WATSON IN THE MIX ON JAPAN TOUR

BUBBA BEHIND BY ONE IN JAPAN

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
By WILL GRAY

While many of the game's best are easing into the off-season, Bubba Watson is rolling right along in Asia.
Days after capturing the WGC-HSBC Champions in China in dramatic fashion, Watson is again on the leaderboard after two rounds of the Taiheiyo Masters on the Japan Golf Tour. 
 Watson opened with a 5-under 67 on the Gotemba Course at Taiheiyo Club, then added a 70 in the second round to sit alone in second place, one shot behind leader Hiroyuki Fujita.
After taking only 24 putts in his opening round, Watson's second-round highlight came on the par-4 10th hole, where he holed his approach for an eagle.
This marks Watson's first start on the Japan Golf Tour since 2005, when he finished T-39 at the Dunlop Phoenix. The globe-trotting southpaw will return to the U.S. next month, when he takes part in the 18-man Hero World Challenge at Isleworth.
Other notables in the field in Tokyo include Hiroshi Iwata, who tied for third last week in Shanghai and is 1 under through 36 holes, and Ryo Ishikawa, who barely made the cut after rounds of 73 and 75.

THE MOST STRESSFUL TOURNAMENT ANY PLAYER HAS TO ENDURE

FIVE SCOTS AMONG EUROPEAN TOUR 

FINAL Q SCHOOL HOPEFULS

It's been described as the most stressful golf tournament that any player has to endure. Six rounds of "pure torture," almost all of it mental because the European Tour do not increase the degree of difficulty at the two PGA Catalunya Resort courses, to the north of Barcelona in north-east Spain, being used for the Final Qualifying School..
There are five Scottish hopefuls - Wallace Booth, Scott Henry, Ross Kellett, Duncan Stewart and Peter Whiteford - among a field of 156 players who will tee off on Saturday, playing for their immediate futures in the golfing world..
The first target is to be among the leading 70 and ties at the end of the first four rounds. They will go forward to the final 36 holes at the end of which the leading 25 and ties will have earned playing rights on the 2015 European Tour.
It might be just that bit tougher this year to make it up to the Big League. In the field there are 29 former winners on the European Tour, five former Challenge Tour Number 1s and six of the last seven Final Q Stage winners.

RECEIVER READY TO TAKE BIDS FOR OUTSTANDING RESORT PROPERTY

Ireland's Waterford Castle Hotel and Island

for sale at over 4.5 million euros

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Waterford Castle Hotel and Island

FROM GOLF BUSINESS NEWS SERVICE

For sale on the instructions of Eoin Ryan HLB McKeogh Gallagher Ryan, as Receiver, The Waterford Castle Hotel and Island (300 acres) including Waterford Castle Golf Course and 45 Garden Lodges, The Island, Waterford City, Ireland is offered through Colliers International with a Price Guide Excess €4.5m
Colliers international are proud to bring to the market this outstanding resort property which is being offered for sale by private treaty as a going concern.
It is believed that the first monastic settlement on the island dates from the 6th century and Maurice Fitzgerald, cousin of Strongbow, the English Earl of Pembroke sailed past the island and landed in Waterford in 1160. 
The island subsequently became home to the Fitzgerald family for some 800 years and more recently has been developed as a hotel resort.

CHIANGMAI CLASSIC REPORT, LEADING SCORES

JASON DUFNER FIVE SHOTS OFF THE 

 PACE ON THAILAND DEBUT

 

ASIAN TOUR NEWS RELEASE

Chiangmai, Thailand: Jyoti Randhawa of India charged into contention with a flawless seven-under-par 65 to seize a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the US$750,000 Chiangmai Golf Classic.

The 2002 Asian Tour number one birdied the last two holes from close range for an 11-under-par 133 total, which was one shot ahead of local talent Thanyakon Khrongpha, who matched Randhawa’s 65 after rolling in a 15ft eagle putt on the last hole.

Scott Barr of Australia and Rashid Khan of India signed for matching 69s to share third place on 137 while Major champion Jason Dufner fired a 69 to trail the leader by five shots at the picturesque Alpine Golf Resort Chiangmai. 

SECOND-ROUND SCOREBOARD

Par 72 Yardage 7,481

133 Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 68-65.

134 Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 69-65.

137 Scott BARR (AUS) 68-69, Rashid KHAN (IND) 68-69.

138 Jason DUFNER (USA) 69-69, MO Joong-kyung (SKOR) 69-69, George GANDRANATA (INA) 66-72.

139 Bryce EASTON (RSA) 68-71, Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) 69-70, Jbe KRUGER (RSA) 73-66, Mardan MAMAT (SIN) 67-72, HUNG Chien-yao (TPE) 71-68, Sutijet KOORATANAPISAN (THA) 70-69.

140 Nicholas FUNG (MAS) 68-72, Mithun PERERA (SRI) 70-70, Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 66-74, Kalem RICHARDSON (AUS) 71-69, LIN Wen-tang (TPE) 69-71, Paul PETERSON (USA) 70-70, Rory HIE (INA) 70-70.

141 Udorn DUANGDECHA (THA) 72-69, NOH Seung-yul (SKOR) 71-70, Scott HEND (AUS) 72-69, Terry PILKADARIS (AUS) 70-71, LU Wei-chih (TPE) 68-73, Namchok TANTIPOKHAKUL (THA) 71-70, Daisuke KATAOKA (JPN) 70-71, Adam GROOM (AUS) 72-69, Shubhankar SHARMA (IND) 71-70, Chikka S (IND) 69-72.

142 WANG Jeung-hun (SKOR) 70-72, Chawalit PLAPHOL (THA) 71-71, CHOO Tze Huang (SIN) 70-72, Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 70-72, Danny CHIA (MAS) 74-68, LEE Sung (SKOR) 72-70, Berry HENSON (USA) 75-67, Suppakorn UTHAIPAT (THA) 72-70, Simon YATES (SCO) 71-71, Poosit SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 74-68.

143 Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 73-70, Brett MUNSON (USA) 73-70, Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 68-75, Sam BRAZEL (AUS) 75-68, Richard T. LEE (CAN) 71-72, Michael TRAN (VNM) 72-71, Piya SWANGARUNPORN (THA) 74-69.

144 Mathiam KEYSER (RSA) 69-75, Grant JACKSON (ENG) 74-70, Chiragh KUMAR (IND) 69-75, Pijit PETCHKASEM (THA) 71-73, Jack MUNRO (AUS) 74-70, Unho PARK (AUS) 71-73, Wolmer MURILLO (VEN) 70-74, Martin ROMINGER (SUI) 73-71, M DHARMA (IND) 70-74, Jay BAYRON (PHI) 74-70, LIN Wen-hong (TPE) 70-74, Kieran PRATT (AUS) 71-73, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 71-73, Anthony KANG (USA) 74-70, Rattanon WANNASRICHAN (THA) 70-74.

 

TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN REPORT, HOW THEY STAND

Ian Poulter studying the line of a putt before play was halted for the day in Turkey. Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c).

POULTER SPARKLES, THEN LIGHTNING


THREAT HALTS PLAY EARLY FOR DAY

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Ian Poulter continued his superb form in Antalya before the threat of lightning brought a premature halt to the second day of the Turkish Airlines Open.
Tee times had been brought forward by 90min in an attempt to get play completed, but the forecast thunderstorm arrived earlier than expected and, following an aborted re-start, eventually forced play to be abandoned at 2.20pm, with Poulter on the 15th hole.
At 13 under par, the Ryder Cup star led by three shots from Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jonge when the siren sounded, with Australian Wade Ormsby and American Brooks Koepka a shot further back.
De Jonge was three under par for his 13 holes, whilst Koepka had picked up six shots through 15 holes.
Poulter, whose opening round of 64 meant he was a total of 27 under par for his last five rounds at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal, began the day one stroke behind Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiménez, and saw the gap widen as the oldest winner in European Tour history made birdies at the first two holes.
But Jiménez, who will celebrate his 51st birthday in January, then bogeyed the fourth and Poulter took advantage with a birdie on the same hole, before adding further gains at the sixth and seventh holes to move into the lead.
The 38 year old extended his advantage to three shots with a birdie from six feet on the tenth before chipping to within inches of the cup on the par five 11th to set up another.
Poulter carded just his second bogey of the week by three-putting the 12th hole as a strong wind heralded the onset of the storm, but that same wind meant the World Number 40 was able to reach the par five 13th in two and post an easy birdie.
The second round will resume at 8am, with the third round scheduled to begin at 9.15am.
Ian Poulter:
“To be on the top of the leaderboard is always nice.  It would have been nice to finish the round off, but I guess it wasn't meant to be today. We'll have to wait this one out, see what the weather is going to be like.  
"It's supposed to be pretty bad tonight and first thing in the morning.  Hopefully we can get Round 2 finished at some stage tomorrow and obviously get cracking on round three.
“The weather wasn't like this for the first 12 holes.  We had it pretty good.  So therefore we could take advantage of some of the holes out there, which is exactly what I did. 
"Then, all of a sudden, we had a wind switch around 11am, and it started to gust and that changes the golf course dramatically.  I think all of us were hoping the electricity was going to come in pretty quickly, because I don't think any of us wanted to be on this golf course in a 30mph wind."
Tournament Director Miguel Vidaor:
“We knew there was bad weather coming today. That’s why we moved the tee times forward by an hour and 15 minutes, which was as much as we could, given the daylight available.
“After watching that storm system coming through, the weatherman thought we were going to get a break of about an hour and 45 minutes until the next one. But he did say there was a chance, because of instability in the air, there would be other thunderstorms popping up. 
"As we went for the restart at 2.40pm, just as the players were warming up on the range, we had another cell just popping up southeast of us and heading towards us.
“So we have had to call it off for the day and come back tomorrow and restart at 8am. Playing 72 holes is still very much achievable. The players are going to play in the same groupings again in round three, which means we are going to gain a lot of time.
“All being well, we are looking at the last group going off in round three just after 11am tomorrow, which means we are going to be back on track finishing round three just after 4.00pm tomorrow, which then gives us the option to redraw for the final round on Sunday.”

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

No-one has yet completed their second round.
POSITIONS OUT ON COURSE ROUND 2
Ian Poulter -13 after 14 holes
Brendon De Jonge -10 after 13
Wade Ormsby -9 after 15
Miguel Angel Jimenez -8 after 14
Branden Grace -8 after 12
Shane Lowry -7 after 14

SCOTS' POSITIONS ROUND 2
Stephen Gallacher -6 after 10
Marc Warren -3 after 11
Scott Jamieson -3 after 10
Chris Doak -2 after eight
Richie Ramsay +2 after 15
Colin Montgomerie +4 after 16

TO VIEW ALL THE POSITIONS

CLICK HERE

SALTIRE ENERGY SUPPORT ONE MILLION EUROS PRIZE FUND

PAUL LAWRIE LAUNCHES EUROPEAN

TOUR MATCH-PLAY AT MURCAR LINKS
 
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
With a few extra words by Colin Farquharson 
The European Tour and Paul Lawrie, the two-time Ryder Cup player and Scotland’s most recent Major champion, today announced a new match-play tournament, which will be part of The Race to Dubai for the next three years: 2015-2016-2017.
The inaugural Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play will take place at Murcar Links Golf Club, on the outskirts of Lawrie’s native Aberdeen, from July 30- August 2, 2015.
With a prize fund of €1million, it will pit 64 of the leading players on The Race to Dubai against each other in a straight knock-out, match-play tournament over four days.
A stalwart of The European Tour over the past 23 seasons, Lawrie will be the tournament host, with his management company, 4 Sports and Entertainment, promoting the event, and Saltire Energy, one of his own sponsors, as the title sponsor.
Saltire Energy has its headquarters at Portlethen a mile or two to the south of Aberdeen. It is a leading supplier of state-of-the-art drilling equipment to the global oil and gas industry. 
The company, whose only shareholder is its founder and globe-trotting chief executive, Mike Loggie, has experienced rapid growth and an increase in profit figures since it was established in 1986.
It has sponsored Lawrie for the past three years and supported his foundation since 2008. Saltire Energy also supports lady pro Laura Murray, Ross Cameron and several other North-east pro golfers.
While his finest moment came in stroke play when he came from ten shots back to win The 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie, Lawrie has always held a strong affinity for match play, having represented Europe twice in The Ryder Cup.
He made a superb debut in the biennial contest two months after he lifted the Claret Jug, hitting the opening tee shot and claiming an impressive three and a half points, while he also played his part in the ‘Miracle of Medinah’ two years ago, defeating Brandt Snedeker in the singles as Europe staged a dramatic comeback.
Individually, Lawrie also reached the last eight of the WGC-Match Play Championship in 2000, eventually losing to Tiger Woods on the 18th hole, and was third in the Volvo World Match Play two years ago.
Through the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play, the 45-year-old is now giving other players the opportunity to gain vital match-play experience on one of Scotland’s top links courses, hosting an event at the top level of European golf for the first time, having previously supported the game at grassroots level through the Paul Lawrie Foundation.

Lawrie, pictured right being interviewed for TV after the Press Conference, said: ‘I'm delighted to be announcing this new tournament and it's fantastic to be bringing another European Tour event to my home town of Aberdeen. 
"Match play is a format that we don't get to play too often out on Tour, and so it's an exciting opportunity for an elite knock-out tournament to come to Scotland.
“I'm extremely grateful to Mike Loggie of Saltire Energy for sharing my vision with this and for coming on board as the event's title sponsor, as without the backing of such sponsors, none of this would be possible.”
Lawrie said the idea of having a match-play tournament came to him on the media day at Balgownie in the build-up to the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open this year.
"It's not an ego thing but I've always wanted to have a tournament with my name on it as part of the European Tour. It's all part of my desire to put something back into the game of golf that has been so good to me, " said Paul.

Mike Loggie, pictured right, said: “Saltire Energy has sponsored Paul Lawrie for several years and the company is delighted to have been approached to be the title sponsor for the Major champion’s exciting new golf event. This event is sure to be well received and it is an excellent sporting event that we have secured for the North-east.
“Saltire Energy is dedicated to supporting the local community in which it operates and has invested considerably in projects both locally within Aberdeen, but also internationally through the company’s Saltire in the Community programme. "Adding this event to our Saltire in the Community portfolio further supports Saltire Energy in its vision to create a sense of community spirit and responsibility within the areas the company operates.”
John Black, vice-captain of Murcar Links GC, said: "To have a European Tour event is a fantastic honour for Murcar Links Golf Club. It is a terrific match-play links."
George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said: “Paul Lawrie has been a strong and loyal supporter of The European Tour over the past three decades, as well as one of our finest players and ambassadors. 
"We are therefore delighted that he is putting something back into the game at the highest level of European golf with this new match-play event, on top of the commendable work he does at grassroots through the work of the Paul Lawrie Foundation.
“The Ryder Cup in Scotland was a huge success and demonstrated the appetite that Scottish golf fans have for match-play golf, so we must thank Paul, along with Saltire Energy and 4 Sports for helping this tournament to become part of The European Tour International Schedule. ”
Marcus Day, the Head of the Global Golf Division of 4sports, said: 
“4sports are delighted to be working in conjunction with Paul and the European Tour to launch the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play.  
"Paul has been a huge advocate for golf to youngsters across Scotland through the time he personally allocates to the Paul Lawrie Foundation, so to now have his own tour event in his home town of Aberdeen is another fantastic step in helping to promote the game. 
"The support of local companies, such as Saltire Energy, is also vital to help Paul achieve this.”
Lawrie has close connections with Murcar Links Golf Club through his Foundation.
About Saltire Energy:

Saltire Energy is headquartered in Portlethen, Aberdeen. It is a leading supplier of state-of-the-art drilling equipment to the global oil and gas industry. The company has experienced rapid growth and an increase in profit figures since it was established in 1986.
Saltire Energy comprises pressure control products and drilling tool products divisions.
Around 60% of Saltire Energy’s business is international, with a focus on the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, the Caspian Region and The North Sea, with further global development planned.
Saltire Energy is continuously developing its product offering in line with customer requirements and investing in new, innovative technology. 
All Saltire Energy products are accredited to full DNV requirements, to ensure the highest quality and safety standards. The inspection and repair of all the equipment owned by Saltire Energy is undertaken by dedicated third parties in accordance with OEM recommended procedures.


EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

JOHN PHILP FUNERAL SERVICE IN ST ANDREWS, NOV 19

Funeral details have been announced for long-serving PGA Member John Philp, who passed away this week aged 77.
John spent a number of years at Dalmahoy before going to the Old Course at St Andrews. Laterally he had a Golf Shop in St Andrews.
His funeral will take place on Wednesday, November 19 at 10.30 am, at Holy Trinity Church in St Andrews.