Friday, October 24, 2014

INVERNESS MAN PAYS PRICE FOR MEDIOCRE FIRST-ROUND 76

RUSSELL KNOX GOES FROM SUBLIME

TO MISSING CUT SEVEN DAYS LATER

Russell Knox must have been eager for this week's US PGA Tour event after winning $433,720 for a third place finish last week.

But the 29-year-old Inverness exile (pictured) will earn not a single cent from the $5m McGladrey Classic at the Seaside Course, Sea Island, Georgia after missing the cut with a six-over-par two-round total of 146, made up of rounds of 76 and 70 over the par-70 course.
So how did it happen? 
The first sign that Knox was not on the ball this week came at the par-5 seventh in his first round.
It cost him a double bogey 7. 
He reached the turn in two-over-37 and then had a string of bogeys on the inward half -  at the 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th in an inward five-over-par 39.
Fellow Scot Martin Laird and Englishman Brian Davis made the cut at Sea Island, both with rounds of 68 and 71 for one-under 139.
The cut fell at level par 140 and alongwith Knox, another big name casualty from this side of the Atlantic was former Major champion, Padraig Harrington. He missed the cut by four with rounds of 71 and 73 for 144.
Halfway leader is American Russell Henley with scores of 68 and 63 (33-30) for nine-under 131.
He is one shot clear of Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe) and Americans Brian Harman and Andrew Svoboda
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 140 (2x70)
Players from USA unless stated
131 Russell Henley 68 63
132 Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe) 68 64, Brian Harman 65 67, Andrew Svoboda 66 66
133 Mark Wilson 67 66, Fabian Gomez (Argentina) 67 66, Will MacKenzie 65 68
134 Kevin Chappell 67 67, Scott Piercy 67 67

SELECTED SCORES
139 Brian Davis (England) 71 68, Martin Laird (Scotland) 68 71, Gonzalo Fernandez Castano (Spain) 70 69 (T52)

MISSED THE CUT
144 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 71 73
146 Russell Knox (Scotland) 76 70.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE


Labels:

GLASGOW MAN IS SHARING 11th PLACE

ANDREW McARTHUR  LEADING SCOT 

IN CHINA CHALLENGE
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS 

 Englishmen William Harrold and Jason Palmer lead the way at ten under par atop a congested Foshan Open leaderboard in China
They are a shot clear of Germany's Bernd Ritthammer, who is alone in third place less than one week on from his podium finish in Chongqing, while a further four players are queued up behind in a tie for fourth after 36 holes of the second event in the European Challenge Tour's Final Swing.
As part of that quality quartet in close attendance are another three Englishmen – Jason Barnes, Daniel Gaunt and Chris Hanson – while Pelle Edberg of Sweden rounds out the group on eight under.
Overnight leader Palmer did not quite pick up where he left off on Friday morning, but he did card six birdies to counter three dropped shots and record a 69, on a day when he was not quite on his best form at Foshan Golf Club.
“I’m pretty pleased with that as it wasn’t all plain sailing today,” said the 30 year old from Kirby Muxloe in his native East Midlands.

“I didn’t feel as comfortable as I did yesterday with my swing, so I probably need to hit the range for 30 minutes to find what I was doing so well yesterday.
Ritthammer is once again in position to move up the Rankings after a 69 in the second round propelled him to within one of the lead, and more importantly, within touching distance of a maiden Challenge Tour title at the halfway stage.
The German is the best of the rest with two rounds to go, but those behind have plenty to play for after some impressive form of their own – namely Barnes (70), Edberg (66), Gaunt (69) and Hanson (68).
Overnight leader Ricardo Gouveia had been alongside Palmer after 18 holes, and while he might have managed to get over his jetlag, he wasn’t quite able to match his heroics of day one after a level par score.
There are also 11 home grown players who have qualified for the final 36 holes, with Ding-feng Liang the best of those, having carded rounds of 66 and 72 to finish six under par and in a tie for 11th place heading into the weekend.

Andrew McArthur (68-70 for 138) is the leading Scot in joint 11th place. Next come George Murray (140) and David Law (143).
The cut fell at 145 and Scots who missed it were Wallace Booth (146) and Scott Henry (148)
 
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
134 J Palmer (Eng) 65 69, W Harrold (Eng) 67 67
135 B Ritthammer (Ger) 66 69
136 D Gaunt (Eng) 67 69, C Hanson (Eng) 68 68, P Edberg (Swe) 70 66, J Barnes (Eng) 66 70
137 P Oriol (Esp) 68 69, R Gouveia (Por) 65 72, P Widegren  (Swe) 68 69
138 J Fahrbring (Swe) 70 68, A McArthur  (Sco) 68 70, L Ding-Feng (Chn) 66 72, H Joannes  (Bel) 70 68, C Paisley  (Eng) 68 70,
139 Z Guo-Wu (Chn) 71 68, E Espana (Fra) 72 67, B Evans  (Eng) 67 72, P Maddy (Eng) 71 68, M Wiegele  (Aut) 70 69, M Tullo (Chi) 69 70, M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) 69 70
140 J Guerrier  (Fra) 69 71, A Marshall (Eng) 73 67, S Dong (Chn) 71 69, M Delpodio  (Ita) 74 66, G Murray  (Sco) 69 71, M Orrin (Eng) 68 72, R Coles (Eng) 71 69, J Huldahl (Den) 67 73, J Senior (Eng) 68 72,
141 B An (SKor) 73 68, A Velasco (Esp) 70 71, R McGowan  (Eng) 69 72, C Shinkwin (Eng) 71 70, B Åkesson (Swe) 74 67, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 70, T Sluiter  (Ned) 70 71, H Ze-Yu (Chn) 67 74, P Dwyer (Eng) 70 71, S Tiley (Eng) 72 69, J Lando Casanova  (Fra) 70 71,
142 N Ravano (Ita) 72 70, P Relecom  (Bel) 74 68,
143 O Zheng (Chn) 72 71, M Lafeber (Ned) 71 72, C Ford (Eng) 73 70, D Law (Sco) 70 73, T Linard (Fra) 72 71, J Roos (RSA) 73 70, A Hortal  (Esp) 71 72, C Yi (Chn) 72 71
144 Z Hui-Lin (Chn) 72 72, F Bergamaschi (Ita) 70 74, R Davies (Wal) 71 73, H Shao-Cai (Chn) 74 70, A Tadini (Ita) 74 70, N Lemke (Swe) 71 73,
145 Y Tian (Chn) 71 74, H Wen-Yi (Chn) 72 73, W Weijun (Chn) 74 71

MISSED THE CUT
146 J Lagergren (Swe) 75 71, L Fangyi (Chn) 75 71, Z Jin (Chn) 73 73, A Bernadet  (Fra) 70 76, W Wei (Chn) 76 70, L Jensen (Den) 73 73, N Quintarelli (Ita) 70 76, W Haochuan (Chn) 77 69, J Da-Xing (Chn) 74 72, W Booth  (Sco) 75 71, C Bouniol (Fra) 74 72,
147 X Bowen (Chn) 78 69, L Chun (Chn) 76 71, C Hai-Meng (Chn) 75 72, L Gagli  (Ita) 76 71, D Coupland (Eng) 74 73,
148 S Henry  (Sco) 72 76, A Björk (Swe) 78 70, C Xiao-Ma (Chn) 75 73, H Ming-Jie (Chn) 73 75, L Xin-Yang (Chn) 78 70, S Brown (Eng) 75 73, S Zihan (Chn) 75 73,
149 C Aguilar  (Esp) 72 77, H Ren (Chn) 74 75, F Zhi-Peng (Chn) 71 78, J Edfors (Swe) 78 71,
150 J Chuan-Lin (Chn) 75 75, H Jian (Chn) 73 77, O Farr (Wal) 76 74
151 C Ding-Gen (Chn) 76 75, C Zi-Hao (Chn) 77 74
152 D Chen Xiao (Chn) 80 72, A Rota (Ita) 73 79, L Hao-Yuan (Chn) 76 76, Q Da (Chn) 80 72,
153 Z Xiongyi (Chn) 82 71, W Zi-Ting (Chn) 77 76, Y Yi-Nong (Chn) 77 76
154 Y Hao (Chn) 76 78, M Yiyuan (Chn) 74 80, X Zhi (Chn) 78 76, L Gui-Ming (Chn) 75 79
155 M Cheng-Yao (Chn) 77 78, L Jun-Feng (Chn) 77 78, F Shuanglong (Chn) 79 76
156 Y Quan (Chn) 78 78, J Rask (Swe) 78 78, S Chuan (Chn) 78 78,
157 Z Wei-Yu (Chn) 80 77, Y Zheng (Chn) 78 79, Z Jia (Chn) 79 78, G Si-Xian (Chn) 74 83
160 X Se (Chn) 78 82
161 X Qin (Chn) 77 84, H Yong-Le (Chn) 86 75, L Xiaofei (Chn) 88 73, Z Zi-Hong (Chn) 78 83,
163 S Qiang (Chn) 79 84
166 L Zi-Wei (Chn) 87 79
172 O Zhi-Jun (Chn) 87 85




EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Labels:

AUSSIES HEND AND GROOM SHARE HALFWAY LEAD


 ELS STRUGGLES, JIMENEZ MISSES CUT

IN VENETIAN MACAU OPEN

ASIAN TOUR NEWS RELEASE
Macau: Title holder Scott Hend of Australia fought his way into a share of the halfway lead with countryman Adam Groom as he kept up his chase for a second successive victory at the US$900,000 Venetian Macau Open
Winner in Hong Kong last weekend, the long-hitting Hend survived blustery conditions at the Macau Golf and Country Club to post a one-under-par 70 and a 10-under-par 132 aggregate which was matched by Groom, who carded a 67.
Switzerland’s Martin Rominger, with wife Simona on the bag, overcame a double bogey to card a 68 and lies one back while Chinese Taipei’s prospect Chan Shih-chang produced the day’s best with a 64 for joint fourth place on 134 with overnight leader Anirban Lahiri of India, who struggled to a 73.
After opening with a 70 on Thursday, Ernie Els of South Africa, the tournament’s top draw, could only manage a 72 and will enter the weekend rounds a  10 shots behind the leaders. 
Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez missed the halfway cut set at 142 by two after adding a second straight 72.
SECOND-ROUND SCORES
Par 142 (2x71) Yardage: 6,604
132 Scott HEND (AUS) 62-70, Adam GROOM (AUS) 65-67.
133 Martin ROMINGER (SUI) 65-68.
134 Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 61-73, CHAN Shih-chang (TPE) 70-64.
136 Pariya JUNHASAVASDIKUL (THA) 69-67.
137 Sam BRAZEL (AUS) 64-73, Daniel CHOPRA (SWE) 69-68, Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 67-70, Jaakko MAKITALO (FIN) 69-68.
138 Kalem RICHARDSON (AUS) 66-72, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 68-70, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 70-68.
139 Joonas GRANBERG (FIN) 71-68, Berry HENSON (USA) 69-70, Chinnarat PHADUNGSIL (THA) 69-70, S.S.P CHOWRASIA (IND) 66-73, Jay BAYRON (PHI) 68-71, Unho PARK (AUS) 70-69, WANG Jeung-hun (SKOR) 71-68, Charlie WI (KOR) 69-70, Sam CYR (USA) 68-71, Chan KIM (USA) 70-69, Kieran PRATT (AUS) 70-69.
140 Jeev Milkha SINGH (IND) 71-69, Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) 71-69, Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 66-74, Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) 70-70, Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 66-74, Rikard KARLBERG (SWE) 70-70, Adilson DA SILVA (BRA) 69-71, Namchok TANTIPOKHAKUL (THA) 72-68, Elmer SALVADOR (PHI) 70-70, Shiv KAPUR (IND) 73-67.
 
Selected:
142: Ernie ELS (RSA) 70-72
MISSED THE CUT
144: Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp) 71-71
 

Labels:

SCOTTISH PGA CHAMPION EARNS 2,000 EUROS OVER FOUR ROUNDS

GARETH WRIGHT WINS BY 23 STROKES

IN CARR GOLF INVITATIONAL PRO-AM




  NEWS RELEASE
 
The 2014 Carr Golf Invitational Pro-Am culminated with a wire-to-wire, runaway victory for Scottish PGA champion Gareth Wright, pictured above, West Linton Golf Club's Welsh tour pro.
A  final round of two-over par 73 was more than enough to clinch the individual title and a 1,500 euros winner's cheque at Royal County Down.
Wright’s play has been exemplary across all four rounds, battling the elements as Ireland saw some of the worst weather this year.  But the former Glenmuir PGA professional champion's  final round 73 at Royal County Down took his total to four-over par for the tournament (290),  23 shots clear of the field behind.
The first round was played at Portmarnock, the second at Royal Co Down and the third at Royal Portrush before returning to Royal Co Down for the final round.
Wright's earlier rounds were 71, 77 and 69Americans Jim Dietiers (313) and Ryan George (314) finished a distant second and thi9rd to earne 1,200 and 900 euros repestively.
Gareth Wright earned another 500 euros as he and the
West Linton GC trio of amateurs, Austin Carey, Brian Chamley and Brian Maxwell (284) finished third in the pro-am team event behind Paul Hollenbaugh’s New Albany Country Club team of Ken Weixel, Barry Holmes, and Brad Weixel

Labels:

FIFER'S GREAT EFFORT IN BID TO KEEP EUROPEAN TOUR CARD


 Peter Whiteford pictured on his way to a repeat 66 in Australia. Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c).
PETER WHITEFORD LEADS AFTER


BACK-TO-BACK SIX-UNDER 66s

   
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Kirkcaldy-born Peter Whiteford put himself in position for a last ditch effort to keep his European Tour card by taking the halfway lead at 12-under-par 132 with back-to-back rounds of 66 in the ISPS HANDA Perth International in West Australia.
Lying 149th on The Race to Dubai at the start of the week and needing a top two finish in Western Australia to force his way into the top 111 to retain his playing privileges for next season, the 34-year-old Scot, who plays out of the Wellsgreen Driving Range and was Scottish U16 boys' champion in 1996 (the same year his older brother Stewart was Scottish U18 boys' match-play champion), soared into the lead at Lake Karrinyup Country Club with an eagle on the seventh, his 16th, followed by two pars for a back nine of 31..
That carried him past overnight joint leader, Thorbjørn Olesen of Denmark, with Sihwan Kim of South Korea, another player needing a top two to avoid a trip to the Qualifying School, a further shot back in third place.
Yet another Scot on the bubble, Edinburgh-born 39-year-old David Drysdale, is also in the mix at nine under par alongside England’s James Morrison, whose second-round, nine-birdie 63 set a course record.
Olesen, who at 64th on The Race to Dubai is looking to move into the top 60 ahead of next month’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, held the lead for much of the day after following is opening 64 with a 69 until Whiteford stole pole position late on.
Only the top 111 on The Race to Dubai at close of play on Sunday will retain their playing privileges for 2015.

KEY QUOTES

PETER WHITEFORD
“It’s now no holds barred.  Win or bust.
“I am very nervous.  There's no doubt about that.  I’ve got to just keep attacking.  I don't want to go back to Q School.  Nobody does.  But I get what I deserve in this game, and I've been awful all year. It's nice that the form is coming back later on in the year.
“Played great.  Kind of felt like I got what I deserved.  Not often you say that in golf.  You're always thinking you could've done better.  But that eagle sort of made me feel a lot better.”

THORBJORN OLESEN

“It's always tough to come back after a great round.   But I felt like I played solid out there.  I gave myself a lot of chances for birdie, especially on the front nine.  Had a few lip-outs, but the pins were a little bit trickier today and it made to a bit trickier with the putter.   So I'm happy with the way I played.  Hit a lot of greens and that's important here.
“My save on 17 I think was very important.  That up and down from the bunker was a tricky shot and I played it beautifully.   The last three holes were key.”


+The only Scots who did not survive the halfway cut at one-under-par 143 were Alastair Forsyth (73-73) and Chris Doak (74-72), both on 146.
Aberdeen-born, Australian-raised Michael Sim plummeted from a first-round 66 to a 77 but just made it through to the weekend action on the 143 mark.
HALFWAY SCOREBOARD

Par 144 (2x72)
132 P Whiteford (Sco) 66 66,
133 T Olesen (Den) 64 69
134 S Kim (SKor) 66 68
135 J Morrison  (Eng) 72 63, D Drysdale (Sco) 67 68
136 R Green (Aus) 68 68, J Wade (Aus) 64 72
137 C Schwartzel  (RSA) 68 69
138 V Dubuisson  (Fra) 71 67, J Nitties (Aus) 69 69, M Fraser (Aus) 68 70
139 J Hansen  (Den) 71 68, J Younger (Aus) 69 70, R Fox (Nzl) 69 70, S Dartnall (Aus) 68 71, B Rumford (Aus) 67 72, S Wakefield (Eng) 72 67,
140 J Quesne  (Fra) 67 73, R Bland (Eng) 68 72, G Stal  (Fra) 69 71, M Foster (Eng) 67 73, P Uihlein  (USA) 69 71, D McGrane (Irl) 70 70, R Haller (Aus) 71 69, J Dufner (USA) 70 70, C Rice (Aus) 68 72, D McKenzie (Aus) 70 70, M Griffin (Aus) 67 73, J Norris (Aus) 71 69, P Spargo (Aus) 70 70, W Ormsby (Aus) 72 68, S Kjeldsen (Den) 69 71, R Gibson (Aus) 70 70, T Lewis (Eng) 66 74,
141 L Bjerregaard  (Den) 71 70, J Scrivener (Aus) 67 74, P O'Malley (Aus) 72 69, J McLeary  (Sco) 70 71, M Korhonen (Fin) 71 70, K Phelan (Irl) 72 69, G Bourdy (Fra) 69 72, J Parry (Eng) 69 72, D Bransdon (Aus) 69 72, D Huizing (Ned) 68 73, A Pavan (Ita) 71 70, N Holman  (Aus) 73 68, M Nixon (Eng) 70 71, S Manley (Wal) 73 68, J Doherty  (Sco) 69 72
142 O Goss (Aus) 68 74, R Gonzalez (Arg) 68 74, N Elvira  (Esp) 71 71, N Green (Aus) 71 71, C Lee (Sco) 73 69, N Gillespie (Nzl) 71 71
143 S Jamieson  (Sco) 69 74, J Heath  (Eng) 72 71, G Chalmers (Aus) 70 73, M Long (Nzl) 69 74, M Sim  (Aus) 66 77, C Del Moral (Esp) 71 72, S Bowditch (Aus) 73 70, S Hansen (Den) 72 71, R Kakko  (Fin) 72 71, S Jeffress (Aus) 74 69, M Carlsson  (Swe) 67 76, B Ninyette (Aus) 69 74, A Brown (Aus) 68 75, D Nisbet  (Aus) 71 72

MISSED THE CUT
144 N Cullen (Aus) 71 73, M McCardle (Aus) 71 73, A Gee  (Eng) 74 70, J Knutzon (USA) 71 73, S Jones (Aus) 72 72, J Campillo (Esp) 72 72, B Paolini (USA) 72 72, G Maybin (Nir) 71 73, M Pearce (Nzl) 70 74, M Jager (Aus) 71 73, A Stolz (Aus) 73 71
145 A Otaegui  (Esp) 70 75, R Jacquelin (Fra) 70 75, O Fisher  (Eng) 71 74, M Wright (Aus) 71 74, P Cooke (Aus) 71 74, J Higginbottom (Aus) 68 77, M Kieffer (Ger) 72 73, A Wall (Eng) 70 75, B Campbell (Nzl) 71 74, G Ogilvy (Aus) 73 72, S Strange (Aus) 72 73, A Townsend (Aus) 71 74, B Macpherson  (Aus) 72 73
146 A Martin (Aus) 72 74, D Klein  (Nzl) 72 74, S Leaney (Aus) 72 74, A Forsyth (Sco) 73 73, A Hartø  (Den) 73 73, E Molinari  (Ita) 70 76, A Summers (Aus) 73 73, C Campbell (Aus) 70 76, C Doak (Sco) 74 72, L Slattery (Eng) 76 70, J Walters (RSA) 75 71
147 V Riu  (Fra) 73 74, D Popovic (Aus) 75 72, A Stephens (Aus) 74 73, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 72 75, J Jeong (SKor) 72 75, P Fowler (Aus) 71 76
148 G Havret  (Fra) 74 74, S Houston (Aus) 72 76, M Millar (Aus) 73 75, A Kaleka  (Fra) 71 77, R Santos  (Por) 70 78, R Lee (Nzl) 74 74
149 D Horsey (Eng) 77 72, D Im (USA) 72 77, J Lara (Esp) 76 73, S Laycock (Aus) 72 77, C Parry (Aus) 74 75
150 L McKechnie (Aus) 73 77, J Wilson (Aus) 74 76, J Geary  (Nzl) 72 78, C O'Reilly (Aus) 77 73, M Perry (Nzl) 74 76
151 M Giles (Aus) 76 75, R Lynch (Aus) 75 76, D McKendrick (Aus) 76 75
152 M Ballard (Aus) 75 77, T Pieters  (Bel) 79 73, G Paddison (Nzl) 77 75, R Kulacz (Aus) 77 75, P Lawrie (Irl) 75 77, L Deagan (Aus) 76 76
153 M Brown (Nzl) 77 76, R Blizard (Aus) 72 81, A Hall (Aus) 76 77
154 E De La Riva  (Esp) 76 78, A Saddier (Fra) 77 77 155 L Zhiqun (Sin) 78 77

156 S Webster (Eng) 74 82
158 T Bond (Aus) 80 78

 Withdrew: D Willett  (Eng) 73 WD,
 


EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Labels:

CARR GOLF INVITATIONAL PRO-AM IN NORTHERN IRELAND

 
GARETH WRIGHT LEADS AFTER THREE 
 
ROUNDS AT ROYAL COUNTY DOWN
 
West Linton tour pro Gareth Wright, has dominated from the beginning of the 2014 Carr Golf Invitational Pro-Am and is in place to take the title when play culminates at Royal County Down Golf Club.
The former Glenmuir PGA professional champion has put himself in pole position after posting the only sub-par round of Thursday's play with a three-under par 69 at former Senior Open Championship venue, Royal Portrush Golf Club.
Two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine left things even for the day, and as the Welshman said himself, his play was “solid” and involved “nothing spectacular”.  
But a birdie at 15 and an eagle at 17 were perhaps to the contrary and allowed Wright to finish at two-over par (217) through three rounds, no less than 18 shots ahead of the chasing pack.
PGA of America professional, Jim Deiters, returned back to the form of Round 1 with a four-over par 76, and a total of 235 (+20), and whilst first position is perhaps out of reach with a single round remaining, the battle for second is hotting up.
Ryan George (PGA of America) is just one behind Deiters after the second lowest round of the day of one-over par got him to 21-over par (236).  Meanwhile, the PGA of America’s Paul Griffin is just another four back on 240 (+25) after Round 3’s four-over par 76.
In the Team Pro-Am Deiters’ team, Midland Country Club, sit atop the leaderboard with a total of 222 points (-6) after their eight-under 80 points for Round 3.  Second place is again Wright’s West Linton GC team with 214 points (+2), whilst John Nowosatka’s Midland Country Club team are in third place with 209 points (+7).
 
For live scores as they come in and more news and updates visit http://eur.pe/V1yeEv

Labels:

SCOT RESPONDING TO PRESSURE DOWN UNDERE

   PETER WHITEFORD, joint third after opening round of six-under 66 in Australia.
  
PETER WHITEFORD, IN THE MIX IN



AUSTRALIA, NEEDS TOP-TWO FINISH

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen and Australian qualifier John Wade fired matching course record rounds of 64 at Lake Karrinyup to share the first round lead at the ISPS HANDA Perth International in Australia
The 46 year old Wade, who spent a couple of seasons on The European Tour after twice coming through Qualifying School in the late nineties, capitalised on a flying start to post a flawless round, which was matched late in the day by the similarly bogey-free Olesen.
Wade only secured his place in the tournament by birdieing the last three holes of Monday qualifying, and continued with a scintillating start that saw four birdies in his first five holes followed by an eagle at the long 15th having begun his round on the tenth.
After turning in 30 Wade, whose only professional victory came on the Challenge Tour in 2006, picked up further shots from six feet at the third and 12 feet at the seventh.
Olesen, who at 64th on The Race to Dubai is looking to move into the top 60 ahead of next month’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, won his only European Tour title in Sicily two years ago, but the 24 year old has long been touted as a future star of the game and reinforced that promise with eight birdies in a fine putting display.
Only the top 111 players on The Race to Dubai at close of play on Sunday will retain their playing privileges for 2015, 104th-placed Tom Lewis, 138th-placed Sihwan Kim and 149th-ranked Peter Whiteford all enhanced their chances with rounds of 66.
Kim and Whiteford need a top-two finish to avoid a trip to Qualifying School, while Lewis should be safe barring an unlikely set of results.
The man currently in the firing line, 111th-placed Matthew Nixon posted a two under 70, while Major Champions Charl Schwartzel and Jason Dufner carded rounds of 68 and 70 respectively, with the South African chipping in on the ninth.

KEY QUOTES

THORBJORN OLESEN
“I played really, really well the front nine especially. The back nine I hit a couple bad drives, but got a little bit lucky and got away with them.
“My short game was amazing out there. My chipping, bunker shots were really, really good, so I’m very pleased with the round.
“It's been a few years since I won. Especially the last six months I feel like I've played some good golf and just haven't been able to put the rounds together, so it’s been a dry period. It would be really, really nice to get some confidence back, and to get a win would be amazing.
“Start of the year I actually fell off a camel in the desert and pulled my muscle there, so took a couple months before I was ready to play."

JOHN WADE
“It feels a bit weird actually. I certainly haven't been top of the leaderboard for a hell of a long time.
“I just got a fast start and didn't really leave any out there. I got a couple of up and downs in which helps your round, definitely.
“It's been an unknown quantity at the moment, to be honest. I've played bits and pieces - I played the British Open last year, which in a way I called on that a little bit today. I played a British Open at Muirfield with no golf, and that's pretty scary. I got through qualifying and had to really try to man up in front of a pretty intense environment.
“So I felt today at least, even though it was a long time ago, it was over 12 months ago, you can draw on some of that stuff at my age. That gets you through days like today when you're playing okay."


ROUND ONE SCORES
Par 72
64 T Olesen (Den) , J Wade (Aus)
66 T Lewis (Eng) , M Sim  (Aus) , P Whiteford (Sco) , S Kim (Kor)  

67 D Drysdale (Sco) , M Foster (Eng) , J Quesne  (Fra) , J Scrivener (Aus) , M Griffin (Aus) , B Rumford (Aus) , M Carlsson  (Swe) ,
 68 R Bland (Eng) , R Green (Aus) , A Brown (Aus) , R Gonzalez (Arg) , J Higginbottom (Aus) , M Fraser (Aus) , C Schwartzel  (RSA) , D Huizing (Ned) , S Dartnall (Aus) , C Rice (Aus) , O Goss (Aus) ,
 69 S Kjeldsen (Den) , P Uihlein  (USA) , J Nitties (Aus) , S Jamieson  (Sco) , D Bransdon (Aus) , R Fox (Nzl) , M Long (Nzl) , B Ninyette (Aus) , G Bourdy (Fra) , G Stal  (Fra) , J Parry (Eng) , J Younger (Aus) , J Doherty  (Sco)
 70 M Pearce (Nzl) , D McGrane (Irl) , E Molinari  (Ita) , G Chalmers (Aus) , J Dufner (USA) , R Jacquelin (Fra) , P Spargo (Aus) , C Campbell (Aus) , J McLeary  (Sco) , A Otaegui  (Esp) , R Gibson (Aus) , R Santos  (Por) , A Wall (Eng) , M Nixon (Eng) , D McKenzie (Aus) ,
 71 N Elvira  (Esp) , N Cullen (Aus) , N Gillespie (Nzl) , L Bjerregaard  (Den) , G Maybin (Nir) , B Campbell (Nzl) , P Fowler (Aus) , O Fisher  (Eng) , V Dubuisson  (Fra) , M McCardle (Aus) , A Pavan (Ita) , A Kaleka  (Fra) , C Del Moral (Esp) , J Norris (Aus) , J Knutzon (USA) , M Korhonen (Fin) , M Wright (Aus) , A Townsend (Aus) , R Haller (Aus) , N Green (Aus) , P Cooke (Aus) , D Nisbet  (Aus) , J Hansen  (Den) , M Jager (Aus) ,
 72 S Strange (Aus) , R Blizard (Aus) , S Laycock (Aus) , J Jeong (Kor) , S Jones (Aus) , S Houston (Aus) , J Campillo (Esp) , S Wakefield (Eng) , J Morrison  (Eng) , W Ormsby (Aus) , J Heath  (Eng) , P O'Malley (Aus) , A Martin (Aus) , M Kieffer (Ger) , J Geary  (Nzl) , S Leaney (Aus) , B Paolini (USA) , F Andersson Hed (Swe) , D Klein  (Ger) , R Kakko  (Fin) , D Im (USA) , B Macpherson  (Aus) , K Phelan (Irl) , S Hansen (Den) ,
 73 A Forsyth (Sco) , M Millar (Aus) , V Riu  (Fra) , S Manley (Wal) , A Hartø  (Den) , A Summers (Aus) , C Lee (Sco) , G Ogilvy (Aus) , D Willett  (Eng) , N Holman  (Aus) , L McKechnie (Aus) , A Stolz (Aus) , S Bowditch (Aus) ,
 74 A Stephens (Aus) , R Lee (Nzl) , G Havret  (Fra) , J Wilson (Aus) , S Webster (Eng) , S Jeffress (Aus) , A Gee  (Eng) , M Perry (Aus) , C Doak (Sco) , C Parry (Aus) ,
 75 P Lawrie (Irl) , R Lynch (Aus) , D Popovic (Aus) , M Ballard (Aus) , J Walters (RSA) ,
 76 J Lara (Esp) , A Hall (Aus) , M Giles (Aus) , E De La Riva  (Esp) , L Slattery (Eng) , L Deagan (Aus) , D McKendrick (Aus) ,
 77 G Paddison (Nzl) , A Saddier (Fra) , C O'Reilly (Aus) , D Horsey (Eng) , R Kulacz (Aus) , M Brown (Nzl) ,
 78 L Zhiqun (Sin) ,
 79 T Pieters  (Bel) ,
 80 T Bond (Aus) ,




EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Labels:

LINK TO FALDO SERIES GRAND FINAL REPORT AND SCORES

Report and scores after two rounds at the Sir Nick Faldo Series Grand Final for boys and girls at Greenbrier, Virginia are on www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk

Labels:

Copyright © Colin Farquharson

If you can't find what you are looking for.... please check the Archive List or search this site with Google