Harrington Happy With Kiawah Return

Fifteen years ago a young Padraig Harrington, in only his second full season as a professional, teamed up with Paul McGinley at Kiawah Island and gave Ireland their first victory in golf's World Cup since 1958.

But now Harrington has returned to the South Carolina course as a three-time major winner and as a 40-year-old almost certainly in need of something special if next month is to see him win a seventh Ryder Cup cap.

Asked if he was able to put the Ryder Cup to one side this week and just focus on the major he said: "You know, I have to. I'm delighted I'm playing so well tee to green. The game's been excellent, well under control - that's what I've got to concentrate on."

The Dubliner plays the first two rounds of the USPGA Championship with two other former winners, Phil Mickelson and American Ryder Cup captain Davis Love. However, while Mickelson is keen to hold on to what he has - the eighth and last automatic cup spot in this the last week of their race - Harrington has ground to make up. Lots of it.

Only another victory in the final major of the season would be sure to elevate Harrington into a position to qualify for Jose Maria Olazabal's side. His only other route into the team would be as a wild card at the end of the month.

He got one from Colin Montgomerie two years ago but Olazabal, with whom Harrington was involved in controversy over the repairing of a pitch mark at the 2003 Seve Trophy in Spain, has only two - one fewer than Montgomerie - to hand out.

However, Harrington added: "I can't concentrate on something I haven't control over. I've just got to keep playing my golf and be content that I'm playing well."

After a fall down the world rankings that almost took him outside the top 100 - he stood third three years ago - Harrington produced an eighth-placed finish at the Masters and then came fourth at the US Open in June.

But it was still not enough to lift him back into the top 50, and missing out on last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational as a result led to him playing in a much smaller event in Reno instead.

A 19th-placed finish did precious little for his Ryder Cup chances, but maybe the memories of the 1997 World Cup are something he can feed off now. "There are positives, no doubt about it," Harrington said. "I like the style of golf course, that's for sure."

McIlroy Seeks Major PGA High

Rory McIlroy is aiming to end the major season on a high this weekend by landing the USPGA title in South Carolina.

The final major of the season has been christened "Glory's Last Shot" and it will provide McIlroy with a chance to put a real gloss on what has been and up and down year.

The world number three, who could dethrone Luke Donald at the top of the world rankings again with a top-two finish at Kiawah Island, started 2012 in exceptional form.

But he trailed home 40th at The Masters, made an early exit from the US Open during a miserable run of four missed cuts in five starts and, after a promising first day, fell away to 60th in The Open at Royal Lytham.

McIlroy feels there have been plenty of positives to take from his season, but admits he would love to instantly convert it into a stellar campaign with another major victory this week.

"There were a few goals I set myself at the start of the year, which I achieved - getting to number one in the world and winning a tournament early," the 23-year-old Northern Irishman said at a stormy Kiawah Island on Wednesday.

"The second-half has still been pretty good, but a little bit more of a struggle.

"If I had to give my season a grade to this point I'd probably give it a B, but there's still a lot of golf left to play."

After this week he goes into the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup play-offs, then comes the Ryder Cup in Chicago - a match now very much in his focus after European captain Jose Maria Olazabal brought the 10 players currently in position to qualify together for a meeting yesterday.

Change of approach

McIlroy concedes his approach to tournaments is changing somewhat and revealed he no longer considers hour after hour on the driving range good for him.

"I need to get out there and play, see shots on the course," he said. "I think certain players feel like they need to be on the range for two or three hours a day and really work on drills.

"I feel I practise much better on the course when I can see different shots and work off different targets - and just play.

"I'll still go and practise on the range and work on things that I have to, but once I feel comfortable that I've done that I want to go on the course and make sure it's good out there."

A fifth place finish at last week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was clearly a massive improvement on The Open and he likes what he sees at Pete Dye's Ocean Course, scene not only of two World Cups, but also the 1991 "War on the Shore" Ryder Cup.

The last 16 majors have had 16 different winners, but McIlroy looks as likely as anyone to stop that sequence continuing.

Justin Rose, joint fifth with McIlroy on Sunday, would love to see it go to 17 with him winning his first major, of course, and it is more familiar surroundings for him than most of the field - he finished second with Paul Casey behind South Africans Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini in the 2003 World Cup.

Casey is also in this week's field, but now down at 93rd in the world after making just one halfway cut since he dislocated his shoulder snowboarding last Christmas..

GMAC Makes Plans for Kiawah Island

Graeme McDowell hopes to continue his outstanding Major Championship form when the US PGA Championship begins at Kiawah Island on Thursday.

The Northern Irishman finished tied for 12th at the Masters Tournament before featuring in the final Sunday pairing at the US Open and Open Championship – coming in tied second at The Olympic Club and fifth at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

“It's been a strong year in the Majors for me,” said the 2010 US Open Champion. “I'm very happy with my performances so far, and I’m excited about the fourth and final Major Championship of the season. 

“It comes around awfully quick, but I feel fortunate that I managed to get 18 holes in here last Tuesday on the way to Firestone. I played 18 holes here on Monday, as well. 

“It's going to be a great test in a beautiful part of the world - I love the golf course.”

While Ryder Cup star McDowell has been unable to get over the line in a Major this season, he believes the fact he has been in contention can only be a plus.

“I do look back very positively on both of my last two Major experiences,” he added.

“There are certain elements of frustration and negativity in there, but I have addressed a couple things that I think I need to do better. 

“I take the positives away in that it was certainly nothing to do with nervousness or pressure that kind of got to me. If anything, I came out a little bit flat in both first nine holes. 

“So there's a few things I've addressed, just really my pre-shot routines and various little things I'm maybe not executing as well in the heat that I do maybe on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, just committing quicker to my shots, getting in there and reacting a bit better.

“It’s nice to be back in those positions and know that I can deal with the pressure and the emotion - I just didn't execute my shots well enough.”

Matthew Queen of Killeen Castle

Scotland’s Solheim Cup star Catriona Matthew continued her love affair with Killeen Castle as she recorded a one stroke victory in the Ladies Irish Open supported by Fáilte Ireland.

Matthew could afford a bogey five on the final hole to seal the win with a three round total of 209, seven under par, after a second successive round of 71.

Her European Solheim Cup teammate Suzann Pettersen of Norway ended a stroke back after her second straight round of 69, with another Solheim Cup star, Laura Davies, three shots further behind in third.

The finishing holes provided drama in The 2011 Solheim Cup and it again proved the case as Pettersen pushed Matthew all the way on a warm and sunny afternoon mixed with showers in County Meath.

The 2011 event champion, Pettersen, began the final round three shots behind Matthew but was tied for the lead after 15, where she found the bunker left of the green with her second shot but made a crucial birdie putt from 20 feet.

After Matthew birdied the same hole, Pettersen made an eight foot birdie putt on the par-three 16th to stay level with Matthew, but she then dropped a shot on 17 after hitting her second shot into the bunker short of the green and missed a 20-foot putt.

There was a two shot swing when Matthew, playing in the last group behind Pettersen, holed a tricky five-footer to reach eight under with a hole to play.

Pettersen missed her downhill birdie putt on 18 and although Matthew dropped a shot, finding the bunker right, behind the green, two putts were enough to seal the win and the €52,500 first prize. 

“I’m absolutely delighted,” said Matthew, claiming her fifth victory on the Ladies European Tour and her ninth in total. “It’s always difficult going out in the lead. I was just kind of trotting along there at seven under and saw Suzann making some birdies. I think she thought she was in The Solheim Cup again.

“I made a good birdie on 15 and then the one on 17 just gave a little bit of a cushion coming up the last, which was nice. I knew I had a two shot lead and I had seen what Suzann had done on 17 and 18 so I knew she was two behind so I reckoned I could make five from there.”

On her love affair with Killeen Castle, where she played a key role in Europe’s Solheim Cup victory in September, the World No.27 added: “I think it was always going to be difficult coming back here in a way with so many good memories being here. It could have worked either way but maybe I was a little bit inspired by some of my play from last year in The Solheim Cup.”

Pettersen was understandably disappointed with her finish after mounting a superb challenge. After dropping a shot on the sixth hole, she birdied three holes in a row and compensated for a bogey on 10 with a birdie on 13. 

“I played good. I made a silly bogey on 17 and had to give it a go. I thought I could hit a very hard sand wedge and it was just a misjudgement of the wind. I made a run at it,” said Pettersen, the World No.6.

England’s Davies also made a final round charge with a 68 that contained seven birdies and three bogeys, despite suffering from a painful Achilles injury sustained whilst playing football three months ago. It was exacerbated when playing in the charity football match during the Evian Masters, but there will be no time to rest as Davies is teeing up in Toledo on the LPGA next week.

Another Englishwoman, Liz Bennett, was lying in joint third with Davies after 17 holes, but eventually signed for a 74 after slipping back into a share of ninth with four others after taking a costly triple bogey seven at the 18th.

Bennett lost her ball in the water hazard off the tee and then sent her approach shot through the back of the green, but despite that, there will be positives to take away from the tournament. Her putting has improved considerably since she installed a Huxley putting green in her back garden a week ago and will be one to watch at the forthcoming ISPS Handa Ladies British Masters in a fortnight.

England’s Curtis Cup winner Charley Hull is another player to watch and she ended in a share of 18th place, taking home the Philomena Garvey trophy as the leading amateur.