BILL LONGMUIR LEAPS INTO SHARE OF SECOND PLACE

FROM MICHAEL GIBBONS
European Senior Tour Press Officer

Scotland’s Bill Longmuir leapt into contention at the European Senior Tour’s Pon Senior Open after a fine six under par 66 saw him charge up the leaderboard and into a share of second place.

On a day of improved conditions at Winston Golf, the Scot took full advantage to power his way through the field to share second spot with England’s Glenn Ralph on eight under, three shots behind Terry Price of Australia going into the final round.

Longmuir credited his outstanding performance to a change of putter that made a huge difference in his performance on the greens.

“I changed my putter during the last round last week and shot 69 and that was a real boost for me because I have been in the doldrums with the putter recently,” said Longmuir.

“You only have to look at the stats to see how bad it has been, so last week it felt so good to start making putts and it has continued this week. I just feel so much more stable over the ball.

“It is an old putter that I used before and I just went back to it and started making them again. I have had it about six years – it was the putter that I used at Stapleford Park when I won round there with 20 under par so I have some great memories of it.

“You never know tomorrow – hopefully I can get close to a 66 again and if I can do that then I will have a chance to win. It would be nice to get over the line because it has been a pretty dry period for me recently.”

The four 66s of Price, Longmuir, Ralph and fourth-placed Marc Farry were the most impressive scores of the day in Germany, but one man who did not take advantage of the improved conditions was home favourite Bernhard Langer.

The German legend had kept himself in contention on five under until he reached the recording area, where, before signing his second round score card, he learned that he had taken a wrong drop on his 18^th hole (the par five ninth) and had to change his bogey six to a triple bogey eight.

That meant Langer fell back to three under – eight behind runaway leader Price.

Ross Drummond will retain a slight hope going into the final round, but will be lamenting the double bogey seven he ran up on the par five 14^th that kept him at the same score he began round two with – five under par. Andrew Oldcorn is one stroke behind Drummond on four under after a second round 69.

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS

Par 144 (2x72) Yardage 6,844

 

133 T Price (Aus) 67 66;

136 B Longmuir (Sco) 70 66; G Ralph (Eng) 70 66

137 M Farry (Fra) 71 66

138 M Harwood (Aus) 69 69; G Norquist (USA) 71 67

139 R Drummond (Sco) 67 72; D Smyth (Irl) 71 68; K Spurgeon (Eng) 70 69; P Golding (Eng) 70 69; A Sherborne (Eng) 71 68

140 G Wolstenholme (Eng) 74 66; P Curry (Eng) 70 70; A Oldcorn (Sco) 71 69; B Lane (Eng) 73 67; S Van Vuuren (RSA) 70 70; D Merriman (Aus) 72 68

141 S McAllister (Sco) 71 70; J Harrison (Eng) 73 68; A Franco (Par) 72 69; B Langer (Ger) 68 73

142 P Mitchell (Eng) 74 68; J Bruner (USA) 71 71; N Job (Eng) 73 69; M Martin (Esp) 71 71; G Brand (Eng) 69 73; G Banister (Aus) 70 72

143 J Hall (Eng) 72 71; A Forsbrand (Swe) 72 71; T Elliott (Aus) 73 70; M Cunning (USA) 70 73; J Quiros (Esp) 72 71; S Cipa (Eng) 73 70; C Mason (Eng) 71 72; D Durnian (Eng) 72 71; Z Martinez (USA) 69 74;

144 P Fowler (Aus) 72 72; T Giedeon (Ger) 70 74; L Carbonetti (Arg) 76 68; R Sabarros (Fra) 73 71; R Gibson (Can) 71 73; B Lincoln (RSA) 74 70

145 P Wesselingh (Eng) 77 68; B Cameron (Eng) 73 72

146 C Williams (RSA) 74 72; N Ratcliffe (Aus) 73 73; M Belsham (Eng) 69 77; J Gould (Eng) 75 71; E Darcy (Irl) 74 72; D O'Sullivan (Irl) 75 71;

147 G Manson (Aut) 73 74; J Chillas (Sco) 71 76; M Piñero (Esp) 74 73; M Mouland (Wal) 72 75; T Johnstone (Zim) 71 76;

148 A Fernandez (Chi) 74 74; G Brand Jnr (Sco) 78 70; R Davis (Aus) 78 70; G Cali (Ita) 74 74; J Rhodes (Eng) 73 75; P Smith (Sco) 75 73

149 T Thelen (USA) 74 75; G Ryall (Eng) 76 73; B Ruangkit (Tha) 74 75

150 D Hospital (Esp) 77 73

151 P Dahlberg (Swe) 79 72; M Gray (Sco) 78 73; B Smit (RSA) 77 74; D Russell (Eng) 76 75

152 P Walton (Irl) 75 77

156 A Garrido (Esp) 78 78

157 T Burgoyne (Sco) 83 74

 

TADINI HOLDS ON TO TWO-SHOT LEAD IN MOSCOT

FROM NEIL AHERN
European Challenge Tour Press Officer

Alessandro Tadini held firm on a trying day at the M2M Russian Challenge Cup to maintain his two shot lead and keep his hopes alive of a second European Challenge Tour title in four weeks, thanks to a one over par round of 73.

In extremely testing conditions at the beautiful Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club, with a cutting wind blowing all day, only seven players shot under par and six of them were one under par rounds of 71, with Denmark’s Andreas Hartø signing for an impressive three under 69.

But Tadini managed to hang on despite an up-and-down round which included an eagle, three birdies and six bogeys and stay two shots ahead of the chasing pack heading into the final day.

Searching for his fifth win on the Challenge Tour, the 38 year old reached the turn in one under par after a birdie at the seventh hole followed by an eagle three at the par five eighth hole, where he fired a three wood to 12 feet and knocked in the resultant putt.

While Ben Parker joined him at the top briefly midway through the day, three successive bogeys on the way home knocked the Englishman back and meant Tadini could afford to drop a shot each at the 10^th, 12^th, 14^th and 16^th holes, with birdies at the 15^th and 17^th keeping him out in front.

“It was very, very difficult out there today,” said the man from the Northern Italian town of Gozzano. “I’m very tired after that, it was windy and the pin positions were difficult.

“I played fantastic for the first eight holes today, then at the ninth I had a bad second shot and then the bad putting started and I didn’t play so well. Two under after eight holes was very good though.

“The second shot at the eighth hole was lucky because I wasn’t aiming at the pin and it turned in towards the hole, so that was good.

“I missed three short putts today but it was a hard day and tomorrow I will try to play better. I just need to keep playing my game tomorrow, it will depend on the wind and you need some luck if the weather stays like this and hopefully I can get some. “

Tadini has four players breathing down his neck on five under par with two of the most promising players on the Challenge Tour this year, Chris Lloyd of England and Morten Orum Madsen of Denmark, both chasing their first win after signing for a one over par 73 and a one under 71, respectively.

Two more experienced campaigners, Austria’s Florian Praegant (72) and Frenchman Alexandre Kaleka (71) are also just two shots back and Kaleka believes he may well have been closer to the lead if he had converted a few more chances.

The 25 year old has not won on the Challenge Tour since bursting onto the scene with victory on his professional debut at the ALLIANZ Open de Lyon in 2009, so he is keen to claim that elusive second title in Russia.

“It’s been a long time since my win,” said the Orleans-based player. “I miss it! I turned professional five days earlier and then won but if I win this year it will be a much better feeling than the last one.

“It was a good score out there today. To be honest I played well and I didn’t hole a lot of putts so it could have been a lot better but I would take that every day, even without the wind.

“I think it’s going to be tough tomorrow as well. I'm confident going into tomorrow. I just need to try and shoot a low score, even with the bad conditions, and we’ll see how I finish.”

Parker was a shot further back on four under par, in sixth place, after a one over par round of 73 while four more players retained hopes of victory on three under par – Chris Doak, Agustin Domingo, Mark Tullo and Peter Uihlein.

THIRD-ROUND TOTALS

  Par 216 (3x72)

209 A Tadini (Ita) 67 69 73,

211 M Madsen  (Den) 68 72 71, F Praegant (Aut) 69 70 72, C Lloyd (Eng) 70 68 73, A Kaleka  (Fra) 69 71 71,

212 B Parker  (Eng) 70 69 73,

213 A Domingo (Esp) 68 74 71, M Tullo (Chi) 68 70 75, P Uihlein  (USA) 69 71 73, C Doak (Sco) 75 67 71,

214 M Korhonen (Fin) 70 71 73,

215 J Lando Casanova  (Fra) 71 73 71, M Kieffer (Ger) 71 72 72, J Hansen  (Den) 69 70 76, A Hartø  (Den) 73 73 69, A Bernadet  (Fra) 70 69 76, E De La Riva  (Esp) 69 73 73,

216 E Kofstad (Nor) 67 75 74, M Glauert (Ger) 73 69 74, L Saltman (Sco) 75 67 74,

217 D Brooks (Eng) 73 70 74, R Russell (Sco) 70 74 73, C Aguilar  (Esp) 75 69 73, M Delpodio  (Ita) 69 69 79, C Russo (Fra) 71 70 76, C Paisley  (Eng) 72 72 73, C Macaulay  (Sco) 73 71 73,

218 M Carlsson  (Swe) 68 72 78, E Pepperell (Eng) 69 74 75, P Oriol (Esp) 71 72 75, G Lockerbie  (Eng) 70 76 72, A Levy (Fra) 72 75 71, M Crespi  (Ita) 66 77 75, S Buhl (Ger) 72 74 72,

219 S Henry  (Sco) 68 73 78, V Riu  (Fra) 76 71 72, N Meitinger  (Ger) 70 72 77, L Jensen (Den) 71 71 77, L Goddard  (Eng) 71 72 76, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 72 72 75, G Houston (Wal) 71 76 72,

220 J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 70 72 78, S Wakefield (Eng) 72 74 74, P Archer (Eng) 71 73 76, H Bacher (Aut) 70 74 76, N Bertasio (Ita) 72 75 73, A Perrino  (Ita) 75 73 72, R Kakko  (Fin) 75 72 73,

221 M Prihoda (Cze) 73 74 74, R Steiner (Aut) 73 75 73, D Vancsik (Arg) 71 75 75, J Van Der Vaart (Ned) 69 73 79, C Monasterio (Arg) 74 73 74,

222 J Huldahl (Den) 72 73 77, B Ritthammer (Ger) 73 75 74, S Pinckney (USA) 77 70 75, S Jeppesen  (Swe) 74 72 76,

223 G Stal  (Fra) 75 72 76, J Abbott (Eng) 73 74 76, P Dwyer (Eng) 75 73 75, R Echenique (Arg) 77 71 75,

224 B Hafthorsson (Isl) 73 75 76, I Elvira  (Esp) 73 74 77,

226 S Benson (Eng) 73 75 78,

227 M Ford (Eng) 70 77 80,

 

1

SCOTT JAMIESON SHARING LEAD IN KLM OPEN

FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño, Scott Jamieson and Pablo Larrazábal joined Graeme Storm in a share of the lead going into the final round of the KLM Open following a dramatic day at Hilversumsche Golf Club.

Englishman Storm had opened up a five shot lead midway through the second round but after going 48 holes without a bogey, he dropped back-to-back shots on the 13th and 14th holes before four straight pars coming home for a one under par 69.

That left the door open for the other three to catch him on 12 under par, with Spaniard Larrazábal birdieing five of the last six holes for a superb 64. Fernandez-Castaño, who recovered from a double bogey on the ninth hole, and Jamieson also finished strongly with birdies on the 15th, 17th and 18th holes for matching rounds of 66.

Storm, who is in 114th place in The Race to Dubai, remained upbeat despite losing the outright lead.

“I had two bad swings on 13 and 14,” he explained. “I had the tournament in the palm of my hand before that, but it should be a good day tomorrow. I’ve only had two bogeys in 54 holes, which is quite impressive.

“It’s difficult leading like I was. I have a lot of things on my mind at the moment with keeping my card, so I’m just looking at getting the best result I can.”

Ryder Cup player Peter Hanson is one shot further back following a 67, which came despite concerns over the health of his baby son Tim who was taken into hospital on Friday night with a respiratory virus.

“I tried to hang in there and focus on what I was doing at the time, but my mind was wandering on and off,” he said.

“The finish was the key. To get within one shot on a jammed-up leaderboard gives me a chance, and a good round tomorrow might just do the trick.”

 

THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
198 Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) 69 65 64, Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 68 64 66, Graeme Storm (England) 63 66 69, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain) 67 65 66
199 Peter Hanson (Sweden) 66 66 67
201 Richie Ramsay (Scotland) 71 66 64, Danny Willett (England) 66 69 66

OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
206 Marc Warren 69 71 66, David Drysdale 70 69 67 (T21)
207 Craig Lee 66 70 71 (T31)
215 Gary Orr 70 69 76 (T69)
216 Steven O'Hara 69 71 76 (71st)

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

 

WIRATCHANT (45) WINS RECORD 14th ASIAN TOUR TITLE

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ASIAN TOUR
Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia: Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant claimed a record 14^th Asian Tour title after cruising to a three-shot victory at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters on Saturday.

The 45-year-old Thaworn cemented his status as one of Asia’s golf greats by shooting a three-under-par 69 in the final round for a winning total of 16-under-par 272 at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club.

India’s rising star Gaganjeet Bhullar settled for second place in the RM1.2 million (approximately US$395,000) event after signing off with a 66 while Vietnam’s Michael Tran (68) capped a memorable week by finishing tied third with Bangladeshi Siddikur (66) and Spaniard Javi Colomo (67), four back of the champion.

“I’m very glad to win this tournament,” said Thaworn, who pocketed US$60,900 for his record triumph. 
“When I played in the practice round, I thought I would have a disadvantage on the par fives but I holed a few birdie putts and my confidence started to build.

“The first time I joined the Asian Tour, I couldn’t make the cut. I never thought I would come this far. After I won my first title (1996 Sabah Masters in Malaysia), I thought I could win more and I kept practising more and more to make myself better.”

Holding a three-shot overnight lead, the unorthodox swinging Thaworn put some daylight between himself and the chasing pack with four birdies in his opening seven holes. 
Bogeys on nine and 10 saw Bhullar cut the lead down to three but Thaworn responded like a true champion with birdies on 12 and 13 to eventually stroll to the 18^th hole which he bogeyed.

“I got off to a good start but after playing for a while, I started to feel tired and couldn’t control my iron shots,” said Thaworn, who now has one more title than countryman Thongchai Jaidee.

“As I get older, I will practise harder and get more experience. I don’t have a complete or perfect swing but I practised hard to ensure I could maintain the same swing. I believe in my swing.”

Bhullar, who was searching for his third Asian Tour win, tried to apply some pressure on the leader with an outward 31 but a bogey on 11 when he missed a short putt put the brakes on his charge.

“Thaworn was too far ahead. If we played in the same group as him, it may have made a difference. But he’s an experienced guy as he knows how to close the deal. Congratulations to him,” said the 24-year-old.

“I hit it really good, hit 17 greens in regulations and just missed one fairway. My game is coming back. I feel the time is right to click (win) another one. Just be patient and wait for another one.”

Surprise package Tran, who was thinking of quitting the game after a lack of success, produced a superb inward 31 after touring his opening nine with two double bogeys and three birdies.

“The two doubles really hurt me. It should not have been doubles. When I made the turn, I saw I had no chance to win. I just said to myself ‘enjoy the last nine holes’ and that’s what I did. I stopped trying to force things to happen,” said the 22-year-old Tran, Vietnam’s only player on the Asian Tour.

“This should give me some hope to get into the events later like the Thailand Golf Championship and Iskandar Johor Open. If I can get my card by finishing in the top-60 (of the Order of Merit), it will change my decision.”

After making the halfway cut right on the number, Siddikur, Bangladesh’s first winner in Asia, capped a memorable comeback with two successive 66s to finish joint third. “It was a great round for me,” said Siddikur, who was bogey-free. “I was very tired on the first two days as I was a little bit jetlagged (from playing in Switzerland last week). My putting was really good in the last two days.”

Colomo, a Qualifying School graduate, continued to impress with his third top-five finish of the season after a round that included six birdies against a lone bogey. 

“It was a fantastic week even though I feel a bit tired from my flight from Spain. I was playing well the last few months. But I need to improve on my putter because I lost all my confidence with the putter," he said.

"I have to train my putting but in general I feel confident in my game. It will be fantastic to have a victory on the Asian Tour because there are a lot of good players here,” he said.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 288 (4x72) Yardage 6,977

272 Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 66-69-68-69.

275 Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 68-71-70-66.

276 SIDDIKUR  (BAN) 73-71-66-66, Javi COLOMO (ESP) 68-69-72-67, Michael TRAN (VNM) 67-68-73-68.

278 Jason KNUTZON (USA) 72-68-70-68, Jesper KENNEGARD (SWE) 70-69-67-72.

279 Mars PUCAY (PHI) 73-71-68-67, Marcus BOTH (AUS) 67-69-73-70.

280 Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 72-70-71-67, Kieran PRATT (AUS) 67-71-71-71, LAM Chih Bing (SIN) 70-70-69-71, Jonathan MOORE (USA) 67-71-70-72.

281 - LIN Wen-tang (TPE) 73-69-71-68.

e.

 

RORY McILROY LYING JOINT SECOND IN US PGA TOUR PLAY-OFFS EVENT

BMW CHAMPIONSHIP
SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
Players from US unless stated
131 Vijay Singh (Fiji) 65 66
132 Ryan Moore 66 66, Rory McIlroy (N Ireland) 64 68, Tiger Woods 65 67
133 Lee Westwood (England) 68 65, Bo Van Pelt 64 69.

SELECTED SCORES
134 Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) 68 67 (T7)
135 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 70 65 (T9)
136 Ian Poulter (England) 68 68, Adam Scott (Australia) 68 68, Phil Mickelson 69 67 (T13)
137 Justin Rose (England) 67 70, Louis Oosthuizen (S Africa) 68 69, Martin Laird (Scotland) 69 68 (T22).
138 Luke Donald (England) 66 72, Sergio Garcia (Spain) 69 69 (T28)
139 Ernie Els (S Africa) 68 71 (T33) 

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

TO READ A SUMMARY OF THE SECOND DAY'S PLAY

CLICK HERE

STEWART HENDERSON WINS LANARKSHIRE ORDER OF MERIT

NEWS RELEASE FROM LANARKSHIRE GOLF ASSOCIATON 
Stewart Henderson of Hamilton retained his 
Lanarkshire Order of Merit Salver after the announcement of the cancellation of the Garnkirk Trophy at Crow Wood.

This means that Stewart, pictured, cannot be caught and in fact was so far ahead with 101 points would not have been caught anyway.

The top ten in the Order of Merit Salver for 2012 were:

1. Stewart Henderson        Hamilton    101 points

2. David Brown                 Carluke       70 points

3. Colin Baird                     Bothwell     59 points

4. Andy Fairbairn               Kirkhill        55 points

5. Steven Rennie                Drumpellier  55 points

6.Kevin Loughrie              Cambuslang  51 points

7. James Steven                 Bothwell      45 points

8. Scott Douglas                Strathaven    43 points

9. Paul Shields                    Kirkhill        41 points

10. Robert Jenkins           Crow Wood  38 points

    Willie Sharpe

    Lanarkshire Golf Association

  

SCOTLAND NAME THREE FOR EISENHOWER TROPHY REPEAT WIN BID

SGU MEDIA RELEASE

The trio of Graeme Robertson, Paul Shields and Matthew Clark have been chosen to represent Scotland at next month’s World Amateur Team Championship in Turkey, bidding to emulate the historic success of their countrymen in 2008.

Staged at Antalya Golf Club (PGA Sultan Course) and Cornelia Golf Club from 4 – 7 October, the biennial event is one of the most prestigious in amateur golf and the three Scots will be aiming to add The Eisenhower Trophy to The Raymond Trophy won at last month’s Home Internationals.

Four years ago in Adelaide, Australia, Scotland were on top of the world after brilliantly claiming a first-ever world title victory thanks to the endeavours of Wallace Booth, Gavin Dear and Callum Macaulay as George Crawford captained his side to an emphatic nine-stroke victory over the USA. The Scots also put up a stout defence in 2010, with James Byrne, Michael Stewart and Ross Kellett finishing fifth behind reigning World Champions France.

It is now the turn of Robertson (Glenbervie), Shields (Kirkhill) and Clark (Kilmacolm) to fly the saltire on the world stage, having all played key roles in Scotland’s first Home Internationals win in six years at Glasgow Golf Club’s Gailes Links just a few weeks ago.

With the Eisenhower Trophy contested over four rounds in stroke play format – two scores from three count for the team each day – the four-man selection panel have chosen the players based on their stroke play records during 2012.

Robertson has been Scottish amateur golf’s star performer throughout the season, collecting six points from six at the Home Internationals, finishing third in the St Andrews Links Trophy thanks to a final round 64 over the Old Course and winning the Craigmillar Park Open. The University of Stirling student also helped Europe to a famous Palmer Cup victory and was part of the Great Britain & Ireland side in The St Andrews Trophy match.

Clark has also caught the eye during an impressive year and leads the standings in overall scoring average. The Renfrewshire player won the Newlands Trophy and posted four other top-four finishes domestically, while finishing tied eighth at the European Amateur Championship over the demanding Carton House layout in Dublin.

Shields, like Robertson an SGU National Men’s Squad player, has enjoyed three top-three results on the domestic circuit, while achieving top-30 finishes in the Lytham Trophy and Irish Stroke Play. 

The Glaswegian also began the year in spectacular fashion with an 11-under-par 61 at the Gauteng North Open in South Africa.

Lundin’s James White has been named first reserve, while Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) missed out on automatic selection as the leading Scot on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), having not met the required criteria of also being placed inside the top 15 of the SGU Men’s Order of Merit.

Team captain Scott Knowles, who skippered Scotland to the Home Internationals title, said: “We have a really strong team and they are capable of winning The Eisenhower Trophy, there is no question about that. It is how they dove-tail as a team and how they contribute low numbers.

“A lot of very good players had the opportunity to make the team and I’m sure so many guys will be disappointed. Taking out match play events, the top three Scottish players on the WAGR are Graeme, Paul and Matthew. They are all good at shooting low numbers when required.

“Graeme’s record speaks for itself this year, while Matthew is top in stroke average and Paul has performed well on the bigger stage on his travels and shot some low numbers along the way.”

Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have both featured in winning Eisenhower Trophy sides in the past, while Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Francesco Molinari and Martin Kaymer are among members of the current European Ryder Cup team who have competed in the event.

The equivalent world team competition for women is the Espirito Santo Trophy, also taking place later this month in Antalya over Gloria Golf Club (Old and New Courses). Sally Watson (Elie and Earlsferry Ladies) and Laura Murray (Alford) will represent the Scots from 27 – 30 September, along with Eilidh Briggs from Kilmacolm – ensuring a club double after Clark’s selection for the Men’s team.

The Scotland team, sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management and TaylorMade-adidas Golf, is:

Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm), 30

Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie), 24

Paul Shields (Kirkhill), 21

 

Reserve: James White (Lundin, 24)

Captain: Scott Knowles (Kingsknowe)

 

>> Click here for more information on The Eisenhower Trophy