Birdie famine costs McGrane title chance

On the cusp of earning his first European Tour victory, McGrane went birdie-less on Sunday, saddling himself with four bogeys instead. At day’s end, he shot 76 and was well back in 20th place, six strokes off champion Emanuele Canonica. McGrane was one stroke under par for the event at 287 (70-72-69-76).
Gary Murphy tied for 37th place at 291 (71-76-72-72). Philip Walton enjoyed his best performance in some time, sharing 54th place at 293 (74-73-70-76). Also going the distance were Peter Lawrie, 81st with 298 (72-76-71-79), and Stephen Browne, 85th with 301 (75-73-79-74).

CHAMPIONS TOUR
Mark McNulty shared fifth place in the 3M Championship at TPC of Twin Cities in Blaine, Minn. A second-round 72, sandwiched between rounds of 67 and 66, helped put the four strokes between McNulty at 205 and eventual champion Tom Purtzer at 201. Des Smyth shot 215 (71-72-72), which was good for a piece of 50th place. McNulty picked up $72,333, while Smyth settled for $4,900.

HOOTERS TOUR
Gareth Maybin reassumed the top spot on the money list by finishing joint third in the Buffalo Run Casino Classic at Peoria Ridge Golf Club in Miami, Okla. His 18-under-par 270 (67-68-68-67), which left him six strokes adrift of medalist Chris James, brought him $7,276. That improved his earnings to $60,811, ahead of Nick Rousey, with $57,677.

EUROPEAN SENIORS
Denis O’Sullivan was the high-ranking Irishman in the DeVere Seniors PGA Championship at DeVere Carden Park in England. The Corkman was four strokes under par at 284 (69-72-71-72) for 72 holes. Sam Torrance cruised to a four-stroke victory with 271. Farther down the board stood Eamonn Darcy at 288 (69-72-72-75), good for a slice of 24th place, and John Curtis in joint 46th position at 295 (72-74-73-76).

EUROPRO TOUR
Eamonn Brady found his groove and rode it to a joint fifth-place finish in the Peugeot International at Marriott’s Hollins Hall in England. Brady carded 208 (70-69-69) for 54 holes, which left him five strokes under par and three behind the medalist, Daniel Gaunt. The par-4 11th hole proved Brady’s undoing as he bogeyed it each of the three rounds.
Peter Williamson (76-66-71) and Alan Murray (70-70-73) were among a septet in 20th position at even-par 213. Williamson, who has shown some flashes of brilliance this year, managed to match par in the final round despite racking up six bogeys. An eagle at the first and four birdies offset those miscues. Justin Kehoe shared 50th place at 218 (73-72-73).