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)


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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.


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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."


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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."


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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


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