Ritthammer two clear with one round to go 

FROM THE CHALLENGE TOUR WEBSITE
Bernd Ritthammer was an immovable object at the top of the leaderboard on Moving Day at the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, a five under par third round of 67 taking him two shots clear of the chasing pack in Oman.
The German played flawless golf, making five birdies to move to 18 under par at Al Mouj Golf and put himself in contention for a third European Challenge Tour victory of the season.
Following Saturday’s final round, the top 16 on the season-long Road to Oman will graduate to the European Tour, and even though Ritthammer has long known he will be among them, he is keen to end the year in style.

“It doesn’t matter too much what happens here with me, but I do still really want to win,” said the 29 year old. “It would be very special to win the Grand Final as it is very different to all the other tournaments and I would love to do it.
“If you’re in a good position then expectations rise, but I am trying to stay the same as I was coming into this week because I was playing without any pressure.
“It wasn’t as easy as yesterday. I hit a couple of wayward shots on the front nine but managed to make some good saves, and I am pleased with not dropping a shot today.
“I am slightly surprised with the scoring today as the pins were a lot tougher and I have seen there are a lot of guys that are chasing me with plenty of low scores.  It is going to be tough tomorrow but I am ready for it.”
Matthieu Pavon will lead the hunt in Muscat, the Frenchman’s 65 giving him outright second on 16 under par, while Ryan Fox went one shot better to reach 15 under par and secure his place in the final group of the season.
The New Zealand Olympian has also given himself a chance to overtake Jordan Smith at the top of the Rankings if he is able to win tomorrow for the second time this season.
Behind them Julien Guerrier and Gary King have both given themselves an unlikely shot at European Tour cards by making significant moves, Guerrier shooting 64 and King tying the course record with a 63 as they reached 14 under par.

Mathematically only a top-two finish will suffice for either player, and King was delighted to have produced such a good performance when it mattered the most.
“I came into today knowing what is at stake,” said the 26 year old. “I felt a bit lethargic this morning after oversleeping last night, but I turned to my caddie after the seventh and said ‘six birdies on the spin really wakes you up.’
“It was really nice to get off to that strong start, and it was plain sailing from there for the rest of my round really.
“Knowing what is on the line, I would say this is probably the best round of golf I have ever played. I have had a couple of rounds where I have shot ten under and nine under before, but I think in the circumstances and with the pressure of knowing I had to go out there today and post a number like that, it has to be up there.”
THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
198 Bernd Ritthammer (Germany) 67 64 67
200 Matthieu Pavon (France) 66 69 65
201 Ryan Fox (New Zealand) 68 69 64

 SCOTS' SCORES
214 Scott Henry 75 69 70, Duncan Stewart 71 71 72 (T35).

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Western New Mexico pair down the field at Las Cruces as Grand Canyon score double whammy

Harry Wetton from Bedford, a senior-year student at Western New Mexico University, and team-mate Ross White, a junior from Dollar, finished T52 and T66 in a field of 87 at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate at the University course, Las Cruces, New Mexico in October over a par 71 course of 7,242yd.

Wetton (pictured left) had rounds of 72, 76 and 76 for 225 while White scored 78, 75 and 75 for 228.
Winner was Matt McClung (Grand Canyon) with three excellent scores of 65, 69 and 68 for 11-under-par 202. He won by one stroke and helped Grand Canyon to win the team event.
Odessa College, Texas had some players in the field but not Scot Chris Finnie, a freshman from Lockerbie. Chris was the Dumfries-shire men's stroke-play champion and the Lockerbie club champion in 2016 but it will probably take him time to settle in Texas before he shows his true form in the second half of the US college golf season.

Grand Canyon (837) were the team winners at Las Cruces, winning comfortably from Texas El Paso (85) and Wichita State (857). New Mexico State (860) came next and Odessa College (861) finish fifth.
Western New Mexico (903) tied for 13th place.



                                                                                                                                   ROSS WHITE

Scot Drysdale T8 at halfway but Great Dane 

Olesen leads by six in Turkish Open

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Great Dane Thorbjørn Olesen will take a commanding six-shot lead into the weekend at the Turkish Airlines Open after setting a new course record at Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort, Antalya.
Adrian Otaegui had earlier broken the record with a 63 before Olesen went one better to get to 15 under 127 over the par-71 course and sit in a comfortable position at the top of the leaderboard.
The Dane has not been in the best form of late, making just four of his last 13 cuts, but his game was in top condition on Friday as he gave a putting masterclass in making an eagle and eight birdies.
That left him six shots ahead of Spaniard Otaegui and Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee.

Olesen already has three European Tour wins to his name and a victory this week would make it three seasons in a row that he has taken home a trophy on Sunday afternoon.
"I feel like I've been up in contention in a lot of big events," he said. "I feel pretty comfortable. There's still 36 holes to go, so that's a lot of golf to be played, but I have to keep being aggressive out there. That's the only way I can win.
"A lot of things can happen on this course. You have quite a lot of water on it and you can get in some trouble.
"There's a lot of birdie and eagle chances out there so anything can happen. I have to keep being aggressive out there, keep going after some of the pins and still be aggressive on the greens as well."
He began the day one shot off the lead but hit the front with birdies on the second and sixth although he was soon joined by Otaegui who holed a lengthy putt on the fifth after starting on the 11th.
Back-to-back birdies on the eighth - courtesy of a 30-foot putt - and ninth moved Olesen ahead and while he three-putted the 11th for a bogey, he picked up six shots in as many holes from the 13th.
A brilliant approach brought a birdie and another followed on the next after an excellent tee-shot into the par three 14th. A 35-foot putt then produced an eagle on the par five 15th and a stunning approach that he had to bend round a post on the 17th helped move him five clear.
Yet another excellent iron shot then left an eight-foot putt for birdie on the last and Olesen made it to put himself in total control.
Otaegui was six shots off the lead at the start of the day but began his round with five birdies and when he made another on the 18th, he was quickly into a share of the pole position.
That birdie on the fifth was then followed by another on the eighth as the 23 year old put himself in position to challenge for a first European Tour title.
Jaidee has eight European Tour wins to his name and the 46 year old put in a typically consistent performance in his 66, carding six birdies and a bogey.
England's David Horsey, Swede Joakim Lagergren, China's Li Haotong and Italian Matteo Manassero were then all at eight under, a shot ahead of Spaniard Jorge Campillo and Scot David Drysdale.
Another Spaniard, Pablo Larrazábal, American David Lipsky and Austria's Bernd Wiesberger then completed the top ten at six under.

HALFWAY LEADERBOARD

Par 142 (2x71)

127 Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark) 65 62

133 Adrian Otaegui (Spain) 70 63, Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) 67  66.

SCOTS' SCORES

135 David Drysdale 67 68 (T8)

139 Richie Ramsay 71 68, Paul Lawrie 69 70 (T27)

143 Marc Warren 68 75 (T58).

 OTHER SCORES
140 Lee Westwood (England) 70 70.
140 Andrew Johnston (England) 71 69.
141 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 72 69.
143 Danny Willett (England) 69 74

David Law top Scot at end of first day of Stage 2 

at the European Tour Q School in Spain

David Law earned top billing among the cast of 17 Scots in action at the four Spanish venues for Stage 2 of the European Tour Qualifying School today.

The Aberdonian, pictured, shot a first-round six-under-par 65 at Lumine, Tarragona to share the lead there with England's Charlie Bull.
Law had seven birdies in halves of 31 and 34 with only one bogey, at the 15th.
Also at Lumine, another Paul Lawrie Golf Centre attached player, Ross Kelley, tied for third place with a 66 with included six birdies and one bogey.
Daniel Young from Perth had a double bogey 6 at the ninth. That knocked him back into a tie for 56th place on one-over 72.
Portlethen's Sam Kiloh (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) and Cawder's Jamie Savage tied for 64th place on 73. Kiloh had four birdies but a double bogey 6 at the 12th, as did Savage.
Former Scottish amateur champion and Walker Cup player Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) had the biggest bag of birdies among the Tartan Army. Playing at Las Colinas, Alicante, he had eight gains in halves for 33-34 for a 67 and a share of eighth place behind the three joint leaders on six-under 65 at Las Colinas, Alicante.
Forrest would have at least shared the lead at this venue but for a double bogey 6 at the eighth and two bogeys.
Also at Las Colinas, Paul Ferrier had a bogey-free 68 for joint 14th place.
Blairgowrie's Bradley Neil had a 69 for a share of 69th place.
Peter Whiteford is tied 38th on 70 while Daniel Kay (Dunbar), who had a 7 at the long 15th returned a one-over 72 for a share of 53rd place.
Scott Drummond's dismal form continued with a 75 for joint 68th place in a field of 80.
Comrie's Wallace Booth birdied five of his first seven holes in racing to the turn in 31 shots at El Saler, Valencia but after further birdies at the 11th and 12th, he came off the boil with bogeys at the 17th and 18th for a four-under 67 and a share of seventh place behind the leader at this venue, Fabien Marty (France) with a 68.
Amateur Liam Johnston had a double bogey 7 at the 15th after being five under par for the first 12 holes. The Doonhamer finished the day with a two-under 70 and a share of 23rd place at El Saler where former Scottish amateur champion Chris Robb (Meldrum House) had contrasting halves of 33 out and 40 in compiling a 73 for joint 48th place.
Former British boys champion Ewen Ferguson from Bearsden had a double bogey 6 at the 13th in his 74 for joint 57th place.
Rookie pro Jack McDonald from Ayrshire had double bogey 6s at the second and sixth on his way to a 78 (40-38) for joint 78th position.
At Panoramica, Castellon, Chris Doak is sharing 13th place on 68 after a strong finish which saw him birdie the 11th, 16th and 18th in 33 home.
Andrew McArthur is tied for 44th place with a 71 after dropping shots at four holes between the 10th and 16th.
Paul Shields matched the par of 72 for a share of 57th place while Jack Doherty will be disappointing with a 73 for joint 61st place.
Little-known Scot Tom Higson had a 76 for a share of 76th position.

COLLATED SCORES 

EUROPEAN TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL

Second Stage

Four venues in Spain

FIRST-ROUND SCORES

EL SALER, VALENCIA

Par 72

64 F Marty (Fra)

65 C Carstensen (Ger)

SCOTS' SCORES

67 W Booth (T7)

70 L Johnston (am) (T23)

73 C Robb (T48)

74 E Ferguson (T57)

78 J McDonald (T78)

LUMINE, TARRAGONA

Par 71

65 D Law (Sco), C Bull (Eng)

OTHER SCOTS' SCORES

66 R Kellett (T3)

72 D Young (T56)

73 S Kiloh, J Savage (T64)

LAS COLINAS, ALICANTE

Par 71

65 R Askstrand (Swe), N Johansson (Swe), P Pittayarat (Thai)

SCOTS' SCORES

68 P Ferrier (T14).

69 B Neil (T24)

70 P Whiteford (T38)

72 D Kay (T53)

75 S Drummond (T68)

PANORAMICA, CASTELLON

Par 72

63 V Riu (Fra)

64 B Etchart (Spa), C Ford (Eng), R Van der Spuy (SAf).

SCOTS' SCORES

68 C Doak (T13).

71 A McArthur (T44).

72 P Shields (T57)

73 J Doherty (T61)

76 T Higson (T70).

Rod Pampling falls just short of 59 but takes two-shot lead at suspended Shriners Open

By Brentley Romine

GOLFWEEK.COM

Rod Pampling (Associated Press)

Twenty-five years ago, Las Vegas had its first 59 in a US PGA Tour event. On Thursday, “Sin City” nearly had another – and by a player who wasn’t initially supposed to be in the field.
Rod Pampling, a 47-year-old from Redcliffe, Australia, fired 11-under 60 Thursday in the opening round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerline. Pampling was among the 12 players who got into the field because of a clerical error – the field was scheduled to be reduced from 144 to 132 players because of the playing dates being moved to November (less daylight available), but the field change was never entered in the Tour’s system.
Pampling made the most of the Tour’s mistake.
Through 16 holes, Pampling was 11 under with seven birdies and two eagles, and needed to birdie one of his final two holes to break 60. But he missed a 21-footer for birdie at the par-3 17th and then failed to convert a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-4 finishing hole.
“I would’ve loved to have made one for a 59, but it was just a solid day all around,” Pampling told Golf Channel after his round. “… I’m glad I gave (the birdie putt at 18) a chance, didn’t come up short. It was a decent putt, it just didn’t find the hole.”
Pampling’s round was two shots better than John Huh and Brooks Koepka, who also played in the morning wave. Billy Horschel also played early and shot 7-under 64. Those three represent Pampling’s closest challengers after Day 1.
The accidental inclusion of 12 extra players turned out to be an just like the Tour predicted. Play was suspended due to darkness at 5:49 p.m. local (Pacific) time with more than two-dozen players still on the course. Play will resume Friday at 7:30 a.m. local time, with Round Two still scheduled to begin at 7:05 a.m. local time.
Among those still out on the course, Jon Rahm leads the way, sitting T-5 at 6 under through 16 holes. Other notables include Aaron Wise, the defending NCAA champion, who shot an opening 66 and sits tied for eighth. Ryan Moore and Kevin Na are tied for 31st at 3 under after opening 68s. At the end of the day, 83 players were under par. But none touched Pampling.
Here are some more golden nuggets from Pampling’s memorable day in Vegas:
MISSING OUT: Pampling fell just short of joining the Tour’s exclusive club of players who have shot 59 or better. Jim Furyk carded the Tour’s only 58 at this year’s Travelers Championship. Six others have shot 59, among those Chip Beck, who in 1991 shot 13-under 59 on Sunrise Golf Course during the third round of the Las Vegas Invitational.
SHOT OF THE DAY: Pampling’s most memorable shot from Thursday’s 60? Why, his second shot at the par-4 sixth. After a 283-yard drive, Pampling holed a 138-yard shot for an eagle. The eagle was one of two for Pampling on the round; he also hit a 232-yard shot from the rough to 6 inches at the par-5 16th and tapped home the putt. “This is the best I think I’ve hit my irons throughout my whole career,” Pampling said.
FLATSTICK ON FIRE: Through 13 holes, Pampling had needed just 16 putts. He finished with just 24 strokes on the green, but none was better than his birdie roll from 71 feet at the par-4 third hole. He was 14 of 14 on putts from inside of 10 feet.
CONSOLATION PRIZE: Pampling might not have got a 59 Thursday, but he did tie the TPC Summerline course record. J.J. Henry shot 60 in 2013.
KEEPING HIS CARD: The veteran Aussie made just half of his cuts in 18 starts last season on Tour. He made no top 25s and finished 195th in the FedEx Cup standings. He was able to keep his card, though, earning the 23rd position in the Web.com Tour priority ranking. Pampling turned pro in 1994 and joined the Tour in 2002. He played 20-plus events in every season since until 2013, when he lost full status and played a split-schedule between the PGA and Web.com tours in 2014 and ’15.

Cadillac give Matt Kuchar car for last week's 

 

hole in one

Shanghai: Tournament officials and Cadillac today announced that Matt Kuchar, who aced the par-3 17th hole at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions last week, would, in fact, be awarded with the Cadillac vehicle of his choice as a prize for the hole-in-one.
As was noted to all players during the round, the tees were moved up to make the hole 193 yards due to the conditions, which meant the hole played less than the required (by the insurance company)  200-plus yards that it would take to win the Cadillac vehicle displayed. Kuchar was told by his caddie, John Wood, just before playing the hole that it no longer qualified for the Cadillac vehicle giveaway.
After learning of the situation, Cadillac, a six-year title sponsor of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship and the official vehicle and umbrella sponsor of the entire World Golf Championships series through 2016, chose to award Kuchar with the Cadillac of his choice.
“Matt Kuchar is one of golf’s most respected players, known for his talent, persistence and sportsmanship,” said Melody Lee, Director of Brand Marketing for Cadillac. 
“Cadillac celebrates Matt’s achievements throughout his career, as well as his extraordinary hole-in-one at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Championship.”
Kuchar’s description of the hole-in-one has since changed.
“Certainly this is no longer the saddest hole-in-one of my life,” Kuchar said. “My 9-year-old son recently asked me if I’d ever made a hole-in-one to win a car and I’ll be happy to now tell him that I have. Cadillac has long supported the game of golf and this type of gesture shows why they are a respected company in the industry.”
Kuchar was given the option to choose any car within Cadillac’s lineup as his prize for the hole-in-one. He chose a 2017 Cadillac Escalade.

Link to Round 2 of Turkish Airlines Open scores as they happen

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