CHRIS WOOD WINS QATAR MASTERS WITH AN EAGLE AT THE LAST

 CHRIS WOOD WITH THE HANDSOME TROPHY. PICTURE BY COURTESY OF GETTY 

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FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Chris Wood finally ended his European Tour title drought – and in some style at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
The 25 year old Englishman was in danger of missing out again when a nervy start turned a three-stroke overnight lead into a two-shot deficit before the turn.
Wood battled back, but came to the par five last one behind Spanish star Sergio Garcia and South African George Coetzee.
The tee had been moved forward over 60 yards, and after a booming drive Wood – who finished fifth in the 2008 Open Championship as an amateur and then third at Turnberry a year later - hit a 202 yard five iron over the water and straight at the flag.
It came up just short, but he was celebrating the eight foot putt going in before it dropped and two fist-pumps showed what it meant after three runner-up finishes and 19 top-tens previously.
“There’s an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders today,” he said. “I feel like I can go on and win more.
"I knew it was going to be hard no matter how I played - winning on The European Tour is not easy."
He did take the Thailand Open last August for his first professional success, but still remembered how he lost the 2010 BMW PGA Championship with a closing 77 and the 2011 Iberdrola Open with a 76 after leading by four.
"It feels good. Blimey, I've seen a few mates picking up trophies and I've been waiting patiently for my time," he said.
"I felt like I was due to win for a couple of years.” As for the eagle, Wood added: "Nice way to finish!"
His 69 gave him an 18 under par total of 270 and should take him from 142nd on the Official World Golf Ranking into the top 64, who will contest the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Arizona next month, although the cut-off is not for another two weeks.
Coetzee was left as the nearly man once more - this was his 21st top-ten finish on the circuit - despite a superb 65 containing an eagle and six birdies.
The last of those came courtesy of a pitch to five feet on the 18th. The putt took him one in front, but Garcia birdied the final two holes for a 66 and they then sat and waited to see what Wood could produce.
It was a remarkable effort given a start in which he missed a three foot birdie chance on the second and double bogeyed the 223 yard next after he fired his tee shot wide and then hit the rock face in front of him.
Putts of 35 and 18 feet at the eighth and ninth were just the boost he needed, however, and a 15 footer on the 14th kept him in touch as the pressure built.
Garcia would have gone back into the game's top ten for the first time in over three years if he had won, but he will take a lot of positives from his first tournament of the year.
Swede Alex Noren and England's Steve Webster tied for fourth, while Justin Rose's 68 for joint 16th kept him at fourth in the OWGR ahead of Louis Oosthuizen.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)

270 C Wood  (Eng) 67 70 64 69

271 G Coetzee (RSA) 69 67 70 65, S Garcia  (Esp) 69 66 70 66

275 A Noren  (Swe) 71 67 66 71, S Webster (Eng) 69 71 67 68

276 B Grace  (RSA) 70 68 67 71, A Wall (Eng) 66 71 70 69, S Khan (Eng) 67 73 64 72

277 J Dufner (USA) 71 70 67 69, M Kaymer (Ger) 68 67 72 70, A Sullivan (Eng) 67 71 74 65, M Ilonen  (Fin) 71 69 68 69, F Aguilar (Chi) 69 67 73 68, T Jaidee (Tha) 70 69 70 68, V Dubuisson  (Fra) 68 72 68 69

278 P Meesawat  (Tha) 71 71 68 68, G Fernandez-Castaño  (Esp) 69 70 70 69, H Stenson (Swe) 70 69 69 70, J Rose (Eng) 68 71 71 68, M Campbell (Nzl) 68 68 68 74, G Lockerbie  (Eng) 67 69 71 71

279 T Aiken (RSA) 71 68 71 69, T Olesen (Den) 68 68 70 73, P Hanson (Swe) 68 73 68 70, J Kruger (RSA) 70 68 68 73, D Howell (Eng) 69 73 68 69, R Santos  (Por) 65 70 76 68, M Manassero (Ita) 69 72 71 67, D McGrane (Irl) 68 72 70 69, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 71 72 72 64, B Rumford (Aus) 67 73 69 70, L Gagli  (Ita) 68 71 69 71, M Fraser (Aus) 68 67 71 73

280 J Sjöholm (Swe) 69 72 70 69, L Oosthuizen  (RSA) 71 69 68 72, A Kaleka  (Fra) 66 71 73 70

 281 D Horsey (Eng) 68 72 72 69, P Casey  (Eng) 70 68 72 71, T Fleetwood  (Eng) 72 71 68 70,

 282 G Mulroy (RSA) 69 68 71 74, R Green (Aus) 68 73 68 73,

 283 M Siem  (Ger) 72 71 72 68, B Wiesberger  (Aut) 70 72 71 70, A Hansen (Den) 68 71 70 74, R Jacquelin (Fra) 73 67 69 74, M Foster (Eng) 71 71 72 69, M Hoey  (Nir) 70 69 74 70, P Lawrie (Irl) 72 71 71 69,

 284 D Drysdale (Sco) 72 71 71 70, M Lundberg (Swe) 72 67 72 73, T Hamilton (USA) 73 69 70 72, R Wattel  (Fra) 72 70 69 73, A Hartø  (Den) 68 69 71 76, G Maybin (Nir) 72 71 72 69, P Whiteford (Sco) 66 73 72 73, S Chowrasia (Ind) 70 73 69 72, E Goya (Arg) 71 72 70 71, R Bland (Eng) 71 69 72 72 (7,108 Euros each)

 285 F Zanotti (Par) 70 73 73 69, R Derksen (Ned) 71 69 73 72, T Lewis (Eng) 70 71 74 70, T Björn (Den) 72 69 70 74, S Gallacher (Sco) 72 71 69 73 (5,307 Euros each).

 286 S Wakefield (Eng) 71 72 74 69, S Dyson  (Eng) 71 72 72 71, J Gonnet  (Fra) 71 72 71 72,

 287 C Lee (Sco) 72 69 74 72, M Baldwin (Eng) 73 70 75 69 (3,824 Euros each)

 288 G Havret  (Fra) 70 69 74 75,

 290 L Slattery (Eng) 70 73 75 72, S Henry  (Sco) 69 74 72 75 (3,104 Euros each).

 291 C Doak (Sco) 72 71 73 75 (2,795 Euros)

 293 E Els (RSA) 72 71 74 76,

 295 P Waring  (Eng) 73 69 76 77,

BYRNE SURVIVES EARLY CRISIS TO WIN ASIAN TOUR CARD

By COLIN FARQUHARSON Colin@scottishgolfview.com Banchory's James Byrne survived a potentially demoralising 9 on his card early on  to earn playing rights on this year's Asian Tour by finishing joint 21st in the Final Qualifying School at Hua Hin, Thailand. The previous weekend, the Northern Open champion and former Walker Cup player gained pass marks at the South African PGA Sunshine Tour so he is delighted to have doubled his options of where to play in 2013. With the leading 40 and ties the "magic number" in Thailand, Byrne was sitting pretty in joint third place with a round to go after scoring 74-65-64. But the last-day score of 77  at the Springfield Royal par-71 course gave hima five-under par final total of 280. That meant the Scot had made it with just one stroke to spare, alongwith three Englishmen - Miles Tunnicliffe, Steve Lewton and Chris Rodgers. The leading 41 players with totals of 281 and better gained playing rights. Byrne, who had his 24th birthday on January 2, commented; "Delighted to have secured my Asian Tour card. Having made a 9 at the start of such an important round for my future was tough to deal with mentally. I was really nervous over the last 11 holes but I managed to keep my emotions in check and not make a bogey. I'm really proud of the way I handled it. "It was maybe a bold decision to enter two qualifying schools in consecutive weeks on different continents and I think I played 13 rounds in 14 days. So to come through that is great and now I've got plenty options for the year ahead. Both tours are very strong and the bonus is that they both have several co-sanctioned events with the European Tour, so the opportunities are there for me. "On Monday I'm away to Malaysia for an Asian Developmental Tour  event. First Asian Tour event is the Myanmar Open in three weeks." Byrne has a base in Singapore where his mother has many relations. American-Korean Chan Kim won the Asian Tour Q tournament with a total of 13-under-par 272. Jack Doherty, the only other Scot apart from Byrne in the field, failed to survive the halfway cut with scores of 73 and 72 for 145. ASIAN TOUR FINAL QUALIFYING SCHOOL Hua Thin, Thailand. LEADING FINAL TOTALS Par 285 (3 x 71, 1 x 72). 272 Chan Kim (US) 70 68 69 65. 273 Richard Lee (Can) 65 68 66 74 274 Tim Stewart (Aus) 69 70 66 69. SELECTED TOTALS 277 Miles Tunnicliff (Eng) 66 68 72 71, Steve Lewton (Eng) 68 65 71 73 (T6). 280 James Byrne (Sco) 74 65 64 77 (T21) 281 Chris Rodgers (Eng) 71 70 71 69 (T31  TO VIEW ALL THE FINAL TOTALS CLICK HERE  ASIAN TOUR NEWS RELEASE KIM GRADUATES WITH HONOURS AT ASIAN TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL   Hua Hin, Thailand, January 26: Korean-American Chan Kim made up for the disappointment of missing out on his Tour card last year by topping the class at the Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage presented by Sports Authority of Thailand on Saturday.   After four days of gruelling battle, Kim finally emerged tops with a closing six-under-par 65 to lead 41 players on 13-under-par 272 into the new 2013 Asian Tour season at Springfield Royal Country Club.   Canada’s Richard Lee signed for a 74 to take second place on 273 while Australia’s Tim Stewart regained his full status by posting a 66 to take third place.   France’s Lionel Weber and Spain’s Carlos Pigem were the two amateurs to earn their Tour cards after they closed with a 68 and 72 to take tied-sixth and 12th place respectively.   After finishing in tied-61st place at Qualifying School last year, Kim was determined not to let history repeat itself.   “I was staring at the cut line last year at the final round but ended up shooting four-over and missed it. I knew I needed to play well today, regardless of how many it was and I’m just glad I made it,” said Kim, who was raised in Hawaii where he won the Hawaii State Amateur Stroke Play in 2007.   Kim is looking forward to returning to the birthplace of his parents now that he has earned his well-deserved Tour card.   “I live in the States but even in the States, a lot of people are talking about the Asian Tour. It’s a growing Tour and I’ve heard of its good reputation,” said Kim.   “I’ll be based in Korea for this entire season as I’ve got a couple of relatives over there. Hopefully I can get something going!” added Kim.   Meanwhile Lee is excited to revive his golfing career on the Asian Tour after losing his card on the Web.com Tour in the United States.   “I had status on Web.com for the last four years.  Unfortunately I lost my Tour card this year. I wanted to try something new so I came out here and it has been going well,” said Lee.   “I’m Asian and I want to play out here as the competition and money is a lot better on the Asian Tour,” said Lee.   After finishing in 97th place on the Order of Merit last season, Stewart knew he had to get over his disappointment quickly and was delighted to regain his playing privileges for the 2013 season.   “No one really enjoys being back here in Q School after getting to play a full season last year. I had to do some work and figure out what went wrong last year. I guess it has all paid off now,” said Stewart.   “I’ve to stay patient and not try new things that I tend to do throughout the year like changing equipment. I’m always looking forward to my first win and I’ll just have to work harder this year,” added the Australian   Following an impressive amateur career that saw him win the French Amateur Stroke Play Championship and the Italian International Amateur Championship last year, Weber is now ready to make the bold leap into the professional ranks.   “It has been my dream to turn a professional golfer and begin my career on a major Tour like the Asian Tour. You’ll be seeing me in Myanmar next month!” exclaimed Weber.   The 22-year-old’s maiden voyage to Asia saw him arriving in Hua Hin a month ago to practise and acclimatise himself to the climate.   It proved to be a decision that has paid off handsomely for the Frenchman.   “I arrived in Hua Hin one month ago to train and get used to the playing conditions here. Perhaps that’s the reason why I am playing well these two weeks,” said Weber.   “I’ve never been here before in Asia but I do love to travel here. I’m happy that I’ll get to do more of these travels this year,” added Weber.   Weber joins the list of promising amateurs who have earned their Asian Tour card through Qualifying School through the years.   They include Korea’s Jin Yong-gab and Australia’s Vernon Sexton-Finck at Qualifying School in 2005 and more recently in 2011, Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena, who agonisingly missed a place in the top-40 by one shot after he signed for a closing 72.   Notable names who finished in the top-40 and ties to earn their Asian Tour card for 2013 include Japan’s Kodai Ichihara, Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung, India’s Rahil Gangjee and Singapore’s Choo Tze Huang.   Players who play in the Qualifying School are also eligible to play in the Asian Development Tour (ADT) which will be afforded with Official World Golf Ranking points starting this season.   Leading final round scores 272      Chan KIM (USA) 70-68-69-65 273      Richard LEE (CAN) 65-68-66-74 274      Tim STEWART (AUS) 69-70-66-69 276      Thomas PETERSSON (SWE) 66-73-66-71, Kodai ICHIHARA (JPN) 67-69-67-73 277      Lionel WEBER (A) (FRA) 72-70-67-68, Miles TUNNICLIFF (ENG) 66-68-72-71, David LUTTERUS (AUS) 69-70-67-71, Steve LEWTON (ENG) 68-65-71-73, Donlaphatchai NIYOMCHON (THA) 64-66-72-75 278      Nicolas MEITINGER (GER) 67-76-68-67, Sam CYR (USA) 70-68-72-68, Rattanon WANNASRICHAN (THA) 71-72-67-68, Peter GUSTAFSSON (SWE) 69-71-68-70, Carlos PIGEM (A) (ESP) 71-68-67-72, Adam GROOM (AUS) 66-71-68-73 279      Konosuke NAKAZATO (JPN) 68-71-71-69, Nicholas FUNG (MAS) 68- 69-69-73, HUNG Chien-yao (TPE) 68-70-68-73,Yoshinobu TSUKADA (JPN) 68-66-70-75

JAMES WHITE LYING FIFTH AT LAKE MACQUARIE INTERNATIONAL

James White from Lundin Golf Club is lying joint fifth after three rounds of the prestigious Australian amateur event, the Lake Macquarie International at Belmont Golf Club, New South Wales
He has had rounds 74, 69 and 69 for a tally of 212 - five shots behind the three joint leaders, Berett Drewett (Australia), Josh Munn (New Zealand) and England's Nathan Kimsey (67-68-71).
 Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) is in joint 31st place on 219 after scores of 76, 69 and 74.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
207 Brett Drewett (Australia) 63 72 72, Josh Munn (NZ) 65 70 72, Nathan Kimsey (England) 67 69 71

SELECTED SCORES
212 James White (Scotland) 74 69 69 (T5)
214 Garrick Porteous (England) 71 72 71 (T10)
217 Craig Hinton (England) 72 70 75 9T20)
219 Graeme Robertson (Scotland) 76 69 74 (T31)
224 Neil Raymond (England) 78 70 76 (T59)   

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FROM THE TOURNAMENT WEBSITE
 AUSSIE, KIWI AND POM IN LAKE GOLF BATTLEFront running Inverell golfer Brett Drewitt is locked in a battle for the lead with New Zealand star, Josh Munn, and Englishman, Nathan Kimsey, after the third day of The Greater Lake Macquarie Amateur Championships at Belmont.
All three are sitting on 54- hole totals of nine under par 207 with one round to go tomorrow.
Drewitt, who now plays out of Long Reef and plans to turn professional at the end of the year, had a nine under 63 in the first round equalling the course record first set by Jason Day in 2002.
But in his next two rounds he could only manage par 72s, squandering several easy opportunities for birdies by missing short putts.
Munn, who plays out of Manawatu, had a first round of 65, followed by a two-under 70 and a par round today.
Kimsey, who plays out of the Woodhall Spa Club in Lincolnshire, was the only one of the trio to break par today, finishing with a one-under 71 to go with his earlier 67 and 69.
Also right in contention is the runner up last year and the year before Cameron Smith who had a three under 69 today to follow his 72 and 67. Smith, who plays out of Royal Queensland and was one of the pre-tournament favourites, has a three round total of 208, eight under par.
Twenty-one year old New Zealander, Vaughan McCall, who practices on a South Island country course where sheep mow the fairways, had a blistering five-under 67 today.
McCall, who comes from the tiny farming community of Gore, showed his record equalling round of 63 in the Lake Macquarie tournament last year was no fluke when he had eight birdies and three bogies in today’s round.
Unfortunately, McCall crashed yesterday with an 81 after an excellent three-under 69 on the first day on Thursday.
His great round today brought him back to one over with one round to play.
McCall works on a dairy farm to finance his golf.
“My work day routine is to get up at 3 am, start work at 5 am knock off at 2 pm and then play golf,” he said.
His home course is Tapanui where the sheep keep the fairways mown and there are portable fences around the greens.
The best round today was carded by Queenslander, Viraat Badhwar, who had a brilliant six-under 66 to bring his three day total to six-under 210.
Badhwar started with a bogey on the first hole but then had five birdies and an eagle on the 432 metres par five 16th hole.
Best of the Hunter Valley contingent was former Scone golfer, Nathan Waters, who had a 69 today to follow his earlier rounds of 69 and 77 bringing his three round total to one under par 215. Waters now plays out of the Long Reef Club in Sydney.
Next best local was Callan O’Reilly, formerly of Toronto Club and now at Pennant Hills, who had had a 74 today following his 70 and 72.
The best good luck/bad luck story of the tournament comes from Cameron Haines, of
The Lakes. He had a hole in one on the difficult 166 metres par three 14th yesterday to finish with an even par round of 72.
But his luck changed when he missed the half way cut…by a single shot.

RECAP ON SCORES AT FIRST EPD TOUR (PRO GOLF TOUR) EVENT

Apologies for overlooking the first tournament in the EPD Tour schedule at Belek, Turkey this past week.
The German PGA foxed us by changing the EPD Tour name to
the rather humdrum title of "Pro Golf Tour."
If you want to recap on the scores

CLICK HERE   

TIGER, TIGER BURNING BRIGHT - LEADS BY TWO SHOTS AT TORREY PINES

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
Wire reports PGATOUR.COM

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Tiger Woods made one last birdie as the rain picked up strength Friday, and what he left behind was a gloomy forecast for everyone else at Torrey Pines.

He has a two-shot lead at the tournament he already has won six times. 

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Tiger is driving the ball long and straight, just what he needs to handle the par 5s -- he has played them in 9 under so far.
And when it comes to experience, he has a 74-0 advantage in PGA TOUR wins against the next seven guys on the leaderboard.
Woods knows better than to chalk up another win in the Farmers Insurance Open, so when asked about his name atop the leaderboard after a 7-under 65 on the North Course, he was quick to point out, "We have a long way to go."
Even so, this had all the trappings of another Tiger show at Torrey Pines.
Woods didn't miss a shot during a four-hole stretch around the turn on the North Course that included a 5-iron to 5 feet for eagle and a wedge that one-hopped off the pin to set up birdie. It carried him to a two-shot lead over Billy Horschel going into the weekend.
"I feel good right now," said Woods, who was at 11-under 133. "I'm leading the tournament."
Horschel, who had to go back to Q-school to get his card last year, had a 69 on the South Course to get into the final group.
"It's a good day and I'm excited about tomorrow -- I get to play with Tiger," Horschel said. "I found out when I tapped in for par. I realized he was leading and I was in second place. So yeah, looking forward to that."
For Woods, it was his first outright lead going into the weekend against a full field since the Australian Open in 2011 (he finished third at The Lakes), and his first time atop the leaderboard at Torrey Pines since 2008. Then again, he has only played one time at this event since then when he was just starting to change his swing.
And while this looks ominous for everyone else, Woods with a 36-hole lead -- even at Torrey Pines -- doesn't mean this is over. He had a 34-10 record when he has at least a share of the 36-hole lead, though he has failed to win four of the last six times from that spot.

"Vintage @TigerWoods today," Dustin Johnson said on Twitter after finishing eight shots behind.
Woods caught a break in the draw by playing the easier North -- it's about 600 yards shorter -- on a day of light rain, a late breeze and soft conditions. But he kept the ball in play off the tee, and he only got in trouble once. That was on the par-4 eighth hole when he drove into a tough lie in the bunker, and it led to his only bogey.
There's a simple formula for playing the North -- make birdie on the par 5s and pick up a few more on the short par 4s. And that's just what he did.
Woods missed birdie putts inside 8 feet on the opening two holes and was taking baby steps until he took off. It started with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th. He followed with the 5-iron that landed just left of the pin on the 18th, a two-putt birdie on the par-5 first hole, and his wedge that took one hop, struck the flag and settled 4 feet away.
"Drive the ball well here and you're going to probably have four iron shots into the par 5s," Woods said. "You sprinkle that in with probably four or five wedge shots in there, a round of 6- or 7-under par is definitely conceivable."
Brad Fritsch, a rookie from Canada, had a 67 on the South Course to lead the group of six players at 8-under 136. The others were Casey Wittenberg, Steve Marino, Jimmy Walker, Josh Teater and Erik Compton, whom Woods referred to as "remarkable" for being a two-time heart transplant recipient and being on the PGA Tour.
Defending champion Brandt Snedeker didn't fare so well. After opening with a 65 on the North, he made only one birdie and twice took bogey on the par 5s on his way to a 75 that left him seven shots behind. K.J. Choi, who had a 65 on the South Course, couldn't break par on the easier North and had a 73 to fall five behind.
Phil Mickelson struggled to keep his hands dry in the wet weather and finished bogey-bogey on the South for a 71 to make the cut on the number, though his work isn't over. There were 87 players who made the cut at 1-under 143, meaning there will be another cut to top 70 and ties Saturday.
Mike Weir, meanwhile, made the cut for the first time since July 2011 despite a sloppy finish for a 75 on the South. He was tied for 41st at 3-under 141.
Woods is coming off a missed cut in Abu Dhabi last week to start his year.
"I've had beautiful practice sessions at home," he said. "If I can do it there, I can do it out here. Even though last week I played only two days, I felt like I hit the ball well enough to shoot a better score than I did. I had a couple of days to work on it, and I came out here and felt pretty good about it."
The final two rounds move to the South Course, which played about 1 shots harder Friday in the rain. The greens are more receptive, sure, but the course figures to play at full length in wet conditions and at sea level.
"It was amazing how different it played from Wednesday," Walker said. "I played the pro-am here on Wednesday on the South, and you could hardly stop a ball. And today, it didn't matter if you hit a 3-iron in there, it would just stop immediately. You could spin wedges. So it was a lot different, and it played a lot longer too."
Not only have the seven players behind Woods not won on TOUR, four of them had to get cards this year through either Q-school or the Web.com Tour.
But with 36 holes left, more than just those seven are still in the mix. Nick Watney played the first two rounds with Woods was only four shots behind, along with Ross Fisher of England. Charles Howell III, who has tied for third and lost in a playoff in his two starts this year, had a 72 on the South and was five shots behind.
Horschel wades into a big new world Saturday, but he believes he has the experience from when he played the Walker Cup in 2007 at Royal County Down.
There was a guy I competed against three times called Rory McIlroy," Horschel said. "So there may have been 10, 12,000 people following us, and only a couple thousand following the rest of the groups. So I've dealt with crowds. I guess it's a little bit easier playing with Tiger because I guess the group ahead, they move a lot or something. Just hearing what media says. It's going to be exciting." 

HALFWAY LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72) Players from US unless stated
133 Tiger Woods 68 65
135 Billy Horschael 66 69
136 Casey Wittenberg 69 67, Brad Fritsch (Canada) 69 67, Erik Compton 71 65, Steve Marino 68 68, Jimmy Walker 67 69, Josh Teater 66 70

SELECTED SCORES
137 Ross Fisher (England) 66 71 (T9)
142 David Lynn (England) 67 75, Greg Owen (England) 74 68 (T53)
143 Phil Mickelson 72 71, Martin Laird (Scotland) 72 71

+Players on 143 and better qualified for weekend rounds.     

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