Thursday, October 13, 2011

MIDLAND ALLIANCE ORGANISER IN MONEY

Midland Golfers' Alliance organiser Lee Sutherland, the Ballumbie Castle club pro, jointly headed his own scratch prize list at today's competition at Downfield Golf Club, Dundee.
Sutherland and home club +2 amateur Ross Bell, winner of the Leven Golf Medal a couple of months ago, tied on one-under-par 72.
Another Downfield player, five-handicapper Derek Thomson led the way in the handicap prizelist with a net core of 70.
Thomson also helped Downfield assistant pro Barry Smith and Downfield scratch man Scott Robertson  to achieve first place in the team event with a score of 60.
LEADING SCRATCH
72 R Bell (Downfield), L Sutherland (Ballumbie Castle).
73 R Ford (Scotscraig).
74 S Robertson (Downfield), P Jamieson (Dunblane New), T McLevy (Blairgowrie).
75 D Thomson (Downfield).
76 R Stewart (Tulliallan), J Stevenson (Braehead).
77  B Smith (Downfield), C Knowles (Panmure).

LEADING HANDICAP
70 D Thomson (Downfield) (5).
71 R Ford (Scotscraig) (2).
73 S Brough (Alyth) (5).
74 S Robertson (Downfield) (scr), T McLevy (Blairgowrie) scr), C Brunton (Monifieth) (4), C Westland (Alloa) (10).
75 J Scanlon (Pitlochry) (3), E Rae (Arbroath) (4).
76 I Butchart (Strathmore) (8), L Brough (Alyth) (6), J Crawford (Dunblane New) (6), R Redpath (Scotscraig) (5), R Brownhill (Edzell) (5).
LEADING TEAM SCORES
60, B. Smith (Downfield) ap, S Robertson (Downfield) (scr), D Thomson (Downfield) (5).
63 (bih) R Bell (Downfield) (+2), S Marshall (Downfield) (4), A Thompson (Downfield) (7); R Ford (Scotscraig) (2), A McEwan (Carnoustie) (14), K Badley (Downfield) (5)



Qualifiers for the JTC Kitchen Express Midland Alliance Championship in April at Carnoustie
R Bell (Downfield), R Ford (Scotscraig), S Robertson (Downfield), T McLevy (Blairgowrie).

Qualifier for the JTC McQueen Shield in April at Carnoustie
D Thomson (Downfield) (5)

Next week's Meeting (Thursday, October 20)
The Duke's Course, St AndrewsSponsored by SAS LTD
Tee reserved: 8.30am to 12.30

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AGGRESSION PAYS OFF FOR CALLUM MACAULAY IN ROME

By Michael Gibbons
European Tour Deputy Chief Press Officer
Callum Macaulay’s pre-tournament vow to attack at all costs saw the Scot make a fine start to his bid to finish in the top three of the Roma Golf Open as he seeks to guarantee a place in the European Challenge Tour’s season-ending Grand Final.
An opening round of five under par 66 at the penultimate event of the season took the 27 year old former Scottish amateur champion from Tulliallan into a share of third place after round one, alongside Portugal’s José Filipe Lima, England’s Sam Little and Frenchman Victor Riu.
Macaulay’s countryman Raymond Russell shares seventh place after a four under 67, while Frenchman, Anthony Grenier, leads the way on eight under with Spain’s Borja Etchart a further shot back.
Having vowed to ‘attack, attack, attack’ the par 71 Olgiata Golf Club, Macaulay made the perfect start by holing his second shot to his first hole of the day – the par four tenth – for a brilliant eagle 2.
Macaulay is currently 61st in the Challenge Tour Rankings and needs to earn at least €10,000 this week to burst into the all-important top 45 who will then move forward to the Grand Final in search of one of the 20 available European Tour cards on offer through the final Rankings.
“Well I said I was going to attack and I couldn’t do anything but burst out laughing when I holed my second shot on the first hole of the day,” smiled Macaulay. “I had 104 yards to the hole and just hit a nice 56 degree wedge that bounced about six inches out and went straight in.
“It was a great start but then I flirted with a couple of silly bogeys after that but the back nine was as well as I have played all year and I could have been a couple of shots better off but I missed a couple of four footers for birdie.
“I’m delighted though – if you had offered me five under at the start of the round I would have taken it. I have nothing to lose this week and I feel very relaxed and really enjoyed it. I actually had a lesson over the phone from my coach Ian Rae the other day and managed to solve the problem I was having with the swing straight away.”
Of the five other Scots in the field, only Elliot Saltman is struggling to survive the halfway cut after an opening 76. Chris Doak (-1), Jamie McLeary (-1), Craig Lee (level) and Gavin Dear (level) remain very much in the hunt after round one.

FIRST ROUND SCORES
Olgiata GC, Rome
Par 71. Yardage 7,097
63 A Grenier (Fra)
64 A Otaegui (Esp)
66 V Riu (Fra); C Macaulay (Sco); J Lima (Por); S Little (Eng)
67 B Ritthammer (Ger); A Marshall (Eng); R Russell (Sco); S Thornton (Irl); P Oriol (Esp)
68 A Bossert (Sui); F Colombo (Ita); A Bernadet (Fra); C Gane (Eng); A Sullivan (Eng); S Walker (Eng); M Erlandsson (Swe); L Kennedy (Eng)
69 G Molteni (Ita); A Snobeck (Fra); P Archer (Eng); A Tadini (Ita); B Evans (Eng); G Houston (Wal); C Brazillier (Fra); P Edberg (Swe); A Ahokas (Fin); A Pavan (Ita); D Denison (Eng); L Westerberg (Swe)
70 F Delamontagne (Fra); A Johnston (Eng); C Doak (Sco); J Moul (Eng); J McLeary (Sco); A Tampion (Aus); N Lombardi (Ita); J Legarrea (Esp); M Ford (Eng); E Kofstad (Nor); M Delpodio (Ita); M Bernardini (Ita); J Garcia (Esp); J Lagergren (Swe); F Valera (Esp); M Carlsson (Swe); P Del Grosso (Arg); D Brooks (Eng);
71 J Doherty (Sco); T Fleetwood (Eng); C Moriarty (Irl); R Steiner (Aut); M Southgate (Eng); C Lee (Sco); E Dubois (Fra); J Quesne (Fra); D Vancsik (Arg); H Bacher (Aut); T Sluiter (Ned); S Hutsby (Eng); A Domingo (Esp);
72 A Hartø (Den); P Relecom (Bel); K Borsheim (Nor); S Lewton (Eng); F Praegant (Aut); M Bothma (RSA); L Jensen (Den); J Guerrier (Fra); C Ford (Eng); J Estevez (Arg); C Lloyd (Eng); N Meitinger (Ger); G Dear (Sco); B Barham (Eng); P Dwyer (Eng); B Etchart (Esp);
73 J Garcia Pinto (Esp); J Clément (Sui); A Signor (Ita); M Lundberg (Swe); A Hansen (Den); K Eriksson (Swe); M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra); J Campillo (Esp); C Russo (Fra)
74 E Canonica (Ita); E Johansen (Nor); F Elli (Ita); L D'Andreamatteo (Ita); P Gustafsson (Swe); M Kieffer (Ger); J Senior (Eng); N Bertasio (Ita); S Tiley (Eng); L Motta (Ita); W Besseling (Ned); D Lokke (Den)
75 M Miloro (Ita); A Perrino (Ita); J Robinson (Eng)
76 E Saltman (Sco); C Aronsen (Nor); N Henriques (Por); R De Sousa (Sui)
77 A Maestroni (Ita); T Ferreira (RSA); M Baldwin (Eng)
78 A Bruschi (Ita); F Calmels (Fra)
79 B Grace (RSA)
80 N Kearney (Irl)
** S Garcia (Esp)

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NINETY-SIX PLAYERS UNDER PAR IN PORTUGAL MASTERS

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
James Kingston carded an eight under par 64 to lead after the first day of the Portugal Masters – but no fewer than 30 players were within three strokes of the South African's lead.
A brilliant run of seven birdies in eight holes was the highlight of the 45 year old’s round as Kingston took full advantage of glorious conditions at Oceânico Victoria Golf Course near Vilamoura on the Algarve.
World No 6 Martin Kaymer had predicted before the tournament that low scoring would be the order of the day and that proved to be the case, with 96 players finishing the day under par.
Kingston is currently 67th in The Race to Dubai and can cement his place in the field for the season-ending Dubai World Championship with a good display on the Algarve.
And the two-time European Tour winner was particularly pleased with his display given that he had missed the cut on his last two outings by a single shot.
“I’ve been playing nicely,” he said. “Just reflecting on the last two weeks, I felt like I played really good golf - to miss both cuts by a shot feels sickening but that's part of the game.
“I just couldn't put the scores on the board and this week I have. Hopefully it changes from here on in.”
After a birdie at the fourth Kingston really came to life around the turn, birdieing five in a row from the eighth and carding further gains on the 14th and 15th.
And a bogey at the 16th was followed by a 20 foot birdie on the final hole.
“I felt like I could have done a little better earlier in the round, then all of a sudden I made one or two and my tail got in the air,” he added.
“I hit some really good iron shots pretty close - five in a row which is nice and then another few coming in.
“I think tee to green I'm hitting it really solid. I'm not making too many mistakes and the moment I get the putting going it changes the scoreboard, and that's what I've got to keep doing.”
Five players are one behind Kingston overnight – amongst them in-form Dane Thomas Björn.
He was joined by England’s Simon Khan, Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin, Welshman Rhys Davies and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger.
Björn, already a winner in Qatar, Scotland and Switzerland this season, turned in a brilliant 31 highlighted by a ten foot birdie putt at the 17th and picked up further shots at the second and third.
“I played nicely early on and rolled in a few good putts,” said Björn, who at seventh on The Race to Dubai is in line for a sizeable chunk of the $7,500,000 bonus pool. “It got a bit scruffy towards the end.”
Maybin chipped in at the 17th for one of eight birdies and the 31 year old is hoping to draw inspiration from the success of his compatriots.
Michael Hoey became the latest Ulsterman to enter the winner’s circle at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship two weeks ago, following the Major victories of Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke in the last 18 months.
“Obviously there’s a boom at the minute especially with Michael getting a great win at the Dunhill,” said Maybin, who at 110th on The Race to Dubai still has work to do to secure his card for next season.
“Someone tells me it’s the Guinness, but it’s a good crop of players and they’re shining at the minute.”
Wiesberger finished fifth on home soil last month to secure his card for next season, and like Kingston he is now chasing a place in the field for Dubai.
“I hope to find a lot of greens this week and for the rest of the season and hole a couple of putts and give myself a chance to get into Dubai,” he said.
Davies and Khan’s rounds were all the more impressive given they came in the afternoon session once the breeze was up, and both men had eagles on their cards.
Former BMW PGA Championship winner Khan holed a lob wedge for a two at the fourth, while Davies sunk a 25 foot putt at the penultimate hole.

LEADERBOARD
Par 72
64 James Kingston (S Africa).
65 Gareth Maybin (N Ireland), Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Bernd Wiesberger (Austria), Simon Khan (England), Rhys Davies (Wales).
66 Felipe Aguilar, Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand), Ross Fisher (England), Johan edfors (Sweden), Steve Webster (England), Gregory Havret (France), Seren Hansen (Denmark), Peter Hanson (Sweden), Maarten Lafeber (France).
SCOTS' SCORES
67 Colin Montgomerie (T16).
68 Alastair Forsyth, Steven O'Hara (T32).
69 Paul Lawrie, David Drysdale (T42).
70 Gary Orr, Marc Warren, Stephen Gallacher (T67).
71 Peter Whiteford, Richie Ramsay (T82)).
73 Scott Jamieson (T106).

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

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SCOTT HENRY'S MIXED BAG SEES HIM TRAIL BY 12 IN FRANCE

Scott Henry from Cardross  was in joint 23rd place with a three-over-par 75 after the first round of this week's Alps Tour event, the Masters 13 tournament at Pont Royal V, France.
Henry had a mixed bag of four birdies, one double bogey and five bogeys.
He is 12 shots behind the leader by five, Frenchman Guillaume Cambis who shot a nine-under-par 63
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE ALPS TOUR WEBSITE

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ALAN LOCKHART WINS GLENEAGLES SCOTTISH PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

By RON MARSHALL, PGA Scottish Region Press Officer
A nip-and-tuck battle all the way round among the final three ended in a fine victory for Alan Lockhart in the Gleneagles PGA Scottish Championship over the King’s Course. But the winner is still undecided as to whether his future lies in competitive golf.
After a titanic struggle with Jim McKinnon and Chris Currie, the new champion from Ladybank, whose closing 68 for a 275 aggregate gave him a one-shot win over Currie and former champion Greig Hutcheon, claimed he’d not been making a living in tournaments.
“For the last three or four years I’ve been playing as often as I can but not really making much money. I’m getting married in Malta next April (to Emma McElhill), and so far she’s been the breadwinner – but not this week (the winner’s cheque is £8,600).
Lockhart’s now achieved what he called a ‘nice wee double’ – the Scottish Under-25 championship having been achieved six years ago.
As overnight leader McKinnon faltered with a bogey at 14 and three putts at the 17th, Lockhart’s world suddenly got brighter as he successively holed for par from 25 feet at the 13th, chipped to inches for a birdie on the 14th and chipped in at the short 16th for a saving par.
Currie, the least experienced of the three at the sharp end, put on a splendid show, culminating in a share of second place, worth what must seem like a king’s ransom to a newly trained assistant, £5,250.
Banchory’s Greig Hutcheon and Scott Henderson (King’s Links), the North-east's brightest stars on the Tartan Tour, turned in brilliant performances but finished an agonising one and two shots respectively behind Lockhart.
Playing together, former champion Hutcheon fired a three-under 68 for a 276 aggregate, while Henderson carded a 67 for 277. After checking their cards, both looked on as the final three-ball played the last hole, in which Lockhart needed a par five to win. And that he accomplished with a 90-yard pitch to 20 feet, and two putts, the latter a mere tap-in.
Hayston’s Stephen Gray, most folk’s idea of a good bet before the championship, had to be content with a tie for 24th on 291, but he had the consolation of winning the Tartan Tour’s Order of Merit, by 52 points, from Hutcheon.
David Patrick makes up the three who’ll contest the end-of-season Titleist Play-offs from the PGA British and Irish regions.

+The above picture of Alan Lockhart with the Scottish PGA championship trophy is by courtesy of Andy Forman.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
King's Course.
Par 284 (4x71)
275 Alan Lockhart (Ladybank) 71 68 68 68 (£8,800).
276 Greig Hutcheon (Banchory) 70 70 68 68, Chris Currie (Caldwell) 70 67 69 70 (£5,250 each).
277 Scott Henderson (Kings Links) 72 69 67 69, James McKinnon (Irvine) 68 71 66 72 (£2,800 each).
278 Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs Golf Range) 71 68 70 69 (£2,250
281 Gareth Wright (West Linton) 71 70 68 72 (£1,800.
282 Graham Fox (Rowallan Castle) 68 71 71 72 (£1,500).
283 Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) 72 73 71 67, Craig Ronald (Carluke) 71 72 70 70 (£1,250 each).
284 Chris Kelly (Cawder0 70 71 72 71, Mark Kerr (Murrayfield) 68 66 7476 (£1,050 each).
286 David Patrick (Elie Sports Centre) 75 72 71 68, Samuel Cairns (Colville Park) 72 73 72 69, James McGhee (Duddingston) 71 74 71 70 (£816 each).

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE PGA SCOTLAND WEBSITE

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TO VIEW THE FINAL PLACINGS ON THE ORDER OF MERIT TABLE

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TO VIEW THE FINAL PLACINGS ON THE MONEY TABLE

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COLIN GILLIES RETIRES FROM TARTAN TOUR AFTER 27 YEARS

                   COLIN GILLIES .. Action image by courtesy of Andy Forman
E-mail from Colin Gillies

My 2011 season came to an end today at the Scottish PGA Championship.
It has been a very frustrating and disappointing year with a combination of injuries and poor form, which has resulted in me losing my exempt status on the Tartan Tour for the first time in 25 years.
Honouring a promise I made to myself and my family a few years ago, I have decided to call time on my playing career.
I know http://www.scottishgolfview.com/  is well viewed by golfers all over Scotland and I wanted to take the opportunity to say thanks and best wishes to all the many friends I have met and enjoyed spending time with on the course over the years.
I hope I can use the experience and knowledge I have gained to help my pupils while teaching at Kingsfieldgolf.com.

Best Regards
Colin Gillies

Colin Farquharson writes:
Colin Gillies, born August 1, 1966, first came to prominence when, playing out of Falkirk Golf Club, he won the Scottish boys' championship at Dunbar Golf Club in 1983. He beat Calum Innes (West Kilbride) at the 38th in the final.
Gillies turned professional the following year and since then hd scored 125 wins on the Tartan Tour, winning 11 Order of Merit tournament and topping the Scottish PGA Order of Merit table in 2001.
He won the Scottish professional championship for the first time at Dalmahoy in 1995 and won it again in 1998 at Newmachar.
During the 2011 season, Colin became the first player to top the £500,000 mark in career tournament earnings in PGA Scottish Region events. It will be a long time before that mark is beaten.

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BRAND junior WANTS TO END GREAT SEASON WITH ANOTHER WIN

By Neil Ahern
European Tour Assistant Press Officer
Gordon Brand junior will be hoping to end his year in style at the Benahavis Senior Masters this week as he plays his final tournament of 2011 at La Quinta Golf and Country Club close on Spain's Costa del Sol.
The Scot, pictured, has been on superb form this year, coming twice on two occasions at the De Vere Club PGA Seniors Championship in June and Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters last month, but is still chasing that elusive first win of 2011.
And, after finishing with a triple bogey which knocked him out of contention at the Belas Clube de Campo Senior Open de Portugal two weeks ago, Brand junior will be even more determined to seal his first title of the season and overcome the disappointment from Portugal in what is the third last tournament on the Senior Tour International schedule but his last before he returns to coaching for the winter.
“That finish in Portugal really hurt and it’s still with me,” admitted the two-time Ryder Cup player, “I had played really well all week but I just hit the wrong shot at the wrong time and went into the water but I've worked on a few things in my week off and I know if I play well this week, I’m in with a chance.
“This is my last tournament of the year and I’d like to think there’s no real pressure this week, I'm just going to go out and play my own game.
“It would be nice to finally get that win because I've come close a few times this year but I'm quietly confident I can do well this week, you just have to fire on all cylinders at the right time and keep concentrated and you never know.”
Andrew Oldcorn will be hoping to return to the form he produced earlier in the season, which saw him win the De Vere Club PGA Seniors Championship in June and claim seven top ten finishes, as the Edinburgh man looks to steal a march on Ian Woosnam in the race for third place in the European Senior Tour Order of Merit.
Barry Lane, meanwhile, has arrived at the Benahavis Senior Masters determined to close the gap on Order of Merit leader Peter Fowler, having made a late decision to travel to Spain this week as their intriguing duel for the John Jacobs Trophy nears a climax.
The Englishman is currently trailing Fowler by €23,503 in the Order of Merit and having withdrawn from the Portugal Masters on The European Tour in favour of coming to La Quinta Golf and Country Club, he is now bent on making sure his battle with Fowler goes right down to the wire.
“I made the decision on Saturday to play here,” said the three time Senior Tour winner, “I was in two minds but I thought, I should come here and keep the pressure on Peter and keep within a certain amount of Euro so I'm close when the (season-ending) MCB Tour Championship comes around in December.
“If I can keep within amount of money then it would be nice going to the MCB in Mauritius knowing that if I win there, even if Peter finishes second he couldn’t overtake me so that was one of the big reasons why I came here.”
Other Scots in the field this week include Bill Longmuir, Ross Drummond and John Chillas.

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SCOT ROSS BAIN IN CONTENTION AT HERO INDIAN OPEN

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
New Delhi: Unheralded Chiragh Kumar of India fired a sparkling eight-under-par 64 to take a surprising one shot lead in the first round of the Hero Indian Open today. Kumar upstaged the stellar Asian Tour stars gathered at the Delhi Golf Club with a flawless round highlighted by eight birdies in the US$1.25 million event.
Veteran Zaw Moe of Myanmar was a further stroke back with Scotland’s Ross Bain and Lin Wen-hong of Chinese Taipei, who is eyeing to make amends from his disqualification in the final round of the Yeangder TPC last week.
Kumar, 27, a 2006 Asian Games team silver medallist, could have extended his lead by two but missed a 15 foot eagle putt on the last.
“I wanted to keep it simple. I didn’t have a score in mind but I read my putts well. The Asian Tour has staged quite a number of events in India this year and I’ve definitely improved playing with Asia’s best,” said Kumar, a two-time winner on the local circuit.
“I don’t have any expectations in this tournament but I hope I can continue my form and hopefully I’ll still be on top the leader board on Sunday,” said Kumar, whose best finish was in tied 10th at the 2006 Indian Open when he was still an amateur.
Moe, 44, has enjoyed two top-10 finishes since changing to a belly putter in the Macau Open in September and needed only 25 putts in a round of six birdies and one eagle on the par five 14th hole where his seven wood approach landed six feet from the hole.
“One of the reasons to my good form is my belly putter which has helped me a lot. My putting has been very consistent since I changed it and my confidence is really high at the moment,” said Moe, whose last victory on the Asian Tour was in 1997.
Lin would have finished in tied third if he did not sign for the wrong score last week but he bounced back with a flawless round today highlighted by five straight birdies starting from the 13th hole.
“I was really sad after last week but it looks like I’ve recovered,” said Lin, who shot five consecutive birdies from the 13th hole.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to play well here. I came here without thinking of winning at all. I’m here just to play hole by hole and hopefully get a good result,” added the younger brother of Asian Tour winners Wen-tang and Wen-ko.
The Dubai-based Bain, who finished second in the Indian Open in 2001, carded his best score at the Delhi Golf Club highlighted by birdies in his opening three holes. He added four more birdies, one eagle and two bogeys to share the first round lead.
“I got off to a fast start and started playing better as the round went on. I played very well on the par fives which you have to do on this course. I’ve played here a lot over the years and it is nice to feel that I got the better of Delhi Golf Club,” said Bain, who is searching for a maiden Asian Tour victory.

+Scottish amateur champion David Law, now a rookie pro, made a nightmare start with a double bogey 7 at the long first and a double bogey 6 at the par-4 second.
The Aberdonian settled down to birdie the sixth and turn in three-over 39. He picked up two more birdies, at the 10th and 11th, but had a bogey at the 16th in an inward 34 (two under) for a one-over-par 73, which was a very good effort, considering he was four over par after two holes.
Law, tied 68th in a field of 147, needs to get under par with his second round to have a chance of making the cut which is projected at level par or better after two rounds.


FIRST ROUND LEADERS
Par 72 Yardage 6,983
64 - Chiragh KUMAR (IND).
65 - LIN Wen-hong (TPE), Ross BAIN (SCO), Zaw MOE (MYN).
67 - Scott BARR (AUS).
68 - David GLEESON (AUS), Angelo QUE (PHI), Adilson DA SILVA (BRA).
69 - Om Prakash CHOUHAN (IND), Tjaart VAN DER WALT (RSA), Himmat RAI (IND), Chapchai NIRAT (THA), Rikard KARLBERG (SWE), Gurki SHERGILL (IND), S.S.P. CHOWRASIA (IND), Atthaphon PRATHUMMANEE (THA), Young NAM (KOR), Jbe KRUGER (RSA), BAEK Seuk-hyun (KOR), Simon GRIFFITHS (ENG), Namchok TANTIPOKHAKUL (THA).
Selected score:
73 - David Law (Sco) (T68th).

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