CARBONETTI HOLDS ONE SHOT LEAD FROM
MASON IN SPANISH SENIORS EVENT
By GRAEME HAMLETT
Press Officer, European Seniors Tour
Luis Carbonetti holds a one-shot lead over Carl Mason at the OKI Castellόn Open de España Senior – and the Argentine admitted he will have to play just as well in Sunday's final round as he did in firing his Saturday 64, if he is to deny the Englishman a fifth win of a prolific 2007.
Overnight leader Mason added a four under par 68 to his opening 66 for a ten under par 134 total, but it was Carbonetti who produced the fireworks in Spain, recording nine birdies and dropping just one stroke, for his eight under par 64 and 11 under par 133 tally.
The 54 year old Carbonetti said of his round at the Club de Golf del Mediterraneo: “It was a fantastic day and the best I have played for a long time. The weather was perfect, the greens were rolling well and my putter was very good. I didn’t have a putt any longer than 10 feet to make, and it was a joy to make so many birdies.”
Yet Carbonetti, who has had six top ten finishes this season, is only too well aware of the challenge facing him as he bids to hold off Mason, who has won four times in 2007 and already captured the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit for the third time.
“Carl is always the man to beat, for every event! It will be a tough day, yes,” he admitted. “I haven’t played too many times in the last group, so I don’t know what my reaction will be.
“I will have to have good concentration and focus and try not to think about who is chasing me as the leader. There are lots of good players who are close, so I will have to try and play as well as I did today for my 64. But I am happy to be the leader and look forward to the final round.”
Mason was in cruise-control and on 12 under par until he bogeyed the 15th and 16th holes, and although he had birdie putts on the final two greens, was unable to make one that would have ensured a tie for the lead.
Nevertheless, Mason said: “I am happy with my day’s work. It was just a shame it got a little bit messy at the end, when I bogeyed 15 and 16, but they are tricky holes and I just made a couple of bad shots really.
“I then hit it on the par-5 17th in two shots but three-putted, which was annoying, but I am still playing well and of course, a fifth win of the year would be very nice.
“Luis played very well to shoot eight under and I’m looking forward to playing with him on Sunday. I know he said some very complimentary things about me and how much of a test he thinks it will be in the final round. Hopefully, I will give him a test and take the chances if they come my way.
“I’m enjoying this event. The weather is perfect, the course is in great shape and it’s a wonderful place to be playing golf.”
There are ten players within six shots of the lead. Chile’s Guillermo Encina and Australian’s David Good and Stewart Ginn are tied third on seven under par 137.
English duo Bob Cameron and Glenn Ralph, Italy’s Costantino Rocca and Scotland’s Sam Torrance are all one stroke further back on six under par 138 totals.

HOW THEY STAND
Par 144 (2 x 72)
133 L Carbonetti (Arg) 69 64;
134 C Mason (Eng) 66 68;
137 D Merriman (Aus) 71 66, S Ginn (Aus) 69 68, G Encina (Chl) 67 70;
138 B Cameron (Eng) 72 66, C Rocca (Ita) 71 67, Sam Torrance (Sco) 70 68, G Ralph (Eng) 69 69;
139 B Smit (RSA) 73 66, B Longmuir (Sco) 71, 68, J Quiros (Esp) 68 71;
140 E Darcy (Irl) 72 68, Ross Drummond (Sco) 70 70, J Mashego (RSA) 70 70, M Miller (Sco) 70 70, B Heuchan (Can) 69 71, D Good (Aus) 68 72;
141 N Job (Eng) 73 68, B Larratt (Eng) 72 69, J Benda (USA) 71 70, H Carbonetti (Arg) 71 70, E Rodriguez (Esp) 67 74.
142 A Murray (Eng) 71 71.
143 DJ Russell (Eng) 72 71, J Anglada (Esp) 71 72, T Allen (Eng) 71 72, J Rivero (Esp) 71 72, D Cambridge (Jam) 69 74, G Watine (Fra) 68 75.
144 T Johnstone (Zim) 72 72, A Fernandez (Chl) 69 75, K Spurgeon (Eng) 70 74;
145 M Pinero (Esp) 75 70, A Garrido (Esp) 75 70, V Garcia (Esp) 74 71, J Chillas (Sco) 74 71, M Bembridge (Eng) 73 72, M Poxon (Eng) 72 73, P Oakley (USA) 71 74, D Johnson (USA) 72 73, GJ Brand (Eng) 72 73, J Bruner (USA) 72 73, G Cali (Ita) 71 74, D Durnian (Eng) 71 74, J Rhodes (Eng) 70 75.
146 JP Sallat (Fra) 73 73, B Lincoln (RSA) 74 72, J Hall (Eng) 77 69, P Dugeny (Fra) 73 73, N Clarke (RSA) 77 69, G Townhill (Eng) 69 77.
147 H Woodrome (USA) 74 73, R Stelten (USA) 73 74, A Sowa (Arg) 73 74, D O’Sullivan (Irl) 73 74, I Mosey (Eng) 73 74, T Gale (Aus) 72 75, T Charnley 75 72, JM Canizares (Esp) 75 72, T Dill (USA) 73 74.
148 T Rastall (Eng) 74 74.
149 J Heggarty (NIr) 73 76, M Gray (Sco) 76 73;.150 J Lapsley (Nzl) 78 72;
151 S Martin (Sco) 75 76;
152 T Horton (Eng) 75 77, B Hardwick (Can) 74 78.
153 E Polland (NIr) 75 78, R Mann (Eng) 77 76.
155 T Gideon (Ger) 80 75.
161 G Hopkins (USA) 76 85.

ERIC RAMSAY MAKES IT FIVE SCOTS IN
CHALLENGE TOUR GRAND FINAL

By MICHAEL GIBBONS
Press Officer, Challenge Tour
Carnoustie’s Eric Ramsay secured his place alongside four of his countrymen at the European Challenge Tour’s elite 45-man Apulia San Domenico Grand Final with a stirring finish at the Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup today.
Playing the final round in conditions that were more Carnoustie than Tuscany, Ramsay posted a level par 71 to take eighth place and join Peter Whiteford, Andrew McArthur, Richie Ramsay and George Murray in the line up for the last event of the season.
Of those five, only Whiteford is assured of winning a European Tour card as one of the top 20 on the Rankings. The Kirkcaldy professional, who has won two of his last four events, finished seventh in Italy and is currently tenth on the Rankings.
McArthur is 23rd on the Rankings, Richie Ramsay 31st, Eric Ramsay 38th and George Murray 41st, with all four needing a big week to break into the top 20. With a prize fund of €250,000 to be split between just 45 players next, all four have a great chance to join Whiteford on Tour.
Mikael Lundberg survived the brutally tough conditions that blighted the final round to win the Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup and secure a return to The European Tour.
The Swede carded a hugely respectable final round of two over par 73 in biting cold and stormy winds to take the €22,400 first prize by five strokes from Ireland’s Stephen Browne and elevate himself to eighth place on the Challenge Tour Rankings with just one event remaining on the 2007 Schedule.
Lundberg can now head to next week’s Apulia San Domenico Grand Final safe in the knowledge that he will once again be a European Tour player next season.
“It’s an amazing feeling to have won here and got the card for next year taken care of,” smiled Lundberg.
“Every time you win it is a special feeling, but this has something extra attached to it. I think when you have a goal that is going to take a year to achieve and you achieve it then it is a special feeling. To have won the second last event of the season to achieve my goal is pretty special.”
After three days of near-perfect conditions, illustrated perfectly by the low scoring of the first three rounds, the final day at Le Pavoniere Golf Club saw temperatures plummet due to freezing winds that gusted through the field and even brought a suspension of play midway through the day due to storm activity in and around the Tuscany region.
Those extreme conditions completely changed the nature of the final round, with the chasing pack quickly changing their strategies from catching Lundberg with a birdie blitz to merely surviving the day.
“The conditions were so tough today,” continued Lundberg, who had opened up a seven-stroke lead after 54 holes, thanks to his course record nine under par 62 in the third round.
“You could say that the conditions helped me because it meant that not many guys were going to be making a lot of birdies and making a charge, but I had to play in the same conditions and the danger to everyone was the fact that you could easily make double and triple bogeys today.”
As Lundberg lifted the Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup, Browne was celebrating the required second place finish that kept his hopes of winning back his own European Tour card via the Rankings.
The Dubliner needed to finish at least second on his own to win a place at next week’s Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, where and elite 45-man field contest a prize fund of €250,000 as the battle for the 20 available European Tour cards reaches its annual nail-biting conclusion.
He did that in dramatic style during a final round that was hugely affected by the wintry conditions, posting a three under par 68 that included a birdie-birdie finish for an 11-under-par 273 aggregate which gave him the clubhouse lead with just two matches left on the course.
Of the six men still to finish, two were ahead of Browne as they played the last hole – Lundberg and Finland’s Toni Karjalainen.
It was Karjalainen who would put the seal on Browne’s fantastic day as he ran up a triple bogey at the 18th hole to leave Browne in second place on his own, which won the Irishman €15,400 and allowed him to climb 34 places on the Rankings, from 71st to 37th, thereby securing his place at the last event of the season.
“This is unbelievable,” said Browne as the news was broken to him. “Obviously Toni has let me in with his triple bogey at the last but I couldn’t have done anymore and made some huge putts coming down the stretch.
“In fact I made crucial putts on the last five greens so I feel like I deserve to finish second and get to the Grand Final.”

FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4 x 71)
268 M Lundberg (Swe) 66 67 62 73.
273 S Browne (Ire) 68 69 68 68.
274 R Dinwiddie (Eng) 68 63 71 72, T Karjalainen (Fin) 67 67 68 72.
2785 R Kakko (Fin) 66 68 69 72, J Zapata (Arg) 72 64 67 72.
276 P Whiteford (Sco) 68 64 73 71.
Other Scots' scores:
277 E Ramsay 71 67 68 71 (jt 8th).
285 G Murray 68 68 71 77 (jt 27th).
289 S Henderson 70 70 72 77 (jt 47th).

Paul Lawrie plummets with third-round 76 on Algarve

EUROPEAN TOUR SCOREBOARD
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
PORTUGAL MASTERS
Victoria Clube de Golfe, Vilamoura, Portugal
Par 216 (3 x 72)
198 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 64 66 68
199 Steve Webster 66 66 67, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 66 67 66
200 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 67 68 65, Ross Fisher 68 64 68
201 Peter Hanson (Swe) 69 65 67, Sam Walker 66 68 67, Lee Westwood 65 69 67
202 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 69 68 65, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 61 72 69, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 66 66 70
203 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 64 68 71, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 66 73 64
204 Brett Rumford (Aus) 67 71 66, Alexander Noren (Swe) 68 69 67, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 67 68 69, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 71 67 66
205 Justin Rose (Rsa) 69 70 66, James Hepworth 67 68 70, Ariel Canete (Arg) 66 70 69, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 67 71 67
206 Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 69 72 65, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 65 72 69, Oliver Wilson 68 70 68, Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 69 71 66, Peter Lawrie 67 71 68, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 66 72 68, Pablo Martin (Spa) 69 70 67, Sam Little 67 69 70
207 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 70 67 70, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 70 67 70, Gary Murphy 68 71 68, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 67 70 70, James Kingston (Rsa) 68 69 70, Soren Hansen (Den) 72 65 70, Nick Dougherty 66 73 68, Bradley Dredge 68 72 67
208 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 69 70 69, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 70 70 68, Santiago Luna (Spa) 69 71 68, Paul Broadhurst 72 66 70
209 Anthony Wall 71 68 70, Andres Romero (Arg) 69 71 69, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 66 70 73, Barry Lane 67 71 71
210 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 66 72 72, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 69 71 70, Marc Warren 71 70 69, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 67 71 72, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 65 74 71, Terry Price (Aus) 67 73 70, David Lynn 70 69 71
211 Stephen Dodd 69 71 71, Richard Finch 72 68 71, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 70 69 72, Marcel Siem (Ger) 70 71 70, Miles Tunnicliff 69 72 70
212 Damien McGrane 69 72 71, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 67 72 73, David Park 71 68 73, David Frost (Rsa) 67 69 76, Simon Khan 71 70 71, Tiago Cruz (Por) 71 70 71, Lee Slattery 70 69 73, Carl Suneson (Spa) 69 70 73, Phillip Archer 67 72 73, Gregory Havret (Fra) 71 70 71
213 Rory McIlroy 71 69 73, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 66 73 74, Mark Foster 70 71 72
215 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 71 69 75
216 Paul Lawrie 68 72 76, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 68 67 81

DOHERTY BROTHERS FINISH OUT OF THE
MONEY IN CELTIC PRO TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

Former Scottish boys' match-play champion Paul Doherty finished out of the money in joint 12th place at the Celtic Pro Tour Championship over 54 holes at St Pierre Golf Club, Chepstow.
Doherty, based in South Wales, had scores of 67 76 and 74 for a four-over-par total of 217.
His brother Jack finished joint 15th on 219 with scores of 73, 72 and 74.
Welshman Matthew Griffiths won the £2,500 first prize with 69, 68 and 68 for five-under-par 205.
He had two shots to spare over compatriot Matthew Dearden who scored 71, 71 and 65 for 207.

LEADING TOTALS
Players from Wales unless stated.
Par 213 (3 x 71)
205 M Griffiths 69 68 68.
207 M Dearden 71 71 65.
209 C Smith 70 69 70.
210 A Evans 70 71 69.
212 N Oakley 70 67 73, C Mills 72 68 72, R Thomas 73 71 68.
213 R Dinsdale 72 69 72.
214 J Lee 69 73 71, A Smith 73 72 69.
216 A Lee 75 74 67.
217 P Doherty (Sco) 67 76 74, A Constable 71 72 74.
Other score:
219 J Doherty (Sco) 73 72 74.

ends

HOWELL, CLARKE AND McGINLAY FAIL TO
BEAT THE CUT IN PORTUGAL MASTERS

David Howell and Darren Clarke, Ryder Cup heroes a year ago, were unable to avoid easily their worst season on the European Tour.
While Argentina's Daniel Vancsik took over the lead at the Portugal Masters, adding a 66 to his opening 64 for a 14 under par halfway total of 130, stable-mates Howell and Clarke both crashed out.
Howell, third on last season's Order of Merit, came to the Victoria Club in Vilamoura a lowly 136th on the money list and made it six missed cuts in his last seven starts.
After taking a triple-bogey 8 at the 12th and a double bogey 7 at the 17th, he finished with a 76 for three over par - six too many to survive (three under par 141 was the maximum total for qualifying for the weekend rounds)..
Clarke, down in 129th place and without a single top-10 finish since his amazing Ryder Cup performance against the Americans six weeks after wife Heather lost her battle with cancer, was on one under after a 73.
After playing in Morocco and Singapore over the next two weeks - neither European Tour events - Clarke is planning a long winter long-off.
"Maybe a couple of months not looking at them," said the 39-year-old, indicating his clubs. "I actually hit the ball lovely these two days, but I'm just not making anything or getting any momentum going. I'm not going to keep on moaning, though."
Paul McGinley, another member of last year's Ryder Cup side, also made an early exit, being another to run up an 8 on the 12th as he matched Clarke's one-under aggregate.
Lee Westwood birdied the last two holes to climb to 10 under, but Justin Rose's hopes of the first or second place he needs to go above Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington at the top of the money list suffered a serious setback when a bogey 6 dropped him to five under, nine adrift.
As for 18-year-old Rory McIlroy, the Tour's new sensation, he made it four cuts out of four as a professional, but after third and fourth place finishes in the last two weeks, he had only one shot to spare this time.
HALFWAY SCOREBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72)
130 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 64 66
132 Steve Webster 66 66, Ross Fisher 68 64, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 64 68, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 66 66
133 Charl Schwartzel (RSA 66 67, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 61 72
134 Peter Hanson (Swe) 69 65, Sam Walker 66 68, Lee Westwood 65 69
135 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 67 68, James Hepworth 67 68, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 67 68, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 68 67
136 Ariel Canete (Arg) 66 70, Sam Little 67 69, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 66 70, David Frost (RSA) 67 69
137 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 70 67, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 69 68, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 70 67, James Kingston (Rsa) 68 69, Alexander Noren (Swe) 68 69, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 65 72, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 67 70, Soren Hansen (Den) 72 65
138 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 66 72, Oliver Wilson 68 70, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 67 71, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 67 71, Peter Lawrie 67 71, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 71 67, Paul Broadhurst 72 66, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 66 72, Brett Rumford (Aus) 67 71, Barry Lane 67 71
139 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 69 70, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 70 69, David Park 71 68, Anthony Wall 71 68, Lee Slattery 70 69, Justin Rose (Rsa) 69 70, Pablo Martin (Spa) 69 70, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 67 72, Nick Dougherty 66 73, David Lynn 70 69, Carl Suneson (Spa) 69 70, Gary Murphy 68 71, Phillip Archer 67 72, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 66 73, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 65 74, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 66 73
140 Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 69 71, Rory McIlroy 71 69, Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 69 71, Stephen Dodd 69 71, Richard Finch 72 68, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 70 70, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 71 69, Paul Lawrie 68 72, Andres Romero (Arg) 69 71, Terry Price (Aus) 67 73, Santiago Luna (Spa) 69 71, Bradley Dredge 68 72
141 Damien McGrane 69 72, Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 69 72, Marcel Siem (Ger) 70 71, Simon Khan 71 70, Tiago Cruz (Por) 71 70, Marc Warren 71 70, Miles Tunnicliff 69 72, Mark Foster 70 71, Gregory Havret (Fra) 71 70
MISSED THE CUT
142 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 71 71, Gary Orr 70 72, Andrew Marshall 72 70, Kyron Sullivan 73 69, Alastair Forsyth 68 74, Thomas Levet (Fra) 68 74, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 71 71
143 David Carter 73 70, Benn Barham 74 69, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 72 71, Darren Clarke 70 73, Simon Wakefield 70 73, Stephen Gallacher 69 74, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 70 73, Paul McGinley 69 74
144 Joakim Backstrom (Swe) 73 71, Richard Bland 69 75, Christopher Hanell (Swe) 70 74, Matthew Millar (Aus) 74 70, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 68 76, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 67 77, John Bickerton 75 69, Graeme Storm 73 71
145 Joao Carlota (Por) 70 75, Kenneth Ferrie 73 72, Steven O'Hara 71 74, Robert Rock 72 73, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 75 70, Jean Van de velde (Fra) 73 72, Tom Whitehouse 70 75, Markus Brier (Aut) 72 73, Ricardo Santos (Por) 73 72, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 73 72
146 Gary Lockerbie 74 72, Andrew Coltart 71 75, Johan Axgren (Swe) 75 71, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 71 75, Ian Garbutt 70 76
147 Mark Pilkington 72 75, Garry Houston 71 76, David Howell 71 76, Sandy Lyle 72 75, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 73 74
148 Antonio Sobrinho (Por) 75 73
150 Anton Haig (Rsa) 74 76, David Griffiths 74 76, Yong-eun Yang (Kor) 73 77
151 Scott Drummond 72 79
152 Pedro Figueiredo (Por) 74 78, Johan Edfors (Swe) 74 78
154 Cesar Monasterio (Arg) 75 79
157 Gary Emerson 72 85

MASON (66) LEADS BUT THREE SCOTS ARE
ON HIS TAIL IN SPANISH SENIORS EVENT

By Graeme Hamlett
Press Officer, European Seniors Tour
Scottish trio Sam Torrance, Ross Drummond and Mike Miller are challenging strongly at the OKI Castellόn Open de España, being played at Club de Camp del Mediterraneo, as they bid to close their European Seniors Tour season in winning fashion at the penultimate event of 2007.
All three carded opening rounds of two under par 70. It leaves them four strokes behind the lead held by England’s Carl Mason, who shot a six under par 66 to advance his hopes for a fifth victory of a prolific 2007 where he has already secured a third Order of Merit crown.
Mason said: “I just played very solidly. After a few weeks off, which we’ve had after playing in at Dalmahoy, you do feel a little bit flat when you have to start up again – but it’s always nice to come to Spain and to shoot 66 is very pleasing.”
Mason can pass his own record earnings of €354,775 (£245,285) he set in 2004, when he last finished top European, should he pick up more than €1,788 in winnings in Spain.
Meanwhile, Bill Longmuir shot a one under par 71, John Chillas, recent winner of the Scandinavian Senior Open, shot a two over par 74, while Steve Martin (75) and Martin Gray (76) complete the Scottish contingent.
Spain’s Emilio Rodriguez, who shot 67 and is tied for second with Chile’s Guillermo Encina, admitted he took great pleasure from his round in the company of Victor Garcia, who shot 74 but who has his son, European Tour ace and Open Championship runner-up Sergio Garcia, on caddie duties for the tournament on their home course.
Rodriguez said: “It has been the best day of the year. Playing with Victor and Sergio was so much fun. It was perfect and I am very happy to be leading too. It is a bonus from the most fun day I’ve had on the golf course.”
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
66 C Mason (Eng).
67 G Encina (Chl), E Rodriguez (Esp).
68 D Good (Aus), J Quiros (Esp), G Watine (Fra).
69 D Cambridge (Jam), L Carbonetti (Arg), A Fernandez (Chl), S Ginn (Aus), B Heuchan (Can), G Ralph (Eng), G Townhill (Eng).
70 R Drummond (Sco), J Mashego (RSA), M Miller (Sco), J Rhodes (Eng), K Spurgeon (Eng), S Torrance (Sco).
71 T Allen (Eng), J Anglada (Esp), J Benda (USA), G Cali (Ita), H Carbonetti (Arg), D Durnian (Eng), B Longmuir (Sco), D Merriman (Aus), A Murray (Eng), P Oakley (US), J Rivero (Esp), C Rocca (Ita).
72 G J Brand (Eng), J Bruner (US), B Cameron (Eng), E Darcy (Irl), T Gale (Aus), D Johnson (US), T Johnstone (Zim), B Larratt (Eng), M Poxon (Eng), D J Russell (Eng).
73 M Bembridge (Eng), T Dill (US), P Dugeny (Fra), J Heggarty (NIr), N Job (Eng), I Mosey (Eng), D O’Sullivan (Irl), J P Sallat (Fra), B Smit (RSA), A Sowa (Arg), R Stelten (US), H Woodrome (US).
74 J Chillas (Sco), V Garcia (Esp), B Hardwick (Can), B Lincoln (RSA), T Rastall (Eng).
75 J M Canizares (Esp), T Charnley (Eng), A Garrido (Esp), T Horton (Eng), S Martin (Sco), M Pinero (Esp), E Polland (NIr).
76 N Clarke (RSA), M Gray (Sco), G Hopkins (US).
77 J Hall (Eng), R Mann (Eng).
78 J Lapsley (Nzl).
80 T Gideon (Ger).

WHITEFORD SLIPS 10 SHOTS BEHIND RECORD-SETTING
MIKAEL LUNDBEG WITH ONE ROUND TO GO IN ITALY

FROM RODDY WILLIAMS
Press Officer, European Challenge Tour

Peter Whiteford’s hopes of a third Challenge Tour victory of the season took a severe dent after the Scot’s two over par 73 at La Pavoniere Golf and Country Club in Tuscany left him trailing Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg by 10 strokes going into the final round of the Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup.
Lundberg rewrote the record books with a nine-under-par third-round of 62 for 18-under-par 195.
Whiteford was just one stroke off the lead at the halfway stage but a triple bogey 7 on the second hole saw him fall back into the pack. Although he battled back with four birdies, he also dropped a further three shots to the card to lie at eight under par 205.
Whiteford has won two of the last three events on the Challenge Tour to climb to 13th on the Rankings and is looking for a strong final two weeks of the season to move into the top ten.
Lundberg’s sensational course record took him to 18 under par 195 and seven clear of Finland’s Toni Karjalainen in the penultimate event of the 2007 Challenge Tour season.
Overnight leader Robert Dinwiddie of England fired a one over par 72 to lie in a share of third place on 203 alongside compatriot Robert Coles (70), Finn Roope Kakko (69) and Argentina’s Julio Zapata (67).
The 34 year old Lundberg, winner of the 2005 Russian Open on The European Tour, currently lies 16th on the Challenge Tour Rankings with the top 20 after next week’s Apulia San Domenico Grand Final earning a place on The 2008 European Tour. Victory would lift him into the top 10 and main certain of a return to the top flight.
For 14 holes, Lundberg simply couldn’t miss as he rolled in ten birdie putts from all angles to pull well clear of the field. Thoughts of a 59 inevitably started to enter his head and when he failed to make birdie from a relatively simple up and down on the 15th, he lost momentum and dropped his only shot of the day on the 16th. But he regrouped to par the last two to maintain a huge lead with a round that was an incredible five strokes better than anyone else in the field.
“I didn’t feel I played that well from tee to green but putted like a god,” said Lundberg. “Putts went in from everywhere. It is by far the best round I have had with the putter.”
Among his ten birdies, three huge putts stood out, from 20 metres on the fourth, 15 metres on the fifth and ten metres on the 14th. But it was a missed birdie putt from just two metres on the 15th that halted his charge.
“I was just trying to stay out of my own way and let things keep happening,” he added. “It is nice when all the things you have been working on come good. I was thinking this is what Tiger Woods feels like on the greens.
“Of course, when I started thinking about it over the last three holes and started trying, it went a little wrong but it was good to par the last as that is a tough hole.”
Despite taking a seven stroke lead into the final round, Lundberg is determined not to be complacent.
“It is nice to have that lead but anyone can shoot a course record tomorrow. Hopefully my experience will help. I really want to get back on The European Tour and if I can do that tomorrow that will mean a great deal.”
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 213 (3 x 71)
195 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 66 67 62
202 Toni Karjalainen (Fin) 67 67 68
203 Roope Kakko (Fin) 66 68 69, Julio Zapata (Arg) 72 64 67, Robert Dinwiddie (Eng) 68 63 72, Robert Coles (Eng) 67 66 70
205 Stephen Browne (Irl) 68 69 68, Peter Kaensche (Nor) 67 67 71, Tim Milford (Eng) 72 64 69, Peter Whiteford (Sco) 68 64 73
206 Eric Ramsay (Sco) 71 67 68, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 68 67 71, Antti Ahokas (Fin) 71 66 69, Andrew Butterfield (Eng) 71 68 67
207 Inder Van Weerelt (Ned) 69 69 69, Gareth Maybin (NIrl) 71 67 69, Ross Mcgowan (Eng) 71 67 69, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 70 69 68, Iain Pyman (Eng) 71 68 68
208 Jan-Are Larsen (Nor) 69 71 68, Juan Abbate (Arg) 68 73 67, Martin Wiegele (Aut) 70 67 71, Ben Mason (Eng) 70 67 71, Peter Fowler (Aus) 68 69 71, Adam Gee (Eng) 70 68 70, George Murray (Sco) 69 68 71, Tobias Dier (Ger) 67 68 73
209 Matthew Richardson (Eng) 70 70 69, Alvaro Salto (Spa) 68 72 69, David Horsey (Eng) 69 70 70, Mikko Korhonen (Fin) 71 69 69
210 Gustavo Rojas (Arg) 68 71 71, Gareth Davies (Eng) 71 69 70, Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 68 70 72, Liam Bond (Wal) 67 71 72, David Dixon (Eng) 68 73 69, Joost Luiten (Ned) 68 71 71
211 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 68 69 74, Luis Claverie (Spa) 72 68 71, Raphael De Sousa (Swi) 67 72 72, Nicolas Vanhootegem (Bel) 68 70 73
212 Jamie Donaldson (Wal) 73 65 74, Scott Henderson (Sco) 70 70 72, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 67 73 72, Stuart Manley (Wal) 70 70 72, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 72 67 73, Laurent Richard (Bel) 69 72 71
213 Klas Eriksson (Swe) 71 70 72, Nicola Maestroni (Ita) 74 67 72
214 Jerome Theunis (Bel) 71 70 73
215 Christian Reimbold (Ger) 70 71 74, Anthony Snobeck (Fra) 71 70 74, Peter Baker (Eng) 70 69 76, Ally Mellor (Eng) 71 68 76
216 Rodolfo Gonzalez (Arg) 70 69 77, Chris Gane (Eng) 70 69 77, François Delamontagne (Fra) 69 70 77
218 Matthew King (Eng) 71 70 77, Daniel De Leon (Mex) 70 70 78
219 Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 69 71 79
222 James Kamte (Rsa) 72 69 81

KEIR McNICOLL GETS ALL-CLEAR

TO START PRACTISING AFTER

A MONTH ON SIDELINES

Carnoustie's Scotland amateur international golfer Keir McNicoll was 23 years old today. His best birthday present was a getting the all-clear from Scottish Sports Institute medical director Dr Brian Walker to start putting and light chipping.
Keir has not hit a ball since a month past Wednesday when he damaged his right hand on the first day of the home internationals at County Louth Golf Club in Ireland.
He is delighted at the news, says his dad Dave McNicoll, owner of the Carnoustie Golf Shop and a former football with Dunfermline Athletic.
"Keir thought he would miss the next stage of the European Tour School in Spain, starting on November 7, but he will be going now, with the aid of a steroid injuection or without, depending on his progess next week when he will start hitting balls," said Dave.

US PGA TOUR SCOREBOARD
FRY'S ELECTRONICS OPEN
Raptor Course, Grayhawk CC, Scottsdale, Arizona
FIRST ROUND
Par 70
63 Michael Allen
65 Nick Watney, Rich Beem, Frank Lickliter II
66 Pat Perez, Ben Crane, Chris Couch, Tom Pernice Jnr, Ryan Moore
67 Jerry Kelly, Arron Oberholser, Marco Dawson, Tim Herron, John Merrick, Andrew Buckle (Aus), Daisuke Maruyama (Jpn), Ryan Palmer, Ryan Armour, Carl Pettersson (Swe), Jason Gore, Rich Barcelo
68 Jeff Quinney, Billy Mayfair, Mathias Gronberg (Swe), Greg Owen (Eng), Will MacKenzie, Justin Leonard, Chris Tidland, Joe Durant, Sean O'Hair, Ryuji Imada (Jpn), Douglas Labelle, Kent Jones, Steve Flesch, Michael Putnam, Jason Dufner, Alex Cejka (Ger), Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), DJ Brigman, Jason Schultz
69 Jeff Gove, Kevin Sutherland, Mike Weir (Can), Shaun Micheel, Bob Heintz, Charles Warren, Chris Stroud, Ted Purdy, Bubba Watson, Garrett Willis, Tom Lehman, Bob May, Bob Tway, Aaron Baddeley (Aus), Jarrod Lyle (Aus), George McNeill, J J Henry, Kyle Reifers, Scott Gutschewski, Glen Day
70 Paul Gow (Aus), Chris Riley, Kirk Triplett, Robert Garrigus, Todd Hamilton, Jim Rutledge (Can), Dean Wilson, Bill Haas, Craig Barlow, Bo Van Pelt, Briny Baird, Stephen Ames (Can), Brian Davis (Eng), Robert Gamez, Joe Ogilvie, Darron Stiles, Cliff Kresge, Robert Allenby (Aus), Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn)
71 Brian Gay, J.P. Hayes, Mark Hensby (Aus), Stephen Leaney (Aus), John Mallinger, John Daly, Tim Petrovic, Craig Bowden, Brendon De Jonge, Michael Sim (Aus), Stewart Cink, Craig Lile (Rsa), Phil Mickelson, Stephen Marino, Michael Boyd, John Rollins, Richard S Johnson (Swe), Mark Calcavecchia, Tim Clark (Rsa), Rocco Mediate
72 Tom Johnson, Eric Axley, David Duval, Harrison Frazar, Billy Andrade, Kevin Na (Kor), J.B. Holmes, Bob Estes, Jeff Maggert
73 David Branshaw, Steve Lowery, Jaco Van Zyl (Rsa), Gavin Coles (Aus), Jeff Brehaut, Brandel Chamblee, Jerry Smith, Don Yrene, Matt Hendrix, Kevin Stadler, Mathew Goggin (Aus), Cameron Beckman, Bryce Molder, Tripp Isenhour, D.J. Trahan
74 Charley Hoffman, Colt Knost, Dicky Pride, Craig Kanada, Nick Flanagan (Aus), Parker McLachlin
76 Niklas Lemke (Swe), Steve Wheatcroft

PRESS RELEASE

HARRINGTON HEADS FIELD FOR HASSAN
II TROPHY AT RABAT, MOROCCO

Padraig Harrington will spearhead a galaxy of superstars when the 35th Hassan II Golf Trophy by Emaar, jointly promoted and organised by Golf in Dubai and the Hassan II Golf Trophy Society, gets under way in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, next week (October 24 to 28).
The Dubliner had the Irish eyes smiling when he won The Open in dramatic circumstances, overcoming a six-shot deficit on the final day to beat his Ryder Cup colleague Sergio Garcia in a tense play-off.
Since his first Major Championship success in his 37th attempt, Harrington has become one of the most sought-after players on the international circuit.
"His presence will certainly add status and star value to the Hassan II Golf Trophy and, I am sure, the fans in Morocco will relish the special Irish flavour to the event which will be played at the prestigious Royal Golf Dar Es Salam," commented Mohamed Buamaim, vice-chairman and CEO of golf in DUBAI.
"Since its inauguration in 1971, the Hassan II Trophy has attracted some of the finest players in the game and if you look at the past winners of the tournament, it virtually reads like a Who's Who of Golf: Orville Moody, Billy Casper, Lee Trevino, Payne Stewart, Nick Price, Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie and Sam Torrance. And the list will continue to grow in profile in years to come,” Buamaim said.
"I wish Padraig and all other players in the field the very best and I hope their exploits on the course will inspire the young Arab talent to take to golf which has the potential to become a national passion there."
Harrington, at present ranked No 7 in the world, himself is looking forward to the challenge ahead. "I've got to ensure I don't lose my way after my success at the Open. I know that's the addictive thing about majors — once you win your first, you desperately want another," said Harrington, at present, placed second on the European Tour Order of Merit behind 'Golf in DUBAI' brand ambassador Ernie Els of South Africa.
Often described as "the world's greatest Pro Am, the Hassan II Trophy is the longest-running sports event in the country where nature presents a majestic spectacle.
Last year, Sam Torrance beat Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin in a playoff to win the Hassan II Golf Trophy.

EUROPEAN TOUR EVENT AT VILAMOURA

"THE NEXT LANGER" LEADS PORTUGAL
MASTERS WITH AN 11-under-par 61

The man they've labelled "The Next Bernhard Langer" shot an 11-under-par 61 to lead the £2million Portugal Masters at Vilamoura today.
Twenty-two-year-old German-born rookie Martin Kaymer is the name - and he is one of the few golfers in the world who knows what it is like to score 59.
Kaymer left the rest of the star-studded field trailing in his wake by equalling the lowest round of the European Tour season and clipping two strokes off the Oceanico Victoria Club's course record.
A total of 60 players - including Paul Lawrie and Alastair Forsyth on 68 and Stephen Gallacher (69) scored under 70 over the so-called risk-and-reward Arnold Palmer-designed course which has many water features.

SCOREBOARD
FIRST ROUND
Par 72
61 Martin Kaymer (Ger)
64 Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Martin Erlandsson (Swe)
65 Retief Goosen (Rsa), Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Lee Westwood
66 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Steve Webster, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Nick Dougherty, Andrew McLardy (Rsa), Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Sam Walker, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Ariel Canete (Arg), Emanuele Canonica (Ita), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe)
67 Shiv Kapur (Ind), Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Pelle Edberg (Swe), Rafael Echenique (Arg), David Frost (Rsa), Peter Lawrie, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Peter Hedblom (Swe), Brett Rumford (Aus), Robert Karlsson (Swe), Phillip Archer, James Hepworth, Terry Price (Aus), Sam Little, Barry Lane
68 Ross Fisher, James Kingston (Rsa), Oliver Wilson, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Gary Murphy, Alexander Noren (Swe), Paul Lawrie, Alastair Forsyth, Bradley Dredge, Thomas Levet (Fra)
69 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), Damien McGrane, Peter Hanson (Swe), Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Stephen Dodd, Alessandro Tadini (Ita), Justin Rose (Eng), Santiago Luna (Spa), Pablo Martin (Spa), Miles Tunnicliff, Richard Bland, Mattias Eliasson (Swe), Peter Gustafsson (Swe), Carl Suneson (Spa), Stephen Gallacher, Andres Romero (Arg), Paul McGinley
70 Gary Orr, Christopher Hanell (Swe), Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Joao Carlota (Por), Simon Wakefield, Lee Slattery, Thomas Bjorn (Den), Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra), Ian Garbutt, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Christian Nilsson (Swe), Marcel Siem (Ger), Darren Clarke, David Lynn, Tom Whitehouse, Mark Foster
71 David Park, Steven O'Hara, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Anthony Wall, Rory McIlroy, Marc Warren, Gregory Havret (Fra), Christian Cevaer (Fra), Garry Houston, David Howell, Andrew Coltart, Simon Khan, Tiago Cruz (Por), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Peter O'Malley (Aus), Richard Sterne (Rsa)
72 Soren Hansen (Den), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Scott Drummond, Gary Emerson, Paul Broadhurst, Robert Rock, Mark Pilkington, Andrew Marshall, Richard Finch, Markus Brier (Aut), Sandy Lyle
73 David Carter, Joakim Backstrom (Swe), Kyron Sullivan, Kenneth Ferrie, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Graeme Storm, Yong-eun Yang (Kor), Jean Van de velde (Fra), Ricardo Santos (Por), Marcus Fraser (Aus)
74 Gary Lockerbie, Anton Haig (Rsa), David Griffiths, Benn Barham, Matthew Millar (Aus), Pedro Figueiredo (Por), Johan Edfors (Swe)
75 Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Antonio Sobrinho (Por), Johan Axgren (Swe), John Bickerton, Cesar Monasterio (Arg)
76 Phillip Price

TOP AUSSIE AMATEUR KULACZ TURNS
PRO AND JOINS IMG STABLE

Australia’s Rick Kulacz, No. 5 in the Scratch Players World Amateur Rankings, has turned professional and will be represented by IMG.
Kulacz, 22, was a quarter-finalist at the British Amateur and won the United States Scratch Players amateur championship a couple of months ago.
Last November, he won the NSW Open to become the first amateur to win on the Von Nida Tour.
The Perth, Western Australia native will start his professional career at the first stage of PGA Tour Q-School later this month.
“I feel the time is right to take the next step in my golf career,” Kulacz said, “and I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead."

+Kulacz moved from No 22 to 20 in the R&A World Amateur Golf Rankings this week.

PAUL DOHERTY LOSES LEAD IN CELTIC
PRO TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

Former Scottish boys' match-play champion Paul Doherty dropped out of the lead with a second-round 76 in the Celtic Pro Tour championship at St Pierre, Chepstow today.
Doherty is sharing ninth place on one-over-par 143, six shots behind Welshman Matthew Griffiths (69-68) with one round to go.
Paul's older brother Jack is sharing 12th place on 145 after rounds of 73 72.
All players from Wales unless stated.
Second-round totals
Par 142: 2 x 71
137 M Griffiths 69 68.
139 N Oakley 70 69, C Smith 70 69.
140 C Mills 72 68.
141 R Dinsdale 72 69, A Evans 70 71.
142 J Lee 69 73, M Dearden 71 71.
143 P Doherty (Sco) 67 76, A Constable 71 72.
Other score:
145 J Doherty (Sco) 73 72 (jt 12th).

THREE TIE ON 72 IN MIDLAND ALLIANCE
AT DUNDEE'S DOWNFIELD

There was a three-way tie on one-under-par 72 for the best scratch score in this week's Midland Golfers' Alliance Jolly's Hotel competition at Downfield GC, Dundee.
Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), assistant pro, Steve Craig (Paragon) professional and Steve Duncan (Balbirnie Park), assistant pro were the men who split the first, second and third prixes.
The handicap prize went to four-handicapper John Richardson (Downfield) who beat the field by five shots.
The best team was J Stevenson (Braehead) professional, J Stevenson (Dunfermline) (8) and K Thomson (Alloa) (13) with a score of 63
LEADING SCRATCH
72 A Lockhart (Ladybank) ap, S Craig (Paragon) p, S Duncan (Balbirnie Park) ap.
74 L Vannet (Carnoustie Links) p, K Hutton (Downfield) p, G Finlay (Ballumbie Castle) (scr).
75 A Crerar (King James V) p, B Mason (Drumoig) p, J Stevenson (Braehead) p.
76 P Brookes (Pitreavie) p, S Rettie (Royal Troon) ap, M Pirie (Pitlochry) p.
LEADING HANDICAP
68 J Richardson (Downfield) (4).
73 J Stevenson (Dunfermline) (8).
74 G Finlay (Ballumbie Castle) (scr).
75 R Wallace (Milnathort (9), J Laing (Caird Park) (12), I Henderson (Craigiehill) (6), D Vicary (Craigiehill) (8).
LEADING TEAM SCORES
63 J Stevenson (Braehead) p, J Stevenson (Dunfermline) (8), K Thomson (Alloa) (13).
65 P Brookes (Pitreavie) p, J Rennie (Dunfermline) (11), C Westland (Alloa) (11); C Wallace (Caird Park) (11), J Laing (Caird Park) (12), A Lawrence (Caird Park) (12).

Next Week's Meeting
J.T.C. Kitchens
Duke's Course
Thursday 25th October
8.30 – 12.30

CHALLENGE TOUR SCOREBOARD
TOSCANO OPEN ITALIAN FEDERATION CUP
Le Pavoniere Gof and Country Club, Prato, Italy
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2 x 71), 7107yd
131 Robert Dinwiddie (Eng) 68 63
132 Peter Whiteford (Sco) 68 64
133 Robert Coles (Eng) 67 66, Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 66 67
134 Peter Kaensche (Nor) 67 67, Toni Karjalainen (Fin) 67 67, Roope Kakko (Fin) 66 68
135 Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 68 67, Tobias Dier (Ger) 67 68
136 Julio Zapata (Arg) 72 64, Tim Milford (Eng) 72 64
137 Antti Ahokas (Fin) 71 66, Stephen Browne (Irl) 68 69, Ben Mason (Eng) 70 67, Peter Fowler (Aus) 68 69, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 68 69, Martin Wiegele (Aut) 70 67, George Murray (Sco) 69 68
138 Ross Mcgowan (Eng) 71 67, Nicolas Vanhootegem (Bel) 68 70 Liam Bond (Wal) 67 71, Gareth Maybin (NIrl) 71 67, Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 68 70, Inder Van Weerelt (Ned) 69 69, Eric Ramsay (Sco) 71 67, Jamie Donaldson (Wal) 73 65, Adam Gee (Eng) 70 68
139 Iain Pyman (Eng) 71 68, François Delamontagne (Fra) 69 70, Raphaël De Sousa (Swi) 67 72, Andrew Butterfield (Eng) 71 68, Chris Gane (Eng) 70 69, Peter Baker (Eng) 70 69, Gustavo Rojas (Arg) 78 71, Ally Mellor (Eng) 71 68, David Horsey (Eng) 69 70, Joost Luiten (Ned) 68 71, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 72 67, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 70 69, Rodolfo Gonzalez (Arg) 70 69
140 Daniel De Leon (Mex) 70 70, Scott Henderson (Sco) 70 70, Matthew Richardson (Eng) 70 70, Jan-Are Larsen (Nor) 69 71, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 67 73, Luis Claverie (Spa) 72 68, Alvaro Salto (Spa) 68 72, Mikko Korhonen (Fin) 71 69, Stuart Manley (Wal) 70 70, Gareth Davies (Eng) 71 69, Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 69 71
141 Christian Reimbold (Ger) 70 71, Laurent Richard (Bel) 69 72, Anthony Snobeck (Fra) 71 70, David Dixon (Eng) 68 73, James Kamte (Rsa) 72 69, Jerome Theunis (Bel) 71 70, Juan Abbate (Arg) 68 73, Nicola Maestroni (Ita) 74 67, Matthew King (Eng) 71 70, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 71 70
MISSED THE CUT
142 Gianluca Pietrobono (Ita) 73 69, Gary Clark (Eng) 74 68, Matteo Del Podio (Ita) 72 70 Andrea Maestroni (Ita) 71 71, François Calmels (Fra) 72 70, Raphaël Eyraud (Fra) 76 66, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 72 70, Colm Moriarty (Irl) 72 70, Fredrik Widmark (Swe) 69 73
143 John Wade (Aus) 70 73, Andrew Oldcorn (Sco) 73 70, Dennis Küpper (Ger) 70 73, Anders Schmidt Hansen (Den) 73 70, Benjamin Miarka (Ger) 69 74, Stuart Davis (Eng) 70 73, Paul Nilbrink (Nor) 71 72.
144 Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 77 67, André Bossert (Swi) 71 73, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa) 70 74, Kariem Baraka (Ger) 74 70, Miguel Rodriguez (Arg) 75 69, Alessio Bruschi (Ita) 73 71, Richie Ramsay (Sco) 72 72
145 Marius Thorp (Nor) 77 68, Hernan Rey (Arg) 72 73,Marco Bernardini (Ita) 76 69, Julien Foret (Fra) 73 72, Andrew McArthur (Sco) 76 69, Stefano Reale (Ita) 69 76, Johan Sköld (Swe) 73 72
146 Andrea Zanini (Ita) 72 74, Jamie McLeary (Sco) 75 71, Gareth Wright (Wal) 73 73, Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 73 73, Sébastien Delagrange (Fra) 75 71, Tim Dykes (Wal) 76 70, Andrea Rota (Ita) 77 69, Angelo Regno (Ita) 75 71
147 Daniel Wardrop (Eng) 78 69, Michele Reale (Ita) 75 72, Branden Grace (Rsa) 71 76, Miguel Angel Duque (Spa) 69 78, Nicolas Sulzer (Swi) 73 74
148 Alfredo Da Corte (Ita) 74 74, Marco Soffietti (Ita) 76 72, Michael Hoey (NIrl) 72 76
149 Marco Crespi (Ita) 78 71
150 Jamie Little (Eng) 79 71
151 Giorgio Grillo (Ita) 78 73
152 Alessio Mastriforti (Ita) 77 75
153 Emmanuele Lattanzi (Ita) 77 76, Marco Cidonio (Ita) 76 77, Adrien Mörk (Fra) 76 77, Paolo Terreni (Ita) 77 76
154 Fernando Pasqualucci (Ita) 69 85
159 Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 76 83
161 Diego Suazo (Spa) 83 78
Disqualified: Andrea Zani (Ita) 74

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE STORY OF TODAY'S PLAY

PETER WHITEFORD SHOOTS A 64
TO BE ONE OFF THE LEAD
IN EURO CHALLENGE TOUR
From Michael Gibbons
Challenge Tour Press Officer
Peter Whiteford’s second round of seven-under-par 64 today has propelled him into contention to become the European Challenge Tour’s most prolific winner of 2007 as the dream finish to his season continued at the Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup.
The Kirkcaldy 27-year-old (pictured above). who has won two of his past three events to all but guarantee a European Tour card for next season as part of the Challenge Tour’s top 20, is just one shot behind Robert Dinwiddie of England on 10-under 132 at Le Pavoniere Golf and Country Club in Florence.
Whiteford and Dinwiddie are two of the eight double winners from what has been a thrilling Challenge Tour season, and both men are looking to secure a hat-trick of victories over the final two rounds in Florence ahead of next week’s season-ending Apulia San Domenico Grand Final.
“I played great again today and the key to all of my recent success has been my putting,” said Whiteford. “That has been my Achilles heel for a long time, but I am putting so well just now, seeing the lines and hitting them.
“My long game as always been pretty solid, but the knock-on effect from the confidence of winning has improved that as well. I am very happy with how it’s going at the moment.”
Anstruther’s George Murray is five strokes behind Whiteford on five under par after a second round 68, with Eric Ramsay a further stroke back after a 67.
You needed to shoot one-under-par 141 or better to beat the halfway cut.
Andrew Oldcorn (143), Richie Ramsay (144), Andrew McArthur (145) and Jamie McLeary (146) were on the wrong side of it.

DUNOON STUDENT 35th in SQUIRE CREEK CLASSIC
AT CHOUDRANT, LOUISIANA

Christopher Carson from Dunoon and Sam Houston State University team-mate Fergal Rafferty from Carrickmore, Northern Ireland finished tied 35th and 50th respectively in a field of 96 players for the Squire Creek Classic at Squite Creek Golf Club, Choudrant, Louisiana over a par-72, 7105yd course.
Christopher had scores of 73, 74 and 74 for five-over-par 221.
Fergal scored 74, 74 and 76 for 224.
Matthew Harvey (Louisiana Tech) was the three-shot winner with scores of 74, 71 and 64 for seven-under-par 209.
Mississippi State (860) won the team event from Louisiana State (862) with Louisiana Tech (863) third and Jacksonville State fourth on 864. Sam Houston state (885) finished 11th of 18 teams.

BONNYBRIDGE PAIR WIN

PLACE IN INTERNATIONAL
PAIRS FINAL AT THE DUKE'S

NEXT YEAR

HUGH HUNTER REPORTS:
The Bonnybridge pair of Stephen Brown and John Maxwell (Hugh Hunter image on the right) finished a highly creditable third from 40 couples in the Grand Scottish Final of the International Pairs tournament (better ball handicap stableford) at Carnoustie.
Their first round total of 35 points over the championship course left them in joint 13th place, but over the Burnside course, they returned a best of the day 45 points to lift them to third place and a spot in the International Final, to be held over The Duke's course, St Andrews in September 2008.
Spookily, as they received their prize, " Flower of Scotland" was heard from the television from Georgia !

PAUL STREETER FROM SOUTHWELL WINS
PGA PLAY-OFFS TICKET TO EURO STARTS

Southwell pro Paul Streeter shot a final round of three-under par to claim first place in the PGA Play-Offs at Notts Golf Club and in turn securing himself starts at a host of European Tour events next year.
Streeter was level par after the first day's play, but an inspired second round at the challenging course was enough to see off fellow Midlands golfers Simon Lilly (Wellingborough) and Matt Morris (Hatchford Brook).
Morris held a one-shot lead over the rest of the field at the end of play yesterday but his level-par round today was only enough to secure him third spot, while Lilly's two-under round ensured he claimed second position.
As well as pocketing £2,000 Streeter has won invitations to the BMW PGA Championship, Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open, Smurfit Kappa European Open and Barclays Scottish Open on the European Tour and the FirstPlus Wales Challenge, Challenge of Ireland, Scottish Challenge and Oceanico Pro-Am Challenge on the Challenge Tour.
And Streeter, who held a full Tour card in 2000, admits it will be 'awesome' to compete in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth next May.
He said: "It's great to be playing some of the big Tour events next year and particularly the ones in England.
"It'll be awesome to play at Wentworth. The Tour School doesn't get you into Wentworth, so it'll be a fantastic experience to play there competitively.
"I had a lesson with my coach Graham Bradley three days ago and we changed my grip quite dramatically. It felt a bit strange but I've hit some gorgeous shots out there over the past two days, so it's certainly paid off.
"Before I was hitting it so far off-line so changing the grip has made a massive difference. I was worried about coming down the stretch under pressure how much that would affect it, but I'm pretty pleased with how it went.
"I said to my missus that I wanted to shoot under par for both days which would be two under. I was two under playing 18 yesterday and doubled it so I was level going into today. But once you get two you always want to get even lower.
"I'd take three under every day of the week around here."
FINAL TOTALS
141 P Streeter (Southwell) 72 69 (£2000).
142 S Lilly (Wellingborough) 72 70 (£1500).
143 M Morris (Hatchford Brook) 71 72.
Scots' scores:
145 G Hutcheon (Peterculter) 73 72 (jt 7th) (£658).
146 M Loftus (Cowglen) 72 74 (jt 10th) (£587).
150 P McKechnie (Braid Hills) 76 74 (jt 16th) (£435).

CABRERA BEATS HARRINGTON IN PLAY-OFF
TO WIN PGA GRAND SLAM OF GOLF

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE:

US Open Champion Angel Cabrera won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf by defeating Open Champion Padraig Harrington at the third extra hole of a sudden-death play-off at the Mid-Ocean Club, Bermuda.
It was a dramatic end to a spectacular two days' golf on the island of Bermuda with Cabrera eagling the 18th hole in regulation play to tie his fellow European Tour Member, Harrington, on four under par 136.
Harrington, holding a one-stroke lead playing the last, two putted from 35 feet for birdie but he was caught when the Argentine hit a stunning approach to four feet to set up his eagle 3.
The two players matched each other’s pars on the first two extra holes before Cabrera took the title with a birdie on the 18th green to Harrington’s par.
Jim Furyk birdied four of the last five holes but it was not quite enough as he finished one shy of the play-off while Masters Champion Zach Johnson finished a further stroke back on two under par.
Cabrera won the title after overcoming an atrocious start, recovering from a triple bogey on the opening hole that put him five shots behind, with his grandstand birdie-eagle finish to close with a two under 68 and force the play-off.
He finally beat Harrington on the third extra hole with another booming tee shot and a four iron into 18 feet on the par five 18th. Cabrera took two putts for birdie, which was all he needed when Harrington hit into a deep bunker off the tee and still had four foot for par when the Argentine tapped in.
It was the first time Harrington, who closed with a 69, had trailed all afternoon. Cabrera won $600,000 from the tournament restricted to 2007's major champions.
It was only the third play-off in the 25-year history of the Grand Slam, and the first since Woods beat Vijay Singh in 2000 at Poipu Bay. The tournament left Hawaii after 13 years for another island in another ocean, and the 7,000 fans from this country in the Atlantic were treated to a finish as stunning as the scenery.

PAUL DOHERTY HEADS CELTIC PRO TOUR
CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A FOUR-UNDER 67

Former Scottish boys' match-play champion Paul Doherty heads the field by two strokes after the first round of the first Celtic Pro Tour Championship over the Old Course, St Pierre.
A four under par round of 67 - he was six under the card with three to play - gives South Wales-based Doherty, a regular performer on the PGA EuroPro Tour, the pole position.
Next comes past Kenyan Open winner James Lee (Caerphilly) and Matthew Griffiths on 69.
Four players are tied on the 70 mark - Alun Evans (Newport Links), former Wales amateur international Neil Oakley (St Mellons), Asian Tour professional Craig Smith (St Mellons) and recent Grampian Open winner David Price from Wales.
There are two rounds to go.

THERE'S NO STOPPING ON-A-ROLL PETER
WHITEFORD ON CHALLENGE TOUR

By MICHAEL GIBBONS
Press Officer, Challenge Tour

Scot Peter Whiteford continued his stunning Challenge Tour form at the penultimate event of the season, the Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup, with an opening score of three under par 68 to lie just two strokes off the lead.
The Kirkcaldy 27 year old has transformed his career with two victories in the last three weeks on the Challenge Tour that have taken him from 60th on the Rankings to 13th, and within touching distance of a place on the 2008 European Tour.
A top five finish at the Arnold Palmer-designed Le Pavoniere Golf and Country Club would be enough to guarantee Whiteford his Tour card.
Other Scots in the field this week who have the chance to join Whiteford on Tour next season are Andrew McArthur, who carded an opening 76, Jamie McLeary (75), George Murray (69) Eric Ramsay (71) and Richie Ramsay (72).
Of those five, McLeary, Murray and Eric Ramsay need to make money in Tuscany this week in order to safeguard their places at next week’s Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, where an elite 45-man field do battle for a prize fund of €250,000 and the 20 available European Tour cards.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
66 M Lundberg, R Kakko.
67 P Kaensche, L Bond, R Coles, F Aguilar, T Dier, R De Sousa, T Karjalainen.
68 D Dixon, P Whiteford, M A Carlsson, M Lorenzo-Verga, R Dinwiddie, J Abbate, A Salto, P Larrazabal, G Rojas, J Luiten, P Fowler, S Browne, N Vanhootgem (jt 10th).
Other Scots' scores:
69 G Murray (jt 23rd).
70 S Henderson (jt 35th).
71 E Ramsay (jt 51st).
72 R Ramsay (jt 68th).
73 A Oldcorn (jt 81st).
75 J McLeary (jt 96th).
76 A McArthur (jt 101st).

Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance

KENNY GLEN'S LAST-HOLE BIRDIE WINS HIM
GALLACHER TROPHY ON COUNTBACK

BY DUNCAN IRELAND
Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance secretary
A total of 82 players today for a perfect if a bit chilly day at King's Acre. You might not miss me as secretary but you'll certainly miss the weather I can pick!
A big thank you to King's Acre for having their course in perfect condition for us although I think it proved a bit too tricky for the amateurs as the professional scores were better today.
Congratulations to Kenny Glen on winning the Gallacher Trophy. His two-under-par 68 was only just good enough to beat Stevie Lamb & David Patrick on a countback on not only the last nine holes, but last six, last three - and eventually his birdie 3 at the last secured him the title.
On the handicap side of things, last year's winner David Graham will be kicking himself for finishing 7-2-7-4 for a net 73 but Harry Cartmill and Tommy Wilson were happy enough as their net 70s were enough for equal first place.
TODAY'S LEADING SCORES AT KING'S ACRE
Gallacher Trophy
Overall Winner: K Glen (Royal Musselburgh) 68.
SCRATCH
68 K Glen (Royal Musselburgh), S Lamb (Broomieknowe), D Patrick (Mortonhall) (£80 each).
72 G Johnston (King's Acre), N Colquhoun (Merchants), Gordon Law (Uphall), Alan Martin (Dunbar) (£20 each).
HANDICAP
70 H Cartmill (Bathgate) (6), T Wilson Glenbervie (3) £90 voucher each).
71 K Bissett Prestonfield (6) (£60 voucher).
72 S Doyle Liberton (5), D Hume (Greenburn) (6), I Taylor (Royal Burgess) (1) (£20 voucher each).
Senior Prize - W Smith Harburn (10) 73 (£20 voucher).

NEW TURRIFF PRO MOONEY'S FIRST WIN ON
NORTH-EAST ALLIANCE CIRCUIT

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

It's not often these days that anyone wins a North-east Alliance competition with a par-matching round.
But it happened today in testing, squally, sometimes very wet conditions at Insch Golf Club where James Mooney, the 29-year-old recently-appointed Turriff Golf Club professional, scored his first win on the North-east winter circuit with a par-equalling score of 69
It was a day when most players in the field of 101 - the highest of the season so far - found the outward half difficult and some found the inward nine a good deal easier.
Mooney, who hails from Edinburgh, had been professionally attached to Gourock Golf Club for the past five years. He stepped up a gear after requiring 39 shots (four over par) to negotiate the first nine holes.
He made an inauspicious start with a double-bogey 6 at the first where he took four shots to reach the green and after seven pars in a row - birdie chances going a-begging - he completed the outwared half with a second double bogey, a three-putt 7 after being in the trees.
That was the end of the fair-to-middleing golf. From there on James looked a different player.
He birdied the 10th, 13th, 15 and 17th and missed a 15ft birdie putt at the last hole which would have got him home in 29.
“I’d never played the course before so I took nine holes to get to grips with it,” he said. “But, I got it going on the inward half and it was disappointing not to get under 30.”
Former Walker Cup player Sandy Pirie (Hazlehead), winner of the seniors’ title at the recent Scottish Alliance championship, finished second with a 70 after coming home in one-under-par 33.
Clark Alexander (Murcar Links), who tied for third place on 71 with clubmate Bill Urquhart and Roy Pirie (Caledonian), had his score inflated by a quadruple bogey 8 at the par-4 second.
"I took four shots to reach the green via the cemetary and then four-putted. But for that I would have won an Alliance for only the second time," said Clark who had five birdies in halves of 36 and 35.
Roy Pirie was out in 37 and home in 34 while Bill Urquhart had halves of 38 and 33.

LEADING SCRATCH
Par 69
69 J Mooney (Turriff).
70 A K Pirie (Hazlehead).
71 W S Urquhart (Murcar Links), C Alexander (Murcar Links), R Pirie (Caledonian).
73 A Campbell (Deeside), S Pert (Huntly), J Nicolson (Auchmill), C Clark (Mackenzie Club), S Finnie (Caledonian), P Lovie (Inchmarlo), A Bews (Murcar Links).
74 S Davidson (Banchory), N Reid (Deeside).
75 G Bruce (Westhill).
76 C Hood (Alford), L Roger (Royal Aberdeen), M Lawrie (Kemnay), A McInnes (Murcar Links).
77 D Wilson (Duff House Royal), D Nelson (Aboyne), C Carnegie (Kemnay).
78 A Graham (Portlethen), J Murray (Banchory), A Innes (Murcar Links), M Barnard (Inchmarlo).
79 G Leslie (Newburgh), K Minty (Turriff), M Jenkins (Duff House Royal).
80 N Parker (Murcar Links).
81 G Mitchell (Braemar), A Grant (Portlethen), C Crombie (Oldmeldrum), S Higgins (Royal Aberdeen).
82 P Farnan (Royal Aberdeen), S Scott (Auchmill), G Homer (Lumphanan), H Roulston (Stonehaven), I Strachan (Royal Aberdeen).
83 D Bisset (Banchory), F Bisset (Banchory), J Harrison (Newmachar), S Garden (Hazlehead).

LEADING HANDICAP
CLASS ONE
C Alexander (Murcar Links) (5) 66; A K Pirie (Hazlehead) (2), R Pirie (Caledonian) (3) 68; L Roger (Royal Aberdeen) (7) 69; J Nicolson (Auchmill) (3), W S Urquhart (Murcar Links) (1), D Nelson (Aboyne) (7) 70; S Pert (Huntly) (2), J Murray (Banchory) (7), A McInnes (Murcar Links) (5), M Lawrie (Kemnay) (5) 71; D Wilson (Duff House Royal) (5), S Finnie (Caledonian) (1), N Parker (Murcar Links) (8) 72; A Graham (Portlethen) (5) 73.
A Campbell (Deeside) (+1), G Mitchell (Braemar) (7), C Carnegie (Kemnay) (3) 74; A Grant (Portlethen) (6), J Harrison (Newmachar) (8), A Innes (Murcar Links) (3) 75; P Farnan (Royal Aberdeen) (6), A Bews (Murcar Links) (+3) 76; H Roulston (Stonehaven) (5), M Jenkins (Duff House Royal) (2) 77; S Scott (Auchmill) (4), I McGregor (Nigg Bay) (6), R Steven (Turriff) (6) 78; L Taylor (Auchmill) (5), D McKay (Caledonian) (8) 79.
CLASS TWO
C Hood (Alford) (9) 67; G Leslie (Newburgh) (10) 69; G Homer (Lumphanan) (12), K Minty (Turriff) (9), N Agnew (Duff House Royal) (16), I Strachan (Royal Aberdeen) (12), G Telfer (Murcar Links) (16), I Grant (Huntly) (18) 70; C Crombie (Oldmeldrum) (10) 71; G Kennedy (Meldrum House) (14) 72.

CARD OF THE COURSE FOR INSCH (5,350yd, par 69).
OUT: 4-4-4-4-4-3-4-3-5--35.
IN: 4-4-4-3-4-4-5-3-3--34

JAMES MOONEY 69
OUT: 6-4-4-4-4-3-4-3-7--39.
IN: 3-4-4-2-4-3-5-2-3-30.

SANDY PIRIE 70
OUT: 5-4-4-4-4-2-4-4-6--37
IN: 4-4-4-3-4-4-4-3-3--33

BILL URQUHART 71
OUT: 4-6-4-3-6-4-3-3-5-38
IN: 5-3-3-4-4-4-4-2-4--33

CLARK ALEXANDER 71
OUT: 4-8-3-4-3-3-3-3-5--36
IN: 5-5-4-3-3-4-6-3-2--35

ROY PIRIE 71
OUT: 5-5-4-3-6-2-4-3-5--37
IN: 5-5-4-2-4-3-5-3-3--34

Press Release

SENIORS TOUR SET FOR FIRST VISIT
TO CZECH REPUBLIC NEXT YEAR

The European Seniors Tour will make an historic visit to the Czech Republic whose Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek today witnessed the signing of the agreement to stage the inaugural Foxconn CZ Open at the outstanding Casa Serena Golf Course from September 5-7, 2008.
Carrying a prize fund of €600,000, the Foxconn CZ Open will represent the Seniors Tour’s first visit to the Czech Republic and will be the third richest event on the 2008 Seniors Tour Schedule thanks to the personal support of Foxconn Group founding Chairman, industrialist Terry Gou.
Foxconn Technology Group is the foremost provider of joint design, joint development, manufacturing, assembly and after-sales services to global Computer, Communication and Consumer electronics leaders.
Casa Serena Golf Course is one of European Golf Design’s latest and most exciting projects. Designed by Robert Hiseman, Casa Serena is an inland links style lay-out that will prove a stern test for the Seniors Tour professionals.

Asian Tour Press Release

HONG KONG TO ROLL OUT RED CARPET

FOR PETER THOMSON,

THE MELBOURNE TIGER

Three-time Hong Kong Open champion Peter Thomson is to be the guest of honour at this year's tournament, title sponsor UBS has announced.
The Australian legend will attend a gala dinner saluting his contribution to the championship shortly before the tournament is staged at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling from November 15-18.
Thomson, 78, pictured right, said he was looking forward to returning to the scene of his triumphs in 1960, 1965 and 1967.
"I hope I have the chance to meet some of my old friends," he said. "I'm looking forward to meeting everyone I can who was present at Fanling in the 1960s."
Thomson, who still lives in his native Melbourne, has warm memories of his pioneering trips to the Hong Kong Open.
"In those times, we stayed in the city in Kowloon and we had a long drive to the course every morning. We loved every minute of it, the hospitality was marvellous and the people were so nice to us," he recalled.
"The city was fascinating, just being there and walking down the street, which was something special for us as visitors."
Thomson, nicknamed the "Melbourne Tiger" long before Tiger Woods was born, ranks as one of the giants of the game, having won the British Open an incredible five times between 1954 and 1965 as part of a hugely successful career on the European Tour.
At the same time, while at the peak of his powers in the 1960s, he was a great supporter of the fledging professional golf scene in Asia, winning tournaments across the region.
He went on to play for a short time on the PGA Seniors Tour in the United States, winning an astonishing nine tournaments out of 27 in 1985.
Thomson also captained the International Team against the USA in the Presidents Cup three times between 1996 and 2000, a streak that included an emotional winning effort at his hometown Royal Melbourne course in 1998.
Since 1970, he has also run a hugely successful golf course design business, meaning he is a regular visitor to Asia. While he no longer plays golf competitively, he remains an enthusiastic social player.

The invitations have been extended as part of the build-up to the 50th edition of the event next year.
Kathryn Shih, Chief Executive of UBS Hong Kong Branch, was delighted that Thomson had agreed to attend.
"The unique tradition of the Hong Kong Open has always been one of the central elements of UBS's partnership with Asia's heritage tournament and the chance to bring that history to life is very important to us," she said.
"Last year we were delighted to welcome the event's first champion, Lu Liang-huan, to Fanling and this year we are thrilled that Peter Thomson, the second winner of the Open and a three-time champion, will join us as our special guest.
"The UBS Hong Kong Open's history highlights what makes the tournament unique in regional golf and we look forward to celebrating that with Peter next month."
Thomson will be honoured at the UBS Hong Kong Open Gala Evening at the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre, China Resources Building, Wanchai on November 13.
Guests - including many of the star players at this year's tournament - will be shown a video montage of his greatest moments.
Thomson's VIP appearance at the UBS Hong Kong Open is another boost for the US$2.25 million showpiece, which has already unveiled a world class field.
Former Masters champion Mike Weir and two-time US Open winner Retief Goosen will be joined in the line-up by fellow PGA Tour stars Choi Kyung-ju, Trevor Immelman, Stuart Appleby and Arron Oberholser.
Reigning champion José Manuel Lara will be back to defend his title while current Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit leader Liang Wen-chong will fly the flag for China.
The UBS Hong Kong Open, promoted by Parallel Media Group, is again jointly sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours and more star players will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Hong Kong Open was first staged in 1959 - making it the territory's oldest professional sporting event - and has been held every year at the Hong Kong Golf Club.

HARD WORK FOR HARRINGTON BUT HE LEADS
THE PGA GRAND SLAM OF GOLF

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

The European Tour's two Major Champions led the way in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf with Padraig Harrington one ahead of Angel Cabrera after the first round at Mid-Ocean Club on the island of Bermuda.
The PGA Grand Slam of Golf, this year celebrating its 25th anniversary, is being played on Bermuda for the first time with the Open Champion edging the US Open Champion by a stroke on the first day.
Harrington posted a three-under-par 67 to Cabrera's 68. Masters Champion Zach Johnson and former US Open winner Jim Furyk both shot a 71.
Harrington barely noticed the spectacular scenery and turquoise coastline as be ground out a first round lead.
"I was struggling with my game, so my head was very much down," Harrington said. "I saw a little bit of the nice coastline and scenery, but it was very much a workmanlike day. On almost every shot I was a bit worried. It was a tough day out there for me, and luckily, the putts were dropping and it kept me right in there."
Cabrera nearly caught him until his 15 foot eagle putt came up short on the 18th hole.
The Grand Slam of Golf, reserved for the year's Major Champions, moved from Poipu Bay in Hawaii after 13 years for the Mid-Ocean Club in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Harrington battled all day, hitting left into the water on par-3 third and scrambling for bogey, then nearly hitting his tee shot on the fifth hole into the water. He hit his approach into 18 feet for birdie and the recovery began.
The Irishman holed an eight foot putt for birdie on the sixth, made a 20 foot putt on the eighth, and looked as though he might run away from the field with consecutive birdies early on the back nine, including his 5 iron to 18 feet on the 12th.
"I didn't play very well," Harrington said. "I just managed to hole the right putts and made the right decisions."
Harrington started coming back to the field with a poor chip from just left of the 13th green that ran 15 feet by the cup, which he missed for bogey. And on the 504-yard 15th, which played as a par 4, he pulled his approach into the gallery, then hit his pitch over the green into a bunker. He did well to escape with bogey.
The long-hitting Cabrera made short work of the par-5s, as expected, and had only one bogey on his card. That also came on the 13th, with his ball a few yards in front of Harrington, a chip that wasn't much better.
"I hit the ball pretty solid," he said through his caddie, Eddie Gardino. "I've played a lot of golf lately. I'm not 100 per cent, but I will be up to 100 percent."
Asked when that would happen, Cabrera needed no translator.
"Tomorrow," he said.

MARK LOFTUS LEADING SCOT IN PGA PLAY-OFFS
AT NOTTS GOLF CLUB

First round scores in the PGA play-offs at Notts Golf Club today.
Par 72
71 Mathew Morris (ENG) Hatchford Brook.
72 David Shacklady (ENG) Mossock Hall, Simon Lilly (ENG) Wellingborough, James Ablett (ENG) Lee on the Solent, Paul Street (Eng) Southwell, Sean Mason (ENG) Teign Valley, Mark Loftus (SCO) Cowglen, Mark Davis (ENG) Thorndon Park.
73 Ian Ellis (ENG) Weston Park, Greig Hutcheon (SCO) Peterculter.
74 Barry Austin (ENG) Downes Crediton, Mark Staunton (IRE) Black Bush.
75 Steven Cowle (ENG) Farnham, Barry Taylor (ENG) Houghwood, David Smith (ENG) Swinton Park.
76 Ant Tarchetti (ENG) Littlestone, Eamonn Brady (IRE) Clontarf, Paul McKechnie (SCO) Braid Hills.
77 Andrew Pestell (WAL) Chelmsford, Leslie Walker (IRE) Dundalk, Andrew Sherborne (ENG) Kendleshire.

YOUNG WINS NEARLY $3,000 IN

NATIONWIDE TOUR EVENT

AT HIS HOME TEXAS CLUB

Texas-based Steven Young from Inverallochy won $2,999.50 for a joint 30th place finish in the US Nationwide Tour event, the WNB Classic, at the weekend.
The 72-hole tournament was played at Midland Golf and Country Club, where Steven has been on the professional staff for a number of years.
He had rounds of 71, 71, 72 and 70 for a four-under-par total of 284 - six shots behind the winner, Brad Adamonis (US) with scores of 68, 68, 72 and 70. It was a rare competitive appearance - on a sponsors' invitation - for Young who failed by one shot to gain a US PGA Tour player's cards shortly after turning professional in 1997.

Had Steven made it to the No 1 circuit in the States, he would very probably prospered and might even have gone on to Ryder Cup status. But, having missed out by the narrowest of margins, Young was never really the same player again.

After a season or two on the Tight Lies Tour, he decided to "retire" to the security of a club pro job at Midland, Texas.

As an amateur, Young had seemed destined to have a bright future in the paid ranks. He was Scottish boys' match-play champion three years in a row from 1993 to 1995; won the British boys' championship at Dunbar in 1995 and won the Scottish youths championship in 1997, the year he played in the Walker Cup match at Quaker Ridge, New York State.
Young, playing in the lead-off singles both days, won both his ties. His only team-mates to win one singles match were Craig Watson and Justin Rose and the United States won 18-6.
+Martin Laird, also a former Scottish youths champion, missed the cut in the weekend Nationwide event with scores of 74 and 73 for 147. Laird, in 17th place in the money table with $193,909, needs to stay in the top 20 through the last three events of the season to be guaranteed promotion to the US PGA Tour next year.

GOLF ON STEROIDS IN WEST OF IRELAND

By JO MAES
A week's golf on rugged and exposed links courses in the West of Ireland seems a daunting task on paper but 30 members of the European Golf & Travel Media Association were fearless as they embarked on their second test of Irish links golf.
After a successful event in 2006, John McLaughlin of North & West Coast Links, the marketing organization for 11 of the best links courses in Ireland, immediately extended the invitation to a sequel event. This trip would bring us a bit further south and as far west as one could possibly go in Ireland.
Journalists, all dressed in Glenmuir, from 11 European countries descended on Dublin Airport only to be transferred to Sligo. First we tackled the exposed links of Co Sligo Golf Club or Rosses Point as more commonly known. One should play this course for the views alone.
The course itself offers a variety in links golf that is rarely found. An uphill opening hole reminiscent of the first hole at Royal Portrush immediately sets the tone for the day.
Co. Donegal Golf Club or Murvagh welcomes all golfers as the Pat Ruddy-redesigned links offers a stiff but fair challenge. Immaculately maintained and with views over the surrounding bays and the Atlantic, this course is as good as any course you will play.
The Enniscrone golf links has really moved into the Premier League with the incorporation of five new holes designed by Donald Steel. What is on offer here is a roller-coaster ride from elevated tee boxes through towering dunes onto undulating greens. This course will not disappoint you.
The Carne Golf Links is the result of the vision and hard work of a tight-knit community in a remote part of Ireland. Carne was the last design by the late Eddie Hacket and he obviously knew what he was doing after his designs at Donegal, Enniscrone and Connemara drew praise from golfers all over the world.
The Carne links epitomizes links golf in all its ruggedness and harshness. (Un)lucky bounces are very much part of this course as it grows on you with every hole.
Playing golf on the moon is something only astronaut Alan Shepard was privy to but the championship links at Connemara is probably the nearest thing to it on earth. A lunar landscape surrounded by sandy beaches with waves crashing in the distance provides the extraordinary backdrop for this fabulous course.
The new nine-holes, together with the existing back-nine, will make this an even better course than it is now.
Along the way we were treated to typical Irish hospitality and good honest food. The Radisson SAS and Clarion hotels in Sligo proved to be a good benchmark for what was still to come. The family-owned Downhill House and Downhill Inn in Ballina are ideally located to sample a number of courses in the region and both the Abbey Glen as well as Foyles Hotel in Clifden made sure the peat fire was burning and the band was on duty.
The EGTMA North West Coast Links Challenge was played over five courses with four rounds counting for the final result. There was room for one discard and most of us were thankful for this lifeline. A mention should go to Norwegian Louis Roren from Golfposten Magazine when he scored his first ever hole-in-one on Donegal's third hole. A little knockdown seven-wood covered the 165 yards and hopped his brand new Wilson ball straight into the hole.
After five days of fierce competition it was Tristan Jones, the official photographer of the Ladies European Tour and an 11-handicapper with golf clubs in his hands, who held his game together for a four-round total of 146 Stableford points.
He kept the tall Dutchman Erwin Mulder, a two-handicap player for Golfers Magazine, a solid 6pt behind.
The ladies' challenge was won by Sue Farmer from England but based on the Algarve in Portugal.
The Irish tourism authorities with Tourism Ireland, Failte Ireland North West and Failte Ireland West supported the EGTMA North & West Coast Links Challenge.
The seemingly endless (and indeed very welcome on courses like this) supply of golf balls came through Wilson with their all-new Dx2 Soft ball.
Glenmuir made sure we had clothes to wear with a long sleeved polo top embroidered with the EGTMA Logo and MacGregor Europe supplied us with an impressive prize table. Both winners received Galway Crystal as a trophy, courtesy of North & West Coast Links.
The EGTMA North & West Coast Links Challenge was supported by the following golf courses:
Co Sligo Golf Club
Co Donegal Golf Club
Enniscrone Golf Club
Carne Golf Links
Connemara Championship Links

We stayed in the following hotels:
Radison SAS Sligo and Clarion Sligo
Downhill House and Downhill Inn, Ballina
Abbey Glen Hotel and Foyles Hotel, Clifden
Clayton Hotel, Galway

For further information and more pictures,contact Jo Maes or Denise Gallagher of the European Golf & Travel Media Association
Tel +353.40.23.00.00
e-mail: info@egtma.com

LINDSAY 10th, MOLLOY jt 15th IN EASTMAN
INVITATIONAL AT LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN

Banchory's Adam Lindsay, a student at Iowa Wesleyan College, finished joint 10th in the Ronnie Eastman Invitational over a par-72 course measuring 6,714yd at La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Adam had rounds of 76 and 75 for 151.
Another Scot, Graeme Molloy from Glasgow, a student at Grand View College, came joint 15th with 75 and 79 for 154.
The tournament was won by Ren Jungck (Viterbo University) who beat Derek Bauer (Wisconsin Eau-Claire) in a play-off after they had tied on level par 144. Ren scored 70 and 74, Derek a pair of 72s.
Iowa Wesleyan finished fourth of nine teams.

MICHAEL MAIN TRAILS AT SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
Michael Main from Fife, a freshman student at Jacksonville University,Florida, was in joint 72nd place after two rounds of the Mizuno Southbridge Intercollegiate at Savannah, Georgia. The former Scottish boys' match-play championship runner-up has had scores of 84 and 76 for 16-over-par 160.
Kelly Manders (Winthrop) leads at seven-under-par 137 with rounds of 69 and 68.

DON MACKAY WINS NORTH ALLIANCE

WITH A 66 ON RETURN TO REAY

By ROBIN WILSON
After missing most of last season with getting married and house building, Caithness county champion Don Mackay (Thurso) has made an immediate impact on return to the North Alliance scene with a blistering 66 over his former Reay course.
Mackay, pictured left by Robin Wilson, left Reay to join Thurso where his handicap has crept up to two but the former three times winner of the Alliance's aggregate Scratch Quaich is definitely on his way back to a scratch rating and a series challenger this season.
At ease on his return to his old stamping ground, he found five birdies in the perfect scoring conditions and a shortened course in halves of 32 and 34. Three sub par figures came on the outward stretch, the fourth, sixth and ninth holes, then a second par-5 birdie hole, the 14th, before finishing below the clubhouse windows with a classy birdie 2.
Mackay's only dropped shots came at par-3 holes, the seventh, by missing the green to the left, and the 15th from a three-putt from the difficult left side of the green across the slope.
Mackay's win was by three shots from Brora's Tony Gill whose 69 was his best ever score over the Caithness venue. Gill birdied the ninth hole for a level par outward card of 34 and then got to one under par with birdies at the 13th and 14th before giving back his red position with a bogey on the 16th after finding a bunker with his approach to the green from the right hand side rough.
Finishing with two par figures, he was home in 35.
Another gross 69 came from the unusual source of local eight-handicapper Steve Efemey who enjoyed three of his four birdies on the considered tougher inward half. Needless to say Efemey was the runaway winner of the Class 1 net returns with 61.
The Reay members made hay of the ideal conditions and their home advantage to take the lion's share of the prizes. Graham Grant, handicap four from Helmsdale, already with a second position at Durness the previous week, was again in good form and although with a better score at Reay he slipped to third place with net 67 because of a net 63 from local Colin Stewart.
Shaun Sutherland (Bonar Bridge) was another Sutherland visitor who got a listing in this section with a net 67 off eight.
The Bonar member, after picking up birdies at the 16th and 17th, lost a ball on the next hole but still made a 5 with his second ball for a fighting 75.
The local domination continued into Class 2 where Andy Mackay (13) shot a 65 to win by a shot from his club secretary, Bill McIntosh. Then Allyn Sutherland arrived two shots further back before Richard Thain put Wick onto the board in fourth place with another net par score, a 68 off 17.
Tarbat's Mike Keay, holder of the MacKintosh Salver for aggregate net scores, was in Reay to begin his trophy defence and before getting his own course into shape this week for a first time Alliance visit to the Portmahomack Lighthouse nine-hole course.
From a bright start at Reay, a birdie 2 at the short fifth hole, the Tarbat greenkeeper put his drive out of bounds from the eighth tee and closed with a net 73.
Results
(All Reay unless stated)
SCRATCH
66 D A Mackay (Thurso).
69 A J Gill (Brora), S Efemey.
70 A Swanson (Thurso).
71 G Grant (Helmsdale).
72 E Larnoch (Lybster).
73 J O'Brien.
75 S Sutherland (Bonar Bridge), D Dunbar.
76 W Mowat.
HANDICAP
Class1 - S Efemey (8) 61; C Stewart (10) 63; G Grant (Helmsdale) (4), J O'Brien (6), S Sutherland (Bonar Bridge) 67.
Class 2 - A MacKay (13) 65; B McIntosh (20) 66; A Sutherland (16), R. Thain (Wick) (17) 68.

Press Release

CELTIC MANOR NAMES RYDER CUP COURSE
AND LAUNCHES NEW MEMBERSHIP

The new course built for staging the Ryder Cup at The Celtic Manor Resort in 2010 has been named after the date that shaped its existence.
The Twenty Ten Course has been given a title which reflects the fact that the spectacular new lay-out will forever be associated with hosting he Ryder Cup, one of the world’s most captivating sporting events.
Playing the prestigious course – the first ever to be designed and built specifically for the Ryder Cup – is not the only benefit of accepting an invitation to become a member of the new Twenty Ten Club, one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the United Kingdom.
First and foremost, membership is the best way of guaranteeing your place at The Ryder Cup in 2010. Demand will heavily outstrip supply when ticket applications are decided by a ballot process, but every member of The Twenty Ten Club will be given a season ticket plus the opportunity to purchase another one.
Come the autumn of 2010, every member and a guest will also have access to a private members' pavilion on every day of golf’s greatest team tournament between Europe and America.
The Twenty Ten Club will be strictly limited to 450 members who will be able to relax in a luxurious new clubhouse before or after a round on the world’s latest “trophy” course. It is expected that such a luxurious new golfing facility will attract members from all over the UK and abroad, as well as the club’s immediate surroundings in South Wales.
Dylan Matthews, Chief Executive of the Celtic Manor Resort, said: “This is a very exciting opportunity for golfers who pride themselves in the calibre of the club they belong to. The Twenty Ten Club will be one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the country as befits a Ryder Cup venue and a course which is already winning a reputation as one of the world’s must-play championship lay-outs.
“As well as becoming part of an elite club that exudes luxury and quality, Twenty Ten membership also brings the opportunity to be a part of history when the Ryder Cup comes to Wales for the first time in 2010.
“This is the best way to guarantee your place at the heart of the action – a ticket that money may not be able to buy at the time – as well as being able to call the venue your own home course.”
Welsh rugby legend Gareth Edwards has accepted an invitation to become the first honorary captain of the Twenty Ten Club, a position he will hold until at least the Ryder Cup matches arrive at Celtic Manor in three years.
“I feel truly honoured to have been asked to take up this post,” said Edwards, a driving force in the all-conquering Welsh rugby team of the 1970s and now a keen golfer.
“It is a very special course, which provides the sort of challenge that members are never going to tire of, and the new clubhouse looks absolutely magnificent. I’m sure we’re all going to be very proud of playing here in the run-up to 2010 and beyond.”
In the meantime, members will have the best seats in the brand new clubhouse where a private members' lounge and adjoining balcony overlook the 18th hole, which provides such a dramatic conclusion to any round on the Twenty Ten Course.
The members' lounge will feature exposed wooden beams, high-backed leather chairs and an open fire. The laid-back elegance of the traditional gentlemen’s club will be further evoked by luxury locker rooms from where it will be possible to order a drink from the spike bar.
The magnificent clubhouse – part of a £16m investment in building the new course – will also house a high-ceiling restaurant and separate function room, both enjoying views out over the picturesque course and the beautiful Usk Valley beyond.
In addition, members will receive two season tickets to the Celtic Manor Wales Open as well as access to play on two more exceptional championship courses at the Resort – the new Montgomerie, designed by the Ryder Cup legend, Colin Montgomerie, and the Roman Road, which has hosted the last three Wales Opens and the celebrity All*Star Cup.
For more information, contact the Membership Team on 01633 410300 or visit celtic-manor.com

LANGER WINS US SENIORS TOUR EVENT

BY A MIGHTY IMPRESSIVE EIGHT SHOTS

By Melanie Hauser

US PGA Tour website

SPRING, Texas -- He didn't leave a shot out there Sunday. But, oh, how the field wished he had. This one wasn't close. It wasn't even close to close. Think Tiger at Pebble Beach. Or Augusta. n the tables. The Champions (Seniors) Tour rookie opened with a course-record 62 and never looked back. He slept on a four-shot lead Saturday night and held a 17-under-par total of 127 -- the lowest 36 relative to par on the Tour this season.
And Sunday? No one got closer than three shots -- and that was for four early holes.
Langer won the Administaff Small Business Classic by eight. Did we mention his 25-under 191 tied the all-time 54-hole Champions Tour record set by Loren Roberts at the 2006 MasterCard Championship at Hualalai?
And, oh. Two-time Masters champ at Augusta National, one-time champ at Augusta Pines. Yes, his caddie, Terry Holt, reminded him.
There was no catching Herr Langer. None at all.
And just think. This is only his fourth Champions Tour event. His worst finish in the previous three? A tie for 13th at last week's Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship.
The other players noticed. In fact, a couple of them teased him in the locker room Sunday morning before he went to the range.
Hey, why don't you find another place to play?
Langer grinned. "It's been,'' he said, "a fantastic week.''
Not perfect. But damn close.
He couldn't argue with his debut at this Augusta -- birdie, eagle. Or the 62. And while he wasn't that pleased with his second-round 65 -- "left a few shots out there," he said -- the closing 64 was oh-so sweet.
"Today was pretty decent,'' he said.
Playing partners Mark O'Meara and Tom Kite just shook their heads.
It's not often you shoot 17 under for the week, O'Meara said, and LOSE by eight shots.
Kite was nine back and, like O'Meara, felt he played great.
"We got all got hammered,'' Kite said. "I'm pleased with the way I played, but Bernhard did some unbelievable things.''
Just pick a hole. Six of his eight birdies were inside 8 feet. And, yes, he was razor-sharp with his irons.
As always, he was precise. Methodical. Deliberate.
The difference was all those putts. And no three-putts.
The wind whipped up before he, Kite and O'Meara teed off and it took a few holes for all three to settle in. But even when Kite eagled the second hole, Langer scrambled for a birdie.
"But,'' Kite said, "we weren't able to put any heat on him.''
That didn't mean Langer was going to let up. He couldn't. Not a bit.
"There were a lot of champions who were there to snap at my heels if I faltered,'' he said.
Yet, they didn't. And when Langer wedged to 7 feet at the eighth hole to go up by four shots? The switch flipped. Two holes later, his 9-iron stopped 8 feet from the pin and he was up by five and cruising.
"Once I got real comfortable, accelerated and made some crucial good iron shots," Langer said.
By then, it was all over. He birdied the 12th and 13th to go up by six and birdied the last three holes -- he tapped in, basically, from three feet at the 18th -- for the win.
Yes, Langer won the World Cup with Marcel Siem last year. And he and son Stefan won the Del Webb Father-Son Championship in 2005 and 2006. But it wasn't winning a stroke-play event.
Langer came close in May, losing a playoff to Rory Sabbatini at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial on the PGA TOUR. And he tied for ninth at the Shell Houston Open. It's all, he said, due to the putter.
He's gotten his shoulders into his stroke the last year and that rocking motion has meant smoother strokes and more putts falling into the hole. Like the blur of all of them dropping this week.
"That's a nice blur to have,'' he said.
He flew home to Fort Lauderdale Sunday night to be at Stefan's district golf tournament Monday morning. The 17-year-old junior is turning into quite a good player and, well, Dad didn't want to miss it.
But he'll be back in Texas next week at the AT&T Championship at Oak Hills in San Antonio. And there's a chance, too, that if Langer could win his fifth start at next week's AT&T Championship and get some help from borderline players, he could play his way into the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Again, the players have noticed just how hot a start he's had.
"Hopefully, he'll cool off,'' Kite grinned, "and we won't have to put up with it.''
He WAS kidding.
"That's the great thing about the Champions Tour,'' Kite said, "There's not the jealousies and the grudges and the intense competition you have on the PGA TOUR.
"I'm glad Bernhard is playing out here. I think he's going to bring a lot of credibility and a lot of excitement to the Champions Tour and that is good for our business. I hope he keeps playing well out here and if he does, we're all going to have to step up to the plate.''
Or get left in the dust like they did at Augusta Pines.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 216 (3 x 72)

191 B Langer (Ger) 62 65 64 ($255,00).

199 M O'Meara (US) 67 64 68 ($149,600).

200 T Kite (US) 66 65 69 ($122,400).

202 J Haas (US) 69 66 67, L Nielsen (&S) 67 67 68 ($91,800 each).

Other scores:

203 M James (Eng) 68 68 67, B Crenshaw (US) 70 65 68 ($52,700 each).

212 D Smyth (Ire) 69 71 72 (jt 46th) ($5,950)

2008 EUROPEAN TOUR INTERNATIONAL SCHEDULE
Dates, venues released by the European Tour today.

2007
Nov
8-11 HSBC Champions Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China
15-18 UBS Hong Kong Ope Hong Kong GC, Fanling, Hong Kong
22-25 MasterCard Masters Huntingdale GC, Melbourne, Australia
29-Dec 2 Michael Hill New Zealand Open The Hills GC, Queenstown, New Zealand

Dec
6-9 Alfred Dunhill Championship Leopard Creek, Mpumalanga, South Africa
13-16 South African Airways Open Pearl Valley Golf Estates, Paarl, Western Cape, SAf

2008

Jan 17-20 Abu Dhabi Golf Championship Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi
24-27 The Commercialbank Qatar Masters Doha GC, Qatar
31-Feb 3 Dubai Desert Classic Emirates GC, Dubai

Feb 7-10 EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters Delhi GC, Delhi, India
14-17 Singapore Masters Laguna National GC, Singapore
20-24 WGC - Accenture Match Play The Gallery GC, Tucson, Arizona, USA
21-24 Astro Indonesia Open TBA
28-Mar 2 Johnnie Walker Classic DLF Golf & Country Club, New Delhi, India

Mar 6-9 Maybank Malaysian Open TBA
13-16 Ballantine's Championship Pinx GC, Jeju Island, Korea
20-23 WGC – CA CHAMPIONSHIP Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Doral, Florida, USA
20-23 Madeira Islands Open Santo da Serra, Madeira, Portugal
27-30 Open de Andalucia TBA

Apr 3-6 Estoril Open de Portugal Oitavos Dunes, Estoril, Portugal
10-13 MASTERS TOURNAMENT Augusta National, Georgia, USA
17-20 Volvo China Open Beijing CBD International GC, Beijing, China
24-27 BMW Asian Open Tomson Shanghai Pudong GC, Shanghai, China

May 1-4 Open de España Real Club de Golf de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
8-11 Italian Open Castello di Tolcinasco G&CC, Milan, Italy
15-18 Irish Open Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, Co. Limerick, Ireland
22-25 BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Wentworth Club, Surrey, England
29-Jun 1 The Celtic Manor Wales Open The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, South Wales

Jun 5-8 BA-CA Golf Open, presented by Telekom Austria Fontana GC, Vienna, Austria
12-15 US OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Torrey Pines GC, La Jolla, California, USA
12-15 Open de Saint Omer Aa Saint Omer GC, Lumbres, France
19-22 BMW International Open Golfclub München Eichenried, Germany
26-29 Open de France ALSTOM Le Golf National, Paris, France

Jul 3-6 European Open TBA
10-13 The Barclays Scottish Open Loch Lomond.
17-20 137TH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Royal Birkdale GC, Southport, England
24-27 The Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship of Europe Gut Kaden, Hamburg, Germany
31-Aug 3 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational Firestone CC, Akron, Ohio, USA

Aug 7-10 US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP Oakland Hills GC, Bloomfield Township, Michigan, USA
14-17 Scandinavian Masters Arlandastad GC, Stockholm, Sweden
21-24 The KLM Open Kennemer G&CC, Zandvoort, The Netherlands
28-31 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire.

Sept 4-7 Omega European Masters Crans-sur-Sierre, Crans Montana, Switzerland
11-14 Mercedes-Benz Championship Gut Lärchenhof, Cologne, Germany
19-21 Ryder Cup Valhalla GC, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
25-28 The Quinn Direct British Masters The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands

Oct 2-5 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Old Course, St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.
9-12 World Match Play Championship Wentworth Club, Surrey, England
16-19 Portugal Masters Oceânico Victoria Golf Club, Vilamoura, Portugal
23-26 Mallorca Masters Pula GC, Majorca, Spain
30-Nov 2 Volvo Masters Club de Golf Valderrama, Sotogrande, Spain

Nov 27-30 *Omega Mission Hills World Cup Mission Hills GC, China
* Denotes Approved Special Event

European Tour Press Release

SMURFIT KAPPA GROUND ENDS SPONSORSHIP
OF EUROPEAN OPEN WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT

The Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) today announced that it has reached an agreement with the European Tour to conclude its sponsorship of the European Open with immediate effect.
Gary McGann, CEO of SKG, said: “We have had a very successful relationship with the European Tour over the last 13 years, during which time the European Open became one of the leading events on the Tour’s circuit.
“Last year The K Club also hosted what most commentators regard as the most successful ever staging of The Ryder Cup. I want to commend everyone involved in making the European Open the great success it has been since it first came to Ireland in 1995. In particular it is important to acknowledge Michael Smurfit’s unique contribution to the development of golf in Ireland.
“SKG’s decision is based on the increasingly international scale of our business and the inability of a brand such as ours to obtain full value from the sponsorship.
“A particular word of thanks is due to the Irish Government, Fáilte Ireland, and our other co-sponsors for their commitment to the European Open over the 13 years that it has been staged in Ireland.
“Finally I want to thank George O’Grady, Richard Hills, Peter Davidson, Jamie Birkmyre, and all the team at the European Tour for the way in which they have managed the relationship with SKG since we first sponsored the event in 1995.”
George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour said: “We are indebted to the Smurfit Kappa Group – with whom we have reached an amicable agreement for the future – for their sponsorship and leadership of the European Open for the past 13 years, qualities which have elevated the stature of the Championship within The European Tour International Schedule since 1995.
“The success of the Championship is a tribute to the vision of Dr Michael Smurfit who has done so much for the European Open Golf Championship, for golf in Ireland, and for the Ryder Cup. The European Open is a key fixture on the European Tour, offering as it does a much coveted opportunity for business, and negotiations are already advanced re its future.”
The European Open, first played in 1978 at Walton Heath, has, since 1995, been sponsored by the Smurfit Kappa Group and played at The K Club, the venue of The 2006 Ryder Cup, in Ireland. The tournament has also been hosted by East Sussex National, Royal Liverpool, Sunningdale and Turnberry.

English Golf Union Press Release

ENGLAND QUARTET WIN HONDA INTERNATIONAL
WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP IN JAPAN

The teenage quartet of Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Haines, Gary King and Eddie Pepperell gave England yet another overseas victory when they won the Honda International World Junior Championship in Japan over the weekend.
Going into the third and final round at the par 71 Wild Duck Country Club in Nikkawa, Kamisu City, the England team led by six strokes but doubled that to finish on a collective 17 under par.
England beat the team from Thailand by 12 shots with Korea third, 20 strokes back.
Fleetwood, from Formby Hall Golf Club, won the individual title in an all-England play-off with Haines, with an eagle at the first extra hole after starting the day two strokes behind his team mate who is based at Rochester & Cobham Golf Club.
All four England Boys shot under par on the final day over the 6,977 yard course, Pepperell (Drayton Park) finishing tied fourth and King (Tyrrells Wood) equal eighth.
Phiphatplong Naeosuk from Thailand was third on 207. The England team learned a lot about playing golf in Asia and were better than the local players, which promises well for next year’s World Boys Team Championship in Japan.
Results
Team Event:
622 England 634 Thailand 642 Korea.
Leading individual:
206 T Fleetwood (Eng)71 68 67, M Haines (Eng) 68 69 69 (Fleetwood won play-off at first extra hole).
207 P Naeosuk (Tha).
210 E Pepperell (Eng) 68 72 70.
Other score:
218 G King (Eng) 73 75 70.

ROOKIE RORY POCKETS £187,000 IN
UNDER A MONTH AS A TOUR PRO

FROM THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH
By David Gordon
Ulster golf sensation Rory McIlroy has putted his way to a cool £187,000 in less than a month as a professional.
The 18-year-old Holywood lad finished in joint fourth position at the Madrid Open yesterday, continuing the form that has made him the talk of the golfing world.
His excellent showing in Spain came just a week after he had finished third in the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews.
The £187,000 in prize money has been amassed from just three events, since he turned professional on September 18. While his mentor Darren Clarke has won £119,851 from his last 19 tournaments.
Rory fought into contention in Madrid, with a third round of 66 raising hopes of him becoming the youngest winner in European Tour history.
He carded a final round 70 yesterday, in a roller-coaster display that included five birdies, one eagle and five bogeys, leaving him five shots behind winner Mads Vibe-Hastrup from Denmark.
"I would have taken (fourth) when I came here," Rory admitted. " I think I have done well after all that has gone over the last few weeks.
"There was a lot to contend with so coming here and finishing in the top five is pretty good. That's two good weeks in a row.
"I am playing very well at the moment. I am hitting it really well."
Rory has now climbed from nowhere to 95th in the European Tour Order of Merit and is assured of playing on next year's European Tour.

FOTHERINGHAM WINS ALLIANCE

MEETING BY THREE AT

BOAT OF GARTEN

Former Scotland international team member Bryan Fotheringham, pictured right, from Forres won the North Scottish Golfers' Alliance fixture at Boat of Garten with a four-under-par 66 which included an eagle 3 at the often troublesome par-5 13th and two bogeys which included penalty shots. He secured a three-shot win from John & Chris Campbell.

LEADING SCRATCH

Par 70
66 B Fotheringham (Forres).
69 J S D Campbell (Grantown), C Campbell (Skibo) p.

70 J A Grant (Grantown).
71 R Harrower (Boat of Garten) p, K Thomson (Moray), D Stewart (Grantown) p.
74 N D Hampton (Loch Ness), W R Duncan (Moray).
75 A Murdoch (Loch Ness), S Wilson (Inverness), G Hay (Grantown), K Stables (Elgin) p, D F Sharp (Boat of Garten).
76 A W Mair (Moray), I Findlay (Grantown).
77 S Johnston (Elgin).
78 S Thomas (Boat of Garten), A Cowie (Moray), R McKerron (Forres).
79 M McDonald (Grantown).
80 J R Ingram (Boat of Garten), J Martin (Moray).
LEADING HANDICAP
Class 1 (8 & under)
67 W R Duncan (Moray) (7).
69 J A Grant (Grantown) (1), A Murdoch (Loch Ness) (6).
70 D F Sharp (Boat of Garten) (5), A Cowie (Moray) (8), S Thomas (Boat of Garten) (8).

Class 2 (9 to 14)
68 D Ross (Boat of Garten) (14).

70 J Brady (Grantown) (14).
72 F Brown (Nairn Dunbar) (9).
73 I Turner (Boat of Garten) (13), D Spence (Loch Ness) (13).

BIRDIES GALORE BUT JORDAN FINDLAY CAN'T
STOP THE FLOW OF BOGEYS IN TENNESSEE.

Fraserburgh's Jordan Findlay finished joint 25th in a field of 81 players for the Bank of Tennessee @ The Ridges college golf tournament today at The Ridges Golf & Country Club, Jonesborough, Tennessee.
Findlay, a third-year student at East Tennessee State University, had deteriorating rounds of 70, 72 and 74 for an aggregate of level par 216 over the 7,147yd course. In his final round Findlay had a double bogey 5 at the short third and dropped another shot at the 12th before completing a hat-trick of birdies from the 13th, 14th and 15th.
Then, Jordan undid much of the good work by bogeying the 17th and 18th.
The frustrating thing for the Buchan loon and the East Tennessee State head coach is that Findlay is shooting as many birdies as most players in the field - 13 over 54 holes in this tournament. But he just cannot stop the flow of bogeys.
The tournament was won by two strokes by Chris Paisley from Newcastle, a student at Tennessee University. Chris scored 70, 64 and 72 for 10-under-par 206.
North Carolina and Virginia Tech tied for the team title on 852 with East Tennessee State (8540 third and Kent State (856) and Tennessee (585) fourth and fifth in a field of 15 teams.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Individuals
Par 216 (3 x 72) 7,147yd.
206 Chris Paisley (Tennessee) 70 64 72.
208 Chris Gold (Maryland) 71 72 65, John Hahn (Kent State) 72 67 69.
Other scores:
210 Gareth Shaw from Lisburn, NIre (East Tennessee State) 71 69 70 (6th).
211 Rhys Enoch from Truro (East Tennessee State) 68 71 72, Drew Weaver (British amateur champion) (Virginia Tech) 68 70 73 (jt 7th).
215 Seamus Power from Waterford (East Tennessee State) 72 71 72 (jt 22nd).
216 Jordan Findlay from Fraserburgh (East Tennessee State) 70 72 74 (jt 25th).
220 Cian McNamara from Limerick (East Tennessee State) 71 74 75 (jt 44th).
223 Paul O'Kane from Castledawson, NIr (East Tennessee State) 74 73 76 (jt 57th).
224 Charles Ford from Leicester (Tennessee) 75 76 73 (jt 63rd).
226 Cathal O'Malley from Westport, Ireland (Alabama-Birmingham) 78 72 76 (jt 71st of 81 players.
LEADING TEAMS
852 North Carolina, Virginia Tech.
854 East Tennessee State.
856 Kent State.
858 Tennessee (5th of 15 teams).

GREAT DANE WINS MADRID OPEN - RORY
McILROY SHARES FOURTH PLACE

Collated final-round scores & totals in the European Tour, Open de Madrid, Real Sociedad Hipica Espanola Club de Campo, Madrid, Spain
Denmark's Mads Vibe-Hastrup, who once played in the Doug Sanders European and then world junior championships in Aberdeen, is yet another "Sanders old boy" who has gone on to win a European Tour event.
Vibe-Hastrup today had three strokes to spare over home favourie Alejandra Canizares in the Madrid Open at the Real Sociedad Hipic Espanola Club de Campo in Spain's capital city.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
272 Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 69 69 67 67
275 Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 69 66 72 68
276 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 65 70 68 73
277 Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 71 69 68 69, Rory McIlroy 73 68 66 70
278 Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 68 70 71 69
280 Benn Barham 71 71 71 67, Sam Walker 71 72 70 67, Sam Little 72 71 68 69, Christopher Hanell (Swe) 70 73 66 71, Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 71 66 71 72, Santiago Luna (Spa) 75 67 66 72, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 75 68 65 72
281 Fredrik Andersson (Swe) 75 70 68 68, Damien McGrane 71 74 67 69, Sven Struver (Ger) 69 74 68 70, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 71 69 69 72
282 Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 74 71 69 68, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 74 68 71 69, Ariel Canete (Arg) 75 70 67 70, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 72 70 69 71, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 72 70 68 72
283 Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 71 73 66 73, Manuel Quiros (Spa) 72 67 69 75
284 Robert Rock 72 74 72 66, Richard Bland 72 74 70 68, Anthony Wall 75 68 72 69, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 66 76 72 70, Andrew Marshall 70 74 70 70, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 67 75 68 74, Gary Lockerbie 68 68 73 75
285 David Lynn 76 71 71 67, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 74 70 72 69, John Bickerton 74 69 72 70, Graeme McDowell 74 73 68 70, James Kingston (Rsa) 76 65 73 71, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 73 70 70 72, David Carter 71 73 69 72, Francis Valera (Spa) 70 67 73 75, Pablo Martin (Spa) 74 71 65 75
286 Miguel Angel Martin (Spa) 77 68 73 68, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 73 74 69 70, Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice) 75 72 68 71, Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 70 70 73 73, Joakim Backstrom (Swe) 73 70 69 74, Matthew Millar (Aus) 72 73 67 74, Steven O'Hara 67 79 66 74
287 Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 72 72 75 68, Rhys Davies 76 70 72 69, Marcel Siem (Ger) 73 71 72 71, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 72 70 72 73
288 Andrew Tampion (Aus) 71 73 73 71, Steve Alker (Nzl) 72 75 69 72, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 71 69 70 78
289 Johan Axgren (Swe) 75 72 73 69, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 74 69 73 73
291 Kyron Sullivan 73 74 72 72, David Park 73 71 71 76
292 Carlos Balmaseda (Spa) 79 68 76 69, David Drysdale 72 73 77 70, Zane Scotland 74 73 72 73, Lee Slattery 73 72 73 74, Stuart Little 71 76 71 74, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 74 73 69 76
293 Peter Lawrie 71 75 72 75
294 Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 72 75 78 69, Carl Suneson (Spa) 75 68 76 75
295 Cesar Monasterio (Arg) 73 73 70 79
296 Pedro Linhart (Spa) 76 71 77 72
297 Matthew Richardson 72 72 78 75
301 Agustin Domingo (Spa) 75 72 76 78

WHITEFORD, RAMSAY MAKE IT SCOTTISH 1-2
IN EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR EVENT

By GRAEME HAMLETT
European Tour Press Officer

Peter Whiteford took route 66 to claim his second European Challenge Tour victory within a month and all but guarantee his 2008 European Tour card when he won the doc Salbe PGA European Challenge in Germany today, after his flawless closing round saw him finish on a winning total of 22 under par 266.
Whiteford shot rounds of 66-66-68-66 to emerge ahead of his fellow countryman, Richie Ramsay, by four shots at the Golf and Vital Park Bad Waldsee, where England’s David Horsey was third, a further stroke back.
The 27 year old Whiteford, who captured The Dutch Futures in Holland at the end of September, earned €22,400 for his efforts – and crucially moved up to 13th in the Rankings.
The top 20 come the end of the season automatically earn European Tour Membership – and Whiteford is delighted to have all but attained it, with just two events left on the 2007 schedule.
He said: “I am very happy. I was 27th in the Challenge Tour Rankings, so needed to do well this week to get up into the all-important top 20. I want to be playing on The European Tour next year – and this win means I’m all but there. It’s very exciting. It’s been my goal for the season, but more so ever since I won in Holland.
“That win really gave me the confidence that I could do it and have a good end to the season. I’ve been playing well and starting to hole a lot more putts. This week in Germany, I’ve performed when I’ve needed to get back up there in the Rankings, which is very pleasing.”
Aberdonian Ramsay, meanwhile, fired rounds of 70-66-67-67 for his 18 under par 270 total, as he too aims to climb into the top 20 in the Rankings, where he was 61st going into the event.
The €15,400 second prize will lift his earnings since turning professional just before the Walker Cup to €38,890 and up to 31st.
However, with just two events left on the schedule – the Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup and Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, also in Italy, Ramsay is in need of two good performances if he is to achieve his goal of a 2008 European Tour berth.
France’s Raphaél Eyraud shot a new course record of ten under par 62 in the final round to break the record Spain’s Carlos Del Moral set in the second round with his 63.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
266 P Whiteford (Sco) 66, 66, 68, 66
270 R Ramsay (Sco) 70, 66, 67, 67
271 D Horsey (Eng) 69, 71, 65, 66
272 R Eyraud (Fra) 72, 69, 69, 62; B Grace (RSA) 72, 69, 66, 65
273 G Maybin (NIr) 67, 70, 66, 70; L Westerberg (Swe) 67, 68, 68, 70; G Rojas (Arg) 67, 68, 68, 70; J Luiten (Ned) 71, 69, 68, 65; I Pyman (Eng) 70, 67, 71, 65
274 J Huldahl (Den) 72, 68, 69, 67; M Korhonen (Fin) 68, 71, 67, 68
Other Scottish scores included:
276 A McArthur 70 71 64 71 (jt 19th).
284 S Henderson 65 72 76 71 (jt 49th).
MISSED CUT
143 E Ramsay 71 72
145 A Oldcorn 71 74.
147 J McLeary 71 76.
150 R Russell 76 74.

WENTWORTH A HOME FROM HOME FOR
ELS, WINNER OF £1,000,000 PRIZE

South African Ernie Els, who lives beside the 16th hole on the Wentworth estate, stretched his record number of wins in the HSBC world match play championship to a magnificent seven over the West Course (parts of which he has redesigned over the past year or so) today.
Els collected the £1million first prize by beating Argentina's Angel Cabrera 6 and 4 over a scheduled 36 holes - and hoped it was an omen for the Rugby World Cup semi-final he was planning to fly to in Paris once the presentation ceremony was over.
Cabrera trailed from the moment he bogeyed the first hole. Three down at lunch that quickly became four, but he did then birdie the 24th and 27th to cut the gap to two.
Els' response was not a surprise, though. He sank a 15-footer on the short next, two-putted the par-5 30th for another winning birdie and a par on the next made it five up with five to play.
The South African, relieved to win at last this year, goes top of the European Order of Merit and has a £150,000 lead, but Padraig Harrington and Justin Rose, now second and third, still have tournaments to come whereas Els does not.

PETER WHITEFORD LEADS CHALLENGE TOUR
FIELD AFTER THREE HOLES OF FINAL ROUND

Peter Whiteford is leading the field at 17-under-par after three holes of the fourth and final round in the European Challenge Tour event in Germany.

HOW THEY STAND IN FINAL ROUND

17 under par Peter Whiteford 66 66 68 (-1 after three holes of R4).

15 under par David Horsey 69 71 65 (-4 after seven holes of R4).

15 under par Gary Clark 69 65 67 (par after three holes of R4).

14 under par Gareth Maybin 67 70 66 (-1 after three holes of R4).

14 under par Richie Ramsay 70 66 67 (-1 after three holes of R4).

OTHER SCORES

11 under par (eighth) Andrew McArthur 70 71 64 (Par after four holes of R4).

4 under par (46th) Scott Henderson 75 72 76 (-1 after six holes of R4)

RECORD-SETTING LANGER LEADS

BY FOUR SHOTS IN US SENIORS'

TOUR EVENT IN TEXAS

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE

Germany’s Bernhard Langer has set two tournament records in the Administaff Small Business Classic in Texas on the US Champions Tour as he hunts his maiden senior victory – but that doesn't mean he will be on cruise control today in the final round.
Langer, who turned 50 in August, shot a seven-under 65 on Saturday for a course-record 17-under 127 total and maintained his four-shot lead in the Champions Tour event, where European Seniors Tour Members Mark James of England (tied 14th), Argentina's Eduardo Romero (tied 18th), Ireland's Des Smyth (tied 37th) and Mark McNulty (tied 18th), Zimbabwe's Denis Watson (tied 23rd) and Wayne Grady of Australia (tied 44th) are also competing.
"It's always the same with the lead," Langer said. "It's not good to sit on what you have. You've got to stay in the mind-set of making birdies."
Langer shot a course-record 62 in Friday's first round and, after a bogey on the second hole Saturday, he took off again with eight birdies over the Augusta Pines Golf Club course to maintain a comfortable lead over Americans Mark O'Meara and Tom Kite.
"I hit lots of good irons and made a few putts today," Langer said. "The only thing I wasn't happy with was hole two."
It was the only blemish on Langer's round. He hit two shots into water hazards, including his tee shot, before getting up and down for a bogey.
"I'm comfortable anywhere if I play well," Langer said. "I've got to hit the fairways. Today, I missed a few opportunities."
Langer, a two-time Masters Tournament champion, broke the 36-hole tournament record of 128 set by defending champion Jay Haas last year.
O'Meara, who started the day five shots behind, had an eight-under-par 64 for a 13-under 131 total. Kite, trying to win his first tournament in his home state, shot a 65.
"I'm never overconfident, but any time you shoot under par you can't complain," O'Meara said. "You learn out here to do your best, and you can't control anyone else. If I putt like I did today and don't win, there's nothing else I can do."
Langer's second-round start wasn't as impressive as the first round when he birdied the first hole and eagled the par-five second.
On Saturday, he started par-bogey, but birdied the next hole and had two more birdies at Nos. 5 and 7. He added five birdies on the back nine, including three in a row to finish his round.
Langer is playing his fourth senior event since turning 50 on August 27. He has competed in 14 US PGA Tour events this season, losing in a playoff to Rory Sabbatini at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in Fort Worth.
Andy Bean (67) was seven strokes back at 10 under along with Tom Purtzer (65), Jim Thorpe (66), Lonnie Nielsen (67), Jeff Sluman (68) and Tom Jenkins (68).
Haas, the Tour's leading money winner, shot a 66 to reach nine under par. Ben Crenshaw also was nine under after a 65.
Haas led the Charles Schwab Cup points standings for 19 weeks this year before Loren Roberts took over the lead by winning last week's Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. Haas trails Roberts by 161 points and could regain the lead with a victory this week.
Haas won last year's rain-shortened 36-hole event with rounds of 63 and 65. His 63 was a course record until Langer broke it Friday.
Haas started the week with $2,431,321 in earnings this year. He's trying to become the second Champions Tour player to reach $3 million in season earnings. Hale Irwin won $3,028,304 in 2002.
John Cook and Phil Blackmar were well back in their first starts on the Champions Tour. Cook was three-under-par after a 72, and Blackmar was two-under-par after a 69.
O'Meara also is in his rookie year on the Champions Tour."You don't pole vault onto the scene," O'Meara said. "I see decent signs and I'm getting better. It would be a stepping stone for me to come through in the final round."

SGU AMATEURS BEAT SPGA PROFESSIONALS IN
PLAY-OFF AFTER SINGLES ARE SHARED 6-6

What an exciting finish to the Bunkered Match-play Challenge between the cream of the Scottish Golf Union amateurs and the pride of the Scottish PGA professionals at The Carrick at Cameron House, Loch Lomond.
The singles were shared 6-6 which meant that the overall score at the end of the two-day match was 12-12.
It went to a sudden-death play-off, which the SGU amateurs won at the second extra hole.

SATURDAY SINGLES RESULTS
(Amateurs first)
Wallace Booth halved with Greig Hutcheon.
Callum Macaulay lost to Paul McKechnie 2 hole.
Kevin McAlpine bt Chris Kelly 4 and 2.
Scott Mann beat Chris Doak 3 and 2.
Glenn Campbell bt Craig Lee 1 hole.
Craig Watson lost to Mark Loftus 2 and 1.
Paul O'Hara halved with Robert Arnott.
Mark Hillson bt Sam Cairns 5 and 4.
Ross Kellett lost to Stephen Gray 2 and 1.
Gavin Dear lost to David Orr 2 and 1.
Scott Borrowman lost to Murray Urquhart 4 and 3.
Scott Henry bt Colin Gllies 1 hole.
Singles: Amateurs 6, Professionals 6.
Final totals: SGU Amateurs 12, Scottish PGA Professionals 12.
(Amateurs won play-off for trophy at second extra hole).