Friday, May 11, 2012

LIVE SCORING FROM THE PLAYERS' CHAMPIONSHIP AT SAWGRASS

TO ACCESS THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE'S LIVE SCORING SERVICE FROM THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP AT SAWGRASS

CLICK HERE

Labels:

MORAY AND NAIRN GOLF LEAGUE: TONIGHT'S RESULTS

Labels:

DAVID LAW SHOOTS A 64 - HE'S THE ONLY SCOT TO BEAT THE CUT IN CHALLENGE TOUR EVENT


From Challenge Tour Press
Officer Paul Symes
Spaniard Carlos Aguilar rattled off four successive birdies en route to grabbing the lead at the midway stage of the ALLIANZ Open Côtes d’Armor Bretagne on the Challenge Tour.
The 29 year old from Alicante has been competing predominantly on France’s Allianz Tour and the Spanish National Tour, but he set up a golden opportunity to claim a place on the Challenge Tour with a round of 66 which moved him to five under par.
Rookie Aberdeen pro David Law, pictured, and former Ryder Cup player Peter Baker of England both had superb rounds of 64. Northern Open champion Law, a winner in Morocco last month, improved by 13 shots on his first-round effort. Astonishingly, he is the only Scot to survive the cut.
Baker, who won the inaugural event in 2007, is in the chasing pack on three under par, alongside Sweden’s Jens Dantorp and Finn Mikko Korhonen.
Aguilar took full advantage of the more benign afternoon conditions at Golf Blue Green de Pléneuf Val André, in northern France, with six birdies, including four in a row from the fourth hole.
If he can hold onto his slender lead for the final two days of the €160,000 event, Aguilar will become the first Spanish winner on the Challenge Tour since Carlos Del Moral prevailed at the M2M Russian Challenge Cup in September 2010, one week after Alvaro Velasco won the Kazakhstan Open on his way to topping the Rankings.
Aguilar said: “Both of my bogeys were from three-putts, so I’m very happy with my long game. I’ve played very consistently both days even though the conditions have been quite difficult, so I’m very satisfied. Whenever I missed the green I managed to miss on the right side, so it was straightforward to get up and down. I made a few nice birdie putts, including a long one on the 15th, and I also holed a good par putt on the last, so it was a good day.”
Baker, who started on the tenth tee, surged through the field with a front nine of 31 which included birdies at the 11th, 14th, 15th and 17th holes.
With the exception of a double bogey at the second hole his back nine was no less impressive, as gains at the fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth holes moved the three-time European Tour champion firmly into contention to capture his fourth Challenge Tour title.
Earlier in the day Dantorp, despite a seven on his card, had signed for a stunning round of 63 to surge from tied 75th overnight into a share of second place.
Dantorp is no stranger to feats of incredibly low scoring, having lived every professional golfer’s dream at the Bravo Tour Open on the Satellite Nordic League last season, when he signed for a magical round of 59. Needless to say, Dantorp went on to win that tournament en route to topping the Nordic League’s Order of Merit, thus earning him a place on the Challenge Tour this season.
The 22 year old from Malmö has enjoyed a productive start to his debut Challenge Tour campaign, following up a tied 12th finish in India with a joint 30th finish in Kenya to climb into the top 30 of the Rankings. But his round of 63 – which included ten birdies, six pars, a bogey and that double bogey seven – was comfortably the lowest of Dantorp’s fledgling Challenge Tour career.
According to Dantorp, the main difference between an opening round of 74 and his rather more spectacular effort on the second day was that his putter caught fire, despite the cool temperatures and stiff breeze which greeted the morning starters.
Korhonen, playing his first event of the season after recovering from the wrist surgery he underwent in February, joined Dantorp on three under par, albeit with a more mundane round of 69.
Having spent six weeks recuperating from surgery, Korhonen flew to Orlando, America, to undergo some intensive winter practice with his fellow Finns Antti Ahokas and Roope Kakko, whose nuptials he attended on New Year’s Eve. And the practice paid off with a steady display which included birdies at the 10th (his first), seventh and eighth holes, where he drained a 30 foot putt.
Joint overnight leaders Stephen Grant of Ireland and England’s Chris Hanson struggled to build on their solid opening efforts, as both carded rounds of 73 to fall back to level par. But there was better news for England’s Ricki Neil-Jones, who aced the 15th hole with a sand wedge from 115 yards.
   
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS

135 C Aguilar  (Esp) 69 66,
137 P Baker (Eng) 73 64, M Korhonen (Fin) 68 69, J Dantorp (Swe) 74 63,
138 E Pepperell (Eng) 67 71, D Perrier (Fra) 69 69, I Elvira  (Esp) 69 69, B Pastore (Ita) 71 67, R Hjelm (Den) 71 67, G Molteni (Ita) 68 70,
139 J Abbott (Eng) 71 68, T Leon (USA) 69 70, G Stal  (Fra) 69 70, D Nouailhac (Fra) 69 70,
140 N Bertasio (Ita) 75 65, A Levy (Fra) 74 66, C Hanson (Eng) 67 73, J Huldahl (Den) 72 68, S Grant  (Irl) 67 73, W Ormsby (Aus) 69 71,
141 K Le Sager  (Fra) 71 70, N Lemke (Swe) 70 71, O Farr (Wal) 73 68, D Law (Sco) 77 64, M Quiros (Esp) 73 68, W Roebuck (Eng) 71 70, J Howarth (Eng) 76 65, A Haig (RSA) 69 72,
142 F De Vries  (Ned) 68 74, I Sanchez-Palencia  (Esp) 71 71, S Lewton (Eng) 75 67, K Samooja (Fin) 71 71, G Lockerbie  (Eng) 72 70, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 74 68, B Hafthorsson (Isl) 73 69, D Wright (Eng) 71 71, K Broberg (Swe) 70 72, M Evans (Eng) 71 71, C Monasterio (Arg) 70 72,
143 J Ruth  (Eng) 73 70, N Mourlon (Fra) 73 70, B McCarroll  (Irl) 70 73, B Mannix (Eng) 75 68, S Manley (Wal) 71 72, A Knappe (Ger) 74 69, J Barnes (Eng) 71 72, M Cryer (Eng) 73 70, I Giner (Esp) 74 69, E Chamaulte (Fra) 71 72, J Adarraga Gomez  (Esp) 71 72, T Mordt  (RSA) 74 69, F Calmels  (Fra) 76 67
144 F Ojeda  (Arg) 74 70, L Claverie (Esp) 71 73, A Bihan (Fra) 74 70, D Geminiani (Ita) 74 70, K Benz (Sui) 70 74, C Devlin (Nir) 73 71, G Watremez (Bel) 76 68, M Haines  (Eng) 73 71, M Higley (Eng) 71 73

MISSED THE CUT

145 J Levermore (Eng) 73 72, N Kearney (Irl) 73 72, F Keenan  (Eng) 70 75, D Higgins (Irl) 73 72, P Del Grosso  (Arg) 75 70, J Lando Casanova  (Fra) 72 73, J Timmis (Eng) 69 76, T Fournier  (Fra) 68 77, R Kilpatrick (Nir) 76 69, M Rominger  (Sui) 78 67,
146 M Stewart (Sco) 72 74, A Hortal  (Esp) 69 77, S Tanfin (Fra) 77 69, A Butterfield (Eng) 75 71, U Weinhandl (Aut) 73 73, X Poncelet  (Fra) 74 72, N Porteboeuf (Fra) 75 71, V Almstrom (Swe) 73 73, A Maestroni  (Ita) 72 74, J Busby (Eng) 70 76, J Grillon  (Fra) 78 68
147 D Ulrich (Sui) 74 73, L Bond (Wal) 71 76, J Doherty  (Sco) 68 79, F Fritsch  (Ger) 73 74, M Hill (Fra) 76 71, G Clark (Eng) 73 74, W Booth  (Sco) 74 73, L Canter (Eng) 73 74, P Golding (Eng) 78 69, D Lokke (Den) 77 70, L Goddard  (Eng) 71 76, D Küpper (Ger) 74 73, A Kristiansen  (Nor) 76 71, J Bragulat  (Esp) 79 68, N McCarthy  (Eng) 76 71, E Johansen  (Nor) 75 72, R Neil-Jones (Eng) 74 73
148 M Glauert (Ger) 76 72, T Whitehouse  (Eng) 71 77, J Billot (Fra) 72 76, B Evans  (Eng) 75 73, A Kaleka  (Fra) 76 72, N Peyrichou (Fra) 74 74, A Zarlenga (Arg) 77 71, R Marguery (Fra) 71 77
149 R Harris  (Eng) 75 74, F Adarraga (Esp) 81 68, S Garcia (Esp) 73 76, R Schneider (Fra) 75 74, S Piaget  (Mon) 74 75, R De Sousa (Sui) 74 75, A Bruschi  (Ita) 76 73, A Rota (Ita) 70 79
150 C Günther (Ger) 75 75, M Eliasson (Swe) 73 77, F Abadie (Fra) 76 74, R Wingardh (Swe) 75 75, E Chaudouet (Fra) 76 74, A Peres (Fra) 80 70, J Rask (Swe) 72 78, R Batibasaga (Aus) 74 76
151 J Van Der Vaart (Ned) 72 79, D Stewart (Sco) 78 73, J Palmer (Eng) 72 79
152 N Els (RSA) 76 76, E Bertheussen (Nor) 79 73, N Ravano (Ita) 76 76,
153 S Matton (Eng) 74 79, N Joakimides (Fra) 77 76, J Lopez Lazaro (Fra) 81 72, J Robinson (Eng) 74 79, A Högberg (Swe) 79 74, G Dear (Sco) 74 79,
154 J Housby (Eng) 77 77, A Versfeld (RSA) 78 76, B Ahlenback (Swe) 82 72,
155 S Henry  (Sco) 79 76, C McNamara (Irl) 74 81, M Oueld Es Cheikh (Fra) 77 78, J Fransson (Swe) 80 75,
156 J Caldwell  (Nir) 75 81,
157 A Grenier  (Fra) 78 79, J Clément  (Sui) 76 81, A Campanile  (Ita) 84 73, J Guillet  (Fra) 77 80,
158 O Henningsson  (Swe) 72 86,
159 J De Lope (Esp) 81 78,
161 R Dupuis  (Fra) 76 85,
163 L Tintera  (Cze) 80 83, G Leblois (am) (Fra) 81 82,
167 A Renck (Fra) 79 88,
Withdrew:
A John (Ger) 78
E Saltman (Sco) 83
M Lowe (Eng) 78        
     


Labels:

WONDERFUL 65 GIVES OLIVER WILSON LEAD IN MADEIRA OPEN

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR
Ryder Cup player Oliver Wilson leads a European Tour event for the first time since November 2008 after a sublime seven under par 65 in the second round of the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal.
The Englishman, pictured in action today by courtesy of Getty Images(c),  who lost his European Tour card after finishing 130th in The Race to Dubai last year, showed signs he is rediscovering his best form, having not dropped a shot in two rounds at Santo da Serra to lead by one from Swedish pair Magnus A Carlsson and Joakim Lagergren, who both had two rounds of 66, and England’s Andy Sullivan, who shone with a 64.
Wilson has made eight appearances so far this season – six as a sponsor’s invitation – but has made just €22,084, so he is particularly pleased to be leading the way as he attempts to win a maiden European Tour title. The last time he was in pole position on The European Tour was after 54 holes of the 2008 Hong Kong Open (part of the 2009 International Schedule).
“I played nicely,” said the 31 year old, who was in the European Team at the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla. “The fact I haven’t had a bogey for two rounds shows I’m playing solidly and sensibly.
“I actually feel like I left a few out there today. I missed three putts from inside six feet. But I made a couple of really good par saves – not from bad shots, just because the course is tricky.
“There’s a long way to go and the scoring will carry on being low, but I’ll keep pushing on trying to make birdies. There will inevitably be some mistakes at the weekend but it’s just a question of trying to limit them. You’ve got to be patient.
“The course is playing very differently from how it was yesterday. It’s a lot softer today and the ball is stopping very quickly on the greens, which wasn’t the case yesterday. It was easier hitting into the greens today.”
Wilson, who has finished runner-up nine times in his European Tour career, credited a technical alteration for his better form, adding: “I changed the loft in my putter and it is working. The less I think about the set-up the better, and if you are standing over putts and know they are rolling well, it makes a big difference.”
Sullivan, a Walker Cup player in 2011, also had a bogey-free day and attributed his superb round, which featured six birdies and an eagle, to an improved putting technique.
"It's just great to see the ball rolling into the hole," said the 24 year old. "It makes a nice change. I saw (putting coach) Phil Kenyon last Friday and we've changed a few things technique-wise, and it seems to be paying off.
"I'm hitting the ball nicely too. It's the first time I've been in this position so I'm just going to take it as it comes and try and enjoy it. The only thing I can do is keep doing what I've been doing, as it's worked so far.
"I'd heard a lot about this event from the other guys - about how bad the weather can be and the delays - but it's been excellent so far and I'm enjoying it."
Lagergren is another player who is new to The European Tour, and the 20 year old Qualifying School graduate is delighted with the way he is playing.
“My ball striking is the best aspect of my game this week,” said the rookie, whose stepfather is Ola Eliasson, the former European Tour player. “I played really badly in the final round in Seville last week so it is nice to be playing better.
“I hit lots of greens in regulation today and I just played solidly all round. It’s the first time I’ve played this course. It’s a funny course – very slopey, but that’s not a negative.
“I’ve made four cuts in a row coming here so I’m feeling very confident. I’m really enjoying my first year on Tour and the other guys are looking after me.”
Ricardo Santos, a graduate from the 2011 Challenge Tour, is the leading Portuguese player at nine under, while Nuno Henriques delighted the home crowds with an albatross at the par five 11th, holing his second shot with a four iron.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES, SCORECARDS ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

CLICK HERE

Labels:

CURRIE HOT STUFF AT THE RENAISSANCE CLUB

 Caldwell's Christopher Currie scored his first outright win on the Tartan Tour in today's Back 9 Charity pro-am at The Renaissance Club, near North Berwick.
Tournament director Glenn McPhee described the conditions as "horrendous" and it never stopped raining.
So a great effort by Currie, 29, to shoot a two-under-par 69 to win the £833 top prize by two shots from David Patrick (Elie Sports Club), a winner at Tain-Brora already this week, Stephen Gray (Hayston) and home course man Ross Dixon.
Currie, based in Glasgow, had been knocking on the door for a victory with three top 10 finishes in his last six competitions going into this £4,500 event.
The team event was won by the Close House Club - near Newcastle - team of Cath Jenkins, playing off 11, David Stevens (5) and Geoff Thompson (12). Their pro was Andrew Scrimshaw from Close House and they won the day with 87 Stableford points.

BACK 9 CHARITY PRO-AM
The Renaissance Club
LEADING PRO SCORES
Par 71
69 Christopher Currie (Caldwell)
71 Stephen Gray (Hayston), Ross Dixon (Renaissance), David Patrick (Elie SC).
72 Greig Hutcheon (Banchory)
73 Neil Fenwick (Dunbar), James McKinnon (Irfvine0, Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills), Graham Fox (Rowallan Castle), Andrew Scrimshaw (Close house), Garry Forrester (St Andrews GS).
74 Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle).
76 Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs), Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst), Scott Henderson (Kings Links).
83 David Fleming (Prestwick), Brian Mason (Callaway).

Labels:

ROSS KELLETT NOW LEADING SCOT IN ITALY

GOLF COPY AND SCORES

CREDIT CAL CARSON GOLF AGENCY

QUERIES TO COLIN FARQUHARSON

TEL 01224 869782

 

ROSS KELLETT NOW LEADING SCOT IN ITALY

 

A double bogey 6 at the 10th took the steam out of Kris Nicol's engine and the Fraserburgh rookie, who had birdied the sixith and eighth, subsided to 39 shots for the inward half and a 74 for level par which knocked him back to joint 26th in the Alps Tour's Servizitalia Lignano Open at Golf Club Lignano.

Motherwell's Ross Kellett has taken over the as the lead Scot with a 70 for 142. He's just inside the top 20 - joint 17th - but nine shots behind the new leader with an appropriate name, Jesus Legarrea (Spain) who certainly had some divine inspiration with a second-round, nine-under-par 63 for 11-under 133.

He has surged three ahead of Walker Cup man Jack Senior from Lancashire. Jack shot another 68 for 136.

Philip McLean from Peterhead made the cut with nothing to spare with a 74 for 146.

 

ALPS TOUR - Servizitalia Lignano Open

Golf Club Lignano, Italy

LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS

Par 144 (2x72)

133 Jesue Legarrea (Spa) 70 63.

136 Jack Senior (Eng) 68 68

139 Niccolo Quintarelli (Ita) 70 68, Leo Astl (Aut) 69 70.

SELECTED SCORES

141 Tom Sherreard (Eng) 70 71 (T10)

142 Ross Kellett (Sco) 72 70 (T17)

143 Warren Harmston (Eng) 74 69 (T23)

144 Kris Nicol (Sco) 70 74 (T26)

146 Philip McLean (Sco) 72 74, Gareth Shaw (NIre) 74 72

MISSED THE CUT (146 or better qualified)

147 Steven Brown (Eng) 73 74.

148 Andrew Cooley (Eng) 81 67, Jack Clarke (Eng) 73 75.

153 Ben Banks (Eng) 78 75.

 

ends

 

ONLY HALF THE FIELD COMPLETE FIRST ROUNDS AT RAIN-HIT LADYBANK

Only half the field of 120 players had completed their first rounds after a rain-hit opening day in the Golf Data Lab Scottish youths open amateur stroke-play golf championship at Ladybank Golf Club, Fife.
Play was first suspended and then latterly called off for the day with Anthony Blaney (Liberton) and Lundin's Cameron Mitchell sharing the lead on two-under-par 69.
Following heavy rain at Ladybank Golf Club, play was abandoned for the day in the early evening with a number of players still to complete their opening rounds in Fife.
The start of the second round has been delayed until 9.30am to allow 60 players to complete their first 18 holes.
It certainly was not easy for those who did get back into the clubhouse before the suspension. Early starter Blaney made his 69 with three birdies in the space of four holes from the fifth.
Fifer Mitchell had a great chance to knock Blaney off the top spot when he was four-under-par with five holes to play but a couple of late bogeys meant he had to share the pole position.
The quartet sharing third place on 71 included Dundee';s Connar Cook (Cairk Park), semi-finalist in the Paul Lawrie Foundation Scottish boys match-play championship at Murcar Links last month.
Top prospect Bradley Neil (Blairgowie) and Simon Fairburn (Torwoodlee), runner-up in the youths championship for the past two years, are also on 71.
Defending champion Lyle McAlpine (Royal Dornoch) is on 78 .. but, weather permitted, he has three more rounds in which to make up the leeway. His first target will be to make the leading 40 and ties who will play the final two rounds on Sunday.
GOLF DATA LAB SCOTTISH YOUTHS OPEN AMATEUR STROKE-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
Ladybank Golf Club, Fife
FIRST ROUND
Par 71
69 Anthony Blaney (Liberton), Cameron Mitchell (Lundin).
71 Connar Cook (Caird Park), Timothree Guin (France), Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie), Simon Fairburn (Torwoodlee).
72 Cameron Marr (Musselburgh), Thomas White (Kinross), Jamie Harrison (Rotherham, Jake Hogg (The Duke's).
73 Martial Ducler (France), Elliot Wilson (Goswick).
74 Kit Holmes (Hunstanton), Ryan Boyle (Bathgate), Scott Wearing (Bishopbriggs)).
75 Chirsopher Lamb (Newmachar), Greg Nicoll (Glenbervie), John Douoglas (Aberdour), Fraser Davren (Williamwood), Charlie MacNeal (Troon Welbck), Calum Hill (Tantallon)), Graeme Duncan (Kingsknowe), Greg Miller (Bathgate).
76 Cameron Farrell (Cardross), Niall McMullen (Lochgelly), Louis Murray (Troon Welbeck), Liam Halliday (Cardross), Greg Smail (Craigielaw), Greg Wishart (Charleton).
77 Ross McEwan (Cardross), Andrew Loch (Pumpherston), James Arthur (Kinross), Ben Murray (Portlethen), James Sutherland (Galgorm Castle), Jordan Shaw (Kingussie), Craig Chalmers (Lenzie), Alasdair McDougall (St Andrews New).
78 Jordan Milne (Elgin), Alasdair Simpson (North Berwick), Lyle McAlpine (Royal Dornoch), Robert Hughan (Newton Stewart), Tom Sloman (Taunton & Pickeridge), Conor Scott (Duddingston), Alistair Scott (Lanark), Ryan Walsh (Kirkcaldy).
79 Cameron Nelson (Nairn), Adam Fisher (Inchmarlo), Rory Tinker (Blairgowrie),).
80 Stephen Harrower (Kinross), David Gallacher (Glasgow), Jordan Gallagher (Cawder), Connor Neil (Blairgowrie).
81 Colin Baird (Bothwell Castle), Gavin Roger (Clober).
82 Jamie Reid (Cruden Bay).
83 Steven Smith (Deeside).
84 Mark Thomson (Grange), Ben Lindsay (Blairgowrie), Jack Brown (Cathcart Castle).
86 Andrew Grant (Dunblane New)
ends

Labels:

SHIELDS AND WHITE LEADING SCOTS IN IRISH STROKE-PLAY

FROM THE IRISH GOLF UNION WEBSITE
Tiarnan McLarnon from Massereene and Lisburn-based Simon Ward (Co Louth) hold the lead after day one of the Irish Amateur Open stroke-play championship at Royal Dublin Golf Club.
McLarnon, the 20 year old golf scholar from the University of Ulster, has been in good form this year and his 2 under par round of 70 set the clubhouse target.
In a round that contained four birdies (holes 3, 11, 16 and 18), it was the last that stood out as the best, and perhaps most important of his round.
On the final green in regulation, McLarnon faced a tricky 60ft putt across the green for birdie, and when it hit the back of the hole he secured his fourth birdie of the round, putting him on top of the leader board.
He was joined there by Ward, playing out of Co. Louth but living and working in Lisburn, who shot a bogey free back nine of 33, 4 under par to leave him tied with McLarnon heading into day two.
A member of Belvoir Park’s Senior Cup team, Ward, the 2006 South of Ireland Champion, now aged 25, played a practice round on Thursday with European Tour professional Shane Lowry.
Just behind the leaders is Ballymena's Dermot McElroy, who left his recent putting woes behind him as he carded an opening round 71 (-1) to lie in a tie for third.
The 18 year old, who took 39 putts in a round at the West of Ireland, carded a "boring" all par opening ten holes, and followed this up with birdies on 11 and 17. His only dropped shot of the day came at the par four 15th.
"I got up and down from just left of the green on 10, holing a nice 5 footer for par. On 11, I hit it into about 15 feet and holed it for birdie. I hit it into 15 feet on the next (12th) and just missed for birdie. I had a great up and down on the 13th, buried in the rough, hacked it to 10 feet and holed the par putt. On 17 I holed a 15-20 foot putt for birdie".
He is joined on one under par by the 20 year old American Mike Miller from Knollwood Country Club in New York. Having never played links golf until a couple of weeks ago, the +4 handicapper handled the conditions well and enjoyed his first competitive action in Ireland.
"It's different over here, it's a lot of fun! The wind was up on the front nine, but the back nine you could score” he beamed after signing for his 71.
Two consecutive birdies were the highlight of his round, coming at holes 9, where he made a 15 foot putt, and 10 where he hit his approach to just a few feet from the pin.
Athlone's Kelan McDonagh held the clubhouse lead for a period, after carding a steady level par round of 72. A strong finish in windy conditions included a birdie on the par four 17th to bring him back to level par and just one behind.
McDonagh's score is all the more impressive when you consider that his girlfriend Claire is in hospital following a recent bone marrow transplant. Hitting bad shots on the golf course is put into perspective for the 2009 Irish Youths Champion who has moved to Co Kildare to be closer to the hospital where she is recovering.
West of Ireland Champion Harry Diamond (Belvoir Park) is lurking just two behind the leaders on 73 alongside Conor Doran (Banbridge) while Reeve Whitson (Mourne) is three behind after an opening 74.
Walker Cup star Alan Dunbar shot a round of 75 which included a triple bogey seven on the last, after the Rathmore star found water twice to the right of the 18th.
It wasn't a day to remember for Colin Fairweather (Knock), who took five putts on the par three fourth green, four of which were inside three feet, nor was it a day for it Italian Alessandro Bogoni who shot a 20 over par, 92 – but kept plugging away to the end, fist pumping his par putt from 15 feet on the last.
Scotland's leading players are Paul Shields (Kirkhill) and James White (Lundin), both on 74 - the same mark as Dutchman Dan Huizing, winner of last week's Lytham Trophy by 11 strokes.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE



Scottish first round-scores
74 P Shields (Kirkhill), J White (Lundin)
76 S Binning (Ranfurly Castle)
78 G Stevenson (Whitecraigs)
80 S Barrowman (Dollar), S Larkin (Royal Aberdeen),C O’Neil (Pollok).

Labels:

TORRANCE ONE OFF THE PAST IN MALLORA SENIORS OPEN

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR
England’s David J Russell and Paul Wesselingh made a flying start to the new Senior Tour season as they shared the lead with American Dick Mast at the end of the opening day of the Mallorca Open Senior.
The leading trio shot three under par rounds of 68 over the José María Olazábal-designed Pula Golf Club to lie one stroke ahead of nine players including former Ryder Cup captain Mark James, Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam, Senior Tour debutant Philip Walton and last year’s Number One, Peter Fowler.
The presence of the two Englishmen at the top of the leaderboard will certainly give Kedleston Park Golf Club, near Derby, plenty to cheer about as both players have been associated with the club - Wesselingh taking over from Russell as the head professional in 2001.
Wesselingh, embarking on a new tournament schedule after a successful career as a club professional, is playing his first event since finishing second behind Mast at the Senior Tour Qualifying School in January.
All the action came on his front nine with two early birdies preceding a bogey on the sixth before chipping in for an eagle three on the ninth - the only eagle of the opening day – for an outward half of 33. Nine successive pars followed for his 68.
“I was a bit shaky as this is my first event on the Senior Tour, but I played nicely and had a number of birdie chances,” he said.
Russell, whose sole title to date came in 2010, reached four under par through ten holes before bogeying the 14th while Mast, who finished third in the 2006 Senior Open Championship at Turnberry, bogeyed his penultimate hole to also drop back to three under par.
Both players had their sons caddying for them, the younger members of the family good golfers in their own right with Chris Russell a professional playing on the Tartan Tour in Scotland and Jacob Mast a useful golfer as junior at Liberty University in Virginia.
“This is my first year here so a nice way to start,” said Mast. “I missed a few greens as everybody did but played great.”
Russell had a couple of good saves coming home, notably saving par on the 16th after finding water and then up and down from sand on the 17th but overall was pleased with his round. “It’s a difficult and demanding course in very good condition,” he said. “I played very nicely after six months off.”
The Mallorca Open Senior, the first event of the 2012 European Senior Tour season, also heralded the debut for Walton, hero of the 1995 Ryder Cup where he secured victory at Oak Hill, and the Irishman will be pleased with his first outing after collecting three birdies with just a solitary dropped shot.
Australian Fowler, winner of the John Jacobs Trophy as Senior Tour Number One last year, began his defence of the title in style by reaching four under par through 11 holes before two bogeys coming home as he carded an opening 68.
+Sam Torrance is pictured above playing out of sand today (courtesy of Getty Images(c).

FIRST ROUND 
 Par 71
68 D Mast (USA), D Russell (Eng) , P Wesselingh (Eng) 
69 S Torrance (Sco), M James (Eng) , I Woosnam (Wal) , P Fowler (Aus) , A Franco (Par) , J Quiros (Esp) , P Walton (Irl) , J Gould (Eng) , M Moreno (Esp) ,
70 D Hospital (Esp) , T Thelen (USA) , A Oldcorn (Sco), G Wolstenholme (Eng) , M Harwood (Aus)
71 R Chapman (Eng), J Heggarty (Nir) , M Farry (Fra) , C Mason (Eng) , B Lane (Eng) , T Elliott (Aus) , B Cameron (Eng)
72 D Cambridge (Jam) , J Sallat (Fra) , S McAllister (Sco) , E Rodriguez (Esp) , J Hall (Eng) , B Longmuir (Sco) , A Takamatsu (Jpn) , R Gibson (Can) , A Sherborne (Eng) 
73 R Drummond (Sco) , P Mitchell (Eng) , K Spurgeon (Eng) , G Manson (Aut) , C Williams (RSA)
74 G Brand (Eng) , G Banister (Aus) , J Rivero (Esp) , G Brand Jnr (Sco) , E Darcy (Irl) , A Forsbrand (Swe) , S Van Vuuren (RSA) , C Bolling  (USA) , D Smyth (Irl) , S Bennett (Eng) , S Cipa (Eng)
75 M Mouland (Wal) , M Cunning (USA)
76 T Johnstone (Zim) , D Durnian (Eng) , J Harrison (Eng) , D Wettlaufer (Can) , M Belsham (Eng) , G Ryall (Eng) , M Piñero (Esp)
77 J Chillas (Sco) , T Burgoyne (Sco) , T Charnley (Eng) , D O'Sullivan (Irl) , J Cañizares (Esp) 
78 J Rhodes (Eng) , V Garcia (Esp) , M Bembridge (Eng) , G Ralph (Eng) , M Martin (Esp)
79 A Garrido (Esp) , G Cali (Ita)
80 N Job (Eng) ,  84 F Fuentes Lopez (Esp)

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Labels:

PETER RICHARDSON GOES FIVE SHOTS CLEAR IN MALAYSIA

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ASIAN TOUR
Malacca, Malaysia: England’s Peter Richardson took advantage of the near perfect conditions to post a seven-under-par 65 and grabbed the second round lead at the PGM ADT Masters at A’Famosa on Friday. 
The Englishman mixed his card with eight birdies and one bogey for a two-day total of 12-under-par 132 to hold a five-shot lead over Malaysia’s Rashid Ismail who returned with a 70 at the A’Famosa Golf Resort in Malacca.
Japan’s Go Nakauchi and Korea’s Kim Ji-hoon signed for matching 139s to take a share of third place while Malaysia’s Hanafiah Jamil and R. Nachimuthu are bunched in equal fifth with Japan’s Kenichi Sawada on 140 at the RM180,000 (approximately US$60,000) Asian Development Tour (ADT) event, which is the third ADT event to be staged this season.  
Richardson, who took part in this year’s Qualifying School but failed to make the cut, is playing in his third ADT event this season and is hoping for a grandstand finish so that he can realise his dream of playing on the Asian Tour.
“Every opportunity that I get to play in Asia brings me closer to my dream of playing on the Asian Tour. Everything is so well organised that I just have to focus on doing my best,” said Richardson. 
“Today was almost a perfect day for me. I didn’t make too many mistakes and everything went my way. I’m hoping that this will continue through the weekend,” added Richardson.
Meanwhile Rashid, who took a share of the opening round lead, bemoaned his putting which he felt had let him down.  
However, the Malaysian is confident that he can still mount a serious challenge for the title this week.
“I didn’t putt as well as I did as compared to yesterday. I missed a lot of birdie chances especially in my back-nine,” said the Malaysian. 
“I still have a good chance as anything can happen. I’ll try to overcome my five-shot deficit tomorrow,” added Rashid.

 Leading second round scores
132 Peter RICHARDSON (ENG) 67-65
137 Rashid ISMAIL (MAS) 67-70
139 Go NAKAUCHI (JPN) 70-69, KIM Ji-hoon (KOR) 68-71
140 Kenichi SAWADA (JPN) 72-68, R. Nachimuthu ( MAS) 71-69, Hanafiah JAMIL (MAS) 67-73

.

Labels:

PARK RIDES HIS LUCK TO LEAD AFTER TWO ROUNDS IN SOUTH KOREA

NEWS RELEASE 
SEOUL, South Korea: Park Sang-hyun slipped away from a closely bunched field today take a one shot lead after two rounds of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship at Namseoul Country Club in the South Korean capital.
The South Korean newlywed rode a touch of luck and a lot of class to record a second round three-under par 69 for a seven-under  total of 137 on the hilly 6,964yd course, the third stop on the 2012 OneAsia circuit.
A shot back were countrymen Kim Bi-o and Kang Kyung-nam, while three others -- including rookies Garrett Sapp from the U.S.A and Japan's Koichi Kitamura -- were another stroke adrift.
"I had a bit of luck and scrambled well," said Park, 29, who won the SK Telecom Open in 2009 before it became a OneAsia event, and also finished second on last year's Korean Golf Tour Order of Merit.
An example of that came on the par-five 16th where his second shot appeared destined for the woods before striking a branch and ricocheting back to the fairway. A birdie there, and one on the closing hole that was all class, helped him to an inward 32 following an outward 37.
In contrast, playing partner Kim Bi-o's luck deserted him on the 16th when his tee shot found trouble just a yard off the fairway and he made a double bogey. He returned to the fray, however, on the 18th when a treacherous downhill 30-foot (10 metre)  putt from off the green struck the flagstick and dropped into the cup for a birdie.
"I was hoping at best for a two putt but thought it was a three when I hit it," said Kim, who won on OneAsia last year when he secured a four-man play-off at the Nanshan China Masters. "It was fantastic to see it go in". 
Kang, one of eight players who shared the overnight lead and an eight-time winner on the Korean Tour, finished birdie-birdie to stay in the hunt.
But another of the overnight leaders, Australian rookie Kalem Richardson, was brought back to earth in his first tournament in the big league with six bogeys and a birdie that saw him record a 77. Still, he will be playing for money this weekend as the mammoth 159-man field was slashed back to 71 players with the cut set at plus two.
Another pair of OneAsia rookies took up the mantle, however, with Californian Sapp feeling right at home.
"Its kind of like a golf course I played a lot back in California, this course called Industry Hills which is very similar --hilly with greens like this -- so I'm not really surprised at the way I am playing, but obviously I'm very happy," he said.
Sapp finished sixth at OneAsia Q school in January, a shot ahead of Brazilian Lucas Lee who also shone on Friday and lies four shots off the lead.
"Growing up I heard all about the big events in Korea, and being of Korean descent I always wanted to come and play where my parents came from," said Lee.
"Everybody treats me nice, the course is in excellent condition and I look forward to a good weekend.
Defending champion Kim Kyung-Tae remains well in the picture after shooting par on Friday to lie five shots off the lead.
The round of the day belonged to New Zealander Gareth Paddison who shot a stunning 66 to improve on his opening 78 by a whopping 12 strokes and ensure he made the weekend.
Indefatigable Thai veteran Thaworn Wiratchant, who won the Luang Prabang Laos Open last weekend, also recovered from a Thursday 76 with a Friday 68,  one of 23 non-Koreans to make the cut.
Shot of the day came from South Korean Park Sung-kug who recorded an albatross on the 515 yard (471 metre) par five ninth -- and he didn't even see it. Attempting to lay up after his 226 yard (207 metre) drive leaked into the rough, Park caught a flyer with a sweetly struck three-iron that bounced on the front of the green and rolled unerringly into the cup.

SCOREBOARD TO COME

Labels:

BARASSIE READY FOR SCOTTISH MEN'S OPEN STROKE-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP, JUNE 1-3

    A view of Kilmarnock Barassie golf course. Image by Findlay Rankin

NEWS RELEASEScotland’s national stroke play championship and one of Europe’s leading amateur events will be decided over the challenging ‘Barassie Links’ between 1 and 3 June. In preparation for the Carrick Neill Scottish Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship, and other prestigious tournaments soon to be held over the Links, a number of enhancements have been made to the much-acclaimed Ayrshire course.
The changes which included constructing 10 new fairway bunkers and significant course drainage improvements were initiated after Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club hosted The Boys Amateur Championship in 2010. The programme of work which was successfully undertaken by the club’s greenkeeping staff has further enhanced Barassie’s reputation for providing a traditional but testing links experience.
“The work carried out on the golf course has created a fantastic playing surface for lovers of links golf,” explained Alan Hill, captain of Barassie. “With less water being retained by the fairways, the turf is firmer. That’s what everyone enjoys about links courses, like Barassie, but it also provides a stern test for the top players.”
The on-course preparations have also received praise from the sanctioning body behind the Scottish Stroke Play Championship. “We are really looking forward to staging one of our flagship events at Kilmarnock (Barassie) and the recent changes have enhanced what was already a fantastic course,” said Hamish Grey, chief executive at the SGU. “The Championship has attracted a really strong field this year with a handicap ballot as low as +1.8, with a real international flavour, including some of the world’s best amateurs from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, USA and France.” he added.
Located on the outskirts of Troon, Barassie has a 125-year history of welcoming high-profile tournaments. Indeed, as an Open Championship qualifier venue and host to the British Boys Championship, the acclaimed links has witnessed numerous nail-biting finishes. But with past winners of the Amateur Stroke Play Championship including Colin Montgomerie, Stephen Gallacher, Dean Robertson and Richie Ramsay, the club’s marketing convener said hosting Scotland ’s national stroke play championship would be a highpoint in the club’s centenary year.
“You just have to look at the past winners to see how important the tournament is,” Brian Wallace noted. “With this in mind, we were eager to create a true test of links golf on one of the most treasured layouts on the Ayrshire coast. It is especially poignant that such an important event should be taking place during our 125-year celebrations. It is certainly going to be an exciting and very busy year at Barassie.”
Established in 1887, the club is celebrating its 125th year with a series of special events that will culminate in a celebratory dinner in September compared by BBC sports commentator Andrew Cotter and featuring professional golfer Ronan Rafferty.

Labels:

DAVID WILSON COMPLETES AYRSHIRE STROKE AND MATCH-PLAY TITLE DOUBLE

FROM THE AYRSHIRE GOLF ASSOCIATION WEBSITE
 David Wilson (Troon Welbeck) completed a notable county title double on Thursday evening when he won the Ayrshire Matchplay Championship at Western Gailes in an exciting final against Tommy McInally (Loudoun) played in testing conditions.
Having won the Ayrshire stroke-play crown last month at Prestwick St Nicholas, Wilson (pictured right with the trophy) became only the third player ever to win both the county's stroke-play and match-play titles in the same year, following on from Leslie Crawford (Kilmarnock Barassie) in 1983 and Gary Holland (Ballochmyle) in 1999.
The final was played in bitterly cold conditions with a strong northerly wind sweeping across the course, and Wilson's hopes of the title took an early setback when he lost the first to a par four and the third to a birdie three to go two behind after the opening three holes.
A par four at the fifth hole was sufficient for Wilson to reduce the defecit to one hole and a birdie at the 498 yard par five sixth hole saw Wilson level the match.
Wilson went ahead for the first time with a birdie three at the eighth hole but a bogey five at the next hole allowed McInally to square the match after nine, as the players turned for home.
Wilson began the inward half with three successive par fours which was sufficient to give him a three hole lead with six remaining.
A par three at the 13th hole allowed McInally to reduce the defecit to two holes and Wilson's lead was further reduced at the 14th when McInally played an excellent approach to the hole after both players were unable to reach the green in three.
At the 15th and 16th holes Wilson had opportunities to increase his lead again but failed to get up and down on both occassions, allowing McInally to halve both holes and remain just one behind with two to play.
The 17th saw McInally reached the fringe of the green in two whilst Wilson found a difficult lie in heather to the left. Wilson chipped onto the green to 15 feet whilst McInally's approach putt ran some four feet past the hole. After Wilson failed to hole his effort for par, McInally held his nerve to hole his par putt and square the match once more.
Having seen his lead disappear, Wilson had to try to raise his game once again in a final effort to take the title. Both players hit good drives down the last. With a difficult pin position at the front of the green, McInally's approach ran some 60 feet away from the hole, near to the back of the green, whilst Wilson's effort was only slightly closer on the right side of the putting surface.
McInally putted first but his effort drew up some five feet short of the hole. Wilson followed with an excellent left to right putt over a difficult slope which came to rest just a few inches left of the hole, prompting a conceded par from McInally.
McInally now faced a difficult five foot putt for a half to take the match into extra holes but despite striking the putt well, the ball slipped past the left side of the hole and victory was David Wilson's by one hole.
At the conclusion of the match, Ayrshire Golf Association Vice President Milton Murray (Largs) presented vouchers to both finalists and handed the Ayrshire Matchplay Trophy and commemorative medal over the the 2012 winner, David Wilson.

Labels:

OPENING MATCH RESULT IN MORAY AND NAIRN GOLF LEAGUE

Labels:

POST-65 INTERVIEW WITH JOINT SAWGRASS LEADER MARTIN LAIRD

CHRIS REIMER: Martin, good round, fourth appearance here at THE PLAYERS Championship, first-round lead. You're the only player today that's going to go or has gone bogey-free. So just talk about your day today and what was different from the other rounds that you've played here.

MARTIN LAIRD: Obviously very happy with my round today. You know, going bogey-free anywhere is good, but around this golf course it feels extremely satisfying.
Really the key to my round today was the putter. I putted really well. I had a few par saves that I made, but chipped the ball really well, too, which is really important around here because the greens are so small; if the wind picks up a little bit you're going to miss some greens. Real solid day, and any time I hit a good shot, I feel like I made the putt for birdie, which is always nice when you have one of those days.

CHRIS REIMER: You had 12 putts on each side. Was there one or two putts in particular that stood out?

MARTIN LAIRD: You know, I think -- I birdied 16, 17 to get to 4-under, and then I had a perfect drive down 18, which is the hard part, and then I hit a terrible second shot right of the green in the rough short right, and it was kind of a tough up-and-down off a side slope, hit a great chip up there to, I don't know what it was, six, eight feet, and I made that one. That was probably the biggest putt of the day because if I had made bogey from the middle of the fairway with an 8-iron in my hands on 18, I wouldn't have been very happy, so that was probably the biggest one for me.

Q. What's been your level of success around here in your past trips, if any?

MARTIN LAIRD: I think in the past three years I've made the cut twice, missed the cut once, but both times I made the cut, I finished well down, I don't know what.
CHRIS REIMER: Right around T70 were the two cuts made.

MARTIN LAIRD: I've always struggled on these greens for some reason. This is one of those courses you can have a 25- , 30-footer and the green can be going three different ways on your putt. I've always struggled with that, and I've always struggled last week at Quail Hollow, too, but last week at Quail Hollow I putted really, really well for some reason. I don't know what it was.
So I was kind of joking with my caddie going into today, I've never putted really well at Quail Hollow and I putted good there, so let's see if I can putt good this week. I ended up, I went out and made a couple of nice putts early on, which always helps, and then really didn't have too many bad misreads all day. Only one that I can think of was pretty bad, but felt like I read the greens well.

Q. You had that big breakthrough win at Bay Hill last year. Has your progress since then been what you've been expecting, what you were looking for in terms of the consistency and so on?

MARTIN LAIRD: No. You know, last year was a good year. Played well at Bay Hill and had a couple good tournaments, middle, end of the year. But you know, obviously after winning a tournament like Bay Hill you want to try and get your game to go further on, but it's kind of hard to keep that happening sometimes.
But this year is started out really well, finishing second in Maui and then getting to the quarterfinals of the Match Play in Tucson. I was kind of setting myself up for a nice start, and I've just not had it, really. After that I've played bad for a couple months. I don't feel like I'm playing bad, I've been scoring really badly, Bay Hill this year and same with Augusta. Augusta, the practice rounds, I probably played as good a practice rounds as I've ever played. I was just striping the ball, and then I went out in the tournament and couldn't make a putt and didn't play very good.
So I feel like my game has been better than my results, and as I said, I putted well last week and putted well this week, so that's probably what it's come down to; I've really not been putting well this year.

Q. A couple of the other guys who shot low talked about having changed little things in their attitude, loosening up, feeling better about having their house built, that kind of thing. Do you think your decision to putt well at a place you hadn't, was that kind of a mind change that might have really turned things around for you?

MARTIN LAIRD: You know, definitely -- that's one thing I did here last week, I had a new caddie starting last week. I'd had the same guy for four and a half years, and I had a new caddie starting last week, and this goes back to what you were saying, kind of relaxed me. We've been friends for years, and I have him now on the bag, and it was kind of nice to be out on the course and be able to chat away to someone that's my age and is like a friend as opposed to a caddie. Not saying my old caddie and I weren't friends, it's just a little different when it's someone you've been friends with anyway. And he think that's definitely helped keep me a little more relaxed on the golf course, and it feeds through all parts of your game down to your putting.
I worked with Dave Stockton, Jr., and that's the whole thing they work with is trying not to care on your putts. I consciously have been doing that the last couple weeks, not trying to try too hard because I know I haven't putted well here before, just have a quick look, see what you think the line is and let it go. Don't study it too much and don't think about it too much.

Q. What's his name?
MARTIN LAIRD: Shay Knight.

Q. Where do you know him from?
MARTIN LAIRD: He's an Australian guy, and he came over, he caddied for Matt Jones for years and I was friends with Matt Jones, and he lives in Arizona, Matt does, and now Shay is married and lives in Charlotte, and I've now moved to Charlotte. As I said, I've known him for years, and made that change a couple weeks ago. It just kind of helps keep me a little looser.
Q. Could you go through some of your birdies?
MARTIN LAIRD: No.11, hit a great drive down there and hit a perfect -- back right pin set up perfect where I hit a big cut 4-iron, went back edge and two-putted from about 20 feet.
No.12, I kind of -- didn't hit a great second shot, barely got on the front of the green which ended up being perfect for that pin. It was about the only way you can have an uphill to that pin, which I was a little lucky there. Hit a nice putt there.
16, hit a 3-wood off the tee and then a 4-iron just in the left fringe about middle of the green, chipped it up there, made that.
And then 17 was a hole you also have a good number, and I had a perfect number for just a nice full wedge today to throw it four, five yards behind the pin and let the slope bring it back, and did that and made the putt.
No.2, hit a good drive and then hit a 5-iron just short right of the green. Actually that was probably the one I got kind of lucky with. I didn't hit a very good chip there and had about 15-footer, and if it didn't hit the hole it was probably about eight feet by, so it's always nice to get kind of a bonus putt like that.
And then No.5, I didn't hit a very good drive in the right fairway bunker and then hit a really good 6-iron from there to about 12 feet and then made that.
And then No.9, hit driver off the tee to try and get it down there. It's a hole I always like to try and go for, and then hit 5- wood up just short of the green in the rough and chipped it up there about four, five feet and made the putt.
CHRIS REIMER: Bogey-free on a course like this where you mentioned it's a little bit more of an accomplishment than being bogey-free somewhere else. Is it something that gets you going and you stay on a roll or is it something you start to think about you don't want to jinx yourself?
MARTIN LAIRD: I mean, I was aware I was bogey-free but I wasn't out there thinking about that. I did tee off on 9, and I knew I hadn't made a 5 all day, and that was kind of a little goal I had going down 9. Nothing to do with getting to 7-under, it was I don't want to make a 5 all day.
On No. 7 I kind of tried to guide my tee shot out of there and didn't hit a very good one, so I gave myself a little talking to on 9 and said trust this one and get after the driver, and I hit a good drive down there and got far enough down where I could hit a 5-wood up there just next to the green.

MORE INTERVIEWS: THE PLAYERS Championship transcript archive

Labels:

IAN POULTER, MARTIN LAIRD SHARE THE LEAD AT SAWGRASS

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – After one round at TPC Sawgrass, Ian Poulter from England and Scotland’s Martin Laird are tied for the lead at seven-under-par 65. They are a shot ahead of Blake Adams, with Ben Crane and Kevin Na another shot behind.
The 11 players at 68 includeAdam Scott, Matt Kuchar, Ben Curtis and FedExCup champion Bill Haas.
There were 27 players who shot in the 60s, and more than half the field broke par. Woods, with a 74, is not among them. Not even close.
Poulter is enjoying his new digs -- his newly built home and his spot atop the leaderboard Thursday in THE PLAYERS Championship.
Poulter, finally finished with a house at Lake Nona that took nearly three years to build, ran off four birdies around the turn and birdied all the par 5s at TPC Sawgrass for a 7-under 65 and a share of the lead with Laird.
Laird, playing in tougher conditions in the afternoon, was the only player without a bogey in the opening round. He made birdie on his final hole to catch Poulter, although his focus was more on his scorecard than the leaderboard.
"I knew I hadn't made a 5 all day, and that was kind of a little goal I had," said Laird, who finished on the par-5 ninth. "Nothing to do with getting to 7 under. It was, `I don't want to make a 5 all day.'"
Poulter finally had his mind at ease after getting moved into his new home, which left him little time to practice. If nothing else, it was good to think only about golf.
"It's no surprise to me to be fresh in the mind this week, to know that I'm finally in the house and I'm relaxed and the family is happy, and all of the hassle and stress is over and I can just go out and play golf," he said. "And I have felt relaxed this week."
That's not easy to do at Sawgrass -- Tiger Woods can certainly attest to that -- yet it helped Poulter that he had nine straight one-putt greens, a streak that ended with a long two-putt for par on the 18th.
Tiger opened with a bogey and was never under par in a round of 74. Coming off a rare missed cut at Quail Hollow, Woods was in jeopardy of missing consecutive cuts for the first time in his career, and leaving before THE PLAYERS Championship was over for the third straight year.
"I just didn't score," Woods said. "It was frustrating in the sense that my good shots ended up in bad spots, and obviously, my bad shots ended up in worse spots."
The conditions were ideal for scoring for those hitting it where they were aiming, and making their share of putts.
Adams ran off five straight birdies early in his round and kept the mistakes to a minimum. Na shot 30 on the back nine. Sawgrass, though, punishes even the slightest mistakes.
Rory McIlroy, the world No. 1, was 2 under for his round until coming up just short of the island-green 17th and making double bogey. He wound up with a 72, while Phil Mickelson had a 71 in his first round after being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Lee Westwood had a 71, irritated only because of seven birdies on his card.
Poulter's new home looks more like a hotel, and it took about as long to build. It became such a headache for him that when asked to go over the problems he had with contractors, Poulter looked at his watch and said, "How long you got?"
"I could write a book," he said.
With that out of the way, his mind was free for golf, on a course that seems to suit him well. He was runner-up three years ago, four shots behind Henrik Stenson. But Poulter found the right recipe on a sunny, warm day at Sawgrass. His birdie putts on the par 5s were all within about 5 feet. When he started missing greens on the back nine, he chipped close for par.
He hit 9-iron to a front pin on the island-green 17th to about 10 feet for birdie, then made it through the 18th without drama.
"I played really solid today and holed the right putts at the right times," Poulter said. "I feel like I'm back to normal, and I feel like I'm out there playing the golf I feel I should be playing."
Adams is playing this event for only the second time -- he missed the cut last year with rounds of 72-76 -- and hasn't been getting much out of his game this year. He told his caddie and coach that it was time to stop trying to hit the perfect shots and enjoy himself, and a 66 left him thrilled.
"I was just trying to make every putt," he said of his run of birdies
The star group of the morning was Woods, Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan, the only player with two wins this year. None of them was particularly impressive. Fowler, the winner Sunday at Quail Hollow, failed to save par when missing greens that killed his momentum and shot 72, while Mahan hit two shots into the water on his way to a 74.
Two-time major champion Angel Cabrera played a solid round, if only golf were a 16-hole round. He went over the 11th green and into the water, leading to a double bogey. And then he reached the island-green 17th, which proved to his undoing. His first shot went into the water. Cabrera went to the drop area and saw two more balls sink to the bottom of the pond for a 9. He played those tho holes in 8 over and shot 78.
Sung Kang made a quadruple-bogey 8 on the opening hole and still played the front nine in even par. He made 3 on his next three holes -- eagle, par, birdie. Trouble was, he finished with four straight 5s for a 75.
Na opened with a 30 on the back nine was feeling good until his ball got stuck in a tree and never came down on the first hole, leading to a double bogey.
"I made the turn at 30 and I'm thinking, `A few more on this side to have a chance for a course record. I don't know what the course record is -- 63?" he said. "I figured if I got two or three more ... it was very doable. But right off the bat, I made double, so that was a pipe dream."
It's dangerous to look ahead on this golf course. Poulter was tempted -- not so much for the crystal trophy, but what he could do with the $1.71 million winner's cheque
A new house, perhaps?
"I'll buy another car, for sure," he said. "Ferrari Enzo. Been looking for one of them for a while."

FIRST ROUND LEADERS
Par 72
Players from US unless stated
65 Ian Poulter (England), Martin Laird (Scotland)
66 Blake Adams
67 Kevin Na, Ben Crane.
68 Michael Thompson, Harrizon Frazar, Matt Kuchar, Kevin Stadler, Jhonattan Vegas, Jonathan Byrd, Adam Scott (Australia), Bill Haas, Ben Curtis, Brian Davis (England), Sang-Moon Bae (S Korea).

SELECTED SCORES
71 Lee Westwood (England), Phil Mickelson (T37)
72 Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy (T55)
73 Sergio Garcia (Spain), Martin Kaymer (Germany) (T78).
74 Graeme McDowell (N Ireland), Tiger Woods (T100)).
76 Justin Rose (England), Simon Dyson (England) (T121)
Withdrew: Paul Casey (England).

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

Labels:

Copyright © Colin Farquharson

If you can't find what you are looking for.... please check the Archive List or search this site with Google