Jacquelin takes over top spot in India

Delhi, India (Sports Network) - Raphael Jacquelin managed an even-par 72 in windy conditions Saturday to move into the lead after three rounds of the Indian Masters.

Jacquelin, who trailed by two entering the round, completed 54 holes at six- under-par 210.

Second-round leader Damien McGrane struggled to a three-over 75 to slide into a share of second place at five-under-par 211. He was joined there by Graeme McDowell (73) and Jose Manuel Lara (71).

Arjun Atwal and S.S.P. Chowrasia are one stroke further back at minus-four.

During an up-and-down round, four different players owned at least a share of the lead. Jacquelin did not take over the top spot by himself until an eagle on the par-five 14th at Delhi Golf Club.

Jacquelin opened with four straight pars. A birdie on the fifth moved him to minus-seven and when McGrane bogeyed the same hole, the duo shared the lead.

The 33-year-old Jacquelin parred four straight from the sixth. He was in the lead momentarily during that stretch as McGrane bogeyed the sixth, before making birdie at No. 8.

Jacquelin stumbled to back-to-back bogeys from the 10th to fall to minus-five, where he was two behind McGrane.

McGrane, the overnight leader, bogeyed 11 and 12 to drop to minus-five and all of sudden McDowell was alone in the lead.

McDowell ran off seven straight pars to start his round. He birdied the eighth, but gave that shot back with a bogey on No. 11. He stood at minus-six at that point and was alone in the lead before faltering to a bogey on 13.

Jacquelin regained the lead as he converted a 15-foot eagle putt on the 14th. Through three rounds, he has played that hole at minus-five.

The Frenchman parred 15 and 16, but dropped a shot on the 17th. That dropped Jacquelin into a share of the lead with McGrane at six-under. Jacquelin parred the last to end there.

"It is always good to be on top of the leaderboard so I am satisfied for sure," said Jacquelin, who has won twice on the European Tour. "I missed some short putts on the back nine so that was a little disappointing.

"The way I hit the ball on the front nine, I should have made a few more birdies. I didn't hole anything. The course was playing tricky and hard."

McGrane birdied the 14th for the second straight round, then stumbled to a bogey at the 16th to slip back to five-under. He parred the last two to end one back.

"I struggled in the wind conditions. I found it to be quite difficult today," McGrane admitted. "The putting was a little more difficult as the greens were faster and drier. All in all it was a tough day on the course."

McDowell fell two back with his bogey on 13, but closed with five consecutive pars to finish in a share of second at minus-five.

Lara remained near the lead the entire round, but never made a move as he carded 17 pars and a lone birdie. That was the only bogey-free round of the day.

Atwal was even-par through nine holes with two birdies and a double-bogey on the par-three seventh. After birdies on 10 and 11, he stood at minus-six and briefly was tied for the lead as he parred three in a row from the 12th. However, bogeys on 15 and 16 dropped him back to minus-four.

Ross McGowan posted a two-under 70 Saturday to move into a share of seventh at three-under-par 213. He was joined there by Maarten Lafeber (73) and Hendrik Buhrmann (75).

Ernie Els continued to climb back into contention after an opening-round 75. He fired a three-under 69, the lone round in the 60s Saturday, to get back to minus-two. He is tied for 10th with five other players including Thomas Bjorn.

Davies takes lead at Mizuno Classic

Shima-Shi, Japan (Sports Network) - Laura Davies birdied five of her final nine holes on Friday -- including her last -- to shoot a seven-under 65 and take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Mizuno Classic.
Reilley Rankin and Chie Arimura shot rounds of six-under 66 to share second place behind Davies. Erina Hara was another shot further back at five-under 67 and Mie Nakata stood at four-under 68.
Jeong Jang, Brittany Lang, In-Kyung Kim and Joo Mi Kim were all at 69.
Featuring 78 players from the LPGA and the LPGA of Japan, this is the last of three consecutive tournaments in Asia for the LPGA Tour.
Few of the top players in the women's world rankings are on hand.
Notably missing from the field this week are world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa and world No. 3 Annika Sorenstam.
Sorenstam won five consecutive Mizuno Classics from 2001-05 to set an LPGA record, a streak that was snapped by Karrie Webb last year.
Webb, the world No. 2, opened her title defense with a one-over 73 on Friday that put her in a tie for 40th place. She hasn't won since claiming this title last season.
Davies, the veteran Englishwoman with 20 career LPGA Tour wins, played in the final threesome off the 10th tee and began the round modestly with two birdies on the back nine at Kashikojima Country Club.
The came back-to-back at the 12th and 13th holes.
Davies began her run up the leaderboard with a birdie at the par-five first hole, the followed a short time later with consecutive birdies again, this time at the third and fourth holes.
She tied early leaders Rankin and Arimura with a birdie at the seventh hole, then snatched the lead by herself with a 12-foot birdie putt at the par-four ninth.
Davies made long putts for each of her last three birdies.
"It's all about putting for me," she said. "I normally play solid golf. I hit a high percentage of greens, it's whether I putt well or not. I think I had 26 putts, which might be my lowest of the year."
It was the second time this season Davies held an 18-hole lead on the LPGA Tour. The last time ended with her going 70-79 over the weekend at the 72-hole Ginn Open to finish third.
Six of Davies' 20 wins have come after she held the first-round lead, which she has done 23 times in the 20 years since she turned professional.
Also missing from the field this week is Suzann Pettersen, who won the first two tournaments on the LPGA's three-week Asia swing.
Davies gave Pettersen a run last Sunday in the final round of the Honda LPGA when she posted a 65 to make Pettersen, who entered the round with a seven- shot lead, sweat it out.
Pettersen needed an eagle at her last hole to beat Davies by a shot."I think that was the closest I've been to actually crying on the golf course for a very long time, I was so disappointed," Davies said on Friday. "[W]hen her (eagle) putt went in, it was just like someone had kicked me in the stomach, it was just an awful feeling.
"I was fighting not to shed a tear. I'm two wins away from the Hall of Fame and that would've been halfway there. So, I was encouraged, but very disappointed."

Verplank takes over top spot at Disney World

Lake Buena Vista, FL (Sports Network) - Scott Verplank fired his second straight six-under 66 Friday to move to the top of the leaderboard at the Children's Miracle Network Classic.
Verplank, whose win at Byron Nelson Championship snapped a six-year winless stretch, completed 36 holes at 12-under-par 132.
Tag Ridings, who needs to win this event to keep his tour card for next year, also fired a 66 to move into share of second at minus-11. He was joined there by Stephen Ames and Ryan Armour. There are eight players one shot back at 10- under-par 134.
"It's nice to be in second place or be near the lead at least and have a chance on the weekend," admitted Ridings. "But I'm not really thinking of anything besides just playing this tournament alone."
With players competing with amateur partners for the first two rounds this week, players are rotating over the Magnolia and Palm Courses at Walt Disney World Resort for the first two rounds. The Magnolia Course will host the final two rounds.
The big battle this week is for players to move into the top 125 on the money list to keep their tour cards for next year.
Verplank, who went 4-0 for the United States at the Presidents Cup in September, started on the back nine at the Magnolia Course.
He was on fire early with birdies on 10 and 11. He followed with birdies at 13 and 15, from eight feet, to move within one of the lead.
Verplank drained an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-four 17th to gain a piece of the lead. He came right back with a six-foot birdie putt on 18 to take the lead heading to his second nine.
Around the turn, Verplank reeled off nine straight pars to hold onto his one- shot lead, which he will take into Saturday's third round.
"I kind of lost my rhythm a little bit. It kind of got windier as the day went on and it's a different direction than you normally see around here," stated Verplank. "I got on such a nice roll the first nine holes that I didn't just kill myself by making a bunch of pars."
Ames started on No. 10 of the Palm Course. He notched three birdies on his opening nine to turn at minus-five. On the front nine, Ames ran off seven straight birdies to gain the lead at 12-under. However, he bogeyed the ninth to share second.
Ridings carded three birdies in his first four holes from the 10th on the Magnolia Course. He then parred four in a row before faltering to a bogey at the 18th.
He eagled the fourth to jump to minus-nine. Ridings birdied the seventh and ninth to join Ames in second. Ridings is lucky to be here at all.
"The way I saw the list, I think I was 12th after all the commitments were done on Friday. I may have been 15th. I thought it was 15th, but I might not have looked at it at the same time it was over," explained Ridings, who was an alternate to start the week. "I got a call Tuesday afternoon telling me that I was second alternate. I flew out Wednesday morning."
Armour posted back-to-back birdies from the first on the Palm Course. He wrapped birdies at five and seven around a bogey on six.
A birdie on the ninth moved Armour to seven-under. Armour eagled the par-five 11th. He gained a piece of second place with birdies at 16 and 17.
First-round leader J.P. Hayes carded a three-under 69 and is now tied for fifth at 10-under-par 134. He was joined there by Brett Wetterich, Cameron Beckman, Bart Bryant, Justin Leonard, Steve Marino, Sean O'Hair and Vaughn Taylor.
Defending champion Joe Durant managed an even-par 72 and tumbled into a share of 58th at four-under-par 140.
The cut line fell at three-under-par 141. This was the largest cut of the year with 89 players advancing to the weekend.
Among those who missed the weekend were 2003 PGA Champion Shaun Micheel (142), John Merrick (143), who was 133rd on the money list and needed a good week to keep his tour card, and Ted Purdy (143), who entered the week as No. 125 on the money list, but could lose that position.
Among the players that could pass Purdy on the money list are No. 127 Kevin Stadler, No. 129 Craig Kanada and No. 132 Chris Stroud.

Estes, Armour lead suspended PGA event

Port St. Lucie, FL (Sports Network) - Bob Estes and Tommy Armour III were still on top of the leaderboard when the second round of the Ginn sur Mer Classic was suspended on Friday due to inclement weather.
After opening with 64s on Thursday to take the lead, Estes and Armour protected it with rounds of five-under 68 on Friday. They finished well before things got bad enough that officials were forced to stop the round.
The PGA Tour veterans were tied at 14-under 132.
Daniel Chopra fired a seven-under 66 and moved within one shot of the leaders at 13-under 133. Steve Lowery (66), Michael Sim (67) and Sean O'Hair (68) were all at 10-under 136.
Scores remained low despite muddy conditions.
"There were a lot of one-arm finishes because once that club gets down into the mud, it just keeps going down," said Estes. "Sometimes it's tough to get the club through the turf and out."
The Tesoro Club, one of only two par-73 layouts on the PGA Tour schedule, is unlikely to dry out this weekend with two more days of wet, humid weather forecast.
The leaders were making their biggest strides on the front nine, where the course is a little shorter and a little easier.
Estes started on the front nine Friday and made three straight birdies from the third hole. He made his first bogey in 24 holes at the par-four sixth after sending an errant tee shot into the trees.
But another birdie at No. 9, and two more at the 16th and 18th holes, secured the 41-year-old Estes his share of the lead. He was 10-under on the outward nine through 36 holes.
"You still make some birdies on the back nine," said Estes, who has four PGA Tour wins but none since 2002. "But you better get you some birdies on the front if you want to keep pace."
Armour is seven-under on the front nine this week, but he didn't get there until halfway through his round on Friday.
He started on the back nine with six consecutive pars before he knocked a five-wood to three feet to set up an eagle at the par-five 16th. Armour followed that with a birdie at the 17th, again hitting his five-wood to set up the putt.
Armour chipped to three feet for another birdie at No. 2, then made his only bogey at the fifth hole. He closed with back-to-back birdies on his last two holes.
Like Estes, Armour is seeking his long-overdue "next" win. His last victory came at the 2003 Texas Open, where he set the PGA Tour's 72-hole scoring record.
"We play golf to win tournaments," said Armour, 48. "I've only won two in my career on the PGA Tour, so I'm excited whenever I have a chance to win. I look forward to it, and that's why I work hard and that's why I'm here."
Daisuke Maruyama had a seven-under 66 and was alone in seventh place at nine- under 137 when play was suspended. Fredrik Jacobson (67) and Bryce Molder (71) were another shot further back at 138.
Craig Kanada and Kevin Na was also at eight-under, but still on the course. They were the closest players remaining with a shot at passing Estes and Armour, although that seemed unlikely.
None of the afternoon groups finished the second round. They are scheduled to be back on the course at 8 a.m. local time Saturday morning.

Cabrera wins playoff for Grand Slam title

Tucker's Town, Bermuda (Sports Network) - Reigning U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera birdied the third playoff hole Wednesday to defeat British Open winner Padraig Harrington and win the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.
Cabrera managed a two-under 68 on Wednesday, while Harrington shot a one-under 69. The pair finished the two rounds at four-under-par 136 and it took some drama to get them into the playoff.
Cabrera pushed it to extra holes thanks to an impressive eagle at the par-five 18th hole in regulation. Harrington birdied the hole to force the playoff and the two headed back to 18 at Mid Ocean Club.
The duo parred the first two extra holes, 18 and the par-three 17th. They returned to the par-five closing hole in this event designed for the four major champions of 2007.
Harrington hit a poor tee shot at the third playoff hole. Cabrera reached the green in two and two-putted for the birdie and the victory in his first trip to the event.
Jim Furyk, who got into the field when PGA Champion Tiger Woods pulled out, triple-bogeyed the 11th to fall off the pace. He closed in style with four birdies in his last five holes to shoot a three-under 67 for third place at minus-two.
Masters winner Zach Johnson bogeyed the last to eliminate any faint chance at a playoff. He posted a two-under 68 for fourth place at one-under-par 139.
Cabrera was horrendous at the start of the final round with a triple-bogey at one and a bogey at the second. He was three behind Harrington at the turn, but a birdie at 10 and an eagle at the 11th got the Argentine tied for the lead with the Irishman.
Cabrera fell one back thanks to a bogey at the 12th, but when Harrington bogeyed 13, the pair was tied for the lead again at minus-two. The British Open winner birdied 14 to reclaim his advantage, but it got back to two strokes when Cabrera bogeyed No. 16.
At the 17th, Cabrera cut the gap to one with a birdie. He eagled the last and Harrington made birdie to force the first playoff at the event since Woods won in 2000.
Cabrera, who pocketed $600,000 for the win, became the first international winner of this event since Ernie Els in 1997.

Baddeley and Byrd lead; Woods one back at Cog Hill

Lemont, IL (Sports Network) - Overnight leader Jonathan Byrd and Aaron Baddeley are tied atop the leaderboard after Friday's second round of the BMW Championship, but three-time winner Tiger Woods lurks only one shot back.
Byrd shot a 69 on Friday, while Baddeley fired a six-under 65 to finish 36 holes at nine-under-par 133.
Woods managed his second consecutive, four-under 67 to come in at minus-eight.
Woods collected his first birdie at the par-three sixth, then hit an amazing hook shot to the ninth to set up another birdie. He took advantage of the next par five, the 11th, with another birdie, but got derailed a bit at the par- three 14th when he left with bogey.
Woods responded with birdies at 15 and 17 to get within one of the lead.
"It was a very interesting round," acknowledged Woods. "I was hitting it close on every hole, then I felt terrible on the greens. Then in the middle of the round, I couldn't hit a shot but felt great on the greens. It was a weird combo."
Woods can move into first on the FedEx Cup Playoff Points race this week. Leader Phil Mickelson took over the top spot after his win last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship, but took the week off this week.
Steve Stricker is another player that can assume the lead of the Playoff Points race with a good week. He shot a five-under 66 on Friday and is tied with Woods, Justin Rose (69) and Camilo Villegas (69).
This is the third FedEx Cup Playoff event and the winner will be crowned next week at the Tour Championship when the field is cut to the top 30 on the Playoff Points list.
There was a 2 1/2 hour weather delay on Friday, but the entire field finished.
Byrd hit only one shot before the weather, a three-wood off the first tee, and made birdie on the hole. He added another birdie at the third, but bogeyed the eighth and 12th to fall back to even-par for the round.
Later in his round, Byrd got going, but it didn't look that way after an awful tee shot at 15. He had to pitch out and make a four-footer to save par at the par five.
At the 16th, Byrd hit his approach to a foot and tapped in for birdie. His ball landed three feet from the hole at the 17th, but it rolled to 12 feet. No matter for Byrd as he made the birdie putt and nearly chipped in for a birdie at the 18th before settling for par.
"I was kind of struggling in the middle of the round," admitted Byrd. "I was getting a little frustrated. I had two three-putts, which I never like doing that. I just wasn't hitting good putts. I was giving myself chances and giving myself 15- and 20-footers but I was misreading them by a foot."
Byrd has a lot to play for this week. He stands in 30th on the FedEx Cup Playoff points list, which is the cutoff number to get into the field next week at the Tour Championship.
"I don't really like talking about it because it probably puts more pressure on myself," acknowledged Byrd. "But that's just one of the byproducts of playing well; you just keep moving up the list."
Baddeley is all but assured a spot next week, ranking 11th on the list. He is playing well at the moment with 28 of 36 greens in regulation this week and was in the exact same position atop the leaderboard after 36 holes last week.
"I feel like I have very good control over the trajectory and the shape of the shot," said Baddeley. "I feel very comfortable with my golf swing."
Baddeley plodded along with one birdie in his first four holes, but the horn sounded as he was playing the 14th, his fifth hole of the day. After the stoppage, Baddeley birdied three in a row, but dropped a shot at 18.
"I came back and started nicely after the break with three birdies, so that was good," said Baddeley. "I was very pleased to start like that."
Baddeley tallied four birdies and a bogey on his second nine, including a 14- footer at his last to join the lead.
Pat Perez shot a two-under 69 and is alone in seventh place at minus-seven. Stuart Appleby managed a three-under 68 and has eighth at six-under-par 136.
Ryuji Imada (70), Hunter Mahan (68) and Tim Clark (69) are knotted in ninth at five-under 137.
There is no cut at this event.

Warren wins playoff at Johnnie Walker

Perthshire, Scotland (Sports Network) - Marc Warren capped an up-and-down Sunday with a birdie at the second playoff hole to beat Simon Wakefield and become the first Scotsman to win the Johnnie Walker Championship.
Warren made just four pars in a final-round, four-under 69 that was marked by equal stretches of inconsistency and steadiness. He holed a 10-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole in regulation to tie Wakefield for the lead at 12-under 280.
Tied for the third-round lead, Wakefield played in the final pairing and needed a successful up-and-down from in front of the 18th green for a birdie and the win. But he left his chip 12 feet short, then missed his birdie try on the right edge to settle for a 70 and force the playoff.
Back at the 18th again for the first extra hole, both players were left with about 90 yards on their approach shots. Warren put his on the fringe, and Wakefield knocked his on the green to eight feet.
Wakefield was left with another chance to clinch his first European Tour win after Warren missed a long putt from the fringe, but the Englishman again skirted the cup with his birdie putt, sending the duo back to the 18th tee.
The duo had played the par-fives a combined 23-under par in regulation this week, and Warren finally showed why.
On the par-five 18th again, Warren went for the green with his second shot and landed it on the surface, probably 90 feet away from the hole. Wakefield laid up, then stuck his third on the back of the green, 15 feet behind the cup.
After Warren lagged his putt to four feet, Wakefield left yet another try on the edge of the cup. Warren followed with the easy birdie, claiming his second European Tour win in as many years.
He was the seventh Scotsman to win a tour event on Scottish soil.
"It's absolutely an incredible feeling to win here in Scotland," said Warren, whose first win came at the 2006 Scandinavian Masters. "I feel sorry for Simon. He had the lead for most of the day, but fortunately for me I managed to claw back and force the playoff."
Martin Erlandsson fired a seven-under 66 -- the best round Sunday on the par-73 Gleneagles layout -- and finished tied for third place with Soren Hansen (68) at 11-under 281, one shot behind the leaders.
Fredrik Andersson Hed was tied with Wakefield for the third-round lead, but managed only a one-under 72 on Sunday. He shared fifth place with Graeme Storm (69) at 10-under 282.
Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood were among 15 total players who finished the tournament within five shots of the winning score.
That Warren was able to get to 12-under was remarkable, considering he began the final round with bogeys on three of his first five holes. But a stretch of five birdies over a seven-hole stretch got the Scotsman back into the mix.
His closing birdie at the 18th was a blessing: He had coughed up a share of the lead with a bogey at the 17th, dropping one shot behind Wakefield. After making his four-footer on the 18 green, he headed to the practice green.
"It was just a matter of waiting to see what Simon was going to do," Warren said. "That was the toughest thing."

Villegas leads Deutsche Bank; Woods nine back

Norton, MA (Sports Network) - Camilo Villegas fired an eight-under-par 63 on Friday to take the first-round lead of the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second FedEx Cup playoff event.
Villegas' 63 was his lowest round on the PGA Tour by one and actually took some of the spotlight away from the most prominent threesome to play together in the first rounds in recent history.
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh were grouped together on Friday and will be again on Saturday. The groups are put together based on their standings in the FedEx Cup Playoff race with these three ranking four through six.
Woods struggled to a one-over 72, Singh, who missed the cut last week, only managed a 74, while Mickelson broke par with a 70.
Defending champion Woods, participating in his first FedEx Playoff event after skipping The Barclays last week, could not get anything going with his putter on Friday.
He missed several birdie tries inside 10 feet, but holed most of the tricky par putts. Woods bogeyed the par-five second, but his round came undone at the driveable, par-four fourth.
Woods drove into a bunker and could not get out with his second shot. The ball was against the lip and as hard as he swung, Woods' ball went backwards into the trap. He left with a double-bogey six, but made up the strokes with back- to-back birdies at six and seven.
Woods drove into a bunker at 18 and roped a fairway-wood cleanly over the green at the par-five hole. He chipped to seven feet, but like most of the round, missed the shortish birdie chance.
"I putted well for par, but anything beyond that was not very good," said Woods, who won his last two starts at the WGC event and PGA Championship. "It's just one day. That's the way it is. Welcome to golf."
Mickelson birdied two and holed out for an eagle from the same bunker that gave Woods fits at four. Things fell apart for Mickelson at the ninth thanks to an errant drive. He made triple-bogey to fall back to even-par for the championship.
"I don't know what to say. It was just a terrible swing," admitted Mickelson. "It was a mental, sloppy shot. I set up for a draw and came out and blocked it."
Mickelson ran home a 12-foot birdie putt at the 14th and could have gotten to two-under, but missed a five-footer at the last.
Singh recorded three birdies, two bogeys and two double-bogeys for his 74.
Mike Weir, recently named to the International Presidents Cup team, and Ryan Moore are tied for second place at minus-six.
Heath Slocum, Brett Wetterich, Fredrik Jacobson, Steve Elkington and Henrik Stenson are knotted in fourth place at five-under 66.
The field is looking up at Villegas, who lost a playoff this year at the Honda Classic.
Villegas got off to a great start on Friday. He birdied the third, fourth, sixth and seventh holes. He got to five-under with a birdie at the par-four 12th, then had a chance to tie for the lead, but missed a 13-footer at the 13th.
Villegas drained a 25-foot birdie chance at the 14th to join Weir and Moore in the lead. The Colombian had another great look at birdie at the 16th, but missed again.
The close of his round vaulted him ahead of the pair he was tied with atop the leaderboard.
At the 17th, Villegas rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt to move into sole possession of first. Villegas hit a great second shot to 18 feet at the par- five closing hole at the TPC of Boston. He missed on the high side, but tapped in for birdie and his lowest round on the PGA Tour.
"It was a great round today," said Villegas. "I've been working hard all year. Obviously today I made some great putts. I didn't make mistakes out there. I kept the ball in play and hit a bunch of greens."
Villegas has only two other top 10s beside his playoff loss at the Honda. He posted four top 10s in his rookie season of 2006, but does not consider this campaign a lost cause.
"It's been a great year," said Villegas. "It's been a great-learning experience year. I learned I can not play every week, that I have to rest even though I'm 25 years old. I've been feeling great all year. If you're feeling good, good things are going to happen."
Steve Stricker, last week's winner at The Barclays and the leader of the FedEx Cup Playoffs points race, shot a four-under 67 on Friday. He is tied for ninth with John Senden, Trevor Immelman, Charlie Wi, Sergio Garcia, Aaron Baddeley, Craig Kanada and Rich Beem, who needs to finish second or better to get into next week's BMW Championship.