JAPAN TOUR: Padraig Harrington and Tiger Woods were two shots off the pace in a share of third place after the first round of the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan yesterday.
The Irish Ryder Cup star and European Order of Merit winner carded a three-under-par 67 and was joined on that mark by world number one Woods.
Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano was a shot better off on 66, while Japanese 33-year-old Shingo Katayama led the tournament after a round of 65.
Ian Poulter could only manage a level-par 70, while Justin Rose posted a disappointing 73, Denmark's Thomas Bjorn carded a 74 and David Howell crashed to a woeful 77.
EUROPEAN TOUR: There was disappointment for Colin Montgomerie and Paul McGinley in the opening round of the UBS Hong Kong Open.
The Ryder Cup pair failed to make the start they had hoped for as Montgomerie carded a one-under-par 69 while McGinley finished one over (71) on the Fanling golf course.
Spain's Jose Manuel Lara and India's Jyoti Randhawa continue to ride a wave of confidence in moving into a share of the first round lead. Both players arrived in Hong Kong on the back of strong performances in their last outings and continued the good form with six-under-par rounds of 64 at Hong Kong Golf Club.
Bursts of low scoring from China's Liang Wen-chong, who went birdie-eagle-birdie from the second, and Graeme Storm, who had six successive birdies from his second hole, contributed to both players shooting 65 to share third place with Gregory Bourdy.
Damien McGrane is best of the Irish on two-under-par 68, and Peter Lawrie joined McGinley on one over with Gary Murphy on three over (73).
McGinley felt his performance warranted a better score at the end of the day. The Dubliner hit a double bogey on the first, which he never really recovered from.
"I didn't play well but I played better than my score," said McGinley. "I had chances but I didn't take them. It was a battle especially starting with a double bogey too."
"I've just got to keep giving myself chances. Normally I am good on the grain but not this week. It can mess with your mind when you do get a couple wrong and you start second guessing."
Randhawa showed he is still on form after carding seven birdies and just one bogey. And the Indian believes it is what he has learnt off the course, rather than on it, which has improved his overall play recently.
He said: "I've learned to handle the mental side of the game. It requires more than swinging the club and I've put too much into the technique. If you stay focused with the right mindset it is a better way of doing it."
Former US Open champion Michael Campbell carded a two-under-par 68 while Retief Goosen had a disappointing opening day as he finished on par alongside Nick Dougherty.
PGA TEAM: Scotland, with a team tally of 18-under-par 270, hold a six-shot lead over Ireland and Wales at the halfway stage of the PGAs of Europe international team golf championship, supported by Glenmuir, over the Roda golf course in the Murcia region of Spain.
The Scots owe their commanding position to another record round - this time an eight-under-par 64 - by 29-year-old Craig Lee from Stirling.
Robert Giles included two eagles and a double-bogey in his 67 for Ireland while Leslie Walker 70 and John Dwyer 71 were Ireland's other scorers.
AUSTRALIAN TOUR: Nathan Green shot a five-under-par 67 in cold, windy and rainy conditions at Royal Sydney to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Australian Open.
With heavy rain and gusting winds affecting most of the morning players, Green, starting from the 10th hole, had five straight pars before birdies on the 15th and 16th and a bogey on the 18th. He had four birdies on his final nine. Rory McIlroy is seven shots back after a 74.
LET TOUR: Sophie Gustafson won the Austrian Open in September and, as a consequence, she has earned the 20 points necessary for lifetime membership of the Ladies European Tour.Gustafson (32) will receive lifetime eligibility for all LET standard ranking events as from the December 1st.
"This is certainly fantastic news!" Gustafson said. "I've always been extremely proud to have LET as my home tour and to be able to be a life member is something I have always wanted to achieve."
