2010 Estoril Open de Portugal moves to June date

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOUR
The European Tour has announced the Estoril Open de Portugal, originally set to be played from April 1-4, will now take place from June 10-13, the week previously occupied by the Austrian Golf Open.
The tournament, to be played at Penha Longa Hotel Spa & Golf Resort, Linho Sintra, Estoril, moves to a new summer date after the week became available following the change to September 16-19 for the Austrian Golf Open on The 2010 European Tour International Schedule.
The opportunity to move the Estoril Open de Portugal from the Easter weekend to a new summer date, the week prior to the US Open Championship, will also ensure the course is presented to the highest of standards befitting of European Tour competition, following a significant €2 million refurbishment programme.
The greens, tees and bunkers are already in outstanding condition, and the new dates will ensure the golf course presentation levels are further enhanced.
Duarte Nobre Guedes, President of Turismo Estoril: “Penha Longa has undergone an extensive refurbishment programme and the date change will ensure the course is played in excellent condition. The new June date will help promote this spectacular region just ahead of the summer holiday season and we are delighted to have been afforded the opportunity to play the Estoril Open de Portugal during this important week.”
Manuel Agrellos, President of the Portuguese Golf Federation, said: “The Estoril Open de Portugal is an important and long standing tournament on The European Tour and the extra time will guarantee that Europe’s top players are presented with the best possible test.”
Keith Waters, Chief Operating Officer and Director of International Policy for The European Tour, said: “The opportunity to move the Estoril Open de Portugal to a new summer date has been welcomed by all parties and will showcase Penha Longa and the Estoril region in the height of the golfing summer. The Estoril Open de Portugal is part of the bedrock of The European Tour and we look forward to another successful tournament in June.”
Situated amongst the magnificent landscape of the Sintra Hills, with the beautiful Atlantic ocean in the distance, the Penha Longa Hotel Spa & Golf Resort, which is operated by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, hosted the Open de Portugal in 1994 and 1995 when Welshman Phillip Price and Scotsman Adam Hunter respectively took the title.
For the fourth successive year, the event will be supported by the Estoril Tourist Board (Turismo Estoril) when Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey defends the Estoril Open de Portugal title following his thrilling play-off victory over Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño last season.

Teenage South Korean wins

Rhys Davies finishes joint 3rd

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Kuala Lumpur. South Korean teen sensation Noh Seung-yul secured a dramatic one-stroke victory over illustrious countryman K J Choi at the Maybank Malaysian Open after pulling off an audacious final-hole birdie today.
The 18-year-old Noh produced the unlikeliest of birdies at the par-5 634yd 18th hole to close out the US$2 million tournament with a final round four-under-par 68 and a 14-under-par 274 winning aggregate.
“This is more special than my first win,” said Noh, who was triumphant at the 2008 Midea China Classic en route to becoming the Asian Tour’s Rookie of the Year that season.
Standing on the 634yd 18th tee with a one stroke advantage over Choi, Soren Hansen, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Rhys Davies, Noh hooked his drive wildly onto the 10th fairway. With Choi and Hansen playing in front of him, and Aphibarnrat and Davies playing alongside him, Noh was under huge pressure as he fired his drive miles left off the tee.
His three wood second shot also stayed well left, flying over the Maybank hospitality unit to the left of the 18th green and eventually coming to rest on the concrete cart path, some 30 yards from the green. As spectators flocked around his ball, Choi, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, tied Noh on 13-under with a five foot birdie putt and pile the pressure on Noh.
After being granted relief from the cart path, the young South Korean stayed cool under pressure and hit a sublime chip shot over the left-hand bunker to within 18 inches of the hole to send the crowd into rapturous applause before tapping in for his second Asian Tour and maiden European Tour success.
Edinburgh-born Welshman Rhys Davies finished joint third.
“It was fun competing with the top players in the world and defeating someone I look up to. When K.J. birdied the last hole and became the co-leader, I thought that if I parred (18) I would get into the play-off. And if I lost in the play-off, it wouldn’t disappoint me too much because I was competing against K.J. And if he won, then I would also be happy because he is from the same country.
“It was so hot and I wasn’t in the right mind to think. I just kept it simple and I wanted to get it on the green on 18 and make par. The fact that K.J. made birdie and I was able to come out with a win is very special to me.”
The experienced Choi, winner of the Iskandar Johor O pen in Malaysia last October, tipped his cap to his young compatriot, saying Noh was truly a star in the making. “I’m not disappointed at all,” said Choi, who signed off with a 69.
“I played well and tried my best. My hat off to Seung-yul as he played well and had a fantastic round. I’m happy with how my game has improved and I have a lot to look forward to. The pin positions were tough but I held my game and managed to be in contention. Noh played brilliantly and I have no complaints.
“He is one of the most powerful young talents coming up. The way that he controls and hits the ball is like no other and I think he has a very bright future. He’s got a very good heart as well. I feel like he is going to develop in all aspects and in the near future he is going to be on the world stage,” added Choi, who is an honorary member of the Asian Tour.
Co-overnight leader Kiradech, chasing a maiden Asian Tour victory, fought hard but eventually settled for a share of third place with Hansen and Davies on 276. The Thai and Davies signed off with a 71 while Hansen shot a 70.
“I guess that 15-under would have been the winning score. I was 13-under at one point but bogeyed the eighth and I birdied again after the turn and thought I was on course to a win. But I made another bogey on 13 which was disappointing,” said the 20-year-old.
“The win was there for me because I was playing very well. I had many up and downs but I struggled with my putting on the back nine. I seem to always lose it on the last day, I don’t know why,” he added.
*Aged 18 years and nine months, Noh is the second youngest winner ever on the European Tour. The only younger winner was New Zealand amateur Danny Lee, who took last year's Johnnie Walker Classic aged 18 years and six months. Noh was playing his 13th European Tour event. His debut came in China when he was 16 - and he finished eighth that week.
ALL FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
274 Seung-yul Noh (South Korea) 69 70 67 68
275 K J Choi (South Korea) 67 70 69 69
276 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand) 68 69 68 71, Soren Hansen (Denmark) 70 67 69 70, Rhys Davies (Wales) 65 69 71 71
277 Danny Willett (England)72 69 68 68
278 Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) 66 71 69 72, Johan Edfors (Sweden) 69 69 69 71
279 Jason Knutzon (USA) 73 67 72 67
280 Rahil Gangjee (India) 68 75 66 71, Angelo Que (Philippines) 70 67 72 71, Peter Lawrie (Ireland) 69 72 71 68, Mark Brown (Nzl) 71 71 72 66
281 Alejandro Canizares (Spain) 67 69 71 74, Ignacio Garrido (Spain) 65 72 71 73, Shingo Katayama (Japan) 76 69 68 68
282 Wei Chih Lu (Thailand) 74 70 68 70, Niclas Fasth (Sweden) 69 73 70 70
283 Gary Boyd (England) 72 71 71 69, Ashan Wu (China) 73 70 68 72, Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) 68 74 72 69, Dae-hyun Kim (South Korea) 66 73 70 74, Chapchai Nirat (Thailand) 69 70 75 69, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (India) 69 72 72 70
284 Daniel Chopra (Sweden) 71 70 71 72, Wen-chong Liang (China) 75 70 71 68, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 70 72 70 72
285 Marco Ruiz (Paraguay) 71 71 74 69, Arjun Atwal (India) 72 69 75 69, Darren Beck (Australia) 69 75 71 70, Scott Barr (Australia) 68 71 70 76, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 77 65 68 75, Hyung-sung Kim (South Korea) 70 74 70 71
286 Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark) 71 70 68 77, Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 68 74 72 72, Scott Strange (Australia) 69 73 72 72, Chih-bing Lam (Singapore) 72 70 75 69, Steven O'Hara (Scotland) 74 71 71 70
287 Brett Rumford (Australia) 71 67 76 73, Gaganjeet Bhullar (India) 72 71 70 74, Andrew Dodt (Australia) 72 71 74 70, Terry Pilkadaris (Australia) 73 71 68 75, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Thailand) 67 74 73 73
288 Anthony Wall (England) 74 71 71 72, Anthony Kang (US) 73 71 72 72, Mars Pucay (Philippines) 75 70 70 73, Guido Van Der Valk (Netherlands) 72 72 71 73, Gregory Havret (France) 71 72 72 73
289 David Gleeson (Australia) 71 73 72 73, Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) 72 69 75 73, Joost Luiten (Netherlands) 72 73 71 73, Mark Foster 67 77 71 74, Hideto Tanihara (Japan) 73 71 74 71, Mark Purser (Nzl) 74 71 72 72, Marcus Fraser (Australia) 70 72 75 72
290 Mark f Haastrup (Denmark) 67 77 75 71, Antonio Lascuna (Philippines) 72 72 73 73, Simon Khan (England) 71 74 76 69, Matthew Griffin (Australia) 72 69 73 76
291 M Sasidaran (Malaysoa) 69 73 74 75, Sang-moon Bae (South Korea) 69 74 74 74, David Horsey (England) 72 72 76 71, Danny Chia (Malaysia) 71 71 78 71, Digvijay Singh (India) 69 75 75 72
292 Robert Rock (England) 68 75 72 77, Markus Brier (Austria) 70 73 76 73, Chris Rodgers (England) 70 75 73 74, Hiroyuki Fujita (Japan) 72 71 75 74, Paul Broadhurst (England) 75 68 73 76
293 Juvic Pagunsan (Philippines) 74 70 73 76, C Muniyappa (India) 73 72 72 76, Julien Quesne (France) 74 71 76 72, Wen Teh Lu (Taipei) 69 76 73 75
294 Unho Park (Australia) 70 73 76 75, James Kamte (South Africa) 74 71 78 71
295 Ross Bain (Scotland) 68 77 76 74
298 Steven Jeppesen (Sweden) 72 72 72 82
301 Scott Hend (Australia) 73 72 81 75
303 Tony Carolan (Australia) 73 72 78 80

For more information, log on to http://www.maybankmalaysianopen.com/
Also: http://www.asiantour.com/

Edinburgh-born Rhys Davies in contention for

first pro victory in Maybank Malaysian Open

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Rising Welsh star Rhys Davies (who was actually born in Edinburgh) remained on course for a maiden European Tour title at the Maybank Malaysian Open after earning a share of a one shot lead alongside Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat at the top of a tightly congested third round leaderboard.
Challenge Tour graduate and former Walker Cup amateur Davies, 24, carded a one under par 71 to join fast finishing 20 year old Kiradech, who birdied three of his final four holes of a 68, at 11 under par on the third day at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.
K J Choi (69), Søren Hansen (69) and Asian number one Thongchai Jaidee (69) head the chasing pack alongside 18 year old South Korean Noh Seung-yul (67) with Alejandro Cañizares (71) and Johan Edfors (69) just a shot further adrift and Ignacio Garrido (71) rounding out the tight top ten at eight under.
“It’s good pressure to be up there. If I shoot the best score tomorrow then I win, that’s a good thing,” said World Number 135 Davies.
“There are a number of great players up there so it is up to me to worry about my own game and try not to worry about them. If I score lower than them then I will come out on top.”
Joint first round leader Davies earlier completed a three under par second round following yesterday's lighting delay to lead by two shots at the halfway mark.
But he slipped off the pace after a double bogey at the start of his back nine, having hitting his tee shot into water.
The two time Challenge Tour winner, though, earned a share of the lead to keep his bid for victory alive with a 30 foot birdie putt at the 17th.
And Davies, who actually cut his teeth on the Asian Tour in 2008 with three top ten finishes, missed out on claiming the outright lead as an eight foot effort at the last lipped out.
“My temperament has been good all week and I have listened to my mind and body to stay on top of things,” added Davies.
“I drove the ball well which is a big plus for me. I usually putt well and I did putt well. Not many went in, but I did hit a lot of them on line.”
World Number 231 Kiradech capped his storming finish with a ten foot conversion at the last.
“My driving was better, my ball striking has been improving these past three days and that has played a part in my good performance,” said Kiradech.
“I missed a couple of putts on the back nine but three birdies in the last four holes is a good way to finish.”
Choi, World Number 96, missed out on a chance to share the overnight lead after missing from eight feet at the last following a superb approach from a fairway bunker.
“I have put myself in position, I like where I am,” said the 39 year old South Korean. “Yesterday and today I just sweated so much I feel weary. I just need to overcome the heat for one more day and try to close it out.
“There are a lot of players crammed up and it's anybody's game. The key thing is to maintain what I'm doing, keep up the pros and if I'm able to do that, there will be a chance and whoever takes the chance will win.”
Hansen was similarly optimistic about his chances of overhauling the leaders.
“I didn't think anyone was going to run away with it today. It's certainly a marathon this week and not a sprint. See what happens tomorrow,” he said.
THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
205 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) 68 69 68, Rhys Davies 65 69 71
206 Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 69 70 67, Soren Hansen (Den) 70 67 69, K J Choi (Kor) 67 70 69, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 66 71 69
207 Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 67 69 71, Johan Edfors (Swe) 69 69 69
208 Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 65 72 71
209 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 71 70 68, Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 68 75 66, Scott Barr (Aus) 68 71 70, Dae-hyun Kim (Kor) 66 73 70, Angelo Que (Phi) 70 67 72, Danny Willett 72 69 68
210 Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 77 65 68
211 Ashan Wu (Chn) 73 70 68
212 Daniel Chopra (Swe) 71 70 71, Wei Chih Lu (Tha) 74 70 68, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 69 73 70, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 70 72 70, Peter Lawrie 69 72 71, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 73 71 68, Jason Knutzon (USA) 73 67 72
213 Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 72 71 70, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 69 72 72, Shingo Katayama (Jpn) 76 69 68
214 Scott Strange (Aus) 69 73 72, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 68 74 72, Mark Brown (Nzl) 71 71 72, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 67 74 73, Brett Rumford (Aus) 71 67 76, Gary Boyd 72 71 71, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 68 74 72, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 69 70 75, Hyung-sung Kim (Kor) 70 74 70, Matthew Griffin (Aus) 72 69 73
215 Robert Rock 68 75 72, Darren Beck (Aus) 69 75 71, Mars Pucay (Phi) 75 70 70, Mark Foster 67 77 71, Guido Van Der Valk (Ned) 72 72 71, Gregory Havret (Fra) 71 72 72
216 M Sasidaran (Mal) 69 73 74, David Gleeson (Aus) 71 73 72, Joost Luiten (Ned) 72 73 71, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 72 72 72, Steven O'Hara 74 71 71, Paul Broadhurst 75 68 73, Anthony Kang (USA) 73 71 72, Anthony Wall 74 71 71, Marco Ruiz (Par) 71 71 74, Stephen Gallacher 72 69 75, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 72 69 75, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 75 70 71
217 Andrew Dodt (Aus) 72 71 74, Chih-bing Lam (Sin) 72 70 75, Mark Purser (Nzl) 74 71 72, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 74 70 73, Sang-moon Bae (Kor) 69 74 74, C Muniyappa (Ind) 73 72 72, Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 72 72 73, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 70 72 75
218 Chris Rodgers 70 75 73, Wen Teh Lu (Tpe) 69 76 73, Hideto Tanihara (Jpn) 73 71 74, Hiroyuki Fujita (Jpn) 72 71 75
219 Mark f Haastrup (Den) 67 77 75, Markus Brier (Aut) 70 73 76, Unho Park (Aus) 70 73 76, Digvijay Singh (Ind) 69 75 75
220 David Horsey 72 72 76, Danny Chia (Mal) 71 71 78
221 Julien Quesne (Fra) 74 71 76, Simon Khan 71 74 76, Ross Bain 68 77 76
223 Tony Carolan (Aus) 73 72 78, James Kamte (Rsa) 74 71 78
226 Scott Hend (Aus) 73 72 81

European Tour Scoreboard
MAYBANK MALAYSIAN OPEN

COMPLETED SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
1 Rhys DAVIES (WAL) 65 69 134
2 Alejandro CANIZARES (ESP) 67 69 136
3 Angelo QUE (PHI) 70 67 137
3 Soren HANSEN (DEN) 70 67 137
3 Ignacio GARRIDO (ESP) 65 72 137
3 Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) 66 71 137
3 K.J. CHOI (KOR) 67 70 137
3 Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) 68 69 137
9 Brett RUMFORD (AUS) 71 67 138
9 Johan EDFORS (SWE) 69 69 138
11 Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 69 70 139
11 NOH Seung-yul (KOR) 69 70 139
11 Scott BARR (AUS) 68 71 139
11 KIM Dae-hyun (KOR) 66 73 139
15 Jason KNUTZON (USA) 73 67 140
16 Peter LAWRIE (IRL) 69 72 141
16 Matthew GRIFFIN (AUS) 72 69 141
16 Chinnarat PHADUNGSIL (THA) 67 74 141
16 Stephen GALLACHER (SCO) 72 69 141
16 Daniel CHOPRA (SWE) 71 70 141
16 Soren KJELDSEN (DEN) 71 70 141
16 Arjun ATWAL (IND) 72 69 141
16 Danny WILLETT (ENG) 72 69 141
16 S.S.P. CHOWRASIA (IND) 69 72 141
25 Marco RUIZ (PAR) 71 71 142
25 M. Sasidaran (MAS) 69 73 142
25 Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 70 72 142
25 Scott STRANGE (AUS) 69 73 142
25 Thomas BJORN (DEN) 68 74 142
25 Danny CHIA (MAS) 71 71 142
25 Fredrik ANDERSSON HED (SWE) 77 65 142
25 Niclas FASTH (SWE) 69 73 142
25 Nicolas COLSAERTS (BEL) 68 74 142
25 Marcus FRASER (AUS) 70 72 142
25 LAM Chih Bing (SIN) 72 70 142
25 Mark BROWN (NZL) 71 71 142
37 Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 72 71 143
37 Unho PARK (AUS) 70 73 143
37 BAE Sang-moon (KOR) 69 74 143
37 Rahil GANGJEE (IND) 68 75 143
37 Gary BOYD (ENG) 72 71 143
37 Markus BRIER (AUT) 70 73 143
37 Hiroyuki FUJITA (JPN) 72 71 143
37 Paul BROADHURST (ENG) 75 68 143
37 Robert ROCK (ENG) 68 75 143
37 Andrew DODT (AUS) 72 71 143
37 WU Ashun (CHN) 73 70 143
37 Gregory HAVRET (FRA) 71 72 143
49 KIM Hyung-sung (KOR) 70 74 144
49 Steven JEPPESEN (SWE) 72 72 144
49 Terry PILKADARIS (AUS) 73 71 144
49 Hideto TANIHARA (JPN) 73 71 144
49 Anthony KANG (USA) 73 71 144
49 Juvic PAGUNSAN (PHI) 74 70 144
49 Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 72 72 144
49 David GLEESON (AUS) 71 73 144
49 Darren BECK (AUS) 69 75 144
49 David HORSEY (ENG) 72 72 144
49 Digvijay SINGH (IND) 69 75 144
49 Mark F HAASTRUP (DEN) 67 77 144
49 LU Wei-chih (TPE) 74 70 144
49 Mark FOSTER (ENG) 67 77 144
49 Guido VAN DER VALK (NED) 72 72 144
64 Mars PUCAY (PHI) 75 70 145
64 Anthony WALL (ENG) 74 71 145
64 Julien QUESNE (FRA) 74 71 145
64 C. MUNIYAPPA (IND) 73 72 145
64 LIANG Wen-chong (CHN) 75 70 145
64 James KAMTE (RSA) 74 71 145
64 Shingo KATAYAMA (JPN) 76 69 145
64 Joost LUITEN (NED) 72 73 145
64 Chris RODGERS (ENG) 70 75 145
64 Steven O HARA (SCO) 74 71 145
64 Simon KHAN (ENG) 71 74 145
64 Mark PURSER (NZL) 74 71 145
64 Ross BAIN (SCO) 68 77 145
64 Tony CAROLAN (AUS) 73 72 145
64 Scott HEND (AUS) 73 72 145
64 LU Wen-teh (TPE) 69 76 145
MISSED THE CUT
80 Hisyam MAJID [A] (MAS) 77 69 146
80 Shiv KAPUR (IND) 73 73 146
80 Himmat RAI (IND) 73 73 146
80 Sam HUTSBY (ENG) 75 71 146
80 Benjamin HEBERT (FRA) 75 71 146
80 Adam BLYTH (AUS) 74 72 146
80 Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 72 74 146
80 David DRYSDALE (SCO) 72 74 146
88 Thammanoon SRIROT (THA) 74 73 147
88 Chris WOOD (ENG) 75 72 147
88 Andrew TAMPION (AUS) 75 72 147
88 Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 73 74 147
88 Gary LOCKERBIE (ENG) 71 76 147
88 Udorn DUANGDECHA (THA) 77 70 147
88 Michael JONZON (SWE) 72 75 147
88 Simon YATES (SCO) 72 75 147
88 Ben LEONG (MAS) 71 76 147
88 CHAN Yih-shin (TPE) 74 73 147
88 Tetsuji HIRATSUKA (JPN) 76 71 147
88 Mikko ILONEN (FIN) 71 76 147
88 Robert COLES (ENG) 73 74 147
101 Daisuke MARUYAMA (JPN) 76 72 148
101 Sam LITTLE (ENG) 76 72 148
101 Carl SUNESON (ESP) 75 73 148
101 Peter WHITEFORD (SCO) 73 75 148
101 MO Joong-kyung (KOR) 77 71 148
101 Kwanchai TANNIN (THA) 77 71 148
101 Mardan MAMAT (SIN) 74 74 148
101 Rick KULACZ (AUS) 75 73 148
101 John PARRY (ENG) 77 71 148
101 Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 75 73 148
111 S. SIVACHANDRAN (MAS) 76 73 149
111 Miles TUNNICLIFF (ENG) 72 77 149
111 George COETZEE (RSA) 70 79 149
111 Andrew BUTTERFIELD (ENG) 74 75 149
111 Iszaimi ISMAIL [A] (MAS) 76 73 149
116 Darren CLARKE (NIR) 73 77 150
116 Peter O'MALLEY (AUS) 74 76 150
116 Michael CAMPBELL (NZL) 74 76 150
116 Anis HASSAN (MAS) 72 78 150
120 Fredrik OHLSSON (SWE) 76 75 151
120 Gavin Kyle GREEN [A] (MAS) 75 76 151
120 Keith HORNE (RSA) 75 76 151
123 Iain STEEL (MAS) 78 74 152
123 Danny LEE (NZL) 76 76 152
123 Richard MCEVOY (ENG) 75 77 152
123 Akhmal TARMIZEE (MAS) 79 73 152
123 Marcus BOTH (AUS) 79 73 152
123 Gavin FLINT (AUS) 77 75 152
123 LIN Wen-hong (TPE) 74 78 152
123 LEE Sung (KOR) 74 78 152
123 Eirik Tage JOHANSEN (NOR) 77 75 152
132 Ted OH (KOR) 73 80 153
132 P. GUNASEGARAN (MAS) 75 78 153
132 Jbe KRUGER (RSA) 76 77 153
132 Shaaban HUSSIN (MAS) 75 78 153
136 Rashid ISMAIL (MAS) 76 78 154
137 Sukree OTHMAN (MAS) 76 79 155
138 Kodai ICHIHARA (JPN) 78 78 156
138 Nicholas FUNG (MAS) 78 78 156
140 Gary MURPHY (IRL) 78 79 157
141 Abel TAM [A] (MAS) 77 81 158
142 Andrew COLTART (SCO) 76 84 160
143 Chris GANE (ENG) 83 79 162

Jean-Francois LUCQUIN (FRA) 77 Disqualified
Jamie ELSON (ENG) 74 Disqualified
Simon GRIFFITHS (ENG) 72 Retired
HWANG Inn-choon (KOR) 76 Retired
Martin ERLANDSSON (SWE) 73 Retired
Clodomiro CARRANZA (ARG) 77 Retired
David HOWELL (ENG) 79 Retired
Phillip ARCHER (ENG) 73 Retired
Airil RIZMAN (MAS) 75 Retired
LIN Wen-tang (TPE) 72 Retired
Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 77 Withdrew
Rafa ECHENIQUE (ARG) 80 Withdrew
Carlos RODILES (ESP) Retired

Thai holes eagle pitch to lead with four holes to play

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Kuala Lumpur: Thailand ’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat held a one-shot lead at the weather-hit Maybank Malaysian Open today, thanks to a sensational holed pitch for an eagle 3.
The former world junior champion jumped into pole position after negotiating 14 holes of his second round in five-under-par at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club to lead the US$2 million event on nine-under-par. He still has four holes to play to complete his second round and is one of 58 players who will do so at first light on Saturday morning (local time).
A shot back was Spaniard Alejandro Canizares, who was amongst those lucky enough to finish his round in 69 for a two-day total of eight-under-par 136. Asian Tour stalwart Angelo Que of the Philippines and Denmark ’s Soren Hansen were a further stroke back on 137 after returning identical 67s in the morning session.
Malaysian duo Danny Chia (71) and M. Sasidaran (73) continued to fly the Malaysian flag, lying on 142 in the co-sanctioned Asian Tour and European Tour tournament.
Following a lightning storm which stopped play for 2hr 20min in the afternoon, 58 players failed to complete the second round and will return on Saturday morning (7.45am) to finish their remaining holes.
Korean star K.J. Choi kept himself in the hunt for a second Malaysian title in five months where he is seven under for the tournament after playing 16 holes in two-under, which included an eagle 2. Two-time Maybank Malaysian Open winner Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand was a further stroke back where he was even par through 16 holes as well.
Kiradech, 20, rose to the top of the leaderboard when he holed his third shot from 30 yards out at the par five fifth hole to give himself another shot of earning his first Asian Tour victory. Putting in new clubs in his bag seems to have paid off handsomely.
“I’m very happy. I was very lucky on that eagle. It wasn’t quite dark and one of my flight mates wanted to stop but I wanted to continue and chipped in for eagle. Finishing with an eagle was great,” said Kiradech, who finished fourth at the season-o pen ing Asian Tour International on home soil after leading into the final round.
Kiradech knows he must maintain his “A” game to finally prevail on the Asian Tour. “This time is much different because this tournament is bigger with a lot of top players like Thongchai. But I need to keep going and concentrate hard. I wasn’t playing good before playing here. I changed to new clubs before the Asian Tour International and didn’t feel comfortable with it. I changed to another set of clubs before coming into this tournament.”
Canizares, whose father Jose Maria was a member of Europe ’s victorious Ryder Cup team on four occasions, put himself in position to challenge for a second career victory following his lone success at the 2006 Russian Open .
“I am pretty pleased with that, especially considering I finished in the dark. I couldn’t see anything and I made a pretty good par putt. I pulled my second shot into the last and was in the semi-rough. I decided to putt it and I should never have done that. I left myself a horrible eight foot putt for par, downhill and on a nasty line but I almost shut my eyes and just hit it – thankfully it went in,” said the Spaniard.
A two-time winner on the Asian Tour, Que is hoping to break the bank and land what would arguably be his biggest career victory yet. He triumphed in a domestic tournament last month and challenged for the Asian Tour International.
“I have been hitting it good for the past two days but holed more putts today. Everything pretty much worked out fine except for one hole (where he bogeyed the 12th hole). Five-under on this course, and in this heat is good,” said Que, who started strongly with four consecutive birdies from the third hole.
Choi was happy to stay in touch with the leaders.
“I’ll try and go for birdies. If I’m able to stick to that game plan, I won’t go wrong,” said the South Korean star, who is a seven time US PGA Tour winner.
“No problem for me at all (in regards to the weather disruptions). I’m used to this sort of delays,” he added.
LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS (to be updated)
Par 144 (2x72)
*58 players still to complete second rounds early Saturday morning (local time).
136 Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 67 69
137 Soren Hansen (Den) 70 67, Angelo Que (Phi) 70 67
138 Brett Rumford (Aus) 71 67, Johan Edfors (Swe) 69 69
139 Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 69 70
140 Jason Knutzon (USA) 73 67
141 Stephen Gallacher 72 69, Peter Lawrie 69 72, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 67 74, Matthew Griffin (Aus) 72 69
142 M Sasidaran (Mal) 69 73, Marco Ruiz (Par) 71 71, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 68 74, Scott Strange (Aus) 69 73, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 70 72, Danny Chia (Mal) 71 71, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 77 65
143 Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 68 75, Gary Boyd 72 71, Sang-moon Bae (Kor) 69 74, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 72 71, Unho Park (Aus) 70 73
144 Anthony Kang (USA) 73 71, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 74 70, David Gleeson (Aus) 71 73, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 72 72, Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 72 72, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 73 71, Hyung-sung Kim (Kor) 70 74, Hideto Tanihara (Jpn) 73 71
PROJECTED CUT: 144 OR BETTER NEEDED TO QUALIFY
145 Joost Luiten (Ned) 72 73, Mars Pucay (Phi) 75 70, Steven O'Hara 74 71, Chris Rodgers 70 75, Julien Quesne (Fra) 74 71, Ross Bain 68 77, Mark Purser (Nzl) 74 71, Simon Khan 71 74, Anthony Wall 74 71, C Muniyappa (Ind) 73 72, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 75 70, James Kamte (Rsa) 74 71, Shingo Katayama (Jpn) 76 69
146 Sam Hutsby 75 71, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 73 73, Mohd Hisyam Abdul Majid (Mal) 77 69, Himmat Singh Rai (Ind) 73 73, Benjamin Hebert (Fra) 75 71, Adam Blyth (Aus) 74 72
147 Gary Lockerbie 71 76, Chris Wood 75 72, Andrew Tampion (Aus) 75 72, Thammanoon Srirot (Tha) 74 73, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 73 74, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 72 75, Udorn Duangdecha (Tha) 77 70
148 John Parry 77 71, Peter Whiteford 73 75, Kwanchai Tannin (Hkg) 77 71, Daisuke Maruyama (Jpn) 76 72, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 74 74, Carl Suneson (Spa) 75 73, Rick Kulacz (Aus) 75 73, Sam Little 76 72, Joong Kyung Mo (Kor) 77 71
149 Andrew Butterfield 74 75, Mohd Iszaimi Ismail (Mal) 76 73, S Sivachandran (Mal) 76 73, George Coetzee (Rsa) 70 79, Miles Tunnicliff 72 77
150 Darren Clarke 73 77, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 74 76
151 Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe) 76 75, Gavin Green (Mal) 75 76
152 Danny Lee (Nzl) 76 76, Marcus Both (Aus) 79 73, Iain Steel (Mal) 78 74, Richard McEvoy 75 77, Akhmal Tarmizee Mohd Nazari (Mal) 79 73
153 Periasamy Gunasagaran (Mal) 75 78, Ted Oh (Kor) 73 80
154 Rashid Ismail Md (Mal) 76 78
155 Mohd Shukree Othman (Mal) 76 79
156 Nicholas Fung (Mal) 78 78, Kodai Ichihara (Jpn) 78 78
157 Gary Murphy 78 79
158 Abei Tam (Mal) 77 81
160 Andrew Coltart 76 84
162 Chris Gane 83 79
Retired: Simon Griffiths, Lin Wen-Tang (Tpe), Hwang Inn-Choon (Kor), David Howell
Disqualified: Jamie Elson
Withdrew: Jyoti Randhawa (Ind), Rafa Echenique (Arg)

Davies and Garrido share lead

with seven-under-par 65s

REPORT COMPILED FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE & ASIAN TOUR NEWS RELEASE

Challenge Tour graduate Rhys Davies sparkled on the opening day at the Maybank Malaysian Open to share a one-shot first-round lead with Spain's Ignacio Garrido.
The 24-year-old Davies, still buzzing after matching his career-high finish on the European Tour by claiming sixth in Abu Dhabi at the start of the year, blazed a flawless seven-under-par 65 at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.
A hot and admittedly sometimes lucky putter helped 1997 Ryder Cup team member Garrido share the clubhouse lead over in-form Asian number one Thongchai Jaidee and South Korea's Kim Dae-hyun after the Spaniard dropped just one shot in energy-sapping humidity.
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"I have had two weeks off since India (European Tour Avantha Masters) so you don't know how you are going to come back after that. I had a decent showing in the Middle East before India and I think that was important for me," said Edinburgh-born Welshman Davies, a former Walker Cup player who played four years on the American college circuit as a student at East Tennessee State University.
"I had a couple of good scores in Abu Dhabi and I fed off that. That is the key for me, when I start to make some birdies I want to take advantage of the fact I am playing well in that moment and really push on and make as many as possible."
WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship quarter-finalist Thongchai wobbled down the stretch with a pair of late bogeys to share second alongside Kim, who picked up five shots over his final five holes.
KJ Choi dropped his only shot of the day at the last to card a five-under-par 67 alongside Spain's Alejandro Canizares, Dane Mark Haastrup and England's Mark Foster with all of the top eight having started in the morning.
Of the afternoon starters, only a resurgent Thomas Bjorn, fresh from top-15 finishes in his last two events, made an impact on the leaderboard to join a large contingent rounding out the top 10 at four under, although 30 players will have to complete their first rounds on Friday after a thunderstorm brought a premature end to play.
Davies, who has enjoyed some measure of success on the Asian Tour over the past two seasons, enjoyed a flawless seven-birdie round, highlighted by a front nine 31. “That is the key for me. When I start to make some birdies I want to take advantage of the fact I am playing well in that moment and really push on and make as many as possible,” he said.

“It is scoreable on the front and there is a bit more length and trouble on the back nine but from my point of view, I try to play every hole as equally tough or easy – whatever way you want to put it - and try to have the same outlook every time that I step onto the tee,” he added.
Garrido got off to a bright start with an eagle 3 on his third hole where he sank a putt from 35ft.

“I think it is a course where you can get round the front nine in two or three under if you play decent golf and then on the back nine you really have to fight. So I suppose if I am saying that three or four under is a good round here, then to shoot seven under is way beyond that,” said Garrido.
Thongchai, currently 44th in the world after a third place finish in Dubai and a quarter-final appearance at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, was eight under through 15 holes before tripping up with bogeys on the seventh and ninth holes.
“I had a very good game plan and my putting was good. I enjoyed it out there but the weather was so hot. My plan was to keep my concentration and that made it easy for me to attack the greens,” said Thongchai, who holed a 20-foot eagle on the par five fifth hole.
“It was a very good round except for the last three holes. If you miss the fairway here, it will be difficult to control your approach to the green because it was very firm today.”
Choi, a seven-time US PGA Tour winner, was disappointed with his bogey on the 18th hole. “I figured if I had a four-under today, it would be a good round and I did better than that so I can’t complain.
“The course set up was very good. If you are not alert, it is designed to be risk reward. You can’t miss the greens. The pins were well placed and very appropriate. It was a good set up today,” said the Korean, who carded six birdies.
The Korean star believes the steamy conditions will test players to the limit this week. “It was a little tiring at the end and I tried to stay cool as well as I could. In these conditions, you have to really focus, especially right before you hit a shot. You have to overcome the heat. If you let it affect you, it’ll be uphill for you,” said the Asian Tour honorary member.

+Peter Whiteford from Kirkcaldy finished on 73 despite shooting six birdies in halves of 35 and 38. He had double bogeys at the the par-4 second and the par-3 11th.

FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD

Par 72

*First round play was suspended in the late afternoon for thunder and lightning. There are 10 matches still to finish on Friday morning.

65 Rhys Davies, Ignacio Garrido (Spa)
66 Dae-hyun Kim (Kor), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha)
67 Mark Haastrup (Den), K J Choi (Kor), Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Mark Foster
68 Rahil Gangjee (Ind), Robert Rock, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha), Scott Barr (Aus), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Ross Bain
69 M Sasidaran (Mal), Seung-yul Noh (Kor), Darren Beck (Aus), Scott Strange (Aus), Peter Lawrie, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Wen Teh Lu (Tpe), Johan Edfors (Swe), Niclas Fasth (Swe), Sang-moon Bae (Kor), Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Digvijay Singh (Ind)
70 Soren Hansen (Den), Unho Park (Aus), Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha), George Coetzee (Rsa), Markus Brier (Aut), Angelo Que (Phi), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Hyung-sung Kim (Kor)
71 Ben Leong (Mal), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Mark Brown (Nzl), Brett Rumford (Aus), Daniel Chopra (Swe), Marco Ruiz (Par), Danny Chia (Mal), Gregory Havret (Fra)
72 Anis Hassan (Mal), Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Danny Willett, Simon Yates, Simon Griffiths, Gary Boyd, Prom Meesawat (Tha), Michael Jonzon (Swe), Wen-Tang Lin (Tpe), David Horsey, Andrew Dodt (Aus), Chih-bing Lam (Sin), Hiroyuki Fujita (Jpn), David Drysdale, Arjun Atwal (Ind), Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind), Guido Van Der Valk (Ned)
73 Peter Whiteford, Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Robert Coles, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus), Darren Clarke, Hideto Tanihara (Jpn), Jason Knutzon (USA), Anthony Kang (USA), Tony Carolan (Aus), Scott Hend (Aus), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Ashan Wu (Chn), C Muniyappa (Ind), Phillip Archer, Ted Oh (Kor)
74 Yin-shin Chan (Tpe), Wei Chih Lu (Tha), Andrew Butterfield, Michael Campbell (Nzl), Sung Lee (Pkr), Julien Quesne (Fra), Mardan Mamat (Sin), Jamie Elson, Anthony Wall, Thammanoon Srirot (Tha), James Kamte (Rsa), Wen-hong Lin (Chn), Adam Blyth (Aus)
75 Andrew Tampion (Aus), Chris Wood, Shaaban Hussin (Mal), Mars Pucay (Phi), Paul Broadhurst, Carl Suneson (Spa), Periasamy Gunasagaran (Mal), Rick Kulacz (Aus), Gavin Green (Mal), Keith Horne (Rsa), Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Airil-Rizman Zahari (Mal), Anirban Lahiri (Ind)
76 Inn-choon Hwang (Kor), S Sivachandran (Mal), Andrew Coltart, Daisuke Maruyama (Jpn), Rashid Ismail Md (Mal), Danny Lee (Nzl), Mohd Iszaimi Ismail (Mal), Jbe Kruger (Rsa), Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn), Mohd Shukree Othman (Mal), Sam Little, Shingo Katayama (Jpn)
77 Kwanchai Tannin (Hkg), Clodomiro Carranza (Arg), Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Mohd Hisyam Abdul Majid (Mal), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Gavin Flint (Aus), Joong Kyung Mo (Kor), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)
78 Iain Steel (Mal)
79 Marcus Both (Aus), David Howell
80 Rafael Echenique (Arg)

AMONG THOSE STILL TO FINISH:

Stephen Gallacher level par after 14 holes.

Steven O'Hara two over par after 17 holes.

European Tour Scoreboard
MAYBANK MALAYSIAN OPEN
Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club
EARLY FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72
65 Rhys Davies (Wales), Ignacio Garrido (Spain).
66 Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand), Dae-Hyun Kim (South Korea).
67 Alejandra Canizares (Spain), K J Choi (South Korea), Mark Foster (England), Mark F Haastrup (Denmark).
Selected score:
68 Ross Bain (Scotland).

Alastair Forsyth out of Malaysian

Open as back pain takes toll

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Alastair Forsyth, who recorded the first of his two European Tour wins in the event eight years ago, has been forced to pull out of this week's Maybank Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur due to a back injury.
The 34-year-old, pictured right, got as far as Dubai earlier in the week when the pain in his back became so bad that he decided there was no point in him making the next leg of his journey. Instead, Forsyth jumped on a plane back to Britain and is still in a bit of discomfort despite a couple of visits to a physiotherapist over the last few days.
"I hurt my back when I was at the gym on Sunday morning," said Forsyth, who had been looking forward to playing in an event that helped him get a foothold on the European Tour. "I felt something strange happen and the pain got progressively worse through the day on Sunday. "I was heading for Malaysia but only got as far as Dubai as it was really uncomfortable and painful, too. There was no point in me going any further so I turned back."
While Forsyth pays regular visits to the European Tour physiotherapy unit for treatment to his back, he says this injury is more serious than any trouble he's encountered in the past.
"I've always had back issues and the physios on the Tour keep it ticking over for me," he added. "If they'd been at this week's event I would probably have tried to make it to Malaysia, but its the Asian Tour guys and I don't know them.

"I've been to see the physio a couple of times since I got home and it is still pretty painful. There is no way I could address a ball at the moment far less hit it. In fact, I wouldn't even be able to put a tee peg in the ground. It is still early in the season and there's no event next week, so I think I have made the right decision by coming home and trying to get it sorted."
Forsyth's absence has reduced the Scottish contingent in Kuala Lumpur to seven for an event where the humidity is as much a challenge as the course itself.
"Even your trousers get soaked," noted Stephen Gallacher, who is hoping to take up where he left off in the Middle East a few weeks ago after notching top-50 finishes in both Qatar and Dubai.
David Drysdale, who was back in Dubai last week to escape the bad weather in Scotland and get in some decent practice, is also in the field, as are Steven O'Hara, Andrew Coltart and Peter Whiteford.
They're joined by Dubai-based Ross Bain and Asian Tour regular Simon Yates, both of whom have received sponsor's invites for the event. Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee, the winner in 2004 and 2005, heads the field, the world No 44 having followed a third place in Dubai by losing to Ian Poulter, the eventual winner, in the quarter- finals of the WGC Accenture Match Play.
Jaidee says the newly-refurbished Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club is the best course in Malaysia.
"I played on this course in 2006 and came back here to see that everything about it has changed," he said. "They moved the tee box back on many holes but the condition is perfect. It is the best course in Malaysia.

"They put more bunkers in and they are in play on almost every hole. This year it will be very challenging. This is the best year so far because of good organisation, good facilities and a fantastic golf course."
American Anthony Kang defends his title against a field that also includes K J Choi, Darren Clarke and Soren Hansen, the latter having finished inside the top 20 in all five events this season to extend his run of consecutive cuts made to 23.
"I only decided to come at the last minute and I am really pleased that I have done that because I see a very good course that is in great condition," said the world No 50, who has missed the cut just five times in over 50 events in the last two seasons.

Ian Poulter is European Tour Golfer of Month for first time

FROM THE IRISH TIMES WEBSITE
Ian Poulter was named European Tour Golfer of the Month for February after claiming his first WGC title at last month’s Accenture Match Play at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Dove Mountain, Arizona.
Poulter’s 4 and 2 win over compatriot Paul Casey in the event’s first all-European final, was also his first victory on American soil and took him to a career high of fifth in the world rankings.
In Arizona he also defeated Justin Leonard, Adam Scott, Jeev Milkha Singh, Thongchai Jaidee, and Sergio Garcia.
It is the first time the 34-year-old Ryder Cup player has won the monthly award.
“It felt amazing to win a World Golf Championship and I certainly felt very comfortable and in control on the golf course in Arizona,” said Poulter. “It was also great to move up to five in the world and to be recognised with the golfer of the month award at the end of it all capped a truly great week for me.
“I worked a lot on my game in the off season, particularly on the shots from 100 yards and in, and I think that paid off - I certainly felt like I came out strongly at the start of the year. I feel my game has been in pretty good shape for some time but it was just about ironing out some of the small creases - that has been the thing that has made the big difference.”

AVANTHA MASTERS IN INDIA

Aussie Dodt wins after Drysdale loses

lead with bogeys at 13th and 15th

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
A birdie at the last saw Andrew Dodt claim the Avantha Masters in New Delhi, India by a stroke after the Australian posted a final round of 68 to lift the trophy with a winning total of 14 under par 274
With seven players entering the last day level at the top of the leaderboard, it always promised to be a thrilling and exciting day at DLF Golf and Country Club, and so it proved.
The lead changed hands several times - Scot David Drysdale leading by a shot until he had bogeys at the 13th and 15th -with Richard Finch's spectacular six under 66 at one point looking to have secured an unexpected triumph for the Englishman.
However, Dodt sank birdies at the 16th and 18th to claim his maiden European Tour victory ahead of Finch and Richard Bland, who carded a 71 to end on 12 under and miss out on his maiden European Tour title.
Dodt, whose previous best finish was a tie for ninth at last year's Barclays Singapore Open, began the day one shot off the pace but had picked up three strokes by the turn and was well placed with nine holes to play.
A bogey at the 11th threatened to derail the 24 year old's bid but he managed to recover over the final three holes to secure the trophy.
Finch, meanwhile, mounted his charge from down the leaderboard as the Hull golfer reached the halfway point in 32 having collected five birdies and one bogey.
But he could only pick up two more shots down the stretch to eventually finish 13 under.
For Bland, it was a case of so near yet so far. Saturday's 66 had catapulted him into contention and two early birdies saw him keep pace at the top of the scoreboard.
However, a bogey at the sixth set him back and although he recovered the shot at the 16th, he could not find the birdie he needed at the last to force a play-off, a bogey six condemning the 37 year old to a share of third as his search for that elusive first European Tour victory continues.
Scot David Drysdale also finished on 12-under-par 276, joint third, after a 70 following bogeys at the 13th and 15th effectively scuppering his hopes. Drysdale earned 71,259 Euros.
He was joined by Barry Lane, the 49 year old failing in his bid to become The European Tour's oldest winner as he could only manage a one under 71 after failing to get going on the front nine.
Japan's Tetsuji Hiratsuka completed the quartet. Having fired a new course record of 62 on Friday to move into contention, he like Lane could only muster a 71 despite sinking five birdies as a double bogey six at the fifth and a dropped shot two holes later hindered his progress.
Fredrik Andersson Hed took seventh on 11 under while Darren Clarke and Oliver Fisher finished in a group of six players on ten under following rounds of 71 and 70 respectively.
In terms of top-20 finishers, it was one of the best on the Tour by Scots for a long time.
Apart from Drysdale, Steven O'Hara (29,775 Euros) from Motherwell tied for eighth place with a 69 for 278; Aberdeen's Richie Ramsay (21,600 Euros) finished joint 14th with a 70 for 279, and Peter Whiteford (18,060 Euros) from Kirkcaldy had four rounds of 70 for a share of 18th place on 280.
Edinburgh-based Andrew Coltart signed off with a 71 for 285, a joint 38th finish that earned him 9,600 Euros.

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
274 Andrew Dodt (Aus) 67 68 71 68 (250,000 Euros).
275 Richard Finch 69 69 71 66 (166,650 Euros).
276 Richard Bland 68 71 66 71, David Drysdale 68 67 71 70, Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn) 73 62 70 71, Barry Lane 67 67 71 71 (71,250 Euros each).
277 Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 68 71 66 72
278 Yin-shin Chan (Tpe) 65 68 72 73, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 71 70 66 71, Darren Clarke 71 66 70 71, Steven O'Hara 69 73 67 69, Oliver Fisher 70 67 71 70, Jason Knutzon (USA) 70 67 72 69 (jt 8th) (29,775 Euros each).
279 Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 67 69 69 74, Richie Ramsay 71 68 70 70, Rick Kulacz (Aus) 68 67 74 70, Chih-bing Lam (Sin) 67 68 74 70 (jt 14th) (21,600 Euros each).
280 Sung Lee (Kor) 71 65 73 71, Peter Whiteford 70 70 70 70, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 71 70 68 71, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 72 67 71 70, Hideto Tanihara (Jpn) 71 69 71 69 (jt 18th) (18,060 Euros each).
281 Darren Beck (Aus) 70 65 70 76, Kwanchai Tannin (Hkg) 68 68 70 75, Marcel Siem (Ger) 64 73 70 74, Wen-hong Lin (Chn) 68 70 69 74
282 John Parry 67 67 75 73, Richard McEvoy 73 68 73 68
283 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 67 74 72 70, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 67 73 67 76, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 68 72 72 71, Angelo Que (Phi) 73 70 69 71, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 68 71 68 76, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg) 73 69 70 71
284 Joost Luiten (Ned) 69 74 70 71, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 71 68 71 74, Rhys Davies 72 68 71 73
285 Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 72 70 71 72, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 72 69 71 73, Andrew Coltart 69 74 71 71, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 71 71 74 69, Digvijay Singh (Ind) 71 71 73 70, Adam Blyth (Aus) 74 68 70 73 (jt 38th) (9,600 Euros each).
286 Mark F Haastrup (Den) 72 71 72 71, Gareth Maybin 70 69 70 77, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 70 73 72 71, Udorn Duangdecha (Tha) 71 71 67 77, George Coetzee (Rsa) 72 70 71 73, Danny Chia (Mal) 74 65 73 74, Kunal Bhasin (Ind) 71 71 71 73, Gregory Havret (Fra) 71 71 69 75
287 Ashok Kumar (Ind) 70 72 75 70, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 74 73 71, Scott Hend (Aus) 76 67 72 72, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 76 65 73 73, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 72 70 72 73
288 David Howell 74 68 69 77, Lee Slattery 70 69 71 78
289 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) 74 69 70 76, Shane Lowry 71 66 77 75, Ted Oh (Kor) 71 72 74 72
290 Ben Leong (Mal) 68 73 75 74
292 Julien Quesne (Fra) 73 70 77 72
293 Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 71 70 75 77
294 Anthony Kang (USA) 71 72 75 76, Scott Barr (Aus) 73 70 72 79

SEVEN SHARE AVANTHA MASTERS LEAD IN INDIA

Drysdale one shot off the pace after three rounds

COMPILED BY THE EDITOR FROM THE ASIAN TOUR NEWS
RELEASE AND THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Englishman Richard Bland was one of the biggest third round movers as the Avantha Masters looks set for a dramatic finale, with seven players ending the day tied for the lead on 11 under par.
Dunbar's David Drysdale is tied eight - but only shot off off the pace and in with a great chance of his first European Tour victory if he were to "shoot the lights out" over Sunday's final round.
Bland stormed up the leaderboard on the back of a sparkling 66 at DLF Golf and Country Club in New Delhi, India
Starting his third round six shots off the pace, the 37 year old from Southampton made a bright start with two birdies in his opening three holes but failed to make further inroads over the front nine.
However, he accelerated coming back, picking up four shots over his closing seven holes to post a six under 66 and finish the day 11 under par.
"I have to say that it felt a bit strange that 66, because there were points when I felt that I wasn't playing too well," said Bland.
"It felt like my playing partners played better than I did but I was the one that made the score. They are probably at home cursing me at the moment but you have to take the luck when it comes your way.
"Sometimes you have to do it the ugly way. I'm not saying it was a really ugly day but usually 66s are a little bit prettier than that. But I managed to take advantage."
Barry Lane maintained his bid to become the oldest winner of a European Tour event after the 49 year old carded a one under 71, although he missed the chance to take the outright lead going into the final day with a frustrating bogey at the last.
"I played beautifully today, really nice," he said.
"I just couldn't hole any putts until the 15th and then holed another good one on the 17th but apart from that I struggled on the greens again so my wife had summoned me to the putting green to try and work on it and figure it out."
Second round leader Chan Yih-shin fought back from what was proving to be a mixed round with two birdies at the 12th and 15th as the Chinese Taipei golfer rescued a level par 72 to remain 11 under.
He was joined by Swede Fredrik Andersson Hed, who carded a 66 that contained eight birdies against just two bogeys while Indian golfer Rahil Gangjee produced a solid 69 that featured birdies at the third, seventh and 18th to also finish 11 under.
In a day of missed opportunities Japan's Tetsuji Hiratsuka, who set a course record 62 in the second round, also wasted an opportunity to head the field after a bogey at the 18th saw him sign for a 70 while the same fate befell Darren Beck after the Australian had picked up four early birdies.
Consecutive bogeys at the 11th and 12th halted David Drysdale's momentum but the Scot remains just one stroke off the lead on ten under after shooting a 71.
He is tied with Australian Andrew Dodt, who matched Drysdale's 71 despite double bogeying the fifth, and Thai golfer Kwanchai Tannin, who carded a two under 70.
Darren Clarke seemed poised to follow up Friday's impressive 66 with another fine effort, the Northern Irishman looking well placed at four under for the day through 15 holes before bogeys at the 16th and last signalled a disappointing end. His round of 70 saw him finish nine under alongside five other players.
India’s Rahil Gangjee Gangjee maintained his good run to bring some cheers to the home crowd after the country’s marquee names such as Jeev Milkha Singh, Gaganjeet Bhullar and SSP Chowrasia had failed to make it into the weekend rounds.
Gangjee won his maiden Asian Tour title during his rookie year in 2004 and he believes that he can end his six year title drought despite the pressures of being the leading Indian this week.
“The pressure will always be there but I’ve been in this position before and I’ve handled it well,” said the 31-year-old Indian.
Starting his round in tied-10th, Gangjee birdied the third and seventh holes to reach the turn in 34. He parred the next eight holes after the turn before closing with another birdie on the par-five 18th.
“I’m pretty happy because I had no bogeys again today. I’m excited that I’m in the lead but I’m just going to do what I’ve been doing the last three days by playing one shot at a time and enjoying it,” said Gangjee.
Japan's Tesuji Hiratsuka, who shot a course record of 62 at the weather-disrupted second round, underlined his title ambitions when he returned with a 70 to remain in contention for his career breakthrough on the Asian Tour.
The Japanese enjoyed a flawless opening front-nine where he recorded birdies on the fourth and ninth holes to reach the turn in 34. He then mixed two bogeys against two birdies in his homerun to sign for a 70.
“My putting has been very good today and I’ll happy with my early season form. There are still 18 holes to play tomorrow and I’ll do my best,” said Hiratsuka who earned his Asian Tour card through Qualifying School in 2009 and enjoyed two top-10s in his rookie year last season.
Beck whose maiden Asian Tour win came in Brunei last season proved that he is also ready to mount another genuine challenge this week.
The 31-year-old Australian who started his round tied for fourth, made his move up the leaderboard quickly with three birdies and a bogey in his opening four holes.
He then birdied the par-five sixth to reach the turn in 33 before mixing two bogeys against another birdie in his inward nine.
“If I can play the way I’ve done the last couple of days, it’ll be really good. Just looking at the leaderboard, it’s anyone’s game tomorrow. I’ll do my best and see where I stand at the end,” said the Australian.
Aberdonian Richie Ramsay and Motherwell's Steven O'Hara are sharing 18th place. O'Hara had his best round so far, a five-under-par 67 which included only one bogey, at the 12th, while Ramsay had a 70 for 209.
Kirkcaldy's Peter Whiteford is hanging in there too. Three rounds of 70 in a row have him only five shots behind the bunch of leaders - close enough to entertain dreams of what a great final round could do for him.
Whiteford birdied the 14th, 15th and 16th but took a bogey 6 at the long 18th.
Edinburgh-based Andrew Coltart had a 71 for 214. The former Ryder Cup player birdied the 15th, 17th and 18th.

THIRD ROUND TOTALS (before end of play)
Par 216 (3x72)
205 Yin-shin Chan (Tpe) 65 68 72, Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 67 69 69, Richard Bland 68 71 66, Darren Beck (Aus) 70 65 70, Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn) 73 62 70, Barry Lane 67 67 71, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 68 71 66
206 David Drysdale 68 67 71, Kwanchai Tannin (Hkg) 68 68 70, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 67 68 71
207 Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 71 70 66, Marcel Siem (Ger) 64 73 70, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 67 73 67, Darren Clarke 71 66 70, Wen-hong Lin (Chn) 68 70 69, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 68 71 68
208 Oliver Fisher 70 67 71
209 John Parry 67 67 75, Richie Ramsay 71 68 70, Gareth Maybin 70 69 70, Udorn Duangdecha (Tha) 71 71 67, Steven O'Hara 69 73 67, Chih-bing Lam (Sin) 67 68 74, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 71 70 68, Jason Knutzon (USA) 70 67 72, Sung Lee (Kor) 71 65 73, Richard Finch 69 69 71, Rick Kulacz (Aus) 68 67 74
210 Peter Whiteford 70 70 70, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 71 68 71, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 72 67 71, Lee Slattery 70 69 71
211 David Howell 74 68 69, Rhys Davies 72 68 71, Gregory Havret (Fra) 71 71 69, Hideto Tanihara (Jpn) 71 69 71
212 Arjun Atwal (Ind) 72 69 71, Angelo Que (Phi) 73 70 69, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 68 72 72, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg) 73 69 70, Danny Chia (Mal) 74 65 73, Adam Blyth (Aus) 74 68 70
213 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 67 74 72, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) 74 69 70, Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 72 70 71, Joost Luiten (Ned) 69 74 70, George Coetzee (Rsa) 72 70 71, Kunal Bhasin (Ind) 71 71 71
214 Shane Lowry 71 66 77, Andrew Coltart 69 74 71, Richard McEvoy 73 68 73, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 72 70 72, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 76 65 73
215 Scott Hend (Aus) 76 67 72, Mark F Haastrup (Den) 72 71 72, Scott Barr (Aus) 73 70 72, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 70 73 72, Digvijay Singh (Ind) 71 71 73
216 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 74 73, Ben Leong (Mal) 68 73 75, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 71 70 75, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 71 71 74
217 Ashok Kumar (Ind) 70 72 75, Ted Oh (Kor) 71 72 74
218 Anthony Kang (USA) 71 72 75
220 Julien Quesne (Fra) 73 70 77

European Tour Scoreboard
AVANTHA MASTERS
DLF Golf and Country Club, New Delhi, India
ALL THE SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
133 Yin-shin Chan (Tpe) 65 68
134 John Parry 67 67, Barry Lane 67 67
135 David Drysdale 68 67, Darren Beck (Aus) 70 65, Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn) 73 62, Rick Kulacz (Aus) 68 67, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 67 68, Chih-bing Lam (Sin) 67 68
136 Sung Lee (Kor) 71 65, Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 67 69, Kwanchai Tannin (Hkg) 68 68
137 Shane Lowry 71 66, Marcel Siem (Ger) 64 73, Darren Clarke 71 66, Oliver Fisher 70 67, Jason Knutzon (USA) 70 67
138 Richard Finch 69 69, Wen-hong Lin (Chn) 68 70
139 Richard Bland 68 71, Richie Ramsay 71 68, Gareth Maybin 70 69, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 71 68, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 68 71, Danny Chia (Mal) 74 65, Lee Slattery 70 69, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 72 67, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 68 71
140 Peter Whiteford 70 70, Rhys Davies 72 68, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 68 72, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 67 73, Hideto Tanihara (Jpn) 71 69
141 Ben Leong (Mal) 68 73, Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 67 74, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 71 70, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 71 70, Richard McEvoy 73 68, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 76 65, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 71 70, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 72 69
142 Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 72 70, David Howell 74 68, Steven O'Hara 69 73, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg) 73 69, Udorn Duangdecha (Tha) 71 71, George Coetzee (Rsa) 72 70, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 72 70, Ashok Kumar (Ind) 70 72, Adam Blyth (Aus) 74 68, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 71 71, Kunal Bhasin (Ind) 71 71, Digvijay Singh (Ind) 71 71, Gregory Havret (Fra) 71 71
143 Joost Luiten (Ned) 69 74, Andrew Coltart 69 74, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 70 73, Julien Quesne (Fra) 73 70, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 74, Anthony Kang (USA) 71 72, Scott Hend (Aus) 76 67, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) 74 69, Scott Barr (Aus) 73 70, Mark f Haastrup (Den) 72 71, Ted Oh (Kor) 71 72, Angelo Que (Phi) 73 70
MISSED THE CUT
144 Mukesh Kumar (Ind) 72 72, Mars Pucay (Phi) 73 71, Seve Benson 72 72, Jamie Elson 70 74, Gary Lockerbie 72 72, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 74 70, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 74 70, Phillip Archer 74 70, Keith Horne (Rsa) 71 73, C Muniyappa (Ind) 69 75, P harendra Gupta (Ind) 73 71, Mark Foster 71 73
145 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 72 73, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 78 67, Gurki Shergill (Ind) 70 75, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 73 72, Danny Lee (Nzl) 75 70, Marcus Both (Aus) 75 70, Stephan Gross Jnr (Ger) 75 70, Iain Steel (Mal) 74 71, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 69 76, James Kamte (Rsa) 71 74, Shamim Khan (Ind) 73 72, Anirban Lahiri (Ind) 71 74
146 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 73 73, Chris Gane 71 75, Andrew Tampion (Aus) 74 72, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 76 70, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 75 71, Vikrant Chopra (Ind) 72 74, Mark Brown (Nzl) 73 73
147 Naman Dawar (Ind) 72 75, Tony Carolan (Aus) 73 74, Carl Suneson (Spa) 73 74, Chris Rodgers 82 65, Gaurav pratap Singh (Ind) 73 74, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 72 75
148 Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe) 72 76, Harmeet Kahlon (Ind) 73 75
149 Himmat Rai (Ind) 80 69, Vijay Kumar (Ind) 73 76, Ranjit Singh (Ind) 76 73, Rashid Khan (Ind) 72 77, Gavin Flint (Aus) 72 77
150 David Gleeson (Aus) 74 76, Vishal Singh (Ind) 75 75, Raju ali Mollah (Ind) 76 74
151 Callum Macaulay 76 75
152 Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 83 69, Simon Griffiths 74 78
154 Kodai Ichihara (Jpn) 75 79
155 Andrew Butterfield 80 75
Withdrew: Arjun Singh (Ind), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa)
Retired: Gary Murphy (Irl), Unho Park (Aus), Peter Baker, Sanjay Kumar (Ind), Rahul Ganapathy (Ind), Amandeep Singh Johl (Ind)

Barry Lane leads weather-hit Avantha Masters in India

DAVID DRYSDALE'S LATE HAT-TRICK

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OF BIRDIES PUTS HIM ONE OFF LEAD

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FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE & THE ASIAN TOUR NEWS RELEASE
English duo John Parry and Barry Lane were in a three-way tie for the lead at the Avantha Masters on 10 under par when play was suspended during the second round in New Delhi, India today.
Parry had only one hole to play - the ninth - when the day's action came to a premature end due to lightning at DLF Golf and Country Club, with the 23-year-old on five under for his round.
Lane had earlier carded a second consecutive 67 to take the clubhouse lead on 10-under-par 134, while Taiwan's Chan Yih-shin was also at 10 under playing the last.
Lane had trailed Andrew Dodt for most of the morning but the Australian carded a double bogey at the par-three 16th and signed for a 68 to end up in a group of four players on nine under.
He joined David Drysdale (pictured above) after the man from Dunbar produced a strong finish with three consecutive birdies in his 67, his third successive sub-70 round on the European Tour after he had admitted struggling adjusting to the new grooves regulation.
Darren Beck surged up the leaderboard to nine under following an impressive bogey-free 65, the Australian grabbing five of his seven birdies over the second half of his round having started on the 10th, while Singaporean Lan Chih-bing completed the quartet following a 68.
Four more players are tied at eight under, while Ulsterman Darren Clarke climbed back into contention after a 66 that featured nine birdies - seven of which came in his last 11 holes - moved him to seven under.
He was joined by, among others, Oliver Fisher - who posted a 67 - and Marcel Siem, who had dropped off the pace after three straight bogeys from the 12th saw him one over for the day with three holes of his second round remaining.
A total of 36 players will return to the DLF Golf and Country Club to complete their rounds at 7.15am (local time) on Saturday before the start of the third round which is scheduled to tee off at 9am local time.
Chinese Taipei’s Chan Yih-shin was three under through 17 holes of his second round when play was suspended at 4.28pm and eventually abandoned due to inclement weather.
Singapore’s Lam Chih Bing who managed to complete his round before rain brought play to an abrupt halt, added a 68 to his opening 67 to take a share of fourth place in the clubhouse alongside David Drysdale and Australians Andrew Dodt and Darren Beck on 135.
Thailand’s Kwanchai Tannin matched his opening 68 with another 68 to take a share of eighth place with India’s Rahil Gangjee and Korea’s Lee Sung on 136.
Lane, who opened with a 67, made steady progress with three birdies over his opening nine holes in the morning.
After making the turn in 34, the veteran Englishman mixed three birdies against a lone bogey on the par-four fifth to cruise home with another 67.
“It can be hard work being an old man out here and these young guys are bombing it past you at times but it is nice to know that I can still play and compete out here,” said Lane who will be turning 50 in June.
“It has just been the short game and the putting but hopefully it’ll get better,” added Lane.
Meanwhile Lam who is no stranger to success having won his maiden Asian Tour title in 2008, continued to stay in the hunt for his second win on the Asian Tour despite enduring a mixed day where his card was marked with six birdies, four bogeys and an eagle.
“I haven’t had one of these days for a while. It just seems like I’m either hitting it really close to the pin or getting a bad break and landing myself in trouble. Hopefully the birdies will continue to come and eliminate the couple of loose shots that I’ve made,” said Lam.
Starting the day tied for third, the Singaporean had two birdies on the second and sixth holes cancelled out by bogeys on the fifth and seventh holes. It was not until the eighth hole when Lam reeled in another birdie and an eagle three on the ninth hole that appeared to turn his game round.
However, Lam’s card in homeward run was again coloured with red and blue with three birdies and two bogeys.
“There’s still everything to play for this weekend as everyone at the top are all separated by only one shot. I’ll continue to stay focus and do my best,” added Lam.
After enjoying two top-10s on the Asian Tour season, Dodt is now keeping his focus on securing his maiden Asian Tour title after his second round of 68.
“I’m playing well and obviously one of my goals this season is to win an event,” said Dodt, whose brilliant early season form was highlighted by two runner-up finishes in Australia and New Zealand last month.
Dodt, who started the day in tied-third, birdied the par-three third hole and continued a hat-trick of birdies on the sixth, seventh and ninth holes to complete a flawless opening front-nine.
Despite a lone bogey on the 10th after making the turn, the Australian’s hot streak continued with successive birdies recorded from holes 11th to 13th.
However he was left to rue a costly double bogey on the 16th that spoilt his card on his inward-nine.
“It was a very quick start to my back-nine with three birdies in a row starting from the 11th and then a double bogey on the 16th which was really a very bad tee shots. I hit it into the water and I had to make it in five after the tee shots,” said the Australian
“I made a pretty slow start yesterday in the front-nine but today, I probably made a better start than I did today and I had a good middle patch today and hopefully I can carry that through over the weekend,” added Dodt.
COMPLETED SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)

Play was abandoned for the day with 36 players still on the course. The round will be completed on Saturday morning (local time).
134 Barry Lane 67 67
135 David Drysdale 68 67, Darren Beck (Aus) 70 65, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 67 68, Chih-bing Lam (Sin) 67 68
136 Sung Lee (Kor) 71 65, Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 67 69, Kwanchai Tannin (Hkg) 68 68
137 Shane Lowry 71 66, Darren Clarke 71 66, Oliver Fisher 70 67
138 Richard Finch 69 69, Wen-hong Lin (Chn) 68 70
139 Richie Ramsay 71 68, Gareth Maybin 70 69, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 71 68, Danny Chia (Mal) 74 65, Lee Slattery 70 69, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 72 67, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 68 71
140 Peter Whiteford 70 70, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 68 72, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 67 73, Hideto Tanihara (Jpn) 71 69
141 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 67 74, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 71 70, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 71 70, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 72 69, Richard McEvoy 73 68, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 76 65, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 71 70
142 David Howell 74 68, Steven O'Hara 69 73, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg) 73 69, Udorn Duangdecha (Tha) 71 71, George Coetzee (Rsa) 72 70, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 72 70, Ashok Kumar (Ind) 70 72, Digvijay Singh (Ind) 71 71, Gregory Havret (Fra) 71 71
143 Anthony Kang (USA) 71 72, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 74, Scott Hend (Aus) 76 67, Mark F Haastrup (Den) 72 71, Andrew Coltart 69 74, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 70 73.

PROJECTED CUT-OFF POINT FOR HALFWAY QUALIFIERS

144 Gary Lockerbie 72 72, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 74 70, Mukesh Kumar (Ind) 72 72, Phillip Archer 74 70, P Harendra Gupta (Ind) 73 71, Mars Pucay (Phi) 73 71, Mark Foster 71 73
145 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 72 73, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 78 67, Gurki Shergill (Ind) 70 75, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 73 72, Danny Lee (Nzl) 75 70, Marcus Both (Aus) 75 70, Stephan Gross Jnr (Ger) 75 70, Iain Steel (Mal) 74 71, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 69 76, James Kamte (Rsa) 71 74, Shamim Khan (Ind) 73 72, Anirban Lahiri (Ind) 71 74
146 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 73 73, Chris Gane 71 75, Andrew Tampion (Aus) 74 72, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 76 70, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 75 71, Vikrant Chopra (Ind) 72 74, Mark Brown (Nzl) 73 73
147 Naman Dawar (Ind) 72 75, Tony Carolan (Aus) 73 74, Carl Suneson (Spa) 73 74, Gaurav pratap Singh (Ind) 73 74, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 72 75
148 Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe) 72 76, Harmeet Kahlon (Ind) 73 75
149 Ranjit Singh (Ind) 76 73
150 Vishal Singh (Ind) 75 75, Raju Ali Mollah (Ind) 76 74
151 Callum Macaulay 76 75
152 Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 83 69, Simon Griffiths 74 78
154 Kodai Ichihara (Jpn) 75 79
155 Andrew Butterfield 80 75
Withdrew: Arjun Singh (Ind), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa)
Projected cut: 143 or better to qualify

Marcel Siem leads in India with a 64 - thanks to tips from 16-year-old girl

David Drysdale gets in groove with a 68

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Germany's Marcel Siem put his success down to an unlikely source after an eagle at his final hole led to an eight-under-par 64 and secured a one stroke lead after the opening round of the inaugural Avantha Masters at New Delhi, India.
The 29 year old, searching for only his second win on The European Tour, produced a flawless round that included six birdies before nailing an eagle putt from almost 20 feet on the ninth hole - his last - to edge ahead of the rest of the field.
And Siem admitted he had taken putting tips from a local 16-year-old female player to help deal with the difference between the greens in India and Europe.
“They are a bit grainy which can be difficult for the Europeans to adapt to sometimes, but I got a pretty good lesson from Vani Kapoor yesterday,” said Siem. “She is a young, 16-year-old scratch player, probably the best young female player in India and she was so aggressive on the greens and she showed me the way. I have to say that she was my putting inspiration and she is a very good player.”
Chinese Taipei's Chan Yin-shin also produced an eagle on the ninth and is just behind Siem in second place after signing for a seven under 65 at the DLF Golf and Country Club.
Siem's last victory on The European Tour came six years ago at the Dunhill Championship and he is hoping his impressive performance could signal a change in fortunes.
"I played very solid today, didn't make a bogey and then finished it off nicely with a great eagle at the last," he said. "The iron play was really good and I putted well. I cannot remember the last time that I shot 64 to be honest with you. It must be at least three years ago so I am pretty happy with that. It's definitely my best round for a few years."
England's John Parry is in touch with the early pacesetters after shooting six birdies against one bogey for a five under 67.
The 22-year-old from Harrogate is tied third alongside compatriot Barry Lane, Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen, Lam Chih-bing of Singapore, Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant and Andrew Dodt of Australia.
"It was pretty solid out there today but nothing spectacular," said Parry. "It's a decent start and I am pleased with how I am playing. I probably got a little bit lucky at points out there today but nothing outrageous - it was a pretty fair score."
Lam was not expecting to go so low, especially given a bout of food poisoning ruined his preparations.
“I almost couldn’t walk on the course yesterday so I’m quite surprised with how I played today,” he said.
Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke finished one under following a 71 while World No 59 Jeev Milkha Singh - the highest ranked player at the tournament - endured a disappointing round with three birdies and as many bogeys, leaving him eight shots off the pace.
Siem birdied the 12th, 17th and 18th in his opening back-nine to reach the turn in 33.
The German continued to enjoy another blemish-free run in his homeward nine by carding another three birdies followed by the closing eagle.
“I can’t remember the last time that I shot 64. It must be at least three years ago so I’m pretty happy with that. It’s definitely my best round for a few years,” said a delighted Siem.
Chan, who won his maiden Asian Tour title at the season-ending event in Bangkok last season, overcame a sore back to get his title ambitions back on track in the new season.
The Chinese Taipei player mixed six birdies and an eagle three on the ninth hole to stay in contention for his second Asian Tour win this week.
“I’m happy with my score today, considering that I was getting some treatment for my sore back yesterday. I’m feeling fine now and I ready for the next three days,” said the ever-smiling Chan.

Lam got his Indian campaign underway with three birdies in his opening back-nine. He then birdied the fourth after the turn and dropped his only shot of the day on the par-4 fifth before going on to record two more birdies on the seventh and eighth holes.
“I only dropped one shot on the fifth hole but overall you gain some and you lose some. I’ll try to do what I’ve been doing today by hitting onto the fairways and then the greens and hopefully make some putts to stay in contention for the next three days,” added Lam.
Chapchai continued his Indian sojourn spectacularly when he returned with a blemish-free card that was marked with two birdies and an eagle.
The big-hitting Thai set a new world record when he shot a stunning 32-under-par 256 total en route to victory at the SAIL Open in India last season. Despite nursing a back injury, he is showing early signs of enjoying another memorable run in India again.
Chapchai posted two birdies in his opening three holes before reaching the turn in 34. However, it was his eagle three on the par-five sixth that moved him quickly to second place at one stage in the morning.
He parred his closing three holes to eventually sign for a 68.
“That eagle on the sixth was definitely the highlight of my round today. I hit it long onto the greens with my approach shot and it was a good putt from five feet for the eagle,” said the 26-year-old Thai.
“I had to skip several events early this year as I didn’t feel I would be ready with my back problem. I’m still feeling the effects of it even today and I guess I got lucky with my good score today,” added Chapchai.

SCOTSWATCH: David Drysdale from Dunbar led the Scots in the field with a four-under-par 68, which gives him back-to-back scores on the Tour, albeit four days apart, which suggests he has got the grooves business out of or maybe into his system.

Drysdale, out in 35 and home in 33, starts the second round in joint 10th place overall.

Andrew Coltart (36-33) and Steven O'Hara (35-34) had matching 69s to be joint 19th.

Kirkcaldy's Peter Whiteford did well to return a 70 (35-35) after taking a double-bogey 7 on the chin at the long ninth. He is sharing 26th place.

Richie Ramsay. who missed the cut last week, is lying joint 36th afteer halves of 36 and 35 for a 71.

Only Callum Macaulay, playing on a sponsors' invite, had few reasons to be cheerful among the Scots. The Tulliallan man needs something special to survive the Friday cut. He is lying joint 111th with only seven players behind him at the oment after halves of 38 for a four-over-par 76. A double bogey 5 at the short 16th was indicative of the kind of day Callum had.

FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72 (36-36). 7156yd
64 Marcel Siem (Ger)
65 Yin-shin Chan (Tpe)
67 Rahil Gangjee (Ind), Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), John Parry, Andrew Dodt (Aus), Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha), Chih-bing Lam (Sin), Barry Lane
68 Ben Leong (Mal), Richard Bland, David Drysdale, Kwanchai Tannin (Hkg), Rick Kulacz (Aus), Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Wen-hong Lin (Chn), Terry Pilkadaris (Aus), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe)
69 Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Joost Luiten (Ned), Richard Finch, Andrew Coltart, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind), C Muniyappa (Ind), Steven O'Hara
70 Gurki Shergill (Ind), Peter Whiteford, Darren Beck (Aus), Gareth Maybin, Rafael Echenique (Arg), Jason Knutzon (USA), Lee Slattery, Oliver Fisher, Jamie Elson, Ashok Kumar (Ind)
71 Chris Gane, Patrik Sjoland (Swe), Udorn Duangdecha (Tha), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), Anthony Kang (USA), Shane Lowry, Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Ted Oh (Kor), Digvijay Singh (Ind), Anirban Lahiri (Ind), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Gregory Havret (Fra), Jeppe Huldahl (Den), Richie Ramsay, Darren Clarke, Hideto Tanihara (Jpn), Sung Lee (Kor), Keith Horne (Rsa), Mark Foster, James Kamte (Rsa), Kunal Bhasin (Ind)
72 Seung-yul Noh (Kor), Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Fredrik Ohlsson (Swe), Naman Dawar (Ind), Mukesh Kumar (Ind), Rhys Davies, Vikrant Chopra (Ind), George Coetzee (Rsa), Seve Benson, Mardan Mamat (Sin), Gary Lockerbie, Arjun Atwal (Ind), Mark F Haastrup (Den), Rashid Khan (Ind), Gavin Flint (Aus), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)
73 Mars Pucay (Phi), Clodomiro Carranza (Arg), Harmeet Kahlon (Ind), Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Scott Barr (Aus), Vijay Kumar (Ind), Pharendra Gupta (Ind), Shamim Khan (Ind), Peter Baker, Richard McEvoy, Julien Quesne (Fra), Mark Brown (Nzl), Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Tony Carolan (Aus), Carl Suneson (Spa), Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn), Angelo Que (Phi), Gaurav pratap Singh (Ind)
74 Andrew Tampion (Aus), David Gleeson (Aus), David Howell, Simon Griffiths, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha), Gary Murphy, Iain Steel (Mal), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Phillip Archer, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Danny Chia (Mal), Adam Blyth (Aus)
75 Danny Lee (Nzl), Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Stephan Gross junior (Ger), Marcus Both (Aus), Kodai Ichihara (Jpn), Vishal Singh (Ind), Unho Park (Aus)
76 Arjun Singh (Ind), Shiv Kapur (Ind), Ranjit Singh (Ind), Raju ali Mollah (Ind), Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha), Callum Macaulay, Scott Hend (Aus), Sanjay Kumar (Ind), Amandeep Johl (Ind)
78 Gaurav Ghei (Ind)
79 Rahul Ganapathy (Ind)
80 Himmat Rai (Ind), Andrew Butterfield, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa)
82 Chris Rodgers
83 Steven Jeppesen (Swe)

Peter Whiteford's wait over as
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he returns in India

FROM THE SCOTSMAN.SPORT.COM WEBSITE
By Martin Dempster
Peter Whiteford has been kicking his heels in frustration since recording his best finish on the European Tour just under a month ago, when he tied for sixth place behind runaway winner Charl Schwartzel in the Joburg Open.
In all three of the events that made up the Tour's 'Middle East Swing', the 29-year-old Fifer fell agonisingly short of the cut-off point and missed out on the chance to build on that promising performance in South Africa.
Having regained his Tour card by graduating from the Challenge circuit last season – he won the year-ending Apulia San Domenico Grand Final – Whiteford, pictured above, knows his opportunities may be few and far between, so he's got to try and make the most of them.
Today he's one of six Scots teeing up in the opening round of the Avantha Masters at the DLFGolf & Country Club in New Delhi and is hopeful he can take up where he left off in Johannesburg.
"I'm looking forward to getting back playing again," said Whiteford, who opted to become a touring pro when he joined the paid ranks while his brother, Stewart, a former Scottish boys' champion, was left to run the family's golf range at Wellsgreen between Kirkcaldy and Leven.
"It was frustrating not getting into any of the Middle East events. In the week of the Qatar Masters, the Tour contacted me to say I was second reserve and, with two players struggling with injury, I had a good chance of getting in.
"Even if I got a last-minute flight, though, the earliest I could get there would have been the Thursday morning and that's no use. It's not the ideal way to prepare for an event and I wasn't willing to take that gamble."
He did travel out to Dubai last week but, as the Desert Classic was taking place at The Emirates, Whiteford was getting in some practice at Dubai Creek.
"I wanted to get some work in before heading here," he added. "It was good to be able to hit from proper grass – we've not seen a lot of that at home recently – so my game isn't quite as rusty as it could have been. Hopefully the money that cost me will pay off this week.
"I am obviously trying to take my form from Joburg into this event, though it would have been better if I hadn't had to wait a month for my next tournament to come around. I played in India when I had my card a couple of years ago and one of the most difficult things to adjust to is the grainy greens.
"My goal every week is to win. You have got to aim high out here (on the Tour]. I would love to put in a good performance this week as it's unlikely that I will be going all the way to Malaysia for one event, so I'll probably have three weeks off after this one.
"My season will really start in earnest in March – that's when I should be able to get a decent run of events. However, I am really looking forward to this week as well."
Callum Macaulay, who has received a sponsor's invite, is out in the first group today, while Richie Ramsay has been paired with Shiv Kapur, the player he beat in a play-off to win the South African Open in December. David Drysdale, Andrew Coltart and Steven O'Hara are the other Scots in the field.