SCOTS BEAT UAE NATIONAL TEAM 7-0 IN ABU DHABI

FROM THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION WEBSITE

Scotland’s leading amateurs today highlighted their warm winter training programme in Abu Dhabi with a 7-0 win over the UAE national team.

Played over 18 holes in singles format at Yas Links Golf Club, the Scots eased to success with impressive victories.

Competing off the championship tees in a strong wind, the visitors were in excellent form. Aberdour’s Scott Crichton was the biggest winner, triumphing 6 and 5, while Lawrence Allan (Alva) posted a 5 and 4 victory.

The five other games all ended in 4 and 3 winning margins for the Scots, thanks to the efforts of Fraser McKenna (Balmore), James White (Lundin), Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon), Conor O’Neil (Pollok) and Ross Bell (Downfield).

“The UAE are still a developing nation in golf terms, but it was still a valuable lesson for both teams,” said National Coach Ian Rae, who has been working with the players in Abu Dhabi.

“It was also great to pay back the kindness we have been shown in Abu Dhabi.”

Thanks to the support of Aberdeen Asset Management, Centro Hotel and Yas Links, Scotland’s amateurs have been reaping the rewards of winter play and practice in a better climate at this time of year.

Rae added: “It was a good to test the work the players have done over the last three-and-a-half weeks. They have all worked really hard and taken a lot on board during the trip so I'm optimistic for the 2013 season.”

SCHWARTZEL ON HIS WAY TO ANOTHER DOUBLE-DIGIT VICTORY MARGIN

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
For the second week running Charl Schwartzel left the rest of the field trailing in his wake as an eight under par 64 took him into a 10-stroke lead at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his native South Africa
A winner by 11 shots in Thailand last Sunday, the 28 year old Schwartzel has a chance to record a similarly emphatic margin at a Leopard Creek venue where he won eight years ago and has four times been a runner-up since after advancing to 21 under par.
Not that he is celebrating just yet. “It is a nice comfort, and I’d rather be ten ahead than nine ahead,” he said. “Whatever lead you can build is great.
“We’ve all see what can happen in this game. I don’t want to think about it – if all goes well I’m going to celebrate.”
There was nothing between Schwartzel and playing partner Grégory Bourdy at the start of the day, but the Frenchman bogeyed the first hole and never got back on terms; a back nine 41 leading to a 74.
Schwartzel birdied the second from five feet, rolled in a seven footer two holes later and then recorded a hat-trick of gains from the sixth in a blistering start.
A first dropped shot of the week came at the ninth when he was forced to lay up after his drive finished behind a tree, and 30 year old Bourdy was still only two back at that stage having birdied the second, fourth and sixth.
However, a run of four straight birdies from the 12th soon took Schwartzel clear, as his playing partner carded four bogeys on the way in.
Last year’s Masters Tournament champion rolled in a ten foot effort to start his birdie run, converted from eight feet at the next, hit a stunning approach to two feet at the 14th then got up and down from greenside bunker at the 15th.
That run came to an abrupt halt when his tee shot at the 16th came up short and made a splash landing in the lake, but a bogey there was followed by a brilliant wedge to three feet at the last for a closing birdie.
“I’m thinking well out there,” Schwartzel said. “I’m not hitting my driver well, but my irons are good.
“I’m placing the ball in the right spots and converting putts. I’m not flushing it, but I’m still scoring, and you can still win tournaments that way.
“You don’t need you’re A-game to score well. There’s a big difference between flushing the golf ball and scoring.
“That’s what it gets down to. Rory McIlroy has matured a lot and learnt how to win golf tournaments. You think your way around the golf course, hitting shots that you’re comfortable with.”
Despite his disappointing inward nine, three-time European Tour winner Bourdy remains Schwartzel’s nearest challenger on 11 under, with Swede Kristoffer Broberg, last year’s four-time winner Branden Grace and Steve Webster, beaten in a play-off last week, all one further back.
If the week is belonging to Schwartzel then the 192 yard 12th at Leopard Creek is compatriot Keith Horne's property - incredibly, he holed-in-one for the second day running and by repeating the feat won himself a car.
Initially he was cursing his luck for not being able to do so during the final round, when a luxury BMW is on offer, but after discussions between Alfred Dunhill and BMW, Horne was presented with a new BMW Active 5 Hybrid.
“Unbelievable,” he said. “It was the same club, but the wind was different, so I had to hit a full eight iron this time.
“It was in all the way – never looked like missing. Went in a bit faster this time, so I didn’t get to admire it as much as yesterday, but it really got the adrenaline going much more.
“I’m really chuffed. It was very kind of them to recognise that two holes-in-one were worthy of giving me the car. I wasn’t expecting it, so I’m over the moon. This was an unbelievable Christmas present and I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful car.”

LEADING THIRD-ROUND SCORES
Par 216 (3x72)
195 Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) 67 64 64.
205 Gregory Bourdy (France) 66 65 74
206 Steve Webster (England) 67 69 70, Branden Grace (South Africa) 68 71 67, Kristoffer Broberg (Sweden) 70 69 67
207 Keith Horne (South Africa) 70 69 68

SCOTS' SCORES
209 Scott Jamieson 70 68 71, David Drysdale 69 72 68 (T10)
215 George Murray 73 69 73 (T49)
218 Peter Whiteford 75 68 75 (T63)
219 Marc Warren 73 71 75 (T67)

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ASIA FIGHTS BACK TO CUT EUROPE'S LEAD TO ONE POINT

            JEEV MILKHA SINGH .. fighting half

 
NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ASIAN TOUR

Asia stormed back into contention at the Royal Trophy by taking three points from the four four-ball matches against Europe to close the deficit to just one ahead of the final day singles.

Holders Europe have a slender 4.5-3.5 lead ahead of Sunday's eight singles matches at the Empire Country Club in Brunei with Jose Maria Olazabal's side needing four more points to win the annual contest.
Asia have won the Royal Trophy only once, in 2009, with Europe winning the four other editions.
India's Jeev Milkha Singh rolled in a four-foot putt on the 18th as he and Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand scored a fighting half in their match against Olazabal and Spanish compatriot Miguel Angel Jimenez in the opening game of the second day.
Jimenez and Olazabal, who was nursing what appeared to be a neck injury throughout the round, both narrowly missed makeable putts on the last to claim the win.
South Korean Kim Kyung-tae then rolled in a four-footer on the 17th as he and compatriot Yang Yong-eun claimed a topsy-turvy 2 and 1 win over Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Swede Henrik Stenson.
The Korean duo were five up through nine holes but the Europeans closed the deficit and trailed by only one with three to play before Kim's pinpoint approach to the par-four 17th set up a birdie and Asia's first win of the sixth edition.
Bae could have added the second win for Asia shortly after but he missed his birdie effort on the 18th to halve the match with Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts and German playing partner Marcel Siem.
Bae and Chinese partner Wu Ashun would have had two putts for the win but European Ryder Cup winner Colsaerts rolled in a 14ft effort on the final green to set up the half.
"The whole team knows we have to play our very best golf to win, but we have given ourselves a good chance," Wu said.
Japanese duo Ryo Ishikawa and Yoshinori Fujimoto then sealed a come-from-behind 3 and 1 win over Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari to make it Asia's day and give them hope of winning the trophy.

CHOPRA LEADS JOHOR OPEN, CUT TO THREE ROUNDS BY BAD WEATHER

DANIEL CHOPRA ... Johor Open in 1993 provided him with first win as a pro.

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ASIAN TOUR

Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia: Sweden’s Daniel Chopra found himself back on familiar ground when he posted a six-under-par 66 to take the second round lead at the weather-interrupted US$2 million Iskandar Johor Open today

Three-time Asian Tour winner Chapchai Nirat of Thailand signed for a 67 to pile the pressure on Chopra while Filipino Antonio Lascuna is tied- third with India’s S S P Chowrasia, Australia’s Unho Park and Korean-American David Lipsky at the Asian Tour’s season-ending event.

“The multiple disruptions that were caused by the weather throughout the week made it a challenge for the tournament to be completed over 72 holes. As such, we have taken the decision to reduce the tournament to 54 holes,” said Wanchai Meechai, Asian Tour’s Tournament Director for the Iskandar Johor Open.

The third and final round will commence at 7.30am local time on Sunday.

Chopra, who won his first professional title at the 1993 Johor Open and was pipped to the title by Joost Luiten of the Netherlands last year, was delighted to take pole position with his two-day total of 10-under-par 134 at the Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club.

Chopra did not start his second round on Friday but the two-time PGA Tour winner quickly made up for lost time by marking his flawless card with six birdies when he returned in the morning.

He was especially delighted that he managed to complete his round right at the dot when the sirens blew for a play suspension at 1.45pm that lasted nearly three hours.

“I’m very lucky to be able to putt out on the last. I’ll get another afternoon off and watch it rain. It was almost similar on the first day where we were the last group to finish. I was on the good side of the draw this time but I’ve been on the bad side before. It all evens out but it is definitely an advantage,” said Chopra.

Chapchai will be hoping his new born baby boy will provide him with the impetus to translate two top-10s into a win this season.

“I want a good result for my new born son, who we welcomed in our family last week. It doesn’t matter if I win or not but I want to play well for him. It has been quite a while since I saw my name on top the leaderboard,” said Chapchai who has nicknamed his son, ‘Jedi’.

“I don’t know if I can win or not but you never know because I might get lucky and the shots start dropping. More importantly I will try and play well for my son,” said Chapchai.

Lascuna will be bidding to go one better after he claimed his second runner-up finish in six seasons on the Asian Tour in September this year.

The 41-year-old has been knocking on the winner’s door on several occasions and a victory at the season-ending event will provide the befitting finale for all his hard work this year.

“My putting was good and my driving was smooth. The course is playing long for me because of the wet conditions but overall I’m happy with my scores,” said Lascuna.

Like Lascuna, who had to endure several near-misses for a win throughout his career, Park is also seeking his long-awaited victory on the Asian Tour

Park did not get off to the start he had wanted and was relieved that he was able to make a strong comeback with three birdies in his homeward-nine.

“I got off to a bit of a shaky start as I was three-over through five holes but I stuck to my game plan and thankfully I made a few good putts which has kept me in contention,” said Park, who opened strongly with a 65.

Meanwhile Chowrasia was pleased that he is beginning to rediscover the form that led him to the two Asian Tour titles.

“I played very good because I was bogey free. I missed a few putts but I’m still happy with how I’m playing. I was struggling with my swing and putting previously but I think I’m back on track. I worked a bit on my swing and putting and now it is better,” said the 34-year-old Indian.

Australia’s Marcus Fraser remained on course to become the first Australian to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit after he returned with a 68 to lead Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant by two shots.

Fraser needs to finish ahead of Thaworn and earn more than US$25,000 from the Thai.

LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS

Par 144 (2x72) Yardage 6,941
Tournament cut to three rounds because of bad weather.

134 Daniel CHOPRA (SWE) 68-66.

135 Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 68-67.

136 Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 68-68, Unho PARK (AUS) 65-71, S.S.P. CHOWRASIA (IND) 67-69, David LIPSKY (USA) 63-73.

137 Scott BARR (AUS) 72-65, Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) 66-71, Sergio GARCIA (ESP) 68-69, Felipe AGUILAR (CHI) 67-70, Angelo QUE (PHI) 67-70, Shiv KAPUR (IND) 67-70.

 

SELECTED SCORES

138 Marcus FRASER (AUS) 70-68.

140 Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 71-69

141 Ernie Els (South Africa) 69 72 (T36)
143 Chris Rodgers (England) 72 71, John Daly (US) 74 69, Stephen Lewton (England) 71 72 (T59).

MISSED THE CUT  
(143 and better qualified for third and final round)
144 Simon Griffiths (England) 74 70
145 Niall Turner (Ireland) 73 72   

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HALE IRWIN IS DISAPPOINTED HE NEVER GOT RYDER CUP CAPTAINCY CALL

HALE IRWIN, pictured during his successful days on the US Champions Tour

FROM THE GOLF DIGEST WEBSITE

By DAVE SHEDLOSKI
ORLANDO - Larry Nelson is getting a lot of ink - and receiving plenty of sympathy - after getting passed over again for the job of Ryder Cup captain. But Nelson isn't the only three-time major winner to have never led a U.S. Ryder Cup team.
True, Hale Irwin did lead the first U.S. Presidents Cup team as a player-captain in 1994, which perhaps explains why he doesn't garner the same support as Nelson is getting after the PGA of America on Thursday selected Tom Watson as the 2014 U.S. captain. Nevertheless, Irwin, a three-time U.S. Open champion and five-time Ryder Cup player, admits he's disappointed to have never gotten the call.
"I would love to have been a Ryder Cup captain. It's one of those things every player who values the traditions we have in our game would want to do," Irwin, 67, said at the PNC Father-Son Challenge, where he is competing with his son, Steve. 
"Certainly if you're a member of the PGA Tour and have been around the game as long as some of us have and who have played in the Ryder Cup, absolutely I would have loved to have done it. It's not my choice. I never politicked for it. Would I have accepted it? With glee I would have done it.
"Anybody can make an argument for any name player to be a candidate and would think that player would be a capable captain," he added.
 "I have played with some of the best players in the history of the game. I have played for some of the best captains. I feel honored to have been on those teams. But I think for any of us to go wading into the quicksand of should someone be a captain and do they have the qualifications, I think produces negative results and conversation that takes away from our task of getting 12 players prepared to win back the Ryder Cup for the United States."
Irwin, who won 20 PGA Tour titles and a record 45 times on the Champions Tour (including four Senior PGA Championships), compiled a 13-5-2 record in his five Ryder Cup appearances.
He was involved in one of the most consequential and pressure-packed singles matches in Ryder Cup history when he earned a half-point against Bernhard Langer in the 1991 matches at Kiawah Island, S.C. Langer missed a six-foot putt that allowed America to escape with a 14 ¿-13 ¿ victory.
"To think that a Ryder Cup could come down to one six-foot putt on the last hole of the last match ... the last possible stroke, it doesn't get any better than that," Irwin said.
Irwin qualified for that '91 team on the strength of his third U.S. Open victory the previous summer at Medinah CC, where he beat Mike Donald in a playoff.
"In the span of 15 months, I had probably two of the biggest adrenaline rushes I could ever have," Irwin said of his playoff against Donald and his singles match against Langer. "Those were two far different events, and yet the pressure was something that, let's just say it was something I still think about. On the anxiety meter, they both were off the charts. But it was fun. Regardless of the outcome, I could say I was there. I was in the very heat of it. I could feel it.
"Even today when I look back, I get chills thinking about it. Even today, there is an element of shock that all of us felt, on both sides of just how emotionally draining it all was. And you wouldn't trade that for anything to have been there."

NICKLAUS, PALMER HEADLINE FATHER-SON CHALLENGE FIELD

FROM THE GOLF CHANNEL WEBSITE 
By RANDALL MELL
 ORLANDO, Florida – Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer will be together again Saturday in the first round of the PNC Father-Son Challenge at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. 
Nicklaus and his son, Gary, are paired with Palmer and his grandson, Will Mears, in a 9:58 a.m. ET tee time.
Nicklaus, 72, and Palmer, 83, will be looking to have some fun with their needling humor.
“Arnold and I have played a few times together,” Nicklaus cracked. “We’ll have some fun. I don’t think there’s any question about that.”
Nicklaus said he and Palmer enjoyed their rivalry over the years.
“We've tried to beat each other's brains out the best we could on the golf course,” Nicklaus said. “When we walk off the golf course, we shake hands and say, `Where you going to dinner?’ That's good. That's what we've done all our lives. The rivalry has never become a bitter rivalry . . . I don't think his makeup and the way he handles himself is that way, and I don't think I do either.”

LIVE SCORING FROM ALFRED DUNHILL CHAMPIONSHIP

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DANIEL POPOVIC LEADS BY TWO WITH ONE ROUND TO GO IN AUSSIE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

DANIEL POPOVIC .. nearly gave up golf to care for terminally ill father

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ONE ASIA TOUR
COOLUM, Australia - Daniel Popovic held a charging field at bay with a three-under-par 69 on Saturday for a 13-under total and a two-stroke lead going into the final round of the Australian PGA Championship, presented by Coca-Cola.

Countryman Anthony Brown shot a brilliant 64 to take sole command of second place, while Peter Senior (68)  and Matthew Griffin (70) -- who have both won on OneAsia this year -- were a further shot behind.

The A$1.5 million tournament, being played at the 6,114-metre (6,686-yard) Palmer Coolum Resort course on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, is the final event on both One Asia and the PGA Tour of Australasia.

Popovic has led since a blistering 64 on Thursday, but shared the overnight lead with unheralded Chinese rookie Zhang Xinjun, who battled to a third-round 74 that included a bogey-bogey start and a triple-bogey on the par-five 12th.

The 26-year-old Popovic has touched the hearts of golf fans across the country this week, revealing he nearly gave up the game to care for his father after learning he had terminal cancer. Inspired by the way his parents tackled the illness, he has re-dedicated himself to the sport in a bid to capture a first professional victory.

"It’s going to be an incredible ride for the whole family tomorrow -- for myself, my mum and my dad," he said. "It's going to be huge."

Popovic started with two birdies in three holes, but came unstuck at the par-five sixth when a careless drop from an unplayable lie following an errant tee shot left him with a limited backswing.

Playing alongside, Zhang dropped two shots on the first two holes, but then grabbed four birdies in the next five  to lead the tournament by a stroke at 11 under.

The 25-year-old bogeyed the next two, however, and then further disaster struck at the 11th when he lost his ball after blasting his tee shot into the trees.

Well ahead of them, Brown was having a round to remember after a year he'd rather forget, with nine birdies offset by a bogey.

"It hasn’t been the best year this year for me, but I've been playing a lot better the last couple of months so I knew there was a good one in me," he said.
"I guess I didn’t really have any expectations at the start of the day, but whenever you shoot 64 in a tournament -- let alone the Aussie PGA -- you’ll take it."

Senior, who won this championship for a third time in 2010 and claimed the Emirates Australian Open title last Sunday, could complete an unlikely double at the age of 53 if he keeps his form for one more round.

"The conditions dictated how I needed to play last week," he said, referring to the 80 kph (50 mph) gusts that forced play to be suspended for three hours in the final round.

"This week, especially today, there wasn’t that much wind. There is an opportunity to put the right club in your hand a bit more often today."

Griffin, who could also claim the OneAsia Order of Merit title by winning on Sunday, was delighted to be in the mix.

"It wasn't my best round today but I'm still here," said the 29-year-old, who won the Charity High1 Resort Open in September.

A slew of former champions remain in the hunt including Robert Allenby (68) and Geoff Ogilvy (72), who play in the same group as Zhang on Sunday at eight under.

Defending champion Greg Chalmers (68) is a shot further back while international visitors Darren Clarke (72) is five under for the tournament and Rory Sabbatini (70) two under.

 

  THIRD-ROUND TOTALS

  Par 216 (3x72) Yardage 6,686yd

203 Daniel Popovic (AUS) 64-70-69.

205 Anthony Brown (AUS) 73-68-64.

206 Peter Senior (AUS) 68-70-68, Matthew Griffin (AUS) 69-67-70.

207 Brendan Jones (AUS) 73-67-67, Rod Pampling (AUS) 71-67-69, Brad Kennedy (AUS) 69-68-70, Mathew Goggin (AUS) 71-66-70.

208 Stephen Dartnall (AUS) 68-72-68, Robert Allenby (AUS) 73-67-68, Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 67-69-72, Zhang Xin Jun (CHN) 67-67-74.

209 Greg Chalmers (AUS) 72-69-68, Nathan Green (AUS) 72-71-66, Michael Wright (AUS) 70-73-66, Richard Green (AUS) 71-68-70, Matthew Millar (AUS) 73-66-70.

210 James Nitties (AUS) 70-72-68, Josh Geary (NZL) 69-72-69, Cameron Percy (AUS) 70-70-70, Kurt Barnes (AUS) 74-65-71, Jason Kang (USA) 70-69-71, Stephen Leaney (AUS) 69-70-71.

211 John Senden (AUS) 73-69-69, Adam Crawford (AUS) 70-71-70, Bronson La'Cassie (AUS) 69-71-71, Peter Fowler (AUS) 70-70-71, Leigh McKechnie (AUS) 70-69-72, Darren Clarke (NIR) 70-69-72, Steven Bowditch (AUS) 70-67-74.

212 Mark Brown (NZL) 71-71-70, Peter O'Malley (AUS) 73-68-71, Jason Scrivener (AUS) 68-75-69, Jamie Arnold (AUS) 71-68-73, Marc Leishman (AUS) 69-70-73, Kim Do-hoon (753) (KOR) 73-71-68.

213 Nick O'Hern (AUS) 72-70-71, Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 70-74-69, Scott Strange (AUS) 66-73-74, Jake Higginbottom (AUS) 76-69-68.

214 Jason Norris (AUS) 74-69-71, Rory Sabbatini (RSA) 76-68-70, Michael Hendry (NZL) 73-72-69.

215 Ryan Haller (AUS) 68-73-74, Nick Flanagan (AUS) 70-73-72, Brad Shilton (NZL) 76-67-72, Aaron Townsend (AUS) 69-74-72, Steve Conran (AUS) 69-70-76.

216 Cao Yi (CHN) 73-71-72, Alex Hawley (AUS) 72-72-72, Brendan Smith (AUS) 72-73-71, Stuart Appleby (AUS) 70-75-71.

217 Choo Tze-huang (SIN) 67-75-75, Alistair Presnell (AUS) 73-70-74, Craig Parry (AUS) 71-72-74, Heath Reed (AUS) 72-68-77, Park Ju-hyuk (KOR) 77-67-73, Steven Jones (AUS) 70-74-73, Andrew Martin (AUS) 73-71-73, Nick Gillespie (NZL) 72-73-72, Kurt Carlson (AUS) 76-69-72.

218 Park Hyo-won (KOR) 71-73-74, Paul Sheehan (AUS) 72-73-73, Ashley Hall (AUS) 71-74-73.

219 David Bransdon (AUS) 73-71-75, Gavin Flint (AUS) 70-75-74.

221 Choi Joon-woo (KOR) 74-69-78, Pravee Visalkt (THA) 74-71-76.

222 Peter Cooke (AUS) 70-75-77.

223 Li Xinyang (CHN) 72-73-78, Christopher Campbell (AUS) 74-71-78.