Friday, April 20, 2012

BRYANT AND PURTZER LEAD US SENIORS' TEAM EVENT

FROM THE US CHAMPIONS TOUR WEBSITE
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) -- Brad Bryant and Tom Purtzer teamed up for a 12-under 60 to take the first-round lead at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf on Friday.
The score was one shot off the course record set in 2008 by Tom Watson and Andy North in the best-ball event at The Club at Savannah Harbor.
"It was a great day," Bryant said. "We played well together. This course just kind of matches our games. There were holes out there where we both had birdie putts."
The key hole for the leaders was the par-5 seventh. Both players hit into hazards, but Purtzer managed to work his way out and save par from 10 feet.
"That was like making an eagle at that hole at that time," Bryant said.
Michael Allen and David Frost, Kenny Perry and Russ Cochran, Jeff Sluman and Brad Faxon, Bruce Fleisher and Tom Jenkins all were two strokes back at 62.
Fred Couples teamed with Jay Haas for a 9-under 63. Also at 63 were Andy Bean and Chien Soon Lu and Joey Sindelar and John Cook.
Cook wowed the Championship Tour fans when his approach to the 457-yard 18th bounced into the cup for an eagle.
"I watched John Cook make 2 at No. 18," said Perry, whose team was paired with Cook and Sindelar. "That was awesome. That's a tough hole."
Allen and Frost made birdies on seven of the first eight holes.
"It's not something you really plan," Frost said. "Things just kind of worked out that way. I think 10 under is very good, but we maybe could have been a couple more (under)."
Despite the birdie-fest, pars can be crucial in this best-ball format, too.
Perry felt the key to his team's round was a 15-footer Cochran made to save par at No. 3.
"It kept us from having a bogey on the card," Perry said.
Perry is still bothered by a putt he missed here last year when David Eger and Mark McNulty won the event after Perry and then-partner Scott Hoch missed short par putts on the second playoff hole. Eger and McNulty closed at 11 under 61 to match Perry and Hoch at 27 under.
"That's still kind of burning in my gut," Perry said. "That ran through my mind on the first putt today. I thought, 'Gee, I don't want to leave this short.'"
Allen, who won the Encompass Insurance Pro-Am last week for his second Champions Tour title, said he didn't have much time to prepare for this event.
"I think whenever you've played well the week before, you want to make sure your kind of still focused," Allen said. "I was a little anxious getting started."

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SWING COACH SAYS CRITICISM OF TIGER HAS GONE OVER THE TOP

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
ORLANDO, Florida: Tiger Woods' swing coach says criticism of his client is getting out of hand.
"I know everyone has a job to do, and I get it," Sean Foley said this week on "Fairways of Life," an American radio show hosted by Matt Adams on XM Sirius.
"But if it is about the game of golf, Tiger Woods is an extremely important part of the game, and I think everyone understands that. It has just gotten to the point where the tearing down of Tiger as a person and a golfer has become just too much. I think it is just out of hand."
Woods has been under more scrutiny than any other golfer since he turned pro in 1996 when he was 20 and won twice in seven starts on the PGA Tour. The criticism has sharpened in the two years since Woods was exposed for extramarital affairs that cost him his marriage and impeccable image.
He tied for 40th at the Masters, yet most of the attention was on how Woods kicked his golf club after missing a tee shot on the 16th hole of the second round. He said the next day, "I'm frustrated at times and I apologize if I offended anybody that that."
Foley began working with Woods at the 2010 PGA Championship, and Woods has shown signs of getting back toward the top of his game. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill last month for his first PGA Tour win since the scandal in his personal life unfolded the night of Thanksgiving 2009.
Foley has gone through his share of criticism, too, especially in the early stages of Woods learning a new swing.
"I realize it is 2012 and we have dotcoms, and you have to write five articles a day, and you run out of things to write about," Foley said. "But we should be in a position where we are trying to help and lift up and support a player like Tiger Woods instead of tearing him down, because everyone in the golf industry is better off because of his existence."
Foley's comments came at the end of a 20-minute interview, and he raised the issue without prompting.
"That is basically one thing I want to get out," Foley said. "Tiger is a wonderful person, and he is a good dude, and he lives a complex life. I think things have got to slow down, and it has got to stop, the daily referendums and the criticism."
Woods' performance in the Masters has kept him in conversations, however. It was his highest finish in a major as a pro - except for the three times he has missed the cut - and kicking his 9-iron became a lasting image of his week at Augusta National.
A few days after the Masters, former Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger said on Sirius XM Mad Dog Radio that Woods' antics were an "embarrassment to the game, to the membership at Augusta." The comments were startling because Azinger has long been a supporter of Woods.
"I was really disappointed to see him carry on that way," Azinger said. "He's not trying to endear himself to anybody. And after he won Bay Hill, I thought, `Here we go again, this is going to be Tiger just kicking butt and taking names.' I don't know. I thought he acted like the south end of a northbound mule."
Jack Nicklaus was asked Tuesday about Woods' game and said he didn't know what was going on.
"I don't know what goes (on) between his ears," Nicklaus said. "That's really the X factor. His golf game and his golf swing looks pretty similar to what I've been looking at and he hits a lot of great shots. But you never know what's going on in somebody's head."

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LANARKSHIRE BOYS' SPRING MEETING AT CARNWATH GC

SUNDAY, APRIL 29
Late entries will be accepted for the spaces in the draw.
Competitors must report to the Recorder 15 mins prior to their starting time. They are also reminded that jeans, denim trousers, trainers, collarsless or sleeeveless shirts and shell suits are not permitted in the clubhouse or on the courses.
Caddies are not permitted. Devices that measure distance only are allowed.

1.             8.30                 G.GREER                               J.KERR                                   E.BALLANTYNE
                                 Carluke                                   Kirkhill                                    Hamilton

2.               8.37                 S.KELLY                                M.McCAIG                            L.PRESTON
                           Carluke                                   Kirkhill                                    Hamilton

3.       8.45                 F.HARKISS                           D.HARKIN                            D.FAIR
                                 Carluke                                   Kirkhill                                    Hamilton

4.       8.52                 A.ROBERTSON                    M.BRENNAN                        D.CLELAND
                                 Carluke                                   Kirkhill                                    Hamilton

5.       9.00                 C.HARRISON                        C.ANDREW                           C.GRAHAM
                                 Carluke                                   Kirkhill                                    Hamilton

6.       9.07                 R.LIVINGSTONE                  K.KANE                                M.WILSON
                                 Colville Park                            Kirkhill                                    Hamilton

7.       9.15                 R.MacNEILL                          B.McNAUGHT                      D.CROSS
                                 Colville Park                            Kirkhill                                    Hamilton

8.       9.22                 E.BROWN                             L.IRVINE                               R.WILSON
                                 Colville Park                            Kirkhill                                    Strathaven

9.       9.30                 Josh HICKSON                      C.ANDREW                           S.LAW
                                 Colville Park                            Kirkill                                      Strathaven

10.     9.37                 C.DOCHERTY                       C.McCARROLL                    K.HENDRY
                                 Crow Wood                            Kirkhill                                    Strathaven




11.     9.45                 S.BARNES                             D.ALEXANDER                    M.BAXTER
                                 Crow Wood                            Kirkhill                                    Strathaven

12.     9.52                 B.REILLY                               D.JESSIMER                          R.HIGGINS
                                 Crow Wood                            Colville Park                            Shotts

13.     10.00                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                               

14.     10.07               D.BURT                                  J.HICKSON                           A.MORLEY
                                 Bellshill                                    Colville Park                            Shotts


15.     10.15               S.BURKE                               J.KIDD                                   D.MURRAY
                                 Bellshill                                    Colville Park                            Shotts

16.     10.22               M.McBRIDE                          L.INGRAM     M                                   Playsport                                 Colville Park                            Torrance House

17.     10.30               C.MILLER                              C.FALDER                             M.DIXON
                                 Playsport                                 Strathaven                               Torrance House

18.     10.37               A.BONHAM                          C.PATERSON                       G.KINGHORN
                                 Cambuslang                             Strathaven                               Torrance House

19.     10.45               Z.GEDDES                             J.WHITE                                 F.LECKIE
                                 Cambuslang                             Strathaven                               Torrance House

20.     10.52               S.BROWN                             P.McHUGH                            K.HERKES
                                 Cambuslang                             Calderbraes                             Torrance House

21.     11.00               L.BRODIE                              S.BRADLEY                          C.PURDEN
                                 Cambuslang                             Easter Moffat                           Torrance House

22.     11.07               G.PAUL                                  T.McCLUSKEY                     C.WRIGHT
                                 Lanark                                     Mount Ellen                             Torrance House

23.     11.15               C.FARRELL                           C.HUGHES                            C.LANG
                                 Lanark                                     Drumpellier                              Torrance House

24.     11.22               C.BOYD                                 A.THOMSON                        R.WOODS
                                 Lanark                                     Mouse Valley                          Cambuslang

25.     11.30               B.MURPHY                           S.McBRIDE                            C.KELSO
                                 Lanark                                     Playsport                                 Bellshill

26.     11.37               K.PRENTICE                         I.FERGUSON                        D.DOUGAN
                                 Lanark                                     Drumpellier                              Colville Park

27.     11.45               A.SCOTT                               S.CAMPBELL                        J.BRYCE
                                 Lanark                                     Cambuslang                             Strathaven

28.     11.52               J.STEVEN
                                 Bothwell Castle                                                                      

29.     12.00                                                                                                            
   
         

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PETER WHITEFORD SHOOTS A 68 TO ENTER TOP TWENTY IN CHINA

TIANJIN, April 20 - England's Gary Boyd and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet from France shot a pair of five-under-par 67s on Friday to share the lead after two rounds of the Volvo China Open at Binhai Lake Golf Club in Tianjin.
They go into the weekend at 11 under par, a shot ahead of South African Branden Grace and two in front of defending champion Nicolas Colsaerts, from Belgium, who both also recorded 67s.
The U.S $3 million tournament, which is co-sanctioned by OneAsia and the European tour, is being played for the first time at the links-style Binhai Lakes course, which at 7,667 yards is one of the longest on either circuit. A cold snap and gusting winds made playing conditions even tougher, and the cut was made at two-under 142.
Boyd, whose only professional win was the European Challenge Tour's Tusker Kenyan Open in 2009, offset six birdies with a lone bogey.
“It was good today because the conditions were tough," he said afterwards. "It was cold and windy out there so it makes the score all the more satisfying."
He credited a return to his old coach for getting his head straight after fiddling too much with his game.
"I was a bit lost in too many thoughts and trying too many different things for a while and that is not something that you want to be doing in tournament golf," he said.
“There wasn’t a lot wrong there but this is such a mental game that if the confidence slips a little bit it can just start to multiply the problems pretty quickly and all of a sudden you are down on yourself."
Gonnet also credits a rethink about why he plays with a much improved game recently.
“ I know this is a job but, for me, I have to enjoy it and remember why I started playing this game," he said.
"I have to go back to the five year old kid I was and try to play for fun. That will be the main aim for the weekend  -- to go out there and try to enjoy it because there is no point in playing the game if you are not having fun.”
South African rookie Grace, a two-time European tour winner already this season, continued his excellent form with a blemish-free round that included an eagle on the par four seventh.
"I thought about it and realised that I had been driving the ball really good today so I went for it and hit it straight at it, got a nice bounce forward to five feet and rolled the putt in."
Grace, who earned his European Tour card at Q school last year, has made an immediate impact having won the Joburg Open and Volvo Golf Champions tournament over successive weekends in South Africa in January, victories that propelled him into the world's top 100.
Colsaerts, whose only European Tour win was at this event last year, has enjoyed his new-found fame in China.
“It’s pretty cool being the defending champion and I have a nice Chinese crowd with me now, following me and asking for autographs," he said.
“It’s nice to get the attention and the more you play with the TV cameras on you and with the big name players the more you realise that you are just part of the same group of guys playing the same game over the same course.” 
The Belgian's slender frame disguises one of the tour's biggest hitters and he credited his distance off the tee for his round on Friday.
“I like the course and the way that I have been driving the ball over the first two day, it allows me to take some lines that the other guys can’t take because of my length of the tee," he said.
"On some holes I will have short irons in while the other guys will have five and six irons. The second was a good example of that today – I hit the drive miles down there and took out the corner and just had a seven iron approach. I managed to hit that into to about seven feet and make the eagle putt."
South Korean Choi Jin-ho, Kiwi Gareth Paddison, Australian Marcus Fraser and Spaniard Ignacio Garrido also remain well in the hunt at eight under.
Choi  is seeking his first tournament victory away from home having won twice in Korea, but he does have a taste for national Open competitions having finished joint second at the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta last year and joint third at the Thailand Open.
“The conditions were very different today," he said. "The wind made it very difficult, but I played some good recovery shots which helped my score. The key is that you have to be patient and take your chances when you can.”
Fraser meanwhile credited a phone call with his coach for his improved performance in China.
"I did some good work last weekend and spoke to my coach on the phone and what he has been telling me is finally sinking in," he said. "You would think it would sink in -- he has been telling me the same thing for months, but golfers aren’t the smartest people on the planet sometimes!”
Peter Whiteford moved into the leading Scot role with a 68 for 138. That him in a tie for 16th place - a shot ahead of Paul Lawrie who shot a 67 for 139 and a share of 24th place.
Paul Lawrie writes on his website:
"It was really cold and windy this morning so 67 (-5) was a great effort. I hit it really solid all day and holed out very well, which is something you must do in that weather as you're always going to have 4 or 5 footers to hole.   No practice this afternoon, just back to the hotel to relax."
Disaster of the day befell Englishman Paul Casey who recorded a 10 on the par-five 12th hole, as well as two double bogey 7s on the second and 18th for a 79.
SECOND ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72) Yardage 7,667 Tianjin Binhal Lake GC course.
133 Gary BOYD (ENG) 66-67, Jean-Baptiste GONNET (FRA) 66-67.
134 Branden GRACE (RSA) 67-67.
135 Nicolas COLSAERTS (BEL) 68-67.
136 CHOI Jin-ho (SKOR) 69-67, Marcus FRASER (AUS) 67-69, Gareth PADDISON (NZL) 68-68, Ignacio GARRIDO (ESP) 67-69.
137 Danny WILLETT (ENG) 69-68, Victor DUBUISSON (FRA) 69-68, Joost LUITEN (NED) 66-71, Francesco MOLINARI (ITA) 72-65, Scott STRANGE (AUS) 66-71, Robert-Jan DERKSEN (NED) 68-69, Oliver WILSON (ENG) 70-67.

SCOTS' SCORES
138 Peter Whiteford 70 68 (T16)
139 Paul Lawrie 72 67 (T24)
140 Coln Montgomerie 68 71 (T29)
141 Scott Jamieson 74 67 (T44)
142 Richie Ramsay 67 75, David Drysdale 70 72 (T53).

MISSED THE CUT (142 or better qualified)
143 Steven O'Hara 71 72, George Murray 72 71 (T71)
149 Stephen Gallacher 76 73 (T136)
156 Guan Tianlang (China) (13-y-o amateur) 77 79.
160 Marc Warren 85 75 (T153).

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

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WESTWOOD GOES FIVE SHOTS CLEAR IN INDONESIAN MASTERS

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Jakarta: Lee Westwood was rewarded for his patience with a flawless four-under-par 68 as he took a five-shot, second-round clubhouse lead at the weather-hit CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters today.
Westwood, who took a short break after finishing tied third at the Masters, made eight consecutive pars before, having started on the 10th tee, adding birdies on holes 18 and three, followed by two closing birdies for 11-under-par 133 at the US$750,000 Asian Tour event.
The world number three holds a dominant five-shot lead over Kieran Pratt of Australia, winner of the Zaykabar Myanmar Open presented by Air Bagan in February, who posted a sparkling 65 at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.
Zaw Moe of Myanmar was on eight-under through 12 holes before play was abandoned at 5.27pm local time due to lightning threat. Play was also suspended earlier in the day for two hours and 20 minutes for the same reason. 
Moe will be among 74 players who will return at 6.30am Saturday to complete their rounds.
Westwood, who played in the morning, struggled with the humidity but he believes the extra rest will give him an edge over the chasing pack.
“You want to be leading tournaments and I obviously got the hang of playing on this golf course. More importantly, I was patient and I didn’t force things to happen. I’m glad I finished, I can relax this afternoon and prepare for the weekend,” said the Englishman. 
“Yesterday was quite windy and overcast. It was very hot and humid early on and I suffered with that a little bit. It is just one of those things where it can be so hot that you can’t replenish the fluids. That’s Asia for you. I’m going to have to fluid up this afternoon,” he added.
Kieran, playing in his second year on the Asian Tour, three-putted for bogey on his opening hole but made a brave comeback with 10 birdies against two bogeys for a 138 total. 
It was a polished performance from the Australian, who shot an opening 73. “I was frustrated yesterday. I felt like I was sort of playing okay but didn’t putt very well. I never had confidence on the greens and I did a bit of work with my coach last night and sort of ironed out a few things and holed some putts.
“I’ve been in this position before. It is only two rounds in so I need to keep going through the weekend. Obviously, Lee (Westwood) is a world class player and he is not going to back up but we are going to go out there and chase him,” said the 23-year-old.
Moe, who has won once on the Asian Tour, got off to a fast start, shooting birdies on holes 10, 14 and 18 highlighted by a 20-foot eagle putt on the 12th hole. 
“The suspension didn’t stop any momentum in my game. I’ve been playing well so I’m not worried. I’m three back at the moment with a few more holes to play. I won’t rush anything, I’ll just play my game and hopefully at the start of the third round, I’ll be in the same flight as Westwood,” said Moe, who has yet to miss a single cut on the Asian Tour.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
(round not complete due to suspensions of play)
Par 144 (2x72). Yardage 7,262. Royal Jarkarta GC course.
133 Lee WESTWOOD (ENG) 65-68.
138 Kieran PRATT (AUS) 73-65.
139 Shiv KAPUR (IND) 68-71.
140 Daisuke KATAOKA (JPN) 72-68, James BYRNE (SCO) 73-67.
141 Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 71-70, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 72-69.
142 BAEK Seuk-hyun (KOR) 72-70, Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 70-72, Ajeetesh SANDHU (IND) 70-72, Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 72-70, Rick KULACZ (AUS) 69-73, Angelo QUE (PHI) 69-73, Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 74-68, Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 74-68.
143 Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 68-75, Himmat RAI (IND) 72-71, Sam CYR (USA) 68-75, Adilson DA SILVA (BRA) 73-70, Scott BARR (AUS) 74-69.
144 Danny CHIA (MAS) 75-69, Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) 75-69, Scott HEND (AUS) 74-70, Tim STEWART (AUS) 72-72.
145 Jonathan MOORE (USA) 73-72, Jason KNUTZON

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TEE TIMES FOR THIS WEEKEND'S SGU ORDER OF MERIT 72-HOLER

To view the draw for Saturday's first and second rounds of the Battle Trophy 72-hole SGU Order of Merit event hosted by Crail Golfing Society this weekend

CLICK HERE

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