ENGLAND'S TAYLOR, IRELAND'S PHELAN 3rd-4th IN JONES CUP

Justin Thomas (Kentucky) won the prestigious Jones Cup 54-hole tournament at Ocean Forest Golf Club, Sea Island, Georgia today.
Thomas produced the lowest round of the event - a three-under-par 69 - for a level par total of 216 after earlier rounds of 72 and 75, to win by two shots from the overnight leader, Manav Shah (California) who scored 71-71-76 for 218.
England's Ben Taylor from Leatherhead finished a close-up third on 219 with scores of 73-75-71.
Ireland's Kevin Phelan, a student in Florida, finished fourth on 220.
Rhys Enoch (Wales and East Tennessee State University) finished joint 12th on 223 while Lexi Thompson's big brother Curtis Thompson, second overnight, had a disastrous last round of 80 to plummet to a share of 21st place on 223.
British amateur champion Bryden Macpherson (Australia) did not cover himself in glory either. He finished joint 46th on 232 although he did have ever-improving rounds. Only trouble is that he started on a very high mark - 82, followed by 78 and 73.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72). Yardage: 7,321
216 Justin Thomas (Kentucky) 72 75 69.
218 Manav Shah (California) 71 71 76.
219 Ben Taylor (England) 73 75 71.
220 Kevin Phelan (Ireland) 74 72 74.
Selected totals
223 Rhys Enoch (Wales) 74 73 76 (T12),
225 Curtis Thompson (Florida) 70 75 80 (T21).
232 Bryden Macpherson (Australia) 81 78 73 (T46).
235 Craig Hinton (England) 84 72 79 (T58).
238 Rhys Pugh (Wales) 80 77 81 (T71).
239 Charlie Bull (England) 85 73 81 (T71).
240 Alastair Jones (Wales) 78 82 80 (T75).
243 Jason Shufflebotham (Wales) 84 77 82 (T81).

Alabama Univ freshman Justin Thomas the winner

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By SEAN MARTIN
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Georgia – Five things you need to know from the final round of the Jones Cup, where University of Alabama freshman Justin Thomas won one of amateur golf’s premier events:

1. YOU CAN CALL IT A COMEBACK: Justin Thomas started the final round five shots off Manav Shah’s lead. Thomas was still two behind as he played the 14th hole. Birdies on Nos. 14 and 15, and struggles by Shah, allowed Thomas to claim one of amateur golf’s biggest titles.
He finished at even-par 216 after a final-round 69. Shah, who shot 76 Sunday, finished second at 2-over 218.
“I just tried to play smart,” Thomas said. “I knew five shots could be made up out here. It’s the nature of the course. I just kept trying to hit fairways and greens. This whole week went by really fast, and it’s awesome.”
Thomas reached the par-5 14th in two shots, hitting the green with his 258-yard second shot before two-putting from 40 feet. He hit 7-iron to 15 feet on the par-3 15th for another birdie.
Shah was two shots ahead of the field when he made a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-4 13th. He double-bogeyed the 15th after hitting his tee shot over the green. He flew the green with his flop shot, the ball settling against the lip of a greenside bunker. He played out sideways, then two-putted from 50 feet. Shah bogeyed the next hole when he pushed his tee shot into the trees.

2. CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN: Ocean Forest, site of the 2001 Walker Cup, is incredibly demanding. The winning score was over par in the previous three Jones Cups, despite a field featuring many of the world's best amateur golfers. Many of the fairways are lined by hazards, and the firm, fast greens are protected by bunkers.
The slightest mistake can lead to double bogeys, as Thomas found out. He had two in Saturday’s second round before making a slight swing change. Both doubles were caused by hooked shots.
He realised he was taking the clubface back closed during his takeaway, so he tried to feel like he was opening the face during the takeaway. He played the tournament’s final 25 holes in five under par, making five birdies and one bogey.
“My finish is really what won me the tournament,” Thomas said. “I told myself I just had to stay in it because you never know what can happen.”
He made just a single bogey Sunday against four birdies.

3. GOOD COMPANY: Thomas joins Kyle Stanley (2009), Patrick Reed (2010) and John Peterson (2011) as recent winners of this event. All were among the world’s top amateurs when they won.
Thomas also is among this season’s sterling freshman class, one of the best in recent memory. He’s No. 11 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings after his first semester of college golf.
He won his collegiate debut, the Carpet Capital Invitational. Texas’ Jordan Spieth and Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers, both members of the 2011 U.S. Walker Cup team, and Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan also are among the freshmen who won college titles this past fall.
Thomas’s recent success has come after a summer amateur season that was below his standards.
“I putted miserably,” he said. “I’d have more than 30 putts almost every round. You can’t really contend when you do that. I’m trying to have a more positive mindset toward it. I feel like I was too hard on myself sometimes, and that would hurt me when it shouldn’t be.”
This was Thomas’ second major amateur win. He also won the 2010 Terra Cotta Invitational. He was runner-up at the 2010 U.S. Junior and won the 2009 FootJoy Boys Invitational, one of the AJGA’s major championships. That victory earned him a start at the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, where he made the cut at age 16.

4. SHAH’S LATE STRUGGLES: Shah, a UCLA sophomore, was three shots clear of the field at the start of the final round. He was two ahead when he made a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 13, but made double bogey on the par-3 15th and bogeyed the par-4 16th. He shot 76 to finish at 2-over 218.
Shah is hardly alone among players who’ve struggled down the stretch at this event.
In 2009, Morgan Hoffmann had a five-shot lead with three holes remaining, but played those holes 4 over and lost a playoff to Stanley, winner of this week's Waste Management Phoenix Open. Reed made triple bogey on each of the last two holes last year. He would’ve won outright if he had played the final two holes in one over.
Shah also was runner-up at the 2011 NCAA West Regional and Southern California Amateur. Patrick Cantlay, his UCLA teammate, won both events. Shah is redshirting this season after transferring from the University of San Diego.

5. NOTABLES: England’s Ben Taylor finished third at 3-over 219 after a final-round 71. North Florida’s Irish student Kevin Phelan (74), who played with Shah in the final group, finished fourth at 4-over 220.
Auburn’s Michael Hebert (75), Alabama’s Bobby Wyatt (75) and California  teammates Max Homa (70) and Michael Kim (71) tied for fifth at 5-over 221.
Curtis Thompson, the third member of the final pairing, didn’t hit a fairway until the 11th hole Sunday, shooting 80 to fall from second to 21st. He was 9 over on his 10 holes in the final round.
Thompson, brother of rising LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson, was seeking his second consecutive major amateur title after a win at December’s Dixie Amateur.

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LAWRIE WIN PUTS HIM IN WORLD TOP 50 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2003

Paul Lawrie, the magnificent pearl trophy and a sponsors' representative.

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Paul Lawrie is back in the Official World Golf Ranking's top 50 for the first time since 2003 after a flawless performance gave him a second Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy title today.
The 43-year-old from Aberdeen, known as "Chippy" all his career, chipped in twice during a brilliant closing 65 and beat Australian Jason Day and Swede Peter Hanson by four.
Less than a year ago the 1999 Open champion was 272nd in the Official World Golf Ranking. Now he is part of golf's elite group again.
The victory, worth 310,020 Euros in cash terms, also guarantees him a place in the 64-man World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play in Arizona later this month and the 24-man Volvo World Match Play in Spain in May.
He is on course to win a second Ryder Cup cap 13 years after his first, and if he can stay in the top 50 for another seven weeks he will make a return to The Masters Tournament at Augusta National in April after an eight-year gap.
This was Lawrie's first success since his long-time coach Adam Hunter died of leukaemia in October and Lawrie was close to tears when reminded of that afterwards.
"I don't think I can play much better than that," he said after finishing with a 15 under par total in an event cut to 54 holes because of Friday's strong winds.
"I've been playing well for a long, long time, but it's just nice to come out (for the final round) one ahead and shoot seven under."
It was the joint lowest round of the day.
Paul added: "When you've got a chance to win a tournament you don't sleep as well the night before and things go racing through your mind.
"You've got to get back to basics and I did that. I hit some nice shots coming in."
Also reminded that his 1999 victory in the tournament was followed five months later by lifting The Claret Jug at Carnoustie Lawrie said: "Now wouldn't that be nice to get that again?"
And as for the Ryder Cup he added: "I've been trying to keep that to the back of my mind. If I keep playing as I am I will get in, there's no question, but there's a long way to go and I know as well as anyone that there are a lot of good players."
The first chip-in was perfectly timed. Lawrie had been caught by Sergio Garcia moments before, but holing out for eagle from just short of the green at the long ninth put him two in front again.
Garcia, six under for the first 11 holes, then bogeyed the 13th and 15th to drop back to joint fifth and instead it was Day who applied the pressure.
The 24 year old Australian, runner-up in both the Masters Tournament and US Open Championship last season, began each half with four successive birdies, but a bogey 6 on the ninth left him with too much ground to make up.
Lawrie went clear with birdies on the 11th, 14th and 16th and victory was effectively sealed when he chipped in again at the short 17th.
Hanson caught Day by pitching in for eagle on the 16th and matching his two-putt birdie on the last. They were round in 67 and 65 respectively.
Fourth was 45 year old American John Daly. Down at 543rd in the Official World Golf Rankings at the start of the week, it was the former Open champion's best display since he was second in the 2009 BMW Italian Open.
Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, third and fourth on the rankings, finished 12th and ninth respectively, Westwood sharing his position with José María Olazábal on the Ryder Cup captain's 46th birthday.

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AUSSIE PRATT WINS THREE-WAY PLAY-0FF AT MYANMAR OPEN

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Yangon: Kieran Pratt of Australia birdied the second play-off hole to win his first Asian Tour title at the Zaykabar Myanmar Open presented by Air Bagan today.
Pratt, Adam Blyth of Australia and Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand were tied on 15-under-par 273 in regulation play which forced a three-way play-off at the US$300,000 Asian Tour event.
Kiradech, who closed with a 72, was the first to bow out after narrowly missing his birdie putt from 35 feet as Pratt and Blyth birdied the 18th hole at the Royal Mingalardon Golf and Country Club.
But it was Pratt who was the last man standing, making another birdie on the same hole as Blyth made par after his tee shot found water.
“Fantastic. It feels great to win the first event of the year. Obviously you want to get off to a fast start but to win is obviously better,” smiled Pratt, who closed with a four-under-par 68.
Pratt, once ranked 15th in the World Golf Amateur Ranking, was five shots off the lead after the third round but made a superb charge highlighted by an eagle-three on the 18th hole which he sank from 15 feet.
Playing three flights behind the leading flight, Pratt had an agonizing wait in the clubhouse before the play-off was confirmed.
“I felt like I was a long way from the lead but walking up the 14, 15 and 16 holes, I kind of felt like the leaders were going nowhere. I told myself if I could get a couple of birdies on the way back, I could force a play-off and then I eagled the 18th hole,” said the 23-year-old.
“I had to wait for Kiradech to par the 18th hole in the clubhouse and that was quite a nervous wait. It was pretty cool and unexpected to sneak into the play-off,” added Pratt, who is playing in his second year on the Asian Tour after earning his card at Qualifying School.
Blyth overcame an eight-shot deficit with a sensational round of 65 to join the play-off. This was his third runner-up finish on the Asian Tour since 2007.
“I was never expecting to have a chance to win. I’m disappointed that I had the opportunity to win and didn’t. But I’m still happy with the outcome and how I played. It is a great way to start the season,” said Blyth, who is still searching for his first Asian Tour victory.
He rued his tee shot on the second play-off hole which bounced off the cart-path and into the water.
“I hit it my tee shot probably about 20 or 25 yards further maybe through adrenaline. It hit the cart path and it bounced over the trees and into the water. A bit of unluckiness there but I made a good five to put the pressure on Kieran,” said Blyth.
Kiradech, known for his grip-it and rip-it style of play, made 13 straight pars before trading one birdie and bogey on holes 14 and 15 respectively to miss his chance of winning a second Asian Tour title.
“I’m pleased with myself. I was hitting it very well but couldn’t sink my putts. I three putted for bogey on the 15th hole and that was a big mistake. That was the turning point. Overall I’m still happy and confident for the year,” he said.
There was heartbreak for overnight leader Scott Hend of Australia, who held a comfortable two-shot lead after the eighth hole but shot a quadruple bogey on nine, where his ball found water twice.
He finished in tied fourth place after a 74 with Thai rising star Arnond Vongvanij, who is making his Asian Tour debut.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72). Yardage: 7,218, Royal Mingalardon GCC course
273 Kieran PRATT (AUS) 70-69-66-68, Adam BLYTH (AUS) 71-68-69-65, Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) 66-66-69-72.
274 Arnond VONGVANIJ (THA) 67-69-71-67, Scott HEND (AUS) 64-67-69-74.
275 Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 68-73-71-63, Anthony KANG (USA) 72-69-68-66, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 72-67-66-70, Ben FOX (USA) 64-69-69-73, Marcus BOTH (AUS) 68-66-68-73.
276 Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 67-72-72-65, Makoto INOUE (JPN) 72-66-69-69, PARK Hyun-bin (KOR) 69-71-66-70, Kodai ICHIHARA (JPN) 67-67-70-72.
277 Javi COLOMO (ESP) 71-70-70-66, Jesper KENNEGARD (SWE) 71-63-74-69, BAEK Seuk-hyun (KOR) 67-71-70-69, Martin ROMINGER (SUI) 67-70-70-70, Jonathan MOORE (USA) 70-67-67-73.
278 PARK Jung-ho (KOR) 68-73-69-68, Niall TURNER (IRL) 69-68-72-69, Chawalit PLAPHOL (THA) 68-67-72-71, Wade ORMSBY (AUS) 64-70-72-72, Tetsuji HIRATSUKA (JPN) 69-66-67-76
SELECTED TOTALS
281 Stephen Lewton (England) 7 66 73 72, Simon Griffiths (England) 67 72 72 70 (T36).
284 Chris Rodgers (England) 66 71 76 71 (T51).

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PAUL LAWRIE'S GLOSS FINISH - WINS QATAR MASTERS BY FOUR

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Paul Lawrie won the Qatar Masters today with consummate ease. Starting the third and final round one shot ahead he increased that to a winning margin of four shots with a brillainty seven-under-par 65 for a 15-under-par total of 201.
The Aberdonian, who won this event in 1999 and then went on to win the Open at Carnoustie that summer, had earlier rounds of 69 and 67.
There will be those who say that the loss of a round due to bad weather helped Lawrie but the way the 43-year-old is playing, he most likely would have gone even lower again had there been a fourth round.
Australian Jason Day and Sweden's Peter Hanson were joint runners-up on 205.
Paul clinched his victory which boosts his chances of makining the Ryder Cup team for Medinah in the autumn with a bogey-free round today.
He birdied the long first and then had an eagle 3 at the long ninth to be out in three-under 33.
Birdies studded his inward half at the 11th, 14th, 16th and short 17th.
Great stuff!
We'll have a full report with quotes from the Man Himself later.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72). Prizemoney in Euros.
201 Paul Lawrie (Scotland) 69 67 65 (310,020
205 Jason Day (Australia) 68 72 65, Peter Hanson (Sweden) 69 69 67 (164,688 each)
207 John Daly (US) 67 73 67 (94,808).
208 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (France) 71 72 65, Seren Hansen 71 71 66, Sergio Garcia (Spain) 72 68 68, Ricardo Gonzalez (Argentina) 71 67 70 (62,763 each).
209 Martin Kaymer (Germany) 71 70 68, Victor Dubuisson (France) 72 68 69, Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 69 68 72 (38,429 each).
SELECTED TOTALS
210 Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 73 69 68, Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain) 71 70  69, Lee Westwood (England) 71 70 69 (T12) (27,542 each).
213 Marc Warren (Scotland) 72 68 73 (T35) (12,135).
214 David Drysdale (Scotland) 73 72 69 (T47) (7,600).

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PHOENIX OPEN CROWD OF 173,210 SEE LEVIN GO SIX SHOTS CLEAR

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona-- Spencer Levin remained in control in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in front of the largest crowd in tournament history, shooting a 3-under 68 on Saturday to take a six-stroke lead into the final round.
Levin has lit up the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale this week, stringing together rounds of 65, 63 and 68 to open a six-stroke lead in pursuit of a breakthrough PGA TOUR victory.
He wasn't quite as sharp with his belly putter as he was the first two days, but remained firmly in control in front of the largest crowd in tournament history, a noisy gathering of 173,210 in perfect conditions.
"It was fun for sure, but I was trying to focus, too," Levin said about the huge crowd and party atmosphere. "You don't get that too often, all those people cheering."
Levin, five strokes ahead after the completion of the second round Saturday morning, had four birdies and a bogey in the third round to reach 17 under. The bogey on the par-5 15th was his first since the opening hole of the tournament.
"I felt like I played solid," Levin said. "I felt like I was in control of my ball most of the day, and yeah, I'm pleased. I've never had a big lead like that starting the day, and I thought I played well. Overall, I'm pleased about it."
Webb Simpson was 11 under after a 68. At No. 6 in the world, he's the highest-ranked player in the field.
"I feel good, but my swing is just not really getting in sync," Simpson said. "I'm missing the ball left and right. I want to polish that up. But I made a bunch of good swings down the stretch that gave me a lot of confidence."
The 27-year-old Levin, remembered for a hole-in-one and 13th-place tie in the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock while still in school at New Mexico, is trying to win for the first time on the US PGA Tour. He came close last year, losing a playoff to Johnson Wagner in the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Last week at Torrey Pines, Levin had a share of the first-round lead after a 62, but followed with rounds of 76, 73 and 72 to tie for 43rd.
"Hopefully, I can just stay calm, try my best and keep having fun," Levin said. "I'm going to try my best. That's all I'm going to do, and we'll see what happens."
Bubba Watson was seven strokes behind Levin after a 67.
"He's playing so good, you don't expect him to come back in the field," Watson said. "You're going to have to go chase him down."
Tour rookie John Huh shot a 69 to join Watson at 10 under.
Kyle Stanley was eight strokes back after a 69 as he tries to rebound from a devastating loss. Last Sunday at Torrey Pines, he made a triple-bogey 8 on the final hole of regulation and lost to Brandt Snedeker in a playoff.
Jason Dufner, second last year after a playoff loss to Mark Wilson, shot a 68 to join Stanley, Chris Stroud (66), Greg Chalmers (67) and Ben Crane at 9 under.
Fan favorite Phil Mickelson was 8 under after a 67. The former Arizona State star won the tournament in 1996 and 2005.
"I'd like to be further up, but given where I was 27 holes ago, I'm in a really good spot," Mickelson said. "I'm starting to play some good golf, and I'm starting to get a little bit of momentum."
Many players had fun with Waste Management's "Green-Out" on Saturday. Crane and Rickie Fowler were two of the greenest, sporting the colour nearly head to toe. Mickelson wore a dark green shirt.
"I think it's cool what Waste Management is doing, creating awareness for the environment as well as supporting the PGA TOUR event," Mickelson said. "We're appreciative for all they've done."
Levin got off to a good start with birdies on the third and fourth holes. He got up and down from the back fringe on the par-5 third, and made a 16-foot putt on par-3 fourth. He followed with eight straight pars, most tap-in putts after birdie misses, before two-putting for birdie on the par-5 13th to reach 17 under.
He bogeyed the par-5 15th after hooking his drive and having the ball bounce into the water.
"Kind of tugged that a little bit left," Levin said. "It wasn't that bad a shot, but if you hit anything in the left side of that fairway, it's probably going to go in the water. I didn't hit it where I wanted to."
Levin saved par on the amphitheatre par-3 16th after leaving his first attempt 5 feet short, holing a tricky sidehill putt. He then birdied the short, par-4 17th, blasting out of the right greenside bunker to 3 feet. On Friday, he eagled the hole when he holed out from the same bunker.
He's playing with a big lead for the first time on the US PGA Tour.
"I tried not to think about it," Levin said. "I was just trying to focus on my game and my ball, and it worked out good today. I tried as hard as I could just to do what I did the first two days, and that's what I'm going to do tomorrow, too."
DIVOTS: The previous one-day attendance record of 170,802 was set in the third round in 2008. The event has drawn 459,815 fans, starting with practice Monday. There were 77,053 fans Thursday, and 116,299 Friday. The tournament record for a week is 538,356, also set in 2008.
The start of play was delayed 15 minutes because of frost after hour delays the first two days. Last year, frost and frozen greens delayed play nine hours during the week, forcing a Monday finish.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 213 (3x71) Prizefund: $6.1million. Winner gets: $1,098,000
Players from US unless stated
196 Spencer Levin 65 63 68.
202 Webb Simpson 65 69 68.
203 Bubba Watson 66 70 67, John Hugh 68 66 69.
204 Chris Stroud 68 70 66, Jason Dufner 64 72 68, Greg Chalmers (Australia) 68 69 67, Ben Crane 69 67 678, Kyle Stanley 69 66 69.

SELECTED SCORES
205 Phil Mickelson 68 70 676 (T10).
211 Ian Poulter (England) 72 69 70 (T44).
215 Martin Laird (Scotland) 72 70 73 (T72).