The Irish Golf Club Gazette: 11/16/12

11/16/2012

Peter Lawrie Seals Dubai Place

Peter Lawrie started the week clutching the final ticket to the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, and now the Dubliner appears on course to end it with his berth booked for the season finale after signing for his second successive round of 68 at the UBS Hong Kong Open.

Lawrie came into this week’s US$2million tournament a mere €14,997 ahead of his nearest Race to Dubai rival, Englishman David Howell, but has consolidated his position in the top 60 of the Rankings with a polished performance at Hong Kong Golf Club.

The former Open de España champion suffered an early wobble on Friday morning, bogeying the fourth hole, but subsequently made light of the stiff breeze with restorative birdies at the seventh and eighth.

Lawrie eagled the par five 13th on the opening day, and he again showed his liking for the hole with a birdie on day two to move to four under par and within sight of the leaders – and indeed a trip to Dubai.

He said: “I came into the week in 60th position, which could be fortunate or unfortunate, depending on what way you look at it. I’ve been moving down the Rankings all the time over the last five weeks, after not getting into tournaments. So it’s quite difficult to get that out of your head this week.

“As I said to a few people at home, I have to try to play mind games with myself this week and try to get past it. I was in a similar position last year and managed to make Dubai, so hopefully we can get there again.

“I attempted to work out what I would need to guarantee my place when I got here on Monday, but I ripped it up straightaway and said to myself: “Don’t even go there, Peter”. Apart from anything, it’s complicated by the fact that South Africa finishes after us. So you could be on the plane to Dubai thinking you’ve made it, and all of a sudden you find out you haven’t. But we’ll just work away and see where it takes us.”

In many ways Lawrie’s predicament is a nice one is a nice one in contrast to the battle to claim a coveted place on The 2013 European Tour International Schedule, which is altogether more intense.

Hong Kong Cut for McIlroy

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World number one and defending champion Rory McIlroy missed the cut at the Hong Kong Open on Friday after suffering a nightmare with his putter.

The 23-year-old Northern Irishman knew he had to shoot low in the second round after opening with a three-over-par 73 at the Hong Kong Golf Club on Thursday.

Starting from the 11th tee, he did just that producing four early birdies to get under par and within four shots of the lead.

However, at the par five third hole, his 11th of the day, he put his approach shot into a greenside bunker and after missing out on a good birdie opportunity, his charge up the leaderboard came to a halt.

A putt to save par at the fourth hole lipped out, at the seventh he misjudged the speed of the green and three putted and another shot was dropped on the following green when he put his first putt six foot past the hole and failed to hole the return.

He was on the projected three-over-par cutline as he played the tenth, his final hole of the day.

But he missed a birdie chance and went on to four-putt the hole for a double bogey to cap a frustrating two-over 72 round and a 145 total.

"The wheels came at that par five, it was a huge momentum breaker," McIlroy, who sealed the European Tour's money list last week with a third-place finish in Singapore told reporters.

"I had a great start getting it to four-under and in a position from which I might have even won the tournament but then it all went on the slide.

"Now I am going to work on few things with my putter before playing in Dubai next week," said the U.S. PGA champion.

In the group that finished after McIlroy, Anders Hansen from Denmark shot a six-under-par 64 to move into the early second round lead at seven-under.