ADAM Scott has closed to within one stroke of the lead midway through the third round of the Shell Houston Open today (AEST).
Scott has picked up six shots today to be 10-under-par for the tournament, and in a three-way share of second place with Americans Bubba Stewart and Jeff Maggert.
Johnson Wagner leads at 11-nder, while Australia’s defending champion, Stuart Appleby, is equal fifth at nine-under.
AAP
SWEDEN’S Alex Noren has produced a third round 68, for a six-under par total of 207, to lead the Portugal Opent, but an amateur has a chance at history tonight (AEST). .
Last year’s English amateur champion, Ross McGowan, the overnight leader, is in second spot, a shot behind after a 72, with Spain amateur Pablo Martina a further shot adrift in a tie for third.
Martina produced a stunning back nine of 29 for a 66, to catapult from 23rd at the midway stage and give himself a very real chance of becoming the first amateur to win on the European Tour.
The last time he
(more…)
McGowan had two bogeys and a double bogey in his outward nine
(GB unless stated)
A Noren (Swe)
R McGowan
P Martin-Benavides (Sp), G Storme
A Forsyth, P Lawrie, A Oldcorn, J Spence
S Gallacher
The 24-year-old, playing in only his second European Tour event, had led at the halfway stage but got off to a poor start on Saturday and went out in 40.He is now on five under, one stroke behind leader Alex Noren of Sweden, who carded a second straight 68.England’s Graeme
(more…)
Defending champion Appleby also won in Houston in 1999.
(US unless stated): S Appleby (Aus), J Gore, J Maggert, B Estes, DJ Brigman, B Watson
H Mahan
L Westwood (Eng), D Howell (Eng), P Harrington (Ire)
The Australian carded an even par 72 and was joined on six under by Americans Jason Gore, Jeff Maggert, Bob Estes, DJ Brigman and Bubba Watson.Second-year pro Watson fired the lowest round of the day, a five-under-par 67.England’s Lee Westwood dropped out of contention after
(more…)
Creamer won the season’s opening LPGA tournament in Hawaii
(GB unless stated)
L Ochoa (Mex), P Creamer (USA)
S Pettersen (Nor), SH Shn (Kor)
SR Pak (Kor)
C Mattthew
L Davies
J Inkster (USA)
A Sorenstam (Swe)
Bidding to become the first American winner of a women’s major since 1999, 20-year-old Creamer is tied with Mexican Ochoa on four under par 140.Ochoa will take over from Annika Sorenstam as world number one if she holds on to win the tournament.Scotland’s
(more…)
MEXICO’S Lorena Ochoa and American Paula Creamer share the second-round lead in the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first women’s major of the year, at Rancho Mirage, California.
Ochoa fied a 71 and Creamer 67 for a two-round total of 140 today (AEST), a shot ahead of Korea’s Shi Hyn Ahn and and Norway’s Suzann Petersen.
Defending champion Karrie Webb is seven shots off the pace after a disappointing 77 today. Lindsey Wright (74-69) leads the Aussie challenge on 143. While two-time winner Webb admits she has a lot of work to do to claw back into contention, she still has her eye on the prize.
FOUR, back-nine bogeys, including a trip to the water at the last, have spoiled Adam Scott’s hopes of taking the lead on day two of the Shell Houston Open today (AEST).
Scott, the highest world-ranked player in the field, eventually settled for a second-round 71, and a share of 10th place, but just two strokes behind the leading six players, including fellow Aussie and defending champion Stuart Appleby.
Appleby shares the lead at six-under-par with Americans Bob Estes, Abubba Watson, Jeff Maggert, Jason Gore and D.J. Brigman.
Fellow Aussies John Senden, Gavin Coles, Matthew Goggin and Steve Allan have also made thae cut.
ENGLAND’S Ross McGowan, competing in only his second European tour event after turning professional four months ago, leads after two rounds of the Portugal Open.
Last year’s English amateur champion, lying joint second overnight, hit a second successive 68 for a six-under-par total of 136 at the Oitavos course.
He only made the field after picking up a sponsor’s invitation, despite failing to pick up a Tour card at last November’s qualifying school.
McGowan said: “This is new territory for me, so we will see how it goes.
“On the amateur scene I had the lead after 36 holes, but it’s different with the pros.”
McGowan is playing on a sponsor’s invitation
(GB unless stated)
R McGowan
N Dougherty
S Gallacher, R Jacquelin (Fra), A Noren (Swe), B Barham, G Storm
P Broadhurst, R Bland
S Dyson, S Khan, E Little
The 24-year-old, last year’s English amateur champion and a professional for only four months, leads compatriot Nick Dougherty after a second successive 68. Paul Broadhurst remained in contention for his third consecutive Portugal title with a 71 to be four shots
(more…)
By Rob Hodgetts 
Player will break Arnold Palmer’s Masters record in 2008
The 71-year-old South African legend will equal Arnold Palmer’s record of 50 Masters appearances next week.And the sprightly three-time winner said he will be back for one more tournament in 2008.”I wouldn’t say my motivation is to beat Arnold,” he told BBC Sport. “I’ve made a lot of sacrifices to keep myself in shape so I might go one more year.”Player,
(more…)
AUSTRALIA’S inability to win a US Masters title has been described as an embarrassment in the latest edition of American magazine Golfweek.
The magazine devotes eight pages of its 15-page Masters supplement to Australian efforts to break a 57-year Augusta hoodoo.
Australians have won nine British Opens, two US Opens and three US PGAs, but no Masters.
Australian golfers have finished second six times, including Greg Norman’s heartbreaks in 1986, 1987 and 1996.
Golfweek said it was baffling that a country with such a golf heritage has not had a winner at Augusta.
DEFENDING champion Karrie Webb is in a tie for third place late in the first round of the LPGA Tour’s Kraft Nabisco Championship at Mission Hills Country Club, California,today (AEST).
Webb fired a two-under par 70, two strokes behind clubhouse leader, Korea’s Shi Hyun Ahn, in the first women’s major of the year.
Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa, who lost a play-off to Webb in last year’s event, is outright second after a 69, while world No.1 Annika Sorenstam opened with a disappointing 75.
AAP
Appleby won by six strokes last year
(US unless stated): S Appleby (Aus), K Sutherland, J Wagner
J Leonard, J Maggert, V Taylor
L Westwood (Eng)
D Howell (Eng)
B Langer (Ger)
J-M Olazabal (Spa)
The Australian hit seven birdies at the Redstone Gold Club to hold a share of the lead with Americans Kevin Sutherland and Johnson Wagner.Rookie Wagner had to roll up his trousers and play a shot out of the water by the 18th green but still got up and down for a par
(more…)
DEFENDING champion Stuart Appleby fired a six-under-par 66 for a share of the early first-round lead in the $6.84 million Houston Open today (AEST).
Playing on a course set up to mimic Augusta National, venue for next week’s US Masters, the Aussie posted seven birdies and one bogey at the 7457-yard Redstone Golf Club.
Also on 66 are Americans Kevin Sutherland and Johnson Wagner, while world No.5 Adam Scott opened with a 69.
AAP
WORLD No.1 Tiger Woods will miss the $US5 million ($6.2 million) Champions Tournament in Shanghai for the first time this year.
“Due to personal and professional scheduling issues, Tiger Woods will not compete … but we hope to welcome him back in 2008 and beyond,” said tournament sponsor HSBC on its official golfing website overnight.
Woods featured prominently in the first two editions of the event, often referred to as “Asia’s major championship”.
The American was second behind England’s David Howell in 2005 and finished runner-up a year later, this time to South Korea’s Yang Yong-eun.
ENGLAND’S Simon Dyson has defied high winds over the heathland Oitavos course to lead after the first round of the Portuguese Open. Gusts up to 48km/h made putting a lottery, but last year’s double tour winner included a 20-foot eagle putt in a four-under 67 for a one-shot lead.
Countryman Stephen Gallacher, who bogeyed the last hole, shares second place with South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Scotland rookie Ross McGowan.
On a leaderboard dominated by Britons, holder Paul Broadhurst, Barry Lane and Nick Dougherty are two shots off the pace.
Best of the Australians was David Bransdon with even-par 71.
Dyson is ranked 75th in the world
(GB unless stated)
S Dyson
R McGowan, L Oosthuizen (SA), S Gallacher
P Broadhurst, N Dougherty, B Lane
The 29-year-old Yorkshireman is a shot ahead of compatriot Ross McGowan, Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher and South African Louis Oosthuizen.Defending champion Paul Broadhurst, who is seeking his third consecutive title, is among a trio on two under.Dyson had an early tee-time, which meant he enjoyed the best conditions on a windy day
(more…)
The crane driver conned his was into Open qualifying at Formby in 1976, carding 121 for 18 holes.He was banned for life but returned four more times using disguises and fake names including Gerald Hoppy.”My dad loved golf. He had only been playing for a couple of years when he decided it would be a laugh to try to play in the Open,” said his son Gene.Flitcroft died in his local Barrow-in-Furness hospital on Saturday. He had suffered for many years from emphysema.”He was a real character and tremendously popular. He had loads of friends,” added Gene Flitcroft, 44.”We all loved
(more…)
AUSTRALIA’S Adam Groom, David Gleeson and Won Joon Lee will play in this year’s Open Championship at Carnoustie after coming through final international qualifying.
Briton Ross Bain and Lam Chih-bing from Singapore also booked their places, after playing 36 holes over Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong course.
Groom, 28, finished on nine-under-par after rounds of 66 and 69, with Gleeson, Bain and Lam on eight-under, a shot ahead of Lee.
“It was going on well until I struck a triple bogey on the 9th hole,” said Groom. “But I knuckled down on the back nine and struck four birdies without a single bogey, so that was a good way to end the day.”
Ochoa is hoping for success at the Mission Hills Country club course Ochoa, beaten by Karrie Webb in a play-off last year, starts as favourite for the first major of the year. “I would love to win my first major and to become the world number one,” said the 25-year-old, who was the leading player on the LPGA Tour last year.”I don’t know if it will happen this week but I hope to do it this year.”The Mexican is hoping to learn from her experience of 12 months ago to continue her good run of form which saw
(more…)
Broadhurst ended a 10-year winless run in Portugal in 2005 Broadhurst could join Ian Woosnam, Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els as the only men to win a European title three years in a row.”To win it twice was brilliant and it would be fantastic to win for a third time and join that list of players,” said the 41-year-old Broadhurst.The tournament returns to Oitavos, where Broadhurst triumphed in 2005.That victory ended 10 years without a title, during which he twice had to return
(more…)
London, England - The Ryder Cup dates for the 2010 matches in Wales will take place during the week of September 27 through October 3, the European Tour announced Wednesday.
The biennial competition between Europe and the United States will be staged at the Celtic Manor Resort. It will mark the first time the Ryder Cup matches will be held in Wales.
‘This marks the point at which we move from the strategic planning stage, which commenced as soon as Wales won the bid to host the event, into the detailed delivery stage which will take us right up to the autumn of 2010,’ said Welsh Assembly First Minister Rhodri Morgan in a release by the European Tour.
The Dunfermline-born Bain has spent most of his life in Dubai With five places available, Bain posted an eight-under-par total for a share of second place with Australian David Gleeson and Singapore’s Chih-Bang Lam.The winner, one shot better off on nine under, was Australia’s Adam Groom.And Lee Won-Joon, another man from Down Under, claimed the final berth when he beat Korean Park Jun-won in a play-off.It will be a first appearance in a major for the 31-year-old Bain, who was born in Dunfermline but has lived in Dubai since he was seven.And his qualification will have been
(more…)
Celtic Manor will stage the first Open to take place in Wales The organisers’ decision comes after a meeting with Welsh Assembly First Minister Rhodri Morgan.”This means the countdown has truly begun for the first Ryder Cup in Wales,” said European Tour chief executive George O’Grady.”We now look forward to delivering the finest edition in the history of the Ryder Cup.”The 2006 Ryder Cup was held at the K Club in County Kildare, while next year’s event will be hosted at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky.
FOND memories flooded back for Karrie Webb today as she prepared for the year’s first women’s golf Major starting Friday (AEST).
It was 12 months ago that Webb holed a 116-yard shot for an eagle three at the 72nd hole at Mission Hills CC then claimed the Kraft Nabisco Championship title in a play-off against Mexican star Lorena Ochoa.
“I don’t think a day has passed since then when I haven’t thought about that shot,” said Webb today.
“It was undoubtedly the biggest shot of my career, a real turning point.
“Today, Mikey (Paterson, her caddie) and I were trying to
(more…)
STUART Appleby tees up this week as the Houston Open’s defending champion but with next week’s Masters in Augusta, Georgia, firmly on his mind.
A change in US PGA Tour scheduling this year sees the Houston Open replace the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta as the event leading into the Masters, the first Major of the year.
And that may be a handy switch for Appleby who collected his second Houston Open title when he led from the first round and won by a record-equalling six strokes last year with four rounds in the 60s.
A return to the Redstone Golf Course is sure to boost his confidence after a mediocre start to the year.
Woods earned almost £250,000 by winning the individual prize It was the third consecutive year that Woods has scooped the individual prize.Despite the American’s efforts, his Isleworth team lost 22-8 in the two-day event by Ernie Els’ Lake Nona team.Lake Nona’s best score came from Justin Rose, whose 66 was a massive boost to the English player after missing three events with a back injury.”The goal has been to get fit for Augusta next week and hopefully I’mthere,” said Rose.Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell
(more…)
Orlando, FL - Tiger Woods fired an eight-under-par 64 on Tuesday to win individual honors at the Tavistock Cup, but his Isleworth team got creamed by Lake Nona to the tune of 22-8.
The win was Lake Nona’s first in four Tavistock Cups and Woods collected his third consecutive Payne Stewart Salver for the low individual score. Woods also pocketed $500,000 for the honor.
‘We had a great time. Our team played really wonderful golf,’ said Ernie Els, Lake Nona’s captain. ‘It was nice competing against Tiger. Seven birdies around the turn or something like that.’
It was
(more…)
Woods and John Cook lost to Stenson and DiMarco Woods’s Isleworth team went down 10-0 on the opening day of the two-day event after his five pairings all lost.The world number one and partner John Cook had a better-ball of 65, but opponents Henrik Stenson and Chris DiMarco went round Lake Nona in 57.The second and final day sees fourball singles matches to decide the outcome.England’s Justin Rose partnered close friend and compatriot Ian Poulter to a combined 61 to beat Robert Allenby and Craig Parry by
(more…)
Orlando, FL - It’s not every day that you get to beat Tiger Woods, so players tend to enjoy the few occasions it does happen.
Even somewhere like the Tavistock Cup.
Playing for the Lake Nona team, Chris DiMarco and Henrik Stenson defeated the Isleworth duo of Woods and John Cook with a 15-under 57 Monday on the first day of the annual yuck-fest between members of two of the world’s top golf clubs.
DiMarco and Stenson picked up two points for their win, and Lake Nona took a 10-0 overall lead with wins in each of the five matches.
Woods arrived and departed Lake
(more…)