Scott shares WGC lead in China

Updated November 01, 2012 22:01:56

Australia's Adam Scott and former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen both shot 7-under-par 65 to share a one-stroke lead at the star-studded WGC-HSBC Champions in China on Thursday.

Scott finished birdie, birdie, eagle and Oosthuizen stayed bogey-free to come out on top after a low-scoring first round at southern China's Mission Hills, in which the lead swapped hands several times.

"I had a really good start," Scott, who has been relaxing at home in Australia since the end of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs, told reporters.

"And a fast finish. I hit a lot of good shots and over the last couple of holes made the most of them.

"There are five par-fives on this set-up which are good for my game. The plan is to take advantage of them and hopefully hang on to the leaders this week."

Using a two-iron twice late in the round bucked the modern trend among touring professionals of using hybrid irons for long-range approach shots but Scott denied he had turned the golf equipment clock back 20 years.

"I have used hybrids before but my two-iron is not like the blades they used in the 1980s," he added.

"It has a little bit more meat in the head and is a little more user friendly."

Four-time Major-winner Phil Mickelson also eagled his last hole, the par-five ninth, to lie tied for second place with US Masters champion Bubba Watson, Shane Lowry and Peter Hanson, who won last week's BMW Masters in Shanghai.

"It was a great way to finish with an eagle. I was hoping just to make birdie on the last hole," Mickelson said.

"I think the reason I was so calm today was I drove the ball extremely well and hit (nearly) every fairway. I missed one fairway by two yards, the par-five three, and I still made birdie."

Dustin Johnson and Thailand's Prom Meesawat were two shots off the lead on 5-under-par 67, while England's Luke Donald and defending champion Martin Kaymer were three off the pace in the $US7 million ($A6.78 million) event.

AFP/Reuters

Tags: golf, sport, china

First posted November 01, 2012 21:08:05

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Webb shares lead in Malaysia

Updated October 11, 2012 22:52:46

Australia's Karrie Webb reeled off six birdies to share the lead following the opening round of the LPGA tournament in Kuala Lumpur.

Webb fired a 6-under-par 65 to top the leaderboard alongside South Korea's Choi Na-Yeon.

The pair are a stroke ahead of Choi's compatriot Sun Young Yoo, Japan's Mika Miyazato and amateur Min Lee of Taiwan.

Defending champion Choi kept her cool on the last hole to sink a putt to share the lead and enjoy a bogey-free round at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

World number one Yani Tseng, who was runner-up last year, had a horrendous opening day, shooting a 7-over 78 after carding three double bogeys and four bogeys before saving her round with three birdies.

Choi, a crowd favourite, holed birdies on the second, fourth, sixth and eight holes as she blazed through the opening nine holes. She added further birdies on the 12th and 14th holes on the back nine.

"I had a great run and after the rain everything just came into place for me," said Choi, who had to endure an hour's delay due to rain before finishing her round.

Webb was just as consistent, posting birdies on the second, seventh, ninth, 12th, 15th and 17th holes.

Cristie Kerr of the US carded six birdies to end the day on 3-under 68 and is tied for eighth.

AFP/ABC

Tags: golf, sport, malaysia

First posted October 11, 2012 22:52:46

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O'Hern shares Memphis lead

Updated June 10, 2012 11:22:46

Australia's Nick O'Hern grabbed a share of the lead heading into the final round of the St Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.

O'Hern birdied the 14th, 15th and 16th holes in his third round to fire a 3-under-par 67 to be tied for the lead at 6-under alongside American duo Davis Love and John Merrick.

Another Australian Robert Allenby is only a stroke off the leading trio, having moved into a six-way share of fourth place following his round of 67.

Reigning US Open champion Rory McIlroy is amongst that group, having struggled to a 2-over 72 to fall from the lead.

McIlroy, ranked second in the world, led by a stroke when the day began after an impressive 65 in the second round but made six bogeys against four birdies.

"It was a very testing day with the conditions," he said. "I definitely didn't feel as comfortable with my game as I did yesterday.

"So, you know, it was a good experience for me just to try and do what I've been working on in my swing and under real competitive pressure.

"For the most part, I held up pretty well. Few missed shots out there. I'm only one off the lead and still in a good position."

McIlroy will defend his US Open title in San Francisco next week.

AFP/ABC

Tags: golf, sport, united-states

First posted June 10, 2012 11:22:46

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Cink shares Quail Hollow lead

Updated May 04, 2012 12:41:56

Stewart Cink birdied his last three holes to tie for the lead after 18 holes of the Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina.

American Cink, seeking his first PGA Tour victory since his playoff win at the 2009 British Open, fired a 7-under-par 65 to end a humid day at Quail Hollow Club level with compatriots Ryan Moore and Webb Simpson.

Australian John Senden, Britain's Brian Davis and Americans Rickie Fowler, DA Points and Patrick Reed all shot 6-under par 66, while golfing heavyweights Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson had to settle for one-under-par 71.

US Open champion Rory McIlroy three-putted to bogey his final hole for a 70, British world number three Lee Westwood carded a 71 and 2009 U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover launched his title defence with a 72.

Cink, who has mainly struggled for form since pulling off his first major victory at Turnberry in Scotland three years ago, was delighted to remain bogey-free despite not playing his best.

"It was a good round," the 38-year-old told reporters after sinking a 20-footer on his final hole, the par-four ninth.

"It wasn't a great round, far from perfect, but I had a few putts go in the hole and managed my misses pretty well.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm back ... but it's still good to see something like this and give yourself a little bit of confidence," added Cink, who has recorded only one top-25 finish in 10 starts on the 2012 PGA Tour.

Woods, who won the event in 2007, put himself under early pressure after bogeying two of his first six holes on his first PGA Tour event since last month's Masters.

Front-nine errors

"I made too many mistakes on the front nine," the 14-times major champion said after mixing four birdies with three bogeys.

"I didn't get up and down a couple times and made a couple bad shots on the wrong side of the hole.

"I didn't take care of the par-fives and I had an easy up and in at eight, which I messed up there. I've got to obviously not make those little mistakes like that tomorrow."

McIlroy, who closed with a course record 62 to blow away a top-quality field by four shots in the same tournament in 2010, was let down by his usually accurate driving.

"I didn't hit many fairways and if you do that around here, it makes it a lot more difficult to score," the 22-year-old said after carding four birdies and two bogeys.

"Conditions out there were pretty much perfect. Seventy probably wasn't enough out there but it's okay. I'll go out tomorrow and see if I can do a little better."

Four-times major champion Mickelson was briefly derailed by a triple-bogey at the par-four fourth where he hit his tee shot out of bounds.

"I played pretty well today and hit a lot of greens but made one mistake with the triple there," left-hander Mickelson said after a five-birdie display. "That was a really poor tee shot.

"Fortunately I came back to shoot one under. I'll try and come out tomorrow and shoot something in the mid-60s and get into the weekend ... if I can get a hot round, I'll get right in it."

Reuters

Tags: sport, golf, united-states

First posted May 04, 2012 11:55:05

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