MANLEY WINS BY TWO AT FINNISH CHALLENGE

REPORT FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Stuart Manley marched to his maiden European Challenge Tour title at the Finnish Challenge as a clinical final day performance earned him a three under par round of 69 and a two-shot victory at Kytäjä Golf, in Hyvinkää near Helsinki.

The Welshman has been a regular on both The European Tour and Challenge Tour since 2004 and has let chances slip before to claim a first title, but he made no mistake this time after bouncing back from a bogey on the opening hole to produce a nerveless performance when it mattered most.

A birdie at the opening par five, the third hole, calmed his nerves before he summoned the kind of form which produced 18 birdies, an eagle and just two bogeys in the opening three rounds.

Manley picked up two more shots at the fifth and seventh holes to reach the turn in two under and he extended his overnight lead from two shots to three thanks to a birdie at the par five 12^th.

From there on in, it was a textbook performance in closing out a tournament from the Aberdare man and he clinched back to back birdies at the reachable par five 12^th and the par four 13^th to stroll to victory on the splendid North West course at the lakeside venue. He was even afforded the luxury of a bogey at the last before finishing on 21 under and picking up the €27,200 cheque.

“I'm just delighted to be honest,” said Manley. “It’s relief too. I used up a lot of energy today. It was tough because I didn’t have my A-game but I got the ball around well and positioned it well, didn’t take any risky shots and putted pretty solidly again.

“It was just patience and being positive. I played the first well but three-putted it and I couldn’t believe it, I had putted so well all week. I thought, ‘I didn’t need that’ but I turned it around and nobody really came at me that hard.

“I have had three or four second places and if I had lost again today, I would have been thinking ‘what have I got to do’ so it’s a massive monkey off my back and hopefully now if I'm in that situation again I can relish it instead of being a bit anxious.

“Every time you’re in that position you get more used to it, but you still have to get over that line and there’s nothing better than winning. I feel great. It puts me in a great position now to attack the big events for the rest of the season so I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

José-Filipe Lima was the closest to catching Manley as the Portuguese carded three birdies and an eagle at the 17^th to briefly threaten but he unfortunately ran out of holes and had to settle for outright second place, also moving to second place in the Rankings as his consistent season continues.

“I was chipping and putting well today and it was a good five under,” said the former European Tour winner, who signed for a five under par 67 to finish on 19 under. “I’m just looking for that win now and I know I'm not far away.

“I need to be patient and keep playing well and I'm quite happy to do that. I did a lot of work before the season so I'm happy, but the year is not over and I just have to keep doing what I'm doing.”

Three shots further back in tied third place were Englishman Jamie Elson, who carded a four under par 68, and Swede Jens Fahrbring, whose level par 72 earned him the best result of his Challenge Tour career.

François Calmels’ search for a third victory this year - which would earn him automatic promotion to The European Tour - continues despite the Frenchman’s charge on the final day, picking up four birdies and an eagle in his opening 12 holes to get to within three of the lead at one point, before finishing in tied fifth place.

For more, visit www.europeantour.com/challengetour

 

Results:

 

267 S Manley (Wal) 65 69 64 69,

269 J Lima  (Por) 68 68 66 67,

272 J Fahrbring (Swe) 65 69 66 72, J Elson  (Eng) 67 67 70 68,

273 J McLeary  (Sco) 69 69 67 68, N Lemke (Swe) 64 68 70 71, F Calmels  (Fra) 68 71 66 68, A Johnston (Eng) 68 68 68 69, D Huizing (Ned) 67 71 64 71,

274 E Myllymaki (am) (Fin) 66 70 70 68,

275 L Bjerregaard  (Den) 69 69 69 68, R Kakko  (Fin) 66 68 71 70, L Kennedy  (Eng) 67 65 73 70, D Stewart (Sco) 65 68 70 72,

276 W Besseling  (Ned) 66 70 71 69, B Stone (RSA) 65 66 69 76, B Ritthammer (Ger) 68 70 69 69,

277 M Korhonen (Fin) 71 71 67 68, S Kapur (Ind) 70 71 71 65, G Cambis  (Fra) 69 72 68 68, D Geminiani (Ita) 68 72 69 68, M Tullo (Chi) 66 76 66 69, P Widegren  (Swe) 70 71 69 67,

278 S Hutsby  (Eng) 69 66 69 74, D Im (USA) 70 72 66 70, T Hatton (Eng) 65 70 69 74, E Espana (Fra) 70 70 69 69,

279 A Ahokas (Fin) 68 70 70 71, K Borsheim  (Nor) 67 71 69 72, R Prophet (Eng) 71 67 73 68, D Ulrich (Sui) 70 69 72 68, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 74 67 72 66, C Pigem (Esp) 70 71 69 69,

280 C Aguilar  (Esp) 69 73 70 68, C Kim (USA) 66 71 70 73, B Chapellan (Fra) 69 70 69 72,

281 A Pavan (Ita) 69 73 71 68, J Kaske (Fin) 71 68 71 71, J Barnes (Eng) 69 69 70 73, D Brooks (Eng) 68 70 68 75, B Hebert  (Fra) 72 67 70 72,

282 A Domingo (Esp) 71 70 72 69, J Carlsson (Swe) 72 68 71 71, J Guerrier  (Fra) 66 70 71 75, R Davies (Wal) 69 68 72 73, M Kuronen (am) (Fin) 69 71 74 68,

283 V Riu  (Fra) 71 71 70 71, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 68 72 71 72, L Goddard  (Eng) 67 73 70 73, R Steiner (Aut) 68 74 72 69, M Ford (Eng) 70 70 73 70,

284 S Little (Eng) 68 72 73 71, O Bekker (RSA) 69 69 71 75, N Ravano (Ita) 71 69 74 70, E Bertheussen (Nor) 69 73 71 71, P Maddy (Eng) 68 73 72 71, M Trappel  (Aut) 70 71 72 71, S Kim (Kor) 64 73 84 63,

285 P Archer (Eng) 70 71 76 68, D Perrier (Fra) 70 72 70 73, J Glennemo (Swe) 71 71 78 65, A Eckhardt (am) (Fin) 72 68 75 70,

286 A Otaegui  (Esp) 71 70 73 72,

287 R Saxton (Ned) 68 74 72 73, A McArthur  (Sco) 70 71 75 71, G Shaw (Nir) 68 72 77 70, K Samooja (Fin) 72 70 75 70, H Porteous (RSA) 71 71 73 72,

288 J Granberg  (Fin) 69 72 72 75,

289 P Oriol (Esp) 71 71 76 71, N Dougherty  (Eng) 70 72 72 75,

290 A Velasco (Esp) 67 70 82 71,

291 T Pieters  (Bel) 69 68 78 76,

293 A Hortal  (Esp) 68 72 71 82, H Satama (Fin) 70 72 74 77,

294 P Erofejeff (Fin) 67 75 79 73,

295 S Piaget  (Mon) 71 71 74 79,

 

 

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TOUGH GUY TINNING IS KING OF COLOGNE SENIORS

FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Ironman Steen Tinning lasted the distance at the Berenberg Masters to secure his debut European Senior Tour title in only his sixth appearance.

The Dane signed for a flawless round of 69 for a nine under par aggregate total which was just enough to hold off a late surge from home hero Bernhard Langer, who delighted the locals at Golf- und Land-Club, in Cologne, with a blemish-free round of 68.

Having seen Langer fail to get up and down for birdie from the greenside bunker on the par five 18th hole, Tinning knew a closing par would be enough to secure victory and with it a cheque for €60,000, and he duly obliged to consign the German to the runner-up spot for the second weekend in a row.    

Tinning’s ‘reward’ for his victory is a place in next weekend’s Ironman European Championship in south-west Germany, where he will swim 1.9kms, cycle 90kms and run 21.1kms.

“I’m only half-mad,” he joked, “because it’s only a half Ironman!

“But on a more serious note, I’m just so happy right now. Happy, and also a little bit relieved. My hands were shaking on that putt on the last, so I was very pleased to see it drop. I hit a lot of good putts today but none of them seemed to go in, so I just couldn’t pull away from the field early on.

“But I didn’t get frustrated, I stuck to the task and I executed it well. I managed to stay calm, because I knew I was playing well enough to win. I knew what I needed on the last hole because one of the volunteers told me Bernhard had made a par, so I used a five-wood from the tee, a six-iron for my second shot and then a chip and two putts. It sounds easy, but it definitely wasn’t! 

“I’m surprised how quickly I’ve won on the Senior Tour. Most parts of my game have been pretty good, but I just haven’t been able to pull it all together. Luckily for me, this was my week. It feels even more special to beat Bernhard into second place, because he’s such a great competitor.”

For his part, Langer was typically magnanimous in defeat, labelling Tinning a worthy winner before bemoaning his own luck on the greens.

He said: “I played so much better than yesterday, but the difference today was that I just couldn’t get the putts to drop – I lost count of the lip-outs and near misses. I couldn’t have done any more, and I’m just sorry for the people that I came up a little bit short. But there’s no shame in finishing second, and hopefully I can come back next year and go one better.”

Langer’s cheque for €40,000 saw the two-time Masters Tournament winner move to €225,867 and extend his lead in the Senior Tour Order of Merit to €116,315, whilst Tinning climbed nine places to fourth with season’s earnings of €97,791.

England’s Nick Job also climbed into the top 20 of the Order of Merit after he finished in third place on seven under par courtesy of a closing round of 71, which was matched by Spaniard Miguel Angel Martin, who finished one stroke back in fourth place.

Ian Woosnam’s bid to win this event for the second time came up short after he laboured to a round of 73 to finish in a share of eighth place.

 

Final scores:

 

207 S Tinning (Den) 68 70 69,

 208 B Langer (Ger) 67 73 68,

 209 N Job (Eng) 69 69 71,

 210 M Martin (Esp) 72 67 71,

 211 B Lane (Eng) 67 75 69, G Turner (Nzl) 65 74 72, B Ruangkit (Tha) 72 68 71,

 212 I Woosnam (Wal) 67 72 73, M Cunning (USA) 73 69 70,

 213 R Gibson (Can) 75 71 67, T Thelen (USA) 70 72 71, G Wolstenholme (Eng) 73 69 71, P Golding (Eng) 69 74 70,

 214 D Smyth (Irl) 71 73 70, D Russell (Eng) 70 76 68, P Walton (Irl) 70 75 69, J Gould (Eng) 70 73 71,

 215 J Bruner (USA) 71 73 71, P Wesselingh (Eng) 70 71 74, B Longmuir (Sco) 72 73 70, A Forsbrand (Swe) 72 71 72,

 216 A Franco (Par) 71 75 70,

 217 C Rocca (Ita) 70 70 77, A Murray (Eng) 71 71 75, G Manson (Aut) 75 69 73,

 218 M Farry (Fra) 69 78 71, G Norquist (USA) 77 72 69, P Fowler (Aus) 74 73 71, G Brand Jnr (Sco) 74 74 70,

 219 J Harrison (Eng) 72 72 75, R Thompson (USA) 72 72 75, C Mason (Eng) 77 72 70, H Buhrmann (RSA) 72 75 72,

 220 J Quiros (Esp) 72 71 77, M Kuramoto (Jpn) 68 72 80, T Price (Aus) 72 71 77, K Tomori (Jpn) 70 76 74,

 221 G Banister (Aus) 72 75 74, S Luna (Esp) 71 75 75, T Elliott (Aus) 72 72 77, P Linhart (Esp) 73 74 74, E Romero (Arg) 72 74 75, D O'Sullivan (Irl) 73 73 75, C Williams (RSA) 82 74 65,

 222 P Mitchell (Eng) 75 74 73, R Drummond (Sco) 75 74 73, S Van Vuuren (RSA) 79 72 71, S Brown (Eng) 72 73 77, B Cameron (Eng) 74 75 73,

 223 A Sherborne (Eng) 76 75 72, P Gresswell (Eng) 78 72 73, D Hospital (Esp) 72 73 78, G Brand (Eng) 77 73 73, S Bennett (Eng) 77 76 70,

 224 G Ryall (Eng) 73 78 73, T Johnstone (Zim) 78 72 74,

 225 K Spurgeon (Eng) 79 72 74, P Eales (Eng) 72 75 78,

 226 S Torrance (Sco) 69 83 74,

 227 J Carriles (Esp) 76 77 74, M Piñero (Esp) 78 74 75,

 228 J Rivero (Esp) 75 75 78, M McLean (Eng) 76 76 76,

 229 P Jonas (Can) 78 77 74,

 230 D James (Sco) 77 78 75,

 231 D Durnian (Eng) 76 79 76,

 232 S Cipa (Eng) 83 74 75, N Ratcliffe (Aus) 79 75 78,

 234 T Giedeon (Ger) 81 76 77,

 235 P Way (Eng) 77 82 76, G Ralph (Eng) 80 78 77,

 248 R Volding (USA) 85 85 78,

 ** J Spence (Eng) 70 DQ  0,

 

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KENNY GALLACHER WINS BOTHWELL CASTLE QUAICH

By WILLIE SHARPE

Kenny Gallacher, fresh from playing in the British Seniors at Royal Birkdale, continued his great form by winning the Bothwell Castle Quaich today with excellent scores of 70 and 67 , three under par. 

Kenny, pictured, won by one shot from Danny Keeney of Bellshill who shot two 69s for 138. In third place was Lanark youngster Kevin Prentice with 69, 71 for 140. Kenny just turned 50 this year and is obviously eligible for Seniors Tournaments as well.

LEADING SCORES       CSS      72   72

Kenny Gallacher         East Kilbride             70  67  137

Daniel Keeney            Bellshill                      69  69  138

Colin Baird                   Bothwell Castle      71  69  140

Kevin Prentice             Lanark                      69  71  140

Robert Jenkins            Crow Wood             71  70  141

Grant Beaton              Bonnyton                  73  70  143

Stuart Wylie               Mount Ellen              71  72  143

Kevin Loughrie           Cambuslang              77  67  144

JJ Smith                        Cambuslang              67  77  144

James Fleming            Bonnyton                  74  70  144

Paul Burke                   Bellshill                      73  71  144

Graeme Cross             Hamilton                    76  69  145

Derek  McAlpine      Bellshill                         70  75  145

Stewart Henderson   Hamilton                    73  72  145

James Steven         Bothwell Castle           71  75  146

Paul Gault                Westerwood                77  70  147

Jamie Lamb              Lanark                            78  69  147

Ross  Hinshelwood    East Kilbride              72  75  147

Kevin Mackie              Bothwell Castle         76  72  148

Graham McAlpine      Bellshill                        75  73  148

William Sharpe            Hamilton                     75  78  153       

PAUL LAWRIE NEPHEW IS NE DISTRICT YOUTHS CHAMPION

Sean Lawrie, nephew of Paul, won the North-east District Under-21 youths golf
championship over his home course at Portlethen Golf Club today (Sunday).
Lawrie can only play Portlethen during his summer holidays from Midland College, Texas where he is one of the leading members
of the golf team.
Sean had rounds of 69 and 70 for three-under-par 139 to finish a shot ahead of two other home-club players Ben Muttay (70-70) and
Sam Kiloh (68-72).
Murray was awarded second prize by virtue of having a better second round than Kiloh.

NORTH-EAST DISTRICT YOUTHS CHAMPIONSHIP
Portlethen Golf Club
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72) CSS 71
138 S Lawrie (Portlethen) 69 70l
140 B Murray (Portlethen) 70 70, S Kiloh (Portlethen) 68 72
141 Adam Fisher (Newmachar) 68 73
142 Gordon Munro (Fraserburgh) 69 73
143 Dylan Smith (Deeside) 73 70, Ray Gordon (Alford) 72 71, Kieran Spence (Portlethen) 71 72, Calvin Cheyne (Newmachar) 70 73
144 Paul Simpson (Aboyne) 72 72

ALL THE SCORES

Sean Lawrie 69 + 70 139 Portlethen Golf Club
Ben Murray 70 + 70 140 Portlethen Golf Club
Sam Kiloh 68 + 72 140 Portlethen Golf Club
Adam Fisher 68 + 73 141 Newmachar Golf Club
Gordon Munro 69 + 73 142 Fraserburgh Golf Club
Dylan Smith 73 + 70 143 Deeside Golf Club
Ray Gordon 72 + 71 143 Alford Golf Club
Kieran Spence 71 + 72 143 Portlethen Golf Club
Calvin L Cheyne 70 + 73 143 Newmachar Golf Club
Paul Simpson 72 + 72 144 Aboyne Golf Club
Robbie H Murdoch 76 + 69 145 Portlethen Golf Club
Kevin Willox 72 + 73 145 Deeside Golf Club
Craig Lawrie 70 + 75 145 Deeside Golf Club
Jack Harling 72 + 74 146 Banchory Golf Club
Lewys Anderson 72 + 74 146 Deeside Golf Club
D W Macandrew 75 + 72 147 Royal Aberdeen Golf Club
Jack Loggie 74 + 74 148 Deeside Golf Club
Callum Bruce 75 + 74 149 Duff House Royal Golf Club
Cameron Johnstone 74 + 75 149 Northern Golf Club
Rodger Clarke 76 + 74 150 Portlethen Golf Club
Callum Coutts 77 + 74 151 Alford Golf Club
Grant Joss 72 + 79 151 Royal Aberdeen Golf Club
Craig Stephen 75 + 77 152 Aboyne Golf Club
Jamie Pryde 73 + 79 152 Deeside Golf Club
Andrew Carrell 71 + 81 152 Royal Aberdeen 
Kiefer Brown 76 + 78 154 Stonehaven
Fintan Mckenna 76 + 80 156 Royal Aberdeen
Henri Charles 76 + 80 156 Deeside
Calvin Duffton 82 + 75 157 Torphins
Benjamin Henderson 81 + 77 158 Deeside
Patrick Mckenna 79 + 79 158 Royal Aberdeen
Thomas M. Cameron 80 + 79 159 Fraserburgh 
Michael Lawrie 78 + 81 159 Deeside 
Ross Buchan 75 + 84 159 Inverallochy Golf Club
David Ritchie 74 + 86 160 Fraserburgh
Calum Sutherland 81 + 80 161 Deeside 
Liam Minty 82 + 81 163 Northern Golf Club
Ferghus Milne 78 + 86 164 Banchory Golf Club
Aynslie G Wallace 84 + 87 171 Portlethen

KRIS NICOL WINS BUCHAN FIRKIN FOR SECOND TIME

Kris Nicol has won Fraserburgh Golf Club's 36-hole Buchan Firkin Open for a second time, eight years after his first win in the event.

Gordon Munro took full advantage of the still conditions in the first round and was in

the lead with an outstanding score of 61 which equalled the course record.  Murcar

player Corin Stewart was delighted with  a hole in one at the par three fifth using a

three iron.

The second round was more challenging for the players as a sea breeze kicked in

making the scoring harder on the first nine holes. An exciting finish was on the cards

with four players, Andrew Hepburn, Phil McLean, John Ross and Neil Thomson in the

clubhouse tied with a 36 hole total of 140.  Local professional Kris Nicol however

finished strongly with two under par over the last three holes to win the Firkin with a

score of 137. Fraserburgh Honorary Member, Kris, plays out of the Paul Lawrie Golf

Centre.

Local player John Ross finished with a net score of 136 to win the Town Council

Trophy.

Honorary President Bill Maitland presented the trophies and paid tribute to the

competitors giving thanks to all the club personnel who made the event run smoothly.

                     The Firkin was sponsored this year by

                 Fraserburgh Engineering, Financial Options,

                      P. Milton Roofing Ltd and PomPrint

LEADING TOTALS
137 Kris Nicol (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) 70 67
140 Neil F Thomson (Fraserburgh) (am) 71 69, Andrew Hepburn (Fraserburgh) (am) 70 70, Phil McLean (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) 67 73.
142 Gordon Munro (Fraserburgh) (am) 61 81

LEADING HANDICAP
Town Council Trophy
136 John Ross (Fraserburgh)  69 67
137 A J Buchan (Inverallochy) 65 72.
139 Ross Buchan (Inverallochy) 72 67
140 Mark McLean (Fraserburgh) 69 71.
141 Robert Clark (Fraserburgh) 68 73.


2nd Round Prizes
Best Scratch         Jordan Findlay             (Pro - Paul Lawrie GC)                             
68
Best Handicap     D Allan                        (Longside)                                                
68                                                                          

STENSON LEADS EUROPEAN CHALLENGE AT BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL

REPORT FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Sweden’s Henrik Stenson will lead the European Tour charge in the final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational as he sets his sights on reeling in Tiger Woods.

Stenson signed for a three under par 67 at Firestone Country Club to move into second place, some seven shots back from Woods, who reached 15 under par with a 68.

Englishman Chris Wood is also among those hunting down the 14-time Major winner, lying nine shots back in tied fourth after a 70, alongside his compatriot Luke Donald, who birdied the last for a 68.

Stenson is relishing the challenge of overhauling Woods, but was realistic about his chances given the World Number One’s record of seven wins in 13 appearances in this event.

“It's kind of tough to pick up seven or eight shots on Tiger around here,” said Stenson. “It would take something spectacular on my behalf or any of the other guys around me, and obviously a very, very poor round for him. I'm just going to try to play my game, and I’m excited to go out and play with him tomorrow.”

Wood played in the same group as Woods, the player he idolised growing up, and was delighted with the way he handled an intimidating situation.

“It was a totally new experience for me – the noise on the first tee,” said the Bristol man. “When he chipped in on 13, I've never heard a noise quite so loud on the golf course. But I loved every minute.  We chatted away a little bit, and after three or four holes I felt a lot more settled than I thought I might.

“I want to finish as near as I can to him, really, because that's probably going to be second. And that'll do a lot for me.  I'm here to try to break into the top 50 in the world, and I've got a good chance tomorrow. 

“I need to go out there with the same sort of mindset as I had today. It was a big test for me today, so I feel like I did okay.”

Miguel Angel Jiménez moved up to tied seventh with a brilliant 65, while Masters Tournament winner Adam Scott also jumped up the leaderboard, sharing ninth place after a 66.

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 210 (3x70)
Players from USA unless stated
195 Tiger Woods 66 61 68
202 Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 65 70 67
203 Jason Duffner 67 69 67
204 Luke Donald (England) 67 69 68, Bill Haas 67 68 69, Chris Wood (England) 66 68 70
205 Miguel A Jimenez (Spain) 71 69 65, Keegan Bradley 66 68 71
207 Adam Scott (Australia) 73 68 66, Zach Johnson 69 70 68

SELECTED OTHER SCORES

210 Ian Poulter (England) 69 72 69, Justin Rose (England) 69 72 69, Martin Kaymer (England) 74 67 69, Jamie Donaldson (Wales) 70 69 71, Phil Mickelson 72 71 67, Rory McIlroy (N Ireland) 70 71 69 (T17)
212 Paul Lawrie (Scotland) 69 72 71 (T28)
213 Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) 71 71 71, Lee Westwood (England) 71 71 71, Paul Casey (England) 70 70 73 (T36)
215 Richie Ramsay (Scotland) 73 69 73, Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) 74 74 67 (T45)
217 David Lynn (England) 71 73 73 (T53)
218 Martin Laird (Scotland) 77 70 71, Shane Lowry (Ireland) 72 76 70 (T57)

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

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