FIFER MANSON HELPS AUSTRIA

OUTSTRIP TITLE-HOLDERS

SCOTLAND IN SPAIN

Defending champions Scotland have been outgunned by teams including Scots exiles and are not going to retain the PGAs of Europe international team golf championship which enters its fourth and last day on Wednesday.
The Tartan Tour trio of Gary McFarlane (Clober), Jim McKinnon (Irvine) and Sam Cairns (Westerwood) combined for a one-under-par team score of 143 in the third round - McFarlane with a 71 and McKinnon and Cairns both matching the par of 72 - but that dropped the Scots down to joint 13th place in the field of 28 teams.
It's a two-team shoot-out over the final 18 holes for the title between leaders Austria - whose star man has been St Andrews-born Gordon Manson, pictured, - and second-placed Wales. Manson had a third-round 68 for the Austrians who are on 21-under-par 411, two shots ahead of Wales.
Third-placed Italy are well back on 423, one shot ahead of Ireland, Norway and South Africa.
South Africa's team includes former Tartan Tour regular William Guy who emigrated four years ago and is now head pro at De Zalze Country Club, Stellenbosch. Guy was South Africa's lowest scorer with a 70 in the third round.
Dennis Shaw writes:
The Austrian team has been boosted this year by the return of Gordon Manson to their ranks after his four-year stint as national team coach, and the St Andrews-born player proved his quality in a powerful team challenge to win the ITC for the first time.
Austria begin the fourth and final round of the 2007 championship tomorrow on 21 under par, having drawn two strokes ahead of Wales to set-up what promises to be a shot-for-shot duel final day.
The Welsh were kept in close contention thanks to a fine 68 by Andrew Barnett, the same score as Manson but it was Austria’s Florian Ruprecht who opened up the lead with his five-under-par 67.
A birdie at the tempting 500yd par-5 first set him off with confidence high and though he dropped shots at the fourth and the seventh in between came the score-saver of an eagle 3 at the fifth.
Ahead of him then was the back-nine with its offers, in such benign conditions, of birdies on most holes for those whose short game is in place. Ruprecht’s certainly was as he sank putts at 10, 11, 15, 16 and 18 to confirm his country’s all-round improvement in the sport.
“I’ve enjoyed the four years as national coach,” said Manson, now in his 23rd year of working in Austria, away from the home of golf where he was born. "I'm proud of the fact that the standard of play in Austria, which is quite a small country, has come on in leaps and bounds and it's great that three of my lads got their European Tour cards this year with more coming through on the Challenge Tour.
“But I’ve missed tournament play personally and I’m pleased to be back. I’m driving the ball well and playing good shots into the green but I missed so many opportunities. Although I finished on 68 today, I’m disappointed because it could have been better.”
Among the upward mobile teams on the day were past champions Ireland whose rounds of 68 by Robert Giles and 70 by Leslie Walker gave them a six-stroke improvement to a three-round score of eight under par 424.
United Arab Emirates climbed too as scores of 69 by Simon Payne and 71 by Greg Holmes added a four-under day for a total of seven under 425.
Poland also moved up the field encouragingly to 425 as Peter Bronson equalled the day’s best with his five-under 67.
After the first-day promise of a wide-open competition to the finishing line, however, it appears to have become a two-country chase for the prestigious title between Austria and Wales.

THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 432 (6 x 72)
Two from three scores to count daily for teams
411 Austria 142 134 135 (F Ruprecht 67, G Manson 68, C Grenier 69).
413 Wales 137 138 138 (A Barnett 68, J Lee 70, P Evans 71).
423 Italy 139 143 141 (M Tadini 70, M Blanco 71, F Pasqualucci 71).
424 Ireland 145 141 138 (R Giles 68, L Walker 70, B McGovern 71), Norway 140 140 144 (T Hansen 70, M Haeras 74, T Oderud 77), South Africa 141 140 143 (W Guy 70, M Botha 73, P Marks 74), United Arab Emirates 139 146 140 (S Payne 69, G Holmes 71, C Martin 78), Poland 144 143 138 (P Bronson 67, M O’Brien 71, M Proctor 74), Switzerland 144 138 143 (G Hickman 70, C Robinson 73, D Clarke 76, Holland 137 146 142 (J Eerdmans 71, M Reynolds 71, B Valk 78), Germany) 140 142 143 (P Archbold 69, S Brown 74, M Stevenson 75), Denmark 143 136 146 (H Larsen 72, R Kert 74, T Nilsson 77).
426 Scotland 145 139 143 (G McFarlane 71, J McKinnon 72, S Cairns 72), Finland 145 139 142 (S Aho 70, J Peltomaki 72, H Murtonen 74).
427 Portugal 139 145 143 (N Cavalheiro 71, S Ribeiro 72, A Sequeira 77).
428 England 141 149 138 (J Whatley 69, M Nesbit 69, D Taylor 71).
430 Spain 143 143 144 (J Rosillo 72, M Aparico 72, A Ocejo 75).
435 Sweden 145 142 148 (R Thornqvist 73, P Jonsson 75, N Bjornsson 76).
436 Czech Republic 144 148 144 (J Nemeck 69, P Strougal 75, J Juhaniak 77).
442 Croatia 148 150 144 (N Smoljenivic 67, M Raic 77, D Ljubanopvic 81).
444 Belgium 150 150 144 (A Beaupain 72, M De Little 72, F Dhondt 76.
447 Slovenia 147 145 155 (A Kraljic 75, J Grilc 80, R Pisek 86, Mexico 150 150 147 (I Mendez 72, I Estrada 75, A Romero 76).
450 Russia 152 153 145 (A Matrosov 70, A Nesterov 75, A Gruzdov 76).
457 Greece 152 148 157 (T Ginis 78, E Papadolpoulos 79, H Zervos 81).
463 Luxembourg 158 149 156 (J Pickford 78, L Marks 78, J Pallier 82).
467 Bulgaria 162 153 152 (N Turley 72, R McGarr 80, N Stanew 80).
468 Slovakia 152 159 157 (P Spacek 78, M Oravec 79, L Valuch 80).