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PAUL LAWRIE NIGHTMARE 78 OVER DORAL BLUE MONSTER

Paul Lawrie does not have to worry about making the cut in the WGC Cadillac Championship at the Doral Blue Monster - because there isn't one.
Which is just as well as the Ryder Cup hero from Aberdeen had a nightmare first day. He shot a six-over-par 78 ...12 more than Tiger Woods and his four co-leaders ... and five more than the troubled Rory McIlroy.
On his website blog, Paul wrote:
"No complaints, hit it awful and putted poorly.  No excuses as it was a lovely day for scoring with just a wee breeze.  Hit the new driver awful so will need to mess around with it before tomorrow."
Lawrie had three birdies, at the long eighth, the par-4 11th and 16th.
On the downside he had a double bogey 6 at the very last hole.
Earlier he had seven bogeys in halves of three-over 39 both ways.
Paul's dropped shots came at regular intervals .. the second, third, sixth, ninth, long 12th, 14th and the short 16th.
There was one Scot who was delighted with his day's work - Glasgow's Scott Jamieson who had a two-under-par 70, the same score as Luke Donald.
Stephen Gallacher would not have been quite so happy with a 74 which left him in joint 56th place.

LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72
Players from US unless stated
66 Tiger Woods, Fre3ddie Jacobson (Sweden), Sergio Garcia (Spain), Graeme McDowell (N Ireland), Bubba Watson.
67 Hunter Mahan, Peter Hanson (Sweden), Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker.
68 Keegan Bradley, Ian Poulter (England), Bo Van Pelt, Dustin Johnson, Charles Howell III, Justin Rose (England).

SELECTED SCORES
70 Scott Jamieson (Scotland), Luke Donald (England) (T24)
71 David Lynn (England), Chris Wood (England) (T32)
72 Jamie Donaldson (Wales) (T41).
73 Lee Westwood (England), Rory McIlroy (N Ireland) (T50)
74 Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) (T56)
76 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) (T62)
78 Paul Lawrie (Scotland) (T64)       

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TIGER HAS ELEVEN SINGLE PUTTS IN A LEAD-SHARING 66

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE  
By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM
DORAL, Florida -- A little advice from an old friend went a long way for Tiger Woods today.
Earlier in the week, Steve Stricker was working with Woods on the shaft angle of Woods' putter to better align it with his ball position at address.
It paid off in the form of a six-under 66 and a five-way share of the lead after the first round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
Woods made nine birdies -- matching his most since the first round of the 2012 BMW Championship -- and just three bogeys on a surprisingly benign day at Trump Doral, where wind was hardly a factor.
He also took just 23 putts, which included 11 one-putts on a day in which he hit 13 greens in regulation.
"Whatever he says, I'm going to do," Woods said of longtime friend Stricker. "He's one of the best putters that's ever lived. He can see things that are off a little bit because he knows my stroke so well.
"Did it help me today? Yes, it did, certainly. It was nice to be able to hit putts like that again today."
That wasn't the only thing that helped.
Woods also switched his 5-wood, from Nike's SQ version to the Covert.
"This one they made was a little deeper face, which is very similar to what I had, and something where I could get it out there," Woods said. "I finally put one in play that I felt comfortable with. There's a little bit bigger gap between the 3‑iron and the 5‑wood, but I can hit this 5‑wood a little bit higher, so I can actually take something off it and throw it up in the air."
Not to mention throw up his best score of the year since a second-round 65 at Torrey Pines, where he went on to win.
Stricker was only one shot worse than Woods today  but has said he plans to play a reduced schedule. Woods said it won't be the last time he seeks his council.
"I think I'm going to have a contract with him because he's only going to play, what, five tournaments this year," Woods joked. "I'll bring him out in his off weeks."
Even though Woods and Stricker are competing against each other, the move isn't uncommon in golf.
"That's what friends do," Woods said. "Friends help each other out."

 Sharing the lead with Tiger on 66 are last year's Masters winner, Bubba Watson and three Europeans - Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, Freddie Jacobson from Sweden, and Spain's Sergio Garcia.
Phil Mickelson is among a a group on 67.

McILROY MAKES IT ROUND AFTER A BIT OF A STRUGGLE

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM
DORAL, Florida -- Considering where some of Rory McIlroy's shots landed, his score (a one-over-par 73) wasn't as bad as it looked.
Or as it could have been.
In his first action since walking off the golf course midway through his second round last week, McIlroy hit just three fairways and 11 greens in today's opening round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
"It was a bit of a struggle," said McIlroy, who made six bogeys at Trump Doral. "This is a work in progress, and I'm working at it and I'm staying patient."
That was easier said than done at times.
McIlroy made back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14 -- his fourth and fifth holes of the day -- after missing the green left on both occasions.
He bounced back with a birdie on the next, but he gave it right back on the 18th after missing the green right and failing to get up and down, leaving his chip shot from just off the putting surface 10 feet short.
It was the first of four bogeys in a five-hole stretch for McIlroy. The only bright spot was an eagle on the par-5 first in between after he reached the green in two and knocked in a 15-footer.
"I wasn't putting as much pressure on myself and that's why I didn't get as frustrated," McIlroy said.
Two late birdies didn't hurt.

On the par-4 seventh, McIlroy stuck his approach to 7 feet and made the putt. On the par par-5 eighth, he reached the green in two and two-putted from 20 feet.

"It was nice to sneak in a couple birdies on the last three holes and make it look somewhat respectable, even though everyone seems to be going pretty low out there," said McIlroy, who trails the lead by seven shots. "I've got another three rounds to try and work on it a bit more and shoot a few good scores and see what happens."
One Ulsterman who enjoyed the name was Graeme McDowell. He had a 70, four shots off the lead but still a solid platform on which to build a later challenge.

WEST OF SCOTLAND TEAM FORMAT CHANGES

At a meeting tonight at Sandyhills Golf Club, West of Scotland County delegates it was decided to change the A and Youth team matches to eight a side.

The Boys Team matches will remain at eight a side with four under 16's and four under 18's

 Willie Sharpe

 Lanarkshire Past President

NORTH-EAST PAIR IN THE MONEY ON GECKO PRO TOUR

Malcolm Isaacs from the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre stable earned 250 Euros for an eighth place finish today (Thursday) in the Gecko Pro Tour 36-hole competition at Guadalhorce Golf Club in southern spain.Isaacs had a pair of 73s for 146.Rookie pro Callum Trahan (Meldrum House) put in a good second round - a two-under-par 70, an improvement of seven strokes - to make it into the money list and earn 200 Euros for joint ninth place on 147.Walker Cup amateur Alan Dunbar from Northern Ireland won the tournament with rounds of 68 and 72 for four-under-par 140.Runner-up Gary Wolstenholme collected the 2,000 Euros first cash prize with scores of 72 and 70 for 142. GECKO PRO TOUR Guadalhorce GC, Southern SpainLEADING FINAL TOTALSPar 144 (2x72)140 Alan Dunbar (NIr) 72 70.142 Gary Wolstenholme (Eng) 72 70.144 Neil O'Breien (Ire) 73 71, Lauri Ruska (Fin) (am) 71 73, Marcos Pastor Rufian (Spa) 70 74.SCOTS SCORES146 Malcolm Isaacs 73 73 (8th)147 Callum Trahan 77 70 ends

WYTRAZECK AND TOUGH TIE ON 72 AT BURNTISLAND

Home course competitors were to the fore in this week's Midland Golfers' Alliance fixture, the Eddie Sherry pro-am, at Burntisland Golf Club, Fife. On a cold and wet day, Burntisland professional Paul Wytrazek shared the scratch prize on two-over-par 72 with Gary Tough, who plays off +1 at Edzell. Gary also led his team of John Gilchrist (Dunnikier Park) (6), Archie Burton (Dunnikier Park) (3) and Dougal Spaven (Pitlochry) (8) to a three-stroke victory with a net total of 129 in the team event. LEADING SCRATCH Par 70 72 P Wytrazek (Burntisland), G Tough (Edzell) 73 R Stewart (Tulliallan). 74 G Finlay (Ballumbie Castle), N Anderson (Monifieth). LEADING TEAM SCORES 129 G Tough (Edzell) (+1), J Gilchrist (Dunnikier Park) (6), A Burton (Dunnikier Park) (3), D Spaven (Pitlochry) (8). 132 C Armstrong (Burntisland), D West (Burntisland) (3), A Maxwell (Burntisland) (6), J Edmiston (Burntisland) (14). 133 P Wytrazek (Burntisland), G Muir (Burntisland) (5), H Haldane (Burntisland) (9), B White (Burntisland) (8).  Next meeting is at Brechin on Thursday, March 21. Tee reserved: 8.30 - 12.30   Lee Sutherland

KRIS NICOL'S TOP 20 FINISH AT RED SEA

Fraserburgh's Kris Nicol, playing out of the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, finished the top Scot in the Alps Tour's 54-hole Red Sea Little Venice Open at Sokhna Golf Club, Egypt.Nicol had rounds of 71, 71 and 74 for a total of level par 216 which earned him a share of 19th place. Four bogeys dragged down his last-round effort to make the top 10. He had birdies at the short fifth and long 17th but dropped shots at the second, fourth, ninth and 18th.Ross Kellett finished joint 29th on 218 with scores of 71, 75 and 72.His last round had halves of 41 and 31. Double bogey 6s at the second and fourth might have knocked the stuffing out of the Motherwell man - but it didn't. In fact he covered his last 10 holes in six under par with an eagle 2 at the 10th and birdies at the ninth, 12th, 15th and long 17th.Michael Stewart from Troon could only muster an aggregate of four-over-par 220 with scores of 74, 74 and 72. He raised his spirits near the end with an inward half of 33 which included back to back birdies at the 15th, 16th and 17th.Three Englishmen tied at the top of the leaderboard on 10-under-par 206. Former US college player Andrew Cooley (70-68-68) won the sudden-death play-off against Jason Palmer (69-70-67) from Kirby Muxloe and Tom Shadbolt (71-67-68). RED SEA LITTLE VENICE OPEN Sokhna GC, Egypt.LEADING FINAL TOTALSPar 216 (3x72) 206 Andrew Cooley (Eng) 70 68 68, Jason Palmer (Eng) 69 70 67, Tom Shadbolt (Eng) 71 67 68 (Cooley won sudden-death play-off).207 Andrea Maestroni (Ita) 74 71 64SELECTED TOTALS212 Steven Brown (Eng) 723 70 70, Rhys Enoch (Wal) 67 70 75 (T8)215 Tom Sherreard (Eng) 72 73 70, Michael Bush (Eng) 73 69 73 (T14)216 Kris Nicol (Sco) 71 71 74 (T19)218 Ross Kellett (Sco) 71 75 72 (T29).220 Michael Stewart (Sco) 74 74 72 (T36) ends

JAMES BYRNE MISSES THE CUT IN INDIA BY FOUR SHOTS

Northern Open champion James Byrne missed the cut by four strokes at the halfway stage of the Sail Open at New Delhi, India today The Banchory Walker Cup player had rounds of 74 and 76 for six-over-par 150. A total of 77 players with aggregates of 146 and better qualified for the final two days. Asian Tour rookies Khalin Joshi of India and Qualifying School winner Chan Kim of the United States share the lead on nine-under-par 135. Joshi has shot 66-69, Kim 67-68. The 20-year-old Joshi, making his professional debut on the Asian Tour, chipped in for an eagle on 14 en route to a three-under-par 69 while Chan brilliantly birdied his last four holes for a 68 and a nine-under-par 135 total in the US$300,000 Asian Tour event, which is the second leg of the 2013 season.  NEWS REPORT FROM THE ASIAN TOUR                                                                                      New Delhi, March 7: Asian Tour rookies Khalin Joshi of India and Qualifying School winner Chan Kim of the United States maintained their sparkling form at the SAIL-SBI Open presented by Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism by sharing the tournament’s halfway lead on Thursday.   The 20-year-old Joshi, making his professional debut on the Asian Tour, chipped in for an eagle on 14 en route to a three-under-par 69 while Chan brilliantly birdied his last four holes for a 68 and a nine-under-par 135 total in the US$300,000 Asian Tour event, which is the second leg of the 2013 season.                                                                                                                                          A shot back are India’s Rashid Khan, who stormed into contention with a sensational 64, and Bangladeshi Siddikur, who returned a second successive 68.  Another Indian Rahil Gangjee shot a 66 with two eagles to end the day two shots back.   Title holder Anirban Lahiri worked his way into the title mix with a battling 68 placing him on 139 alongside another home star Shiv Kapur, who signed for a 70, and Thai duo Pawin Ingkhapradit (69) and Thitiphun Chuayprakong (67).   Joshi, India’s number one amateur last year, continued to shine against a strong field at the challenging Delhi Golf Club.  After turning in level par, he produced the shot of the round with an exquisite chip-in eagle on 14 before rolling in a six-footer at the last hole which he celebrated with a clenched fist.   “It’s great. I hit the ball good although my putting wasn’t great. I felt normal. I didn’t feel any pressure. I just wanted to go out there and do the best that I could. I’m looking forward to the next two days. If the putter is hot, I know I’ll do something,” said Joshi.                                                                   The young Indian is benefiting from some sound advice from Delhi Golf Club pro Manav Jaini, whom he is staying with this week. “He’s always told me about this golf course and to never play with the driver and to keep the ball in play. It’s the first time I have listened to him as I don’t have a driver in the bag here,” said Joshi.   The strapping Chan produced a grand-stand finish in his afternoon round to share the lead with Joshi. “Finished with four straight birdies, definitely wasn’t expecting it,” smiled Chan. “When I made the first two birdies on 15 and 16, I thought to myself ‘I’m seven under and I was two back.’ If I could make one or two birdies coming in, I would be right in there. I did feel some nerves in the last two holes and I controlled it well enough and stayed focus.   “I’ll need to keep it in play tomorrow. Today, I kept in the fairways a lot. As long as you hit fairways, the greens are not hard to attack. Just have to play smart and try to get the putter rolling.”   The ever-reliable Siddikur, who has three top-five finishes at the Delhi course over the past two years, is eager to secure his second Asian Tour victory after a second straight 68. “I think if I can maintain my game as in the first two rounds, I have a chance to win. I’ve played many times here and it’s one of my favourite courses,” said the Bangladeshi trailblazer, who was runner-up at the SAIL-SBI Open in 2011.   “I hit it great, hit it closer than yesterday but I couldn’t hole the putts. I’m missing on the opposite lines. I’m having problems reading the lines.”   The 22-year-old Khan, another highly rated young Indian, made the most of his home course knowledge with nine birdies to shoot up the leaderboard. “I know what clubs to hit and I think it can be an advantage on this golf course. I holed two 20-footers for birdies on the 12th and 14th holes and finished with three closing birdies which is always nice,” said Khan.   Pawin, 21, was delighted to move into contention at the SAIL-SBI Open, which is celebrating its sixth edition but knows he cannot get ahead of himself. “I’m not going to think about winning just yet. It’s still too far away and I’ll need to remind myself to take it one shot at a time,” said the Thai.   “I putted well. The conditions were quite windy this afternoon but I managed to control my shots, especially my tee shots. I think I only missed one fairway at the last hole but managed to save par.”   The halfway cut was set at 146 with 76 players making it into the final two rounds.   The main sponsors of the SAIL-SBI Open, which is celebrating its sixth edition, are the Steel Authority of India Ltd, State Bank of India Ltd and Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism.                                                                                                                                 Scores after round 2 of the SAIL SBI Open being played at the par 72, 6935 Yards Delhi Golf Club course (a- denotes amateur): 135 - Khalin JOSHI (IND) 66-69, Chan KIM (USA) 67-68. 136 - Rashid KHAN (IND) 72-64, SIDDIKUR  (BAN) 68-68. 137 - Rahil GANGJEE (IND) 71-66. 138 - Chiragh KUMAR (IND) 68-70. 139 - Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 71-68, Pawin INGKHAPRADIT (THA) 70-69, Shiv KAPUR (IND) 69-70, Thitiphun CHUAYPRAKONG (THA) 72-67. 140 - Abhinav LOHAN (IND) 73-67, Jake HIGGINBOTTOM (AUS) 70-70, Ajeetesh SANDHU (IND) 70-70, LAM Chih Bing (SIN) 73-67, BAEK Seuk-hyun (KOR) 71-69.

DANNY CHIA GOES FOUR CLEAR AT SELANGOR

Shah Alam, Selangor: Malaysia’s Danny Chia crafted a solid four-shot lead at the PGM Northport Glenmarie Masters with a second round four-under-par 68 on Thursday.

 

The local ace posted six birdies against two bogeys for nine-under-par 135 while James Bowen of the United States trails in second place following a 71 at RM200,000 (approximately US$65,000) Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.

 

Mohamad Azman Basharudin (70) of Malaysia, Englishman Grant Jackson (71), Chang Tse-peng (71) of Chinese Taipei and Thailand’s Jakraphan Premsirigorn (68) shared third, six shots back from Chia at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club.

 

Despite struggling with a stiff neck, Chia overcame the odds and put himself in the driver’s seat to become the first Malaysian to win an ADT title this season.

 

“With my neck condition you don’t know what’s going to happen. It is getting better after my chiropractor helped me loosen it so it just bothers me a little bit when I’m playing,” said the 40-year-old Chia.

 

Playing from the 10^th tee, Chia was hot off the blocks with two opening birdies before making the turn in 35. He holed a massive 20-footer birdie putt on one and added two more birdies on two and four to stay in the lead.

 

“My short game was really good. You are bound to miss the greens here because it is very undulating so you really need a good short game to save you,” said Chia.

 

The in-form Bowen maintained his bid for a unique Malaysian double after winning the PGM Sime Darby Harvard Masters in Kedah two weeks ago. His shot of the day came on the par three eighth hole when he rifled his seven iron to 12^th feet and holed it for birdie.

 

“I had two slipped ups but came back strongly with a couple of birdies. It was good to finish my round with that birdie on eight. That was really good for confidence and a great way to finish,” said Bowen, the current ADT Order of Merit leader.

 

The halfway cut was set at five-over-par 149 with 66 players qualifying for the last two days.

  LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS

  Par 142 (2x71)

+Players with aggregates of 149 and better 

qualified for the final two rounds. 

Leading second round scores

135 - Danny CHIA (MAS) 67 68

139 - James BOWEN (USA) 68 71

141 - Mohamad Azman BASHARUDIN (MAS) 71 70, Grant JACKSON (ENG) 70 71, CHANG Tse-Peng (TPE) 70 71, Jakraphan PREMSIRIGORN (THA) 73 68

142 - PARK Il-hwan (KOR) 71 71, Pavit TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA) 70 72, Nicholas FUNG (MAS) 73 69

143 - S. Murthy (MAS) 70 73, Michael BIBAT (PHI) 70 73, Iain STEEL (MAS) 69 74

144 - Pasamet POGAMNERD (THA) 74 70, George GANDRANATA (INA) 71 73, S. Siva Chandhran (MAS) 73 71, Shaun MALONE (ENG) 75 69

145 - M. Sasidaran (MAS) 74 71, Akhmal TARMIZEE (MAS) 72 73, Kenneth DE SILVA (MAS) 69 76, George THACKER (ENG) 71 74, Michael MOORE (AUS) 74 71, Takashi YOKOYAMA (JPN) 76 69, Mitsuhiko HASHIZUME (JPN) 71 74, Supravee PHATAM (THA) 75 70

146 - Mars PUCAY (PHI) 71 75, Ryan BULLOCH (AUS) 71 75, Blake MCGRORY (AUS) 71 75, Lindsay RENOLDS (CAN) 73 73, Masaru TAKAHASHI (JPN) 73 73