Casey lands top award

EUROPEAN TOUR: Order of Merit leader Paul Casey has been named September's European Tour Golfer of the Month after winning the HSBC World Matchplay Championship and playing a starring role in the Ryder Cup.

Casey banked €1.4million, the richest first prize in golf, after a record-breaking 10 and 8 victory over American Shaun Micheel in the matchplay final at Wentworth to go top of the money list.

He then carded a hole-in-one at The K Club to win his Saturday fourball match with David Howell against Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson and was unbeaten for the week, winning three points from four matches as Europe retained the Ryder Cup.

USPGA TOUR: Bob Tway fired a flawless eight-under-par 63 as the morning players finished their first round in the Frys.com Open in Las Vegas yesterday. Six birdies in a front nine of 30 and two more on the way home saw Tway one clear of Bubba Dickerson.

LPGA TOUR: It has been quite a year for Michelle Wie. She fired a caddie, nearly won a major championship and left a tournament in the back of an ambulance. She twice broke the rules of golf, flirted with a spot in the men's US Open, and finished last in consecutive men's tournaments.

Wie turned 17 on Wednesday and yesterday began her second year as a professional at the Samsung World Championship in California.

Setting the early pace was Seon-Hwa Lee who was three-under-par after nine holes with Wie two back on one under after five.

JAPAN TOUR: Chinese Taipei's veteran Lu Wen-teh took a one-shot lead over Michael Campbell of New Zealand and South African Retief Goosen with a stunning nine-under-par 63 in the first round lead of the Volkswagen Masters-China yesterday.

Lu (43) fired a blistering 10 birdies at Yalong Bay Golf Club to lead by one stroke from title holder Goosen and Campbell, who returned matching 64s in the $300,000 Asian Tour event.

England's Yasin Ali, tied sixth in the Taiwan Open last week, extended his rich vein of form with a 66 while Scott Strange of Australia, Malaysia's Danny Chia and China's Huang Ming-jie were a further shot back.

PRO-AM: A hole-in-one at the ninth helped Hermitage's Simon Byrne to a two-shot victory on the Pro-Am at Castleknock GC yesterday. Byrne shot a seven-under-par 65 to win by two from Philip Walton.