Scotland's Paul Lawrie has stepped up his bid for a first title in eight years today.

Welshman Bradley Dredge and Scot Peter Whiteford took the first day honours at the BMW International Open in Munich with eight under par rounds of 64.

Much has been made of England having eight players in next week’s Masters, but the South African contingent is arguably even stronger.

Paul McGinley could not live with the pace set by Welshman Rhys Davies last week but it was a different story for both of them when the Andalucian Open resumed in Malaga today.

Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg took over from compatriot Fredrik Widmark to lead the Cadillac Russian Open on 12 under par after the third round at the Le Meridien Moscow Country Club.

A 40-yard chip-in for an eagle three helped rocket Scotland’s Peter Whiteford into contention in the third round of the Cadillac Russian Open.

AS Scots Marc Warren and Peter Whitefield battled in a three hole play-off at the inaugural Ireland Ryder Cup Challenge in Killarney, the 38-strong Irish contingent were left to reflect on largely disappointing performances.

THE numerically strong Irish contingent collapsed in disappointing fashion during yesterday’s second day of the Ireland Ryder Cup Challenge tournament over the Lackabane course at Killarney, leaving 25-year-old Scot Peter Whiteford clear at the top of the leaderboard with a highly impressive total of 12 under par 132.

The tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean barely noticed the Maldives, tearing through the collection of low-lying atolls – submerging some of them completely for several minutes – dragging tourists from their hotel rooms and swimmers out to sea.