SINGAPORE OPEN CUT TO THREE ROUNDS - GONZALO LEADS BY 3

          Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano - clear leader in truncated Singapore Open

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano will take a three-shot lead into the final day of the Barclays Singapore Open as further weather interruptions forced tournament organisers to reduce the event to 54 holes.
The Spaniard, troubled by a back injury for much of the year and down at 194th in the Official World Golf Ranking just two months ago, completed a second-round 61 before lightning forced players off the course.
At 15 under par 127 the four-time European Tour winner is three ahead of first- round leaders Edoardo Molinari and James Morrison, the latter not hitting a single ball on day three.
"I have been buzzing all day,"said the 26 year old Englishman from Weybridge, Surrey. "I just want to get out there. We just have to look at this as a chance to have a great final day on a great course.
"The guys on around four under and below are probably out of it now that there is only 18 holes to play, so it is probably between less than 20 guys now and I am glad I am one of them."
Resuming two behind Morrison and with the back nine of the easier Tanjong layout to play, Fernandez-Castaño reeled off five unanswered birdies to forge a healthy advantage with a round to go.
After missing three straight cuts in the Middle East at the start of the season, the 31 year old sought treatment for a back problem, returning in July only to miss the cut in Ireland.
He picked up cheques in the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Austria, but it was a return to Spanish soil that rejuvenated the former British Masters winner.
A sixth place finish at his home Bankia Madrid Masters was followed with a second place at the Castella Masters, which secured his European Tour card for next year and propelled him to 126th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
But he now has a fantastic opportunity to complete the comeback with a fifth European Tour title, which would also earn him a place in the field for the Dubai World Championship presented by DP: World.
"Six months ago I didn't know what was going on with my back injury and to be honest I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to play again," he revealed. "So after spending six months on the bench I am very proud of the way I have been able to come back.
"It has certainly been a long day. It started pretty good for me but then I have been waiting around all day like everyone else and that is not what you want.
"I have been playing well recently: sixth in Madrid, second in Castellon and fourth in Valderrama. So it's very good at the moment and my swing has been getting better and better as the weeks have passed. And there has been a massive difference with my putting - that's what makes the real difference at this level.
"It's a shame that the tournament has to be reduced to 54 holes. It's good for me to be leading after 36, but I don't think that's what anyone wants - players, sponsors, officials, spectators, Sentosa - everyone would rather be playing 72 holes.
"It's a real shame as I say. Barclays are an amazing sponsor and this is one of the best tournaments on the schedule and you don't like to see this happening, but there is nothing we can do about the weather.
"There is a long way to go with 18 holes tomorrow and there are some great players just behind me on the leaderboard. It's going to be a tough day so I have to go out there and play my own game and see what happens."
Inverness-born Tournament Director Mike Stewart revealed over 50 millimetres of rain, combined with the ongoing threat of lightning, had left little choice but to reduce the tournament to three rounds.
"The biggest problem has been the lightning activity in the area which has made it too dangerous to be on the golf course and that is continuing as we speak," he said. "We have taken the decision to have no further play today.
"We have not got any time remaining today to get everything ready.
"We will bring the players back in the morning for a restart at 7.30am to continue the third round, which will be the final round. The event has been reduced to 54 holes.
"Weather permitting we will be able to conclude early tomorrow afternoon. Our cut-off point for having any chance of playing 72 holes was to get them on the golf course by 5 o'clock this afternoon. Once we could not do this there was no real opportunity to complete 72 holes.
"If we cannot complete tomorrow then we are more than likely to come back on Monday morning. All being well we anticipate the final putt being around 2pm tomorrow.
"This gives us four and half hours of playing time if we have any disruptions. The European Tour will count this as a full win and full ranking event, regardless of how many holes have been played.”
Italian Ryder Cup star Molinari played the last eight holes of his second round in one under par to join Morrison in second, while fourth place Juvic Pagunsan has five shots to make up on the final day.
Two Scots survived the halfway cut  - Richie Ramsay and Colin Montgomerie. Ramsay is seven shots behind the leader on 134.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

CLICK HERE

LUKE DONALD'S WIFE GIVES BIRTH TO A DAUGHTER ON 11-11-11

FROM THE GOLFWEEKWEBSITE
The No. 1 golfer in the world is now a father of two.
Luke Donald’s wife gave birth to a girl Friday morning in the north suburbs of Chicago, and both are said to be doing well. Sophia Ann Donald was born at 2:11 a.m. CST. Donald has another daughter, Elle, who was born last year.
He couldn’t help but notice that the year he went to No. 1 in the world, his second daughter was born on 11-11-11.
“The No 1 has been good 2 me, no more than 2day,” Donald said on Twitter.
Donald, poised to become the first player in history to win the money title on the US PGA Tour and European Tour in the same year, next plays the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa on December 1-4 before ending the European Tour season in the Dubai World Championship.

A BLISTERING NO-SHOW BY GREG NORMAN AT BLACK-TIE DINNER

FROM THE CBS SPORTS.COM WEBSITE
SYDNEY -- Greg Norman's no-show at a black-tie dinner marking the 100th anniversary of the Professional Golfers Association of Australia prompted plenty of rumours, yet had a simple explanation.
The rumour mill flowed at the Australian Open: that the Australian had snubbed his own PGA, that a courtesy car sent for him hadn't arrived. Instead, as Norman revealed later, he had a bad blister on his left heel -- so bad that he left The Lakes course on Friday in bare feet.
So the thought of putting on dress shoes on to attend the function at Sydney Town Hall was out of the question. Organisers got Adam Scott and Robert Allenby to replace him in a panel discussion, and Australian PGA officials apologised to the crowd of 400 on Norman's behalf.

TIGER BLOWS IT WITH A 75 TO DROP SIX BEHIND LEADER SENDEN

FROM THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA WEBSITE
Australian John Senden will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Emirates Australian Open after firing a blistering nine-under par 63 at The Lakes, Sydney today.
The 2006 Stonehaven Cup winner began the day six shots adrift of overnight leader Tiger Woods but stormed home with consecutive birdies at the 17th and 18th to sit at 12-under for the championship.
His flawless round including a spectacular hole-out for eagle from 102m at the par-four 6th as well as seven birdies.
Jason Day, another Aussie, leads the chasing pack at 11-under after celebrating his 24th birthday with a rock-solid 68 that included five birdies and a solitary bogey at the par-three 15th.
It was a disastrous day for overnight leader Tiger Woods, who began his round with three consecutive bogeys on the way to a three-over 75.
Woods, who struggled with his swing all day, had two more blemishes early in the back nine but limited the damage with a birdie at the 13th hole.
Later Woods bemoaned some poor putting, adding: "I played the par-fives awful and I made nothing. I got off to an awful start. On the first nine, the greens were way firmer and I played more break and left everything on the high side. Then I made a concerted effort on the back nine to hit low lines and left everything low.
"There are a few easy holes you need to take care of and I didn't do that."
The 14-time major winner will have to be at his brilliant best if he is to end his two-year winless drought on Sunday.

Tiger is currently in a tie for eighth with countryman Bubba Watson (72) at six-under the card, six shots adrift of Senden.
Senden's blemish-free round included an eagle at the sixth and seven birdies.
The 2006 champion said: "I kicked off well with the birdie at five and holing at six and then tried to stay relaxed on the back nine.
"The course allows you to shape shots into the pins, the back nine especially gives you a chance - anything can happen on those par-fives."
Behind the leading pair, 1998 winner Greg Chalmers was proving Senden's point about the par-fives by taking advantage of all four among his seven birdies.
Nick O'Hern, meanwhile, birdied five out of seven from the fourth to stay in contention and capitalised with an eagle-birdie finish to move to nine under for the tournament.
That left him level with American Nick Watney, whose typically up-and-down 68 featured eight birdies and four bogeys.
West Australian Greg Chalmers took advantage of the relatively calm afternoon conditions with a five-under 67 to sit alone in third at 10-under.
Nick O'Hern (66) and American Nick Watney (68) are a further shot back, while Queenslander Ryan Haller scorched around The Lakes layout in 65 blows to join first-round leader Jarrod Lyle (69) in sixth spot.
Aaron Baddeley charged home with four-back-nine birdies to get to five-under for the tournament, alongside pre-tournament favourite Adam Scott and Peter O'Malley, who struggled to a 75 after playing alongside Woods.
Scott's second consecutive 71 included a spectacular eagle from the fairway at the short par-four 13th. He makes a habit of holing long second shots/
American Kelly Kraft showed his class with a four-under 68 to be the leading amateur at three-under par.
Geoff Ogilvy's title defence is all but over after the Victorian carded a two-under 70 to sit 10 shots back with one round to play.

THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
Players from Australia unless stated
204 John Senden 70 71 63.
205 Jason Day 69 68 68.
206 Greg Chalmers 67 72 67.
207 Nick O'Hern 69 72 66, Nick Watney (US) 66 73 68.
208 Jarrod Lyle 65 74 69, Ryan Haller 70 73 65.
210 Bubba Watson (US) 68 70 72, Tiger Woods (68 67 75)

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA WEBSITE

CLICK HERE

GONZALO FERNANDEZ-CASTANO ROUND 2 LEADER IN SINGAPORE

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
A brilliant back nine of 30 for Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño - the man with the longest name on the European Tour - on the resumption of round two of the Barclays Singapore Open propelled the Spaniard into a three-stroke lead at Sentosa Golf Club today.
After the previous day’s delays caused by thunderstorms, players returned to the course to complete their second rounds, and it was Fernandez-Castaño who made the big move with five birdies on his back nine of the Tanjong Course for a ten under par 61 and halfway total of 15 under par 127.
That took the four-time European Tour winner three clear of overnight leader James Morrison from Weybridge, Surrey and Italian Edoardo Molinari. The Ryder Cup star picked up an early birdie on the 12th as he resumed his round on the Serapong course before parring in for a 68 share of second place on 12 under par 130
A runner-up finish to Sergio Garcia in the Castelló Masters along with sixth place in the Bankia Madrid Masters and 12th in the Andalucía Masters showed a welcome return to form on home soil for Fernandez-Castaño, and he has carried that on to Singapore with a breath-taking display.
"I am thrilled as you don’t shoot ten under very often," said Fernandez-Castaño. "You don’t really know how the suspensions are going to affect you.
"I was lucky because yesterday I didn’t tee off before the thunderstorm. I took my time. I took it easy and started well with three birdies. It was great and then I had a good start again this morning. I played well of course. To play well you need to hole putts and that is what I did."
A total of 80 players made the cut on three under par 139.
Only a handful of those had begun their third rounds when play was suspended yet again due to the threat of lightning.
Richie Ramsay (65-124) and Colin Montgomerie were the only Scots to survive the cut. Steven O'Hara (69-141), Stephen Gallacher (71-144), Paul Lawrie (73-149) and rookie James Byrne (81-151) all missed out.

SINGAPORE OPEN COMPLETED SECOND ROUND SCOREBOARD

Gonzalo FERNANDEZ-CASTANO ESP 66 61 127
James MORRISON ENG 62 68 130
Edoardo MOLINARI ITA 62 68 130
Juvic PAGUNSAN PHI 66 66 132
Anders HANSEN DEN 69 64 133
Michael HOEY NIR 67 66 133
Danny LEE NZL 68 65 133
Justin ROSE ENG 69 65 134
Joost LUITEN NED 69 65 134
Fredrik ANDERSSON HED SWE 68 66 134
Richie RAMSAY SCO 69 65 134
Y.E. YANG KOR 63 71 134
Louis OOSTHUIZEN RSA 72 63 135
Daisuke MARUYAMA JPN 64 71 135
Tjaart VAN DER WALT RSA 71 65 136
Anthony KIM USA 70 66 136
Alexander NOREN SWE 69 67 136
Kiradech APHIBARNRAT THA 72 64 136
Rikard KARLBERG SWE 67 69 136
Alejandro CANIZARES ESP 69 67 136
Jeff OVERTON USA 68 68 136
LEE Sung KOR 65 71 136
Chawalit PLAPHOL THA 71 66 137
MO Joong-kyung KOR 70 67 137
Shane LOWRY IRL 67 70 137
Thomas AIKEN RSA 67 70 137
Mark FOSTER ENG 70 67 137
Oliver FISHER ENG 66 71 137
Jason KNUTZON USA 70 67 137
Jbe KRUGER RSA 65 72 137
LAM Chih Bing SIN 66 72 138
Thanyakorn KHRONGPHA THA 70 68 138
Chapchai NIRAT THA 70 68 138
Francesco MOLINARI ITA 69 69 138
David HORSEY ENG 69 69 138
Ernie ELS RSA 72 66 138
Thaworn WIRATCHANT THA 75 63 138
Miguel Angel JIMENEZ ESP 73 65 138
Zaw MOE MYN 66 72 138
Chiragh KUMAR IND 70 68 138
Steve WEBSTER ENG 69 69 138
Jamie DONALDSON WAL 67 71 138
Mithun PERERA LKA 68 70 138
LIN Wen-tang TPE 66 72 138
Colin MONTGOMERIE SCO 67 71 138
Simon DYSON ENG 68 70 138
Phil MICKELSON USA 71 67 138
Elmer SALVADOR PHI 71 67 138
Peter LAWRIE IRL 68 70 138
KANG Wook-soon KOR 70 68 138
Kodai ICHIHARA JPN 69 70 139
Namchok TANTIPOKHAKUL THA 69 70 139
PARK Do-kyu KOR 70 69 139
Atthaphon PRATHUMANEE THA 65 74 139
Rick KULACZ AUS 70 69 139
Angelo QUE PHI 71 68 139
Jeppe HULDAHL DEN 70 69 139
Peter KARMIS RSA 66 73 139
Miles TUNNICLIFF ENG 66 73 139
Graeme McDOWELL NIR 68 71 139
Scott BARR AUS 68 71 139
Rahil GANGJEE IND 65 74 139
Thomas BJORN DEN 69 70 139
Raphael JACQUELIN FRA 68 71 139
Scott HEND AUS 67 72 139
Matthew ZIONS AUS 70 69 139
Gary BOYD ENG 72 67 139
Ignacio GARRIDO ESP 73 66 139
Marcus FRASER AUS 70 69 139
Prayad MARKSAENG THA 69 70 139
CHAN Yih-shin TPE 68 71 139
Lee SLATTERY ENG 69 70 139
Himmat RAI IND 70 69 139
Scott STRANGE AUS 73 66 139
LIANG Wen-chong CHN 68 71 139
Retief GOOSEN RSA 67 72 139
Thongchai JAIDEE THA 66 73 139
Jay BAYRON PHI 69 70 139
Paul CUTLER NIR 75 64 139
SU Dong CHN 72 67 139
MISSED THE CUT
Christian NILSSON SWE 66 74 140
Soren HANSEN DEN 68 72 140
Ross FISHER ENG 72 68 140
Nick DOUGHERTY ENG 68 72 140
Tim STEWART AUS 74 66 140
Johan EDFORS SWE 70 70 140
Danny WILLETT ENG 69 71 140
Jose Manuel LARA ESP 72 68 140
Kieran PRATT AUS 68 72 140
Daniel CHOPRA SWE 67 73 140
Gregory BOURDY FRA 72 68 140
LAM Zhiqun [A] SIN 66 74 140
Shiv KAPUR IND 72 69 141
David GLEESON AUS 72 69 141
Ben LEONG MAS 68 73 141
Adilson DA SILVA BRA 69 72 141
Steven O HARA SCO 72 69 141
Mars PUCAY PHI 71 70 141
Tommy FLEETWOOD ENG 68 73 141
KANG Kyung-nam KOR 71 70 141
David HOWELL ENG 73 68 141
Jeev Milkha SINGH IND 66 75 141
Henrik STENSON SWE 70 71 141
Digvijay SINGH IND 73 68 141
Anirban LAHIRI IND 69 73 142
Stephen DODD WAL 74 68 142
Keith HORNE RSA 71 71 142
HONG Soon-sang KOR 71 71 142
WANG Ter-chang TPE 76 66 142
CHOI Ho-sung KOR 71 71 142
Gaganjeet BHULLAR IND 73 69 142
Will YANAGISAWA USA 69 73 142
Martin WIEGELE AUT 68 74 142
Paul McGINLEY IRL 68 74 142
Marcus BOTH AUS 69 73 142
Camilo VILLEGAS COL 71 71 142
Tom LEWIS ENG 66 76 142
Thitiphun CHUAYPRAKONG THA 69 73 142
Thomas LEVET FRA 69 74 143
Andrew DODT AUS 71 72 143
Thorbjorn OLESEN DEN 66 77 143
Darren BECK AUS 70 73 143
Oliver WILSON ENG 70 73 143
Antonio LASCUNA PHI 69 74 143
Brett RUMFORD AUS 70 73 143
Robert KARLSSON SWE 78 65 143
James KINGSTON RSA 68 75 143
Nicholas FUNG MAS 68 75 143
Jhonattan VEGAS VEN 68 75 143
S.S.P. CHOWRASIA IND 70 73 143
Anthony KANG USA 75 68 143
Bradley DREDGE WAL 74 69 143
Gregory HAVRET FRA 70 74 144
Kunal BHASIN AUS 76 68 144
Kwanchai TANNIN THA 74 70 144
Pablo LARRAZABAL ESP 75 69 144
Tetsuji HIRATSUKA JPN 73 71 144
Danny CHIA MAS 71 73 144
Stephen GALLACHER SCO 73 71 144
Pablo MARTIN ESP 74 70 144
Chinnarat PHADUNGSIL THA 76 69 145
LIN Wen-hong TPE 74 71 145
Mamoru OSANAI JPN 73 72 145
Niall TURNER IRL 75 70 145
John PARRY ENG 76 69 145
Shigeki MARUYAMA JPN 75 70 145
Joonas GRANBERG FIN 70 75 145
PARK Sang-hyun KOR 77 69 146
SIDDIKUR BAN 73 73 146
Gavin FLINT AUS 71 75 146
Mardan MAMAT SIN 75 71 146
Mukesh KUMAR IND 73 73 146
Padraig HARRINGTON IRL 69 77 146
Rashid KHAN IND 73 73 146
Damien McGRANE IRL 73 74 147
Adam BLYTH AUS 71 76 147
Hiroshi IWATA JPN 70 77 147
Unho PARK AUS 75 72 147
LU Wen-teh TPE 76 71 147
Tanatchan PUAEKTES THA 70 77 147
Tony CAROLAN AUS 73 74 147
POH Eng Wah SIN 75 72 147
Rhys DAVIES WAL 69 79 148
Chris RODGERS ENG 74 74 148
CHANG Ren Chiat SIN 72 76 148
PARK Hyun-bin KOR 77 71 148
Michael JONZON SWE 70 78 148
C.J. GATTO USA 68 80 148
Mark BROWN NZL 70 78 148
Iain STEEL MAS 76 72 148
Rory HIE INA 78 70 148
Sujjan SINGH IND 78 71 149
HSU Hao-sheng [A] TPE 73 76 149
Paul LAWRIE SCO 76 73 149
Simon KHAN ENG 74 75 149
Ross McGOWAN ENG 77 72 149
Gareth MAYBIN NIR 69 80 149
Joshua HO [A] SIN 72 78 150
Richard BLAND ENG 76 74 150
Soren KJELDSEN DEN 69 81 150
Oskar HENNINGSSON SWE 82 68 150
ZHANG Lian-wei CHN 79 71 150
Guido VAN DER VALK NED 74 77 151
James BYRNE SCO 70 81 151
Gaurav GHEI IND 78 73 151
Adam GROOM AUS 71 80 151
Ashok KUMAR IND 74 78 152
Christian CEVAER FRA 73 80 153
Manav JAINI IND 80 74 154
Nicolas COLSAERTS BEL 82 72 154
Melvin CHEW [A] SIN 79 75 154
Gary KWEK SIN 75 87 162
Justin HAN SIN 82 83 165