Saturday, October 03, 2015


BALLACK ON THE BALL AFTER ‘SHAKY’ START

 
IN ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

ST ANDREWS- Football legend Michael Ballack admits he was taken aback to find himself top of the Alfred Dunhill Links Team Championship leaderboard.
The former Bayern Munich and Chelsea midfielder put together an excellent third round at Kingsbarns – together with professional partner Florian Fritsch – to post a team total of 30-under par.
"Playing with Florian and having such an incredible result makes it special. Footballers are used to playing in front of 50-60,000 people, but this is different. My hands have been shaky, but the confidence has now started to come."
Rock legend Huey Lewis hopes to make the golfing news after his net eagle two on the iconic Road Hole at St Andrews thrust him into contention for the Team Championship.
He said: “The funny thing was, there was no applause at my approach – it was only when I got to the green that someone said the previous group were teeing off at the 18th. That’s the knowledgeable Scottish crowds for you. In America they would have gone crazy even with some guy at the top of his backswing!”
Lewis and 2012 winner Branden Grace start the final round at 27-under-par in the Team Championship and Huey added: “I’ll be walking up the 18th towards the end of the event – and that’s just a great experience for someone like me.”
Meanwhile film star Hugh Grant owes his big brother Jamie money after losing a bet on who would finish highest on the Team Championship leaderboard.
The elder Grant brother ended his third round at Kingsbarns 25-under par alongside pro partner Felipe Aguilar, compared to Hugh’s 13-under par total with pro David Howells and missing the cut.
“I think he owes me some money!” laughed Jamie. “It’s very good that we’re not playing together as we would have a fight very quickly. I like to talk a lot during golf and Hugh’s thing is to be completely silent.”Hugh claimed: “I didn’t know we had a bet on, he may have just invented that.”Sir Steve Redgrave, who has played in all 15 Alfred Dunhill Links Championships, also missed the cut. He said: “It’s probably some of the easiest conditions you can play in today and probably one of the worst rounds I have played.

" I found it tough today, but I've had a fantastic week even though I have got a bit of a depression at the moment.”

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Alfred Dunhill LinksChampionship Round 3 report and scores

 Thorbjorn Olesen leads by three with a round 

to go at Old Course, St Andrews

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Thorbjørn Olesen took advantage of perfect conditions to open up a three-stroke advantage at end of the third day of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at Carnoustie, St Andrews and Kingsbarns.
The two-time European Tour winner, partnered in the team competition by 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater, mixed eight birdies with a solitary bogey on his way to posting a seven under par 65 at St Andrews for a 17 under par aggregate total.
Germany’s Florian Fritsch, who played alongside the 1995 Open Champion John Daly, is three shots back on 14 under after notching six birdies and an eagle at Kingsbarns on Saturday.
Frenchman Benjamin Hebert is currently in third place on 13 under par, courtesy of six birdies and a single bogey at Carnoustie.
Further down the leaderboard, Ernie Els rolled back the years with a vintage display, carding a 66 at St Andrews to climb into a share of eighth place on 11 under par.


Six-under-par 210 was the cut mark for individual pros.
Key quotes:
Thorbjørn Olesen: “It was a great day. It started off bad by hitting it in the water on the first but I got over it. Played some good golf out there and my putter started to get very hot and I holed a lot of great putts. I have been struggling a bit lately. To be honest, it's been very tough this season with my wrist injury and playing some bad golf. But I've been finding my way and just practicing hard and just hoping for it to come along at some point.
“I was out for three months after the surgery on my wrist. There's been some good rounds, but just haven't been able to really do it for all four rounds. But hopefully I can do it this week. It's definitely nice to be up there on the leaderboard. It's always difficult to go into the last day with a lead. It's definitely not going to be easy but I'm going to go out there tomorrow and try my best.”
Florian Fritsch: “Today was a great day. I have to say that I had one of the most enjoyable rounds of golf I have ever had playing with John Daly. I have never been so relaxed on a golf course as I was today – the guy was just a joy to play with and I was so relaxed I didn’t even realise what my score was. We sat down in the recording area and he said to me ‘great 64 man’, and I was totally unaware that I had shot that. I am looking forward to tomorrow – I know I will be very anxious because there is so much at stake for me but at the same time I am going to try and enjoy it.”
Ernie Els: “This is unbelievable. We were here in July and couldn't get it done in four days, and here we come in October, and you can go to the beach and have a swim. Don't know what's going on, but I'm not complaining, it's beautiful. I'm pretty confident for the final round. Seems like all three days, I made some mistakes – especially on Thursday. But if I can play the same way I have today, I feel really confident. I love the golf course. I'm going to have to shoot something like a 63 or 64 to have a chance.”


Going in to the final round over the Old Course, St Andrews, Florian Fritsch and German footballer Michael Ballack lead the Team Championship on 30-under-par. Among the other teams making the cut were Grace and Lewis, and Olesen and Slater.
 ROUND THREE TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72) 

Sixty-one professionals make the 54-hole cut at six-under 210 plus plus the leading 20 teams
199 T Olesen (Den) 68 66 65
202 F Fritsch  (Ger) 68 70 64
203 B Hebert  (Fra) 69 67 67
204 J Lagergren (Swe) 71 71 62, B Dredge (Wal) 73 63 68, C Stroud (USA) 68 66 70, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 75 63 66,
205 E Els (RSA) 72 67 66, J Donaldson (Wal) 69 65 71, G Storm  (Eng) 69 68 68, B Koepka  (USA) 72 69 64, B Grace  (RSA) 73 64 68,
206 G McDowell  (Nir) 68 69 69, D Horsey (Eng) 72 70 64, S Kjeldsen (Den) 65 72 69, P Dunne (Irl) 64 70 72, A Cañizares  (Esp) 69 67 70, A Wall (Eng) 65 68 73, S Piercy (USA) 69 69 68, D Drysdale (Sco) 68 72 66,
207 M Nixon (Eng) 72 72 63, F Aguilar (Chi) 67 73 67, J Mullen  (Eng) 64 69 74, S Gallacher (Sco) 67 72 68, B Wiesberger  (Aut) 70 68 69, B Evans  (Eng) 70 72 65, M Ilonen  (Fin) 71 67 69, S Cink (USA) 73 65 69, J Morrison  (Eng) 67 70 70
208 F Zanotti (Par) 67 75 66, A Otaegui  (Esp) 68 70 70, P Hanson (Swe) 70 72 66, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 71 69 68, O Fisher  (Eng) 70 72 66, K Broberg (Swe) 64 74 70, C Bezuidenhout (RSA) 72 65 71, M Warren (Sco) 68 69 71, N Holman  (Aus) 68 68 72, C Wood  (Eng) 71 72 65, T Fleetwood  (Eng) 70 71 67,
209 N Dougherty  (Eng) 72 67 70, J Walters (RSA) 72 69 68, R Wattel  (Fra) 70 70 69, M Carlsson  (Swe) 70 72 67, R Finch  (Eng) 69 73 67, E Espana (Fra) 73 68 68, S Lowry  (Irl) 74 69 66, S Jamieson  (Sco) 72 68 69, V Dubuisson  (Fra) 74 68 67,
210 D Lingmerth (Swe) 71 66 73, D Van Tonder  (RSA) 69 70 71, J Randhawa (Ind) 70 69 71, G Stal  (Fra) 69 73 68, N Cullen (Aus) 70 73 67, G Bourdy (Fra) 71 70 69, J Kruger (RSA) 73 68 69, D Willett  (Eng) 74 68 68, N Colsaerts  (Bel) 73 70 67, M Kaymer (Ger) 68 68 74, S Hansen (Den) 71 69 70, Y Yang (SKor) 72 68 70,
MISSED THE CUT

211 D Clarke (Nir) 71 68 72, R Green (Aus) 69 73 69, T Van Der Walt (RSA) 75 66 70, O Wilson (Eng) 74 74 63, M Foster (Eng) 68 72 71, A Levy (Fra) 67 71 73, R Bland (Eng) 65 73 73, M Lampert (Ger) 67 71 73, M Bremner (RSA) 70 71 70, W Ormsby (Aus) 73 72 66
212 M Hoey  (Nir) 71 73 68, N Fasth (Swe) 74 69 69, R Jacquelin (Fra) 68 72 72, P Lawrie (Irl) 67 73 72, D Lipsky (USA) 72 75 65, M Madsen  (Den) 70 67 75, T Bjørn (Den) 71 72 69, O Farr (Wal) 71 71 70, M Lundberg (Swe) 71 72 69, L Westwood (Eng) 71 72 69, L Donald  (Eng) 71 70 71, R Kakko  (Fin) 73 71 68, R Fisher (Eng) 68 78 66
213 M Kieffer (Ger) 71 71 71, P Martin Benavides (Esp) 71 75 67, B An (SKor) 73 71 69, S Jeffress (Aus) 73 70 70, P Lawrie (Sco) 70 75 68, S Benson (Eng) 70 73 70, J Roos (RSA) 72 74 67, M Fraser (Aus) 66 74 73, H Otto (RSA) 70 71 72, E Compton (USA) 74 68 71, T Pieters  (Bel) 72 71 70, J Parry (Eng) 70 70 73, N Elvira  (Esp) 70 75 68, S Hutsby  (Eng) 68 75 70, D McGrane (Irl) 70 71 72, M Manassero (Ita) 70 75 68, S Lewton (Eng) 70 74 69,
214 J Barnes (Eng) 71 73 70, R Lee (Can) 76 68 70, J Luiten (Ned) 70 72 72, P Uihlein  (USA) 69 72 73, G Hurley (Irl) 73 72 69, C Schwartzel  (RSA) 72 70 72, J Campillo (Esp) 77 67 70, J Ahlers (RSA) 71 73 70, G Havret  (Fra) 71 75 68,
215 K Phelan (Irl) 71 72 72, P Larrazábal (Esp) 72 70 73, J Blaauw  (RSA) 76 66 73, A Quiros  (Esp) 70 72 73, M Tullo (Chi) 69 74 72, A Sullivan (Eng) 74 71 70, D Brooks (Eng) 75 72 68, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 74 68 73, P Harrington (Irl) 75 69 71, M Brown (Nzl) 75 69 71, O Schniederjans  (USA) (am) 75 71 69, G Mulroy (RSA) 67 68 80, S Kapur (Ind) 75 70 70,
216 D Howell (Eng) 75 72 69, P Edberg (Swe) 71 73 72, M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) 69 75 72, J Harvey (RSA) 72 73 71, R Karlberg  (Swe) 73 71 72, A Dodt (Aus) 72 70 74, D Fichardt (RSA) 69 71 76,
217 T Hatton (Eng) 69 75 73, A Johnston (Eng) 74 76 67, J Lando Casanova  (Fra) 74 74 69, D Papadatos (Aus) 74 76 67, J Harding  (RSA) 76 72 69, J Higginbottom (Aus) 75 70 72, J Quesne  (Fra) 71 70 76, T Lewis (Eng) 75 66 76,
218 L Bjerregaard  (Den) 76 75 67, S Hend (Aus) 77 75 66, P Perez (USA) 78 69 71, R Fox (Nzl) 75 77 66,
219 K Horne (RSA) 73 75 71, A Chesters  (Eng) 73 71 75, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 74 76 69, M Ford (Eng) 75 75 69,
220 L Slattery (Eng) 71 77 72, R Rock (Eng) 72 75 73, J Carlsson (Swe) 70 75 75,
221 R Karlsson (Swe) 77 77 67, P McGinley (Irl) 75 73 73, E Pepperell (Eng) 74 81 66, J Younger (Aus) 73 71 77,
222 M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) 75 76 71, P Peterson (USA) 68 79 75,
223 B Neil (Sco) 75 72 76,
224 M Crespi  (Ita) 78 75 71, S O'Hair (USA) 76 73 75, R Pugh  (Wal) 73 77 74,
225 C Lee (Sco) 79 75 71, R Paratore (Ita) 74 76 75, S Dartnall (Aus) 71 77 77,
226 J Singh (Ind) 77 76 73, J Daly (USA) 74 81 71,
227 S Chawrasia (Ind) 77 75 75,
229 J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 81 71 77,
234 T Levet (Fra) 75 78 81,
 ** C Doak (Sco) 73 retired (wrist injury)

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

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Whiteford, Murray and Stewart miss the cut

Delpodio continues to reign in Rome
 

 EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Matteo Delpodio maintained his commanding lead at the EMC Challenge Open as darkness fell on Rome’s Olgiata Golf Club, preventing the third round from being completed.
The Italian seemed to be playing a different course to the others, at one point moving six shots clear of the field, and sat on seven under par, five shots clear of three players, with 12 holes of his third round remaining.
Heavy rain on the first two days saw the completion of the second round delayed until the third morning, when fog postponed the resumption further.
Turin-born Delpodio was unaffected by the long waiting game, dropping only two shots in the first three days and minimising any errors made as he led by three shots at the halfway point.
Behind him after two rounds was Spaniard Borja Virto Astudillo, the only other man to shoot under par in his first two rounds, who said the interruptions due to the weather had proven problematic.
“It’s been a crazy week with all the delays,” said the 24 year old. “It seems like it’s taking forever and it’s not ideal but I’ll just try to take it easy, play as much as we can when we can.
“It’s difficult with all the waits, then fog this morning as well, but it’s the same for everyone. We get here really early and we leave really late, you’re on the course all day long, so it’s difficult.
“It’s hard to find a rhythm to your game because you have hours to wait in between your rounds – you play a little, wait, play a little more.
“I’m comfortable round here. I’ve been playing pretty well – nothing great, nothing special, just hitting the fairways, hitting the greens, making some putts.
“The most important thing is avoiding mistakes. It’s a long course, so I’ve made sure my mishits are just a little off the green, or away from the pin, but I’m not missing it off the tee which makes it easier to avoid a big number.
“The sunshine makes it a lot easier, especially compared to Thursday where it felt so long with the rain. Now some of the tees are moved up and the greens are soft so you can go for the pins a bit more aggressively.”
Astudillo, playing alongside Delpodio and Stuart Manley in the final group, struggled at the start of his third round, dropping three shots in his first six holes to fall eight shots behind the leader at the close of play.
Of the 63 players to make the cut at six over par 148 and better on the par-71 lay-out, Ricardo Gouveia again made the most eye-catching start to the third round, three birdies taking him to three under par overall and in second place on his own before a late bogey saw him share second place with Simon Griffiths and Sebastian Soderberg.
The Portuguese is the defending champion here, having claimed his maiden Challenge Tour victory in a play-off against Florian Fritsch 12 months ago, and looks well placed to compete for the crown again.


SECOND-ROUND SCORES
par 142 (2x71)
 137 M Delpodio  (Ita) 69 68,
 140 B Virto Astudillo (Esp) 70 70,
 141 S Manley (Wal) 73 68, R Gouveia (Por) 72 69, S Soderberg (Swe) 72 69,
 142 S Wakefield (Eng) 71 71, S Griffiths (Eng) 71 71, W Harrold (Eng) 70 72, A McArthur  (Sco) 73 69,
 143 A Björk (Swe) 71 72, E Dubois (Fra) 72 71, P Maddy (Eng) 73 70, J Rask (Swe) 72 71, R Davies (Wal) 73 70,
 144 M Salminen (Fin) 73 71, J Dantorp (Swe) 73 71, F Bergamaschi (Ita) 73 71, D Coupland (Eng) 73 71, A Velasco (Esp) 73 71, M Jonzon (Swe) 73 71,
 145 G Boyd  (Eng) 72 73, M Wiegele  (Aut) 72 73, J Heath  (Eng) 72 73, S Walker (Eng) 75 70, C Hanson (Eng) 75 70, S Henry  (Sco) 71 74, G Watremez (Bel) 73 72, C Shinkwin (Eng) 73 72, R McGowan  (Eng) 73 72, T Linard (Fra) 72 73, S Brown (Eng) 72 73, P Archer (Eng) 73 72, H Porteous (RSA) 77 68, T Tree (Eng) 75 70,
 146 C Berardo (Fra) 77 69, M Orrin (Eng) 74 72, N Quintarelli (Ita) 72 74, A Ahokas (Fin) 70 76, J Winther (Den) 74 72, F Laporta (Ita) 74 72, F Praegant (Aut) 76 70, V Riu  (Fra) 76 70, J Guerrier  (Fra) 74 72, R McGee (Irl) 74 72,
 147 A Tadini (Ita) 72 75, S Gros (Fra) 74 73, B Åkesson (Swe) 74 73, S Pitoni (Ita) 74 73, T Sluiter  (Ned) 74 73, M Southgate  (Eng) 73 74, A Hartø  (Den) 75 72, C Gloet  (Den) 76 71, N Geyger (Chi) 76 71, C Ford (Eng) 72 75,
 148 D Law (Sco) 76 72, A Pavan (Ita) 72 76, J Makitalo  (Fin) 76 72, H Joannes  (Bel) 76 72, R Coles (Eng) 75 73, J Sjöholm (Swe) 75 73, T Murray (Eng) 72 76, J Doherty  (Sco) 78 70, L Cianchetti (am) (Ita) 75 73#

MISSED THE CUT
 149 J Lima  (Por) 74 75, S Heisele (Ger) 76 73, L Motta (Ita) 76 73, A Dunbar (Nir) 72 77, S Jeppesen  (Swe) 75 74, L Gagli  (Ita) 76 73, M Søgaard  (Den) 74 75,
 150 P Whiteford (Sco) 76 74, J Gonnet  (Fra) 77 73, J Lara (Esp) 77 73, E Bertheussen (Nor) 73 77, E Cuartero Blanco  (Esp) 76 74, M Röhrig (Ger) 79 71, M Bernardini  (Ita) 76 74, N Ravano (Ita) 75 75, C Sordet  (Fra) 75 75, J Fahrbring (Swe) 76 74, B Stone (RSA) 75 75,
 151 R Evans  (Eng) 74 77, A Maestroni  (Ita) 75 76, S Arnold  (Aus) 80 71, D Huizing (Ned) 77 74, H Bacher (Aut) 78 73, M Schneider (Ger) 77 74, M Lafeber (Ned) 77 74, F Calmels  (Fra) 75 76, G Murray  (Sco) 78 73, A Altuntas (am) (Tur) 78 73,
 152 J Hansen  (Den) 78 74, L Nemecz (Aut) 77 75, P Widegren  (Swe) 75 77, R Santos  (Por) 79 73, R Whitson (Nir) 77 75, C Aguilar  (Esp) 79 73,
 153 D Im (USA) 82 71, D Stewart (Sco) 78 75, N Bertasio (Ita) 79 74,
 154 J Senior (Eng) 77 77,
 155 G Porteous (Eng) 75 80, A Bernadet  (Fra) 77 78, D Burmester (RSA) 80 75, J Huldahl (Den) 73 82,
 156 D Ulrich (Sui) 81 75, C Mivis  (Bel) 81 75,
 157 M Fenasse (Fra) 76 81,
 162 P Relecom  (Bel) 85 77,
 166 S Akarsu (am) (Tur) 83 83,
 172 A Rota (Ita) 89 83,
 ** F Andersson Hed (Swe) 80 disqualified, A Saddier (Fra) 79 retired, S Fallon (Eng) 80 retired, J San Felix (Esp) 79 retired, J Robinson (Eng) 78 withdrew, G Baumann  (Sui) 83 withdrew, D Woltman (USA) retired 0, D Foos (Ger) RT  0, W Booth  (Sco) retired.

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European Senior Tour report and scores



Simon P Brown sets the pace in
 France
 EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
England Simon P Brown birdied the last to take the outright lead with a six under par 66 in the weather-affected French Riviera Masters.
After heavy rain washed out the first day on Friday, the €400,000 tournament was reduced to 36 holes at Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort, a European Tour Destination.
When play finally got under way, Brown was quick out of the blocks, posting seven birdies and one bogey to lead by one shot from Paraguay’s Angel Franco and by two from Englishman Gary Emerson.
“I played very well from start to the finish,” said Brown, who is currently 43rd in the Order of Merit. “I started off very well and was four under on the back nine, which was my front nine as I teed off from the tenth.
“I holed a long putt on the 16th and a good up and down on the 17th, so I was hanging in there at the right time. I had some luck, which is what you need to have a round like this.
“I’ve already had two victories on the Senior Tour, both in 2013, and another one would be very nice.”
Franco mixed eight birdies, a bogey and a double in his 67, and said: “I feel like I’m recovering my game.
“The golf course was in really good shape and I think we really have to congratulate the greenkeepers because they did an incredible job to make it playable.
“My putting could have been better, but overall I’m very happy with this round. It would be great to win this week.”
Defending champion Philip Golding was three over par after seven holes, but bounced back for a level par 72 and a share of 19th place.
This is the final Senior Tour event before the season-ending MCB Tour Championship, for which the top 60 players in the Order of Merit qualify.
First round scores:
 
par 73 
66 S Brown (Eng) ,
67 A Franco (Par) ,
68 G Emerson (Eng) ,
69 G Manson (Aut) , G Marks (Eng)
70 S Luna (Esp) , J Gould (Eng)
71 M Martin (Esp) , G Rusnak (USA) , P Eales (Eng) , D Gilford (Eng) , R Sabarros (Fra) , C Monasterio (Arg) , J Sallat (Fra) , R Gibson (Can) , A Oldcorn (Sco) , A Bossert (Sui) , P Broadhurst (Eng) ,
72 G Ryall (Eng) , A Forsbrand (Swe) , M James (Eng) , R Drummond (Sco) , F Lamare (Fra) , M Davis (Eng) , P Linhart (Esp) , G Joyner (Aus) , P Golding (Eng) , B Lane (Eng)
73 D O'Sullivan (Irl) , T Thelen (USA) , J Carriles (Esp) , C Mason (Eng), S Cipa (Eng), J Remesy (Fra) , P Fowler (Aus) , M Farry (Fra) , M Atlevi (Swe) , L Zhang (Chn) , W Grant (Eng)
74 B Conser (USA) , C Rocca (Ita) , J Quiros (Esp) , C Williams (RSA) , A Sherborne (Eng) , D Smyth (Irl) , M Mackenzie (Eng) , M McLean (Eng) , S McAllister (Sco) , P Scott (Eng) ,
75 D Russell (Eng) , S Tinning (Den) , D Hospital (Esp) , B Cameron (Eng) , G Wolstenholme (Eng) , T Price (Aus) , R Rafferty (Nir) , M Mouland (Wal) ,
76 K Tarling (Can) , P Wesselingh (Eng), G Cali (Ita) , M Piñero (Esp) , M Bianco (Ita) , J Rivero (Esp) , L Carbonetti (Arg) , G Brand Jnr (Sco)
77 H Carbonetti (Arg)

78 M Cunning (USA) , P Walton (Irl)
79 J Harrison (Eng) , N Job (Eng)
80 P Dahlberg (Swe)
82 G Brand (Eng



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