Jose de Jesus Rodriquez wins 2011 Cantour Player of the Year

Canadians Matt Hoffman, Danny Sahl and Dustin Risdon also honoured

OAKVILLE, Ont..CP. - Mexico's Jose de Jesus Rodriguez is the Canadian Tour's 2011 player of the year. He is the first Mexican-born golfer to capture the honour.

Rodriguez began the Canadian Tour season with wins in his native land of Mexico at the Mexican PGA Championship as well as the first Canadian event on the schedule at the Times Colonist Island Savings Victoria Open. He finished the season with three top-10 results as well as two top-15 showings.

"2011 was a real break through year for me and I hope that I can build on the momentum from what I consider to be my best season as a Professional," said Rodriguez, who will make his debut on the newly created PGA Tour Latino America later this year. "My goal is to get to the PGA Tour and if I can keep playing well on the Canadian Tour I think it will definitely help me accomplish that."

The 30-year-old Mexican won just over $80,000 in 10 events in 2011.

Matt Hoffman of Thornhill, Ont., was named Canadian rookie of the year, edging Comox, B.C. native Riley Wheeldon for the honour, while American Joe Panzeri was named the top international rookie.

Danny Sahl of Sherwood Park, Alta., captured the Gordon Brydson Most Improved Player of the Year Award while Dustin Risdon of Strathmore, Alta., won the Srixon Stroke Average Award.

Sahl picked up his first win in 79 tries after claiming the inaugural Syncrude Boreal Open while Risdon was a specimen of consistency, making eight of eight cuts and posting four top 10's and finishing sixth on the Order of Merit.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Gibson,Tarling, Wettlaufer win cards at EuroSenior Tour Q school

The final stage for European Senior Tour Q school has just wrapped up at Pinta Golf Course, Pestana Golf Resort, Lagoa, Portugal and 3 Canucks have won their cards.

 Rick Gibson T4 -2 211 will get full status, Ken Tarling is in with 74 good for T14 at +2 286 and David Wettlaufer started the day T26 but fired at -3 68 to move into T10 at +1 285, both will receive conditional status.

The top 6 get full status, 7-14 and ties get conditional status.

 American Dick Mast won the event by 7 shots at -14 67, 67,69, 67 270  followed by England's Paul Wesselingh -7  71, 67, 68,71 277 

Here are our Canucks with a little background on each.

- T4 GIBSON, Rick -2 , 68,73,70,71 282  (born in Victoria,BC, turned 50 in October, lives in Manila)

- T10 WETTLAUFER, Dave +1, 71,71,75,68 285 -(teaching pro Deer Ridge Golf Club, Kitchener)


- T14 TARLING, Ken  +2 ,73,71,68,74 286 (Stouffville, Ontario PGA Player of the Year)

- T20 GIROUARD, Marc +4 77,70,73,68 288 (Head Professional at Le Griffon des Sources,Mirabel, Quebec)

- 33 JONAS, Philip +6, 80,71,70,69 290 (born in RSA, lives in Surrey BC, CPGA Class A Professional

- T45 LAFORCE, Jean +9 71,72,79 222 - -(teaching pro St. Jean De Matha ,Club De Golf , Joiliette, Quebec) MC

- T52 BOUDREAU, Ben +10 78,73,72 223 - ( head professional at Le Parcours du Cerf in Longueuil, Quebec) MC


Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles


Live scoring click
http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/qualifying/season=2011/tournamentid=2012803/leaderboard/index.html

Rock Solid

Live scoring click
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012004/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y

4.30am est..After 6 holes play Englishman Robert Rock has 3 birdies -14 to lead by 3, Tiger Woods 2 birdies but 2 bogey's -11 and Peter Hanson is having an awful day..

Rory is T3 at -10 with 2 birdies and a bogey through 7. Mark Foster is -5 through 10 -10 and Scotland's Paul Lawrie is also on -10

Less than a decade ago Rock was working at the Swingers Golf Centre in Lichfield, near Birmingham.

"[I was] selling Mars bars, chatting to my mates, watching him (Woods) winning Majors," He is 34 and ranked 117 in the world. He has 1 win in over 200 events.. The Italian Open last year.

Rock and Tiger make a mess of the par 5 8th.. Tiger escapes with 5 -11, Rock who was put off by a camera with his tee shot, found deep rough, hacked it out, long 3rd in greenside rough, chipped out to 10 feet, missed, first bogey, now -13.

Paul Lawrie also at -11 a hole ahead and Rory is at -10 as is Thomas Bjorn who is -3 today...

Rock makes par at 9 out in 34 -13... Tiger makes birdie 3 out in 35 -12  So Rock takes a 1 shot lead into the back nine.  Rock with 1 pro win.. Tiger with 98 !!!

5.30am  Rock pars the tough par 5 10th -13... Tiger misses fairway with driver and second, makes bogey 6 -11.... Paul Lawrie still at -11... Rory -10

Graham McDowell hole in one at 12... gets that 3 nights stay at the swanky Emirates hotel FOR LIFE !

At par4 11th Tiger's 2nd into deep greenside rough, shows his anger, different demeanour today..Rock knocks his in to within 10 feet. Tiger plays out to 18 feet..makes it with a fist pump -11  Rock leaves his on the lip !! -13

McIlroy birdies 13 to get to -11. Rock inside Tiger at par 3 12... both make par so Rock -13 leads Rory, Tiger and Paul Lawrie all at -11

Rock finds a fairway bunker on 13, Tiger takes a 3 wood way right into deep rough. Rory and Paul Lawrie have missed the fairway on 14.. Rock makes bogey 5 -12 to Tiger's par 4 -11

Rock comes right back with a birdie 3 at 14 -13, Tiger makes par -11

Par 3's at 15, but Rock has just made a great birdie 3 on 16 -14 to Tiger's par 4 -11.. That should do it !! Tiger can't make a birdie

Now Rory has birdied 18 to get to -12 in 2nd place. Rock is at -14 playing 18 Tiger at -11.

Final...Rock with only one win in his previous 226 European Tour events and 117th in the Official World Golf Ranking overcame a last-hole drama to defeat McIlroy by one and Woods, Graeme McDowell and Thomas Björn by two.

Coming to 18 he was two ahead of Rory, 3 ahead of Tiger at the par 5, but pushed his drive into the hazard on the right in amongst rocks and plants.He chose to take a penalty drop knowing that a six would be good enough unless Woods eagled and, with the American failing to pitch in after going in the rough, a two-putt bogey 6 did indeed complete the greatest day of his 14-year professional career. He finished at -13

As I said McIlroy birdied the last for a 69 to be runner-up for the second year running at -12 and just remember that 2 stroke penalty he incurred on the 9th hole on Friday. He would have finished at -14, good enough for the win.

Summary..After birdies at 2 and 3, Tiger seemed set to go, but made poor decisions to bogey 4 and 5. However after Rock made bogey 6 at 8, then Tiger made birdie to Rock's par at 9 the lead was down to 1 shot.

Tiger then drove poorly and made bogey 6 at 10, and couldn't make a birdie the rest of the way. He lost all the command he showed in the first 3 rounds, and if he hadn't scrambled so well he would never have shot 72. T3..

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Robert Rock birdies 18 to tie Tiger for the lead in Abh Dhabi

European Tour
live scoring click
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012004/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y

When Martin Kaymer won at -24 last year, they decided to toughen this Abu Dhabi GC, and they did it by growing the rough in and narrowing the fairways to the point that the rough is so thick and lush it is almost a stroke penalty for those who vventure into it.

There are 10 players in a pack right now that keep exchanging the lead. Rory, Tiger and Robert Karlsson are playing the 15th. Tiger is playing very well, is at -5 on his round -10 total. Rory is not playing his best however he has just made a birdie 2 on 15 and is -3 today -8 total ( He has 3 two's on his card today) Big Robert Karlsson is playing steadily, 2 birdies and a bogey -1 today -6 total.

Robert Rock ( he without a hat) from England is at -5 today playing 15 -10 total. Peter Hanson of Sweden shot the low round of the week so far -8 64, -9 total to get into the pack and Francesco Molinari with a -6 66 is also in contention now at -9. Paul Lawrie from Aberdeen ( he won the Open at Carnoustie than Jean Van de Velde blew) is at -4 today -9 total.

Big George Coetzee RSA, -7 65 to get to -8, Thomas Bjorn also had a 65 to get to -7.
Luke Donald will not win this week, he is at E after 73 today and Lee Westwood -4 68 is at -4.

updating 715am est
Rory may have shot of the day, approach to 17, stiff, tap in birdie to go to -9. Tiger at -10.

Tiger safely on in 2 at 18, Rory had a wild drive nearly into pond, got his club on the back of the ball from hazard, now in behind the scoreboard and will get relief. Takes a drop in deep rough, hacks it out onto the green 35' away.

Tiger's eagle putt 40' downhill...to a foot, great lag in with a 66 -11...Now Rory big left to right breaker for birdie..to a foot. in for par -4 68 -9

Robert Rock is at -10 and he is in the middle of the fairway at 18..he lays up then hits a wedge to inside 10 feet...He will play with Tiger tomorrow whether he makes this or not... He rolls it in dead center -6 66 -11

So Robert Rock and Tiger Woods share the lead at -11 after round 3, but there are 12 players within 3 shots including Rory at -9.


PGA Tour
The views of Torrey Pines and the Pacific Ocean are just phenomenal, gorgeous, what it must be like to live there, just outside San Diego.

Sadly the play of our 3 Canucks wasn't phenomenal, all missed the cut, although David Hearn did improve by 12 shots, however the cut fell at -2 and on top of the pack is Kyle Stanley at 62,68 -14 followed by Brent Snedeker 67,64-13. By the way my man Ernie is in at 71,70 -3
live leaderboard click http://www.pgatour.com/r/leaderboard/

All the players will play the tougher South course on the weekend.

CUT 61 Stephen Ames 76 72 148

CUT 94 Graham DeLaet 73 72 145
CUT 60 David Hearn 78 66 144

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Bonehead mistake by Rory costs him the lead in Abu Dhabi..

It's 305am EST 1205 in Abu Dhabi and round 2 is well underway and the late flight are just teeing off led by Luke Donald -1 71, Rory McIlroy -5 67 and Tiger Woods -2 70.

The leader right now is the Dane Thorbjorn Olesen who is at -6 today -8 total playing 16, the the Scot Paul Lawrie at -4 today -6 total.

Sergio is at -4 total now T5 and he is the best of the other big group. Westwood is at E today and that is his total and 3 time champion Martin Kaymer won't be around for the weekend after his +5 77 yesterday he is +1 today.

live scoring round 2 at Abu Dhabi http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012004/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y

Rory has made bogey at the first now -4, Luke opens with a par -1, and Tiger a birdie, now -3.

I am off to the gym, will report in when I get back..

updating 10am est

Luke said 'I don't think you can do that' and then I was like 'Oh yeah I can't, can I?' It twigged on me straightaway"

Rory's second shot at the par 4 9th was on a collar between the bunker and the green, he bent over and brushed away some sand on the collar.. that's when Luke spoke.

He called the referee, was assessed a 2 shot penalty turning his 4 into a 6. He also had a double bogey on the third and did well to avoid another on the 11th, but six birdies kept him in the hunt. 67, 72 139 -5


As the day's play drew towards its close Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen, three times a runner-up in his rookie season last year, was a stroke in front of McIlroy's compatriot Gareth Maybin 68,70 138 -6, who had yet to record a bogey. Olesen made a bogey on 18, but had 7 birdies on his card  70,67 137 -7

Tiger Woods 70,69 139 -5 had a chance to catch Olesen when he birdied the 13th, 14th and 16th, but he bogeyed the 17th after driving into the rough and, like McIlroy, had to settle for par on the long 18th. That gave him a 69, while current Number One Luke Donald 71,72 143 -1, the third member of the group, had another quiet day in comparison to the adventures of McIlroy.

Woods said: "I thought I played well. A lot of the things Sean (coach Sean Foley) and I are working on are starting to feel very comfortable. But it's tough out there - the rough's getting deeper and more lush." He had another day where he wasn't making many mistakes, has his ball under control, 28 putts compared to 35 yesterday, only 6 fairways hit, and 13 GIR compared to 17 on Thursday.

Italian teenager Matteo Manassero 73,65 139 joined Maybin at -6 with the best of the week 65.

Lee Westwood, meanwhile, battled with a neck problem (pinched nerve) as he remained level par with another 72 and defending champion Martin Kaymer, winner three of the last four years - missed the cut which fell at +2, after improving only four shots on his opening 77

The fact of the matter is 30 players are with 5 shots of the lead, and while Rory and Tiger at -5 will get all the attention just 2 back, guys like Sergio, Paddy and Charl are all lurking at -4

Branden Grace's bid to win 3 in a row fell short 75,73 MC, Monty 71,76 MC needs to get to the gym this weekend, and Darren Clarke 72,81 continues to play nothing like the Open champion.

I am not sure why the suits at the GC have sent Steve Sands all the way to Abu Dhabi, he is not an analyst and they sure don't need another host. I can only assume since Tiger is in the field, they wanted to ensure they had a Woods, Golf Channel rah rah rah guy in the booth.  What other reason is there ??

round 3 tee times http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012004/teetimes/index.html

Rory, Robert Karlsson and Tiger are paired in the 3rd last group at 1145am local  245am EST Saturday morning.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

New Q school proposals presented to PGA players at Torrey Pines

Below are the latest details on the current proposals to change Q school. In my opinion Tim Finchem will have trouble getting the support of PGA tour pros because it means if they don't qualify
in the 3 event playoff that is currently the Fall series (detailed below) they will have to go down to the Nationwide Tour for a full year before they can get back on the PGA tour.

Here is the report from the fine writer Doug Ferguson.

DOUG FERGUSON, Associated Press


SAN DIEGO - The PGA Tour is one step closer to eliminating Q-school as a path to earning a tour card, a significant overhaul that would include starting the official season in the fall instead of waiting for the next calendar year.

At the heart of the proposal is making the Nationwide Tour the primary means of getting to the big leagues.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem presented the basics of the plan Tuesday night during a mandatory players meeting at Torrey Pines ahead of the Farmers Insurance Open.

The biggest change involves Q-school. The plan is for the top 75 players from the Nationwide Tour and the top 75 players who failed to keep their PGA Tour cards to play a three-tournament series. Players would be ranked based on how they fared on their respective money lists, and the top 50 after that series would earn cards. The rest would have the option of going to Q-school, where only Nationwide Tour status would be available.

The proposal was not much different from what The Associated Press first reported in December. There were a few tweaks, and there might be more to come as tour officials get feedback over the next few weeks.

The 16-member Player Advisory Council plans to meet in three weeks at the Northern Trust Open. The earliest the overhaul could be approved by the policy board is in March, though it likely will be later
.
Reaction predictably was mixed.

Dustin Johnson, who made it through Q-school on his first try out of college and has won in each of his four years on the PGA Tour, said on Twitter, “Just left the player meeting here in San Diego!!!! I don’t like any of the ideas about changing the tour!!! There is NO reason to!!!!!!!!!”

Rod Pampling, who had to rely on low status and sponsor exemptions to regain his card last year, said he needed more information before he could figure out why such a big change was needed. “I guess they’re looking for a new direction, but I’m still on the fence,” Pampling said. “I understand both sides. We just need to get more information. We were told how last year was one of the greatest years on tour. So why are we reinventing the wheel? Obviously, it’s forward progress. But is this the right way? I don’t know.”

Geoff Ogilvy also said he liked the way the PGA Tour was now. “But I quite liked the way the tour was before the FedEx Cup, and I actually like the tour better now with the FedEx Cup,” he said. “I thought it was ridiculous having the FedEx Cup, but now it happen, and I’m like, `This is pretty good.’ Every year it’s gotten better. So the tour hasn’t made that many missteps in the last 20 or 30 years. “It’s probably going to end up the right thing to do.”

According to one manager involved in meetings, the tour said total compensation to PGA Tour players—including items such as their pension plans— was $205 million in 2010, which increased to $319 million in 2011. That figure is expected to be $377 million this year.

The manager spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information.
But such prosperity prompted several players—including Brandt Snedeker during a Q&A portion of the meeting—to ask: “If everything is so good, why risk change?”


One reason for change is to make the development tour attractive to a title sponsor—Nationwide’s sponsorship ends after this year.

When the FedEx Cup began, the regular PGA Tour season ended with the Tour Championship in late September. Then, there were as many as six “Fall Series” events, which gave players a chance to earn their cards by being in the top 125 on the money list. Those fall events have smaller purses and are not part of the FedEx Cup.

There are indications, however, that at least two title sponsors of the Fall Series might not be willing to renew contracts unless they are part of the FedEx Cup. That would lead the tour to start the new season in October. “It looks likes to me they’re wanting to have a non-calendar year, which means you’ve got to change Q-school,” Phil Mickelson said. “You always have to have change to have growth.”


Q-school, a chance for players to earn their way onto the big tour, is now held in December.
Finchem has said he’s not looking to add tournaments in Asia. What he presented to the players was a start of the season that included the Frys.com Open, Las Vegas, the McGladrey Classic, the Asia Pacific Classic in Malaysia and the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, with the year (but not the season) ending at Disney.

There also was a tournament “to be announced,” which might not be on American soil, but not far away.

One of the arguments against the plan is that it eliminates the long shot that plays six great rounds at Q-school and fulfills a dream by reaching the PGA Tour. Now, such a player would only get to the Nationwide Tour, where he would have a year to prove himself.

Another is that it would hamper a young college player from going straight to the PGA Tour. Johnson and J.B. Holmes are among those who recently have gone from Q-school to winning in one year, while Rickie Fowler went from Q-school to playing in the Ryder Cup.

Among the biggest issues still to sort out is how to seed the 75 PGA Tour players who finish out of the top 125 on the money list with the top 75 from the Nationwide Tour money list.

Currently, the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour automatically get PGA Tour cards. The original plan was for players to be alternately seeded from each tour— No. 1 on the Nationwide and No. 126 from the PGA Tour would be jointly seeded No. 1, for example. Feedback over the last month, however, indicated that because the top 25 players from the Nationwide Tour got cards, they should be given preferred status.

Now under discussion is how to seed them. One idea was to take the top 25 seeds off the Nationwide Tour, and then alternate between the two tours. Another was to put the top 15 from the Nationwide Tour atop the rankings for the three-tournament series.

Nationwide Tour earnings would be the used to keep score in the series. No matter how much money a PGA Tour player made, he would be assigned the money equal to his counterpart on the Nationwide Tour.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

CanTour releases preliminary schedule

2012 Canadian Tour preliminary schedule

Times Colonist Island Savings Open, Uplands Golf Club, Victoria - June 7-10
ATB Financial Classic, Windermere Golf & Country Club, Edmonton - June 21-24
Syncrude Boreal Open, Fort McMurray Golf Club, Fort McMurray - June 28 - July 1
Dakota Dunes Casino Open, Dakato Dunes Golf Links, Saskatoon - July 5-8
The Players Cup, Pine Ridge Golf Club, Winnipeg - July 12-15
Canadian Tour Championship, Scarboro Golf & Country Club, Toronto - August 23-26
The Great Waterway Classic, Smuggler's Glen Golf Course, Gananoque - September 6-9
Desert Dunes Classic, Desert Dunes Golf Club, Palm Springs, CA - November 1-4

The Canadian Tour has unveiled a preliminary eight tournament schedule for 2012.
As has become tradition, the domestic schedule will once again begin at the Times Colonist Island Savings Open in Victoria, B.C., the week of June 4th at Uplands Golf Club where the event will celebrate its 28th anniversary in 2012.

After a five-week swing through western Canada which takes the players to Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Saskatoon and Winnipeg, the Canadian Tour's eastern swing will commence following the Canadian Open with a new event in Ontario known as the Great Waterway Classic near Kingston.

The Tour's flagship event, the Canadian Tour Championship, will be staged at the historic Scarboro Golf and Country Club in Toronto, which is celebrating its centenary in 2012.

Scarboro Golf and Country Club has a history dating back to 1912 and has been the site of four Canadian Open Championships. Considered one of the best classic courses in Canada, Scarboro is the only course outside the United States designed by the legendary A.W. Tillinghast one of North America's premier golf course designers. A little over $1.2 million was recently invested restoring Scarboro to its original roots while the original Victorian clubhouse still stands as one of the finest in the country.

The Tour says it is working on adding two additional events in eastern Canada when the full schedule is published in about a month's time.

The 2012 season is currently set to conclude the first week of November with the Desert Dunes Classic, the only non-Canadian stop on the schedule.

"Traditionally we have released the full schedule in December which has not given all of our events time to finalize their plans for the coming year. This year we have decided to delay the full release of the schedule until it is fully confirmed," stated commissioner Rick Janes.

"Our recent agreement with the PGA TOUR has also provided us with some new horsepower and we are confident that we can get those events in question over the hump when the full schedule is released in a month from now."

The Canadian Tour is also working with the PGA Tour to revamp its Qualifying School format, which is expected to reduce the number of schools to one and provide more cards for prospective Canadian Tour members. Details of the new qualifying system and qualifying school dates will be released as soon as they become available. Players can expect the new Qualifying School to be held in April or early May closer to the start of the Canadian season.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Players torch North Course at Torrey Pines... live scoring / Round 2 tee times

click here for live scoring  http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/r004/

Time to shift focus from Abu Dhabi to the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines (North and South Courses) La Jolla, California, where Bubba Watson defends his title for a mere purse of $6 million with the winning share.. $1,044,000

Three Canucks Ames, Delaet and Hearn are in the field in fact Stephen as just birdied his 2 holes.

Mickelson, Bubba and JB Holmes who is returning to golf after some brain surgery to relieve pressure are getting most of the media's attention.

I will be keeping a close eye on Ernie this week to see if he can continue the form he displayed on the links at Fancourt last week when he lost in that playoff with Goosen and Grace.

I will be following the tourney here all day, join me with your comments on this, Abu Dhabi or anything else on your mind.

Updating

Round 1 is wrapping up and it the guys who drew the North course have taken advantage of the benign weather and just torched it.

Spencer Levin and Kyle Stanley are the lowest of the low with -10 62's, then Bill Haas at -9 63 etc etc. Unfortunately the Canadians all drew the much tougher South course and the best was Graham Delaet at +1 73 T100..

T100 99 Graham DeLaet (SC) 1 F 1 info 73 73

T139 62 Stephen Ames (SC) 4 F* 4 info 76 76
T151 61 David Hearn (SC) 6 F* 6 info 78 78

The top 12 on the leaderboard played the North, which played slightly more than 3 1/2 strokes easier than the South Course, which hosted the U.S. Open four years ago. Of the 54 players who shot in the 60s, only 13 of them were on the South Course.

My man Ernie Els managed -1 71 on the South but what a day for Phil Mickelson. The three-time champion hit into 11 bunkers, missed a 3-foot birdie putt on the final hole and signed for a 77. It was his highest score at Torrey Pines since a 78 in the third round of 2005. He gets the NC on Friday.

The good news is the players swap courses today and as Paul Goydos -4 68 SC who maintains the tournament starts on Saturday when the players have played both.

Round 2 tee times http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r004/tee-times.html



Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

McIlroy and Karlsson lead after round 1 in Abu Dhabi.. round 2 tee times

for live scoring click here http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012004/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y

I have been watching the coverage from Abu Dhabi most of the night, they went off air at 3am after Luke -1 71, Rory -5 67 and Tiger -2 70 finished their early rounds, and then came back on at 4am replaying part of the same coverage from earlier and hopefully picking up some of the late flight that includes Kaymer, Westwood and Sergio.

The weather is partly cloudy and calm, in brief Luke played a steady round, mostly pars, just one dropped shot, didn't make many putts. Rory was a bit wild off the tee but scrambled well and Tiger drove the ball well, was solid if unspectacular with his iron play, missed only 1 GIR, and didn't make many big putts. They started on the 10th at 740am local time. The thing I noticed different about Tiger is that he had his ball under control all day.

euopeantour.com  Rory McIlroy outshone playing partners Tiger Woods and Luke Donald with a five under par opening round of 67 in Abu Dhabi.

While the 22 year old US Open Champion took a share of the early lead with Swede Robert Karlsson thanks to a chip-in birdie on his penultimate hole, Woods shot a bogey-free 70 and World Number One Donald a 71.

McIlroy's ball-striking was not at its best, but like Karlsson he scrambled brilliantly in his first tournament since recovering from suspected Dengue fever.

Woods was playing his first event since ending more than two years without a victory last month, but did not make the most of his chances and collected birdies only at the 11th - their second of the day - and short fourth, where he almost holed in one.

Donald, meanwhile, followed eight opening pars with back-to-back birdies, but could not save par from the sand on the 200 yard seventh.

McIlroy had thrown down the gauntlet with a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th, holing from nine, 12 and three feet. Then came bogeys at the 14th and 17th, but he added another birdie on the long 18th despite his wild second shot hitting the hospitality tent.

A superb pitch from the rough to three feet at the 600 yard second took him to four under and then came the added bonus at the long eighth after he had twice been in the rough and just missed the green. He and Karlsson, who also relied on his short game more than he would have liked, were a stroke ahead of McIlroy's fellow Northern Irishman Gareth Maybin.

McIlroy said: "It was a good score and a great way to start 2012, but I don't feel I drove the ball particularly well and it's something I've got to work on."It was nothing that a good practice session won't fix."He was fifth, third and second on the course the last three years. "I feel it suits me really well. Just one problem - it suits Martin Kaymer even better."

Kaymer however is off to a tough start in defence of his title with a double at the first he is currently +3 through 6, he is the winner three of the last four years, while Lee Westwood is +2 and Sergio Garcia is +1.

Woods said: "I just had a hard time getting a feel for these greens. It was difficult and my speed was off."

Donald said: "It was fun to be part of that threesome - Tiger and Rory are huge names in the world of sport. Rory took advantage of a few more opportunities. I didn't make too many putts."

updating..5.25am EST

*Of the late flight GMac is going well at -3 through 8, while Charl Schwartzel is -2 through 7. Nicholas Colsaerts continues his good form, now in the clubhouse at -3 69, Paddy Harrington is -2 through 8

*Kaymer out in +3 39, Westwood +2 38 and Sergio E 72 as the big afternoon pairing continue to struggle a bit.

*Sergio aces the par 3 12th now at -2 !!.. oops just gave one back with bogey at 13  -1..

* Westwood has just made birdie at 13, has fought back to E, has one of his grinder rounds going,

* Frenchman Jean Baptiste Gonnet playing the back nine first was out in 34, has just eagled the par 5 2nd is T3 at -4

* must give kudos to Renton, Warren, Ken Brown EuroTour guys GC coverage of Tiger etal overnight. Nice balance without sickening overkill that dogs coverage on this side of Atlantic.. well done, refreshing..

* course playing to at stroke average of 73.2 (par 72)

* Sergio has played 2 simply exquisite fairway bunker shots one from 150 yards the other from 60, both inside 10 feet, but he missed both putts !! still -1 playing 17.

* late flight has had the worst, if you can call it that, of the weather with the breeze getting up this afternoon.

* Robert Rock, he without the hat, has birdied 3 of 4 on the back nine, now at -3 through 13.

* All night there has been a TV commercial for the new Taylor Made 3 wood featuring an incredulous Martin Kaymer, who is using that same club to slash it around the course today  +4 playing 17.

*GMac just doubled 17 and has now given back the 3 shots he had on the front nine.. E playing the last. He broke his driver with his drive and that cost him

* Jose Manuel Lara has just aced the 12th like Sergio, his fellow Spaniard did earlier  He is at -3 playing 13.  Sergio gets 3 nights at the Emirates Palace hotel for life for his ace, but since there was only one prize on offer Lara gets diddly !!

* Westwood in at E 72, Sergio -1 71 and Martin Kaymer just missed a 2 footer on 18 for a +5 77

* no one is catching the leaders Rory and Robert at -5 as this round winds down.

* Branden Grace trying to become the first player to win three consecutive events on The European Tour since Seve Ballesteros in 1986, managed only a 75

* Richard Finch, who in a spectacular finish sank a seven iron for an eagle two on the sixth, pitched in from 67 yards for birdie at the eighth and then birdied the ninth as well to finish -4 is taking a lot of ribbing. In 2008 he fell into the river while winning the Irish Open and earlier this week he thought he was going to walk over a shiny black floor at his swank Emirates hotel, turns out it was some kind of water design he walked into, got a couple of soakers and just kept going til he got out the other side !!

*Jason Day is playing wiith a full beard on Australia Day. Call me old school but don't you think this generation of guys look very scruffy. They get all this great gear to wear, then they can't be bothered to shave.

Tee times for round 2
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012004/teetimes/index.html

Westwood / Garcia / Kaymer are off at 11pm est
Donald / McIlroy / Woods are off at 305am est


Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

I'll be watching for Ernie this week at Torrey Pines.. Tee times, Canucks..

Over the years of prognosticating who will win events, I always look for guys in form as one of my criteria and I am happy to put one of my all time favs Ernie Els in that category this week at the Farmers Insurance on the 2 courses at Torrey Pines.

Ernie narrowly lost the Volvo Champions on the links at Fancourt last weekend in that 3 man playoff with the Goose and and an Ernie Els protege Branden Grace, who has won back to back events and is red hot coming into Abu Dhabi this week.

Ernie has the new comfy shoes that Freddie Couples and others are now wearing from Callaway called the Callaway Del Mar' and he is swinging as beautifully as ever, and even making a few putts with his belly putter and has had success at Torre Pines before. He really needs a few top 10's to get into Augusta and he addresses that issue in his weekly diary along with lavish praise for Brendan Grace.. Here is an excerpt..

Having had a few hours to reflect on that final round, where I shot a best-of-the-day, six-under par 67, obviously I have to be happy with my challenge. I made six birdies and an eagle and, as I said in the introduction to this story, if I could have made just a couple of putts coming down the stretch it would have been a very special day, but I feel satisfied. This was a very encouraging day, and a very encouraging week for me. I shot all four rounds under par, which is how I would have wanted to start the season. I feel like I'm working on some good stuff and that my game is in nice shape. Now I need to build on this and keep the momentum going.



Anyway, as disappointed as I was to lose the playoff, I have to say also that I'm very pleased for Branden Grace. He was a member of the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation as, of course, was Louis Oosthuizen. It's a thrill for me to see these young guys doing so well, knowing that we helped start them down the road to where they are now.


Obviously it is a great start to the year for the Foundation. First Louis won the Africa Open and now Branden has won the Joburg Open and the Volvo Champions. Between them they've won the first three tournaments of the year! I couldn't ask for more. One of the focuses at the Foundation is to produce champions and it gives me so much pleasure to see them doing well. Louis and Branden can be very proud of themselves. I couldn't be more proud of them. The other thing is, these performances will definitely motivate our current members to work hard and dream big.


Okay, so on to this week and I'll leave South Africa tomorrow to start my PGA Tour campaign at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in California. I have lots of good memories from this place, going all the way back to my 1984 World Junior Championships win when I was just 14-years old, but I'm looking forward here, not back. I need to play well, get some more good results and make sure that my world ranking goes in the right direction and fast.


A lot of people are reminding me that, at the moment, I'm not qualified for the Masters. Obviously I know the situation. After the Volvo I'm just inside the top-60 and I need to be inside the top-50. It's in my own hands, but I know my work ethic and determination to succeed are as strong as ever. I know I still have the game to tee it up in the majors and win majors. That's what drives me as much as it ever did.

Tee times/pairings click http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r004/tee-times.html

3 Cancks are in the field. Stephen Ames T46 at the Sony then T22 at the Humana Challenge last week, David Hearn had T10 at the Sony then was cut after 3 rounds at Humana, Graham DeLaet was T29 at the Sony in his only outing so far.

Bubba Watson beat Phil Mickelson by a shot last year when Mickelson, needing eagle to tie on the par 5 72nd, laid up, and tried to make the eagle with a 70 yard wedge and had his caddy tend the flag. He came up 4' short..

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

World #1 looks to improve on 2011 record year, Kaymer the favourite, Abu Dhabi pairings,notes

While most of the attention (and appearance money), at least on this side of the Atlantic will be on Tiger's 2012 debut, the world's top 4 golfers also make their's and here is my report on them, tee times and some notes on things I have noticed you may have missed so far this year.

Luke Donald is aiming to improve his long game ahead of this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship after some advice from arguably the game’s greatest ever player.

World Number One Donald enjoyed a dream year in 2011, winning the Race to Dubai, the US PGA Tour money list, his first World Golf Championship and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

But a first Major Championship still eludes him, so the Englishman has turned to the man with more of those on his CV than anyone else.

“Certainly I do believe the key to winning, for me to try and contend and win Majors, is to continually improve my driving,” said Donald.“I think Majors become trickier around the greens, and they are firmer, smaller greens usually. It's more prevalent to hit it in the fairways at Majors. It's something Jack Nicklaus told me last year - he thinks he was successful because he drove it very well. I think that's the area I would love to continue to improve.

“I certainly made some pretty good improvements last year, but I still have a long way to go.”he said as he prepares to line up alongside Tiger Woods and US Open Champion Rory McIlroy at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

“It’s a great draw,” said Donald. “I’m always excited to be in those kind of marquee groups, and it will be good to play with Tiger again. Obviously it's been a while, and got to play with Rory a few weeks ago in Dubai and looking forward to that pairing. It’s a fantastic group. Last year was a hugely important one for me in terms of dealing with pressure and being able to come out on top when it mattered.”

 I had four and a half, five weeks off, since my last event, and put the clubs away for three weeks - didn't touch them and the last couple of weeks, just been working on very similar stuff worked on last year, really trying to get my swing a little bit more solid, especially with the longer clubs and create a bit more consistency with that. The overall goal for me is to continue to improve and get better. The goal every year is to try to win the biggest events, and those are the Majors. Obviously having a year like I did last year, I did everything but win a Major in a way. That would be at the top of my goals, to try and win a Major. But obviously you have to put yourself into contention first.”

Next, let me remind you that the hot favourite has to be Martin Kaymer who has won here in 2010,2011 was second in 2009, and won in 2008 !!

He is paired with Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia and despite his record he believes he is somewhat “under the radar” this week . I think there's less focus on me now,” said the German, when asked about the presence of former World Number One Tiger Woods.“I'm not playing in that group tomorrow, if you want to call it the best group to watch or the most entertaining. I know that people will want see Tiger, the Number One in the world [Luke Donald] and Rory McIlroy so that's a great group to watch. And I think Westwood, Sergio and me, we are a little bit under the radar, which is fine with me. But it always adds a little bit if Tiger Woods is here. You can see when he came on the putting green earlier, there are more people all of a sudden around you, and he has a very special aura''

Rory McIlroy has a great record at Abu Dhabi as well, he finished 11th, 5th, 3rd and 2nd in the event the past four years and would love to see that improvement continue. Remember he is just 22 years old and is the reigning US Open champion and #3 in the world.

Lee Westwood will be delighted to start 2012 as he ended 2011, winning in South Africa and Thailand either side of the Race to Dubai finale. He has a new putting coach who he feels has already made a big difference.
"The most pleasing thing was about four weeks prior to that I started working with Phil Kenyon, my new putting coach," said the world number two."To shoot 62 around Sun City and then 60 and 64 around the course in Thailand you need to start making a few 15-footers, which I've been missing for the previous 17 years! Once they start going in all of a sudden you turn what would be a good round of 65 into a 60 or 62."

Westwood's main aim for the season, of course, is to try to end his wait for a Major."I think it's very difficult to win a Major without making a few (putts) that are surprising or bonuses, so if I can start rolling in a few 25- to 30-footers that's obviously going to make a massive difference.

"The difference with Phil is that my practice is a lot more structured and based around drills to make sure that I do the same thing over and over again'

Tee times / pairings for Abu Dhabi http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012004/teetimes/index.html

Notes
* Abu Dhabi is in the UAE and is 8 hours ahead of EST.
* While Darren Clarke is still smoking heavily, he is on a fitness regime of sorts, hasn't had a drink of alcohol since New Year's and has shed 20 pounds of the weight he piled on after his Open win.
* However don't be alarmed if you haven't seen Colin Montgomerie yet this year, he has put on every pound and more that Darren has lost, and is simply as fat as I have ever seen him. Monty does this every year, he just can't control his diet during the off season, then he has to get on a health kick to lose it all over again..
* watch to see if Thomas Aiken wears his Rhino Revolution hat this week as he continues his charity to help save the Rhino from extinction.
* remember guys like Padraig Harrington, Nicholas Colsaerts, Charl Schwartzel not to forget Branden Grace have all got their season's well underway and are in great form, Grace of course has won the last 2 weeks in a row..
* the weather forecast is for sunny skies all 4 days, 20-23*C and little wind...

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles
(notes from europeantour.com )

Live leaderboards, Grace, Forsman, Wilson are weekend winners

European Tour
Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Branden Grace in a 3way playoff. Colsaerts made a bogey at par 5 18th to miss playoff.
Playoff 1st hole  Grace and Goosen find the fairway, but Els is forced to lay up having found the thick rough down the left hand side. Goosen just missed the green to the right and stubbed his chip short of the pin, while Grace found the front right of the green in two on the par 5 and putted up to a couple of feet. Looks like a birdie four for him.

Goosen fails for birdie and cannot beat a par, Els has a 15 foot putt for birdie.Els has a 15 foot putt for birdie but fails to convert leaving grace with a tap in for two wins in two weeks.european tour scorboard click http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012003/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y
Branden Grace wins at the first exta hole.

PGA Tour
Mark Wilson had a 3 shot lead -21, before play was suspended at La Quinta due to high winds on Saturday. Sunday, Wilson made a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Humana Challenge beating Robert Garrigus, John Mallinger and Johnson Wagner by two strokes in a dramatic dusk finish to the wind-delayed tournament.


Moments after Garrigus barely missed a 35-foot eagle putt that would have given him the lead, Wilson coolly made his birdie try in the disappearing light before celebrating his fifth career PGA TOUR victory with his wife, two sons and a surprisingly fragile trophy from the erstwhile Bob Hope Classic

T22 6 42 Stephen Ames (PP) -15 F -2 info 66 67 70 70 273

CUT 41 David Hearn 68 69 76 213
pgatour leaderboard click http://www.pgatour.com/r/leaderboard/

Champions Tour
Dan Forsman closed with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions Sunday for his third Champions Tour title. He beat Jay Don Blake by two shots. Defending champion John Cook and Michael Allen shared third, another shot back.


The 53-year-old Forsman, a five-time winner on the PGA TOUR, finished with a 15-under 201 total at Hualalai Resort and earned $307,000 in the 41-man event.

Canuck Rod Spittle is T24 at -4 72, 68, 72, 212..
senior tour leaderboard click http://www.pgatour.com/s/leaderboard/

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Wilson tops the leaderboard as scores tumble at the Humana Challenge

Reuters

Mark Wilson fired a career-low 62 on Friday at the Palmer Course to vault into a tie for the lead through two rounds at the Humana Challenge with Ben Crane and David Toms.

The result was three shy of the course record on the Palmer Course, which is David Duval's 59 in the final round of his 1999 victory.

Wilson started with birdies on his first three holes, then capped off the round of 10 under with a 9-footer for his eighth birdie of the day. The two-time PGA Tour champ also made a 15-footer for eagle on the 11th hole to leave him at 16-under par.

"That magic 59 number is something," said Wilson. "After I was 8‑under through 11 I don't know why the conversation went there, but we started talking to Harrison [Frazar] about his 59 over at the Nicklaus tournament course at Q‑School. So I thought about it. It kind of stalled there in the middle, but it was still a great round."

Crane birdied two of his last four holes for a sparkling nine-under-par 63 while Toms carded a six-birdie 65 on the Nicklaus Private course on another sun-splashed day in the California desert.

PGA rookie Harris English also carded a 62 but his came on the Nicklaus Course. He was three strokes off the pace in a group that included Chris Kirk (63), Bobby Gates (63) and first round co-leader Camilo Villegas (68).

Ryan Moore tied the Nicklaus Course record with a 61, yet is still five strokes back after an even-par opening round.

"The last thing I remember was being 2over through three and then I just walked off the 18th hole and I don't really remember anything after that point or in between those two points," said Moore. "You know you got to go make some birdies and sometimes you try forcing it a little bit. And I just kind of let go and just started playing some golf."

Stephen Ames of Calgary was tied for 14th at 11-under par after carding a round of 67 on the Palmer Course. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., - also playing the Palmer layout - shot a 3-under 69 to sit at 7-under.

full leaderboard click http://www.golfcanada.ca/fullLeaderBoard/?tourCode=BEX

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Harvey and Renolds qualify for Asian Tour

The last round at Asian Tour Q school on the Springfield Royal CC in Thailand has just finished and Ron Harvey Jr of Sussex NB and Lindsay Renolds of Christina Lake BC have both won full status for 2012.

Harvey started the day T51 and moved up to T16 with a -5 67 282(-6), while Renolds with a -3 69 285(-3) moved up to T37 from T62.

Unfortunately Matt Johnston of Winnipeg E72 287(-1), Darren Griff of Nanaimo, E72,287(-1) and Danny Sahl of Sherwood Park Alberta -2 70 287(-1) all ended up T45 just 2 shots below the top 40 and ties. They will have conditional status.

A total of 42 players earned their Asian Tour cards for 2012 with the cut at -3 285

16 51 Ron HARVEY JR 70 70 75 67 -6 (282)*

37 62 Lindsay RENOLDS 72 71 73 69 -3 (285)*
45 51 Matt JOHNSTON 70 73 72 72 -1 (287)*
45 51 Darren GRIFF 68 73 74 72 -1 (287)*
45 80 Danny SAHL 69 72 76 70 -1 (287)*

David Lipsky of the United States won the Stage, he is half Korean, and closed with a final round -4 68 to win by two shots over highly rated Arnond Vongvanij of Thailand, Dodge Kemmer of the United States, India’s Rahil Gangjee, who shot a sparkling 63 and Australian Adam Groom at the Springfield Royal Country Club.

Lipsky enjoyed a successful college career at the Northwestern University in Chicago and credited his victory to words of encouragement received from world number one Luke Donald on the social network Twitter.

full scoreboard click http://www.asiantour.com/livescoring.html

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Thomas Aiken leads charge to save the Rhino.

Thomas Aiken 70 -8 total of South Africa is 4 shots off the lead held  by Branden Grace 66 -12  at the Volvo Champions, but as I watched I saw him wearing a Rhino Revolution logo on his normally non logoed hat, then Dougie Donnelly told the story on the broadcast about Aiken starting his own charity fund to assist this organization to save the Rhino from extinction due to highly organized and funded poachers feeding the Far East's insatiable demand for the Rhino's horn.

They reckon at the present rate of poaching Rhino's have about 6 years left unless we all do something to save them. Below is and article from Independent on line out of RSA that tells the whole story.. behind Aiken's hat..

Here is the link if you want to get involved..http://www.rhino-revolution.com/

Thomas Aiken explained that symbol of the rhino on his cap as something more important than a golf tournament – he is trying to end rhino poaching in South Africa.


Speaking in his post-round interview on Thursday, Aiken, who is tied second at the Volvo Golf Champions at the Links at Fancourt, has started his own charity in his fight to save the rhinos from extinction.

“But you know, I've been waiting for something worthwhile to put on my cap and what is more worthwhile than trying to help all our rhinos that have been struggling so much the last two years.”

Aiken, who is in the field courtesy of his maiden win on the European tour in Spain last year, has started his own charity – the Thomas Aiken Rhino Fund.

“I got in touch with Trevor Jordan from Jordan Properties up in the Hoedspruit area and they are doing a fantastic job with Rhino Revolution. He really has taken the bull by the horns, or this case the rhino by the horns. We have got a war going on with the East and the prize is the rhino, and whether it will stay or whether it will become extinct. “It's being valued at one million dollars a horn and so we have a serious financial problem with the fact that they have a lot of money and we don't. How do you fight a war when someone has more ammunition than you do, and you need to fight ,clearly.”

Aiken said for now the focus remains on the Hoedspruit area. His charity has tractors and roadblocks on three roads. The charity is also doing something which has caused controversy, which is dehorning rhinos.

“At the current rate that they are being poached, we have got about six years left until they are extinct. A rhino horn is like a fingernail. It's hair-based and it grows back, and they have no nerve endings. You might as well chew on your nail; that's how much nutrients are in it. What we are doing is we have top vets coming and dehorning and leaving a stump. So far we have de-horned 50 rhinos and not one fatality in the dehorning process, which says a lot about the vets, because it's not as easy as it looks.”

The rhinos are then “chipped” with a tracking device so they can be tracked. All the rhinos that have undergone this procedure are still alive.

The horns take five years to grow back and Aiken hopes by then there will be no more poaching. “What we are trying to do is legalise trading rhino horns so that we can flood the market with all of the horn that we have got. We have spoken to all the top rhino breeders in South Africa, and if we can flood the market and bring the price down, then they won't really have any resources to poach.” – Sapa

For live scoring at Volvo Champions click http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012003/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

This"Golf" technology would have Panton turning in his grave.

Not so long ago there was a great Scottish pro called John Panton. John was often accompanied by his trusty golden retriever and as they walked the fairways John eschewed the conveniently placed yardage marker sticks ( 200yds, 150yds, 100yds etc) preferring to eyeball the shot, relying on his eyesight to judge the distance, and his knowledge and experience to gauge and calibrate all the other factors (wind, lie, pin placement, terrain etc) that would go into his shot selection. He managed to win the Scottish professionals championship 8 times, in his storied career which included a 3&2 win over Sam Snead in the 1967 World Seniors final using his eyeballing ability..

John passed away in July 2009 at the age of 92, and I know the news that follows will have him turning in his grave.!!!

Expresso Satellite Navigation (ESN) Introduces New Designer GPS Golf Watch at

The 2012 PGA Merchandise Show

The World's First GPS Golf Watch to provide hazard information and distances.

LaPorte, IN - Expresso Satellite Navigation (www.GolfESN.com) announced today that they will be introducing two new products for 2012, the designer WR62 GPS Golf Watch and the AG50s Automotive and Golf GPS unit in Booth #2115 at the 2012 PGA Merchandise Show set to be held January 26th - 28th at The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

About the WR62 GPS Golf Watch

The WR62 Golf Watch by Expresso Satellite Navigation is the first GPS golf watch to include hazard information. You can track your shot distance, access the front and back of the green distances, and access the hazard distances all with one simple push of a button! Large, user-friendly distance callouts ensure maximum readability, all conveniently placed on your wrist. The WR62 also delivers unprecedented GPS performance with its 62-channel satellite receiver.

"The WR62 is a stylish everyday watch that also is a golf GPS rangefinder," said David Alexander, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at ESN. "Offering distances to the green, as well as hazards, make it a no brainer for the golfer who wants instant and accurate yardages."

The WR62 retails for $179.95, requires no fees and is ready to use right out of the box! Stop by Booth #2115 during the PGA Merchandise Show and check out the "Next Generation" of GPS Golf Watches from ESN!

About the Expresso AG50s - Automotive and Golf

The Expresso AG50s Automotive and Golf GPS is the ultimate GPS device for the traveling golfer. Featuring dual processors, a bright 3.75" LCD touch screen, and a Swiss-made 50-satellite receiver, the AG50s provides the most accurate GPS on the course by displaying key distances for each hole for over 25,000 preloaded courses worldwide.

The AG50s is also loaded with all of the features expected in a premium automotive navigation device, including text-to-speech, multiple destination route planning, automatic day/night mode, over 6 million points of interest (POIs), a simple, easy to use interface, and automotive mapping data by NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of road maps.

Whether you are driving down the fairway or driving down the freeway, the AG50s is there for you. Multimedia capability adds to the incredible value of the AG50s which retails for only $199.95. You can listen to music, watch videos, and view your favorite photos. With its unique, incorporated cup holder and dash mount designs combined with its multi-functionality, the AG50s is truly in a league of its own.

About Expresso Satellite Navigation (ESN)

Expresso Satellite Navigation, Ltd. Is the world's first maker of portable GPS Navigation devices created specifically for the "active lifestyle" consumer. With a product lineup consisting entirely of Multi-Use and Crossover Navigation Devices (CND's), Expresso has employed a team of more than 50 top-level engineers to create an entirely new category of GPS products. In addition to utilizing the industry's most award winning automotive navigation software, Expresso has partnered with a number of leading developers in outdoor navigation and multimedia.

For more information about Expresso Satellite Navigation, visit http://www.golfesn.com/.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Canucks close to qualifying at Asian Tour Qschool

It's 530am est and round 3 is just wrapping up in Thailand but I can tell you all 5 Canadians have dropped out of the top 40 and ties that get Asian Tour cards, so a big day is on tap tomorrow if any of our guys are going to make it..

The good news is that Harvey,Griff and Johnston are all only1shot out of the -2,214 total 40th place
 at 215, Renolds is at 216 and Sahl 217, so they are really in with a great chance.

click here for live scoring  http://www.asiantour.com/livescoring.html

51 28 Ron HARVEY JR 70 70 75 -1 (215)*
51 39 Darren GRIFF 68 73 74 -1 (215)*
51 70 Matt JOHNSTON 70 73 72 -1 (215)*
62 70 Lindsay RENOLDS 72 71 73 E (216)
80 39 Danny SAHL 69 72 76 1 (217)*

These leaders are at -11, 205
1 7 Dodge KEMMER 66 70 69 -11 (205)
1 3 Yosuke TSUKADA 63 71 71 -11 (205)
1 9 Masanori KOBAYASHI 70 67 68 -11 (205)

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Big hitting Belgian breaks course record at Volvo Champions in South AAfrica

europeantour.com  Nicolas Colsaerts broke the course record with a dazzling nine under par 64 at the start of the Volvo Golf Champions at Fancourt in South Africa.

Colsaerts birdied nine of the last 11 holes, including the final four, to establish an early four stroke lead over England's David Horsey, Dutchman Joost Luiten and South African Thomas Aiken.

The tournament brings together last season's winners on The European Tour and most of the big guns were out later in the day.

Ernie Els - not yet exempt for April's Masters Tournament after falling outside the Official World Golf Ranking's top 70 - bogeyed two of his first three holes, but past and present Ryder Cup Captains Colin Montgomerie and José María Olazábal were two under at the turn.

They were both in the elite 35-man field because all those with ten or more European Tour victories qualified as well and Montgomerie was eyeing a chance to become the circuit's oldest-ever winner.

Colsaerts, the biggest hitter in Europe two years ago, won the Volvo China Open last April and then was a semi-finalist at the World Match Play in Spain - another event with the same sponsor.He was only level par after seven holes, but then had four birdies in a row around the turn and went on to cover the back nine in a seven under 30.

Padraig Harrington was paired with Els and, although certain of a place in the season's first Major at Augusta, the Irishman is also looking to re-ignite his career after falling all the way to 89th in the world.He does not yet have a place in the coming two World Golf Championships, but birdies at the short second and long fifth were nice early boosts and he remained two under after seven.

Open Champion Darren Clarke and Masters Tournament winner Charl Schwartzel were the last pair off, but Schwartzel three-putted the second and Clarke did the same on the fourth.

At 596th in the Official World Golf Ranking current Ryder Cup Captain Olazábal is the lowest-ranked player taking part, but he birdied the first and eighth.

Colsaerts had rounds of 62 in Indonesia in 2005 and in the Netherlands two years ago, but both were only eight under and he said: "This is probably the best of my life. It's a serious test of golf. I think the longest putt I holed was from 12 feet on the second."

He has a four stroke lead over Lewis, Grace and Aiken.


full leaderboard click http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012003/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

5 Canucks left after round 2 Asian Tour Q school final stage

The cut fell early this morning at E and unfortunately 3 of our guys failed to make it, John Shin of Burnaby +4 74,74 MC, Mitch Evanecz, Red Deer +1 69,76 MC,  Rafael Lee of Delta BC T62 +3 71,76 MC

Darren Griff of Nanaimo is still in the top 40 with rounds of -3 68,73 good for T39 as is Danny Sahl of Sherwood Park Alberta -3 69,72 T39, but now leading the way is Ron Harvey Jr of Sussex NB T28 -4 70,70..

Playing for the final day on both courses, the Imperial Lakeview & Springfield Royal CC in Hua Hin, Thailand the leaders are now Guy Woodman 64 69 -11 a 35 year old journeyman from England and Arnond Vongvanij 69 64 -11 His parents are Thai,  he was born in Hawaii but grew up in Thailand before moving to Florida to play golf at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy. He is a graduate from the University of Florida.

Other Canadian scores..Matt Johnston of Winnipeg T70-1 70,73. and Lindsay Renolds of Christina Lake BC T70 -1 72,71

Top 40 and ties get their cards, there are 2 rounds now left to play on the Springfield Royal CC and 109 guys made the cut.

Top 10 leaderboard
1= 133 -11 Guy WOODMAN ENG 64 69

1= 133 -11 Arnond VONGVANIJ THA 69 64
3 134 -10 Yosuke TSUKADA JPN 63 71
4= 135 -9 Hamza AMIN AUT 69 66
4= 135 -9 Sushi ISHIGAKI JPN 66 69
4= 135 -9 Martin ROMINGER SUI 72 63
7= 136 -8 Ryuichi TAYASU JPN 69 67
7= 136 -8 Dodge KEMMER USA 66 70
9= 137 -7 Masanori KOBAYASHI JPN 70 67
9= 137 -7 David LIPSKY USA 72 65
9= 137 -7 James BYRNE SCO 68 69
9= 137 -7 Javi COLOMO ESP 65 72
9= 137 -7 Yusaku MIYAZATO JPN 68 69
9= 137 -7 HUR In-Hoi KOR 67 70
9= 137 -7 Dale MARMION ENG 70 67

live scoreboard http://www.asiantour.com/news.aspx?sid=20120118527024529462
Lakeview round 3 tee times http://www.asiantour.com/news.aspx?sid=20120118158913192768
Springfield round 3 tee times http://www.asiantour.com/news.aspx?sid=20120118102694325018

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Humana..whatever, It will always be "The Hope" for me..

I am a big fan of Bob Hope and was sorry when we lost him last year. He made us all laugh whether it be through his many TV Specials, "Road to" films with Bing and Beauties, his trips with the Troops, or his appearances with Presidents from Ike to Carter chronicling their ineptitude on the course as they went along. He once said you could count Gerald Ford's score by the number of bodies in the rough..

Bob could play a little as could his partner Bing at Riviera, but his act in front of a crowd always put the emphasis on entertainment rather than practice and performance.

This year Bob's name is gone from his event although we will all call it The Hope, and it will never be the same for me and many others without him.

Sure they eat up the courses, sure John Cook shot 36 under, sure the celebs make a mockery of a serious event, but hey it was always a fun week in the sun for me frozen out here in Ontario, and Bob his girls and movie stars and greats like Arnie, Mike Weir etal always made it a warm and welcome week..

I will continue to miss you Bob, thanks or shanks for all the memories..

Here is Tom Lamarre's fine report from Reuters
TOM LAMARRE, Reuters

"Shanks for the memories".

When the PGA Tour returns to the Southern California desert this week, Bob Hope’s name will not be on the tournament for the first time since 1964.

Instead, Jhonattan Vegas will be defending his title in what is now called the Humana Challenge in Partnership with the William J. Clinton Foundation.

It’s the end of an era.

Not only has the Hope been an institution in the Coachella Valley, donating more than $50 million to charity and virtually funding the Eisenhower Medical Center, this was the last of the early season events on the PGA Tour with a Hollywood celebrity’s name attached to it. At one time, you also had the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach, the Andy Williams San Diego Open at Torrey Pines and the Glen Campbell Los Angeles Open at Riviera. The only tournament left on the circuit with an entertainer’s name on it is the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, the opener of the Fall Series, at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.

“The reality of it is that having celebrities’ names attached to these tournaments may have at some point driven notoriety, but in this era, you need to have cash,” David Carter, executive director of USC’s Sports Business Institute, told the Los Angeles Times. “You need to have tournaments that are profitable and self-sustainable, and if you don’t have that, the tournaments are going to go under.”

That’s fine, but the titles AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the Farmers Insurance Open and the Northern Trust Open simply don’t grab golf fans the same way. Humana, the Clinton Foundation and others involved with the tournament are doing their best to keep the flavor of the Bob Hope Classic alive.

“I think everybody is going to be very pleased with the commitment that all parties have made to perpetuate the legacy of Bob Hope,” tournament director Larry Thiel told Golfweek.

The winner of the tournament will receive the new Bob Hope Trophy, a “Shanks for the Memories” exhibit of Hope memorabilia will be on display in Hope Square at the Palmer Course at PGA West, and the phrase “Continuing the Bob Hope Legacy” will be featured on shuttle buses, pairings sheets and signs at the three tournament courses.

However, golf writer Larry Bohannan of the Desert Sun, author of “50 Years of Hope,” has lamented that the Bob Hope Girls and the In’n’Out burger wagons will not return.

The Hope was the last of the 90-hole tournaments on the PGA Tour featuring a large pro-am, but the Humana will be a traditional 72-hole event with 144 professionals, an increase of 16 players.

And instead of being contested over four courses, the tournament will be played at the host Palmer Course, La Quinta Country Club and the Nicklaus Course at PGA West, with SilverRock Resort having been dropped from the rotation.

The tournament, one of the oldest on the PGA Tour, started out as the Palm Springs Classic in 1960, when Arnold Palmer claimed the first of his record five titles in the event, and Hope put his stamp on the tournament in 1965.

Other names on the Bob Hope Classic trophy include Jack Nicklaus, Billy Casper, Johnny Miller, Phil Mickelson, Craig Stadler, Doug Sanders, Bob Rosburg, Hubert Green, Lanny Wadkins, Corey Pavin, Fred Couples, John Cook, Justin Leonard and Mike Weir, who captured the event in 2003 in the run-up to his Masters title.

In the early days, most of the pros were more than happy to play alongside the celebrities, even for five days, to promote the game, and the California events were popular among television viewers in colder parts of the country in January and February. However, most of the top players these days can’t be bothered.

Tiger Woods never played in the Bob Hope Classic despite personal requests from Hope, who first met Woods in a televised putting contest against the child prodigy on the Mike Douglas Show when Tiger was 2 years old.

Mickelson won the Hope in 2002 and 2004 but hasn’t played in the event since 2007 because he was not wild about at least one of the tournament courses, However, he announced recently that he will return this week.

“I’m confident with the recent changes to the tournament’s sponsorship and format, and with the support President Clinton will give, this event, which has been one of the most iconic tournaments for decades, will once again establish itself as one of ‘the’ tournaments to play in,” Mickelson said.

Hope famously played in a fivesome that included defending champion Scott Hoch and Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford in the 1995 Classic.

The tournament struggled after Hope’s death in 2003. Comedian George Lopez and later Palmer were brought in as tournament hosts, but the name couldn’t be saved.

Humana and President Clinton will keep the tournament alive, but things will never quite be the same.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

This week I cover play in Hawaii, South Africa, La Quinta California and Hua Hin Thailand

This week I span the globe again (from my office !!) as the seniors get started in Hawaii, the European has it's Tournament of Champions equivalent on the links at Fancourt RSA, someone will shoot 35 under to win the Hope and 8 Canucks face a pressure packed week in the final stage of Asian Tour Q school in Thailand.

Hope you can join me as always and listen for my radio report on Sunday morning on the International Sports Report on TSN1050radio between 8am-10

Champions Tour
Jan. 20 - 22 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai
Hualalai Golf Course, Ka'upulehu-Kona, Hawaii
Purse: $1,800,000 GOLF
John Cook (D)
$305,000
Kicks off 2012 season with Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge in the field

European Tour
Jan 19 Jan 22 Volvo Golf Champions

The Links at Fancourt,George,South Africa
€2,000,000
(The 2012 Volvo Golf Champions will take place over The Links at Fancourt, George, South Africa from 19th – 22nd January 2012, the first exclusively-sanctioned European Tour event of the year, open only to winners from 2011 and European Tour players with 10 or more Tour titles to their name.)


PGA Tour
Jan. 19 - 22 Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation (formerly The Bob Hope Desert Classic)

PGA West (Palmer Course), La Quinta, California
PGA West (Nicklaus Course), La Quinta, California
La Quinta CC, La Quinta, California
Purse: $5,600,000
Jhonattan Vegas (D)
$900,000
Big clumsy new title to honour the sponsor, to all it is simply called " The Hope " and David Hearn and Stephen Ames are in the field.


Asian Tour Q School Final Stage
Royal Springfield Country Club
Hua Hin, Thailand.
January 18-21

As I wrote earlier last week 8 of our guys have made it in the field of 89 where the top-40 and ties will earn Asian Tour cards for 2012.


1 Danny SAHL Sherwood Park Alta  Highest ranked and available player from top10 2011 CanTour Order of Merit gets direct to Asian Tour finals

2 Darren GRIFF Nanaimo, B.C, last played on the Asian Tour in 2006
3 John SHIN Burnaby, B.C
4 Lindsay RENOLDS Christina Lake, B.C
5 Matt JOHNSTON Winnipeg
6 Mitch EVANECZ Red Deer, Alta, former Alberta Amateur Champion
7 Rafael DW LEE  Burnaby, B.C, former Canadian Junior Champion
8 Ron HARVEY Jnr Sussex, N.B

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

LPGA 2012 schedule changes

 Associated Press


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The LPGA Tour begins a new season with four more tournaments, including a new Canadian stop, and a lot more reason for optimism.

The tour took a big step toward beefing up its schedule by adding three tournaments in the United States, including the return of two popular events in Ohio and Virginia.

The biggest surprise Tuesday was the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, which was not played a year ago. The LPGA also is going back to Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va., a favorite among players that was last played in 2009.

The ladies tour makes its first stop in Canada on June 21-24 with the inaugural Manulife Financial LPGA Classic to be played at Grey Silo Golf Club in Waterloo, Ont.. The 2012 CN Canadian Women's Open will be played at Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C., on August 23-26.

The tour previously announced a new tournament in Hawaii, along with sanctioning the Women's Australian Open, which will kick off the new season Feb. 9-12 at fabled Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

Right when it looked as though the LPGA Tour would suffer irreparable harm from the economic downturn, Commissioner Mike Whan delivered a schedule of 27 tournaments worth $47 million in prize money that signals a strong recovery.

Along with the new tournaments, Whan said the North American events will get live television coverage on the Golf Channel on the weekend, instead of being shown on tape delay. That led to complaints for its fan base that it didn't know when to watch.

Another big improvement is the flow of the schedule. A year ago, the LPGA was coming off its first major championship - Stacy Lewis winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship - when it took three weeks off before its next tournament. Even with a global schedule in which tournaments will be played in a dozen countries, the LPGA will not go more than two weeks without playing.

It also might get more attention for its biggest event - the U.S. Women's Open, which in the last three years was held a week before the men's British Open. This year, the Women's Open will be played July 5-8, two weeks before the British Open.

Meanwhile, the Women's British Open will be held at Royal Liverpool on Sept. 13-16, moved back a month in part because of the 2012 Olympics in London.

The LPGA goes to Australia, Thailand and Singapore in consecutive weeks to start the year. The first domestic tournament will be the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup outside Phoenix, and this time the players will actually get paid. A year ago, it was a mock purse. The earnings were applied toward the money list, but the actually money went toward a charity program to honor LPGA founders.

Whan said the LPGA was able to renew eight of the nine tournament contracts that ended in 2011, and 10 of its 11 marketing agreements. The one tournament it lost was the State Farm Classic in Illinois.

"With more tournaments, more corporate partners, more viewers and more fans, the anticipation and excitement for the 2012 season is at an all-time high," Whan said. "Our message to everyone is 'see why it's different out here,' and we're hopeful that more people than ever before will take notice and become a part of our growth."

2012 Schedule

Feb. 9-12 - ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open, Royal Melbourne GC, Melbourne, Australia.
Feb. 16-19 - Honda LPGA Thailand, Siam CC (Pattaya Old Course), Chonburi, Thailand.
Feb. 23-26 - HSBC Women's Champions, Tanah Merah CC (Garden Course), Singapore.
March 15-18 - RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, Wildfire GC, Tempe, Ariz.
March 22-25 - Kia Classic, La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, Calif.
March 29-April 1 - Kraft Nabisco Championship, Mission Hills CC, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
April 18-21 - LPGA LOTTE Championship, TBD, Honolulu.
April 26-29 - Mobile Bay LPA Classic, RTJ Golf Trail (Crossings Course), Mobile, Ala.
May 5-6, HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup, TBC, Rio de Janeiro.
May 17-20 - Sybase Match Play Championship, Hamilton Garm GC, Gladstone, N.J.
June 1-3 - ShopRite LPGA Classic, Seaview GC, Galloway, N.J.
June 7-10 - Wegmans LPGA Championship, Locust Hill CC, Pittsford, N.Y.
June 21-24 - Manulife Financial LPGA Classic, Grey Silo GC, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
June 29-July 1 - Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, Pinnacle CC, Rogers, Ark.
July 5-8 - U.S. Women's Open, Blackwolf Run (Championship Course), Sheboygan, Wis.
July 26-29 - Evian Masters, Evian Masters GC, Evian-les-Bains, France.
Aug. 9-12 - Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, Highland Meadows GC, Sylvania, Ohio.
Aug. 17-19 - Safeway Classic, Pumpkin Ridge GC (Ghost Creek), North Plains, Oregon
Aug. 23-26 - CN Canadian Women's Open, Vancouver GC, Coquitlam, British Columbia.
Sept. 6-9 - Kingsmill Championship, Kingsmill Resort (River Course), Williamsburg, Va.
Sept. 13-16 - Ricoh Women's British Open, Royal Liverpool GC, Hoylake, England.
Sept. 20-23 - Navistar LPGA Classic, RTJ Trail (Senator Course), Prattville, Ala.
Oct. 12-14 - Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur Golf & CC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Oct. 19-21 - LPGA HanaBank Championship, Sky72 GC (Ocean Course), Incheon, South Korea.
Oct. 25-28 - Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship, Sunrise Golf & CC, Taipei, Taiwan.
Nov. 2-4 - Mizuno Classic, Kintetsu Kashkikojima CC, Shima-Shi, Japan.
Nov. 8-11 - Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Guadalajara CC, Guadalajara, Mexico.
Nov. 15-18 - CME Group Titleholders, TwinEagles GC (Eagles Course), Naples, Fla.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Wagner wins in Hawaii, Hearn T10

Monford Johnson Wagner emerged from the pack at a tough Waialae course to win the Sony Open.

At one point 23 guys were within 2 shots of the lead, Johnson's birdie at 15 gave him a 2 shot lead that he took with him down the 72nd..He finished 67 -13

David Hearn 69 -9 was in a group T10. It was his fourth career top-10 result on the PGA Tour.


"I am very happy with the start to my season," Hearn tweeted. "It felt good to be in the mix so early in the season!!"

Graham DeLaet, who was the leader after the first round, closed with a 72. That left him in a tie for 29th in his first tournament since last June following back surgery. After three sub-70 rounds, Stephen Ames of Calgary stumbled to a final round 75 and a tie for 46th at 3-under par.


LIVE SCORING http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/r006/

T10 2 21 David Hearn -9 F -1 info 66 66 70 69 271
T29 10 49 Graham DeLaet -5 F 2 info 63 72 68 72 275
T46 38 61 Stephen Ames -3 F 5 info 67 68 67 75 277


Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles
notes from AP

Ames,Hearn Delaet in contention at Sony Open

For live scoring click  http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/r006/

T8 9 22 Stephen Ames -8 F -3 info 67 68 67 202

T8 6 22 David Hearn -8 F E info 66 66 70 202
T19 2 36 Graham DeLaet -7 F -2 info 63 72 68 203

Jeff Maggert 64 and Matt Every 68 are the leaders at -12, so as you can see our 3 guys are well within striking range as we go into today's final round at the Sony Open on Oahu, Hawaii.

Full reports as the final round unfolds..

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Andrew Parr has a great week at Jo'Burg Open

Andrew Parr

"I want to thank everyone for all their love. I am so grateful to have wonderful people in my life. I do this for you!" Andrew just posted this on his Facebook page.


As you may know he narrowly missed his full European Tour card but really took advantage of his limited status on the European Tour for 2012 with a very good week at the Jo'Burg Open and in fact capitalized on an amazing round 3 of -8 64 to get right into contention. With 3 birdies on today's front nine went out in 34 and stood at -15 just 2 behind the leaders. However he gave all 3 shots back with bogey at the par 4 13th then a double at the par4 14th to finish up at -12, 5 shots behind South African Branden Grace who had all pars on his back nine for 72 and a -17 total. It was his 50th event on the European Tour and his first win.

On 13 he hit his wedge over the green into the back bunker, short sided couldn't get up and down. On 14 his drive was in the rough, he wedged into a greenside bunker then 3 putted for the double.

For a full scoreboard click
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012002/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Round 3 just underway at Jo'Burg Open, more bad weather in forecast..

Live scoreboard click http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012002/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y

europeantour.com A hole in one at the par three 12th helped Richard Finch claim a share of the lead when the second round of the Joburg Open concluded.With severe weather delays marring the opening two days, several players had not even teed off in their second rounds when they arrived at the course on Saturday.

Play is now underway in round 3 but there is a 50% chance of more thundershowers in today's forecast.

England’s Robert Rock had set the clubhouse target at 11 under par after his second round 67 over Royal Johannesburg and Kensington’s West Course on Friday, and he was joined not only by Finch but also South African George Coetzee.


Playing the tougher East Course, Finch had three birdies and a solitary bogey as he turned in 35, before adding two birdies on the back nine and acing the 200 yard 12th with a six iron for a 66.

“It’s actually my second in South Africa,” he said. “I made one at Humewood a few years ago in the South African Open Championship. And then I made one other at the Johnnie Walker at Gleneagles.”


Coetzee had collected three birdies in his first six holes over the East Course before Friday’s suspension, and he gained further strokes at the ninth and 12th.The 25 year old dropped his first shot of the tournament at the 17th, but birdied the next for a 67.

A trio of home players were one behind, two-time US Open Champion Retief Goosen signing for a 67 over the East layout to join Branden Grace and Jbe Kruger on ten under

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Griff leads Canadian charge into Final Stage at Asian Tour School

 A total of 84 players so far have qualified for the Asian Tour Qualifying Final Stage next week after making the grade at the First Stage on Saturday, and I am happy to report this early morning that all 7 of our guys have made it led by Darren Griff of Nanaimo BC with a terrific -9 63 on the Springfield Royal CC.

Play is just wrapping up on the Banyan course, there are no Canucks there.

Final stage next week presented by Sports Authority of Thailand  at the same Imperial Lakeview & Springfield Royal CC, Hua Hin offers Asian Tour cards to the T40.

Here are their scores with a link to the Asian Tour website http://www.asiantour.com/index.html

Majestic Course

2nd Lindsay Renolds, Christina Lake BC (lives in Phuket, Thailand) ( -8 69,68,68,71)
T5 Matt Johnson, Winnipeg (-6, 68,70,71,69 )
18th Ron Harvey Jr, Sussex, NB (plays Asan Tour) ( -5 71 69 72,67)

Lakeview
7th John Shin Burnaby, BC (E, 78 71 70,70 )

Springfield
T5 Darren Griff, Nanaimo,BC (-7, 72,68,78,63)

T11 Mitch Evanecz, Red Deer, Alta (-3, 68,75,72,70)
T19 Rafael Lee , Delta, BC (+1 74,74,69, 71)

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Hearn T2 in Hawaii, Every irks tour with stance on marijuana.

David Hearn continued his solid play in round 2 at the Sony Open on Oahu Island in Hawaii adding a second -4 66 for a -8 total, 2 shots behind leader Matt Every 66,64 -10 who the media are making a big deal over because 2 years ago he was charged with  possession of marijuana, a charge that was subsequently dropped, however he was suspended for 3 months by the squeaky clean PGA tour for conduct unbecoming.

Yesterday he told the post round gathering that he wasn't going to tell friends he has who smoke pot that they couldn't be his friend anymore, and in fact knew more people who do smoke pot than don't, and further there were way more serious things going on out here than smoking a joint.

Remember the PGA tour asks it's players to butt out when they are on course, or at least when in camera range, Jack and Arnie were/are both ardent puffers, but you only see them in old footage with a smoke in their mouths..

To me it's a case of who gives a damn re Every's stance, to others he has a privileged life on tour and his very commonly held stance on marijuana can't be waved in the face of the tour's etiquette.

He is probably best to carry on and just shut up about it. Not worth the hassle.

Stephen Ames andGraham  Delaet are T17 at -5 135 just 5 shots off the lead, their scores below. Graham had back to back doubles at 11 and 12 in his +2 72.

T2 3 4 David Hearn -8 F -4 info 66 66 132

T17 37 Stephen Ames -5 F* -2 info 67 68 135
T17 16 37 Graham DeLaet -5 F* 2 info 63 72 135


For live scoring click..http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/r006/#

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Round two abandoned for the day at Jo'Burg Open.. live scoreboard

UPDATE at 1030am est  Friday Jan 13.. European_Tour The European Tour

Play has been abandoned for the day at the #JoburgOpen - Round 2 to re-start at 06.45 (local) Saturday morning.
After a four-hour delay on the first day due to thunder, the weather struck again at 11.37 GMT to force the players back to the clubhouse.

Live scoreboard click here http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012002/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y

Jbe Kruger and Robert Rock took full advantage of early start times on day two of the Joburg Open to post a challenging 11 under par clubhouse score.

With overnight leaders Jamie Elson and Damien McGrane among the later starters, Kruger and Rock made their presence felt on the leaderboard at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club.

After a four hour delay due to thunderstorms on the opening day, both players had to finish their first rounds on returning to the course.

Finishing the tougher East Course first, Kruger eagled the last for a 67 while Rock birdied the last two for a 65 – a joint-best effort on the more difficult layout.Two-time Sunshine Tour winner Kruger then added a bogey-free 65 on the West Course, while Italian Open champion Rock mixed four birdies, two bogeys and an eagle there at the second in a 67.

At 11 under they led by one from another South Africa’s Brendan Grace, who bogeyed the final hole of the West Course for a 66.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles

Delaet leads, Hearn, Ames in contention at the Sony on Oahu..

For a live scoreboard click here http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/r006/#

Associated Press

Published on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012 07:42PM EST
Last updated on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012 11:19PM EST

HONOLULU, Hawaii - Graham DeLaet has never been happier to be on the PGA Tour, and it showed Thursday in the Sony Open.

One year after back surgery that made him wonder if he could ever play golf again, DeLaet chipped in for eagle and twice holed 35-foot birdie putts for a 7-under 63 that gave the Canadian a two-shot lead.

Carl Pettersson, former Sony Open champion K.J. Choi and Kyle Reifers were all at 65, while fellow Canadian David Hearn was in a group at 4-under par. He birdied two of his first four holes and four of his last eight for an opening round 66.

Calgary's Stephen Ames is four strokes back. He has been in Hawaii for his annual winter vacation, playing the Bay Course at Kapalua during the Tournament of Champions on the Plantation Course. But when he got to Waialae, he was 3 over through eight holes. Ames birdied six of the next nine holes and posted a -3,67.

"I'm just so excited to be back out," DeLaet said. "I had a good season my rookie campaign, and then it was all basically just taken away. And I realize now how fortunate we are to be playing golf for a living. My whole attitude is definitely better."

His game looked to be in pretty good shape, too. Thursday was a gentle start of the season in the first full-field tournament of the year on the PGA Tour, with the ocean breeze barely strong enough to move fronds on the palm trees that line the fairways. Just under half of those with early tee times broke par.

DeLaet, who hails from Weyburn, Sask., surged to the top of the leaderboard when he chipped in from just short of the green on the par-5 ninth, then holed a 35-foot birdie putt on the 10th and hit his approach to 6 feet on the 12th for another birdie. He took the outright lead with birdies on the last two holes, getting up-and-down from just short of the green on the par-5 18th.

At this time a year ago, he was a week removed from surgery on his lower back, which included shaving part of his disk to keep it from pressing against a nerve. The Sony Open offers pleasant scenery on TV, but he couldn't stand to watch. "It took me a couple of months before I could even watch golf," he said.

The injury was nothing new, first suffered when DeLaet was playing hockey as a junior. His lower back would give him fits, and then the pain would subside. Toward the end of his rookie season in 2010 — he finished 100th on the money list to easily keep his card — it got so bad that he couldn't sit for more than a few seconds.

Surgery took care of the pain, and DeLaet tried to return in the summer in the two tournaments sandwiched around the U.S. Open. His next start was supposed to be the AT&T National at Aronimink, but after playing a few holes before the Wednesday pro-am, he realized he was trying to get back too soon.

"I think I wanted to be there so bad that I felt that I was better physically than I actually was," DeLaet said. "I just knew that it's hard enough to compete out here when you're healthy, and I just knew that I wasn't in good enough shape to compete."

Playing on a major medical exemption, DeLaet has 26 starts to make $668,166 in order to keep his PGA TOUR card, which is the equivalent of what the 125th player on the PGA Tour money list made last year. First place at the Sony Open in Hawaii this week is $990,000.

"That would be a nice way to start the year," DeLaet said.

Steve Stricker, winner of last week’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions, birdied his final two holes for an opening round 66. Should Stricker win this week, he would become just the second player to win both of the first two events of the season in Hawaii. Ernie Els won both in 2003.

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles