SCOT ELIMINATED BY SUPPLEMENTARY CUT

MARTIN LAIRD MISSES OUT BY ONE 

SHOT IN THIRD-ROUND CUT

Martin Laird followed Russell Knox on to the sidelines today, a victim of the supplementary third-round cut in the McGladrey Classic at Sea Island, Georgia.

Laird, pictured right, shot 68, 71 and 71 for a level-par tally of 210, one shot too many to stay in the tournament.  Englishman Brian Davis was also "ejected" on 211 with rounds of 71, 68 and 72.
Another European to be cut after 54 holes was Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez Castano with a total of 214 (70-69-75).
The trouble was that too many players made the halfway cut. Under US PGA Tour rules, there then follows a cut at the end of the third round, to bring the field down, in this tournament, to 71 players on 209 and better.
Americans Andrew Svoboda and Will MacKenzie share the lead on 12-under-par 198.
MacKenzie had a hole in one at the par-3 sixth in his third-round 65.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 210 (3x70)
Players from USA unless stated
198 Andrew Svoboda 66 66 66, Will MacKenzie 65 68 65
199 Russell Henley 68 63 68
201 Stewart Cink 69 69 63, Andrew Putnam 68 67 66, Chris Kirk 68 67 66, Fabian Gomez (Argentina) 67 66 68, Brendon de Jonge (Zimbabwe) 68 64 69

MISSED THIRD-ROUND CUT
211 Martin Laird (Scotland) 68 71 71, Brian Davis (England) 71 68 72
214 Gonzalo Fernandez Castano (Spain) 70 69 75

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THREE BIRDIES OVER LAST SIX HOLES

AUSSIE HEND LEADS BY TWO AT 

VENETIAN MACAU OPEN

ASIAN TOUR NEWS RELEASE
Macau: Defending champion Scott Hend of Australia raced two shots clear of India’s Anirban Lahiri after battling to a four-under-par 67 in the third round of the Venetian Macau Open on Saturday.
Despite feeling “flat”, the in-form Hend dug deep into his reserves to produce three birdies over his closing six holes at the Macau Golf and Country Club to give himself a shot at winning a second straight title following his triumph at the Hong Kong Open last week.
Lahiri, who finished runner-up to Hend in Macau last season, carded a solid bogey-free 67 for second place while Thailand’s Prom Meesawat fired the day’s best of 64 to lie three behind the leader in the US$900,000 Asian Tour event
“It was good, I feel about 65% and I felt average. Hopefully I can come back tomorrow and feel a little more energy and concentrate better. I’m just feeling flat, extremely flat. I was waiting for it to come after last week and it’s arrived. Hopefully the storm has past,” said the 41-year-old Aussie, who leads on 14-under-par 199.
The long-hitting Hend, chasing a seventh Asian Tour victory, came out of the blocks in stunning style when he nailed four successive birdies from the second hole which included a chip-in on the fifth.
But he stuttered with three bogeys over a five-hole stretch in mid-round before regaining his advantage with birdies on 13, 15 and 18.
“I just lost my concentration. I said to myself I was still in a good position and it didn’t matter if I had finished one or two shots behind. I think I could still come from anywhere to lift the trophy again. We’re in position. Now, the race begins,” said Hend, who will be hoping to become only the second player after China’s Zhang Lian-wei to successfully defend the Venetian Macau Open title
“There’s no pressure. The pressure will be on the guys chasing. I’m the guy who won last week, I’m the one who’s got the title. I’ve been there and done that. It’ll be nice to lift another one but guess what, my name is on that trophy. Who knows ... the stars might align and I might get it and I’m going to try my hardest. I’m not going to give up. Whoever wins, we’ll have a duke out.”
Lahiri reaped the rewards of spending extra time at the practice green after Friday’s lackluster 73 as he rolled in birdies on one, six, nine and 17. The 27-year-old Indian, currently second on the Order of Merit, will be hoping to reproduce his opening round’s 61 or last year’s final round of 62 here in Macau to upstage Hend.
“When I left the range this morning, he (Hend) said he wanted to play with me and I’m looking forward to it,” smiled Lahiri, who is chasing his fifth Asian Tour title.
“I just told myself to come out more positively. Yesterday, I wasn’t in a good frame of mind but I just enjoyed my round today, something Thaworn (Wiratchant) said “I’m an old man and I enjoy my golf”.
“There’s certainly a lot to play for, a lot at stake, a lot of goals and targets. Sometimes, you just have to remember to enjoy yourself which is what I did.”
Burly Prom, who ended an eight-year winless run in Taipei last month, was in sparkling form as he fired seven birdies and kept the bogeys off his card for the second straight day. 
I hit it very well  and put myself in with a good chance,” said the Thai.
“Every time I play this course, it’s always tough. You have to be patient and set your mind very strong. When your thinking is good, your mind is good, you can swing the way you want. You’re just focused on the target. That’s all I’m trying to think.”
Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand (67), winner here in 2009, Chinese Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang (70), and co-overnight leader leader Adam Groom of Australia (72) are tied fourth, five back on 204 while South African star Ernie Els shot a 69 to lie in tied 22nd position on 211.


THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71) Yardage 6,604
199 Scott HEND (AUS) 62-70-67.
201 Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 61-73-67.
202 Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 68-70-64.
204 Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 67-70-67, CHAN Shih-chang (TPE) 70-64-70, Adam GROOM (AUS) 65-67-72.
205 Sam BRAZEL (AUS) 64-73-68.
206 Martin ROMINGER (SUI) 65-68-73.
207 Shiv KAPUR (IND) 73-67-67, Kieran PRATT (AUS) 70-69-68, Unho PARK (AUS) 70-69-68, Berry HENSON (USA) 69-70-68.
208 Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 66-74-68, WANG Jeung-hun (SKOR) 71-68-69.
209 Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 70-68-71, Kalem RICHARDSON (AUS) 66-72-71.

SELECTED SCORE
211: Ernie ELS (RSA) 70-72-69,

ENGLISHMAN KNOWS HE IS ON VERGE OF BIGGEST WIN OF CAREER

           Tournament leader Jason Palmer (picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)

JASON CHASING THE GOLDEN FLEECE

 
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Jason Palmer will take a one-shot advantage into the final round of the Challenge Tour's Foshan Open after four birdies and a bogey saw him post a 69 on a typically humid afternoon in Southern China.
The 30 year old Englishman handled the pressure cooker with aplomb to climb to 13 under par, a score which means he has held at least a share of the lead at the end of all three days so far at Foshan Golf Club.
His nearest challenger is Germany’s Bernd Ritthammer on his own in second place, while the English duo of Jason Barnes and Chris Hanson are a stroke further adrift at 11 under par, with all of the top four chasing a maiden European Challenge Tour title on Sunday.
As for Palmer, he credits his precise approach play to the undulating greens as the key to his success, a strategy that he will aim to implement on the final day too as he looks to rubber stamp a career-changing victory.
“It is not easy sleeping on the lead and I have had to do it two days running now, so hopefully I ‘m used to that going into tomorrow,” said Palmer, who also admitted to having been for dinner at McDonalds the past two nights.
 “You’ve got to hit the fairways because as soon as you miss you have no control out of the Bermuda rough, and then you have to hit the greens in the right places.
“I’ve said it before, but the greens here this week are fantastic, so if you can find them and you hit a good putt, it has a good chance of going in. It’s a joy to play on these greens.
“It was brilliant today. Out there every putt that shaved the edge or was dropping brought a big cheer. The galleries were great and I can’t thank them enough for the enthusiasm they are showing towards golf this week, it’s great to see. It looks like they are enjoying the event, and from a player’s perspective, we’re having a great time as well.
“Tomorrow is definitely the biggest day of my career, but you can’t think about that, and I need to put it all to the back of my mind. It will be a case of one shot at a time, concentrate on each shot, and hopefully the score will take care of itself.
“There are a lot of good players on the leaderboard and everyone is shooting under par, so you know you will need a good round. There are some great players there who won’t hand the tournament to you, so I’m going to have to go out there and make some birdies.
“The only way I have known in the past to cope with the pressure is to go one shot at a time, I know it is a cliché, but it is so true. You have to stay in the present, you can’t think about the bad or good in the past, and you can’t get too far ahead and start thinking about winning or trouble on a hole to come. One shot at a time is my motto tomorrow.”
Ritthammer will hope to convert his own good form of late into a maiden title on the second tier, following on from a tie for third last week in Chongqing.
This is the German’s fifth season on the Challenge Tour, and he will hope to finally cash in on his talent, but whatever happens on Sunday he is intent on enjoying himself as he tries to pick up a victory that would change his career.
“I have a very good chance tomorrow, and obviously the other guys are playing very solid, but the scoring is good. I played nicely apart from the last two holes, where I struggled a bit and made one or two mistakes, but the rest has been pretty good. My putting let me down a bit, but in general everything is OK.
“I’m just going to try and enjoy it tomorrow – that’s not just a phrase – I just want to make sure I enjoy the situation. I will try and play my best golf, but I don’t want to get angry when things go wrong as that will happen, so we will see where I end up.
“We are here to win and I have a great chance tomorrow, so we’ll see how far I get.”
Both Barnes and Hanson are alongside each other in a tie for fourth thanks to scores of 69 in each other’s company on Saturday.
Behind them is a whole host of top talent though including two time Challenge Tour winner Daniel Gaunt (70), former European Tour player Pelle Edberg (70), Belgian rookie Hugues Joannes (68) and England’s Chris Paisley (68).
Rounding out the top ten are another four players on nine under par, namely Ben Evans (68), Jens Fahrbring (69), Ricardo Gouveia (70) and Mark Tullo (68).
European Tour winner Rhys Davies and Spain’s Antonio Hortal shot the round of the day, a 66, to finish the day in a share of 25th and 19th respectively.
THIRD-ROUND SCOREB0ARD

203 J Palmer (Eng) 65 69 69
204 B Ritthammer (Ger) 66 69 69
205 J Barnes (Eng) 66 70 69, C Hanson (Eng) 68 68 69,
206 C Paisley  (Eng) 68 70 68, H Joannes  (Bel) 70 68 68, D Gaunt (Eng) 67 69 70, P Edberg (Swe) 70 66 70
207 R Gouveia (Por) 65 72 70, M Tullo (Chi) 69 70 68, J Fahrbring (Swe) 70 68 69, B Evans  (Eng) 67 72 68
208 C Shinkwin (Eng) 71 70 67, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 70 67, S Dong (Chn) 71 69 68, A McArthur  (Sco) 68 70 70, P Widegren  (Swe) 68 69 71, P Maddy (Eng) 71 68 69,
209 A Hortal  (Esp) 71 72 66, A Marshall (Eng) 73 67 69, R Coles (Eng) 71 69 69, S Tiley (Eng) 72 69 68, E Espana (Fra) 72 67 70, W Harrold (Eng) 67 67 75,
210 B Åkesson (Swe) 74 67 69, R Davies (Wal) 71 73 66, J Guerrier  (Fra) 69 71 70,
211 P Oriol (Esp) 68 69 74, J Huldahl (Den) 67 73 71, M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) 69 70 72, N Lemke (Swe) 71 73 67, P Dwyer (Eng) 70 71 70, M Delpodio  (Ita) 74 66 71, N Ravano (Ita) 72 70 69, L Ding-Feng (Chn) 66 72 73,
212 J Senior (Eng) 68 72 72, F Bergamaschi (Ita) 70 74 68, D Law (Sco) 70 73 69, B An (SKor) 73 68 71, M Wiegele  (Aut) 70 69 73, M Orrin (Eng) 68 72 72,
213 T Linard (Fra) 72 71 70, H Ze-Yu (Chn) 67 74 72, A Velasco (Esp) 70 71 72, T Sluiter  (Ned) 70 71 72,
214 C Ford (Eng) 73 70 71, C Yi (Chn) 72 71 71, O Zheng (Chn) 72 71 71, A Tadini (Ita) 74 70 70,
215 M Lafeber (Ned) 71 72 72, J Roos (RSA) 73 70 72,
216 R McGowan  (Eng) 69 72 75, Y Tian (Chn) 71 74 71, J Lando Casanova  (Fra) 70 71 75,
217 G Murray  (Sco) 69 71 77, H Wen-Yi (Chn) 72 73 72, Z Guo-Wu (Chn) 71 68 78,
218 Z Hui-Lin (Chn) 72 72 74, H Shao-Cai (Chn) 74 70 74,
219 P Relecom  (Bel) 74 68 77, W Weijun (Chn) 74 71 74

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

OVERNIGHT LEADER FROM KIKKCALDY SLUMPS TO A 75 ION AUSTRALIA

OLESEN LEADS, WHITEFORD DROPS 

BACK, DRYSDALE HAS MOMENTUM

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Thorbjørn Olesen (pictured above by courtesy of Getty Images(c), produced a commanding third- round display to establish a three shot lead at the ISPS HANDA Perth International in West Australia.
The 24 year old Dane had spoken on Friday of his belief that a second European Tour title was overdue, and set about fulfilling that prophecy with three birdies in his first four holes at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
Further gains followed at the 11th, 12th and 14th, before the former Sicilian Open winner dropped his only shot of the day at the 15th.
That led to a five under par 67 and a 16 under par total, three ahead of nearest challenger Sihwan Kim.
Kim is looking to make it consecutive South Korean wins in Perth following Jin Jeong’s triumph 12 months ago, and is playing under the added pressure of fighting to keep his European Tour card.
Only the top 111 players on The Race to Dubai at close of play tomorrow will retain their playing privileges for next season, and at 138th in the current standings the Challenge Tour graduate needs a top-two finish.
The same is true for overnight leader Peter Whiteford, who started the week 149th, but despite birdieing the first hole the Scot could only manage a 75 which left him seven shots back.
James Morrison followed Friday’s course record 63 with a 69 to move into third on 12 under, with America’s Peter Uihlein a shot further back after a round of 65.
The man in the firing line for those trying to keep their cards, 111th-ranked Matthew Nixon, eased his fears of a return to Qualifying School as a round of 69 took him to six under.
His nearest pursuers to make the cut, 116 David Drysdale from Edeinburgh and 117 Carlos del Moral, shot rounds of 71 and 69 respectively and lie tied fifth and tied 33rd – both need at least top-16 finishes.
KEY QUOTES

THORBJORN OLESEN
“It's great.  Really exciting.  I'm looking forward to standing on that first tee tomorrow and get the last round going and see if I can play some good golf.  Hopefully walk down on 18 and have a chance to win.
“I tried to go out there and be aggressive like I did the first two days, but I didn't have the game today.  Didn't feel good.  I was struggling out there.  I made some great up and downs to keep it going.  Great chip down the 3rd where I hit my tee shot way right.  So it was a fight all the way through, but I still had fun and I was fighting all the way.  So 5-under is a great score today.”
ROUND THREE SCORES
  par 216 (3x72)
 200 T Olesen (Den) 64 69 67,
 203 S Kim (SKor) 66 68 69,
 204 J Morrison  (Eng) 72 63 69,
 205 P Uihlein  (USA) 69 71 65,
 206 R Green (Aus) 68 68 70, D Drysdale (Sco) 67 68 71
 207 L Bjerregaard  (Den) 71 70 66, P Whiteford (Sco) 66 66 75, G Stal  (Fra) 69 71 67, M Foster (Eng) 67 73 67, C Schwartzel  (RSA) 68 69 70, S Dartnall (Aus) 68 71 6,
 208 A Pavan (Ita) 71 70 67, J Norris (Aus) 71 69 68, N Green (Aus) 71 71 66, V Dubuisson  (Fra) 71 67 70, J Hansen  (Den) 71 68 69, M Korhonen (Fin) 71 70 67 
209 J Dufner (USA) 70 70 69, M Fraser (Aus) 68 70 71, N Gillespie (Nzl) 71 71 67 
210 M Nixon (Eng) 70 71 69, J Nitties (Aus) 69 69 72, R Gibson (Aus) 70 70 70, J McLeary  (Sco) 70 71 69, R Bland (Eng) 68 72 70, M Griffin (Aus) 67 73 70, C Rice (Aus) 68 72 70
211 P O'Malley (Aus) 72 69 70, J Scrivener (Aus) 67 74 70, J Wade (Aus) 64 72 75, R Fox (Nzl) 69 70 72
212 W Ormsby (Aus) 72 68 72, G Bourdy (Fra) 69 72 71, B Rumford (Aus) 67 72 73, M Carlsson  (Swe) 67 76 69, J Quesne  (Fra) 67 73 72, S Jeffress (Aus) 74 69 69, C Del Moral (Esp) 71 72 69, G Chalmers (Aus) 70 73 69
213 K Phelan (Irl) 72 69 72, S Manley (Wal) 73 68 72, D McGrane (Irl) 70 70 73, J Younger (Aus) 69 70 74, J Heath  (Eng) 72 71 70, J Doherty  (Sco) 69 72 72
214 R Gonzalez (Arg) 68 74 72, R Haller (Aus) 71 69 74, S Jamieson  (Sco) 69 74 71, D McKenzie (Aus) 70 70 74, S Wakefield (Eng) 72 67 75, P Spargo (Aus) 70 70 74, D Huizing (Ned) 68 73 73, S Hansen (Den) 72 71 71, D Bransdon (Aus) 69 72 73, J Parry (Eng) 69 72 73, S Kjeldsen (Den) 69 71 74,
 215 B Ninyette (Aus) 69 74 72, S Bowditch (Aus) 73 70 72, A Brown (Aus) 68 75 72,
 216 T Lewis (Eng) 66 74 76, M Long (Nzl) 69 74 73, N Holman  (Aus) 73 68 75, N Elvira  (Esp) 71 71 74,
 217 D Nisbet  (Aus) 71 72 74, M Sim  (Aus) 66 77 74, C Lee (Sco) 73 69 75, O Goss (Aus) 68 74 75, R Kakko  (Fin) 72 71 74,

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

LINK TO FALDO SERIES GRAND FINAL REPORT, LEADING SCORES

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DUMFRIES MAN FINISHES THREE AHEAD OF DOUGAL CHALMERS

 OLE FOR IAN BROTHERSTON!  WINNER 

OF SCOTTISH SENIORS' SPANISH TITLE

Ian Brotherston from Dumfries, with a 54-hole aggregate of 224,  took the scratch honours by three shots from Dougal Chalmers at the Scottish Senior Golfing Society's Spanish Festival tournament, sponsored by McCrea Financial Services, over the Dave Thomas-designed course at Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort, Murcia in south-east Spain.

The  Handicap Singles Competition was won by local member  Jim Fealy (8) with an nett aggregate of 215. 

He was chased home by  Stewart Drysdale (4) and Denis McQuade (5) who both scored 218.
In the final of the doubles competition the scratch prize was won by the team of John and Scott MacDonald while the handicap tournament was won by the team of Alex Hogg and Denis  McQuade with a nine-under aggregate of 135

Scott and John followed their opening 67 with a patient 73 in round 2, highlighted by 2s at the 12th and 15th holes. John MacDonald sealed  victory with a bunker shot to 15 inches at the 16th and a 64 yard pitch to inches from the hole at 17. They had the luxury of a three-putt 6 at the last to win by two shots.

SSGS Spanish Festival 2014                                       Sponsored by McCrea Financial Services
Gross Position	Nett Position	Name	AGE	TOTAL GROSS	HCP	TOTAL NETT
1	19=	IAN BROTHERSTON	58	224	+2	230
2	8=	DOUGAL CHALMERS	57	227	1	224
3	4=	JAMES JOHNSTON	61	228	3	219
4=	8=	JOHN MACDONALD	59	230	2	224
4=	2=	STEWART DRYSDALE	54	230	4	218
6=	2=	DENIS MCQUADE	63	233	5	218
6=	19=	GORDON HAY	53	233	1	230
8	4=	ALAN MCNAUGHT	67	234	5	219
9=	24=	GORDON MACDONALD	66	235	1	232
9=	13	JIM KINLOCH	68	235	3	226
11	19=	MUIR TOWNSLEY	57	236	2	230
12	15=	GRAEME SHARP	54	237	3	228
13=	34=	IAN JEEN	56	239	1	236
13=	1	JIM  FEALY	66	239	8	215
13=	14	SCOTT MACDONALD	70	239	4	227
16	7	BRIAN KIDD	60	241	6	223
17=	8=	PETER KINLOCH	68	242	6	224
17=	27=	RICKY GRAY	59	242	3	233
19=	22=	DAVID SMITH	71	243	4	231
19=	15=	KIETH HOWIE	68	243	5	228
19=	38	ROBERT CRAW	54	243	2	237
19=	12	ROBERT YOUNG	61	243	6	225
23=	24=	ALAN HARRINGTON	64	244	4	232
23=	18	KEITH ROSS	58	244	5	229
25	34=	SANDY PIRIE	72	245	3	236
26	31=	GORDON DOIG	62	246	4	234
27=	33	ANDY ROSS	53	247	4	235
27=	24=	DEREK SIM	68	247	5	232
29	27=	DREW WILSON	67	248	5	233
30	4=	ALEX HOGG	66	249	10	219
31	44	FINDLAY JARDINE	57	252	3	243
32	45	ALAN HOGG	54	253	3	244
33	27=	RONNIE BROWNHILL	66	254	7	233
34=	40=	DONNIE LINDSAY	65	255	5	240
34=	40=	IAIN GOURLAY	59	255	5	240
34=	22=	RAY DONNELLY	72	255	8	231
37	39	MURRAY REID	59	256	6	238
38	27=	GORDON GRAY	72	257	8	233
39=	43	IAN KERR	57	260	6	242
39=	8=	NEISH CHISOLM	63	260	12	224
41	42	ALAN NELSON	63	262	7	241
42	15=	HUGH MCKENZIE	70	264	12	228
43	46	MALCOLM SIM	63	267	7	246
44	31=	LOTZ, DIETER	70	270	12	234
45=	34=	JACK DALEY	68	272	12	236
45=	34=	STEPHEN CONNELLY	62	272	12	236
47	47	RAY WATSON	70	274	8	250
48	48	NEIL CAMPBELL	62	275	8	251
49	50	PETER RHIND	65	278	7	257
50	49	ROBERT GORDON	59	288	12	252
51=	51=	BLAIR, RUSSELL	69	RET	8	RET
51=	51=	DUNCAN MCMORRAN	50	RET	8	RET
51=	51=	JIM NOON	62	RET	3	RET
51=	51=	JIM ROY	66	RET	7	RET
51=	51=	STUART BLACK	53	RET	0	RET
51=	51=	TONY CLARK	59	RET	2	RET

Dear Colin

Please find the final  scores attached