SCOTS FAIL TO GAIN PASS MARKS AT ASIAN TOUR Q STAGE ONE

FROM THE ASIAN TOUR WEBSITE
Hua Hin, Thailand: A total of 89 players qualified for the Asian Tour Qualifying Final Stage next week after making the grade at the First Stage today.
Darren Tan of Australia led a total of 28 players at the Royal Springfield Country Club to the all-important Final Stage where the top-40 and ties will earn Asian Tour cards for 2012.
Tan posted a final round four-under-par 68 for a winning total of 14-under-par 274 at Springfield.
At Majestic Creek Golf Resort, a total of 25 players will make their way to the Final Stage. Jacques Blaauw of South Africa was the top player in Majestic, firing a four-under-par 67 for a 14-under-par 270 total.
Ryoma Yamagata of Japan secured safe passage into the Final Stage despite shooting a three-over-par 75 at the Imperial Lakeview Golf Club. A total of 31 players made the grade at Imperial Lakeview.
Meanwhile at the Banyan Golf Club, Nico Bollini of the United States registered a one-under-par 71 to give himself a chance of earning an Asian Tour card next week. He finished on a five-under-par 283 total to lead four other players into the next phase.
The only Scots in the Final Stage will be James Byrne and Simon Dunn who were exempt from participation in the First Stage.

HOW THE SCOTS FARED

MAJESTIC CREEK
285 or better qualified
Selected final totals
286 Clarke Lutton 76 74 68 68
289 Lee Harper 69 73 73 74

LAKEVIEW
296 or better qualified
Selected final totals
302 Derek McKenzie 78 72 74 78
313 Greg Nicolson 76 72 86 79.

GRACE AND FINCH SHARE LEAD AT JOBURG OPEN

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Branden Grace and Richard Finch share the lead after three days of the Joburg Open as plenty of lost ground was made up at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club today.
Lengthy delays due to thunderstorms on the first two days meant some players had not begun their second rounds at the start of the day, but by the time bad weather set in the third round was nearing its conclusion.
Finch had played just six holes of his second round on the East Course when he arrived early this morning, but his chances were boosted by a six iron hole-in-one on the 200 yard eighth.
That helped the former Irish Open winner to a second straight 66, and a share of the halfway lead with compatriot Robert Rock and George Coetzee.
When the third round began, Finch sank a 20-footer at the par five first for birdie, only to send a birdie effort from similar range past the hole and off the green at the fourth.
He responded to the subsequent bogey with an approach to three feet at the sixth, chipped in from the bunker for an eagle at the par five eighth and curled in a 12 footer at the next for an outward 34.
A 15 footer at the 13th for birdie was Finch’s only deviation from par on the back nine before play was called off with four holes remaining.
Grace struck his approach to three feet at the 15th, the last hole he managed to finish before another storm set in, and with that putt completed a hat-trick of birdies which left him five under for his round.
At 15 under Finch and Grace were one ahead of Coetzee, who notched three unanswered birdies over the first 14 holes of his third round.
Canadian Andrew Parr carded a third round 64 to claim a share of the clubhouse lead on 12 under alongside Dawie Van Der Walt (67), with Jbe Kruger on the same mark with three holes remaining.

COMPLETED THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Players from South African unless stated
203 Andrew Parr (Canada) 70 69 64, Dewie Van der Walt 70 66 67.
204 Danny Willett (England) 69 67 68.
205 Joakim Lagergren (Swi) 70 67 68, Trevor Fisher junior 68 68 69, Jaco Van Zyl 67 69 69, Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) 70 66 69, Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 68 67 70, Marc Warren (Scotland) 66 69 70.
SELECTED SCORES
206 David Drysdale (Scotland) 65 72 69, Reinier Saxton (Netherlands) 64 73 69 (T17).
208 Craig Lee (Scotland) 64 74 70 (T27)

MISSED THE CUT (140 or better qualified)
141 A McLean (Sco) 68 73, Raymond Russell (Scotland) 70 71.
142 S O'Hara (Scotland) 69 73.



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RUSSELL KNOX MISSES CUT BY ONE SHOT IN SONY OPEN

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE

HONOLULU -- Matt Every is 10 under after shooting a 6-under 64 in Friday's second round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. That gives him a two-shot lead going into the weekend at Waialae.
It's a position he's never been in before on the PGA TOUR.
"Just normal stuff," Every said.
Well, not exactly that normal. In 29 previous US PGA Tour starts, Every has one top-10 finish, a tie for eighth two years ago at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
But what Every meant is that his game felt normal. He avoided mistakes (it was a bogey-free day), rolled in a few putts (three from outside 20 feet) and struck his irons crisply (12 of 18 greens in regulation).
Having played 20 events on the Nationwide Tour last year and finishing 18th on the money list with four top-10 finishes, the University of Florida grad simply feels like this week's start at the Sony Open is a carryover from last year.
"I'm not saying like I'm going to be on top of the leaderboard every week," Every said, "but it's not a surprise to me. I know that I can, you know?
"It's only two rounds, though, so it's not that big of a deal."
Every closed with three straight birdies, giving him a two-shot lead over Carl Pettersson (67) and David Hearn, who kept the Canadian presence on the leaderboard with his second straight 66.
Brendon de Jonge shot 62 and Pat Perez was solid again with a 67 to finish three shots behind, along with Doug LaBelle II, a Monday qualifier at the Sony Open for the third time.
Using a new big mallet putter on Thursday, de Jonge needed 32 putts en route to shooting a 1-over 71.
Overnight, he decided to switch back to the normal-sized putter that he had used last year. He needed just 24 putts on Friday.
"I don't know why I switched (earlier this week)," de Jonge said. "I just did, and it was a mistake obviously."
Graham DeLaet, the first-round leader at 63, had consecutive double bogeys at the start of his round and rallied for a 72, putting him five shots out of the lead.
The Kona wind that picked up slightly in the afternoon provided an unusual scene on the par-5 ninth. Firm fairways and a tail wind made the 504-yard play to an average score of 3.957 -- and it's a par 5.
Erik Compton took advantage, hitting to 4 feet for eagle on his last hole to make the cut on the number at 1-under 139. Pettersson hit a big drive that left him only a sand wedge for his second shot.
"It felt weird," Pettersson said. "I freaked out. I said to my caddie, `Are you sure?' It just didn't feel right."
Steve Stricker made double bogey from a bad lie in a bunker that stalled his momentum. He had to settle for a 69 and was five shots back in his bid to become the first player since Ernie Els in 2003 to sweep the Hawaii events.

Stricker was tied for the lead when he birdied the 18th hole at the turn. On the opening hole, among the toughest on the course, he got through the hard part with a drive down the middle of the fairway. His 3-iron into the increasingly strong wind came up a yard short and plugged into a bunker, and he knocked that over the green for a double bogey.
"From that point, I struggled to get any momentum going," he said. "But I'm OK."
Russell Knox, pictured, missed the cut by one shot with a pair of 70s for 140. England's pair, Greg Owen and Gary Christian had mixed fortunes. Owen survived to play at the weekend with a pair of 69s for 138 while Christian failed to qualify with two 73s for 146.


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GUNN SAGS IN ARIZONA FINISH

Dornoch tour pro Jimmy Gunn sagged to a six-over-par 77 in the final round of this week's All-American Pro Golf Tour event at Longbow Golf Club, Mesa in Arizona.
Gunn finished T21 in a field of 72 players with scores of 66, 73 and 77 for a three-over total of 216. He earned $690, which recouped his entry fee with a little extra to cover expenses.
Winner of the $6,700 first prize was American Joel Kribel who had rounds of 71, 67 and 67 for eight-under-par 205 over the par-71 course. He had three shots to spare at the finish from fellow-Americans Ryan Hogue, Justin Searles and Joe Panzeri.
Next event on the tour is an 18-hole competition - Gunn won the last one-rounder in December - at Ocotillo Golf Resort, Chandler in Arizona on January 20.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71)
Players from US unless stated
205 Joel Kribel 71 67 67 ($6,700)
208 Ryan Hogue 66 74 68, Justin Searles 72 67 69, Joe Panzeri 68 69 71 ($2,831 each).
209 Ryan Dillon 69 72 68, Nathan Tyler 65 73 71 ($1,907 each).
Selected score
216 Jimmy Gunn (Scotland) 66 73 77 (T21) ($690).