In the Rough

India’s Jeev Milka Singh won the Singapore Open by one shot on Sunday after a very tense final few holes. Singh himself finished on seven under par for the tournament after a closing round of two under. Tied in joint second place was Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and South African Ernie Els.

Going down the final hole Harrington and Els had birdie putts to try and force a play-off but unfortunately they both missed the birdie putts and Singh claimed the Singapore Open.

It all could of been very different for Harrington though as he double bogeyed the 16th hole after putting his second shot in the water. From his tee shot Padraig found the rough and had a difficult second shot, which found the middle of the green but ran straight through into the water.

Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat had the lead going into the final 18 but a horror round of 78 meant he finished way of the pace.

Over half the field at the Sentosa Golf Club haven’t been able to finish their first rounds due to bad light and a lightning storm, which stopped play for nearly two hours.

In the clubhouse though with the outright lead is Lam Chin Bing who on Day One shot a four under par 67. Bing has a one shot lead over Ernie Els, Oliver Wilson and Marcus Booth. A further three shots back in the clubhouse is Markus Brier, Charlie Wi and Zhang Lian-Wei.

The Singapore Open has a prize find of 5 million dollars so it has attracted big names such as Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Darren Clarke and Adam Scott.

Sweden’s Niclas Fasth goes into the weekend sharing the lead with Australian Mitchell Brown after carding a second successive 68 at the Iskando Johor Open. Mitchell Brown shot a second round 69 to be in a great position for the weekend. they are both on 8 under in the $500,000 Asiam Tour event.

Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand who was the former Asian number one sits a further shot back on 7 under after producing one of the rounds of the day with a brilliant 66. Fellow Asian Thaworn wirachant is also well in contention after two rounds of 69.

42 players still havent finished their second rounds after lightening held play up for over two hours.

During the second days play at Valderrama only four hour’s play was possible at the Volvo Masters. The current leaders Sergio Garcia and Soren Kjeldsen were among a group of ten players who did not even manage to tee off their round before play was stopped due to adverse weather conditions.

The current defending champion of the Volvo Masters England’s Justin Rose was one of the players to complete his round but probably wished he hadn’t after not breaking 80 for the second day in a row. Rose withdrew shortly after his round after been told of the unfortunate death of his Grandfather.

In the race for the order of merit Leader Robert Karlsson was three over after four holes and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington five over after 13 holes. Lee westwood is in a strong position though on one under but has yet to start his second round due to the bad weather.

The tournament could be cut short to 54 or even 36 holes with torrential rain now forecast for the full weekend.

Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia completed a dream weekend on home soil with a final round of four-under 67 to finish on 20 under par and take the Castello Masters by three strokes.

Garcia was greeted on the 18Th Green to standing ovation from the local crowd and a hug from his Father who is the golf professional at the Club de Campo course still. After Garcia held his nerve and sunk the final putt of his weekend he dedicated his win to Seve Ballesteros who has recently had three major operations from a Brain tumour and is seriously ill in a Madrid Hospital.

Behind Sergio was the two swedish golfers of Peter Hedblom ( 17 under) and Alexander Noren ( 15 under). Englands Simon Dyson finished along side Soren Kjeldsen and David Lynn on 14 under par.

Ireland’s Padraig Harrington shares the lead with American Jim Furyk after the first 18 of the 36 hole PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda.

The Grand Slam of Golf is being competed by Padraig Harrington, Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman. The event is usually competed by the four major winners of the year but with Tiger Woods out injured and Padraig Harrington having won two of the four majors this year Jim Furyk and Retief Goosen have been drafted in.

The event has a £775,000 prize fund and even for last place their is a place of £120,000.

After day one of the DUnhill Links Championship it is Englands Ross Fisher and Denmark’s Soren Hansen with the lead on eight under par. Both golfers shot a brilliant 64 at the Kingsbarns course on day one to claim the lead overnight.

Hansen who was part of the losing European Ryder Cup Team in Valhalla recently looked completly relaxed and was well challenged by Ross Fisher who narrowly missed out in an automatic spot for the European Ryder Cup Team.

The order of merit could also be become a lot closer over the weekend with Padraig Harrington and Lee Westwood battling it out for the top spot at the end of the season. Both playing on the Kingsbarns course in good conditions seemed ideal for the top players with Harrington shoting a 5 under 67 and Westwood staying close with a 4 under 68.

Today sees stars of sport and entertainment combining on the golf courses of St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns in the Dunhill Links Championship.

Stars such as Actor Samuel L Jackson, Former Crickter Ian Botham, Former Tennis Player Tim Henman, Olympic Legend Sir Steve Redgrave, Actor Hugh Grant and billionaire Dermot Desmond are just some of the names playing in the next couple of days.

The golf players competing are some of the biggest names as well with the majority of the European Ryder Cup Team competing at the Alfred Dunhill Championship this week. Only Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter are missing from the European Ryder Cup team which lost in Valhalla two weeks ago.

After a storming start Jarno Sandelin is the leader on five under after 10 holes at Kingsbarn.

Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano won the British Masters at The Belfry yesterday after a play-off win against England’s Lee Westwood.

The pair finished on 12 under for the tournament and needed 4 runs at the 18th to be seperated. With them both parring the first 3 attempts.

Lee Westwood seemed very tired after the weekend and his exploits in the USA for the Ryder Cup Team the weekend before. He is now only £200,000 off Padraig Harrington in the European Order Of Merit with six tournaments to go but Westwood looks like he may take a few weeks off and admitted himself to being tired.

New Zealands Michael Campbell finished third at The Belfry.

The focus this weekend is back on the European Tour after the season’s main event at Valhalla last weekend.

The US success of the 2008 Ryder Cup will surely of made European golfers more determined to be at the event in 2010 in wales as part of the European team as they try to gain the Ryder Cup back.

Only two players from the defeated European will play this weekend at The Belfry. England’s Lee Westwood and Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.

Last weekend Graeme McDowell played particularly well and holed some very important putts under immense pressure. He has started the British Masters at the Belfry at 20/1 and an each way bet might be worthwhile doing unless jetlag kicks in.