Los Altos Golf Company

TOM Watson overcame erratic form off the tee to retain a three-stroke, third-round lead in in the US Senior Open today (AEST).

The eight-time Major winner, despite missing eight fairways out of 14, fired a one-over-par 73 in blustery conditions at Whistling Straits.

He signed off with a par-four at the last, after getting up and down from spongy rough short of the green to post a seven-under total of 209.

Chasing his first victory at an event, where he has finished second three times in the last five years, Watson piled up four bogeys and three birdies to maintain control going into the final round.

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STUART Appleby seized a two-stroke, third-round lead in the PGA National today (AEST), but cracks showed in his title bid while frustrated host Tiger Woods was seven strokes is the pace.

Appleby, trying to win Isleworth neighbourhood bragging rights over new father Woods by taking his inaugural tournament, fired a two-under par 68 to finish on eight-under 201 at Congressional Country Club.

 But Appleby, who saw his four-stroke lead midway through his round halved by the end, discovered a hairline crack in the face of his custom-made driver on the 16th tee and has no similar spare available.

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AUSTRALIA’S Peter O’Malley has equalled the day’s best score, seven-under-par 63, to claim a share of third place after the third round of the European Open.

Denmark’s Soren Hansen birdied the last three holes to set the pace, the second time in successive weeks he has led after three rounds.

Hansen sank putts of 15, 40 and 12 feet for a scintillating finish which earned a 63 and a 10-under tally of 200. Briton Robert Rock (66) is two strokes adrift in second place.

O’Malley, Sweden’s Niclas Fasth (70) and Peter Hanson (66), who recorded a hole-in-one with a six-iron at the 171-yard 18th, and France’s Gregory Havret (68) are one shot further back.

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TIGER Woods added some punch to his putter and the result was a four-under par 66 second round, including birdies on the final three holes, to move into contention at the PGA National.

The world No.1, hosting his inaugural tournament in his first event since becoming a father, bounced back from an opening 73 to stand on one-under par 139, six off the lead after 36 holes at Congressional Country Club.

“I’m back in the tournament and hopefully I can shoot another round in the 60s tomorrow and move my way up the board,” Woods said.

“I feel like I at least gave myself
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LITTLE-known European Open leader Pelle Edberg from Sweden had two formidable players lurking behind him after the second round overnight.

Eight-time European No.1 Colin Montgomerie shot the joint-best round of the week, a six-under 64, to finish one stroke off the pace alongside Swede Niclas Fasth who shrugged off a bad cold to fire a 68.

Edberg fashioned his five-under 65 on a windy morning at the K Club to move to eight-under 132 while Montgomerie and Fasth had to endure heavy showers in the afternoon.

Richard Green was the best of the Australians, four off the pace after rounds of 69 and 67.

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Edmonton, AB - Dustin Risdon, who set the course record Friday with a 63, posted a six-under 65 Saturday to grab a two-stroke lead after three rounds of the Edmonton Open.

Risdon completed 54 holes at 15-under-par 198. He is two strokes clear of Pan Singhaseni, who notched a 68 in round three.

Second-round leader Alan McLean managed just a one-under 70 on Saturday. That dropped him into a share of third place at 12-under-par 201 with Derek Gillespie, who shot a four-under 67 for the third straight round.

Risdon flew up the leaderboard early as he birdied four straight
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Edmonton, AB - Alan McLean posted a six-under 65 Friday to grab a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Edmonton Open.

McLean completed 36 holes at 11-under-par 131. He is one stroke clear of last week’s ATB Financial Classic champion Mike Grob (66), two-time winner this season Spencer Levin (66) and Pan Singhaseni (65).

McLean played the back nine first Friday and got going with birdies on two of his first three holes. He rolled in an eagle on the par-five 15th to jump to minus-nine at Edmonton Country Club.

The 36-year-old McLean birdied the first and
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Edmonton, AB - James Love and Kristoffer Marshall each fired rounds of six-under-par 65 on Thursday to share the first-round lead of the Edmonton Open.

Mexican PGA Championship winner Byron Smith, Alan McLean, Bret Guetz, Calvin Kupeyan, Michael Harris, last week’s ATB Financial Classic champion Mike Grob and two-time winner this year Spencer Levin are knotted in third place at minus-five.

Love flew out of the gate with four birdies over his opening nine at Edmonton Country Club. He tumbled to a bogey at the 12th, but the winner of the Fall Qualifying School had a good run at the end of the round.

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Angus, Scotland - The Royal & Ancient Golf Club announced on Tuesday that this year’s purse for the British Open Championship will be near the $8.4 million mark.

‘Equating to U.S. $8.4 million, this increased prize money reflects our goal of maintaining the position of The Open Championship at the forefront of world golf,’ said Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A.

The first-place check will be for slightly over $1.5 million.

The British Open Championship begins July 19, 2007. Tiger Woods has won the last two claret jugs as the season’s third major returns to Carnoustie, the site of the 1999 event.

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Bloomfield Hills, MI - Michael Putnam won a British Open qualifier at Oakland Hills on Monday, shooting rounds of 69 and 67 to lead a group of 12 players who earned exemptions to Carnoustie in two weeks.

Putnam won the qualifier with a four-under 136 total, beating John Senden and Ryan Moore by two shots.

In England, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell posted rounds of 67 and 64 to lead a qualifier at Sunningdale, where 16 players earned berths in the Open.

‘I certainly did not want to be sitting at home while The Open is going on,’ said McDowell, who finished at nine-under 131.

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Brewerton has ended her search for a Ladies European Tour title
B Brewerton (Wal)
L Wessberg (Swe), K Taylor (Eng), K Stupples (Eng)
L Davies (Eng), G Nocera (Fr)

M Reid (Eng) (Am)
T Johnson (Eng)
The 24-year-old carded a final round 68 to end on seven under, three ahead of English duo Karen Stupples and Kirsty Taylor and Sweden’s Linda Wessberg.Brewerton had her fourth birdie of the day at the 12th and was level with Stupples with six left to play.Stupples’ challenge faded with a bogey at 13 and a double bogey at the 15th.Brewerton
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Woods is concerned the impact the weather may have on his Open hopes The world number one, who has just become a father, was seventh the last time the major was held at the Scottish course in 1999 - but was 10 over.”I think they probably learned a lesson,” said the American.”It was hard. It was really hard. I’ve never played a golf course as hard as that was set up - and as unfair as it was set up as well.”He added: “I remember number six, stepping off the fairway nine yards wide in a lay-up area. That’s not a real big lay-up area when you have to hit a four iron.”I think it’s
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Frenchman Van de Velde began feeling unwell at the start of April The Frenchman, 41, has withdrawn from the Scottish Open next week, his last chance to qualify for the major.Van de Velde has been suffering from a mystery complaint and started feeling ill after April’s Portuguese Open. He is still remembered for letting slip what looked like a certain winning position the last time the Open was played at Carnoustie in 1999.The illness, which causes sickness and fatigue, forced him to pull out of last Monday’s international final qualifying and the Scottish Open was his only
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And many amateurs know all about the slice where the ball starts straight and then veers off to the right.

Natural quirks in a golfer’s swing will mean the ball might move slightly left or slightly right through the air.

Golfers such as Colin Montgomerie learn to use this to their advantage but also learn how to move the ball in other ways.

Our troubleshooting guide will tell you why the ball is moving in a certain flight path and golf coach, Nick Bradley, will tell you how to correct it.

Click through the links on the right hand side.

You can also check our guides on the basic set up and how to swing the club.

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Foster and Clarke have enjoyed a successful partnership New Zealander Steve Williams has caddied for Woods for eight years but is rumoured to be considering stepping down with Foster tipped to step in.”A few rumours are flying around, but I’ve not been approached,” said Foster.”I wish I could say it was true because it’s the best job in the world - better even than Tiger’s.”Foster impressed Woods when he carried his bag for the 2005 Presidents Cup while Williams’ fiancee - now his wife - gave birth.”He’s good at what he does. I’ve seen him work with Clarkey over the years and
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Woods left Hoylake with a cheque for £720,000 in his back pocket Total prize money for the event, which starts in two weeks’ time, will be £4.2m, up £200,000 on 2006.R&A boss Peter Dawson said: “Equating to $8.4m, this increased prize money reflects our goal of maintaining the Open at the forefront of world golf.”The first prize at the Open is the most lucrative of golf’s four majors.Zach Johnson picked up £650,000 for his Masters win, Angel Cabrera earned £630,000 for winning the US Open and Woods £610,000 for last year’s USPGA.By comparison, the winners of this year’s Wimbledon
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AUSTRALIA’S Richard Green has been handed an Open Championship start, following American Woody Austin’s decision not to travel to Carnoustie next week.

Austin, 43, a three-time US PGA Tour winner, was offered a spot along with Hunter Mahan on the basis of a mini Order of Merit on the tour.

But he declined, saying: “I don’t know how to play that type of golf and I would probably go over there and shoot two high numbers and make a fool of myself.”

Green replaces him as the highest non-exempt player on the world rankings, having said only last week that he found it “staggering” that his position — currently 39th - did not guarantee him a Carnoustie start.

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Philadelphia, PA - K.J. Choi claimed his second win of the season Sunday at the AT&T National, adding a victory at Tiger Woods’ event to his win at Jack Nicklaus’ tournament, the Memorial, earlier this year.

For his latest victory, Choi received a seven-spot bump to No. 13 in the latest world rankings. Steven Stricker finished runner-up and also moved up seven places to 16th.

On the European Tour, Colin Montgomerie won for the first time in 19 months at the European Open, climbing from 43rd to 30th. His runner-up, Niclas Fasth, continued an impressive rise in the rankings and was up two places to 20th this week.

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Philadelphia, PA - While the LPGA Tour had an off-week, the Ladies European Tour was in full swing over the weekend, with Becky Brewerton winning the Ladies English Open.

Brewerton’s win netted her a 35-spot bump to No. 92 in the latest Rolex Rankings for women’s golf.

The top 13 players all held onto their spots from a week ago: No. 1 Lorena Ochoa was followed by Karrie Webb, Annika Sorenstam, Cristie Kerr, Suzann Pettersen, Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Se-Ri Pak, Juli Inkster, Mi-Hyun Kim, Ji-Yai Shin, Ai Miyazato and Brittany Lincicome.

Shiho Oyama and Jeong Jang swapped places, with Oyama moving up to 14th — the only change to the top 20.

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Last year it was John Senden’s turn. Senden got up and down from a greenside bunker on the 18th for par and the win. The par helped him fend off 2002 winner J.P. Hayes by one stroke. Hayes had a chance to grab the lead with an eagle on 17, but he could not convert and ended one back after a closing 65.

The last three winners — Mark Hensby, Sean O’Hair and Senden — all earned berths in the British Open with their wins, however Hensby declined the invitation.

There have been just six playoffs in the first 35 years of this event, but the 1981 playoff was an historic one. Dave Barr needed eight — yes, eight — extra holes to knock off Woody Blackburn to claim the title.

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Green felt he should have already been in the Open field Austin and Hunter Mahan earned places in the field on Sunday through the mini-Order of Merit on the US Tour.But the American said: “I don’t know how to play that type of golf. I would probably go and shoot two high numbers and make a fool of myself.”Austin, 43, has played in the Open just once, missing the cut on the links of Royal Lytham in 1996.Green replaces him as the highest non-exempt player on the world rankings.He is currently 39th, having on the Austrian Open last month - a week after the Open Championship cut-off
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AUSTRALIA teen Jason Day today became the youngest winner of a US PGA Tour-sponsored event, when he chalked up his maiden victory on the Nationwide tour at Higland Heights, Ohio today (AEST).

Day, 19, fired a four-under-par, final-round 67 to beat compatriot Scott Gardiner (67) by a shot, with India’s Arjun Atwal (66) making it an all-international podium by finishing third.

Fellow Aussie David McKenzie, who entered the final round tied for the lead with Day, fired a closing 72 for a share of fifth place.

Day’s victory, achieved with a birdie at the final hole, beat by more than two months the age record held by Johnny McDermott in winning the US Open in 1911.

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WORLD No.1 Tiger Woods blamed his putting for a disappointing sixth-place finish in the PGA National at Congressional Country Club today (AEST).

“Didn’t putt well,” said Woods, who hosted the inaugural $US6 ($7 million) tournament in suburban Washington, DC.

“Yesterday I hit good putts and they didn’t go in and today I hit bad putts. Left a lot of putts short.

“I had a lot of trouble getting the ball to the hole this week, and I needed to putt well and they were just not going to go in.”

Woods shot an even-par, final-round 70 to finish at two-under 278 for the tournament.

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OVERNIGHT leader Stuart Appleby crashed to a final-round 76 as South Korea’s K.J. Choi fired a two-under-par 68 to win the inaugural PGA National by three strokes from American Steve Stricker today (AEST).

The 37-year-old Asianstar won the first PGA tournament hosted by world No.1 Tiger Woods, barely a month after capturing Jack Nicklaus’ signature event, the Memorial.

It was Choi’s sixth PGA title and makes this his first season since 2002 with multiple US tour victories. “I just tried to make myself as comfortable as I could … and just give it my best shot and approach it like a professional,” said Choi, who collected more than $1 million for the victory.

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Edmonton, AB - Dustin Risdon posted a four-under 67 on Sunday to earn his first Canadian Tour victory at the Edmonton Open at Edmonton Country Club.

He finished at 19-under-par 265 and won by a single stroke over Alan McLean, who fired a 65 and took second place for the second time in as many weeks.

‘It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but it feels pretty good right now,’ said Risdon. ‘I’ve had a few chances but you really need to play well on the weekend out here. I was able to do that.’

Kevin Kim finished alone in third place at minus-16 after a final-round, five- under 66.

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AMERICAN Brad Bryant took advantage of a nightmare finish by Tom Watson to win the US Senior Open by three shots today (AEST).

Five off the pace overnight, Bryant fired a four-under-par 68, in blustery conditions at Whistling Straits, for a six-under total of 282.

The 52-year-old completed the second biggest comeback in the tournament’s history, eclipsed only by compatriot Allen Doyle, who overturned a nine-stroke deficit to win at NCR Country Club in 2005.

Third-round leader Watson, three ahead with eight holes to play, tumbled back into fourth place at one-under after closing with a 78 that featured three double-bogeys after the turn.

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Choi is enjoying a highly successful season
(US unless stated)
KJ Choi (Kor)
S Stricker
S Appleby (Aus), P Perez, J Furyk,
T Woods, R Allenby (Aus)

Choi shot a final round of 68 to finish at nine-under 271, three strokes ahead of America’s Steve Stricker.The 37-year-old had bogeys on 10, 11 and 13 to go a stroke behind Stricker, bidding for his first title since 2001.But he birdied the 15th to get back on track while Stricker bogeyed 14 and 15 to slip back and ended with a 70 to finish three shots behind Choi.Choi, who won the Jack Nicklaus-hosted
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Bryant, 52, only had one win in his PGA Tour career Five off the pace overnight, Bryant fired a four-under-par 68 in blustery conditions at Whistling Straits for a six-under total of 282.Watson, three ahead with eight holes to play, fell back into fourth place at one under after closing with a 78.He led last year’s event by two shots in Kansas but lost out to Allen Doyle.Sunday’s success was the first victory in a senior major for Bryant.His comeback in the final round on Sunday was second only to Doyle’s victory from nine shots back in the 2005 tournament.Watson finished on
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COLIN Montgomerie ended a 19-month wait for his 31st European Tour title, winning the European Open by a stroke from Sweden’s Niclas Fasth overnight.

Australia’s Peter O’Malley carded a final-round 69 to finish three behind the winner.

Montgomerie rode his luck on his way to a closing five-under 65 for an 11-under 269 total, holing several big putts and surviving shots close to hazards at the last two holes to edge out Fasth.

The Swede had to wait 80 minutes before he could attempt to make the birdie at the final hole that would have thrown the event into a play-off, following the second suspension for lightning during the afternoon.

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The win is Montgomerie’s first since the 2005 Hong Kong Open
C Montgomerie (Sco)
N Fasth (Swe)
P Hanson (Swe), G Havret (Fr), A Wall (Eng), P Edberg (Swe)

S Khan (Eng), R Rock (Eng)
G McDowell (NI) (Eng)
D Howell (Eng), A Forsyth (Sco)
P Harrington (Ire)The 44-year-old Scot had seven birdies and survived nervy moments on the final two holes for a 65 which left him leading in the clubhouse on 11 under.The final round was punctuated by two suspensions, the second coming with challenger Niclas Fasth on the 18th tee needing a
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