MARTIN LAIRD SETS HIS SIGHTS ON RYDER CUP PLACE

FROM THE GOLF DIGEST WEBSITE
By Dave Shedloski
KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Scotland's Martin Laird is rearranging his summer schedule to compete on the European Tour in hopes of qualifying for the Ryder Cup team that defends the cup in the autumn at Medinah CC near Chicago.
"I haven't decided quite yet how many tournaments, but I'm going to go back and try to show Jose Maria [Olazabal, the European captain] and the other guys that I'm not just hanging out here in America expecting a pick or hoping for one," Laird said at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
"I know I have to earn it, and I want to show that I want to be on that team and that I'm good enough, if not to earn it on points, then to warrant a pick."
Laird, 29, who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, accepted an affiliate membership to the European Tour this year specifically to try to qualify for the Ryder Cup. He had to wait until the start of the year to join, meaning he has missed four months of collecting points. European Tour members can qualify via the money list or a world points list. Olazabal also gets two captain's picks.
U.S. captain Davis Love III has four picks after his eight automatic qualifiers are determined via US PGA Tour earnings.
The Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Resort's Plantation Course is Laird's first chance to get on the board. He qualified for this winner's only event, the PGA Tour's season-opener, by capturing the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
"Obviously I'm going after the world ranking points and not the European Tour money list, which is why I can afford to play over here the first third of the year," said Laird, who won't compete in Europe until May at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
 "I've missed four months already, so that will be tough. I'm going to have to play really well to make that top 10. I have 8 months as opposed to a year to make it."
Not only have the other hopefuls had a head start, but there are a lot of legitimate candidates. Laird, who was a European Tour member in 2010, has no illusions about his chances, even as he plans to add the Scottish Open, Irish Open and French Open to his slate. And that could be just for starters.
"You look at the potential team, you can go down the list 20 guys who have a legitimate shot at making the team," he said. "It is a stacked team and stacked all the way down about 20 guys, and you look at the list and you can't say there's isn't a guy who doesn't deserve to be on that team. It's as hard to make that team as it's ever been. But I look forward to the challenge; it's a big one."

IRISH OPEN SET FOR ROYAL PORTRUSH AT END OF JUNE

FROM THE BBC SPORT WEBSITE

This year's Irish Open will be staged at Royal Portrush for the first time since 1947, BBC Sport understands.

The European Tour is set to confirm details of the 28 June to 1 July tournament at the venue tomorrow.
Major winners Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy have all called for a tour event at the course on Northern Ireland's Antrim coast.
The Stormont Executive said last year it would provide "substantial financial backing" for such a tournament.
Killarney has hosted the event over the last two years while there was been speculation that it would be staged in the Dublin area in 2012.
Carton House, near Maynooth, was also mentioned as a possible location this year.
The tournament remains without a sponsor but US Open champion Rory McIlroy has already guaranteed his participation at Royal Portrush.
McDowell and Clarke, who both have strong links with the north coast, have agreed to act in an ambassadorial role for Royal Portrush, which will celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2013.
Harry Bradshaw won the Irish Open when it was last held at Royal Portrush, which also hosted the event in 1930 and 19136.
The Open Championship was last played at Portrush in 1951 and there was a clamour for the major to return to the course after Darren Clarke's success at Sandwich last year.

CRAIG LEE LEADING SCOT WITH A 68 IN AFRICA OPEN

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
The first group out in The 2012 Race to Dubai carded a combined 18 under par as Thomas Aiken and Retief Goosen lit up the opening round of the Africa Open.
South African Aiken carded a nine under par 64 at East London Golf Club to lead by one from his compatriots Goosen, who earlier hit the first shot of the new European Tour season, and Jaco Ahlers.
Craig Lee was the leading Scot at the end of Day 1 with a five-under 68 over a very short course by European Tour standards - only 6,770yd with six or seven par-4s less than 400yd.
Lee had seven birdies and two bogeys to be joint 13th.
The 28 year old Aiken won his maiden European Tour title at last year’s Open de España and posted nine top-ten finishes in 2011, and he maintained that excellent form with two eagles and five birdies in a bogey-free round.
“I wasn’t really expecting that after two weeks without touching a club,” said Aiken. “It was a great morning this morning – early start, and the scoring conditions were good.
“It was out there for the taking and luckily I hit some really good shots and made putts.
“I really enjoyed the round today; this is not the longest course, but it bites if you go skew. Anything off the line on this course is pretty much a reload off the tee, which makes it a thinking man’s course.
“There are a lot of risk-and-reward holes – a couple of driveable par fours and tricky par threes – and I think that a lot of new courses lack that challenge.”
Aiken and Goosen played alongside Peter Hedblom (72) and there was little indication of the fireworks to come when Goosen started the day with a bogey at the ninth.
But the two-time US Open Champion reeled off five birdies in a row from the 11th, where Aiken eagled.
Aiken, whose approach play was superb all day, finished the back nine with a hattrick of birdies, before Goosen sank a four foot birdie putt at the first.
World Number 87 Aiken produced a stunning second to two feet at the par five third and eagled, and Goosen followed him in for birdie.
Aiken birdied the fifth, then produced a tremendous bunker shot from 45 yards at the next to leave a tap-in birdie, which Goosen matched to complete the pairs scoring.
Ahlers moved level with Goosen in second place when he sunk a six footer at the seventh for his eighth birdie of the day, and parred his way in to complete an all-South African top three.
“I am very pleased with the way I played, especially that front nine,” said Goosen.
“We were forced to wait around on a lot of holes over the back nine and that was frustrating, but I still managed to pick up three birdies.
“Thomas looked like he was going to shoot nothing out there, so I am very happy to be only one behind at the end of the day.”
Former Ryder Cup hero Phillip Price joined another pair of South Africans, Michael du Toit and Dean O’Riley, in a tie for fourth on seven under.

SCOTSWATCH.  Alastair Forsyth took second place behind Craig Lee in the Scots' roll of honour. He had a 69, made up of five birdies and one bogey. He is joint 25th. Steven O'Hara and  Alan McLean are tied for 50th place on 70 while Raymond Russell's 71 earned him a share of 73rd position.
George Murray and David Drysdale finished a shot under par with 72 apiece but so low is the general standard of scoring over a short course that they only just made the top 100.
Lloyd Saltman did not make the top 100. He finished the day tied for 115th place in a field of 156. He matched the easy par of 73 with 6 bogeys, 4 birdies and one eagle, a 2 at the 319yd, par-4 16th. 

FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 73 Yardage 6,770.
Players from South Africa unless stated
64 Thomas Aiken
65 Retief Goosen, Jaco Ahlers
66 Michael Du Toit, Phillip Price (Wales), Dean O'Riley.

SCOTS' SCORES
68 Craig Lee (T13)
69 Alastair Forsyth (T25)
70 Steven O'Hara, Alan McLean (T50).
71 Raymond Russell (T73)
72 George Murray, David Drysdale (T96).
73 Lloyd Saltman


TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

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$1million BONUS FOR 2012 RACE TO DUBAI WINNER

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOURLuke Donald’s defence as European Tour Number One in 2012 will coincide with a refined Bonus Pool for The Race to Dubai.
The top ten players in The Race to Dubai at the conclusion of The 2012 European Tour International Schedule will share the $3.75 million Bonus Pool with the No 1 player receiving $1 million.
This revision of the Bonus Pool follows the announcement by The European Tour of a significant new three-year agreement to extend The Race to Dubai through to the end of 2014
The 2012 Race to Dubai will conclude with the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, UAE, on November 22-25, where the prize fund has been increased to $8 million with the winner’s cheque rising to $1.33 million.
DP World is continuing its support of the Hong Kong Open which, like the SA Open Championship, will be played on November 15-18 and following which the leading 60 players in The Race to Dubai will qualify for the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

THE 2012 RACE TO DUBAI BONUS POOL

1. $1,000,000              6. $275,000
2. $650,000                 7. $225,000
3. $500,000                 8. $175,000
4. $375,000                 9. $125,000
5. $325,000                10. $100,000

CLARKE, ELS, HARRINGTON JOIN LAWRIE IN CHAMPIONS' EVENT

NEWS RELEASE
Darren Clarke, Ernie Els and Pádraig Harrington gave the 2012 Volvo Golf Champions a ‘major boost’ today, confirming that they, along with 11-time winner on the European Tour, Robert Karlsson, will play in the European Tour’s first-ever true ‘tournament of champions’ event to be held at The Links at Fancourt, from January 19-22.
They join a host of stars already confirmed including Major winners Retief Goosen, Paul Lawrie, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel and European Tour stars such as Thomas Björn, Paul Casey, Nicolas Colsaerts, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Tom Lewis, Matteo Manassero, Colin Montgomerie and Alexander Norén in competing for a €350,000 (Approx. US$500,000) first prize and a prize fund of €2million (Approx. US$2,700,000).