Friday, November 09, 2012


It's sink or swim time for Russell Knox, pictured above, on the US PGA Tour.
Sadly, the Inverness-born resident of Jacksonville Beach, Florida seems to be sinking in the second round even though a par 72 is not a bad effort. 
But a par round on the highly competitive US Tour usually means you lose ground, and a lot of it, because most of your fellow competitors are in sub-par mode.
This is the last event to county for the US Tour money table. At the end of it, those not in the top 125 of the table have to go back to school, Stage 2 of the US Tour Q School to be precise.
Knox is outside the top 125 and needs a top-10 placing at least to survive in the Big League. 

To check out the live scoring from the second round of the Children's Hospitals Tournament in Florida

CLICK HERE   

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FIVE SCOTS IN SPANISH Q ZONE - BUT CAN THEY STAY THERE WHEN THE HEAT IS ON

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
It's so far, so good for five of the 15 entrants - Jamie McLeary, Wallace Booth, Callum Macaulay, Steven O'Hara and Jack Doherty - who are within the top-17 qualifying zone with one round to play in the European Tour Qualifying School Stage 2 events at four Spanish venues.
The Saltman brothers, Lloyd and Elliot, are not going to make it through to the Final Stage at PGA Catalunya from November 22 to 29.
Neither is Ross Kellett and, surprisingly after good first and second days, maybe not David Law either. The Aberdonian has given himself a mountain to climb by dropping to 37th at his venue.
McLeary shot his best of the week - a five-under-par 67 (31-36) for 212  to surge up to a share of fifth place at El Saler, only two shots behind the joint leaders.
Graham Fox had a 72 (34-38) for 220 and is in joint 29th place. He is only three shots behind those sharing 17th place so the Rowallan Castle man could still do it although he has not broken par at El Saler so far.
Lloyd Saltman's 78 (40-38) for 229 leaves him in joint 64th place, a shot ahead of Ross Kellett who has a 72 (34-38) for 230.
Craig Matheson has been nothing if not consistent. He has shot three 80s in a row for 240.

Booth broke 70 for the second day in a row at Las Colinas, Alicante with a three-under 68 (206) for a share of sixth place, four shots off Tim Sluiter's pace.
Scott Henderson has improved every day, but a 71 for 220 still  leaves him in joint 66th place.
O'Hara, like Booth, had a second successive sub-70 score and he is sharing 10th place at Lumine, Tarragona. Steven shot a three-under 68 (32-36) for 207 and is a shot ahead of Doherty who birdied the second, third and fourth on his way to a 69 (35-34) for 208 and joint 13th place at this venue.
Elliot Saltman is down among the dead men after a 73 for 222.
At El Valle it was a great day for Callum Macaulay but a day of disaster for David Law. Macaulay had a 67 (34-33) for 208 to move up to a share of fifth place, only two shots behind leader Thomas Haylock.
But Law fell out of the probable qualifying zone with a 76 (41-35), having run up a triple bogey 7 at the eighth. The Aberdonian has slumped to a share of 37th place with another past Scottish boys champion Michael Stewart who had a 70 (35-35).
They are four shots behind those in joint 17th place so need something special to finish with to stay on in Spain.
Neil Fenwick, after second successive 68 (35-33) for a share of 32nd place on 214 is slightly better placed than Law and Stewart but still has it all to do to qualify.
Paul Cormack is out of it at El Valle after a 76 for 223.


STAGE 2 SCOREBOARD
Leading 17 at each venue after four rounds
will qualify for Final Stage at PGA Catalunya

EL SALER (Par 72)

210 Simon Thornton (Ire) 73 71 66, Jason Timmis (Eng) 72 70 68
SCOTS' SCORES
212 Jamie McLeary 72 73 67 (T5)
220 Graham Fox 73 75 72 (T29)
229 Lloyd Saltman 79 72 78 (T64)
230 Ross Kellett 81 77 72 (T66)
240 Craig Matheson 80 80 80 (last of 72)

LAS COLINAS (Par 71)
202 Tim Sluiter (Ned) 67 70 65
SCOTS' SCORES
206 Wallace Booth 72 66 68 (T6)
220 Scott Henderson 76 73 71 (T66)

EL VALLE (Par 71)
206 Thomas Haylock (Eng) 72 65 69
SCOTS' SCORES
208 Callum Macaulay 69 72 67 (T5)
214 Neil Fenwick 78 68 68 (T32)
215 David Law 70 69 76, Michael Stewart 76 69 70 (T37)
223 Paul Cormack 74 73 76 (T62)

LUMINE (Par 71)

202 Martin Sell (Eng) 67 67 67
SCOTS' SCORES
207 Steven O'Hara 73 66 68 (T10)
208 Jack Doherty 70 69 69 (T13)
222 Elliot Saltman 76 73 73 (T73)

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JAMES BYRNE LYING JOINT THIRD AT KUALA LUMPUR

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENTAL TOUR
 
Kuala Lumpur, November 9: Chinese Taipei duo Chang Tse-peng and Hsu Mong-nan held the second round clubhouse lead after another weather-hit day at the PGM-MIDF-KLGCC Masters on Friday.
Chang and Hsu fired matching one-under-par 70s to lead with their two-day total of four-under-par 138 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club’s East course in the RM180,000 (approximately US$60,000) Asian Development Tour tournament, which is the penultimate leg for the 2012 season.
Malaysia’s challenge was carried by R. Nachimuthu, who fired a 72 to trail in joint third place on 140 alongside Scotland's James Byrne and Canadian Lindsay Renolds.
Byrne, a 2011 Walker Cup star for GB and I, fired a solid 69 to stay in contention while Renolds carded a second successive 70 to keep alive his hopes for a maiden victory on the ADT, which is the secondary circuit run by the Asian Tour.
The Banchory man, winner of the 2012 Northern Open at Meldrum House, finished in the ADT event's top 10 last week.
Malaysian amateur Low Khai Jei continued to show his growing potential with a 70 for a 143 total to lie five shots back with two rounds to play. He is tied alongside Thailand’s Tommy Mansuwan who also carded a 70 in his second round.
Play was suspended at 2.10pm for slightly over two hours due to an afternoon thunderstorm and after a brief resumption of play, the second round was stopped for the day following another weather disruption.
All the afternoon session players of the second round will resume play at 7.20am on Saturday with first round leader Brian Locke of the United States and Malaysian Ian Steele amongst those to finish their rounds.
Leading second round scores
Par 142 (2x71)
138: CHANG Tse-peng (TPE) 68-70, HSU Mong-nan (TPE) 68-70
140: R. Nachimuthu (MAS) 68- 72, James BYRNE (SCO) 71-69, Lindsay RENOLDS (CAN)70-70
143: LOW Khai Jei (MAS – am) 73-70, Tommy MANSUWAN (THA) 73-70
144: LEE Kuan-hung (TPE) 69-75, Mhark FERNANDO(PHI) 71-73
145: LEE Cho-chuan (TPE) 75-70, Jeremiah KIM (MAS) 74-71
146: Rizal AMIN (MAS) 68-78, Sukree OTHMAN (MAS) 72-74, Mohamad Azman BASHARUDIN (MAS) 76-70, KAO Shang-hung (TPE)        75-71
 

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THELEN, DAHLBERG SHARE SENIORS' LEAD IN TAIWAN

NEWS RELEASE
Tim Thelen, a two-time winner on the European Senior Tour this year, has his sights set on securing a top four finish in the Order of Merit after sharing the first round lead with Sweden’s Peter Dahlberg in the Fubon Senior Open in Taiwan. 
The American has enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2012 in just his second year on the Senior Tour, having gained entry in 2011 via Qualifying School, and now he has set his focus on the next big step up – a top four finish in the Order of Merit and consequently, a place in the US Senior Open next year. 
He certainly got off to the perfect start at Miramar Golf and Country club in Taipei as he opened with a six under par 66 to join Dahlberg at the top. 
His round took some time to get going as he adjusted to the pace of the greens but when he did, the Texan was unstoppable as he holed a 15 footer from just off the green at the sixth for eagle before following that with two successive birdies to reach the turn in four under par. 
Thelen gained two more shots at the tenth and 14th holes before parring his way home to enter the weekend in perfect shape to reach his week target of 14 under par. 
“I hit some really good shots today,” said the 51 year old. “It took me while to get a grip of the greens here. They have some grain on them and I just needed to get the speeds right but it is a beautiful course out here and it is in tremendous shape. “It is tiring coming all the way out here but I coped with it well today and I will certainly sleep tonight. “There are a lot of good players out here but my aim now is to go on and keep hold of a top four spot in the Order of Merit, so I really wanted to play well here and then go on to have a good week in Mauritius. “A top four place means a spot in the US Senior Open as well as having my hotel paid for in Mauritius so that would be great! “The rest of the week will all depend on the conditions now I think. It was quite breezy for the practice rounds but we had very benign conditions for the first round so hopefully it can stay calm for the weekend because that really helps out here. “I’m at six under par now and I think if I can get to 14 under by Sunday that will be a very hard score to beat.” One man who will be trying to do just that is Dahlberg, who said he took great heart from a vote of confidence from friend and Senior Tour star Barry Lane as he got off to an ideal start with a 66 that boosts his hopes of a first career Senior Tour victory. “It would be fantastic to get my first win here,” said Dahlberg.
“Barry Lane said to me recently that I am playing good enough golf and I should just keep doing what I’m doing and something will happen so hopefully that will be this week as it would be a perfect early wedding gift for me and my fiancée as we’re getting married in January.” 
His best round on the tour since 2008 came courtesy of two huge putts of over 25 feet for birdie and he is confident that he can claim his first victory in the Taiwanese capital.
“I’m feeling great,” said the Swede. “A round like that has been a long time coming. It sounds silly to say it but it just seemed easy. I only missed one fairway and three greens and every time I missed a green, I got up and down.
“My two playing partners were joking with me that I prefer long putts because I holed those two big ones but I also missed four putts from within five feet so they must be right!
“My irons were really good today and I was driving very nicely. I only got into trouble from the tee on one occasion and I managed to escape and get up and down for par.
“I really wanted to do something this week to get into the top 70 so that’s my aim now. If I can do that I won’t have to play Senior Qualifying First Stage which can be quite draining.”
JD Kim was the highest-placed Asian after the opening day as he joined England’s Andrew Murray in tied second place on five under par.
The Japan player had a flawless day as he birdied the fourth, ninth, tenth and 12th before delighting the home crowds with a birdie at the 18th to move to within one shot of the lead.
Defending champion Chien Soon Lu will need a good weekend if he is to retain his crown after the Taiwan player opened with a level par round of 72.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
66 P Dahlberg (Swe), T Thelen (USA) 
67 A Murray (Eng), J Kim (SKor)
68 B Longmuir (Sco), G Wolstenholme (Eng), T Wang (Tpe) 
69 R Drummond (Sco), C Williams (RSA) 
70 Z Martinez (USA) , H Chang (Tpe) , B Ruangkit (Tha) , J Lin (Tha) , S Van Vuuren (RSA), D Merriman (Aus) , M Cunning (USA) , M Kuramoto (Jpn) 
71 J Chen (Tpe), M Harwood (Aus), G Manson (Aut), P Wesselingh (Eng), G Norquist (USA), T Elliott (Aus), T Chen (Tpe) 
72 S Ebihara (Jpn), C Chung (Tpe) , G Ralph (Eng) , K Tomori (Jpn) , G Brand (Eng), G Ryall (Eng), T Chen (Tpe) , T Lin (Tpe), T Charnley (Eng), R Gibson (Can), D Ishii (USA), J Harrison (Eng), F Minoza (Phi), A Franco (Par), N Job (Eng), C Lu (Tpe)
73 M Kierstenson (Eng) , J Murphy (Eng) , M Briggs (Eng) , K Tarling (Can) , L Carbonetti (Arg) , T Price (Aus) , K Spurgeon (Eng) , J Gould (Eng) , M Belsham (Eng) , T Chen (Tpe) 
74 J Hall (Eng) , B Hardwick (Can) , C Chang (Tpe) , B Stevens (Eng) , G Banister (Aus) , C Shen (Tpe) , A Gilligan (Aus) , S Bennett (Eng) , C Yu (Tpe) , C Ko (am) (Tpe)
75 N Clarke  (RSA) , S Hsu (Tpe) , D Cambridge (Jam), P Smith (Sco), G Davies (Wal) , M Chang (Tpe), C Chang (am) (Tpe) 
76 D Young  (Eng) , T Hsu (Tpe) , S Cipa (Eng) , S McNally (Eng) , M Hsieh (Tpe) , J Bruner (USA) , T Gale (Aus) , W Chou (Tpe) 
77 K Chang (Tpe) , L Chen (Tpe), S Hsu (Tpe), C Lin (Tpe) , M Deboub (Alg) , S Liao (Tpe) 
78 Y Chiang (Tpe), S McAllister (Sco), A Saddington (Sco), J Sallat (Fra), T Kao (am) (Tpe)
79 C Lai (Tpe) , K Olsen (Aus) , S Huang (Tpe) , 
80 L Chang (Tpe), S Cheng (Tpe), C Linstead (Eng) ,
82 S Huang (Tpe) , C Chen (Tpe) ,
83 W Chan (Tpe)
84 S Chi (Tpe)
85 H Chang (Tpe), C Lien (Tpe) 
86 T Liao (Tpe)
 

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WEATHER-HIT SINGAPORE OPEN COULD SPILL OVER INTO MONDAY

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ASIAN TOUR
Singapore, November 9: Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat continued his good form when he took a share of the second round clubhouse lead with England’s Simon Dyson at six-under par through nine holes before inclement weather halted play for the second straight day at the Barclays Singapore Open today (Friday).
Chapchai, who had to return in the morning to complete his opening round, grabbed the outright lead with his flawless six-under-par 65.
The Thai then headed out to the Sentosa Golf Club soon after for his second round where he mixed two birdies against two bogeys in his back-nine before play was suspended again.
Tournament officials from the Asian Tour and European Tour are bracing themselves for a long weekend ahead and are not ruling out a Monday finish for the Barclays Singapore Open.
“At present, our aim is still to complete 72 holes, weather permitting. We hope to finish the second round at approximately 3.15pm tomorrow (Saturday), at which time there will be a re-draw for round three, which will not start before 4pm.
The third and fourth rounds would then be played with the same draw, which would allow us to finish at approximately 5.15pm on Sunday, provided there are no further delays.
However, if we do suffer more delays we would then decide, in consultation with the sponsor and promoter, whether to reduce the tournament to 54 holes or complete the fourth round on Monday,” said Jittisak Tamprasert and Jose Maria Zamora, tournament directors of the Barclays Singapore Open.
Dyson who was two shots back of Chapchai at the start of the second round, made up ground quickly with three birdies in his opening back-nine. 
He birdied the par-four first after making the turn and parred his next three holes before thunderstorms brought his charge to a halt.
With only one top-10 finish at the Asian Tour season-opening event in Myanmar to show for this season, Chapchai credited his return to the monastery for playing a huge role in shaping his mental ability.
“I’ve been going to the monastery a lot to calm myself. I used to be very hot-tempered and I get frustrated easily especially at such a young age. My temper is better now but I still try to go back to the monastery once in a while,” said Chapchai.
The three-time Asian Tour winner also believed the time spent in ironing out his putting woes is slowly paying off.
“I’ve been having problems with my putting for the whole of this year.  I try to make sure that I’ve got enough practice before coming to play here. It seems to be working out today,” said Chapchai.
Meanwhile world number one Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland will have to shrug off the effects of a cold if he wants to stay on course of winning the Barclays Singapore Open.
The tournament’s marquee name signed for an opening 70 and ended his day at one-under-par through 12 holes.
"I'm struggling a bit with a cold or a sinus infection at the moment, so I'm not feeling 100 percent," said McIlroy, who is accompanied by tennis star and girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki in Singapore this week.
"The energy levels are fine, and maybe it's a good thing that the temperature and humidity is so high, because I might be able to sweat it out," added the world number one.
This year marks the 49th staging of the Singapore Open which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

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RUSSELL KNOX HAS A 66 IN HIS LAST CHANCE TO SAVE CARD

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
By Staff and wire report
s
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida-- Getting off to a quick start is nothing new for Charlie Wi. The hard part is figuring out how to finish.
Wi took the 18-hole lead for the third time this year -- and the eighth time in his US PGA Tour career -- by closing with back-to-back birdies Thursday for an 8-under 64 on the easier Palm Course at Disney. That gave him a one-shot lead over Camilo Villegas and Tommy Gainey in the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.
This is the 184th career start for Wi on the PGA TOUR and he's still looking for his first win.
Wi atop the leaderboard was a reminder that there's more at stake in the final PGA TOUR event of the year than players trying to keep their jobs. Each event is another opportunity for him to get his first win, and that's would it take for him to have a chance of getting into the top 30 on the money list to earn his first trip to the Masters.
"Top 30 is definitely a goal," Wi said. "I'm not just showing up to play. You've got to have goals. I at least want to give myself a chance."
Gainey doesn't have that opportunity. He won for the first time on tour three weeks ago at Sea Island when he closed with a 60, but he was so far down the money list that even a win at Disney wouldn't be enough for him to get into the Masters.
Even so, Gainey is on a roll. He is 17 under in his last two rounds, courtesy of the 65 he posted on the Palm.
"My goal is just to win, anyway," he said. "The way I'm playing right now, keep hitting the golf shots and keep hitting it in the fairways, and with the way I'm rolling this putter, it's going to be good by Sunday afternoon."
Villegas was another story.
A rising star in 2008 when he won consecutive FedExCup Playoff events and rose to No. 7 in the world, Villegas has fallen on tough times. He's won just once, failed to qualify for any of the majors this year, has plunged to No. 214 in the world ranking and is at No. 150 on the money list.
 Only the top 125 earn their full cards for next year, and if Villegas falls out of the top 150, he'll have to go to the second stage of Q-school.
One thing that has changed is his attitude. Villegas realized he has a great job, stopped getting angry with his golf and decided to start having more fun. It appears to be working, and now the Colombian can only hope the change is not too late.
"Trust me, people remind you, `Hey, you're 150th on the money list.' And I'm kind of like, `Life is good. Just keep going.' If you're good at this game, if you're out, you'll be back in. Who knows? Just take it one shot at a time."
The top 12 scores came from the Palm, which played about 1.7 shots easier than the Magnolia, where the final two rounds will be played. Henrik Stenson and Charles Howell III were among five players whose 68 was the best score at Magnolia.
Brian Harman, Scott Stallings and Russell Knox, the rookie from Scotland who is outside the top 150, were at 66. Kevin Chappell, at No. 123 on the money list, overcame an early bogey and was in the group at 67.
"I feel like if you give me enough opportunities, which I've had, I've got to play well at least one week," Chappell said. "If it's the last week of the year, that's great."
Chappell is well aware of his standing on the money list, though he was doing his best to hit good shots and to try to make putts. He changed coaches this year and was making decent progress until getting a six-week break when he failed to get past the first round of the FedExCup Playoffs.
"I got engrossed with the golf swing, and when I came back to the fall finish, I was playing golf swing. I wasn't playing golf," Chappell said.
The first two days of Disney are a pro-am, and it's common for some players to ask to be paired with friends -- Mike Weir and Dean Wilson, Harris English and Brian Harman. A year ago, the tour put Luke Donald and Webb Simpson in the same group as they battled for the money title.
This year is a little different.
Rod Pampling is at No. 124 on the money list. He was paired with Billy Mayfair, who is at No. 125. Right behind them were Gary Christian and Alexandre Rocha, who are at No. 127 and No. 128 and right in the mix to keep their jobs..
Pampling opened with a 70 and Mayfair a 72. Christian and Rocha each had a 71.
"I was a bit surprised by that," Pampling said, grinning. "We're all grinding. ... You don't need the guys right behind you and next to you. But that's OK. Billy is easy to play with. And it's not going to change anything, anyway."
The biggest change belonged to Villegas. At some point this year, he realized that he played golf for a living and figured it wasn't worth getting overly frustrated about his scores.
"The game comes and kind of bites us, and the last year and a half hasn't been pretty, I can tell you that," he said. "Even though I kept putting in the hours, sometimes it doesn't matter. You put those hours in and if you're not having fun, you're not going to get much out of it. So I've definitely changed a little bit the attitude. And, yes, I've been playing a lot better. ... I've had a great attitude the last few months and I've been really close."
The tough part will be going to the Magnolia course Friday, and that goes for Wi, too.
He opened with a 61 at Monterey Peninsula in the AT and T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and took a three-shot lead into the final round until he opened with a four-putt double bogey and wound up finishing second to Phil Mickelson. He had the lead at Bay Hill and was tied with Tiger Woods going into the weekend until he faded, and Woods won his first TOUR event in more than two years.
Mickelson is in Singapore. Woods is taking time off. The most decorated competitor at Disney is Davis Love III, who opened with a 73. Wi still has a long way to go before Sunday.

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PAUL LAWRIE CELEBRATION DINNER RAISES £20,500 FOR FOUNDATION

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
European Ryder Cup Director Richard Hills was among 400 guests who gathered in Aberdeen on Wednesday night to celebrate Paul Lawrie’s sensational 2012 season.
Organised by members and officials of Deeside Golf Club – the club that Lawrie and his family have been associated with for most of his life – the Paul Lawrie Celebration Dinner was a huge success, raising £20,500 for the Aberdonian's junior foundation.
The 1999 Open Champion at Carnoustie was the star of the show at the Marcliffe Hotel at Pitfodels, near Aberdeen, as the 400 guests reflected on an outstanding season that saw the 43-year-old win the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy as well as the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
Those two victories proved the perfect preparation for his starring role in Europe’s unforgettable Sunday Singles comeback at The Ryder Cup, where Lawrie’s 5 and 3 beating of Brandt Snedeker played such a vital part in turning the momentum on that historic Sunday at Medinah.
The Ryder Cup was understandably the main talking point during Lawrie’s Q and A session with the 400- strong crowd, with Deeside GC captain Neil Harper acting as Master of Ceremonies before a charity auction, including signed copies of Lawrie’s newly launched autobiography, An Open Book: The Paul Lawrie Story, raised £20,500 for the Paul Lawrie Foundation. 
This higher figure - £19,000 was the first estimate - was confirmed today by Deeside GC captain Neil Harper
Hills, who travelled to Aberdeen with The Ryder Cup trophy, was delighted to have been involved in the celebrations.
He said: “It has been a great night and I am sure one that Paul will never forget. To see so many people here to celebrate Paul’s momentous season tells you so much about the man. He is one of the most genuine and respected players in all of golf, and the tireless work he does for the game in Scotland though his Foundation is very impressive.
“He deserves all of the accolades bestowed upon him and it was our pleasure to be able to bring The Ryder Cup Trophy here to add to the celebrations.”

TO VIEW IMAGES OF PAUL LAWRIE'S BIG NIGHT BY NORMAN ADAMS ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

CLICK HERE

Click on part of first picture to bring up three images in succession.

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LINK TO EUROPEAN TOUR Q SCHOOL STAGE 2 VENUES


FOR NEWS OF SCORES ON THE THIRD DAY OF THE EUROPEAN QUALIFYING SCHOOL STAGE 2 EVENTS AT FOUR SPANISH VENUES

CLICK HERE

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MORE BAD WEATHER HOLDS UP BARCLAYS SINGAPORE OPEN

Play has been abandoned for the day at the Barclays Singapore Open due to heavy rainfall and the threat of lightning. The second round will resume at 7.30am local time on Saturday.


TO VIEW THE SCOREBOARD
 
CLICK HERE

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