10/30/2011

Rory McIlroy Wins Shanghai Masters


Rory McIlroy beat American Anthony Kim in a play-off to win the Shanghai Masters.

McIlroy gave up an early three-shot lead before rallying on the back nine to finish level with Kim at 18-under and force the play-off.

The 22-year-old had a chance to win with an eight-foot birdie putt on the 18th, but missed by inches.

Both players drove into the bunker on the first hole, but Kim missed his putt, while McIlroy sank his to win.

McIlroy pocketed £1.24 ($2m) first-place prize money, the richest in golf, while Kim took home £465,000 ($750,000). Thirty players took part in the invitational, first-year tournament, which is not sanctioned by a major tour.

American Hunter Mahan and South Korea's Noh Seung-yul finished equal third at 13-under.

England's world number two Lee Westwood hit a hole in one on the 12th hole and seven birdies for a 67, finishing in fifth place at 12-under. It was the best round of the week for Westwood, despite the fact he ended with two bogeys.

The final round turned into an unexpected battle between McIlroy and world number 82 Kim.

There were echoes of McIlroy's stunning collapse at the Masters earlier this year when he surrendered a four-shot lead in the final round at Augusta on his way to an 80.

The Shanghai Masters has the biggest first prize in golf of $2m (£1.24m), with the runner-up receiving $750,000 (£465,000), from a total prize pot of $5m (£3.1m).

After three rounds of relatively mistake-free golf in Shanghai, the world number three hit into the water and bunkers, and missed several close putts, but this time, he was able to turn it around.

The Northern Irishman, playing his first event since changing management, resumed three clear, but had a bogey to Kim's birdie on the first and, when he dropped another shot at the 11th, trailed by one.

McIlroy drew level with a birdie at the 15th, however, and with pars at the final three holes they tied on the 18-under-par mark of 270, McIlroy going round in a level-par 72 to Kim's 69.

At the first extra hole Kim missed a three-foot putt and McIlroy's two-footer for par gave him the title.

"I've been close in two or three tournaments and had two thirds and two seconds and was finally able to get myself over the line today," said McIlroy.

"This was the third play-off of my career, and I was able to win this one, so at least my record in these events is getting better.

"I am just delighted to get another win."


10/28/2011

McIlroy Leads Shanghai Masters


Rory McIlroy shot a three-under-par 69 to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Shanghai Masters Invitational golf tournament on Friday.

McIlroy struggled with the front nine, bogeying the fourth hole before conceding a double bogey on the difficult, par-four ninth to drop back into a four-way share of the lead.

He recovered with four birdies on the back nine to finish on 11 under.

Ian Poulter is six under after a 71 and Lee Westwood five under following a 70.

US Open champion McIlroy is two strokes ahead of South Korea's Noh Seung-yul.

Noh, 20, made the biggest move of the day, sinking nine birdies for a 63, the lowest round of the tournament so far.

His excellent round saw him move from joint 18th place after round one to second.

McIlroy also led the tournament after the opening round after shooting a bogey-free round of 64.

Noh, ranked 95th in the world, achieved his biggest victory to date at the Malaysian Open last year, where he become the second-youngest winner in European Tour history.

He is also a former Asian Tour rookie of the year.

Anthony Kim of the United States (68) and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa (66) are a stroke behind Noh at eight under, followed by Padraig Harrington of Ireland (70) and Hunter Mahan of the United States (72).

Mahan, who was in second place after the opening round, also had trouble on the front nine on Friday, bogeying twice and holing just one birdie.

He was at one under for the day until bogeying the 18th hole to finish at even par.

Poulter and Robert Karlsson (69) are six under, and John Daly followed his opening 69 with a 70 to match Westwood, Colin Montgomerie (69) and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel (69) at five under.

There are 30 players, including 10 major winners, vying for the $2 million first prize, the richest in golf.

The International Management Group-run event, being held for the first year, is not sanctioned by a major tour and does not have world-ranking points.


10/27/2011

Horizon's GMAC No Rory Role



Graeme McDowell has insisted he played no role in Rory McIlroy's recent decision to quit the ISM management stable.

McIlroy caused more than a few a ripples in golfing circles after announcing he had decided to leave Andrew 'Chubby' Chandler's ISM team to join Dublin-based Horizon Sports - the company that represents McDowell.

McDowell and McIlroy - the last two US Open champions - are close friends and McDowell also opted to leave ISM for Horizon earlier in his career.

With speculation swirling that he had influenced McIlroy's decision, McDowell has come out to deny any such involvement.
Business decision

"Rory's a very intelligent man, he's got to make his own decisions about his career and I certainly would never want to get involved in a guy's career like that," McDowell told Sky Sports.

"Rory's going to be one of the best players in the world, if not the best, he's going to win a lot of major championships and never would I want to get involved in a guy's business decision like that.

"Rory's witnessed the job Horizon have done for me over the last few years, we're very close friends and he knows they've done a great job for me.

"I really have no idea what went wrong within the ISM camp but we're very excited to have him at Horizon Sports and I'm very happy to have a friend, and a friendly rivalry, within the camp."

Meanwhile, McDowell believes he is close to rediscovering the kind of form that saw him win no fewer than four times last season.

The 32-year-old admits he has struggled to hit the heights this time around but is hopeful the Andalucia Masters will signal a change in fortunes.

Returning as champion, McDowell got his defence at Valderrama underway with a two-over 73, but is hopeful the tournament in Spain will spark a late-season charge.
Turned the corner

"It's great to be back here defending this year and looking for a bit of a special spark that perhaps this golf course will give to me," he continued.

"I've been working hard, I feel like I've been playing pretty well the last couple of months and I've really turned that corner.

"It's been a frustrating year for me, no doubt about it, but the Dunhill Links, finishing third there, gave me a lot of confidence and my game's really getting there.

"I'm starting to understand my mechanics a bit better than I have this year and understanding where the bad ones come from and, of course, where the good ones come from so I'm excited.

"I've got a great schedule this next seven weeks and this is where it's all going to start for me."



10/21/2011

Harrington Happy with Irish Dates



Padraig Harrington has welcomed a decision to move next year’s Irish Open to June 28th to July 1st 2012 even though a main sponsor still to be signed. It means the 2012 Irish Open will now not clash with the July 27th commencement of the London Olympics.

It will also see four of the biggest events on the 2012 Race to Dubai schedule being contested between the June 17th concluding U.S. Open in San Francisco and the July 19th starting British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes
.
They include the BMW International Open (June 21stto 24th), Irish Open (June 28th to July 1st), French Open (July 5th to 8th) and the Scottish Open (July 12thto 15th).

“It’s a good decision but then I don’t think moving the Irish Open to before The Open Championship will do it any harm compared to the date it has had the past two years and that’s two weeks after The Open,” said Harrington.

“We’re still going to get all the leading Irish players competing but then moving the Irish Open certainly won’t attract any less of the other leading Europeans.”

Harrington is a former winner of the Irish Open having won his national Open for a first occasion in 2008 at Adare Manor.

However the only concern moving the Irish Open to late June could be the loss of reigning U.S. Open champion, Rory McIlroy as the PGA Tour’s A T & T National is played in that week each year.

Rory McIlroy will be taking up full time PGA Tour membership, and will be competing given the event is returning to the Congressional course where he claimed a maiden Major Championship title.

Keith Waters, Director of International Policy with the European Tour, indicated that discussions are still on-going in regards to finding a main sponsor for the Irish Open.

“We are pretty sure we are returning to Killarney next year but then we are still in dicussions regarding a sponsor,” said Waters.

“But the good thing in moving the Irish Open is that if it were to take place next year two weeks after The Open, as it has for the past two years, it would clash with the Olympics in London.

“As it is the two events that will clash with the London Olympics are both in the States at that time of year, the Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship.”


10/20/2011

Ballesteros to Make Majorcan Debut


The late Seve Ballesteros's son Javier is set to make his European Tour debut in next year's Majorca Open

Javier, 21, will take a break from his law studies to play in the event in May as an amateur, it was reported in Thursday's Marca newspaper.

"I have an invitation to play next May in the Majorca Open and I will play, for sure," one-handicapper Javier said.

"Then when I've finished my law degree I would like to give it a shot and turn pro. While I am studying I cannot train a lot. I hit 200 balls every day but I can play only once a week and playing is when you really learn the game."

Following the death of his father in May this year, Javier turned to a new golf teacher.

"My father was always my coach," said Javier. "Now this is not possible any more. Angel Matallana from Pedrena is helping me with my swing at Club Santander."

Jose Maria Olazabal, Europe's 2012 Ryder Cup captain, is delighted that his close friend's son is going to try to follow in his father's footsteps.

"I haven't seen him play for a long time but he's just lived and loved the game since he was tiny," Olazabal said.

"He's gone through so much in the last few years but he's matured very quickly."

World number one Luke Donald played with Javier in the Madrid Masters two weeks ago and said: "I was very impressed with Javier, he is so like his father. I guess the genes have been passed down."

Seve Ballesteros began his European Tour career in the April 1974 Spanish Open. He missed the cut on his debut but went on to claim five majors and 50 European Tour titles.


10/17/2011

Trainor Wins Race and Order of Merit


Barrie Trainor pressed the power pedal over the weekend to take the chequered flag in the final lap of the Lexus Race to Mount Juliet in association with PING and Bord Fáilte.

The former Warrenpoint Senior Cup golfer, clocked rounds of 68 and 70 for a six-under-par total of 138 to win by four strokes from Brendan McGovern and, not only win the final Lexus lap, but also snatch the Irish Order of Merit from last year's winner David Higgins.

Trainor collected a cheque for € 4,000 for his weekend 36 holes work which left him on 43,458.75 Order of Merit points and, shooting to the top of the Order of Merit leaderboard, earned him an extra €10,000.

"It certainly has been the best weekend of my life," enthused Barrie, "and at the moment I just don't know where I am. It was a superb way to finish the Lexus Race to Mount Juliet.

"This is my sixth year as a professional and I was getting worried that I would end it without a title. I won the Irish Amateur Championship for the first three years and then for the last two years I won the PGA Ulster Championship.

"Thankfully, this year I have kept the record going of winning a title every year as a pro. I can relax a little now then I'll have to prepare for the Titleis PGA Play-Offs in Turkey next month."

Trainor and McGovern led on four-under-par 68 after Saturday's 18 holes but McGovern dropped to 74 yesterday with Trainor carding 70. He didn't set the tyres on fire until the back nine as he recorded eight opening pars before a birdie three at the ninth hole.

The brakes went on as he bogeyed 11 and 12, missing both greens, but then he slipped into overdrive with three-under-par for holes 13 to 17.

He rifled an eight iron over water to eight feet, at the stroke index one 13th for birdie three and made a two at the next with a six iron to 10 feet.

The winner was short at the long 17th but, from 70 yards, pitched to six feet for birdie four to clinch victory.

Higgins, who finished joint third alongside four others including PGA Cup player Rob Giles, ended second in the Order of Merit to add a bonus of €7,500 while Damian Mooney, tied 16th yesterday, retained his third position in the Merit table and earned a €5,000 bonus.

It was a good weekend for McGovern, too, as he jumped from 33rd position to 17th for the season.


10/14/2011

Higgins Defends Mount Juliet Title


David Higgins faces a thrilling 36-hole shoot-out with Barrie Trainor, Damien Mooney and Michael Collins as he bids to hold onto his Lexus Race To Mount Juliet crown.

Waterville stalwart Higgins, impressive winner of last year's inaugural Race to Mount Juliet, is just 578 points clear of Trainor in the Irish Order of Merit as the domestic season comes to a gripping climax over the weekend.

Yet with 10,000 ranking points on offer to the first-place finisher in the €50,000 season finale, Mooney (4,836 points behind) and Collins (9,171 points down) also have a mathematical chance to leapfrog the Kerryman and claim the €10,000 bonus due to the overall winner of the 2011 Race to Mount Juliet.

Proceedings warm up with a €2,500 pro-am.

Golf enthusiasts can also take in the Food and Craft Fair which takes place on the estate this weekend.



10/12/2011

Cowen Plans End to Padraig Plummet


Pete Cowen believes he can help his latest pupil Padraig Harrington put his recent woes behind him and return to the top of the game.

Three-time major winner Harrington has plummeted down the world rankings to 78th, from a high of third in 2008.

He turned to Cowen in August, hoping the Englishman could help him improve his swing and once-potent short game.

"With time, he's now capable of getting back to being the best short-game player in the world," said Cowen.

In July, Harrington parted company with his coach of 13 years, Bob Torrance - father of former Ryder Cup captain Sam - after hitting a new low by missing the cut at the Open and Irish Open.

This followed an alarming slump in form since winning the last of his majors, the 2008 US PGA Championship, which resulted in the Dubliner seeking out the advice of Cowen, whose many pupils include world number two Lee Westwood.

Harrington has already shown signs of improvement with an eighth-place finish at the Dunhill Links Championship two weeks ago, which he will be hoping to follow up with a strong showing at this week's Portugal Masters.

"Padraig came and asked me at the Bridgestone [tournament] if I would give an opinion on his swing and what I thought might improve it," said Cowen.

"He thought he was spending far too much time on his long game, to the detriment of his short game. Padraig won two majors in 2008 with the best short game in the world. He felt as though he'd neglected that and when you looked at the stats it proved it. He'd become almost non-competitive.

"He's good at bashing himself on the range and he couldn't understand why he wasn't getting any better.

"Padraig told me he had the wrong feeling with his swing. I then explained how he could get rid of that feeling.

Bob's done a great job because Padraig's won three majors but we all know that it's the short game that makes the difference in the long runPete Cowen

"I just tried to simplify his action. It was complicated and required massive amounts of time. I felt he needed better mechanics which need less time spent on it.

"We've put a lot more stability on his right side on the backswing so he supports the club better, a simple movement which then needs constant repetition. Then he can make the right action on the through-swing. If you load the swing right, you unload it correctly.

"I've given him a training aid for the range that does that while he's swinging. It's a two-thumb grip put on in a certain way on the shaft. He's now more comfortable with his long game and can concentrate more on his short game again.

"Obviously Bob's done a great job because Padraig's won three majors but we all know that it's the short game that makes the difference in the long run."


10/06/2011

Hoey Enjoys Dunhill links Win


Michael Hoey is relishing playing in events he could only previously watch on television following his impressive win in the Dunhill Links Championship.

Hoey's two-shot success over fellow Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy at St Andrews earnt him the winner's cheque for £515,000 and a place in this year's HSBC Champions event and next year's Bridgestone Invitational.

Both of those are World Golf Championship events limited to tournament winners and the top ranked players in the world, somewhere Hoey did not think he would be after six visits to the European Tour qualifying school and struggles which had him wondering if he wanted to keep playing the game.

"I've struggled with my belief," the 32-year-old former British Amateur champion admitted.

"At times I've thought I'm unbelievably good and at times I've felt I just don't have the consistency, which is what it's all about.

"I played in the US Masters in 2002 and then turned pro. I struggled and missed my card at the qualifying school and the next year I was playing on the EuroPro Tour and missing cuts. To go from Augusta to playing not great courses on the EuroPro Tour, it's a big change.

"It's taken a long time (to get to this point) but in a weird way you enjoy it more because you've struggled through six years of qualifying school. It's not nice when you're running out of money and you're confused about your golf swing and away every week travelling.

"It hasn't sunk in yet. Maybe when I'm playing the HSBC event and travelling with the guys next year to the States, maybe I'll think 'I belong, I've earned my way into these events by winning the Dunhill Links'.

"I've watched a lot of golf on TV and always thought if I can play in those events I'd be unbelievably happy. It's a dream come true."

Hoey began the final round three ahead of compatriot Graeme McDowell and five clear of McIlroy, only for McIlroy to card four birdies and an eagle in a brilliant front nine of 30 to move into the lead.

The US Open champion birdied the second and then holed his second shot to the par-four third for an eagle two, his approach pitching past the flag but spinning back into the hole.

Further birdies at the sixth, seventh and ninth took McIlroy top of the leaderboard before Hoey hit back from his second bogey of the day on the seventh with birdies at the eighth and ninth to draw level.

McIlroy pulled ahead again after a superb tee-shot on the par-three 11th finished just two feet from the hole, but that surprisingly proved to be the 22-year-old's last birdie of the day.
Hoey missed from four feet for birdie on the 14th after hitting two drivers to the front of the green - "I felt I was throwing this away at that stage," he admitted - but quickly put that disappointment behind him with birdies on the next two holes from close range to take a lead he would not relinquish.