Aphibarnrat crowned Match Play King at Murcar
 EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat kept his cool to conjure a magnificent, tournament-winning approach to the final green to beat Robert Karlsson by one hole in the final of the inaugural Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Matchplay at Murcar Links today.
The 26 year old was three up with four to play before losing the 15th, 16th and 17th, but held his nerve at the 18th to secure his third European Tour title, and second of the 2015 season, in quite sensational style.
Aphibarnrat, who ended hopes of a home win when he saw off Scotland's Marc Warren in the semi-finals on Sunday morning, took a two-hole lead after birdieing three of the first four holes of the final, and he increased his advantage at the sixth as Karlsson twice tangled with the heavy rough.
Karlsson reduced the deficit to just one hole after firing birdies at the eighth and ninth but this year's Shenzhen International winner Aphibarnrat took the 11th and 14th to return to three up.
Two birdies and a par at the next three holes saw the Swede draw level, and he looked to be in control on the 18th when he fired his second shot to ten feet.
But Aphibarnrat responded with interest, producing that wonderful second shot at the last, and after Karlsson had missed his putt, he rolled in from four feet to win the tournament.
Meanwhile England's David Howell, who Karlsson had defeated in the morning semi-final, recovered from his narrow semi-final defeat to Karlsson to beat Warren by one hole in Sunday afternoon's third / fourth place match.

Player Quotes

Kiradech Aphibarnrat: “I was striking the ball well and hitting it so well on the front nine, but then I lost a bit of energy and control. I started pulling some drives but I have to say I putted very well today and sank a lot of important putts – especially the putt to win which was very short but it was great to see it hit the middle of the hole. 
"I didn’t have too high expectations this week but I just came here and tried to enjoy the whole experience of playing in Scotland.
“This is a very important win for me because it is the first time I have won outside Asia. I have always said that we are just a little small country in Asia and that my next step to win in Europe, so I am so happy and so proud of myself that I was able to prove we also can win out of Asia. It’s an important win for Thai and all Asian players.”
Robert Karlsson: “He's tricky to play against because he's playing such a free and flowing golf it makes it slightly different. You never really know what he's going to do, which makes it tricky to stay on your own game because he's so aggressive. You know it most likely he's going to give a couple away, which he did on 8 and 15. But also, he's going to make birdies. 
He's tricky to play against but obviously a great, great player and made a fantastic birdie on the last so he deserved it the win.”
Paul Lawrie: “I think it's been an absolutely magnificent week to be fair. I don't think you could have asked for any more. 4Sports and Entertainment have promoted it for me and I think they have just done a wonderful job with everything. 
They have got everything right. It's their first real go at promoting a huge event. Mike Loggie at Saltire Energy is thrilled with how it's gone, as you can imagine. He's been here every day, and he's really enjoyed it, which is obviously the most important thing when your main guy is happy with how it's going. 
The feedback from the players has been brilliant. They have all loved the course so we look forward to trying to make the event bigger and better.”

Chappell has chance to score first US Tour victory

FROM GOLF CHANNEL.COM
By REX HOGGARD

GAINESVILLE, Virginia – Kevin Chappell grew up in California, went to college at UCLA and has a predictably laid-back view on life, but following a third-round 67 at the Quicken Loans National his Zen-like approach was refreshing nonetheless.
“I've done a really good job of functioning this week. That's the grass, that's the sky, that's the hole, this is my ball. Shoot the lowest score tomorrow and I win the golf tournament,” Chappell said. “That's the goal. And if I can function there and play my game I think I'll be all right.”
Of course, that low-pressure approach is easier when you’re hitting the golf ball as well as Chappell has been this week. He’s hit 35 of 42 fairways for the week and 44 of 54 greens in regulation on his way to a 14 under total and a share of the 54-hole lead at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
Still, his relaxed demeanour on the eve of what could be his first US PGA Tour victory says a lot about the 29-year-old and how he may handle the Sunday stress.
For Chappell, the final round will be an amazingly simple day.
“Dealing with the truth, have the facts. You have 168 [yards], hit it 168. Don't get ahead of yourself and just play my game,” he said. “I think that will be good enough.”
 TIGER SLIPS BACK WITH A 74

Tiger Woods’s shaky game passed a big test Friday by following up a low round with another one.

The third round at Quicken Loans National was all about seeing if his new swing could hold up while in contention for his first win in almost two years.
It wasn’t close.
Woods scrambled for the first seven holes before making a bogey on the par-5 8^th, and with the exception of a birdie putt at 15, a near-ace at 16 and gorgeous flop shot at 18, Woods had a disastrous day at the office with a 3-over 74 that sent him back down to 5 under par and nine shots behind co-leaders Troy Merritt and Kevin Chappell.
Warming up before the third round, Woods was fighting a hook and it carried over to the course.
“Sometimes it’s one of those things you hit it awful on the range and go stripe it on the golf course,” Woods said. “That wasn’t the case here.”
It sure wasn’t.
Woods only found one fairway on the front nine, and when he did find the short grass at the par-5 8^th he pulled his second shot left of the green and his ball came to rest on a service road. He blasted a pitch over the green and made bogey.
“At 8 I could turn it around, make a birdie here, and let’s get things going,” he said. “Then possibly sneak up to double digits here quickly after that and get things rolling. I went the exact opposite way. Made bogey at 8 and a double at 11.”
Woods pulled his tee shot left at the downhill, par-3 11th and turned away in disgust as his ball tumbled into the hazard. The double ended just about any chance Woods had of climbing back into contention.
“I was waiting for the one moment, the one shot,” he said. “I couldn’t find it.”
The one positive Woods took away from his round was his short game was very solid.
"Thank god my short game is back," he said. "It's the best I felt with the putter, and I rolled it so pure."
It couldn’t get much worse after the way Woods began the season chili dipping and skulling his pitch shots around Phoenix and Torrey Pines.
“At the beginning of the year, you saw how bad I was chipping it,” Woods said on Friday. 
“That was probably the worst. Changing [the] pattern of my chipping was so hard to do. I mean, I hit - for three days in a row I hit about 2,000 chips a day to try and fix it. And finally got it to where it was good enough to play at Augusta, and I almost pulled it off.”
Woods clearly found something the first two days at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club with rounds of 68 and 66. But now after another setback with his swing, Woods will be going out early on Sunday to try and post a low number, and at the very least gain some FedEx Cup points to possibly get into the upcoming playoffs with a good showing at the PGA Championship, and, perhaps, the Wyndham Championship.
With a win this weekend, Woods could have snuck into next week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, a tournament he’s won eight times. But that dream ended after his sloppy third round, and now Woods will have to try and put the pieces back together and hope he has a better start to his final round

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
USA players unless stated
199 Troy Merritt 70 68 61, Kevin Chappell 64 68 67
200 Rickie Fowler 65 67 68
BRITISH SCORES
202 Justin Rose (England) 66 71 65 (T8)
206 Brian Davis (England) 70 70 66 (T21)
207 Russell Knox (Scotland) 69 67 71, Greg Owen (England) 66 68 73
MISSED THE CUT (140 and better qualified)
141 Martin Laird (Scotland) 74 71