Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Europe wins Palmer Cup

DENVER --- Augusta State All-American Henrik Norlander dropped a pair of matches Friday, but Europe edged the United States 13-11 for its second consecutive Palmer Cup win.

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Norlander, a rising junior from Danderyd, Sweden, went 2-2-0 over two days at Cherry Hills Country Club. The Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-style competition between American collegiate golfers and their counterparts from Europe.

On Friday, Georgia's Adam Mitchell defeated Norlander, 3 and 2, in the final singles match.

Norlander and Tennessee's Robin Wingardh fell to Oklahoma State's Morgan Hoffman and Georgia Tech's Cameron Tringale 1-up in their morning alternate-shot match.

Europe, which owned a 71/2-41/2 advantage after the first day of matches, pulled even in the all-time series with the victory. The teams are tied at 6-6-1.

LPGA TOUR: In Springfield, Ill., Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak maintained a share of the State Farm Classic lead with another bogey-free performance, while Sweden's Helen Alfredsson shot into contention with a second-round 63.

Pak shot 4-under 68 to match Suzann Pettersen (66) at 10-under 134 on the Panther Creek course. Alfredsson joined Kristy McPherson (66), first-round co-leader Jee Young Lee (69), Kris Tamulis (68) and Moira Dunn (66) at 9-under.

Jiyai Shin (67) was 8-under, Juli Inkster (65) was in a crowd at 7-under, and Michelle Wie (68) and Cristie Kerr (69) topped a group at 6-under.

Alfredsson, the 2007 European Solheim Cup captain, had the second-lowest round of her LPGA Tour career.

The 44-year-old Swede shot 62 three weeks ago in the Sybase Classic before stumbling to 76 the next day.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: In Lakeway, Texas, Bernhard Langer birdied the par-3 18th hole for 7-under 65 and a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Triton Financial Classic.

Making his first appearance in the Champions Tour event at The Hills Country Club, the two-time Masters Tournament champion already has two victories and seven top-10 finishes this year.

David Eger birdied the final two holes for 66. Michael McCullough followed at 67, and Tom Kite, the Texas resident still looking for his first tour win in the state, was another stroke back along with Mark O'Meara, Mark Wiebe, Mark James, Dana Quigley, Jeff Sluman and Augusta native Larry Mize.

EUROPEAN TOUR: In Newport, Wales, Scotland's Richie Ramsay shot 4-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Wales Open.

Ramsay, the 2006 U.S. Amateur winner, had 7-under 135 total on The Twenty Ten Course, the site of the 2010 Ryder Cup matches. Englishmen Robert Rock (68) and Ross Fisher (66) were tied for second.

European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie was three strokes back after his second 69 in a row, while U.S. counterpart Corey Pavin made the cut by a stroke, shooting 72 for a 2-over total.

NATIONWIDE TOUR: In Mitchell-ville, Md., the first round of the Melwood Prince George's County Open will be completed today after more rain wiped out Friday's schedule.

Australian Cameron Percy is the clubhouse leader at 8-under, with a couple of countrymen right behind him -- Michael Sim at 6-under and Andre Stolz at 5-under. American Tom Scherrer is also tied for third with Stolz at 5-under.

EGOLF TOUR: In Richmond, Va., David Lutterus and Clint Jensen split the top prize after the Greater Richmond Open was shortened to 18 holes because of severe thunderstorms.

Since not all of the players completed two rounds, the scores reverted back to the first round.

Lutterus shot 8-under 64 on Wednesday at the Country Club of Petersburg while Jensen had 6-under 66.

Aiken native Matt Hendrix came in second after shooting 65. Aiken's Stephen Poole and David Robinson (67), of Sandersville, Ga., tied for third.

Aiken's Kevin Kisner (67) tied for third at Royal New Kent.

U.S. OPEN TO BE AT OAKMONT IN 2016

OAKMONT, Pa. --- The U.S. Open will return to Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh in 2016, nine years after the national championship was last played there.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on its Web site Friday that the U.S. Open will make its ninth trip to Oakmont, which waited 13 years between 1994 and 2007 to play host to its most recent national championship. The 2007 tournament was won by Angel Cabrera.
Oakmont also was the U.S. Open site in 1927, 1935, 1953, 1962, 1973 and 1983.
The USGA is expected to make the official announcement during the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y., later this month, the newspaper reported.

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