SCOTS TRIO WIN NATIONS CUP AT FAIRHAVEN TROPHIES EVENT

Tournament leader Curtis Griffiths in action at Fairhaven. Image by Tom Ward Photography.

BOB THOMPSON REPORTS
Fairhaven Golf Club Secretary
On a sunny yet windy day, which made scoring extremely difficult, Curtis Griffiths (Wentworth) took the halfway lead in the Fairhaven Trophies boys and girls' tournament with a round of 75, to add to his first round of 69, for total of level par 144
Four shots behind in second place are Max Orrin (North Foreland), following two rounds of 74, Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie), who added a 75 to his opening 73, and Tom Harris (Castletown) who added a 76 to his first round of 72.
The best score on what was a difficult scoring day, which saw the CSS rise to 78, was a level par round of 72 by Timothy Martin (Worthing). This moved him into contention for the final two rounds tomorrow with a halfway total of 153
Amber Ratcliffe (Royal Cromer) held onto the girls' halfway lead, after adding an 80 to her opening round of 75, for a halfway total of 155.
She leads from Elizabeth Stebbings (Wilpshire) who added scored a 78 to her opening score of 78, and Shelby Smart (Knowle) with rounds of 77 and 79. With Bethan Popel (Long Ashton) only three shots behind Amber Ratcliffe, following rounds of 77 and 81, a very close contest for the girls' title is expected.
With the cut coming at 158, 40 players will contest the final two rounds and with more strong and blustery winds forecast a close and exciting finish is in prospect.
The Nations Cup, played over the first 36 holes, was won by Scotland (Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies) (77-83), Jack McDonald (73-75) and Lawrence Allan (Alva) (78-77)) with a total of 303.
They beat England (Shelby Smart (77-79), Max Orrin (74-74) and Seb Crookall-Nixon, Workington GC (76-80)) by one shot.

SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
144 Curtis Griffiths (Wentworth) 69 75.
148 Max Orrin (North Foreland) 74 74, Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) 73 75, Tom Harris (Castletown) 72 76.
150 James Newton (Prestbury) 75 75.
151 Oliver Carr (Heswall) 73 78.
152 Nick Marsh (Elland) 75 77, Joe Dean (Renishaw Park) 73 79, Daniel Brown (Bedale) 75 77.
SELECTED SCORES155 Lawrence Allan (Alva) 78 77, Amber Ratcliffe (Royal Cromer) 75 80.
156 Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) 77 79.
157 Josh Jamieson (St Andrews) 74 83.
158 Greg Marchbank (Dumfries and Galloway) 74 84.
160 Eamon Bradley (Mount Ellen) 78 82, Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies) 77 83.
162 Fraser Thain (West Linton) 79 83.
164 Liam Johnston (Dumfries and Co) 76 88.
166 Alasdair McDougall  (Elderslie) 82 84.
167 Tara MacTaggart (Minto) 84 83, Anthony Blaney (Liberton) 80 87.
170 Lauren Whyte (St Regulus) 84 80.  

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JORDAN FINDLAY LEADING EIGHT SCOTS QUALIFIERS AT LYTHAM

A very good action picture of Jordan Findlay battling through the wind into contention in the Lytham Trophy today. Image by Tom Ward Photography.

Former British boys champion Jordan Findlay was one of the few to master a wild wind on the second day of the Lytham Trophy 72-hole tournament at Royal Lytham St Annes Golf Club, Lancashire today.
Findlay, well used to playing in the "Buchan breeze" and Finland's Miro Veijaiainen were the only two players to get as low as two-over-par 72 in their second rounds.
For a spell that made them joint leaders on nine-over-par 149 at the halfway stage until Tom Lewis (Welwyn Garden City), a more recent winner of the British boys' crown than Findlay, returned a 75. Coupled with his first-day 72, that made Lewis the two-stroke leader on 147.
It looked as if 157 would be the cut-off mark for Sunday's final two rounds, which was good news for the Scots on that total, but in the last half-hour or so of play, it came down to 156.
First-round leader, Lancashire man Jack Senior (Heysham) was blown away with an 82 for 153 on a day when the par-3 fifth hole, for instance, required a driver to have any hope of getting as far as the green into the wind.
Many players felt play at least should have been suspended, if not claled off for the day.
Michael Smyth (Royal Troon), the leading Scot on Friday evening, also had an 82 for 155.
Last year, when Kris Nicol finished runner-up to Ireland's Paul Cutler, only four Scots survived the cut. This time the figure was eight Scottish qualifiers with James White and Greg Paterson on the 150 mark, Kris Nicol and Peter Latimer on 151, Graeme Robertson on 152, Fraser McKenna on 153 and Michael Smyth on 155.
Philip McLean, Scott Larkin, David Law and Paul Shields had the hardest of luck. Having battled through the wind to post two-round totals of 157, they missed out by one shot when the official cut mark was confirmed.
Scottish champion Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) withdrew with a wrist injury before the start of the tournament.

SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 140 (2x70). CSS 77 (Round 1).
147 Tom Lewis (Welwyn Garden City) 72 75.
149 Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh) 77 72, Miro Veijalainen (Finland) 77 72, Arnaud Abbas (France) 72 77.
150 James White (Lundin) 76 74, Greg Paterson (St Andrews New) 76 74, Steven Brown (Wentworth) 74 76.
151 Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) 77 74, Michael Bedford (Prestbury) 76 75, Rhys Pugh (Vale of Glamorgan) 75 76, Peter Latimer (St Andrews New) 75 76.
152 Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) 77 75, Richard Bentham (St Pierre) 76 76.
Selected scores:
153 Jack Senior (Heysham) 71 82, Fraser McKenna (Balmore) 76 77.
155 Michael Smyth (Royal Troon) 73 82.

MISSED THE CUT (156 or better qualified)
157 Philip McLean (Peterhead) 79 78, David Law (Hazlehead) 78 79, Scott Larkin (Royal Aberdeen) 74 83, Paul Shields (Kirkhill) 79 78.
159 Ross Kellett (Colville Park) 78 81, Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie) 81 78.
160 Steven Rennie (Drumpellier) 82 78, Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs) 77 83..
162 Allyn Dick (Kingsknowe) 75 87, Greg Nicolson (Mortonhall) 79 83, Scott Crichton (Aberdour) 88 74.
163 Mark Halliday (Royal Aberdeen) 79 84, Michael Campbell (Renfrew) 81 82.
164 Brian Soutar (Leven GS) 79 85, Ross Bell (Downfield) 80 84.
165 Stephen Speirs (Scotland/Australia) 83 82.
166 Paul Gault (Westerwood) 84 82.
167 John Duff (Newmachar) 80 87.
168 Daniel Elder (Carnoustie) 82 86.
171 Kyle McClung (Wigtown Co) 84 87.
172 Zander Culverwell (Dunbar) 86 86.

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BOB STEWART WINS BY TWO SHOTS AT SOUTH SENIORS OPEN

Past Scottish seniors champion Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) is one of the most consistent of golfers in the over-55 ranks - and he has started the Scottish Seniors Golfing Society 2011 circuit with an impressive win in the South of Scotland Seniors Open at Powfoot.

With rounds of 74 and 71 for a total of 145, three over par but bang on the combined CSS (72 +73), Bob (pictured) had two shots to spare at the head of a field of "all the usual suspects."

His second round, which lifted him out of the pack, included one eagle, four birdies, eight pars, one double bogey and four bogeys!
His eagle was a 2 at the 313yd par-4 11th. He hit his tee shot through the gap at the front of the green to within 4ft of the flagstick and downed the putt for a 2. Birdies at the 17th and 18th secured his win.
Sharing second place were David Miller (Kilmarnock Barassie), Alan O'Neil (West Lothian) and Fraser McCluskey (Royal Burgess). One shot further back was Kinross's Derek Murphy whose second round 70 was best of the event.
The handicap medal was shared between Ken Forrest (Lenzie), Iain MacDonald (Bruntsfield) and Colin Campbell (Gullane)


LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71). CSS 72 73.
145 Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) 74 71.
147 David J Miller (Kilmarnock Barassie) 76 71, Alan O'Neill (West Lothian) 74 73, Fraser McCluskey (Royal Burgess) 73 74.
148 Derek Murphy (Kinross) 78 70, Ken Forrest (Lenzie) 75 73, Iain MacDonald (Bruntsfield Links) 73 75.
149 Keith Bruce (Edzell) 75 74
150 Graham Sharp (Dumfries and Co) 75 75, Ian Taylor (Royal Burgess) 73 77.
151 Les McLaughlin (Bonnyton) 74 77.
152 John McDonald (Cowglen) 75 77, Richard T Gray (Cowglen) 75 77, Richard T Gray (Cowglen) 75 77, David Gardner (Broomieknowe) 75 77, Alan Ross (Northumberland) 75 77, Wilson Butler (Carluke) 74 78, David Shields (Dunblane New) 73 79.
153 Sandy Pirie (Hazlehead) 78 75, Peter Lamb (Biggar) 77 76, Allan Elder (Kirkcaldy) 76 77, Colin Christy (Kilmacolm) 74 79, James Kinloch (Cardross) 74 79.
154 Jalil Aman (Grangemouth) 78 76, Lindsay Gordon (Turnhouse) 77 77, Colin Campbell (Gullane) 74 80, David Dickson (Lochmaben) 74 80, Stuart Black (Cathcart Castle) 73 81.
155 Jim Watt (Edzell) 78 77, Michael Jenkins (Duff House Royal) 78 77, Peter Jamieson (Cathkin Braes) 77 78, Stuart Pond (Worksop) 75 80, Ian Gourlay (Strathaven) 74 81.
156 Robbie Nairn (Lochmaben) 83 73, Paul Crellin (Prenton) 76 80, Marshall Douglas (Thornhill) 74 82.
157 Wilson Morton (Dunbar) 82 75, Tom Carson (Lockerbie) 80 77, DrewWilson (Clober) 77 80, Ian Dickson (Lundin) 75 82, Keith McAllister (South Shields) 75 82.
158 George Blair (Haddington) 83 75, Billy Erskine (Kilsyth Lennox) 82 76, Dougie Adams (Dunbar) 79 79.
159 Albert Smith (Turriff) 81 78, John Sim (Duff House Royal) 81 78, Brian Smith (Kilmacolm) 81 78, Len Grindrod (Crow Wood) 81 78, Gordon Gray (Newmachar) 81 78, Gordon MacDonald (Callander) 77 82, Ken Thomson (Bramall Park) 72 87.
160 Brian Grieve (King James VI) 82 78, John Baxter (Lundin) 80 80, Ken Dvidson (Musselburgh) 80 80, James Ingram (Boat of Garten) 79 81, Graham McGee (Erskine) 78 82, Denis McQuade (Glenbervie) 78 82.
161 John W Johnston (Royal Aberdeen) 81 80, David Warren (North Berwick) 81 80, Tony Stafford (Gleneagles) 77 84.
162 Alistair Fiddes (Murcar Links) 83 79, Brian Christie (Wilton) 83 79, David Taylor (Dunfermline) 82 80, John Broadfoot (Turnberry) 81 81, Iain Stewart (The Curragh) 81 81, Dom McLaughlin (Crow Wood) 79 83.
163 James Hendrick (Pollok) 84 79, Gordon Doig (Southerness) 82 81, Stephen Ellis (Innellan) 82 81, Allan Cameron (Gourock) 82 81, Denis Albutt (Royal Dornoch) 82 81, Jim Paton (Kirkintilloch) 81 82, Norman Cameron (Porters Park) 80 83, Norman Cameron (Porters Park) 80 83.
164 Phil Costello (Hirsel) 83 81, Trevor Bennett (Great Barr0 82 82, Alan Chainey (North Berwick) 81 83, Keith Howie (West Kilbride) 81 83, Peter Kinloch (Cardross) 80 84
165 Donald McCart (Sherwood Forest) 86 79, Charles Brown (Auchterarder) 83 82.
166 Billy Wallace (Prestwick St Cuthbert) 84 82.
167 Alastair Taylor (Turnhouse) 86 81, George Clark (Effingham) 80 87.
168 Graham Brown (Royal Liverpool) 88 80, Neish Chisholm (Kemnay) 87 81, Brian Halbert (Callander) 86 82, Brian Porteous (Langholm) 84 84.
169 Colin Moir (Worksop) 83 86, Gordon Cree (Troon Welbeck) 82 87.
171 Kenny Harrison (Carluke) 88 83, Ian Kerr (Kilmacolm) 87 84, Doug Bennie (Lanark) 85 86, David Brand (Kilmarnock Barassie) 82 89.
172 Donnie Lindsay (Troon St Meddans) 87 85, Norman Blound (Dumfries and Co) 83 89.
173 Joseph Langford (Carluke) 84 89.

174 Douglas Inving (Powfoot) 86 88.

176 Michael Mather (Ballater) 88 88.

178 John Winning (Dumfries and Co) 88 90.

179 Fraser Sharp (Boat of Garten) 91 88.

180 Colin Mavor (Elgin) 91 89.

182 Roger Rees (Eden) 98 84, David Nelson (Aboyne) 93 89.

ARGYLL AND BUTE NAME TEAM FOR SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIP

The Argyll and Bute squad of six for the Scottish men's area team championship at Prestwick and Prestwick St Nicholas on May 14 and 15 is:

Chris Cardon (Inellan).
George MacMillan (Machrihanish).
Alan McKie (Glencruitten).
Les Pirie (Millport)
George Reynolds (Rothesay)
Bobby Willan (Machrihanish)

HENSON GOES SIX SHOTS CLEAR IN CLEARWATER MASTERS

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Batu Gajah, Perak , Malaysia: Berry Henson shot a solid six-under-par 66 courtesy of a brilliant eagle to extend his lead to six shots after the third round of the Clearwater Masters 2011 today.
The American holed out on the par four 12th hole bunker from 104 yards for a 15-under-par 201 total at the Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort in Batu Gajah, Perak, which is a 90-minute drive from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysian Shaaban Hussin birdied the last two holes for a 68 to share second place with Atthaphon Prathummanee (70) of Thailand on a 207 total.
Teen sensation Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines was a stroke back in tied fourth place with his coach and mentor Rick Gibson of Canada as they battled to a 69 and 70 respectively in the US$75,000 Asian Development Tour event.
Thailand ’s Somkiat Srisa-nga, who carded a 72, fired his second hole-in-one in the tournament when his seven iron shot rolled into the par three third hole. He won an Orient watch worth RM1,600.
Henson, who returned this morning to complete 11 holes of the second round, showed no signs of fatigue as he turned in 32 before adding one birdie and one eagle against a bogey in his homeward nine.
“I felt super strong. I’m not sure what it was, maybe it was the food I ate! Coming off 18, I felt like I could play another 18 holes,” said the 31-year-old.
Henson is not taking his distant lead for granted. “I got a long way to go and tomorrow is going to be a big day. I have to stay super focus,” said the American.
Shaaban turned in 36 but shifted into fifth gear with birdies on holes 11 and 12 before posting two closing birdies to lie six strokes behind Henson.
“The birdie on 11 was the turning point for me. It kept me going and gave me the confidence to finish off nicely which I did. Overall, it was a good round but I’m slightly disappointed I didn’t go lower,” said Shaaban, who finished in tied 20th place in the Indonesian Masters last week.
Tabuena, 16, continued to make heads turn with his solid performance where he put himself in a strong position of claiming his first top-five finish since turning professional in February.
“It was a good round and I enjoyed it because I played with my coach Rick (Gibson). I know I need a strong finish this week so I can finish in the top-three of the Order of Merit (Asian Development Tour) at the end of the season which allows me to keep my Asian Tour card for next year,” said Tabuena.
LEADING THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3x72)
201 Berry HENSON ( USA ) 65-70-66
207 Shaaban HUSSIN (MAS) 74-65-68, Atthaphon PRATHUMMANEE (THA) 68-69-70
208 Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 69-70-69, Rick GIBSON (CAN) 70-68-70
209 Jonathan MOORE ( USA ) 69-72-68, Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 66-73-70, HSU Chia-Jen (TPE) 66-71-72
211 SSiva CHANDHRAN (MAS) 71-71-69, Haziq HAMIZAN (MAS) 69-73-69, M.Sasidaran (MAS) 72-69-70, Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 71-70-70, Timothy TANG (HKG) 71-68-72
212 Yosuke TSUKADA (JPN) 69-74-69, CHANG Tse-Peng (TPE) 70-72-70, T. J KIM (SKOR) 72-69-71, Masaki SAKATA (JPN) 70-71-71, Will YANAGISAWA ( USA ) 68-73-71
213 Kemarol BAHARIN (MAS) 73 -70-70, Artemio MURAKAMI (PHI) 71-74-68, Somkiat SRISA-NGA (THA) 72-69-72

RAIN AND LIGHTNING HOLD UP PLAY IN SOUTH KOREA

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Miguel Angel Jimenez and Brett Rumford were tied for the lead on ten under par when the third round of the Ballantine's Championship was suspended for the day due to bad weather in South Korea today.

Heavy downpours and the threat of lightning forced the players off the Blackstone GC Course just as the leaders had completed their front nine.
Australian Rumford had held a three-shot lead at the halfway stage but while he could only complete a level par 36 on the front nine, 47 year old Jiménez fired three birdies to turn in 33.
That wiped out the deficit, and saw the duo pull two clear of Wales' Rhys Davies, who was three under through ten - a 20 foot putt at the fifth completing a run of three birdies in four holes.
Spaniard Jimenez made the perfect start to the day with consecutive birdies at the first and second, where his superb approach was within four feet, and The Ryder Cup star birdied the eighth from 15 feet.
"I played very well the first nine holes," he said. "Hitting it very well - no bogeys, three birdies.
"Birdied the first and second hole, played very well those two holes."Tomorrow, play 27 holes, feel good. I feel fine. Tomorrow is a marathon."
Rumford, who did well to salvage par after his drive at the first ended up down by the ninth green after rolling down a path, was pleased to have clung on to his score.
"That was some tricky pins out there today," he said. "They were placed up on the top part of all the tiers and ridges, and it was pretty tricky trying to get on the right tier.
"You had to be very, very precise. But stayed patient, hit some nice golf shots but unfortunately just kept hitting nice golf shots to about 40, 50 feet."
World Number One Lee Westwood was two under through 12, the Englishman advancing to six under - although he had just hooked his tee shot way off line at the 13th and was set to return to a difficult second shot.
After an hour of further heavy rain, play was abandoned for the day. Round three will resume at 0800 on Sunday.


+NO COMPLETED THIRD-ROUND SCORES HAVE BEEN RETURNED.

SCOTT HENRY MISSES CUT IN PEUGEOT OPEN DE CATALUNYA

Scott Henry went from the sublime to the ridiculous - and crashed oout of the Peugeot Open de Catalunya after 36 holes in Spain.
The former Scottish amateur stroke-play champion was sitting pretty after an opening round of six-under-par 66.
But he required 10 more shots - a four-over-par 76 - for the second 18 and a two-over-par total of 142 saw him missing the cut.

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NEWS FROM FAIRHAVEN TROPHIES JUNIOR TOURNAMENT

By BOB THOMPSON
Secretary, Fairhaven Golf Club
Despite glorious sunshine a blustery wind made scoring difficult during the first round, which saw the CSS rise to 76, and only two players managing to break the par of 72.
Oliver Carr, Ulverston GC, and Curtis Griffiths, Wentworth GC, led play at the end of day with very creditable rounds of 3-under par 69 respectively, despite Carr scoring a bogey on his final hole. Tom Harris, Castletown GC, finished the day in 3rd place following a level par round of 72.
Four players finshed on 73 - Oliver Carr (Heswall), Joe Dean (Renishaw Park), Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barrassie) and Harry Casey (Enfield), the latter by virtue of a great fight back after being 4 over par after 12 holes, which was highlighted by holing a an 18ft on the final hole for an eagle 3.
Amber Ratcliffe, Royal Cromer GC, led the chase for the girls' trophy, with a 3 over par round of 75, which was one below the CSS of 76. Five girls shared second place with rounds of 77, Lianna Bailey, Notts Ladies GC, Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies), Shelby Smart (Knowle), Emma Harris (Peel) and Bethan Popel (Long Ashton).
LEADING FIRST-ROUND SCORES
Par 72
1 Oliver Carr (Ulverston)  69
1 Curtis Griffiths (Wentworth)  69
3 Tom Harris (Castletown) 72
4 Harry Casey (Enfield) 73
4 Oliver Carr (Heswall) 73
4 Joe Dean (Renishaw Park) 73
4 Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barrassie) 73
8 Greg Marchbank (Dumfries and Galloway) 74
8 Josh Jamieson (St Andrews)  74
8 Josh Cottrell (Ipswich)  74
8 Lee Morgan (Newbattle) 74
8 Alexander Matlari (St Leon-Rot) 74
8 Max Orrin (North Foreland) 74
14 Nick Marsh (Elland) 75
14 Florian Kolberg (Hummelbachave) 75
14 James Newton (Prestbury)  75
14 Christopher Dammert (St Leon-Rot) 75
14 Harrison Woan (Overstone Park) 75
14 Paul Kinnear (Formby) 75
14 Amber Ratcliffe (Royal Cromer) 75
14 Daniel Brown (Bedale)  75
OTHER SCOTS SCORES
Liam Johnston (Dumfries and Co) 76
Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) 77
Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies) 77
Lawrence Allan (Alva) 78
Fraser Thain (West Linton) 79
Anthony Blaney (Liberton) 80
Alasdair McDougall (Elderslie) 82
Lauren Whyte (St Regulus) 84
Tara McTaggart (Minto) 84

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MICHAEL SMYTH LEADING SCOT ON LYTHAM TROPHY FIRST DAY

Lancashire man Jack Senior (Heysham) leads the Lytham Trophy field into today's second round at Royal Lytham St Annes Golf Club.
He got the closest in the quality field to matching the testing par of 70. Jack had a 71 to lead by one shot.
Scottish champion Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) was a late pull-out with a wrist injury.
Scots had mixed luck - Michael Smyth (Royal Troon) was, surprisingly, the best from North of the Border with a 73, followed by Scott Larkin (Royal Aberdeen) who had a 74, one ahead of Peter Latimer (St Andrews New) and Allyn Dick (Kingsknowe) but Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh), runner-up last year, could do no better than a 77. There were other big-name Scots who would have settled for a seven-over score.
Battle Trophy winner Zander Culverwell (Dunbar) crashed to an 86; Philip McLean (Peterhead) had 79; Mark Halliday (Royal Aberdeen) an 83, Ross Bell (Downfield) an 80, Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie) an 81 and Scott Crichton (Aberdour) 88.

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RUSSELL KNOX TRAILING IN RAIN-HIT NATIONWIDE TOUR EVENT

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
VALDOSTA, Georgia -- Not a single cloud was in the sky on Friday at the South Georgia Classic presented by First State Bank & Trust Co. and plenty of golf was played at the 7,781-yard, par-72 Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, the Nationwide Tour's longest course. A total of 50 players were able to finish 36 holes before darkness halted play at 8:13 p.m. ET.
Michael Letzig, Mathew Goggin and Jon Mills are currently tied for the lead at 6-under. Letzig collected seven birdies through 17 holes -- offset by a double bogey and one bogey -- of the second round while Goggin has yet to start his second lap around the track. Mills wasted little time after his 7:30 p.m. second round tee time, making birdie on each of his first three holes. The trio is one stroke ahead of 10 others.
A better perspective of the leaderboard won't come into view until the early afternoon on Saturday when the entire field has completed 36 holes. Thursday's delays from the storms caused the afternoon groups of the first round to start Friday morning at 8:50 a.m. then promptly begin their second round at 2:20 p.m.
Roughly half the field was able to start the second round. The other half will resume Saturday morning at 7:50 a.m.
"I'm putting well," said Letzig, who drained multiple putts outside of 15 feet in the second round. "When you're making those putts in builds your momentum. You start to do everything good. It definitely feels good to be rolling the ball well."
When Letzig returns in the morning to complete his round he'll only have one hole to finish but his group was seconds away from avoiding the early wake-up call.
"We were trying to hurry," he said. "Frank (Lickliter) holed his sand shot for birdie on our 17th hole then started running to the next tee. Unfortunately the horns blew before he could hit his tee shot."
Goggin, who won the Panama Claro Championship earlier this year, did not let Thursday's delays affect his performance in the first round.
"You can't get involved on whether we play or how late we're going to play or if you're going to finish," said the three-time Nationwide Tour winner. "I've been around long enough now to just chill out and do what you're told really."
The nine-year PGA TOUR veteran struggled last year on TOUR -- making just 13 of 28 cuts -- but his game is coming around.
"I got my equipment all sorted out," said Goggin. "I couldn't get the shafts right and I sort of changed the line on my irons. That made a big difference. I went to a new Taylor Made driver and I'm hitting it a lot straighter and a little longer. I got off to a great start and that gave me a lot of confidence. You really never know how it's going to go, but a win kick started the year I guess."
Eight-time Major League Baseball All-Star John Smoltz received a sponsor's exemption, making his first start in a PGA TOUR co-sanctioned event. The 43-year-old who carries a +2 handicap posted a 12-over 84 in the first round. Smoltz's second-round tee time is tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
• A total of 100 players did not complete round two. They will return on Saturday and resume play at 7:50 a.m. Following completion of the round, the field will be cut to the low 60 players and ties. Third round tee times will run from approximately 2:45-4:45 p.m. with play in threesomes off both the 1st and 10th tees.
Russell Knox shot a first-round, one-over-par 73. The man from Inverness needs to pull up his socks if he is to beat the cut in his second outing on America's No 2 tour.

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LUKE DONALD NOW SHARING 12th PLACE BEHIND BUBBA WATSON

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
AVONDALE, La. (AP) — Bubba Watson's mother knew best.
Only playing the Zurich Classic of New Orleans because his mother, Molly, talked him into it because she wanted to watch him play, Watson shot a 4-under 68 in shifting wind conditions Friday to take a one-stroke lead over Josh Teater after the second round at TPC Louisiana.
"Mom knew I was going to play pretty good the first two rounds," said Watson, playing a four-hour drive from his hometown of Bagdad, Fla. "We've got two more to go, but she's right so far."
Watson, the Torrey Pines winner in late January, had a 10-under 134 total on the Pete Dye-designed course - a layout that he doesn't think fits his game.
"For me, it's daunting," Watson said. "There were a lot of tough tee shots for me. A lot of times the water's on the left for me being left-handed. "It's hard to overcome, but somehow I'm overcoming it right now."
The long-hitting Watson eagled the par-5 11th - his second hole of the round - for the second time, holing a 20-footer to get to 8 under. He added a 4-foot birdie putt on 13 and a 13-footer on 14, but bogeyed the 18th when he hit his third shot over the green from a bunker. He also birdied the seventh with a 3-footer.
"You're not sure what the wind's doing on some holes," said Watson, who has failed to win the three previous times he has had the 36-hole lead. "So, you're always watching and trying to see what's going on to figure out how to play the holes."
Teater shot a 66, dropping two strokes with a double bogey on the par-5 18th. His approach shot with a 6-iron from 177 yards sailed right and bounced into the water guarding the green. His fifth shot ran 22 feet past the hole and he two-putted for the double bogey.
"It was kind of on an upslope," Teater said about his third shot. "And I don't know if my club just got stuck, but I was trying to hit it left of the flag and middle of the green, and it shot out right on me."
John Rollins was 8 under after a 69.
"I played good for two days," Rollins said. "I've hit the ball well and given myself a lot of opportunities. So, I've got to be very pleased with where I am and we'll see how the week works out."
Dean Wilson matched the course record with a 64 to join John Senden (67), Jason Dufner (69), Matt Jones (71) and Webb Simpson (69) at 7 under. Simpson counted Hornets star guard Chris Paul among his gallery.
Wilson missed a chance to break the course record on the par-3 ninth, his closing hole, when his tee shot landed short and right of the green.
"These courses of Pete Dye are so demanding," Wilson said. "So, when you have 20 mph wind, it's really difficult. He doesn't give you any bailouts."
Steve Stricker (68), David Mathis (68) and Tommy Gainey (71) were 6 under.
Luke Donald topped a group at 5 under after a 71. He lost a playoff last week at Hilton Head, missing a chance to jump from No. 3 to No. 1 in the world.
Vijay Singh made the cut by a stroke, following a 74 with a 68 to get to 2 under.
David Duval, Rory Sabbatini, Hilton Head winner Brandt Snedeker, Justin Rose and John Daly missed the cut. Duval opened with a 67, but doubled-bogeyed the second hole on way to a front-nine 42 and 79.
It was not a good day for the Brits.
Luke Donald slipped down to joint 12th place on 139 with a second-round 71. He is now five shots behind leader on his own, American Bubby Watson, who had a 68 for 134 to lead by one from compatriot Josh Teater who had the day's best round of 66 for 135.
England's Brian Davis did not do too badly with a 70 but he is back in joint 27th place on 141, seven shots off the pace at halfway.
Missing the cut by three shots was Aberdeen-born Aussie Michael Sim with 74-72 for 146; Ulsterman Graeme McDowell with 73-75 for 148 and England's Justin Rose with 77-74 for 151.
SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
Players from US unless stated
134 Bubba Watson 66 68.
135 Josh Teater 69 66.
136 John Rollins 67 68.
Selected scores:
139 Luke Donald (England) 68 71 (T12).
141 Brian Davis (England) 71 70 (T27)
MISSED CUT (143 or better qualified)
146 Michael Sim (Scotland/Australia) 74 72, David Duval 67 79.
148 Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) 73 75.
151 Justin Rose (England) 77 74, John Daly 81 70.

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CANADIAN VETERAN GIBSON IN MALAYSIA LIMELIGHT

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Batu Gajah, Perak , Malaysia: Veteran Canadian golfer Rick Gibson turned back time to share the second round clubhouse lead with Pornpong Phatlum of Thailand at the Clearwater Masters 2011 today.
Gibson, 49, who won the 1991 Malaysian Open, posted a four-under-par 68 while Pornpong birdied the last hole to return with a 67 for a two-day total of six-under-par 138 in the US$75,000 Asian Development Tour event.
Shaaban Hussin of Malaysia shot his best career score of 65 to share third place with teen sensation Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines and Hong Kong’s Timothy Tang on a 139 total at the Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort in Batu Gajah, Perak, which is a 90-minute drive from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.
Thailand ’s Somkiat Srisa-nga fired the tournament’s first hole-in-one on the par three seventh hole when his seven iron shot landed 10 feet from the hole before rolling in. He posted a 69 for a 141 total.
The ace earned him a lifetime membership at the Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort worth RM32,000 plus RM2,000 in cash.
A thunderstorm at 9.30am which lasted for three hours and 50 minutes meant the second round was suspended at 7.15pm due to darkness. A total of 68 players including overnight leader Berry Henson of the United States will return Saturday morning at 7.40am to complete their rounds.
After nearly four years since playing competitively, Gibson returned with a polished performance highlighted by six birdies against two bogeys.
“I felt better with the putter. It has been being nearly four years since I played competitively and my putting hasn’t been like how it was,” said Gibson, who has won numerous titles across Asia and has represented his country in six World Cups.
Gibson was delighted to upstage his protégé Tabuena for the first time since the young Filipino turned professional. He believes playing against the talented and young Asian Development Tour players will prepare him for the Senior Tour. “I’m getting ready for the senior tour because I turn 50 in October. I also want to spend some time with Miguel Tabuena. I noticed that I got him by a shot after two rounds! Miguel at the age of 16 is a really good player and I feel pretty proud to be ahead of him after two rounds,” added the Canadian, who has lived in the Philippines for the past 20 years.
Playing on an invite, Pornpong, 24, turned in 32 before shooting eight straight pars. He shot a birdie on the last after missing an eagle opportunity from 20 feet to share the second round honours.
“My putting was really good and it pulled my game. I couldn’t get my game going in the back nine and was lucky not to shoot a bogey. Overall, it was a solid round for me,” said Pornpong, who is searching for his maiden professional victory this week.
Local hope Shaaban, who played with Lee Westwood in the third round of the Indonesian Masters, recovered from his opening 74 with eight birdies highlighted by a chip in from 10 feet on hole two.
“I tried to play like Westwood yesterday which obviously didn’t work out. I played my own game today and did very well,” said Shaaban.
He was disappointed not to go lower after missing birdie putts from inside five feet.
“I could have gone lower like eight or 10-under but missed a lot of short putts. But it is okay because shooting a 65 on the second day is a really good score. I think this is my best score so far in my career,” added Shaaban.
LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)138 Pornpong PHATLUM (THA) 71-67, Rick GIBSON (CAN) 70-68
139 Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 69-70, Shaaban HUSSIN (MAS) 74-65, Timothy TANG (HKG) 71-68
141 Mohd Amli (MAS) 70-71, Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 71-70, Somkiat SRISA-NGA (THA) 72-69
142 Haziq HAMIZAN (MAS) 69-73, CHANG Tse-peng (TPE) 70-72, Yuki USAMI (JPN) 70-72, Nick REDFERN (ENG) 71-71
144 Justin EVANS (ENG) 71-73, Aadil JEHANGIR (PAK) 72-72, Zaw MOE (MYA) 74-70, Llewellyn MATTHEWS (WLS) 73-71
145 Kenichi SAWADA (JPN) 72-73, Artemio MURAKAMI (PHI) 71-74, Dinata ABDILLAH (MAS) 73-72, Pongthep JAEWCHUMNANCHAO (THA) 71-74

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Tom Ward's image of Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) in action in the Fairhaven Trophies tournament today in Lancashire.

RAMSAY, WHITEFORD ONLY SCOTS TO BEAT CUT IN SOUTH KOREA

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Seoul, South Korea: Australia’s Brett Rumford stayed on course of improving on his previous year’s result by carding a flawless nine-under-par 63 to take the second round lead at the €2.2 million (approximately US$3.2 million) Ballantine’s Championship today.
The Australian, who started his morning round in tied-19th, stormed up the leaderboard with a two-day-total of 10-under-par 134 to take a three-shot lead over Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen and Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez who returned with matching 137s for a share of second place at the Blackstone Golf Club.
Overnight leader Damien McGrane of Ireland is tied alongside England’s James Morrison and Wales’ Rhys Davies on matching 138s in equal fourth while American Dustin Johnson is one back on 139 with Korea’s Park Sang-hyun, England’s Richard Finch and Sweden’s Alexandaer Noren in tied-seventh place.
Rumford, who came up short last year when he finished in tied-second, is determined to enter the winner’s circle this year despite having an indifferent form coming into the week.
“I'm in a position now to be thinking about winning, that's for sure. Maybe at the start of the week, not so, as I haven't come into this week with that great of a form. But this is a funny game and it can change from week to week,” said Rumford.
The Australian got off well with four birdies on holes 12, 14, 17 and 18 to reach the turn in 32.
He continued his impressive run by adding five more birdies on the second, third, fifth, sixth and eighth holes.
“I think the difference between today and yesterday is just the wind out there. It was a lot calmer and obviously a lot easier to control the ball coming into these very firm greens,” said Rumford.
Rumford now believes that he will have to stay focus for the next 36 holes to win his fourth professional title.
“I guess it’s just the hard work over the last couple of weeks to grind and get myself into the scoring mentality rather than anything else which has helped me this week. I just need to stay in the same frame of mind and see where it takes me over the weekend,” added Rumford.
Jimenez, with his trademark pony tail and chomping cigar, credited his free-spiritedness for keeping him in touch with securing his 19th career victory.
“The more important thing in life is you have to enjoy yourself. You need to enjoy whatever you do and playing golf is my joy. I always like to have fun and I always try to enjoy myself, and of course, it's going to be much better,” said the colourful Spaniard, whose card included seven birdies and two bogeys.
Meanwhile Johnson, who has been billed as the star attraction at the Ballantine’s Championship this week, believes that he will have to improve on his putting if he wants to stand a chance of winning his first title in Asia.
The American, who teed off in the back-nine, started off well with three birdies in his opening four holes.
He dropped a shot on the par-five 15th but recovered with another birdie on the 18th hole to turn in 33. Johnson however, could not roll in the putts and parred the rest of his holes coming home.
“I played really well but I just haven't really made as many putts as I would have liked to. I'm rolling it good and they look like they are going in but they’re just barely missing it,” said Johnson.
“If I can get some putts going in then I would be right up there in the lead or leading. I just need to get them going early in the round and hopefully shoot a good number tomorrow,” added the American.
World number one Lee Westwood of England, who needs a top-five finish at the Ballantine’s Championship to retain his number one spot, remains confident of keeping his status even after signing for a 68 to take tied-11th place on 140.
“Four‑under today gave me a chance, doesn't it. I’m six behind the leader and three behind the second-placed players. I have a funny feeling a lot can happen on this golf course,” said Westwood.
England’s Ian Poulter and South Africa’s Ernie Els are the notable absentees for the weekend rounds after the cut was set at one-over par.
SCOTSWATCH: Aberdeen's Richie Ramsay is in joint 11th place after a par-72 for four-under 140. The only other Scot to make the cut was Kirkcaldy's Peter Whiteford with a 69 for 144. He is in joint 47th position at the halfway stage.
David Drysdale took one shot too many with a 71 for 146. Alastair Forsyth was also on that mark after a very good second round of 67. Pity about the opening-day 79!

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
1 Brett RUMFORD (AUS) 71 63 134
2 Miguel Angel JIMENEZ (ESP) 70 67 137
2 Soren KJELDSEN (DEN) 71 66 137
4 Damien MCGRANE (IRL) 66 72 138
4 James MORRISON (ENG) 69 69 138
4 Rhys DAVIES (WAL) 70 68 138
7 PARK Sang-hyun (KOR) 67 72 139
7 Richard FINCH (ENG) 67 72 139
7 Alexander NOREN (SWE) 70 69 139
7 David JOHNSON (USA) 70 69 139
11 Richie RAMSAY (SCO) 68 72 140
11 KIM Kyung-tae (KOR) 69 71 140
11 Rikard KARLBERG (SWE) 71 69 140
11 KIM Dae-hyun (KOR) 71 69 140
11 Lee WESTWOOD (ENG) 72 68 140
11 Shiv KAPUR (IND) 72 68 140
11 LIANG Wen-chong (CHN) 74 66 140
18 Felipe AGUILAR (CHL) 67 74 141
18 HONG Soon-sang (KOR) 69 72 141
18 YANG Ji-ho (KOR) 71 70 141
18 MO Joong-kyung (KOR) 71 70 141
18 Mark TULLO (CHI) 71 70 141
18 Paul MCGINLEY (IRL) 71 70 141
18 JUNG Ji-ho (KOR) 71 70 141
18 Jamie DONALDSON (WAL) 72 69 141
18 CHOI Jin-ho (KOR) 73 68 141
18 Joel SJOHOLM (SWE) 74 67 141
18 Christian NILSSON (SWE) 74 67 141
29 Scott STRANGE (AUS) 71 71 142
29 Shane LOWRY (IRL) 72 70 142
29 Gareth MAYBIN (NIR) 72 70 142
29 Marcus FRASER (AUS) 72 70 142
29 John PARRY (ENG) 72 70 142
29 Gregory HAVRET (FRA) 73 69 142
29 Robert-Jan DERKSEN (NED) 73 69 142
29 Ben LEONG (MAS) 73 69 142
29 Matthew ZIONS (AUS) 76 66 142
38 Unho PARK (AUS) 70 73 143
38 Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) 71 72 143
38 Scott HEND (AUS) 71 72 143
38 SIDDIKUR (BAN) 72 71 143
38 Martin WIEGELE (AUT) 72 71 143
38 Rick KULACZ (AUS) 72 71 143
38 Jbe KRUGER (RSA) 73 70 143
38 MAENG Dong-seop (KOR) 73 70 143
38 HWANG Jae-min (KOR) 74 69 143
47 LEE Seung-ho (KOR) 70 74 144
47 Richard MCEVOY (ENG) 71 73 144
47 Mardan MAMAT (SIN) 71 73 144
47 Andrew DODT (AUS) 72 72 144
47 Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 72 72 144
47 Tetsuji HIRATSUKA (JPN) 73 71 144
47 Michael JONZON (SWE) 73 71 144
47 JUNG Jae-hoon (KOR) 75 69 144
47 KIM Hyung-tae (KOR) 75 69 144
47 Peter WHITEFORD (SCO) 75 69 144
47 Marcel SIEM (GER) 76 68 144
58 Chinnarat PHADUNGSIL (THA) 68 77 145
58 Carlos DEL MORAL (ESP) 69 76 145
58 KIM Do-hoon 752 (KOR) 70 75 145
58 KIM Hyung-sung (KOR) 70 75 145
58 Michael HOEY (NIR) 71 74 145
58 Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 72 73 145
58 Danny CHIA (MAS) 72 73 145
58 Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) 73 72 145
58 Todd HAMILTON (USA) 73 72 145
58 CHUNG Joon (KOR) 74 71 145
58 KANG Kyung-nam (KOR) 74 71 145
58 HAN Min-kyu (KOR) 74 71 145
58 Fabrizio ZANOTTI (PAR) 75 70 145
58 LIN Wen-hong (TPE) 76 69 145
58 Simon DYSON (ENG) 77 68 145
58 LEE Sung (KOR) 79 66 145
MISSED THE CUT
74 Joost LUITEN (NED) 71 75 146
74 LEE Han-gu (KOR) 72 74 146
74 Oliver WILSON (ENG) 72 74 146
74 BAE Sang-moon (KOR) 73 73 146
74 Rafa ECHENIQUE (ARG) 73 73 146
74 KIM Soo-hwan (KOR) 73 73 146
74 Angelo QUE (PHI) 73 73 146
74 Ernie ELS (RSA) 73 73 146
74 Ian POULTER (ENG) 74 72 146
74 Tano GOYA (ARG) 74 72 146
74 LU Wei-chih (TPE) 74 72 146
74 Jeev Milkha SINGH (IND) 74 72 146
74 David DRYSDALE (SCO) 75 71 146
74 Daniel GAUNT (AUS) 76 70 146
74 CHOI Ho-sung (KOR) 76 70 146
74 Pariya JUNHASAVASDIKUL (THA) 77 69 146
74 LAM Chih Bing (SIN) 78 68 146
74 Alastair FORSYTH (SCO) 79 67 146
92 KIM Seung-hyuk (KOR) 73 74 147
92 Graeme STORM (ENG) 74 73 147
92 Mark BROWN (NZL) 74 73 147
92 HU Mu (CHN) 74 73 147
92 Niclas FASTH (SWE) 74 73 147
92 Pablo MARTIN (ESP) 75 72 147
92 LEE Tae-hee (KOR) 76 71 147
92 Jason KNUTZON (USA) 76 71 147
92 John HUH (KOR) 76 71 147
101 S.S.P. CHOWRASIA (IND) 71 77 148
101 PARK Eun-shin (KOR) 72 76 148
101 KIM Wi-joong (KOR) 73 75 148
101 Chris WOOD (ENG) 73 75 148
101 SON Joon-eob (KOR) 74 74 148
101 Scott BARR (AUS) 75 73 148
101 LIN Wen-tang (TPE) 76 72 148
101 Y.E. YANG (KOR) 76 72 148
101 Rafael CABRERA-BELLO (ESP) 76 72 148
101 Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 77 71 148
101 WU Kang-chun (CHN) 77 71 148
101 Michael CAMPBELL (NZL) 78 70 148
101 Jeppe HULDAHL (DEN) 78 70 148
101 Marcus BOTH (AUS) 79 69 148
115 KANG Ji-man (KOR) 73 76 149
115 Gavin FLINT (AUS) 74 75 149
115 Chris RODGERS (ENG) 75 74 149
115 Ben FOX (USA) 75 74 149
115 LEE Min-chang (KOR) 76 73 149
120 Thorbjorn OLESEN (DEN) 74 76 150
120 Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 75 75 150
120 Joakim HAEGGMAN (SWE) 76 74 150
120 Danny LEE (NZL) 76 74 150
120 Darren BECK (AUS) 77 73 150
120 Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 77 73 150
120 BANG Doo-hwan (KOR) 77 73 150
120 PARK Do-kyu (KOR) 78 72 150
128 HWANG Inn-choon (KOR) 76 75 151
128 CHAN Yih-shin (TPE) 76 75 151
128 KWON Myung-ho (KOR) 78 73 151
128 BAEK Seuk-hyun (KOR) 79 72 151
132 Stephen DODD (WAL) 75 77 152
132 Kwanchai TANNIN (THA) 76 76 152
132 LEE Dong-min (KOR) 77 75 152
132 JOO Heung-chol (KOR) 78 74 152
132 Anthony KANG (USA) 79 73 152
137 CHAN Shin-chang (TPE) 78 75 153
138 Keith HORNE (RSA) 76 78 154
138 Mikko ILONEN (FIN) 76 78 154
138 NOH Seung-yul (KOR) 77 77 154
138 SONG Ki-joon (KOR) 80 74 154
138 Kunal BHASIN (AUS) 80 74 154
138 KANG Wook-soon (KOR) 80 74 154
138 PARK No-seok (KOR) 80 74 154
145 Tony CAROLAN (AUS) 73 82 155
145 Nick DOUGHERTY (ENG) 73 82 155
145 Chawalit PLAPHOL (THA) 74 81 155
145 Oliver FISHER (ENG) 78 77 155
149 Mars PUCAY (PHI) 80 76 156
150 Namchok TANTIPOKHAKUL (THA) 76 82 158
150 Peter KARMIS (RSA) 82 76 158
150 Fredrik ANDERSSON HED (SWE) 82 76 158
153 Iain STEEL (MAS) 75 87 162
154 KIM Do-hoon 753 (KOR) 82 82 164
155 JEONG Jin (KOR) 83 83 166
RYU Hyun-woo (KOR) 80 withdrew

LUKE DONALD MAKES SOLID START WITH 68 IN NEW ORLEANS

Luke Donald, pipped for victory in last weekend's US PGA Tour event, has picked up where he left off with a four-under-par 68 in the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana, Avondale, Louisiana.
Donald birdied the par-5 second and also picked up a shot at the fifth. Consecutive birdies on the last two holes lifted him into the top 10 at the end of the day.
The English Ryder Cup player is in joint ninth position, two shots behind the joint leaders, Americans Bubba Watson and late finisher Matt Jones.
Graeme McDowell's miserable run of form continues. The Ulsterman had a 73 to be sharing 74th place. But at least that's better than Aberdeen-born Australian Michael Sim who had a 74 to be joint 96th ... and Justin Rose had a 77 to be languishing in a share of 137th spot.
FIRST ROUND LEADERS
Par 72
Players from US unless stated
66 Bubba Watson, Matt Jones.
67 Joe Durrant, Tommy Gainey, Carl Pettersson (sweden), John Rollins.
Selected scores
68 Luke Donald (England) (T9).
71 Brian Davis (England) (T33).
73 Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) (T74).
74 Michael Sim (Scotland/Australia) (T96).
77 Justin Rose (England) (T137).

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NATIONWIDE TOUR EVENT HIT BY STORMY WEATHER

Play on the first day of the US Nationwide Tour event - the South Georgia Classic - at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, Valdosta, Georgia was finally called off for the day after repeated suspensions of play because of the bad weather hitting the east coast of the States.
No-one had completed his round.
Inverness exile Russell Knox, whose second-place finish as a Monday pre-qualifier in the last Nationwide Tour event - the week before last - earned him automatic playing rights on America's No 2 tour, was level par after four holes when he was called in with everybody else.

CHALLENGE TOUR'S EGYPTIAN OPEN IS CANCELLED THIS YEAR

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
The Egyptian Open on the Challenge Tour, due to be played in Cairo from October 19-22, will not take place this year due to recent changes to the country’s political situation.
With a new constitution currently in development and parliamentary and presidential elections due to take place later in the year, the Egyptian Golf Federation was reluctantly unable to commit to staging the tournament.
But Ayman Hussein, Chairman of the Egyptian Golf Federation, remained confident that the event would return to the Challenge Tour Schedule next year.
He said: “Because of the changes that will take place to the ministries which govern all activities, most notably the Sports Council and the Egyptian Tourism Authority, regrettably we are unable to make any mid to long-term commitments to any organisation at this stage.
“However, we are committed to working with the Challenge Tour in the future to develop the Egyptian Open. We are expecting to be able to make commitments again by the end of this year or beginning of next, and we remain hopeful that we can secure a date for the tournament on the Challenge Tour Schedule and extend the agreement we have with the Tour.”
Alain de Soultrait, Director of the Challenge Tour, said: “Whilst we are naturally disappointed not to play the Egyptian Open, as last year’s event was a huge success, we fully understand and support the decision made by the Egyptian Golf Federation, and we look forward to the successful return of the Egyptian Open to the Challenge Tour next year.”

HENSON ON HIGH WITH 65 AT CLEARWATER MASTERS

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ASIAN TOUR
Batu Gajah, Perak , Malaysia: Berry Henson took the clubhouse lead at the weather-hit Clearwater Masters 2011 with Thanyakon Khrongpha and Hsu Chia-jen trailing closely on Thursday.
Henson of the United States returned with a blemish free card with seven birdies to open up a one-shot lead over highly rated Thanyakon of Thailand and Chinese Taipei’s Hsu in the US$75,000 Asian Development Tour event.
Will Yanagisawa of the United States, who was former teammates with Tiger Woods in college, and Thailand’s Atthaphon Prathummanee shared fourth place on matching 68s at the Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort in Batu Gajah, Perak, which is a 90-minute drive from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur .
The first round of the Clearwater Masters was suspended due to thunderstorm at 4.40pm. A total of 31 players will return at 7.40am on Friday to complete their rounds.
Mohd Iylia Jamil was the best placed Malaysian in tied 10th position after his round of 70.
Henson, who earned his Asian Tour card in Qualifying School in Thailand earlier this year, made a fast start with a birdie on the 10th hole before turning in 33.
He made three consecutive birdies from the second hole and saved a crucial par with an up-and-down on the fifth hole before posting a final birdie on hole eight.
“I got off to a great start. I started with a birdie and from there I began to cruise. I hit about 17 greens and missed only one green which was right on the fringe. It was a pretty easy day,” said the 31-year-old.
After missing the halfway cut in Indonesia last week, Henson made adjustments to his game by watching videos of his swing.
“I took a few days off after missing the cut last week and did some video work to see what went off. I made a couple of adjustments to my set up and slowed my tempo down a little bit. That worked for me,” said Henson.
Before joining the Asian Tour, Henson plied his trade on the Nationwide Tour and in several circuits in the United States . “I didn’t get any status in the Nationwide this year and knew I needed a status somewhere to improve my game and the Asian Tour was a step for me to go through. It has been nothing but good for me and my game,” said the American.
Thailand ’s rising star Thanyakon, who won on the Asian Development Tour last season, turned in a superb 30 where he holed two massive 30 feet birdie putts on holes 11 and 16.
The 21-year-old rued his wayward driving when he carded a bogey on the second hole after losing his golf ball. He returned with two more birdies against one bogey for a round of 66.
“I have been practising a lot with my irons and putting but my driving seems to be going everywhere. I could have gone lower if I didn’t lose my ball on the second but shooting a 66 is still a good score,” said the two-time gold medallist in the Southeast Asian Games.
Thanyakon, who also earned his Asian Tour card in Qualifying School , hopes to draw confidence with a good result this week to kick start his season.
“I was feeling very nervous when I played in the Indonesian Masters (he missed the halfway cut) last week. I do not know why. I didn’t have the confidence I used to have so I hope to play well this week and gain more confidence for the rest of the year,” added the Thai.
Chinese Taipei’s Hsu, posted a flawless 66 with three birdies in each half to lie one stroke from the clubhouse leader.
“It was an okay round for me. Everything worked out as plan and I’m happy with the position I’m in. It sets me up perfectly for the next three days,” said Hsu, who finished second on the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit last season.
LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
65 Berry HENSON (US)
66 Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA), HSU Chia-jen (TPE)
68 Will YANAGISAWA (US), Atthaphon PRATHUMMANEE (THA)
69 Jonathan MOORE (US), Pawin INGKHAPRADIT, (THA), Mithun PERERA (SRI), Yosuke TSUKADA (JPN)
70 Choengchai PANPUMPO (THA), Masaki SAKATA (JPN), Pasamet POGAMNERD (THA), Mohd Iylia JAMIL (MAS), KIM Young-Jin (SKOR)
71 R. Nachimuthu (MAS), Airil Rizman (MAS), S.Siva CHANDHRAN (MAS), Matt DOCKING (AUS), LIM Eng-Seng (MAS), LEE Kuan-hung (TPE), John SHIN (CAN)

McGRANE LEADS BY ONE AT BALLANTINE'S CHAMPIONSHIP

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Ireland’s Damien McGrane holds a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea today.
The 40-year-old compiled a six-under-par 66 at Blackstone GC to lie one clear of Chile’s Felipe Aguilar, England’s Richard Finch and home favourite Park Sang-hyun.
“I made plenty of birdies and I putted nicely,” McGrane said after mixing eight birdies with two bogeys.
“I holed everything inside 15 feet, so I made two bogeys which were out of nowhere really but that's golf I suppose.
“The fairways are generous, and just like last week, you make birdies on day one and keep going till the end of the tournament.
“That's what I started off doing, so hopefully I'll do it at end of the tournament.”
McGrane has not had a top-20 finish yet this season, but his 22nd place at last week’s Volvo China Open – where he picked up his only European Tour title three years ago - was his best of the campaign.
“I hit a few good iron shots there at the end, and I hit good putts, and obviously I like to finish strong and I finished strong there today,” he added.
Finch has also gone three years without a European Tour victory, but the 33-year-old has been in good form recently, notching up three top-11 finishes in his last seven outings.
“It's been steady really,” he said after a bogey-free round with five birdies – the highlight a four at the last after reaching the green in two with a “Monica Seles-style grunt” and two-putting.
“It was quite bizarre. I played lovely in Bahrain and sneaked up at the end with a good last round there. That got me to about 20 or something. Then Qatar, played nice there - that was a good week.
“Málaga was a strange week, because I had been playing well and not really scoring but that week I didn't play very well and scored brilliantly. That was one I was pleased to have finished as high up as I did, but didn't feel as if I could have done any better than that.
“Last week never quite got into it, and scoring was so low, you have one mediocre round - I was pleased it was a good round last week to move up.
“Today I feel like I got up out of the right side of the bed and a few things went my way when I hit putts too hard, and I'm thinking, please hit the hole, and it sort of hit the hole and disappeared and it's like, oh, that's a two shot swing basically. There is that little bit of the X factor sort of thing where you do need that little bit of luck and things to go your way. Hopefully I still have a bit left in the tank but certainly took advantage today.”
Like Finch, Aguilar has been in fine form recently after finishing sixth in Spain last month and third in Malaysia two weeks ago.
And he continued his good run with four birdies in an outward 32 en route to a bogey-free round.
“You never know until the fat lady sings,” he said. “It's just the beginning of the round - you can lose the tournament today, you can't win it.
“We are just getting ourselves in position to be in contention. I came off to a pretty hot start.
“I made a couple of long putts that really helped, and I could really feel the tension, especially coming into the last couple of holes, but really happy with the round.”
Park is playing only his third European Tour event, but the 26 year old was in good form with six birdies and a single dropped shot.
“Overall, I think I did pretty well today, and, in fact, because of the distance of each course isn't that long, I actually focused not on getting long hits but actually getting my ball on the fairway,” he said.
World Number One Lee Westwood double bogeyed his last hole of the day for a level par 72, which was two behind his Ryder Cup opponent Dustin Johnson.
Aberdeen's Richie Ramsay shot a four-under-par 68.
Ryder Cup stars Westwood and Ian Poulter had mixed fortunes.
Westwood got to a high of three under par but, having started at the 10th, bogeyed the seventh and shot a double-bogey six at the ninth, his last hole'
Poulter, the World Number 17, made an awful start with consecutive double bogeys at the tenth and 11th, before recovering somewhat with a birdie at the 14th and an eagle at the first. He bogeyed the second to finish two over par.

FIRST-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72 (36-36)
66 Damien McGrane (Ireland) 33-33.
67 Sang-hyun Park (S Korea) 33-34, Richard Finch (England) 34-33, Felipe Aguilar (Chile) 35-32.
68 Richie Ramsay (Scotland) 34-34, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Thailand) 34-34.

OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
75 David Drysdale 38-37, Peter Whiteford 38-38 (T93).
79 Alastair Forsyth 37-42 (T142).

SGU, SLGA LINK UP WITH MONTY IN NEW CHARITY PARTNERSHIP

Colin Montgomerie and Ross Duncan of the Scottish Golf Union

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SGU AND SLGA
The Scottish Golf Union and Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association are joining forces with Colin Montgomerie in a unique new charity partnership which will give club golfers the opportunity to play with the victorious Ryder Cup captain.
It was announced today that both governing bodies will adopt the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation as their official charity partner, while a new event is being launched which will see Monty lining up alongside 80 club golfers at The Carrick on Loch Lomond in September.
As part of the activities designed to raise £1m for new Maggies Centres in Aberdeen and Lanarkshire, golf clubs across Scotland will also be given the chance to ‘Win Monty for a Day’ in return for their fundraising efforts.
Speaking at the launch of the partnership, Montgomerie said: “I am delighted to welcome the SGU and SLGA on board as partners of the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation and hope that members of Scottish golf clubs will get involved these two fantastic initiatives.”
“We’ve already had fantastic support from golfers since I launched the charity back in 2008 and they have helped us towards our fundraising goals. The Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation is working with Maggie’s to help many people in Scotland with cancer and I am very proud of this.
"I am keen to give something back to clubs and their members through this partnership, whether that is playing with them or visiting the club for a day and inspiring their next generation of golfers,” added Montgomerie.
The new SGU and SLGA event will be named ‘Monty’s Monthly Medal’, sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management, and qualifying for the event will take place on the weekend of the Open Championship (14 – 17 July). Every club in Scotland will be invited to run a stableford competition alongside their monthly medal or equivalent event that weekend, at a cost of £3 per player. The leading 80 players from across Scotland will qualify for the final, taking place on Monday 19 September at the Carrick on Loch Lomond, with Colin Montgomerie playing a hole with each of the finalists.
A fund-raising competition will run alongside the golf event with the three clubs generating the most money for the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation throughout the season being rewarded with a visit by Monty with the Ryder Cup to their club later in the year.
Andy Salmon, Development Manager for the SGU and SLGA, welcomed the opportunity to support such an important cause: “We are very proud to be supporting the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation and the great work they are doing to help the thousands of Scottish families affected by cancer.”
“The golfing community is very generous in supporting charities and we hope that by giving golfers and golf clubs the opportunity to meet Monty, we can work together in raising money for the Maggies Centres in Lanarkshire and the North East.”
Ross Whitfield, Golf and Estates Director of the Cameron House Resort, host venue for the event, commented: “We are delighted to be working with the SGU, SLGA and Colin in supporting such a fantastic cause through hosting the Monty’s Medal Final at The Carrick on Loch Lomond and look forward to playing a part in the golfers’ contribution to the charity.”
The Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation was set up as a legacy to Colin’s later mother and is working alongside the Maggies’ Cancer Care Centres to raise money to establish two new buildings at the Monklands Hospital in Lanarkshire and the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary at Foresterhill.

Further details on the Monty’s Monthly Medal and Win Monty for a Day competition can be found at www.scottishgolf.org while clubs wishing to participate should contact the Scottish Golf Union Events team on 01334 466477.