MATT EVERY, DOING HIS OWN THING, LEADS TEXAS OPEN WITH A 63

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
By Staff and wire reports
SAN ANTONIO -- Matt Every arrived at the Valero Texas Open having sworn off instructors, proudly cutting practices short and cringing at the sight of other players endlessly tweaking their swings.
His reward was a course record at a US PGA Tour stop.
Outshining the few big US PGA Tour names in a weakened field, Every made nine birdies in a bogey-free 9-under 63 for a three-stroke lead over Hunter Haas after the first round Thursday.
It was a career best on a notoriously unforgiving TPC San Antonio course that opened in 2010, but is partly blamed for why the tournament doesn't attract more star power.
"I see the same guys tinkering with their swings, and they spend all day Tuesday and Wednesday practicing, and I think, 'God, I'm glad I'm not one of these guys,'" Every said. "And I'm sticking to that. When I get on the course, I'm more interested in playing golf than my golf swing."
Every, whose best finish in six years on the TOUR is third, coasted to his first lead since sharing the top spot entering the final round of the Sony Open in January. His wife, who is seven months pregnant, followed him for the entirety of a the record that broke the course mark of 64 set by Ryan Palmer and Scott Piercy in 2010.
"Told her, only wanted her to go to nine today," Every said. "Said she had to keep going after the front nine. It's cool."
Haas finished with one of the round's three eagles on the par-5 18th. Former British Open champion Ben Curtis, playing in his fourth US PGA Tour event of the season after his status on the entry list plummeted near the bottom, was fourth strokes back at 67.
Fredrik Jacobson, Cameron Beckman, Jason Gore, Troy Matteson and Derek Lamely shot 68.
Haas shot a bogey-free round capped by a brilliant approach on No. 18, driving a 3-wood from the fairway to 5 feet. He has struggled this season, missing the cut six times and finishing no better than a tie for 37th in Mexico at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
"It's nice to finish a round like that. It's been a while," Haas said.
Matt Kuchar, the tournament's top-ranked player at No. 15 and two weeks removed form his near miss at the Masters, closed with a bogey on the par-4 ninth for a 70. Johnson Wagner had a 74 after speaking optimistically about taking advantage of the absence of star players in the field.
Defending champion Brendan Steele had a 73. He made a double bogey on the par-4 fourth.
The other star of last year's Valero Texas Open didn't even make it past the first round. Kevin Na, who returned to San Antonio poking fun at his memorable 16 on No. 9, tapped in a 6-footer for par this time, but withdrew after signing his card at 7 over.
Every was more at ease with his front-runner status than the last time in Honolulu. There he looked uncomfortable while being asked about his arrest on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge in 2010 that resulted in a US PGA Tour suspension his rookie season.
He also attributed a tough night of sleep there to what he described as his first real time in contention.
After his round Thursday, a US PGA Tour spokesman cautioned reporters that Every sometimes doesn't ease into interviews as easily as other players. But the 28-year-old former Florida star was candid and carefree while discussing his love for the band Oasis and naming his first son Liam.
He only casually mentioned ditching his swing instructor two weeks ago and that he "doesn't care anymore" whether his feet or toes lift off the ground when he swings.
"Lately I've been trying to do as little as possible with everything involved with golf," Every said. "If I'm hitting bad in the range I won't even work out -- I'll quit and go home. And it's been working. It has. I'm playing better golf because of it."
Inverness exile Russell Knox had a 72.

FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72
Players from US unless stated
63 Matt Every
66 Hunter Haas
67 Ben Curtis
68 Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden), Cameron Beckman, Jason Gore, Troy Matteson, Derek Lamely.
69 Rich Beem, David Mathis.

SELECTED SCORES
72 Russell Knox (Scotland) (T35)
74 Gary Christian (England) (T75)

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MyGolfRanking.co.uk, FIFE GOLFING ASSOCIATION

Week ending 15 April 2012
1 D Waddell (Kirkcaldy) 750 points
2 P Taylor (Kirkcaldy) 737.5
3 I Fleming (Auchterderran) 683.33
4 N Jones (Scoonie) 633.33
5 R Thomson (St Andrews) 602.83
6 A Hodge (Earlsferry Th) 591.67
T7 J Paisley (Earlsferry Th) 566.67
T7 B Ramsay (Drumoig) 566.67
9 G J Walker (Kirkcaldy) 558.33
T10 A Cannon (St Andrews) 550
T10 D N Watson (Kirkcaldy) 550
12 D Morton (Kirkcaldy) 541.67
T13 G Divers (Scoonie) 533.33
T13 J Stenhouse junior (Scoonie) 533.33
T13 C Edwards (Kirkcaldy) 533.33
T13 C Stenhouse (Leven Th) 533.33
T13 G Cooper (Thornton) 533.33
18 G Walker (Earlsferry Th)) 516.67
T19 W A Glancy (Kirkcaldy) 500
T19 S Hill (Leven Th) 500.

For ranking lists of participating clubs, the full Fife and Lothians ranking lists and how it works, visit www.MyGolfRanking.co.uk

JAMIE SAVAGE FINISHES TOP SCOT IN PETER McEVOY TROPHY

Peter McEvoy, a Walker Cup player in his day, presents the impressive salver to Ireland's Gavin Moynihan. Image by courtesy of Tom Ward Photography.

Cawder's Jamie Savage was the highest placed Scot in the final placings for the Peter McEvoy Trophy 72-hole boys golf tournament at Copt Heath GC, Solihull in Warwickshire today.

Savage, son of a golf professional, finished joint seventh on three-over-par 287 with scores of 71, 67, 76 and 73 - 12 shots behind the Irish winner.

Gavin Moynihan (The Island) had five shots to spare at the head of a quality field with rounds fo 68, 68, 69 and 70 for an impressive aggregate of 275, nine under par.

New Paul Lawrie Foundation Scottish boys champion Craig Howie (Peebles) finished joint 11th after a third-round 69 gave him a chance of a top-5 place. But his final round of 76 was his worst of the four and gave him a total of 289. His first-day scores were 74 and 70.

Greig Marchbank (Dumfries and Co) had scores of 74-71-72-75 for 292 and a share of 20th place.

Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie) finished joint 27th on 295 with scores of 73-71-79-72. Bradley's third round knocked him out contention for a top-20 finish.

The only other Scot to beat the halfway cut, Alasdair McDougall (Elderslie) had scores of 78-70-75-80 for 303 and joint 42nd place.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 284 (4x71) CSS 73 71 73 74

275 Gavin Moynihan (The Island) 68 68 69 70.

280 Max Orrin (North Foreland) 71 66 69 74, Nick Marsh (Huddersfield) 72 67 71 70.

283 Bradley Moore (Kedleston) 71 66 70 76

284 Harry Ellis (Meon Valley) 74 70 68 72.

SCOTS' SCORES

287 Jamie Savage (Cawder) 71 67 76 73 (T7)

289 Craig Howie (Peebles) 74 70 69 76 (T11)

295 Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie) 73 71 79 72 (T27)

303 Alasdair McDougall (Elderslie) 78 70 75 80 (T42)

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LEE WESTWOOD LEADS WITH A 65 IN INDONESIAN MASTERS

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Defending champion Lee Westwood shot a 7-under 65 today to take a two-shot lead after the first round of the Indonesian Masters.
The third-ranked Englishman opened his round with three consecutive birdies and added six more at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club, along with two bogeys.
Arnond Vongvanij of Thailand shot a bogey-free 67 for second place.
Six golfers were another shot back in a tie for third, including Indian duo Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur.
Three-time Asian Tour champion Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand had four bogeys and one double bogey on his way to a 75.
Lee Westwood kicked off his Indonesian Masters defence with a sizzling seven-under 65 to give him a two-shot lead after the first day at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.
The world number three mixed nine birdies with two bogeys.
The Englishman began his day with three straight birdies, and had three more on the front nine to reach the turn at five under.
A bogey at 14 slowed his charge, but he birdied the par five 18th to finish his round on a high.
Vongvanij shot a flawless round of 67, which included five birdies, to keep the pressure on Westwood, while a group of six players - India's Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur, Thai Boonchu Ruangkit, American Sam Cyr and South Korean Lee Sung - are a shot further back on four under.
Six players are locked in a tie for ninth at three under, including Australian Rick Kulacz, American Berry Henson, South Korea's Park Hyun-Bin, Angelo Que of the Philippines, Thai Thitiphun Chuayprakong and Japan's Masanori Kobayashi.

 

RYAN LESTER BEATS HUGE FIELD TO WIN FALDO SERIES IRELAND

NEWS RELEASE

Ryan Lester won the fifth Faldo Series Ireland Championship by two shots after rounds of 71 and 70 at Lough Erne Resort in Northern Ireland.  The 16-year-old Ireland squad member beat 120 competitors to the title, the largest ever field for the event.

“This is by far my biggest win,” said a delighted Lester who will return to Lough Erne in County Fermanagh for the 16^th Faldo Series Grand Final in September. “The Faldo Course was in fantastic condition this week and I can’t wait to play it again at the Grand Final.”

 Lester from Hermitage in County Galway will be joined at the Grand Final by Boys’ Under-18 winner Craig Melvin.  Melvin from Corrstown fired a second-round 68 before winning a three-way play-off to qualify for the 54-hole World Amateur Golf Ranking event, hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.

Joint overnight leader Ryan McCullough (Massereene) won the Boys’ Under-21 category after following his opening 70 on the Faldo Course with a 77.  Olivia Mehaffey from Royal County Down claimed the Girls’ division with rounds of 76 and 78.

  

Leading final scores:

Boys’ Under-21

147 Ryan McCullough (Massereene) 70-77

148 Stuart Grehan (Tullamore) 71-77

149 Tiernan Lindsay (Fortwilliam) 74-75.

Boys’ Under-18

147 Craig Melvin (Corrstown) 79-68, Michael McCann (Warren Point) 76-71, Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) 79-68. 

Boys’ Under-16

141 Rowan Lester (Hermitage) 71-70

143 Ted Collins (Dun Loaghaire) 75-68, Jonathan Doherty (Ballina) 70-73. 

Girls

154 Olivia Mehaffey (Royal Co Down) 76-78

173 Darcey Carr (Milltown) 86-87.

For more information on the Faldo Series visit http://www.nickfaldo.com/.  You can also follow the Faldo Series on Facebook at www.facebook.com/faldoseries and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/faldoseries.

PETER McEVOY TROPH THIRD-ROUND SCORES AT COPT HEATH

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GORDON AND LEE ARE JOINT HEAD PROFESSIONALS AT MONIFIETH

         Gordon McLeod (left) and Lee Sutherland, joint head professionals at Monifieth

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Scottishgolfview.com
This time last year Lee Sutherland was professional at Ballumbie Castle Golf Club near Monifieth.
Now he is back at the Monifieth Links where he was an assistant right through the 1990s, working for Ian McLeod.
Lee takes up the story:
"When Ian retired, I joined his son Gordon as joint head professionals, fairly unique I would think. Augusta is one other!

"Ian was the pro at Monifieth for 48 years and took over his father's business, 'Ron McLeod's Golf Shop,' Unfortunatly Ian had been suffering from cancer and he died last month, so he never got to enjoy the retirement he so deserved. 

"So Gordon and I are the third generation owners/pros of the business. We do not receive a retainer and we work in a partnershipo running the shop and teaching at Monifieth.
"I have known Gordon since school days and we both worked together before at Monifieth."
+Lee Sutherland is active in running the Midland Golfers' Alliance who are hosts to this year's Scottish Alliance championship over 54 holes at Monifieth and Arbroath from October 9 to 11.

MATTHEW BALDWIN'S 65 GIVES HIM ONE-SHOT LEAD IN CHINA

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Matthew Baldwin insists he is just trying to enjoy life on The European Tour after claiming the first-round lead at the Volvo China Open.
The 26-year-old Challenge Tour graduate has made a solid start to life on The European Tour, recording a top-ten finish at the Africa Open, finishing 17th in Morocco, as well as making the cut in Sicily and Andalucía.
That has seen the avid Liverpool FC fan climb to 107th on The Race to Dubai, but he could be set to improve on that significantly after a seven-under-par 65 gave him a one shot lead at Binhai Lake Golf Club.
“It was very good today so I am happy with that,” he said.
“This is not the lowest round of my Tour career – I shot nine under at East London Club in South Africa earlier in the season but this would be the second lowest.
“I have been playing well for the past three events really and I am just trying to enjoy the experience of being on Tour for the first time. I played on the Challenge Tour last year and didn’t know what to expect out here but it is better than I expected because there is just so much going on at the tournaments.
“I just tried to keep everything as simple as I could. My caddie and I set out this morning with a game plan of trying to make 18 pars and take our chances when they came and it turned out to be one of those days where there were a lot of chances and I managed to take a few of them.”
Baldwin, who won the Fred Olsen Challenge de España on The Challenge Tour last season as he finished tenth in the rankings, had six birdies in his first 11 holes before an approach to six feet at the penultimate hole brought him his seventh gain.
Six players are tied for second on six under, and, like Baldwin, five of them featured in the morning session before the wind strengthened through the day in Tianjin.
Only South African Jbe Kruger, a recent winner at the Avantha Masters, managed to dent the leaderboard in the afternoon as the diminutive 25 year old produced a bogey free round.
His 66 was matched by Swede Fredrik Andersson-Hed, Baldwin’s compatriot Gary Boyd, France’s Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, Dutchman Joost Luiten and Australian Scott Strange.
Luiten, whose first European Tour victory came last year in Malaysia, started with a hat-trick of birdies from the tenth, and, after a double bogey at the fourth, finished with three gains in his last four holes.
“I want to get out there and attack and win golf tournaments,” he said. “After winning last year for the first time I just want it more and more because I know how good that feeling is.”
Strange, winner of this event in 2009, lost his card at the end of last season but put himself into contention with a bogey-free round.
He said: “It’s nice to shoot 66 – first time I have broken 70 for a while!
“I have been away from the golf course for a while. Things change in life and people become parents and your priorities change and all of a sudden golf just wasn’t that important to me for a while. But once you figure things and get back to the golf and make it a priority again then, hopefully the good results will come.” Andersson-Hed, a former Italian Open champion, did most of his good work on the back nine with five birdies as he reached the turn in 31.
“I played decent and putted fantastically,” he said. “I had one three-putt today but apart from that I don’t think I have ever putted that well. Maybe the third round in Italy a couple of years ago when I won but today I holed a lot of long ones so this is even better.
“The longest was about 30 feet on 17 but there were a few from between 12-20 feet. I had been struggling on the greens at the start of the year but I had a meeting with my coaches and we tried to steer it back in the right direction. It didn’t really work out last week but hopefully I am going the right way now.”
Boyd, still seeking a first European Tour win after two runner-up finishes in his three seasons on Tour, had an eagle at the long 12th as well as a solitary bogey and five birdies, chipping in for a four at the par five 18th.
“I am usually a very slow starter but there have been encouraging signs recently,” said the 25 year old. “I went back to see my old coach a few weeks ago to see what thoughts he had on the state of my game and I have done some good practice at home on the back of that. Then to come out to Asia and play well last week and make a good start this week is good.”
England’s Paul Casey continued his comeback from a snowboarding injury with a four under par 68, the same score as former Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie and defending champion Nicolas Colsaerts.
Australian Marcus Fraser was part of the group on five under, and while the 33 year old was ten shots better than his playing partner, there was no hiding his admiration for the performance of 13 year old Guan Tian-lang – who became the youngest player in European Tour history.
“I couldn’t believe I was playing with a 13 year old – I am old enough to be his dad,” said Fraser. “It’s pretty scary actually – I thought I was still quite young.
“He was very impressive for someone who is 13 and a half years old. He hits it long off the tee and hits a lot of very good shots.
“His putting is good and he has good routines. You can see he is very competitive too which you need to be. If he keeps on the path he is on then he can be a great player.
“To be that age and be able to play at this level is amazing. I felt lucky to be out there with him because if he keeps going he will be in the top ten in the world pretty comfortably.
“He is very mature, very driven but he is not being pushed into by his parents – he wants to go out there and play and improve and that is the main thing. A lot of kids get pushed into things but that is not the case here. He really wants it and it is pretty cool to see that in someone so young.”
+It must be a long time since Scot Marc Warren shot as high a round as a 13-over-par 85. Certainly, China is a long way to go to score like that. He had two double bogey 6s but his worst calamity was a quadruple bogey 8 at the 17th in halves fo 42-43.

FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72
65 Matthew Baldwin (England).
66 Joost Luiten (Netherlands), Gary Boyd (England), Scott Strange (Australia), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Sweden), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (France), Jbe Kruger (S Africa).
67 Damien McGrane (Ireland), Branden Grace (S Africa), Graeme Storm (England), Ignacio Garrido (Spain), Richie Ramsay (Scotland), Marcus Fraser (Australia), Richard Finch (England).

OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
68 Colin Montgomerie (T15)
70 Peter Whiteford, David Drysdale (T44)
71 Steven O'Hara (T62)
72 George Murray, Paul Lawrie (T82)
74 Scott Jamieson (T125)
76 Stephen Gallacher (T143)
85 Marc Warren (last of 156)

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