2011 West Of Ireland Championship Second Round Leaderboard - Cut Made

Some call it moving day, others call it going home day, but whatever you call it, day two of the West Of Ireland in Rosses Point was full of drama.  Of the pre tournament favourites Paul Cutler showed his class with a 65 today to be leading qualifier by four strokes.

Other notables to make the top 64 include two other players that teed it up in last year’s Irish Open Alan Dunbar and Pat Murray.  GCD’s own TPI expert Robbie Cannon also cruised through along with Eoin Arthurs and Barry Anderson.

I wont be tearing up my betting slip just yet either with Harry Diamond, Andy Hogan, Seanie Barry, Greg Carew making the matchplay stages with Kelan McDonagh who produced an escape act that Harry Houdini would stand and applaud.  KMac followed his first round 82 with a 69.  Apparently Kelan was doing a Rory McIlroy at St. Andrews impression by avoiding rounds in the 70’s.

TOT	Players
137	P Cutler (Portstewart) 72 65, Leading Qualifier
141	E Arthurs (Forrest Little) 71 70, B Anderson (Co. Sligo) 71 70, C Martin (Kilkenny) 70 71
143	G Moynihan (The Island) 75 68, A Kearney (Castlerock) 75 68, H Diamond (Belvoir Park) 73 70, S Brady ( Co. Sligo/NUIM) 70 73
144	B Churchill ( Galgorm Castle) 73 71, D Sweeney (Westmanstown) 73 71, C Campbell (Warrenpoint) 72 72, I Brennan (Greenore) 72 72
145	P Murray (Limerick) 77 68, S Morrison (City of Derry) 77 68, R O'Donovan (Lucan) 76 69, E McCormack (Galway) 75 70, D O'Donovan (Muskerry) 73 72, S O'Hara (Co. Sligo) 72 73, D Crowe (Dunmurry) 72 73
146	R McNamara (Headfort) 79 67, J Greene (Carlow) 76 70, P Dunne (Greystones) 76 70, N Gorey (Muskerry) 76 70, A Hogan (Newlands) 75 71, D Coyle ( Co.Louth) 75 71, R Cannon (Laytown & Bettystown) 75 71, J Hume (Rathsallagh) 74 72, J Dillon (Headfort) 72 74
147	D Murphy (Portarlington) 79 68, S Cannon (Loughrea) 76 71, S Walsh (Baltinglass/UCD) 76 71, A Kelly (Charleville) 75 72, G McDermott (Co. Sligo) 74 73, A Dunbar (Rathmore) 73 74, S Barry ( Lee Valley) 73 74
148	W Telford (Rathmore) 77 71, K Lovelock ( Hindhead, UK) 76 72, D Downie (Sutton) 76 72, C Doran (Banbridge) 75 73, E Stack (Ballybunion) 75 73, J Lyons(Birr) 73 75
149	P O'Leary (Lucan) 78 71, S McConnell (Ballyclare) 77 72, W Hanna (Kilkeel) 77 72, D Sutton (Lurgan) 76 73, J Monaghan (The Royal Dublin) 76 73, C Boggan (Co. Meath) 76 73, R Walsh (Kilkenny) 76 73, J Hopkins (Skerries) 75 74, D McElroy (Ballymena) 74 75
150	K Shannon (Greenore) 82 68, L Lennox ( Moyola Park) 79 71, R Whitson (Mourne) 78 72, D King (Tramore) 77 73, C Selfridge ( Moyola Park) 77 73, S Miskelly (Knock) 77 73, C Fairweather (Knock) 77 73, B Ronan ( Co. Louth) 77 73, D Kelleher (Portmarnock) 76 74, G Dunne (Seapoint) 73 77, G Carew (Edenderry) 72 78
151	K McDonagh (Athlone/NUIM) 82 69, E Haugh (Castletroy) 79 72, B Fennelly (Royal Dublin/NUIM) 78 73,

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Big Hitting Nico Colsaerts Leads in China

It a number 18 with fired rice for Nicolas Colsaerts with one round to play.  The Belgian, that’s the place with Brussels in it, shot a six under round of 66 to get it to 18 under one shot ahead of Chinaman Ching Chong Han and Ireland’s Peter Lawrie lies two back.

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Taylormade Make Custom R11 Driver For God

This is an 88-foot-tall Taylormade R11 driver with tour stiff shaft and three extra wraps of tape on the grip, specially designed for the big man himself, God.  Taylormade took the custom order from the man upstairs last week.  The agreed collection point for the Man Above is Petco Park in San Diego.  The clouds are set to part tomorrow at 8am and God’s massive hand is due to ascend it into heaven.

“I thought Easter Sunday would be a great time to “pick-up” my new R11 driver, what with all the symbolism of JC rising from the tomb yada yada yada” God said yesterday.  “I was using the R9, but it was sliding a little to the right; I might not have had it set up correctly”.

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The 2011 Heritage Second Round Highlights PGA Tour

Luke Donald  is on course to top the Official World Golf Ranking next Friday, after shooting a 65 to The Heritage at half way.

Though Lee Westwood (2) is in contention at the Indonesian Masters, Donald would jump from third to first with a Heritage win. Martin Kaymer is not playing this week.

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2011 West Of Ireland Championship First Round Leaderboard

Clubhouse Scores at 19.15hrs, Day 1 (last cards expected in at approx 8.00pm)

70

S Brady ( Co. Sligo/NUIM), C Martin (Kilkenny)

71

E Arthurs (Forrest Little), B Anderson (Co. Sligo), B Walton (The Island)

72

P Cutler (Portstewart), G Carew (Edenderry), C Campbell (Warrenpoint), D Crowe (Dunmurry), I Brennan (Greenore), S O'Hara (Co. Sligo), J Dillon (Headfort)

73

J Lyons (Birr), H Diamond (Belvoir Park), B Churchill (Galgorm Castle), S Barry (Lee Valley), M Hammond (Moyola Park), A Dunbar (Rathmore), G Dunne (Seapoint), D O'Donovan (Muskerry)

74

N O'Hare (Castleknock), P Sheehy ( Newcastle West), J Hume (Rathsallagh), D McElroy (Ballymena), G McDermott (Co. Sligo)

75

C Doran (Banbridge), J Hopkins (Skerries), K Crowley (Lee Valley), D Coyle (Co. Louth), R Twomey (Muskerry), M Buggy (Castlecomer), R Cannon (Laytown & Bettystown), S McCarthy (Black Bush), D O'Neill (Carton House), A Hogan (Newlands), S Ward (Co. Louth), M Durcan (Co. Sligo), E McCormack (Galway), E Stack (Ballybunion)

76

D Sutton (Lurgan), R Leonard (Banbridge), J Leacy (Dungarvan), D Downie (Sutton), M Sinclair (Knock), B Casey (Headfort), P Dunne (Greystones), P Cullen (Royal Tara), J Greene (Carlow), N Gorey (Muskerry), S Cannon (Loughrea), K Lovelock (Hindhead, UK), R Walsh (Kilkenny), J Monaghan (The Royal Dublin), C Boggan (Co. Meath), R O'Donovan (Lucan), D Kelleher (Portmarnock)

77

D King (Tramore), J Pierse (Grange), A Gleeson (Castle), N Grant (Knock), D Murray (Skerries), W Hanna (Kilkeel), S McConnell (Ballyclare), P Murray (Limerick), B Ronan (Co. Louth), M O'Sullivan (Stow Acres, USA), W Telford (Rathmore), D Loftus (Swinford), C Daly (Castletroy), M Mcalpin (Royal Portrush), E Murphy (Cork), C Selfridge (Moyola Park), S Loftus (Lahinch), D Morgan (Mullingar), J Foran (Thurles)

78

P O'Leary (Lucan), S O'Connor (Skerries), P Delaney (Arklow), E O'Sullivan (The Island), B Fennelly (Royal Dublin/NUIM), C Molloy (Ardee), R Whitson (Mourne), DHolland (Castle), K Lynch (Skibbereen)

79

D Murphy (Portarlington), S Ryan (The Royal Dublin), A McCormick (Scrabo), G McKenna (Fortwilliam), A Wynne (Strandhill), R McNamara (Headfort), E Haugh (Castletroy), L Lennox (Moyola Park), S Bryan (Delgany), M McGinley (Grange)

80

G Kelly (Co. Louth/UCD), A Kiernan (Forrest Little), S Barry (Laytown & Bettystown), K Nolan (Dun Laoghaire), D Barry (Mahon), S Crowe (Dunmurry), A Doran (Ardee)

81

G Lawlor (Newbridge), D O'Sullivan (Strandhill), T O'Connor (Athlone), C O'Sullivan (Fota Island), B Kennedy (South County), D Lally (Mullingar), D Coghlan (The Royal Dublin), M O'Toole (Lucan), D Dunne (Co. Sligo)

82

K McDonagh (Athlone/NUIM), R Weldon ( Killeen Castle), M Shanahan (West Waterford), K Stack (Dungarvan), K Shannon (Greenore), B Reddan ( Co. Louth)

83

G Collins (Rosslare), B Corcoran (Roganstown), G McGrane (The Royal Dublin)

84

N Kearns (Omagh), D O'Connor (Athlone), C Sharvin (Ardglass), T Cleary (Dromoland), Q Carew (Edenderry), E O'Connor (Ballybunion), D Mallon (Dungannon)

85

R Durnin (Laytown & Bettystown), D Reilly (Westmanstown)

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Only 149 Days To Solheim Cup In Killeen Castle

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar, along with representatives from Fáilte Ireland and the Ladies European Golf Tour, has marked a significant milestone with ‘150 days to go’ to The 2011 Solheim Cup which will be staged in Killeen Castle, County Meath, this coming September.

The 2011 Solheim Cup will take place on the stunning Jack Nicklaus Signature Course in Killeen Castle, County Meath, from 23-25 September this year and Solheim Cup Director, Roddy Carr announced that over 14,000 tickets have been issued to date. Pic: Alexandra Armas, Allison Nicholas and Roddy Carr

European Solheim Cup Captain, Alison Nicholas was also present, said “We are currently staging coaching clinics in clubs throughout the country aiming to create as much support as possible when it comes to the event. The Americans will provide a very strong challenge and we are relying on as much European and home support as possible to help us regain the coveted Solheim Cup this year in Killeen Castle. The Irish public can be our 13^th member of the team and play a pivotal role.”

The European team will comprise the top four players from the European points’ list, the next highest four from the Rolex World Rankings and four captain’s picks, so at present, the European team status is outlined below little change expected until after the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open (ending Sunday 8th May). 

Top four from European points’ standings:

The next four from the Rolex Rankings are made up of Suzann Pettersen (Norway), Anna Nordqvist (Sweden), Maria Hjorth (Sweden) and Catriona Matthew (Scotland). Ireland’s Rebecca Codd is lying in joint 19^th on the current European Solheim Cup standing so the Carlow professional would need to win a few events to qualify.

Current USA Standings

For the latest information on The Solheim Cup visit www.solheimcup.com.

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Toughest Hole Statistics For 2011 Masters

Here are the hardest hole stats for this years Masters tournament.  Contrary to popular perception the 10th was not the hardest hole. With only 19  birdies compared to 95 bogeys or worse the 11th was the toughest hole.

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Revealed: Rors and Kaymer’s Secret to Distance- Bowling

Forget practice grounds, alignment sticks and Yoga stretches, its all about raw power.  Every morning on Tour Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer visit the Tour Bowling Truck, a specially adapted rig that expands into a 12 lane Brunswick bowling centre, for some core work.

Rory is the stroker king with the ability to strike without the ball ever touching the lane.  Check out his heel raisers and with one flip of his tour cap he becomes one bad mutha.

Kaymer prefers the cranker method of delivery favoured by many Germans.

How about a  Europe V USA style Weber Cup among the players and their PGA counterparts before the next Ryder Cup?  I reckon Rors/Kaymer versus Bubba/Dustin Johnson would be a damn site more entertaining than watching Butch and Rob Lee prick around with an interactive screen.

Dustin Johnson To Divorce Bobby Brown

Sad news from the PGA Tour that Dustin Johnson is set to divorce caddy Bobby Brown.  For Brown its a second divorce, after previously ending an often times tempestuous relationship with his wife and Charlie snorter Whitney Houston.  He has been on Johnson's bag since his rookie year in 2008.

Reports say it was actually Brown who called time player-caddie relationship and has been qouted as saying “Its my prerogative, its the way that I wanna be”.

The pair have been through lows like Johnson's final-round U.S. Open heartbreak and his rules agony at the 2010 PGA Championship and highs such as his win at the BMW Championships. Sad times indeed.

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Padraig Harrington Helps Deliver Sergio’s Panda- So That’s What Was Up His Ass!

It promises to be a new smiling Sergio Garcia on Tour from now on after he gave birth to a baby Panda yesterday in China.

Proud new mother Sergio with El Nino Junior and a delighted “Dr.” Harrington just hours after the birth.

The Spaniard went into labour late yesterday evening whilst sharing a taxi with Ireland’s Padraig Harrington.  Though heavy traffic prevented the fully dilated Garcia from reaching the labour ward, luckily Harrington was on hand to expertly deliver the baby Panda christened El Nino Junior.

“I’m delighted, just delighted for Sergio” said Harrington after.  “I’ve read several books on gynaecology and anatomy and it was great to put the theory into practice.  We all knew Sergio had something gestating inside him for the past year or so, his hormones were all over the place.  Nobody could have guessed it would be a panda!” added the triple major winner.

The question now being asked is who the father is, with many suggesting it may well Sky’s Bruce Critchley who shares the same basic genetic code as the endangered bear and is known to eat 99% bamboo. Eyes are also now turning to Tommy Bjorn who its thought may also have succumbed to Critchley’s charms and may himself have a few pandas up his jumper.

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That’s A Druh Belt Westwood Wears In The Sky 3D Masters Ad

Everybody’s been asking what make of belt Lee Westwood was wearing in the uber cool Sky Sports Masters in 3D advert.

We can now reveal it to be from Druh Belts & Buckles.  Aswell as Westwood, Druh belts hold up the trousers of Tommy Bjorn and now even the skinny guys like Robert Karlsson and Thongchai Jaidee are donning them too.  No greater endorsement can a belt company get than to have the complete trust of an elite Thai paratrooper.  Ireland’s own Paul McGinley is latest player to have his tummy neatly tucked inside a Druh belt.

Lee Westwood on Druh Belts: “I am delighted to be joining the Druh stable of ambassadors as I am a huge fan of the belts. I like to look smart, professional and well-coordinated when playing golf and wearing a Druh belt helps me achieve that as they have a fantastic variety of colours, from funky to traditional, as well as huge range of interchangeable ‘db’ buckles,” says Westwood, who will be playing most of his golf on The European Tour in 2011 with forays to the US and Asia throughout the year.  What we didn’t get a chance to ask Westwood though was will he be wearing the belts with his traditional Sunday transparent trousers!

Druh celebrated more than a dozen prestigious tournament wins around the world in 2010 where the winners have been wearing one of their distinctive belts.  Each belt purchased comes with a choice of Druh buckles and a standard ‘db’ buckle that is easily interchangeable. The buckles are produced in brushed nickel, polished silver or gold with some featuring sparkling diamante, bright enamel and flower motifs especially for the ladies.

Available through the internet at www.druhbeltsandbuckles.com allows golfers to design their own unique belt by choosing their own belt and interchangeable buckle combination. Druh Belts retail at around UK£160/US$200 for snakeskin and around UK£80/US$125 for leather and guarantees that the snakes used in production are not a protected species.

 

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What’s In The Bag 2011 Shane Lowry

Good luck to Shane Lowry on his return to European Tour action at the Volvo China Open.  I caught up with Shane recently to find out what’s in the bag of the former Irish Open Champion for the 2011 season.

What’s In Shane Lowry’s Bag

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The Rosses Point Readers Fourball Quiz

Our prize this week is a fourball on the famous County Sligo Golf Club aka Rosses Point . Rosses is the home of the West Of Ireland Championship, one of Ireland’s amateur majors where our top amateurs will compete this weekend.

To enter answer the question and enter your details in the widget on the right.

Question: What score did Kevin Na clock up on the 9^th in the first round of the Texas Open?

Congrats to last weeks winner Eoin Dowling 12 Cabinteely Ave D18 who answered JP Fitzgerald.

Fit and Able: Eliminate Back Pain Forever

With top Irish amateur and TPI certified fitness instructor Robbie Cannon and John Kelly of Harrington Golf. To book a session call Robbie on 086-6002432.

Hip Flexor Mobility

One of the most common mobility issues affecting the modern amateur golfer is tightness in the hip flexor muscle. This can be caused by a typical day at work or in the car where you are sitting down for hours at a time putting your hip flexor muscles in a shortened position. Tight hip flexors can lead to an S posture in your golf swing which can lead to chronic lower back pain before during or after your round. It will also limit the range of motion required for the rotational movement of your hips in the golf swing which means loss of power and distance and badly directed golf shots. So by improving your mobility in this area can definitely help your golf swing.

Hip Flexor Stretch

To perform the hip flexor stretch place your left knee on the ground. Activate your glutes (or tense up your butt) and place your left hand on your left glute and right hand in the air to activate your core. Tilt your pelvis skywards and you should feel a big stretch down the front of your hip flexor. Do this a number of times every day and you will increase the range of motion in your hips and eliminate back pain from your golf game.

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Karl Morris Golf Brain- The Comfort Trap

Have you ever fallen foul of what I call the phenomena of ‘the turn’. By the turn, I mean what often happens to us as we cross from one nine to another in a medal round. Let’s say you play off 10 handicap, how many times have you played great golf on the front nine, let’s say you have only dropped ONE of your ten shots after nine holes. You make ‘the turn’ and then somehow, someway, you manage to find a way of dropping ALL of your ten shots in the remaining nine and perhaps a few more for good measure?! The converse is also probably quite familiar whereby you play the front nine like you have never held a golf club in your life but, then as you cross over from one nine to the next, some alien being swoops down to inhabit your body and you play the back nine in level par!! How is that? It just doesn’t make any real sense because, as we know, your golf swing can’t change that much. What is going on?
It doesn’t make much sense on the surface but if we dig a bit deeper we find some interesting thoughts emerging. Basically, as human beings, our brains are wired in part for ‘familiarity’, it goes back to the days when we roamed around in caves and each and every day was a success if you survived that single day. To know things around you were familiar and could be trusted meant your chances of survival increased. A part of us is definitely wired to explore and seek out new experience BUT in a lot of people, the need for familiarity is probably the strongest pull. We can see this in many things we all do in everyday life. One good example is what I call the Korma Phenomenon! We go into an Indian Restaurant and we tell people we just love Indian food, we get hold of the menu, have a look at the 380 different options on that menu - and then what happens?

The Heritage 2011 Betting Preview and Tips – PGA Tour

The Heritage 2011 Betting Preview and Tips

Aaron Baddeley 26/1

Badds makes his return to the regular Tour this week after a week off following a poor showing at Augusta. The Aussie wont mind too much as his 2011 season to date has been excellent. Sixth at Pebble Beach followed by a win at Riviera in the Northern Trust Open and fourth in Houston before the Masters, Baddeley will be brimming with confidence on a course he loves. Winner here in 2006 and tied second in 2008, he’s sure to be on the leaderboard Sunday night.

 

Luke Donald 13/1

Surely a regular PGA Tour event win must be in the offing for Luke. It has been six years since his Honda Classic victory. He did of course claim the WGC Accenture matchplay in February but many believe this season the world number three will add to his two PGA Tour wins. Since his matchplay win Donald finished tenth at the Honda, sixth at the WGC Cadillac and fourth at The Masters. Donald has been in the top three in Hilton Head for the last two years and has to have a great shout this time around.

 

Bo Van Pelt 46/1

Bo Van Pelt had his 30 seconds of fame during the Masters a couple of weeks back and an eighth place was his best Tour finish since last October when he came second at the Frys.com Open. That was one of eight top 10’s last season. He also finished tied third at this event last year.

 

Jason Day 25/1

Another man returning after a thrilling Masters performance is Jason Day. The Aussie showed true grit on way to tying second there and let’s hope there a little adrenalin left in the tank to contend again this week. Last year was Day’s first Heritage and he finished in respectable 22^nd.

 

Brandt Snedeker 34/1

There’s a lot of chatter inside the ropes lately about Brandt Snedeker. His fourth place finish last week on a really tough course in San Antonio was his fourth top 10 of the season. Snedeker also managed a very respectable 15^th at Augusta (after tying third in 2010) and despite suspect nerves is tipped by many to soon add to his sole Tour victory in the 2007 Wyndham Championship.

 

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2011 Volvo China Open Betting Preview and Tips –European Tour

Betting Preview And Tips: Volvo China Open

Luxehills International Country Club

YE Yang 14/1

2009 PGA Champion YE Yang came to the China Open last season on the back of a top 10 at Augusta and dominated the event. Key to his success 12 months ago was the putter with just 21 putts in round two and average of 26.5 per round. This time around he finished 20th in Augusta but has shown good season form with a top 10 in Phoenix, a good showing in the WGC Accenture match play and then a second place finish at The Honda Classic. Favourite with the bookies for all those reasons.

 

Simon Dyson 25/1

Having fallen somewhat in the pecking order of the European Tour after a poor 2010, Simon Dyson makes the trip to China on the back of some improving recent form. The Englishman has won four times on the Asian Tour, including three wins in 2000. One of those was the China Open before it became co sanctioned with the European Tour. Fifth in Sicily a couple of weeks back and seventh last week, Dyson knows that if he could eliminate the one poor round such as his Saturday 76 last week, he could be adding to his four European Tour wins.

Rafael Cabrera Bello 34/1

How Rafa hasn’t added to his 2009 Austria Open success is a mystery to me. The man from Gran Canaria tied fourth again last week in Malaysia, his third top 10 of the season to date. That result marked his tenth cut in a row (South African DQ excepted) and he has finished under par in every one of those events. Putting will be key in China this week and if Cabrera Bello can maintain his excellent stats in that category he could contend again.

 

Alex Noren 46/1

The Swede made an impressive return to form in Malaysia last week with a tied fourth finish. Noren credits an intensive practice period over the last number of weeks for his good showing and he will travel to this new venue of Luxehills in expectation of another good payday after tying for eighth in last season’s staging. Noren’s weakness has been his putting and he will need to improve from 30th in the field last week if he is to add to his 2009 wins in Crans.

Johan Edfors 48/1

A man who you may be able to get some real value on this week is Johan Edfors after he missed the cut in Malaysia with rounds of 73, 76. I’m not letting that bother me though; he did the same thing in Sicily before coming second at the Open de Andalucia the following week. Edfors carded excellent greens in regulation and putting stats on his way to tied fourth last season and I expect bouncebackability from the colourful Swede this week.

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2011 Valero Texas Open Final Round Highlights

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Manassero Claims 2011 Maybank Malaysian Open

Matteo Manassero, not yet 18, claimed his second Tour title, the 2011 Maybank Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.  The Italian shot a final round of 68 holding off Gregory Bourdy.  Massero holed out his third shot on the par five 10th hole to kick start his round.

Rory McIlroy got himself into contention by birdieing the 17th, but needing to hole his birdie putt on the last to force a playoff he three putted to fall down to third.

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Valero Texas Open 2011 Third Round Highlights, PGA Tour

Top 10 Leaderboard

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