US CAPTAIN HAS ROUGH TRIMMED TO HELP BUBBA WATSON

By Michael Collins | ESPN.com
 

MEDINAH, Illinois -- A couple of changes to Medinah Country Club's No. 3 course will help the American cause in the 39th Ryder Cup.
U.S. captain Davis Love III invoked his right to change the set-up of the course by having some rough trimmed to make the par-5 10th hole easier. Bubba Watson in particular kept finding the rough after carrying a sand trap 290 yards from the tee box, making his second shot more difficult.

In addition, Medinah director of golf Mike Scully said that a tree was removed Wednesday that would make the tee shot easier on a hole, but he would not specify which hole. 

Having trees removed is not within Love's rights as captain, and Scully would not say why the tree needed to be taken down.

Medinah has lost several hundred trees over the past year. In fact, the tree on the 16th hole, made famous when Sergio Garcia closed his eyes and blasted a tremendous shot from its base in the 1999 US PGA Championship, had to be removed. 
Golfers emulating his shot damaged the base of the tree and it died.
As for No. 10, most of the 24 players here this week for these biennial matches can drive the ball 290 yards, but carrying it that far is a much different proposition. Realistically, only four golfers present have the ability to fly the ball that far in the air: Watson and Dustin Johnson on the American side, and Europeans Rory McIlroy and Nicolas Colsaerts.

HULDAHL IS GREAT DANE WITH EIGHT-UNDER 64 AT CATALUNYA

CHRIS DOAK IN SECOND PLACE

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT
Former European Tour winner Jeppe Huldahl carded an incredible ten birdies, seven on his front nine, on the way to an eight under par 64 to take the lead after the opening round of the Challenge de Catalunya.
The Dane recorded his best result in four months on the European Challenge Tour in last week’s ALLIANZ Golf Open Toulouse Metropole with a tied 13th finish and he continued in that vein of form at Golf La Graiera in Northern Spain to move a shot clear of Scotland’s Chris Doak on eight under.
Huldalh teed off on the tenth hole and got off to a stunning start, birdieing his first hole before a par at the 11th was followed by six birdies in his next seven holes to reach the turn in seven under par.
The wheels came off his amazing round somewhat when the 2010 Wales Open winner bogeyed the tenth hole after a poor drive before dropping another shot thanks to a three-putt at the par five fourth hole but he bounced back with three consecutive birdies from the fifth hole to put himself in with a shot of a second Challenge Tour victory.
“My putting was really good,” said Huldahl, whose sole Challenge Tour win came at the Lexus Open in 2008.
 “I was disappointed with my bogey on the fourth hole but there are so many good holes to look at in that round. My iron play was really good, I hit it close, left easy putts and holed them.”
Huldahl has struggled to build any consistency this year but did manage a runner-up finish in the ALLIANZ Open Côtes d’Armor Bretagne in May.
However, the 30 year old admitted he has had some stressful times off the golf course which have played a part in his poor form but believes he is on the road to recovery.
“I have a nine month old daughter and she was born with a problem in her brain so we have spent seven months going through hospitals and surgeries,” he said. “She is fine now but it did put lot of weight on my shoulders for a while.
“I have struggled this season and there is still a lot of work to be done but in the last couple of weeks my game has improved.
Doak’s hunt for a first win on the Challenge Tour continued as the Greenock man signed for a seven under par round of 65 to finish the day in outright second place while the home challenge was led by Jordi Garcia Pinto, who was in tied third place on six under par alongside Luke Goddard, Espen Kofstad, Alessandro Tadini and Stuart Davis.
SCOREBOARD
Par 72Jeppe HULDAHL DEN 64
Chris DOAK SCO 65
Jordi GARCIA PINTO ESP 66
Luke GODDARD ENG 66
Espen KOFSTAD NOR 66
Alessandro TADINI ITA 66
Stuart DAVIS ENG 66
Pelle EDBERG SWE 67
Chris GANE ENG 67
Sebastian BUHL GER 67
Thomas FEYRSINGER AUT 67
Pol BECH ESP 67
Robert DINWIDDIE ENG 68
Edouard DUBOIS FRA 68
Matthew NIXON ENG 68
Carlos GARCIA SIMARRO ESP 68
Anders Schmidt HANSEN DEN 68
Chris LLOYD ENG 68
James BUSBY ENG 68
Brooks KOEPKA USA 68
Jordan GIBB ENG 68
Magnus A CARLSSON SWE 68
Raymond RUSSELL SCO 68
Andrew MCARTHUR SCO 68
Roope KAKKO FIN 68
Andrew PARR CAN 68
Jamie ABBOTT ENG 69
Daniel BROOKS ENG 69
Jerome LANDO CASANOVA FRA 69
Mikko KORHONEN FIN 69
Byeong-hun AN KOR 69
Andreas HARTØ DEN 69
John PARRY ENG 69
H P BACHER AUT 69
Sebastian GARCIA RODRIGUEZ ESP 69
Rikard KARLBERG SWE 69
Nicolas MEITINGER GER 69
Jens DANTORP SWE 69
Luis CLAVERIE ESP 70
Stephen GRANT IRL 70
Callum MACAULAY SCO 70
Steven TILEY ENG 70
Jamie McLEARY SCO 70
Tim SLUITER NED 70
Ignacio ELVIRA ESP 70
Raphaël DE SOUSA SUI 70
Gary LOCKERBIE ENG 70
Peter GUSTAFSSON SWE 70
Agustin DOMINGO ESP 70
Daniel VANCSIK ARG 71
Benn BARHAM ENG 71
Wil BESSELING NED 71
Alexander LEVY FRA 71
Raul QUIROS ESP 71
Andrea PERRINO ITA 71
Chris PAISLEY ENG 71
Alexandre KALEKA FRA 71
Jack DOHERTY SCO 71
Justin WALTERS RSA 71
Marco CRESPI ITA 71
Santiago LUNA ESP 71
Mikael LUNDBERG SWE 71
Paul DWYER ENG 71
Janne MOMMO FIN 71
Eduardo DE LA RIVA ESP 71
Pedro ORIOL ESP 72
Niklas DAHLGREN FIN 72
Steven O'HARA SCO 72
Rafa ECHENIQUE ARG 72
Christophe BRAZILLIER FRA 72
Gary STAL FRA 72
Lloyd SALTMAN SCO 72
Alvaro SALTO ESP 72
Matt FORD ENG 73
Uli WEINHANDL AUT 73
Javier SAN FELIX ESP 73
Sergio GONZALEZ GARCIA ESP 73
Jordan RUSSELL USA 73
Garry HOUSTON WAL 73
James HEATH ENG 73
Andrew TAMPION AUS 73
Bjorn ÅKESSON SWE 73
Phillip ARCHER ENG 73
Juan Antonio BRAGULAT ESP 73
Carl SUNESON ESP 73
Daniel GAUNT AUS 73
Adrian OTAEGUI ESP 73
Alvaro VELASCO ESP 73
Xavier GUZMAN ESP 73
Sihwan KIM KOR 73
Rasmus HJELM DEN 74
Adrien BERNADET FRA 74

Chris HANSON ENG 74

Julien GUERRIER FRA 74

Christian ARONSEN NOR 74

Åke NILSSON SWE 74

Klas ERIKSSON SWE 74

Steven JEPPESEN SWE 74

Bernd RITTHAMMER GER 74

Matteo DELPODIO ITA 74

Knut BORSHEIM NOR 74

Carlos AGUILAR ESP 74

Seve BENSON ENG 74

Borja ETCHART ESP 74

Mark TULLO CHI 74

Sam HUTSBY ENG 74

François DELAMONTAGNE FRA 74

André BOSSERT SUI 75
Michael LORENZO-VERA FRA 75
Nick DOUGHERTY ENG 75
Maximilian KIEFFER GER 75
Jose Manuel MANCEBO ESP 75
Matthew SOUTHGATE ENG 76
Charles-Edouard RUSSO FRA 76
Anthony SNOBECK FRA 76
Adam GEE ENG 76
Antonio HORTAL ESP 76
Victor RIU FRA 76
Francis MCGUIRK ENG 77
Antti AHOKAS FIN 77
Rafael GALLARDO ESP 77
Ivó GINER ESP 77
Scott PINCKNEY USA 77
Elias BERTHEUSSEN NOR 77
Sebi GARCIA ESP 79
Johan WAHLQVIST SWE 79
Mark F HAASTRUP DEN 79
Pablo HERRERIA ESP 80
Javier GALLARDO ESP 81
Daniel LOKKE DEN 81
Carlos GONZALEZ LOPEZ ESP 84
Withdrew: Sam WALKER ENG

NOT SO TOUGH FOR GARY AT ALYTH IN MIDLAND ALLIANCE

Gary Tough (Edzell) hit top form with a five-under-par 65 to win the Midland Golfers' Alliance competition at Alyth Golf Club today. His card included an albatross and an eagle on the par 5s on the inward half. Tough, who plays off +1, also had the best net score (66) but each player is limited to one prize. Handicap winner was Ian Cameron (Panmure) with a net 68 off six. LEADING SCRATCH 65 Gary Tough (Edzell). 69  Kenny Hutton (Downfield) 70  Craig Matheson (Falkirk Tryst) 71  Craig Knowles (Panmure) 72 Mchael Rae (Alyth) 73 Jamie Stevenson (Braehead) 74 Ian Cameron (Panmure), Donald McKay (Wellsgreen) 75 Paul Jamieson (Dunblane) 76 John Craig (Carnoustie). LEADING HANDICAP Gary Tough (Edzell) (+1) 66; Ian Cameron (Panmure) (6) 68; Alan Glass (Alloa) (13), Ron Farquhar (Carnoustie) 10) 70; Ian Butchart (Strathmore) (6), Gibby Wilkie (Muckhart) (14) 71; John Craig (Carnoustie) (4), Hugh Cowburgh (Muckhart) (5), Alan Didcock (Alloa) (10) 72; Ron Brownhills (Edzell) (5), Graham Crichton (St Andrews) (8), Sam Marshall (Downfield) (5), Chris Westland (Alloa) (11), Jim Roy (Panmure) (6) 73; Charlie Gowrie (Kirriemuir) (7), Peter Rhind (Grange) (8) 74. NEXT WEEK'S MEETING Thursday, October 4 Ladybank Pro-Am sponsored by Fraser Bros.(Tyres).  Draw to be published later.

TAIWAN MASTERS REPORT AND LEADING SCORES

MEDIA RELEASE FROM ASIAN TOUR

Taipei: Unheralded golfer Lien Chi-wei of Chinese Taipei shot a surprising six-under-par 66 in tough scoring conditions for the opening round lead at the US$600,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters today.

Lien opened up a four-shot lead over Filipinos Angelo Que and Antonio Lascuna, Baek Seuk-hyun of Korea, Wang Shih-jui and current Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit leader Hsieh Chi-hsien at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club.

Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang, a five-time Asian Tour winner, and Hsieh Chin-sheng, Indian star Anirban Lahiri, Australian Scott Hend, Kalle Samooja of Finland and Panuwat Muenlek of Thailand were among the 12 players who broke par with their efforts of 71.

Lien, who has been a professional golfer for 10 years with two local wins, rode on a hot putter as he made 26 putts including a 20-foot eagle putt on the par five sixth hole.

“My iron play was really good and I sank my putts. It was a really good day for me. I’ve been playing in this event for five years and this is my best score on this golf course,” said the soft spoken 37-year-old.

“This is a very difficult golf course and I’m really happy with my performance but I know it will only get tougher from here,” said Lien.

FIRST-ROUND SCORES

Par 72. Yardage 6,923.

66 LIEN Chi-wei (TPE).

70 HSIEH Chi-hsien (TPE), Antonio LASCUNA (PHI), BAEK Seuk-hyun (KOR), Angelo QUE (PHI), WANG Shih-jui (TPE).

71 LIN Wen-tang (TPE), HSIEH Chin-sheng (TPE), Panuwat MUENLEK (THA), Kalle SAMOOJA (FIN), Anirban LAHIRI (IND), Scott HEND (AUS).

72 Thitiphun CHUAYPRAKONG (THA), CHIANG Chen-chih (TPE),  SIDDIKUR (BAN), Danny CHIA (MAS), CHEN Hao-sen (TPE), Adam GROOM (AUS), David LIPSKY (USA), SUNG Mao-chang (TPE), LAM Chih Bing (SIN).

73 LIN Chie-hsiang (TPE), Chiragh KUMAR (IND), Peter KARMIS (RSA), Zaw MOE (MYN), Darren BECK (AUS), Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA), Prom MEESAWAT (THA), Guido VAN DER VALK (NED), Namchok TANTIPOKHAKUL (THA), LIN Keng-chi (TPE), Boonchu RUANGKIT (THA), CHEN Tze-chung (TPE), Ben FOX (USA), Sam CYR (USA), Adilson DA SILVA (BRA), Javi COLOMO (ESP), Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA), YEH Yeou-tsai (TPE), WANG Ter-chang (TPE), CHANG Yao-pin (TPE).

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE

Website: www.asiantour.com

SCOTS NICOLSON AND STEWART IN TOP TEN AT DUBAI CREEK

Edinburgh's Greg Nicolson and Duncan Stewart from Grantown on Spey finished in the top 10 in the opening event of the 2012 MENA Tour, the Dubai Creek Open.
Mortonhall GC tour pro Nicolson, pictured right, shot 72, 72 and 66 for a three-under-par total of 210. He earned US $2,150.
Stewart, coming off a successful campaign on the PGA EuroPro Tour, had scores of 70, 70 and 71 for 211. He earned US $1,318.
A third Scot in the big field, Gavin Dear from Murrayshall, near Perth, finished joint 21st on 215 with scores of 70, 72 and 73. His payslip amounted to US$610.
Englishman Zane Scotland won the top prize of US$9,000 with an eight-under-par total of 205, made up of rounds of 65, 70 and 70.
He won by two shots from Welshman Stephen Dodd (70-68-69) who earned US$6,000. 

TO VIEW ALL THE TOTALS AND PRIZEMONEY

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ZANE SCOLAND WINS DUBAI CREEK OPEN

NEWS RELEASE
DUBAI — Zane Scotland showed great strength of character in getting the job done in superb fashion as the Englishman held off a late change from experienced Stephen Dodd to win the Dubai Creek Open, the opening event on the MENA Golf Tour, on Wednesday.
Starting the final day a good three shots ahead, Scotland squandered the lead to Dodd, a three-time winner on the European Tour, at the 10^th, but kept his cool, picking up a crucial birdie on the 16^th to seal a wire-to-wire victory.
Once hailed as the new Tiger Woods when he won a nationwide competition titled Search For A Tiger, aged 14, Scotland closed with a tidy one-under-par 70 to go eight under for the tournament, a good two shots of Dodd and three off Pakistan’s Mohammed Munir.
Dodd had his moments to close the deal when he took the outright lead with a birdie on the 10^th, but a watery double-bogey on the par-3, 14^th threw a spanner in the works of a player searching to find the form he showed in winning the Nissan Irish Open, the Volvo China Open and the Smurfit Kappa European Open some years back.
“Winning is one thing, winning over a player of the stature of Stephen makes you feel special. I am really pleased to be able to do that,” said a jubilant Dodd, after receiving the winner’s cheque for $9,000 and a trophy from Adel Zarouni, vice chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation.
Mohamed Juma Buamaim, chairman of the MENA Golf Tour, and Mustafa Al Hashimi, manager of the Dubai Creek Golf Club, were also present at the presentation ceremony.
The 29-year-old Englishman, who will be playing in all the remaining events on the MENA Golf Tour, said: “The aim is to try and finish among the top three on the Order of Merit and win a spot in the 2013 Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
“I don’t think any tour offer such a massive prize. It will be just great to play in the Desert Classic since it’s becoming harder and harder for me to qualify for the European Tour.”
About the final day’s proceedings, he said: “ I knew Stephen would make early birdies which he made and I, in a way, was prepared for it. I picked up a shot on the 16^th after Stephen double-bogeyed the 14^th and that made things easier for me,” said Scotland, who was two ahead going into the closing hole.
Dodd felt he had his moments, but one bad shot cost him dearly. “Take that away, I think I played really well this week and have every reason to feel satisfied. Though I am still nowhere near my best, I am getting slowly and steadily there,” said the 46-year-old Welshman, whose final round 69 was studded with birdies on fourth, sixth and 10^th.
Like, Dodd, Pakistan’s Munir also shot a 69 and flirted with success before fading away down the stretch. “I was very much in the mix when I eagled the 10^th and picked up a shot each on the 13^th but a couple of three putts, especially on the 18^th did not help my case,” said Munir, ranked number three in Pakistan.
England’s Max Williams was declared the Best Amateur of the event after rounds of 69, 71 and 72 for a 54-hole total of 212, a good three shots of Michael Harradine, a UAE-based golfer from Switzerland. Tyler Hogarty settled for third on 217.