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US GOLF fans used dirty tricks in a bid to upset Europe’s Ryder Cup players on the final day, cup veteran Lee Westwood said. The Englishman said he received a phone call in his room just after midnight wishing him luck and that his mother and father who were with him in Kentucky were then called at 4:30 in the morning.

“They got the wrong hotel and rang the wrong Westwood room,” he said.

“I found that quite amusing. It upset my dad’s preparations for walking around the course today.”

Westwood, who lost his singles 2 and 1 to Ben Curtis,
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GWLADYS Nocera set a Ladies European Tour record when she won the Gothenburg Masters in Sweden with the best 72-hole score in history on Sunday.

The Frenchwoman, 33, finished with a six-under 66 to close the tournament at 29-under-par 259, the best score in the Tour’s 30-year history.

“It feels good,” Nocera said after breaking the record set by Laura Davies, 25-under par 267, in winning the 1995 Irish Open.

“I really didn’t think I could shoot that low when I came here. It’s probably much better than I expected.”

Nocera, the European No.2, began
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IAN Poulter was asked whether he was “the new Colin Montgomerie” after a rollicking day that saw the Englishman win both his games to vindicate his Ryder Cup wildcard selection. Poulter, exhausted but hugely relieved, barely had the strength to reply.

“Of course it would be an honour to take on his role, but I don’t know if I’m quite in that position yet,” he finally blurted back.

Much had been made about the colourful and outspoken Poulter’s selection by Nick Faldo as one of the Europe captain’s two wildcards, and, in particular, his decision to miss the final European team qualifying tournament at Gleneagles two weeks ago.
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RYDER Cup captains Paul Azinger and Nick Faldo have both expressed their satisfaction with the line-ups for thes singles line-ups that which will decide the fate of the trophy at Valhalla Golf Club.

In keeping with tradition, both skippers handed in a letter containing the order in which their 12 players would go out without knowing the other’s order.

With the Americans leading 9-7 after two days of foursomes and fourballs, Azinger has opted to send his in-form players out first.

Explosive rookie Anthony Kim leads the way against Sergio Garcia followed
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ROOKIE Mark Turnesa has fired a four-under par 68 to hold onto the lead after the second round of the PGA Viking Classic.

The 30-year-old world No.358 has a one-shot lead over a group of four fellow Americans at the $US3.6 million ($A4.5 million) event at the Annandale Golf Club.

Australia’s Andrew Buckle dropped from equal third back to a tie for 18th with a 71 to be on six-under-par 138.

Steve Allan, who had a 68 for a two-round total of 139, is a further stroke behind Buckle and Gavin Coles is on four-under-par 140 following his 69, placing him equal 44th alongside fellow Australian Nathan Green who tumbled back to the field (67-73).
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MICHELLE Wie advanced to the final round of qualifying for the LPGA Tour after shooting 71 in the fourth round at Mission Hills Country Club.

Wie placed in a tie for fourth place, eight strokes back of winner Ahn Sun-Ju, of South Korea, who finished with a 16-under 272 total in the Palm Springs-area sectional qualifying event.

Japan’s Shiho Oyama and American Stacy Lewis joined Wie at eight-under 280.

American Wie advances to the final round of qualifying in December where she will try to earn her LPGA playing privileges.

Wie, who turned
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NICK Faldo was putting a brave face on it but the strain showed after an alarming opening day for him at the Ryder Cup.

By the end of it his European team were three points adrift 5.5-2.5 to their American challengers and the momentum was firmly on the side of the hosts.

Faldo, who has had a rocky ride at Valhalla this week, appeared confused at times in his day-end news conference as he tried to explain what had gone wrong.

“They played exceptional golf, all the Americans - all the guys - played exceptional golf. At the end of the day that’s just the facts of where the score is.
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GWLADYS Nocera of France tied the course record with a 10-under 62 to take the second-round lead at a Goteborg Masters.

Nocera had eight birdies and one eagle on a cold and windy day on the Lycke course on Sweden’s west coast that features several seaside holes.

Halfway through the tournament, she has a total of 128, 16-under par - a new record for the lowest 36-hole total in a 72-hole Ladies European Tour event.

“It was more windy and cold today so it was kind of hard at the beginning,” said Nocera after matching her career low round. “I putted really well. I wasn’t too far from the pin but I pretty much made everything.”
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THE United States battled back to stun Europe on the opening day of the 37th Ryder Cup taking a 3-1 lead after the first round of foursomes.

It was the first time since 1991 at Kiawah Island that the Americans had led after the opening session and it was a massive shot in the arm for skipper Paul Azinger who had demanded a storming start from his men.

There were full US points from Justin Leonard and Hunter Mahan, 3 and 2 winners over Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson, and from Stewart Cink and Chad Campbell one up over Justin Rose and Ian Poulter.

The
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AUSTRALIAN’S Nathan Green and Andrew Buckle have both carded rounds of five-under par 67 to be two strokes from the lead after the first round of the PGA Viking Classic.

Rookie and world No. 358 Marc Turnesa fired his best round of the year, a seven-under 65 to take a one-shot lead. The PGA Tour Rookie closed in fine style with three straight birdies.

Barring a big stumble, Turnesa will make the cut, which is uncharted territory for the 30-year-old. He has made just 10 out of 22 cuts this year.

Turnesa holds a one-shot lead over Brian Gay, while six golfers finished two strokes back including Green and Buckle.
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MICHELLE Wie, who is making her first attempt at qualifying for the LPGA tour, is alone in fourth after shooting a two-over 74 in the third round of a sectional qualifying event.

Wie is five strokes behind South Korean Ahn Sun-Ju and Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist who moved to 12-under 204 after the first three rounds. Ahn shot a 72.

Japan’s Miki Saiki carded a two-under 70 and is three shots adrift of the leaders while Wie reach a seven-under 209 after 54 holes.

Wie shot a 65 on Wednesday to make the cut on the 6,442-yard, par-72, Mission Hills Country Club course.

She
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PHIL Mickelson will take the lead role for the United States alongside rookie Anthony Kim against Padraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson when the 37th Ryder Cup gets underway at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday.

US skipper Paul Azinger had been widely expected to start the opening foursomes with Kentucky players Kenny Perry and J.B. Holmes, but instead he opted for world No.2 Mickelson and Kim, at 23 the youngest player in the competition.

Television: The Ryder Cup on Fox Sports

Second up will be Justin Leonard, who
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LOUISVILLE hero Muhammad Ali has been afforded the biggest cheer of the week of Ryder Cup preparations, meeting both the United States and Europe teams on the final day of practice.

The boxing legend, a three-time world heavyweight champion, showed up in a cart on the 10th tee, where the American team began its final day of practice, before waving to the gallery and posing with the team for a photo.

Phil-Padraig: Ryder Cup captains name foursomes
Television: The Ryder Cup on Fox Sports

After the final group teed off, Ali, 66, met the European players on the front nine.
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SOUTH Korean Sun-Ju Ahn fired her second straight 66 here Wednesday to hold a three-shot lead over Michelle Wie at the LPGA Sectional Qualifying School. Ahn had a 12-under total of 132 after two days of play at Mission Hills Country Club.
Eighty-two players made the halfway cut.

Ahn, playing the Arnold Palmer Course, posted back-to-back birdies on holes three and four.

Coming home she had three birdies, one bogey and an eagle at the par-five 18th, where she drained a putt from the fringe.

“My driving was not great today, but my short game was good,” she said.
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SERGIO Garcia is the player the Americans fear most at this Ryder Cup - with just cause. At just 28, he is already a Ryder Cup veteran and his record of 14 wins against four losses and two ties from four appearances speaks for itself.

But his influence goes further than that.

Garcia has a perfect eight-from-eight record in foursomes, the format that kicks off the Cup.

The Spaniard is a born crowd-pleaser and his effervescent nature provides a vital spark within the closed confines of the European team.

European captain Nick Faldo is happy to have him on his side.
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UNITED States skipper Paul Azinger has told his players to look to boxing legend Muhammad Ali for inspiration in their quest to wrestle the Ryder Cup back from Europe.

The former world heavyweight champion was born in Louisville as Cassius Clay and his early nickname was “The Louisville Lip” in honour of his famous wisecracking and pugilistic poetry lines.

The city has honoured him with the Muhammad Ali Center retracing his career and life and times and it was to this building that Azinger took his men on Monday night shortly after they had gathered for the clash with Europe.

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PAUL Azinger believes that crowd support in patriotic Kentucky could inspire his US team to win back the Ryder Cup from Europe after an absence of six years. The Americans have lost the last three straight in the biennial golfing clash between the two continents and are desperate for success to offset the charge that the United States is no longer the power centre of world golf.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his European counterpart Nick Faldo as both teams arrived in Louisville for the three-day match, Azinger said that Valhalla Golf Course to the east of Louisville was the ideal venue for the challenge.
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THE United States won’t have the world’s top golfer to turn to when they take on Europe in the 37th Ryder Cup this week but then the trans-Atlantic tussle has rarely brought out the best in Tiger Woods.

“I don’t see any positives in not having Tiger Woods on the team,” US captain Paul Azinger said last month.

“He is arguably the greatest golfer who has ever lived.

“So to not have him on our team, if you want to paint a positive scenario for that, go ahead and try. I don’t see one yet.”

It might be blasphemy to say the United States
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ANGELA Stanford squandered a comfortable cushion but sank a short par putt at the closing hole to hold off China’s Feng Shanshan and win the inaugural Bell Micro LPGA Classic.

Stanford, who held a four-shot lead heading into the final round, saw it dwindle to one stroke through 17 holes as she posted a double-bogey and three bogeys.

But her one-over-par final-round 73 was enough to give the 30-year-old American her first LPGA victory since 2003.

She finished with an 11-under total of 277 in the US$1.4 million tournament to collect a first-prize of US$210,000.
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SWEDEN’S Robert Karlsson warmed up for next week’s Ryder Cup with a two-shot victory in the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Cologne to earn his eighth career European Tour title.

The giant Swede finished with a four-round total of 275, two ahead of Italy’s Francesco Molinari and four in front of New Zealand’s Michael Campbell, England’s Ross Fisher and Miguel-Angel Jimenez from Spain.

Karlsson, who will line-up for Europe against the United States in the Ryder Cup in Kentucky from Friday, had led from the second round but he endured a nervous finish as he tried to lock up his first tour title for two years.

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ANGELA Stanford fired a five-under 67 to seize a four-shot lead in the $US1.4m ($A1.71m) Bell Micro LPGA Classic. Stanford had seven birdies as she took a 12-under total of 204 through three rounds.

A late birdie run saw Stanford build a comfortable cushion between herself and Australian Katherine Hull.

Hull was alone in second at eight-under 208 after a 68. She climbed up the leaderboard with seven birdies and an eagle, but suffered a costly double-bogey at the last.

Overnight leader Cristie Kerr lost ground with a 76 on Magnolia Grove’s The Crossings course.
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SWEDEN’S Ryder Cup player Robert Karlsson overcame a one-shot penalty to open up a three-shot lead after the third round of the European PGA’s Mercedes-Benz Championship. Karlsson carded a four under par 68 to go 12 under for the tournament, but had thought he had shot a 67 before being informed of a possible rules breach earlier in the round.

Television footage confirmed the Swede had grounded his putter when his ball moved fractionally on the second green, and that meant a one shot penalty which turned his 67 into a 68.

However, the giant Swede
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THE LPGA’s two-week break hasn’t slowed Cristie Kerr, who fired a six-under 66 to seize a two-shot lead in the inaugural Bell Micro Classic in Mobile, Alabama.

Kerr, who won the Safeway Classic before the break, nabbed seven birdies with one bogey at Magnolia Grove’s The Crossings course on the famed Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

At nine-under 135, Kerr was two shots in front of Angela Stanford.

Kerr teed off at the 10th and opened with a birdie. She picked up hsots at 14 and 16, with her only bogey of the day in between.

Four more birdies coming home, including a 22-footer at No.9 to cap her round, moved Kerr into the lead.

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SWEDEN’S Robert Karlsson maintained his impressive run of form ahead of the Ryder Cup by firing a second round 69 to give him a one shot lead at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Cologne.

Karlsson’s three under par took him to eight under for the tournament at the halfway stage with Jean-Francois Lucquin in second place after the Frenchman added a 71 to his opening 66.

The Swede posted birdies at the third, fifth and seventh in an impressive front nine 33 but managed just one birdie at the 13th on the way in and that was erased by a bogey at the par five 15th.

“I’m obviously extremely happy with that, especially to be playing in the last group,” said Karlsson.

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AUSTRALIA’S Anna Rawson and China’s Feng Shanshan share the lead after the first round of the $1.7 million Bell Micro LPGA Classic. Rawson, who attended the University of Southern California, is playing in just her 10th LPGA event of the year and first since tying for 43rd at the State Farm Classic in mid-July.

The 27-year-old sometime model has missed seven cuts this year.

She did her best to ensure she would be around on the final two days this week, firing a five-under-par 67 at the Magnolia Grove’s The Crossings on the famed Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
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RICHARD Finch and Jean-Francois Lucquin shared the lead after the first round of the European PGA’s Mercedes Benz Championship, both shooting six-under 66.

Finch, who won the Irish Open in May, birdied five of his first seven holes, followed that with two bogeys, and then managed to get four more birdies on the back nine.

“I am very pleased and delighted,'’ the 31-year-old Englishman said.

“It’s the first time I played the tournament and I am glad I just gave myself a chance for all these birdies.'’

Robert Karlsson (67),
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AUSTRALIAN golfer Adam Scott has launched a Singapore-based Asia Foundation to offer underprivileged youth in the region opportunities to fulfil their potential. The Adam Scott Foundation Asia will be an extension of his Australian Foundation, established in 2005.

“As I travelled the world playing professional golf and getting to live my dream, it became apparent to me how fortunate I was to be offered the opportunity of following my chosen career path but not everyone has that fortune,” he said.

“I believe that the giving of an opportunity
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THE LPGA Tour resumes after a two-week break, with Taiwanese rookie Yani Tseng and Paula Creamer heading the field for the inaugural $US1.4 million ($A1.76 million) Bell Micro LPGA Classic. The tournament will be the first full-field LPGA event at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Magnolia Grove course, which has hosted the LPGA Tournament of Champions in previous years.

Seven-time LPGA winner Creamer was the last winner on the course, with her Tournament of Champions victory in 2007.

“Obviously coming off the win that I had last year here, defending my title, even though it’s not same, it still feels like it,” Creamer said.
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COLIN Montgomerie believes Europe’s bid to retain the Ryder Cup could be threatened by US rookie JB Holmes. Montgomerie, controversially omitted by Europe captain Nick Faldo from his side despite an outstanding Ryder Cup record, believes Holmes could be a key man for the home side as they bid to improve on a record which has seen Europe win five of the last six editions of world golf’s leading pro team event.

Holmes, 26, may have only been a professional for three years but this year’s Ryder Cup takes place at the Valhalla course in Louisville in his home state of Kentucky.
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CAMILO Villegas has captured the BMW Championship, going wire-to-wire for his maiden victory on the USPGA Tour.

Villegas needed just 25 putts for a final round 68 to hold off American Dudley Hart who stormed to a five-under 65 and finished two strokes back.

“Oh man,” Villegas said. “It was a lot of hard of hard work and it’s awesome to be here. Hopefully it’s the first of many.”

Villegas’ win puts him in second place in the FedEx Cup race behind Fijian-Indian Vijay Singh.

The 26-year-old Colombian rolled in a three-foot putt on the final hole to clinch the victory and finish with a 15-under 265 total.
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