LEHMAN AND VAUGHAN SHARE LEAD ON 65 IN US SENIOR OPENER

FROM THE US PGA SENIORS TOUR WEBSITE
KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii (AP) -- Tom Lehman and Bruce Vaughan shot 7-under 65s on Friday to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour's season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.
Lehman, the Player of the Year last season on the 50-and-over tour, birdied the final hole at Hualalai Resort to match Vaughan at the top of the leaderboard.
Brad Faxon, Loren Roberts, Corey Pavin and Jay Haas were a stroke back.
Defending champion John Cook opened with a 69, and Fred Couples had a 72.
All but five of the 41 players shot par or better on the Jack Nicklaus-designed course, the easiest layout on the tour eight of the last nine years.
Lehman had five birdies and an eagle, playing the par-5 holes in 5 under.
A three-time winner last season, Lehman became the first player to be honoUred as the player of the year on all three US PGA Tour-sanctioned tours. He won the Nationwide award in 1991 and the US PGA Tour honour in 1996.
Vaughan played in the third group, missing the wind that picked up to 15 mph in the afternoon. His only bogey came on the 16th hole, but he rallied with birdies on the final two holes for his lowest score on the Champions Tour by two shots. Vaughan has limited exempt status this year and got into the tournament because of his victory in the 2008 Senior British Open.
Roberts won the 2006 event, setting the tour's scoring record at 25 under. He has 19 straight sub-par rounds at Hualalai.
Dan Forsman and Michael Allen were two strokes back after 67s, and Bernhard Langer, Gary Hallberg, Mark McNulty, John Huston, Russ Cochran and Jeff Sluman followed at 68.
Huston played the final four holes in 3 over. He and Faxon are making their first starts in the event, which is open to champions from the last two years and major champions from the last five. Eight more players, including Pavin, received sponsor exemptions.

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NISBET v SCHNEIDER IN 36-HOLE FINAL OF AUSSIE AMATEUR CH/SHP

Queensland’s Daniel Nisbet will face off against Germany’s Marcel Schneider in the 36-hole final of the Australian Men’s Amateur Championship at Woodlands Golf Club, Melbourne tomorrow (Sunday).

Nisbet beat New South Welshman Jordan Zunic 5 and 4 while Schneider fought out a long battle with 15-year-old Ruben Sondjaja (New South Wales) before  defeating him at the 21st hole.
Nisbet, a regular on the amateur circuit for several years, is shooting for his first Australian Amateur title.
Schneider is a former Austrian Amateur champion and finished second at the German Amateur last year.
If Nisbet wins, he would be the first Queenslander since Andrew Buckle in 2001 to win the title. If Schneider wins, he’ll be the first German to win the title and the first international player since Norway’s Anders Kristiansen in 2008.
The winner also earns an exemption into the Emirates Australian Open later this year.

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O'HARA WINS 2,000 EUROS FOR THIRD PLACE FINISH IN TURKEY

FROM THE EPD TOUR WEBSITE
Maximilian Glauert (Germany) is the winner of the 2012 Gloria New Course Classic at Belek, Turkey.
The professional from Duesseldorf secured victory of the first tournament of this season, playing 36 holes in 10 under par 132 (64-68) over the par-71 course.
The event had to be shortened to two rounds due to severe ground frost on Days 1 and 2.
Glauert finished five shots clear of Marek Novy (Czech Republic) (71-66 for 137).
Third place went to Paul O'Hara (pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency) from Scotland with 73 + 65 for 138.
Glauert won 5,000 Euros, Novey 3,000 and O'Hara 2,000.
The only other Scot in the field, Ross Cameron (Saltire Energy from Ellon, Aberdeenshire shot a 69 in the second round for 147 and joint 35th place. He won 305 Euros.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71). Prize money in Euros
132 Max Glauert (Ger) 64 68 (5,000).
137 Marek Novy (Czech Rep) 71 66 (3,000)
138 Paul O'Hara (Sco) 73 65 (2,000)
Selected scores
140 Tom Boys (Eng) 69 71 (T6) (1,083).
143 Lee Corfield (Eng) 72 71 (T12) (554).
146 Matthew Dearden (Wal)  76 70 (T28) (340).
147 Ross Cameron (Sco) 78 69 (T35) (305).
150 Nicholas Murtagh (Eng) 77 73 (T49)
153 Adam Carson (Eng) 76 77 (T63).
156 James Wilson (Eng) 81 75 (75th)

ROUND 1 TRIPLE BOGEY COST O'HARA 1,000 EUROS

Motherwell's Paul O'Hara shot a six-birdie, bogey-free 65 - the lowest of the second and final round today - to win the frost-shortened opening event of the EPD (German PGA) Tour at the Gloria Old Course, Belek on Turkey's Antalya southern coastline.
O'Hara, who had run up a triple bogey 7 at the 18th of a first-round two-over-par 73 finished on four-under 142 to win 2,000 Euros. But for that triple bogey Paul would have finished second, ahead of Marek Novy (Czech Republic (71-66 for 137) and collected 3,000 Euros
The only other Scot in the field, Ellon's Ross Cameron (sponsored by Saltire Energy), had a second-round 69 for 147 and earned 305 Euros for a share of 35th place. Cameron birdied the first, second and seventh, and had one bogey, at the 18th.
Maximilian Glauert from Germany won the first prize of 5,000 Euros by five shots with rounds of 64 and 68 for 10-under 132.
Severe frost delayed play by four hours on Thursday and Friday, forcing the organisers to cut the tournament from three to two rounds.

ROSS CAMERON REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Well, we finally got finished the first of four events in Turkey on the EPD Tour. As you posted we had a four-hour delay on Thursday and Friday due to frost which meant the tournament was cut to 36 holes. With all the delays it took some groups three days to finish their first rounds!
The weather on Thursday was bright and sunny but very windy and very cold, yesterday and today was calmer and certainly warmer!
Paul O'Hara finished 3rd with a very good 2nd round 65 which meant that was twice he has beaten me this week as he pipped me in the practice round also. I rallied with a second-round 69 to finish tied 35th and get a share of the last prize money.



The next event starts on Monday over the 'Old Course' here at the very nice Gloria Golf Club.



Ross Cameron

Saltire Energy

COLSAERTS AND GRACE SHARE VOLVO CHAMPIONS ROUND 3 LEAD

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts and South African Branden Grace - who individually held four shot leads on the first and second days - are tied at the top with a round to play in the Volvo Golf Champions on Sunday.
But just behind them European Captain José María Olazábal still has a chance to kick off Ryder Cup year with his first win since 2005 - from 596th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
After a wet and wild day that saw overnight leader Grace take 75, Olazábal is only two shots off the pace at Fancourt in South Africa.
By far the lowest-ranked player in the 35-man winners-only European Tour event, the 46-year-old Spaniard stands eight under par, two behind Grace and Colsaerts.
Olazábal managed a one under par 72, despite driving into the bushes with his opening shot of the day and then taking a double bogey 5 on the 17th when his ball kicked into more trouble.
That looked to be very costly, but Grace - four clear at halfway just like Colsaerts had been after his opening course record 64 - double-bogeyed the same hole.
In contrast, big-hitting Colsaerts eagled the last from 50 feet for a 69, needing only a drive and eight iron to make the green on the 549yd hole.
He and Grace, last man into the select field after winning last week's Joburg Open, are a shot in front of two more South Africans, Retief Goosen and Masters Tournament champion Charl Schwartzel, with Olazábal alone in fifth.
Ireland's Padraig Harrington and 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen are one stroke further back and then comes Ernie Els on six under.
Olazábal has been playing only a limited schedule the last few seasons because of his continuing battle with rheumatism.
"There's always a chance you might not win again when your game is off," he said. "It's hard to be positive at times, but I know I can fight.
"It would mean a lot. I do have a long journey ahead of me, but I'm ready for it and want to give myself the best chance.
"I'm excited about what I have to do, not so much about what might happen. It would be a great achievement if I hit seven or eight solid drives - just as I do on the range - and shoot a solid score."
Harrington finally won his battle with the 18th hole. After two double bogey 7s he two-putted for a birdie 4 like Olazábal and was round in a three under 70.
At 89th in the Official World Golf ranking the Irishman, a three-time Major winner, is trying to climb back into the top 64 in time for next month's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play.
He can achieve that with a win here, although the cut-off point is not for another three weeks.
"There's a glaring part of my game missing - my routine is not flowing - but going forward I am quite positive I can fix that," Harrington said after making birdies at three of the last four holes to climb back into contention.
"I did feel like giving fists up in the air after that birdie at the last, but I'm not getting into thinking about what could have been the other days."
Colsaerts, who topped the driving distance statistics in Europe two years ago, did not even know how far his closing drive went, simply describing it as "enormous."
His eight iron, though, flew 200 yards downwind and he said making the putt that followed was "the cherry on top".
The 29 year old from Brussels must be wondering what is going to happen next, though, after rounds of 64, 76 and 69.
Grace was at The European Tour Qualifying School only a month ago, but now has the chance of back-to-back victories.
“I played really well today,” he said. “Conditions were tough out there - we always knew there was going to be bogeys on the card - nothing you can do about it.
“I just had a couple unlucky shots that didn't bounce anyway in the fairways and got into pot bunkers and it happened on the tough holes which is a bit unfortunate.
“But otherwise, I'm still really happy with the way I played and I thought I handled it really good. It was a long day so I'm still pleased to be at the top.”
SCOTSWATCH. Paul Lawrie dropped to joint eighth with a one-over-par 74 for five-under 219. The Aberdonian did well to recover from a sticky start which saw him bogey the first and double bogey the third. But, from three over par after three holes, Lawrie coverted the remaining 15 holes in two-under-par with 13 pars and birdies at the 14th and long 18th. Colin Montgomerie had a nightmare 80 for 225. He had six bogeys and a couple of double bogeys, at the third and seventh. He did birdie the first, 14th and long 18th in halves of 41 and 39.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 219 (3x73)
Players from S Africa unless stated
209 Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 64 76 69, Branden Gtace 68 66 75.
210 Charl Schwartzel 75 67 68, Retief Goosdn 72 68 70.
211 Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain) 69 71 72, Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 69 73 70.
213 Ernie Els 71 71 71.
214 Paul Lawrie (Scotland) 72 68 74, Alexander Noren (Sweden) 72 68 74.
215 Lee Slattery (England) 73 65 77, Darren Clarke (N Ireland) 74 68 73, Thomas Aiken 68 70 77.
Selected score
225 Colin Montgomerie (Scotland) 70 75 80.

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JIM HARDIE FLANKED BY TWO MEN WHO HAVE WON 6 OPEN TITLES

  Aberdeen businessman Jim Hardie flanked by two Open champions of yesteryear, New Zealander Sir Bob Charles (left), winner at Royal Lytham in 1963, and five times Open champion, Australian Peter Thomson, winner in 1954 (Royal Birkdale), 1955 (St Andrews), 1956 (Hoylake), 1959 (Royal Lytham) and 1965 (Royal Birkdale). Thomson was the original "Tiger" ... the Melbourne Tiger they called Peter, writes Colin Farquharson .
Jim Hardie escapes from the North-east winter to spend a couple of months in New Zealand either side of the turn of the year.
He plays a lot of golf with Sir Bob near Christchurch where he lives.
"Still a very fine golfer and always a great guy," says Hardie who experienced an earthquake first hand in his Christchurch hotel on his recent visit to NZ.
"Christchurch was devastated by the really big earthquake it suffered last year and I am astonished that it has received so little publicity in the British media. The people of Christchurch are living on their nerves because there the ground is shaking regularly.
"It is not a pleasant feeling and I can vouch for that after being there when there was one of the tremors that shook everything."
Sir Bob played a number of Scottish links on his last visit a couple of years ago and Jim Hardie says that he is planning another trip to Scotland this summer.

JAMES BYRNE BIRDIES THE LAST TO EARN ASIAN TOUR 2012 PLACE

Banchory's James Byrne kept his nerve over the last round of the Final Qualifying School at Cha Am, Thailand to earn playing rights on the Asian Tour this coming season.
A member of the winning GB and I team in last September's Walker Cup match at Royal Aberdeen, the 24-year-old Byrne shot 68, 69, 75 and 72 for a four-under-par total of 284 and joint 28th place among the 42 qualifiers at 285 or better.
Bryne, who played four years on the American college circuit as a student at Arizona State University, said the pressure started to build up after he bogeyed the 17th to put himself on the borderline. But he responded to it in the best possible way by sinking a birdie putt at the last to make the cut with a shot to spare.
“I’m happy with the way I finished. The pressure was there, no doubt about it. The cut is always on the back of your mind. You try not to think about it but it is hard to avoid the fact that you are right there,” said Byrne.
“I’m delighted to have some where to play on. I could have received some invites on the Challenge Tour but I didn’t want to go down that route where you play about seven events a year. I feel like I’m good enough to be able to win on the Asian Tour,” added Bryne, whose mother comes from Singapore.
David Lipsky of the United States won the Qualifying School Final Stage with a closing round of four-under 68 for a total of 14-under 274. Lipsky is half-South Korean.
Lipsky enjoyed a successful college career at the Northwestern University, Chicago and credited his victory to words of encouragement received from world No 1 Luke Donald on the social network Twitter. Donald spent four years at Northwestern and has retained strong links with the university.
“Luke Donald and my coach sent me some good messages this week. That really encouraged me. It was just a Tweet from Luke telling me good luck. Nothing too serious but that always helps with the confidence when you have the world number one wishing you luck,” said the 23-year-old.
Only three British players earned membership of the 2012 Asian Tour - Byrne and England's Stephen Lewton (277) and Gary Wodman (283).


ASIAN TOUR FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL
Cha Am, Thailand.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
42 players with totals of 285 or better earned players' cards.
274 David Lipsky (US) 72 65 69 68
276 Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 73 70 70 63, Adam Groom (Aus) 69 71 68 68, Arnond Vongvanij (Tha) 69 64 74 69, Dodge Kemmer (US) 66 70 69 71.
277 Sushi Ishigaki (Jap) 66 69 73 69, Stephen Lewton (Eng) 68 74 66 69
278 Yosuke Tsukada (Jap) 63 71 71 73
280 Javi Colomo (Spa) 65 72 74 69, Makoto Inoue (Jap) 70 70 70 70, Masanori Kobayashi (Jap) 70 67 68 75
281 Jesper Kennegard (Swe) 71 70 74 66, Joon H Lee (SKo) 67 71 71 72, Wade Ormsby Ormsby (Aus) 69 71 68 73, Martin Rominger (Swi) 72 63 72 74.

Selected scores:
283 Guy Woodman (Eng) 64 69 74 76.
284 James Byrne (Sco) 68 69 75 72 (T28)
MISSED THE CUT
288 Dale Marmion (Eng) 70 67 73 78, Niall Kearney (Ire) 72 72 72 72 (T56)
289 Jake Shepherd (Eng) 71 71 75 72 (T61).
290 Niall Turner (Ire) 68 73 76 73 (T68).
291 Simon Griffiths (Eng) 68 72 76 75,k Chris Rodgers (Eng) 70 74 72 75 (T73).
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GUNN EARNS $700 FOR FOURTH PLACE FINISH IN ARIZONA

Arizona-based Jimmy Gunn from Dornoch earned $700 for a fourth place finish in the latest event on the All-American Pro Golf Tour, an 18-hole competition at the Octotillo Golf Resort, Chandler in Arizona on Friday.
Gunn shot a five-under-par 67 to finished three shots behind the winner of the $2,000 top prize, Canadian Kent Eger with an eight-under 64.
Americans Rich Saferian and Hogue tied for second place with 66s and each earned $912
Gunn has earned a total of $6,052 in the All-American Pro Golf Tour's eight events since October. He has finished out of the money only twice. He has won once and also finished third, fourth and sixth in other events.