Challenge Tour Rankings winner, was seven under through 12 holes after flying out of the blocks, but he ran out of steam after his last birdie at the 13th, which was followed by a bogey and four pars.
“I wasn’t nervous all day during the round and I wasn’t nervous waiting to see if Julien dropped any shots in the last few holes,” he said. “I was just trying to stay relaxed and have fun and not look at any leaderboards. It’s a lot easier if you don’t look to see what everyone else is doing.
“It was a fantastic start and just down to good putting. It was a joke – I couldn’t miss. The only disappointing thing is that I was level par on the par fives, but the rest was great and overall I’m very happy to finish the tournament like this.”
FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71)
268 J Quesne (Fra) 66 67 67 68,
270 P Relecom (Bel) 66 70 68 66,
271 M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 68 69 70 64,
272 C Doak (Sco) 70 68 66 68,
273 A Bernadet (Fra) 70 67 70 66, M Lundberg (Swe) 69 69 71 64, C Lee (Sco) 64 71 69 69,
274 F Colombo (Ita) 67 67 71 69, M Southgate (Eng) 67 72 70 65, V Riu (Fra) 68 70 67 69,
275 K Borsheim (Nor) 69 69 71 66, K Eriksson (Swe) 69 66 71 69, E Kofstad (Nor) 70 68 72 65, R Hjelm (Den) 69 67 71 68,
276 D Brooks (Eng) 65 73 71 67, R Eyraud (Fra) 70 71 66 69, G Stal (am) (Fra) 69 65 73 69
277 B Grace (RSA) 65 73 72 67, M Erlandsson (Swe) 67 71 70 69, A Tadini (Ita) 68 68 69 72, J McLeary (Sco) 69 71 71 66, J Heath (Eng) 72 70 68 67, C Lloyd (Eng) 71 71 70 65,
278 L Kennedy (Eng) 69 68 74 67, L Jensen (Den) 73 68 73 64, A Johnston (Eng) 70 72 70 66, M Delpodio (Ita) 70 70 69 69, A Hartø (Den) 67 70 72 69, A Levy (Fra) 67 72 68 71,
279 S Walker (Eng) 69 71 68 71, R Santos (Por) 70 69 70 70, A Ahokas (Fin) 66 70 73 70,
280 J Guerrier (Fra) 68 70 70 72, F Delamontagne (Fra) 68 68 72 72, B Evans (Eng) 70 71 69 70,
281 S Bebb (Wal) 69 73 71 68, R Russell (Sco) 70 70 73 68, S Little (Eng) 71 71 70 69
282 C Macaulay (Sco) 67 74 73 68, P Archer (Eng) 68 71 75 68, G Cambis (Fra) 67 68 74 73, J Remesy (Fra) 71 68 71 72, D Vancsik (Arg) 68 69 70 75,
283 N Meitinger (Ger) 72 65 73 73, A Domingo (Esp) 71 68 72 72, S Tiley (Eng) 68 74 72 69, N Joakimides (Fra) 68 72 70 73, A Bossert (Sui) 73 67 74 69, A Perrino (Ita) 68 68 71 76, W Besseling (Ned) 68 71 74 70, G Houston (Wal) 70 72 69 72,
284 T Whitehouse (Eng) 72 69 71 72, P Edberg (Swe) 66 74 69 75, F Praegant (Aut) 66 73 75 70, J Billot (Fra) 69 73 68 74, B Ritthammer (Ger) 69 73 69 73, A Forsyth (Sco) 69 69 74 72, E Espana (am) (Fra) 71 68 73 72,
285 D Nouailhac (Fra) 70 72 72 71, S Hutsby (Eng) 69 73 74 69, P Del Grosso (Arg) 70 67 75 73, M Bothma (RSA) 72 68 70 75, P Dwyer (Eng) 69 70 74 72,
286 R Kind (Ned) 68 71 75 72,
287 K Le Sager (Fra) 72 70 73 72, B Chapellan (Fra) 66 70 75 76,
288 M Baldwin (Eng) 72 70 74 72, T Fournier (Fra) 73 68 75 72,
290 C Ford (Eng) 70 71 74 75,
292 P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 72 78 72,

SLATTERY ALMOST DOES A JEAN VAN DE VELDE AT MADRID 18TH

FOUR BIRDIES IN FIVE HOLES PAVE
WAY FOR LANCASHIRE LAD'S FIRST
WIN ON EUROPEAN TOUR

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Southport's Lee Slattery survived a shaky start and a nerve-shredding final hole to capture his first European Tour title at the Bankia Madrid Masters today.
Two clear at the start of the final round, the 33-year-old Lancashire lad bogeyed two of his first five holes at El Encin Golf Hotel.
That allowed Argentine veteran Cesar Monasterio and Italian Lorenzo Gagli to seize the initiative, before Slattery regained control with four birdies in five holes from the 11th – a 25 foot putt at the 14th and an approach to within a foot at the next the highlights.
Three clear with three to play, Slattery looked in complete control as he parred the 16th and 17th – but there was still plenty of drama to come.
He hit his second on the par five last into a bunker, and then pushed his approach into the water to the right of the green.
At that stage The Challenge Tour graduate was rekindling memories of Jean Van De Velde’s infamous closing hole in The 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie.
But a decent chip left him with two putts from ten feet, and he holed a two footer to secure a one shot win over Gagli.
Despite his double-bogey 7 at the last, Slattery’s 71 gave him a 15 under par total in the Spanish capital.
“I’ve never shaken so much in my life,” he said. “I just stood over that putt and the hole looked tiny. I was strangling that putter because that one putt is a life changing putt.
“I come from a normal working class background. My mum and dad have done everything they can for us and I got kind of emotional walking down the last - I know how much it`s going to mean for them.
“I struggled for a time and had to work in a clothes shop. To come back the year after and win The Challenge Tour was a great feeling.
“Working in that shop actually helped me, it certainly grounded me and made me realise I don’t want to do that.
“I also did some modelling for Galvin Green I actually got more exposure out of that than from any sponsor I’ve ever had, so they’ve been fantastic.”
The victory was all the sweeter for a player who lost his card by just €77 in 2007 and had to return to The Challenge Tour last year after again slipping out of the top 115 in 2009.
“It means absolutely everything to me,” he added. “I remember when I got my Tour card for the first time and my Dad said to me ‘You haven’t made it yet, you’ve got to win an event’ and he’s kind of right.
“The belief I’ve got now after winning is tremendous and I want to win more.”
The 25 year old Gagli has been enjoying an excellent season on The European Tour, with four top-five finishes taking him to 49th on The Race to Dubai.
That good form continued with a two under par 70 which included three birdies, the best of them coming with a 25 foot putt at the fourth.
“I’m very happy,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve led during the final round of a tournament. It’s the best score of my career and I’m very happy with my attitude on the course and how I controlled my emotions.”
Former St Omer winner Monasterio and home favourite Eduardo De La Riva were tied for third on 12 under, as the top four all recorded their best European Tour results of the season.
The 47 year old Monasterio looked to be mounting a real charge as he turned in 32, but three bogeys on the back nine – including the 17th and 18th – cost him the chance of victory.
Tournament host Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño made a brilliant eagle at the 11th thanks to a marvellous second shot to five feet as he signed for a 71 and share of sixth, while World Number One and defending champion Luke Donald finished with a level par 72 to be tied for 11th.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72). Prizemoney in Euros
273 Lee Slattery (England) 67 66 69 71 (166,660).
274 Lorenzo Gagli (Italy) 65 70 69 70 (111,110).
276 Eduardo De La Riva (Spain) 67 67 72 70, Cesar Monasterio (Argentinia) 68 70 67 71 (56,300 each).
278 Thomas Aiken (S Africa) 71 69 67 71 (42,400)

SCOTTISH TOTALS
283 George Murray 69 74 71 69, Marc Warren 72 68 72 71 (T18) (11,220 each).
285 David Drysdale 68 75 73 69 (T30 ) (8,043).
287 Richie Ramsay 68 74 71 74 (T42) (5,700).
290 Lloyd Saltman 73 69 72 76 (T55) (3,225).
291 Paul Lawrie 72 71 74 74, Steven O'Hara 71 72 71 77 (T59) (2,800 each).

McILROY SIGNS OFF WITH A 64 TO FINISH SECOND BEHIND FOWLER

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Rory McIlroy shot a best-of-the-day 64 to finish second to runaway winner Rickie Fowler at the Kolon Korea Open at the South Korean capital city of Seoul.
The US Open Champion from Holywood, Belfast had held a share of the halfway lead before a third round 73 saw him slip ten behind Ryder Cup opponent Fowler.But the 22 year old McIlroy fought back well on Sunday to finish six behind Fowler, who closed out with a 68 for a 16 under par total.
Former US PGA Championship winner Y E Yang was fourth on five under after a final round 75.
For World Number 36 Fowler it was a first career victory, achieved despite finishing with back-to-back bogeys.
McIlroy produced a fourth round rally after playing his final 11 holes in seven under par, but the World Number Three was forced to settle for a second consecutive runner-up finish.
“It was a lot of fun. I played well early on in the final round and then I was comfortable over the last few holes. Overall, I enjoyed the whole week,” said Fowler.
"It feels great to have the first win. I played well all week, although I did have to hang in on Friday and post a score. But on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday I had good control of my ball, I drove well, and I made some putts.”
McIlroy, meanwhile, followed up his second place finish at last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after also posting back-to-back third placed finishes in his previous two events.
“It was a nice way to finish, but all the damage was done during the third round with a couple of bad holes in the middle of the round,” said McIlroy, who dropped six shots in eight holes around the turn on Saturday after opening rounds of 68 and 69.
“Looking back on this week, I will rue my third round, which could have been a lot better. If I had played a little better and shot a few under I might have had a chance, but Rickie has played fantastic this week and he deserves the win.”

FAXON FAVOURITE FOR FIRST WIN ON US SENIORS' TOUR

FROM THE US CHAMPIONS TOUR WEBSITE
THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) -- Brad Faxon moved into position for his first Champions Tour title, shooting a 7-under 65 in windy conditions Saturday to take a one-stroke lead in the Insperity Championship.
Faxon, an eight-time winner on the US PGA Tour who turned 50 on Aug. 1, had a bogey-free round to reach 10-under 134 at The Woodlands Country Club. Tommy Armour III, celebrating his 52nd birthday, was second after a 67. He also is winless on the 50-and-over tour.
Eduardo Romero (68) was two strokes back. Jay Haas (68), Olin Browne (68) and Schwab Cup points leader Tom Lehman (70) were 7 under, and defending champion Fred Couples was 4 under after a 72.
Faxon felt good after his third birdie to start the round.
"Hitting a 20-footer; that's a good start," Faxon said. "I just tried to stay patient and I did a nice job today, picking out a target and making a quality shot."
Faxon didn't get the lead until No. 17. He hit a 7-iron to 6 feet to set up at birdie.
"That was a big swing there, Eduardo had the lead," Faxon said. "I couldn't have asked for a better place to putt."
John Cook, a three-time winner this year, started the day three shots behind first day leader Michael Allen. Cook moved to 10 under for the tournament with a birdie on No. 7, but followed that with a double bogey on the next hole. He also double bogeyed No. 17 and finished at 4 under after a 74.
Allen had a triple bogey on the 158-yard third hole that is bordered by water on the approach. Allen had two other bogeys and a double bogey for a second-round 79.
Couples eagled the par-5 first hole for the second straight day.
Faxon reached 9 under with his birdie on No. 14.
"That was probably my best shot of the day, a 4-iron 185 yards into the wind," he said.
Faxon had an opening 69 and felt good beginning the second round.
"I played a pretty nice round yesterday, maybe a few bogeys," Faxon said. "Three under par was a pretty good score. I just did a good job of staying calm, in the moment, trying to enjoy myself. I haven't done that in a while.
"I can go out and shoot 90 tomorrow but my head is in the right place that I can accept stuff a lot better than I have. I'm in such a better place than I have been."

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MALLINGER IS NOT HANGING AROUND - NATIONWIDE TOUR LEADER

FROM THE US NATIONWIDE TOUR WEBSITE
By Joe Chemycz, Nationwide Tour staff
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee -- John Mallinger continued his near-perfect week in Chattanooga by firing a 7-under 65 in Saturday's third round of the Children's Hospital Classic and took a two-stroke lead over playing partner Billy Hurley (66).
Mallinger hit all 18 greens in regulation for the second time in three days and moved one step closer to his elusive first Nationwide Tour win. His 20-under 196 total is two ahead of Hurley and three better than Monday qualifier Brice Garnett (66).
Argentina's Miguel Carballo (66) is four back, while Australian Peter Lonard (64) and 2004 champion Justin Bolli (69) are five off the lead.
Reigning NCAA Individual Champion John Peterson of LSU, who is making his professional debut this week, shot a 10-under 62 to get to 14-under par, where he is tied for seventh with Matt Every (66) and Aaron Goldberg (67).
Peterson made the cut on the number and was in the first pairing off the tee early Saturday morning. When he finished his round, Peterson was in first place and Mallinger, the second-round leader, was more than two hours away from his afternoon starting time.
"I turned on the Internet and saw somebody was at 10-under but that was about it," said Mallinger about checking early scores. "Everyone's going to shoot between three and six-under out here on average."
Mallinger has been anything but average for the first three days. He has hit 53 of 54 greens in regulation and his only miss on Friday resulted in his only bogey of the week.
"I played solid today but I think yesterday was better," he said. "I hit a couple of squirrelly ones today and got away with it."
Mallinger's biggest nemesis this week is the front nine, where he has made six pars on the two par-5 holes, Nos. 4 and 6, two of the three easiest holes on the Black Creek Mountain course.
"I don't know what's going on. My main goal tomorrow is to hit six fairway," he said after missing it for the third consecutive day. "Two right, one in the bunker. That's the only one that's been bugging me."
The 32-year old Californian hasn't been bothered by much ever since he missed out on the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup on the US PGA Tour at the end of August. He has finished T3, 2nd, 2nd and T6 in his four starts and has risen to No. 11 on the money list despite playing only six events.
"I have been in this position for the past several weeks," he said. "I just have to stay patient and keep doing what I'm doing. There could be some movement tomorrow so I've still got to go out there and fire at pins."
Third-Round Notes
• This is the first time that John Mallinger has held the outright lead after 54 holes in a Nationwide Tour event. He shared the third-round lead with Kevin Kisner and Gary Christian last month at the Mylan Classic near Pittsburgh, where he finished second by one stroke to Christian.
• Sunday's winner will collect a check for $90,000 from the $500,000 purse. Mallinger is currently No. 11 on the money list with $212,331 and a win could boost him as high as No. 4.
• The last Monday qualifier to win on the Nationwide Tour was Ted Potter Jr., at the South Georgia Classic earlier this year.
• There have been 20 Monday qualifiers who have won on Tour since 1990, including Kyle Reifers, who won this event in 2006 shortly after turning professional following his graduation from Wake Forest University.
• Daniel Chopra had eagles on the par-5, 6th and 14th holes today. Chopra shot a 7-under 65.
• Notah Begay (70) birdied five of his first six holes today. Bubba Dickerson (69) birdied five of his final six holes today.

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ANOTHER 68 AS TIGER WOODS CONTINUES TO IMPROVE .. SLOWLY

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
By Cameron Morfit, Senior Writer, GOLF Magazine
SAN MARTIN, California — Tiger Woods barely missed chipping in for birdie on the 14th hole, came within a hair of rolling in his long eagle putt on 15, lipped out his birdie chip on 16, and left his long birdie putt a half a rotation short on 17.
Woods was mostly dialed in for the third round of the Frys.com Open at CordeValle, but after his ball refused to drop on his front nine — the course's back nine on the scorecard — and he made a few glaring mistakes on his back nine, he signed for his second straight 68.
"The golf course could have been had today," Woods said.
Alas, he didn't do the having. At four under for the tournament, he'll almost certainly be too far back for a shot at the trophy Sunday. Because 53 players had to return to complete their second round at 7:30 Saturday morning, pushing back the start of the third round, officials sent players off both tees in threesomes.
Woods played with Louis Oosthuizen (71) for the third straight day, and they were joined by Matt Bettencourt (74). The three played behind the lead group of Paul Casey, Ernie Els and Bud Cauley once those three teed off at 3:25 p.m. Eastern.
With birdies on the first and second holes, his 10th and 11th of the day, Woods pulled to within three of the lead, but it wouldn't last. He made a mess of the two par-3s on the front nine, and when Els rolled in a four-foot, seven-inch eagle putt on the par-5 ninth — just ahead of the Woods threesome — Tiger was eight behind.
Woods birdied the hole, reaching the green in two shots and two-putting, and was six behind the leader Els after the big South African bogeyed the 10th. Woods was far from perfect in pursuit of his first PGA Tour title in more than two years, but he looked better Saturday than he did Friday, just as he'd looked better Friday than he'd looked Thursday.
"Absolutely it's gotten better," he said. "I felt so good over the ball today."
Woods had pulled his drive into a fairway bunker on the par-5 15th in the second round, but he blistered his drive 306 yards into the centre of the fairway on that hole in the third round, setting up an easy birdie.
He tugged his tee shot on the par-3 16th before nearly chipping in for birdie.
"Keep up the good work, Tiger," an elderly woman leaning over the railing of the bleachers told Woods as he walked off the green. "You're doin' good."
"Thank you, ma'am," Woods replied.
Indeed, when Woods was off with his long game, his short game was sharp.
At the par-4 17th hole, where tournament officials had moved the tees up two boxes, making it play only 294 yards, Woods pulled his tee shot into a tough lie in the rough, but he hacked his ball out and nearly made his 34-foot birdie putt. At the 18th hole, where he'd hit a 3-wood into the creek and made bogey Friday, he found the fairway and made par Saturday.
A large crowd followed Woods around the course, exhorting him to play well, and he delivered about as well as could be expected, given his paucity of recent competitive action. As was the case at this year's Masters and last year's Chevron Challenge, he's trending in the right direction; he still has a way to go.
"I would like to just keep building on it," he said, before tidying up in the lockerroom and ducking into an Audi SUV to drive up to the Stanford-Colorado football game with pal Arjun Atwal. "I'm definitely doing that."

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