Sunday, March 11, 2012

BUBBA BLOWS IT - JUSTIN ROSE WINS WGC-CADILLAC CH/PIONSHIP

 Justin Rose with the WGC-Cadillac Championship Trophy. Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c).

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Justin Rose overcame a string of challengers - and Doral's Blue Monster course at Miami - to claim the biggest victory of his career at the WGC-Cadillac Championship on a dramatic day’s golf.
A closing round of 70 for a 16 under par aggregate total gave Rose his fifth European Tour title at the second of this season’s World Golf Championships.
The 31 year old beat American left-hander Bubba Watson (74) by a single stroke and World No 1 Rory McIlroy (67) by two, in the process leaping back into the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking, to seventh place.
A bogey at the last gave Rose a nervous wait when Watson, playing in the final group behind him, hit his second shot from the rough to nine feet. But his birdie putt slid past the hole, and Rose was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief.
The triumph is also a huge boost for Rose’s hopes of reclaiming a Ryder Cup berth, having missed out on the 2010 contest at The Celtic Manor Resort.
Rose said: “There’s been a lot of hard work going on in my game, and it’s paid off – but Bubba’s two shots to 18 had me sweating there.
“These moments are incredibly sweet – they are few and far between as a golfer. My son always asks if I’ve won the trophy before, and 90 per cent of the time you have to say ‘No’.
“For this little beauty of a trophy to show up on my mantelpiece so early in the season is definitely a fantastic feeling, and it sets up a very exciting year for me now.”
McIlroy teed off almost certainly thinking he faced too much of a deficit, with eight shots to make up.
Yet after an outward 33 he got up and down from sand for birdie at the tenth, and holed out from the sand for an eagle at the 12th.
Suddenly, he was only one behind, but a bogey on the 14th hole for the second day running left him a mountain to climb again and, with his chances fading, he dropped another shot on the last after finding a tough lie at the back of the green.
“It’s been another good week,” said the 22 year old from Holywood near Belfast. “This is my fifth event of the season, and my fifth top five.
“It feels like every time I tee it up, I have a chance to win. Now I’m looking forward to three weeks off to prepare for The Masters.
“I’m feeling more and more comfortable going in these type of situations. Last week [at the Honda Classic] I felt pretty comfortable with the lead. On the back nine today I felt pretty good, as well. It’s a shame I couldn’t finish it off, but you can’t win them all.”
South African Charl Schwartzel and Swede Peter Hanson tied for fourth place after carding respective rounds of 68 and 71.
“It was a good week’s work, and it was fun to play with Justin,” said Hanson. “I played very well. I felt on the back nine, I thought if I could stay close to him I was going to get close to winning, but I three-putted the 13th from maybe 30 feet, and that kind of killed my round a little bit.”
Schwartzel, who defends his Masters Tournament title at Augusta next month, was pleased to have given himself a chance of victory after starting the final day eight shots back.
“A 68 in these conditions, I think that’s very decent,” he said. “At least I gave it a run. I just thought standing on the 13th tee that if I can get it to maybe 15 or 16 under, I might have an outside chance. So that was the thought process, and I got close, but in the end I came up just short.”
Watson led by three overnight and had a two-putt birdie on the first, but he threw the tournament wide open with a hat-trick of bogeys from the third hole.
He was in the water there and again from the fifth tee, and Rose’s birdies at the first and fourth holes gave him the lead for the first time.
He then bogeyed the sixth, however, and Keegan Bradley became favourite when he established a two-stroke advantage after seven holes.
However, the US PGA Champion took bogey 6s at the eighth and tenth holes, where he four-putted, and Rose became the man to catch again after further birdies at the tenth and 14th holes.
Watson caught him by suddenly finding form with birdies at the 11th and 12th, but he was bunkered on the next before carding four successive pars to set up a dramatic finale.
World Number Two Luke Donald of England finished in a tie for sixth place on 12 under par after signing off with a round of 69.
He said: “It’s been a bit of a slow start to the year for me, so it’s nice to get back in the mix and I obviously did a lot of good things this week. I don’t think this particular course suits my game, so to come here and have a chance of winning is a very positive step.”
Tiger Woods retired after 11 holes with a left knee injury.

SCROLL DOWN PAST THE SCORES TO READ THE AMERICAN VIEWPOINT

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
Players from US unless stated
272 Justin Rose (England) 69 64 69 70.
273 Bubba Watson 70 62 67 74.
274 Rory McIlroy (N Ireland) 73 69 65 67.
273 Charl Schwartzel (S Africa) 68 69 70 68, Peter Hanson (Sweden) 70 65 69 71.
276 John Senden (Australia) 76 67 68 65, Luke Donald (England) 70 68 69 69
277 Steve Stricker 69 70 69 69, Bo Van Pelt 73 65 70 69, Matt Kuchar 72 67 66 72, Keegan Bradley 69 67 66 75.
SELECTED TOTALS
279 Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) 75 67 67 70, Adam Scott (Australia) 66 68 71 74 (T13).
282 Robert Rock (England) 75 70 68 69, Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) 68 68 75 71, Martin Laird (Scotland) 72 73 66 71, Hunter Mahan 71 72 65 73 (T24).
283 Lee Westwood (England) 76 67 68 72 (T29).
285 Darren Clarke (N Ireland) 74 74 68 69 (T43).
288 Paul Casey (England) 76 71 68 73 (T51).
293 Ian Poulter (England) 76 77 71 69, Sergio Garcia (Spain) 75 74 68 76, Paul Lawrie (Scotland) 70 74 72 77 (T60).
300 Simon Dyson (England) 74 72 73 81 (72nd).

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'I've learned the hard way,' says Justin Rose
REPORT FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
By Larry Dorman, PGATOUR.COM
DORAL, Florida -- It was a little jarring to hear Justin Rose talk about getting old. Even if he was joking -- sort of -- delivering the line with a wry smile lifting the corner of his mouth. Old? His baby face still resembles that of the 17-year-old (South African-born) kid who grew up in London, a wedge in his hands left of the 18th green at Royal Birkdale, holing a pitch that brought the crowd to its feet and gave him a tie for fourth in the Open won by Mark O'Meara.
But that was last century, 1998. Here he was on Sunday night, looking around the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship trophy and over the edge of the table at his curly-haired, three-year-old boy, Leo, yelling, "Daddy, daddy," as he tried to scamper out of the reach of his mom, Kate -- who was closing on him.
Rose had just finished doing some very impressive closing of his own, shooting a final-round 70 to come from three strokes behind for his fourth US PGA Tour victory in the past 20 months. He did exactly what he had to do, plotting his way around the TPC Blue Monster course, intelligently playing the dangerous par-4 18th for a bogey 5, which was all he needed to win.
Rose has now won more in that span than anyone on Tour, and he was asked how he's been able to do it.
"Getting old," he said, quickly adding, "31 now. I don't know, just kind of having learned the hard way a little bit. I've certainly had my chances in the past, as well. It's kind of nice to get a little bit of momentum and confidence going. I think it's probably a confidence thing.
"When I do get into contention now, I believe I can go ahead and close it out."
He certainly can, and did, on a blustery Sunday at the TPC Blue Monster. He began the day tied with Keegan Bradley at 14 under, three strokes behind the 54-hole leader, Bubba Watson. With birdies at the first and fourth holes, he closed the gap on Watson and was tied with him as he stood in the fifth fairway while Watson was bogeying the fourth.
As Watson was struggling off the tee, hitting no fairways on the front nine and shooting 39, Rose kept the pressure on by birdieing the par-5 10th, to get to 16-under and take the lead for the first time -- by a stroke over Bradley and Watson.
His play at the 14th was textbook: 323-yard drive, centre cut, a 52-degree wedge from 135 yards to 5-feet, and the putt for birdie that put him ahead for good.
Only four players hit their approach shots closer than Rose did this week, he was in the top 10 in both greens in regulation and putting average. None of this would come as a surprise his swing coach, Sean Foley.
Earlier in the week, when Foley was asked to rate who among his stable of golfers -- excluding Tiger Woods -- was striking the ball best, he pointed to Rose without any hesitation, citing his confidence as the key.
You can sense by the way Rose is carrying himself these days that he knows he is on to something. On Saturday night, he openly talked about liking his position going into the final round. After showing on Sunday just why he liked it so much, Rose talked about where he thinks he's headed.
But first a little on where's been. When he spoke of learning "the hard way a little bit," it was a major understatement borne of experience. He turned professional at 17, the day after winning the Silver Medal at Birkdale. He learned the hard way a lot. The hard way is missing 21 consecutive cuts at the start of his pro career, going his first four years without a victory, and not winning in the U.S. until 2010.
But with that breakthrough victory at the Memorial Tournament in 2010, Rose's career took off. A few weeks later he won the AT and T National at Aronimink Golf Club, outside Philadelphia. At the end of last year he won a Playoff event, the BMW Championship, at Cog Hill in Lemont, outside Chicago.
Sunday, on another big stage in Miami, he won his first World Golf Championships event.
That sort of progression would put a bounce in just about any golfer's step, especially one who has paid the sort of dues Rose has. And though he remains essentially unaffected by the trappings of success, Rose is nonetheless brimming with the kind of confidence that breeds more of it.
"No doubt about it," he said. "If you look at the tournaments I've won, Jack's tournament, Tiger's tournament, a Playoff event over here and now a World Golf Championships, the progression is really, really nice. The only thing that really is the next level up is a major."
And here's where all the experience comes in. Rose does not plan to get drawn into the "Best Player Without a Major Championship" trap by talking about how he intends to focus only on the four events with that designation. He realizes where that can lead because he already bore the heavy yoke of expectation when he was a teenager.
"Not to say that I'm at that stage in my career where I'm only focusing on the majors," Rose said. "I think there's a lot more for me to do in the game than to get to that point. But no doubt, I feel my game is getting ready for that.
"But you know, you've got to not maybe put too much emphasis on the majors. I just have to keep preparing well and keep doing what I'm doing at the moment and hopefully you just put yourself in the right situation at the right time."

Tiger Woods' future is back in the melting pot

MORE FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
Justin Rose expected a moment like this, posing on the 18th green of the famed TPC Blue Monster at Doral with a World Golf Championship trophy in his hands. It's the rest of the script that made Sunday so surprising.
The biggest charge came from Rory McIlroy, eight shots behind until he crept within one of the lead late in the round.
The early departure came from Tiger Woods, who muddied his Masters future by limping off the course after 11 holes with soreness in the left Achilles tendon, the one that caused him to miss two majors last year.
Bubba Watson went from a collapse on the front nine, when he lost his three-shot lead in four holes, to a clutch shot on the final hole when he hit a bullet of a 4-iron out of the palm trees to 9 feet from the cup that put one last scare into Rose.
All that drama, and Rose didn't realise he had won until he was on the practice range and heard nothing.
Watson missed the birdie putt.
Rose closed with a 2-under 70, a score he didn't think would be nearly good enough to win. Ultimately, all he knew about -- or cared about -- was winning the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
"I've been very focused on seeing this whole Florida Swing as like a body of work, and not really trying to put too much focus on any individual tournament," he said. "I kind of knew I was playing well, and if I just kept out of my own way for the most part and kept thinking well and doing the right things, I had a feeling something good might happen.
"For this little beauty to show up on my mantle place so early in the season," he said, pointing to the blue trophy beside him, "definitely a fantastic feeling. It sets up a very exciting year."
It was a day of endless drama at Doral.
Sergio Garcia hit four balls into the water at the par-4 third hole and made a 12. Paul Casey made a hole-in-one on the 13th hole. Rose had to make up a three-shot deficit on Watson at the start of the round, and when he made the turn, he found himself two shots behind PGA champion Keegan Bradley, who then shot 41 on the back nine.
Through so much commotion, Rose never felt steadier
He seized control with a 52-degree wedge that settled 5 feet away from the hole for a birdie on the 14th that gave him a two-shot lead. He closed with a bogey from the back bunker on the 18th, but not before watching his sand shot roll off the green and trickle toward the water, though never in serious danger of going in.
"It was all about controlling what I could control," said Rose, who finished on 16-under 272 and earned 550 FedExCup points and $1.4 million. "I kind of knew I got into the lead -- it's hard to ignore it out there. And from there, I knew it was just a matter of closing it out."
Watson didn't hit a fairway on the front nine and did well to shoot 39. He bounced back with birdies, and gave himself an unlikely chance at a playoff with a remarkable shot, one of many he hit at Doral this week.
"That's the kind of thing Bubba does," Rose said. "He can look out of position on a hole and just hit sort of a miraculous shot."
For Woods, his future is a mystery.
"I felt tightness in my left Achilles warming up this morning, and it continued to get progressively worse," Woods said in a statement. "After hitting my tee shot at 12, I decided it was necessary to withdraw. In the past, I may have tried to continue to play, but this time, I decided to do what I thought was necessary."
This is the same Achilles tendon he injured a year ago at the Masters while hitting a shot from under Eisenhower's tree on the 17th hole of the third round. It wound up forcing Woods to miss three months and two majors.
This time, Tiger was lifting his left leg and flexing his angle, even after changing his shoes at the turn. The limp became more pronounced until he blasted his tee shot on the 12th, shook hands with Webb Simpson and rode off in a cart.
Woods said he would have it evaluated to determine the scope of the injury.
McIlroy holed a bunker shot for eagle on the 12th hole and pulled within one shot of the lead with a birdie on the 16th hole, but he closed with a bogey and a 67 to finish alone in third.
It was a day that left little doubt about McIlroy's spot atop the world ranking. Just like Woods in previous years, McIlroy showed he could never be counted out with an array of splendid shots -- most of them from precarious spots in the bunker -- and threatened to win.
Rose was oblivious to all this.
He opened with two birdies through four holes, which was enough to catch Watson, who looked out of sorts all day.
Watson didn't hit a fairway on the front nine, and only one tee shot managed to stay inside the bunkers that frame the fairways. He was in the water twice, once in a canal on the fifth hole that not many knew were there. He shot a 39 on the front nine, which included three putts outside 8 feet to limit the damage.
It was like watching NASCAR. Watson would have looked more comfortable in his General Lee stock car he recently bought.
What was he thinking?
"I'm thinking I'm not playing very good," Watson said.
Still, he showed remarkable resiliency to give himself a chance at the end.
Watson wasn't the only player who faltered. Bradley opened with an eagle, tied for the lead with a wedge into 3 feet for birdie on the fifth, then rolled in a 12-foot birdie at No. 7 that gave him a two-shot lead.
Bradley came undone with bogeys on the par 5s, even though he was around the green with his second shot on both of them. On No. 8, his ball buried so deep in the grass behind the green -- he called for a ruling to see if it had plugged -- that he purposely played 20 feet away from the flag, knowing it would roll off the green. He failed to get up-and-down.
Then, he three-putted from about 6 feet on the par-5 10th, turning a birdie chance into bogey.
"I didn't play that bad," Bradley said. "Just some really strange putts, and then I just kind of limped in."

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ROOKIE HALEY WINS NATIONWIDE TOUR'S CHILE CLASSIC

FROM THE US NATIONWIDE TOUR WEBSITE
By Joe Chemycz, Nationwide Tour staff
SANTIAGO, Chile -- Rookie Paul Haley admitted his final round in the Chile Classic presented by Pacific Rubiales Energy "wasn't pretty, but it was good enough."
Haley started the last day with a six-stroke lead and needed only a 1-under-par 71 at the Prince of Wales Country Club to finish at 22-under par, win by three and earn his first win in just his third career start.
"I expected to come out here and play well but nobody expects to win in their third professional start," said the 24-year-old Georgia Tech grad. "This is awesome."
Stanford's Joesph Bramlett made a charge up the ranks and put pressure on the leader by matching the course record with an 8-under 64 to finish at 19-under and solo second. Paul Claxton (68) was third, four shots back. Steven Alker (66) and Rob Oppenheim (69) tied for fourth, six off the pace.
Haley's day was good at the end but it didn't start that way. Normally reliable tee shots that produced consecutive 64s in the second and third rounds were suddenly off line. He missed all but one fairway in his first 12 holes.
"I felt like if I could just hit a fairway I'd be okay," said Haley. "I was hitting my irons fairly well and my putter felt great all day. I figured if I could somehow get a ball in the fairway, the birdies would eventually come."
Haley turned the front in even-par, leaving the door open for any potential challengers.
"I didn't have any idea what he was doing. I figured he was just off and running and going to do his own thing," said Bramlett. "He was 10 shots ahead of me to start the day and if he keeps playing the way he has been he's out of reach."
Haley would have preferred that but instead found himself drifting closer to the pack.
Bramlett, 70 minutes in front, had gotten to within two with a birdie at No. 17. By the time he putted out for his 64, Haley had found the fairway at the par-4, 12th hole. He stuffed in a 6-foot birdie putt to widen the lead to three and then back that up with another fairway found and a 12-foot birdie at No. 14. His lead was back to a more comfortable four.
"The course set-up was the hardest of the week and other than Joseph, nobody was going crazy low on the front nine," said Haley, who picked up a check for $108,000 and moved to No. 2 on the money list.
 "I didn't look to see how things were until 14. I wanted to know what I had to do to get it in."
A bogey at 15 cut the lead to three but then he steadied himself with three pars down the stretch to close it out. At the 506-yard, par-5, 18th hole Haley took the safe route after finding another fairway.
"I had only 195 yards to the flag and I laid up with a pitching wedge," he said. "At that point it was just don't do anything stupid. Just hit a wedge and a wedge. I had four putts to win, which was pretty nice."
From there, it was sign the card and go get the trophy.
"I played incredible golf for 72 holes," said Haley. "My putter was the key all week. When that last one went in, it was just euphoria. I'm always going to remember my first trip to this great country."
• Sunday's weather in Chile: Mostly sunny. High of 82. Winds W-SW 7-15 mph.
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JAMIE McLEARY PLEASED WITH TIED EIGHT FINISH IN COLOMBIA

CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT AND SCORES
From Neil Ahern of the European Tour Press staffnahern@europeantour.com
Jamie McLeary was happy with his start to the 2012 season after a one under par round of 71 earned him tied eighth spot at the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Classic, where England’s Phillip Archer claimed his third Challenge Tour title.
It was McLeary’s best result since a fifth place finish at the ALLIANZ Golf Open du Grand Toulouse in November 2010 as he finished on three under par for the tournament alongside English debutante Tyrrell Hatton at Country Club de Barranquilla, just outside Barranquilla on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
The Edinburgh-born former Scottish Hydro Challenge winner, pictured, had an eventful final round, with six birdies and five bogeys but it was the final stretch, in which he bogeyed the 17th and 18th, which pleased him the most.
“It was nice to finish like that,” said the 30 year old, who picked up a cheque of €4,866, “I haven’t done so well on the final stretch in god knows how long so it was nice. It wasn’t playing easy out there, it’s so easy to make a bogey out of absolutely nothing.
“I've played well all four days so I can’t complain. I just had a couple of bad breaks around the back nine yesterday and it got away from me a little bit then.
“Today I had a couple of funny ones again but not as bad, but I just didn’t putt as well as I did the first three rounds. If I played like that and got a bit of extra luck, you never know, I could have been up there somewhere at the top but it’s the best weekend I've had in a while.
“I had a wrist injury after Qualifying School last December so I didn’t pick up a club and then I came back and played this week and I've been enjoying it a lot more so I’m looking forward to Kenya now.”
Callum Macaulay was the next best Scot in Colombia despite a two over par round of 74, which left him tied 14th alongside five others and earned him a cheque of €2,714.
Scott Henry’s one over par round of 73 meant he finished tied 20th on one over par for the tournament while Raymond Russell was a shot further back in tied 30th after a final round of 76 and Jack Doherty’s final round of 73 left him in tied 37th on four over par.
Meanwhile, Archer claimed the third Challenge Tour title of his career after he held his nerve and holed a tricky four-foot putt to win the inaugural tournament.
The Warrington man was two shots clear at one point during an enthralling final day but superb performances down the stretch from young guns Chris Lloyd and Morten Orum Madsen meant Archer had to birdie a final hole on which he had failed to gain a shot all week to avoid a play-off.
When Archer drove into the rough to the left on the par five 18th, the 39 year old knew he would have to do it the hard way, but his second shot nestled just shy of the green before a solid up and down sealed what he claimed was his “best win yet”.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
280 P Archer (Eng) 71 71 68 70,
281 C Lloyd (Eng) 73 73 68 67, M Madsen (Den) 76 69 66 70,
282 N Dougherty (Eng) 71 70 68 73, C Hanson (Eng) 72 69 70 71, M Haines (Eng) 69 75 67 71,
284 M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 72 71 70 71,
285 T Hatton (Eng) 73 70 67 75, J McLeary (Sco) 72 69 73 71,
286 A Hartø (Den) 75 70 70 71,
287 B Barham (Eng) 74 68 70 75, F Damus (Arg) 75 70 70 72, P Pinto (Arg) 70 75 70 72,
288 E Kofstad (Nor) 70 71 75 72, F Ojeda (Arg) 73 72 67 76, S Saavedra (Arg) 69 72 75 72, M Carlsson (Swe) 74 71 72 71, S Fernandez (Arg) 74 71 71 72, C Macaulay (Sco) 75 70 69 74,
289 G Clark (Eng) 73 74 71 71, S Henry (Sco) 76 70 70 73, F De Vries (Ned) 75 72 71 71, J Huldahl (Den) 73 73 69 74, M Cryer (Eng) 74 69 75 71, L Goddard (Eng) 72 72 74 71, J Lima (Por) 70 72 73 74, N Lemke (Swe) 79 70 70 70, M Villegas (Col) 68 74 75 72, R Celia (am) (Col) 72 75 74 68,
290 R Russell (Sco) 71 72 71 76, L Jensen (Den) 70 77 75 68, P Del Grosso (Arg) 79 70 69 72, J Garrido (Col) 72 75 71 72, S Rivas (Col) 74 68 75 73, C Paisley (Eng) 77 71 69 73,
291 M Ruiz (Par) 74 72 71 74,
292 C Brazillier (Fra) 74 73 73 72, J Amaya (Col) 75 73 69 75, S Kim (Kor) 72 72 78 70, S Franky (Col) 78 70 72 72, J Rivas (Col) 71 71 79 71, P Reed (USA) 73 76 72 71, J Doherty (Sco) 73 76 70 73,
293 C Ford (Eng) 74 73 73 73, A Wagner (Arg) 75 73 73 72, J Luna (Col) 73 75 72 73, A Echavarria (Col) 74 74 74 71, R Quiros (Esp) 76 73 74 70
294 M Glauert (Ger) 72 73 78 71, D Larrazabal (Ven) 71 72 78 73
295 D Vancsik (Arg) 77 72 73 73, D Gaunt (Aus) 76 71 77 71, C Monasterio (Arg) 76 73 73 73
296 M Hurtado (Col) 74 71 78 73, C Suneson (Esp) 73 71 79 73, D Lokke (Den) 77 72 74 73, P Dwyer (Eng) 76 73 71 76, D Brooks (Eng) 68 73 76 79, J Clavijo (Col) 73 74 71 78
298 J Osmar (Col) 73 74 75 76, A Knappe (Ger) 77 72 76 73
299 A Butterfield (Eng) 74 74 77 74, S Benson (Eng) 74 75 77 73
300 H Cespedes (Par) 74 75 75 76, J Abbott (Eng) 76 73 77 74
301 P Relecom (Bel) 73 74 78 76
303 E Aristizabal (Col) 75 74 76 78
305 S Tiley (Eng) 73 74 81 77
307 E Arrazola Jr (am) (Col) 73 76 84 74

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TIGER WOODS RETIRES AFTER 11 HOLES WITH LEFT LEG INJURY

FROM THE GOLF DIGEST WEBSITE
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
DORAL, Florida. (AP) Tiger Woods withdrew from the Cadillac Championship after 11 holes today with a "left leg injury," throwing into doubt his final month heading into the Masters.
Woods was 3-over par in the final round at Doral, 10 shots out of the lead, when he saved par from a bunker on the 11th hole. He hit a 321-yard tee shot on par-5 12th into the fairway, shook hands with Webb Simpson and left in a cart.
When a press officer asked for a comment, Woods told him "leg." When asked which one, Woods added, "Left leg injury." He drove himself in a black sedan, which NBC Sports showed driving away from Doral.
Woods is to play in two weeks at Bay Hill, his last tournament before the Masters. Woods is a four-time champion at Augusta National, and with an ordinary game, he still has tied for fourth the last two years.
Doral was his third straight tournament. He lost in the second round of the Match Play Championship, then shot 62 to tie for second a week ago at the Honda Classic. When asked after the third round Saturday at Doral how is body was holding up through this stretch, he replied, "It feels great."
Woods changed shoes at the turn and was limping noticeably, especially after he pulled his second shot on the par-5 10th, leading to bogey. The limp grew worse, and moments later, Woods was gone.
It's the third time in three years that Woods has withdrawn from a tournament. The most recent was at The Players Championship last May, when he hobbled off the TPC Sawgrass after a 40 on the back nine.
He then took three months off to let his left leg fully heal, returning at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Woods said he wanted to make sure he didn't come back until he knew there would be no more issues with his leg. Since then, he has been able to practice more and adjust to swing changes, and from tee-to-green his golf has looked solid.
Woods has had four surgeries on his left knee dating to when he was at Stanford. The most significant was in June 2008, when he had reconstructive surgery to repair ligaments just a week after winning the U.S. Open for his 14th major. Woods has not won a major since then, and he has missed four majors because of injuries.

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CRICHTON, SHIELDS, WHITE MAKE SOLID START IN SOUTH AFRICA

Aberdour's Scott Crichton, James White (Lundin) and Paul Shields (Kirkhill) all made a solid start to the Northern Amateur Open Championship at Randpark Golf Club, the final event of the SGU Elite Squad's extended stay in South Africa.
Aberdeen's David Law, now a professional, won the event last year.
Crichton, White and Shields, pictured, all returned four-under-par 68s in the first of four rounds of stroke-play to be sharing fifth place, one behind a leadng quartet on 67. The leading 32 after 72 holes will go forward to the match-playstages.
South African open amateur champion Brian Souter (Leven Golfing Society) and Fraser McKenna (Balmore) are joint 48th on 73.
Daniel Kay (Dunbar), who had a 74, is tied for 62nd place in a field of 162.
Connor O'Neil (Pollok) has flown home early for treatment to an injury.

FIRST-ROUND LEADERS
Par 72
Players from S Africa unless stated
67 Jacques Kruyswijk, Zander Lombard, Brandon Stone, Shaun Smith.
SCOTS' SCORES
68 Scott Crichton (Aberdour), Paul Shields (Kirkhill), James White (Lundin) (T5).
73 Fraser McKenna (Balmore), Brian Soutar (Leven GS) (T48).
74 Daniel Kay (Dunbar) (T62).

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SCOTLAND SQUAD FOR UNDER-16S QUADRANGULAR IN N IRELAND

Scotland squad for an Under-16s boys' quadrangular golf  match against Ireland, Wales and the Netherlands at Hilton Templepatrick Golf Club, near Belfast from April 5 to 7 is:
George Burns (Williamwood)
Fraser Davern (Williamwood)
Ewen Ferguson (Bearsden)
Innes Ferguson (Drumpellier)
Adam Fisher (Inchmarlo)
Cameron Kirkwood (Bearsden)
Alasdair McDougall (St Andrews New)
Bob McIntyre (Glencruitten)
Non-travelling reserve:
Murray Naysmith (Dalmahoy)

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IRELAND NAME QUARTET FOR MEN'S EUROPEAN NATIONS CUP

FROM THE IRISH GOLF UNION WEBSITE
The four players selected by the Golfing Union of Ireland to compete in the European Nations Cup at Sotogrande Golf Club from March 21-24 are:
Alan Dunbar (Rathmore)
Niall Gorey (Muskerry)
Dermot McElroy (Ballymena)
Reeve Whitson (Mourne).
Alan Dunbar was a member of the victorious 2011 GB and I Walker Cup team at Royal Aberdeen GC last September. He was also a member of the European Amateur Team and Home Internationals teams.
Niall Gorey was a member of the 2011 Ireland Home Internationals team.
Dermot McElroy was a member of Ireland's European Boys Team and Home Internationals teams in 2011.

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15 TEAM IRELAND PROS GET 139,000 EUROS AID FOR 2012 SEASON

FROM THE IRISH GOLF DESK WEBSITE
The Team Ireland Golf Trust has announced grants totaling €139,000 to 15 aspiring golfers - a reduction of 11.4 percent on the €157,000 awarded to 15 players last year.
More than €3 million has been provided to golf professionals since the scheme was introduced in 1999 and past recipients such as Peter Lawrie, Damien McGrane, Michael Hoey, Shane Lowry and Rebecca Codd are enjoying extended and successful careers as touring professionals.
Rookie professionals Paul Cutler and Danielle McVeigh (pictured), and Dubliner Niall Kearney are the top recipients with €15,000 each.
Simon Thornton, who will receive €10,000, regained his full European Tour Card at Tour School at the end of 2011. New recipients in 2012 include Ballymena’s Chris Devlin and Limerick’s Cian McNamara, who will both play on the Challenge Tour.
Minister of State for Sport and Tourism, Mr Michael Ring TD, welcomed the allocation of the grants:
“Irish golf is flying high this week. The exploits of our top golfers are a great advertisement for this country. It is important to nurture the young talent coming through so that we can maintain a strong presence on all the major tours.”
As part of the support package, all golfers can avail of the world-class facilities at the GUI’s National Academy at Carton House. The golfers on the scheme also have free access to the network of service providers such as physiologists, sports psychologists, biomechanists, physiotherapists and doctors coordinated by the Institute of Sport at Abbotstown.
The Team Ireland Golf Trust aims to contribute to an increase in the presence of Irish golf professionals on the various international tours. The success of professional golfers on tour also helps to promote Ireland as a golf tourism destination worldwide.
While less money has been handed out, the total budget for the Trust in 2012 is the same as 2011 and is now solely funded by the Irish Sports Council in partnership with Fáilte Ireland.
The Irish PGA, the Golfing Union of Ireland, and the Irish Ladies Golf Union are represented on the Golf Trust committee, which is chaired by Mr. Padraig O’Huiginn, who said:
“The Trust was established with a very specific goal in mind, increasing the number of Irish golfers competing and winning on the top tours.
“We believe the value of the Trust is demonstrated by the presence of many successful Irish golfers in international competition. This brings enormous benefits to the game at home, not least by highlighting Ireland as an important golf tourism destination”.
John Treacy, CEO of the Irish Sports Council commented:
“Ireland is very proud of the success of its outstanding golfers in recent years. It is important to support all the golf organisations and the individual golfers to ensure that the game remains healthy and that we have a strong representation in all the professional tournaments.
“The Council is committed to the continuation of the Team Ireland Golf Trust as it makes a significant contribution to the sport of golf in this country”.
Cutler said:
“I am starting my first full season as a professional and I am delighted to hear that the Team Ireland Golf Trust has again been incredibly generous in supporting me.
“I have been working very hard in the off season and I have a busy schedule of tournaments ahead in 2012, so I’m really looking forward to it. But none of this would be possible without funding, and I would like to sincerely thank everyone at the Team Ireland Golf Trust and the Irish Sports Council for their continued support.”
Thornton said:
“Quite simply without the help of the Team Ireland Golf Trust I would not be playing on the European Tour.
“The Trust has played an invaluable part in enabling me to move up the tours and continued to help me once I gained my European Tour card for 2010 and for this 2012 season.
“With the help of the Trust I plan to plan to play in 25 - 30 events this year and my obvious goal is to keep my tour card.
“With the experience and confidence I gained over the last two years playing the European and Challenge Tours I feel I am in a position to do this. I wish to thank the Trust and the Irish Sports Council for their invaluable support over the years.”
Kearney, who is currently competing in Colombia on the Challenge Tour, said: “I very much appreciate the support I receive from the ISC and TIGT.
“The financial grant has given me the opportunity to compete at the highest level all over the world and gain valuable experience as a professional golfer that would otherwise not be possible.
“I have worked very hard on my game over the winter months and expect good things out of myself in 2012. My main goals for 2012 are to win on the Challenge Tour and gain my European Tour card.”
Former Curtis Cup player and 2010 Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play champion Danielle McVeigh, who will compete on the LET Access Tour, welcomed the grant, explaining: “I am delighted to receive funding. Without it I wouldn’t be able to compete in the tournaments.
“This helps me in the process of becoming the best golfer I can be, and without the support of the Irish Sports Council it wouldn’t be possible.”
Tara Delaney, who will compete on the LET Access Tour, commented: “I have been very fortunate to receive financial and specialist support from the Team Ireland Golf Trust and the Institute of Sport since turning professional.
“Without this I would not have been able to compete to the extent I have in recent years. TIGT has helped me to mature as a golfer and thanks to their continued support my main aim for the year now is to continue working hard and ultimately to regain full playing rights on tour.”
Rebecca (Coakley) Codd, Martina Gillen, Michael McGeady, Paul O’Hanlon - all of whom received funding in 2011 - have not received grants this season.

Team Ireland Golf Trust grant allocations 2012

Paul Cutler European Tour/Challenge Tour €15,000
Niall Kearney Challenge Tour €15,000
Simon Thornton European Tour €10,000
Jonathan Caldwell Challenge Tour/Europro Tour €10,000
Niall Turner Asian Tour/Europro Tour €10,000
Seamus Power E Golf Tour United States €10,000
Chris Devlin Challenge Tour €10,000
Cian McNamara Challenge Tour €10,000
Tara Delaney LET Access Tour €7,000
Danielle McVeigh LET Access Tour €7,000
Gareth Shaw Alps Tour €7,000
Richard Kilpatrick Alps Tour €7,000
Brendan McCarroll Alps Tour €7,000
Dara Lernihan Alps Tour €7,000
Cian Curley Europro Tour €7,000
Total €139,000

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CONNOR McKINNEY (10) TOPS AT SJGT EVENT AT DUNFERMLINE

Results from the Scottish Junior Golf Tour event at Dunfermline today on the Par 3 course. It was a Level 2 and 3 event for Under-12 juniors.
Outstanding score of the day came from 10 year old Connor McKinney, a six over par 60.

Results
60 Connor McKinney (Canmore)
65 Ewan Wheat (Royal Montrose)
67 Craig Jackman (Dunblane)
68 Alex Simpson (Strathmore)

Aamar Saleem (St Andrews)  won the handicap prize with nett 32.
Everyone involved in the Scottish Junior Golf Tour would like to send their congratulations  to Tour members Adam, Ally, Fraser, George and Innes in being selected for the Scotland U16 squad for the Quadrangular series in Ireland next month.

Walter Burns
Scottish Junior Golf Tour
Mob: 07951 103 827

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FOTHERINGHAM, MILNE SHARE NORTH ALLIANCE HONOURS

Former Scotland cap Bryan Fotheringham (Inverness) and Jordan Milne (Elgin) shared the top spot in Saturday's North Scottish Golfers' Alliance competition with one-under-par 70s at Fortrose & Rosemarkie Golf Club.
Milne did well after starting with two bogeys. Birdies at the sixth, 11th, 14th and 17th offset a third bogey at the 12th. He had halves of 37 and 33.
Fotheringham had a similar round with a pair of early bogeys, in his case the second and third before a birdie at the seventh steadied him up on his way to an outward 37. He bogeyed the 13th before completing a hat-trick of birdies over the 14th, 15th and 16th in an inward 33.

LEADING SCRATCH
Par 71
70 J L Milne (Elgin), B R Fotheringham (Inverness).
71 R McKerron (Forres).
72 R A L Cameron (Fortrose & Rosemarkie), I  Findlay (Grantown).
73 J S D Campbell (Grantown), D Stewart (Grantown), B Cruickshank (Garmouth & Kingston).
74 K Thomson (Moray).
75 G Hay (Grantown).
76 M L Macleman (Moray), C Dixon (Moray), W R Duncan (Moray), G S Macdonald (Torvean).
77 A J England (Moray) (4), J Simpson (Forres), S Wilson (Inverness );
78 N McWilliam ( Elgin ), J A Grant (Grantown).
79 R H Stewart (Torvean), S Johnston (Elgin), R Harrower (Boat of Garten).
80 G J Abel (Elgin).
81 A Henry (Inverness), J R Ingram (Boat of Garten), R Mackay (Fortrose & Rosemarkie).
82 V Tilman (Muir of Ord), M Lyall (Torvean), L Stewart (Grantown), W Hutchison (Inverness), W B Johnston (Moray).
83 R G Macpherson (Moray), L Duncan (Elgin), J A G Innes (Elgin), R R Adams (Moray).
84 R Innes (Torvean), F Hutchison (Inverness), B Rennie (Inverness), D. Hector (Elgin).
LEADING HANDICAP
Class 1I Findlay (Grantown) (4) 68; R McKerron (Forres) (1) 70; W R Duncan (Moray) (5) 71; C Dixon (Moray) (4) 72; A J England (Moray) (4) 73.
Class 2 - I Turner (Boat of Garten) (14) 72; W B Johnston (Moray) (9), D Ross (Boat of Garten) (14), L Hutchison (Inverness) (4), M Lyall (Torvean (9) 73.


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SERGIO GARCIA HAS A 12 AT BLUE MONSTER'S PAR-4 THIRD HOLE

Sergio Garcia ran up a 12 on the par-4 third hole at Doral on Sunday.

Garcia began the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship with an eagle. Two holes later, his round came undone.
He hit his tee shot into the water on the 438-yard hole, with a pond down the entire right side. He dropped into the rough, and from about 240 yards, tried three times to clear the water, failing with each shot.
Garcia finally went over the green with his ninth shot, chipped onto the green to 35 feet and two-putted for a 12.

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Duncan Stewart sells all 150 shares in himself for new season

E-mail from Duncan Stewart
Grantown-on-Spey tour pro golfer

I just wanted to let you know that i have now sold all 150 shares for this season. The support i have received over the past two months has been incredible and i would like to thank everyone who has bought one or 10 shares.
A big thank you has to go to Alan Milne Peugeot in Elgin, Genesis Insurance, golfwarehouseuk.com, Scottish Counselling Services, and The Paul Lawrie Foundation who all have bought at least 10 shares and will have their logo on my clothing for the season.
I would like to give Paul Lawrie a huge thank you. Not only did he buy the first 10 shares to get it all started, he also very kindly gave me 15 Glenmuir shirts and five Glenmuir sweaters.
With the support of everyone i now can go out this season and concentrate on playing golf, and not have to worry about where my next entry fee is going to come from.
I am really looking forward to the season starting and i am ready to give 110% to get to the next level. Anyone wishing to follow my progress can do so at www.duncanstewartgolfer.co.uk

Thanks

Duncan Stewart

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MARDAN MAMAT WINS KUALA LUMPUR MASTERS

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Kuala Lumpur: Mardan Mamat of Singapore held off a late charge from popular local Rashid Ismail to win the PGM-CCM- Impian Masters by one shot today.
Mamat continued his rich vein of form to shoot a final round three-under-par 69 to defeat a fast charging Rashid, who fired a blistering course record 62 at the Impian Golf and Country Club on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in the season-opening event of the Asian Development Tour.
Danny Chia, a winner on the Asian Tour, closed with a solid 66 to finish in third place on 273 while R. Nachimuthu, winner of the PGM Order of Merit last year, ended his campaign two shots back at the RM180,000 (approximately US$60,000).
Overnight leader Mardan, winner of the ICTSI Philippine Open on the Asian Tour last month, was on level terms with Rashid after 16 holes and needed a birdie on 17 to seal his first Asian Development Tour title.
“Thank God, I didn’t know (Rashid’s score)! I was pretty much focussed on what I needed to do. I didn’t know until I entered score recording and found out I defeated Rashid by one,” said the Singaporean veteran, who totalled 18-under-par 270 and won US$10,465.
Mardan predicted a bright future for the ADT, which is running in its third season and affords the top-three players on the Order of Merit at the end of the season with Asian Tour cards for the following year.
“It will benefit a lot of the younger players. We need this development tour to develop the young players. This is like a platform for them to build up their game to the next level. This is good for the young players,” said Mardan, who will play in the HANDA FALDO CAMBODIAN CLASSIC on the Asian Tour next week.
Playing five flights in front of the leading flight, Rashid took advantage of his home course knowledge to shoot a flawless round highlighted by 10 birdies to overcome an eight-shot deficit.
The highlight of his day came when he narrowly missed a hole-in-one by one feet at the 16th hole.
“I’m not disappointed with how I played even though I didn’t win. I rediscovered my putting form so I hope I can continue until the Malaysian Open. This is a good start to the year for me. This ADT tournament helps the local players gain more experience. This is a good stepping stone for us,” said Rashid, who represented Malaysia in the 2000 World Cup of golf with Chia.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
270 - Mardan MAMAT (SIN) 66-67-68-69
271 - Rashid ISMAIL (MAS) 69-70-70-62
273 - Danny CHIA (MAS) 68-70-69-66
275 - R. Nachimuthu (MAS) 64-69-71-71
276 - Jay BAYRON (PHI) 68-70-70-68, Senroku ISA (JPN) 68-70-68-70, Dodge KEMMER (USA) 67-68-69-72
277 - Anthony CHOAT (AUS) 68-70-69-70, Glenn JOYNER (AUS) 66-72-69-70
278 - Jani PERTTILA (FIN) 70-70-72-66, Elmer SALVADOR (PHI) 71-71-69-67, LIM Eng-Seng (MAS) 65-75-69-69, Hirotaro NAITO (JPN) 72-66-67-73
279 - Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 71-71-70-67, Matthew ROSENFELD (USA) 72-69-69-69, S.Siva Chandhran (MAS) 70-67-72-70, Kenichi SAWADA (JPN) 69-69-71-70, Neil REILLY (ENG) 67-67-72-73

TO VIEW THE COMPLETE SCOREBOARD


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THERE'S MORE TO TRUMP THAN HIS BULLYING, BLOWHARD IMAGE

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
By Michael Bamberger, Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated
DORAL, Florida -- Donald Trump showed up in person at the golf tournament here, and, as a subject, at the Miami International Film Festival.
He was at the World Golf Championships event taking meetings, holding a press conference, chatting up fans, walking around the sprawling Marriott-run hotel and the Blue Monster course that abuts it.
By June 1, he is planning to take ownership of the resort, once so spiffy and cool but now looking kind of tired. He is buying four of the resort's five courses and all of its nearly 700 rooms at the fire-sale price of $150 million. He'll put much more than that back into it.
At the front lobby, right behind the famous portrait of J. Willard Marriott and his son Bill that you see at every Marriott, there's now a large photograph of Trump, all smiley. (What teeth!)
By this time next year, the Marriotts, the portrait and the company, will be out. I'm betting spiffy is going to make a big comeback here. You bet against Trump at your own peril. Trump, by the way, recently endorsed Willard Mitt Romney, who was named for J. Willard Marriott and who until recently served on the Marriott board. Coincidence? Probably, but that won't stop the conspiracy theorists.
Trump's appearance at the film festival, in the documentary "You've Been Trumped," has less promotional value. The film, directed by a former BBC reporter named Anthony Baxter who lives in Montrose, Scotland, is about Trump's construction of a links golf course outside Aberdeen.
The film is about the uncivil war between Trump and several locals who live on land abutting the course and have no use for it.
This is not a balanced, nuanced piece of reporting and filmmaking, and it doesn't pretend to be. The poster for it features a painting of Trump -- no smile -- his face covered in dollar bills.
I saw the film Friday night, when Baxter was there, taking questions from the audience and explaining how he came to be arrested by local police after a manager of the Trump International Golf Links made a trespassing complaint against him. He was handcuffed and detained for four hours. The charges were eventually dropped, and Baxter received a police apology for his rough treatment in their hands.
Trump couldn't possibly have any use for this film, of course, but Rosie O'Donnell liked it, and so did I. On the movie's website, there's a link to Baxter's appearance on "The Rosie Show."
I watched the movie with keen interest and loved the interspersed clips from the beautiful 1983 movie "Local Hero." Keen interest because in 2007, when I was writing a story about Trump's interest in golf and golf courses, I walked all over Trump's Scottish property. This was before a single bulldozer had touched the land, a series of towering dunes so windswept and rugged it took your breath away.
I have played eight or nine rounds of golf with Trump and, when I was reporting my story, spent hours and hours talking to him, in person and over the phone. For a while there, when I was useful to him, I was in Trump's life. I was eager to learn of Baxter's experience.
The Trump that appears in Baxter's film is a bully and a blowhard, and he comes off the same way in my friend Mike Tollin's ESPN film "Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?" (Trump! At least, that's Mike's considered view.)
I don't doubt that Trump can be a bully and a blowhard, but I have a different take on him. I found Trump to be smart, open and weirdly charismatic.
But the thing I liked best about him is that he didn't take himself too seriously, or not overly so. When I was doing my reporting on Trump, he had an ugly, ongoing feud with Rosie O'Donnell. Three days a week or so there was a "Page Six" item about their Seinfeldian war over nothing.
I said to Trump, "This thing with Rosie, you're loving it, aren't you?" He said, "Michael." (If you meet him and you can help him, he will learn your name and use it often.) "Rose O'Donnell is the gift that keeps giving."
In other words, she kept his name in the paper, and he likes that. More recently, I've abandoned my old view. I now think Trump takes himself very seriously. You've heard him talk about running for president and questioning Obama's birth records. There was no wink in any of that, not that I saw.
He used to talk to me about golf-course construction as a hobby, the way gardening is for other people. Now I think golf has become something more for him.
I think, for sure, he's interested in creating more wealth for himself and his family. I think he's restless by nature. He's a good golfer, and if he had to break 80 with a pencil in hand, I bet he could do it. He's drawn to the game for competitive reasons. But more than anything, I think his golfing motivation is rooted in his desire to have his five-letter surname, so crowded with heavy consonants, find a place of permanence in this impermanent world.
He has built some good courses, most particularly (opinion alert) the one in West Palm Beach, designed by Jim Fazio, and the second of his two courses in Bedminster, New Jersey, designed by Jim's son, Tommy Fazio.
I can't imagine any of his courses getting the thing he most wants, a men's U.S. Open. (He has told me I'm wrong about this.)
I can imagine his course in Scotland getting a Ryder Cup. And if that happens, anybody who ever looks up the results of, say, the 2034 Ryder Cup will see the site right next to the winning score: Trump International Golf Links. That's one way to get sealed in the book of life.
Trump is a complicated man, much more so than the cartoon figure he is often portrayed to be, including the Trump of "You've Been Trumped." His father, Fred Trump, got rich building and managing working-class apartment buildings in New York City, but Trump made his mark building for the sparkly people. Trump's late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, grew up in a wee croft house in Scotland. Trump worshipped his older brother, Fred, whom Trump described to me as a brilliant athlete and a dashing man with a bad drinking problem. He died at age 43, and Trump himself does not drink at all, not even a sip of the vodka he sells.
There are forces at work in the man, and I think those forces are showing up in the course he is building in Scotland. It is scheduled to open in July. In the pictures, it looks gorgeous.
I'm sympathetic to Anthony Baxter's cause, and to the tone of his film. If reporters aren't going to stand up for the common man, who is? In recent years, Trump has spoken about one of his Scottish neighbours, one Michael Forbes, in a truly vulgar fashion, and he has paid for it.
Why Trump didn't try one of his patented charm offensives with him, I do not know. Trump knows various members of the Forbes family of the New Jersey horse country. He could have brought Forbeses together and turned it into a party, although Trump does have an ongoing feud with Forbes the magazine for (he claims) underestimating his wealth.
Trump loves the fight. I actually think he needs it.
Baxter lives in Montrose, on the East Coast of Scotland, and the producer of his labour-of-love film, Richard Phinney, was an active member of the celebrated, rugged ancient links of the Royal Montrose Golf Club.
Montrose represents everything that is great about Scottish golf. The course was built by shifting winds. It doesn't exist to make money. Anyone can make arrangements to play it. It's affordable. Golf at Montrose, and throughout Scotland, is communal. The course fits with the land and with the citizenry.
And compared to, say, Augusta National or any of the Trump courses, it requires almost nothing to maintain. A year's membership at Montrose, 130 pounds ($204), is less than one round of golf for a local golfer playing Trump's course. The weekend non-resident green fee at Trump's new place is 200 pounds ($313).
On the website, that term of golf is listed as the "greens fee." There really shouldn't be an "s." The course is the green, and the correct term is green fee. But Trump is approaching this thing as an American, and American golfers often speak of paying a greens fee.
Trump's not really into the whole public thing, even though he has built public courses, like his one in Rancho Palos Verdes, near Los Angeles. I told Trump how I liked the public right-of-way through that course that surfers used to get to the beach. Trump was totally dismissive.
What Trump is doing in Scotland is not really part of traditional Scottish golf. He's building a golf course with a financial incentive, putting his name on it and hoping to attract a big-time event. Old Tom Morris wasn't thinking about any of that when he schlepped over to Machrihanish from St. Andrews to have a look and lay out a course.
Trump has hired a very nice man to make extensive renovations at Doral, Gil Hanse, who is moving his wife and teenage daughter to Brazil to build the Olympic course there. Hanse is skilful on a bulldozer, a do-it-yourselfer, even though he is part of the modern minimalist movement, at least in theory. He'll surely have to move loads of dirt at Doral to make it interesting.
Hanse was an unlikely hire for Trump. He's as understated as Trump is loud. But the (US PGA) Tour liked the work that Hanse did, with Brad Faxon, on TPC Boston, where the September FedEx event is played.
To me, the Boston course looks like another way-difficult, way-expensive American golf course that's hard to walk, but don't go by me. My tastes are quirky. I like the North Palm Beach Municipal course more than PGA National. I mean, it's not even close.
Tommy Fazio moved a tremendous amount of dirt to build the beautiful Quail Valley golf course in Vero Beach, Florida, but when he first drew plans for the Trump course in Scotland he knew what he had: true linksland. The most incredible duneland I've ever seen, anyway.
It didn't need much, and Fazio didn't plan to move any dirt. The routing plans he submitted to Trump were simple and brilliant, but in the end, Trump hired a semi-local, the Englishman Martin Hawtree, whose family has been building golf courses in the British Isles for 100 years.
In 2007, after I had played all the Trump courses -- and he's added a bunch since then -- Trump called and asked me which of his courses I liked best.
"Scotland," I said, blurting out my answer. Trump will do that. He gets you involved emotionally. At that point, the Scottish course was nothing but an idea, and the golf world did not know the name Michael Forbes, star of "You've Been Trumped."
"That is a very interesting answer," Trump said. "You did not say a course, but a property. What you are saying is that my land in Scotland has the potential to be the site of the greatest seaside golf course in the world."
Of course, I wasn't saying that, but I was thinking it, and that's part of the genius of the man. Maybe the course will be wonderful. Maybe it will be impossible to play and more difficult to walk. I don't know. As for Trump, he's dropped the word "seaside."
Now he's saying that the Scottish course has the potential to be the greatest course in the world, period. There are all sorts of people, Aberdeenshire locals and other annoyed persons, in "You've Got Trumped" who couldn't care less, but they had a great time playing a miniature golf hole where the cup was Donald Trump's mouth.
The Scots have a cruel sense of humour. That's why they like golf so much.

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McNEILL BY ONE FROM STENSON AND STADLER IN PUERTO RICO

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
By Staff and wire reports
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico -- George McNeill shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Henrik Stenson and Kevin Stadler into the final round of the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com.
McNeill, at 13-under 203, is trying to win for the first time since the Frys.com Open in 2007 when he was a US PGA Tour rookie.
He eagled the par-5 fifth, dropped strokes with three-putt bogeys on No. 7 and 8, then birdied five of the last 10 holes on the Trump International layout.
The former Florida State player has a conservative approach on the wind-swept course.
"First of all, patience," McNeill said. "This morning the wind didn't blow at all. The wind picked up this afternoon, so you got to stay patient when it's windy. You got to hit some different shots. And sometimes you just take what it gives you. Just patience is what I'll be trying to do.
"I don't foresee trying to do anything different. Obviously, I'm not going to try and force anything unless I have to coming down the last few holes."
He finished fifth last year.
"Last year was my first year here, and I played well," McNeill said. "It looks a lot like the golf courses back in Florida where I'm from. I'm playing on Bermuda grass and Bermuda rough, and saltwater ponds. We have a lot of that at home. So I don't feel uncomfortable at all. When I go out on the West Coast, it's very uncomfortable because it's just foreign to me. So I get out here and I'm very comfortable."
Stenson had a 65, and Stadler shot a 66.
"If I can stay patient, as I've done these first couple of days, and chip and putt well, I hope I get a chance tomorrow," Stenson said.
Stadler birdied four of the first five holes in his bogey-free round.
"I putted very well," Stadler said. "It was great today. For the most part this year, I've putted a lot better than I have in the past four or five, six years. I felt really comfortable on these greens.
"I've played well here in the past where I've hit the ball just phenomenally well every day and struggled with the putter, and it's funny to be up near the top this week with the complete opposite."
Second-round leader Matt Jones was two strokes back at 11 under after a 72.
Ryo Ishikawa, in Puerto Rico because he failed to qualify for the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship this week at Doral, shot a 69 and will go into the final round just three shots out of the lead. Ishikawa has never finished higher than a tie for fourth on the US Tour. He is trying to become the fifth straight player in his 20s to win on the Tour.
Scott Brown (65) and Daniel Summerhays (68) matched Ishikawa at 10 under.
Michael Bradley, the winner in 2009 and 2011, was 1 under after a 72.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
Players from US unless stated
203 George McNeill 66 70 67.
204 Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 70 69 65, Kevin Stadler 69 69 66.
205 Matt Jones (Australia) 66 67 72.
206 Scott Brown 69 72 65, Daniel Summerhays 68 70 68, Ryo Ishikawa (Japan) 70 67 69.
SELECTED SCORES
208 Ben Curtis 67 73 68 (T9).
210 Todd Hamilton 68 69 73 (T19).
211 Brian Davis (England) 69 70 72 (T25)

TO VIEW THE COMPLETE SCOREBOARD

CLICK HERE

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McLEARY FIVE BEHIND LEADER DOUGHERTY IN COLOMBIA

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY EUROPEAN TOUR
By NEIL AHERN

Jamie McLeary’s title challenge at the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Classic was dealt a blow in the third round at Country Club de Barranquilla as he carded a one over par round of 73 to finish the day five shots behind outright leader Nick Dougherty.
McLeary was joined in tied tenth place by two other Scots, Callum Macaulay and Raymond Russell, as well as young Englishman Chris Lloyd.
On a moving day when the movement at the top of the leaderboard was predominantly upwards, in much kinder conditions, McLeary started brightly with three successive birdies on the fourth, fifth and sixth taking him to the turn in three under.
But an unfortunate couple of breaks meant he struggled on the way back with four bogeys on the back nine. Nevertheless, the 29 year old was happy with how he played and was determined not to let it affect him in what is his first appearance after a long winter break.
“I’d have taken this position at the start of the week, having not played competitively since Qualifying School last December,” said the 2009 Scottish Hydro Challenge champion.
“I started so well, I was playing really well the whole way around, but a couple of times I just hit it right behind trees and had to chip out, it’s like a penalty shot but I played alright otherwise. It was just one of those things.
“It’s a pity to get stuck in those trees when they’re so sparse, I was just off the fairway one of the times but I played good so I can’t get down on myself. To do well at these events you sometimes need the rub of the green and I just didn’t get that today but there’s always tomorrow.
“If somebody told me I would be in 10th place going into the last round I would have taken that, it’s just a case of playing well tomorrow and see where I finish.”
Macaulay has shown plenty of fight after starting the week with a three over par 75, carding a 70 on the second day before bettering that with a three under par third round of 69.
Russell’s steady form at the beginning of the 2012 season continues as he followed up his opening rounds of 71 and 72, respectively, with another one under par 71.
Scott Henry was in tied 19th spot on level par going into the final round after a two under par third round of 70, while Jack Doherty’s 70 elevated him to tied 37th on three over for the tournament.
Meanwhile, a rejuvenated and resurgent Dougherty will enter the final round of his Challenge Tour debut as the outright leader after a flawless four under par round of 68.
The three-time European Tour winner has been rolling back the years at Country Club de Barranquilla after a long winter break from the game and enters a final round in contention for the first time since he won the BMW International Open on The European Tour in 2009.
The 29 year old is one shot clear of his compatriots Philip Archer, a two time Challenge Tour winner, and fellow Challenge Tour debutante Tyrrell Hatton.
“The last time I was in with a chance was when I won so I know what to do,” said the Liverpudlian, “I have won at the highest level and beaten some of the players in the world but that’s not what I’m thinking about now. Most important for me now is to try and be as free as I can. Like I said before, it’s baby steps and for me, that’s about not stressing myself and not getting in my own way.”
THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
209 N Dougherty (Eng) 71 70 68
210 P Archer (Eng) 71 71 68, T Hatton (Eng) 73 70 67
211 M Haines (Eng) 69 75 67, M Madsen (Den) 76 69 66, C Hanson (Eng) 72 69 70
212 B Barham (Eng) 74 68 70, F Ojeda Racioppi (Arg) 73 72 67
213 M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 72 71 70
214 J McLeary (Sco) 72 69 73, C Macaulay (Sco) 75 70 69, R Russell (Sco) 71 72 71, C Lloyd (Eng) 73 73 68
215 F Damus (Arg) 75 70 70, A Hartø (Den) 75 70 70, J Huldahl (Den) 73 73 69, J Lima (Por) 70 72 73, P Pinto (Arg) 70 75 70
216 E Kofstad (Nor) 70 71 75, S Henry (Sco) 76 70 70, S Saavedra (Arg) 69 72 75, S Fernandez (Arg) 74 71 71
217 S Rivas (Col) 74 68 75, C Paisley (Eng) 77 71 69, M Carlsson (Swe) 74 71 72, M Villegas (Col) 68 74 75, M Ruiz (Par) 74 72 71, D Brooks (Eng) 68 73 76, J Amaya (Col) 75 73 69
218 M Cryer (Eng) 74 69 75, L Goddard (Eng) 72 72 74, J Garrido (Col) 72 75 71, G Clark (Eng) 73 74 71, F De Vries (Ned) 75 72 71, P Del Grosso (Arg) 79 70 69, J Clavijo (Col) 73 74 71
219 J Doherty (Sco) 73 76 70, N Lemke (Swe) 79 70 70
220 P Dwyer (Eng) 76 73 71, C Brazillier (Fra) 74 73 73, J Luna (Col) 73 75 72, C Ford (Eng) 74 73 73, S Franky (Col) 78 70 72
221 A Wagner (Arg) 75 73 73, D Larrazabal (Ven) 71 72 78, J Rivas (Col) 71 71 79, P Reed (USA) 73 76 72, C Ricardo (am) (Col) 72 75 74
222 J Osmar (Col) 73 74 75, D Vancsik (Arg) 77 72 73, S Kim (Kor) 72 72 78, C Monasterio (Arg) 76 73 73, A Echavarria (Col) 74 74 74, L Jensen (Den) 70 77 75
223 C Suneson (Esp) 73 71 79, D Lokke (Den) 77 72 74, M Glauert (Ger) 72 73 78, R Quiros (Esp) 76 73 74, M Hurtado (Col) 74 71 78
224 H Cespedes (Par) 74 75 75, D Gaunt (Aus) 76 71 77
225 A Knappe (Ger) 77 72 76, E Aristizabal (Col) 75 74 76, P Relecom (Bel) 73 74 78, A Butterfield (Eng) 74 74 77
226 S Benson (Eng) 74 75 77, J Abbott (Eng) 76 73 77
228 S Tiley (Eng) 73 74 81
233 E Arrazola Jr (am) (Col) 73 76 84

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