PAMPLING ENDS DROUGHT IN PLAY-OFF

Rod Pampling won the Australian Masters today whenn he edged out Marcus Fraser at the third play-off hole at Huntingdale Golf Club after the two Australians had finished tied at the top of the final round leaderboard locked at 12 under par.

Victorian Fraser carded a superb final round seven-under-par 65, which included just one bogey, but thenso too did Pampling - despite missing birdie chances at his last three holes which would have sealed the win without the play-off.

While Fraser, 30, sat on the practice range preparing for the play-off, Queensland's Pampling, 39, had three opportunities to claim the victory in regulation but, after first missing a distinct chance at 16, pushed a six-foot birdie putt at 17 wide right and then, at the last, missed out again, this with a tough 25-footer for the championship, the ball drifted left of the hole.

Both players missed long birdie chances on the first trip down the 18th, which saw just one birdie today in regulation.

Fraser found the rough off the tee and sand with his second on the return trip down the 18th while Pampling found the middle of the fairway but saw his approach failed to clear a bank at the front of the green and rolled back onto the fringes.

After Fraser chipped to the back of the green, Pampling put the pressure on his opponent when he got to within a foot, but Fraser converted from 10 feet to ensure a third play-off hole.

Fraser again missed the green into the 18th and after putting past the hole up a steep hill at the back of the green, missed a par putt and was forced to settle for a bogey to open the door for Pampling.

Pampling grabbed his chance with both hands, claimed his first Aussie green jacket with a simple three-foot par putt to claim his maiden European Tour triumph and his first Australasian Tour victory since the 1999 Canon Challenge.

Joint overnight leader Robert Allenby, a two-time Masters champion, was in contention heading into the final holes at 11 under, but was forced to rescue a double-bogey five at the 15th as he holed a 20-foot putt after chipping out of a greenside bunker and finished alone in third at nine under after a 73.

South Africa's Tim Clark (67), Australia's Nathan Green (70) and Sweden's Alexander Noren (68) finished tied for fourth at eight under.

Australia's David McKenzie (68) finished seventh at seven under, while joint overnight leader Michael Sim finished seven shots off the pace following a 77.


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SWEDES CLINCH WORLD CUP CROWN

Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson combined to produce a scintillating performance in the final-round foursomes to capture the Omega Mission Hills World Cup for Sweden.

Although they did not lead in any of the previous rounds, Sweden gradually improved upon each performance before saving their best for last to card a superb nine-under-par 63 and comfortably secure a second-ever World Cup title for Sweden by three strokes.

The last time Sweden prevailed at the tournament was when Per-Ulrik Johansson and Anders Forsbrand won the trophy in 1991.

Spain, who had started the day tied for the lead alongside Australia, were unable to match their stunning nine-under 63 in second-round foursomes as Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal returned to the clubhouse at two-under 70 to finish in second place at 24 under overall.

Richard Green and Brendan Jones of Australia finished in a share of third place alongside Japan after a disappointing four-over-par 76 today for 18 under overall.

""I was starting to run out of tournaments, so it was nice to win this one. It has been a while," said Ryder Cup player Stenson, who despite enjoying a great season in 2008 had failed to secure any victories.

Sweden, featuring the tournament's highest-ranked players in Karlsson and Stenson, were four shots off the pace at the start of the final round today but quickly made their move up the leaderboard with five birdies in a flawless run on the front nine that saw them climb alongside Spain into a share of the lead at the turn.

They then added two in succession from the 11th before moving three clear when Stenson chipped in from the back of the green for a birdie at the 14th.

Sweden added one more on the 555-yard par-five 15th - the Olazabal course's signature hole - and then made par on the remaining holes to return to the clubhouse at 27 under overall.

They were left to wait for Spain to complete their round as Jimenez and Larrazabal approached the last needing to card an eagle to force a play-off.

However, Larrazabal sent his tee shot into a bunker and although Jimenez recovered well, Spain could only putt for a bogey and confirm a World Cup victory for Sweden.

England's Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher finished strongly as a five-under-par 67 today meant they finished in sixth place.

However, the resurgence came too late after disappointing scores in the first two rounds all but ended their chances of a World Cup victory.

"We should have had a chance to win this golf tournament. That's what we come here for," said a disappointed Poulter.

"It didn't happen on Thursday and Friday and that's just such a shame to be so far out of the picture."

Paul McGinley and Graeme McDowell endured their worst round of the tournament for Ireland, carding a five-over 77 to drop to 16th while Scotland's Colin Montgomerie and Alastair Forsyth signed for a 72 today to finish seven under par overall, tied for 19th place.


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GREEN IN CONFIDENT MOOD

Richard Green warned Omega Mission Hill World Cup trophy rivals Spain not to take anything for granted after Australia put themselves into a share of the lead with a nine-under-par 63 in Saturday's third round fourballs.

Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal combined for a superb 63 of their own in second-round foursomes on Friday to move four strokes clear at the top of the leaderboard.

Their performance on Friday was so impressive that they could have been forgiven for already contemplating having their names etched onto the World Cup Roll of Honour.

However, the Australian duo of Green and Brendan Jones clearly had other ideas as they set about eating into that advantage from the first tee on Saturday.

Green shot two successive birdies from the second before Japan Tour regular Jones added three more before the turn.

Green then picked up shots on the par-five 11th and 14th but Australia still trailed Spain by three strokes heading onto the final few holes.

However, the turning point came on the par-five 15th where Jones shot an eagle three while Larrazabal bogeyed the same hole for Spain.

Jones then sank a birdie putt from three feet on the 18th to move Australia into a share of the lead alongside Spain with play switching back to foursomes for Sunday's final round.

"When I played the World Cup in 1998, I can remember there being a lot of fluctuations in score," said Green.

"It didn't really matter if you were three behind or four behind.

"The closing case today for us was the 15th hole, Brendan eagling the hole and Spain bogeying the hole; there's a three-shot swing straightaway, and that got us straight back into the game.

"That can happen at any stage during the round, especially tomorrow, when we are probably not as reliant on one another, but we are probably more putting a lot of trust in one another to hit good golf shots at the right time.

"I always knew that we could catch that up. I feel very good out there with Brendan as part of the team. We are very confident."

For Spain it was something of a tale of two teams having been in such fine fettle on Friday before producing a more mixed performance on Saturday.

It looked as though they would only increase their lead as Jimenez picked up a birdie on the par-four fourth and then shot an eagle two on the sixth before Larrazabal sank a birdie putt on the ninth.

However, they struggled somewhat coming home, managing just two birdies against one bogey.

But Larrazabal remains confident he and Jimenez can still engineer a first World Cup win for Spain in 24 years.

"The only difference is, it is golf," said the 2008 European Tour Rookie of the Year when asked what the difference was between their second and third rounds. "It was another day.

"In golf you can play great, shoot 63 in foursomes one day and then a 67 in fourballs another. That's golf.

"We can make tomorrow another 63."

Sweden, represented by the two highest-ranked players at the tournament in Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson, are third at 18 under after a 66 on Saturday while Germany are a further stroke behind in fourth place following their 68.

Ireland's Graeme McDowell and Paul McGinley maintained their impressive displays at the World Cup after a four-under 68 on Saturday left them on 15 under for the tournament while England's duo of Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher produced their best performance of the tournament so far, carding a 63 and are tied 12th.


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MASTERS EVENLY POISED

The master and his apprentice, Robert Allenby and Michael Sim, have a two-shot lead going into the final round of an enthralling 2008 Australian Masters at Huntingdale.

Chasing his third Masters title, Allenby landed a rare and precious albatross - only the third on the Australasian Tour in the past 20 years - en route to a five-under 67.

But alongside him at 10 under is his third-round playing partner Sim, the 24-year-old former world number one amateur who is finally starting to realise his potential after two years disrupted by stress fractures in his lower back.

Huntingdale member Ashley Hall sits alone in third place two shots off the pace following his 68 today, while Rod Pampling (70), Anthony Summers (71) and Englishman Steve Webster (70) are at seven under.

No less than seven players either held the lead outright or shared it during today's round including overnight leader Tim Clark who surrendered 28 places following his disappointing four-over 76.

While short on details, Allenby could recollect having scored albatrosses twice before, but never in a setting with so much at stake.

While the 35-year-old agreed his 223-metre three-wood second at the par-five seventh will be up there forever as a career highlight, he insisted it is the big picture that counts.

"The most important thing today was just to put myself in position," Allenby said.

"I did a lot of good things out there today so I'm pretty happy with my performance."

Sim's day did not start well - he bogeyed one and three and when Allenby's albatross dropped, the West Australian had slipped five behind his playing partner.

But Sim worked his way back into it with a hat-trick of birdies at six, seven and eight and began to believe that something special was happening when he dropped a 10-metre putt for eagle at the 555-metre par-five 14th.

"I just hit the ball solid today, a lot of fairways, a lot of greens and just gave myself a lot of opportunities," was Sim's simple summation of his round.

The stakes and the pressure will be ramped up when Sim and Allenby pair up again on Sunday for what Sim believes may develop into matchplay.

"You've just got to stick to your game plan," he said.

"It's the first time for me in a final group and that's going to be different.

"There's going to be people out there supporting Robert because he's from Victoria and I've just got to stay in the moment, stay within each shot and if it happens, it happens."

Allenby said he was primed and ready for the contest.

"They all want to take me on, that's the nature of the beast," h said.

"I think it's awesome that he is playing so well. He will be a great player.

"I'm excited for him and looking forward to the challenge that he throws out tomorrow."


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JIMENEZ EXPECTS LARRAZABAL TO SHINE

Miguel Angel Jimenez lavished praise upon compatriot Pablo Larrazabal after the duo shot Spain into the halfway lead at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup today.

Jimenez and Larrazabal appeared to provide the perfect foil for each other in foursomes as they produced an almost perfect performance in the second round to open up a four-stroke lead over Australia and Germany.

Having started the day two shots off the pace, the pair carded a nine-under-par 63 on the Olazabal course at Mission Hills Golf Club for a 17-under 127 total as Spain chase a fifth World Cup victory.

The pairing of Larrazabal and Jimenez blends youth and experience, a mixture that certainly appeared to pay dividends today with the only blot on their scorecard a bogey on the par-five 15th - the Olazabal course's signature hole.

Otherwise they were in fine form with Jimenez's 16-foot putt for eagle on the third and Larrazabal's long birdie putt at the 16th particular highlights.

And with Spain having produced golfing greats such as Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and current world number two Sergio Garcia, Jimenez admits he expects big things of 2008 European Tour Rookie of the Year Larrazabal.

"Pablo is nice and fresh," said the 44-year-old "He brings a breath of fresh air to the Tour.

"When people come in at this age and at the beginning of the Tour, they come in with a certain type of condition. Like you see Seve and Sergio and Ollie, you see all of these players, not only in Spain, they want to make things.

"And he's playing very well, he's hitting the ball very solid, and he hits very, very good irons on the greens.

"He has a very, very big future, and I like to play with a guy like him it's nice because it's always good to have a fresh eye."

With play returning to fourballs in tomorrow's third round, Spain could conceivably see their four-stroke lead quickly diminish.

Germany, who along with Australia are Spain's nearest challengers at 13 under, revelled in fourballs yesterday, carding a 10-under-par 62.

But, despite a solid start today in which they picked up a birdie on the second, Germany struggled along the rest of the front nine with Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka combining for two bogeys and just one birdie before the turn.

They improved coming home with three birdies in an otherwise flawless run to finish with a three under 69.

"We were just trying to survive today and not to lose too much ground," said Cejka.

"I think we can be pleased with a couple under today."

Pre-tournament favourites Sweden improved on their fourballs performance with a 67 today and lie in fourth place at 12 under while Ireland remain in contention a shot further behind alongside the United States.

"Four-under is a good day in foursomes," said Paul McGinley, who combined with team-mate Graeme McDowell for a 68 today.

"Spain have got out in front but we are right there and are in with a shout. We are going to have to play well again on the weekend."

Scotland's chances of staging a successful defence of the World Cup look bleak as Colin Montgomerie and Alastair Forsyth signed for a one-over-par 73 that leaves them 14 shots off the pace.

England's Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher combined for a 74 and are one-under-par overall while Bradley Dredge and Richard Johnson stuttered to a five over 77 that leaves Wales propping up the leaderboard.


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POULTER SITS ON FENCE OVER FALDO

Ian Poulter has offered lukewarm support to Nick Faldo following news that the six-time major winner is interested in retaining the European Ryder Cup captaincy for 2010.

"I wouldn't see it as a bad thing," Poulter said when asked whether Faldo deserved another crack after being in charge of this year's losing team in Kentucky.

"Nick, if he gets the position, would certainly learn from what happened this time and I'm sure he would do a few things differently.

"I'm sure he's made his own notes from how the week went. The good stuff, I'm sure he'll take positives from and the bad stuff, I'm sure he will learn if he could have done them any differently."

Poulter, who performed magnificently at the Ryder Cup, winning four of five matches on a losing team, declined to comment when asked for specifics about the mistakes Faldo made as captain.

"I'm only a player," he said. "I don't think it's to my advantage to comment on what he could have done better.

"I said before, I thought he did a good job. Unfortunately, the players didn't quite perform as good as maybe he would have liked."

Poulter's comments come in the wake of Faldo's revelation this week that he would "seriously consider" another crack at the captaincy if it was offered.

Europe has had a different captain in each of the past five Ryder Cups and a return by Faldo would bring that trend to a halt.

If there is one European player likely to support Faldo, it is Poulter, who was a controversial wild card choice despite displaying some mediocre form in the two weeks immediately before the team was picked.

But Poulter subsequently justified his selection with his stellar form at Valhalla.

Poulter was speaking after shooting the day's best score, a five-under-par 66 in the third round at the Dunlop Phoenix tournament at Phoenix Country Club.

The defending champion was seven strokes behind Thai leader Prayad Marksaeng with one round left.


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POULTER DRIVEN OUT

McILROY MAKES TOP 50 DEBUT

Nineteen-year-old Rory McIlroy has still made it into the world's top 50 for the first time despite his play-off defeat in the Hong Kong Open on Sunday.

McIlroy, a professional for only 14 months, suffered his second sudden death loss of the year, being beaten at the second extra hole by Taiwan's Lin Wen-tang.

The pair are now 50th and 51st on the rankings, separated by only 0.01pts, but if McIlroy, up 13 places from last week, remains in the top 50 at the end of next month he will earn himself a debut in The Masters at Augusta next April.

Latest leading positions:

1 Tiger Woods 13.48pts, 2 Sergio Garcia 8.48, 3 Phil Mickelson 7.79, 4 Padraig Harrington 7.39, 5 Vijay Singh 7.31, 6 Robert Karlsson 5.21, 7 Camilo Villegas 5.20, 8 Ernie Els 4.88, 9 Anthony Kim 4.78, 10 Lee Westwood 4.76

11 Jim Furyk 4.67, 12 Henrik Stenson 4.61, 13 Steve Stricker 4.35,

14 Geoff Ogilvy 4.27, 15 Stewart Cink 4.24, 16 KJ Choi 4.16, 17 Adam Scott 4.15, 18 Justin Rose 4.09, 19 Kenny Perry 3.84, 20 Miguel Angel Jimenez 3.66

Other leading Europeans:

24 Ian Poulter, 26 Martin Kaymer, 27 Luke Donald, 31 Graeme McDowell, 33 Ross Fisher, 37 Paul Casey, 41 Oliver Wilson, 44 Soren Hansen, 48 Soren Kjeldsen, 50 Rory McIlroy, 52 Peter Hanson, 57 Carl Pettersson, 61 Fredrik Jacobson, 64 Darren Clarke, 73 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, 74 Nick Dougherty, 79 Francesco Molinari, 82 Anders Hansen, 83 Alvaro Quiros, 84 Peter Hedblom, 95 Niclas Fasth, 100 Paul McGinley.


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GERMANY LEAD THE WAY

Martin Kaymer is keen to turn the disappointment of narrowly missing out on a Ryder Cup debut earlier this year into a positive by leading Germany to World Cup success at Mission Hills this week.

The highly rated 23-year-old enjoyed a superb second season on the European Tour in 2008, securing victories at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and BMW International Open.

However, Kaymer fell just short of making the European Ryder Cup team as he finished 10th on the European points list to leave him one spot behind Oliver Wilson with the Englishman taking the last automatic berth.

But Kaymer still travelled with the European team after captain Nick Faldo decided to take the young German as a guest in order to experience the Ryder Cup first hand.

On Thursday Kaymer combined with playing partner Alex Cejka for a 10-under-par 62 in first-round fourballs at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, a score that puts Germany top of the leaderboard.

Play switches to foursomes format on Friday before alternating again in the final two rounds - and Kaymer is keen to use what he has learned from the Ryder Cup and help lead his country to a first World Cup trophy since Bernhard Langer and Marcel Siem triumphed in 2006.

"I learned a lot of things at the Ryder Cup," said Kaymer. "It was a different format there.

"That was match play, and here it's stroke play, and you can be aggressive in the best-ball, what we played today.

"But tomorrow is going to be different. I think every team event is different, and the Ryder Cup helped me in many ways.

"But it's very, very tough to say now what was the most important thing I learned or which helped me so much that we played well today."

Kaymer was in fine form from the first hole at a blustery Mission Hills Golf Club and reeled off three successive birdies before Cejka added another on the par-four fourth.

Kaymer then shot a superb eagle three on the seventh, holing a putt from over 65 feet before he picked up another shot on the ninth to ensure Germany reached the turn at seven under.

The 2007 European Tour Rookie of the Year added another two birdies coming home while Cejka weighed in with one more to ensure Germany hold a slender one-stroke advantage over Australia.

"We had a really good start today," added Kaymer. "We were seven-under after nine holes, and we kept playing well on the back nine and finished 10-under.

"It was a little bit tougher than last year, but I think we can be happy with 10-under."

Spain, the United States and Canada are tied third on eight under while a double-bogey on the last saw Ireland drop from second to tied sixth at seven under.

Despite the disappointing end to the day, Graeme McDowell believes the leaderboard will not properly take shape until after Friday's foursomes round.

"I think in better-ball format, no-one is really able to run away with it," said McDowell, who is representing Ireland alongside Paul McGinley.

"Foursomes is the key. We need to get out there tomorrow, play as solidly as we played today, knock it around a few under par, and keep ourselves well in the tournament."

Scotland's Colin Montgomerie and Alastair Forsyth, looking to stage a successful defence of the trophy, finished six shots off the pace after a 68 while England's Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher are a shot further behind, alongside the Welsh pair of Bradley Dredge and Richard Johnson.


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POULTER EXCITED BY FISHER PAIRING

Ian Poulter believes his pairing with Ross Fisher at this week's Omega Mission Hills World Cup has the strength required to bring England success.

Poulter returns to China having guided his country to fourth place in Shenzhen last year alongside Justin Rose while Fisher is making his England debut.

Both players head into the tournament on the back of impressive performances over the last year, with Poulter finishing as Europe's leading points scorer at the Ryder Cup in September while Fisher won The European Open in July on the way to a career-best sixth place on the European Tour's Order of Merit.

The opening round of the World Cup will be played in a fourball format while Friday is foursomes before it goes back to fourballs on Saturday with the final round on Sunday a foursomes.

And Poulter believes Fisher's ability to hit long off the tee, coupled with his own short game is capable of bringing England a first World Cup title since Paul Casey and Luke Donald combined to win it four years ago.

"I'm happy with my golf game right now and Ross has been playing exceptionally well," said Poulter.

"I like the way Ross plays. He hits the ball a long way off the tee, which I think is great in foursomes.

"The holes that I've looked at right now, certainly with some of the par fives, will be an advantage with Ross teeing off on those holes. I'm happy with hitting three-wood, five-wood into some of those holes.

"He is also an aggressive player and that's great in four balls. I think how straight he hits it is a big bonus in foursomes, as well.

"That's why when it come down to me to pick, I looked at Ross as a guy that's been very, very steady, and someone that hits the ball a long way; that's a great mix.

That's why I'm excited to be out there."

England's task will certainly not be easy, however, with a number of other strong contenders amongst the 28-team field.

Colin Montgomerie returns as he looks to stage a successful defence of the title he won 12 months ago for Scotland and is joined by Alastair Forsyth while 2008 European Tour Order Of Merit winner Robert Karlsson and world number 12 Henrik Stenson form a formidable partnership for Sweden.

"There's always going to be strong pairings in this format," added Poulter.

"There are obviously a couple which stand out, Sweden being one of them.

If you look at their world ranking position on paper, they are very, very strong.

"Robert (Karlsson) winning the Order of Merit and Henrik (Stenson) are going to be a very strong pairing.

"But there are a number of them.

I'm pretty confident that if we go out there and have fun this week, then we are going to be in the shake up on Sunday afternoon."

Fisher, meanwhile, admits he is 'honoured' to have been given the chance to represent England.

"I am very excited to be getting on with a guy like Ian and representing your country is a massive honour and massive thrill," he said.

"I am just looking forward to getting going and hopefully if I can bring in a few more shots, then who knows, we might finish a bit higher than last year."


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UPBEAT MONTY SEEKS SECOND CUP WIN

Colin Montgomerie hopes he can carry last week's good form into this week's Omega Mission Hills World Cup as Scotland look to stage a successful defence of the trophy.

Twelve months ago Montgomerie and Marc Warren defeated the United States pair of Boo Weekley and Heath Slocum in a play-off to claim a first World Cup title for Scotland.

The 45-year-old performed well at last week's UBS Hong Kong Open, where he was in contention for the vast majority of the tournament before a poor finish saw him end up tied 15th.

Montgomerie returns to Shenzhen this week with a different playing partner in Alastair Forsyth but is confident Scotland can be in contention once again come Sunday.

"I had a very good chance of winning last week," he said. "There was a putt that should have been in on the ninth but it lipped out.

"I'd have been two behind the lead with nine holes to go but it didn't go in and I bogeyed the 10th which is disappointing.

"So I had a very good chance of winning last week with 10 holes to go, that's a huge improvement from how it has been going.

"I enjoy this format.

Any team golf I tend to perform better in than I do on my own."

While Montgomerie may be happy with his recent form the same cannot be said for Forsyth.

The 32-year-old secured his second European Tour title in March at the Madeira Islands Open but has since endured a disappointing second half to the season which saw him drop out of the world's top 100.

Forsyth took drastic action last week in a bid to improve his golf by splitting with top coach Bob Torrance, and the Glaswegian hopes a solid performance could signal the start of a change in fortunes for the new season.

"You've just got to do what's right for yourself, and my golf has not been good enough," said Forsyth.

"It's nowhere near as good as I know it can be, and I've been trying to improve that and it has not happened.

"There will always come a time where you have the feeling that it's not going the direction that you want to go, and I had to look at a video of myself and I didn't like a few things.

"I felt it was time to work with someone else."

Scotland face a tough task in staging a successful defence with a number of other strong contenders amongst the 28-team field.

Most notable is the Swedish side with 2008 European Tour Order of Merit winner Robert Karlsson alongside world number 12 Henrik Stenson.

But the pair played down their favourites tag with Karlsson insisting anything could happen this week.

"We are the highest ranked players but there's only 28 teams, it's a team event, so a lot of things can happen," said Karlsson. "I'm definitely going to enjoy playing with Henrik and then we'll see what happens."

The four rounds will alternate between fourballs and foursomes, with tomorrow's opening round in fourballs.


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HONG KONG FINALE LIFTS DALY

John Daly is feeling positive about the future after shooting a stunning 62 on Sunday.

John Daly is feeling positive about the future after shooting a stunning 62 - one shot off the course record - at the Hong Kong Open on Sunday.

The two-time Major winner has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons recently.

He spent a night in a detention centre in the city of Winston-Salem in North Carolina last month after being found drunk and disorderly outside a Hooters restaurant.

Daly has struggled with alcoholism, health problems and also gambling during his career, and his world ranking recently slipped as low as 788th.

But the 42-year-old looked back to his sparkling best at the weekend as he shot eight birdies and no bogeys in the final round at the Hong Kong Golf Club to finish in joint 17th place with a nine-under 271 for the tournament.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Daly said: "I think I've made more money than I did all of last year on the US Tour, in one tournament! So you can tell where I've come from.

"I've come from close to Ground Zero all the way back up. But who knows? I've just got to keep working at it. Being healthy helps."

When asked about his round of 62 on the par-70 course, he added: "It just makes you feel good to have a number like that. I don't know what place I was in going into today but I know it wasn't great.

"It feels really good and it feels like, yeah, maybe I still can play a little bit."

Daly will be back in action in Melbourne this week at the Australian Masters.


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SERGIO'S THE PICK OF THE SHOTS

Sergio Garcia has won the European Tour Shot of the Month Award for October.

Playing at Club de Campo del Mediterraneo, the Spaniard's home course, he hit a second shot from a difficult lie, shaping it around trees and onto the eighth green for a birdie four.

The shot ensured Garcia was not caught on the final round and he went on to claim victory in the Castello Masters.

Second place went to England's Steve Webster, who chipped in from thick rough at the seventh hole on the last day of the Portugal Masters, while a deft chip from South African Charl Schwartzel in the final round of the Madrid Masters secured him third place.


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MONTY TO KEEP MAJOR HOPES ALIVE

Colin Montgomerie admits he is keen to continue playing for at least another seven years to keep alive his hopes of winning a Major.

The 45-year-old has come close on a number of occasions to breaking his Major duck but success has proved elusive.

Form is currently not on Montgomerie's side with the Scot having failed to finish inside the top 20 in his last 10 tournaments and he has dropped to 118th in the world rankings.

He is looking to improve that position this season and break back into the top 50. This weekend he is looking to win a tournament for the first time since July 2007 at the UBS Hong Kong Open.

"I'm outside the top 100 in the world for the first time ever," he said. "I've got to get back inside that top 100 in a hurry and then back inside the top 50 to compete on the world stage again.

"I'm exempt through to 2015 on this tour, and I would intend to be playing golf until that stage.

"If I can get back in that top 50 and remain there for the next six years, I'll be very happy."

Montgomerie won the UBS Hong Kong Open in 2005 and the eight-time Order of Merit winner says it is a tournament he enjoys.

"I like the golf course," he said. "I'm not the longest hitter on tour and, while I never was, I have control, and this is a course where you need control more than you need length or power. I prefer this type of golf nowadays.

"I like the Hong Kong Golf Club and I love the city. My wife is here with me and we're having a great time."


SABBATINI SET FOR HONG KONG
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McILROY ON TRACK FOR MASTERS

Rory McIlroy put himself in contention for a US Masters debut next April despite falling just short of securing a maiden European Tour win at the UBS Hong Kong Open.

The 19-year-old lost out in a dramatic play-off to Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei but his second-place finish alongside Italian Francesco Molinari moved him up to 50th in the world rankings.

Should McIlory remain in the top 50 at the end of next month he would earn himself a debut at The Masters at Augusta next year.

And the Northern Irishman insisted the defeat in Hong Kong is already behind him as he focuses on making a solid start to 2009.

"As long as I can keep putting myself in these positions and feeling the nerves and the adrenaline, I'll know I'm doing things right," said McIlroy, who failed to make the cut in Hong Kong last year in the first tournament of his rookie season on the European Tour.

"It puts me in a great position going into the new year and I have two events left in South Africa.

"If I don't win there, I'll hopefully win sometime next year. As long as I keep putting myself in these positions, I'll be able to pull through sooner or later."

McIlroy should not be disheartened with his performance on Sunday having climbed the leaderboard with a five-under-par 65 to enter a three-way play-off with Lin and Molinari.

Molinari could only par the first play-off hole on the par-four 18th while Lin and McIlroy both birdied meaning the two would face off again.

McIlroy sent his tee shot into a crowd of spectators to the left of the fairway but recovered well by hitting his approach shot onto the edge of the green.

Lin, meanwhile, hit the fairway from the tee before superbly hitting his second shot to within a foot of the pin. When McIlroy failed to putt for a birdie, the 34-year-old applied the easy finish to become the first Asian player in a decade to win the tournament.

"I thought I probably did enough to make three at the first play-off hole and I had an incredible shot for my second shot, but it just wasn't meant to be," added McIlroy.

"Obviously it's still been a great week for me. I'll look back on it, and I've played really well. I couldn't have done much more."


LIN TAKES HONG KONG TITLE
SABBATINI SET FOR HONG KONG
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FALDO WANTS ANOTHER CHANCE

Nick Faldo is keen to once again captain at the Ryder Cup despite coming under heavy criticism after leading Europe to their first defeat to the USA in nine years in September.

Europe lost by five points at Valhalla and Faldo was blamed for the defeat by some for a number of his decisions before and during the event.

Consequently, it is unlikely the 51-year-old will captain Europe at Celtic Manor in 2010 with the likes of Jose Maria Olazabal, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam emerging as favourites to take the role.

But Faldo, who is playing in his first European Tour event in a year at the UBS Hong Kong Open this week, insisted he relished the whole experience and would relish the opportunity to captain Europe again.

"I really enjoyed it," he said. "I loved the experience and I thought the team atmosphere was great. We all got on great and I loved that buzz.

"A month after I thought 'wow, I miss the guys'. I hadn't been in that situation for 11 years since my last Ryder Cup.

"It is such a special event and if something happens further down the road I will certainly think about."

Colin Montgomerie, who is also playing in Hong Kong this week, opposed the idea of Faldo returning and instead backed fellow Scot Lyle for the captaincy.

"I think it is a one-hit deal and I think it should remain that way," he said.

"I have nothing against anyone trying to do it twice but I just think it should be a one-deal and that is your go.

"It would be a shame if Sandy (Lyle) did miss out. I would personally like to see him involved."


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FALDO PREPARES FOR RETURN
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LIN TAKES HONG KONG TITLE

Chinese Taipei's Lin Wen-tang edged a thrilling play-off against Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy on Sunday to capture the UBS Hong Kong Open and secure his first victory on the European Tour.

The Asian Tour regular had failed to sink a birdie putt from six feet on the last during regulation to enter a three-way play-off with McIlroy and Francesco Molinari of Italy.

Molinari could only par the first play-off hole on the par-four 18th while Lin and McIlroy both birdied meaning the two would face off again..

McIlroy, 19, sent his tee shot into a crowd of spectators to the left of the fairway but recovered to send his approach shot onto the edge of the green.

Lin, meanwhile, hit the fairway from the tee before superbly hitting his second shot to within a foot of the pin and when McIlroy failed to putt for a birdie, the 34-year-old applied the easy finish to become the first Asian in a decade to win the tournament.

"To hit two tees in a play-off, you can't beat that," said McIlroy, who failed to make the cut in Hong Kong last year at the start of his first full season on the European Tour.

"It was not meant to be but it still has been a great week for me. I couldn't have done much more."

Lin, meanwhile, admitted he was unable to put into words exactly how much his first European Tour victory meant, with the win earning him almost Ј280, 000.

"I'm still smiling," he said. "This is my first European Tour win and my feelings cannot be described.

"With this win I can re-assure myself that what I am doing is right."

Lin had started the final round a stroke behind overnight leader Oliver Wilson but a three-under-par 67 today meant he finished at 15 under 265 for the tournament.

McIlroy and Molinari also finished 15 under overall after both shot 65s but take second place following their defeat in the play-off.

Pablo Larrazabal, the 2008 European Tour Rookie of the Year, shot a three-under-par 67 to finish in a share of fourth place alongside Chawalit Plaphol of Thailand, who carded 65.

There was heartache for Wilson once again, however, as the 28-year-old hit three successive bogeys from the 15th to drop to 12 under for the tournament and leave him still searching for a maiden European Tour victory.

The Englishman tied for sixth alongside German veteran Bernhard Langer, Malaysian Iain Steel, David Gleeson of Australia and South African Richard Sterne.

Graeme McDowell and Oliver Fisher were amongst a group of four a further stroke behind, while Colin Montgomerie's challenge faded as the round wore on and the Scot finished tied 15th at 10 under.

Lin, meanwhile, admitted he was unable to put into words exactly how much his first European Tour victory meant, with the win earning him almost Ј280, 000.

"I'm still smiling," he said. "This is my first European Tour win and my feelings cannot be described.

"With this win I can re-assure myself that what I am doing is right."

Lin had started the final round a stroke behind overnight leader Oliver Wilson but a three-under-par 67 today meant he finished at 15 under 265 for the tournament.

McIlroy and Molinari also finished 15 under overall after both shot 65s but take second place following their defeat in the play-off.

Pablo Larrazabal, the 2008 European Tour Rookie of the Year, shot a three-under-par 67 to finish in a share of fourth place alongside Chawalit Plaphol of Thailand, who carded 65.

There was heartache for Wilson once again, however, as the 28-year-old hit three successive bogeys from the 15th to drop to 12 under for the tournament and leave him still searching for a maiden European Tour victory.

The Englishman tied for sixth alongside German veteran Bernhard Langer, Malaysian Iain Steel, David Gleeson of Australia and South African Richard Sterne.

Graeme McDowell and Oliver Fisher were amongst a group of four a further stroke behind, while Colin Montgomerie's challenge faded as the round wore on and the Scot finished tied 15th at 10 under.

Collated final round scores & totals in the European Tour UBS Hong Kong Open, Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong

(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 70):

265 Wen-Tang Lin (Tai) 65 69 64 67 (Wen-Tang Lin won at the second play-off hole) Francesco Molinari (Ita) 66 67 67 65, Rory McIlroy 70 64 66 65

267 Chawalit Plaphol (Tha) 66 66 70 65, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 69 67 64 67

268 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 69 67 63 69, David Gleeson (Aus) 72 65 65 66, Oliver Wilson 66 66 65 71, Iain Steel (Mal) 68 68 66 66, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 64 69 69 66

269 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 71 63 66 69, Graeme McDowell 71 68 65 65, Angelo Que (Phi) 68 68 67 66, Oliver Fisher 67 65 73 64

270 Colin Montgomerie 68 65 68 69, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 64 71 69 66

271 John Daly (USA) 68 68 73 62, Wei Chih Lu (Tha) 70 69 64 68

272 Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor) 70 67 66 69, Bradley Dredge 69 70 65 68, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 71 68 66 67, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 70 70 66 66, Johan Edfors (Swe) 68 65 73 66

273 Peter Hanson (Swe) 67 70 69 67, Gareth Maybin 71 67 68 67, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 71 69 71 62, Ben Leong (Mal) 69 70 65 69, David Frost (Rsa) 69 68 67 69

274 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 71 69 68 66, Taichiro Kiyota (Jpn) 72 67 70 65, Paul Lawrie 69 70 69 66, David Lynn 71 67 65 71, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 71 69 70 64

275 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 69 66 68 72, Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 70 70 66 69, Darren Beck (Aus) 68 69 69 69, Paul Waring 72 68 66 69, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 70 62 73 70, Mark Brown (USA) 70 70 66 69, Gavin Flint (Aus) 68 70 69 68, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 66 70 72

276 Tony Carolan (Aus) 70 67 72 67, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 67 72 67 70, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 70 66 70 70, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 69 68 71 68, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 70 67 67 72, Sattaya Supupramai (Tha) 71 69 70 66

277 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 69 70 68 70, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 71 69 67 70, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 68 68 70 71, Taco Remkes (Ned) 69 70 69 69, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 70 67 73 67

278 Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe) 66 71 69 72, Frankie Minoza (Phi) 65 72 72 69, Anders Hansen (Den) 71 68 70 69, Zaw Moe (Kor) 72 68 70 68, David Horsey 70 70 71 67, Jean Van de velde (Fra) 73 67 70 68, Jamie Donaldson 75 63 72 68, Unho Park (Aus) 71 68 67 72, Paul McGinley 71 69 67 71, Wen Teh Lu (Tpe) 68 69 71 70

279 Anthony Wall 72 68 72 67, Artemio-hiromasa Murakami (Phi) 67 70 72 70, Phillip Archer 72 67 71 69, Scott Strange (Aus) 71 68 71 69, Chinarat Phadungsil (Tha) 67 71 70 71, David Bransdon (Aus) 70 68 70 71, Martin Rominger (Swi) 71 66 68 74

280 Anthony Kang (USA) 70 70 67 73, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 69 68 74 69, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 70 70 70 70, David Dixon 68 69 72 71, Joong Kyung Mo (Kor) 69 71 71 69

281 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 70 70 74 67, Shun yat jason Hak (Hkg) 70 70 73 68

282 Marcus Both (Aus) 68 72 73 69, Wook-Soon Kang (Kor) 69 69 69 75, Jong Yul Suk (Kor) 70 69 74 69

283 Niclas Fasth (Swe) 71 69 71 72

284 Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 71 69 71 73

288 Scott Drummond 68 70 76 74


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DUO SET THE PACE IN HONG KONG

Richard Sterne hopes his decision to take a more relaxed approach to the UBS Hong Kong Open can pay dividends and bring an end to an inconsistent year on the European Tour.

The 27-year-old South African could not have started 2008 better after capturing his third European Tour victory at the Joburg Open in January.

Sterne failed to carry momentum from that win into the rest of the year as he managed just one top-20 finish in 18 tournaments.

But he made a solid start to the new season with joint 20th at the HSBC Champions and on Thursday carded a six-under-par 64 to share the first-round lead in Hong Kong with China's Liang Wen-chong.

Sterne, who was introduced to golf by his grandmother at the age of four, hopes tweaks to his game will bear fruit come Sunday.

"I hit 10 greens a round on average last season," he said. "That is not quite ideal for scoring so I have made it tough.

"I have been driving the ball okay but you just can't compete when you are not hitting more than 13, 14 greens a round.

"Right now, I don't get too fazed anymore. I think I have found a few right things here and there. This is the first week I am trying it so we'll see what happens."

Liang, meanwhile, is hoping to become the first Asian player in a decade to win the tournament.

The 30-year-old was well placed to take the outright lead after seven birdies but then three-putted his last hole for a bogey.

"I will try to be patient over the next three days and just try to play my best," said the 2007 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner.

"The golf course is very short but the fairways are narrow and you have to be careful each day and each fairway."

Sterne and Liang are one shot ahead of Chinese Taipei's Lin Wen-tang and Frankie Minoza of the Philippines.

Oliver Wilson was the highest-placed Briton after carding a four-under-par 66 and the Ryder Cup star is feeling confident about securing an elusive first professional win.

"I feel like I know how to win around this course," said the 28-year-old, who lost a play-off to Ryder Cup team-mate Sergio Garcia in the HSBC Champions.

"I feel like I can get into contention. If I can stay up there all week then I feel like I am getting closer."

Two-time major winner John Daly almost completed an impressive round after the American approached the eighth - his 17th - at four under.

However, the 42-year-old carded successive bogeys to return to the clubhouse at two under.

"I'm not too disappointed, being a little rusty," said Daly. "I have not played in a month and I think under par in the first round is pretty good and I'll take it."

Colin Montgomerie also shot a 68 to keep himself in the hunt for a second Hong Kong victory in three years.

"It is a good course. Anything in the top 20 on the first day means we are doing okay," he said. "I'm looking forward to coming out tomorrow morning and getting a good round under my belt."

Nick Faldo, playing in his first professional tournament in over a year, finished two over par while Simon Griffiths hit a hole-in-one with a nine iron from 144 yards on the par-three 12th to earn himself a solid gold bar worth around Ј16,000.

Collated first round scores in the European Tour UBS Hong Kong Open, Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong

(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 70):

64 Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Richard Sterne (Rsa)

65 Frankie Minoza (Phi), Wen-Tang Lin (Tai)

66 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe), Oliver Wilson, Chawalit Plaphol (Tha)

67 Peter Hanson (Swe), Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Rick Kulacz (Aus), Artemio-hiromasa Murakami (Phi), Chinarat Phadungsil (Tha), Oliver Fisher, Marcus Fraser (Aus)

68 Inn-choon Hwang (Kor), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Wen Teh Lu (Tpe), Johan Edfors (Swe), John Daly (USA), Rahil Gangjee (Ind), Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Darren Beck (Aus), Colin Montgomerie, Scott Drummond, Chris Rodgers, Marcus Both (Aus), Iain Steel (Mal), David Dixon, Angelo Que (Phi), Gavin Flint (Aus)

69 Christian Cevaer (Fra), Bernhard Langer (Ger), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Young-Woo Nam (Kor), Pelle Edberg (Swe), Ben Leong (Mal), David Frost (Rsa), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Taco Remkes (Ned), Paul Lawrie, Wook-Soon Kang (Kor), Joong Kyung Mo (Kor), Bradley Dredge

70 Wei Chih Lu (Tha), Yasin Ali, Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Roderick De lacy staunton (Hkg), Simon Griffiths, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor), Anthony Kang (USA), Lee Slattery, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi), Scott Hend (Aus), Rory McIlroy, Shun yat jason Hak (Hkg), Jong Yul Suk (Kor), Antonio Lascuna (Phi), Airil Rizman (Mal), Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), David Horsey, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Mark Brown (USA), Mardan Mamat (Sin), Tony Carolan (Aus), Amandeep Johl (Ind), David Bransdon (Aus), Peter O'Malley (Aus)

71 Anders Hansen (Den), Unho Park (Aus), Simon Dyson, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Daniel Chopra (Swe), Scott Barr (Aus), Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa), Niclas Fasth (Swe), Markus Brier (Aut), Sam Little, Keng-chi Lin (Tai), Sattaya Supupramai (Tha), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Gaurav Ghei (Ind), Rory Sabbatini (Rsa), Michael Campbell (Nzl), Graeme McDowell, Gareth Maybin, Phillip Price, Scott Strange (Aus), David Lynn, Martin Rominger (Swi), Gary Simpson (Aus), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Paul McGinley, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)

72 Nick Faldo, Zaw Moe (Kor), Mars Pucay (Phi), Anthony Wall, Michael Jonzon (Swe), Gregory Havret (Fra), Shiv Kapur (Ind), David Gleeson (Aus), Paul Waring, Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn), Chih-bing Lam (Sin), Paul Broadhurst, Taichiro Kiyota (Jpn), Phillip Archer, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Mark Foster, Simon Hurd

73 Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Robert Rock, Stephen Scahill (Nzl), Jean Van de velde (Fra), Keith Horne (Rsa), Miles Tunnicliff, Adam Blyth (Aus), Digvijay Singh (Ind)

74 Steve Webster, Marcel Siem (Ger), Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Adam Groom (Aus), Simon Wakefield, Simon Khan, Prom Meesawat (Tha), Thammanoon Srirot (Tha), Arjun Atwal (Ind), Steven Lam (Hkg), David Freeman (Hkg)

75 Sung Lee (Kor), Jamie Donaldson, Matthew Mcbain (Aus)

76 Paul Riley, Richard Lee (Can)

78 Derek Fung (Hkg), James Stewart, Emanuele Canonica (Ita)

79 Jovick Lee (Hkg)


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SABBATINI SET FOR HONG KONG
FISHER AMONG HALFWAY LEADERS

CONFIDENCE BOOST FOR MONTY

Colin Montgomerie may have just had a season to forget on the European Tour but the Scot has started this season with renewed vigour as he looks to begin his ascent back up the world rankings at this week's UBS Hong Kong Open.

The 45-year-old has amassed an impressive 31 career titles over the last two decades but has seen his chances of adding to that diminish in recent times with his last European Tour victory coming in July 2007.

Montgomerie has, however, given himself a good chance of ending that barren run in Hong Kong this week after following up an opening-round two-under-par 68 with a 65 on Friday to put him only one shot off the lead.

Seeing his name high up on the leaderboard is something Montgomerie concedes he has not seen for a while and the Scot is hopeful of maintaining his form through the weekend in a bid to regain some lost confidence.

"It has been too long and it is nice to see it there," said Montgomerie, after carding six birdies and only one bogey at the Hong Kong Golf Club. "I'm 45 years old and I am just trying to gain some confidence.

"When I was winning in the 1990s on a regular basis I was confident of doing so but now I have lost my confidence.

"So getting two scores back-to-back in the 60s is good for me and I can gain some confidence from that and know I can achieve what I think I can."

Montgomerie could not be participating in a better tournament to get his season off to a strong start having experienced victory here three years ago.

Next week he will make the short trip to China as he looks to stage a successful defence of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup he won for Scotland alongside Marc Warren last year.

And Montgomerie is keen to end the year on a high in order to give himself a solid chance of improving on his current world ranking of 118th.

"I think people understand that this course (in Hong Kong) is more suited to my style of play," he added.

"This is a more shot-making and more accurate type of golf course, one of the shortest we play all year, so this is why I like this particular style of play, so there should be no surprise that my name is on the leaderboard to be honest.

"It is up there with the players that are playing well right now. It is good I can compete alongside them.

"It is very important I get this year off to a good start. The last few years I haven't and it is important to start well and feel good going into the Christmas break and come out again in Abu Dhabi feeling strong and confident."


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FISHER AMONG HALFWAY LEADERS

England's Oliver Fisher put himself in contention for a maiden European Tour victory as he moved into a four-way tie at the top of the leaderboard in the UBS Hong Kong Open on Friday.

The 20-year-old started the day three shots behind overnight leaders Liang Wen-chong and Richard Sterne but carded a five-under-par 65 to join compatriot Oliver Wilson, South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen and Chawalit Plaphol of Thailand at eight under.

Fisher picked up birdies at the second, fourth and sixth and added two more coming home in a flawless display.

"I played really solid today,'' said Fisher. "I hit the ball well and hit a lot greens and took my chances. It was good.

"I'm in a good position going into the weekend and I will just go out there and enjoy it and have a good time.

"Everything is pretty good. I don't really have a weakness, it is all good.

"My whole game probably needs to improve a couple of notches to be challenging week in, week out.

"This is the start of my third season now, so it has gone quickly. I would say I've learned so much being out here.

"We are obviously competing against the top players week in, week out and the biggest thing that I've noticed when I've come out is consistency.

"The top players are so consistent week in and week out competing at the top of the leaderboard. That is obviously where I want to be as soon as I can.''

Also looking for his first win on the European Tour is Wilson, who lost out in a play-off to Sergio Garcia at the recent HSBC Champions.

Wilson carded six birdies and two bogeys for a second consecutive 66 and the Ryder Cup player said: "I'm obviously pretty happy with the first two days. It has gone according to plan so far."

Oosthuizen produced the best round of the tournament with eight birdies and no bogeys in a 62, his lowest score on the European Tour and just one shot outside the course record.

"I've been playing well for the last seven months really but I just can't get that final edge in," said Oosthuizen.

"I don't want to say it could have been more, but I played well. I hit 17 greens in regulation and I made some putts.

"So I'm hitting it well, I must say, and I've worked on my putting a bit the last five or six months, and it's finally getting a bit more consistent. I'm quite confident.''

Colin Montgomerie is looking to secure his second victory in Hong Kong and ensured he remains in contention with a 65 containing six birdies and one bogey.

That left the Scot in a five-strong group just one off the lead on seven under par.

"I feel very comfortable here," he said. "I won here before in 2005 and it is a place I feel comfortable with.

"I like the city and feel very safe here and it is amazing how one plays well in a place that you enjoy being in."

Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez narrowly avoided the cut after carding a 69 to lie at level par.

Teenage amateur Jason Hak became the youngest player to make the cut at a European Tour event after successive 70s ensured he made it through to the weekend.

The 14-year-old from Hong Kong beat the record set by current world number two Garcia by 107 days.

Collated second round scores & totals in the European Tour UBS Hong Kong Open, Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong

(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 70):

132 Oliver Wilson 66 66, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 70 62, Chawalit Plaphol (Tha) 66 66, Oliver Fisher 67 65

133 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 66 67, Colin Montgomerie 68 65, Johan Edfors (Swe) 68 65, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 66, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 64 69

134 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 71 63, Rory McIlroy 70 64, Wen-Tang Lin (Tai) 65 69

135 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 69 66, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 64 71

136 John Daly (USA) 68 68, Bernhard Langer (Ger) 69 67, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 68 68, Iain Steel (Mal) 68 68, Angelo Que (Phi) 68 68, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 70 66, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 69 67

137 Frankie Minoza (Phi) 65 72, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 69 68, David Frost (Rsa) 69 68, Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor) 70 67, Wen Teh Lu (Tpe) 68 69, Peter Hanson (Swe) 67 70, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 69 68, Artemio-hiromasa Murakami (Phi) 67 70, Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe) 66 71, Darren Beck (Aus) 68 69, David Gleeson (Aus) 72 65, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 70 67, Martin Rominger (Swi) 71 66, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 70 67, Tony Carolan (Aus) 70 67, David Dixon 68 69

138 Gareth Maybin 71 67, Jamie Donaldson 75 63, Scott Drummond 68 70, Wook-Soon Kang (Kor) 69 69, Chinarat Phadungsil (Tha) 67 71, David Bransdon (Aus) 70 68, Gavin Flint (Aus) 68 70, David Lynn 71 67

139 Wei Chih Lu (Tha) 70 69, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 67 72, Graeme McDowell 71 68, Anders Hansen (Den) 71 68, Scott Strange (Aus) 71 68, Ben Leong (Mal) 69 70, Unho Park (Aus) 71 68, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 69 70, Taichiro Kiyota (Jpn) 72 67, Taco Remkes (Ned) 69 70, Paul Lawrie 69 70, Phillip Archer 72 67, Jong Yul Suk (Kor) 70 69, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 71 68, Bradley Dredge 69 70

140 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 70 70, Zaw Moe (Kor) 72 68, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 70 70, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 71 69, Anthony Kang (USA) 70 70, Anthony Wall 72 68, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 70 70, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 71 69, Shun yat jason Hak (Hkg) 70 70, Joong Kyung Mo (Kor) 69 71, Sattaya Supupramai (Tha) 71 69, Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 70 70, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 71 69, Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 71 69, David Horsey 70 70, Paul Waring 72 68, Mark Brown (USA) 70 70, Marcus Both (Aus) 68 72, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 71 69, Jean Van de velde (Fra) 73 67, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 71 69, Paul McGinley 71 69

Missed the cut:

141 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 69 72, Young-Woo Nam (Kor) 69 72, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 72 69, Mars Pucay (Phi) 72 69, Chris Rodgers 68 73, Scott Hend (Aus) 70 71, Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 68 73, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 68 73, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 70 71

142 Nick Faldo 72 70, Simon Dyson 71 71, Simon Khan 74 68, Paul Broadhurst 72 70, Lee Slattery 70 72, Sung Lee (Kor) 75 67, Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa) 71 71, Rick Kulacz (Aus) 67 75, Keith Horne (Rsa) 73 69, Richard Lee (Can) 76 66

143 Inn-choon Hwang (Kor) 68 75, Airil Rizman (Mal) 70 73, Phillip Price 71 72, Chih-bing Lam (Sin) 72 71, Scott Barr (Aus) 71 72, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 74 69, Sam Little 71 72, Gregory Havret (Fra) 72 71

144 Robert Rock 73 71, Stephen Scahill (Nzl) 73 71, Markus Brier (Aut) 71 73, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 73 71, Simon Griffiths 70 74, Simon Hurd 72 72

145 Gary Simpson (Aus) 71 74, Steve Webster 74 71, Amandeep Johl (Ind) 70 75, Marcel Siem (Ger) 74 71, Mark Foster 72 73, Simon Wakefield 74 71

146 Yasin Ali 70 76, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 72 74, Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn) 72 74, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 78 68, Keng-chi Lin (Tai) 71 75

147 Prom Meesawat (Tha) 74 73, Roderick De lacy staunton (Hkg) 70 77, Jovick Lee (Hkg) 79 68, Adam Groom (Aus) 74 73

148 Daniel Chopra (Swe) 71 77, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 72 76, Matthew Mcbain (Aus) 75 73, Steven Lam (Hkg) 74 74, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 74 74, Miles Tunnicliff 73 75, David Freeman (Hkg) 74 74

149 Thammanoon Srirot (Tha) 74 75, Adam Blyth (Aus) 73 76

150 Digvijay Singh (Ind) 73 77

151 Paul Riley 76 75

157 Derek Fung (Hkg) 78 79

161 James Stewart 78 83


SABBATINI SET FOR HONG KONG
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Joseph, Ndukwe out of Bengals lineup vs. Steelers
FALDO PREPARES FOR RETURN

MAX READY TO BE HADDEN'S LINKS MAN

Two years ago, Max Evans was a professional golfer in Portugal.

On Saturday, the Glasgow centre could complete a remarkable transformation to Test match star after being named on the bench for Scotland's final autumn international against Canada.

Evans began his career in rugby but a back injury in 2004 appeared to have curtailed his career.

But after two years outside the professional game, he decided to undergo the physiotherapy he needed to make a comeback.

The stocky centre has not looked back since and has enjoyed such a promising start to the current season that head coach Frank Hadden is ready to give him his big chance at Pittodrie.

"It would be excellent," said the 25-year-old. "If I get the ball in a bit of space, that's what I look forward to, that's what I thrive on.

"So whether I come on at 13 or have to slip onto the wing or wherever, I just can't wait to get that chance."

Evans has been in and around the senior squad before but it was his scintillating performance for Scotland A in Friday night's demolition of Georgia that ultimately got him the nod.

His performance at his home ground of Firhill included a breathtaking solo try and Evans admits he has watched a video of the touchdown more than once.

"It looked easier than it felt when I actually scored it," he said. "It didn't look that hard to get to the tryline but it was quite difficult at the time!"

In rugby terms, Evans has been living in the shadow of younger brother Thom, who made his Scotland debut during the summer tour to Argentina and retained his place for the two autumn Tests against New Zealand and South Africa.

But the wing has been left out of Saturday's team after suffering an injury against the Springboks.

"It's a shame Thom's not involved this weekend but I'm sure there'll come a day when we'll play together," said Evans, who is looking forward to his brother having to watch him for a change.

He said: "It's been two trips for me to watch him. It's been great watching him but any rugby player you talk to doesn't really enjoying watching a game you could be part of because you just want to be a part of it so badly.

"So it will be a bit of a role reversal for him coming to watch me this time."

Evans, who was a scratch golfer at his peak, revealed he plays off a four or five handicap now.

He may return to the game after hanging up his boots and is still an avid fan.

Indeed, on a recent visit to the venue for Saturday's match, he was captivated by some of the sights along the way.

"I got the train from Glasgow to Aberdeen and there was a golf course right on the side," he said.

"I also got to go past Carnoustie. I've seen that a million times on TV."

Evans admits he would prefer his debut to come at Murrayfield but is happy to pull on the Scotland jersey anywhere.

"Obviously, it would be great to play at Murrayfield for the first cap but I'm just so thrilled and honoured to be involved in any form of national game," he said.


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JIMENEZ MAKES CASE FOR THE DEFENCE

A well-rested Miguel Angel Jimenez believes he is in perfect shape to stage a successful defence of his UBS Hong Kong Open title this week and make a strong start to the Race to Dubai.

The Spaniard decided to sit out the HSBC Champions last week - the first event on the 2009 calendar - in order to recuperate from a tiring yet productive campaign on the European Tour.

Jimenez kicked off last season with victory in Hong Kong before securing a 15th career title at the BMW PGA Championship in May that ensured a return to the European Ryder Cup team.

The 44-year-old finished fourth on the Order of Merit, equalling his best finish to a season in two decades on the European Tour.

And after two weeks without lifting a golf club, Jimenez feels ready to return to the course where he won by a stroke last year.

"It has been a long season with many long trips and at the end of the year your body feels tired," he said.

"I took two weeks off after the Volvo Masters and decided not to play the week of Shanghai but take a week off to recharge the batteries and do what I needed to at home.

"Now it is my first tournament of the season for the Race to Dubai."

Jimenez's victory last year was his second in Hong Kong and he is now looking to become the first European to lift the trophy three times.

"This is a place I have always enjoyed coming to since my first time here in 2004, when I won," he added.

"This is a nice golf course, it is an old fashioned course where you need to hit the ball very well from the tee and place the ball well for the second shots.

"Also it is great to be in Hong Kong and always nice to be back, and I hope to be able to defend the title properly."

Jimenez is joined in Hong Kong by a stellar field that also features major winners Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Jon Daly and compatriot Jose Maria Olazabal.

Olazabal, 42, has been installed as one of the favourites to succeed Faldo as Europe's 2010 Ryder Cup captain.

The Spaniard was vice-captain during the five-point loss to the Americans in Valhalla in September but has hinted he would rather concentrate on playing than taking the main role in two years' time.

But Jimenez is confident the two-time Masters champion will captain Europe at some stage, although he expects Olazabal would prefer at least one more chance to be on the team as a player.

"He will be a future captain," said Jimenez. "We have been talking and he will maybe be the one after next.

"People like him, he is a great person, a great player and he will be a great captain when the time comes.

"First he would like to play again and that is the motivation for him."


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SABBATINI SET FOR HONG KONG

FALDO PREPARES FOR RETURN

Nick Faldo dusts off his golf clubs this week as he prepares for his first European Tour event in over a year at the UBS Hong Kong Open.

The 51-year-old Englishman has endured an eventful year off the course during which he suffered the disappointment of leading Europe to their first Ryder Cup defeat to the USA in nine years.

Faldo came under heavy criticism for some of his decision-making before and during the competition at Valhalla but the three-time Masters champion insists he has no regrets about the experience and is instead focused on playing when he tees off at the Hong Kong Golf Club.

"What's been said has been said, so we've moved on. We're two months on now," he said.

"I enjoyed it so much that week, it really was a great experience.

"If somewhere down the line there's another opportunity to be captain, I would seriously consider it."

Faldo has fond memories of Hong Kong having won the Johnnie Walker Classic here in 1990.

It is clearly a place he enjoys with his last competitive appearance coming at the UBS Hong Kong Open last year.

And Faldo stressed that although he does relish the rare opportunity to get out on the golf course, his regular playing days are firmly behind him.

"I don't miss it now," he added. "I've been in television now for four years, so I've come off the golf course.

"I'm 51, so I'm quite happy. I had my playing days, and I've moved on to do other things.

"I haven't played since last year competitively and I think I'm struggling to get 10 rounds of golf and probably 10 hours of practice.

"It's been a busy year this year obviously with television and Ryder Cup but I'm glad to be back out on the golf course for a bit of fun this week."

The UBS Hong Kong Open is the second-counting event for the European Tour's inaugural Race to Dubai.

The top 60 in the Race to Dubai qualify for the Dubai World Championship, which has a lucrative prize fund of $10million (Ј5.6million) and a first prize of $3.6million (Ј2million).

And Faldo believes it heralds an exhilarating new era for European golf.

"It is very exciting," he said. "I think this is the opportunity that's been created by America - we discussed a couple years ago at one of the meetings, America stopping their season in September.

"It's given Europe an opportunity from October, November and December to have a short window in the world of golf, and they have taken advantage of that.

"I think it should be a great event."


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JIMENEZ MAKES CASE FOR THE DEFENCE
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SEVE OUT OF INTENSIVE CARE

Seve Ballesteros has been moved out of the intensive care unit at the Madrid hospital where he is being treated.

Ballesteros was diagnosed with a brain tumour at La Paz hospital, after losing consciousness at Madrid Airport early last month.

He underwent a lengthy operation on October 24 to reduce pressure on his brain, caused by an oedema, and to remove remaining tumour tissues following two previous operations.

Ballesteros was moved to the hospital's intensive care unit following the treatment, but the five-time major winner has now recovered enough to leave the unit.

A hospital statement read: "Severiano Ballesteros has left the intensive care unit and has now changed ward.

"Although this is good news, I would like to ask for everyone's patience - because the process is a lengthy one, and there is still a long way to go.

"He is continuing his recovery and is receiving visits."


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BALLESTEROS RECOVERY CONTINUES

WOODS BACKS OLYMPICS BID

Tiger Woods, initially thought to be lukewarm on the idea of golf in the Olympics, was one of a number of top players who featured in a video aired when representatives of the International Golf Federation formally presented their case to the International Olympic Committee Programme Commission.

Making the presentation in Lausanne on Friday were Royal and Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson and US Tour executive Ty Votaw, executive director of the IGF Olympic Golf Committee.

Dawson stated: "Golf truly is an international sport, with 60million people playing the game in nearly 120 countries, and it continues to grow with new initiatives being implemented all over the world to teach the game to both young and old.

"We believe the time is right for golf to be brought back to the Olympic Games."

The video also featured women's world number one Lorena Ochoa, Phil Mickelson, Annika Sorenstam, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia.

"We felt it was critically important to show that many of the game's biggest stars are saying supportive and positive things about golf's bid," commented Votaw.

"We obviously believe there is a very compelling case as to why golf should become an Olympic sport and today was the first step in what essentially is a year-long process."

Golf, last included in 1904, will next submit responses in March to a detailed questionnaire that will constitute the formal and technical bid for the 2016 Games. The IGF's initial view is for 60-player fields for both men and women.

Both the host city - Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Chicago are competing - and selection of any new sports will be determined at the IOC session scheduled for next October in Copenhagen.

Also under consideration are baseball, karate, roller sports, rugby sevens, softball and squash. They also made half-hour presentations on Friday.


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SINGH ON THE RISE

Indian Jeev Milkha Singh is up from 60th to 46th in the world after pushing Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els into joint second place at the Barclays Singapore Open.

Harrington moves above Vijay Singh into fourth behind Tiger Woods, who has now held the top spot for 522 weeks in his career, Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson.

Latest leading positions:

1 Tiger Woods 13.79pts, 2 Sergio Garcia 8.59, 3 Phil Mickelson 7.95, 4 Padraig Harrington 7.51, 5 Vijay Singh 7.44, 6 Robert Karlsson 5.27, 7 Camilo Villegas 5.25, 8 Ernie Els 5.01, 9 Anthony Kim 4.84, 10 Lee Westwood 4.83

11 Henrik Stenson 4.78, 12 Jim Furyk 4.77, 13 Steve Stricker 4.45, 14 Geoff Ogilvy 4.36, 15 Stewart Cink 4.32, 16 KJ Choi 4.25, 17 Adam Scott 4.24, 18 Justin Rose 4,10, 19 Kenny Perry 3.90, 20 Miguel Angel Jimenez 3.76

Other leading Europeans:

25 Ian Poulter, 26 Martin Kaymer, 27 Luke Donald, 33 Graeme McDowell, 34 Ross Fisher, 38 Paul Casey, 42 Oliver Wilson, 44 Soren Hansen, 48 Soren Kjeldsen, 50 Peter Hanson, 54 Carl Pettersson, 57 Fredrik Jacobson, 61 Darren Clarke, 63 Rory McIlroy, 71 Nick Dougherty, 74 Anders Hansen, 79 Alvaro Quiros, 80 Peter Hedblom, 82 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, 86 Niclas Fasth, 94 Paul McGinley, 98 Gregory Havret, 99 Francesco Molinari


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SINGH LANDS SINGAPORE SPOILS
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LANGER REFUSES TO RULE OUT RYDER RETURN

Bernhard Langer has refused to distance himself from a possible return as European Ryder Cup captain but insisted he would only take the position if he were asked.

The German led Europe to a nine-point rout of the United States four years ago and received wide acclaim for the achievement.

Conversely, Nick Faldo came in for heavy criticism after Europe slumped their worst defeat in 27 years in Valhalla in September and is unlikely to remain in the position.

Jose Maria Olazabal is regarded as the favourite to take over the captaincy but even though he has spoken to Thomas Bjorn, chairman of the Tournament Players Committee, the Spaniard has yet to give a definite answer.

When asked whether he would like to return as captain, Langer said: "It depends. I haven't been asked and I think there are a lot of other guys who would like to be captain and have the chance.

"It is not what I want, it is who the committee decides and that is the right way.

"We learnt a lesson a few years ago when three or four were asking [to be captain] and you had a winner and loser.

"So we decided at that time it is not who is asking that gets the job but who the committee determines will make the best job.

"That is the best way to go about it."

Langer is making a rare appearance on the European Tour this week as he joins fellow major winners Faldo, John Daly and Olazabal at the UBS Hong Kong Open.

The 51-year-old, who won the tournament in 1991, has been playing well this year having finished top of the US Champions Tour Money List and winning the Casa Serena Open in his debut season on the Senior Tour.

"I have been healthy these last couple of years and playing good golf," added Langer. "I am very happy with my season,

"I had a very good year the year before and this year as well. It is brilliant to be with the old boys as we call them.

"The Champions Tour suits me very well. There are lots of guys my age and we can relate to each other, we are at the same stage in life.

"We play courses which are very good, a little shorter than the regular tour but in very good condition.

"We realise we are only going to be playing this game for a few more years and therefore enjoying it more."


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CASH BOOST FOR LAWRIE FOUNDATION

Paul Lawrie's golf foundation, which supports junior golf in the north-east of Scotland, has been given a Ј25,000 grant by the Royal and Ancient Club.

"I would never have won The Open at Carnoustie without putting in countless hours of practice," Lawrie said.

"I hope the Foundation will instil in these juniors a similar level of commitment in all aspects of their lives."

The R&A also supports junior programmes in Carnoustie and St Andrews and their director of golf development Duncan Weir stated: "Supporting junior golf here in Scotland, where we are based, is a key aspect of The R&A's work."


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SINGH LANDS SINGAPORE SPOILS

Jeev Milkha Singh was counting his blessings after claiming a thrilling one-stroke victory over Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els at the Barclays Singapore Open.

The Indian ace carried a narrow one-shot edge into the final hole in the Asian Tour event after a tense final round at Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong course but squandered his opportunity to secure the win when his 12-foot birdie attempt curled just past the hole.

But Harrington pushed his five-foot birdie attempt wide before Els saw his 15-footer stop on the edge of the cup, giving Singh the title.

"The way I'm going to record it is that I played very good but I think I was very fortunate the golfing gods were on my side," said Singh, who closed with a two-under-par 69 for a seven-under 277 total.

"I think those two guys (Harrington and Els) hit some good putts on the last hole and I was fortunate enough to win and I'll take it.

"I'm excited about it. I'm happy I could win against the top players of the world and this will give me a lot of confidence and hopefully go on to bigger things in life."

Singh and Harrington began the final round in a tie for seventh on five under but both managed three birdies on the front nine to surge to the top of the leaderboard.

With third round leader Chapchai Nirat of Thailand struggling, the tournament developed into a duel between the pair with the Indian edging ahead on the 16th after a moment of bad fortune for the Irishman.

Hitting from the rough, Harrington saw his approach shot pitch eight feet from the pin before rolling off the putting surface and into the water for a double bogey that put him one stroke behind Singh.

"That was a bad break for him," Singh said. "That happens in golf and I guess it's sad what happened."

Harrington, a winner of two majors this season, did not want to make too much of the costly hole, which resulted in his only dropped shots of they day.

"I had a couple of chances at the end but I wouldn't say that cost me," said the world number five, who fired a closing 70 to finish in a tie for second with Els on six under.

"I had a couple of good breaks earlier on and I was able to hold it together. The shot to 16 for the double bogey was unlucky and I hit a lovely shot into the last and I was six inches away from having a chance for eagle.

"I've holed some great putts at the right time this year. I'm not going to feel good about this one for the next couple of hours but when I look back at my year I won't find it too bad.

"I'm delighted for Jeev but I'll look back at my year and I am happy with it."

Els, who began the day a shot ahead of Singh, had a frustrating day with only one birdie, an 18-footer on the 16th, in his closing 71.

"The gods were not with me. They all looked like they were going in. The one on 17 just missed at the bottom left, the one on 15 was just over the edge," said the South African.

"It shows that golf is just a game of inches.

"It could have been a win but Jeev is a great guy and I'm happy for him."

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and David Gleeson of Australia carded 69s to finish tied for fourth on five under with Charlie Wi (72) a further shot back on four under.

Chapchai struggled to a closing 78 to finish in a tie for seventh with Thomas Bjorn (74) on three under, one shot ahead of world number three Phil Mickelson, who was alone in ninth on two under after a closing 75.

Victory in Asia's richest national open sent Singh to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit with over US 1.4 million in winnings, all but guaranteeing him his second Order of Merit title in three years.

"I won the Order of Merit in 2006 and if I can do it right now, it would be great.

"Winning any Order of Merit, anywhere in the world, especially in Asian Tour where I started from would be great.

"This Tour has given me a lot and if I can do it again, that would be fantastic."

Collated final-round scores (Par 71):

277 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 73 68 67 69

278 Padraig Harrington (Irl) 72 70 66 70, Ernie Els (Rsa) 66 70 71 71

279 David Gleeson (Aus) 72 67 71 69, Rory Mcilroy (NIrl) 70 68 72 69

280 Charlie Wi (Kor) 70 71 67 72

281 Thomas Bjorn (Den) 72 67 68 74, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 70 68 65 78

282 Phil Mickelson (USA) 73 68 66 75

283 Mitchell Brown (Aus) 70 70 71 72, Somkiat Srisanga (Tha) 71 71 70 71, Simon Dyson (Eng) 69 67 71 76

284 Ted Oh (Kor) 76 68 69 71, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 76 67 70 71, Kim Kyung-Tae (Kor) 69 75 67 73, Scott Strange (Aus) 71 71 69 73, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 71 69 69 75

285 Darren Clarke (NIrl) 73 71 71 70, James Kingston (Rsa) 72 71 71 71, Lam Chih Bing (Sin) 67 71 68 79

286 Shigeki Maruyama (Jpn) 72 68 71 75

287 Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 73 69 73 72, Gonzalo Fdz-Castano (Spa) 72 70 74 71, Ben Leong (Mal) 71 70 75 71, Dinesh Chand (Fij) 74 71 71 71, Adam Blyth (Aus) 72 70 71 74, Kodai Ichihara (Jpn) 73 73 71 70, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 71 68 73 75, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 74 71 66 76

288 Jason Knutzon (USA) 74 70 74 70

289 Shiv Kapur (Ind) 74 72 73 70

290 Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 75 69 72 74, Chris Rodgers (Eng) 70 71 73 76, Lu Wei-Chih (Tpe) 71 72 72 75, Liang Wen-Chong (Chn) 74 72 66 78, Danny Lee (Nzl) 74 69 70 77, Chan Yih-Shin (Tpe) 74 72 71 73, Nick O'hern (Aus) 73 72 73 72, Darren Beck (Aus) 73 72 73 72, Kim Nam-Kang (Kor) 75 71 73 71

291 Mardan Mamat (Sin) 75 69 73 74, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 69 71 72 79, Guido Van Der Valk (Ned) 74 65 73 79, S.S.P. Chowrasia (Ind) 70 76 75 70, Richard Moir (Aus) 70 76 75 70

292 Peter Fowler (Aus) 72 71 73 76, Markus Brier (Aut) 70 72 73 77, Neven Basic (Aus) 74 69 71 78, Zhang Lian-Wei (Chn) 70 73 75 74, Kane Webber (Aus) 73 71 74 74, Lu Wen-Teh (Tpe) 74 72 72 74

293 Park Jun-Won (Kor) 71 74 70 78, Noh Seung-Yul (Kor) 72 72 73 76, Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa) 73 72 72 76, Steven Tiley (Eng) 73 69 76 75, Jason King (Aus) 71 74 73 75, Marcus Both (Aus) 68 71 79 75

294 Oliver Wilson (Eng) 71 73 71 79, Scott Barr (Aus) 72 70 75 77, Artemio Murakami (Phi) 74 71 73 76, Digvijay Singh (Ind) 70 72 76 76, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) 75 69 75 75

295 Keith Horne (Rsa) 69 75 74 77, Thammanoon Srirot (Tha) 74 71 73 77, Gavin Flint (Aus) 76 70 72 77, Han Lee (USA) 75 71 73 76, Muhammad Munir (Pak) 74 71 76 74

297 David Bransdon (Aus) 73 69 77 78, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 73 71 76 77

298 Young Nam (Kor) 73 71 77 77

299 Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 72 74 77 76

304 Nick Redfern (Eng) 69 76 76 83


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NO RACE TO DUBAI FOR LEFTY

Phil Mickelson has confirmed he will not be participating in the Race to Dubai this season but insisted he would be 'honoured' to be involved in the European Tour in the future.

Speaking in Singapore on Tuesday, the American said that his schedule for 2009 did not allow him to commit to the European Tour, but the Race to Dubai fitted in well with his future plans.

"I have thought about it (European Tour membership) but I did not take it up for '09. If I did, it would have been before last week's event (the HSBC Champions)," said the 38-year-old.

"It wasn't quite right for me time-wise but I have still made a commitment to play more golf internationally and I do believe that it's very possible that, in the near future, it will be in my plans.

"As I play more throughout the world it would be a natural fit to be a part of the Race to Dubai."

The three-time major winner was fulsome in his praise for the European Tour and indicated he would be more than happy to be part of it.

"I think that the European Tour is making great strides in their individual events," he added.

"There is a high quality to the events as well as the Tour as a whole. They've been able to maintain a number of their top players and have a great product to present.

"It would be an honour for me to be a part of it. It just didn't work out for me this year but I wouldn't rule it out for the near future.

"I haven't set a time schedule. I thought that I might do it for '09 but it's just the way that some little things worked out, it wasn't quite right yet.

"But again, I'm not going to commit to doing it in 2010 because I don't know what's going to happen over the next 14 months.

"But if a couple of things happen here or there, it would help to make it all fit."

Mickelson lost his world number two ranking to Sergio Garcia after finishing tied for eighth in Shanghai, but is not too concerned at being seen as the world's best golfer after Tiger Woods.

"It's not really something that I really think about," Mickelson said.

"What I'm more concerned about is playing well here. Last year I came here to Singapore with high expectations because I was playing well and wanted to perform well at this event.

"The world rankings will fluctuate and that's not something I've spent much time thinking about. I think that if I play well, the world ranking, the money list and all those other things will take care of itself."

The gap between Woods and the rest has narrowed since the world number one underwent knee surgery in the summer but Mickelson is looking forward to his return from injury in the new year.

"The reason why we all want Tiger back is because he drives the game of golf," Mickelson said.

"He drives television ratings, the sponsors need him in their events and the fans turn out to see him, so we need him back as soon as possible.

"He does so much for us on a national level in the United States and on an international level throughout the world, and we all miss him and want him back soon."


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WILLETT IN POLE POSITION

Danny Willett finally overhauled long-time leader Oskar Henningsson to move into top spot heading into the closing 36 holes of the European Tour's qualifying school in Spain.

The Yorkshire rookie, who surged through the field with a 63 during Saturday's third round, posted a 70 today for a 16-under total of 270, enough for a one-stroke lead in the race for the 30 tour cards up for grabs.

Former world amateur number one Willett bounced back from a double bogey at the 10th, where he four-putted from 35 feet, with a birdie on the closing hole lifting him ahead of Henningsson (74).

"It was an up and down one today and the four-putt was not what I wanted but I managed to get my head back on and played really well over the last eight holes," said Willett.

"The target is obviously to finish as high as possible because you want to give yourself as many opportunities to get into tournaments as you can.

"In the nicest possible way, it would be good to win here and then never come back again."

Scotland's Chris Doak improved 84 places from 107th to 23rd with a dazzling nine-under-par 63.

The 30-year-old Scot has already clinched starts in some of the most lucrative events on the 2009 European circuit after winning last month's PGA play-offs at Royal Liverpool, but the Greenock pro is now eyeing a full card.

"I knew I needed to do something just to make the cut so in the circumstances this has to be the best round of my career," he said.

Former Ryder Cup player Peter Baker was one of a host of players left to reflect on damaging conclusions to their rounds which left them outside the cut mark of one over.

Baker had hauled himself into the all-important top 70 but leaked four shots in his last five holes to miss out by three shots.

Sweden's Fredrik Andersson endured an even more calamitous end to his round, dropping seven shots over his last five holes to finish one shot shy of mark.


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LAM SHINES AS BIG NAMES FALTER

Ernie Els and Oliver Wilson were within a shot of clubhouse leader Lam Chin Bing at the weather-interrupted Barclays Singapore Open on Thursday when darkness ended play at Sentosa Golf Club with half the field yet to finish their first round.

After a lightning storm halted play for more two hours, Lam completed his opening round on four-under 67, one stroke ahead of Australia's Marcus Both and three ahead of Austria's Markus Brier, Korea's Charlie Wi and China's Zhang Lian-wei in the US dollars 5million Asian Tour event.

Teeing off in the afternoon, Els picked up an eagle on the fourth and had two more birdies, offset by a lone bogey, as he moved to three under through 14 holes.

Wilson had birdies on the fourth, sixth and 10th and the Englishman was bogey-free through 12 holes when play was halted with 71 players still on the course.

India's Digvijay Singh joined them on that mark after firing four birdies and a bogey through 11 holes.

World number five Padraig Harrington bogeyed his final hole for a one-over 72 while Phil Mickelson overcame a poor start to shoot a 73.

Darren Clarke was tied with Mickelson on two over while two-time Singapore Open winner Adam Scott had seven bogeys in his disastrous round of 76.

But it was Lam who stole the limelight after sparkling in soggy conditions at the Serapong course.

The 31-year-old made an excellent start after teeing off on the back nine with a birdie on his first hole and three in four just before the turn.

He dropped his only shot of the day when he missed a 20-footer for par at the fifth but a birdie on the eighth put him back on top on four under.

"It's jus another tournament for me," said the Singaporean, who secured a place at this year's Open Championship with a top-four finish in the qualifier at the same course.

"Even though it's our national open and the biggest tournament on the Asian Tour, I still have to go out there and do my job no matter what. So it's just going to be another day at the office for me tomorrow.

"Being familiar with a golf course is a little bit overrated. At the end of the day, you still have to go out and produce the shots.

"But being at home, sleeping in my own bed and getting the crowd behind me is definitely a boost."

Harrington, a notoriously slow starter, was let down by his bogey at the last but felt encouraged by his opening effort.

"It certainly had the potential to be better but it is a 72 and I am encouraged by the way I hit it," said the Irishman, who had three birdies and four bogeys.

"I feel good. I am enthusiastic about playing and keen to get out there. I played nicely out there today and that is encouraging for the next couple of days.

"I do need to score a little better but I need to be a little patient when it comes to that."

Mickelson, meanwhile, was encouraged with his score after bogeying three of his first four holes.

"I know two over par does not sound good but I will actually take it. I got off to a terrible start and I was three over early," said the American.

"This is the worst chipping round I have had in years that I can remember. I hit five or six of the worst chips I have hit for a long time.

"I do not feel I shot myself out of the tournament by any means and a good round tomorrow will get me right back in it.

"Anything in the 60s will put me right back in it. I do not think anybody is going to go too far under par here."

The opening round will resume at 7.30am on Friday (2330 GMT Thursday).

Latest first round scores in the Asian Tour Barclays Singapore Open, Sentosa GC, Singapore, Singapore (Par 71)

First round suspended - to resume at 7.30am local time on Friday.

67 Lam Chih Bing (Sin)

68 Marcus Both (Aus)

70 Markus Brier (Aut), Charlie Wi (Kor), Zhang Lian-Wei (Chn)

71 Ben Leong (Mal), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha), Park Jun-Won (Kor), Jason King (Aus), Somkiat Srisanga (Tha)

72 Padraig Harrington (Irl), Gonzalo Fdz-Castano (Spa), Simon Dunn, Adam Blyth (Aus), Mars Pucay (Phi), Scott Barr (Aus)

73 Steven Tiley (Eng), Darren Clarke (Nirl), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Phil Mickelson (USA), Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind), Arjun Singh (Ind), Young Nam (Kor), Darren Beck (Aus), Kodai Ichihara (Jpn)

74 Chan Yih-Shin (Tai), Gaurav Ghei (Ind), Danny Lee (Nzl), Liang Wen-Chong (Chn), Jason Knutzon (USA), Muhammad Munir (Pak), Neven Basic (Aus), Guido Van Der Valk (Ned), Rhys Davies (Wal), Thammanoon Srirot (Tha), Dinesh Chand (Fij)

75 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha), Han Lee (Kor), Wang Ter-Chang (Tai), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind), Richard Sterne (Rsa), Kwanchai Tannin (Tha), Shaaban Hussin (Mal), M Murugiah (Sin), Anthony Kang (USA),S Siva Chandhran (Mal), Kim Nam-Kang (Kor)

76 Pornsakon Tipsanit (Tha), Mo Joong-Kyung (Kor), Unho Park (Aus), Takuya Taniguchi (Jpn), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Arjun Atwal (Ind), Adam Scott (Aus), Udorn Duangdecha (Tha), Wisut Artjanawat (Tha), Ted Oh (Kor), Kao Bo-Song (Tai)

77 Rashid Ismail (Mal), Ekalak Waisayakul (Tha), Hsu Mong-Nan (Tai), Will Yanagisawa (USA), Yasin Ali (Eng)

78 Ferdinand Aunzo (Phi), Angelo Que (Phi), Gary Simpson (Aus), Lien Lu-Sen (Tai)

79 Mahal Pearce (Nzl), Frankie Minoza (Phi), Ross Bain (Sco), Danny Chia (Mal), Ashley Hall (Aus)

80 Anirban Lahiri (Ind), Stephen Scahill (Nzl)

83 Gary Kwek, Iain Steel (Mal)

84 Patrick Tang (Sin)

Retired: Bryan Saltus (USA)


POULTER DRIVEN OUT
Jaguars’ Walker hospitalized with knee infection
McILROY FEELING POSITIVE
Panthers RB Stewart back in practice, questionable

NIRAT LEADS WAY IN GLOOM

Chapchai Nirat of Thailand chipped in for an eagle to move to the top of the leaderboard at the Barclays Singapore Open before darkness brought third round play to an early end.

The 25-year-old from Bangkok began the third round on four under, two strokes adrift of co-leaders Simon Dyson and Ernie Els.

He made birdies on the third and fourth but was still a shot adrift of Dyson and Singapore's Lam Chih Bing after nine holes at Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong course.

But the Thai nailed a 10-foot birdie at the 10th to make it a three-way tie for the lead before jumping two shots in front with his eagle on the 11th when he chipped in with a pitching wedge from 118 yards.

Chapchai went on to par the 12th when play was halted, leaving him on five under for the day and nine under overall.

Dyson, Lam and Thomas Bjorn were tied for second on seven under at the time of the stoppage.

Dyson was six under at the start of play and picked up a shot with a birdie on the fourth while parring all of the other 10 holes he played.

"My game feels good. I'm playing all right," said the Englishman, who is feeling the effects of fatigue after playing at the Hassan II Golf Trophy in Morocco last week.

"I normally like to attack stuff but I'm holding back a bit as I'm tired.

"I'm right in it though. Bogey free yesterday and bogey free today which is a good thing.

"I'm playing a bit conservative but hopefully I'll get a good night's sleep and come out blazing tomorrow."

Lam was tied with Chapchai on four under at the start of the round and made birdies on the second and fourth before holing his third of the day with a four-footer on the ninth. He was facing a 15-foot putt for par on the 12th when play ended.

"It has been a long day," said the Singaporean, who played 13 holes to complete his second round in the morning.

"I hit the ball pretty well all day but the last holes got pretty hard to play. There was hardly any light and I was surprised they kept us out there for so long.

"All in all it was quite a steady round. If I can keep it going for another round and a half that would be good."

Bjorn started on three under and dropped a shot on the fourth before making birdies at five of his next nine holes to move to seven under after 12.

"I got off to a rocky start but after four I played some pretty good stuff," said the Dane.

"I am just trying to get myself in there with a chance to win. I have not played well for a while and it is nice to get that feeling that I have a chance again."

World number five Padraig Harrington held the clubhouse lead after shooting a 66 in the third round to improve to five under.

He was joined on that score by world number three Phil Mickelson (four under through 14), Ernie Els (one over through 11), Rory McIlroy (one under through 11) and Jeev Milkha Singh (four under through 14).

Although there were no stoppages today, long weather delays on the first two days meant that third round play only began in the afternoon with only 27 of the 72 players who made the cut able to complete their rounds.


Giants safety Butler sidelined with knee injury
PLAY ABANDONED AT VALDERRAMA

BALLESTEROS RECOVERY CONTINUES

Seve Ballesteros could be moved out of intensive care as soon as next week, according to the hospital treating the five-time major winner.

Ballesteros was diagnosed with a brain tumour at La Paz hospital after losing consciousness at Madrid Airport early last month.

He underwent a lengthy operation on October 24 to reduce pressure on his brain caused by an edema and to remove remaining tumour tissues following two previous operations.

He was moved to the hospital's intensive care unit following the treatment.

The hospital released a statement today saying that Ballesteros, 51, is continuing to respond well to treatment and could move out of intensive care next week.

The statement read: "The neurological evolution of the patient Mr Severiano Ballesteros remains favourable.

"He continues to receive rehabilitative treatment and it is likely that he could leave the Intensive Care Unit next week and be moved to another ward."


Rams tap RB Darby to start in Jackson’s absence
BALLESTEROS TO REMAIN IN INTENSIVE CARE
Schobel ruled out, but Bills hope Whitner can play

McILROY FEELING POSITIVE

Rory McIlroy had plenty to smile about after putting himself in contention for his first win as a professional at the Barclays Singapore Open with a three-under-par 68 at Sentosa Golf Club.

The Northern Irish teenager resumed his first round at the weather-interrupted Asian Tour event at one over after 14 holes but an eagle at the 18th helped him finish with a one-under 70.

Teeing off on the back nine, McIlroy then fired an eventful 68 in the second round that featured an eagle at the seventh, double-bogey on the par-three eighth and birdie at the ninth.

"I had an interesting finish in the afternoon," said McIlroy, who is on four under at the halfway mark, two shots adrift of clubhouse leaders Simon Dyson and Ernie Els.

"Obviously to make eagle on seven was huge and we had a bit of a wait on the next tee box and I just made a really poor swing and short-sided myself and left myself in a very difficult position and made double.

"But I bounced back on the last with a birdie, which was great. That gave me a positive attitude going out into the weekend."

The former European amateur champion has been touted as one of the game's top prospects but expressed his delight at just being part of the US 5 million event, which is the richest national open in Asia.

"It is a great opportunity for myself to get an invite to play in the Barclays Singapore Open," the Holywood native said.

"I am still trying to make my way as a professional so it is a chance to challenge myself against the best players in the world and so far I am doing pretty well.

"I want to get in the mix on Sunday and if I keep playing the way I am, I will be able to do that."

The 19-year-old felt that he benefited from playing alongside good friend and International Sports Management stablemate Dyson during the first two rounds.

"I am good friends with Simon and we had a lot of fun. We pulled each other along today and sort of bounced off each other, which was nice."


OLD TRAFFORD REWARD AWAITS McILROY
Cowboys’ Witten (ribs) to be ‘game-time decision’

GARCIA UP TO SECOND IN RANKINGS

Sergio Garcia's play-off victory over Oliver Wilson at the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai has made him the first European to hold the world number two spot since Colin Montgomerie 12 years ago.

Garcia relegated Phil Mickelson to third in the rankings after making birdie on the final green to tie with Wilson and then repeating it on the second extra hole.

Wilson suffered his fifth runner-up finish of 2008 and eighth in all. He has yet to win, but by climbing to 42nd in the world the Mansfield golfer is back on course for a Masters debut at Augusta next April.

At the end of the year the game's top 50 all earn exemptions into the first major of next season.

Latest leading positions:

1 Tiger Woods 14.10pts, 2 Sergio Garcia 8.68, 3 Phil Mickelson 8.15, 4 Vijay Singh 7.54, 5 Padraig Harrington 7.27, 6 Robert Karlsson 5.32, 7 Camilo Villegas 5.29, 8 Lee Westwood 4.91, 9 Anthony Kim 4.90, 10 Henrik Stenson 4.88, 11 Ernie Els 4.86, 12 Jim Furyk 4.86, 13 Steve Stricker 4.54, 14 Stewart Cink 4.40, 15 Geoff Ogilvy 4.36, 16 KJ Choi 4.34, 17 Adam Scott 4.33, 18 Justin Rose 4.10, 19 Kenny Perry 3.96, 20 Miguel Angel Jimenez 3.75

Other leading Europeans:

25 Ian Poulter, 26 Luke Donald, 27 Martin Kaymer, 33 Graeme McDowell, 34 Ross Fisher, 37 Paul Casey, 42 Oliver Wilson, 44 Soren Hansen, 47 Soren Kjeldsen, 49 Peter Hanson, 53 Carl Pettersson, 56 Fredrik Jacobson, 61 Darren Clarke, 70 Anders Hansen, 73 Nick Dougherty, 77 Alvaro Quiros, 79 Peter Hedblom, 80 Rory McIlroy, 82 Niclas Fasth, 88 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, 95 Paul McGinley, 99 Gregory Havret


GARCIA CONTINUES RANKINGS CLIMB
Former Bronco Wilson loses grievance vs. team
GARCIA EDGES OUT WILSON IN SHANGHAI
Bills’ Edwards practices, expects to play Sunday

CALDWELL MAKES FINE START

Irishman Jonathan Caldwell's bid to join his close friend Rory McIlroy on the European Tour got off to a purposeful start in the opening round of the qualifying school's final stage on Thursday.

The 24-year-old former Walker Cup player, who joined the professional ranks last week, reeled off four birdies on a fine inward half over the Red course at PGA Golf de Catalunya and carded a four-under 67 to tuck himself in among the early leaders.

Rising star McIlroy has established himself on the main circuit having earned his tour card by finishing third in last year's Dunhill Links Championship but his former amateur team-mate is having to earn his playing rights the hard way in the six-round qualifier.

"Rory and myself are good pals and we still sometimes practise together back home when we get a chance," said Caldwell, who sits behind pace-setter Oskar Henningsson of Sweden, who had a six-under 66 on the Green course to set the early pace.

"He called me on Saturday after I'd qualified for the final and wished me luck. He didn't have to go through this but I know what I have to do and it would be nice to join him on the tour. I'm certainly going to give it my best shot."

Front-runner Henningsson surged to the top with three birdies and an eagle on his back-nine over the Green course as he fired a six-under 66.

Scotsman David Drysdale, making his seventh tour school final appearance, was heading for a share of the lead after a hole-in-one at the short ninth but a brace of late bogeys at 16 and 18 left him with a four-under 68.

Danny Willett, the former world amateur number one, made a steady start with a two-under 70 while former Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart fought back from three-over after 11 to post a battling one-under 71.

Bristol rookie Chris Wood, the winner of the silver medal in July's Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, began his campaign for one of the 30 tour cards on offer with a level-par 72 but a host of past tour champions all found the return to school a dispiriting experience.

Andrew Oldcorn, the 2001 PGA champion, had a five-over 77 while Philip Golding struggled to a 79. Frenchman Jean Francois Remesy could only muster a five-over 76 on the Red course.

Collated scores & totals in the European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage - PGA Golf de Catalunya, PGA Golf de Catalunya, Girona, Spain

Green Course (Par 72)

66 Oskar Henningsson (Swe)

68 Federico Colombo (Ita), David Drysdale (Sco), Henrik Nystrom (Swe)

69 Dominique Nouailhac (Fra), Simon Thornton (Irl), Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor), Dennis Kupper (Ger), Johan Wahlqvist (Swe)

70 Joakim Haeggman (Swe), Iain Pyman (Eng), Jesus Maria Arruti (Spa), Danny Willett (Eng), Jochen Lupprian (Ger), Garry Houston (Wal), Gary Clark (Eng), Julio Zapata (Arg)

71 Rory Hie (Ina), Richard Mcevoy (Eng), Andrew Coltart (Sco), Nathan Smith (USA)

John Parry (Eng), Callum Macaulay (Sco), Matthew Mills (Eng), Francois Calmels (Fra), James Morrison (Eng), Sam Walker (Eng), Ake Nilsson (Swe), Greig Hutcheon (Sco), Anthony Summers (Aus), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut), Fabrizio Zanotti (Par)

72 Lee S James (Eng), Anders Kristiansen (Nor), Peter Richardson (Eng), Chris Wood (Eng), Julien Guerrier (Fra), Peter Baker (Eng), Gary Boyd (Eng), Adilson Da Silva (Bra)

73 Anthony Grenier (Fra), Lorenzo Gagli (Ita), Jan-Are Larsen (Nor), Gary Emerson (Eng), Thomas Aiken (Rsa), Leif Westerberg (Swe), Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe), Benjamin Miarka (Ger)

74 Patrik Sjoland (Swe), Cesar Monasterio (Arg), Andreas Hogberg (Swe), Ally Mellor (Eng), Jamie Little (Eng), Matthew Millar (Aus), Florian Fritsch (Ger)

75 Matthew Cryer (Eng), Stuart Davis (Eng), Scott Henry (Sco), Tobias Dier (Ger), Mark F Haastrup (Den), Liam Bond (Wal), Jamie Moul (Eng)

76 Malcolm Mackenzie (Eng), Thomas Feyrsinger (Aut), Robin Swane (Ned), Andrew Crux (Eng), Craig Lee (Sco)

77 Marcel Haremza (Ger), Graham Gordon (Sco), Andrew Oldcorn (Sco), James Ruth (Eng), Guy Woodman (Eng), Sven Struver (Ger), Matthew Morris (Eng)

78 Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha), Andrew Tampion (Aus)

79 Philip Golding (Eng), Darren Fichardt (Rsa)

Red Course (Par 71)

66 Wade Ormsby (Aus), Inder Van Weerelt (Ned), Branden Grace (Rsa), Marco Ruiz (Par)

67 Peter Whiteford (Sco), Julien Quesne (Fra), Simon Griffiths (Eng), Jonathan Caldwell (NIrl), Carlos Aguilar (Spa), Stuart Manley (Wal), James Kamte (Rsa), Clodomiro Carranza (Arg), Tony Carolan (Aus), Michael Curtain (Aus)

68 Marc Cayeux (Zim), Roland Steiner (Aut), Jean-Nicolas Billot (Fra), Gerald Gresse (Bel), Michael Hoey (NIrl), Roope Kakko (Fin), Nicola Maestroni (Ita), John Mellor (Eng), Manuel Quiros (Spa)

69 Rolf Muntz (Ned), Julien Grillon (Fra), Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa), Jens Dantorp (Swe), Brett A Taylor (Eng), Alex Haindl (Rsa), Chris Gane (Eng), Adrien Bernadet (Fra), Juan Abbate (Arg), Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Michael Mcgeady (Irl), Robert Coles (Eng), Michele Reale (Ita), Antti Ahokas (Fin), Lloyd Saltman (Sco), Nicolas Meitinger (Ger), Joakim Backstrom (Swe)

70 Ben Evans (Eng), Santiago Luna (Spa), Andrew Mcarthur (Sco), Ben Mason (Eng), Sion E Bebb (Wal), Gareth Paddison (Nzl), Mikko Korhonen (Fin), David Carter (Eng), Carl Suneson (Spa)

71 Scott Hend (Aus), Ian Garbutt (Eng), Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Dale Whitnell (Eng), Warren Bennett (Eng), Petter Bocian (Swe), Sebastian L Saavedra (Arg), Gary Marks (Eng), Anthony Snobeck (Fra)

72 Van Phillips (Eng), Steven Jeffress (Aus), Martin Wiegele (Aut), Gareth Davies (Eng), Emanuele Canonica (Ita), Carlos Del Moral (Spa)

73 Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Oscar Floren (Swe), Steven Jeppesen (Swe), Andrew Butterfield (Eng), Benjamin Alvarado Chi

75 Pedro Linhart (Spa), Jarrod Moseley (Aus), Javier Colomo (Spa), Christopher Hanell (Swe), Jordi Garcia Pinto (Spa), Chris Doak (Sco)

76 Raphael De Sousa (Swi), Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra), Jaakko Makitalo (Fin)


PADRAIG CRITICAL OF TOUR
Jaguars’ Henderson, Bengals’ Whitworth ejected

SALTMAN ENJOYS TASTE OF SUCCESS

Lloyd Saltman, winner of the silver medal in the 2005 Open at St Andrews, came through a weather-delayed seven-man play-off to progress from stage two of the European Tour qualifying school.

Saltman was forced to return to Sherry Golf in Jerez on Sunday to compete for the final qualifying spot after darkness prevented the play-off taking place on Saturday night.

The 23-year-old had closed with a four-under-par 68 and emerged triumphant at the first extra hole with a birdie from 10 feet.

England's Matt Cryer and triple Challenge Tour winner David Higgins of Ireland were among those denied by Saltman's birdie.

Elsewhere, Spanish veteran Santiago Luna completed a wire-to-wire win at Arcos Gardens.

The 45-year-old, a winner on the main tour in 1995, finished 18 under par for a

comfortable five-shot victory over James Ruth of England.

Simon Thornton came through after a 72 while Scottish Amateur champion Callum Macaulay, fresh from helping Scotland win the Eisenhower Trophy last month, grabbed the 19th of 21 places on offer after a closing 68.

Welshman Mark Mouland, a double tour winner, missed out.

Jamie Moul, the former world amateur number one from Essex, tied for top spot at Costa Ballena with American Nathan Smith, France's Julien Grillon and Jordi Garcia Pinto of Spain.

Harrogate's John Parry led the home hopefuls at Montenmedio after a closing 71 gave him sixth place, nine shots behind leading qualifier Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay.

English amateur Dale Whitnell and Scots pair Craig Lee and Chris Doak came through on 282 while Bristol rookie Chris Wood, the Open silver medal winner at Royal Birkdale, progressed in 15th.

At Sherry Golf, former Amateur champion Julien Guerrier of France led the way with Yorkshire's Danny Willett easing through in 13th.


Redskins’ Taylor, Springs likely out vs. Steelers
LUNA LEADS THE WAY

POULTER DRIVEN OUT

Ian Poulter has announced his withdrawal from the Barclays Singapore Open after failing to get a replacement driver in time for the tee-off of the Asian Tour event.

The Englishman had his driver stolen during the HSBC Champions in Shanghai last week and would not have received a replacement before the end of the second round on Friday evening.

As a result, Poulter opted not to play in the US dollars 5million event, the richest national open in Asia.

"I am really gutted. I have been thinking about it for four hours and I have decided to withdraw because my new driver will not arrive on time," said Poulter.

"It is disappointing because I did not come all this way not to play. But with so many world ranking points at stake, if I played badly I may have lost ground."

Tournament organisers announced Anirban Lahiri of India will take Poulter's place in the field.


Vikings’ Gordon breaks left leg on punt return
CURTIS SET FOR CUP DEBUT
Giants’ Manning practices, says there’s ‘no injury’

WILSON SICK OF SECOND

Oliver Wilson is becoming tired of his status as Europe's nearly man after yesterday's heartbreaking play-off defeat by Sergio Garcia at the HSBC Champions marked an eighth career runner-up berth for the Ryder Cup rookie.

New world number two Garcia birdied the 18th hole in regulation to earn his place in the play-off with his Ryder Cup team-mate before prevailing at the second extra hole to condemn Wilson to a fourth career play-off defeat and fifth second-place finish this year.

At May's BMW PGA Championship, Wilson lost to fellow Ryder Cup debutant Miguel Angel Jimenez in a play-off.

"It's getting to a stage where second is not good enough anymore. There was a time I was pleased to be finishing there, and it's gone, and it's about time I took my chances," said the 28-year-old.

"It's going to happen, but I'm making it hard on myself. It will be worth it when I finally get one. It's not going to be easy, it's not going to be given to me."

Players' Championship winner Garcia was quick to back Wilson to end his search for a maiden career victory after claiming his 19th professional triumph in thrilling fashion at the weather-disrupted event in Shanghai.

"A win is defiantly close for Oliver. He is playing great and it is going to happen very soon," said the Spaniard.

"Oliver has been playing great, he has just been unfortunate. I have been on that side of the net before and it's not a great feeling, but he can take a lot of positives from it.

"He has to think about the whole week and the whole year; he has had a great year, and take all the positives and make sure that helps him get better. He is going to win soon, he is playing too good not to."

On the fifth day of the disrupted championship, Garcia holed from four feet on the final green to cap a final round four-under-par 68 to join overnight leader Wilson at the top of the leaderboard after the Englishman shot a fourth-round 70.

The duo both had chances at the first extra hole before Wilson could only manage a par on the return trip down the 18th, allowing Garcia to hole out from eight feet from the fringes of the green to seal back-to-back triumphs after claiming victory at the Castello Masters on his home course at the end of October.

Wilson's second-placed finish did help him move up to 42nd in the world, which would earn him a place at April's US Masters, while the US dollars 555,550 (Ј352,321) cheque handed him a solid start to the Race to Dubai - the lucrative, revamped Order of Merit.

He will now head to Singapore and Hong Kong over the next two weeks in a bid to cement the top-50 berth by the end of the year, which would ensure a trip to Augusta.


Brown’s Winslow spends second night in hospital
GARCIA EDGES OUT WILSON IN SHANGHAI
Former Bronco Wilson loses grievance vs. team

PADRAIG KEEN TO END SEASON IN STYLE

Padraig Harrington is hoping to round off an 'unbelievable' season in style this week when he tees up in his final tournament of 2008 at the Barclays Singapore Open.

The 37-year-old Irishman has enjoyed victories in two majors this season - The Open Championship and the US PGA Championship - and a win in the richest national Open in Asia would put the seal on a memorable year.

"It's my last tournament of the year and you always want to finish well, I'm very much focused on trying to get one last win for the year and that would be the icing on the cake for Christmas," said Harrington at the Sentosa Golf Club.

"I am enthusiastic to get out there and play, which is a good sign.

"There is no doubt that after my two major wins in the summer that there was a period afterwards that I did not get enough time to take a break from the game, and I suffered a little bit because of it.

"I think I have gotten a little bit of a break since and as I said I am keen to go out there and play.

"I am changing a few things at the moment and that has kind of distracted me at times, but this being my last tournament of the year I am focused on playing this weekend and leave all the work and progress to the next eight weeks after this."

Harrington can look back on 2008 with plenty of pride after becoming the only player other than Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to have won consecutive majors since 1995.

"My season at my level is all about going out there and competing in the majors and then winning majors," he continued.

"I look back at this year as being unbelievable, I started out the year in the first six months playing very nicely and didn't get the results that my game was showing.

"Then I got the two big results in the summer that was very pleasing because it will help me stay patient in the future. My season will go down as the best season of my career so far and one to remember.

"I think going forward my goal will remain the same as it has been for the last three years, which is peak for the four majors. I think over the last 12 major championships I have managed to do that and got myself in contention a reasonable number of times."

The majors remain the top priority for Harrington but the Irishman will also attempt to make his mark at the end of next year in the inaugural Race to Dubai.

"I think that the Race to Dubai comes in under the four majors. Essentially my schedule next year will be all about peaking for the four majors next year," he added.

"It's all about building up for those, all about making sure I do not over play and that I am ready for those tournaments.

"Once the US PGA finishes in August then the Race to Dubai kicks in, then that's when I start thinking about how am I doing in that Race and whether I am in a position to win it.

"It gives you that added focus to move on for the rest of the year. I think it is very much the last three months of the year that the Race to Dubai becomes a goal because no matter what you do in the first several nine months you don't win that title.

"It is really something to focus on at the end of the year."


HEAVYWEIGHTS COMMIT TO TOUR
ALL CHANGE ON TOUR QUALIFICATION
Agent: DiGiorgio to have season-ending surgery

GARCIA EDGES OUT WILSON IN SHANGHAI

New world number two Sergio Garcia edged out Ryder Cup team-mate Oliver Wilson in a play-off to win a thrilling rain-affected HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

Spaniard Garcia carded a final round four-under-par 68 to join overnight leader Wilson at the top of the leaderboard after the Englishman shot a fourth round of 70 on the fifth day at Sheshan International Golf Club.

In the play-off, Garcia birdied the second extra hole to claim his second win in three weeks after triumphing at the Castello Masters on his home course at the end of October.

With the win, Garcia claimed a career-high in the world rankings, while the $833,300 (Ј507,398) first prize sends the 28-year-old top of the inaugural Race to Dubai.

Ryder Cup rookie Wilson, who earned his trip to Valhalla even through he has yet to win a title, earned his fifth runner-up finish of 2008.

"It feels great," said Garcia after claiming his eighth European Tour victory.

"I am so proud, to win and become world number two, it's been a great week."

SAS Masters winner Peter Hanson shot a six-under-par 66 to share third place alongside former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, who birdied the final hole for a second consecutive 70, at 13-under.

Sweden's Henrik Stenson (71) finished fifth at 11-under, with South Africa's Charl Schwartzel (70) and Australian Adam Scott (70) a further shot off the pace.

Collated final round scores & totals in the European Tour HSBC Champions, Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China.

(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 72):

274 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 66 68 72 68 (Garcia won at the second play-off hole), Oliver Wilson 67 68 69 70

275 Peter Hanson (Swe) 69 70 70 66, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 70 65 70 70

277 Henrik Stenson (Swe) 65 69 72 71

278 Adam Scott (Aus) 66 71 71 70, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 69 72 67 70

279 Phil Mickelson (USA) 66 70 70 73, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 68 70 71 70

280 Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 70 67 73 70

281 Paul Casey 71 70 68 72, Peter Lawrie 68 72 73 68, Padraig Harrington 69 70 74 68

283 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 69 73 71 70, Ian Poulter 68 73 74 68

284 Damien McGrane 68 71 72 73, Graeme McDowell 71 65 76 72, Wen-Tang Lin (Tai) 69 71 75 69, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 74 70 71 69

285 Martin Kaymer (Ger) 73 70 73 69, Camilo Villegas (Col) 73 72 73 67, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 71 69 71 74, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 69 69 74 73

286 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 71 74 73 68, David Dixon 74 72 71 69, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 71 69 72 74, Marc Cayeux (Zim) 67 70 78 71

287 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 70 71 74 72, Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 70 72 73 72, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 72 72 74 69

288 Andrew Bonhomme (Aus) 73 69 71 75, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 73 76 72 67

289 Ashun Wu (Chn) 73 71 70 75, Scott Strange (Aus) 69 68 77 75

290 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 70 73 76 71, KJ Choi (Kor) 71 74 73 72

291 Soren Hansen (Den) 71 70 71 79, Richard Finch 71 72 74 74, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 78 72 70 71, Thomas Levet (Fra) 68 75 75 73

292 Rick Kulacz (Aus) 73 76 72 71, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 72 76 72 72

293 James Kingston (Rsa) 73 71 75 74, Ross Fisher 69 74 76 74, David Horsey 75 71 73 74, Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn) 71 74 75 73, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 73 73 74 73

294 Scott Hend (Aus) 76 75 70 73, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 73 74 74 73, Ben Leong (Mal) 69 72 79 74

295 Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 68 73 79 75, John Bickerton 77 71 74 73

296 Mark Brown (USA) 71 74 78 73

297 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 75 75 78, Jean Hugo (Rsa) 73 70 76 78

298 Wei-Huang Wu (Tpe) 73 78 73 74, David Gleeson (Aus) 76 73 72 77

299 David Howell 79 74 73 73, Darren Clarke 72 71 77 79

300 Inn-choon Hwang (Kor) 77 77 71 75, Gregory Havret (Fra) 76 70 77 77

301 Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 75 77 74 75, Lei Shang (Tpe) 71 72 80 78, Wen Teh Lu (Tpe) 73 75 75 78

302 Sang-moon Bae (Kor) 73 70 86 73

303 Alastair Forsyth 73 78 77 75, Joong Kyung Mo (Kor) 72 78 79 74

306 Hao Yuan (Chn) 75 76 82 73, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 76 72 76 82

307 Chao Li (Chn) 76 79 81 71

308 James Kamte (Rsa) 77 73 76 82

309 Bryan Saltus (USA) 78 75 76 80, Angelo Que (Phi) 74 79 81 75

315 Kangchun Wu (Chn) 77 80 78 80

322 Shaun Norris (Rsa) 88 77 76 81


GARCIA CONTINUES RANKINGS CLIMB
GARCIA EXPLAINS RECRUITMENT DRIVE

WOOSNAM TARGETS MAJOR SUCCESS

Ian Woosnam has set his sights on winning a senior major after becoming the first former European Tour Order of Merit winner to be crowned the Senior Tour number one.

The John Jacobs Trophy, given to the player who tops the Senior Tour money list, now sits proudly alongside the Welshman's two Harry Vardon Trophy victories of 1987 and 1990, his 1991 Masters Tournament win, his 2006 Ryder Cup winning captaincy and OBE.

It is an accomplishment which Woosnam ranks up there with all of the rest of his feats, having battled health problems including ME to return to competitive golf in style this year.

"It's another one for the record books," said the 50-year-old. "It's always special to do something for the very first time. I don't think I will be the only one to do it, as there will be guys who have won the European Tour Order of Merit who will join the Senior Tour and hopefully win the Order of Merit here as well.

"But it's special to be the first - it's nice to do it. This ranks alongside the rest of my achievements in my career. It will go on the mantelpiece with the rest of them.

"John Jacobs has always been a great supporter of golf, so it's extra special to win the John Jacobs Trophy. Particularly in my younger days I had a few lessons off him, and thank heaven he didn't mess about with my swing too much!"

Woosnam's victory at the Parkridge Polish Seniors Championship in Poland in May - his maiden success on the tour - is something he will always cherish, with his final round course record 63 at Krakow Valley Golf and Country Club ending an 11 year run without a strokeplay victory.

"To win the first title was a bit like getting a monkey off my back as although I won the World Matchplay in 2001, I'd not won a strokeplay title since the PGA Championship in 1997," said the former world number one, who also won the Russian Seniors Open this year.

"What a wonderful tournament it was in Poland that week. To win my first tournament, as a senior and it be sponsored by my own sponsor Parkridge, in Poland where they do so much business - you really couldn't ask for more than that.

"Russia was really hard work, but I play well on certain style golf courses and that was one of them. When I feel comfortable and my confidence is high it doesn't matter where I'm playing, because I feel I can do well.

"I always thought I could do well this year - it just depended on my health. I would still say I'm nowhere near 100 per cent - I'm probably around 75 per cent. I still don't feel well in the mornings and I get really tired.

"To be away for two weeks in a row is draining, so it's great on the Senior Tour just being away for five days at a time. It really suits me as I get home every weekend. Being away in America really takes it out of me, but I feel comfortable on the Senior Tour."

Having secured his maiden Order of Merit crown with earnings of €320,119, Woosnam's thoughts have already turned to next season when he will try to defend the John Jacobs Trophy.

"What I want to do now is win a major," he added. "It would be great to win The Senior Open Championship next year."


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STATUS SHOCKS HARRINGTON

LOVE HOLDS OFF GAINEY TO TAKE TITLE

Davis Love III broke through for his first victory in more than two years by winning the Children's Miracle Network Classic on Sunday night.

Love last won in 2006 at the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro and waited until the final event of the 2008 season to put it all together.

He closed by shooting 64-64 over the weekend and finished at 25-under-par 263.

Love needed every one of his eight birdies today to hold off Tommy Gainey by one stroke. Gainey also closed with an eight-under 64, but it was not enough.

Scott Verplank and Steve Marino finished tied for third at 20 under after they each signed for a 71.

Collated final round scores & totals in the USPGA Tour Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart, Disney's Magnolia & Disney's Palm Course, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States of America

(USA unless stated, par 72):

263 Davis Love III 66 69 64 64

264 Tommy Gainey 68 66 66 64

268 Steve Marino 65 66 66 71, Scott Verplank 64 64 69 71

269 Joe Durant 68 68 68 65

270 Scott Sterling 70 63 66 71, Troy Matteson 63 68 69 70, Kevin Streelman 64 69 69 68

272 Michael Allen 70 67 68 67

273 Bob Estes 70 63 71 69, Chris Stroud 70 68 66 69, Robert Garrigus 65 67 68 73, Tim Petrovic 67 67 68 71, Tag Ridings 66 66 71 70, Cameron Beckman 68 68 67 70

274 Ryan Palmer 71 65 69 69, Harrison Frazar 67 68 71 68, Kevin Stadler 67 71 68 68, Jason Day (Aus) 72 66 70 66, Jason Gore 66 67 69 72

275 Jeff Overton 67 68 71 69, Steve Flesch 67 68 73 67, Jimmy Walker 64 72 71 68, Martin Laird (Sco) 68 66 70 71

276 Michael Bradley 70 67 70 69, J.B. Holmes 71 68 69 68, Bo Van Pelt 68 66 68 74, Ken Duke 66 67 69 74, Rich Beem 65 70 69 72, Tim Clark (Rsa) 69 66 69 72, Brenden Pappas (Rsa) 71 66 67 72, Charles Howell III 68 68 68 72

277 Nick Watney 69 70 71 67, Lee Janzen 69 67 72 69, Woody Austin 68 68 69 72, Tom Pernice Jnr. 66 67 72 72, Tim Wilkinson (Nzl) 68 66 72 71, Matthew Jones (Aus) 70 64 72 71, John Rollins 68 69 72 68, Robert Allenby (Aus) 66 72 70 69, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 68 68 73 68, Stephen Ames (Can) 68 68 69 72

278 J J Henry 67 69 72 70, Vaughn Taylor 68 71 67 72, Ted Purdy 69 68 68 73, Stewart Cink 66 70 71 71

279 John Riegger 68 69 74 68

280 Bob Sowards 69 68 70 73, Robert Gamez 65 67 70 78, Omar Uresti 67 72 70 71, Marc Turnesa 71 68 72 69

281 Patrick Sheehan 68 71 73 69, Jerry Kelly 71 68 73 69, Tom Scherrer 69 68 73 71, Chris DiMarco 68 71 73 69, Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 67 71 77 66, Bob Tway 73 62 75 71, Boo Weekley 68 71 71 71, Carlos Franco (Par) 69 67 75 70

282 Erik Compton 70 68 72 72, Heath Slocum 71 67 73 71

283 Will MacKenzie 68 69 73 73, Zach Johnson 66 72 74 71

284 Richard S Johnson (Swe) 70 68 76 70

285 Dudley Hart 70 69 74 72, Y. E Yang (Kor) 68 68 75 74

286 Todd Demsey 67 70 75 74, Frank Lickliter II 74 65 76 71

287 Kirk Triplett 65 70 76 76

298 Jeff Maggert 73 66 79 80


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SCHWARTZEL HOLDS ONTO MADRID LEAD
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SHIN GOES CLEAR AT TOP

Korean Ji-Yai Shin produced a flawless performance to earn a two-stroke lead after the second round at the Mizuno Classic.

Shin shrugged off miserable conditions to card a bogey-free six-under-par 66 on a chilly, occasionally wet day at Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club.

"Today feels very comfortable," said the British Open champion, who posted a 10-under 134 total with one round left at the co-sanctioned LPGA and Japan LPGA Tour event.

Japan's Mayu Hattori, the first round co-leader, stayed in the hunt with a 69 for second place on eight under, with Korean Jee Young Lee and Japan's Shiho Oyama equal third, three shots behind.

Shin is aiming for her second victory in Japan this year, after winning the PRGR Cup.

The highlight of her round was a tap-in birdie at the par-four 15th, where she struck a six iron to six inches.


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SORENSTAM LEAVES THE DOOR OPEN

She hopes it is not the case, but on the day that Robert Karlsson became the European Tour's new number one his fellow Swede Annika Sorenstam achieved what may prove to be her final victory.

A month before she exits the stage to marry again and pursue other business interests, Sorenstam shot 65 from five behind on the final day to take the Suzhou Taihu Open in China after a play-off.

It was the 89th title of her professional career, a new record for any woman in history. American Kathy Whitworth had 88 between 1962 and 1985.

Sorenstam is continuing to play until the Dubai Masters on December 11-14, but then it is over - if not for good then certainly for a good while.

Having avoided the word "retirement", the former world number one has left the door open, however.

"This means I could make a comeback to competitive golf if I get the itch to come back," she said.

"But for the time being I'll be out of mainstream golf events as I look forward to my marriage in January and do the many things I plan to do - teaching golf, organising golf tournaments, golf course designing and so forth.

"I'm all excited about the new chapter ahead of me beginning next year.

"I have mixed feelings - good times and bad. Too many good things to forget, but there were times I made lots of mistakes and I learned from my mistakes.

"Those were my glorious days. I met a lot of people and experienced many good things - shooting a 59 and winning the US Open. I'll cherish these moments for the rest of my life.

"For 15 years I was working inside the ropes and now I want to do things outside the ropes.

"I've come to a point where I need a change in my activities, get married and raise a new family and do other things in the development of golf.

"I need to get re-motivated, thus the change will give me a new zeal.

"I'm still young - 38 only. But 15 years on the tour is a bit too long. I'll still be involved in golf, but in other ways and, as I said, if I get the itch to comeback to competitive golf, I'll do so, but it may not be too soon."

*****

While Sorenstam was doing her stuff in China and Karlsson his in Spain, former European Open champion Kenneth Ferrie was fighting for his future in America.

They still remember the Northumberland golfer in the States for his performance in the 2006 US Open, where he was joint leader with Phil Mickelson entering the final round.

"Ancient history - by the by. Nothing to do with what I'm doing now," he said before he went into the final round of the Ginn Sur Mer Classic in Florida in second place.

At the US Open he slipped to sixth. On Sunday, though, he fell to 18th and as a result climbed only from 186th to 180th on the PGA Tour money list.

That means that, even with nearly 300,000 dollars to his name this season, he needs to nearly triple that to keep his place on the circuit.

And there is only one week to do it. And he now needs to win it.

Ferrie, who came through last December's qualifying school, commented: "It's been a strange year - I've had a really good time, the players out here are fantastic and everything about the tour is absolutely amazing.

"I haven't enjoyed being away from home so much. I think back to when I first played in Europe and I was a 22-year-old being away for nine to 10 weeks, going to new cities was exciting stuff.

"Getting to 30, I don't know if your priorities charge a little bit, but the excitement levels change a little bit.

"It just hasn't happened. I play well and shoot 70 and I play bad and shoot 73. That doesn't get you anywhere. It's hard without shooting those 64s and 65s.

"The problem with golf is you're based on your results only.

"I came over with the huge safety net that if things didn't go the way I needed them to this year I've still got two years of status left in Europe."

Bad luck has also played a part. In his very first event in Hawaii in January he opened 66-70 to be in the hunt, but then suffered food poisoning and had to withdraw.

He has gone from just outside the world's top 50 to a current 597th, but he turned 30 only in September and, as Karlsson has shown by topping the money list for the first time at 39, there is plenty of time yet.

Also in this week's Disney Classic are Scotland's Martin Laird and American Erik Compton.

Laird is 126th on the money list, one spot outside the cut-off mark, while Compton has accepted a sponsor's invite six months after a second heart transplant operation.


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SABBATINI SET FOR HONG KONG

PGA Tour ace Rory Sabbatini is set to play in the UBS Hong Kong Open later this month.

The 50th edition of the UBS Hong Kong Open will be staged at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling from November 20-23.

Sabbatini - a four-time winner in the United Staes - will be making his Hong Kong debut

"I'm really looking forward to playing in my first UBS Hong Kong Open," said the South African.

"The guys on the PGA Tour who've played at Fanling tell me it's a great course and a fantastic event, and the fact that it's the 50th tournament will make it even more special.

"I know as well that Hong Kong is a great city so it promises to be a memorable trip."

Sabbatini will be visiting Hong Kong after a solid season that saw him register three top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour, including second place in the Sony Open in Hawaii.

""I understand that in the past 49 years, David Frost has been the only South African to win the Hong Kong Open, although others have been close, so it would be nice if I could become the second.

I'll certainly be giving it my best shot," he added.


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LUNA LEADS THE WAY

Santiago Luna continued to roll back the years on home soil as he stayed out in front during the second round of the European Tour qualifying school stage two at Arcos Gardens in Spain.

The 45-year-old, a veteran of over 500 European Tour events and a winner of the circuit's Madeira Islands Open back in 1995, carded a three-under 69 for a nine-under aggregate of 135 and a two-stroke lead over Dennis Kupper of Germany and former Irish PGA number one Simon Thornton.

Englishman Guy Woodman cemented his place at the head of the field at fog-delayed Montenmedio with a 68 for a 135 and a one-stroke advantage over Spain's Manuel Quiros. Scotsman Chris Doak, who has already sealed a host of starts on the 2009 European circuit after winning the PGA Play-offs a fortnight ago, kept his bid for a full card on course with a three-under 69 for a five-under 139.

Jonathan Lomas, the European Tour's rookie of the year back in 1994, moved into eighth on 141 after a 70 while Wallace Booth, one third of Scotland's Eisenhower Trophy-winning team last month, also kept himself in the upper reaches with a 71 for 141.

Open silver medal winner Chris Wood of Bristol saw his hopes of progressing suffer a blow, however, as he slipped down into 21st place on 144 after a 74. Jordi Garcia Pinto of Spain held on to top spot at Costa Ballena despite following up his dazzling first round 10-under 62 with a more modest 72 for a 134.

Frenchman Julien Guerrier, the former British Amateur champion, eased to the front at Sherry Golf Jerez with a 68 for a 10-under 134. Lloyd Saltman, the 2005 Open silver medal winner, sits five shots outside the current qualifying places on 147 after a 72.


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SHANGHAI WASH-OUT

Play on day two at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai was abandoned due to rain and a waterlogged course at the Sheshan International Golf Club.

Following torrential overnight rain, the first tee-off time was continually pushed back throughout the day until play was abandoned just before 2pm local time (0600 GMT).

Several players had appeared on the driving range, while ground staff worked at clearing standing water from the fairways, as the rain briefly subsided.

But the showers resumed, with the forecast for worsening conditions, and it was confirmed second-round play would begin tomorrow at 6.45am local time.

The weekend forecast is significantly better, but the leading players are still expected to have to complete their third rounds on Sunday morning.

Play will only be allowed to run over until Monday should the fourth round begin on Sunday.

Sweden's Henrik Stenson heads the leaderboard at the five million US dollar (Ј3.2million) event on seven under par, by one stroke from defending champion Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim and Adam Scott.

Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell was the only player to brave the conditions this morning and he spent over an hour on the driving range in a bid to tighten-up his game following an opening one-under-par 71 yesterday.

"It is frustrating to come all the way out to Shanghai and have a course that is this well presented and a big purse to play for. You can do everything you want but you can't change the weather," world number 33 McDowell told PA Sport.

McDowell has enjoyed an extraordinary year as wins at the inaugural Ballantine's Championship and The Barclays Scottish Open secured a Ryder Cup debut against the USA at Valhalla.

Despite an eighth-place finish at last week's season-ending Volvo Masters, which secured a career-high fifth-place finish on the European Tour Order of Merit, the 29-year-old McDowell is still seeking improvement with one eye on the new money-spinning Race to Dubai.

He said: "I didn't hit it particularly well yesterday, I didn't hit it particularly well last week at Valderrama, but also I wanted to get something done for the day, feel like I done something and keep the work rate up.

"There were a few things I wanted to work on."

A statement from European Tour tournament director David Probyn said: "Play was abandoned today on the basis that the two hour period of dry weather we did have, did not restore the golf course to playable conditions on the fairways and with light to moderate rain forecast for the rest of the day, in addition to also decreasing visibility, clearly the situation was only going to worsen.

"Our prime objective and our current intention is to complete 72 holes in the HSBC Champions. Round Two is scheduled to start at 6.45am tomorrow morning and our plan will be to put the players straight back out for the third round without a redraw. Therefore we would hope that the final matches would be able to achieve around 27 holes tomorrow.

"We would then intend to restart the third round, with the players on the course, at around 6.30am or 6.45am on Sunday morning, meaning the third round would conclude around 8.45am on Sunday morning. We would then redraw for the fourth and final round with tee times being approximately between 9.30am and 11.30am.

"Clearly if we have further delays to this schedule there is a strong possibility that play in the fourth round may need to be completed on Monday morning and this has been provisionally been agreed with all the parties within the tournament."


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MICKELSON KEEPS PACE WITH GARCIA

Phil Mickelson underlined his determination to remain world number two by matching rival Sergio Garcia's six-under-par 66 in the opening round of the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai.

After winning the Players Championship and October's Castello Masters a Garcia victory in China would see him overtake the American and move in behind runaway world number one Tiger Woods.

Even a top-three finish for the Spaniard, who finished fourth at last week's 2008 season-ending Volvo Masters, could be enough should Mickelson fall back over the final three rounds.

However, there was no sign of the three-time major winner struggling in his first round.

He and Garcia are level with world number eight Anthony Kim and Australian Adam Scott, just one shot behind leader Henrik Stenson.

The Swede kicked off the 2009 European Tour season and money-spinning Race to Dubai in wet conditions at Sheshan International Golf Club but recorded an impressive round of 65.

But much of the focus was on the battle taking place just behind the Ryder Cup star.

"A win last week would have put me to world number two. I think the important thing is that I'm moving in the right direction," said 28-year-old Garcia.

"It would be nice to finish the year as world number two, but if I don't, I've just got to come out next year, come out strong and try and keep playing well and it will come."

While Garcia has one eye on moving in behind the inactive Woods, Mickelson insists he does not even understand the world rankings system and is more concerned about what happens on the course.

The American began the defence of the first title he has won outside his homeland since 1993 with a good opening round, which like Stenson and Kim, included an eagle three at the 550-yard second.

"Certainly Sergio has played some great golf this year," said the 38-year-old left-hander.

"He played wonderful in the FedEx Cup series and he is a tremendous talent but I haven't thought about losing the rankings yet.

"It's the end of the year and my thought is to play well and compete internationally and play well.

"My thought throughout the year is more about trying to win major championships. It's more about trying to play well in the FedEx Cup events at the end of the year and overall improvement."

Garcia also echoed comments made by Mickelson last week about missing the presence of 14-time major winner Woods, who is currently recovering from knee surgery.

"It's never nice to have the top player in your game out for so long," said Garcia.

"We always enjoy competing against Tiger and we know how good he is and how many times he beats us, but at the same time, playing against him is always a great learning experience.

"You can always take a lot of positives out of it, and it's fun to watch him play overall. We miss him so we are looking forward to seeing him next year."


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MOUL MAKES HIS MOVE

Former world amateur number one Jamie Moul surged into a share of second place in the third round of the European Tour's qualifying school stage two at Costa Ballena in Spain.

The 24-year-old from Essex, who has struggled to gain a foothold in the professional game after a glittering career in the unpaid ranks, fired a six-under 66 for a 12-under aggregate of 204 to sit just a shot behind Jordi Garcia Pinto of Spain heading into the closing round.

Edinburgh's former Walker Cup player David Patrick continued his steady progress with a third consecutive 69 for ninth place, but fellow Scot Raymond Russell - fourth in the 1998 Open and a tour winner in 1996, slipped to a 73 and outside the qualifying mark.

At Montenmedio, Harrogate's John Parry, another former Walker Cup man, moved into a share of fourth with a 69, four shots behind pacesetter Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay.

Perthshire amateur Wallace Booth, who helped Scotland win the Eisenhower Trophy in Australia last month, stayed on course to complete a memorable few weeks as he eased himself into seventh on 211 after a 70.

Bristol rookie Chris Wood, fifth in July's Open at Royal Birkdale, barged back into the qualifying places with a two-under 70 to share 15th.

Spaniard Santiago Luna extended his lead over the Arcos Gardens field to seven shots after a classy 66.

The 45-year-old, a winner on tour in 1995, finished the day on 15 under with a commanding advantage over English duo James Ruth and James Morrison.

Former Irish PGA number one Simon Thornton is fourth on 209 after a 72 while Wales' double European Tour winner Mark Mouland is just outside the all-important top-20 on 214.

Yorkshire rookie Danny Willett, the former world amateur number one, fired a 69 at Sherry Golf Jerez to haul himself into ninth.

Latest third round scores & totals

(Gbr & Irl unless stated)

Costa Ballena

(Par: 72)

203 J Garcia Pinto (Spa) 62 72 69

204 J Moul 69 69 66, P Bocian (Swe) 73 65 66

205 J Grillon (Fra) 66 70 69, M Reale (Ita) 69 66 70

206 J Abbate (Arg) 72 69 65, J Mellor 67 71 68, N Smith (USA) 69 66 71

Montenmedio

(Par: 72)

206 F Zanotti (Par) 68 71 67

209 M Quiros (Spa) 68 68 73, A Kristiansen (Nor) 67 70 72

210 A Snobeck (Fra) 69 72 69, J Parry 69 72 69, N Harris 73 66 71

211 W Booth 70 71 70, G Woodman 70 71 70

Arcos Gardens

(Par: 72)

201 S Luna (Spa) 66 69 66

208 J Ruth 70 72 66, J Morrison 69 70 69

209 S Thornton 67 70 72

210 A Bernadet (Fra) 71 71 68, J Little 68 72 70, M Ford 68 71 71, D Kupper (Ger) 71 66 73

Sherry Golf Jerez

(Par: 72)

202 J Guerrier (Fra) 68 66 68

206 S Jeppesen (Swe) 69 67 70

208 N Meitinger (Ger) 72 72 64, F Calmels (Fra) 69 71 68, J Makitalo (Fin) 70 68 70

210 A Crux 71 70 69, D Higgins 73 69 68, C Carranza (Arg) 66 71 73


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WOOD MAKES STEADY START

Chris Wood, leading amateur in July's Open Championship, made a purposeful start to stage two of the European Tour's qualifying school in Spain.

But there was early disappointment for another former Open star, Zane Scotland, who left himself with a mountain to climb.

Wood, who finished fifth at Royal Birkdale and won stage one of the qualifying school in September, fired a two-under-par 70 to share ninth place, three shots behind early pacesetters Andreas Hogberg of Sweden, Norwegian amateur Anders Kristiansen and England's Guy Woodman.

Scotland, who qualified for the 1999 Open at Carnoustie as a 16-year-old, slid to the foot of the Montenmedio field after a turbulent 82.

Perthshire amateur Wallace Booth, part of the Scotland team which won the Eisenhower Trophy for the first time last month, joined Wood on two under alongside fellow Scot Chris Doak.

Spanish youngster Jordi Garcia Pinto surged to the top at Costa Ballena with a brilliant 10-under-par 62 to finish four ahead of Frenchman Julien Grillon and Ben Evans of England.

Ireland's John Kelly opened with a 67 while former European Tour winner Raymond Russell carded a 70.

Yorkshire rookie Danny Willett, the former world amateur number one, is in 10th spot at Sherry Golf after a 71 left him five behind Clodomiro Carranza of Argentina.

Spain's Santiago Luna, a veteran of more than 500 European Tour events and a winner on the circuit in 1995, eased to the front at Arcos Gardens with a six-under 66, one ahead of Richard Kind from the Netherlands, England's Gareth Davies and Irishman Simon Thornton.


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McDOWELL TARGETS IMPROVEMENT

Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell has enjoyed one of his best seasons as a professional but he is already working on making another step up next year.

The 29-year-old won the inaugural Ballantine's Championship in March before adding a fourth European Tour triumph at The Barclays Scottish Open four months later before making his Ryder Cup debut at Valhalla.

Six top-10 finishes, including a third place finish at July's European Open, propelled the Walker Cup winner to 33rd in the world and a career-high fifth place finish on the Order of Merit.

McDowell could move further up the rankings with a good performance at the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai but he was denied the chance to improve on his opening one-under-par 71 - six off the lead set by Ryder Cup team-mate Henrik Stenson - as the second day was completely washed out by heavy rain.

The absence of play gave the Northern Irishman ample time to reflect on his achievements and highlight his plans for 2009.

"I always felt it was coming, I had been playing well. To win a couple of times, get into the Ryder Cup team and get well back into the top 50 in the world, to achieve a lot of my goals was good," McDowell told PA Sport.

"It was good to have a really solid year and it is now important to build on it and keep going and keep getting better.

"It was certainly an enjoyable year and now we're are all excited about the Race to Dubai and there are certainly a lot of things to look forward to."

Although he is committed to Europe's new lucrative format, McDowell will also seek success in America having split his time between the PGA and European Tours in 2005 and 2006.

Then a top-50 player, McDowell divided his time between both tours in 2005, managing two top-10 finishes in the USA which earned him enough money to become a fully exempt member in 2006, before returning to Europe full-time a year later.

This year McDowell came 19th at the Open at Royal Birkdale before replicating that finish at the US PGA - results he is keen to improve on.

He has already secured trips to the Open and US Open next year after his finish on the Order of Merit, and should he hold on to his world top-50 berth by the end of the year he would ensure entry into April's Masters and, eventually, August's US PGA.

"I want to play a couple of more times in America and give myself a chance to win at one of those," McDowell added.

"I also want to give myself a chance on a Sunday afternoon at a major and just keep doing what I am doing, keep playing consistent golf in Europe and give myself chances to win tournaments.

"I just want to keep working on the things I am working on and keep getting better."

Today McDowell spent time on the driving range in torrential rain as the second round of the 5million dollar (Ј3.2million) HSBC Champions was washed out and pushed back until Saturday.

"It is frustrating to come all the way out to Shanghai and have a course that is this well presented and a big purse to play for," said McDowell, who finished eighth at last week's season-ending Volvo Masters.

"You can do everything you want but you can't change the weather.

"I didn't hit it particularly good yesterday, I didn't hit it particularly well last week at Valderrama but also I wanted to get something done for the day today and feel like I have done something to keep the work rate up.

"There were a few things I wanted to work on."


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MICKELSON MULLING OVER MOVE

World number two Phil Mickelson has yet to be lured to Europe by the lucrative Race to Dubai, but the three-time major winner is weighing up his future schedule options.

On Thursday Mickelson will begin the defence of the HSBC Champions title he won in dramatic fashion last year.

The event marks the start of the 2009 international schedule, as well as heralding the new era of European golf aimed at rivalling the FedEx Cup in the 38-year-old's native America.

Last year Mickelson claimed his first title outside America since 1993 when he won at Sheshan International Golf Club after defeating English duo Ross Fisher and Lee Westwood in a play-off.

But despite the $10million on offer for the season-ending Dubai World Championship next November for the top 60 players and the bonus of an additional $10million for the top-15 money earners, Mickelson would not confirm his future plans.

"I have not committed yet but it might be something I will look at next year; I am not ruling it out," he said.

"I don't know the details, but I know that I am not quite ready to commit to it. I will know when I am ready to commit to the European Tour

"I not only want to play the minimum, but really be a part of the tour so I am not ready to commit, but I am not going to rule it out as I think that is where the game is growing.

"It's something I will look at for 2010, but if something happened down the line this year I could reconsider.

"There are other ways to join. There are a number of co-sanctioned events like the majors and World Golf Championships that could give me the opportunity."

Last year, in addition to the four majors and three World Golf Championships events, Mickelson played just the HSBC Champions and Scottish Open the week before the Open at Royal Birkdale on the European Tour schedule,

To be eligible for the Race to Dubai he would need to play a total of 12 events - with at least two in continental Europe.

"I understand and agree with the decision to raise the required number of events," added Mickelson.

"They have made great strides with the Race to Dubai and I understand why they want to protect their asset.

"It does not affect my decision. If I was going to play on the European Tour I would expect to play at least five events in addition to the four majors and three World Golf Championships so I think that would be a fair commitment."

For now, Mickelson is looking forward to defending the first significant overseas victory of his career and competing against an all-star field in Shanghai which includes Open and US PGA winner Padraig Harrington, Masters champion Trevor Immelman, world number three Sergio Garcia and European Tour Order of Merit holder Robert Karlsson.

"I'm used to the role of defending champion, but I can feel a real level of excitement inside myself," said Mickelson.

"This is special. I thought last year was a great event, but I think it's gone to a new level this year."


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STENSON SETS THE PACE

Henrik Stenson battled testing conditions to fire a seven under par 65 and open up a slender first-round lead over an all-star field at the HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club.

After dropping a shot at the his first hole of the day, the Swede reached the turn in five-under 31 after picking up six shots in five holes courtesy of some solid putting and an eagle at the second - following a three-wood approach to within six feet.

And as early morning fog brought a steady stream of rain throughout the afternoon, Stenson headed home in two under following a pair of late birdies to sit at the top of the leaderboard.

He was chased by three of the world's top 10 - Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim and defending champion Phil Mickelson - and Australian world number 16 Adam Scott.

"I'm very pleased with that," said the 32-year-old world number 12.

"I haven't been playing great lately and I'm still struggling a little bit, especially with the longer clubs, but I hit a lot of three woods and kept the ball in play and really made some good stuff from there on. I hit some good approaches and made some great putts over the 18 holes.

"I made my scoring around the greens. I'm pleased with the scoring and for keeping it together. It's a very good start and hopefully I can build a little bit on it."

Garcia is looking to overhaul defending champion Mickelson in the world rankings with victory this week and made the ideal start with a bogey-free, six-under-par 66.

He had a chance for an eagle at the last but, after hitting a five wood from 235 yards to four feet, watched as the putt lipped out and he was forced to settle for a closing birdie.

"It was a solid round. I played well and hit the ball good," said Garcia, who won October's Castello Masters in his native Spain.

"Unfortunately my putting stroke did not feel as good as it has lately, maybe down to the jet lag."

Mickelson, who won a thrilling three-way play-off last year, dropped just two shots over his opening round which also included an eagle at the second.

"It was a good first round. With the weather conditions and the greens being soft, even though it was difficult to see, it was a good first round," said the American.

"I putted well and made a lot of good putts. Last year I putted the greens well, that was a big key to me winning."

World number eight Kim, who has been struggling recently with an injured ankle and jaw, reached the turn in a bogey-free 32 after also carding an eagle at the second before a mixed back nine of 34, which included three birdies, left him just a shot off the pace.

World number 16 Scott played a mixed opening nine holes in one under, but made his move with a flawless five-under-par back nine.

"I'm fairly pleased with the way I played," he said. "I think I probably couldn't have been much better. I could have been a little bit worse so that's encouraging to get the most out of the round.

"I would like to hit it a bit better, but it was quite hard to pick lines. The visibility was poor and it wasn't easy to feel your way around the course."

Zimbabwe's Marc Cayeux and Englishman Oliver Wilson sit at five under after signing for first-round 65s, with Ian Poulter and Irish duo Damien McGrane and Peter Lawrie in a group a further shot off the lead.

Collated first-round scores (Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 72):

65 Henrik Stenson (Swe)

66 Phil Mickelson (USA), Anthony Kim (USA), Adam Scott (Aus), Sergio Garcia (Spa)

67 Oliver Wilson, Marc Cayeux (Zim)

68 Damien McGrane, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Ian Poulter, Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Peter Lawrie, Thomas Levet (Fra)

69 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Ross Fisher, Scott Strange (Aus), Wen-Tang Lin (Tai), Ben Leong (Mal), Andrew McLardy (Rsa), Robert Karlsson (Swe), Peter Hanson (Swe), Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Padraig Harrington

70 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Hennie Otto (Rsa), Seung-yul Noh (Kor), Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Alvaro Quiros (Spa)

71 Mikael Lundberg (Swe), Graeme McDowell, Soren Hansen (Den), Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn), Mark Brown (USA), Paul Casey, KJ Choi (Kor), Richard Finch, Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Lei Shang (Tpe), Richard Sterne (Rsa)

72 Trevor Immelman (Rsa), Gui Ming Liao (Chn), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Joong Kyung Mo (Kor), Darren Clarke

73 James Kingston (Rsa), Jean Hugo (Rsa), Andrew Bonhomme (Aus), Martin Kaymer (Ger), Wen Teh Lu (Tpe), Wei-Huang Wu (Tpe), Ashun Wu (Chn), Rick Kulacz (Aus), Sang-moon Bae (Kor), Alastair Forsyth, Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Camilo Villegas (Col), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa)

74 David Dixon, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Angelo Que (Phi)

75 David Horsey, Hao Yuan (Chn), Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha)

76 Scott Hend (Aus), David Gleeson (Aus), Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Gregory Havret (Fra), Chao Li (Chn)

77 Inn-choon Hwang (Kor), John Bickerton, Kangchun Wu (Chn), James Kamte (Rsa)

78 Bryan Saltus (USA), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa)

79 David Howell

88 Shaun Norris (Rsa)


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SABBATANI CLEAR IN TEXAS

LARRAZABAL TAKES ROOKIE AWARD

Pablo Larrazabal has capped a magnificent maiden season on the European Tour by winning the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award.

The 25-year-old becomes the fourth Spaniard to receive the award, following in the footsteps of Jose Maria Olazabal (1986), Sergio Garcia (1999) and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (2005).

Like that illustrious trio, Larrazabal claimed his maiden European Tour title in his first full season on Tour, winning the Open de France in June having come through the 36-hole pre-qualifying event the previous week.

Despite being, in his own words, "the 150th best player here", Larrazabal never looked back after compiling an opening round of 65 before eventually cruising to a four-shot win despite a concerted effort by Colin Montgomerie.

Larrazabal said: "Obviously the main reason I won the award was for winning the Open de France ALSTOM, and I'll never forget that victory.

"To win such a big tournament the way I did, with guys like Lee Westwood and Colin Montgomerie chasing me on the last day, was just amazing.

"It's an amazing honour to be named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, because there are so many great young players on Tour today.

"If you look at some of the players who have won the award in the past, you get an idea of how big an honour this is.

"You only have to look at last year's winner, Martin Kaymer, to see how successful you can go on to be after winning the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award.

"Martin is a great example to me because he has had an unbelievable second season, and that is what I have to aim to do in 2009."

The 666,660 euros he collected for winning in France accounted for more than half the 960,858 euros Larrazabal earned in 2008, which saw him finish in 18th in the Order of Merit.

The other contenders for the award were Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and the English duo of Robert Dinwiddie and Ross McGowan.


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GARCIA HAS MICKELSON IN HIS SIGHTS

Sergio Garcia is confident of maintaining the pressure on world number two Phil Mickelson at this week's HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

Victories at the Players' Championship and October's Castello Masters, as well as second place at the USPGA Championship and European Open, have propelled the Spaniard to third in the world and hot on the heels of three-time major winner Mickelson.

And with a substantial amount of world ranking points available at Sheshan International Golf Club with six of the world's top 10 on show this week, Garcia is looking to cut the defending champion's slender advantage.

Open and USPGA Championship winner Padraig Harrington, European Tour Order of Merit winner Robert Karlsson, Colombia's Camilo Villegas and American Anthony Kim are in the field, as well as top-20 trio Henrik Stenson, KJ Choi and Geoff Ogilvy.

"I have moved up the world rankings and I am excited about that and I am looking to keep going in the same direction, keep moving forward and see if I can get the number two spot," said Garcia, who ended 2007 as world number 12.

"It's been a good consistent year and if I play well this week I can really move fairly close to the second spot in the world.

"It's something exciting, something I'm driving towards, and this week is a good week to have a chance at it.

"If I do well and win or come close to it, that's what I need to do to have a chance.

"I feel like I'm playing well and while my legs are a bit heavier, I'm just trying to finish the year strongly and see if I can get as close as I can and then have a chance next year with another good, solid season."

Garcia, who ended the 2008 season ninth on the Order of Merit after finishing tied for fourth at the season-ending Volvo Masters, will also look to kick-start his Race to Dubai at the start of the 2009 European Tour season.

"I think we are talking about a new era for European golf," added the 28-year-old.

"It's looking like a pretty solid season so I look forward to keep going the right way and getting off to a good start."

Last year Mickelson beat English duo Lee Westwood and Ross Fisher in a thrilling play-off to claim his first title outside America since 1993.

And while Westwood is not in the field, Fisher has made the trip to Shanghai.

The European Open champion finished the year sixth on the Order of Merit after claiming five top-10 finishes in his last six events.

"Last year gave me a great start to the year and I pressed on from there and it's been a good season," the world number 34 said.

"My game feels pretty good so I hope it continues this week. It's a much stronger field this year so it would be a nice one to win."


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KJELDSEN IN MASTERS RECKONING

Soren Kjeldsen's victory at the Volvo Masters has not only clinched him a place in next year's US Open - it has also put him on course for a debut in The Masters next April.

The 33-year-old Dane, who beat England's Anthony Wall and German Martin Kaymer by two at Valderrama for only his second European Tour victory in 310 starts, leaps from 86th to a personal-best 47th in the new world rankings.

The top 50 at the end of the year qualify for Augusta.

Lee Westwood's joint-fourth place takes him back into the top 10 for the first time in more than five-and-a-half years.

Having reached a career-high fourth in the rankings following his Order of Merit triumph in 2000, Westwood then crashed outside the top 250.


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TRUMP WINS APPROVAL FOR GOLF RESORT

US tycoon Donald Trump on Monday vowed to create the "greatest golf course in the world" after his plans for a Ј1billion resort were given the go-ahead.

Scottish finance secretary John Swinney approved the proposals, saying there was "a significant economic and social benefit" in the project.

The proposals had been rejected in controversial circumstances by Aberdeenshire Council last year, before being called in by ministers.

Mr Trump welcomed the news and said the resort, proposed for the Menie Estate, near Balmedie, Aberdeenshire would be a "tremendous asset" for the area.

He said: "As I have often said, because of the quality of the land we are given to work with, we will build the greatest golf course in the world."

The plans include proposals for two golf courses, a 450-bedroom hotel and housing as well as holiday apartments and golf villas.

The scheme faced strong local opposition, including from environmental groups, but won widespread support in the business community.

First Minister Alex Salmond said today: "The economic and social benefits for the North East of Scotland substantially outweigh any environmental impact."

Mr Salmond, also the local MSP for Gordon, said he had been "cup-tied" from commenting publicly on the issue because of his government position.

He said: "It is great to be able to finally speak my mind.

"In tough economic times, substantial investment of this kind is at a premium."

The scheme today received outline planning permission, but a string of conditions rule that the environmentally sensitive sand dunes on the site must remain protected.

The conditions also stipulate that no more than 500 houses for private sale should be built.

Aedan Smith, head of planning and development at RSPB Scotland, said he was "surprised and extremely disappointed" at the decision.

"The development will cause the destruction of a dune system, with its precious wildlife, on a site which is protected by law and should continue to be available for future generations to enjoy.

"We, and the thousands of other objectors, consider that this is too high a price to pay for the claimed economic benefits from this development."

The development will lead to the creation of an estimated 6,000 jobs, of which 1,400 will be local and permanent.

The plans were initially rejected by Aberdeenshire Council's Infrastructure committee on the casting vote of convener Martin Ford - who was later ousted as chairman in a vote by fellow councillors.

But the plans were swiftly called in by ministers for a final decision.

Mr Ford said he was "extremely disappointed" by the outcome.

He said: "This is a very, very bad precedent indeed and sends out a bad message about the protection in Scotland of our natural heritage sites.

"It appears to me to be a vanity project."

A Holyrood inquiry into the way the Government handled the planning application process accused Mr Salmond of being "cavalier" in his dealings with the US tycoon's firm and senior planning officers.

This decision today follows a report from the Reporters at a public local inquiry held into the development this year which backed the application.

Mr Swinney said on Monday: "I agree with the Reporters' findings.

"The Reporters found there was significant economic and social benefit to be gained from this project, which has been a major consideration in my decision to grant outline planning permission."

Mr Salmond played no role in today's decision because he is the local MSP.


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ROSE TO MISS SHANGHAI

Justin Rose has withdrawn from next week's HSBC Champions event in Shanghai after returning to South Africa following the death of his grandfather.

Rose was considering whether to play or not in any case after slumping to last place in the Volvo Masters with scores of 80 and 81 - the first time in his professional career that he has failed to break 80 in two successive rounds.

But he was then given the news about his grandfather and left Valderrama immediately.

With only three top 10 finishes all year, Rose will finish the season 81st on the Order of Merit, the worst defence of the Harry Vardon Trophy since Dale Hayes was down in 194th place in 1976.

The South African played only four events that season, however. Rose played 14.


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KJELDSEN IS VALDERRAMA MASTER

PALMER LEAVES IT LATE TO WIN

Ryan Palmer birdied the 18th hole to win the Ginn sur Mer Classic on Sunday.

Palmer made a 10-foot birdie on the finishing hole to finish at seven-under-par 281, one stroke ahead of a group of five players.

Palmer entered the event 143rd on the money list but won't have to worry about that for a while. His victory Sunday earned him the US Dollars 828,000 first prize and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

It looked like Palmer was coming apart near the middle of his round. He called a penalty on himself and made bogey at number 10 and then double-bogeyed number 11 after pulling his shot into the water.

Michael Letzig entered the day with the lead but came to the 18th hole needing a birdie to tie Palmer for the lead. Letzig had a wedge in his hand from 79 yards, but he hit it short and it rolled back to 35 feet and he failed to make birdie.

Letzig finished tied for second with George McNeill, Nicholas Thompson, Ken Duke and Vaughn Taylor.

Collated final round scores & totals

(USA unless stated, par 72):

281 Ryan Palmer 67 71 72 71

282 Michael Letzig 65 74 70 73, George McNeill 71 71 71 69, Vaughn Taylor 69 74 69 70, Ken Duke 70 69 72 71, Nicholas Thompson 71 70 72 69

283 Tom Scherrer 68 76 70 69, Robert Allenby (Aus) 68 71 73 71, Brian Gay 72 70 72 69, John Huston 70 70 70 73, Troy Matteson 71 74 70 68

284 J J Henry 71 72 69 72, Bob Estes 75 67 72 70, Chad Collins 74 69 70 71, Mark Wilson 73 71 67 73, Jesper Parnevik (Swe) 73 70 71 70, Peter Lonard (Aus) 70 69 76 69

285 Michael Sim (Aus) 72 73 70 70, Jeff Overton 71 73 70 71, Todd Hamilton 71 74 70 70, Kenneth Ferrie (Eng) 70 73 67 75, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 69 73 72 71, Jeff Maggert 73 72 73 67, Steve Marino 72 71 71 71, Tim Petrovic 71 72 72 70, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 72 70 73 70

286 Kent Jones 65 77 74 70, Chris Stroud 69 72 73 72, Cameron Beckman 68 73 72 73, Bob Tway 70 71 73 72, Matthew Jones (Aus) 70 74 71 71

287 Martin Laird (Sco) 72 71 72 72, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 72 73 70 72, Michael Allen 71 71 72 73

288 Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 69 74 74 71, Gavin Coles (Aus) 71 71 72 74, David Duval 71 69 74 74, John Riegger 73 72 70 73, Bob Heintz 72 74 69 73

289 Billy Andrade 75 71 73 70, Joe Durant 72 73 72 72

290 Robert Gamez 72 74 73 71, Jerry Kelly 71 72 75 72, Y. E Yang (Kor) 73 71 73 73, J.B. Holmes 73 72 73 72, Robert Garrigus 70 76 68 76, Greg Kraft 72 74 75 69

291 Omar Uresti 73 72 73 73, Chris DiMarco 72 72 77 70, Jeff Gove 70 73 73 75, Todd Demsey 72 72 78 69, Steve Lowery 70 71 76 74, Briny Baird 74 72 74 71

292 Brian Davis (Eng) 74 72 74 72, John Rollins 74 71 75 72, Chip Deason 71 71 75 75, Justin Bolli 72 74 72 74, Jason Dufner 70 73 71 78, Kevin Stadler 73 72 74 73, Matt Kuchar 71 75 72 74, Tim Wilkinson (Nzl) 74 72 73 73

293 Marco Dawson 71 71 73 78

294 David Lutterus (Rsa) 74 72 73 75, Brett Quigley 73 73 76 72

295 Frank Lickliter II 72 74 73 76

296 Will MacKenzie 75 70 79 72, Eric Axley 71 75 76 74, Olin Browne 72 71 74 79

297 Rod Perry 70 76 77 74, J.P. Hayes 74 72 78 73, Lee Janzen 70 75 74 78, Jason Gore 71 73 77 76

301 Kyle Thompson 70 76 76 79


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BALLESTEROS CONTINUES RECOVERY

Golfing great Seve Ballesteros is continuing to make good progress following a third operation to remove a brain tumour.

Madrid's La Paz hospital on Monday released a statement which said the 51-year-old was conscious, breathing unaided and communicating with relatives.

Ballesteros underwent a lengthy procedure on October 24 to alleviate pressure on his brain caused by an edema and to remove remaining tumour tissues following two previous operations.

"The patient Mr Severiano Ballesteros continues to progress favourably," read the hospital statement. "He is conscious, breathing spontaneously and can talk with his family.

"He has begun to receive rehabilitation treatment in the intensive care unit."

Ballesteros, the five-time major winner, was diagnosed with a tumour after losing consciousness at Madrid Airport early last month.

KJELDSEN IS VALDERRAMA MASTER

Dane Soren Kjeldsen is the final Volvo Masters champion after completing a two-shot victory at Valderrama.

Kjeldsen led from pillar to post after carding an opening 65, and a final round level par 71 was good enough to keep him clear of Germany's Martin Kaymer and Englishman Anthony Wall.

Kjeldsen - who missed out on this title in a play-off to Justin Rose last season - could even afford his only dropped shots of the day at 16 and 17, before getting up and down well at the last to compete his second European Tour win.

Kaymer saw a 10 foot birdie chance at 14 lip out and then missed a par putt at 15 to drop three behind with three holes to play. Although Wall made a late charge, there was never really any doubt as to the winner and Kjeldsen held his nerve for his first victory for five years.

The first prize of more than Ј560,000 meant the Dane finished the season in 10th place on the Order of Merit, moving up from 27th.

By doing so he qualifies for next June's US Open. So too does Darren Clarke - the top 15 make it and he was 13th - while Colin Montgomerie's 27th place means he has secured a place in The Open at Turnberry.

Kjeldsen said: "It was a long week, but a tournament like this deserved to finish in the sun and it did. I don't think I have ever been as nervous in my life."


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DUO SHARE EARLY LEAD

Michael Letzig and Kent Jones carded bogey-free opening-round seven-under-par 65s to open up a two-stroke lead at the Ginn Sur Mer Classic on Friday.

Ryan Palmer (67) sits two strokes adrift, with Australian Robert Allenby and American trio Cameron Beckman, James Driscoll and Tom Scherrer a further shot back.

After his first birdie on the par-three third, Letzig reeled off three straight from the sixth before the American, who has four top-10 finishes in 28 events this season, added three more on the back nine.

Jones reached the turn in two under before propelling himself up the leaderboard with five birdies on the way home.

Starting on the back nine, Palmer opened with three birdies in his first six holes, while Beckman, who won last week's Frys.com Open, birdied three of his last five holes to sign for his 68.

Defending champion Daniel Chopra endured a horrific start with an 81, which included six bogeys and a pair of double bogeys, and sits in last place.

The round was suspended due to darkness with five players still on the course.


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HARRINGTON MAINTAINS TITLE BELIEF

Padraig Harrington needs one of the best comebacks of his career if he is to add a second European Order of Merit title to his three majors.

But the Dubliner believes he is perfectly capable of it.

A five-over-par 76 left Harrington joint 43rd of the 57 players in the season-ending Volvo Masters at Valderrama going into today's second round.

And given he has to finish first or second to have a chance of denying Ryder Cup partner Robert Karlsson the number one spot, he conceded it had not been a good start.

But Harrington then added: "It's been proven that this is not a hard course to come back on - it's a good one.

"Someone shot six under today and if I shoot six under tomorrow I am going to be well into it going into the weekend."

That someone was Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen, who a year after losing a play-off to Justin Rose carded a superb 65 to lead by three from tournament favourite Sergio Garcia.

Karlsson, playing with Harrington, managed only a 73 himself, but with a lead of more than Ј235,000 is still the man to beat in the money-list race.

Lee Westwood could be the biggest danger to him, though. A one-under 70 put the Worksop golfer, Europe's number one in 2000, in joint fifth place.

If Westwood wins on Sunday, Karlsson would have to finish second or third to become the first Swede to claim the Harry Vardon Trophy.

What looked a possible key moment for Karlsson yesterday came on the long 11th. Four over at the time, he drove into bushes and on arriving at the spot, he and his caddie could see five balls.

"But we couldn't identify them," he said. "There were a lot of thorns and things, but a marshal volunteered to go in and found it."

That meant Karlsson did not have to go all the way back to the tee and, after salvaging a par five, he played the remaining seven holes in two under to climb into joint-16th spot.

Among those alongside him is Miguel Angel Jimenez, the only other player left in the title race. Jimenez, however, has to win and Karlsson has to be outside the top 38.

Westwood stated: "It's a grind, but I enjoy grinding.

"I don't think you ever feel comfortable on this course, but I feel I have the mental strength and patience for it.

"It's very much like playing a major championship. The same frame of mind is needed. You don't have to hit a bad shot to make bogey."

He gave as an example the 350-yard eighth hole, where he struck what he described as the "perfect" tee shot and still found himself behind three trees.

Colin Montgomerie, winner of the Order of Merit a record eight times, has always been one of Valderrama's biggest fans and while the Volvo Masters will be no more after this week, the Scot believes there is a good chance of the course staging a different event some time in the future.

"That would be super - it's magnificent here," he said, before being asked about a totally different matter.

Artist Jack Vettriano was quoted in several newspapers yesterday saying he had declined to do a portrait of the Scottish star because "I don't do men with breasts - and I don't mean that as unkind to Colin Montgomerie".

When told about it, Montgomerie, who has lost nearly two stone since The Open in July, replied: "I'm glad he doesn't want to paint me."


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PLAY ABANDONED AT VALDERRAMA

The European Order of Merit race looks to be down to three players after Miguel Angel Jimenez came a real cropper in the rain-hit Volvo Masters at Valderrama on Friday.

Needing to win the tournament to have a chance of the money list title, Jimenez - who let it be known to officials he did not think he should be on the course given the conditions - dropped seven strokes in four holes before play was called off for the day.

With no placing and cleaning of the ball allowed - chief referee John Paramor regretted that in hindsight - the 44-year-old bogeyed the first and third, double-bogeyed the second and then ran up a triple bogey eight.

Weather permitting, he will resume the second round on Saturday on nine over par, 15 adrift of leader Soren Kjeldsen, who was one of 10 players who did not even get to tee off.

Only three of the 57-strong field completed 36 holes and with more downpours and thunderstorms in the weekend forecast there is a chance the Order of Merit will be decided over three rather than four rounds. Possibly even two.

Current number one Robert Karlsson saw Jimenez's collapse for himself and, by dropping only from two over to three over himself, remains favourite for the Harry Vardon Trophy.

Nearest challenger Padraig Harrington, who requires a top-two finish, stands five over after 13 holes, but Lee Westwood, who has to win, was another who did not hit a ball all day and in joint fifth place on one under remains a danger to the Swede.

As for Justin Rose - defending champion both of the event and the money list - he was first out on his own again and failed to break 80 for the second day running.

That has never happened to him in his professional career either in Europe or America. Not even when he was missing his first 21 halfway cuts.

With no cut the 28-year-old, who was on 19 over and last by six after adding an 81 to his opening 80, vowed to "soldier on" over the weekend, but then was told his grandfather had died overnight.

He withdrew and instantly made plans to fly to South Africa.

European Tour rules do allow for holes played to be scrubbed out and rounds re-started - that certainly would have suited Jimenez - but Paramor stated that was not even considered because four hours' play had been possible.

Tournament director David Garland said: "Miguel Angel did come in and voice his concerns.

"He thought everybody should be playing in the same conditions at the same time and that play should never have started this morning.

"I would say that the course was playable this morning. Conditions were brutal, this is a very, very difficult course and it's not designed to be played in a 25mph wind and lashing rain.

"We had a forecast of the rain to pass through in three hours, but as soon as the front hit us it seemed to slow down and there was a lot more rain.

"It's not a clear run yet, but I'm hopeful of us still playing 72 holes. But 54 is a definite possibility and 36 is the least amount of holes for a tournament to count.

"It's obviously in the lap of the Gods. It's unlikely we will schedule a full round for Monday, but we will finish a round then if necessary."

Paramor added: "Now I wish we had gone to preferred lies because we will be completing round two without them. But there was really no reason to suspect we would need them."

One big decision to be taken if the event is cut to two rounds is whether the prize money would be cut. It could, of course, decide the Order of Merit.

With a three-stroke lead over Sergio Garcia, Kjeldsen, of course, is in an even stronger position if he does not have to play three more rounds.

But the Dane, who lost a play-off to Rose last year, commented: "Leading or lying last, this is a disappointment.

"It's the last Volvo Masters and we wanted a nice tournament."

Jimenez said: "It got worse and worse and it was unfair because who knows what conditions are going to be like tomorrow?

"I think maybe the decision (to suspend play) should have been taken before. The ball was picking up mud."


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PADRAIG CRITICAL OF TOUR

Padraig Harrington has criticised the European Tour for not giving Seve Ballesteros a central role.

The Spaniard, who is arguably the biggest name ever in European golf,is currently in intensive care in Madrid after having three operations to remove a brain tumour.

Three-time major winner Harrington said: "It is a shame that over the last number of years, he has not been leading out the European Tour as an ambassador.

"It's only when something like this happens that you see how much he's missed. Hopefully, going forward, the Tour can build more of a relationship with Seve and have him at the forefront of our Tour.

"Is it Harry Vardon we have on our new Tour thing (logo)? Why isn't it Seve? He is the man when you think about it. He is the European Tour, and it is at times like this that you kind of say, 'well, we wish we had more of Seve'.

"He has that sort of charisma, he just needs to enter a room and everyone knows he is there.

"It's only now you kind of recognise that an opportunity has been missed to give something back to Seve. Because there's no doubt he brought the Tour an awful lot over the years."


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BALLESTEROS TO REMAIN IN INTENSIVE CARE

Seve Ballesteros is to remain in intensive care as he continues his recovery from brain surgery in Madrid's La Paz hospital.

Ballesteros underwent a lengthy procedure a week ago to alleviate pressure on the brain caused by an edema and to remove remaining tumour tissues.

A brief statement released by the hospital read: "The patient is stable and his neurological continues continues to progress favourably although he needs to remain in intensive care."

Ballesteros, the 51-year-old five-time major winner, was diagnosed with a tumour earlier this month and before his latest surgery he had already undergone two operations - the second to reduce swelling on the brain.


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